The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] Tokyo, Aug 17 : Japan's economy contracted by 27.8 per cent from the previous quarter in the April-June period, marking a record decline in 40 years mainly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government said in a report on Monday. According to the Cabinet Office, the preliminary data on GDP equates to a seasonally-adjusted 7.8 per cent decrease on a quarterly bases, with the latest quarterly figures seeing the world's third largest economy post negative growth data for a third straight quarter, reports Xinhua news agency. The figure marks the largest contraction since the April-June quarter of 1980 when comparable data became available, although a Cabinet Office official was quoted as saying the historic economic downturn could be the worst on record since 1955 compared to reference points available at the time. A consumption tax hike last October from 8 to 10 per cent had already shaken Japan's economy, with the global coronavirus impact dealing a hammer blow to consumption and trade particularly during restrictions laid down in April when the government declared a state of a emergency. On April 7, a state of emergency was issued for the capital and six other prefectures and was thereafter expanded to cover the entire nation before being fully lifted on May 25. The emergency period saw business closures and stay-at-home requests cause economic activity almost grind to a halt, with private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's economy, dropping 8.2 per cent from the previous quarter, as households tightened their purse strings while largely staying at home. The Cabinet Office's preliminary figures also showed the exports of goods and services tumbled 18.5 per cent as global demand for Japanese automobiles and related parts waned amid slumping global demand. The figure also reflecting a considerable decline in spending by foreign tourists as Japan tightened its borders in a bid to curb the spread of the virus, the office said. Imports, in the recording period, the office added, fell just 0.5 per cent, however, owing to those from China remaining robust and helping to counter significant declines in those from the US and European Union. As for private capital expenditure, the Cabinet Office said it declined 1.5 per cent in the quarter, with residential investment down 0.2 per cent, amid growing unpredictability over the outlook for businesses. Japan's economy contracted an annualized 26.4 per cent, and 7.4 per cent quarterly, in normal terms, unadjusted for price changes, the Cabinet Office's data showed. A family-owned Albuquerque paper company has landed a state grant that will help it plot a more sustainable future. Earlier this month, the New Mexico Economic Development Department awarded a $100,000 grant through the Local Economic Development Act to Roses Southwest Papers, which has produced napkins, toilet paper and other paper products for hospitals and restaurants since it was founded in the mid-1980s by Roberto and Rose Marie Espat. This is a homegrown manufacturing company that sells its products across the United States, said Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Alicia Keyes in a prepared statement. Roses brings jobs and dollars into New Mexico and the state will stand by these businesses so they can continue to grow and hire workers through this health emergency. While the grant was originally intended to fund a massive expansion in both equipment and employees, James LaFata, chief administrative officer and in-house legal council for the paper company, said the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted the company to temporarily wait on its planned growth operations. However, LaFata said the grant funding will still help the company fulfill its long-term growth plans, and will go toward offsetting the planned increase in electricity usage by converting to solar energy. Overall, weve been trying to move toward a more sustainable operation, LaFata said. Before the pandemic reached New Mexico in March, LaFata said the company had been looking to add employees along with two new equipment lines and a new conveyor to accommodate the needs of a large fast-food chain it sells products to. However, the spread of the virus slowed the companys momentum. More than half of Roses Southwests business comes from selling paper products to the restaurant industry, ranging from large fast-food chains to local casual-dining restaurants, LaFata said. The restaurant industry has been among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, with nearly 3 million industry jobs lost nationwide from March through July, according to data from the National Restaurant Association. LaFata said Roses Southwests business has suffered along with the rest of the industry, with sales down by around 30% since the beginning of the pandemic, even accounting for the spike in toilet paper sales in the spring. At the end of the day, thats meant a lot of open capacity on our machines, LaFata said. Still, pandemics dont last forever, and the company still intends to eventually hire more than 30 additional employees and expand its production lines. LaFata said the new equipment will increase production but also require more energy. To do that sustainably, LaFata said Roses Southwest is working with a local solar company to help power those machines. The paper company is still looking at its options, but LaFata said the shift could save Roses Southwest up to $180,000. Once the system is installed, well see those savings almost immediately, he said. In the aftermath of the horrific Mauritius oil spill, international experts and thousands of local volunteers were reported making panic-stricken efforts to shield the rich marine wildlife of the region on Sunday, August 16. Thousands of tonnes of oil spilled into the turquoise waters of the island nation as bunker fuel leaked from a stranded tanker off the country's coast, leading to what scientists are calling Mauritius' worst ecological disaster. The Mauritius National Crisis Committee said in a statement that keeping in mind the rough conditions of the sea, the salvage company has informed the authorities that it cannot carry on the task of pumping out the remaining oil. Read - Mauritius Seeks Compensation As Cleanup Continues The Japanese tanker MV Wakashio ran aground at least three weeks ago and then split apart on Saturday, August 15 as the Mauritian authorities confirmed that poor sea conditions have made the removal of remaining fuel on the ship riskier. As per reports, the tanker was carrying more than 4,000 tonnes of heavy oil, lubricants, and diesel from China to Brazil. While a few days ago Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has said that almost all fuel oil that had leaked from Japanese-owned ship off the country's coast has been pumped out, scientists have reportedly said that the entire extent of the leak still remains unclear. However, deepening the ecological crisis, the fuel is known to have already reached the sacred zones of marine life including Ile aux Aigrettes nature reserve and the Blue Bay Marine Park, a unique coastal wetland known for coral diversity and fish species. Read - India Sends Over 30 Tonnes Of Technical Equipment To Mauritius To Help Contain Oil Spill Read - Mauritius Oil Spill: Grounded Ship Splits Apart Leaking Tons Of Residual Oil Into Water' India sends assistance to Mauritius Meanwhile, Minister of External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar announced Indias assistance to the Mauritius government in the wake of the horrific oil spill. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs on August 16 said that the government has dispatched urgent humanitarian assistance in a response to the request of the Mauritian government (GoM). The MEA informed that India has dispatched over 30 tonnes of technical equipment and material on board an IAF Aircraft. The ministry also said that a 10-member Technical Response Team has also been deployed to island in a bid to help the crisis-stricken nation amid ongoing Environmental Emergency. Moreover, as an immediate step, the Indian Oil (Mauritius) Limited (IOML) was also asked to extend all possible assistance to the GoM. #SAGAR Policy at work. To assist Mauritius in its ongoing #oilspill containment & salvage operations, an IAF aircraft has just landed in Port Louis with 30T of specialized equipment along with a 10-member Technical Response Team from @IndiaCoastGuard pic.twitter.com/muRYOy6mOp Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 16, 2020 Image Credits: AP Read - Mauritius Residents Cutting Off Hair To Make Nets And Tubes To Soak Catastrophic Oil Spill Read - Mauritius Oil Spill: PM Jugnauth Says Almost All Leaked Fuel Has Been Pumped Out T he head of Public Health England has said he is "sorry beyond words" that news of the organisation's demise was leaked to the media before he could tell staff. The coronavirus work of Public Health England (PHE) is to be merged with NHS Test and Trace to form a new body designed specifically to deal with pandemics, the Sunday Telegraph reported last week. Other functions like tackling obesity could be handed over to local councils in future, the newspaper reported on Sunday, citing a Government minister. The new pandemic organisation, the Institute for Health Protection, could be ready to go in September. Health Secretary Matt Hancock / PA Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, said that no organisation could get everything right and he praised staff for their efforts during the coronavirus pandemic in a note to staff seen by Health Service Journal. The note says: I am sorry beyond words at the way that decisions about our future have been briefed to the media before I have had the chance to explain them. The Prime Minister and Secretary of State wish to recreate an organisation with a sole focus on health protection and to bring together our health protection services with the budgets and people of the NHS test-and-trace programme to create a new national institute for health protection. The aim is to boost our unique scientific capability and world leading health protection expertise with much needed new investment. Scientists at a coronavirus testing facility / PA The future arrangements for delivering everything else we do for the country including on health improvement and our corporate services will be worked through over the coming weeks and months and will, of course, include formal consultation and the proper HR processes to ensure this is handled transparently and fairly. Any organisation that says it got everything right is wrong and no public health body enters a pandemic expecting to look the same as a consequence. However, no one remotely close to our work of the past eight years, and since January on the pandemic would agree with the headlines that this change reflects pandemic failure on our part. Certainly this is not what the Secretary of State believes or says in public or private. No public body has done more to protect the health of the people than PHE nor has more reason to be proud of its contribution. A coronavirus testing worker / Getty Images Equally on health improvement over the years on cancer, tobacco, obesity and air quality amongst much more, and crucially in support of our colleagues in local government, the NHS and our work internationally on behalf of the UK. The Government has been slammed by doctors', NHS leaders and academics in the wake of reports that it is planning to scrap PHE. And ministers faced fresh criticism on Monday, with the union Unite saying that PHE is being used as a fall guy for the Governments Covid-19 failings, while the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said that scapegoating PHE is unfair and potentially dangerous. Unite national officer for health Jackie Williams said: It is clear that Public Health England and its dedicated staff are being lined up to be the fall guy for continual bungling by Boris Johnson and his ministers since coronavirus emerged at the beginning of the year. A coronavirus worker takes a sample to be tested for the virus / AFP via Getty Images The catalogue of errors ranges from the lateness to lock down in March to the failure to have a so-called world beating test-and-trace system in place by June. In their desperation to find anyone or any organisation to blame for their own failings, Boris Johnson and Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock are lining up PHE and its staff to be the fall guy. Karen Middleton, chief executive of the CSP, said: There have clearly been failings in handling the Covid pandemic, but scapegoating PHE is unfair and potentially dangerous. A range of people and agencies are accountable for the handling of the pandemic, not just PHE. This feels like a crude attempt to shift blame. Experts have urged the Government not to "sideline" public health issues like obesity and diabetes / REUTERS Christina Marriott, chief executive of the Royal Society of Public Health, said: We question the timing of an announcement to scrap our national public health agency in the midst of a global pandemic and before any public inquiry has started, let alone reported. We recognise that there have been some serious challenges in terms of our response to Covid-19, including the timing of the lockdown, the ongoing ineffectiveness of Tier 2 Track and Trace and postcode-level data previously not being available to Directors of Public Health. Multiple lessons need to be learnt before solutions can be in place in advance of the winter. To do otherwise risks avoidable mistakes in subsequent waves of the pandemic which will only harm the publics health further." Ms Marriott added that the Government should "reverse its sidelining of public health" and commit to tackling obesity and diabetes among British people. Serco staff working on behalf of NHS Test and Trace operate a coronavirus testing centre in the Staffordshire market town of Stone / Getty Images A No 10 spokesman said: We believe PHE have played an important role in our response to this pandemic and have worked on important issues such as detection, surveillance, contact tracing and testing, and well continue to work closely with them. Asked whether the Government has asked any outside consultancies for advice on whether to shut down Public Health England, he added: If you look at the road map and the wording, what we say around structures, weve been clear we must learn the right lessons from the crisis and act now to ensure structures are fit to cope with future epidemics. Responding to reports that Public Health England is to be replaced, the No 10 spokesman said: We have always said we must learn the right lessons from the crisis and act to ensure Government structures are fit to cope. But I would make the point that PHE have played an integral role in our response to this unprecedented pandemic, working on important issues such as detection, surveillance, contact tracing and testing. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: Public Health England have played an integral role in our national response to this unprecedented global pandemic. We have always been clear that we must learn the right lessons from this crisis to ensure that we are in the strongest possible position, both as we continue to deal with Covid-19 and to respond to any future public health threat. We agreed the President would appoint three envoys and they would visit Zimbabwe and we asked that they meet the President of Zimbabwe but also meet other stakeholders in the opposition, NGOs [non-governmental organisations] and so on. Unfortunately, they could not meet the other stakeholders, but Zimbabwe has indicated their readiness to facilitate such a visit and we are in discussions with the president about the envoys returning to Zimbabwe to have a wider range of meetings than they were able to have at this first contact. Lockheed Martin Corp.s LMT Aeronautics business division has recently secured a $62-billion contract for the production of new F-16 Foreign Military Sale (FMS) aircraft. The initial delivery order is for 90 F-16 aircraft. The contract was awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH. Work related to the deal will be completed in Greenville, SC, and Fort Worth, TX, and is expected to be completed by Dec 31, 2026. Importance of the F-16 Fighting Falcon Jets Originally manufactured by General Dynamics GD, F-16 Falcon jets became part of Lockheed Martin after it acquired the formers aircraft manufacturing business. As the F-16 Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Lockheed Martin is uniquely qualified to design, engineer, develop, integrate and sustain a complete F-16 weapons system to meet customer requirements. The F-16 Falcon jets have significantly grown in importance on a global scale over the past few years. A number of 4,588 aircraft have been delivered to customers across 29 nations along with numerous upgrades. Over the past couple of years, the F-16 has witnessed significant development as nations, such as Taiwan, Bulgaria, Morocco and Bahrain, have signed respective agreements to procure new F-16 aircraft. Due to the rising importance, Lockheed Martin has introduced F-16 Block 70/72, which is the newest and the most advanced F-16 aircraft, combining numerous capabilities and structural upgrades Robust Budget to Boost Prospects Furthermore, the fiscal 2021 defense budget proposal reflected a solid spending provision of $56.9 billion for military aircraft. With both the House and the Senate having passed the fiscal defense budget bill in recent times, such a stupendous budgetary amendment reflects massive growth prospects for Lockheed Martins F-16 program in the days ahead. This would also benefit other prominent jet makers in the United States, like The Boeing Company BA and Northrop Grumman NOC. 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Click to get this free report Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Boeing Company (BA) : Free Stock Analysis Report General Dynamics Corporation (GD) : Free Stock Analysis Report Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism. Retailers want rental waivers should be extended for a few more months, since business is not expected to pick up before the Dussehra-Diwali period, which falls in October-November. Mall developers and retailers are at the negotiating table again as sluggish business is forcing the two to rework rent pacts. While mall owners gave full and, in some cases, half waivers to retailers on monthly rentals during the lockdown months of March, April, and May, retailers say this may not be enough. Some mall owners had agreed to short-term deferrals of rent, worked out a revenue-share pact, and even offered sharp discounts on existing rentals for the lockdown months, saying they remained sympathetic to retailers. Mall owners now appear willing to give a 20-30 per cent waiver on rentals. Discounts on fixed rent or minimum guarantee payments are also lower as distinct from the peak lockdown months, persons in the know said. Retailers say they want more, arguing that rental waivers should be extended for a few more months, since business is not expected to pick up before the Dussehra-Diwali period, which falls in October-November. Localised lockdowns and weekend curfews continue to persist in many cities despite the Unlock programme. Business hours also remain curtailed, said Anand Agarwal, chief financial officer, V-Mart Retail, which is into fashion and lifestyle retailing. This has an impact on business. Retailers in both malls and high-street properties are re-negotiating their rental terms in view of the current environment. Nilesh Gupta, managing director of Vijay Sales, said Diwali would be a better occasion for retailers to look forward to in terms of business. A senior executive with a Mumbai-based mall firm, which has properties in North India, said the firm would have to go for a second round of negotiations with retailers. Mukesh Kumar, CEO at Infiniti Mall, said: We are getting requests for pure revenue-share arrangements from retailers. But our agreements do not permit this. An executive with Phoenix Mills said most of its retailers had agreed to a rent waiver of 30 per cent, following the reopening of malls. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Top Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx continued to text Jussie Smollett's sister for five days after he shifted from victim to suspect, special prosecutor Dan Webb said Monday. In a news release on the conclusions from his investigation, Webb sharply criticized the handling of the Smollett case by Cook County State's Attorney Foxx and her assistant prosecutors. He said their handling was marked by disarray and misleading statements - but concluded that they did nothing criminal. In March last year, Foxx's office surprised and angered many in Chicago by dropping charges that accused the former 'Empire' actor of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself. Webb was appointed in August to investigate why Foxx's office had dropped the charges. He himself faced criticism and claims of another conflict of interest when it emerged he had donated $1,000 to Foxx's re-election campaign once. Monday's release does not show or attempt to explain how prosecutors came to reach the deal to drop the actor's first case. Foxx's team are said to have given 'significantly and meaningfully divergent explanations for how the resolution was reached'. The special prosecutor also said Foxx's office 'seemingly...did not want to admit they had made such a major mistake of judgment' in her botched recusal from the case. Smollett is still adamant that the attack was real and was not a publicity hoax. Webb's full 60 page report is not yet public. A special prosecutor in Chicago said Monday that Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx and her office abused their discretion in the case against actor Jussie Smollett but did nothing criminal Top Chicago prosecutor Kim Foxx continued to text Jussie Smollett's sister for five days after he shifted from victim to suspect, special prosecutor Dan Webb said Monday Webb's statement said his investigation 'did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against States Attorney Foxx or any individual working at (her office)'. But it added, it 'did develop evidence that establishes substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures' in how it handled the Smollett matter. A brief statement released by Foxx's office later Monday said it welcomed aspects of Webb's findings, including that no one on the staff committed a crime and that no undue outside influences affected the prosecutors' decisions regarding Smollett. But it took issue with the broader depiction of an office that didn't follow proper procedures and that was quick to mislead, saying it 'categorically rejects characterizations of its exercises of prosecutorial discretion and private or public statements as 'abuses of discretion' or false statements to the public.' Smollett had been hit with a 16-count grand jury indictment and faced more than 50 years behind bars until State's Attorney Kim Foxx suddenly dropped all the charges last March in exchange for him doing community service. It was a decision that blindsided and outraged Chicago's former mayor Rahm Emanuel and former Chief of Police Eddie Johnson. Webb's findings announced Monday came after charges were restored against Smollett by the same special prosecutor in February this year. In March last year, Foxxs office surprised and angered many in Chicago by dropping charges that accused the former 'Empire' actor of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself. Smollett is still adamant that the attack was real and wasnt a publicity hoax Brothers Abel (left) and Ola (right) Osundairo told police Smollett paid them to stage the attack Webb said at the time that dropping the charges against Smollett were unjustified, including because the evidence against Smollett seem and because he was not required to admit that the attack was a hoax. One of the focuses of Webbs inquiry was about whether Foxx acted improperly by speaking to a Smollett relative and Tina Tchen, a onetime aide of former first lady Michelle Obama before the charges were dropped, or by weighing in on the case after recusing herself. The release Monday found no evidence to support the suggestion Smollett was offered a sweetheart deal following pressure from influential people. But it did state: 'State's Attorney Foxx learned by February 8, 2019 that Mr. Smollett had become a suspect in CPD's investigation, yet she continued communicating with Ms. Smollett through February 13, 2019, including via five text messages and three phone calls. 'State's Attorney Foxx then made false statements to the media claiming she ceased all communications with Ms. Smollett as soon as she learned that Mr. Smollett was a suspect in CPD's investigation and no longer merely a victim.' It also counters Foxx's argument that dropping the charges followed a precedent set by other cases, adding: 'There were not thousands of (or, arguably any) similar cases that the CCSAO resolved in a similar way.' Webb also said Foxx was wrong when she said Smollett had no criminal background; in 2007 he was convicted of misdemeanor DUI, making false statements to police and driving without a license in California. Special prosecutor Dan Webb was appointed in August to investigate why Foxx's office had dropped the charges. He himself faced criticism and claims of another conflict of interest when it emerged he had donated $1,000 to Foxx's re-election campaign once JUSSIE SMOLLETT TIMELINE January 29: The 'hoax' attack outside Smollett's apartment in Chicago occurs. January 30: A wave of public sympathy rushes over Smollett, until then a relatively unknown actor February 14: After a series of unfavorable leaks from the Chicago PD, Smollett goes on Good Morning America to plead his case. Unbeknownst to him, brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo are being interviewed by police after returning from Nigeria. February 20: Smollett is arrested and accused of lying to police. He is bailed out on a $10,000 cash bond. March 7: Grand jury indicted Smollett March 26: Charges dropped April 11: Chicago sues Smollett for $130,000 - the cost of the investigation August: Dan Webb is appointed special prosecutor November: Smollett counter-sues, alleging malicious prosecution February 11, 2020: Reports emerge that Dan Webb has charged Smollett Advertisement Webb said Foxx and a top assistant prosecutor made at least six false or misleading statements regarding the dismissal of the case in possible violation of rules for professional conduct. He said a summary of his findings would be forwarded to the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, saying only it can decide it the alleged false statements amounted to serious ethical violations. Despite alleging that Foxx misled the public about the communications, Webb said his investigation found no evidence Foxx's conversations with Jurnee Smollett or others outside the prosecutor's office influenced the decision to drop the charges. Webb also criticized Foxx's office for trying to keep the decision to drop the charges from public for as long as possible. And he said the office didn't even give the Chicago Police Department a heads up about the decision until minutes before a court hearing formalizing the dismissal. Foxx is the first black woman to hold Chicagos top law enforcement job. She defeated her primary opponents earlier this year even as they made her handling of the Smollett case central to their campaigns. In overwhelmingly Democratic Chicago, the primary invariably determines who wins the general election. Charging documents refiled by Webb in February accuse the black, openly gay actor of making a false police report in claiming two men attacked him early on January 29, 2019, in downtown Chicago, shouting slurs and looping a rope around his neck. The Chicago Police Department had vowed to investigate the incident with all its might, and celebrities around the world rushed to share their support of Smollett. He became a household name almost overnight. But as the police investigation progressed, leaks began from within the police department that all may not have been as it seemed. As the controversy grew, Smollett - determined to make his case - went on Good Morning America where he cried and insisted he was telling the truth. By then, Chicago PD had released grainy surveillance camera footage of two men walking near the scene of the incident itself which was among the only part of his journey not captured on Chicago's vast network of security cameras that night. Smollett unequivocally identified the two men in the grainy footage as his attackers. Neither their faces nor skin color could be made out in it. Unbeknownst to him while he was conducting his GMA interview, the Chicago PD was building a case against him. They had identified the people in the video as the Osundairo brothers and had backed-up their belief by tracking the pair's movements in the days and hours both before and after the incident. After hours of secret interviews, they told cops that Smollett had paid them to carry out the attack as part of an elaborate hoax. Smollett was eventually arrested and charged with suspicion of lying to police. Gotta wear gloves. San Antonio health inspectors spotted employees at several restaurants preparing food with their bare hands this week. At one Northeast Side eatery, employees handled food without gloves and failed to wash their hands before putting gloves on. There were also dead pests around the premises. READ ALSO: 'That's total fake news': Watch Gregg Popovich's Donald Trump impersonation The inspectors saw a worker at a nearby restaurant touching tortillas, vegetables and cheese with their bare hands. They noted the same bare-hand approach at a Northwest Side spot, too. A total of 14 eateries failed to score an "A" during inspections by the city's Metropolitan Health District. Continue scrolling for a look at the violations spotted by inspectors this week. Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each is assigned a demerit score between 1 and 3 points, according to the health division. If you have questions about inspections or complaints about a food establishment, contact the Metropolitan Health District office by calling 3-1-1 or 210-207-6000. Be prepared to provide the name, location, date of incident and details of the incident. Search continues for missing pastors wife Marilane Carter; police call it 'strange' case Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Police in Overland Park, Kansas, released details in the case of missing 36-year-old Marilane Carter, the wife of Pastor Adam Carter of Leawood Baptist Church. She was last seen on Aug. 3 while en route to Alabama in her car to visit her sister and seek treatment for mental health issues. At a press conference, lead detective Blake Larsen called it a unique and strange case. He ruled out any criminal activity, especially in the Overland Park area or the Kansas City metro, according to KSHB. The police have been doing "everything possible" to find Carter. Along with other law enforcement agencies, many "good Samaritans" have stepped in to help with the search, Larsen noted. Carter left her home in Overland Park on Aug. 1, to drive to Birmingham, Alabama, to visit her sister, who is soon due to have a baby, and seek mental health treatment. Carter bought a Southwest Airlines ticket to Birmingham, but after a nap, she decided to drive all the way, Larsen said, according to AL.com. That helps give a view into her mindset, the detective said. According to her credit card and phone data, Carter traveled through Missouri and stopped at a McDonald's outlet. On Aug. 3, she checked in alone to the Quality Inn in West Plains, Missouri, early in the morning. She checked out of the hotel about three hours later, driving off alone. The mother of three was last seen in Memphis. A woman said she helped Carter get gas. Afterwards, she was seen going into the bathroom, wearing a white shirt, black yoga pants and a backpack. Her phone went dead somewhere in the area of the I-55 bridge coming into Memphis. The search operations have focused on the Mississippi River because its close to where her phone was last used. However, theres no evidence to suggest she went into the water, Larsen said. What makes this one really strange is how everything just stopped at a certain time, and we havent had any sightings or heard from her since. A lot of people who go missing, we can continue to track ... This one is just strange how it just stopped. He added, We are keeping our fingers crossed, and whatever God you pray to, Im praying to God that we can find her alive and well. Last weekend, Pastor Carter pleaded social media users to help us find my sweet wife. Please help us find my sweet wife. If you see anything please contact law enforcement. #findmarilane, Carter wrote on Twitter. The pastor said he had offered to take her to a hospital there in the Kansas City area, but she wanted to go somewhere to just get some help at a place that she felt that she could trust and was familiar with. A Facebook page has been created to help find Marilane Carter. Speaking to KWCH earlier, her brother-in-law said she is a gracious person. She loves people. She loves her family. She loves God, Brady McLaughlin said. Pastor Carter called her a "loving mother, loving wife" and said they had a "great relationship." "I miss her terribly. I want her home. I want her home with our kids, he said earlier. Associate Pastor Jason Franklin told Baptist Press last week that only a few in the church knew about her mental health struggles. Whenever things like this happen, theres always this, Could I have done something, did I miss some sign? Franklin said. And obviously her mental struggles were not something that was widely known among the entire congregation. It was kept very close to the chest." China on Monday said it is ready to work with India to enhance political mutual trust, properly manage their differences and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this at a regular briefing when a Western media journalist sought Chinas reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modis remarks that the Indian armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the countrys sovereignty. Modi, in his 74th Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, said the armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the countrys sovereignty from LoC to LAC, in a veiled reference to Pakistan and China. From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand, Modi said. Modis comments came amid Indias bitter border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and rise in incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC with Pakistan in the last few months. Responding to the question, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao said that we have noted Prime Minister Modis speech. We are close neighbours, we are emerging countries with over one billion people. So, the sound development of bilateral ties not only serves the interest of the two peoples but also stability, peace, prosperity of the region and the whole world, he said. The right path for the two sides is to respect and support each other as this serves our long-term interests, Zhao said. So, China stands ready to work with India to enhance our political mutual trust, properly manage our differences, step-up practical cooperation and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties, the spokesman added. In his speech, Prime Minister Modi also said that whether it is terrorism or expansionism, India is fighting both with determination. Referring to the Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh in June, the prime minister said respect for Indias sovereignty is supreme and the world has seen in Ladakh what its brave jawans can do to maintain this resolve. I salute all those brave soldiers from the Red Fort, Modi said, adding the whole country is united in protecting the sovereignty of the country. Twenty Indian army personnel were killed during the clashes on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. An award-winning architect has been struck off for claiming Judaism is not a race but a 'cult'. Cambridge-educated Peter Kellow called for 'restraints' to be placed on Jewish people including banning them from holding influential public office. In a public Facebook post, he said there was 'no such thing as the Jewish race' and accused them of creating 'resentment and suspicion'. As a result of his behaviour, he was hauled before a disciplinary panel, found guilty of misconduct and kicked out of the profession after 47 years. The Architects Registration Board hearing was told that Mr Kellow made the comments in April 2019, as then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced accusations of anti-Semitism. He wrote: 'There is no such thing as the Jewish race. This is one of the many stunts that Judaists have pulled on non-Judaists who have swallowed it whole. There is only the religion/cult of Judaism. Cambridge-educated Peter Kellow called for 'restraints' to be placed on Jewish people including banning them from holding influential public office 'There is no doubt that Judaists have suffered from unfair and cruel treatment at many times in history but this was never racially motivated until the late nineteenth century and bloomed in the ideology of Adolf Hitler. 'It is not far from the truth to say the Judaists were the inventors of European racism for they asserted they were racially different to the rest of us. Judaists have got themselves into a lot of trouble throughout history being subject to pogroms, ghettos and expulsions. 'I am not saying this was justified, but why do we see this consistent pattern? 'The problem people have and always have had with Judaism is not about race.. It is because Judaism is a cult. 'What do I mean by a cult? A cult is a set of people, normally unified by a religion or quasi-religion, who try to create a society within the general society. Mr Kellow also included freemasonry and Sunni Islam in his definition of cults. He wrote: 'Cults work against the interest of the general society as its members, in subscribing to a society within the society favour each other over the rest of us. 'This naturally creates resentment and suspicion. How can you trust such people?' 'How should society deal with people who through their cult activity weaken the bonds that the society needs to function well? We must put restraints on their ability to create a society within a society.' Mr Kellow suggested creating a public register of Jewish people, banning them from public office 'where they could discriminate' between Jews and non-Jews and ban from being judges. He also suggested banning Jewish faith schools and the wearing of religious clothing other than a skull gap. He concluded: 'By implementing sensible cult legislation [such as France already has] we can contain the problems of societies within our society and grant appropriate freedom to cult members.' In June last year the ARB were alerted to the 'offensive' post and began an investigation. At the subsequent disciplinary hearing, held last week, Mr Kellow said he stood by his post and denied that it was inappropriate, racist or anti-Semitic. He claimed that he was the victim of a 'witch hunt', that the regulators were behaving like 'thought police' and labelled the process a 'kangaroo court'. However, the committee ruled that he has 'entrenched discriminatory attitudinal issues' and found him guilty of unacceptable professional conduct. Mr Kellow had his own London practice before moving to Toulouse in south west France. The Architects Registration Board hearing was told that Mr Kellow made the comments in April 2019, as then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured) faced accusations of anti-Semitism In its judgment it said that the posting of 'accusatory and discriminatory' material undermined the profession and ordered that he be erased from the register. '(His) failings diminish both his reputation and that of the profession generally. Treating others fairly and with respect are core qualities that any member of the public should be able to expect from a professional. '(He) has not expressed any meaningful understanding of how he has fallen short in this regard. Architects hold a privileged position in society, which brings with it responsibilities, including the obligation to treat others fairly and without discrimination.' Mr Kellow said today he would be appealing the decision and accused the ARB of taking on 'the role of Orwell's Thought Police'. He claimed there was 'not a shred of evidence that anyone had been offended' by what he had said. He said they should not be assessing an architect's 'political views'. Mr Kellow added: 'To any reasonable person to suggest that a post on Facebook could have anything to do with professional conduct is ridiculous. 'Professional conduct is conduct during the exercising of your profession.' Live at 3:30 p.m.: Day 6 of AG impeachment hearings Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg is the subject of the state's first-ever impeachment proceedings for his role in a fatal crash. The New India Assurance Company advanced 2.80% to Rs 119.40 after consolidated net profit gained 3.96% to Rs 302.62 crore on 3.51% rise in total income to Rs 6,663.89 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) jumped 13.15% to Rs 363.73 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against Rs 321.43 crore in Q1 June 2019. Provision for tax for the quarter surged 101.35% to Rs 61.11 crore as against Rs 30.35 crore in Q1 June 2019. The Q1 result was declared after market hours on Friday, 14 August 2020. On a standalone basis, net profit rose 3% to Rs 286.47 crore on 3.51% increase in total income to Rs 6,616.79 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. For the quarter ended 30 June 2020, the gross written premium was at Rs 8,368 crore which was 6.5% higher than the gross written premium for the same quarter last year. The Indian business was able to grow despite the impact of pandemic COVID-19, which started in March 2020, and the industry reporting a premium decline during the period. The incurred claims ratio has shown a considerable improvement from 92.77% in Q1 FY20 to 66.28% in Q1 FY21. The combined ratio has improved from 116.28% in Q1 FY20 to 102.14% in Q1 FY21. Market share in India has improved to 19.11% from 17.38% during the same quarter last year and the company continues to be the market leader. Net worth including fair value change has increased from Rs 25,972 crore in March 2020 to Rs 29,451 crore in June 2020. Solvency margin remained healthy at 2.11x. Commenting on the Q1 result, Atul Sahai, the chairman cum managing director (MD), has stated that: "The company has reported encouraging results for the quarter despite a challenging macro environment due to COVID-19, which has impacted the economy. There has been a significant improvement in the loss ratio, which apart from the loss minimization and corrective pricing actions undertaken, was also due to the reduced incidence of motor claims. The expenses have increased as the company has made an additional provision of Rs 538 crore in anticipation of a one-time increase in the liabilities towards pension due to revision of annuity rates. Some large risk losses and Rs (150) crore CAT losses on account of Nisarga and Amphan affected the performance of the property line of business during the quarter. Investment income was on the lower side during the quarter due to reduced dividend payouts of many companies and payouts getting shifted to the second quarter. Equity markets recovering only towards the second half of the quarter also contributed to lower investment income. Foreign business continued to be profitable during the quarter." The New India Assurance Company is the largest non-life insurance company in India headquartered at Mumbai and operates in 28 countries. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) New Delhi, Aug 17 : Amid the controversy on social media platform Facebook and WhatsApp, the Standing Committee on Information and technology will examine the Facebook to seek the detail of manipulation of content. The Chairman of the Committee Shashi Tharoor has said in a tweet: "The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology would certainly wish to hear from Facebook about these reports & what they propose to do about hate-speech in India." The office of the Congress MP said that the Chairman of the Committee has said, "Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic 'Safeguarding citizens' rights & prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms. The subject is squarely within the IT Committee mandate and Facebook has been summoned in the past." The Congress has accused the BJP and the RSS of controlling Facebook and WhatsApp in India. The Congress on Sunday alleged that the two had attacked democracy in the country and demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into alleged violations by the social media platform and its messaging service. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday tweeted: "BJP and RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. "Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook." Addressing a virtual press conference, Congress spokesperson and former Union Minister Ajay Maken said on Sunday: "There are 40 crore Indians on WhatsApp and over 28 crore on Facebook. So, a probe is necessary into the commercial dealings, propagation of hate content, and connection of Facebook and WhatsApp employees with the BJP." To the allegation, the Union Minister and a senior face of the ruling BJP Ravi Shankar Prasad had hit out at Rahul Gandhi. Prasad tweeted, "Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by BJP & RSS". He also dug up the controversial issue of Cambridge Analytica to make his point. -- Syndicated from IANS Read the full article on Motorious E.C.D. Automotive Design offers modern upgrades, this stunning off-roader is ready to overcome all the obstacles on the off-beaten path. Putting it in four-wheel-drive and going where many cannot while tackling plenty of obstacles along the way is a way of life for many. Many spend their entire weekends conquering the outdoors, and a lot of time is spent navigating that off-road vehicle. If you're in the market for a vehicle that can take on anything and look good doing it, you may want to check out this custom Land Rover Defender 90 called "Project Alpinist" was built by E.C.D. Automotive Design, a company that builds custom Land Rover Defenders here in the United States to your specifications. In fact, they can build a Defender however you want it, packed with modern power and reliability while keeping the vintage aesthetic. Project Alpinist is one of their incredible builds, and it is bound to turn heads no matter where you go. The founders of E.C.D. Automotive Design grew up in England (the Midlands) just 40 miles away from the Lode Lane factory that produced Land Rover Defenders. Founded by Tom, Elliot, and Scott, have a love for vehicles, especially classic English examples. That may be apparent by their very first cars as Elliot's was an 1987 Austin Mini and Tom's was a '67 MGB Roadster. In 2012, Tom and his wife, Emily, moved to the United States and opened a dealership to import the vehicles they were passionate about. In 2013, E.C.D. Automotive Design opened up shop with just Tom, his brother Elliot and the first employee, Brandon, spending oer 18 hours a day working hard. Now, they have a facility that is over 30,000 square feet and over 50 full-time employees that build these amazing custom builds. One of their builds is this custom Defender 90 finished in a spectacular chrome with satin accents. On all four corners sit a set of satin black 16-inch Maxtracc Mach 5 wheels wrapped with Nitto Ridge Grapplers found below Spectre Edition wheel arches. The exterior also features a Warn winch for when you or your buddies get into a jam. This Defender also features 4 square LED spot lights, a custom dog platform with a ramp, roof access ladder, extended sun vision visor, and mesh guards on the side of the windows. Story continues Powering this Defender is an LS3 V8 engine rated at a healthy 565-horsepower, and it has been fitted with an ECD air suspension. Stopping power is provided by big Brembo brakes with contrasting red calipers. Braided stainless steel fuel lines sit in place of the factory lines, and a Leisure battery with fans has everything starting right up. Open the doors to an immaculate interior complete with l Recaro Orthoped seats and two forward-facing jump seats in Chocolate Brown on Terrier with Black on Caviar vertical double-diamond stitch design. Also inside is a Puma dashboard that features a Sony Sirius XM radio and wired with Apple CarPlay, and custom Classic Series 5 gauges are embedded in front of the driver along with a Nardi Competition (LR center cap) steering wheel. If this custom Defender 90 is the perfect off-road vehicle for your lifestyle, go ahead and contact E.C.D. Automotive Design today. Sign up for the Motorious Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The lack of a clearly defined borderline and a mutually accepted actual line of control is the major reason for continuous tension and clashes between India and China. The political leadership of both the countries should see the present crisis as an opportunity to find an everlasting resolution to the border question. After a brief interlude of about three years since Doklam crisis in 2017, yet another round of tensions started in the IndiaChina border at Ladakh in May this year. It is normal that tussles occur in usual intervals in different sectors of the 3,488 km long IndiaChina border. Mostly, such situations are handled at local levels and rarely lead to human casualty. The current clashes started when around 250 Indian and Chinese soldiers stood face to face at the banks of Pangong Tso, near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Eastern Ladakh. The tussle started on 5 May and has spread to adjacent areas of Naku La and Galwan Valley and turned to bloody clashes, which caused the death of many soldiers from both sides. This type of a clash between the forces leading to human casualty happened after more than 50 years (Goldman 2020). The terrain where the current tensions have taken place is important for both the countries for its geostrategic and political reasons, though it is a wasteland situated at a very high altitude and not suitable for human inhabitation as it is covered by snow almost round the year. The current crisis gets special attention as it emerged in a time when almost all countries in the world are undergoing through the COVID-19 pandemic, and China is accused by the Western countries for its laxity that caused the global spread of the pandemic. The border or territorial dispute between India and China has its roots in the colonial construction of states and their boundaries in the Himalayan region (Karackattu 2017; Noorani 2011). By the end of 19th and early 20th centuries, the region became a theatre of big power conflicts, popularly known as The Great Game. The three major global empires/powers at that time, the British India, Chinese Empire and the Russian Tsarist Empire, shared borders in the region and played in the great power game that was very crucial in setting the cartography of this area. They had made many agreements and drawn lines to demarcate the boundaries in the geostrategically important locations in the region during the 19th century (Mehra 2007). The decline of the Chinese Empire started when it got defeated by Japan in the last decade of 19th century. This led to the emergence of Tibet as a major regional player and it started enjoying great amount of autonomy from the central authority in China. It is in this context, in 1907, the Russian Empire and the British Empire had re-emphasised upon the Chinese suzerainty over Tibet (Eekelen 2016). According to this, any border demarcation in the region requires the ratification of the central authority in China or could be valid only after China becoming a party/signatory to it. MILFORD, N.S.A blood drive in honour of the victims of Aprils deadly mass shootings in Nova Scotia will take place this week in Milford, just north of Halifax. Peter MacDonald, Canadian Blood Services director of donor relations in the Atlantic region, said the group hopes to collect 72 blood donations on Monday and Tuesday at the Milford Recreation Centre. This is certainly a way to honour the victims and do something good for the community, as well, MacDonald said in an interview. Twenty-two people were killed in the deadly rampage on April 18-19 across several communities in the province. Charlene Bagleys father, Tom, was among the victims, and she will be donating blood on Monday in his honour. If you knew my dad, he probably helped you at some point in your life, Bagley said in a statement. I grew up seeing this all the time when he would drop anything to help out someone in need. I recently discovered that he received a certificate for donating blood 100 times. He was O-negative and donating blood was something he believed was important. MacDonald said the two-day event in Milford is tied to a countrywide blood donor drive running through the end of August under the hashtag, #NovaScotiaStrong. He said that campaign hopes to send the message that something good can come from the Nova Scotia tragedy. There is an ongoing need. Its every minute of every day that someone in Canada receives a blood transfusion. And the opportunity to know that when you donate blood theres always someone on the other end of your gift, MacDonald said. Physical distancing measures will be in place in Milford to prevent any potential spread of COVID-19, MacDonald added. Donors will be screened for symptoms before entering the site, and they also need to make appointments to ensure that no more than 50 people are in the building at the same time. We have capacity restraints and we follow the latest advice and guidelines from public health, MacDonald said. He said anyone who wants to donate blood can make an appointment by calling 1-888-2-DONATE or visiting blood.ca/novascotiastrong. Read more about: Hyderabad Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday demanded that the Centre order a high-level inquiry into the alleged telephone tapping by the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former Andhra Pradesh chief minister alleged that the YSR Congress government in the state was tapping of phones of opposition leaders, advocates, journalists and social activists. He accused the CM of perpetrating a jungle raj on the people of the state. The TDP chief alleged that the ruling party and some private individuals were using sophisticated technology and illegal software to tap phones. This is in a violation of the Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India that protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The ruling YSRCP is using illegal tactics to safeguard its power by intimidating and blackmailing the opponents and dissenting voices. These illegal activities are posing a serious threat to the right to privacy in the State, he said. It appears that the ruling YSRCP has now even targeted judiciary, the third pillar of the democracy, as it is facing hurdles from the judiciary, Naidu said. Naidu said the Centre should take stringent action in this regard. If these nefarious activities were not put to an end, they would emerge as a bigger threat to national security and sovereignty of the country as a whole, he said. In a related development, YSRC rebel lawmaker K Raghurama Krishnam Raju made similar complaints to Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Sunday. Alleging that the state intelligence department was tapping his two numbers, he requested that the Centre order a probe against Jagan government. On Monday, senior advocate Sravan Kumar also filed a petition before the Andhra Pradesh high court seeking an inquiry into the alleged telephone tapping. He presented certain evidences before the court, which agreed to take up the hearing on the petition on Tuesday. Andhra Pradesh home minister Mekathoti Sucharitha refuted the allegations. She accused Naidu of making baseless allegations to tarnish the image of the Jagan government. Are you an anti-social element or a terrorist? Or are you afraid that your money laundering activities will come out if telephone tapping is done? she asked. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A majority of family physicians practice as employees of a hospital, health system, or physician groupso chances are, youre one of them. To ensure your career success and well-being as an employed physician, it is important for you to understand the terms of your contract and to know how to negotiate to protect your best interests. We have created resources to assist you in this process, but those resources cannot take the place of qualified and trusted advisors. A health care attorney experienced with physician contracts in your region can help you review your employment agreement in detail to make sure it is fair and appropriate. A financial advisor can advise you on the tax implications of the compensation plan outlined in your employment agreement. Your attorney can also help you as you prepare to negotiate a new or renewing contract with your employer. Learn more about ways to optimize your employment contracting experience and set yourself up for success by using the Academy resources shown below. Were proud of our efforts in helping our clients to elevate their businesses through our executive search and HR consultant services. Our team at TalentRise is incredibly honored to be included on this impressive list, said Scott Stenclik, CEO of TalentRise. Were proud of our efforts in helping our clients to elevate their businesses through our executive search and HR consultant services. It is gratifying to see our hard work recognized by an industry-leading publication like Forbes. In partnering with market research company Statista, Forbes determined these results by surveying 7,500 partners and executives of management consultancies, along with over 1,000 senior executives who worked with such firms over the past four years. The firms that received the most recommendations are included on the list. To view the comprehensive list of Americas top management consulting firms, click here. You can also learn more about Forbes selection methodology here. About TalentRise: TalentRise is an executive search and talent management consulting firm based in Chicago, Illinois. An industry player since 2008, TalentRise provides flexible, customized leadership recruiting, development, and organizational talent solutions to mid- to large-market employers primarily in professional services, healthcare, consumer and industrial manufacturing, technology, financial services, and retail. At TalentRise, we elevate your business performance through talent. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) - Far from his tough image online, Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin, Jr. became emotional after welcoming 386 overseas Filipino workers returning from Lebanon on Monday. We do it because we love you. And we do it because we respect our President the first and only President who has cared for the least of the Filipino people. Thank you for the honor of serving you, said Locsin in a brief message at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Aside from the repatriates, also carried back home are the bodies of the eight Filipinos who were killed by the explosion at Beirut Port. Locsin also caught the attention of many when he carried a frail-looking girl in his arms, who is a daughter of an OFW. Shes already a girl who looks like an angel from the Holy Land who lost her wings, he said in an online post. Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III commended Locsins soft side. Men who turn emotional and shed tears are usually sincere, compassionate, loving, and usually handsome, said Sotto online. The Israeli army says its tanks have attacked Hamas targets in the besieged Gaza Strip in response to Palestinian rockets and airborne firebombs launched into southern Israel. Tanks targeted a number of military observation posts belonging to the Hamas terror organisation in the Gaza Strip, an army statement said on Monday, referring to the group that rules the enclave. The army said that, in addition to attacks with explosives and incendiary devices suspended from balloons, dozens of people had also instigated riots along the Gaza Strip security fence on Sunday evening. There were no immediate reports of casualties. On Monday, Egyptian mediators arrived in the Gaza Strip in an effort to broker a ceasefire agreement, but departed without appearing to have secured a resolution. Mediators typically announce any agreements before leaving the territory. But after a day of meetings with officials from Hamas, the three Egyptian general intelligence envoys left for Israel, according to Adel Abdelrahman, a Gaza-based advisor to the Egyptian mediators. They made no declaration before departing. The Palestinian territory has been under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007. Israel cites security threats from Hamas for its land, air and naval blockade. The latest incidents follow a week of heightened tensions, during which Israel has also closed the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) goods crossing with the Gaza Strip and shut down Gazas permitted coastal fishing zone on Sunday. Palestinian officials said the closure of the crossing in particular affected the importation of construction materials. On Thursday, Israel said it would stop shipments of fuel into the enclave in response to the incendiary balloons. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the measure a grave act of aggression that would deepen Gazas economic hardship. The Israeli army said Palestinian rioters burned tyres, hurled explosive devices and grenades towards the security fence and attempted to approach it on Saturday evening. That was followed on Sunday by Israeli air attacks on Gaza, including what a military statement called a military compound used to store rocket ammunition belonging to Hamas. Despite a truce last year backed by the UN, Egypt and Qatar, the two sides clash sporadically with rockets, mortar fire or incendiary balloons. Economic hardships Speaking from Jerusalem, Al Jazeeras Harry Fawcett said the escalation was related to the dire economic situation inside Gaza, explaining that the enclave has seen increasing levels of unemployment and more people living under the poverty line. Hamas has a real problem to deal with, and as weve seen in the past during such phases, Hamas tends to turn up the temperature. Thats what seems to be happening. There has been a return to the launching of incendiary balloons and kites and setting of fires. The calculation, it seems, is that they want to see Israel make good on some of the commitments Hamas says Israel made last year when there was an understanding reached to try and bring some calm after a series of escalations, such allowing more international contributions to allow for rebuilding infrastructure, the start of an industrial zone and increased electricity, said Fawcett. The Gaza Strip has a population of two million, more than half of whom live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Palestinian anger has flared since Israel and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday agreed to normalise relations, a move many Palestinians saw as a betrayal of their cause by the Gulf country. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia August 17, 2020 Unjust American Prisons Prison - Courtesy of Trueword Ministries Even a cursory review of our prison system reveals the outrageous inhumanity to which hundreds of thousands of prisoners, especially young adults, are subjected to, many of whom are imprisoned for non-violent crimes, sometimes for life. Some of the cases I came across are simply heart wrenching, bringing tears to my eyes. The over-policing of America, which results in the disproportionate incarceration of people of color, and the numerous flaws in the judicial system, most particularly highlighted in sentencing disparities by race and class, and habitual offender (aka three-strikes) laws, have contributed greatly to the travesty of the American prison system. It is time for the whole country to demand extensive prison reforms and remove the stigma of the current prison system that dishonors America and puts it to shame. Indeed, the state of our prison system is bewildering and most alarming. The US population of over 330 million is 4.25 percent of the total world population, but its prison population of nearly 2.3 million people is approximately 20 percent of the global prison population. Indeed, the US prisoner rate is 698 per 100,000 people the highest rate in the world. If each US state were its own country, no other country would rank in the top 10 countries for rates of incarceration, nor in the top 20 or 30 the next highest is El Salvador, 33rd on the list compared to individual US states. In 2016, the Brennan Center for Justice reported that as high as 40 percent of prisoners should not be in prison behind bars with no compelling public safety reason. There are literally thousands of young prisoners, Black and white, who are serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for non-violent offenses. It is unfathomable that we as a society are spending billions of dollars every year to sustain such pointless cruelty, to inflict needless pain on individuals, fathers and mothers, who pose no threat at all to the public. One such excruciatingly painful case was reported on by the ACLU in 2013. Rayvell Finch was arrested in Louisiana at age 22 for trespassing; a search of his person uncovered heroin, for which its possession he was convicted of in 1997. He was never accused of distribution, yet was sentenced to mandatory life in prison without parole under Louisianas habitual offender statute, as he had two prior strikes against him (possession of stolen property in 1993, and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in 1994). He was only 23 years old when he received a life sentencethe same amount of time he has now spent in prison for his non-violent crime. Appellate Judge William H. Byrnes stated that the sentence was clearly excessive, and designed to cause needless suffering. Finch has said that being separated from his family feel[s] like my soul has been pierced and assaulted. Another that exemplifies the travesty of our prisons is that of Timothy Jackson. What was the crime for which he received a mandatory sentence of life without parole? Shoplifting a $159 jacket from a department store in New Orleans an offense which now carries a six-month sentence, down from the two-year sentence when Jackson was arrested in 1996. He was 36 years old at the time. Like Rayvell Finch, he was sentenced as a habitual offender; his previous three strikes were simple robbery when he was 17, and two simple car-burglary convictions. None of the crimes for which he was convicted was violent, as noted by the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, which called it inappropriate and a prime example of an unjust result. While that same appeals court lessened his sentence initially, the Louisiana Supreme Court reinstated the full sentence, ruling that except under rare circumstances, judges could not depart from life sentences mandated by the habitual offender law. I strongly feel that the system is completely and utterly unjust, and this is just one example. Both Finch and Jackson had made efforts to reform themselves in prison; Finch had completed substance abuse and anger management treatment, as well as literary and Christian ministry programs. Jackson earned his GED while imprisoned and learned woodworking, becoming skilled to a point where his creations are sold at the Angola Prison Rodeos Arts and Crafts Festival. However, due to their sentences which removed the possibility of parole, their rehabilitation will never matterthey will never be released, no matter how much they have changed and improved themselves. This is but one reason why the prison population remains so high; sentencing laws are completely blind, and the judges are forced to follow them like sheep. Of the total prison population, 40 percent of those incarcerated are Black, despite Black Americans only comprising 13 percent of the countrys total population. Drug charges are a clear example of racial disparities according to the NAACP, African Americans and whites use drugs at similar rates, but the imprisonment rate of African Americans for drug charges is almost 6 times that of whites. The incarceration rate for Black men is five times higher than those of white men. Nearly 70 percent of Black boys born today 1 in 3 will likely be imprisoned at some point in their lives. These statistics can only begin to convey the enormity of the injustice that is being compounded day after day. The time is overdue to reform the prison system that stigmatizes America and defies its moral standing and values. Since we cannot count on the Trump administration to lift a finger, the burden will fall on the next president, who will hopefully come in the form of Joe Biden later this year. Once in office, he must make criminal justice reform one of his top priorities. He must undo the legacy he helped create with the 1994 crime bill, which helped fuel the increase in the prison population. One step would be to commit to freeing all prisoners who are incarcerated for petty crimes, especially for possession of marijuana and other small quantities of drugs that pose no danger to public safety. This will not only save a substantial amount of money on the costs of incarceration and courts, but it will help stem the spread of COVID-19 among the prison population. This is the reality of mass incarceration and one of this countrys greatest shames for if we really value freedom and respect human rights, we must correct this palpable and outrageous injustice. About the Author: Dr. Alon Ben-Meir is a professor of international relations at the Center for Global Affairs at NYU. He teaches courses on international negotiation and Middle Eastern studies. alon@alonben-meir.com Web: www.alonben-meir.com Going into the 2020 Democratic National Convention, party officials released a 60-second digital ad promoting the presumptive nominees Catholic faith. The ad shows former Vice President Joe Biden making Pope Francis laugh during a meeting in St. Peters Basilica and speaking with a group of smiling nuns on a street in Rome. In a voice over, Biden talks about the importance of his Catholic faith and how, for him, the nuns epitomized the churchs teaching that we are our brothers keeper, a biblical idea that shapes his liberal politics. The Democratic Convention tweeted the video to its 68,000 followers, saying, This is the kind of moral conviction we need in the president of the United States. It will not be the last time the Democrats spotlight Bidens lifelong Catholicism. A political action committee announced last week it will spend $50,000 on ads highlighting religious reasons to vote for Biden and the convention this week will feature a nun and a Jesuit priest in high-profile speaking spots. Experts on the historically complicated relationship between American Catholics and evangelicals say this emphasisprimarily aimed at Catholic and mainline Protestant votersmay not help Biden win over white evangelicals, a core part of President Donald Trumps base. But it also wont hurt. He is viewed as having an authentic faith, said Richard Mouw, former president of Fuller Theological Seminary and professor of faith and public life. He may not be the conservative Catholic that a lot of evangelicals would like him to be, but when he talks about his faith, it rings true. Mouw was one of the signers of the historic ecumenical document Evangelicals and Catholics Together, along with evangelical leaders Chuck Colson, J.I. Packer, and Bill Bright. According to Mouw, the 1994 statement was partly the result of high-level theological discussions about doctrines such as justification by faith, partly the result of political alliances over issues such as abortion, and partly the result of lay evangelicals responding to the heartfelt faith of their Catholic neighbors and co-workers. Evangelicals might have a similar response to Bidens religious commitments, Mouw said. Most evangelicals didnt care about the Catholic-Lutheran dialogue on justification. They said I know a Catholic at work and he loves the Lord, he explained. People believe Bidens faith is real. He has a pastoral tone. A lot of evangelicals who support Trump do worry about his mean-spiritedness and the polarization and weve been missing that pastoral tone. Mouw told Christianity Today he plans to vote for Biden, despite some qualms about the Democratic Partys positions on abortion and religious liberty. These two issues will be the sticking point for many white evangelicals. When it comes to religious outreach, conservative critics of the Democratic candidate will likely argue that Biden is not Catholic enough, according to Baylor University historian Barry Hankins, who has written about evangelical opposition to the first Catholic candidate from a major party, Democrat Al Smith. In 1928, Smith said he didnt believe Catholic teaching (at the time) that pluralism and democracy were inherently anti-Christian. He accepted the American set up that separates church and stateand thought it was a good thing. Many conservative Protestants, looking at authoritarian Catholic regimes in Europe, didnt believe him. Biden, in some ways, faces the opposite problem. He disagrees with church teaching on some issues and evangelicals do believe him. Hes more serious about his Catholicism than a lot of Catholics are, but he still found his way to the pro-choice position on abortion, Hankins said. A lot of Catholic Democrats seem to be in this tension. The autonomy of the individual is kind of central to what their politics are all about and thats in tension with the social teachings of the Catholic Church. Hankins added, though, that a major-party politician doesnt need to resolve the difference between the ideals of American freedom and Christian freedom to win the election in November. He said that while Bidens liberal Catholicism may not win many evangelical votes, even a few percentage points could matter in a close election. White evangelicals may also choose not to vote, said Shaun Casey, former director of the US State Departments Office of Religion and Global Affairs under Secretary John Kerry, and the author of a book about how John F. Kennedy became the first Catholic president despite Protestant opposition. There is a growing dissatisfaction among evangelicals with Trump, Casey said. They know Trumps weaknesses: His immorality, his incoherence, his rage and incompetence. But I dont see it leading them into the Democratic Party. Casey said Biden is smart to talk about his Catholicism in the campaign, regardless. Its a point of personal connection with many voters. And when Biden talks about how his faith formed his character, sustained him in hard times, and taught him kindness and empathy, many will see a stark contrast with Trump. Biden has learned from previous Catholic candidates, Casey said. He knows to avoid the open conflict with conservative Catholic bishops that got Kerry into trouble in 2004 and, simultaneously, not to cede the subject of religion to the Republicans. Biden will also use his faith to emphasize his inclusive vision of America, as Kennedy did when Protestant leadersincluding evangelist Billy Graham, Christianity Today editor L. Nelson Bell, and Trumps childhood pastor Norman Vincent Pealequestioned whether a Catholic could faithfully uphold the Constitution. The Kennedy campaign found that many Americans were offended by the narrow view of who was really an American, and would vote for inclusivity and pluralism. Bidens campaign will work to show that the candidate cares about all Americanseven white evangelicals. We dont write anybody off in this campaign, said Joshua Dickson, Bidens national faith engagement director. I know how diverse evangelicals are in terms of their backgrounds, in terms of how they look at their faith and how they practice, and in terms of the issues they care about." Dickson has been inviting evangelicals, along with other groups of religious leaders, to listening sessions, where theyre asked their opinions about the big issues in the campaign and the stakes of the upcoming election. Though there are differences, the campaign sees common commitments too. The core values are the connection point: loving your neighbor, fighting for justice, and upholding the inherent human dignity of all, said Dickson, who is an evangelical himself. Richard Mouw has been invited to two sessions and spoken to multiple evangelical leaders who have met with the Democrats. He will join a listening session later this week. Mouw plans to bring up the partys positions on abortion and religious liberty. There are real issues, he said. Its very important that Biden send out a signal that he cares about communities of faith and people of convictioneven convictions that are different from his own. Gestures might not be enough to bring evangelicals and a Catholic candidate together, Mouw said, but they wont hurt. (Natural News) Despite boasting about its purported diversity and inclusivity, the vast majority of Facebooks independent oversight board a body that has the authority to allow or remove content from the social media platform have been found to have ties to hedge fund manager and liberal philanthropist George Soros, a new report says. According to the report by conservative investigative journalism portal Real Clear Investigations, 18 of the boards 20 members either collaborated with or have known ties to civic groups that have received funding from Soros Open Society Foundations, an international grantmaking network that primarily focuses on liberal and progressive goals and causes such as racial equality. This contradicts earlier claims by the group, who, in a joint column published in the New York Times, noted that their members include people from different professional, cultural and religious backgrounds, as well as political viewpoints. This claim has been reinforced by liberal mainstream media, which repeatedly touted the boards ideologically and geographically diverse members, whose political leanings crisscrossed across the ideological spectrum. The board has four co-chairs, all of whom were selected directly by Facebook through a global consultation process. One of the boards four co-chairs, Jamal Greene, is a law school professor at Columbia University. A staunch liberal, Greene is also a former aide to California Senator Kamala Harris, a known critic of the Trump administration. Greene, as confirmed by Thomas Hughes, the director of the oversight board, shares the co-chair title with Denmarks former Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, as well as U.S. law professor Michael McConnell, and Catalina Botero Marino, a former special rapporteur for freedom of expression at the Organization of American States. Hughes, in an earlier interview, noted that the four co-chairs in combination with Facebook chose the next 16 members of the board. These members include Evelyn Aswad, a U.S. law professor who wrote a paper advocating the alignment of corporate speech codes with international human rights laws; Kenyan lawyer and human rights activist Maina Kiai, a former United Nations Special Rapporteur and the current director of the Human Rights Watchs Alliances and Partnerships Initiative; Yemeni journalist and human rights activist Tawakkol Karman, who won a Nobel peace prize for promoting nonviolent change during the Arab Spring; law professors Sudhir Krishnaswamy and Pamela Karlan who both advocated for gay rights; and journalist Alan Rusbridger, who once acted as the editor-in-chief of the liberal publication The Guardian. According to Hughes, the board will continue to appoint members until it hits its full complement of 40, after which Facebook will drop out of the process and leave the board to be fully in charge of its own composition. Our roster includes three former judges, six former or current journalists, and other leaders with backgrounds from civil society, academia and public service, Hughes said, adding that while the members represent a diverse collection of backgrounds and beliefs, they all have a deep commitment to advancing human rights and freedom of expression. The board, which was first proposed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2018, will arbitrate difficult decisions about content moderation on the platform, such as those involving hate speech, civil rights and discrimination. The Board will review whether content is consistent with Facebook and Instagrams policies and values, as well as a commitment to upholding freedom of expression within the framework of international norms of human rights, the board said in its website. According to the board, they will make decisions based on the framework of human rights and without regard to Facebooks economic, political or reputational interests. Facebook must implement our decisions unless implementation could violate the law, the board said. The Oversight Board will begin to hear cases in the next few months and will prioritize cases that could impact many users, are important to public discourse or raise questions about Facebooks policies. (Related: Trump slams Twitter, signs order for new Internet, social media regulations.) GOP lawmakers decry Facebooks bias against conservatives A purported bias against conservatives is a major talking point for the Republican party a point that Ohio Representative Jim Jordan made clear during last weeks anti-trust hearing, where he noted that Big Tech is out to get conservatives. Thats not a suspicion, thats not a hunch. Thats a fact, Jordan said as he read out examples of suspected behavior from the social media platform, which included Facebooks banning of pro-life ads in 2018, the removal of Trump campaign posts and the censoring of conservative views. Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, for his part, debated with Zuckerberg over the issue of free speech during the hearing, with the Wisconsin Republican challenging Facebooks head honcho to prove that his platform which has over 2.6 billion monthly active users does not discriminate against or suppress conservative views. The way the net was put together, in the eyes of Congress, is that everybody should be able to speak their mind, Sensenbrenner said. Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, meanwhile, has asked the Justice Department to investigate Zuckerberg for allegedly making false statements by repeatedly and categorically denying any bias against conservative speech and politics on Facebook. In a letter addressed to Attorney General William Barr, Gaetz said that Zuckerberg made false statements to Congress when asked about Facebooks policies when it comes to content moderation. The incident Gaetz referred to happened two years ago. On both occasions, members of Congress asked Mr. Zuckerberg about allegations that Facebook censored and suppressed content supportive of President Donald Trump and other conservatives, Gaetz said in his letter, adding that aside from repeatedly and categorically denying any bias against conservatives, Zuckerberg also dismissed the suggestion that Facebook exercises any form of editorial manipulation when it comes to content posted on their platform. This, Gaetz said, is contradicted by reports from the right-wing group Project Veritas, which allegedly contain ample evidence that Facebook engages in bias and manipulation against conservative speech. Sources include: RealClearInvestigations.com NYTimes.com TheGuardian.com Papers.SSRN.com DigitalTrends.com FoxNews.com BusinessInsider.com DailyCaller.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) Berlin Mon, August 17, 2020 16:03 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e9222d 2 News Germany,Bavaria,tourism,travel Free The German state of Bavaria said on Sunday it has tracked down most of the people returning from abroad who tested positive for the coronavirus but were not told about it in a debacle that embarrassed a possible successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel. Bavaria said in a statement that it had found 903 of the 949 people who tested positive out of a total of 44,000 travelers returning to the country, while it could not locate personal data for 46 of the positive tests. The tests had been carried out up to two weeks ago at special centers that were opened with great fanfare in the southern state, but problems with data entry meant that the travelers had been waiting for their test results for days. Bavarian state premier Markus Soeder apologized for the problems on Thursday, promising to fix the mistakes by adding extra staff. He also said he supported his health minister who had offered to resign. Some conservatives see Soeder as the best candidate to run for the chancellorship in next year's election, succeeding Merkel who has said she will not stand for a fifth term. Soeder has so far said he will stay in Bavaria. Germany has managed to keep the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths relatively low compared to other European countries but there are concerns about a possible second wave of the pandemic. On Saturday, Germany saw the biggest increase in confirmed coronavirus cases since late April, a rise of 1,415, but on Sunday the increase was just 625, although fewer cases are usually registered at the weekend. Topics : Germany Bavaria tourism travel Pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk along the Seine river banks, as France reinforces mask-wearing as part of efforts to curb a resurgence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) across the country. Photo: REUTERS/Charles Platiau France is planning to make face masks compulsory in shared workplaces such as open-plan offices, factories and conference rooms as it struggles to stem a spike in coronavirus infections. The health authorities reported another record surge in new infections over the weekend, with 3,310 on Saturday and 3,015 cases yesterday The number of coronavirus patients in hospitals and intensive care remains relatively low. But the government fears the epidemic may spiral out of control as the French return to the cities from summer holidays across the country. Up to a third of clusters of new cases have been linked to private-sector workplaces. Elisabeth Borne, the employment minister, is to discuss the proposal with employers and union leaders tomorrow. She said scientists unanimously recommended wearing masks "when several people are in a confined space". They will only be compulsory in offices when more than one person is present. The government is also considering strengthening other workplace precautions, such as using plastic dividers in open-plan offices. Ms Borne said employers who place seasonal workers, such as hotel staff or fruit pickers, in shared accommodation may be asked to do more to ensure that social distancing is maintained and masks are worn. Face masks are already compulsory in indoor public spaces, but doctors and the government's scientific advisers have lobbied for the rule to be extended to private firms. Many French cities have made them mandatory in crowded areas. Meanwhile, Britons returning from France face one trip to the supermarket on the way home and should not walk their dogs, as the UK government insisted there were few exceptions to the restrictions. Under new guidance issued to those returning home, travellers are urged to arrange online food deliveries or ask friends to help them with shopping. A UK government source said if there was no possible way of getting food, people should go to the supermarket once on the way home from the airport. However, the source stressed this should only be done as a last resort. The government advice on quarantine states people can leave the house if they "need access to basic necessities like food and medicines, but only in exceptional circumstances such as where you cannot arrange for these to be delivered". Dog owners will need to ask friends or relatives to walk their pet during the 14-day isolation period or face fines of up to 1,000 (1,106). According to government guidance, if children are unable to attend school because of clinical or public health advice, parents will not be penalised for absence. This includes being required to quarantine. They added that if a child was unable to attend school because they were in quarantine, then schools would be required to "offer each child a remote education". One quarantine exemption included in the UK government's guidance is in the case of funerals. Individuals are allowed to break their 14-day isolation to go to the funeral of a family or household member. In Italy, the government is to shut discos and clubs and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas during the night-time in the first reimposition of restrictions as cases of coronavirus pick up, especially among younger people. New cases in the past week in Italy were more than double those registered three weeks ago and the median age of people contracting the virus has dropped below 40, data showed. The new rules start today and will run until early September. Masks will be required between 6pm and 6am in areas close to bars and pubs. ( Daily Telegraph, London) Visit our Covid-19 vaccine dashboard for updates on the roll out of the vaccination program and the rate of Coronavirus cases Ireland Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] New Delhi, Aug 17 : In a reprieve for taxpayers, the Centre has decided against further modification on income tax return (ITR) form, making it mandatory for tax filers to give details of all high value transactions undertaken by them during the year. Sources in the Finance Ministry said that the expansion of the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) would not result in filing of high value financial transactions in ITR by the taxpayers themselves. Instead, the reporting of high value transactions to the Income Tax Department will be done by the third parties under the Income-tax Act. "This is the most non-intrusive way to identify those who spend big money on various items such as business class air travel, foreign travel, spend big money in expensive hotels, send their children to expensive schools and yet they do not file income tax return claiming that their income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh per annum," Finance Ministry sources said. There was speculation that the SFT expansion would mean taxpayers being asked to provide details of all high value transactions themselves in the ITR. This, many feel would result in unnecessary harassment of taxpayers at the hands of I-T officials with questions being raised about every expense and taxpayers being asked to provide details of every transaction. The fear about the changes came about after the launch of the platform for 'Transparent Taxation - Honouring the Honest' by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. The IT department, on series of tweets about the new scheme, also mentioned various steps proposed by it to expand the country's tax base by reporting various high value transactions of taxpayers. According to Fin Min Sources, the Income-tax Act already provides for quoting of PAN/Aadhaar for certain high value transactions and their reporting by the third parties mainly for the purpose of the widening of tax base. Currently, for example, the information regarding high cash deposit/withdrawal in bank accounts, purchase of shares, mutual funds, purchase of immovable property, etc., are reported to the I-T Department by the third party. Sources said that such reporting of high value transactions is essentially used to identifying persons who avoid filing of income tax returns and paying income tax besides high spending in their day-to-day life. It is an open fact that in India only a tiny segment of people pays taxes and all those who should be paying their taxes are actually not paying their taxes. Fin Min Sources said that the Income Tax Department is relying more and more on voluntary compliance and therefore it become essential to identify the tax evaders and for that purpose expenditure data collected from third parties through SFT is the best and most effective non-intrusive method. The information will be used to identify those who are either not filing the returns or the income disclosed in the returns are not proportionate to the pattern of expenditure reported in the SFTs. Such exercise will be done through data analytics and artificial intelligence. There will be no manual intervention in such exercise. Sources said that with the changing facets of taxation in India towards a faceless approach, it has become now even more imperative for the I-T Department to have broader SFT reports by third party about those persons who undertake high value transactions but still do not pay income tax. For example, a person who is paying school fee/donation of say Rs five lakh per annum, and still does not file income tax return by claiming that his income is not taxable is actually trying to dodge the income tax system. Similarly, a person who has made purchases of luxury items or spent sizeable amount for hotel bills are potential taxpayers and should file his/her income-tax return. "No doubt, the third party reporting of high value transactions made by such non-filers would allow the department to nudge such persons to file their returns and pay their due tax," said the sources. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Emergency personnel in Marion worked to dig out two horses that were stuck up to their necks in a mud pit on Sunday. The horses were discovered shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday off Converse Road, officials said. It took rescuers about three hours to remove the animals from the mud. This operation took time and expertise by all members, fire officials wrote on Facebook. 17:06 members were dispatched to a Rescue call for two horses that became stuck in the mud off converse rd. This... Posted by Marion Fire / EMS on Sunday, August 16, 2020 Marion Fire Chief Brian Jackvony told the Boston Globe that the horses were having trouble breathing while they were confined in the mud. Rescuers used shovels and their hands to dig the creatures out of the mud. Fire officials said that the horses are recovering well. Special thanks to all the members of the department who worked tirelessly in this effort, they said. Mainland, not US, to decide time of national reunification Global Times By Yang Sheng Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/16 21:55:03 US risks triggering a fight it cannot win: observer The Chinese mainland will not let the US decide when and how to reunify the island of Taiwan, and as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has an overwhelming advantage in the region, reunifying Taiwan by force is not urgent as long as the separatist authority on the island and Washington do not cross the red line, said mainland experts on Sunday in response to a sensational projection by a US Navy think tank that the mainland could launch an attack on Taiwan in January, 2021. In an essay published by the US Naval Institute (USNI), former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Michael Morell and retired US Admiral James Winnefeld painted a scenario that the Chinese mainland would reunify Taiwan by force in mid-January 2021. According to the two authors' prediction, Beijing considers that the West at that time would be distracted by the post-election power transition in the US, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so the mainland would see the timing as a significant chance to realize reunification once and for all. Mainland analysts rejected the projection of Morell and Winnefeld, as the mainland still upholds a desire for peaceful reunification. The priority for China has been and continues to be development and economic recovery in a post-pandemic era. If there is any serious tension or even a military clash in the Taiwan Straits, it could only be triggered by the separatist authority on the island and the US. The mainland will not unilaterally create tensions over the Taiwan question, which would be a distraction from its own development. Song Zhongping, a Chinese mainland military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday that arms sales and official exchanges between the US and the separatist authority of the island are making the situation more tense, but as long as the red line set by the Anti-Secession Law is not violated, it is unnecessary for the mainland to react to the prediction made by the US, as China has its own plan and timeline. According to the Anti-Secession Law, in the event that "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces should act under any name or by any means to cause the fact of Taiwan's secession from China, or that major incidents entailing Taiwan's secession from China should occur, or that possibilities for a peaceful reunification should be completely exhausted, the state shall employ non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to protect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. "As the law states, the bottom line is clear. If those incidents happen, the People's Liberation Army must react immediately, regardless of whether there is a power transition in the US or not. If US provocations don't touch the bottom line, China should and will retain its policy of strategic patience to avoid an escalation of the current tension, especially before January 2021," Song said. But the Trump administration could become increasingly irrational as polling so far does not favor his reelection and his campaign could adopt more reckless tactics, experts also warned. Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday that using the power transition of the US as a window to attack Taiwan is nonsense, because China's priority this year and next is not reunification, as economic recovery in the post-pandemic era is much more urgent and important. "But there is a danger of war as the Trump administration is trying very hard to provoke China. Just like the enactment of the national security law for Hong Kong this year, if China is provoked too much, it will take action to respond at an appropriate time with its own plan, and the US will surely feel the pain," he noted. More and more dangerous The separatist authority of Taiwan has formally signed an agreement with US arms firm Lockheed Martin to buy 66 F-16V fighter jets, reports said Saturday, further raising tensions in the Taiwan Straits, and coming just two days after the PLA announced large-scale drills in response to US provocations and Taiwan secessionist activities. While the deal was approved by the Trump administration last year and a formal signing was expected to take place sooner or later, its announcement at this particular time is believed to be yet another US provocation and a step on the red line of the Taiwan question, which further risks confrontation, Chinese mainland experts said on Saturday, adding that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is aiming not only to deter, but also to hone its combat capability of being able to launch military action when necessary. By announcing that the F-16 deal has been finalized, the US is attempting to show its tough stance, and the move could be considered as reacting to recent Chinese military drills, Ni Feng, director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. Under these circumstances, the US move is even more dangerous, as it steps on and even crosses the Chinese mainland's red line on the Taiwan question, Ni said, noting that the risk of a military confrontation continues to rise. 'First battle, last battle' However, it seems as if the US is trying to trigger a fight it cannot win. The essay published by the USNI came after former leader of the Taiwan region Ma Ying-jeou said in a speech on August 10 that if the Chinese mainland decides to reunify the island by force, "the first battle is the last battle," and the US military will not come to the island's rescue nor will there be time for it to come. In the essay, Winnefeld and Morell believe an operation launched by the mainland will be over in only three days. A military expert at a Beijing-based military academy who asked for anonymity told the Global Times that US strategists are very clear that they will have no time or capability to interrupt a massive military operation launched by the PLA to reunify Taiwan, so the best option is to persuade US policymakers not to provoke China too much nor play a game of brinkmanship, as the US will get nothing from such risky behavior. The PLA can launch airborne operations, landing operations, airstrikes and can bomb military targets at the same time. Cyber attacks will paralyze all communication, transportation and even energy supply systems on the island in just a few minutes, and special forces will seize and control some important facilities such as airports to allow reinforcements into major cities on the island. The separatist leaders of the island will be eliminated or captured on the first day, and there is no chance for foreign forces to intervene, he noted. "Apart from a war, the PLA is capable of deterring US provocations, as well as the separatist authority on the island, in many ways, such as live-fire missile drills in the east waters of Taiwan Island and near Guam, sending bombers and fighter jets to fly over the 'airspace' of the island," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 384 new coronavirus cases Monday, raising the statewide total to 124,844. The states new data did not include cases from Philadelphia due to reporting delays in Philadelphia County, the health department said. Its only the second time since March the state hasnt reported a coronavirus death in a day. After seeing a steady climb in new cases in late June and July, cases have generally dipped a bit in August. The state hasnt reported more than 1,000 new cases in a single day since July 28; the state hit that mark several times in July and regularly through the peak in the spring. Across Pennsylvania, 7,468 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, including no newly reported fatalities Monday. More than 5,000 deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, representing more than two-thirds of the states coronavirus deaths. The state has ramped up testing in recent weeks and has been regularly reporting more than 20,000 tests per day. There were 15,447 test results reported through 10 p.m. Sunday. Between Aug. 10-16, the state administered 165,521 tests. Still, Gov. Tom Wolf has said the state still has room for improvement. Wolf has also said the state needs to get results more quickly, as some tests are taking as long as two weeks to turn around. The governor and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine have continually stressed the importance of social distancing and wearing masks as schools prepare to open in the next couple of weeks. Health officials continue to be concerned about the rise in cases among younger adults, particularly those between the ages of 19 and 24. State data show the trend over the past several weeks. July 7-13: 5,438 new cases, an average of 776 per day July 14-20: 5,996 new cases, an average of 856 per day July 21-27: 6,526 new cases, an average of 932 per day July 28-Aug. 3: 5,891 new cases, an average of 841 per day Aug. 4-10: 5,298 new cases, an average of 756 per day Aug. 11-17: 5,391 new cases, an average of 770 per day More than 1.3 million have tested negative for COVID-19, according to the health department. The state health departments online dashboard reports 560 coronavirus patients are being treated in hospitals. Thats far below the peak in the spring, when about 2,800 patients were receiving hospital care The health department estimates 79 percent of those who have been infected have recovered. The department considers people to have recovered when they are 30 days beyond the point of infection or the onset of symptoms. Statewide, 5,059 coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and personal care homes. The health department said there are 20,413 residents in those facilities who have contracted COVID-19, along with 4,244 employees. Altogether, 24,657 have contracted the virus in long-term care facilities. COVID-19 cases have been found in 895 facilities in 61 counties. On Friday, the state reported that 4 percent of those tested were infected with the coronavirus, down from 4.1 percent the week before. However, the department flagged 15 counties as areas of concern because more than 5 percent of those tested were infected. Those counties included Dauphin (6.5%), Erie (5.9%), York (5.6%) and Berks (5.0%). 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. More from PennLive Faculty at Pa. state universities are nervous, even terrified about teaching in-person fall classes Unwilling to pay to remove dangerous asbestos, universities across the U.S. claim its safe to ignore Pa. state police add troopers to unit that battles hate crimes $2.8M for mask campaign is a waste, says Lebanon commissioner who rejected COVID-19 deal with Wolf Are antigen tests the silver bullet to Pa.s coronavirus testing delays? Not so fast. Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: Camscanner a Chinese mobile app will soon have a tough competitor. Some of the Indias brightest young minds have come forward with a document scanning application. Available on Google Play Store for Android devices, ScanUp works as a better alternative to CamScanner that is banned by the Centre. The application is free to use, with no ads or watermarks. The brain behind this app is Archit Bubna and his friends of IIT-Delhi . Utilising their spare time in the lockdown due to Covid, Archit and his friends came up with the idea to develop and launch a general utility app considering the demand for Indian alternatives to foreign products in the current patriotic fervour and the enthusiasm among the public towards the Make in India movement. And it took only 21 days to them to develop the ScanUp app to the nation, motivated by the goal of achieving an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Hailing from Hajipur in Bihar, Archit had secured All India Rank-3 in the IIT-JEE Advanced in 2019. He represented India and was the Gold Medallist at the 50th International Physics Olympiad held at Tel Aviv in Israel in 2019. Archit and his friends Ritvik Gupta, Pranjal Aggarwal, Rajdeep Singh Dhingra and Deepanshu Rohilla are currently pursuing B. Tech. (Computer Science & Engineering) of the First Year from IIT in Delhi. The efforts of the team have been lauded by V. Ramgopal Rao, IIT-Delhi Director, on Twitter. Israeli police say they neutralised a man after he allegedly attempted to carry out stabbing attack in the Old City. A Palestinian man has been shot dead by Israeli forces in occupied East Jerusalems Old City after he allegedly attempted to carry out a stabbing attack. Witnesses told Maan news agency that Israeli security guards shot the man, who was later pronounced dead at the scene near the entrance of Bab Hutta, just outside the Al Aqsa Mosque compound. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, in a brief statement, said its teams were prevented from entering the vicinity of Bab Hutta to treat the man before he succumbed to his wounds. Local media reports identified the Palestinian as a 30-year-old man from the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem. The man was neutralised, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote on Twitter. Officer taken to hospital in moderate condition, he added. The incident came hours after Israeli security guards shot and wounded a deaf Palestinian who was not able to hear the orders to stop at an occupied West Bank checkpoint. In late May, Israeli police shot dead an unarmed 32-year-old Palestinian with severe autism who was on his way to his special needs school in Jerusalems Old City. The man was chased by Israeli border police forces into a nook in the Old City and shot as he cowered next to a rubbish bin after apparently being mistaken for an attacker. Palestinians and human rights groups have long accused Israeli security forces of using excessive force. The Old City and other parts of East Jerusalem, which Palestinian leaders seek for a future independent state, have seen a rise in tensions since US President Donald Trump released his so-called Middle East plan earlier this year. Palestinian anger has also flared in recent days after Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalise relations, a move many Palestinians saw as a betrayal of their cause by the Gulf country. Israel and the UAE agreed on Thursday to establish diplomatic relations in a United States-brokered deal, according to which Israel had agreed to halt annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said he had only agreed to delay the annexation, and that he would never give up our rights to our land. Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser and Trumps son-in-law, told reporters on Monday that the US will not consent to Israeli annexations in the West Bank for some time. They have graced major magazine front covers and walked for the world's top designers. And now identical twin supermodels Zac and Jordan Stenmark, 27, look to be building an impressive property portfolio. According to Realestate.com.au on Monday, the genetically blessed Aussie lads have both sought tenants for their Sydney apartments. Australia's hottest landlords! According to Realestate.com.au on Monday, twin supermodels Zac and Jordan Stenmark (pictured), 27, have sought tenants for their Sydney apartments Zac is understood to have purchased a unit in Manly for $965,000 in 2015, listing it at $800-a-week rent and then down to $750-a-week. The northern beaches property features two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Meanwhile, Jordan is understood to have found tenants for his apartment in Sydney's Bondi in the eastern suburbs months prior. Two-bedroom property: Zac is understood to have purchased a unit in Manly (pictured) for $965,000 in 2015, listing it at $800-a-week rent and then down to $750-a-week Rooms: The northern beaches property (pictured again) features two bedrooms and two bathrooms Jordan is believed to have purchased the two bedroom home for $1.13million three years ago, now renting it out for $850-a-week. After returning from the various international fashion weeks earlier this year, the pair self-isolated in Sydney's Palm Beach and have been spotted at their parents' Mosman home more recently. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Zac and Jordan for comment. While their brand has centred around their same look, Zac and Jordan were quick to point out in a previous interview that they're not alike as everyone thinks. Appeal: The genetically blessed Aussie lads have graced major magazine front covers and walked for the world's top designers 'Our approach to things is different, Jordan is more technical and he'll consider things more, whereas I'll just jump right in,' Zac told The Daily Telegraph in 2017. 'We've even done some work apart, which not many people realise. I did a billboard in Times Square for American Eagle without Zac, and if he gets a job without me, I'm happy for him,' Jordan added. If you're wondering who is older, it's Zac, by a very slim difference of eight minutes. They even write using a different hand - Zac with his left and Jordan with his right. We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message. We are pleased to recognize Dr. Luke Brunkhorst as a UroLift Center of Excellence for his commitment to providing consistent care to BPH patients using the UroLift System treatment, said Dave Amerson NeoTract, a wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated (NYSE:TFX) focused on addressing unmet needs in the field of urology, today announced that Luke Brunkhorst, D.O., Urologic Associates of Iowa City in Iowa City, IA, has been designated as a UroLift Center of Excellence. The designation recognizes that Dr. Brunkhorst has achieved a high level of training and experience with the UroLift System and demonstrated a commitment to exemplary care for men suffering from symptoms associated with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), also known as enlarged prostate. Recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines, the FDA-cleared Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to BPH. The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue. The UroLift Center of Excellence program is designed to highlight urologists who are committed to educating their patients on BPH and the UroLift System as a treatment option and consistently seek to deliver excellent patient outcomes and experiences. We are pleased to recognize Dr. Luke Brunkhorst as a UroLift Center of Excellence for his commitment to providing consistent care to BPH patients using the UroLift System treatment, said Dave Amerson, president of the Teleflex Interventional Urology business unit. This achievement has helped many patients experience durable, long- term relief from the burdensome symptoms of BPH while preserving sexual function*1,2. Over 40 million men in the United States are affected by BPH, a condition that occurs when the prostate gland that surrounds the male urethra becomes enlarged with advancing age and begins to obstruct the urinary system. Symptoms of BPH often include interrupted sleep and urinary problems and can cause loss of productivity, depression and decreased quality of life. Medication is often the first-line therapy for enlarged prostate, but relief can be inadequate and temporary. Side effects of medication treatment can include sexual dysfunction, dizziness and headaches, prompting many patients to quit using the drugs. For these patients, the classic alternative is surgery that cuts, heats or removes prostate tissue to open the blocked urethra. While current surgical options can be very effective in relieving symptoms, they can also leave patients with permanent side effects such as urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, and retrograde ejaculation. About the UroLift System The FDA-cleared UroLift System is a proven, minimally invasive technology for treating lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The UroLift permanent implants, delivered during a minimally invasive transurethral outpatient procedure, relieve prostate obstruction and open the urethra directly without cutting, heating, or removing prostate tissue. Clinical data from a pivotal 206-patient randomized controlled study showed that patients with enlarged prostate receiving UroLift implants reported rapid and durable symptomatic and urinary flow rate improvement without compromising sexual function*1,2. Patients also experienced a significant improvement in quality of life. Over 100,000 men have been treated with the UroLift System in the U.S. Most common adverse events reported include hematuria, dysuria, micturition urgency, pelvic pain, and urge incontinence. Most symptoms were mild to moderate in severity and resolved within two to four weeks after the procedure. The Prostatic Urethral Lift procedure using the UroLift System is recommended for the treatment of BPH in both the American Urological Association and European Association of Urology clinical guidelines. The UroLift System is available in the U.S., Europe, Australia, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. Learn more at http://www.UroLift.com. About NeoTract | Teleflex Interventional Urology A wholly owned subsidiary of Teleflex Incorporated, the Interventional Urology Business Unit is dedicated to developing innovative, minimally invasive and clinically effective devices that address unmet needs in the field of urology. Our initial focus is on improving the standard of care for patients with BPH using the UroLift System, a minimally invasive permanent implant system that treats symptoms while preserving normal sexual function*1,2. Learn more at http://www.NeoTract.com. About Teleflex Incorporated Teleflex is a global provider of medical technologies designed to improve the health and quality of peoples lives. We apply purpose driven innovation a relentless pursuit of identifying unmet clinical needs to benefit patients and healthcare providers. Our portfolio is diverse, with solutions in the fields of vascular and interventional access, surgical, anesthesia, cardiac care, urology, emergency medicine and respiratory care. Teleflex employees worldwide are united in the understanding that what we do every day makes a difference. For more information, please visit http://www.teleflex.com. Teleflex is the home of Arrow, Deknatel, Hudson RCI, LMA, Pilling, Rusch, UroLift and Weck trusted brands united by a common sense of purpose # # # For Teleflex Incorporated: Jake Elguicze, 610.948.2836 Treasurer and Vice President, Investor Relations Media: Nicole Osmer, 650.454.0504 nicole@healthandcommerce.com *No instances of new, sustained erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction 1. Roehrborn, J Urology 2013 LIFT Study 2. McVary, J Sex Med 2016 MAC00968-01 Rev A Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site. 0108263 License for publishing multimedia online Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349 A Melbourne council has sparked outrage over a proposal to ban wood and charcoal-fired barbecues in the backyard. Bayside Council, in the city's southern suburbs, revealed on Thursday a resident had proposed the banning of outdoor solid-fuel cooking and heating due to the smell. The council admitted they only receive three complaints on the issue each year. A fired-up Sam Kekovich, a media personality and former AFL player best known as the 'Lambassador', told 2GB the proposal was 'un-Australian'. 'This is just further evidence in this state that the inmates are running the asylum,' he said. 'They're not fair dinkum. 'The Aussie BBQ is part of our DNA without an Aussie BBQ you're just totally un-Australian.' A fired-up Sam Kekovich (pictured, with Australian model Emily Scott at an FHM event in 2007) , who is crowned the 'Lambassador', told 2GB the proposal was 'un-Australian' A Melbourne council could ban backyard barbecues in an attempt to prohibit 'offensive emissions' (stock image) The proposal has struggled to gain popularity as it only had five signatures on its petition when it was handed to council in August 2018. 'Clause 31 of Local Law No.2 bans the burning of any offensive materials or any materials that cause offensive emissions of smoke and odour to enter any neighbouring property,' a brief of the proposal reads. 'This idea seeks to include a ban on the burning of solid fuel (eg wood and charcoal) for outdoor cooking or heating due to offensive emissions.' Brighton's Andrea Swain declared the plan to be 'the most un-Australian thing ever'. 'How can you put a stop to families, friends gathering around a barbecue?' she told The Herald Sun. Ms Swain said she found it 'so strange' someone would want to ban charcoal and wood fires for cooking. Bayside Council (pictured), in the city's southern suburbs, revealed on Thursday a resident had proposed the barring of outdoor solid-fuel cooking and heating due to the smell 'Surely if the smoke was that harmful, the people eating the meat would be ones to get sick,' she said. Brighton East couple Sandra and Gianluca Bocci told The Age the proposal was 'nonsensical'. 'How could you possibly take that away from people, especially now when we're not allowed to be out and about? We only have our backyards,' Mrs Bocci said. The couple use their backyard oven to cook pizzas, whole roast chickens, bread and biscuits. The newly ignited debate on solid-fuel cooking and heating comes from the the council's 'have your say' initiative. The ban would mean locals must say goodbye to burning wood and charcoal for backyard fires and outdoor cooking (stock image) 'Eight new local law ideas have been raised by some residents, including through petitions to council,' Bayside Council said. 'These ideas will only be considered for inclusion in the revised Local Law if they receive strong community support.' Residents of Beaumaris, Black Rock, Brighton, Brighton East, Cheltenham, Cromer, Dendy, Hampton, Hampton East, Highett, Moorabbin and Sandringham are encouraged to fill in a survey on the proposed laws. The survey will allow the council to 'accurately measure widespread support or opposition' to the ideas. Bayside City Council's mayor Clarke Martin said he knew the suggested change to backyard barbecues would be 'divisive'. 'For someone who is having a romantic evening by the fire, it's beautiful for them, but if the smoke is coming across and affecting 20 units down the road then it's a problem,' he said. The council will undertake more community consultation on the barbecue issue early next year. Parents of students from St Joseph School, Ambala, protested against the school management on Monday for not allowing their wards to attend online classes due to non-payment of annual charges. Earlier, we paid the tuition fees after they stopped sending link for online classes, and now, the school authorities are asking for annual charges. They should levy the charge only if they have a government order. When I asked for the copy of the order, they didnt have it, one of the parents said. The protesters were seen arguing with police personnel and members of the school management. Amita Sachdeva, principal of the school, could not be reached for comments despite several attempts. District education officer (deputy) Sudhir Kumar Kalra, said, The education department has not received a written complaint against the school. I found out after the protests that the school is levying annual charges after a high court ruling, but private schools should first wait for a letter/order from the director of the education department. Two reconnaissance plans have been shot down by the opposition amid an increase in flights and a military build-up in the region writes Baladi News. The armed opposition factions shot down two reconnaissance aircraft belonging to the Russian Air Force in the southern countryside of Idleb and northern Lattakia, Sunday morning, after targeting them with ground-based anti-aircraft weapons. A military source in the National Liberation Front told Baladi News that the military factions stationed on the Jabal al-Zawiya axis in the southern countryside of Idleb managed to shoot down a reconnaissance plane belonging to the Russian forces, while it was flying and monitoring the movements of rebels in the Horsh Benin area, south of Idleb. The source added that another plane of the same type was also shot down by rebels in the al-Haddadah area in the northeastern countryside of Lattakia, a few minutes after the first plane was shot down south of Idleb, explaining that the two planes were shot down with anti-aircraft guns (heavy machine guns 14.5 and 12.7). The source pointed out that the downing of the two planes coincided with an increase in flights by Russian reconnaissance planes used by the regime forces and Iranian sectarian militias over the areas of Jabal al-Zawiya and the al-Ghab plain and the Turkmen mountains in the Lattakia countryside. The towns and villages of Jabal al-Zawiya and the Lattakia countryside have been witnessing a military escalation by the regimes forces and the Russian and Iranian militias supporting it. There have been almost daily infiltration attempts on the axes of Tel al-Raqim and al-Haddadah in the countryside of Lattakia, and Benin and al-Fateira in Jabal al-Zawiya, south of Idleb. 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. The U.S. government's main cybersecurity watchdog has spent much of the last four years trying to stop a repeat of the 2016 election. That's meant reaching out to the country's more than 3,000 counties with an offer: free cybersecurity tools. It's a tough job. Some counties are receptive and engaged. Others barely have enough people to put on their local election work. One of the main services offered a weekly scan of a county's internet connected networks meant to make sure its voter database is safe has signed up a little more than 200 counties. This is good progress, Geoff Hale, director of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agencys Election Security Initiative, said. It's not great progress. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is the nation's primary department tasked with national security related to the internet and technology. With fewer than three months before election day, Hale and the agency are on alert for any signs of foreign election interference. So far, theres little to suggest Russia or another country is laying the groundwork for a major, sustained hacking campaign, Director Chris Krebs has said. But that doesn't mean there are not some causes for concern. Despite the agencys efforts, many counties are still operating without its help. And while there are some concerns about Russia or another foreign adversary repeating the 2016 efforts to interfere in the election, experts are more focused on newer types of attacks such as ransomware and the possible domino effect that even a couple of small but successful attacks could have on the nation's faith in the election. A recent poll from NBC and SurveyMonkey found that a majority of Americans doubt the election will be fair, and officials fear that a hack of election related systems, even if it cant affect vote totals, could seriously damage voter confidence. There's a zero tolerance for failure in this community, as a lot of the advantages go to the adversary, Hale said. But that's the game we're playing, and that's what election officials understand and why they patch these systems and maintain their security as best they can. Story continues There are bright spots. The agency has signed on 44 state governments for its scanning system, a program it pushed in 2016 after Russian military officers hacked the Illinois voter registration database. More than 5,500 jurisdictions whether theyre cities, counties, states or precincts have received a tailored checklist of basic security measures they can take. Eighteen states have conducted phishing assessments for their local officials a relevant tactic, considering in 2016 Russia sent such emails to at least 120 officials in Florida alone. And about 85 percent of Americans vote somewhere that participates in a network that quickly shares information about potential cyberthreats. But that does leave 15 percent of the country that doesnt engage. Orange County, California, is one of the places that has embraced the agencys efforts. Its been very positive, Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said. My guys are dealing with CISA on an ongoing basis. Weve had issues pop up where weve had attempted intrusions, where our computers had malware exposed to them. But with more than 1.6 million voters, and some of the highest per-capita income in the country, the county has resources that others don't. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Orange County, California, may be more well-funded and have more capability than some states do, Hale said. Then you hit the small organizations that they don't fully understand what's on and not on their networks. The U.S. election system is incredibly diverse, with states choosing many of their own laws and customs, and local election officials running individual polling places. That makes the idea of a widespread election hack nearly impossible but it also makes it extraordinarily difficult to get everyone involved in the system on the same page. Reasons why federal tools arent more widely adopted vary, but they largely center around resources, Rita Reynolds, the chief technology officer of the National Association of Counties, said. Even if a cybersecurity tool is free, someone still needs to set it up. Its awareness, its staff turnover, its priorities based on your physical resources to implement, she said. It may be free, but you still have to implement the tools. We just dont have enough technology and security professionals at the county level, because of funding, she said. As an example of what could go wrong on Election Day, the agency cites the possibility that a small county could get infected with ransomware, locking up its computers and hampering its ability to submit election results or update its website to direct voters who need polling place updates. Even if the county used provisional ballots for anyone who couldnt check in and delivered its vote count in person, the perception that the election had been hacked could persist. The ability of disinformation actors to amplify anything thats actually out of scale is one of the things we worry about, Hale said. They have an asymmetrical advantage. State and local governments have been particular victims of ransomware in recent years. There have been at least 177 publicly reported incidents of ransomware infections of state and local government networks since the beginning of 2019, Allan Liska, a ransomware analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future, said, though the actual number is likely higher. Ransomware gangs often scan the internet looking for networks that havent recently updated their systems. Small government networks make attractive targets because they garner a lot of press, he said. Whether it is true or not, ransomware threat actors think state and local governments are more likely to pay because of this, Liska said. We've found that some jurisdictions will still dismiss the idea of a nation-state targeting them because they're just a little ole county in a noncompetitive state, Hale said. But everybody understands ransomware. They've seen other counties attacked by it. Even with the election less than three months away, Hale said, its not too late for local election officials to start using government cybersecurity. Adversaries are still using whatever's easiest, so the simplest vulnerability is the methods like phishing, he said. So, secure the small stuff. We can still turn on our vulnerability scanning. If you sign up today, it takes 24-48 hours to get those going. A senior Armenian official says Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians congratulatory message to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on his disputed reelection was in line with the agenda of Armenias peaceful 2018 revolution. Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenias Security Council, said in an interview with RFE/RLs Armenian Service on August 16 that decisions like the one to congratulate Lukashenka are taken on the basis of a comprehensive risk assessment. Pashinian immediately came under criticism from his political opponents and human rights activists in Armenia for sending quick congratulations to Lukashenka on August 10, hours after Belaruss Central Election Commission published the preliminary results of the vote, triggering large-scale opposition protests against rigged elections. Only a handful of world leaders have congratulated Lukashenka on his disputed election win. Among them are Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinas leader Xi Jinping. The European Union has said it does not recognize the results, and the United States has expressed deep concern over the election results and the unrest. Security-related and other major decisions have grounds, they are not born out of thin air, Grigorian said, speaking on the Sunday Analytical Show by RFE/RL's Armenian Service. In general, a complete risk assessment is made, and a decision is taken in the interests of the Republic of Armenia. Pashinian, who came to power as a result of widespread anti-government protests in May 2018 and earlier spent nearly two years in prison after being convicted of organizing mass disturbances during 2008 postelection protests, has refused to comment on criticism of his congratulations to Lukashenka, who has ruled Belarus since 1994. Grigorian, who was one of the leaders of the 2018 street protests that brought down the government, said that the protest movements leaders had announced that there would be no changes in Armenias foreign policy agenda. In other words, [Pashinians] message is completely in line with the agenda of the revolution. It ensures the continuity of the agenda of the revolution, he said. Armenia is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization, both of which include Belarus. Lukashenkas main challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who left Belarus for neighboring Lithuania, refused to recognize Lukashenkas victory, calling on her supporters to stage protests to seek an election rerun. At least two people have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and thousands arrested in the government crackdown against protesters in Belarus. MONTVALE, N.J. and BURLINGAME, Calif., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, (CalCPA) announced today a new collaboration focusing on advancing the accounting and finance profession through joint research, thought leadership education, and awareness building. IMA and CalCPA will initially focus on the profession's talent pipeline through a multi-part research program that studies the role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in finance and accounting transformation. "Having a diverse, equitable, and inclusive talent management process is critical to the future of the accounting profession," said Jeff Thomson, CMA, CSCA, CAE, IMA President and CEO. "Organizations need to attract and retain diverse talent for the long term. This should be a priority of CFOs and their teams beyond the need for technological upskilling. While upskilling has helped the profession transform and remain relevant, more needs to be done in the area of developing the talent pipeline in terms of diversity." Although the demographics of the U.S. population and accounting graduates are racially and ethnically diverse, there is a gap in diversity of the accounting workforce, especially at higher leadership levels. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 23 percent of accountants and auditors are non-white and according to the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA), less than 1 percent of CPAs in the U.S. are Black. "The profession is facing a watershed moment and has the opportunity to drive change to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion and the ability to attract and retain professionals from underrepresented communities," said Anthony Pugliese, CPA, CGMA, CITP, CalCPA President and CEO. "The profession must come together to embrace best practices in diversity, equity and inclusion and collaborate on actionable programs that will help drive a cultural shift to ensure future sustainability of a diverse and inclusive profession." According to research in December 2019 by the CPA Journal, students have limited interest in accounting majors in college or career paths in the profession, but that interest grows significantly higher after those same students are provided accurate information about accounting careers. "This further demonstrates that the accounting profession needs to be proactive in showing future, diverse generations of students the possibilities of careers in accounting," added Thomson. "IMA's collaboration with CalCPA is an important step to raise this awareness and lay down additional pathways into accounting and future management roles." For the first part of the research program, the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and NABA, along with several state CPA societies, will join IMA and CalCPA in the research effort. "Our joint research program seeks to identify the underlying reasons for race and ethnicity gaps at senior levels of the accounting and finance profession in the U.S.," added Pugliese. "We want to better understand the impact of DE&I on the talent pipeline, and we plan to identify actionable ideas to improve racial and ethnic diversity in the profession." The first research report in the multi-part series, "Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.," is expected to be released later this year. This research project is the first part of a broader initiative to address many DE&I factors in the U.S. and on a global scale, including gender, LGBTQIA matters, diversity of thought and others. About IMA (Institute of Management Accountants) IMA, named the 2017 and 2018 Professional Body of the Year by The Accountant/International Accounting Bulletin, is one of the largest and most respected associations focused exclusively on advancing the management accounting profession. Globally, IMA supports the profession through research, the CMA (Certified Management Accountant) program, continuing education, networking, and advocacy of the highest ethical business practices. IMA has a global network of more than 125,000 members in 150 countries and 300 professional and student chapters. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., USA, IMA provides localized services through its four global regions: The Americas, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and Middle East/India. For more information about IMA, please visit www.imanet.org. About CalCPA CalCPA traces its heritage to 1903 when the California State Society of Certified Public Accountants was organized. In 1909, it merged with two other state CPA associations to form CalCPA. CalCPA serves more than 45,000 members in public practice, private industry, academia and government, and has 14 chapters across California. CalCPA also offers more than 1,400 live courses, conferences, webcasts and on-demand self-study courses annually. More information is available online at calcpa.org. SOURCE California Society of CPAs Related Links http://www.calcpa.org A Queensland man who was a mastermind behind a tax evasion scheme about 20 years ago has been sentenced to six years in jail. Philip Bruce Northam pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court to conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth between 1999 and 2001. The 60-year-old was a co-conspirator in a scheme to strip companies of their assets so they were unable to pay large outstanding tax debts. Fifteen companies took part in the scheme that used sham loans and offshore bank accounts. Philip Bruce Northam pleaded guilty in the Brisbane District Court (pictured) to conspiring to defraud the Commonwealth between 1999 and 2001. 'The target companies were then rendered insolvent, placed into liquidation and ultimately wound up,' crown prosecutor Laura-Leigh Manville told the court on Monday. Prior to taking part in the scheme the businesses were solvent and able to pay their debts. Queensland accountants Robin David Huston and Brian Francis Fox and Victorian businessman Ian Sidney Henke were convicted in 2011 over their involvement and sentenced to time in jail. A senior Vanuatu official Clarence Lawry Marae was sentenced in 2013 over his involvement. He was arrested while passing through Sydney airport with Vanuatu's prime minister at the time, Sato Kilman, en route to Israel. A total of $4.59 million in tax was put at risk between July 1999 and May 2001, but the Australian Taxation Office recovered most of it. Northam promoted and sold the scheme to others like Huston and Fox. The court heard he received about $222,000. Ms Manville told the court Northam engaged in 'grossly dishonest' conduct for a substantial financial benefit. 'This defendant was instrumental in the organisation, promotion (and) creation of pro forma documents,' she said. A warrant for Northam's arrest was issued in 2008, but he was in Vanuatu at the time and apprehended nine years later when returning to Australia for medical treatment. The court heard Northam was involved in charitable volunteer work in Vanuatu and has no previous convictions. Judge Michael Byrne sentenced Northam to six years in jail, with a non-parole period of 12 months. Now the Birmingham Belles will need to find a new site. In response to questions from The Washington Post, Toby Richards, director of the Arlington Historic House, said in an email that the houses board of directors in January asked the Belles not to wear their Old South attire to the house. The house has been closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the group did not hold its annual spring event there. In an email to The Post, the Birmingham Belles said it would seek a new venue. Confusion over class log-in codes, start times and computer applications Monday led to a rough start for many students as Beaumont ISD began the school year virtually. This morning was a bit hectic, Amanda Mitchell, whose daughter attends Caldwood Elementary School, said. I was only given codes for one teacher and not the other. Class codes are used to access specific virtual setups in Google Classroom, a learning management system the district is using for remote schooling. Mitchell and other parents said a patchwork of resources spread between various social media accounts, websites and other places made it hard to find a starting point. Some administrators said to check the parent portal, the schools website, the schools Facebook page or another Facebook group, she said. However the codes for my daughters class were nowhere to be found. The district expected bugs on the first day, and asked for patience as schedules were adjusted and kinks were worked out over the first week. Just like on the first day of school in any other year, there will be hiccups along the way. Please be patient while schedules get finalized, teachers reach out to their students, and processes are finalized, Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jenny Angelo said in a Facebook post to parents. By the end of the week, everything should be going smoothly. The district also announced a backlog in calls around 11 a.m. due to a high call volume. We are experiencing high call volumes during this first day, the district said in a statement. You may be experiencing a busy signal as we are working with other parents to assist their needs for registration and first day needs. Other classes went off without a hitch. Gaylynn Guillory, who teaches Algebra 1 at Beaumont United High School, said she had over 100 students actively engaged in her Zoom class, with others asking for access codes as early as Saturday, and one student completing an assignment on Sunday night. It went way better than I thought, she said. As a matter of fact, I had students reaching out to me Saturday wanting to know how to sign in and get started. It appears that theyre wanting to put forth the effort to make this virtual learning thing work. Guillory said she walked some students through the log-in process over the phone. Angelo reiterated in another post that schedules still were being finalized for some classes due to an influx of late registrations. Once (students) are in, they will likely see that they have already been enrolled in some or all of their Google Classrooms, Angelo said in the post. If not, teachers will be doing that today. On a number of campuses, schedules were still being completed this weekend due to so many registering late last week and over the weekend. The first day comes after a registration process fraught with miscommunication and technical issues, leading to thousands of students still needing to be registered just days before school year began. Related: BISD to offer phone, in-person registration assistance Nera Granger, who has two sons that attend Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, drove to their school in order to get a list of class codes for her children. They finally gave me a list of class codes, she said. But we came last week to get devices and they didnt give me any of this. They told me everything was going to already be set up on the Chomebook which was not true. Mitchell said after she was able to locate the codes and connect with the teachers, she was able to get more information. I only have one of the many Zoom links that I need, but Im hopeful the rest will be provided before the Zoom meetings start, she said. Although things may have started out rough, Im hopeful everything will flow nicely. Lori Thompson, a teacher at Bingman Headstart, recorded a lesson Monday for the second day, aiming to describe to her seven first-time students what the coronavirus is and why virtual learning was required. Explaining to students the gravity of the virus isnt easy, whether it is pre-K or high school. One of my students asked, When will this be over?, Guillory said. And I told her, and all of the kids in the Zoom, I said, No one knows. All we can do is protect ourselves. I understand some of you would rather be face to face, but unfortunately this is the option that is the best option that we have to keep us safe. One parent, JoBeth Ferguson, said she was in the process of pulling her children out of the district due to miscommunication, and what she said was a lack of available work. Im taking them out of BISD because it is a mess, she said. I get the entire country is confused about school right now, I just dont think they put time into figuring this out. Ferguson said her son was not actively engaged with enough work on the first day, adding that she instead is opting for the Texas Connections Academy online K-12 program. With Texas Connections the program is set in stone classes and the assignments are ready ahead of time, she said. It's consistent and I don't have to worry about what our state or local education officials are going to do. With Connections Academy my kids hop online, go to class, do all of the work with scheduled breaks and then call it a day. For the rest of the students in the district, teachers are asking for support and collaboration as they educate through an unprecedented situation. I would say to parents that this is a time for us to just collaborate, Guillory said. Be supportive and patient with one another, and just work together to educate our kids. Be patient, one day at a time. isaac.windes@hearstnp.com twitter.com/isaacdwindes New Yorkers cant get enough of the cult-favorite cookies at Levain Bakery. Soon, Houston residents will be able to get their fill. Founders Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes, who opened the original Levains on the Upper West Side in 1995, are bringing the bakerys cookies to the freezer aisle at supermarkets nationwide, including Central Market locations across Texas this Sept., Bloomberg reported. Levains signature colossal 6-oz. chocolate chip walnut cookie was perfected by McDonald and Weekes as a triathlon training treat. NEW LUXE CONCEPT: Star chef Aaron Bludorn opening new restaurant in Houston's Fourth Ward They needed something to keep energized. Its a crazy decadent experience, said chief marketing officer Rachel Porges. The cookie just took off. Even 25 years after opening and now during the coronavirus pandemic we still get lines out the door. Porges said there is a good reason for the demand. Theyre filled with lots of chips, nuts and other good stuff, she said. Theyre crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle. The difference in texture also makes them special. Central Market will carry a 2-oz. version of the chocolate chip walnut cookie, along with three more flavors: two-chip chocolate chip, dark chocolate peanut butter and oatmeal raisin. Pre-baked, frozen boxes of eight will sell for $9.99 each. We didn't want to ruin the brand experience that people have come to know and love. We looked at different ways to offer the same experience you get at our bakery and settled on a frozen cookie, said Porges. We also thought that most people dont need to eat a giant 6-oz. cookie every day or every week. The Central Market deal comes after growth equity group Stripes bought majority ownership of Levain Bakery in 2018 for an undisclosed amount. Since then, the bakery has expanded from five to seven locations in 2020, and its first bakery outside New York is scheduled to launch in Washington, D.C. in Sept. Bloomberg reported. A 2-oz. cookie is still big. Its still a moment of joy," said Porges. "That is more relevant than ever given what were all going through right now." YEREVAN, AUGUST 14, ARMENPRESS. Armenia is expected to become an international center for technology, science, music and arts for one week as it is going to host the 6th STARMUS International Festival from September 6 to 11 in 2021. The event will be held in Armenia at the initiative of President Armen Sarkissian, with the support of the government of Armenia. It was Sarkissians idea to bring the 6th edition of the festival to Armenia, which he proposed at the 5th edition. According to a news release issued by Sarkissians Office, the event is expected to attract thousands of visitors, including Nobel laureates, renowned scientists and musicians and others. President Sarkissian is sure that during the one week the renowned scientists will not only pass on new ideas to the visitors but will also inspire our scientists and the youth with their meetings and lectures. Especially when one of the goals of the festival is to guide the youth towards science, new technologies and the future, Sarkissians Office said. At the same time, the Armenian President is also highlighting the event in terms of tourism development in Armenia, a sector currently suffering difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Basically the festival will be a unique boost to advance tourism, which is especially important given the present-day problems of the sector. The President is having regular meetings with tourism companies and encouraged them to actively participate in the process. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan Housing Minister Darragh OBrien has ordered an investigation into the eviction of nine tenants from a house in Dublin last week. Mr OBrien has written to the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) saying he is deeply concerned about the treatment of tenants who were order to leave their home on the Berkley Road. The Fianna Fail minister asked the watchdog to use their powers to launch an investigation into the eviction to ensure the renters were treated fairly and respectfully. With this in mind I would ask you to ensure the full powers and resources of the RTB are brought to bear in this case, Mr OBrien said. Read More I would ask you to consider an own violation investigation under RTB Part 7A of the Residential Tenancies Act and separately I would ask you to prioritise any dispute that may be brought to you be the affected tenants in relation to this termination, he added. Mr OBrien said he was directing the RTB to fully investigate the incident and report back to him with any recommendations. On receipt of your report I will swiftly consider it and move to implement any relevant recommendations that will further protect tenants, he added. The ministers intervention follows Deputy Garda commissioner John Twomey seeking an review of the role of gardai involved in the eviction. Gardai were videoed in the rented accommodation while men dressed in black asked tenants to leave the house they were living in for several years. A Garda investigation was also launched into the damage of property in the house following the eviction. I have requested an urgent lessons learned report on this recent incident, AC Twomey said. If, where An Garda Siochana can learn from this experience, we will do so as to ensure that we continue to provide the best policing service going forward based on our tradition of policing by consent. The tenants have appealed for help from Dublin City Council following the eviction. They have also claimed they were not given any notice before they were evicted. Ten years with the Auckland Supercity model and what has Wellsford got to show for it? Not much. This is despite the hard-working efforts of the residents of Wellsford continually struggling and pleading to get projects started. As I have acknowledged before, we have achieved the following A skate park A library. This was championed by Mayor Penny Webster, of the Rodney District Council, circa 2009. Meanwhile, Wellsford has the following issues An urgent upgrade required for Centennial Park. A badly needed footpath along SH1. This is part of the Greenways programme that is still in the planning stage after 10 years. Wellsfords public toilets, built in 1938. They are still being used, however we are assured that a rebuild will happen sometime. Wellsfords water supply is in jeopardy with a proposed mega rubbish dump sitting above it. The sewerage system and water pipes have had multiple blow outs with no replacement in sight, even with the increase of 3.5 per cent in the rates. Is it surprising that Wellsford is in this predicament? Probably not, when one of the Rodney First members once stated: Who cares, no one lives there anyway. To add insult to injury, Rodney First have stolen the tarseal targeted rate. They redirected this money towards Bus services, which Auckland Transport told the Local Board were not sustainable. 131 new car parks for the Warkworth Showgrounds. Two new toilets. A luxury footpath through the bush. I am very concerned that the Rodney First members have repeatedly undermined our well-respected councillor. This same councillor who was unchallenged in the election, unlike Phelan Pirrie and Beth Houlbrooke. On the flip side, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Auckland Transport in sealing Wellsford Valley Road. This is the first road west of Wellsford to be completely sealed in 160 years. Well done. I would also like to acknowledge the unsealed roading team of Auckland Transport. They are given a miserable budget that hardly covers maintenance. Despite this, they have managed to upgrade their level of service. Auckland Council has a population-based model that will never work for rural areas and towns like Wellsford and Helensville. Centralisation of our rates has never worked for anyone. Rural communities are being flogged for rates, and yet see nothing while their bank accounts are being cleaned out. What benefit has the rural community seen from Auckland Council since its inception? Colin Smith, Rodney Local Board colin.smith@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz The Ukrainian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) with the support of the delegations of Great Britain, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania signed the "Belarusian Declaration," in which the past presidential elections in Belarus are called as not meeting international electoral standards and not reflecting the free will of the Belarusian people. Member of Ukrainian delegation, deputy head of the Servant of the People faction Yevhenia Kravchuk posted the text of the Declaration on her Facbook page on Sunday saying that they condemn the use of violence against participants in peaceful assemblies in Minsk, Grodno, Gomel, Brest and other Belarusian cities; they call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release all illegally detained participants in peaceful assemblies. The signatories to the declaration also insist on the early commencement of a peaceful dialogue between all parties to the electoral process, welcome the conduct of an independent investigation into the misuse of force against participants in peaceful assemblies, and also express their readiness to facilitate dialogue between the participants in the electoral process and provide a platform for such negotiations. The delegates warned the Russian Federation against interference in the internal affairs of Belarus. According to Kravchuk, Ukraine, including the Ukrainian delegation to PACE, "is not an indifferent observer of the events taking place in neighboring Belarus." "This document expresses our position and calls for a dialogue based on respect for human rights and freedoms ... The entire democratic world is rooting for a better future for the Belarusian people," she said. By AFP JERUSALEM: The agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalise ties would kill the two-state solution, strengthen "extremists" and undermine the "possibility of peace", chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Sunday. The fractured Palestinian leadership -- from the Palestinian Authority led by Mahmud Abbas in the occupied West Bank to Hamas Islamists in the Gaza Strip -- was united in its opposition to the UAE-Israel deal announced Thursday by US President Donald Trump. "I really believe that this step is a killer to the two-state solution," Erekat said. He argued that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have less incentive to compromise on a viable Palestinian state "if he believes that Arab countries will line up to make peace with him". ALSO READ | Confrontation continues in Gaza, Israel deploys tanks to eliminate Hamas posts In a conference call with foreign reporters, Erekat said that "people like Netanyahu and extremists in Israel believe that the two-state solution is off the table". Meanwhile, "extremists on my side are (saying), 'we told you so from the beginning: the two state solution is off the table'," he added. Erekat condemned the agreement as a "desperate attempt" by Trump to notch a foreign policy success. He further dismissed senior White House advisor and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, an architect of the UAE-Israel pact, as displaying "a combination of arrogance and ignorance". Netanyahu said Sunday that the agreement upended the notion that "no Arab state would agree to open peace with Israel, before the conflict with the Palestinians would be resolved". "That mistaken notion gave the Palestinians de-facto veto power over peacemaking between Israel and Arab states and held Israel and the Arab world hostage to the most extreme Palestinian demands," Netanyahu said during his Sunday cabinet meeting. ALSO READ | UAE deal signals end to 'land for peace': Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu According to a joint US, Israel, UAE statement, the Jewish state has agreed to "suspend" its plans to annex settlements and other territory in the occupied West Bank. Those annexations plans were outlined in Trump's Middle East peace proposal, unveiled in January. Netanyahu has said he remains committed to West Bank annexations, but agreed to hold for now, as part of his pledge to Trump. The Palestinians have called for emergency meetings of the Arab League and the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation to reject the Israel-UAE deal, but have not received replies from either body, Erekat said. The top Palestinian negotiator also said he had written to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to ask them to pressure the UAE to cancel the agreement. "I have received an answer from the Saudi foreign minister reassuring me that Saudi Arabia's position is for a comprehensive peace agreement based on a two-state solution," Erekat said, noting Bahrain "did not answer me yet". Regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia has been conspicuously silent on the deal with no official reaction emerging from Riyadh. Researchers at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northwestern University have identified a subtype of autism arising from a cluster of genes that regulate cholesterol metabolism and brain development. The researchers say their findings, published Aug. 10 in Nature Medicine, can inform both the design of precision-targeted therapies for this specific form of autism and enhance screening efforts to diagnose autism earlier. The team identified the shared molecular roots between lipid dysfunction and autism through DNA analysis of brain samples--findings that they then confirmed by examining medical records of individuals with autism. Indeed, both children with autism and their parents had pronounced alterations in lipid blood, the analysis showed. The results of the study, the researchers said, raise many questions; key among them are: Just how do lipid alterations drive neurodevelopmental dysfunction and could normalizing lipid metabolism affect disease outcomes? The new findings set the stage for future studies to answer these questions and others. "Our results are a striking illustration of the complexity of autism and the fact that autism encompasses many different conditions that each arise from different causes--genetic, environmental or both," said study senior investigator Isaac Kohane, chair of the Department of Biomedical Informatics in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School. "Identifying the roots of dysfunction in each subtype is critical to designing both treatments and screening tools for correct and timely diagnosis--that is the essence of precision medicine." A Google map of autism Autism and autism-spectrum disorders, estimated to affect one in 54 children in the United States, are among the most complex heritable conditions. Thousands of gene variants, both rare and common, have been implicated in autism, likely through an intricate and not-well understood interplay between genetic and environmental factors--both before and after birth. The new study findings not only underscore this complexity but also demonstrate the critical importance of defining the various subtypes of the condition and developing treatments that target subtype-specific anomalies. Achieving a meaningful level of specificity in the study of a vastly complex disorder such as autism, however, is not easy. To do so, the researchers used a novel approach based on the interlacing of multiple layers of data, including whole exome sequencing, patterns of protein expression, medical records and health insurance claims. "Think of a Google map and how it overlays various types of information on top of one another--cities, streets, parcels, land use, electrical grids, elevations--for a more detailed representation," said Yuan Luo, who co-led the study with Alal Eran, a Harvard Medical School lecturer on pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital. "This is what we did with our data to get a complete view of genes that have multiple regulatory functions and are implicated in autism," said Luo, who started working on the research while at MIT's Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab and continued the work at Northwestern University, where he is now associate professor of preventive medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine. The team started out by analyzing patterns of gene expression from brain samples contained in two large national brain banks, focusing on genes that work in tandem during prenatal and postnatal brain development. Because autism is four times more common in males than females, they further focused on genes that had the largest male-to-female differences during development. Within those, they homed in on exons--the protein-coding parts of genes--to seek out mutations that occurred more often in patients with autism. Through this progressive zooming in, the researchers identified a previously unrecognize node of shared function--a cluster of exons regulating both neurodevelopment and fat metabolism. Protein to person To confirm whether the molecular link between autism and lipid metabolism was borne out in actual patients, the team turned to two vast clinical record repositories. In one that contained more than 2.7 million records of patients seen at Boston Children's, including more than 25, o00 children with autism, the researchers identified notable lipid alterations in children with autism, including changes in levels of their bad cholesterol (LDL), good cholesterol (HDL) and triglycerides. The other dataset contained medical records of more than 34 million individuals seen at multiple U.S. medical institutions. Of those, more than 80,700 individuals had diagnoses of autism. Overall, 6.5 percent of those who had an autism diagnosis also had abnormal lipid levels. Individuals with autism were nearly twice as likely to have abnormal lipid tests results as those without autism. There was also a pronounced familial link. Mothers with lipid abnormalities were 16 percent more likely to have a child with autism than mothers without lipid abnormalities. The risk for having a child with autism among fathers with lipid abnormalities was 13 percent greater than in males with normal lipid levels. And within families with more than one child, children diagnosed with autism were 76 percent more likely to have abnormal lipid profiles than their siblings. Among individuals with autism and abnormal lipid levels on their blood work, conditions such as epilepsy, sleep disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were markedly more common than among those without elevated lipid levels--a finding that suggests dyslipidemia may alter neurodevelopment in general, the researchers said. Individuals with autism and dyslipidemia were also more likely to have certain hormonal and metabolic conditions including anemia, hypothyroidism and vitamin D deficiency. The autism-dyslipidemia link persisted even when the researchers accounted for the possible influence of drugs commonly used in people with autism, some of which are known to affect lipid levels. In fact, lipid abnormalities were more common among people with autism who were not taking such medications. The newly found link offers a molecular explanation to the well-established observation that a mutation in a gene involved in cholesterol metabolism is also found in people with Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder closely related to autism. Another striking observation that may be explained by the newly found link is that between 50 and 88 percent of children born with Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome, caused by a defect in cholesterol synthesis, also have autism. The researchers say their approach--based on integrating multiple data modalities-- could be adapted to other similarly genetically complex conditions as a way to precision-profile subtypes of disease. For example, the ability to identify disease subtypes in cancer in the past two decades has propelled the field of oncology forward and led to the development of many targeted cancer treatments, researchers said. "Our findings can help design precision-targeted treatments that home in on the specific defect underlying the development of dyslipidemia-related autism," Kohane said. "Conceptually, this is the same framework that we can apply in complex inherited neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and beyond. Our multimodal approach combining multiple types of data demonstrates that this is not only possible but imminent." ### Co-investigators on the study included Nathan Palmer, Paul Avillach, Ami Levy-Moonshine and Peter Szolovits. The work was supported by the National Institute of Health (grants 1R21LM012618, 5UL1TR001422, P50MH106933, U01HG007530, OT3OD025466, OT3HL142480, U54HG007963, 1U01TR002623-01 and 1U54HD090255-01), Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology (grant 17708), and Precision Link Biobank for Health Discovery at Boston Children's. Palmer received funding support from Aetna Life Insurance. A nasty and ignorant video has surfaced the Internet in which a 54-year-old burqa-clad woman is vehemently throwing the idols of Indian God, Lord Ganesha on the floor. The viral video allegedly is from the supermarket in Bahrain. In the viral video, two burqa-clad women can be seen standing near an aisle in the supermarket where the idols of Hindu deity Lord Ganesha were kept on the displays ahead of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. One of the women started picking and throwing the idols on the floor one by one and broke all the idols into pieces kept in the display. The woman was also yelling at an attendant at the shop in the Arabic language. She can be heard saying that why the Ganpati idols are being sold in a Muslim country. She further said that this is Mohamed ben Issas country, do you think he approved of this? The woman also said the shopkeeper that this is a Muslim country, correct? "Let us see who will worship these statues. Call the cops," the other woman says. Condemning this ghastly act of violence done on Hindu God idols in #Bahrain. Such oppression on Hindu minorities staying in Islamic nations is highly unacceptable. United Nations must interfere and ensure justice and Right to worship to every minorities same as it does in India! pic.twitter.com/g0XLvwim8q Tajinder Singh Tiwana (@TajinderTiwana) August 16, 2020 According to the Bahrain Ministry of Interior, the police summoned the woman after the video on social media showed her "intentionally damaging a shop... and breaking religious idols" in the Juffair area in the capital Manama, The Guardian reported. Shortly after, the public prosecution also issued the statement saying the woman admitted to breaking the statues and has been charged with disrespecting religious sentiments and rituals of a community. Capital Police took legal steps against a woman, 54, for damaging a shop in Juffair and defaming a sect and its rituals, in order to refer her to the Public Prosecution. Ministry of Interior (@moi_bahrain) August 16, 2020 The video sparked outraged on social media. Khalid al-Khalifa, an advisor to the king of Bahrain and former foreign minister slammed the act of the woman and said the woman's actions were unacceptable. "Breaking of religious symbols is not the nature of the people of Bahrain. It is a crime... of hatred and is rejected," he tweeted. "Here, all religions, sects and people coexist." In Bahrain, hundreds of thousands of Indian workers live. Saudi Arabia records lowest temperature in 30 years Erdogan's visit to Ukraine scheduled for February 3 Russian peacekeeping contingent establishes order of passage through Lachin corridor French Senate votes to ban hijab at sporting events Armenian FM: All necessary conditions to be created for Demarcation Commission work Olaf Scholz: Borders in Europe cannot be changed by force Lavrov presents Armenian Ambassador to Russia, with the Order of Friendship Bill Gates warns of pandemics far more serious than COVID-19 Macron: EU countries must work together on agreement for stability and security Turkey Central banks and UAE sign agreement worth almost $5 billion Blinken: Western countries need unity to stop Russian aggression against Ukraine Iranian President performs evening namaz in Kremlin after talks with Putin Turkish police detain women protesting price hikes in hygiene products Delegation headed by Chief of the Cypriot National Guard General Staff has meetings in Armenia Merkel refuses job in UN structure Greece receives the first batch of French Rafale fighters NEWS.am daily digest: 19.01.22 Azerbaijan hopes Pope to mediate in relations with Armenia Talks between presidents of Russia and Iran start in Kremlin Armenian FM: This is not first time Baku makes nonconstructive statements Ombudsman: I urge not to give in to Azerbaijani manipulations, to visit Artsakh Armenian FM: Armenia passes a package of proposals to Azerbaijan France names the main favorite of presidential election Garo Paylan concludes address in Turkey parliament in Armenian Russian Foreign Ministry believes there is no risk of large-scale war in Europe Dollar goes up in Armenia Sharmazanov: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan did not decide to hold press conference, he did not change his mind Blinken: Russia has plans to increase force on Ukraine borders : Azerbaijani military participate in Turkish drills Taliban say all conditions for recognizing legitimacy of government are met Azerbaijan MFA statement distorts events of Armenian massacres in Baku 32 years ago Karabakh ombudsmans office: Azerbaijans anti-Armenian, genocidal policy has clear chronology US official, Barzani are photographed against backdrop of Greater Armenia and Kurdistan map Armenia ex-defense minister, army General Staff chief, some others criminal case court hearing kicks off FM: Most important direction continues to be international recognition of Artsakh Armenia revenue committee chief on opening of Turkey border: Shall we live with closed borders? In fear? US selects Los Angeles to host Summit of the Americas in summer 2022 Karabakh Foreign Minister: Return of refugees can only be like mirror Iranian president arrives on official visit to Moscow All CSTO peacekeepers leaves Kazakhstan Artsakh Foreign Minister: Unacceptable to bracket NKAO and NKR together Karabakh FM: Format of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' visits needs to be restored Media: Air communication between Turkey and Armenia will start on February 2 Artsakh FM: Azerbaijan attack on Karabakh will mean attack on Russia Gold prices hardly change American professor angers Erdogan's son-in-law Hovhannes Khachatryan is elected Armenia Central Bank Deputy Governor 15 years pass since Hrant Dink assassination 563 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Guterres offers Merkel job at UN Armenian church revamped in Iran World oil prices going up Newspaper: ECHR rulings increase after Armenia revolution in 2018 Newspaper: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan to give interview instead of press conference Azerbaijan MFA falls into hysterical rage by France FM statement The Pope to donate 100,000 to help migrants on border of Belarus and Poland Fourth vaccine against COVID-19 is not enough for Omicron World is on verge of country defaults French Foreign Ministry considers unacceptable Azerbaijan statements about Pecresse US to return two valuable artifacts over 4,000 years old to Iraq Germany may consider halting Nord Stream 2 if Russia attacks Ukraine Israel successfully completes test of anti-ballistic missile system Plane landing in Sochi struck by lightning Putin and Aliyev discuss Ukraine situation Greek PM Mitsotakis threatens Turkey with sanctions Handelsblatt: US and EU abandon idea of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT international payment system Artsakh President meets representatives of non-governmental organizations Avalanche kills person in Iran Erdogan says he is pleased with decline in volatility of lira NEWS.am daily digest: 18.01.22 Turkey and Azerbaijan to start laying gas pipeline to supply Nakhichevan UK begins to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons Armenian PM holds meeting on Armenia's Transformation Strategy until 2050 Nagorno-Karabakh: Remains of another Armenian soldier found in Jrakan region Tehran to not accept any border change in South Caucasus Dollar holding relatively steady in Armenia Armenia special representative: Future process depends on Turkeys constructiveness degree Erdogan: Gas from Mediterranean to Europe can only be pumped through Turkey Iranian Consul General discusses customs cooperation in Nakhijevan Inecobank brings Apple Pay to customers Parliament vice-speaker says he is familiar with Armenia proposals on border demarcation commission work US Secretary of State to visit Kyiv Russia, Iran and China to hold joint naval drills OSCE Chairmanship on Aliyev statement: We reiterate our full support to Minsk Group Co-Chairs Artsakh NSS denies rumors about penetration of Azerbaijanis into Karabakh villages Indonesian parliament approves bill to relocate capital Armenia PM to Bulgaria colleague: Our interstate relations are marked by continuous development of cooperation Armenian President meets Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Azerbaijan to ban foreigners from visiting Nagorno-Karabakh occupied part European Parliament new speaker elected Armenian National Interests Fund participates in Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit North Korea fires missiles for fourth time this year ECHR recognizes violation of Armenian PM's rights after 2008 elections Turkey reveals plans to produce combat aircraft Karabakh official: Azerbaijan presidents impudent behavior is due to OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs silence Azerbaijan special services force Artsakh resident to intelligence work Copper price is stable Minister of State: OSCE MG Co-Chairs must accept exercise of Karabakh people's right to self-determination Armenia President, UAE Minister of State discuss possibilities of cooperation in science and technology South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem gives a State of the State address in Pierre, S.D., on Jan. 8, 2019. (James Nord/AP Photo) South Dakota Governor Declines Trumps Enhanced Unemployment Payment South Dakota declined to accept the enhanced unemployment payment President Donald Trump offered through a recent executive order. Gov. Kristi Noem appeared to be the first governor to decline the enhanced payment. My administration is very grateful for the additional flexibility that this effort would have provided, but South Dakota is in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it. South Dakotas economy, having never been shut down, has recovered nearly 80% of our job losses, Noem, a Republican, said in a statement. Even though she turned down the offer, Noem praised Trump. Despite significant disfunction in Congress, President Trump continues to problem solve and provide great leadership during this recovery effort, she said. The president on Aug. 8 signed an order that gave states the option of giving the unemployed $400 more per week, with states paying a quarter of that. President Donald Trump signs executive orders extending coronavirus economic relief, during a news conference in Bedminster, N.J., on Aug. 8, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) A second option was outlined by the Department of Labor on Aug. 12. That option requires no extra payment, and an adjusted boost of $300 a week. A Noem spokesman told The Epoch Times via email that the governor reviewed both options. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Republican Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said theyre participating in Trumps program. After reviewing in detail all of the federal unemployment aid options presented to me and my team, choosing to give $300 more per week allows us to use the states unemployment trust fund and helps us to best serve Alaskans who need unemployment assistance across the entire state as they weather a very difficult period in our history, Dunleavy said in a statement. FEMA announced on Aug. 15 that Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and New Mexico were approved to receive the first grants under the Disaster Relief Fund. Republican West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice told reporters last week that he was applying for the enhanced aid. A number of governors have complained about the 7525 percent split on the bolstered payment and urged Congress to step in. Lawmakers earlier this year approved a $600 weekly boost to aid, funded wholly by the federal government. That boost expired in late July. 4 Iranian converts face years in prison for participation in house church Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Four Iranian converts to Christianity were sentenced earlier this month to several years in prison after they were arrested in February on accusations they acted against national security by participating in house church meetings and evangelizing. According to Article 18, a London-based nonprofit that promotes religious freedom and tolerance for Christians in Iran, the four accused received sentences between two and five years for spreading Zionist Christianity. Ramin Hassanpour was sentenced to five years, while Hadi Rahimi was sentenced to four years in prison. Sakine Behjati and Saeede Sajadpour both received two-year sentences. All four are said to be members of the Church of Iran, a nontrinitarian denomination, in Rasht, the capital city of Gilan Province. The four were charged in May. After being charged with the crimes, they spent about a week in Rashts Lakan Prison after they were unable to pay the $30,000 bail. Bail was eventually lowered and they were released. Human rights groups, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide, have called on the theocratic Iranian regime to release the four believers. Authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran have engaged in a systemic pattern of arresting and imprisoning Christian converts accused of participating in house church movements as well as other religious minorities. The sentencing of these [converts] marks the latest development in a relentless crackdown on specific religious groups in Iran, CSWs Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas said in a statement shared with media. We urge the Iranian government to release these Christians and all others who are currently detained on excessive charges relating to their religion or belief, and to end the judicial harassment of members of minority faith communities. CSW reported in June that four other Iranian Christians were ordered by authorities to turn themselves in at Evin Prison in Tehran to begin serving five-year sentences after they were arrested during a series of raids on house churches in Rasht. They were accused of promoting Zionism. In court, the four men were slandered by a judge as being apostates. The charges leveled against them are without substance, and their trial lacked transparency, Thomas explained. CSW has also learned that Mohammadreza Omidi, another Church of Iran member, was not released by his expected release date and might have to serve another four years in prison. Omidi began serving a 10-year prison sentence in Iran along with Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani and other house church members who were sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018. According to CSW, Omidi initially received a verdict reducing his 10-year sentence to two years. He expected to have been released in July. However, he was told by prison authorities that the sentence had been reduced to six years, not two. If correct, this would mean he will have four more years to serve, CSW reported in a statement to press. Article 18 previously reported that Ismaeil Maghrebinejad, a 65-year-old member of the Anglican Church, had two of the three prison sentences he received earlier this year upheld. He was accused of engaging in propaganda against the state and membership of a group hostile to the regime. Iran is ranked as the ninth-worst county in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. As Christian converts regularly face the risk of being arrested just for attending house churches, Open Doors USA reported in its annual report released in January that 169 Christians were arrested in Iran during the organizations 2019 reporting period. The reporting period ran from Nov. 1, 2018, to Oct. 31, 2019. ALBANY Frustrated with what they describe as a lack of action by the Democratic majorities and determined to get answers to why New Yorks nursing homes saw so many coronavirus fatalities, Republican leaders in the state Senate and Assembly hosted another hearing to discuss the virus impact on these facilities. The houses held joint legislative hearings in recent weeks that included testimony from families who lost loved ones, residential health care facility owners and public health officials, but many legislators from both sides of the aisle expressed frustration with the absence of certain state officials and no clear path forward on an independent investigation into the matter. State health department Commissioner Howard Zucker testified at the first hearing, but refused to release information on the number of New Yorkers who became infected with COVID-19 in nursing homes and later died at a hospital until he could be sure of the figures' accuracy. Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt said the legislative hearings did not allow for every family impacted to share their stories, and hoped the minority-led hearings which were streamed on the Senate Republicans' Facebook page on Monday would shed more light. The Senate Democrats, unfortunately, did not use their full subpoena power in the hearings last week," Ortt said. "And as a result of that we still don't have a full picture and all the answers of what happened. If there is a second wave or surge (of COVID-19 cases), we need to know what went wrong so we can ensure the policies are changed. Much of the contention surrounding deaths in nursing homes is centered on a March 25 directive issued by the Health Department requiring residential facilities to accept patients even if they had tested positive for the virus. While the state released a report in July that said the policy played no significant role in nursing home deaths, some lawmakers and families have continued to call for an independent investigation. The state's current tally of more than 6,400 nursing home deaths counts only residents who died at their nursing facilities not the ones who became sick enough to require hospitalization before they died. Many believe the number would be much higher if those fatalities were included. Janice Dean, a Fox News meteorologist who was not allowed to speak at the previous hearings, shared the story of her in-laws' death from COVID-19 while her family struggled to get answers from the nursing home and were barred from visiting their loved ones. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Our loved ones are not numbers on a curve that the governor says he has succeeded in flattening, she said. Every single voice from the victims families deserve to be heard, and I believe its those stories and those who have experienced the greatest loss who can uncover what happened. Several other witnesses shared similar frustration. Jennifer Harrison said the operators of the nursing home her step-grandmother lived in refused to return calls or allow her family to FaceTime with their ailing relative. When officials called her family to notify them of their grandmothers death, Harrison said there were no condolences, just a cold, nasty, short Come get her. Not only were our loved ones handed death sentences and left to die, but we werent even allowed to send them off with proper funerals, Harrison said. We demand those answers. We demand accountability and we demand reform. This is not going away, Mr. Cuomo, and we are not going anywhere until we get those answers, until we get those reforms. OTTAWADerek Sloan became a Member of Parliament in October 2019 promising to fight for a Canada where, even when people disagree, we can learn to respect each other and work together. Less than a year later, Sloans unlikely bid for the Conservative Party leadership has shown little evidence of building any bridges. Sloan has failed to secure the endorsement of any sitting MP or senator. He even faced an attempt by his colleagues to expel him from the caucus over a campaign video that questioned if the federal chief public health officer, Theresa Tam, was working for Canada or China. His campaign has cribbed policies from U.S. President Donald Trump, promising to cut Canadas contributions to the World Health Organization, list antifa as a terrorist organization and pull out of the Paris Accord. Hes a social conservative whose most detailed policy plank is to restrict access to abortion, and has drawn criticism for comments about LGBTQ people. The MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington has also vowed to dramatically reduce immigration, with policy that closely mirrors that Maxime Berniers failed far-right political splinter group, the Peoples Party of Canada. Sloan has railed against the idea of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and suggested that the required use of face masks is a form of political control. Of the four candidates vying for the partys leadership on Aug. 21, his campaign might be the longest shot and he has very likely known that for some time. So what is Derek Sloans endgame? Thats not something hes been willing to share with the Star. Sloans campaign did not respond to numerous interview requests in July and August. The 35-year old MP was born outside Waterford, Ont., and is married with three young children. Hes a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a Protestant denomination that observes Saturdays as the Sabbath emphasizes the second coming of Jesus Christ. In an interview with the Canadian Adventist Messenger shortly after his election, Sloan said he believed God was leading him and had placed (him) in the riding at an opportune time. I have been keeping my eyes open for Gods leading in my life and will see how that materializes in Ottawa and how that manifests itself over the next couple of years, Sloan told the magazine. After attending an Adventist school in California, Sloan briefly ran a liquidation furniture outlet in Oshawa before getting a law degree from Queens University. Sloan told the Messenger that he became aware of certain trends that were going on and decided to defend religious liberty with his law degree. (I) began to be more drawn to politics and began to be more concerned about the trend of intolerance toward people who hold nonmainstream views, Sloan said. That includes people, obviously, of a religious persuasion, but it also includes others as well. Sloan has carried that concern with freedom of expression into his leadership campaign, with vows to end cancel culture in both Canadian society and the Conservative party. His platform has shades of Berniers 2017 leadership pitch resolutely pro-gun, it proposes significant reductions in annual immigration rates, scrapping environmental regulations and cutting foreign aid in favour of investment at home. But Sloans approach also appears to have been influenced by Brad Trost, the former Saskatchewan MP who placed a surprising fourth in the partys 2017 leadership convention. Trost, who did not run for the Conservatives in 2019 after losing a battle for the Saskatoon-University nomination, has endorsed both Sloan and another leadership contender, Leslyn Lewis. Like Trost, Sloan appears to be targeting Chinese Canadians for support hes the only candidate whose website includes a Mandarin translation of his platform. In the 2017 race, social conservative candidates did well both in Saskatchewan and the GTA suburbs, especially Scarborough and Mississauga. Sloan may well tap into those constituencies. Sloan has also been endorsed by Campaign Life Coalition, an anti-abortion group that has some weight with the partys social-conservative wing. Managing his campaign is Paula Iturri, a former aide to outgoing leader Andrew Scheer. Iturri has spoken to the Star throughout the campaign, she did not respond to numerous emails in July and August. Ottawa newspaper The Hill Times reported that Daniel Paolini, a member of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Partys executive, is also assisting Sloans campaign. But compared to rivals Lewis, Erin OToole and Peter MacKay, Sloans campaign team appears quite small. Despite the smaller operation, the Sloan campaign managed to raise roughly $739,000 during the first six months of 2020 well behind the rest of the pack, but not an insignificant amount of money. Most Conservative insiders believe Sloan will be the first name knocked off the ranked ballot in the Conservatives run-off election. But a strong showing on that first ballot, between 10 and 15 per cent support, would show whoever ends up leader that he has to be taken seriously. I do think that hes not in this to light all the bridges on fire. Hes a brand-new MP, its not going to be in his interest to torch everything, said Kate Harrison, a conservative commentator and vice-president with Summa Strategies in Ottawa. Hes got a bit of political shelf life, in terms of the new leader kind of listening to him and taking him seriously perhaps on some items, said Harrison. Theres certainly an audience in the party for (Sloans) message, so whoever the winner is, you cant ignore somebody like Derek. Sloans pursuit of becoming his partys social conservative standard bearer has been complicated, however, by Lewiss strong performance; the Toronto lawyer has appealed to both social conservatives and a broader constituency within the Conservative movement. This is the first time were seeing a more well-rounded, thoughtful social conservative candidate in the race that has made an effort to move beyond social conservative issues in Lewis, Harrison said. Theres definitely some groundswell and momentum for that. Its unlikely, however he finishes in the Aug. 21 vote, that the next leader will be coming to Sloan for party policy. Hes also unlikely to be the most popular member in caucus once all this is behind the party. But that was probably never the point. Sloans campaign has shifted the overall conversation in the race, kept social conservative issues front and centre, and boosted his own national profile within the movement in the process. That begins to look like something of an endgame for the rookie Ontario MP. Nearly 270,000 members of the Conservative Party of Canada are eligible to vote for the partys next leader. To be counted, the ballots on which party members rank the candidates in order of preference must be received by Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. EDT. Read more about: Oil investors are awaiting an OPEC+ meeting this week. Photo: AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez The coronavirus crisis has hit the oil industry hard, with global demand collapsing by 10.75 million barrels a day in the first half of the year. But prices have recovered significantly since US crude futures turned negative for the first time in history in April, when a glut threatened to overwhelm global storage facilities. An announcement on Chinese orders overnight, a looming meeting of leading producers and the latest news on COVID-19 cases and lockdowns in major markets are all being closely followed this week for signs of what comes next. Chinese demand Record imports of crude from China have boosted oil prices in recent weeks, while news of Chinas plans to ramp up orders from the US again briefly boosted prices on Monday. West Texas Intermediate crude (CL=F) and brent (BZ=F) oil futures rose in early trading in Europe on Monday, reaching $42.46 a barrel and $45.23 a barrel respectively, though they were flat again by midday in London. AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould noted brents rise beyond $45 took it to its highest levels since before the pandemic hit. It came after Reuters reported China planned to ship at least 20 million barrels in August and September. READ MORE: FTSE rises as Chinese stimulus and oil demand lifts mining stocks Recent economic data has shown Chinese economic recovery proceeding less strongly than expected by analysts, however. Figures suggested factory growth was slower-than-predicted and retail sales saw a surprise fall, alarming global investors last week. Francisco Blanch, a commodity strategist at Bank of America Securities (BOAS), also noted Chinas stock increase was likely permanent amid a geopolitical power race with the US. OPEC+ meeting US crude oil prices over the past six months. Chart: Yahoo Finance UK A meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) will attract significant attention on Wednesday. Countries in the allegiance agreed to record cuts in supply to shore up prices after the pandemic first hit and started to hammer global demand. Story continues Blanch said prices had been boosted by investors' confidence that compliance would hold with the reduction. Brent could easily rally to $60/bbl next year and flip into backwardation, if OPEC+ compliance holds and the pandemic eases, he wrote in a note on Friday. Four sources told Reuters on Monday that producer countries compliance was at around 95% in July. A ministerial committee will meet on Wednesday to review the industrys prospects and how to sustain and improve compliance in the cartel. It also reported Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganehs upbeat comments on compliance on Monday. OPECs performance has been successful because the price of oil has risen from $16 in May to around $45 and has stabilised. Global recovery Blanch said steady recovery in demand was fuelling higher prices, despite the continued virus and economic troubles of most major economies. Some expect fresh COVID-19 outbreaks to hit consumption heavily if many countries re-tighten lockdown rules and limit travel and economic activity. Several European countries have announced new restrictions in recent weeks as new infection rates have edged higher since lockdowns first eased. The large, and in some countries, accelerating number of COVID-19 cases is a disturbing reminder that the pandemic is not under control and the risk to our market outlook is almost certainly to the downside, said the International Energy Agency in its July report. But Blanch said BOAS see steady demand recovery continuing despite recent signs in the market, which alongside collapsing US shale output and OPEC+ compliance could sustain prices. He noted global oil stocks were almost back to normal excluding the US and China, making large deficits possible next year. A string of major companies have announced oil refining facilities will be shut for good in Asia and North America, amid uncertainty over their longer-term viability. Luke Templeman of Deutsche Bank also highlighted in a note that a shift away from fossil fuels was the hot topic of the moment, adding to the pressures to lower production. BP has vowed to cut and oil and gas production by 40% by 2030, saying the current crisis had made it accelerate its greener energy drive and stated ambition to be net-zero by 2050. Will more Chinese cities suspend imports of frozen meat, seafood to ward off COVID-19? Global Times Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/16 22:28:40 Will more cities suspend frozen meat imports to ward off COVID-19? The Guangzhou Cold Chain Industry Association called for the suspension of imports of frozen meat and aquatic products from COVID-19 stricken countries and regions, and it also asked that all employees who came in contact with the contaminated products have got weekly nucleic acid tests, after a rise in coronavirus cases related to imported frozen food. Experts held mixed views on whether the ban might be extended to other cities in the province over safety concerns. There have been growing concerns about the safety of frozen food after an employee of Alibaba's Freshippo, a fresh food grocery store chain in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, contracted COVID-19. The city also found two batches of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil that tested positive for the virus Thursday. According to the Guangdong Health Commission, three samples, out of 145,900 in total, of imported frozen food in Guangdong have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since June. Other cities in China are also expected to roll out similar policies to ban the import of frozen food from COVID-19 stricken areas amid growing concerns that the source of the infections may be the food products, Mei Xinyu, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce, told the Global Times. "Cold chain logistics is likely to be an important channel for the spread of the virus. The low temperature and humidity provide a suitable long-term survival environment for the virus," he said. Since July, at least 10 cases in China have related to frozen food products, including chicken wings imported from Brazil and shrimps from Ecuador that tested positive for the virus, media reported. "These multiple cases raised concerns of possible issues during cold chain transportation, as epidemic prevention and control methods in some foreign countries are not as strict as those in China," Mei added. Cui He, president of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance, told the Global Times Sunday that a total ban on imported frozen food is not practical. "More than 100 countries worldwide export frozen seafood to China. The major exporting countries such as the US and Brazil are in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak," Cui said. Cui said that he does not believe that the suspension of seafood imports from pandemic countries via Guangzhou would have much impact on business for either exporters or importers, because there are many other port cities in China that may still import seafood. In the first half of 2020, China's imports of aquatic products dropped 9.3 percent year-on-year to $7.91 billion, data from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs showed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 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 REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST THURSDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of one inch with localized higher amounts 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 this evening. * 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 icing of roads and walkways. Black ice issues could linger through the early morning hours. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. && Despite the coronavirus pandemic, Alabama students recently returned to class in dozens of Alabama's 138 school districts. Some opened remotely, and the others opened for in-person school. Within a day, news spread of some students who were exposed to COVID-19 exposure. That number has grown into the hundreds; one high school will be closed today, the first known school in the state to shut its doors after reopening to students last week. Dozens more systems are opening this week, most offering in-person classes. For more on schools opening for the year, visit https://www.al.com/topic/backtoschool2020 Jeremy Gray Discount retailer Dealz is coming to Kildare town after it agreed to a lease on the former Lidl supermarket. The former foodstore building and car park on Hospital Street became empty late last year when the German discount chain moved to a larger 2,192 square metre premises across the road in the old Magee Barracks site. The building and grounds of the empty property were refurbished in recent weeks after construction workers returned to sites after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. Negotiations were underway in recent weeks between representatives for Dealz and the owner of the property previously occupied by Lidl. Positions were also advertised and interviews were carried out with job applicants during July. Dealz already has nearby stores in Newbridge, Naas and Athy. Local politicians had urged Kildare County Council in the past to rent the former Lidl building for community use. Former Mayor of Kildare, Cllr Suzanne Doyle, previously suggested the site may suit a youth centre or a bowling alley. Dealz has seen rapid growth since six stores were opened in the Republic of Ireland by the end of March 2012, bringing over 200 new jobs to the Irish economy and a total of over 2m in capital investment. Over 60 stores nationwide However Dealz has expanded considerably since then with over 60 stores now open and the company is still growing. Dealz owners, UK-based Poundland announced its expansion into the Republic of Ireland in August 2011. Poundland had been planning a move into Europe and chose the Republic Of Ireland as the first country to set up outlets. Dealz offers a wide range of products, including many well known brands, and local Irish brands for 1.50. In addition there are a number of special promotions at key price points such as 1 and two for 1.50. Last month Dealz opened three new stores in Dublin, Cork and Donegal, creating over 75 new jobs and with an investment of 1 million into the local economy. Dealz retail country manager Olivia McLoughlin said opening three new stores on the same day was a signal of our ambition to grow. She added: We stayed open and proudly delivered our promise of amazing value, despite the circumstances. Additional job creation and investment in new stores is part of our renewed commitment to Ireland and the communities we serve. The September 2019 motion adopted at Labours annual conference, seeking international intervention in the Kashmir issue and a referendum, is not the partys official policy, co-chairmen of the Labour Friends of India group within the party insisted on Monday. The resolution, adopted when Jeremy Corbyn was party leader, sparked a diplomatic row and cost the party many votes from the 1.5 million strong Indian community in the December 2019 elections. Under new party leader Keir Starmer, the party has been keen to win back support. Co-chairmen Labour MP Darren Jones and deputy mayor of London Rajesh Agarwal admitted to members of the Indian Journalists Association that the party lost ground in the community, but insisted that under Starmer the party has begun the long process of rebuilding trust. Labour has long been the party of preference of the Indian community, but younger, aspirational members have gravitated to the Conservative party in recent years, particularly after David Cameron assiduously wooed the community when he took over as party leader in 2005. Jones, MP for Bristol North-West, saidWe have to be honest about this. We not only lost Indian votes but votes of others (in December 2019). Starmer has been keen to rebuild trust and the historic relationship with India and the community here. The Kashmir motion is not party policy. In future you wont see that happening again. You will see a different style of leadership under Starmer, who is going around the country listening and engaging with people, he added. According to Indore-born Agarwal, all sorts of motions are adopted at conferences. Labour MPs speak on behalf of their constituents, but that does not necessarily mean their perspectives become party policy. He said: No doubt we have lost some Indian votes, we need to work harder. We have a long way to go, but we can do it. Starmer has already made it clear that we must not allow issues of the sub-continent to divide communities here. Any constitutional issues in India are a matter for the Indian Parliament and Kashmir is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully, he added. As part of the partys efforts to regain support, a Mahatma Gandhi Future Leaders Programme is to be launched on October 2 to encourage people from the community to join politics at various levels. Starmer, Agarwal said, is keen to visit India next year. Set up in 1999, the Labour Friends of India group includes MPs as well as others. According to Agarwal, it is now a community-led group rather than one led by the Westminster bubble, though the distinction was not entirely clear. Labour has seven Indian-origin MPs in the current House of Commons, its highest from the community so far: Navendu Mishra (Stockport), Virendra Sharma (Ealing Southall), Slough (Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi), Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston), Preet Kaur Gill (Birmingham Edgbaston), Lisa Nandy (Wigan) and Valerie Vaz (Walsall South). SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Springfield chapter of the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club hosted its annual Kids Safety Day on Sunday, Aug. 16, at Colonial Estates Apartments. Club members gave away backpacks, school supplies, masks, and health information to children and their families. With the hard times of the COVID-19 pandemic, its our duty to continue to support the needs of the families in the community, the local chapter said in a statement. It was the 13th year the Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club had supported the Colonial Estates community. The National Association of Buffalo Soldiers & Troopers Motorcycle Club when not riding their iron horses are in their communities feeding the hungry, providing scholarships to graduating high school seniors, supporting the youth, impoverished households and spreading the rich heritage of the 9th & 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers. Declared the largest motorcycle club, its members consist of current, retired and honored military veterans, active and retired law enforcement officers, first responders, attorneys, medical practitioners, and other professional civilians. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 12:22:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand confirmed nine new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Monday, with none in managed isolation facilities. Seven of the new cases were linked to the Auckland family cluster, and the other two cases were under investigation, according to the ministry. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, 86 people have been moved to quarantine facilities, including both community transmission cases and New Zealand residents and citizens' arrival from overseas, Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a daily briefing. Five people are hospitalized due to COVID-19, including two in Auckland Hospital and three in Middlemore Hospital, Bloomfield said. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 78, of which 58 are from the recent community outbreak, and 20 are imported cases in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, according to the ministry. Record levels of testing were seen nationwide over the past few days, Bloomfield said, adding laboratories across New Zealand are continuing to meet the demand for unprecedented levels. Laboratories processed on Sunday 26,014 tests for COVID-19, bringing the total number of tests completed to date to 597,956, of which almost 100,000 were completed in the last six days, he said. New Zealand's largest city Auckland will remain in COVID-19 Alert Level 3 till Aug. 26 before further decisions are made, with the rest of the country staying in Alert Level 2. Under Level 3, businesses are required to implement COVID-19 safety measures, but most people are encouraged to work from home and school children learn from home. Enditem Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday (August 17, 2020) defended his administration`s efforts to implement changes at the US Postal Service ahead of November`s election, despite an outcry from Democrats and other critics, and said he would support efforts to expand in-person voting. In an interview with Fox News, President Trump said he would support more voting booths, early voting and other efforts but reiterated his attacks against mail-in voting. Trump said he wants the postal agency to "run efficiently". "It`s not a `Trump thing`," he added, saying that recent administrative changes were not an effort to "tamper" with ballot efforts ahead of the general elections. Trump spoke hours before Democrats in the US House of Representatives were due to hold a conference call to discuss plans by Speaker Nancy Pelosi to recall lawmakers for a vote later this week. The House is expected to consider legislation to protect the Postal Service from what Pelosi on Sunday called Trump`s "campaign to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters." Several Democratic state attorneys general are also considering potential legal action to stop Postal Service changes that could affect the election outcome. Democrats have accused Trump, who is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in opinion polls, of trying to hamstring the cash-strapped Postal Service to suppress mail-in voting. Trump has repeatedly and without evidence said that a surge in mail-in voting would lead to fraud. In a letter to Modi, the TDP chief alleged that there was a 'systematic and concerted attack on the democratic institutions in the state' since the YSRCP came to power Amravati: Alleging that the ruling YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh was resorting to illegal tapping of phones to further its political gains, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the Centre order an inquiry by a competent body to check the illegal acts. He alleged that the YSRC was illegally tapping phones of Opposition parties, advocates, media persons and social activists. "It appears that the ruling YSRC has now even targeted judiciary, the third pillar of the democracy, as it is facing hurdles from the judiciary," the TDP president alleged in the letter, a copy of which was also marked to Union Communications and Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad. YSRCP govt in Andhra Pradesh is tapping phones of opposition parties, advocates, journalists, & social activists. It would be appropriate to order enquiry by Center to check illegal acts of phone tapping in the state: TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu in a letter to PM Modi pic.twitter.com/YB5E40MV5R ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2020 Alleging that some private persons were also illegally tapping phones using cutting-edge technology and tools, Chandrababu Naidu apprehended that if such illegal phone tapping went unchecked, it would "pose a serious threat to the integrity and security of the nation." He said the tapping was being done using "illegal software and unlawfully." "The people of Andhra Pradesh are facing a grave threat under the rule of YSRCP. Ever since the YSRC came to power, there has been a systematic and concerted attack on the democratic institutions in the state. Initially, the process of governance was completely derailed by attacking the investors and policies of previous regimes. This was followed by an attack on institutions like the State Election Commission and the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC)," he said. Concomitantly, the YSRCP has been attacking and threatening leaders of Opposition parties, advocates, media persons, and social activists among others through various deceitful means, he alleged. The Leader of Opposition claimed the state government has not followed any due procedure of law in tapping the phones of people from various walks of life. "Thus, it directly stands against Articles 19 and 21 of fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution, wherein the right to privacy is violated. Further, Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act and Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are violated by this government as there is no reason to tap the phones of leaders of Opposition parties, advocates, journalists and social activists," he contended. "The ruling party in its over-enthusiasm to retain power at any cost is dangerously threatening and attacking any person or institution raising their voice against the malfunctioning of the government," he said. Lawyers, journalists and social activists were not spared along with the leaders of the Opposition parties, the former chief minister said. In the long run, such nefarious activities would result in breakdown of democratic values and freedom of speech leading to jungle raj, the TDP chief added. He appealed to the Prime Minister to initiate immediate and stern action to check any further unlawful activities (phone tapping) by the ruling party and private persons in the state. It would be appropriate to order an inquiry by a competent body of the Government of India to check the illegal acts of phone tapping, he said. VIDEO: Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. recaps a day of listening and engaging with citizens and leaders on the McGirt case. Chief Hoskin expressed appreciation to the Council for their confidence in him and continues to work with Oklahomas Attorney General, members of Congress, tribal leaders and other stakeholders. Cherokee Nation In its recent ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma, the United States Supreme Court affirmed what Native Americans in Oklahoma have always known and maintained: Our land is, and always has been, ours. State and local governments spent decades assuming that our reservations, including the Cherokee Nations 7,000-square-mile reservation in northeast Oklahoma, no longer existed. However, the Supreme Courts recent ruling very clearly explained that Congress never disestablished our reservations. Our reservations still exist. Our sovereign rights within those borders remain intact. The ruling also represents new challenges for the Cherokee Nation to ensure there are no jurisdictional gaps affecting law enforcement and public safety in Oklahoma. On August 13, 2020, Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. established a new commission to make funding and resource recommendations and examine other related areas in the wake of the historic United States Supreme Court McGirt decision. Photo: Anadisgoi / Cherokee Nation The Supreme Court ruling said that serious crimes committed within the Muscogee Creek reservation boundaries would no longer be under the jurisdiction of the state to prosecute, and those cases transferred to federal and tribal courts to prosecute. Because the Five Civilized Tribes historically share similar treaties, by extension, this ruling also applies to Cherokee Nation and violent crimes committed on Cherokee Nation reservation lands. To prepare for the challenges, we recently established the Commission for the Protection of Cherokee Nation Sovereignty to make funding and resource recommendations and examine other related areas. Some of the brightest minds on the subject of sovereignty will be involved in the Commission, including Cherokee citizen and former United Nations Ambassador Keith Harper as well as people representing all branches of Cherokee Nations government. The commission will analyze resource concerns, costs and necessary steps as the Cherokee Nation prepares to exercise expanded jurisdiction over crimes committed on our reservation lands. We also rolled out the proposed Cherokee Nation Reservation, Judicial Expansion and Sovereignty Protection Act for consideration by the Council of the Cherokee Nation to facilitate additional federal funding for expanded staffing and resources and bring in judicial officers to help with workload increases. Twelve Council members are co-sponsoring the legislation and I anticipate broad support on final passage later this month. In addition, we are taking the necessary steps to expand our Marshal Service, Attorney Generals Office, detention and probation budgets, and tribal court system. Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. watches as crews removed two Confederate monuments from the Cherokee Nation Capitol Square in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Both monuments were placed on the capitol square nearly a century ago when the property was owned by the state. The tribe did not place the monuments. Photo: Cherokee Nation The commission will send me periodic reports and a final report by Dec. 1, so that the Cherokee Nation can start growing our courts, law enforcement and other areas related to the McGirt ruling. The legislation if approved by Council later this month will allow the Cherokee Nation to apply for funding and grants to expand. I will also stay engaged in any congressional response to legislation, to ensure our tribal sovereignty is protected and that this historic ruling remains intact. We are all too aware of the federal governments history of failed promises to tribal nations. It is a pattern we have seen repeated too many times as the U.S. government has broken or simply ignored the promises it made to us through treaties. History has shown that failure to include tribal voices in formulating legislation or policy has too often led to devastating results. Make no mistake, if we are not at that table, Congress will legislate without our voices. Anti-Indian groups, big energy corporations, and others have wasted no time in trying to steal away this historic Supreme Court victory. These forces are working overtime to divide tribal nations, create confusion, and deprive our citizens of their sovereign rights. If I had not expected these forces would attack our sovereignty, I would be offended at how quickly they have done so. But tribal sovereignty is more than just a catchphrase, and it is more than a word that can be casually thrown around for political gain. The truth is, tribal sovereignty comes with rights and obligations, and we are fully prepared to demand our rights while fulfilling our obligations. This court decision is the largest victory for Indian Country in our lifetime, but it also represents new challenges for the Cherokee Nation so we are preparing vigorously for what we anticipate is coming. I look forward to a detailed report from the commission in the coming weeks. I am thankful to those who stand alongside our tribal nations as we work to uphold public safety, promote legal cooperation, secure our rights and protect the hard-fought recognition of our reservation boundaries. I want the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling to be an enduring victory for Indian Country. This moment is too important for Cherokee Nation to sit by while others make decisions on our behalf. Chuck Hoskin Jr. is the 18th elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, the largest Indian tribe in the United States. He is only the second elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from Vinita, the first being Thomas Buffington, who served from 1899-1903. Prior to being elected Principal Chief, Hoskin served as the tribes Secretary of State. He also formerly served as a member of the Council of the Cherokee Nation, representing District 11 for six years. Join the Conversation The unprecedented recession triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted Europe to respond in kind by setting up a 750 billion fund to rebuild and sustain the economy. Some of this cash is tied to long-term investments as part of the New Green Deal and the adoption of digital technologies. The relief fund beggars a necessary debate about Catalonias socio-economic model today. This newspaper has asked some of the top Catalan economists what 10 key areas should be the recipient of Europes funds, with a view to giving Catalonia and its economy a shot in the arm. The world wont be the same after the pandemic and some of the new routines are here to stay. A case in point is flexibility at work with teleworking as the most obvious example and the adoption of new technologies. Businesses have adapted to the pandemic and now the administration should follow suit. For instance, we must get rid of the red tape that slows down the setting up a new company and we must preach the benefits of adopting new technologies. This is not a digital transformation, but a cultural one, as one of the experts that we spoke to pointed out. Public spending on infrastructures in Catalonia is well below what it ought to be (at least 2.2 per cent of GDP), but in future infrastructure investment should be decided according to demand rather than supply. In other words, no more airports should be built where there are no flights and no more railway track should be laid, if it means that the bullet trains will be running empty. Infrastructure spending should be informed by a cost-benefit survey that forecasts the economic, social and environmental benefits of the project in question. Therefore, we have an opportunity to end the arbitrary public spending we have had, often with a centralist tinge. The coronavirus has caused a major public health, economic and social crisis that has also revealed the importance of scientific research. We are in the hands of thousands of scientists across the world who are doing research hoping to develop a preventative vaccine and a treatment that works. Barcelona is the eighth European city in terms of knowledge generation and the first in southern Europe. We must be strong in education, universities and research. We must make the most of the fact that the EU will prioritise R&D, when the time comes to distribute the funds. Furthermore, this investment should lead to better trained human capital and increased technological capital in the form of patents. These are two values that should help us to advance towards a new technology-based industry that is much more competitive. Finally, another key factor is the distribution of those resources: it must be transparent, honest and professional. The public and private sectors must work hand in hand to ensure that it is so. And it must be accompanied by an honest dialogue between the administrations. The future will be collaborative or not at all. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, August 17, 2020 16:54 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e939b4 1 World kim-jong-un,Scott-Morrison,King-Salman-Abdulaziz-Al-Saud,Crown-Prince-Mohammed-bin-Salman,Jokowi,75th-Indonesia-merdeka,75th-indonesian-independence-day,Independence-Day,#Indonesia75 Free Several international leaders conveyed their well-wishes for Indonesias future on the countrys 75th Independence Day on Monday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un congratulated President Jokowi Jokowi Widodo and the Indonesian public at large on the independence anniversary, while also praising the countrys economic and cultural accomplishments. After the independence, your country has made great progress in developing national economy and culture and building a prosperous society under the uplifted banner of sovereignty, independence, and non-alignment, Kim said in a written statement published on the North Korean Foreign Affairs Ministrys official website. I take this opportunity to express my conviction that the valuable tradition of excellent friendship and cooperation between our two countries would continue to consolidate and develop as required by the new era. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted a congratulatory message to Jokowi, expressing confidence that the two-nation could deepen their bilateral relationship. Warm congratulations to @jokowi and the Indonesian people on 75 years of Independence. As a close friend and neighbour, we're committed to deepening cooperation and advancing shared values in our region, in our 70th year of formal diplomatic ties. Happy Independence Day! pic.twitter.com/lcC0yqTsZz Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) August 17, 2020 Warm congratulations to Jokowi and the Indonesian people on 75 years of Independence. As a close friend and neighbor, we're committed to deepening cooperation and advancing shared values in our region, in our 70th year of formal diplomatic ties, Morrison wrote in the tweet. Similarly, leaders of the Muslim world have also expressed their optimism for Indonesia itself the largest Muslim majority country in the world as the country celebrated its independence amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. As quoted in the Saudi Gazette on Sunday, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also wished Jokowi a happy and healthy life. The two leaders also expressed hope that Indonesia would achieve further economic advancement and prosperity. Warp Speeds upside saving lives is well worth any money that may get lost. But the program also has been shrouded in secrecy. The government has good reasons to keep some parts of the program under wraps, particularly negotiations that could affect the stock prices of companies making bids. But the process for deciding which companies were tapped to participate in the public health equivalent of the Manhattan Project has been entirely too opaque. And that lack of transparency is also likely to make the public the folks who will have to line up for inoculations skeptical that the government has ensured that we wind up with an effective, safe vaccine. If you ask Patricia Harvey about the challenges she faced when learning how to use a computer, she laughs. (I was) afraid of breaking the computer because I didnt know how to use it, she says. But despite her hesitation, two years ago, the 92-year-old Beamsville resident joined Cyber-Seniors, an organization that encourages youth to teach seniors how to use technology. She figured computers were here to stay and thought she might as well figure them out. I like to keep busy. Im not a knitter or crocheter, said Harvey about why she joined the group. Technology has helped older adults stay safe, independent, and socially connected. During the pandemic though, its become an essential way to access basic necessities. We started Cyber-Seniors as a fun way to get seniors connected on the internet, said group co-founder Kascha Cassaday. But when COVID hit it was more about they need to be on the internet in order to get the basic necessities to survive this pandemic. Cassaday helped start Cyber-Seniors in 2009 with her sister Macaulee Cassaday. Then in high school, the sisters from Toronto were originally trying to find a way to complete their community service hours. At the time, they were teaching their grandparents how to use Facebook to stay in touch with relatives and thought they could do the same for other older adults. They started holding sessions in local retirement homes, and eventually expanded across Ontario. In March, when in-person gatherings became restricted, Cyber-Seniors moved their services online. Where hundreds of seniors were joining sessions before, Cassaday says now thousands are participating online from as far away as the United States. Individuals can register for webinars on a different topic each day, or book a one-on-one call for help with a specific problem. Theres even a weekly Community Chat where participants can join just to talk. Connor Uhrig is a 14-year-old volunteer with the group who joined during the pandemic. The student at Hamiltons Sherwood Secondary School says he signed up because he wanted to use his free time when schools were out to help others. In the process, he also completed and far surpassed his community service hour requirement. I found that it was really rewarding to get to help seniors, he said. I was surprised how interested the seniors were in technology and how much they had skills already that you can build on. Cassaday says in the Hamilton area, more than 30 seniors are currently participating in Cyber-Seniors. A survey done last year by AGE-WELL NCE, a Canadian network focused on technology and aging, found the majority of Canadians over age 65 are not only online daily, but believe technology can help keep them safe, stay at home longer, and live independently. A large proportion, seven in 10, also believe technology can help reduce social isolation. If people are socially isolated, then it becomes really important that these kinds of groups exist and that they are accessible and promoted, said Dr. Aki-Juhani Kyroelaeinen from McMasters department of linguistics and languages. His research focuses on language and technology. We have a lot of technology available, but most of the technology is designed for the younger generation, he adds. For example, he says specific design elements such as contrasting colours can help make websites more accessible for individuals with a vision impairment. As for Harvey, she says technology has been particularly helpful in connecting her with loved ones during the pandemic to see and talk to them when they cant meet in person. You dont feel quite so alone, she said. ST. LOUIS Scientists here are criticizing a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency declaring that the Labadie Energy Center the biggest coal-fired power plant in Missouri has met a key air quality standard. Watchdogs say the plants owner, St. Louis-based electric monopoly Ameren Corp., has not installed air monitoring equipment in a large arc southeast of the Franklin County facility, where winds primarily push emissions. Without that, they say, the EPA cannot possibly know the true impact of the plant on air pollution. Its a premature decision, said Ken Miller, an environmental scientist at Washington Universitys Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic, which closely tracks Ameren. Only after youve filled that data gap will you have enough information. Under the Trump administration, the EPA has changed similar designations for 52 areas nationwide, ruling that theyve pulled into compliance with air quality rules after previously failing to meet safe pollution levels, or after being judged unclassifiable. The EPAs move effectively would declare that the Labadie plant is not emitting levels of sulfur dioxide that could compel Ameren to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in pollution controls called scrubbers leaving it as the nations largest coal plant without technology to reduce the pollutant on any of its units, critics say. The agency will take public comment on the proposal for a 30-day period after it is entered into the Federal Register. Ameren defended the EPAs decision. Theres a very robust monitoring system around Labadie, said Steve Whitworth, Amerens senior director of environmental policy and analysis. This wasnt done arbitrarily. Its a very exacting process. But the agencys proposal renews a dispute that has simmered for years, largely centered on where to place air monitors in the area. The Sierra Club, for example, has argued that Ameren intentionally put monitors in locations where terrain and weather reduces concentrations of sulfur dioxide an air pollutant linked to respiratory distress and other health issues. And Washington U.s environmental clinic said that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources had not done due diligence in reviewing and accepting Amerens monitoring locations, according to comments submitted to the EPA in June 2016. That year, the EPA deemed the plants air quality unclassifiable, and said it needed more data. That ruling came as a surprise to area residents and environmental advocates, and was reached only months after the agency issued a preliminary decision suggesting that Labadie was not satisfying requirements for sulfur dioxide. Ameren has fought suggestions that it should place air monitors southeast of the plant. In comments submitted this month to DNR which officials say is nearing the same conclusion as the EPA, based on its own review of the air data around Labadie Ameren said that arguments for additional monitoring were unfounded. The company explained that monitor locations were approved after considerable input and collaboration with DNR and the EPA, and were sited at the point of maximum impacts based on two separate modeling efforts. Critics now vow to contest the proposal during the public comment window. Were basically arguing that they should put this on pause, said Miller, of Washington U. With one monitor east of the plant and another to the southwest, he said that there is a roughly 135-degree arc with no monitors along the plants southern and southeastern flank. The idea that we wouldnt slow down a bit and figure out whats going on in this uncovered area, it doesnt make sense to me, he said. Others said the proposal continues a trend of undercutting health protections. EPA doesnt have a great track record under this administration with air quality designations, added Andy Knott, a St. Louis-based representative of the Sierra Clubs Beyond Coal campaign. Knott called it deeply disturbing that the plant has remained an anomaly over the years, without scrubber technology to cut down on sulfur dioxide. Its the largest unscrubbed coal plant in the country that doesnt have a retirement date in the next 10 years, and its getting off scot-free, Knott said. The EPAs decision comes about a month before Ameren is due to release a new long-term strategy for electricity generation. Groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council say that costs of pollution controls are challenging the viability of top Ameren coal plants, and raise questions about whether to accelerate retirement dates currently set as far off as the 2040s. A federal judge last year ordered Ameren to put scrubbers on the companys Rush Island Energy Center in Jefferson County. At the same time, U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel ruled that, because Rush Island broke Clean Air Act rules for years, the Labadie plant must reduce emissions commensurate with the excess emissions released by Rush Island, and install its own pollution controls though not scrubbers within three years. Ameren has appealed the ruling. In February, the Department of Justice accused the company of failing to comply with its order to curb air pollution and said necessary work had been inexplicably paused. The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Bloomberg Shopify nearly doubled its revenue in the second quarter, crushing analysts estimates as a flood of merchants moved their businesses online during the coronavirus pandemic. Sales grew 97% to $714.3 million from the same quarter a year ago, Ottawa-based Shopify said in a statement Wednesday. Analysts had expected about $512 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Gross merchandise volume, a key metric that represents the value of all goods sold through Shopifys platform, surged 119% from a year earlier or to $30.1 billion. Analysts were expecting a 49% increase to $20.6 billion. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco doubled over the first quarter, the company said. The strength of Shopifys value proposition was on full display in our second quarter, Chief Financial Officer Amy Shapero said in the quarterly release. We are committed to transferring the benefits of scale to our merchants, helping them sell more and sell more efficiently, which is especially critical in this rapidly changing environment. E-commerce companies have been big winners of late, with the coronavirus closing many physical retail stores. Many analysts predict this boost will be lasting. Shopify shares jumped as much as 12.5% in early New York trading, touching a fresh high, and are up 169% this year. New stores created on the Shopify platform grew 71% in the second quarter compared with the first quarter, driven in part by the companys decision to extend the free-trial period on standard plans from 14 days to 90 days. Large sellers continued to migrate to Shopify Plus, resulting in a record quarter for new merchant additions to the platform. Strong transactional revenue, far ahead of even the highest expectations, point to COVID-19 tailwinds that are stronger at SHOP than most anticipated, said Citigroup analyst Walter Pritchard. Key from here will be sustainability of demand from newly acquired merchants, he said in a report. Still, the company chose not to provide forecasts for the third quarter, citing uncertainty surrounding COVID-19. It said its monitoring the impact of rising unemployment on new store creation, consumer spending habits and the rate at which brick-and-mortar merchants move online. The tech company suspended its full-year forecast in April. This year, Shopify has formed partnerships with Walmart Inc. to expand its third-party marketplace site and with Affirm Inc. to allow consumers to break purchases into a series of smaller payments moves aimed at stepping up competition with Amazon.com. The company said in May that it will keep its offices largely closed for the rest of the year as it designs its space for a digital by default mindset, adjusting to a remote work environment. This also represents an opportunity for Shopify to open up, further diversify our talent pool, unconstrained by physical location, Shapero said on the earnings call today. The company took a $31.6 million impairment charge as it exited some of its secondary offices in major cities, she said. Second-quarter results includes $37.1 million of incremental expenses related to changes in its facilities, she added. After its shares more than quadrupled in 2019, Shopify blew past Royal Bank of Canada this year to become the most valuable company in Canadas S&P/TSX Composite Index. Its the best-performing company in the index this year. It remains clear that Shopify is at the right place and the right time with the leading e-commerce software and services platform enabling the digital transformation for thousands of businesses, said Baird analyst Colin Sebastian. Faculty, professors and students at multiple Texas A&M University affiliated campuses, angered by the University Systems refusal to transition to fully online classes, penned an open letter addressed to the A&M Chancellor John Sharp and the Board of Regents which has garnered around 900 signatures as of Friday. The letter cites wide support for social distancing measures in the university system, noting that the Faculty Senates of Texas A&M University (TAMU) San Antonio had passed a resolution to move fully online, while TAMU Corpus Christi passed a resolution that allowed faculty to choose their mode of instruction. It also stated that members of TAMU Corpus Christi, Texas A&M International University, and TAMU-Kingsville support moving fully online in order to reduce the spread of this lethal pandemic across campuses and the regions we serve, and the communities in which we live. The letter proceeds to calls on the A&M University System to grant our universities the leeway to make independent decisions about the course delivery methods that will best serve and protect our students and communities during the COVID-19 crisis. Texas A&M University Corpus Christi campus To put it bluntly, the reopening plans of the A&M University administrations are aggressive and brutal. Texas A&M (College Station) Provost Carol A. Fierke has stated that more than 50 percent of the fall classes (which start Thursday) sections will be offered in-person, with more than half of students having two or more courses in person. Similarly, A&M-Kingsville is planning to hold a mere third of its courses online while the rest are to be taught in a hybrid of online and face-to-face instruction. Texas A&M University President Michael K. Young has even floated the idea that the university might set a threshold for shutting down in-person classes to as high as 100 infections per day, which would be nothing short of a complete disaster. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, president of TAMU San Antoniowhich is scheduled to open Thursdaysaid that 10 percent of courses would be taught in person and 20 percent in a hybrid format where the faculty and some students would be in the classroom, although she claimed that all face-to-face teaching would be done by faculty who volunteered. Contrary to the assertion that face-to-face teaching would be voluntary, five professors speaking to San Antonio Express-News explained that these courses would be taught by adjunct instructors that are only paid for each course taught and would otherwise not be hired. This is economic blackmail; the adjuncts are basically told work and get [COVID-19], or starve. Most Texas A&M Universities are situated in virus hotspots, such as TAMU Corpus Christi, which accounts for more than a third of the signatures. Corpus Christi, in Nueces County, had 351 new cases last Saturday and has seen 270 total deaths from COVID-19, with 4,659 cases per 100,000, more than twice the state average. In a weekly coronavirus report released Friday by TAMU Corpus Christi, it was estimated that a potential one in every ten residents of Coastal Bend, where Corpus Christi is located, could be infected with the virus. The report also provides data on the travel habits of residents of Coastal Bend based on cellphone tracking, which estimated that residents traveled to around 97,000 locations outside the Coastal Bend region in Texas, and that 64,000 visits were made by Texans from outside the region, underscoring the need for a coordinated effort to contain and eradicate the disease. The report summary states that the Texas-Wide-Outbreak is Not Over, adding, cell phone data predicts increasing transmission rate, cases in future [we need] to continue efforts to reduce transmission, not time to relax. The Texas A&M University Systems news release states that The Texas A&M University System Regents on Friday voted to reopen the Systems 11 university campuses for the fall semester, employing a mixture of face-to-face instruction with remote and online learning. The release makes it clear that the board of regents is on board with the reopening, only giving lip-service to social distancing policies and to the basic health and safety concerns of faculty, staff, and students. The news release also endorses the reopening of sports, which has already been proven multiple times to lead to infections of athletes, as demonstrated in the case of the University of Houston and Texas Tech, as well as many other universities around the country. WASHINGTON President Trump ordered a federal agency to cut off support for California wildfire victims because the state was not part of his political base, according to a former high-ranking government staffer. Miles Taylor, former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, made the allegation in an online ad posted Monday in which he endorsed Democratic nominee-to-be Joe Biden for president. In the ad, produced by Republican Voters Against Trump, Taylor says Trump sought to exploit the Department of Homeland Security for his own political purposes and to fuel his own agenda. He cites a phone call he says Trump made to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an example. He told FEMA to cut off the money and to no longer give individual assistance to California, Taylor said. He told us to stop giving money to people whose houses had burned down from a wildfire because he was so rageful that people in the state of California didnt support him and that politically it wasnt a base for him. Trump did publicly threaten to cut off disaster assistance to California in 2019, but cited allegedly poor forest management as the reason. FEMA never actually cut off its aid to California, which supports rebuilding streets and infrastructure, as well as individual home repairs, rental housing and other personal expenses. In a statement, White House spokesman Judd Deere called Taylor another creature of the D.C. swamp who never understood the importance of the presidents agenda or why the American people elected him and clearly just wants to cash in. Taylor joined Google as head of national security relations in October 2019, but is on leave from the position. Neither he nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to requests for comment. Taylor does not say in the ad when Trump made the alleged call. In January 2019, two months after the Camp Fire killed 84 people and destroyed most of the town of Paradise, Trump tweeted that he had ordered FEMA not to give any more money to California to support fire disaster relief, but he said forest management practices were the reason. Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen. Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money! Trump said. The president had already suggested such steps as allowing more logging and clearing of forest debris, saying Finland rarely had forest fires because Finns spend a lot of time raking. Critics noted that more than half of forestland in California is owned by the federal government, and that state and local agencies controlled just 3%. Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twittter: @talkopan Newsweek has apologised for an op-ed that questioned Sen. Kamala Harris' US citizenship and her eligibility to be Joe Biden's running mate, a false and racist conspiracy theory which President Donald Trump has not dismissed. This op-ed is being used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia. We apologize, read Newsweek's editor's note on Friday, which replaced the magazine's earlier detailed defence of the op-ed. We entirely failed to anticipate the ways in which the essay would be interpreted, distorted and weaponized, read the apology, signed by Josh Hammer, opinion editor, and Nancy Cooper, global editor in chief. But they ended the note by saying that the op-ed would remain on the site, with their note attached. The op-ed was written by John Eastman, a conservative attorney who argues that the US Constitution doesn't grant birthright citizenship. Eastman sowed doubt about Harris' eligibility based on her parents' immigration status. Harris' mother was born in India and her father was born in Jamaica. Newsweek earlier defended the piece, arguing that Eastman was focusing on a long-standing, somewhat arcane legal debate about the 14th Amendment and not trying to ignite a racist conspiracy theory around Kamala Harris' candidacy. But the theory is false. Harris, who was tapped by Joe Biden to serve as his running mate on the Democratic ticket, was born in Oakland, California, and is eligible for both the vice presidency and presidency under the constitutional requirements. The question is not even considered complex, according to constitution lawyers. Trump built his political career on questioning a political opponent's legitimacy. He was a high-profile force behind the birther movement the lie that questioned whether President Barack Obama, the nation's first Black president, was eligible to serve. Only after mounting pressure during his 2016 campaign did Trump disavow the claims. Poland, U.S. sign military agreement People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 09:22, August 16, 2020 WARSAW, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak and visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo signed an agreement on Saturday for the expansion of the U.S. military presence and the creation of a regional headquarter in Poland. They signed the so-called Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA), a legal framework that deepens military cooperation between the two countries. The core of the new agreement consists of the opening of a base in Poland for the 5th Corps of the U.S. Army, which is expected to open in 2021. The total number of American soldiers in Poland will increase by 1,000 to around 5,500. Blaszczak told Polish Press Agency that the deal will cost Poland around 113 million euros (134 million U.S. dollars). "Like other countries with a United States military presence, Poland guarantees and pays for military quarters, sustenance, a yearly allowance of fuel, storage of select equipment and armaments, and infrastructure," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address When Charles Dickens died on June 9, 1870, newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic framed his loss as an event of national and international mourning. They pointed to the fictional characters Dickens had created as a key part of his artistic legacy, writing how we have laughed with Sam Weller, with Mrs. Nickleby, with Sairey Gamp, with Micawber. Dickens himself had already featured as the subject of one piece of short biographical fiction published during his lifetime. Yet, in the years following his death, he would be increasingly appropriated as a fictional character by the Victorians, both in published texts and in privately circulated fan works. Will the real Dickens stand up? Daguerreotype portrait of Charles Dickens, 1852, by Antoine Claudet. Library Company of Philadelphia. (Public Domain) Dickenss private family funeral at Westminster Abbey created a gap in knowledge that some journalists chose to fill with a fictional scene they considered more emotionally satisfying. The London Penny Illustrated Paper visually reimagined the funeral, publishing a large illustration depicting a crowded public event. Under the subheading A National Honor Due to Charles Dickens, the accompanying text acknowledges that the image is fictional, but argues that: A ceremony such as is depicted in our Engraving would unquestionably have best represented the national feeling of mourning occasioned by the lamented death. The grave of Charles Dickens in Westminster Abbey. While Dickens had a private funeral, journalists reimagined it as a grand affair. (CC0) It was the publication of John Forsters Life of Charles Dickens in 187274, though, that marked a watershed in fictionalizations of Dickens. Victorian readers now had a full-length birth-to-death Dickens biography to draw on, written by a friend who had known him for his entire adulthood. Dickenss Preface to his 184950 novel David Copperfield had encouraged readers to interpret it as semi-autobiographical. However, it was only with Forsters biography that the full extent of the similarities between Dickens and the fictional Copperfield was made public. An illustration of the characters Mr. Micawber and David Copperfield from Charles Dickenss David Copperfield, considered the authors most autobiographical novel. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) The revelation that Dickens had performed child labor in a blacking warehouse when his father was imprisoned for debt, before rising to international fame in his 20s, gave him a life story that the press described as rivaling Dickenss most popular novel. Rags to Riches The Household Edition of Forsters Life, published by Chapman & Hall in 1879, included 28 new illustrations of the biography by Fred Barnard. Among them was an emotive image of Dickens as a young boy in the blacking warehouse. Illustration by Fred Barnard of young Charles Dickens at work in a shoe-blacking factory after his father had been sent to a workhouse. In the 1892 edition of Forsters Life of Dickens. (Public Domain) Dickens wrote a private account of this time, for which Forsters biography is our only remaining source. In this autobiographical fragment, Dickens describes how he was brought down to work among other boys in the warehouse. He was careful not to let them see his suffering, and to make sure that he worked as hard as them. Yet what Barnard pictures is a scene of solitude, visible despair or perhaps exhaustion at the warehouse that is not described in this fragment. The image bears a closer resemblance to Dickenss fictionalization of the first day at the warehouse in David Copperfield. In the novel, the young Copperfield writes: I mingled my tears with the water in which I was washing the [blacking] bottles. Barnard heightens and externalizes the private emotion that Dickens wrote about in the autobiographical fragment to create a fictional scene. In doing so, he further blurs the boundaries between Dickens and the fictional Copperfield. The practice of Grangerizationthe art of extending and customizing a published book with inserted materialwas popular among Victorian readers. Additional fictionalized illustrations of Dickenss life, created by the Dickens illustrator Frederick W. Pailthorpe, are revealed in a 14-volume Grangerization of Forsters Life, held in the British Library. Some of these seem to have been created for personal interest and private circulation among fellow Dickens enthusiasts, rather than for publication. One sketch shows Dickens as a boy making a low bow to a friend of his fathers. This image is based on an incident that Forster describes as taking place at the blacking warehouse where Dickens worked. Yet Pailthorpes illustration fictionalizes the location of the event, transposing the young Dickens to the front of the house of John Dryden, the former poet laureate next to whom Dickens would eventually be buried in Westminster Abbey. In doing so, Pailthorpe creates a narrative in which Dickens was always destined for literary greatness. Biographical Fiction and Real-Person Fiction In the 21st century, readers have commented on the resemblances between the fictional stories that the young Bronte siblings wrote about real-life contemporary figures such as the Duke of Wellington, and 20th- and 21st-century forms of fan fiction. Oscar Wildes 1889 story The Portrait of Mr W.H. focuses on a series of men whose biographical speculations about the life of Shakespeare verge on fictionalization. Nevertheless, recent scholarly work on biographical fiction has described it as coming into being mainly in the 20th century. Press articles on the form of fan fiction known as real-person fiction have largely focused on it as a product of internet culture (while noting briefly that many of Shakespeares plays also fictionalize real-life figures). Dickenss Dream by Robert William Buss, portraying Dickens at his desk surrounded by many of his characters. (Public Domain) Archival work on the Victorian press, and on semi-private forms of reader response such as Grangerized books, can flesh out our understanding of the role that biographical fictionalization played in Victorian culture. It demonstrates a longer and more varied history of the human desire to appropriate and imaginatively re-create famous contemporary figures. And it shows that part of Dickenss creative legacy, as well as his own works, was the fictional forms that his life inspired others to create. Lucy Whitehead is a doctoral candidate researcher in the school of English, Communication, and Philosophy at Cardiff University in the U.K. This article was first published on The Conversation. 9-y-o girl who wants to be with Jesus needs miracle after COVID-19 infection Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An Ohio mother is fighting to keep her 9-year-old daughter alive after she tested positive for COVID-19 and doctors say she is now in the process of dying. She always said, Im going to be with Jesus, Doranny Escolastico-Paula told The Journal-News of her church-loving daughter, Dorielis Reyes. I want to go be with Jesus. I want to go first. Paula, 31, explained in a GoFundMe campaign launched Aug. 7 that before showing signs of sickness on May 10, Reyes had been an extroverted, happy, and friendly girl. She always had a curious spirit, was never afraid to make new friends, and loved to go to church, Paula wrote. On the 10th of May of this year, she began walking a little strange, and later began to drag one of her feet because she couldn't walk on it. I took her to the hospital because it was obviously not normal for her. She later lost movement in parts of her body and there at the hospital, she was tested for Covid-19 where the results came out positive. Since Reyes, the oldest of her five children, was first hospitalized on May 19, Paula told the news outlet that life has been a bit of a blur. She explained in the GoFundMe campaign that doctors have run a battery of tests on her daughter and checked with experts around the world to find out what was causing inflammation in her brain. But, they have not been able to successfully treat her yet. They decided to make calls to medical experts in different parts of the world to see if they had any similar cases as her, but could not find one, Paula wrote. Paula stated that doctors at one point, sent Reyes home so she could be treated there in hopes that she would respond more positively. However, things just got worse. After a week of being home, she lost the ability to walk, was beginning to lose the ability to speak, and was beginning to have severe headaches when on July 19th she had an epileptic seizure and was then admitted once again to the hospital, now in intensive care, Paul wrote. The doctors then did another MRI and found the headaches were due to bleeding in the brain caused by the inflammation being compressed with her head. Reyes is being cared for at Cincinatti Childrens Hospital. "Right now, they're giving her medicine for pain because they are saying that she is going to die, she's in the process to die," Paula told WLWT5 last week, adding that her daughter could die at any minute. "They say maybe 24 hours because her oxygen levels go up-down, up-down, and they say something can happen at any moment. In the interview with The Journal-News, Paula explained that she is now waiting for a miracle. Its so hard, she said. You never expect your kid, so young, to get this sick. Taylor Williamson, a teacher at Wildwood Elementary School in Middletown where Reyes attends, told the newspaper that the 9-year-old possesses a sweet, positive and bubbly personality. She is one of those who has a passion for school, a passion for learning, Williamson said. I just hope that we get a chance to see her potential get realized. So far, Paulas GoFundMe campaign has raised over $18,300 from 483 donors, over $3,000 more than her initial fundraising goal. A young Missouri woman is showing people there is no excuse not to wear a face mask because even though she only has one ear, she has still found creative ways to keep her masks secure. Rhys Yarbrough, a 20-year-old student, told BuzzFeed that she was born with a craniofacial condition called Goldenhar syndrome, which left her with just one ear. So in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, she turned to TikTok to figure out how to keep a standard face mask over her mouth and nose and, taking suggestions from viewers, has made it work by sticking a PopSocket, a Command hook, and a prosthetic ear on the side of her face. Viral: Rhys Yarbrough, a 20-year-old student, was born with a craniofacial condition called Goldenhar syndrome, which left her with just one ear How to: A tongue-in-cheek video asking how she's supposed to wear a mask when she doesn't have a left ear went viral Rhys, who has had about seven corrective surgeries and is completely deaf on her right side, first went viral a week ago when she posted a TikTok video complaining about the ear hooks on face masks. 'Can someone please explain to me how I'm supposed to wear this?' she says, holding up a cloth mask. 'I know you hook it to your ears, but slight problem I don't have any f***ing ears!' Suggestions flooded in from viewers, and Rhys soon tried out some of the funnier ones. First, she attached a PopSocket meant for the back of a smartphone for easier grip to the smooth side of her head where an ear would typically be. Trying it: Suggestions flooded in from viewers, and Rhys soon tried out some of the funnier ones Stuck: First, she attached a PopSocket meant for the back of a smartphone for easier grip to the smooth side of her head where an ear would typically be Works! She then demonstrated putting on a mask, showing that the PopSocket actually worked quite well She then demonstrated putting on a mask, showing that the PopSocket actually worked quite well. Next, she tried a Command wall hook, which also did the trick. In reality, the prosthetic ear she usually wears works just fine for keeping her mask in place. So, she said, she finds it irritating that she can figure out how to comply with masks rules and recommendations but others refuse and even invent fake medical excuses. She also BuzzFeed that before the videos, she'd 'never used anything but my prosthesis as an ear' and 'was curious on how it would actually work.' Another try: Next, she tried a Command wall hook, which also did the trick Stick on: She put it on the side of her head, the hook facing backwards How do you like that? She gave the thumbs up when it worked Solution? She usually wears a prothesis in public and that can keep a face mask in place 'I tend to forget that my life is different from most people, and I would have never guessed that putting a freaking PopSocket on my face would get this much attention,' she said 'The PopSocket was definitely more sturdy and felt more comfortable to wear,' she said, adding that they both 'peeled off easy, and it didnt leave a mark.' Rhy's videos have gone viral, with the PopSocket one racking up 24.8 million views so far. 'I tend to forget that my life is different from most people, and I would have never guessed that putting a freaking PopSocket on my face would get this much attention,' she said. The video has also resulted in other people with similar conditions reaching out, so she now has 'this whole new network of people who are just like me.' Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said the basic purpose of the Centres demonetisation had been defeated as people were dying in bank queues and terrorist attacks were still taking place. There are jawans who faced the enemy bullets and served the country....But after retirement they are unable to get their own money and it is extremely unfortunate that they are dying with their own bullets now, he said at a function in Mumbai. While announcing demonetisation, they (BJP) said it will eliminate the chances of terrorist attacks. But has it happened? Our jawans are dying as before, he said. Lashing out at the Union government over the hardship caused to common man, Shiv Sena chief also questioned the objective behind the decision. BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut and other Sena MPs were present on this occasion. Without naming Modi, Uddhav said, Even if your intention is good, why are you causing agony to people? The Sena chief also took a swipe at Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad over his reported remark that pain caused by demonetisation was like labour pain and people will reap joy after it is over. I want to ask Prasad whether he actually knows what labour pain is. Go and ask that pregnant lady who lost her life while standing in queue, Uddhav, whose party is an ally of BJP, said. Uddhav also challenged the Union ministers to announce their plans to construct the Ram Mandir (at Ayodhya). All Sena legislators and the entire Shiv Sena would stand like a rock behind the government in that case, he said. Meanwhile, Subramnaian Swamy, earlier on Saturday termed late Sena founder Bal Thackeray as the true face of Hindutva, adding that Uddhav was carrying forward his fathers legacy very well. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A leading disease expert has hinted Melbourne's lockdown could be extended beyond six weeks if coronavirus cases fail to drop as significantly as hoped. Victorian infections peaked at 725 on August 6 and numbers have steadily fallen to below 300, with 222 cases reported on Tuesday. But Melbourne University epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely is concerned the numbers are not falling as fast as expected. Melbourne entered Stage 4 lockdown on August 2 and a curfew was introduced from 8pm until 5am. The rest of the state was subject to Stage 3 restrictions as of 11.59pm on August 5. 'Cases fell quite quickly in the week following August 4, quicker than I expected but then in the last week which is seven days after stage 4 lockdown it's actually slowed and that's what I find odd,' he told news.com.au. 'It's still going down, which is good, but at this rate of progress we'll be lucky if we are at less than 50 cases a day by the end of the six-week lockdown.' A resident of Hambleton House speaks to police on Monday in Melbourne. Health authorities are investigating Hambleton House in Albert Park following a coronavirus outbreak among residents Victoria reported a record high of 725 infections on August 6 and numbers have steadily fallen to below 300, with 282 cases on Monday Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously suggested the Stage 4 restrictions would cost the national economy between $7billion and $9billion in the September quarter. Last week it was revealed more than one million Australians are out of work for the first time since records began, with the unemployment rate climbing slightly to 7.5 per cent. The situation could get much worse, given the latest jobless figures do not reflect the impact of Melbourne's stage four lockdowns. If coronavirus cases don't drop as steeply as hoped, Victorians could face extended restrictions come the end of lockdown on September 13. Prof Blakely said he is hoping new coronavirus cases drop below 50 a day. 'But let's see how we go, maybe things will steepen up in the next week,' he said. Little Bourke St in Melbourne's CBD is empty during stage four lockdown on Monday According to the Victorian president of the Australian Medical Association, Associate Professor Julian Rait, new cases in the low double digits would be 'very manageable'. 'I think many of my colleagues would like to see zero numbers but I think more realistically if it got down into the low double digits or even perhaps the single digits, that would be very manageable,' he said. 'The idea would be that at that point you could have very aggressive contact tracing and be able to find all the possible contacts an test and isolating them as required. 'So I think once the numbers get down to a very low level, it's a much more manageable situation than it currently is.' By comparison, New South Wales has continued to manage between 10 to 20 new infections a day. Health workers are seen outside the Florence Aged Care Facility in Melbourne on Monday Despite concerns of a slower than expected drop, Professor Catherine Bennett, chair in epidemiology at Deakin University, said daily COVID-19 case tallies had reassuringly declined since peaking at 725 cases on August 5. Commenting on the link between high case numbers in Melbourne's low socio-economic areas, Ms Bennett pointed to Victoria's botched hotel quarantine scheme. 'The communities hardest hit when their workers brought the virus home were also those most challenged in the face of the pandemic - over-represented in multi-site casual work, unable to work from home or afford to forgo work,' she said in a statement. 'The fact that the wave is turning in Victoria is largely a credit to those hardest hit, and who have had to do the really hard yards to shut down local transmission.' Victoria recorded 25 fatalities on Monday - the most of any day across the pandemic - taking the state toll to 334 and the national figure to 421. Victoria recorded 25 fatalities on Monday - the most of any day across the pandemic - taking the state toll to 334 and the national figure to 421 But there were 282 new cases and there have been no 400-plus days since last Wednesday. An optimistic Premier Daniel Andrews was buoyed by Monday's figures while issuing his regular plea for Victorians not to rest on their laurels. 'We are strong, there is good cause for people to be hopeful about the future - we just can't allow any sense of complacency to creep in here,' he told reporters. Of Monday's record deaths, 22 were linked to aged care. The deaths include one man in his 60s, four women and three men in their 70s, six women and four men in their 80s, and four men and three women in their 90s. Authorities have warned of ongoing fatalities even as new case numbers decline. A breakdown of ICU hospitalisation data released on Monday afternoon shows 31 of 49 patients are aged 60 or over. There is also one person in their 20s, four people in their 30s, three people in their 40s and 10 people in their 50s in ICU. The State Library of Victoria in Melbourne's CBD is closed and deserted during stage four lockdown U.S. Forces-Korea, a relative success story in the battle against COVID-19, has boosted its Health Protection Condition, or HPCON, a notch for troops and their families, following an outbreak of new cases in the metropolitan Seoul area. "The threat of the virus still remains," Army Gen. Robert B. "Abe" Abrams, the USFK commander, said Aug. 14 as he announced that the local HPCON had been raised from "Bravo" to "Charlie," limiting access to bases and restricting travel to Seoul. Read next: Army Street Gang Activity Is Increasing, Internal Report Shows The HPCON status was raised "out of an abundance of caution," USFK said in a statement. "While the USFK community has done a remarkable job keeping COVID-19 out of our formations, installations and communities, we must continue to remain aware of our surroundings and not let down our guard," Abrams said. USFK has maintained an infection rate of less than 1% in the total military community on the peninsula, which includes about 28,500 troops and another 30,000 military family members, contractors and other personnel, it said. USFK has not had a positive COVID-19 case since mid-April. Before April, a total of 24 positive cases were reported in the community, and all have recovered, according to USFK. However, five U.S. troops arriving in South Korea from the U.S. have tested positive, it announced Monday. The new positive cases brought the total among troops arriving from the U.S. to South Korea to 157 since April, USFK said. South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Monday that 197 more cases of the novel coronavirus had been detected in the greater Seoul area, sparking fears of a resurgence. The additions brought the total number of cases in South Korea to 15,515, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Related: The Military's Coronavirus Cases: The Latest Rundown Kent author Amy Poeppels new book, Musical Chairs, shares a funny, heartfelt story about family, friendship and love love that comes later in life. Its also a story in which secrets unfold, and some of it takes place in a quaint Connecticut town, though we cant say for sure which one. Perhaps Poeppel will shed light on that when she discusses Musical Chairs in a virtual book talk with author Elinor Lipman, Thursday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. This free event, on Zoom, is co-sponsored by House of Books and Kent Memorial Library. The book has many references to a small town in Litchfield County with a little red brick library and many other Kent-like locations, said the librarys Lucy Pierpont. Im waiting to meet a character I might really know, but alas, Ive only found composites. Musical Chairs, which is included in Parade magazines list of some of the best new books for July 2020, introduces readers to Bridget and Will, who have the kind of relationship people envy; theyre loving, compatible, and completely devoted to each other. The fact that theyre strictly friends seems to get lost on nearly everyone. ... For three decades, theyve nurtured their baby, the Forsyth Trio a chamber group they created as college students but now the trio is missing its violinist and floundering, the jacket says. Bridget has been dreaming of spending the summer at her rustic Connecticut country home with her boyfriend, Sterling. But her plans are suddenly upended when he breaks up with her over email and her twin 20-somethings arrive unannounced, filling her empty nest with their big dogs, dirty laundry and respective crises. Poeppel, who grew up in Texas, is also the author of Limelight and Small Admissions. According to a news release, the Wellesley College graduate worked as an actress in the Boston area and appeared in a corporate industrial for Polaroid, as well as a commercial for Brooks Pharmacy, and a truly terrible episode of Americas Most Wanted, along with other TV spots and several plays. While in Boston, she earned her masters in teaching from Simmons College. A married mother of three, her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Rumpus, Working Mother, Points In Case, The Belladonna, and Literary Mama. You can read an interview with her on Authors Answer. Lipman, meanwhile, is the author of 14 books of fiction and nonfiction, including Then She Found Me, The Inn at Lake Devine, Isabels Bed, I Cant Complain: (All Too) Personal Essays and most recently, Good Riddance, a news release said. Her rhyming tweets were published in 2012 as Tweet Land of Liberty: Irreverent Rhymes from the Political Circus. Then She Found Me became a 2008 feature film, directed by and starring Helen Hunt, with Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick. She was the 2011-12 Elizabeth Drew professor of creative writing at Smith College, and lives in Manhattan. To join this free event, just register for your Zoom login information. lkoonz@newstimes.com; Twitter: @LindaTKoonz PHOENIX A suspect wanted in connection with the killing of his pregnant wife and another man in September 2018 has been arrested, according to federal authorities. The FBI and U.S. Marshals Service took 48-year-old Dimas Coronado Chafino into custody Thursday at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on a felony warrant. Authorities say Chafino fled the country after the triple murders. He is being held on $2 million bond on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder plus kidnapping, burglary and interfering with judicial proceedings. It was unclear Sunday if Chafino has a lawyer yet for his case heading into his scheduled preliminary hearing Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court. Court documents show Chafino is accused of killing 24-year-old Oralia Nunez, her unborn child and 34-year-old Omar Gonzalez, who was a housemate of the couple. According to the Arizona Republic, Chafino and Nunez had been estranged for two months before she was killed. Phoenix police say Chafino fled with the couples two children from Nunezs mobile home where her and Gonzalezs bodies were later found. The Republic reports Chafino told police that he fled to Mexico with his two sons, but he denied killing anyone. DETROIT, MI A state employee accused of stabbing a man during a face mask dispute at a convenience store and who was later fatally shot by police, had been reprimanded for three separate work incidents from 2017 to 2018, according to state personnel filings. Michigan Department of Transportation employee Sean Ruis, 43, was disciplined following interactions with colleagues, according to the Associated Press. Ruis had worked at the agency for 12 years. In one March 2017 incident, he was issued a notice of reprimand for approaching a coworker and questioning him about his use of leave. Ruis, 43, was shot last month near Lansing after a stabbing inside a Quality Dairy store. Authorities allege he stabbed a 77-year-old man after being approached about not wearing a mask. The stabbing victim, John Duncan III, later died, family members said. RELATED: Video shows Michigan police officer shoot man wanted for stabbing in face mask fight Body cam video shows armed stabbing suspect running at Michigan police officer before being shot After stabbing over wearing a mask, police shoot, kill man for pulling knife on deputy, MSP says Producer-director Ridley Scott is at it again. The father of such projects as Blade Runner, Alien and Coma has helped create a new dystopian landscape. This time its the androids who face a daunting task as they must parent human children in Raised by Wolves, premiering on HBO Max Sept. 3. Its a brave new world created by Aaron Guzikowski, who says he got the idea when he became a father. The big spark that really helped me find my way into this world was the idea of the androids, he says. And I think it was when I had kids of my own, and just seeing technology kind of encroaching on them, for better or for worse. And also myself, just carrying this phone around all the time and just wondering someday maybe this phone is gonna carry ME around. Who knows where this is all going? And what does this mean for my kids? British actor Abubakar Salim, who plays the father android, says at first he had no idea how an automaton would act. But he was eased into the role by workshopping the voice and cadence with Scott, who directed the first two episodes. We had at least I think a good two or three weeks of rehearsing and working the actual character and making sure that we felt grounded with him, says Salim. I mean a lot of that, of the evolution of the paternal instincts and everything came from I guess for me the way of seeing it was no one really knows how to be a parent the first time, right? So that was what was quite exciting. Its like how does an android even though they have all this information know to be a parent even though they have to work off the cuff? Scott had examined the script and responded to it, recalls Guzikowski. And apparently soon after he had read it, he had just started drawing pictures, storyboarding. So as soon as I had heard that, it was beyond exciting to me ... Before I was even interested in making movies or TV or anything, I was obsessed with the stories that Ridley was telling. So it is a dream. Its been great. And he hasnt disappointed in terms of just his generosity, in terms of just being a great mentor, hes been great. As for Scott, he relishes the challenge. I really do like creating worlds and try and make them as accurately as possible because in a way, its almost like an additional character, he says. I enjoy the rock-and-roll of the whole process of making films and I find it very exciting, and Im very fortunate to be able to do it and its a wonderful occupation. Guzikowski sees a thread between his work and Scotts. There was a lot of exchange of DNA between a lot of the mythologies that Ridley has established in the past, and this new story, he says. But I think a lot of the rules that apply to these androids and the questions that they bring up are similar to going as far back to Ash from Alien in 1977. There are some similarities there. David W. Zucker, one of the shows producers, says, Aarons material came in as a spec (script) and, as Ridley always says, if its there on the page and he responds to it which he did with this then it just begins to gestate in his mind. The exciting thing was the first time Aaron and Ridley came together, both of them being fine artists Ridley was working on some of his visual inspiration for the piece, and started slowly sharing it with Aaron. And then before we knew it, the two of them were drawing right next to each other and evolving their ideas. So, it was a very exciting sort of collaboration, from start to finish. Danish actress Amanda Collin was cast as the android mother. She says the first day on set with Salim, they werent quite sure what to do. Abu and I looked at each other and were like, I think the first scene were just supposed to walk. And we looked at each other and we were like, How, how do we walk? How do we walk as androids? And we just walked. And so little by little, stuff came along ... and then you start to incorporate the whole animalistic kind of way of moving, and it was a great joy to just keep discovering the senses of an android. Actor pays the devil his due The devil made him do it again! Tom Ellis will be back as Beelzebub in Lucifer Friday, streaming 16 episodes on Netflix. Its Season 5 for the saucy Satan, and this trip hell be back in pairs as his twin shows up to share the spoils. Ellis, who is Welsh, has been attracting an audience since he was born literally. I have a twin sister and when we were born in Cardiff at the University of Wales Hospital its a big training hospital we were the heaviest twins ever born on record, he says. I was nine pounds, three ounces and my sister was seven pounds, five. My dad said, When you were born there was a crowd of about 20 people about to take on board this astonishing achievement. And he said, So you kind of came out to an audience. Selena Gomez ventures into the kitchen Actress-recording artist Selena Gomez is sporting a new passion. This time its among her pots and pans. Gomez is starring in a new streamer, Selena + Chefs, on HBO Max, in which she collides with some of the countrys most famous culinary experts in her own kitchen and tries to learn how to cook. The performer says she manages the multiple facets of her career by allocating time for each one. I think that I equally pay as much attention as I can to each individual thing, she says. Im so lucky that I have the best label whos super understanding, and Im really, really lucky that I have a lot of things that I get to do ... . I dont do anything I dont want to, of course, but it just life gives me so many different challenges and I just, I really thought this (show) would be something lighthearted, because I was getting definitely down. Theres more important things going on, but this was an opportunity to make something that could make people smile, she says. I hope theyre going to laugh because I look like a fool, and just enjoy. Like if you want to try the recipes ... I wanted to do that simply because I love cooking. I just dont know how to do it all the time ... I love to make sure that all the new things that I step into are something that I care about. Some of the intrepid chefs that will be tutoring Gomez include Roy Choi, Nancy Silverton, Antonia Lofaso and Ludo Lefebvre. Pandemic breaks out on TV Topic, yet another streaming channel, is offering its original drama Release, premiering on Sept. 3. And the timing couldnt be more fortuitous: Its about a pandemic. The series stars Lana McKissack who says, My character, Rose, in our episode was very paranoid, duct-taped all the holes, like tiny cracks in the doors and the windows, really took everything very, very seriously. And I said to (co-creators) Ryan Morrison and Joe Penna when we shot this: This would totally be me in a pandemic. Well, this IS me in a pandemic. Im not duct-taping things, but I still hand-wash every piece of kale, and spray the mail when it comes through the door, and Swiffer the floor when the mail gets picked up. So, yeah, I feel like I was ready for this before I knew it. The WA government will block the export of gas to the eastern states and overseas from all future onshore gas projects, except one. On Monday WA Premier Mark McGowan announced changes to the state's domestic gas policy that would prevent the export of onshore gas extracted in WA in an effort to bring down energy prices. The WA government will block gas exports from all new onshore gas projects. Credit: Supplied The only project to gain an exemption from the new policy is the Waitsia project in the Mid West, a joint venture between Japanese conglomerate Mitsui and Co and Kerry Stokes-backed Beach Energy. The Waitsia gas field is regarded as one of the largest gas fields ever discovered onshore in Australia. The joint venture bosses are currently mulling over a final investment decision, whether to drill more wells and build a production facility capable of producing 250 terajoules of gas per day. Chevron's domestic gas plant on Barrow Island produces about 300 terajoules a day. MBABANE - Its official, salaries for Eswatini Beverages Limited (EBL) employees have been cut. Following successful consultations and negotiations between employees and management, the 10 per cent salary cuts which were proposed three months ago has been implemented. In May, this publication reported that due to COVID-19, and in an effort to save jobs, the EBL had proposed to cut salaries of all its employees by 10 per cent for the next 18 months. The company, which is part of the global giant brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) family, has been one of the major casualties of the coronavirus pandemic in the Kingdom of Eswatini after government implemented the COVID-19 regulations, one of whose guidelines was a ban on the production and wholesaling of alcoholic beverages. Distribution Liquor is among non-essential products that government decided to suspend, especially its production and distribution. Confirming the latest developments was EBL Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs Mpumelelo Makhubu. The 10 per cent salary cuts for staff were effected on the July 1, 2020, as a means to avoid retrenchments, and to protect our companys long-term viability during the industry shutdown. Consultations with staff prior to implementation were successful and there was general appreciation of the challenges presented by the disruptions in business resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. According to Makhubu, the salary adjustments will be effected until December 2021, but will be reviewed periodically if the current situation normalises and the business recovers. This decision was not taken lightly. We empathise with the hardships that this will create for many of our colleagues. However, we fundamentally believe that in light of the shutdown and prohibition placed on our business, this is the best course of action to help preserve the employment and wellbeing of our entire Eswatini team, he mentioned. When asked to shed light on how the company had been affected, he said the damage had been very substantial considering that they had not been selling for more than three months since the first ban was announced in April. We are conscious that the business must prepare for a very challenging and protracted recovery, he mentioned. During the consultations and negotiations, the employees were represented by the Swazi Economic Improvement Workers Union. The organisation went out of its way to visit various towns to meet its members and allow them to present their views. President Mashumi Shongwe confirmed the implementation of the salary cuts and said they had no option but to agree as workers due to the state of COVID-19. This didnt go down well with us but there was no option since the impact of covid-19, in terms of business and employment, is clear that it has such, negative impact. Situation We are looking up to government to help intervene in this situation by easing some of the regulations to give an opportunity to open operations in this industry again. We all understand that alcohol has been suspended in the country, but still it must be considered that the industry employs a lot of people and, by extension pay a better portion of taxes that boost the economy of Eswatini, said Shongwe. He mentioned that they were aware that alcohol or any other substances that contained it had an effect on human behaviour but at this point in time there was a need to balance life, economy and the future of their work. Shongwe appealed to the unions members employed by EBL and other liquor outlets to remain calm under this tough situation. We have faith that this situation will pass as long as the nation and the world take serious caution by adhering to health measures to stop the vigorous spread of the virus. We all need to be cautious without getting used to the pandemic. If we all stick to the safety precautions, we believe we will overcome the pandemic, he emphasised. It should be noted that in May, our sister publication, The Times Sunday, reported that the company revealed that about 224 000 bottles of beer kept in its warehouse would be destroyed due to the ongoing lockdown, which was effected as part of measures to fight the spread of COVID-19. The publication reported that the booze, according to calculations where each unit of bottle was charged at E17, was worth over E3.8 million. It was gathered that the bottles that had expired included those of Sibebe Premium Lager, Castle, Hansa, Castle Lite, Castle Milk Stout, Black Label and Lion Lager. The news of the pay cuts is obviously a disappointment to the employees as they have been enjoying salaries and benefits which came about in 2018 after an agreement where all wages and salary rates were increased by 6.5 per cent across the board. The increase came about through a collective agreement which was entered into by the Swazi Economic Improvement Workers Union and EBL, a deal which was agreed upon on August 8, 2018. According to the bargaining unit, which included conditions of service and salary increments, there was also to be an increase in certain allowances. This was to include ration or food allowance which was increased to E30. The EBL is the leading beverages company in Eswatini. Distribution It manufactures, markets, sells and distributes a range of the worlds giant company AB InBev beer brands. Besides affecting the EBL employees, the ban on the manufacturing and wholesaling of alcohol has had negative effect in that imbibers have used illegal means just to wet their throats. This publication reported about an influx of Mozambican alcoholic beverages in the country, amid the drastic shortage of booze. It was revealed that liquor sellers and locals were selling Mozambican booze at inflated prices, such as beers, to wines and spirits. There were also reports that imbibers desperation led them to willingly buy expired alcohol at inflated prices from back-door sellers. Worth noting is that South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday announced that the neighbouring country would be moving to Level 2 of the lockdown from midnight today. The president, who was addressing the South Africans through a televised address, said tobacco, as well as alcohol sales, would be allowed; subject to certain restrictions. One of the conditions announced by the president was that alcohol would be permitted for on-site consumption in licensed establishments only up until 4pm. Restaurants, bars and taverns, according to the president, would be permitted to operate under approved protocols. He also announced that accommodation, hospitality venues and tours would be permitted in approved protocols to ensure social distancing. Capitol Hill lawmakers have been deadlocked on a new stimulus package. But another issue sweeping changes to the U.S. Postal Service now has both parties clashing again. The crux of the argument: whether changes that would improve the balance sheet of the country's mail service would deny Americans' their right to vote and receive stimulus money in the mail. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called House lawmakers back from summer recess to vote on a bill that would block the changes for now. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats have also expressed concerns about changes initiated by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. More from Personal Finance: Uncle Sam now sending $500 per child missing from stimulus checks Americans face weeks before more stimulus money arrives For many, second $1,200 stimulus checks won't cover the rent "Mr. DeJoy appears to be engaged in a partisan effort, with the support of President Trump, to delay and degrade mail service and undermine the mission of the United States Postal Service," a group of seven Democratic senators wrote in a letter to the USPS Board of Governors. That includes cutting back hours at some locations, denying overtime pay and eliminating some sorting machines and mailboxes. The changes threaten Americans' ability to vote in the election and their access to Social Security, Veterans Affairs and other benefits, as well as prescription medications, the senators said. Signees include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., as well as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. The letter, however, does not name stimulus checks, another form of payment for which Americans may have to wait. Congress authorized a first round of stimulus checks with the CARES Act this spring. That included payments of up to $1,200 per individual or $2,400 per married couple, plus $500 per child under age 17 to those who met certain income qualifications. While about 160 million of those payments have been sent, there are still millions of checks outstanding. Meanwhile, Congress has discussed a second round of checks in the next stimulus package. At this point, the money may not be approved until September, provided lawmakers come to an agreement. Actual payments may not start until October. President Donald Trump on Monday reaffirmed his commitment to sending more money directly to Americans while defending changes to the Postal Service. "We want money to go to the people that need it," Trump said. Noam Galai | Getty Images "I have encouraged everybody to speed up the mail, not slow the mail," he said. "And I also want to have a Post Office that runs without losing billions and billions of dollars a year, as it has been doing for 50 years." Approximately 80% of the second stimulus checks would be made through direct deposit, according to Mark Mazur, director at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. However, the remaining checks may be subject to delays caused by postal service changes. "My sense is that the delays are relatively short-lived, and so it would be a matter of a few days or a week delay, not months delay," Mazur said. Still, any delay could add to the financial burden of families who are counting on the cash. "Stimulus checks are one more important item that could be affected by any sort of mail delay," said Kris Cox, senior tax policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "And those delays affect people in all 50 states and D.C., so this is a pretty universal concern." While just about 20% of people received paper checks in the first round of payments, that represents 35 million people. "This is a significant group of people that might be affected," Cox said. Still, that does not include an estimated 12 million who are eligible for checks but who would not receive them automatically, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' estimates. Those people need to take action to get their information to the IRS in order to receive their payments. Meanwhile, many people have anecdotally reported that they are still waiting for their first stimulus checks, and are confused as to why they have not received the money. Oman's foreign minister spoke to his Israeli counterpart on Monday, Muscat said, the first contact since Israel normalised ties with the United Arab Emirates last week. Yusuf bin Alawi subsequently spoke with a top Palestinian official, Oman added. The Israel-UAE deal, announced by US President Donald Trump on Thursday, is only the third such accord Israel has struck with an Arab country, and raises the prospect of similar deals with other pro-Western Gulf states. Bin Alawi and Israel's Gabi Ashkenazi spoke via telephone about "recent developments in the region," Oman's foreign ministry said on Twitter. Muscat had already expressed its support for the deal, and bin Alawi told Ashkenazi that Oman "clearly reaffirms its position calling for a comprehensive, just and lasting peace" in the Middle East. Bin Alawi also called for a "resumption of the peace process in order to satisfy the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people who aspire to an independent state." While Oman and Israel do not have formal diplomatic relations, there have been several contacts between the two states, including in 2018, when the late sultan Qaboos received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Muscat. Also Monday, bin Alawi spoke with senior Fatah official Jibril Rajub, who expressed his "appreciation of the role of the sultanate and its balanced and wise policy towards Arab issues and, foremost, the Palestinian question," according to Oman's foreign ministry. The Palestinian Authority has voiced its "strong rejection and condemnation" of the Israeli-Emirati deal. Search Keywords: Short link: Christians battling land-grabbers in Beirut after explosion leaves 300K families displaced Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The blast in Beirut earlier this month has not only killed some 200 people and displaced about 300,000 families but also threatens to change the demography of Christian districts as land-grabbers are seeking to take advantage of the grim situation. There are people trying to profit from this catastrophe and buy land and homes from the Christians, the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need quoted a local partner, Monsignor Toufic Bou-Hadir, as saying. People want to stay. A number of the old people, and younger ones, too, are staying in their homes, even ones that are damaged, added Bou-Hadir, director of the Maronite Patriarchal Commission for Youth. With all respect to people who hold other religious beliefs, we cannot sell Christian homes to others. We do not want to change the demography. The land does not only have material value. It is our dignity. It is where we have our roots. The blast occurred on Aug. 4 when hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate become a deadly, powerful force at the port area. The cause of the blast was either negligence or external action, with a missile or a bomb, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said. Roland Alford, managing director of Alford Technologies, told Reuters that it is one of the largest nonnuclear explosions of all time. It affected about half of the city. According to Britannica, Beirut is divided between Christians and Muslims, with the eastern part of the city being "almost solidly Christian" and the west being "predominantly Muslim." A number of neighborhoods in the Christian half were destroyed. Church leaders had recently lobbied politicians to pass a law preventing Christians from selling their homes. Speaking at Beiruts damaged Maronite Cathedral for a night vigil, Archbishop Paul Abdel Sater also urged Christians not to lose faith in their future in the city. While Christian youth are helping by volunteering to rebuild affected areas, Arabic Christian broadcaster SAT-7 is focusing on offering hope, according to CBN News. We started to broadcast prayers and for people, for their safety for those who lost loved ones and for the responsible people in the government the government positions, so God may open their eyes so we can save people from this misery, George Makeen, director of SAT-7 Arabic Channels, was quoted as saying. Juliana Sfeir, SAT-7S academy brand manager in Beirut whos been reporting from the ground, explained that the Lebanese had never experienced anything like this explosion even in 15 years of civil war. They have lost hope in the future, Sfeir wrote in a Facebook post. Please pray for protection from another civil war. Please pray for protection from emigration as well. A lot of our young people will want to leave now. Please pray for us here at SAT-7 to be the church that heals. Rami Shamma, field operations director for World Vision-Lebanon, told The Christian Post earlier that he felt the blast about 30 kilometers from Beirut. He said it reminded people of the war. Part of the port that was destroyed was the same part destroyed in the Lebanese civil war, Shamma said. Everything we see took us back 15 years to what took place ... We dont have bullets in the buildings, but everything is shattered and on the ground. The images were terrifying. Hospitals, already stressed by COVID-19 patients, have been overrun after the blast, according to Shamma. Injured people who go to the hospitals that are already weak experience long wait times. Four hospitals were also heavily damaged from the blast, causing capacity issues. World Vision is assisting Lebanese people affected by the blast in various ways. Shamma said that basic needs such as food, water and shelter are the focus in Lebanon, but emotional healthcare is also being provided, which is crucial for Lebanese children. We may soon find out. There has never been any mystery about what Chinese President Xi Jinping wants, because it is what Beijing has wanted for decades: to make the Chinese nation whole again, to subdue opposition in Xinjiang and Tibet, to control the South China Sea and certain strategically located islands in the East China Sea, to regain Hong Kong, taken by the British in the 1840s, and to reunite Taiwan with the mainland under the Chinese Communist Partys rule. These are fixed goals, much as it was Japans fixed goal in the 1930s to expand control of the Asian mainland. The only questions have been about means and timing. The Supreme Court Monday said it would consider certain larger questions in the 2009 contempt case against activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan and journalist Tarun Tejpal as the issue before it has wide ramifications. The top court said it would like to hear arguments from the lawyers as to what should be the process which should be followed in contempt cases where allegations are being levelled against judges. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said it would like to hear the counsels on whether such statements can be made and the procedure to be adopted for dealing with them. The apex court in November 2009, had issued a contempt notice to Bhushan and Tejpal for allegedly casting aspersions on some sitting and former top court judges in an interview to a news magazine. Tejpal was the editor of the magazine. Bhushan told the court on Sunday that making corruption charges against the judges would not amount to contempt of court and mere utterance of corruption charge could not be contempt of court. The top court asked senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan -- appearing for Bhushan -- Shanti Bhushan and Kapil Sibal to address it on three issues -- whether such statements can be made, in what circumstances they can be made and what is the procedure to be adopted with respect to sitting and retired judges. The bench, also comprising Justices B R Gavai and Krishna Murari, posted the matter for next hearing on August 24. At the outset, Dhavan said the court should consider certain questions and the matter should be heard by a larger bench. Dhavan also referred to the recent judgement in which Bhushan was held guilty of contempt for his two derogatory tweets against the judiciary and said the lawyer intends to file a review petition against the August 14 verdict. He told the court that it appears that August 14 judgment suffers from many imbalances as in some parts the verdict says that allegations against judges per se does not constitute contempt. Sibal, appearing for Tarun Tejpal, then said the matter should be given quietus (discharged). The bench said that even the court wants to give the case a quietus but it there are certain questions which need consideration. Dhavan said the questions posed by the court were very meaningful and suggested that the matter be examined by a constitution bench. Shanti Bhusan sought adjournment of the matter by two weeks when the physical hearing is likely to be resumed. The Central Bureau of Investigation aka the CBI is one of the premier investigation agencies India boasts of. Indian citizens have come to bestow the organisation with immense trust when it comes to tackling sensitive cases of national importance. Although a quick research will tell you, that at the time of its inception, CBI wasnt anything like the CBI we know today. First set up way back in 1941 as the Special Police Establishment (SPE) to investigate bribery and corruption, 1965 saw the SPE metamorphose into the present day CBI, which now holds the authority to look into matters involving breaches of central laws, cross-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases. Twitter-eenaduliven Peoples faith in the CBI comes from the fact that it is an independent organisation that works impartially without bureaucratic influence calling dibs on its workings. The last decade, especially, saw the agency investigate several economic and special crimes, cases of corruption and various high-profile cases, the most recent one being that of actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death. But here are 5 other important and sensitive cases the CBI has undertaken previously in recent times: 1. Vijay Mallya Case BCCL Perhaps one of the most controversial cases the CBI has been asked to handle in recent years, was the Vijay Mallya multi-crore bank fraud case. After Mallya fled from India in 2016, having allegedly defrauded several banks of close to Rs 9,000 crore, former CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana himself led the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case. 2. Sheena Bora Murder Case TOI After Mumbai-based executive Sheena Bora, working with Mumbai Metro One went missing on 24 April 2012, investigations presented her mother Indrani, stepfather Sanjeev and driver Shyamvar as possible suspects. All three were arrested by the Mumbai Police in August 2015 for abducting, killing her and eventually, burning Sheenas corpse. The case was subsequently taken over by the CBI in September 2015. 3. Nirav Modi-PNB Scam BCCL In January 2018 the Punjab National Bank (PNB) filed a police complaint against Nirav Modi and others and accused them of fraud amounting to a whopping Rs 2.81 billion. Following the complaint, the CBI launched an investigation into the alleged scam in February 2018. Working with the Enforcement Directorate, CBI is currently awaiting the September 2020 hearing after the five-day extradition trial was adjourned by the UK court. 4. Jeyaraj-Fenix Custodial Death Case TOI The Tuticorin case, as it is otherwise known, caused a lot of uproar following the custodial deaths of father-son duo Jayaraj and Fenix in Tamil Nadus Thoothukoodi district. 59-year-old Jeyaraj and 31-year-old Fenix were picked up by the Sathankulam police for allegedly violating lockdown guidelines by keeping their shop open after prescribed business hours. Following alleged brutal thrashing and physical abuse, the father and son died in a government hospital in June. In early July, after the state governments request, the case was handed over to CBI. 5. PNB-Mehul Choksi Case BCCL Back in March 2018, a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court issued non-bailable arrest warrants against Choksi, and his nephews Nirav Modi and Neeshal Deepak Modi. The trio was suspected to have colluded with two Punjab National Bank employees in an alleged $1.8 billion fraud. Having already fled to Antigua before he could be prosecuted, Choksi was declared a fugitive of the Indian government. The CBI is working closely with INTERPOL and the Antiguan government to extradite Choksi back to India. We hope these cases meet the desired end and justice is delivered. We use cookies. By Clicking "OK" or any content on this site, you agree to allow cookies to be placed. Read more in our privacy policy India has deployed a Chetak helicopter in Mauritius to control the oil spill off the South-East coast of the island nation. The Chetak helicopter has been deployed to handle the oil spill in the Indian ocean and help the Mauritian government with the extraction of the oil from the pristine South-East coast. As per reports, India has so far sent 30 tonnes of technical equipment to help Mauritius contain the spill. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs on August 16 informed that a 10-member Indian Coast Guard (ICG) team has also been deployed to assist in the containment operations. Read: Mauritius Oil Spill: Experts And Volunteers Struggle To Protect Rich Marine Wildlife Read: Indian Coast Guard Sends 10-member Team To Mauritius To Assist With Oil Spill Operation "In response to a request of the Government of Mauritius (GoM) for assistance in dealing with the environmental crisis due to oil spill on its south-east coast, the Government of India has dispatched over 30 tonnes of technical equipment and material on board an IAF Aircraft to Mauritius to supplement the countrys ongoing oil spill containment and salvage operations. The specialized equipment, consisting of Ocean Booms, River Booms, Disc Skimmers, Heli Skimmers, Power packs, Blowers, Salvage barge and Oil absorbent Graphene pads and other accessories, is specifically designed to contain the oil slick, skim oil from water, and assist in clean up and salvage operations," the EAM said on its website on Sunday. Read: India Sends Over 30 Tonnes Of Technical Equipment To Mauritius To Help Contain Oil Spill Environment-threatening spill According to reports, a ship named MV Wakashio, owned by Nagashiki Shipping Company of Japan rammed into a reef off the coast of Mauritius on July 25. The ship was carrying about 3,800 tons of very low sulphur fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel oil from China to Brazil when it ran into a reef in the Indian ocean. As per reports, the ship had three oil tanks and one of which was already leaking before the vessel split into two pieces on August 15. Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has declared an environmental emergency as the spill is close to two protected marine ecosystems and the Blue Bay Marine Park reserve. Read: Mauritius Oil Spill: Grounded Ship Splits Apart Leaking Tons Of Residual Oil Into Water Workers at a garment-textile firm (Photo: VNA) HCM City - Armed with experience from coping with the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic, many textile and footwear enterprises are quietly confident they can alter their plans as required and find new markets to cope with the second. The situation is worsening, according to most companies in the two sectors as the epidemic returns to Vietnam and continues to rage in many countries around the world. Le Tien Truong, general director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group, said that in the first six months of the year, though affected a great deal by the COVID-19 pandemic, his company sustained its operations and cash flows thanks to its decision to produce face masks and personal protective equipment (PPE). But the situation would be very different in the second half since the demand for those products is shrinking rapidly, he said. The fact that many manufacturers switched to producing PPE has seen supply shoot past demand, he added. Since the global outbreak began in April, many Vietnamese garment and textile businesses have been told by their US and EU partners that they would temporarily stop taking delivery of goods. Pham Xuan Hong, chairman of the HCM City Association of Garment Textile Embroidery and Knitting, said this was because governments in the US and EU have declared a state of emergency and tightened border controls due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. They have asked Vietnamese businesses to suspend delivery, including of those en route, until borders are reopened. He said the US and EU are two important textile export markets for the country, while half of all exports from HCM City go to the US and 15-18 percent to the EU. Partners in these markets have announced the suspension of deliveries, meaning the market for textiles and garments has narrowed by nearly two-thirds. Truong said developing the domestic market is the most feasible way to survive the pandemic. Though the domestic market accounts for only 10 percent of the industrys capacity and cannot fully mitigate the unemployment problem, it is still a solution, he said. Support from the Government in the form of access to cheap credit and deferred tax payment is also imperative, he said. Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, general secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (LEFASO), too said though the domestic market is very small, developing it would be a key solution amid the difficulties in exporting. Nguyen Van Mieng, general director of the Nam Dinh Textile and Garment Corporation, said companies have restructured their markets to sustain jobs. In the past, his company produced 1,100 tonnes of yarn and exported 65 percent of it, but has now cut it to 45 percent. It produces around 1.2 million metres of fabric per month, but this is likely to decrease to 23,000-300,000 metres in the last two quarters of the year, he said. The company is seeking to expand its market for new products in the north and taking advantage of dyed fabrics to sell finished products and supply to garment companies, he said. It also wants to strengthen the yarn-weaving-dyeing links so that all companies in the chain could benefit, he added. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) that took effect on August 1 will reduce import taxes on Vietnams garment exports by more than 70 percentage points. Vietnamese footwear and textile and apparel enterprises will benefit significantly from the EVFTA because of the tariff cuts, according to Bao Viet Securities Joint Stock Company. With most other countries that export textile and garments to the EU not having a trade deal with the bloc, the EVFTA would open a great opportunity for Vietnams footwear, textile and garment exports if companies enterprises meet origin requirements, it added. The laser projection on the side of the Democracy Monument in the heart of Bangkok said what was once taboo. The hashtag asked in Thai: "why do we need a king?". During an eight-hour rally on Sunday night, at least 10,000 protesters, including students, lawyers and activists, questioned the countrys authoritarian structures, from calling for an end to rules on student haircuts to the removal of the government. Pro-democracy activists display placards during a protest at Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday. Credit:AP The protest leaders have demanded a new constitution, the dissolution of Parliament and for the protection of human rights at a time when vocal critics of the military and monarchy have disappeared and been killed. And, despite official requests to avoid the subject of the monarchy, young human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa took to the stage and for the third time this month spoke in public what is usually only said behind closed doors. Herdsmen The Hausa-Fulani and Muslim community of Southern Kaduna have claimed that they are neither minority nor settlers in the area. According to them, Southern Kaduna belongs to them. Recall that the genocide against Christian natives has been attributed to the community. They claimed facts have been distorted for too long against them in the ongoing killings in Southern Kaduna, alleging that a so-called Christian militia have a grand plan to eliminate Muslims from the area. Addressing reporters on Sunday, the Hausa-Fulani/Muslim community leader, Imam Kabir Kasim Kafanchan said Muslims constitute 40 percent of the population while the Hausa-Fulani are the majority of the about 30 tribes that make up Southern Kaduna. He claimed major Christian tribes laying claims to Southern Kaduna originally migrated from other northern states like Kano, Bauchi and Taraba. Imam Kafanchan however asked Kaduna Assembly to enact a law stopping Hausa-Fulani from being referred to as settlers in Southern Kaduna. He also called on the State Government to create Chiefdoms for them in places like Kasuwan Magani, Kachia and Zango Urban, which he said were founded by the Hausa-Fulani. According to him: The area has about thirty (30) ethnic groups in the eight LGAs that make us Southern Kaduna, among which include: Hausa- Fulani, Jaba (Ham), Atyap (Kataf), Kadara (Adara), Baju (Kaje) in addition to Nigerians from other part of the Country. The Muslims constitute about 40% while the Christians have 60% of the population. Most of the major towns in Southern Kaduna were founded by Hausa Fulani for example, Zango, Kachia, Unguwan Rimi, Zankuwa, Kagarko, Jere and Jamaa (Kafanchan). Hausa Fulani are the largest single tribe in Southern Kaduna. In spite of this, they are always targets or victims of circumstances. The Muslims are always referred to as settlers while it is historically on record that Southern Kaduna was founded by Fulani tribe called KACHECHERE. It is important to note that by immigration the tribes in Southern Kaduna migrated from other part of the Country. Some came in the morning, some in the afternoon and others in the evening. For instance, the Bajju or Kaje migrated from Bauchi, Atyap (Kataf) migrated from Kargi the East part of Zaria; Kaninkon and Kagoma from Taraba; Jaba and Koro from Kano etc. It is also on record that, the ancient town of Kauru and Kajuru were as old as Zaria city founded by Hausa-Fulani. While Jemaa emirate was founded by the Hausa-Fulani in 1810, Zango town which was also founded by Hausa-Fulani, has been in existence right from West African Trans Sahara trade. Kagarko and Jere were also founded by the Hausa-Fulani as well as Kachia. Authorities issues warnings about smoke and reduced air quality across the Reno area in Nevada on August 16 as the Loyalton Fire burned along the border with California. Truckee Meadows Fire & Rescue urged locals late on Sunday to evacuate the Cold Springs and Bordertown areas with a warning of the potential growth of the fire. Neil Lockhart, a photographer in the area, captured footage showing the fires progress near near Cold Springs and Peavine. This video includes day and nighttime scenes from August 15 as well as a closer clip of the fire from the night of August 16. Credit: Neil Lockhart via Storyful New York: A controversial South Korean pastor has been strongly criticised for leading thousands of followers to a rally in central Seoul, a move that President Moon Jae-in called "an unpardonable act" during the sharpest rise in coronavirus cases in five months. South Korea initially performed well in the fight against COVID-19, but the number of new cases has soared recently, with 279 on Sunday, following 103 on Friday and 166 on Saturday. South Korean Reverend Jun Kwang-hoon, the leader of the Sarang Jeil Church. Credit:Screengrab/YouTube Most of the new infections were among worshippers at the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, where 240 people have tested positive, and at another church in the surrounding province of Gyeonggi. Tightly packed, fervent prayer services in some South Korean churches have made them particularly vulnerable to the virus. It is well known that consumers in India revere the festive season. It is the one period where marketers can count on their spirits to be high, which is reflected in their spending. The festive season has a bumper effect on the sales of consumer goods categories, where some companies witness as much as 40% growth in sales compared to the other quarters. This year, the adversity of Covid-19 has been compounded by the stalled economic growth, which has cast a shadow on the celebratory spirit during the festive season. A good monsoon season has given high hopes for bumper crop. Consumers in Kerala are soon going to be in the thick of their harvest festival Onam, which is the biggest festival in the state. However, marketers will have to address critical challenges to unlock growth, including: Stimulate demand, Decipher the path to purchase, Investment in media, What consumer wants to buy?, Driving consideration, Categories that will see an uptick and more. Also read: Festival season and brands during the pandemic pandemonium Adgully had curated a panel of experts on the South markets to understand how festive season will play out in these markets and the precedent it will create for the rest of India in the months ahead. Joining in the discussions were: Anil Nair, former CEO and Managing Partner, L&K Saatchi & Saatchi (Moderator) Rahul Gandhi, CMO, iD Fresh Foods Rasika Prashant, Co-Founder & CMO, Soulfull, KottaramAgro Foods Saikat Das Mohanty, Senior Vice President, Zenith Media Varghese Chandy, Vice President - Advertising and Sales, Malayala Manorama Vivek Sharma, CMO, MilkLane Taking stock of the current situation, Anil Nair remarked, Today, talking about the pre-COVID and post-COVID world is cliche, but it is the market reality. Weve all been disrupted, our personal lives have been disrupted and so have our businesses. Needless to say, even the consumer behaviour has been disrupted to a certain extent, where we cant predict the outcome. The point of this discussion is to try and predict the unpredictable. He also said, We all know for many categories, the festive season is a very critical point of sale for the business. His first question to the panel members was What do you believe is the mood out there? We are in the 5th lockdown phase, with every region having their own version it. What do you think is the mood in regards to consumer buying behaviour? Varghese Chandy felt that the mood was that of Cautious Optimism. The festivities in India begin with Onam in Kerala. The Onam window actually starts on August 17, while the festival begins on August 31. People look at it as the first festival in India. Hence, it is the responsibility of marketers that Onam kicks off very well. He further said, Last week in Bangalore, there was a festival called Varamahalakshmi, where The Times of India came out with a 45-pager that day. This shows what the advertisers are actually looking forward to the festive season. They need a festival to rally around and itll happen everywhere. Talking about the current mood of the market, Rahul Gandhi said, I read very recently that out of the 100% businesses in India, only 14% are showing positive results in terms of sales and growth. The overall mood is possibly tilting towards the negative. From the consumers point of view, for the people who have had an impact on their finances are looking to come out of it and they want to spend and get out of this situation. If COVID shows a decreasing trend, which can happen in the middle of the festive season, then we can see a massive rebound. Its almost like freeing a bird from the cage. We can have a possible rebound in the middle of the festive season. Sharing his views, Saikat Das Mohanty, added here, A lot of people are really happy and feel that the festive season will be good for them as most people are with their families right now. This is from an emotional perspective. This is one positive aspect. From a purchasing perspective, I feel the mood is low there. There are restrictions at markets and holy places and thats why people arent keen on stepping out. People will be celebrating cautiously. According to Rasika Prashant, The Amazon Prime Day has actually become the start of the festive season in India. The numbers that Amazon clocked clearly show that people do want to spend during this time. I agree that people are extremely cautious during this time, but full of hope. As per the reports, we are going to peak with COVID-19 in September. The festival season is the time when people will seek to express themselves and be positive especially after this tough year. I think people will spend on things that they have been looking to purchase for a while, however stepping out wont happen. It will be hopeful, but it wont explode like the previous years. For Vivek Sharma, the pandemic has seen some people who witnessed a boom in business, while for some it was a complete washout. However, people have been building hope and are waiting for things to normalise. The general sentiment across channels and the consumers is that theyve had enough of this situation and want to go back to normal. Thats the general mood. Catch the complete conversation on our YouTube channel and stay tuned for our weekly webinars. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Monday registered a case based on a complaint by senior Facebook India executive Ankhi Das that she has been receiving violent threat to her life, while the company said its policies were impartial when it came to prohibiting hate speech across the globe, after an article published last week in The Wall Street Journal claimed that the social media platform overlooks hate speech by BJP leaders. Ankhi Das, Facebook India executive Das, who is Facebooks Director, Public Policy, India, South and Central Asia, had filed the complaint on Sunday.On receiving the complaint, a case has been registered under relevant sections of the law on August 17, and an investigation has been taken up by the Cyber Prevention Awareness and Detection (CyPAD) unit of the Delhi Police, a senior Delhi Police said. ALSO READ: 'We prohibit hate speech that incites violence': Facebook tells BJP amid allegations In her complaint, Das alleged that many people on Facebook and Twitter are issuing her life threats, making abusive and sexual comments, and some even used her photographs to defame her. According to Das, she had been receiving the threats since the article was published on August 14. The content, which even includes my photographs is evidently threatening to my life and body and I fear for my safety as well as that of my family members. The content also maligns my reputation based on a news article and I am subjected to name-calling, cyberbullying and eve-teasing online,she said.Das allegedly intervened in a review process of the communal posts of Bharatiya Janata Partys Telangana MLA T Raja Singh, the article said. Facebook, in its statement, said: We prohibit hate speech & content that incites violence & we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyones political position/party affiliation. Were making progress on enforcement & conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness & accuracy. The company that plans to burrow a natural gas pipeline under the Appalachian Trail is pledging up to $19.5 million to conserve land in other spots along the footpaths route through Virginia and West Virginia. Mountain Valley Pipeline on Monday announced what it called a voluntary stewardship agreement with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and The Conservation Fund. More than a year ago when the pipelines path across the Appalachian Trail was still in question Mountain Valley initiated contact with the two groups, seeking assistance to identify and develop sustainability efforts that would complement MVPs infrastructure project, a joint news release stated. Concerns about the pipelines impact on the trail and surrounding views led to talks about how Mountain Valley could help with the purchase of high-priority land near the 2,000-plus-mile footpath. Those tracts will enhance the Trail hiker experience and protect views from numerous vantage points, according to the news release, which called the gift the largest of its kind for a single region in the conservancys history. Mountain Valley plans to bore 80 feet under the trail, creating a tunnel for a 42-inch diameter steel pipe that will channel natural gas at high pressure from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations to markets along the East Coast. In June, a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court cleared plans for the pipeline to pass under the trail at the top of Peters Mountain, where it will cross the state line into Giles County on its way through Southwest Virginia. Although construction is currently stalled by multiple legal challenges brought by environmental groups who say the project will scar the landscape, pollute streams and kill endangered species Mountain Valley says it expects to regain suspended permits in time to finish the 303-mile pipeline by early next year. With Mondays announcement, Mountain Valley sought to establish some common ground between a commercial venture and the grassroots opposition it has faced for six years. This conservation partnership is a great example of how sets of interests, naturally presumed to be in competition, may work collaboratively to serve compelling societal needs, Mountain Valley spokeswoman Natalie Cox said in an email. In 2017, when the U.S. Forest Service allowed Mountain Valley to cross through 3.5 miles of the Jefferson National Forest that included the Appalachian Trail, trail officials expressed concerns about the plans. The pipeline corridor is going to be visible from numerous scenic vistas spread out over 100 miles of the Appalachian Trail, Andrew Downs, a Roanoke-based regional director of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, said at the time. On Monday, Downs called the agreement the best possible outcome for the trail. This is a recognition that there is a lot of conservation work that remains to be done, he said. This kind of contribution can have a real, positive impact on the trail experience. Both Downs and Cox said the agreement was made independently of decisions by several federal agencies, which are currently considering renewals of permits struck down by legal challenges. In giving a green light for the pipeline to cross through federal woodlands, the Forest Service did not account for grave concerns about the amount of erosion and sedimentation to be generated by burying the pipe along steep mountain slopes, a federal appeals court ruled in throwing out the permit. The Forest Service plans to decide by the end of the year whether it will reissue the permit. In the announcement Monday, conservancy officials said the financial commitment by Mountain Valley will also support outdoor recreation-based economies in Virginia and West Virginia. Ensuring that lands around the Appalachian Trail are conserved and connected is not only essential to protecting the most famous hiking trail in the world but also critical to preserving a wide variety of additional values, Laura Belleville, the Appalachian Trail Conservancys vice president of conservation and trail programs, said in the release. Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Houston, Texas Even as a kid, Adeline Fagan knew she wanted to be a doctor. The 28-year-old LaFayette native excelled at school first at Bishop Ludden, then at St. Josephs University in Philadelphia finally, medical school at University at Buffalo. She got even closer to her dream last summer when she was picked to complete her residency at a Houston, Texas hospital. She typically worked in OB/GYN. Delivering babies brought her great joy, her sisters said. After so many years of work, she was finally a doctor. She always went to work with a smile on her face, even if she had a 12- or 16-hour day ahead of her, said Maureen Fagan, one of her three sisters. But Houston has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Adeline was tasked with delivering babies from mothers who were sick with Covid-19 and worked rotations in the ER treating Covid-19 patients. She took every step to keep herself safe, but sometime around July 8, Adeline fell ill. Adeline (right) and her sister, Maureen Fagan. Now a resident doctor at a Houston, Texas hospital, Adeline is currently on life support after becoming sick with Covid-19. Maureen, 23, also lives around Houston. She works as a medical scribe at a doctors office separate from the hospital where her older sister works. The two sisters share an apartment, so when Adeline got sick, Maureen was the first to see it. That morning, Adeline texted Maureen to say she was tired, had a headache and her muscles ached. They blamed it on the intense exercise they did together the evening before. Adeline told her that she didnt want to exercise when she got out of work. But the tiredness and fatigue only got worse. By that evening, Adeline barely had enough energy to walk. From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., she went from 0 to 100, Maureen said. Maureen took her sister to the ER, where Adeline got a rapid Covid-19 test. Positive. Her family said they cant confirm when and where Adeline was exposed, but said she was working in the ER around the time she got sick. That was more than a month ago. Now Adeline lies in a hospital bed, intubated and hooked up to an ECMO machine to give her body the oxygen that her damaged lungs cannot. Her family has no choice but to wait. Due to the virus, her family cannot visit her in person. Maureen said her family and Adeline spoke daily on FaceTime. But early last week, Adelines lungs couldnt support her anymore. On Aug. 3, she was intubated and hooked up to a ventilator. The next day, she was placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, machine. The machine is attached to her via a catheter inserted into her femoral artery, which draws her blood and oxygenates it before returning it to her body. Its an invasive procedure described as a last resort for the worst of Covid-19 cases. Since then, shes been sedated, unable to move or talk. Her family can see her on Zoom, but cant communicate with her. All we want to do right now is sit with her, hold her hand and tell her its going to be OK, Maureen said. Unable to visit or speak with her, the Fagans wait to hear from the hospital. Sometimes they get daily updates from her doctor. Other times they have to wait several days for a nurse to tell them only that Adeline is stable. Adeline had a good day Tuesday. The settings on the ECMO machine were turned down because her lungs appeared to be improving. But Wednesday was worse. Her lungs werent getting rid of carbon dioxide fast enough. Back up the ECMO machine went. Its two steps forward, one step back, Maureen said. Every day they hope for great news, that Adeline has taken a giant leap forward in her recovery. So far that hasnt happened. Maureen said knowing day to day that theyre not going to see great change has been the hardest part. Adeline has a history of asthma, pneumonia and other upper respiratory ailments, but her family never thought it would get this bad. They thought if it took two weeks for most people to recover from a mild case of Covid-19, maybe it would take Adeline three. After being first diagnosed with Covid-19, Adeline went back to their apartment and quarantined in her bedroom, sustained on food Maureen would drop off outside her bedroom door. But after one week, Adelines condition had worsened. She was falling over in the bathroom and her lips were turning blue a sign her blood was lacking oxygen. On July 14, Maureen took her sister back to the hospital. Adeline was septic. Her lungs, ravaged by viral pneumonia, looked like cracked glass. She was admitted, given antibiotics and placed on a BiPap machine to help her breathe. From there it just got worse, Maureen said. She was at that hospital for around three weeks until she was transferred to a larger hospital with an ECMO machine, where she remains today. The best-case scenario for Adeline still means eight weeks on the ECMO machine, plus months of respiratory rehab and physical and occupational therapy. Shell have to repeat her second year of her residency, which she had just started when she fell sick. On Tuesday, the family established a GoFundMe fundraiser to help pay medical bills, travel expenses and living expenses for their parents, who are staying in Texas until Adeline recovers. This weekend, the campaign surpassed $100,000. Adeline Fagan (rear) and her three sisters: Maureen (left) Emily (center) and Natalie (right). Adeline is one of four sisters Emily, 32; Adeline, Maureen and Natalie, 20 in a close-knit family. At Bishop Ludden, she was elected class president and played varsity lacrosse. While in medical school, Adeline went on three medical mission trips to Haiti. Maureen accompanied her for two of them. Despite her demanding schedule, Adeline found time to join extracurricular clubs. She was a social butterfly that blossomed by helping others, Maureen said. Adeline graduated from Bishop Ludden 10 years ago, but her presence is still felt. Natalie said she felt like she walked Luddens hallways in her sisters shadow. When she went to her first day of AP Biology class, she saw Adelines senior portrait on the wall. Their teacher kept pictures of all her favorite students and there Adeline was, eight years later. Left to right, Lafayette drug quiz show advisor Heather Amidon, works with Adeline Fagan, 13, Keegan Mulholland, 12, Nick Lamson, 12, Kelly Harrington, 12, and Shannon Walter, 13, (not shown). 2005 Post-Standard file photo. Adelines family cant visit her. They cant talk with her. But they can advocate for her. Their message: People need to take Covid-19 seriously. Social distance and wear a mask, because you dont know who else youre protecting. You might not be directly affected, but someone out there is, Maureen said. Someone out there is Adeline. Contact Jacob Pucci at jpucci@syracuse.com or find him on Twitter at @JacobPucci. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources Where to put my kid during hybrid school schedule? New child-care ideas in CNY Are CNY parents willing to send kids to in-person school? Early surveys show their thinking Which masks are best? New study says one may be worse than no face covering Wedding receptions in NY: Ruling serves up a buffet of confusion Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Selfridges & Co. is offering fashion items for rent in a bid to attract younger and ecologically minded customers at a challenging time for U.K. retail. The luxury department store has teamed up with HURR, an online fashion rental platform, to offer 100 items from more than 40 fashion brands for hire for up to 20 days at a time. Selfridges also plans to sell a selection of vintage clothing for six weeks from the end of September, building on a secondhand clothing concession it launched with online reseller Vestiaire Collective last year. Shoppers can also sell used accessories to the store for credit from mid-October. Growing consumer concern over the ecological impact of fast fashion means many retailers are scrambling to tap into surging demand for renting and buying secondhand items. E-commerce sites like Depop and Poshmark Inc. have popularized selling used clothing online. Last year in the U.S., department stores Macys and JC Penney signed partnerships with ThredUP Inc., a San Francisco-based resale company. Zalando SE is launching a pre-owned fashion range on its site later this year. On an earnings call this week, David Schroeder, chief financial officer at the German online fashion retailer, said it will allow customers to sell their clothes to Zalando quickly and effortlessly, and will also provide them with a highly curated, quality checked and convenient selection of items available for purchase. The Selfridges initiatives form part of the retailers plans to reduce its environmental impact, which also include a commitment to become carbon-neutral by 2050. The coronavirus has altered the cycle of consumption in a way we could never have predicted, Managing Director Anne Pitcher said. As a result, she said, Selfridges has to change how shopping is done. Selfridges is best known for its giant shopping emporium on Londons Oxford Street but also has stores in Birmingham and Manchester and an online division. Last month the retailer, which is owned by the Weston family, announced it would be cutting 14% of its workforce, around 450 roles, as retailers struggle to emerge from pandemic-induced shutdowns. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide (OYC) has named three persons as the best presidential candidates from the Southeast for 2023 general election. They include the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, Ebonyi State Governor, Dave Umahi and Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu. The group said it reached the decision after a joint meeting in Abakaliki where it deliberated on the best candidates from the Southeast and South-south for the presidency in 2023. This was contained in a statement issued on Sunday by, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, (OYC), Mazi Alex Okemiri (President World Igbo Youth Congress), Dr Mrs Helen Ogbonnaya (National leader, Southeast Women Professionals) and Comrade Chidi Ugwujo (President Igbo Students Union). Umahi is the jewel of the Southeast with evidence of infrastructural development in Ebonyi. He is the best-performed governor in the Southeast and he is eminently capable to be PDP Presidential Candidate in 2023. RT Hon Chibuike Amaechi, is a true son Igbo Nation, former Governor of Rivers State, and currently the Minister of Transport, we believe that hes the most trusted person in the seat of power and Igbo adage that says one good Gesture done to one can be reciprocated to another Buhari can reciprocate this kind gesture to Igbos through RT Hon Chibuike Amaechi. Dr Ogbonnaya Onu is a first-class scientist, a former Governor of Old Abia, won the Defunct APP Presidential Ticket in 1998, the Former National Chairman of Defunct ANPP, the Arrowhead of the Merger of three Political parties that formed APC and the Minister of Science and Technology, with impeccable leadership qualities, Tested and Trusted, a Great Nigerian Patriot and without any trace of Corruption allegations for decades, hes the most consistent Igbo politician and well acceptable across Nigeria. These are the best presidential materials and candidates Igbo youths present to Nigerians at the moment, the statement reads. Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige had claimed that the only way Igbo tribe can produce a president in this country is to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). MANZINI - Sex work, illegal drinking spots and giving inaccurate information to health officials is believed to have contributed immensely to Mvutjini being labelled as an hot spot for COVID-19. The Ministry of Health recently declared that Mvutjini was the second highest hot spot for COVID-19 after Nkoyoyo in the Hhohho Region. Information gathered from one of the tenants around Mvutjini, Nokwanda Nkambule, was that she suspected that the high number of COVID-19 positive cases around the area was due to people giving misleading and inaccurate information to health officials regarding their places of residence. Health officials normally ask confirmed cases if they would be able to self-isolate at their parental homesteads. In most instances, according to Nkambule, she suspected that the patients would respond to the affirmative and then isolate in their rented flats around Mvutjini. Nkambule said the residents would inform the health officials that they would isolate at their parental homesteads and once the ministry approved, they would then return to their rented flats. Workplace She said the area had many tenants who were renting flats to be closer to their workplaces, given that a majority of them were employed around Ezulwini. Nkambule said in her observation, most tenants who tested positive for COVID-19 were reluctant to return to their parental homes, probably because they feared infecting their parents and children with the virus. In most instances though, the tenants conceal their status in fear of being discriminated against by others. The flipside of this though is that they continue to mingle with their friends within the rented flats without taking the necessary precautions such as social distancing and wearing of masks, among other things, she said. According to Nkambule, she believed that many of the confirmed cases had a lot of free time to visit their friends as most of them were idle after being placed on unpaid layoffs at their various workplaces. Most of these people are employed at hotels which effected layoffs following the COVID-19 outbreak. Others visit their friends to get something to eat because they are currently unemployed. During the visits, the tenants fail to practise the required social distancing as some go to the extent of plaiting each others hair, she said. Nkambule also noted that the positive cases isolating in their rented flats continued to share certain items with other tenants around the compounds. Most of these compounds have one water tap shared by the tenants. No one ever takes the time to sanitise this frequently touched item, she noted. This, she said, placed the other tenants in danger of contracting the virus and most of them did not have hand sanitisers while others did not adhere to the COVID-19 regulations, such as washing their hands frequently. Nkambule said another factor which she perceived to be a contributing factor towards the spread of the virus around Mvutjini was the fact that the positive cases did not stay indoors but frequently roamed the streets and hung around shops. Sensitised When asked if they had been fully sensitised about COVID-19, she responded to the negative. According to Nkambule, most of the laid off tenants had been forced by the pandemic to sell their items such as radios and TV sets in order to make ends meet while a majority of them could not afford to buy even a copy of a newspaper. As a result, the tenants are unable to have access to educational information about COVID-19. Sihle Malaza echoed Nkambules words as he pointed out that most of the tenants who had been placed in isolation failed to disclose their status. There was once a case in our flats whereby we only got to learn that one of the tenants had tested positive for COVID-19 through his brother, and the frustrating part was that we had already mingled with him without knowing that he had tested positive, said Malaza. Nomfundo Kunene (26) said she was of the view that the reason the confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been escalating rapidly around the area was because of the high rate of sex work. According to Kunene, due to the fact that a majority of the people who had been employed in hotels around Ezulwini had been laid off, some of them had resorted to sex work. She said even though it had not been yet scientifically proven that the virus could be spread through sexual intercourse, there was a lot of contact between people during intimacy. She also pointed out illegal drinking spots as another factor that could be contributing towards the escalating cases of COVID-19. Even though the manufacturing and distribution of alcohol has been banned by government, people of Mvutjini are still imbibing at illegal drinking spots around the area where they share the alcoholic drinks and cigarettes, noted the Kunene. She also mentioned that most of the people refused to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations as they rarely wore face masks while those who did had a tendency of sharing them with their relatives. Some of the tenants are poor, so they share a lot of things, including masks, she claimed. Also, she noted that given the fact that in other shops, there were signs forbidding people from gaining entry without wearing face masks, some people would borrow each other the masks. Ive seen this happening, she further claimed. She further alleged that some of the shops used diluted sanitisers while others did not have sanitisers at all. Siphiwo Nxumalo, who is a shop attendant, disputed Kunenes claims that their santinisers were heavily diluted with water. According to Nxumalo, people refused to sanitise their hands when entering the shops, claiming that they did not have the virus. Nxumalo said from her point of view, the reason the virus was spreading so quickly in the area was because people were either ignorant or they did not take the COVID-19 regulations seriously. Another tenant who preferred to comment on condition of anonymity said he was afraid to stay at Mvutjini ever since it had been declared a hot spot for COVID-19. I just arrived yesterday to check if my house had not been broken into and I am preparing to go back to my parental home in Nhlangano as we speak, given the fact that I was laid off from work, said the tenant. Quarantined Minister of Health Lizzie Nkosi said under normal circumstances, the ministry asked positive patients if they preferred to be quarantined at their respective homes or at a health facility. She said if they preferred to be quarantined at their homesteads, health officials then visited the place to ascertain if it was conducive to be used for quarantine and in most cases, people took them to their parental homesteads which the ministry approved, only to find that they would later return to their rented flats. Most people lie to us. We request people to be truthful when giving us certain information, Nkosi said. She said being truthful played a pivotal role in helping the ministry to decide whether or not a person should be isolated at home or at Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre, which had a wing to accommodate COVID-19 positive cases. Hhohho Regional Administrator (RA) Princess Tsandzile said it was unfortunate that even after testing positive for COVID-19, tenants returned to other tenants flats without declaring their status to their peers. She said the team could not force people to return to their parental homesteads. She said what the team could only do was to warn emaSwati to heed the COVID-19 regulations. The only way to avoid the spread of the virus is that emaSwati should heed the regulations and believe that a person can spread the virus without exhibiting any symptoms, she said. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health embarked on a door-to-door campaign which started in Manzini a couple of weeks ago and was eventually extended to Mvutjini last Monday. During the campaign, teams of three people each, including a medical doctor, nurse and Electronic Patient Record (EPR) officer would be visiting different homesteads around the area. Speaking during the claunch of the campaign, Nkosi said the teams educated the public about the importance of strict adherence to public health infections and prevention control measures within home settings and outside, tested all those with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 and ensured their timely management, including admissions and traced all contacts of confirmed cases and managed them accordingly. Swabbing will be done on site and the specimen would be sent to the laboratory, she said. It was said that as per the new regulations, testing would be done to people who had symptoms of COVID-19. The programme was said to have been scheduled for a month and was strictly for the Hhohho and Manzini regions. A 359,000-member pipe fitting and plumbing union is throwing its weight behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in the race for the White House, despite the former vice president's opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline. The endorsement from the United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters - UA for short - comes as Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., are set to formally accept the Democratic nomination this week. Mark McManus, UA's general president, acknowledged that his union doesn't see eye to eye with Biden on every issue but said Biden is a longtime labor ally who wants to invest millions of dollars in water infrastructure projects that would employ its members. "Looking at the whole gamut of what the United Association does, the many tentacles that we have, the many issues in front of us for the next four years, we strongly endorsed" Biden, McManus said in an interview. In a statement, Biden said he was "deeply honored" to get the endorsement. "I promise you this: if I'm elected, workers and unions will have the strongest friend they have ever had in the White House," he added. In May, Biden's campaign announced that as president he would rescind permits issued by President Donald Trump authorizing the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. One of Trump's first acts in office in 2017 was to revive the both the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines, saying the jobs they would create would be a boost to the economy. Biden's old boss, President Barack Obama, blocked completion of the pipeline at the behest of environmentalists concerned the crude oil conduit connecting Canada's tar sands to Gulf Coast refineries would exacerbate dependence on polluting fossil fuels. The pipe fitters union was among several labor groups that lobbied the Obama administration to little avail for it to allow Keystone XL to be completed. McManus said "the UA absolutely still supports" the pipeline. But the union, which also represents plumbers, sprinkler fitters, welders and service technicians, is encouraged by Biden's call to replace lead pipes and upgrade outdated water treatment plants to stop drinking water pollution as part of his $2 trillion climate plan. Last month, Biden released the most extensive plan for combating global warming from a major-party candidate to date, aiming to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 2035. He did not call for an outright ban on oil and gas extraction on state or private land, instead choosing to weigh a project's contribution to climate change on a case-by-case basis when it needs federal approval. And unlike some other Democrats that Biden beat in the primary, he supports investing in both the next generation of nuclear reactors and systems to capture and store carbon dioxide before it reaches the atmosphere - both nascent technologies with potential to employ UA workers. The UA credited the Obama administration with providing a federal loan guarantee to cover part of the construction cost for building two new reactors in Georgia. McManus, meanwhile, suggested Trump was mostly talk when it came to infrastructure spending, especially since the GOP had full control of Congress for two years. "Donald Trump said that he was going to have the biggest, hugest infrastructure package America has ever seen," McManus said. "We've waited four years. We've come up with zero, quite frankly." Russ Breckenridge, the union's director of legislative and political affairs, said members were also discouraged by efforts by Trump's Labor Department to "severely undermine and weaken union apprenticeship programs." The Biden campaign sought input from building trades union in crafting its climate plan so as not to alienate blue-collar workers Democrats sees as key to winning swing states. Close to 80,000 active UA members - or about a quarter of the union's U.S. membership - are based in eight battleground states: Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The endorsement from UA, which backed Obama in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016, further cements Biden's support from labor groups, which he has heavily courted. Biden also won the backing of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, representing electrical industry workers, as well as of the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor union coalition. At the same time, the former vice president set more aggressive emissions-cutting goals to win over younger, left-leaning voters who supported Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and are skeptical of Biden's candidacy. Even if Trump wins reelection, some major oil pipeline projects may still struggle to move forward. This year, the Keystone XL and Dakota Access conduits faced a round of legal defeats as environmental activists seek to delay the projects in the courts. Mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can trigger robust memory T cell responses, even in the absence of detectable virus-specific antibody responses, researchers report August 14 in the journal Cell. The authors say that memory T cell responses generated by natural exposure to or infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)--the virus that causes COVID-19--may be a significant immune component to prevent recurrent episodes of severe disease. "We are currently facing the biggest global health emergency in decades," says senior author Marcus Buggert (@marcus_buggert) of the Karolinska Institutet. "In the absence of a protective vaccine, it is critical to determine if exposed or infected people, especially those with asymptomatic or very mild forms of the disease who likely act inadvertently as the major transmitters, develop robust adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2." To date, there is limited evidence of reinfection in humans with previously documented COVID-19. Most studies of immune protection against SARS-CoV-2 in humans have focused on the induction of neutralizing antibodies. But antibody responses tend to wane and are not detectable in all patients, especially those with less severe forms of COVID-19. Research in mice has shown that vaccine-induced memory T cell responses, which can persist for many years, protect against the related virus SARS-CoV-1, even in the absence of detectable antibodies. Until now, it was not clear how SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses relate to antibody responses or to the clinical course of COVID-19 in humans. To address this gap in knowledge, Buggert and his collaborators assessed SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody responses in more than 200 individuals from Sweden across the full spectrum of exposure, infection, and disease. During the acute phase of infection, the T cell responses were associated with various clinical markers of disease severity. After recovery from COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell responses were detectable. The strongest T cell responses were present in individuals who recovered from severe COVID-19. Meanwhile, progressively lower T cell responses were observed in individuals who recovered from very mild COVID-19, and family members exposed to the virus. In line with expectations, all 23 individuals who recovered from severe COVID-19 developed both SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody and T cell responses. But surprisingly, SARS-CoV-2-specific memory T cell responses were detected months after infection in exposed family members and in most individuals with a history of very mild COVID-19, sometimes in the absence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies. Among the 28 exposed family members, only 17 (a few more than half) had detectable antibody responses, whereas nearly all (26/28) showed T cell responses. Among the 31 individuals who recovered from mild COVID-19, almost all had detectable antibody responses (27/31) and developed T cell responses (30/31). "Our findings suggest that the reliance on antibody responses may underestimate the extent of population-level immunity against SARS-CoV-2," Buggert says. "The obvious next step is to determine whether robust memory T cell responses in the absence of detectable antibodies can protect against COVID-19 in the long-term." ### The researchers were supported by the Swedish Research Council, the Karolinska Institutet, the Swedish Society for Medical Research, the Jeansson Stiftelser, the Ake Wibergs Stiftelse, the Swedish Society of Medicine, the Swedish Cancer Society, the Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund, the Magnus Bergvalls Stiftelse, the Hedlunds Stiftelse, the Lars Hiertas Stiftelse, the Swedish Physician against AIDS foundation, the Jonas Soderquist Stiftelse, the Clas Groschinskys Minnesfond, the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, and the Wellcome Trust. Cell, Sekine, Perez-Potti, Ballesteros et al.: "Robust T cell immunity in convalescent individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19" https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)31008-4 Cell (@CellCellPress), the flagship journal of Cell Press, is a bimonthly journal that publishes findings of unusual significance in any area of experimental biology, including but not limited to cell biology, molecular biology, neuroscience, immunology, virology and microbiology, cancer, human genetics, systems biology, signaling, and disease mechanisms and therapeutics. Visit: http://www.cell.com/cell. To receive Cell Press media alerts, contact press@cell.com. S haron Stone has slammed people who dont wear masks while revealing her sister is fighting for her life with Covid-19 in hospital. On Sunday, Stone posted photos of her sister Kellys hospital room on Instagram. In the caption, the actress, 62, revealed that her sister also suffers from Lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the joints, skin and other organs. My sister Kelly, who already has lupus, now has COVID-19. This is her hospital room. One of you Non-Mask wearers did this, Stone wrote. She does not have an immune system. The only place she went was the pharmacy. She continued: There is no testing in her county unless you are symptomatic, & then its 5 day wait for results. Can YOU FACE THIS ROOM ALONE? Wear a mask! For yourself and others. Please. Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers 1 /9 Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers Daniel Craig and Phoebe Waller-Bridge were among stars featuring in celebrity show of thanks to the NHS NHS/Twitter PA PA PA PA PA Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was among stars who join in a show of thanks for NHS workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 crisis NHS/Twitter The photos depict a yellow tube pumping air in and out of the room, as well as a hospital worker dressed in full PPE. In a later Instagram post, Stone revealed in a video that her sisters husband Bruce is also fighting for his life" in the same hospital ward, revealing she had been trying to contact the governor of Montana and the health department, only to have her calls unanswered. Those nurses are risking their lives and cannot get tested, she said. They keep saying that the risks are so small and that you might not die and itll be fine, but Im telling you whats going on with my family. My grandmother died of Covid, and my godmother died of Covid, she said. Stone finished the video with an impassioned call for Americans to vote for Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris. To the immune system, not all germs are equally memorable. But our bodys cells seem to be seriously studying up on the coronavirus. Scientists who have been monitoring immune responses to the virus are now starting to see encouraging signs of strong, lasting immunity, even in people who developed only mild symptoms of COVID-19, a flurry of new studies suggests. Disease-fighting antibodies, as well as immune cells called B cells and T cells that are capable of recognizing the virus, appear to persist months after infections have resolved an encouraging echo of the bodys enduring response to other viruses. Things are really working as theyre supposed to, said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona and an author on one of the new studies, which has not yet been peer-reviewed. Although researchers cannot forecast how long these immune responses will last, many experts consider the data a welcome indication that the bodys most studious cells are doing their job and will have a good chance of fending off the coronavirus, faster and more fervently than before, if exposed to it again. This is exactly what you would hope for, said Marion Pepper, an immunologist at the University of Washington and an author on another of the new studies, which is currently under review at the journal Nature. All the pieces are there to have a totally protective immune response. Protection against reinfection cannot be fully confirmed until there is proof that most people who encounter the virus a second time are actually able to keep it at bay, Pepper said. But the findings could help quell recent concerns over the viruss ability to dupe the immune system into amnesia, leaving people vulnerable to repeat bouts of disease. Researchers have yet to find unambiguous evidence that coronavirus reinfections are occurring, especially within the few months that the virus has been rippling through the human population. The prospect of immune memory helps to explain that, Pepper said. In discussions about immune responses to the coronavirus, much of the conversation has focused on antibodies Y-shaped proteins that can latch onto the surfaces of pathogens and block them from infecting cells. But antibodies represent just one wing of a complex and coordinated squadron of immune soldiers, each with its own unique modes of attack. Viruses that have already invaded cells, for instance, are cloaked from antibodies, but are still vulnerable to killer T cells, which force infected cells to self-destruct. Another set of T cells, nicknamed helpers, can coax B cells to mature into antibody-making machines. Notably, several of the new studies are finding these powerful responses in people who did not develop severe cases of COVID-19, Iyer added. Some researchers have worried that infections that take a smaller toll on the body are less memorable to the immune systems studious cells, which may prefer to invest their resources in more serious assaults. In some cases, the body could even jettison the viruses so quickly that it fails to catalog them. This paper suggests this is not true, Iyer said. You can still get durable immunity without suffering the consequences of infection. What has been observed in people who fought off mild cases of COVID-19 might not hold true for hospitalized patients, whose bodies struggle to marshal a balanced immune response to the virus, or those who were infected but had no symptoms at all. Research groups around the world are continuing to study the entire range of responses. But the vast majority of the cases are these mild infections, said Jason Netland, an immunologist at the University of Washington and an author on the paper under review at Nature. If those people are going to be protected, thats still good. This new spate of studies could also further assuage fears about how and when the pandemic will end. On Friday, updated guidance released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was misinterpreted by several news reports that suggested immunity against the coronavirus might last only a few months. Experts quickly responded, noting the dangers of propagating such statements and pointing to the wealth of evidence that people who previously had the virus are probably at least partly protected from reinfection for at least three months, if not much longer. Considered with other recent reports, the new data reinforce the idea that, Yes, you do develop immunity to this virus, and good immunity to this virus, said Dr. Eun-Hyung Lee, an immunologist at Emory University who was not involved in the studies. Thats the message we want to get out there. Some illnesses, like the flu, can plague populations repeatedly. But that is at least partly attributable to the high mutation rates of influenza viruses, which can quickly make the pathogens unrecognizable to the immune system. Coronaviruses, in contrast, tend to change their appearance less readily from year to year. Still, much remains unknown. Although these studies hint at the potential for protectiveness, they do not demonstrate protection in action, said Cheong-Hee Chang, an immunologist at the University of Michigan who was not involved in the new studies. Its hard to predict whats going to happen, Chang said. Humans are so heterogeneous. There are so many factors coming into play. Research in animals could help fill a few gaps. Small studies have shown that one bout of the coronavirus seems to protect rhesus macaques from contracting it again. But tracking long-term human responses will take time, Pepper said. Good immune memory, she added, requires molecules and cells to be abundant, effective and durable and scientists cannot yet say that all three conditions have been definitively met. As peoples bodies settle into their post-coronavirus state, were just now hitting the point of relevance to take the long view on immunity, Bhattacharya said. Things may change a few months or years down the line. Or they may not. Theres no shortcuts here, Bhattacharya said. We just have to follow it out. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. 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 Taking cue from Delhi police, SIT formed to probe Bengaluru violence, UAPA invoked against accused India oi-Briti Roy Barman Bengaluru, Aug 17: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday said that a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the violence and mob attacks that took place in the city a week back followed an alleged derogatory comment by a legislator's nephew. "The SIT which has already been formed will investigate the matter. A team of three special prosecutors will be appointed for speedy trial of the cases. SIT will consider invoking Goonda Act if warranted," the CM said. Yediyurappa added that the situation is under control now and as of now, 110 people have been arrested in relation to the violence. Bengaluru violence: 35 more arrested, death toll climbs to four as another accused dies Earlier, taking to Twitter, the Chief Minister also appealed to the people to remain calm. "The mischief in the DJ Halli police station has led to the assault and rioting of MLA Akhand Srinivasa's home and police station. Already directed to prosecute the perpetrators against the perpetrators. The attack on journalists, the police and the public in the riot last night is unpredictable. The government will not tolerate such provocations and rumors. Strict action against perpetrators is certain. I appeal to people to act restraint without being charged," Yediyurappa said in a tweet. Meanwhile, 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 18th August. Bengaluru Police have arrested total 340 till now following the violent clash in which three died and several injured. Lee Rochford has been the CEO of Arrow Global Group PLC (LON:ARW) since 2017, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company. Check out our latest analysis for Arrow Global Group Comparing Arrow Global Group PLC's CEO Compensation With the industry According to our data, Arrow Global Group PLC has a market capitalization of UK144m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK932k over the year to December 2019. That's a slightly lower by 7.8% over the previous year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at UK449k. For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between UK76m and UK305m had a median total CEO compensation of UK682k. Hence, we can conclude that Lee Rochford is remunerated higher than the industry median. What's more, Lee Rochford holds UK401k worth of shares in the company in their own name. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary UK449k UK436k 48% Other UK483k UK575k 52% Total Compensation UK932k UK1.0m 100% On an industry level, total compensation is equally proportioned between salary and other compensation, that is, they each represent approximately 50% of the total compensation. Although there is a difference in how total compensation is set, Arrow Global Group more or less reflects the market in terms of setting the salary. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance. Arrow Global Group PLC's Growth Arrow Global Group PLC has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 7.8% a year over the past three years. Its revenue is down 14% over the previous year. We would prefer it if there was revenue growth, but the modest EPSgrowth gives us some relief. In conclusion we can't form a strong opinion about business performance yet; but it's one worth watching. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. Story continues Has Arrow Global Group PLC Been A Good Investment? Given the total shareholder loss of 80% over three years, many shareholders in Arrow Global Group PLC are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously. In Summary... As we noted earlier, Arrow Global Group pays its CEO higher than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. Over the last three years, shareholder returns have been downright disappointing for Arrow Global Group, and although EPS growth is steady, it hasn't set the world on fire. This doesn't look good when you see that Lee is earning more than the industry median. With such poor returns, we would understand if shareholders had concerns related to the CEO's pay. We can learn a lot about a company by studying its CEO compensation trends, along with looking at other aspects of the business. In our study, we found 3 warning signs for Arrow Global Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning. Arguably, business quality is much more important than CEO compensation levels. So check out this free list of interesting companies that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has released a statement in connection with events in Belarus where protests have been going on for a week after the presidential election. According to the statement posted on the ministry's website, the official election results "do not inspire confidence in Belarusian society." The ministry also added that Ukraine generally shares the position of the European Union. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry expressed concern over the brutality of security forces against protesters, journalists and foreigners. "Ukraine is extremely concerned about the cases of unjustified brutality of law enforcement officers against citizens participating in the protests, media representatives and foreigners," the statement said. Ukrainian diplomats called on the Belarusian leadership "not to allow further political persecution of its opponents and Belarusian citizens who took to the streets to demonstrate their position." "We expect the release of some detainees from custody to be the beginning of a dialogue between the authorities and civil society in order to find compromises," the statement said. After the presidential election in Belarus on August 9, people went out en masse to protest against the rigging of voting results. They support Alexander Lukashenko's main rival, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who they say defeated the incumbent by a wide margin. The rallies are accompanied by violence by security forces and detentions. Some protesters were killed. On August 14, the Central Election Commission of Belarus declared Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, the winner of the election. According to the CEC, he garnered 80.08% of the vote, whereas Tikhanovskaya collected 10.09%. op Harpreet Bajwa By PUNJAB: The lure for phoren lands and the greed to get there has made a victim of young brides in Punjab and Haryana. There are over 30,000 such honeymoon brides who have been deserted by their NRI husbands within days or months of their marriage. Social pressures and an extreme sense of helplessness among the victims make such women very vulnerable. There are exceptions, though. I took my husband to Canada and he left me. I came back. Now after my husbands passport is impounded, he has started responding to the police. Earlier he did not even bother to call us, says Poonamjit Nagra. For many like her, hope knocked their doors when Sibash Kabiraj, a 1999 batch Haryana cadre IPS officer posted as Regional Passport Officer at Chandigarh, followed through these cases. In the last about three years since his posting, 452 passports of such NRIs have been impounded and 37 have been revoked. Impounded 452 passports of such NRI husbands in the last three years | EXPRESS The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has appreciated his work and told all RPOs to replicate it. It required a lot of paperwork to act against such offenders. I, too, had to study the Passport Act, says Kabiraj. To begin with, he explained the law to such deserted women and allotted a room in his office with a computer, printer, high-speed internet and a fax machine. Then he asked the women employees in his office to volunteer to do the paperwork in a proper format. This enabled him to expedite the process of impounding or revoking the passpor ts of desert e r husbands. As the word spread about a prompt action, he has received around 2,000 inquires from such women in the past few months. When I joined as the RPO in September, 2017, my first task was to bring down pendency by working on weekends. A group of fifteen such women then met me in my office and told me that though they had approached the NRI Commissions and police, no help came, recalls Kabiraj. The situation in many cases was pathetic. Some of these women found that when they reached their husbands in a foreign country, they found them already married, a legal formality facilitating citizenship. In some cases, these women along with their children have been staying with their inlaws. And in case such husbands apply for and get an exparte divorce, these women are left to their fate. The police in some cases were able to get these men declared as proclaimed offenders, but nothing else, as such men had already taken their parents abroad. We found the supporting law in Section 10 of the Passport Act, which says a passport can be cancelled or revoked if the holder has a criminal case pending or against whom court summons or warrants have been issued, says Kabiraj. We trained a group of women employees to help such victims and assist our officers. Our office, besides informing the embassies, would take direct action in case of police refusal to supply documents, he said. The rigorous monitoring of cases and surveillance has resulted in many such husbands returning and trying to settle their cases through court of law. This has also led to out-ofcourt settlements and such wives getting substantial alimonies, says Kabiraj. Satwinder Kaur Satti, president of the NGO Abandoned Brides by NRI Husbands, appreciates RPOs initiative. Now, if the passports of such husbands are impounded, they apply for refugee status in a foreign country. The government should vigorously pursue these cases so that these men return soon to face law. Plight of Punjabs honeymoon brides An estimated 32,000 women in Punjab and Haryana have been deserted by their NRI husbands within days or months of their marriage. Known as honeymoon brides, most of them say the police hardly register cases and most of them have no recourse to legal action against their truant husbands. By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party on Monday accused the BJP of sponsoring the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh and North East Delhi riots. Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said: The BJP won some seats from the North-East in Assembly polls because of Shaheen Bagh, creating a gap between Hindus and Muslims. In Delhi, the BJP rose from 18% to 38% due to Shaheen Bagh. As they could not win the elections they caused riots. BJP MP from North East Delhi Manoj Tiwari rejected the charges. Arvind Kejriwal should stop dividing Hindus and Muslims. The BJP being the world's largest party represents all religions and does not discriminate on the basis of faith, caste, creed, or lineage he said in a tweet. Soon after the Delhi polls results, riots broke out in North East Delhi claiming at least 50 lives. The riot was caused due to the clash between anti and pro-CAA supporters. The inclusion of the leaders of Shaheen Bagh protest into the party by top BJP leaders has made it clear that the BJP was the creator of the anti-CAA stir there. Those who went to Shaheen Bagh to uphold democracy must also be shocked as they were being cheated, Bhardwaj added. During the elections, AAP tried to steer clear from the issue, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on many occasions saying that if a protest is affecting the life of the people then the police should act accordingly to the law. However, Kejriwal was opposed to the new Citizenship law. On Sunday, Shahzad Ali, a Shaheen Bagh activist joined the Delhi unit of BJP in presence of state party chief Adesh Gupta and National vice president Shyam Jaju. Gupta did not respond to any query from this newspaper. Steel demand is expected to decline significantly in 2020-21 in line with a projected contraction in the global economy due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic, Tata Steel has said in its annual report. Most of the steel producing regions are expected to witness a decline in crude steel output due to production cuts amidst ongoing lockdowns, Tata Steel said. The global economic growth is expected to see a contraction of over 3 per cent in 2020, Tata Steel Chairman N Chandrasekaran said terming the slump as the "worst contraction" since the 1930s. A contraction in the global GDP is not at all a good sign for the global steel sector as steel demand is positively correlated with the economic growth. "Global GDP growth eased to 2.9 per cent in 2019, against an initial growth projection of 3.5 per cent... As we look ahead, it is important to gauge Covid-19's unprecedented impact on the global economy. It is expected that global growth will contract by over 3 per cent in 2020, the worst contraction since the 1930's," Chandrasekaran said in the Annual Report for 2019-20. Also read: Tata Motors' credit rating reaffirmed by CARE Ratings across bank facilities, retail borrowing Chandrasekaran also said that this is for the first time since the Great Depression, that both advanced and developing economies are in recession together. The impact of the slowing economy was also felt in the global steel sector. Global crude steel production reached 1,870 million tonne (MT) in 2019, registering a more modest growth of 3.4 per cent in 2019 against 4.6 per cent in 2018, he said. In India also, he said, the growth slowed to 4.2 per cent in FY 2019-20 against an initial growth projection of 7.5 per cent in the beginning of the year. The domestic steel sector registered a stark easing of growth to 1.8 per cent in 2019 compared to 7.7 per cent growth in the previous year. The country was just beginning to show signs of coming out of a protracted slowdown that began in early 2018 when Covid-19 arrived, Chandrasekaran added. Tata Steel's CEO and MD T V Narendran, and Executive Director and CFO Koushik Chatterjee said FY2020 was undoubtedly a challenging year not just for the company but for most businesses across the globe. Almost all countries faced a slowdown in economic growth amidst rising trade tensions and policy uncertainties. This had its bearing on the steel industry as well, in terms of weak demand and falling steel prices. Making matters worse, the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020 brought global economic activities to a near standstill as nationwide lockdowns and social distancing norms were imposed to contain the spread in the affected countries. "Although the manufacturing sector is expected to stage a relatively quick recovery, supply chain disruptions are likely to continue. The key steel-consuming sectors will continue to be sluggish," the report said. On the outlook of the steel sector, the company report said the Covid-19 pandemic has severely affected economies and industries globally and the steel industry is no exception. "Outlook for the steel industry includes scenarios regarding the pandemic's speed of propagation, possible recurrence, near-term impact of measures being taken to contain the outbreak, and the effectiveness of the stimulus announced by the governments of various nations. After slower than expected growth in 2019, steel demand is estimated to contract significantly in the FY21," it said. Most of the steel producing regions are expected to witness a decline in crude steel output due to production cuts amidst ongoing lockdowns. However, it is expected that compared to other countries, China will move faster towards normalisation of economic activity as it was the first country to come out of the Covid-19 crisis. In India, it said, muted demand and oversupply is likely to result in suppressed steel prices and capacity utilization in the near term. Since India depends largely on migrant labour, restarting construction and infrastructure projects will be a challenge. The demand from infrastructure, construction, and real estate sectors is likely to be subdued in the first half of the FY21 due to the lockdown during the first quarter followed by the monsoons during the second quarter. Further, the demand from automobile, white goods, and capital goods sectors is likely to reduce significantly with consumers deferring discretionary spends in the near term. Effective government stimulus and return of consumer confidence is likely to be the key driver for a gradual recovery over the second half of the FY2021, it said. Also read: Tata group may offload stake in JLR, UK steel plant as bailout deal with British govt fails The judge later heard from prosecutors how Chamorro had allegedly grabbed the right arm of a Chicago deputy police chief twice as he made his way along a path of protesters, prosecutors said. The chief shoved Chamorro twice after ordering her twice to back off, according to Assistant States Attorney Kathleen Hagerty . The high-ranking officer later saw Chamorro walking with a crowd, and officers at the scene arrested her. Chamorro was charged with aggravated battery to a police officer and misdemeanor mob action. Rescue workers and soldiers at the site of the explosion (AP/Bilal Hussein) Aid workers suffered a record 277 major attacks around the world last year, an independent humanitarian research organisation said on Monday, with healthcare workers responding to crises facing a spike in deadly violence. A total of 483 aid workers were killed, kidnapped, or wounded in 2019, showed data from Humanitarian Outcomes, the highest number since the start of its records in 1997. "The ability to help vulnerable civilians in their hour of greatest need is a sign of civilisation; it's a right under international law," Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said in response to the figures. "But we are seeing an increasing number of colleagues killed, abducted, wounded ... If aid workers are not protected, lifelines will falter." Although casualties were up overall, the number of aid worker who were killed dropped slightly to 125, from 131 a year previously, according to the data, which draws on public reports, security organisations and aid groups. Health workers made up more than 40% of the fatalities - higher than any previous year recorded - according to analysis for the upcoming "Aid Worker Security Report" which is due to be released later this month. Health staff have been repeatedly targeted in Syria, which was named the most violent country for aid workers, with 47 attacks and 36 fatalities last year. They also faced a surge in violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which saw the biggest rise in attacks on humanitarian workers. More than half the 27 violent incidents reported in Congo last year were committed against health workers responding to the Ebola disease outbreak, said Humanitarian Outcomes. Its upcoming report will look at how the aid sector is adapting to risks posed by major epidemics. However, there is so far little sign of any uptick in violence linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, said Abby Stoddard, a partner at the research and consultancy organisation. Stoddard added that much violence on aid workers was committed by non-state armed groups, with attacks posing a huge challenge to reaching those in need of help. "They (attacks) have a huge impact more than need, and more than donor funding available, we have seen security will really dictate where and what aid organisations end up doing," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. A new Yahoo News/YouGov poll shows that voters strongly oppose Trumps push to block funding for the United States Postal Service in order to hinder universal mail-in voting, which states have sought to expand for safety reasons during the pandemic. According to the survey, which was conducted Aug. 14 and 15, 61 percent of voters disapprove of Trumps USPS gambit, with a full 50 percent disapproving strongly. Less than half that many (28 percent) approve. A majority of registered voters share Trumps oft-stated concern that fraudulent ballots will be cast via mail, with 54 percent saying they are either very or somewhat worried about this issue. But far more voters worry that people will be prevented from voting (65 percent), that legitimate mail ballots will not be counted (75 percent) and that one of the candidates will not accept the outcome of the election (64 percent). There are signs that Trump has already hurt himself with persuadable voters by seeking to undermine mail-in voting and the legitimacy of the election. Not only do nearly a quarter of Republicans (23 percent) disapprove of the presidents effort to block USPS funding, but independents disapprove by a 2-1 margin (58 percent to 29 percent). Among non-leaning independents that is, independents who dont yet express even a slight preference for Joe Biden or Trump that margin is larger (65 percent to 21 percent). And voters who say they are undecided or could still change their minds oppose Trumps stance on the USPS by a staggering 51 percentage points (68 percent to 17 percent). Non-leaning independents and undecideds tend not to express intensity of opinion on political issues. Yet the USPS is an exception, with 54 percent of the former and 39 percent of the latter saying that in this case, they strongly disapprove of what Trump is trying to do. In fact, Trump is on the wrong side of every issue related to the election. Sixty-four percent of registered voters say the Postal Service should be provided with funding to ensure there are no delays in mail delivery during the election. Only 21 percent say it should not get such funding. A mere 15 percent of registered voters say it was appropriate for Trump to suggest delaying the 2020 election; 68 percent say the opposite. And 80 percent of registered voters think it is more important to wait for mail-in ballots to be counted so we are sure which candidate won, even if the process drags on for some time. Just 20 percent think its more important to determine the outcome of the election quickly, even if many mail-in ballots have not been counted Trumps preferred scenario. Story continues Demonstrators march to the home of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in Washington on Saturday. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Voters largely reject Trumps view that the election will be rigged against him, with only 41 percent saying the president legitimately fears that fraudulent postal-voting will cost him the election and the rest (a full 59 percent) saying instead that Trump is trying to delegitimize the outcome because he doesnt think he will win a majority of votes. Sixty-three percent of voters think Trump is more likely to try to steal the election than Biden. And even more Americans than two weeks ago 57 percent, up from 52 percent now believe that Trump will not accept the result if he loses a close race in November. Just 28 percent say the same about Biden. _____ Read more from Yahoo News: For the sixth Grand Prix in a row, Red Bull Racing have managed to set the fastest pit stop. During the Spanish Grand Prix, the Austrian racing team managed to change the four tyre of Max Verstappen in 1.90 seconds. That time came close to the fastest pit stop ever made in Formula 1. That record is also held by Red Bull. The Milton Keynes-based team managed to set a time of 1.82 seconds during the Brazilian Grand Prix last year. On the Barcelona circuit, the Red Bull mechanics were therefore only eight hundredths away. Red Bull dominates It is clear by now that the team of Christian Horner and Helmut Marko dominates in the pit lane. All four pit stops that Red Bull made in Spain were faster than the competition, an exceptional achievement. 1. Max Verstappen | 1.90 seconds | lap 21 2. Max Verstappen | 2.04 seconds | lap 41 3. Alexander Albon | 2.07 seconds | lap 17 4. Alexander Albon | 2.19 seconds | lap 39 Because in the DHL Fastest Pitstop Award each driver is only included one driver in the daily result, it is Mercedes that can be found in third place. The fastest pit stops during the Spanish Grand Prix Olha Stefanishyna, the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, says that Ukraine is ready to expand agricultural exports to Israel. "We understand that the spread of coronavirus around the world has a negative impact on the world economy. That is why today we should look for joint ways to intensify economic and investment cooperation between our countries. In these conditions, the launch of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Israel is important," she said. At the same time, according to her, the Ukrainian side confirms its readiness for further cooperation in the agricultural sector with Israel and sustainable export of Ukrainian agricultural products to the Israeli market. It is noted that at a meeting between Stefanishyna and the Israeli Ambassador, the parties discussed the use of the potential of the Regional Convention on pan-Euro-Mediterranean Preferential Rules of Origin for the development of bilateral trade, and also stressed the importance of the work of the joint Ukrainian-Israeli commission on trade and economic cooperation and discussed a possible format of its upcoming meeting. "The commission is an effective instrument for the development of economic cooperation between the two countries, and I, as the chairman of the Ukrainian part of the commission, look forward to holding the next, 12th meeting of the commission, after the end of the pandemic," the deputy prime minister said. The Janta Parliament proposes to continue till August 21. Text of Justice Shahs address: Good morning to all of you today. The budget session of the Indian Parliament began this year on January 31, 2020. Coincidentally, it was also one day after the World Health Organisation announced the Covid-19 pandemic to be a public health emergency of international concern. Originally scheduled to run till April 2, after a brief 23 sittings, on March 23, 2020, Parliament decided to adjourn sine die, with no signs of activation since. Contrast this with how other jurisdictions have been operating in this time of crisis: the United Kingdom, Canada, European Parliament, have all made procedural changes that enable holding hybrid or complete virtual sessions of parliament, with some members being physically present in the house, and others participating through video conference. These jurisdictions also have provision for remote voting to ensure that legislative business continues uninterrupted to the extent possible. Many other countries are working similarly, such as France, Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Australia and New Zealand. Spain -- one of the countries worst affected -- also ensured that legislative work went on. The Peoples Majlis, which is the Maldives Parliament, is using Microsoft Teams video conferencing technology to hold virtual Parliament sessions. Mohamed Nasheed, the Speaker of Maldives Parliament, sums it up perfectly, when he says, Parliaments worldwide cannot just stop representing their people during this crisis. The institutions of democracy must continue to function. These sentiments, sadly, do not seem to echo with counterparts in India, where Parliament has remained a ghost town since March 2020. This decision to shut Parliament down is also going against tradition in India, where Parliament remained in session even in times of crises like wars and terror attacks: in 1962 and 1971, the Indian Parliament remained in session, even as its armed forces were fighting neighbours. Despite the horrific terror attack on its building in 2001, the Indian Parliament met the very next day in New Delhi. It is not as though parliamentarians cannot work virtually in India: The joint committee on salary and allowances already met on April 6, and recommended a 30 per cent reduction in the constituency and office allowances of MPs. If they can meet online to discuss these kinds of issues, surely they can also assemble virtually to perform their legislative duty as elected representatives? Role of Parliament, executive, etc. At this stage, it is useful to understand what the role of the various arms of the state was intended to be. The Constituent Assembly, with their experience of colonial India, had a deep mistrust of executive autocracy, and instead, believed more in the sanctity of the legislature as the protector of peoples rights. In Parliamentary systems, the executive is accountable to the legislature, where the actions of the executive are subject to scrutiny on a daily as well as periodic basis. A host of tools are employed for this, such as questions, resolutions, no-confidence motions, and debates. This is in addition to the oversight of the laws and executive actions by various parliamentary committees. Theres a secondary round of accountability and assessment of all these actions through elections held periodically, every five years. It was precisely this electoral process that forced someone like Indira Gandhi out of the office of the Prime Minister in 1977, and voted her back in, in 1980. With Parliament, the upper house, or the Rajya Sabha, has a clearly defined role too: to impose a check on hasty legislation that the Lok Sabha might otherwise be prone to, and to represent those interests that might not be considered by the Lok Sabha. What we see in India today is an insidious takedown of each of the institutions and mechanisms empowered to hold the executive accountable Thus, the Parliament was always intended to function as a body that keeps the executive in check. It exercises this form of accountability on behalf of the people it represents. Tools and instruments such as questions and debates are used for this purpose. But what happens when Parliament itself stops working? Besides failing to provide leadership to the people in a time of crisis, like the pandemic, it compounds the problem of representation and accountability by granting the executive a free rein to do as it pleases. Executive accountability, in these conditions, is a thing of memory, for there is no one to raise any questions about its actions. The death of executive accountability? The Indian Constitution, on paper, checks many boxes of what a liberal, democratic, secular, and egalitarian Constitution should look like. With fundamental rights that are firewalled against interference, fiercely protected by the judiciary, a parliamentary system of government, separation of powers with a truly independent judiciary, and a federal division of responsibilities between the centre and states, the Constitution is a document that is the envy of many. Like its counterparts in the liberal democratic world, India, too, aligns to a textbook framework for executive accountability: through the legislature, there is accountability to the people; through the judiciary, there is accountability to the Constitution and adherence to the rule of law, as well as to other institutions like the auditor-general, the election commission, a human rights watchdog, anti- corruption bodies, and so on; and there is additional accountability through entities like the press, academia, and civil society. These include non- governmental organizations, trade unions, religious organizations, and charities. Unfortunately, what we see happening in India today is an insidious takedown of each of these institutions and mechanisms empowered to hold the executive accountable. Since 2014, every effort has been made to systematically destroy these institutions, not necessarily in the blatantly destructive way that the Indira Gandhi government did in the past, but certainly, in ways that have rendered the Indian democratic state practically comatose, and given the executive the upper hand in most matters. Several examples of this can be given: The non-appointment or non-recognition of a leader of the opposition; and overriding the Rajya Sabha in important decisions by converting bills into money bills, which mean that the bills in question can be passed by the Lok Sabhas approval alone. Also, the act of frequently putting bills to vote without any discussion. Through these, the executive has been allowed to get away with a lot of actions that would ordinarily have not gone unquestioned in another set of circumstances. Despite serious aberrations in the past, such as during Emergency, the judiciary has always somehow managed to restore the peoples faith in the institution as one that preserves sanity in the chaotic life of the Indian democracy. But, today, the judiciary appears once again to be failing us. With media policy in Kashmir, the concept of independent free media is dying. And civil society is being slowly but surely strangled, through various ways There are many important issues that need to be deliberated upon today. With Parliament already so weakened, the Supreme Court would have been the next best space to discuss the Kashmir trifurcation, the constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act, suppression and criminalisation of protests against this law, misuse of draconian laws like sedition and the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, electoral bonds, etc. Sadly, most of these are ignored or brushed aside or mysteriously kept pending for an indefinite period of time. In some cases, such as that of internet access in Kashmir, the Supreme Court has all but abdicated its role as arbiter, and handed over the matter to an executive-run committee to determine. How such a committee can take an unbiased view on a review of the actions of the executive itself makes no sense at all. Indeed, these are all matters that are not being discussed in any forum of constitutional relevance. The other authorities and institutions that could have played an important role in these times are also silent. We have heard nothing of the Lokpal since forever. The National Human Rights Commission is dormant and appears to exist only on paper. Investigation agencies seem to be misused at the slightest opportunity. The Reserve Bank of India and the Election Commission of India appear to have been suspiciously compromised. The Information Commission is almost non-functional. The list is long and needless to say, very disturbing. In these conditions, we are left to fall back on the third category of those who are equipped to hold the executive accountable -- in the form of academia, the press, and civil society. Each of these, too, sadly, has been systematically destroyed or silenced. Universities are under attack daily, whether it is students being accused of rioting, or teachers being accused of criminal conspiracy. The idea of an unbiased mainstream fourth estate in India died its death a long time ago. Now, with policies like the media policy in Kashmir, the concept of an independent free media is also dying. And civil society is being slowly but surely strangled, through various ways. The source of these attacks is unquestionably the current executive, and the underlying strategy in the attack against these entities is to suffer no difference of opinion. Those of even limited influence found voicing opinions that are contradictory to the ruling partys view are subject to the worst form of scrutiny and even punishment. The principle appears to be that all dissent must be silenced. Today, with only the executive conducting its operations, and with every other institution systematically sidelined, we are moving towards a form of elected autocracy. And indeed, as many scholars have reminded us time and again, this is how democracies die. It is not just in India, but in other parts of the world too. When the pandemic first came about, there were many who feared that this would be used to suppress dissent and consolidate power. This is exactly what is happening in India: the central executive has become all-powerful, and all accountability mechanisms are diluted. In these conditions, there is no option left but for the people of the country to raise their voices. We must keep speaking out, and keep speaking up. Our aim must be to revive the liberal democratic state of India that we are so proud of. Failing this, we run the risk of allowing ourselves to be overrun by an overzealous and unchecked executive, which has unimaginable consequences. Seventy four years after independence, it is the least we can do for ourselves and our future generations. Even if the executive has ensured that Parliament is weakened to the point of inconsequence, one would have hoped that other entities would have stepped up to the plate and performed their duty of holding the executive accountable. Most notable amongst these, obviously, is the judiciary. We have always prided ourselves in, and boasted of, Indias independent judiciary. Under the alleged pretext of crippling effect and impact of the pandemic, when the powers that be are not holding Parliamentary to debate and deliberate issues rocking the country, an online civil society-sponsored Janta Parliament, which began on August 16, saw Justice AP Shah, former chief justice of the Delhi High Court, remind hundreds of participants that, despite Covid-19, other countries are holding hybrid or complete virtual sessions of parliament.In his inaugural address, Shah said, it was most worrisome that without Parliamentary debates the Indian executive failed to provide leadership to the people in the time of crisis, compounding the problem of accountability, leading to free rein to rule.According to Shah, Since 2014, every effort has been made to systematically destroy these institutions, not necessarily in the blatantly destructive way that the Indira Gandhi government did in the past, but certainly, in ways that have rendered the Indian democratic state practically comatose, and given the executive the upper hand in most matters.Others who spoke during the inaugural session included Aruna Roy, former adviser to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Dalit rights leader Jignesh Mevani; social and political activist Soni Sori, known to be espousing the cause of the tribal people the Naxal-infested Bastar area; and Syeda Hameed, former member, Planning Commission. Reconstruction of earthquake-affected houses and operationalisation of a cross-border petroleum products pipeline were among the projects discussed Kathmandu: India and Nepal on Monday held the eighth round of Oversight Mechanism (OSM) meeting, in which the two sides discussed the progress made in India-assisted development projects in the last one year. The OSM was co-chaired by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi through video conferencing, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement. The meeting carried out a comprehensive review of bilateral economic and development cooperation projects since its seventh meeting held on 8 July last year, it added. Both sides deliberated on the issues and agreed to expedite their implementations. "The co-chairs noted the progress made in the development projects in the last one year, including reconstruction of 46,301 earthquake affected houses (out of 50,000 houses committed by India) in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, the operationalisation of Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline, the Integrated Check Post at Biratnagar and the High Impact Community Development Projects," the statement read. Nepal also noted with appreciation COVID-19-related assistance, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment to Nepal by India. "Both sides have agreed to hold the next meeting of the OSM on a mutually convenient date to review the progress made in the implementation of the government of India assisted economic and development cooperation projects in Nepal," the statement said. The meeting mechanism, set up in 2016, to monitor the progress of various India-assisted projects, was attended by representatives of various ministries, departments and agencies of Government of Nepal, Officers of the Embassy of India, consultants and contractors engaged in the implementation of the projects. Anirudh Krishnan By The commercial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been unprecedented. Barring a few like healthcare and fintech, most sectors have suffered huge losses. The effect of these losses will be known once the National Company Law Tribunals, which hear insolvency petitions, resume regular functioning. While the government has exempted Covid defaults from the ambit of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, pre-Covid defaults that would otherwise have been paid within a reasonable period are likely to result in many cases of insolvency. The government has, no doubt, reached out to provide economic support to MSMEs. Nonetheless, insolvency of even one major group will have a devastating ripple effect in the market owing to the numerous contracts each such group enters into. Each sector has faced its characteristic challenges. To cite a few examples: 1) Power sector: Most gas-based power companies have received demands from ONGC and GAIL for a contravention of the commitment to purchase a certain minimum quantity of gas every month. These companies have a legitimate defence: Many of them either partly or fully supply to private industries. Since these private consumers were either dysfunctional or functioning with minimum capacity, they have been unable to consume the power leaving the power companies with no demand for the gas. 2) Construction and infrastructure sector: Almost all construction and infrastructure projects have suffered delays resulting in time-inflicted losses including idling of labour (and payment of wages to labourers) and payment for hiring machinery. Restrictions on the number of workers on site, working hours and transport of men and machinery continue to hinder construction work even today. 3) Information Technology sector: Most IT companies have committed to lease large spaces at high cost. Owing to the lockdown and social distancing norms, these commitments have become difficult to honour leading to huge losses. The current legal system is inadequate to deal with the present crisis for two reasons. For one thing, the delays in the system are likely to prove fatal to many companies. For instance, in the example pertaining to the power sector, the companies would have to make immediate payments to GAIL/ONGC due to the fear of their gas supply being severed, but they will not be in a position to immediately pass on these charges to private consumers without long-drawn-out litigation. For another, the common law followed in India does not contemplate a system of distribution of loss; rather, it posits that the entire loss be borne by one or the other party as against an equitable distribution of loss. Perhaps, the latter would be fair and just, and would help more companies keep afloat in troubled times like the present. In this regard, a cue can be drawn from civil law systems (France and the UAE, for example) and the UNIDROIT principles that provide a unique regime for renegotiation of contracts to counter imbalances arising from hardship not attributable to the parties. Comprehensive law, need of the hour: The departure from the traditional legal system would necessitate enacting a comprehensive umbrella legislation. Such legislation needs to identify sectors that have pressing concerns and a broad policy in relation to the kind of measures to be provided. It also needs to provide for a consultative process with the stakeholders that can enable subordinate legislation to be passed for each sector addressing its distribution of loss. Most important, there is an increasing need for a fast-track mechanism to adjudicate disputes arising from the legislation. Ideally, the government should consider having a mediation procedure. The mediation should be conducted by mediators of impeccable integrity. Any dispute that cannot be resolved amicably must be placed before a specialised tribunal to resolve the issues on a fast-track mode with only one appeal, directly to the Supreme Court. Further, the government and government entities (who are one of the litigants in 70-75% of cases) must take a policy decision to be bound by the decision of the tribunal without recourse to the appellate remedy. Singapore has enacted a law [COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act 2020] to address some of the concerns faced by some sectors including the construction and tourism sectors. The legislation also extensively deals with the rental relief in cases of non-residential properties. Interestingly, the legislation also keeps out the traditional court system and provides for an assessor to make certain judicial determinations under the Act. Legislations, though far more skeletal, have also been enacted in New Zealand and Australia. India would have to come up with measures that are even more comprehensive than the Singaporean legislation to deal with the local needs. While questions may be asked about the need to depart from the traditional legal route, the overwhelming justification lies in the inherent unfairness of the loss lies where it falls rule that is amplified by the present scenario. Moreover, the effect of insolvencies of a few big companies will be felt far and wide. Not only will it cause mass unemployment but also disrupt the entire contract chain. Simply put, extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and there is no denying we live in such times. Anirudh Krishnan Advocate, Madras High Court (anirudh@aklawchambers.com) HANGZHOU, China, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BEST Inc. (NYSE: BEST) ("BEST" or the "Company"), a leading integrated smart supply chain solutions and logistics services provider in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Johnny Chou, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BEST, commented, "With the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in China behind us, we made a faster-than-expected recovery as we benefited from the deeper and wider trends of digitalization for merchants and online shopping for consumers. In the second quarter of 2020, we strategically targeted both top-line growth and profitability while enhancing efficiency across our businesses. As a result, we continued to gain healthy volume growth while lowering costs in our Express and Freight segments and improved our gross margin by 0.9 percentage point year-over-year, despite challenging market dynamics. We also continued to make strong progress in Store+, which resulted in a significant reduction in losses. We are confident that we have developed the right business model for Store+ that would bring a positive impact to the Company's revenue growth and profitability. Our momentum has also been strong for Global, driven by robust demand in Southeast Asia, and further boosted by our entries into the markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Cambodia during the second quarter." "We are committed to delivering high-quality growth in a challenging market environment. Going forward, we plan to maintain a balanced growth strategy and strive for profitability by continuing leveraging our technology-enabled integrated supply chain and logistics service model, through emphasizing e-commerce, investing in technology application and automation, capturing revenue and cost synergies across multiple business units, and enhancing service quality." concluded Mr. Chou. Gloria Fan, BEST's Chief Financial Officer, commented, "In the second quarter, we continued efforts of cost and expense reductions, while reduced risks by emphasizing accounts with higher margins and implementing stringent credit control. Although we recorded a net loss of RMB 30.9 million, we achieved a gross profit of RMB570 million, a year-over-year increase of 9.6%, adjusted EBITDA of RMB158 million, and non-GAAP net income of RMB11 million, amid intensifying competition. In addition, we generated net operating cash flow of RMB723 million during the second quarter, which well covered our planned capital expenditure of RMB424 million, leading to a strong balance of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments of RMB5.1 billion. These strong results demonstrate that through consistently improving operating efficiencies and expense management, we have achieved our strategy of balancing top-line growth and profitability for the quarter." FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS[1] For the Quarter Ended June 30, 2020: Revenue was RMB8,418.3 million ( US$1,191.5 million ), a decrease of 4.2% year-over-year ("YoY"). The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in average selling price (ASP) of Express business, partially offset by an increase in Express volume. was ( ), a decrease of 4.2% year-over-year ("YoY"). The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in average selling price (ASP) of Express business, partially offset by an increase in Express volume. Gross Profit was RMB569.7 million ( US$80.6 million ), an increase of 9.6% YoY compared to gross profit of RMB520.1 million in the same period of 2019. The increase was primarily due to improved operating efficiency resulted from continued cost reduction, partially offset by a decrease in revenue. Gross Margin was 6.8%, an increase of 0.9 percentage point (ppt) YoY. was ( ), an increase of 9.6% YoY compared to gross profit of in the same period of 2019. The increase was primarily due to improved operating efficiency resulted from continued cost reduction, partially offset by a decrease in revenue. was 6.8%, an increase of 0.9 percentage point (ppt) YoY. Net Loss was RMB30.9 million ( US$4.4 million ), compared to a net loss of RMB22.4 million in the same period of 2019. Non-GAAP Net Income [2][3] was RMB11.2 million ( US$1.6 million ), compared to non-GAAP Net Income of RMB6.5 million in the same period of 2019. was ( ), compared to a net loss of in the same period of 2019. was ( ), compared to non-GAAP Net Income of in the same period of 2019. Diluted EPS [4] was negative RMB0.06 (US$0.01) , compared to negative RMB0.05 in the same period of 2019. Non-GAAP diluted EPS [3][5] was RMB0.05 (US$0.01) , compared to RMB0.02 in the same period of 2019. was negative , compared to negative in the same period of 2019. was , compared to in the same period of 2019. EBITDA[3][6]was RMB117.9 million ( US$16.7 million ), compared to RMB122.0 million in the same period of 2019. Adjusted EBITDA[3][6] was RMB157.7 million ( US$22.3 million ), compared to RMB148.2 million in the same period of 2019. BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS AND STRATEGIC UPDATES[1] Core Logistics and Supply Chain The Company's results rebounded strongly in the quarter ended June 30, 2020 as the impact from COVID-19 pandemic in China subsided. In addition to the company-wide pursuit of balanced top-line growth and profitability, its key strategic focus during the quarter also included: Emphasis on business integrations, synergies and efficiencies: the Company continued to emphasize e-commerce related transactions across all business units. This helped the Company achieve strong business-to-consumer (B2C) order growth during the quarter. Furthermore, the Company continued to enhance automation for its hubs and sortation centers, and combine dynamic routing between Express and Freight to drive down unit costs. the Company continued to emphasize e-commerce related transactions across all business units. This helped the Company achieve strong business-to-consumer (B2C) order growth during the quarter. Furthermore, the Company continued to enhance automation for its hubs and sortation centers, and combine dynamic routing between Express and Freight to drive down unit costs. Enhancement of service quality: the Company continued to focus on service enhancement, network flexibility, density of last-mile service outlets, and overall customer experience. BEST Express Successfully executed its strategy of balanced quality growth and profitability through continued cost reduction and improved quality of service. Parcel volume increased by 19.3% YoY, representing market share of 10.7% during the quarter, improving 0.2 ppt compared with the first quarter while achieving gross margin expansion of 0.9 ppt YoY despite challenging operating conditions. Average cost per parcel decreased by 21.5% YoY. BEST Freight Continued to solidify its leadership position and achieved a growth rate significantly higher than industry-wide average, as well as strong gross margin expansion of 2.5 ppts YoY, driven primarily by the Company's focus on e-commerce products, economies of scale and continuous network optimization. Freight volume increased by 28.9% YoY in the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Average cost per tonne decreased by 21.1% YoY. BEST Supply Chain Management Focused on expanding franchised Cloud OFC business, while targeting projects with higher margins and clients with strong credit profile. As a result, gross margin increased by 0.8 ppt YoY to 9.7%. The total number of orders fulfilled by Cloud OFCs increased by 28.5% YoY to 111.3 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2020, of which the total number of orders fulfilled by franchised Cloud OFCs increased by 46.4% YoY to 53.7 million. The number of franchised OFCs increased by 25.9% YoY to 326. BEST UCargo The number of registered drivers on the UCargo mobile app increased 141.9% YoY to 244,234. The total number of transactions on the trucking brokerage platform increased by 19.8% YoY to 137,257. BEST Capital As of June 30, 2020, BEST Capital had provided financing solutions to 12,373 trucks in total, a quarter-over-quarter ("QoQ") increase of 10.9% compared to March 31, 2020. BEST Store+ Store+ business continued to execute its strategy of enhancing order quality to improve gross margin, while developing its asset-light partnership model which enables accelerated acquisition of both membership stores and franchised BEST-Neighbor stores, and contributes to lower selling and fulfilling expenses to achieve profitability. As a result, gross margin increased by 2.5ppts YoY to 13.0%, while adjusted EBITDA margin improved by 2.6 ppts YoY to negative 10.2%. BEST Global Global continued with strong momentum in Southeast Asia. In the quarter ended June 30, 2020, parcel volume in Thailand increased by 95.3% QoQ to approximately 10 million, while parcel volume in Vietnam increased by 54.3% QoQ to 5.75 million. The Company also launched express delivery services in Malaysia, Cambodia and Singapore, marking another significant step towards building an efficient logistics network with an extensive coverage in Southeast Asia. Key Operational Metrics Three Months Ended % Change YoY Express Parcel Volume (in '000) June 30, 2018 June 30, 2019 June 30, 2020 2019 VS 2018 2020 VS 2019 1,280,050 1,906,863 2,274,585 49.0% 19.3% Freight Volume (Tonne in '000) 1,366 1,730 2,230 26.6% 28.9% Supply Chain Management Orders Fulfilled (in '000) 61,178 86,663 111,332 41.7% 28.5% UCargo Number of Transactions (in '000) 96 115 137 19.4% 19.8% Store+ Total Number of Orders Fulfilled (in '000) 871 780 768 (10.4%) (1.6%) Global Parcel Volume in Southeast Asia (in '000) - 783 16,100 - 1,955.2% FINANCIAL RESULTS For the Quarter Ended June 30, 2020: Revenue: The following table sets forth a breakdown of revenue by business segment for the periods indicated. Table 1 Breakdown of Revenue by Business Segment Three Months Ended June 30, 2019 June 30, 2020 (In '000, except for %) RMB % of Revenue RMB US$ % of Revenue % Change YoY Core logistics and supply chain Express 5,448,476 62.1% 5,151,845 729,196 61.1% (5.4%) Freight 1,305,785 14.9% 1,364,989 193,202 16.2% 4.5% Supply Chain Management 600,211 6.8% 509,708 72,144 6.1% (15.1%) UCargo 521,830 5.9% 492,554 69,716 5.9% (5.6%) Capital 56,398 0.6% 49,314 6,980 0.6% (12.6%) Total core logistics and supply chain 7,932,700 90.3% 7,568,410 1,071,238 89.9% (4.6%) Store+ 790,558 9.0% 657,364 93,044 7.8% (16.8%) Global 64,872 0.7% 192,500 27,247 2.3% 196.7% Total Revenue 8,788,130 100% 8,418,274 1,191,529 100% (4.2%) Core Logistics and Supply Chain Express Service Revenue decreased by 5.4% YoY to RMB5,151.8 million ( US$729.2 million ) from RMB5,448.5 million , primarily due to a 20.7% YoY decrease in ASP per parcel, offset by a 19.3% YoY increase in parcel volume. The decrease in ASP is primarily attributable to competitive market dynamics. ( ) from , primarily due to a 20.7% YoY decrease in ASP per parcel, offset by a 19.3% YoY increase in parcel volume. The decrease in ASP is primarily attributable to competitive market dynamics. Freight Service Revenue increased by 4.5% YoY to RMB1,365.0 million ( US$193.2 million ) from RMB1,305.8 million , primarily due to a 28.9% YoY increase in freight volume, offset by a 18.9% YoY decrease in ASP per tonne. ( ) from , primarily due to a 28.9% YoY increase in freight volume, offset by a 18.9% YoY decrease in ASP per tonne. Supply Chain Management Service Revenue decreased by 15.1% YoY to RMB509.7 million ( US$72.1 million ) from RMB600.2 million , primarily due to a decrease in transportation service revenue, partially offset by a 28.5% increase in number of B2C orders fulfilled. ( ) from , primarily due to a decrease in transportation service revenue, partially offset by a 28.5% increase in number of B2C orders fulfilled. BEST UCargo Revenue decreased by 5.6% YoY to RMB492.6 million ( US$69.7 million ) from RMB521.8 million , primarily due to discontinuation of several key account customers to minimize credit exposure. ( ) from , primarily due to discontinuation of several key account customers to minimize credit exposure. BEST Capital Revenue decreased by 12.6% YoY to RMB49.3 million ( US$7.0 million ) from RMB56.4 million , primarily due to implementation of more stringent credit control policies. BEST Store+ - Revenue decreased by 16.8% YoY to RMB657.4 million (US$93.0 million) from RMB790.6 million, primarily due to ongoing efforts to enhance order quality to improve margins. BEST Global - Revenue increased by 196.7% YoY to RMB192.5 million (US$27.2 million) from RMB64.9 million, primarily due to strong growth in parcel volumes in Thailand and Vietnam. Cost of Revenue: The following table sets forth a breakdown of cost of revenue by business segment for the periods indicated. Table 2 Breakdown of Cost of Revenue by Business Segment Three Months Ended % of Revenue Change YoY June 30, 2019 June 30, 2020 (In '000, except for %) RMB % of Revenue RMB US$ % of Revenue Core logistics and supply chain Express (5,203,842) 95.5% (4,874,191) (689,897) 94.6% (0.9ppt) Freight (1,222,296) 93.6% (1,242,847) (175,914) 91.1% (2.5ppts) Supply Chain Management (546,778) 91.1% (460,298) (65,151) 90.3% (0.8ppt) UCargo (499,994) 95.8% (479,946) (67,932) 97.4% 1.6ppts Capital (16,794) 29.8% (4,545) (643) 9.2% (20.6ppts) Total for core logistics and supply chain (7,489,704) 94.4% (7,061,827) (999,537) 93.3% (1.1ppts) Store+ (707,497) 89.5% (572,162) (80,984) 87.0% (2.5ppts) Global (70,862) 109.2% (214,540) (30,366) 111.4% 2.2ppts Total Cost of Revenue (8,268,063) 94.1% (7,848,529) (1,110,887) 93.2% (0.9ppt) Cost of Revenue was RMB7,848.5 million (US$1,110.9 million) or 93.2% of revenue in the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared to RMB8,268.1 million or 94.1% of revenue in the same quarter of 2019. The decrease of 0.9 ppt in cost of revenue as a percentage of revenue was primarily attributable to economies of scale and improved operating efficiency. Table 3 Breakdown of Average Cost Per Parcel and Average Cost Per Tonne Three Months Ended % Change (in RMB) June 30, 2019 June 30, 2020 YoY Express: Average Cost Per Parcel 2.73 2.14 (21.5%) Average Transportation Cost Per Parcel 0.71 0.57 (19.6%) Average Labor Cost Per Parcel 0.23 0.21 (8.3%) Average Lease Cost Per Parcel 0.09 0.08 (11.7%) Average Other Cost Per Parcel 0.14 0.08 (44.2%) Average Last-mile Cost Per Parcel 1.56 1.20 (22.8%) Freight: Average Cost Per Tonne 706.5 557.4 (21.1%) Average Transportation Cost Per Tonne 351.5 250.2 (28.8%) Average Labor Cost Per Tonne 93.7 76.0 (18.8%) Average Lease Cost Per Tonne 55.4 51.5 (7.0%) Average Other Cost Per Tonne 44.5 40.8 (8.3%) Average Last-mile Cost Per Tonne 161.4 138.9 (13.9%) Express Service Average Cost per Parcel decreased by 21.5%, primarily attributable to improved operating efficiency and economies of scale. Freight Service Average Cost per Tonne decreased by 21.1% YoY, primarily due to improved operating efficiency, network optimization and economies of scale. Gross Profit was RMB569.7 million (US$80.6 million), compared to gross profit of RMB520.1 million in the same quarter of 2019; Gross Margin was 6.8%, compared to 5.9% in the same quarter of 2019. Operating Expenses The following table sets forth a breakdown of operating expenses and adjusted operating expenses by category for the periods indicated. Table 4 Breakdown of Operating Expenses and Adjusted Operating Expenses by Category Three Months Ended June 30, 2019 June 30, 2020 (In '000, except for %) RMB % of Revenue RMB US$ % of Revenue % of Revenue Change YoY Selling, General and Administrative Expenses (514,391) 5.9% (555,417) (78,614) 6.6% 0.7ppt Adjusted for SBC Expenses (23,569) 0.3% (36,541) (5,172) 0.5% 0.2ppt Adjusted Selling, General and Administrative Expenses (490,822) 5.6% (518,876) (73,442) 6.1% 0.5ppt Research and Development Expenses (62,517) 0.7% (50,499) (7,148) 0.6% (0.1ppt) Adjusted for SBC Expenses (2,388) 0.0% (2,489) (352) 0.0% 0.0ppt Adjusted Research and Development Expenses (60,129) 0.7% (48,010) (6,796) 0.6% (0.1ppt) Total Operating Expenses (576,908) 6.6% (605,916) (85,762) 7.2% 0.6ppt Adjusted for SBC Expenses (25,957) 0.3% (39,030) (5,524) 0.5% 0.2ppt Adjusted Total Operating Expenses (550,951) 6.3% (566,886) (80,238) 6.7% 0.4ppt Selling, General and Administrative Expenses were RMB555.4 million (US$78.6 million) or 6.6% of revenue in the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared to RMB514.4 million or 5.9% of revenue in the same quarter of 2019. The increase in selling, general and administrative expenses was primarily attributable to losses on disposal of fixed assets due to upgrade of Express's equipment. Research and Development Expenses were RMB50.5 million (US$7.1 million) or 0.6% of revenue in the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared to RMB62.5 million, or 0.7% of revenue in the same quarter of 2019. The decrease in research and development expenses was primarily attributable to capitalization of certain R&D expenditure to intangible assets, as well as reduction in travel expenses. Share-based Compensation ("SBC") Expenses included in the cost and expense items above in the quarter ended June 30, 2020 were RMB39.7 million (US$5.6 million), compared to RMB26.2 million in the same quarter of 2019. In the second quarter of 2020, RMB0.7 million (US$0.1 million) was allocated to cost of revenue, RMB2.9 million (US$0.4 million) was allocated to selling expenses, RMB33.6 million (US$4.8 million) was allocated to general and administrative expenses, and RMB2.5 million (US$0.3 million) was allocated to research and development expenses. Net Loss and Non-GAAP Net Income Net Loss in the quarter ended June 30, 2020 was RMB30.9 million (US$4.4 million), compared to Net Loss of RMB22.4 million in the same period of 2019. Excluding the impact of SBC expenses and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, non-GAAP Net Income in the quarter ended June 30, 2020 was RMB11.2 million (US$1.6 million), compared to non-GAAP Net Income of RMB6.5 million in the same quarter of 2019. The following table sets forth a breakdown of non-GAAP net income for the three months ended June 30, 2020 by segment. Table 5 Breakdown of non-GAAP Net Income by Segment Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 Core logistics and supply chain (In RMB'000) Express Freight Supply Chain UCargo Capital Store+ Global Unallocated[7] Total Non-GAAP Net Income/(Loss) 108,337 57,940 (5,131) (17,626) 36,849 (69,405) (50,735) (48,991) 11,238 Diluted EPS and non-GAAP diluted EPS Diluted EPS in the quarter ended June 30, 2020 was negative RMB0.06 (US$0.01), based on a weighted average of 389.3 million diluted shares outstanding during the quarter. This is compared to negative RMB0.05 on a weighted average of 388.2 million diluted shares outstanding in the same period of 2019. Excluding SBC expenses and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, non-GAAP diluted EPS in the quarter ended June 30, 2020 was RMB0.05 (US$0.01), compared to RMB0.02 in the same period of 2019. A reconciliation of non-GAAP diluted EPS to diluted EPS is included at the end of this results announcement. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin Adjusted EBITDA was RMB157.7 million (US$22.3 million), compared to RMB148.2 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 1.9%, compared to 1.7% in the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin by Segment The following table sets forth a breakdown of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin for the three months ended June 30, 2020 by segment. Table 6 Breakdown of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin by Segment Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 Core logistics and supply chain (In RMB'000) Express Freight Supply Chain UCargo Capital Store+ Global Unallocated[8] Total Adjusted EBITDA 188,881 73,075 5,709 (17,507) 40,708 (67,336) (47,805) (18,064) 157,661 Adjusted EBITDA Margin 3.7% 5.4% 1.1% (3.6%) 82.5% (10.2%) (24.8%) - 1.9% Core Logistics and Supply Chain - Adjusted EBITDA was RMB290.9 million (US$41.2 million), compared to RMB298.5 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was 3.8%, remain flat compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Store+ - Adjusted EBITDA was negative RMB67.3 million (US$9.5 million), compared to negative RMB101.6 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was negative 10.2% compared to negative 12.8% in the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Global - Adjusted EBITDA was negative RMB47.8 million (US$6.8 million), compared to negative RMB32.3 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Adjusted EBITDA Margin was negative 24.8% compared to negative 49.8% in the quarter ended June 30, 2019. Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Short-term Investments As of June 30, 2020, cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments were RMB5,141.9 million (US$727.8 million), compared to RMB4,236.1 million as of March 31, 2020. Net Cash Generated from Operating Activities Net cash generated from operating activities was RMB722.6 million (US$102.3 million), compared to RMB334.2 million in the same period of 2019. The increase in net cash generated from operating activities was mainly due to recovery from COVID-19 and significant growth of our Express and Freight volumes from the first quarter of 2020. Capital Expenditures ("CAPEX") CAPEX was RMB424.1 million (US$60.0 million), or 5.0% of total revenue in the quarter ended June 30, 2020, compared to CAPEX of RMB380.9 million, or 4.3% of total revenue, in the same period of 2019. The increase in CAPEX was primarily due to planned upgrades of automation systems in major hubs, sortation centers, and Cloud OFCs, which included investments in high-speed automated sorting lines, dimension and weight scanning systems. SHARES OUTSTANDING As of the date of this press release, the Company had approximately 385.1 million ordinary shares outstanding[9]. Each American Depositary Share represents one Class A ordinary share. FINANCIAL GUIDANCE Due to the rapidly evolving market dynamics, the negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, BEST is unable to provide financial guidance at this time. The Company is closely monitoring the situation and will provide more information as it becomes available. WEBCAST AND CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION The Company will hold a conference call at 9:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time on August 17, 2020 (9:00 am Beijing Time on August 18), to discuss its financial results and operating performance for the second quarter of 2020. Participants may access the call by dialing the following numbers: United States : +1-888-317-6003 Hong Kong : 800-963976 or +852-5808-1995 Mainland China : 4001-206115 International : +1-412-317-6061 Participant Elite Entry Number : 7770489 A replay of the conference call will be accessible through August 24, 2020 by dialing the following numbers: United States : +1-877-344-7529 International : +1-412-317-0088 Replay Access Code : 10146908 Please visit the Company's investor relations website http://ir.best-inc.com/ on August 17, 2020 to view the earnings release prior to the conference call. A live and archived webcast of the conference call and a corporate presentation will be available at the same site. ABOUT BEST INC. BEST Inc. (NYSE: BEST) is a leading integrated smart supply chain solutions and logistics services provider in China. Through its proprietary technology platform and extensive networks, BEST offers a comprehensive set of logistics and value-add services, including express and freight delivery, supply chain management and last-mile services, truckload service brokerage, international logistics and financial services. BEST's mission is to empower business and enrich life by leveraging technology and business model innovation to create a smarter, more efficient supply chain. For more information, please visit: http://www.best-inc.com/en/. For investor and media inquiries, please contact: BEST Inc. Investor relations team [email protected] The Piacente Group, Inc. Yang Song Tel: +86-10-6508-0677 E-mail: [email protected] The Piacente Group, Inc. Brandi Piacente Tel: +1-212-481-2050 E-mail: [email protected] SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Among other things, the business outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as BEST's strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. BEST may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about BEST's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: BEST's goals and strategies; BEST's future business development, results of operations and financial condition; BEST 's ability to maintain and enhance its ecosystem; BEST 's ability to continue to innovate, meet evolving market trends, adapt to changing customer demands and maintain its culture of innovation; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in China and other countries in which BEST operates, and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in BEST's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and BEST does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law. USE OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES In evaluating its business, BEST considers and uses non-GAAP measures, such as non-GAAP net loss/income, non-GAAP net loss/profit margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, EBITDA, adjusted selling expenses, adjusted general and administrative expenses, adjusted research and development expenses, and non-GAAP diluted EPS, as supplemental measures in the evaluation of the Company's operating results and in the Company's financial and operational decision-making. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures that help identify underlying trends in the Company's business that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of the expenses and gains that the Company includes in loss from operations and net loss. The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information about its operating results, enhance the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects and allow for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by the Company's management in its financial and operational decision-making. The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with U.S. GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Nearest Comparable GAAP Measures" in the results announcement. The non-GAAP financial measures are provided as additional information to help investors compare business trends among different reporting periods on a consistent basis and to enhance investors' overall understanding of the Company's current financial performance and prospects for the future. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, U.S. GAAP results. In addition, the Company's calculation of the non-GAAP financial measures may be different from the calculation used by other companies, and therefore comparability may be limited. Summary of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Income Statements (In Thousands) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2019 2020 2019 2020 RMB RMB US$ RMB RMB US$ Revenue Express 5,448,476 5,151,845 729,196 9,716,435 8,518,532 1,205,720 Freight 1,305,785 1,364,989 193,202 2,293,715 2,048,509 289,948 Supply Chain Management 600,211 509,708 72,144 1,134,848 917,300 129,835 Store+ 790,558 657,364 93,044 1,344,080 1,120,199 158,554 Global 64,872 192,500 27,247 105,819 308,288 43,635 Ucargo 521,830 492,554 69,716 963,017 873,103 123,580 Capital 56,398 49,314 6,980 104,790 97,799 13,843 Total Revenue 8,788,130 8,418,274 1,191,529 15,662,704 13,883,730 1,965,115 Cost of Revenue Express (5,203,842) (4,874,191) (689,897) (9,341,550) (8,365,512) (1,184,061) Freight (1,222,296) (1,242,847) (175,914) (2,177,011) (2,059,282) (291,472) Supply Chain Management (546,778) (460,298) (65,151) (1,059,832) (864,744) (122,397) Store+ (707,497) (572,162) (80,984) (1,190,942) (973,637) (137,809) Global (70,862) (214,540) (30,366) (118,487) (362,858) (51,359) Ucargo (499,994) (479,946) (67,932) (932,675) (852,985) (120,732) Capital (16,794) (4,545) (643) (29,434) (11,602) (1,642) Total Cost of Revenue (8,268,063) (7,848,529) (1,110,887) (14,849,931) (13,490,620) (1,909,472) Gross Profit 520,067 569,745 80,642 812,773 393,110 55,643 Selling Expenses (213,222) (230,433) (32,616) (406,489) (449,210) (63,582) General and Administrative Expenses (301,169) (324,984) (45,998) (588,246) (625,703) (88,563) Research and Development Expenses (62,517) (50,499) (7,148) (116,536) (110,814) (15,685) Total Operating Expenses (576,908) (605,916) (85,762) (1,111,271) (1,185,727) (167,830) Loss from Operations (56,841) (36,171) (5,120) (298,498) (792,617) (112,187) Interest Income 26,024 18,415 2,606 50,049 40,000 5,662 Interest Expense (14,696) (41,379) (5,857) (40,744) (74,551) (10,552) Foreign Exchange (Loss)/ Gain (2,198) 334 47 (4,066) 185 26 Other Income 33,076 37,935 5,369 53,635 71,869 10,172 Other Expense (3,225) (6,037) (854) (7,920) (18,361) (2,599) Loss before Income Tax and Share of Net Loss of Equity Investees (17,860) (26,903) (3,809) (247,544) (773,475) (109,478) Income Tax Expense (4,410) (3,952) (559) (8,102) (8,102) (1,147) Loss before Share of Net Loss of Equity Investees (22,270) (30,855) (4,368) (255,646) (781,577) (110,625) Share of Net Loss of Equity Investees (101) (44) (6) (136) (74) (10) Net Loss (22,371) (30,899) (4,374) (255,782) (781,651) (110,635) Net Loss attributable to non- controlling interests (3,077) (6,571) (930) (5,430) (14,431) (2,043) Net loss attributable to BEST Inc. (19,294) (24,328) (3,444) (250,352) (767,220) (108,592) Net loss attributable to ordinary shareholders (19,294) (24,328) (3,444) (250,352) (767,220) (108,592) Summary of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands) As of December 31, 2019 As of June 30, 2020 RMB RMB US$ Assets Current Assets Cash and Cash Equivalents 1,994,683 2,384,686 337,530 Restricted Cash 1,786,832 1,625,088 230,016 Accounts and Notes Receivables 1,229,083 997,130 141,136 Inventories 140,006 158,718 22,465 Prepayments and Other Current Assets 2,750,126 2,921,347 413,490 Shortterm Investments 1,057,598 532,500 75,370 Lease Rental Receivables 483,363 488,841 69,191 Amounts Due from Related Parties 246,758 187,871 26,591 Total Current Assets 9,688,449 9,296,181 1,315,789 Noncurrent Assets Property and Equipment, Net 2,939,379 3,548,293 502,228 Intangible Assets, Net 121,587 112,288 15,893 Goodwill 490,986 499,433 70,690 Longterm Investments 230,855 230,781 32,665 Noncurrent Deposits 127,191 145,892 20,650 Other Noncurrent Assets 346,645 471,378 66,719 Operating Lease Right-of-use Assets 4,378,804 4,277,966 605,507 Lease Rental Receivables 993,260 892,626 126,343 Restricted Cash 175,700 599,622 84,871 Total noncurrent Assets 9,804,407 10,778,279 1,525,566 Total Assets 19,492,856 20,074,460 2,841,355 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current Liabilities Shortterm Bank Loans 2,510,500 2,650,059 375,092 Securitization Debt 104,899 67,947 9,617 Accounts and Notes Payable 3,391,383 3,232,139 457,480 Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities 2,019,634 2,165,136 306,455 Customer Advances and Deposits and Deferred Revenue 1,489,510 1,528,563 216,354 Operating Lease Liabilities 1,035,252 1,114,936 157,809 Financing Lease Liabilities 1,363 1,003 142 Amounts Due to Related Parties 9,769 8,316 1,177 Income Tax Payable 7,358 8,944 1,266 Total Current Liabilities 10,569,668 10,777,043 1,525,392 Non-current Liabilities Convertible senior notes held by related parties 680,104 1,749,900 247,682 Convertible Senior Notes held by third parties 680,104 693,456 98,152 Operating Lease Liabilities 3,482,634 3,323,387 470,395 Financing Lease Liabilities 2,072 4,539 642 Deferred Tax Liabilities 25,806 24,502 3,468 Other Noncurrent Liabilities 137,184 159,826 22,622 Long-term Bank Loans - 276,955 39,200 Total Noncurrent Liabilities 5,007,904 6,232,565 882,161 Total Liabilities 15,577,572 17,009,608 2,407,553 Shareholders' Equity Ordinary Shares 25,988 25,988 3,678 Treasury Shares - (111,164) (15,734) Additional PaidIn Capital 19,353,400 19,431,389 2,750,335 Statutory reserves 7,865 9,154 1,296 Accumulated Deficit (15,629,537) (16,453,792) (2,328,883) Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income 163,196 183,078 25,913 BEST Inc. Shareholders' Equity 3,920,912 3,084,653 436,605 Non-controlling Interests (5,628) (19,801) (2,803) Total Shareholders' Equity 3,915,284 3,064,852 433,802 Total Liability and Shareholders' Equity 19,492,856 20,074,460 2,841,355 Summary of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In Thousands) Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2019 2020 2019 2020 RMB RMB US$ RMB RMB US$ Net Cash Generated from/ (Used in) Operating Activities 334,242 722,606 102,277 128,692 (570,907) (80,807) Net Cash Used in Investing Activities (638,496) (283,084) (40,068) (827,251) (169,167) (23,944) Net Cash Generated from Financing Activities 304,705 762,081 107,866 661,497 1,367,066 193,496 Exchange Rate Effect on Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash 27,331 1,023 145 (70) 25,189 3,565 Net Increase/(Decrease) in Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash 27,782 1,202,626 170,220 (37,132) 652,181 92,310 Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash at Beginning of Period 2,934,494 3,406,770 482,197 2,999,408 3,957,215 560,107 Cash and Cash Equivalents, and Restricted Cash at End of Period 2,962,276 4,609,396 652,417 2,962,276 4,609,396 652,417 RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP MEASURES TO THE NEAREST COMPARABLE GAAP MEASURES The table below sets forth a reconciliation of the Company's net loss to EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin for the periods indicated: Table 7 Reconciliation of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA Margin Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 Core logistics and supply chain (In RMB'000) Express Freight Supply Chain UCargo Capital Store+ Global Unallocated([10]) Total Net Income/(Loss) 103,938 55,219 (7,966) (18,336) 36,524 (73,566) (53,899) (72,813) (30,899) Add Depreciation & Amortization 79,308 15,135 10,936 119 394 3,926 4,151 7,963 121,932 Interest Expense - - - - - - - 41,379 41,379 Income Tax Expense 1,236 - (96) - 3,465 (372) (281) - 3,952 Subtract Interest Income - - - - - - - (18,415) (18,415) EBITDA 184,482 70,354 2,874 (18,217) 40,383 (70,012) (50,029) (41,886) 117,949 Add Share-based Compensation Expenses 4,399 2,721 2,835 710 325 2,676 2,224 23,822 39,712 Adjusted EBITDA 188,881 73,075 5,709 (17,507) 40,708 (67,336) (47,805) (18,064) 157,661 Adjusted EBITDA Margin 3.7% 5.4% 1.1% (3.6%) 82.5% (10.2%) (24.8%) - 1.9% Three Months Ended June 30, 2019 Core logistics and supply chain (In RMB'000) Express Freight Supply Chain UCargo Capital Store+ Global Unallocated[11] Total Net Income/(Loss) 104,531 15,552 (2,524) 4,477 26,916 (106,720) (35,871) (28,732) (22,371) Add Depreciation & Amortization 108,057 13,449 14,251 59 412 3,666 2,313 9,043 151,250 Interest Expense - - - - - - - 14,696 14,696 Income Tax Expense - - 133 - 4,981 (434) (270) - 4,410 Subtract Interest Income - - - - - - - (26,024) (26,024) EBITDA 212,588 29,001 11,860 4,536 32,309 (103,488) (33,828) (31,017) 121,961 Add Share-based Compensation Expenses 3,023 1,918 2,583 592 65 1,922 1,495 14,614 26,212 Adjusted EBITDA 215,611 30,919 14,443 5,128 32,374 (101,566) (32,333) (16,403) 148,173 Adjusted EBITDA Margin 4.0% 2.4% 2.4% 1.0% 57.4% (12.8%) (49.8%) - 1.7% The table below sets forth a reconciliation of the Company's net loss to non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income margin for the periods indicated: Table 8 Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Net Income and Non-GAAP Net Income Margin Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 Core logistics and supply chain (In RMB'000) Express Freight Supply Chain UCargo Capital Store+ Global Unallocated([12]) Total Net Income/(Loss) 103,938 55,219 (7,966) (18,336) 36,524 (73,566) (53,899) (72,813) (30,899) Add Share-based Compensation Expenses 4,399 2,721 2,835 710 325 2,676 2,224 23,822 39,712 Amortization of Intangible Assets Resulting from Business Acquisition - - - - - 1,485 940 - 2,425 Non-GAAP Net Income/(Loss) 108,337 57,940 (5,131) (17,626) 36,849 (69,405) (50,735) (48,991) 11,238 Non-GAAP Net Income/(Loss) Margin 2.1% 4.2% (1.0%) (3.6%) 74.7% (10.6%) (26.4%) - 0.1% Three Months Ended June 30, 2019 Core logistics and supply chain (In RMB'000) Express Freight Supply Chain UCargo Capital Store+ Global Unallocated([13]) Total Net Income/(Loss) 104,531 15,552 (2,524) 4,477 26,916 (106,720) (35,871) (28,732) (22,371) Add Share-based Compensation Expenses 3,023 1,918 2,583 592 65 1,922 1,495 14,614 26,212 Amortization of Intangible Assets Resulting from Business Acquisition - - - - - 1,737 907 - 2,644 Non-GAAP Net Income/(Loss) 107,554 17,470 59 5,069 26,981 (103,061) (33,469) (14,118) 6,485 Non-GAAP Net Income/(Loss) Margin 2.0% 1.3% 0.0% 1.0% 47.8% (13.0%) (51.6%) - 0.1% The table below sets forth a reconciliation of the Company's diluted EPS to non-GAAP diluted EPS for the periods indicated: Table 9 Reconciliation of Diluted EPS and Non-GAAP Diluted EPS Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30, 2020 2020 (In '000) RMB US$ RMB US$ Net Loss Attributable to Ordinary Shareholders (24,328) (3,444) (767,220) (108,592) Add Share-based Compensation Expenses 39,712 5,621 75,934 10,748 Amortization of Intangible Assets Resulting from Business Acquisitions 2,425 343 4,892 692 Non-GAAP Net Profit/(Loss) Attributable to Ordinary Shareholders for Computing Non-GAAP Diluted EPS 17,809 2,520 (686,394) (97,152) Weighted Average Diluted Shares Outstanding During the Quarter Diluted 389,265,285 389,265,285 389,510,030 389,510,030 Diluted (Non-GAAP) 391,930,771 391,930,771 389,510,030 389,510,030 Diluted EPS (0.06) (0.01) (1.97) (0.28) Add Non-GAAP adjustment to net loss per share 0.11 0.02 0.21 0.03 Non-GAAP Diluted EPS 0.05 0.01 (1.76) (0.25) [1] All numbers presented have been rounded to the nearest integer, tenth, or hundredth, and year-over-year comparisons are based on figures before rounding. [2] Non-GAAP net income/loss represents net income/loss excluding share-based compensation expenses, amortization o f intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, and fair value change of equity investments (if any). [3] See the sections entitled "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Nearest Comparable GAAP Measures" for more information about the non-GAAP measures referred to within this results announcement. [4] Diluted earnings per share, or Diluted EPS, is calculated by dividing net profit attributable to ordinary shareholders as adjusted for the effect of dilutive ordinary equivalent shares, if any, by the weighted average number of ordinary and dilutive ordinary equivalent shares outstanding during the period. [5] Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, or non-GAAP diluted EPS, represents diluted earnings per share excluding share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, and fair value change of equity i nvestments (if any). [6] EBITDA represents net loss excluding depreciation, amortization, interest expense and income tax expense and minus interest income. Adjusted EBITDA represents EBITDA excluding share-based compensation expenses and fair value change of equity i nvestments (if any). [7] Unallocated expenses are primarily related to corporate administrative expenses and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to individual segments. [8] Unallocated expenses are primarily related to corporate administrative expenses and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to individual segments. [9] The total number of shares outstanding excludes shares reserved for future issuances upon exercise or vesting of awards granted under the Company's share incentive plans. [10] Unallocated expenses are primarily related to corporate administrative expenses and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to individual segments. [11] Unallocated expenses are primarily related to corporate administrative expenses and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to individual segments. [12] Unallocated expenses are primarily related to corporate administrative expenses and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to individual segments. [13] Unallocated expenses are primarily related to corporate administrative expenses and other miscellaneous items that are not allocated to individual segments. SOURCE BEST Inc. Related Links https://www.best-inc.com/ Among the states, Bihar faces the greatest challenge, particularly in terms of the reverse migration occurring from the lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the poor state of its health services infrastructure, the state government should have taken urgent and appropriate measures to screen, test and quarantine the returning migrant workers. This article takes a look at the trajectory of the governments response to the health crisis. Bihar, the second most populous state, has poor infrastructure overall, but especially so in the health sector. The state has witnessed the transfer of the principal secretary of its health department for the second time since 22 March 2020 (Hindu 2020; PTI 2020). This is a stark illustration of how the COVID-19 global pandemic is taking on an ugly shape in the state with each passing day. It is also facing severe floods leading to 19 deaths and around 66.60 lakh people from 16 districts being affected by the deluge as on 5 August 2020 (Government of Bihar 2020a). Bihar has reported 64,732 COVID-19 positive cases and 369 deaths till 5 August 2020 (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 2020). The state began detecting these cases rather late, though the first infection came to light on 22 March when the patients test results were reported after his death. He had a history of foreign travel and had met a number of people before he died. Now, after almost four and half months following that case, it appears, then, that a number of factors converged to create this situation, ranging from the governments negligence to poor infrastructure to lack of transparency and willpower to contain the infection. "While there is not currently a shortfall of ventilators in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the new ventilators procured during the COVID-19 response will ensure the United States is prepared to respond to any hotspots in the coming months as well as any future public health emergency response that might require these devices for lifesaving care," said Amber Dukes, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in an email to the Free Press. Triggers for use of face coverings to be published as advisory group suggests preparing population in advance of any requirement This article is old - Published: Monday, Aug 17th, 2020 The First Minister has said his government will set out the trigger points that would mean face masks would be mandatory in certain settings, however stressed Wales is not at that point yet. The new information will be made public and appears to have followed advice from the Technical Advisory Cell / Group last week that detailed the latest thinking on masks and face coverings. The advice document suggests work needs to take place to prepare people and communicate when and where face coverings should be warn, and at what points such moves would be necessary. The Technical Advisory Cell (TAC) is a conduit and interpretation group, interpreting UK Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) outputs into a Welsh context, relay relevant information and questions from Welsh Government to SAGE as well as feed the information to groups such as Local Resilience Fora. The latest release (PDF here) is titled Updated Advice on Face Coverings and updates Welsh Government on the latest research and recommendations. The update references updated information on aerosol transmission published by the World Health Organisation. The document details how coronavirus could be passed: Aerosol transmission can occur when small respiratory aerosols (<10 m diameter) containing the virus remain in the air and can be inhaled by another person. This is most likely to happen at close range (within 2 metres) though there is a small amount of evidence that this could happen in an indoor environment more than 2m from an infected person. A range of commentary on face coverings, masks and visors is referenced with it noted cloth face coverings are likely to have some benefit in reducing the risk of aerosol transmission, and Face shields/visors are unlikely to be an effective control for aerosol transmission. It appears there was some support for an England / Scotland style mask use in shops: Some members of TAG are supportive of mandating face coverings in indoor settings (such as shops) as a precautionary measure and to mitigate a perceived relaxation of social distancing and increased mixing of the public, as well as avoidance of asymptomatic transmission. Such a split message was also discussed, There is a risk that differences between four nations approach to face coverings will lead to confusion and mixed messaging with the public. However, it is recognised that policy decisions are complex, as is the scientific evidence related to face coverings. A section titled recommendations notes asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is now known to occur. Thus people without symptoms who are potentially infectious to others may be in public places. For this reason, it is advisable that face coverings should be worn in indoor settings in addition to good ventilation, social distancing and hand hygiene to interrupt transmission. Wearing of face-coverings will be particularly important in indoor environments with poor ventilation or when large numbers of people congregate in order to reduce the risk of super spreading events. The advice does note there would be exceptions needed, likely to include children under 11 years old, those with certain physical and mental health conditions and key settings such as schools and restaurants. A list of different settings where face coverings or masks could be mandated is given, including: Public transport (already mandatory) Travelling in a car with someone from a different household Further and Higher education settings Healthcare settings (Locally we have seen masks requested for use by those entering local health board sites) In pubs and restaurants, provided you are not at your table For certain high contact professions, such as market stall operator, waiter, taxi driver etc In shops, stores and shopping centres In cinemas, theatres, concert halls, conference halls, auditoriums, museums, libraries, casinos and arcades On Friday we had an opportunity to ask First Minister Mark Drakeford questions, so asked about the recent TAC document and face coverings. This weekend has seen England mandate that hairdressers and beauticians should wear type II face masks instead of just visors, and we asked if that would be happening in Wales, and if any of the recommendations in the TAC document would be taken forward as policy in Wales. The First Minister explained: The TAC summary says is that we need a set of triggers in Wales that would tell us whether we are moving into a phase where the more widespread use of face coverings in Wales will be either recommended or mandatory. We are working on those triggers. Im hoping well be in a position soon to make them public. So if the number of cases per hundred thousand rose to a certain level, or if the positivity rate rose to a certain level, then the advice on wearing face coverings in the sort of settings identified in that paper would be triggered. Were not at that point in Wales, our positivity rate has fallen again this week, the number of cases has fallen in the second half of the week, not growing. I am keen that there is a clear understanding with people, the Welsh Government is not against wearing of face coverings when the circumstances for wearing them are justified. The advice weve had is, were not in that position, other than in certain limited settings as on buses and trains. We will set out the triggers that would lead us to a different conclusion in the context of that TAC paper. We will look to see the new advice in England in relation to hairdressers and barbers, but weve had them open in Wales now for a number of weeks, and there is no sign that I have seen that we have outbreaks that are associated with those settings. So the safeguards weve already got in place appear to be successful so far. The TAC document refers to work around public engagement on when and where face coverings should be worn in Wales with the aim of helping support compliance and avoid conflict as the TAC says has been observed elsewhere, and to prepare people. The public facing document appears that piece of work could be the soon to be public information the First Minster was referencing. T he last wild golden eagle in Wales has been found dead by a walker. The bird has been described as "something of a celebrity" and bird spotters from around the UK travelled to the Abergwesyn Valley, Powys, to spot her. Springwatch presenter Iolo Williams tracked her movements in the Cambrian Mountains for his latest series Iolo: The Last Wilderness of Wales. He called her death "tragic" and said the species had been "persecuted to extinction" in England and Wales with numbers depleting to near extinction in 1850. The presenter said she was something quite special / BBC He told the Standard: "People speak as if she was the last in a long line of golden eagles - she was the only one left. "She was something quite special with a 7 foot 4 inches wingspan. "She had escaped captivity 13 years ago to live in the wild when there hadn't been any golden eagles in Wales for two centuries. The bird was filmed in Iolo William's nature series before she died / BBC "They have been persecuted to extinction in England and Wales with people shooting, poisoning and trapping them." The nature observer said the bird had become something of a "celebrity" and a "real local character" charming nearby farmers and landowners as well as tourists. "It's tragic," he added. "Next time I go for a walk there is no chance of seeing a golden eagle. The presenter told The Standard she escaped captivity to live in the wild for 13 years / BBC "In the UK sightings are confined to Scotland with just over 500 pairs in the wild. "If you want to see them you have to go up to the Highlands." While the cause of the bird's death is unknown, she was said to be quite old and foul play is not suspected. The eagle can be seen in the final episode of Mr Williams series either on BBC One Wales on Thursday, August 27 at 7.30pm or right now on BBC iPlayer. China's vaccine specialist CanSino Biologics Inc has won a patent approval from Beijing for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad5-nCOV, state media reported, citing documents from the country's intellectual property regulator. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine patent granted by China, state-owned newspaper People's Daily reported on Sunday. The paper cited documents published by China's National Intellectual Property Administration saying that the patent was issued on Aug. 11. Saudi Arabia said this month it plans to begin Phase III clinical trials for the CanSino vaccine. CanSino has said it is also in talks with Russia, Brazil and Chile to launch Phase III trials in those countries. CanSino's Hong Kong shares rose around 14% in Monday's morning session. Its Shanghai shares rose by 6.6% as of midday. Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: Britain urges at-risk groups to sign up for trials Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo owes the Australian Taxation Office $140 million but his substantial offshore assets cannot be frozen, an appeal court has said. In December last year the Federal Court entered judgment in favour of the ATO against the property developer for $140.6 million dollars in income tax, interest and penalties. Billionaire Huang Xiangmo's offshore assets cannot be the subject of a freezing order, an appeal court said. Credit:James Brickwood The court had previously made orders freezing Mr Huang's local and overseas assets, including a $13 million mansion in Mosman held in the name of his wife. Mr Huang was also ordered to disclose his worldwide assets to the Tax Office. In a judgment in September, Federal Court Justice Anna Katzmann said Mr Huang's Australian assets "do not seem to be enough to satisfy the tax liability" and his offshore money transfers had "increased dramatically" after an ATO audit began in 2017. Offering clues about his broader worldview, the Democratic presidential candidate, Joe Biden, has spoken glowingly about India. But Mr Biden also made one or two critical comments about the Narendra Modi governments policies, for instance on Kashmir. All of this had led to much debate in India most of which reads too much into far too little. A United States (US) presidential candidate will make comments to please different voter and funding groups. These comments will sound contradictory because, at this point, they are far from having a well-thought-out foreign policy programme. A non-incumbent candidate will be particularly prone to have little or no view on what are marginal issues that do not affect US voters. This US election is unusually dominated by domestic issues, with a sprinkling of concern about China. All else is immaterial. What matters is how much the core foreign policy views of the candidates differ from the mainstream. And this is where Mr Bidens comments are reassuring. He sees China as the primary strategic challenge of the US, making India geopolitically vital. He puts climate and terrorism as overriding global concerns, which resonates with New Delhi. On immigration and trade, he promises to be more generous than President Donald Trump. His foreign policy aides have indicated differences with India will be left to the diplomats to resolve. In other words, the drivers of the US-India relationship are shared by both candidates and India has little to worry about if a new administration comes to power. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.17 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan amounted to $356.4 million over 1H2020, compared to $424.6 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee. The share of Kyrgyzstan in the total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover stood at less than 0.8 percent during the reporting period compared to 0.9 percent during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export to Kyrgyzstan amounted to $246.9 million over the period from January through June 2020, compared to $291.6 million during the same period of 2019. Kyrgyzstans share in the total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to less than 0.9 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 1 percent during the same period of 2019. In turn, Kazakhstans imports from Kyrgyzstan stood at about $109.5 million over the reporting period, compared to $133.03 million during the same period of 2019. Kyrgyzstans share in the total volume of Kazakhstans import amounted to 0.7 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.8 percent during the same period of 2019. The total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover amounted to $42.5 billion over the period from Jan. through June 2020 which indicates a decrease from $46.1 billion during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export amounted to $26 billion during the reporting period of 2020 ($28.6 billion in the same period of 2019), whereas import amounted to $16.5 billion ($17.5 billion in 2019). --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh DOJ Announces Proposed New Regulations for National Sex Offender Registration The Justice Department (DOJ) has announced proposed new regulations that detail how convicted sex offenders should register under the national registration system, in an effort to ensure reporting to the registry is adequately enforced. The federal Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA) requires convicted sex offenders to register in the states in which they live, work, or attend school. Congress enacted the national sex offender registry in 2006 in a bid to strengthen the nations sex offender registration programs and to help law enforcement effectively track convicted sex offenders as they move around the country. It was enacted as part of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. As part of the legislation, Congress left it to the attorney general to issue regulations and guidelines to enforce SORNA and to decide on guidelines on how to apply the law before it was enacted. The DOJ published the proposed regulations on Aug. 13 and is requesting public comments until October. The proposed regulations set out the specific information that convicted sex offenders need to provide to registration authorities, including name, birth date, and Social Security number, information about places of residence, employment, school attendance, vehicle and license details, as well as details of passports and immigration documents and of international travel. Requiring registered sex offenders to report travel abroad would help address the global concern over international sex tourism and trafficking, the DOJ stated. The proposed regulations will enhance the enforcement of registration and notification across the country and ensure that information about sex offenders in the community is available to law enforcement and the public, Assistant Attorney General for Legal Policy Beth A. Williams said. The proposed regulations will further Congresss and the Departments shared goal of ensuring that convicted sex offenders are accounted for under the law, she said in a statement. One of the key aims of SORNA is to close potential gaps and loopholes under prior laws, the DOJ stated. The purpose of the national registration system is to help authorities and the public monitor and track sex offenders following their release into the community in order to combat sex crime and crimes against children. The system makes information such as the name, current location, and past offenses of a convicted sex offender available to local and federal authorities and the public. Currently, all 50 states and the District of Columbia operate some form of public notification registration system for convicted sex offenders. Under the law, Congress gave the attorney general the authority to issue a rule to specify that SORNA registration requirements would apply to all offenders prior to the enactment of the law. This requirement was challenged in a case that was reviewed by the Supreme Court. The high court ruled in 2019 that Congress didnt act improperly when it delegated the power to decide how SORNAs requirements would apply to pre-act offenders. Handoffs can be chummy, chilly, brief or extended. They're sometimes stiff, like the conversation on a first date, or an exchange between people who barely speak the same language. The handoff is the bridge between cable news programs, when one host ends his or her hour and introduces the person MC'ing the one after- the coming-up-next moment. Chitchat usually ensues, providing a little bit of collegiality, and maybe even some warmth (or a facsimile of it) before the discussion of disease, death and politics resumes. Handoffs also sometimes reveal what the networks' careful promotion of their "talent" does not - grudges, rivalries, pet peeves, egos. There was that moment last month when Fox News's Tucker Carlson wrapped up a long rant against Amazon founder (and Washington Post owner) Jeff Bezos and handed things off to Sean Hannity. Carlson had suggested that Bezos had illicitly profited from the pandemic as a result of Amazon's rising stock price. Hannity wasn't buying it. "People can make money," he replied to Carlson, who appeared on the other side of a split screen. "They provide goods and services people want, need and desire. That's America." As Carlson's brow furrowed, Hannity continued, "It's called freedom, capitalism. And as long as it's honest, right, people decide." Carlson said nothing. But his facial expression suggested that of a man suffering acute abdominal pain. "All right, Tucker, great show!" Hannity added (he later tweeted an apology to Carlson and Fox viewers for "any misunderstanding" about his comments). Handoffs, also known as "tosses," are a TV trick, a kind of ruse pulled on viewers. Previously, there used to be a block of commercials separating the end of one prime-time cable program and the start of another. But the networks' audience wizards found that commercial breaks were like a green flag for viewers to switch channels. Hence, the handoff, which is designed to ease viewers from one show to the next, with nary a flinch of the remote control. The Renaissance masters of the handoff may be CNN's Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon, whose yakety transitions are the most advanced and personal (or maybe just the most verbose) expression of the form. Cuomo's handoffs to Lemon often go on for several minutes, making them a kind of show within (or between) the shows. The two hosts (Cuomo refers to his counterpart as "D. Lemon") genuinely seem to like each other, and at times their rambling chitchat takes on the meandering quality of gossiping teenagers. In March, Cuomo and Lemon spent more than six minutes talking among themselves about how news organizations, including CNN, should cover President Donald Trump. A few weeks later, Lemon cried on the air while discussing Cuomo's positive covid-19 diagnosis. In April, Lemon and Cuomo spent 1 1/2 minutes making fun of Cuomo's quarantine haircut. Cuomo tries the just-pals approach (or perhaps bro-proach) with Anderson Cooper, whose program precedes his, but the chemistry, or maybe just Cooper's willingness to put up with it, isn't there. Whereas Lemon embraces Cuomo's gabbiness, Cooper ("Coop," in Cuomo's coinage) seems a bit overwhelmed by it. After Cooper disclosed on air at the end of April that he was a new father, Cuomo was effusive in his well-wishing and advice-giving. "You will honor the memory of your loved ones in a way you never imagined through how you love this kid," Cuomo counseled during their handoff. "Your WASP-y a-- is going to emote in a way that you never ... you're going to cry with a frequency you never imagined." Cooper: "Yes." Cuomo continued: "When he looks at you, when he recognizes you, you will see, my friend. This is going to be the best thing that ever happened in your life and his, too." Cooper: "Well, thanks, Chris. I appreciate it." The cable handoff is a direct descendant of a bit of TV news stagecraft known as "happy talk." Starting in the late 1960s, local TV stations began encouraging their news anchors to talk briefly to each other, interjecting pleasantries and impromptu comments between scripted stories. Despite the derisive name, "happy talk" was actually an innovation in news presentation and marks a kind of border between TV news' classical and modern eras, said Craig Allen, an associate professor of journalism at Arizona State and the author of "News is People: The Rise of Local TV News and the Fall of News from New York." From its inception, TV news imitated the presentation of radio news, with a single, stentorian anchor - always White and male, typically middle aged - stiffly reading the day's headlines and occasionally introducing field reports. The models were CBS News's Douglas Edwards and his successor, Walter Cronkite. This began to change when local stations introduced co-anchors (two men at first, later a male-female pair in the Ron Burgundy-Veronica Corningstone mold), and newscasts began to expand from 30 minutes to an hour and sometimes longer. More time to fill meant more time to talk. Some of the anchor exchanges were wisecracks and quips, occasioning criticism that "happy talk" was cheapening the news and dumbing down America. But Allen points out that most of the off-the-cuff commentary was not so much "happy" as a reflection of the newscasters' emotional response to news they were reporting (one of the great moments of spontaneous expression was the late anchor, Jim Vance, of WRC in Washington, D.C., reacting to a stumbling runway model). In fact, the academic term for "happy talk," a phrase coined by Variety reporter Morry Roth, is "personality projection" - the notion that anchors aren't just interchangeable news readers, but extended members of a viewer's family with whom they share the day's news. The deeper idea behind the chatter wasn't just to create anchor chemistry "but more to bond with an audience that never really could be 'friends' with Walter Cronkite, (CBS's) Edward R. Murrow (or NBC's) Chet Huntley and David Brinkley," said Allen. The notion was that these were people who made viewers "feel comfortable as they reported all the chaos going on in the world." Despite the criticism, viewers loved this new, looser style of news. Audiences for local newscasts soared, and by the 1970s, the "happy talk" formula had become the industry standard. It would later become the international standard, too, thanks to the missionary salesmanship of U.S. news consultants. Allen says CNN utilized a relatively mild form of the "personality projection" model when the network first went on the air in 1980, but Fox News turbocharged it when it built its prime time lineup around such bluntly opinionated hosts as Hannity and Bill O'Reilly upon its inception in 1996. And so anchor and host banter - amusing, emotional, sometimes awkward - is the default mode. Like Hannity, complaining to Laura Ingraham on Fox News last fall that Ingraham had cut away from a speech by Trump the night before: "I wanted to see the ending," he said. "You cut to your debate early and it was just at the end." Then, thinking better of it, Hannity quickly backed off: "Sorry. I love watching your show, too." Ingraham: "Is that the White House speaking or is that you? I couldn't tell." Then she backed off, too: "I'm just teasing you." But Hannity couldn't resist. He compared Trump's speech to "a great work of Bach or Mozart" and said Ingraham had cut the crescendo. Ingraham: "You know what we used to say in the courtroom? I will take that under advisement. But I got an idea: You handle your hour, I'll handle my hour." Hannity: "Now Laura's gonna take it personally." Ingraham: "Don't try to boss me around in my hour, Hannity. I don't boss you around." Just kidding! Maybe. The Hannity-Ingraham exchange may have been the first handoff to inspire a handoff on another network. Over on MSNBC, prime time hosts Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow snickered about their rivals' transition the previous night. "You nailed the thing that was scariest about it, which was the distance between the facial expressions and the conversation," Maddow said, referring to Hayes's discussion of the Hannity-Ingraham parley a few minutes earlier during his program. "I mean, that was like hide under a table, this is a scary family fight." Hayes, cracking up: "I hope everyone is making up and making amends." It was enough to make a viewer long for the approach adopted by CNN's Erin Burnett, whose program precedes Cooper's. Burnett stays on topic right up to the moment the clock strikes "handoff." And then she bows out, without ceremony, with a handoff that really isn't much of a handoff at all: "Anderson Cooper starts right now." MOGADISHU, Somalia A militant attack on a beachside hotel in Somalias capital killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens of others on Sunday, according to police officers and a government spokesman. The Islamist insurgent group the Shabab, which is affiliated with Al Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the assault, which turned into a nearly five-hour siege and gun battle between the attackers and Somali security forces. Security forces later killed all four attackers and rescued dozens of people who were trapped inside the Elite Hotel in Mogadishu, Ismail Mukhtar, a spokesman for Somalias information ministry, told The Associated Press. The hotel is new and popular with young people. The attack started in the afternoon with a powerful car bomb blast that blew off the security gates of the hotel. Then gunmen ran inside and took hostages, mostly young men and women who were dining there, Mr. Mukhtar said. Even without the aid of a therapist, you can challenge yourself about why you expect the worst, creating space between the conscious, automatic ideas that you have, asking yourself questions and gaining insight, she says. Activities such as writing or meditation can help you look inward and reflect on a more positive point of view. Also, you should remind yourself that everything is temporary, that life isnt about only good or only bad; its integrating both and being able to weather the storm to the other side. Despite relocating outside of Spain, Juan Carlos has pledged via his lawyer to make himself available to prosecutors in Spain. Their investigation, which is in early stages, is looking into whether the former monarch received millions of dollars in kickbacks from Saudi Arabia during the construction of a high-speed railway there by a Spanish consortium. In an open letter, Google has warned users in Australia that free search and YouTube services are at risk if Australia implements a proposed law compelling it to pay to link to news services. Google has also paused a news licensing system it started earlier this year, according to the Financial Post. Finally, it warned that big news businesses could demand extra revenue beyond what they earn on YouTube ads, leaving a smaller share for individual creators. We already pay [news services] millions of dollars and send them billions of free clicks every year, Google Australias managing director Mel Silva wrote. But rather than encouraging these types of partnerships, the law is set up to give big media companies special treatment and to encourage them to make enormous and unreasonable demands that would put our free services at risk. Googles YouTube blog pits large publishers like News Corp against individual creators. Under this law, big news businesses can seek access to data about viewers use of our products, it wrote. They could use [that data to] try to appear higher in rankings on YouTube, disadvantaging all other creators. The company added that the rule would compromise user data protection. Our response to Google's open letter: https://t.co/s1IkWoKAVj ACCC (@acccgovau) August 17, 2020 Australias Competition and Consumer Commission (the ACCC), said that Googles open letter contains misinformation about free search and YouTube services. Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so, the ACCC wrote in response. Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so. Google is fighting similar laws in Europe, particularly in France and Spain. After France implemented a similar law, Google said it would simply remove news previews to avoid paying publishers. However, the French government ordered it to negotiate fees with publishers, essentially arguing that Google is a search monopoly and must be regulated as such. Cutting costs in IT while still moving forward with digital initiatives is not for the faint of heart. On the heels of transitioning staff to working remotely for the long haul, now many CIOs are being tasked with reducing budgets in an uncertain economy. Its a difficult dance, admits Kristin Myers, who was recently appointed executive vice president, CIO, and dean for information technology at Mount Sinai Health System. It doesnt mean while youre cost cutting youre not investing in these other areas, like digital. One of a CIOs most important tasks is to scrutinize application portfolios, reprioritize initiatives, and make investments in areas that will meet business objectives and add the most value, she says. Successful organizations frame the cost-cutting discussion differently, agrees James Anderson, vice president of CIO research at Gartner. They dont just cost cut, but cost optimize, and value optimize, he says. Cost cutting is essentially just meeting a target, Anderson adds. Cost optimizing is about moving money into the correct buckets to optimize business outcomes. This leads to value optimization, balancing costs, value, and risk across an organization, he explains. A good CIO needs to know not only where they can quickly cut costs but also what to proactively invest in to get to different business outcomes, Anderson says. They also plan for multiple scenarios. The tendency for CIOs facing tight budgets is to immediately target compensation, but Anderson says that thats the last piece we want to cut. Start by looking at your external spend on vendors, most of whom are open to renegotiating contract terms, he advises. Then be proactive about your internal spend freeze compensation where you can but focus on property, plant, and equipment, as well maintenance and other services that are non-vendor related, he says. The internal part is the most difficult because there are often internal politics at play, Anderson says. Many times, optimizing costs internally is a function of identifying breaks in a process or making things more efficient, which is something most organizations were struggling with even before the pandemic, he says. Source different ideas about different process improvements we can make do you have check the box exercises? Anderson says. What is the value that that process provides? Each of those business processes are components of a value chain that has results and business outcomes. Heres a look at how CIOs have been dealing with the economic fallout from the pandemic and its impact on IT budgets. Make IT more fit Shortly after Jacqui Guichelaar joined Cisco as CIO in June 2019, she embarked on a digital transformation journey that has accelerated since the pandemic began. Echoing Anderson, Guichelaar says rather than having cost-cutting objectives, I believe I have to optimize IT and make the best use of the assets I have and people and capabilities. Guichelaar and her team had a strategy session last year that focused on how do we plan for crop failure, meaning harvest failure, she says. When you have diminished crops whatever it is youre farming your whole business plan is in jeopardy. You could have a hurricane or flood, and as result you cant deliver on the business plan for that year for that crop. That led to Guichelaars strategy to transform her team and herself, and make IT so fit that if something happens, were optimized, simplified, and automating everything we can and divesting of things like data centers and apps we dont need and moving to commodity services that allow us to drive out significant costs. Becoming more fit means modernizing platforms and taking out unnecessary costs, she says. The plan was to take out millions of dollars and free up lots of people and capacity and make sure were ready for new business models. Everyones looking at that during COVID. In addition to transforming IT, Guichelaar also wants to transform the employee experience and allow people to work wherever they are with the best possible tools, as well as investing money to transform the customer experience. My view is, if any CIO is looking at cutting costs and only that lens, theyre missing a trick, she says. There are three divesting programs under way within IT at Cisco. The first is divesting data centers around the world and moving more into SaaS and the cloud. In the past year, of the 22 data centers Cisco has, Guichelaar says they have exited three and are working on a fourth. Her plan is to get to five or six. The more and more things we divest the less data center and compute power we need, she says. IT is also divesting apps the business doesnt need. We had a goal of divesting 500 apps and we are exceeding that at 575 and the number is growing, she says. That also reduces the need for compute power. Re-examine portfolios In the past year, Mount Sinais Myers has been looking to make application rationalization a part of the healthcare organizations culture as part of a larger strategy to enhance IT efficiency. For example, IT has developed a legacy apps decommissioning program and is looking at the entire portfolio and characterizing what systems should be retired and where additional investments should be made to add functionality, Myers says. We continually look at where there might be redundant or unnecessary applications, she says, and when IT polls users on how many employees actually use an app, sometimes the responses are small. In that case, we can go back to the user community and ask if theres something else we can do or another app with similar functionality so you can decommission it. Its painstaking work, but important to do, she says. IT has a five-year plan for decommissioning various programs, which will create significant savings in software maintenance and hardware costs, she says, adding that this application rationalization effort will reduce the health systems cybersecurity risk and free up team members to quite frankly, work on more exciting things. Like Myers, Guichelaar says IT conducted a review around how it manages services, costs, and compute power. What we realized was we had multiple different apps, including four tools just for reporting consumption costs utilization, she says. What has happened in big organizations over time is those tools historically were good and gave different lenses of IT, she says. But the more IT becomes smart you have platforms that go end to end, so we chose one internal tool and will centralize all monitoring and performance onto that platform. As a result, IT shut down three other apps sitting on storage in data centers and saved money on licensing, storage, data center, and server charges, she says. Also echoing Myers, Guichelaar says that while IT has identified thousands of apps its not an easy thing to do and requires stakeholder input. When you try and decommission apps everyone has a reason why they want to keep it and you have to have a good systematic way of partnering with the business, she says. That way, IT can explain the need to standardize, and while the business may lose a little functionality, from a strategic perspective, its better to rely on one tool so we have visibility across IT. This reaps savings in the millions, Guichelaar says, and why not reinvest that to figure out how to build a future architecture for the business. Reduce third-party costs Re-examining third-party contracts is a crucial step for cost optimization. Guichelaar, for example, is reaping savings by moving from 20 global partners to one. Having one set of service levels ensures Ciscos employees have laptops right away, configured, and ready to go, she says. Weve driven out tens of millions in savings in that transaction alone. Moving to a single partner also means that partner gains scale and has skin in the game, she adds. The ability to automate and provision and move to self-service helps drive down their costs so I save and everyone wins. Guichelaar is also looking to reduce third-party costs, which requires having a clear understanding of what contracts IT has so they can be renegotiated, she says. CIOs have to look at terms to see whether there are unused services they are paying for so they can harvest opportunities there, Guichelaar says. Right now, Guichelaar is also looking at various sourcing options to reduce costs in Ciscos overall IT portfolio. For example, if a third-party supplier or managed services provider can take over Ciscos legacy portfolio, Guichelaar can free up IT staff to do something exciting, she says. This requires rebuilding the budget from the ground up and taking a hard look at every line item in the budget and having a clear understanding of do we really need this, and can we do it in a different way? Those are tactics Im looking at as CIO. The main thing, obviously, is looking at your biggest spend items and look to renegotiate and reevaluate with key suppliers, concurs Sally Miller, CIO of supply chain North America at DHL. Maybe take some of those services in house or put them out to bid and see if you can reduce costs that way. Learn to say no Every purchase decision at Oral Roberts University is now being evaluated differently than pre-COVID-19, says Michael Mathews, vice president of technology and innovation. We used to say it was part of the plan and now we say we no longer have an 18-month strategy do we really need this, and why do we need this? For example, someone recently wanted a new ERP system module, saying it would make their work processes more efficient, Mathews says. His response? I cant support that because I have no evidence that adding a new module will make you more efficient and processes across campus have changed, so they may not be applicable any longer. He says he has not approved any upgrades to any systems for four months. But Mathews did bring in a new AI-based system that can take data from the universitys other systems and provide insights on performance in every category from enrollment to student success in online classes versus hybrid versus traditional, he says. So its about spending wiser, Mathews says. Avoid cutting staff According to all the CIOs interviewed for this article, cutting IT staff is a last resort. There are plenty of investments well be making in digital and were going to be needing people to be retrained and be able to support initiatives, like robotic process automation, says Myers. Oral Roberts has instituted a hiring freeze and has not had any layoffs or furloughs but lost four IT staff due to attrition and they will not be immediately replaced, Mathews says. After 90 percent of IT staff began working remotely in March, that took away lots of peoples needs for support, he says. If those people had been on campus through June, they would have been asking us to spend money. The mere nature of COVID said to people subconsciously, Will we be running in fall and do we really need this? DHL has not needed to do any cost cutting in IT, Miller says, but adds that she has been in that position before. Usually, what we try to do is have the existing team do more, do a hiring freeze, and reduce travel. We try to take care of our existing associates, so they weather the storm with us, she says. Thats very important. We have very low turnover less than 3 percent and I think thats because of the way we treat people through more difficult times, and they tend to have a longer tenure with us. Manage IT as a business Guichelaar has come up with a new approach that she refers to as streamlined governance and managing by exception. Its quite a cultural challenge, she says. Whereas most large organizations typically have meetings to review projects, investments, people, performance, and strategy replete with reams of paper and PowerPoint presentations, Guichelaar has implemented a program that standardizes on one way to look at data. With the click of a button, Guichelaar can see where a project is at, what its costing, and whether it is delivering benefits, she says. Now I dont have to go to meetings unless I need to escalate something, she says. I need to be able to access my data to make decisions, and the quicker I can get to that the less time I waste and [the less] resources I need and I can be productive. This has allowed Guichelaar to turn off another five or six tools, she adds. Guichelaar ensures the bases remain covered with regard to service provider, tech, and employee spend using a concept known as zero-based budgeting. This method of budgeting requires that all expenses be justified and mapped to every service and function in a business unit, she says. While most companies have a process for doing budgeting, Guichelaar says she has found zero-based budgeting to be most effective because its from the ground up. So if I cut a tool or service Im sure Im doing the right thing because Ive had the business conversation and we all agree. Execute Everyone agrees that cost cutting must come with a strategy that optimizes IT. You have to relentlessly automate and divest anything you dont need anymore, says Guichelaar. Move to commodity services wherever you can, and youve got to simplify everything that you can. If you do that, Im convinced youll save tens of millions of dollars, depending on the size of your budget. Gartners Anderson reiterates the call for CIOs to be proactive. Separate your ideas by quick wins, such as consolidation of contracts and cutting travel and expenses and training budgets, and longer-term opportunities, such as cost optimization, he says. Implement your quick wins in year one while demonstrating on a roadmap you anticipate other types of cost optimization in years two and three, he says. Doing this demonstrates to the business that you are proactive, and that gives you more credibility when it comes to meeting budget cuts. But Anderson also issues a note of caution. The danger is if a CIO just makes budget cuts without any discussion on how it will impact services and capabilities to produce business outcomes, he says. It reinforces the idea that IT people arent good at managing money and that CIOs have a bunch of fluff in my budget. The business should be telling IT where the cuts need to come from not the CIO, he stresses. Those services directly impact the customer, so give them options for cutting their own costs and spending. CIOs can no longer have an 18- to 36-month IT strategy, says Mathews. It needs to become a rolling, 10-day event, that constantly gauges what your stakeholders want and need. Also, consider your resources and dont spend any money you dont need to spend. Every dollar spent on technology will be a minimum of four weeks worth of distraction for the IT department, since theyll have to work on a system and deploy it, he says. Lastly, says Mathews, realize everybodys in this together. No one has it figured out, therefore, stay nimble and listen to others. Ashwini Kumar Sharma Khyati Dharamsi Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced several tax measures on the eve of Indias Independence Day last week honouring the honest tax-paying citizen. You will now have to file your income-tax (IT) return or pay higher percentage of tax deduction at source if you make certain spends in a year. If you spend Rs 20,000 a year as hotel expenses, property tax or even a health insurance premium, then your transactions would be reported. Similarly, if your annual rent exceeds Rs 40,000, life insurance premium is at least Rs 50,000 or electricity bills of Rs 1 lakh or more during a financial year, then you would be answerable to the taxman either via notices or through mandatory filing of returns. The motive of the move is to check whether your spending is in line with the income you actually disclose in your return. The Government has been shunting all doors to not only reduce the number of all cash transactions, but also increase the number of returns filed. The new move to collect spending data is another tool in the armoury to curb tax evasion. While a formal amendment to the Statement of Financial Transaction rule is yet to be confirmed by the Government, tax experts say that the tax-payers burden is set to go up, thanks partly to the low threshold limits that they feel may touch many lives. The threshold limit is very small. Consider a retired person, who would have a mediclaim premium above Rs 20,000 as typically health insurance costs shoot up when they cross 50 years. Even though he has no income, he will have to file tax returns as the transactions have been reported, says chartered accountant Paras Savla. Sample this: private life insurers collect an average life insurance premium of Rs 52,939, according to the regulator IRDAI. Are transactions tracked currently? The existing income tax rules mandate financial institutions such as banks, mutual fund houses, share registrar and transfer agents,sub-registrars to report high value transactions exceeding a specified limit during a financial year to the Income Tax Department. So, a bank has to report details of every account holder who makes cash deposits of more than Rs 10 lakh in a year in a savings account or makes a payment of more than Rs 2 lakh from his credit card in a year. Similarly, asset management companies are required to report details of all the investors who invest more than Rs 2 lakh in a single mutual fund scheme. Now not only your investments and financial transactions, but also your specific spends will be tracked. Do I have to inform the government of all my spends? No. You do not have to go out of your way to inform the government or anyone, unless asked for in the tax return forms. Your purchases and expenses beyond a threshold will be mentioned in the returns of the hotel, electronic goods seller, artist, school, ceramic supplier or the Registrar in the case of property purchase, apart from banks, mutual fund houses, life and general insurance companies. The details mapped to you would be reflected in your individual tax statement or Form 26AS. This form would be available on your income-tax website login. The moment your spends in any of the high-spend categories mentioned, exceed the respective threshold limits, your Form 26AS would capture it. In other words, you have to file your tax returns. Make sure the Form 26AS details match while filing the returns, says Savla. Non-filing of ITR may have severe consequences for a person, who is otherwise required to file an ITR. Apart from attracting interest, late fee and penalty, wilful non-filing of ITR may also attract criminal prosecution, said Shailesh Kumar, Partner, Nangia & Co LLP. What if I have made payments on behalf of someone else? Yes, this could get tricky for you. You could be a frequent traveller for work and used to entertaining guests or clients over meals. Although your company would reimburse you the costs, the IT department would capture your credit card spends and assume they are all yours. Senior citizen parents who are used to getting money from their children living abroad, may also now need to file returns even though their income may be low or negligible, added Savla. The Ministry of Finance indicated that the total deposits in a savings bank account exceeding Rs 25 lakh a year would have to be reported. The limit for current accounts stands at Rs 50 lakh. The moment your total bank deposits cross Rs 30 lakh you would have to ensure you file a tax return, whatever the source. Again, you do not have to report anything yourself. Hotels, electronic goods sellers, banks, financial institutions, artists, marble suppliers and all firms where your high-value spends could occur, would need to file reports with the government against your PAN. Then, its best to avoid making payments on others behalf? Yes, thats better. Ask for separate hotel invoices in the respective names of the persons, says Salva if you are traveling in a group. Shilpa Bhatia, Director- Direct Taxes, AKM Global, a consulting firm suggests that if you wish to pay a consolidated bill, ask the hotel to segregate expenses on your bill that differentiates your spends versus the groups. Thats easier said than done, though. Do I need to preserve my bills? Yes. Because, after the financial year, Form 26AS gets generated. You will need to compare the expenses mentioned there to make sure you indeed spent all that money. For taxpayers having business income and claiming deduction for expenses, bills for spends too would have to be maintained, he says. Savla suggests that you need to keep records of your high-value expenses for 6-7 years as the returns can be re-opened later. Take a photocopy of bills on thermal paper, which tends to fade away. I have to file my tax returns by November 30. Do I need to start pulling out my bills, rightaway? No. The government has just announced these. The details and the date on which this would be implemented would be announced soon. The new move has been part of the governments move to widen the tax net and get more and more people to file their income tax returns. A total of about 55 lakh or 80 per cent of the total returns are filed by people having an income of up to Rs 5 lakh, as per the Central Board of Direct Taxs numbers as of July 31, 2020. Only 5,066 individuals, who have an income above Rs 1 crore file returns, accounting for 0.73 per cent of the total individual tax returns. Bangladesh: Fisheries sector entrepreneurs get Tk 260m loans so far August 17,2020 | Source: The Financial Express The government has disbursed around Tk 260 million as loans to the entrepreneurs of fisheries sector to help offset the financial losses due to the Covid-19 pandemic, an official said. The loans have been disbursed following the Prime Minister's declared Tk 50 billion stimulus package to save the country's agriculture sector from the financial losses inflicted by the novel coronavirus. "Upon the directives of the government the banks until July have disbursed Tk 260 million to 1,326 entrepreneurs of fisheries sector so far," additional director general and chief scientific officer of the department of fisheries Md Ramzan Ali told the FE. He said several public and private banks have disbursed loans with only four per cent interest. He said that the fisheries department which is under the ministry of fisheries and livestock (MoF&L) has been supervising the matter. He also said that process is underway to provide loans to more fishermen. The fisheries department official further said with the loans, the fish farmers and fishermen could buy fish feeds and others inputs for boosting fish production. The government has taken measures to save the country's fisheries sector from the possible financial damages inflicted by the pandemic. Under the move, the MoF&L has taken short, mid and long-term measures to help save the sector from the pandemic fallout. The measures include giving incentives to fish farmers, fishermen and shrimp exporters to keep the production wheel of the sector running. The official also informed that fisheries and livestock minister S M Rezaul Karim has also requested the stakeholders and concerned government departments to help the fish farmers and fishermen gear up fish production, supply and marketing. The MoF&L has also directed the officials of the department to coordinate with the deputy commissioners and law enforcement agencies including police to ensure the supply chain of fisheries free from disruption during the coronavirus-induced crisis. The MoF&L has launched hotline telephone number 02-9122557 so that the fish farmers can get help/information/advices from government. Bangladesh is one of the world's leading fish-producing countries. Average growth performance of this sector is 5.26 per cent for the last 10 years. The aquaculture production contributes 56.24 per cent of the total fish production in the country. Bangladesh has already emerged a self-sufficient country in fish production, with a per capita fish consumption of 62.58 g/ day against a set target of 60 g/day. The country exported 68,935 tonnes of fish and fisheries items worth US $514 million in fiscal year 2017-18, according to the fisheries department. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As students across Staten Island prepare for the return to school in September under the hybrid learning model -- going to school a few days a week and remote learning the rest of the week -- families and schools will need to educate kids on how to stay safe when they go back to classrooms. Schools and school districts must follow rules and protocols set by local, state and federal governments when it comes to safely reopening -- and families must make the decision if they want to send their kids back to school, with students wearing face masks and social distancing. And theres no guarantee that children who go back to school wont catch the virus and spread it to people around them, but experts are sharing recommendations about how to reduce that risk. We reviewed guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on safely returning children to school. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** Physical distancing The CDC recommends schools space seating or desks at least six feet apart when feasible. In most school settings, six feet between students means fewer kids will be allowed in a classroom at one time. This is why New York City schools are offering a hybrid learning model, with about 33% or 50% of students in the school building at one time while the other students learn remotely at home. If feasible, students should stay in a classroom and teacher should rotate instead. Class periods should be staggered by cohorts for movement between classrooms if students must move in the hallways. Less students in the hallway In hallways, schools should consider creating one-way hallways to reduce close contact. Physical guides should be placed, the AAP said, such as tape on floors or sidewalks to create one-way routes. To reduce mingling in hallways, schools should eliminate the use of lockers, or assign them by cohort, to reduce the need of hallway use in buildings. Small groups of students Schools should create cohort classes to minimize crossover among children and adults within the school. The exact size of the cohort may vary depending on local and state health department guidance. The AAP recommends the use of a block schedule where students take longer, more intensive classes over the course of a month, instead of several course during a semester. Plan for transportation If your child will be riding the bus, he or she should be prepared to wear a mask, the experts say. Discuss the importance of following bus rules and any spaced seating rules, the CDC says. The AAP recommends assigned seating, if possible, by cohort of students who sit together each day. There should be tape marks to show where students can sit, and windows should be open if weather allows. If carpooling, plan on every child in the carpool and the driver to wear a mask for the entire trip. If your school is using the cohort model, consider finding families within your childs group or cohort at school to be part of the carpool. The AAP encourages alternative modes of transportation for students who have options. Prepare to wear masks Schools in Staten Island will require students to wear face coverings or masks while in classrooms. Wearing masks should be a priority when its difficult for students to stay six feet apart from each other. Appropriate and consistent use of masks may be challenging for some students, the CDC said. Masks shouldnt be worn by children younger than 2 years old, anyone who has trouble breathing, and anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance. Here are some face covering tips from the CDC: Have multiple masks so you can wash them daily and have back-ups ready. Choose masks that fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face, completely cover the nose and mouth, are secured with ties or ear loops, include multiple players of fabric, allow for breathing without restriction, and can be washed without damage. Label your childs masks clearly in a permanent marker so they arent confused with other childrens masks. Practice with your child putting on and taking off masks without touching the cloth. Explain the importance of wearing a mask and how it protects others from getting sick. As a family, model wearing masks, especially when in situations where physical distancing is difficult to maintain. If you have a young child, help build their comfort wearing a mask and seeing others in masks. Consider providing your child with a container to bring and store their masks when not wearing them, like when eating. Increased hand washing and sanitization Parents should review and practice proper handwashing techniques at home especially before and after eating, sneezing, coughing, and adjusting a mask or cloth face covering. Families should explain why its important to wash their hands and can try to make handwashing fun. Kids should continue to use those precautions at school. Children may be advised to wash and sanitize their hands more often, keep physical distance from other students, wear a mask, avoid sharing objects with other students, and use hand sanitizer. Update any contact information Families should make sure their information is current at the school, including emergency contacts and individuals authorized to pick up children from school, the CDC reports. If that list includes anyone who is at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19, consider identifying an alternate person. Parents shouldnt go into schools Parents should be discouraged from entering the school building. Parents should, in general, be discouraged from entering the school building, says the AAP. Physical barriers, such as plexiglass, should be considered in reception areas and employee workspaces where the environment does not accommodate physical distancing, and congregating in shared spaces, such as staff lounge areas, should be discouraged. Plan for possible school closures or quarantine periods According to the CDC, if transmission increases in your community, or if multiple children or staff test positive for COVID-19, school buildings may close and children and staff may be required to quarantine for 10 to 14 days. Families should consider the feasibility of teleworking, taking leave from work, or identifying someone who can supervise your child in the event of school building closures or quarantine. Maintain immunizations Existing school immunization requirements should be maintained and not deferred because of the current pandemic, according to the AAP and CDC. Make sure your child is up-to-date with all recommended vaccines. New York State law mandates that all children must meet school immunization requirements before they can be admitted to school or daycare facilities. All students in child care through 12th grade must receive vaccinations for: DTaP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), poliovirus, MMR (measles-mumps-rubella), varicella (chickenpox) and hepatitis B. All school-aged children should get the flu vaccine, the CDC says, especially this year because its unclear if being sick with COVID-19 at the same time as the flu will result in more severe illness. Related stories: Coronavirus: Reopening plans for Staten Island charter schools NYC teachers push for schools to stay closed come fall 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 2020-2021 academic year: Reopening plans for schools across Staten Island Returning to school: NYC to improve air circulation in classrooms With or without air conditioning, face masks will be required in Staten Island classrooms FOLLOW ANNALISE KNUDSON ON FACEBOOK AND TWITTER. The Ghana Police Service has been charged by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to deal with all those who fomented violence at the just ended voters registration exercise without fear or favour. President Akufo-Addo condemning unreservedly pockets of isolated incidents of violence in his 15th address of the nation on Covid-19 said that the exercise generally was peaceful regardless of the doom prophecies. He stressed that there were some people who preached negatively towards the exercise, swearing to resist the Electoral Commission (EC) from carrying out its constitutional mandate but they ended up taking part in the exercise. However, there were those who expressed various degrees of hysteria and negativity towards the exercise; with some who sworn heaven and earth to resist the compilation of the register at the peril of their lives ending up registering. There were also those who offered delicate personal sacrifices in the event of the register, again ending up registering. And there were those who claimed that in the midst of the pandemic, the registration exercise should not be conducted; with some warning of an explosion in our case count, a very high numbers of deaths should the exercise go ahead, he stated. President Akufo-Addo however commended Ghanaians for stepping out to perform their civic duty by going out to register in an awkward situation of Covid-19 pandemic. He again commended the Electoral Commission (EC) for conducting such a complex exercise involving millions of citizens at this time and also for the fact that the process was overwhelmingly orderly, peaceful and safe. By the grace of God, the work of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the effective measures put in place by government, these prophecies of doom did not materialise. There were nonetheless deeply regretted isolated incidents of violence which I condemn unreservedly and which I expect the police to deal with without fear or favour but the exercise was generally peaceful, he said. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/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 Close to half of the Philippine workforce, or 27.3 million people, have lost their jobs largely because of economic ripple effects and the closure of businesses amid a coronavirus-related shutdown, according to a survey by a local pollster. Social Weather Stations (SWS), a reputable Philippine polling firm, found that 45.4 percent of the countrys workforce was unemployed or had lost jobs during the pandemic, easily breaking a nationwide jobless record of 34.4 percent set back in March 2012. Half lost their job/livelihood during the COVID-19 crisis, SWS said in a report on the survey posted on its website. Adult joblessness has been consistently higher among women than among men, with the women-men joblessness gap ranging from 10 to as high as 26 points since December 2011, SWS said. As in past surveys, the 18- to 24-year-olds are the most jobless compared to other age groups. The Philippine government on Monday did not dispute the results of the poll, which came out a day earlier, as President Rodrigo Duterte announced that, starting Wednesday, authorities would ease a COVID-19 quarantine that was imposed on Metro Manila and other highly populated parts of Luzon Island in early August. The poll, conducted among 1,555 adults nationwide from July 3 to 6, was the first survey on joblessness this year and the first to measure the effects of the lockdown that began in March, the pollster said. Adult joblessness averaged 19.9 percent last year. Reacting to the survey, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the government was not surprised with the figure, but added that the public should be glad the whole nation was not out of work. Will you be surprised that they lost their jobs when the lockdown of our economy reached months? I am glad that we are not 100 percent jobless, Roque told reporters. It could have been worse because what were experiencing is a complete lockdown, he said. Roque said the economy must be reopened soon to allow Filipinos to return to their jobs. I belong to the school of thought that we can live with COVID-19, we need to learn how to live our lives with COVID-19. The solution is for us to open the economy. Many will remain jobless if lockdowns continue, Roque said. Enhanced quarantine to be eased After meeting with his cabinet secretaries on Monday night, President Duterte announced that the so-called enhanced quarantine classification for Metropolitan Manila as well as the nearby populated provinces of Cavite, Bulacan, Laguna and Rizal was to be eased on Aug. 19. These areas were placed under strict lockdown rules early this month in response to calls from the medical community as confirmed cases of COVID-19 surged. The economy has fallen flat, all of us now are experiencing economic hemorrhage, Duterte said in a televised address late Monday, during which he announced that the Philippine capital region and other areas were to return to a so-called general community quarantine through Aug. 31. The economy fell into a recession after the gross domestic product shrank by 16.5 percent in the second quarter, its worst three-month performance in 39 years, officials said on Aug. 6. The contraction from April through June was the worst since 1981, when the government began keeping records on economic performance. The economic data came as the health department reported 18 more COVID-19 deaths on Monday, bringing the nationwide total to 2,681. In addition, it recorded 3,314 additional infections increasing the total to 164,474. The Philippines leads all countries in East Asia in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, according to the latest data from disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Globally more than 21.7 million COVID-19 cases and nearly 776,000 deaths have been recorded, according to the experts. Secretary test positive a second time Also on Monday, Roque announced that Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano a member of the national task force against COVID-19 had tested positive for the virus for a second time and was being quarantined. The interior secretary had previously tested positive in March. At that time, Ano said he did not have symptoms but quarantined at home. Because Ano meets regularly with Duterte and the rest of the cabinet, others members have opted to quarantine to be safe, Roque said. Thats the reason I went into self-isolation. Its a personal decision because I was in the same place with Secretary Ano, Roque said, adding that Duterte had no known close contact with the interior secretary. He said Duterte was in perpetual isolation because no one can come close to him. Whenever we meet with him, there is a velvet rope that keeps him at least six feet away from everyone else, Roque said. So no one can really come close to the president. Two suspects have been indicted in the 2002 killing of hip hop artist Jam Master Jay (pictured), which until now had been one of New York City's most notorious unsolved killings, two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press on Monday Two suspects have been indicted in the 2002 killing of hip hop artist Jam Master Jay, which until now had been one of New York City's most notorious unsolved murders. Ronald 'Tinard' Washington and Karl 'Lil D' Jordan are facing charges of murder in a drug related homicide, New York federal prosecutors said Monday. Jason 'Jay' Mizell, known professionally as Jam Master Jay, was shot dead at his recording studio in Hollis, Queens, on October 30, 2002. Prosecutors now say that Mizell, 37, was killed in a drug-deal-gone-wrong. 'Primarily this is a case about a murder which for nearly two decades had gone unanswered,' Seth DuCharme, acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said at a press conference. 'Today we begin to answer the question of who killed Jason Mizell and why. 'What we've alleged in that indictment is that on October 30, 2002, Mr Jordan and Mr Washington walked into a music studio in Queens where Mr Mizell and others were working essentially, hanging out, and they walked in and murdered him in cold blood.' Jordan and Washington are both facing 10 felony counts. Two of those counts are for Mizell's murder, and the others are related to distribution of cocaine. Washington and Jordan were engaged in a conspiracy to distribute five kilograms of cocaine at the time of Mizell's killing, according to the indictment. In a separate memo, prosecutors alleged that Mizell had sought to exclude Washington from a 'multi-kilogram, multi-state, narcotics transaction' - and that Washington and Jordan conspired to kill the artist in retaliation. Jason 'Jay' Mizell, known professionally as Jam Master Jay, was shot dead at his recording studio in Hollis, Queens, on October 30, 2002 Mizell was a member of 1980s hip-hop sensation Run-DMC with Joseph 'Run' Simmons and Darryl 'DMC' McDaniel Washington, who had reportedly been living on a couch at Mizell's home in the days before his death, was publicly named as a possible suspect or witness as far back as 2007. He is currently serving a federal prison sentence in Kentucky, stemming from a string of robberies he committed while on the run from police after Mizell's death. In court papers filed at the time, prosecutors alleged that Washington waved a handgun around and ordered people in Mizell's Queens recording studio to lie on the ground while another man killed him on October 30, 2002. Washington 'provided cover for his associate' - Jordan - 'to shoot and kill Jason Mizell', prosecutors wrote. On Monday prosecutors confirmed that Jordan had been arrested by ATF officers on Sunday. Mizell was shot once in the head with a .40-caliber bullet by a masked assailant at his studio in Hollis, the Queens neighborhood where he grew up, police said at the time. He left behind a wife and three children. Police identified at least four people in the studio with Mizell, including the two armed gunmen. The city and Mizell's friends offered more than $60,000 in reward money, but witnesses refused to come forward and the case languished. Mizell's acquaintance with Washington upset his family. Before sleeping on Mizell's couch, Washington had been linked to the 1995 fatal shooting of Randy Walker, a close associate of the late Tupac Shakur. ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Daryl McCormick offered a message for Mizell's loved ones at Monday's press conference. 'To family and friends of Mr Mizell who endured a heavy burden of grief over these many years, we hope that today's arrests and indictments and this announcement will bring some measure of peace,' McCormick said. Jordan appeared at an arraignment on Monday afternoon and pleaded not guilty. Washington is expected to be arraigned later this week. If convicted, Washington and Jordan each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, or the death penalty. Prosecutors said in court papers that Attorney General William Barr had not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty. Seth DuCharme, acting US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the charges against Jordan and Washington at a press conference on Monday (pictured) Police are pictured outside the recording studio where Mizell was shot dead on October 30 Run-DMC's hits included It's Tricky, Christmas in Hollis and the Aerosmith remake collaboration Walk This Way. The trio are pictured in New York City in May 1985 Mizell shot to stardom in the 80s as a member of 1980s hip-hop sensation Run-DMC with Joseph 'Run' Simmons and Darryl 'DMC' McDaniel. Their hits included 'It's Tricky,' 'Christmas in Hollis' and the Aerosmith remake collaboration 'Walk This Way.' Run-DMC became known as the pioneers of hip-hop in the early eighties, popularizing the then-underground music movement for the masses. The trio went on to become the first hip-hop act to have a gold album, a platinum record, Grammy nomination and, in 2009, they became only the second hip-hop group in history to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, after Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Run-DMC were the first rap group to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone, and they were the first to appear on American Bandstand and have their videos played on MTV. It was Mizell who is credited for creating the band's distinctive style of wearing heavy gold chains, black hats, and Adidas shell-toe sneakers minus the laces, once saying, 'How I dressed in high school is the way we dressed... My vibe is our vibe.' Their reign came to a tragic end in 2002 after Mizell was shot and killed. The mysterious circumstances surrounding Jay's death were chronicled in a 2018 Netflix documentary called ReMastered: Who Killed Jam Master Jay? The film failed to come to a conclusion about who committed the killing. Fans visit a wall of tributes outside Mizell's studio in the wake of his death aged 37 Joseph 'Run' Simmons, Darryl 'DMC' McDaniels, and Jason Mizell 'Jam Master Jay' pose at the 31st annual Grammy Awards in New York, on March 2, 1988 Prosecutors provided more detail about the motive for Mizell's killing a memo asking the presiding judge to hold Jordan and Washington without bond. It describes how an investigation by the NYPD, ATF and FBI 'revealed that, prior to his murder, Mizell sought to exclude Washington from a multi-kilogram, multi-state, narcotics transaction. In retaliation, Washington and Jordan conspired to murder, and ultimately executed, Mizell.' Prosecutors alleged that Mizell was involved in a cocaine trafficking scheme between 1996 and 2002. 'In or about July 2002, Mizell acquired approximately ten kilograms of cocaine on consignment from a supplier in the Midwest,' the memo states. 'The cocaine was intended to be distributed in Maryland by Washington, Jordan and other co-conspirators. 'A dispute between Washington and one of the co-conspirators resulted in Mizell telling Washington that he would be cut out of the Maryland transaction. 'Following Washington's dispute with Mizell, Washington and Jordan conspired to murder Mizell.' Advertisement President Trump was greeted with rapturous applause from a small crowd of supporters as he returned to Washington, D.C. following the death of his younger brother, Robert. The Commander-in-chief, 74, touched down at the White House on Sunday evening with his wife Melania, 50, and their son Barron, 14, following a short flight from Bedminster, New Jersey. It was the first time the trio have appeared together in public since the coronavirus pandemic upended American life more than five months ago. The President appeared somber as he made his way off Marine One, giving a tentative wave to the group of well-wishers as he walked across the lawn. Trump is not only grieving his late brother, who died Saturday at the age of 71, but he is also facing a growing number of political crises. President Trump arrived back at The White House on Sunday evening, one day after the death of his brother, Robert. He was accompanied by wife, Melania, and son Barron. It is the first time in more than five months that the trio have been seen in public together The trio touched down in Marine One following a short flight from Bedminster, New Jersey The President appeared somber as he made his way off Marine One, giving a tentative wave to the group of well-wishers as he walked across the lawn Trump is not only grieving his late brother - who died Saturday at the age of 71 - but is facing a growing number of political crises Robert Trump's death was announced by the president in an emotional statement Sunday, in which he called his younger sibling his 'best friend'. The pair are pictured together in the early 1990s In addition to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Commander-in-chief is also dealing with continued civil unrest, a gloomy economic outlook, and accusations that he is trying to botch the upcoming election by undermining the US Postal Service. Additionally, a new poll shows Trump trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden by nine points ahead of the party's conventions. Meanwhile, Melania appeared in higher spirits as she strolled alongside her husband and smiled at the crowd. The First Lady looked typically chic in a $1,635 Stella McCartney camel-colored shirt dress which she teamed with a matching brown Birkin bag and a pair of sky-high stilettos. However, even in her heels, the Sloevnian born beauty was still shorter than her strapping son Baron. The high schooler, who kept warm on the dreary day in a $1,242 Moncler bomber jacket, also stood taller than his 6ft,3in father as he made his way home to the White House. Melania appeared in higher spirits as she strolled alongside her husband and smiled at the crowd The trio spoke briefly with the crowds as they walked home to the White House The First Lady looked typically chic in a $1,635 Stella McCartney camel-colored shirt dress which she teamed with a matching brown Birkin bag and a pair of sky-high stilettos Barron stood taller than his 6ft,3in father as he made his way home to the White House. Barron and Trump are seen flying out of New Jersey on Sunday afternoon for the short flight back to the capital The trio were last pictured together back in January, when they left the White House for a weekend at Mar-a-Largo in Florida While en route to Bedminster on Friday, President Trump made a visit to Manhattan to visit his ill brother Robert as he lay dying in a New York hospital. The 71-year-old, who reportedly took blood thinners, had recently been suffering from brain bleeds brought on by a fall, according to a close friend of the family who spoke to the New York Times. He passed away on Saturday evening. President Trump announced the death a short time later, sharing an emotional post on Twitter. 'It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight. 'He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.' Robert is pictured right with sister Maryanne and brother Donald in 1990 Robert is the youngest of the five Trump siblings born to Fred and Mary Anne MacLeod Trump. Pictured left to right: Donald, Fred Jr, Robert, Maryanne, and Elizabeth Robert Trump's death was announced by the president in an emotional statement Sunday, in which he called his younger sibling his 'best friend' Robert, who had no children, was the youngest of the five Trump siblings. Back in June, Robert had filed a lawsuit against his niece Mary Trump, seeking to block her from publishing a tell-all book on the president. Mary is the daughter of the brothers' eldest sibling, Fred Trump Jr, who struggled with alcoholism and died in 1981 at the age of 43. Robert filed for an injunction claiming the explosive book, 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man', violated the terms of a confidentiality agreement she signed nearly two decades ago. In a statement to The New York Times in June, he accused his niece of attempting to 'sensationalize and mischaracterize' their family relationship for her own financial gain. 'I and the rest of my entire family are so proud of my wonderful brother, the president, and feel that Mary's actions are truly a disgrace,' Robert said. The explosive memoir was eventually released last month after a judge agreed to lift a temporary restraining order preventing Mary from publicizing or distributing her work. The judge said the confidentiality clauses in the 2001 agreement, 'viewed in the context of the current Trump family circumstances in 2020, would offend public policy as a prior restraint on protected speech'. The younger Trump had openly voiced his support for his brother over the years. In an interview with Page Six ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Robert said he supported his brother's campaign '1,000 per cent'.' He was later seen celebrating Donald's victory at the New York Hilton where the then president-elect delivered his acceptance speech. Gaza, Aug 17 : The Palestinian Energy and Natural Resources Authority (PNERA) has warned that the Gaza Strip's only power plant would run out of fuel by Tuesday due to Israel shutting down the border crossing last week. In a statement on Sunday, Zafer Milhem, head of the PNERA, said the Gaza Strip's only power plant would stop operating if no fuel is imported through Israeli controlled crossings, warning of grave consequences on vital sectors. The statement said that the closure of the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is the commercial border crossing between Israel and Gaza, is the reason why no industrial fuel to run Gaza's only power plant has been allowed in since August 12. Power supply deficit in the coastal enclave is over 75 per cent, according to the statement by PNERA, which could cripple all aspects of life in the blockaded Gaza Strip. Milhem urged the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in preventing what he described as "disastrous consequences". On August 11, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom cargo crossing with the Gaza Strip, after militants in the besieged Palestinian enclave launched incendiary balloons into Israeli territory. In this attack, there were more than 30 fires. Over the past few days, unknown masked young men have been launching incendiary balloons from the Gaza Strip into Israel and some of the balloons carried small amounts of explosives. Launching incendiary balloons into Israel caused large fires in the agricultural fields and farms in southern Israel and the vicinity of the border areas between Gaza and Israel. Besides closing the border crossing, Israel has also halted fuel supply and reduced Gaza's fishing zone in retaliation. The Israeli government has held the Islamic Hamas movement responsible for launching the balloons that caused fear to the populations and severe damage to the agriculture sector. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the West Bengal police has warned that downloading fake oximeter apps on mobile phones could lead to phishing attacks and theft of personal data. We have not received any specific complaint. But we have received alerts from other security agencies that such apps are circulating in the virtual world. Hence the warning, said SN Gupta, additional director general of CID. An oximeter is used to measure the oxygen level in blood. Current guidelines say that Covid-19 patients have to be admitted to hospitals if their oxygen saturation drops to 90% or below (normal is 95 to 100%). Covid-19 patients with severe symptoms or with critical comorbidities are advised to get admitted in hospitals. Patients with mild symptoms are treated at home. CID officials, however, said that fake oximeter apps have been developed to cheat people with the promise of measuring their oxygen level in their blood. The apps need to be downloaded. Some apps have fingerprint scanning option. One the user scans his fingerprint miscreants may get access to fingerprint-protected data on the users mobile and on various online payment apps used by the victim, said a senior CID official. Sleuths have warned that messages containing one-time-password (OTP) are also not safe from these apps. Miscreants can get access to the users personal data, including pictures, saved on mobiles, said a senior official. The CID warning was issued on the agencys social networking account on Sunday urging citizens to think wisely before downloading such apps. We have not received such complaints. But such things cannot be ruled out even though copying a fingerprint is hard, said a senior official of the Kolkata Polices detective department. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Guangdong warns residents of sporadic cases as COVID-19 risks loom Global Times Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/16 21:09:01 As South China's Guangdong Province sees a resurgence of locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the provincial health commission warned local residents of sporadic cases at a press conference on Sunday. The Health Commission of Guangdong Province pointed out that despite the still-severe COVID-19 situation, demand for overseas economic and trade exchanges has increased greatly, with inbound flights becoming more frequent, which poses a great threat to Guangdong, a major port of China. Local prevention and control measures still face grave and complicated challenges amid the pandemic that has spread across the world, the authority noted. Risks of imported cases and domestic medium- and high-risk areas should not be overlooked, the provincial health commission stressed. It cited examples of foreign crew from cargo ships docking at Guangdong who tested positive, and reiterated domestic resurgences caused by group gatherings. The authority said weak links in closed-loop management need to be strengthened, with strict tracking and health status checks applied to cross-border truck drivers, after a Hong Kong truck driver tested positive in Shenzhen, Guangdong in late July. Concerns over the safety of frozen food products have risen sharply, as one locally transmitted case and five asymptomatic cases were reported in Shenzhen on Friday, all of which related to a national chain grocery store called Freshippo. Shenzhen detected novel coronavirus on frozen chicken wings from Brazil on Thursday. "The priority for Guangdong is detecting the virus' origin," Wang Guangfa, a respiratory expert at Peking University First Hospital, told the Global Times on Sunday. "Whether the coronavirus comes from cold-chain supplies is the key to contain the spread of the virus, as in low temperatures it can survive longer than usual." Wang also noted that since the new confirmed case was found in a national chain store that distributes and sells products in some areas across the country, it is even more vital to detect the origin as fast as possible, and properly deal with the frozen food products in stock. In response to the risks of overseas cold-chain supplies carrying the virus, Guangzhou suspended all imports of frozen meat and seafood products from COVID-19 stricken areas, and it will carry out nucleic acid tests immediately to all related personnel. Routine weekly checks will follow afterward, the local government announced on Sunday. All 36 Freshippo chain stores and 12 related warehouses and processing companies in Guangdong have been inspected, including staff, products and the environment. However, no source had been detected as of Thursday evening, Chinese media outlet Caixin reported on Sunday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A Brampton woman has filed a lawsuit against a local city councillor and the city, seeking more than $2 million in damages for an alleged sexual assault that she said occurred while the councillor was travelling on official city business. Earlier this month, Brampton councillors voted to suspend Coun. Gurpreet Dhillon from his duties and dock him 90 days of pay, the harshest penalty available to them under the Municipal Act, after an exhaustive integrity commissioner investigation determined he had sexually harassed the woman in Turkey while the two were on a trade mission. The ethics report found Dhillon engaged in the unnecessary, unwelcome, and unwanted sexual touching of the woman in her hotel room while on an official trip with the Canadian Turkish Business Council in November 2019. The commissioners report is not a finding of criminal wrongdoing or guilt, and the complainants allegations, which include sexual assault, have not been tested in court. In her report, the integrity commissioner said Dhillon refused to participate in the investigation, citing procedural irregularities. Dhillon has filed a judicial review claim of the ethics report, claiming that both the investigation process and the final report itself are deeply flawed. The complainant, identified only as Jane Doe, is seeking more than $2 million in damages from the city of Brampton and Dhillon for among other things: sexual assault and battery, engaging in a campaign of lies and smears and for obstructing the citys ethics investigation. She alleges the city was responsible for ensuring Dhillon was properly trained and supervised with respect to his duties as a councillor. Dhillon exploited his position of trust and power as a city councillor, and as the appointed head of a trade mission, to manipulate the situation to get himself alone with the plaintiff; and thereafter use his size and physical strength to overpower, forcibly confine and sexually brutalize the plaintiff over the space of nearly a full hour all the while ignoring the plaintiffs near one hundred terrified pleas to stop, the claim states. In an email statement, Dhillon said he denied all the allegations in the womans statement of claim. I continue to adamantly deny these allegations in their entirety. I intend to vigorously defend against this lawsuit, and I am confident that this matter will be dealt with fairly through our court process. My lawyers have advised me not to say anything further at this time, as this matter is before the courts, wrote Dhillon through his lawyer Nader Hassan, with Stockwoods. A city spokesperson said the municipality does not comment on matters that may be before the courts. Much of the alleged 45-minute attack was documented in an audio recording a transcript of which was included in the integrity commissioners report in which the woman can be heard saying no to Dhillon 74 times over the course of 2 minutes and 57 seconds. The woman contacted Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown when she arrived back in the GTA, who advised her to file a complaint with the police. He also notified the citys integrity commissioner sparking the city investigation. Initially, according to the claim, when confronted with the allegations, Dhillon claimed it was a case of mistaken identity. He later refused to participate in the integrity commissioners investigation, and actively obstructed it, the claim alleges. A spokesperson for Peel police said the victim reported her assault in November 2019. Peel Regional Police take all allegations of sexual assault seriously and took the necessary steps to assist with the investigation, said Cst. Heather Cannon, with media relations. Our investigators did consult with the Crowns office and confirmed that Peel Regional Police do not have jurisdiction to lay charges. Our investigators made every effort to assist the RCMP and Turkish police by forwarding all the information we had to the Turkish police. In an email to the Star, the RCMP said it could not confirm or deny if an investigation was underway. Only in the event that an investigation results in the laying of criminal charges, would the RCMP confirm its investigation, involvement in an investigation, the nature of any charges laid and the identity of the individual(s) involved, a spokesperson said in an email. In a press release sent by the womans lawyers, Michael Moon and Nadia Klein, they say they hope this suit will force Dhillons evasive antics to come to an end. Noor Javed is a Toronto-based reporter covering current affairs in the York region for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @njaved Read more about: New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking directions to the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate for initiating a probe into alleged links between Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor. A single judge bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru refused to entertain the petition while raising jurisdictional issue over the plea filed by an NGO named Akhil Bhartiya Shanti Pratishthan. The plea sought a detailed inquiry into the allegations that Vadra sold a painting for Rs 2 crore to Kapoor even though it was the property of the Congress party. The petition also sought directions from the court to register an FIR in person against Priyanka Gandhi, Rana Kapoor and Milind Deora for alleged money laundering, cheating, extortion, fraud, misrepresentation etc. The NGO alleged that Vadra in connivance with Milind Deora, partner conspirator, and Rana Kapoor, who is one of Yes Bank Ltd. co-founder, in a pre-planned manner performed an illegal act of money laundering with the intention of cheating and forgery. It further claimed that this was done and executed in a pre-planned manner for generating black money under the garb of sale of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's painting made by legendary painter late MF Hussain. The plea further said that the painting was dedicated to the Congress party, and the Congress party was the title proprietor of that paiting, but Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wilfully sold out that painting in connivance with Rana Kapoor. Today, Edify Labs (edify.cx), the software company thats redefining the way businesses manage customer engagement and cross-team collaboration, announced that Sandler Partners, Americas fastest-growing distributor of connectivity and cloud services, has joined the Edify Channel Partner Program as a National Master Agent. Sandler Partners works with more than 9,000 expert technology sales partners who advise thousands of small, medium, and enterprise organizations on the best telecom, IT, and cloud services. We are excited to work with Edify. While there are many companies out there in this space, something that really stood out was their easy user interface and ability to handle customers from a single pane of glass, said Alan Sandler, Managing Partner, Sandler Partners. Were in technology and were trying to make it easier for sales partners. Sandler Partners is forward-thinking and we want cutting-edge technology in our portfolio. We brought Edify on because their solution makes selling simpler and easier. With the plethora of technology options available on the market today, Sandler Partners is an invaluable resource and informed guide, and we warmly welcome them into our Channel Partner Program, said J.P. Dundas, Edify Vice President, Channel Sales & Alliances. We look forward to working with the Sandler Partners network to help organizations fix the customer and employee experience once and for all. Edify Huddle is the only platform that unites contact center (CC), unified communications (UC), and real-time communications (CPaaS/API) functionality in a single, cloud-native software solution that lets users move seamlessly among channels within one conversation. This frictionless transfer capability gives agents the ultimate flexibility to serve customers faster and more completely from a single pane of glass. Edify Huddle Basic delivers unified business communications for $10 per user/month. Edify Huddle ML delivers comprehensive cloud-native omnichannel business communications with machine learning for $7 per user/day. About Sandler Partners Sandler Partners is Americas Fastest Growing Distributor of Connectivity & Cloud Services. In 2019, Sandler Partners was named to the Inc. 5000 list of Americas Fastest Growing Private Companies for the 10th straight year. Over the years, we expanded beyond our telecom roots to also deliver best-in-class cloud, colocation, mobility and continuity solutions from 200+ suppliers through a network of more than 9,000 expert technology sales partners agents, VARs and MSPs to thousands of small, medium and enterprise organizations nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.sandlerpartners.com. About Edify Labs, Inc. Edify connects businesses with customers and employees with each other. The companys Business Communications as a Service (BCaaS) platform, Huddle, is the only one uniting contact center (CC), unified communications (UC), and real-time communications platform (API) functionality in a single, cloud-native software solution that lets users move seamlessly among channels within one conversation. Edify removes all the risk of using its cloud-based platform with five free users forever, global availability, real-time redundancy, usage-based pricing, and a 100% SLA uptime guarantee. Learn more at edify.cx. Sri Lanka's former president has been summoned by a presidential probe panel on August 26 to record his statement on the deadly Easter Sunday attacks, officials said on Monday. Nine suicide bombers belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday last year, killing 258 people, including 11 Indians. The previous government headed by President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was blamed for its inability to prevent the attacks despite the prior intelligence made available on the impending attack. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who pledged an independent probe in the incident during his election campaign in November last year, continued with the same panel appointed by then president Sirisena after assuming office. The police unit of the panel appointed by then president Sirisena has asked him to appear before them on August 26, officials said. The panel last week summoned former prime minister Wickremesinghe to appear before it on August 18. The development comes days after Wickremesinghe suffered a crushing defeat in the August 5 parliamentary election where he failed to enter parliament for the first time since 1977. He and two of his seniors - Sagala Ratnayake and Ruwan Wijewardena - both former ministers who had police and defense responsibility in the government between 2015 and November 2019 - have also been summoned. The Easter attack was one of the main reasons for the defeat of Wickremesinghe's government. Several panels were appointed as the public outrage mounted against the government. The then police chief and the top defense ministry bureaucrat were remanded for their criminal negligence. The government was blamed for failure to prevent the attacks despite prior warnings from India. Wickremesinghe said that due to political differences Sirisena while holding the defense ministry control had excluded him from the national security council deliberations. The probe panel on Saturday visited one of the Churches devastated by the bombings in the western coastal town of Negombo. (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 33-year-old Peterborough man was arrested after a man in his 50s was struck with a piece of wood on Sunday night. The attacked man was taken by paramedics to Peterborough Regional Health Centre for treatment of injuries. City police were called at about 8 p.m. Sunday after the man was attacked in the area of Murray Street, police said, with the attacker last seen heading toward Victoria Park. An arrest was made at 11:16 p.m., police said. Bradley Robert Parcels, 33, of no fixed address, was charged with assault with a weapon. He was held in custody and was to appear in court Monday. The facility was suspended following the abrogation of special status to the erstwhile state on August 5 last year Udhampur (JK): Residents of the hilly district of Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir expressed relief and happiness on Monday over the restoration of 4G mobile internet services after a gap of over a year, saying it would help them carry out various activities, be it online classes or professional work, with ease amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Jammu and Kashmir administration restored the high-speed mobile internet services on Sunday night on a trial basis in Udhampur and Ganderbal districts -- one each in Jammu and Kashmir divisions -- over a year after the facility was suspended following the abrogation of special status to the erstwhile state on August 5 last year. The resumption of 4G internet services on mobile devices came days after the Centre had informed the Supreme Court that a special committee looking into the matter was considering allowing the facility on a trial basis in two of the 20 districts of the Union Territory. "It is a welcome decision as you cannot keep pace with the outside world using low speed internet, especially at a time when the pandemic has brought normal life to a grinding halt and led to a manifold increased in people's dependence on cyberspace," Arjun Khajuria, a resident of Udhampur town, told PTI. Khajuria, a software engineer who had returned from Delhi taking the work from home option to keep his private job, said working on 2G mobile internet was a big headache and that he was unable to complete the tasks assigned by his company. "As the clock struck 9 pm, everyone who had got the information started surfing the net and it was a pleasant surprise to have a 4G mobile internet connectivity. I am relieved now," he said. Rahul Sharma, who is also working in a private company in Delhi, said he used to start the day looking for broadband connection or internet cafe. "Despite working from 9 am to 5 pm, there was no work satisfaction. The frequent disturbance by visitors and threat to get infected was always there," he said. An order issued by the JK Home Department said the high-speed internet mobile data services in the districts of Ganderbal (Kashmir division) and Udhampur (Jammu division) would remain in force till September 8, unless modified earlier. Internet services were snapped in Jammu and Kashmir hours before the Centre abrogated its special status and bifurcated the erstwhile state into union territories -- Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir -- on August 5 last year. However, the 2G internet facility on mobile phones was restored on January 25. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to explore the possibility of restoring 4G services in certain areas. "The resumption of the high speed mobile internet service ended our worries with regard to the future of our children who were forced to stay at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March," Prashant Sharma, whose son is a Class 7 student in Army Public School, said. "They were facing a lot of problems to get connected to the virtual classrooms, which have become a new order, due to low speed internet connectivity. We were afraid that our child will not be able to pursue his education and might lose a precious year," Sharma said. He said the children faced no problem with internet connectivity this morning. "You cannot run a virtual class at 2G speed. We are doing our best to help the students to get their lessons so that they are able to prepare for the annual examination but the low speed of the internet sometimes was playing the spoilsport," Anju Sharma, a private school teacher, said expressing satisfaction over the restoration of the high-speed mobile internet services in the district. Seventy-two-year-old Radha Krishan Sharma was worried about not being able to fill up an online application to get the recently introduced domicile certificate. "I had a permanent resident certificate and despite repeated attempts could not fill up the online application for the domicile certificate due to slow internet speed. I visited the local Tehsil office but was told that I have to submit the application through online mode only," he said, adding he is now hopeful of getting the domicile certificate without any further delay. Pranab Sharma, a government job aspirant, said the restoration of 4G internet has brought ease to the lives of the people like him who were facing a lot of problems to download or upload forms. Nebraska bans dismemberment abortions; procedure not welcomed in civilized society, says governor Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts has signed a bill into law that largely bans dismemberment abortions, declaring that the procedure should not exist in a humane, civilized society. The states unicameral legislature voted 33-8 on Thursday to pass LB814, which bans dilation and evacuation abortions save in the event of a life-threatening medical emergency. It shall be unlawful for any person to purposely perform or attempt to perform a dismemberment abortion and thereby kill an unborn child unless a dismemberment abortion is necessary due to a medical emergency, reads the bill. No woman upon whom an abortion is performed or attempted to be performed shall be liable for performing or attempting to perform a dismemberment abortion. No nurse, secretary, receptionist, or other employee or agent who is not a physician, but who acts at the direction of a physician, shall be liable for performing or attempting to perform a dismemberment abortion. Ricketts signed the bill into law on Saturday, saying in a statement that Nebraska is a pro-life state, and this week the Legislature took an important step to strengthen our culture of life. [Senator Suzanne Geists] bill bans the horrific procedure of dismemberment abortion, which tears apart a living babys body limb by limb, stated the governor. This brutal procedure has no place in a humane, civilized society. I commend Sen. Geist, and the bills supporters in the Unicameral, for outlawing this barbaric practice in Nebraska. The Nebraska chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union denounced the bill in a series of posts to Twitter, promising to overturn the new law. LB 814 disregards Nebraskans health and undermines their freedom to make personal decisions in consultation with their physicians, tweeted the ACLU of Nebraska. It puts a narrow ideological agenda over patient health. It makes it a crime for doctors to use their best medical judgment. Ricketts voiced support for a dismemberment abortion ban in a column published in March, labeling it a barbaric procedure that literally rips apart a preborn child. Imagine watching a sleeping baby girl peacefully suck her thumb inside of her mothers womb. Then consider the horror of seeing that same baby girl flail her tiny arms and legs as an abortionist uses forceps to clutch at her body, wrote Ricketts. Senators have the opportunity this session to act quickly and decisively to end this horrendous form of abortion. Dismemberment abortion bans have previously been passed in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia. Although courts have typically blocked or struck down such legislation, a decision earlier this month by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit allowed for Arkansas ban to take effect on Aug. 28. McLeod Software Version 20.2 Release With Version 20.2, McLeod Software has completely re-engineered their web access portals for LoadMaster and PowerBroker in ways that help McLeod customers create a better branded internet presence for their company and a better experience for their customers, carriers, and drivers. New Internet Portals Give Customers a Whole New Experience With Version 20.2, McLeod Software has completely re-engineered their web access portals for LoadMaster and PowerBroker in ways that will help McLeod customers create a better branded internet presence for their company, and more importantly, create a better experience for their customers, carriers, and drivers. Recruiting and Driver Applications Made Easy Driver applicants can fill out an application via the carriers website with just a few clicks. When the driver completes the online application, a Driver Application record is created directly in LoadMaster, and the hiring process starts. Customer Portal The McLeod systems new Customer Portal provides the carriers or brokers customer with real-time access to all of their load information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This new customer portal provides assigned logins to customers, so they have secure access to their orders, delivered and in-transit shipments, with a variety of display options to enhance their experience and response time. The portals give customers the ability to easily download document images with retrieval options. Map views are available on orders displaying plotted mobile comm positions or positions from callin records. The visibility of orders reduces the need for calls and emails into the carrier or brokers dispatch for ETA and wheres my truck? type calls. Driver Portal With the new Driver Portal for carriers running the McLeod LoadMaster dispatch system, drivers get a secure login for instant access to their settlement and pay information. If a carrier elects to use the LoadMaster Driver Choice module, drivers have immediate access to the available matched loads that fit their choices in a predefined profile. This feature is especially useful for fleets with significant numbers of owner/operators. Carriers can more easily match drivers with the loads they want to haul and let them choose the load that best fits whats important to them. Carrier Portal The PowerBroker Carrier Portal is designed for the brokers carriers to access the loads that have been offered and current load information, with flexible search options. Carriers have secure access to their available and delivered loads to provide tracking, trip documents, and callin information. Brokers can get paid faster by providing carriers and owner operators with secure access to input the things needed to complete billing. Visual indicators throughout the screens help carriers and owner operators easily add shipping related documents by uploading the images directly to their loads, where they will automatically be indexed to support billing. The portal provides drag and drop capability for images which simplifies the carriers work to complete the process. Factoring Portal McLeods Factoring Company Portal provides a new, contemporary tool for brokers and carriers who work with factoring companies which allows them to quickly find the status of movements and reduce the calls necessary. Factoring companies have a clear and concise view in a payment pipeline for all the carriers or brokers. Factoring clerks get easy access to view the status of movements that have been paid or pending, in-progress or delivered, and pay information, such as line haul and other pay records, including advances to better understand the overall net pay for each movement. This portal provides the ability to add images for documentation, speeding up the settlement process. Location Portal McLeods new Location Portal provides a tool for carriers and brokers to give the staff of shippers at a specific location a physical shipping site, warehouse, or terminal, with visibility to loads coming in to and going out of their location. Market Insight 2.0 MPact MPact is the next generation view of the valuable data in McLeods Market Insight. This private, decision-making domain and marketplace is available only to McLeod Software customers using LoadMaster and/or PowerBroker. It collects data from participating McLeod customers every day to deliver the best pricing, market, and lane insights available in our industry. The new MPact analysis goes beyond showing McLeod customers a series of trends, it highlights key decision indices with actionable insights and trending tools designed to help users make pricing decisions that produce profitable opportunities. McLeod MPact serves up a series of understandable analysis screens that provide order and pricing trends, distilled from the automated daily Market Insight collaboration between participating McLeod customers. Hosted in a secure cloud, the McLeod Data Science team provides these analytics in real-time while maintaining a high level of security, so McLeod customers can quickly visualize and understand the trends that will influence important freight pricing decisions. New and Enhanced Integrations McLeods Symphony Mobile Communications module offers the broadest integration available with the best communications/telematics vendors in the trucking industry. The use of slip-seat operations has grown with carriers. Keeping track of which tractors are being used by which drivers can be time consuming for operations and payroll. Working with mobile communication vendors, McLeod Software has improved vehicle selection activity. McLeods current integration to Teletrac Navman's Director platform has been enhanced to include Hours of Service (HOS) integration to provide LoadMaster users visibility to their driver's current duty status, available hours and logged hours for the current day and cycle. McLeods current integration with EROAD has been enhanced beyond the current integration that provides existing driver hours of service and vehicle position reporting, to now offer outbound workflow with optional geofence arrival and departure reporting, driver-generated real-time reporting of stop-specific tasks, and outbound text messaging from the back-office LoadMaster users to their drivers. McLeods LoadMaster integration solution with Transflo has added trailer positions for accurate and timely access to those trailer positions within LoadMaster. McLeods integration solution with Zonar mobile communications has been enhanced to automatically capture fuel levels from the engine interface and record these within LoadMaster to update fuel optimization solutions. LoadMaster has an updated integration solution the inGauge online benchmarking platform which allows carriers to automate exporting periods of financial data to participate in the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) Profitability Program (TPP). The data export allows anonymous, easy participation in the program by capturing the needed unique general ledger account activity in a scheduled process to be used for TCA benchmarking reports. McLeod has released an updated integration solution for PowerBroker that allows our customers to easily participate in the Transportation Intermediaries Associations (TIA) 3PL Market Report. This interface comes completely configured for PowerBroker customers to contribute their data to receive a copy of the quarterly report that gives your company a real peer-to-peer comparison. McLeod PowerBroker now has a brokerage tracking integration with Transflo Velocity+. PowerBroker users can request load tracking from carriers who use Transflo's driver mobile phone app. The interface will send detailed load information to the app for the carrier to then assign out to their selected driver. GPS and stop arrival and departure event data is returned to PowerBroker and used to create callin records for tracking purposes. Digital Freight Matching with PowerBroker McLeod PowerBroker now offers an open API based Digital Freight Matching service to retrieve qualified carriers and loads, book carriers on loads and make counteroffers through integrated third-party capacity solutions. This type of integration will add available tractor capacity so that it is visible directly in PowerBroker. Because this new open published API can be used with a variety of service providers, McLeod is making it possible for customers to take advantage of new solutions that come to market faster than ever. The suppliers who want to offer capacity solutions to McLeod customers can build their own interface quickly, and relatively independently, without waiting on a collaborative design and development process with McLeod. Routing Guides With Version 20.2, an important enhancement to PowerBrokers Waterfall Tendering is the addition of Routing Guides. This feature allows a broker to create and store a list of their preferred carriers based on experience. Preferred carriers are the known carriers they prefer to use on specific lanes, in particular regions, or for specific types of freight. About McLeod Software The companies who run McLeod Software are the transportation industrys innovators. They consistently improve their customer service and operating ratios, attract and retain the best drivers, and automate their crucial business processes. Visit us at http://www.McLeodSoftware.com. GOD TV celebrated too soon. The 25-year-old Christian broadcasting corporation was granted a license for a new Hebrew-language channel in Israel, and the CEO wanted to praise the Lord. God has supernaturally opened the door for us to take the gospel of Jesus into the homes and lives and hearts of his Jewish people, said CEO Ward Simpson, former director of the Brownsville Revival School of Ministry, in a video posted online. Theyll watch secretly. Theyll watch quietly. . . . God is restoring his people. God is removing the blindness from their eyes. It was a public relations disaster. An outcry from Orthodox Jews and anti-missionary groups led Israels Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Council to reconsider GOD TVs seven-year license. Council chairman Asher Biton claimed the company had misrepresented the channel as something that offered content for Christians when it was really programming designed to convert Jews. GOD TV scrambled to take down Simpsons video and clarify its purpose. GOD TV would not try to convert Jews to Christianity. But it would preach Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, consistent with the beliefs of Israels approximately 20,000 Messianic Jews. It wasnt enough. Eight weeks after GOD TV was awarded the license, the broadcasting council revoked it. The new TV channel, where people would talk about Jesus in Hebrew, went dark. American evangelicals have been broadcasting the name of Jesus into Israel since 1977, after Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) founder Paul Crouch had a vision that Revelation 14:67 foretold the new communications technology: Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim ... 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. In 2017, Arcapita and Mumtalakat partnered to acquire an equity stake in NAS United Healthcare Services LLC. Over the past three years, the consortium supported the company's execution of a series of organic and inorganic growth initiatives, including the business combination with another major UAE third-party administrator (TPA), Neuron LLC, the implementation of a variety of strategic initiatives to drive customer growth and reduce costs, and the roll-out of healthcare technology services among its clients. Today NAS Neuron is one of the largest private TPAs of medical claims in the GCC, serving over 1.3 million lives across the GCC region. Atif A. Abdulmalik, Arcapita's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to have achieved this exit in the current economic environment. The UAE and GCC's private health insurance market has been undergoing a major transformation over the past few years as governments have sought to shift healthcare expenditures from the public to the private sector. NAS Neuron has been a beneficiary of this trend and the company has successfully navigated the TPA market by rebalancing its portfolio mix, maintaining a strong technology backbone, and improving operating efficiency." He added: "Healthcare and wellness are among Arcapita's focus areas for both our private equity and real estate platforms given the demographic tailwinds supporting this sector. We plan to continue focusing on defensive sectors that are supported by long-term market fundamentals. In addition, the success of our investment in NAS Neuron highlights the resilience of the UAE and GCC private equity market as well as the attractiveness of the region's healthcare sector to global investors despite a challenging economic environment." HE Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat said, "Our strategic partnership with Arcapita enabled us to support and witness NAS Neuron's progress into one of the leading players in the GCC health sector with a solid management structure, and a clear vision to continue on its growth trajectory. The successful culmination and positive outcome of this venture is a validation of the robust and sound nature of our collective business strategy, and is in line with our efforts towards maintaining a diverse and sustainable portfolio." Umair Nizami, Group Chief Executive Officer of NAS Neuron, commented, "Backed by strong strategic shareholders, including Arcapita and Mumtalakat, we successfully brought together the strengths of NAS and Neuron to benefit the wider healthcare industry. I am personally grateful for the trust placed in me by the shareholders, and I look forward to continuing to enhance our value proposition so that our customers enjoy easy access to high quality and affordable healthcare across the globe." About Arcapita Arcapita is a global alternative investment manager, with offices in Atlanta, London and Singapore and an affiliated office in Bahrain. Arcapita's principal lines of business are private equity and real estate, and its management has a 20-year track record of over 90 investments with total transaction value in excess of $30 billion. Further details on Arcapita can be found at www.arcapita.com About Mumtalakat Mumtalakat, the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, is the sovereign wealth fund of the Kingdom of Bahrain. With a mandate to grow the wealth of Bahrain through long-term investments based on sound financial, strategic and governance principles, Mumtalakat holds stakes in over 60 commercial enterprises with a portfolio spanning a variety of sectors, including industrial manufacturing, financial services, telecommunications, real estate, logistics, consumer products, healthcare and education. Further details on Mumtalakat can be found at www.mumtalakat.bh Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1229198/Atif_Abdulmalik_Arcapita_Group.jpg SOURCE Arcapita FAIRFIELD The Office of Community and Economic Development is hosting a virtual workshop Wednesday to identify safety improvements for the Post Road Circle. According to a release, the department is looking for the publics input as they review a safety study of the area. Director Mark Barnhart said the road has been identified as an area in need of improvement. The workshop will include a brief introduction of the project, a summary of the priorities expressed by the community, an analysis of traffic patterns and a presentation of preliminary concepts, the department said. The presentation will be followed by a moderated discussion of the communitys thoughts on the concepts and preferences. The meeting will be held via Microsoft Teams and starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday. People can also participate by calling into the meeting. The department said the area is difficult for drivers and pedestrians to navigate, with limited crossings and sidewalks, minimum handicap accessibility for a four-lane roadway that is used by more than 20,000 vehicles a day. Fairfield residents have been concerned about the Post Road Circle for years, the department said. The Town conducted a roadway safety audit along Post Road in 2016, the department said. In a November 2017 Neighborhood Forum on transportation in the area, attendees expressed concerns about traffic speeds, pedestrian safety and the need for bike routes and traffic calming measures. Further, there have been several public complaints registered with the Engineering Office and through the Towns Q Alert system regarding crashes, speeding and pedestrian safety, it said. According to the department, the safety study was funded by a $375,000 state grant and was designed to find strategies to create a safe pedestrian environment with infrastructure for bicycles, buses and other vehicles. The study also looked for linkages between downtown Fairfield and the neighborhoods, businesses and restaurants in the area. The study area is focused on an area of the Post Road from South Benson Road to Shoreham Terrace, including the Circle where US Route 1 and CT 130 intersect with Old Post Road and Kings Highway East, the department said. The Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments is assisting the town in its efforts, and two engineering firms are consulting on the project. The department said the study is expected to be completed by early 2021. The link for the meeting and additional tips and notes can be found at http://bit.ly/post-road-circle. joshua.labella@hearstmediact.com The arrest took place last month. Prague police have arrested a Russian diplomat over the illegal purchases of live ammunition, including for sniper rifles. The arrest took place last month, RadioCZ reported citing iRozhlas.cz. Sources in the Czech secret services told the news site that the diplomat in question was employed in the military section of the Russian Embassy in Prague. Read alsoBelarus hands 32 detained Wagner PMC mercenaries back to Russia Following his detention in Ricany for buying illegal ammunition for sniper rifles and other kinds of ammunition he was released in view of his diplomatic immunity. He then immediately left the country for Russia, iRozhlas.cz said. Russian intel in Czech Republic BIS, the country's counterintelligence agency, in 2018 shut down a group of Russian hackers, who were part of a wider international network. The group operated under the cover of two private IT companies, conducting hacking operations from the companies computers. These were transported to the Czech Republic by vehicles under Russian diplomatic cover, reports said. Originally, all of the group members were Russian citizens who came to this country some years ago and got citizenship. The mayor of Prague in April 2020 had to be taken under tougher police protection the day after Czech media reported on an alleged Russian plot to poison him. The Czech news website Respekt, citing anonymous intelligence sources, reported that an individual carrying Russian diplomatic documents and the lethal poison ricin had arrived in Prague on a mission to assassinate Hrib and another prominent Czech politician. Russian snipers at times of unrest The generally held belief in Ukraine is that pro-democracy protesters who had braved months of cold weather to challenge their corrupt government during the Revolution of Dignity, were shot down by riot police snipers with the likely involvement of Russian operatives, the Atlantic Council reported in February 2020. In Belarus, among the 33 Russian Wagner Private Military Company mercenaries detained in the heat of election campaign in late July, there were snipers, bomb experts, and IT professionals, RFE/RL's Krym.Realii project reported. Democratic Partys presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris offered condolences on Sunday to Donald Trump after the Presidents younger brother died. Robert Trump, 71, died Saturday at a New York hospital, Donald Trump announced in a statement. Former vice president Biden and his wife, Indian-American Senator Harris and her husband condoled the death of the US presidents brother in separate statements. Mr. President, Jill and I are sad to learn of your younger brother Roberts passing, Biden said on Twitter.I know the tremendous pain of losing a loved one and I know how important family is in moments like these. I hope you know that our prayers are with you all, he said. Doug and I join the Biden family in sending our deepest condolences and prayers to the entire Trump family during this difficult time, Harris tweeted.Losing a loved one is never easy but know that we are thinking of you, she wrote. Biden and Harris will challenge Trump and Mike Pence from the Republican Party in the November 3 US presidenial election. JERUSALEM - Top White House adviser Jared Kushner said Monday that the Palestinian leaderships credibility has fallen to an all time low and that the Trump administration wouldnt chase the Palestinians over a peace deal if they continue to reject American overtures. Kushner delivered his assessment in a conference call discussing last weeks U.S.-brokered agreement forming official diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Speaking to reporters from the Middle East, Kushner said there was rising frustration in the region over what he said was the Palestinians obstruction of their peoples advancement. Were not going to chase the Palestinian leadership, Kushner said. Their credibility is just really falling to an all time low and even people who want to help the Palestinians, those people are just saying that you cant help people who dont want to help themselves. The internationally recognized Palestinian Authority severed ties with the White House after President Donald Trump recognized contested Jerusalem as Israels capital in December 2017. The Palestinians have rejected Trumps Mideast plan released early this year, which heavily favours Israel, as being unfairly biased. The Palestinians condemned the UAEs agreement with Israel last week as a betrayal of their cause. In particularly harsh terms, Kushner said the world was starting to block out the noise coming from Palestinian officials, calling their responses just so predictable and illogical. Last weeks deal makes the United Arab Emirates just the third Arab country to agree to normalize relations with Israel. The UAEs move shattered a longstanding Arab consensus that official rapprochement with Israel should come only after concessions were made in peacemaking with the Palestinians. That wall of Arab support had long served as one of the Palestinians few points of leverage against Israel. Kushner said the Trump administration had been repeatedly rebuffed by the Palestinians despite numerous attempts to try to ameliorate their conditions. He cited a regional economic conference held last year meant to raise funds to better the Palestinian economy, as well as Trumps Mideast plan, which he said gave the Palestinians most of what theyve ever wanted. Despite his claims, the plan falls far short of Palestinian demands for an independent state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip territories captured by Israel in 1967. The plan envisions giving Israel permanent control over 30% of the West Bank while allowing the Palestinians limited autonomy in the remainder of the territory if they meet a list of stringent demands. Nearly all of east Jerusalem, including its sensitive holy sites, would remain under Israeli control. Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, blamed the Trump administration, saying its negativity in dealing with the Palestinians is what brought matters to this impasse. He said the Palestinians were ready to negotiate based on the international consensus calling for a Palestinian state based on the 1967 lines. As part of the UAE deal, Israel agreed to put on hold its plans to annex parts of the West Bank. But the sides interpretation of what that meant appeared to differ, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying the move was on temporary hold following a request by the Trump administration, and the UAE indicating it was entirely off the table. Kushner said he believed the agreement to put off annexation will hold. (Netanyahu) has given us assurances that he will not do it without our consent and thats good enough for us, he said. Read more about: The flagbearer of the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), John Dramani Mahama, will on Monday, August, 17, 2020 take his first round campaign visit to North Tongu constituency. The former leader and his entourage will first pay a courtesy call on Traditional rulers in Battor Traditional Authority and his next stop will be with Mepe Traditional leadership. Rightly after meeting with Battor chiefs, the Flagbearer will interact briefly with the leadership of health workers at the compound of Social Hall Battor. He will then address a gathering of Battor citizens at Post Office enroute to Mepe. At Mepe, Mr. Mahama is expected to pay a courtesy call on Traditional authorities. Immediately after the chiefs call, Mr. Mahama would also address a mini Durbar at Tegola Mini Market, Mepe. The team would then be led through Mepe Degorme where the largest opposition leader would briefly address the people of the area. Source: kasapafmonline.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 Summer polls are poor predictors of November outcomes In this year that sometimes feels like a decade, North Carolinians have yet to cast a single general-election ballot for president or other offices. But Im seeing lots of politicos and pundits making confident predictions about the states key electoral contests based on data from recent voter surveys. You can count me out of that game. Ive seen too many North Carolina races narrow in the homestretch. Using summertime polls to predict November outcomes is fraught with peril. This is certainly true with regard to the presidential race. North Carolina has proved to be a key battleground in recent cycles. The Tar Heel State voted for Barack Obama in 2008 by less than a percentage point. In 2012, North Carolina flipped to the Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, who won it by two points. Across the eight publicly released polls of North Carolina voters taken during August of 2016, Hillary Clinton led Donald Trump by an average of two points. As we now know, Trump would go on to beat her in North Carolina by nearly four points (although Trump actually got a smaller share of the vote than Romney had four years earlier, due to a higher share of 2016 votes going to Libertarian and other alternatives). Lets also remember what happened the first time Thom Tillis ran for U.S. Senate, in 2014. Across four midsummer polls, incumbent Democrat Kay Hagan led Tillis by an average of 1.5 points. In November, Tillis defeated Hagan by 1.7 points. Even in the North Carolina gubernatorial race, where the conventional wisdom has Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper fated to defeat Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest in 2020, recent history makes a case for caution. At this time in 2016, Cooper was leading then-Republican Gov. Pat McCrory by an average of six points in the August polling. As we now know, Cooper would go on to victory but by one of the closest margins in the history of gubernatorial elections, just two-tenths of one percent. In other words, swings of six percentage points or so between August and Election Day are something akin to normal behavior for our states electorate. As I write, the August 2020 polls have Trump and Joe Biden tied in North Carolina, Cal Cunningham up five, and Roy Cooper up eight. Naturally, it is better to be up than down. Democrats understandably feel good about their current position. But veteran Tar Heel Dems are likely warning their younger colleagues not to get overconfident, not to take anything for granted. That would be wise. For example, even if Cunningham and Cooper win in November, it is quite possible their margins will have narrowed considerably by then. Again, based on recent electoral history, it is entirely conceivable that Republicans would still win some other statewide contests, for Council of State and judicial offices, and keep at least partial control of the state legislature under such a scenario. While it is true that ticket-splitting is rarer than it was a generation or two ago, when as many as a quarter of North Carolinians might vote Republican for federal offices and Democratic for state and local ones, there are still enough true swing voters to tip the balance to one major party or the other on any given Election Day. Thats because those major-party coalitions are so closely balanced in North Carolina. Disregard party registration, which doesnt necessarily reflect voter behavior. When pollsters for Emerson College asked North Carolinians which partys candidates they will support for Congress without mentioning any candidates by name 44.6 percent said Republicans and 44.2 percent said Democrats. The latest Civitas Institute survey had it at 43 percent Democrats and 42 percent Republicans. Will some unforeseen event tip undecided voters decisively to one side or the other? Will some voters vote strategically, consciously splitting their tickets so neither party exercises unchecked power? Will one partys coalition turn out to be more enthusiastic and energized to cast their ballots when it counts? I dont know. Neither does anyone else. * * * * * John Hood, chairman of the John Locke Foundation, appears on NC SPIN, broadcast statewide Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 12:30 p.m. on UNC-TV. Authorities have released the names of two people killed when gunfire erupted early Saturday at the Pike County Cattlemans Complex. Troy Police Chief Randall Barr on Monday identified the slain victims as Devonta Givens and Jhakyndall Johnson. Both were 25 and lived in Troy. Three other people were also shot. Officers were dispatched at 1:59 a.m. to assist with dispersing a large crowd at the event venue complex in the 12000 block of U.S. 231 South. While police were en route, multiple shots were fired in the parking lot of the complex, Barr said. Once on the scene, officers found two wounded victims. Johnson was taken to a Dothan hospital where he was pronounced dead. Four other victims were taken to Troy Regional Medical Center one by ambulance and the other three by private vehicles. Givens later would be pronounced dead as well. Another victim, whose identity has not yet been released, was transferred to a Montgomery hospital in critical condition. Another victim has been treated and released. Authorities said there was a large crime scene with multiple people there when the shooting happened. The Troy Police Department is being assisted in the investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, Pike County Coroners Office, Pike County District Attorneys Office and the Pike County Sheriffs Office. Barr said it is an active investigation and they are asking anyone with information to call the Troy Police Department at 334-566-0500 or call the Secret Witness line at 334-566-5555. Diageo, the world's largest spirits maker, said on Monday it was buying Aviation American Gin, co-owned by Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds, in a deal worth up to $610million. The Deadpool actor became the face of Aviation Gin after purchasing an unspecified, but 'significant' stake in the company in February 2018. Diageo acquired Aviation Gin and its majority owner Davos Brands, which owns three other spirit brands - Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal and Tyku Sake - for an initial payment of $335million. The deal also includes an additional $275million if sales continue to impress over the next decade. Cheers! Ryan Reynolds' Aviation Gin has sold to the beverage giant Diageo for $335million and stands to make another $275million if their sales stay steady Leading the industry: Diageo is a big player in the beer and liquor world, also behind Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, and Tanqueray The actor will retain his stake in Davos Brands, LLC but his role as a spokesperson remains unclear. Aviation Gin reported 100 per cent growth in sales volumes in 2019 as demand for super-premium gin continues to surge in the US. According to the Distilled Spirits Council, distillers sold nearly 10 million nine-liter cases of gin in the US in 2019, generating $918million in revenue, a 3 per cent rise over 2018. Most of this growth was driven by the super-premium gin category where bottles cost $25 and upwards. Aviation Gin, which retails for $27 per 750 millilitres, is the second-largest super-premium gin brand in the US and has contributed 40 per cent of super-premium gin category growth in the country. Ivan Menezes, chief executive of Diageo, said: 'We are delighted to announce this transaction, which supports our participation in the super premium gin segment in the United States. 'The acquisition of Aviation American Gin and the Davos Brands portfolio is in line with our strategy to acquire high-growth brands with attractive margins that support premiumization. 'We are confident that Aviation American Gin will continue to shape and drive the growth of super premium gin in North America and we are looking forward to working with Ryan Reynolds and the Davos Brands team to accelerate future growth.' In a statement to industry outlets, Reynolds said: 'A little over two years ago, I became an owner of Aviation Gin because I love the taste of Aviation more than any other spirit. 'What I didn't expect was the sheer creative joy learning a new industry would bring. He's a fan: Talking about Aviation's new chapter in a statement, Reynolds said: 'A little over two years ago, I became an owner of Aviation Gin because I love the taste of Aviation more than any other spirit.' Ryan will retain his stake in Aviation's old parent company Davos Brands, LLC Taking a shot: Diageo picked up George Clooney, restaurateur Rande Gerber and business partner Mike Meldman's Casamigos tequila for $700million in 2017. Clooney is seen with his tequila, in 2015 above 'Growing the brand with my company, Maximum Effort Marketing, has been among the most fulfilling projects I've ever been involved with.' 'I want to thank Diageo for their incredible team and passion. We're so excited for the next chapter of Aviation Gin, which, I promise, will require just as little reading,' he went on. Diageo is a big player in the beer and liquor world. The British company's portfolio also includes Johnnie Walker, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, and Tanqueray, among others. Aviation was founded in 2006 and later purchased by Davos Brands, LLC, of New York in 2016. Reynolds first connected with the American-style gin brand through WME and Endeavor's Talent Ventures group to become the spokesperson and a partial owner. Reynolds and Aviation appear to be following a similar playbook as other celebrity spirit brands. Diageo picked up George Clooney's Casamigos tequila, which he owns with restaurateur Rande Gerber and business partner Mike Meldman for $700million in 2017. Sweetening that pot, the trio was promised an extra $300million based on subsequent sales numbers. Photo: AbbyPD Police are seeking witnesses or people who may have dashcam footage of an alleged sexual assault in Abbotsford early Saturday morning. They say they're investigating the incident that occurred at 1:15 a.m. in the area of South Fraser Way and the 2600 block of West Bourquin Crescent. A female victim approached a police officer patrolling the area and reported that she'd been sexually assaulted by an unfamiliar man. Police say the suspect is described as a five-foot-six white man in his early 30s with dark brown and short hair, a patchy beard and partially rotted teeth, who fled the scene on a bike. They say it's believed several vehicles drove past the victim as she attempted to flag them down. The woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and released later in the day. Iranian nation, Armed Forces to make radical change in approach to UAE after Israel deal: Top general Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 1:37 PM Iran's highest ranking military commander says the Iranian nation and Armed Forces will make a radical change in their approach to the United Arab Emirates after Abu Dhabi's recent step to normalize relations with Israel. "Unfortunately, during recent days, we have witnessed the great calamity of reestablishment of ties between the UAE regime and the child-killing regime of Israel, which is regrettable beyond description," Major General Mohammad Baqeri said while speaking in a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday. "Definitely, the Iranian nation's approach towards this neighboring state (UAE) will fundamentally change [following its deal with Israel] and the Islamic Republic's Armed Forces will also deal with this country on the basis of different calculations," Iran's top general added. He warned that Iran would not tolerate and would hold the UAE accountable for any possible incident in the Persian Gulf region, which might pose even the slightest threat to the Islamic Republic's national security. "Under the circumstances that all free-thniking nations in the world express their hatred toward and avoid establishing friendly relations with the Zionist regime, one of the Islamic Republic's neighbors is brazen enough to announce the establishment of ties with this child-killing regime, which is a cause for great regret" Baqeri said. He emphasized that it is not acceptable for the UAE, as a Muslim and Arab country, to establish political and economic relations with such a regime, which has been violating the first Qiblah of Muslims (a place toward which Muslims pray) and has also displaced, killed and imprisoned the Palestinian people, and make it public. "We recommend the United Arab Emirate to reconsider this decision before it is too late, and do not continue on a path, which will be detrimental to its own security and the security of the region, because this would be acceptable," the top Iranian commander emphasized. Israel and the UAE on August 13 reached the deal that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two sides, in an agreement apparently brokered by US President Donald Trump. Under the agreement, Israel has allegedly agreed to "temporarily" suspend applying its own rule to further areas in the occupied West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to annex. In a telephone conversation with Islamic Jihad resistance movement Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhala on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the "treacherous" deal between the Israeli regime and the UAE does not affect the Palestinian resistance against the Tel Aviv regime. "We are confident that this treacherous move will not impact the resistance of the Palestinian people and the resistance movement," Zarif said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The 'Global Sodium Hexametaphosphate (CAS 10124-56-8) Market Outlook 2019-2024' offers detailed coverage of sodium hexametaphosphate industry and presents main market trends. The market research gives historical and forecast market size, demand, end-use details, price trends, and company shares of the leading sodium hexametaphosphate producers to provide exhaustive coverage of the market for sodium hexametaphosphate. The report segments the market and forecasts its size, by volume and value, on the basis of application, by products, and by geography. The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from key industry participants. 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More Info of Impact Covid19@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/3770 While on a Cape Cod beach over the weekend, a Massachusetts family found an unusual item: a message in a bottle that was bottled more than a decade ago. The Chin family, who is from Danvers, was on Falmouth Heights Beach on Saturday when the bottle was discovered, WCVB reported. Three-year-old Lila Chin was looking for shells and instead found a brown bottle sealed with a cork, according to the news outlet. The message inside read, Sent from the U.K. March 3, 2009, WCVB reported. According to WCVB, the family plans to write their own message and throw the bottle back into the ocean. Related Content: Please write me, A 36-year-old message turns up on the beach in Cape Cod Samsung is reportedly planning to move a major part of its smartphone production from Vietnam and other countries to India. The company is in the final stages of the plans, The Economic Times reports. According to the report, Samsung is planning to manufacture smartphones worth $40 billion in India over the next five years. The South Korean tech giant has already submitted its estimates to the Indian government, people familiar with the matter told the publication. Out of the said estimates of $40 billion, phones with a factory price of over $200 could account for more than $25 billion. Most of the phones manufactured in this category will be exported, the report cites a senior government official as saying. The remaining $15 billion worth of smartphones may sell within the Indian sub-continent. Advertisement There is no official confirmation yet from Samsung regarding this. The company didnt respond to the ETs requests for comments. However, with the latest developments, it is reportedly looking to avail the Indian governments PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme. Samsung will diversify its production lines for making smartphones in India under the PLI scheme. This move may have an impact on its existing production lines in other countries including Vietnam, the report adds. Vietnam is the second-largest smartphone manufacturing hub in the world after China. Samsung to move smartphone production to India Samsung has its biggest mobile phone manufacturing unit in Noida, India. It has been gradually increasing smartphone production in the country over the past few years. The newest move may now see the company shift a significant part of its smartphone production to India. Advertisement The Korean giant currently manufactures around 50 percent of its smartphones in Vietnam. The company also has manufacturing bases in Brazil, Indonesia, and its home country South Korea. However, because of higher labor costs in South Korea, it is now reportedly looking to wind down the production of mobile phones in its home country. It appears the company will be shifting the production from South Korea to India. In addition, the company may also shift smartphone production from other countries to the worlds second-biggest smartphone market. It also makes TVs for the local market in the country. Samsung is also planning to set up a smartphone display plant in India. The company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the local authority earlier this year. The firm plans to invest up to $705.75 million to set up the display manufacturing facility in the country. Advertisement Samsungs arch-rival Apple is also shifting its smartphone production lines from China to India. The company is reportedly manufacturing the iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2020 models in the country. Study finds land surface conditions can affect mesoscale convective systems while they are on the move Ground-breaking scientific research will make it easier to predict the path of some of the world's most powerful storms, enabling communities to better protect themselves from severe flooding. Mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) are 'megastorms' that affect large parts of the world, including Africa, Australia, Asia and the Americas, causing human and livestock deaths plus major damage to infrastructure. They can potentially: last from several hours up to two days release energy equivalent to the UK consumption for an entire year be bigger than the size of England and travel 1,000kms in distance unleash over 100mm of rainfall in just an hour In Sahelian Africa, these extreme storms have tripled in frequency since the 1980s due to global warming. Until now, it was thought that the path of these complex weather systems was largely unpredictable. However, a new study by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has found that land surface conditions frequently affect the direction and intensity of megastorms after they have formed. The research is now helping scientists to develop online tools to better forecast the path and strength of an approaching storm, which will inform alert systems for communities across Africa, providing them with up to six hours' warning. This includes Senegal, where UKCEH is working with the national meteorological service, ANACIM, to see how useful very short-term forecasts are for local emergency responses. The new study, published in the journal PNAS, was funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) as part of the UK aid Future Climate for Africa research programme. The researchers looked at satellite data on the activity of thousands of storms, plus land temperatures, in the Sahel for the period 2006 to 2010. Lead author Dr Cornelia Klein of UKCEH explains: "It is well known that heat provides thunderstorms with great energy, but it was commonly thought that once they are moving, they were not affected by the state of the ground over which they travelled. "However, we found that drier soils increased the intensity of an MCS mid-storm, affecting the amount of rainfall they release and also where they travel. Conversely, we found storms were often weakened over moister soils." "Our finding means that, for the first time, we can predict, from satellite-observed surface conditions, how these extremely large West African storms may behave when, for example, they approach a city. A more effective alert system will enable local people to take action to protect themselves as well as their homes, livestock and possessions, plus plan emergency responses." Flash flooding frequently occurs during the storm season in the Sahel, peaking between June and September, and can have a serious impact, with water entering homes and people losing property and a safe, dry space to live. Flooding can also cause sewage overflow from inadequate drainage systems, posing a health risk to humans and animals. The study's authors say the results have important implications for 'nowcasting' (forecasting for several hours ahead) of severe weather not just in the Sahel, but potentially other MCS hotspot regions of the world. Professor Chris Taylor of UKCEH, co-author of the new paper, adds: "The pattern of these megastorms is supposed to be difficult to forecast but we found a surprising level of predictability. Very dry soils influenced around half of storms in late afternoon or early evening, when they are at their peak. "Further research and advances in satellite technology will increase our certainties about their movement. In decades to come, scientists will look back at this latest study as a gamechanger in the reliable forecasting of these devastating storms." The research is part of the UKCEH-led AMMA-2050 project, which is carrying out multidisciplinary climate research to support improved forecasting, in order to enable better decision making by town planners, farmers and communities. Comprising partners from Europe and West Africa, it is funded by DFID and NERC. A DFID spokesperson said: "Highly destructive megastorms are becoming much more common because of climate change. They can devastate entire communities and it is the world's poorest people who are most at risk. "UK aid is supporting ground-breaking research, led by British experts, to better anticipate storms so vulnerable African communities can better prepare for their impact, protecting themselves and their families, and making their economies more resilient to climate shocks." NOTES TO EDITORS Paper information Cornelia Klein and Christopher M Taylor. 2020. Dry soils can intensify mesoscale convective systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2007998117 Recent flooding events in West Africa Due to heavy flooding in the countries of Niger and Mali since June 2020, 19 people are reported to have died and 35 injured, with 2,244 houses destroyed. An estimated 112,452 people are at risk of being affected by floods in Mali this year, compared to 95,000 people last year. During the rainy season in Niger in 2017, estimated 200,000 people were affected by flooding in the country, with 56 deaths. About 12,000 houses were damaged and 16,000 heads of cattle died and 9,800 hectares of cultivated land lost. In late July 2020, it was reported at least seven people died in flooding in the Niger state in central Nigeria, while 15,000 people were displaced in northern Nigeria in the first week of August after flooding damaged homes. Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, has been regularly hit by flash flooding in recent years. In July 2020, crocodiles were seen in the streets after torrential rain forced them from their habitat at a nearby city park. Thousands of people were displaced in northern Burkina Faso in mid-June 2020 after shelters were damaged there. Ouagadougou, the country's capital, has been regularly hit by flash flooding in recent years. In 2009, a downpour of 263mm over several hours forced 150,000 residents to leave their homes and eight people were killed. Within a few weeks in mid-2016, heavy rain and strong winds caused flash floods, leaving 15 dead and severely affecting healthcare facilities. In 2012, there was over 140mm of rainfall within a single hour in Dakar area of Senegal, producing floods which affected more than 250,000 people, with 26 deaths. Similar flooding in the Dakar region in 2009 affected an estimated 30,000 houses, with losses of US $82m. ### About multidisciplinary climate research in Africa Future Climate For Africa (FCFA) is a 20m programme funded by the UK Department for International Development and the Natural Environment Research Council. It is carrying out research into how the climate will change in Africa in the coming decades, and aims to ensure this information is effectively used to support climate-resilient development. The programme comprises five region-based projects, including AMMA-2050 (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis), a partnership led by UKCEH. Research as part of AMMA-2050 has included a UKCEH-led study (Taylor et al, 2017) which found extreme storms in the Sahel have tripled in frequency between 1982 and 2016 due to global warming. Meanwhile, a separate 9m programme, GCRF African-SWIFT, is using the latest scientific research to develop accurate forecasting tools, in order to better protect communities in Africa from the impacts of extreme weather. This programme - involving partners in UK, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya - is led by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), and funded by the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund. About the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is a centre for excellence in environmental science across water, land and air. Our 500 scientists work to understand the environment, how it sustains life and the human impact on it - so that together, people and nature can prosper. We have a long history of investigating, monitoring and modelling environmental change, and our science makes a positive difference in the world. The issues our science addresses include: air pollution, biodiversity, biosecurity, chemical risks, extreme weather events, droughts, floods, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, soil health, sustainable agriculture, sustainable ecosystems, sustainable macronutrient use, and water resources management. The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is a strategic delivery partner for the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation. http://www.ceh.ac.uk / @UK_CEH For media enquiries For interviews, images and further information, please contact Simon Williams, Media Relations Officer at UKCEH, via simwil@ceh.ac.uk or +44 (0)7920 295384. Foreign Minister Says Ukraine Will Not Make Compromise With Iran If Humiliating To Victims Radio Farda August 16, 2020 Following the recent bilateral talks with Iran concerning compensation for the victims of Flight PS752 downed in February by Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that Ukraine will not make any compromise that will humiliate the victims of the tragedy or fail to satisfy their relatives' demands. Kuleba made the remarks during an interview with Ukraine's National Radio on Friday. "We will always remember the grief of this tragedy but we can turn the page in Kiev-Tehran relations if justice is served," Kuleba said. He also maintained that compensation for the victims can only be negotiated once all details about the incident are clarified. On January 8, 2020, the IRGC fired two missiles at the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 shortly after it took off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport. All 176 passengers onboard the plane were killed in the crash. Iran did not admit that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps was responsible for the deadly attack until three days after the crash. On Saturday, Iranian ambassador to Kiev Manouchehr Moradi responded to a tweet by Radio Farda reporter Anna Rajskaya quoting Kuleba's statement about Ukraine's stance, Moradi tweeted that, following "constructive and fruitful negotiations" in Kiev, any compromise on compensation will adhere to international regulations. The compromise will be "according to commitments of conventions" of which Iran is a member, he said. In another tweet in Persian, Moradi wrote, "Iran will doubtlessly act with respect to the victims and their families, according to the conventions of which it is a member." Rajskaya also tweeted directly to Moradi to ask if Iran plans to reveal truthful details about the downing of the plane, and the timeline for the release of that information. "You know you have the burden to prove it was a human error," she wrote. "Repeating this all over again doesn't answer the questions." "Bilateral [talks] aim to answer all questions," Moradi responded. "Everything [will be] revealed and [there is] nothing to hide. No doubt, we and our Ukrainian friends are in [the] right path." Ukrainian diplomats have said repeatedly that they seek the truth first, followed by compensation. Ukrainian international affairs expert Dmytro Sengiriyov told Radio Farda that he believes that the only reason Iran has been hiding the facts about the crash is that the plane was downed "intentionally." According to Sengiriyov, Iran's explanations about the downing of the plane happening unintentionally seem unacceptable. "All the explanations offered by Iran so far have been meaningless and useless, whether they were about the mistakes in the settings of the Tor missile system that fired at the plane, or about the operator mistaking the Boeing for a missile," he said. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/foreign-minister -says-ukraine-will-not-make-compromise-with-iran- if-humiliating-to-victims/30786844.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dublin, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Electrophysiology Catheters Market 2020-2026" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global electrophysiology catheters market is estimated to grow significantly during the forecast period. The growth of the market is attributed to the increasing demand of early diseases diagnosis and treatment by electrophysiology diagnostic catheters are one of the major driving factors that are fueling the growth of the electrophysiology catheters market. The prognosis of patients along with adult congenital heart diseases has enhanced significantly owing to early diagnosis and enhancement in surgical corrective techniques. The Catheter is utilized to deliver low voltage and high-frequency current which destroy the heart tissue that is responsible for the arrhythmia. The patients who have done with the treatment of catheter ablation has experience of long term reduction in the number of arrhythmia and return to normal heart rhythm. The global market for electrophysiology catheters is segregated on the basis of product type and end-user industry. Based on the product type, the market is further classified into diagnostic catheters and ablation catheters. The diagnostic catheters segment is projected to have a considerable growth in the global market. Based on the end-user, the global electrophysiology catheters market is further segmented into hospitals & clinics and ambulatory surgical centers. The hospitals segment estimated to have a considerable share in the market owing to the growing number of surgeries in hospitals and clinics. Based on geography, the global electrophysiology catheters market is further segregated into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Rest of the World. Among, region North America projected to have a considerable share in the global electrophysiology catheters market. The companies which are contributing to the growth of the global electrophysiology catheters market include Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific Corp., Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Medtronic PLC, Stryker Corp., and others. Product launch, merger, and acquisition, collaborations with government, and technological advancements through which market players are considerably contributing to the market growth to stay competitive in the market. Research Methodology The market study of the global electrophysiology catheters market is incorporated by extensive primary and secondary research conducted by the research team. Secondary research has been conducted to refine the available data to breakdown the market in various segments, derive total market size, market forecast, and growth rate. Different approaches have been worked on to derive the market value and market growth rate. The team collects facts and data related to the market from different geography to provide a better regional outlook. In the report, the country-level analysis is provided by analyzing various regional players, regional tax laws and policies, consumer behavior and macro-economic factors. Numbers extracted from Secondary research have been authenticated by conducting proper primary research. It includes tracking down key people from the industry and interviewing them to validate the data. This enables the analyst to derive the closest possible figures without any major deviations in the actual number. The analysts try to contact as many executives, managers, key opinion leaders, and industry experts. Primary research brings authenticity to the reports. Secondary Sources Include: Financial reports of companies involved in the market. Whitepapers, research-papers, and news blogs. Company websites and their product catalog. The report is intended for electrophysiology catheters providers, end-user companies for overall market analysis, and competitive analysis. The report provides an in-depth analysis of pricing, market size, intended quality of the product preferred by consumers. The report will serve as a source for 360-degree analysis of the market thoroughly integrating different models delivering insights into the market for better business decisions. Market Segmentation: 1. Global Electrophysiology Catheters Market Research and Analysis by Product Type 2. Global Electrophysiology Catheters Market Research and Analysis by End-User The Report Covers Comprehensive research methodology of the global electrophysiology catheters market. This report also includes a detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights. An exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations. Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the global electrophysiology catheters market. Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the global electrophysiology catheters market. Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues. Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players. Key Topics Covered: 1. Report Summary 1.1. Research Methods and Tools 1.2. Market Breakdown 1.2.1. By Segments 1.2.2. By Geography 2. Market Overview and Insights 2.1. Scope of the Report 2.2. Analyst Insight & Current Market Trends 2.2.1. Key Findings 2.2.2. Recommendations 2.2.3. Conclusion 2.3. Rules & Regulations 3. Competitive Landscape 3.1. Company Share Analysis 3.2. Key Strategy Analysis 3.3. Key Company Analysis 3.3.1. Abbott Laboratories 3.3.1.1. Overview 3.3.1.2. Financial Analysis 3.3.1.3. SWOT Analysis 3.3.1.4. Recent Developments 3.3.2. Boston Scientific Corp. 3.3.2.1. Overview 3.3.2.2. Financial Analysis 3.3.2.3. SWOT Analysis 3.3.2.4. Recent Developments 3.3.3. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. 3.3.3.1. Overview 3.3.3.2. Financial Analysis 3.3.3.3. SWOT Analysis 3.3.3.4. Recent Developments 3.3.4. Medtronic PLC 3.3.4.1. Overview 3.3.4.2. Financial Analysis 3.3.4.3. SWOT Analysis 3.3.4.4. Recent Developments 3.3.5. Stryker Corp. 3.3.5.1. Overview 3.3.5.2. Financial Analysis 3.3.5.3. SWOT Analysis 3.3.5.4. Recent Developments 4. Market Determinants 4.1. Motivators 4.2. Restraints 4.3. Opportunities 5. Market Segmentation 5.1. Global Electrophysiology Catheters Market by Product Type 5.1.1. Diagnostic Catheters 5.1.2. Ablation Catheters 5.1.3. Smart home display 5.2. Global Electrophysiology Catheters Market by End-User 5.2.1. Hospitals & Clinics 5.2.2. Ambulatory Surgical Centers 6. Regional Analysis 6.1. North America 6.1.1. United States 6.1.2. Canada 6.2. Europe 6.2.1. UK 6.2.2. Germany 6.2.3. Italy 6.2.4. Spain 6.2.5. France 6.2.6. Rest of Europe 6.3. Asia-Pacific 6.3.1. China 6.3.2. India 6.3.3. Japan 6.3.4. Rest of Asia-Pacific 6.4. Rest of the World 7. Company Profiles 7.1. Abbott Laboratories 7.2. ADInstruments Pty Ltd. 7.3. Biomerics, LLC 7.4. Biotronik, Inc. 7.5. Boston Scientific Corp. 7.6. CathRx Ltd. 7.7. EPIMED International, Inc. 7.8. Integer holdings corp. 7.9. Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. 7.10. Japan Lifeline Co., Ltd. 7.11. Medtronic plc 7.12. MicroPort Scientific Corp. 7.13. Millar, Inc. 7.14. Nihon Kohden Corp. 7.15. Stryker Corp. 7.16. Smiths Interconnect Group Ltd. 7.17. Transonic Systems, Inc. 7.18. TZ Medical Inc. 7.19. The Standard 7.20. Teleflex Inc. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gyknsw Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Commuters were warned to expect "major disruption" to peak-hour traffic in Brisbane's CBD on Tuesday morning as protesters gathered against the federal government's planned reopening of its Christmas Island detention centre. The march started outside Queensland Parliament at 7.45am and moved down George Street to the Home Affairs Department office on Adelaide Street, with up to 100 protesters chanting "no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here". Protesters march through the Brisbane inner city towards the Home Affairs office, with chants of no hate, no fear, refugees are welcome here. Credit:Matt Dennien Greens councillor for the Gabba Jonathan Sri, who organised the event with the Refugee Action Collective Queensland, said the decision to block roads was not made lightly but was proportionate to the "harm our government is causing people in indefinite detention". People gathered with signs, chanting "freedom for refugees" between speakers outside Parliament, including Cr Sri. - Russell Ledet worked at Baton Rouge General Medical Center as a watchman for five years before returning to the same facility as a medic - He studied medicine while manning gates and guarding the facility and often followed doctors with questions - The father of two said his story inspired him to mentor young black kids with big dreams Russell Ledet, a medical student in the US, had no idea that fate would land him at the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hardworking doctor who labours night and day to save lives was once a watchman at the hospital he works in. READ ALSO: Lulu Hassan says working with husband on TV is one of the best feelings Doctor Ledet with his family. Photo: Russell Ledet Source: Instagram READ ALSO: Maria actor Luwi says he suffered depression when lover burnt his suits, accused him of cheating For five years, Russell manned the gates at Baton Rouge General Medical Center while studying medicine on the side. Often, the father of two carried around note cards and studied them while undertaking his duties and pestered resident doctors at the facility with questions. Most of the medics brushed him off numerously claiming they did not have time to tutor him but the facilitys chief surgery resident Patrick Greiffenstein believed in Russell. READ ALSO: Oldest black woman in US with 200 great grandchildren turns 116 READ ALSO: Kevin Opiyo: Ex-Mathare striker and Oliech's brother dies of cancer in Germany According to Good Morning America, Russell has a PhD in molecular oncology and served in the army for a while before embarking on his new path. This is one of those reflective points when you are trying to understand how far you have come and how far you got to go, the brainy man said. The 34-year-old who returned to Baton Rouge said he takes his time to mentor young visionaries whose dreams are as big as he did. READ ALSO: Seneta wa Bomet Christopher Langat azionja pingu za DCI In other news, Maria actor Luwi opened up on his struggle with depression for three years. The actor said he was heartbroken when his former lover threw him out of their home and burnt his expensive suits. The soap opera star added that no one ever bothered to get his side of the story and insisted he never cheated on his ex. According to him, his daughter was his saving grace and thanks to her, the thespian decided to clean his act and start afresh. 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. Kenya's county where young girls are sold to men for sex in exchange for maize and beans | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (L) and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the memorial services for former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phie (Photo: VNA) Secretary-General of the People's Action Party of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, in which he expressed his deep sympathy over the passing of the former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu. Lee Hsien Loong also spoke highly of the important role played by the former Vietnamese Party chief in promoting the Singapore-Vietnam bilateral cooperation. In a message to the Communist Party of Vietnam, Politburo member and head of the Communist Party of France Central Committees Commission for External Relations Lydia Samarbakhsh spoke of efforts and contributions made by Le Kha Phieu for Vietnams Doi Moi (Renewal) cause and peace in the world, saying that his official visit to France in 2000 opened a new page in the relations between France and Vietnam. Chairman of the Mozambique Liberation Front and President of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong. President of the Moroccan House of Representatives Habib El Malki extended his condolences to National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) Shah Alam and CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim sent condolences to the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. Movement of Popular Participation of Uruguay also sent condolences to the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. A high-ranking delegation of Cambodia led by President of the National Assembly of Cambodia Samdech Heng Samrin paid their last respect to Le Kha Phieu in Hanoi on August 15./. UPDATE (8/18): Pa. hits 125K total coronavirus cases; latest on school reopenings, fall sports Pennsylvania reported only 384 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, but the count doesnt reflect any cases in Philadelphia due to a data reporting issue. The states now recorded at least 124,844 cases of COVID-19 and 7,468 deaths, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Healths daily update. Philadelphias case counts were not included in Mondays report due to reporting delays. The state says two-day totals for the county will be included Tuesday. (Cant see the map? Click here.) This marks the second time since March the states reported no new deaths, but the overall rate of deaths has been climbing in recent weeks. About two-thirds of the states fatalities have been long-term care facility residents. The Lehigh Valley reported single-digit new cases for only the fourth time this summer. The state continues to warn about the rise of infections in young people. Most Lehigh Valley school districts reopen two weeks from today. School officials say fast testing and tracing are key for them to stay open. Theres some good news on that front. Yale Universitys SalivaDirect coronavirus test got Food and Drug Administration emergency authorization over the weekend. And Pennsylvania hopes to launch a coronavirus exposure notification app in September. Here are your coronavirus updates for Aug. 17, 2020. Coronavirus in Pa. (Cant see the chart? Click here.) The 384 new reports inch the state closer to the grim milestone of 125,000 cases since the virus was detected in Pa. in March. Mondays report is surely an undercount since the states most populous city is left out. Just on Thursday, there were 991 new cases statewide with 192 in Philly alone. Pennsylvania has not seen new case counts in the 300s since mid-June when the state began to move into the green phase. Gov. Tom Wolf has said data shows the states mitigation efforts and restrictions on bars and restaurants are working to slow the steady case climb seen for most of July. The state estimates that 79% of people have recovered from the virus. (Cant see this chart? Want to see it bigger? Click here.) The department continues to emphasize the increase in COVID-19 seen in younger age groups, especially people 19 to 24. They now account for 10% of all cases since the pandemic began, while people 25-49 represent 38% of cases. Nearly 17% of all cases in August in the northeast region of the state, which includes the Lehigh Valley, have been in people 19 to 24-years-old. It was only 6% in April The majority of the fatalities and hospitalizations have been in people 65 and older. Almost 17% of all cases have been residents of long-term care facilities. Health care workers account for almost 9,000 cases. Coronavirus in the Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley reported only eight new cases and no new deaths Monday. State data puts the region at a total of 9,086 cases with 636 deaths. (Cant see this chart? Want to see it bigger? Click here.) That breaks down to: 5,073 total cases and 341 deaths in Lehigh County , with three new cases and no deaths reported in the last day. The county averaged 14 new cases a day over the last week, down from 17 a week ago. 4,013 total cases and 295 deaths in Northampton County , with five new cases and no deaths in the last day. The county averaged 12 new cases a day over the last week, compared to 9 a week ago. Northampton County has not recorded a COVID-19 death since Aug. 10, according to Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure. He shared the news on Facebook, encouraging residents to keep wearing masks and saving lives. There are often major lags in public death reporting, but McClure gets real-time data. There hasnt been a COVID-19 death in Northampton County since August 10th. There are people alive today because you are wearing your mask ! Please keep it up ! Posted by Lamont McClure Jr on Monday, August 17, 2020 After the states early warning dashboard was updated Friday, Lehigh County had 128 confirmed cases over the last week, up from 104 the previous week. The countys positivity rate (per the states calculation) rose to 4% this week, from 3.1% a week ago. Average daily hospitalizations, as reported by the health department, were cut in half, from 41.1 last week to 19.6 this week. By the same metrics, Northampton County had 80 cases in the last week, down from 84 the previous week. The countys positivity rate dropped to 2.7% this week, down from 2.9% last week. Few residents are reportedly hospitalized in Northampton: The average daily hospitalizations dropped from 2.6 last week to 1.4 this week. Pennsylvania launching virus contact tracing app Pennsylvania plans to launch a coronavirus exposure-notification app in early September in an effort to more quickly to break chains of transmission by using the new technology to notify people who may have been exposed, officials said Monday. The state has a $1.9 million contract to deploy and maintain the app with software developer NearForm Ltd, the Ireland-based company whose app there has been downloaded by more than one-fourth of that countrys residents. The app is based on smartphone technology developed by Apple and Google, and will undergo a pilot project next week, using state government employees and public health students, staff and faculty, officials told The Associated Press in an interview. The app will be interoperable with the state of Delawares app, and it also is expected to be interoperable with those of two other states, although Pennsylvania state officials declined to name those states because they are still in discussions with the app developer. The app is about Pennsylvanians helping Pennsylvanians, its about as a community being able to let each other know and track each others exposure so we can keep each other safe, said Health Department spokesperson April Hutcheson. (Cant see this chart? Click here.) It is designed to automatically notify people if they might have been exposed to the coronavirus, and state officials say the app does not store location information, personal information or the identify of anyone who is in close enough range to possibly be exposed. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus. As a threshold, the app uses the Centers for Disease Control guideline of being within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes, said Meghna Patel, deputy secretary for health innovation at the Department of Health. The identity of app users will be protected by encryption and anonymous identifier beacons that change frequently, the companies have said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- An observational study released today revealed 100 percent agreement between a rapid antibody test administered by trained health professionals and the PCR tests widely used to determine COVID-19 infections. Doctors compared the results of PCR tests with the results from a SARS-CoV-2 rapid antibody test distributed exclusively in the United States by Proven Pharma. The study offers additional evidence that rapid screening tests to identify patients with COVID-19 antibodies who had a positive PCR test, symptomatic without a PCR test or asymptomatic can be an effective tool for healthcare professionals to determine or confirm past infections "This study further establishes the importance of rapid serological testing," said Dr. Gerald Osher, of North Shore Medical Associates who oversaw the study in North Suburban Chicago. "Serological tests are valuable tools in identifying antibodies, which in turn help assess patient immunity and establish guidelines for responsible reopening procedures." In April and May, two physician practices in north suburban Chicago conducted rapid serological tests on 114 study participants. The study found 100% positive agreement between a PCR test and the Clungene SARS-CoV-2 Virus (COVID-19) IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette. The study successfully investigated the use of a point of care antibody test in a physician's office to determine which patients have developed antibodies indicating an immune response to SARS-CoV-2. "We are pleased to see how well the product works and the value it provides to healthcare workers and patients alike and proud to be the exclusive distributor of the Clungene 15 minute rapid antibody test," said Proven CEO Scott Wise. The Clungene SARS-CoV-2 Virus (COVID-19) IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette produces rapid results in 15 minutes from venipuncture whole blood, serum or plasma. The test does not require complicated laboratory equipment, software or specialized training to process readouts. Users do not have to send samples to labs in order to obtain results. Use of this product is for in vitro diagnostic use under emergency use authorization only (Submission Number: EUA201121) and should be limited to laboratories certified under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA), 42 U.S.C. 263a, to perform high complexity tests. Results should not be used for diagnosis of acute COVID-19. Do not use this product as the sole basis to diagnose or exclude SARS-CoV-2 infection or to inform infection status of COVID-19. ABOUT PROVEN PHARMA Established in 2012, Proven Pharma is a service provider to the healthcare and life science industries. The company offers a wide range of solutions that include specialty distribution, comparator sourcing for clinical trials, dedicated inside sales teams, marketing support, digital transformation, and technology consulting. Their solutions are informed by more than two decades of extensive experience across many areas of the healthcare landscape. In an industry full of uncertainty, Proven Pharma provides confidence to its customers. The company delivers on-time, every time using recognized best practice and process to ensure safety and compliance every step of the way. Proven Pharma is dedicated to constantly improving its customers' experience so those customers can improve the lives of their patients. The company's success results from the honesty, integrity and dependability of its team. About Hangzhou Clongene Biotech Hangzhou Clongene Biotech is a high-tech, leading manufacturer of biological raw materials and in vitro diagnostic products. The company has a solid reputation for offering diversified services and superior flexibility to professional distributors and partnering affiliates in the global market. Founded in 2004, Hangzhou Clongene Biotech is equipped with state-of-the-art ISO 13485:2016 accredited China GMP compliant R&D and manufacturing facilities covering 19,000 square meters in Hangzhou, China. Their products have obtained CE certificates, FSC certificates, and US FDA 510(k) Clearances. SOURCE Proven Pharma It is a brave new world for Niagara Regional Transit with the launch of the brand new NRT OnDemand service for west Niagara. We are pretty happy with the first day, said Rob Salewytsch, the transit systems planning co-ordinator. Launching a new service can be kind of challenging at the best of times never mind in the middle of a global pandemic. Things went pretty well. We had some technical issues early on. The mayor of Grimsby had a trip that was cancelled out of the system, but they did a second run in the afternoon, and everything was fine. I took two trips myself in the morning and the afternoon. I waited for one minute and six minutes. I couldnt ask for anything better on Day 1, he said Monday. The Region has partnered with a company called Via, which bills itself as the leader in public mobility solutions. The goal of NRT OnDemand is to provide residents with an affordable, efficient and convenient public transit option in Grimsby, Lincoln, West Lincoln, Wainfleet and Pelham. The service provides connections to the transit hubs at the St. Catharines bus terminal, Welland bus terminal and Port Colborne city hall. We have been working on this for over a year, Salewytsch said. There was a lot of time for questions and to work out the details. I was a little nervous, but we are pleased with Via. They had technical staff at the ready, so if there were an issue, it would be handled quickly. I had a chance to meet some of the drivers, and they were excited. Riders in Grimsby, Lincoln and Pelham can book a shared ride for trips within their municipality and intermunicipal trips. Riders in Wainfleet and West Lincoln will be able to book a shared ride for intermunicipal trips, but not within their municipality. Salewytsch said there will be opportunities to expand the service if it proves successful. Connections to or from nearby transit hubs provide access to fixed-line transit options. NRT OnDemand represents an opportunity for technology and public transit to expand access to efficient, convenient, and affordable mobility solutions without the need for a private vehicle, Via chief executive officer and co-founder Daniel Ramot said. Ramot said the partnership demonstrates how flexible, digital solutions can create and extend public transit infrastructure to support rural communities. The service is Vias second in Canada. Via is providing on-demand service in Sault Ste. Marie. The company also has about 100 partnerships in 20 countries. There is a mobile app for NRT OnDemand. The service is also available by calling 289-302-2172 for riders without access to a smartphone. Passengers select a pickup and drop-off location within the service zone and confirm their ride. Once a ride is booked, Vias technology matches passengers headed in the same direction with 10 high-capacity vehicles. The technology directs passengers to a nearby corner, or virtual bus stop. Because of the pandemic, riders are required to wear masks, and a partition separates them from the drivers. Niagara Region Chairman Jim Bradley said the on-demand service is an excellent example of what happens when Niagara works together. With the launch of NRT OnDemand, all Niagaras municipalities will now be connected through public transit, he said. This dynamic, new service will allow all residents of west Niagara to have the freedom to go where they want when they want using transit. Pelham Mayor Marv Junkin lauded the partnership. Connecting Pelham residents to other municipalities in west Niagara and throughout the region in a timely and efficient manner allows for greater access to places of employment, shopping or the pharmacy, Junkin said. The service is available Monday to Saturday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. The fare for intermunicipal trips including connections to St. Catharines, Welland and Port Colborne is $6. The intramunicipal fares for riders in Grimsby, Lincoln and Pelham is $3. Kim Kardashian has become the most recognizable name in the world, sharing her very curated life with the world. But the TV personality has an almost equally famous family to keep her humble, even if it means a little public embarrassment. She was recently called out on Instagram by little brother Rob Kardashian over a pop culture reference in one of her recent posts. Sibling rivalry: Kim Kardashian was recently called out on Instagram by little brother Rob Kardashian over a pop culture reference in one of her recent posts The 39-year-old posted a photo Thursday of herself in some sexy grey SKIMS, holding her Pomeranian Sushi. She referenced the 1983 Al Pacino classic Scarface in the caption, writing: 'Say hello to my little friend.' Rob, 33, poked fun at his big sister in the comments, writing: 'You never even seen Scarface stop playing.' He resurfaced on Instagram back in June, and he recently shared some snaps from little sister Kylie Jenner's 23rd birthday celebration in Turks and Caicos. Pop culture refence: He poked fun at her after she referenced the 1983 Al Pacino classic Scarface in a caption, writing: 'Say hello to my little friend' Called out: Rob, 33, wrote to his big sister in the comments, writing: 'You never even seen Scarface stop playing' He's baaack: He resurfaced on Instagram back in June, and he recently shared some snaps from little sister Kylie Jenner's 23rd birthday celebration in Turks and Caicos Family business: Sister Khloe Kardashian, 36, recently told SiriusXM: 'My brothers coming back around. Like, hes feeling more confident [and] comfortable. So I think he just started a whole new season' (pictured in October, 2007) A source told E! News: 'Rob is doing so much better and is a lot happier in general. He is feeling better both physically and mentally. Everyone is thrilled to see how well he is doing. 'They love having him around more and were excited that he joined Kylie's birthday trip. He has been open to joining in more and wanting to be a part of things.' He also might be poised for a return to his family's star-making reality series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Sister Khloe Kardashian, 36, recently told SiriusXM: 'My brothers coming back around. Like, hes feeling more confident [and] comfortable. So I think he just started a whole new season.' Rob's social media accounts have mostly been run by momager Kris Jenner, 64, since he was banned from using them after sharing revenge porn of ex Blac Chyna, 32, in July of 2017. The Democratic Party National Convention is beginning today, a four-day affair that will conclude with the official nomination Thursday of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the Democrats candidates for president and vice president. The following week, the Republican National Convention will be convened to officially renominate Trump, setting the stage for the final two months of the US elections. The 2020 elections are being held under extraordinary conditions. The coronavirus pandemic has spiraled out of control. More than 170,000 people have already died in the US, and by the time of the election this figure will be close to or above a quarter of a million. More than 30 million people are unemployed amidst the greatest social crisis since the Great Depression. Millions face poverty and eviction from their homes following the cutoff of federal unemployment benefits three weeks ago. There is enormous popular hostility to the Trump administration, which is directly responsible for this catastrophe. The policies that it has spearheadedincluding the back-to-work campaign initiated in May and the ongoing efforts to reopen the schoolshave led to the deaths of tens of thousands of people. Well aware of growing opposition, the administration is working to sabotage mail-in voting to deny substantial portions of the population the right to vote. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., arrive to speak at a news conference at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del., Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) Under these conditions, enormous pressure is being brought to bear to convince workers and young people to support the campaign of Biden and Harris. Whatever reservations they may have over the right-wing character of the Democratic Party and its candidates, the argument goes, this is the only way to get rid of Trump. Everything else must be subordinated to this electoral outcome. This is hardly the first election in which such lesser evil arguments were advanced. In 1988, it was a matter of voting for Dukakis, the right-wing governor from Massachusetts, to finally put an end to the Reagan years. After Dukakis lost to George H.W. Bush, the following election in 1992 became a matter of putting an end to the Bush years by electing Bill Clinton, whose right-wing policies cleared the path for Bush II in 2000. In 2008, the argument became the need to elect Obama, the candidate of hope and change, in order to end the disaster produced by Bush II, above all, the war in Iraq. Obama continued the most right-wing policies of George W. Bush (with whom, by the way, he has established a close personal friendship), including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the overseeing of the Wall Street bailout following the 2008 financial collapse. It was the right-wing policies of Obama and the nomination of Hillary Clinton on the basis of a prowar program, glossed over with identity politics, that created the conditions for the election of Trump in 2016. This act, in other words, has been played out before, and each time the result is a further shift to the right of the entire political establishment. In this case, amidst all the hoopla over the historic character of the Biden-Harris ticket, attributed entirely to the race and gender of Harris, the nominees have been selected through the machinations of the Democratic Party against the candidacy of Bernie Sanders and even Elizabeth Warren. That is, the Democratic Partys campaign is founded on a repudiation of any suggestion that it will carry out a policy of social reform. The Democrats are not even making the pretense of providing a program to address the catastrophe unfolding in the United States. Sanders himself is now playing the central role in convincing his previous supporters that, despite everything, Bidens election must be the overriding aim. This was his basic theme in speaking on several of the morning talk shows yesterday. A particularly revealing exchange came on CNN, when moderator Jake Tapper cited a comment in the Wall Street Journal stating that Wall Street breathed a sigh of relief at the nomination of the right-wing ex-prosecutor Harris as vice president. He then asked, If Wall Street breathes a sigh of relief with Kamala Harris being named to the ticket, what does Bernie Sanders do? To this, Sanders replied, Well, Bernie Sanders does everything that he can to defeat Donald Trump... Donald Trump must be defeated. Biden must be elected. Sanders continued, And after the Democrats have control of the Senate and the House, and Joe is the president, were going to do all that we can to mobilize people for a progressive agenda. In fact, the same arguments used to insist that everything must be subordinated to Biden will be re-employed to argue that nothing can be done to destabilize a future Biden administration, because that will only strengthen the right. As always, it is an argument against any mobilization of the working class against the entire policy of the ruling elites, represented by both the Democrats and Republicans. Absent in all of this is any serious examination of what produced Trump. He is not, after all, some ogre that has emerged from the depths of hell. Trump is himself a product of the capitalist system. He is a representative of the financial oligarchy. There are differences between the Democrats and Republicans. However, the conflict within the state is between two factions of the ruling class. Sections of big business and the military-intelligence agencies are opposed to Trump primarily over issues of foreign policy, particularly in relation to Russia. Summing up the concerns of the ruling class, a comment in the Washington Post by Josh Rogin praised the selection of Harris as vice president because those close to Harris describe her as a Truman Democrat, a nod to her willingness to use American power to promote American values and interests. That is, Harris, if she were to become president, would be willing to wage war to advance the interests of the American ruling class. More evidence of corporate Americas tilt towards the Democrats comes from reports that the lions share of financial support from the stock market and the major banks is going to Biden and not Trump, as well as the huge surge in big money donations that followed the selection of Harris. As for the policy of the ruling class in relation to the pandemic, both parties have united in using the pandemic to transfer trillions of dollars to Wall Streetsanctioned by the CARES Act passed in late Marchand enforce the back-to-work campaign in states throughout the country, whether led by Democrats or Republicans. The basic aim of the Democratic Party is to strangle and suppress the growing opposition of the working class. The policies of the ruling elite are producing a social explosion. Teachers and students are mobilizing against the effort to reopen the schools. Workers have begun forming rank-and-file committees to oppose the homicidal back-to-work campaign and the unsafe conditions in factories and workplaces. The Socialist Equality Party and our election campaign reject all efforts to subordinate the working class to the electoral considerations of the Democratic Party. We insist that the fight against the pandemic is a fight against the capitalist system. The methods that must be employed are the methods of class struggle. 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. We urge workers and young people who agree with this program to support the SEP election campaign and join and build our party. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delayed the general election by four weeks until October 17. Her announcement came as the community outbreak of COVID-19 in Auckland grew by another nine cases on Monday. Ardern said the decision to postpone the September 19 ballot was made after consultation with other political parties and to provide certainty to voters. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces the election's new date as October 17, on Monday. Credit:Getty Images The decision comes after a 102-day run of no community transmission of the coronavirus ended dramatically last week. Since the first new cases were detected on Tuesday, the Auckland cluster has grown to 58 cases. Of the nine new cases, seven are confirmed to be linked to the cluster. The total number of active cases in the country is 78, with five people now in hospital. There have now been a total of 1280 cases and 22 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Flight attendants have always had unique occupational hazards, from managing bad behavior onboard to balancing perpetual jet lag. But the pandemic has brought even more (and tougher) challenges for the essential workers. They've faced backlash as the enforcers of airlines' tightening mask policies. They've worried for the health and safety of their family members, colleagues and themselves. And like many during this global health and economic crisis, their jobs are more at risk than ever. We spoke with four flight attendants about their experiences working during the pandemic. - Customer service has changed drastically. Eliminating standard food and drink services stripped flight attendants of most in-flight social interactions, which was a source of joy for many airline employees. Paul Bowles, a Delta flight attendant who lives in Salt Lake City, says that before the pandemic, his favorite part of a shift was "being on the cart" talking to passengers. Now, a human connection at a masked distance is difficult. "With the mask on, you have to smile with your eyes which I think can be a lot harder especially because I wear glasses," says Bowles. "I find myself almost squinting a little bit harder than I normally do so people can feel those good vibes coming from me." Jamie Gibson, an Annapolis, Md.-based flight attendant for private jet companies, has felt the same strain. "So much of hospitality and service is body language," she said. "It's been interesting to try to navigate half of your face not showing while still trying to show a sense of warmth." - Some of the biggest health concerns aren't onboard. Raven Johnson, who has been a flight attendant for four years, has gone from flying about 100 hours with regional carrier Mesa Airlines to about 30 to minimize her risk of getting covid-19. But she still worries about her choice to continue working during the pandemic. "Am I getting this virus? Am I going to bring this home to my family?" the Houston-based flight attendant says. At the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, Johnson says she wasn't allowed to wear a mask or gloves in-flight. She said the flight attendants were told covid-19 wasn't a big deal, that it was like the flu. That's since changed. "People at my job were getting the virus because they weren't wearing a mask at first because no one knew what this was," Johnson says. Gibson, who's been a flight attendant for seven years, has been more concerned about her health at hotels than on flights. "We are bringing packs of Lysol wipes to our hotel room, wiping off light switches, doorknobs," she says. "It's just a whole new semblance of vigilance when it comes to the hidden surfaces that we touch." Some flight attendants have felt comforted by airline sanitation efforts. Angel Figueroa, a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines who lives in Ontario, Calif., hasn't been concerned about catching the coronavirus at work. "Between every flight, they're coming on and wiping everything down," says Figueroa, who's flown with Southwest for 15 years. "Everyone from a flight attendant standpoint is really good about washing your hands, using hand sanitizer, wearing gloves, wearing a mask." - Many of the perks of the job are gone Johnson loved spending time with new colleagues exploring new places until the next flight. Now she says crews don't hang out anymore, both for social distancing reasons and because there isn't anywhere to go. "I'm on an overnight now and I haven't done anything all day but stay in bed and watch TV. I brought my own food, so I haven't even needed to leave the room at all. It's nerve-racking." Johnson's free time once spent seeing cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada is now passed sitting in a hotel room. "I just go to work, stay home, and I'm just hoping that this all blows over because I mainly got this job to travel," Johnson says. "I miss how things were before." - Only a few passengers are causing mask confrontations While clashes over mask policies do occur, flight attendants say most passengers comply. "I've only run into to a few people that were kind of headstrong about it, but everyone complies," says Bowles. If a passenger fails to comply with Delta's mask policy after verbal warnings, they can be given a "notice of violation" card banning them from flying Delta until the mask policy is lifted. "At the end of the day, they're going to [wear a mask] because they want to get from Point A to Point B." Delta says they've banned about 130 people from flying on the airline as a result of refusing to wear masks onboard, including a customer who'd flown 2 million miles with the airline. Southwest Airlines has made headlines for implementing the strictest mask policy of domestic airlines. Still, Figueroa has only had a few people express their disapproval. "At the end of the day, they're going to [wear a mask] because they want to get from Point A to Point B," says Figueroa. - The future of the job is uncertain With the end of the Cares Act approaching, which required airlines to keep front line employees working through Sept. 30, carriers like American Airlines and United say they may furlough tens of thousands of employees. "From a job security standpoint, I need people to be flying in order to have a job," Figueroa says. Bowles became a flight attendant because it promised flexible hours, fulfilling work and travel. Two years into the job, he's at risk of losing it. "I know Delta hasn't announced if they're going to furlough or not, but they've announced that they are overstaffed," he says. "If something doesn't change by October, I'll lose my job." Gibson thinks this crisis will leave a lasting change in public opinion of flight attendants. "It's actually been very eye-opening, I think, for a lot of people that we're not just flight attendants, we are a necessary member of the flight operations," Gibson says. "It's just made me that much more proud to be a flight attendant helping people, especially at a time of need." A man who was stuck in the heavy flow of the Khutaghat Dam near Ratanpur area of Bilaspur was rescued by the Indian Air Force in a Mil Mi-17 helicopter. He had jumped in the wastewater weir on the evening of August 16 but was unable to get out due to the heavy flow. He sat on a stone, holding onto a tree to save himself. After an arduous night, the IAF airlifted the man. Incredible rescue operation by Indian Airforce at Khutaghat dam, Bilaspur.Probably first such rescue ops by IAF in non-naxal area in Chhattisgarh.@IAF_MCC@CG_Police@ipskabra pic.twitter.com/cpthhKwWFN BilaspurPolice (@PoliceBilaspur) August 17, 2020 In a similar operation that happened around the same time last year, the IAF rescued nearly 125 people stranded on a road washed away by floods due to heavy rainfall in Kutch district of Gujarat. Several parts of Gujarat, including Saurashtra and Kutch regions, had received heavy rainfall in the previous few days. After the heavy downpour, a large number of people were stuck on a road washed away by floodwaters at Bhuj in Kutch district. "The South Western Air Command (SWAC) responded swiftly and sent a Mi17 helicopter from Jamnagar. The helicopter took three shuttles and rescued 125 people. They were shifted to a safer location, he said. The area is located near the India-Pakistan border. The region was flooded due to heavy rains following which around 300 people, mostly workers of a factory and their family members, were stranded. Initially, teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local police rescued around 175 people, a district administration official had said. Also Watch: The IAF helicopters were also used to rescue flood-affected people from Navsari in south Gujarat and Jamnagar. "The operation began on August 4 when two helicopters were deployed to rescue 45 people, including women and children, from some flooded areas of Navsari," it said. Rescue missions were also undertaken in Jodia and Pittar areas near Jamnagar where two Mi17 helicopters were pressed into action to rescue 29 stranded people, it said. Woolly flying squirrel, that was thought to be extinct some seventy years back, was spotted at Gangotri National Park in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi, informed Forest Research Institute, on Monday. The Woolly flying squirrel was considered extinct 70 years ago in the IUCN Red List. We spotted this squirrel in 13 of the 18 forest divisions of the state during a survey, said the institute. However, the scientists of Wildlife Institute of India situated in Dehradun have spoken of the presence this squirrel in the Bhagirath valley, and rare photographs of the have also been found. Woolly flying squirrel uses its furry claws as a parachute to fly, Forest Research Institute told media. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Smart Inhalers Market Size, Growth and Trends Analysis By Type (Dry Powder Inhaler and Metered Dose Inhaler), Application (Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and others), Key Players and Region (Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa), Forecast to 2025 Smart Inhalers Market size and share is anticipated to reach USD 4.72 billion at a CAGR of 45% throughout the forecast period (2019-2025). Smart Inhalers are respiratory inhalers equipped with a digital sensor that tracks the data, such as the dosage timing, and monitors the use of the inhaler while scheduling the next dosage as well. Smart Inhalers Market is expected to witness significant growth due to rising prevalence of asthma & COPD worldwide. Increasing population becoming susceptible to indoor air pollutants worldwide and Moreover, improved adherence rate driven by increasing patients preference to use digitalized medical devices for monitoring daily medication doses fosters the growth of the Smart Inhalers Market share Also, increased collaboration deeds between pharmaceutical companies and smart inhaler manufacturers to promote technological advancements are contributing to market growth. Increased focus on advancement in treatment methods, R&D programs, online marketing strategies incorporated by key players in pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries are some of the major trends observed in the market. It is a new-age digital technology designed to empower patients, care contributors, researchers, and physicians related to respiratory diseases through objective and accurate medication monitoring and reminders. Alerts for the daily dosage are generated via Bluetooth. Smart inhalers have been successfully improving patient outcomes while reducing the significant financial costs associated with suboptimal medication adherence. This makes smart inhalers the next big thing in the respiratory care segment. On the other hand, high costs associated with the smart inhalers and COPD & asthma treatments, limited availability of smart inhalers, and misinterpretation of information are some of the major factors obstructing the growth of the market. Key pharmaceutical companies are adopting digital technology for improved disease management for asthma and COPD and for improved effectivity of medicines. Wide range of benefits, including reducing financial costs associated with suboptimal medication adherence to enhanced efficacy of medicines, makes smart inhalers most preferred and popular in the respiratory care segment. leading players include AstraZeneca (UK), Adherium (New Zealand), Cohero Health (US), Gecko Health Innovations, Inc (US), GlaxoSmithKline (UK), Propeller Health (US), and Inspiro Medical (Israel), among others. Highly competitive by nature, the smart inhalers market appears to be fragmented due to the presence of market titans in the market. To maintain their market positions. Key companies are venturing into new regions and countries with rapid expansion plans. Top players are substantially investing in R&D and clinical trials to accelerate product development and innovations and to cut down production costs. North America leads the global smart inhalers market, accounting for the largest market share. Increased awareness about asthma and COPD treatment and the increased adoption of smart inhalers help the region to cut the largest revenue share, globally. Moreover, large asthma and COPD patient population in the region foster the regional market growth. The smart inhalers market in the European region took the second-largest position holding 31.89% market share, in 2018. The presence of a number of noteworthy players such as Novartis, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim drive the regional market growth. Moreover, the high adoption of smart inhalers in hospitals and patients in European countries is expected to boost the growth in the regional market throughout the assessment period. The Asia pacific smart inhalers market is emerging as a promising market, globally. Factors, such as the spreading awareness about the benefits that smart inhalers can provide in managing asthma and COPD, influence the market growth in the region. Besides, improvement in healthcare infrastructure with an increased budget for healthcare expenses would fuel the APAC smart inhalers market. The region is expected to grow rapidly throughout the forecast duration, with China being the major revenue contributor. Browse Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/smart-inhalers-market-2117 Browse other healthcare-related report Biosensor Market Research Report - Global Forecast till 2025 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/biosensor-market-1228 Radiopharmaceutical Market Research Report - Global Forecast till 2023 https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/radio-pharmaceutical-market-1650 About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), & Consulting Services. According to an investigative report in The Wall Street Journal, Facebook in India has been complicit in enabling hate speech. Despite employees of the company repeatedly flagging posts by a set of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and activists, which would fall within the social media publishers own definition of speech inciting violence and promoting enmity between communities, Facebook took no action. This was, according to the same news report, largely because the public policy head of the company argued that taking action would antagonise the government and the ruling party. By encouraging polarising and violent content, in an already fragile social context, Facebook choose political expediency and commercial gains at the cost of law and ethics. This newspaper has consistently argued that large digital media companies particularly Facebook and WhatsApp (which is owned by Facebook) not only threaten the current media ecosystem in India, but also pose a serious danger to Indian democracy. They provide a platform for fake news that has misled citizens and created information asymmetry; they turn a blind eye to hateful content, which has translated into violence, lynching and vigilantism; they create an uneven playing field which can affect democratic choices; they take money and promote targeted content which can skew voting behaviour and elections; and with their predatory commercial practices, they threaten other sources of genuine news and information. While some argue that these companies have deepened democracy and enabled more citizens to participate in everyday discourse, this does not hold true anymore, for Facebooks practices have eroded the quality of democracy, not just in India, but elsewhere in the world too. And that is why the parliamentary standing committee on information technology, led by Shashi Tharoor, is right in taking up the issue and calling Facebook for an explanation. What is now needed is a clear regulatory and policy approach which treats Facebook as a media company. The current instance shows that it is not a neutral platform, as apologists claim, but a social media publisher which exercises editorial choices on content. And as a media company, Facebook must fulfill all the legal, regulatory, commercial, and ethical obligations that come with being a publisher. India has been increasingly alert to the dangers of Chinese technological companies for its national security. It is time to be alert to global digital behemoths which pose an equal danger to democracy, freedom and social peace all under the guise of just being a platform. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON NCC expands Pugwash Estuary Nature Reserve Pugwash, NS Additional 65 hectares conserved for shorebirds and species at risk There is good news for migratory birds visiting the Maritimes. One of their key stopover sites along the Northumberland Strait is growing. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has purchased 65 hectares (162 acres) on the southeastern shore of the Pugwash Estuary, expanding NCCs nature reserve here to 570 hectares (1,408 acres). The new addition is mainly forested and creates a continuous corridor of protected coastline. The location is along one of North Americas major migration routes for birds. More than two dozen species of shorebird, such as greater yellowlegs, spotted sandpiper and willet, rely on the Pugwash Estuary during their fall migration. The estuarys extensive salt marshes, beaches, eel grass beds and mudflats provide habitat for American black duck, Canada goose, common goldeneye and great blue heron. Forest dwellers such as eastern wood-pewee and rusty blackbird, two species listed as special concern under Canadas Species at Risk Act, are also found in the area. Conserving the forest around the estuary protects the overall health of it while also conserving key habitat for migratory birds, many of which are facing serious population declines. This land conservation project was made possible by the generosity of private donors and funding from the Government of Canadas Natural Heritage Conservation Program, part of Canadas Nature Fund. It was also supported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act, and the Nova Scotia Crown Share Land Legacy Trust, American Friends of Canadian Nature Inc., the Estate of William Roff, John Caraberis and Bonnie Bond, and Basic Spirit. Quotes NCC is working to conserve intact forest around the Pugwash Estuary both for wildlife habitat and to help keep clean the water that flows into it. The Maritimes Acadian forest is one of the most diverse forests in Canada, with more than 40 species of trees and thousands of plants. We want to thank our project partners for helping us contribute to the health and diversity of this marine environment, which is critical for so many species and vital to coastal communities. Doug van Hemessen, Nova Scotia Stewardship Coordinator, Nature Conservancy of Canada The expansion of the Pugwash Estuary Nature Reserve will preserve important habitat for migratory birds, including species at risk. Canada is proud to support the Nature Conservancy of Canada through the Canada Nature Funds Natural Heritage Conservation Program. Together, we are protecting nature for generations to come and making progress toward conserving a quarter of Canadas land by 2025. The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change We are incredibly lucky to be surrounded by stunning views of nature all across Nova Scotia - and the Pugwash Estuary Nature Reserve is a gem right in the heart of Cumberland-Colchester. This coastal ecosystem helps to protect all living things in our natural environment - in our oceans, sky, and on land. This is also a local solution to safeguarding against climate change. I am proud that Environment and Climate Change Canada is working with the Nature Conservancy to conserve this important habitat for generations to come. Lenore Zann, Member of Parliament for Cumberland-Colchester Facts The Nature Conservancy of Canada has been working in the Pugwash Estuary since 1993 and has completed 15 conservation projects in the community. It is a popular site for birding and outdoor enthusiasts and is one of NCCs Nature Destinations. NCC maintains a 3.5-kilometre trail here in cooperation with Friends of the Pugwash Estuary. More information can be found at http://naturedestinations.ca/destinations/pugwash-estuary. More than 150 species of birds have been identified at the Pugwash Estuary, including significant populations of shorebirds. It is home to many breeding songbirds, such as rusty blackbird, common yellowthroat, chestnut-sided warbler, American redstart, rose-breasted grosbeak, ruffed grouse, yellow-rumped warbler, black and white warbler, oven bird, red-breasted nuthatch, ruby-crowned kinglet, pileated woodpecker and waterfowl. About The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is the nation's 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, including more than 31,500 hectares (78,000 acres) of ecologically significant land in Atlantic Canada. To learn more, visit natureconservancy.ca. The Government of Canadas Natural Heritage Conservation Program (NHCP) is a unique public-private partnership to support new protected and conserved areas by securing private lands and private interests in lands. The program is managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). Federal funds invested in the program are matched with contributions raised by NCC and its partners, Ducks Unlimited Canada and the countrys land trust community. Video and images B-roll and images can be accessed by clicking here. Learn More Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/NCC_CNC | twitter.com/NCC_CNCMedia Find us on Facebook - 30 - Ian Gibb Communications Assistant (877) 231-3552 ext. 2214 ian.gibb@natureconservancy.ca Andrew Holland A group of women have been dubbed 'a wild pack of Karens' after they staged an anti-mask rally outside a California supermarket. Video shared to social media on Saturday shows the small group of activists outside Mother's Market & Kitchen in Costa Mesa, California after managers locked the doors to the store in order to keep them out. The women became enraged by the fact that they were unable to shop without wearing face masks, with one even accusing Mother's Market of committing 'war crimes'. The video begins with one woman standing at the closed doors of the store as she complains: 'I don't know what country I'm in. I thought I was in the United States!' Another woman says the incident is 'worse than communism'. Several other anti-mask demonstrators can be seen in the background waving American flags, while one woman brandishes a sign that says mask-wearing is 'child abuse'. A group of women have been dubbed 'a wild pack of Karens' after they staged an anti-mask rally outside a supermarket in Costa Mesa, California on Saturday An anti-masker narrating the video states: 'They [managers] have locked their doors. They are keeping customers hostage inside their store.' 'People are being denied access to food!' she then declares. 'And water!' another demonstrator can be heard chiming in. 'The citizens of United States are being denied access to food. This is a war crime! This is crimes against humanity happening right now at Mother's Market & Kitchen in Costa Mesa!' the narrator continues. The video ends with police arriving on the scene. The cops were presumably called by the store managers after the group refused to leave the outside of the supermarket. The Orange County Register reports that two women were subsequently arrested on suspicion of trespassing. Several demonstrators brandished signs outside of the store Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many stores have mandated that customers don a mask prior to entry. Experts say face coverings can significantly reduce the spread of the contagious virus, particularly in areas where people are unable to remain six feet apart. The anti-mask demonstration outside the Mother's Market & Kitchen came a day after California surpassed a staggering 600,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19. On Twitter, the clip of the demonstration garnered thousands of views. Many were left baffled by the fact the women were unwilling to wear masks inside stores, particularly as their state struggles to stem the spread of the coronavirus. One user stated: 'How do people like that think that their rights override the store's rights? The store have the right to set their own rules.' Another called the group a 'pack of wild Karens'. 'Karen' has recently become used as a slang term for a white woman who is perceived to be entitled, demanding or racist. It's the latest in a series of videos showing citizens becoming irate inside grocery stores when asked by staffers to wear masks. Managers have been physically and verbally abused, while some shoppers have thrown products off the shelves in fits of rage. By Trend Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation and its in regional security and development are among the topics actively discussed today. Multifaceted relations and partnership between the two brotherly countries were discussed during Hadaf broadcast am of Azerbaijan Television (AzTV) channel, Trend reports. Spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ibrahim Kalin, who participated in the Hadaf broadcast via video link, gave detailed answers to the questions of the programs host Elnar Mammadli and the guests that included Head of the Yeni Musavat Media Group Rauf Arifoglu and Head of the Telegraf Media Group Aynur Jamal. Speaking about the development of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, Kalin said that the friendly and fraternal relations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev contribute to their development. He noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan have always been and will be next to each other. The spokesman of the Turkish President stressed that Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan at all levels and added that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Kalin also noted the important role played by the Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation in ensuring regional security. Touching upon the large-scale joint tactical exercises of the armed forces of the two countries, he pointed out that the exercises once again demonstrated the strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The full Hadaf program can be viewed on the YouTube channel by following the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1yy_SK8N80. https://www.instagram.com/aztvresmi/?hl=ru http://www.aztv.az/az/ https://www.facebook.com/aztvresmi https://twitter.com/aztvresmi https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVf7OL0jKiO1OMHN_qaNf0w The Belarusian administration demonstrated neglect of the principle of mutual assistance and historical closeness of the people of Ukraine and Belarus by releasing the fighters of the Russian private military company Wagner detained near Minsk, the Office of the President of Ukraine said. "Official Minsk, unfortunately, has demonstrated by irresponsibility releasing the Wagner people that historical closeness between our two peoples and the principles of mutual assistance to neighbors mean nothing to it personally. By the way, it is a state choice that absolutely shows his internal values. Let's leave this question rhetorical," according to a statement released on Sunday. According to earlier reports, 33 Russian citizens whom the Belarusian authorities identified as members of the private military company Wagner and who were suspected of intending to organize riots during the presidential election were detained near Minsk on July 29. Ukraine said the detainees had fought in eastern Ukraine against the government forces and nine of them were citizens of Ukraine. The Office of the President of Ukraine said 28 people, of which nine were citizens of Ukraine, had been named suspects in a case involving participation in a terrorist organization (Article 258-3 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code). On August 12, the Office of the Prosecutor General asked the Belarusian Prosecutor General's Office for the extradition of 28 members of the private military company Wagner. Before that, on August 5, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had a detailed discussion on issues relating to the detention of fighters from a private military company. On August 6, Lukashenko invited the prosecutors general of Russia and Ukraine to the country for an investigation into the situation with the detainees. On August 9, he said the prosecutors general of Ukraine and Russia had not come to Minsk. The Russian Prosecutor General's Office said on August 14 the Russian citizens detained in Belarus had repatriated. Thirty-two of the 33 people returned. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 17 By Elnur Baghishov Trend: Iran welcomes investors and foreign companies from other countries that want to cooperate with Iran on the development of the oil sector, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said, Trend reports citing IRINN. He made the remark at an event dedicated to signing of 13 contracts on the maintenance and increase of oil production in Iran. The minister noted that if foreign companies come to Iran, it will help to accelerate Iran's technological development will accelerate. Zanganeh added that however, if these companies do not come to Iran, the work on Iran's oil sector development will not stop. On August 17, 13 contracts were signed between the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC), Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) and 14 Iranian contractor companies to maintain and increase oil production. As expected, Iran's oil production will increase by 185,000 barrels per day with the implementation of these contracts worth 1.5 billion euros. As a result of new US sanctions against Iran imposed in November 2018, foreign companies operating in the oil sector left Iran. In meet with PM Modi, Kamala Harris refers to Pak terror role, agrees on need to monitor US VP Kamala Harris' poster put up in Tamil Nadu India oi-Briti Roy Barman Chennai, Aug 17: US Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris' poster has been put up in Tamil Nadu calling her "victorious". Taking to Twitter, Harris' niece Meena, a 35-year-old lawyer based in California, Meena Harris, shared a picture on Twitter and wrote, "I was sent this from Tamil Nadu where our Indian family is from. It says PV Gopalan's granddaughter is victorious." When Kamala Harris asked aunt in India to break coconuts for her good luck at Hindu temple "I knew my great grandfather from our family trips to Chennai when I was young-he was a big figure for my grandma and I know they're together somewhere smiling now," Meena added. I was sent this from Tamil Nadu where our Indian family is from. It says PV Gopalans granddaughter is victorious. I knew my great grandfather from our family trips to Chennai when I was younghe was a big figure for my grandma and I know theyre together somewhere smiling now. pic.twitter.com/WuZiKimmqj Meena Harris (@meenaharris) August 16, 2020 The poster cropped up days after Kamala was picked by Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee. I was sent this from Tamil Nadu where our Indian family is from. It says "PV Gopalan's granddaughter is victorious." I knew my great grandfather from our family trips to Chennai when I was young-he was a big figure for my grandma and I know they're together somewhere smiling now. Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, Harris, if elected, would be the first woman vice president ever for US. Kamala's mother, Shyamala Gopalan, daughter of PV Gopalan, a high-ranking civil servant, was born in Chennai before she moved to the US for further study. Shyamala became a leading cancer researcher and activist in the US. Speaking during an event on Saturday, Harris recalled how she and her grandfather would go on long walks in what was then called Madaras where the latter would tell Harris about the freedom fighters of India. Harris said that the lessons from her grandfather P V Gopalan, are the inspiration of her today. "In Madras, I would go on long walks with my grandfather, who at that point was retired, and we take morning walks where I pulled his hand and he would tell me about the heroes who are responsible for the birth of the world's biggest democracy, and he would explain that 'tt's on us to pick up where they left off'. Those lessons are a big reason why I am where I am today," she added. Sweeping to the lead from post 9, P L Jill posted fast fractions and persisted to the finish in the $75,000 Earl Rowe Invitational Trot at Georgian Downs on a night also featuring six divisions of Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) Grassroots Sunday (Aug. 16). Driver Mike Saftic pushed P L Jill to the top from the far outside as 77-1 shot Perfetto blasted to her inside and landed in the pocket past a :27 first quarter. P L Jill continued to lead the field by the half in :54.4 and faced no pressure up the backside, marching to three-quarters in 1:23.4. Rounding the final turn, Perfetto started to edge off the pylons but lost ground into the stretch. Free Willy Hanoversitting third throughoutfound room to wedge through horses and lunge after P L Jill in the final sixteenth, but hit the finish a head short of victory in a 1:53.2. Perfetto held onto third. A seven-year-old mare by Kadabra, P L Jill collected her seventh win from 15 starts this season and his 31st from 108 overall, earning $614,193. Ben Baillargeon trains the $8.00 winner for owners Prince Lee Acres, Jill Coleman and Alan Christensen. Profound Paragon delivered the quickest mile of the Grassroots divisions, powering around the Georgian Downs oval to a four-and-three-quarter length in a personal-best 1:56. Favourite Moana finished second and early pacesetter Eternal Jewel finished third. With Moana in there we were definitely concerned with the seven-hole, said trainer Julie Walker of the fillys post 7 starting position. Theres always good horses, so you kind of always have to just hope you dont get any road trouble and it works out, so it did, it worked out. The win was the third in Grassroots action and the sixth straight for Profound Paragon, who sits atop the division standings with a perfect 150 points. Jean Bernard Renaud drives the daughter of Muscle Mass for Carlisle, ON resident Walker and her co-owner Steven Titus of Manalapan, NJ. Off Sundays impressive performance, Profound Paragon may have earned a promotion to the Gold Series for the September event. The next Gold is on a half. The Gold is tough competition, everyone knows that, but maybe being on a half we might give it a shot. Well have to discuss, said Walker with a laugh. Weve kind of stayed away from Mohawk, because weve stayed away from the speed train to let her learn speed on her own and not push her. I think tonight was the first night that, you know, the speed keeps coming. Trainer Susie Kerwood captured two $23,150 Grassroots divisions with favourites Brinys A Flight and Susies Lady. In the fourth division, Brinys A Flirt and driver Robert Shepherd took command before the half and made it look easy from there, cruising along to a one-and-one-quarter length win in 1:58.3. Oh Lina finished second and Golden Gavel was third. The win was the Holiday Road fillys first in 12 starts. She started her sophomore Ontario Sires Stakes campaign at the Gold Series level, finishing sixth in the July 2 event at Woodbine Mohawk Park. She then delivered a runner-up result in the second Grassroots leg at Rideau Carleton Raceway on July 26. Shes not easy, Im telling you, shes a tough cookie. Rene (Dion), hes worked with her pretty much all winter and just tried to get her to settle down, so every time she behaves its like, Phew, said Kerwood. She is getting better and better and better, shes learning how to go faster and shes learning how to behave, so its all good. I mean shes out of a great mare, so if she just is a quarter as good as her well be all right. Brinys A Flirt is owned by breeder Terry Devos and Clarence Devos of Langton and Peter Porter of Port Dover, ON. The filly is out of the Devos great race mare Snazzy Millie, who earned $1.1 million in her nine-year career. One race later Susies Lady started from post 7 and spent most of the mile leading the charge up the outer lane. The Muscle Mass daughter had a head in front of pacesetter Highland Foxytrotr at the top of the stretch and managed to fend off Pier Ho Kado in the stretch to secure a neck victory in 1:57.4. Scott Coulter engineered the win for Acton, ON resident Kerwood and her co-owner M And L Of Delaware LLC of Wilmington, DE. The win was the fillys first in OSS action this season. Susies Lady battled the Gold fillies in the first two legs, finishing fifth in the track, OSS and Canadian record mile by P L Notsonice at Rideau Carleton Raceway on July 26. Shes a nice filly, thats for sure, and shes got a great name, said Kerwood with a chuckle. In Rideau there she had a super tough trip. And I raced her in Georgian here last week and she come up super flat and I drew blood on her and sure enough she had a high white (count). I said to the owner, I cant get her good in four days, its impossible, but I may be able to get her good for Sunday and thats a Grassroots so why dont we just try her in there and well go from there. I took another blood on her yesterday and she was good to go. I think the next Gold is in Flamboro, so we may try her there again. Ill talk to the owners and well go from there, but she was very good tonight. The three-year-old trotting fillies make their fourth Grassroots start at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Sept. 1 and their fourth Gold Series start at Flamboro Downs on Sept. 27. The other three Grassroots divisions went to Rockadero, Protostar and Letstaketothesky. Muscle Mass daughter Rockadero toured the Innisfil oval in 1:58.1 for driver Jonathan Drury, trainer Carmen Auciello and owner Bedrock Stables of Stouffville, ON. Favourite No Angel Here was second and Ride To Justice finished third. Protostar delivered a 1:59.2 effort for driver Ryan Desroche, trainer Dustin Jones and owner-breeder Andrea Lea Racing Stables Inc. of Lakefield Gore, QC. She Must Be Magic and Chelseas Magic finished second and third behind the fan favourite, making it a Kadabra-sired sweep. Letstaketothesky and driver Anthony Haughan stopped the teletimer at 1:59.2, besting favourite Alexa Blue Chip and Peppas Angel. Trainer David Holliday and Ben Holliday of Mount Forest, ON bred and own the Wheeling N Dealin daughter. In The $15,000 Preferred 2 Pace, Easy Lover Hanover circled to the lead past the quarter and turned away all challengers to win in 1:52.4 as the 2-5 favourite. Tyga Hanover cleared command from post 8 past a :26.2 first quarter, but driver Jonathan Drury soon sent Easy Lover Hanover for the front from the pocket passing the stands first time. The seven-year-old Somebeachsomewhere gelding took the field by the half in :55.4 and to three-quarters in 1:24.2 as Highland Tartan gained ground first over. Highland Tartan loomed to the leaders wheel moving into the stretch, but Easy Lover Hanover edged away to a one-length victory over Tyga Hanover. Highland Tartan settled for third. Owned by Brad Grant, Easy Lover Hanover won his third race from 17 starts this season and his 47th from 127 overall, earning $1,124,323. Ben Wallace trains the $2.90 winner. (with files from Ontario Sires Stakes) To view Sunday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Sunday Results - Georgian Downs. TORONTO - Rachel Rosen doesn't even know what classes she'll be teaching in three weeks, let alone how she'll juggle preparing in-person and online lessons. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/8/2020 (521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ontario Minister of Education, Stephen Lecce makes an announcement at Queen's Park in Toronto, on Thurs., Aug, 13, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov TORONTO - Rachel Rosen doesn't even know what classes she'll be teaching in three weeks, let alone how she'll juggle preparing in-person and online lessons. An ever-fluctuating set of back-to-school guidelines from Ontario's Ministry of Education has left Rosen with little information about how to approach delivering learning materials both in class and online. "The board makes its plans, and lets us know the plans, and then the ministry changes the plans," said Rosen, who teaches at an alternative high school in Toronto. "It's really been jarring to have all of this time without being able to actually prepare." The province is giving parents the option to keep kids out of the classroom and have them learn from home, with materials provided by their schools. And in two dozen school boards, including the Toronto District School Board for which Rosen works, high schoolers will do remote, online learning half the time. Rosen said she typically teaches tech courses photography, graphic design and film which lean heavily on collaboration and sharing equipment, so preparing online materials will be particularly difficult. She said classtime will be divided up into synchronous learning, which is a more traditional lesson, and asynchronous learning, which would see students working independently. She said online asynchronous learning is easier to manage she'll give students tutorial videos and time to work on the written parts of their assignments. "In terms of the synchronous learning part of it, I really have no idea how that's going to work," she said. "We're being expected to do that in the classroom, which means that this video conference is going to involve me wearing a mask when I'm teaching, which I think is going to be kind of hard for the students." But even without the mask, she said, online learning isn't her first choice. "So much of what teaching is, to me, is relationship building," she said. "And if I'm not able to connect with my students, they're not going to understand why they need to be invested in what I'm teaching them." The head of the union that represents many of the province's high school teachers said it's not just Rosen facing these kinds of issues. Many teachers in boards adopting the adapted model for secondary schools still don't know how they'll manage teaching students in class and creating online learning materials. "It's just not a reasonable expectation," Harvey Bischof said. "And I don't mean that people would have to work hard. I mean you cannot effectively do both. They are two completely different modes of education delivery. And there's no possible way for one educator to do both, or certainly to do both well at the same time." From the structure of lessons to making sure students understand what they're being taught, Bischof said, teaching is entirely different online than it is in-class. Complicating matters, he noted, is that different school boards are developing different plans for how in-class and online learning will be handled. That could mean students in different boards are learning different pieces of the curriculum online and in person, potentially leading to an uneven playing field. Bischof said it's another symptom of one of the union's chief complaints about the back-to-school framework: that the Ministry of Education is, in his view, "abdicating" its responsibility and leaving too much up to the school boards. Education Minister Stephen Lecce and Premier Doug Ford have both argued that it's necessary for them to provide flexibility in their plans, because some parts of the province have seen very few COVID-19 cases and are at a much lower risk of outbreaks. They've said a "one size fits all" approach to pandemic response doesn't make sense in a province as big as Ontario, and they characterize the fluctuating plans most recently, Friday's announcement that boards can stagger the start to the school year throughout the week after Labour Day as a response to boards' requests. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2020. Profile A 40-year quest to retrace extraordinary life of activist Mary Talbert Mary B. Talbert seated at table. Photo: The Buffalo History Museum By CHARLOTTE HSU In the materials that I have, her philosophy stays true: Shes on this path to make America all that it should be, to make the liberal documents upon which this country was built a reality for all Americans. Lillian Williams, associate professor Department of Transnational Studies Lillian S. Williams is writing a biography of Mary Burnett Talbert. A century separates the lives of these two women, but they share much in common: Both are educators and community activists. Both are deeply committed to the fight for social justice. Both are tireless in their work. Talbert, born in 1866, was an early 20th-century reformer, described by the National Womens Hall of Fame as a civil rights and anti-lynching activist, suffragist, preservationist, international human rights proponent, and educator. She served as president of the National Association of Colored Womens Clubs (NACWC), rose to become a vice president of the NAACP, helped found multiple NAACP chapters, and spoke nationally and internationally to advance an array of causes. She was the first woman to receive the NAACPs Springarn Medal, the organizations highest honor. She died in 1923. Williams is an associate professor in the Department of Transnational Studies, College of Arts and Sciences. An expert on U.S. social and urban history, much of her scholarship has sought to preserve the history of women and African Americans. For more than 40 years, retracing and celebrating Talberts remarkable life has been part of that work. To conduct this research, which is still underway, Williams has journeyed across the United States, visited Europe, collected Talberts letters and speeches, sifted through meeting notes from organizations that Talbert joined, walked the corridors of myriad libraries, pored over microfilm, and clocked countless car and airline miles in pursuit of newspaper clippings and other historical files. Im fascinated by her, Williams says. And when I look at her story, it talks about tenacity, it talks about vision, it talks about the efforts I mean, consistent efforts to improve life for other people. In the materials that I have, her philosophy stays true: Shes on this path to make America all that it should be, to make the liberal documents upon which this country was built a reality for all Americans. At the turn of the 20th century, once slavery ended, there was a huge demand for Black labor, and sharecropping emerged, and then with the industrialization of the South, again a need for African American labor and convict leasing emerged. Black people were criminalized, Williams says. Walking on the wrong side of the street, looking a white person in their eyes. Being wealthy was a crime, because you challenged the status quo that essentially said that African Americans were inferior, incompetent and incapable of anything, especially if it involved the intellect. It was in this era that Talbert did her work. UB faculty member Lillian Williams has been researching the life of activist Mary Talbert for 40 years. Photo: Douglas Levere Preserving Black history for future generations In 1989, The Buffalo News published a story on Williams quest to learn about Talberts life. By then, Williams was more than a decade deep into her research on Talbert. Though a book-length biography is still in progress, she has published a number of shorter articles on Talberts life. She has also worked persistently to bring local and national recognition to Talberts legacy through writing, lectures, media interviews and historical recognition projects. In 2005, Williams teamed up with Madeline Scott, president of the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier, to successfully nominate Talbert to the National Womens Hall of Fame. Williams strengthened the applications historical narrative. The naming of Talbert Hall at UB also resulted from Williams efforts. As a UB graduate student in the 1970s, Williams nominated Talbert for the honor, preparing a proposal that was selected by a campus committee. Earlier this month, the university renamed Putnam Way, the roadway that encircles the academic Spine, after Talbert, replacing the name of James O. Putnam, a lawyer and politician who served as UB chancellor from 1895-1902 and expressed racist views. Williams work on Talbert also intersected with other research endeavors. Williams 1999 book, Strangers in the Land of Paradise: The Creation of an African American Community, Buffalo, New York, 1900-1940, included discussion of Talberts achievements. In relation to the NACWC, which Talbert led from 1916-20, Williams edited the microfilm edition of the associations papers, preserving NACWC history and making correspondence, convention programs and minutes, handbooks and other records accessible to future historians. She catalogued the NACWCs papers, and preservation is so crucial, Barbara Seals Nevergold, co-founder of the Uncrowned Queens Institute for Research & Education on Women, says of Williams. Nevergold also notes that Williams was one of the founders of the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier, which has created expansive microfilm collections of records of African American organizations and individuals in Western New York. Efforts like these set a bar for the idea that African American history was important, that it was extant, that it could be retrieved that it should be preserved and made available for current researchers, Nevergold says. Thats a tremendous contribution. Telling Talberts extraordinary story Mary B. Talbert oval portrait. Photo: The Buffalo History Museum Nevergold who has known Williams since the 1960s when the two taught at the same junior high school says Williams enduring interest in Talbert is helping to illuminate the life of an important historical figure who has often been overlooked. Mary Talbert is an extraordinary individual, Nevergold says. We talk about American history being broader than just traditionally what has been in the history texts. Mary Talbert provides some very early examples of someone that we would want to have children understand and know and be inspired by. Talbert grew up in Oberlin, Ohio, a center of abolition and liberal thinking at the time, Williams says. Talberts parents were entrepreneurs: Her father ran a barber shop, and her mother ran a boarding house and restaurant near Oberlin College, where Talbert enrolled after finishing high school at age 16. Upon receiving a degree from Oberlin in 1886, Talbert moved to Arkansas, where she taught and then served as a high school principal. In 1891, she married William Talbert and joined him in Buffalo, where he was a city clerk and realtor. Their only child, Sarah May, who became a composer and pianist, was born in 1892. Williams says it was around the turn of the 20th century that Mary Talbert became a prominent voice in public life, lecturing on causes such as the womens right to vote and making important contributions to organizations such as the NAACP and NACWC. As Talberts biography in the National Womens Hall of Fame states, With conscious intent, she bridged the generation of 19th-century abolitionists and freedom seekers: Tubman, Douglass, Truth, and others, and the developing civil rights leadership of the 20th century. Elements that drove Talbert to protest injustice and fight for change included her familys wealth, her education and her religious convictions, Williams says. The breadth of Talberts advocacy was astounding: Locally, she was active in Buffalos Michigan Avenue Baptist Church, which had operated as a meeting place for abolitionists and a stop on the Underground Railroad. She started a church literary society that addressed social issues affecting African American people, lobbied the news media for fair coverage of African American people and was a charter member of Buffalos Phyllis Wheatley Club, an organization of African American women that established kindergartens for Black children, purchased and donated books to the library, hosted mothers groups and fought for human rights and woman suffrage. Founded in 1899, the Buffalo group became an affiliate of the NACWC. Talbert also devoted energy to national causes. As NACWC president, she led efforts to purchase and restore the home of Frederick Douglass, now a National Historic Site, and campaigned for prison reform in the Jim Crow South. She shed light on this issue, Williams says. In the South, you saw the criminalization of children and incarceration of children as young as 5 years old. Mary Talbert traveled throughout the South and explored these circumstances and spoke out against them. The NACWC, in response, began to establish a number of reform institutions so they could house these babies, so that these children would not be imprisoned with adults. Talbert also helped build the NAACP, founded in 1909. She served as an NAACP vice president and board member, and as national director of the organizations anti-lynching crusade, raising about $12,000 for that cause through speaking engagements alone, Williams says. Williams also discovered that Talbert helped to start branches of the NAACP in the South and West. Internationally, Talbert served as a Red Cross nurse during World War I, wrote to European leaders, protested atrocities tied to colonialism and advocated for the rights of children born out of wedlock as a delegate to the International Council of Womens conference in Norway in 1920, Williams says. In 1922, Williams adds, Talbert joined other former NACWC presidents and founded the International Council of Women of the Darker Races that brought together women from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and women of color in the United States to address white supremacy and its impact upon their constituents. Talbert had a gift for forming coalitions and connecting with varied audiences, from national and international leaders to grassroots activists, says Sibyl E. Moses, a reference specialist for African American history and culture at the Library of Congress who has helped Williams locate many records pertaining to Talbert. Moses, who is also a public historian, engaged Williams to write a multi-part series on Talbert for a magazine Moses edited The Phyllis which covers the history of the Order of the Eastern Star and other womens organizations affiliated with Prince Hall Freemasonry. Talbert was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star (PHA) and the first Worthy Matron of Naomi Chapter #10 in Buffalo, into which Williams also was initiated, Moses says. Mary Talbert was a role model for social activism, Moses says. She used her national networks with organizations such as the NACWC and the Order of the Eastern Star (PHA) to facilitate an agenda that was in the interest of the race. She could speak to people from all backgrounds, and she encouraged everyone to be well-prepared and knowledgeable. A fight spanning generations Tumor cells in younger and female patients accumulate cancer-causing mutations that are more poorly presented to the immune system, better enabling tumors to escape detection and clearance Cancer immunotherapy -- empowering a patient's own immune system to clear away tumors on its own -- holds great promise for some patients. But for other patients, immunotherapy just doesn't work. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found evidence that helps explain why patients who are young and/or female have especially low response rates to some types of cancer immunotherapy. Their findings suggest that since the typically robust immune systems of young and female patients are better at getting rid of tumor cells, the cells left behind are not as readily visible to the immune system to begin with, rendering some types of immunotherapy ineffective. The study is published August 17, 2020, in Nature Communications. "Now that we know why some patients don't respond as well to immunotherapy, we can begin developing more informed approaches to treatment decisions -- for instance, developing predictive algorithms to determine a person's likely response before initiating immunotherapies that may have a high probability of not working or working poorly for them," said senior author Hannah Carter, PhD, associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine. Cancerous or infected cells wave molecular flags that tell the immune system to clear them away before the problem gets out of control. The flag poles -- molecules of the Major Histocompatibility Complexes (MHC) -- are displayed at the surface of most cells in the body. MHCs hold up antigen flags -- bits of just about everything from inside the cells -- and display them to immune cell surveyors that are constantly checking for damaged or infected cells. Since tumor cells carry a lot of mutations, they show up frequently among these flags, allowing the immune system to detect and eliminate them. But some tumor cells evade the immune system by also throwing up a stop sign molecule that keeps the immune system from recognizing the MHC flags. And here's where immune checkpoint inhibitors come in: This type of cancer immunotherapy uses antibodies to make the tumor cell once again visible to the patient's immune system. So why would a person's age or sex influence how well immune checkpoint inhibitors work? Sex and age differences have long been observed when it comes to immune response. For example, females have twice the antibody response to flu vaccines and are far more susceptible to autoimmune diseases. Similarly, human immune systems tend to weaken as we age. But if females and younger people have stronger immune responses in most cases, you might expect cancer immunotherapy to work better for them, not worse. To get to the bottom of this conundrum, Carter's team looked at genomic information for nearly 10,000 patients with cancer available from the National Institutes of Health's The Cancer Genome Atlas, and another 342 patients with other tumor types available from the International Cancer Genome Consortium database and published studies. They found no age or sex-related differences in MHC function. What they did find was that, compared to older and male patients with cancer, younger and female patients tend to accumulate more cancer-causing genetic mutations of the sort that MHCs can't present to the immune system as efficiently. Carter said this is likely because robust immune systems of the young and female are better at getting rid of cells displaying well-presented mutant self-antigens, leaving behind tumor cells that rely more heavily on the poorly presented mutations. This selective pressure is known as immuno-editing. "So if a tumor cell doesn't present highly visible, mutated self antigens to begin with, checkpoint inhibitor drugs can't help reveal them to the immune system," she said. "This shows an important thing, that the interplay between the cancer genome and the adaptive arm of the immune system is not a static one," said co-author Maurizio Zanetti, MD, professor of medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and head of the Laboratory of Immunology at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center. "Two simple but important variables, age and sex, influence this interplay. The study also emphasizes the master role of the MHC in dictating the outcome of this interplay, reaffirming its central role in the evolution of disease, cancer included, at the level of the individual and population." Carter cautions that their findings for "younger" patients don't necessarily apply to children since, genetically speaking, pediatric tumors are very different from adult tumors. In addition, she noted that, like most genomics databases, those used in this study contain data primarily from people of Caucasian descent, and more diversity is needed to confirm that the findings can be generalized to all populations. "Cancer isn't just one disease, and so the way we treat it can't be one-size-fits-all," she said. "All checkpoint inhibitors can do is remove the generic block that tumors put up to hide from the immune system. The more we learn about how interactions between tumors and immune systems might vary, the better positioned we are to tailor treatments to each person's situation." ### Co-authors of the study also include: Andrea Castro, Rachel Marty Pyke, Xinlian Zhang, Wesley Kurt Thompson, Ludmil B. Alexandrov, Maurizio Zanetti, UC San Diego; and Chi-Ping Day, National Institutes of Health. Disclosure: Co-author Rachel Marty Pyke is an employee and holds stock in Personalis. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brachium Capital Corp. (TSXV: BRAC.P) ("Brachium") and WeCommerce Holdings Ltd. (WeCommerce or the Corporation) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a binding letter of intent dated August 17, 2020 (the "Letter of Intent"), which outlines the terms and conditions pursuant to which Brachium and the Corporation will complete a transaction that will result in a reverse take-over of Brachium by the Corporation (the "Proposed Transaction"). The Proposed Transaction will be an arm's length transaction, and, if completed, will constitute Brachiums "Qualifying Transaction" (as such term is defined in Policy 2.4 Capital Pool Companies (Policy 2.4) of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") Corporate Finance Manual (the Manual)). In connection with the Proposed Transaction, Brachium and the Corporation will issue a subsequent news release setting out further information contemplated in Policy 2.4. WeCommerce Holdings Ltd. WeCommerce was incorporated on November 27, 2019, under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the BCBCA) and, through its portfolio companies, has been operating in the Shopify eCommerce ecosystem since 2009. The Corporation is not a reporting issuer in any province or territory of Canada. WeCommerce founders, Andrew Wilkinson and Chris Sparling, and a team of experienced executives have a proven track record of execution and creation of shareholder value, which consists of a family of companies, including, Pixel Union, Out of the Sandbox, Yopify, SuppleApps, Rehash and Foursixty. WeCommerce intends to be the acquirer-of-choice for the vast universe of Shopify partner businesses, with a reputation for being founder-friendly, offering a quick close with minimal bureaucracy. Brachium Capital Corp. Brachium was incorporated on March 4, 2019 pursuant to the provisions of the BCBCA and is a Capital Pool Company (as defined in the Manual) listed on the TSXV. Brachium has no commercial operations and no assets other than cash. Proposed Transaction Summary The Proposed Transaction is expected to be structured as a three-cornered amalgamation pursuant to the provisions of the BCBCA, whereby Brachium will incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary under the BCBCA, which will amalgamate with the Corporation (the "Amalgamation") to form a newly amalgamated company ("Amalco"). In connection with the Amalgamation, holders of common shares in the capital of the Corporation ("WeCommerce Shares") will receive Class A common shares in the capital of the Resulting Issuer (as defined below) for each WeCommerce Share held immediately before the Amalgamation and receive stock options to acquire Class A common shares in the capital of the Resulting Issuer for each WeCommerce stock option held immediately before the Amalgamation. In addition, prior to the Amalgamation, each outstanding Brachium Class A common share (the Brachium Shares) and security convertible into a Brachium Share shall be adjusted in accordance with its terms to account for the Consolidation (as defined below) and, in respect of certain of the Brachium stock options, to amend the expiry date of such options to a date that is 12 months following completion of the Proposed Transaction. In connection with the Proposed Transaction, it is anticipated that Brachium will consolidate the Brachium Shares on the basis of an agreed upon formula, the result of which will provide that the value of Brachium divided by the combined value of Brachium and the Corporation yields a pre-determined percentage with such percentage representing the percentage ownership of the Resulting Issuers shares to be held by Brachium shareholders upon completion of the Proposed Transaction (the Consolidation). More specifically and as set forth in detail in the Letter of Intent, upon completion by WeCommerce of a financing within set parameters (the Financing), the total number of fully diluted issued and outstanding WeCommerce Shares prior to the Financing, will be multiplied by the subscription price per security from such Financing to yield the value of the Corporation for purposes of determining the combined value of Brachium and the Corporation on which the Consolidation will be based. The Proposed Transaction is subject to the parties entering into a definitive agreement in respect of the Proposed Transaction (the "Definitive Agreement") on or before October 15, 2020, or such other date as Brachium and the Corporation may mutually agree. Completion of the Proposed Transaction is also subject to a number of other conditions, including obtaining all necessary board, shareholder and regulatory approvals, including TSXV approval. Pursuant to the Proposed Transaction, Brachium will change its name (Name Change) to a name to be determined by the Corporation and as may be acceptable to the TSXV and regulatory authorities (the Resulting Issuer). Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, Amalco will carry on the business of WeCommerce as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Resulting Issuer. In connection with the Proposed Transaction, if necessary, Brachium will convene a meeting of its shareholders for the purpose of approving, among other matters, the Consolidation (if required by applicable law), the election of the Board Nominees (if required by applicable law; as defined herein), the Proposed Transaction (if required by the policies of the TSXV), the Name Change and the adoption of a new stock option plan on terms acceptable to the TSXV and applicable regulatory authorities. WeCommerce will convene a meeting of its shareholders for the purpose of approving the Amalgamation. As at the date of this news release, on a pre-Consolidation basis, Brachium has: (a) 7,923,500 Brachium Shares; and (b) 792,350 stock options and 400,000 broker warrants, each exercisable to acquire one Brachium Share. As at the date hereof, the Corporation has 1,368,690 WeCommerce Shares and 62,143 stock options, each exercisable to acquire one WeCommerce Share. As at the date hereof it is not possible for the parties to determine the number of Resulting Issuer Shares that will be issued upon completion of the Proposed Transaction nor the ownership percentages associated with Brachium and the Corporation as this will depend upon the Financing and the Consolidation, both factors having an impact on the total number of Resulting Issuer Shares that will be issued in connection with the Amalgamation. Brachium anticipates that a management information circular will be prepared and filed in accordance with the policies of the TSXV and mailed to shareholders of record of Brachium. Concurrent Financing In connection with the Proposed Transaction, it is expected that WeCommerce will undertake one or more financings for aggregate gross proceeds of at least $10,000,000. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the time of such financing, the Corporation will consider, among other things, general market conditions, the development and growth of the Corporation along with the capital requirements necessary to execute on the business plan and strategy of the Corporation and may revise or adjust the scope of the financings accordingly. Officers and Directors Prior to completion of the Proposed Transaction and subject to approval by the TSXV and the filing of all required materials, WeCommerce will reconstitute the board of the directors of Brachium with nominees suitable to WeCommerce which individuals will comprise the board of directors of the Resulting Issuer. Further, the officers of the Resulting Issuer will be determined prior to completion of the Proposed Transaction. Non-Arms Length Parties No party to the Proposed Transaction or their respective Associates or Affiliates (as defined in the Manual), is a Control Person (as defined in the Manual) of both Brachium and the Corporation and as such the Proposed Transaction will not be a Non-Arms Length Party Transaction (as defined in the Manual). Trading in Brachium Shares Trading in Brachium Shares has been halted in compliance with the policies of the TSXV. Trading in Brachium Shares will remain halted pending the review of the Proposed Transaction by the TSXV and satisfaction of the conditions of the TSXV for resumption of trading. It is likely that trading in the Brachium Shares will not resume prior to the closing of the Proposed Transaction. About WeCommerce WeCommerce operates a portfolio of companies focused on delivering products and services within the Shopify ecommerce ecosystem. Founded in 2019, we have earned a reputation of being founder friendly with a straightforward approach to buying and operating portfolio companies. To learn more about WeCommerce visit - https://www.wecommerce.co . For more information, please contact Bryant Pike, the Chief Executive Officer of Brachium or Evan Brown, the Chief Financial Officer of WeCommerce: Bryant Pike, Chief Executive Officer bpike@westemedia.com 604-838-0110 Evan Brown, Chief Financial Officer evan@wecommerce.co 250-888-9424 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains statements which constitute forward-looking statements and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, forward-looking statements), including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of Brachium and WeCommerce with respect to future business activities and operating performance. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: (a) expectations regarding whether the Proposed Transaction will be consummated, including whether conditions to the consummation of the Proposed Transaction will be satisfied including, but not limited to, the necessary board, shareholder and regulatory approvals and the timing associated with obtaining such approvals, if at all; (b) the timing for completing the Proposed Transaction, if at all, and the conditions to such transaction; (c) whether and on what basis the Brachium Shares will be consolidated and if the Consolidation will be approved by shareholders and the timing associated therewith; (iv) the timing associated with entering into the Definitive Agreement and the terms and conditions therein; (v) the Financing including the size and timing associated with completing such financing; (vi) the preparation and delivery to shareholders of a management information circular, the timing associated with its preparation and delivery to shareholders and the convening of the necessary shareholders meeting; (vii) the business plans and expectations of the Corporation; (viii) trading in Brachium Shares and when such trading will resume, if at all; (ix) the issuance of and timing associated with issuing a further comprehensive news release or news releases; and (x) expectations for other economic, business, and/or competitive factors. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but instead reflect Brachium and WeCommerces respective management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although Brachium and WeCommerce believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed thereon, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements of the Resulting Issuer. Among the key factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are the following: the ability to consummate the Proposed Transaction; the ability to obtain requisite regulatory and shareholder approvals and the satisfaction of other conditions to the consummation of the Proposed Transaction on the proposed terms and schedule; the potential impact of the announcement or consummation of the Proposed Transaction on relationships, including with regulatory bodies, employees, suppliers, customers and competitors; changes in general economic, business and political conditions, including changes in the financial markets; changes in the perception and demand for cannabis in both local and export markets; changes in applicable laws and regulations both locally and in foreign jurisdictions; compliance with extensive government regulation and the costs associated with compliance; costs of building and developing projects and product opportunities; the risks and uncertainties associated with foreign markets; and the diversion of management time on the Proposed Transaction. These forward-looking statements may be affected by risks and uncertainties in the business of Brachium and WeCommerce and general market conditions, including Covid-19. 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 herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although Brachium and WeCommerce have 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 and such changes could be material. Brachium and WeCommerce do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update the forward-looking statements except as otherwise required by applicable law. Completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to TSXV acceptance and, if applicable pursuant to TSXV requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Proposed Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular of Brachium and to be prepared in connection with the Proposed Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Proposed Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Brachium should be considered highly speculative. The TSXV has in no way passed upon the merits of the Proposed Transaction and has not approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. A new print edition of the AZERNEWS online newspaper was released on 15 August. The new edition includes articles: President Aliyev says joint drills with Turkey reflect unity, fraternity; Ancient pottery wheel found in Jalilabad; President Aliyev voices concerns over military cargo delivery to Armenia in phone call to Putin; FM: Bakus position on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict unwavering and etc. AZERNEWS is an associate member of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA). The online newspaper is available at www.azernews.az. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said that the next three weeks will be incredibly important and that there needs to be the same intensity of focus that there was in the early months of living with the virus. Mr Donnelly said that this week there will be a review of testing and turn-around times and there will a review of foreign travel and an expert report on nursing homes which will contain 86 recommendations. Washington: Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is calling the House back into session over the crisis at the U.S. Postal Service, setting up a political showdown amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the election. Pelosi is cutting short lawmakers' summer recess with a vote expected the Saturday after the Democratic National Convention on legislation that would prohibit changes at the agency as tensions mount. President Donald Trump's new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, has sparked nationwide outcry over delays, new prices and cutbacks just as millions of Americans will be trying to vote by mail to avoid polling places during the coronavirus outbreak. "In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central," Pelosi wrote Sunday in a letter to colleagues, who had been expected to be out of session until September. "Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy are under threat from the president." The decision to recall the House, made after a weekend of high-level leadership discussions, carries a political punch. Voting in the House will highlight the issue after the weeklong convention nominating Joe Biden as the party's presidential pick and pressure the Republican-held Senate to respond. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent senators home for a summer recess. Earlier Sunday, Democratic lawmakers demanded that leaders of the Postal Service testify at an emergency oversight hearing Aug. 24 on mail delays. The House Oversight and Reform Committee said it wants to hear from DeJoy and from the chair of the Postal Service board of governors, Robert Mike Duncan. With heightened scrutiny of its operations, the Postal Service is now requesting a temporary preelection rate increase, from mid-October through Christmas, although not for first-class letters. The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment about whether the two men would appear before the House committee. But it said Sunday it would stop removing its distinctive blue mailboxes through mid-November following complaints from customers and members of Congress that the collection boxes were being taken away. "Given the recent customer concerns the Postal Service will postpone removing boxes for a period of 90 days while we evaluate our customers' concerns,'' Postal Service spokeswoman Kimberly Frum said. House Democrats are expected to discuss the lawmakers' schedule details on a conference call on Monday and were likely to be in session next Saturday, a senior Democratic aide said on condition of anonymity because the plans were private. The legislation being prepared for the vote, the 'Delivering for America Act,' would prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on Jan. 1. DeJoy, a major Republican donor and ally of the president who took control of the agency in June, has pledged to modernize the money-losing agency to make it more efficient, and has eliminated most overtime for postal workers, imposed restrictions on transportation and reduced of the quantity and use of mail-processing equipment. Trump said last week that he was blocking a USD 25 billion emergency injection sought by the Postal Service, as well as a Democratic proposal to provide USD 3.6 billion in additional election money to the states. The Republican president worries that mail-in voting could cost him reelection. The money for the post office is intended to help with processing an expected surge of mail-in ballots. Both funding requests have been tied up in congressional negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package. On Saturday, Trump tried to massage his message, saying he supports increasing money for the Postal Service. He said he was refusing to capitulate to Democrats on other parts of the relief package, including funding for states weighed down by debt accumulated before the pandemic. But the president's critics were not appeased, contending that Trump has made the calculation that a lower voter turnout would improve his chances of winning a second term. "What you are witnessing is a president of the United States who is doing everything he can to suppress the vote, make it harder for people to engage in mail-in balloting at a time when people will be putting their lives on the line by having to go out to a polling station and vote," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. In announcing the upcoming hearing, congressional Democrats said in a statement: "The postmaster general and top Postal Service leadership must answer to the Congress and the American people as to why they are pushing these dangerous new policies that threaten to silence the voices of millions, just months before the election." The lawmakers included Pelosi of California and New York Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the committee chair, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the Postal Service. Earlier this month, Maloney's committee had invited DeJoy to appear Sept. 17 at a hearing focusing on operational changes to the Postal Service that are causing delays in mail deliveries. A federal judge has agreed with an insurer that a group of barbershops in the San Antonio, Texas-area have no basis for claims seeking coverage under their commercial insurance policies for business interruption losses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The judge ruled that the plaintiffs suffered no physical damage as required under their policies. Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, on Aug. 13 dismissed a lawsuit alleging State Farm Lloyds wrongly denied their claims for business interruption losses resulting from shutdowns ordered by state and local authorities attempting to control the coronavirus. In siding with the insurer, Ezra wrote that while there is no doubt that the businesses suffered losses because of the mandated closures, State Farm cannot be held liable to pay business interruption insurance on these claims as there was no direct physical loss, and even if there were direct physical loss, the Virus Exclusion applies to bar Plaintiffs claims. The suit was brought by Diesel Barbershop LLC; Wilderness Oaks Cutters LLC; Diesel Barbershop Bandera Oaks LLC; Diesel Barbershop Dominion LLC; Diesel Barbershop Alamo Ranch LLC; and Henleys Gentlemens Grooming LLC. Related Cases Judge Allows Businesses Lawsuits Against Insurer Over Coronavirus Losses A federal judge in Missouri allowed a lawsuit by various businesses against their insurer over business interruption losses to proceed. State Judge Rejects Michigan Restaurants COVID-19 Business Interruption Claim A trial court judge in Lansing, Michigan, handed a victory to insurers in what may be the nations first final ruling on the question of whether a property insurer is liable for financial damages caused by a coronavirus closure order. Celebrating Insurers Warned Michigan COVID Ruling Not Knockout Punch They Wanted The Michigan pleading may have been defective, a lawyer cautions. COVID Business Interruption Suits Top 700. Yep, Thats A Lot. The plaintiffs sued State Farm after the insurer refused to cover claims they filed in March. In denying the claims, State Farm argued that the claims are not covered because the policy specifically excludes loss caused by enforcement of ordinance or law, virus, and consequential losses. Like other insurers that have faced similar business interruption claims, State Farm held that the plaintiffs had not sustained the physical damage from a covered cause of loss that would have triggered coverage for business interruption losses. In addition, the insurer said the virus exclusions contained in the policies also barred coverage from any losses caused by the pandemic. In separate actions earlier this year, both the state and Bexar County, where the barbershops are located, had implemented closures of non-essential businesses for certain periods of time due to the pandemic. The plaintiffs had maintained that the government-enforced closures were enough to trigger losses. They argued that the virus exclusion in their policies should not apply because the closure orders designed to protect public health and welfare were the cause of the direct physical loss to their properties, not the presence of COVID-19. The barbershops accused the insurer of breach of contract, noncompliance with the Texas Insurance Code, and breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing. In his written opinion, however, Judge Ezra stated that the plaintiffs assertions of breach of contract and duty of good faith, and noncompliance with the insurance code all fail. He recognized that though the coronavirus may not have been present in the plaintiffs properties, it was the presence of COVID-19 in Bexar County that primarily caused the government ordered business closures. Hundreds of Lawsuits Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed by businesses against their insurers due to denials of coverage for losses stemming from government ordered closures related to the pandemic. The Texas State Farm Lloyds case is similar to previously filed suits in which insurers have prevailed. In July, a Michigan trial judge dismissed a lawsuit against an insurer brought by a restaurant group after the insurance company denied the groups claim for business interruption losses in the wake of government ordered closures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Gavrilides Management Company et al. vs. Michigan Insurance Co., Judge Joyce Draganchuk of Michigans 30th Circuit Court ruled on July 1 in the insurers favor that that physical alteration of the property was required to trigger coverage under the business interruption policy. In addition, the virus exclusion in the policy also barred coverage, the judge said. Erie Insurance Exchange won a victory earlier this month when District of Columbia Superior Court Associate Judge Kelly Higashi granted the insurer a summary judgment that its policy was not triggered because a shutdown did not amount to a direct physical loss. This suit had been filed by the owner of several restaurants over business interruption losses after a shutdown ordered by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. It hasnt been all wins for insurers, however. An Aug. 12 ruling by a federal judge in Missouri allowed a lawsuit against Cincinnati Insurance Co. brought by a group of hair salons and restaurants to proceed. U.S. District Judge Stephen Bough in Kansas City did not comment on the merits of the case. However, in refusing to dismiss it, Bough said the presence of COVID-19 was not a benign condition, and the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that particles were a physical substance that attached to and damaged their property, rendering them unsafe and unusable, Reuters reported. In a related development, an insurer-supported attempt to consolidate numerous coronavirus-related lawsuits filed against various insurers recently was denied by a panel on multidistrict litigation (MDL). The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation rejected the proposals by plaintiffs in 15 lawsuits from Illinois and Pennsylvania to either consolidate all cases brought by multiple businesses against various insurers for coronavirus-related business losses into one proceeding or create regional and state-based MDLs The panel 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. It did, however, leave open the possibility of consolidation of cases by insurer. Topics Lawsuits Carriers COVID-19 Texas Legislation Claims USA Profit Loss Michigan Because the Global Medical Relief Funds Pop-Up Food Pantries were so successful over the last few months while some other food pantries have become depleted during the coronavirus pandemic GMRF is offering another two food pantries open to the public. Bintou Jaiteh, mom of Aisha Jaiteh, who's able to walk thanks to the Global Medical Relief Fund, helps at the Pop-Up Food Pantry. (Courtesy/Elissa Montanti)Staten Island Advance The next event is set for Tuesday, Sept. 1 from noon until 2 p.m. followed by another on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 112 MacFarland Ave. at Sand Lane, across from PS 39, in Arrochar. Available will be packaged foods, canned goods, cereals, tissues, paper towels, and other items that will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis, some of which is being supplied by City Harvest, New York Citys largest not-for-profit food rescue organization. The city Department of Sanitation has also supplied 500 reusable bags to be used for individual donations. Elissa Montanti, founder of the organization, and an Advance Woman of Achievement said she decided to invest in a food distribution to give back to our community during this fragile time. Montanti, as well as other organizers, ask that participants wear a mask or facial covering and practice social distancing while picking up food packages. Those who would like to donate unexpired, non-perishable items may do so and are asked to drop off items at the same location in the days prior, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Young, Aisha Jaiteh, who is now walking thanks to the Global Medical Relief Fund, and Elissa Montanti. (Courtesy/Elissa Montanti)Staten Island Advance We rent a U-haul go to pick up donated food from City Harvest, said Montanti, before adding: We go back to the Dare to Dream House, unpack hundreds of boxes and bags of both the U-haul and the charity truck, set up a tent and put out what GMRF purchases and donated items kind people have been dropIng off and we line up all on tables. When cars pull up they pop their trunk and we carry the food out to them. Many walk up with shopping hand carts. The need is unbelievable. My staff and board and I feel a great sense of reward to make a difference. And the volunteers have been a blessing. Kudos to volunteers like: Boy Scout Troop No. 132 and 124, Lawrence and Jeremiah Toto, Tom Tellefsen, Julie Naishuler, a senior at St. Joseph Hill Academy and to Bintou Jaiteh, the mom of Aisha, a child from Gambia whos been at the Dare to Dream House since October and cant return because of the coronavirus pandemic. She helps tremendously and she says its her way to say thank you for helping her daughter walk for the first time, adds Elissa. Its the community, our supporters, who have embraced GMRF, so its our way to say thank you and give back during this time of need and great turbulence. The mission of GMRF is to help children in need who are victims of war, natural disasters or other catastrophes locally and worldwide. For additional information phone 718 448-6984, extension 103. The partner of a demonstrator killed during protests in Belarus has said she will push for an independent probe into his death. Alexander Taraikovsky, 34, died on August 10 as police dispersed peaceful demonstrators contesting the results of the election a day earlier that gave authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office. The crackdown with rubber bullets, stun grenades and clubs helped swell the protesters ranks and caused international outrage. Authorities initially said Mr Taraikovsky was killed when an explosive device he intended to throw at police blew up in his hands, but Associated Press video showed he had no explosives when he fell to the ground, his shirt bloodied. Elena German, his partner, said his body had a perforation in his chest that she believes is a bullet wound. Expand Close Elena German (Mstyslav Chernov/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Elena German (Mstyslav Chernov/AP) On Sunday, interior minister Yuri Karayev stepped back from the initial official version, acknowledging Mr Taraikovsky might have been killed by a rubber bullet. Ms German described it as the cold-blooded murder of an unarmed protester. I dont believe in the ministers words, the authorities are lying and trying to avoid responsibility, she said. Ms German added that she saw no exit wound on Mr Taraikovskys back, indicating that the bullet was stuck inside. She added that she had implored a police investigator to show her the bullet, but he stonewalled the demand, raising her suspicion that Mr Taraikovsky might have been killed by live ammunition. Until I see the bullet, I have every reason to believe that it was live ammunition and that he was shot point-blank and killed, she said. Sasha was killed with a shot to his chest at point-blank range, she said, using her partners nickname. He was a peaceful demonstrator and he had nothing in his hands. I demand an independent investigation into his killing. The government should bear responsibility for that. The place where Mr Taraikovsky died quickly turned into a pilgrimage site, with thousands of people, including European ambassadors, laying flowers there. Hundreds of people went to his funeral on Saturday to pay their respects. As the coffin was carried out, many dropped to one knee, weeping and exclaiming Long live Belarus! His death has galvanised public anger, helping swell the demonstrations that attracted an estimated 200,000 to the Belarusian capitals central square on Sunday the largest protest the country has ever seen. 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 19-year-old suspected serial killer, Sunday Shodipe, has been accused of murdering another woman shortly after he escaped from police custody in Ibadan, Oyo State. Following his escape from prison, the serial killer was said to have sneaked into the room of a woman identified as Funmilayo (Iya Ibeji) and smashed her head with an object believed to be a cutlass on Saturday afternoon. SaharaReporters gathered that a friend of the victim alerted neighbours, who rushed Funmilayo to a private hospital, where they stitched her head but later referred her to the University College Hospital because of the severity of the injuries. After stitching her head, she was also rejected because of lack of bed space. The victim was later transferred to Adeoyo Hospital at Ring Road where she died as a result of lack of proper medical attention to save her life. An eyewitness, who is also a friend of the victim, Medinat Amusat, while speaking with SaharaReporters, said: We were together outside the house around 12:00pm before we went to take our bath. When I finished taking my bath around 3:00pm and i came out to cook but suddenly the children in the compoundcame and told me that snake has bitten Iya Ibeji. I rushed to her room and i saw her in the pool of her blood with her face wrapped with cotton and blood was still gushing out from her head. I quickly raised alarm and called the neighbours and we rushed her to a private hospital. Father of Baraka Bello, one of the victims of the suspect, who also rushed to the scene of the incident, narrated how a relative told him that Shodipe was the killer of his daughter. He said: A relative called me that Shodipe was sighted at Akinyele Elewure Market but i said that is not possible. But when they insisted that they saw him, I have to go there by myself. When I got there he has left but those who saw him showed me his picture on their phones. I went to meet the king Alakinyele of Akinyele and narrated the story meanwhile the king could not believe my story too until he put a phone call to a senior police officer in Iyaganku police station who confirmed to him that the suspect has escaped from their custody three days back. The Alakinyele of Akinyele, Oba James Odeniran, who condemned return of ritual killings in the town, said the father of Barakat Bello informed him that he saw Sodipe in Akinyele town. He said: I was surprised. It was after the incident here that the man called Baba Barakat came to my palace to tell me that the boy that killed Barakat, he saw him at Elewure in this Akinyele yesterday and today. I said no, I cant believe it. He said he saw him and I said no. I sent the palace boys to go and investigate where they said they saw him, they came back to tell me that it was true. The problem with our people is that by the time they saw that boy, they did not inform anybody. I was not informed. Later, I phoned somebody that I learnt this boy has been released and he said no, the boy escaped from police custody. The boy escaped from police custody and nobody was aware? I said he has done another thing in Akinyele, he has killed somebody again. They said we should find means of apprehending him. Since that yesterday, I called all the youths. Then, all the Soludero Hunters and we sent them out to be on the lookout for that boy. Since yesterday evening, up till this morning, we could not locate the whereabouts of that boy. The situation led to a protest in the area on sunday morning by the youths in the local government, protesting the return of ritual killings and the alleged escape of Sunday Sodipe who was arrested by the police on 17th July, 2020. That same Sunday, August 16th, Oyo State Police Command finally announced that the 19-year-old suspected serial killer had escaped from their custody while undergoing trial on August 11, 2020. Jobs are slowly returning to the Canadian economy. According to the latest Statistics Canada report, 419,000 jobs were added in July. If you were temporarily laid off due to the COVID-19 shutdown, your job is probably one of them and no doubt you have questions about issues such as job security and benefits. The Star asked Kathryn Marshall, a Toronto employment lawyer with Milburn & Associates, to break down the employments rights of workers forced into a temporary layoff. Can an employee on temporary layoff be terminated while on layoff? Yes, but they have to give you notice. If youre on a leave of absence as a result of COVID-19, (including falling ill or caring for a sick loved one) your employer can still terminate you, says Marshall, but they have to give reasonable notice under the Employment Standards Act. Under this act, if youve had the job continuously for three months, your employer must give you either a written notice of termination, termination pay, or both. Marshall says there are legitimate reasons an employee on temporary leave can be permanently laid off. These include if the employers business goes bankrupt or if the employer is forced to restructure the business due to the pandemic. Marshall stresses the importance of reading through employment contracts or collective bargaining agreements to understand the full scope of entitlements set by an employer. If you dont have a clause in your employment contract about termination, it will go through a common law process. Its then on the employer to give reasonable notice (or pay instead of notice). Reasonable notice varies on a case-by-case basis and a number of factors can determine reasonable notice, such as the employees age, their position and how long they were employed with the company. Marshall says some employers have used COVID-19 as an excuse to lay off people. She urges employees who suspect theyve been singled out in this type of layoff to consult with an employment lawyer to see if they have a case. If Im recalled to work after a temporary layoff, could I be laid off again in the future? Yes, as long as they follow the employment contract and legal standards. Under normal circumstances, if an employer makes temporary layoffs without meeting the Employment Standards Act requirements, the employee can treat this as a constructive dismissal and resign. The employee would still have the ability to seek severance pay since the law treats constructive dismissal as a termination. A constructive dismissal happens when the employer makes a significant and unilateral change to a core term of the employment, such as failing to pay employees or cutting hours. In the age of COVID-19, however, the Employment Standards Act has been amended so that temporary layoffs the employee had not agreed to are no longer considered a constructive dismissal. Instead, these employees are considered to be on an emergency leave of absence, meaning their employer must eventually reinstate them to their job. If they are not reinstated, then the employer is in breach of the act and the employee can file a complaint with the Ministry of Labour to seek reinstatement or claim severance pay. Its important to know that this amendment will only be in force until Sept. 4, after which the Employment Standards Act will go back to the previous rules surrounding temporary layoffs. After this time, employees who are still on a temporary layoff that doesnt comply with the acts rules can claim constructive dismissal and seek severance. Do I still get access to benefits and can I contribute to my pension plan while I am temporarily laid off? Usually, employees have a right to participate in benefits and pension plans during a leave of absence, and employers must continue to make contributions (unless the employee elects not to participate in the benefits or pension plans). During a temporary layoff period, however, employers are not required by law to continue making benefits or pension plan contributions. The Ontario government defines a COVID-19-related layoff as a job-protected leave of absence, Marshall says, which would usually allow employees to continue to participate in benefits, pension and life insurance plans as well as accrue vacation time, though they are not required by law to hand out benefits. Marshall advises employees to be flexible with their employer if you plan on returning to work or they could burn bridges. If youre unsure about your situation and your entitlements, her advice is to consult an employment lawyer. Dont feel pressured to sign or agree to something an employer puts in front of you, she says. Take any document home to read it through. Sitting down and having a consultation with a lawyer is not actually an intimidating thing, says Marshall. Its mainly you figuring out what your rights are and what your options are. Stephanie Hughes is a business writer and financial journalist in the Canadian markets. It is all so familiar. As the election of 2016 approached, candidate Donald Trump began talking about the election being rigged. However, when he won, that issue all but vanished -- until 2020. Today now-President Trump is once again warning his followers that sinister forces are at work to steal the election. This raises a critical question: What will Trump supporters do if they lose? Of course, the same question could be asked of Biden supporters. Though reports suggest that the folks who follow Trump are far more passionate, some would say volatile, than those who follow the Democrat, in both camps there is an apocalyptic vision of what defeat will deal them. Yet, the fact remains that come November, someone is going to lose. Which brings us to the critical question, what will the loser do? Back when I taught at JSU, I told my students that in a democracy (or a republic if you are more comfortable with that), a critical, but often ignored element of the body politic is the loser. Let me explain to you, as I explained to them. Without minimizing the importance of what winners do when they win, the fact remains that winners seldom destroy the system that gave them the victory. More often than not, democracies have been brought down when losers refuse to accept the outcome of an election and set out instead to subvert the will of the people. Now lets be honest, losers frequently have just cause for fearing the consequence of defeat. Totalitarian regimes have often resulted when victors set about to reshape the system so that they will never be challenged again. Hitler did it. Mussolini did it. But more often victors pat themselves on the back and set about enjoying the fruits of victory. Losers, on the other hand, fear for the worst. So, lets play a little history. Discounting the obvious example of our nation nearly destroying itself with secession and Civil War, the one other time when it appeared that our experiment in freedom might fail was in the election of 1800. In one corner was Thomas Jefferson, leader of the Democratic-Republican Party. In the other was John Adams, the choice of the Federalists. Rather than go into what these two men and their parties stood for, lets consider what each feared if the other was victorious. Jeffersons supporters saw the Federalists as men who would centralize financial and commercial power. Then they would create an autocracy that would trash the Constitution and leave the majority of Americans at their mercy. To support this contention, they pointed to Federalists acts and executive orders that censored the press, placed restrictions on aliens, and got the nation into an undeclared war with Frances revolutionary government. That this war worked to the advantage of Northeastern commercial interests that were mostly Federalists, and the disadvantage of planters and farmers in the West and South who supported Jefferson, was not lost on the Virginian and his Party. Adams and the Federalists considered Jefferson and his followers a threat not only to their financial well-being, but to their vision of America. They wanted a powerful nation, much like England, where (in theory) what was enjoyed by those at the top of the economic pyramid would trickle down to those at or near the bottom. Worse still, Federalists felt that Jefferson was determined to bring a French Revolution to American shores, a belief reinforced by Jeffersons remark about how the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. Federalists were convinced that Jeffersonians believed that Federalists were the tyrants and that their blood should do the watering. Little wonder a Federalist wrote his wife asking her where she would want to go into exile if Thomas Jefferson is elected. Federalist preachers made unveiled references to Jefferson as the anti-Christ. Federalist politicians warned of Federalists being rounded up and guillotines set up in town squares. Rumors (and the fears) spread fast and furious. Jeffersonians countered with warnings that if the Federalists came to power the Constitution would be put on a shelf, and John Adams would be a tool of the King of England. In short, the American Revolution will have been for naught. It was nasty. Then something happened. With no clear victor in the election, the matter was settled in the House of Representatives where, after 35 ballots, a handful of Federalists concluded that Jefferson was preferable to the alternative. So Jefferson was sworn in. Then he spoke to the nation. More to the point, Jefferson spoke to the losers, some of whom might have already been packing for exile. Every difference of opinion, the new president pointed out, is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. Then he made the point that is as important now as it was then. We are all Republicans. We are all Federalists. And being one in principle, victors would not suppress the losers. Quite to the contrary. If there be any among us, Jefferson continued, who wish to dissolve this Union or change its Republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety of which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it. The losers listened, regrouped, and though disappointed, they resolved to fight another day because they knew they could. Jefferson had, in effect, told them so. Had Federalist supporters refused to accept defeat, had they gone into the streets, or underground, had they become terrorists with muskets, the United States, if it survived, would not be the nation to which we swear allegiance today. So at this time in our history, when being a winner is so important to so many people, let us not forget the losers. They have made us what we are today. Harvey H. (Hardy) Jackson is Professor Emeritus of History at Jacksonville State University. A version of this column originally appeared in The Anniston Star, back in 2016. He can be reached at hhjackson43@gmail.com. No Ukrainian army casualties were reported in the past day. No ceasefire violations were reported in the Joint Forces Operation zone in eastern Ukraine's Donbas on Sunday, August 16. Russia's hybrid military forces were fortifying their positions near the village of Uzhivka, in the vicinity of Mariupol, Donetsk region. "At the same time, in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian troops have documented one violation by the Russian Federation's armed formations of the agreements reached by the Trilateral Contact Group [on Donbas settlement in Minsk] on July 22. In particular, the enemy was deploying engineering equipment on its positions near the temporarily occupied village of Uzhivka not far from our positions near the village Vodiane," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Command said in a Facebook update as of 07:00 Kyiv time on August 17, 2020. Ukraine's Joint Forces adhered to ceasefire and "were ready to provide a decent rebuff to possible threatening action by the adversary," the JFO HQ added. No casualties have been reported in the past day. Read alsoDonbas warzone update: No ceasefire violations recorded in past 24 hoursSilence has been observed in full since Monday midnight. No armed provocation or shelling has been recorded in the areas of JF brigades' responsibility, the report said. Latest Donbas ceasefire deal The sound fundamentals backing China's industrial economy has remained intact despite the impact of COVID-19, but efforts must be made to combat challenges and make up for the losses, a senior industrial official has said. "China's industrial performance has improved month by month amid effective epidemic control and policy support," Xin Guobin, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said in an interview. Xin cited figures that China's value-added industrial output went up by 4.8 percent year on year in June, picking up from the 4.4-percent and 3.9-percent expansion in May and April, respectively. He said the epidemic has boosted China's industrial upgrading and transformation, as well as the development of new products and new industries. In the first half, the value-added output for high-tech manufacturing grew by 4.5 percent year on year, with the output of electronic components and integrated circuits up by 36.6 percent and 16.4 percent, respectively. However, with the global pandemic continuing and market demand yet to recover, China still faces many uncertainties and instabilities, said Xin, calling for more efforts to improve the quality of market supplies to stimulate consumption. During the COVID-19 epidemic, China's manufacturing sector has withstood the "stress testing" from the virus, and helped ensure a steady global supply of medical supplies, as well as stable industrial and supply chains, said Xin. He said China will next focus on increasing the stability and competitiveness of its industrial and supply chains, and improving the industrial foundations and the level of modernization for the industrial chains. Meanwhile, China will push for the establishment of an emergency coordination and management mechanism for global industrial and supply chains to assist other countries to fight the virus and recover their economies, according to Xin. As far as China's more than 30 million small- and medium-sized enterprises and 80 million individual businesses are concerned, he admitted that they are still troubled with challenges stemming from a lack of orders, declining profitability, and difficulties in collecting receivables. Xin vowed that the government will work to ensure the implementation of supportive policies, improve the business environment, and strengthen services for small businesses to help them through difficulties. China will also promote the construction of 5G networks in major cities while gradually expanding it to major towns and some rural areas where conditions permit, he said. The country will support the application of 5G technologies in key sectors, including smart healthcare and smart grids, as well as researches in the development of 6G technologies, Xin said. China has seen rapid progress in the construction of 5G base stations, according to Xin. Some 88 million terminals have connected to the 5G networks in the country as of the end of last month. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:13:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A rescuer drives a bulldozer to clear debris on the Wuguan section of the Lanzhou-Haikou Expressway in northwest China's Gansu Province, Aug. 17, 2020. Week-long torrential rains in Gansu Province have led to a tributary of Yangtze River flowing above danger-level as local authorities battle various rain-triggered disasters including mountain torrents, landslides and mudflows. By Monday, rains damaged 3,303 km of roads in the city of Longnan, disrupting traffic on 497 roads. More than 38,000 people have been relocated in Longnan. (Xinhua/Chen Bin) LANZHOU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Week-long torrential rains in northwest China's Gansu Province have led to a tributary of Yangtze River flowing above danger-level as local authorities battle various rain-triggered disasters including mountain torrents, landslides and mudflows. Baishui River, which flows into Bailong that joins China's longest river Yangtze is experiencing the most severe flooding in 200 years. The flood crest measured 2,250 cubic meters per second at Shangde Hydrological Station on Baishui River at 5 p.m. Monday. The Gansu provincial water resources department said that the water level of Bikou Reservoir in the river basin once exceeded 702 meters, seven meters above the flood limit. The reservoir has kept discharging water. On Monday, the flow into Bikou Reservoir still exceeded 4,000 cubic meters per second, while the reservoir discharged water at 3,500 cubic meters per second, as it continued relieving the flooding pressure downstream. Heavy rains have affected 402,000 people in six cities in Gansu and led to damages to water conservation facilities with direct economic losses of 1.55 billion yuan (223.4 million U.S. dollars). By Monday, rains damaged 3,303 km of roads in the city of Longnan, disrupting traffic on 497 roads. Municipal authorities have dispatched 22,000 rescuers and 2,720 sets of machinery to rebuild 291 damaged roads. U.S.-China tensions are not good for Hong Kong, said the city's secretary for commerce and economic development, as he urged everyone to recognize that the "common enemy" of the world is the coronavirus pandemic. "We are ... seeing U.S.-China tensions mounting, which is unhelpful to Hong Kong, and also to the trade between U.S. and China. But as we are fighting the pandemic, I think the last thing one would want is a further distraction that would disturb or disrupt the trade," Edward Yau told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" on Monday. He pointed to the "economic scorecard across the Pacific," which shows a "very strong" correlation between how well a country has contained the outbreak versus its economic performance. He cited China as an example, where its economy was among the earliest to bounce back, after being the first hit in the pandemic. We must recognize that the common enemy for the entire world is the pandemic, is the virus, not each other. Edward Yau Hong Kong's secretary for commerce and economic development But some other economies in the region have been hit by double-digit growth declines. Hong Kong's growth slowed to an "unprecedented" 9% decline in the second quarter, Yau said. The city's economy has been pummeled on a few fronts: pro-democracy protests, which hurt businesses and tourism badly, and now the coronavirus. The city saw a flare-up in cases again recently, leading to restrictions being reimposed. "If we are not able to contain Covid-19 individually and collectively, I think we are all bearing the toll. So either way, I'm saying that well, perhaps the economic tsunami arising from the Covid-19 I think that's something that we have to watch, in particular for Hong Kong being so internationalized, so intertwined with our trade with the globe," Yau said. "I think we're highly conscious that well, we should be taking every step to combat Covid-19, and also to ease any tensions which (are) unnecessary and unwarranted." Pedestrians wearing protective masks walk across a road in Hong Kong, China, on Friday, July 10, 2020. Roy Liu | Bloomberg | Getty Images Have Sheriff Offices in North Carolina, possibly even Beaufort County's Sheriff Office, become too political in the discharging of their sworn constitutional duties? No, the sheriff is a constitutional officer. Yes, the Sheriff Office, on strong occasion, often reverts back to political patronage in the dispensation of their sworn constitutional duties. The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation is looking for academics and scientists in Canada to apply for a 25,000 research grant aimed at helping advance the study of the gut microbiome National Research Grant Canada 2020 National Research Grant Canada 2020 National Research Grant Canada 2020 MONTREAL, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation, an organization founded by Biocodex and dedicated to inspiring scientific projects that explore the microbiome, is calling for grant proposals from innovative researchers at Canadian institutions. The Biocodex Microbiota Foundations annual call for projects is part of a multi-year research initiative to further the understanding of the human microbiome. The 2020 theme for Canada is the microbiome in human health and diseases and is open for applicants with an appointment at a Canadian institution or university (visiting scientists performing research at a Canadian institution may apply). The deadline for the 2020 call for projects in Canada is November 15, 2020 and the final decision of the independent scientific committee will be communicated in December 2020. The 2020 rules and application form can be found at the Biocodex Microbiota Foundations website . Grants of 25,000 each have been awarded to 3 scientists from proposals received in 2017, 2018 and 2019: The first grant, in 2017, went to Dr. Alberto Caminero Fernandez from the Ontario Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute at McMaster University in Hamilton. The second grant, in 2018, went to Dr. Williams Turpin from the Zane Cohen Centre for Digestive Diseases at Mount Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto. The third grant, in 2019, went to Dr. Kirk Bergstrom from the Department of Biology at Okanagan The Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences and the University of British Columbia in Kelowna. About Biocodex Founded in France in 1953, Biocodex is a multinational company, based on the highest scientific and manufacturing standards. Biocodex currently holds 20 subsidiaries (including Biocodex Canada Inc. based in Montreal Quebec) and multiple long-term partnerships spanning more than 124 countries. With over 65 years of successful international operations, the mission of Biocodex is to remain a worldwide leader in expertise within the microbiota realm. www.biocodex.ca Story continues About Biocodex Microbiota Foundation The Biocodex Microbiota Foundation is a non-profit, general interest organization that supports research into microbiota and their interaction with various pathologies. Both foundational and applied research grants are awarded. Projects investigating the implication of microbiota in human health are selected annually by committees of independent international scientists. www.biocodexmicrobiotafoundation.com Contact: diffusion@biocodex.ca A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/09cabef4-9682-4a0d-8717-9883a68a8722 PORTAGE One day after pulling two teens out of the rough surf along the city's lakefront, Jeremiah Schwanke returned Monday to watch as a diver recovered the body of a 16-year-old, whom he was unable to locate in Sunday's high waves. "People need to be safe out there because it's not a joke," the Lakes of the Four Seasons resident said. Schwanke, who just happened to be in the area at the right time riding his Sea-Doo watercraft while wearing a life jacket, was upset the public was allowed to enter such rough water and that no lifeguards were on scene. "No one is out there telling them, 'Do not go into the water,'" he said. A group of five male teens from Illinois was swimming at the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk about 11 a.m. Sunday when the waves pulled them under, state officials said. While lauded for his heroic efforts, the 34-year-old Schwanke also was angry that responding rescue officials did not join him in the water as he struggled to bring the young people to shore. Russias ambitious LNG plans have so far based on two producing assets the Gazprom-operated Sakhalin LNG and the NOVATEK-operated Yamal LNG. The addition of Yamal LNG into its portfolio has helped to boost its clout (growing from 4% of global LNG trade to 8% currently) yet the actual numbers of assets and exports taking place remains still a far cry from what Russias energy authorities had envisaged. Luckily for Moscow, climate change and the warming of Arctic seas in particular might come in very handy for Russian exporters this year will most probably the Northern Sea Routes (NSR) best year in terms of transported volumes and the length of the navigation season. Amongst all of this, Russia has delivered its first LNG cargo to Japan via the NSR. Premises Lets start first with the dry statistics. July 23 the LNG tanker Vladimir Rusanov arrived to Ohgishima LNG Terminal and offloaded its cargo. It was the first Japan-bound delivery this year but not the first ever, since Yamal LNG was commissioned there were 2 already. Also, it was not the first cargo that waded through the Northern Sea Route this year before it two cargoes aboard Yamalmax Arc7 vessels Christophe de Margerie and Vladimir Voronin took the same route and discharged in Jiangsu and Tianjin, respectively. Those were the cargoes that broke serious records previously no Yamalmax could sail along the Northern Sea Route in May as the usual navigation season started up in July and ended in November-December of the same year. So what makes this delivery so special? Murmansk, the geographical starting point of the NSR is 7 300 nautical miles away from Yokohama, whilst the wintertime route around the Atlantic shore of Europe and via the Suez Canal is 12 500 nautical miles. With an average sailing speed of 5-13 nautical knots, an average LNG carrier should be on average 65-66% quicker to reach its Asia Pacific destination if it is to use the Northern Sea Route. Evidently, the NSR can only be used in specific months when icing conditions allow for navigation this has routinely taken place between July and November/December (peak season is August to October). The warm spring and summer of 2020 have thawed the usually thick ice cover; therefore this years navigation season has started in late May already. Related: Why Fracking Activity Hasnt Increased As Oil Prices Recovered Graph 1. Yamal LNG Exports by Country in 2017-2020 (million tons LNG). Source: Thomson Reuters. Significance The politicization of the Northern Sea Route coincided with a palpable increase in delivered volumes if in 2014 the annual tally stood at a mere 4 million tons, last year was already at 31.5 million tons. Ever since the first commercial voyage along the NSR in 2009, Russia has been pushing forward with boosting all kinds of shipping via the NSR, administered by the state-controlled Northern Sea Route Administration, however only hydrocarbons seem to be picking up. Russias nuclear holding Rosatom is the operator of the Northern Sea Route, overseeing an ambitious program of ice-breaker shipbuilding that would ideally ensure year-long navigation even at the eastern parts of the Arctic Ocean by 2030. Yamal LNGs vessel fleet is Arc7 ice-class so NOVATEK essentially relies on itself in terms of shipping. Related: Investors Are Looking To China To Find The Next Tesla NOVATEK, which still has a tacit objective not to mingle with Gazproms traditional outlet markets, has long been voicing its intent to ramp up exports to Japan. Despite China findings its appetite for Yamal LNG volumes, the projects cargoes are still predominantly moving to Atlantic Europe, be it the Netherlands, Belgium, France or the United Kingdom. Looking at this years Jan-July preliminary numbers, 84% of Yamal LNG cargoes went to Europe, 1% up year-on-year. This will be an uphill battle to fight as of the more than 500 cargoes that loaded in Sabetta since December 2017, only 4 went to Japan. Cognizant of the premia it might generate on the Japanese market as well as of the sheer size of Japans LNG import needs, remaining the worlds largest importer, NOVATEK wants its place under the Japanese sun. Prospects The Northern Sea Route has allowed Yamal LNG equity holders to speed up deliveries compared to the conventional (circumnavigational) route. The abovementioned voyage of Vladimir Rusanov, from Sabetta to the Higashi-Ohgishima LNG terminal, took 25 days whilst previous deliveries along the same route were at last 40 days in duration. The same is true with regards to China-bound deliveries, with some July-loading tankers delivering their load in record 16 days (along the Sabetta-Jiangsu Rudong LNG terminal route), a feat noteworthy enough because carriers did not move this quick during previous NSR navigation seasons. This being said, two LNG cargoes a year to Japan are still a drop in the bucket considering the overall amount of cargoes that Japan is taking on a daily or monthly basis (a monthly average of 100-120 cargoes, i.e. 3-4 per day). What is much more intriguing are future prospects for Russia sending more and more gas to Japan. First, the consortium of Mitsui and JOGMEC has taken a 10-percent stake in Arctic LNG 2, with the first 3 trains coming onstream in 2023. This will inevitably create a steady stream of LNG cargoes from the Yamal and Gydan peninsula to Japan and there might even be more. NOVATEKs next step after Arctic LNG 2 will most probably be Arctic LNG 1, its capacity assumed to be 19.8mtpa across the liquefaction trains which might similarly see Japanese investment. Last but not least Japan has already declared its interest in participating in the Kamchatka transshipment terminal (to which Arc7 tankers would bring the goods for further transportation aboard conventional tankers). All of this combined creates a powerful narrative that insinuates the following the baby steps that we are seeing right now are a harbinger of much bigger things to come. By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Kochi, Aug 17 (UNI) Amid mounting protests from faithfuls, police forcefully took over the Jacobite Syrian Cathedral Church at Mulanthuruthy here on Monday. Police broke the gate of the church to enter inside and removed the faithfuls, priests and metropolitans by arresting them before taking over the church. Police took the action as the deadline fixed by the High Court for the district administration to take over the church and handover the keys was to end today. I am, as is often the case, sitting writing this column in my apartment. I could, however, be writing it anywhere: in a park, on a patio, even in the back of an Uber. Thats not a brag. Its just the freedom the digital-enabled gig economy has helped create. People cannot only work in a variety of places, but also in a myriad of ways. That freedom has come with serious costs, however. Gig economy workers like Uber drivers, delivery people and freelancers like me lack the protections of traditional workers: benefits, the strength of collective organizations like unions and legal recourse, just to name a few. Yes, we are free but often, only in the way that a ship unmoored from a dock might be. There are signs that troubling situation is beginning to be acknowledged. In California, this week a Superior Court judge granted an injunction to reclassify Uber and Lyft drivers as employees of the company rather than merely independent contractors. It follows a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in late June that cleared the way for a class-action lawsuit that asserts that Uber drivers are entitled to protections under the Ontario Employments Standards Act. Yet all the legal details can sometimes obscure an important fact: for all its freedom, the gig economy is predicated on the exploitation of its workers. Few things make this more clear than the fact that the day after the California ruling, Uber suggested that it would have to shut down its operations, claiming that it would need time to transition to a company with a full-time workforce. But what is more likely is that Uber is simply not a financially viable entity if it has to give its drivers the basic protections and pay to which most employees are entitled. Consider Ubers finances. In its second quarter as a public company in 2019, it lost a staggering $5.2 billion. This most recent results in 2020 dropped to a mere loss of $1.8 billion. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, where use of food delivery services has skyrocketed, Uber Eats lost $232 million. In that sense, Uber often appears to be function more like an operation to simply absorb vast amounts of wealth from backers like Softbank and Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund and less like a viable business. Yet this money losing streak isnt unique to Uber. Earlier this year, food delivery service Foodora quit the Canadian market, citing intense competition. But the move also followed a ruling the Ontario Labour Relations Board that allowed Foodora couriers to join unions and other labour groups. Again, when faced with the ordinary demands of giving employees basic rights, the gig economy seems to just crumble. Even the CEO of Uber appears to agree, if inadvertently. In an op-ed in the New York Times arguing that gig workers need new classifications, he stated that our current employment system is outdated and unfair. What it suggests is that there is a sort of unconscious to the gig economy. Yes, it is undeniably convenient to catch a ride for less than ten bucks, have dinner show up at your door, or be able to have a side hustle like selling trinkets on Etsy. But it seems that the dark, often unseen underside of that convenience is an army of underpaid labourers who lack basic protections. Even the money itself isnt much of a reward: a 2018 study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) pegged the wages of an Uber driver at around $12 (U.S.) an hour. The comment from Lawrence Mishel, a labour economist and former EPI president who authored the report: My sense is that taxi driving used to be an occupation that provided a very modest middle-class income, and that just doesnt seem to be the case any more. That about sums it up. For all the shiny appeal of the gig or sharing economy, what it amounts to is the decimation of well-paid, stable jobs. The question is whether the financial model of companies like Uber is fundamentally broken. Often, the money-losing nature of these businesses is seen as temporary as businesses scale up. Or, in the case of Uber, some argue that the reliance of people is itself temporary, as eventually the switch to autonomous cars and delivery robots will finally render the company profitable. But perhaps that focus on temporariness is itself indicative that we as a society are in a transitionary period in which how we think about labour, the concept of a job, and the legal structure around those things has yet to catch up to how both digital technology and massive venture-capital-backed businesses have changed the landscape. That is: we need new legal protections for gig workers that recognize being a freelancer doesnt mean one isnt also entitled to basic labour rights. Right now, as I finish this column, the sun is streaming in through the window in my bedroom, and I can basically spend my time as I choose. I value that freedom, and its worth preserving. But giving workers protection need not take away their right to work as they choose. Its time to reclassify gig workers as what they are employees and give them the dignity and protection to keep doing what they love. Read more about: As the pandemic moved through Ontario, many adopted social circles as a way to socialize while also physically distancing from others. But can you maintain a 10-person bubble after your children return to school? In short, no. I think its time to burst that bubble, said Anna Banerji, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto. Children being back at school will be interacting with other kids, she said, meaning that their bubble becomes the whole classroom. And then it becomes their whole classroom and their classrooms families. Classroom environments mean that the bubble becomes an open concept, Banerji said. The idea of a social bubble is only interaction with a set group of people 10 at the maximum, according to the Ontario governments guidelines. For anyone outside the group, people are meant to physically distance from each other. For 10 people in a bubble, it sort of works if its completely exclusive, that theyre hanging out with those 10 people, Banerji explained. But when you have 10 people to hang out with, and theyre hanging out with potentially another set of 10 people, its an open circuit, its not closed circuit, and that puts you at risk anyway. Rather than sticking to social circle advice, Banerji recommends maintaining physical distance, wearing a mask and handwashing. She advises parents to have their children wear masks if age or development appropriate, and to try to tell the kids to keep a distance away from other kids. Spreading children out within classrooms will work as a barrier to fight against spreading the virus, Banerji said. As a rule, she suggests keeping children home for as long as one week if they display any symptom, whether it is respiratory or gastrointestinal. Overall, she thinks the concept of social bubbles is disappearing. Its something that was useful at the time, when there were small groups of people and one family trying to interact with another family, (or) someone wanting to interact with grandparents or their babysitter, she said. I think we need to stick to a simple message: for all of us to go back to physical distancing, wearing a mask and washing our hands. American Law firm, Rosen Law, has announced an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of HDFC Bank. The firm is also preparing for a class action suit on behalf of banks shareholders. The investigation is reportedly resulting from allegations that HDFC Bank may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public. Rosen Law, on its website, asked investors to provide their details if they have purchased HDFC Bank Limited securities and would like to receive information about the investigation concerning the class action to recover the investor losses in HDFC Bank Limited securities. A representative of The Rosen Law Firm will contact you at no cost to you and provide you detailed information concerning the proposed class action to recover your losses in HDFC Bank Limited securities, said the firm. The charges include banks executives forcing the borrowers to buy GPS devices bundled with the auto loans and even insisting that loans will not be sanctioned unless they buy these devices. The devices, manufactured by a Mumbai firm, Trackpoint GPS, cost about Rs 18,000 a piece. Following an internal investigation, the bank had sacked some executives. The misconduct by the bank officials was acknowledged by Puri himself in the banks AGM during which he said that an internal probe was conducted against a few erring employees and appropriate action was taken. Also Read: Few auto loans executives indulged in personal misconduct, no conflict of interest: HDFC Bank's Aditya Puri Soon, reports emerged that the bank has sacked six officials in connection with the case and that the RBI has sought details of the probe. The US security firms probe is happening at a time when there are only two months left for current CEO of the bank, Aditya Puri, to retire from service after 26 years in the post. Sashidhar Jagdishan, an insider, has been named as the new CEO of the bank to succeed after Puri's term ends. Also Read: Auto loan controversy in HDFC Bank could haunt Aditya Puris successor HDFC Bank has responded to the development by saying that they will respond when it is appropriate. "We were unaware of any such development (class action lawsuit) till we heard about it from the media a little earlier today. We are getting details of it. Well examine it and respond to it as appropriate. Prima facie it does look frivolous as we believe we have been transparent in our disclosures," an HDFC Bank's communication executive said. Military members and veterans can get up to four free months of Apple Music through the Apple Music military discount -- but... Three people, a man and his two sons, were killed in a village in Navkholo, Kakamega County, Kenya as burial plans for a murdered teacher went awry. In compliance with Luhya tradition, mourners wanted the body of the murdered teacher, Ernest Opwondo Ndege, kept in his fathers compound ahead of the burial. However, the murdered teachers father, Peter Ndege, declined the request since he is one of the suspects in the tutors killing. Angered by the open disregard of tradition, the mourners turned on the teachers father killing him and his sons. Police officers who had been deployed to the compound in anticipation of the chaos were forced to fire in the air to restore order. But the mourners turned them too, pelted their car with stones injuring the police inspector in charge. Not yet calmed down, they burned down the house of the late teachers father and their livestock. During the melee, one of the police officers put a bullet hole in the late teachers casket as he mourners turned on the hearse. Villagers claimed that Ndeke and his two sons hired the gunmen who shot dead the teacher over a dispute over a parcel of land that he had sold without consulting them. The incident occurred on Friday evening, August 14. Navakholo OCPD Jacob Chelimo said that two suspects involved in the killing of the man and his two sons have been arrested and will be arraigned. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates The Supreme Court dismissed a plea by students seeking a postponement of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) that are scheduled to be held in September 2020. SC said the postponement of the exams will put students' careers in peril. Justice Arun Mishra said that if exams are not held then the students would lose an academic year. Justice Mishra also added that life should go on during COVID-19 and questioned how can exams be stopped. A total of 11 students had filed a petition against conducting these examinations by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for NTA said that the exams will have to be conducted and that adequate precautions will be taken for conducting these tests. JEE Main is the entrance exam for admission into engineering institutes while NEET is for entry into medical colleges. Also Read: Here are the new dates for JEE and NEET The petition filed by eleven students had said that conducting JEE Main 2020, JEE Advanced 2020 and NEET 2020 amidst the Coronavirus situation in India is a violation of the Right to Life of several lakh students in India. JEE Main 2020 is to be held online from September 1 to 6 while NEET 2020 for admission to undergraduate medical courses is slated to be held offline on September 13 across 161 exam centres in India. The petition had also stated cancellation of remaining exams for CBSE and ISC as also the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)'s cancellation of CA exams in May and July 2020. This is not the only case in SC with respect to conducting examinations during COVID-19. A bunch of students have filed a plea against University Grants Commission's decision to hold final-year exams amidst the virus scare. This UGC matter will come next for hearing at the apex court on August 18. The government's efforts to woo firms moving out of China appear to be working as 24 companies plan to set up mobile phone factories in India. Assembly partners of giant players in the electronics segment such as Samsung and Apple have shown interest in moving to India. These companies have pledged investments to the tune of $1.5 billion so as to establish mobile-phone factories, Bloomberg reported. The companies are planning to diversify supply chains amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and US-China trade war. So far, India has lagged behind countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Thailand in enticing these companies to set up plants in the country. However, the Indian government expects that the PLI could lead to production of $153 billion of manufactured goods and generation of nearly 1 million direct and indirect jobs. In March this year, the government had announced a production linked incentive scheme (PLI) for large scale electronics manufacturing to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in mobile phone manufacturing and specified electronic components. The scheme extended an incentive of 4 per cent to 6 per cent on incremental sales (over base year) of goods manufactured in India and covered under target segments, to eligible companies, for a period of five years subsequent to the base year as defined. Later such incentives were also extended to other sectors including pharma, auto, textiles, and food processing under the program. According to recent reports, Apple has plans to expand manufacturing in India. Its supplier Foxconn is also planning to invest up to $1 billion in India. Foxconn's planned investment in the plant near Chennai would take place over the course of three years. "There's a strong request from Apple to its clients to move part of the iPhone production out of China," Reuters had reported citing unidentified sources.Also read: Rs 50,000-crore push to mobile manufacturing can't dent China's domination Also read: Samsung plans to shift smartphone production to India from Vietnam, make devices worth $40 billion Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vazquez has lost her bid to lead the pro-statehood New Progressive Party to November's general election. On Sunday, Vazquez's rival, Pedro Pierluisi, was declared the victor following the primary election, where he received more than 57 percent of the vote. 'We have to abide by the decision of the majority,' Vazquez said in a brief speech where she warned Pierluisi that he should 'aspire' to have the support of those who voted for her. She will remain as governor until the winner of Puerto Rico's November 3 general elections takes office. The results come one week after delayed and missing ballots led to a chaotic primary that forced a second round of voting on Sunday in which thousands of Puerto Ricans got a second chance to vote for the first time. Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vazquez (left) has lost her bid to lead the pro-statehood New Progressive Party to November's general election. Her rival, Pedro Pierluisi (right), was declared the victor in the primary election Voters wait to cast their ballots in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territory's democracy Voting centers in nearly 50 of the island's 78 municipalities opened following a recent Supreme Court decision that stated a second round of voting would take place at centers that never opened on August 9 or did not remain open the required eight hours. The opening of at least one voting center in the north coastal town of Loiza was delayed by more than one hour as dozens of voters grumbled about having to stand in the heat with masks over their faces. 'We expected that there wouldn't be any problems,' said Santiago Jimenez, a 68-year-old retiree, adding that some people left. Jannette Ledoux, coordinator for the unit where the voting center was located, told The Associated Press that the problem was a result of four volunteers quitting late Saturday, delaying the required ballot counting before the doors opened. Once voting got underway, one elderly woman emerged after casting her ballot and yelled to those waiting, 'Come on! Come on! Let's vote! Let's vote!' But not everyone could participate in Sunday's second round. A volunteer assists voters in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territory's democracy The Supreme Court's ruling permanently left out voters like Eldy Correa, a 67-year-old retiree who went to her voting center in the southwest town of Cabo Rojo three times last Sunday and desisted only to find out later that it opened late. 'They took away our right to vote,' she said, adding that she was upset with the president of the elections commission despite his apologies. 'Sorry for what? That doesnt resolve anything.' Puerto Rico's general elections will see a record six candidates running for governor. Among them is Pierluisi, who served for governor less than a week after former Gov. Ricardo Rossello resigned last year following huge protests sparked by a profanity-laced chat that was leaked. However, the islands Supreme Court ruled that Vazquez, former justice secretary at the time, was next-in-line to become governor since there was no secretary of state. A volunteer scans a voter's hands before he casts his ballot in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, August 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territory's democracy Voters leave a classroom with the required face masks after casting their ballots as volunteers look on in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territory's democracy The island's two main parties have demanded that elections commission president Juan Ernesto Davila resign. Davila has said it would be irresponsible to do so amid the primaries, and that he would only consider the petition afterward. Officials have blamed the chaos of the Aug. 9 primaries on ballots arriving late to the elections commission and trucks laden with materials not leaving until the day of the primaries, when usually they depart one or two days before. Davila has said the ballots arrived late because of the pandemic, Tropical Storm Isaias and a last-minute request from both parties to print more of them. Officials from both parties said Sunday that all ballots arrived on time and that no serious delays were reported. Many Puerto Ricans remained angry and embarrassed over a botched primary that many say was a blow to the U.S territory's democracy. But that didn't stop Irma Munoz, a 72-year-old retiree, from weathering heat and the pandemic to stand in line for a second time to cast her vote. 'You have to make the sacrifice,' she said. 'Otherwise, we're stuck with what we have now.' A volunteer points out that a voter is in the wrong line and asks him to go to a neighboring classroom to cast his ballot in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territory's democracy COVID-19 has forced the state to alter its course on many plans, but a key aspect of Gov. Gavin Newsoms pre-pandemic focus on homelessness one with considerable significance for tech vendors remains on course.In a tweet last Tuesday, state Chief Data Officer Joy Bonaguro offered a bit of an update on the creation of a statewide homeless data integration system a project already underway when Newsom mentioned it Feb. 19 in his second State of the State Address, nearly all of which focused on the homelessness crisis.Important alert for multiple JOBS in #data for #homelessness: For the last several months, I've spent a good deal of my time working on the statewide homeless data integration system, Bonaguro said on Twitter. This project will provide an unprecedented level of data to help us improve policy & services for those experiencing homelessness in #california. Now is YOUR chance to serve. Each of the following positions is available - apply by Aug 13! Krista Canellakis, deputy secretary for general services at the California Government Operations Agency, and CA.gov (covid19.ca.gov in progress) were among those who retweeted. And Bonaguro briefly discussed the California Homeless Data Integration System (HDIS) during the CalData meeting Wednesday, describing it as an effort to aggregate the data on homeless people around the state and combine it so we can do better policy and planning and answer questions that weve never been able to answer before. The positions close almost immediately, but heres a bit more on the system and each job: The California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency (BCSH), a cabinet-level agency, continues work on HDIS with the California Department of Technology , Lynn von Koch-Liebert, BCSH deputy secretary of housing and consumer services, told Techwire on Wednesday. A central goal is to link state government with local Continuums of Care (CoC) regional planning bodies that grapple with homelessness giving the state better visibility into their aggregated, generalized information; enhancing its ability to report on that annually to the federal government; and improving work to combat homelessness.The major first thing that this will offer to, especially, the local partners, is that well be able to do cross-jurisdictional analyses, von Koch-Liebert said, noting this is not now possible. She and CDT confirmed that an HDIS procurement that opened April 3 is ongoing through Nov. 30; it seeks solutions for a statewide integrated data system to collect and integrate specific data from each (Homeless Management Information System) administered by the CoCs, with the goal of matching data on homelessness to programs impacting homeless recipients of state programs. The system, HDIS, will be built on broadly used cloud services to collect data throughout the state and store such data within a single repository for analysis and reporting purposes, per the solicitation a three-part procurement now in its second stage. Currently, qualified bidders are developing proofs of concept (POC) so the state may evaluate their development and outcomes. Stage 3 is contract negotiations.This type of procurement is a first for BCSH but not CDT, von Koch-Liebert said. The idea is that at award, the state will already have a degree of familiarity with the vendor selected and its solution, so that then we will be able to move very quickly into full-scale development and implementation and then launching an implementation. HDIS is funded in the 2020-2021 Fiscal Year budget , she confirmed, noting that a launch is not likely until early 2021. BCSH is seeking to fill four positions all limited-term, 12-month jobs that could become permanent, or be extended or canceled at any time, it said in four job listings. The agency seeks a Homeless Management Information Systems lead (IT associate) to work under the IT manager I (ITMI) in the Data Integration Unit, providing training and support services to Continuums of Care and local service providers on the use of the HDIS Homeless Manage Information System (HMIS) functionality. BCSH is also filling three IT specialist jobs of different levels. Two a data governance specialist and a business intelligence specialist are ITS1 positions. The former would offer consultation and information on data governance issues related to the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Councils (HCFC) proposed HDIS. The latter would be a data analytics solutions specialist responsible for leading and delivering solutions based on the HDIS platform. The fourth position is a senior business analyst , an ITS2 position, and would offer consultation and information regarding proposed information technology systems, and (perform) complex information technology systems studies to support HCFC. A bill to create a statewide database on homelessness, Assembly Bill 2872 , the California Homelessness Data System Act, from Assemblymember Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, has stalled in the Legislature, but Fong told Techwire in a statement that he continues to take input from stakeholders and fellow lawmakers and, pointing out that the current session has been truncated by the pandemic, said he wants to take the necessary time to fully develop our proposal during the next legislative session. Thousands of anti-government protesters seen on August 16, 2020, in Bangkok, Thailand. Vachira Vachira/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Pro-democracy protests have rumbled on for a month in Thailand, with calls for free elections and a new constitution. Now, anti-monarchy sentiment is on the rise, with many calling for a true constitutional monarchy and mocking their king, Rama X. Many people do not dare criticize the monarchy in Thailand because the country operates strict lese-majeste laws that make it illegal to insult, defame, or threaten any member of the royal family. King Rama X has been waiting out the coronavirus pandemic in Germany since at least March. Multiple outlets have reported that he is in a luxury German hotel with 20 women. The hashtag "Why do we need a king?" trended on Thai-language Twitter after he fled. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Pro-democracy protests are growing in size in Thailand, with demonstrators seizing on the momentum to challenge the legitimacy of their playboy sovereign. Since July 18, protesters have amassed daily in Bangkok, demanding free elections, a new constitution, and an end to the harassment of activists by the military. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people rallied at the city's Democracy Monument on Sunday, according to reports. In recent weeks, reform of the monarchy has joined the list of demands for many demonstrators. The country has operated as a constitutional monarchy since 1932 after a revolution ended absolute rule. Many people in Thailand do not dare to criticize their monarchy due to the country's strict lese-majeste laws, which make it illegal to insult, defame, or threaten any member of the royal family. Criticizing the monarchy is punishable by up to 15 years in jail. King Rama X has come under attack in recent months for fleeing the country during the coronavirus pandemic. Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn presents a gift to his queen Suthida at Ampornsan Throne Hall in Bangkok at their wedding on May 1, 2019. Bureau of the Royal Household via AP King Rama acceded to the throne in 2016, but has spent large chunks of his rule in Europe. He has been in Germany since at least March. Multiple news outlets reported earlier this year that he was waiting out the pandemic with 20 female companions in a four-star hotel in the the Bavarian Alps. Story continues After news of King Rama's flight, the hashtag #WhyDoWeNeedAKing began trending on Thai-language Twitter. Last Wednesday, members of the Free People protest group held a press conference where they reiterated their demands for the government, but did not directly attack the monarchy. The group said their dream of a constitutional monarchy "is possible under the constitutional process in a democratic system which gives power to the people," the Bangkok Post reported. "Once the constitution is rewritten, every true demand of the people will be spoken of and recognized," they added. "Moreover, under the constitution, all are equal without any exception." King Rama X of Thailand. Getty Images Critics of the country's 2017 constitution say it is weak and allowed Prayut Chan-o-cha, the current military-backed prime minister who oversaw the new constitution, to win the 2019 election with ease. The law preventing criticism of the monarchy has led to protesters using Harry Potter references as a front for their discontent. As Insider's Jacob Sarkisian previously reported, they dressed up straw man as Voldemort, the villain of the novels, and carried banners urging the removal of "he who must not be named. Pro-human rights protesters carried signs reading "trans witches are witches" and "trans wizards are wizards." Read the original article on Insider Michelle Obama waves as she appears onstage during the first session at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 25, 2016. Jim Young | Reuters WASHINGTON Four Republicans, two popular Democratic governors, one very progressive senator and former first lady Michelle Obama will all appear on stage Monday to kick off the first all-virtual Democratic National Convention. The goal of the evening's two-hour broadcast will be to showcase what a big tent Democrats have built in the age of Trump. To do that, they have Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a democratic socialist, speaking in the same hour as former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican who sought his party's presidential nomination in 2016. Read more: Here's the lineup for Day 1 of the DNC They also have two Democratic governors, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Both have won praise for capably leading their states through the coronavirus crisis, and for reaching across the aisle to work with Republicans when they needed to. Republicans for Biden Kasich is not alone. Three more Republicans are set to address the virtual convention Monday: Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman and former New York Rep. Susan Molinari. Including this many members of the opposite party in a national nominating convention is virtually unheard of. But it reflects the fact that national Democrats this year see their ticket of former Vice President Joe Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris as a natural fit for Republican voters who are either exhausted or disgusted by three years of President Donald Trump. "I had always been hopeful, even after the convention and after the election, that perhaps we would see a change in the president, but we just never have," Kasich told The New York Times. "I happen to think it's the soul of our country that is being damaged, and that's what I'm concerned about." Former Ohio Governor John Kasich John Lamparski | Getty Images Still, there's a lot of rhetorical space between simply being "concerned" about Trump and actively endorsing Biden. This will be a key dynamic to watch for on Monday night: Whether speakers representing the edges of what Democrats hope will be their 2020 coalition are all in for Biden, or whether they're just afraid of Trump. Dividing lines It's not just erstwhile Republicans whom the party will be wooing on Monday. It's also the progressives on the far left side of the proverbial tent, some of whom were disappointed last week that Biden did not choose a more traditionally progressive running mate. For them, convention organizers are giving the nation's most visible progressive lawmaker, Sanders, a prominent platform on Monday, where he will be the second-to-last speaker of the night. Sanders was the last Democratic primary candidate to drop out, leaving Biden as the party's presumptive nominee. While he officially endorsed Biden shortly afterwards, progressives will be looking to Sanders on Monday for a convincing argument why they should vote for Biden and Harris. There are two ways that Sanders could use his time on Monday: He could either focus his remarks solely on Trump's flaws and failings, essentially making the case not for Biden, but for anyone else besides Trump. Or Sanders could step up and offer an affirmative endorsement of Biden and Harris because of who they are, not just because they're not Donald Trump. Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders rallies with supporters in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, February 26, 2020. Jonathan Ernst | Reuters An affirmative speech from Sanders would be warmly welcomed by Biden and by Democratic Party leaders, who privately acknowledge that the nominee still has an enthusiasm deficit among progressives that Trump is eager to exploit. TRUMP TWEET While Trump's hyperbole may not capture exactly what's going on, there were signs Monday that Democrats still have work to do if they plan to unite the various anti-Trump factions under one banner. Before Kasich had taken the stage, he was already getting pushback from a prominent progressive after he mentioned her in an interview: New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. CORTEZ TWEET Michelle Obama's 'big picture' If enthusiasm and unity are what Democrats need to project on Monday night, then there is no one better to do so than the night's keynote speaker: former first lady Michelle Obama. Three years out of the White House, polls still show Obama among the most admired and respected women in America. She even wins approval among Republican women, a crucial voting bloc that Democrats hope to peel away from the president this year. More importantly, Obama can deliver unifying and motivating "big picture" political speeches like few others, a skill that earned her a memorable nickname during her husband's 2008 presidential run "the closer." On Monday afternoon, Obama released a clip of her remarks, which appear to have been pre-recorded. "I know Joe. He is a profoundly decent man guided by faith," says Obama. "He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue and economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country." Reporter Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey). Posts and pages spreading Holocaust denial and fascism are being actively recommended to Facebook users, research has found. The social media giant defended its policy on what it called lies or content that is inaccurate, but the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) think tank said such content must be recognised as a form of antisemitic hate speech. Researchers used a popular keyword used by Holocaust deniers to uncover 28 Facebook groups and eight pages that had almost 370,000 followers in total. From clicking through to these pages, Facebooks recommendation algorithm led ISD researchers to further Holocaust denial pages, the report said. Facebook also appears to promote content on the extreme right to those demonstrating an interest in Holocaust denial content. The platform recommended to researchers to visit Australian pages supportive of Oswald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists, and the works of a fascist Italian philosopher. Recommendations also included pages dedicated to the notorious British Holocaust denier David Irving and publishers selling revisionist literature. One of the most popular pages claimed it was expressing intellectual freedom, while others claimed they were conducting a scientific investigation of historical events. The ISD said 13 of the pages or groups were dedicated to conspiracy theories, nine were ideologically far-right, seven anti-Zionist, five pro-Palestine, one Christian right and one Islamist. Facebook said it only removed Holocaust denial content in countries, such as Germany, which have made it illegal and did not take down content for being inaccurate. But ISD researchers said Holocaust denial should not be treated as a debate simply over facts. This perception ignores the fact that Holocaust denial is a form of antisemitic hate speech, as well as a form of disinformation, the report added. Teacher who refused to call Holocaust factual, historical event is fired Holocaust denial has long been one of the most insidious conspiracy theories targeting Jewish communities. This speech seeks not only to minimise the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust, but to mitigate criticism of Nazism and justify ongoing attacks against the Jewish people. Due to the intimate intersection between Holocaust denial and hate targeting Jews, such content should be regarded as inherently antisemitic. The report warned that other digital platforms had also amplified and mainstreamed it in recent years. Twitter was accused of providing a home to an established and active community of Holocaust deniers. Between June 2018 and July 2020, researchers found 19,000 posts mentioning the term holohoax, although many were criticising Holocaust denial rather than spreading it. The ISD found that such content had been reduced on Reddit through a combination of moderation efforts and pushback from other users. It has also decreased significantly in the past year on YouTube following changes to the video platforms terms of service. A Facebook spokesperson said: We take down any post that celebrates, defends, or attempts to justify the Holocaust. Remembering the Holocaust Show all 16 1 /16 Remembering the Holocaust Remembering the Holocaust 119165.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119169.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119229.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119167.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119162.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119166.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119163.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119224.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119168.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119228.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119152.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119226.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119150.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119151.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119147.bin Hannah Bills Remembering the Holocaust 119231.bin Hannah Bills The same goes for any content that mocks Holocaust victims, accuses victims of lying, spews hate, or advocates for violence against Jewish people in any way. We also remove groups and pages that discuss Holocaust denial from recommendations and references to it in search predictions. While we do not take down content simply for being untruthful, many posts that deny the Holocaust often violate our policies against hate speech and are removed. Twitter said it used its policies on hateful conduct and the glorification of violence on such content, adding: We take action against content that glorifies or praises the Holocaust. The report was published as faith leaders and campaigners called for the government to urgently bring forward its new online harms legislation to make social media companies accountable. A joint statement said the scandal over antisemitic comments by rapper Wiley showed the prevalence of hate. We cannot continue to rely on their piecemeal approach to online abuse, it added. Today, we are calling on the UK government to bring forward the Online Harms legislation as a matter of urgency. It promised to make the UK the safest place in the world to be online, but their flagship Online Harm legislation continues to be delayed. The statement was signed by leading figures including campaigner Akeela Ahmed, who is an independent member of the Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group; Islamophobia monitor Tell Mama; the Community Security Trust; Hindu Council UK, and the Church of Scotland. A Home Office spokesperson said: Online hate crimes are unacceptable and we want to see social media companies act much faster to remove racist content festering on their platforms. We will introduce new laws to place a duty of care on online platforms to ensure they keep their users safe from a wide range of harms, including online hate crime. Syracuse, N.Y. For the second time in less than two hours Sunday night, Syracuse police were called to a reported shooting. Someone called the Onondaga County 911 Center at 10:08 p.m. to say her little brother had been shot in the leg, according to police dispatches. The 16-year-old boy was reportedly shot at 213 Warner Ave., dispatchers said. Syracuse police and firefighters, and American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance responded to the scene. City police were still investigating and have not yet commented on the Warner Avenue incident. Earlier Sunday night, city police were called to a shooting in the 3200 block of South Salina Street. Multiple people called 911 after hearing about five gunshots in the area and realizing someone had been struck by a bullet. When police arrived, they found a 23-year-old man shot in the chest, Syracuse police spokesman Sgt. Matthew Malinowski said. AMR ambulance took the 23-year-old to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, where he was in critical condition Sunday night, Malinowski said. Syracuse police ask anyone with information about the shootings to call them at (315) 442-5222 or use the Syracuse PD tips app. Have a tip or a story idea? Contact Catie OToole: cotoole@syracuse.com | text/call 315-470-2134 | Twitter | Facebook PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Responding to recent media report regarding a potential rights issue, French real estate company Unibail-Rodamco SE (UNBLF, UNRDY) said that its supervisory board and management board continue to weigh the merits of all potential strategies to strengthen the company's financial profile in line with their respective fiduciary duties. However, no decision has been made yet on any of the available additional deleveraging options. On Friday, Bloomberg reported that Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield was considering raising new equity as the retail industry battles the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. The company had been in early discussions with potential advisers about fundraising options. It was considering a rights offering and may aim to raise about 3 billion euros or $3.5 billion if it decides to proceed, the report said citing people familiar with the matter. As previously indicated, the company had 12.7 billion euros of cash and undrawn credit facilities at its disposal. Unibail said in a statement on Sunday. The company said it has taken a number of steps in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen its liquidity and balance sheet, including the cancellation of the second dividend instalment, deferring non-essential capital expenditures, a further reduction of the development pipeline and the completion of the disposal of five French shopping centres. The company noted that the deleveraging is a priority for the company, starting with asset disposals as evidenced by its intention to sell 4 billion euros of assets in the next couple of years, on top of the 4.8 billion euros of disposals the Group completed since June 30, 2018. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de US WeChat move puts firms at risk From:ChinaDaily | 2020-08-17 07:41 Multinational companies voice their concerns in White House phone call As China is about to become the world's largest consumer market this year, the US government's executive order against WeChat may result in US companies leaving China, said a former vice-minister of commerce. "For a country boasting a free economy, the Trump administration's recent move is unimaginable and will severely damage US companies' businesses in China," Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily. Wei is a former vice-minister of commerce. "This is particularly unwise as China is going to become the world's largest consumer market this year, owing to its rapid recovery from the pandemic," said Wei, adding that this development has made the country's consumer market critical for domestic and international producers. Retail sales in China reached 41.2 trillion yuan ($5.92 trillion) last year, and retail sales dropped by 1.1 percent in July on a yearly basis, narrowing from the 1.8 percent decline in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Market research firm eMarketers said in a report in June that retail sales in the US will drop 10.5 percent to $4.89 trillion this year, a level not seen since 2016. "Quite a number of US companies, in fact, are betting on the Chinese market to salvage their global earnings," Wei said. The shoemaker Skechers US, for instance, saw overall quarterly sales drop 42 percent year-on-year but got some relief from 11.5 percent growth in China. More than a dozen major US multinationals, including Apple Inc, Walmart and Walt Disney Co, raised concerns in a telephone call with White House officials on Tuesday about the potentially broad scope and impact of President Donald Trump's executive order targeting WeChat, saying it could undermine their competitiveness in the world's second-biggest economy. WeChat is a widely used app around the world, especially by Chinese, and banning it could effectively cut off much informal communication between people in China and the United States. "For those who don't live in China, they don't understand how vast the implications are if American companies aren't allowed to use it," Craig Allen, president of the US-China Business Council, was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying. "They are going to be held at a severe disadvantage to every competitor." In a recent online survey by xueqiu.com, 807,000 respondents said they would get rid of their Apple phone if WeChat had to be removed from its devices, compared with 48,000 who said they would remove the app instead. According to Tencent's first-quarter financial report of 2020, the monthly active users of WeChat have exceeded 1.2 billion. Wei considered the US government's latest move against Chinese internet companies a part of its "maximum pressure" campaign, forcing China to compromise on issues of core interests. "Those moves, on the other hand, reflect a US image as a closed and isolated economy, a retreat for the world's largest economy," Wei said. Despite the US government's pressure, 18,800 foreign-funded companies were established across China between January and July, including 860 US companies, justifying global investors' confidence in the market. And foreign direct investment from the US continued to flow into China, rising 6 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020, according to the Ministry of Commerce. The Trump administration said on Monday it has officially approved a plan to open a pristine Arctic wildlife refuge in Alaska for oil drilling, an effort that has enraged environmental groups who say the work will threaten polar bears and herds of caribou in the region. The plan has been in the works since Congress mandated in its 2017 tax bill that the Interior Department must auction off drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It would open up the so-called 1002 area, a patch of 1.5 million acres along the coast of the Beaufort Sea. "I do believe that there certainly could be a lease sale by the end of the year, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told reporters on a conference call. Oil companies have sought access to ANWR for decades, but the official decision to open it comes at a time when few in the industry are expected to take a risk on unexplored properties with little data on the oil resources beneath the surface. But Bernhardt said despite the absence of seismic data that companies use to map out oil reservoirs before drilling, he expected interest to be strong. "I think a lot of people will bid without seismic data, he told reporters. But David Hayes, a former Obama administration Interior official and now the head of the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at New York University School of Law, said the lack of geological data and Interior's failure to assess how seismic testing itself could impact the area were two major shortfalls that could doom Interiors efforts to open the area to drilling. Environmental groups could exploit Interiors contention that oil production would affect only 2,000 acres of land, even though the agency's own review shows drilling wells would be widely dispersed and have to be connected with many miles pipelines, Hayes added. They tried to use creative accounting to suggest this will only impact 2,000 acres, Hayes said in an interview. But they dont fully analyze the impact of a full 1.5 million acres crisscrossed by pipelines out the wazoo. ... There are tripwires they have right out of the box. Story continues President Donald Trump, who has previously boasted about opening ANWR, indicated in an interview early Monday that no final decision had been made on opening the area. "We may or may not do it," he said. "Well no, we are looking at it." Bernhardt declined to comment on Trumps comments, saying, Im not aware of what the President specifically said. Oil companies have been leaving Alaska because of the high cost of drilling and shipping oil from such a remote area compared to the relatively quick and cheap oil wells they can drill in Texas, North Dakota and other states already equipped with pipelines. British oil giant BP last month completed a sale of its extensive Alaska operations to the smaller Hilcorp, and ConocoPhillips remains one of the only major oil companies still drilling in Alaska. Shell dropped its offshore Alaska interest in 2015 after failing to find oil in an expensive exploration effort. Oil trade association American Petroleum Institute cheered Bernhardts announcement, saying in a press release the industry has "a well-established record of safe and environmentally responsible development of Alaskas energy resources and has been recognized for its success in being respectful of Alaskas wildlife and surrounding communities. But others in the industry were less confident that opening up ANWR this year would trigger a rush to the area, and the possibility that Alaskan voters would back a November ballot referendum that would raise taxes on oil production was adding to the uncertainty. There may be a few players looking at this but it will be far from a Gold Rush, said one industry official who requested anonymity to speak frankly. In the current and near term energy market, the costs of development is significantly higher than for the Permian Shale [in Texas] and in some cases Gulf of Mexico development. Even industry officials who supported the move in principal said there may be limited interest in the area for now. We may not need those resources today but we will eventually, said Dan Eberhart, chief executive of oil services company Canary LLC and a major Republican donor. Environmental groups also said tapping the resources from the area will exacerbate climate change in a region that is already seeing a loss of permafrost and, in some cases, villages on the coastline in danger of sliding into the sea. This plan will not only harm caribou, polar bears, and other wildlife, it is foolish in the face of rapidly advancing climate change, said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala. Oil companies will have to harden their infrastructure to withstand melting permafrost and rising seas, leading to an even greater impact. Center for Biological Diversity attorney Kristen Monsell said her group would challenge Interiors decision in court, noting that the departments environmental review was fundamentally flawed in its downplaying or dismissal of climate science. The administrations narrow focus ignores both the science and the agencys legal obligations, Monsell said. This move is both reckless and unlawful and well continue to fight it using all the tools we have, including litigation. Democrats, native tribes in the area and environmental groups have long opposed Interiors efforts to open ANWR. They said drilling in the area would negatively impact caribou herds in the area that are an important food source for tribes, and point to Interiors own environmental impact review that says drilling in the area would harm polar bears. A number of major global banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, have said they wont provide financing for drilling in ANWR. Environmental activists have suggested the reputational risks to companies operating in ANWR would be severe. Those announcements from the banks have prompted the Trump administration to explore whether they were discriminating against the project, which was first reported by POLITICO. By PTI PHULBANI (Odisha): Maoists on Monday torched four vehicles of a company engaged in road construction work in Odishas Kandhamal district, police said. The Maoists stormed the road construction site at Kanjal Ghat under Balliguda police station limits and set ablaze the four vehicles, including a truck and a tractor, Kandhamal Superintendent of Police Vinit Agarwal said. The red rebels were suspected to be members of Bansadara-Nagabali-Ghumusar division of the banned CPI (Maoist), he said. Soon after the incident, personnel of the Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) rushed to the scene. Combing operation has been intensified in the area, police said. The Maoists had earlier threatened the company to give up the particular road construction project and stop work, said Monoj Pujari, DSP, Balliguda. The red rebels have given a call for observing a week-long bandh in Kandhamal from August 18 and posters in this regard have been displayed at several places in Balliguda area, he said. Apparently frustrated over the repeated crackdown by the police to curb Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in Kandhamal, the red rebels have indulged in vandalism to prove their existence, police said. Last month seven Maoists were killed in three encounters in Sirla forest area, they said. A group of 152 eminent legal experts from around the world, along with 15 lawyers associations, this morning issued an open letter to the British government documenting a litany of abuses perpetrated against Julian Assange by the countrys judiciary and all the governments that have pursued the WikiLeaks founder for the past decade. The 10-page document is a meticulous review of Assanges case, including the current attempt to extradite him from Britain to the US where he faces life imprisonment for publishing evidence of war crimes and global diplomatic conspiracies. Its conclusion, backed by extensive citations of relevant legislation, is unambiguous: the campaign against Assange has been based upon gross violations of domestic and international law, and the WikiLeaks founder must be immediately released from prison. The signatories write that the recipients of the letterBritish Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Justice Secretary Robert Buckland, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and Home Secretary Priti Patelare legally obligated to grant Mr. Assange his long overdue freedomfreedom from torture, arbitrary detention and deprivation of liberty, and political persecution. Julian Assange The letter was publicly released just days after Assanges last British court appearance on Friday which took the Kafkaesque character of previous proceedings to new heights. As has been the case throughout the coronavirus crisis, the press was effectively excluded from the hearing by means of a faulty dial-in connection. The US prosecutors did not show up, and Assange was only brought in by video conference at the eleventh hour. Most egregiously, US prosecutors submitted to the British authorities a new indictment of Assange two days before the hearing began and a new extradition request the day before it was held. This is more than a year after the deadline expired for the US to submit its final charge sheet, and just weeks out from Assanges scheduled extradition hearing in September. Assange has not yet been re-arrested on the basis of the new indictment. To all intents and purposes he is in a legal limbo, being detained on the basis of a previous indictment that has been superseded. As the WSWS commented on Saturday, the new indictment, which contains no new charges or evidence, confronts Assanges lawyers with an impossible dilemma: either they accept that the September hearing will proceed despite the filling of an indictment after the defence had finalised its case, or they appeal for a delay, prolonging Assanges detention. Todays letter demonstrates that this unprecedented situation is the culmination of ten years of legal abuses. The opening sections of the document outline the blatant illegality of the attempt to extradite Assange to the US. If handed over to his American persecutors, Assange faces a show trial at the infamous Espionage court of the Eastern District of Virginia before which no national security defendant has ever succeeded. He would be denied the right to a trial before a jury of his peers, instead being judged by a handpicked collection of intelligence agents and government patsies. Assanges rights to legal privilege in such a proceeding, the letter writers note, has already been violated by the well-documented surveillance conducted against him as a political refugee in Ecuadors London embassy by the US Central Intelligence Agency. This included unlawful recordings of his discussions with attorneys, constituting an irremediable breach of Mr. Assanges fundamental rights to a fair trial under Art. 6 of the ECHR [European Convention on Human Rights] and due process under the US Constitution. The protection of legal privilege contained in the ECHR, has, the letter states, long been recognised in English common law, while the inalienable right to a fair trial is enshrined in the United Nations Model Treaty on Extradition. The dispatch of Assange to the US would be unlawful under the existing treaty arrangements between the US and Britain, which explicitly prohibit extraditions for political offences. Assange has been charged on the basis of explicitly political legislation, the US Espionage Act. The political character of the prosecution has been further demonstrated by the essence of the 18 charges against him, which are all based on his alleged intention to obtain or disclose US state secrets in a manner that was damaging to the strategic and national security interests of the US state, to the capability of its armed forces, the work of the security and intelligence services of the US, and to the interests of the US abroad. The signatories cite the warnings of United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer that Assange would inevitably face torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment if extradited. He would be imprisoned under Special Administrative Measures, to which many convicted terrorists are subject in the US, involving total isolation and conditions described by rights organisations as a living death. This would breach international law prohibitions on the refoulement of political refugees to those responsible for their persecution. Assanges status as a political asylee was repeatedly upheld by the UN, and its abrogation was carried out by the Ecuadorian and British authorities last year in violation of international law. The letter writers point to the broader implications of Assanges case. A successful US prosecution would overturn the principles of press freedom, undermining not only the American Constitution, but the legal protections of journalists in Europe and internationally. The latter half of the letter details the abuses that have been perpetrated against Assange by the British judiciary, acting under the direction of the countrys government. These are almost too numerous to detail at any length. They include, however, the fact that the British authorities have done nothing to address UN official Melzers finding that Assange is already being subjected to psychological torture, including as a result of the conditions of his detention and the blithe dismissal of warnings that his health has deteriorated to the point he may die in prison. Violations of the WikiLeaks founders right to a fair trial include the fact that the Chief Magistrate, Emma Arbuthnot, has a clear judicial conflict of interest as a result of her close connections to the security and intelligence apparatus; the inequality of arms expressed in Assanges inability to prepare his own case and the denial of his ability to direct his legal team or even to properly follow the proceedings against him. The signatories, to their credit, do not blunt their weapons. They condemn the denial of Mr. Assanges right to a fair trial before the UK courts and conclude by insisting that the the UK government bring an end to the US extradition proceedings against Mr. Assange and ensure his immediate release from custody. Those who have initiated and supported the letter carry significant weight. The legal associations that have endorsed it include national lawyers' and jurists' associations from countries as diverse as the United States, India, the Ukraine and Brazil. Among them are bodies that represent legal professionals across entire continents including the African Bar Association and the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights. Two of them, the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and the Association of American Lawyers (AAL), have consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the highest UN status granted to NGOs. Individual signatories hail from around the world, and include such distinguished legal experts as the British Lord Hendy QC and Australian barrister and human rights advocate Julian Burnside. The letter is further proof, if any were needed, that Assanges persecution is a travesty of justice threatening legal and democratic norms that, at least on paper, protect the rights of millions, if not billions of people around the world. It is no exaggeration to state that the lawlessness of his treatment by the British authorities recalls nothing so much as the actions of the dictatorial regimes that came to power in western Europe amid the last period of capitalist breakdown in the 1930s and 40s. Significantly, the signatories have formally constituted themselves as Lawyers for Assange. This follows the establishment last year of Doctors for Assange, a group of more than 200 medical experts, and Journalists speak up for Assange, which has been endorsed by 1,498 reporters in 99 countries. In July, dozens of privacy, human rights and press freedom organisations issued an open letter to the British government demanding Assanges immediate release. Taken together, these initiatives provide a glimpse of the real global public opinion on the Assange case, which is usually suppressed by a pliant corporate media. For those who defend democratic rights, the actions of the US and British governments are those of rogue states, with no respect for the rule of law. Assange is a heroic journalist being persecuted for publishing the truth. The determination of the major powers to proceed with the prosecution of Assange demonstrates how much is at stake in the case. It underscores the fact that to free the WikiLeaks founder requires nothing less than the mobilisation of the working class internationally, the objective basis for which exists in the resurgence of the class struggle and the immense social and political disaffection everywhere. An Arizona man linked to the murders of at least three young women in Nevada more than 40 years ago who were found gagged, bound, and blindfolded was found to have pornographic material showing victims assaulted in a similar manner, according to investigators. Charles Gary Sullivan, a 73-year-old retired plumber and locksmith, pleaded not guilty in a Reno, Nevada, courtroom to the 1979 murder of 21-year-old Julia Woodward. The trial is scheduled for January. Sullivan, who was convicted in 2008 of false imprisonment in an unrelated case, was extradited last year to Nevada after investigators cited DNA evidence allegedly linking him to the killing of Woodward, who was last seen in San Carlos, California, on February 1, 1979. Woodward boarded a plane at San Francisco Airport that day to fly to South Lake Tahoe to start a new life. Her decomposed body was found in a remote area about 15 miles north of Reno on March 25, 1979. Charles Gary Sullivan, 73, (left) pleaded not guilty to the 1979 murder of 21-year-old Julia Woodward (right) Detectives said her legs were bound with plastic zip ties and that she was bludgeoned to death with a rock. Woodwards eyes had also been sealed shut with Band-Aids and a cloth had been used to gag her, according to KNXV-TV. Investigators said they also noticed that Woodwards underwear was missing and semen was detected on her pants. Authorities said DNA evidence linking Sullivan to Woodward confirms his guilt. Investigators revealed that images seized from Sullivan's computer show pornographic material in which women are sexually assaulted while being bound, gagged, and tied up. Authorities claim this proves Sullivan's guilt as it points to intent and motive. 'Numerous searches for, and images of, pornographic bondage images, in which women are bound, gagged, and or blindfolded while engaged in sexual activity,' according to prosecutors. 'In other words, the evidence relating to Defendants computer usage is exactly the type of evidence one would expect to find on the computer of a man who abducts, binds, blindfolds, gags, rapes, and kills women.' Julia (above) disappeared soon after moving to Reno in February 1979, and a month later her body was found in a shallow grave in the desert near Lemmon Valley Sullivans DNA was obtained after he was arrested in Nevada County in 2007 for kidnapping a 25-year-old Eureka, California, woman and holding her at gunpoint. According to the victim, she met Sullivan after he picked her up as she was hitchhiking on Highway 20 in Nevada County, California. Sullivan offered to drive her all the way to Nevada City, according to The Union. She testified that she agreed to go with Sullivan to see a turquoise mine near Bowman Lake. As they were walking down a path, she stopped to tie her shoe. She testified that Sullivan then came up from behind, grabbed her shoulder, and pointed a handgun at her head. Sullivan then forced her to lie down on the ground and handcuffed her using zip ties to bound her wrists and ankles. She testified that Sullivan told her not to look at him and that the only thing thats going to be involved is sex. Were just going to be out here for a few days having fun, Sullivan told the victim. He then went to his van to retrieve a blanket. The woman then managed to cut through the zip ties on her ankles and fled. She hailed a ride with two men who were driving by on an all-terrain vehicle. The two men testified that the victim appeared very frantic, very scared and that she had zip ties and handcuffs on her wrists. She was also without any shoes. The victim told the two men that a man with a gun was trying to kill her. Sullivan claimed at trial that the handcuffs belonged to the woman and that she initiated the encounter. Sullivan was acquitted of kidnapping but convicted of false imprisonment and making criminal threats. He was sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison. The victims description of Sullivans efforts to tie her up and the manner in which Woodwards body was found have led investigators to believe that he may be behind other murders in which women were similarly tied up and gagged. Investigators believe Sullivan may also be responsible for the killing of two other young women in the Reno-Tahoe area in the late 1970s - 17-year-old Jeannie Smith and 23-year-old Linda Taylor. Investigators are searching for any connection to the murder of 17-year-old Jeannie Smith, whose skeletal remains were found in November 1979 near where Julia was buried Public records show that Sullivan operated plumbing and locksmith businesses in the 1990s, but they appear to be defunct and he lived in a remote Arizona cabin with his wife The body of Smith, who was last seen on October 27, 1978, in Reno, was found less than a mile away in the same remote part of northern Nevada. Smith was found face down with elastic bandages over her eyes, tape on her legs, and a scar around her neck that was used to gag her, according to Reno Gazette- Journal. Medical examiners said there were indications that Smith, a waitress at a Reno casino, had been sexually assaulted. It is believed she was dead a week before her body was found. 'The zipper to her jeans had been forcibly opened,' investigators said of Smith. 'Jeannie's clothes - as well as other cloth, tape and rope - were discovered within 30 feet of her skeletal remains...As was the case with Julie, Jeannie was missing her underwear and ID.' Investigators also believe Sullivan may have played a role in the March 1979 disappearance of Linda Taylor, a 23-year-old bartender at a Reno casino. Her body has never been found. Description GIS 17 August 2020:T he French Minister of Outer Islands, Mr Sebastien Lecornu, who has been delegated by French President Emmanuel Macron, to effect a visit to Mauritius in connection with efforts being made to mitigate the effects of the oil spill caused by the MV Wakashio, expressed confidence as to the Mauritian authorities taking the right decision following the split of the grounded vessel at Pointe dEsny. he French Minister of Outer Islands, Mr Sebastien Lecornu, who has been delegated by French President Emmanuel Macron, to effect a visit to Mauritius in connection with efforts being made to mitigate the effects of the oil spill caused by the MV Wakashio, expressed confidence as to the Mauritian authorities taking the right decision following the split of the grounded vessel at Pointe dEsny. He was speaking during a press conference, yesterday, held jointly with the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano, at the Blue Bay Marine Park Centre. He added that France will provide all assistance in helping Mauritius regarding the anti-pollution measures being implemented in the lagoon. On this score, he pointed out that three experts will be sent to Mauritius to assist the Mauritian authorities in decision-making following the oil spill and the split of the vessel. He further emphasised that France is closely monitoring the evolution of the situation. He stressed that though France is well-equipped to deal with such incident, he nevertheless expressed apprehension as to the oil spill reaching the coast of Reunion Island. There are lessons to be learnt and it is important to maintain good cooperation in the Indo-Pacific sea route, where maritime traffic is intense, he said. According to French Minister Lecornu, with the grounding of the MV Wakashio, Mauritius must seize the opportunity to reconsider the impact of such kinds of incidents on the biodiversity and maritime security. As regards the remains, he reiterated that Mauritian authorities must consider the best possible options and take the right decision for the way forward with due consideration on the protection of the biodiversity and ecosystem. Concerning the restoration of the affected areas, the French Minister observed that it would take at least ten months for a proper cleaning of the affected areas. For his part, the Minister of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, Mr Kavydass Ramano, underlined that Mauritius will need all necessary guidance and expertise to take stock of the damage caused to the ecosystem before proceeding with the mitigation and accompanying measures for the restoration of the flora and fauna in the region. Moreover, he stated that inputs from experts will be a requisite to carrying out a complete and methodical assessment of the social, economic and environmental impacts. Minister Ramano also conveyed his gratitude towards friendly countries which responded favourably to Mauritius call for support in this period of unprecedented environmental crisis. He thanked France for its rapid intervention and remained grateful to President Emmanuel Macron who without hesitation intervened to provide immediate assistance to Mauritius. He reiterated his appreciation as to the gesture of solidarity and patriotism demonstrated by economic operators, Non-Governmental Organisations and the population at large in dealing with the situation. The Mauritian government is confident and determined to emerge from this crisis by uniting our efforts, he concluded. As at date all remaining 3,000 tonnes of oil have been pumped out of the vessel while 90 tonnes are still on board, much of it residue from the leakage. With the split of the MV Wakashio, the salvage team namely SMIT Salvage Pte Ltd and Nippon Salvage Co Ltd, intend to pull the front two-thirds out to sea using two tugboats to avoid further damage to the Mauritian coastline. As to the remaining portion still stuck in the reef, a decision will be taken upon advice of experts. 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 When Joe Biden said of Kamala Harris, "Her story is America's story", it felt like 2008 in India all over again. I was editor of the Sunday Times of India, the countrys largest English-language newspaper, and based in the Indian capital. My husband was cultural attache at the US embassy in New Delhi. Barack Obama had just won the November 4 election and everywhere we went, Indians expressed great enthusiasm for Americas new president. As eight years of President George W Bushs tough-bitten, charmless, cowboy-booted brand of diplomacy drew to a close, Americas professional diplomats could finally look ahead to better days. The world liked America again. All too much, in fact. In Aligarh, a city 150km away from Delhi and known for the university founded by a 19th century Muslim reformer, excited students told us that Obama owed it to the world to sort out a number of things not least, the Palestinian issue else he would have ignored his mandate of global goodwill. Many of the students said they felt Obama was somehow their president too because he had spent his childhood in the Asia-Pacific region, his skin colour made them feel a connection, and because he bore the middle name Hussein. Back at the paper, we ran a lyrical Sunday special complete with doves of peace and headlined it The audacity of hope, in unsubtle reference to the title of Obamas own book. One of the pieces on the page was about desperately seeking our own Obama, which is to say the election of a Dalit or lower-caste person to Indias highest political office. As a template for progressive change, Obama really did raise the bar for India and everywhere else. The problem was the enormous weight of expectations that came with America finally having a president who looked different from the 43 that had gone before. The fantastical belief was that Obama would be a president of all the world, putting Americas interests after those of other countries. When we subsequently left India for Afghanistan, there was a similarly long laundry list for Obama from ordinary Afghans. It was eight years after the US had invaded Iraq on a false prospectus and young Afghans wanted Obama to end what they believed was an American campaign of unjust wars in Muslim countries and the unfair stereotyping of Muslims. In the early years of his presidency, Obamas overseas poll numbers were routinely in the 90 per cent range, with the Pew Research Center finding people in disparate parts of the world expressing utmost confidence that Obama would do the right thing regarding world affairs. It was plain to us as Americans that all these eager non-American non-voters would be disappointed. They were. The discontent was more crushing because Obama conducted himself like any American president, despite looking like no other president had. A similar sort of mismatch between the worlds expectations and the inherent limitations of high American political office is brewing with respect to Kamala Harris. As the daughter of a Jamaican-American economist and an Indian-American cancer researcher, Harris is burdened with the exuberant support of people from two countries in different hemispheres. Having spent part of her youth in Canadas Montreal, Harris, like Obama, has a third international connection. Cue the congratulatory tweet from the mayor of Montreal when Biden named Harris to the ticket, as well as her Canadian high schools quickly stated public pride in its alumnus. Then there is former Jamaican prime minister PJ Pattersons claim that his country is excited by Harriss political ascent. But it is the Indian reaction to Harriss rise that will be noteworthy, especially if the Biden-Harris ticket triumphs on November 3. It is unsurprising that Shashi Tharoor, a senior member of the main opposition Congress Party, finds it thrilling that someone of Indian ethnicity could be a proverbial heartbeat away from the presidency. A vice-president Harris, of Indian descent or not, may be much less thrilling for Indias governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In December, Harris was critical of the BJP-led governments attempt to influence a US Congress meeting on the disputed territory of Kashmir. In September, she said Kashmiris are not alone, the US is watching for potential human rights abuses and that it will lead with our values. The BJPs official silence on Harriss selection as vice-presidential nominee speaks to the limits of how crowd-pleasing an international pedigree can really be, especially when it comes to the cut and thrust of geopolitics and ideology. It has fallen to just one senior BJP leader to offer an anodyne salute to the first Indian and Asian woman to get the nomination as official VP candidate. Of course, any real problems between Harris and the BJP are still some way down the line. First, Biden-Harris would have to win. If they did, its a fair guess that millions of Hindutva-minded BJP supporters in India, the US and elsewhere are likely to be disappointed that Harris is too western and multicultural to go along with the narrow exclusivist agenda set by the party. For now, though, many Indians are celebrating the triumph of one of their own in the worlds most powerful country. As with Obama, Indians, Jamaicans (and no doubt, nationals of many other countries) see Harris as a sign of Americas inspirational inclusiveness. Its a good sign that non-American non-voters felt a kinship with Obama and now with Harris. That said, too much enthusiasm for a US presidential candidate may be as big a problem as too little. Rashmee Roshan Lall is a writer on world affairs. She blogs at www.rashmee.com Todays Headlines The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning. Email address By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Streaming platform Zee5 has issued an apology after inadvertently using a picture of freedom fighter Khudiram Bose on a criminal board in the web series Abhay 2. In the second episode of the show, a photo of Bose was erroneously used on a criminal board, leading to much backlash online. In a tweet, Zee5 said that the image has now been blurred and apologised for the gaffe. The producers, show & the platform, have no intent whatsoever to offend any community or hurt anybodys sentiments. Keeping in mind the feedback received and with utmost respect to our audience, we have blurred the image (inadvertently) used in one of the scenes of Abhay 2, a tweet from their official handle read. Bose had tried to assassinate Magistrate Douglas Kingsford, a British judge notorious for his harsh rulings on Indian freedom fighters, in 1908. He was sentenced to death after the unsuccessful attempt and was martyred in his teens. He is said to be one of the youngest freedom fighters of the country. The producers, show & the platform, have no intent whatsoever to offend any community or hurt anybodys sentiments. Keeping in mind the feedback received and with utmost respect to our audience, we have blurred the image (inadvertently) used in one of the scenes of Abhay2. ZEE5Premium (@ZEE5Premium) August 16, 2020 Also read: Ankita Lokhande calls boyfriend Vicky Jain her strength after denying rumours of Sushant Singh Rajput paying for her flat Abhay 2 stars Kunal Kemmu as Abhay Pratap Singh, head of the Special Task Force, which specialises in catching serial killers. The second season also features Nidhi Singh, Asha Negi, Chunky Panday, Ram Kapoor, Bidita Bag and Raghav Juyal. Three episodes were released on Friday. Ever since the announcement was made for Abhay 2, my DMs have been flooded with people eagerly waiting for the second season. This season is grittier with some of the most unpredictable crime stories, Kunal had earlier said in a statement. Director Ken Ghosh had said, The second season has so many layers and each episode is sure to induce chills as it is more gruesome than the previous one and also inspired from true events. Every actor has done great justice to their roles and I bet that some of you may not even recognize them, thats how involved they were with every nuance of their character! Follow @htshowbiz for more Imagine if every time you looked at a face, one side of the face always appeared distorted as if it were melting, resembling a painting by Salvador Dali. This is the case for people who have a rare condition known as hemi-prosopometamophosia (hemi-PMO), which makes looking at faces discomforting. According to a new study published in Current Biology, some people with hemi-PMO see distortions to the same half of a person's face regardless of how the face is viewed. The results demonstrate that our visual system standardizes all the faces we perceive using the same process so they can be better compared to faces we have seen before. "Every time we see a face, the brain adjusts our representation of that face so its size, viewpoint, and orientation is matched to faces stored in memory, just like computer face recognition systems such as those used by Facebook and Google," explains co-author Brad Duchaine, a professor of psychological and brain sciences and the principal investigator of the Social Perception Lab at Dartmouth College. "By aligning the perceived face with faces stored in memory, it's much easier for us to determine whether the face is one we've seen before," he added. Hemi-PMO is a rare disorder that may occur after brain damage. When a person with this condition looks at a face, facial features on one side of the face appear distorted. The existence of hemi-PMO suggests the two halves of the face are processed separately. The condition usually dissipates over time, which makes it difficult to study. As a result, little is known about the condition or what it reveals about how human face processing normally works. The current study focused on a right-handed man in his early sixties ("Patient A.D.") with hemi-PMO whose symptoms have persisted for years. Like many with this condition, his distortions were caused by damage to a fiber bundle called the splenium that connects visual areas in the left hemisphere and right hemisphere of his brain. Five years ago while A.D. was watching television, he noticed that the right halves of people's faces looked like they had melted. Yet, the left sides of their faces looked normal. He looked in the mirror at his own face and noticed that the right side of his reflection was also distorted. In contrast, A.D. sees no distortions in other body parts or objects. The study involved two experiments. In the first, A.D. was presented with images of human faces and non-face images such as objects, houses and cars, and asked to report on distortions. For 17 of the 20 faces, he saw distortions. The distortions were always on the right side of the face and facial features usually appeared to drooped. For example, in one of the faces, A.D. reported that the right eye looked a lot bigger than the left eye while the right eyebrow, right side of the nose, and right side of the lips all hung down unnaturally. Two of the face photographs that did not elicit a distortion showed right profile views in which the right side of the face was not visible. Consistent with his daily experiences, A.D. did not see distortions in any of the non-face images. These results show that his condition affects brain processes specialized for faces. For the second part of the study, A.D. reported on distortions that he saw in 15 different faces that were presented in a variety of ways: in the left and right visual field, at different in-depth rotations, and at four picture plane rotations-- 0 degrees or upright, 90 degrees, 180 degrees or upside down, and 270 degrees. Regardless of how the faces were presented, A.D. continued to report that the distortions affected the same facial features. For example, even when a face was presented upside down, A.D. still saw the facial features distorted on the right side of the face even though the distortion now appeared on the left-hand side of the stimulus (the red-shaded region in the faces in the reproduction of Figure 4E below). The consistency of the location of A.D.'s distortion demonstrates that faces, regardless of viewpoint or orientation, are aligned to the same template similar to what computer face recognition systems do. In A.D.'s case, the output from that process is disrupted as it is passed from one brain hemisphere to the other due to his splenium lesion. ### Duchaine and Sarah Herald, a Dartmouth graduate student in the Social Perception Lab, conducted the study with researchers at the University of Coimbra in Portugal and the Centro Hospitalar e Universitario de Coimbra, including first author Jorge Almeida. For more information about hemi-PMO and other problems with face recognition such as prosopagnosia (face blindness), visit: http://www.faceblind.org. Duchaine and Almeida are available for comment at: bradley.c.duchaine@dartmouth.edu and jorgecbalmeida@gmail.com. The Congress sacked Sanjay Jha as its spokesperson after After he publicly criticised the Congress at the time of Sachin Pilot's rebellion last month Suspended Congress party leader Sanjay Jha on August 17 claimed that around 100 Congress leaders, including Members of Parliament (MPs), have written to party president Sonia Gandhi, seeking a change in leadership. Jha said the lawmakers, who are distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have also asked for transparency in elections to the Congress Working Committee (CWC). It is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (including MP's) , distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have written a letter to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, asking for change in political leadership and transparent elections in CWC. Watch this space. Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) August 17, 2020 "It is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (including MP's) , distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have written a letter to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, asking for change in political leadership and transparent elections in CWC," Jha said in a tweet. However, calling the "non-existent letter" an attempt by "BJP stooges" to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "Special Misinformation Group on Media-TV Debate Guidance' in its WhatsApp of today directed to run the story of a non-existent letter of Congress leaders to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links. Of course, BJP stooges have started acting upon it." TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Special Misinformation Group on Media-TV Debate Guidance in its whatsapp of today directed to run the story of a non existant letter of Congress leaders to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links. Of course, BJP stooges have started acting upon it. Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 17, 2020 The development comes close on the heels of the recently resolved political crisis in Rajasthan after Sachin Pilot rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's leadership in the state. After he publicly criticised the Congress at the time of Sachin Pilot's rebellion last month, the party sacked Sanjay Jha as its spokesperson. He was suspended for "anti-party activities" and "breach of discipline". Photo: Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip are looking to help fellow musicians who may be 'On the Verge' due to the pandemic. The iconic Canadian rock band are releasing some official face masks in their 'Gift Shop' in the hopes fans will lay down some 'Fiddler's Green.' All proceeds from the mask sales will 'Fully, Completely' go to the Unison Fund, which supports relief efforts for the Canadian music industry. Emblazoned with 'Courage,' the title of one of the Hip's most famous tracks, and the band's name the masks are not just for those who are 'Scared' but for anyone 'At the Hundredth Meridian' to 'Bobcaygeon' and beyond. The masks sell for $15; it's unclear if this will be a 'Long Time Running' deal or if you have to be 'Ahead By a Century' to secure your own. To get more information 'In View,' click here. State and local official charge that Connecticuts two major electric utilities failed to meet the standards of a wide-ranging 2012 law that mandated better staffing levels and enhanced communications with towns and cities after the state was crippled by a pair of major storms in 2011. While members of the legislative energy committee on Monday vowed to bring alleged failures in the response to this months tropical storm to a special General Assembly session in September, local officials are still picking up the pieces of what they believe were massive failures on the part of Eversource and United Illuminating Co. Utilities should be providing direct information to their customers, said Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson. In particular, so-called make-safe protocols, in which town and city public works officials work with utility crews to shut off power at locations where downed trees need to be removed, were a massive failure. While Stevenson said she has a good working relationship with the town liaison from Eversource, they, too, need to be given information they can share with local officials. All work has to be brokered through utility centers and we had no information on utility crews on whether they were working, Stevenson said in an interview. Customer service is everything. Give me the information, even if its something that my residents dont want to hear. Much of the state was without power for at least several days after Tropical Storm Isaisas traveled just west of Connecticut, with accompanying dangerous winds taking out thousands of trees and causing widespread power outages. You should not make money on your failures, said state Sen. Norm Needleman, D-Essex, co-chairman of the Energy & Technology Committee during a late-morning news conference outside the State Capitol. State Rep. David Arconti, D-Danbury, the committees other co-chairman, said that the corporate response was unacceptable, and was exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The breakdown in communication that occurred between the utilities and their customers and the utilities and local municipal officials was completely unacceptable, Arconti said. To be without power for a week or longer, and not knowing when the next paycheck is going to come, and losing a week of food is completely unacceptable during this time period. Arconti said he wants the utilities to voluntarily organize a reimbursement program. Under a 2012 bill that was related to the overall response to the storms but which failed on the last night of the legislative session, customers could have been reimbursed for food spoilage up to $400 in the event that outages exceeded 48 hours. Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick, who was ranking member of the energy committee back when she was in the state House of Representatives in 2012, said that United Illuminating failed to coordinate with her public works and public safety officials. We have to go back to the protocols we set in 2012, said Hoydick. Our technology has improved so much, theres no reason why we cant work in tandem with the utilities. Joe McGee of Fairfield, a former top state development official who led the so-led the governors panel that investigated the utilities response to the storms of 2011, said in an interview that while a lot of trees have been systematically cut down along state highways, the overall performance standard of Eversource and UI has been allowed to deteriorate. There needs to be a tougher performance standard here, McGee said. Theyre allowed to make extraordinary profits, but how much of that needs to be invested in the grid? Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney, D-New Haven, said Monday that the response improvements envisioned in the 2012 bill have obviously failed. We hear from the utilities about the hardening of the system, and yet the damage this time was just as bad or worse than the 2011 storms, he said. In particular, Looney said, Eversource has sharply reduced its line-repair crews and has been counting on bringing in out-of-state workers when widespread damage occurs. They werent even pre-planning for a storm, Looney said. Then when the out-of-state crews finally got here, theyd go to an assembly point and wait for hours until an Eversource employee arrived to show them where to go. Looney said he believes there is a will in the General Assembly to focus next month on consumer protection issues. In the longer term, Looney said that lawmakers should even revisit the 1998 bill that restructured utilities. He also wondered why utility executives get paid multi-million-dollar salaries as if they were high-performing companies in competitive markets. In fact, UI and Eversource have state-guaranteed markets. He also wants to enhance the power of the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA). Theyre making record profits and theyre cutting off peoples power for nonpayment during the COVID crisis, said state Rep. Anne Huges, D-Easton, who was without electricity for days after a tree fell on her house August 4. She hopes that in September, lawmakers will approve bills to reimburse ratepayers and open up utilities for civil liability, as well as mandating the burial of power lines to avoid tree damage. Gov. Ned Lamont recently asked PURA to investigate the storm response and a hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 24. Attorney General William Tong said Monday that the issues go beyond UI and Eversource compliance with the 2012 law by submitting emergency response plans for review and approval by PURA. The question now that must be answered nd thoroughly investigated is whether or not the companies followed through and met the conditions in those stated plans, Tong said. Edward Crowder, spokesman for UI, said Monday that he expects that the staffing and communications issues will be addressed in the hearing. We believe that the investigation will confirm that our preparation for and response to Tropical Storm Isaias were consistent with our PURA-approved storm plan, Crowder said. We will welcome any findings or recommendations that could help us improve our future performance. Tricia Modifica, media realtions manager for Eversource, said the company recognizes the storms impact. The massive team of line and tree crews we assembled for this storm response - along with the hundreds of employees supporting the effort behind the scenes - did an incredible job working tirelessly on this historic storm restoration, she said. Despite the damage being more severe than in Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene, this restoration was completed 33 percent faster. That said, as is the process with all storms, there will be a thorough review with PURA that we will fully engage in to provide information on our preparation and response. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Bastiaan Slabbers/iStockBY: BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC NEWS (PHILADELPHIA) -- Philadelphia police officers evaded bullets while attempting to reach injured victims when multiple people wielding guns opened fire at a Saturday night block party that drew up to 300 revelers, authorities said. At least five people, including three teenagers, were wounded in the shooting that erupted near a playground in the Poplar neighborhood of North Philadelphia around 11:30 p.m., Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said at a news conference early Sunday morning. Outlaw said police officers were nearby on patrol and rushed to the chaotic scene when they heard shots and saw what appeared to be gun-muzzle flashes from multiple weapons. No officers were injured in the incident, but police officials said officers initially came under fire as they tried to reach those wounded. The first officers to arrive at the scene immediately called for backup, officials said. Its disturbing, its disheartening, Outlaw told reporters. The victims ranged in age from 16 to 26, police said. All were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, including three who were taken to a hospital, police said. Police found numerous gun shell casings littering the scene, officials said. Outlaw said no arrests were made and asked for the public's help in identifying the shooters. "There were a lot of people out here," Outlaw said. "We do believe that someone knows who the shooters were and could possibly help us in identifying and figuring out exactly what happened." The block-party shooting came a week after 25 people were shot last weekend in Philadelphia, including two 11-year-olds at a playground near the Philadelphia Zoo. Saturday night's shooting broke out hours after Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney tweeted that more than 10 people had been shot in Philadelphia, including four who died, in a 24-hour stretch that began on Friday. Just last week, the Philadelphia City Council held a two-day virtual emergency hearing on the uptick in shootings. The carnage mirrors a surge in gun violence in recent months in major cities across the nation, including Chicago, New York City, Atlanta and Cleveland. Prior to this weekend, more than 1,130 people had been shot in Philadelphia this year -- a 36% jump over the same time period in 2019, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. More than 260 people have died from gun homicides in the city this year, an increase of 31% over the same time span last year, the newspaper reported. "Gun violence affects all of us," Kenney wrote. "Were prioritizing a new strategy to combat this epidemic in our city." Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Zimbabwe) has expressed concern over tribally connotative utterances attributed to Information Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, who attacked head of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu after Catholic bishops issued a blistering pastoral letter, citing human rights abuses and rampant corruption as the major causes of the current social, economic and political crisis in the country. In a statement, MISA Zimbabwe chairperson, Golden Maunganidze, implored politicians, more so those tasked with communicating government positions to use temperate and measured language while being tolerant of constructive criticism and divergent views. That is the hallmark of mature politicians and politics which goes a long way in lowering the highly-charged socio-economic and political environment, thereby, leaving room for dialogue and engagement on critical national issues. Maunganidze said the tribally connotative remarks attributed to the minister are not exemplary or helpful when viewed in the context of the constitutional obligations that bind senior government officials. In her strongly worded response to the pastoral letter, Minister Mutsvangwa singled out and accused Bishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu, ZCBC president, of leading the bishops on the pathway of petty tribalism, narrow regionalism and racial antagonism. MISA Zimbabwes great concern in that regard, is informed by the ministers proximity to the media, more so as it pertains to the public media, which, as is expected with all other media, should guard against being the purveyors of hate language. He said Mutsvangwa violated some sections of Zimbabwe Constitution, which discourage any form of discrimination. Section 56, which deals with equality and non-discrimination, stipulates that every person has the right not to be treated in an unfairly discriminatory manner on the grounds of their nationality, race, colour, tribe, place of birth, ethnic or social origin, language, class, religious belief, political affiliation, opinion, custom, among others. In that regard, ministers and government officials, among others, should be exemplary in upholding the supremacy of the Constitution. Equally, the media plays an important role of ensuring that it does not disseminate information that is likely to engender discrimination, hostility or enmity on the basis of ones tribe or ethnic or social origin. Maunganidze noted that the media should always guard against propagating information that has the potential of triggering tribal or ethnic hostility among the citizens of Zimbabwe. While Section 61 of the Constitution provides for freedom of expression and media freedom, it emphasizes that these freedoms exclude, incitement to violence, advocacy of hatred or hate speech and malicious injury to a persons reputation or dignity. Public officials, should in that vein, be mindful of statements that have the potential of inflaming hatred or discrimination along racial, tribal or ethnic lines and should always use temperate language in their communication or responses to issues to avert animosity and hostility among citizens. Mutsvangwa was not reachable for comment as she was not responding to calls on her mobile phone. In her response to the pastoral letter, Mutsvangwa said, With nefarious cynicism to history, Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu is inching to lead the Zimbabwe Catholic congregation into the darkest dungeons of Rwanda-type genocide. The letter seeks the revival and continuation of the perennial vices of division. It has a selective and warp-sided reading of history. The errant and evil Bishop has a nauseating mental amnesia of the blight of minority settler rule and its baggage of exploitative racism against the totality of the black majority popular of Zimbabwe. The levity of his mental amnesia is worsened by the fact that he tears off pages of the progressive crusade for justice and democracy that has hitherto been the shining virtue of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe. She also said, He wants to posit as the leader of righteous Ndebele minority by fanning the psychosis of tribal victimization. Concurrently he sows sins of collective guilty on the Shona majority. That way he seeks to numb the spirit of collective national vigilance against the known and proven enemies of the populace of Zimbabwe. His transgressions acquire a geopolitical dimensions as the chief priest of the agenda of Regime Change that is the hallmark of the post-imperial major Western powers for the last two decades. Archbishop Ndlovu has not responded to Mutsvangwas remarks. The pastoral letter has been supported by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Law Society of Zimbabwe and several other non-profit organizations, individuals, opposition parties and ministers of religion. SEARCH A minimum of 3 characters are required to be typed in the search bar in order to perform a search. PALM BEACH, Fla. - In a congressional race where an acolyte of Roger Stone who's been banned by Twitter and Facebook may not even be the most unconventional candidate, voters in the Republican primary for Florida's 21st Congressional District have a rich array of choices. The six people competing in the Aug. 18 primary include a former burlesque dancer and wild animal exhibitor who did business in the same circles as "Tiger King" Joe Exotic; a Palm Beach neighbor of Mar-a-Lago who is supported by QAnon believers; and Laura Loomer, a far-right commentator and anti-Islam activist who calls herself "the most banned woman on the Internet" and who once handcuffed herself to the front door of Twitter's office in New York. There's also an ex-cop, a nuclear engineer-turned college professor and a retired investigator for the IRS. Among the constituents they hope to represent: the president and first lady. The Trumps registered as Republicans in Palm Beach County in October when President Trump changed his official domicile from Manhattan to his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach. They both voted by mail in the March presidential primary. All six candidates are political newcomers running in a heavily Democratic district that covers Palm Beach, West Palm Beach and parts of Broward County. One of them will face Lois Frankel, a Democrat who ran unopposed two years ago, or her primary opponent, Guido Weiss, a former legislative assistant for Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii. Regardless of their long shot chances of winning the congressional seat in the fall, the GOP candidates are being scrutinized due to Trump's decision last year to call the district home. Loomer's campaign manager is Karen Giorno, who was a senior political adviser to the Trump campaign in 2016. She said the president's team wants the congressional seat - which Frankel has held since 2013 - to go red. "I have a very cordial and very active relationship with the Trump campaign for reelection. It was a directive not from the president, but on behalf of the president, he wanted this district flipped," Giorno said. "That's his home district. He deserves to have someone represent him, not impeach him." The White House declined to comment on who the president supports in the race. But earlier this year, he retweeted a post promoting Loomer's candidacy. Voters here are now trying to sort through the crowded field. "You've got a couple there that are a little loony tunes, at least on the surface anyway," said voter Rhona Hayes, 71, of her choices in the Republican primary. "But I'm looking beyond that. There are some good candidates too." Hayes and her husband Charles, 85, retirees who live in Boynton Beach, said they're most impressed with Aaron Scanlan, a former police officer and Air Force veteran. "You've got some unusual candidates here," said Charles Hayes, a retired firefighter. Scanlan currently has the lowest amount of cash on hand - $1,863 out of the $91,285 he raised - and said his plans for fundraising were crimped by the pandemic. He's trying to reach voters just like Hayes and her husband. "This is my first time in politics, and I'm just trying to get my name out there," said Scanlan, who is now a Realtor. Loomer, 27, is the front-runner in fundraising. She's raised $1,161,622 and spent $924,059. Her donors include Alex Jones, the far-right conspiracy theorist who, like Loomer, has also been banned from Twitter and other platforms. While most of her fellow candidates address Florida-specific issues, such as clean waterways, Loomer focuses on topics such as Big Tech. She has been a no-show at most of the forums and debates sponsored by community organizations in the district where voters get to know the candidates. She did appear at the annual Lobsterfest, sponsored by the Republican Party of Palm Beach County on Aug. 9, where she was endorsed by Roger Stone and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., both Trump allies. She said those endorsements, along with support from Fox News host Jeanine Pirro and other marquee names in the Republican Party, help to make her the front-runner. "It's laughable to think that President Trump would consider, or even look, or waste his time considering any of these other candidates, because they're just not viable," Loomer said. "They're not Trumpian." Loomer, who is from Arizona but went to college in Miami at Barry University, said she's lived in Florida for nearly three years and considers herself a Floridian. She said she wants to replace Lois Frankel because, among other things, Frankel supports Black Lives Matter. Candidate Reba Sherrill is part of Trump's "bridge family," the fans who show up at the bridge near Mar-a-Lago to wave to Trump's motorcade when he's in town. She's also Trump's neighbor on Palm Beach and a familiar sight on Ocean Drive. "Every day I roll my wheelchair numerous times in front of Mar-a-Lago and pause and salute the flag," Sherrill said - referring to the large American flag Trump has on his property. Sherrill, a health and wellness consultant, is self-funding her campaign. She donated $350,102 to the effort. Sherrill is supported by people who promote QAnon, identified by the FBI as a group with "anti-government, identity-based and fringe political conspiracy theories" that may motivate violent extremists. Sherrill's main issue in the campaign is fighting child trafficking, which matches with QAnon theories that rampant pedophilia rings have infiltrated the United States. Sherrill said she worries about a "new world order" and globalism as well as sex trafficking. "I felt like I really didn't have a choice," Sherrill said about running for Congress. "It's my civic duty. The country is a mess right now." Elizabeth Felton said she's running to protect property rights. She owns a business called Safari Bob's, which offers field trips and "encounters" with wild animals such as foxes and ring tailed lemurs. She said regulations pushed by animal rights groups infringe on citizens. "Property rights are personal rights," Felton said. "The mainstream media treats you like a lunatic if you want to own a pet monkey." She worked as an exotic dancer at a club in New York for 10 years before her move to Florida because as a single mother, she needed a job with a flexible schedule. Felton's is running on other issues: term limits - "six years, and then you're out," and support of the legalization of marijuana the federal level and LGBTQ rights. She acknowledges that the slate of candidates is an interesting one. She and four of her opponents - but not Loomer - call each other often and are cordial and agree on most issues, she said, including their support for Trump. "Most of us get along," Felton said. "Put us all together, we're almost the perfect candidate." Felton said she and fellow candidate Michael Vilardi talk on the phone almost daily. Vilardi owns a tax business, and was a criminal investigator with the IRS. Vilardi, who has raised the lowest amount of money in the race - $56,494 - said he's running to change the rules for Social Security recipients. "Let's start with Social Security," Vilardi said. "These old people are getting robbed." He said he'd push for a change in tax laws that he thinks are unfair to the elderly. He also supports term limits. While Loomer has garnered big-name endorsements from the far-right, Christian Acosta, the sixth candidate in the field, has some Trump-adjacent support as well. Acosta is a former nuclear engineer who now teaches at Palm Beach State College. Toni Holt Kramer hosted a fundraising dinner for Acosta at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach in February. Kramer is one of the founders of the Trumpettes, a group of Trump super fans that throws a gala at Mar-a-Lago every year for the president. "It was the first one to get in the race. I got pretty crowded pretty quick," said Acosta, whose issues are immigration reform, support for community colleges and vocational education, among others. "It's been an interesting race." Alphabet Inc`s Google on Monday said a proposed antitrust law in Australia forcing tech firms to pay for news that appears on their social media websites would adversely impact individual content creators and channel operators. Google said the law proposed last month would help big media firms artificially inflate their search ranking, luring more viewers to their platforms and giving them an unfair advantage over small contributors running their own websites or YouTube channels. Google`s YouTube video service allows individuals and companies to create channels featuring advertisements that create revenue for both them and YouTube. The US tech giant said the law may also obligate it to give big news firms confidential data about systems that they could use to try to appear higher in rankings on YouTube, resulting in fewer views for content of smaller businesses. "This law wouldn`t just impact the way Google and YouTube work with news media businesses - it would impact all of our Australian users," Google Australia Managing Director Mel Silva said in a post titled "Open letter to Australians". Australia at the end of July said it aimed to introduce the law this year requiring technology companies such as Google and Facebook Inc to pay media companies for news content. Media companies` share of advertising revenue has plummeted in the internet age. For every A$100 ($71.93) spent on online advertising in Australia, excluding classifieds, nearly a third goes to Google and Facebook, government estimates showed. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the country`s competition watchdog, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Living to eat is no longer an admission of gluttony or a problem with self-control. It has, in fact, become a badge of honor. Our fascination with food was confirmed on April 19, 1993 when Americans were introduced to the Food Network. Along with increased numbers of celebrity chefs and food-oriented reality television shows, there's been an ever-growing demand for cookbooks and culinary storytelling. In his latest book, My Life in Gluttony: A Culinary Adventure, Jeffrey Spear confesses "Living to eat is no longer an admission of gluttony or a problem with self-control. It has, in fact, become a badge of honor." With this in mind, Spear gives readers a glimpse into his lifetime of culinary obsessions sparked by a willingness to eat just about anything and a job that takes him to some remarkable destinations around the world. While his adventures in Malawi, Georgia, and Guyana are a bit off the beaten path, Spear also includes culinary encounters right here in the U.S. Readers will find Spear's obsession with hot dogs in New York and flourless chocolate cake in Washington DC as compelling and engaging as his discovery of char-grilled mouse in Malawi and bunny chow in South Africa. Over 306 pages, starting from his childhood home in Maryland to exotic destinations around the world including Ghana, Lebanon, Serbia, Hawaii, Paris, Russia, Montenegro, Buenos Aires, and Malawi (grilled mouse is a roadside treat), Spear describes the foods that made indelible impressions along the way. Including 96 crowd-pleasing and easy-to-follow recipes, from the familiar to the esoteric, this book is a gastronomic delight. My Life in Gluttony is available nationwide on Amazon.com --- ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jeffrey Spear is an accomplished visual artist, graphic designer, cookbook author, food stylist, television personality, journalist, and cook. He is also a globally recognized food marketing consultant working with growers, manufacturers, chefs, and restaurateurs on every continent except Antarctica; helping them develop and introduce a wide variety of ingredients and brands to buyers around the world. Along the way, he also writes about food for a variety of trade and consumer magazines and online publications. It goes without saying that Spear is exceptionally well travelled. He has enjoyed countless exotic and intriguing culinary encounters, most recently in Palestine, Malawi and the country of Georgia. He derives his greatest pleasures from everything and anything associated with food. Whether he's eating, writing, or talking about it, wandering the aisles in a grocery stores, or preparing lavish dinner parties, food is his idea of a really good time. My Life in Gluttony - A Culinary Adventure is his third and most ambitious cookbook preceded by The First Coast Heritage Cookbook and Yum! Tasty Recipes from Culinary Greats. When not engaged with food, Jeffrey can be found relaxing on the sand, reading a good book, swimming in the surf, watching the passing wildlife, and enjoying the sun in his hometown of Jacksonville Beach. ### For Additional Information Please send all requests for additional information, review copies of the book, as well as high-resolution photography to: jeff@spearwrites.com or call 904 685 2135. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on the House to return into session later this week to vote on a bill that would prevent changes the Trump administration has made to the Postal Service, alterations Democrats say will cause a slowing of the flow of mail and potentially jeopardize the November election. Pelosi, in a Sunday statement, said the "lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy" are under threat from President Donald Trump, who last week said he opposed giving the Postal Service more money while at the same time acknowledging the lack of funding may hamper the office's ability to process mail-in ballots. Pelosi wants the House to vote later this week on Rep. Carolyn Maloney's Delivering for America Act, which prohibits changes to Postal Service operations in place on Jan. 1, 2020. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to reconvene the Republican-controlled Senate to act on Maloney's bill. House Democratic leaders announced Monday the House would return to vote on Saturday. Hours before Pelosi's call to return to session, congressional Democrats urged the postmaster general to testify before a House committee nearly a month earlier than initially requested, saying the "urgent" hearing is needed to address "dangerous" changes made at the Postal Service. In a joint statement, Pelosi, Maloney, Schumer and Sen. Gary Peters, the ranking Democrat on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and USPS Board of Governors Chairman Robert Duncan to address "sweeping and dangerous operational changes at the Postal Service that are slowing the mail and jeopardizing the integrity of the election." On Monday, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., urged FBI Director Christopher Wray to investigate whether DeJoy's acts were illegal in light of the "overwhelming evidence" that he "hindered the passage of mail." Jeffries and Lieu said that if DeJoy or the Board of Governors were "motivated by personal financial reasons" or to make mailing in ballots more difficult, they may have broken the law. Story continues DeJoy was scheduled to testify before a House panel on Sept. 17, but Maloney, chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said his testimony was "particularly urgent given the troubling influx of reports of widespread delays at postal facilities across the country." The hearing is now scheduled for Aug. 24. The Democrats said DeJoy and Duncan must explain "why they are pushing these dangerous new policies that threaten to silence the voices of millions, just months before the election." Congressional Democrats sent DeJoy a 10-page letter on Friday detailing the changes at the Postal Service they feared could delay the mail. Among the shifts in service that worried them was a move to stop treating all election mail as first-class which could mean a regular delay of up to eight days from prior elections cutbacks in overtime and a ban on "late" or "extra" delivery trips. An internal Postal Service document cited by the Democrats warned, "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." At a news conference Sunday in New York, Schumer argued delayed ballots were not the only consequence of delayed mail delivery. "Imagine how a senior citizen feels when there's life-dependent pills and they're late. Lots people depend on the mail to get other necessities during COVID," Schumer said, referring to the coronavirus pandemic. "To slow down the mail at any time is disgraceful, but to slow it down during COVID is despicable and hurts people." Pelosi's request that lawmakers return to session comes after a testy few days over the Postal Service and whether it's up to the test of handling an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots in the fall elections. The coronavirus outbreak has prompted many states to increase voters' ability to vote by mail to reduce the crowds on Election Day and to provide an alternative to in-person voting for those at the greatest risk from the virus. Some states have dropped rules that require a reason to request an absentee ballot, and others have expanded the length of early voting. And some have approved universal vote-by-mail, in which every registered voter is automatically sent an application or ballot. On Friday, the Postal Service warned election officials around the country that even if ballots are requested ahead of state deadlines and mailed back quickly, some may not be delivered in time to be counted. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., wears a face mask as she arrives to speak at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, June 26, 2020. 'Starve the Postal Service': Obama criticizes Trump for sweeping changes Senate Democrats also sent a three-page letter on Monday to the USPS Board of Governors asking them to use their authority to reverse the service changes imposed by DeJoy. The concerns about the recent changes at the Postal Service come after months of Democratic efforts to secure additional funding to help the Postal Service survive the pandemic. Maloney, D-N.Y., warned the agency was facing bankruptcy in March, when Democrats sought billions of dollars to help states manage elections during the outbreak, before settling for $400 million in the CARES Act stimulus package. But in the months since, Trump has expressed concerns that the drive for expanded vote-by-mail could lead to increased voter fraud, though experts say election fraud is rare and statistically insignificant. Money to help the Postal Service endure the pandemic and prepare for the election have been one of the major sticking points in the stalled negotiations over a new stimulus package. The $3.4 trillion HEROES Act, which the Democratic-controlled House passed in May, included $25 billion for the Postal Service. The White House has said the price tag of the Democratic stimulus package is too high and insisted the only way Republicans will agree to more Postal Service funding is if Democrats compromise on a more modest stimulus deal. On Sunday, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on CNN's "State of the Union" that Trump would sign a bill that included up to $25 billion for the Postal Service if Democrats would agree on a deal. "If my Democrat friends are all upset about this, come back to Washington, D.C., where the president and I am right now," Meadows said. "Let's go ahead and get a stimulus check out to Americans. Let's make sure that small businesses are protected with an extended PPP program and put the postal funding in there." "We will pass it tomorrow. The president will sign it. And this will all go away," he said. Meadows also left the door open to a bill that would solely address Postal Service funding. "I'm all about piecemeal. If we can agree on postal, let's do it," Meadows said. Trump sparked outrage last week when he said in a Fox Business Network interview that he opposes more money for the Postal Service while saying that without the money, the flood of mailed ballots would be unmanageable. "They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots," Trump said. "If they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mail-in voting because theyre not equipped to have it." USPS: Coronavirus postcard that featured Trump's name cost struggling Postal Service $28 million The House Oversight hearing is scheduled ahead of the opening of the Republican National Convention that same evening. The Democratic leaders also urged Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, to hold hearings "as soon as next week." One move by the Postal Service that had sparked concern was the removal of mail collection boxes, which was reported in several Western states. In response to concerns that the removals could hinder people's ability to vote, a Postal Service spokesman told CNN they would stop the process in 16 Western states and parts of two others until after the election. Another change that Democrats see as part of "the sabotage of the Postal Service" involves the reported removal of mail sorting machines from some post offices around the U.S. Meadows told CNN Democrats are spinning a "narrative that's not based on facts" and that the sorting machine removal is part of a "normal process of taking them" for "re-gearing." He said it is not a "new initiative" by DeJoy. "There's no sorting machines that are going offline between now and the election," Meadows said. "That's something that my Democrat friends are trying to do to stoke fear out there. That's not happening." Meadows said he could "guarantee" that "the president of the United States is not going to interfere with anybody casting their vote in a legitimate way, whether it's the post office or anything else." Trump's chief of staff said all of the noted changes were about increasing "efficiency" at the Postal Service, which was in financial trouble long before COVID-19 hit the U.S. In 2019, the Government Accountability Office warned that the Postal Service's operation is "unsustainable." It lost $69 billion over the past 11 federal fiscal years, including a $3.9 billion loss in 2018, the GAO said. Total unfunded liabilities and debt are now more than double the services annual revenue. In their statement, Pelosi, Schumer Maloney and Peters blasted DeJoy as a "Trump mega-donor" who "has acted as an accomplice in the Presidents campaign to cheat in the election." Fact check: New postmaster general invested in Postal Service competitors DeJoy became postmaster general in June, replacing Megan Brennan, a career Postal Service employee who retired this year. He has donated more than $620,000 to Republican candidates and committees this year, including more than $360,000 to Trump's reelection campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records. He donated more than $440,000 to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee in 2016. DeJoy and his wife hold up to $75,815,000 in assets from U.S. Postal Service competitors, according to government records. Government ethics experts told USA TODAY that nothing requires the postmaster general to divest such assets, except perhaps where a specific conflict of interest arises. Contributing: Kevin McCoy, Donovan Slack, Katie Wedell and Chelsey Cox Rhetoric vs. reality: President Trump requests mail-in ballot for upcoming Florida primary This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USPS: Pelosi calls House into session to vote on bill to stop changes By Laman Ismayilova Ancient pottery has been discovered in Kurduvan village, Ismayilli. The artifacts were found during the construction of highway ordered by President Ilham Aliyev on July 31, 2020. As a result, it was found out that brick buildings and masonry were the basis of a historical monument. A resident of the village Alikram Ismayilov informed the head of the regional administration and representatives of the State Service for the Protection, Development and Restoration of Cultural Heritage about the finding. A large number of ancient ceramics and various decorations were found on the area. One of the artifacts is decorated with Arabic inscriptions. The discoveries also include ancient jugs, bowls, plates, coins of the Elkhanid dynasty and jewelry dated back to the 1st-3rd centuries AD Construction work at the site has been stopped, and the roads leading to them have been blocked. The territory is guarded by police officers. Ismayilli is well-known for its spectacular historical monuments. The territory was once a part of the Albanian state. A number of settlements, especially Lahij, Basgal, Ivanovka and other villages are notable for their ancient history and special beauty. The villages of Lahij and Basgal were declared the reserves of history and culture. Since ancient times, Basgal has been a center for handicraft production. The village is known for its silk weaving, and production of national women's silk scarves. Carpet-making shops also work here. Basgal was the center of Ismayilli region in 1932-1933. The several meters thick walls of the fortress located in Galabashi are preserved to this day. They are thought to have been built in the 14th century. The Basgal State Historical and Cultural Reserve was established in 1989. On October 3, 2018, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the Basgal State Historical and Cultural Reserve. According to it, the State Agency of Tourism was instructed to prepare a detailed reference on the results of the study of the situation in the Basgal Reserve. The historical sources report that first settlements in Lahij date back to the 3rd-4th centuries. It is interesting that the village's water and sewerage system is more than 1500 years old. The village is also developed as an ancient craft center. It was one of the main centers of manufacture of copper dishes and weapons in the 18th 19th centuries. There were more than 200 craftsmen workshops in Lahij in the middle of the 19th century. The ornaments of Lahij masters have always been associated with the image of the real world of flora and fauna. The patterns of the dishes are rich in visual elements and original interpretation of flowers and leaves. They say that the legendary Monomakh's cap, a chief relic of the Russian Grand Princes and Tsars, was made here. Lahij 's another feature is a mystery of the number 7. Historically there were 7 mosques, 7 spring waters, and 7 residential blocks in the village, which was also surrounded by 7 chains of Niyal mountains. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz KYODO NEWS - Aug 18, 2020 - 01:47 | All, Japan A Japanese man in his 20s has been detained by local authorities in Belarus amid continued protests following the presidential election earlier this month, the Japanese Embassy in the country said Monday. The man, who lives in Minsk, was detained last Wednesday and has been kept in a facility within the capital city, the embassy said, adding that it is gathering information on why he is being held by Belarus authorities. The embassy declined to reveal the identity of the man. Massive anti-government demonstrations have continued in the country after Alexander Lukashenko won his sixth term in an Aug. 9 presidential election widely criticized as unfair. According to the interior ministry, more than 6,700 people had been detained by Monday. Meanwhile, the prosecutor's office said that most of the people taken into custody during demonstrations had already been released. The United States and some European countries have criticized the Belarus election and questioned the results. The country's longtime ruler Lukashenko declared victory over a 37-year-old housewife who ran instead of her husband, an opposition figure barred from vying for the presidency. Apple Gives Users More Time to Buy AppleCare After Sales Slow (Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. on Monday told retail and customer-support employees that the company is expanding the time period when customers can subscribe to its AppleCare+ service. Consumers currently have a chance to sign up to the warranty-and-support program within 60 days of buying an Apple product. This subscription window is increasing to up to a year now in the U.S. and Canada. This gives customers another opportunity to protect their device and have access to all the AppleCare+ benefits, Apple wrote in a memo to staff seen by Bloomberg News. The company told employees the offer is available to customers who pay for AppleCare+ in full versus monthly payments, or for those that subscribe via installments on the Apple Card credit card. AppleCare+ is Apples premium technical support offering for the iPhone, Mac, iPad and Apple Watch that covers accidental damage. In the case of the iPhone, the plan costs about $200 and greatly reduces the cost of repairs to cracked screens. Giving consumers more time to buy AppleCare+ could increase sales of the offering and boost Apples digital services division. Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said recently that the Covid-19 pandemic has curbed AppleCare demand. Read more: Apple CEO Cook Says Pandemic Hurting IPhone More Than Macs, IPad The updated program requires a user to have their device screened by an Apple retail employee to make sure it is not damaged before they can buy the plan. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Courtney Herron, 25, (pictured) was bludgeoned to death in Melbourne's Royal Park in May 2019 by Henry Hammond, 28, after she treated him to dinner that night at a restaurant in Fitzroy A young woman who was bludgeoned to death by a homeless man in a brutal assault lasting almost an hour became scared and asked him 'are you going to kill me?' moments before the attack began, a court has heard. Henry Hammond, 28, was charged with the murder of Courtney Herron, 25, after a group of dog walkers found her disfigured body under a pile of branches in Royal Park in Melbourne's inner-north in May 2019. A judge on Monday found Hammond not guilty because he was suffering from schizophrenia when he killed Ms Herron. Revealing harrowing details of the case for the first time, a special court hearing heard how a night out together ended with Hammond raising a tree branch to the 25-year-old and beating her repeatedly for about 50 minutes. Ms Herron had treated Hammond to dinner that night at a restaurant in Fitzroy before they joined a group of her friends and smoked ice together, the court heard. Hammond (pictured) told police the young woman had buried his wife alive in a past life, and that he killed her in an act of revenge. She asked him moments before the killing 'are you going to kill me?' when he picked up a tree branch during a walk through the park Mourners are seen laying flowers at a makeshift mural for Courtney Herron whose body was found in Royal Park, Melbourne, Sunday, May 26 Ms Herron and Hammond had joined a group of her friends after the dinner and smoked ice together Ms Herron's (left and right) legs were tied together after the attack and she was dragged into a clearing and covered with branches Hammond (pictured) has been found not guilty because he was suffering from schizophrenia when he killed Ms Herron Friends took a video of their conversation because they were 'acting strangely'. The pair then headed to the park in the early hours of May 25. Hammond picked up the tree branch and Ms Herron became scared, asking 'are you going to kill me?' A man sleeping nearby heard screams followed by hitting sounds and described Hammond as going 'hell for leather' for almost an hour. Ms Herron's legs were then tied together and she was dragged into a clearing and covered with branches, giving her what he described to police as a 'symbolic burial'. Hammond later told police the young woman had buried his wife alive in a past life, and he killed her in an act of revenge, the ABC reported. Pictured: A map showing where Ms Herron was killed in Royal Park in Melbourne's inner-north Hammond believed Ms Herron was a spirit connected to a past life who was there to hurt him, and that she would be reincarnated Pictured: Forensic investigators at the scene of the crime Two psychologists told Victoria's Supreme Court that Hammond was schizophrenic and didn't know what he was doing, or that it was wrong. Those close to Ms Herron believe Hammond is feigning his mental illness, but Dr Ranji Darjee said Hammond had symptoms including spiritual and religious delusions and grandiose beliefs dating back to 2017. Hammond believed Ms Herron was a spirit connected to a past life who was there to hurt him, and that she would be reincarnated. Two psychologists told Victoria's Supreme Court Hammond (right) was schizophrenic and didn't know what he was doing, or that it was wrong 'I think he truly felt that he was under threat and if he didn't do what he did then he was going to come to very serious or fatal harm,' Dr Darjee said, adding that it would be 'virtually impossible' for him to fake schizophrenia. He also said drugs Hammond had used that day may have worsened or exacerbated his mental state. Justice Phillip Priest ordered Hammond remain in custody until the matter returns to court in September. The Inspector-General of Police(IGP), James Oppong-Boanuh has warned that the Police Service will deal ruthlessly with any lawless youth groups or individuals who intend to undermine the security of the country. According to the police chief, violence does not pay in any way and therefore will ensure that men and women of the service are deployed to protect law and order before, during and after the 2020 polls. To the youth of the country, particularly the youth of this beautiful Northern Region, let me remind you that we have one Ghana. Let no one attempt to take the law into their own hands, the long arm of the law will deal with any person or group of persons who may disturb the peace that the country is enjoying. Note that violence does not pay, he urged while addressing a gathering in Tamale. Mr James Oppong-Boanuh took the opportunity to advise police personnel to professional in the discharge of their duties in order not to court unnecessary disaffection to themselves ahead of the polls. I urge all police officers to be more circumspect, highly professional and impartial in the discharge of their duties. We have to follow laid down procedures to police the ballot and protect lives and properties. We must on every complaint, and we must do so speedily to clear the doubts of the critics, he urged. He also pledged the readiness of the police service to maintain law and order before, during and after the 2020 polls. According to him, his outfit is prepared to do whatever it takes legally to ensure that the elections come off without any incidents urging the youth in particular not to allow themselves to be used by self-seeking politicians for personal gain. The police is ready to maintain law and order before, during and after the 2020 polls. There is however the need for collaboration between the security agencies and the citizenry to ensure that the polls is not characterized by incidents. Education is key in this regard, he observed. ---starrfmonline Sorry! This content is not available in your region Media release Mikron decides to restructure Mikron Berlin under its own management Biel, August 17, 2020, 7:00 a.m. - In the media release of July 2, 2020, Mikron announced the sale of the Mikron Berlin and Mikron Kaunas sites to Callista Private Equity, Munich. Both sites with a total of around 70 employees work exclusively for the automotive industry. Due to a different understanding of the implementation of the planned transaction, Mikron and Callista have mutually agreed to dispense with it. Mikron will restructure the Berlin site under its own management and continue to operate Kaunas. As announced in the media release on the half-year results on 23 July 2020, the expected costs of the restructuring are fully included in the 2020 half-year results. This means that also under the new circumstances - the restructuring of Mikron Berlin under Mikron's own management - no restructuring costs will be charged to the second half of the year. Mikron continues to expect an EBIT loss for the second half of 2020 on a par with the first half (before restructuring costs). Brief profile of the Mikron Group The Mikron Group develops, produces and markets highly precise, productive and adaptable automation solutions, machining systems and cutting tools. Rooted in the Swiss culture of innovation, Mikron is a global partner to companies in the automotive, pharmaceutical, medtech, consumer goods, writing instruments and watchmaking industries. The Mikron Group enables its customers to increase quality and industrial productivity. The Group has over 100 years of experience, state-of-the-art technologies, and a global service. The two business segments Mikron Automation and Mikron Machining Solutions (with the Mikron Machining and Mikron Tool divisions) are based in Switzerland (Boudry and Agno). Additional production sites are located in the USA, in Germany, Singapore, China and Lithuania. Mikron Holding AG shares are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange (MIKN). The Mikron Group employs a total workforce of around 1,300. Contact Mikron Management AG, Javier Perez Freije, CFO Mikron Group Phone +41 91 610 62 09, ir.mma@mikron.com Download Media Release Investor Relations Calendar January 27, 2021, 07.00 a.m. - Media release: Provisional closing figures for 2020 March 10, 2021, 07.00 a.m. - Media release: Publication of the 2020 Annual Report March 10, 2021, 10.30 a.m. - Media and analysts conference April 23, 2021, 04.00 p.m. - Annual General Meeting 2021 Except for the historical information contained herein, the statements in this media release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Mikron is a trademark of Mikron Holding AG, Biel (Switzerland). /* custom css */ .tdi_75_d35.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_d35 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_d35.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_d35.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_d35.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement As I stood there looking at the sea of colorful gele (headgears) sitting atop well coiffured hairs that framed beautiful proud faces, I admired and resonated with their pride and joy. They have returned home this year to commission a number of community development projects they had started only twelve months prior, during the August meeting of last year. They are also going to be identifying new areas of need that they will tackle for the next twelve months. I was given the rare honor of speaking at this august occasion. I was to convey the gratitude, goodwill and blessings of a people, for that I was elated. My elation, however, like a balloon, was tethered to a heavy pebble that would not let it float freely. I took a deep breath, cleared my throat, reached for my best smile, as I tapped the microphone gently and proceeded: ..Another year, another August, another batch of returning heroes. You have come to join hands and heal a land in much need of healing. You bring with you ideas, love for your motherland, your meager resources, a sense of unity of purpose, a determined devotion driven by a huge dose of love. We greet you with a lot of gratitude, and pray that you will be replenished in kind measures. May the river never dry, so the fishes would not die. Should we wake in the morning without our tongues, may it be said that the last words we uttered were our words of gratitude to you for all you have done and all that you are to us. May it be well for you, your children and your childrens children. As an ardent student of Social Movements, I have followed the August meeting phenomenon for more than seventeen years, across more than twenty rural communities in Igboland. I have studied the impact of your endeavors; from low interest loan schemes to scholarship funds. From Skills Acquisition Center Projects to Rural Library Projects all over Ite land. It is safe to say that these communities are way better off as a result of the vibrant contribution of women than they were prior to the advent of the August meeting. Ihie community did not have a structured market place until the women stepped up to upgrade the Nkwor market place with cement structures and corrugated metal roofs. Now we can safely conduct business, come rain or shine, all thanks to our warrior women and wives. The first public library was built by the women after the August meeting of 2010. You did not stop at just building the library; you stocked it full with valuable books and have been updating it regularly for that past ten years without relenting. These examples are wide spread across Igboland. Women participation is essential to good community development. /* custom css */ .tdi_74_728.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_728 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_728.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_728.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_728.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement Having established that premise, it now brings me to the crux of this address: The welfare of these our heroes. How are we treating these people that treat us so well? Can we honestly look in the mirror and tell ourselves that we have done right by our women in every sense of the word? I can spend the next two days here enumerating the different ways in which women are being ill-treated and I would only have scratched the surface. Take for example, harmful widow practices. I do not know how many of you gathered here today are widows, but I can go out on a limb and say that it has not been a pleasant experience. Not just because you lost your closest support and partner, but because some of you were forced to marry your immediate brother in-law in the act of widow inheritance, just like he would inherit land and livestock of his late brother. Other widows who were erroneously accused of killing their late husbands were made to sleep alone with the corpse for days, or in some cases, made to drink the water after the corpse had been washed clean. The well-publicized case of Veronica Iwu readily comes to mind. These are the same women and widows who return every year to help build a community that stood by and watched them being dehumanized in the name of tradition. We are leaving a tenuous trail of pain. The silence of these women does not make us innocent, neither does it lighten the weight and depth of their anguish. They have learnt to endure, simply because these practices have endured down the ages and generations. I think it is time to change things from the roots. Gender preference. You are roundly blamed when you do not give your husbands a male child (preferably with your first pregnancy). This is so commonplace and prevalent that women go to all sorts of lengths to fulfil this marital obligation. Never mind that the woman has very little to do with the gender of her baby. In this community, science has very little say, as long as the women are there to absorb the ire of this demanding society. Many women have died during childbirth, after multiple pregnancies, looking for that male child that would solidify her stand in the husbands house. You are sometimes entrusted with the job of looking for a sister wife for your husband, to give him that all-important heir to his imaginary throne. The story of the sister wife is another tale for another day. Examples abound where women have, and continue to draw the short stick in our everyday lives. From poor economic empowerment to domestic abuse and violence. From female gender mutilation to workplace violence. Wage disparity to lopsided property inheritance practices. we fail to water these people who have for years watered the tree of family and community development. If we as a community would not do it, I say it is time to call on the people that are good atno, great at doing.. to get it done. I am here to remind you of the great heroes in whose shoes you walk. I am here to show you the things you have done and what you are capable of doing. I am here to tell you how much I believe in your abilities. To hint to you that the time is right to start a new project. that the times are changing and that the wind may be blowing in your favor. Only few forces can stand in the way of united and determined women. Universal Adult suffrage could have died in the labor room, if not for the expert midwifery skills of some warrior women. Our country searched for its first gold medal for years at the Olympics with no luck, until a certain Policewoman found it hidden in the sands of the long jump pit in Atlanta. Every military or paramilitary camp today has a mammy market. That owes to the industrial endeavor of a single woman who created that franchise long before the idea of business franchises was introduced to the Nigerian business culture. Remember Margaret Ekpo, Funmi Ransom Kuti. Hajiya Gambo fought for the welfare of Muslim Women in the north. Nwanyereuwa fought against the undue taxation of women, fought against corrupt warrant Chiefs during the colonial rule. She ignited the womens uprising in 1929 that changed the system of governance for good. A woman gets so much done before the break of dawn than others can get done by dusk; and that is just one woman. Just one woman. One woman. Written by Uzoma Chukwuocha. uzchuks2005@yahoo.com Tweeter handle: @uzorcentric /* custom css */ .tdi_76_d21.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_d21 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_d21.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_d21.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_d21.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia Tue, August 18, 2020 00:00 520 e64784b3fe1d3d4b1dcfd9f15cbf5ab8 4 Inforial Free Several months into social distancing due to the spread of COVID-19, people are starting to find their way outside of their homes. As it is understood that safety is of utmost importance, many people opt to travel to explore nature within the borders of Indonesia. Those who reside in Indonesia are considered lucky, as the archipelago offers an abundance of destinations to explore. Even Jakartans can only look to the suburban areas surrounding them for a close encounter with fresh air and lush greens. Meanwhile, urbanites with the luxury of more spare time can go on a road trip to such places as Yogyakarta and Banyuwangi, East Java. Ensuring the safety of travelers eager to explore Indonesia, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry introduced InDOnesia CARE, an initiative for Indonesias tourist establishments to implement cleanliness, health, safety and environment (CHSE) measures as their first priority. The highlighted letters read I DO CARE to emphasize that Indonesia highly regards CHSE protocols of its visitors. Furthermore, the ministry has rolled out the Handbook for Hotels and the Handbook for Restaurants, which can be downloaded here. As a destination hardest-hit by the impacts of the pandemic, Bali is among the first Indonesian destinations to reopen while implementing CHSE protocols in various points. Before Bali, Banyuwangi reopened its CHSE-ready tourist attractions. Following Bali, Batam and Bintan in Riau Islands and Yogyakarta were next in reopening and implementing CHSE protocols. The obligation to comply with health and safety protocols makes traveling more tedious and time-consuming, but it is of utmost importance for everyones comfort and convenience. But what about the recommendation to postpone traveling completely before a vaccine or cure for COVID-19 is developed? Traveling, apparently, is not only about leisurely vacations or contributing to the economy. As much as video conferences are sufficient for business, the depth of face-to-face interaction is still irreplaceable. And of course, there could also be family and friends away that need to be visited. In the end, we may have no choice but to resume traveling, although slowly and carefully with health and safety protocols. The government is making sure that our transition to traveling in the new era of health and safety protocols runs smooth with InDOnesia CARE. Recently, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry recruited traveling and marketing consultant Jovita Ayu, young entrepreneur Dimas Ramadhan and actor Dion Wiyoko to go on a trip from Jakarta to Nusa Dua, Bali. They demonstrated how to travel while complying to the health and safety protocols imposed by the government. They started with preparations, which include bringing a non-reactive rapid test or negative swab test result and an Indonesia Health Alert Card (e-HAC), which can be filled out digitally by downloading e-HAC application on your mobile device. For travelers heading to Bali, completing the Bali Health Precautions Form is also required, and the form can be accessed from cekdiri.baliprov.go.id/. Among the data required by travelers are personal data, flight and seat numbers, an itinerary of places to be visited in Bali and duration of stay. Moreover, travelers are encouraged to download the PeduliLindungi (Care and Protect) application on their mobile devices to find out the COVID-19 status of the places to be visited. While at the airport, travelers can expect to see some precautionary measures in the airport, such as easy-to-access hand sanitizing stations, self-printing boarding passes, protective shields at counters and physical distancing rules. Meanwhile, on board the plane, a safe distance will be maintained among passengers through seat arrangements and wearing masks during the whole flight is required. Airport staff will recheck each passengers temperature, as well as all the required documents mentioned above. For a complete story of their travel experience, click here. Charismatic. Star power. Big television moments. All words often used to describe California Senator Kamala Harris and her 2020 presidential campaign. And never used to describe her potential new boss, Joe Biden. Team Biden hasnt been shy about their strategy for taking on Trump: Keep the spotlight on the president. Democrats believe that if the November election is an up-or-down referendum on the Trump presidency, Biden will be the next POTUS. And so, with the timely help of the COVID-19 shutdowns, Biden has waged an online version of William McKinleys front porch campaign. And as political analyst Henry Olsen noted, its working. Democrats once urged their man to Give em hell, Harry! Today theyll shout with equal vigor, Stay at home, Joe! Expect him to gratefully take their advice, Olsen wrote in the Washington Post. Republicans may mock Hidin Biden, but they cant deny his success. The former vice president has led in the polls for weeks, thanks in large part to his Invisible Man strategy keeping the attention on Trump. So, why did he just pick the Human Torch as his sidekick? Kamala Harris is a very ambitious person who likes to be in the spotlight. Shes not known for keeping her head down and going unnoticed, says GOP strategist Alex Conant, a veteran of the Rubio 2016 campaign and founding partner at Firehouse Strategies. I like to tell people a good running mate only makes news on three days: The day theyre picked, the day they give their nominating speech, and the day they debate. If theyre making news on the fourth day, you probably have a problem. Its hard to imagine Kamala Harris not making fourth-day news, Conant said. Most of the commentary regarding Kamala (and yes, shes now a single-name celebrity, like Oprah or Ellen) has focused on the identity-politics aspect of her selection: the first woman of color to be on a major-party ticket. And thats important. But whats been largely overlooked is Kamalas actual performance as a candidate. Which, as President Trump loves to point out, wasnt great. I watched her. I watched her poll numbers go boom, boom, boom. Down to almost nothing, Trump said. Hes right. Harris came out of the gate as a top-tier contender, consistently polling near the front of the pack. But after a year of coast-to-coast campaigning, her support had fallen to 5% nationally. Among early state voters, she was tied with Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. But plenty of unsuccessful presidential candidates make fine VP picks, as Joe Biden can attest. Its the burn out, not fade away nature of her candidacy thats at odds with the overall Biden 2020 approach. Instead of simply failing to catch fire, Kamala kept creating controversies that raised questions about her candidacy: The attack on Bidens support for racist politicians and policies, Gabbards counter-attack on her record as a prosecutor, the embarrassing flip-flop on Medicare for All, etc. As the New York Times reported after she dropped out of the race, her strategy was to rely on big, television moments. Rather than grinding it out on the ground, Harriss campaign peaked when her confrontation with Biden over busing went viral. After that, it was all downhill. Veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum dismisses Harriss 2020 problems as irrelevant. Shell do very well, shes extremely charismatic. If I were (Vice President Mike) Pence, Id be worried, he said. Her inability to settle on a message that resonates may have hurt her campaign, but it wont now because shell be delivering Bidens message, said Shrum, director of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future. But the potential downside of the Kamala pick isnt the messaging. Its the messenger. She gives Team Trump a high-profile target for their political fire, raising questions about what a Harris presidency would look like should Biden be unable to finish a four-year term. People vote for the president, not the running mate, Shrum said. Shell have an impact on African-American turnout in places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But at what cost? How many headache-causing headlines will she generate along the way? Conant says Kamalas pick is in part a reaction to the Clinton 2016 campaign. Biden looked at what Hillary Clinton did and decided to do something different, Conant said. She picked someone who inspired nobody and as a result underperformed with key constituencies. By announcing he was going to nominate a woman, Biden signaled months ago that he was going to do something dramatic. The Trump campaign is counting on plenty of political drama from Kamala Harris. Michael Graham is political editor at InsideSources.com. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Interim HealthCare Inc. today announced the launch of Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana*, a leading local provider of home care, hospice and healthcare staffing, with Bob and Mandy LaFleur as the new owners and operators. The LaFleurs, both born and raised in southern Louisiana, are expanding Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana's private duty services to include all of Interim HealthCare Inc.'s specialty programs, including cognitive care with a focus on dementia, diabetes, heart disease and chronic care which fall under Interim HealthCare's HomeLife Enrichment signature standard of care offerings. Serving the communities of Mandeville, Covington and New Orleans, the LaFleurs are committed to ensuring that residents, clients and their families have a reliable and trusted partner to meet their home care and hospice needs. Through a new collaboration with Veterans Home Care's VetAssist Program, Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana is passionately committed to area veterans and caring for their needs as a way of honoring and thanking them for their service. Additionally, Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana will maintain critical relationships with area healthcare facilities, government agencies, schools and other organizations to help meet their growing needs for qualified healthcare professionals. Bob and Mandy have spent their combined 50 years of patient care experience in the South Louisiana area. Bob is a dedicated nurse in the community. He was previously the CEO at Memorial Specialty Hospital and prior to that, held director of provider relations and CEO roles at Cornerstone Healthcare Group. At Cornerstone, his leadership was instrumental in the hospital earning Hospital of the Year from 2010-2015 and multiple top employee engagement and patient satisfaction scores by the organization. Mandy spent more than two decades as a healthcare and customer service executive with Cornerstone Healthcare Group and The Veranda Retirement of Graywood. Bob and Mandy's careers have been focused on providing exceptional and high-quality patient care. Married for 25 years, the LaFleurs have three sons and they enjoy camping, fishing, cooking and spending time with family and friends core Louisianan traditions. "My wife and I are thrilled to serve the greater Southeast Louisiana community with compassionate and high-quality home and hospice care solutions and job opportunities," said Bob LaFleur. "Having been raised, built a career and a family right here in Louisiana, we know what it takes to keep our community close and well cared for. At Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana, we take our role very seriously and believe we can help Louisianans age in place while being active community participants." The Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana staffing services will bring more jobs to the region including nurses, therapists, aides, companions and other healthcare professionals. "We are delighted to have Bob and Mandy in the Interim HealthCare network of franchisees," said Jennifer Sheets, Interim HealthCare Inc. president and CEO. "With decades of combined experience in healthcare leadership, community engagement and business management, the LaFleurs are positioned as ideal representatives of our mission to provide whole-person, individualized care for each patient and family. The Southern Louisiana community is in exceptional hands with Bobby, Mandy and their team." Prepared to Keep People Safe at Home Nurses, clinicians and caregivers employed by Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana are prepared to meet the comprehensive needs of every patient in the setting they prefer. Through its HomeLife Enrichment signature standard of care, that encompasses the mind, body, spirit and family, Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana's qualified caregivers strive to improve the overall health and wellbeing of their patients and those around them. All Interim HealthCare franchise locations have extended their HomeLife Enrichment signature standard of care to meet the comprehensive needs of COVID-19 patients at home, and to support families with educational tools and resources. Southern Louisiana area residents seeking care for themselves or a loved one can visit here, https://www.interimhealthcare.com/mandevillela, for a list of services. Prospective home care employees should visit here, https://www.interimhealthcare.com/mandevillela/careers/, to learn more about job openings at Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana. About Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana is a provider of home care, hospice and healthcare staffing in the cities of Mandeville, Covington and New Orleans. Owned and operated by Bob and Mandy LaFleur since 2020, Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana has the support of Interim HealthCare Inc. and its innovative programs and quality standards that improve the delivery of service. Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana is part of a franchise network that employs nurses, therapists, aides, companions and other healthcare professionals who provide 25 million hours of home care service to 190,000 people each year, meeting a variety of home health, senior care, hospice, palliative care, pediatric care and healthcare staffing needs. For more information or to contact Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana, visit www.interimhealthcare.com/mandevillela/home/. *Interim Healthcare Hospice of East Louisiana to be dba Interim HealthCare of East Louisiana. SOURCE Interim HealthCare Inc. Related Links https://www.interimhealthcare.com LOS ANGELES A judge in California ordered immediate testing of all detainees and staff at an immigration detention center where COVID-19 was spreading for weeks while officials refused to test for the virus. Federal District Court Judge Vince Chhabria ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to conduct quick-result testing of everyone in the Mesa Verde ICE Processing Facility in Bakersfield, The Los Angeles Times reports. At least 54 of the 104 detained people remaining at the facility are positive for the virus. Initial results from quick tests Saturday found 11 more positive cases, MacLean said. Chhabrias order also directed about 140 staff members at Mesa Verde to be tested during their next shift, and weekly thereafter. The order followed results Friday showing nearly half of the detainees tested earlier in the week were positive for COVID-19. Deputy Public Defender Emi MacLean of the San Francisco public defenders office said the judge cited the deliberate indifference of ICE and GEO Group, the private company managing the facility. The public defenders office represents detainees at the facility in San Francisco Immigration Court. The order followed a series of hearings in a class-action lawsuit filed in April that sought to ensure the facility was taking adequate measures to ensure the detainees safety. As the litigation proceeded, ICE tested only those who showed symptoms of possible infection and reported there were none, MacLean said. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some especially older adults and people with existing health problems it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick. -- The Associated Press An employee at work at the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry that produces a COVID-19 vaccine. The head of Russia's vaccine-development body has claimed that Western research institutions are seeking to "lure" away its scientists to work for them. Alexander Gintsburg alleged that attempts to poach scientists from Russia to work in Europe and the U.S. had not worked. Gintsburg is the head of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology which developed Russia's coronavirus vaccine that was given regulatory approval last week. Gintsburg offered no evidence for his claim, nor did he mention any specific institutions. "Our researchers have been working at the Gamaleya Institute for ten years Any American or European university can only dream of having such researchers. And they are seeking to lure them away. But they won't be able to," Gintsburg told the Rossiya-1 television channel on Sunday, Russian news agency Tass reported. Russia registered its coronavirus vaccine on August 11, making it the first country in the world to do so. The vaccine has only gone through Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials that involved a limited number of participants, however. Russia said Phase 3 trials on a larger cohort of people would begin in August. Western health officials reacted to Russia's announcement of the vaccine with skepticism and concern, and questioned the efficacy and safety of the vaccine as no data on the results of the clinical trials has been published. Russia rejected that criticism, with one Russian official telling CNBC that "some U.S. media and U.S. people" were waging "major information warfare" against the vaccine. - A Keratin Treatment Deep Repair hair product states in the address at the back of the package that Manila is part of china - Instead of the usual address Metro Manila, Philippines, what was stated on the package was, "Manila Province, Philippines" - The netizen, Michael Angelo M. Reyes, who noticed this immediately posted the photo on Facebook, which immediately got a lot of reactions from netizens - The manufacturer of Elegant Fumes Beauty Products Incorporated immediately posted its own photo of what the packaging looks like, following the huge backlash that it received from many netizens PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Michael Angelo M. Reyes noticed an unusual hair product label claiming Manila is a province of China. He posted the photo on Facebook, which immediately got a lot of reactions from other netizens. While it may have been a simple photo, he captioned it with "read the address very slowly." That was when netizens saw that the address written on the package states that the Philippines is a part of China. The bottom section states: "Manufactured for Elegant Fumes Beauty Products Inc. Address: 1st floor. 707 Sto Cristo St. San Nicolas, Manila Province, P.R. China" This received a lot of backlash, and so the manufacturer posted a corresponding photo. The manufacturer posted with a caption, "To all our valued customers, here is our answer to your inquiry." This time around, the part that says the country is part of China was already gone. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback Photo: Elegant Fumes/Facebook Source: Facebook PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Conflicts with China have risen especially those concerning the West Philippine Sea. Previously, 14 crew of a fishing vessel were lost after their ship collided with a Chinese cargo vessel. In more recent news, Wuhan had a huge pool party. Photos became viral on social media. The COVID-19 outbreak started out in Wuhan, Hubei Province of China. Scientists believed that the virus came from an animal at one of Wuhan's wet markets. The Philippines has slowly eased quarantine measures and Filipinos are starting to adapt to the new normal. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! Source: KAMI.com.gh President Trump has lashed out at New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio after a weekend of violence where at least 52 people were shot, leaving seven dead across the city. 'Law and Order. If @NYCMayor can't do it, we will!' the president wrote on Twitter late on Sunday night. Data from the NYPD data shows 20 people were injured in 12 shooting incidents on Friday, another 23 wounded on Saturday in 20 separate shootings. On Sunday, nine people were shot. President Trump has lashed out at New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio after a weekend of violence in which at least 50 people were shot in various incidents across the city New York City continues to see an surge in violent shootings, with police recording shooting incidents involving 52 victims so far this weekend In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising Across the whole of last week, the NYPD says 69 people were victims of gun violence including 43 people shot on Friday and Saturday according to NBC News. Shooting incidents in the city have been up nearly triple for the last four weeks, compared to the same period of time last year. The statistics follow a pattern seen since June when shootings surged by 130 percent, as the coronavirus lockdown began to ease. During the month of July, there were 244 citywide shooting incidents, compared to 88 shooting incidents in July 2019, a 177% increase. For the entire year, up until the end of July, there has been a 72% spike in citywide shooting incidents with 772 incidents compared with 450 up to the same point in 2019. Murders have also risen 30 percent this summer compared to last year. There were 235 murders in the city for the first seven months of 2020 compared to 181 for the first seven months of 2019. In July alone, there were 54 murders, compared to 34 killings last year. Police leaders in the Big Apple have placed the blame squarely on de Blasio, citing his move to slash $1billion from the NYPD's budget, a new law that lets some defendants go free without posting bond and the release of thousands of prisoners from Rikers Island due to coronavirus concerns. Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea have been at odds over what is to blame for the increase. In July, de Blasio championed a budget cut through the City Council which took $1billion away from the NYPD after bowing to pressure from Black Lives Matter protesters Mayor de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea have been at odds over what is to blame for the increase. Factors offered include slowdowns in the court system, gang activity and pent-up rage from being in lockdown. Some have suggested that a decision to shut down the NYPD's plainclothes anti-crime unit mid-June may have also contributed to the rise. In July, de Blasio championed a budget cut through the City Council which took $1billion away from the NYPD after bowing to pressure from Black Lives Matter protesters. It involved wiping more than 1,100 new cop jobs and disbanding a plain clothes anti-crime unit. Trump on Friday vowed to 'bring back our beloved New York' after NY State was ranked as having the worst economic outlook in the nation Trump's tweet on Sunday night came just days after he vowed to 'bring back our beloved New York City' if he wins the election after New York was ranked as having the worst economic outlook in the US and as crime and homelessness continue to rise. Trump tweeted: 'Vote for TRUMP on November 3rd. 'I am going to bring our beloved New York back!' with a link to a New York Post story about the Rich States, Poor States rankings which put NY state 50th in the list of economic rankings across the country. Trump's promise comes as crime in the city continues to rise, residents flee - abandoning their apartments in larger numbers than ever before - and homelessness continues to spread across the streets. It's not the first time Trump has called out a Democrat mayor over an increase in violence and unrest over protests stemming from George Floyds death in police custody. He is usually met with resistance from these mayors who insist that federal troops would only increase tensions in such cities, but the president is trying to position himself as the countrys law-and-order choice. NYPD crime scene tape near Prospect Park in Brooklyn where a fatal shooting occurred after a 47-year-old man was shot twice in the head near Parkside Avenue NYPD Crime Scene Unit officers seen on near Prospect Park in Brooklyn Paul Pinkney, pictured, was paying his respects to slain neighbor Deshawn Reid when he was blasted twice in the head While murders and shootings have surged, reports of other major crimes have fallen in recent months, the New York Times reports. The weekend's shooting began on Friday night when a man was seen firing indiscriminately into a crowd at an outdoor party at 112th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem. Two women and a man were hit, but all three were expected to survive. By early Saturday morning, at around 1am on West 128th Street in Harlem. A 30-year-old man died from a gunshot to the torso. Next, in Queens, a 28-year-old off-duty correction officer was shot in the head and died. John Jeff, 28, was walking down a street in Jamaica, Queens around 3am when he was shot in the head and chest. The suspect then grabbed Jeff's department-issued gun out of his holster and used it to shoot him several times before taking off with the gun. At 10am, an unidentified man shot at a 40-year-old man in Grand Central Station following a dispute, according to police. Police released surveillance footage of the suspect, who fled the scene on foot westbound on East 42nd Street. An unidentified man shot a 40-year-old man in the arm in Grand Central on Saturday morning An off-duty New York City correction officer was fatally shot after he left a party in Queens Saturday Authorities say, John Jeff, 28, was walking down Ridgedale Street near DeFoe Street in Jamaica around 3an when he was shot in the head and chest. The victim suffered an injury to his left arm and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. In Brooklyn a 28-year-old man was shot in the face just after 4pm on Saturday. Later, in the Prospect Lefferts area of Brooklyn, a 47-year-old male was left with two gunshot wounds to the head. He died soon afterwards. Paul Pinkney, was paying his respects to his slain neighbor Deshawn Reid when he was blasted twice in the head on the edge of the park about 2am. He was sitting on a bench when he was shot according to the New York Daily News. By Saturday night, police in the Bronx were at the shooting of a 27-year-old man who was shot in the torso. He was taken to Jacobi Hospital where he died. An NYPD Crime Scene Unit is seen on near Prospect Park in Brooklyn where fatal shooting occurred during the early hours of Sunday morning The New York City Police Department recorded at least 50 shooting victims by late Sunday Off-duty Corrections Officer John Jeff, 28, was walking down Ridgedale Street near DeFoe Street in Jamaica, Queens around 3am when he was shot in the head and chest Also in the borough, a further two separate shootings saw another three sent to hospital. A 19-year-old male was shot in the neck around 4:30am in Morrisania. He was taken to transported to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition. Another gun shot wound victim in the Bronx ended up walking into hospital with an injury to their right leg. At 4:30am a second shooting happened in the Pelham Bay area of the Bronx when a 26-year-old male was also shot in the back on Westchester Avenue. Also in the early hours of Sunday morning, officers attended a fourth fatal shooting near Prospect Park in Brooklyn. A 47-year-old man died after being shot twice in the head around 2am. Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). A couple who found an asylum seeker hidden in their bike rack after driving home to England from France have been threatened with a fine by Border Force. John and Debbie Marriott, from Worthing in West Sussex, discovered the man under the tarpaulin covering their bikes after arriving home in their camper van on August 10. A Sudanese youth who claimed to be 15 despite looking older had spent six hours wedged inside the bike rack as the couple travelled home through Calais. Police collected him from the property. The stunned couple have now revealed they received a letter from Border Force stating they may face a fine. John and Debbie Marriott, from Worthing in West Sussex, discovered the man under the tarpaulin covering their bikes after arriving home in their camper van on August 10 'To now get a letter from Border Force suggesting it's our fault, it's a bit of a joke,' Mrs Marriott told the Sun. 'They say we have broken the law by bringing someone into the country and have demanded to know details of our journey back home and what precautions we took. 'It's a slap in the face to say the least.' The Home Office told MailOnline it is 'investigating the details of this case.' If Mr and Mrs Marriott can prove they had no reason to believe the asylum seeker was under the tarpaulin they will not be liable to pay any fine. It comes as more than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the UK over the past 10 days, with more than 100, including a baby, picked up along the coast of Dover, Kent, yesterday. Smuggler gangs are reportedly offering migrants 'gold, silver and bronze' package deals to cross the Channel - with the cheapest costing less than 1000. A Sudanese youth who claimed to be 15 despite looking older climbed out, having spent six hours wedged inside. Police collected him from the property Mr and Mrs Marriott had spent two weeks holidaying in their camper van before catching the ferry at Calais. Former policeman Mr Marriott, 59, said they had arrived at the port for their 3.45pm ferry and went to a supermarket to buy some lunch. 'When we pulled in there we saw two men talking on phones,' he said. 'They were just hanging around the camper van car park so they really stood out. When we came back out, there was one stood at the back of our van, hanging about by our cycle bikes, which were covered in tarpaulin. 'I checked the bikes were there and the camper van was packed and everything appeared to be there. I still don't know how I didn't see him. 'There were zero checks when we got back to the UK and we just drove straight off the ferry.' During the two-hour drive to Worthing, the couple heard 'repeated banging', but put it down to their belongings becoming dislodged. Mrs Marriott said: 'More checks need to be made. It isn't safe. 'It doesn't bear thinking about what it would have felt like to find a dead body there instead. The problem is getting worse.' The incident happened on August 10, as Home Secretary Priti Patel was patrolling the Channel with the Royal Navy and vowing to stop dinghies full of migrants flocking across from France. Brits visiting the Canary Islands, including Tenerife and Lanzarote, will now have to wear masks on the beach as the regional government reinforces coronavirus safety regulations. Tourists are also being warned to wear them when around swimming pools as part of the new compulsory order which makes the wearing of face masks compulsory in all public places. This comes as Mallorca and Ibiza's government has slapped a ban on pool parties and party boats are also prohibited no matter where they are berthed in any part of the islands. The Canaries had been one of the few places in Spain not to enforce the regulation but this changed yesterday when a new raft of rules was introduced to try and curb new outbreaks of coronavirus on the islands. Brits visiting the Canary Islands, including Tenerife and Lanzarote, will now have to wear masks on the beach as the regional government reinforces coronavirus safety regulations Masks have to be worn when accessing or walking along the beaches and the coasts but not if sitting still in one spot or when in the water. The Balearic Government has been taking tough action to control nightlife and leisure activities following evidence of a strong link with coronavirus outbreaks. There is also a new ban on the sale of alcohol in any form of transport linked to tourism. The measures are part of a new package of restrictions that aim to avoid large crowds of people on board these boats or in premises that have a swimming pool. The new rules apply to Mallorca and Ibiza, as well as Menorca and Formentera. The archipelago added more than 100 coronavirus infections on Friday for the second consecutive day. This is the highest number of positives since the peak of the epidemic curve was reached in the last week of March but the difference is that around 800 coronavirus tests are being carried out daily. It is now mandatory for everyone over six years to wear a mask, on public roads, in outdoor spaces and in any closed place, or that is open to the public, regardless of the maintenance of the interpersonal safety distance of 1.5 meters. In the hotel and catering establishments and services, including bars and cafeterias, masks have to be worn except when physically eating or drinking. Pubs and restaurants have to abide by a new closing time of 1am with no new customers accepted after midnight and have to reduced capacity. Nightclubs and cocktail bars have been closed and smoking is banned in public places where social distancing of two metres cannot be maintained. Anyone caught breaching the rules stands to be fined between 25 euros and 600,000 euros depending on the seriousness of the situation. Premises can be closed for up to three years and if any tourist venue is involved, the owner can be banned from renting it out for holidays, also for up to three years. 'The owners of the establishments, spaces and premises must guarantee compliance,' said a government spokesman. All of Spain's 17 regional governments agreed to enforce a ban on smoking outdoors in public places when a distance of two metres cannot be maintained. The Canaries was one of the few places in Spain not to enforce the regulation but new rules have been introduced to try and curb new outbreaks of coronavirus on the islands The Canary government is also warning that masks must be worn in the proper way. They must cover the nose and mouth completely at all times and go under the chin to make sure no droplets are released into the air. This comes as Health minister Blas Trujillo has issued an urgent plea to all 88 councils in the eight islands, which include Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. He said the Canaries had done very well to keep coronavirus cases and deaths low during the first wave of the pandemic from March to June but now had to contain new outbreaks. The Canary Islands currenty have 28 active coronavirus outbreaks affecting 268 people, 16 of them in Gran Canaria, eight in Tenerife and four in Lanzarote, as reported by the Ministry of Health. The outbreak with the most positive cases, with a total of 60, is in Gran Canaria and relates to nightlife. The Canary Islands currenty have 28 active coronavirus outbreaks affecting 268 people as the government tightens regulations on wearing masks Of the 28 outbreaks, five correspond to 41 migrants who arrived in different boats in recent weeks. The Canary Islands Government services have traced the close contacts of the 268 people included in these outbreaks, thus reaching another 745 people. Other new rules include a ban on contact sports for the next 15 days when the decision will be re-evaluated. Sports competitions that were scheduled to start on September 1st will be delayed, in principle, until October 1st. On mainland Spain, Marbella is to close all of its beaches between 9.30pm every night and 7am the next morning as Spain steps up safety restrictions to try and halt the spread of coronavirus. The decision was announced today by the local council and comes into force on Tuesday. The authority says the new timescale will continue 'indefinitely'. Marbella is to close all of its beaches between 9.30pm every night and 7am the next morning as Spain steps up safety restrictions to try and halt the spread of coronavirus With scorching heat in Spain and space restrictions on beaches, thousands of people are already sunbathing as early as 6am and are still out as the sun goes down because of the warm temperatures. But Marbella council says it has to restrict the hours because of the constant outbreaks of coronavirus across the Costal del Sol and its holiday resorts. Speaking on behalf of Angeles Munoz, Marbella's mayor, municipal spokesman, Felix Romero said of the additional measure: 'Our goal is to prevent social gatherings, such as parties and barbecues, which could pose a risk to public health and a focus on possible outbreaks.' The local police have been asked to step up patrols and will be responsible for making sure the new times are adhered to. Sunbathers will be given an extra half an hour to tidy up and go home by 10pm. The council says it understands people love going to the beach but it cannot risk parties and big gatherings which used to be the norm before the pandemic. Police have charged a 40-year-old man with second-degree murder in the death of 75-year-old Teresa Santos last week. On Aug. 11 at around 9:30 p.m., officers were sent to Santoss home at 24 Shaw Street, north of King Street West, to check in. Up to that point, Santos hadnt been seen since Aug. 8. She was found dead in her home and police initially deemed the death as suspicious. In a news release on Monday, Toronto police announced that Damien Allred of Toronto had been arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He is scheduled to appear in court at Old City Hall on Tuesday. Police continue to appeal for any information about the arrested man and the victim. They also urge any witnesses to come forward. Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-7400, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com, on their Facebook Leave a Tip page, or by texting TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). President Trump has given ByteDance 90 days to sell off all its TikTok related assets in the U.S. As reported by the NY Post this follows the Presidents executive order against the company. It claims ByteDance might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States. There has been some significant backlash since the announcement of these executive order from Trump. Firstly a poll revealed that despite some anger, the majority of Americans supported the ban. However, TikTok workers in the U.S. have expressed their dissatisfaction at the decision given the impact it will have on them. There are a couple of front runners that may purchase the U.S. side of TikTok as reported by Phone Arena. These include Microsoft and Twitter although the latter is now looking less likely given the size of the acquisition. Advertisement 90 days and counting for ByteDance to sell The ticking clock has begun on this need to sell TikTok. That pressure is likely to cause some interesting symptoms over the coming weeks. At least this 90-day countdown has given some semblance of clarity to the situation. Originally, the ban was sweeping but vague. Although many thought ByteDance would have to sell this was not made totally clear. Now that it is we can move on with what may happen next. Many are worried that banning TikTok and WeChat from the App store may backfire heavily on Apple. Currently, 20% of iPhone sales come in China. This may shift in favour of Huawei which may well happen if customers are forced to choose between the apps and their phone. Advertisement Trump defends decision to ban TikTok Trump and his administration have continued to defend their decision to ban the company associated with these apps. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany released a statement to this end. It said, The administration is committed to protecting the American people from all cyber threats and these apps collect significant amounts of private data on users. She also pointed out that the Chinese government can access such data to stoke the fire further. Microsoft looks in pole position to take over the app. The company seems to be the only one big enough and interested enough in the acquisition at the moment. Some reports suggests Twitter had an interest as well. However, this is more likely to be a merger rather than an acquisition which may not work to keep the app functional in America. Advertisement However, this all turns out the next few weeks and months are going to fascinating. As the race to get a deal done progresses people desperation will increase. As that happens, how this all unfolds could have major repercussion to the tech sector going forward. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 19:40:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem (R, Center) meets with visiting Ali Asghar Khaji (L, Center), senior assistant to the Iranian foreign minister, in Damascus, capital of Syria, on Aug. 17, 2020. The two officials highlighted on Monday the rapid development in the strategic relations between the two countries. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) DAMASCUS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and visiting Ali Asghar Khaji, senior assistant to the Iranian foreign minister, highlighted on Monday the rapid development in the strategic relations between the two countries. The development in the strategic relations on all levels has enhanced both country's abilities to face challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the "economic terrorism" practised by the United States on Iran and Syria, according to a statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry. Khaji's visit to Syria comes a month after Syria and Iran signed a comprehensive military agreement in Syria's capital Damascus to enhance military and security cooperation on all levels. Iran has been a major ally of the Syrian government in its fight against the armed rebels since 2011. Opposition activists take part in a protest rally in front the entrance of the Belarus National television and radio company in Minsk, Belarus (ANSA) The staff of the Belarusian state-run television has joined strikes and spreading protests against long-time authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko. The unrest erupted in earnest following the August 9 disputed re-election of the president to a sixth term. By Stefan J. Bos On Sunday, at least tens of thousands of people demanded the resignation of President Alexander Lukashenko. Unofficial estimates for the opposition gathering ranged between 100,000 and 220,000. However, friends and foes agree that this was the most massive opposition rally in the decades-long history of Belarus. Many chanted, Shame, shame, shame. Demonstrators disagree with officials who claim that Lukashenko won this month's presidential election with 80 percent of the vote. "I made my choice, but my vote was thrown in the bin," a protestor said. "So I'll keep coming out till our president leaves. He is already tired, and it is time for a change in power." On Monday, the staff of state-television joined ongoing strikes against the president. Television channels ran repeats when personnel walked out to protest censorship and the election results. Other strike actions were due following massive protests. President defiant However, the 65-year-old Lukashenko remains defiant. And he suggested that he made clear he may even ask Russia to help in a crackdown on protests. "I had a long and detailed conversation with the president of Russia [Vladimir Putin] today about the situation. I must say, I was even a bit surprised [that the Russian president] is absolutely aware of what is happening," he explained to reporters over the weekend. "And we agreed with him, under our first request, comprehensive assistance will be provided. To ensure the security of the Republic of Belarus," Lukashenko added. At least some seem to support him in a nation where many jobs are also dependent on loyalty. An official report said 65,000 people attended a counter-rally for the president. But unofficial estimates were as low as 10,000. He told them they were defending the nation. "Dear friends, I didn't call you to defend me," he told a crowd outside the capital Minsk's main government building. "You came to defend your country, independence, your families, wives, sisters, and children for the first time in a quarter-century. Amid the turmoil, opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya has suggested she could act as an interim leader. But Lukashenko has so far rejected international offers for mediation. Seventy-one young Nigerian girls trafficked to Lebanon and seen in a video that had gone viral where they were crying for help arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, early Monday. Bitrus Samuel, the Head of NEMA Abuja Operation Office disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said the girls were the second batch of the more than 150 Nigerian girls who were trafficked to Lebanon in search of greener pastures. Two weeks ago, 94 victims that constituted the first batch were received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Mr Samuel said the latest victims would be going from the airport to the hotel where the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) would profile their records. The agency would quarantine the girls as a precaution against coronavirus pandemic. Also, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ferdinand Nwonye, said the rescue came after a video footage of the stranded Nigerians appealing to the Federal Government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to their aid went viral on the Internet. The spokesman said the ministry had several discussions with Houssam Diab, the Ambassador of Lebanon to Nigeria, before the Lebanese Government agreed to release the girls to the Federal Government. He said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, was very sad when he saw the video footage. He had to summon the Lebanese Ambassador, and both leaders had a series of engagements that led to the release of the girls. Mr Nwonye said that following the discussions between the two leaders, the Lebanese community in Nigeria through the facilitation of the Nigerian mission in Beirut chartered a flight, paid the flight tickets for the girls to return to Nigeria. NAN reports that various government officials from NAPTIP, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) respectively were on ground at the airport to receive them. Also, Akinloye Akinsola, the representative of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), said that some Nigerians employed as domestic workers in Lebanon had complained of maltreatment from their Lebanese employers. He said that sequel to the complaints, the Lebanese Ambassador to Nigeria had suspended the issuance of working visas to Nigerians seeking to do domestic work in Lebanon. He said the suspension had become imperative so as to stem the tide of the maltreatment. Mr Akinsola said that the commission had started the procedure for proper harmonisation in line with best practices relating to orderly migration. He said that the discussion was with the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the House of Representatives Chairman on the Diaspora, Tolulope Akande-Shodipe. (NAN) Representational image of a putti, or coracle, which is used for short-haul transport along the Krishna river in Telangana. (Representational image) Hyderabad: Three women and a nine-year-old girl were swept away when a putti, a small saucer-shaped boat called coracle, capsized in the raging Krishna river Narayanpet district of Telangana on Monday afternoon. They were among 13 people in the boat, trying to get back to their village of Kuruvapuram in Karnataka from Panchadevapahad village in Makhtal mandal in Telangana. Nine of them were rescued by local fishermen. Puttis are basket-like boats steered by oarsmen for the short-haul along the banks of the Krishna in Telangana and Karnataka. The villagers of Kuruvapuram had come to Panchadevapahad village in Makhtal mandal to buy essential commodities and were returning to their village when tragedy struck. Rivers have been in spate in Telangana due to incessant rains in the past four days. The Godavari is flowing above warning level three at Bhadrachalam, reaching a level of 60.7 ft at 1 pm Monday. Several other deaths have been reported from across the state. A 55-year-old man was killed as a portion of his house collapsed in West Fort in Khila Warangal mandal in the early hours of Monday.One person was washed away when an SUV with four persons was swept away while they were attempting to cross an overflowing causeway between Sikindlapur and Darpally villages in Nanganur Mandal of Siddipet district around midnight Sunday. In the SUV incident, three of the occupants jumped out and grabbed a tree in the middle of the stream while the fourth person was washed away. The three men made a phone call to the local police station and him and requested help. A search operation is on to trace the missing person. With the Godavari in flood at Bhadrachalam, project authorities are releasing 40259 cusecs of water downstream. Authorities at the Jurala Project have opened 39 spillway gates to ease the pressure from 2.96 lakh cusecs of inflow into the project. The authorities are letting out 2.75 lakh cusecs downstream. The weather forecast on Monday was for heavy rain at isolated places over Telangana. The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has published, on August 12, the results of a research project conducted jointly by Cardiocentro Ticino and the EOC Neurocentro, which delivers a message of hope in the fight against Parkinson's disease, as well as providing encouraging news for the USI Faculty of Biomedical Sciences. The study focuses on the analysis of blood plasma microvesicles (exosomes), which could allow the disease to be detected at a very early stage, favouring more effective therapeutic approaches. The new method, non-invasive and economical, requires a simple blood sample. The research was made possible by a close collaboration between the laboratories of the Neurocentro of the Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale (EOC) and Cardiocentro Ticino - both of which are directly involved in the training activities of the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences of the Universita della Svizzera italiana (USI). The research project is the subject of the thesis work of Elena Vacchi, PhD student in Neuroscience at USI, and Jacopo Burrello, visiting PhD student at the University of Turin at Cardiocentro. Towards an early testing of the disease Today, the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease occurs at an advanced stage of its clinical manifestations, a limitation that significantly affects the therapeutic approach. The analysis of exosomes in plasma - as proven by studies conducted in the laboratories in Ticino - could lead the way to an early testing of the disease, at a stage in which the inflammatory process that originates it is already occurring. As the researchers point out, this is a revolutionary approach to the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. It is also an absolutely non-invasive, painless and inexpensive method, as it requires a simple peripheral blood sample. The study and the collaboration network The study, published in Neurology: Neuroimmunology & Neuroinflammation, a journal of the American Academy of Neurology, was jointly conducted by the Parkinson's research group headed by PD Dr. med. Giorgia Melli and Prof. Dr. med. Alain Kaelin at the Laboratory of Biomedical Neuroscience (LBN) of the EOC Neurocentro in Taverne and the Cardiocentro Ticino research group directed by PD Dr. Lucio Barile in collaboration with Prof. Giuseppe Vassalli. Besides the scientific value of the research and our satisfaction for the recognition. I think it is important to reflect on the added value of a synergy between apparently distant research fields - neurology and cardiology - which nevertheless manage to find original and very interesting developments in the daily and transparent comparison of their respective works, a condition that has been positively achieved in recent years in our joint laboratories in Taverne." Dr med Alain Kaelin, Professr and Medical and Scientific Director, Neurocentro EOC Dr Alain si also a full professor at USI. That reflects a key reality of Bidens candidacy: Its always been more of a moral and competency case against Trump than about the particulars of Democrats policy fights. Hence his campaign pledges to unify the country and restore the soul of the nation. Yet Biden has spent the last several months trying to shore up relationships with the party's left flank, which remains sceptical about him. He has a lengthy policy slate he touts as the most progressive of any modern Democratic nominee. The conventions opening night will test how seamlessly the Biden campaign can spend the next 78 days casting such a wide net across a splintered American electorate. Sanders' tone: The Vermont senator is a two-time runner-up for the nomination but by Bidens own admission has done as much as any losing presidential candidate to shape a major political party. Four years ago, Sanders was at the microphone to nominate Hillary Clinton on the floor in Philadelphia, but the bitterness between their camps was apparent, and it wounded her against Trump. Former first lady Michelle Obama. Credit:AP Theres no convention floor to have a fight on this year. No way for viewers at home to hear delegates jeering at anyone on stage they dislike or disagree with. There are other key differences: Sanders and Biden are personally more friendly to each other than Clinton and Sanders were; Biden sewed up the nomination earlier, giving Sanders less leverage this year; and, of course, Trump isnt a hypothetical president as he was in 2016. He is the president, and Sanders has made clear that he sees 2020 as an existential election for the country. Loading Given all that, the question becomes how Sanders balances his own ideological fervour which highlights distinctions between himself and Biden with his personal affinity for the nominee and their shared mission to defeat Trump. Obama. Not him. Her: Perhaps any intrigue about Sanders and Kasich will fall away once the evenings headliner, Michelle Obama, makes her case. Polls suggest the former first lady is even more popular than her broadly popular husband, who will speak on Wednesday night. She managed that, in part, by steering clear of the most obvious fault lines in politics. Remember her speech in Philadelphia four years ago. When they go low, we go high, she said, without even mentioning the caustic Republican nominee who years before had helped drive the lie that Barack Obama wasnt constitutionally eligible to serve as president. Days before the convention's opening gavel, Trump recycled the same tactic against Harris, a daughter of immigrants who is the first Black woman on a major party's presidential ticket and is also of Asian descent. In her case, Trump said he didn't know if she was eligible but wasn't pursuing the matter. Michelle Obama is uniquely positioned to talk about Democratic ticket. She knows Biden and his wife, Jill, as genuine friends from Bidens eight years as vice-president. The Obamas also know Harris well, and Michelle Obama almost certainly will speak in personal terms about what it means to see a woman of colour nominated for national office. I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, she said at the 2016 convention, and I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. How to watch: The convention will air from 9pm to 11pm Washington, DC-time (11 am to 1 pm AEST) , The Age and Sydney Morning Herald will have live coverage at the time featuring US correspondent Matthew Knott and reporter Farrah Tomazin. Perez, the DNC chair, has promised an inspiring convention. But people must watch to be inspired, and no one knows what kind of audience will tune in. Conventions have declined in relevance for years. So, in one sense, the pandemic has given Democrats a license to experiment with what amounts to a slickly produced party infomercial. But lost are the rare big, even viral moments when a nominee, a party luminary or an up-and-comer, perhaps even veering off the teleprompter, makes a searing connection with both the party faithful in the arena and the millions watching at home. Fake: Man in burqa held for waving Pakistan flag is not an RSS activist India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 17: A video of a man removing his burqa in front of policemen has gone viral on social media. A tweet says that the man in the video is an RSS man. He had removed his burqa and waved the Pakistan flag to defame Muslims. Fake: Ajit Doval did not wish Egyptians a happy Independence Day on August 15 The video was posted by Raju Upman, who claims that he is a Congress worker. The tweet in Hindi roughly translates to. 'this RSS man was waving a Pakistan flag wearing a burqa. However, this claim is fake. The man in the video was arrested while trying to smuggle liquor from Telangana to Andhra Pradesh. He had put on a burqa to disguise himself. A report in NTV Telugu said that the burqa-clad man was arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police for smuggling liquor from Telangana. This incident took place at the Panchalingala check post in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill canceled in-class instruction just one week into the new term on Monday after positive cases of COVID-19 shot up dramatically, becoming the latest U.S. school to reverse course on reopening. The university's chancellor said in a letter to students posted on the campus website that classes would be held online going forward, along with academic support services. August 11 was the first day of the new academic year. 'We have emphasized that if we were faced with the need to change plans - take an off-ramp - we would not hesitate to do so, but we have not taken this decision lightly,' it said in a statement after reporting 130 confirmed infections among students and five among employees over the past week. University of North Carolina students wait outside of Woolen Gym on the Chapel Hill campus as they wait to enter a fitness class on Monday. The University announced minutes before that all classes will be moved online starting Wednesday due to COVID clusters on campus University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced it would shift to remote learning for all undergraduate classes starting Wednesday after reporting 135 new COVID-19 cases in a week Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said in a letter to students posted on the campus website that classes would be held online going forward, along with academic support services. August 11 was the first day of the new academic year The decision came after the COVID-19 positivity rate - the percentage of those tested who had infections - went from 2.8% to 13.6% at the campus clinic, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in the message. 'So far, we have been fortunate that most students who have tested positive have demonstrated mild symptoms,' Guskiewicz said. Before the decision came down, the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, ran an editorial headlined, 'UNC has a clusterf*** on its hands.' The paper said that the parties that took place over the weekend were no surprise and that administrators should have begun the semester with online-only instruction at the university, which has 19,000 undergraduates. 'We all saw this coming,' the editorial said. Professor Steven King teaches an interactive media class at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. King taught while facing six students who chose to physically attend, while the majority of students logged-in remotely and could be seen on a screen behind him The university made its announcement in an email to students as well as posting online UNC said the clusters were discovered in dorms, a fraternity house and other student housing. Outbreaks earlier this summer at fraternities in Washington state, California and Mississippi provided a glimpse of the challenges school officials face in keeping the virus from spreading on campuses where young people eat, live, study - and party - in close quarters. The virus has been blamed for over 170,000 deaths and 5.4 million confirmed infections in the U.S. A social distancing marker is seen on an empty University of Southern California (USC) campus in Los Angeles. All classes are being conducted online A man skateboards on an empty University of Southern California campus on Monday Other universities, including the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, began the fall semester on Monday with all classes conducted online. Nationwide, new cases of COVID-19 fell for a fourth week in a row but infections remain at high levels in many states and deaths continue to average 1,000 per day. More than 30 states have test positivity rates over 5% and Mississippi, Nevada, Florida and Idaho are over 16%. New York, once the epicenter of the coronavirus in the country, has an infection rate below 1%, along with Connecticut, Maine and Vermont. New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that gyms could reopen from next week. Professor Stefan France helps his co-instructor on the first day of classes on Monday at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. More of Georgia's public universities are opening for the fall term Nationwide, many elementary, secondary, high schools and colleges scheduled to begin the new term in August or September have imposed 'remote learning,' as teachers unions oppose in-class instruction. 'It's because it's so difficult to create these systems where everybody is essentially behaving appropriately, meaning social distancing, wearing PPE and not gathering in groups,' said David Long of Tuscany Strategy Consulting, referring to personal protective equipment. 'It's challenging when you're trying to control behavior in young adults, particularly in areas that are outside the classroom and off campus.' A school district in Arizona canceled its plans to reopen schools Monday after a number of teachers called in sick. 'Every single one of us wants to go back to work,' said Marisol Garcia, president of the Arizona Education Association. 'We want to be in a classroom, we want to be in front of our kids, we want things to go back to normal. But that school that parents want to send their children to does not exist yet,' she said. A protester holds a sign opposing in-person classes at a 'die-in' at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. More of the state's public universities are opening for the fall term, trying to balance concern about COVID-19 infections against a mandate for on-campus classes citing financial needs and student desires Doctoral student Margot Paez holds a sign protesting in-person classes. More of Georgia's public universities are opening for the fall term, trying to balance concern about COVID-19 infections against a mandate for on-campus classes citing financial needs and student desires In Georgia, a third high school in Cherokee County has closed for in-person classes, the county's school district said, citing an increase in the number of positive cases and nearly a third of students under quarantine. The district said in a statement on Sunday it was postponing the planned start to in-person classes from Monday to Aug. 31. Cherokee County schools were featured in the national media this month after students posted images on social media showing pupils massed together in hallways, many of them not wearing masks. Georgia's new cases are down slightly from their peak but the state reported over 20,000 new infections last week and a 12% positivity rate, which suggests more undetected cases in the community. A Nebraska school district said on Saturday it had canceled classes after three staff members tested positive and 24 more were in quarantine for exposure. Officials at a school district in Oklahoma learned that one high school student attended the first day of classes on Thursday, even though the student had tested positive and had not completed the 10-day quarantine. 'Upon speaking with the student, they said since they were asymptomatic then they believed their quarantine period was five days,' Dawn Jones, public information officer for Moore Public Schools, said. The parents apologized for the misunderstanding. About 40 protesters march opposing in-person classes at Georgia Tech Matthew Claflin and Sara Norton sit in partial shade on the quad at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. More than 20,000 students returned to campus Saturday for the first time since spring break, with numerous school and city codes in effect to limit the spread of COVID-19 At Oklahoma State in Stillwater, where a widely circulated video over the weekend showed maskless students packed into a nightclub, officials confirmed 23 coronavirus cases at an off-campus sorority house. The university placed the students living there in isolation and prohibited them from leaving. 'As a student, I'm frustrated as hell,' said Ryan Novozinsky, a junior from Allentown, New Jersey, and editor of the student newspaper. 'These are people I have to interact with.' And, he added, 'there will be professors they interact with, starting today, that won't be able to fight this off.' OSU has a combination of in-person and online courses. Students, staff and faculty are required to wear masks indoors and outdoors where social distancing isnt possible. The University of Notre Dame reported 58 confirmed cases since students returned to the South Bend, Indiana, campus in early August. At least two off-campus parties over a week ago have been identified as sources, school officials said. Paul J. Browne, vice president for public affairs at Notre Dame, said the university is prepared to suspend or otherwise discipline the hosts of such parties. 'We believe we have a very strong chain of health protection, but these parties represent the weak link in that chain, and they can be responsible for a disproportionate spread,' he said. Baylor Garland, left, arrives to move in for his freshman year, assisted by his father Alan, right and mother, Teena, after they arrived from Eaton, Georgia at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. More than 20,000 students returned to campus for the first time since spring break with numerous school and city codes in effect to limit the spread of COVID-19 University officials in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama were likewise frustrated by the lack of social distancing and scenes of crowded bars and other nightspot areas on the first weekend many students returned to school. In Tuscaloosa, the home of the football-mad University of Alabama, Mayor Walt Maddox appealed to students' love of the game in urging them to take precautions. 'If you don't want to protect yourself and you don't want to protect your family and you don't want to protect your friends and thousands of jobs, maybe, just maybe, you would want to protect football season so we can have it this fall,' Maddox said. Some universities are still moving ahead with fall classes. At Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, where a dozen students tested positive last month after an off-campus gathering, classes start August 26 and students are moving into dorms this weekend. A sign warns against moving socially distanced furniture in a classroom that is normally the president's football stadium suite on the first day of classes at Georgia Tech in Atlanta 'We have tweaked the move in process this year and are requiring students to sign up for a time slot so we can keep things spaced out and distanced,' university spokeswoman Renee Charles said. Balancing the health risks with educating students has been keeping university presidents up at night, said Mildred Garcia, head of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. She said many are reconsider their plans as things change rapidly. 'They are doing the best they can with their staff and trying to educate the students about masks and social distancing and the effects of this virus,' she said. 'They're doing all they can - and yet these are young people. When we think back about when we were young, sometimes you think you're invincible.' Dr Zanetor Agyeman Rawlings, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Klottey Korle has expressed happiness about the commencement of roads rehabilitation in her constituency in Accra. The roads are Eseefo, Odanta, Akooshie and Paradise streets in Asylum Down; Farrah Avenue in Adabraka; Salem Avenue, Abebrese and Awulakpakpa streets in Osu; Justice Annie Jiagge Street, and Salvation link at Ringway Estates. Dr Zanetor Rawlings expressed the pleasure in an interview with the Ghana News Agency after she had inspected ongoing road projects in her constituency. Our roads have been in deplorable state for a long time and my office gets thronged on daily basis with reports from my constituents. I am so happy that after years of knocking at the right doors and my pleadings have yielded results, she said. Dr Zanetor Rawlings said apart from lobbying for the rehabilitation of the roads, she had been able to use her Common Fund to renovate some dilapidated bridges at Asylum Down, Ringway Estates area, and the Odawna Sahara communities. The MP commended the Minister of Roads and Highways for coming to the aid of the people in the Constituency. 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 During his second trip to Europe in less than a month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unsurprisingly carried on his malign campaign, hurling insults at China, scrambling to indoctrinate "America's friends" with slanders and lies, and contriving to revive a Cold War. Addressing a press conference with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Pompeo repeated his anti-China agenda, groundlessly calling the country a threat. To his dismay, the Czech prime minister did not echo his rhetoric, but said instead that Czech is "a sovereign country and I do not see any major threat here." Tirelessly calling Huawei a threat, Pompeo provided no concrete evidence for his claim. On the contrary, as divulged by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks, it was the United States that has implemented a notorious global surveillance. When the ink was not yet dry on the U.S.-Slovenia 5G joint declaration, local media pointed out that Pompeo's so-called threats to 5G, human rights and democracy are not about those values of Western civilization, but about who gets a bigger slice of the pie in the future business and consequently controls the world. On the issue of 5G and cyber security, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told a press conference with Pompeo on Friday that they have adopted a common position within the European Union. He also noted that Austria "deeply" regrets the U.S. use of extraterritorial sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, adding they "would rather endeavor on or pursue the way of bilateral talks to find a common solution on this ground, on this matter." The former CIA director embellished his trip to Europe with the purposes of safeguarding freedom and democracy, and protecting allies from existential threats. The mentality reflected the fact that a handful of U.S. politicians still believe America has a mission to save and dominate the world. Driven by strong ideological biases, Pompeo delivered his infamous "new iron curtain speech" last month, which came from nowhere but the imagination and anxiety of a troubled soul mired in a Cold War mentality. Unfortunately, under the influence of this mentality, U.S. foreign policy has often swerved from diplomacy to war, according to professor Jeffrey Sachs at Columbia University. During the Cold War era, anti-communist fervor led the United States to fight multiple disastrous wars in Southeast Asia and Central America. While Americans are still languishing in those debacles, demagogues like Pompeo are seeking another Cold War. Indeed, some might be prone to associate Eastern Europe with a Cold War. But by no means are the peace-loving people living in this region and anywhere else around the world fooled by Pompeo and his ilk into repeating the tragedy. As a Czech proverb goes, "people are often caught in their own trap." Pompeo should realize his self-made Cold War trap could catch no one but himself. Most people in America know Scranton, a beleaguered industrial centre in the heart of Pennsylvania, as the setting for the US version of Ricky Gervais sitcom The Office. But as the Democratic National Convention dominates TV broadcasts this week, they will be hearing a lot more about the town. Scranton is where Joe Biden was born, in a modest grey-blue clapboard house, and it is central to his political story. He credits it with forming his character. It is also exactly the kind of battleground he has to win in the presidential election in November. For decades the gritty town bled Democrat blue. But in 2016, working-class voters in Scranton, which is overwhelmingly white, swung by a massive 22 points to Donald Trump. Such swings were repeated across the "rust belt" states, delivering shock, razor-thin victories for Mr Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and sending him to the White House. However, polls show Mr Biden leading by up to 11 points in Pennsylvania, and Mr Trump knows that the future of his white, working-class revolution is in doubt. That is why, on Thursday night, as Mr Biden accepts the Democratic nomination in Delaware, the president will reportedly be campaigning in his opponent's home town. But Mr Trump will have his work cut out. "Joe would win here if he was running against John F Kennedy," said Tom Bell (77), a lifelong friend of Mr Biden's, who sat next to him at school. "He's that popular." Like many local Democrats, Mr Bell voted for Mr Trump but will return to the fold. "I honestly didn't think Joe would run but I'm glad he is," said Mr Bell. "He called me on the phone to tell me. I said, 'I don't think you should', and he got mad at me for that. He'll win because he's always been an incessant worker. And I think he's aged well - 77 is OK to be the president. "Joe will win Scranton and Pennsylvania. It's not just because he's from here. Hillary was from Scranton too, but I didn't like her." Mrs Clinton's father and grandfather worked at Scranton Lace Company, once the world's largest lace curtain mill. Mr Trump has already accused Mr Biden - who left the town when he was 10 after his father found work in Delaware - of "abandoning" Scranton, and Pennsylvania. But Joe Biden came back regularly to stay with his extended family, Mr Bell said. "Joe's best quality is his loyalty and his friendship." However, not everyone in Scranton is a fan. A hundred metres from Mr Biden's childhood home, Tom Moran's house was festooned with Trump flags. "Biden left here 70 years ago or something - the Scranton stuff's a political scam," said Mr Moran (60). "Hillary Clinton had more connections to Scranton. I don't like Biden or his policies. I don't think he's mentally competent. Biden's against fracking, he's against the coal industry. "He shipped jobs overseas and he doesn't understand the working man." Scrantonians joke ruefully that their biggest exports after coal have been people and jobs. The town's population of 76,000 is half that of its 1940s heyday. Many regard the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), signed by Bill Clinton in 1993, as a form of hara-kiri that sent their employment to Mexico and Canada. Mr Moran said Mr Trump had delivered, including by ending Nafta. He added: "I've had my signs damaged. People came along and kicked them down. You don't see Trump supporters doing that. It's a general lack of respect [from Democrats]. It means if you don't see a sign outside a house they're probably Trump supporters. There's a hidden vote just like last time." Perhaps the strongest criticism of Ms Clinton in 2016 was that she did not visit the rust belt enough. By contrast, it is not hard to find sightings of Mr Biden. At Scanlan's, a popular Scranton eatery, Jerry McCabe (76), a retired paper-mill worker, said: "I saw him a couple of years ago right here when he came in for lunch. He sat down and chatted. Joe's going to nail it. "There's still a lot of Trump signs outside of town, in the rural parts, but I just don't get it. Most of them don't have, excuse me, a pot to piss in, but they're going for a guy who doesn't have their interests at heart. Trump's a mean-spirited guy." But at a nearby table, Mark McHale, a 22-year-old student, said he would vote for Mr Trump. "I think it's awesome Joe Biden's from here and comes back but that's not enough for me. I like his roots and hard work, but I don't think he can do four years. People just get old and run out of steam." Mr Biden's selection of Kamala Harris had made little impression. "The only thing I heard was she attacked Biden in the debate, and now their teaming up?" said Mr McHale. Two sisters at another table both said they had never heard of Ms Harris. "I didn't vote last time but I probably should this time," said one of the women. "I guess the country needs a change, not just Scranton." ( Daily Telegraph) NSCN-IM demands fast tracking of Naga peace process India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 17: The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) released a copy of the original 2015 framework agreement which stated that the Centre had agreed on sharing the sovereign power and provided for an enduring inclusive new relationship of peaceful co-existence of the two entities. The NSCN-IM said after the Naga interlocutor R N Ravi created an imbroglio in the peace talk process that mandated a team of the Intelligence Bureau officials to fast track the communication and clear the pending issues. NSCN (IM) terror funding case: Charges filed against two It may be recalled that the Isaak Munivah faction had in 2015 signed a framework agreement in the presence of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi to end the decades-old Naga issue. Ravi had signed the agreement on behalf of the Centre. The group is now demanding the removal of Ravi accusing him of tweaking the agreement to mislead the other Naga groups. "NSCN has been talking to Ravi as Interlocutor and not as Governor. But since Ravi created imbroglio in the talk process, the PM give mandate to continue the talk to a team of IB as a Fast Track Channel for communication and clear the pending points in the competency. Once everything is clear the agreement will be at political level of the Prime Minister," the group said in a statement. 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United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe Vasunthara (PHOTO: Vasunthara) SINGAPORE There has been a lot of talk of late about the intersectionality of food. Being in a country as diverse as Singapore, the toughest thing to do is to be able to identify where on this plate your culture and history tapers off and my creativity begins. But the truth is, the things we eat are often the amalgamation of several cultural origins mixed with a personal interpretation of the cuisine. An interpretation thats based on the company we keep, the cooking methods we observe, and more often than not, sheer convenience. Yet, its hardly an excuse to not make the effort to understand where the food of our grandfather and grandmother comes from. In the world we live in now, dishes of historical significance tend to take a backseat. Younger Singaporeans prefer celebrating and chasing after the next food trend, choosing instead to cast a side-eye on food they deem less glamourous and less Instagram-friendlycertainly an unfair aspersion without any merit. It makes what Vasunthara do in preserving Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine and recipes such a precious commodity. Hers is a world of thosai and homemade curry powder, where food is lovingly made from scratch and the effort to preserve these methods of cooking reaches almost a fevered pitch. She speaks passionately about food and memoriesalmost poetically sobut never veering too far from her original mission of understanding and appreciating the dishes that shaped her childhood and made her the person she is today. Hot Smoked Salmon Kedgeree (PHOTO: Monsoon Table) How do you describe what you do to someone you're meeting for the first time? Im Vasunthara, a former school teacher and a current full-time tutor. Im also a passionate home cook who is a little obsessed with reading up on food history and finding my culinary roots in Tamil Nadu, South India. I enjoy travelling with my husband in search of unique foods and cultures and some of my favourite destinations include Kerala, Sri Lanka, Mexico City and Lisbon. Story continues In my spare time, I write and photograph for my blog Monsoon Table, where I feature recipes and stories with a South Indian and Southeast Asian perspective that Ive researched through books, journals, and interviews. What was your childhood like growing up? My fondest childhood food memories centre around my maternal grandparents home in Joo Chiat when I was about 4 years old. I have wonderful memories of eating piping hot idli and thosai daily, as my grandparents used to sell them from their home. Even though I had only spent a few years there, the sights, sounds and smells from that time have left an indelible mark in my memory. Till today, I can recall the way the kitchen looked, the smell of thosai batter hitting the hot pan, where my grandmother had stashed her large tin of Khong Guan biscuits and the Indian Muslim uncles bicycle that was laden with teatime snacks from the bakery nearby. Our annual Deepavali celebrations always kickstarted with the entire family making murukkus and other Indian sweets in that kitchen. Aromatic Roast Chicken in Coconut Milk (PHOTO: Monsoon Table) Youve had a lot of fond food memories as a child. How did this change the way you approach food? After I got married, I tried to recreate the flavours from my childhood but by then it was too late as my grandmother had Alzheimers Disease and couldnt recall most recipes. From that moment, I knew if I didnt take an active role in learning to cook traditional South Indian dishes, I would not be able to taste them at all. It was unthinkable to me as it meant losing a significant part of who I was. In 2018, my grandmother passed away and since then, Ive been researching and cooking even more South Indian dishes with a greater sense of urgency. The childhood memories formed around my grandparents and parents dining tables have had the greatest impact in my food philosophy. I strongly believe that the memories made from cooking and eating together go far beyond quelling an immediate hungerthey inform our food choices from young, become the comfort foods we seek as adults, and naturally extend as an expression of our cultural identity. In your Instagram profile, you said that you're a Thosai Consultant. What does it mean to be a Thosai Consultant? And, perhaps, what advice would you give to aspiring Thosai Kings and Queens everywhere? Ive been experimenting with thosai fermentation for a while now, and as an avid Instagram user, I posted my thosai creations to my account. Since then, there have been many requests for a thosai recipe that are beginner-friendly. So, I posted a No-Grind Thosai recipe during the recent Circuit Breaker and many of my followers have gone on to make thosais at home with some encouragement and handholding from me. Hence, I jokingly added the job title of Thosai Consultant to my profile. Seafood Mamak Mee Goreng (PHOTO: Monsoon Table) How did you feel seeing all the positive reception to your Thosai recipe? It has been a really fun and meaningful experience seeing so many people, whove never made thosai before, successfully ferment the No-Grind batter and make perfectly round thosais. There is magic and joy in seeing flour spring to life with natural cultures hidden in them and your home. Having said that, fermentation can be daunting to new cooks who want to be Thosai Kings and Queens. But with the right recipe, techniques, and understanding of what to look out for, it can be a breeze. Like any fermentation, thosai making is a science that can be broken down with detailed explanations of the process. The best part of making your own thosai is being able to modify the ratios and prolong the fermentation time to achieve a more rounded and complex flavour that is hard to come by from store-bought ones. What, in your opinion, are the positive and negative impact culture and tradition has on the evolving nature of food? Our comfort foods give us personal and cultural meaning as they map who we are, where our ancestors come from, and what has happened to us along the way. As a third-generation Singaporean-Indian whose forefathers were part of the diaspora who came here a century ago, food forms an important connection to the understanding of my cultural roots. Through learning and cooking traditional South Indian recipes, I take comfort in the collective repositories of the knowledge and ingenuity of the many generations that preceded me; I feel a strong link to my family history and have a greater appreciation for my culture simply by understanding how dishes came to be. So in recipes that employ laborious techniques or that require a long list of ingredients, I am careful not to modify the recipes as much as possible as they are an important part of this collective repository of all South Indians. Chettinad Pepper Chicken Masala, a flag-bearer of Chettinad cuisine, is one such dish. It needs a longer cooking time and it usually makes an appearance only on special occasions and weddings; its origins reflect the mercantile history of the Chettiars in Southeast Asia as recipe variations call for the use of star anise, a spice native to Southern China. To make adaptations without understanding the essence of the dish and divorcing it from its historical and cultural context is problematic, especially if the dish holds a deep significance to a community. No-Grind Thosai (PHOTO: Monsoon Table) Most Singaporeans associate Indian food with Prata, Naan, Mee Goreng. How do these dishes fit into the overall understanding of what authentic Indian cuisine is? What most Singaporeans know to be Indian food is a very small part of a vast and diverse cuisine. Many Indian migrants who arrived in Singapore in the early nineteenth century had no desire to remain here for long. Due to religious and regional differences, cooking and eating their foods was confined to their own communities and some groups even brought their own cooks with them from India. As such, in contrast to immigrant Chinese food culture in early Singapore, Indian food was hardly available outside. The Mamak food culture that many have come to solely associate Indian food with is a modern, street food culture. It originated in Penang with Malabar Muslims from North Kerala and Tamil Muslims from the Coromandel Coast setting up hawker food carts and making simple dishes with available ingredients to feed port workers. Though Mamak food is a key player in the narrative of immigrant Indian food culture, its emergence was fairly recent. With thousands of years of evolution shaped by the distinctive climates, geographies, historical and religious influences, Indian food has to be viewed and understood from regional perspectives. By using a blanket term to identify a cuisine and highlighting just a handful of dishes as heritage food, we risk underrepresenting and homogenising a food culture that has so much more to offer to the Singaporean food landscape. What is the hardest recipe on the Monsoon Table website that everyone should attempt and why? The hardest recipe that everyone should try from Monsoon Table is the No Grind Thosai. I think its the hardest as it cannot be eaten immediately and it needs some agak-agak intuition. With fewer people cooking at home and our fast-paced lifestyles, patience and intuition in the kitchen arent easy to come by. However, the No Grind Thosai recipe is failproofas so many have provenif you follow the steps exactly and look out for the key changes during fermentation. Many think that Indian recipes are all difficult to make, contain a whole list of ingredients and are very spicy and so everyone should make this No Grind Thosai recipe as its the antithesis to those stereotypes that hold people back from cooking Indian recipes. Pulut Hitam Thosai with Kerabu-inspired Salad (PHOTO: Monsoon Table) What significance does this recipe hold to you? Making thosai from scratch is both a science and an art. There are exact measurements, techniques and tools that need to be used and some artistry with instinct included as well. While sourdough breads have gained popularity, Asian ferments such as thosai, tempoyak, tapai, red wine lees, and tempeh have not. It is my hope that we rediscover the art of Asian fermentation and preservation techniques as they are also an important part of our food culture. As thosai is one of my favourite South Indian dishes, over the years I have experimented and learnt how to make it from scratch using a stovetop wet grinder. It is closest to the way my great-grandmother and grandmother made their thosais and also how my mother taught me to make them. So when I make a batch of thosai batter from scratch by soaking the grains, grinding and fermenting the batter, I feel connected to a whole line of women and their wisdom. Plus, homemade thosais and chutneys are so delicious! What would you advice an avid cook to do right now that would instantly make their Indian food recipes better tasting and more robust? Make your own curry powder! With globalisation and changing lifestyles, the use of pre-made curry powders and pastes has resulted in the loss of uniqueness in our dishes. While it's undeniable that ready-made curry powders are convenient and time-saving, they dont have the same nutritional value and flavour as freshly ground spices. Owning an Indian blender and making my own spice powders transformed my cooking and so its also my hope that more people try making their own basic spice powdersyou will be able to taste and smell the remarkable difference! Balancing the New Normal: Photographer in Singapore launches project to showcase local artists and creatives in their own unique light amidst pandemic INTERVIEW: Gibran Baydoun of Lucali BYGB The success of restaurants, I believe, comes down to intentionality FOOD REVIEW: Lumo - unfussy modern European fare meets familiarity and comfort COVID-19 closures: 3 lifestyle brands on closing down, shifting operations FOOD REVIEW: Firebake - quality bakehouse with a prawn capellini that is to die for Where to order affordable food during Circuit Breaker, including free meals for the needy Coronavirus: How to help children get used to wearing a face mask or covering This gadget will change your life and how you perform housework forever Shopping: Products for a happier and healthier furkid How to avoid post-lockdown burnout There is an upside to quarantining with your toddler, according to toddler whisperer Dr. Tovah Klein Why family rituals are so important (and 8 ideas for how to incorporate them at home) Sixty-eight Nigerian women trafficked to Lebanon and seen in a video that had gone viral where they were crying for help had been rescued and arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Mr Bitrus Samuel, the Head of NEMA Abuja Operation Office, disclosed this on Monday. He said that the girls were the second batch of the more than 150 Nigerian women who were trafficked to Lebanon in search of greener pastures. 94 victims that constituted the first batch were also received at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. Samuel said that the latest victims would be going from the airport to the hotel where the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) would profile their records. The agency would quarantine the girls as a precaution against coronavirus pandemic. Also, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ferdinand Nwonye, said that the rescue came after video footage of the stranded Nigerians appealing to the Federal Government and well-meaning Nigerians to come to their aid went viral on the Internet. The spokesman said the ministry had several discussions with Mr. Houssam Diab, the Ambassador of Lebanon to Nigeria before the Lebanese Government agreed to release the girls to the Federal Government. He said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, was very sad when he saw the video footage. He had to summon the Lebanese Ambassador, and both leaders had a series of engagements that led to the release of the girls. Nwonye said that following the discussions between the two leaders, the Lebanese community in Nigeria through the facilitation of the Nigerian mission in Beirut chartered a flight, paid the flight tickets for these girls to return to Nigeria. However, various government officials from NAPTIP, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) respectively were on the ground at the airport to receive them. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates NPP Member of Parliament for Manhyia North Constituency, Hon. Collins Owusu Amankwah has appealed to government to consider prioritizing virtual education in the Universities. His comment comes on the back of calls from the Chairman of Vice-Chancellors Ghana (V-CG), Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu to the government to support public Universities with infrastructure and logistics to enable them to admit more students following the introduction of the free Senior High School (SHS) policy. The appeal of the Vice-Chancellor is also to aid the first batch of beneficiaries of the policy to qualify for tertiary education this year. Speaking on UTVs Adekye Nsroma, Hon. Opoku Amankwah said, we can be able to absorb more SHS candidates into our Universities to get access to equal platform to better their lives in future. I believe government is doing its best to provide physical infrastructure to absorb more students into our Universities... Now the world is fast changing and I encourage every Ghanaian student to be abreast of technology. Through technology, we can archive anything we want to do...I think the government should consider virtual education because now we can be in Ghana and still enroll in foreign courses to do our Master programs. So, why cant we do same for our Universities? With virtual education students in small or rural districts, many of which do not have the capacity to offer higher level courses, will have access to the courses they need to be competitive as they look toward attending college or entering the workforce. It will also give students the access to access their courses that will best meet their individual needs, based on their interests and/or career choices. Barrier should not be a hindrance in accessing quality education because wherever you are you must be able to access good and quality education, he added. He urged Ghanaians to take advantage of digital world. Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The chairman of the Dail's coronavirus committee has denounced Covid-19 "hysteria" and defended the decision of former Failte Ireland chairman Michael Cawley to go on a family holiday to Italy. The chairman of the Dail's coronavirus committee has denounced Covid-19 "hysteria" and defended the decision of former Failte Ireland chairman Michael Cawley to go on a family holiday to Italy. Independent TD for Clare Michael McNamara said yesterday that Mr Cawley had not breached the Government's travel advice, which was not mandatory. "We're entering into a state of hysteria," he claimed. The Government's Covid-19 advice not to travel is of little use, Mr McNamara said, insisting that the decision to lock down Kildare, Laois and Offaly had been an overreaction by the State. He said Ireland had shut down its aviation sector "to very little gain". Mr McNamara said he did not understand the scientific basis for shutting down Laois, Kildare and Offaly and had heard no scientific rationale for the action. Independent TD for Offaly Carol Nolan told his committee last week that there was nobody in hospital in Laois at present who was suffering from coronavirus. "We know that our health system is not being overrun and that deaths are not rising," which were the important parameters, Mr McNamara told RTE Radio 1. Mr McNamara said Mr Cawley had not breached the Government's travel advice, which was not mandatory. "I have read it three times," he said. Mr McNamara said the Government, in defending legal action by Ryanair, was pointing out that the advice was not binding and was merely guidance for the consideration of individuals. He said they could not have it both ways. "Michael Cawley wasn't giving out travel advice to anybody, nor was he giving out medical advice," Mr McNamara said. "We're hearing his reputation traduced on the radio, and we're imposing much more restrictive travel conditions on our citizens than any other country in Europe. "If he was from any other member state of the European Union nobody would call into question his going to Italy. "We're entering into a state of hysteria because of cases arising in Ireland, as they are elsewhere in Europe, but thankfully hospitalisations and deaths are not rising." "When we replace him, are we now saying that as the chairman of Failte Ireland, he should not holiday abroad?" Mr McNamara continued. "Or are we going to ask someone to account for their movements in a time of Covid?" Mr Cawley resigned after being told by the Government that his position was untenable following revelations in the Irish Independent about his Italian holiday. He resigned during a "frank" mid-morning telephone phone call with Tourism Minister Catherine Martin. She informed the former Ryanair deputy chief executive of her view that his position was no longer tenable because of his decision to make the trip abroad. Mr Cawley did not put up any resistance and tendered his resignation to the minister. Taoiseach Micheal Martin was kept informed of events and was contacted by Ms Martin, the Green Party deputy leader, to be told of Mr Cawley's resignation just minutes after the Failte Ireland chairman 'fell on his sword'. The Government lost confidence in Mr Cawley following revelations in this newspaper that he has been holidaying in Italy, while overseeing the country's tourism promotion board, encouraging the nation to stay at home and take staycations rather than travel abroad this year. Mr Cawley, who is a non-executive director of Ryanair, is also a member of the boards of Kingspan, Paddy Power and Hostelworld, where he is chairman. Despite the widespread view in the coalition that Mr Cawley had to resign, one Fianna Fail cabinet minister privately suggested it was not a "red card offence". However, a Fine Gael Cabinet minister said it was an "extraordinary lapse of judgment" that rendered his position untenable. "Ukraine must do everything to defend freedom of speech, which is the base of a democratic state," the comment says. Presidential press secretary Yulia Mendel has issued a comment after a car used by RFE/RL's Skhemy [Schemes] investigative project was set ablaze in Kyiv overnight Monday, August 17. Via Facebook, Mendel noted that such an attack is "completely unacceptable", and that Ukraine must do everything to protect freedom of speech. Read alsoZelensky "concerned and upset" over torching of anti-graft activist's home (Photo)"Investigative journalism has always been a dangerous job. But the situation with the Schemes is completely unacceptable. Obviously, over the years of work, the program had earned enemies, who were targets of investigations. Into the fact of arson, criminal proceedings have been launched and investigative actions are underway. I'm glad that no one was hurt this is the main thing. The legislation provides for the protection of participants in criminal proceedings, including victims. Ukraine must do everything to defend freedom of speech, which is the base of a democratic state," Mendel wrote. Latest incidents targeting the Skhemy project Stimulus negotiations have collapsed now, and a deal looks like it will be weeks away, at best. The delays have left many questions, like those from student loan borrowers. The CARES Act was passed in March. It suspended payments and interest on federal student loans through September 30, 2020. Without a stimulus deal to extend that, student loans are set to resume payments soon. Luckily, borrowers caught a break when President Donald Trump signed an order that suspended such payments until the end of the year. On August 8, the White House issued the said memo on student loan deferral. Payments are expected to restart by January 1, 2021. "We also suspended student-loan payments for six months, and we're looking to do that additionally, and for additional periods of time." Trump said in a July 30 MarketWatch report. The memo noted that many Americans have lost jobs or remain unemployed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some have also accepted lower wages and fewer working hours as states impose social distancing measures. It is for these new work conditions that the policy on student loan payments has been extended.But there are still a few things student loan borrowers need to know. Borrowers of Private Student Loans The presidential memo only applies to loans "held by the Department of Education." Anyone who wishes to continue paying for student loans will be allowed to do so, even though there is still a payment deferral. It is a relief for those under federal student loans. But not that great for some who hold private student loans such as through banks as this is not covered by the order, according to CNET. Borrowers with Extra Cash Borrowers who are not having a hard time financially despite the pandemic are reaping benefits from the extension. If they take advantage of the deferral, they can have some extra cash to spend. According to Forbes, this could help the economy. Student loan borrowers who spend the money they would've paid towards loans could provide a "marginal stimulus" for the economy through increased or sustained consumer spending. As Trump also suspended the interest on federal student loans, those who make payments during this extension time will get to dodge the interest and pay their loans faster. This could save them money in the long run. Borrowers in Income-Driven Repayment Borrowers in income-driven repayment can also benefit from Trump's order. If they have extra money, they can make principal-only payments to let them pay down their loans faster. Those under this kind of repayment plan have to make sure their income information is up to date. When payments resume next year, they might be required to update their income because of the monthslong suspension. Failure to do so might default to a standard repayment plan, which could lead to higher spending. All Student Loan Borrowers All borrowers have to track what Congress is doing to help them with their loans. Several proposals want an extension of the CARES Act payment deferral - some want it for until the end of the year while others want it for longer. Other proposals are also seeking student loan forgiveness, but that seems unlikely to happen. Check these out! First Four States to Receive $400 Weekly Unemployment Benefits You Are Likely to Receive More Than $1,200 Stimulus Payment Lawmakers Clarifiy Stimulus Payments Will Not Be Taxed The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a syndicate that specialises in the cloning of Subscriber Identification Module cards of prominent deceased persons. It was gathered that the gang leader, Osita Nwafor, alias Ossy, was arrested by the decoy team of the Rapid Response Squad at the gangs hideout after a detailed analysis of its activities. Punch Metro learnt that Nwafors apprehension led to the arrest of other members of the gang namely: Nwogu Chike, Anthony Odama, Ikechukwu Nkem, James Okonkwo, Adedio Paulinus and Olufemi Ogundepo. Punch learnt that the arrest of the suspects foiled the fraudulent transaction of N3m through a cloned SIM card. According to a statement by the RRS, the suspects work with some bank workers in Nigeria and outside the country. It was gathered that Chika was working on the transfer of $220,000 from a foreign bank, while Ogundepo was working on the transfer of N25m from an old generation bank in the country before they were arrested. Nwafor stated that he recruited the gang members in 2019, adding that they worked independently. He said, Although I brought the team together, each member of the group has his area of specialisation. We look for potential victims and each member has his role on each of the cases. Once I have done my part of the deal by looking for SIMs and accounts numbers, I push them to whoever among the member has to play the next role and that is how we treat our cases and apart from this, each member of the gang also has his splinter group. Whenever they have personal jobs, they also handle on their own. Chike look for foreign and local accounts for money lodgements. I dont know anything about how he does that, I simply hand over to Chike. He has his connections and they work on percentage and once they agree on the percentage when the money comes, everybody gets their cuts. We find obituaries of well to do members of the public, use bank insiders to determine the deceaseds account balance and clone their SIM cards for online transfers. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates WILLIAMSPORT, Md., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Residential and business customers of FirstEnergy Corp's (NYSE: FE) Potomac Edison electric utility who are having difficulty making ends meet are encouraged to contact their utility now to enroll in payment plans or bill assistance programs. While shutoffs for nonpayment are temporarily suspended due to the pandemic, establishing an affordable payment arrangement or obtaining assistance can help keep balances manageable during this difficult time. "We understand many customers are in a difficult financial situation because of the pandemic," said Michelle Henry, vice president of customer service at FirstEnergy. "Customers who have lost income during this crisis may be eligible for assistance that was unavailable to them before to help address overdue balances." Customer service representatives are available to assist residential customers with manageable payment arrangements and can provide customers with information on needs-based assistance programs. These programs may help customers avoid a large bill that would otherwise be due when the temporary suspension on shutoffs ends. Potomac Edison customers in Maryland may be eligible for one or more of the following assistance programs: Community Energy Fund is a needs-based program that helps qualifying residential customers who need emergency help paying their electric bill. The company's shareholders match donations from customers 50 cents on each dollar to fund this program. The distribution of funds is administered by local administering agencies in Potomac Edison's service territory, including: is a needs-based program that helps qualifying residential customers who need emergency help paying their electric bill. The company's shareholders match donations from customers 50 cents on each dollar to fund this program. The distribution of funds is administered by local administering agencies in Potomac Edison's service territory, including: Allegany County Department of Social Services at 301-784-7000 Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs (Frederick area) at 301-631-2670 301-631-2670 Human Services Program of Carroll County , Inc., at 410-857-2999 , Inc., at 410-857-2999 Garrett Co. Community Action Committee, Inc., at 301-334-9431 Maryland Energy Assistance Program (MEAP) is a federally funded program administered by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Home Energy Programs that helps low-income electric customers pay their electric bills. To apply for benefits customers should call the Maryland Department of Human Services at 800-332-6347 or go to the Department of Human Services Application Process. is a federally funded program administered by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Home Energy Programs that helps low-income electric customers pay their electric bills. To apply for benefits customers should call the Maryland Department of Human Services at 800-332-6347 or go to the Department of Human Services Application Process. Electric Universal Service Program (EUSP) /Arrearage Retirement Assistance Program are state-funded programs administered by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Home Energy Programs that offer low-income electric customers financial assistance with their electric bills. Eligible customers who receive EUSP are placed on the budget billing plan. The Arrearage Retirement Assistance Program helps customers with large, past-due electric bills. If eligible, customers may receive forgiveness of up to $2,000 towards their past due bill. Customers may only receive an arrearage grant once every seven years, with certain exceptions. To apply for benefits and services customers should call the Maryland Department of Human Services at 800-332-6347 or go to Department of Human Services Application Process are state-funded programs administered by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Home Energy Programs that offer low-income electric customers financial assistance with their electric bills. Eligible customers who receive EUSP are placed on the budget billing plan. The Arrearage Retirement Assistance Program helps customers with large, past-due electric bills. If eligible, customers may receive forgiveness of up to towards their past due bill. Customers may only receive an arrearage grant once every seven years, with certain exceptions. To apply for benefits and services customers should call the Maryland Department of Human Services at 800-332-6347 or go to Department of Human Services Application Process Utility Service Protection Program is a federally sponsored program administered by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Home Energy Programs. This program is designed to protect eligible low-income families from utility disconnections. To apply for benefits and services, customers should call the Maryland Department of Human Services at 800-332-6347 or go to Department of Human Services Application Process is a federally sponsored program administered by the Department of Human Services and the Office of Home Energy Programs. This program is designed to protect eligible low-income families from utility disconnections. To apply for benefits and services, customers should call the Maryland Department of Human Services at 800-332-6347 or go to Department of Human Services Application Process Average Payment Plan/Payment Arrangements divides a customer's annual electric bill into 12 monthly payments that helps level out bill payments and gives customers more control of their monthly household budget. Potomac Edison also can establish customer-specific payment arrangements that allows paying the account balance over an extended period of time. To apply or learn more about these company programs visit www.firstenergycorp.com or call 800-686-0011. divides a customer's annual electric bill into 12 monthly payments that helps level out bill payments and gives customers more control of their monthly household budget. Potomac Edison also can establish customer-specific payment arrangements that allows paying the account balance over an extended period of time. To apply or learn more about these company programs visit www.firstenergycorp.com or call 800-686-0011. 211 is a nationwide resource and information helpline that identifies locally available programs that may assist customers with utility bills or other needs. For more information dial 211, visit www.211.org or text your ZIP code to 898211. For additional program information, please visit www.firstenergycorp.com/billassist. Potomac Edison also has established a customer service team dedicated to assisting business and commercial customers. This team can provide helpful information on available assistance programs and offer payment arrangements if needed. To explore these programs, please contact your utility company and ask to speak with a member of the Small Business Team. Potomac Edison's customer service team can be reached at 1-800-736-3401. Potomac Edison, a FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) subsidiary, serves about 270,000 customers in seven Maryland counties and 137,000 customers in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Follow Potomac Edison at www.potomacedison.com, on Twitter @PotomacEdison, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PotomacEdison. FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online at www.firstenergycorp.com. SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. Related Links http://www.firstenergycorp.com When I wrote this article last year originally under the title Racing Towards Self-Destruction? I thought the political situation in Ghana was bad. Now it is worse with more dangerous language and violence. In previous articles, I stated that, let us not destroy Ghana such that, UN peacekeeping troops come to keep peace here like Ghana does, starting in 1961 in Belgian Congo (now DRC). To drive home my point in this new article, I have reluctantly chosen the poignant title Have you ever smelt rotten human flesh? If you have, like Ghanaian soldiers have in peacekeeping in Rwanda, Cambodia, Lebanon etc, you will never utter words like Ghana will burn or blood will flow! Tears The sight of a losing African presidential candidate shedding tears made me ask why a septuagenarian would cry because he was not elected to serve his country! He wept not for love of country, but because his projections of money, perks and power for himself, family, friends and cronies had gone to another person. Burning Boys Videos which circulated on the violence and gruesome killings in that country, including the setting on fire of boys with tyres around them in what is notoriously called necklacing, made me question what politicians want. Dr Samuel Johnson In 1755, the first English Dictionary written by Dr Samuel Johnson was launched. One quote for which Johnson is remembered is, The supreme end of education is expert discernment in all things: The power to tell the good from the bad, and the genuine from the counterfeit, but above all, to prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit! Do our educated politicians prefer the good and the genuine to the bad and the counterfeit? On the contrary, telling lies shamelessly has assumed an industrial scale. One wonders what taking oaths to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth means to them. Voltaire The French writer Voltaire said Man is rational in that he can think, not in that, he thinks. Positive thinking has been sacrificed for negative selfish considerations! Otherwise, while flaunting pictures of their children attaining degrees in oversea universities, what sense does it make for politicians to send poor young men to commit mayhem in a simple Voter Registration exercise which will lead to death? Legacy At the foot of his grave at the Arlington National Cemetery, US President JF Kennedys famous dictum is inscribed. My dear American, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. For Ghanaian leaders, what do you want to do for Ghana? What legacy do you want to leave, and be remembered for? For those of us who years ago enjoyed the glory of being Ghanaians overseas, it is sad that political violence in Ghana is gradually becoming the norm. Alexander The Great Although he died at 32, the Greek General, Alexander the Great left a legacy for humanity. Before he died, he asked his colleague Generals to do three things. Firstly, he wanted the best physicians in Macedonia to carry his coffin. Secondly, he wanted his open palms outside his coffin. Thirdly, he wanted all the gold he had accumulated through conquest to be spread along the route to the cemetery. Asked why he made such an unusual demand, he explained as follows. Conclusion Alexander wanted doctors to carry his coffin to demonstrate that, when death beckons, not even the best doctors can save anyone. Secondly, his wish for his empty palms outside the casket was to remind the living that, we came with nothing, and will go with nothing. Finally, sprinkling the gold he had obtained in conquest was to educate humanity that, all the worlds gold is useless in the face of death! For politicians who will kill to gain power to acquire wealth for themselves, family and friends, Alexander the Greats advice comes in very handy. Do not destroy Ghana to satisfy your greed and selfish agenda. Balance in Nature Studying outside Ghana in the early 1970s, I was told what a great country I come from. I was educated about Ghanaian brains in the fields of the arts and sciences, with some at NASA sending astronauts to space and back. Professor Alloteys Allotey Formalism Theory attests to this. So with our brains and the natural resources, what is holding us back from greatness? For the violence preachers, the smell of rotten human flesh is unpleasant! Finally, remember that, you were appointed, and not anointed by God to rule Ghana! Fellow Ghanaians, WAKE UP! Source: Brig Gen Dan Frimpong (Rtd)/ [email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video RTHK: 'Historic' rally in Belarus, but Lukashenko defiant Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters gathered for the largest protest rally in recent history in Minsk as President Alexander Lukashenko rejected calls to step down in a defiant speech. Crowds of protesters marched through the streets to the central Independence Square overnight on Sunday, with some estimates putting the turnout at more than 100,0000, a scale of protest not seen since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Belarusian independent news site Tut.by called the rally "the largest in the history of independent Belarus". Columns of demonstrators raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons as a sea of protesters gathered in Independence Square, the focus of peaceful demonstrations in recent days. "Now we're changing history," said 26-year-old Yekaterina Gorbina, a content manager. Darya Kukhta, 39, a mother of six, said: "We believe that a new Belarus is beginning. I'm very happy to be seeing this with my own eyes." Popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of protests after leaving for neighbouring Lithuania following the disputed election, which gave Lukashenko 80 percent of the vote. Other major towns and cities in the ex-Soviet country of nine million also saw large rallies, local media reported. More and more Belarusians have taken to the streets over the last week to condemn Lukashenko's disputed victory and a subsequent violent crackdown by riot police and abuse of detainees. Outside Belarus, hundreds of Czechs and Belarusians, some holding the traditional red and white Belarusian flag and portraits of Tikhanovskaya, gathered in Prague's historic centre Sunday in support of the protests. There were also smaller shows of support in Romania and Poland. The opposition has called for a general strike from Monday after hundreds of workers at state-run factories downed tools on Friday in a first sign that Lukashenko's traditional support base was turning against him. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, held a rare campaign-style rally on Independence Square before the opposition protest. He told flag-waving supporters: "I called you here not to defend me... but for the first time in a quarter-century, to defend your country and its independence." "The elections were valid," Lukashenko said in a sometimes emotional speech. With pressure growing from the street and abroad after EU leaders agreed to draw up a list of targets for a new round of sanctions, Lukashenko has reached out to Russia, Belarus's closest ally. Moscow said on Sunday it was ready to provide military help if needed. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. /* custom css */ .tdi_75_3a3.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_3a3 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_3a3.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_3a3.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_3a3.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement Rabiu Omaku Nasarawa State Governor,Engr Abdullahi Sule has called for patience amongst the people of Keana Local Government Council of the State following the discovery of oil in the Area. Engr.Sule appealed to the people to remain calm and resolute as he said commercial oil production and its benefits takes time, adding that his administration is making efforts to ensure that a legacy is left in place for children yet unborn. /* custom css */ .tdi_74_850.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_850 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_850.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_850.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_850.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement The Governor said Keana is not only critical to Nasarawa State alone but also to the entire Northern Nigeria with the discovery of crude oil,he added. Abdullahi Sule announced that the State Boundary Commission has been constituted, with a view to delineating proper boundary between the State and her neighbours. He hinted this while playing host to critical stakeholders from Keana Local Government Local Council who were at the Government House to present a report on security and peace on Monday. The Governor explained that constituting State boundary commission became imperative because of the importance his administration attaches to ensuring lasting peace between Nasarawa State and her neighbours. administration is taking every step necessary to ensure proper delineation of boundary between the State and the neighbouring States of Benue, Plateau, Kaduna, Kogi and the FCT. He disclosed that the State boundary commission, which will be announced within the week, will be chaired by an individual from Keana. Engineer Sule recalled his recent meeting with the Tiv community, where he called on them to be united, since its easier for Government to negotiate with a united Tiv community. The Governor expressed satisfaction that members of the Tiv community in the state presented their demands to the Government. I told them what they are seeking for may take time, that its takes lobbying, unity and peace. That is how important it is for us to live with one another, he stated. Earlier, in his opening remarks, the Osana of Keana, HRH Alhaji Abdullahi Amegwa Agbo III, said the stakeholders were at the Government House, to present a report on two critical issues namely, security and peace. The royal father used the opportunity on behalf of the stakeholders to show appreciation to the Governor for the wonderful job he has being doing in Keana and the State in general. /* custom css */ .tdi_76_030.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_030 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_030.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_030.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_030.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } When three-year-old Alexandra Naggear's mother saw an explosion through her window in Lebanon, she scooped up her little girl and tried to run into the next room. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. When three-year-old Alexandra Naggear's mother saw an explosion through her window in Lebanon, she scooped up her little girl and tried to run into the next room. But it was too late. Alexandra Naggear, 3, is shown in this undated family handout photo. When three-year-old Alexandra Naggear's mother saw an explosion through her window in Lebanon, she scooped up her little girl and tried to run into the next room. But it was too late. Alexandra, a Canadian citizen, who suffered a head injury from the impact of the explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4, died in hospital three days later around 3 a.m., said her grandfather Michel Awad in a Facebook phone interview Sunday. Awad and his daughter - Tracy Awad Naggear - are also Canadian citizens. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Michel Awad Alexandra, a Canadian citizen, suffered a head injury from the impact of the explosion in Beirut on Aug. 4, and died in hospital three days later, said her grandfather Michel Awad. Awad and his daughter are also Canadian. "The power of the explosion blew them inside the house. My daughter was trying to cover Alexandra, but the explosion was extremely powerful," he said in a phone interview on Sunday. "They were blown by the intensity of the explosion and they hit something probably a wall or a door." Two Canadians were among the 180 people killed in the explosion, officials have said. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau offered his "deepest condolences'' to the family and friends of them both. More than 6,000 people were wounded and at least 30 are still missing. Awad described his granddaughter as an "amazing baby" who was smart, funny and full of life. On the day of the explosion, he said, Alexandra was playing at home with her parents and a friend. The home, which overlooked the port, was not even two kilometres away. His daughter saw the first explosion and went to the window, he said, when she heard a whistling sound. She screamed and asked the others to move away from the window, Awad said. "And they ran inside," he said. "It was just like a fraction of a second before the second huge explosion took place, and they were blown inside the house." His daughter suffered a broken hand along with other injuries, Awad said, adding that his son-in-law was also injured. At that same moment, Awad said he was sitting on the balcony of his house that is shaded by a row of pine trees, roughly an hour's drive from the port. "I just saw those huge pine trees bending bending towards the balcony when you have this tornado or a storm. Then I felt this release of hot air, and I heard the explosion." He was uninjured. But he said he's angry and regrets moving back to Beirut in 1994, which he said they did for various reasons, including work. The cause of the fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beirut's port remains unclear. Documents have emerged showing that the country's top leadership and security officials were aware of the chemicals that had been stored there for years. Awad said his wife died 10 days after Alexandra's parents' wedding. The little girl, who was born on Jan. 28, 2017, filled a void in her mother's life, her grandfather said. But now, the family wants to move back to Montreal and start anew. Alexandra's parents are feeling "terrible" and are in shock, Awad said. "They need a fresh start. They need to be away from here. They need to be away from places that will always remind them of her." His granddaughter's new best friend was their yellow Labrador named Stella, and she liked listening to Sleeping Beauty and other fairy tales with the dog, he recalled. The little girl called him Jido Michlo, which means Grandpa Michel in Arabic. And he called her Hayeti Lexuti meaning, my whole life. Her funeral was held Aug. 8. A couple of days before the explosion his granddaughter was starting to learn how to ride her bicycle. "The best time we had was teaching her how to ride the bicycle," he said. "And it was red because red was her favourite colour." She had also lately acquired a taste for local dishes but "loved" burgers with French fries, Awad said, adding he spent days and sometimes weeks with his granddaughter because her parents had to travel for work. "Being with Alexandra was pure luxury," he said. "Every single moment." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2020. With files from The Associated Press. The Journalists for Responsible Fisheries and Environment (JRFE), is calling on government of Ghana to end illegal transshipment of fish at sea popularly known as Saiko and help better the lives of artisanal fishers. The JRFE is worried about how the livelihoods of artisanal fishers in the four coastal regions of Ghana, are being affected with the wanton disregard for the fisheries laws in Ghana by some industrial trawlers, especially in these times of COVID-19. In particular, the JRFE shares in the concerns of fishermen that has led to a series of agitations across a number of coastal communities in the country in recent times. Some of these trawlers have been and are still engaging in the transshipment of fish at sea which the countrys fisheries laws forbid. The worrying aspect is that, they target species meant to be caught by local fishers, freeze them and then resell to the fishermen for profit. Subsidies less useful This is rendering the governments support for fishermen in terms of giving out subsidized outboard motors and premix fuel, less useful. This is because these fishers spend hours on sea but return with little or no catch. Both the Fisheries Act 2002, Act 625 Section 132 and the Fisheries Regulations 2010 (Regulation 33) clearly prohibit Saiko. This illegality is undermining governments efforts to better the lives of local fishers through fishing which serves as a source of livelihood for over 2.7 million Ghanaians. Saiko is threatening the jobs and food security of the fishing communities and Ghanas economy in general. In 2019, fisheries scientists warned that Ghana is likely to lose fish stocks in the near future in the marine waters and put food security and goals for the economic growth and poverty reduction in fishing communities at risk. The chairman of the Scientific and Technical Working Group for the Ghana Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP), Professor Kobina Yankson, has cautioned that Ghana is facing imminent fish stock depletion unless something drastic is done to save the industry. Call Considering the fact that, Saiko has contributed to the decline and near collapse of the small pelagic stocks such as sardinella, chub mackerel and anchovies, JRFE calls on the government of Ghana to as a matter of urgency end Saiko and other illegal fishing activities such as over fishing and overcapacity, light fishing and fishing with chemicals to help save the lives of local fishers. The time for the country to act is now. It is time to save the fisheries sector. Ending saiko in Ghana means, the country is greatly contributing to the achievement of the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goal 14 - Life Below Water. JRFE JRFE is a community of journalists committed to promoting sustainable fisheires and environment through effective reportage. Source: Sally Ngissah/Peace News 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 Darren Day has announced his sixth engagement, little more than a year after confirming the end of his 12-year marriage to actress Stephanie Dooley. The 52-year old lothario revealed his proposal to girlfriend Sophie Ladds by sharing photos of her stunning engagement ring with Twitter followers on Sunday evening. Captioning two shots of their clasped hands, he wrote: Spot the difference! My girl @SophieLadds & I just got engaged. She rocks my world. Happy news: Darren Day has announced his sixth engagement to Sophie Ladds, little more than a year after confirming the end of his 12-year marriage to actress Stephanie Dooley Announcing the news on her own Twitter platform, actress Sophie added: 'DarrenDOfficial you have made me the happiest girl in the world. Always...forever...and a Sophie Day.' The engagement comes exactly a year after Darren confirmed his marriage to Emmerdale star Stephanie Dooley was over. In a statement published in August 2019, the couple announced they had separated in October 2018, just over a year after renewing their vows. Sixth time lucky: The 52-year old lothario revealed his proposal to girlfriend Sophie Ladds by sharing photos of her stunning engagement ring with Twitter followers on Sunday evening Delighted: The actor admitted Sophie 'rocked his world' as he confirmed the happy news 'Stephanie and Darren separated back in October 2018. It is a personal matter that they have chosen to deal with privately. There was nobody else involved on either side,' an official comment read to HELLO! magazine. The former couple married in 2007 at Comlongon Castle in Dumfries, Scotland, and share children Madison and Dalton. In June 2017, Darren and Stephanie renewed their vows in a lavish ceremony at the same venue. Smitten: Sophie went on to announce the news by sharing a tweet with her own Twitter followers on Sunday evening All over: The engagement comes exactly a year after Darren confirmed his marriage to Emmerdale star Stephanie Dooley (pictured) was over Speaking about the big day, Stephanie told HELLO!: 'To stand with Darren ten years on, Im not just proud of him as my husband, but of his sobriety and his strength. 'I knew he was going to be a good husband, but looking at what sort of man and father he has become, I feel more in love and more committed to him than ever.' Before marrying Stephanie, Darren - who was voted Britains Number One Love Rat for seven years from 1999 to 2006 - had a notoriously convoluted love life, with Isla Fisher and Anna Friel among the long list of beauties who once dated him. Number one: The actor originally proposed to Anna Friel during their three year relationship... ... before giving her 30,000 engagement ring to former Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw following their split in 1997 The actor originally proposed to Friel during their three year relationship, before giving her 30,000 engagement ring to former Coronation Street star Tracy Shaw following their split in 1997. After separating from Shaw in 1998, Darren quickly moved on with Australian star Isla Fisher, with whom he confirmed his third engagement. Despite describing Fisher as 'the first woman hed ever loved,' Darren separated from the actress in 2000, with 'hectic work schedules cited as a reason for the split. By 2002 the star was involved in a new relationship with dancer Adele Vellacot after the pair performed in the same pantomime, with Darren confidently predicting they would 'be together for a long time.' Third time unlucky: After separating from Shaw in 1998, Darren quickly moved on with Australian star Isla Fisher, with whom he confirmed his third engagement Here we go again: By 2002 the star was involved in a new relationship with dancer Adele Vellacot, but the relationship soon unravelled after his fling with Suzanne Shaw was exposed But the relationship soon unravelled after his backstage fling with Summer Holiday co-star Suzanne Shaw was exposed. The actor would go on to announce his engagement to Shaw, but despite welcoming son Corey Mackenzie with his fourth fiancee in December 2005, the relationship ended on Mother's Day the following year. In 2016 Darren insisted that his days of being a so-called 'love rat' were long behind him, after he earned the famous title throughout the 2000s. Speaking on Lorraine he said: 'There were times I know when I wasn't a role model and things are very different now. 'It's taken time to build up bridges again, the last decade I've worked hard and it finally feels like all the hard work has paid off.' He added: 'My lifestyle changed, I dont drink, I even gave up smoking I try and be a good husband and father and be a good man.' Christine Liggins warns of tough times ahead. A Mahurangi-based debt expert has lauded government moves to bolster funding for debt solution services in the wake of Covid-19. Christine Liggins, co-founder of debt resolution service Debtfix, says so far she has not seen a significant uptick in people suffering difficulties with debt due to Covid-19, but this is unlikely to last. She says the full financial implications of Covid-19 have yet to be seen because of the global nature of the pandemic and government support. We felt the situation was so unprecedented that creditors should be helping out, rather than us putting together a debt solution for clients, she said. On the whole, creditors did come to the party and help clients and that was good. But Ms Liggins says things will get tougher following the ending of the wage subsidy, which is due to expire in September, and where further job losses are expected. In anticipation of hard time ahead, the Government announced last month a $4.3 million funding boost over two years for the expansion of existing specialist debt services. Ms Liggins says although budgeting services have received government funding for years, it is the first time debt specialists are being recognised for the impact they have on everyday New Zealanders. It will change the lives of many people who are at a loss when it comes to repaying their loans, Ms Liggins says. The funding boost for debt services comes in addition to an extra $35 million of government funding for budgeting services announced at the end of May. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi says by ensuring debt and budgeting services are in place, the Government is removing opportunities for loan sharks to take advantage of the vulnerable. This funding will help to continue the vital flow of payments to creditors while sheltering indebted people and their whanau from the financial, health and social impacts of overwhelming debt, he said. Meanwhile, Ms Liggins has become New Zealands first insolvency practitioner specialising solely in the field of personal insolvency and accredited by the Restructuring, Insolvency & Turnaround Association of New Zealand (RITANZ). As an accredited insolvency practitioner, Mrs Liggins is recognised as having appropriate experience and is subject to a code of ethics, rules and standards. In 2018, Ms Liggins launched Debtfix with corporate insolvency expert Shaun Adams. The service specialises in developing debt repayment programmes and advocates for people trapped by spiralling interest payments and penalties. Services are mostly provided for free. Currently, Debtfix is progressing towards become a charitable trust. Ms Liggins says this would clearly communicate that Debtifx resolves debt problems for its clients benefit and not the money. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika says four flights will begin landing daily in Lagos and four in Abuja. Nigerias aviation minister has said the country will reopen its airports for international flights from August 29, introducing protocols to minimise the risk of coronavirus infection. Home to some 200 million people, Africas most populous country has registered 49,068 confirmed coronavirus cases and 975 related deaths. Some 36,500 people have recovered so far. Nigerias airports have been shut down since March 23 to all but essential international flights as part of the countrys efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Glad to announce the resumption of international flights from the 29th of August, 2020. Beginning with Lagos and Abuja as we did with the domestic flight resumption. Protocols and procedures will be announced in due course. We thank you for your patience. Hadi Sirika (@hadisirika) August 17, 2020 Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said on Monday the resumption of international flights would begin with the megacity of Lagos and the capital, Abuja. Protocols and procedures will be announced in due course, he wrote earlier on Twitter. At a briefing in Abuja, he said four flights would begin landing daily in Lagos and four in Abuja. Nigeria resumed domestic flights on July 8, and Sirika said there had been no confirmed coronavirus transmissions on flights. 298 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Plateau-108 Kaduna-49 Lagos-47 Ogun-18 Osun-17 FCT-15 Ondo-14 Edo-8 Oyo-6 Akwa Ibom-4 Cross River-4 Borno-3 Ekiti-2 Bauchi-1 Kano-1 Rivers-1 49,068 confirmed 36,497 discharged 975 deaths pic.twitter.com/aIPEWeoFqG NCDC (@NCDCgov) August 16, 2020 Earlier in the day, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) said the country had recorded 298 new confirmed coronavirus cases and one related death on Sunday. With more than 16,500 infections, Lagos remains Nigerias hardest-hit area. It is followed by the Federal Capital Territory which includes Abuja with more than 4,700 cases and the southwestern Oyo state with almost 3,000 infections. Amber Heard has been slammed on social media for wearing inappropriate clothing while visiting a Turkish mosque. The actress, 34, is currently in Istanbul following an appearance at Londons Royal Courts of Justice in July, where lurid details surrounding her acrimonious marriage to former husband Johnny Depp were made public during his high-profile libel case. She has since been criticised for appearing to going braless while touring the Turkish capitals numerous mosques, 'wearing Hijab as a fashion accessory' and showing her neck and hair. Speaking out: Amber Heard has been criticised on social media for wearing inappropriate clothing by appearing to go braless while visiting a Turkish mosque Heard sparked the controversy after sharing an image of herself wearing a red Hijab above a loose fitting blouse during a trip to one of the historic sites. Captioning the image, she wrote: 'Spent the day wandering around the magic of Istanbuls mosques and couldnt be more in love with this gorgeous city...' Despite her apparent appreciation for the city's rich cultural heritage, followers criticised the actress for revealing too much of her body. Causing offence: The actress, 34, sparked the controversy after sharing an image of herself wearing a red Hijab above a loose fitting blouse during a trip to one of Istanbul's historic sites Something to say: Heard had some choice words in response to the criticism Taking to Twitter, one person wrote: 'Amber Heard has no respect for religion or race as weve seen many times. Posted while touring a Mosque. Using a Hijab as a fashion accessory. Hair & neck showing and braless. She posted this before and took it down immediately but has now reposted.' While another fumed: 'Amber heard is such a fake. Shes trying too hard.' A third added: 'Amber Heard really did enter a Mosque in Istanbul with her nipples on show didnt she? The disrespect!' Outrage: Followers criticised the actress for revealing too much of her body during her trip to the mosque Following the publication of an article that directly referenced the negative response, a furious Heard wrote: 'Nope. Apparently whoever paid 4 this to b written wasnt paid enough. 'Ill make it easy(ier): Mosques are real places. So are museums & churches. So are head scarfs (where they are sometimes required n order 2 visit). Mystery solved.' Judgement in ex-husband Depp's High Court trial in London is not expected to be delivered by Mr Justice Nicol until late September, giving his lawyers enough time to prepare for his US defamation case against Heard, which is expected to get underway next January. In the US proceedings, Depp is suing Heard for $50 million over a 2018 article she wrote in the Washington Post in which she describes herself as being a domestic abuse survivor. Special visit: Heard posted some shared videos from her trip to Istanbul over the weekend Good times: The actress is currently travelling following an appearance at Londons Royal Courts of Justice for former husband Johnny Depp's high-profile libel case in July Although Depp is not specifically named, his lawyers allege that it is obvious that the article refers to him and labels the actor of being a domestic abuser. The three-week libel trial against The Sun in London, in which Depp hopes to win 350,000 in damages, has widely been seen as a 'dress rehearsal' for the US hearing, which will take place in Virginia. It will feature all the same witnesses that appeared on behalf of either Depp or Heard in London and is also based on the same bombshell evidence that was produced at the High Court over the past few weeks. Ongoing: Judgement in ex-husband Depp's High Court trial in London is not expected to be delivered by Mr Justice Nicol until late September (pictured: Heard outside court in July) Last month, Apple expanded its Independent Repair Program in the U.S. to cover over 700 locations. Now, the company is expanding the program to add support for Macs. The program was initially launched by the company last year. Up until now, Apples Independent Repair Program was only available for out-of-warranty iPhones. Under the program, Apple sells genuine replacement parts and provides free repair manuals for its products to small shops so that they can easily perform out-of-warranty work. Apple had expanded the repair program outside of the United States to Canada and Europe for the first time earlier this year as well. Apple is yet to update its website with more details so it is unclear if the repair program being updated to add support for Mac repairs is only for the US or the EU or Canada as well. Apple has long been criticized by small independent repair shops for its stance on the Right to Repair bill which the company has opposed heavily. So, it is good to see the company changing its stance in this regard and opening its repair program for more of its products to smaller repair shops. The move could also make it cheaper for customers to get their out-of-warranty Macs repaired from an independent repair shop. We Want to Hear From You Have you ever gotten your iPhone repaired from an Apple-certified independent repair shop? If so, how was your experience with them? Drop a comment and let us know! [Via Reuters The Hanoi Peoples Court on August 14 sentenced two foreigners to 15 months imprisonment for illegally taking people abroad. At the court (Photo: vietnamnet) They are 62-year-old Nagasawa Kazuaki from Japan and 38-year-old Lu Yu from China. According to the indictment, in October 2018, Zhu Yanhua, 49, from China, established Vibaserco Overseas Study Consulting Ltd., Co. in an attempt to send people abroad illegally. She employed Tran Dieu Thu, 28, residing in Lang Thuong ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi, as an interpreter and to perform some tasks regarding the sending of Vietnamese to Europe. In the ring, Hoang Manh Duong, 36, residing in Tu Nhien commune, Thuong Tin district, Hanoi; and Nguyen Trong Duong, 33, from Bao Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district, the central province of Nghe An, were tasked with seeking customers. Those who want to go abroad will have to pay about US$20,000 each. From April to October 2019, Zhu Yanhua and her accomplices found four people who wanted to go to Germany and France via tourist visas and enter Schengen Area. Lu Yu and Nagasawa Kazuaki came to Noi Bai International Airport on October 26, 2019, to give passports to the four people. However, customs officers detected that their visas to the Schengen Area are fake. Upon hearing that information, Zhu Yanhua and Thu fled to Laos via Cau Treo border gate in the central province of Ha Tinh. However, Thu returned to report to the authorities in October 2019, while Zhu Yanhua is still being hunted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security. The jury decided that after Lu Yu and Nagasawa Kazuaki completed their jail sentences, they will be expelled from Vietnam. Manh Duong and Trong Duong each received 12-month suspended sentences, and were released at the court. Thu was given suspended sentences of 15 months. VNA A GAA player from Northern Ireland was centrally involved in identifying witnesses as part of a campaign of intimidation linked to the Adrian Donohoe murder trial. South Armagh man Aaron Brady (29) was last week found guilty in Dublin of the capital murder of Detective Garda Donohoe during a robbery at Lordship credit union in Co Louth seven years ago. The trial took place amid a widespread campaign to prevent witnesses from giving incriminating evidence against the Crossmaglen man. One man living in the US was identified as Brady's "boots on the ground" in New York. He was passing on information about the inquiries carried out by Homeland Security agents who were assisting gardai in the hunt for the killer. Detectives suspect the man, a GAA player originally from Northern Ireland, was tasked with identifying potential witnesses who were prepared to make statements implicating Brady. Gardai received information that the man was approaching people in the US to establish who was speaking to investigators even before Brady was arrested for murder. When Brady was arrested and deported in May 2017, US agents seized his phone which showed that he was in daily contact with his close associate. During the longest running murder trial in the history of the Republic, concerns were repeatedly raised about witness interference. This included family and associates of Brady making direct contact with scheduled witnesses in the case via social media, and in some cases were accused of "digging up dirt" on people prepared to testify. The court heard that, in some instances, the accused was aware who had made statements against him before the information was even disclosed to the defence. The prosecution said that Brady and his family were "precisely aware what was happening" with the Homeland Security investigations in the US and that the GAA player's name was repeatedly coming up as the person providing assistance. He was described as Brady's "boots on the ground" in New York. One of the people that this man approached as part of his campaign was Daniel Cahill, a barman originally from Dublin who testified that he heard Brady admit on several occasions to shooting a Garda officer. He had made a statement on July 25 last year and just two weeks later, before the fact he had made a statement was even disclosed, he was contacted by a relative of Brady. Mr Cahill also became the target of severe intimidation before and after giving evidence. More than 60 people were tracked down by Homeland Security agents, but many were too afraid to give statements against Brady. One said he was assaulted by Brady after over hearing him brag about what it was like to kill someone in a Bronx bar on St Patrick's Day 2015. The man made a statement to detectives but later refused to come to court. As soon as the anti-China movement began to see some interest in India, there were some rumours about the arrival of Micromax. Well, now, it looks like the brand really wants to make a comeback in the country, as they have teased the arrival of a new phone on their Twitter handle. The company is going all-in on the anti-China movement. They're stressing on the 'Aatmanirbhar' initiative that was introduced by our PM Narendra Modi that calls for local manufacturing and boost the 'Make In India' initiative. Here, check out the teaser - 73 years of independence or being in dependence? On our 74th Independence Day, let's stop being doosron pe nirbhar and become truly Atmanirbhar. Are you ready to join the revolution with us?#AtmaNirbharBharat #JoinTheRevolution #IndependenceDay # pic.twitter.com/7O5Y8JrbAM Micromax India (@Micromax__India) August 15, 2020 As you can see, Micromax is clearly hyping up its arrival to make it look like a huge comeback. Well, only time will tell what they have in store for us. As of now, we don't have any confirmation on a launch or any details about the phone that they're planning to launch. But if the rumours are something to go by, then it looks like we'll be getting some budget phones from the brand, especially targeting the Rs 10,000 price segment. Reuters With all that being said, we really hope Micromax is not planning on selling any rebranded Chinese phones. We say that because Micromax has been caught doing that in the past and that's part of the reason why the company stopped doing business in India. Right now, Chinese makers like Xiaomi, Realme, etc are still on the top when it comes to the overall smartphone sales in the country. Samsung is also doing great but there aren't a lot of options when it comes to 'Made In India' phones. If Micromax manages to do something big here with their new phones, then we might truly have a winner here on our hands. Australia's most elite universities have shot up an international rankings chart as their intake of China international students has surged. The Academic Ranking of World Universities league table featured seven of Australia's Group of Eight universities in the top 100 list. After the United States and the UK, Australia came third when it came to having the most number of universities in the upper echelons. In 2003, Australia came ninth in the world - in terms of having the most universities on this top 100 list. Australia's most elite universities have shot up an international rankings chart as their intake of China international students has surged. Pictured: Chinese students from a UNSW group University of Sydney associate professor Salvatore Babones, a China expert and an adjunct scholar at the Centre for Independent Studies, said the Group of Eight universities also, between them, sourced 68 per cent of their international students from China. 'How did Australia climb from tied-ninth to third in the world in less than two decades in the world's premier research-based university rankings?,' he said. 'In two words: Chinese students. 'Until the coronavirus struck, they were the 'cash cows' that funded Australian universities.' Last year, before coronavirus, Australia's education exports to China were worth $12billion. The ARWU list is also compiled by the Shanghai Rankings Consultancy, a commercial spin-off from the Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The University of Melbourne was ranked at No. 35, putting it ahead of the Sorbonne in Paris at 39. The University of Queensland in Brisbane came in at 54. The University of Melbourne (pictured) was ranked at No. 35, putting it ahead of the Sorbonne in Paris at 39 Australian National University in Canberra was 67. The University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales both came in at No. 74 in the world. Monash University in Melbourne and the University of Western Australia both came in at 85. The University of Adelaide was the only Group of Eight university not to make the top 100 but it was placed in the 151 to 200 band. A day after the list was unveiled, South Australia announced it would allow 300 international students from China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore to fly to the state and quarantine for 14 days. Parklands at entrance to the University of Queensland St Lucia Campus in Brisbane Trade and Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham, who hails from Adelaide, announced the pilot program allowing his state to allow the international students to enter SA and quarantine for two weeks. 'We are taking a very cautious approach in terms of the return of international students to Australia,' he said. 'We have though successfully demonstrated, particularly in states like South Australia that they can return Australians from all corners of the world, safely quarantine them, and provide no exposure to the South Australian community.' SA is banning Victorians but allowing people from New South Wales to enter the state on the proviso they self quarantine. WASHINGTON - At the 2016 Democratic National Convention, former first lady Michelle Obama told party members that when they go low, we go high. After four years of President Donald Trump, she came back to give it to them straight. If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me they can; and they will, if we dont make a change in this election, Mrs. Obama told her party in a blunt and emotional appeal that capped the first night of the Democrats convention. The former first lady outlined dire stakes for the election ahead, declaring President Donald Trump in over his head and the wrong president for our country. Warning of possible voter suppression, she told Americans they must vote for Joe Biden in numbers that cannot be ignored if they want to preserve the most basic requirements for a functioning society. The scathing assessment was delivered in the last and longest speech in Democrats experiment with a virtual convention in the coronavirus era, a spot Mrs. Obama earned through her overwhelming popularity in her party. She delivered her remarks in a casual setting a living room, with a Biden campaign sign on the mantle and identified as much with the beleaguered voters of America as the lineup of politicians that preceded her in the program. You know I hate politics, she said, before diving into a speech that appealed to both her longtime fans in the Democratic coalition and a broad audience shes drawn since leaving the White House and becoming a bestselling author. The president has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head, she said. He cannot meet this moment. It is what it is, Mrs. Obama said echoing a remark Trump made recently about the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus. Citing the pandemic, the flagging economy, the political unrest thats broken out nationwide over systemic racism and what she described as Americas lack of leadership on the world stage, Mrs. Obama said the nation is underperforming not simply on matters of policy, but on matters of character. In contrast, Mrs. Obama said, Biden is a profoundly decent man who knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country. She recounted how Biden has prevailed through the personal tragedy of losing his first wife, baby daughter and adult son and said Biden will channel that same grit and passion to help us heal and guide us forward. Republican Donald Trump succeeded President Barack Obama, a Democrat, in 2017 and has tried to undo many of Obamas achievements on health care, the environment and foreign policy, among others. On Monday, before the event, Trump took a dig at the former first ladys coming speech, noting that her remarks were prerecorded and that his own speech at the Republican National Convention next week will be live. Who wants to listen to Michelle Obama do a taped speech? he said at a rally in Wisconsin. Mrs. Obama, who leads an effort to help register people to vote, spoke about the importance of voting in the Nov. 3 election, which will take place amid a pandemic that has killed more than 170,000 Americans and infected more than 5 million in the U.S. Wearing a necklace that spelled out the word Vote, she noted Trump lost the popular vote but still won the White House, and weve all been suffering the consequences. Her remarks came as debate rages in Washington about U.S. Postal Service changes that are delaying mail deliveries around the country, and amid legal battles in several states over access to mail-in ballots. Mrs. Obama issued a call to action to those who sat out the last election: Now is not the time to withhold our votes in protest or play games, she said. We have got to grab our comfortable shoes, put on our masks, pack a brown bag dinner and maybe breakfast too, because weve got to be willing to stand in line all night if we have to, she said. In keeping with the virtual nature of the convention, Mrs. Obamas remarks were recorded before Bidens announcement last Tuesday that he had chosen California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Her speech was the fourth Democratic convention address by Michelle Obama, who first introduced herself to the nation during her husbands groundbreaking campaign in 2008. She spoke again in 2012 to urge voters to give him a second term. Michelle Obama returned to the convention stage in 2016, backing former first lady Hillary Clinton over Trump, who had spent years pushing the lie that Barack Obama was not born in the U.S. and was ineligible for the presidency. She spoke of the code her family lives by: Our motto is, when they go low, we go high. This time Obama put an asterisk on that 2016 rallying cry. Lets be clear: going high does not mean putting on a smile and saying nice things when confronted by viciousness and cruelty, she said. Going high means taking the harder path. ___ Associated Press writer Zeke Miller contributed to this report from Oshkosh, Wis. Perhaps it was inevitable that the end of King Bhumibol Adulyadejs 70-year reign in 2016 would mean a revision of the political order of his days in which the palace, the army, the bureaucracy and the courts claimed to have a veto on political authority, never mind popular will. During the twilight of King Bhumibols rule, conflicts recurred between establishment forces and majoritarian representation. Voters elected the businessman Thaksin Shinawatra prime minister in 2001; he was ousted by the military in 2006. Thaksins sister Yingluck was elected in 2011. Her government was deposed in 2014 in a coup led by the retired general Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is the prime minister today. The generals or their proxies enacted in 2017 a Constitution that cemented elite rule. The prime minister does not need to be an elected member of Parliament (and Mr. Prayuth is not). The senate is appointed, not elected, and it has been filled with cronies handpicked by the junta. The judiciary has been empowered to discipline politicians. Since succeeding his father Bhumibol, King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun, who spends most of his time in Germany, has asked that the latest Constitution be amended to facilitate his reigning from abroad, and he has taken direct control of the royal familys vast assets, as well as command over the Bangkok-based army units that were instrumental in carrying out coups in the past. The junta, for its part, has extended its rule by holding an election in March 2019 making sure to come out on top of that, thanks partly to the disqualification of some candidates and the reapportionment of seats after the voting. The fledgling Future Forward Party posed a new challenge to the traditional elites then, by running on a platform advocating the breaking up of monopolies, decentralizing power and removing the military from politics. The party placed third in the popular vote count, winning 6.2 million of the 36.2 million ballots cast, many of those from first-time voters. Several parts of the city recorded moderate rainfall (7.6mm to 35.5mm) on Monday afternoon. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Safdarjung recorded 23.2mm, Palam recorded 0.6mm, Lodhi Road recorded 24.3mm and Ridge recorded 6.4mm. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Delhi, has issued an orange category warning for Tuesday in Delhi. One or two spells of moderate rain and thunderstorms are likely between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning which can cause minor traffic disruptions, according to RMC. An orange category warning implies that disaster management agencies should prepare to avert any rain or flooding-related disasters. IMD also issued a red category alert for Tuesday in Uttarakhand and east Rajasthan for Wednesday in east Rajasthan, as the monsoon is likely to intensify over northwest India. A red category warning implies that disaster management agencies should take action against rain or flooding-related disasters. Delhi had a 13% monsoon deficit as on Monday morning, considered to be normal by IMD. We are also expecting some heavy spells of rain in certain parts of Delhi on Tuesday and Wednesday. Overall, the rain is likely to be in the moderate category. The monsoon trough is south of Delhi. For the next three or four days, its likely to oscillate near Delhi. Southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea are bringing in a lot of moisture. There is also a cyclonic circulation over northeast Madhya Pradesh. The combination of these factors will bring rain to the entire northwestern region till August 20, said Kuldeep Shrivastava, head, regional weather forecasting centre. There is low pressure over northeast Madhya Pradesh and adjoining areas of north Chhattisgarh and southeast Uttar Pradesh. It is very likely to move west-north-westwards and weaken during the next 24 hours. The monsoon trough is active and is south of its normal position (Ganganagar to the Bay of Bengal). It is very likely to be active and near the normal /south of its normal position during the next four or five days. The convergence of strong moist southwesterly winds from the Arabian Sea over the plains of northwest India is likely to further strengthen August 18 onwards. A fresh low-pressure area is very likely to form over the north Bay of Bengal around August 19. It is likely to become further marked during the subsequent 24 hours. Due to these favourable conditions, IMD is expecting enhanced rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy showers over northwest India, including the western Himalayan region till August 20, IMD said in its Monday bulletin. Extremely heavy rain is likely over east Rajasthan on August 18 and 19 and over Uttarakhand on August 18. Widespread and heavy rain is likely over Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal during the four or five days. Madonna continued to party it up for the occasion of her 62nd birthday on Sunday, and shared a daring and fun photo that evening with her millions of Instagram followers. While wearing a stunning teal floral gown, the Queen of Pop sat on a red velvet chair with a tray covered in rolling papers and nuggets of marijuana. Madge had the faintest of Mona Lisa smiles on her face, and a joint hung from her lips. No doubt it was a special birthday for Madonna as she even received a greeting from Kim Kardashian featuring a selfie of them and the caption: 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY @MADONNA THERE IS NO ONE ON THIS PLANET LIKE YOU!!!!!! LOVE YOU !!!!!!' It's her birthday and she'll smoke if she wants to: Madonna continued to party it up for her 62nd birthday on Sunday, sharing a fun photo with a tray of marijuana and a joint in her mouth 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY @MADONNA THERE IS NO ONE ON THIS PLANET LIKE YOU!!!!!! LOVE YOU !!!!!!': No doubt it was a special birthday for Madonna as she even received a greeting from Kim Kardashian featuring a selfie of the two of them 'Welcome to Jamaica...' Madonna captioned her post, which included several other fabulous photos from her party there that included her mini-me daughter Lola, 23, as well as her beau Ahlamalik Williams, 25. She added the hashtags #birthday and #leo, and also tagged Williams. Another photo in the spread showed the happy couple with their arms wrapped around one another, with the Music hitmaker staring up at Williams lovingly. Another photo in the spread: The happy couple posed with their arms wrapped around one another, with the Music hitmaker staring up at Williams lovingly Come party with me: 'Welcome to Jamaica...' Madonna captioned the post; seen that evening in her Instagram Stories with a large marijuana plant in the background Other fabulous photos from the party included: Madonna's ethereally gorgeous mini-me daughter Lola, 23 Ahlamalik, a professional dancer who was part of Madge's performance team for her recent Madame X international concert tour, wore a power-clash top with eye catching and contrasting patterns. Lola, or Lourdes Leon, looked drop-dead gorgeous like a young version of her mother, in a fab electric blue tube minidress. Earlier, Madonna posted an over 3-minute video post showing the Evita star partaking in the Jamaican festivities, which included her romantically slow-dancing with her boyfriend. She is seen hugging him tightly, as she mouths the lyrics to the song they're dancing to: 'Never had a love like this before.' Fab color blocking: Lola, or Lourdes Leon, looked drop-dead gorgeous like a young version of her mother, in a riveting electric blue tube minidress Party bus: Further images see Madonna's daughters Mercy, 14, along with twins Estere and Stelle, seven, all posing with friends in the tour bus In one amusing interlude, Williams offers her a joint as marijuana is practically a national plant in Jamaica. The Material Girl declines, however, telling her dancer beau that she's 'preserving my vocal chords.' She momentarily glares at him, and is heard saying, 'that's bad,' which seems strange considering her more recent post. In one amusing interlude: Williams offers her a joint and the Material Girl declines Further clips see Madonna's daughters Mercy, 14, along with twins Estere and Stelle, seven, all dancing with others as the celebrations continue. The Ray Of Light songstress also uploaded additional shots from what looked to be the tour bus on their Jamaican trip. It all came after a separate flurry of activity to Madonna's social media, showing still images as well as video of the star celebrating while wearing a lovely frilly white dress decorated a colorful floral motif. The Frozen hitmaker also had a multitude of bracelets and necklaces on, including a very bright multicolored beaded strap for her phone which hung from her neck. To mark her 62nd birthday earlier on Sunday: Madonna posted a flurry of activity to her social media, showing still images as well as video Her Madgesty's dyed blond hair featured braids along the sides of her head, adding to the faint Dutch maiden vibe she was rocking along with her selection of dress. Her dark roots were showing, adding a welcome bit of edginess to her look. Madonna also sported a very colorful manicure in shades of red and yellow, and she handled a fabulous black hand fan with a white geometric pattern on it. In one post, captioned 'Resting Birthday Bitch Face', the Material Girl looks virtually unrecognizable as she looks at the camera. Birthday style: The star celebrated while wearing a lovely frilly white dress decorated a colorful floral motif Birthday scowl: In one post, captioned 'Resting Birthday Bitch Face', the Material Girl looks virtually unrecognizable as she looks at the camera She added the hashtags #happybirthday #leo and #fire, underscoring the fiery characteristics of those sharing her birth sign. Another birthday post on Madonna's Instagram saw the music superstar and mother-of-six dancing next to her bed to Dua Lipa's remix of the song Levitating, upon which the Take A Bow hitmaker delivers a guest vocal. The clip begins with a playful Madonna at her bathroom's vanity area, where she makes as if she's about to cut her long hair. Edgy look: Her Madgesty's dyed blond hair featured braids along the sides of her head, adding to the faint Dutch maiden vibe she was rocking along with her selection of dress Busting a move: The Frozen hitmaker had a multitude of bracelets and necklaces on, including a very bright multicolored strap for her phone which hung from her neck Another birthday post saw the music superstar singing to Dua Lipa's remix of the song Levitating, upon which she delivers a guest vocal: The clip begins with a playful Madonna at her bathroom's vanity area, where she makes as if she's about to cut her long hair Soon, she breaks into the musical refrain from Levitating, proving that she still has the vocal chops and prowess even in the comfort of her own home. Next, Madame X is seen on the floor, taping her foot. Madonna has been publicly suffering from several injuries from her hips to knees on down, ever since embarking on her international concert tour last fall. Soon: She breaks into the musical refrain from Levitating, proving that she still has the vocal chops and prowess even in the comfort of her own home Next: Madame X is seen on the floor, taping her foot Finally: The seven-time Grammy winner is seen next to a four-post canopy bed, getting groomed before she dances and fans herself as the song plays In spite of her recent injuries: Madonna still knows how to bust a move She continues to sing to the tune of Levitating, changing the lyrics to fit the situation: 'I've got tape, on me... Have a broken bone.' Finally, the seven-time Grammy winner is seen next to a four-post canopy bed, getting groomed before she dances and fans herself as the song she recently guested on along with friend and previous collaborator Missy Elliott plays. She ends the impromptu performance with a regal little bow. And later, Madge posted a lovely image of a festive fruit spread to her IG Story, along with the hashtag #birthday. Performer, always: She ends the impromptu performance with a regal little bow If that wasn't all: A subsequent video post saw Madonna and at least some of her family celebrating her birthday in Jamaica In the over 3-minute video post: The Evita star documented the festivities, which included her romantically slow-dancing with her boyfriend No thank you: The video included the moment when Madge turned down the offer of a joint from Ahlamalik The Material Girl declines: She tells her dancer beau that she's 'preserving my vocal chords' and momentarily glares at him, saying, 'that's bad' which is strange considering her later post Madonna's Instagram activity, of course, was met with vociferous approval from fans both famous and not. Celebrity friends such as Rosie O'Donnell (her A League Of Their Own costar), Amy Schumer, longtime bestie Debi Mazar, producing partner Guy Oseary and Lisa Rinna all commented with their birthday wishes, to name just a few. Lisa even posted to her own Instagram account in Madonna's honor, dancing in a fabulous orange and paisley track suit to the latter's song Beat Goes On from her 2008 album Hard Candy. Fun times: Further clips see Madonna's daughters, like Mercy above, dancing with others as the celebrations continue And later: Madge posted a lovely image of a fruit spread to her IG Story, along with the hashtag #birthday Spitting image: Madge uploaded an amazing shot of her ethereally gorgeous eldest daughter Lourdes in their Jamaican tour bus If voted to power in the November general elections, a Biden administration will reform the H-1B visa system and work towards eliminating the country-quota system for Green Cards, his campaign said on Saturday, in a move to woo the influential Indian-American community. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. In a major policy document for Indian-Americans released on the occasion of India's 74th Independence Day, the Biden Campaign also emphasised its support to family-based immigration system and streamlining processing for religious worker visas. The administration will also take steps to stem the rising tide of hate and bigotry, address the security needs of house of worship, eliminate language barriers and honour the diversity and contributions of Indian-Americans, it said. This is for the first time that a Democratic presidential candidate has come out with an exclusive policy document for Indian-Americans. There are 1.3 million eligible Indian-American voters across eight battleground states. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is scheduled to address the Indian-American community in a video message later in the day. Read: Crushing loss, recovery define Joe Biden's moment Biden will support family-based immigration and preserve family unification as a core principle of our immigration system, which includes reducing the family visa backlog, his campaign said. "He will increase the number of visas offered for permanent, work-based immigration based on macroeconomic conditions and exempt from any cap recent graduates of PhD programmes in STEM fields," the campaign said. "And, he will support first reforming the temporary visa system for high-skill, specialty jobs to protect wages and workers, then expanding the number of visas offered and eliminating the limits on employment-based Green Cards by country, which have kept so many Indian families in waiting for too long," it said. According to the policy document, Biden will restore and defend the naturalisation process for Green Card holders. A Green Card allows a non-US citizen to live and work permanently in America. "He will increase the number of refugees we welcome into this country by setting the annual global refugee admissions target to 1,25,000 and seek to raise it over time to commensurate with our responsibility, our values, and the unprecedented global need," it said. "He will also work with Congress to establish a minimum admissions number of 95,000 refugees annually. Biden will remove the uncertainty for Dreamers by reinstating the DACA programme and explore all legal options to protect their families from inhumane separation," the campaign said. It said Biden will end workplace raids and protect other sensitive locations from immigration enforcement actions. As a largely immigrant community, but in some cases with American roots reaching back generations, Indian-Americans know firsthand the strength and resilience that immigrants bring to the US, the campaign said. Also Read: Joe Biden blasts Donald Trump for 'abhorrent' birther rhetoric on Kamala Harris "But President Trump has waged an unrelenting assault on our values and our history as a nation of immigrants. It's wrong, and it stops when Biden is president," it alleged. "Biden will rescind Trump's Muslim ban on day one and reverse the detrimental asylum policies that are causing chaos and a humanitarian crisis at our border, the campaign said. "He will immediately begin working with Congress to pass legislative immigration reform that modernises our system, with a priority on keeping families together by providing a roadmap to citizenship for nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants including more than 5,00,000 from India, it said. Indian-Americans of all backgrounds Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jain, and others have been subjected to bullying and xenophobic attacks and need now, more than ever, a reassurance that the US leaders in Washington will have their backs, it said. During the Obama-Biden administration, the FBI expanded its hate crime statistics programme to include Sikhs, Hindus, and Buddhists. As President, Biden will directly address the rise in hateful attacks and enact legislation prohibiting someone convicted of a hate crime from purchasing or possessing a firearm, it said. "Biden will appoint leaders at the Department of Justice who will prioritise the prosecution of hate crimes, and he will order his Justice Department to focus additional resources to combat hate crimes including religion-based hate crimes and to confront white nationalist terrorism," it said. "He will also seek legislation that increases the potential sentence for certain hate crimes that occur in houses of worship and other religious community sites, such as gurudwaras, mandirs, temples, and mosques. And, he will use his executive power to ensure that the Department of Justice pursues such heinous acts of violence against houses of worship to the fullest extent of the law," the campaign said. Noting that in 2012, the Sikh community suffered a terrible tragedy when a white supremacist opened fire in an Oak Creek, Wisconsin, gurdwara, ultimately killing seven and wounding four, the campaign added that in January 2019, a Hindu temple was the victim of a horrific act of vandalism and destruction, with windows shattered and xenophobic messages spray-painted across the walls. 17.08.2020 LISTEN Comrades of the peoples National Convention, I write to declare my intention to contest the first vice chairmanship position of our great party. I have served the party at all levels and you are aware of my contributions both in cash and in kind, in our quest to help build a great party capable of winning government. Comrades upon further consultation within and without, I have decided that with your support Im going to be a part of the highest decision-makers of our party in order to ameliorate the performance of the party at all levels and in all regions. I promise to, 1. RESTORE HOPE Comrades, we must all accept the fact that the electorates have lost hope in the party and at as a result our fortunes continue to dwindle from all the elections we have participated from 1992. We need people who are able and can easily attract votes to turn around the fortunes of the party. Some of us are committed to ensuring that the PNC becomes a household name and at no point are we going to relent in this effort. The spirit of hope is going to be breathed into the party given the opportunity to serve. 2. FUNDRAISING/ CAPACITY BUILDING. Comrades, I am not only seeking to lead the party but Im much concerned about improving the capacity and human resource potentials of our people who are committed to ensuring that the PNC is attractive and electorable at the polls. The party is broke and as a result of being in opposition for all these years, calls for us to elect people who have the capacity to raise resources to help embark on party activities. Some of us are highly connected and as we have always helped in our own small ways, given the opportunity to serve at the vice chairmanship position will open doors to address logistical challenges of the party. I am committed to ensuring that any resource raised in name of the party are used for the intended purposes. 3. PROMULGATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PARTY POLICIES. The PNC is the most ideas oriented political party and Ghanaians have benefited immensely from our party and it is high time we develop policies and communicate them effectively to attract voters. The PNC needs leaders who understand policy and would help initiate policies that will target people from different socio cultural background. I am poised to ensuring that our policies are communicated in simple and comprehensible manner. 4. EFFECTIVE COORDINATION OF ACTIVITIES. Leadership without a sense of coordination of activities is bound to fail. I am going to ensure that all the 16 regional chairmen are not just arm chairmen but effective and efficient in the discharge of their duties. We need leaders who would work together to improve the fortunes of the party and I will ensure that the party does not run a one man show. Each and every member of the party has a role to play and all skills and competencies shall be brought to fore through effective collaboration exercises. BOISE Idaho is dealing with a wildfire. Thats how a group of Idaho physicians described the states coronavirus situation earlier this month in a letter urging Gov. Brad Little to issue a statewide face mask mandate. The state continues to add hundreds of new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, each day. And as hot, dry summer weather has taken hold, Idaho is now dealing with numerous actual wildfires on top of its metaphorical one. Last week, a handful of fires were burning around the state, most of them small and already contained, according to information from the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service. Air quality in parts of the state remained good despite dipping into warning zones briefly. While thats not unusual for the Idaho fire season, its coincidence with the coronavirus pandemic could prove to be concerning, experts say. Thats because research suggests exposure to pollutants like wildfire smoke can make people more susceptible to becoming infected with coronavirus, as well as making their bouts with COVID-19 potentially more severe. Luke Montrose, an environmental toxicologist and assistant professor at Boise State University, sounded the alarm in April about the pandemics possible impact on wildland firefighters. But Montrose said he has grown more concerned about how the clash of two natural disasters wildfire season and a pandemic will affect all Idahoans as outbreaks of the virus persist and more fires start to ignite. Wildfires start to spark across Idaho In an article published at the beginning of the pandemic, Montrose pointed out numerous reasons why wildland firefighters are at risk as fire season and coronavirus, which largely attacks the lungs, overlap. The firefighters are routinely exposed to smoke and are often unable to social distance when theyre on a fire, making them particularly vulnerable to spreading the virus. Dennis Strange, state fire management officer for the BLM in Idaho, said firefighters are isolating in engine units as much as possible and wear protective equipment like face masks when theyre unable to maintain a safe distance from others. I would normally be hesitant to conflate occupational exposure with the general publics exposure, Montrose said in a phone interview. However, I was thinking about this early this year. When I first started hearing about COVID, this popped into my mind, the clash of two natural disasters: We could have wildfires at the same time were having a global pandemic. We have a very unique problem that were going to be dealing with (in the West) thats not much of a problem in the rest of the country, he added. Thus far, Southwest Idaho has had a relatively mild fire season thanks to an unusually rainy June, but experts predicted an above-average fire season overall. More than 400 fires have burned more than 34,000 acres around the state this year, according to BLM data. Even if the fires themselves arent close to the populated areas, wildfire smoke from as far as California and Oregon frequently settles here and can affect air quality. So far, the fires have resulted in only a smattering of days where the air quality index, a color-coded rating system based on the amount of pollutant particles in the air, has risen from good, the best possible level, to moderate. Morgan Willming, a toxicologist with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, said in a phone interview that most healthy adults wont notice an effect at the moderate level, but people in vulnerable populations children, pregnant women and the elderly should exercise caution. As the level increases, air becomes more risky and can begin to affect healthier populations. COVID-19 and wildfire smoke both impact the lungs Brian Goltry, a pulmonologist with St. Lukes Health System, explained that COVID-19 and wildfire smoke have similar effects on the lungs. Both cause inflammation and can damage tissues, limiting lung function. Wildfire smoke can affect the inflammatory or immune response in the lungs in many different pathways, Goltry said in a phone interview. The particulate matter we inhale with wildfire smoke ... can damage macrophages (a type of white blood cell) and cause them to not function well. With those not functioning well, we can be more susceptible to bacterial and viral infections. Goltry said membranes in the lungs can become more permeable as theyre damaged. Montrose also pointed to multiple studies that found irritated lungs are at greater risk of becoming infected with viruses or bacteria. Those infections can also be more severe. In addition, Goltry said, the body can overshoot in response to irritants in the lungs, making the situation worse by creating pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome. Though theres not yet research on the phenomenon, Goltry and Montrose said its probable that the reverse situation would also hold true: People whose lungs have already been weakened by a coronavirus infection are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of wildfire smoke that may not have otherwise bothered them. Do coronavirus-preventative face masks work against smoke? Coronavirus and wildfire smoke may wreak similar havoc on the lungs, but what works to ward off one doesnt necessarily work for the other. The cloth or surgical face masks that have become widespread and, in Boise and Ada County, mandatory while in public are effective in trapping respiratory droplets exhaled by the wearer that could spread coronavirus. However, those masks are not effective at filtering out the tiny, harmful particles in wildfire smoke. Theres pretty minimal protection (from wildfire smoke) from just kind of the basic cloth mask or the kind of surgical masks with single straps, said Willming, the IDHW toxicologist. The best filtration is coming from an N95 mask, and since COVID, we really want to be conscious that those masks are still really important for health care providers and frontline workers, so were not really encouraging people to run out and purchase those masks. Willming said the best option for avoiding wildfire smoke is staying indoors, where air filtration or purification systems can reduce the amount of pollutants in the air. High efficiency particulate air filters can also trap respiratory droplets that may contain coronavirus, though some scientists say filtration and purification systems wont necessarily help if youre cohabitating or in close, prolonged contact with an infected individual. Thats another catch-22 that Boise State professor Montrose said hes worried about. My priority concern right now is outside of occupational exposure, Montrose said. Its the unique problem that we will have in our airshed with opening up schools. Montrose said some guidance has suggested schools doing in-person instruction should opt for outdoor classrooms or open windows to improve airflow and reduce the risk of coronavirus transmission. Thats great, Montrose said in place where smoke isnt contaminating the air outside. With the windows closed, air purifiers or air conditioning could help, but those options arent always available. Theres a lot of schools out there that dont have air conditioning, Montrose said. I can imagine a situation where decision-makers at a rural school are going to have to weigh their options. Goltry said the threat of wildfire smoke shouldnt overshadow the importance of following coronavirus safety measures. People should be wearing masks, and they should be practicing social distancing, he said. Government officials restrict access to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul on Monday. (AFP via Getty Images) Thousands of churchgoers in South Korea have been asked to quarantine after more than 300 worshippers tested positive for coronavirus. The outbreak linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul is the nations largest in almost six months. By the end of the weekend, 315 worshippers from the church had tested positive for COVID-19. Another 3,400 of its congregation have been asked to self-isolate. South Korea had its fourth straight day of three-digit increases in new daily coronavirus cases on Monday, when 197 were reported. On Sunday, 279 new cases were recorded, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, amid fears the spike is getting out of control. The government has urged people to stay at home and avoid travelling. South Korea was hailed as a success story in the fight against the spread of coronavirus, thanks largely to an extensive testing and tracing system. According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 15,500 cases in South Korea and 305 deaths. Health minister Park Neung-hoo urged people to stay home and for residents in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province to avoid visiting other parts of the country for two weeks. The 279 new cases reported on Sunday were South Korea's biggest single-day jump since 367 on 8 March. Infections were also reported in other major cities such as Busan and Daegu, which was the epicentre of the previous crisis in late February and March, when hundreds of new cases were reported each day. Sarang Jeil Church pastor Jun Kwang-hun has tested positive for coronavirus, it has been reported. (AP) During a virus meeting, president Moon Jae-in called for "pan-national" efforts to slow the spread of coronavirus. He also instructed a review of plans for sharing hospital capacities between Seoul and nearby towns to ensure swift transport of patients so a spike of cases in one area does not overwhelm its hospital system. There are concerns the spread could worsen after thousands of anti-government protesters rallied in Seoul on Saturday despite official pleas to stay at home. Story continues It appears the protests, organised by conservative activist and church groups, mainly involved people over 60, who are considered at higher risk for complications linked to COVID-19. The Sarang Jeil Church is headed by Jun Kwang-hun, a conservative pastor who has been highly critical of the president. The Yonhap News Agency reported that Jun, who addressed thousands of protesters at the weekend, has tested positive for the virus. His church has been accused of failing to co-operate with health authorities. Earlier this year, the Shincheonji Church of Jesus sect was linked to more than 5,000 cases in South Korea. Its leader, Lee Man-hee, was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of hiding information about the groups members from contact tracers. Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter President Trump slammed Bill de Blasio as a 'communist fool' who has destroyed New York City on Monday morning, as more and more residents flee for good and say they'll likely never return because the city may never recover. Many fled New York in March, when it was the epicenter of the pandemic, with the intention of returning when things began reopening. But as the lockdown dragged on, forcing hundreds of businesses to close their doors, and as businesses survived with a remote workforce, many abandoned their apartment leases permanently for more spacious homes in different states. In recent weeks, crime has shot up and homelessness is spreading across the city. De Blasio sad on Monday, after days of complaints from residents, that he would start moving the homeless out of the hotels and back into shelters but he gave no timeline for when the process would start, or which hotels would be first. The NYPD's largest union - the Sergeants Benevolent Association - has taken the unorthodox step of formally endorsing Trump because cops are so frustrated with de Blasio's handling of the city. In June, he stripped the NYPD of $1billion in response to Black Lives Matter protesters who wanted to defund the department entirely. Trump has vowed to revitalize the city if he wins the November election, but he hasn't yet explained how. De Blasio remains in power until November 2021. He cannot be re-elected. On Monday morning, the President phoned into Fox & Friends to discuss a range of issues, including New York City. 'The mayor has no response. He doesn't know what he's doing, he's a fool. Scroll down for video President Trump called NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio a 'communist fool' on Monday morning as the situation in New York continued to spiral with an increase in crime and the number of people fleeing the city for good In the last week, there have been more than 60 shootings across New York City that have left 76 people injured and 14 dead. Above, one crime scene on August 16 Protesters were seen stopping cars and threatening them in Manhattan over the weekend Homeless encampments are popping up all over the city. Pictured, one of the encampments in lower Manhattan Homeless people in New York City on August 14. Some residents say they no longer want to stay in New York because the homeless population is growing and becoming more aggressive 'He's a socialist, communist maybe he's a fool. He got rid of some of the most talented policemen that there are in the world and that includes looking for very bad things all beyond New York. 'Some of those people are gone and that's no good. No, this is a fool. This is a fool.' he said of de Blasio. Crime has shot up in recent weeks, particularly shootings. There were more than 60 shootings across New York City in the last week, leaving 76 people injured. Trump said on Monday: 'Look at the shootings. When I left New York four years ago, New York was, I could see the seeds of this because he's been a bad mayor but new York was good. 'It was okay. It all happened recently. It all came together. All of this over a period of years as he's been mayor, but about a year, and then six months ago, it's incredible what happened. 'When I left New York four years ago, we were doing great. I was doing good. Everybody was doing good. Now but you could see the seeds were being sewn. 'The seeds it was happening, bad stuff was happening you could see it, the squeegies were starting to come out, tents were starting to be built on the sidewall.' The President then praised Rudy Giuliani as a 'great mayor' who did 'a great job'. 'Rudy Giuliani did a great job, between window, you know, fixed broken windows because he said that's a sign and it leads a lot of people wouldn't even understand that. 'It's psychologically very important but Rudy, he was a great mayor and he did stop and frisk. He did stop and frisk. He took guns away from bad people. 'Now, if you take a gun away from a bad people oh, you got, you know, they sue you. 'They sue you. It's so crazy what they've allowed to happen,' he fumed. The Sergeants Benevolent Association, the largest NYPD union, is endorsing Trump for re-election. The union is furious with de Blasio for stripping some of the police department's resources President Trump has lashed out at New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio after a weekend of violence in which at least 50 people were shot in various incidents across the city Trump added that most of the country was 'strong' and 'law abiding', but that Democratic cities like New York, Chicago and Portland are 'run by fools'. De Blasio was questioned about his plan for the homeless at his daily press conference on Monday. 'I've heard deeply their concern and I want to make sure we're addressing their concern. 'We also, of course, by law and morally have to take care of anyone who, God forbid, has become homeless. You know, I always say, there but for the grace of God go we,' he said when asked about the many tax payers in New York City who are now afraid because 'So, what happened was, again, a crisis that forced us to have to use hotels, we're now starting the process of reducing the reliance on hotels,' he said. He went onto say the President's remarks amounted to him 'blustering'. 'We are dealing with a perfect storm. I keep telling everyone, I think every-day New Yorkers understand it. We have been put through hell in this city. 'Everything fell apart simultaneously because of the coronavirus. We're now building it back up and the NYPD is moving officers where they're needed, engaging with the community more deeply to fight crime, increasing gun arrests, but it will take time, and we need the whole picture to come back into focus. We need the court system to get working again. We need a lot of things to work so we can really stop this problem. But it's painful. 'The President blusters and the President tries to draw attention to himself and rarely has much to back it up. 'The bottom line is, the NYPD is, obviously, as they have done for decades upon decades, they are the people who can help us address this issue and end this violence and that's who I'm relying on,' he said. His remarks come as a growing number of New Yorkers leave the city with no plans to return. Among them is James Altucher, a comedy club owner and investor whose family have left the city for Miami. In a lengthy blog post, he described why the city would never fully recover because unlike in previous times of crisis, it has not been shut down for weeks on end. 'NYC has never been locked down for five months. Not in any pandemic, war, financial crisis, never. In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising As shootings spiral, there is also a growing homeless problem with encampments popping up all over Manhattan. 13,000 homeless people have also been moved into hotels around the city 'In the middle of the polio epidemic, when little kids (including my mother) were becoming paralyzed or dying (my mother ended up with a bad leg), NYC didnt go through this,' he wrote. The three things that drew people to New York en masse - opportunities, food and culture - have all now been wiped out. Businesses have realized they can continue to operate successfully with a remote staff. There are few that have returned as a result. With no requirement to stay in the city for their jobs, many are unwilling to put up with the escalating crime. One man wrote in a Facebook group: 'In the last week: I watched a homeless person lose his mind and start attacking random pedestrians. Including spitting on, throwing stuff at, and swatting. 'Ive seen several single parents with a child asking for money for food. And then, when someone gave them food, tossed the food right back at them. I watched a man yell racist slurs at every single race of people while charging, then stopping before going too far.' Another said: 'Ive been living in New York City for about 10 years. It has definitely gotten worse and theres no end in sight. 'My favorite park is Madison Square Park. About a month ago a 19-year-old girl was shot and killed across the street. 'I dont think I have an answer but I do think its clear: its time to move out of NYC. 'Im not the only one who feels this way, either. In my building alone, the rent has plummeted almost 30% more people are moving away than ever before. So 'Its not goodbye yet. But a lifelong New Yorker is thinking about it.' Altucher said he was not tempted to leave until June, when riots and looting took over the city for a week. 'Nothing was wrong with the protests but I was a little nervous when I saw videos of rioters after curfew trying to break into my building,' he wrote. He has now moved with his family to south Florida and is unsure if they'll come back. 'Im temporarily, although maybe permanently, in South Florida now. I also got my place sight unseen,' he wrote. Last week, it emerged that 13,000 apartments were sitting empty in New York, the highest number in 14 years. US mulls midrange missile deployment in Asia to counter China Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 2:42 PM The United States is reportedly seeking to mobilize support from its Asian allies to deploy medium-range missiles in their countries to counter what it calls the "immediate threat" of China's nuclear arsenal. Washington intends to "engage in talks with our friends and allies in Asia over the immediate threat that the Chinese nuclear buildup poses, not just to the United States but to them, and the kinds of capabilities that we will need to defend the alliance in the future," Marshall Billingslea, the US special presidential envoy for arms control, said in an interview with Japan's largest financial daily the Nikkei. Billingslea said the mid-range, non-nuclear and ground-launched cruise missile was under development in the US, and that work on the missile began in August 2019 after Washington had pulled out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear (INF) Forces Treaty with Russia, which banned such weapons. The weapon is "exactly the kind of defensive capability that countries such as Japan will want and will need for the future," he added. The new missile is said to have a range of 1,000 kilometres, meaning that it would need to be deployed somewhere in Asia to be able to reach China as a potential countermeasure. Billingslea also underlined in his interview that multiple branches of the US military are developing hypersonic weapons, which travel at five times the speed of sound and pose problems for traditional missile-defense systems. Hypersonic weapons in the Asia-Pacific region "will ensure that our allies and our friends and our partners are protected and that China cannot engage in military blackmail, as it tries to redraw boundaries and authorities," Billingslea said. Billingslea, who is involved in developing security policy under President Donald Trump, is known to have hawkish views on China and serves as the US point man on negotiations with Russia toward a new nuclear treaty. The US has been calling on China to join negotiations to extend a flagship nuclear arms treaty between Washington and Moscow that is due to expire in February next year. Trump has threatened in the past that he would not sign off on any agreement without China being a part of it. China has refused to participate in the US-Russia talks, but says it will take part in international nuclear disarmament efforts in general. The negotiations in question were on the replacement of New START, a nuclear arms treaty between the US and Russia that has nothing to do with China. By inviting China and anticipating its refusal to participate, Washington had been planning to portray Beijing as reluctant to take part in any arms control treaty. Approximately 91 percent of all nuclear warheads are owned by the United States and Russia, each having around 4,000 in their military stockpiles. It is estimated that China has a stockpile of around 320 nuclear warheads. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi: The Delhi Assemblys peace and harmony committee on Monday said it will soon summon Facebook India executives including its public policy director Ankhi Das as it seeks to investigate alleged instances of intentional and deliberate inaction by the social media company to curtail hate speech by members of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The committee, headed by Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Rajendra Nagar, Raghav Chadha, said it had received several complaints after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on August 14 published a report titled Facebook hate speech rules collide with Indian politics. The WSJ report alleged that Facebook executives, particularly Das, cited business imperatives while choosing not to apply hate speech rules to at least four individuals and groups linked to the BJP, despite them being internally flagged for promoting or participating in violence. Chadha said the committee will also investigate whether Facebook executives were complicit in the alleged orchestration of the February riots in northeast Delhi riots that left 53 people dead and around 400 injured. Delhi Assemblys committee on peace and harmony has received several complaints emanating from a scathing article published in the WSJ. These complaints pertain to the alleged role of Facebook in deliberate and willful inaction on the part of the social media company to rein in hate speech and to impose and implement its own policies when it comes to curbing hate mongers. The complaints prima facie indicate that Facebook allegedly provided a platform for breeding communal discord. The committee has evaluated the complaints and has come to the conclusion that immediate cognisance of the matter is required. The proceedings of the committee have been set in motion from Monday, Chadha said after the first meeting of the panel on the issue. When contacted, Facebook declined to comment on the matter. Chadha said the panel shall be sending summons to Facebook executives including Das. The committee shall convene its meeting this week to initiate the proceedings forthwith. The committee aims at redressing the issue at the earliest, therefore, the proceedings shall be expedited in order to put this issue to its logical conclusion. If needed, it will also give its recommendations to the Assembly. The sole intention is to ensure and promote peace and harmony in the NCT {national capital territory} of Delhi. No unholy nexus or no alliance between a social media platform and hate mongers can be allowed to breed with a view to disturbing the communal harmony in the city, he said. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the measures outlined by the government of Ghana to curtail the spread of the novel Coronavirus pandemic in the country are achieving results. Akufo-Addo told Ghanaians on Sunday, August 16, that currently, there are no active cases in the North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West regions. As of Saturday, the active cases stand at 1,847. This is a clear indication that government policies are working. Currently, there are no recorded Covid-19 cases in the North East, Savannah, Upper East, and Upper West Regions, and I charge the residents to do everything possible to maintain that situation," he said. He added that Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, and Western continue to be the regions with the highest number of active cases. Thus far, a total of 40,567 persons have recovered from the virus." Akufo-Addo concluded: This means our recovery rate has improved from 89.5% to 95.1% in three weeks. Our death rate continues, mercifully, to be low at 5%. Happily, there is no backlog of tests at any of our testing centres meaning the situational reports are up to date. Indeed test results that used to take weeks are now available within 48 hours, he declared. 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. Featured Video Ministers are being instructed to stay in Ireland for their summer holidays as the Government reels from the resignation of Failte Ireland chairman Michael Cawley. A member of Cabinet told the Irish Independent: "Everyone had been told you have to stay in Ireland to show a good example. You have to spend your euro in your own community and local economy." Taoiseach Micheal Martin made his call on colleagues to stay at home for their holidays before the latest blow to the Government's messaging on Covid-19, which was caused by the tourism chief's decision to travel to Italy when the State is heavily advising against non-essential travel. The Taoiseach would lead by example with his own holidays this month by taking a few days "here and there" in west Cork, his spokeswoman said. Read More Mr Martin might have a few long weekends with his family, while keeping a tight focus on the national coronavirus crisis. Other ministers will follow suit. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar said he would be spending two weeks on the Wild Atlantic Way, starting in Mayo and finishing in Cork. But he joked: "When people know you are in the area, the invitations to pop in, drop in or attend a quick meeting come in and Matt (Barrett) will kill me if I start doing any of that while we are on holiday." Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney, despite his portfolio, will also be staying at home: "I'm taking a week's holiday with my family on Sherkin Island in west Cork. "Around beautiful Roaringwater Bay there is lots to do, with loads of dolphins and whales this summer. I'll be doing some mackerel fishing, taking long walks and swimming in the sea with the kids." Tourism Minister Catherine Martin, who asked for and received Mr Cawley's resignation on Saturday, told the Irish Independent: "My family and I were in Sligo for a few days last week and hope to go to Clare and Kerry too." Her party leader, Eamon Ryan, was on Inishbofin last week, but is back at work. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: "I am taking a few days with the family in Ireland. I'm not getting into details as it's my family's holidays and they're not public figures." Former health minister Simon Harris, now in charge of Third Level Education, said he had been enjoying some time walking in Wicklow and made a visit to Kilkenny. "We may take another few days in Ireland over the next few weeks but no firm plans yet. It's such a beautiful country we live in," Mr Harris said. Education Minister Norma Foley said: "I'm not taking any holidays. But I hope to get some time, perhaps at the weekends, to enjoy the fair Kingdom." Afrifa Yamoah Ponkoh, a leading member in the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has hit hard at Rt. Rev. Prof Emmanuel Martey, former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, accusing him of being economical with the truth. According to Ponkoh, Rev Martey has not been fair in his political criticisms therefore may not make it to heaven. Rt Rev. Martey was a fierce critic of the NDC administration, which was led by ex-President John Dramani Mahama. During the heat of the 2016 electioneering campaign period, Rev Martey openly questioned some policies of the then NDC government. Some political pundits in the country have asserted that the likes of Rt. Rev Martey helped the NPP to win the 2016 national elections. Therefore, since President Akufo-Addo was declared winner of the 2016 polls, Rt. Rev. Martey has become an enemy of the some elements within the opposition NDC. Launching the unprovoked attack on the man of God on Nhyira FM on Saturday, Yamoah Ponkoh said Rev. Martey is a bias man of God. Where is Rev. Martey?, Ponkoh asked, indicating that this man always found fault with former President Mahamas Government. Now his beloved NPP government, led by President Nana Akufo-Addo, is leading the country into a deep ditch but he has kept mute. I was expecting him to also criticise the NPP government for bad performance but he is strangely quite. This man will not go to heaven. The host of the show, Kofi Asante, quickly asked Yamoah Ponkoh to retract those harsh words but he remained adamant. 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. Featured Video Welcome Guest! You Are Here: NEW DELHI: Police have booked the CISF constable, whose sons driver was arrested for allegedly raping a 20-year-old woman in south Delhis Moti Bagh area, for misusing an MHA parking sticker. Omkar Singh was issued a Ministry of Home Affairs parking sticker by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2014 since he had to visit the ministry for handing over files and other work reasons, said a senior police officer. The sticker was valid from January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. After the expiry, Singh didnt return the sticker. Instead, he gave it to his son, Mohit, who pasted it on his car in which the girl was allegedly raped by the driver on December 14. A complaint was received from an authorised officer of Ministry of Agriculture regarding misuse of parking label which was entrusted to Omkar Singh of CISF. Based on the complaint, a case under sections 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of IPC was registered at South Campus police station yesterday and Singh was arrested today morning, said the officer. He was produced before the Patiala House court and was granted bail on a bond of Rs 25,000, he added. The girl, a resident of Noida, who was on a job-hunt, was allegedly raped in a car in south Delhis Moti Bagh area by accused Avneesh (28), driving a car which had a sticker of the Home Ministry on December 14. The accused driver was arrested on December 15. Many cities still committed to rail transit Hopefully COVID kills LRT (Aug. 13) I read with some interest this letter to the editor where the author describes LRT as a monstrosity and relic of a bygone era. I wonder if hes aware that cities across Canada are still committed, despite COVID, to investing tens of billions of dollars in new rail base transit. For example Calgary just agreed to spend $3 billion on its third light rail line, the Green Line. Just down the QEW our own provincial government is spending $30 billion to built new light rail and subway lines in and around Toronto. The author seems to be the relic here when it comes to future-oriented sustainable transportation. Perhaps he feels Hamilton is unique in this respect; it would be interesting to hear him elaborate why. Tom Broen, Hamilton Who would have guessed Trump is a witch? U.S. President Donald Trump said the inquiry into his income taxes is a witch hunt. In essence, he admits to being a witch. Who would have guessed! John Vesprini, Stoney Creek Wall Street only cares about the money Wall Street and Trump dont care about CNN spewing out justified comments against Trump. They care about the number of Americans infected by COVID-19, or about the number of deaths. They dont care that 20-40 million Americans are out of work. They dont care about the Black Lives Matter protests and riots in Spokane, Washington. Wall Street doesnt care that Trump says or tweets false claims on everything under the sun. They dont care that U.S/ China relations have soured. Wall Street doesnt care that Trump imposes baseless tariffs on Canada and other countries at a whim. Wall Street doesnt care that Trump makes baseless claims on a cure of COVID-19. Wall Street only cares that Trump keeps propping up the stock market with stimulus packages for every group under the sun. This is an all-out effort by Trump to get re-elected in November. In other words Wall Street and all of those Americans/Canadians heavily invested in the stock market dont care about any thing else and are happy with Trumps approach. This does not bode well for the Democratic party and the rest of the world in November. Ralph Corning, Stoney Creek We are glad to call Hamilton home Yesterday my husband fell in front of the Metro store on Fennel. We wanted to thank to the people who went out of their way to assist us. When we got home neighbours and friends helped clean him up and offer medical care. Hamiltonians have always been known to be helpful and these individuals did not disappoint. He did go to emergency and required four stitches. Also, the staff at St. Joes urgent care were fabulous. Once again thanks for caring and we are glad to call Hamilton home. Frank and Rose Hayes, Hamilton Lessons from a rare and thoughtful person Two out of town friends and I were having lunch in Hess Village on George St. A lady walking her two dogs stopped while one of her pets urinated just feet away from where we sat. My friends commented to her that it would be better if shed not do that so close to restaurant patrons. She walked away saying something to the fact shes just walking her dogs. There was no confrontation. But moments later she came back and apologized saying she simply wasnt aware of the impact and said she learned something. We were so overwhelmed with her humility and character our hearts melted. Such a rare and thoughtful person. Patrick Flynn, Hamilton WE story placement shows Liberal bias As a longtime subscriber I was extremely disappointed to have to read six pages in before seeing a very skimpy discussion of Trudeaus appearance before the House of Commons and his responses to the WE fiasco. We have a Prime Minister who continually flaunts ethics rules and demonstrates little to no common sense when it comes to using his position for the advantage of himself, his family and his supporters. I consider this a serious breach of the very things we need and should demand from our PM: trust, transparency and integrity. Shame on The Spec for trying to minimize this issue. If Trudeau knew enough that he wanted to make sure all the Is were dotted and all the Ts were crossed then you can bet your bottom dollar that he knew he was in a conflict of interest situation and that he should have recused himself from anything relating to the WE project. Your constant Liberal bias, editorial and otherwise, has left the Spec with no credibility as an objective information source. Michael Parente, Hamilton Trump cartoon was disturbing The comical cartoon of President Trump in your July 8 issue is disturbing on so many levels. We see and read more about this United States President than our own Prime Ministers very questionable ethics. I dont suppose Mr. MacKay could rummage around in his basement and find a picture of Trudeau with his hand in the cookie jar? Diane Schofield, Hamilton Harris selection adds a positive spark The selection of Kamala Harris as VP running mate to Biden puts a positive spark in the U.S. election campaign. Harris was the right selection at the correct time for a nation battered by the current pandemic, racial division not seen since the turbulent 60s in America and for a nation tired of Trump politics and controversies. It will now be up to the American voters this November to embrace change or continue with the current divisive administration. It is also worth noting that Harris as a teenager attended high school in Montreal while her mom was a professor at McGill University. The first jury trial at the 19th Judicial District Court in five months got underway Monday as prospective jurors wearing masks and practicing social distancing reported to the downtown Baton Rouge courthouse amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Dozens of potential jurors from East Baton Rouge Parish initially gathered in the large jury management room on the courthouse's first floor, then panels of 14 prospective jurors were taken to a second-floor courtroom for questioning throughout the day. Members of the prosecution and defense teams also wore masks. Each prospective juror had their temperature checked via a hand-held thermometer as they entered the courthouse, as did all visitors to the building. By the end of the day, a 12-person jury and two alternate jurors had been selected to hear the case of Thomas James Green Jr., who is charged in domestic violence-related incidents with attempted second-degree murder and communicating false information of a planned arson. Opening statements and witness testimony will begin Tuesday in the 19th JDC's large 11th-floor courtroom. Retired Orleans Parish Criminal District Judge Raymond Bigelow is the presiding judge. East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III said he appreciated all of the parties and the court working to "start to get us back to a new normal." +2 Jury trials in Louisiana suspended until June 30 due to coronavirus pandemic There will be no criminal or civil jury trials in Louisiana state courts before June 30, Louisiana's highest court announced, citing the ongoi Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up "Things are constantly changing and we will continue to adapt," he said. "Once this trial concludes we will all get together to review the process and take input from all involved to continue to make the process the best it can be." Moore said juror comfort and safety have been and will continue to be a priority. Green, 61, is the alleged victim's ex-boyfriend. An arrest warrant alleges Green told the woman he was going to kill her and then struck her in the face several times with a silver chain wrapped around his hand on Jan. 9, 2018, on Stanford Avenue. Another warrant states that Green broke the front window of the Mills Avenue residence the woman was renting on Dec. 24, 2017, and told the owner he would burn it down if she was not evicted. East Baton Rouge Parish grand jurors went back to work in the 19th JDC in mid-June. No indictments had been handed down since March 12. Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a statewide stay-at-home order March 22 in an effort to halt the spread of COVID-19. The 19th Judicial District Court is planning to have no more than one criminal trial per week to limit the number of people in the courthouse. Even before Covid-19, teachers were leaving the profession in droves. According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, the national teacher shortage is looking dire. Every year, fewer and fewer people want to become teachers. You would think states would panic upon hearing this. You would think theyd take steps to retain quality teachers and create a competitive system that attracts the best, brightest and most passionate to the profession. Thats not what they do. They slash the education budget, which forces districts to cut jobs (increasing class size), put off teacher raises and roll back the quality of teachers health care. They ignore teachers pleas for buildings without black mold creeping out of ceiling tiles, for sensible gun legislation, and for salaries we can live on without having to pick up two to three additional part-time jobs. So, a lot of good and talented teachers leave. When state leaders realized they couldnt actually replace these teachers, they started passing legislation lowering the qualifications, ushering underqualified people into classrooms. This has been happening for years. Were about to see it get a lot worse. My school is filled with the kind of teachers you would handpick for your own kids if you could. When the pandemic started shutting our area down in March, we dived into remote learning, going above and beyond. We called weekly sometimes daily to check on students whose parents had lost their jobs, whose family members had contracted Covid-19 or who we just knew were struggling. It was the hardest thing any of us remember in our careers, including teaching during Hurricane Harvey, which flooded tens of thousands of homes in this area. We were proud of ourselves, of each other, of our students. And then the education secretary, Betsy DeVos, told us while Covid-19 numbers continued to surge to get back in the classroom. Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., who recently pleaded guilty to murders and other crimes connected to the Golden State Killer, in court in 2018. (Jose Luis Villegas / Associated Press) In his court appearances, the man known as the Golden State Killer sits with a slack face, hunched in his wheelchair, thin and pale. At a hearing in June where he formally admitted his crimes, the 74-year-old was barely able to utter "guilty" and "I admit" to charges of 13 murders and 50 rapes. But prosecutors allege that video recordings of Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. while behind bars show a much different man, one they want to show the public. "The defendant has come to court, oftentimes with his mouth agape, his head cocked to the side, his hands twisted and held in an awkward angle," Sacramento County Deputy Dist. Atty. Thienvu Ho told a judge Monday. "The blank stare, the halting answers that sometimes burst forth in gasps of breath, might lead some to suspect or later contend that he is physically or mentally deficient," Ho said. "He has portrayed himself as being feeble and frail, as someone who is physically unable to express remorse....The fact of the matter is, he consciously chose not to do so." But a Sacramento County Superior Court judge on Monday denied a request by prosecutors to unseal the jailhouse tapes and play them in court, calling evidence of a fitter, even agile DeAngelo meaningless to the 26 life sentences the judge is scheduled to hand to him Friday. "Whether or not he can stand up on his bunk or not stand up on his bunk is of little relevance," Judge Michael Bowman said in a brief pre-sentencing court hearing held by video chat and streamed live on the court's YouTube channel. Monday's hearing marked the start of an extraordinary week in the criminal case, when dozens of the Golden State Killer's victims or their relatives are expected to confront DeAngelo in court and deliver victim impact statements. DeAngelo, a former police officer, terrorized California for more than a decade. His crimes ran from at least 1973 to 1986 and involved attacks on at least 106 children, men and women in 11 counties, ranging from Sacramento to Orange. Some 50 women and girls were raped and 13 people murdered, including couples bludgeoned to death in bed. Story continues Shortly after his arrest in April 2018, DeAngelo was placed in one of the few jail cells that allow video monitoring. Prosecutors told Bowman that public defenders were aware of the recordings, intended in part to ensure that no harm came to the jail's most notorious occupant. Prior to his arrest, DeAngelo was active, riding a racing bike through his suburban Sacramento neighborhood, or his motorcycle on the freeway. But since then, he has looked frail and feeble, and has shed a dramatic amount of weight. In June, during an eight-hour proceeding held at a university ballroom to accommodate both COVID-19 safety measures and a throng of victims and their family members, sheriff's deputies rolled DeAngelo onto the elevated platform in a wheelchair. His defense lawyers said DeAngelo requires a cane but could walk the wheelchair was used at the request of court security officers who sought a quick way to remove DeAngelo from the room if needed. Prosecutors and some victims allege DeAngelo has cultivated an image as a frail old man in an effort to evoke sympathy from the court and perhaps better prison housing. They say it is an affront to those who seek to see the former cop and family man who lived a double life as a serial killer show some measure of remorse. But while they point out sharp disparities in DeAngelo's appearance in and out of court, prosecutors have stopped short of openly accusing him of fakery. "If you were to put that evidence in front of a jury, I think they could conclude one thing. And I think those victims know exactly what's going on in Mr. DeAngelo's head," Sacramento County Dist. Atty. Anne Marie Schubert said after the June hearing. "I would love to know who he really is," said Kris Pedretti, who was 15 in 1976 when she was repeatedly raped by DeAngelo. "Like, I know it's an act." Victims already have heard their own stories of a dual DeAngelo. A jail official, for instance, told Pedretti of watching DeAngelo joking one day with his guards, until three people from the district attorney's office walked into the room. "When he saw them, he reverted right back to not being able to speak and being weak," she said the officer told her. At the June hearing, DeAngelo entered guilty pleas to 13 murders and 13 counts of kidnapping for robbery each carrying a life sentence. In addition, he admitted raping 50 women and girls, and threatening and torturing their male companions. In return, prosecutors agreed to not seek the death penalty. Instead, in a measure of the extraordinary nature of the crimes, they ask that DeAngelo be sentenced to 11 consecutive life without parole sentences, plus 15 more life sentences to be served at the same time. DeAngelo's public defenders did not object to the prosecutor providing the court with sealed copies of the videos to be considered by the judge during sentencing, but they opposed a public showing. "Theres nothing about his demeanor in court that shows a lack of remorse," said one of his lawyers, Alice Michel. She called the tapes "completely irrelevant. Its a grotesque violation of his privacy." Ho attempted to enter at least a description of what is on the sealed tapes into the court record, saying they include an incident when DeAngelo climbed up on something in his cell in order to adjust the lighting. He also attempted to tell the judge that other tapes show DeAngelo "committing a sexual act while watching someone outside of the cell" before Judge Bowman cut him off. Attorney Shaffer T. Cormell It is truly an honor to be recognized as an Elite Lawyer by my fellow peers in the legal community. At The Law Offices of Shaffer Cormell, we are committed to providing our clients with exceptional legal representation in all criminal matters with our vast knowledge of the law, Cormell commented. Elite Lawyer is a directory and rating service that awards and recognizes attorneys who have displayed a high level of competence in their practice area and received recognition from their peers, community, bar, and committees. It serves as a comprehensive resource for attorneys, and an easy-to-use directory for potential clients who are looking to hire a highly respected lawyer. Only the most outstanding and experienced attorneys receive the Elite Lawyer award through a rigorous selection process. In 1999, Shaffer opened his private practice, The Law Offices of Shaffer Cormell. With offices located in Blythe, Indio, Banning, San Bernardino, and Fontana, he represents clients charged with criminal offenses. With nearly 30 years of experience, Shaffer is skilled in all aspects of criminal law, including DUI, drug crimes, expungements, probation violations, and traffic tickets. Prior to starting his own firm, Shaffer was the Judge Pro-Tem for Riverside County Superior Courts from 1997-2007. In addition, he is a Former Adjunct Professor of Law at Palo Verde College. Shaffer is a member of the California Public Defenders Association, the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, and the California DUI Lawyers Association. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from the Simon Greenleaf School of Law - Trinity University in California. It is truly an honor to be recognized as an Elite Lawyer by my fellow peers in the legal community. At The Law Offices of Shaffer Cormell, we are committed to providing our clients with exceptional legal representation in all criminal matters by utilizing our vast knowledge of the law. We consider it a privilege to advocate on our clients behalfs to seek justice in every case, Cormell commented. About The Law Offices of Shaffer Cormell The Law Offices of Shaffer Cormell understand that a clients freedom, reputation, and occupation are often at stake. Attorney Shaffer T. Cormell has extensive experience in criminal law. He is committed to helping defendants successfully navigate the criminal justice system by keeping up to date with current developments in the area of criminal law. To learn more about The Law Offices of Shaffer Cormell, visit https://www.californiacriminalattorney.us/ or call 888-922-5051 to schedule a free consultation. To learn more about Elite Lawyer, visit https://www.elitelawyer.com/ or call 630-209-6660. Grant, Konvalinka, and Harrison, P.C. Director Brittany T. Faith has been chosen by the American Bar Foundation as one of its 2020 Fellows. Fellows are recommended by their peers and elected by the Board of the American Bar Foundation. The ABF limits membership in the fellows to 1 percent of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. The selection process includes peer nomination, after which the ABF board votes on inclusion. Six lawyers from Tennessee were honored this year. Fellows must demonstrate outstanding dedication to the highest principles of the legal profession and welfare of their communities. Fellows support the research of the American Bar Foundation through annual contributions and sponsor seminars and events of direct relevance to the legal profession. Ms. Faith was also appointed to be the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division YLD Council in the senior leadership position of co-director of the ABA Young Lawyers Division Practice Services Committee. This is the highest position held in the ABA YLD by a Tennessee young lawyer since 2005. She will be responsible for the ABA YLD over 25 practice orientated committees that enhance the ABA member experience. She previously served as the Chair of the ABA YLD Immigration Committee. Ms. Faith is a member of GKH's Immigration Group and focuses her practice on immigration, including family-based immigration petitions, employment-based petitions, and humanitarian relief. She is committed to providing personalized, cost-effective immigration services for her clients around the world and across the U.S. Brittany has shown passion and dedication to improving the practice of law for attorneys across the United States, said GKHs Managing Partner David Harrison, We are proud of her accomplishments and expect there will be many more in her future. A Bhadohi court on Sunday sent Nishad Party MLA Vijay Mishra to 14-day judicial custody. He was taken to the Naini Central Jail. Bhadohis Gyanpur MLA was arrested in a case of criminal intimidation and wrongful confinement lodged by his relative against him, his wife Ramlali Mishra, a member of the state legislative council, and son Vishnu Mishra. Their relative had accused them of land grab after threatening him. Bhadohi Superintendent of Police Ram Badan Singh said the MLA was presented before the court of Judicial Magistrate Alok Kumar. He was remanded in 14-day of judicial custody, the SP said. The SP said the jailor of the district jail, Ashok Kumar Gautam, had informed that the MLA was not safe there, following which he was taken to the Naini Central Jail. The DM has issued orders to shift the MLA to central jail, he said. A police team from Bhadohi had on Saturday arrested Mishra, detained by the Madhya Pradesh Police in Agar Malwa on its request. Mishra was detained by the MP Police on Friday while he was on his way to Kota in Rajasthan via Ujjain. The SP said after arresting the MLA, the UP Police team led by DSP Kalu Singh produced him in a court at Madhya Pradeshs Agar Malwa and brought him to Bhadohi on a transit remand. Vijay Mishra, his wife Ramlali Mishra and son Vishnu Mishra were booked under Sections 323 (voluntary causing hurt), 347 (wrongful confinement), 387 (putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt), 449 (house-trespass) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The MLA currently has 73 cases registered against him and has been booked under the Goonda Act and the stringent National Security Act in the past. Christophe Girard, the ex-deputy mayor of Paris who resigned over links to the controversial writer Gabriel Matzneff, has denounced allegations of sexual abuse of a minor published in The New York Times. The accusations come from 46-year-old Aniss Hmaid, who maintains he was groomed at the age of 15 by Girard when they met in Tunisia, leading to a 10-year abusive relationship that he alleges left him with "long-term psychological injuries". Girard's lawyer Delphine Meillet issued a response to the allegations published in The New York Times saying: "Christophe Girard refutes these indictments and will do so resolutely," underlining that she plans to sue the American daily for "slanderous defamation" of her client. According to Hmaid, as published in the article, Girard sexually abused him when he was 16 years old and coerced him into sex around 20 times over the following years. In exchange, Hmaid says that Girard occasionally employed him as a household worker in his summer residence in the south of France and "obtained temporary jobs for him in the Yves Saint Laurent [fashion] house" where he was one of the main executives before entering politics. "He took advantage of my youth, my young age...for his sexual pleasures," Hmaid claimed, adding that he considered denouncing Girard to the authorities but was dissuaded by his mother who considered him "too powerful". Girard, who was cross-examined by prosecutors in March over links to the alleged Matzneff paedophilia affair, resigned on 23 July as deputy Paris mayor in charge of culture, after being condemned by elected environmentalists allied to Mayor Anne Hidalgo. The investigators found that Girard, secretary general of the Maison Yves-Saint Laurent from 1986-1987), had provided financial support to Matzneff in the 1980s. Matzneff was targeted by an investigation for "rape of minors" by the Paris prosecutor's office after the autobiographical novel by Vanessa Springora, in which she describes a sexual relationship with the writer when she was a minor. (with wires) Amid the growing controversy over reports that Facebook went soft on hate speeches and posts by BJP leaders, a spokesperson of the social media company on Sunday (August 16) said that the company prohibits content that can incite violence and enforces policies globally regardless of political position of anybody. "We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence and we enforce these policies globally regardless of anyones political position or party affiliation. While we know there is more to do, we're making progress on enforcement and conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy," asserted Facebook spokesperson. The controversy started on Friday (August 14) after American daily Wall Street Journal published a report accusing Facebook of being biased in its functioning in India as the social media company kept aside its hate speech policy and allowed BJP leaders to post hateful comments and messages on Facebook. The WSJ report added that Facebook did so only to maintain good relations with BJP government in India. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi also shared the article titled "Facebook Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics - Company executive opposed move to ban controversial politician" that highlighted how Facebook and WhatsApp failed to take action against BJP leaders for posting objectional materials and hate speeches. It is to be noted that WhatsApp is also owned by Facebook. Rahul also accused the ruling BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of controlling Facebook and WhatsApp in India. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday (August 16) hit back at Rahul by tagging him "losers who cannot influence people even in their own party". "Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by BJP & RSS. You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica & Facebook to weaponise data before the elections & now have the gall to question us?" the minister said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:55:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) --A new study published in the journal Nature may help prevent locusts from gathering in large swarms that cause widespread damage to crops. A research team, led by the Institute of Zoology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has found that a smelly compound emitted by locusts can attract the insects in the wild, forming a giant cluster. According to the study, a compound called 4-vinylanisole or 4VA, has been identified as an aggregation pheromone that is responsible for the swarm behavior. It can be triggered by aggregation of four to five locusts, and its production increases with the population density. The scientists also discovered that both gregarious and solitary locusts are strongly attracted to 4VA, regardless of age and sex. Upon further testing, they found the compound could be sensed by a receptor, called the OR35 gene, on an antenna of the insect. When the scientists used gene-editing technology to eliminate the gene in locusts, the insects became incapable of responding to the compound. Lead researcher Kang Le said the aggregation pheromone was a hard-earned discovery. "A locust has more than 100 receptors, and it has been found so far to emit 35 odorous compounds. So, our team has undertaken a huge amount of tests to find the receptor that matches the compound 4VA," Kang said. "This finding is exciting because it indicates that a locust can be engineered to be immune to the effects of the pheromone," scientist Leslie Vosshall, also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, wrote in an accompanying article on the study. Many countries around the world are suffering severe locust plagues this year. Current methods like aerial spraying of pesticides can harm beneficial insects and the environment. The discovery may inspire scientists to use locust compounds to combat this threat. According to scientists, possible control measures include laying pheromone traps to lure locusts, and using gene-editing technologies to prevent locusts from sensing 4VA, thus preventing swarms. Enditem Seattle Thought It Was Getting Reform The Buck Stops With Them Police chiefs are always carrying out a balancing act, caught between the demands for accountability from elected officials and the public on the one hand and resistance in the ranks on the other.Youve got two main constituencies youve got the community and youve got the cops, says Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a research and consulting group. Youre not allowed to lose either of them and keep your job.Given the intense pressure policing is now under, a number of chiefs have lost their jobs. Last Monday, Seattle Chief Carmen Best stepped down hours after the city council voted to cut her departments budget by $100 million (including a slight salary cut for Best herself).In recent weeks, chiefs in Atlanta, Louisville, Milwaukee and Portland, Ore., have resigned, been fired or demoted. In some cases, their departures were prompted by deaths or other high-profile incidents. But chiefs everywhere understand theyre under far greater scrutiny following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 and the wave of anti-racism and policing protests that followed.There is a movement in this nation and in this country to remove the teeth of the police, wrote Tim Altomare , who stepped down as police chief of Anne Arundel County, Md., last month. It is wrong and it will have grave and lasting effects that you will see and feel.Its not only chiefs who are feeling unloved. Some 2,000 New York City cops have retired or put in their paperwork this year, an increase of about a third compared to last year. Police supporters argue that hostility toward law enforcement and certainly budget cuts are contributing to an increase in homicides in major cities.Thats an argument that no longer cuts it in cities where attitudes toward police have shifted rapidly and dramatically this year. On Thursday, the Austin City Council unanimously approved cutting the police departments budget by $150 million, or 35 percent.Ironically, its the places most intent on changing police practices that are putting the greatest pressure on their chiefs. That makes it almost certain that more chiefs will call it quits.Its hard to know what success will look like for todays police chief, Wexler says.In the end, police chiefs themselves will be the ones who implement any new policies that activists or the general public want. Demanding greater accountability is at the root of police reform, but chiefs will also require political support if theyre expected to have any success changing the culture and practices of their departments.The protesters are right in thinking the system can be greatly improved by change, says Brandon del Pozo, former chief of the Burlington, Vt., police. Progressive cities are alluring to progressive chiefs because they provide a canvas for reform, but what were seeing right now before our eyes is progressive cities are relentlessly unforgiving to progressive chiefs.Over the past five years, the budget of the Seattle police department has increased by $100 million, or 36 percent. Among other changes, the force emphasized de-escalation, better approaches to dealing with people experiencing mental health crises and more community involvement and oversight. Officers also got healthy pay increases.In May, the city filed a motion to terminate its federal consent decree , claiming it had enacted comprehensive reforms. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan appointed Best as chief in 2018 largely because she enjoyed support from community groups.Of all the major cities in America, Seattle had the chief that not only understands the lived experience of Black America because it is her experience, but has the deep experience in policing needed to change it, Durkan said. Its why its been so mystifying to watch the City Council plow ahead without ever consulting her.The idea of reforming or modernizing police practices is not something brand new. Ideas such as de-escalation training and limits on use of force remained controversial after the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., in 2014. At this point, they arent.On Thursday, the U.S. Conference of Mayors released a report outlining principles for improving policing that included de-escalation training, limits on the use of force and increased accountability and transparency. Our police, which exist to prevent crime, cannot do so without public trust, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who chairs the conferences working group on police reform and racial justice, said during a telephone news conference.The mayors explicitly rejected the idea of defunding the police. They also recognized that, in order to make change happen, chiefs need to be able to run their departments, including overseeing disciplinary actions that are often farmed out to arbitrators.If we want chiefs to be responsible for the actions of their departments, we need to give them authority, Lightfoot said.The average big-city police chief is lucky to last five years. Baltimore is on its fifth police commissioner since Freddie Gray died in police custody in 2015. Oakland, Calif., has gone through a dozen chiefs over the past two decades.All chiefs understand that, as the leader and public face of their departments, theyre ultimately going to be held accountable when officers kill individuals or otherwise abuse their authority. Chiefs will sometimes lament, your greatest risk is what somebodys going to do at 3 a.m., when youre in bed asleep, says Joseph Schafer, a criminologist at St. Louis University.Despite the number of high-profile police killings in recent years, most chiefs could make the calculation that they wouldnt have to confront that type of problem themselves. But at this point, much of the public believes that a tragedy like George Floyds death could happen anywhere. Every police chief today knows theyre one bad car stop away from losing their job, says Wexler, of the Police Executive Research Forum.An incident can end a mayors career, too. The question for political leaders, therefore, is how much patience theyre willing to display when theres a troubling incident. It disrupts the good work innovative chiefs are doing if we have zero tolerance for anything bad happening on a chiefs watch, Schafer says.In Tucson, Ariz., Police Chief Chris Magnus offered his resignation in June, after bodycam footage showed Carlos Ingram-Lopez, who died in police custody, had been kept handcuffed and face down on a garage floor for some 12 minutes. The three officers involved resigned, with Magnus saying they would have been fired otherwise.City manager Mike Ortega refused Magnus resignation.I appreciate the direct accountability and responsibility he took for his team, but his resignation will not help us continue to transform our police department, Ortega said in a statement. Under Chief Magnus leadership, our police department has developed into one of the most progressive in the country.Things played out differently in Atlanta. Erika Shields was known as a reform-minded chief, who had mandated that body cameras always be on, implemented de-escalation training and handed out lengthy suspensions following use-of-force incidents. She resigned on June 12, hours after an officer named Garrett Rolfe shot and killed a suspect named Rayshard Brooks in a Wendy's parking lot. (Rolfe was charged with murder several days later.)"Sadly, it's the unforgiving environment we're in," wrote Atlanta-based journalist Maria Saporta . "Atlanta is losing a calming police chief who has been implementing the very reforms protesters are rightfully demanding of police departments throughout America." A team of researchers from UC Berkeley and three other universities built an interactive website to illustrate how different policies affect employment and the number of deaths from the virus As states and cities grapple with how to reopen businesses, schools, and other staples of everyday life amid surges in COVID-19 infections, Asst. Prof. Abhishek Nagaraj and a team of researchers across four universities are building an interactive website that shows how different policies affect employment and the number of deaths from the virus. The Reopen Mapping Project illustrates that the same limits on social interactions can have very different consequences in different locations, underscoring that the most effective policies must be tailored to local characteristics such as population density, age, and employment and movement patterns, Nagaraj says. It also illuminates a phenomenon that's playing out in real time: Denser cities and places that were relatively less affected early in the pandemic are likely to see faster growth in cases as they loosen restrictions "In different cities, the patterns in which people mix and meet each other is extremely local," he says. "Every specific city has its own fingerprint in terms of mobility, and that of course has a major impact on the spread of the virus." The website, which Nagaraj is building with a team of economists and transportation scientists from Berkeley, Stanford University, Harvard University, the University of Chicago and the urban planning platform Replica, aims to complement ongoing studies across epidemiology, public health, and social science to forecast trade-offs between different reopening policies. The interactive site is based on a database of anonymous cellphone location data to model how individuals within a city move around on a typical day, allowing the researchers to estimate the number of "contacts" the average person encounters--whether it be a family member, co-worker, or someone in the grocery store. The model also incorporates electronic medical records data, surveys on people's ability to work from home, and insights from the growing global body of COVID-19 epidemiology literature. (The site is meant as a preliminary tool, and the researchers encourage anyone interested in applying it to a real-world application to contact them. They've also open-sourced the data and code behind their models on Github.) Currently, the online tool allows users to choose a city--initially it's Chicago, Kansas City, New York City, Houston and Sacramento, but the researchers plan to add data for more cities as it becomes available--and then choose a policy mix. They can then see how that mix changes the number of jobs lost and the estimated number of lives lost due to the coronavirus. Chicago vs. Sacramento In a recent working paper that served as the basis for the Reopen Mapping Project website, the researchers considered differences across two of the cities: Chicago and Sacramento. On a typical day before COVID-19, the average person under the age of 50 in Chicago encountered twice as many people relative to someone over 80. This gap was much less pronounced in Sacramento, however. They also found differences across industries in the two cities. For example, health workers in both cities encountered over 350 contacts daily pre-pandemic. Yet the simulation revealed that the average worker in Chicago--across all industries--encountered about 50 more people daily than the average worker in Sacramento. The model allowed the authors to construct estimates of the number of specific contacts people had across age groups. Unsurprisingly, the results illustrate that the majority of a person's interactions are with people in the same or similar age groupings. But in terms of protecting the most vulnerable, it is important to also know how many encounters the average young person has with the elderly population: In Chicago, for instance, adults under 50 were in contact with people over 60 for about 50% more time relative to adults in Sacramento. The researchers modeled how infection and employment rates evolve when a city moves from a policy of only essential workers going in to work (what they call Phase 2) to a less-restrictive cautious reopening policy where people go back to work and school, but social interactions are still limited (Phase 3). In both example cities, they modeled what would happen when most of the workforce returns to in-person activities under cautious reopening. In Chicago, this would cause infection rates to rise to the point where about 4% of the population would become infected. A similar pattern emerges in Sacramento, but with a considerably lower rate of infection--peaking at about 1%. They then considered alternative Phase 3 reopening scenarios that have been proposed. In the first hypothetical scenario, which they call isolate 60+, mobility is not restricted for younger people but people aged 60 or older must limit their movement to only visiting local stores. Under the second scenario, work from home if possible, those who can work from home do so, but schools reopen. Lastly, under an alternating schedule scenario, people return to work and school but at different times: either alternating mornings and afternoons, or alternating days of the week. Density matters In Sacramento, the four different policy scenarios produced very similar results in terms of mortality rates, but implementing relatively more restrictive policies like alternating schedules led to an additional 8 million lost work days. In Chicago, however, the different policies have larger consequences on mortality. For example, work from home resulted in about 700 fewer deaths relative to the less restrictive cautious reopening scenario, with similar impacts on employment. Moreover, work from home is better for both mortality and employment relative to isolate 60+. If limiting deaths is the only goal, alternating schedules ranks as the best policy. The authors note that a hybrid solution, where those who can work from home do so, while other workers alternate schedules, would likely be even better for both health and the economy. ### In addition to Nagaraj and PhD student Matteo Saccarola from UC Berkeley, the project team is made up of Mohammad Akbarpour, Cody Cook, and Shoshana Vasserman of Stanford; Simon Mongey and Pietro Tebaldi of the University of Chicago; Hanbin Yang from Harvard; and Aude Marzuol from Replica. Partners also include the COVID Research Database and Stanford Medicine. Amber Heard just finished a rough July in London after being a witness to her ex-husband's trial against British tabloid The Sun. The "Aquaman" star has shared a lot of photos and videos while vacationing on Istanbul, Turkey. However, one photo that Amber Heard uploaded didn't quite sit well with social media users. On Saturday, Johnny Depp's ex-wife shared a picture of herself wearing a red headscarf and captioned the Instagram post on how she enjoyed her tours in Turkey. She wrote, "Spent the day wandering around the magic of Istanbul's mosques and couldn't be more in love with this gorgeous city." The 34-year-old star has also posted some snaps on her Instagram Stories, including a breathtaking view of the Turkish city. However, it was the picture of Amber Heard smiling and posing inside a mosque that many people took offense to, as it appeared that her photo also captured a person in the middle of the sacred temple praying. A Twitter user shared her disgust on her social media, saying, "That's a whole new level of disrespect to take a photo like that while someone is praying behind you." Another person, who is said to be a Muslim, called out the "Pineapple Express" star for not respecting the people praying inside the mosque, even accused her of racism. "Let me remind you that she called a dog terrorist and named it after an Arabic name. very disrespectful!" She was also heard laughing inside the mosque while people were praying inside, with several netizens taking offense, for she was invading their personal space. But the cherry on top of this entire controversy is her scandalous outfit while visiting a sacred place. People also noticed how Amber Heard was not wearing a bra. One commenter on Instagram said, "Amber Heard is the type of person who would go into a mosque braless just so she can be disrespectful and have something to post for her *fans* on Instagram." They continued, "I think this woman is on a mission to piss off the entire world so that she can pretend that people still care about her." Social media users also mentioned how Heard was trying so hard to look like she was a good person by visiting the mosque, saying, "Please stop this PR thing you're doing to make you look good, cause it's not." Another person tweeted out her fury, saying how beautiful everything is in Istanbul that Heard's n*****s are "popping out of her silky top." "This b**** is so disrespectful. COVER YOURSELF." Following the publication for an article that referenced the negative response to her, an angry Amber Heard sent out a tweet with the link to an article that said, "Nope. Apparently, whoever paid four this to b 'written' wasn't paid enough. I'll make it eas(ier): Mosques are real places. So are museums & churches. So are head scarfs (where they are sometimes required n order 2 visit)." Though Amber Heard addressed the red headscarf, she didn't mention her silky, see-see through top, which annoyed many netizens. READ MORE: Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes Breaking Up Soon; They Both Want Space? We have put more resources into every facet of our communities, but we know that even though Chicago is a city of sharp extremes, all the hard work we have done over this last year-plus will not survive if we dont have leadership and partnership in Washington, D.C., Lightfoot said. We need a president. We need an administration who are our allies, not our adversaries. Appears Joe has been creepy for 40 years. *****LJlO3EVcK8 Machilipatnam: Unaccounted cash worth Rs 4.4 lakh in new currency notes of Rs 2,000 was seized on Saturday from Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh, police said. The seizure was made in the early hours at Gosaveedu village of Gampalagudem Mandal from four persons after they were unable to produce appropriate documents and explain the source of cash, said Gampalagudem Sub Inspector P Siva Rama Krishna. Police suspect that the cash, stashed in a bag, was supposed to be handed over some persons who wanted it in exchange for old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. The four persons, allegedly involved in exchange of money on a commission basis were taken into custody and a case was registered against them. The case will be reported to the Income Tax department for further investigation, police added. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. In more than a dozen interviews, epidemiologists, public health officials and infectious disease specialists said New York owed its current success in large part to how New Yorkers reacted to the viciousness with which the virus attacked the state in April. Loading State officials shut down schools and businesses, sacrificing jobs and weakening the economy to save lives. Adherence to mask wearing has been strong. Many vulnerable New Yorkers are still sheltering in their apartments. Others decamped to second homes. And, critically, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio reopened cautiously, deciding in late June against allowing indoor dining and bars after seeing those activities connected to outbreaks in other states. "People in New York have taken matters much more seriously than in other places," said Dr Howard Markel, a historian of epidemics at the University of Michigan. "And all they're doing is reducing the risk. They're not extinguishing the virus." Still a resurgence is all but inevitable, public health experts said. Local beaches have filled on hot weekend days. Diners flock to outdoor restaurants with plywood patios. More than 1.2 million people took the subway on a recent Tuesday, down dramatically compared to a year ago, but more than double what it was on a Tuesday in May. The streets of Times Square in Manhattan were eerily empty in March. Credit:Bloomberg The same models that predicted an increase in New York City for the summer now see a rise coming in the early autumn. Life can be lived outside for now, but will move indoors as the weather cools just as the flu season is ramping up. Schools are set to open in September. And confidence in the good numbers themselves could breed complacency about masks and distancing. Already, the city has seen a number of large illicit dance parties and a worrisome spike in cases in the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn. "I'm not optimistic about a sustained end to COVID-19 in New York," said Dr Irwin Redlener, director of the Pandemic Resource and Response Initiative at Columbia University. "Even though we had that horrible peak in April, when we were the epicentre, there are still millions of people who are vulnerable." Loading Among the biggest threats, officials and epidemiologists said, were out-of-state travellers, who continue to arrive in New York despite a state-mandated 14-day quarantine. The governor instituted the quarantine requirement for anyone coming to New York from a state with high infection rates. Eight states were initially affected; the list has since grown to 31 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. More than 160,000 people have been subject to the quarantine since the start of June, state officials said. But enforcement of the order is near-impossible, and the state could not say how many have actually quarantined. About 20 per cent of new positive cases in New York City have been connected to out-of-state travel, city officials said, with Florida, Georgia and New Jersey the top departure points. Last week, de Blasio said drivers entering the city could be pulled over at random to be informed of the state's quarantine rules. The majority of those reached by the city's contact tracers have not shared the names of anyone they might have infected: More than 12,500 people who tested positive did not give their contacts to the city, out of about 22,000 total. Those who did shared an average of between two and three contacts. But city officials could not say how many of those testing positive for the virus were already known to contact tracers in other words, how many new cases had a connection to a previous positive case. That is considered by infectious disease experts to be a key metric for gauging how under control an outbreak is. Dr Jay Varma, the mayor's senior adviser for public health, said the city's program had prevented "thousands" of new infections, based on the number of people identified as symptomatic contacts who said they were in quarantine. Just over 200 people have isolated themselves in a city-funded hotel since the start of June. "I don't think it's correct to insinuate that the work that we're doing is not having an impact when you clearly see the impact in terms of disease numbers in New York," Varma said. Patterns of infection around the state suggest New Yorkers, like most Americans, are chafing under pandemic restrictions. In New York City, neighbourhoods with the highest rate of infection are increasingly found in Manhattan Hell's Kitchen or the Financial District, for example, which are home to wealthier residents in addition to the parts of the Bronx and Queens that have long been hard hit. "My concern is complacency," the city's former top public health official, Dr Oxiris Barbot, said in an interview last month. Barbot resigned last week and voiced "deep disappointment" with de Blasio's response to the pandemic. She said the most important factor in New York's success so far has been broad acceptance of masks and social distancing, adding, "I think it would be foolish of us to not plan for an inevitable second wave." While antibody surveys have suggested one in five New York City residents may have already been exposed, public health officials do not believe herd immunity is behind the low numbers, or could be relied on in the future. What may protect New Yorkers who decide to buck the rules and gather in groups without masks is the fact that so many of their neighbours are still masking up, said Barbot. Loading "If a new infection gets introduced into the community, it will be a terminal transmission, meaning that it won't go any further," she said. "More people wearing face coverings seems to be in line with that." She cautioned that it was a theory and the data is not yet there. And even at the currently low levels, the number of new virus cases in New York City 386 reported positive on Tuesday out of 46,185 tested, according to state data is still too great for its contact tracers to effectively determine where people are becoming infected, said Barbot. The new norms of behaviour have to continue for the foreseeable future, she said. BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Water Resources on Sunday urged greater efforts in flood control as another flood in the Yangtze River will occur in its upper reaches. In the next three days, heavy rainfall and rainstorms are expected in parts of southwestern China, northwestern China, northern China and northeastern China, among other regions. Efforts should be made in flood prevention of the Three Gorges reservoir and reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, said E Jingping, minister of water resources. Meanwhile, countermeasures for rainfalls in northeastern China and floods in the Yellow River and Weihe River basins should be implemented, E said. Enditem Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, August 17, 2020 13:25 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e87eaf 1 Science & Tech Google-Doodle,Independence-Day,#Indonesia75 Free Google Indonesia celebrated the country's 75th Independence Day with its doodle on Monday. Created by Jakarta-based guest artist Martcellia Liunic, the illustration displays Indonesia's geographical landscape, iconic flora and fauna species, Sumatran tiger and Rafflesia arnoldii flower as well as panjat pinang (pole climbing), a traditional game of climbing a slippery pole. Martcellia, who is known for her colorful and whimsical animals artworks, said her work aimed to highlight the importance of the country's motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika (unity in diversity). Read also: After 75 years of independence, indigenous peoples in Indonesia still struggling for equal Independence Day was one of the biggest national holidays celebrated in Indonesia, she said, adding that the people usually decorated their neighborhood with festive decoration and national flags, hosted friendly competitions and a flag ceremony with the national anthem being sung throughout the day. In her illustration, she wanted to portray these festivities as well as the Bhinneka Tunggal Ika motto. As one of the most ethnically diverse societies, Indonesia consists of 1,300 ethnic groups, with at least 95 percent native to the archipelago. I also aimed to portray Indonesias natural beauty with the mountains, the sea and some of its remarkable animals, like the Sumatran tiger and the Rafflesia Arnoldii flower, she added. She expressed hope that, through her illustration, people would see Indonesia as a beautiful, diverse and festive country. (jes/kes) Traders remain concerned about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in many parts of the world including the United States, India and Brazil. The rise in infections continues to have a negative impact on global oil demand in August. Last week, India had reported its fifth consecutive y/y decline in oil consumption with Julys figures showing a 11.7% y/y decline in refined product consumption. This includes a decline in diesel and gasoline consumption by 19.3% and 10.3% y/y, respectively, leading to Indian refineries to operate below their capacity in the financial year 2020-21. OPEC, IEA and EIA lower their demand forecast OPEC and the IEA slashed their oil demand outlook in 2020 by 0.1 million bbl/d and 0.14 million bbl/d, respectively last week. Both reports which predicted a decline in crude demand by 9.1 million bbl/d and 8.1 million bbl/d, respectively weighed on positive sentiment, and kept oil prices in check. OPEC now forecasts global oil demand to reach 90.6 million bbl/d, only 0.38 million bbl/d above our forecast, while the IEA forecasts global oil demand to be 91.9 million bbl/d in 2020. The IEA also sees oil demand standing at 93.8 million bbl/d in Q3 and 96.7 million bbl/d in Q4 which is slightly higher than CMarkits forecast of 92.33 million bbl/d and 94.33 million bbl/d in Q3 and Q4, respectively. The weakest recovery continues to be in the jet fuel demand with July figures showing the number of aviation travelled kilometres 67% below pre-crisis levels. That may translate into a total jet fuel demand of 4.8 million bbl/d in 2020 which is 39% below the 2019 level, according to the IEA. Related: Investors Are Looking To China To Find The Next Tesla Furthermore, the EIA STEO released last week forecasts that global consumption of petroleum and liquid fuels will average 93.1 million bbl/d in 2020, down 8.1 million bbl/d y/y. This includes an expected average demand of 93.4 million bbl/d in July, which is a bit higher than our forecast of 90 million bbl/d. The US oil demand in Q2 is expected to have averaged 16.2 million bbl/d closely matching our forecast of 16.14 million bbl/d. Furthermore, the EIA lowered its US production forecast by 0.37 million bbl/d to an average production of 11.3 million bbl/d that is 0.4 million bbl/d below our previously published forecast. On the other hand, last weeks prices were supported by the EIA report which showed that commercial crude inventories continued to shrink, with a drop of 4.5 million barrels w/w to stand at 514.1 million barrels. This was also combined by a decline in gasoline and distillates inventories by 0.7 million barrels and 2.3 million barrels, respectively. U.S. oil production saw a major weekly drop of 0.3 million bbl/d, and the decline in rig count also continued as Baker Hughes reported that the total number of oil rigs fell by 4 for to stand at 172, a number that could be set to fall even lower. In terms of demand, U.S. demand reached 19.37 million bbl/d, the highest number since the outbreak of the COVID-19 crisis last March. Our forecast for US crude oil demand stands at 18.79 million bbl/d in Q3 and 19.19 million bbl/d in Q4, supported by encouraging EIA data. Compliance a key issue for upcoming OPEC+ JMMC According to Platts, OPEC-10 achieved a total compliance of 94% in July. Iraqs production in July stood at 3.77 million bbl/d, up by 0.07 million b/d m/m, leading to a compliance of 83%, down by 7% m/m. On the other hand, Angola met its commitment with production of 1.17 million bbl/d in July achieving a 103% compliance compared with production of 1.22 million bbl/d in June with an 89% compliance. Nigerias compliance also improved by 5% as its production declined by 0.02 million bbl/d m/m to stand at 1.56 million bbl/d in July. For the non-OPEC countries, compliance has been much better compared with the OPEC-10 with compliance in July standing at 99% compared with 94% compliance from the OPEC-10 leading to a total compliance of 96% for the OPEC+ in the month of July. The decline in compliance from the non-OPEC group is attributed to rising production in Russia, which increased output by 0.09 million bbl/d m/m leading to a compliance of 96% in July compared with 100% in June. Related: Why Fracking Activity Hasnt Increased As Oil Prices Recovered Nigeria is currently seeking exemption of its ultra-light Agbami crude to be considered as a condensate by IOCs, an issue that is not new for OPEC. In 2017, Nigeria had sought exemption of its Agbami crude when it had to stick to a production limit of 1.8 million bbl/d, reporting almost 450 thousand bbl/d of condensates, according to national figures, significantly higher than external estimates of 200-250 thousand bbl/d. In 1989, OPEC defined crude with an API higher than 50 as condensates. Yet, it is often hard to track condensate production and distinguish them from crude oil, as condensates can be blended with crude oil. Condensates are a mixture of light hydrocarbons, composed of NGLs and naphtha with an API of 45 to 120. It is naturally separated from natural gas upon production when its temperature and pressure decline to atmospheric conditions. Condensates are normally priced lower than crude oil as they contain more LPGs and light naphtha, yet some condensates are priced higher than crude oil itself because they contain up to 40% jet fuel and diesel with lower yields of residual fuels. According to Equinor, Agbami is classified as an ultra-light low-sulphur crude with an API density of 47.9, unlike Akpo, with an API of 46, which is classified as condensate by Total. Production of the Agbami crude ranges between 160 thousand bbl/d and 250 thousand bbl/d, and the majority of it is exported to China, India, Australia, Spain, Netherlands, and Brazil. If OPEC exempts Nigerias Agbami crude, as the case with Russia, then around 160 thousand bbl/d of production will be removed from Nigerias official production number, leading to a rise in compliance to 103% from just 65% in July. Other African producers namely Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon continue to produce well above their production targets, which continues to affect the groups total compliance rate, an issue that we expect to be on the agenda of the next JMMC. By Yousef Alshammari for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Editors note: This is part two in a three-part series. Click here for part one, How to Increase Black Productivity and Racial Equity and here for part three, Prioritizing Racial Equity for Inclusive Prosperity. Quality education, ownership of land, homes and businesses, along with consistent access to capital, all form the foundation of an economic infrastructure needed to build generational wealth. This formula isnt new. It is how white Americans built the U.S. economy and how Black Americans built prosperous communities following the Civil War, after the last enslaved Black people left the plantations of Galveston Island near Houston, Texas, on June 19, 1865 (a.k.a. Freedom Day and Juneteenth). The iconic Statue of Liberty remains a daily reminder of the death of chattel slavery and freedom for Black people in the United States. But freedom did not deliver economic opportunity and empowerment of Black people in a hostile whites-only nation in 1865. That required multiple acts of Congress, including a new Freedmens Bureau, a Civil Rights Act and three changes of the Constitution all within a span of less than seven years. History Matters The Freedmens Bureau, established by Congress in 1865 and managed by the Department of War, was the first economic strategy established by white progressive radicals to develop an infrastructure for 4 million newly freed Black refugees freed from bondage and entering into a whites-only nation with a whites-only citizenry with whites-only institutions of power, wealth and influence. The Freedmens Bureau was the federally funded source for Black people to receive land, homes, education, workforce training, entrepreneurial opportunities, jurisprudence and protection within a landscape of white hostilities. It was immediately attacked by white supremacists who insisted the nation remain a whites-only country. President Andrew Johnson was the lead antagonist. In 1872, the Amnesty Act empowered white supremacists to regain power in Congress, and they immediately cut funding for the Freedmens Bureau. In 1877, the secretive Great Compromise between northern whites and southern whites resulted in the removal of troops from the South. And by the time the Supreme Court in 1896 officially declared two separate, distinct Americas one white, wealthy and powerful, the other Black poor and powerless there had been at least 53,000 documented murders of Black Americans over a 30-year period. Thats 147 murders a month roughly five every day. White terrorism reigned in the south, which triggered a Great Migration to northern and western states that would last for 70 years. Black Prosperity Yet, in the midst of such widespread domestic terrorism, some Black communities found ways to prosper. The familiar economic foundation of education, ownership and access to capital were key elements. Prosperous communities were born, known as Black Wall Street. While Wilmington, North Carolina, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, were extraordinarily prosperous, both were targeted and attacked by white mobs and completely destroyed. In between the destruction of Wilmington in 1898 and the Greenwood community in Tulsa in 1921, there were dozens of white riots in cities large and small across the nation. In 1919, a.k.a. the Red Summer, 36 cities were under siege. And, Black families either fled or fought for their lives. In the 1950s and 60s, the federal government started offering local economic development planners 90% of the cost to build freeways out to newly developed suburbs the feds also subsidized through a process called urban planning. At the same time, governments, banks and the real estate industry incorporated a process of red lining that impeded both homeownership and access to capital for Black families, including most who could afford to live in suburbia. Meanwhile, the Economic Development Administration (EDA) introduced a strategy for developing prosperous communities that also ignored Black America. The Civil Rights Movement rose up during this era of economic sanctions and starvation of Black America. Black Innovation Nevertheless, Black innovation, creativity and tenacity would not be stopped. In a 40-year span following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, Black entrepreneurship skyrocketed from 187,000 Black-owned businesses in 1972 to more than 2.6 million in 2012. Yet, despite this phenomenal rate of Black entrepreneurship, the productivity output remained less than 1 percent of GDP, precisely where it has been for more than 100 years. Despite poor quality schools relegated to serve poor Black communities and the most vulnerable populations across Indiana, the problem of generational poverty cannot be blamed on a lack of Black creativity, innovation and risk-taking to establish, grow and scale businesses that can produce jobs and wealth. The problem today is, as it has been from the end of the Civil War, the structure of public and private sector policies and practices which deny critical investments to build an economic foundation and infrastructure conducive to fostering the growth of business and sustainable prosperity in Black communities. Today, Accelerate Indy is the kind of economic strategy for investing in an economic infrastructure that could potentially create economic conditions for growth and prosperity over the next five years among the Black population of Indianapolis, which represents roughly 30% of the total population, if that were its focus. This strategic planning process is similar to the CEDS planning followed by nearly every regions economic development planners and policymakers across the nation. But any economic strategy that intends to increase Black productivity in Indiana must prioritize investing in a culturally competent and capable economic infrastructure designed to address the 20th century systemic challenges inherited by the current body of policymakers and economic development leaders. Even Accelerate Indy acknowledges this point: concerns abound that the region and the state of Indiana as a whole is not viewed as place that is innovative or culturally sophisticated. Although proud of the growing organizational capacity, entrepreneurs noted that this capacity and culture that it seeks to develop is highly fragmented. Focus group participants noted a distinct absence of a single organization that coordinates the regional entrepreneurship community, serves to promote entrepreneurs locally and nationally and acts as a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial services. While many focus group participants identified the Business Ownership Initiative (BOI) as an important asset for the communitys entrepreneurial culture, others found that the services it offers are too basic for certain sectors or particularly high growth, high risk ventures. 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. Fourteen coronavirus patients, including one imported case, were confirmed in Vietnam on Monday, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said in a report. Six of the local cases were logged in Da Nang, four in northern Hai Duong Province, two in Hanoi, and one in central Quang Nam Province. The remaining case was imported from Equatorial Guinea. The Ministry of Health also announced 11 recoveries on Monday, including nine in Da Nang and two in Tra Vinh Province. Vietnam has reported 976 coronavirus patients, including 639 domestic cases, since January 23, when the country detected its first-ever infection. A total of 467 patients have recovered from the disease while 24 have died, most having underlying conditions. Vietnam has confirmed 499 community-based cases linked to Da Nang since July 25, when the beach city detected the first local transmission after the country had spent 99 days reporting no domestic detection. The nation is quarantining 107,642 people who had close contact with confirmed patients or entered the Southeast Asian country from virus-hit regions at the time of writing. The Vietnamese government has closed the border to foreigners since March, with exemption granted to foreign experts and skilled workers who are to undergo compulsory 14-day quarantine upon entry. Authorities have sent planes to evacuate tens of thousands of Vietnamese citizens stranded in other countries over COVID-19 travel restrictions. Over the past few weeks, relevant agencies have caught dozens of Chinese who made an illegal entry into Vietnam, one of them testing positive for the novel coronavirus on August 12. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- Considering that COVID-19 canceled all city events, the North Olmsted Arts Commission was looking for a way to keep the communitys youth engaged this summer. This led to the inaugural Life is Good in North Olmsted art contest, which encourages kids ages 4 to 17 -- divided into four age groups -- to submit one original work in the following categories: drawing (chalk, pencil, crayon), painting (watercolor, acrylic), three-dimensional art (sculpture, modern art, etc.), digital art and photography. This is a little bit personal, said North Olmsted Arts Commission Vice-Chair Keith Berendt, who is the project lead for the contest. I grew up in North Olmsted, but my artistic talents never really blossomed until I got out of school. Not that they werent there when I was younger, but I never happened to be in an environment that fostered that. Its important to encourage anybody who has a little bit of an artistic talent. Thats part of the role of the North Olmsted Arts Commission, he said. So I really wanted to encourage and nourish the artistic parts of peoples personalities to grow and for them to use it more in their lives. There is no entry fee for the contest, which has an Aug. 23 deadline. Were looking for art with kind of a purpose; thats why we have the theme Life is Good in North Olmsted, said Berendt, a 1979 North Olmsted High School graduate. We leave that up to interpretation. There are so many different things that people see that are good. It could be their neighborhood, family or school. It could be the squirrels in their back yards. Really, its up to the individual. Thats the way it should be. North Olmsted Arts Commission members will judge the work on representation of theme, message or idea being conveyed, innovative presentation, unusual perspective or viewpoint, skill and emotional impact. Notified by Sept. 1 via email, winners -- one grand prize from all art submissions, a first prize for each media type for each age group and honorable mentions -- will see their work posted on the Celebrate North Olmsted Facebook page, the North Olmsted city website and in other city publications. There will be some prizes from local art shops providing supplies, Berendt said. Were also looking at getting gift cards. The prizes are fairly minimal. This is not a high-stakes competition. Overall, we just want to encourage art as a hobby. Its a great outlet, especially with all of the emotions running high right now. Art is a safe way to express yourself. Read more news from the Sun Post Herald. At the last Republican convention, Alex Jones stole my spaghetti. We had both found ourselves at a dinner at some nice Italian restaurant in Cleveland, and Id wandered off to join a few reporters who were talking with Roger Stone at another table. When I came back, the InfoWars proprietor had taken my seat and my pasta, which he was then attempting to spoon-feed to another journalist. When youre a newsperson, moments like this are the real appeal of the conventions. Campaign operatives get a bit loose and tell you things they might not otherwise. You run into the bizarre hangers-on of the political world, like Jones, a conspiracy theorist who became an early and aggressive supporter of Donald Trump. And if youre lucky, like me, you might get an anecdote you can dine out on for a couple of years, because otherwise these things are largely newsless affairs. The final day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Reporters like to go to conventions because theyre fun. News organizations send those reporters partly as a show of force, proof that they can still put boots on the ground in our era of layoffs and diminishing revenues. The bigger outlets might even throw a party, complete with novelty guests like Stone. The next day, the journalists and operatives will all share stories about the person of some prominence who was booted from the party after a sixth martini. Not this year, though. Like nearly everything else in American life, the conventions are now online, and those so inclined will have to mix their martinis at home. This is, needless to say, something of a disappointment to those of us who love going to conventions for gossip or, if were trying to justify our presence to editors back home, the cultivation of sources. Decades ago, in a much different America, political conventions had a clear and distinguished purpose: It was where each party, every four years, chose their candidates for president and vice president. Delegates showed up from around the country to push for the selection of this or that candidate, stirring arguments were made from the main podium, and deals were hatched in rooms that were actually smoke-filled. Story continues That was then. Now we have these extended infomercials for each party, speeches that are forgotten the moment theyre finished, the awkward gyrating of largely symbolic delegates as some pop song drones in the background. Any surprises are on hold until something truly weird happens, like that time Clint Eastwood spoke to an empty chair. Actor Clint Eastwood addresses an empty chair during the final session of the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in 2012. (Jason Reed/Reuters) This is not to say that the conventions no longer have a reason to exist. Many Americans, were told by the people who claim to know these things, only start really paying attention to the presidential race once the conventions start. And this year, were informed by those same people, the conventions have taken on an outsized importance due to COVID-19, the spread of which has made traditional campaigning impractical or even dangerous. The irony, if you can call it that, of this outsized importance is that the conventions will be virtual this year. The comparison most frequently made is to a Zoom call or Google Hangout, which may steal away what little drama was left from what had already become scripted, choreographed displays of party unity. So, its fair to ask, whats the point of all this? From the perspective of the parties, conventions still make a lot of sense, first and most important because they get a lot of coverage. The networks will block out time for the major speeches. Many articles will be written and published. It will trend on Twitter. People, perhaps many millions of them, will tune in. Polling indicates that there arent all that many undecided voters this year. Still, in a close election, anything a party or candidate can do to slice away some small sliver of the electorate is worthwhile. The viewers and readers will hear and perhaps even absorb each partys core message, the central argument for why Joe Biden or Trump should win the election. And theyll be able to take a closer look at each partys rising stars, the Buttigiegs and AOCs and Hawleys and Haleys. In 2004, for example, Barack Obama an Illinois state legislator on his way to a Senate seat gave a speech that proved much more memorable and important than the one delivered by that years Democratic nominee, John Kerry. Keynote speaker Barack Obama, candidate for the Senate from Illinois, speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004. (Laura Rauch/AP) This is all worthwhile. Its good for people who dont obsess about political coverage to be reminded of what each party stands for, who the leaders are, how they act, what they say. The question, though, is whether these four-day virtual conventions will mean much of anything come November. Even when the conventions were high-drama affairs covered to the hilt by all the networks, the most the candidates could expect from them was usually a convention bounce in the polls that evaporated in a number of days. Why does the CW worry about the convention bounce if the CW also says the bounce dissipates within two weeks? wondered Newsweeks Conventional Wisdom Watch after the 1992 conventions. Then again, maybe this year is different. We really have little idea how these things will look, let alone how theyll play with voters. Maybe this weeks Democratic convention will be remembered as the moment when Biden opened up an overwhelming lead over Trump. Perhaps it will be remembered as the time Kamala Harris proved that she was Bidens clear successor, or the start of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs march to the nomination in 2028. Or maybe, next week when the GOP convention gets underway, Trump figures out how to reverse his fortunes with a great display of showmanship. Who knows. But whatever else happens this year, the conventions will be new and different. Its an opportunity for the parties and the candidates to be creative and do something we havent seen before. Even technical glitches, of which we should expect a few, hold the promise of making things less scripted and more human. If the conventions are failures, they are likely to be failures of the interesting kind. And when you think about it that way, its all sort of exciting, isnt it? _____ Read more from Yahoo News: A passion for barbecue and the opportunity to follow in their familys culinary footsteps is what led a pair of Upper Saucon Township teens to open The Barbecue Boys in Phillipsburg. Constantine Dean Zannakis, 19, a rising sophomore at West Chester University, and Andreas Andrew Zannakis, 17, a rising senior at Southern Lehigh High School, opened on Aug. 6 at 7 Union Square in Phillipsburg. The site, which previously housed Pearsons Crawdaddys, is across the free bridge from Pennsylvania and overlooks the Delaware River. PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of National Non-profit Day, OnPoint Community Credit Union today announced its employees have directed over $80,000 to the Urban League of Portland, Adelante Mujeres and the Oregon Zoo as part of its fourth annual Employee Giving Campaign. To broaden its impact across the region, OnPoint will split another $10,000 among four employee-selected regional non-profits: Greenhill Humane Society (Eugene), Willamette Valley Cancer Foundation (McMinnville), Saving Grace (Central Oregon) and The Giving Closet (SW Washington). "Our communities are facing unprecedented challenges, and these non-profits are working tirelessly to meet the ever changing and growing needs of our region," said Rob Stuart, President and Chief Executive Officer, OnPoint Community Credit Union. "As Oregon's largest credit union, it is our responsibility and honor to continue giving back. On behalf of our employees and members, we are proud to support these organizations' critical missions while advancing our own purpose of building strong communities, one person at a time." Each year, OnPoint's annual employee giving campaign donates $100 on behalf of each of its employees to select organizations that are making a difference in the community. The campaign resulted in gifts of $32,023 to the Oregon Zoo, $23,687 to Adelante Mujeres, and $25,290 to the Urban League of Portland. Typically held during the holiday season, due to the unprecedented community need created by COVID-19 and today's economic and social climate, OnPoint moved up this year's campaign. "OnPoint's generous gift to the Oregon Zoo Foundation will support the daily care of over 2,500 animals at the zoo during a time of great uncertainty and need," said Julie Fitzgerald, Oregon Zoo Foundation's Executive Director. "Every dollar helps continues our mission to provide education, animal welfare and conservation. We're profoundly grateful to have the support of this community." "We are so grateful to OnPoint Community Credit Union for partnering with us on our mission to educate, empower and provide entrepreneurship opportunities to Latina women and families in Oregon," said Bridget Cooke, Adelante Mujeres Co-Founder and Executive Director. "This support will help us deliver holistic programming to more than 9,000 people and ensure we can continue to respond to the needs of our community in these challenging times." About this year's recipients A community treasure since 1888, the Oregon Zoo provides exceptional experiences to inspire visitors to create a better future for wildlife and learn more about the realities of the natural world. With a record of national and international commendations for its accomplishments in education, animal welfare and conservation, the zoo is a community asset for learning and discovery. It is committed to conservation work to save animals from extinction here in the Pacific Northwest and around the world, while welcoming more than 1.6 million visitors each year. The zoo also hosts some of Portland's most treasured traditions, like the summer concert series and ZooLights. To learn more, visit https://www.oregonzoo.org. Adelante Mujeres (Women Rise Up) has a rich history of successfully engaging the Latinx and immigrant community by providing educational resources and acting as a forum for community advocacy. They do this by providing holistic education and empowerment opportunities to low-income Latina women and their families to ensure full participation and active leadership in the community. In 2019, the organization served 9,000 individuals, offering comprehensive, life-changing services and education programs, including Adult and Early Childhood Education, Chicas Youth Development, Beyond Trauma, Immigrant Solidarity, Civic Leaders, Empresas Small Business Development, Sustainable Agriculture, and the Forest Grove and Cornelius Farmers Markets. To learn more, visit https://www.adelantemujeres.org. The Urban League of Portland's mission is to empower African Americans and others to achieve equality in education, employment, health, economic security and quality of life. Established in 1945, the organization is one of the oldest African American service, civil rights and advocacy organizations in the area. As part of a network of over 90 National Urban League Affiliates across the country, the organization is recognized as one of the leading voices for African Americans and other people of color in the region. The Urban League of Portland acts as a coalition-builder amongst other African American organizations. It works extensively with both traditional and emerging African American groups, the faith-based community, minority businesses and other organizations of color, including immigrants and refugees. Programs include a distinctive blend of direct services, organizing, outreach and advocacy. They also offer workforce services, community health services, summer youth programming, senior services, meaningful civic engagement opportunities and powerful advocacy. To learn more, visit https://ulpdx.org. ABOUT ONPOINT COMMUNITY CREDIT UNION Founded in 1932, OnPoint Community Credit Union is the largest credit union in Oregon, serving more than 406,000 members and with assets of $7.5 billion. OnPoint membership is available to anyone who lives or works in one of 28 Oregon counties (Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Crook, Curry, Deschutes, Douglas, Gilliam, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Josephine, Klamath, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Sherman, Tillamook, Wasco, Washington, Wheeler and Yamhill) and two Washington counties (Skamania and Clark) and their immediate family members. More information is available at www.onpointcu.com or 800-527-3932. SOURCE OnPoint Community Credit Union Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chief Rod Sims has accused Google of spreading misinformation after the search giant claimed a new regulatory code could jeopardise its free services in Australia and increase privacy risks. Google on Monday intensified its opposition to a new bargaining code, proposed by the ACCC, that would force internet giants to negotiate with media companies to pay for their news content. Melanie Silva claimed the proposed code would hurt Australians who use Google search and YouTube. Credit:Louie Douvis The search advertising giant, which generated revenue of $4 billion in Australia last year, placed a warning message on its main search page about the new code, and used an open letter to argue the changes would "dramatically worsen" the experience for users. But Mr Sims said Google was spreading "misinformation" and its assertions were incorrect. "Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so," Mr Sims said. "Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so." By Edmund Wong My humble career in the tourism industry has given me the opportunity to experience some of the world's most dynamic tourism markets including Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia and New Zealand, and exotic places such as Bangladesh and Mongolia. Yet the years spent in these markets failed to prepare me for the raw potential that is Korea's tourism sector when I first came to Jeju Island six years ago. For instance, the fact that 70 percent of Korea's land mass is covered in unspoiled mountains is a true blessing for the country's tourism industry. Korea also offers a diverse range of different landscapes including beaches, valleys, marshes and rivers all just a few short hours away from each other. Coupled with Korea's cultural charms, hospitality and some of the world's most advanced public infrastructure, the nation truly has all the ingredients to offer the world a delectable tourism feast. All this notwithstanding, the question must be asked: Is Korea living up to its full tourism potential? According to a recent OECD report issued early this year, the average contribution percentage of tourism to the GDPs of member states amount to 10.4 percent while contribution to jobs records 10 percent. However, Korea's numbers stand at only 2.7 percent and 3 percent respectively. So to answer my own question, there still remains a good margin for the country's tourism industry to move upwards. I have observed how developed nations draw on tourism as an equal pillar of GDP growth on par with key industries like manufacturing, ICT and finance. Singapore is a good example. Since Singapore opened two integrated resorts Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa in 2010, its tourism economy received an immediate boost and became one of the fastest-growing sectors and directly contributed $17.7 billion in 2017 to the economy. The two integrated resorts were also credited for creating 20,000 jobs and many more spin-off effects to the country's economy. Tourism is undeniably one of the fundamental parts of national economies. And I believe this will become more paramount in the coming years as the capacity for businesses to create jobs will diminish with the advancement of AI technology since tourism remains a high human touch business. Behind the success cases of the world's most robust tourism markets lies a strong government initiative to cultivate tourism. Going back to Singapore's case, the Singaporean government provided investment policies specifically designed to ensure that businesses continue to grow and invest further. This "mothering" policy is the key reason behind its global reputation as a hotbed for foreign direct investment businesses know they will be taken care of when they invest in Singapore. When COVID-19 hit the globe, Singapore moved quickly to protect businesses from collapsing. This included radical support packages like corporate income tax rebate and payment deferment, temporary relief on contractual obligations and subsidies for wage increases. There are many perspectives and scenarios on how we will bounce back after the pandemic is over. I see great potential in Korea's unique allure that could be a great addition to its economy. Reevaluating and revitalizing the tourism sector would be imperative to elevating Korea's standing in the global economy. It is best positioned to become a beloved destination for world travelers with its beautiful natural heritage and rich culture. Koreans are naturally service-minded, and most importantly, the nation has the technology to add a competitive edge to the industry. The only question left is "Will the government ever see tourism as a fundamental pillar of the economy?" If Korea does, I am confident that tourism will emerge stronger as a GDP driver and a major job creator for the nation. Edmund Wong is the CEO of Jeju Shinhwa World. Q: What do you think about sending the kids back to school? A: Health professionals and teachers alike are receiving a lot of personal texts these days- family, friends, and even casual acquaintances all want to know, "What do you think about sending the kids back to school?" This a topic at the forefront of conversations nationwide right now. While some public school districts in more populated cities with a higher COVID burden (for example, Ann Arbor) have announced plans for starting this school year virtually, Midland Public Schools (MPS) are offering options to families. We may choose to send our kids back for in-person learning (so long as our region remains in Phase 4), or enroll them in a home virtual academy offered by MPS via online curriculum company Edgenuity. While I typically will refer to Midland schools below, I hope that the overall message is relatable to the many school districts. A survey with 202 MPS parent respondents facilitated by MPS parent Chrissy Tarrant showed that, as of mid-July, 39% of Midland parents were leaning towards in-person learning for their kids, 28% favored the virtual academy, and 27% were undecided. What is best for our children, as a major decision looms over us? As we consider return to in-person learning, each family must consider their own unique risks and benefits; this is not a "one answer fits all" situation. Did your family thrive with homeschooling under parental guidance from March through June? If so, I commend you, as it was a stressful time for the Sawaya parents and children alike. Is a close family member high risk for a complicated course if COVID rakes through the home? Virtual academy may be a wonderful fit for your family. On the other hand, many families have other considerations, such as who would stay home to supervise and teach the kids? What about finances? Or, simply, the kids and parents were notably more anxious/unhappy during March through June, as mental health may understandably suffer during the isolation and stress of a pandemic. In-person learning at school could be just right for you. The American Academy of Pediatrics released a statement in July which details considerations for moving forward with the school year, specifically with the bottom-line goal of physically having kids in school. This is the goal of the AAP when considering the entire population of American schoolchildren; it is based on considering whether the RISKS assumed upon returning physically to school are enough to outweigh the sweeping BENEFITS of in-person learning. The benefits are easily recognizable. Aside from providing education, school is critical to building social skills, facilitating physical activity, offering reliable nutrition, recognizing the need for and providing additional therapeutic services, and so much more. We may see more COVID in kids when they return for in-person learning due to increased exposure. While it is possible for the rare child to have a complicated course or death from the virus, the vast majority of kids tend to have milder cases compared to their adult counterparts. The families of students who attend school in-person would presumably have increased COVID exposure, as well. Some adults have a higher risk of complicated illness, such as those over 60 years of age and those with chronic issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, lung disease, or even obesity. While the AAP makes important recommendations on a national level, each family must consider its own circumstances when determining what is best for them. No matter what fraction of kids return to the classroom, in-person learning will require diligent efforts to reduce exposure to and spread of COVID. Desks should be spaced where there is the space to do so, masks should be strongly encouraged, frequent handwashing is necessary, and classes should be kept to their own cohort as much as possible. Side note: Teachers should be showered with e-mailed kind words of encouragement (or e-gift cards of appreciation!) whenever possible, as we health care workers welcome them to the front line when they didn't ask to be here. Finally, I do believe that parent attitudes heavily impact those of the children. We parents should do our best to project positivity to our kids, no matter which school option is chosen. The sooner your kids can practice wearing masks, the better! They should have input as to which mask is the most comfortable (we have bought Jaanuu masks in bulk after feedback from our kids). Our kids happily wore masks around 80 percent of Mackinac Island yesterday with minimal complaints as they know exactly why they were doing it and that it was expected- it's part of our "new normal" on the occasional days when we go out. We often talk about doing our best to be mindful of others. In these times of COVID, this includes diligent masking, social distancing, hand washing, and limiting elective outings. However, COVID isn't going away soon, so in the meantime, let's all do our best to limit its spread while moving forward with life. I support your right to choose what "back to school" looks like for your kids. And, if you see little Sawayas in the school halls with masks under their noses, let me know and we'll work on it. Rachel Sawaya, M.D., is a pediatrician with MidMichigan Physicians Group. SkinCeuticals Tripeptide-R Neck Repair is a fortifying, high-performance treatment that targets the neck for early to advanced signs of aging. The neck, notoriously one of the most challenging areas to treat, ages differently from the face and has its own specific signs of aging. These signs include bands, loose and sagging skin, submental fullness, discoloration, crepiness and wrinkles 5x deeper than the face. Additionally, the skin on the neck is susceptible to lines and wrinkles from repetitive movements such as looking down at mobile devices. SkinCeuticals Tripeptide-R Neck Repair is specifically formulated to address these concerns with a tri-functional corrective technology made up of three key ingredients. The Tripeptide-R Neck Repair's tri-functional corrective technology works strategically to target loose skin, horizontal neck lines and crepiness to combat signs of neck aging. Its key ingredient, Pure Retinol, is used at an optimized level specific for treating and fortifying neck's delicate skin to improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles. In a 16-week US Clinical Study, participants experienced a 27% improvement in neck skin crepiness, a 16% improvement in horizontal neck lines and a 16% improvement in neck skin elasticity. The formula boasts highly efficacious concentrations of the following breakthrough ingredients: 0.2% Pure Retinol a neck-specific dose helps fortify neck's fragile skin to improve the appearance of lines and wrinkles 2.5% Tripeptide Concentrate - low molecular weight tripeptide helps strengthen skin to build resilience and firm neck skin 5% Glaucine Complex - SkinCeuticals' new active ingredient supports skin's resistance to visible neck aging "Neck aging is a universal skincare concern, though not everyone realizes the neck requires its own, hyper-targeted treatment because it ages differently from the face" explains Christina Fair, US General Manager of SkinCeuticals. "We are so excited to introduce Tripeptide-R Neck Repair as it is truly an innovation in the neck aging landscape and works efficaciously on its own, while also complementing in-office procedures." On the demand for a product that addresses neck aging SkinCeuticals Partner Physician, Dr. Kelly Sullivan, explains "My patients have been asking for an effective neck product to complement in-office procedures for some time now, which is why I am so excited about the introduction of SkinCeuticals Tripeptide-R Neck Repair." She continues, "With the addition of retinol it addresses all of their concerns, such as neck bands, crepiness, skin discoloration and sun damage. It is the ideal product to address all of the problems with the aging neck." To use, apply 1-2 pumps every other night from the decollete to jawline. After one week, increase use to nightly, then twice daily as tolerated or as directed by a skincare professional. Pair Tripeptide-R Neck Repair with SkinCeuticals Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 to moisturize. In the morning, use a daytime vitamin C serum and sunscreen to brighten and protect skin. Visit skinceuticals.com/find-skincare-professional to locate a physician nearby who can recommend the best combination for individual skin types and concerns. SkinCeuticals Tripeptide-R Neck Repair is available for $120 at SkinCeuticals.com, as well as partner skincare professionals nationwide. ABOUT SKINCEUTICALS Founded in Dallas, TX in 1997, SkinCeuticals discovers, develops and delivers an advanced line of scientifically backed cosmeceutical treatments. As leaders in antioxidant and sun protection technology, SkinCeuticals products have been shown to dramatically improve skin health by protecting skin from environmental damage and visibly improving skin clarity, tone, and texture to minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. For more information, visit the brand on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, or at skinceuticals.com. CONTACT Laura Cummins at SkinCeuticals: (212) 984-4907 / [email protected] SOURCE SkinCeuticals Related Links http://skinceuticals.com The settlers of Puhoi came from Bohemia, which was the home of the Boii, a Celtic tribe who settled in central Europe in 300 BC. In 500 AD, Czech and Slavs settled there. They were ruled by dukes of the Premyslid dynasty good king Wenceslaus was one of these. In 1198, Bohemia was raised to the status of a hereditary kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire which was a collection of German states ruled by kings. The Pope was the leader in the spiritual world and the Holy Roman Emperor in the worldly realm. German and Latin were the official languages. Ottokar became the first Bohemian king. He and successive kings invited German settlers into Bohemia. Czech rulers and noblemen were anxious to bring the more advanced German arts of agriculture, mining, handcrafts, town building and legal systems to their kingdom. The settlers enjoyed royal economic and legal protection at the court of Prague. This was not popular with the lesser Czech nobility and set up a division that has existed through the centuries. Bohemia went from strength to strength in the fourteenth century when King Charles of Bohemia was also the Holy Roman Emperor. He married four times, thereby adding large portions to his territories and wealth to his kingdom. He encouraged the official use of the Czech language. Jan Hus brought Protestantism to Bohemia. After he was burnt at the stake, the Hussite wars broke out and raged for 20 years, the outcome being a period of 200 years of peace where Bohemians could choose their religion. In 1526, Bohemia came under Hapsburg leadership. The Europe-wide Thirty Years War resulted in each ruler being able to determine the religion of his own state. The Austrian Hapsburgs were able to force Catholicism on the Bohemians. Twenty thousand Czech and 10,000 German families chose to leave. People from German states came to inhabit partially deserted Bohemia, and German became the dominant language. The Napoleonic wars affected Bohemia. Battles destroyed houses and farms and created streams of refugees. Occupied villages were subject to requisitions. The Austrian Empire in the 1800s was massive. The two largest ethnic groups were Germans and Hungarians, followed by Czechs, Poles, Croats, Bosnians, Serbians, Italians, Ruthenes, Slovenes, Slovaks and Romanians. Most were clamouring for self-government. The year 1848 was a year of riots and revolutions; a general anger with conservative policies, an urge for more freedoms and greater participation in government, rising nationalism, social problems brought on by the Industrial Revolution, and increasing hunger caused by harvest failures. These all contributed to growing unrest. During the decade from 1845 to 1855 over 100,000 people from the German states emigrated each year, mainly to North America. In Bohemia there was no co-operation between Czechs and Germans. All these factors, and the promise of free land in New Zealand, brought about the decision for the 83 settlers from Bohemia to emigrate. It turned out to be a good decision. Jenny Schollum, Puhoi Historical Society www.puhoiheritagemuseum.co.nz Washington, who had reportedly been living on a couch at Jays home in the days before his death, was publicly named as a possible suspect or witness as far back as 2007. He is currently serving a federal prison sentence stemming from a string of robberies he committed while on the run from police after Jays death. US President Donald Trump has endorsed another unproven Covid-19 treatment, according to reports: AFP via Getty Images Democrats took aim against Donald Trump on the first night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, laying out a vision for a Joe Biden presidency by assailing the incumbent and his response to the coronavirus crisis. The president meanwhile made several campaign stops on Monday to attack his opponent and suggest that "the only way we're going to lose this election is if the election is rigged." Postmaster general Louis DeJoy, a Trump donor and ally, has agreed to testify before Congress as Democrats and even some Republicans speak out against proposed changes to the US Postal Service just months before an election in which millions of voters plan to cast their ballots by mail. He also announced he will accept his party's nomination from the White House at its mostly virtual convention next week. A former political appointee at the Department of Homeland Security endorsed the president's rival in a damning video produced by a Republican group against the president. "What we saw week in and week out, and for me, after two and a half years in that administration, was terrifying," Miles Taylor said in a video from Republican Voters Against Trump. "We would go in to try to talk to him about a pressing national security issue cyberattack, terrorism threat he wasn't interested in those things. To him, they weren't priorities." The president also shared a Twitter post that called on authorities to let Democrat cities such as New York City rot amid unrest and demonstrations in several metropolises over the killing of George Floyd in May. The president has previously hinted at sending in troops to bring "law and order" to major cities across the country facing increases in crime amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has now killed more than 170,000 Americans. Follow coverage as it happened Please allow a moment for our liveblog to load Read more Michelle Obama tears into Trump's record in powerful speech Bernie Sanders calls on supporters to back Biden Woman shares heartbreaking story of father's Covid-19 death during DNC Trump relates conversation with God about his 'great job' on economy Trump to deliver nomination speech 'live from the White House' In the 17th and 18th centuries, what we know of as The Age of Enlightenment or early modernity, Europeans traversed the globe and returned to publish travel accounts that cast the natives they encountered as childlike beings, destitute savages, or literal monsters. Unable to make sense of alien languages and cultures, they mistook everything they saw. Meanwhile, the bubonic plague swept Europe, and plague doctors wandered towns and countryside in a fanciful-looking costume [that] typically consisted of a head-to-toe leather or wax-canvas garment, writes the Public Domain Review, large crystal glasses; and a long snout or bird beak, containing aromatic spices (such as camphor, mint, cloves, and myrrh), dried flowers (such as roses or carnations), or a vinegar sponge. Moreover, the plague doctoras you can see from illustrations of this bizarre characteralso carried with him a wand, with which to issue instructions, one scholar writes, such as ordering disease-stricken houses filled with spiders or toads to absorb the air and commanding the infected to inhale bottled wind or take urine baths, purgatives, or stimulants. The wand was also used to forcefully fend off patients. Visiting travelers from elsewhere might be justified in thinking the plague doctor represented some strange, primitive religious custom: perhaps a monstrousand mostly ineffectiveexorcism ritual. The early-modern hazmat suit is perfectly reasonable, of course, if you understand the reigning theory of miasmas, which posited that disease is spread through bad air. Not entirely wrong, as our current masked existences show, but in the case of the plague, miasma theory was only very partially explanatory. Which is to say the costume wasnt entirely useless. The ankle-length gown and herb-filled beak would also have offered some protection against germs, especially since its herbs were sometimes lit on fire and allowed to smolder, sending billowing smoke from the plague doctors face. (The satirical engraving above from 1700 mocks this practice.) The appearance of one of these human-sized birds on a doorstep could only mean that death was near. This particular design has been credited to a French doctor, Charles de Lorme, said to have invented it in 1619. De Lorme thought the beak shape of the mask would give the air sufficient time to be suffused by the protective herbs before it hit the plague doctors nostrils and lungs. Often mistaken for Medieval or Renaissance garb, the plague doctor costume is, in fact, a modern piece of kit. Much has been made of the bird mask, but as one skeptical history writer has effectively shown, there are good reasons to doubt the widespread adoption of the beak. It may have been a rarity; most plague doctors probably wore what would look to us today like Klan robes and hoods. All the more reason for plague doctor costumes to seem shocking once again, as a British teen discovered when he decided in May to dress the part of the classic beaked figure. (Residents found it terrifying and police offered stern words of advice.) No matter how widespread the beak was historically, its iconic status as part of the plague doctor costume remains inscribed in art and culture. The look was so iconic in Italy that the plague doctor became a staple of Italian commedia dellarte and carnival celebrations, Erin Blakemore writes at National Geographic. Given the associations a more authentic costume would evoke, no one seems to be clamoring to replace beaked masks with pointed hoods in representations of plague doctors. The beak also symbolically conveys an important fact about plague doctors: they were not healersthey were mostly witnesses of death. Few of their remedies had any effect. Rather, on the governments payroll, plague doctorsoften second or third-rate practitioners attempting to build a careerrecorded demographic data, witnessed wills, and performed autopsies. They were like weird avian aliens come to observe the customs of a continents dying population, appearing in what came to be widely understood as the costume of death, as the illustration above puts it. See more representations of the plague doctor costume at the Public Domain Review. Related Content: The History of the Plague: Every Major Epidemic in an Animated Map Download Classic Works of Plague Fiction: From Daniel Defoe & Mary Shelley, to Edgar Allan Poe Isaac Newton Conceived of His Most Groundbreaking Ideas During the Great Plague of 1665 Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness A 32-year-old man simply identified as Murtala Dare has been arrested by police in Lokoja for allegedly killing his friend during a scuffle. The spokesperson of the Police Command in Kogi, William Aya, told journalists on Monday in Lokoja that the suspect was arrested at a hideout in the early hours of Monday. Mr Aya said that Mr Dare, a welder, killed his friend, Lukman, at Jackies area in Lokoja at about 9 p.m. on Aug. 16. According to him, Messrs Dare and Lukman were hanging out in the area alongside other fun-seekers when an argument led to an exchange of blows between the two friends. However, Mr Dare was said to have overpowered the deceased, smashed him to the ground, and brought out a knife with which he was said to have slaughtered his friend. Other people around were said to have immediately called in policemen from the nearby A Division headquarters but Mr Dare fled the scene before the arrival of the police. Mr Aya said the manhunt launched by policemen later yielded result when the suspect was apprehended in a house where he was hiding. The police spokesman said investigation into the incident had commenced, adding that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as the investigation was concluded. (NAN) Section 1 Content This Friday, attend a webinar that will mark the beginning of an ACE Engage Research and Practice Series comprising live webinars and recorded interviews focusing on current research regarding the experiences of international students across the globe. The first webinar in the series is titled Neo-racism and Neo-nationalism and International Students and will take place Aug. 21 at 11 a.m. EDT on ACE Engage. Speakers Jenny L. Lee, professor at the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Arizona, and Dale LaFleur, senior director for academic affairs and internationalization at NAFSA: Association of International Educators, will discuss the experiences of international students in the United States, South Africa, and South Korea, and how they are impacted by neo-racist and neo-nationalist views. Click here and log in or sign up for Engage to register. Upcoming series content will feature studies as well as practitioner views on international student security, the experiences of international students of color, international students in English language programs, international students as resources for internationalization at home, and international student success. For more on the topic of international education, be sure to join the Internationalization on Campus discussion group on Engage to share your reflections after the webinars and connect with like-minded peers. On August 15, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan and Azercosmos OJSC issued a joint statement regarding our "illegal" activities in the so-called occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Artak Zakaryan, former Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia, noted this in a Facebook post. "The official statement made on the space surveying and data on the territory of the Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] Republic proves that Azerbaijan will henceforth extensively use the mechanism of space survey to expand its anti-Armenian information-propaganda arena and get a new, false image of 'authenticity.' I believe it is the right time for Armenia to raise the issue of a joint orbital surveyunder the auspices of the OSCE MG [Minsk Group] Co-Chairing countries [Russia, US, and France]of the Karabakh conflict area. Azerbaijan distorts the essence of the conflict by already publishing now data from the space survey, and by disseminating false information, it can lead the conflict zone to a dangerous escalation [of tension]. Therefore, reality-recording monitoring and alternative data of orbital survey are needed," Zakaryan added, in particular. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks in a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, Thursday. A survey released by a think tank operating under broadcaster KBS showed, Monday, 74.5 percent of South Koreans have animosity toward the North Korean regime. / Yonhap By Yi Whan-woo More than seven out of 10 South Koreans are against the North Korean regime, reflecting chilled inter-Korean relations despite President Moon Jae-in's efforts to resume cross-border cooperation, according to a survey released Monday. The poll conducted by a think tank operating under broadcaster KBS also showed almost six out of 10 South Koreans find the United States, China, Japan and Russia not helpful in fostering unification of the two Koreas. The survey came as the North continues to give the cold shoulder to the South's reconciliatory gestures, as seen from its demolition of a joint liaison office in the North's border town of Gaeseong in June and refusal to accept humanitarian assistance following recent flood damage. Some 74.5 percent of the respondents said they do not support the North, while 21.4 percent were ambivalent. The remaining 4.1 percent of respondents held favorable sentiment to the regime. The ratio of negative response has increased from a survey conducted by the think tank with the same questions last August when 51.6 percent expressed hostility. When asked which of the four stakeholders of the Korean Peninsula United States, China, Japan and Russia can be most helpful for unification, 59 percent of the respondents answered "none," while 29.8 percent indicated the U.S. as helpful. "It appears the expectation toward the U.S. has diminished after the breakdown of the Pyongyang-Washington summit in Hanoi in February 2019 and the deadlock on inter-Korean cooperation accordingly," a think tank researcher said. Concerning unification, only 15.4 percent said it was desirable and 44.2 percent supported the idea with a precondition that the unification should not bring any heavy burden to the South while 24.3 percent agreed the division of the Korean Peninsula should be maintained for a significant amount of time. Asked about President Moon's inter-Korean policy, 51.5 percent of the respondents expressed disapproval. The survey of 1,000 adults nationwide took place online from July 31 to Aug. 4. It had a 3.1 percent margin of error. The case must be made biblically or many simply wont accept the argument. So Graham Hill, in his new book Holding Up Half the Sky, has a long chapter going through the biblical case for women teaching and preaching and leading. Here is his summary: Gen 1-3 proposes the full dignity and equality of women and men a relationship marred by the fall. Gendered conflict, competition, and hierarchy are introduced through sin, and are not Gods ideal for male and female relationships. The ideal in Genesis is an equal partnership of union, difference, and co-stewardship. The ideal order of creation is one of loving mutuality and equality; intimacy with God and between women and men. In the Gospels we see Jesus showing astonishing respect for women. He included them in his ministry, welcomed them as learners (and, I argue, as aspiring teachers), and elevated their contribution and dignity. After the resurrection, Jesus made the women the apostles to the twelve apostles. Thats how Jesus honors women. Women exercised leadership and ministry gifts throughout the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament, we see the examples of Miriam, Deborah, Noadiah, Huldah, Ruth, Esther, Sarah, Rebekah, Rahab, and more. In the New Testament we have the stories of Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia, Joanna, Mary Magdalene, Susanna, and more. Phoebe, Priscilla, and Junia are striking examples of female Christian leadership in the early church. Paul speaks of many female co-laborers, including Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis, and others, as well as house church leaders like Lydia, Nympha, Priscilla, and very likely Chloe. The apostolic practice of ministry wherever possible matched the apostolic theology of ministry. The number of women in leadership in the early Pauline churches, given the cultural context, is breathtaking . . . If we consider all the early Paulines, more than one-quarter of the leaders Paul mentions by name are women, twelve in number. The Bible does not abolish the genders, nor does it minimize the differences between women and men. But verses like Gal 3:28 show that men and women are now one in Christ. Women and men are brought together as equally and completely as Jews and gentiles. All are equally honored in the family of Jesus Christ. All the barriers separating the genders and keeping women and men from being one body in love and worship and ministry are now done away with in Christ. Gal 3:28 isnt just about spiritual status in Christ. It has clear ecclesial implications for women, just as it does for slaves and gentiles. God welcomes all people into his family regardless of ethnic, sociocultural, economic, and gender differences and pours out his gifts on all people for ministry. Gal 3:28 has clear social and ecclesial implications for women. BEATTYVILLE, Ky. John Ross worries about his children returning to their classrooms this fall with coronavirus cases rising in Kentucky, but he feels he doesnt have much of a choice: His familys limited internet access makes it nearly impossible for the kids to keep up with schoolwork from home. Theyre going to have their education, the father of three in rural Lee County said as he recalled his childrens struggles to do their work this spring over a spotty cellphone connection. Lee County, a community of around 7,000 people deep in the Appalachian Mountains, is one of many rural school districts around the country where the decision over whether to bring students back into classrooms is particularly fraught. As in other places, parents and officials are concerned about the virus, but dramatically limited internet access here also means kids could fall seriously behind if the pandemic keeps them home again. On average, the United States is still seeing about 1,000 deaths a day from the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The country has had more than 5 million confirmed cases and more than 167,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic. Roughly 3 million students across the United States dont have access to a home internet connection. A third of households with school-age children that do not have home internet cite the expense as the main reason, according to federal Education Department statistics. But in some rural places, a reliable connection cant be had at any price. The void is especially acute in eastern Kentucky. An AP analysis of census data shows that nearly half of students attending public school in Lee lack home access to broadband. Many districts have been scrambling to set up paper-based alternatives to online instruction or create WiFi hot spots in school parking lots and other public areas. Kentuckys two largest districts, in Louisville and Lexington, are starting the school year online and have pledged to give mobile hot spots to students who dont have internet at home. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear said this week the state is exploring ways to expand internet access in hard-to-reach areas. Story continues But if school starts as scheduled on Aug. 24 in Lee, which serves roughly 800 students, there will be only two public WiFi hot spots in the county: one at the county courthouse, and another at the public library both near downtown Beattyville, the county seat, and a good distance from the winding, tree-lined roads where most residents live. Image: (Bryan Woolston / AP) Students arent the only ones who struggled this past spring. Some teachers had to go into their classrooms to get internet access, despite recommendations that they stay home, according to Lee County School Superintendent Sarah Wasson. In an effort to accommodate those without reliable internet, students will submit their work periodically on USB drives. In between, teachers can check in with them over the phone. The lack of internet access often dovetails with and is likely to reinforce other inequalities. Nationally, those without access are more likely to be students of color, from low-income families or in households with lower parental education levels. In Lee County, for instance, almost half of children live below the poverty line. As the pandemic stretches on, Americans with lower incomes who do have internet may struggle to continue to afford it. COVID-19 has shown cracks in the system where people have been left behind, said Lee County Judge Executive Chuck Caudill. Beattyville Mayor Scott Jackson remembers the fight more than a half-century ago to get clean, running water into the county. Now, he sees the internet as just as important, in order to help create jobs and encourage businesses to move into the empty storefronts on Beattyvilles main street. Internet access has improved for some, as Peoples Rural Telephone, one of few internet service providers in the region, started expanding into the county around four years ago. But for most residents of the more remote mountain hollers, like Ross family, the expansion wont arrive in time for the start of school. In the spring, Ross children, ages 12, 13, and 15, had to connect their laptops to the mobile hot spot powered by data on his phone. It didnt always work. That meant they often had to complete hard-copy packets without access to online materials. Ross is able to pay for data with what he earns from occasional construction jobs, but Comcast, AT&T and T-Mobile recently brought back some data caps, which could slow the speed of what little connection families like Ross have. In Lee, like many other counties in rural Eastern Kentucky, there have been only a few confirmed coronavirus cases. As a result, some are pushing for school to start in person immediately, but others are more cautious. Ross wants officials to hold off until October in hopes the virus will subside. Regina Mays, executive secretary to Mayor Jackson, said she and her husband will keep their children at home for the entire upcoming semester even if the school begins offering in-person classes. She plans on taking them into the office with her a few times a week, so theyll have access to a stable internet connection. Her children didnt get credit for some assignments last spring because of issues with their satellite internet connection. I just worry that theyll be so far behind in school and how long it will take for them to get caught back up, and what that means for their future, she said. Wasson, the superintendent, anticipates a new set of challenges when schools reopen in person: The district does not have a large pool of substitutes or enough staff to fill bus monitor positions. Still, she would like to return to in-person instruction, with social distancing measures, since she knows the difficulty of learning from home. Imagine teaching a kindergartner for the first time how to write their letters and not being with them, Wasson said. For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here. A distinguished Bay Area chef who was selected as a semifinalist in the 2020 James Beard Awards said hes dropping the nomination just a month shy of the final winners announcement. David Kinch, the executive chef-owner of Manresa, was selected by the James Beard Foundation as a contestant in the outstanding chef category, but on Sunday the Michelin-starred chef announced that the ongoing pandemic had pushed him to the decision. While Im honored, and appreciative of the @beardfoundation Outstanding Chef nomination, I have decided to withdraw myself from consideration, and potential acceptance of this years award, the Instagram post read. The idea of celebrating achievementand all that our @Manresarestaurant team has accomplishedsimply does not feel right in the midst of the ongoing pandemic, and the devastation it has pressed upon our chosen metier and industry. Kinch continued by sharing that the fallout of the pandemic has affected business operations at Manresa. Since March, Kinch shifted his business to takeout as many Michelin star restaurants have to offer family-style meals throughout the week. ALSO: Even Chez Panisse is doing takeout sandwiches now In that time, an employee relief fund was set up to support Manresa team members, according to the restaurants business website. We have been pretending that we could continue to support our employees, front-and back-of-house, maintain a level of service, equality, and innovation, while welcoming our guests each dayknowing in our hearts that it could never be sustainable, Kinch shared on Instagram. Kinch went on to analyze and critique parts of the restaurant industry he believes need substantial change. In it, Kinch said the hospitality industry was rife with rampant racial and gender inequality, lack of livable wages for staff, and had an archaic tipping system, among others. He closed his statement by writing that he wanted to imagine a new possibility when everyone could come out on the other side. That seems a more fitting way to demonstrate commendable leadership and support the James Beard Foundations commitment to promoting a strong, safe, inclusive, ethical food community. ALSO: Michelin-starred chef behind Kin Khao plans for fast-casual restaurant in Dogpatch neighborhood Kinch had been listed among other industry leaders that included San Franciscos Corey Lee of Benu, the only other Bay Area contestant. Donald Link of Herbsaint, Missy Robbins of Lilia, Ana Sortun of Oleana, and Marc Vetri of Vetri Cucina are also listed in the outstanding chefs category. The 2020 James Beard Award Restaurant and Chef Award winners will be announced on Sept. 25 in a live Twitter broadcast. Manresa is located at 320 Village Lane in Los Gatos. Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3 MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. 'Stay out of Tahoe': Angry residents plan on fighting back against tourists 'trashing' the region UCSF scientists create an anti-COVID-19 nasal spray Governor: New data show California is 'turning the corner' Kaiser to launch Phase 3 testing of coronavirus vaccine in 1,400 California and Oregon adults The odds of catching COVID-19 on a plane might not be what you think Chicago Police investigate at the 25th District station on the Northwest Side, after several officers were shot outside the station, Chicago, on July 30, 2020. (Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) 64 Shot, 5 Fatally, Across Chicago Over the Weekend: Police Chicago police confirmed five people are dead and at least 59 others were shot across the city over the weekend. Officials told the Chicago Sun-Times that a man was shot to death and two others were injured in the latest incident, which occurred at around 12:50 a.m. on Monday morning on the Southwest Side. Another man was shot and killed in the Avondale neighborhood on the Northwest Side, officials told the Sun-Times. Another man was also killed at Homan Square on the West Side. He was later identified as 18-year-old Tamyreon Jordan, who was found lying on the sidewalk with several gunshot wounds. A day before that, a man was shot and killed in Morgan Park on the Far South Side, officials told the paper. He was identified as 28-year-old James Curry. Officials also said that a 12-year-old boy and six teenagers were shot in all across the city, authorities told ABC7. Forty people were shot and four died across Chicago last weekend, officials said. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, previously said that 1,000 officers would be sent downtown after a round of looting incidents at businesses and neighborhoods. Whether its in our downtown commercial district or in one of our other 77 neighborhoods, there can never be any place in Chicago where businesses are afraid to open, where residents and visitors are afraid to travel and shop, Lightfoot said, according to ABC7. According to the latest crime statistics, more than 470 homicides have been recorded so far in Chicago in 2020. Meanwhile, more than 2,500 people have been shot. KAMPALA The Ministry of Health has announced another 60 cases of Covid-19 from tests done on Sunday, 16th August, 2020. This brings the cumulative confirmed cases of Ugandans to 1,560. The ministry also announced two new COVID-19 deaths today bringing the total virus deaths in the country to 15 The two fatalities are both Ugandan males aged 63 and 33 years old. They were admitted at Rubaga Hospital with signs and symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Of the sixty (60) new cases, twenty-eight (28) are alerts, fourteen (14) are contacts to previously confirmed cases, fourteen (14) are returnees and four (4) are truck drivers. Regarding the twenty-eight (28) alerts, fifteen (15) are from Kampala, five (5) from Namisindwa, two (2) from Luwero and six (6) from Moroto, Arua, Gulu, Pader and Kasese, Of the fourteen (14) contacts to previously confirmed cases, seven (7) are from Kasese, four (4) from Kampala, three (3) from Arua, Masaka and Kikube. The fourteen (14) returnees are broken down as follows, nine (9) from Saudi Arabia, two (2) from Kenya, 111155 (3) from Germany, Oman and Ethiopia. Of the four (4) truck drivers, two (2) arrived from South Sudan via Madi Opei while two (2) arrived from DRC via Mpondwe Point of Entry. Twenty-one (21) foreign truck drivers (11 Kenyans, 7 Congolese, 2 Eritrean and 1 Tanzanian) tested positive for COVID-19 at the border points of entry and their entry into the count, was not permitted. Related TDT | Manama In collaboration with the US Embassy, INJAZ Bahrain delivered 20 high-end laptops to students who had difficulties accessing INJAZ Bahrains digital programmes and online schooling. The initiative, which aims to tackle the lack of resources some students may face, took place in July. In addition to launching its series of digital programmes in response to COVID-19 in Bahrain, INJAZ Bahrain took the initiative to survey its students to understand the effectiveness of its new digital programmes and address any difficulties and concerns. The results of the survey showed that many students faced challenges accessing its series of online programmes and online schooling due to the lack of essential resources, such as, laptops and desktop computers. In response, a grant was given by the US Embassy to support impacted students and enhance their digital learning experiences. In line with INJAZ Bahrains mission to educate and inspire the youth of Bahrain, the US Embassy believes in empowering and supporting the youth of the Kingdom to enhance their learning experiences, especially during these uncertain times. Furthermore, assistant public affairs officer Haynes Mahoney was delighted to participate in an online dialogue with the INJAZ Bahrain students about their career goals and to wish the creative young Bahrainis every success. INJAZ Bahrain executive director Hana Sarwani commented: We are very grateful to the team at the US Embassy who were quick to support our students. The grant given by the embassy has helped us deliver an enhanced digital learning experience during these uncertain times. We know that many students may face challenges during this digital transformation phase but with the continuous support of our sponsors, we can safely say that launching our digital programmes has been a great success. The online programmes delivered by INJAZ Bahrain aim to educate students on workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy, while at home. INJAZ Bahrain has been able to reach more than 5,000 students through its online programmes. For more information, visit injazbh.org. President Akufo-Addo has finally lifted the limit on the number of persons who can attend conferences, awards and workshops. But that, according to him, is subject to the maintenance of social distancing amongst participants. He made this known on Sunday night, August 16, as he delivered his 15th update on the coronavirus situation in the country. According to him, the limit on the number of persons who can attend conferences, workshops and award events, has been lifted, subject to the maintenance of social distancing amongst participants, fresh air ventilation of the premises, and a two-hour limit for each session. The limit was imposed in March as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country. Meanwhile, the President warned that beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs are still to remain closed until further notice. Daily Guide Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 18) President Rodrigo Duterte once again lashed out on human rights advocates for their criticisms on the national governments war on drugs. In his weekly address aired late Monday evening, Duterte lamented the human rights defenders are only focused on doing the body count of those who died in the anti-illegal drugs crackdown. Napakatorpe naman nitong human rights pag hindi kayo nag-ano ano ang ano ninyo magbilang lang ng patay? Aba maglipat kayo ng trabaho, wag sa human rights, the President said. [Translation: These human rights (defenders) are so stupid what you will only count those who are dead? You should switch jobs, not in human rights.] The President also questioned the real motives of human rights advocates who are vehemently against the governments war on drugs, suggesting they should also do a nationwide campaign on how the use of drugs can kill someones life. What about the social problem, the serious and grave problems of drug addiction in this country? What are you doing about it? If they are killed in spite of educating them, you can always investigate and file cases, said Duterte. Duterte again renewed his call to impose death penalty on drug-related offenders, pointing out that countries like China, Malaysia, and Indonesia do such punishment for those convicted of drug-related crimes. He again emphasized that solving the illegal drugs problem in the country will enable Filipino parents to realize their dream of seeing their children live normally as they grow up. Drugs really destroys the spirit of the nation, Duterte said. The President reminded the Filipino citizens to not take illegal drugs as it will destroy their life. Magtanim ka sa bukid, dyan sa palengke maraming negosyo dyan. Huwag ka magbili ng droga. Malaki ang pera dyan. Pero kung nagkamali ka, buhay mo talaga ang iiwan mo, he warned. [Translation: You should plant in the farm or have a business in a wet market. Do not buy drugs. A huge amount of money is involved there. But if you make a wrong move, your life will be sacrificed.] The Duterte administrations centerpiece anti-illegal drug campaign Oplan Tokhang drew criticism from other government officials and human rights groups for alleged extrajudicial killing of small-time users accused of violently resisting arrest. In this program, police authorities visit homes of suspected drug users and request them to refrain from engaging in such act. Based on the June 2019 report from the Philippine National Police (PNP), over 6,000 individuals allegedly involved in illegal drugs died from the police operations. The program was suspended in March this year as the PNP focused on the countrys fight against COVID-19. Overjoyed students have taken to social media to mock the government's humiliating U-turn on A level and GCSE grades. Regulator Ofqual confirmed this afternoon that students in England will be able to take the higher of either the adjusted grade or the estimate made by their teachers. Memes have mocked the authority's cack-handed approach by showing a vehicle wedged between two walls and Homer Simpson disappearing into a hedge. Another showed a picture of Leonardo DiCaprio raising a glass under the caption: 'We did it guys, even an apology too.' One even quipped: 'The annoying thing is that this was completely avoidable'. Boris Johnson, who is on holiday in Scotland, has faced mounting pressure for a climbdown since last week and interrupted his break for a conference call with under-fire Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and officials this morning. Ofqual's algorithm took into consideration teacher ranking, but not teacher-assessed grades, when there were more than 15 entries for a subject from a school. It calculated an estimated 82 per cent of A level results. Students took to social media to mock the government's humiliating climb-down over grades Authorities confirmed this afternoon that students would be able to take the higher of their adjusted grade or that given by their teachers One meme even quipped that 'the annoying thing is that this was completely avoidable' Boris Johnson broke off from his holiday in Scotland today to talk to the Education Secretary The government had previously said that students would only receive their adjusted grades But when results were released there was outcry from pupils and teachers alike Memes mocking the change tended to show vehicles stuck on major highways and roads The screeching U-turn followed mounting pressure from schools and headteachers INDIANAPOLIS -- Research scientists from Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine and University of Maryland are working to develop a model for delivering palliative care to people living in nursing homes to improve their quality of life. While access to palliative care has become the standard of care in the hospital setting, it is not routinely available in nursing homes. Palliative care is focused on providing comfort and relief from the symptoms and stress of illness and, if desired, can be provided along with curative treatment. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and family. Nearly every nursing home resident could benefit from palliative care, but the quality and quantity of care varies widely. There are currently few examples to guide nursing homes in implementing palliative care. The research scientists received a grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging to fund a model for delivering palliative care to patients with Alzheimer's disease. The grant is expected to total nearly $3.5 million over five years. The trial, UPLIFT-AD (Utilizing Palliative Leaders In Facilities to Transform care for Alzheimer's Disease), is a clinical trial designed to enhance quality of care and support. The project will build capacity for palliative care within facilities and provide external support for that care. The research team will partner with eight nursing homes in Indiana and eight in Maryland to evaluate the impact of UPLIFT-AD. "There is broad recognition that palliative care is needed in nursing homes, but there is no road map for how to provide it well," said project co-leader Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, Regenstrief research scientist and IU School of Medicine associate professor of medicine. "We hope this trial will provide not only a successful intervention, but also a replicable model for implementing this type of care." The research team will identify two champions to lead the intervention within each nursing home. In addition, education about the fundamentals of palliative care will be given to all staff. The instruction includes basic interventions for common symptoms, such as shortness of breath and pain, so that all staff can provide some level of palliative care. External consultants will work with the champions to identify residents who need more palliative care support. In Indiana, the team is partnering with the Eskenazi Health Palliative Care Team. In Maryland, the researchers are working with Gilchrist, a local provider of palliative care services. Experts from these community-based partners will focus on nursing home residents with medically complex conditions and difficult-to-manage symptoms. The consulting teams will meet weekly to develop care plans to provide relief to the residents. "These residents and their families deserve the comfort, dignity, and supportive services that palliative care provides," said study co-leader, John Cagle, PhD, an associate professor from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. "Palliative care is already a standard of care in many other settings, including hospitals and cancer treatment centers. This study will provide evidence and fill in gaps to help nursing homes deliver this important care to their residents." "The need for palliative care programs is especially urgent in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many patients are separated from their families and may be suffering from more symptoms," said Dr. Unroe. The study is led by a multidisciplinary team. Dr. Unroe is a geriatrician practicing in the nursing home setting. Dr. Cagle has worked extensively as a hospice social worker. The researchers are working with the Eskenazi Health Palliative Care and Gilchrist teams for consultations. The team is also prepared to adjust delivery of the intervention to comply with COVID-19 restrictions that may exist throughout the study. ### This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging, grant R01AG066922. Other investigators on the grant are Regenstrief research scientist and IU School of Medicine interim Department of Biostatistics chair, Wanzhu Tu, PhD, and Mary Ersek, PhD, R.N., from University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Erin O'Kelly Phillips, MPH from Regenstrief is the research manager. About Regenstrief Institute Founded in 1969 in Indianapolis, the Regenstrief Institute is a local, national and global leader dedicated to a world where better information empowers people to end disease and realize true health. A key research partner to Indiana University, Regenstrief and its research scientists are responsible for a growing number of major healthcare innovations and studies. Examples range from the development of global health information technology standards that enable the use and interoperability of electronic health records to improving patient-physician communications, to creating models of care that inform practice and improve the lives of patients around the globe. Regenstrief Institute is celebrating 50 years of healthcare innovation. Sam Regenstrief, a successful entrepreneur from Connersville, Indiana, founded the institute with the goal of making healthcare more efficient and accessible for everyone. His vision continues to guide the institute's research mission. About IU School of Medicine IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability. About University of Maryland School of Social Work The mission at the University of Maryland School of Social Work is to develop practitioners, leaders and scholars to advance the well-being of populations and communities and to promote social justice. As national leaders, we create and use knowledge for education, service innovation, and policy development. About Kathleen Tschantz Unroe, M.D., MHA In addition to being a research scientist at Regenstrief Institute, Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, is an associate professor at Indiana University School of Medicine and a geriatrician practicing in the nursing home setting. Senior diplomats of India and on Monday held a virtual meeting to review the progress made on various India-aided developmental projects being implemented in the Himalayan nation. The meeting came days after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to greet him on India's 74th Independence Day, in the first high-level contact after bilateral ties came under severe strain following issuance of a new political map by in May. Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra are leading the delegations representing their respective countries during the oversight mechanism meeting, according to Nepal Foreign Ministry sources here. The meeting, being held virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak, will assess the progress made on various India aided development projects being implemented in Nepal, the sources said. No further details of the meeting were available. The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal protested the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory. Days later, Nepal came out with the new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories. In June, Nepal's Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. In its reaction, after Nepal's lower house of parliament approved the bill, India termed as untenable the "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims by the neighbouring country. India said Nepal's action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. Prime Minister Oli has been asserting that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India. A 13-year-old girl was raped and murdered and her body dumped in a field in the latest horrific sex attack in India. Two men were arrested after the child's body was found in a sugar cane field near the Nepalese border, police said. The girl's family had raised the alarm after she failed to return from nearby fields on Friday night. Her father claims that her tongue had been mutilated and her eyes gouged out - but police dispute this, according to Indian broadcaster NDTV. A 13-year-old girl was raped and murdered and her body dumped in a sugar cane field in a horrific attack in India (stock photo) Police in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh said a post-mortem showed signs of rape and strangulation. However, the scratches near the girl's eyes were probably caused by sharp sugar cane leaves in the field where she was found, police say. 'The two accused [have] been arrested already,' the local police chief said, adding that charges of rape and murder would be filed against them. The girl's father said the family had gone 'looking for her everywhere' before finding her strangled. 'Her eyes had been gouged out. Her tongue was cut and strangled with a dupatta,' he claimed. Politicians condemned the 'inhuman' attack with one former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh calling it 'extremely shameful'. The alleged attack took place in the Lakhimpur Kheri district in a village close to India's border with Nepal. Nearly 34,000 rapes are reported every year in India despite tougher laws and protests in support of victims (such as this one in Mumbai, file photo) India has a dismal reputation for sex crimes with nearly 34,000 rapes reported every year despite tough new laws introduced in recent years. While 85 per cent of reported rapes in 2018 led to charges, only 27 per cent led to a conviction, according to government figures. In 2017, around 30 per cent of reported victims were children. The subject has been in the spotlight since the mass demonstrations that followed the gang rape and murder of a student in New Delhi in 2012. The crime attracted international headlines and four of the attackers were executed earlier this year, but high numbers of sex attacks continue. Last month a three-year-old girl was raped and killed by two men who dumped her body in a dam before claiming she had been sacrificed for 'black magic'. The girl had been reported missing on July 17 and her body was found near a dam three days later, with an autopsy showing she had died of suffocation and trauma. Investigators said the attackers then tried to 'misguide police' by spreading rumours that the girl had been the victim of a dark ritual. Shopping mall developers and retailers are back at the negotiating table after businesses failed to pick up despite relaxations in the government's guidelines. While mall owners have given up to full waivers to retailers on monthly rentals during the lockdown period from March to May, retailers say it will not suffice. Some mall owners had agreed to short-term deferrals of rent, worked out a revenue-share pact, and even offered sharp discounts on existing rentals for the lockdown months. Some are now willing to give a 20-30 percent waiver on rentals, Business Standard has reported. Retailers have argued that rental waivers should be extended for a few more months because business is not expected to pick up before the festive period - October-November. Track this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic "Localised lockdowns and weekend curfews continue to remain in place in many cities despite relaxations. Business hours have also been curtailed, said Anand Agarwal, Chief Financial Officer, V-Mart Retail. 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 "These curbs have impacted businesses and retailers in both malls and high-street properties are re-negotiating their rental terms, Agarwal said. Managing director of Vijay Sales, Nilesh Gupta, too believes that Diwali would be a better occasion for retailers to look forward to in terms of business. A senior executive with a Mumbai-based mall firm said the firm would have to go for the second round of negotiations with retailers. Mukesh Kumar, CEO at Infiniti Mall, said, We are getting requests for pure revenue-share arrangements from retailers. But our agreements do not permit this." Another executive with Phoenix Mills said most of its retailers had agreed to a rent waiver of 30 percent, following the reopening of malls. The increasing spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting from mid-March and the resultant preventive measures taken by the Centre and various state governments have severely affected retail mall operations. Mall operators generate almost complete income from the lease rentals received by the tenants. The retailers have been severely impacted and revenues for most of them have been reduced to zero during the closure period. Rental expenses form a sizeable share of the 12-16 percent of the revenues for retailers, therefore, in line with expectations, the tenants have been negotiating with the mall operators for a waiver or rebate on the rentals. Over the last few weeks, malls in some cities have resumed operations but properties in some of the metros and tier-I cities are yet to resume due to the severity of the pandemic in the respective geographies. Momentum Metropolitan, the parent company of Momentum, has alerted shareholders of a data breach on the network of one of its subsidiaries. The company did not state which subsidiary was targeted by the attack, adding that it was conducting an extensive investigation into the security breach. Momentum Metropolitan hereby informs stakeholders that a third party unlawfully accessed a limited portion of data of a subsidiary of the Group, the company said in a statement to shareholders. The Group became aware of a data breach on its network on Thursday 13 August 2020 and immediately activated its IT security incident plan, which included the implementation of additional systems monitoring and the reinforcement of its IT security. The company said that the hackers accessed administrative and financial data, adding that the data breach should not impact clients or stakeholders. Momentum client and member data was not compromised in the breach, Momentum Metropolitan said. Information accessed contains administrative and financial data that is not expected to prejudice any stakeholders of the Group, the company said. The Group has alerted the authorities and investigations are ongoing. MyBroadband asked Momentum which of its subsidiaries were affected by the data breach and to confirm the nature of the exploit. The company said that it was currently unable to provide this information due to the sensitive nature of the investigation. This follows after another high-profile data leak in South Africas medical sector with medical data startup LogBox inadvertently exposing account access tokens to the public Internet. LogBoxs security flaw was the result of a misconfigured firewall, and it potentially exposed the personal and private data of doctors and patients who use the platform. The company has fixed the error, performed a full forensic audit, notified all of the institutions that use LogBox, and forced those whose LogBox accounts may have been affected to change their passwords. Now read: TikTok owner ordered to sell US assets Bloom as William Turner (Credit: Disney) Orlando Bloom has said that he doesn't 'look back in anger' over the criticism of his role in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Critics often rounded on Bloom's relative dryness as William Turner Jr, when viewed next to that of Johnny Depp's eccentric, boozed up pirate Captain Jack Sparrow. Read more: Bruckheimer doesnt know if Depp will be back in POTC Famously, critic Mark Kermode branded Bloom Orlando Bland. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he said: Nobody steps out of the door or onto a set whoever you are, whether you're an actor, director or producer nobody is trying to do bad work. I know when I put my head down at night, I've done my best with everything that I've ever done. I've always given it my all, and I think in a way, if anything, there was a lot of safe play in my career. I'm not really interested in that any more, so I can see how... I mean for Will, for example, I was playing the straight guy to Johnny remarkable Jack Sparrow, but it's not easy to pull that straight guy off, do you know what I mean? Depp as Jack Sparrow (Credit: Disney) And in a way, it was the emotional thread, that relationship between Elizabeth and Will, but I don't look back with anything. I just look forward with excitement, to be honest now. Bloom played Turner in four of the five Pirates of the Caribbean movies; 2003's debut Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and then in Dead Man's Chest (2006) and At World's End (2007). He skipped Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, before returning for a small role in Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge in 2017. Some years back, Bloom revealed there was talk at Disney potentially rebooting the series centring on Will Turner who eventually became the Davy Jones character and his relationship with his son, Henry Turner, played in Salazar's Revenge by Brenton Thwaites. Margot Robbie (Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) However, it emerged in June this year that Disney is plotting a new, female-fronted spin-off franchise with Margot Robbie at the helm, and without Johnny Depp, following the financial disappointment and critical drubbing taking by Salazar's Revenge. Story continues Lurid details of Depp's private life from his recent libel court case with The Sun also won't have helped the actor's chances of reprising Captain Jack given Disney's family-orientated values. The studio is also said to be planing a reboot of the property with Craig Mazin, the writer of hit series Chernobyl for HBO. WASHINGTON Former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton bashed the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic and slammed its decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization. "There's a lot of really important work that needs to be done, and the United States has to be in the middle of it, it cannot sit on the sidelines being indifferent, or even contemptuous of international efforts and expect that we're going to benefit ourselves," Clinton told a virtual audience during an interview hosted by the Atlantic Council. "We should be having intense diplomatic conversations with health experts, logistics experts and others about how we are going to finally get to a safe and effective vaccine or perhaps even more than one, and then manage the distribution of it so that we try to bring the world together around defeating the pandemic, not permit the vaccine nationalism that is taking place right now," Clinton said. Last month, the Trump administration submitted to the U.N. secretary-general its notice to withdraw from the World Health Organization by July 6, 2021, a senior administration official confirmed to CNBC. The notice to the United Nations was the first step in a yearlong process that will rely on several factors outside of Trump's control, including cooperation from Congress and the president's own reelection in November, neither of which are assured. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has previously said that he would have the U.S. rejoin the WHO on day one of his presidency, were he to defeat Trump this November. Earlier this month, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he hopes the United States will reconsider its decision to leave the United Nations' health organization, adding that the coronavirus can't be defeated "in a divided world." "The problem is not about the money. It's not the financing that's the issue. It's actually the relationship with the U.S. that's more important and its leadership abroad," Ghebreyesus told a virtual audience at the Aspen Security Forum. The Trump administration's move to withdraw from the WHO comes as coronavirus cases reach nearly 5.5 million in the United States, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. Worldwide, the virus has infected about 21.7 million and killed more than 775,900. At least 170,000 have died in the U.S. alone. "Let us hope that individual nations will learn lessons. But let us also hope that collectively we can put together a more robust and quick international response and get every nation to buy into it, so that you don't have the role of any nation in the midst of a potential pandemic be too, you know, shut down and exclude investigation from international experts. We need to be more open and transparent," Clinton said. Israel's coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu apologized Aug. 16 for remarks he made earlier in the day, likening the behavior of Arab-Israelis during the pandemic to a "terror attack." Gamzu had accused the Arab community of acting irresponsibly, stating, The Arab community has committed in the past fortnight, since Eid al-Adha, almost a terror attack, with hundreds of sick people. Gatherings, parties, celebrations, complacency, indifference the feeling that the coronavirus cant hurt them." An apology statement issued by his office read, "Gamzu wishes to clarify that what he meant by the term 'terror attack' was in the context of the virus and its morbidity and not the Arab community." Gamzu categorically rejected claims the Health Ministry's policies toward the Arab community during the crisis have been racist. "I received a phone call from [the Druze village of] Yarka a week ago. They described to me what was happening there and said, 'Come in, restrict, people here are sick. Why don't you impose a closure on Yarka. You call that racism?" Gamzu was referring to the recent rise in infections registered in Yarka, in the north of Israel. On Aug. 14, the Health Ministry advised the public to avoid going there. Currently, 274 residents of Yarka are confirmed infected, out of a population of some 17,000. Still, no lockdown has been imposed on the town. Gamzus remarks generated great anger among the Arab-Israeli public. Joint List head Ayman Odeh called on Gamzu to work with the Arab community and not against it. It is a pity that while the Arab doctors are at the forefront of the struggle against the coronavirus, [Gamzu] comes out with a statement that harms an entire society. Instead of such unfortunate statements, I invite him to work together to defeat the pandemic, said Odeh. An Aug. 2 report by Israels Calcalist newspaper presented rather positive coronavirus news concerning Arab towns. According to the report, which cites data obtained from the Health Ministry, the number of people infected in Arab localities was rather low. Of Israels population, 15.36% resides in Arab town and villages, yet at the beginning of August the number of confirmed cases among Arab-Israelis represented 8.93% of all Israel's infections. The report noted that in Jewish towns and villages, the rate of confirmed cases is more or less constant. According to the report, the ultra-Orthodox towns show the highest rates, with 20.5% of people infected. Only 6% of Israels population lives in these areas. Still, the numbers published on Aug. 15 show a climb in the Arab localities. A committee of heads of local Arab councils reported that the number of people infected in Arab localities (excluding mixed towns and east Jerusalem), has reached 9,908. The past week saw 1,600 additional cases. The number of active infections in Arab localities now stands in 3,600. The committee agreed that the sharp rise in number is probably related to recent mass weddings. How can a constitutional office be under surveillance?, the Bengal governor asked West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar and his wife Sudesh hold a prayer meet for former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his second death anniversary, at Governor House in Kolkata. PTI photo In an explosive outburst, West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday alleged that Raj Bhavan, his official residence-cum-workplace, was under surveillance by the Mamata Banerjee government. He also claimed that Maoism had returned to the state. Raj Bhavan is under surveillance. This should not happen. It undermines the sanctity of Raj Bhavan. I will do everything to protect its sanctity. How can a constitutional office be under surveillance? I will take legal steps once our inquiry is over. Public servants should not get into political mode. Nobody is above the law, an angry governor told the media at an event to mark former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayees second death anniversary. Mr Dhankar claimed: Important documents, which should not go out of Raj Bhavan without my sanction, are getting leaked outside. Documents are procured. I have initiated a very serious probe. Those who have done this have to pay a heavy price. On August 14 a document was shared electronically using an app from here. That document came back to me from the highest authority of the government. Mr Dhankhar added: Maoism is now getting visible with the support of state actors. West Bengal needs peace, tranquility and law and order. His latest salvo came hours after he expressed strong displeasure over the CM absence at Raj Bhavans At Home function. Mr Dhankhar tweeted: Absence of CM and officials @MamataOfficial on occasion of Independence Day celebrations at Raj Bhavan has like many startled and stunned me. In another tweet, sharing a photo of an empty chair reserved for the CM, he added: The vacant seat meant for CM @MamataOfficial at celebration of Independence Day at Raj Bhavan speaks volumes -- has created unwholesome situation that is not in sync with rich culture and ethos of WB. There is just no rationale for this unbecoming stance. On Saturday morning, however, Ms Banerjee had visited Raj Bhavan and greeted Mr Dhankhar on Independence Day, in what appeared to be a cordial meeting, sources said. Palestinians take part in a protest against the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalise relations, in Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Aug. 14, 2020. (Reuters/Raneen Sawafta) Israel Says Bahrain, Oman Might Follow UAE in Formalizing Ties JERUSALEMBahrain and Oman could be the next Gulf countries to follow the United Arab Emirates in formalizing ties with Israel, Israels intelligence minister said on Aug. 16. Israel and the UAE announced on Aug. 13 that they will normalize diplomatic relations, reshaping Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran. In the wake of this agreement will come additional agreements, both with more Gulf countries and with Muslim countries in Africa, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen told Army Radio. I think that Bahrain and Oman are definitely on the agenda. In addition, in my assessment, there is a chance that already in the coming year, there will be a peace deal with additional countries in Africa, chief among them, Sudan, he said. Both Bahrain and Oman praised the U.S.-sponsored accord, although neither have commented on their own prospects for normalized relations or responded to requests for comment on the subject. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has met with Omani and Sudanese leaders in the past two years, including a visit to Oman in October 2018. I expect more countries will be joining us in the peace circle, Netanyahu told cabinet ministers on Aug. 16, according to a statement from his office. This is a historic change which advances peace with the Arab world and will eventually advance a real, sober, and secure peace with the Palestinians, he said. The UAE-Israel deal firms up opposition to regional power Iran. UAE and Israeli foreign ministers held their first publicly acknowledged call on Aug. 16 after the Gulf state opened telephone lines to Israel. The connection of phone service represents the first concrete sign of the deal. Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Handel issued a statement congratulating the United Arab Emirates on removing the blocks. Many economic opportunities will open now, and these trust-building steps are an important step toward advancing states interests, Handel said. Also, as of Aug. 16, Israeli news websites that had previously been blocked by UAE authorities, such as the Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Post, and YNet, could be accessed without using means to bypass internet filtering in the Emirates. Israel signed peace agreements with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994. But the UAE, along with most other Arab nations, has had no formal diplomatic or economic relations with it. Oman maintains friendly ties with both the United States and Iran and has previously been a go-between for the two feuding countries. A close ally of Saudi Arabiawhich hasnt yet commented on the UAE-Israel accordBahrain hosted a senior Israeli official at a security conference in 2019, as well as a U.S.-led conference on boosting the Palestinian economy as part of U.S. President Donald Trumps Middle East peace initiative. Government sources in Kuwait said its position towards Israel is unchanged, and it will be the last country to normalize relations, local newspaper al-Qabas reported. Israel and the UAE also said in the joint statement that deals between the countries are expected in the coming weeks, in such areas as tourism, direct flights, and embassies. Early on Aug. 16, the Emirates state-run WAM news agency announced a UAE company had signed an agreement with an Israeli company for research and study of the coronavirus pandemic. The deal has enraged Iran and Turkey, regional rivals to the UAE. On Aug. 16, the chief of staff of Irans armed forces called the UAEs decision a disaster. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri urged Abu Dhabi to revise its position. If an incident happens in the Persian Gulf and violates the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran, even a tiny bit, and we see it from the UAE, we will not tolerate it, Bagheri said. The Associated Press contributed to this report CANBERRA, AUSTRALIAGoogle warned on Monday that the Australian governments plan to make digital giants pay for news content threatens users free services in Australia and could result in their data being given to media organizations. The U.S.-based companys warning, contained in what it called an open letter to Australians, comes a week before public consultations close on draft laws that would make both Google and Facebook pay for news siphoned from commercial media companies. A proposed law ... would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia, Google Australia and New Zealand managing director Mel Silva wrote. Google owns YouTube, a video-sharing platform. Both Google and Facebook have condemned the proposed legislation, which was released last month and aims to succeed where other countries have failed in making the companies compensate media businesses for news content. Australian competition watchdog Rod Sims, chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which drafted the laws, said Googles letter contains misinformation. Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so, Sims said in a statement. Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so, he added. Google later said in a statement that free services were at risk in Australia because the draft laws were unworkable. Google said it did not intend to charge Australians for those services. Google also said the draft legislation requires the platform to provide user data that goes beyond the current level of data sharing between Google and news publishers. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the minister responsible for the consumer watchdog, said in a statement that the draft law remains open for consultation, providing an opportunity for media companies and digital platforms to provide feedback until Aug. 28. Swinburne University senior lecturer on media Belinda Barnet described the Google letter as a cynical exercise designed to scare Google users. I see no merit in any of the arguments, she said. One of the most ironic arguments is that theyre going to have to hand over some data to news organizations for example which article people have read and how long they may have read it for and this coming from the worlds major privacy violator and certainly the worlds largest data aggregator is a bit rich, Barnet added. Google has been battling the Australian consumer watchdog on two fronts. Last month, the watchdog launched court action against Google for allegedly misleading account holders about its use of their personal data. The commission alleges that Google misled millions of Australians to obtain their consent and expand the scope of personal information that it collects about users internet activity to target advertising. Google denies the allegations. Read more about: Prue Leith says shes been forced to give up on an upcoming work of fiction because of a political correctness row Prue Leith says shes been forced to give up on an upcoming work of fiction because of a political correctness row. The Great British Bake Off judge voiced her frustration after she was left at loggerheads with her publisher over what she could and could not include in the novel, as she claimed it is a difficult time to be a writer. Speaking at the online Lockdown LitFest, the 80-year-old said: I have a half-written novel which I abandoned because I slightly fell out with the publisher, because they kept wanting to tell me what was politically correct. Miss Leith added: Its quite difficult for writers at the moment. Theres such a lot of things you cant say and what your characters cant say. Which is ridiculous this is fiction. If I want to write about some prejudiced, white, middle-class male who is a racist... I should be allowed to do that. Miss Leith also said she believes she is now too old to take on another trilogy as she could not guarantee to finish it. Last year she finished her trilogy about two families living in the Cotswolds. She penned her first novel, Leaving Patrick, in 1999. In 2012 she published her memoir, Relish. She has also written a wealth of cookery books. Her most recent, The Vegetarian Kitchen, was published in February. In August she condemned crazy political correctness and said pandering to it will make books boring. I think sometimes political correctness is crazy and goes too far, she told The Sun. Im all for something sensible and you should not be insulting. Childrens writers have to go through a fantastical process of checking they dont offend anybody. If you write a book that never offends anyone it will be a very boring book. Her latest comments come days after Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie voiced his fears for literature in an age of cancel culture and shunned the idea that writers should only write about their own experiences. He told Times Radio: If you can only write about a gay character if youre gay or you can only write about a straight character if youre straight very rapidly the form of literature becaomes difficult to continue with. That doesnt mean you should get away with doing that poorly. Write what you know but only write what you know if what you know is really interesting. Christian teacher facing execution in Syria after refusing to give school to Islamist group Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The headmaster of a school in the city of Afrin in northern Syria has been accused of apostasy and arrested by an Islamist group loyal to Turkey, which wants to punish him for refusing to convert the school into an Islamic educational institution, according to reports. Forty-year-old Radwan Muhammad, a Kurdish Christian who teaches English, is being held at the headquarters of Failaq Al-Sham, an Islamist group affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, in Afrin, according to the U.K.-based group Christian Solidarity Worldwide. We are extremely worried about Radwans life and wellbeing," Pastor Nihad Hassan, who leads a Kurdish church in Beirut, Lebanon, told CSW. "[T]hey may execute him. The group had ordered Muhammad to turn over his school so they could turn it into an Islamic educational institution, but the Christian teacher refused, saying, I will hand you the building in one case only: if Jesus Christ comes down to earth again, CSW reported. He was arrested on July 30. Afrin was taken over by the Turkish army in March 2018. Hassan noted, Those Islamist groups and their Turkish masters are walking in the footsteps of IS (Islamic State). In fact, many of their fighters are former IS and al Qaeda members. CSW Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas called for his immediate release. We also urge the Turkish authorities to intervene by restraining the various Islamist militia groups functioning under its command, and to immediately bring to an end all forms of violence and human rights abuses in the areas they control," Thomas said. Failaq Al-Sham functions in northwest Syria under the Syrian National Army, an umbrella group for different Islamist factions under direct Turkish command. Turkish forces have been giving Syrian armed groups free rein to commit serious human rights abuses against civilians in the Syrian city of Afrin, human rights group Amnesty International said earlier this month after an investigation into life in Afrin under Turkish military occupation. Afrin residents are enduring widespread human rights violations, mostly at the hands of Syrian armed groups equipped and armed by Turkey, Amnesty found. Violations include arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and confiscation of property and looting to which Turkeys armed forces have turned a blind eye. Some of these groups, and Turkish armed forces themselves, have also taken over schools, disrupting the education of thousands of children. When Egyptian entrepreneur Doaa Aref was diagnosed with thyroid cancer three years ago, she said her thyroidectomy was the easy part. Not only did she have trouble finding the medicines she needed, but she would often get the wrong prescriptions delivered to her home when ordering from local pharmacies over the phone. Later on, a recovered Aref found out that she wasnt the only patient to have faced the issue. Thats how the former digital marketing manager and her business partner Dr. Rasha Rady came up with the idea for Chefaa, a Cairo-based medicine delivery platform launched in 2017. In June, Chefaa raised seven figures in its first significant round of venture capital financing working with 500 Startups. The company had previously raised a six-figure fund of seed capital through 500 Startups, Cairo-headquartered Flat6Labs and a few angel investors last August. The online platform, which serves as a marketplace for Egyptian customers, allows those with chronic conditions to order medication online and connects them to pharmacies that can deliver it. While Egypt's economy currently faces pressure from several factors, such as coronavirus preventative measures, a sudden stop in tourism and record-high debt levels, one bright spot in the economy is a tech boom that has continued even throughout the global pandemic. Chefaa is one of several tech companies benefitting from that growth. We believe raising money amid the global COVID-19 crisis is an achievement that carries a responsibility for us to serve and achieve more, Chefaa co-founder Rasha Rady told Al-Monitor. An appetite for innovation The rise of e-commerce platforms in Egypt has not gone unnoticed by companies, investors and entrepreneurs, particularly during the pandemic, with some companies witnessing three to five times higher online sales of fashion, food, hygiene products, gifts and other consumer products. More than half of Egypt's population of about 98 million is under 30 and highly tech savvy. The Arab worlds most populous country is also considered one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial hubs in the Middle East and North Africa, along with the United Arab Emirates and Morocco. Thats why both investors and entrepreneurs are keen on tech startups and businesses in Egypt, where the market is craving solutions in the fields of fintech, e-commerce and health technology. Theres a very good appetite from investors, with more of them competing for good deals within the market than ever before, said Ahmed Alfi, chairman of Sawari Ventures, an international venture capital firm that invests in MENA. Alfi is also co-founder of Flat6Labs, a regional startup incubator that first launched in Egypt back in 2011. Hes also the founder of The GrEEK Campus, a technology and innovation park in the heart of Cairo that offers working spaces for both startups and established multinational tech and media companies. Now more than ever, Alfi says hes witnessed an increasing number of seasoned workers and managers leaving their corporate jobs in Egypt to join new companies or to start their own. That it costs about $1,500 to register and establish a company in Cairo is encouraging for young entrepreneurs, especially those looking to launch new and unique e-commerce platforms. Ramy Khorshed, co-founder of the online real estate platform Sakneen, is one of those young entrepreneurs who knew he had reached the end of his learning curve at his corporate job. Khorshed and his co-founder Hussein El Kheshen launched Sakneen last year to reinvent the real estate experience in Egypt. The platform aims to help property developers and sellers connect directly online with potential buyers. The real estate sector was plagued by disorganized public information and a lack of financial transparency, according to Khorshed. While the need for advanced digital solutions for real estate e-commerce was always there, Khorshed tells Al-Monitor that the coronavirus pandemic has supercharged the adoption of digital tools. We had an explosive response to our waitlist with hundreds of homebuyer and seller requests coming in on the first day as well as dozens of enterprises reaching out for demonstrations, Khorshed added. The proposition for digitizing physical processes was always strong but the past few months have bumped it up to a critical priority. Y Combinator is one of the worlds leading early stage backers. It's invested in 18 companies now valued at over $1 billion. Since 2005, it has invested in over 2,000 companies including Dropbox, Reddit and Airbnb. Sakneen recently participated in Y Combinators incubator program, raising $150,000 in June. E-commerce drives growth Egypts internet penetration rate stood at 54% in 2020 and is growing rapidly. The country currently has about 92 million active mobile connections. Although Egypt has a rapidly growing e-commerce market, it still hasnt reached its full potential. With mobile users increasing by the day, the Egyptian government decided in 2017 to partner up with the UN Conference of Trade and Development to increase the contribution of e-commerce to the countys GDP to 2.32% and double the number of online retailers currently about 14,725 by the end of this year. While tech companies like Chefaa and Sakneen are a testament to the growing appetite for more innovative e-commerce solutions in Egypt, they still face a tricky balance when it comes to driving growth amid the uncertainty of a global pandemic. I think Sakneen along with a number of other software companies are well positioned for the post-Covid economy, said Khorsehd. The key will be to hit profitability and strong unit economics early since investor appetite for risk is likely to change, with a preference emerging for profitability over ballooning growth at all costs. Like many things, this is cyclical and a consequence of the times, he added. The funds enable ImmunoScape to bring its unique immune-profiling capability to major biopharma companies globally, accelerating development of vital immunotherapies and other medicines Singapore based biotech startup ImmunoScape has announced that it has raised USD $11 million (SGD $14.8 million) in a global equity financing round. US-based venture firm Anzu Partners led the round, joined by University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC) in Japan, and NPR Holdings in Indonesia. ImmunoScape's immune profiling platform, which provides deep insights into the T-cells of the human immune system, is already intensely engaged in COVID-19 related programs on three continents. "There is an urgent need to understand how the T-cell immune response contributes to COVID-19 immunity and can be leveraged for vaccine design," said ImmunoScape co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Alessandra Nardin. "In global collaborations with Massachusetts General Hospital, University of Parma (Italy), and Duke-NUS, we are evaluating COVID-19 patients and recovered individuals. We are building a large data set on human T-cell response to COVID-19, in an effort to develop new therapies and better vaccines with our partners." ImmunoScape also has established collaborations with several vaccine development companies, including the San Diego-based Arcturus which is running clinical trials in Singapore. ImmunoScape's technology was based on work begun at Stanford University, and continued at A*STAR of Singapore, where the company was established in 2017. ImmunoScape has received support from A*STAR and its commercialization arm A*ccelerate, as well as Enterprise Singapore. Technical founder Dr. Evan Newell, PhD, previously an A*STAR Science Fellow, is now based at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. A novel receptor protein that binds to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and prevents it from entering cells may hold promise for treating COVID-19 and other coronavirus-related diseases, according to research published online Aug. 4 in the journal SCIENCE. As scientists race to find treatments for COVID-19, many are focused on a specific protein called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, or ACE2, which is found on various cell surfaces throughout the human body. Its purpose is to generate smaller proteins that regulate functions within the cell. Using the spike-like protein on its surface, the SARS-CoV-2 virus binds to ACE2 prior to entry and infection of cells. Thus, ACE2 acts as a receptor for the virus that causes COVID-19. In the study, Dr. Erik Procko and scientists at the University of Illinois engineered a novel receptor that resembles ACE2, with the intent of using it as a "decoy" that can bind to the virus before it can latch onto ACE2 at the cell surface and invade the cell. First, Procko examined more than 2,000 ACE2 mutations and created cells with the mutant receptors on their surfaces. By analyzing how these interacted with the coronavirus spike protein, he found a combination of three mutations that made a receptor that bound to the virus more strongly and made it a more "attractive" target for the virus. After Procko posted his findings to a preprint server, a colleague connected him with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. USAMRIID scientists, including Dr. Andrew Herbert of The Geneva Foundation, agreed to test the receptor in cells using live SARS-CoV-2. "We were already in the process of testing several therapeutic candidates for SARS-CoV-2, and Erik's approach seemed novel--and certainly compelling enough to give it a shot," commented Herbert. USAMRIID's team determined that the decoy receptor has potent neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2, activity that is on par with the best neutralizing antibodies identified to date. Furthermore, they found that the decoy receptor not only neutralizes SARS-CoV-2, but also acts to neutralize SARS-CoV-1, a closely related virus that uses the same cellular receptor. "Once we confirmed neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2, it made sense to test for pan-coronavirus activity against other coronaviruses that also use ACE2 to enter cells," said Herbert. Additional research is required to determine whether the decoy receptor could be used to effectively treat or prevent COVID-19 and related coronavirus diseases, according to Herbert. The team hopes to secure funding for animal studies to help answer those questions. ### About the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases: For over 50 years, USAMRIID has provided leading edge medical capabilities to deter and defend against current and emerging biological threat agents. The Institute is the only laboratory in the Department of Defense equipped to safely study highly hazardous viruses requiring maximum containment at Biosafety Level 4. Research conducted at USAMRIID leads to medical solutions - vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, information, and training programs - that benefit both military personnel and civilians. Established in 1969, the Institute plays a key role as the lead military medical research laboratory for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Joint Science and Technology Office for Chemical and Biological Defense. USAMRIID is a subordinate laboratory of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command. For more information, visit http://www.usamriid.army.mil. Reference: Engineering human ACE2 to optimize binding to the spike protein of SARS coronavirus 2; DOI: 10.1126/science.abc0870. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2020/08/03/science.abc0870 Authors: Kui K. Chan, Orthogonal Biologics; Danielle Dorosky, Shawn Abbasi, and John Dye, USAMRIID; Andrew Herbert, The Geneva Foundation at USAMRIID; and Preeti Sharma, David M. Kranz, and Erik Procko, University of Illinois. Funding: The National Institutes of Health supported development of deep mutagenesis to study virus-receptor interactions. Funding for USAMRIID was provided through the CARES Act with programmatic oversight from the Military Infectious Diseases Research Program. Weve known from the beginning how the end will arrive. Eventually, the coronavirus will be unable to find enough susceptible hosts to survive, fading out wherever it briefly emerges. To achieve so-called herd immunity the point at which the virus can no longer spread because there are not enough vulnerable humans scientists have suggested that perhaps 70% of a given population must be immune, through vaccination or because they survived the infection. Now some researchers are wrestling with a hopeful possibility. In interviews with The New York Times, more than a dozen scientists said that the threshold is likely to be much lower: just 50%, perhaps even less. If thats true, then it may be possible to turn back the coronavirus more quickly than once thought. The new estimates result from complicated statistical modeling of the pandemic, and the models have all taken divergent approaches, yielding inconsistent estimates. It is not certain that any community in the world has enough residents now immune to the virus to resist a second wave. But in parts of New York, London and Mumbai, India, for example, it is not inconceivable that there is already substantial immunity to the coronavirus, scientists said. Im quite prepared to believe that there are pockets in New York City and London which have substantial immunity, said Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. What happens this winter will reflect that. The question of what it means for the population as a whole, however, is much more fraught, he added. Herd immunity is calculated from the epidemics so-called reproductive number, R0, an indicator of how many people each infected person spreads the virus to. The initial calculations for the herd immunity threshold assumed that each community member had the same susceptibility to the virus and mixed randomly with everyone else in the community. That doesnt happen in real life, said Dr. Saad Omer, director of the Yale Institute for Global Health. Herd immunity could vary from group to group, and subpopulation to subpopulation, and even by postal codes, he said. For example, a neighborhood of older people may have little contact with others but succumb to the virus quickly when they encounter it, whereas teenagers may bequeath the virus to dozens of contacts and yet stay healthy themselves. The virus moves slowly in suburban and rural areas, where people live far apart, but zips through cities and households thick with people. Once such real-world variations in density and demographics are accounted for, the estimates for herd immunity fall. Some researchers even suggested the figure may be in the range of 10% to 20%, but they were in the minority. Assuming the virus ferrets out the most outgoing and most susceptible in the first wave, immunity following a wave of infection is distributed more efficiently than with a vaccination campaign that seeks to protect everyone, said Tom Britton, a mathematician at Stockholm University. His model puts the threshold for herd immunity at 43% that is, the virus cannot hang on in a community after that percentage of residents has been infected and recovered. Still, that means many residents of the community will have been sickened or have died, a high price to pay for herd immunity. And experts like Hanage cautioned that even a community that may have reached herd immunity cannot afford to be complacent. The virus may still flare up here and there, even if its overall spread is stymied. Its also unclear how long someone who has recovered may be immune, and for how long. Virus-Resistant Communities? The coronavirus crashed this years Purim celebrations in the Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods of New York City, tearing through the parades and masquerades in Brooklyn on March 9 and 10. Schools and synagogues soon shut down to quell the spread, but it was too late. By April, thousands in the Brooklyn communities were infected, and hundreds had died. Its like a black hole in my memory because of how traumatic it was, said Blimi Marcus, a nurse practitioner who lives in Borough Park, which was hit hard by the virus. But all that has changed now, Marcus added: The general feeling is one of complacency, that somehow weve all had it and were safe. Is it possible that some of these communities have herd immunity? In some clinics, up to 80% of people tested had antibodies to the virus. The highest prevalence was found among teenage boys. But people at clinics are more likely to be showing symptoms and therefore more likely to be infected, said Wan Yang, an epidemiologist at Columbia Universitys Mailman School of Public Health in New York. Random household surveys would probably find lower rates but still well above the 21% average reported for New York City, she said. Researchers in Mumbai conducted just such a random household survey, knocking on every fourth door or, if it was locked, the fifth and took blood for antibody testing. They found a startling disparity between the citys poorest neighborhoods and its more affluent enclaves. Between 51% and 58% of residents in poor areas had antibodies, versus 11% to 17% elsewhere in the city. The lowest-income residents are packed tightly together, share toilets, and have little access to masks. These factors contributed to a silent infection spread, said Dr. Jayanthi Shastri, a microbiologist at Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai who led the work. Most researchers are wary of concluding that the hardest-hit neighborhoods of Brooklyn, or even those in blighted areas of Mumbai, have reached herd immunity or will be spared future outbreaks. But models like Brittons hint that its not impossible. Other researchers have suggested, controversially, that herd immunity can be achieved at rates of immunity as low as 10% or 20% and that entire countries may already have achieved that goal. Criticism trailed Sunetra Gupta, a theoretical epidemiologist at Oxford University, after a widely circulated interview in which she said that London and New York may already have reached herd immunity because of variability among people, combined with a theoretical immunity to common cold coronaviruses that may protect against the new one. That could be the explanation for why you dont see a resurgence in places like New York, she said. Most experts reject that notion. Several studies have shown that certain immune cells produced following infection with seasonal coronaviruses may also recognize the new coronavirus. But where is the evidence that its protective? asked Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at the University of Florida. These cities have not returned to pre-pandemic levels of activity, other experts noted. We are still nowhere near back to normal in our daily behavior, said Virginia Pitzer, a mathematical epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. To think that we can just stop doing all that and go back to normal and not see a rise in cases I think is wrong, is incorrect. A second wave might also hit groups or neighborhoods that were spared by the first, and still wreak havoc, she said. Immunity is a patchwork quilt in New York, for instance: Antibodies were present in 68% of people visiting a clinic in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, for instance, but in just 13% of those tested at a clinic in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. But another group, led by mathematician Gabriela Gomes of the University of Strathclyde in Britain, accounted for variations within a society in its model and found that Belgium, England, Portugal and Spain have herd immunity thresholds in the range of 10% to 20%. At least in countries we applied it to, we could never get any signal that herd immunity thresholds are higher, Gomes said. I think its good to have this horizon that it may be just a few more months of pandemic. Other experts urged caution, saying these models are flawed, as all models are, and that they oversimplify conditions on the ground. Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, said it wasnt clear to him that Gomes model offered only one possible solution. And he was suspicious of the big ranges among the four countries. I think wed be playing with fire if we pretended were done with this, Shaman said. The new models offer food for thought, he and other experts said, but should not be used to set policy. Mathematically, its certainly possible to have herd immunity at these very, very low levels, said Carl Bergstrom, an infectious disease expert at the University of Washington in Seattle. Those are just our best guesses for what the numbers should look like. But, he added, theyre just exactly that, guesses. Imperfect Immunity But what about immunity at levels lower than those needed for herd immunity? Definitely the disease would not spread as well if it gets back into New York, said Joel Miller, a mathematical modeler at La Trobe University in Australia. The same level of behavior change will have more effect on the disease now than it did four months ago. Thinking of a city or country as composed of subgroups, demarcated by age, race and level of social activity, might also help governments protect those with the least immunity. That perspective also might help put a renewed focus on groups who require the higher levels of immunity, because of greater exposure levels and other inequities, including Black and Latino residents, said Dr. Manoj Jain, an infectious disease expert at Emory University. Thats where this info is very useful, he said. The models also suggest a vaccination strategy: Rather than uniformly vaccinate all groups, governments could identify and immunize those most likely to be exposed in superspreader events. Getting those people vaccinated first can lead to the greatest benefit, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. That alone could lead to herd immunity, Vaccination schemes for other pathogens have successfully exploited this approach. For example, when children were given the pneumococcal vaccine in the early 2000s, rates of bacterial pneumonia in the elderly rapidly dropped because of a herd effect. Vaccines that offer just 50% protection are considered to be moderately effective, but at that efficiency, even a low herd immunity target would require that a large proportion of the population be immunized, Bergstrom noted. If there are early reports of side effects that may scare away some people, he said, wed do well to start thinking about all that now. Back in Brooklyn, fewer than 1% of people tested at neighborhood clinics over the past eight weeks have had the virus. But there are still handfuls of cases, Marcus said, adding that her 10-year-old niece was in quarantine because a counselor at her day camp had tested positive. Sometimes thats all you need, right? she said. Im still hoping we dont see what we had in March and April, but Im not so sure that weve seen the end of it. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. A body recovered Saturday evening along the Lehigh River in Freemansburg has been identified as a 48-year-old man. Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek on Sunday identified the deceased as Michael Andrews of Northampton Borough. Andrews was recovered from the river -- east of the overpass -- shortly before 7 p.m. His exact cause and manner of death is pending a complete investigation, Lysek said. Lysek did not provide further details about what might have led to the death or what Andrews was doing in the river. Freemansburg Police Chief Jonathan Itterly did not immediately respond to phone and email requests for information. Itterly told The Morning Call newspaper Andrews appeared to have been deceased for awhile before being discovered. Police also werent aware of any missing persons in the area, Itterly said in the report. A Facebook posting by Honest Travs Virtual Dive Bar said Andrews was seen was on Aug. 6. Hes described as a member of that Facebook group. A member posted finding his vehicle at the parking deck of Wind Creek Casino in Bethlehem and said his wallet was dropped off in a dropbox of the Bethlehem Police Department. The member stated police were notified and a missing persons report was filed. The Northampton County Coroners Office was called to respond after the remains were reportedly found, a county 911 dispatch supervisor confirmed Saturday. Lysek arrived by 6:30 p.m. to the river and Freemansburg police investigated the discovery from aboard a Bethlehem Township Volunteer Fire Co. boat. Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Youve tried the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel and George Washington Bridge. The bus, the train and PATH. Maybe even the ferry. How about a bunch of balloons? After all, these are interesting times. For magician David Blaines next trick, he will attempt to cross the Hudson River from New Jersey to New York in just that fashion using a whole bunch of balloons filled with helium, Variety reports. Think of it as an inverted take on this past weekends viral Hudson River swimmer less tasting the water and more avoiding it. This stunt has been 10 years in the making, Blaine tweeted. Lets turn worry into wonder and take magic to new heights. The attempt, while not exactly in contention for most efficient commute, is reminiscent of the Oscar-winning animated movie Up (2009), in which retired balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen sets his house aloft using hundreds of helium balloons. Magician David Blaine is attempting his first stunt in almost eight years.David Livingston | Getty Images Blaines stunt, which has the decidedly more dramatic title Ascension, will air live on YouTube Monday, Aug. 31. Blaine, 47, is a Brooklyn native who lived in Little Falls when he was a teen and attended Passaic Valley Regional High School. He was formerly a magician-in-residence at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. Blaines previous stunts include having himself buried in a box. For seven days in 1999, he only drank a few tablespoons of water each day and ate no food. In 2000, he tried but failed to stand in a block of ice in Times Square for 72 hours (he made it to 63 hours). A few years later, he stood 100 feet up on a pillar for 35 hours in New York. Blaines 2012 stunt took place at Pier 54 in New York, where he stood on a 22-foot-high pillar for several days without food as Tesla coils directed one million volts at the magician, who wore a conducting suit to prevent the electrical current from going through his body. To see Blaine in action August 31, visit the live YouTube link for Ascension here. This stunt has been 10 years in the making. Let's turn worry into wonder and take magic to new heights. #DavidBlaineAscension, August 31st only on @YouTube Join me on the ascent: https://t.co/bVy2WU5kvM #youtubeoriginals pic.twitter.com/eke9hZ8zOq David Blaine (@davidblaine) August 12, 2020 Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Send a coronavirus tip here. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Every drop of water matters in a dry state such as New Mexico. But state efforts to create a 50-year water plan have been complicated by a tight budget, limited staff and persistent drought. In January, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Office of the State Engineer requested that the Legislature allocate $750,000 to kick-start the plan. Lujan Grisham had campaigned on the promise of a 50-year water plan that would engage communities and identify emerging water challenges. Smart water management and conservation must become a way of life in New Mexico, says an October 2018 plan outlining Lujan Grishams positions on water issues. The Legislature denied the funding request in the 2020 regular session. The OSE did receive the go-ahead to hire two additional people for water planning. But those plans were scrapped this summer as state agencies made budget cuts amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now the water planning program is operating with one staffer and a $350,000 budget for the 2021 fiscal year. Were really trying to put more work on the ground today with far fewer people than weve ever had, said Rolf Schmidt-Petersen, director of the Interstate Stream Commission. Weve got people in the field now because of drought, and its difficult for them to be in the office doing other things as part of our regular work. Were basically moving pieces around to deal with a crisis situation in a triage mode, and that applies to water planning also. The State Water Plan Act, passed in 2003, mandates that the Office of the State Engineer and the ISC create a comprehensive water plan. Agencies must review the plan at least every five years. Requirements include an inventory of water quality and quantity, a drought management plan, regional water plans, and information about water infrastructure projects and water rights settlements. The 2018 state water plan is a massive document. More than 200 pages detail water law, management policies and technical reports. A 50-year plan will likely look different. Research and reports are still necessary, but the-goal is a more interactive host of websites, social media outreach and webinars to answer questions about water in the Land of Enchantment. Its not just a document that sits on somebodys desk. Thats not the future, Schmidt-Petersen said. We want to engage those local stakeholders all across New Mexico who know their local water issues really, really well. The water planning program cant afford expensive, time-consuming studies. So the ISC is laying a foundation by supporting existing research projects. One of those building blocks is the state Water Data Initiative, spurred by a 2019 state law to standardize water data and make it easily accessible. Another effort is the $1 million Rio Grande Basin Study by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District. That study will predict future water supply and demand from the Colorado-New Mexico state line to Elephant Butte Reservoir. Key to a long-term plan is acknowledging that future water supplies may be unreliable in the face of climate change, said David Gutzler, a climate scientist and professor in the University of New Mexicos Earth and Planetary Sciences Department. This is a really bad drought year, but what climate change across southwest North America does is tip the scales toward more frequent and more intense droughts, he said. Gutzlers research and statewide weather data show that temperatures in New Mexico have risen rapidly in the past 50 years. Precipitation trends vary, but snowpack levels are declining across the West. For decades, state water managers have predicted how much water would be in streams in the spring and summer simply by measuring snowpack in the higher elevations. But those predictions become less accurate as more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow. Spring runoff increasingly happens earlier in the year, and snow evaporates quickly, as was the case this spring. Climate change is just one stressor for New Mexicos water supply. Groundwater supplies are dwindling in many regions. Agriculture, growing urban areas, and wildlife all need water. The states water plan faces questions about how to meet all those demands. As a society, well need to think about how were going to cope with either intermittent or long-term water shortages in a way that minimizes conflict, Gutzler said. We have to think about how to take rules and regulations and laws that were developed when there were many fewer people and a different climate, and adapt those to the hydrologic reality in the 21st century. But thats not a science problem. Thats a values and social science problem. Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal. Thanks to their ability to meet peoples needs for various services during the COVID-19 pandemic, mini programs have quickly penetrated various industries in China, such as telemedicine, online education, as well as the fresh food retail industry, while playing important roles in government affairs and peoples livelihoods. Staff members at an enterprise service center in Pudong New Area, east Chinas Shanghai, help citizens handle their affairs via a mini program on their mobile phones. (Photo/Xinhua) There are now more than 5.5 million mini programs in China, with the amount of daily active users exceeding 440 million, according to a midyear report on mini programs in 2020. The total value of the transactions that take place on mini programs in China is expected to exceed 2 trillion yuan (about $287.8 billion) by the end of the year, suggested a recent report released by a Chinese SaaS provider. During the period when the epidemic situation was very serious, my family did our best to not go outside, so I bought vegetables at home via mini programs. It was very convenient, said a college student surnamed Zhao. When she found that mini programs could meet basically all her needs for various services ranging from paying bills to online shopping, Zhao taught her parents how to use them so that they could also enjoy bike sharing and express services. My parents learned how to use these mini programs quickly, said Zhao, adding that mini programs are convenient as people can use them without having to download a dedicated app onto their mobile phones. The first mini program was released on social media platform WeChat on Jan. 9, 2017. There are now 11 mini program platforms in China, including WeChat, service-focused e-commerce giant Meituan Dianping, the worlds leading mobile payment platform Alipay, tech giant Baidu, and leading cybersecurity company Qihoo 360. There were 580,000 mini programs in China in 2017, and the figure is estimated to surpass 14 million in 2020, according to iiMedia Research, a third-party data mining and data analysis service provider. The number of mini program users in China is expected to exceed 850 million this year, according to data from iiMedia Research. With more platforms intensifying their efforts to tap into the field, more types of mini programs will be connected to various platforms, ensuring that the growth of mini programs will continue to accelerate. So far, Alipays digital platform has a total of over 1.7 million mini programs, which are used by more than 600 million people each month. The number of mini programs on the WeChat platform has exceeded 3.2 million, and have more than 730 million monthly active users, according to a recent report on the development of online mini programs during the first half of this year. As demand for contactless digital services has soared since the COVID-19 outbreak, China has seen a boom in the development and performance of mini programs. Many businesses that have launched mini programs on the Alipay platform have seen their sales volumes rocket. One mini program launched by a milk tea brand on Alipay was visited more than 8 million times in the two months after its release, while the value of the brands business transactions on Alipay platform rose 50 times. Another mini program that provides users with moving services found that there were over 10,000 inquiries made on the mini program on Alipay for moving services every month, and 30 percent of these people eventually hired the company for its services. Li Shang Huang, a Chinese snack food retail brand, managed to attract more than 20,000 people to its offline stores within 20 days by providing coupons through its mini program. With apps taking up more and more internal storage, space on mobile phones has become increasingly precious. Mini programs offer a far more convenient alternative, as people can open them simply by scanning the code of a mini program or searching the program with their existing apps. On top of that, the cost of developing a mini program is much lower than that needed for an app, and in terms of user experience, theres not much difference between the two. Moreover, being closely connected with social media apps gives mini programs a major advantage over apps, said Pan Helin, executive director of the research institute of digital economy at the Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. Recently, WeChat started running internal tests for a new feature based on mini programs. This feature allows enterprises to run mini stores on the platform and promote sales via live-streaming. The move is aimed at helping more small and medium-sized enterprises and owners of private businesses benefit from e-commerce via the WeChat platform. Last March, Ant Financial Services Group, the operator of Alipay, announced that it would upgrade Alipay into an open digital lifestyle platform. The platform revealed that it would work with 50,000 service providers to help 40 million businesses in the service industry realize digital transformation over the next three years. China has witnessed digital transformation in its retail industry, manufacturing, and urban governance, and the next key sector to experience massive digital transformation will be the service industry, according to experts in the field. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. Lukashenko says work is already under way on possible changes to the constitution that could redistribute power. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said he would be willing to share power and change the constitution, but that he was not prepared to do so under pressure from protesters, according to Belta news agency. Lukashenko on Monday said work was already under way on possible changes to the constitution that could redistribute power, Belta reported. The embattled leader made the remarks at a tractor plant in Minsk where he also told workers that there would be no new presidential election after a disputed August 9 vote. We held elections already. Until you kill me, there will be no other elections, he was quoted by the Tut.by media outlet as saying. Al Jazeeras Step Vaessen reporting from Minsk said that while Lukashenko says he wants to redistribute power after the constitution is changed, this is a long process which could take years. Many people here see that as efforts by him to buy time, Vaessen said. However, the RIA news agency later reported him saying that a new election would be held after the country adopts a new constitution. Nearly 5,000 workers from the Minsk Tractor Works plant, which has been on strike since Monday morning, marched down the streets, demanding that Lukashenko step down and cede his post to Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the leading opposition candidate. People protest near an MZKT plant where heavy off-road vehicles are made in Minsk [Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters] It was the ninth consecutive day of protesting against the results of an election that extended his 26-year rule. The official results of the August 9 vote gave Lukashenko 80 percent of the votes and Tikhanovskaya only 10 percent, but the opposition claimed the vote was rigged. Lukashenko is a former president, he needs to go, Sergei Dylevsky, the leader of the protest at the Minsk Tractor Works plant, told The The Associated Press news agency on Monday. Sveta (Tikhanovskaya) is our president, legitimate and elected by the people. Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher, entered the race after her husband who planned to run himself was jailed in Belarus. She managed to galvanise nationwide support, drawing tens of thousands to her campaign rallies. Large-scale protests against the vote results continued even after she left the country for Lithuania last week, a move her campaign said was made under duress. Workers from the Minsk Tractor Works Plant carry an old Belarusian national flag [Sergei Grits/AP] Reporting outside of state media headquarters in Minsk, Vaessen said that 130 state media employees had walked out in the morning in protest, leaving an empty studio. They were joined here by other protesters who have now demanded the television station to tell the truth, stop lying and stop spreading propaganda. Later they were also joined by thousands of workers from strategic factories around the capital, Vaessen said. Some metal workers have also completely stopped working so the industry is not producing anything right now. This is really turning into a very serious headache for President Lukashenko who sees the pressure on him to resign only increasing. On Monday workers heckled and jeered Lukashenko as he visited a factory and strikes grew across Belarus. Lukashenko had flown by helicopter to a factory in the capital of Minsk to rally support, but he was met by angry workers chanting, Go away! He told the workers that those who intend to strike could leave if they want, but said that the protests are ruining the economy and the country would collapse if he steps down. I will never cave in to pressure, Lukashenko said. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko addresses workers of the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant in Minsk, Belarus [Nikolai Petrov/AP] Thousands of protesters again converged on the capitals main Independence Square in the evening. We dont want any new constitutions or referendums. We want Lukashenkos resignation, 45-year-old factory worker Dmitry Averkin told the AP news agency. The faster he steps down, the sooner the country comes back to normal life. The protests have posed the biggest challenge yet to Lukashenkos iron-fisted rule of the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million. Belarusian authorities initially tried to suppress the rallies, arresting almost 7,000 people in the first days of the protests. Police moved aggressively, using stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds, injuring scores of people. However, as protests grew and the harsh crackdown drew criticism in the West, law enforcement refrained from interfering with the crowds and appeared all but absent during a rally on Sunday that attracted about 200,000 people. People protest against presidential election results. The placard reads: Long Live Belarus! [Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters] Tikhanovskaya said in a video statement on Monday she was ready to facilitate a rerun of the disputed election. Im ready to take on the responsibility and act as a national leader in order for the country to calm down, return to its normal rhythm, in order for us to free all the political prisoners and prepare legislation and conditions for organising new presidential elections, she said. Lukashenko bristled at the idea of talks with the opposition, insisting his government was the only legitimate one, and rejected the idea of repeating the election at a rally in his support on Sunday. The embattled president told a crowd of 50,000 that the country would perish as a state otherwise, and denounced the protesters as stooges of foreign masterminds. A storm is a sudden and strong gust of wind which leaves behind a calm, sometimes accompanied by havoc. The one which hit Rajasthan lasted for little over a month and is now witnessing calm but it rests uneasy. On the face of it, it may not have created havoc but the chances of another storm coming cannot be ruled out. The top Congress leadership has set up a three-member committee to ensure that all factors that led to this storm and the possibility of another hitting are ruled out. The members of the committee are an important indication that the top leadership wants to be seen as paying heed to concerns raised by Sachin Pilot and his MLAs. First, the change. Avinash Pandey, who is considered close to the chief minister and the old guard, has now been replaced. Ajay Maken, who is seen as Rahul Gandhis person, has replaced Pandey. This fulfils one of the demands of the Pilot camp that Avinash Pandey should go. The other member of the committee is KC Venugopal, again Rahul Gandhis man. He was recently made Rajya Sabha MP as Rahul wanted him to be. But the Rajasthan crisis has set into motion a new order in the Congress. This could lead to the final and possible appointment of Rahul as the party president, which so far has no specific time frame. In Rahuls previous avatar as the party president, one big criticism was that he wasnt surrounded by advisors who had been toughened in crisis resolution. During the Rajasthan crisis, it were the old guards and seniors who diffused the situation. The one thing Rajasthan crisis seems to have changed is this: The three committee members who were sent to Jaipur to fix the problem and who parked themselves there for over a month were handpicked by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, and are considered to be Rahuls closest aide. KC Venugopal is Rahul gandhis colleague from the state Kerala. Randeep Surjewala, who heads the media department, is said to be the eyes and ears of Rahul. The fact that he agreed to contest from Jind despite knowing he was bound to lose from that seat just because Rahul wanted it, has earned him brownie points. Now lets come to the third member, Ajay Maken. He is the only one among the three with an experience of being a cabinet minister at the Centre. He has now been given charge of the desert state. While one cannot discount the contribution of Ahmed Patel and Ashok Gehlot in diffusing the crisis, the face of the crisis management were these three handpicked leaders. Sources say they have a bigger role to play in future as well. They were given a virtual free hand and were the link between the Gandhis and the state leadership to diffuse the crisis. From addressing the media and keeping the MLAs engaged to chalking out a legal strategy, the trio could well become the base of the team that Rahul would fall back on. But there are several others who are now being tapped and built as a team for the Gandhi scion. Street fighters and leaders such as Manickam Tagore, Ajay Lallu, Srinivas and DK Shivkumar are expected to play important roles in days to come. Sources say that while Rahul doesnt want a complete break from the seniors, the replacements are already being chalked out. An organsiational reshuffle is on the cards and more new faces are likely to be used. Most importantly, as Sachin Pilots comeback showed, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will play an important role in the party and it will be team effort of Rahul and Priyanka hence on. As Congress struggles to sort out its leadership issue, a team is already being built. Another storm may only just strengthen the team or test it. Diners are being encouraged to limit how much they order in restaurants - STR/AFP A restaurant in China has apologised for asking customers to weigh themselves before entering as part of a national campaign against wasting food. Customers at the Chuiyan Fried Beef restaurant in the city of Changsa were requested to stand on bathroom scales and enter personal information into an app before they sat down to eat. The app would then recommend food choices by matching their weight to the calorific content of a dish, according to state media China News Service. The app recommended that women who weighed under 40kg should order a maximum of two dishes, such as sauteed beef and steamed fish heads. Men weighing between 70 and 80kg were able to order a third dish. Chuiyan Fried Beef said in a statement it was interpreting the Clean Plate Campaign launched by President Xi Jinping last week, after he called national levels of food wastage "shocking and distressing". In an apology posted online, the restaurant said: "Our original intentions were to advocate stopping waste and ordering food in a healthy way. We never forced customers to weigh themselves. Restaurants on China are actively encouraging people not to waste food - STR/AFP The restaurant also pinned up signs saying "be thrifty and diligent, promote empty plates" and "operation empty plate" to show their support for President Xis campaign. The installation of the weighing scales led to furious backlash on Chinese social media. Hashtags about the restaurant on Weibo, a social media platform, have been seen more than 300 million times by users. Tan Yan, president of the Chuiyan Fried Beef chain, told The Beijing News that while the scales had caused distress, thousands had voluntarily weighed themselves. Many female customers like to weigh themselves, and their body weight was sent to their phones, not shown on the scales, so it did not breach their privacy. Following the announcement of the Clean Plate Campaign, authorities in China have recommended that restaurants serve one fewer dish than there are members of a dining party, a policy known as N-1. Chinese state television have also strongly criticised live streamed videos of people consuming large amounts of food. Known by their Korean name Mukbang the videos have been described as food orgies. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Sydney, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 17th Aug, 2020 ) :Children will be banned from playing the recorder and singing in school choirs across Australia's most populous state in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus, authorities said Monday. With infections hitting several Sydney schools, authorities in New South Wales moved to prohibit choirs and wind ensembles from Wednesday. "All group singing and/or other chanting activities, as well as the use of wind instruments in group settings, are not permitted," the local education authority said. That includes the recorder -- a gateway to instrument playing for many small children -- while dancing will also be off-limits. "School formals, dances, graduation or other social events are not permitted," the New South Wales education department added. Although public schools in Sydney and the rest of New South Wales have reopened after initial lockdowns, authorities said the new measures would help them operate in the "safest ways possible". Australia is currently battling to contain a number of coronavirus outbreaks after months of near-zero local transmission. The country's second-largest city, Melbourne, is in lockdown and still reporting hundreds of new cases daily, although the number is decreasing. Many of Melbourne's infections have been linked to aged care homes -- where death rates are rising following a peak in cases over the last two weeks. Australia has recorded more than 23,000 cases of COVID-19 and 421 fatalities so far in the pandemic. Richard Morgan from the Humanitarian Coalition says: "Canadians have donated generously over the past week to help those on the ground in Lebanon. We want to ensure that their donations are going directly to those in need. Our team will participate in aid distributions on the ground that are providing food, medicine, medical supplies, sanitary products and other items to those who have been affected by the blast." In response to the devastating blast in Lebanon, the Canadian government is matching all donations received through the Humanitarian Coalition and its member agencies up to 5 million dollars. Staff from Islamic Relief Canada and CARE Canada are part of the team travelling to Beirut and are available for media interviews in English, Arabic and French. The Humanitarian Coalition brings together leading aid organizations to provide Canadians with a simple and effective way to help during international humanitarian disasters. The following agencies are members of the Humanitarian Coalition: Action Against Hunger, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Canadian Lutheran World Relief, Care Canada, Doctors of the World, Humanity & Inclusion, Islamic Relief Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Quebec, Plan International Canada, Save the Children, and World Vision. SOURCE Islamic Relief Canada For further information: To arrange for interviews, pictures, videos and/or live footage of distributions, please contact: Reyhana Patel - [email protected] / 647-200-4662; Marg Buchanan - [email protected] / 613-239-2159 Related Links islamicreliefcanada.org An Garda Siochana are warning the public of the continuing existence of Invoice Redirect Fraud and are urging people 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," said a garda spokesperson. 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. NEW YORK - Presidential politics move fast. What were watching heading into a new week on the 2020 campaign: Days to general election: 78 Days to first debate: 43 ___ THE NARRATIVE The first national political convention of the coronavirus era has arrived. For four consecutive nights beginning on Monday, Democrats from across the country will gather in front of their computers, television screens and smart phones for the all-virtual affair that will showcase the diversity of the modern-day Democratic Party and test Joe Bidens ability to energize his sprawling coalition. President Donald Trump is working to step on the Democrats convention and prevent Biden from earning any convention polling bounce. The Republican president launches a campaign tour on Monday that features in-person stops in three swing states, including Wisconsin. At the same time, coronavirus deaths continue to mount. With little guidance from the Trump administration, state and local governments are still struggling with a patchwork of inconsistent policies to combat the virus and revive their economies as the new school year begins. Meanwhile, a new crisis is roiling. The U.S. Postal Service is struggling with significant delays that threaten to disenfranchise millions of Americans who prefer to vote by mail in the middle of a pandemic. As state election officials cry for help, Trump is questioning the integrity of voting by mail and casting doubt on the ability of the postal service to deliver ballots and of election officials to count them. THE BIG QUESTIONS How much excitement can a virtual convention generate? National conventions traditionally mark a high point for presidential campaigns. Theres nothing traditional about 2020. Forced to abandon their in-person convention in Milwaukee because of the pandemic, Democrats begin their all-virtual affair on Monday night. There will be no physical gathering place, no cheering audience, no balloons. The program will consist of a series of online video addresses roughly half of which will be prerecorded that play out for two hours each night until Biden formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday in a mostly empty Delaware ballroom. While that may sound underwhelming, the last hour of the speaking program each night will be broadcast live on network television and feature the Democratic Partys elite: former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, former President Bill Clinton and 2016 party nominee Hillary Clinton, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Even a Republican former governor of Ohio, John Kasich, will speak on Bidens behalf. There are no other moments in politics that offer campaigns the ability to deliver their carefully scripted message to millions of voters on prime-time television four days in a row. Thats bound to energize some of Bidens coalition. What is the Kamala Harris effect? California Sen. Kamala Harris won the veepstakes five days ago, and were just beginning to see her impact on the Biden campaign. As weve noted before, the impact of running mates is often exaggerated. Still, the early reviews have been positive. Bidens campaign raised a staggering $48 million in the 48 hours after last weeks announcement, people of colour in the African American and Indian communities are excited, and Trumps campaign has struggled to identify a coherent message against her. Trumps campaign surrogates have cast her as an extreme liberal, while Trump himself settled on a series of racist and sexist comments. The Republican president described Harris in recent days as a madwoman and claimed at a White House news conference to have no idea whether she was eligible to serve as vice-president because her parents were immigrants. Born in California, she is eligible as set out in the Constitution. Harris faces the largest test of her political career on Wednesday night when she makes history as the first woman of colour to accept a major partys vice-presidential nomination. What is happening at the post office? There may be no more important story in the United States right now than the health of the Postal Service, which will play a critical role delivering ballots this fall as tens of millions of Americans vote by mail to protect themselves from the pandemic. There are legitimate concerns that the post office cannot do the job democracy requires. Thats at least in part because of a series of changes the Trump administration implemented in recent weeks, including the inexplicable decision to remove mail sorting machines from key locations. Democrats are contemplating a series of congressional hearings in the coming days, but with the Republican-led Senate on recess for the next month, its unclear whether there is enough political will to fix the mounting crisis. Can Trump step on the Democrats convention? Biden wont be in Wisconsin for the Democrats convention as initially planned this week, but Trump will. The Trump campaign has announced two in-person campaign appearances on Monday and a third on Tuesday as the Republican president works to undermine the opening days of the Democratic National Convention. Hes scheduled to deliver remarks in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday before heading to Arizona on Tuesday. Trump has proven to be a master of manipulating media coverage to ensure hes the centre of attention, even if that attention isnt always positive. By being willing to travel to battleground states that Biden hasnt visited for months, Trump is ensuring that hell be a significant part of the conversation on what may be the most important week of Bidens decades-long political career. ___ THE FINAL THOUGHT Rarely, if ever, has a political party highlighted as much political and racial diversity as Bidens Democratic Party will this week. A woman of colour will accept a major partys presidential nomination for the first time. Kasich, a Republican, will speak on Bidens behalf, as will a self-described democratic socialist, Sanders, and billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Under normal circumstances, it might be difficult to keep such disparate political factions united. But Trump is proving to be the most important coalition builder Democrats have ever had. ___ 2020 Watch runs every Monday and provides a look at the week ahead in the 2020 election. By Express News Service COIMBATORE: After a professor tested positive for Covid-19 infection, his colleagues at Bharathiar University have alleged that the University administration failed to follow the governments order of engaging only 50 per cent of workforce. According to sources, a professor working in Department of Environmental Sciences tested positive on Saturday morning and was admitted to a private hospital. A professor, on the condition of anonymity, said, As per the State government directions, only 50 per cent of staff members should work as part of prevention measures. But the head of the department forced all the professors to go to work without fail. There are at least 30 staff and professors working in the department. Now, they all have to undergo Covid-19 test. Everyone is in panic. The University should follow the governments directions properly to control the spread of the virus. Another professor said, After the professor tested positive, the University had not informed the health department about it. As a result, the concerned department premises and the professors home located in the University quarters were not disinfected. However, University Vice-Chancellor P Kaliraj denied the allegations. He told TNIE, We have been following all the government norms and have instructed the head of department to work with 50 per cent staff strength. The staff work on a rotational basis. We have informed the health department about the infected professor, and they will disinfect the concerned premises on Monday morning. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) Free bread for poor communities will soon be made available daily through a number of gas stations in Metro Manila, according to a conglomerate. Around 30 Petron stations within close proximity to depressed areas in the countrys capital region are set to also become distribution centers for nutribun as well as regular breads, San Miguel Corporation said. The initiative is in partnership with local government units in the cities of Payatas, Caloocan, Malolos, and Tondo, among others. SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said they decided to continue providing food aid for the urban poor, as their situation has been further aggravated by the lockdown restrictions. Many families are struggling to cope. What more the most disadvantaged among us those who rely on daily paid work, or those who have no means of income at all? Ang said, noting that even big businesses haven't been spared from the economic impact of COVID-19. The company added that it also plans to eventually offer rice porridge and other meals in its program. SMC is among a number of businesses in the country which have actively extended aid to the public, as the pandemic and the government's strict quarantine rules have forced several people out of work. The most recent report from the Army on street and outlaw motorcycle gang activity in the ranks shows both trending upward, while incidents of domestic extremism remain roughly constant. An internal report, obtained by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request, shows that gang members were tied to dozens of Army felony law enforcement reports and more than 100 criminal investigations in fiscal 2018, the latest year for which data is available. While these reports and investigations make up less than 1% of all Army law enforcement incidents, the new report shows that the little-discussed problem of military gang activity continues to be a headache for base commanders and other service leaders. Read next: Fake News Is Wreaking Havoc on the Battlefield. Here's What the Military's Doing About It The Gang and Domestic Extremist Activity Threat Assessment from Army Criminal Investigation Command, or CID, is a regular report compiled at the behest of Congress. In fiscal 2018, the report found 83 law enforcement reports across the military with known or suspected gang or domestic extremist member involvement, a 66% increase from the previous year. "The data shows that gang LERs are steadily increasing each fiscal year," the CID report states. "FY18 is the highest percentage increase thus far." That increase holds true across categories: Street gang activity shows a 68% year-over-year increase, from 38 to 64 incidents, while outlaw motorcycle gangs had a 60% increase, from 10 to 16 incidents. Domestic extremist events remained few, increasing from 2 to 3 year over year. While the report does not offer reasons or explanations for those increases, it does offer some insights into current gang trends. Gang members increasingly communicate with each other on social media platforms ranging from SnapChat to TikTok, and have become more diverse, with "female gang associates [serving] in increasingly active roles in gang-related crimes." Gangs are also becoming less centralized. The report cites the Texas Department of Public Safety, saying that "many young gang members are relinquishing traditional gang structure and rules, opting for less organizational oversight and the freedom to serve in roles of self-interest." In the Army, the gang-related crime investigations ran the gamut from murder to absences without leave; in some cases, the suspected gang member was actually the victim in the crime. The 64 investigations involving street gangs included suspected members of 26 different gangs scattered across the U.S., according to the report. In total, 31 soldiers were identified in those investigations. In addition, the report states, there were 116 criminal intelligence reports in fiscal 2018 regarding Army street gang activity, a dramatic 87% increase from the previous year. Within those reports, 58 of the subjects identified were soldiers. Outlaw motorcycle gangs, or OMGs, which had a 33% increase in overall violent activity from 2017 to 2018, saw the most Army-connected activity in Texas. Eight of 16 total OMG incidents tracked by the Army took place at Fort Bliss and Fort Hood, with popular clubs including the Akah Manah, Bandidos, Cossacks, Kinfolk, Mongols, Outcasts and Thug Riders. In the OMG investigations, nine active-duty soldiers were identified. "The Army is concerned about soldiers who join OMGs or their support clubs because they typically join these groups after they have been in the military for several years, are of higher rank, are more mature, and tend to be leaders (informal or formal) who can influence younger soldiers," the report states. "These soldiers are more likely aware of DoD policy regarding membership in criminal organizations." Of the three domestic extremism events, one involved a soldier: a U.S. Army Military Academy cadet caught with guns on school grounds who was found to have in his possession additional weapons and an apparent hit list. That cadet was court-martialed in June 2018 and sentenced to 15 months' confinement and dismissal, the report states. There were 31 additional criminal intelligence reports linked to domestic extremism groups, up 24% from the previous year. While rare, violent gang activity does take place on military bases. The report describes a previously unreported July 1, 2017, incident in which military police at Fort Bliss were responding to a call about a fight when they heard shots being fired from a shotgun, large-caliber rifle and semi-automatic pistols. The gunfire exchange was determined to be between members of the relatively new Kazi gang and its rival, the Vice Lord Gang. While no one was hurt, seven Kazi members were arrested, with charges including assault with intent to murder. In recent years, other Kazi incidents involving soldiers have been reported. In November 2019, a suspected Kazi member accused of fatally shooting a Fort Bliss soldier and wounding others was arrested; in June of this year, Kazi gang members reportedly assaulted another Bliss soldier over the color of his bandanna. Officials with Army CID did not provide responses to Military.com queries about the gang report or provide updated numbers by deadline. But Dr. Carter Smith, a retired Army CID special agent who has written extensively about military gang activity, said the Army should do more to assess why certain trends are observed in the gangs report -- such as a steady increase in street gang activity. "You see trends, but they're unexplained trends," Smith told Military.com. "A snapshot without previous analysis is kind of irrelevant." The military has gang problems simply because it's a microcosm of the surrounding society, he said. While military background checks aim to root out candidates who have a history of criminal gang activity, they don't find those who have never been caught. Many gang members join the military as a way out of gang life, Smith said; more dangerous are those who serve their military time and then return to criminal activity. "Even if they were just making bread for the military, they learned soldiering," he said. "You elevated them to organized crime status." Domestic extremism within the military has gotten the attention of Congress with several high-profile investigations into service members' activities and the apprehension and trial of a Coast Guard lieutenant who espoused supremacist ideologies in writing and was accused of having a list targeting political leaders. Smith said he has never seen significant numbers of domestic extremism-related Army incidents in his years of tracking the data. But he did say he wants the Army to produce a more comprehensive, longitudinal survey that probes the reasons behind trends in gang and extremist activity. He also said the service could be more consistent in investigating these kinds of incidents. "Scotland Yard has a saying: 'You don't look, you don't find,'" Smith said. -- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck. Related: The Military Surveyed Troops on Extremist Activity Decades Ago. Here's What it Found On this episode of the Extra Spicy podcast, Gabriela Aleman of the Mission Meals Coalition and Ashley Rahimi Syed of SF Community Fridge have teamed up to bring a fridge stocked with fresh food to San Franciscos Mission District amid the pandemic. They talk about protecting the dignity of those they serve, and mitigating the performative aspect of some of the giving. Listen to the episode by clicking on the player above, and scroll down to read an edited transcript of Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips full conversation with Aleman and Syed. Now Playing: Amid the pandemic, two Bay Area organizations, Mission Meals Coalition and SF Community Fridge, tackle food insecurity by providing a refrigerator stocked with fresh, free food in San Francisco's Mission District. Video: Caron Creighton, Erika Carlos Here is an edited transcript of Soleil Ho and Justin Phillips' interview with Gabriela Aleman and Ashley Rahimi Syed, edited and condensed for clarity. The interview was conducted on August 11, 2020. Soleil: So thank you so much for joining us. We're here to talk about the SF Free Fridges to start and then broadly about food insecurity in the Bay Area. I guess to start, actually: Would you mind telling us just briefly what Free Fridges is the inception and what it looks like? Ashley: Sure. So S.F. Free Fridges were inspired by the community fridges in Oakland, in New York and in other communities for decades, many of which have been organized by Black and brown food equity activists. So we are a part of that lineage. A group of S.F. natives came together to create this project. It was originally founded by a group of S.F. natives, queer people of color, and in the beginning, they wanted to replicate the same model that you're seeing in other cities. They allowed anyone to put our fridge outside their property, which would be minimally tended and allow donations from anyone and other people to take what they need. What we found when we began organizing this is that the people who felt most comfortable putting a fridge on their property were people who were in neighborhoods that were not facing food insecurity. Perhaps they were property owners or landowners or they lived in neighborhoods that had positive relationships with the police. There's a lot of segregation in San Francisco, huge disparities in wealth. The people who were contacting us were some of the ones that are experiencing the most per capita income, not only in the city, but in the country. So when we began thinking about where we wanted a fridge, it was very important to us to connect with grassroots organizations that had been doing food equity work in this city, amongst those communities that have been the greatest affected for generations because we quickly realized we don't have the context to know how to wade into food equity during a pandemic. You know, these are emergency life-or-death times. And we wanted to be really intentional with the way we went about this. And so Gabriela and Mission Meals is one of the first groups I reached out to, and Gabriela can speak to this in a moment, but they had a desire to do fridges. The fridges are super trendy right now. They're getting a lot of news coverage like this which we're grateful for. There's a lot of people who are interested, specifically a lot of people with a lot of capital. It's become I don't want to say performative but in some ways it is because it's an easy way to post your social media and show that you are an ethical human being during these wildly unexpected times. And that was demonstrated by the fact that a lot of people who aren't facing food insecurity wanted to house a fridge. We were guessing that they are already aware that we're aware that their community wasn't in need of something like this as much as other people were. So basically, we thought we could, on our end, help organize all of that capital, all of the people who wanted to donate money. For example, we raised $10,000 with effectively no promotion, in a very short amount of time. And I've worked in marketing and PR for a while and I was floored by how well this performed. So we decided that we would help organize all of the financial capital and the labor that people wanted to commit. A lot of these people had flexible time schedules. They were able to volunteer as much as possible. They wanted to get the word out, and they wanted to donate money. So we wrangled all of that and plugged it into essentially Gabriela's network and they directed how the fridge would be operated. They told us that it's important to have someone at the fridge at all times who can make sure that food is vetted, is safe for the community to eat, that we can develop their trust. And this is a community that's already under siege in many ways and so protecting their safety is crucial. Gabriela is the one that told us that it's important that you don't allow photos of guests because a lot of people are undocumented and they deserve a surveillance-free food equity experience. And she's the one who gave us a shopping list. Instead of allowing anyone to bring anything, why don't we create a shopping list of things like Maseca, rice, beans, milk. Things that we would have never known, because I am not a food equity activist who is from the Mission District, and so there are huge blind spots that I and the rest of my network have. Ill let Gabriela fill in the blanks, but that's basically how we operate at S.F. Community Fridge. Courtesy of Gabriela Aleman Soleil: Yes, so, Gabriela, I'd love to hear more about how you directed this project and put it in a direction that you felt was appropriate for the neighborhood. Gabriela: Thank you. As Ashley mentioned, we were really excited when we heard from S.F. Free Fridge. In the beginning, we got this really thorough email. It hit all the questions that I had in even just the subject line. And as she mentioned, we had been thinking about doing fridges since the very beginning. I should mention I'm also from the Mission District, and we started Mission Meals Coalition a little before the stay-in-place order with my mom, my colleague and friend, Maria Castro Noboa, my sister Xiomara Aleman, and with our respective mothers and community aunties, as we call them. We fundraised the first $500 within our network to get a hundred tamales from a local bakery on 24th, so that we could immediately ensure that the day laborers, unhoused folks, and our seniors in particular had food. Because even though right before this stay-in-place happened, there was a degree of urgency about COVID. We knew just reading the news and seeing its impact, especially in South and Central America, what that would potentially have here in the city. And immediately we also started distributing groceries and the list just started growing. When you're facing 300-plus households that need groceries immediately and then on the weekends, you have unhoused and daily workers who no longer have access to churches or restaurants for water, or just basic food necessities, fundraising for a fridge and doing its own little marketing campaign and everything just wasn't attainable. So being able to connect with S.F. Community Fridge was awesome because we were provided the literal capital to get the fridge and they supported in the organizing of where it would be hosted. Currently it lives at Adobe Bookstore, a book co-op on 24th Street in the Latino cultural district, and it's been a beautiful partnership. We definitely appreciate S.F. Community Fridge. Their mission is to amplify existing organizations. But we also really want to credit our general organizers for the labor that they've put into this, and also for doing what in a lot of food equity work I've been seeing doesn't happen, where it's really providing the mike to folks who really have a deep understanding of the communities they're servicing and in how to do that work. Justin: You guys mentioned the performative aspect of people that want to get involved right now. And I always wonder, especially when it comes to POC communities, there's a pride element too, when it comes to obtaining assistance. Even if they do need it. So there has to be a nuanced approach to how you provide that help, and it has to be more like a hand up and not just like a handout. Soleil: That sounds like some Reagan-era stuff, Justin! Gabriela: For Mission Meals Coalition, as we've told the organizers of the S.F. Community Fridge, a big part of our mission and vision is that we approach our work through the lens of cultural humility and constantly learning about the communities where we're working with and direct community engagement. My day job is actually managing a department for communication, and with our other co-founders, we have that experience and understanding. I think that within our communities in particular and in all communities of color, women of color have been the pillars of community that when someone, for example, may not necessarily feel the most secure going to a community resource on their own, but they'll bring someone that they know who is an elder or is a woman. Mission Meals Coalition is all women of color by preference, so I have a bias in sharing that as well. But it has been very essential in how we've been able to provide the most in-need folks in our community with services. You mentioned performative activism. I think that my own community is not immune of performative activism either. When the Black Lives Matter protests broke up, there was a lot about Black and brown solidarity. And for me, and for a lot of the folks that I'm organizing with, Black and brown solidarity isn't just posting that on social media. It's not just saying that X, Y, Z Latinx organization is in solidarity with Black folks. It also means food equity and food access, and if you look at San Francisco right now, the folks who disproportionally have a lot of access to food resources is the Latinx community. And I'm the first to say that and to admit that. And we know that. And so for us, my community has a lot of work to do in that department, and I know that folks are working on that. At Mission Meals Coalition, weve been servicing in direct collaboration with Black organizers in the Bayview and the Tenderloin and Treasure Island because we knew that we cannot say that we're doing food equity work if it didn't include our Black and indigenous community members as well. On a twofold, especially when I think of people who have been showing what I call class solidarity, who are predominately white and in the tech industry: I have a lot of feelings. To me, the least that people with privilege can be doing... A lot of the folks in tech who live in the Mission are providing resources to this fridge. And I have a lot of feelings about that where it's like, "Yes, thank you. But it also kind of hurts a little to say thank you because it's your direct privilege and your direct access to these resources for you to live in this community that you most likely statistically pushed someone out to live in. To do this job. Like now, you're gonna give me a few gallons of milk? Which, again, thank you on the principle of providing someone access to milk that they need. And it's just this really bizarre, paradox-like dichotomy of wealth and privilege of who gets access to what, who gives access to who. And so I think to me, the performativity of all of that is very nuanced and is very complex and it has a myriad of elements. Courtesy of Gabriela Aleman And then even being a woman-led organization, grassroots mutual aid group within our own community as well just across all communities there's a lot of performative solidarity also from the men that we organize with. Historically in organizing, men of color are centered in this work when it's the women of color who are the ones literally advocating for these resources literally on the ground, distributing resources on the ground, like collecting information from community in a way that is safe and that is competent. And it's women of color. And so for us, it has been a very complex journey because we are in the middle of a global pandemic. The world is on fire. The world is falling apart more than it was before. And now everyone across class, race and everything is experiencing to some element a part of that, right? It's very complex, and I think talking about performative solidarity within different classes within our own community is considered by many the last thing that we should be doing during a pandemic when we are in need of services. And I can see that lens and I understand that. But if anyone knows me personally, I don't think that any situation should mean that we just completely throw things under the rug. Or that we're just going to put that away for later. Because the current performative activist things that we're seeing existed before COVID. And everything that exists now during COVID existed before: The performance solidarity, the lack of centering women of color who do this work on the ground. That has all existed before. The really weird and twisted class solidarity that's happening has existed before. You see that when giant tech companies donate to 501-C3 or grassroots groups for their once a year, "This is me giving back to the community." That all existed before. And if we don't address that now during a global pandemic, then when are we going to do that? Justin: I love that you brought up that there's a performative aspect in the communities of color to where people pose as if they're doing a lot. And then if you look into their actions, they aren't doing that much. I think that's why I love seeing groups that are really in the community that are actually making a difference. Soleil: Well, I think there's also this tendency and I think Ashley spoke to this as well where the fridge thing has gone viral. It's gotten trendy because it seems like such a positive win-win situation. Which flattens, I think, the impact of the fridges make. That can be really uneven, depending on how they're distributed, what's in them and how they're handled among the communities that they're placed. I think that's such a really salient point with this, too, right? So many people sent me links to the fridge websites, say, "You have to cover this! You have to cover this!" And I get that. I think it's really wonderful. But I think what is the actual story here is a kind of burgeoning organization working hand in hand with people who are already doing that work. You know, you don't hear that story so much. You always hear about the new and the new and that being the story. Gabriela: Yeah, no, totally. Especially as folks from the Mission and native to San Francisco as well, we are always a little hesitant and we do our due diligence to have an understanding of the folks where we're going to work with. And immediately because of the trendiness of all of this, there were so many flags that I was showing Ashley, like these are all these things that I really hope that you consider because I see this. That was also part of the inspiration of when we first started to really want to do a fridge. But we knew that if we weren't able to do it right, we didn't want to do it because we could reallocate those resources. And one of the things with the fridge and its trendiness, too... I just knew that there was gonna be this element of poverty porn that people would want to see in putting in the food. In seeing who took the food. And seeing the communities that came or didn't come ... Ashley: Being thanked for giving the food. Courtesy of Gabriela Aleman Gabriela: Yes, and being thanked. I will thank everyone for what they're doing, because, again, this is powered by every single person the fridge in particular, and Mission Meals by every single person who donates, every single person who engages, every single person who's willing to learn and listen to what we're asking as the partner for this particular fridge. But there is this interesting element of people because when I'm there, I can see when people are trying to take a picture or when they're trying to be sneaky about it. And so I just go up to them; I'm like, "Hey, what are you doing? Like, you want to talk? Is there something I can do that you're trying to capture on your camera?" We are so accustomed to people coming into the Mission and doing this. We are not a tourist attraction. And that's the thing with the fridge. I did not want the fridge to be a tourist attraction for people who would never outside of the situation come into the neighborhood, who wouldn't think that Black and brown people deserve food. If you wouldn't have thought of that before, then . I just have a lot of issues about that. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. When we think about institutionalized food aid for instance, Cal Fresh or food stamps or other means of distributing food to people there's a lot of means testing. There's a lot of questioning of "Do these people deserve it? By what parameters do they deserve it? And how do we give it to them by however much we decide that they need?" And with these sorts of efforts, there's really not that kind of gatekeeping. And I would love to hear about just the sort of the politics of that: Of just allowing people to take what they want as opposed to what you think they need. That seems to be a really significant difference here. Gabriela: A big part as to why Mission Meals Collective even formed was because especially with food pantries, there's a form you have to fill out. You have to have some form of identification, whether it's from here or from your local country, to just identify you as the person, and even proof of where you live. The issue that we see is that, for example, with food pantries, everyone is given a uniform bag, currently during COVID. You're given a uniform allocation of X, Y, Z resources. The problem is, you can have one person in line that is a household of three. And then you have another person in line with the household of eight. And they're supposed to live off of the same bag for a week until they can come back again. And that's a whole issue. And from a safety point of view too, the collection of information. Whether some people deem it as minimal, the people who are giving that information it's their whole life. It's their whole sense of security. There's that problem with that as well. And then you have other folks who don't have an I.D. Who aren't housed. They don't have an address. But they need food. We also tell people when we get asked the question, even within our own communities of like, Oh, well, you know, X, Y, Z They're not worried about rent and they have two cars, blah, blah. And we hear that a lot, even within our communities. And we explain, especially with our thorough engagement work, like, Yes, they may have a home, but they're also supporting like two families back home in their country of origin. And they have a child with different needs than other children. So all their expenses are being put there. We don't know people's needs in that way. People know their own personal needs. And one of the other questions we've also been getting in particular to the fridge is, How are you going to ensure that someone doesn't take everything? And fundamentally, if something is there for community, it's available to everyone at the same price point which is free and accessible. So it's not really stealing because that underlying tone is super important, I think. And when it comes to it, its like, Well, we don't know if someone needs X, Y, Z. Courtesy of Gabriela Aleman We had a situation where someone took four bags of groceries. And we found out in just simple dialogue that the person didn't have access to food for at least two weeks. And they had four kids at home. They needed that. We're not here to police people in what they do or don't need. I think also people fundamentally don't understand that under-resourced communities, just because one family or one household might be under-resourced, that doesn't mean that they completely forget their own sense of humanity for their neighbor. We have a lot of folks who are in a lot of need who are like, Well, I'm just gonna take this because I can come back X, Y, Z day and I don't know who else is going to need it. And we've had people return sealed items because they're like, You know what, I thought I needed this, but I don't need it this week or I don't need it today, and I know that there's other people who do need it. That has been just, again, the joy in this work. Like, that's the elements that I also wish that people could celebrate, because institutionally, you don't see that in other spaces. And you can't. Because there's so much bureaucracy in a lot of other institutions, And I think, even if unintentional, there's a savior complex mentality of like, Well, I know that X, Y, Z needs X, Y, Z. I've seen some pantries where it's a diverse group of people who access food. So when they're given blanket resources, it's not culturally relevant to them. They're not going to eat it. They're not going to use it. They won't know how. They might be allergic. It might be something against their religion. You know, there's like elements to that that institutionally isn't possible in other spaces. Justin: Let's do the look ahead thing. During this Black Lives Matter movement, which has been going on for a long time and now getting renewed attention from non-POCs, I've had people come up to me and be like, So, you must be happy right now with the progress. And it's like, F, no. What? No, absolutely not. And so I wonder for you guys. ... There are going to be people who see this and be like, "Look, they're getting attention and they're having people that want to participate now. You have to be content with this kind of renewed energy around addressing food scarcity and like, you know, these at-risk populations." Can you explain to people why that s means absolutely nothing right now and how the battle will go on for a long time? Gabriela: Yeah, again, food insecurity existed before COVID. It's going to exist now. It's definitely very exasperated globally, which affects also the people who pick the food, who do the labor to harvest the food, who have access to transport. It just has a ripple effect. And after COVID is over and after everyone is done caring, we're still gonna be needing to do this work. There's layers to it. It's the fact that we live under this capitalist society, where it's making people work to the bone. I use farmworkers as an example constantly. Farmworkers are picking all this organic food and all these other things, but they cannot afford to even purchase it and eat it themselves for their families. And it's still going to exist as long as we also have politicians who are complacent in what they do or don't do. We're still going to have people struggling for housing and having to pick whether they eat and drink water or they have a roof over their head for them and their children or themselves. As long as we have communities constantly being policed, we're also going to have people constantly horrified of leaving their homes or not knowing if they go to the grocery stores, if they're going to come back. Like that's conversations that we're always having in community. And thats stuff within especially the Latinx communities that we've been working on. There have been dialogs where weve said, What are we going to do? We're constantly thinking strategically. Well, there's only so much we can do now and that we can plan for, but what are we going to do the moment people stop caring? I know that my community and the communities we work with are still going to be doing mutual aid the way we did before, the way that we have been doing before. The way that my sister Maria and my family have been doing before we started publicly fundraising. The initial $20,000 that helped for the first few months for Mission Meals... I put it on my art page and we did a whole campaign and people cared because this artist that they follow and that they like and that the stuff that is posted is palpable to them, they cared. But if I never post about it again, will they still care? I think it's just really bizarre. You can say that its great, but also, its not. It's still just the touch of the surface of all of this, because as much as all these different spaces are getting resources, some of us have to struggle more than others. What about our homebound seniors? How are they going to get resources? There's always going to be layers to this. Accessibility has to mean intersectionality. And how we talk about accessibility to resources, how we get resources and how consistent. This is an open call to action to all these companies and all these gentrifying-ass businesses in my neighborhood: "I need you if you really are telling me you care about my community or my neighborhood to do this consistently and after COVID. Because I will keep these receipts, I really will. I have these little receipts and these little names. I really want to see you care when we no longer have press." And that's why we also tell larger companies that want to donate to us: "We appreciate your resources. Thank you very much. But we are not in a place where we're gonna provide you pictures of people holding your products, because this is not an ad. This is not an ad for X, Y, Z resource. This is not an ad for you to show your demographic in the market that you're selling to that you're a decent company." So I hope that answers your question 'cause I'm getting really angry. Ashley: No, it's true. You wouldn't believe how many partners we've lost. People who are able to donate bulk items. I'll just say it from the beginning: "No, you cannot put this on your website. You cannot mention us in any contacts. You cannot put us in any marketing material. You cannot mention us in phone calls with your partners to get a potential deal. You cannot benefit off of this at all." And then we just never hear back. You know, they had those items. So you were willing to give it, right? So you were OK without it. But now that you can't profit off of it, people can't eat? It's just wild to me. Yeah. And another thing I'll say is within the first week, the fridge had become the primary food resource for around 100 families a day. Each day. And that is unprecedented, I think, for a project like this and is a complete testament to the work that Mission Meals is doing. This fridge is uniquely successful because of Gabriela and Mission Meals. Because of that existing community engagement. Soleil: I think that's a great spot to leave off of. Thank you so much, Gabriela and Ashley, for speaking with us today. Gabriela: Thank you so much for having so kind and for listening and for just being patient with different things. Ashley: Thank you. Yeah, it was great. I learned so much, even just like engaging with you guys. So thank you so much for making the space. Germany's top diplomat arrived in Libya on Monday for a previously unannounced visit intended to spur international efforts to resolve the country's long-running conflict. It is Foreign Minister Heiko Maas' first visit to Libya following a summit in Berlin in January, when world powers agreed to a peace process for the war-torn country that has largely fallen flat. "We see a deceptive calm in Libya at the moment. Both sides and their international allies are continuing to arm the country on a massive scale and are maintaining preconditions for a ceasefire," Maas said in a statement on his arrival. Maas is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Fayez Serraj in the capital Tripoli in order to discuss the violent power struggle between Serraj's internationally recognized government and military strongman General Khalifa Haftar. Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Taha Siala and Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha are also to participate in the talks "about ways out of this very dangerous situation," Maas said. In June, forces allied with Serraj's UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) regained control of several bordering areas of Tripoli from Haftar's forces, and advanced towards Sirte, a key gateway to the country's major oilfields in the east. However, the situation has been at a standstill since then. Maas said he intends to discuss a UN proposal for a possible de-militarized zone around Sirte. A meeting is also scheduled with Mustafa Sanallah, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC). "An end to the oil blockade and a fairer distribution of oil revenues are also crucial for a solution to the conflict in Libya," Maas said. Germany's mediation efforts have focused on preventing foreign intervention in the civil war, which began in 2011. Serraj has the backing of Turkey and Qatar, while Haftar is supported by Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). European countries are keen to see the conflict resolved, as chaos in Libya has provided ideal conditions for people-smugglers to operate in the Mediterranean Sea, bringing migrants from North Africa to Europe. The European Union has launched the Irini naval mission in a bid to enforce a long-flouted UN arms embargo for Libya. Meanwhile, Germany, France and Italy have launched an initiative to impose EU sanctions on individuals and companies that provide ships and aeroplanes for the transportation of arms. Following his Libya visit, Maas is scheduled to travel onwards to Abu Dhabi, following the UAE's agreement with Israel to establish diplomatic relations. Maas said he plans to congratulate UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the historic move, while also discussing the situation in Libya, as well as Iran, Syria, Qatar and Lebanon. 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 Help.org, a trusted online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones, has announced the Best Rehab Facilities in Hot Springs, Arkansas for 2020. The informational guide recognizes the top 5 rehab facilities based on cost, treatment options, location, accompanying services and more. According to recent studies, drug overdose is the leading cause of death among people under age 50. In Hot Springs, deaths related to opioid abuse increased significantly from 2011 to 2015. Substance abuse among adolescents is also escalating in Hot Springs with 55 percent of high school students reported using alcohol, 38 percent reported using marijuana, 8 percent reported using prescription drugs without a valid prescription, and 2 percent reported using heroin. With the growing need for accessible and high-quality rehab programs, Help.org has developed a unique ranking process to help connect individuals with treatment providers that meet their needs. The Help.org research team analyzed thousands of facilities across the country and then identified the most cost-effective and highest rated programs in larger cities like Hot Springs. Each facility was evaluated based on rehabilitation services, treatment approaches, cost, special programs for unique demographics and ancillary services. The website also provides information about drug use and side effects as well as educational articles. For a detailed listing of the Best Rehab Facilities in Hot Springs, Arkansas please visit https://www.help.org/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-centers-in-hot-springs-ar/ 2020 Best Rehab Facilities in Hot Springs, Arkansas (in alphabetical order) Adult & Teen Challenge of the Greater South P.O. Box 10913 Russellville, AR 72812 866-567-7101 Compassion Center 3618 W. Roosevelt Road Little Rock, AR 72204 501-296-9114 Oasis Renewal Center 14913 Cooper Orbit Road Little Rock, AR 72223 501-376-2747 Pinnacle Pointe Behavioral Healthcare Outpatient Services 2110 Higden Ferry Road, Suite D Hot Springs, AR 71913 501-262-2766 ABOUT HELP.ORG Help.org is an online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones. The website provides the latest research through scientifically proven methods, community recovery resources as well as information about local financial assistance. Help.orgs team of researchers, activists and writers work together with addiction counselors and other professionals to offer useful and accurate resources to help individuals seeking recovery. To learn more, visit https://www.help.org/. 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. First, the good news: Its probably safe to reopen many Michigan schools, particularly the elementaries, based on current coronavirus risk-assessment metrics. The World Health Organization says schools are safe to reopen if fewer than 5% of coronavirus tests over the past two weeks are positive. Michigans statewide average is 3.4%, and only four Michigan counties currently met or exceed the 5% benchmark -- Macomb, Saginaw, Branch and Ontonagon. Two tropical depressions could form this week in the Atlantic and Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said Monday morning. Update: The chances for development for the two tropical waves is increasing, the NHC said Monday night. The one now heading for the Caribbean is "of the greatest concern," the National Weather Service in Slidell says, but it's too early to tell if it could reach Louisiana or the Gulf Coast. The shaded area on the graphic shows where a storm could develop. It does not indicate a track, which is generally released by the National Hurricane Center once a disturbance has become a depression or is about to be a depression. Here's what to know about the tropics as of 1 p.m. Monday. Disturbance heading for the Caribbean A disturbance a couple hundred miles east of the Windward Islands has a 50% chance of developing into a tropical depression within five days, the National Hurricane Center said. The disturbance -- a tropical wave -- is moving west at 20 mph and is expected to cross the eastern and central Caribbean Sea on Tuesday and Wednesday. After that, forecasters said it is supposed to slow down and a tropical depression could form later this week. Get hurricane updates in your inbox Sign up for updates on storm forecasts, tracks and more. e-mail address * Sign Up Disturbance by Cabo Verde Islands A tropical wave southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands has a 70% chance of developing into at least a tropical depression within five days, forecasters said. It is expected to move northwest at 15 to 20 mph during the next few days, and a tropical depression could form mid-week as it moves across the Atlantic, forecasters said. What else to know? The next two names on this year's list are Laura and Marco. Systems are named once they strengthen to a tropical storm. No other storms are expected to form in the next 48 hours in the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean or the Atlantic. The peak of hurricane season, which is Sept. 10, is approaching. The Atlantic hurricane season ends Nov. 30. Read the full advisory. Initiates new COVID-19 research and development program (K-NK-ID101) Expands the application of Kiadis K-NK technology into infectious diseases Announces collaboration with five premier Dutch institutions: Viroclinics-DDL; Harbour BioMed Netherlands; Sanquin Bloedvoorziening; Erasmus Medical Center; and the Utrecht University, each contributing a unique strength in virology and COVID-19 research and know how Submitted grant application with US government Amsterdam, The Netherlands, August 17, 2020 Kiadis Pharma N.V. (Kiadis or the Company) (Euronext Amsterdam and Brussels: KDS), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative cell-based medicines for life-threatening diseases, announces a new research program, K-NK-ID101, that will focus on the development of K-NK cells as a treatment for COVID-19. This new program marks the start of broader application of Kiadis K-NK technology platform as a potential treatment, not only for cancer, but also for infectious diseases. In support of the K-NK-ID101 program, Kiadis has started collaborating with five premier Dutch institutions to study different anti-viral mechanisms of Kiadis K-NK cell therapy platform against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The collaboration will study NK-cell biology in COVID-19 patients, the elimination of SARS-CoV-2 virus and virally infected cells by K-NK cells, and synergies between monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and K-NK cells. Natural killer (NK) cells are the human immune systems first line of defence against tumor cells and infectious disease. Activity of K-NK cells has been demonstrated against cytomegalovirus (CMV) and BK virus in the K-NK002 clinical trials, and against CNS and pulmonary fungal and bacterial agents in the K-NK003 clinical trials. COVID-19 breaks down NK cell immunity, and severe COVID-19 patients lack functional NK cells. K-NK-ID101 cells potentially have enhanced anti-viral activity, while avoiding exacerbating needless inflammation, and therefore may be uniquely suited to repair this lack of functional NK cells. Since K-NK-ID101 cells can be manufactured at large scale and frozen down, they can be immediately and globally made available to patients. Also, the broad anti-viral activity of K-NK cells could potentially serve as a universal countermeasure to fight future viral pandemics; Kiadis will learn more about the potential of the platform through research conducted through these collaborations. Story continues Robert Friesen, PhD, chief scientific officer of Kiadis, commented, Our unique K-NK-cell technology platform is broadly applicable across a range of therapeutic areas. While our initial focus has been targeted towards blood cancers, we are now expanding our research into infectious diseases and have established relationships with anti-viral and COVID-19 academic and drug development experts, to develop our K-NK-cell therapeutics for the treatment of COVID-19. Significant data suggests that our K-NK-ID101 cell therapy could offer a unique and meaningful treatment of COVID-19. We look forward to working with this esteemed group to efficiently contribute to the fight against this pandemic. Arthur Lahr, chief executive officer of Kiadis, added, We believe that medicines based on K-NK cells could be an important part of the armamentarium needed to fight this global pandemic, and offer a potential universal pandemic preparedness platform. To support the K-NK-ID101 program, we have applied for grants with the US government put in place in this global fight against COVID-19. This program demonstrates the breadth of application of our K-NK platform and marks the start of broader application of K-NK cells as a potential treatment, not only for cancer, but also for infectious diseases. Kiadis collaborators include leaders in SARS-CoV-2 research from the Department of Viroscience of Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam and the Division of Infectious Diseases of the Veterinary Faculty of Utrecht University. These two academic groups were the first to report a monoclonal antibody that prevents the SARS-CoV-2 virus from infecting cultured cells (Nature Com. 11 2215, 2020). Harbour BioMed Netherlands will bring the potent SARS-CoV-2 antibodies resulting from that research to Kiadis program. Complementing the program is Viroclinics Xplore, which owns proprietary viral disease models, assays and animal models for SARS-CoV-2. Viroclinics-DDL is a renowned world class viral contract research organization, and has contributed significantly to viral research for previous pandemics, including SARS1 and pandemic flu. Sanquin will perform characterization of NK-cell presence and function in recovered COVID-19 patients, using its unique pool of donor material across the Dutch population. About Kiadis K-NK-Cell Therapies Kiadis K-NK-cell therapy research programs in immuno-oncology consist of off-the-shelf and haploidentical donor cell therapy products for the treatment of liquid and solid tumors as adjunctive and stand-alone therapies. Kiadis is also researching the use of its K-NK cell therapy platform for the treatment of infectious diseases, with the first potential application being the treatment of COVID-19. The Companys PM21 particle technology enables improved ex vivo expansion and activation of anti-cancer cytotoxic K-NK-cells supporting multiple high-dose infusions. Kiadis proprietary off-the-shelf K-NK-cell platform is based on NK-cells from unique universal donors. The Kiadis off-the-shelf K-NK platform can make NK-cell therapy product rapidly and economically available for a broad patient population across a potentially wide range of indications. Kiadis is clinically developing K-NK003 for the treatment of relapse/refractory acute myeloid leukemia. The Company is also developing K-NK002, which is administered as an adjunctive immunotherapeutic on top of HSCT and provides functional, mature and potent NK-cells from a haploidentical family member. In addition, the Company has pre-clinical programs evaluating NK-cell therapy for the treatment of solid tumors. About NK-cells and K-NK-cells in COVID-19 The scientific rationale for studying the infusion of natural killer (NK) cells to control COVID-19 disease is supported by literature. The vast majority of COVID-19 patients have lymphocytopenia, or a shortage of lymphocytes a type of white blood cell that helps protect the body from infection. NK cells are lymphocytes and COVID-19 disease severity is correlated with a reduction in the number of NK cells, exhaustion of NK cells and the lack of certain mature, potent NK-cell phenotypes. The power of NK cells to fight various other viral infections, such as CMV, BKV, HBV and HCV, has been well described, with a durable change in the NK-cell profile towards those more mature and potent phenotypes in recovered patients. Kiaidis research is aimed at studying the properties of Kiadis K-NK cells and their suitablilty to fight SARS-CoV-2 and to be developed as pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure pre-emptive therapy in high risk patients and healthcare workers. K-NK cells enhance multiple aspects of antiviral immunity. In immunocompromised transplant patients, K-NK cells have shown significant reduction of potentially lethal CMV reactivation and BKV infection. K-NK cells work synergistically with antibodies, immunoglobulins and vaccines. K-NK cells are being studied regarding their anti-viral properties, safety profile and manufacturing scalability to potentially be widely deployed as an off-the-shelf global countermeasure against COVID-19 and future pandemic threats. Kiadis contacts Kiadis: Maryann Cimino, Sr. Manager, Corporate Affairs Tel: +1 (617) 710-7305 m.cimino@kiadis.com LifeSpring LifeSciences Communication: Leon Melens (Amsterdam) Tel: +31 538 16 427 lmelens@lifespring.nl Optimum Strategic Communications: Mary Clark, Supriya Mathur Tel: +44 203 950 9144 kiadis@optimumcomms.com Dutch Translation/Nederlandse vertaling Kiadis Pharma N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam en Brussel: KDS) is een Nederlands beursgenoteerd biotechbedrijf dat nieuwe geneesmiddelen ontwikkelt tegen ernstige ziekten. Het maakt daarbij gebruik van Natural Killer-cellen (NK-cellen), grote witte bloedlichamen die de eerste verdedigingslinie in het menselijk afweersysteem vormen tegen kankercellen en infecties. Kiadis is met haar unieke Kiadis-NK-cellen (K-NK-cellen) een nieuw onderzoeksprogramma gestart genaamd K-NK-ID01, voor de behandeling van COVID-19, de ziekte die wordt veroorzaakt door het SARS-CoV-2 virus. Kiadis breidt hiermee de toepassing van K-NK-cellen uit naar behandeling van kanker en infectieziekten. Kiadis gaat samen met Erasmus MC, Universiteit Utrecht, Sanquin Bloedvoorziening en de Nederlandse bedrijven Viroclinics en Harbour BioMed Netherlands, onderzoek doen naar de werking van de Kiadis K-NK-cellen tegen het corona virus dat COVID-19 veroorzaakt. Daarbij zullen de partijen onder andere onderzoeken hoe de K-NK-cellen kunnen worden gecombineerd met al eerder door Erasmus MC, Harbour BioMed en Universiteit Utrecht-ontdekte antilichamen tegen het coronavirus. Patienten met ernstige COVID-19 hebben een gebrek aan goed werkende NK-cellen. In eerdere Kiadis onderzoeksprogrammas is krachtige werking van Kiadis K-NK-cellen aangetoond tegen diverse virale, schimmel- en bacteriele infecties in het bloed, de longen en het centrale zenuwstelsel van ernstig zieke patienten met kanker die zelf geen goed functionerende NK cellen meer hebben. Kiadis K-NK-ID101-cellen kunnen mogelijk ook het gebrek aan goed werkende NK-cellen bij COVID-19 patienten herstellen. K-NK-ID101 cellen kunnen in de toekomst op grote schaal worden geproduceerd en onmiddellijk voor patienten beschikbaar worden gemaakt. De brede werking van NK-cellen tegen diverse virussen maakt K-NK-ID101-cellen daarmee mogelijk een universeel middel in de strijd tegen wereldwijde pandemieen. Robert Friesen, Ph.D, Chief Scientific Officer van Kiadis, zegt: Ons unieke K-NK-cel-technologieplatform is breed toepasbaar voor meerdere ziekten. We hadden al diverse onderzoeks programmas voor de behandeling van kanker, en breiden onze activiteiten nu uit naar behandeling van infectieziekten. Onze K-NK-ID101-celtherapie kan mogelijk tot een unieke behandeling van COVID-19 leiden. We kijken er naar uit om samen met dit sterke netwerk van gerenommeerde Nederlandse onderzoeksgroepen een effectieve behandeling te ontwikkelen in de strijd tegen het coronavirus dat de COVID-19 pandemie veroorzaakt." Arthur Lahr, chief executive officer van Kiadis, vult aan: K-NK-cellen kunnen in de toekomst op grote schaal geproduceerd worden en onmiddellijk beschikbaar komen bij behandeling van diverse virale infecties. Geneesmiddelen op basis van K-NK-cellen kunnen daarmee mogelijk een belangrijk wapen vormen tegen deze en toekomstige pandemieen. We hebben voor dit K-NK-ID101-programma subsidie aangevraagd bij de Amerikaanse overheid. Dit programma toont het brede potentieel van ons K-NK-platform, niet alleen als mogelijk medicijn tegen kanker, maar ook voor behandeling van infectieziekten. Universitaire specialisten in SARS-CoV-2-onderzoek van de afdeling Viroscience van het Erasmus Medisch Centrum in Rotterdam en de afdeling Infectieziekten van de Veterinaire Faculteit van Universiteit Utrecht nemen deel aan de samenwerking. Deze academische groepen ontdekten als eerste monoklonale antilichamen die infectie met het SARS-CoV-2-virus tegengaan ( Nature Com. (2020)11: 2215 ) . Harbour BioMed Netherlands zal deze SARS-CoV-2-antilichamen in de samenwerking inbrengen. Viroclinics is een gerenommeerde contractonderzoeksorganisatie en heeft baanbrekend onderzoek gedaan bij eerdere pandemieen, waaronder SARS en pandemische griep. Viroclinics is eigenaar van gepatenteerde virale ziektemodellen, testen en diermodellen voor SARS-CoV-2. Sanquin Bloedvoorziening zal de aanwezigheid en functie van NK-cellen bij COVID-19 patienten in kaart brengen, gebruik makend van donormateriaal van herstelde COVID-19 patienten. Dit persbericht vormt een vertaling van het gepubliceerde Engelstalige persbericht. Bij eventuele verschillen is de tekst van het Engelstalige persbericht altijd bepalend. About Kiadis Founded in 1997, Kiadis is building a fully integrated biopharmaceutical company committed to developing innovative cell-based medicines for patients with life-threatening diseases. With headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and activities across the United States, Kiadis is reimagining medicine by leveraging the natural strengths of humanity and our collective immune system to source the best cells for life. Kiadis is listed on the regulated market of Euronext Amsterdam and Euronext Brussels since July 2, 2015, under the symbol KDS. Learn more at www.kiadis.com . Forward Looking Statements Certain statements, beliefs and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect Kiadis or, as appropriate, Kiadis officers current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results, performance, achievements or events to differ materially from those expressed, anticipated 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, regulation, competition and technology, can cause actual events, performance, achievements or results to differ significantly from any anticipated or implied 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, Kiadis 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 projections, or any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither Kiadis nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such persons 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 anticipated or implied developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All but one of 12 new Covid-19 cases confirmed Monday evening are community transmissions, the Health Ministry said. "Patients 965 to 968" and "Patients 974 - 975", aged between 33 and 59, include three family members of a Covid-19 patient, a medical staff and a security guard at the Da Nang Hospital, and a resident of Thanh Khe District in the central city. "Patient 969" is a 25-year-old resident of Truong Dinh Ward in Hanoi's Hai Ba Trung District. Shed had close contact with a person who later became "Patient 962". She is being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases 2 in the capital city. "Patients 970 to 973," aged 13-41, are from Hai Duong Town in the eponymous province near Hanoi. The four cases are linked to a restaurant called The gioi bo tuoi (Fresh beef world) on Ngo Quyen Street, which has been identified as a hotspot. Five cases have previously been confirmed linked to this restaurant. The new patients are being treated at the Hai Duong Hospital for Tropical Diseases. "Patient 976" is a 42-year-old man who landed July 29 at Hanois Noi Bai Airport on Vietnam Airlines repatriation flight VN6 from Equatorial Guinea. Quarantined on arrival, the third test of his samples came out positive for the novel coronavirus. The man is being treated at the Dong Anh Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases. He is the 23rd Vietnamese citizen infected with the virus after returning from Equatorial Guinea. Mondays new cases have taken Vietnams Covid-19 tally to 976, including 487 active cases. There have been 24 deaths to date. On Monday, 11 more Covid-19 patients linked to the Da Nang outbreak were confirmed free of the virus. Since July 25, when local transmission returned after over three months, 499 cases have been reported in 15 cities and provinces, including 11 in Ho Chi Minh City and 10 in Hanoi. Most have been linked to the country's epicenter Da Nang, where 350 people have contracted the virus. HCMC has not recorded any new cases of community transmission or any Covid-19 death in the last 15 days, city Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said Monday. Citing the figures at a government meeting on Covid-19 prevention, Phong said that the city has initially put its outbreak under control. More than 107,000 people who have returned from abroad or come into close contact with infected people are in quarantine nationwide. We have woken up to the fact that we want to be free, we want to he human. The government believed that they are gods and we are nothing. OLGA V. GOLOVANOVA, an economist in Belarus who joined a rally against President Aleksandr G. Lukashenkos efforts to stay in power. Accused of rape and fathering a child, Mahesh Singh Negi, a BJP MLA in Uttarakhand has charged the opposition Congress with maligning his image by using the woman while the Congress has demanded that he should prove his innocence by undergoing a DNA test. Negi represents the Dwarahat constituency of Almora district. On Sunday, the woman who is married lodged a complaint with the Dehradun police accusing Negi of raping her several times and fathering her child. She also sought police protection for herself and her family members from Negi. She was earlier booked for extortion and blackmail after Negis wife Rita Negi lodged a complaint accusing her of trying to extort 5 crore from him by threatening to frame him in a false case. Negi who refuted all the allegations of the woman, alleged on Monday that Congress is conspiring to malign his image and harm him politically. id, All the allegations levelled against me by the woman are false. She has been already booked by police for trying to extort a huge sum of money from me. To save herself from that, she has now lodged a concocted complaint against me. Its all a conspiracy by the Congress to malign my image and harm my political career. They are using the woman against me for that which is shameful. A thorough investigation in the extortion case will reveal everything, the MLA said. He, however, did not answer when asked if he would undergo a DNA test to debunk the womans claim of paternity and disconnected the phone citing his wifes ill health. The Congress insists it has nothing to do with the incident and said the woman has herself come forward and levelled the accusations against Negi and the onus is on him to clear the air. Congress has no connection with the matter whatsoever. The woman has accused a ruling partys lawmaker which is a very serious issue. There should be a thorough probe on her complaint and MLA Negi should undergo a DNA test to prove that the child is not his, said party state vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana. Meanwhile, the BJP state leadership in a calibrated response said the party would wait for the investigation to finish on both the complaints before any action. Devendra Bhasin, vice-president of the state unit of the BJP said, Both the sides have levelled allegations against each other and lodged their complaints on the same. We will wait for the investigative agencies to finish their probe on the two before taking any action at party level against Negi. As of now we havent taken any action because its his personal matter, said Bhasin. Having said that, the BJP will always keep its principles intact. If Negi is found guilty, party will take appropriate action. The case has a similarity with that involving Uttarakhands former chief minister ND Tiwari in which a man named Rohit Shekhar had claimed to be his son. After initial denials, Tiwari accepted him as his son in 2013 after a DNA match. In another case involving a politician, the then Congress l Cabinet minister and now BJP leader and Cabinet minister, Harak Singh Rawat was booked in a molestation case on the complaint of a woman in Delhi. However, the woman later withdrew her complaint. MM Semwal, political expert and professor of political science at Garhwal Central University, Srinagar, Pauri Garhwal, said, The recent incident involving the BJP MLA is not a good thing for Uttarakhand politics. It will only symbolise the degradation of ethics in the states politics. People nowadays are already terming politics as a very dirty affair and on top of that incidents like these will only bring more disrepute. A thorough investigation should be carried out and stern action should be taken against anyone found guilty to avoid its repetition, he said. A parade of police cars traveling in convey paid a a visit to the lemonade stand of two teenagers who were robbed at gunpoint for their $30 profit - and they forked over more than $20 for a cup. The Illinois town where the 13-year-olds live has also raised more than $3,500 for them after the August 7 incident where Jude Peterson and Tristan Charbonnel set up the stand outside Peterson's suburban home in Peoria, before they were held up by two older teens. The thieves - who were clad in hooded sweatshirts - took off with $30 in profits that Peterson and Charbonnel had made. The incident was caught on a neighbor's surveillance camera. Residents of Peoria, southwest of Chicago, were left stunned by the armed hold-up, and have rallied around Peterson and Charbonnel. Last Tuesday, the boys reopened their lemonade stand, and were inundated with customers. Jude Peterson (left) and Tristan Charbonnel (right) were running a lemonade stand in Peoria, Illinois on August 7 when they were held up at gunpoint Residents of Peoria, southwest of Chicago, were left stunned by the armed hold-up, and have rallied around Peterson and Charbonnel. Police were seen purchasing lemonade from the boys earlier this week Peterson and Charbonnel's lemonade stand has seen a significant uptick in business in recent days, as residents stop in to show their support Surveillance video captured the moment the pair were robbed. One of the thieves (left) can be seen brandishing a gun as he walks toward the lemonade stand. Photo courtesy of WKOW A parade of police cars turned out to purchase drinks from the pair, with cops forking out $20 each for a lemonade. 'The officers and police chief got out of their cars and talked to the boys and told them how much they supported them. They gave them a donation and took turns buying lemonade. It just made them feel so safe and encouraged,' Peterson's father, Nathan, told CNN. 'The robbery itself felt surreal. But the response from the police and community made me so happy... Im getting teary eyed just talking about it,' he added. Police paid up to $20 each for a cup of lemonade, helping to show their support for the boys Residents were seen mingling at the re-opened stand last Tuesday Meanwhile, local residents have also been donating to Facebook fundraisers. Peterson's father says the total tops $3,500. 'The intent of this money comes from a deeper place, just wanting to live in a world thats safe for a 13-year-old to have a lemonade stand,' he explained. Meanwhile, Charbonnel appeared on Fox and Friends over the weekend where he talked about the terrifying moment he was held up at gunpoint. 'It was really surprising, but there wasn't really time to be scared,' he stated. He and Peterson quickly handed over their money tin, which contained $30, and were left uninjured. The two thieves fled on foot. Police have not yet made an arrest, but say they are 'making progress' on the case. The offenders are expected to be apprehended. Police are currently investigating the robbery. , Charbonnel appeared on Fox and Friends over the weekend where he talked about the terrifying moment he was held up at gunpoint The footage, which was captured from a neighbor's home, showed the two older boys wearing hooded sweatshirts as they approached from across the street The 13-year-olds said one of the boys then pulled out what they thought was handgun before quickly snatching their cash box from them UK's barring HK police training may 'tighten mainland-city bond' Global Times By Cui Fandi and Chen Qingqing Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/16 21:38:40 The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) said on Sunday that it has voluntarily decided to postpone sending officers overseas and the mainland to attend training courses given the current COVID-19 epidemic situation after reports claimed that the UK government has barred UK military personnel from training the Hong Kong police force and two other organizations amid strained ties. Observers believed that the UK's possible withdrawal from provision of these training courses will have little impact on the HKPF and is likely to further tighten Hong Kong's bond with the Chinese mainland. In a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday, the HKPF said it has decided to postpone sending officers to the Chinese mainland and overseas to attend training courses after assessing the risk of the pandemic and resources for the operation, pending a review of the arrangements in the future. The Guardian reported on Saturday that the British government has barred UK military personnel from training members of the HKPF. Both the British army and the Royal Air Force (RAF) run limited drill instructor programs for the HKPF, its Government Flying Service and its Sea Cadet Corps, but these have now been put on hold. The move was seen as the UK government's provocation of China over the recently enacted national security law for Hong Kong - legislation that the Chinese public believes to end the yearlong social turmoil and bring back peace and stability to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Joe Chan Cho-kwong, former chairman of the Junior Police Officers' Association, told the Global Times that the suspension is "actually a good thing for both Hong Kong and the mainland." "After 1997, cooperation between the HKPF and the UK has been limited to technical exchanges, and there has been no concrete collaboration," Chan said, noting that the UK's influence on the HKPF "has been gradually declining." If the UK is seeking to retaliate against China through halting assistance to the HKPF, it is doomed to fail, Fan Peng, a research fellow from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Political Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Sunday. "The HKPF won't suffer any loss if the UK withdraws its support, for the UK no longer has considerable influence on it," Fan noted. Lam Chi-wai, chairman of the Junior Police Officers' Association, told the Global Times that most training courses between the HKPF and the British side are organized at the management level with British universities after the HKSAR returned to the motherland. The city's police have also maintained exchanges with other countries including Australia, Singapore and France apart from the UK. "Halting such programs won't have a big impact on us. There's only small amount of junior and middle-level management training [between the UK and the police,]" Lam said. Meanwhile, the HKPF is going to adjust its training direction as the next step, he noted. Fan said that the central government has never interfered in the technical exchanges and cooperation between Hong Kong and the UK since 1997 and it is "completely unnecessary" for the UK to politicize its technical exchanges with Hong Kong. "The UK's suspension will indeed cement the bond between Hong Kong and the mainland," Fan said. "It is no doubt that the mainland will provide all technical help that HKPF needs in the future." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Veteran banker Uday Kotak cautioned against 'manipulative pricing' by China and said that India must put a premium on getting stronger to keep such practices at bay. Kotak added that China works with a strategy worldwide to grossly under-price its products aiming to push local manufacturers out of business. Once its companies are able to get hold of a sizable share of the market, they raise prices at will. Kotak said that such a practice leaves the market without any other serious competitor. Asia's richest banker told ET Now in an interview that such a strategy helped China make inroads into Indian markets. However, Indian firms in turn got a raw deal from China in almost every sector, the Kotak Mahindra Bank CMD noted. Kotak further said that India should focus on execution and the government should focus on getting the policies right. It is important for the policies to also show results on the ground, he added. The two 'Es' India needs currently are Exports and Execution. He also said that execution would also have a major impact on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Atma Nirbhar push. Meanwhile, PM Modi during his Independence Day speech on Saturday, reiterated India's "vocal for local" initiative and stressed on his government's vision for Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Modi said considering India's resolve to become self-reliant, many big companies are turning towards India. "We have to move forward with the mantra of 'Make for the world' along with 'Make in India'," he added. Also read: India to set up solar manufacturing zones; impose 15-20% duty to discourage imports from China Also read: Another blow to China! 24 companies plan to shift production units to India Newly released 5G smartphones are showcased at a Samsung Electronics store. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics By Kim Hyun-bin The government has been pressuring major telecom companies to reduce their fifth-generation (5G) pricing rate plans to reduce the cost for consumers. SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus have invested heavily in 5G infrastructure and were able to boast of being the "world's first to commercialize 5G" in April 2019. However, the government is not giving the firms room to breathe, requesting they increase investments to enhance nationwide 5G connectivity while simultaneously pressuring them to lower their rates. The three mobile carriers said recently they will invest up to 25.7 trillion won by 2022 for the establishment of a nationwide 5G infrastructure, in order to meet the government's Digital New Deal initiative, for which 5G technology is a core component as all advanced smart technologies including AI will need to utilize the network. Last November, ICT Minister Choi Ki-young asked the telecom companies to offer a 5G rate plan for 40,000 won ($33), but the companies said at the time that this was "impossible." According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, there were about 7.4 million 5G subscribers as of June this year, around 10 percent of the total number of mobile phone users. The telecom companies had emphasized that they needed at least 5 million 5G subscribers to start turning a profit. As of late March, there were 5.58 million 5G subscribers but telecom companies claim that the continuous losses since April last year and heavy investments have left them unable to reduce the 5G rates. The government should be patient and let the market logic play its part, as once the 5G network is properly established and fully commercialized, major telecom companies will have no choice but to engage in a price war to increase their market share, as was seen with previous networks such as 3G and long-term evolution (LTE). It won't be long until a majority of users switch to 5G as major smartphone manufactures such as Samsung and Apple are scheduled to solely release 5G phones here starting in the second half of the year. In addition, more affordable low- to mid-tier 5G smartphones are entering the market as well, backed by new diverse and attractive 5G content. More than 600 slum dwellers places of abode and four shops were destroyed in separate fires last Friday night and Saturday dawn at Shaishie in the Greater Accra Region and central business district of Takoradi in the Western Region. The fire at Shaishie which started at around 9:45p.m, on Friday night, destroyed wooden and metal structures built by squatters as dwelling places and for commercial purposes. Items damaged by the fire were personal effects worth several hundreds of Ghana cedis, but no death or injury was recorded. Scrap dealers took advantage to look for metals, whilst affected victims also searched through the debris to salvage their items. The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Divisional Officer (DO) Grade II Ellis Okoe Robinson who disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times on Saturday said they had information about the fire and proceeded to the scene. The PRO said five fire tenders from Legon, Adenta, Abelemkpe, GNFS Headquarters and Madina were used to extinguish the fire at 2:57am on Saturday. DOII Robinson said the cause of fire was under investigations. Meanwhile, four shops including the wholesale department of First Samuel Supermarket, located on the Kingston Avenue at the central business district of Takoradi in the Western Region, were on Saturday dawn, destroyed by fire. The fire, which started at about 12:32 am and accompanied by explosions and strong winds, spread from one shop to the other and sent thick clouds of smoke into the atmosphere. An anxious crowd thronged the scene to catch a glimpse of the raging fire, which took about five hours for a team of fire fighters from the GNFS, the Naval Base and Takoradi Port to bring the fire under control. When the Ghanaian Times visited the scene at about 6am, there were signs of black smoke and huge debris scattered in the area, showing the destruction caused by the fire. The cause of fire is yet to be established, but investigations into the incident have begun. Briefing the Ghanaian Times, the Western Regional Public Relations Officer of the GNFS, Divisional Officer (DO) Grade III Emmanuel Bonney, explained that the headquarters received a distress call from the Takoradi Market Circle station about the fire. He said, the command deployed the fire crew, and within five minutes they arrived at the scene, and revealed that initial assessment showed that the roof of the shops had caved-in. DO III Bonney reported that the roofs of the shops were made with cards and also contained combustible items, including insecticide spray, cooking oil, baby clothing and textiles, coupled with the strong dawn winds, spread the fire to other shops. We deployed four fire tenders and three tankers to contain the fire and prevented it from spreading to other areas around the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited, the UBA Bank, the Total filling station, the retail shop of First Samuel and other adjoining shops. he told the Ghanaian Times. The PRO applauded the early public alert and explained such efforts were critical in smooth fire operations, adding we also commend the police for securing the CBG Bank and UBA Bank against any looting. DO III Bonney, however, complained about the interference of the crowd at the fire scene, saying that they distract the work of fire fighters. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted the restrictions placed on Bandhan Bank CEOs remuneration after the promoters holding in the bank was reduced to 40 per cent, the bank informed the stock exchanges on Monday. "The RBI vide its communication dated August 17, 2020 has lifted the other regulatory restriction "the remuneration of the MD & CEO of the Bank stands frozen, at the existing level," the bank said in a note to exchanges. Early this month, Bandhan Financial Holdings, the holding company of Bandhan Bank, had brought down its stake in the lender to 40 percent from around 61 percent, through a block trade. The holding company sold its stake worth around Rs 10,500 crore in the bank. Under RBI norms, the Bandhan promoter had to bring down its stake in the bank, which was at 60.95 percent before the transaction, to 40 percent in the first stage. Listen: Setting Sail | Wow Momo may cut jobs in September, business still not back to pre-Covid level: Sagar Daryani Under current RBI rules, Bandhan Bank need not reduce promoter stake any further for another three years, the bank's CEO, Chandrashekhar Ghosh had told Moneycontrol on August 3. Ghosh and his family members together have around a 2 percent stake in the holding company. Bandhan Bank's promoter holding was actually at 82 percent before the acquisition of GRUH Finance last year. In September 2018, RBI imposed punitive actions on Bandhan Bank. This included withdrawing permission to open branches and freezing the remuneration of the Managing Director and CEO of the bank at the existing level until further notice. However later, in February 2019, the RBI allowed the bank to open branches without its approval with the rider that at least a quarter of the branches be opened in unbanked rural areas in a year. This relaxation was given after RBI noted that it was impressed with the bank's efforts to comply with the licensing rules. ALBANY On Friday evening, I walked with Police Chief Eric Hawkins and a handful of religious leaders around a West Hill neighborhood frequently touched by violence. Hawkins approached nearly every resident he saw sitting or standing outside, and he asked many what they wanted from his department. Again and again, the answer was the same: More police on the streets. On one hand, that isn't surprising. Albany, like cities around the country, is experiencing an alarming spike in violence, much of it centered in West Hill. So of course residents want more police. But since the killing of George Floyd, we are also witnessing a national protest movement calling for, among other things, the defunding of police departments. Voices from Black Lives Matter also argue that poor, minority neighborhoods are over-policed. There's an obvious disconnect, then, between what the West Hill residents said they wanted and what protesters seem to be seeking. Now, I know many who call for defunding don't really mean the elimination of police forces. They're talking about shifting resources toward programs that address social ills that lead to violence. In some cases, they're also talking about taking some responsibilities away from police so cops can focus on fighting crime. There's logic there. Police are in many cases stretched too thin, their attention diverted from the most important problems. Cops are asked to do too much. Still, it's obviously true that reducing police budgets is wholly incompatible with putting more officers on the streets, especially if you want them to be qualified and well-trained. More good cops will require more money, not less. And more cops are what West Hill residents said they wanted. "More of a police presence," a man sitting outside his home said, when asked what he wanted to see in the neighborhood. When? "All day," he said. Hawkins talked to dozens of people and a cross section of the neighborhood young and old, Black and white, longtime residents and new arrivals. I didn't hear anyone mention the size of the police budget. But many said they hoped to see more police walking and driving by their homes. "The defund the police movement is against what people in this community want," Hawkins concluded at the end of his walk. Well, I suppose you could dismiss the sample as unrepresentative. It was just one neighborhood on one day, after all. Maybe people just didn't want to tell the chief how they really felt. But polls show similar sentiment. In a recent Gallop poll of more than 36,000 Americans, only 22 percent of Black respondents and 15 percent of respondents overall supported abolishing police departments although a much higher percentage, 47 percent, supported shifting some police funding toward social programs. Meanwhile, 58 percent of respondents, and 88 percent of Black respondents, agreed that policing in America needs major changes. That dissatisfaction gives Black Lives Matter its strength. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Certainly, the neighborhood around First and Quail has seen the side of policing that fuels calls for reform. In fact, Hawkins on Friday walked past the house where officers responding to an early-morning party last year beat several men in the street. The First Street clash caused community uproar, and rightfully so. Hawkins subsequently announced that eight officers would be disciplined, with three facing termination. All are appealing the decision. But the area around First and Quail also experiences the horrors of random violence almost as a routine fact of life. It is a neighborhood where gunfire shatters the night, a place where children live in fear and parents endlessly worry. It is a neighborhood where police are seen as the solution, not the problem. Earlier this month, a drive-by shooting at the intersection, considered one of Albany's deadliest, left three wounded and one dead the city's eleventh homicide so far this year. Last year, a daycare near First and Quail was hit by bullets. The intersection is where the brother of Mayor Kathy Sheehan's adopted son was killed. The tragedies are not a new phenomenon: It was 12 years ago when 10-year-old Kathina Thomas was shot and killed on the steps of her First Street home. When will the violence stop? On Friday, when Hawkins was walking on Second Street, a man named David Condo rushed over, desperate to talk. He wanted to tell the chief how bullets had shattered his window one night as his granddaughter slept nearby. He begged Hawkins to help quell the mayhem. He didn't mention defunding police. cchurchill@timesunion.com 518-454-5442 @chris_churchill A massive house party Aug. 3 on Mulholland Drive in the Beverly Crest neighborhood. (KTLA) Were shuttering businesses, inspecting workplaces and re-imagining education to keep COVID-19 at bay. But were all thumbs when it comes to dealing with what has become the Achilles' heel of our coronavirus prevention plan: rogue parties that have helped send infection rates soaring among young people in Los Angeles County. It seems like almost every week some illicit event with super-spreader potential makes news at a mansion in the Hollywood Hills, a celebrity compound in Calabasas, an estate in Holmby Hills, a warehouse in the industrial Harbor Gateway neighborhood. Police show up but dont do much unless a partygoer gets shot, which has happened during at least three recent events, including a Hollywood Hills party where a woman died. Elected officials seem to have little to offer but threats to cut power to venues that are egregious offenders. And health experts keep hoping that education about the risks will persuade partygoers to stay home. Youd have to live in a cave right now not to know what precautions to take to keep yourself safe from contagion: Wash your hands, wear a mask, keep your distance from anyone you dont live with. Yet some folks are still living it up unmasked and unafraid as if COVID-19 didn't exist. Party videos show jam-packed dance floors, crowds queued up at makeshift bars and buses continually dropping newcomers off. I understand the urge that drives the lack of inhibition. We are all weary of being masked, monitored and cooped up. For young people, in the prime of their partying days, it must seem especially cruel. Youre impatient and bored, tired of social isolation and desperate for company. You cant go to school, your job is on hold, the countys bars and clubs have shut down. And youve been attuned by social media to expect instant gratification. So you convince yourself that youre entitled to a night of raucous fun. But your indiscretions can wind up threatening the health of anyone else you encounter. So maybe its time for us to acknowledge that the Were all in this together mantra rings hollow in some quarters. We may need to rely on punishment instead. Story continues :: Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer has been watching the progression of infections with trepidation. More than a quarter of new cases have been among 18- to 29-year-olds, a group that was mostly untouched in the pandemics early days. Now they have the highest rate of new cases of any age group. I dont like to see those pictures of all the people partying, she said. When we see people blatantly defying sensible orders, that makes others feel like, If they can do it, we can do it too. Its frustrating, because what were asking is not a big thing to do. Its not saying parties are banned forever, its just saying dont have a party for a few months. Ferrer admits that some responsibility for the violations may be linked to well-meaning officials and fumbles early on when we were all trying to figure out how best to deal with a deadly virus we had never encountered before. Months ago we were telling people they didnt need to wear a mask, she recalled. Now masks are lifesaving. People are confused about messages we think should be clear. Ferrer spends a lot of time asking strangers what they do to stay safe, and thats been eye-opening. Im actually astounded how little understanding they have about what the science is around COVID-19, she said. We obviously havent done as good a job as we need to do in explaining to people how powerful they can be in stopping the spread. Or maybe that message is just particularly hard for young people to absorb. They look around, and it doesnt seem to be causing all this devastation, Ferrer said, because until now mostly older people had been dying. They say, Im young, Im healthy, and Im tired of not being able to socialize the way I want. :: The county is revamping its messaging to reach young people who seem to think they are invincible. Billboards, videos and social media posts now feature people in their 20s and 30s who suffered and still havent recovered from coronavirus infections. Its a scared straight approach for young folks who might be wavering. But is fear of getting sick enough to stave off the party circuit? I dont think so. When I see those party videos, I think of all the young people I know who are sacrificing and staying at home to protect themselves, their mothers, aunties, grandfathers. They are tired of the isolation, too. And we dishonor their commitment when we turn a blind eye to those who brazenly break the rules, threatening public health with their selfishness. Education instead of enforcement is a nice sentiment, but maybe its time to raise the stakes for those determined to flout public safety rules. We have to accept that some folks just dont care about health risks. But maybe theyll care when their party favors are tickets for mask violations subject to $100 fines or community service. Other communities have already taken that sort of hard line. Calabasas declared zero tolerance a month ago, after a raid on a large party hosted by YouTube star Jake Paul. The warning period has ended, Mayor Alicia Weintraub declared in a Facebook post. The sheriff understands that all parties are to be broken up immediately. But in the city of Los Angeles, strained relations between the LAPD and Mayor Eric Garcetti mean enforcement isnt on the table yet. Theyre stuck on logistics, confusion over whether the mayors Safer L.A. order applies to parties in private homes and concern that enforcement orders would force a standoff with police, whose union is at war with the mayor over proposed budget cuts. Police were called several times by neighbors, worried by the chaos around the Mulholland Drive mansion where three people would be shot earlier this month. But when the LAPD arrived, the officers tended to parking problems, then met with the responsible party hosting the event and helped usher the people back into the private party, LAPD Lt. Chris Ramirez said at a media briefing. As if anyone at that party could really be considered responsible. When thats the police response, its easy to understand why partygoers think no harm, no foul. I asked Ferrer what she thinks about adding enforcement to the arsenal. Every tool we have, we should use, she said. She likes the idea of big fines for party hosts. That doesn't mean Ferrer thinks people should be arrested for being scofflaws in these situations. I respect the fact that law enforcement has a lot of work to do, she said. Arresting everybody at a party? What are we going to do? Put them all on a bus, book them and release them? Besides, a crowded bus taking people to jail is the perfect place for the coronavirus to spread. And yet, back in June, thats exactly what we did to thousands of lawful young protesters, who took to the streets to try to stop an epidemic of police brutality. U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters while hosting Slovak Republic Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini in the Oval Office at the White House May 03, 2019 in Washington, DC: Getty Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has offered his condolences to President Donald Trump after his younger brother, Robert Trump, died on Saturday night. The former vice president said he understood the "tremendous pain of losing a loved one" in a tweet directed towards Mr Trump. Robert died at the age of 71 while in a New York hospital. He had been reportedly hospitalised in the intensive care unit for several days in June, but details of his illness have not been released. The president confirmed his brother's death in a statement released by the White House on Saturday night. After Mr Biden offered the condolences, Mr Trump later shared a video on Twitter that appeared to make fun of the former vice president for his stutter and odd things he's said in interviews. The president provided no context for why he shared the video. This comes as the Democratic-led House has called for multiple officials with the United States Postal Service (USPS) to come to an emergency hearing on 24 August. The hearing would address reports of mail delays and how it could impact the upcoming election. Democratic lawmakers have pushed for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call the House back into session to address problems with the USPS. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said he and other lawmakers were looking at a standalone bill that would address funding and other problems related to the service. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows appeared on CNN to answer questions about Mr Trump's stance on mail-in voting. It was pointed out to the Trump admin that there has been no proof mail-in voting causes voter frauds, but Mr Meadows said there was no proof it doesn't cause fraud. in other news, the Trump administration has created a verified account on Triller, TikTok's rival app. This move further segmented the Trump administration's position against the Chinese-created video app. The sorting hat that can read young sorcerers' minds on their first school day may not simply be something imagined by J. K. Rowling in her "Harry Potter" series. It will probably come true someday, when "Muggles" are shopping with Taobao Neurabuy. Recently, Alibaba, China's online-transaction magnate and NeuraMatrix, a tech-based firm established at the incubator center of the country's prestigious Tsinghua University, announced a jaw-dropping project to link human brains directly with computers at the fifth Taobao Maker Festival, which lasted from Aug. 10 to 14. Following Elon Musk's Neuralink - which is primarily used to help deal with cerebral or spinal cord injuries through direct interconnection between brain and computers, Taobao Neurabuy is projected to facilitate shopping by reading signals or pulses inside the brain with an implanted chip. The interaction can be activated when the sensor chip interprets the brain waves and transmits them to servers where the graphic information of goods is calibrated before being sent back to the brain. Therefore, the customers are able to confirm their shopping lists by thinking yes or no from the closed circuit. Alibaba submitted the technology's application for patent on July 30. However, more details on the feasibility of the technology still await testing. The furor over comments by presumptive US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in December in which he called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an autocrat and said he would help his opponents to replace him shows no signs of abating, even though the former vice president made them so long ago. You are no match for this nation, you brazen man! howled the pro-government daily Yeni Safak today. Know your place, warned Yeni Akit, another government mouthpiece. They were taking their cues from Erdogans lieutenants. His head of communications Fahrettin Altun said Bidens words reflected an interventionist approach toward Turkey. No one can attack our national will, he fumed. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin vented via Twitter, saying, The days of ordering Turkey around are over, and that those who dared do so would pay the price. In his remarks during a round table with New York Times editors on Dec. 16, Biden had also taken aim at President Donald Trumps order for US special forces to withdraw from Syrias border with Turkey, paving the way for Turkeys October 2019 assault against the US-backed Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units. The last thing I wouldve done is yielded to [Erdogan] with regard to the Kurds. The absolute last thing, Biden said. All of this will have reinforced Erdogans long held view that not only had the Barack Obama administration backed the failed 2016 coup to violently overthrow him but that its decision to support Turkeys Syrian Kurdish foes militarily was part of the alleged plan. Embarrassed opposition leaders swiftly denounced Biden, saying they wanted nothing of his help. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the chairman of the pro-secular main opposition Republican Peoples Party, said, We do not accept even the shadow of any imperial power. Yet amid all the indignation, feigned or real, some observers are questioning why the video is making the rounds eight months after it was published by the New York Times. After all, Erdogan and his cabinet hardly uttered a peep when Trump threatened in an Oct. 9 letter to Erdogan to destroy the Turkish economy if he carried his invasion of northeast Syria too far. History, he wrote, will look upon you forever as the devil if good things dont happen. Dont be a tough guy. Dont be a fool. The conventional wisdom is that Erdogan is using Biden to whip up nationalist fervor against the United States to further deflect attention from the countrys deepening economic problems, compounded by an alarming rise in new COVID-19 cases. While this fits with Erdogans pattern of igniting controversies to that end, there is little doubt that the prospect of a Biden presidency is raising alarms in Ankara. Thanks to the good personal chemistry between Trump and Erdogan, Turkey has managed to fend off the worst of congressional sanctions over its purchase of Russian missiles. Biden may prove less obliging. Asli Aydintasbas, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations who closely monitors Turkeys relations with Washington, believes such thinking is overwrought. Aydintasbas told Al-Monitor in emailed comments, I do not believe US policy will fundamentally change under Biden, though there would more of an emphasis on human rights and democracy. Publicly and privately Trump made it very clear that he did not care whatever happened inside the country, as long as he could establish a give and take with Erdogan. Aydintasbas predicted, That is likely to change but not dramatically. A Biden administration would still do business with Erdogan and try to cajole him to keep Turkey in the Transatlantic fold. I do not expect a radical departure. Turkey is too important and too critical to US strategic interests. She went on, Yes, the government is hyping up the Biden comments to further feed the domestic narrative that Turkey is surrounded by enemies who want to topple President Erdogan and that its economic woes are not self-made but an attack from abroad. This does tend to work with Erdogans base but not really beyond. It may be that Biden is electioneering too. Gonul Tol, the director of the Middle East Institutes Turkey program, contends that the domestic policy debate has become so closely intertwined with foreign policy under Trump that it's natural that Biden will attack him over authoritarian regimes he is accused of coddling: Russia and Turkey. Trumps opponents are vowing to do the opposite, to pressure these countries and their leaders on human rights. And while foreign policy is clearly not top of the agenda during this campaign, when it does come up it's three countries Russia, China and Turkey that are seen as the biggest headaches, Tol told Al-Monitor in a telephone interview. Turkeys October assault against the Kurds roused Congressional ire that cut across bipartisan lines, she recalled. Either way, history has so far shown that pragmatism will likely prevail, despite the angry noises emitting from both capitals. Many in Bidens foreign policy team worked closely with Ankara during the Obama years and established good relations, Aydintasbas observed. If Biden comes to power, President Erdogan will say My friend Joe Biden and the two will find a way to work together, she said. While the media are bashing President Trump for withholding funding for the U.S. Postal Service, here's what they are not telling you: Democratic governors across the country are taking advantage of the pandemic to do something they have wanted to do for years unilaterally rewrite election laws to make voting by mail easier, something that will lead to negligence or fraud. As the WSJ put it recently after reciting real-life examples of ballots being delivered to non-residents, there are "a cavalcade of problems with vote by mail. There's no way of knowing how many nonresidents will receive ballots they're not legally allowed to cast. There is no way to confirm how many eligible voters don't receive ballots, how many dead people receive ballots, how many people receive multiple ballots, how many ballots actually make it through the mail in time, and how many ballots aren't delivered to the place where they're to be counted." These governors are taking such actions via "emergency" executive orders, without input from the state's residents (the Legislature), even though they had plenty of time to convene legislative sessions. The governors' actions are illegal, not Trump's. This is but the latest in a series of Democrat and media attempts to undermine Trump's presidency and remove him without the will of the people. Other examples include (1) the Obama/Biden administration's spying on his campaign and then setting traps for his administration once it took office; (2) the Russian Collusion Investigation Hoax, which consumed two years of his presidency; (3) the failed impeachment; (4) blocking his actions through seeking improper national injunctions; (5) constant illegal leaks by career bureaucrats (the administrative state). Now they are trying to rig the election through a process that will lead to illegal ballots being cast. President Trump, stand your ground. Josh Kantrow is a Chicago cyber-security lawyer. Image: Scott McLeod MONTREAL - Two-thirds of Quebecers surveyed are concerned about the educational success of their children during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey for a major teachers' union suggests. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/8/2020 (521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A young boy hugs his father as he waits to be called to enter the school yard the Marie-Derome School in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., Monday, May 11, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson MONTREAL - Two-thirds of Quebecers surveyed are concerned about the educational success of their children during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey for a major teachers' union suggests. Ninety per cent of respondents also believe that students with learning difficulties will be most penalized by the pandemic, with 92 per cent believing more resources should be dedicated to helping these students. But there's also concerns for students in general: 66 per cent were very or somewhat worried about the impact of the pandemic on student success, compared to five per cent who said they were not worried at all. Respondents were also split on whether schools were prepared for the resumption of classes 52 per cent said they were not prepared enough or at all, compared to 48 per cent who thought the opposite. The CROP survey was conducted online surveying 1,000 Quebecers between July 22 and 29. The results cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered probabilistic. The Centrale des syndicats du Quebec (CSQ), which commissioned the poll, said the results suggest more provincial government investment is necessary, particularly resources for those most at-risk. "These students, who number 223,000, were having difficulties before the pandemic and have gone almost six months without attending school, they are going to need a lot of support," said union president Sonia Ethier. Last Monday, Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge presented a revised back-to-school plan, making face-coverings mandatory as of Grade 5 and enlarging the bubble concept to include an entire classroom of students. The new plan also includes a shift to distance learning in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in a classroom. Opposition parties raised concerns about the issue of catching up not being addressed after nearly six months away from school, including summer break. Roberge is expected to address the issue during a news conference on Monday in Quebec City. This report was first published by The Canadian Press on Aug. 16, 2020. OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio -- Local shops have some enterprising surprises in their inventory now. If you havent re-entered the shopping scene yet, do so locally. There are some gems waiting to be discovered. The Rift in the Mill River Plaza moved to that location one week prior to the Ohio shutdown due to COVID-19. At that time, it had about 45 vendors providing an eclectic array of goods, from spicy dips and beaded jewelry to wooden signs. Renee Banning of Renees Unique Boutique and More provides a safety counter shield, hand sanitizer and constant cleaning to ensure all are safe in her Olmsted Falls shop. (Joanne Berger DuMound, special to cleveland.com) Owner Jeremy Martin had a ribbon-cutting ceremony and plans for a grand opening. We were open eight days and then everything closed. It was horrible, Jeremy said. But we are still in business and we are rebounding. We have big plans for the future and are updating our shop. We now have 62 vendors. And we now offer gift cards. Jeremy and his staff help keep the store sanitized. They require masks and social distancing. A touchless sanitizing dispenser greets customers at the door. A main draw now to The Rift -- which stands for Repurposed & Intended For Today -- is an array of facial masks and accessories. Youll find adult masks, children masks, masks with matching pouches, small cloth bags printed clean and dirty for storing masks, and fashion and formal lanyards that attach to your mask. Adult facial masks, childrens adjustable masks and a flexible ear strap extender are just some mask accessories at The Rift in Olmsted Falls. (Joanne Berger DuMound, special to cleveland.com) We are investing in our community to keep them safe, yet having fun with it, said Rebecca Soulchin, the stores manager. Some of the vendors who have brought creativity to the facial mask merchandise at The Rift include Kindness Creations by Maria, Cottonwood Creations by Rhonda Lach and Oh Sew Connie (May). You can choose the fabric and they will personalize it for you, Jeremy said. Two of the newer vendors are Clay Play by Val and Three Sons Leather Company. Val, who is a great-grandmother, brings a richness to her clay design and creativity. Three Sons Leather Company offers purses, briefcases, wallets and other items. Seth Robinson, a Beachwood firefighter, started the company with his family. These Clay Play by Val pieces show diversity and creativity of vendors featured at The Rift in Olmsted Falls. (Joanne Berger DuMound, special to cleveland.com) The shop also has a new fixture, Riftina. The mannequin models various attire and items of the shops vendors. Jeremy said she will be the center of an upcoming contest in which customers may take a picture with her, upload it and get a chance to win vendors products. If you havent been in here yet, we invite you to see our local vendors work and shop local, Jeremy said. Meet Riftina, the latest addition to The Rift in Olmsted Falls. She wears the shop's vendors' items and will be part of a contest soon. (Joanne Berger DuMound, special to cleveland.com) Renee Banning said the state shutdown came at a time that was, well, a bit less dramatic for her shop in Grand Pacific Junction. She owns Renees Unique Boutique and More on Mill Street. Oh, it was bad, but it happened at a time when I had a (partial) knee replacement and I had to recuperate, Renee said. I was able to get my online store going and that helped carry somewhat through until I was able to open again. She has invested in a framed plexiglass shield at her counter and hand sanitizer throughout the store. We sanitize everything we can, including the door knob, she said. The shop offers boho clothing, creative jewelry and some items not found anywhere else locally. Obtaining merchandise after the shutdown, however, became a problem. Renees Unique Boutique and More carries BruMate, the popular insulated drinking system that comes in various forms and styles. (Joanne Berger DuMound, special to cleveland.com) Restocking was hard. With all the closures and rioting that occurred, it was difficult to get items. I buy clothing in California and that was very difficult, she said. But now we are getting caught up and Im even showing fall items. Granted, business isnt like it was, but loyal customers have helped her return to the market. Regular customers have been following online and have come in and done some big shopping, she said. People seem to want to support local. And some come in and say, I just want to get out of the house. Renee is careful to purchase only what she needs and is trying to replenish her rainy day fund, which also helped during the closure. One of her newest lines is BruMate, the popular insulated hydration drink ware that keeps liquid at a perfect temperature. There are not many area retailers who handle the product. Renee is also proud of the Kinsley Armelle jewelry in her boutique. She hopes people will begin shopping a bit more regularly now. Come back and enjoy what is here, she said. Everyone is respectful of each other during this time. Whether its shopping in Olmsted Falls or Olmsted Township, the communities store, restaurant and business owners are here to serve you and your needs. Grab your mask and hand sanitizer, and check out whats new at your favorite local business. Fill the truck is here: The Olmsted Falls Music Association will have its Fill the Truck fundraiser this Saturday (Aug. 22) at the Falls-Lenox Primary School parking lot. The truck will be there from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The association is partnering with Savers in this donation drive. This is a great way to declutter your home. Acceptable items include clothing and shoes; accessories such as scarves, belts, purses, hats, book bags and cloth lunch boxes; and linens, curtains, draperies, towels, bedding and fabric. The drive will not accept household items, toys, books or items that are not cloth. Place your items in bags or boxes. There will be bags at the site if you need them. Those who donate will receive a tax-deductible receipt. If you have questions, contact Frank Miller at millerfp3@ameritech.net. Such music association fundraisers help support, encourage, advance and cultivate the music education of all Olmsted Falls School District students. Local 9/11 memorial: Fundraising efforts continue for the citys 9/11 memorial. The city received one of the last remaining artifacts of the World Trade Center -- a 2 1/2-foot-tall, 76-pound steel remnant. It is a piece of steel girder from the fallen New York City Twin Towers that collapsed during the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack. The artifact, obtained in 2017, will be placed outside the Olmsted Falls Fire Station on Columbia Road. The city is offering a bumper/refrigerator magnet for $5 to help fund the memorial. All proceeds will benefit the memorial, with any additional funds donated to our communitys Christians in Action food pantry. You may make your donation -- and pick up the magnet -- at the Olmsted Falls Fire Station, Olmsted Falls City Hall, Olmsted Falls Police Station, Olmsted Falls Building Department, Gibbs Butcher and Brews, Ameriprint and Moosehead Hoof and Ladder. If you are interested in selling the magnets, call the fire station at 440-235-3238. Your donation is appreciated. School supply donations: The COVID-19 virus has hit some families hard, especially financially. A group of friends -- Dan Corrigan, Jennifer Huffman and Dawn Pettry -- realized there wasnt a local school supply drive for this school year. So they created one. Whether learning is occurring in the classroom or virtually at home, supplies are needed. These three Bulldog school supporters decided to give back, so here is how you can help this community school supply drive. Go to the SignUpGenius link and check off which item or items you will buy. There are two drop-off locations listed on the link, which is https://bit.ly/3iJ2cZB. Some of the listed items are backpacks, masks, No. 2 yellow pencils with erasers, soft zippered lunch boxes for supplies, wide-rule spiral notebooks, water bottles, letter flashcards and more. Items should be dropped off at the two locations listed on the link between now and Aug. 28. Dan invites companies to be part of this cause, as well. Contact him at Dan.corrigan@hotmail.com. Our kids need us now more than ever. Why not be part of this effort to make school a bit easier and happier for our kids. Mini Vintage Marketplace: Lets hope this Sunday (Aug. 23) the weather cooperates a bit better and brings some sunshine. The Mini Vintage Marketplace will continue from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Sunday this summer in front of Second Thyme Around on Orchard Street. Four vendors will sell their wares. Check them out, and the rest of the downtown stores, for some great items, whether for a gift or for yourself. Information, please: To include news, tidbits, honors or activities in Olmsted Falls and Olmsted Township, contact Joanne DuMound at jdumound@yahoo.com. She also is on Twitter, @JoanneDuMound. The columns online version at cleveland.com/olmsted has direct links for many news items. Read more from the Sun Post Herald. Bengaluru, Aug 17 : A fact-finding committee of the ruling BJP has blamed the opposition Congress and the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) for the riots in Bengaluru's eastern suburb last week that led to three deaths in police firing and the arrest of over 300 people, a party official said on Monday. "The panel, headed by senior BJP leader Arvind Limbavali, visited the riot-hit areas on Sunday and spoke to victims of the mob violence, including Congress legislator Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy whose house was burnt in the arson and mob fury, triggered by a derogatory post on social media by his nephew P. Naveen on August 11," the official told IANS here. Had Murthy or his party (Congress) acted in time against Naveen for the derogatory post and sought police intervention, the situation would not have gone out of control, leading to mob violence, arson, looting and destroying public property, including burning the D.J. Halli police station in the area, noted the official. "The fact that about a dozen SDPI members have been arrested for allegedly instigating the unruly mobs to go on the rampage and the failure of the Congress state unit in coming to the rescue of its own legislator on that fateful night exposes its ineptness in handling the situation." . Though Congress leaders, including its state unit President D.K. Shivakumar and former Home Minister G. Parameshwara said intelligence failure and inaction of the local police led to the riots, the BJP probe panel said the sudden mob attack on Murthy's house and the police station with iron rods, stones, petrol cans and bottles showed that it was pre-planned and well organised. "According to the people in the locality and eye witnesses, about 800 people, mostly youth, descended on Murthy's house to protest against the derogatory post and wanted his nephew to be arrested for offending them. "They prevented the police and the fire brigade in reaching the house, which was burning. The culprits also ran to the police station and set it on fire," recalled the official. The BJP's Lok Sabha member from the Bengaluru Central constituency P.C. Mohan, a member of the probe panel, said while the frenzy mob attacked the MLA's house and the police station, some of the protesters formed a human chain to protect a temple in the locality from being attacked and vandalised. Refuting the charges, Shivakumar said the police failed to act in time even hours after a complaint was filed against Naveen and the protestors assembled at the MLA's house and its own police station in large numbers. "We have also set up a 6-member inquiry committee headed by Parameshwara to ascertain what triggered the riots and who were behind it," Shivakumar told IANS. Meanwhile, Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Mallikarjun Kharge sought a judicial inquiry into the riots in the Pulakeshinagar (reserved) assembly segment, represented by Murthy, instead of a magisterial probe ordered by the state government last week. "Only a judicial inquiry by a high court judge will be able to bring out the truth behind the riots in the area which is represented by our MLA," said Kharge. (Alliance News) - Clear Leisure PLC on Monday announced a new investment initiative as well as received the first tranche for the Mediapolis settlement. The investment company focused on the leisure, real estate and digital sectors said it is in the early stages of launching a new investment initiative focused on high growth technology companies. The company has approached Capital Partners LLP to act as the investment manager to establish and manage a fund aimed at professional and qualifying retail investors. The proposed GBP10 million fund will seek to invest in start-ups which focus on the integration of biological and digital systems, mainly in the UK. Clear Leisure has received EUR1.5 million from the first tranche of the approved Mediapolis SA settlement. The settlement relates to proceeds from an auction of land formerly owned by Italian subsidiary Mediapolis. Meanwhile, Geosim Systems Ltd, an Israeli portfolio company, has delivered on its project in Asia to build a digital twin model of an international airport, despite the inevitable delays due to Covid-19. The company also announced that the second court hearing against former Sipiem SpA directors has been postponed to September 30 due to delays caused by Covid-19. This legal action originated when Sipiem's liquidator filed a claim against Sipiem's previous executive management team and internal audit committee for fraud and mismanagement on March 21, 2019. Clear Leisure shares were down 4.8% at 0.30 pence each on Monday morning in London. By Greg Roxburgh; gregroxburgh@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Sharon Dorram recently donated $1,000 to No Kid Hungry NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2020 / As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, Sharon Dorram is committed to doing her part to help others. She recently donated $1,000 to the No Kid Hungry organization to help feed children from low income families. With more than 20 years of experience in the beauty industry under her belt, Sharon Dorram is frequently referred to as "colorist to the stars" and is the owner of Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger. Sharon was a spokesperson and is now an ambassador for Virtue Labs. The No Kid Hungry Organization provides food for kids and nutritional programs for families. Through their programs, they give children school breakfasts, summer meals, and afterschool meals. With the current pandemic, the organization's work has never been more important, says Sharon Dorram. A recent report released by No Kids Hungry reveals that during the pandemic, 47% of American families are living with hunger and 39% of struggling families are skipping certain bills more often to ensure they have food on the table. "It is important to help those in need, especially right now," says Sharon Dorram. "We are facing unprecedented and scary times. We need to do what we can to protect humanity." For more information, visit https://www.nokidhungry.org/. 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. Sharon was a spokesperson and is now an ambassador for Virtue Labs. She has also worked with multinational brands like Matrix and Nexxus. She 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 including Nicole Kidman, Renee Zellweger, Priyanka Chopra, Hillary Swank, Uma Thurman, and many more. In 2009, she collaborated with celebrity stylist Sally Hershberger to open Sharon Dorram Color at Sally Hershberger. For more information, please visit https://www.sharondorram.com/. 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/601998/Sharon-Dorram-Supports-No-Kid-Hungry-Organization The government has supported the decision initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine to restrict foreigners from visiting Uman (Cherkasy region) during the Rosh Hashanah celebration in 2020, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov has said. "We respect the national traditions of various peoples and religious communities and every year we do everything to ensure that they meet the highest safety standards. However, in recent weeks Ukraine has recorded an increase in outbreaks of coronavirus [COVID-19] among the population. A similar situation is observed in other countries, which is forcing the governments of these countries to return to a tighter lockdown. We heard the reports of the relevant ministers in the government and came to the conclusion that the epidemiological situation in the country and the world does not allow organizing and holding mass events, especially with the participation of foreigners," the press service of the Interior Ministry said on Monday, citing Avakov. Thus, the minister said that from 30,000 to 50,000 Hasidim from different countries come to Uman every year, who celebrate and conduct various religious rituals, visit holy places for three days. This format of a mass event during a pandemic creates huge risks of the spread of the virus. In addition, according to Avakov, the Interior Ministry reached a similar agreement with representatives of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and the Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, who refused to hold the procession due to the pandemic. Earlier, Mayor of Uman, Oleksandr Tsebriy, threatened to block the entry for the Hasidim during the Rosh Hasidim period due to the situation with the COVID-19 and said that he would go to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss this issue. As reported, the participants of the interdepartmental meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine came to the joint opinion that the arrival of tens of thousands of Hasidic pilgrims in the city of Uman, Cherkasy region to celebrate the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah in the traditional format in 2020 is impossible due to the epidemiological situation in Israel, the prohibition of holding mass events in Ukraine, the need to create a large number of observation sites and the complexity of law enforcement control over the pilgrims' self-isolation regime. Later, the Ministry of Health of Israel called on Kyiv not to allow the Hasidim pilgrimage to the city of Uman, Cherkasy region, on the Rosh Hashanah holiday in 2020. In 2019, more than 30,000 pilgrims arrived in Uman to celebrate the 5780th Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), which is celebrated from the evening of September 29 to the evening of October 1. Haiti - News : Zapping... Turkish delegation expected in Haiti On Sunday August 16, President Jovenel Moise on his return from the investiture of the new elected President of the Dominican Republic, confirmed the arrival on Monday August 17 of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the head of a large delegation, for discuss cooperation, electrification and bilateral relations Gas power plant contract, rejected by the CSC The contract to be signed between the State and the American company General Electric which had been accepted by the National Commission for Public Procurement (CNMP) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-31483-haiti-news-zapping.html was returned to the Ministry of Public Works by the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Litigation (CSA/CA), which issued an unfavorable opinion on Friday due to non-compliance with administrative standards according to the explanations of Rogavil Boisguene, President of the Court of accounts. A decision that postpones the construction project at Carrefour of a 55.5 Mw natural gas power plant pending the revision and compliance of the document... 15 boat people intercepted off Florida On Sunday, the US Coast Guard intercepted about 22 km off Halouver, north of Miami, a 7m boat in which was crammed 15 Haitian migrants and two Bahamian nationals attempting to enter the United States illegally. Micro-project for sex workers Covid-19 is not an excuse to turn a blind eye to inequalities. With this in mind, the Refuge des Femmes organization has joined forces with the United Nations and the United Nations Development Program (PND - Haiti) through the Global Spotlight Initiative to enable 25 women sex workers to be financially independent. As part of this micro-project, which begins this month and ends in October 2020, these 25 women will benefit from : psychosocial support; training on the various forms of violence against women and girls, including sexual exploitation and abuse; training in sewing (making protective masks) and in the production of detergents against the Coronavirus pandemic; a sewing machine, sewing kits and personal protective equipment kits (self-made PPE) and a hygiene and family planning kit. 29 years of diplomatic career "August 16, 1991 - August 16, 2020. I am celebrating my 29 years of diplomatic career. I have had the honor and privilege to serve and represent my country. I encourage young Haitian diplomats to pursue their career goal with the highest sense of responsibility and citizenship," Bocchit Edmond. DR : Congratulations from Francois Nicolas Duvalier "I extend my congratulations to the new President of the Dominican Republic. I am confident that Haiti and the Dominican Republic will continue to strengthen the bonds of friendships, cooperation and mutual respect," Francois Nicolas Duvalier, son of the late President J-C Duvalier, HL/ HaitiLibre NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Elliott Management Corporation ("Elliott") today sent a letter to the Board of Crown Castle International Corp. ("Crown Castle" or the "Company") proposing an immediate operational and strategic review of the Company's fiber business. According to the letter, Elliott sees Crown Castle's responses to the issues Elliott identified in the Company's fiber business to be inadequate to the scale of the required change. To remedy the situation, and in response to demonstrated interest in the fiber business from highly accomplished fiber executives and credible financial buyers, the letter called on Crown Castle to begin an immediate operational and strategic review of the business and outline the best path to maximize value and position Crown Castle to finally fulfill its significant potential. The letter can be downloaded at www.reclaimingthecrown.com. The full text of the letter follows: August 17, 2020 Crown Castle International Corp. 1220 Augusta Drive Suite 600 Houston, TX 77057 Dear Members of the Board: We are writing to you again on behalf of Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, L.P. (together, "Elliott" or "we") regarding our investment in Crown Castle International Corp. ("Crown Castle" or the "Company"). On July 6th, Elliott published a letter and presentation in which we demonstrated with facts and analysis that the Company's fiber strategy was detracting from shareholder returns and would continue to do so unless significant changes were made. We subsequently published a follow-up letter calling on the Company to present a multi-year plan and critical performance metrics to allow investors to judge for themselves whether the current fiber and small cell strategy is value-accretive to shareholders. Since then, Crown Castle has made a number of public statements and announced changes purporting to respond to our findings and analysis: A July 6 th press release attempting to justify its long-term underperformance by comparing itself to anything except its direct peers, American Tower and SBA. Noticeably absent was any analysis-driven response to the issues we highlighted with the Company's fiber and small cell strategy. press release attempting to justify its long-term underperformance by comparing itself to anything except its direct peers, American Tower and SBA. Noticeably absent was any analysis-driven response to the issues we highlighted with the Company's fiber and small cell strategy. A series of corporate governance changes, including the implementation of a mandatory retirement age, the transition of five directors (the Chairman included) off the Board and a review of the executive compensation policy. While these changes seemed to acknowledge the accuracy of many shareholders' concerns, these reactive steps were immediately and correctly identified by a well-known REIT investor as a "classic entrenchment maneuver." The move strengthened our conviction that Crown Castle's lax oversight has enabled the pronounced capital allocation issues we see today. A Q2 earnings call in which the Company declined to commit to the kind of transparency in the fiber business that we and many other shareholders and analysts had been calling for, offering only the excuse that a multi-year plan is "obviously very difficult to make happen in a public context." Not only is this mistaken assertion at odds with most leading public companies, but also, more troublingly, when asked directly about what "success" would look like for the fiber business, Crown Castle was unable to define it. An attempt yet again to provide self-selected market data and anecdotal evidence that the fiber strategy is on track, including by highlighting Orlando as a "key market" case study for the success of its strategy and the model going forward. Highlighting a market where less than 1% of fiber capital has been spent is not a credible demonstration that the strategy as a whole is on track, and the Company's reliance on such snapshots is further evidence that Crown Castle either does not have comprehensive data or does not like its conclusion. as a "key market" case study for the success of its strategy and the model going forward. Highlighting a market where has been spent is not a credible demonstration that the strategy as a whole is on track, and the Company's reliance on such snapshots is further evidence that Crown Castle either does not have comprehensive data or does not like its conclusion. The announced departure of the COO of the fiber segment, the executive who led the Company's acquisition integration efforts despite having no prior experience in the fiber industry. This departure seems to confirm that Crown Castle shares our belief that its fiber strategy is in urgent need of new leadership with fiber expertise. Taken together, these actions paint a picture of a Company that seems to know there is a problem, but refuses to acknowledge it. The Company's hope appears to be that this series of incremental steps and rear-guard actions will be enough to avoid the kind of real discipline, transparency and accountability in the fiber business and capital allocation broadly that investors are demanding. The problem is that real change must begin by acknowledging that there is a need for it. Today six weeks since the publication of our first letter and three months since we first began to engage with the Company privately Crown Castle still has not put forward a credible plan to improve performance in its fiber business. After spending $11 billion on fiber acquisitions, losing all key executive talent from those businesses, repeatedly missing publicly stated fiber targets and now parting ways with the COO of the fiber segment, when will Crown Castle admit there is a problem and begin to engage constructively with shareholders on a path forward that will lead to success? As we have stated numerous times to you, we are bullish on the fiber industry. We have seen how well-run fiber businesses can compound long-term value if operated with prudence and capital discipline attributes that are sorely needed at Crown Castle. Our "Reclaiming The Crown" plan attempted to reshape the Company's existing strategy into one that can actually create long-term equity value in fiber and provide the necessary Board oversight to ensure performance. However, it is becoming clear that this management team does not understand what they bought (and spent $16 billion building) and does not understand how to run the business better. Comparisons to the tower industry such as the one made by the CFO last week in yet another attempt to justify subpar returns in the fiber business underscore this conclusion. The most common question we have received from investors has been the following: "Why did Elliott not advocate for a sale or spin of the fiber business?" Our answer is that, unless Crown Castle can demonstrate that it is the best owner of these assets and can run the segment with greater prudence in capital spending and with ROIs that are value accretive, Crown Castle should also consider alternative paths. In fact, we have received numerous inbounds from highly accomplished fiber executives and credible financial buyers who are confident that they can run the fiber business better than Crown Castle. We believe the Company and its advisors have received this interest as well. As we have consistently stated, our preference is for constructive engagement on a clear and credible path forward for the fiber business that can gain widespread shareholder support. We stand ready to continue that engagement. However, in the absence of any such plan or even an acknowledgement from Crown Castle that one is needed we believe that Crown Castle needs to consider the idea that partnering with a capable investor and top-tier fiber operators to manage its fiber assets might be the value-maximizing course of action. As a large shareholder focused on long-term value at the Company, we believe it is imperative that Crown Castle begin an immediate operational and strategic review of the business and subsequently outline the best path to maximize value and position Crown Castle to finally fulfill its significant potential. We look forward to continued engagement with the Company. Best regards, Jesse Cohn Jason Genrich Partner Portfolio Manager About Elliott Elliott Management Corporation manages two multi-strategy investment funds which combined have approximately $41 billion of assets under management. Its flagship fund, Elliott Associates, L.P., was founded in 1977, making it one of the oldest funds under continuous management. The Elliott funds' investors include pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, foundations, funds-of-funds, high net worth individuals and families, and employees of the firm. SOURCE Elliott Management Corp Gucci Mane and Keyshia Kaoir have never been one for subtlety. Their 2017 wedding was a television event in and of itself: they spent nearly $2 million on the affair, complete with a 10-foot-tall, Swarovski crystal-encrusted cake worth about $75,000. So when the power couple learned that Kaoir was pregnant with their first child together, they made the announcement in classic Wopster family fashion. In photos shared on both their Instagram accounts, Kaoirs baby bump is clearly visible as she wears black lingerie and diamond jewelry. Gucci Mane and Keysha Kaoir attend Gucci Manes Black Tie Gala in Atlanta | Prince Williams/Wireimage Who is Keyshia Kaoir? While Gucci Manes name may be more recognizable to hip hop fans, his wife Keyshia Kaoir isnt as widely known. Before being introduced to the world as a video vixen and becoming the businesswoman that she is today, Keyshia Kaoir had a difficult upbringing. She grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, and saw her father murdered in front of her when she was just 10 years old. She moved to Miami to work as a stylist, and eventually crossed over into modeling. She then appeared in the music video for Timbaland and Drakes Say Something. How did Gucci Mane and Keyshia Kaoir meet? Kaoir first caught Gucci Manes eye in 2010 when she was named Eye Candy of the Year in XXL magazine. Gucci was finishing out a prison sentence at the time, and he knew he wanted to cast her in a video as soon as he got out. Gucci eventually cast her in his video for 911 Emergency. Thats the day we met, she recounted to The Fader. He was in love with me on sight. In the years since, Kaoir has dedicated all her time and effort to growing her various brands and business empires. She launched her makeup line, Kaoir Cosmetics, in 2011 with a wide array of bright lipstickssomething that wasnt common in the beauty industry at the time. Her goal was to unify women of all complexions and give them products that looked beautiful on all skin tones. She created her fitness empire, Kaoir Fitness, that same year. The products include a variety of waist and arm trainers, as well as weight loss supplements. When Gucci Mane left her $2 million before he was incarcerated in 2014, by the time he was released in 2016, she had tripled that money by building up her businesses. RELATED: Did Charlamagne Tha God Break up The Breakfast Club by Interviewing Gucci Mane? Is this Gucci Mane and Keyshia Kaoirs first time becoming parents? While this will be Gucci Mane and Keyshia Kaoirs first child together, this will not be either of their first time having children. Gucci has a 12-year-old son named Keitheon, and Kaoir has two daughters and a son from a previous relationship. Because Kaoirs father was a well-known figure in Jamaica and she witnessed his murder with her own eyes, Kaoir knows firsthand the dangers that name recognition can bring. She told Wendy Williams in 2017 that theyve been extremely protective of their children and avoid bringing them on camera as much as possible because of their careers putting them in the spotlight. Gucci and I both have children, she told The Breakfast Club. Its a situation where Im proud to be a mother, but I need it to be private. I dont need the kids in the limelight. I dont want them on social media. I need them to go to school and just be children. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Cloudy. Snow likely late. Low near 25F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.. Tonight Cloudy. Snow likely late. Low near 25F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. UPDATE: Huawei confirmed that the device will keep getting updates as planned, despite the fact its license expired. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: The US government has earlier issued a temporary general license (TGL) to Huawei for working with Google. It made it possible for the Google-certified Huawei smartphones to receive updates for the Google apps and services. As the TGL expired, it completely cuts the ties between Huawei and Google. While the license was renewed a few times in the last one year, there is no update from the US Commerce Department about renewing it one more time. However, there is still a chance for Huawei to get the TGL renewed one more time. Advertisement Huaweis temporary general license expired In May 2019, the US government placed Huawei on its Entity List, which bans American firms from working with the Chinese telecommunications giant. With the TGL, Huawei was able to provide Android security patch updates for the smartphones launched before May 2019. Google also certifies the new software updates releasing for all Android smartphones. Since the license expired, the future updates rolling out for the older Huawei and Honor smartphones might not include Google apps. Nevertheless, Huawei has already replaced Google Mobile Services (GMS) with Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) in its newly launched smartphones. Even the older Google-certified Huawei smartphones could miss out on the GMS support with a new software update. Advertisement This also includes the SafetyNet Attestation API, which makes the smartphones compatible with banking and payment related apps. None of this makes any difference in its home country China. However, Huawei users in other markets will be seeing facing compatibility issues. Huawei has to delay Android security patch updates Speaking of the monthly Android security patch updates, Huawei might still be able to provide them even with an expired license. According to XDA Developers, Huawei can provide these updates without relying on Google. To provide security patch update, the company has to wait longer than others. Huawei might completely ditch GMS for its own HMS, which will also increase the user base for its own services. The company has already built the App Gallery as an alternative to Googles Play Store. While it lacks all the apps, Huawei was successful in roping several major developers. Advertisement Even with all these efforts, Huawei smartphones will still be inferior to other Android smartphones. Especially outside of China, people depend on Google services for the majority of smartphone usage. In the next few weeks, TSMC will also stop working with Huawei for producing Kirin chipsets. Australia's five and ten cent coins could soon disappear forever after demand for the currency has halved over the past five years. Royal Australian Mint chief executive officer Ross MacDiarmid predicted the natural 'death' of the coins in January but the pandemic is expected to quicken the coins' demise. 'Theres no doubt there has been a significant decline in demand for circulating coin over the last five to six years,' he told the ABC. 'Decline in demand for coins (is) roughly 55 to 56 per cent.' The coronavirus pandemic could be speeding up the demise of Australia's five and ten cent (pictured) coins after circulation of the currency dropped by half in the last five years alone The currency is made from copper and nickel but a sharp rise in the value of the metals has impacted the Mint's finances. Currently the metal in a five cent coin is worth just over three cents, leaving little room for profit. The profit made by the Mint on coins is called 'seigniorage' however in its last annual report the institution reported a 47 per cent drop below budget to $26 million. Despite the decline in circulation and profit Mr MacDiarmid said the Mint would not force the demise of the smaller currency. In the early 1990s the Australian one and two cent coins were discontinued but today an unused coin in mint condition can be worth up to $15. Meanwhile a circulated one or two cent piece can fetch up to $3. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Royal Australian Mint for further comment. The Reserve Bank of Australia also recorded a steep decline in the use of cash since the beginning of the pandemic. RBA Assistant Governor Michele Bullock said in a June speech the global pandemic 'is having dramatic effects on economies around the world'. The drop in circulation and the rise in the cost of nickel and copper, which both coins are made from, has resulted in a drop in profit for the Royal Australian Mint (five cent coins pictured) The Reserve Bank of Australia said growing dependency on cashless transactions (contactless Eftpos pictured) has also played a major roll in the decline of both coins and notes 'In recent years, substantial innovation in the payments industry has furthered these trends and also widened payment options,' she said. 'The introduction of contactless payments has made it quicker and easier to make lower-value transactions by card, eating further into the traditional domain of cash transactions.' The RBA also found almost 25 per cent of consumers still primarily use cash and most of those people tended to be elderly or lower income earners. Mrs Bullock said cash withdrawals from ATM's also experienced a rapid decline in recent months. 'ATM withdrawals have been on a trend downward decline for a number of years,' she said. 'But the decline seen in March and April was a substantial downward shift in the level of withdrawals. 'It seems likely that a large part of this will become a permanent change in behaviour.' Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week? " " How would you describe bubblegum flavor? Carol Yepes/Getty Images Ask someone to describe bubblegum flavor and most likely, that person will be at a loss for words. Like other artificial flavors, bubblegum is simply a mixture of volatile compounds (those that evaporate and have odors) that are supposed to imitate a natural flavor. But does bubblegum really mimic another natural occurring flavor? More on that in a second because we first need to understand how flavor works. And to understand how flavor works, we have to realize why our sense of taste and smell work together, as the two are completely intertwined. Advertisement How Flavor Works Simply put, molecules released by foods stimulate nerve cells in the nose, mouth and throat, which transmit messages to the brain where specific smells or tastes are identified. Olfactory (smell nerve) cells are stimulated by odors; gustatory (taste nerve) cells are clustered in the 5,000 and 10,000 taste buds of the mouth and throat, and they react to the foods we eat. The difference between the two senses is taste focuses on distinguishing just five flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter or umami (savory). But our nose can detect an astounding 1 trillion different odors. So it's the interactions between our senses of taste and smell that create the flavors we know. Bob Boutin, president of Knechtel Inc./Bentley Specialties Inc., has been working in flavor innovation for a long time, and his company develops candies and snacks for some of the world's largest food companies. "Artificial flavors are a combination of chemicals put together to mimic the ingredients seen in the natural flavor," he says via email. "A good flavorist is very skilled at sensing and tasting these various flavor compounds." Once a flavorist identifies those compounds, Boutin explains, he or she can create a similar flavor with a new mixture of flavor chemicals (more on those below). The new flavor has to be called artificial because the ingredients were artificially generated. Advertisement But What About Bubblegum? So back to bubblegum. Unlike natural flavors, which can include hundreds of volatile flavor compounds that create their unique tastes and smells (more than 250 volatile components have been identified in the banana, for instance), bubblegum flavor is absolutely, well, made up. It's derived using esters, which are flavoring chemicals with distinctive fruit-like odors that are supposed to mimic natural tastes. For instance, banana flavoring comes from the ester isoamyl acetate. "Bubblegum flavor is a strawberry-banana-punch type of flavor," Boutin says. "It was created to appeal to the children's market, as well as some adults. It gives long-lasting flavor and chemically does well in the chewing gums formulation." Today there are so many different flavors of bubblegum on the market, one exact "recipe" simply doesn't exist. But one thing we do know is the first bubble gum was accidentally created by Walter Diemer for the Fleer Corporation in Philadelphia in 1928. He's credited with the indescribable bubblegum flavor that we know today, and for making the gum pink because "it was the only food coloring on hand." All of this is to say that you simply can't describe what bubblegum flavor is because it doesn't represent anything natural, like grape or blueberry. Some think it tastes like a mix of strawberry and banana flavors. Others say it's more a combination of strawberry and cinnamon (huh?). "I'm not sure it is specific to any one flavor, but rather a blending of several: banana, strawberry, cherry, a little orange and or lemon," Boutin explains. "The exact ratios are specific to each company. Some want it to be more banana, others more strawberry-ish." Perhaps the only consensus is the flavor is overwhelmingly fruity. We'll buy that. Now That's Cool! Chad Fell holds the Guinness World Record for blowing the biggest bubblegum bubble at 20 inches (50.8 centimeters) in diameter. Advertisement Originally Published: Jul 13, 2016 French cookware brand Le Creuset is holding a huge Factory to Table sale on its popular colorful cookware, with discounts of up to 70%. Back in April, Le Creuset slashed prices on a lot of its popular products, claiming the online sale was for the first time ever. Now, Le Creuset is back at it with this sale, where you can find some massive discounts on premium products. There have been huge spikes in online shopping over the past several months, and companies have pulled out all the stops to take advantage of the surge. Lululemon, for instance, had its first major warehouse sale in three years last month because the coronavirus has crushed business, while Amazon is currently holding a Big Summer Sale shopping event. Below is a roundup of some of the best deals Le Creuset is offering as part of the massive Factory to Table sale, which runs through Aug. 23, according to CNN. Dutch Ovens You can find Le Creusets popular Signature Oval Dutch Oven for $183, down from $305, in dark gray and yellow. It can hold up to almost four quarts. The smaller Signature Round Dutch Oven is also available in white for $150. For a wider Dutch oven, try this one for $177, down from $295. If youre into baking small desserts or appetizers, this set of Flower Cocottes is $45 instead of $75. They are also microwave and freezer safe. Here are other noteworthy oven-safe cookware deals: --Signature Oval Baker starting at $45 --Classic Rectangular Dish Set for $99, instead of $165 --Heritage Loaf Pan for $30, instead of $50 --Round Casserole for $54, instead of $90 --Camembert Baker for $25, instead of $42 --Petite Heart Cocotte for $18, instead of $30 Stockpots and sets You can find Le Creusets popular stockpot in an array of colors starting at $40, along with the glass-lid version for an additional $7.50. Theres also a stainless steel option for $90. Le Creusets 10-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set is pricey at $547.50, but currently discounted by 50% compared to its usual $1,095 price. The 7-Piece Stainless Steel and Cast Iron Set is also 50% off at $425. If you need to stock up on dishes, these set of four Matte Coupe Dinner Plates are now $40.80, compared to $68. These set of four Matte Coupe Cereal Bowls are also on sale for $33.60. Here are other noteworthy dish and kitchen deals: --French Press for $30 --Oval Serving Bowl for $31.20, instead of $52 --Oval Serving Platter starting at $36 --Classic Whistling Kettle for $50, instead of $100 --Heart Dish with Lid for $54, instead of $90 --Heritage Pie Dish for $30, instead of $50 --3-Tier Stand for $60, instead of $100 Deep-covered skillets and pans Le Creusets deep-covered skillet is now $180, compared to $300 and is available in yellow and mint. The companys Deep Fry Pan is also on sale starting at $87.50. Here are other noteworthy skillet and pan deals: --Square Skinny Griddle for $78, instead of $130 --Crepe Pan for $93, instead of $160 --Square Skillet Grill for $111, instead of $185 --Signature Saucepan for $114, instead of $190 --Wok for $165, instead of $275 RELATED STORIES ABOUT RETAIL AND SHOPPING: FDA-approved hand sanitizer is back in stock on Amazon at a reasonable price Stein Mart expects to close all stores this year after filing for bankruptcy Amazon launches Big Summer Sale, with discounts on electronics, home goods, face masks 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 - Mutahi Kagwe said the investigation on Jack Ma's donations had not led to anyone specific who could be held accountable - Kagwe said he could account for the Ma's consignment which arrived in Kenya in March 2020 - The CS said much of what health workers were using were from donations - His response came after a news item from a local TV station claimed three-quarter of the Chinese billionaire's donation was sold to Tanzania Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has dismissed reports indicating Jack Ma's donations to Kenyans were stolen. Kagwe said he had heard about the purported theft of the consignment that was meant to benefit the front line health workers but added there was no investigation that had led to anyone for accountability. READ ALSO: Bomet senator Christopher Lang'at arrested Mutahi Kagwe said he could account for Jack Ma's donations. Photo: MOH. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Senators suspend debate on revenue sharing formula over arrest of colleagues Appearing before the National Assembly, the CS firmly noted he, with his laboratories, could account how the medical supplies were used. "What I have never seen is an investigation that has led to somebody because we can account with our laboratories the reagents that we got from Jack Ma and how they have been used," he said. READ ALSO: Lilian Muli turns heads in flirty crop top showing her hourglass figure Mutahi Kagwe said the investigation on the donations did not lead to anyone. Photo: Mutahi Kagwe. Source: Facebook Kagwe said the majority of the reagents used in the country were actually from donors and all of them had been rightfully utilised. This came after a damning investigative report by a local TV station revealed that three-quarters of Ma's medical supplies were sold out to Tanzania at the expense of health workers. Over a dozen unscrupulous Tanzanian companies allegedly benefited from the donations which included 100,000 masks and 20,000 testing kits. READ ALSO: Maria actor Luwi says he suffered depression when lover burnt his suits, accused him of cheating In the expose, it emerged that the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) could not account for KSh 43 billion COVID-19 funds. The report left Kenyans demanding transparency on every donation made to Kenya for managing the pandemic. 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 RADNOR, Pa., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF ARIZONA Richard Di Donato, Individually and On Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated, Plaintiff, v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc.; Michael L. Babich; Darryl S. Baker; and John N. Kapoor, Defendants. No. 16-cv-00302-NVW CLASS ACTION SUMMARY NOTICE OF (I) PROPOSED SETTLEMENT WITH DEFENDANT MICHAEL L. BABICH; (II) SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR LITIGATION EXPENSES TO: All persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Insys Therapeutics, Inc. ("Insys") common stock during the period from March 3, 2015, through January 25, 2016, and were damaged thereby ("Class"). Certain persons and entities are excluded from the Class as set forth in detail in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement between Lead Plaintiff and Defendant Michael L. Babich dated July 21, 2020 ("Stipulation") and the Settlement Notice described below. PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY; YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT. YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona ("Court"), that the Court-appointed Lead Plaintiff and Class Representative Clark Miller ("Class Representative"), on behalf of himself and the Court-certified Class in the above-captioned securities class action ("Action"), has reached a proposed settlement of the Action with defendant Michael L. Babich ("Defendant Babich") for $250,000 in cash that, if approved, will resolve all claims in the Action against Defendant Babich only. Please Note : This settlement does not resolve any of the claims asserted against the other defendants in the Action; those claims are being resolved through separate settlements. A hearing will be held on November 18, 2020 at 1:30 p.m., before the Honorable Neil V. Wake at the Sandra Day O'Connor United States Courthouse, 401 W. Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85003, Courtroom 401, to determine whether: (i) the proposed Settlement of the Action with Defendant Babich should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against Defendant Babich, and the releases specified and described in the Stipulation (and in the Settlement Notice described below) should be entered; (iii) the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair and reasonable; and (iv) Class Counsel's motion for litigation expenses should be approved. If you are a member of the Class, your rights will be affected by the pending Action and the Settlement of the Action with Defendant Babich, and you may be entitled to share in the Settlement Fund. This notice provides only a summary of the information contained in the detailed Notice of (I) Proposed Settlement with Defendant Michael L. Babich; (II) Settlement Fairness Hearing; and (III) Motion for Litigation Expenses ("Settlement Notice"). You may obtain a copy of the Settlement Notice, along with the Claim Form, on the website for the Action, www.InsysRXSecuritiesLitigation.com. You may also obtain a copy of the Settlement Notice and the Claim Form by writing to the Claims Administrator at Insys Therapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation, c/o A.B. Data, Ltd., P.O. Box 170999, Milwaukee, WI 53217; by calling toll free 1-866-905-8102; or by sending an email to [email protected]. If you previously submitted or plan to submit a Claim Form in connection with the settlement of the Action with defendant Darryl S. Baker ("Baker Settlement") or the settlement of the Action with defendant John N. Kapoor ("Kapoor Settlement"), it is not necessary to resubmit a Claim Form for this Settlement. The Claim Form you submitted or plan to submit for the Baker and/or Kapoor Settlements will be processed in connection with this Settlement. If you did not previously submit or are not planning to submit a Claim Form in connection with the Baker and/or Kapoor Settlements and you are a member of the Class, in order to be eligible to receive a payment under the proposed Settlement with Defendant Babich, you must submit a Claim Form postmarked (if mailed), or online, no later than November 7, 2020 , in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Claim Form. If you are a Class Member and do not submit a valid Claim Form either in connection with this Settlement or in connection with the Baker and/or Kapoor Settlements, you will not be eligible to share in the distribution of the net proceeds of the Settlement of the Action with Defendant Babich, but you will nevertheless be bound by any releases, judgments, or orders entered by the Court in the Action. Any objections to the proposed Settlement of the Action with Defendant Babich, the proposed Plan of Allocation, and/or Class Counsel's motion for litigation expenses, must be filed with the Court and delivered to Class Counsel and Defendant Babich's Counsel such that they are received no later than October 28, 2020 , in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice. As this Class was previously certified and, in connection therewith, Class Members had the opportunity to exclude themselves from the Class, the Court has exercised its discretion not to allow a second opportunity for exclusion in connection with the settlement proceedings. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT, THE CLERK'S OFFICE, DEFENDANT BABICH, OR DEFENDANT BABICH'S COUNSEL REGARDING THIS NOTICE. All questions about this notice, the Settlement of the Action with Defendant Babich, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement with Defendant Babich should be directed to the Claims Administrator or Class Counsel. Requests for the Settlement Notice and Claim Form should be made to the Claims Administrator: Insys Therapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation c/o A.B. Data, Ltd. P.O. Box 170999 Milwaukee, WI 53217 1-866-905-8102 [email protected] www.InsysRXSecuritiesLitigation.com All other inquiries should be made to Class Counsel: KESSLER TOPAZ MELTZER & CHECK, LLP Johnston de F. Whitman, Jr., Esq. 280 King of Prussia Road Radnor, PA 19087 Telephone: (610) 667-7706 Facsimile: (610) 667-7056 -and- Jennifer L. Joost, Esq. One Sansome Street, Suite 1850 San Francisco, CA 94104 Telephone: (415) 400-3000| Facsimile: (415) 400-3001 [email protected] www.ktmc.com DATED: August 17, 2020 BY ORDER OF THE COURT United States District Court District of Arizona SOURCE Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP The media images of law enforcement beating and gassing American protesters in recent months inevitably evoked iconic footage of 1960s protests, especially those that took place during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where blue helmeted officers pummeled, tear-gassed and maced hippies, delegates and even passersby. Television captured much of that violence, even as press photographers had their 35mm cameras smashed, and just taking notes on a pad could earn a reporter a skull-cracking from police. But the iconic images of police violence at the Chicago convention - an official government report called it a "police riot" - also reflected a political misstep: Democrats had lost control of their convention and of how Americans experienced it. Today the effects of the coronavirus pandemic raise the question of whether the parties can control how Americans experience a very different sort of convention. In 1968, both parties' convention planners shared one goal: the maintenance of complete control over how the media covered their live events. In the network era, conventions were still a place of real drama and intrigue - policy decisions were made, platforms were debated and nominees were not preordained. Nonetheless, like today, the parties still staged their conventions for TV cameras. The parties wanted enough disagreements to show that the political process was real - democracy in action. Yet if disagreements were too strong, and this was captured by the networks, a party might appear too divided to win or to govern efficiently. In 1964, the Democrats had staged their show for TV much more tightly than the Republicans, who had nominated Sen. Barry Goldwater and could not control the ecstatic enthusiasm of some of his most right-wing supporters. The roles were reversed and amplified in 1968, with the GOP managing much tighter control and the Democrats failing miserably. Coverage of the GOP convention in Miami opened with a profile of New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller's wife, Happy, showing her casually strolling past a Calder sculpture on their 4,000-acre family compound. NBC next covered Nixon's arrival, as a chaste chorus line of flight attendants welcomed him with not-too-high kicks. Anchorman David Brinkley commented on the magnificent beachfront resorts, gushing, "There's a hotel down there, Chet [Huntley, his co-host], that spends $2,000 a week for whipped cream!" A reception at the Americana Hotel featured "huge mounds of shrimp." The GOP didn't specifically want to portray itself as the party of luxury, but this sort of breathless coverage portrayed the experience as a fun affair, a win for Republicans. Nixon seemed very likely to win the nomination, but he continued aggressively to woo Southern delegates privately in his hotel suite, offering them coffee, sticky buns and reassurances about decelerating school desegregation and picking a Southern running mate and Supreme Court justices. The platform committee came up with a Vietnam plank wishy- washy enough that both moderates and hard-liners could support it, with no messy disagreements on the convention floor. The arguments all happened behind the scenes. On TV, everything was cheery and orderly. The only surprising moment was the nomination of unknown Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew for vice president. A three-day riot just a few miles away, which left three Black citizens dead at the hands of Miami police, should have marred the proceedings. But it didn't. The conventioneers barely acknowledged it was happening, and the networks mistakenly saw the crisis as completely unrelated to the event. It's not that the newsmen were pro-Republican, per se. They simply covered the media event that the GOP had staged for them. In Chicago, both Mayor Richard Daley and the Democratic Party machine attempted a similar level of control but failed miserably. Daley had turned his city into an armed camp, and television coverage opened with details about the installation of barbed wire and the numbers of National Guardsmen on-site. Delegates resented the heavy-handed on-site security and spoke out against it in interviews with network correspondents. They printed "Stop the War" signs on used newspapers and smuggled them in, folded up in their clothing and purses. An electrical workers strike wiped out much of the phone service and, most crucially, made live television outside the convention hall impossible, an unbearable situation for the professional newsmen, which pleased Daley mightily. Chicago also lacked the glamour and luxury of Miami. Daley had forced most of the bars near the convention site to close, and the only on-site food was hot dogs. Even worse, the convention was a few blocks from the stockyards, and the stench of offal and manure was pervasive. Before ascending to the podium, speakers were sprayed down with insect repellent to ward off flies. The networks covered these failures as ably as they had covered the GOP success. Police brutality in the streets is remembered as the most important crisis in Chicago (and it did ultimately crush the party by showing it as out of control, giving Nixon's "law-and-order" candidacy a massive leg up). But drama unfolded inside the convention as well. First, disenfranchised Black delegates wanted to displace "regular delegates" from numerous Southern states. Yet only Mississippi challengers won a full place at the table. When Georgia challengers were allowed only to share half the votes with the delegates selected by segregationist Gov. Lester Maddox, the hall exploded with anger. Both CBS and NBC cut to a young Black delegate attempting to set his credentials on fire. The chairman could not restore order, and the chaotic meeting was adjourned at 2:45 a.m. The cameras caught it all. Next on the agenda was the Vietnam plank and the nomination. Vice President Hubert Humphrey did not arrive with the nomination completely sewn up, though the networks' calculations pointed to his nomination as likely. Still, Humphrey had not run in a single primary, Sen. Eugene McCarthy was a highly regarded peace candidate and there was an energetic movement to draft Sen. Ted Kennedy, brother of the slain Robert Kennedy, who had been a strong contender before his assassination. The majority of delegates went for Humphrey, but TV sets were flooded with images of earnest homemade posters boosting other candidates ("Draft Ted!"), sealing the impression of a party grasping at straws. The party establishment also won on the issue of Vietnam, defeating the antiwar plank by a roughly 1,000 to 1,500 vote. Defeated doves responded by donning black armbands to mourn their loss. They further seized the optics of the situation, telling reporters that the Vietnam vote proved a substantial percentage of Democrats would not support a candidate tethered to Johnson's war strategy. The morose delegates correctly predicted victory for Nixon. The party appeared to be spiraling on national TV. This all happened before the famous police attack in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue, now immortalized by the protesters' chant: "The whole world is watching!" As America's truncated online conventions loom large, many journalists say this signals the final nail in the coffin for the old system, that this year we will not see the "spectacular" promotional events of former days. But observing that no balloons will be dropped in Joe Biden's basement misses the point completely. Over the past 50 years, political business has receded before the business of image building at the party conventions, but that has been an underlying concern since TV coverage of them began in 1948. And in 2020, the Democrats are already succeeding where the GOP is failing, because by eliminating large gatherings and reducing travel demands, they are showing how seriously they take the coronavirus pandemic. As President Trump and his planners, conversely, scale down their convention and shift course seemingly from day to day, they appear to be floundering. The 2020 conventions should be seen less as a divergence from the regular way of doing business than a culmination of that approach, in which total control has finally, theoretically, been achieved. One suspects that planners are still debating about a balloon drop wherever Trump gives his acceptance speech, but if it happens, it will feel as hollow to many viewers as the drop for Humphrey did for TV viewers 52 years ago. Contrary to all the "RIP conventions" rhetoric, there is every reason to predict that the hybrid live-recorded event that the Biden team is planning will indeed be spectacular - a spectacle not of a mass gathering of politicians and supporters but of people who are together apart and masters of their own image-making. - - - A judge has accused Stormonts Deputy First Minister of ignoring the rule of law by delaying a compensation scheme for Troubles victims. Mr Justice McAlinden said Michelle ONeills stance in not nominating a Stormont department to administer the scheme a requirement set out in legislation passed at Westminster is fundamentally inappropriate. He said the case involved an attempt to subvert the rule of law for political ends. The judge said anyone in a ministerial post who was not prepared to comply with the rule of law shouldnt be there. Expand Close The judge said Michelle ONeill is ignoring the rule of law for political advantage (Brian Lawless/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The judge said Michelle ONeill is ignoring the rule of law for political advantage (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Justice McAlinden said if a minister had a difficulty complying with legislative requirements they had an option. The option is to resign your office, he added. The payment scheme is in limbo due to a dispute between Sinn Fein and the Government over eligibility criteria that are set to exclude anyone convicted of inflicting serious harm during the Troubles from accessing the support payments. Sinn Fein claims the scheme would be discriminatory and potentially exclude thousands of people from the republican community. In a separate row, the Stormont administration and the UK Government have been at odds over who should pay for the scheme. The judge expressed his initial view at the outset of a joint legal challenge brought by Jennifer McNern, who lost both legs in a Troubles bombing, and Brian Turley, one of the hooded men who were arrested and interrogated by the British Army in 1971. They are challenging the Executive Offices failure to introduce the scheme, which would see victims paid up to 10,000 a year depending on the severity of their injury. It should have been open to applications at the end of May. The court heard that DUP First Minister Arlene Foster had confirmed she was prepared to comply with the regulations made by the Government, having initially objected over the funding issue. Having sought confirmation from Ms McNerns lawyer that Ms ONeill was now the only one refusing to comply with the legislation, Mr Justice McAlinden said: I see it as one element within the Executive Office deliberately choosing to ignore the requirement to comply with the rule of law to express a political advantage. That is a fundamentally inappropriate stance to take and it is a stance that this court will have no hesitation in describing in the bluntest terms and in requiring a remedy to be provided in the shortest time frame. Having read the arguments put forward by the applicants legal teams and the Executive Office, Mr Justice McAlinden said his initial view of the issue was unlikely to change as a result of hearing the case in full. He adjourned the judicial review hearing for a short period on Monday morning and asked the legal parties to discuss whether they wished to proceed. Expand Close Jennifer McNern, centre, and a number of other Troubles victims associated with the Wave Trauma centre outside Belfast High Court on Monday morning (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jennifer McNern, centre, and a number of other Troubles victims associated with the Wave Trauma centre outside Belfast High Court on Monday morning (Liam McBurney/PA) When the court returned, a lawyer representing the Executive Office said attempts were being made to contact ministers to seek instructions on the case. The hearing then proceeded, after the judge asked court officials to prepare an audio disc of his comments to be prepared for distribution to all parties. Mr Justice McAlinden said there had been a significant and unjustifiable delay in setting up the scheme. That delay cannot be allowed to continue, he added. He said victims had suffered for long enough without their suffering being appropriately recognised by our society. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis is a secondary respondent in the challenge case. However, the judge said he believed Mr Lewis had done all he could have been expected to do in relation to the scheme. Ms McNern suffered life-changing injuries in a bomb attack blamed on the IRA at the packed Abercorn Restaurant in Belfast on a busy weekend shopping day in 1972. The applicants barrister Danny Friedman QC told the judge that ministers should not be able to disobey the law. The Executive is duty bound to comply with the law, it cannot engage in political disobedience and, as my lord says, that is why the rule of law is so fundamentally at stake in the dispute now before you, he said. The judge said ministers did not have the right to ignore or stymie clear legislative provisions. The message by doing so is a message undermining the rule of law, he said. In a post-conflict society, one thing that every politician should be striving to do is to support the rule of law not to pick and choose which laws to accept, which laws to adhere to and which laws to ignore. Those are fundamental issues for our society and the politicians better get that message, and that message will be delivered by this court. Mr Friedman suggested there was a duty on politicians in the region to grow up. Expand Close Brian Turley, one of the Hooded men, is a co-applicant in the challenge (Brian Lawless/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Brian Turley, one of the Hooded men, is a co-applicant in the challenge (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Turleys barrister Barry McDonald QC said a major point of constitutional importance was at stake in the case, one that affected the governance of Northern Ireland. He highlighted that the ministerial code of conduct at Stormont required ministers to respect the rule of law. What this case demonstrated is that at the very highest level of government, ministers in the devolved administration think that if the law is not to their liking in any particular respect they can choose to ignore or even defy it, said Mr McDonald. In this case, both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister refused to comply with the legal regulations. We know the First Minister on the ground initially that the scheme should be funded by Westminster. And the Deputy First Minister on that ground, as well as on the ground that she didnt agree with the terms of the scheme. We know the First Minister is now prepared to comply but the Deputy First Minister isnt. Mrs Foster did not escape criticism during the hearing, as the judge challenged a suggestion made in the Executive Offices joint submission that it was entitled not to comply with the regulations while the matter remained an issue of political dispute. He said both ministers had demonstrated a fundamental lack of awareness of the requirement to abide by the law. On the suggestion that Mrs Foster and Ms ONeill believe the issue is not a matter for court intervention, Mr McDonald added: Ministers, in our respectful submission, need to be disabused of that dangerous and wholly unconstitutional notion. Ahead of Mondays hearing, Ms McNern said: All we ever wanted was to be treated with respect and dignity and not be left as the part of the forgotten legacy of the Troubles. When the legislation was passed at Westminster, we thought we had achieved that. But the refusal by the Executive Office to implement the legislation is devastating. Create a digital footprint that will protect your business Businesses can absolutely heed this as a warning for what the future may hold and where digital marketing can take you," said Zach Hoffman, CEO of Exults Digital Marketing Agency. There is no denying that the pandemic has adversely affected businesses of all sizes, both across the world and here in the United States. However, some businesses have been able to survive and even thrive in these difficult times thanks to their ability to adapt and keep up with the world around them. Many different approaches have proven successful when it comes to helping companies evolve. Some have started to deliver straight to consumers instead of going to stores, while others have highlighted their cleanliness and safety standards, and many have stepped up their digital presence. In fact, companies worldwide found that they were able to ramp up their digital marketing campaigns by listening to their customer bases and proactively reacting to their new wants and needs. Some businesses have even surpassed their previous growth prior to the pandemic. For example, Pompanoosuc Mills a contemporary furniture manufacturer and retailer company turned to digital marketing back in March, implementing showroom tours on their website for customers to shop online. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, Pompanoosuc sold nearly $210,000 of deeply-discounted furniture in three weeks and closed their first Facebook Messenger order in its history. The power of digital marketing strategies such as eCommerce sites and social media advertising helped bring back workers that were previously laid-off and keep their eight retail showrooms active when social distancing restrictions were enforced. Digital marketing helps companies rank better on search engines like Google and optimize their messaging to strategically convert potential leads into paying customers. It is a comprehensive tactic that addresses marketing B2B, B2C, and a mixture of both. By going digital, companies are able to meet the needs of consumers wherever they are - on their phones, on social media, or online. People are sitting at home, bored. They are also shopping and looking for things to buy. said Zach Hoffman, CEO of Exults Digital Marketing Agency. People who are working during this time arent spending as much money on their day-to-day lives, and they have more money to spend on things they want. Especially if you sell something that people can use during this new-normal. However, a company cant just start Digital Marketing right away without a strategy, especially in todays ever-changing economy. There are best practices that need to be followed and crucial steps to take in order to lay the foundation for a successful digital marketing campaign. Businesses need to proactively prepare for what the future may hold, as this pandemic has shown no one can really predict what next obstacle the business world will face - though this time has proven having an effective digital arm to a business is necessary and needed. Hoffman further explained, Businesses can absolutely heed this as a warning for what the future may hold and where digital marketing can take you. If you havent invested in taking the necessary steps to create a digital footprint that will protect your business, now is the right time to do it. For more information and insight into digital marketing, please visit the Exults website. More About Exults Digital Marketing Agency Exults Digital Marketing Agency is a full-service internet marketing company that is results driven. Offering a complete range of digital marketing services to reach clients goals, Exults premier services include Website Design and Development, Ecommerce platform development and management, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Management, Social Media Marketing, and Digital PR. If you are interested in using targeted advertisements to spark meaningful engagement and online sales, contact Exults Marketing Agency. For more information, please visit the Exults website (https://www.exults.com/) or call 866-999-4736. As a precaution, cleaning of the courthouse took place on Sunday. All close contacts have been identified and are being contacted. In addition to issuing a health alert for people who were at Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday, August 11 and Wednesday, August 12, between 8.30am and 12.30pm, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant also issued health alerts for Woolworths Metro North Strathfield (for people who was there between 12.50pm and 1.15pm on Saturday, August 8) and DFO Homebush (between 10.45am and noon on Saturday, August 8). Anyone who visited the venues during these dates and times are considered to be casual contacts, and should monitor themselves for symptoms and immediately get tested and isolate if symptoms occur, however mild. Two people have been charged and 19 individuals and businesses fined over the weekend for violating public health orders in relation to COVID-19. A 24-year-old man from West Wodonga in Victoria was found on Saturday afternoon on the Albury-Wodonga railway bridge, where NSW Police allege he had crossed the border into NSW illegally. He was charged with four outstanding warrants, and police said they seized a set of knuckledusters from him upon a search. He was refused bail and was to appear at Albury Local Court on Monday. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian during a COVID-19 update on Monday. Credit:James Brickwood On Friday afternoon, a 37-year-old man allegedly coughed at two police officers in Sydney, and will appear in Burwood Local Court next week after being granted bail. Among the latest people handed $1000 fines for COVIDSafe breaches were a woman who booked an apartment on Hay Street in Sydney's Haymarket, which police later visited, finding about 30 people inside. Two Victorians, one with a working permit and the other with a permit that she was entering NSW to provide care, were found drinking alcohol and playing poker machines at venues in Mulwala and Barooga, in the NSW Riverina, respectively. Each was fined $1000. A 61-year-old man landed a light aircraft at Deniliquin Airport, also in the NSW Riverina, after flying from Victoria. He was fined and ordered to return after being found not to have a valid permit. It came as Dr Chant warned that people with influenza-like symptoms were much more likely to have COVID-19, with very low levels of the flu circulating in the community. "People are tending to think that their illness is influenza. They're saying, 'Oh, it's OK, I have flu-like symptoms, I must have influenza; I don't need a COVID test,' " Dr Chant said. "At the moment we have very low rates of influenza circulating, so if you have ... respiratory symptoms of cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, headache, aches and pains, it is most likely that you have COVID, no flu," Dr Chant said. She said it was essential that people with any symptoms came forward for testing, particularly in western and south-western Sydney where there is evidence of undetected spread in the community. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the mystery cases COVID-positive people with no known link to previously confirmed cases or clusters were of great concern. "Whilst the case numbers have, pleasingly, been declining, my anxiety remains the same, if not slightly higher, because every week there's been an accumulation of unsourced cases," Ms Berejiklian said. "That is a big concern because, if you look back to Melbourne, Melbourne didn't get worse because of the number of cases they had," she said. "They had undetected community transmission, which then unknowingly got to a stage where it formed a number of different clusters and we certainly don't want that to happen here in NSW." Loading NSW Health has found one or two cases with no known source every day for several weeks. There were 10,806 tests carried out in the reporting period. Dr Chant said the state's objective was to achieve no community transmission. "Having low levels of grumbling transmission of this virus poses so much risk," Dr Chant said. "Until we have a vaccine or an effective treatment, we can never go back to normal ... New Zealand highlights that case in point," she said, referring to the resurgence of the virus in New Zealand despite its eradication strategy and several weeks of zero reported cases. On Monday 117 COVID-19 cases were being treated by NSW Health; seven were in intensive care, and five were ventilated. Eighty-nine per cent of cases being treated by NSW Health are in non-acute, out-of-hospital care. with Mary Ward WASHINGTON - Each time she holds her newborn twins, the mother sees the inch-wide wound on her right arm marking the place where doctors lodged tubes into her body to keep her alive. More than two months have passed since Ana returned from the District of Columbia hospital to meet her new daughters for the first time, since she woke up from a deep sedation to learn that she had been intubated for the first three weeks of the infants' lives, battling complications from covid-19. Her head still aches. She lost 50 pounds. She cannot breastfeed. The fatigue and dizziness and shortness of breath make it difficult to get out of bed in the morning. Doctors say it could take months for her to fully recover from the weeks she spent connected to a ventilator and to an aggressive life support machine that pumped blood into her lungs and heart. Yet the Salvadoran mother's concerns over her long-term recovery are eclipsed by her family's immediate needs: purchasing clothing for the babies. Paying the rent on their one-bedroom apartment. Buying food for a family of six when both adults lost their jobs due to the pandemic and neither qualifies for unemployment assistance because they are undocumented. Ana and her partner, Alfredo, asked to be identified only by their first names because of fears of deportation. When she faced complications from the virus, Ana was a 35-year-old expectant mother with chronic hypertension and severe preeclampsia. But she was also a Latina, part of a community that has been exposed to the virus at a disproportionate rate. Nationwide, Hispanic or Latina mothers make up nearly half of the covid-19 cases among pregnant women, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collected from Jan. 22 until last week. Among more than 14,100 pregnant women who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which causes the illness covid-19, and provided information about race and ethnicity, 6,447 were Latina - the largest group by far. In a study in Philadelphia, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found the rate of virus exposure among Black and Hispanic women to be five times higher than among White and Asian women. Doctors say that, anecdotally, they are seeing this same pattern in the D.C. area. During a conference call about three months ago for local obstetricians, D.C. health officials and representatives from hospitals, it became clear that some clinics serving predominantly Latina populations were seeing some of the highest numbers of infections among pregnant women. Among the hardest hit was Mary's Center, a nonprofit organization that operates community health clinics in the Washington area. Between March and July, Mary's Center tested 215 pregnant women for the coronavirus, most of them Latina. More than 150 of them - nearly 70% - were positive. "It's very, very alarming," said Maria Gomez, chief executive of Mary's Center. "We still can't figure out why we're seeing these numbers." Research about the impact of the novel coronavirus on pregnant women continues to be limited. A report from the CDC in June found that infected pregnant women may be more likely than infected nonpregnant women to be treated in an intensive care unit or need a ventilator, but are not at higher risk of death. Pregnant women who are Black or Hispanic appear to be disproportionately affected by infection during pregnancy, according to the report. Tollie Elliott, the chief medical officer at Mary's Center, said the figures may reflect the actual burden of the disease within the Latino community, which has struggled to access testing. On average, pregnant women see their doctors much more frequently than other people, which allows more opportunities for medical professionals to detect signs of infection, Elliot said. The virus has been devastating for Latinos, who are heavily represented in occupations classified as "essential," including construction, cleaning and caregiving. And Latinos more often reside in crowded apartments and multigenerational homes where the coronavirus easily spreads. In Montgomery County, Md., a Washington suburb with 1 million people, Hispanic residents accounted for 73% of new infections in June despite representing 20% of the population. In Virginia's hard-hit Fairfax County, Latino residents make up 17% of the population and 59% of coronavirus cases. In D.C., Latino residents represent 11% of the population and a quarter of all cases. Elliott said that none of the pregnant women who have tested positive for the virus at Mary's Center have died of the disease, and that his staff is monitoring their conditions for side effects, including postpartum depression. "When you have covid-19, it's sustained high-intensity trauma, especially if you're pregnant," he said. "The stress, the anxiety - it's significant." - - - In many Latino families, the virus has sickened relatives across generations, putting pregnant family members at risk and cutting off their support systems. Alicia Delgado, a 19-year-old pregnant woman, said her aunt and her grandfather both contracted the virus. And nearly three months ago, she, too, started feeling an intense fever and tested positive for the virus at 20 weeks pregnant. Each day she felt weaker. She struggled to eat. Then her mother, who was caring for her, also started having symptoms. Delgado feared she might give birth prematurely and lose her baby. Although she has since recovered, she said, "it was terrifying." Kimberly Guzman, 19, is still traumatized from going into labor moments after she tested positive for the coronavirus at Howard University Hospital. She showed no symptoms but delivered her first baby while wearing a mask and worrying that doctors might isolate her from her daughter for two weeks. "I felt like I was suffocating," she said. "It was an experience I wouldn't wish for anyone." Ana, the Salvadoran mother of twins, was nervous from the moment she found out she was pregnant. She knew it would be a high-risk pregnancy, given her age and her chronic hypertension. To limit her risk of exposure, she stopped going to her job at a laundromat and only left the house to go to ultrasound visits, which required taking a bus across town. Then, on April 29, she felt an intense pain in her chest. Her fever spiked, and she struggled to breathe. Her blood pressure shot up. Her doctors diagnosed her with severe preeclampsia, and, later, covid-19. They induced labor, and within hours Ana went into respiratory distress. Doctors transferred her premature daughters to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and placed Ana on a ventilator. "She was really fighting two major things at the same time," said Siobhan Burke, her OB/GYN. Ana's partner, Alfredo, was told to quarantine for more than two weeks in his home, but he was not showing symptoms. For 15 days, the father was unable to visit his newborn twins in the NICU. "I was anguished," he said. He stayed in the family's apartment, taking care of their 5-year-old son and Ana's 14-year-old son. Shortly after the end of Alfredo's isolation period, the twins were healthy enough to come home from the hospital. But Ana, still on the ventilator, was getting worse. Ana's doctors called Alfredo and told him she might only have three hours left to live. "They told me she needed another option to be saved," Alfredo said, "or else she would die." They placed her on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine, also known as an ECMO. A surgeon inserted tubes into her veins, removing her blood and running it through an artificial lung to push oxygen-rich blood back into her body. On May 20, a doctor called Alfredo with news he never thought he would hear: Ana was moving her hands and feet. Within a week, she was strong enough to be released from the hospital. But her recovery had barely begun. - - - Before the pandemic, Ana and Alfredo were each bringing in just enough money to cover the rent for their apartment and to send money to Ana's ailing mother in El Salvador. Ana had applied for a day-care program for the twins and planned to go back to work once they were old enough. Now all of their plans have been derailed. Alfredo lost his job, the day-care center is closed and Ana is still too weak to take care of her two older sons and newborn babies. Even if Alfredo could find a job, he would not be able to leave Ana alone with the children. The mother barely had a chance to buy clothes and essentials for the twins before she got sick. "I thought I would have more time," she said. "I never imagined that this would happen." Unlike millions of other unemployed people across the country, Ana and Alfredo do not qualify for government assistance, other than the WIC welfare program. They have been relying entirely on help from her sister and from a nearby church. Although Ana receives health insurance through the D.C. Healthcare Alliance, she said she worries it may not cover the hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills for her weeks of care in the hospital. Even before the pandemic, many immigrant families were living in uncertainty and fear under the Trump administration, said Victoria White, who provides prenatal care at La Clinica del Pueblo, a network of community clinics serving the Latino community in the D.C. area. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court sided with a Trump administration effort to make it harder for immigrants to seek permanent residency in the United States if they have relied on public assistance programs. Immigrant advocates argue that the rule discourages legal immigrants from using any public benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps or housing assistance. Burke, Ana's doctor, worries about whether she and her family will be able to recover, both emotionally and financially. "How is her life going to be after this?" Burke said. "Is this the thing that is going to throw them into abject poverty?" As Ana's family missed a second month of rent payments at the beginning of August, she asked herself the same question. Unable to afford the $1,500 rent for the one-bedroom apartment, Ana's sister and husband were both searching for a new place to live but had not found one. The family - all six of them - considered temporarily sharing a room at Ana's aunt's house in D.C. Then, earlier this month, the twins started having trouble breathing and Ana rushed the infants to Children's National Hospital, where they were given oxygen. The babies tested negative for the coronavirus and are recovering, Ana said. Doctors told her the illness was a simple cold made worse by the premature babies' fragile lungs. To be safe, they told Ana, the family should keep the twins isolated inside for 20 days. "They could catch the virus at any minute," Ana said. A day surfing at the beach found an Australian man reacting like a super hero, as he attacked a great white shark to save his wifes life. According to a report by ABC News. North South Wales police said Mark Rapley and his wife Chantelle Doyle were spending the day at Shelly Beach at Port Macquarie, New South Wales, when the shark, described as being between 6 and 10 feet, attacked Doyle and threw her off her surfboard. Rapley told the Nine Network he paddled to his wifes board as she tried to climb back up while the shark grabbed her right calf, ABC News cited. Rapley grabbed on to his wifes surfboard and began punching the shark until it let her go, the police said. When you see the mother of your child, and your support, everything thats who you are, so you just react, he told the channel. Your body reacts to saying get off, get off. So you start punching it, you start thinking amazingly where to punch it and so youre like, Ill just attack the eye, or whatever. You just start thinking differently. According to the report, the police said that after the shark let go of her leg, Doyle and her husband got back to shore where paramedics were on hand to administer aid. Doyle was airlifted to a hospital and had surgery, the report said. While officers and fishing officials worked to get more details about the attack, the report said the beach remained closed for the rest of the day. Rapley said his wife was awake and doing better, but the family will be dealing with the fallout from the attack for a while, the report noted. She is in pretty good spirits, still strong and hopefully all fine from here, but a long road to recovery, he said. READ MORE: Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Coalition, an online cyber insurance and security company, has expanded its admitted cyber insurance offering into Florida following approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Businesses and organizations across the state now have access to Coalitions cyber insurance coverage and security services. Coalitions cyber offering combines insurance with cybersecurity to help keep businesses safe. Coalition provides no-cost cybersecurity tools to prevent losses, security and incident response services to contain them, and cyber insurance to help organizations recover from failures and breaches. Coalitions cyber insurance offering is now admitted in 48 states and the District of Columbia, available in all states in the surplus lines market, and now also available in Canada. It currently insures more than 25,000 businesses. Coalition announced in May that it raised $90 million in equity capital to fuel its rapid growth and expansion. Backed by leading global insurers Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, Lloyds of London, and Argo Group, Coalition provides companies with up to $15 million of cyber and technology insurance coverage in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as $20 million of coverage across all 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada. Coalitions cyber risk management platform provides automated security alerts, threat intelligence, expert guidance, and cybersecurity tools to help businesses remain resilient in the face of cyber attacks. Headquartered in San Francisco, Coalition has presences in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Washington DC, Miami, Atlanta, Denver, Austin, Vancouver, and Toronto. Topics Cyber Florida Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 06:26:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A man wearing a face mask walks through the ticket gate at a metro station in Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 16, 2020. Egypt confirmed on Sunday 139 new COVID-19 infections and 19 deaths, raising the total cases registered in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 96,475 and the death toll to 5,160, said the Egyptian Health Ministry. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) CAIRO, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Egypt confirmed on Sunday 139 new COVID-19 infections and 19 deaths, raising the total cases registered in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic to 96,475 and the death toll to 5,160, said the Egyptian Health Ministry. Meanwhile, 908 coronavirus patients were cured and discharged from hospitals, increasing the total recoveries to 59,743, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed. He stressed Egypt's close cooperation with the World Health Organization regarding the pandemic. The most populous Arab country announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8. From the first week of July, coronavirus daily fatalities and infections in Egypt started to gradually decline along with highly increasing daily recoveries. Earlier this month, Egypt decided to ban anyone from entering the country without a recent PCR test that proves they are free from COVID-19, except for tourists coming via direct flights to the airports of Sharm El-Sheikh, Hurghada, Taba and Marsa Alam. The country resumed international flights in early July, after it lifted a partial nighttime curfew it has been imposing since late March, and reopened restaurants, cafes, theaters and cinemas, as well as hotels, museums and archeological sites, all with limited capacity. Easing restrictions is part of a "coexistence plan" adopted by the government over the past weeks to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities. Egypt and China have been working together on fighting the pandemic through exchanging medical aid and expertise. In early February, Egypt provided aid to China to help with its fight against COVID-19 and China later sent three batches of medical aid to the North African country. Enditem The president has tried to turn DHS, the nations largest law enforcement agency, into a tool used for his political benefit. He insisted on a near-total focus on issues that he said were central to his reelection in particular building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. Though he was often talked out of bad ideas at the last moment, the president would make obviously partisan requests of DHS, including when he told us to close the California-Mexico border during a March 28, 2019, Oval Office meeting it would be better for him politically, he said, than closing long stretches of the Texas or Arizona border or to dump illegal immigrants in Democratic-leaning sanctuary cities and states to overload their authorities, as he insisted on several times. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:33:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GENEVA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Mexican candidate for the new head of the World Trade Organization said reviving negotiations and unlocking the paralyzed dispute settlement system are top priorities on his reform agenda. Jesus Seade Kuri, a 30-year veteran of negotiating trade agreements and former WTO deputy director-general, told Xinhua in a recent interview that if selected, he would first of all focus on reviving the Geneva-based trade body's negotiation function. Due to the unexpected announcement in mid-May that the incumbent WTO chief Roberto Azevedo will resign on Aug. 31, a year before his term expires, the WTO had to start the selection process for his successor on June 8. So far, there have been eight contenders running for the top job. The second phase of the process in which the candidates "make themselves known to members" will end on Sept. 7, and then the General Council chairperson will consult with all WTO members before making the final decision. "I want to jumpstart negotiations and complete the negotiations underway in the coming months, and also try to reach agreements on launching negotiations for the ministerial conference next year," Seade stressed. The WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference, originally scheduled for June this year in Kazakhstan, has been postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. "The second priority is repairing the Appellate Body," Seade continued. "I have clear ideas to help countries reach a solution. As we come out of the pandemic, the WTO should play a strong role in the world to help get out of the crisis as fast as possible." "We need to create a mechanism for supervision. I think I know how to do it -- establish an oversight committee that is doing that job," he said. The Appellate Body, considered as the supreme court for global trade disputes, is supposed to have seven judges and needs a minimum of three to be able to function. The U.S. administration has been blocking new appointments for the judges for over two years, claiming the court has gone beyond its remit. The European Union and other WTO members earlier this year set up a temporary arbitration system that allows them to overcome the current paralysis and solve trade disputes among themselves. Seade, Mexico's former ambassador to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as well as chief negotiator in the creation of the WTO and of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, said he would also help negotiate in the trade tensions among WTO major members. "I would be calling China and the United States. I would be calling the Europeans, depending on the issue, to, in a very amicable way but in a strong and respectful way, bring them to discuss together," he said. "I will be a resourceful leader to guiding and resolving the issues. I have the personality and the depth of knowledge," he said. Seade added that he believes China will continue to be a major engine of global economic growth. "If China grows above 5 percent, that will be huge for the world economy. And I think China can, and the country will, be an essential element in terms of growth," he said. In April, the WTO warned that global trade is expected to fall by 13-32 percent in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts economic activity and life around the world. "It seems that despite the huge scale of the pandemic, the loss of lives and the huge disruptions, the current forecasts for global trade are not as bad as they were a few weeks ago," Seade noted. "We need a lot of cooperation and efforts to work together." Enditem Bangladesh's cement sector sees signs of recovery in demand 17 August 2020 Premier Cement of Bangladesh has reported that the cement sector has been showing some signs of recovery for the last two months, despite the coronavirus pandemic. The sector had been reeling from the unprecedented collapse in demand in April and May because of the pandemic, which hammered activity and brought the construction sector to a grinding halt. However, activity has begun to pick up and are now back almost to the pre-pandemic level in June and July. "The economic front of a developing country like Bangladesh can't remain silent for long. Demand will start to rise bit by bit and things will look up soon as cement is a basic ingredient," said Mohammed Amirul Haque, managing director of Premier Cement. "We have got some orders from the construction sector and our factory is booked until next September," Mr Haque said. While demand has been restored, many producers are still operating blow capacity. "The sector is yet to turn around to the fullest as factories can utilise only half their production capacity now," said Alamgir Kabir, president of the Bangladesh Cement Manufacturers Association (BCMA). "Not only the COVID-19 pandemic but also the countrywide floods have wreaked havoc on development work and the cement sector is bearing the brunt," said Mohammad Shahidullah, managing director of Metrocem Cement. In addition, the manufacturers have been unable to collect payments from dealers and contractors as they too were disrupted by the pandemic. Because of the pandemic, the growth of the sector will come down to seven per cent this year from the 12-15 per cent average growth it achieved in the last few years, said Asadul Haque Sufiyan, chief operating officer of Bengal Cement Ltd. Published under President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected Tuesday to issue a statement on the Roman Catholic bishops pastoral letter highlighting some social, economic and political issues facing Zimbabwe amid calls for Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa to resign over what some people say are inflammatory tribal remarks. In a tweet, Information Secretary Nick Mangwana said Mnangagwa is expected to address the pastoral letter, which among other issues, indicated that there are serious human rights abuses in Zimbabwe, arbitrary arrest of state opponents, rampant corruption and other issues directly linked to Mnangagwas government. Regarding issues around the Pastoral Letter by the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference, President @edmnangagwa is going to issue a comprehensive statement tomorrow. In her response to the pastoral letter, Mutsvangwa said, With nefarious cynicism to history, Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu is inching to lead the Zimbabwe Catholic congregation into the darkest dungeons of Rwanda-type genocide. The letter seeks the revival and continuation of the perennial vices of division. It has a selective and warp-sided reading of history. The errant and evil Bishop has a nauseating mental amnesia of the blight of minority settler rule and its baggage of exploitative racism against the totality of the black majority popular of Zimbabwe. The levity of his mental amnesia is worsened by the fact that he tears off pages of the progressive crusade for justice and democracy that has hitherto been the shining virtue of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe. She also said, He wants to posit as the leader of righteous Ndebele minority by fanning the psychosis of tribal victimization. Concurrently he sows sins of collective guilty on the Shona majority. That way he seeks to numb the spirit of collective national vigilance against the known and proven enemies of the populace of Zimbabwe. His transgressions acquire a geopolitical dimensions as the chief priest of the agenda of Regime Change that is the hallmark of the post-imperial major Western powers for the last two decades. Archbishop Ndlovu has not responded to Mutsvangwas remarks. The pastoral letter has been supported by the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Law Society of Zimbabwe and several other non-profit organizations, individuals, opposition parties and ministers of religion. Some Zimbabweans say the minister should step down, saying she is fanning tribal conflicts in the country. Bill Maher has defended Ryan Reynolds by urging people to live in the present instead of cancelling people for past actions. The US television host used his New Rules segment to reflect on recent headlines, including the Deadpool actors apology for marrying Blake Lively at a former slave plantation. Reynolds, who was criticised for the action, said the venue of choice is something well always be deeply and unreservedly sorry for. According to Reynolds, who revealed he and Lively got married again at their home years later, the shame of their first wedding encouraged them to become better people. Maher turned to an unlikely source to highlight his point that, should Reynolds be criticised, so too should some other things. Were all six degrees from genocidal a**holes, the Real Time host said. If we start turning history into a game of guilt by association, it never ends. He then cited three Bible passages that sees Christ encouraging slaves to submit to your masters. If were gonna be consistent, I think were going to cancel God, he quipped. He then alerted his viewers to a few facts they might not have known. Ryan Reynolds said he was unreservedly sorry for marrying lake Lively at a former slave plantation (Getty Images) The stock exchange is 2 miles from New Yorks first slave market, he said, adding: "The country itself is named after a slave trader named Amerigo [and] Washington and Jefferson are also up for cancellation because they owned slaves. In conclusion, Maher suggested a crazy idea, which was: Lets live in the present and make the future better. Investing in stocks inevitably means buying into some companies that perform poorly. But the long term shareholders of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE:BHLB) have had an unfortunate run in the last three years. Regrettably, they have had to cope with a 70% drop in the share price over that period. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 67% in the last year. And the share price decline continued over the last week, dropping some 6.5%. View our latest analysis for Berkshire Hills Bancorp In his essay The Superinvestors of Graham-and-Doddsville Warren Buffett described how share prices do not always rationally reflect the value of a business. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Berkshire Hills Bancorp saw its share price decline over the three years in which its EPS also dropped, falling to a loss. Extraordinary items contributed to this situation. Due to the loss, it's not easy to use EPS as a reliable guide to the business. However, we can say we'd expect to see a falling share price in this scenario. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here. What About Dividends? When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. In the case of Berkshire Hills Bancorp, it has a TSR of -67% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market gained around 21% in the last year, Berkshire Hills Bancorp shareholders lost 65% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 9.5% over the last half decade. Generally speaking long term share price weakness can be a bad sign, though contrarian investors might want to research the stock in hope of a turnaround. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Berkshire Hills Bancorp better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Berkshire Hills Bancorp has 2 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about. If you are like me, then you will not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on US exchanges. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. The trailer for Netflixs latest comedy-drama, The Duchess, starring Irish actor Rory Keenan and British-based comedian Katherine Ryan is here. The Duchess is a six-episode series comedy written by and starring Katherine Ryan. An authentic extension of Katherines stand-up comedian stage persona, The Duchess explores the unique world view of a fashionably disruptive all-round bad person whose redeeming quality is that shell sacrifice everything to be a good parent. The series follows the powerful and problematic choices of a fashionably disruptive single mom living in London. Her daughter, Olive, is her greatest love so she debates a second child with her greatest enemy - Olives dad. Can two wrongs make another right? Nearly a decade ago, Katherine got pregnant by Irish boyband pop star, Shep Knight (Rory Keenan). The last guy to get up off the stool. He would soon become her greatest enemy, but they now keep a lid on their mutual disdain for one another for the sake of their exquisite daughter, Olive. Olive is the love of Katherines life, and The Duchess wonderfully illuminates the intricacies of very modern and celebrated single motherhood in London. Now in a position to grow her family, Katherine debates whether it makes more sense to have a baby with her very devoted new boyfriend, go it alone, or double-down on her first mistake and have another child with her nemesis, Shep. Katherines strength of character and singular perspective challenges everyone around her and the audience in a fantastically entertaining way - it is unapologetic and confrontational - and she manages to be sympathetic and vulnerable in her own trademark way. The Duchess premieres on Netflix on September 11. A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Obadiah Mailafiya, has honoured the invitation by the State Security Service (SSS) for the second time. Mr Mailafiya, the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in the 2019 general elections, arrived at the Jos office of the SSS at noon on Monday, and was released less than an hour later. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that Mr Mailafiya was, last Wednesday, invited by the security outfit following an interview he granted to an Abuja based Radio FM station. In the interview, Mr Mailafiya alleged among other things that a current northern governor was backing Boko Haram insurgents. Speaking to journalists, Mr Mailafiyas lawyer, Yakubu Bawa, said the invitation was in line with the last one. READ ALSO: He added that his client was not manhandled by men of the SSS, adding that the invitation was basically aimed at getting more clarification. This second invitation is still in line with the first one. DSS needed more clarification on the issue which my client provided and nothing else. He was not manhandled, but treated with respect by (the) men of the DSS, he said. (NAN) Greek authorities abandoned 1,072 migrants at the edge of Greece's water territory on inflatable life rafts, according to The New York Times. Abandoning migrants Evidence from multiple sources, including the Turkish Coast Guard, academic researches and independent watchdog groups were analyzed by The Times and they found out that there were at least 31 different incidents of these expulsions in the country in the past few months. A 50 year old Syrian teacher, Najma al-Khatib, told The Times that on July 26, she and 22 other migrants including babies were taken by Greek officials from a detention center located on the island of Rhodes while it was still dark outside. She said the officials were masked and forced the on a rudderless, motorless life raft and were left there. They were later rescued by the Turkish Coast Guard. The teacher told The Times that she left Syria because she was afraid of the bombing. What they did to her made her wish she had just died under a bomb. Also Read: Fact Check: Did Sen. Kamala Harris Have An Extramarital Affair with Willie Brown That Boosted Her Career? Last month, The Guardian reported that Greece was preparing to handle and increase of migrants from Turkey after the country arrested six smugglers. Earlier this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to release hundreds of thousands of refugees into Europe in the middle of the ongoing tensions between the EU and Turkey. The EU border agency said that the threats of the Turkish president prompted additional defense along the land and sea borders of Greece. However, The Times reported that the move to abandon migrants in the middle of the sea is illegal under any international law. However, The Times reports that the move to abandon migrants at sea is illegal under international law. Francois Crepeau, former United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants and professor of law at the Faculty of Law at McGill University said that the pushbacks are illegal in all of their aspects, in the European law and the international law. Crepeau said that what the Greek officials did was a human rights and humanitarian disaster. However, Greece denied that they have done anything illegal. Stelios Petsas, a government spokesman, said that Greek authorities do not engage in clandestine activities. He added that Greece has a proven track record when it comes to observing international law, protocols and conventions. This also includes the treatment of refugees and migrants. Tension between Turkey and the EU On August 14, European Union foreign ministers held urgent talks about the current military tensions between Turkey and Greece over the drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean, according to EuroNews. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said Turkey would proceed with its search for gas and oil in the disputed waters until August 23. However, after talks with Germany, he signaled that Berlin and Ankara had agreed to a softening of positions next week. Greece has its own naval vessels between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete while Turkey has a research ship accompanied by two warships. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias went to Vienna on August 14 to meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that they are working toward a direct dialogue between the parties that would contribute to finding a solution for the ongoing issue. Related Article: Bridge in London Closed Due to Cracks Caused by Heatwave @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki has been cast as Diana in upcoming seasons of The Crown. The Sun reports she will play the role of Princess Diana over Seasons 5 and 6. Elizabeth Debicki (The Night Manager, The Kettering Incident, The Great Gatsby) said: Princess Dianas spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many. It is my privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one. The role of the younger Diana, who marries Prince Charles in 1981 and endures a troubled marriage, went to unknown actress Emma Corrin, 24. She will feature in Season 4 alongside Josh OConnor, 30, reprising his role as Prince Charles. Season 5, due in 2022, will cover the 1990s. I met Richard Gwyn, who died last week, soon after I arrived in Canada from England in 1978. As the Stars premier political columnist, he was already a major figure in the parliamentary press gallery at a time when Ottawa was a cacophony of brainy people in politics, the public service and the media. Many had been drawn to the federal capital by the intellectual firepower of Pierre Trudeau; all wanted to argue about whether government should be in the nations bedrooms, how to maintain national unity, whether the social safety network should be strengthened, if the West would ever be satisfied with the federal deal. So I was a little awestruck by this transplanted Brit, who explained all these complex issues to Canadians and seemed to know everybody in town. He was so English: his sense of irony, his accent, his old-fashioned gallantry and, yes, his helplessness in the kitchen. He would have fit quite happily, I thought then, in the Fleet Street newsroom that I had left behind. I gradually realized that my assumption was wrong. This was a man who had walked away from a pukka British background (his father was ex-Indian Army brigadier), a claustrophobic Catholic boarding school and a stint at Britains premier military establishment. He shucked off the traditions and narrowness of the British class system, and came to Canada at age 20 to make his own way in life. He had very little money, but dreamed of sailing round the world. His mother was furious. The sailing-round-the-world bit never happened, although the romance of the sea never faded. Instead he met Newfoundland-born Sandra Fraser in Halifax, married her (and grew to love Newfoundland as much as she did), and found a job. Canada had allowed him to reinvent himself, and create his own expectations. Once settled, he set about trying to understand the country he now lived in, which turned out to be very different from the one in which he had been raised. He was a role model for me, another transplanted Brit with a busy pen. And Sandra Gwyn became an even closer friend and my mentor. But back to those early years in Ottawa. The towns social life was dominated by a handful of power couples who choreographed lively dinner parties featuring well-informed arguments, strong opinions, and recipes from the New York Times. The Gwyn parties, on Cole Avenue, were amongst the best especially the Christmas parties, at which Sandra served brandade de morue, made with Newfoundland salt cod. Because Richard had spent five years in the public service, he had insider friends who valued his astute observations and knew that he would never sink to gotcha! Conversations around the dinner table were off the record, but Richard would then schedule interviews to confirm information and follow leads. His columns were must-reads because so often he had scoops who would be the next clerk of the Privy Council, which minister was about to walk the plank. He adroitly wrote both for decision-makers and for newspaper readers who just wanted to know what was going on up there in Ottawa. I learned a lot from his approach. After the Gwyns moved from Ottawa to London, I regularly stayed with them in their Little Venice flat. In Britain, Richard was now an insider-outsider; he sounded like one of them, but he didnt share many of their values and viewed the Thatcher government with distaste. And, like me, he now found the London circles in which he moved too crowded, too class-conscious. But he had watched the fizz slowly evaporate in Ottawa in the mid-1980s, and relished the no-holds-barred debate of British politics. By now, I had succeeded Sandra as Ottawa editor of Saturday Night magazine. I would often talk to both Gwyns about my assignments. Over dinners or on transatlantic phone calls, Richard was unfailingly generous with contacts, insights, introductions. He was a warm, kind man who loved to tease. You realize your private-school accent works for you, dont you? he once said. You sound like you actually know what youre talking about. Sandra Gwyn died in 2000. It was an immense loss, primarily for Richard but also for all her friends. That summer, a grief-stricken Richard came to stay with my husband George Anderson and me in a cottage on Big Rideau Lake. He brought with him a new companion, a black Labrador puppy called Nell Gwyn, which he tried to discipline with loud shouts. That is the worst-trained dog Ive ever seen, George remarked, as Nell proceeded to ignore every command with lovable insouciance. But Nell helped Richard through some very hard months. Richard had continued to write for the Star and appear regularly on television throughout Sandras slow decline. I think the deadlines gave a framework and some relief to his sadness. He was never a guy who expressed emotions easily (British boarding schools do that to you) but I started to see his spirits revive, and a mischievous glint in his eye. Nell, he confided gleefully, was a chick magnet. Finally the penny dropped; there was a new woman in his life Carol Bishop. Like Sandra, she became a good friend of mine as she too catered to Richards inability to turn on the stove and dependence on his partner for help with his books. Sandra had always edited his columns; Carol did much of the picture research for his magnificent two volume biography of Sir John A. Macdonald. It was typical of Richards honesty and courage that, when he was first diagnosed with Alzheimers disease, he admitted it publicly long before it was obvious. He never shied away from hard facts. At a birthday party a few years ago, Richard said, Ive been a very lucky man. I have had the love of two wonderful women. The women friends in the crowd in the Massey College common room that night (and he had lots of close female friends) groaned. It was so typical of Richard, who was very much a man of his generation. He had made himself the centre of the story. But we didnt hesitate to chide him for his chauvinism, and he laughed with amusement at our reproaches. But its true! he insisted. And it was true. They, and I, loved him. For all his old-fashioned views, he took women and our opinions and work seriously. He was a great guy and a really good friend. Japan should leave radioactive water in current storage tanks, says researcher by Kim So-youn August 17,2020 | Source: The Hankyoreh Whats the most practical and safest way to handle the radioactive water being stored at Fukushima? According to Hajime Matsukubo, general-secretary of the Citizens Nuclear Information Center (CNIC), the contaminated water should be left in the aboveground tanks where its currently being stored. In a recent email interview with the Hankyoreh, Matsukubo said it doesnt make sense to release the water into the ocean just because the tanks are running low on space. The CNIC is a Japanese NGO that was set up in 1975 under nuclear physicist Jinzaburo Takagi, a leading figure in the campaign against nuclear power in Japan. Matsukubo is an active researcher, lecturer, and publisher of materials related to the anti-nuclear movement. The interview is presented below. Hankyoreh (Hani): When do you think the final decision will be made about dumping the contaminated water at Fukushima into the ocean? Hajime Matsukubo: TEPCO [Tokyo Electric Power Company] says it will dilute the contaminated water before dumping it into the ocean, which means that a dilution facility would have to be built. Given the time required to get a building permit, I think the final decision will be made this summer or fall. Hani: Why do you think the Japanese government is pushing so hard to dump the water into the ocean? Matsukubo: Not only Japan but all countries that operate nuclear reactors end up with tritium as a byproduct, which they then release into the ocean or the atmosphere. I see this decision as an extension of that. Another factor is that releasing the water into the ocean is the cheapest option. Hani: There seems to be considerable opposition to the plan in Japan as well. Matsukubo: Many citizens are opposed to it. Pushback has been particularly strong from fishermen, who are likely to be harmed by the rumors [about the danger of the radioactive matter being released, which could cause people not to visit or eat food from Fukushima]. Lawmakers at city councils in Fukushima Prefecture have adopted a series of resolutions voicing concerns about releasing the contaminated water. Hani: Do you think that negative public opinion in Japan is capable of changing government policy? Matsukubo: Since the fishermen are direct stakeholders, I think their opposition will have a big impact. TEPCO has promised not to release the water without the consent of local communities in Fukushima. I think the key is opposing voices in Japan and increasing pressure from overseas. Hani: Do South Korea or environmental groups in other countries have any way to sanction Japan for releasing contaminated water into the ocean? Matsukubo: They could consider filing a lawsuit based on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. But a large amount of tritium is already being released from Koreas nuclear plants, especially the Wolseong plant. It would be rather difficult to prove that contaminated water released from Fukushima Daiichi [No. 1] is having an impact. Theres plenty of land that could be used for additional storage Hani: Whats the most practical and safest way to deal with the contaminated water? Matsukubo: The contaminated water at Fukushima should be left in the aboveground tanks where its currently being stored. [The government] says theres no more room at Fukushima Daiichi, but there is. Theres a huge amount of land that could be used to store the radioactive wastewater. While the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry says that land cant be appropriated for other uses, the government [could and] should negotiate with the landowners. Its absurd to dump radioactive water into the ocean because theres not enough storage space in the tanks. Japanese NGOs are suggesting that the government continue storing the water in the aboveground tanks and seal them off with concrete. Theyre warning the government that releasing the water into the ocean would create international problems. S. Korea, Japan both need to reassess their reprocessing plans Hani: Do you have a message for South Koreas civic society? Matsukubo: The Japanese government is pursuing a policy of creating a nuclear fuel cycle that would recycle plutonium and uranium from the spent nuclear fuel produced by reactors. This policy requires reprocessing plants that are currently under construction at Rokkasho, in Aomori Prefecture, which are supposed to begin operations in 2021. These plants will release a large amount of radioactive matter into the ocean and the atmosphere. In terms of tritium alone, the amount released will be 10 times worse than the contaminated water at Fukushima Daiichi. Thats a very serious problem, just as releasing the contaminated water would be. In South Korea, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute is taking the lead in R&D projects related to reprocessing spent nuclear fuel. The problems with reprocessing plants dont end here. Plutonium can be used as a raw material for making nuclear weapons. I think that South Korea and Japanese citizens need to join forces to shut down both countries reprocessing plans. The Hankyoreh. All rights reserved. Theme(s): Others. The Bombay on Monday said "police brutality" during the lockdown is only one side of the coin, and noted that many citizens are not complying with restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. "There are black sheep everywhere," a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai observed while hearing a petition filed by advocate Firdause Irani, raising concerns on police brutality amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown. Iranis counsel Gopal Sankarnarayan told the court on Monday that they have 13 videos showing police excesses on people while imposing the lockdown orders. "Policemen are seen assaulting people with lathis or slapping them without first asking the reason why they are travelling, he said. The high court, however, said there are two sides to the story. "Police brutality is only one side of the coin. The truth is that there are many amongst us who do not care about the lockdown guidelines and do not comply with restrictions. There are black sheep everywhere, Chief Justice Datta said. Sankarnarayan argued that even if there are violators of lockdown restrictions, this does not give police the right to assault any person. To this, the court said it cannot sit to decide in which case or situation the use of lathis, teargas or force may be required. "Every case or situation cannot be painted with the same brush, Chief Justice Datta said. The court said if people violate laws, then they have to be dealt with strong hands. "Police has been given the task to safeguard interests of the general public. In such a situation, some policemen think just because they have a lathi they can use it, Chief Justice Datta said. The bench directed the petitioner to submit his suggestions on how police should handle such violators. "We will then see if police can be asked to follow the suggestions, the court said, and posted the petition for further hearing on September 21. (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.) Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo was supposed to be busy riding bikes and tangling with fearsome monsters from another dimension. Alas, production for the fourth season of the Netflix series, which was in progress in March, had to be suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Matarazzo, 17, who lives in Little Egg Harbor Township, is now spending time working for a restaurant on Long Beach Island alongside some other members of his family, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The report, which does not name the business, says fans did manage to recognize him despite his hat and mask. The teen actor plays Dustin Henderson in Stranger Things. In June, the actor posted on Instagram about the sudden death of his cousin Joey, 19, after a car accident. He was such an important figure in my life and the lives of my entire family, Matarazzo said in the post. I grew up with him and loved him like he was my brother. The third season of Stranger Things premiered in July 2019 and left questions about the fate of police chief Jim Hopper (David Harbour). Spoiler: a February teaser for the fourth season of the series shows Hopper doing hard labor at a prison in Russia. The cast of Stranger Things, including but not limited to Matarazzo, Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder and David Harbour, won a SAG Award for best ensemble in a drama in 2017. Matarazzo has also hosted and produced the Netflix hidden-camera show Prank Encounters. He will voice the young camel Rami in the upcoming animated film Hump, about the camel traveling across the Arabian desert with a fox and goat to find his human friend. Rutherfords Ramy Youssef, who his nominated for an Emmy for his performance in the New Jersey-set Hulu series Ramy, voices Omar, the friend in the movie. Simon Pegg plays a badger named Basil. Matarazzo has appeared in commercials for Verizon Fios and in Katy Perrys 2017 music video for Swish Swish. Hes also in a band, Work in Progress, with his sister Sabrina and other students and alumni of Pinelands Regional High School in Tuckerton. The actor has the genetic disorder cleidocranial dysplasia, which affects teeth and bones. His character, Dustin, also has the condition in Stranger Things. Matarazzo helped launch the nonprofit foundation CCD Smiles, which helps families pay dental bills for children with CCD. 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. 'Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn has noted the numbers of cases have been rising across the country over the past week.' Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething," observed Mark Twain after a long sleepless night with a little bundle of joy. Many of us have had long sleepless nights over the past few months but more of them have led to happy endings, or more appropriately beginnings, than we might have expected. Few believed there would be see any silver linings in a rise in the R-rate, but when it is in the context of human reproduction and results in a baby boom, we should be happy. According to the National Maternity Hospital, January will see a 10pc increase in births, thanks to the lockdown - and who ever thought we would be saying thanks to the lockdown? As noted by the hospital's director of midwifery, Mary Brosnan, it "helped us appreciate the important things in life". "If we compare last January to next January, I'd say we're up 10pc in bookings," Ms Brosnan said. This really is something to be welcomed, for as recorded by a select panel for the promotion of child health in 1981: "Children are one third of our population and all of our future." Unfortunately, elsewhere there is little to be upbeat about in relation to living under the tyranny of the pandemic as Covid-19 continues to tighten its unforgiving grip. Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn has noted the numbers of cases have been rising across the country over the past week. He said: "We must continue to do all we can to avoid a return to where we were in March and April." By now we hardly need reminding we must make ourselves the predators, not the targets in the war against the virus. And in case there is any doubt, there has also been a rise in the average number of contacts for confirmed cases, which had gone up to six before the weekend. We should heed Dr Glynn's appeal to keep social contacts low. His reminder - "we all have a responsibility to stop this. Social distancing applies to all age groups" - could not be more timely or urgent. However frustrating, we must compromise and meet the virus half way to avoid widespread community transmission. Globally we are seeing the startling human cost the pandemic has inflicted. But we are not powerless. There are four things we know we can do: wear masks, maintain social distancing, practise good hygiene and avoid large gatherings. Scaling back is far better than shutting down. There is no going back but it is also obvious we cannot continue as we are. Happily, as the new arrivals will show, life goes on. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:46:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KHARTOUM, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's mediation team announced that the Sudanese government and the armed groups would sign, with initial letters, on a peace deal on Aug. 28, according to a statement by Sudan's Sovereign Council on Monday. "Signing with initial letters on the comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the armed movements will be on Aug. 28," Tut Gatluak, South Sudan's presidential adviser on security affairs and head of the mediation team, was quoted in the statement as saying. It is to be noted that a delegation of Sudan's Sovereign Council, led by the council's deputy chairman Mohamed Hamdan Daqlu, arrived in South Sudan's capital of Juba on Monday. "There only remains the security arrangements file on the Darfur track," said Gatluak, noting that the mediation has set a time-frame that does not exceed three days to complete the files in all tracks prior to the initial signing of the deal and then the final signing. The South Sudanese official further reiterated his country's keenness to achieve peace in Sudan. On Sunday the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), led by Malik Agar, reached an agreement stipulating integration of forces within the security arrangement file relating to South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas. Since October 2019, South Sudan has been mediating between the Sudanese government and the armed groups from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions. Enditem One-hundred and sixty-two days since Maharashtras first Covid-19 case was reported on March 9, the state crossed another grim milestone of 600,000 infections with 8,493 new cases on Monday. The case count stood at 604,358. The number of days for completing one lakh cases is reducing with the state taking only nine days to move from 5 lakh cases to 6 lakh cases. The states first lakh cases took 96 days, the second took 22 days, third 14 days, fourth 11 days and the fifth lakh took just 10 days, indicating a surge in daily caseload. Click here for complete coronavirus coverage The states active cases tally stood at 155,268, accounting for 25.69% of the total cases reported so far. The state recorded its highest single-day spike with 12,822 cases on August 8. The daily caseload dipped to around the 8,000-mark after a gap of 13 days. It had reported 8,968 cases on August 3. Death toll of the state reached 20,265 after 228 deaths were reported on Monday. Of them, 172 were reported in the last 48 hours, another 36 deaths were from last one week, while the rest 20 deaths were from the period before that, health officials said. Highest toll in a day was reported 413 on August 13. It can be further understood with the fact that in the past 17 days of this month, the state has reported 182,834 cases. On an average, it came to 10,754 a day. This is against 247,392 cases recorded in July, 102,172 cases in June, 57,157 cases in May, 10,196 cases in April and 302 cases in March. The major reason for the surge is that cases are rising in semi-urban and rural areas. Two months ago, majority of the cases were coming from 19 cities that were declared as red zones, but the situation has changed ever since the lockdown was eased with Mission Begin Again, starting from June 3. This can be explained in numbers as all 34 districts had contributed only 6,165 cases on June 3 (8.23% of the total cases), which has increased to 163,377 cases (27.03% of the total cases) on August 17. The 19 cities were Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Mira-Bhayander, Vasai-Virar, Pune, Solapur, Aurangabad, Nashik, Malegaon, Dhule, Jalgaon, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur. Dr Subhash Salunkhe, public health expert, who is also heading the communicable diseases prevention control and technical committee of the state, said cases are rapidly rising in rural areas, which started after lockdown restrictions were relaxed. Distribution of cases started soon after the state opted for unlocking of restrictions. Before that, cases used to come only from urban areas, but now it has spread to rural areas. The cases are also increasing in an accelerated fashion at present, Dr Salunkhe said. He sees two major reasons for surge in cases, one unlocking and second, in general the careless attitude of people. Easing out the lockdown restrictions has given the virus opportunity to spread. It is also an impact of careless or non-serious attitude of the people, which is making the situation difficult in the state, he added. The surge in small cities and rural areas is also a cause for concern, given the limited capacity of the existing health infrastructure. The state government is augmenting health infrastructure in each and every district along with the cities to cope up with the situation, officials said. Shortage of health staff that includes doctors, nurses, para medical staff etc. is another problem the state is facing with, the officials informed. On Monday, Mumbai recorded 753 cases, taking its tally to 129,479. Of them, active cases are 17,704 This is for the third time daily caseload in the city dipped to 700-mark in the last one month. On July 28 and August 4, it has recorded 700 and 709 cases respectively. On June 27, Mumbai has reported highest single-day spike with 2,077 cases. City toll stood at 7,173 after 40 deaths were reported on Monday. Pune city continued to contribute maximum infections in the daily caseload as it recorded 919 cases on Monday. Its tally stood at 80,407 cases. Pimpri Chinchwad, satellite city in Pune Metropolitan Region, recorded 615 cases, third-highest contributor in the state. Its tally went up to 35,194 One more problem the state is struggling with is high number of deaths. Maharashtra still has highest number of deaths across states in the country. As many as 5,271 deaths have been reported in 17 days of this month as against 6,988 deaths in July, 5,638 in June, 2,286 deaths in May, 449 in April and 10 deaths in March. With 20,265 deaths, the case fatality rate (CFR) of the state was recorded at 3.35% on Monday. It continued to be second highest in the country after Gujarat, where the CFR was 3.54% with 2,785 deaths (78,680 cases) till Sunday, according to the statistics shared by the state medical education department. Dr Sanjay Pattiwar, public health expert, said the government doesnt have resources in terms of specialised staff and health infrastructure to deal with the situation especially in rural areas. Tertiary care treatment can only prevent Covid-19 casualties. We need specialised staff to treat critical patients. Both the state and the Central government could not provide that quality of trained health staff and infrastructure in rural and semi-urban areas, said Dr Pattiwar. He also said that the state needed to train its doctors and health staff in these areas. Further, there should be a system for regular interaction between doctors from semi-urban and rural areas with the members of task force formed to reduce Covid-19 casualties, which is not happening at present. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON New Delhi: China has funded 12.7 lakh Nepalese rupees to a Nepalese NGO to conduct a study on Nepalis being recruited in the Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army, according to sources. China has extended this monetary aid to the Kathmandu-based non-government organisation (NGO) to carry out a study on the motivation behind the Gorkha community to join the Indian Army. In the first week of June, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi funded a Nepalese NGO to conduct a study on Nepalis being recruited in the Gorkha regiment of the Indian Army, sources told Zee Media. Notably, there are seven Gorkha regiments of the Indian Army comprising 28,000 Nepalese citizens. The regiments have a total of 39 battalions. In total, there are 11 Gorkha regiments out of which four went to the British Army after Independence. India has 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th and the British Army has 2nd, 6th, 7th, and 10th Gorkha Regiments. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews at the daily briefing in Melbourne, Australia on Aug. 12, 2020. (Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Victoria Has Recorded 25 Deaths and 282 New Cases on Aug. 17 Victoria has reported a record 25 further COVID-19 deaths, taking the states toll to 334 and the national figure to 421. There were 282 new cases as the Victorian outbreak continues to show signs of easing. The grim new milestone came as all residents at an inner-suburban Melbourne special accommodation facility were being moved to hospitals because of a virus outbreak. The Hambleton House facility in Albert Park has had security staff stationed outside because of concerns residents were walking nearby streets without face masks. Health minister Jenny Mikakos says residents still at the facility will be moved to hospitals by Aug 17. Hambleton House is a 34-bed facility for residents with mental health problems or behavioural issues. Meanwhile, Victorian officials are working to better understand COVID-19 infection rates among the states health workforce as more public sector nurses are deployed in aged care homes to cope with rising cases. Premier Daniel Andrews says details should be released early this week to answer some fundamental questions in relation to health staff. We know how health workers are positive but where did they get it from? Andrews said. Did they get it from work, did they get it in the community? He said the analysis should also provide some breakdown on which workers were most at risk and why. Andrews said while he could not guarantee there would be no more outbreaks across other sites, the situation had improved. Roger Vaughan in Melbourne If we were previewed a snapshot of masked-up Irish society now back in January, we would have been intrigued, perturbed and probably frightened. How quickly perceptions can change. Masks are now seen as protective rather than threatening; badges of civic responsibility rather than the dystopian disguise of the villain. Covid-19 has given masks a new respectability - now royalty, rock stars, celebrities and politicians are endorsing the wearing of masks as an act of communal solidarity. In the West, generally, we have been squeamish about medical masks, unlike in Asia where masks have enjoyed popularity as both streetwear and personal protection since the Sars outbreak two decades ago. The acceptance of masks in Asia can be traced back to 1910 when Chinese authorities adopted masks to prevent the spread of pneumonic plague. Eight years later, they were again adopted widely during the Spanish flu outbreak. So when Sars broke out in 2002, the resurgence of medical masks had both deep cultural and historic precedents that were rooted in health awareness and civic duty. In Asian society, it is simply considered polite to wear a mask and keep your germs to yourself. Masks became so ubiquitous that they were adopted as an accessory that could be customised and commercialised - in South Korea they have been worn widely by K-Pop boy bands such as BTS, who have branded versions as part of their merchandise offering. Bestselling fashion author Dana Thomas predicted recently: "Masks are going to become fashion items. We'll wear them like glasses, or T-shirts, or even handbags, and we'll choose them to make statements." Certainly, wearing a mask can have a radically liberating effect, as the alter ego indulges in behaviour that the unmasked would never indulge. In ancient history, both the Greek Bacchanalia and the Dionysus Cult allowed mask wearers to behave outside the norms of society without retribution. Fashion designers have understood this transformative power of masks and have deployed them regularly to add a mystery to their creations: Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Thierry Mugler and Karl Lagerfeld have all used masks as striking and subversive accessories. McQueen had a particular love of masks, relishing their potential to disturb and provoke; notable examples of his use of masks include the infamous crucifix mask from the Dante collection of 1996 and a red lace mask that enclosed the model's entire face and head, from his Joan collection of 1998. Video of the Day UK designer Richard Quinn recently featured a latex mask with his beautiful floral dresses, while French designer Marine Serre has featured anti-pollution masks since 2019. Thomas has explained: "A mask creates a barrier between you and the world. It protects you, but it also means that you can't get close to someone." That masks have this dual quality, both shielding us yet blocking intimacy, seems a fitting contradiction for our fractured world. Serre's use of masks was originally inspired by concerns around air pollution and environmental degradation - smog couture - but has now pivoted to include anxieties about Covid-19. The pollution that millions of disposable masks may create in our oceans and landfills is another environmental concern - the long after-life of medical masks that will take years to degrade is an unfortunate legacy of the pandemic. Society's relationship with masks, however, predates pandemics and fashion trends - it has been a central element of diverse cultures for millennia. The earliest use of masks was for rituals and ceremonies, with the oldest found dating from 7,000BC. Ancient civilisations understood that the act of putting on a mask can be protective, defiant or threatening, but always transformative. Disguise or disfigure From masks worn to conceal identity to those adopted to assume another identity, masks can symbolise different elements of the human psyche. They have been worn in many diverse contexts: wars, rituals, ceremonies, fashion, the arts, theatre, sports, in death and as now, for protective medical purposes. They can confer mystery, allure or power. They can disguise or disfigure but have been an integral and enduring element of man's exploration of ideas around identity and the self. In African and Native American culture, masks are intrinsic to ancient rituals - they are used to communicate with ancestral spirits, animal spirits, or in healing and coming-of-age rites. In both the East and West, theatre masks are a staple of dramatic events: the ancient Roman Twin Masks of tragedy and comedy; Shakespeare's use of disguises and masks in his plays, and traditional Japanese Noh plays performed entirely in stylised masks. The mask also has associations with popular celebrations and festivals such as the Venice Carnival (which dates back to 1268), Halloween masks and the ornate masks worn by Mexican wrestlers to symbolise their professional personas. In Ancient Rome, the word 'persona' literally meant a mask. Alternatively, masks can be punitive - examples of this include The Man in the Iron Mask, the scold's bridle (an iron muzzle which was an instrument of punishment and public humiliation used on nagging women) and the gimp mask associated with BDSM. Due to their visual impact and narrative possibilities, masks have starred frequently in films: concealed super-heroes including Batman, Spider-Man and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; or heroes such as Zorro, Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator and the Lone Ranger; and villains including Hannibal Lecter and Darth Vader, have all hidden their faces for dramatic effect. The mask can be either a tool to transform man to superman, or a literal shield to conceal evil intent. It can also conceal deformity and disease, for example The Elephant Man, The Phantom of the Opera and the central character in the 1985 movie, The Mask, who had lionitis. And then there is the rich vein of masks in horror films like Friday the 13th, Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The horror of a mask can be about what it symbolises as well as what it conceals; Hannibal Lecter appeared singularly terrifying because of that restraining mask with the barred mouth, which suggested his cannibalism. Masks can also be seductive. Audrey Hepburn's mask in How to Steal a Million must be one of the most stylish masks ever - it was designed by Hubert Givenchy. The elaborate Venetian masks worn in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut added to both the sinister and erotic atmosphere. While Catwoman's feline face covering was stunning, despite Michelle Pfeiffer's admission that the latex mask both crushed her face and choked her. Masks have also been adopted by protest and anti-government movements: see the Ku Klux Klan and the Guy Fawkes masks worn by the Anonymous movement. They allow common citizens to protest without fear of reprisal or arrest. In Hong Kong, the Pro-Democracy movement adopted face coverings as a political symbol, both to conceal faces against CCTV surveillance and to protect from tear gas. When the authorities attempted to ban these black masks they unwittingly boosted their popularity, elevated them to a symbol of popular resistance and made them cool. Personal billboards For now, the mask is the new slogan T-shirt - individuals are using them to communicate a message. See Hilary Clinton's 'Vote' mask; the array of masks available on Etsy, from 'Trump 2020' to those featuring Joe Biden's face; to the fashion editions being sold on Amazon. Masks are being increasingly used as personal billboards - you may not be able to speak succinctly while wearing one, but you can still make yourself heard with slogans, symbols and images. Even the act of wearing a mask makes a statement - see Dr Fauci's adoption of a medical mask during press conferences while Trump refused to wear one, or Billie Eilish's Gucci mask worn to the Grammys in January, which expressed her conviction that her face and body belong to herself, not the mass media. Wearing a mask now denotes civic responsibility, compassion and doing the right thing. During the initial stages of the virus, luxury goods brands LVMH, Burberry and Prada pivoted production to masks in a philanthropic gesture of support towards medical staff. This autumn/winter, designer collections will feature more fashionable face masks very prominently. By infusing a medical necessity with aspiration, and thereby creating a new niche accessory category, the fashion industry will try to regain luxury sales lost during lockdown. Expect to see branded masks from big-name luxury players on your social media feeds very soon (Fendi are currently offering a silk version that retails at 190). Making masks fashionable needn't necessarily be a bad development if it helps to normalise them and make people less nervous about wearing them. It might also promote a feeling of societal solidarity and a real sense of people protecting each other. That masks can run the gamut from utilitarian to glamorous may reflect our fractured world but they will be increasingly visible as commercial and social life resume. Not being able to see another human's face is an uneasy interaction because we value facial expression and communication so highly. Normally to conceal the face, even partially, is unsettling, but now we need to negotiate those reservations and embrace masks as an essential accessory. When future generations look back at photos of 2020 the year of the Covid-19 pandemic, what will strike them will be the masks worn by all. Just as we once wondered about the mask-wearing people in sepia photos of 1918, so our grandchildren will try to imagine what the era of Covid-19 was truly like. We might reply: scary, claustrophobic and sweaty, but for now masking up is non-negotiable. Please wear a mask. Cynthia Lanzino wanted to move to New York City ever since she was a child growing up in Pennsylvania. So this spring, Ms. Lanzino, 63, decided not to wait any longer. Even if there was a pandemic. My grandmother used to bring us me and my sister and my mom to see the Rockettes. Ive wanted to live here ever since, said Ms. Lanzino, a retired nurse who spent her career in Philadelphia before returning to her hometown, Harrisburg, Pa., a few years ago to be closer to her 85-year-old mother. Everyone who ever knew me knew I wanted to move to New York at some time. I thought, I just have to try it, she said. I like the busyness of New York. I lived in Philadelphia for 30 years, but New York is like Philly to the 10th power. These days, of course, the streets around the Hells Kitchen studio apartment that Ms. Lanzino moved into in June are not packed with the usual glut of Times Square tourists, Broadway crowds and Midtown office workers. But Ms. Lanzino said she doesnt mind the relative quiet. There havent been many people out, and the people who are out do wear masks, she said. PHOENIX, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sibi, a PropTech company that aims to disrupt building material supply chains, announced the appointment of Olu Ayandosu as Chief Technology Officer. In this role, Ayandosu will oversee the company's technology and engineering teams. Olu Ayandosu, Sibi CTO Ayandosu brings a wealth of engineering experience and technical expertise to the Sibi team. His 13 years of engineering and leadership background most recently includes serving as Senior Staff Engineer at CircleCI. Before CircleCI, he was Staff Engineer at Citrix and a Principal/Founder of a mobile and web consulting company, Cinch, LLC. He has also worked on products for RedBull, Zappos & Pearson. "Olu's one-of-a-kind leadership skills are game-changing as we enter our sophomore year as a disruptive PropTech company. Olu's unique vision for our product and how technologies are built will further influence how supply chains are utilized by our customers, some of the world's largest manufacturers," said Barrie Lindahl, CEO and founder of Sibi. "Olu is widely respected inside the tech community. His ability to scale teams around him shouts to his character as a leader." Olu explained his interest in joining Sibi, saying, "I'm excited about the growth potential I see at Sibi, both on a business and a personal level. Like every company experiencing growth, I think it will include challenges, but I am looking forward to being a part of the team and growing together." Sibi was founded in 2016, is based in the greater Phoenix area, with smaller offices located in Austin, Texas, Chicago, Illinois and Ontario, Canada. A digital pioneer in the building industry, Sibi gives power, control and the buying process back to consumers through its platform. The company's technology eliminates gatekeepers and enables direct-to-manufacturer relationships, supporting its mission to accelerate the world's transition to smart buying and smarter supply chain. To learn more, visit www.sibipro.com. Media Contact: Amy Hansen Phone: 858-848-7424 Email: [email protected] Related Images olu-ayandosu.jpeg Olu Ayandosu Olu Ayandosu, Sibi CTO Related Links Sibi SOURCE Sibi Related Links http://www.sibipro.com When Hitman 3 comes out next year, you'll have a variety of ways to play through Agent 47's latest adventure. They'll be a new campaign that will wrap up the franchise's current story arc, which started with 2016's Hitman. Hitman 3 will also include new Elusive Targets for players to take out. Elusive Targets, if you're not familiar, is one of Hitman 2s most unique gameplay modes. Every couple of weeks, series developer I/O Interactive adds a new, limited-time target to an existing level. You only have one chance to eliminate them; if you fail the challenge for any reason, there's no way to replay it. When IO Interactive first introduced elusive targets to the Hitman franchise, longtime fans loved the challenge that came with each new contract. At one point, they even got the chance to assassinate Sean Bean. However, as time has gone on, some of the modes luster has worn off. A frequent criticism of the concept has been its time-gated nature. The good news is that the studio seems to have heard feedback from fans. "In Hitman 3, we're making some changes to the Elusive Target formula that we'll reveal at a later date," promises IO Interactive. Besides Elusive Targets, Hitman 3 will feature three other gameplay modes, most of which will be familiar to players. The first, Escalations, will introduce new complications as you progress through a contract. At one stage, Agent 47 may not be able to wear a disguise, or there may be more security cameras in the level than usual. Contracts Mode, meanwhile, will allow you to pick a target, eliminate them and then challenge your friends to do the same. Lastly, Sniper Assassin will task you with taking out a target from afar. In Hitman 2, you could play this with a friend, but that wont be the case with Hitman 3. Separately, IO Interactive is shutting down Ghost Mode. You have until August 31st to play Hitman 2's competitive multiplayer, at which point the studio will shut down the servers that host the mode. Hitman 3 will arrive on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC sometime in January 2021. A routine anti-ISIS patrol by U.S. troops and Syrian Democratic Forces in northeastern Syria came under attack Monday by small-arms fire amid rising tensions in the region, according to U.S. military officials. U.S. troops and the mostly-Kurdish SDF returned fire in self-defense, and the patrol suffered no casualties, Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) officials said in a statement. Read next: Army Street Gang Activity Is Increasing, Internal Report Shows At about 9:20 a.m. local time Monday, the patrol was on a mission to check on possible Islamic State activity when it encountered a checkpoint manned by pro-Syrian regime forces near the village of Tal al-Zahab in northeastern Syria, CJTF-OIR said. After receiving approval to pass, the patrol continued but began receiving small-arms fire "from individuals in the vicinity of the checkpoint," CJTF-OIR said. The coalition troops returned fire and returned safely to base, it added. CJTF-OIR officials denied Syrian reports that the U.S. conducted an airstrike in support of the patrol. The exchange of fire was the latest incident in a contested region of overlapping forces with different agendas, including Russian troops, Syrian regime forces, Turkish troops, various militias with shifting alliances, and the U.S. coalition. A video that went viral in February showed a U.S. Mine Resistant Ambush Protected all terrain vehicle swerving to run a Russian patrol vehicle off the road when it aggressively tried to pass an American convoy on the right shoulder. In a statement at the time, Army Lt. Col. B. Caggins III, a CJTF-OIR spokesman, said, "On Feb. 19, 2020, a Russian patrol violated the deconfliction protocols and did not adhere to the deconfliction measures, and was escorted out of the area of U.S. operations." Last week, Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command, said that the estimated 500 U.S. troops in Syria remain focused on eliminating the diminished threat from the remnants of ISIS, adding that further troop withdrawals are under consideration. "I don't think we're going to be in Syria forever," McKenzie told an Aug. 12 security conference organized virtually by the United States Institute of Peace. "At some point, we do want to get smaller there. I just don't know when that's going to be. As long as we remain, we're going to work very hard to finish off ISIS." He said the threat of ISIS reforming is more concerning in parts of Syria controlled by the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and allied Russian troops. West of the Euphrates River, "conditions are as bad or worse" than they were leading up to the rise of ISIS, McKenzie said. "We should all be concerned about that." -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Related: COVID-19 Has Hit Syria's Biggest ISIS Prison Camp, US General Says BOSTON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Buoy Health (Buoy), an AI-powered healthcare navigation platform, today announced a new collaboration with Consortium Health Plans as a preferred partner. Consortium's Clinical Innovation and Partnerships team recommends Buoy as the AI-Enhanced Digital Front Door for its Member Plans to evaluate in serving their 25 million national account members. "At Buoy, we're laser-focused on helping organizations accelerate digital transformation by providing an easy-to-use tool that de-escalates unnecessary care and supports individuals to make smarter, more personalized decisions about their health," said Andrew Le, MD, CEO and co-founder of Buoy Health. "This partnership will allow Consortium Member Plans the opportunity to improve overall benefits navigation and increase utilization of resources they're currently offering if they choose to implement Buoy." User experience within the healthcare journey is largely unmeasured, but Buoy can expose blind spots before and after this "front door," or entry point, of the healthcare system. The true front door is not the emergency room, or even an interaction with a primary care provider. It's the moment an individual first begins having concerns about their own health or that of a loved one. On average, people begin searching their symptoms online within 12 hours of symptom onset (72 percent of people actually search online first). Further, people wait an average of 72 hours after symptom onset to seek care from a clinician. Buoy's unique data set provides insight into consumer behavior within the aforementioned gap, helping consumers to get the right care at the right time. "As consumers use online tools more and more, having a preferred partner that utilizes the most sophisticated technologies to deliver accurate and actionable information becomes very important," said Aamir Rehman, MD, SVP, Clinical Innovation & Partnerships, Consortium Health Plans. For a listing of Consortium Member Plans, click here. About Consortium Health Plans, Inc. Consortium Health Plans was founded in 1994 by member Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) Plans as a centralized sales and marketing entity that focuses exclusively on BCBS Plans' national account growth efforts. Today, Consortium Health Plans strives to position Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans as the preferred carrier of national accounts. Of the 28 million national account members covered by BCBS Plans, nearly 25 million (92%) hail from Consortium's 20 Member Plans. About Buoy Health Buoy is a Boston-based digital health company that uses AI technology to provide personalized clinical support the moment an individual has a health concern. Developed out of the Harvard Innovation Labs by a team of doctors and data scientists, Buoy navigates people through the healthcare system intelligently, delivering triage at scale, and connecting them with the right care endpoints at the right time. For more information, please visit www.buoy.com. SOURCE Buoy Health, Inc. Related Links https://www.buoyhealth.com Former environment minister and Congress leader Jairam Ramesh says prime minister Narendra Modi-led government considers environment as a speed-breaker in its plans to make India a $5 trillion economy. The clear philosophy behind the much debated draft Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) notification seems to be Ease of Doing Business (EoB); it has nothing to do with environment protection, says Ramesh. "Ease of doing business is the one line mantra. Over the last five years the government has progressively diluted environmental laws," Ramesh says in an exclusive interview with Business Today. He cites instances of dilution of pollution norms for thermal power stations, dilution of rules that govern development of coastal areas, and opening up of rich forest areas to coal mining in recent auctions as examples. "A large number of coal mines allowed in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha, are in rich forest areas," he adds. The Congress leader, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, also complains about the systematic weakening of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) which had been set up through an Act of Parliament in 2010. "The draft notification is not an accidental notification. It is part of a process that has been going on for quite some time. And the philosophy is very simple. Environment is a speed breaker," he says. PM Modi, says Ramesh, believes if India wants to become a $5 trillion economy, one should loosen all environmental, land and labour laws. "This draft notification has been in the works for almost one year now. Various drafts have been floating around. And the main objective has been Ease of Doing Business. Environmental regulations are a roadblock for faster industrialisation or urbanisation, therefore do way with environmental laws. This is the mindset that has governed Modi government since 2014," Ramesh says. The former minister, however, adds that he has no problem with simplifying environmental laws and making laws and its enforcement more transparent. "I welcome that. But, what we are seeing is systematic effort to dilute the laws and regulations, which is disastrous," he says. Also Read: The companies Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries plans to buy in days ahead Also Read: India's GDP to contract by 16.5% in Q1 FY21: SBI report Also Read: Another blow to China! 24 companies plan to shift production units to India Hyderabad, Aug 17 : A patient at a hospital in Hyderabad received a lung from a brain dead donor in Pune, as different authorities came together to ensure the organ's transportation within one hour. A Green corridor was arranged by different departments in both cities for faster transport of the organ on Sunday. A patient suffering from terminal lung disease and undergoing treatment at KIMS Heart and Lung Transplant Institute here, was the recipient of the organ. He had registered his name under the Jeevandan scheme of the Telangana government. The family of a young person, who was declared brain dead at a private hospital on Sunday, came forward to donate the organ while Zonal Transplant Coordination Center (ZTCC) Pune ensured that the organ reached Hyderabad in time for the transplant. Dr Swarnalatha, who is In-charge of Jeevandan, Telangana guided and supported the cause, while Arthi Gokhle, Central Coordinator ZTCC Pune ensured that it happened without any obstacles. The lung was brought by a chartered flight from Pune to Hyderabad. Traffic police of both the cities arranged the green corridor and the Airports Authority of India also came forward to help this noble cause. Finally, KIMS Heart and Lung Transplant Institute, Hyderabad received the lung by the evening without any delay from the city which is 560 km away, within one hour and transplanted the same to the needy patient. At a time when even smaller health issues are a big deal in Covid-19 pandemic times, the authorities showed that even tough things like lung transplantation can happen if there is a strong will. Before the transportation and transplant, the authorities took all precautions. Doctors at KIMS said the transplant was done after the donor tested negative for Coronavirus. It comes as several men dressed in black clothing with face coverings, caps and sunglasses entered a house in Phibsborough to evict nine tenants. They instructed the tenants on Berkeley Road in north Dublin to leave before boarding up the front door and windows. In a letter to the chair of the RTB, Housing Minister Darragh OBrien said he is deeply concerned about the treatment of the tenants concerned and wants to ensure that they are treated fairly, respectfully and within the confines of protections provided in the Residential Tenancies Acts. Many people watched the distressing video from Berkeley Rd last week. I have written to the RTB asking them to begin an investigation into the incident & report to me without delay. I am deeply concerned about the treatment of the tenants & want this case prioritised by the RTB. https://t.co/ShSylzOQlp Advertisement Darragh O'Brien (@DarraghOBrienTD) August 17, 2020 According to the Irish Times, the Minister directed the RTB to fully investigate this incident and to make a report to me, with relevant recommendations, as soon as possible. He has asked that the RTB consider starting an investigation under its powers and also that it would prioritise any dispute that may be brought to you by the affected tenants in relation to this termination. On receipt of your report I will swiftly consider it and move to implement any relevant recommendations that will further protect tenants. Damage The group of tenants were later allowed back into the property following their eviction after it was deemed to be invalid. Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH), who stepped in to provide emergency accommodation for the tenants, said the house had been badly damaged. ICHH chief executive Anthony Flynn described the scene: The toilets were smashed, the electricity was switched off and there were doors that were pulled off. Gardai have launched a criminal investigation into alleged criminal damage at the property. Video footage showed a number of gardai attended the eviction and watched as one of the tenants was physically removed from the property. In a statement released on Saturday, An Garda Siochana said it was very aware of current public discourse around the incident and that as an organisation gardai must listen and learn from our experiences. More snow on the way in Pennsylvania; here's how much to expect (Reuters) - Shares in Chinese online retail giant Alibaba ground out gains on Monday as profits for smaller peer JD.com buoyed expectations for its own results later this week, countering hint of more U.S. moves against it and other Chinese companies. At a news conference on Saturday, when asked if he was considering a ban on other Chinese-owned companies including Alibaba to follow that on social video app TikTok, U.S. President Donald Trump said: "Well, we're looking at other things, yes." The White House has been piling pressure on Chinese-owned entities in the run in to elections this year and financial markets are watching closely for signs of whether it will lead to further tit-for-tat moves that could hamper a global recovery. A number of analysts stressed that Alibaba's so far minimal presence in U.S. markets - it gets only 7% of revenue from sales outside China - may insulate it more than TikTok owner Bytedance from any U.S. attack. After a weak start, shares in Alibaba rose 0.8% in a rising New York market. "Obviously it will have some effect, we could see a decrease in Alibaba's stock price," said Luke Lloyd, wealth adviser and investment strategist at Strategic Wealth Partners. "But a lot of investors right now don't think there is going to be a lot of bite (from Trump). The company is growing, it is cheaper than its competitors like Amazon and we view (it) as the Amazon of China so there is immense growth potential." Alibaba is set to report results on Thursday with analysts expecting the company to benefit from increasing online sales in China in June, although there are nerves about its forecast following unexpectedly poor Chinese retail sales numbers last week. JD.com beat analysts' estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday, as more customers used its online platform to shop for groceries and other essentials in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending its shares up 5%. (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel) File image: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached a historic peace deal on August 13 that will lead to a full normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two nations, brokered by the United States. Palestinians have criticised the move. Under the agreement, Israel has agreed to suspend annexing parts of the West Bank it had been discussing. The agreement, known as the Abraham Accord, makes the UAE the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state to establish ties with Israel. Thus, like Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994, the UAE has chosen to break ranks with the Arab bloc. The unified Arab position till now has been the recognition and establishment of full diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for its adoption of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which calls for "...a full Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied since 1967. While Israel has always been seeking normalisation with Arab and Muslim states what compelled the UAE to do so? The answer lies in this paragraph of the joint statement. "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 .......and closer security coordination." The UAE has for the past decade been following an increasingly determined and individualised foreign policy and this deal does not come as a big surprise. Arab states, especially Gulf monarchies, have been increasingly engaging with Israel for a while now because of these threats. Last year, Bahrain hosted an economic peace plan for the Palestinians floated by Jared Kushner, adviser and son-in-law of US President Donald Trump. Israeli delegates and journalists participated in the forum. In 2018, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even paid an official visit to Oman. There have been numerous such official and unofficial interactions between both sides, including security cooperation. Analysts in the UAE say that the greatest priority for the Emirates is to preserve the 'nation-state and the current political structure of the UAE. The greatest threat remains political Islam both the Shia variety espoused by Teheran with its arc of influence extending to Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen, as well as the Sunni variety espoused by the Muslim Brotherhood, groups patronised by Turkey and Qatar. The Islamic State, whose ideology is rooted in political Islam, also remains a potent threat. It was to counter these threats, and already spooked by the Arab Spring, that the UAE and Saudi Arabia entered the war in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi militias. It was again to counter a similar threat that in 2017 the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt snapped ties with fellow GCC member Qatar. Following this, the UAE, along with Egypt and Russia, has been backing the forces of Libyan General Khalifa Haftar in Eastern Libya against the Turkish-backed Libyan government in Tripoli. To hedge against all this, the UAE has been actively pursuing a policy of diversifying its strategic partnerships. For Israel too, the greatest threat in the region is Iran and its proxies the Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups in Gaza. It is also uneasy with the recent Iran-China deal. Thus, both countries find common cause in expanding ties. Hard power, Netanyahu underscored in his address at the 2018 Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, had been a major factor for Israel's success both as a State and in diplomacy. It is this 'hard power' that makes ties with Israel attractive for the small but rich Gulf monarchies. Following Netanyahu's Oman visit, Saudi columnist Abdulrahman al-Rashed wrote, Israel has played an important role in hitting Irans growing influence in Syria. It took up roles that rejecting Arab countries couldnt achieve. With this, military balance in the region was achieved and Israel became integral to regional security...." As the US footprint retreats from the region and new players like China enter the fray, Israel and the Gulf monarchies have the perfect opportunity to carve out a regional security architecture. The joint statement released on August 13 says "The US Israel and the UAE are confident that additional diplomatic breakthroughs with other nations are possible". What it means is that we may soon see other Gulf states, such as Bahrain and Oman, maybe even Saudi Arabia, establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. Statehood for the Palestinians, however, is difficult to envisage in the near future. Aditi Bhaduri is a journalist and political analyst. Views are personal. (Newser) A mining company is pushing hard to build a lithium mine in the Nevada desert, but a rare wildflower might make that impossible. The issue has one unusual twist from the usual environmentalists-vs-miners debate, notes New Scientist. In this case, the output from the mine would largely be used for green technologylithium for electric-car batteries and boron for wind turbines. Most lithium comes from mines in Australia and South America, and the Australian company Ioneer wants to build the first such quarry in the US. The problem is that the location is the Rhyolite Ridge in western Nevada, which just happens to be the only place in the world where a plant called Tiehm's buckwheat is known to grow, per the Nevada Independent. "That puts the buckwheat on a one-way path to extinction," Patrick Donnelly of Nevada's Center for Biological Diversity tells New Scientist. story continues below The first planned quarry alone would wipe out 65% of the plants in existence. Ioneer maintains that the plant could be relocated, and the company is funding research to that effect. But the AP reports that the botanist in charge of the project is pushing back against pressure by Ioneer to present premature findings of success with seedlings. "I feel like maybe one very important thing isn't clear, and that's that these plants could die at any stage of this experiment," wrote Beth Leger of the University of Nevada-Reno in an email obtained by conservationists. Generally speaking, botanists still don't know much about the plant, which was discovered in 1983. Meanwhile, the Fish and Wildlife Service, acting on a CBD petition, has begun a one-year review of the issue. If it deems the plant to be endangered, the mine project might be dead. (Read more lithium stories.) Copper prices surged to Rs 514.1 per kg on August 17 as participants increased their long positions. Prices resumed their uptrend on signs of easing US-China trade tensions. The commodity slipped last week into the red as US-China tensions deepened and Chilean miner Codelco announced that it would resume operations stalled by the coronavirus pandemic. Chinas copper imports rose for the second straight month in July, buoyed by favourable international prices that kept an arbitrage window open and on strong demand from China. In the futures market, copper for August delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 514.75 and a low of Rs 510.15 per kg on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX). So far in the current series, the precious metal has touched a low of Rs 441 and a high of Rs 516.40. Copper futures for August delivery gained Rs 4.35, or 0.85 percent, to Rs 514.10 per kg at 17:45 hours on a business turnover of 4,347 lots. The same for September delivery jumped Rs 3.85, or 0.77 percent, to Rs 506.50 per kg on a turnover of 371 lots. The value of August and Septembers contracts traded so far is Rs 1,185.03 crore and Rs 23.89 crore, respectively. Tapan Patel- Senior Analyst (Commodities), HDFC Securities, expects base metals to trade higher on positive global cues. "MCX August Copper futures have important support at Rs 510 and resistance at Rs 516." At 12:18 (GMT), the red metal price was up 1.09 percent at $6,437.25 per tonne in London. Crude palm oil futures soared to Rs 753.30 per 10 kg on August 17 as participants increased their long positions. Malaysian palm oil futures for October was trading up 1.04 percent to 2,714 ringgit on Bursa Malaysia. Malaysian palm oil exports for August 1-15 declined 16.5 percent to 694,402 tonne from 831,155 tonne shipped during July 1-15, Reuters reported. In the futures market, crude palm oil (CPO) for August delivery touched an intraday high of Rs 758.50 and a low of Rs 749.10 per 10 kg on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX). So far in the current series, CPO has touched a low of Rs 553 and a high of Rs 758.80. CPO futures for August delivery gained Rs 7.9, or 1.06 percent, to Rs 753.30 per 10 kg at 15:44 hours IST on a business turnover of 3,721 lots. The same for September delivery edged higher by Rs 6.10, or 0.83 percent, to Rs 739.80 per 10 kg on a business volume of 3,443 lots. The value of August and Septembers contracts traded so far is Rs 73.06 crore and Rs 68.95 crore, respectively. For all commodities related news, click here Caribou graze in the Alaskan refuge where the Trump administration is rushing to expand leases for oil and gas drilling. (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge) Finishing a task that a Republican-controlled Congress gave it three years ago, the Trump administration has finalized plans for new oil and gas leases in one of the most pristine stretches of the world: the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Its a manifestly bad idea that Congress was wrong to slip into the 2017 budget bill, and in its rush to craft the new rules the administration has likely opened a door for legal challenges. But Congress should not defer to the courts on this it must fix the problem it created. Congress approved offering the leases ending more than 35 years of protections not in response to the will of the people but in defiance of public sentiment. Only 35% of Americans supported drilling in ANWR. About the only people supporting the notion are some oil- and gas-industry firms and their political supporters mainly Alaska Republicans. And Trump, whose retrograde enthusiasm for burning ever more fossil fuels endangers the health of the planet and its suitability for human habitation. As The Times' editorial board wrote last year, proponents note that the 1980 Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act designated a section known as the 1002 area as a site for future drilling should Congress approve it. But thats a far cry from saying it must be open for drilling, and the balance of interests tilts decidedly toward leaving the region alone. Yet the Bureau of Land Management ruled that draft plans calling for constructing well pads, up to four airstrips, 175 miles of roads and a pipeline wouldnt pose an undue threat to the more than 270 different species that live in the region, including polar bears and migrating caribou herds. If theres any good news here, its that current market forces weigh against the industry trying to sink new wells in such an expensive and inhospitable place, and that consumer pressure against such moves will be considerable. Even major banks are balking at financing such projects. Story continues 5 of the 6 major U.S. banks have ruled out funding for drilling in the Arctic Refuge. @BankOfAmerica, were looking to you to step up and stop funding Arctic drilling NOW. #ProtectTheArctic https://t.co/P6d0qcEpbI NRDC (@NRDC) May 27, 2020 Plus, the environmentalists legal challenges may prove insurmountable. David J. Hayes, a former Interior Department deputy secretary in the Clinton and Obama administrations, told the Washington Post the Trump administration's environmental review centered on establishing the drill pads and did not consider the broader impacts from expanded drilling and pipeline operations, as the law requires. You cant just take the first step of the program, Hayes said. I think that statutory language is a real tripwire for these guys. Given all that uncertainty, it wouldn't be surprising to see oil and gas companies decline to bid on leases they may never get to exercise. No one knows whether Trumps toxicity might finally catch up with him in the November election and lead to a change in administrations and perhaps a change in control of the Senate. If it does, Congress can undo several months worth of regulatory actions through the Congressional Review Act just as it did in early 2017 to undo a number of late-term Obama regulatory changes. But as I noted earlier, Congress created this problem, and it can fix it by withdrawing its permission to sell the leases in the first place. The nation, and the world, needs to move away from burning fossil fuels if we are to stand any chance of limiting damage from global warming, which (as we learned just last week) has likely pushed Greenlands massive ice sheet past the tipping point, leading ultimately to its disappearance and eventually adding 23 feet to current sea levels. The government needs to pursue policies exactly opposite of those pushed by Trump. Which means we desperately need a change in government. NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Khaled Salem today announced that he is running for the U.S. Senate, challenging four-term incumbent Chuck Schumer in the 2022 election. Khaled, a longtime resident of Brooklyn, is a passionate advocate of human and religious rights for Americans, both at home and abroad. His other policy positions argue for free university education and less restrictive immigration laws. Khaled for U.S. Senate in New York Khaled2022forCongress.com "New York State is one of the most diverse places in the country, perhaps even in the entire world," remarked Khaled. "For this reason, it needs representation in the Senate that can deliver legislative outcomes reflecting its unique cultural and religious needs. That is what I intend to fight for when I represent New York as a U.S. Senator." Khaled proposes that there should be free education for American students in universities. In addition, he plans to sponsor legislation for emergency laws aimed at any country that holds Americans in violation of their human rights under international law. He believes the federal government should enact a law in which American citizens have the right to have or remove their place of birth printed on their passports to protect them from racism abroad. In addition, Khaled envisions legislation that extends a three-month "visit visa" to first- and second-degree relatives (e.g. grandparents) who currently lack eligibility to visit. This type of law, which is available in Canada, does not exist in the U.S., whose embassies refuse requests for visits. Further to this immigration agenda, Khaled argues for new laws to protect American citizens from discrimination and inequality in American embassies. "Americans would be shocked, and indeed should be quite angry at the way their own government treats fellow citizens in embassies and consulates around the world," Khaled added. Finally, Khaled advocates for a legislative innovation that would permit an American citizen with special needs and Islamic religion to marry a second wife after approval from the first wife, whether inside or outside the United States of America. Khaled will be running in the next regular United States Senate elections, which will be held on November 8, 2022. Thirty-four of the Senate's 100 seats are being contested in these elections. For more information, visit https://www.khaled2022forcongress.com/. Media Contact: Khaled Salem (202) 933-7721 [email protected] SOURCE Khaled for U.S. Senate in New York 2022 Tikhanovskaya ran for the presidency after her husband, Sergei Tikhanovsky, a popular blogger and presidential candidate, was jailed. She united his campaign with those of two other candidates, former banker Viktor Babariko, who was jailed, and businessman Valery Tsepkalo, who was barred from running in the election and fled the country fearing arrest. Tikhanovskaya sent her children abroad before the vote and fled to Lithuania after the election following her effort to lodge a formal challenge against the election result at the Central Election Commission. According to a Tweet released by Defence 360 on August 15, 2020, the Portuguese Army already took delivery of approximately 200 Belgian FN Herstal MINIMI Mk3 5.56x45mm light machine guns. A total of 830 MINIMI Mk3 5.56x45mm weapons were purchased in 2019 through the NATO Support and Procurement Agency. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link Portuguese soldier with Minimi Mk3 5.56mm light machine gun. (Picture source Defence 360) The 3rd generation of the Minimi light machine gun was unveiled the Belgian firearms company in November 2013 during the International Exhibition of Stae Security that was held in Paris, France. it is an upgrade version of the standard Minimi fitted with conversion kits. Belgian firearms company FN Herstal offers a comprehensive and customized upgrade program to adapt the FN MINIMI 7.62 to new operational conditions. Various conversion kits are available and the modifications can be carried out in customers facilities. Some examples of conversion kits available: handguard/bipod conversion kit, buttstock conversion kit, cocking handle conversion kit, and caliber conversion kit. The FN Minimi (short for French: Mini Mitrailleuse; "mini machine gun") is a Belgian 5.56mm Squad Automatic Weapon or SAW developed by Fabrique Nationale (FN) in Herstal based in Belgium. First introduced in the late 1970s, it is now in service in more than 75 countries. The weapon is currently manufactured at the FN factory in Herstal, Belgium, and their U.S. subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC. The FN Minimi is available in 5.56mm and 7.62mm calibers. The Minimi uses a gas-actuated long-stroke piston system. The barrel is locked with a rotary bolt, equipped with two massive locking lugs, forced into battery by a helical camming guide in the bolt carrier. The Minimi is fed from the left-hand side by disintegrating-link M27 ammunition belts (a miniaturized version of the 7.62mm M13 belt), from either an unsupported loose belt, enclosed in a polymer ammunition box with a 200-round capacity attached to the base of the receiver, or from detachable STANAG magazines, used in other NATO 5.56 mm assault rifles such as the M16 and FNC. The modifications introduced on the FN MINIMI Mk3 result from feedback provided by users engaged in current operating theatres. Indeed, the demands of users have evolved over the past 10 to 15 years due to changes in the way the FN MINIMI machine gun is used in combat (increased use of accessories, evolutions in the soldiers equipment, and changes in tactics such as shooting from all positions). Main changes are: an ergonomic buttstock adjustable in length (5 positions) to allow compensation for body armor and load bearing equipment. The buttstock is adjustable for cheek rest height as well. The user can have his eye correctly aligned with the iron sights, or optical sights, while keeping his cheek properly positioned on the buttstock. It also integrates a folding shoulder rest and a hydraulic buffer that stabilizes the rate of fire and reduces felt recoil, a new handguard/bipod assembly that provides a comfortable handguard and three forward MIL-STD 1913 Picatinny accessory rails. The adjustable-height (3 positions) bipod, when folded back, integrates into the shape of the handguard even with an accessory on the lower rail, an ergonomically-shaped cocking handle that gives the user a better grip with the strong or weak hand, an improved feed tray with belt retaining pawls that hold the belt correctly in position during the loading procedure, which is most useful when the user is in the standing position, an optional heatshield that greatly reduces the risk of inadvertently touching the barrel, - the convertibility of the FN MINIMI 7.62 to fire 5.56x45mm ammunition. TORONTO - A decade-long legal battle over mass arrests at the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto has come to a close after police and hundreds of protesters and others reached a $16.5 million settlement. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Police club a crowd of activists during the protest at the G20 Summit in Toronto Saturday, June 26, 2010. A $16.5 million settlement has been reached in a class-action lawsuit over mass arrests at the 2010 G20 summit. The agreement comes after 10 years of court proceedings and negotiations between the Toronto Police Services Board and representatives for about 1,100 people who were arrested during the summit. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darren Calabrese TORONTO - A decade-long legal battle over mass arrests at the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto has come to a close after police and hundreds of protesters and others reached a $16.5 million settlement. Lawyers representing those behind the class-action lawsuit said Monday the agreement comes after 10 years of court proceedings and negotiations with the Toronto Police Services Board. Under the settlement, those arrested will each be entitled to compensation between $5,000 and $24,700, depending on their experiences, the lawyers said in a statement. The deal also includes a public acknowledgment by police regarding the mass arrests and the conditions in which protestors where detained, as well as a commitment to changing how protests are policed in the future. Those who were wrongfully arrested will also have their police records expunged, the lawyers said. The class action represented some 1,100 people who were arrested during the event. Sherry Good, who launched the lawsuit in 2010, said the agreement "does bring about some justice," and she hopes the right to free expression will be better respected from now on. "The terrifying way in which I and 400 others were suddenly and arbitrarily surrounded and held by riot police on a street corner for four hours in a freezing downpour changed forever the way I look at police, continues to give me chills," she said in a statement. Thomas Taylor, who joined the lawsuit as another representative plaintiff, said the incident showed him "how very fragile civil liberties are for so many of us." "For me and hundreds of others, being suddenly surrounded and held captive by frightening numbers of riot police when we had done nothing at all, going through violent and unlawful arrests, and then being thrown into a nightmare detention centre, was a stunning and horrifying experience," he said in a statement. Toronto police said the force is "pleased to reach resolution" but did not otherwise comment on the agreement. 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. Canada's most populous city hosted the G20 summit of world leaders in June 2010. Many public demonstrations were organized to address issues like climate change, globalization, and poverty. Thousands of protestors demonstrated peacefully, but some protests were accompanied by deliberate vandalism. Police reacted by encircling large groups of hundreds of protestors in several locations in downtown Toronto with cordons of riot police, holding them for hours, and then transferring many of them to a temporary detention centre in the largest mass arrest in Canadian history. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said Toronto Police Services objected to the class-action proceedings in court, and the suit wasn't certified as such until a police appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada was dismissed in November 2016. The agreement must still be reviewed and approved by a judge, with a hearing scheduled for Oct. 19. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020. Rose McGowan has called for an 'acknowledgement and apology' from director Alexander Payne after claiming he played her a 'soft-core porn movie' when she was aged 15. The actress, 46, took to Twitter on Monday to make allegations that the Oscar-winning director, 59, was 'very well-endowed' and had 'left her on a street corner' after showing her the pornographic material. Alexander Payne's representatives are yet to respond to a request for comment from MailOnline. McGowan has becoming a leading activist in the #MeToo movement and was at the forefront of the fight to help bring disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein to justice. She tweeted: 'Alexander Payne. You sat me down & played a soft-core porn movie you directed for Showtime under a different name. 'I still remember your apartment in Silverlake. You are very well-endowed. You left me on a street corner afterwards. I was 15. Rose McGowan, left, has called for an 'acknowledgement and apology' from director Alexander Payne, right, after claiming he played her a 'soft-core porn movie' when she was 15 The actress, 46, took to Twitter on Monday to make allegations that the Oscar-winning director, 59, was 'very well-endowed' and had 'left her on a street corner' after showing her the pornographic material She then posted a black and white headshot of herself as a teenager, adding: 'I just want an acknowledgement and an apology. I do not want to destroy. This was me at 15.' Payne would have been around 28 at the time of the alleged incident in the late 1980s. McGowan and Payne are known to have been friends for many years. In 2012, she tweeted 'Yay Alexander Payne!' when he picked up the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Descendants. Payne, a film director, screenwriter, and producer, is also known for his films Sideways (2004), Election (1999) and About Schmidt (2002). MailOnline has contacted Alexander Payne's representatives for comment. McGowan then posted a black and white headshot of herself as a teenager, adding: 'I just want an acknowledgement and an apology. I do not want to destroy. This was me at 15.' McGowan was one of the leading activists of the global #MeToo movement and accused Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s. In May she said that she is 'in a good place now' that Weinstein is serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape and sexual assault. The disgraced movie mogul, 68, was convicted in March in a landmark #MeToo case that ended with six of his accusers sobbing and hugging each other from the front row of the courtroom. Speaking at all-female members club, the AllBright's digital event series for Mental Health Awareness Week, the Charmed star said: 'I'm in a good place now because nine/ten weeks ago he was put in prison. 'Although I hear he's in the hospital because he's too scared to be in general population. He's always faking something.' Weinstein was hospitalized with chest pains hours after receiving a 23-year sentence. Later in March, he reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and was put in isolation for 14-days at Wende Correctional Facility in Western New York. He is now being held in the prison's residential mental health unit, where he remains on suicide watch, a prison official said in April. Weinstein was convicted of raping an aspiring actress in 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006. McGowan went on to share that creativity has been her 'antidote' to her past trauma and claimed that she had a nervous breakdown 'during the whole thing'. The American actress continued: 'I wrote the book Brave and recorded Planet 9 simultaneously; they go together... #MeToo movement: McGowan, 46, who was one of the leading activists of the global movement and accused Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting her in the 1990s, has now shared that she is 'in a good place' following his conviction (pictured together in 2007) 'I had this incredible workload for three-and-a-half years, and I did that because I knew that after I was done fighting the bad guys and bad women (if you're ever done), that I would have no Hollywood career. 'Planet 9 is the happy reward for going through Brave because Brave is tough at times it's a book that gets you brave but you have to go through a lot with me to get there.' McGowan released her music album, Planet 9, in April where she whispers songs to soothe people and her memoir Brave, which documents Weinstein's sexual assault, in 2018. The star added: 'I'll be honest, I think at one point during the whole thing, I think I had now what I know to be a nervous breakdown, and I didn't know, I don't know who could of survived it 'They drive us to die, and they drive us to commit suicide, and that's what they were trying to do and my brain at one point just snapped under the pressure.' Convicted: The disgraced movie mogul, 68, was convicted in March in a landmark #MeToo case that ended with six of his accusers sobbing and hugging each other from the front row of the courtroom (pictured outside court on February 24) McGowan added that she was 'working toward steadily taking [Weinstein] down for years' and became used to 'being hated' after becoming a polarising figure. She said: 'Sometimes I just think I'm a freak. I've always been the same but when I shaved my head, people could hear the words coming out of my mouth. I knew what I was setting up, I was working toward steadily taking [Weinstein] down for years. 'And again, that's why I created Brave and Planet 9 - I had to write my way out of Hollywood which I call a cult because I grew up in one and I would know.' McGowan claimed that Weinstein 'paid' people to trash her and 'disregard me as a drug addict, a crazy woman, a w***e'. She continued: 'The standard playbook that they do for anybody that comes forward about sexual assault, whether they're known or unknown. But then the sad thing is when people join in; when people believe it. 'I was so used to being hated in a way, for so long that I was like - well I might as well give you a reason to hate me. And I might as well help a lot of people while I can. 'Because I do have a special weird superpower. I don't know what it is by name, but I can cut through the noise and I do it effectively.' McGowan concluded her interview by revealing that she feels 'safer' during lockdown, she said: 'I feel safer because people can't get to me for once.' The star joined The AllBright Group and Let's Reset as part of their digital event series for Mental Health Awareness Week. McGowan has previously claimed that she forwent having children so she could 'keep on fighting' against Weinstein and insisted she won't be free of the disgraced mogul until one of them is dead. In an interview with The Guardian, she told that her battle against the producer has been 'very calculated', but insisted it will not be over until 'he's dead or I am'. 'If I had had a child, I couldn't have taken Harvey Weinstein down, said Rose, 'So I had to forego that so I could keep on fighting. I had to basically have no dependants. It's been very calculated.' She added: 'I probably am not going to be free of him until he's dead or I'm dead'. She told that the years prior to his conviction felt like her 'cells were dissolving', because she was constantly working at a 'high anxiety level'. McGowan told GMB the guilty verdicts were a 'huge moment' and that she hoped it would lead to more predators being convicted. McGowan said: 'This is a huge victory for all of us who have ever been affected by Harvey Weinstein. This affects so many. It's a huge moment. I thought he was going to exonerated.' 'I never really had hope you see. I realized the last time I had hope was the moment before I was raped by him and after that it became survival. 'I didn't have hope but not because of the jury, I'm very grateful to that jury for getting further than most jury's get in rape cases. 'I was worried, it's hard to speak publicly about it without getting sued. But it's an extraordinary moment and it's a watershed moment. 'It's a never-ending kind of situation. This is an unbelievable achievement to have a woman who was raped by an accuser in court and saying ''you did this to me''. That is a privilege. There's an astounding number of victims who never get any kind of measure of justice. 'So, I found it, we were winning by even having it in court. That's how little we've been taught to expect.' Thousands of demonstrators raise their right hands in a three-finger Hunger Games salute to symbolize their dissent against the administration of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha during a protest in Bangkok, Aug. 16, 2020. Updated at 7:30 a.m. ET on 2020-08-18 A half-dozen Thai opposition parties submitted a parliamentary motion Monday seeking to amend the countrys military-backed constitution, a day after at least 10,000 people took part in the largest anti-government protest in recent years. Protests against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha have spread across campuses and spilled into the streets since mid-July, with students and others calling for the government to dissolve parliament, stop harassing dissidents, amend the 2017 Constitution and lessen the power of the monarchy, among their demands. The constitution, they say, was tailored to enable Prayuth, a former army chief who became the countrys leader after spearheading a coup in 2014, to maintain power. On Monday, Pheu Thai Party leader Sompong Amornwiwat and five other leaders in the opposition bloc submitted a motion to House Speaker Chuan Leekpai at the parliament offices, citing what they described as flaws in the constitution. Todays key content is to amend the current constitutions Article 256, Sompong told reporters without elaborating on what he sees as flaws. Article 256 has requirements for parliamentarians to follow to amend the constitution, according to Chuan, who described it as finicky. He said it takes 15 days to validate a motion before it can be included on the agenda for a session of parliament. Sutin Klangsaeng, the parliaments opposition whip, said the demands articulated by leaders of the street protests, even though public, were not submitted officially to the opposition parties. Requests for changes in the monarchy is what we think all sides should listen to, exchange points of view and learn together, Sutin told BenarNews by phone Monday. Meanwhile, a key senator pointed out that amending the current constitution requires votes of 84 (or one-third) of the 250 senators. Prayuth has counted on the support of those senators, whom he hand-picked under the constitution. Still, at least one senator sees the possibility of such action. I agree we should get this through the parliament and I believe all senators are ready to vote for the benefit of the people, Sen. Kamnoon Sithisamarn told reporters on Monday. On Sunday, between 10,000 and 20,000 protesters mostly students gathered at Bangkoks Democracy Monument, the historic venue for rallies, to hear organizers call for an end to military coups and to replace governments led by former junta figures with truly democratic ones. They also spoke of a dream where Thailand is a democratic country with the king as the head of state under the constitution. Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer who is one of the main leaders of the protests, said parliament could achieve the reform by removing the senators who were hand-picked by Prayuth and allowing a new constitutional drafting committee to be formed. The first step is to ditch the appointed senators through an amendment of the constitution. Then draft a new constitution and have the prime minister later dissolve the House (for a new election) and let true representatives administer to the country, Arnon told BenarNews before he spoke at Sundays rally. Arnon has been making the case that the rallies are good for the country. On Aug. 4, the lawyer activist told protesters that the monarchy has much more power than the system allows, while calling for a change. Six days later, during a rally at Thammasat University in Pathum Thani province, protesters made 10 demands including a call to revoke Article 6 of the Thai Constitution that shields the monarchy from prosecution and to revoke Lese-Majeste, the nations strict law forbidding criticism of the royals. He and two other leaders of the protests, students Panupong Jadnok and Parit The Penguin Chiwarak, have all been released on bail after being arrested and charged with sedition and other violations for their roles in the protests. Parit was released from custody on Saturday, a day after his arrest. The other two were freed on Aug. 8 after they were arrested and held overnight on Aug. 7. Biggest rally since 2014 coup Sundays demonstration in Bangkok was the biggest one since tumultuous protests rocked the Thai capital in the lead-up to the May 2014 coup led by Prayuth. After overthrowing the elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra, Prayuth installed himself as junta chief and prime minister. Last year, he was elected to the post after the countrys first general election since the coup, returning to power on the strength of the senate voting bloc, which pushed him above the one-half threshold of parliament members. On Monday, Prayuth said the new protests were hurting the country. See who is behind them. Which political parties went there (to the rallies)? Thats not right. It makes our country worse, Prayuth told reporters on Monday, adding that the parliament had a committee to handle potential changes to the constitution. Breaking to a degree from his boss, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon said protests were acceptable as long as the protesters did not infringe on the rights of others, the Bangkok Post reported. The government is duty-bound to provide security for the demonstrators, Prawit said. In a subsequent interview with the newspaper, Prawit said the ruling Palang Pracharath Party was ready for constitutional amendments and would propose changes through its executive board. It must be amended, the deputy PM said, according to the Post, but without specifying how the constitution needed to be changed. CORRECTION: An earlier version misstated that the Aug. 10 rally at Thammasat University took place at its campus in Bangkok. The new strain of the novel coronavirus detected in Malaysia, is being considered 10 times more infectious, news reports suggest. According to Malaysias Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah, the mutation called D614G, was first discovered in at least three of the 45 COVID-19 cases in a cluster which started after a restaurant owner returned from India and breached his 14-day home quarantine. The person has been penalised and sentenced to five months in prison. The new strain was also found in another cluster that included people returning from the Philippines. Reuters had earlier reported that the mutation increased the number of "spikes" on the coronavirus -- which is the part that gives it its distinctive shape. Those spikes are what allow the virus to bind and infect cells. 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 Bloomberg quoted Abdullah, as saying that the strain could mean that existing research on potential vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 may either prove to be inadequate or ineffective against the mutation. Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic The Straits Times quoted another expert as saying that the strain was found in preliminary tests and that follow-up tests would be conducted on other COVID-19 patients. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the news reports. So far, Malaysia has reported 9,200 confirmed COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic. Of these, 8,859 patients have recovered. As many as 125 people have died in the Southeast Asian due to the infectious disease. Former penitentiary employee jailed for 7.5 years for bribery flickr.com/ meesh 16:40 17/08/2020 MOSCOW, August 17 (RAPSI) A court in Russias Republic of Mordovia has sentenced a former penitentiary employee for taking a bribe, the press service of the Prosecutor Generals Office reports. Additionally, he has been fined 600,000 rubles ($8,200) and banned from holding state and municipal authority posts for 2 years. Between January and February 2020, the defendant agreed to transfer 30 mobile phones for one of the convicts for a monetary reward, the statement reads. He received 200,000 rubles ($2,700) but was arrested. Fitch Street Plaza in Welland is losing a nearly 60-year-old LCBO store next spring, but ownership of the plaza is saying it could remain a hub for various party supplies. Two doors to the west of the property, Sessions Cannabis, a licensed retailer with other locations in the province, will be opening in about a month, Value Centres Inc. president Morgan Piersanti said. The legal dispensary will be located at the former site of Green Light District, a business that sold cannabis-related items but was not licensed to sell products containing THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana. Multiple emails to Sessions Cannabiss head office requesting an interview about the new store have not been answered. According to Sessions website, the company expects to have 26 stores open by the end of the year. Four are in operation stores in Toronto, Cambridge, Collingwood and Stoney Creek. The LCBO confirmed last week a new liquor store under construction at Woodlawn Road and Primeway Drive opening in 2021 will result in closure of the store at Fitch Street Plaza, which opened in 1962. But people in that part of the city who depend on that location for their drinking needs might not have to travel to the new store or another in the Rose City Plaza on Ontario Road. A Hasty Market will be setting up after the booze is cleared out, but its possible that beer, wine and spirits could be available in the same unit soon after. As the province has been giving licenses to convenience stores for Beer Store and LCBO outlets, this avenue is being explored. The application process has been started by Hasty Market, said Piersanti. Thats the long-term plan, he said. Another company spokesperson, who didnt want to be named, said the plazas ownership is proactively trying to increase business. Hasty Market is expected to open August 2021. RELATED STORIES Business Fitch Street Plaza LCBO closing as a result of new store opening in north Welland The plaza is also home to Giant Tiger, Rexall, Tailgates Bar and Grill, CIBC, Blue Ribbon Appliances, Dollar Tree and others. There are about 20 units at the retail centre. The first cannabis store to open in Niagara was The Niagara Herbalist in St. Catharines, which started serving in April 2019, followed by Choom in Niagara Falls opening in June the same year. Canna Cabana, also in Niagara Falls, opened on Victoria Avenue in May. HOLYOKE The state announced it has hired a Boston-based architecture firm to conduct a fast-tracked assessment that will be the first step in renovating or expanding the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Payette, of Boston has been awarded a contract for the first phase of what is being called the expedited capital project to reimagine the future of the Soldiers Home in Holyoke. The firm was given 12 weeks to complete a needs assessment and meet with stakeholders to discuss the improvements, according to a statement from Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito. The company has been charged with identifying a sustainable, public health-centered, implementation roadmap to provide significant upgrades to the Holyoke Soldiers Home, the statement said. In the weeks after COVID-19 spread through the home for infirm and elderly war veterans, infecting about three-quarters of the residents and killing 76, medical officials who took over the operations of the home said the building was poorly designed for modern infection control. An investigation into the outbreak determined utterly catastrophic and baffling decisions led to the rapid spread of the disease, which also infected more than 80 staff members. After the report Superintendent Bennett Walsh was fired, state Veterans Services Director Francisco Urena, who oversaw the home, resigned at the demand of Gov. Charlie Baker as did the homes medical director, nursing supervisor and other employees. Walsh continues to fight his firing, saying he has been unfairly targeted as a scapegoat in the outbreak. I am very thankful to the administrations quick response to address the capital needs of the Holyoke Soldiers Home now and for decades to come. I look forward to continuing to work with them, my fellow trustees and community advocates to make sure the Holyoke Soldiers Home is the type of facility every veteran would be proud to call home and meets all of their medical needs, said Kevin Jourdain, chairman of the Board of Trustees for the home. As officials began discussing the rebuilding process in June, two months after the outbreak began, former superintendent Paul Barabani sent the Board of Trustees renovation plans for the home designed in 2012 that called for an about 120-room addition which would give each resident their own room and bathroom and improvements to the existing facilities that would also turn rooms that house as many as three or four veterans into private rooms. A coalition of former employees, family members and others has since formed to push the state to build an addition and renovate the home to meet modern standards. The idea has also been endorsed by the homes Board of Trustees and multiple town and city councils. At the same time, the Executive Department of Health and Human Services began an about $6 million project to reduce the number of people per room and remove old wallpaper, curtains and furniture which do not meet infection control standards before bringing back a group of about 24 residents now housed in a unit at Holyoke Medical Center. We have a unique opportunity to shift the models of long-term care that we offer to our veterans, following the pandemic that has shined a spotlight on necessary and urgent infection control needs, said Acting Veterans Services Secretary Cheryl Lussier Poppe. We look forward to the continued progress that will be made at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke, ensuring our most vulnerable demographic of veterans are cared for in the safest, and most appropriate environment. Payette is charged with developing up to three scenarios for improvements that focus on infection control and needs of the residents. Each option is to include cost estimates, financing options, and timelines for regulatory approvals, design, and construction, according to the statement. Barabani, who retired as superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers Home in 2015, said he is happy to see the project taking a concrete step forward and hopes that the firm will work with the group of about 30 active members as part of the discussions with stakeholders. He said Payette also designed the 2012 plan so they are already familiar with the needs of the home. From the start we the coalition has asked to have a voice, he said. We hope we have our opportunity to provide our input. One of the coalitions priorities is to ensure facility for an adult day care be included in any renovations or expansions. A program would allow elderly who are still living at home and being cared for by relatives to spend the day at the Soldiers Home where they would have meals, participate in activities and trained medical officials would ensure they take their medications properly and get regular care. The program especially helps veterans who live with family members who work and are concerned about leaving their relatives alone in the home with no assistance all day, he said. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reimburses programs $89 a day and that would allow the Holyoke Soldiers Home to run a program at about a break-even cost while providing better services to veterans and allow them to live in their homes for longer, Barabani said. He said the group also wants to urge officials to continue the 250-bed capacity at the home, saying there are only 280 long-term care beds for veterans in Western Massachusetts and there is always a waiting list for people who need the spots. Barabani said he will also urge the architects to add showers in the private bathrooms, which was not included in the 2012 plan, saying it will improve infection control and dignity for the residents. State Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, who has been a strong veterans advocate, applauded the decision to move forward with the plans and said he supported the idea of hiring Payette because of the firms experience with the Holyoke Soldiers Home. We need to make sure that there are appropriate infection control strategies in place for the rest of this pandemic, he said. We also need to make sure there are enough beds, resources and accomodations for the growing veteran population that will rely on the home years down the road. He called for the study to also look at what will be the needs of future generations of veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. In order for the home to be sustainable for years to come, the needs assessment has to be wide-ranging and comprehensive so that our veterans get the quality of care they deserve, Velis said. Related content: Holyoke Soldiers Home Board of Trustees passes resolutions in light of mismanagement that left 76 veterans dead Holyoke Soldiers Home Coalition keeps up pressure on state officials to release plan to combat threat of 2nd COVID-19 outbreak From great choice to catastrophe: Bennett Walshs fall from grace at Holyoke Soldiers Home By Donald A. Pelligrino As of Aug. 16, a total of 7,011 of the 15,876 deaths in New Jersey were lab-confirmed COVID-19 deaths of residents and employees of long-term care settings. This accounts for over 40% of the overall COVID-19 deaths in the state that are linked to long term care. The same percentage of the nations more than 170,000 COVID-19 deaths also lived in long term care facilities. Gov. Phil Murphys has been criticized widely for the disproportionate number of deaths in long-term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living facilities and the lack of an action plan to address these settings. During the early days of the pandemic, these facilities looked to the DOH and commissioner of health for guidance on how to minimize the spread of infection. Instead, facilities were told them must admit residents back from the hospital who were COVID positive. This decision invited the virus into facilities, allowing it to transmit to other residents and employees. As an owner and operator of facilities in New Jersey, I realized that I could not wait for the states guidance. My team made strategic decisions such as shutting down to visitors and supplying employees with masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE), prior to the DOH making it mandatory. Many facilities did not have the necessary equipment to handle the virus, nor did they receive the appropriate guidance on how to minimize the spread in a timely manner in order to keep their residents safe. Despite one of the first cases in the U.S., starting in a nursing home, the New Jersey DOH did not prepare accordingly and neglected to prioritize the residents of long-term care facilities. While quick to equip hospitals in New Jersey with personal protective equipment (PPE), the DOH was delayed in their response to the long-term care industry. Employees at the DOH cried for more PPE and testing to be provided to the long-term care facilities but were shot down by the leaders of the DOH and were told to avoid putting any concerns in an email. Meanwhile, the State Office of Emergency Management (OEM), in charge of distributing PPE, used arbitrary allocation guidelines that short-changed nursing homes and left them vulnerable due to a lack of necessary equipment, according to the DOH employees. In my facilities, the first PPE received from OEM did not arrive until April 13, about a month after our facility started notifying the state of positive cases among residents in the building. The DOH decided to allocate tests toward a public drive through testing sites to calm political and public anxiety rather than provide them to the most vulnerable population in long-term care facilities, who were most likely to die from the virus. These early decisions on where to prioritize testing and PPE had a devastating effect on facilities facing some of the earliest outbreaks, as they had no means of detecting or confirming the presence of the virus. Long-term care providers have a long history of infection prevention citations during annual health inspections. It was the most common deficiency cited in 2018, according to the New Jersey Department of Health. This virus highlighted the importance of allocating resources toward infection prevention and education. Moving forward, the state and long term care facilities should dedicate more resources toward infection prevention education, strengthening emergency response capabilities through statewide consolidation of PPE, stabilizing facilities through increased reimbursement and increasing wages for front line employees. Long-term care providers should also have a stronger representation within the DOH and should not be forced into the same approach as hospitals, as they deal with a different population with unique needs. Many of the above-referenced recommendations were referenced in the governors newest Executive Directive NO. 20-026, a phased reopening plan for long-term care, few senior care providers in New Jersey were consulted to create this lengthy, complicated directive. Facilities such as mine will learn from the challenges we faced. Most, if not all, facilities have already implemented an infection prevention plan, bolstered their PPE, and increased wages for front line staff to ensure a second wave of the virus is more manageable. We have learned that we cannot rely on the state to come to our aid during emergencies and we must demand timely and equitable distribution of equipment and services in the future. While the state was quick to criticize the long-term care providers, they should consider their own inactions and realize that the guidance and aid provided was extremely delayed, which led to the spread of the virus among residents of long-term care facilities. Rather than point the finger at nursing home operators, the DOH needed to work alongside providers to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In the future, the New Jersey Department of Health needs to listen to feedback from the providers who are on the front lines in these healthcare facilities. Industry leaders and state regulators need to work together to ensure the highest quality of care is being provided. Coordination will result in better outcomes for New Jerseys most vulnerable citizens, the residents in long-term care. Donald A. Pelligrino is one of the owners and operators of Bridgeway Senior Healthcare, which includes two nursing homes and two assisted living facilities in Somerset County. Bridgeway Senior Healthcare has been family owned and operated since 1981. He is currently finishing his Executive Master of Health Administration program at Rutgers University. 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. In a scathing attack on former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Sunday (August 16) tagged him "losers who cannot influence people even in their own party". Prasad made the remarks after Rahul shared a US media report, accusing the ruling BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of controlling Facebook and WhatsApp in India. "Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by BJP & RSS. You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica & Facebook to weaponise data before the elections & now have the gall to question us?" the minister said. Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by BJP & RSS. You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica & Facebook to weaponise data before the elections & now have the gall to question us? https://t.co/NloUF2WZVY Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) August 16, 2020 "The fact is that today access to information and freedom of expression has been democratized. It is no longer controlled by retainers of your family and that is why it hurts. Btw, havent yet heard your condemnation of the Bangalore riots. Where did your courage disappear?," he said in another tweet. Prasad's direct attack on Rahul came after the latter claimed that the BJP and RSS were influencing policies of Facebook in their favour. "They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," Rahul had said. Gandhi also shared an article titled "Facebook Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics - Company executive opposed move to ban controversial politician" that highlighted how Facebook and WhatsApp failed to take action against BJP leaders for posting objectional materials and hate speeches. It is to be noted that WhatsApp is also owned by Facebook. The article published in Wall Street Journal reported that Facebook executive did not approve the move to ban controversial politicians of the ruling BJP and a Facebook executive had said punishing violations by BJP workers "would damage the company's business prospects in the country". The article also claimed that Facebook has a "broader pattern of favouritism" towards the BJP. Letter: Reefer Madness in Williamstown To the Wditor: Allowing Berkshire farmers the right to grow marijuana could help ensure that our local agricultural tradition remains a defining part of our lives. The local food that we are so grateful for us the product of a struggling industry. Farms in the commonwealth are lucky if they break even and most net only a few thousand dollars a year after expenses; many farmers work multiple jobs to keep their farms afloat. Farming is hard work with little economic return for the effort, especially in areas like the Berkshires with high property values and development pressures. Most of us appreciate local food without realizing how difficult it is to make a living growing it. That's why the legalization of cannabis is such an important opportunity here: in the words of one farmer, "A cash crop only comes around once every hundred years; please don't take this opportunity away from us." In Williamstown, a cadre of wealthy rural homeowners has organized to roll-back the right to outdoor cannabis cultivation. The pot prohibitionists' rhetoric is reminiscent of Reefer Madness: the moralistic, propaganda film from 1936 that claimed the "demon weed" would destroy our society and lead to degenerate teenagers and societal despair. Today, marijuana is legal (or in the process of becoming legal) in most progressive states. It's less deadly and less addictive than alcohol and is an accepted therapy for many conditions. The fear-mongering language being slung around makes you wonder if we've progressed beyond 1936. Several years ago, Williamstown's citizens voted to allow marijuana businesses. Cultivation, processing, and dispensaries are legal and are heavily and carefully regulated by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. It's an economic development initiative. The sole dispensary in Williamstown, Silver Therapeutics, is one of the most successful retail operations we've seen in years, bringing in nearly $400,000 to the town through sales tax and host community fees in one year. Contrary to the opponents' claims, it did not lead to the town's downfall or to a population of degenerate teenage potheads; in fact, on most days a constant stream of middle-aged professionals can be seen pulling up in their Subarus and Volvos to buy quality Massachusetts-grown cannabis products. (Mass. dispensaries may only sell Mass-grown.) A second marijuana dispensary is soon to open in town: the significant financial benefits to the town's coffers have apparently quieted the opposition. The days of prohibition are over: today distilleries, breweries and vineyards are popular lucrative tourist attractions. Soon enough, we will realize that niche marijuana growing presents that same opportunity. Let's protect our Williamstown farmers' rare chance to do more than break even. Sarah Gardner Williamstown, Mass. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 19:58:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KAMPALA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Eight months into production in Uganda, ENGO Holding Limited is making breakthroughs across Africa. David Beecham Okwere, secretary of chief executive director of the electronics firm, told Xinhua in a recent interview that besides the domestic market, the company started exporting to the regional markets via dealerships. Okwere said the company has positioned itself to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), aimed at accelerating intra-African trade and boosting Africa's trading position in the global market. The firm exported the first batch of phones to Morocco in May, with the North African country ordering 16,000 pieces every two or three weeks. According to experts, if all 55 African Union member countries join the AfCFTA, the agreement will become the world's largest free trade zone by the number of countries, covering more than 1.2 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars. "We hope to use that (agreement) as an entry point into the African market. Our vision is to become a giant manufacturing phone company in Africa," Okwere said. Evelyn Anite, Uganda's minister of state for investment told Xinhua in a recent interview that the firm was not only contributing to the economic growth and development of the country but it was immensely helping in building local capacity through transfer of ICT knowledge and skills. Chinese privately owned enterprises are following through their country's commitment to help industrialize Africa through the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) framework. One such enterprise is ENGO, which started with the assembling of feature phones and smart phones and later plans to start manufacturing. It hopes to create about 500 jobs by 2021. At the Beijing summit of the FOCAC held in 2018, China announced industrialization as one of the eight initiatives that will help Africa fast track its economic transformation. ENGO has also started manufacturing smartphones that have an installed thermometer. According to the company, the new innovation is critical as temperature screenings are now required before entry into a facility during the COVID-19 pandemic. Okwere said the development of the device took a period of four months, starting in March, with support from the firm's parent company in China. He said if the phone passes the approval process, it will be an addition in efforts to fight the pandemic that continues to spread on the continent. Uganda's ministry of health said such an innovation is a big boost in the fight against the pandemic. Enditem A University of Alabama student died after he was struck by a train over the weekend in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa police responded at 9:30 p.m. Saturday to the railroad track in the area of the 1200 block of East McFarland Boulevard, said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Jack Kennedy. The victim, whose name is not being released, was pronounced dead on the scene. Kennedy said the investigation showed the victim was alone at the time of the accident and no foul play is suspected. The University community is saddened by the unexpected death of a UA student, Director of Communications Deidre Stalnaker said in a statement released Monday. Out of respect for the student, the University is not releasing any details. Stalnaker said counseling will be made available to all students through the UA Counseling Center at 1001 Jackson Avenue, 205-348-3863, and to all faculty and staff through the Employee Assistance Program at hr.ua.edu. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 14:20:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WARSAW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- During U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit here, Poland and the United States sealed a deal on military cooperation by signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The agreement signed last Saturday, which makes Poland a staunch U.S. ally, is supposed to strengthen the European country's security. However, analysts have noted that it might be seen by Russia as provocation and broaden the discord among NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members. TROOPS INCREASE According to the EDCA, the total number of U.S. soldiers stationed in Poland will increase by 1,000 to around 5,500. Apart from that, the core of the deal consists of the creation of the forward command of the 5th U.S. Army Corps. The infrastructures to be constructed would allow Poland to accommodate up to around 20,000 U.S. soldiers. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, signatory of the new defense pact, said that the agreement paved the way for permanent presence of U.S. troops in Poland and more military exercises to be conducted by the two armies. Analysts have said that Poland has been coordinating its pace with the United States in various fields stretching from diplomacy, economy to security and military affairs. Polish President Andrzej Duda has told media that Poland-U.S. relations have never been closer, and the two countries are committed to further cooperation on defense and economy. Poland has long been seeking a larger U.S. military presence in the country, even suggesting the expenditure of 2 billion U.S. dollars to build a military base dubbed "Fort Trump" for U.S. troops' permanent stationing. However, its pursuit of a closer relationship with the United States has raised controversy and criticism domestically, with regard to the potential immense expenditure and extraterritorial jurisdiction. Blaszczak explained after the signing of the agreement that in cases deemed important, U.S. soldiers would be subject to Polish criminal jurisdiction, with the exception of acts committed while on duty. "There is also no question of extraterritoriality of the facilities where American troops will be stationed," he added. IRRITATING RUSSIA In Warsaw's point of view, increased U.S. military presence consolidates the security of Poland and even the whole region. But according to some experts and analysts, such as Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, the U.S. move could bring negative impacts. Sylwester Szafarz, a Polish expert on international affairs, told Xinhua that it is questionable whether the move -- while enhancing the Polish relation with the United States but at the same time irritating neighboring countries -- would serve Poland's interest. Analysts have also noted that NATO's eastwards movement sounds alarm for Russia, deteriorating the relations already fraught with difficulties between Warsaw and Moscow. After U.S. President Donald Trump said in late June during his joint press conference with Duda that he would send some U.S. troops from Germany to Poland, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that Warsaw risked "the status of a frontline state," adding "they probably realize that the costs associated with this include their own security." DIVIDING NATO The inking of the EDCA came right after the U.S. announcement of troops withdrawal from Germany, making it possible for the United States to redeploy part of the soldiers to Poland. Analysts have pointed out that for Washington, the redeployment serves two goals simultaneously -- penalizing Berlin for its "delinquency" on military spending, and awarding Warsaw for fulfilling its NATO "monetary obligation" and above all, a positive attitude towards Washington. The unilateralist policy of "America First" adopted by the Trump administration has contradicted with the multilateralist approach of Germany and other U.S. traditional European allies on multiple issues, including military spending, Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The U.S. regrouping of forces in Europe was considered by critics as compromising and dividing NATO. William Courtney, a retired U.S. ambassador and now an adjunct senior fellow of U.S. nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, told Xinhua that "by unsettling the NATO alliance once again, Trump's actions are likely to reduce Europe's confidence in U.S. support for its security." In recent years, Poland has expressed its willingness to grant permanent U.S. military presence on its soil. Russian media have said the White House is concerned that if Poland reduces defense spending as it is secured by U.S. protection, Washington might face complaints from other NATO members and Moscow. On top of that, enhancing military cooperation with Poland serves the Trump administration's domestic agenda. Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, pointed out that seeking re-election in November, the administration aims to gain Polish-Americans' support. U.S. news daily The Washington Post has also reported that Trump wants to earn the votes of the Polish diaspora, which represented a considerable influence in 2016. Enditem Late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput shared a special bond with his niece Mallika, who has now taken to study astronomy in memory of her Mamu. Sushant was just 14 years old when Mallika was born and she is his first niece. Both shared a close bond since a young age and Sushant was just one of the kids. Sources close to the family told Filmibeat that Sushant was not only a playful mamu but a very reliable mentor to Mallika. For Sushant, acting was a brilliant art form and not a means for attaining glamour. There is a viral video in which Sushant and his niece are seen dancing to Madhuri Dixit's song Chane Ke Khet Mein. This was when Sushant Singh Rajput was in Punjab to shoot for his film Raabta (co-starring Kriti Sanon). He also encouraged his niece to dream big and pursue a creative writing degree programme at University of IOWA in the US. Sushant had also promised Mallika a trip to Norway after she finished her graduation. Unfortunately that will not be fulfilled with the untimely demise of the actor. Sushant Singh Rajput passed away on June 14, 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: The Star Who Used To Star Gaze With A Telescope From His Living Room ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput Gave Up Stanford Scholarship, Dropped Out Of College For Career In Bollywood The Media Foundation for West Africa has called for financial relief packages including tax breaks for media following an assessment of the media landscape during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation in a report stressed that the integrity of the media was at stake ahead of the 2020 general elections because of weakened financial standing. Unfortunately, government has provided practically little support, making the media potentially vulnerable to capture by vested interests, especially as Ghana heads towards elections in December 2020. The foundation noted that the partial lockdown in some parts of the country and public gathering restrictions ushered in a period where advertising and announcement revenues reduced considerably. It cited newspapers as having suffered the most during the period. Although the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt across board, the newspaper industry has been hit hardest as it has seen sales steadily declining during the lockdowns and even after. In spite of the risks and financial challenges media professionals and media organisations in Ghana are facing, they are yet to receive any substantial support from the government, the private sector, or NGOs, the report further stated. The foundation is generally of the view that the media discharged with distinction their duty of informing and educating the populace on the COVID-19. Among other challenges noted in the report were access to Personal Protective Equipment and timely information. It also said there were a few instances of abuse which need urgent redress to prevent impunity from setting in. Find below full recommendations of the foundation In view of the above, we call on the government of Ghana to: Adopt policies urging officials at all levels to proactively disclose information to the media Call on law enforcement officers to exercise restrains towards the media in their line of duty Consider media professionals as frontline workers and provide them with adequate PPEs regularly Put in place financial relief packages including tax breaks for the media We also call on the Media to: Avoid the scoop culture in order to prevent disseminating false or inaccurate information and ensure that they provide fact-checked reports and information Provide training on safety measure for reporters and take measures to ensure adequate protection of media staff Leverage on the opportunities offered by technology Finally, we urge media development organisations to: Convene a national stakeholder discussion on the current state and post-COVID survival of the media Provide technical assistance and know-how on media financial sustainability, as well as strategies that could help media organisations leverage their internal capacity to mobilise resources. citinewsroom HURON COUNTY Huron County Sheriff Kelly Hanson said he has been hit with a barrage of questions regarding the charges a part-time deputy is facing, but he doesnt have any answers. I have had all kinds of questions asked of me, he said. According to Hanson, one of the main questions or comments he has heard since the announcement by the Michigan Attorney Generals Office regarding three high-court misdemeanors deputy Patrick OBrien is facing, was about the announcement that he was suspended from the department. Hanson said that announcement should have said that OBrien was suspended without pay. According to Hanson, he made the call to suspend OBrien without pay after he verified the legitimacy of the complaint and subsequent investigation with the Michigan State Police. Once I identified that an investigation was taking place, we took the appropriate steps, he said. OBrien is facing three counts of indecent exposure after the state attorney said he exposed himself multiple times to a Port Austin woman. According to a release from the attorney generals office, OBrien was arraigned Aug. 13 on the charges stemming from incidences that reportedly took place between July 26-27 in Port Austin. O'Brien is alleged to have exposed himself multiple times intentionally and masturbated in an area visible to the public through the window of his home, according to the release. He was off duty at the time of the incident. Hanson said OBrien had not had any complaints filed against him during his time at the sheriffs office. Prior to joining the Huron County Sheriffs Office, OBrien was sergeant for the Chattanooga Police Department, where he had worked for 26 years before retiring and moving to the area. Hanson said a full background search is conducted when hiring staff, so any complaints or former charges should have been revealed at that time. Hanson said in a press release Thursday that any questions regarding the case should be directed at the attorney generals office, which is prosecuting the case. Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a press release that the case is being taken seriously. "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." Huron County Prosecutor Tim Rutkowski recused himself from the case due to conflict of interest, and the Michigan State Police submitted its report to the attorney general's office, which reviewed the case and authorized the charges. O'Brien was arraigned Thursday in 73B District Court in Huron County before Magistrate Jessica Testolin-Reinke. He is scheduled for a probable cause conference Sept. 3 at 9 a.m., and a preliminary exam Sept. 11 at 9 a.m. Hanson said there are often two sides to every story, and it is a matter for the courts to decide. We will see how it goes and what the outcome ends up being, he said. We dont tolerate that kind of stuff here. A man has been fined $1,000 for organising an illegal bush doof that was attended by more than 1,000 people. The wild party was held at Wilsons Creek, north west of Byron Bay in northern New South Wales, on July 4 as the state desperately tries to avoid a Victoria-style second wave of coronavirus. There were between 1,000 and 1,500 people in attendance, despite current restrictions mandating only 20 people are allowed to gather outside. Officers were called to the rural private property in the small town about 3am on July 5 after nearby residents complained multiple times. A man has been fined $1,000 for organising an illegal bush doof that was attended by more than 1,000 people (stock) Officers were called to the rural private property in the small town about 3am on July 5 after nearby residents complained multiple times (NSW Police pictured in Sydney) Police said they were 'disappointed and dumbfounded' when they arrived to find up to 1,500 people gathered at the property. The organiser of the event was a 50-year-old man who had been visiting backpacker hostels in Byron Bay in the days earlier to promote the event. The man was the owner of the property and was issued a $1,000 infringement on Friday for not complying with noticed direction, a NSW Police statement said. Detective Chief Inspector Matt Keho said police in the Tweed Heads and Byron Bay areas found there had been a number of larger parties. 'You can still have a good, smaller party, but certainly don't go to the extremes that we've seen in the last few days,' he said. It comes as NSW recorded just seven new coronavirus cases on Monday - the lowest the state has seen in weeks - but six were from unknown sources. New South Wales recorded seven new COVID-19 cases overnight (pictured, a nurse carries out a COVID-19 test at a pop-up clinic) Of the new cases announced on Monday, one has been linked to an overseas traveller while six were locally acquired transmissions (pictured, a Sydney resident walks the streets wearing a face mask) 'That is a big concern because ... Melbourne didn't get worse because of the number of cases they had,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday. 'They had undetected community transmission which then unknowingly got to a stage where it ... formed a number of different clusters and we certainly don't want that to happen here.' The seven new cases were detected from 10,806 tests, with one case a returned overseas traveller in quarantine. Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant fears some people with respiratory symptoms are not getting tested as they assume they have the flu when it is far more likely they have COVID. 'Every day, we are identifying one or two cases of unknown source,' she said. Scores of people at a popular Sydney market may have been exposed to the coronavirus after a person worked at the event while infectious. People wearing face masks walk the streets of Sydney as authorities raise concern over the number of mystery COVID-19 cases in the community The positive case attended the Sydney Markets at Flemington on August 9, but tested positive a week later. Close contacts have been identified and advised to isolate themselves for two weeks and get tested. Anyone else who attended the market between 8am and 4pm are considered casual contacts and must monitor for symptoms. The market has been thoroughly cleaned and NSW Health says there is no ongoing risk to the public. The positive case is among the growing number that have unknown sources, which are concerning authorities. The undetected spread of COVID-19 in Sydney's west and southwest continues to worry health authorities. Ms Berejiklian said the trend of mystery cases was a chilling echo of how the second outbreak of COVID-19 spread in Melbourne (pictured, shoppers wearing face masks in front of a Woolworths at Town Hall Station) It comes as tough new rules are announced to stop the spread of the virus in NSW schools. Formals, dances, graduation ceremonies, choirs and all social events have been banned and students must remain within their relevant class or year groups. Dr Chant said the rules applying to public schools would come into effect on Wednesday, but that she has written to private schools asking them to also abide. "It is also being done with the spirit of trying to make sure that our schools can maintain their on-site learning," she said. Under the new guidelines anyone with COVID-19 symptoms is prohibited from returning to school until a negative test result has been reported. Schools must not travel outside their local community or zone and interschool sport and zone carnivals are restricted to 100 people per venue and held locally. Residents wearing face masks while out shopping in Sydney CBD on the weekend State premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday authorities were still concerned about community transmission (pictured, a near empty Wynyard Station on the weekend) Spectators, including parents and carers, won't be allowed on school grounds or at sporting events held during school hours. Schools may hold a Year 12 assembly at school without parents to recognise the completion of studies or consider delaying events until later in the year. However, students and staff required to support HSC students are permitted to meet their HSC requirements with COVID-19 safety measures in place. Sydney Girls High School - the latest to close because of a COVID infection - said a trial HSC exam set down for Monday would be rescheduled. Tangara School for Girls in Sydney's northwest, which has been linked to 25 cases, remains closed. Three of Monday's locally acquired cases were close contacts of the cases linked to the Chopstixs restaurant at Smithfield RSL, and two were close contacts of a case linked to Our Lady of Mercy College at Parramatta whose source was still under investigation. Howell Binkley, the beloved, two-time Tony-winning lighting designer who had four shows running concurrently in New York City at the time of the theater shutdown, died Friday, August 14. Binkley was 64 and had lung cancer. Binkley would amass 52 Broadway shows over the course of his decades-long career, which began in 1993 with Kiss of the Spider Woman. He earned his Tonys for Jersey Boys and Hamilton, both directed by longtime collaborators Des McAnuff and Thomas Kail. With McAnuff, Binkley also created the lighting for the 1995 production of How to Succed in Business Without Really Trying, Dracula, the Musical, The Farnsworth Invention, the 2009 revival of Guys and Dolls, 2012's Jesus Christ Superstar revival, Doctor Zhivago, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, and the currently running Ain't Too Proud. In addition to Hamilton, for which he also won an Olivier, Binkley collaborated with Kail on In the Heights, Lombardi, and Magic/Bird. Spider Woman marked Binkley's first Broadway production with Harold Prince, an association that also featured Parade, Hollywood Arms, LoveMusik, and Prince of Broadway. Working with Christopher Ashley, Binkley designed the lighting for Seussical, Memphis, Xanadu, Escape to Margaritaville, and Come From Away. Born in Winston-Salem, Binkley attended East Carolina University before moving to New York. He co-created the Parsons Dance Company with choreographer David Parsons in 1985. Among his additional credits are Avenue Q, Bat Boy, Radiant Baby, Golda's Balcony, Allegiance, Bare, and dozens of regional credits. Binkley's survivors include his wife, Joyce, and daughter, Zoe. Florah Nkatha Mugao, 31, is the founder of Frolics of Hope Africa, a Non-profit childrens rescue centre based in Nakuru. Ms Nkatha was inspired to start the organization that rescues children from violent families by her personal childhood experiences. She shared her story on Life&Style. ********************************* I was a bubbly kid while growing up with my siblings in Tharaka-Nithi County. My parents were teachers; with my mother a primary school and my father a secondary school one. You would say they were a perfect set of parents and we did not lack. Im the second born in a family of four children. Life would have been normal but from a young age, we the children did not have a normal life. You see, my parents were in an inter-tribal marriage with my father being a Meru and my mother a Kamba. My grandmother did not approve of her sons marriage to my mother, and she transferred the hatred she had for our mother to us, children. We were like a bad omen. But because our parents had taught us to love everybody, we loved her no matter how bad she was towards us. Grandmother loved hurling verbal abuses and other unprintables at us. I recall a time my parents had left us under my grandmothers care and we were very hungry. Out of sheer ingenuity, my brother decided to boil raw pawpaws to quell our hunger. Grandmother confiscated the food and ordered us out of the compound calling us caterpillars. This left a permanent mark on me. I could not understand how someone who was supposed to care for us could turn against us. In 1995, I lost my sister from a car accident. Someone had tampered with the breaks, and the car carrying my family members rolled downhill and fire erupted. I suffered some degrees of burns. My hand had a deep cut that an artificial metal rejoinder had to be fitted. It is still implanted to this day. Throughout my primary, secondary, and university education, I was more introverted. I often hide to cry. I masked my tribulations well. I graduated with a bachelor of commerce in finances and later did a Masters in the same field. I then worked as a manager with Old Mutual, and it was during this stint that I felt I was not living a fulfilling life. Throughout my journey of trauma and healing, I never got any psychological support, either as a child or as an adult. This compelled me to start my organisation known as Frolics of Hope Africa. I knew there are many children out there undergoing the worst form of abuse or trauma than what I endured, and Frolics deals with rescue and protection of such children. We rescue children from violence like family violence, tribal clashes, sexual violence, and gender-based violence. It is sad to see children growing up broken, with some ending committing murders or as suicide cases. Many children are exposed to abuse by those they trust. The youngest case I had rescued was that of a three-year-old child who attempted suicide. If at such a tender age the child could feel unwanted, what would happen when such children reach the age of 18? They feel totally broken and see nothing worth living for. We seek to restore hope and give such children a bright future, and a reason to live. God has allowed me to live, and I do not want to see another child growing the way I did. It can also be traumatising for children growing without parental love when their custodians or adoptive parents are abusive. I lost my parents in the most horrific of ways. When I was 17, my father was hacked to death by his brother in front of the extended family in December 2007. In January 2008, we were evicted from our home and luckily, that was the year I joined university. I was lucky to get a full scholarship from USAID to pursue a Masters program. My siblings, a younger brother, and sister have also been beneficiaries of scholarships through the Equitys Wings to Fly programme. The sad fate that befell my father was to befall my mother as well. She had by this time returned to her maternal home. I was then at University. The killer of my father was released on bond after four years in custody and he tracked down my mother to her parents home and killed her with poisoned arrows. That was in 2011. Life became a living hell such that, when I was in campus, I had to be on the run for my safety. It was to be so for the next 11 years. I have had to sire ties with my relatives to date. When my father was killed, I was seen as a minor who could not testify as a witness. My late mother used to joke that I love children so much that, if I was to have my own, I would give birth to over 20 kids. Im not married for the trauma that I underwent made me fear marriages. Im scared of going through what I saw our mother go through in the hands of her in-laws. At 31, Im already a mother to 39 children, which the organisation has brought under protection. My mother may have prophetically charted my path. We are petitioning the government to review the Childrens Act. The Act, as it is currently constituted, doesnt protect all children. It is lenient to abusers. Childrens rights should be taken seriously, and when their cases are dealt with expeditiously, it will be a deterrent to others. RAMALLAH, West Bank After waiting for six months, Anwar Abdel Hakim, a Palestinian from the town of Mikhmas in the center of the West Bank, managed to obtain the identification papers and US-Palestinian passport for her son Mohammed to join her husband in the United States. They were supposed to travel Aug. 9. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry announced Aug. 8 two repatriation flights. However, Hakim did not know that upon arrival at the Karama border crossing to Jordan, the Israelis would ban her newborn Mohammed from traveling. His ID number was not in the Israeli records because it was not transferred from the Palestinian Authority (PA). This is the case for thousands of Palestinian newborns who were born after the PA announced in May it would halt security coordination with Israel because of the Israeli annexation plan. In normal times, the PA would regularly transfer the records of newborns and the names of those who renewed their passports to the Israeli authorities, which control the border crossings and security permits in Israel. A year ago, Hakim married a relative of hers residing in the US state of New Jersey. Following the wedding ceremony, her husband traveled to the United States to complete his wife's residency and travel permits, but this coincided with the spread of the coronavirus and the closure of crossings. She repeatedly tried to travel while pregnant with her son, but she ended up giving birth to him in Ramallah in June. She got on the list of flights approved by the Palestinain Foreign Ministry, in coordination with the Jordanian and Israeli sides, on Aug. 9. Hakim told Al-Monitor, We obtained a US passport for Mohammed based on the registration papers we obtained from the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, and we thought that was enough, but the Israeli side did not allow us to pass. Hakim believes she will always have a problem even if the two sides reach a solution. The second flight to the United States is not until Aug. 24, and her US residency permit will have expired by then. In other words, she will have to make arrangements for another trip. Like Mohammed, there are thousands of babies that to this day have not been recognized by Israel after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced in May that he wants to halt security coordination with Israel. This prevented hundreds of these babies from traveling with their families to their areas of residence despite full coordination with the Jordanian authorities. According to figures Al-Monitor obtained from the General Authority for Civil Affairs, 24,279 Palestinian babies 13,567 in the West Bank and 10,712 in the Gaza Strip were born between May 20 and Aug. 9 and remain unrecognized by Israel. Haya Shebaru was not able to join her husband in the United Arab Emirates despite the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinating her travel through Jordan twice. Israel does not recognize her daughter Alia. Shebaru, a Palestinian from the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, came to the West Bank to give birth in March, and after her daughter Alia arrived in April and was registered with the Palestinian Ministry of Interior, she tried to travel. However, the crossings and airports were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the start of coordination to evacuate those stranded in the West Bank, she was part of one of the first groups except she could not travel July 22. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Shebaru appealed to everyone who could intervene to solve her problem and reunite her and her four-month-old baby with her husband. My daughter has not met her father yet, and we will lose our residency in the UAE if the situation continues," she said. The Palestinian Ministry of Interior says it is doing all the required work related to registering newborns in its records and issuing the official papers, but such records are no longer transferred to the Israeli side as was the case before the security coordination was halted. Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry Youssef Harb told Al-Monitor that these unilateral measures are taken by Israel to manipulate the fate of these children in order to pressure the Palestinian political leadership into backtracking on its decision to stop the security coordination. He said, The papers issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Interior such as birth certificates and official passports in the name of the State of Palestine are recognized by the whole world. According to Harb, such Israeli measures violate international agreements that allow Palestinians to enter and exit through crossings. The question arises as to the options that the PA has to solve this problem, which could affect the lives of thousands of newborns and their families. The problem is not only that Israel is not recognizing newborns, but that it is not recognizing IDs that are issued to those who have reached the age of 16, or whoever needs a new passport. Ahmed al-Deek, political adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, who is following up on this issue, told Al-Monitor that the Israeli position is a racist measure that violates human rights principles and the duties of the occupying state to facilitate the movement of the population. Deek revealed Palestinian efforts to seek international intervention for a solution through the Office of the High Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. He added, If the crossings are opened, we will face a bigger problem with students who want to travel abroad and who have new passports, or with any Palestinian whose passport expired and has been renewed. By IANS SAN FRANCISCO: The US ban on WeChat, a messaging, social media, and electronic payment application owned by the Chinese company Tencent Holdings Ltd can impact Apple business up to worth $28 billion, a report said on Monday. Apart from the ban order on Chinese short-video-making app TikTok, US President Donald Trump also issued another similarly-worded executive order against WeChat. "The WeChat ban could impact up to $28 billion in iPhone/iPad sales in China as well as related impacts to Service revenue," reports Seeking Alpha. China is Apple's third largest market where it amassed about $44 billion in net sales in 2019. The ban puts the Chinese market for Apple devices, primarily iPhones and iPads, at high risk if a full crackdown occurs. Apple, along with Ford, Walmart and Disney have called on the Trump administration to end the executive order seeking the ban of WeChat. China is still a very important market for Apple products, as the third largest revenue driver and the second largest contributor to net income on an operating margin basis. "If 75 per cent of iPhone/iPad sales in China vanish because of this (ban), that estimates a decline of $21 billion in net revenues aside from a related drawdown in services, which could add $4-5 billion to that decline estimate," said the report. If 50 per cent of iPhone/iPad sales vanish, that would estimate a decline of $14 billion in net revenues, and services associated could add another $2-3 billion to that decline. According to famed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the executive order to ban WeChat from the Apple App Store could lead to 25-30 per cent drop in iPhone shipments in the Chinese market. At least 95 per cent of the 1.2 million Chinese Apple users said that they would rather switch to an Android device than use an iPhone without WeChat. China, with its population of 1.44 billion people, accounted for about 15 per cent of Apple's total June quarter revenue. WeChat is a popular Chinese messaging application that is especially successful in China. remaining of Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. The financial conditions that we are going through right now is an indication for future planning. Retirement is a huge responsibility, say for you and your family. Finance becomes a thoughtful genre right after our twenties, and we find ourselves making different plans for our future. It is time we must be serious about where you are investing and how much you are investing. There are many investment options, some long term, some short, and has numerous benefits. There are different kinds of plans for various people and their investment needs. Without further ado, lets begin talking about the five best financial investments for your retirement. The 5 Best Financial Investments for Your Retirement Health Insurance and medical claims Everyone should think about investing in health insurance as the growing medical costs, and sometimes hospital charges are over our expectations. In such cases, if you have health insurance, you will be able to claim money from the insurance company. There are different types of health insurance, individual, family, injury-related health insurance, for example. When there is a medical emergency, you need to admit yourself or your family members to a hospital. These are the times when not having health insurance can cost you a lot, drawing most of your financial savings. For avoiding such instances, you can think about investing in health insurance. Rose McGowan has accused the Oscar-winning filmmaker Alexander Payne of committing sexual misconduct against her when she was 15. The actor, activist and director, who was instrumental in the early takedown of Harvey Weinstein after publicly accusing him of rape, wrote allegations against Payne on Twitter. Alexander Payne, McGowan tweeted. You sat me down & played a soft-core porn movie you directed for Showtime under a different name. I still remember your apartment in Silverlake. You are very well-endowed. You left me on a street corner afterwards. I was 15. In a second tweet, McGowan added: I just want an acknowledgement and an apology. I do not want to destroy. This was me at 15. She attached to the tweet an image of herself at 15, as well as a GIF in which she can be seen making a hand gesture in front of the word NO. Payne has won two Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars, for his films Sideways and Nebraska, and has directed films including The Descendants, Election and Downsizing. While appearing on Ronan Farrows Catch and Kill podcast in February, McGowan discussed an incident of statutory rape committed against her by an older filmmaker when she was 15. In 2017 I started reviewing a relationship, quote unquote, that I had had with a very powerful, well not at the time powerful at all, but powerful [man], she said. He was really cool and very handsome and probably like 32 or 33. How old were you? Farrow asked. 15, McGowan replied. Looking back, I was groomed. I auditioned for him, and then he took me back to his apartment in Silver Lake, played me a soft porn movie hed directed for Showtime under a different name, and then I slept with him. Then he left me on the street corner next to Cafe Tropical on Sunset [Boulevard]. But Id always framed it, when I would see him around, I always thought he was really handsome and I liked him. And I would say to him, Isnt it funny? I cant believe you slept with me when I was 15. And I thought that was funny. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up I assume, looking back, you no longer find that funny? Farrow asked. No, and in fact when I started to break it down and figure it out, I started crying because I felt really bad for that girl that was left on that street corner, she said. I still talk about it like that, like that young girl or that ... its a very divorced feeling from me. But I think its just coping mechanisms. But I dont know, I havent decided what to do with that information. When Farrow asked if she would ever name the man in question, McGowan said: Ill go reflect on it more and get back to you. The Independent has reached out to Paynes representatives for comment. 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. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to purchase a massive property while they still have significant debts to repay led to different reactions. Some believe that it is high time they bought their own house so that they can settle into their new lives in America while raising Baby Archie; however, others deemed it too selfish since they are only a family of three and right in the middle of a pandemic. What made things even worse is that there have been reports that Prince Charles is still footing a chunk of their new mortgage. However, the latest report about the problem with this real estate might cause a horde of criticisms even more. Meghan Markle a Hypocrite? According to Anna Fedoseeva -- the ex-wife of Sergey Grishin, the previous owner of the house whom Meghan Markle and Prince Harry brought the property from -- the royals have disappointing standards. Accoridng to her, negotiating with her ex-husband made Meghan Markle a total hypocrite. The estranged wife of the "Scarface" Russian oligarch expressed her belief that Meghan betrayed her own cause. The Duchess is known for being a staunch supporter of female rights, but she did not bother finding out the background of the previous owner. Had the royal took the the time to check, she would find out that the oligarch was a domestic abuser, the victim being Anna himself. Fedoseeva is presently involved in a bitter court battle with his billionaire ex-husband. She claims that Grishin is a dangerous man who ruined her life. Court documents would even show that in the course of their tumultuous relationship, Grishin held a gun to Fedoseeva's head. One time, he even knocked her teeth out. Even if she is presently residing in Russia, Anna took the time to speak with the Sun on Sunday. According to her, Markle has a questionable take on women's rights by associating with Grishin and even entering into a transaction with the man. "Meghan struggles for women's rights. But in my case, that means just to be alive. It isn't wise for them to surround themselves with him or anyone affiliated with him," she explained. Fedoseva's Ordeal Apart from what was detailed in the court documents, Fedoseeva told the news outlet that at the beginning of her married life with Grishin in 2017, she was living a fairytale life full of luxury. However, barely a year later, they broke up. Her ex-husband then started to ask for a return of her alleged loan, which she allegedly made with Jennifer Sulkess. Fedoseeva and Sulkess have filed a lawsuit against Grishin for death threats and false imprisonment, but the cases are yet to prosper since Grishin denies everything. Given all what she had to go through in her ex-husband's hands, Fedoseeva slammed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for demonstrating their lack of due diligence before the purchase of the property was made. Considering Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's advocacies, the decision is not easy to forgive or overlook. Meghan has always been questioned and criticized though, so this is hardly the first time. Back in 2017, it was reported by CNBC that Markle is a strong gender equality activist, but others have disagreed. According to the Irish Times, a princess cannot become a feminist as well. Marrying "into aristocracy and living a cave existence" is the least feminist thing to do. Granted, she has stepped down from her senior royal role, it cannot be denied that she continues to make decisions that question her commitment to the feminist cause. READ MORE: Prince Charles Again? Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Bought New Mansion Using Royal's Funds With summer starting to wind down, many college students are now moving back to campus ahead of the fall semester. Most Michigan colleges and universities plan to come back with some combination of virtual and in-person classes. And that means students also have to make their own plans about how to stay safe while also continuing their higher education. Jake Neher of public radio station, WDET and Cheyna Roth of MLive spoke to three students about their thoughts on returning to class during a pandemic. While they all had concerns, none of the students had a question in their mind about whether or not theyd go back. Listen above to the whole conversation highlighting the myriad issues on the minds of college students as they get ready to go back this fall. Daniel Isabella, son of WDET programming director Joan Isabella, is heading back to Michigan State University soon. He said the university has been doing a good job coming up with a plan to keep students safe, but hes still feeling anxious about the return. I dont necessarily trust that a lot of college students will follow them, Isabella said of the mandates MSU is putting in place. So Im going to be pretty apprehensive going forward. Im really excited to be back, but I dont know how any of it will work going forward and its all a big question mark to me. Whether or not her school will provide free testing for students, is something Lauryn Azu has been wondering about the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Im just hoping for the best and hoping people have sense, and hoping that theyre going to ramp up the testing that theyve already started to organize for students that is completely free, she said. So hopefully people are going to take advantage of that so they at least know their status when theyre going out in the world and doing whatever, Azu said. For Ali Audet, who is heading to Boston University, guidelines and testing options are great, but shes still nervous about the fall. Because as much as they can test us and try and maintain social distancing and stuff like that, I do recognize that there is always an increased risk, she said. So, excitement for sure, but definitely tinged with some anxiety and apprehension as well. More From MichMash: MichMash: Michigan parents look for support during coronaviurs pandemic MichMash: Michigans methods for treating juveniles unique among states MichMash: Uncharted waters ahead for fishing on the Great Lakes Extinction Rebellion activists held a nude protest yesterday to expose the 'naked truth' about climate change outside Cambridge University. The sixteen protesters stripped off on King's Lawn to protest the institution's 400million investment in the fossil fuel industry. This is not the first time the activists have taken to campaigning in Cambridge, with a group of eco-warriors ripping up the lawn outside Trinity College in February this year. Extinction Rebellion activists held a nude protest yesterday to expose the 'naked truth' about climate change sixteen protesters stripped off on King's Lawn to protest the institution's 400million investment in the fossil fuel industry The XR group stood metres apart and wore face masks as they took their clothes off outside the university In the naked protest, the XR group stood metres apart and wore face masks as they took their clothes off to reveal messages written on their bodies, including: 'Stop funding death', 'We want to live' and 'This is scary'. During the campaign, they told members of the public about the university's investment and informed them that it was 'directly funding those that cause climate breakdown and destroy the global ecosystem we all depend on.' XR Cambridge activist Jess, who was one of the naked protestors, told CambridgeshireLive she is more scared about what is happening to the earth than she is taking her clothes off in public. 'Entire ecosystems are breaking down, thousands of species are going extinct, and the glaciers are melting. We are all vulnerable to the consequences of this, not just the people living in areas that will soon be flooded,' said Jess. As they stripped off they had messages written on their bodies, including: 'Stop funding death', 'We want to live' and 'This is scary' Throughout the demonstration they told members of the public about the university's 400million investment They informed passersby that the university was 'directly funding those that cause climate breakdown and destroy the global ecosystem we all depend on. Naked XR Cambridge activist Jess said she is more scared about what is happening to the earth than she is taking her clothes off in public 'The worst start to the Amazon wildfire season ever has just been seen and yet the University of Cambridge and its colleges are investing in the companies causing the huge environmental damage that makes these events possible.' To end the protest, the group staged a die-in, lying on the ground with white sheets covering them like dead bodies. Just last week more protesters gathered on the lawns of the Senate House at the university to play croquet. During the display they demanded the establishment 'stop playing games with the planet' as they reenacted hitting the earth with their mallets. To end the demonstration, the group staged a die-in, lying on the floor motionless and covered in white sheets like bodies Police officers let the Extinction Rebellion protest (pictured) outside Trinity College, Cambridge, in Feburary, continue undisrupted, causing a Tory MP to say he was 'horrified' PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 28: Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto speaks during a press conference on the mass shooting that killed 11 people and wounded 6 at the Tree Of Life Synagogue on October 28, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Suspected gunman Richard Bowers, 46, has been charged with 29 federal counts in the mass shooting that police say was fueled by antisemitism. (Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images): Getty Images Protesters in Pittsburgh are demanding answers from the city's mayor after an activist was abducted by plainclothes officers into an unmarked van on Saturday. A video captured the moments after the protester, Matthew Cartier, 25, was pulled into an unmarked van by the city's police. Mr Cartier was helping to lead the protest at the time of his arrest. The next day, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto held a press conference during which a city police incident commander explained the department's rationale for abducting the protester. "Watching these tactics, [Mr Cartier's] refusal to cooperate and the information that we were given ... we decided to effect a low visibility arrest of the individual because when high visibility stuff takes places with these marches, it tends to attract a crowd and incite them further," the police commander said. "So we decided low visibility was the best way to do it and it also gave us the ability if he suddenly started cooperating to call the arrest off." We out here in PITTSBURGH, PA. And unidentified, ARMED, federal agents in an unmarked white sprinter van just abducted a peaceful protester just minutes ago! #WakeUpAmerica #fedsgohome #BlackLivesMatter #BLMprotest #pittsburghprotest pic.twitter.com/ejmrUQUuTS Samm Bones (@samm_bones) August 15, 2020 Ryan Deto, a reporter for the Pittsburgh City Paper, obtained the criminal complaint against Mr Cartier, which police used to justify their arrest. Story continues "According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh Police's rational for rolling up & arresting Matthew in an unmarked van, was that he 'startled drivers' because he was marshaling the protest," Mr Deto wrote on Twitter. According to the crimal complaint, Pittsburgh Polices rational for rolling up & arresting Matthew in an unmarked van, was that he startled drivers because he was marshaling the protest. Here is Matthews thread. Working on gathering sources for more in-depth story, stay tuned. https://t.co/GII4AnTQs4 Ryan Deto (@RyanDeto) August 16, 2020 Mr Cartier was marching with the youth activist organisation Black, Young, and Educated, which has led 11 demonstrations in the city in recent weeks. He said the police lured him towards the van by pretending to be lost and in need of directions. "The Pittsburgh Police approached the bike perimeter in an unmarked van and lured me closer by pretending to need directions around the march," he wrote on Twitter. "@billpeduto answer for this you rat." Mr Peduto said the video of the arrest made him "uncomfortable," according to CBS affiliate KDKA 2 Pittsburgh. "When we look at pop-out as a tactic, especially with officers who are in plain clothes, we have to examine when that is appropriate," Mr Peduto said. "We have to have an understanding if that is a tactic that should be utilised for a protest, and if so, when. And if when, why." In a tweet on Saturday, Mr Peduto suggested that a protest blocking traffic was in violation of the city's code. "The right to assemble is a guaranteed right, the right to shut down public streets, is a privilege," he wrote. "That privilege is sanctioned by laws and codes. In Pittsburgh, we worked w ACLU & CPRB to create our codes." The ACLU of Pennsylvania confirmed that they worked on the codes alongside the city's leadership, but also said it appeared the officers were in violation of those guidelines. "However, based on eyewitness accounts, the arresting officers were in clear violation of their own guidelines. According to those who were there, the law enforcement officers involved made no effort to work with protest leaders to clear the area and gave no clear dispersal order," an ACLU spokesperson wrote on Twitter. "Instead, they tricked a protest leader to approach them and then whisked him away. The ACLU of Pennsylvania has never suggested that the snatch-and-stash arrest of a peaceful demonstrator is ever acceptable." The Pittsburgh police have again shown why people are in the streets protesting for Black lives and against police brutality. We have never endorsed snatch-and-stash arrests of peaceful demonstrators. Read our statement: https://t.co/6Qsr8vU7R5 ACLU of Pennsylvania (@aclupa) August 16, 2020 Police officials claim they warned Mr Cartier "several times" not to block intersections during the group's march. Mr Cartier said that the individual sitting in the passenger seat grabbed him as several other men "sprang out of the back of the van heavily armed" and arrested him. He said he was searched and then taken to the county jail. "The actions taken by the city's police department and tacitly endorsed by @billpeduto are horrifying. Every protester must now live in fear of getting grabbed by the police in such a violent and terrifying manner," he said. Mr Cartier is being charged with failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and obstructing highways and other public passages. He was initially facing five total charges, which included risking a catastrophe and being an unauthorized person directing traffic, but the city dropped those charges. Mr Cartier's legal representation, attorney Lisa Middleman, issued a statement on social media condemning the city's actions. "I have no intention of trying my client's case in the court of public opinion, but I am disturbed by leadership's failure to admit the errors in judgement and tactics that are designed to have a chilling effect on the exercise of civil liberties and constitutional rights," she wrote. "If we are to have any meaningful dialogue about the future of policing in this city and county, a better effort must be made to address the concerns of the community. Demanding communication under threat of arrest is not an honest effort to encourage dialogue." She said that the leadership's failure to "meaningfully engage with the actual people whose day-to-day lives are impacted by our broken legal system" is why so many people fear and distrust the police. "The responsibility to change that lies with our elected and appointed officials," she wrote. "And the mayor's 'serious concerns' must result in serious action." Read more Trump retweets call to let Democrat cities rot over New York video Somali Troops End Militants' Siege of Mogadishu Hotel By Harun Maruf August 16, 2020 Somali security forces battled militants for more than four hours Sunday before ending an attack and siege of a beachfront hotel. Ismail Mukhtar, spokesperson for the Ministry of Information, said 11 people were killed, one of them a security agent. Ambulance services earlier reported evacuating nearly 30 more injured victims. Officials and witnesses told VOA Somali that just before 6 p.m. local time, a suicide car bomb exploded outside the Elite hotel at Mogadishu's popular Lido Beach. Moments later four armed gunmen stormed the hotel. Security forces arrived at the scene immediately after the attack began and took over responsibility of ousting the attackers from hotel guards. All four of the attackers who stormed the hotel were shot dead, Mukhtar said. Troops rescued more than 200 people from the hotel, including the owner, Abdullahi Mohamed Nur, a lawmaker and former minister. The al-Shabab militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. The head of the Somali journalists' union, Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu, was among the witnesses sitting outside the Elite hotel when the explosion occurred. He told VOA Somali that he arrived the hotel 15 minutes before the explosion along with his friend Abdirazak Abdi Abdullahi, who works for the state-controlled radio station. Abdullahi was killed by the militants after the first gunshots were fired, Moalimuu told VOA Somali. Abdirazak Aden Osman, a security guard at a nearby hotel, said he heard a huge explosion that rocked the area. "It was a massive explosion," he said. "Glass from broken windows fell on us." Al-Shabab is an al-Qaida-affiliated group that has been carrying out attacks in Somalia, targeting civilian and government installations. The group has lost control of almost all of the major towns to the Somali government and African Union forces but still controls large parts in the countryside and is capable of carrying out deadly attacks. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address KALAMAZOO, MI After clashes between demonstrators and counter-protesters turned violent in Kalamazoo this weekend, many are calling into question the response from local police. Kalamazoo resident Adam Danis was one of eight individuals arrested Saturday at a Proud Boys rally/counter-protest who has since had their charges dismissed. Police have said two others were also arrested, but charges have not yet been authorized. Danis expressed frustration at how police handled the entire situation. Related: Charges dismissed against eight involved in Proud Boys rally and counter-protests in Kalamazoo Danis, who said he was jailed for more than 20 hours prior to his release on Sunday, said he was told he was arrested for throwing a rock at a car. He denies throwing any rocks. On the contrary, Danis said he had admonished someone else for throwing one moments earlier. Standing at 6 feet, 5 inches tall, Danis said he felt his arrest was used as a prop to intimidate other counter-protesters. It sure feels strange that seconds before the street was flooded with armored police, the tallest and most conspicuous person in the crowd was singled out, having done absolutely nothing, and made kind of a spectacle to the rest of the crowd, he said. Danis whole purpose for attending the counter-protest Saturday, he said, was to peacefully protest and encourage others to resist any provoking from the Proud Boys to not allow them to get any rhetorical leverage by capturing images of violence, he said. The fact that the Proud Boys were out there specifically to try and start an altercation, to provoke violence, and the fact none of them saw a single repercussion for it and were given a thumbs up on the way out of town, essentially, while the people who live in the city who were telling them that kind of thing is not welcomed here were singled out and intimidated by our police force is inexcusable, Danis said. Of the eight of those whose charges have been reviewed, authorities confirmed that seven were from Kalamazoo County and one was from Grand Rapids. None of the 10 arrested were believed to have been affiliated with the Proud Boys, according to police. Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas could not be reached for comment Monday about the criticism of police action on Saturday. Danis wasnt the only one who felt the city and police department let its residents down. Khadijah Brown addressed city leaders during a Sunday press conference, asking them to take accountability for slow response times during the days events, as well as for later that night, when Brown and others protested peacefully outside of the Kalamazoo Public Safety headquarters and then later blocked traffic on East Michigan Avenue. Brown, one of a handful of younger Black residents speaking at the press conference, said all the group wanted was the opportunity to have a conversation with police about the way that afternoons events were handled. But they had to wait five hours to even be addressed, she said. What does accountability look like for KDPS not responding to the citizens of Kalamazoo, wanting to have a conversation about the lack of urgency to protect those who were in return protecting the image of Kalamazoo with the (message) that hate isnt welcome here, she asked, not long after Mayor David Anderson denounced the Proud Boys hate-mongering message. KDPS and other law enforcement had a different message to us, in our eyes, Brown said. KDPS wasnt protecting the city of Kalamazoo as the residents were protecting the city of Kalamazoo. So theres a disconnect. Despite charges being dropped against those arrested Saturday, emotions remain high among those involved and others who watched from afar. Danis, who said he is contemplating legal action against the city for unlawful arrest and detainment, said not only did Kalamazoo Public Safety fail in protecting its citizens, but also should not have allowed all those associated with the Proud Boys leave town without arresting any. The SWAT team didnt show up until (the Proud Boys) were gone and there was only one kind of protester left to go after, Danis said. If they had done nothing for another five minutes, the crowd would have dispersed on its own. It was basically over. It felt like they gave one side a chance to get out of the way so they could just intimidate the other side. During a news conference Sunday, Thomas said there were 111 police officers from five different jurisdictions assigned to the operation Saturday. She attributed, in part, the appearance of a delayed response from police to the Proud Boys showing up downtown earlier than expected. It was not until the Proud Boys were leaving town that police began to show up in force in riot gear, according to many accounts from those who were there including that of MLive reporter Samuel Robinson, another of those arrested that day. A charge of impeding traffic was later dropped for Robinson, who was arrested and taken to Kalamazoo County Jail Saturday, and Thomas apologized for his arrest. Related: Charge dropped against MLive reporter, chief apologizes for arrest at Kalamazoo protest Just prior to the Proud Boys departure, Danis said, he watched as they did a Nazi salute from atop the Radisson parking garage and mockingly chanted Blue Lives Matter. I dont think everything that happened should go unanswered for, and unquestionably the Kalamazoo police didnt do their jobs until there was only one kind of person to do it to, Danis said. His arrest occurred, he said, at the same moment the final Proud Boys vehicles were leaving the parking ramp, many without license plates something numerous protesters were trying to point out to police. Thomas was questioned Sunday as to why no Proud Boys demonstrators were stopped on their way out of town or as they exited the parking ramp. The chief responded by saying the goal was just to get them out of town and it was not realistic to do traffic enforcement at that point. To that I cant help but wonder, when is it realistic when you have an entire group having pinned themselves down in a parking garage, Danis said. They were never going to get a better opportunity to take statements, take names, try to suss out which of those people were involved in the actual crimes that they knew had been committed. City officials have asked that if anyone has video of assaults that occurred during the days events, or was assaulted, to reach out to Kalamazoo Public Safety so those incidents could be investigated. People can contact Kalamazoo Public Safety at 269-488-8911 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 or www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com. Also on MLive: Police chief says Proud Boys completed their mission by causing chaos in downtown Kalamazoo HUD Secretary Ben Carson tours Kalamazoo homeless shelter Rally turns violent as Proud Boys met by counter-protesters in downtown Kalamazoo More than 99 per cent of Victorias second wave of coronavirus can be linked to returned travellers, genomic sequencing shows. A director at the Doherty Institute, Ben Howden, told the inquiry into the state's hotel quarantine program on Monday that, from the start of June, three strains of COVID-19 had been detected, each imported from overseas by at least three separate returning travellers. Over that period, all returned travellers were required to stay in hotel quarantine. "What I could say, a high-level statement would be, that over 99 per cent of all current cases in Victoria for which we have genome sequences, are derived from [those three sequences]," Professor Howden said. Pity the poor postmaster general. President Trump's top man at the postal service, Louis DeJoy, is preparing to testify about postal reform and distress ahead of elections for the House. According to Vanity Fair: The consequences of the disruptive policy changes include eliminating overtime and slowing some mail delivery, cutbacks that Democrats say are intended to undermine the USPS ability to deliver election ballots in time this fall. As CNN reported, DeJoy is now being scrutinized by the Postal Service Inspector General, who opened an investigation into his policy changes as well his compliance with federal ethics rules. According to Politico, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is mulling whether to bring the House back early to address the USPS crisis, not to provide additional funding but to address organizational issues at the agency ahead of the election. On Sunday, Democrats also called on DeJoy to testify at an urgent Oversight Committee hearing on August 24 to examine his sweeping operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service and their impact on mail-in voting. They'll fry him. The same people who plotted the phony Russian collusion story are now planning to demonize him as he comes in to answer their questions about his private-sector style efforts to make the ailing agency self sustainable. Their cheerleaders are already bellowing calls to jail for him, so it's only a matter before they wheel out the tumbril or else get a noose. Democrats, rest assured, are hey're going to rip him apart. The assault by President Trump & his mega-donor Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on the Postal Service threatens lives, livelihood & life of our American democracy. I am calling on the House to return to vote on Chairwoman Maloneys "Delivering for America Act." #DontMessWithUSPS Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) August 17, 2020 If Postmaster General DeJoy doesnt testify before Congress next week as Speaker Pelosi and I have requested, he should be stamped, returned to sender, and removed from his position. Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) August 16, 2020 And while they're at it, they'd like another go at impeaching Trump. Kid you not, here they are. The whole thing is a fake, a fake crisis, generated by a pack of real embittered leftists looking for a bailout for their union buddies. They tried to get a postal bailout during the first stimulus debacle of the year, now they're trying to get it again -- a big $25 billion bailout package which will pay for a lot of gold-plated pensions for some of the laziest and most un-fireable workers in America. Like the Russia collusion hoax, the base 'narrative' is all a pack of lies. The Federalist's Jordan Davidson has an excellent summary of all their fake charges, and picks each one apart - here are a few: First, no, the postal service is not trying to slow the delivery of mail to steal the election -- it's already put states on warning that their impossible requirements for an election, given how the mail works, make it quite likely that the postal service won't be able to delivery every ballot to the counters on time. That's not an ugly surprise on election night, it's a pre-planned warning to allow states to prepare with other arrangments. Second, the myth thown out by Joe Biden about mailboxes in low-used areas being collected is not an election ploy to steal the election, it's part of a long-delayed rationalization of postal operations. The post office has been losing money since at least the days of President Obama, who complained about the post office 'that's always having problems.' The hysterical photos of locked mailboxes are examples of measures taken to halt mail theft, a big issue before the Democrats started yelling that Trump was trying to steal the election by defunding the mail service. Third, the postal service is not going to shut down - Davidson notes that it's got enough money to keep going until August 2021, I guess unless some of them are planning to steal that. Here's the real crisis, something Democrats are trying to turn on its head: The post office is scarily partisan - with two mail unions voting to endorse Joe Biden. David Catron at The Spectator points out that that's a problem: Last Friday, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) followed the lead of the American Postal Workers Union (APWU) by endorsing presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Thus far, most objections to increasing the role of the USPS in the election process involve the inevitable logistical problems that will accompany a precipitous expansion of mail-in voting. The addition of overt partisanship among postal workers to inefficiency renders it obvious that the widespread expansion of vote-by-mail is dangerous. And as GatewayPundit points out -- the postal service was investigated for violating the Hatch Act regarding use of government resources for political ends - in 2016, they were caught using postal resources to help the Hillary Clinton campaign, with no apparent sanction. Thin they won't do it again? They're partisan. And now everyone's supposed to expect that they'll all deliver ballots fairly? All those people, passing ballots from hand to hand, each and every one of them hating Trump, will not try to manipulate what gets delivered? Color us skeptical. The problem with all-mail-in ballots is that every step of the way your ballot is handled by an angry leftist. All it takes is one to make sure yours gets replaced by theirs or else somehow doesn't get delivered. No one would think of putting a winning lottery ticket into the mail to collect. Neither should anyone with their ballot. The second problem is also about as bad - they're incompetent - just the examples from past elections tells us how and why. Catron continues: What we really need to be worried about is the kind of chicanery the politicized USPS routinely perpetrate in states, like Washington, which has had all mail-in elections for years. In that state the local postal workers attach partisan campaign material to mail-in ballots. Recently Alicia Rule, a Democratic candidate for the 42nd Legislative District, was dumb enough to post the following on Facebook: Ballots arrived today! Mine was carefully tucked together with a flyer by our neighborhood postal worker. I am reminded of just how much support we have because even that postal workers union has endorsed our campaign. According to GatewayPundit, last June a postal worker threw away a large cache of GOP congressional mailers in Texas. Partisan? A distinct possibility. And don't forget the messes that were made in New York's and Paterson, New Jersey's primaries, both derived from mail-in ballot fiascos. There's a reason most countries forbid vote-by-mail schemes the Democrats are promoting. Cui bono? Catron also points out that they aren't ready for mail-in ballots and have warned 46 states. Those are where the real crises are. The Democrats are manufacturing the crises now about postal unreadiness is nothing but a big shakedown for postal worker unions and lots of walking around money for them to keep mismanaging. The Democrats are loudly yelling but it's all fake news and phony conspiracies in order to detract from the real issues with turning the postal service into election workers. All these Democrats want to do is stage a fraudy election -- and blame Trump if they don't like the result. Photo illustration by Monica Showalter with use of Wikimedia Commons public domain photo, and Piqsels public domain photo. WESLACO, Texas - An armed suspect is dead after exchanging gunfire with police and deputies Monday inside a department store in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, police said. About 3 p.m., a man dressed in black and carrying an assault-style rifle walked into a Walmart Supercenter in Weslaco, about 60 miles (97 kilometres) northwest of Brownsville, where he began arguing with a customer, Police Chief Joel Rivera told reporters. The customer left and the store evacuated as officers converged. At the officers command, the man dropped the rifle but drew a handgun and exchanged fire, Rivera said. No other injuries were reported. The motive and identity of the suspect were not immediately available, Rivera said. A message to a police spokesman was not immediately returned. PLO chief says UAE-Israel agreement will kill 'two-state solution' Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 5:43 PM Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat says the normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will kill the so-called two-state solution, strengthen "extremists" and undermine the "possibility of peace." "I really believe that this step is a killer to the two-state solution," the chief Palestinian negotiator said on Sunday, during a video call with foreign journalists. Erekat stressed that Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu would have less incentive to compromise on a viable Palestinian state "if he believes that Arab countries will line up to make peace with him." In a joint statement issued by the White House on Thursday, Israel and the UAE announced that they had "agreed to the full normalization of relations." The highly controversial deal, which has since been widely condemned across the occupied Palestinian territories and the Muslim world, has been brokered by US President Donald Trump, who has attempted to paint it as a big breakthrough. Elsewhere in his remarks, Erekat said that "people like Netanyahu and extremists in Israel believe that the two-state solution is off the table." The senior Palestinian official denounced the Israel-UAE deal as a "desperate attempt" by Trump to notch a foreign policy success. Erekat also lambasted the senior White House advisor and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, an architect of the much-condemned agreement, as displaying "a combination of arrogance and ignorance." Delegations from Tel Aviv and Abu Dhabi will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security and the establishment of reciprocal embassies, according to the joint statement. The UAE-Israel deal marks the third such normalization agreement the occupying regime has struck with an Arab country after Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1994). Abu Dhabi was already believed to have clandestine relations with Tel Aviv. Erekat further said on Sunday that Palestinians have called on the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation to hold for emergency meetings to reject the deal. However, no replies have yet received from either body, he added. The top Palestinian negotiator also said that he had already asked Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to pressure the UAE to cancel the deal. Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later annexed East Jerusalem al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community. Palestinians want the resolution of the conflict with Tel Aviv based on the so-called two-state solution along the pre-1967 boundaries. However, the Israeli officials insist on maintaining the occupation of Palestinian territories. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Public memory is notoriously short. So, we were naturally shocked when 10 patients died in a fire accident at a Covid Care Centre in Vijayawada on August 9. But just a few days earlier, a hospital fire in Ahmedabad had extinguished the lives of eight. We can go on and on, tracing the various fire tragedies in the country over the years. Their frequent incidence, in fact, is alarming. As per NCRB data, 60,507 lives were lost in fire incidents between 2015 and 2018. In 2018 alone, 12,748 people died, which means on average, 35 Indians die in a fire every day. This was all reported and yet the response has, more often than not, been knee-jerk to every major fire mishap with no long-term vision to prevent their recurrence. There have been several studies too; one published in the BMJ Injury Prevention journal claimed one in five fire-related deaths in the world takes place in India. In the Vijayawada case, the Care Centre was run in a hotel by a private hospital. Information trickling in from the investigation points to all-too-familiar causes: failure to obtain a No Objection Certificate from the fire services department, poor maintenance and absence of even a fire alarm. On top of this, it appears the hospital had been running the facility even before getting the permission to do so, not just in the ill-fated hotel but also in a few others. The laundry list of its sins reportedly includes fleecing patients and refusing admissions to those covered under the state insurance scheme. So, who is culpable here? The primary responsibility, of course, rests with the hospital and hotel managements. But to stop at that is to let off the hook the government agencies concerned. Those who let such facilities be run with impunity are also equally culpable. While making an example of the culprits, the focus should be on effective enforcement of the National Building Code and related laws. Since technology has advanced by leaps and bounds, making use of it to map and monitor buildings will surely help. But before anything, recognising that we have a problem is imperative. Police have shot dead 11 escaped inmates after a mass break-out from Buimo jail in Papua New Guinea's city of Lae, local media reports say. More than 30 prisoners were still at large after Friday's break-out with only one recaptured, PNG newspapers The National and The Post-Courier reported on Monday. Correctional Services Commissioner Stephen Pokanis said there was a shortage of warders at the prison because one had tested positive to Covid-19, forcing 50 off work to undergo 14 days of isolation. Police have shot dead 11 escaped inmates after a mass break-out from Buimo jail in Papua New Guinea's city of Lae He said of the 45 inmates who escaped, 10 were convicted prisoners and 35 were on remand. Pokanis said Buimo's commanding officer Judy Tara told him that those on remand had expressed frustration at long delays in hearing their court cases. 'She explained to them that court hearings had been limited due to Covid-19 but they did not accept the reasons explained to them,' Pokanis told The National. He said the inmates gathered at the prison gate demanding to take a sick prisoner to the health clinic and once the gate was opened they overpowered the guards and dashed out. Correctional Services Minister Chris Nangoi said the inmates threatened the guards with knives and a catapult. 'They tried to kill the guards and then made their escape.' Pokanis said the alarm was raised and Lae police joined the search for the escapees 'and in the process shot the 11 and recaptured one', The Post-Courier reported. There have been six break-outs at PNG's second-largest prison since 2015, with 32 inmates killed and 138 still at large after those escapes. The prison is meant to accommodate 436 inmates but houses more than 1000. Chennai: Madras High Court on Friday disposed off a petition, seeking a direction to install CCTVs and connecting accessories in all court complexes in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry after the state government informed it that it had already issued an order allotting Rs 39.78 crore for the purpose. The first bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sundar disposed off the PIL filed by lawyer Kasi Ramalingam when the matter came up today after Government Pleader M K Subramanian furnished a copy of the November 29 Government order. The Government order has been issued on November 29. Now the tender will have to be floated, which should be done expeditiously so that the installation works takes place at the earliest, the court said and disposed off the petition. On November 21 when the matter had come up, the state government had sought two weeks time to issue necessary orders on the proposal for providing CCTV cameras in all courts in all the districts, and release funds. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. It was a simple Freedom of Information request on a matter than didn't send the pulse racing. But it says a lot about the reality of how we're governed. Not to mention the quality of our leaders. The FOI request was about the decision to reopen the Phoenix Park to traffic. The request was made by Ken Foxe, from the inquisitive wing of Irish journalism. Some people believed that without cars, the Phoenix Park was a vastly improved amenity. Others were considerably inconvenienced by the ban. It wasn't a life and death matter but it was a controversial decision. Mr Foxe wanted to know who decided what. He placed the FOI documents online - you can find them via his Twitter page. Document One is a draft statement prepared by the Office of Public Works for the minister responsible, Patrick O'Donovan. It begins: "Statement from Minister O'Donovan. I fully recognise that the Phoenix Park... My decision was based on..." Here we see the Minister owning his decision. Document Two (my emphasis) notes that Minister O'Donovan made changes to the original draft statement. It now became a "statement from the Office of Public Works and Minister O'Donovan . . . We fully recognise that the Phoenix Park . . . Our decision was based on..." See what he did there? It's not the minister's sole statement any more. Some might say the minister is hiding behind the OPW; I prefer to think the minister is merely sharing the glory. The statement went back to the OPW with the minister's changes. And the OPW changed the statement again so the minister's name was placed before the OPW. And it said, "Minister O'Donovan concluded . . ." Right back at ya, minister. Credit where credit belongs, yeah? Silly? Trivial? Petty? Yes. But it shows the sensitivities of ministers when it comes to taking responsibility. If this is the courage on display in a decision about directing traffic, then imagine the backstage sensitivity when it's the vastly more controversial matter of Covid-19. And the public health consequences arising from the way the meat factories organise their business. Here it's not about directing traffic; it's an actual life-or-death matter. In addition, the meat factories played their part in the lockdown of 400,000 people in three counties. What did the politicians know about what was going on in the meat factories and when did they know it? Last week, an Oireachtas committee on Covid-19 heard evidence from Irish trade unions about conditions in meat factories. Chilling stuff. You'd almost believe that prior to this, the unfortunate Government was deprived of this information - knowledge that's important to public health and to the welfare of thousands of workers. However, in June, a federation of European trade unions issued a report on all this. It noted there are almost a million workers in the EU meat business, about 15,000 of them in Ireland. It described in detail the circumstances that the government is only now hearing about - allegedly. TDs such as Brid Smith, Paul Murphy and others have again and again warned the Dail about conditions in the meat plants. The TD now chairing the Oireachtas committee, Michael McNamara, expressed concern about the meat factories. The then minister for agriculture described one example of these warnings as "smearing" the poor meat factories, God love them. In comparison with how our Government treated the truth about the meat plants Minister Patrick O'Donovan's statement on opening Phoenix Park to traffic displays the courage of a lion. Last week at the Oireachtas committee, Nora Labo of the Independent Workers Union made a blindingly obvious point: "There is no intrinsic reason why working in a meat plant should be more conducive to contracting Covid-19 than working in any other environment." No reason it should be more dangerous than working in a shop or a factory or an office. It's puzzling, then, how the factories became vectors for the disease. Except it's all there in the EU trade unions report back in June. From March, through April, the unions were raising the alarm "To date there has been 20 clusters identified across 19 plants with 1056 confirmed Covid-19 cases. In some of the affected plants, up to 25pc of the employees have been infected. The plants have not been shut down." Workers are elbow to elbow, the pace of production is relentless. Pay and working conditions are so bad that workers have to be imported to fill the workforce. "Many of these plants," said the EU trade unions report, "were built in the 1960s. People work very close to each other. There is a bad ventilation system and the noise pollution creates also a problem as people have to shout to each other to communicate." Shouting increases airborne transmission of the virus. Cold conditions help the virus spread. Low wages in rural areas with no public transport lead to carpooling in crammed cars. To reduce costs, rooms are shared, beds are shared. These people work incredibly hard often for minimum wages in dreadful conditions, desperate to feed their families. Patricia King, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, told the Oireachtas Covid Committee last week: "The model is to work people as hard as they can for as little as they can for as long as they can." Often agencies control the workers so responsibility for the workers' safety is obscured. The Government issues work permits - it seems cool with the conditions. According to Patricia King: "The top company had turnover of 2.3bn." Meat companies earn big profits, the supermarkets get wealthy selling the finished product. Workers are on lousy pay and farmers despair at the prices they get. Not a pretty picture - but the Government didn't seem worried. The European union report notes that pork and poultry industries are somewhat less unhealthy for workers, while the red meat factories - where unions are weak - are the worst. The fact that the meat factory workforces contain a significant percentage of migrants suggests we're doing to those workers what others did to our people when they had to go abroad in search of work to feed their families. The official Government position on all this is that things are fine - raise questions about it and you're smearing the meat factories for... what reason? In the current crisis, we've seen people forced to freeze their businesses. Often these are people who love producing things, or providing services, who respect their customers and their staff. We're also seeing the relentless drive for profit, miserable conditions inflicted on workers, with consequences for the general population. One might imagine a government encouraging the good employer and protecting workers where necessary. Particularly when there are issues of public health involved. When the workers lack the most basic protections a union can provide. Sorry, no. Not when we have a government that struts and poses and seeks praise for doing popular things and dodges responsibility for controversial decisions. Not when we have a government for whom freedom of the market, the freedom of the boss to do whatever increases profit, trumps everything. HOUSTON -- (Aug. 17, 2020) -- Meals are typically family affairs for zebras, gazelles, cape buffalo and other grazing species in the African Serengeti, but in one of the first studies of its kind, ecologists have found grazing species can be more willing to share meals in areas frequented by lions. The study, which is available online this week in the journal Ecology, was conducted by a team from Rice University, Princeton University, Wake Forest University and the University of Minnesota. They analyzed more than 115,000 camera-trap photos to see where, when and how often six of the Serengeti's most abundant grazing species -- cape buffalo, gazelle, hartebeest, topi, wildebeest and zebra -- formed mixed-species groups. "The mixed-species groups occur near places where lions like to hunt, which suggests the grazers are trying to reduce their chances of being killed by predators," said Rice lead-author Lydia Beaudrot. Mixed-species groups of grazers were found in 1.9% of the camera-trap photos, which were collected between 2010-2015 in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and processed by volunteers for the citizen science website snapshotserengeti.org. Camera-trap findings were combined with information from long-term GPS collar monitoring by the Serengeti Lion Project and satellite imagery that showed both the location of hunting areas favored by lions and where and when food was plentiful or scarce for grazers. "Mixed-species groups were most likely in 'risky' places, like woodland habitats and near rocky outcroppings that lions use as viewsheds," said Beaudrot, an assistant professor of biosciences. But the threat from lions apparently isn't the only thing grazers have to consider. "One of the most interesting results is that grazers in mixed-species groups appear to be making a tradeoff between the risk of being eaten and the need to eat," Beaudrot said. Mixed-species groups were less likely to form when plant productivity was low, she said, which suggests there is a foraging cost associated with mixed-species grazing, said study co-author Meredith Palmer, a behavioral ecologist and postdoctoral fellow at Princeton. "These animals face a trade-off," Palmer said. "When different species group together, each individual is less likely to be eaten by a lion than it would be if it were alone or even possibly with its own species. But each individual is also foraging, and if they get further apart they don't have to compete as much for food. As forage becomes more scarce, these animals have to decide whether the extra food they would get from grazing alone is worth the increased danger from lions." The study focuses on a longstanding idea in ecology called the 'stress gradient hypothesis,' which holds that species are more likely to compete with one another when times are good and more likely to benefit each other when they're under stress, Beaudrot said. "The hypothesis is supported by the findings from more than 700 plant studies, but it's rarely been applied to animals because mixed-species behavior is rare and there typically aren't enough data about it to draw statistically significant conclusions," she said. The collaboration began when Beaudrot heard Palmer describe the Snapshot Serengeti database in a talk at the 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Predator-Prey Interactions. While mixed-species groups had previously been documented in animals, including primates, cetaceans, ungulates, fish and birds, Palmer and Beaudrot realized that the size of the Snapshot Serengeti camera-trap database would allow them a rare opportunity to not simply observe mixed-species groups but to examine the ecological context within which they occur. "Our findings partially support the hypothesis," Beaudrot said. "On the one hand, we found mixed-species groups were more likely to occur when stress was high because of predators, but we also found that mixed-species groups were less likely to form when stress from food scarcity was high, which suggests that stress can also lead to increased competition." She and Palmer said there are also plenty of questions to address with follow-up research, including how mixed-species groups better protects grazers from lions. "The larger groups could provide more warning of lions because there are more eyes for vigilance, or that individual species in the group benefit from the behavior of other species in a way that they wouldn't if they had grazed on their own," Palmer said. "Or it could simply be that the odds of any one individual being eaten go down if it's part of a larger group. Our study can't differentiate between any of those mechanisms." ### Co-authors include Michael Anderson of Wake Forest University and Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (DEB-1020479) and the National Geographic Society (WW-024R-17, WW-025R-17, NGS-52921R-18). Links and resources: The DOI of the Eology paper is: 10.1002/ecy.3163 A copy of the paper is available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3163 High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at: https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/07/0727_GRAZERS-zebwil-lg.jpg CAPTION: Wildebeest and zebra graze together in this camera-trap photo from Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. The photo is one of more than 115,000 camera-trap photos from the Snapshot Serengeti project that were used in a study of mixed-species grazing. (Photo courtesy of snapshotserengeti.org) https://news-network.rice.edu/news/files/2020/07/0727_GRAZERS-lb-lg.jpg CAPTION: Lydia Beaudrot (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) This release can be found online at news.rice.edu. Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Two officials with the American Postal Workers Union said that at least a dozen high-capacity mail sorting machines have already been removed from Massachusetts as part of a U.S. Postal Service reduction plan, according to WGBH News. The USPS announced on Friday that it plans to remove high-volume mail-processing machines in hundreds of locations across the country, warning that almost all of the 50 states, including Massachusetts, could be at risk of voters not getting their ballots back to election offices in time. During the coronavirus pandemic, as concerns about the spread of the viral respiratory infection are high, many public officials have encouraged people to use mail-in ballots to vote. Nine machines have been removed from Bostons Dorchester Avenue post office, according to Scott Hoffman, APWU Boston Local 100 president in an interview with WGBH News on Monday. John Flattery, president of APWU Central Mass Local confirmed that three pieces of sorting equipment were recently removed from Ashburnham, near the New Hampshire border as well as Worcester, Franklin and Sturbridge. USPS operates 671 machines used to organize mail which is to be reduced in dozens of cities over the coming months, according to CNN. The agency started removing machines in June, according to postal workers. We accordingly recommend, that voters who choose to mail their ballots, do so no later than Oct. 27, wrote Thomas J. Marshall, general counsel and executive vice president of the USPS. However, it further appears that state law generally permits voters to request a ballot as late as four days before the election. If a voter submits such a request at or near deadline and if the requested ballot is not transmitted to the voter by mail, there is a significant risk that the ballot will not reach the voter by election day. Trucks were seen hauling mailboxes away by residents in Brookline. A USPS Northeast Area spokesperson said in a statement to WHDH that it will stop removing the boxes after criticism that it is undermining coming elections. Weve counted on the Postal Service from our very foundingand now Donald Trump wants to break it so that votes wont be counted and he can try to claim victory when he loses in November. Weve got to keep up the pressure and ensure we protect the USPS. pic.twitter.com/stjmqvm8Qf Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) August 17, 2020 Weve counted on the Postal Service from our very founding, tweeted Sen. Elizabeth Warren. And now Donald Trump wants to break it so that votes wont be counted and he can try to claim victory when he loses in November. Weve got to keep up the pressure and ensure we protect the USPS. Newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who has been a major donor to the president before taking over the sprawling mail service, said that the postal service has ample capacity to handle the predicted surge in mail-in ballots in the coming months. This organizational change will capture operating efficiencies by providing clarity and economies of scale that will allow us to reduce our cost base and capture new revenue, said DeJoy on Aug. 7. It is crucial that we do what is within our control to help us successfully complete our mission to serve the American people and, through the universal service obligation, bind our nation together by maintaining and operating our unique, vital and resilient infrastructure. A plan implemented on July 10, by DeJoy to cut costs, eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and says employees must adopt a different mindset to ensure the Postal Services survival during the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Post reported Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and her counterparts in Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and other states are in talks to sue the Trump administration to stop them from making operational changes or taking away funds from the USPS before the election. Trump is attempting to undermine this election but we won't let him. Apply for and submit your mail-in ballot as soon as possible and consider using drop boxes or early voting. This election is too important to not have your voice heard!https://t.co/NsS2dY88BD Maura Healey (@maura_healey) August 16, 2020 Trump is attempting to undermine this election but we wont let him, Healey tweeted. Apply for and submit your mail-in ballot as soon as possible and consider using drop boxes or early voting. This election is too important to not have your voice heard! Look at it this way: Your local grocery store was forced to cut [a third] of its cash-out lines, but management expected the same productivity, quality and speed for the customer, said a worker at the Buffalo, Iowa USPS distribution facility in an interview with Vice. Its just never going to happen. Related Content: The royal palace had up until now refused to reveal where Juan Carlos is living, saying he would announce it himself. Juan Carlos, the former king of Spain who went into exile this month in the face of corruption allegations, is in the United Arab Emirates, the royal palace said on Monday, ending the mystery on his whereabouts. The 82-year-old travelled to the United Arab Emirates on August 3 and he remains there, a spokesman said without giving further details. In a surprise move, Juan Carlos announced on August 3 that he was leaving Spain to prevent his personal affairs from undermining his son King Felipe VIs reign, but did not say where he would be going. The royal palace had up until now refused to reveal where Juan Carlos is living, saying he would announce it himself if necessary. While pro-monarchy Spanish daily ABC had reported that the former king had travelled to Abu Dhabi, other media said he was in Portugal, where Juan Carlos spent part of his youth, or in the Dominican Republic. While Juan Carlos is not under formal investigation, revelations by a former mistress, German businesswoman Corinna Larsen, raise legal questions about his financial affairs which officials are looking into in Spain and Switzerland. The suspicions centre on $100m which the late Saudi King Abdullah allegedly deposited into a Swiss bank account in 2008 to which Juan Carlos had access. Kickbacks Prosecutors at Spains Supreme Court are looking into claims made by Larsen that Juan Carlos received kickbacks for a Saudi high-speed rail contract, which was awarded in 2011 to a consortium of Spanish companies. The 450km (280 miles) link between Mecca and Medina was inaugurated in 2018. Juan Carlos, who has long had warm relations with the Gulf monarchies, ascended the throne in 1975 on the death of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco and ruled for 38 years before abdicating in favour of his son Felipe VI in June 2014. He was a popular figure for decades, playing a key role in the democratic transition from the Franco dictatorship which ruled Spain from 1939 to 1975. A majority of Spaniards, 56.2 percent, feel his decision to move abroad is misguided, according to a poll of 802 people published on Sunday in the daily ABC, with only 25.4 percent saying it was the right step. An even greater number of Spaniards, 60.9 percent, believe his self-imposed exile is harmful for his son, the current King Felipe VI, according to the poll of 802 people carried out from August 10 to 14. Since ascending to the throne in 2014, King Felipe VI has taken steps to improve the monarchys image, such as imposing a code of conduct on royals. Earlier this year, he stripped his father of his annual allowance of nearly 200,000 euros (about $237,000) after new details of allegedly shady financial dealings emerged. The famous Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala opened on Sunday, on the eve of the monthly five-day poojas for the Malayalam month of Chingam. However, the bar on devotees entry will continue as per Covid-19 health protocols. The temple will remain open till August 21 and only the usual rituals will be conducted, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the hill shrine said. However, devotees will not be allowed in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. The TDB, in a release, also said the temple will again open for Onam poojas from August 29 to September 2. The board has already said that devotees visiting the shrine will have to carry Covid-19 negative certificates for darshan when the temple opens for the over two month-long pilgrim season from November 16. Also read: COVID-19 in Maharashtra: Lockdown to be lifted in stepwise manner, says CM Uddhav Thackeray Anusha Ravi By Express News Service BENGALURU: As part of its 'stringent' action over violence in Bengaluru's DG Halli on August 11, the Karnataka police have invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused in the case. Taking a cue from the Delhi police following riots in the national capital earlier this year, Karnataka police chief Praveen Sood informed Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday that sections under the UAPA have been invoked in the case. Initial FIRs only included sections of IPC, Karnataka prevention of damages to public properties act etc. "UAPA has been invoked in the case recently as more facts about the incident have emerged during investigation," Kamal Pant, Commissioner of Police, told The New Indian Express. In a meeting of top officials, legal officers and the Chief Minister, it was also decided to approach the Karnataka High Court seeking appointment of a 'Claims Commissioner' as per a Supreme Court directive to assess damages caused to private and public property as it can be recovered from 'culprits,' a statement from the Chief Minister's office said. The state will also appoint a team of three special public prosecutors to conduct the case. "The invocation of Goonda Act will also be considered by the SIT (already formed to probe the case) in the cases wherever the provisions are attracted," the Chief Minister's office said. Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Chief Secretary TM Vijaya Bhasker, Advocate General Prabhuling Navadagi, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Rajanish Goel, DG&IGP Praveen Sood, ADGP Intelligence Dayanada, Commissioner of Police Bengaluru Kamalpant and ADGP Law and Order Amar Kumar Pandey were in the meeting. Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Director Steffen Knapp, who has been heading the business in the country for three years, tells Pavan Lall that he has launched two sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and plans two more next year. He says the parent company remains committed to its plans despite the slump in the automobile industry. Edited excerpts: Are you redrawing your 2.0 strategy for India and whats the message from your headquarters in Wolfsburg? We are completely focused on India 2.0. Everything is on track. From the HQ, the clear message is that we have been affected by the ... An inmate from Connecticut committed suicide by using a face mask to hang himself in jail. The authorities later on discovered the prisoner dead in his cell. Officials in the Department of Correction ordered masks as standard operating procedure for all prisons to avoid outbreaks, according to CNN. Authorities confirmed that he committed suicide using a cloth mask and not a disposal mask. Based on the autopsy of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the convict's death was caused by suicide and no foul play was suspected. The identified inmate, Daniel Ocasio, 32, was discovered a bit after 5 a.m. on Wednesday in the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville, Connecticut. A was ligature was fastened around the victim's neck. These details were released by Andrius Banevicius of the DOC who sent the statement to the press. According to the Department of Corrections, the ligature used by the inmate to take his life was made from a cloth mask issued by the prison administration to all the convicts. As the coronavirus is going unchecked in the U.S., prison officials are keen in preventing an outbreak in jails. Despite the result of suicide and no suspicioun of foul play, the DOC is still investigating the circumstances of his death. Those specifically investigating will be DOC's security division and the Connecticut State Police, said Banevicius. Records indicate that Daniel Ocasio, from Windsor, was incarcerated in the penitentiary at the Uncasville area of Montville from August 5. Charges against him is burglary in the third degree, said the DOC. A bond of $10,000 is set for his case. Also read: The Story of Ted Bundy, A Prolific Serial Killer in America Inmates can spread the COVID-19 rapidly in the prison without proper precautions. Ocasio's case only punctuates the severity of the pandemic which affects all prisoners. This was further supported in a study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health published in July. They pointed out the vulnerability of catching the bug in penal centers, giving most of the convicts a 5.5 more chance of acquiring the contagious disease than those not in jail. Estimates were projected at an infection propagation of 3,251, in every 100,000 prisoner population. Compared that to the 587 infected from 100,000 people non-criminals. More data revealed that convicts were more likely to die from the virus, as high as three times more compared to non-convicts with leeway for age and gender in the data collected. According to the analysis, it was about 39 fatalities in 100,000 convicts, in contrast to the 29 dead in 100,000 of the non-convicts which is significant. Conversely, the Department of Corrections is alarmed at the detected number of positive prisoners. There are 1,300 convicts in Connecticut prisons, and seven have died from the virus. Ocasio's death drew fire from the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut (ACLU) that asked the DOC to investigate the death. Banevicius said the investigation is getting conducted to determine more details surrounding the incident. Related article: The Story of Ted Bundy, A Prolific Serial Killer in America @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The coronavirus pandemic first appeared in a seafood market in Wuhan City in Hubei Province, China, late December 2019. Since then, it has wreaked havoc in 188 countries and territories, infecting more than 21.67 million people worldwide and claiming over 775,000 lives. Now, a report on the website Independent Science News by researchers Jonathan Latham, and Allison Wilson suggests that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), may not have originated at a Wuhan wet market in 2019, but 1,000 miles away in 2012, in a Chinese mineshaft where workers fell ill with a mysterious, pneumonia-like illness after being exposed to bats. Exposure to bat feces In 2012, six people at the Mojiang mine, in Yunnan province, experienced a pneumonia-like illness after removing bat feces in their area. Overall, three of the men had died after experiencing fever, dry cough, and other symptoms also typical in COVID-19 patients. The researchers, virologist Jonathan Latham and molecular biologist Allison Wilson, who are from the Bioscience Resource Project in Ithaca, arrived at their findings after reviewing the thesis of a Chinese doctor, Li Xu. Dr. Xu was the doctor of the miners who fell ill and sent their tissue samples to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for testing. The evidence it contains has led us to reconsider everything we thought we knew about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also led us to theorize a plausible route by which an apparently isolated disease outbreak in a mine in 2012 led to a global pandemic in 2019, Lathan and Wilson wrote in their report. The miners were treated with similar therapies used today for SARS-CoV-2 infection, including ventilation and the use of drugs, such as antibiotics, blood thinners, and steroids, among others. The doctor in 2012 also tested for other diseases such as dengue fever, hepatitis, and even HIV, to determine the cause of the mysterious illness. Also, they consulted many specialists throughout the country, including Zhong Nanshan, a doctor who managed the SARS outbreak in 2003. The remote meeting with Zhong Nanshan is significant. It implies that the illnesses of the six miners were of great concern and, second, that a SARS-like coronavirus was considered a likely cause, Latham and Wilson said. The samples sent to the Wuhan lab were studied in 2018 and was concluded to come from a horseshoe bat. Intermediate Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus affinis). Image Credit: Binturong-tonoscarpe / Shutterstock Similarities with SARS-CoV-2 The reports of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 varies, with some saying the virus comes from natural sources like wild animals, while some claim it was man-made. However, Latham and Wilson said that the origin of SARS-CoV-2 is based on the case histories of the miners and their hospital treatment. In SARS-CoV-2, it contains a furin site, which is new to the virus compared to its near relatives. The theory can explain the origin of the polybasic furin cleavage site, which is an area of the viral spike protein that makes it susceptible to bind with the host enzyme furin, increasing the chance of viral spread in the body. Another theory that baffled scientists about COVID-19 is, there is an exceptional affinity of the virus spike protein for human receptors, which is surprising since if it has originated from animals, it would take some time for the virus to be accustomed to infect humans easily. Lastly, the theory also explains why the novel coronavirus targets the lungs, which is unusual for a coronavirus. In a separate study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, a team of researchers studied a novel Henipa-like virus in rats in China in 2012. The study contained a report on the six miners who fell ill with severe pneumonia without a known cause. The team investigated the presence of novel zoonotic pathogens in natural hosts in the abandoned cave and collected anal swab samples from 20 bats, nine rats, and five musk shews from the mine for virus analysis. They found that the virus obtained from samples shares similar features with henipaviruses, which are related to paramyxoviruses. Currently, the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 21.67 million, wherein the United States reports the highest number of infections, topping 5.40 million confirmed cases. Brazil and India follow with a staggering 3.34 million and 2.64 million cases, respectively. Science BGR Our Sun isnt quite as old as other stars out there. However, scientists are already trying to pinpoint exactly when the Sun will die. Of course, it isnt as simple as throwing out a date. After all, were working with a massive ball of energy that weve still barely managed to scratch the surface of The post Scientists think they figured out when the Sun will explode and kill us all appeared first on BGR. Sales associates at one of Alibaba-owned InTime's store display products for sale during a livestream. InTime | Alibaba BEIJING More and more people in China are turning to jobs in the digital economy as the coronavirus pandemic accelerates a shift toward online commerce and livestreaming. The unemployment rate for cities held steady at 5.7% in July, according to official data released by the government Friday. The official jobless rate whose accuracy is often doubted by analysts was the same as the prior month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. During the peak of Covid-19's impact on China's economy, the unemployment rate hit a record high of 6.2% in February. "Along with the recovery of the economic situation, the demand for employment is actually expanding. Some flexible jobs are increasing ... and overall have played an important role in stabilizing employment, Fu Linghui, a spokesperson at the National Bureau of Statistics, said at a press conference Friday, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. Fu's examples included livestreaming e-commerce and smartphone-based travel products, such as ride-hailing. New jobs in online education Others in China have spoken broadly about a surge in demand for online courses, both for school-age children and adults. Chinese parents prioritize their children's education, and being forced to try online classes for a few months could turn into a longer-term habit. Since the coronavirus outbreak, Gao Lei said he nearly doubled his teaching staff for his three tuition centers in a less developed part of Inner Mongolia under his company, Qizhi Future Technology. While the virus' spread has subsided and most courses have resumed offline, Gao said he is planning to offer online classes for regional test preparation. The courses generally pair one local teacher with an instructor from a major city such as Beijing, he said, and to offset the increased costs of hiring more teachers, Gao said he also needs to expand his marketing team. Rapid advances in technology and new restrictions on business activity from the coronavirus pandemic require employees to learn new technical skills in order to stay competitive. "This year is a breakout year for online education," Austin Li, CEO of consulting firm Edge Fashion, which he says now generates about half its revenue from online courses on implementing a livestreaming and e-commerce sales strategy up from about 20% in 2017. "In the next few years, (I) expect it will be greater and greater," Li said in a phone interview last month, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. His company used to primarily sell consulting and marketing strategy services, but is now seeing growth opportunities in online education. He noted that many people in the fashion industry who lost their jobs are looking for new kinds of work. A course lasts about 7 to 10 days, Li said, and costs about $1,500 for the online version, half of what it would be offline. He said students come from Los Angeles, Vancouver, Boston and China. Since the coronavirus pandemic forced millions of people to stay at home and limited the operations of physical stores, selling directly to consumers via live video streaming has taken off in China. Competition is fierce. Chinese short video and streaming app Kuaishou reported on July 22 that daily active users for its livestreaming function rose 70 million from the end of 2019 to 170 million in six months. Demand for more video content producers But businesses are still hiring to tap into the trend. Chinese recruitment platform Qingtuanshe said some of the fastest-growing job openings it's seen are those that can be done at home, such as online part-time work that include short video editing and livestream broadcasting. A look at Qingtuanshe's job portal, accessible through the Alipay app run by Alibaba-affiliate Ant, shows openings for 4,000-yuan-a-month (approximately $575) to livestream on Douyin, the Chinese version of the hugely popular short-form video sharing app TikTok. Another post advertised for a job paying 5,000 yuan a month was looking for a voice-only broadcaster. Qingtuanshe said it has more than 410,000 registered merchants and has processed more than 100 million applications in half a year. Even though the work is ultimately done online, the location of a potential employee can also factor into the hiring process for businesses. Chris Sun, founder and CEO of ReadAbroad, which creates courses for wealth management in China, said in an interview Thursday that his company turned to a short-video strategy this year, in order to grow the customer base. He plans to add about 10 more people to his current staff of 50 to 60 people. "The city is (also) an important consideration," he said, noting labor costs in Chengdu, a city in southwest China, can be half or a third of what they are in Beijing. Questions of sustainability It's not clear whether online models, particularly livestreaming, have longer-term potential for driving sales. Some third-party Chinese data estimates indicate the gross merchandise value (GMV) of goods sold in July by the top 50 livestreamers dropped by a few billion yuan from June, a month that saw major e-commerce platforms hold a major shopping festival. GMV is a commonly tracked metric measuring the total value of sales for goods and services sold on the platforms of e-commerce companies. When asked about the reports of a drop in sales from livestreaming, Fu did not address them directly at Friday's press conference, but said generally that livestreaming-driven sales and other new forms of selling still have a positive effect on overall sales promotion. Overall retail sales in China fell 1.1% in July from a year ago, but rose 0.85% from June, according to official data released Friday. Online retail sales were up 9% for the first seven months of the year from a year ago, the data showed. Right now, pressure on employment still exists. Fu Linghui spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics Analysts have noted that livestreams can often drive impulse purchases, which results in a higher rate of products being returned. Other times, live-streaming hosts and influencers known as KOLs, or "key opinion leaders" may lack expert knowledge about the many products they are selling every day, Xin Yi Lim, executive director of sustainability and agriculture impact at Chinese e-commerce site Pinduoduo, said in a phone interview Thursday. "Sometimes people just make these purchases because they're endorsed by so and so," Lim said. "On our platform, we have less of those issues because most of our merchants do that livestream themselves or hire a specialized sales person... tied to that store." Lukashenka Rules Out Repeat Vote As Massive Crowd Turns Out For Opposition By RFE/RL's Belarus Service August 16, 2020 MINSK -- Huge crowds gathered in the Belarusian capital in the biggest outpouring yet of opposition to the disputed reelection of President Alyaksandr Lukashenka as pressure mounts for him to step down after 26 years in power. Some reports estimated the number of protesters assembled near the city's Victory Park at from 100,000 to more than 200,000 people, describing the rally as the largest-ever in Minsk. RFE/RL was unable to independently verify the crowd size. Protesters were seen carrying the red-and-white flag used by the opposition, and shouting "Tribunal!", "Leave!", "Dismissed!", and "Freedom for political prisoners!" Opposition demonstrations were also held in cities throughout the country. The Minsk rally competed with a large pro-Lukashenka demonstration that began two hours earlier about 2 kilometers away, in the central Independence Square. As evening approached, participants in the opposition rally had moved to the grounds where the pro-presidential demonstration was held. Lukashenka, addressing a crowd of supporters that the Interior Ministry estimated at 65,000 people, claimed that NATO tanks and planes had been deployed 15 minutes from the Belarusian border and neighboring countries were ordering the country to hold new elections, something he said he refused to do. A NATO spokesperson later denied any troop buildup in Eastern Europe, saying, "NATO's multinational presence in the eastern part of the alliance is not a threat to any country." The statement went on to call on Belarus to respect basic freedoms, including the right to peaceful protest. The Belarusian president, who opposition protesters say stole the August 9 election that gave him a sixth-straight term, also said that "one cannot rig 80 percent" -- the percentage of the vote officially given to him by the Central Election Commission. He vowed to never give in to those demanding he step down and hold repeat elections, saying that "if someone wants to surrender the country, I will not allow that, even when I am dead." He also alleged that the neighboring Baltic states, Poland, and Ukraine were "ordering" a new election, a claim that the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called "an absolute lie." Lukashenka addressed the crowd as the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Lukashenka in a telephone call on August 16 that Russia was ready to provide aid under the terms of the Collective Security Treaty Organization if need be, and claimed Belarus was facing unspecified external pressure. It was their second telephone conversation in as many days. Lukashenka was declared the victor of the August 9 election by a landslide, with the main opposition challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, trailing far behind despite drawing huge crowds at campaign rallies across the country. No election in Belarus under Lukashenka has been deemed free and fair by the West. Tsikhanouskaya has since fled to Lithuania, but has claimed to be the rightful winner and has called for peaceful protests across Belarus. Some 7,000 people have been detained by police across Belarus in the postelection crackdown, with hundreds injured and at least two killed as police have used rubber bullets, stun grenades, and, in at least one instance, live ammunition. Hundreds of those held and subsequently released spoke of brutal beatings they suffered in detention, much of it documented and splashed across social media. Thousands more remain in detention as international outrage mounts. Maryya Kalesnikava, opposition leader and former campaign manager of barred and jailed opposition candidate Viktar Babaryka, called at the Minsk rally for the release of "all political prisoners and detainees from peaceful and dissenting rallies," saying that more than 4,000 people remained in prison. "And our main demand: the former president [Lukashenka] must resign!" she said. Rallies were also held in other Belarusian cities. In Babruisk, more than 1,000 demonstrators unfurled a red-and-white banner that spanned the base of the eastern city's Lenin monument. In Smalyavichy, northeast of Minsk, protesters marched carrying red-and-white balloons and flags and holding signs saying, "We are for Belarus." Similar actions took place in the cities of Lahoysk and Nyasvizh. The independent news site Tut.by reported that government workers and other state employees had been told to show up for the pro-Lukashenka rally or face being fired. The holding of the two rallies within such a short distance raised concerns that the competing crowds could clash. Metal fencing around Independence Square was installed early on August 16 with agricultural vehicles used to close off nearby roads. Opposition media channels say Lukashenka, a onetime manager of a Soviet-era collective farm, was planning to bus people in from other parts of the country. Video on social media showed people -- many bused in from other regions -- at the pro-Lukashenka rally chanting, "We're for Batka," meaning father, the nickname for Lukashenka. And in a surprise move, Ihar Leshchenya, the Belarusian ambassador to Slovakia, declared solidarity with protesters in an undated video posted by Nasha Niva media late on August 15. Other state employees, including police officers and state TV staff, have also come out in support of the protests. Some of the country's biggest state-run industrial plants have been hit by protests and walkouts in the past week. While giving prayers on August 16, Roman Catholic Pope Francis said his thoughts were with "dear Belarus," and appealed "for dialogue, to rebuke violence and respect justice and rights." The same day, the Synod of the Belarusian Exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church called on Belarus's leadership to end the violence, and "bring those who have committed atrocities and cruelty to lawful judgment and condemnation." Meanwhile, thousands came out on August 15 to mourn the death of Alyaksandr Taraykouski who died in Minsk on August 10 during the postelection protests. Demonstrators heaped flowers at the spot and the crowd chanted "Thank you!" and raised victory signs. Police kept a low profile. Many held up photographs of protesters beaten during the crackdown, while one man stood in his underwear revealing the purple bruises on his thighs, buttocks and back. The memorial came as AP published video that appears to contradict the official version of Taraykouski's death. The video shows Taraykouski wobbling with a blood-stained shirt before he collapses to the ground several meters from a line of riot police at Pushkinskaya subway station in the capital, Minsk. According to the official version of events, an explosive device blew up in Taraykouski's hands as he was trying to throw it at police, but nothing like that can be seen in the video. Hours later, thousands turned up at the Minsk headquarters to protest state-run media coverage of the protests and what they say is the whitewashing of the authorities harsh handling of demonstrators. The protesters urged state-media journalists to "respect" their audiences. A state television lighting technician, Uladzimer Tsitarenka, told RFE/RL that "nearly 80 percent" of the technical staff were ready to join a general strike to protest the election. "Everything will be decided on Monday [August 17]," he said. Facing the most serious threat ever to his authoritarian rule, Lukashenka spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on August 15, after saying there was "a threat not only to Belarus." He later told military chiefs that Putin had offered "comprehensive help" to "ensure the security of Belarus." The Kremlin said the leaders agreed the "problems" in Belarus would be "resolved soon" and the countries' ties strengthened. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on August 15 urged Lukashenka to "engage with civil society", during a trip to Poland, which has offered to act as a mediator. Demonstrators are demanding that the election results be invalidated, that a new election be held under a new Central Election Commission, and that all political prisoners be released. The election commission declared Lukashenka the winner of the election with some 80 percent. Tsikhanouskaya says she won 60 to 70 percent of the vote. Tsikhanouskaya said that she was initiating the creation of a "Coordination Council" for a potential transition of power. She's also called on the international community to "help us in organizing a dialogue with Belarusian authorities." With reporting by Current Time, AFP, Interfax, and TASS Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/belarus-national -march-for-freedom-lukashenka-faces -growing-pressure/30786310.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prince Harry exchanged strong words with the Queen about one of her key aides, according to the author of Finding Freedom. Omid Scobie claims that the Duke of Sussex, 35, called his grandmother, 94, and said: 'I don't know what the hell is going on, but this woman needs to make this work for my future wife.' The exasperated call was made following an alleged tussle with Her Majesty's long-time dresser Angela Kelly about whether Meghan, 39, would be given time to try on her wedding tiara during a trial with her hairdresser ahead of the big day, Mr Scobie will say in an interview with True Royalty TV, broadcast today. Prince Harry was reportedly furious with Ms Kelly, a close confidante of the Queen, after she 'deliberately dragged her feet' when Meghan asked for access to the tiara before the couple's nuptials in May 2018. There were also reportedly issues surrounding Meghan's choice of tiara. Her first choice is said to have been the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, which was worn by Princess Eugenie at her wedding six months after the Sussexes' nuptials. Meghan Markle arrives at the High Altar for the wedding at St George's Chapel on May 19, 2018 Harry and the Queen at Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding at Windsor Castle on May 18, 2019 Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau, which was worn by Meghan for her wedding to Prince Harry Although the issue surrounding the tiara has been documented in Mr Scobie's biography, co-written with Carolyn Durand, it is the first time his heated phone conversation with the Queen has been reported. Mr Scobie will say in the interview today: 'Harry had to intervene. He called his grandmother and said, "I don't know what the hell is going on. This woman needs to make this work for my future wife". And of course, we can kind of see now where this "what Meghan wants, Meghan gets" narrative came from. 'Harry felt that there were those within the institution that would stop at nothing at the very least to make Meghan's life difficult.' It is unclear why this phone conversation was not retold in similar fashion in the biography - which states that Harry didn't believe that Ms Kelly was 'truly unavailable' to assist with the hair trial and thought she was 'purposefully ignoring Meghan'. It states: 'What followed between the prince and Angela was a heated exchange that was far from the typical restraint expected. According to a source, Harry had no problem confronting the issue had on. "He was fed up," said the aide... In the end, Harry had to speak to his grandmother about the situation. And she got her trial.' The exasperated call was made following a tussle with a key aide to Her Majesty, Angela Kelly According to the authors, a senior Buckingham Palace aide insisted the Duke of Sussex was being 'oversensitive' when he accused Ms Kelly of trying to make things difficult for Meghan, however a source close to the prince said 'nothing could convince Harry that some of the old guard at the Palace simply didn't like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult'. The 'tiara row' symbolised the frustration of the Sussexes with the so-called 'vipers' at the Palace. Harry saw it as a 'huge snub' that Ms Kelly did not organise for Meghan and her American hairdresser Serge Normant to get access to the glittering Queen Mary bandeau headpiece when they wished. Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand was released last week A friend said: 'Meg had flown her hairdresser over from Paris for a hair practice and they needed the tiara. 'Angela Kelly said she couldn't come to London [from Windsor] and Harry went ballistic. He was furious at the treatment of his then fiancee. Such a snub.' But others insist the couple misinterpreted Ms Kelly's reply. A source said: 'Meghan demanded access to the tiara. She didn't make an appointment with Angela, but said, "We're at Buckingham Palace, we want the tiara. Can we have it now please?" 'Angela essentially said, "I'm very sorry, that's not how it works." There's protocol in place over these jewels. They're kept under very tight lock and key. You can't turn up and demand to have the tiara just because your hairdresser happens to be in town.' Scobie also claims that Prince William has not spoken to his brother properly since he revealed his plan to quit the UK for North America. In the TV interview to promote the book, Mr Scobie says: 'The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit. 'They hadn't seen each other. That's really going to take some time to heal. I think the distance between the brothers grew wider and wider. And that's partly because of things that take place - and we discuss them in the book.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's plan to step back from their royal duties made the brother's relationship difficult, says Mr Scobie. In the TV interview to promote the book, Mr Scobie says: 'The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit' He says: 'I think really where it went wrong for Harry and Meghan and the Cambridges was that decision to go public with the road map to their new working model. 'The statements weren't discussed internally. That's really what caused the most amount of hurt to William, because he wears two hats. 'He's not just the brother, he's also future king and he felt that damaged the reputation of the family.' 'That it put family business out into the public domain when it should've been discussed privately and there was a lot of hurt there that continues to this day.' The Queen appointed Ms Kelly, nicknamed AK47 because of her uncompromising manner, a member of the Royal Victorian Order in 2006 and promoted her to Lieutenant of the same Order in 2012 for 'distinguished personal service'. She is also Her Majesty's Personal Adviser and Curator (The Queen's Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe), a role not previously granted to a Royal servant. Your browser does not support the audio element. Observing how wearing a face mask with elastic loops for hours can cause intense irritation behind the ears, a Vietnamese knitting community has come up with the idea of making wool 'ear savers' an accessory that substitutes for the human ears when put on a face mask and donate them to frontline health workers. Since the return of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks in Vietnam in late July, thousands of healthcare workers have been struggling with wearing face masks for long hours on a daily basis. As a result, a number of members in the knitting group of Phan Thi Thuong, a resident of Tan Quy Ward, Tan Phu District in Ho Chi Minh City, brought forth the idea of ear savers to help hold the masks in place without putting any pressure on the wearers ears. The accessory is a narrow wool strip, slightly wider than a finger and about 12 to 15 centimeters in length, with a button at both ends. With this design, face masks can be worn by hooking up the elastic loops to the strip that goes over the back of ones head instead of their ears, making wearing a face mask pain-free even after long hours. Ear savers are made from different types of knitting yarn at Phan Thi Thuongs workshop in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Hoang An / Tuoi Tre According to Thuong, at first her group only intended to donate the products to doctors and frontline health workers on duty in Ho Chi Minh City and in the outbreak epicenter in Da Nang. However, members of the knitting community in other provinces soon joined the cause. Thuong now serves as a middlewoman who receives and distributes finished products to anti-epidemic units across Vietnam. Because the products are made by hand, it takes about six to ten minutes to finish each ear saver. Some people who have yet to know how to knit have also expressed interest in joining us, Thuong said. We welcome whatever contribution. Mine and other knitting groups combined can make an average of 1,000 to 2,000 items a day." Some colorful ear savers made by a 67-year-old member of Phan Thi Thuongs knitting group in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Hoang An / Tuoi Tre Phan Thi Thuong inspects ear savers before distribution at her knitting workshop in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Hoang An / Tuoi Tre Phan Thi Thuongs knitting group makes wool ear savers at their workshop in Tan Phu District, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Hoang An / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Czech Republic signed the Convention founding the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development on 21 December 1995, thereby pledged its full dedication to achieving the Organisations fundamental aims. What does the permanent delegation do? Like all the member countries, the Czech government maintains a permanent delegation to the OECD, composed of an ambassador and diplomats. As a member of the Council, the Czech Republic's ambassador, in consultation with his peers, agrees the programme of work which is described in the annual report, and establishes the volume of the annual budget, contributions being assessed according to the relative size of each countrys economy. Members of the Czech Delegation monitor the work of the OECDs various committees as well as the activities of the Development Centre, the International Transport Forum (ITF), the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), of which Czech Republic is a member. Delegations thus play a vital communication role in providing liaison between the OECD Secretariat and national authorities. They represent their governments positions in multilateral negotiations, indicate areas in which their governments seek OECD expertise and endeavour to help disseminate OECD recommendations in their respective countries. In doing so, they ensure that there is a good fit between OECD work and the issues of concern in their country. What are the benefits of OECD membership? The benefits for countries are many. Through its country surveys and comparable statistical and economic data, the OECD provides its member countries tools with which to analyse and monitor their economic, social and environmental policies. Countries can draw on the OECDs reservoir of expertise, including peer reviews, and they can access all of the research and analysis conducted by the Secretariat. Covering the full economic and social spectrum, this work could not be carried out by any one country alone. In addition to its economic intelligence functions, the OECD is above all a forum within which countries can discuss and share national experience, identify best practices and find solutions to common problems. The OECD having working relationships with over 100 non-member economies, members benefit from dialogue and consultations with all players on the world scene, in a context of increased interdependence that demands global rules of the game. Related Documents OECD Brochure in Czech Nicole Kidman's sister Antonia Kidman is currently isolating at her Sydney home with her husband Craig Marran and their four children. And on Monday, the 49-year-old journalist shared advice with other parents on how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. In a column penned for Nine Honey, Antonia said: 'My initial reaction came from a need for certainty as to when the nightmare would end, and our lives could return to normal but the last few months have demonstrated there will be no quick fix.' Advice: Nicole Kidman's sister Antonia Kidman (pictured) has shared advice on how to deal with the coronavirus pandemic 'This fear and uncertainty is here to stay. So, we must adapt, and the best way to do this is to adapt with a realistic optimism,' she said. Antonia explained it's important to change negative mindsets and instead 'focus on resilience and strength.' She also said it's not the end of the world if a child's academic results aren't achieved as it's more important to be physically and mentally healthy. The mother-of-six also said listening is very essential and parents should 'encourage communication with a child'. Listening: The mother-of-six said listening is very essential and parents should 'encourage communication with a child' Antonia and her husband Craig Marran are currently working from home. She recently shared a picture to Instagram of Craig and four of her children sitting at the dining table, working on laptops or writing on school worksheets. 'Today's office,' Antonia captioned the post. Family: Antonia recently shared a picture to Instagram of Craig and four of her children sitting at the dining table, working on laptops or writing on school worksheets In June, Antonia revealed that she's been thinking about adding to her family of six and is considering getting a dog. She said in a column for 9Honey now that her family has relocated back to Australia and live in a house with a sizeable backyard - after almost a decade of living in Singapore - the idea of getting a family pooch was on the cards. She wrote that the love a dog owner has for their pet 'seems so unconditional, solid and enormous and I don't want to go through life without experiencing it'. Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty ROMEFather Jeremy Leatherby of Sacramento, California, surely knew what was coming when he continued to preach to the faithful that Pope Benedict XVI, who retired in 2013, is still the one true pope. Since the election upon Benedicts retirement of Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, Leatherby has shunned the new pontiff and continued to only refer to Benedict as the churchs true leader in mass. Last week, after several warnings, he was charged with schism, defrocked and excommunicated from the Catholic Church. I continue to regard Benedict as retaining the Office of Peter, as mysterious as that might be, he wrote in an open letter to the Sacramento diocese, referring to the belief that all new popes replace the original pope Peter. Therefore, I do not regard Bergoglio as the Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Steve Bannon, Cardinal Burke, Minister Salvini, and the Plot to Take Down Pope Francis Leatherbys story is somewhat complicated by allegations of a breach of his vow of celibacy through romantic affairs with at least two adult women, one of whom he publicly confessed his love to in a now rather embarrassing video that has been widely circulated. In it, he begins by addressing an unidentified woman: Hey, Baby Doll. I love that without mascara that you are still strikingly beautiful, the priest says into his phone camera as he drives his car at night. I love that. I love it, like, a lot. A lot a lot. I loved it earlier when I saw you, and you didnt have it on, and I loved it all night long. In fact, the local bishop Jaime Soto, who cut Leatherby loose, had already banned him from public mass over that offense, though the case had not yet been put before any sort of Vatican or even local diocese board for judgement. But Father Leatherby continued to preach to the anti-Francis flock, going door-to-door, to private homes where worshipers wanted to celebrate mass in union with Pope Benedict, not with Pope Francis, he wrote in a letter addressing his excommunication. Many who have joined me hold, like I do, that Benedict remains the one true Pope. Story continues His excommunication, which the church views as latae sententiae or self-inflicted by his words and actions, may seem extreme, but it is likely meant as a warning to other anti-Francis clergy, Vatican analysts say. He is by far not the only Catholic priest who refuses to accept the current pope, and who, in doing so, continue to sow division in the church at large. Mike Lewis, who runs the Catholic website Where Peter Is, wrote last week about full seminaries that consider themselves Francis-free zones. In an article in America Magazine for Jesuits, he pointed to popular anti-Francis voices that seek to push the opposition to this pope, including Michael Voris of Church Militant and the very popular YouTube commentator Taylor Marshall, whose tweets and vlogs have a cult following of their own. The Plot to Bring Down Pope Francis The Popes Dirty Past Writing for Catholic News Agency, the editor-in-chief J.D. Flynn says that such a formal declaration of a priests excommunication is a rare phenomenon. Bishop Soto, whom Leatherby also apparently shunned over his loyalty to Francis, had written to Leatherby giving him one more chance to repent and get in line and stop referring to Benedict in mass. But the priest refused and the excommunication was made public. The Catholic News Agency was able to see a copy of the letter in which Soto wrote that he had heard tapes of the illicit sermons and received a number of testimonies reporting that Leatherby had not only defied his order not to offer mass over the women issue, but had also preached against the Holy Father and omitted the inclusion of his name and mine from the Eucharistic prayer. Leatherby acknowledged everything in his response letter. Bishop Sotos sentence of excommunication against me is consistent with my relationship with Jorge Bergoglio (Pope Francis), with whom I cannot morally, spiritually or intellectually, in good conscience, align myself, he wrote. Becky Jennings, a volunteer and parent at the school where Leatherby worked, told Flynn that Leatherby had fostered a cult-like following of anti-Francis worshippers. Jennings told CNA that while she had originally liked his rigidity and strict adherence to Catholic doctrine, she then grew wary. In retrospect, there were a lot of things that should have been red flags, Jennings told CNA. There were cult-like elements with Fr. Leatherby and his family. Leatherby comes on the heels of several other instances of anti-Francis resistance. In 2019, 19 priest and bishops signed a letter accusing Francis of heresy, which followed a letter two years earlier signed by 62 priests and theologians that charged that Francis effectively upheld 7 heretical positions about marriage, the moral life, and the reception of the sacraments, and has caused these heretical opinions to spread in the Catholic Church, in his writings as pontiff, especially his exhortation on marriage and family called Amoris Laetitia. The movement against Francis has been fanned by the former Vatican nuncio to Washington, D.C., Monsignor Carlo Maria Vigano, who remains in hiding after penning a damning 11-page letter and joining forces with American cardinal Raymond Burke and anti-Francis Catholic Steve Bannon whose joint cause to create an alternative to Francis has been renewed after an Italian judge overturned an earlier ruling to stop his alt-right university for like-minded thinkers, which he hopes to build in an ancient monastery outside of Rome. Though held up by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, renovations are said to be underway. Francis has never directly addressed those who do not recognize him as the leader of the Catholic Church, but he said in June, There are always those who destroy unity and stifle prophecy, alluding to the naysayers and critics but clearly choosing to instead turn the other cheek and rise above it. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. By Express News Service BERHAMPUR: In the wake of migrants heading back to their workplaces in absence of enough livelihood options, leaders of Odia Samaj in Surat have appealed to the workers not to return to Gujarat as the situation is still vulnerable and most of the mills are closed. Agents of different mills are luring migrant workers to return back by paying money to get their commission. If the workers return to Surat, they may face problems in getting accommodation. In such a situation, it is not safe to return to Surat and the promise of engagement in mills is hoax, they said. Meanwhile, police intercepted a bus carrying 26 migrant workers to Surat in Buguda block. The workers were sent back to their homes in Polasara and Buguda while the bus was released with a warning not to enter Ganjam without prior permission of the district administration. However, the migrant workers alleged that despite assurance from the administration of providing work in their native places, no livelihood option has been provided to them. The work available is being provided to the supporters of ruling party leaders, they claimed. On the other hand, sources in Buguda block office said the administration has provided adequate work and those interested can be engaged. But the migrant workers are reluctant to do menial work. Most of the workers have been given job cards. after fresh recovery of 118 patients on Sunday evening. A total of 1,979 patients have recovered, while of 25 total deaths four are said to be for reasons other than COVID-19. The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja has annulled the election of Duoye Diri, governor of Bayelsa State. The election was nullified based on a petition by the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party, which argued that it was unlawfully excluded from participating in the election. Diri, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, was sworn in as governor after the Supreme Court sacked David Lyon as governor-elect 24 hours before his inauguration. In a majority judgment delivered by Justice Yunusa Musa in the petition, the tribunal held that the Independent National Electoral Commission unlawfully excluded ANDP from the November 16, 2019 governorship election in the state. It, therefore, ordered INEC to conduct a fresh governorship election in Bayelsa State within 90 days. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Sarang Jeil Church members in Seoul holds a press conference outside the church building, Monday. Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon, a conservative pastor who organized a massive anti-government demonstration Saturday has tested positive for COVID-19, according to the health authorities, Monday. In response to the demonstration and previous incidents involving Jun, the administration filed a criminal complaint with the police. "Rev. Jun is now a patient. He should get treatment in isolation. Also, people who came into contact with Jun at the protest should isolate themselves and get tested immediately," a government official said. The pastor underwent the virus test Monday morning at a local hospital, according to Seoul Metropolitan Government. After being confirmed infected, he was moved to a quarantine ward in the evening. More than 10,000 people attended the rally in downtown Seoul, during which he gave a speech. Members of his congregation, followers of the Sarang Jeil Church, have been testing positive for the infection since Aug. 12. On Monday, the number of COVID-19 cases linked to the church soared to 319. On Sunday, the central government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government requested the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency to begin a criminal investigation into Jun for failing to isolate himself and encouraging his church members to attend the demonstration. The rally was held illegally, after the government refused to issue a permit for fear of spreading the coronavirus. Also, the government is accusing Rev. Jun of obstructing its infection control efforts by being slow in handing over personal data on church members. Replying to the government's accusation, church members defended the pastor saying he never violated quarantine rules. The new development poses an immense challenge to the quarantine authorities which are now tasked with finding those who attended the protest and getting them tested. Jun was indicted in March for proffering public support for the conservative party during the election a breach of the Election Law and was taken into custody until April. Despite the government's warnings against gatherings amid infection worries, he pushed ahead with weekly demonstrations until last Saturday. Public pressure is mounting, with people calling for him to be put back into detention. By Monday afternoon, a petition on Cheong Wa Dae's website advocating for his jailing had received more than 200,000 signatures. "Since being released on bail, he has continued to lead demonstrations and get in the way of the government's infection control efforts," the petitioner wrote. "Many infection cases have been reported from his church, but I don't see him acting to take care of the congregation's health He needs to go back to prison." Many disease control experts predict the Sarang Jeil Church will be the center of a super-spreading event, similar to the earlier wave of infections at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu. The government had difficulty getting Shincheonji's cooperation and filed a complaint with the prosecution. Shincheonji head Lee Man-hee was arrested and has recently been indicted. In Retrospect: News from the Jan. 20, 1922 and Jan. 19, 1972 Souderton Independent Da Nangs Department of Health has granted a second private clinic permission to conduct COVID-19 tests using the real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique. The Thien Nhan Center for High-Tech Medical Diagnosis, based in Hai Chau District, got the approval on Sunday to do RT-PCR tests in collaboration with the Da Nang Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The municipal Department of Health tasked Thien Nhan Center with collecting samples from people in the city for coronavirus testing. In case of a positive result, the center will transfer the sample to Da Nang CDC to perform confirmation testing as per the Ministry of Healths guidelines. Thien Nhan Center is the second private medical clinic that has been authorized to conduct COVID-19 tests in the central city, after Vinmec Da Nang International Hospital. Thien Nhan Center director Ngo Duc Hai said the clinic is ready to conduct non-profit COVID-19 tests for Da Nang residents. It will join the municipal medical system in efforts to provide more coronavirus tests with fast and accurate results against the backdrop of the ongoing complicated situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the coastal city, Hai said. Da Nang now has up to seven health facilities that are qualified for conducting RT-PCR coronavirus testing, namely Da Nang CDC, 199 Hospital under the Ministry of Public Security, Da Nang Hospital, Da Nang Hospital for Lung Diseases, a COVID-19 testing lab at C17 Military Hospital under the Fifth Military Region High Command of the Ministry of National Defense, Vinmec Da Nang International Hospital, and Thien Nhan Center for High-Tech Medical Diagnosis. Among them, Da Nang CDC is authorized to conduct conclusive tests while 199 Hospital can confirm tests with on-site support from the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnams COVID-19 tally has numbered 964 cases, with 464 recoveries and 24 virus-related deaths as of Monday afternoon. A total of 488 local infections have been documented since July 25, when the countrys first case of transmission in the community after 99 days was reported in Da Nang. The central tourist hub has since become Vietnams largest outbreak epicenter, with 344 cases and 16 deaths reported so far. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! ICQPodcast - Launch of Portable Operations Challenge In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Edmund Spicer M0MNG to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief and this episodes feature is Launch Portable Operations Challenge ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS We would like to thank Charles Riley (G4JQX) along with our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate News stories include: - FT8 Experiment on 40 MHz - 1st to 15th August 2020 Why Hobby Electronics is a great thing to take up? Broken Cable Damages Arecibo Observatory Portable RF Hacking Tool with a Sub 1GHz RF Transceiver, BLE and USB ARRL HF Band Plan Committee submits final recommendation Chain Home Radar - Battle of Britain Anniversary Special Event Station Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame GQRP Club Releases Agenda for its Online Convention 2020 The ICQPodcast can be downloaded from http://www.icqpodcast.com History made with selection of 13 commissioners to redraw election districts statewide History made with selection of 13 commissioners to redraw election districts statewide AUGUST 17, 2020 The 13 commissioners of the states first ever Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission were randomly selected today. They are: Erin Wagner - Republican Cynthia Orton - Republican Douglas Clark - Republican Rhonda Lange - Republican M. Rothorn - Democratic Juanita Curry - Democratic Dustin Witjes - Democratic Brittni Kellom - Democratic Janice Vallette - Not Affiliated with Either Party James Decker - Not Affiliated with Either Party Richard Weiss - Not Affiliated with Either Party Steven Lett - Not Affiliated with Either Party Anthony Eid - Not Affiliated with Either Party The commissioners are charged with redrawing the boundaries of Michigans state and Congressional election districts. This follows voters passing a constitutional amendment in 2018 that strips the authority for redistricting from the state Legislature. This is truly a historic day for Michigan, as we are among the first states in the nation to end gerrymandering with an independent citizens commission, said Assistant Secretary of State Heaster Wheeler. I am hopeful that the same enthusiasm we saw during the application process will continue when the Commission begins meeting this fall, and that commissioners will be bolstered by public input as they make our election districts more fair for all Michiganders. Nearly 10,000 Michiganders had applied to serve on the Commission during a months-long application process. In accordance with the state Constitution, the pool was narrowed to 200 applications by a previous random selection before the state Legislature removed 20 more applications. The 13 commissioners were selected randomly by an independent accounting firm, Rehman LLC, from the final pool of 180 applicants. A message from Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson on this historic moment can be viewed online. A video of the selection, the applications of the commissioners, and more information on the Commission is available at RedistrictingMichigan.org. # # # For media questions, contact Tracy Wimmer at 517-281-1876. We welcome questions and comments at the Contact the Secretary of State page. Customers may call the Department of State Information Center to speak to a customer-service representative at 888-SOS-MICH (767-6424). The Democratic National Convention starts today, and just like most events in 2020, its going to be a lot different due to the coronavirus. Instead of balloons, confetti and large crowds of delegates and party members packed into a festive atmosphere, speakers will address viewers on video from locations all around the country. The event has been scaled-down, too, with delegates asked not to attend in person in Milwaukee. None of the speakers, including presumptive nominee Joe Biden, are expected to travel to the convention for in-person appearances. The DNC runs today through Thursday with most of the highlights, including performances and speakers, airing between 9 and 11 p.m. EST. Though its a smaller convention this year, there is no shortage of ways to tune in. Heres how to watch: Streaming You can watch the official 2020 DNC live stream on the Democratic National Conventions website. It will also be live streamed on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon Prime Video and on Bing. Streaming video is also available on Twitch on the Littlstar app on the PlayStation 4. Other live-streaming services include free trials for fubo TV, Sling TV and Hulu Live TV. Smart TV apps You can download the official 2020 Democratic National Convention apps on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. Smart Speaker You can listen on your Amazon Echo or Alexa-enabled devices by saying Alexa, play the Democratic National Convention. Television Network and cable news will be carrying live coverage of the convention: ABC News will air an hour of the convention from 10 to 11 p.m. with digital coverage streaming on ABC News Live starting at 7 p.m. CBS News will begin covering the event on its streaming service at 2 p.m., and the networks television coverage will air from 10 to 11 p.m. CNN will air convention news from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fox News will air an hour of the convention from 10 to 11 p.m. MSNBC will air the convention from 4 to 11 p.m. And NBC News will show an hour of the event from 10 to 11 p.m. Highlights this year will include: Tonight: Sen. Bernie Sanders and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Tuesday: Former President Bill Clinton and Dr. Jill Biden. Wednesday: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama. Thursday: Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden is expected to accept the Democratic nomination. You can see a full schedule of the DNC here. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. The UK has vowed not to agree to any alignment on EU rules as Brexit talks resume in Brussels tomorrow. A source close to British negotiators said it would not accept any deal that constrains the UK to the EUs rules and infringes sovereignty. They reiterated that the UK was still seeking a free trade deal with the EU, similar to its agreement with Canada. The source said: We remain committed to working hard to find the outlines of a balanced agreement. The UK has vowed not to agree to any alignment on EU rules as Brexit talks resume in Brussels tomorrow. Former Brexit secretary David Davis (pictured) said that 50 civil servants going to Brussels to negotiate a Brexit deal was not enough We have been repeatedly clear that we are looking for a deal with, at its core, a free trade agreement similar to the one the EU already has with Canada that is, an agreement based on existing precedents. But what we cannot have is a form of relationship which requires alignment or one that constrains us to the EUs rules. 'Our priority throughout the process has always been the return of our sovereignty. It came as former Brexit secretary David Davis said that 50 civil servants going to Brussels to negotiate a Brexit deal was not enough. Brexiteer Tory MP and former minister Theresa Villiers says: Boriss negotiators have said alignment is off the table' The Tory MP for Haltemprice and Howden added: It ought to be a couple of hundred, in truth. Because there are so many things going on in parallel. He said: We are also negotiating with Japan, and the New Zealanders and Australians... and the Americans and the New Zealanders are complaining were not moving fast enough. 'And that is partly because of the capability in Whitehall, and I dare I say it, the enthusiasm in Whitehall. Brexiteer Tory MP and former minister Theresa Villiers said: Boriss negotiators have said alignment is off the table. 'Thats the right approach and they should stick to that so we get Brexit done. WILLIAMSPORT The Lycoming County coroner claims the daily emphasis on the number of new coronavirus cases creates fear, especially among the elderly. Charles E. Kiessling Jr. on Monday urged more emphasis by the state Health Department on the number of state residents who have recovered or tested negative. That information is updated daily when the department releases its coronavirus statistics, spokesman Nate Wardle said. On Monday, it listed 124,844 positive cases and 1,342,475 negative test results. The recovery rate was 79 percent. If a case has not been reported as a death and it is more than 30 days past the date of the first positive test (or onset of symptoms) then an individual is considered recovered, Wardle explained. Kiessling said that older people, especially those with health issues, tend not to want to go out when they see the rising number of positive cases possibly unaware it is the total since March. He made it clear he supports wearing masks and taking other precautions to prevent the spread of the virus but said there is no justification for all the restrictions currently in place. Weve seen an uptick in drug overdoses and suicides, he said. The mental health system already was overwhelmed before it had to cope with the impact of the statewide restrictions, he said. Kiessling, who is president of the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association, continues to question the Health Departments method of attributing deaths to the virus. The Health Department lists 20 COVID-19 deaths in the county while Kiesslings number is 25, nearly all of which were at the Jersey Shore ManorCare facility. He speculates the discrepancy is caused by nursing homes reporting deaths to him immediately while the state uses the electronic death register system for COVID-19 cases. Kiessling, who is a registered nurse, said he is unaware of anyone in Lycoming County who died strictly from the virus. They all had a laundry list of medical issues, he said. If autopsies were performed he predicts the results would show a significant number died from other problems. The ages of those whose deaths have been attributed to the virus in Lycoming County have ranged from 62 to 98, Kiessling said. The number of deaths he attributes to COVID-19 is about the same as fatal drug overdoses so far this year, he said. Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been mor important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. Steinhausen, August 17, 2020 - Schweiter Technologies reported a strong first half in 2020 despite challenging market conditions. Group revenues declined by -9% versus the same period the previous year to CHF 559.5 million, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and negative currency effects. The decline in local currencies was -4%. In contrast, EBITDA rose by +10% to CHF 67.9 million(up +16% in local currencies). The return on net sales improved to 12.1%. Operating profit (EBIT) rose by 14% to CHF 49.3 million (+20% in local currencies), while net income grew to CHF 35.3 million. Operating cash flow expanded by +64% to CHF 56.5 million. Cash and cash equivalents stand at CHF 114.4 million following a dividend distribution of approximately CHF 57 million. Schweiter Technologies Group (in CHF m) H1 2020 H1 2019 + / - Net revenues 559.5 613.7 -9% EBITDA 67.9 61.8 +10% as a % of net revenues 12.1% 10.1% EBIT 49.3 43.1 +14% Net income 35.3 33.1 +7% The diversification of 3A Composites proved to be a strength in the first half-year, which was overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. While some market segments and geographies were affected by the lockdown measures and had to cope with a steep fall in demand, the European display business in particular, with its wide range of clear sheet products, and the core materials business for the wind energy sector benefited from firm demand. The European display business was marked by two opposing trends. On the one hand, clear sheet production was running at full capacity, and the company took a number of measures to be able to meet the exceptionally high demand for transparent sheets for infection protection. On the other hand, display revenues in the areas of advertising, trade fairs and interior fittings tumbled as of mid-March. The US display business also suffered a significant downturn in demand in these areas. Growth in profitability clearly outpaced sales growth owing to falling raw material prices, high capacity utilization in clear sheet production, a temporary reduction in production capacity as well as a strict cost discipline at all sites. The architecture business also saw conflicting trends. Whereas the US architecture business repeated the previous year's success and maintained revenue levels, the architecture business in Europe and Asia suffered a decline in revenues. The markets in China, India, the Middle East, and southern Europe were particularly hard hit by the lockdown measures and project postponements. The core materials business maintained the previous year's strong momentum, posting percentage revenue growth in the double-digits. Ongoing firm demand in wind energy combined with very high capacity utilization at the production sites along with selective price increases produced a significant increase in revenues and an even bigger growth in profit. In Transportation, both revenues and profit suffered a double-digit percentage decline - despite a high order backlog - owing to temporary closures of production sites and postponement of projects by certain key customers. Outlook The Group anticipates a good performance on the whole despite the volatile business environment. On the one hand, it is expected that demand for clear sheet products will normalize. On the other, however, the Group anticipates an uptick in demand in the business areas Display, Architecture, and Transportation. Moreover, the gratifying performance of Core Materials should continue owing to ongoing firm demand from wind energy customers. The complete financial statements for the first half of 2020 can be found on our website www.schweiter.com A media conference on the 2020 half-year results for analysts, media representatives, and investors will take place at the Marriott Hotel, Neumuhlequai 42, Zurich, today at 11.00 a.m. For further information please contact: Martin Kloti, CFO Tel. +41 41 757 77 00, Fax +41 41 757 70 01, martin.kloeti@schweiter.com Please find the Media release in the PDF attached: Media release (PDF) Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki has been cast to play Princess Diana in the final two seasons of Netflixs big-budget drama The Crown. Paris-born, Melbourne-raised Debicki was unveiled by the streamer on Twitter on Monday morning with a stylish black and white portrait and a single quote. Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki will portray Princess Diana in the final seasons of The Crown. Credit:Evan Agostini/Invision/AP "Princess Dianas spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many. It is my true privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one," Debicki said in the Twitter announcement. Debicki burst on to screens in Baz Luhrmanns The Great Gatsby in 2013 and has since gone on to star in movies in Australia, the US and Britain, including Simon Bakers Breath and Christopher Nolans upcoming Tenet. She also starred in the acclaimed Australian series The Kettering Incident. When schools closed this spring, many parents, including me, felt overwhelmed and underwater trying to help our children participate in distance learning. Every day seemed to usher in a new way for my husband and me to fail at reading emails, managing logins, printing worksheets, troubleshooting tech problems, photographing assignments, and keeping track of class Zooms. Being an educator as well as a parent gave my experience a particularly nightmarish quality, as if I were somehow both the driver and pedestrian in this collision. As a teacher, I participated in a flurry of trainings on using various apps to make videos, find e-books, host meetings, use data, and share student work, but as a parent, I could not keep up. Advertisement It doesnt have to be this hard. School closures brought a cascade of serious problems, from declining maternal workforce participation to child hunger, many of which will require broader government intervention to solvebut streamlining remote instruction is well within schools institutional capabilities. A viral video of an Israeli mom venting about the nonstop barrage of communications her kids were receiving from their school spoke to the frustrations many families felt trying to keep their heads above water in a fast-moving stream of assignments and online resources. Thats not a problem that is going to be solved by adding another app to the mix, but there is a tool that can help, one that works even if the internet cuts out and isnt full of distractions a click away. Its not new, and it wont disrupt education as we know it, but in a time of upheaval, steep learning curves, and decision fatigue, theres a lot to be said for the familiar. As districts invest millions in distributing Chromebooks and helping families secure internet accessa necessity for keeping kids connected to their teachers and to schoolthey should also make plans to invest in and distribute another essential learning tool: the textbook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a time of upheaval, steep learning curves, and decision fatigue, theres a lot to be said for the familiar. For 150 years, the textbook was a mainstay of American classrooms. Their progenitor was the McGuffey Readers, of which an estimated 120 million copies were sold between 1836 and 1960. Written by frontier teacher and scholar William Holmes McGuffey, the original Readers contained literary selections that promoted Calvinist ideas about salvation and piety, while later editions were secularized in keeping with the nations changing mores. These days, the Readers are better known for their role in shaping American identity and culture than for how they changed teaching and learning. But although they seem stuffy and moralistic to contemporary eyes, the Readers represented an important pedagogical step forward in their time and spoke to the real needs of students McGuffey witnessed, first as a roving teacher who began working in schoolhouses at age 14 and later when he tested his textbooks with groups of neighborhood children in Ohio. The Readers were organized into levels across which students would progress over time, from phonics, through basal stories, all the way up to selections from Milton. Vocabulary was taught gradually by repeated exposure to words in context instead of being doled out in a list for memorization. Unlike their predecessor the New England Primer, which was designed to put the fear of God into children, the Readers were designed to be appealing to children, and incorporated helpful, clear illustrations. Advertisement Advertisement Crucially, the McGuffey Readers also guided teachers, who at the time were often poorly prepared, educated only a year or two beyond their pupils, and working with large, mixed-age groups of students. The Readers embedded good pedagogy on the page by including questions for teachers to ask their students, and numbered passages so students could take turns reading aloud. Imaginea years worth of assignments, compiled in an appealing edition, accompanied by instructions for what the poorly prepared adult in the room can say to help. Sure sounds like something that I, a woman who misled a 5-year-old on number bonds for three whole months, could have used this spring. Advertisement Advertisement At their core, textbooks are a way to distribute the essential content of a class to a massive group of students in a way that is standardized and economical. A good textbook is clear, appealing, and organized in a predictable way. Its not just paragraphs of text, but it also includes extratextual features such as reference materials, answer keys, sidebars, and key terms to aid students in their comprehension. Advertisement Advertisement But for all their helpful features, textbooks have been thin on the ground. To some degree, underfunding may be the culprit. During the #RedForEd teacher strikes, a photo that went viral showed the decrepit condition of the textbooks in a teachers room. Though I teach in a well-resourced district for California, I once had a student pick up a textbook and find it had been used by his mother, who had passed through the same classroom 20 years or so earlier. Aged textbooks are not only gross and demoralizing but often contain information that is outdated, inaccurate, or racist. Advertisement Advertisement For cash-strapped districts, cheap Chromebooks and software licenses are often less expensive in the short term than purchasing sets of hardcover books. It isnt just wealthy districts that are making these investments in technology. But the phasing out of print textbooks in favor of online texts and learning software has been driven by ideology, too. Since 2015, textbook sales have declined year over year while the EdTech sector has ballooned into a $252 billion business. In 2019, Pearson sold off its textbook arm in order to focus on its more lucrative educational software business. In a 2012 article (which in hindsight reads as overly optimistic not only about online textbooks but about algorithms, the internet, and the future in general, but was very much in line with the zeitgeist in education at the time) Megan Garber writes of Apples e-textbooks, They create a kind of kaleidoscopic experience: video, text, audio, all whirring and whirling into each other in a self-guided tour of history or chemistry or biology. To my tech-fried pandemic brain, that seems like a bit much. In 2020, Id like to pass on teaching sixth grade language artsor helping my child understand second grade math for that matterthrough a widening gyre of multimedia experiences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just because a piece of media or software is available online doesnt mean it is easily accessed. Introducing new technology to students, as any classroom teacher can tell you, requires more hands-on help, as students are not born knowing how to use digital resources but need explicit instruction in each one. Once students can read, they can use a textbook, but each new software program must be learned from scratch. This challenge is especially serious for poor students whose only home internet access may be through a phone. Doing assignments on the computer also tends to obscure schoolwork from parents, who cant easily see at a glance what their child is working on or if what their child is doing on the screen is schoolwork at all. When graphics such as maps and photos are hidden in links, pop-out windows, or drop-down menus, most students never take a look at information they would have, at a minimum, glanced at on a page. Advertisement Students do need education in computer skills and digital literacy, but doing everything on a screen can make learning other subjects more difficult, especially for students who struggle with executive function (arguably: everyone in a pandemic). Research also shows that students read differently on a screen than on paper. When interacting with texts on a screen, students tend to reread less, comprehend more shallowly, and overestimate their understanding. Recall, especially of nonfiction, is worse. Advertisement Advertisement None of this is to say that teachers shouldnt use online texts, videos, and educational software where appropriate. Learning software can provide adaptive instruction that is especially useful for students who need individualized instruction that teachers dont have the class time to address, and some students need the accessibility features of digital texts, such as text-to-speech or translation features, to access the material. But digital resources are best used in conjunction with old-fashioned paper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some parents have begun advocating for the textbooks return. In two communities that stopped using math textbooksBerkeley, California (where I teach middle school English), and Raleigh, North Carolinagroups of parents have pushed back against the curriculum from the Mathematics Vision Project, a nonprofit that, with funding from reform-minded, tech-funded philanthropic organizations, produces free Common Corealigned materials. Though MVPs classroom pedagogy may be sound (I dont know, Im not a math teacher), the programs lack of a physical textbook presents a real challenge for students. As it turns out, even for so-called digital natives, a channel of YouTube tutorials cannot replace a comprehensive textbook that includes instructions, examples, and an answer key. Advertisement Advertisement Textbooks are, of course, no silver bullet for the hardships brought on by school closure, and not all textbooks are high-quality. The politicized Texas state adoption process has produced history books that whitewash American history, for instance, while many science textbooks downplay the scientific consensus on the cause of climate change. But there is also no guarantee that the digital products that replace textbooks will be an improvement, and schools do their students a disservice by not providing physical copies of books for students to refer to during a video lesson or work from with the computer off. While some see textbooks as boring and antithetical to creative and authentic learning, the mere presence of a physical book has never prevented a teacher from supplementing or substituting where doing so would be an improvement. Plus, speaking as a parent, Im honestly not sure how much more creative, authentic learning my household and mental health can withstand. Advertisement Schools that have textbooks collecting dust should be making plans to distribute them, perhaps using the same systems developed in spring for passing out laptops and lunches. Schools that dont have textbooks should think about which online resources could be printed and distributed on paper to ease the burden of doing everything on a screen, at least for those students who choose it. And at the next purchasing cycle, taking into account research and community preferences, districts should reevaluate whether the benefits of learning software or electronic features outweigh the stability and ease of access of print. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Textbooks were designed to distribute essential curriculum under any circumstances. This is any circumstances. During normal schooling, textbooks are one tool of many that a skilled teacher can draw upon, but right now, with so many other tools difficult or impossible to implement, they are essential. It is not fair or reasonable to require children to access every learning material on a screen. Troubleshooting streams of multimedia being sent out through opaque portals is more than most families can handle. Throw us a bone. With a Zoom class and a textbook, I can muddle through. Maybe, on an ambitious day, I can ask a few questions some thoughtful textbook author has put in a sidebar. During a pandemic, that is OK. During a pandemic, that should be enough. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. The EU has started work on sanctions against the Belarusian authorities. President of the European Council Charles Michel says the leadership of Belarus must reflect the will of the people. "The people of Belarus have the right to determine their own future. To allow for this, violence has to stop and a peaceful and inclusive dialogue has to be launched. The leadership of Belarus must reflect the will of the people. There should be no outside interference," he said in a letter inviting leaders of the EU member states to join a video conference on Wednesday, August 19. Read alsoLukashenko says ready to share powers, but "not under pressure" According to him, during the event they will discuss how best to respond to the evolving situation in Belarus. He says what one has witnessed in Belarus "is not acceptable." "The 9 August elections were neither free nor fair. The subsequent violence against peaceful protesters was shocking and has to be condemned. Those responsible must be held to account," the letter said. He also announced the EU had started work on sanctions against the Belarusian authorities. Recent developments in Belarus in brief The selection of a woman Senator with an Indian background as the Democratic party's vice-presidential nominee should normally be a matter of elation in India, especially for those who boast of their nationalistic credentials such as the BJP followers, notes Amulya Ganguli. IMAGE: Democratic vice-presidential candidate Senator Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event at the Alexis Dupont high school in Wilmington, Delaware. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters The selection of a woman Senator with an Indian background as the Democratic party's vice-presidential nominee for the US polls should normally be a matter of elation in India, especially for those who boast of their nationalistic credentials such as the BJP followers. However, the party has been conspicuously silent except for Ram Madhav's congratulatory tweet although he has been accused of hypocrisy by the twitterati for backing a half-Jamaican-half Indian candidate when the BJP runs around in circles decrying Sonia Gandhi's Italian origin. Perhaps more in sync with the general Indian sentiment is Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's observation about the thrilling prospect of a 'half-desi' woman being no more than a heartbeat away from the US presidency in case the Democrats win the November polls. But the BJP's lack of enthusiasm for Kamala Harris's elevation is understandable. Although most Indians in the US have generally tended to vote for the Democrats, their mood changed ever since Donald Trump became president. Since his right-wing views have been in line with Narendra Modi's thinking, Trump has been a favourite of the Indian Diaspora in the US and also of Indians elsewhere, including India, because of his criticism of Pakistan as untrustworthy and his bans on the entry of immigrants from certain Islamic countries. The 'Howdy Modi' event in Houston during Modi's US visit last September was a sign of the bonhomie between the Republican president and the Indian prime minister who is regarded as a 'great gentleman' by Trump. In contrast, the Democrats have tended to rub the Modi dispensation the wrong way with their criticism of the Kashmir situation and support for the anti-citizenship law protesters in India. Since Kamala Harris has been quoted as saying that the US is closely watching the situation in Kashmir, it is understandable why the BJP has been silent on her rise in American politics to very near the top. As is known, the criticism of the Indian government's handling of Kashmir by another Congresswoman of Indian origin persuaded External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to stay away from a Congressional hearing, prompting Kamala Harris to say that the US cannot allow foreigners to dictate who will be on the Congressional panels. It is clear, therefore, that although Harris is not as far to the Left as Bernie Sanders, who had earlier challenged Joe Biden's bid to be the Democratic party's presidential candidate, Harris can hardly be one of the BJP's favourites. It is worth recalling that a BJP stalwart had even tweeted (before deleting it) about intervening in the US elections, as the Russians are supposed to have done, when Bernie Sanders was going hammer and tongs against New Delhi's Kashmir policy Although the Indian government has had a measure of success in trying to bring normalcy to Kashmir by releasing the father-and-son duo of Farooq and Omar Abdullah (both former chief ministers) and a prominent activist, Shah Faesal, there is still a long way to go considering that even Internet connections are being haltingly restored and terrorist outrages are continuing. However, unless elections are held in a palpably fair and free manner, the world will continue to express concern as a bipartisan US group comprising both Republicans and Democrats recently did about Kashmir. The statement also showed that not all Republicans are willing like Trump to ignore allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir. What is more, as long as former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti remains in detention presumably because of her refusal to give a commitment about not making political statements after her release, any elections that may be held will not be considered above board. There is little doubt that the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket marks a change from the trend of right-wing 'strong'; men being at the top like Trump in the US, Modi in India, the Rajapaksas in Sri Lanka, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey and Viktor Orban in Hungary. According to the last Democratic American president, Barack Obama, men of such political views are harbingers of a meaner, harsher, world. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris may not go so far if only because both India and the US need each other for taking a common stand along with other allies against an increasingly belligerent China. Biden has already said so. Besides, both Biden and Kamala Harris are centrists as was Obama. Ever since the signing of the India-American nuclear deal in 2008, albeit under a Republican president, the world's oldest and largest democracies have been staunch allies. There is little likelihood of this close relationship being ruptured because of any differences over Kashmir or the denial of American visas for Indian computer whizkids in Silicon Valley. But the differences will undoubtedly be continued to be aired, which may be a good thing, for they will help in smoothing some of the rough edges in the domestic policies of both countries. The 'half-desi' woman may well play a key role in this process. Amulya Ganguli is a writer on current affairs. Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com Aamir Aziz, Anukrti Upadhyay and Shivam Sharma commemorate Rahat Indori's life and work by reciting some of his memorable couplets Rahat Indori, one of the greatest voices of contemporary Urdu poetry and a star performer at mushairas, died on 11 August, succumbing to COVID-19 complications. A former professor and pedagogist of Urdu literature, he had several volumes of poetry and Bollywood songs to his credit, featured in films like Mission Kashmir and Munnabhai MBBS. His most memorable literary achievement, possibly, is the sway he held over his audience at mushairas and kavi sammelans in India and overseas, because of his style and candour. "A garrulous, self-effacing performer with a powerful voice, he would often regale gatherings with anecdotes from his Indore childhood the idiosyncrasies of Indori diction, plus the signature hyperbolic Indori storytelling style informed his work... Indoris work had true range he had a ghazal for every mood, every occasion," wrote Aditya Mani Jha in this piece about the poet's style and body of work. Most recently, Indori's political writing lent itself to the anti-CAA and NRC protests across India, where his lines "Sabhi ka khoon hai shamil yahaan ki mitti mein, kissi ke baap ka Hindustan thodi hai" from the ghazal 'Agar khilaf hain, hone do' gained new popularity. To commemorate his life and work, Aamir Aziz, Anukrti Upadhyay and Shivam Sharma recite his verses in this video: The Karnataka government on Monday decided to approach the state high court for appointing a commissioner for the purpose of assessment of damages caused to private and public property as well as to recover the same from the culprits. In the riots following a social media post by a relative of a Congress MLA, three people were killed and more than a hundred injured in the DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits on August 11 and 12. At a meeting conducted by CM BS Yediyurappa in which home minister Basvaraj Bommai, DGP Praveen Sood, ADGP (Law and Order) Amar Kumar Pandey and Chief Secretary T M Vijaya Bhasker, as well as other senior officials, were present it was decided to take stringent action against the culprits of DJ Halli and KG Halli violence by invoking the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Briefing the media after the meeting, home minister Bommai also said that a team of three special public prosecutors would be appointed for the case. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) that has already been formed will also invoke the Goonda Act in cases wherever the provisions so attract, he added. Bommai also said the police were investigating whether the rioters had any association with any extremist or terrorist organizations. The police have detained till date nearly 370 people for the Bengaluru riots. Apart from examining CCTV footage from several places, the police are also examining call records. Till now, DJ Halli police have registered 49 FIRs against the numerous accused while KG Halli police have registered 19 FIRs. In an interesting twist, Firdous Pasha who was the first to register a complaint against Naveen, the nephew of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy for an alleged blasphemous post, has registered a case against the rioters saying that his Honda Activa scooter was burnt by them. Pasha in a complaint to DJ Halli police station has claimed that he had come on his scooter to lodge a complaint and had parked it outside the police station. The scooter was one of the 66 privately owned vehicles that were burnt during the riots. The police on Monday also arrested K Wajid Pasha, president of the Tipu Sultan Alfath trust. Sources in Bengaluru police who did not want to be named said Wajid, who claims to be a JDS worker was also one of the masterminds of the riots. Police sources also told HT, that Naveen who has been accused of posting the derogatory social media post during interrogation has said that he was only responding to a post insulting Hindu gods. We are continuing to investigate the matter and there might be more arrests as we unearth new evidence, the senior police officer added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON by Mathias Hariyadi Indonesian independence from the Netherlands was proclaimed on 17 August 1945. Government officials take part in the flag raising ceremony dressed in traditional garments to emphasise the countrys cultural pluralism. No other public ceremony or traditional games and shows were held. For Card Suharyo, social justice is still the main concern of the Catholic Church. Jakarta (AsiaNews) Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Indonesia today held low-key celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of its independence. President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo led a flag-raising ceremony in front of the presidential palace with few dignitaries and only three students.[*] No other public ceremony was held across the country. Local communities or villages did not organise traditional games, like local variants of the tug-of-war, nor hold night-long vigils ahead of the anniversary, with locals gathering to watch shows and exhibits. President Widodo attended the flag-raising ceremony wearing a traditional outfit from South-Central Timor Regency (East Nusa Tenggara province). Except for soldiers and police, other state officials took part in the event wearing traditional garments from their home province, a first on Independence Day, ostensibly to boost Indonesians morale and nurture their colourful traditions[] at this particularly difficult moment in time. To honour the anniversary, the Central Bank issued new 75,000-rupee banknotes. The Catholic Church also made herself heard, although it could not celebrate any special Mass to mark the occasion. Card Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, archbishop of Jakarta and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Indonesia, stressed that social justice is still our pastoral concern, as all Indonesian bishops have always reminded us. In particular, social justice should be implemented by sharply reducing corruption, violence and natures destruction. In a pastoral letter, Archbishop Robertus Rubiyatmoko of Semarang said he was proud to be Indonesian, noting that Pancasila remains the fundamental basis for national unity. The five philosophical principles of Pancasila, together with the Indonesian language, are the pillars on which Indonesian unity rests, this in a country made up of thousands of different ethnic groups. [*] Usually the number of students is 45, picked among the countrys best and brightest. [] Each regency has its own language, gastronomy, customs and cultural traditions. Washington: Soon after taking office in 2017, President Donald Trump seized on the US Postal Service as an emblem of the bloated bureaucracy. "A loser," he repeatedly labelled one of America's most beloved public institutions, according to aides who discussed the matter with him. Allies coddled Trump by telling him the reason he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 was widespread mail-in balloting fraud - a conspiracy theory for which there is no evidence - and the President's postal outrage coarsened further. Advisers would tell Donald Trump that the reason Hillary Clinton won the overall vote in the 2016 US election was because of the US Postal Service. Credit:AP Then Trump complained to senior White House advisers that Jeff Bezos - a presidential foe in part because he owns The Washington Post, whose news coverage the President thought was unfair and too tough on him - was "getting rich" because Amazon had been "ripping off" the Postal Service with a "sweetheart deal" to ship millions of its packages. They explained that this was untrue and that the Postal Service actually benefited from Amazon's business. But the President railed for months about what he described as a "scam". And now Trump has fixated again on the Postal Service, this time trying to make it a tool in his election campaign by slowing mail service, blocking an emergency infusion of federal funds and challenging the integrity of mail-in balloting. The President acknowledged last week that his opposition was rooted in his desire to restrict how many Americans can vote by mail. Investment firm Schroders has told staff they can work from home for ever if they choose to so long as they work the hours set out in their contracts. The 216-year-old company has unveiled a new approach to flexible working that will scrap the previous requirement for employees to come into the office for at least four days a week. The move will affect 2,500 British workers. Investment firm Schroeders has told staff they no longer need to come into the office. The firm, which has control of funds worth 520bn, moved into new state-of-the-art offices near Moorgate in 2018, pictured Chief executive Peter Harrison said Covid-19 had changed society irrevocably and demonstrated that offices will be a convening place where you get teams together, but work will be done in employees homes. The decision comes as accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed 60 per cent of its 22,000 UK staff could work some days each week from home. Around 13,000 employees would split time between home and the companys London offices or regional hub offices under the new plans. PwC chairman Kevin Ellis is encouraging workers to return to the office on a voluntary basis but has also said the pandemic had bashed away presenteeism for ever. Although unions and workers have praised the push for flexible working, fears are mounting that it will lay waste to London and the rest of the UKs city centres. Other groups drawing up plans include some employees who work at the insurance market Lloyds of London, who are understood to have been offered contracts that include remote working days. Schroders rival Aviva Investors is mulling a 2-2-1 approach, which would allow staff to work from home for two days, be in the office for two days and then choose what they do with the final day. We hear that Joe Biden is up in the polls. We are again hearing that word "landslide" and that women are all running away from President Trump. So why does such a confident party sound so desperate? I have not seen so much desperation since a couple of girls in my junior class were in total panic about not getting invited to the prom. First, Hillary Clinton is warning us that President Trump "will not go silently" into the night if he loses. Well, no one should know more about that than the woman who still refuses to accept the 2016 results. Second, Maxine Waters is back with another gem. This is the latest from the woman who is the definition of a national embarrassment: Saturday on MSNBC, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) called on President Donald Trump to be removed from office by applying the 25th Amendment. According to Section 4 of that amendment, the president can be removed if he is "unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office." Can someone tell Congresswoman Waters that the 25th Amendment is for serious issues, not cheap political differences? In other words, we have elections in this country to remove presidents we disagree with. Again, this is such a desperate bunch. They are somewhere between insanity and whatever comes after insanity. I can't wait for Maxine to tell us all of this at the convention again. PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. The Trump Administration is set to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil drilling for the first time by approving a drilling program on Monday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. The oil drilling program will allow for a first oil lease auction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to take place right around the end of the year, Secretary Bernhardt told The Journal. Despite continuous environmental concerns and protests, the U.S. Department of the Interior believes that oil and gas drilling can be made in a responsible and sustainable manner and that drilling-related infrastructure would take just 0.01 percent of the 19 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Congress mandated in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that the Department of the Interior offer at least two lease sales for oil and gas development by 2027 in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. The Department made available the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program in September 2019. Congress gave us a very clear directive here, and we have to carry out that directive consistent with the directive that they gave, and consistent with the procedural statutes, Secretary Bernhardt told WSJ. In June, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its Final Environmental Impact Statement for a management plan of Americas Western Arctic. The world remains mired in a global pandemic and the oil markets are experiencing continued volatility, yet this administration has once again opted to barrel forward with unnecessarily aggressive oil and gas development, the Alaska Wilderness League said back in June. According to the organization, nearly 70 percent of Americans oppose drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Plans for lease sales in Alaskas Arctic Refuge may go ahead, but the oil industry may not be too keen to drill amidst vocal opposition and a growing number of banks refusing to lend money for new drilling in the Arctic, including Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Residents in multiple Bay Area counties fled their homes under mandatory evacuation orders Monday as inland temperatures soared above 100 degrees and firefighters battled a series of rapidly spreading wildfires sparked by lightning storms with a threat of more on the way. The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings across Northern California through Monday evening, as extreme weather conditions ramped up the risk of wildfire activity across the region. An excessive heat warning was expected to remain in effect until Wednesday. Elsewhere in the state, temperatures reached even more staggering numbers in Death Valley, temperatures hit 130 degrees Sunday, potentially the hottest global temperature ever recorded, according to the National Weather Service. The head of Californias primary electric grid manager warned that rolling blackouts were in store Monday but later said they were not needed. Grid managers blamed the power shortage on several factors, with the extreme and widespread nature of the heat wave being most decisive, forcing broiling households to crank up energy-sapping air conditioners. Were going to see more thunderstorms throughout the area, said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist with the agencys Bay Area unit. I would not be surprised if we see more wildfires, but it all depends on where the lightning strikes. Now Playing: This video was taken by CHP Golden Gate Air Operations 6:36 am near Lake Hennessey and St. Helena. A spokesman said 911 calls reporting a fire came in nearly 10 minutes after this video was taken. Courtesy of Golden Gate CHP. Video: San Francisco Chronicle Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday said the torturous temperatures across California have put an enormous amount of pressure on firefighters as the state battles at least 15 fires. However, the governor said fire officials are confident they will be able to quickly tackle smaller blazes, while some of the larger fires, such as the River Fire near Monterey, could take longer to contain. Napa County officials on Monday ordered evacuations due to the LNU Lightning Complex fires a series of more than 60 lightning-caused fires that started on Monday. Most were less than an acre but two were large and uncontained: the Hennessey and Gamble fires. Altogether, the complex had burned more than 3,100 acres as of Monday night, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The Hennessey Fire was burning 2,500 acres about 25 miles northeast of Santa Rosa in hilly terrain. The Gamble Fire was burning about 600 acres north of Lake Berryessa. Evacuation orders were also in place for the Marsh Fire in Alameda County, which burned 1,775 acres by Monday night, and the Deer Zone Fires in eastern Contra Costa County near Brentwood, which scorched more than 1,160 acres as of Monday evening. At the Marsh Fire, a combination of four vegetation flareups that started Sunday, residents of about 10 homes on Welch Creek Road near Sunol, about 10 miles south of Pleasanton, were ordered to leave their homes. No injuries were reported. Mike Cerny, 74, has lived in one of those 10 homes for 40 years with his wife. On Sunday night, Cerny watched as fire engines parked in the driveways of his home and the homes of his neighbors. Before they were forced to evacuate Monday afternoon, Cerny said he could see flames from at least two fires from all the windows of the house. They grabbed their photos and other irreplaceable valuables and left behind the home Cerny built, including his wifes antique Barbie doll collection. We could see the flames over the ridge, the smoke, he said from a Jack in the Box parking lot, eating his first meal of the day, a Sourdough Jack sandwich, and his first coffee in 24 hours. I dont think anything has hit us as far as what could happen. The Deer Zone Fires also broke out Sunday night, and Contra Costa County sheriffs deputies evacuated residents along Marsh Creek and Morgan Territory roads southeast of Brentwood and north of Livermore. The Red Cross was housing Deer Zone Fires evacuees Monday at nearby hotel rooms, according to a supervisor with Brentwoods Parks and Recreation Department. Sarah Ravani / The Chronicle Throughout 20 years and numerous fires, Clint C., 49, and Kirsten C., 45, a married couple living in a mobile home park off Marsh Creek Road, said they have evacuated only four times including Sunday night. Roughly a dozen fire engines were on the roadway while police drove up and down their street with sirens on, honking and telling residents to flee. You get anxiety and worked up, Clint said. It was stressful. We were scared this time, Kirsten said. We thought something was going to get to our house. This fire is not funny. They packed up their two cats and dog and drove to Clints mother-in-laws house in San Ramon, where they stayed the night. It was a nightmare trying to get the pets out, Clint said. Much farther south, in Monterey County, the rapidly growing River Fire east of Salinas reached 2,800 acres Monday, according to Cal Fire. Five homes were destroyed, 1,500 other structures were threatened and four firefighters suffered heat-related injuries while fighting the blaze. Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California Lightning caused the River Fire, which had burned 2,800 acres and was 10% contained Monday night, officials said. Fire officials were using the Global SuperTanker, a Boeing 747-400 that was deployed to battle the Camp Fire in 2018. A series of smaller fires also dotted other parts of the north state, including the Jones Fire in Nevada County, and the Feather and Loyalton fires in Sierra County. In Butte County, firefighters were battling multiple fires caused by 1,500 lightning strikes that hit Monday morning. In the afternoon, the county Sheriffs Office ordered evacuations for several roads north of the Feather River. Although some rainfall accompanied this storm, its important for residents to continue to be extremely cautious in their outdoor activities because there is still a very high fire danger, said Cal Fire Chief John Messina. Noah Berger / Associated Press A new round of thunder and lightning storms moved through San Francisco and into the North Bay on Monday morning as heat advisories and excessive heat warnings continued across the region, officials said. Were going to continue to see temperatures well above normal from 10 to 20 degrees depending on where you live for the next few days, Garcia, said. The unusual weather pattern is being caused by a dome of high pressure sitting over southwest Utah, which is also causing excessive heat in Southern California, he added. Its probably too early to say if its the result of climate change, Garcia said. But it is an unusual pattern. Ive never seen anything on the coastal strip set up like this for so long. The rule of thumb in our office is three days of heat and then it breaks. This goes against every rule of thumb. Aidin Vaziri, Sarah Ravani and Megan Cassidy are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com, megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MusicSF @SarRavani @meganrcassidy the Federal Minister of health, Jens Spahn (CDU) has warned, in view of the increasing numbers of Corona infections in Germany in front of a connection with events. There is throughout the country, "a local outbreak, which usually celebrate together," said Spahn on Sunday evening in the ZDF. He wanted to work together with the countries, which was "the limit for the size of events". to leave Because of the festivities would make the Virus very easily advised of the CDU-politicians, you are "still a long time only in a narrow family circle" to take place. In a further closure of the single commercial he could see "no sense," said Spahn. 561 new infections In Germany, increased the number of confirmed Corona cases according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) from Monday to 561 on 224.014. The effects of the Virus died in the past 24 hours another man, the total number of deaths rises accordingly, to 9232. The RKI evaluated the development of the case numbers in Germany in its situation report from Saturday as a "very worrying", especially as this "increasing momentum". The entire population must engage, therefore, continue to be within the meaning of infection protection. "Crowds especially indoors avoided if possible and celebrate on the closest family and circle of friends remain limited," it said in the Text. In addition, the applicable distance and hygiene rules should be followed further. Updated Date: 17 August 2020, 00:19 Haiti - FLASH : Jovenel Moise wishes to organize 3 elections in 2021 Sunday August 16, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new President of the Dominican Republic Luis Abinader, President Jovenel Moise held a meeting in a hotel in Santo Domingo with Arancha Gonzalez Laya, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Toyaume of Spain "We discussed the elections a lot and reviewed, also the bilateral cooperation between our two countries," said President Moise. President Jovenel Moise, told Chancellor Gonzalez Laya, that he intended to postpone the legislative elections which should have been held in 2019 until next year [2021] "Moise would like to organize the legislative elections next year in addition to the presidential and municipal elections [...]" declared Laya, specifying that no timetable has been set. During this meeting, Moise and the Spanish Minister also spoke of "the institutional and constitutional changes that Moise has been promoting for months, including the drafting of a new Constitution with the aim of strengthening the role of the President to facilitate governance in Haiti, a role currently subordinate to Parliament. The Haitian Head of State requested the support of Spain and Laya offered on this expert assistance in constitutional matters. Regarding cooperation and development, Gonzalez Laya proposed to "[...] continue Spain's efforts in Haiti in the fields of water, sanitation, health, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, support for the transformation of the rural environment, which are all priorities of President Moise and which Spain wants to support.e Jovenel Moise then spoke with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. At the end of this meeting, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared that he had a "good conversation with Haitian President [...]" stressing "[...] It is critical that Haiti schedule its overdue legislative elections, form an inclusive CEP, and strengthen rule of law and support for human rights. These are key elements of the democratic process." The conversation focused on the organization of the elections. Like me, our American partners believe that the elections are and will remain the ideal way for the survival of democracy," stressed Jovenel Moise for his part. SL/ HaitiLibre Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president N. Uttam Kumar Reddy on Sunday announced that the Congress party would wage a legal battle against the illegal demolition of two mosques and a temple in the Secretariat by the TRS Government. He also announced that the Congress party would organise protests across Telangana State to condemn the demolition. He was speaking to media persons after chairing a meeting at Indira Bhavan, in Gandhi Bhavan premises, with senior leaders to discuss the demolition of places of worship in the Secretariat and preparations for next elections for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). The meeting was attended by CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka, Working President and MP Revanth Reddy, former minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir, TPCC Vice President Zafar Jaweed, TPCC Minorities Cell Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, Nampally in charge Feroz Khan and other leaders. He said that Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has hurt the religious sentiments by ordering the demolition of two mosques and a temple in the Secretariat. Alleging that KCR lied with the people on the issue, he said two days after the demolition (on July 10), the Chief Minister issued a statement claiming that some damage was caused to the places of worship when some debris of other structures in the Secretariat fell on them during demolition. Contrary to the statement of KCR, the state government few days later filed an affidavit in the High Court stating that all the places of worship have been razed to the ground. The TPCC Chief announced that the Congress party would file a criminal complaint against those involved and responsible for the demolition. He questioned MIM leaders Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi for their silence on the issue. He pointed out Owaisi brothers often speak about Babri Masjid which is thousands of kilometres away. But they are supporting CM KCR on the demolition of two mosques in Hyderabad. Their stand has exposed their true colours. He slammed Union Minister of Home G. Kishan Reddy for his silence on the issue. He said "Kishan Reddy is not talking about the illegal demolition of the temple by TRS Govt although it falls in his own Parliamentary constituency. The incident has exposed that TRS, MIM and BJP were allies. Speaking on the GHMC elections, the TPCC Chief asked the party cadre to start working on the electoral rolls by helping the people on enrolment of names, corrections, etc., He demanded the State Election Commission to undertake delimitation of wards so as to have almost the same number of voters in all the divisions. He asked the party MPs, MLAs and all contested candidates to take up revamping the party structure in Greater Hyderabad, Warangal and Khammam which would face municipal elections soon. China's rail freight transport volume, an indicator of broad economic activity, reached 2 billion tons in the first seven months of this year, rising 4.3 percent year-on-year, a sign that it is recovering from the shock of the COVID-19 epidemic. (Photo/Xinhua) A freight train loaded with 1,080 tons of copper concentrate pulled into Shanghang Railway Station in Longyan city, southeast China's Fujian province, at 5:35 PM on July 16. Four hours later, the ore materials were delivered to the cathode copper production line of Zijin Copper Co., LTD. Scenes like this are taking place almost every day. Shanghang county in Longyan city is an important precious metal base in China. So far this year, its pillar enterprise Zijin Copper Co., LTD has seen a year-on-year growth of 12 percent in cathode copper output, and a 13.4 percent year-on-year rise in its output growth. However, at the height of the epidemic, as the company was planning to export 5,000 tons of cathode copper products in February, arranging for shipments to the port proved to be a challenge. Liao Yuanhang, general manager of Zijin Copper Co., LTD., recalled that fortunately, representatives from the Shanghang Railway Station came to the company and instructed the manufacturer to measure the size, weight and other information of the goods on the spot. On the same day, the company finalized an urgent transportation plan and shipped all 5,000 tons of cathode copper in just four days, ensuring the company was able fulfill its contracts on schedule. After putting its faith in Chinas railway freight transport, Zijin Copper Co., LTD decided to ship 90 percent of its annual mined copper, or about 500,000 tons, by rail. Since the beginning of this year, Shanghang Railway Station has transported 6,060 compartments of copper for Zijin Copper Industry, totaling 332,000 tons. Bulk goods transport is the most important aspect of railway freight transport. Since the resumption of work and production across the country this year, railway freight trains have developed new engines in the midst of crisis, and strengthened the organization of transport for railways. In bulk material transport, coal transport has proven to be critical. At the Xi 'an Bureau of China Railway in northwest Chinas Shaanxi province, the transport volume of coal topped 78 percent. The increase in rail freight transport volume not only stabilizes the fundamentals of railway freight, but also further reduces logistics costs for enterprises. For example, in the first half of this year, in order to support the transition to rail, the Beijing Bureau Group reduced 26 freight and miscellaneous fees, bringing the total costs for enterprises down by 900 million yuan ($129 million). A series of combined measures further increased the railway transport market share. A criticism of Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse that has dogged him for years has resurfaced again: His attendance record at school committee meetings. U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and his challenger, Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse, faced off Monday in a televised debate. The debate was organized by a consortium of media organizations, including The Republican and MassLive, New England Public Media and The Berkshire Eagle. It will air at 7 p.m. on WGBY and can be live-streamed on MassLive. As chair of the school committee, the schools were taken away [from local control,] Neal said. He is absent as he seeks job promotion, Neal said. Morse called Neals comments Monday recycled attacks, which he faced during 2015 and 2017 mayoral races. He is midway through serving a four-year term, after the mayoral term in Holyoke was lengthened following a ballot question. Morse announced last summer that he is challenging Neal to represent Massachusettss 1st Congressional District, a seat Neal has held for three decades. Following a question regarding internet access during Mondays debate, Neal pivoted to education and questioned his opponents attendance record at Holyoke School Committee meetings both before and after Holyoke Public Schools were placed into receivership. Morse defended his record, highlighting both improvements in the Holyoke Public Schools under his tenure as mayor and his relationship with families in the city. MassLive first reported on Morses school committee attendance record in 2015. Of 62 meetings between January 2014 and October 2015, Morse was absent for 45%. Holyoke Public Schools were deemed chronically underperforming and control of the schools was placed with a state-appointed receiver. In the years since, Holyoke Public Schools have seen noted improvement, including a dropout rate cut in half over a four-year period and the graduation rate up by more than 10%. The schools have added additional programming, including specialized, free summer academies for children in elementary, middle and high schools and the expansion of the dual-language program. Now have a waiting list to get into elementary schools, Morse said, noting the popularity of the dual language program. The mayor serves as chairperson of the school committee. Other board members are elected officials from each of the citys seven wards, two at-large members and a student representative from each public city high school. In comparing records, Neal referenced his own record while serving as Springfield mayor, during which he missed one meeting of the City Council. Morse said it was almost laughable for the congressman to to talk about accessibility criticizing the number of public events Neal has hosted in Western Massachusetts. Since announcing his congressional campaign last summer, Morse said he has interacted with tens of thousands of residents of this district. 50,000 Thai workers to head overseas THAILAND: Labour Minister Suchat Chomklin revealed yesterday (Aug 16) his ministry is aiming to send more than 50,000 Thai workers overseas by September due to the kingdoms success in handling the COVID-19 outbreak. constructionCoronavirusCOVID-19 By Bangkok Post Monday 17 August 2020, 08:46AM Suchat: Workers needed for recovery. Photo: Bangkok Post Mr Suchat said the ministry aims to send 52,253 Thais to work in parts of Asia and the Middle East such as Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Israel. Taiwan is expected to receive 20,120 Thai workers, the highest amount when compared to other countries. Some workers have already left Thailand to work overseas. Mr Suchat said the ministry decided to send the workers overseas because Thailand has reported a decreasing rate of local COVID-19 infections, and the government is easing lockdown measures, preparing to reopen the kingdom. The ministry found many Thai workers were ready to travel to work abroad, he said. He said 121,922 Thai workers remained abroad amid the COVID-19 pandemic, citing data from the ministrys Overseas Employment Administration Division. A total of 91,541 have stayed in Asia and South Asia, 24,312 in Middle East, 5,720 in Europe and America and 349 in Africa, Mr Suchat said. He said demand from labourers to be employed abroad increased after the COVID-19 situation in the kingdom stabilised, adding the government has now allowed travel to some safe countries. He cited data taken from Suvarnabhumi Airport last month showing 2,394 Thais travelled overseas, four times higher when compared to June when 585 labourers departed. The minister said 243 workers departed the country for their jobs in May, while 557 left in March. Mr Suchat said foreign countries need Thai workers because businesses need help to recover from COVID-19s economic impact. Thai workers are recognised internationally for their discipline and skills, he said, adding Thailand is seen as a trusted source of workers, free of COVID-19. Mr Suchat said international recognition of Thailands standard of health and sanitation will provide more opportunities for the kingdom and help generate income for citizens who are unemployed. His goal is to bring income to the country and stimulate the domestic economy. Before the Thai labourers are sent overseas, the government considers the safety of the workers by surveying infection prevention measures and employment protection policies destination countries have in place, he said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) - The Bureau of Immigration will initiate deportation proceedings against a Pakistani national for alleged possession of guns and explosives. In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said he directed the bureaus legal division to file charges against 29-year-old Haroon Bashir, who was arrested in Puerto Princesa, Palawan last August 6. Authorities seized a caliber .45 pistol and two improvised explosive devices from his house. Morente added that Bashir is a suspected bomb maker and that the MIMAROPA PNP is also investigating Bashirs possible involvement with local terrorist groups. The bureau said the Pakistani national has been overstaying in the country for more than seven years, having arrived in the country in April 2013. Morente said Bashir failed to present a passport or any travel document. If found guilty, Morente said Bashir will be deported once he has served his sentence. He will then be blacklisted and banned from reentering the country. Korea and the United States will start their annual joint military drills on Tuesday in what local media said was a two-day delay after a Korean officer tested positive for the new coronavirus. The drills will start on Tuesday, "considering the COVID-19 situation," Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday. The drills, which had been scheduled to begin on Sunday, were pushed back after the positive test on Friday of the army officer, who was to have taken part, Yonhap News Agency said. The combined drills have been reduced in recent years to facilitate U.S. negotiations aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programs. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, August 17, 2020 14:38 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e8e13e 4 News Airlines,airline-ticket,discount,Garuda-Indonesia,travel,#Indonesia75 Free National flag carrier Garuda Indonesia is offering special airfare discounts of up to 45 percent for those traveling from Jakarta to select domestic routes. Among the destinations included in the promotion are Bali, Yogyakarta, Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara and Medan in North Sumatra. The special prices are available for flights in August only. Read also: Indonesian airlines resume domestic passenger flights with strict health protocols Kompas.com reported that travelers could expect to get special airfares such as Rp 648,000 (US$43.79) for a flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta and Rp 1.01 million for a trip from Jakarta to Bali during the promotional period. The promotion is valid for all bookings made via Garuda Indonesias official website, mobile application and sales offices. In addition to the special prices, the airline is also offering discounts of up to Rp 750,000 for purchases made using services from several bank partners, namely BNI, BRI, BTN, CIMB Niaga, Citibank and Mandiri. (jes/kes) This effort is also being led by a younger cohort than previous pushes, many of which took place on college campuses. But whats most striking, historians said, is the scope of the movement. While past advocacy focused on a particular high school or district, today groups of students are popping up everywhere. Although no one is tracking exact numbers, #DiversifyOurNarrative, a California-based initiative that helps students push for curriculum changes by offering them email templates and suggestions for anti-racist texts, said it has signed up more than 3,500 students in 250 U.S. school districts since its founding in June. NEW YORK - Several individuals including candidates for public office sued President Donald Trump and the U.S. Postal Service and its new postmaster general in New York on Monday to ensure adequate funding for postal operations. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan federal court as multiple lawsuits were threatened across the country as a response to comments the president recently made and actions taken by newly appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to change operations at post offices nationwide. The lawsuit alleges that Trump and DeJoy are trying to ensure the postal service cannot reliably deliver election mail. The lawsuit seeks a court order to force adequate funding of the postal service prior to Novembers election. Among plaintiffs in the lawsuit was Mondaire Jones, an attorney and the Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives in New Yorks 17th Congressional District, representing Rockland and Westchester counties. Other plaintiffs included New York State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, a Democrat in a district representing the Bronx and Westchester and two Democratic candidates for New York State Assembly: Chris Burdick, who seeks to represent parts of Westchester County and Stephanie Keegan, who seeks parts of Putnam and Westchester counties. Besides candidates for political office, plaintiffs included individuals who say they must vote by mail because they fear travelling or because they worry about contracting the coronavirus. Those individuals included a Chicago resident who recently underwent a bone marrow transplant, a digital colorist for film and television who votes in California, an 85-year old Suffolk County, New York, voter at an assisted living facility and Mary Winton Green, a 97-year old retired philanthropist and Cook County, Illinois voter who first voted in 1944. If she cannot vote reliably by mail, she cannot vote at all, the lawsuit said, noting that her doctors have told her she cannot vote in person. A message seeking comment was left with the Justice Department and the U.S. Postal Service. As he left the White House Monday, Trump dismissed claims that he was trying to slow down mail processing. Wouldnt do that, he said. I have encouraged everybody to speed up the mail, not slow the mail. And I also want to have a post office that runs without losing billions and billions of dollars a year. The lawsuit was filed soon after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the House back into session over the crisis at the Postal Service. Pelosi wants to take up legislation that would prohibit changes at the agency after DeJoy set off a nationwide outcry over delays, new prices and cutbacks just as millions of Americans will begin voting by mail to avoid polling places during the coronavirus outbreak. The lawsuit cited various news reports and public comments by officials to support its claims that the postal service had imposed a hiring freeze, forbidden overtime and taken stiff measures to prevent steps that usually ameliorate staffing shortages. Closure of schools in Maharashtra leads to boys working in fields Open Enquiry: Ex-Mumbai police commissioner Param Bir Singh yet to appear before ACB Air pollution rapidly becoming matter of concern in Maha, Gujarat: CSE Will schools in Maharashtra reopen next week amid rising Omicron cases? Proposal sent to CM Nagar panchayat election results in Maharashtra is victory for MVA: Shiv Sena 1 dead, 3 injured in blast at chemical factory in Maharashtra's Palghar district India oi-Deepika S Mumbai, Aug 17: One person died and three were injured in a fire at a chemical factory in Tarapur Industrial area of Maharashtra's Palghar district on Monday evening. A fire brigade officer at the site said another worker was missing after the incident which took place in the Boisar MIDC area near here in Palghar district. Chief of the Disaster Cell of the Palghar district, Vivekanand Kadam, said di chloride benzamine enzol chemical preparation was underway at the unit when the explosion occurred. Kadam said the worker who lost his life in the explosion was identified as Sandeep Kushawaha (30). Lockdown in Maharashtra to be lifted in stepwise manner: Thackeray Four other workers were seriously injured in the blast and admitted to a local hospital for treatment, he said. At the time of the blast, there were more than a dozen workers in the plant, Kadam said. The fire officer said immediately upon getting the message about the blast at about 7.30 pm, two fire engines were rushed to the spot. The Boisar police are probing the incident. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.17 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Russia amounted to $8.07 billion over 1H2020, compared to $9.03 billion during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee. The share of Russia in the total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover stood at 19 percent during the reporting period compared to 19.6 percent during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export to Russia amounted to $2.1 billion over the period from January through June 2020, compared to $2.6 billion during the same period of 2019. Russias share in the total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to less than 8.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 9.3 percent during the same period of 2019. In turn, Kazakhstans imports from Russia slightly exceeded $5.9 billion over the reporting period, compared to $6.3 billion during the same period of 2019. Russias share in the total volume of Kazakhstans import amounted to 36.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 36.4 percent during the same period of 2019. The total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover amounted to $42.5 billion over the period from Jan. through June 2020 which indicates a decrease from $46.1 billion during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export amounted to $26 billion during the reporting period of 2020 ($28.6 billion in the same period of 2019), whereas import amounted to $16.5 billion ($17.5 billion in 2019). --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. and BRISBANE, Australia, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Maddy Cross Parkin, Director of Musical Grants, announced that Martina Consonni is the very First Recipient of the Scheer Foundation Scholarship for the year 2020/2021. "Martina Consonni from Como, Italy is the very first recipient and we are proud to support her career. It is a privilege to support the education of the fine scholars selected for this year's Scheer Foundation Scholarships," said Maddy Cross Parkin director of Music Grants. Scheer Foundation Martina is a brilliant pianist who already has won in excess of 50 International prizes and will attend this year the Hochschule fur Musik, Theater und Medien in Hannover (Germany). Martina attended already the prestigious International Piano Academy "Incontri col Maestro" in Imola, Martina graduated in chamber music with full marks from the National Academy of St. Cecilia in Rome under the guidance of Maestro Carlo Fabiano. "Martina was selected after an International search organized by the Foundation and I selected Martina because of her skills, her technical ability and her sense of music," added Maddy Cross Parkin. "We intend to follow her and support her career in the years to come." About the Scheer Foundation The Frederic & Jocelyne Scheer Foundation ("Scheer Foundation") is a US Private Foundation (501-c 3) dedicated to fight malnutrition and children mortality in Africa in promoting local agricultural and industrial project to build up local and regional employment. The Foundation recently expanded its reach to Arts & Music. Learn more at: www.scheerfoundation.org Contact: Maddy Cross Parkin Tel +61 437 802 805 [email protected] SOURCE Scheer Foundation Hammond picked up a branch and Courtney became scared. Hammond would later tell police her last words were: "Are you going to kill me?" A witness sleeping in the park said the frenzied attack lasted 50 minutes. He described hearing a woman's screams and her attacker going "hell for leather". Courtney Herron died at the age of 25. Hammond then tied Courtney's feet together, dragged her into a clearing and covered her with leaves and put a concrete block on her face. These are details that will haunt her mother forever. "The fact she turned around and saw him and got really scared and those were her last words ... She wouldn't have understood why. She would never think like that," Maxie says. "She was trusting but was so vulnerable because she didn't understand that not everyone is like her. She wouldn't have understood it with every blow coming down on her." Courtney's mother, Maxie, during a vigil for her daughter in Royal Park on May 31 last year. Credit:Eddie Jim Maxie says it was her daughter's kindness the small act of giving someone on the street a cigarette that led to her death. "It's like a sliding doors moment. She died because of her kindness." Hammond was arrested on the afternoon of May 26. He initially denied knowing Courtney, but he later told police that he had been walking through Royal Park when he had felt that she had a "treachery towards him and her family", adding that the "trees had dropped sticks for a reason". He said he "recognised Courtney from a past life" and he had got his revenge on her. 'The family is so angry' It wasn't long after Courtney's death that her family learnt that just weeks before the killing, Hammond had been released from jail after successfully appealing a sentence he had received for threatening to kill his ex-partner. Court documents show that in April last year, Hammond was released on a community corrections order after serving a portion of a 10-month sentence for waving a knife in the face of his partner, before choking and punching her, fracturing her eye socket. Courtney as a little girl, pictured in the memorial booklet handed to mourners at her funeral. He had arrived at the woman's apartment several days after she had ended their relationship in August 2018, saying "she was not who she said she was and she was dead". He admitted to the assault and was sentenced in December 2018. The court heard he claimed to hold Viking beliefs and had taken a vow of silence, making it difficult to complete a psychological report. His lawyer argued the sentence was "manifestly excessive" and Hammond's parents, from NSW, told the court they would help pay for some temporary accommodation if he were released. He was assessed as suitable for a 12-month community corrections order on the condition he received drug, alcohol and mental health treatment, supervision and judicial monitoring. "The reason I'm giving you that chance is so that you can be assisted with some rehabilitation," the judge told Hammond. Henry Hammond. "You are a young man, you have some difficulties. You and I both know that. So you've got to face up to the difficulties and I'm going to monitor how you do it." "OK," Hammond replied. Seven weeks later he was back in jail, charged with murder. Says Maxie: "Finding out that she need not have died had he not been released, it was the first punch in the gut. It was horrifying to discover he had tried to kill his ex-partner ... I was appalled." 'The system is broken' Earlier this year, Hammond pleaded not guilty to murdering Courtney, due to mental impairment. This was not opposed by the prosecution, a decision that has angered and upset Courtney's family. Her mother finds it hard to accept the testimony of the two psychiatrists who found it was Hammond's schizophrenia and not his drug use that caused his violent offending. Court documents show that Hammond was first referred to Victorian mental health professionals in April 2017, after his mother contacted them with concerns. He was living in a van at the time in Northcote. The crisis team examined him but did not think he required hospitalisation. Several months later, the manager of restaurant Lentil as Anything expressed concerns that Hammond "believed he was God, and that Odin 'will bring dragons back' ". Hammond was also acting aggressively, slashing her tyres and threatening staff. He was involuntarily admitted for three weeks to a hospital psychiatric unit and discharged in April 2018. On Monday, the Supreme Court heard that two psychiatrists believed Hammond was in the midst of a relapse of his schizophrenic illness at the time of Courtney's killing in May 2019. Forensic psychiatrist Dr Rajan Darjee told the court he believed that at the time of offending, Hammond was suffering from schizophrenia and not a drug-induced psychosis. "If he was not suffering from this mental illness, the attack on the victim would not have occurred, with no other factors playing a significant direct role in the killing," Dr Darjee said. "Substance use may have exacerbated his mental illness but his symptoms were not caused by substance use." Courtney with her Pappou, her late grandfather, with whom she was buried. Justice Phillip Priest accepted the evidence of the two psychiatrists. He directed a verdict of not guilty by mental impairment be recorded. Maxie says Hammond's story shows just how Courtney was let down by "a very flawed mental health system". "If he has had schizophrenia since 2017 and was in and out of the mental health system, how come it wasn't picked up? Why did they let him out if he was so ill?" she says. She spent years trying to help Courtney, who battled a drug addiction from her late teens and spent time in hospital several times for her mental illness issues. "We have a mental health system that is completely broken," Maxie says. "We need to be opening proper bedding for mental health. "We need to change the way we look at mental illness and how we are attacking it. We don't have any other choice." 'Remember her as funny, sweet, loving' Alongside the pain Maxie suffers, she still has good memories of those times when her daughter's drug addiction wasn't consuming. "She was very artistic and creative and played the piano beautifully, really well," she says. "She had a bigger heart than most." Above all, Maxie wants people to remember Courtney for the goodness in her and not the way she died. "I don't want people to think about her being hurt, I want them to remember her as the funny, sweet, loving and a trusting person who was talented but couldn't recognise that." Hammond was remanded until his next court hearing on September 14, when the court will make a supervision order. New Delhi, Aug 17 : The central government has appointed 1984-batch IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the Director General of Border Security Force (BSF). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal to appoint the Gujarat-cadre officer as the BSF chief till July 31, 2021, when he is slated to retire. Asthana is presently posted as DG of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), with additional charge of DG, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Asthana will continue to hold the additional charge of NCB apart from the BSF assignment. The panel also approved the appointment of VSK Kaumudi, 1986-batch Andhra Pradesh cadre officer, as Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry till November 30, 2022, the officer's retirement date. Kaumudi is presently posted as DG of Bureau of Police Research and Development. The committee also approved the appointment of Jaweed Akhtar, a 1986-batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, as DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard till July 31, 2021, when he is slated to retire. Akhtar currently is Special DG in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The BSF was headed by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General SS Deswal as a stop-gap arrangement for over five months after then BSF chief Vivek Johri was repatriated to his parent cadre Madhya Pradesh on March 11. Description GIS 17 August 2020: The first ministerial meeting of the Task Force on the forthcoming Father Laval (Pere Laval) pilgrimage was chaired, today, by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the Lunch Room of the National Assembly, in Port Louis . Several representatives from Governmental institutions and socio-cultural associations were present to discuss and share their proposals as to the advent of the pilgrimage. The aim was to ensure that the Father Laval pilgrimage is held in the best possible conditions. Addressing the Task Force, Prime Minister Jugnauth recalled that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some religious activities could not be held. He however reassured that the pilgrimage this year will be able to take place within the best sanitary conditions. He also pledged that Government will take on board the proposals raised by the various socio-cultural representatives so that the pilgrimage is held smoothly. During the meeting, the different authorities listed out the numerous arrangements which will be made for, namely: rehabilitation of roads and the shrine of Pere Laval, lighting facilities, conversion of Cite La Cure community Centre into a medical post, spraying and rodent control, as well as supply of electricity and water throughout the pilgrimage. Moreover, some 200 Police Officers will be deployed and, stand-by teams from the Central Electricity Board, Central Water Authority, Wastewater Management Authority, Local Government, and Ministry of Health and Wellness, will be present on that day. Jacques-Desire Laval (18 September 1803 9 September 1864) was a French Roman Catholic priest who served in the missions in Mauritius. He is known as the "Apostle of Mauritius" due to his tireless work in aiding the poor and ill. Every year on 8 September, men, women and children from every part of Mauritius, leave their houses and start on a long march to the shrine of Father Laval at Sainte Croix, where prayers are said. The death of Father Laval is commemorated on 9 September each year. JACKSON, MI Jacksons Francis Street used to bustle with record shops, laundromats and grocery stores. But the commercial corridor has declined, and city officials want to bring it back. Obviously it is a sense of personal gratification, but I dont look at things like that, Sanders said. I didnt do this alone. I did it with extraordinary people. When I get up on that stage, its not about me. Im representing the dreams, the aspirations of millions and millions of people who really want to create a government that works for all and not the few. The Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under the Chairmanship of Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, approved the transfer of Rs 57128 crore as surplus to the Central Government for the accounting year 2019-20, while deciding to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.5%. The Board reviewed the current economic situation, continued global and domestic challenges and the monetary, regulatory and other measures taken by RBI to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The Board discussed the proposal of setting up an Innovation Hub. The Board discussed various areas of operations of the Bank during the last year and approved the Annual Report and accounts of the Reserve Bank for the year 2019-20. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 39th World Diamond Congress slated for Sept. 14-15 in virtual format 17 august 2020 News The World Federation of Diamond Bourses (WFDB) and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA) have announced that the next World Diamond Congress will be held in a virtual format on September 14 15, 2020, according to a press release from WFDB. WFDB Acting President Yoram Dvash said, Although we have all become used to conducting meetings and webinars online, this will be the first time that we will be holding an entire Congress in this format. This will be an especially important meeting at a time when the global diamond industry is in crisis due to the pandemic. This Congress will enable us to discuss all of the critical issues affecting our industry and to hear from the members of the diamond trade worldwide. IDMA President Ronnie VanderLinden said, The coronavirus crisis has only heightened the fundamental challenges our industry faces. Now it is even more important to gather as an industry and to work together to seek new paths forward. Both leaders stressed that they were hopeful that attendance at the virtual congress would be high, especially since the online format would enable convenient participation from delegates offices and homes. The 39th World Diamond Congress, a biennial gathering of the WFDB and IDMA, was originally planned to be held in Hong Kong in November 2020, but has been moved to a digital format due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished Friends of CenterLight Foundation, in collaboration with Inspired Memory Care, will offer free online webinars for caregivers on Wednesday August 19th and Wednesday August 26th. Both will be live sessions from 3:00-4:00 pm on CenterLights Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/centerlighthealthsystem). The first session (08/19) will provide resources and creative strategies for maintaining connection between families, communities, and individuals living with dementia in the time of COVID-19 and beyond. The second session (08/26) will explore practical techniques for maintaining presence and fun in your interactions with your loved one living with memory impairment. Inspired Memory Care will highlight communication techniques to support conversation, connection, and relationships between care partners and their loved ones living with Alzheimers Disease and related dementias. Virtual Programming in Response to COVID-19 Teamcare is CenterLight Healthcares Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). An alternative to nursing home care, Teamcare empowers older adults to continue to live independently, at home and in their communities. These webinars are part of a series of online programs offered through Teamcare to help keep participants, their caregivers and community members active and engaged. Intended to help prevent social isolation and depression, these educational, therapeutic and recreational programs are provided virtually, for attendees to enjoy in the comfort and safety of their homes. For more information, visit http://www.centerlighthealthcare.org/life-at-teamcare. ***RSVPs are encouraged but not required*** Making Connections While Social Distancing August 18, 2020, 3:00-4:00pm http://www.centerlighthealthcare.org/facebook-events/makingconnections Communicating & Connecting With An Individual Living With Dementia August 26, 2020, 3:00-4:00pm http://www.centerlighthealthcare.org/facebook-events/communication For more information, contact: Lisa Cesarano (lcesarano@centerlight.org; 718-239-1977) About Friends of CenterLight The Friends of CenterLight Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity dedicated to improving the lives of CenterLight participants by helping them to maintain their health, well-being and autonomy in environments that honor their individual needs, values, and preferences. Learn more at http://www.centerlight.org/foundation. About Inspired Memory Care Inspired Memory Cares mission is to collaborate with families, professionals, and individuals living with memory impairment in order to maintain a vibrant, connected lifestyle -- keeping family relationships alive and minimizing challenging behaviors. They strive to do this through a combination of environment, communication and routine-based adaptations -- which can often serve as non-pharmacologic interventions. Learn more at http://www.inspiredmemorycare.com. About CenterLight Health System CenterLight Health System is a leading not-for-profit healthcare organization that offers a wide range of high-quality, community-based, and long-term healthcare services to New Yorkers in need. CenterLight Healthcare is the largest subsidiary of CenterLight Health System. Teamcare is CenterLight Healthcares Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). An alternative to nursing home care, Teamcare empowers older adults to continue to live independently, at home and in their communities. With 14 locations throughout New York City, Westchester and Nassau/Suffolk Counties, the program serves participants from a wide range of backgrounds, including Arabic, Albanian, Chinese, Creole, English, Korean, Hindi, Punjabi, Russian and Spanish. Teamcare develops individualized care plans, which are carried out by a dedicated interdisciplinary team (IDT) of doctors, nurses, physical therapists, nutritionists, recreational therapists and other professionals working in concert to provide care as unique as the richly diverse participants enrolled in the plan. Learn more at http://www.centerlighthealthcare.org Roads have long been my top priority in the legislature. This session, I consistently fought to ensure that transportation money was invested in fixing our local rural roads. I am proud of the work we accomplished this session. Through the budget process and subsequent legislation, I worked hard to ensure that local roads received priority and supported reforms that increased efficiency and saved money at the Department of Transportation. Just over one year ago, while we were hard at work on the state budget, I developed a plan that invested $133.6 million directly in local roads and bridges $1 million for each county and $1,000 per road mile for towns. This proposal would have meant more than $14 million in direct cash payments for roads and bridges in the 17th Senate District. The purpose of this plan was to invest in roads not bike paths or trains roads. My colleagues and I pushed hard for this proposal to be included in the budget. Through negotiations with the Assembly, we were still able to secure $90 million in one-time road funding. However, the governor used his veto pen to strip away $15 million from this funding and all of the language that directed this money toward local roads. In response, I authored a letter asking the governor to keep the remaining money for local roads. Ultimately the governor and the DOT created the $75 million Multimodal Local Supplement program. Statewide requests totaled well over $1.4 billion, and there was over $111 million in requests in the 17th Senate District alone. On March 4, 152 communities received $75 million in funding. In the 17th District, nine projects totaling just over $4 million were funded. To further our investment in fixing the roads, we increased funding for General Transportation Aids by $66 million over the biennium. This increase, coupled with the MLS program money, will mean more than $1 billion specifically for local roads over the biennium. For calendar year 2020, more than $28.5 million will be coming to communities in the 17th Senate District through GTAs. Some towns are limited in the amount of GTAs they can receive because the GTA formula is a spending-based formula. To help these communities, the legislature invested $2.5 million each year to help these towns receive their full GTA payment. This helped five towns in the 17th Senate District including the town of Mt. Ida ($19,685.61), town of Kingston ($17,049.94), town of New Diggings ($12,742.44), town of Buena Vista ($12,594.47) and town of Franklin ($24,181.35). We also invested nearly $2 billion in the State Highway Rehabilitation Program over the biennium. This will fund projects such as Hwy. 81 between Lancaster and Platteville and Argyle and Monroe, Hwy. 133 between Muscoda and Lone Rock, and Hwy. 60 between Gotham and Boscobel. We made all of these investments without raising the gas tax as the governor proposed. Instead, we raised the title fee by $95 and the annual registration fee by $10. By increasing these fees instead of the gas tax, the average driver will save between $15 and $55 per year, depending on the fuel efficiency of their vehicle. We made strong investments in fixing the roads, while keeping a watch on the checkbook for all Wisconsinites. In addition to fixing the roads, the legislature developed reforms to increase the efficiency of the DOT and save the taxpayers money by expanding and offering the design-build method of construction planning for some projects, requiring the DOT to maintain an inventory of at least five highway projects suitable for selection as design-build projects and a package of bills called the Road to Sustainability Package, which pushed the DOT to use taxpayer money more efficiently. I co-authored Senate Bill (SB) 277, which would allow contractors to source aggregate materials from the right-of-way of the project, if it met certain requirements, rather than paying a higher cost to source and transport materials from distant locations. This is economically smart! It reduces unnecessary costs, pollution and waste associated with bringing materials in that already exist onsite. This bill passed the Senate, but did not receive a floor vote in the Assembly. SB 272 allows contractors to review the DOTs list of approved, structurally-equivalent alternatives for sub-grade construction, the material underneath a constructed road, and propose whichever construction approach is the lowest cost for that contractor to bid and construct. Unfortunately, even though this bill passed the legislature, the governor vetoed the bill in its entirety. This bill would have allowed contractors to determine which materials to use to deliver quality projects at the lowest cost, which would have saved the taxpayers money. Another way to save taxpayer money is to closely examine single-bid projects, many of which come in over budget. To ensure costs are reasonable, SB 284 required that the DOT reject bids if there is only one bidder for a project or if it exceeds the departments estimate for the project by more than 10%. This bill passed both houses of the legislature, but in different forms and did not complete the legislative cycle. These investments will make a difference in our communities. The reform bills we worked on will make the DOT more efficient and use taxpayer money more effectively. As the session wraps up, I am proud of the work that we did to invest in roads. I will continue to advocate for money for rural roads in future budgets and legislation. As always, please do not hesitate to connect with me to provide input, ideas or to seek assistance. Send an email to sen.marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov or call 608-266-0703. Republican Howard Marklein, Spring Green, represents the 17th state Senate District. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Catch the latest in Opinion Get opinion pieces, letters and editorials sent directly to your inbox weekly! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. A U.S.P.S. worker wearing a protective mask, gloves and safety goggles delivers mostly Amazon packages amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 28, 2020 in New York City. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she is calling the House back into session over the crisis at the U.S. Postal Service, setting up a political showdown amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the election. Pelosi is cutting short lawmakers' summer recess with a vote expected the Saturday after the Democratic National Convention on legislation that would prohibit changes at the agency as tensions mount. President Donald Trump's new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, has sparked nationwide outcry over delays, new prices and cutbacks just as millions of Americans will be trying to vote by mail to avoid polling places during the coronavirus outbreak. "In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central," Pelosi wrote Sunday in a letter to colleagues, who had been expected to be out of session until September. "Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy are under threat from the president." The decision to recall the House, made after a weekend of high-level leadership discussions, carries a political punch. Voting in the House will highlight the issue after the weeklong convention nominating Joe Biden as the party's presidential pick and pressure the Republican-held Senate to respond. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sent senators home for a summer recess. Earlier Sunday, Democratic lawmakers demanded that leaders of the Postal Service testify at an emergency oversight hearing Aug. 24 on mail delays. The House Oversight and Reform Committee said it wants to hear from DeJoy and from the chair of the Postal Service board of governors, Robert "Mike" Duncan. With heightened scrutiny of its operations, the Postal Service is now requesting a temporary preelection rate increase, from mid-October through Christmas, although not for first-class letters. The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment about whether the two men would appear before the House committee. But it said Sunday it would stop removing its distinctive blue mailboxes through mid-November following complaints from customers and members of Congress that the collection boxes were being taken away. "Given the recent customer concerns the Postal Service will postpone removing boxes for a period of 90 days while we evaluate our customers' concerns, Postal Service spokeswoman Kimberly Frum said. House Democrats are expected to discuss the lawmakers' schedule details on a conference call on Monday and were likely to be in session next Saturday, a senior Democratic aide said on condition of anonymity because the plans were private. The legislation being prepared for the vote, the "Delivering for America Act," would prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on Jan. 1. DeJoy, a major Republican donor and ally of the president who took control of the agency in June, has pledged to modernize the money-losing agency to make it more efficient, and has eliminated most overtime for postal workers, imposed restrictions on transportation and reduced of the quantity and use of mail-processing equipment. Trump said last week that he was blocking a $25 billion emergency injection sought by the Postal Service, as well as a Democratic proposal to provide $3.6 billion in additional election money to the states. The Republican president worries that mail-in voting could cost him reelection. The money for the post office is intended to help with processing an expected surge of mail-in ballots. Both funding requests have been tied up in congressional negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package. Australian country music star Amber Lawrence and husband Martin Newman are grieving the loss of their son Edward. Amber had a stillbirth halfway through her pregnancy last month, detailing the 'horrific' pain in an interview with The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Monday. The 42-year-old four-time Golden Guitar winner understandably said it was incredibly difficult for the couple to leave the hospital without their baby. Tragic loss: Country music star Amber Lawrence (pictured), 42, detailed the 'horrific' pain of losing son Edward, who was stillborn halfway through her pregnancy last month, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph's Confidential on Monday 'Giving birth and leaving the baby there [at the hospital] is the most horrific thing,' Amber told the publication. 'Walking out of the hospital while your baby is still there not breathing was so hard,' she continued. Amber and Martin cremated their son followed by a farewell ceremony. The artist, who suffered a miscarriage within the first 12 weeks of her pregnancy last year, added that they decided to reveal their heartbreaking news as it is such a significant loss to not address. Heartache: 'Giving birth and leaving the baby there [at the hospital] is the most horrific thing,' Amber told the publication. She is pictured in May 2017 In an Instagram post on July 29, Amber shared a black and white photo of the couple with Edward, alongside an emotional caption. Amber said that while they are 'devastated', Edward will always be their child. 'I want you to know that we are okay, we are devastated to lose our beautiful baby boy, but we also know how many other families have to suffer through a similar devastation,' she wrote. 'He will always be our baby, so loved and so wanted': In an Instagram post on July 29, Amber shared a black and white photo of herself and husband Martin Newman with Edward, alongside an emotional caption 'It's more than we realised. He will always be our baby, so loved and so wanted.' Amber wed Martin, who she met on Tinder in 2016, in a stunning ceremony in Port Douglas, in tropical far north Queensland, in May last year. The couple are already proud parents to two-year-old son Ike. For support, please visit the Stillbirth Foundation Australia website or SANDS. SEATTLE, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Auction of Washington Wines (AWW) pivoted online for its 33rd series of charitable wine events from Aug. 1115, 2020. Through online auctions and a live streamed virtual gala presented by Seattle Bank, the organization raised over $1.74 million. Proceeds from the August events benefit Seattle Children's, Washington State University Viticulture & Enology Program research, as well as AWW. Top auction lots of the virtual live gala were the "PPP Post-pandemic Pool Party hosted by Macklemore," a trip to London to see the premiere of the next Bond movie and the chance to explore Napa, "The Other Wine Country" with AWW 2020-2021 Honorary Chair, Karen MacNeil. The total raised for these items was $117,500. PHOTO GALLERY: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/f73k29wadfmehrz/AAAv49nrlgmTYoEf5NWa0sZ_a?dl=0 Photo credit: Duval Images "We are so grateful for the incredible show of support for the Washington wine industry, which is such a key part of the overall Washington state economy," said AWW board president Beth McCaw. "Despite the challenges, change in format and experience, we are heartened that our supporters came to the 'virtual' table and donated so generously this year," said AWW executive director Jamie Peha. "It is rewarding to see longtime auction patrons as well as newcomers enjoy the Auction in a new and digital way. The Washington wine industry quickly rose to the occasion and provided more than 130 auction lots including vintage wines and experiences in support. We are thankful to our sponsors, board of directors, auction team and all our partners for their flexibility and generous contributions. Everyone was invested in making this year the best it could possibly be. " Over 600 people registered for the online auction. Wineries and donors provided stunning, once-in-a-lifetime and, in some cases, priceless auction offerings, such as a 22-year vertical series of Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese wine vintages and a reserved spot on one of the most-coveted wine membership lists in Washington, Cayuse Vineyards. The Auction also brought the big event to attendees' homes by offering a "Gala-in-a-Box" package, featuring dinner made by esteemed local chefs John Howie or Lisa Dupar, and accompanying Washington wine offerings to enjoy during the virtual live gala. Additional highlights of Washington's premier charitable weekend of wine events are below. Online "Almost Live" Auction (Aug. 11-17) This exclusive, online "almost live" auction experience featured over two dozen top-tier auction lots, ranging in value from $750 to $5,000+. Auction items included the chance to win a private winemaker dinner hosted by DeLille Cellars' director of winemaking Jason Gorski at the winery's new tasting room; an Eroica 20-year anniversary tasting dinner for six with Riesling greats Bob Bertheau of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Ernst Loosen of Weingut Dr. Loosen from Germany; and a package of large-format library wines from Leonetti Cellar and FIGGINS. Online "Silent" Auction (Aug. 11-15) The online "silent" auction featured over 40 auction lots ranging in value from $250 to $1,500. Auction items included the chance to be "winemaker for a day" at Two Vintners, with the chance to pick grapes, sort fruit and join winemaker Morgan Lee in the "punchdown;" a relaxed vineyard lunch from the top of Red Mountain with Hightower Cellars owners Kelly and Tim Hightower; and a two-night stay at Treveri Cellars' estate vineyard, including a private tasting of its diverse line-up of Washington state bubbly. Virtual Live Gala Auction (Saturday, Aug. 15) Held for one night only on Saturday, Aug. 15 from 6-8 p.m. and live streamed on YouTube, the virtual live gala was a memorable occasion in the spirit of AWW's annual gala with over 200 people tuning in. The opening performance featured a custom tune from local composer Rich Gray entitled "I Love My Washington Wine." Attendees had the option of bringing the gala home by purchasing a Wells Fargo-sponsored "Gala-in-a-Box" from noted Seattle chefs John Howie and Lisa Dupar. More than one dozen wineries, including J. Bookwalter Winery, Gorman Winery and Mark Ryan Winery, offered exclusive gala wine bundles for attendees to enjoy at home during the gala. David Silverman and Fred Northup, Jr. served as auctioneers and kept the energy going. Guest speakers throughout the evening included Ste. Michelle Wine Estates president and CEO Jim Mortensen and Auction of Washington Wines' 2020-2021 honorary chair, noted wine personality Karen MacNeil. Former KING 5 anchor and longtime Seattle Children's board member and supporter Jean Enersen led the charge in Raise the Paddle benefitting Seattle Children's and AWW. Some of the auction lots available for bid included a five-day excursion to the Jackson Hole Food & Wine for four hosted by AWW 2020-2021 honorary grower Rob Mercer, a three-day Walla Walla wine tasting tour for three couples; and a package containing 55 magnum wines from 55 different Washington wineries. Next year's Auction of Washington Wines weekend is scheduled for August 12-14, 2021. Those who could not attend the virtual or online events are able to make a donation directly at washingtonwine.ejoinme.org/Donate. About the Auction of Washington Wines (AWW) Since its inception in 1988, AWW has raised more than $51 million, benefiting Seattle Children's Hospital and Viticulture & Enology Program research. AWW was listed in the top five U.S. Charity Auctions in the nation by Wine Spectator. Events hosted by AWW give wine lovers the chance to support Washington state's wine industry and families and communities across the state. Presented by Seattle Bank, all of the organization's events were virtual for 2020. For more information, visit www.AuctionofWaWines.org. About Seattle Bank Seattle Bank is a boutique bank focused on the needs of families, businesses, and community organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Our mission is to be a unique financial resource by providing our clients a personalized experience and peace of mind. We also recognize the importance of partnering with others that serve our community. We are proud to join the Auction of Washington Wines in supporting Seattle Children's and WSU Viticulture and Enology research. MEDIA CONTACTS: May Wildman and Erin Dubots, The Fearey Group [email protected] 206.343.1543 SOURCE Auction of Washington Wines Related Links https://auctionofwawines.org Videos Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos. After the General Insurance Council released its indicative rate chart for COVID-19 treatment last month, hospitals have put out a charge structure that they believe is reasonable. These rates are 70-108 per cent higher than GI Councils charge structure. We have shared our rates with the GI Council. Further discussions with the council to reach a consensus continue, says Dr Alexander Thomas, President, Association of Healthcare Providers (India). The hospital data, collated by AHPI, is based on treatment records of six hospitals across the country, including Narayana Health, Bangalore, Medica Super Specialty Hospital, Kolkata and Bhagat Chandra Hospital, Delhi. This data forms part of the report prepared by a committee comprising insurance and hospital officials as also independent experts. Chaired by Dr S Raghunath, Professor of Strategy, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, it was constituted to compare the AHPIs and GICs costs for COVID-19 treatment at private hospitals. Huge gap in cost structures The gap between the GI Councils rates and hospitals charge structures is extremely wide. For example, the former has prescribed a cap of Rs 10,000 per day for isolation beds with oxygen care, while the hospital associations estimates suggest a cost of Rs 21,931 a day. Likewise, insurers have decided to pay daily charges of up to Rs 18,000 for intensive care unit (ICU) with ventilator care, whereas the hospital body has quoted Rs 37,358. Hospitals charge structure has been computed assuming that a patient would have an average of 10-14 days stay. 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 Whats more, the rate card does not include treatment of co-morbidities and other complications, which can prolong your stay and inflate the hospitalisation bill significantly. This does not apply to private and higher category rooms, as charges will vary depending upon the facilities, the report added. Neither does it cover high-end antibiotics, immunotherapy and interventional procedures such as chemo-port insertion, bronchoscopy procedures and biopsies, pleural or ascitic tapping and tracheostomy. Capping of charges The cost of personal protection equipment (PPE) are capped at Rs 1,200-2,000 (and included in per day charges) in the GI Councils indicative rate chart, depending on the severity of ailment. On the other hand, AHPIs estimate pegs these charges at Rs 1,900-Rs 5,000. The use of certified PPE in COVID wards is 2.4 units per patient per day at Rs 800 per PPE and is almost double in ICUs as the per-patient manpower increases in ICUs. The use of the PPE is 1.8 units per patient a day in the rest of the hospital, the committees comparison chart states. While the general insurance bodys charge structure is not binding on insurers, many have started adhering to it. We have started implementing the councils rate chart issued in July. Hospitals have submitted their rate card and discussions are on. If the GI Council feels the need to revise its charge structure, it will take a call in September based on data analysis, after consulting member insurers, says Nikhil Apte, Chief Product Officer, Health Insurance, Royal Sundaram General Insurance. Insurance companies have justified the rate caps, citing the customary and reasonable charges condition. This clause states that treatment costs should be in line with charges for similar illnesses and service quality in the geographical location. If both entities do not budge from their respective positions, policyholders patients and their families will have to bear the brunt. They will have to shell out a significant sum up to 50 per cent in some cases from their own pockets. Some insurers have asked us to implement the GI Council rate card and we have to follow their instructions. In such cases, patients have to foot the bill for the difference between actual hospital charges and the claim settled by insurers, explained a senior executive at a third-party administrator (TPA). Coronavirus cases are already surfacing in K-12 schools that have reopened, but the federal government is not tracking these outbreaks, and some states are not publicly reporting them, making it more difficult to determine how the virus is spreading, experts say. Scores of students and staff members have been quarantined because of potential COVID-19 exposure in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Indiana, among other states. But there is no official national tally of school-linked COVID-19 cases, and some states are not reporting how many outbreaks have occurred or how many students and staff members have been infected. Instead, they are leaving it up to local officials to decide which information to make public and which information to share more narrowly with affected students and families. Researchers say the absence of a comprehensive accounting is hampering efforts to identify which safety practices can best prevent cases in schools from spreading. Without good data that tracks cases over time and shows how one case turns into many cases there's just no way to answer that question, said Emily Oster, an economist at Brown University and co-founder of COVID Explained, a team of researchers studying the pandemic. In January, we'll be in the same position that we are in now, and kids still won't be in school. At least nine states including Alabama, California and Pennsylvania are tracking school-linked coronavirus cases and outbreaks, but wont make this data public, according to an NBC News tally of all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Many of these states cited privacy concerns for withholding the data. Some claimed that coronavirus data on schools was not critical to protecting the broader public, and said their policies might change in the future if there was a clear public health reason for providing such information. At least 15 other states have begun publishing data on school-based outbreaks, or have committed to doing so, according to the NBC News survey. Seven states said they were still deliberating their plans, and the remainder did not respond to a request for comment. Story continues Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak Even among the states that have committed to sharing data, there are major gaps and inconsistencies in reporting policies. Each state sets its own definition for an outbreak usually a certain number of cases linked to a single site. Most said they would not specify the district or school that was affected, citing privacy concerns. And only a handful of states said they would report the actual numbers of infected students and staff. A spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the agency was not tracking school-based COVID-19 cases, and the Education Department did not respond to a request for comment. Beyond the researchers concerns, educators and parents are worried about whether theyll be told about positive cases that could threaten their safety not only at their schools, but in neighboring areas as well. School administrators fear the lack of comprehensive data could feed unnecessary panic by making it hard to determine whether a news story about an individual school outbreak is an outlier or a sign of impending danger. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, called on all states to gather and release this data, since the federal government is not doing so. The Trump administration has shamefully tried to keep America in the dark on COVID-19, so it's doubly important for states to ignore the political bluster and commit to delivering the truth about the virus' spread, Weingarten said in a statement in response to NBC News findings. While some school districts are doing their best to inform teachers, families and children, we're hoping states get with the program and deliver the transparency they deserve as schools gradually begin to reopen their doors." Image: Hawaii school (Jennifer Sinco Kelleher / AP file) In the absence of comprehensive state or federal data, some researchers are stepping in to gather information themselves. Oster, the Brown University economist, is working with the School Superintendents Association, which represents school officials, to develop a dashboard that collects the latest information directly from individual districts to help inform administrators and academics. It would include not just the number of positive cases in schools, but also the size of the student body, how many students and staff are in quarantine at a given moment, and changes in cases over time. The goal is to track infections, and also to discern quickly which regions and schools are faring better at preventing and containing outbreaks and whether their safety procedures were responsible for the difference. Such information could also help parents decide whether to send their children to school or keep them at home for remote learning, Oster said. The only evidence thats really going to be informative is what happens when we open schools, she said. Whether its the right decision or not, once schools are open it would be a shame not to use that as an opportunity to learn how to do this. Other institutions are also trying to fill in gaps with their own reporting. The Indianapolis Star launched a searchable database of positive cases at schools after the state government started the school year without making the information public. (Indianas Health Department said it is working on a public dashboard for school-linked cases, but did not provide a timeline or details on what data would be included.) One Kansas teacher even created a Google spreadsheet for educators and parents to track news reports of cases and quarantines in schools. Image: Hollywood High School Students And Teachers Prepare For Coming School Year (Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images) While other countries have reopened schools sooner and more widely than the U.S., they also have not comprehensively tracked cases and outbreaks among children, which makes it harder to offer guidance to schools in the U.S., said Annette C. Anderson, an assistant professor and deputy director of the Center for Safe and Healthy Schools at Johns Hopkins University. International studies of COVID-19 spread in classrooms have been limited in scope, typically in countries where the pandemic has been less prevalent than in the U.S. Were only beginning to start understanding the transmission of COVID in children, Anderson said. Its important for us to have a great assemblance of data. According to Anderson, researchers have run into trouble in finding data on children that uses consistent standards. A recent American Academy of Pediatrics study of childhood infections noted that states often define children differently in their tracking, with some listing everyone under age 14, for example, and others placing the cutoff as high as 20. This lack of granular information can matter a lot, because one question scientists urgently hope to resolve is the degree to which younger and older children are affected differently by the virus. Download the NBC News app for full coverage and alerts about the coronavirus outbreak Without a more thorough snapshot of cases around the country, researchers say its hard to know what to make of individual outbreaks. In northern Alabama, local media reported four coronavirus cases in Morgan Countys school system last week, prompting 25 students and staff members to be quarantined. A spokeswoman for Morgan County Schools said she could not provide further details about where the cases occurred, or whether it was students or teachers who were infected. Both the county and state health departments declined to release further information. The Alabama Department of Public Health and its local county health departments do not disclose information related to notifiable disease investigations as a matter of policy and privacy, Dr. Karen Landers, assistant state health officer for the Alabama department of health, said in an email. By comparison, Georgias Cherokee County is providing regular updates on the number of staff members and students who have tested positive and the name of their school, as well as the number in quarantine because of potential exposure. The countys schools have 120 active coronavirus cases among students and staff, according to the latest report released Friday, and more than 1,100 have been quarantined since the countys schools reopened on Aug. 3. Image: Supporters of school district's decision to reopen schools rally in Canton (Dustin Chambers / Reuters) But the school district stressed that such reporting was voluntary. Its worth noting that this level of public reporting is not required in any way, but is keeping with our longstanding commitment to transparency, Barbara Jacoby, a spokeswoman for Cherokee County School District, wrote in an email. Danny Carlson, director of policy and advocacy at the National Association of Elementary School Principals, said hes heard from principals who want to see national data to get a sense of whether outbreaks like the one in Cherokee County are anomalies. Its really hard otherwise, because take the Georgia example is that noise? Is it a one-off thing? Is it because of mask requirements? Carlson said. I think people are confused they want to know if this is a trend or not. U.S. COVID-19 Testing Coordinator Brett Giroir said on Friday that the administration cannot meet the testing capacity that a public health expert believe is needed. "Yes, we want to increase testing," Giroir, member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told CNN's The Lead program on Friday. "There is no physical way to do 5 million tests per day in this country. If there's a way to turn it from 1 million to 5 million today, let me know," he said. Giroir was responding to comments by Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, who told CNN earlier on Friday that the United States needs to conduct 4-5 million COVID-19 tests a day. Testing such amount -- about 1.5 percent of the population -- "gives us a fighting chance at getting this virus under control," Jha said. The United States has registered over 5.3 million COVID-19 cases as of 1 a.m. (0500 GMT) Sunday, according to the real-time tally maintained by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that out of the over 71 million tests reported, about 9 percent were positive. By PTI KOLKATA: The West Bengal government on Monday launched a COVID Patient Management System to deal with admission and treatment-related issues at the hospitals. Addressing a press conference, Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha said the system has been started with three COVID hospitals in Kolkata, and in another week 84 hospitals in the state will be brought under its purview. The system will help people get an update about the facilities available in a particular hospital, facilitate admissions, and ensure that a patient does not have to move around for bed in case of an emergency, he said. "Our COVID-19 healthcare system is good and this new mechanism is unique. It is one of the biggest steps of the government," Sinha said. This will also help ensure transparency, he added. Further, Sinha said that the state has made provisions to provide oxygen support at all the beds in the COVID hospitals. Oxygen support will be available in all the 11,775 beds now, he said. Facebook is facing a backlash in India after being accused of going soft on the alleged hate speech of a lawmaker belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to protect its business interests in its biggest market by users. Now, a committee of lawmakers that scrutinizes issues relating to the technology industry wants to question Facebook, Shashi Tharoor, a lawmaker from the opposition Congress party who heads the committee, said in an email to Bloomberg News. "The subject is serious because of Facebook's extensive reach in India and the potential for hate speech to incite violence and other unlawful behavior," Tharoor said. He would seek "explanations from Facebook." A controversy broke out over the weekend following a Wall Street Journal report that Facebook deleted anti-Muslim posts by BJP lawmaker Raja Singh and three other Hindu nationalists only after being questioned by the paper. Current and former Facebook employees told the paper that Facebook's head of public policy Ankhi Das opposed the deletion of the posts despite being flagged internally as breaching standards. Das, an influential executive at Facebook India, was cited by the paper as telling employees that acting against a colleague of Prime Minister Narendra Modi could hurt the company's business prospects. Following the weekend's events, Das filed a police complaint on Monday saying she was facing threats, abuse and bullying on social media following the WSJ report, according to news website NDTV. She did not respond to an email seeking comment. The WSJ report set off a furor in India with Congress Party leader Rahul Gandhi saying in a tweet that the BJP and its right wing affiliate Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh were "controlling" Facebook and its messaging platform, WhatsApp, in India. The country's IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad counter-accused the Congress of being caught red handed in an alliance with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook to "weaponize data." The Menlo Park, Calif.-based technology behemoth denied any favoritism to political parties. "We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence and we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyone's political position or party affiliation," a Facebook spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. "While we know there is more to do, we're making progress on enforcement and conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy." Facebook has over 300 million users in India, while WhatsApp is the leader in messaging with over 400 million users. In April this year, Facebook invested $5.7 billion to buy a 9.9% stake in Jio Platforms, the telecom and internet unit of energy-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries owned by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani. Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the investment an "important moment" for the company. A Conservative campaigner who said she had left the party because she was being bullied and was later found dead at the foot of cliffs took her own life, an inquest has ruled. Jade Smith, 21, became well-known after featuring on BBC's Mighty Redcar programme, campaigning for the Conservative party and talking about her 'I love Boris Johnson' leg tattoo. Jade's body was found at the foot of cliffs in Saltburn on September 29 last year after police attended a report of concern for her welfare. Jade, from Redcar, had quit the Conservative party in 2016 after claiming she was 'threatened, victimised and harassed' by senior officials. In a letter to the party's disciplinary committee, she alleged she had been left stressed and unable to sleep due to intimidation and threats. And she later wrote tweets that were published after her death claiming friends feared being raped or sexually abused if they attended Conservative party conferences. Conservative campaigner Jade Smith (pictured with Boris Johnson), who was found dead at the foot of cliffs in Saltburn on September 29 last year, took her own life, an inquest has heard When she left the party she told the Mirror: 'I was told my allegations of bullying would be properly investigated but I'm not sure they ever were. 'I completely flunked my exams because of the state I was in. 'If the Conservatives wish to attract more young people they really have to start looking into allegations like mine seriously.' Jade, who joined UKIP after quitting the party, had reportedly clashed with local chairwoman Christine Hobson after mentioning meetings on social media. Ahead of her death, Jade had drafted a suicide note, which she had set to be published on Twitter days later. In the tweets, she had called on the Conservative party to tackle bullying. She said: 'I've always received abuse for being a tory. But the abuse we receive from each other and the older people in our associations is what takes it too far. 'We shouldn't have to put up with the bullying from each other. We shouldn't have to be worried that our friends are going to be raped at conference or at the very least sexually assaulted. Jade, 21, had written tweets set to be published days after she took her own life, where she called on the Conservative party to tackle 'bullying from each other' 'We shouldn't have to put up with creepy weird old men maturating over us or grabbing us to go and chat to their friends and try to take us home at the end of the night. Theres a reason we don't feel safe at conference.' She did not suggest bullying within the Conservative Party was the reason for her death. An inquest at Teesside Coroner's Court heard how she had previously spoken of taking her own life and told her boyfriend: 'This time next year I will be dead, or I won't be alive in a few years anyway.' It was also said that bright and bubbly Jade 'lit up a room just by walking into it'. Jade was said to have experienced problems while working as a carer in the weeks leading up to her death and had previously struggled with drugs. A toxicology report showed that at the time of her death she had significant levels of alcohol in her system. A police report concluded it was 'a tragic pre-planned suicide with no criminal element'. Assistant coroner for Teesside Jo Wharton said she was satisfied that Jade intended to take her own life and recorded a verdict of suicide. Jade was noticed by the production team behind BBC's Mighty Redcar after writing an article for the Huffington Post titled 'Criminals Do Not Define My Home Town'. She featured in episode four of the BBC programme canvassing for the General Election and spoke about her Boris Johnson tattoo, which she got on her right leg during a boozy night out in Crete in 2017, when Mr Johnson was then Foreign Secretary. After the programme, she flew to Greece, where she spent a 'brilliant few months' being a nanny and English teacher. Assistant coroner for Teesside Jo Wharton said she was satisfied that Jade Smith intended to take her own life and recorded a verdict of suicide Jade became well-known after appearing on BBC's Mighty Redcar programme, campaigning for the Conservative party and talking about her 'I love Boris Johnson' leg tattoo (above) Jade remained close to her adopted Greek family but returned to her hometown Redcar, where she worked in adult social care. Jade, a former pupil of Redcar's Rye Hills School and Prior Pursglove College in Guisborough, enjoyed designing graphics, websites and photography and was starting to build her own brand. Paying tribute to his girlfriend, her heartbroken boyfriend Chris Cassidy said previously: 'Jade was fiery and formidable - she was passionate about politics and loved her local area of Redcar. 'She'd excitedly point out the steelworks and could talk for hours about her hometown.' Jade was described as a loyal friend, as well as a popular Rainbows and Brownies leader. Jade's best friend, Paige Beadle, previously said: 'When she got laughing, she had one of those laughs that was contagious. 'Words can't describe how devastated I am to lose her.' If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article then you can call the Samaritans 24 hour helpline on 116 123. She was ridiculed by viewers over her bizarre meltdown on The Bachelor last week. But Zoe-Clare McDonald has proven that the best revenge is looking good, after she was spotted looking red hot at the beach on the Gold Coast last Wednesday. The flame-haired sales manager, 23, pranced down the sand in a skimpy black bikini that showed off her lean legs and trim torso, while accompanied by a female friend. She's red hot! The Bachelor's 'oppressed ranga' Zoe-Clare McDonald showed off her incredible figure as she hit the beach in a skimpy black bikini on the Gold Coast last Wednesday She shielded her eyes behind a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses, and accessorised her outfit with gold hoop earrings. The reality star styled her ruby tresses loosely, and drew attention to her striking locks by wearing a set of slightly lighter-coloured hair extensions. Proving that not all redheads are afraid of the sun, Zoe-Clare didn't seem to have a care in the world as she cavorted in the ocean and topped up her tan. She's on fire! The flame-haired sales manager, 23, showed off her lean legs and trim torso as she pranced down the sand Beach chic: She shielded her eyes behind a pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses, and accessorised her outfit with gold hoop earrings Va-va-voom! Zoe-Clare was joined by a gal pal (right), who wore an equally revealing bikini At one stage, a particularly fearsome wave threatened to remove Zoe-Clare's swimwear, prompting her to protectively grab the front of her bikini top. After a fun-filled day at the beach, Zoe-Clare and her friend retreated to an outdoor shower to wash the sand from their bodies. Zoe-Clare then changed into a pair of high-waisted white shorts and an oversized button-up shirt, which she left open. Sizzling: Proving that not all redheads are afraid of the sun, Zoe-Clare didn't seem to have a care in the world as she cavorted in the ocean and topped up her tan What's so funny? The twosome were seen sharing a hilarious joke as they waded in the ocean Be careful! At one stage, a particularly fearsome wave threatened to remove Zoe-Clare's swimwear, prompting her to protectively grab the front of her bikini top She also slipped on a pair of sneakers and carried her belongings in a black handbag. Zoe-Clare went on a bizarre rant during the season premiere of The Bachelor last week, accusing fellow contestant Areeba Emmanuel of bullying her for being a 'ranga'. 'What's wrong with a ranga? I'm sorry, do you want me to dye my hair every 10 seconds. I'm so sorry, but this is natural guys! This is not going anywhere!' she fumed at the cocktail party. Showering off: After a fun-filled day at the beach, Zoe-Clare and her friend retreated to an outdoor shower to wash the sand from their bodies Two peas in a pod: The two women appear to share a fondness for buttock-baring swimwear Drying off: The glamazon dried off her legs with a white towel Don't get them dirty! Zoe-Clare was seen changing into a pair of high-waisted white shorts She added: 'I don't want to go through this experience being different because this sounds so stupid, but because of the colour of my goddamn hair. And that sucks. The colour of my complexion.' Zoe-Clare went on to claim she was being discriminated against for being 'different', even though Areeba, 25, is one of the few people of colour on the show. 'You're still different. You're still a f**king ranga at the end of the day and that sucks because they think, no matter what, oh it's fine, she's different,' she wept. 'Like, did Areeba do it to any of the blonde girls? Any of the brunette girls? No.' Stylish: She slipped on a pair of sneakers and carried her belongings in a black handbag Fireworks: Zoe-Clare went on a bizarre rant during the season premiere of The Bachelor last week, accusing fellow contestant Areeba Emmanuel of bullying her for being a 'ranga' Furious: 'What's wrong with a ranga? Do you want me to dye my hair every 10 seconds. I'm so sorry, but this is natural guys. This is not going anywhere!' she said at the cocktail party Winter might be almost over but there's more chilly weather on the way. Australia's east coast will get a battering over the coming week as a major cold front from the west moves east, bringing rain, hail, snow, gusty winds and below average temperatures. The south-eastern parts of the country will feel the brunt of the extreme weather where alpine areas will see 50-100cm of snow. The cold air mass will bring rain and potentially damaging winds as far as the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, later in the week A cold air mass will bring rain and potentially damaging winds as far as the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, later in the week. Adelaide and Melbourne will be the first to cop the wet and windy weather in the coming days, as a series of cold fronts and associated low pressure systems move across the region. 'These kinds of winds are likely to cause damage and a severe weather warning is expected on Tuesday,' Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Diane Eadie said. 'We're also expecting abnormally high tides, which means seawater is likely to flood low lying areas on Wednesday.' Sky News Weather meteorologist Robert Sharpe said temperatures were expected to drop by 5 degrees across the south-east. 'A very significant cold pool is running up south east Australia for Friday and Saturday and then easing back on Sunday,' he said. The cold front and strong winds will continue to move east, impacting on Victoria's Mallee region. Pictured: snow north-west of Melbourne Showers are forecast all week in Melbourne, which will reach a top of 16C on Tuesday. Pictured: a woman in a face mask in winter in Melbourne 'We'll have a major cold outbreak on our hands with that system.' The cold front and strong winds will continue to move east, impacting on Victoria's Mallee region and parts of NSW from Wednesday afternoon. The winds will ease by Thursday but will remain wet as a cold blast extend across Australia's south-east. 'Temperatures will plummet to be four to eight degrees below average, snow levels dropping to low levels by Sunday,' Ms Eadie said. Showers are forecast all week in Melbourne, which will reach a top of 16C on Tuesday. The city's maximum temperature will gradually drop each day to a top of 11C on Friday, when possible hail is forecast. The south-eastern parts of the country will feel the brunt of the extreme weather where alpine areas will see 50-100cm of snow. Pictured: snow at Hotham Alpine Resort Melbourne will be the first to cop the wet and windy weather in the coming days. Pictured: a woman in the rain in Melbourne Daily showers are also on the horizon for Hobart, where temperatures will plummet to a minimum of 3C and a top of 10C by Saturday. Sydneysiders should make the most of the 21C forecast on Tuesday which will gradually drop to a maximum 15C by Saturday. In other parts of the nation, Brisbane will be sunny throughout the week with maximum temperatures in the low to mid 20s. Over in the west, the recent rain in Perth is clearing up and will warm up in the coming days to a top of 22C on Friday. Darwin will stay warm with highs of 34C over the weekend. File image of an Amazon facility Germany's anti-trust authority has launched an investigation into Amazon's relationship with third-party traders selling on its platform, its head was quoted as saying on August 16. "We are currently investigating whether and how Amazon influences how traders set prices on the market-place," Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung daily. Germany is the second-largest market for Amazon after the United States. Mundt said there had been complaints that Amazon had blocked some traders during the first few months of the novel coronavirus pandemic, when many stores were closed and shoppers flocked online, because of allegedly overly high prices. "Amazon must not be a controller of prices," Mundt said. He added that the e-commerce giant had responded to his office's requests for information and those statements were being evaluated. An Amazon spokeswoman told Reuters that the company's policies were designed to make sure its partners set competitive prices. "Amazon selling partners set their own product prices in our store," the spokeswoman said. "Our systems are designed to take action against price gouging," she said, adding that those who had concerns should contact its support team for its merchants. Until 2013, Amazon had prevented traders from offering products via other online market places at a lower price than on its platform. However, Germany's anti-trust watchdog had forced Amazon to abandon the policy. In 2019, Amazon reached a deal with the German authority to overhaul its terms of service for third-party merchants, prompting the office to drop a previous seven-month investigation. (With inputs from Reuters) His words, spoken 49 years ago, are still etched in the place where memories rest: We learned to hate when we were kids, but my brother overcame hate and he really believed in brotherhood and in the power of love. It took me longer, but I finally got the hate out of my system. My brother was different than me. He would never hurt anyone, not even your feelings. The man who expressed those words understood the difficulties of living in the constant shadow of a sibling that obscures any achievement, or even any dream of his own accomplishments. And that had to be doubly true if it was a younger brother who became an icon in the march for freedom and then a martyr for the cause, as it was for him. Charles Evers, who died recently at 97, was that man. He was Medgar Evers older brother. When Medgar was gunned down in front of his home in 1963, Charles flipped a switch on his temperament, his goals and his self-described criminal life in Chicago to return to Mississippi to continue the struggle Medgar had started. He didnt answer his loss with bullets and bombs, but with the ideas and ideals Medgar had taught, such as registering Blacks to vote and winning seats at the table where decisions are made. He settled in the small town of Fayette in Jefferson County, which at the time was the fourth poorest county in the nation. There were 1,600 residents, only two African Americans were registered to vote, and the per capita income was $1,000. By 1969, he was elected the first Black mayor of a biracial Mississippi city, along with an entire ticket of Black candidates. Then his ambition grew larger. And thats when I first met Charles. He was running for governor as an independent in 1971, a natural thing to daydream about if you were white in Mississippi. Not Black. Ironically, his opponent, and eventually the winner, was Bill Waller, a former district attorney who had twice prosecuted Byron De La Beckwith for the killing of his brother. Both trials ended in hung juries. Knowing the outcome in advance didnt diminish the curiosity surrounding Evers Don Quixote moment in history, especially for a son of Mississippi, as I am. At the time, I was editor of the Palm Beach Post in Florida. I traveled with him for a memorable five days. It started in a little square office without windows and only one door, situated next to a bar where they served everything from cheap wine to good sippin whiskey, and ended near midnight in a small rural church with Evers preaching his beliefs, while the folks in the pews, at his request, hummed Amazing Grace during his entire speech. Get on your knees, he said in a slow rocking gait. White folks used to tell us to take Jesus and we will take the rest. Now we have to tell them well take Jesus and the rest. Afterward, a young man approached him and asked if a story about him in Playboy magazine was the image that a governor should present. Evers thought about it for a minute and then with a smile replied, You rascal, you. But he quickly added, I aint what I was yesterday, and if I live long enough, I will be honest and fair. Of course, if you searched the Mississippi newspapers for news about Evers campaign, most times you would be out of luck. One paper even reprinted a magazine piece that claimed the plan was to elect Evers, have him assassinated, blame white racists, declare martial law and take over the state. Celebrities came to campaign with him. Among them, Joe Louis, Bill Russell, Rep. John Conyers and New York Mayor John Lindsay, the only candidate seeking the Democratic 1972 presidential nomination who made the trek. And it was the elegant Lindsay who walked up behind Evers one day without warning and immediately found himself face to face with a startled and angry friend. Dont ever do that again, Evers said. Death has been walking behind me since I was a baby. On election day, Waller won by a 5-to-1 ratio, but Evers did carry four counties, including the one where I was raised. In his later years he switched to the Republican party, as did the state. And in 2016 he supported Donald Trump, which begs the question: What would Medgar think of that? A year or so after his gubernatorial campaign, he came to West Palm Beach to speak at a public function. This time a piano player tinkled the keys with a soft rendition of Amazing Grace as he spoke, beginning to end. After finishing, he gave me a bear hug and asked, Was I too tough on them? I just meant to give them some down home talk. And that he did. Now, death has caught up to him. Charles Evers has left his own, sometimes flawed, footprints in the seemingly never-ending fight for civil rights and equality in our society. But in every obituary I read he was described in the lead paragraph as Medgars older brother. He couldnt escape the shadow, even in death. Gregory Favre is the retired vice president of news for the McClatchy Co. Previously he was executive editor of the Sacramento Bee. Libya faces a "deceptive calm" since fighting stalled around Sirte, the central hometown of fallen dictator Moamer Kadhafi, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas warned during a surprise visit on Monday. Outside powers are "continuing to massively arm the country," said Maas, whose government has tried to broker peace in the war-torn North African nation. "In Libya at the moment we are observing a deceptive calm," he told journalists in Tripoli, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Libya has been in chaos since a Western-backed uprising toppled Kadhafi in 2011, and has become a major departure point for desperate migrants trying to reach Europe with the help of traffickers. Eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize Tripoli. After 14 months of fierce fighting, Turkish-backed pro-GNA forces expelled Haftar's troops from much of western Libya and pushed them eastwards to Sirte, a gateway to Libya's rich oil fields and export terminals. While the GNA has also been supported by Qatar, Haftar has had the backing of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Now, said Maas, "both sides and their international allies are continuing to massively arm the country and holding firm to their preconditions for a ceasefire". Maas urged them to find ways out of "this very dangerous situation" and backed a UN proposal to establish a demilitarised zone around Sirte, some 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli. He said he had discussed this idea with Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj and Interior Minister Fathi Bachagha. - 'Arms and mercenaries' - Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and Qatar's Minister of State for Defence, Khalid bin Mohammed al-Attiyah, were also in Tripoli on Monday. In a joint meeting with Sarraj, they discussed "the latest developments in Libya and the military mobilisation east of Sirte and in the Al-Jufra region", according to the GNA media office. Story continues Speaking at a joint press conference with Maas, his GNA counterpart Mohamad Taher Siala objected to the European Union's naval mission Irini, which aims to enforce a UN arms embargo on Libya. He said it deprives the GNA of military aid "to counter the aggression" of Haftar but "does not monitor the arrival of arms and mercenaries by air, sea and land via Egypt" in support of Haftar. Germany's top diplomat on his two-day trip was next due to visit the United Arab Emirates, one of Haftar's main backers which last week agreed to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel. Maas said the UAE had "shown that it has the ability to make an important contribution to peace in the region" and added that now he also hoped "to see encouraging signs from Abu Dhabi on the issue of Libya". "The United Arab Emirates is in a position to influence General Haftar, and we expect it to do so, in the spirit of the Berlin Process," he said, referring to a January peace conference. "Only those who participate in a political process will be part of Libya's future," Maas added. Maas said he also wanted to discuss the fate of migrants stuck in Libyan detention centres, where human rights groups have reported widespread abuses and mistreatment. "For a long time we have been calling for the closure of the detention centres and the establishment of alternatives in urban regions," he said, calling for "effective measures to finally combat human trafficking networks". bur-rb/fz/lg YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS. President of the European Council Charles Michel has announced he will convene a meeting of European Council members to discuss the situation in Belarus. I will call a meeting of the members of the European Council this Wednesday 12h00 to discuss the situation in #Belarus, Michel tweeted. The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader. Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed. Mass protests are underway in the Belarusian capital of Minsk following the August 9 presidential election, where President Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected to office with 80,1 % of votes, according to the countrys electoral commission. The demonstrators claim the election was rigged and call for new polls. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan Spains royal household said on Monday that the former king, Juan Carlos, was in the United Arab Emirates, two weeks after he left Spain for an unknown destination amid investigations relating to his personal wealth. The announcement follows a frantic media search for Juan Carlos, whose decision to abandon Spain had shocked many of his compatriots. In a brief statement, the royal household said that the former king traveled to the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 3. Reached by phone, a spokesman for the royal household would not confirm Juan Carloss exact location, nor how long he planned to stay there. ABC, a Spanish newspaper, published an unconfirmed report this month that Juan Carlos had flown by private jet from the Spanish city of Vigo to the emirate of Abu Dhabi and was staying in one of the most expensive suites in a government-owned hotel. Amid health problems and personal scandals, Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014 in favor of his son, who became King Felipe VI. Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. drug developer Novavax Inc said on Monday that it is starting a mid-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa, as the country experiences a surge in coronavirus cases. The Phase 2b trial study of NVX-CoV2373 will be conducted on about 2,665 healthy adults and will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity in about 240 medically stable, HIV-positive adults, the company said in a statement https://reut.rs/3g0sRzb. "Because South Africa is experiencing a winter surge of COVID-19 disease, this important Phase 2b clinical trial has the potential to provide an early indication of efficacy, along with additional safety and immunogenicity data for NVX-CoV2373," said Novavax research chief Gregory Glenn. South Africa is fifth worst affected country with 583,653 coronavirus cases and 11,677 deaths, according to a Reuters tally. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is providing a $15 million grant towards the clinical trial, the company said. Novavax said it intends to initiate the Phase 2 portion of this trial in the United States and Australia in the near future and that it would include about 1,500 candidates. Earlier this month, Glenn told Reuters the company would start much larger late-stage clinical trials soon and could potentially glean enough data to obtain regulatory approvals as early as December. The U.S. government in July had awarded Novavax $1.6 billion to cover testing and manufacturing of a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus in the United States with the aim of delivering a 100 million doses by January. Last month, AstraZeneca said late-stage trials of its experimental drug AZD1222, which is developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, are under way in Brazil and South Africa and due to start in the United States, where prevalence is higher. (Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel) Britons are now more likely to die from some types of cancer than they were 15 years ago because of the coronavirus pandemic, shock research has suggested. Academics modelled what effect the disruption of cancer services will have by 2025 and found around 3,500 patients with four of the most common forms of the disease breast, lung, bowel and oesophageal could have their lives cut short. Death rates from bowel cancer are estimated to soar by up to 17 per cent because of delayed diagnoses. This would cause the five-year survival rate to drop to around 51.5 per cent similar to levels seen in 2003, it was claimed. London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine scientists also revealed survival outcomes for breast and oesophageal cancer may drop to levels seen in 2005 and 2006, respectively. A separate study yesterday warned thousands of Britons could die early from cancer because the number of urgent hospital referrals for suspected cases plunged by 43 per cent during lockdown. Catching tumours in their earliest stage before they are able to spread around the body is critical to survival. It comes as a 27-year-old mother died after her persistent cough was mistaken by doctors as being down to coronavirus not her breast cancer which had returned for a third time. Beth Pattison, from Chester-le-Street in Durham, rang her GP in March but was told her cough was merely down to Covid-19. She died on June 27, just three weeks after medics realised her disease had come back and spread. It comes as Beth Pattison, 27, (pictured with her son Finn) died after her persistent cough was mistaken by doctors as being down to coronavirus not her breast cancer which had returned for a third time Death rates from bowel cancer are estimated to soar by up to 17 per cent because of delayed diagnoses. This would cause the five-year survival rate to drop to 51.5 per cent similar to levels seen in 2003, it was claimed HOW COULD CANCER SURVIVAL RATES BE AFFECTED BY COVID-19? BOWEL Pre-pandemic 1-year survival: 79.7% 3-year survival: 67.3% 5-year survival: 61.4% Post-pandemic The team estimated bowel cancer deaths to soar by between 15 and 17 per cent the equivalent of 1,445 to 1,563 patients. BREAST Pre-pandemic 1-year survival: 97.0% 3-year survival: 92.2% 5-year survival: 88.8% Post-pandemic The team estimated breast cancer deaths to soar by between 8 and 10 per cent the equivalent of 281 and 344 more lives. OESOPHAGEAL Pre-pandemic 1-year survival: 46.0% 3-year survival: 21.1% 5-year survival: 16.1% Post-pandemic The team estimated breast cancer deaths to soar by around 6 per cent the equivalent of 330 to 342 more lives. LUNG Pre-pandemic 1-year survival: 37.6% 3-year survival: 18.8% 5-year survival: 13.1% Post-pandemic The team estimated breast cancer deaths to soar by around 5 per cent the equivalent of 1,235 to 1,372 more lives. Advertisement During the UK's epidemic, cancer screening and routine referrals were suspended in a bid to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed. The Covid-19 crisis has also made people hesitant to use healthcare, causing a huge drop-off in symptomatic cancer patients seeing their GP. Data shows 339,000 urgent cancer referrals were made by GPs in England between April and June down from 594,000 in the same period last year. The research, published in Lancet Oncology, drew on NHS cancer registration and hospital data of more than 93,000 patients diagnosed in 2010-2012. They used this data to estimate the effect of delays in diagnosis on cancer survival for four main types of the disease. The model, which the researchers described as conservative, assumed the current drop off in referrals will continue for the next year. NHS hospitals must adhere to strict social distancing measures and services as they try to get back up and running. The team estimated bowel cancer deaths to soar by between 15 and 17 per cent the equivalent of 1,445 to 1,563 patients. And they modelled that breast cancer could claim 281 and 344 more lives, roughly an 8 to 10 per cent increase. Data also suggested there could be a 6 per cent (330342) and 5 per cent (1,235-1,372) rise in deaths from oesophageal and lung cancer, respectively. The researchers did not say what this would mean for the five-year survival rates in the study. The Sun newspaper is believed to have made the calculations. However, the five-year survival rate for bowel cancer before the pandemic was around 61.4 per cent, the experts said. Professor Richard Sullivan, one of the researchers, fears it will take two years before the NHS gets cancer services back to normal. He told The Sun: 'The impact is likely to be far worse than any of our estimates as were only looking at diagnostic delay, not changes to treatment or admissions. 'Nobody considered the indirect effects of a massive lockdown, where youre basically saying to patients "stay at home". 'The bio-fear, which continues, is still having an effect on patients not presenting to their GPs.' Professor Sullivan, of Kings College London, added: 'The risk of dying from cancer is much more serious than Covid, so if you do have symptoms come forward.' The researchers urged the Government to launch a public health blitz urging Britons with suspected symptoms to seek treatment. They also called on the NHS to ramp up its diagnostic capacity to clear the backlog of people waiting for vital tests and treatments. Miss Pattison, from Durham, rang her GP in March but was told her cough was merely down to Covid-19. She died on June 27, just three weeks after medics realised her disease had come back and spread. Pictured after completing a 'muddy run' to raise money for charity Doctors diagnosed Miss Pattison, mother to five-year-old Finn (pictured together), with pneumonia and gave her antibiotics after she tested negative for the coronavirus From left to right: Miss Pattison's brother Connor, his partner Abbie, Miss Pattison, her father Craig, her sister Ellie and mother Helen THOUSANDS MAY DIE EARLY OF CANCER BECAUSE REFERRALS PLUNGED 43% DURING LOCKDOWN Thousands of people could die of cancer after the number of urgent hospital referrals plunged by 43 per cent during lockdown. As fewer patients see their GPs with cancer symptoms - before being referred to specialists for scans - the disease is being picked up too late, experts fear. GPs made 339,242 urgent referrals for people with cancer symptoms between April and June in England, more than 250,000 fewer than the 594,060 figure reported in the same months in 2019. There are also delays in accessing the necessary treatments and diagnoses once a patient goes to hospital, a study by healthcare management consultancy Carnall Farrar and the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found. Researchers believe the lockdown numbers could have a detrimental effect on the country's cancer survival rate while setting Britain's progress in getting a grip on the disease back by ten years. They have urged the NHS to 'build back better' as cancer services begin to reach their full capacity again. Lung cancer's five-year survival rates will drop from 16.2 per cent to 15.4 per cent for those diagnosed in 2020 - the same outcome seen in 2017. The survival rate for colorectal cancer for the same period has dropped from 58.4 per cent to 56.1 per cent - the same rate it stood at in 2010. Cancer charities said the results are 'stark' and show the effect of cancer services being 'derailed' during the coronavirus crisis, The Sunday Times reports. Advertisement Simon Stevens, head of NHS England, has already urged all hospitals trusts to get cancer services back up-and-running. Two NHS Nightingale hospitals have been converted into cancer testing centres in a bid to cope with the backlog of thousands of suspected cases. Leading charities estimate 2.5million cancer patients have missed out on vital tests and treatment this year because of the coronavirus crisis. Charities have also warned there could be an extra 18,000 cancer deaths in 2020 because of the number of patients who have been diagnosed too late. There are around 165,000 cancer deaths in the UK every year, according to Cancer Research.org. Miss Pattison died of breast cancer less three months after she came down with her cough a tell-tale sign of Covid-19. Her symptoms got progressively worse and she was eventually taken to A&E by her father Craig in May because she was struggling to breathe. Doctors diagnosed Miss Pattison, mother to five-year-old Finn, with pneumonia and gave her antibiotics after she tested negative for the coronavirus. But the 27-year-old housing officer's cancer was only spotted on June 8, after she was blue-lighted to the hospital when her condition worsened further. Doctors discovered her cancer had returned and spread to her ovaries. A cough and difficulty breathing are two signs the disease has spread. She died on 27 June in Newcastles Freeman Hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest while medics tried to place her in an induced coma. Her father Craig said: 'We are heartbroken. The support weve had from friends, family and the whole town has helped us. 'We will never be able to bring Beth back but we hope we can raise some awareness of what happened to Beth and how this could have been avoided. 'Well never know if something could have been different. Would they have done something about it? 'If they had gave her chemo in March, she might have been strong enough to have another course of chemo to fight it.' He added: 'They werent looking for anything else, they were focused on Covid and pneumonia.' Miss Pattison was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and had a mastectomy and courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She was then diagnosed for a second time a year later in 2017 where she received further chemotherapy but managed to beat the cancer. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) A total of 51 hospitals with fraud cases have received around 1.49 billion from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, a House panel chair bared on Monday. During the joint hearing of the House Committee on Public Accounts and Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability, Anakalusugan Partylist Rep. Mike Defensor said the hospitals received 1,493,554,124 from its interim reimbursement mechanism (IRM) despite pending resolution on their fraudulent cases. The IRM, an emergency fund advanced to hospitals in case of "fortuitous events" such as floods and typhoons, was suspended last week due to numerous irregularities. In his presentation, Defensor said that from 2013 to 2020, there were 4,664 recorded fraudulent cases by various health care institutions. These include padding and post-dating of claims, and fabricating necessary documents, among others. Sa mata ng publiko...kung ganito na may mga fraud cases ang mga ospital at institusyon at bibigyan pa rin ng pondo ng PhilHealth, nakakatakot itong batayan, nakakatakot itong ehemplo, Defensor said. [Translation: In the eyes of the public, if hospitals and institutions with fraud cases still receive funds from PhilHealth, its a horrifying basis, a horrifying example.] PhilHealth previously claimed that the inclusion of COVID-19 cases in the IRM program was valid, even before the national government recognized the severity of the crisis Meanwhile, Marikina 2nd District Rep. Stella Quimbo questioned the allocation of IRM based on the capacity of a hospital. She said that based on her estimates and assuming that there is an average of P243,000 of IRM per bed, there are 14 hospitals whose IRM exceeds the average amount. She added that there are even hospitals in the National Capital Region who were given lower IRM allocations despite having more COVID-19 cases compared to other regions. IRM can be used for both claims and operations Quimbo asked PhilHealth SVP for fund management sector Renato Limsiaco Jr. if the IRM claims can also be used to fund their operating costs like buying supplies, paying salaries of personnel, and the like. Limsiaco confirmed this to which Quimbo said this might be the reason behind the slow liquidation of process. It was noted during the hearing that of about P14 billion worth of IRM claims disbursed to healthcare facilities, only P2.7 billion have been liquidated. Quimbo said that with this system, it would seem like that the IRM is like a blank check being given to hospitals which they can spend however they want, making way for fraudulent acts. She added that due to fraud, PhilHealth could lose about P2 billion from the P26.8-billion IRM fund, as well as P541 million in forgone investment opportunities. With this, Defensor made a move for a unanimous call to suspend the IRM and to withdraw all funds under it. Earlier, PhilHealth said it suspended the release of the cash advances, pending review of the program. The agency is also being questioned for including dialysis and maternity clinics that did not treat COVID-19 cases. Some PhilHealth officials were also accused of pocketing some 15 billion from the agency using different fraudulent schemes. First Lady Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has urged the youth to use the COVID-19 stay home period as learning opportunities to strengthen their intellectual capabilities. She said within this period of what seems like a long holiday, school going children and the youth could also use the learning facilities such as libraries in their communities to read and enlighten themselves, stating that reading strengthens the mind just as exercise do to the body. Mrs Akufo-Addo was speaking at a short ceremony in Accra, where she presented a quantity of thermometer guns to the Ghana Library Authority for onward distribution to the various libraries across the country. She said the thermometer donation was to assist the Authority to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic within its libraries by checking the temperature of individuals who may visit their facilities. "In this time of COVID-19, we all need to follow the safety protocols and I believe these equipment will go a long way to assist you in that regard," she said. The First lady assured of the Rebecca Foundations commitment towards quality education, saying that under the Foundations Learning to Read, Reading to Learn and Because I want to be initiatives, the Foundation was building libraries in school clusters, running a television reading programme and also supporting girls to stay in school. On his part, Mr. Hayford Siaw, Executive Director of the Ghana Library Authority, who received the equipment, expressed gratitude to the Mrs Akufo-Addo for her timely donation and promised that the guns would be put to good use as the Authority prepares to open their facilities to the general public. 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 President Reuven Rivlin tweeted, saying he had sent an invitation letter Israel's president said on Monday he has invited the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, to visit Jerusalem after last week's announcement of a peace deal with the UAE. "I am hopeful that the agreement between our countries will help build and strengthen the trust between us and the peoples of the region, bring economic benefit and regional stability," President Reuven Rivlin tweeted, saying he had sent an invitation letter. Search Keywords: Short link: Andrew Bolt is selling up and quitting Melbourne. The Herald Sun conservative commentator and Sky News presenter, who turned 60 last year, is about to put his eastern suburbs family home on the market and head for the Victorian countryside, where he already owns property. For at least two years Bolt, a former cadet at The Age (he's been on quite the journey) has harboured ambitions to take his foot off the pedal, particularly after his three children left the family home and he and his wife became empty-nesters. But Bolt's repeated musing about quitting put him at risk of being seen as a modern day Nellie Melba, or at least a John Farnham. Andrew Bolt is heading for the countryside. Credit:Illustration: John Shakespeare "You are not going to go all Age on me are you?" Bolt said faux wearily when CBD called asking for an update on his departure plans. "We are leaving the madhouse of Melbourne, I wish we had done it a year ago. I had planned to quit Sky News but now I am very interested in plans to broadcast from home." By Julie Carle Research by a Bowling Green State University political scientist indicates variation in compliance with states coronavirus stay-at-home orders may be explained by citizen response to state leadership, specifically to women in positions of power. The research by BGSUs Dr. Nicole Kalaf-Hughes, an associate professor of political science, and Debra Leiter, an associate professor of political science at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, is cited in the article, That Woman from Michigan: How Gender Resentment Shapes the Efficacy of Stay-at-Home Policies. The article is an accepted manuscript for the Cambridge Coronavirus Collection in the journal Politics & Gender. Since March, Kalaf-Hughes had been watching the coronavirus pandemic through a political science lens. When she saw news coverage about people protesting the stay-at-home orders issued by then Ohio Health Director Amy Acton and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, she wondered how similar orders in other states were perceived. The question aligned to research that she and Leiter were working on to evaluate racial and gender resentment for presidential and congressional candidates when it comes to candidates qualities. For them, the leap wasnt far to look at gender resentments impact on stay-at-home compliance. They used data from the 2016 American National Election Study and from SafeGraph, a company that provides data through location markers from millions of smartphones. The gender resentment measure came from the election study data that captured individuals beliefs about women, and whether they believed that women have attained their status through special treatment and unequal application of rules rather than through their own efforts, Kalaf-Hughes said. They questioned if the states that had high levels of gender resentment, had less compliance to stay at home if the orders were from a woman versus from a man. Using cellphone location information, SafeGraphs data identified when and how long people were away from their homes to create a measure of compliance with the stay-at-home orders. Analysis of the data showed stay-at-home orders issued by female governors or female state health directors were less effective in those states with high levels of gender resentment. The results were unchanged when they controlled for the governors party, state partisanship and spread of the virus, the article stated. In states with no or low gender resentment, there was no difference in the effectiveness of those orders. Why is this research so important? This is a huge issue, Kalaf-Hughes said. If we are electing (and appointing) women to these positions, and if we are not dealing with that resentment and the sexism that exists in our population, their effectiveness is going to be limited. If people are not willing to listen to that information, public safety orders or health directives, those decisions negatively affect, not only those individuals but our communities. The Cambridge University Press expedited the peer review and publication process for papers that contributed to society by tackling shared threats such as COVID-19. Kalaf-Hughes and Leiter were happy to have their manuscript accepted so quickly and included in the free collection. This is a great example of how vital political science is to analyzing and solving some of the most critical issues of the world today, she said. Imphal, Aug 17 (UNI) : Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways and MSMEs Nitin Gadkari today laid the foundation stones for 13 highway projects, to be built at a cost of Rs 3000 cr, and inaugurated a Road safety project,to be constructed at a cost of Rs 16.91 cr, in Manipur through video conferencing. These projects involve a Road length of 316 kms, with construction value of about Rs 3000 crore. Paving the way for development of Manipur, these roads will enhance better connectivity, convenience and economic growth in this NE State. Gadkari said as the Prime Minister wants to develop infrastructure in the north east, the government has taken up key projects in the region. He asked the Manipur government to submit utilisation certificates and complete land acquisition works so that more works can be taken up. Large numbers of road and water ways will be developed to improve connectivity in Manipur and other north eastern states, he assured. He said he would visit Imphal within the next few months to start work on elevated road in Imphal, as recommended by Chief Minister N Biren Singh. Gadkari said he believes in working in a fast mode and called upon the CM to complete all formalities by consulting all stake holders. He said by working closely with the Ministry of DoNER and other ministries the region can start using eco friendly petroleum products and stop relying on petrol and diesel. He said he is ready to release Rs 250 crore the moment the Chief Minister provides the necessary documents . The government is also giving emphasis on water ways and dredging of Brahmputra and Barak rivers were completed, and now it is possible to transport people and consignments through waterways. He said there is ways of linking of Imphal with this river route, which is barely 50-60 kms, for getting added benefits for the state's economy. He also called for adopting alternate fuel for public transport in the NE region, it being cheaper as well as environment friendly. He said the state government should ensure corruption free, transparency in land acquisition and other works. He highlighted the role of MSME sector in improving the employment and economic scenario in Manipur. Informing about the recent expansion in the definition of MSME units, he exhorted the CM to utilise the opportunity and explore export potential of handicrafts, handloom, and honey, bamboo products etc which can provide employment to large number of people. Chief Minister Biren Singh said the state government has submitted new proposals for road works. Manipur being a hill-locked State with heavy rains requires top quality Road network to withstand the vagaries of nature. He welcomed the decision of MoRTH in favour of a 25 km elevated Road in Imphal. He, however, pointed out the need for four-laning of Imphal-Loktak highway, which has heavy traffic, as Loktak is a famous tourist destination. MoS (I/c) for DONER and PMO Dr Jitendra Singh said today's event gives three important messages. That the North East continues to be the priority of the government, that infrastructure works have continued in this region despite all odds, and that it is in keeping with the PMs call from Lal Quilla for development of Rs 100 lakh crore infrastructure in the country. MoS RTH Gen (Retd) V K Singh said, under the Act East Policy, the government has devoted special attention to the north eastern States. He said, Manipur plays an important role as it shares international border with Myanmar. The trilateral highway connecting India, Myanmar and Thailand starts from Manipur. He said, efforts are on to ensure seamless traffic movement between the three countries. He added that completion of two bridges over the rivers Barak and Maku on NH 37 by March next will provide connectivity of the State with rest of the country. The video conference was held in New Delhi and Imphal where the dignatories were present. The projects announced today were to be taken up NHIDL and PWD. The works to be executed by NHIDL were for 164.42 Km, Rs 2806.35 Crore and works included four Laning of Imphal Moreh Section of NH-39(NH-102) from Km 330.00 to Km 350.00 (Package-I), 20 km, Rs 762 cr, widening to two lane with Hard shoulder of Churachandpur to Tuivai section of NH 102B from Km 0.000 to Km 13.747 (Package-1A), 13.75 km, Rs 167.95 cr, widening to two lane with Hard shoulder of Churachandpur to Tuivai section of NH 102B from Km 13.747 to Km 32.835 (Package-1B), 19.08 km, Rs 241.52 cr. Other projects were widening to two Lane with Hard shoulder of Churachandpur to Tuivai section of NH 102B from Km 32.835 to Km 48.587 `(Package-2A) , 15.75 km, Rs 232.99 cr, widening to two Lane with Hard shoulder of Churachandpur to Tuivai section of NH 102B from Km 118+850 to Km 130+000 (Package-4A), 11.15 km, Rs 204.12 cr, widening / Strengthening to Two laning with hard shoulder of Pallel- Chandel section From Km 0.000 to Km 18.292 of NH-102C, 18.29 km, Rs 107.72 cr, construction of Moreh Bypass to Two Lane with paved shoulder from Km 421.950 to Km 425.411 (Length = 2.52 Km) on NH-39, 2.52 km, Rs 68.14 cr, widening /Improvement to two Lane with Earthen Shoulder of Yaingangpokpi-Finch Corner Section from km 0.00 to 16.900 (length 16.900km) of NH 202 Package I, 16.90 km, Rs 237.39 cr, Widening /Improvement to 2 (Two) Lane with Earthen Shoulder of Yaingangpokpi-Finch Corner Section from km 16.900 to 30.970 (length 14.070km) of NH 202 Package II, 1o4.07 km, Rs 241.42 cr, tw-laning of Churachandpur Tuivai Section of NH-102B (2B Packages), 21.88 km, Rs 365.33 cr, 2-laning of Churachandpur Tuivai Section of NH-102B (4B Packages) 11.03 km, Rs 177.77 cr. Works to be taken up by state PWD were for 151.5 km, Rs 126.24 cr. The works Restoration and Rehabilitation of road from km 00/00 to km 83/50 (length=83.50 km) on NH-102A i/c protection/slide slope works by retaining walls etc. essential places and 83 nos of HP culverts in the state of Manipur on EPC mode, 83.50 Km Rs. 55.52 Cr, Restoration and Rehabilitation of road from km 134/00 to km 202/00 (length-68 km) on NH-102A i/c protection/slide slope works by retaining walls etc. essential places and 50 nos of HP culverts in the state of Manipur on EPC mode, Rs 68.00 Km, Rs. 53.81 Cr, road Safety work through improvement of Junctions, Foot over Bridge, Footpath, Road Signs, Marking etc. in km 462 to 464 of NH- 150 (New NH-02) & at km 320 of NH-39 (New NH-102) under road safety Annual Plan 2017-18 for Rs 16.91 Cr. UNI NS KK COLONIE There is a silver lining in the current pandemic-driven economy. Actually, make it a fiberglass or vinyl pool lining. In an example of how COVID-19 is rearranging the economy and job market, a Capital Region pool manufacturer says it cant hire people fast enough to keep up with the backlogged demand for swimming pools. Our view is this pool boom is not going to slow down, said Scott Rajeski, president and CEO of Latham Pools, one of the nations largest makers of vinyl and fiberglass pools. With orders for pools sold out until June or July of next year, the company is looking to hire 150 people in the Capital Region, along with hundreds more at locations in Ontario, Canada and in Indiana, where they have one of their largest plants. The pool boom hasnt gone unnoticed. Local dealers and installers say theyve been swimming in orders since early summer. But Latham Pools is in a different phase of the industry since they manufacture fiberglass and vinyl pools that are then purchased, transported and installed by dealers. As far as Rajeski can see, the staycation trend that COVID-19 has sparked is unlikely to abate anytime soon. They are not going on the cruise. They are not going to Disney World. They are not going on that European vacation or going to Mexico, he said, explaining that homeowners increasingly are putting disposable money into their homes including pools. About 125 of the openings are for production workers in the companys Scotia plant, which runs two 10-hour shifts six days a week. Another 25 are for sales, service, finance and IT people, said Melissa Feck, Latham Pools chief human resource officer. Most of the production jobs pay $17 to $25 per hour, with some paying up to $30 depending on the skill set. Latham Pools makes about 20,000 of the approximately 80,000 fiberglass and vinyl pools sold each year in the U.S. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Other companies make concrete pools, which is the other major option for in-ground pools. Rajeski, who previously worked for General Electric, Global Foundries and Momentive Performance Materials, said pool making tends to be a fragmented, regional business. Latham Pools is a bit of an exception, since it operates in 25 locations. As well as Ontario and Indiana, it has operations in Australia and New Zealand. Potential employees can view openings and apply online at https://www.lathampool.com/about-us/careers/ or www.lathampool.com rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU In forging the first Arab-Israeli peace deal since 1994, President Donald Trump paid homage to a patriarch. He named the historic normalization the Abraham Accord. The familiar Bible character is referred to as Abraham in the Christian faith, Ibrahim in the Muslim faith, and Avraham in the Jewish faith, explained David Friedman, US ambassador to Israel. And no person better symbolizes the potential for unity, among all these three great faiths. In signing the accord, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) joined Egypt and Jordan as the only Arab nations to make peace with Israel. Telephone lines are already being connected between the Gulf nation and the Jewish state, with preparations underway to exchange embassies. It may open a new era. Fellow Gulf nations Bahrain and Oman signaled their support, while Saudi Arabia did not oppose it. This is a once-in-a-generation diplomatic achievement, but I predict it will be the first, not the last, said Johnnie Moore, an evangelical leader engaged in behind-the-scenes advocacy. He and bestselling novelist Joel Rosenberg led an evangelical delegation to the UAE in October 2018 (as well as two delegations to Saudi Arabia), and Moore has personally visited three more times. The Abraham Accord, he said, will prove to be the moment when the grievances of the past no longer overpowered the promises of the future in the Middle East. A hero of faith to both Christians and Jews, Ibrahim is already a central figure in the UAE. The nation opened its 2019 Year of Tolerance by welcoming Pope Francis in the first ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula. And in commemoration, it closed the year by announcing the inauguration of the Abrahamic Family House, dedicated to interfaith harmony. The complex will house a church, synagogue, and mosque on an island near the capital of Abu Dhabi. The Human Fraternity Document signed during the visit by the pope and the Cairo-based Grand Sheikh of al-Azhar, the foremost seat of religious learning in the Sunni Muslim world, continued UAE and other Muslim efforts to preserve peace with Christians after the rise of ISIS. Anticipating other Muslim nations will soon join the UAE in making peace with Israel, Trump envisioned further protection for minority Christian populations. The UAE has agreed very strongly to represent us with respect to Christianity, because in the Middle East it is not treated well, Trump stated. It is treated horribly and very unfairly. The UAE has been the exact reverse, according to the Bible Society in the Gulf. The degree of tolerance and freedom that the Christian communities exercise in UAE is immense, said general secretary Hrayr Jebejian. An advocate for interfaith dialogue, the UAE has enabled different nationalities and cultures to live together in peace and harmony. While Emirati citizens are entirely Muslim, Christians constitute 13 percent of the population, drawn entirely from the migrant worker community which comprises 80 percent of the population and has been creatively served by the Bible society. Roughly 11 percent of migrants are Arab, drawn primarily from Egypt, Jordan, and Palestine. The latter number roughly 200,000. The responses from Christian colleagues have been mixed, said Andrew Thompson, senior Anglican chaplain at St. Andrews Church in Abu Dhabi. Evangelical Christians have been uncritically supportive of Israel, while other traditions want to see a just solution for the Palestinian people. The one thing we agree on, he said, is that this development is a definite win for the UAE. Justin Meyers, associate director of the al-Amana Centre in Muscat, Oman, hopes to see peace spread in the region. His institution, an outgrowth of 125 years of cooperation between Omani Muslims and the Reformed Church in America, creates safe spaces for people of different cultures and religions to build relationships of trust, peace, and reconciliation. I applaud open diplomatic channels, he said. The question is how the UAE will use this new official relationship to help the Palestinians. By signing the Abraham Accord, they have already broken ranks. In 2002, the Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative promised normalization of relations with Israel in exchange for full withdrawal from the occupied territories, a just settlement for Palestinian refugees, and establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. Alternating between rejection and cautious acceptance by subsequent Israeli prime ministers, it was endorsed by the Arab League as the joint approach for peace. The Palestinian Authority expressed its support. The UAE has taken a different path. This is the end of the Saudi peace plan, said Salim Munayer, executive director of the Musalaha reconciliation ministry, based in Jerusalem. You cannot have peace without justice, which means [the UAE-Israel deal] is a superficial peace, at best. The region has changed in the past two decades. While the UAE and other Gulf states have been quietly nurturing relations with Israel for years, increased tensions with Iran are forcing a public realignment. So do the political needs of both Trump and Netanyahu, he said. Emirati officials state an important part of the deal stems from their concern for Palestinians. They extracted a promise from the Israelis to suspend Netanyahus election promises to Jewish settlers to annex West Bank land. The UAE is using its gravitas and promise of a relationship to unscrew a time bomb that is threatening a two-state solution, said Anwar Gargash, minister of state for foreign affairs. Munayer is pessimistic. While there is potential for the deal to result in added regional stability, he believes the independent path taken by the UAE will hurt the Palestinian cause. But at least it breaks the clash of civilizations narrative and its monolithic stereotypes of the Arab and Muslim worlds. We cannot generalize, he said, about Muslim, Christian, or Jewish positions. Including Netanyahus. While a spokesman for Israels 500,000 West Bank settlers said the prime minister deceived us, Netanyahu stated his annexation plans were only on temporary hold. Moore, however, thinks that within the context of Trumps Deal of the Century, the Abraham Accord advances peace with the Palestinians 100 percent. Rosenberg agrees. It would be almost unthinkable for Netanyahu, or any future Israeli prime minister, to humiliate the UAE leadership by suddenly reneging on this deal, he said, and applying sovereignty over parts of the West Bank outside the context of a broader, final peace agreement with the Palestinians. But neither evangelical leader is optimistic that will happen, placing blame on the Palestinian leadership. And 18 years after the Arab Peace Initiative, Rosenberg hears from regional officials they are ready to move forward. They want to help the Palestinian people, he said. But the leaders of the UAE, at least, have stopped giving [PA President] Abbas the keys to regional peace. Munir Kakish, president of the Council of Local Evangelical Churches in the Holy Landwhich represents congregations and ministries located in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Stripis also ready to move forward. It is time for elections and to have new faces run the country, he said, noting most Palestinian leaders are over 60 years old. It is time for the PA to evaluate itself, and have real changes, before we point our fingers at others. Palestinian divisions have also hurt their cause, Kakish said, allowing Israel to take advantage. And sovereign nations like the UAE will increasingly follow their own judgment in foreign policy. This is a breakthrough, opening the door for others like Bahrain and Oman to possibly follow, said Knox Thames, senior fellow at the Institute for Global Engagement and former special advisor for religious minorities at the US State Department. But it should be remembered this does not address the plight of the Palestinians in any lasting way. Until a pathway for peace is found that includes Palestinians at the table, that long-running challenge to Israels future will continue to fester. And for this, other analysts blame the Israelis. In agreement, one Palestinian formerly resident in the Gulf thinks the UAE has read the situation well, and positioned itself wisely. The Emiratis are very smart; they know the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is very much a pipe dream, said Wael Qahoush, who as a banking executive served five years as the board chairman of an evangelical church in the UAE. But by positioning themselves as friends of Israel, they hope to play the role of an honest broker in a future comprehensive peace. Perhaps as Abraham once did with Lot, and later with Abimelek. Christian theology promotes respect toward the other, advocating for each community to live in dignity, with peace and justice, said Bible Society general secretary Jebejian. Any initiative that can build this bridge is welcomed. Additional reporting by Jeremy Weber The deaths of a number of regime officers have been reported, although the exact cause of the deaths is not clear reports Shaam News. Shaam News Network wrote about the killing of at least nine officers within the ranks of the regimes militias. Stories differed about the circumstances of the killing of most of them, which varied between bouts of sickness and secret accidents, especially the officers who were killed during the past few days. The regimes pages mourned a high-ranking officer, as photos of a colonel in the regimes intelligence services started circulating. His name is Mamoun al-Khader, from the Political Security Branch in Aleppo, and was killed under mysterious circumstances. Pro-regime pages said that Imad Jadeed, originally from the village of Qalat Bani Qahtan in the coastal city of Jableh died after a supposed heart attack. The photos circulating of him show his participation in the military operations against civilian areas. Pages that report news from coastal areas mourned the regimes army officer, Issa Muhammad al-Issa, without revealing the circumstances of his death, while a picture of him in regime army uniform was circulated. Moreover, Hassan Habib Ziyoud died of health problems, according to pro-regime pages, which indicated that Ziyoud hails from the town of Beit Yashout in Jableh, near Lattakia governorate. The news claimed that he died of a heart attack. The same sources revealed the death of Ghaith Hamada, originally from the village of Jourat al-Shanfour in the countryside of Tartous, without mentioning additional details about the circumstances of his murder, while some other pages claim that he died in a car accident. The city of Qardaha welcomed the body of a lieutenant-level officer called Laith Suleiman Sultanah. The regimes pages said that he was killed defending the homeland in Homs, without specifying the circumstances of his death. The regimes pages wrote about the death of one of the regimes militia members, Ahmed Abdel Qader Sweid, and said that he was killed in the countryside of Idleb. Sweid hailed from from the southern neighborhood of al-Malaab in the city of Hama. The pages also revealed the death of Musa Muhammad al-Ahmad, without mentioning the location of his death. An officer with the rank of lieutenant in the regimes army, Muhammad Omar Hamad, was also killed. He hailed from the city of Douma. Pro-regime media sources said that he was killed in the city of Daraa in an ambush by what they described as militants. It has become customary for the regimes pages not to disclose the names of those who die as a result of reconciliation operations, at a time when pictures of the dead from pro-regime villages are published and only approximate numbers are made accessible to the public. The regimes militias have suffered great losses as a result of the escalating assassinations, as is the case with every attempt they have made so far on the battlefronts in the liberated north. 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. Hawaiian Electric Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HE) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 2 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 20th of August, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 10th of September. Hawaiian Electric Industries's next dividend payment will be US$0.33 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of US$1.32 per share. Last year's total dividend payments show that Hawaiian Electric Industries has a trailing yield of 3.7% on the current share price of $35.67. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Hawaiian Electric Industries has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut. Check out our latest analysis for Hawaiian Electric Industries Dividends are typically paid from company earnings. If a company pays more in dividends than it earned in profit, then the dividend could be unsustainable. Hawaiian Electric Industries paid out more than half (67%) of its earnings last year, which is a regular payout ratio for most companies. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. The company paid out 94% of its free cash flow over the last year, which we think is outside the ideal range for most businesses. Companies usually need cash more than they need earnings - expenses don't pay themselves - so it's not great to see it paying out so much of its cash flow. While Hawaiian Electric Industries's dividends were covered by the company's reported profits, cash is somewhat more important, so it's not great to see that the company didn't generate enough cash to pay its dividend. Cash is king, as they say, and were Hawaiian Electric Industries to repeatedly pay dividends that aren't well covered by cashflow, we would consider this a warning sign. Story continues Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings decline and the company is forced to cut its dividend, investors could watch the value of their investment go up in smoke. With that in mind, we're encouraged by the steady growth at Hawaiian Electric Industries, with earnings per share up 3.4% on average over the last five years. Earnings have been growing somewhat, but we're concerned dividend payments consumed most of the company's cash flow over the past year. Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. In the past 10 years, Hawaiian Electric Industries has increased its dividend at approximately 0.6% a year on average. To Sum It Up From a dividend perspective, should investors buy or avoid Hawaiian Electric Industries? Earnings per share have grown somewhat, although Hawaiian Electric Industries paid out over half its profits and the dividend was not well covered by free cash flow. Bottom line: Hawaiian Electric Industries has some unfortunate characteristics that we think could lead to sub-optimal outcomes for dividend investors. With that in mind though, if the poor dividend characteristics of Hawaiian Electric Industries don't faze you, it's worth being mindful of the risks involved with this business. In terms of investment risks, we've identified 2 warning signs with Hawaiian Electric Industries and understanding them should be part of your investment process. We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 18) As peasant activist Randy Echanis was laid to rest on Monday afternoon, another activist was gunned down in Bacolod City. Zara Alvarez, who worked as a paralegal for human rights group Karapatan, was killed in a private village in the city at around 6:45 pm on Monday night. Karapatan spokesperson Cristina Palabay confirmed on her Facebook post the killing of Alvarez, who was also the groups former campaign and education director. The 39-year old Alvarez was a former political prisoner before serving in different capacities in the human rights group and as a research and advocacy officer of the Negros Island Health Integrated Program. We will honor Zaras legacy as a passionate, selfless and dedicated human rights worker, by continuing the struggle for realization of peoples rights, said Palabay. Alvarez was included in a list of more than 600 people tagged as terrorists in a proscription case filed by the Department of Justice in February 2018. Her name and that of many others were stricken off the list, but the threats against her by alleged State forces continued, the Karapatan spokesperson. National Union of Peoples Lawyers President Edre Olalia condemned the killing of Alvarez. It seems vocal and effective human rights defenders, activists and critics are being slayed one after the other with brazenness and audacious impunity. The obvious intent is to sow terror. The grief and rage continues, he said. Alvarez is the second activist killed in a span of two weeks after Echanis was found dead in a rented house in Novaliches, Quezon City last August 10. MADRID Spains former King Juan Carlos was dogged by reports he was linked to corrupt dealings, including international transfers of tens of millions of dollars, before he left the country to try to relieve the pressure on the reign of his son King Felipe. Juan Carlos is not formally under investigation and has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations. He has been staying in the United Arab Emirates since Aug 3. $100 MILLION FROM SAUDI? The newspaper La Tribune de Geneve reported that Juan Carlos received $100 million from the late Saudi King Abdullah, and sent 65 million euros of it to Danish-born businesswoman Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, with whom he had a close relationship. News site El Confidencial has published documents purporting to show the Saudi money in an account with Swiss bank Mirabaud, held by a Panamanian company called Lucum, of which Juan Carlos was the beneficial owner and his successor, King Felipe, a named director. The site published receipts showing regular cash withdrawals of hundreds of thousands of euros, signed by Juan Carlos. A Swiss prosecutors office is investigating a bank transfer to zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn. She says the money was a gift. Her lawyer has said she was dragged into Swiss proceedings in relation to events in which she was not involved". SPANISH INVESTIGATION In June, Spains Supreme Court opened an investigation into whether any potentially illegal activity involving Juan Carlos and relating to a high-speed desert train project in Saudi Arabia took place after Juan Carlos abdicated in 2014. The former king is immune to prosecution over events that happened during his reign. OFFSHORE FUNDS King Felipe announced on March 15 this year that he was renouncing his inheritance from his father. At the time, he said he had learned last year that he was the beneficiary of an offshore fund, Lucum, and had told his father he would not accept any benefit from it. Felipe is also named on documents reviewed by Reuters as a potential beneficiary of a second fund, Zagatka. He has said he was not aware of that fund, but if he turned out to be a beneficiary, he would renounce that too. Juan Carlos has said he never gave Felipe any information about the two funds. 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 Rocket lands near US embassy in Baghdad's Green Zone: Reports Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 10:14 PM At least four Katyusha rockets have been fired at the US embassy in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, one of which has landed in an area where American troops are stationed at the diplomatic mission, according to media reports. A statement by the Iraqi military confirmed the Katyusha rocket has fallen near the US embassy, but said the incident has caused no casualties. The US embassy's missile defense system has apparently failed to intercept the rocket, sources say. Meanwhile, security forces have found a missile base and dismantled two other rockets at the launch site, the Iraqi military's statement added. No group has so far assumed responsibility for the rocket attack. On July 5, a child was injured in a similar incident where a rocket hit a home near the Green Zone, which houses government buildings and foreign missions. The attack was at least the ninth within a week apparently aimed at US interests, according to a Reuters tally based on official statements and security sources. There has been a heightened anti-US sentiment in Iraq since January 3. On that day, a Reaper terrorist drone of the United States, upon a direct order from President Donald Trump, targeted a convoy transporting Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy head of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and their companions near the Baghdad International Airport. All the passengers of the convoy were assassinated. Two days later, Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign military forces led by the United States from the country. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address After being ravaged by the virus in March and early April, Italy has since emerged as an example of how a careful reopening and widespread adherence to rules can help restore a sense of near normalcy. Italy in early March had the highest infection rate in Europe; throughout the summer, it has had one of the lowest rates. The number of people hospitalized in Italy with covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has fallen from 33,000 to 800. Australian Ninja Warrior host Rebecca Maddern was rushed to the hospital in the late hours of Saturday night. And Rebecca has revealed the embarrassing and 'very dramatic' injury behind her emergency department visit. Speaking to Today co-host Richard Wilkins on Sunday, the 43-year-old admitted to dislocating her toe in a silly accident. Scroll down for video Ouch! Weekend Today host Rebecca Maddern (right) revealed the 'very dramatic' late-night injury that had her rushed to hospital on Saturday night. Pictured with co-host Richard Wilkins Describing the injury as 'one of the most painful things to ever do', Rebecca said she was baffled by the mishap. 'I was walking down the hallway and just caught it on the corner of the door, and I've done it many times before,' Rebecca said. 'Usually I pull it back into [place], but this time I couldn't get it back in.' That looks painful! Rebecca revealed she ended up in the emergency room on the weekend after dislocated her toe (pictured) at home Describing the injury as 'one of the most painful things to ever do', Rebecca said she was baffled by the mishap as she often stubs her toe and 'pull it back into place' Unable to move her toe back to its normal position, Rebecca said her husband, Trent Miller, quickly bundled their two-year-old daughter up and headed to the hospital. However, the emergency room took longer due to COVID-19 safety precautions. It comes after the TV personality took aim at Sydney resides who are 'pretending' the coronavirus pandemic is over. Pandemic: It comes after Rebecca hit back at Sydneysiders who are 'pretending' coronavirus is over Rebecca said that people in Sydney aren't social distancing and 'it's only a matter of time' before there's a spike in cases similar to what happened in Melbourne. 'Not to be a killjoy, but I can't stop looking at everyone in Sydney pretending COVID-19 is gone,' she wrote on Instagram last month. She added: 'From most of the posts I see on here, there is no social distancing and I just don't believe that no one has it. 'Yes I may be a tad jealous, because I'm in lockdown. I just think it's only a matter of time,' Rebecca said. Rehem 'Ray' Khimir, 15, was last seen in Bicester, Oxfordshire, on Wednesday evening Police have urged the public to help find a 15-year-old girl who has been missing for five days after disappearing from an Oxfordshire town. Rehem 'Ray' Khimir was last seen in Bicester on Wednesday evening. The teenager, who has a gold nose stud, was wearing a grey top, green shorts and white and black striped trainers. Thames Valley Police said Rehem is known to frequent Swindon, Oxford, Slough, Reading and Yorkshire. Officers said they are appealing for help to find her because they are 'becoming increasingly concerned for her welfare'. Police also issued a direct appeal to her, saying: 'Rehem, if you see this please get in touch with the police or your family, we just want to know you are safe.' Bicester, which is halfway between Birmingham and London, is a market town with a population of 33,000. Rehem was last seen on Banbury Road, which runs north out of the town centre. Police asked anyone who thinks they have seen Rehem or may know where she is to call the force on 101 and quote reference 43200249604. Enraged over sharing in Whatsapp the recent Supreme Court order about women's rights on the ancestral property, four youth allegedly attacked their uncle and aunt here, police said on Monday. M Shashikala lodged a complaint that the sons of her brothers Dhanaraj and Mohan attacked her and her hotelier- husband Muttu on August 12, the police said. She stated that Muttu had in the family WhatsApp group posted the court order saying women too have equal rights on the property of their parents, they said. On the night of August 12, Dhanraj's sons Vaishak, Vaibhav and Vaishnav and Mohan's son Varun went to Muttu's hotel and attacked him with sticks and stones. When Shashikala went to the rescue, she was also attacked and threatened. When contacted, the police said the four have not been arrested yet. The Supreme Court recently ruled that women will have equal coparcenary rights in joint Hindu family property even if the father died before the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005. The verdict makes it clear the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 granting equal rights to daughters to inherit ancestral property would have retrospective effect. CHICAGO Less than a month after he was released from federal prison early due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the former owner of Edens Plaza was found to have misappropriated money from co-investors and ordered to pay more than $2 million, Crain's Chicago Business reported. Larry Freed, 57, formerly of Wilmette, was convicted in 2016 of bank fraud, mail fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution in connection with a scheme to secure a $105-million line of credit for city and suburban commercial real estate developments. Records show Freed began serving a three-year sentence in January 2018 and was due to remain in prison through April 2021. But in May he was transferred to home confinement in Chicago, and last month a judge ordered his sentence modified following his attorney's motion for compassionate release due to COVID-19 pandemic. Three former executives with Freed's defunct real estate development firm, Joseph Freed & Associates, filed suit against him in Cook County court in 2017. Norris Eber, David Kirshenbaum and Al O'Donnell alleged he diverted money they were owed for his own use, including to pay his legal fees, Crain's reported. Following a bench trial last month, Circuit Judge James Snyder ordered Freed to pay more than $2.3 million to the three plaintiffs. Edens Plaza LLC, owned in part by the successor to Freed's firm, sold all of the shopping center other than the vacant Carson's to Newport Capital Partners for nearly $72 million. This article originally appeared on the Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch Sarang Jeil Church in northern Seoul has emerged as a hotbed of cluster infections after more than 300 followers tested positive for coronavirus. Yonhap New coronavirus infections linked to a church in northern Seoul continued to surge on Monday, causing concern over additional cases among its members, and also a public backlash against the church and its leader for lack of cooperation. Cases traced to Sarang Jeil Church in the northern ward of Seongbuk reached 315 as of midnight, according to Seoul city government data. The figure is slightly more than 312 that health authorities have confirmed. With the latest figure, the church has emerged as the country's second-biggest virus cluster following 5,214 cases associated with Shincheonji, a fringe religious sect held accountable for mass infections in the southeastern city of Daegu earlier this year. Despite repeated warnings from the government, members of the church, led by conservative pastor Jun Kwang-hoon, attended a mass Liberation Day rally in central Seoul on Saturday. Health authorities voiced concern that the number of virus cases tied to the church may rise further as thousands of elderly participants shouted slogans and were in close contact with one another. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash is seen during preparatory meeting for the GCC, Arab and Islamic summits in Jeddah DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates' agreement to normalise ties with Israel was a "sovereign decision" that was not directed at Iran, UAE minister of state for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said on Monday. The UAE on Sunday said it had summoned Iran's charge d'affaires in Abu Dhabi and given him a "strongly worded memo" in response to a speech by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the foreign ministry described as "unacceptable". Speaking on Saturday, Rouhani said the UAE had made a "huge mistake" in reaching a agreement to normalise ties with Israel and called it a betrayal by the Gulf state. The U.S.-sponsored deal has been seen as firming up opposition to regional power Iran, which Gulf states, Israel and the United States view as the main threat in the conflict-riven Middle East. "The UAE-Israeli peace treaty is a sovereign decision not directed at Iran. We say this and repeat it. We do not accept interference in our decisions," Gargash said on Twitter. The secretary general of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council on Sunday condemned "threats" by Rouhani and other Iranian officials towards the UAE over the accord. (Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Toby Chopra) President Donald Trump went after 'squad' member, Rep. Ilhan Omar, in her home state of Minnesota, telling supporters she's a 'horrible woman who hates our country.' Trump asked his mostly mask-less crowd gathered Mankato how Omar defeated a Democratic primary opponent during voting last week - joking that she probably cheated. 'I mean I hear the boos. How the hell did she win the primary?' he asked the crowd. 'How the hell did she win? This woman is crazy. She's a horrible woman who hates our country.' President Donald Trump lashed out at Rep. Ilhan Omar in her home state of Minnesota Monday, calling her 'crazy' and a 'horrible woman who hates our country' and joking that she probably cheated to win her primary last week Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the four so-called 'squad' members, speaks on primary election day in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Trump also suggested that refugees, like Omar, were a problem for Minnesotans and bragged about shutting down resettlement programs during the pandemic In the crowd someone shouted to the president, 'mail-in vote.' 'Yeah, mail-in vote. We'll have to check. Let's check the mail-in vote,' Trump said with a laugh. 'No seriously. How does a woman who hates our country, who says nothing but bad things about our country and Israel and other of our allies. How does this woman win? Where are the people that would vote for her?' Trump continued. The president ripped Omar for criticism she made of the Minneapolis Police Department - who were under global scrutiny after the Memorial Day death of George Floyd. 'The Minneapolis Police Department is rotten to the root, and so when we dismantle it, we get rid of that cancer, and we allow for something beautiful to rise, and that reimagining allows us to figure out what public safety looks like for us,' the first-term Democrat said in June. Trump lumped in presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden with Omar, because he didn't disavow her comments. 'This is what's going to be running the country,' Trump told supporters. The president made two campaign stops on Monday to coincide with the opening day of this year's virtual Democratic National Convention. He stopped in Minnesota - a state he lost in 2016 - before heading to Wisconsin, which was supposed to host the Democrats' convention. Omar wasn't the only female Democrat that Trump picked on during his stop in Minnesota. He first made what was likely a dig at Omar's 'squad'-mate, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as Trump ridiculed the 'Green New Deal,' saying it had been written by a 'foolish child.' He talked at length about stopping refugee resettlement in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic, suggesting to his audience that he knew refugees - like Omar, who was born in Somalia - were a problem. 'I know all about your hot spots,' Trump said. And then he echoed something he had said about Omar, but applied it to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who he's been in a stand-off with for months. 'Does she love our country?' Trump asked. 'I don't think so.' 5G has arrived in South Africa, with Vodacom, MTN, and Rain all launching their 5G networks in the country in the past year. Their network coverage is limited, however. Rains 5G service currently exists as a fixed 5G offering only, with customers able to purchase uncapped home 5G broadband in coverage areas in Johannesburg and Cape Town. MTN and Vodacom offer mobile 5G connectivity, which means that if you have a 5G mobile phone you will be able to take advantage of the technologys improved speeds and latency in coverage areas. It is important to note that the coverage of MTN and Vodacoms 5G networks is currently limited to selected urban areas, and it will take a significant amount of time for these networks to expand across the country. Vodacom has enabled 5G support on its network via its roaming agreement with Liquid Telecom, while MTN has used temporary spectrum allocated by ICASA for the COVID-19 lockdown to launch its 5G network. MTN is hopeful that additional spectrum will be allocated by ICASA before its temporary spectrum is revoked, allowing it to continue rolling out 5G without interruption. Shortly after the initial launch of these 5G networks, South Africa began to see the first 5G smartphones arrive locally. The first 5G smartphones to launch in South Africa were the Huawei P40 and Huawei P40 Pro the latest flagship smartphones in the Huawei P Series. These were followed by the LG Velvet 5G and the Huawei P40 Lite 5G, which both offer more affordable 5G connectivity options. Most recently, Samsung launched its Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra smartphones in South Africa. These ultra-high-end smartphones boast the latest camera technology and hardware, and ship in LTE and 5G models. The 5G models of these Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra devices are available to purchase in South Africa. We have listed every 5G smartphone available in South Africa below, along with their specifications and pricing. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G R36,999 Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G OS Android 10 Display 6.9-inch 3,200 x 1,440 AMOLED 120Hz Processor Exynos 990 RAM 12GB Storage 256GB, microSD up to 1TB Front Camera 10MP Rear Camera 108MP + 12MP + 12MP + DepthVision Biometrics Fingerprint, Facial recognition Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C Network 5G Battery 4,500mAh Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G R27,999 Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G OS Android 10 Display 6.7-inch 2,400 x 1,080 AMOLED Processor Exynos 990 RAM 8GB Storage 256GB Front Camera 10MP Rear Camera 64MP + 12MP + 12MP Biometrics Fingerprint, Facial recognition Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, USB Type-C Network 5G Battery 4,300mAh Huawei P40 Pro R20,999 Huawei P40 Pro OS Android 10.0 Display 6.58-inch 2,640 x 1,200 OLED 90Hz Processor HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G RAM 8GB Storage 128GB/256GB, Nano Memory Card Front Camera 32MP, TOF Rear Camera 50MP + 40MP + 12MP + TOF Biometrics In-screen fingerprint sensor, facial recognition Connectivity 802.11ax Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, USB Type-C Network LTE/5G Battery 4,200mAh LG V60 ThinQ 5G R19,399 LG V60 ThinQ 5G OS Android 10 Display 6.8-inch 2,460 x 1,080 OLED Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 RAM 8GB Storage 256GB Front Camera 10MP Rear Camera 64MP + 13MP + 0.3MP Biometrics Fingerprint, Facial recognition Connectivity Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.1 Network 5G Battery 5,000mAh Huawei P40 R16,999 Huawei P40 OS Android 10.0 Display 6.1-inch 2,340 x 1,080 OLED Processor HiSilicon Kirin 990 5G RAM 8GB Storage 128GB, Nano Memory Card Front Camera 32MP Rear Camera 50MP + 16MP + 8MP Biometrics In-screen fingerprint sensor, facial recognition Connectivity 802.11ax Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, USB Type-C Network LTE/5G Battery 3,800mAh LG V50 ThinQ 5G R12,699 LG V50 ThinQ 5G OS Android 10 Display 6.4-inch 3,120 x 1,440 OLED Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 RAM 6GB Storage 128GB Front Camera 8MP + 5MP Rear Camera 16MP + 12MP + 12MP Biometrics Fingerprint, Facial recognition Connectivity 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1 Network 5G Battery 4,000mAh LG Velvet 5G R11,799 LG Velvet 5G OS Android 10 Display 6.8-inch 2,460 x 1,080 OLED Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G RAM 6GB Storage 128GB Front Camera 16MP Rear Camera 48MP + 8MP + 5MP Biometrics Fingerprint, Facial recognition Connectivity 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1 Network 5G Battery 4,300mAh Huawei P40 Lite 5G R9,499 Huawei P40 Lite 5G OS Android 10.0 Display 6.5-inch 2,400 x 1,080 IPS LCD Processor HiSilicon Kirin 820 5G RAM 6GB Storage 128GB, Nano Memory Card Front Camera 16MP Rear Camera 64MP + 8MP + 2MP + 2MP Biometrics Fingerprint sensor, facial recognition Connectivity 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, USB Type-C Network 5G Battery 4,000mAh Now read: Rain explains why it does not offer mobile 5G This special episode is guest hosted by Connecticut Commissioner Andrew Mais and discusses racial equality in how insurance products are delivered and sold, and racial diversity within the insurance industry. His guests are: California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara; New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride; Aflac Chief Executive Officer, Dan Amos; and Consumer Advocate and Chair of the Connecticut Insurance Department Subcommittee on Big Data, Sonja Larkin-Thorne. "This podcast is just one of the many conversations that commissioners are having about how we can work together to identify and address biases," said Mais. "Advancing issues related to racial equity requires talking openly about Race and Insurance practices, even if the conversations are difficult." The Regulators podcast is available on NAIC.org, Apple or the choice platform you use to access podcasts. SOURCE National Association of Insurance Commissioners Related Links http://www.naic.org European Council president Charles Michel has convened an emergency summit of EU leaders to discuss the presidential election in Belarus and the violence in the wake of protests against the result. Mr Michel tweeted that the people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader as he said the video conference would take place on Wednesday at 11am UK time. Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed, he added. The 27 EU foreign ministers said on Friday that the elections were neither free nor fair and that they refuse to accept the results of the polls, as announced by the Belarus electoral commission. The announcement came after thousands of factory workers took to the streets on Monday and hundreds of demonstrators besieged the state television headquarters, raising the pressure on president Alexander Lukashenko to step down after 26 years in office. On the ninth straight day of protests against the official results of the vote handing him a sixth term, Mr Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in Minsk in a bid to rally support but was met by workers chanting go away. Facing the crowd, the 65-year-old dismissed the calls to step down. I will never cave in to pressure, Mr Lukashenko told the workers, saying those who intend to go on strike could leave if they want. There will be no new election until you kill me, he shouted, charging that the protests are ruining the economy and warning that the country will collapse if he steps down. As he spoke, over 5,000 striking workers from the Minsk Tractor Works plant marched down the streets, demanding that Mr Lukashenko cede his post to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate. The official results of the election vote gave Mr Lukashenko 80% of the vote and Ms Tsikhanouskaya only 10%, but the opposition claim the vote was rigged. Large-scale protests against the vote results continued even after Ms Tsikhanouskaya left the country for Lithuania last week, a move her campaign said was made under duress. The protests have posed the biggest challenge yet to Mr Lukashenkos rule of the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million. Expand Close Protests have continued in Belarus (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Protests have continued in Belarus (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky) Belarusian authorities initially tried to suppress the rallies, detaining almost 7,000 people in the first days of the protests. Police moved aggressively, using stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. However, as protests grew and the crackdown drew criticism, law enforcement refrained from interfering and appeared all but absent during a rally on Sunday that attracted some 200,000 people. Ms Tsikhanouskaya said in a video statement on Monday she was ready to facilitate a re-run of the disputed election. Im ready to take on the responsibility and act as a national leader in order for the country to calm down, return to its normal rhythm, in order for us to free all the political prisoners and prepare legislation and conditions for organising new presidential elections, she said. Mr Lukashenko bristled at the idea of talks with the opposition, insisting his government was the only legitimate one, and rejected the idea of repeating the election at a rally in his support on Sunday. The embattled president told a crowd of 50,000 that the country would perish as a state otherwise, and denounced the protesters as stooges of foreign masterminds. I am a Palestinian-Canadian and a refugee by birth. Growing up, I was affected by war twice before the age of 17. Today, as a parent of two young daughters who is deciding whether to send them to school during a pandemic, I better appreciate the hard choices my parents faced when we were living in Kuwait in 1990 as the first Gulf War broke out. My parents were teachers who instilled in me that education was the only path to a better life. For a time, being educated wasnt even a choice for me. Schools could not operate in a war zone. After the war, Palestinians couldnt attend or work in public schools, and my family couldnt afford private school. We had no other option but to relocate to the Gaza Strip and yet again deal with the challenges of conflict. Without education, I may have been one of the girls in my community forced into an arranged marriage at 15. Eventually, I earned a full scholarship to study international development at Trent University in Peterborough. And that is why I have spent my adult life working for WE Charity to empower youth at home and abroad. Ive been with the organization for more than 18 years and am proud to be its executive director. Our work is so important to me. Many only learned of WE Charity recently as a result of the political scandal related to the Canada Student Service Grant program. Some have tried to diminish our accomplishments over our 25-year history to support a narrative of their own making. The organization they describe is not one Im familiar with. The WE Charity I know and have dedicated my life to builds schools for girls in Asia, Latin America and Africa, provides fresh water to villages in nine developing countries, built a state-of-the-art agricultural studies centre for farmers in Ecuador, and provides stable income for artisan women in Kenya. My guess is that few who recently learned about WE Charity know of these impacts and how hard we have worked to achieve them. Thursday, I provided testimony before the Standing Committee on Finance and implored members to take a rational second examination of our operations. Internationally, our development projects include the construction of 1,500 schools and classrooms, where more than 200,000 children have been educated, and more than 30,000 women have been supported by our alternative-income projects. Domestically, our presence in more than 18,000 schools has provided generations of students with skills, knowledge and the motivation to bring positive change to themselves and the world. Just as Ive asked the members of the standing committee to take a second look at our organization, I am also asking you to look past the headlines to see who we really are. I would not dedicate my life to an organization that was not clearly focused on purpose. That would go against every fibre of my being. I am proud that we have built an innovative charity with strong governance and oversight controls, led by an accomplished and talented board of directors who are committed to transparency. We have always welcomed outside experts to review our organization with the goal of continuous improvement, and have consistently received unqualified audits. We are by no means perfect and we take full ownership of our missteps. At this point, it would be easy to close up shop and give up. But that is not who we are. This is not who I am. Instead, we recently announced a full organizational review that is being led by external experts. We look forward to becoming simpler and more focused so we can once again work to improve the lives of youth and make a lasting impact in the developing world. It is popular in our culture today to tear things down. But I can tell you from personal experience that it is not easy to build. Twenty-five years have been invested by thousands of passionate current and former staff, board members, teachers, schools, young people, donors and advisers to create a unique platform for youth engagement and international development. I want to thank them for believing in the mission. Regardless of the firestorm we are facing, nothing can erase the impact the organization has had here and abroad. Dalal Al-Waheidi is executive director of WE Charity. After intense rains brought by monsoon caused heavy flooding in North Korea, Kim Jong Un has resorted to an atypical response which could be a signal that the Hermit Kingdom is facing severe difficulties due to the disasters on top of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a report by Business Insider, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the dictator himself has ordered grain from his very own special food reserves in order to be distributed to victims of the recent flood. The move is heavily unusual since the food reserves are usually only used by Kim. Despite the devastation caused by the rains and flooding the regime claims that nobody has died due to the floods. Meanwhile, similar flooding has taken the lives of dozens of people in both China and South Korea. The news outlet also reported that around 179 housing blocks and 730 single-story houses have been destroyed by the flood. Moreover, almost 1,500 acres of rice fields have also been covered by the flood as of early August. Devastations during monsoon season are not new to North Korea due to the lack of infrastructure in the nation. Back in the 1990s floods destroyed around 15% of the arable land in the country. During that time, The Atlantic reported that there were approximately 2 million people who have died, however, this contradicted the claims of the rogue nation that only 225,000 died. Read also: President Trump's Younger Brother, Robert Trump Dies at 71 Aside from ordering grains from his personal reserves, Kim also toured the villages that have been damaged by the floods earlier this month. Kim's approaches regarding the current situation in the country have raised some eyebrows since such drastic measures have not been the very usual response from the regime. It was also stated by the state media that Kim has deemed it very important to supply beddings, foods, medicine, and other daily necessities to stabilize the living condition of the flood victims. In addition, it also reported that residents have expressed gratefulness to the "benevolent father" who helped them and treats the misfortunes of his people as his greatest pain. Thus, doing everything in order to alleviate such suffering. On top of this, a North Korean defector who was a former diplomat from the Hermit Kingdom and now holds a parliamentary seat in the South, Thae Yong-ho, scrutinized the move taken by Kim. According to him, the grain reserve of Kim Jong Un is a stockpile of grain which is only being used in the event of a war. Thus, this led him to believe that the current food situation in the North has become very difficult. Moreover, Thae also said that the coronavirus crisis has added to this difficult situation in North Korea. He also stated that the move could be Kim Jong Un's distress signal to China, the only country that can send aid to the nation in times of emergency. It can be recalled that North Korea has repeatedly brushed off any claims of difficulties amid the coronavirus crisis and the current flooding that it experience. Many critics have believed that the Hermit Kingdom continues to downplay its current situation. Related article: North Korea Could Ramp-Up Threatening Missile Testing After Trump Boasts About World War 3 @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Welsh Government in A Level result u-turn as students will now get predicted grades along with GCSE students This article is old - Published: Monday, Aug 17th, 2020 A Level students across Wales are to receive their predicted grades following a Welsh Government u-turn this afternoon. It comes after criticism from students, teachers, education leaders and opposition parties over the standardisation process which saw 42 per cent of A-level results downgraded. A late announcement just 24 hours before exam results were published saw Education Minister Kirsty Williams (top picture) guarantee that no student in Wales would be marked lower than their AS-level results. The minister also announced that the appeals process for GCSE, AS and A levels, and the Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate qualifications would be free. It followed concerns being raised after Qualifications Wales said final grades were likely to be lower than those estimated by teachers, which the exams watchdog said were too generous. However today north Wales education leaders announced that they have no confidence in the standardisation of results and fear that the upcoming GCSE results will mirror A-Level chaos. In a statement the regional school improvement body GwE and secondary headteachers said it was becoming more evident that there is significant discrepancy between grades awarded by WJEC and Centre Assessment Grades. It adds that some schools have seen 70% of their grades have been downgraded without any contact from the examining body or regulator. Opposition parties, along with some Labour backbenchers, have also called for ministers to use predicted grades for both A Level and for Thursdays GCSE results. In a Welsh Government u-turn this afternoon it was confirmed that the standardisation of grades would not apply for A Level results or GCSEs. The statement from the Education Minister is in full below: Several organizations, including the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), have expressed support for Catholic bishops, who are accusing President Emmerson Mnangagwas government of serious human rights violations. In a statement, the ZLHR said, There can be no justification of this vilification of the clergymen and this anti-Catholic scorn because for the Bishops, speaking out against transgressions is their moral obligation. As ZLHR, we are greatly concerned that the intolerance of President Emmerson Mnangagwas government on dissent and criticism is becoming more despicable every passing day and we should realise that it is the manifestation of President Mnangagwas and his followers fear on the peoples legitimate dissatisfaction from a leader who claimed and promised to be a listening president which is equally growing. We have noted that in 2020 while the vilifiers and the vilified are different, the script is the same. The ZLHR further said, The incendiary statements by government are aimed at inflicting shame on clergymen and to vilify their struggles that spring from righteous causes. As clergymen, said the ZLHR, the Catholic Bishops must not abdicate their sacred mandate as shepherds to whom the Lord has entrusted his flock and no amount of vilification, intimidation or threats should make them give up their critical role, especially that of giving voice to the voiceless. Being Bishops or clergymen does not divest them of their civil and political rights to free speech, because they are still citizens of Zimbabwe and have the inalienable right to speak about the governments shortcomings. ZLHR urges the Catholic Bishops to have faith and take heart as they have long championed peoples rights and freedoms for several decades. To the Catholic Bishops, always bear in mind the biblical verse in 1 Peter 5:8, which reads; Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The ZLHR urged the government to its intemperate and inflammatory statement and urges it to embrace constructive criticism and the principles of good governance. In a pastoral letter, Catholic bishops said, Zimbabwe is in a a multi-layered crisis of the convergence of economic collapse, deepening poverty, food insecurity, corruption and human rights abuses. Fear runs down the spines of many of our people today. The crackdown on dissent is unprecedented ... Our government automatically labels anyone thinking differently as an enemy of the country: that is an abuse. The pastoral letter, signed by ZCBC president Archbishop Charles Ndlovu, Archbishop Alex Thomas (ZCBC deputy president), and bishops Paul Horan (ZCBC secretary and treasurer), Michael Bhasera (Masvingo), Albert Serrano (Hwange), Rudolf Nyandoro (Gokwe) and Raymond Mupandasekwa (Chinhoyi). Reacting to these sentiments, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa dismissed their remarks, saying they are ill-informed and designed to cause anarchy in Zimbabwe. Mutsvangwa said, The Government of Zimbabwe calls upon the Catholic congregation to ignore the specious pastoral letter. Bishop Christopher Ndlovu is leading a coterie of Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops along the wrong path of bygone petty tribalism, narrow regionalism and the debunked and defeated racial antagonism. Its evil message reeks with all the vices that have perennially hobbled the progress of Africa. It trumpets petty tribal feuds and narrow regionalist agendas That he (Archbishop Ndlovu) hopes to sow seeds of internecine strife as a prelude to civil war and national disintegration. PLANTATION, Fla., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Now with over 50 restaurants across the state of Florida, La Granja is satisfying the appetite of many who want a homemade food served fast. Patrons crave food with a Latin flavor. It all started with the owner's father having a big dream of bringing Peruvian flavors to America. Now La Granja restaurants are located in several counties, from Miami Dade to Broward to Palm Beach to Orange County. And it's not "fast food", since it's homemade food served fast. However, anyone can eat in and out of the restaurant in just 5-10 minutes. To find the nearest La Granja Restaurant, go to https://www.lagranjarestaurants.com/en/locations/ The grilled Chicken Sandwiches come with boneless, skinless chicken breast served in a bun with fries on the side. Drinks to choose from are Passion Fruit or all major soft drinks. Others might prefer the mouthwatering Crispy Chicken Sandwich. La Granja opened its first South Florida location in Margate in 1993. Serving Peruvian cuisine praised by locals, La Granja has become a favorite place for many to grab a quick lunch or a family dinner. Regular customers note their love affair with the 1/4 chicken meal as a reason for their constant return. Dine at La Granja and have a choice of chicken, steak, seafood or pork with two sides of your preference. There are over 50 restaurants in Florida one can choose to dine in, and people can find the nearest location at https://www.lagranjarestaurants.com/en/locations/. La Granja Restaurants serve delicious dishes with big portions and authentic flavors. Check out La Granja's menu. https://www.lagranjarestaurants.com/en/menu When ordering, customers can choose from a wide variety of platters and side options. Each platter comes with a sizable portion of meat and two or more sides. Dishes are seasoned to perfection and paired with perfect additions, of which arroz, frijoles, and fried plantains are most popular. La Granja also provides delicious beef platters. Loma Saltado is one of the most important dishes, which is sauteed beef with onions and tomatoes seasoned with special seasoning, creamy garlic, and yellow hot pepper which adds much flavor and aroma. Vinegar and soy sauce are added to make it a scrumptious meal for beef lovers. At La Granja, delectable platters are served with sides that are a step above the rest. Family platters are available to make dinner quick and hearty. Visit La Granja. Choose dine-in, curbside, or delivery with DoorDash or Grubhub. For information about La Granja Restaurants, go to www.lagranjarestaurants.com. Related Images enjoy-a-grilled-or-crispy.png Enjoy a grilled or crispy delicious chicken sandwich at a La Granja restaurant. To find the nearest La Granja Restaurant, go to https://www.lagranjarestaurants.com/en/locations/ SOURCE La Granja Restaurants The state's power grid operators said Monday millions of California utility customers may lose electrical power today, as the Golden State struggles to supply power during a historic heat wave. The rolling blackouts are expected to impact 10 times the number of customers who lost power over the weekend in the Golden State's first rolling blackouts since 2001. John Phipps, director of real time operations for California's Independent Service Operator, which runs the state's power grid, said the agency is forecasting a demand of 49,792 megawatts by Monday evening as record high temperatures peak. Available power supplies will fall far short by up to 4,400 megawatts around 6 pm or 7 p.m., he said, making rolling blackouts a near certainty. "We feel we are going to have insufficient supply for today," Phipps said. Worse, he said, projected demand for Tuesday on the grid is even higher: 50,123 megawatts, although the ISO does not yet have an exact estimate of available supplies. The dire warning comes after hundreds of thousands of Californians lost electrical power during a sweltering weekend heat wave amid the grinding coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Gavin Newsom called the failure to anticipate and avert blackouts "unacceptable" Monday and demanded an investigation as more widespread outages loom. Newsom wrote the heads of agencies that regulate and oversee energy in California the California Public Utilities Commission, California Energy Commission and California Independent System Operator that he wasn't told until "moments before the blackouts started." ISO CEO Steve Berberich said "it is near certain" there will be further blackouts Monday and likely continuing through the week, affecting "millions of people." The weekend's rolling blackouts were the first in the state since 2001, when the California's flawed electricity deregulation system allowed independent suppliers to withhold power for better prices, bankrupting California's largest utility and spurring the historic recall of former Gov. Gray Davis. "These blackouts, which occurred without prior warning or enough time for preparation, are unacceptable and unbefitting of the nation's largest and most innovative state," Newsom wrote Monday. "Collectively, energy regulators failed to anticipate this event and to take necessary actions to ensure reliable power to Californians. This cannot stand. California residents and businesses deserve better from their government." Newsom's office said he "held all-hands meeting with top energy advisors and agency leads on the heat-induced energy shortages," and that state officials worked throughout the weekend to lower energy use and bring more power resources online. But with the heat wave expected to continue well into the week, state officials urged residents and businesses to use air conditioning early in the day, pre-set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher and avoid using appliances from 3-10 p.m. Newsom signed an emergency proclamation designed to free up energy capacity and reduce the need for temporary energy service disruptions. The proclamation temporarily lets some energy users and utilities use backup energy sources to relieve pressure on the grid during peak times during the energy emergency. Over the weekend, state officials arranged to increase generation from sources like the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the California State Water Project and investor-owned utilities. They also worked with industrial and commercial consumers to reduce energy consumption during peak hours and to increase public awareness around energy saving measures. After an all-hands meeting with the CPUC, CEC and ISO, Newsom said he "would like to better understand the causes of the supply deficiencies, why timely warnings were not provided and potential actions that can be taken in coming days" to avoid more blackouts. California's aggressive push to abandon natural gas for solar, wind and other renewable sources to meet its goals of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide blamed for rising global temperatures has left the state vulnerable to outages during heat waves as the sun sets and solar power fades. California's ISO, a non-profit public benefit corporation that has run the state's electric grid since deregulation, is generally considered to be among the best in the nation by industry officials and experts. But its handling of the blackouts raised several questions. First, blackouts were triggered even though the grid's total demand for electricity over the weekend was well below all-time highs. Demand peaked at 46,797 megawatts Friday and 44,947 megawatts on Saturday well below the all-time record on July 24, 2006, when demand reached 50,270 megawatts. Second, the agency was slow to notify the public that blackouts were coming. On Saturday, for example, after more than 220,000 homes and businesses in Monterey, Santa Cruz and the Stockton area were blacked out by PG&E on orders from the ISO at 6:28 p.m., the ISO didn't notify the public of its order until nearly 90 minutes later, at 7:50 p.m. On Sunday, the ISO suspended virtual bidding, putting in place rules this week that require buyers of electricity to take possession of it. The change was designed to reduce the risk of anyone gaming the system, as happened in California's 2001 power crisis when Texas energy company Enron deliberately shut down power plants to drive up short-term prices. "As a result of the record breaking heat wave that has led to load curtailments, the California ISO has determined that convergence bidding is detrimentally effecting the ISO's ability to maintain reliable grid operations," the agency said in a statement Sunday. Steve Berberich, chief executive officer of the Cal-ISO, apologized Monday. "We should have prepared the public, the utilities, state authorities and the governors office for the possibility of outages much more ahead of time," said Steve Berberich. "We own that and are sorry we didn't do more." But Berberich said that the ISO has been warning state regulators at the CPUC for several years that the system was facing potential blackouts. Berberich said the CPUC should make immediate reforms, including requiring utilities to sign contracts for all electricity they will need so that in heat waves, they are not searching other states for power to buy. "The ISO operates the system it is given," Berberich said. "The situation we are in could have been avoided. For many years we have been pointing out that there was inadequate power." The outages have been even more chaotic with the coronavirus pandemic shutting down schools, offices, libraries, shopping centers and other places power-outage refugees and those without AC can go to escape the heat. Desirea Leal-Bedel said her home in the South San Jose neighborhood of Silver Leaf has been without power most of the weekend for what PG&E first told them was a blown transformer and then said part of rolling blackouts. After the family including Leal-Bedel's elderly mother, who has athsma suffered through 100-plus degree temperatures in the house on Saturday, they decided to rent rooms in a nearby hotel. "We couldn't even breathe in the house," she said. "If you go into our house right now it smells like rotten food." She is now juggling helping her two kids with distance learning between the heat and the power outage, they weren't able to do their homework over the weekend and her own remote work. And she's still in the dark about when the lights will go back on in her home or why they lost power in the first place. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2020 -- Sour beer, the tart and tangy outcome of a brewing process that's been used in Europe for centuries, has recently surged in popularity in the U.S. Today, scientists report progress on a study of how acids and other flavor components evolve while the beverage ages. Their aim is to help brewers understand and gain more control over sour beer's taste. The researchers will present their results at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo. ACS is holding the meeting through Thursday. It features more than 6,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics. A brand-new video about the ongoing research is available at http://www.acs.org/fall2020-sour-beer. Sour beer is an ancient type of beer in which wild yeast and bacteria are allowed to grow in freshly brewed beer (wort), which then ferments. After this stage, the wort is often transferred to wooden barrels where it matures for months or years. During that time, the microbes produce numerous metabolic products -- including ethanol, acids and esters -- that provide much of the unique flavor of sour beers. The barrels themselves can infuse trace components, such as vanillin and catechin, that contribute to the flavor profile. "Scientists are very interested in beer and especially sours because they are such complicated systems," says Teresa L. Longin, Ph.D., one of the project's principal investigators. "There have been several prior studies of the components in finished sour beers. What makes our study different is that we've been able to get samples of beer in progress from many different batches." Their findings could help brewers make better products. Longin was drawn into the study by her husband and co-PI, David P. Soulsby, Ph.D., and both are at the University of Redlands. When Soulsby began the project a couple of years ago, he reached out to Bryan Doty, a master brewer at nearby Sour Cellars. Doty was eager to learn what was going on in his beer and has provided a series of samples from the same barrels as the beer has aged. Soulsby and undergraduate student Alexis Cooper examined each sample using NMR spectroscopy coupled with a new analysis method for quantitating the data. They used this approach to track the levels of acetic acid, the main component of vinegar; lactic acid, which gives sourdough bread its distinctive taste; and succinic acid, which is found in broccoli, rhubarb and meat extracts. They found that each acid stabilized at similar concentrations in the different batches, though some batches had greater variability. "These organic acids give sour beers a lot of their flavor, and the balance of organic acids produces very different types of sour beer," Longin says. "It can be more like balsamic vinegar, which has a sweet/sour flavor, or it can be 'puckery' sour. So the mix of organic acids is really important for understanding the flavor profile." Working with Emily Santa Ana, one of the undergraduates in her lab, Longin drew on expertise in liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry to search for other compounds that contribute subtly to flavor but are present at levels too low to detect with NMR. "This is a work in progress, but I'm definitely seeing some trace compounds that are changing over time," Longin says. Some compounds start off at high concentrations and then disappear; they might be sugars that are being consumed by yeast as they produce ethanol and carbon dioxide, and by bacteria as they form organic acids. Others "grow in" over time. They could be additional organic acids, health-promoting antioxidants known as phenolics, or vanillin, which lends a hint of vanilla to beer. The researchers will use the mass spectrometry data to identify the trace compounds and determine whether they come from the barrels or from byproducts of yeast or bacteria metabolism. "In addition, if a brewer knows a particular combination of yeast and bacteria produces a desirable flavor profile, they can culture more of it," Longin says. "Or if they know that a beer with a specific combination of acids is especially pleasing, they'll know when to stop aging the beer so it doesn't lose that balance." ### A press conference on this topic will be held Thursday, Aug. 20, at 1 p.m. Eastern time online at http://www.acs.org/fall2020pressconferences. The researchers acknowledge support from the University of Redlands and the Hedco Foundation. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder and STN), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org. Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Follow us: Twitter | Facebook Title Analysis of organic acids and trace compounds in sour beer using NMR spectroscopy and LC/Q-ToF MS Abstract Sour beer is an ancient type of beer in which wild yeast and bacteria are allowed to colonize freshly brewed beer (wort) which then undergoes spontaneous fermentation. Upon cooling, the wort is transferred to barrels where it is allowed to mature for months or years. During that time, the wild yeast and bacteria produce numerous metabolic products (e.g., ethanol, acids, esters, etc.) in varying proportions that provide much of the unique flavor of sour beers. The barrels themselves can add trace components such as vanillin and catechin that can contribute to the flavor profile of the beer. We have collaborated with Sour Cellars brewery in Southern California to obtain samples of beer taken from the same barrel over several months for multiple batches of beer. We used quantitative 1H NMR spectroscopy and the CRAFT analysis program to quantify metabolites within each batch and liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry to analyze trace components within and across batches. We demonstrate the degree of variability of metabolites and trace components across time for the same barrel and across batches. The coronavirus pandemic claimed another San Antonio event Monday. The San Antonio Auto & Truck Show will be postponed until November 2021. "While this is a difficult decision, we feel it is the right one to make as we navigate through the 'normalcy' of this pandemic," said Lee Willis, the show's chairman, in a statement. "We want to protect the safety of all of our trusted auto show partners, our fellow San Antonians, and all of our visitors who travel in for the Show." The annual show, hosted by the SA Auto Dealers Association, is held each November at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center. Visitors compare hundreds of cars and pickup trucks at "the largest showroom in South Texas." The association said the decision to postpone the event was made as the health crisis continues in San Antonio. The next edition of the show will be held Nov. 11 to 14, 2021. Foreign trade of east China's Anhui Province rose 10.9 percent to 296.25 billion yuan (about 42.62 billion U.S. dollars) in the first seven months of this year, customs data showed. From January to July, the province's exports reached 171.92 billion yuan, up 10.4 percent year on year, while its imports totaled 124.33 billion yuan, up 11.7 percent, according to Hefei customs. In July alone, Anhui's imports and exports totaled 52.1 billion yuan, up 20.9 percent year on year, the highest monthly volume since April. Hefei customs said private enterprises have made a great contribution to the province's foreign trade, with their imports and exports up 36.1 percent to 29.13 billion yuan in July alone. The province reported a decline in exports of anti-pandemic supplies and laptops in June and July following a surge of such goods in the first few months of this year. Enditem Mount Greylock Teachers Union Nixes Notion of 'Public' Negotiations Updated on Aug. 17 to provide context to the comments of Mount Greylock teacher Patrick Blackman. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The acting president of the Mount Greylock Regional School District's teachers union Friday rejected a School Committee member's suggestion that the union should hold its collective bargaining sessions in public and accused the committee of violating Massachusetts labor law in its Thursday evening meeting. "Bargaining will not be done publicly," Lanesborough Elementary School teacher Jennifer Szymanski wrote in an email on behalf of the Mount Greylock Educators Association. Szymanski was replying to a request for comment on Thursday night after School Committee member Steven Miller twice suggested that the panel hold public meetings with the union to discuss contractual changes needed to accomplish a return to classes in September. At the time, Miller was pushing Interim Superintendent Robert Putnam and the district's three principals to agree with the committee and abandon a plan to start the year with two weeks of remote instruction before transitioning to a hybrid model that would have had the district's general education students in school for a maximum of two days per week. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Miller has been the committee's most consistent voice advocating for solutions that could maximize the number of children in schools while maintaining the face covering, social distancing and hygiene requirements that will be a part of any return to in-person instruction. "We can't let this fear paralyze us," Miller said. "We have the ability to make things work. We have to make decisions. As [Putnam] said, no decision is going to please everyone. We have the ability to let people stay home and be remote students if they want, and we have the ability to let people come back if they want and they need to. My goal is to let anyone who wants to come back to be able to come back each day. I can't believe we would actually turn children away from school who want to come to school. "I would like to join [Putnam's Friday negotiations with MGEA]. And I would like to suggest that, similar to School Committee meetings and Education Subcommittee meetings, we open up these discussions for the entire community to watch and join in. I find that time and time again, there are great suggestions about how to solve things from people at these meetings. These are issues that affect us all. We are all in it together." Ultimately, the School Committee voted, 6-1, to tell Putnam to throw out the plan he proposed and instead submit on Friday to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education the plan that the committee favored. MGEA's Szymanski questioned why the School Committee chose to go against Putnam's plan , which was informed by the various working groups the district established during the spring and summer to address the issues related to reopening the schools. "There were multiple committees formed to plan for the start of the upcoming school year," Szymanski wrote. "Many volunteers and many hours were spent reviewing and discussing the issues from every angle. The School Committee completely disregarded all of that work and voted in favor of their own personal preferences for starting school." During Thursday's public comment period, the School Commitee heard a letter submitted by MGEA endorsing Putnam's proposal, which he presented to the community in a virtual town hall on Tuesday. Most of the comments among the 19 submitted for Thursday's meeting advocated for more in-person instruction than Putnam was proposing. Included in those comments was one commenter who self-identified as a science teacher at the middle-high school. "Unlike many district parents, I can speak from experience," Faith Manary wrote. "I have two children, a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old. They go to day care. They wear masks all day. They are socially distanced. They cannot hug their friends. They eat their lunch in the classrooms. They are screened before they enter the building. They love it. They come home talking about the fun they had and their friends and the things they learned. They are excited to go to school every day, and I am grateful they have that choice. "School can be safe and still be a place where children are happy." A different representative of the local teachers union Sunday in a social media post acknowledged the diversity of opinion within the group but said the overwhelming majority supported a July 29 resolution by the Massachusetts Teachers Association that reads, in part "districts and the state must demonstrate that health and safety conditions and negotiated public health benchmarks are met before buildings reopen." "As leaders, we endorsed MTA's statement regarding returning to safe schools, but we pushed it out to a member ratification vote," Mount Greylock teacher Pat Blackman said in a Facebook post. "One hundred, thirty-seven members voted in an 81.8 percent majority to ratify that statement. No motion, save 'let's have snacks at meetings,' gets more than that level of support." Without directly addressing Miller's "public negotiations" idea, Blackman noted that respect for the 19.2 percent of the local's membership in the minority on that vote is one reason why MGEA would not agree to negotiate in public should not engage in public debate. "It's also our obligation to respect and represent the minority opinion," Blackman wrote. Szymanski, the acting president of MGEA, questioned not only the result of Thursday's School Committee meeting but the process by which it was achieved. "It is our understanding that the School Committee authorized the superintendent to bargain on their behalf," Szymanski wrote. "We had a bargaining session with Dr. Putnam and we reached a tentative agreement to open with remote learning and then transition to an acceptable, reasonable hybrid model only when mutually agreed upon metrics were met. The committee's action, to vote for a completely different model for reopening and not take an official vote on the tentative agreement is, in our opinion, a violation of M.G.L. 150E s. 10. Specifically, it is bargaining in bad faith." Szymanski stood by MGEA's stated position that while there are risks to children's social/emotional development from continued remote learning, those risks can be mitigated without taking a chance on spreading the novel coronavirus. "Some make the case that the risk of damage that will come from students not being in school is greater than that to students and staff from COVID," Thursday's letter said. "While we acknowledge that those risks are there, we do not see that in-person schooling is the only reasonable path for their mitigation, particularly during a time of pandemic. Our district provided meals to hungry families during the spring shutdown. It still does and could continue to do so this fall. Our counselors and mental health professionals were available last spring and will still be on call for families that need them. "There are also several other community tools available to families in Northern Berkshire County. Finally, socialization among students in parent-controlled pods became common in the spring and could continue this fall with each family deciding for themselves how much risk they can accept." On Friday morning, Szymanski indicated that the union believes the School Committee turned a deaf ear to its argument about balancing physical safety and social/emotional needs. "[W]e believe their actions showed a callous disregard for the health and safety of students and staff as well as reducing the profession of teaching to mere childcare," Szymanski wrote. Barron Trump, US President Donald Trump and First lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn of the White House on August 16, 2020 in Washington, DC. Robert Trump, 71, the younger brother of the president, died Saturday in Manhattan. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Trump Says Funeral for Brother Will Be Held Friday, Possibly at White House President Donald Trump on Monday said a funeral for his late brother, Robert Trump, will likely be held Friday. He told reporters that there might be a small service at the White House. That would be, I think, a great honor to him. I think hed be greatly honored. He loves our country. He loved our country so much, Trump said. So I think it would be appropriate. So well have, probably on Friday afternoon, a small service in honor of my brother, Robert, he added. The presidents brother died over the weekend at the age of 71, according to a White House statement. His cause of death was not disclosed. It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight, the president wrote in a statement on Saturday night. He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. The president continued: Robert, I love you. Rest in peace. Later, Trump told Fox News that he had a good relationship with his brother. Its not [been] a great weekend, Trump told the news outlet. He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy. He was always there and he wasnt a jealous person, Trump said. He was a very smart guy. He would be there and hed be behind me. Republican president-elect Donald Trump (R) hugs his brother Robert Trump after delivering his acceptance speech at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City in the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2016. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) He was so angry with China because of what happened where the plague came in, and they shouldnt have allowed it to happen. They could have stopped it. Trump was referring to the pandemic caused by the CCP virus, a coronavirus that causes COVID-19, which first broke out in Chinese city of Wuhan before spreading around the world. Robert Trump had previously retired to upstate New York where he was a noted philanthropist, serving as a trustee for the Angels of Light, a nonprofit organization that provides holiday gifts to children with life-threatening illnesses. President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and son Barron Trump are greeted upon return to the White House on August 16, 2020 (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) Robert Trump pulled away from the public eye in recent years and lived in Millbrook, New York. But in recent months, he attempted to block the publication of niece Mary Trumps new book about President Trumps family, Too Much and Never Enough. He requested a restraining order, saying it violated a nondisclosure agreement. Her attempt to sensationalize and mischaracterize our family relationship after all of these years for her own financial gain is both a travesty and injustice to the memory of my late brother, Fred, and our beloved parents, he said. I and the rest of my entire family are so proud of my wonderful brother, the president, and feel that Marys actions are truly a disgrace, Robert Trump told news outlets several weeks ago. President Trump also described his nieces work as fiction and inaccurate. Robert Trump told the New York Post in 2016 that he supported his brothers campaign 1,000 percent. Fred Trump Jr., the presidents older brother and Mary Trumps father, died in the 1981 at the age of 43 after battling alcoholism for years. The early death had an impact on Trump, who said he never drinks because of it. He has two sisters, Elizabeth Trump Grau, who is a retired executive from Chase Manhattan Bank, and Maryanne Trump Barry, who is a retired federal judge. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 17 By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend: The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Uzbekistan increased to 35,513, Trend reports with reference to the statistics of the Uzbek Ministry of Health. To date, 30,973 patients have fully recovered in the country, while 234 have died. Under the instructions of President of Uzbekistan, unlimited movement of vehicles as well as local air rail traffic in Uzbekistan was resumed since August 15, 2020. In addition, from August 17, 2020, Tashkent resumes public transport traffic. Citizens are required to wear a medical mask when entering the bus, otherwise, passengers will not be allowed on the buses. Moreover, from August 20, 2020, clothing and building material markets, large shops, gyms, fitness clubs and swimming pools will resume operations. 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. 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. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini China's vaccine maker CanSino Biologics Inc, on Monday, won the patent approval for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad5-nCoV, according to the Chinese Intellectual Property Administration. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine patent granted by China, according to state-owned newspaper People's Daily. The patent was submitted for application on March 18 and was approved on August 11, as per the patent document. Last month, the medical journal Lancet wrote that the Phase-2 clinical trial of the adenovirus vector vaccine or Ad5-nCoV was safe and induced immune response. The Phase-three trial of the CanSino vaccine will include more participants and conducted overseas. CanSino has said it is also in talks with Russia, Brazil and Chile to launch Phase-3 clinical trials in those countries. In the Phase-three trial, CanSino will find out the answers to the following queries---longevity of the protection, the appropriate dosage to trigger a strong immune response, and whether there are host-specific differences. Global race on for COVID-19 vaccine: Last week Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the development of the world's first vaccine against novel coronavirus. The first dose of the vaccine-Sputnik-V, developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology of the Russian Healthcare Ministry, was administered to Russian President Vladimir Putin's daughter. Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said that medical workers and teachers will be the first to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The clinical trials of the Sputnik-V kicked off on June 18 and included 38 volunteers. All of the participants developed an immunity. The first group was discharged on July 15, the second group on July 20. In India, three vaccine candidates are in different stages of human clinical trials, Primer Minister Narendra Modi confirmed in his Independence Day speech on August 15. The Phase-I and II human clinical trials of two of them, developed indigenously by Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR), and Zydus Cadila Ltd, are currently underway. The Serum Institute of India has been permitted for conducting Phase II and III human clinical trials of the third vaccine candidate developed by Oxford University. The Pune-based institute has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the vaccine. Besides, US firms Moderna and Pfizer have also begun their late-stage trial for coronavirus vaccine. Moderna has received nearly $1 billion from the US government to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Pfizer is working with a German company, BioNTech. Also read: Made in India coronavirus vaccine soon, waiting for scientists' approval: PM Modi in Independence Day speech Also read: Russia produces first batch of coronavirus vaccines 17.08.2020 LISTEN President Akufo-Addo is pleading with Ghanaians to wear nose masks correctly to help combat the Coronavirus pandemic. This comes after a recent survey done by the Ghana Health Service showed that, out of a number of persons observed in selected places in Accra, only 44.3% wear face masks properly. Even though the survey proved that 82% of these persons possessed a face mask, just a few actually wore them in the appropriate way. Akufo-Addo, while delivering his 15th national address on COVID-19 stated that, I have been encouraged by the results of a recent survey conducted by the Ghana Health Service into the use of face masks at selected locations in Accra in the month of August. It revealed that the overall intention to use face masks at the sites surveyed was very high, with 82% of persons surveyed possessing a mask. I believe we can do even more, and reach 100%. However, the same survey demonstrated that only 44.3% of those who have the mask use them correctly. I urge each and every one of us to wear our masks, and do so correctly anytime we leave our homes. It is the new normal requirement of our daily existence until the virus disappears, he added. ---citinewsroom One of Sen. Kamala Harris brightest childhood memories was walking down the beach hand in hand with her Indian grandfather. Her grandfather, P.V. Gopalan, had served for decades in the Indian government, and his ritual, nearly every morning, was to meet up with his retired buddies and talk politics as they strolled along the beach in Besant Nagar, a seaside neighborhood in Chennai where brightly painted fishing boats line the sand and Hindu temples stare out at the sea. During her visits from the United States, Harris tagged along while the men discussed equal rights, corruption and the direction India was headed. I remember the stories that they would tell and the passion with which they spoke about the importance of democracy, Harris said in a 2018 speech to an Indian-American group. As I reflect on those moments in my life that have had the most impact on who I am today I wasnt 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. Although Harris has been more understated about her Indian heritage than her experience as a Black woman, her path to U.S. vice-presidential pick has also been guided by the values of her Indian-born mother, her Indian grandfather and her wider Indian family who have provided a lifelong support network that endures even from 8,000 miles away. Her grandfather, wearing Coke-bottle glasses and often a necktie during strolls, may have looked like many other upper-crust Indian gentlemen. But he defied the conservative stereotypes of his era, embodying a progressive outlook on public service and unswerving support for women, especially in terms of their education, that was years ahead of his time. He instilled great confidence in Harris mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who came to America in the late 1950s young and alone and made a career as a breast cancer researcher before dying of cancer in 2009. Harris remains close to her mothers side of the family her aunts and uncle can talk for hours from their homes in India about the bruising battles she has fought in San Francisco, Sacramento or Washington, giving the impression that they had ringside seats. Her uncle, G. Balachandran, who lives in New Delhi, recalled visiting Harris in California about 15 years ago when she was San Franciscos district attorney and was taking heat for not seeking the death penalty for a man accused of killing a police officer. She considered the death penalty flawed on many levels, both high-minded and pragmatic: racial inequities being one and the cost of pursuing the cases being another. Despite intense pressure from police officers and some of the top politicians in the state, Harris didnt back down. She got that from her mother, her uncle said. Shyamala always taught her: Dont let anyone push you around. During a later race for California attorney general, Harris called her aunt Sarala Gopalan in Chennai and asked her to break coconuts for good luck at a Hindu temple overlooking the beach at Besant Nagar where she used to walk with her grandfather. The aunt lined up 108 coconuts an auspicious number in Hinduism to be smashed. And it takes a whole day to arrange that, she said. Harris won the election, by the slimmest of margins. That beach is now shut. With India hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and much of the country still locked down, the environs that Harris so fondly remembers are desolate. Last week a few sinewy, shirtless fishermen stood ankle deep in the waves and tugged hand lines, hoping for a fish. Because of the foreign policy positions Harris has staked out as a senator, she has some detractors in India. But across the country she evokes enormous pride, particularly in the beachside community where she traces her roots. That family had an immaculate reputation, said N. Vyas, a retired doctor who was their upstairs neighbor. They never raved about the great things that they have done in Delhi or something like that. They were straight-shooters down-to-earth, happy people. Vyas wife, Jayanti, who is also a retired doctor and who was leaning in the doorway, shook her head with a knowing smile. We are not surprised, she said of Harris being named the first woman of color on the presidential ticket of a major U.S. party. See, all the women in her family are strong personalities, she said. These are women who know what they are talking and what they are saying. The Gopalan story started in a small village south of Chennai called Painganadu, where Harris grandfather was born in 1911. In terms of Indias caste system, the family was at the top of the heap. They were Tamil Brahmins, an elite subculture known as TamBrahms. But Harris uncle said that the family never looked down their noses at lower castes and that his parents valued, above all else, education. The grandfather left the village as a young man to take a job as a stenographer for the British colonial government. Harris wrote in her memoir that he had been part of Indias independence movement, but other family members said he had never mentioned this. Had he openly campaigned, like Mohandas K. Gandhi or other freedom fighters, to break off from Britain, he might not have gotten too far with his British bosses. After Indias independence in 1947, the grandfather continued as a civil servant for the new Indian government, and the Gopalans moved around a lot. Harris mother, the eldest of four children, grew up like a military brat, adjusting to a new city every few years as her father was reposted. Bright, determined and with a mellifluous voice that won her many singing prizes, Gopalan attended college in Delhi and studied home science, a vague field that touched on nutrition and childrens development. Her grandfather had higher hopes. What are you going to do with this home science degree, entertain guests? he teased, according to Harris uncle. So when Gopalan won admission to a Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley, to study nutrition and endocrinology (without anyone in the family knowing she had applied), her grandfather did not hesitate to pay, even though it was a lot of money for a civil servant. One thing that he strongly believed in was that, whether it is a son or a daughter, they must be equally educated, said Harris aunt, who became a well-known gynecologist. I do not know whose influence it was, but this is how he was. He was very progressive. And she added, He would do anything for us. Gopalan was only 19 when she arrived in Berkeley. Few Indians lived in the United States at the time, and she didnt have many Indian friends. Whenever I would go to visit, she would say, Bala, this is my neighbor and that is my old friend, pointing at Black Americans, recalled her uncle, Balachandran, whose family nickname is Bala. Gopalan quickly fell into a civil rights scene, marching in protests, being attacked by police officers with fire hoses and once, later on, racing away from a violent skirmish with Harris in a stroller. Berkeley was a hive of political activity. It was also where she met Donald Harris, a graduate student from Jamaica who specialized in leftist economic theory. He was her first boyfriend. Balachandran chalked up their romance to philosophical affinity. When the couple married, Harris grandparents offered their blessings. The interracial dimension didnt bother them, her aunt and uncle said. Harris grandmother was so proud that she took out wedding announcements in The Illustrated Weekly, one of the classiest magazines of its day. The couple soon had two daughters: Kamala, meaning lotus in Sanskrit, and Maya, meaning illusion. But the relationship didnt last. Her mother filed for divorce when Harris was 7. For Gopalan, it was important to maintain her Indian heritage. She introduced her daughters to Hindu mythology and South Indian dishes such as dosa and idli, and took them to a nearby Hindu temple where she occasionally sang. She also stayed close to her parents and flew back every few years to Chennai, on Indias southeast coast, where her parents had settled. But as Harris explained in her memoir, published last year: My mother understood very well that she was raising two Black daughters. She knew that her adopted homeland would see Maya and me as Black girls. Harris is a symbol of the fluid, multicultural society that is increasingly part of the American political landscape, and she has said that when she first ran for office, she struggled with trying to define herself for others. I dont blame her, said Karthick Ramakrishnan, a political scientist at the University of California, Riverside, who focuses on Asian-American communities. But I think in the course of her presidential campaign she became more comfortable talking about her identity. The reaction to Harris in India has been mixed. There has been excitement and front-page newspaper articles. But there has also been suspicion. Harris has expressed concern about Kashmir, whose special status Indias central government revoked last year. And she criticized Indias foreign minister after he refused to meet with an Indian-American congresswoman who was also critical about Kashmir. Kashmir is one of the most bitterly divisive issues in India. While many on Indias left have celebrated Harris rise, others on the right have criticized her, calling her a sellout. Its going to be hard to get an unequivocal hurrah, because Indian politics are polarized as well, said Suhasini Haidar, a prominent Indian journalist. Harris has not been back to India since her mother died 11 years ago. It had been her mothers dying wish to return. In the end, Harris returned with her ashes. It was obvious where they would go. One sunny morning, Harris and her uncle walked down to the beach in Besant Nagar where she used to stroll with her grandfather all those years ago, and scattered the ashes on the waves. c.2020 The New York Times Company If youve been a journalist for long enough, youve probably gotten at least a few requests from aspiring writers asking to pick your brain about how youve made your living in the industry. Seattle-based food writer Naomi Tomky gets a lot of these requests from pastry chefs and line cooks. Many of them have recently been laid off; some are simply tired of the physical toll that restaurant work has taken on their bodies. They dont necessarily know how freelance writing works, but they have ideas and want to write about food. I wish I could help everyone who writes to me, Tomky says. But I cant. I have two kids and full-time freelance work. So early this year, Tomky created a resource to demystify one of the biggest barriers to entry for freelance writers. Successful Pitches is as straightforward as it sounds: a database of pitches that have successfully led to stories at a variety of publications. Via a simple Google form, writers can submit successful pitches along with information such as type of pitch (cold pitch, requested by editor, etc.), type of story (print, online), and a link to the published story. As of late June, Successful Pitches included several dozen successful pitches from outlets including Al Jazeera, CNN, Eater, the New York Times, Teen Vogue, the Washington Post, and even this one. Tomky said the site was inspired by Who Pays Writers, an anonymous, crowdsourced list of rates searchable by publication title. If you dont know how to pitch, and you dont know what a pitch looks like for a 500-word essay versus a 2,500-word feature, this is how you can go and find out, Tomky explained. Sign up for CJR 's daily email The skill of good pitching, while related to the skills of writing and reporting, is not quite the same. When I lost a full-time job and suddenly needed to freelance, I had no idea how to cold-pitch a story. As a staff reporter, my editors sat fifteen feet away from me and were usually available to brainstorm half-baked ideas. I had a beat, so the topic was a given, and I never had to convince them that I should write the piece, since I already had the job. I never went to journalism school, but if I had, I still might not have been taught how to pitch. Tomky said Successful Pitches is the resource she wished she would have had when she started out ten years ago. She had a background in marketing, which she felt helped when it came to selling her ideas to editors, but she didnt have a clear template to follow. I spent a lot of time reading on the internet to figure out what I could, but there wasnt anywhere where I could go and look at a pitch, Tomky said. The Open Notebook has long hosted a similar pitch database for science and technology stories, but this kind of resource hasnt existed for other beats. Successful Pitches is the latest in a growing movement to create a more transparent, equitable journalism industry. It also comes at a time when furloughs and layoffs have pushed even more staffers into the freelance ranks. Theres more a spirit of transparency and awareness of hierarchies of inequalities, as there are in many fields of life right now, Kyle Chayka, cofounder of the freelance collective and new-media company Study Hall, says. I started freelancing in 2011, and at that point it seemed really hard to know how to pitch someone. I think people just dont know what the rules are, because there are no rules. Study Hall is perhaps the biggest and most visible organization to come out of this new movement for transparency. Founded as a coworking space in Brooklyn in 2015, it has since expanded into a network of over 4,500 members who share resources and tips on everything from pitching to labor organizing in the media industry. The site, says Chayka, saw its biggest increase in membership in May, following a wave of layoffs caused in part by the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Its priciest membership tier costs $11 per month and includes access to an editor contact database and a slew of freelance resources, including how to pitch guides for specific publications, and a database of pitches that worked. The organization also offers a $1 membership for journalists and media workers of color. (Disclosure: Ive been a member of Study Hall since 2017.) J-school is really expensive and not accessible to a lot of people, and it doesnt really teach you how to freelance, Chayka says. I think that the kind of educational content we produce can be a replacement for or supplement to J-school. Study Hall also publishes original works of journalism and media criticism, some of it public and some accessible only to members. The company currently has one full-time and six part-time employees, including Chayka and cofounder P.E. Moskowitz. Our model has been that we have to charge for access to these things to some degree because we want them to be self-sustaining and we want to pay people for the time they work on them, Chayka says. For Sonia Weiser, sharing such resources with other freelancers has also become its own kind of side hustle. Weiser, who has been a full-time freelancer since 2016, launched her Opportunities of the Week newsletter in 2018 as a place to compile all the calls for pitches she found each week. She now charges $3 per month, but makes the newsletter free to those who are unable to afford it. There are a lot of freelancers who have the sense of, I earned this with my hard workI dont want to give it to you for free, Weiser says. It makes sense that people want to keep opportunities to themselves. I get it: Youre trying to make money. Why would you point someone in the direction of the really meaty carcass when you need the meaty carcass? Weiser has at times fought her own instincts to be protective of resources, but ultimately she believes transparency is necessary and right. I want to make freelance opportunities as accessible as possible for people who dont know how to look for them or cant afford to look for them, Weiser says. Tomky believes that freelancer protectiveness is often driven by fear. I think people just dont know what the rules are, because there are no rules, she says. They dont want to piss off an editor whos giving them work. Tomky hopes to make a few tweaks to Successful Pitches, but she believes that simple is the way to go, and says the basic structure wont change. The fact that it isnt costing any money right now is whats going to make it so sustainable, Tomky says. The sites hosting and domain costs were donated. She hopes that Successful Pitches can be a stepping-stone for new writers who might later join an organization like Study Hall. Tomky says she probably wouldnt have joined the network if it had existed when she began her career, not because its not a great resource, but because I didnt know what that value was. The problem is you have to know that you need them, she says. The first step is knowing what it means to even get a pitch accepted and make money writing. I want someone who is twenty-five who just got laid off from their restaurant job to be able to go in and find a pitch, she says. I dont want any barrier to entry. ICYMI: Stop using officer-involved shooting Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Stephanie Russell-Kraft is a Brooklyn-based freelance reporter covering the intersections of religion, culture, law, and gender. She has written for the New Republic, The Atlantic, Religion & Politics, and Religion Dispatches and is a regular contributing reporter for Bloomberg Law. Follow her on Twitter: @srussellkraft. SC frames questions in Prashant Bhushan contempt case of 2009 India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Aug 17: The Supreme Court on Monday framed questions in Prashant Bhushan contempt case of 2009. ''Firstly, if statements on 'judicial corruption' is made in public, what circumstances can they be made. Secondly, Procedure to be adopted if such statements of corruption are made in public against sitting as well as retired judges.,'' the apex court asked. Bhushan was earlier found guilty of criminal contempt for his two derogatory tweets against the judiciary saying they cannot be said to be a fair criticism of the functioning of the judiciary made in the public interest. SC holds Prashant Bhushan in contempt Holding that Bhushan attempted to scandalise the entire institution of the Supreme Court, the top court said: "If such an attack is not dealt with, with requisite degree of firmness, it may affect the national honour and prestige in the comity of nations". A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krishna Murari said: "The tweets which are based on the distorted facts, in our considered view, amount to committing criminal contempt. "In the result, we hold alleged contemnor No.1 - Mr. Prashant Bhushan guilty of having committed criminal contempt of this Court". In its 108-page order, the top court however discharged the notice issued to Twitter Inc, California, USA in the contempt case after accepting its explanation that it is only an intermediary and does not have any control on what the users post on the platform. The bench said the company has also shown its bona fides immediately after the cognizance was taken by this Court as it has suspended both the tweets. "We, therefore, discharge the notice issued to the alleged contemnor No.2. (Twitter Inc)," the bench said. The top court said it would hear on August 20, the arguments on the quantum of sentence to be awarded to Bhushan in the matter. A contemnor in this case can be punished with simple imprisonment of up to six months or with a fine of up to Rs 2,000 or with both. The bench analysed the two tweets of Bhushan posted on the micro-blogging site on June 27 on the functioning of judiciary in past six years, and on July 22 with regard to Chief Justice of India S A Bobde. "In our considered view, it cannot be said that the tweets can be said to be a fair criticism of the functioning of the judiciary, made bona fide in the public interest," it said. An attempt to shake the very foundation of constitutional democracy has to be dealt with an iron hand, the bench said, adding that the June 27 tweet (on judiciary) has the effect of destabilising the very foundation of this important pillar of the Indian democracy. "The scurrilous/malicious attacks by the alleged contemnor No.1 are not only against one or two judges but the entire Supreme Court in its functioning of the last six years. Such an attack which tends to create disaffection and disrespect for the authority of this Court cannot be ignored," the bench said. "The tweet clearly tends to give an impression that the Supreme Court, which is the highest constitutional court in the country, has in the last six years played a vital role in the destruction of Indian democracy. There is no manner of doubt, that the tweet tends to shake the public confidence in the institution of judiciary," the bench said. It said, "In our considered view, the said tweet undermines the dignity and authority of the institution of the Supreme Court of India and the CJI and directly affronts the majesty of law". The bench said Bhushan who has been part of the institution of administration of justice for the last 30 years, "instead of protecting the majesty of law has indulged into an act, which tends to bring disrepute to the institution of administration of justice". "The alleged contemnor No.1 is expected to act as a responsible officer of this Court. The scurrilous allegations, which are malicious in nature and have the tendency to scandalize the Court, are not expected from a person, who is a lawyer of 30 years standing", it said. Referring to the July 22 tweet on CJI, about riding an alleged Rs 50 lakh motorcycle belonging to a BJP leader at Raj Bhawan, Nagpur ''at a time when he keeps the SC in lockdown mode denying citizens their fundamental rights to access justice', the bench said the first part could be said to be a criticism made against the CJI as an individual but not the second part. The bench said it would be noted that the date on which the CJI is alleged to have taken a ride on a motorbike is during the period when the Supreme Court was on a summer vacation and the vacations Benches of the Court were regularly functioning. "The impression that the said tweet intends to give is that the CJI as the head of the Indian judiciary has kept the Supreme Court in lockdown mode, thereby denying citizens their fundamental right to access justice. In any case, the statement that the Supreme Court is in lockdown is factually incorrect even to the knowledge of the alleged contemnor No.1," it said. It said that Bhushan has himself appeared on various occasions in a number of matters through video conferencing and referred to the matter in which order was passed. "In this premise, making such wild allegations, thereby giving an impression that the CJI is enjoying riding an expensive bike, while he keeps the SC in lockdown mode and thereby denying citizens their fundamental right to access justice is undoubtedly false, malicious and scandalous," the bench said. The apex court had on August 5 reserved its verdict in the matter after Bhushan defended his tweets, saying they were against the judges regarding their conduct in their personal capacity and they did not obstruct administration of justice. GAZA, Palestinian Territory - Egyptian mediators were in the Gaza Strip on Monday in an effort to reduce tensions and prevent a new cross-border conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but departed without appearing to have secured a resolution. Mediators typically announce any agreements before leaving the territory. But after a day of meetings with officials from Hamas, the three Egyptian general intelligence envoys left for Israel, according to Adel Abdelrahman, a Gaza-based advisor to the Egyptian mediators. They made no declaration before departing. The urgent visit came as hostilities broke out along the Gaza-Israel frontier after months of calm due in part to leaders from both sides being occupied by the coronavirus crisis. For the past week, Palestinian youth groups affiliated with Hamas, a militant group that seized control of Gaza from rival Palestinian forces in 2007, have fired incendiary balloons toward Israel, setting swaths of farmland on fire. Israel, which holds Hamas responsible for violence emanating from the territory, responded with airstrikes on Hamas military sites, banned Gazas fishermen from taking to the sea and shut the main commercial crossing into the territory. On Tuesday, the lone power plant in Gaza is scheduled to shut down because the closure of Kerem Shalom crossing has cut fuel supplies, exacerbating the power crisis and leaving Gazas 2 million residents with about four hours of electricity a day. Hamas says Israel did not honour previous understandings reached with the help of Egypt and Qatar, in which Israel should ease the blockade it has imposed on Gaza since Hamas takeover and allow for large-scale projects to help rescue the collapsing economy. Teachers are indeed essential, however, should they be classified by state and local school districts as essential workers? I am not so sure. In Tennessee, education employees are public servants, and due to their duties, they are at a greater risk of exposure while on the job. We place health and safety at the center of our message, and the well-being of students and school employees tops our list. We think it is critical that children and educators return in-person to school as soon as possible with state-provided PPE already on hand. However, it must be done safely. Protecting and listening to our educators on this issue are what we deem essential. Lots of questions for educators have emerged: Does designation come with additional sick leave? Is there assistance with dependent care? Will teachers be paid if they are forced to miss school for any reason related to this pandemic? Will there be any additional monies to districts for substitutes? Will there be any hazard pay for being deemed an essential worker? While decisions to return to in-person classes have been placed in the hands of local leaders, the state must ensure the greatest protection possible for public employees possibly exposed to COVID-19 during their employment. Before adopting a policy that makes education employees essential workers, policymakers should put themselves in the shoes of our educators, with empathy and understanding for what they do every day. This understanding only comes from living and experiencing the real school environment and listening to our educators. We have not always done that during this pandemic. You can open up the school buildings all day long. That is the easy part. But without healthy educators and staff available, they are not schools. They are just buildings. We have to move carefully, and educator buy-in is essential. JC Bowman Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee SAN DIEGO - Six correctional officers were taken to hospitals to be treated for injuries sustained in an inmate attack at a prison in California, the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. Stab wounds, lacerations and possible broken bones were among the injuries to the officers Sunday afternoon at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility near San Diego, spokesperson Terri Hardy said in a news release. About 20 inmates were in the recreation yard when some began the attack on the correctional officers, the release stated. A warning shot ultimately quelled the uproar after commands and less-lethal measures were ignored. Two inmates were also taken to outside hospitals for treatment, and other inmates were treated at the prisons medical facility. The extent of their injuries wasnt released. It was unclear how many inmates were hurt. The prisons Investigative Services Unit was looking into the incident, including working to determine how many inmates were involved in the attack, Hardy said. They could face charges of attempted murder of a peace officer. Eight of the 50 people we talked to for a special project about how to end systemic racism in policing will participate in a livestream conversation on Facebook/NJ.com at 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20. The conversation, which will be moderated by reporter Tennyson Donyea, will begin with an introductory talk by Attorney General Gurbir Grewal about how his department can help make Black lives matter when it comes to policing. A conversation on transparency and accountability in policing, funding, hiring and more will follow. In addition to the attorney general, our guests will be: This conversation comes after historic marches this spring and summer that included thousands of people in New Jersey and millions of people worldwide. Marchers took to the streets to demand that police departments, state officials and politicians stop the disproportional killing of Black people by police officers. As a result, dozens of solutions were discussed and a few minor changes have been approved. Theres agreement that change must occur, but at issue is how much change will actually happen and whether it will have the necessary effect of making Black lives finally matter to police. Many of the ideas being discussed were presented on Thursday, Aug. 13 as part of Making Black lives matter. The project included a variety of voices, including Gov. Phil Murphy, entrepreneur-entertainer Alexandra Bernard-Simmons, Jersey Citys poet laureate Rashad Wright and Amol Sinha, the executive director of the ACLU. To hear the conversation on Aug. 20, head to Facebook.com/NJ.com at 1 p.m. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Is the age of migration coming to an end? For decades, easy air travel, globalization and international competition for talent in some sectors have made the growing movement of people around the world seem unstoppable. Until now. With the pandemic leading to less demand for skilled labour, a smaller aging population to support, and a proliferation of travel restrictions, the future of human migration looks pretty grim post-COVID-19. We have had the migration boom, now we are heading into the bust, said Alan Gamlen, a human geographer at Monash University in Australia and author of a new paper about the outlook of migration, Migration and mobility after the 2020 pandemic: The end of an age? If Canadas immigration numbers between April and June the first full quarter under the influence of the pandemic are any indication of what is to come, things dont bode well. According to a new study to be released later this week by the Association for Canadian Studies, the number of permanent residents admitted to Canada dropped by 64 per cent to 34,260 in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 94,275 during the same period last year. Those who came under the skilled economic class fell a whopping 52 per cent to 24,805 from 51,665; the family class is down 78 per cent to 5,990 from 27,080; and resettled refugees and protected persons declined by 83 per cent to just 2,685 from 14,570. While much of that is due to border closures, experts say its not immediately clear if the downward trend will be totally reversed once travel restrictions are eased. In his paper, released in August as part of the International Organization for Migrations think series, Gamlen posed ten key questions that guide future migration and mobility trends. The No. 1 question on the list is whether countries will need less labour migration. Unemployment has skyrocketed during the pandemic. With corporate borrowing at a historic high, Gamlen said many companies now lack the revenue to service debt and are either folding or cutting staff. The net result will be a reduction in demand for migrant labour, with a large pool of unemployed domestic workers and mounting political pressure to hire them over migrant workers. It is hard to find grounds for much optimism regarding the short- to medium-term outlook, Gamlen told the Star. We will continue to see dependence on migrant labour in certain sectors of the economy, particularly at the high and low ends of the skills spectrum. This is because some sectors involve work that native workers cant or wont do, and because innovation will remain a key driver of prosperity. Further complicating the forecast is the uneven death toll COVID-19 has taken on the elderly population, a group thats particularly vulnerable to the virus as seen in the death rates around the world. If high mortality rates persist until a vaccine can be mass produced, the overall death toll could amount to a significant portion of the elderly cohort, said Gamlen, a long-standing research associate at Oxford University's Centre on Migration, Policy and Society. If the pandemic devastates a specific generation, it will affect long-term dependency ratios and dynamics of demographic transition. It could reduce the proportion of dependent elderly people in the population and the financial cost of aged care, while generating a boom of babies conceived in lockdown. Places where people can move freely to another country by choice will likely see a decline in those rates as they put their migration plan on hold, but the traditional labour-sending countries in the developing world will see a buildup of people longing to leave their homelands, said Gamlen. The interaction of these changing flows from different places will, I think, lead to a period of unstable, non-linear changes in migration patterns, he argued. The overall volume will decrease, but flows might be less predictable like when you turn the kitchen tap halfway off, and the water starts spraying out sideways instead of flowing nicely down into the sink. Gamlen said its inevitable that the numbers of people crossing borders, especially on a permanent and long-term basis, will fall further before they bounce back if they ever do. A huge amount depends on how governments manage all this. They will have a lot of control over when and how borders start to reopen and their choices in this regard will affect both the recovery timeline from the pandemic and from the economic crisis, he said. Opening too early could reignite the spread of the virus. Opening too late could stifle growth and lead to a new era of closed-shop nationalism which has ended very badly in the past. In its immigration study, the Association for Canadian Studies polled 1,531 Canadians between July 31 and August 2 about their attitude to immigration. Forty-six per cent of respondents still believed immigration would have a very positive or somewhat positive impact on Canada while 26 per cent of people held the opposite view. Given the pandemic, 36 per cent of the respondents said Ottawa should prioritize the admission of those with family members in Canada, followed by refugees (16%), temporary foreign workers (12%), skilled immigrants (8%) and international students (7%). Jack Jedwab, the academic associations president, said whether the pandemic will mark the end of migration depends on how long the contagion lasts. Canadians seem comfortable with the reduced numbers and are still positive about the impact of immigration and committed to immigration as a strategy for medium to long term economic growth, Jedwab said. But it is not clear when the medium term will occur. The contagion does not provide us with a time frame. There will be a need to reassess the needs regarding immigration given the economic uncertainty and what the changing circumstances call for. How did different immigration programs fare under COVID-19? The number of permanent residents admitted to Canada dropped by 64 per cent between April and June, compared to same time last year, with economic class down by 52 per cent; family class by 78 per cent; and resettled refugees and protected persons by 83 per cent. -58% Atlantic Immigration Pilot 27% Canadian Experience -89% Caregiver -75% Skilled Trade -78% Skilled Worker -89.5% Investor -84% Self-Employed -74% Start-up Business -47% Provincial Nominee Program -78% Family Sponsorship -60% Resettled Refugees -64% Protected Persons in Canada -64% Overall Source: Association for Canadian Studies Canadian Experience: 27% How did different immigration programs fare under COVID-19? Atlantic Immigration Pilot: -58% Caregiver: -89% Skilled Trade: -75% Skilled Worker: -78% Investor: -89.5% Self-Employed: -84% Start-up Business: -74% Provincial Nominee Program: -47% Family Sponsorship: -78% Resettled Refugees: -60% Protected Persons in Canada: -64% Overall: -64% Source: Association for Canadian Studies Bihar, which is slated to go to polls in October-November, is gearing for the upcoming assembly election on schedule, despite the dual challenges of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak and the annual flood fury. Poll observers said amid the hectic election season, prospective party-hoppers are keeping an eye out for greener political pastures. In 2015, the ruling Janata Dal (United), or JD (U), had teamed up with the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress to stitch together a grand alliance (GA) to stop the Bharatiya Janata Party juggernaut on its track, a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modis coronation in the 16th parliamentary elections. But five years on, in politically-volatile Bihar, the equations have changed beyond recognition. Also read: BJP finds big role for Devendra Fadnavis in upcoming Bihar polls Nitish Kumar-led JD (U) is back in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) fold, as the GA has been consigned to oblivion and its candidates are poised to eat the humble pie at the hustings. Former Bihar minister Shyam Razaks removal from the JD (U) has come following swirling rumours and speculations that he could switch to his mother party and the principal opposition, the RJD, to bolster his poll prospects from his Phulwari constituency that has a sizeable minority vote bank. Similarly, Keoti member of the Bihar legislative assembly (MLA) Faraz Fatmis removal from the RJD, along with two others, are also on predicted lines. Faraz is believed to have been making a move for the JD (U) since his father and former Union minister Mohammad Ali Ashraf Fatmi, a four-time Member of Parliament from the Darbhanga seat, was denied a Lok Sabha ticket by the RJD last year. Faraz and Razak met a similar fate in the JD (U) and the RJD, respectively. The RJDs almost certain denial of tickets to two other lawmakers -- Prema Choudhary and Maheshwar Yadav make them ripe candidates as turncoats, who are eyeing their future political prospects with the JD (U). Yadav, an MLA from Gayaghat in Muzaffarpur district, has been opposing the RJD since 2015, while Choudhary, an MLA from Patepur in Vaishali district, has been in the news for praising CM Kumar. Also read: Not expelled, going to resign, says JD(U) leader Shyam Rajak; confirms he is going back to RJD The Congress, whose political fortunes have whittled through the decades, is likely to be beset with massive desertions, poll observers said. Party hopping has been a discerning trend in Bihar, akin to many other parts of the country, ahead of ticket distribution. Many candidates had made a beeline for the BJP in 2015, when they had found themselves out in the cold in the GA. Shaibal Gupta, a member-secretary of the Patna-based Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) and a keen poll observer, said Bihar would report several defections and party-hopping because of the changing political equations and socio-economic ground realities, as compared to 2015. In 2015, a raft of social combinations had resulted in the formation of the GA. They have been dispensed with in the past five years. Several individual lawmakers were successful due to the GA factor. However, the winds of political fortunes have changed, which are likely to be reflected in social churning and party-hopping in the coming few weeks, he added. NK Choudhary, another political observer, and a former head of the department of economics, Patna University, said defections have been a common practice in Bihar ahead of elections that are deeply ingrained in an individuals vaulting political ambitions. Defections lead to dissension, as loyal party workers feel let down. There has been chatter about former CM Jitan Ram Manjhi is likely to return to the JD (U), as it would be a win-win combination for both him and CM Kumar. Manjhi was not a player even a year ago, but he is back in play following a sustained attack from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) chief Chirag Paswan, he said. Choudhary said that politics is the art of possibilities. In 2015, Kumar and Manjhi were on opposite sides of the political divide. But five years is a long time in politics, where tables have turned amid the new alignments. Ultimately, its all about rank opportunism and ideology is damned, he added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Actor Nagendra Babu's actress-daughter Niharika Konidela got engaged to her boyfriend Chaitanya Jonnalagadda on August 13 (Thursday) in Hyderabad. The couple exchanged rings in an intimate affair attended by close family members and friends. Now, after the engagement, Niharika's pre-wedding festivities have begun and it started with a traditional pasupu (haldi) ceremony which was held at her house on August 15 (Saturday). The photos of Niharika Konidela's pasupu ceremony went viral on the internet, and we must say that the bride-to-be enjoyed the moment full of joy and happiness. In the above photos, Niharika Konidela looked elegant in a traditional floor-length red anarkali suit paired with a blue and red ikkat dupatta. Apart from her, ladies of her house opted to wear traditional Kanjivaram sarees. Niharika's house was fully decked up with yellow marigolds. Plates can also be seen filled with haldi, roses and white flowers. Lord Ganesha's idol was placed at the welcome door, which gave a sacred touch to the auspicious traditional ceremony. Fans are just loving the photos and are eagerly waiting for the wedding of Niharika and Chaitanya. As per reports, Niharika and Chaitanya are to get married in February or March 2021. The Konidela family is yet to make an official announcement about their wedding date. Talking about the engagement ceremony, the event was graced by celebs and relatives including Chiranjeevi, Allu Arjun, Sneha Reddy, Ram Charan, Upasana Kamineni, Sai Dharam Tej and others. Also Read : Why Did Pawan Kalyan Miss Niece Niharika Konidela's Engagement Ceremony? Here's The Reason However, Niharika Konidela's actor-uncle Pawan Kalyan couldn't attend her engagement ceremony due to Chaturmasya Deeksha, according to which, he doesn't step out of his house after 6 pm. The actor is said to have visited Naga Babu's house to give blessings to niece Niharika. Also Read : Niharika Konidela Engaged To Chaitanya Jonnalagadda! Ram Charan, Allu Arjun Grace The Event [PICS] GAB Archive/RedfernsThe Allman Brothers Band will releases two archival albums on October 16, one boasting a recording of guitarist Duane Allman's last concert with the group and the other documenting a 2005 show in Erie, Pennsylvania, Relix reports. The first release, titled The Final Note, features an October 17, 1971, performance held at Painters Mill Music Fair in Owings Mills, Maryland, that took place just 12 days before Duane was killed in a motorcycle crash at age 27. The show was captured on cassette by an 18-year-old radio journalist named Sam Idas who was there to interview the band. "My only intention was to record the interview," Idas explains in a press release. "This was a brand-new cassette recorder with an internal microphone, and I had one 60-minute cassette tape. I was sitting there with the recorder in my lap, and I remember thinking'I can record the concert!' It was a totally spontaneous decision." The press release notes that Idas had forgotten about the tape until a few years ago, when an old roommate asked him if he still had it. Among the songs that The Allmans played at the concert were "Statesboro Blues," "One Way Out," "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Whipping Post." The Final Note also features liner notes from Allmans archivist John Lynskey and previously unpublished photos from the concert. The second release was recorded on July 19, 2005, at the Warner Theatre in Erie, and features the Allman Brothers Band's final lineup. The performance included covers of The Band's "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," Van Morrison's "Into the Mystic" and Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," the latter of which featured a guest appearance by guitarist Derek Trucks' wife, Susan Tedeschi. Here's The Final Note's track list: "Statesboro Blues" "Trouble No More" "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" "One Way Out" "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" "Hot 'lanta" "Whipping Post" And here's the set list for July 19, 2005, concert: Disc 1 "Mountain Jam" "Statesboro Blues" "Firing Line" "Good Morning Little School Girl" "Midnight Rider" "The High Cost of Low Loving" "Trouble No More" "Mountain Jam (Reprise)" "Melissa" "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" Disc 2 "Into the Mystic" "Dreams" "Leave My Blues at Home" "Jabuma" "Leave My Blues at Home (Reprise)" "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" -- featuring Susan Tedeschi "Jessica" "One Way Out" By Matt Friedlander Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. By PTI PANAJI: Police raided a rave party going on at a small-time Bollywood actor Kapil Jhaveri's villa in Vagator village in North Goa, and arrested 23 people, including the actor and three women foreign nationals, officials said on Sunday. The raid was conducted by the crime branch and narcotics worth over Rs nine lakh were seized from the party that was going on amid the COVID-19 pandemic on Saturday night under the Anjuna police station limits, they said. "Jhaveri and three foreign nationals- two women from Russia and another from Czech Republic- were arrested under stringent Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, for allegedly possessing banned substance during the police raid," Superintendent of Police Crime Branch Shobhit Saxena said. "Nineteen others were arrested for violating the rules related to social distancing," he said. During the raid, drugs like cocaine, MDMA, charas and other chemical substance were recovered from the party venue, he added. Another crime branch official said that Jhaveri himelf had organised the rave party at his villa. Most of the 19 others were domestic tourists who had come to the coastal state on a vacation, he said. Saxena said that Jhaveri has acted in a few Bollywood films and currently lives in Goa. Some of his films include "Dil Pardesi Ho Gaya" and "Ishq Vishk". According to Saxena, further arrests in the case would be made as the investigation progresses. Judicial Magistrate First Class in Panaji on Sunday remanded Jhaveri (40) along with three foreigner women in five days of police custody, he said. Goa Director General of Police Mukesh Kumar Meena in a tweet said, "Zero tolerance to #Drugs and Ensuring Public Safety #goapolice Crime Branch busted a late night party in Anjuna. 23 persons including 3 foreigners were arrested and narcotic drugs worth over Rs 9 lac were seized." Goa Forward Party MLA Vinod Palyekar, who represents Siolim constituency, which covers Vagator village, claimed rave parties were happening in the coastal belt in full swing. "Local police stations are bribed," he alleged in a Facebook post, adding "its high time that Anjuna police station be fully revamped including the police inspector." "The state needs full time Home Minister as Chief Minister Sawant's focus is on mining transportation. CM has failed in curtailing crime in the state. Lobo (BJP MLA Michael Lobo) can perform better as Home Minister," he added. He retired from the X-Men franchise in 2018, after almost two decades playing the muscular superhero Wolverine. But Hugh Jackman certainly hasn't given up his buff Hollywood physique. The 51-year-old showed off his washboard abs and bulging biceps while enjoying a shirtless stroll near his holiday home in The Hamptons last Tuesday. Beach day: Hugh Jackman showed off his buff physique while enjoying a summer swim in The Hamptons with his wife, Deborra-lee Furness, last Tuesday Wearing black boardshorts and slip-on sneakers, the Australian actor cooled off after a dip in the ocean. He carried his shirt and a hat as he shared a conversation with his wife of 24 years. Actress and filmmaker Deborra-lee wore bike shorts and a black T-shirt, and covered her face with a large hat and dark sunglasses. They were joined by their two dogs, Allegra and Dali. He's still got it! Hugh, 51, retired from the X-Men franchise in 2018, after almost two decades playing the muscular superhero Wolverine Furry family: The couple were joined by their two dogs, Allegra and Dali In July, The Greatest Showman actor revealed he was homesick for Australia, after a lengthy lockdown in New York City due to the coronavirus pandemic. Deborra-lee and the couple's children, Oscar and Ava, had initially been in Melbourne when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March. But they returned to the U.S. just four days later in order to keep the family together. Home away from home: In July, The Greatest Showman actor revealed he was homesick for Australia, after a lengthy lockdown in New York City due to the coronavirus pandemic Hugh was recently nominated for an Emmy Award for Lead Actor in a Limited TV series or Movie for his role as Frank Tassone in Bad Education. 'I'm humbled by the nominations for both me and the film and excited to be named with such a talented group of actors,' he said in a statement at the time. 'My immense appreciation goes out to all those who believed in "Bad Education" - especially the hardworking team at HBO.' Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has summoned Ukrainian Ambassador to the Republic of Belarus Ihor Kyzym for consultations in Kyiv to assess the prospects for further Ukrainian-Belarusian relations. The diplomat recalled that last Friday, August 14, the Minsk authorities handed over the detained Wagner militants to Russia, despite the presence of all legal and moral grounds to hand them over to Ukraine. "This step undermined trust between our countries and dealt a heavy blow to our bilateral relations," Kuleba said in a statement published on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry today. After that, Alexander Lukashenko repeatedly and completely groundlessly accused Ukraine of unfriendly steps against Belarus. In addition, the foreign minister said that new threats to both the personal safety of citizens and regional security in general stem from official reports on the possible active involvement of Russia and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in resolving the situation in Belarus. "Taking this into account, I decided to summon Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Ihor Kyzym for consultations in Kyiv to assess the prospects of Ukrainian-Belarusian relations in the new reality that has developed and to make appropriate decisions taking into account the entire range of factors," Kuleba said. The minister noted that the Foreign Ministry for the first time in its history has resorted to such a step in relations with Belarus and is doing it solely because of the unacceptable actions of Minsk. We will strictly defend our national interests. At the same time, the ambassador's summons for consultations will in no way affect our ability to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian citizens in Belarus, the diplomat assured. Kuleba recalled that due to the aggravation of the security situation in Belarus, Ukraine has already recommended its citizens to refrain from traveling to this country. Those who are already in Belarus are advised to avoid mass events and places of mass gathering. The Foreign Ministry explained that calling the ambassador for consultations in Kyiv is one of the forms of diplomatic response, which is used to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the policy or unfriendly actions of a foreign state which this ambassador is accredited to. As reported, the presidential election took place in Belarus on August 9. According to the final results announced on August 14, incumbent President Alexander Lukashenko garnered 80.1% of the vote, while opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya received 10.1%. Protests by citizens who reject the official election results have been going on in Belarus for a week now. Belarusian law enforcement officials are using force against peaceful protesters that have engulfed across the country. Security forces used rubber bullets, stun grenades and water cannons against demonstrators. More than 6,700 people have been detained since the beginning of the protests. At least 250 people were hospitalized and some people were killed. Among those detained in Minsk were two citizens of Ukraine - Kostiantyn Reutsky and Yevhen Vasylyev. On August 15, they returned to Ukraine. ish https://www.aish.com/ho/p/12-Year-Old-Jewish-Hero-of-WWII.html How teenage violin prodigy Motele Schlein single-handedly destroyed a Nazi SS unit. One of the many remarkable heroes who helped the Jewish people during World War II is also hardly known. Mordechai Schlein, known as Motele, was just a 12-year-old child when he became a hero of the resistance, fighting Nazis with incredible courage and resolve. In the 1930s Belarus was home to many vibrant Jewish communities. A heavily wooded country in Eastern Europe, Belarus today is a prosperous nation of nearly 10 million. Even today, Yiddish is one of the countrys recognized minority languages. Motele Schlein was born in 1930 in a small Belarussian town called Karmanovka. There were only two Jewish families living in the hamlet: the Schleins and the Gernsteins. The Schleins worked as flour millers and struggled financially, while the Gersteins traded beet sugar and were more prosperous. Motele Schlein always showed an amazing aptitude for music and when he was eight he moved in with the Gernsteins so one of their sons, who himself was an accomplished violinist, could teach Motele violin. A view of Karmanovka On June 22, 1941, Nazi forces invaded Belarus and immediately began rounding up Jews. When Nazis arrived in Karmanovka, local families told them where to find the Schleins and the Gernsteins. Nazis entered the Schleins home and arrested everyone they found there Moteles mother, father and his little sister Bashiale. The family was sent to Auschwitz. When the Nazis reached the Gernsteins house, a terrified Motele hid cowering in the attic. Motele heard the Nazis murder all the members of the Gernstein family downstairs; their screams reverberated in his attic hiding place. Later that night, Motele crept out of the house, carrying only his beloved violin. He made his way into the forest nearby and lived in hiding, fending for himself as well as a traumatized 12-year-old boy possibly could. Motele wasnt the only Jew hiding in the forest. Several partisan groups hid in the Belarussian woods during World War II, actively working to attack Nazi units and aid the Allied forces from within Nazi-occupied Belarus. Moshe Gildenman led one of these units. Before the war, Moshe and his son Simcha were part of a 6,000-strong Jewish community in the town of Korets, in neighboring Ukraine. When the Nazis invaded Korets, they built a ghetto surrounded with barbed wire in the town and forced all the Jews in. Many died from disease; the Nazis deported about 2,000 Jews from Korets to death camps and killed many more in mass executions. Moshe Gildenman Realizing that staying meant certain death, Moshe and Simcha planned a daring escape. In 1942, they led 16 Jews out of the ghetto; the desperate group had only two guns and a butcher knife to defend themselves. They ran into the woods, eventually crossing the border into neighboring Belarus. There, they managed to attack a small group of Nazi police officers, claiming their six rifles, two handguns and some hand grenades. Using their new firepower, they attacked small Nazi outposts in the area, amassing more weapons. Word began to spread that a group of brave Jewish fighters were operating in the woods along the Ukrainian-Belarussian border, and some other Jews whod escaped the Nazis clutches began to join the group. Moshe Gildenman was affectionately known as Dyadya Misha, or Uncle Misha to his followers. Together they attacked Nazi outposts and their Ukrainian allies. Motele Schlein heard of Uncle Misha and managed to locate and join his partisan group. Misha took Motele under his wing and in 1943 asked him to go out on a mission to help his fellow partisans. Motele was blonde and didnt look stereotypically Jewish. Misha asked him to travel to the nearby Ukrainian town of Ovruch, where a crowd of beggars - including children - regularly gathered in front of a church. Would Motele join them, playing his violin for alms, and use this location as a lookout to keep an eye on partisans in the area? Motele agreed and started playing Ukrainian folk tunes on his violin in front of the church. But the mission didnt quite go according to plan: Motele was no ordinary amateur violinist. Even though he was only twelve, his playing was superb. Within a short time, a crowd of people had gathered to hear him play. One of the people who stopped to listen was a Nazi officer who demanded that Motele come with him to a local restaurant favored by Nazi soldiers and officers to play for them. Historic building in Ovruch's town's center (Wikipedia) At the restaurant, Motele faced an interview; the restaurant already had a musician, an elderly pianist. This pianist took out a particularly difficult piece of music, Paderewskis Minuet, by the popular 1930s Polish composer Ignac Jan Paderewski, and demanded that Motele play. Motele performed the piece beautifully and on the spot he was offered a regular job playing in the restaurant. It was a wonderful stroke of luck for the Jewish partisans, who now had a young spy able to listen to Nazis talking and relaxing with one another. But it was incredibly dangerous for Motele. If his Jewish identity was uncovered, he faced certain torture and death, and the entire partisan community hiding in the nearby woods could be hunted down and liquidated. Day after day, Motele would set out each morning for the restaurant with his violin to play. One day, taking a break in the restaurants storage cellar, Motele noticed deep cracks in the buildings foundations. He relayed this information to Uncle Misha, and together they hatched a daring plan. Motele continued to carry his violin case into work with him each morning, but it no longer contained his violin; he was smuggling in dynamite. At the beginning of every shift in the restaurant, Motele would make an excuse to go into the storage room, where hed retrieve his violin from a hiding spot. At the end of each shift, hed find a way to once again hide his violin inside the restaurant. He realized that if he was ever observed - or if his violin was ever discovered - hed be arrested immediately. It was an enormous responsibility for a boy who was only thirteen. Somehow Motele managed to empty his case, hide the explosives in the restaurant, and retrieve and play his violin, day after day, without being caught. Eventually, after six of these death-defying trips, Motele managed to amass 18 kilograms (nearly 40 lbs.) of bomb-making material in the restaurant. During breaks in his playing, hed sneak down to the restaurants storeroom and pack the incendiary material into the cracks. After collecting enough dynamite and other bomb making components, Motele bided his time, hoping that no one would notice the explosive materials in the storerooms walls. His opportunity came one evening when an SS division passed through Ovruch on their way to the front. They stopped in the restaurant and about 200 senior Nazi officers spent the evening drinking while Motele and the pianist played. Late at night, Motele was told he could go home. Motele went down to the storeroom, which was pitch dark. Moshe Gildenman, partisan fighter Moshe Gildenman later recalled what Motele told him: In the dark he found the end of the bomb wick and ignited it. Motele then calmly picked up his violin, walked upstairs, and slowly made his way to the restaurants front door. When he came to the exit, he slowed down and approached the German guard and allowed himself a joke. He held up his right arm and called out, Heil Hitler! As the drunken SS soldiers bid him goodbye, Motele walked out into the night. He was 200 meters away when the bomb went off, causing an enormous roar. Simcha Gildenman Simcha Gildenman was waiting for Motele, and together they escaped from the scene of the explosion on horseback and rode back to the Jewish partisans. When Motele saw them, he raised a fist into the sky and said, This is for my parents and little Bashiale. Motele continued to fight for the partisans. In time, Uncle Mishas group joined other partisan fighters under the umbrella of the Soviet army and embarked on more ambitious fighting. In 1944, a unit of partisans Motele was fighting with came under intense fire from Nazi forces. At the age of 14, Motele Schlein, along with an unknown number of Jewish partisan fighters, was killed. Misha Gildenman survived the onslaught and continued fighting with the Soviets. He took Moteles violin with him, carrying it even in huge battles and the midst of intense firefights. He took Moteles violin to Berlin where he helped capture Berlin for Allied forces. After the war, he took Moteles violin to Paris, where he and Simcha stayed for a time, then to Israel where they moved and settled in the city of Rehovot. They were determined to tell the world about Motele and his bravery, and wrote about him in a book of memoirs. Uncle Misha died in 1958. His grandson Sefi HaNegbi worked as a tour guide in the southern Israeli town of Arad, and continued the family tradition of treasuring Motele Schleins violin and telling the story of his remarkable bravery. One day, he heard about a remarkable luthier (maker of musical instruments) in Tel Aviv named Amnon Weinstein, who restored and showcased musical instruments that were used in the Holocaust. Like so many Jewish families, the Weinsteins have their own remarkable Holocaust story. Amnons parents Moshe and Golda were violinists who met in a music conservatory in Lithuania before the Holocaust. Realizing the grave danger for European Jews, they moved to Tel Aviv in 1938 and opened a violin store. After the Holocaust, Moshe found out that his entire family - 400 people - had been murdered by the Nazis. The shock gave Moshe a heart attack. He never spoke about his family again. When Amnon would ask his parents about their family, his mother Golda would take out a book about the Holocaust, open it and point to a picture of dead bodies piled up. This is our family, shed say before bursting into tears. Amnon Weinstein in his workshop Amnon became one of the worlds leading violin makers and restorers, and founded an organization called Violins of Hope to restore and teach people about violins that had a connection to the Holocaust. (Amnons wife, the Israeli journalist Assaela Weinstein, is the daughter of Asael Bielski, who led another celebrated group of Jewish partisans in the Belorussian forests during World War II. His story was told in the bestselling book and movie Defiance.) After reading about his work, Sefi HaNegbi knew hed found a home for Motele Schleins remarkable violin. Amnon remembers the day Sefi HaNegbi walked into his store. He showed him the violin. It was a common instrument for all the Jewish people Simple, not expensive, nothing special. After hearing its remarkable story and learning about Motele Schlein, Amnon agreed to restore the violin. Afterwards, he donated it to Yad Vashem, Israels memorial for Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust. He made one request: that Yad Vashem allow it to be used for performances so it can educate future generations. In 2008, Moteles violin was played at the walls of the Old City in Jerusalem. An Israeli teenager named David Strongin played Hatikva, Israels national anthem. Moteles bravery and actions deserve to be widely remembered and inspire us all. Thousands of Protestant church members in Seoul have been asked to quarantine, South Korean authorities said Monday, as the country battles virus clusters linked to religious groups. The country's 'trace, test and treat' approach has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus. But over the weekend the capital and neighbouring Gyeonggi province - between them home to nearly half the 51 million population - banned all religious gatherings and urged residents to avoid unnecessary travel after a burst of new cases sparked fears of a major second wave. The government had drawn up a special holiday on Monday with hopes of spurring domestic consumption. But as infections in the capital region increase, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo urged people to stay home and for residents in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province to avoid visiting other parts of the country for two weeks. South Korea reported 197 new cases on Monday, taking its total to 15,515, its fourth consecutive day of triple-digit increases after several weeks with numbers generally in the 30s and 40s. On Sunday South Korea reported 279 new cases, more than double the 103 reported on Friday. Members of pro-US conservative right-wing and religious christian groups wave flags and shout slogans during an anti-government rally in the central Gwanghwamun area of Seoul on Saturday, despite the latest coronavirus outbreak in the city and calls to avoid large gatherings South Korea reported 197 new cases on Monday, taking its total to 15,515, its fourth consecutive day of triple-digit increases (pictured) The KCDC - South Korea's Centers for Disease Control - said 167 of the new cases came from the greater capital region. Health workers have been struggling to track infections, but churches have emerged as a major source. The largest current cluster is centred on the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, headed by a controversial conservative pastor who is a leading figure in protests against President Moon Jae-in. A total of 315 cases linked to the church had been confirmed so far, officials said Monday, making it one of the biggest clusters so far, and around 3,400 members of the congregation had been asked to quarantine. Around one in six of the church members tested so far had been positive, 'requiring rapid testing and isolation,' said vice health minister Kim Gang-lip. White tents (centre left) are set up outside the Sarang Jeil Church today, believed to be at the centre of the latest outbreak of coronavirus cases, to stop people from entering. Outside, the church's lawyer holds a press conference of the Seoul church's latest infection cluster Government officials wearing protective clothing stand under a white tent to restrict access to the Sarang Jeil Church while the church's lawyer holds a press conference on its latest COVID-19 cluster infection near the church in Seoul But a list of members provided by the church was 'inaccurate', he said, making the testing and isolation procedure 'very difficult'. The initial outbreak of the virus in the South was centred on the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which is often condemned as a cult and was also accused of obstructing investigators. Sarang Jeil's leader Jun Kwang-hun was among the speakers who addressed thousands of right-wing protestors who rallied against Moon's centre-left government in the heart of Seoul at the weekend, despite the outbreak and calls to avoid large gatherings. Health authorities announced on Monday that Jun Kwang-hun had tested positive for coronavirus himself. Pictured: Jun Kwang-hun, Sarang Jeil Church pastor and leading protest figure against Korea's President, speaks outside a detention center in Uiwang, South Korea. The health and welfare ministry and the Seoul city authorities have filed two separate police complaints against Jun, accusing him of deliberately hindering efforts to contain the epidemic. Jun was indicted in March on charges of violating election laws ahead of April's parliamentary elections by allegedly asking participants at his rallies to vote against Moon's party, which would be illegal because the official campaigning period hadn't yet started. Jun's bail was granted on condition that he doesn't take part in rallies that could be related to his pending case. The leader of Shincheonji - to which more than 5,000 cases were linked - Lee Man-hee was arrested earlier this month for allegedly giving inaccurate records of church gatherings and false lists of its members to health authorities. On Saturday, a National Liberation Day holiday in both Koreas, thousands of demonstrators participated in street protests against President Moon Jae-in's policies, defying a ban on rallies in the capital.. Christians wearing face masks while maintaining social distancing attend a service at the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday. Some churches have been at the centre of the latest outbreaks in the country, and religious gatherings have been banned in Seoul and neighbouring Gyeonggi province President Moon said the latest outbreak posed the biggest challenge to efforts combat COVID-19 since the large cluster of infections traced to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a secretive religious sect, six months ago. On Aug 1, South Korean authorities arrested the sect's founder, Lee Man-hee, for allegedly hiding crucial information from contact-tracers. President Moon warned of 'stern and strong measures' against 'some churches,' calling their behaviour an 'unforgivable act that threatens public lives.' Despite the latest outbreak, South Korea has been held up as an example of how to deal with the coronavirus, and with a population larger than Spain's and a higher population density than that of the UK, France, Italy, Germany the U.S. and even China, it has seen far fewer cases and just 305 related deaths. BGR Our Sun isnt quite as old as other stars out there. However, scientists are already trying to pinpoint exactly when the Sun will die. Of course, it isnt as simple as throwing out a date. After all, were working with a massive ball of energy that weve still barely managed to scratch the surface of The post Scientists think they figured out when the Sun will explode and kill us all appeared first on BGR. Thank you for reading! Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue. Saffron Lempriere fell victim to London's summer storms on Sunday night. The TOWIE star was leaving Canary Wharf's Gaucho restaurant after enjoying a slap up meal with pal and co-star Bobby Norris when she tripped and fell face-first into a massive puddle. The UK's heatwave has brought about thunderstorms and sudden downpours, leading to Saffron's accident. Splashing out! Saffron Lempriere fell victim to London's summer storms on Sunday night Having stepped out looking lovely in a white linen sun-dress and pink sandals, she was left soaked through as she stumbled on the flooded foot path outside the eatery. The reality personality was left drenched, with her blonde mane sodden and matted to her face. A shocked Bobby helped her up, as they both saw the funny side and burst into fits of laughter. Bobby didn't get off Scot-free himself; the bottoms of his skinny jeans were also soaked, his black loafers slipping from his feet. Wading in: The TOWIE star was leaving Canary Wharf's Gaucho restaurant after enjoying a slap up meal with pal and co-star Bobby Norris when she tripped and fell face-first into a massive puddle In at the deep end: The UK's heatwave has brought about thunderstorms and sudden downpours, leading to Saffron's accident Wet wet wet! Having stepped out looking lovely in a white linen sun-dress and pink sandals, she was left soaked through as she stumbled on the flooded foot path outside the eatery Soaking: The reality personality was left drenched, with her blonde mane sodden and matted to her face She took to her Instagram story after getting home and was seen in a dressing gown, telling her followers: 'Only me and Bob would get caught in a monsoon!' She went on: 'Put it this way - I'm drenched! Head to toe! I got caught in a flood!' Saffron appears to be making this her 'thing' - having fallen over for the camera before. A helping hand: A shocked Bobby helped her up from the flooded pavement Drowned rat: They both saw the funny side and burst into fits of laughter Collateral damage: Bobby didn't get off Scot-free himself; the bottoms of his skinny jeans were also soaked, his black loafers slipping from his feet She took to her Instagram story after getting home and was seen in a dressing gown, telling her followers: 'Only me and Bob would get caught in a monsoon!' She went on: 'Put it this way - I'm drenched! Head to toe! I got caught in a flood!' Shopped til she dropped: Saffron appears to be making this her 'thing' - having fallen over for the camera before Two years ago, shortly after joining TOWIE, she was shooting scenes in Brentwood when she took a tumble on the cobbles. Laden down with dozens of shopping bags at the time, the outspoken blonde looked mortified as she collected herself after her fall, before laughing hysterically at her own mishap. She took the embarrassing situation well, gathering up her belongings as she dusted herself down. The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine, together with European partners, continues to prepare a number of projects on the basis of public and private partnership (PPP). According to the ministry's website, at the initiative of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to analyze the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Infrastructure to prepare and accompany concession and PPP projects. In addition, professional consultants of the international consulting company Ankura will be involved, who will analyze the current plans regarding their preparation and the role of each of the participants, the organizational and functional structure, the amount of necessary financial resources, etc. As a result of such a study, recommendations will be formed on how best to organize an effective and fast preparation of high-quality PPP projects. "We are introducing and are ready to further implement promising public and private partnership projects in the seaports of Ukraine, because this is not only new investments in the development of ports and their infrastructure, but the improvement and growth of the entire industry," Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Krykliy said. According to the report, the matter concerns projects for the development of the passenger complex of Odesa port, a ferry, the first and container terminals of Chornomorsk port, as well as Berdiansk seaport. Krykliy and the EBRD discussed the possibility of assisting in the development of a feasibility study of a project based on Berdiansk Maritime Merchant Port, preparation of a preliminary feasibility study for the development of the passenger complex of Odesa port and other potential projects. The timing could not be worse. As leaders in the West focus on the Covid crisis and its aftermath spikes, second waves and the economic downturn a political crisis with far-reaching implications is brewing in Belarus. Sandwiched between Putins Russia and Poland in effect on the eastern edge of Nato Belarus is the size of Britain but with a population of less than 10million. It is also a trip-wire for diplomatic and military conflict between the Kremlin and the West. And perhaps never more so than now as the nation turns against its leader of 26 years, Alexander Lukashenko (pictured below). He has gone from a wildy popular and democratically-elected president to the man now dubbed Europes last dictator. After patent vote-rigging in an election judged to be neither free nor fair by the EU on August 9 and in which he claimed to have gained a risible 80 per cent of the vote, people took to the streets in protest. After the week-long protests, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya is confident enough to be asserting her right to be regarded as the election winner In response, Lukashenko let loose his riot police on the crowds mainly young people born after he was first elected in 1994. Live bullets were used and savage beatings meted out. Two protesters have died, with hundreds more hurt and thousands detained. But this has not deterred a new generation who know only life under Lukashenko. On Sunday, 200,000 people gathered in defiance in central Minsk. He is refusing to back down. With army and police still loyal, he is determined to brazen it out, blaming gangsters and junkies controlled from abroad by which he means near neighbours and Nato members, Poland and Lithuania. Intent on internationalising the situation, Lukashenko has already dispatched reinforcements to the western city of Grodno, a sensitive meeting point of the borders of Belarus with the other two countries. Provoking an incident there with Nato which is conducting routine summer manoeuvres in the area could trigger the military support from Russia Lukashenko craves. Indeed, it is highly possible that the Kremlin and the dictator may be cooking up just such a plot to justify Russian intervention to restore order. On Sunday, after phone calls between the two leaders, Moscow indicated it is ready to intervene. The reason? Pragmatism. Alexander Lukashenko has gone from a wildy popular and democratically-elected president to the man now dubbed Europes last dictator Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko dont like each other, but the Russian president knows that if Lukashenko falls in a popular protest, there are many Russians who might say Weve had enough of you too. So Lukashenkos appeal to Putin is crude mutual interest: If I fall, youll be next. Domestically, Putin can play up fears of a foreign invasion of Russia via Belarus Moscow is only 400 miles to the East as has happened before. Hitler came that way in 1941 as did Napoleon in 1812. But in truth what Putin really fears is people power in Moscow, not Nato troops. Certainly, the West could be dragged into conflict if Putin decides to play Belarus like a pawn in an East-West struggle for control. Lukashenkos rise and potential fall is an object lesson in how power corrupts. An ex-state farm manager, he burst on to the political scene in 1994 after the collapse of communism as an anti-corruption outsider. In the intervening decades, he has become a caricature of what he once denounced. He presides over a state-machine that insists on knowing what every citizen is doing. He issues orders on how to run everything from chicken farms to internet start-ups. After patent vote-rigging in an election judged to be neither free nor fair by the EU on August 9 and in which he claimed to have gained a risible 80 per cent of the vote, people took to the streets in protest His ridiculing of the dangers of Covid while promoting cures such as a glass of vodka or visit to the sauna, made him a laughing stock. In reality, his rule is no joke. Lukashenko sees himself as embodying Belarus and regards criticism as a form of treason. What has enraged him particularly about the disputed election result has been the groundswell of support for his main rival and the real winner at the ballot box a 37-year-old mother of two. The self-proclaimed man of the people faced off against a housewife! He dismissed human rights activist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya as a little girl and had her husband detained (and other candidates) to give himself a clear run. It was a miscalculation of epic proportions. Following the election result and with her activist husband in prison and her children threatened with an orphanage, Tikhanovskaya was dumped by the KGB in neighbouring Lithuania. But after the week-long protests, she is confident enough to be asserting her right to be regarded as the election winner. What she needs to do now, as risky as it may be, is return to Belarus to challenge Lukashenko on home ground. It will reinforce her moral authority and remove one of the few cards Lukashenko has left: his charge that the little girl is a puppet in the hands of Lithuania and its Nato allies. It is possible that Lukashenkos rule will unravel too quickly for the above scenarios to play out. But the West shouldnt sit back and hope for the best as Putin and Lukashenko try to conjure up a diabolical solution to their Belarus dilemma. Alexander Lukashenkos rise and potential fall is an object lesson in how power corrupts Putin may use force to back tyrant facing poll backlash By David Churchill in London and Will Stewart in Moscow for the Daily Mail Britain and its allies yesterday piled pressure on Belaruss embattled president by accusing him of a rigged election to cling on to power. As hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy protesters took to the streets calling on Alexander Lukashenko to stand down, the crisis threatened to boil over into an international stand-off. Russian president Vladimir Putin indicated he was ready to provide military support to prop up the man known as Europes last dictator. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab yesterday joined several western leaders in criticising the flawed election and subsequent extreme violence by police and security forces which left two demonstrators dead and hundreds injured. Russian president Vladimir Putin indicated he was ready to provide military support to prop up the man known as Europes last dictator (Pictured right is Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko) Mr Raab said the UK did not accept the results of the fraudulent presidential poll in which the tyrant claimed to have won 80 per cent of votes. The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarusian authorities, he said. The UK will work with our international partners to hold the Belarusian authorities to account. In the US, Donald Trump said he was watching the terrible situation very closely while the EU called an emergency summit of heads of state for tomorrow. Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said more than 5,000 troops based in neighbouring Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland were on standby to deter any aggression. More than 900 British and 850 American soldiers are among them. In ex-Soviet Belarus yesterday, demonstrations continued for a ninth consecutive day over the August 9 poll. But Mr Lukashenko was defiant as he warned: There will be no new election until you kill me. He also indicated that his ally Mr Putin is ready to enforce a decades-old military pact with Belarus and provide assistance to crack down on the rebels. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK did not accept the results of the fraudulent presidential poll in which the tyrant claimed to have won 80 per cent of votes Kremlin sources have suggested Mr Putin will act if necessary. EU leaders fear Mr Putin may try to incorporate the landlocked nation into his vast empire. Belarus sits in a strategic position, buffering Russia and Europe and hosting pipelines that carry Russian energy exports to the West. Another theory is that Mr Putin who has never forgiven Mr Lukashenko for publicly commenting on his divorce and relationship with gymnast Alina Kabaeva may seek to impose his own solution on Belarus. A Moscow source said Mr Putin could team up with Mr Lukashenkos main challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who is now in Lithuania. They said: He may try to work with Tikhanovskaya, as long as she agrees Belarus does not fall into the Wests orbit. Nato stressed troops have been stationed near Belarus since 2016 and are not there in reaction to the crisis. The Lufthansa Group on Monday expressed confidence that air travel demand to and from India remains high despite the COVID-19 lockdown disruption, as it welcomed the bilateral air bubble agreement which allowed Germany's largest airline to resume flights from India last week. George Ettiyil, Lufthansa Group's Senior Director for South Asia Sales, said the airline is offering more than 40 flights from Frankfurt and Munich to Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore until the end of August, beyond which it hopes to formally apply for inbound flights to India in consultation with Indian authorities. For India, one of our most important international markets, we are seeing positive developments after it was more or less cut off from the rest of the world since mid-March, said Ettiyil, in reference to the coronavirus lockdown which grounded flights in March. Since travel demand to and from India remains high, we will formally apply for inbound flights to India beyond August in due time and will be in close consultation with Indian authorities concerning this. In this context it is important to note that our flights to and from India are relief flights and not regular flights. They address the continuing need for essential travel to and from India, bringing people together again and to support the travel needs of businesses, he said. In an effort to open up more flights, India has struck bilateral air bubble arrangements allowing travel to and from certain countries including Germany, the US, UK and France. 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 Lufthansa Group has been making use of the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR test) at German airports, which helps detect acute infection linked to coronavirus, as part of this gradual resumption of flights. Since July, Lufthansa has been offering Indian customers a convenient option at Frankfurt and Munich airports to test for coronavirus on short notice. These PCR coronavirus tests only require a throat swab and are certified by German health authorities, said Ettiyil, who is hopeful that such tests would be adopted at more airports around the world, including India. He said: Both coronavirus test centres at our hubs in Frankfurt and Munich provide customers the opportunity to avoid being quarantined upon arrival in Germany, with a negative coronavirus test in their hand. Results are usually available within four to five hours after testing and are linked to the customer's flight ticket. "This also makes it easier to travel safely to other countries worldwide that accept a certified PCR coronavirus test, thereby avoiding quarantine. That is why having PCR corona test centres like the ones in Frankfurt and Munich at airports worldwide, including India, are seen as a key factor to restore international travel. The airline industry has been particularly hard-hit as a result of the coronavirus lockdown the world over, with the Lufthansa Group reporting an 80 percent drop in revenue in the second quarter of the year in financial results released earlier this month. We are experiencing a caesura (break period) in global air traffic. We do not expect demand to return to pre-crisis levels before 2024. Especially for long-haul routes there will be no quick recovery, said Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, in reference to the results. We are convinced that the entire aviation industry must adapt to a new normal. The pandemic offers our industry a unique opportunity to recalibrate: to question the status quo and, instead of striving for growth at any price', to create value in a sustainable and responsible way, he said. As one of Europe's largest airlines, the group is seeing the first signs of recovery on some tourist routes during what is a summer holiday period in Europe and is keen to highlight the safety aspect of flying. It is important to mention that the risk of contracting the virus during a flight is very low. This is also due to all Lufthansa Group aircraft being equipped with state-of-the-art hepa filters that continuously clean cabin air: all recirculated air is filtered and cleaned of impurities such as dust, bacteria and viruses, explains George Ettiyil. Start flying and say hello to the world again there is no safer way to travel than on an aircraft, he adds. China refused to back off the Line of Actual Control, as is the practice of the CCP is using the PLA to gain more territory. Indian response to Beijing's expansion is to beef-up the border with tanks to repel any further PLA incursions. Tensions are growing as the Ladakh border is the next flashpoint besides the South China Sea, where PLA is doing the same thing. The main issue is the Line of Actual Control that China is intent to stay is in Finger 4 in the Pangong Tso. Thus, placing the Indian Army on ready alert and sending tanks to counter the PLA Army if they decide to surge forward over the Line of Actual Control. In this instance, the Indian army is ready for another skirmish unlike before, according to ZEE News. Ladakh is one of those critical borders that need holding as China has been overly aggressive against its neighbors. The last skirmish, the Indian Army was caught unprepared, but this is not the case anymore. Any attempts by China to raid the border will not be so easy. According to Rajnath Singh, the Union Defence Minister will be going to Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir's schedule on July 17-18. Sources confirm that Lt Gen YK Joshi, Chief of Northern Command, is in the Indian capital to have a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior government officials. He is supposed to give a briefing of the situation at the Line of Actual Control and relevant developments for the Indian government to know about, noted Business Standard. Also read: India-Japan Naval Exercises Ramp up Push Back Against Chinese Navy Recently, a 14-hour long meeting is the 4th round of talks between Corps Commander-level talks of both nations. It ended last Wednesday on the note saying that China will stay put and hold the Finger 4 area, with no compromise. In the agreement, The PLA and the Indian army have decided to halt hostilities in the Galwan Valley, in Hotsprings with Gogra but India said Chinese forces must leave. There is wariness on both sides, especially with China not know to keep to its promises, cited Economic Times. After the skirmish that took the lives of Indian soldiers, with China bloating about it. Indian has prepared for more action, with 50,000 soldiers along the East Ladakh border to cause as many casualties to invade PLA soldiers. To give support for the group troops, armored battalions, with ground attack Apaches which are far better than Chinese copies of it, another is Chinook and Rudra copters that will cause mayhem on Chinese invaders. To ward off Chinese attack jets, deployed Sukhoi interceptors will be used to shoot them down. Another is to achieve air superiority over the airspace in the border and keep Chinese rotorcraft grounded too. Indian assets over the Line of Actual Control will be projected to keep the PLA pinned down. Reviewing the outcome of the talks is the China Study Group (CSG), whose boss is Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser, who is tasked with reading the documents on the Line of Actual Control talks with Chinese Commanders which was held last Thursday, mentioned Deccan Chronicle. The CSG and all its members in the Indian government and the India armed forces will decide on what to do. If China does not back off and the LAC has no agreement, the action following will depend on China. Related article: Chinese Fighter Jets in Indian Border Doubled in Number @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:09:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SANAA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- A Yemeni senior military official and eight soldiers were killed in battle with the Houthi rebels in Yemen's northeastern province of al-Jawf, a local medical source told Xinhua on Monday. General Mohammed Ali al-Roqn, commander of the 122 Brigade, along with eight soldiers, were killed in the battle on Sunday in al-Jadafir area east of Houthi-held al-Hazm in al-Jawf. Yemen's Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik said in a statement carried by the official Saba news agency that "al-Roqn was killed while leading military operations against the Houthi militia in al-Jawf." Saba also reported that dozens of Houthi fighters were killed by the government forces in the battle and several sites in the area were recaptured by the army. The Houthi group, which controls much of the province, has made no comment. Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem At least two terrorists were gunned down by security forces in an ongoing gun battle on Monday after they attacked and killed two troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a special police officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir police earlier in the day in the Union territorys Baramulla district. The encounter started after security forces chased the terrorists following their attack on a joint patrol party of CRPF and the police at Kreeri area of Baramulla district earlier in the day. One more terrorist killed (total 2). Operation going on. Further details shall follow, Kashmir Zone police tweeted. Police officials said security forces had cordoned off the area immediately after the attack and chased the terrorists. A contact was established with them and during the exchange of fire, the terrorists were killed, they said. Vijay Kumar, inspector general of police (IGP) Kashmir, said three terrorists suspected to be belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) carried out the attack. According to eyewitnesses, there were three militants who came from the nearby dense orchards and started firing indiscriminately on the naka in which our three jawans two from CRPF and one J-K Police were martyred. It seems the LeT has carried out the attack. We will give them a befitting reply soon, Kumar told reporters at the site of the attack. We have cordoned off the area and searches are on. We are hopeful that we will neutralise them soon, Kumar added. When asked whether terrorists have changed their strategy and were attacking security forces and then fleeing the spot, Kumar said it was a matter of concern, but the forces will soon find a solution to the problem. The number of forces on a naka point is less and is normally in a remote area where they (militants) conceal themselves by coming along with civilians and then fire on the forces. We have faced losses and they have managed to flee a few times, but, we will soon find a response to this tactic and end this problem, he said. This is the second attack on security forces in Kashmir in the last three days. On August 14, two policemen were killed and another injured in Nowgam area of Srinagar in a similar attack. (With agency inputs) Clothing brand G-Star Raw Australia has collapsed after failing to find a buyer. The Dutch-owned retail chain went into administration in May as a result of the coronavirus crisis and the subsequent downturn in sales which was exacerbated by government-ordered lockdowns. About 200 Australian workers at the denim giant's 57 stores will now be out of a job. Pictured: A model wearing G-Star clothing. The Dutch-owned denim giant has now closed its doors in Australia The brand - which had 57 stores in Australia - made its name in raw denim and specialised in unwashed, untreated denim as its base material Justin Walsh, Sam Freeman and Stewart McCallum of EY were appointed as Voluntary Administrators of G-Star Australia Pty Ltd (the Company) on 15 May 2020,' Ernst & Young said. 'Despite an extensive marketing program no buyer was identified for Companys business. 'As a consequence, all of the Companys stores have now been closed.' Justin Walsh told Daily Mail Australia on Friday, in the months since May EY was running a sale campaign to try and find a buyer for the business. 'Alongside that, there was a large amount of stock. The best way to sell that was through the retail network, so we spent that time running down the stock levels and converting it to cash,' Mr Walsh said. He said that although the retail sector is actually in a very strong position at the moment as a result of government stimulus, there is underlying 'uncertainly' plaguing the industry. Dropping like flies: Some of Australia's recent retail casualties 2016: Dick Smith, Masters hardware, Payless Shoes 2017: Topshop Australia 2018: Avon, Espirit, Toys 'R' Us, Max Brenner, Roger David 2019: Ed Harry, Diana Ferrari, Napoleon Perdis, Ziera, Bardot, Harris Scarfe 2020: Tiger Lilly, Collette, Kikki K, G-Star, Jeanswest Advertisement 'I think people have one eye on the stimulus stopping,' he said. 'The uncertainty of what the sector may look like after that was a major contributor of not being able to find a buyer.' The brand has flagship stores across the world including in New York, Paris and London. Global superstars including Pharrell Williams and Jaden Smith have worked with the brand - which specialises in unwashed, untreated, raw denim as its base material. It follows dozens of Australian brand names entering administration since the start of 2020. Even before the lockdown impact was felt, swimwear label Tiger Lilly, accessories retailer Collette, and stationery chain Kikki K were all placed into administration. Harris Scarfe, Bardot, Roger David, and Napoleon Perdis have also dropped like flies in the past year - resulting in heavy job losses. German supermarket chain Kaufland meanwhile pulled out of Australia this year, despite investing in a multi-million dollar Australian property empire in a bid to compete with Coles and Woolworths. Australian chains are meanwhile considering shutting down stores as online sales skyrocket during the coronavirus lockdown. G-star first launched in 1989 with raw denim jeans that have not been washed or treated. COPENHAGEN - A Norwegian citizen suspected of spying for Russia has been remanded in custody for four weeks. The man was arrested arrested Saturday as he met with an alleged Russian intelligence officer in an Oslo restaurant. He has not been identified beyond that he is a Norwegian national in his 50s who was born abroad. The man has admitted receiving money, with Oslo District Court judge Helene Andenaes Sekulic saying it was a not insignificant amount. The court ruling came late Monday following a hearing held behind closed doors. The man was working for Norway-based DNV GL, a major global classification society for ships, that also deals with the Norwegian defence industry and scientists handling advance military technology. He has denied that the information he handed over to the alleged Russian intelligence officer was sensitive, the Norwegian news agency NTB said. The Norwegian Police Security Service said he is suspected of violating a Norwegian law that carries a maximum prison term of 15 years. The agency said it is up to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry to decide what will happen to the alleged Russian intelligence officer. Actress Sharon Stone says COVID-19 has claimed the lives of two family members and sent her sister to the hospital. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times ) Sharon Stone has a frank message for middle America: "Don't vote for a killer." Without speaking President Trump's name, the "Basic Instinct" star took to Instagram on Sunday to address the people of Montana, where her family lives, and detail how COVID-19 has ravaged them. She said the coronavirus outbreak claimed the lives of her grandmother and godmother and has sent her sister and her sister's husband to the hospital, where they're fighting for their lives. "You, the people at the middle of our country, are at great risk of dying from COVID," the Oscar-nominated star said in the somber video message. Stone, 62, lamented the situation in Montana, specifically its lack of testing. She claimed that officials were lying about testing and suspects that put her family at risk. Her mother, she said, is asymptomatic but can't get a test despite having had two heart attacks, five stents and a pacemaker in the last five months. She thinks she could have been an asymptomatic carrier of the virus. "People are dying and fighting for their lives because there's nothing but lies," Stone said. As of Monday, Montana logged more than 5,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 82 deaths, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The outspoken actress also expressed concern for the nurses treating her sister, who has lupus and isn't doing well, and her sister's husband, Bruce, who is in the same COVID-19 ward. The nurses treating them can't get tested because they don't have tests, she said. "The stress, the strain, the exhaustion that's happening in that hospital is met with a conflict around the courthouse where people are carrying guns and saying that it's their freedom not to have to wear a mask," Stone said. Gov. Steve Bullock, a Democrat, isn't returning her calls, and the health department is hanging up on her, she said. That appears to be why she took her complaints public, framing them as a talk about "compassionate integrity versus politics and greed." Story continues "The only thing that's gonna change this is if you vote. And if you vote for Biden and if you vote for Kamala Harris," Stone said, endorsing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris. She joins the scores of celebrities who celebrated Harris' announcement for the blue ticket. (Stone has previously called Harris "the Cinderella Man of our time.") "With women in power, we will fight for our families. We will fight for people to live. And we will fight for people to get tested," she said. "Because the only countries that are doing well with COVID are the ones that have women in leadership." She concluded: "Please vote. And please, whatever you do, don't vote for a killer." On the occasion of GMT Magazines 20th anniversary (and WorldTempuss upcoming 20th anniversary in 2021), we have embarked on the ambitious project of summarising the last 20 years in watchmaking in The Millennium Watch Book, a big, beautifully laid out coffee table book. The Millennium Watch Book is available exclusively now for pre-order at a discounted rate on www.the-watch-book.com, in French and English, with delivery aimed just in time for the holiday season. In the coming weeks, WorldTempus will be exclusively sharing excerpts from the book, to give you a taste. Only a few days left to get an additional 10% discount on the Millennium Watch Book. To obtain your code, fill in the information requested in the dedicated area to the left of the article. Heres is an exclusive excerpt from our section Whos who, where we name the 80 industry players, from CEOs to Creative Directors to retailers and independent watchmakers, who have indelibly shaped the last two decades of watches, written by those in the industry who perhaps know them best. For more information, visit www.the-watch-book.com. Whos who: Luc Pettavino, Founder and organiser of Only Watch Luc Pettavino Gian Marco Castelberg Photography Luc Pettavino has brought the watchmaking industry together in a burst of creative solidarity that has now become an international institution an achievement he would rather have done without in many ways. For him, the dawn of the third millennium coincided with a personal drama: his son, Paul, was diagnosed with an incurable neuromuscular disease. In 2003, having been president of the Monaco Yacht Show for 11 years, Pettavino set up the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy to fund research, beginning a race against time to save his son. His cause and charisma won over His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, 34 watch brands each of them creating a unique timepiece along with auctioneers Antiquorum and other partners in the worlds of media and logistics. Only Watch was launched in 2005. Right in the middle of the Monaco Yacht Show, collectors were snapping up these exceptional watches, at prices of up to CHF 2 million. It was a moment of pure magic at the iconic Port Hercule, perhaps best symbolised by the partnership between Richard Mille and Philippe Starck, who produced a joint model. Once he had recovered from the surprise, Luc consulted the watchmaking brands with which this minor miracle had struck a chord, and arranged another event two years later. Only Watch become a unique international biennial watch exhibition, travelling around the world; moreover, it set the pace for collectors, stimulating brands creativity to a rare degree. After five editions and CHF 17 million raised in Monaco with Antiquorum, in 2015 Only Watch brought together some 50 brands in Geneva for an auction (presided over by Aurel Bacs of Phillips, Bacs & Russo) that raised over CHF 11 million. By the time Christies took its turn in 2017, raising a similar amount, Paul had sadly passed away, but his energy lived on in the hearts of all those involved. The convergence of talent and acts of kindness under Lucs guiding hand was stronger than ever. He received the GPHG Jurys Special Award in November 2019, two days before a spectacular auction at Christies in which 50 watches went under the hammer for a total of CHF 38.5 million 31 million of which was for the Patek Philippe, a historic record. In 15 years, 99% of the staggering CHF 74 million raised has gone to research, and clinical trials are now within sight. Look, Im sure many of us pronounced her name Cam-a-la or Cam-aala or even Kumlah. But Kamala Harris says in her memoir, its Comma-la, so reasonable minds understand that thats how we will say it going forward. Not so Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who, on Tuesday, repeatedly mispronounced the name of the woman picked as a Democratic vice-presidential candidate, and dismissed being corrected with a or whatever. This could be a column about the implications of that mispronunciation that many of us face. It is not. On Thursday, the U.S. President a man for whom no depths are too low to plumb did not refute a birther conspiracy theory, sparked by a Newsweek article that the magazine said is just a legal debate on the finer points of a citizenship clause. The argument went like this: If American-born Harris parents were still immigrants on student visas she may not be a natural-born citizen. The author is law professor who once ran as Republican candidate for Californias attorney general, a position that Harris eventually won. This could be a column on racist birtherism politics. It is not. Also Thursday, The Australian published a racist cartoon in which presidential nominee Joe Biden refers to the senator as a little brown girl. The newspaper defended its publication, saying the words came from Biden. The ordinarily gaffe-prone Democrat had simply said after announcing his pick, This morning, little girls woke up across this nation especially Black and Brown girls potentially seeing themselves in a new way. This could be a column on #MediaSoWhite. It is not. This is none of those columns because I resist. I resist white supremacys insistence on centring the ramifications of Harris selection on whiteness, and the crudest expressions of why she, a non-white, is unfit for power. She is chosen because she is Black and a woman, some of these right-wing types sniff. As if every American president other than Barack Obama wasnt chosen for being white and male. No, theres a far richer conversation to be had than having to justify non-white rights to exist on equal terms. One of them is that even the choice of Kamala Harris, the highly qualified senator of Black and Indian descent, exposes the limitations of the politics of representation. To Bidens point, representation such as that of an Obama or a Harris does carry weight. I couldnt deny the flicker of recognition in my daughters eyes when she peered over my shoulder as I was watching a Harris video on Wednesday. Even that moment was not quite so straightforward, however. Had Donald Trump replaced Mike Pence and had that been a Nikki Haley video my daughter saw, I would have jumped up to temper that recognition and point to Haleys record. That I didnt do so with Harris is about my ambivalence toward her; I am conflicted between recognizing her mixed record on policies to help the marginalized and falling for the monumental symbolism of the moment as a woman of colour. Its a huge battle for non-white people to make it to the top and therefore a huge victory when they do. But is that success always a mark of progress? When there is diversity at the table, are the diverse voices challenging the status quo or parroting it? For many of us, those barriers to success are amplified if we dont adhere to standards of likability and credibility imposed by whiteness. Making oneself palatable to those norms sometimes requires contortions of authenticity, loss of language, culture and identity. Individual success often comes at the cost of ignoring collective needs. Harris selection is a case in point. At a time when the global reckoning of anti-Black racism is sparked by police brutality, the Democrats selecting a self-proclaimed top cop shows how much longer the resistance must continue. Harris, who has been prominent during the racial justice protests, said in July the reckoning is not a moment but part of a movement that began before Emmett Till. So where was she on demands of the movement during the years she worked her way up the system? As attorney general her office stopped a transgender inmate from getting a surgery to change genders. But she was a proponent of gay marriage. She oversaw more than 1,900 marijuana convictions as San Francisco district attorney and opposed the legalization of marijuana. But she came out in support of legalization in 2018, when she was widely considered likely to run for president. Theres a meme circulating to show her as two-faced. One is a quote from her 2009 book Smart on Crime: If we take a show of hands of those who would like to see more police officers on the street, mine would shoot up. The other is from 2020, when she told the New York Times, It is status-quo thinking to believe that putting more police on the streets creates more safety. Thats wrong. Its just wrong. Of course, people change over time. Of course, politics are rife with people going where the winds blow. This moment was supposed to be a harbinger of change. Jim Clyburn, civil rights organizer and congressman from South Carolina, told the NPRs Code Switch this week the choice was between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Take a look at these candidates. Look at these records, he said. Please compare Joe Biden to the alternative. Not the almighty. Its a persuasive argument, but one in which progressive Americans who critique Harriss record are told to hush, and once again make do with the political calculus of good enough. Before the 2016 presidential elections, feminist Kate Harding said, I intend to vote with my vagina. Choosing identity over policy and principle says that if you, as a person of marginalized identity were placed in a position of power, you would do exactly what the powerful are doing today. Same injustice, different identity. When I didnt rush to layer my daughters understanding of the moment, I too had fallen prey to good enough. For a Canadian who doesnt have to make a bad choice in the U.S. elections, and who can dream of a world my kids deserve, that is simply not good enough. Shree Paradkar is a Toronto-based columnist covering issues around race and gender for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: is a Toronto-based columnist covering issues around race and gender for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @ShreeParadkar Read more about: Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 00:35:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese medical assistance is helping save the lives of many Ethiopians, an Ethiopian official said on Monday. Speaking to Xinhua, Jibril Abas, CEO of Trunesh Beijing Hospital, said the medical facility located in the southern outskirts of Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa has been able to give lifesaving medical treatment because of Chinese medical assistance. "Being located on the outskirts of the city ,the majority of our cases are trauma patients requiring highly sophisticated surgeries," said Abas. "We've been discussing with the Chinese government and other stakeholders to increase the capacity of the hospital in order to be able to treat these patients especially with orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery rehabilitative and palliative cares," Abas told Xinhua. Abas said Chinese medical assistance to Tirunesh Beijing Hospital extends to plans to construct additional medical facilities to deal with the increasing cases of traffic and workplace accidents in Ethiopia. "There are ongoing works in the building of a trauma center in the hospital," said Abas. "There are also pledges from the Chinese side amounting to 50 million Ethiopian Birr (1.37 million U.S. dollars) comprising of highly sophisticated equipments such as computerized tomography scans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging and neurosurgical cables which are highly expensive and not available in the market. This is the area of cooperation we're planning when we are already going through with at current time," said Abas. Named after a famous long-distance Ethiopian runner, Tirunesh Dibaba, a double gold medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Tirunesh Beijing Hospital's links to China extend a decade. Tirunesh Beijing Hospital also alternatively referred as the Ethio-China Friendship was built with Chinese funds and currently provides specialized medical services to patients from all across Ethiopia. The hospital has also housed successive teams of Chinese medical teams which have given much admired free medical services ranging from neurosurgery to Traditional Chinese Medicine. With Ethiopia battling the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed more than 500 lives and infected close to 30,000 people in the country, the services of Chinese medical volunteers have been sought after by the Ethiopian government, with Tirunesh Beijing Hospital playing a facilitative role for the functions of the 21st batch of Chinese medical team. "We have a Chinese medical team which has stayed here for a year. The 16 members are highly educated and specialized professionals which we wouldn't have had in our hospital otherwise," Abas told Xinhua. As part of the Chinese government's continued support to Ethiopia's public health sector which started in 1974, the 21st batch Chinese medical team arrived in the east African country last year. The current Chinese medical team consisting of 16 medical specialists including those with neurology, neurosurgery, cardiology and dentistry specialty. Notable among the previous Chinese medical personnel in Ethiopia is the deceased doctor Mei Gengnian, who led the first Chinese medical mission to Ethiopia more than 40 years ago. Mei Gengnian died in 1975 in a car accident while he was serving local communities in Jimma town of Ethiopia's Oromia regional state, where he was still remembered and receiving homage from local community members. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 05:40:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close QUITO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador on Monday reported a total of 101,751 cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection and 6,083 deaths from the disease since the pandemic hit the South American country over five months ago. According to the Ministry of Public Health, in the previous 24 hours, tests detected 209 new cases and 13 more patients died, indicating the epidemic is still growing in Ecuador, which has the seventh largest outbreak in Latin America. The capital Quito, home to 2.8 million residents, is the current national epicenter of the outbreak, with 18,600 people testing positive. Local authorities have launched a tracking scheme to contain the spread of the virus in Quito by identifying contacts of confirmed patients for targeted testing and follow up. In seven Quito districts with large outbreaks, 11 medical tents have been set up to detect potential cases, and mobile brigades deployed to hard-hit neighborhoods to attend to patients with COVID-19 symptoms. Quito has seen a rebound in cases since lockdown rules were relaxed on June 3 to reactivate the economy. On Aug. 14, the government extended a nationwide state of emergency for 30 more days to help fight the spread of the virus. Enditem Pakistans Army chief was visiting Saudi Arabia on Monday in an effort to ease a row between the two countries over policy towards the disputed region of Kashmir. The argument, brought on by Pakistani demands for Saudi Arabia to take a firmer line against Indias behaviour in Kashmir, has threatened Riyadhs financial lifeline to Islamabad. General Qamar Javed Bajwas visit was primarily military-affairs oriented, the Pakistani army spokesman said. But Pakistani military and government officials told Reuters Bajwa would try to calm a ... After a lengthy court battle that lasted nearly 4 years, a US appeals court this week finally ruled in favour of Qualcomm against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over a case of unfair patent licensing practices. As a result, Qualcomm would no longer be forced to renegotiate their old deals with customers. The FTC filed a case against Qualcomm Inc. for unreasonably restraining trade in, and unlawfully monopolizing two communication technologies CDMA and LTE. Qualcomm initially lost the case in May 2019 after a case ruled in favour of the FTC, after which they appealed the decision with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2019. The appeals court discovered that the FTC could not satisfactorily explain how Qualcomms alleged breach of its contractual commitment itself impaired the opportunities of rivals, finally leading to a decision being ruled in favour of Qualcomm. If Qualcomm lost the appeal, they would have to renegotiate deals made with older customers, which could have been a big blow to Qualcomms position in the industry. Commenting on the final verdict, Don Rosenberg, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Qualcomm Inc. said: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 18) - As countries around the world race to get a hand on the potential coronavirus vaccine, President Rodrigo Duterte said that he would ask Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping if the country could purchase their vaccines by installment. If it is quite expensive, I will ask my friends President Putin and President Xi Jinping to give us a credit, parang utang (like a debt). But we will pay in installments, said Duterte in a late night address on Monday. Duterte thanked Russia and China for offering their vaccines that could potentially put an end to the ongoing pandemic. "I would like to thank Russia, President Putin and China, President Xi Jinping for offering to provide us the vaccine. I cannot overemphasize my gratitude," he said. Last week, Russia claimed that it already developed the worlds first COVID-19 vaccine with the Philippines joining its Phase 3 trial in October. Meanwhile, China assured that the country is in the priority list once its own-produced vaccine will be cleared for sale. Duterte said that he will not get the vaccines for free, citing that the two countries did not produce them without any cost and economies around the world are experiencing hemorrhage. Remember, this is not for free. After all, they did not develop the vaccine without great expense and of course the human effort involved, he said. Basta sinasabi ko magbayad tayo, hindi ito libre (Im telling you that we will pay, these are not free). Duterte said before that he is expecting that a vaccine will be already available by December, but the Department of Science and Technology suggested that the potential cure against the virus might not be available until the middle of 2021. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 03:46:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SWEIDA, Syria, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Canceling the wedding wasn't an easy choice for Basel Abu Assi and his wife Hadil al-Shaar as wedding parties are important for people in the southern province of Sweida in Syria. Fearing that their wedding could be a venue for infections of COVID-19, the newlyweds thought about a way to turn their happy occasion into an initiative that could benefit people amid the pandemic. They decided to get married without a party and save the expenses of the wedding to make donations to local charities to help the poor communities, buy masks and give them away for free. "We had been planning to have a huge wedding party before the outbreak of the coronavirus in Syria, but since the pandemic has spread in Syria, we decided to cancel the wedding party, which could turn into a catastrophe in case of any infection among the invitees," the 28-year-old groom told Xinhua. Before coming to Syria at the beginning of this year, Abu Assi worked in a bank in Iraq. "I saw what the coronavirus did to the people there," he said. One of his colleagues had made a wedding party there, after which tens of invitees were infected with the the virus, he recounted. "We don't want to be a reason to hurt anyone," he said, hoping that more couples could learn from them and save the wedding parties' money to help others in need. "I was so frightened by how fast the virus spread among people and I am happy that we made the decision to cancel the wedding to protect ourselves and those we love," the wife said. "Every girl's dream is to wear the white wedding dress and to be happy with her groom and friends, but now, the priority is to avoid the infection," she added. The couple decided to have a photo session on the scheduled date of the wedding party and the bride would wear the white dress to take photos to keep that memory forever. Al-Shaar said that people on social media have positively reacted to their idea. "The happiness I saw in the faces of those in need was much bigger than those in any wedding party," she said. The idea has also inspired another couple, who decided to give away their wedding money to help the poor and those in need. "A strong community can face anything. We just have to love each other and stand tall in the face of challenges," al-Shaar said with a smile. Enditem A recent study worked to quantify seagrasss ability to minimize erosion in the shallow water of Lac Bay, Bonaire. In addition, this study examined how intensive grazing can drastically affect seagrasss ability to stabilize sediment. This research highlights the benefits of native seagrass over invasive species and the need to match conservation efforts of grazers (i.e. turtles) with the habitats (i.e. seagrass fields) on which they depend. Seagrass fields play an important role in shallow water environments. These fields are important feeding and nursery grounds for a variety of species, provide natural water filters and serve as a buffer between the land and nearby coral reefs and open ocean. In addition, seagrass fields are also an important factor in protecting coastlines by dissipating wave energy, reducing tidal currents, and trapping sediments thus minimizing erosion. Seagrass leaves reduce overall energy in the water by waving back and forth creating drag while also bending over, covering sand, and protecting it from erosion. This is particularly true for Bonaires native seagrass, Thalassia testudinum, a thick leaved plant, and a favorite food item for grazing turtles. Seagrass beds are under immense pressure due to a decrease in water quality and increase in negative human interactions (such as trampling, anchoring, and dredging). In addition, opportunistic invasive species, such as Halophila stipulacea, have started encroaching on native fields. This species of seagrass has smaller leaves, thus reducing its energy reduction capabilities, along with having smaller, more shallow roots and rhizomes, limiting its ability to stabilize sediment. This invasive species is less capable of withstanding large storms, such as 2017s Hurricane Irma. After this hurricane, entire fields of invasive H. stipulacea were uprooted, even in deeper waters, such as those found in Oranjestad Bay, St. Eustatius, whereas neighboring native fields of T. Testudinum near St. Maarten survived. Scientists believe this is due to the deep roots of native seagrass and their ability to anchor even during strong storm surges and waves. Furthermore, a combination of declining seagrass coverage and a reduction of apex predators (such as sharks), has led to more intense grazing zones by megaherbivores (such as the green turtle). Current research shows a preference for native seagrass over invasive species by these megagrazers, which means that as native seagrass beds continue to shrink, they are also experiencing greater grazing pressures. The Study A collaborative effort between the NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Utrecht University, University of Groningen, Wageningen University and Research, Radboud University Nijmegen and Delft University of Technology conducted a study to understand the ecosystem services provided by native and invasive species of seagrass. Researchers set up an experiment to directly measure the sediment stabilization capacity of various seagrass patches. This experiment explored the impact of both invasive species and increasing grazing by megaherbivores. The study took place in Lac Bay, a shallow bay located on the east coast of Bonaire. Historically this bay had been dominated by the native seagrass (T. Testudinum), however, a recent census shows an increase in the presence of the invasive species (H. stipulacea) since it was first report in 2010. This bay is an important foraging area for the local turtle population. The Results Through this experiment, researchers were able to demonstrate native and invasive species ability to stabilize sediment. It was shown that seagrass meadows with dense, tall, ungrazed native seagrass (T. testudinum) were able to effectively anchor sandy sediment in a variety of different wave conditions. As canopy density and coverage decreased, there was an overall decrease in seagrass ability to stabilize sediment, allowing for increased erosion. It was also demonstrated that seagrass patches of invasive H. stipulacea that are in deeper waters accumulate fine sediment during calm periods. This fine sediment, however, is easily resuspended when there are strong waves, which increases the vulnerability of the seafloor to erosion over the long-term. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of the long-leafed native grasss ability to minimize erosion through its strong root system and ability to bend and protect the underlying sand layer. In areas of highly grazed shorter grass, the blades of grass were not able to offer as much protection and similar erosion patterns were seen as in areas without vegetation. The Future Sea turtle conservation has had great success within the Caribbean, the results of which can be seen locally with the increase of the green sea turtle populations within Lac Bay. Parallel conservation efforts of these important habitats are required, especially with the increasing pressure on already degraded native seagrass fields. When designing and implementing conservation projects, it is important to consider all levels within the environment. This study demonstrates the importance of supporting the conservation of habitats along with its more charismatic residents. Report your sightings: Have you observed sea turtles? Help us better understand the grazing pressures of our native seagrass by reporting your sighting on the website DutchCaribbean.Observation.org or download the free apps (iPhone (iObs) & Android (ObsMapp)). This free website and free apps can be used not only by biologists but by all citizens to report any animals and plants and is available in more than 40 languages. It is now also being translated to Papiamentu. The species reports by local communities are very valuable for the nature conservation organization to learn and protect the species on our islands. For more information contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. By PTI LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Monday accused the Uttar Pradesh government of failing to control the COVID-19 outbreak and improve the law-and-order situation in the state. He also alleged that the Yogi Adityanath dispensation has remained a mute spectator over both these issues. "People in the state are badly hit by coronavirus infection as well as deteriorating law-and-order condition. The BJP government has failed to control both coronavirus and crime and it should accept this truth," Yadav said in a statement. Two ministers have died due to coronavirus, MLA have also been hit by it. Doctors are dying of it and at the same time there is also no let up in crime, he alleged. "The police have started raising its hand on innocent and helpless people because it is rendered ineffective in front of the heavyweight leaders and goondas," the SP chief said. Citing various crimes in the state recently, he alleged that the BJP government has "merely remained a mute spectator". "The chief minister merely issues statements on the situation and escapes his responsibility," Yadav added. The Ministry for Gender and Social Protection says it is ready to act upon President Nana Akufo-Addos directive for final year Junior High School students and their teachers currently in school to be served with one hot meal each day until the end of their exit exams in September 2020. The Minister, Cynthia Morrison in a Citi News interview said the exercise will be much easier to undertake because they already have data on all pupils and teachers who are expected to benefit from the intervention. She said the Ministry will engage caterers of the School Feeding Programme to prepare the meals. We have the register of the students and so we have the accurate number of students that we are going to cater for. We also have the accurate number of teachers that we are going to cater for so it makes it easier than the first time we did the food allocationBoth private and public school children writing the BECE are going to benefit and it is the same school feeding caterers who are going to cater for the pupils, she said. She added that teachers in the various schools are going to be integrated to ensure the success of the programme through a feedback form they will be provided with to report to the Ministry on the quality and quantity of food received each day. The headmasters and the teachers will be the first complainants. So, we are giving them a form, every food that comes, the will give us the quantity that came and the quality also is stated. President Akufo-Addo announced the directive on Sunday, August 16, 2020, while delivering his 15th national address on Ghanas fight against COVID-19. Hot meal intervention not necessary Meanwhile the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare believes the intervention is not necessary. He suggests that the decision may only be a token from the president to win electoral votes especially as there has barely been any complaint of hunger from students. The Presidents decision to provide one hot meal a day for JHS 3 students is a good token. We havent heard of any student complain of hunger, maybe he wants to make a Father-Christmas move. I think that we may have saved a lot of money between March when the schools closed and now from the school feeding program because no one is cooking for anyone. There should be a much better way of using that [saved] funds than cooking for everybody including those who dont need the food, he said. I think it is more of a political issue than an education issueWe are are in a campaign season so Mr. President will like to look good before parents, he added. 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 TRENTON A man was shot to death Monday afternoon in the capital city, marking the 25th homicide of the year. The victim, identified by authorities as Rahkeem Ortiz, 29, of Blackwood, was shot multiple times in the back around 1:40 p.m. in downtown Trenton, near South Warren and Front streets. He was rushed by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a short time later. No arrests have been made and a motive for the slaying was unknown. The mayors office refused to disclose whether officers were on foot patrol in the area of the murder, citing the ongoing investigation. Most of the crimes have been targeted and personal, Mayor Reed Gusciora said. What we need is more police. Its a go-to line city officials have used to curtail criticism of the rampant killings as city officials are seemingly at a loss to stop the carnage on the streets. Gusciora emphasized the gunplay isnt isolated to the New Jersey capital city. He cited increases in crime during the COVID-19 pandemic in much-larger cities like New York, which saw a nearly 60 percent jump in the number of killings in July, according to media reports. Some critics attributed the crime wave to the disbanding of New Yorks street crimes unit, which TPD Director Sheilah Coley has also done, shifting those officers to patrol. That strategy was employed by previous police directors with little success, the Trenton Police union president Michael Schiaretti pointed out. When The Trentonian incredulously scoffed and pointed out that New York has more than 8.3 million people compared with about 84,000 in Trenton, Gusciora lost his cool and accused a reporter of laughing at his response. What do you suggest? he said. We are doing everything we can. Weve changed patrols. Were working with the state police. We work on this every day. Yes, you are laughing. You think we are just sitting around? Its not talking points. Please, from now on deal with [public information officer] Will [Skaggs]. You dont listen. The Toronto District School Board chair says the Ministry of Educations lack of clarity on its school reopening guidelines is a problem. The education ministry confirmed late last week it wants older students to be in class 50 per cent of the time, pushing many boards back to square one in their bid to create a back-to-school plan for high-schoolers. The TDSB initially proposed a plan to have secondary school students in class 25 per cent of the time. Reached Sunday, board chair Alexander Brown said he is trying to figure out himself what the ministry wants. Were at a point now where we cant keep changing (the plan) without clarity, without causing more confusion and less confidence in the public school system from the parents point of view, he told the Star. Brown said that while he has no problem with the idea of having high school students in classrooms 50 per cent of the time, the constant changes to the plan are confusing for both trustees and parents. Im not losing faith in public education, but Im losing faith in people who fund it, he said. TDSB staff are scheduled to present a new K-12 plan to board trustees Tuesday night. The Ministry of Education also rejected the boards plan for elementary school, citing the shortened school days were a problem. Brown said board staff are meeting with ministry staff Sunday night to clarify what the ministry wants to see in the new plan. Toronto parent David Ast, whose daughter will be starting Grade 9 in September, said that while he is relieved it seems students in high school will receive more in-class instruction, he is frustrated that it is taking this long for education officials to finalize a back-to-school plan. Why has it taken so long to come to this point? he said. In an email sent to parents Friday night, the TDSB said it would delay emailing out a survey to parents about remote learning due to recent ministry announcements, including what it called changing expectations with secondary timetables. Parents have the option to pick full-time remote learning or a hybrid model. But given the ministrys rejection of the TDSBs proposed plan last week, it is unclear what that hybrid model will look like. Most schools in Ontario are scheduled to open in three weeks. Whereas families with elementary-school children are grappling with safety concerns with physical distancing as well as logistical concerns such as finding child care, teenagers will face a different set of challenges come September, said Ast. Classes in high school may be smaller at around 15 students, which will allow for physical distancing. Students will also be required to wear masks. But teens also face more pressure to achieve certain learning objectives and those who dont during the pandemic may struggle to in future years. For some, it may even affect applications for college and university. We know the pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on low income and racialized families, said Ast, who is also a secondary school teacher with the TDSB. Before, during the shutdown, all students, whatever mark they had prior going into March break, their mark couldnt go down, it could only go up. Now, everything counts. The sudden closure of schools in March due to COVID-19 highlighted the gap between the haves and the have-nots, he said. For instance, Ast said his daughter has a Chromebook she can use to do her homework. We are quite privileged . . . she doesnt have to rely on a (TDSB) device and she has space where she can do work. But her situation is not every students situation in the (board). After schools switched to remote learning in March, school boards purchased thousands of tablets to distribute to students who did not have a computer at home, to ensure everyone could participate in remote learning. But not all students have a quiet place at home to study, or have parents with time to help with homework. The more time students spend learning outside of the classroom, the wider that inequality gap will grow, said Ast. If you have that inequity in terms of access and opportunity, that can lead to an inequity in outcome, he said. We have to look at what the implications are, societally. A suspect wanted for armed robbery in the East Bay led police on a brief chase through San Francisco Saturday evening, culminating in a crash that killed one man and injured several other people, police said Monday. The alleged driver, 20-year-old San Francisco resident Paris Powell, was arrested near the scene of the crash and booked into jail on suspicion of murder and other charges, according to San Francisco police and jail records. The driver of the other vehicle, a 63-year-old Bay Point man, died at the scene. Police have not identified the victim. The pursuit began just after 7:30 p.m. Saturday, when officers witnessed a black Audi A3 linked to an East Bay robbery traveling in the Mission Bay neighborhood, police said. Officers attempted to stop the car but the driver failed to pull over, touching off a chase that continued onto the freeway before returning to city streets in the Ingleside District, where officers lost sight of the vehicle. At 7:40 p.m., dispatchers began fielding reports of a collision at the intersection of Geneva Avenue and Prague Street, police said. A preliminary investigation determined that the Audi headed eastbound on Geneva Avenue ran a red light and smashed into a maroon Toyota minivan traveling north on Prague Street to westbound Geneva Avenue. Powell allegedly fled the scene on foot but was arrested shortly after the crash. He was treated at a local hospital and later booked on suspicion of homicide, evading a peace officer resulting in death, reckless driving resulting in serious injury, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, child endangerment, hit-and-run involving an injury, hit-and-run, carrying a concealed firearm, evading a peace officer resulting in bodily injury, and resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer. Now Playing: A video camera captures a fatal crash. Video: SFPD Two other passengers in the victims vehicle, a 57-year-old woman from Bay Point and a 35-year-old woman whose residence is unknown, were seriously injured and admitted to a local hospital. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. Four other teens riding in the Audi were detained and hospitalized. An 18-year-old San Francisco man and two Hayward girls, 15 and 16 years old, remained hospitalized Monday, while another 15-year-old girl was released into the custody of her parents, police said. Police on Monday said the investigation remained active and in its early stages. Anyone with information on the case can call the departments 24-hour tip line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. Tipsters may remain anonymous. Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy MONTREALTwo-thirds of Quebecers surveyed are concerned about the educational success of their children during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey for a major teachers union suggests. Ninety per cent of respondents also believe that students with learning difficulties will be most penalized by the pandemic, with 92 per cent believing more resources should be dedicated to helping these students. But theres also concerns for students in general: 66 per cent were very or somewhat worried about the impact of the pandemic on student success, compared to five per cent who said they were not worried at all. Respondents were also split on whether schools were prepared for the resumption of classes 52 per cent said they were not prepared enough or at all, compared to 48 per cent who thought the opposite. The CROP survey was conducted online surveying 1,000 Quebecers between July 22 and 29. The results cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered probabilistic. The Centrale des syndicats du Quebec (CSQ), which commissioned the poll, said the results suggest more provincial government investment is necessary, particularly resources for those most at-risk. These students, who number 223,000, were having difficulties before the pandemic and have gone almost six months without attending school, they are going to need a lot of support, said union president Sonia Ethier. Last Monday, Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge presented a revised back-to-school plan, making face-coverings mandatory as of Grade 5 and enlarging the bubble concept to include an entire classroom of students. The new plan also includes a shift to distance learning in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak in a classroom. Opposition parties raised concerns about the issue of catching up not being addressed after nearly six months away from school, including summer break. Roberge is expected to address the issue during a news conference on Monday in Quebec City. Read more about: Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has moved to cement his position as Fine Gael leader by appointing a key political ally as the partys general secretary. Mr Varadkars long-time political adviser John Carroll has been appointed to the crucial party role after years of supporting the Tanaiste behind the scenes. Mr Carroll will replace long-serving Fine Gael general Secretary Tom Curran who held the position for 21 years. Fine Gael said the new general secretary was appointed following a recruitment process overseen by the firm Amrop and Mr Carroll will start working in the role next month. In a statement, Mr Carroll said he is honoured to appointed to senior party position and said he looked forward to building on the work of Tom Curran, who he said has served the party extremely well. I will work with all in the Fine Gael family to help position our party for success in the coming years," he said. Mr Curran said his successor is extremely well-qualified to replace him as general secretary. "I wish John the very best in his new position. It is a privilege to serve as General Secretary of Fine Gael, he said. The party, at every level, strives to achieve the best for all Irish people. It has been my honour to work alongside Fine Gael's volunteers, members, supporters, politicians and staff across the country," he added. Mr Carroll entered politics working as Mr Varadkars parliamentary assistant when he was Minister for Transport. However, he left politics for the private sector when the Tanaiste was appointed Minister for Health in 2014. He took up the role of chief executive of the Public Relations Institute of Ireland where he worked fro three years. He worked on Mr Varadkars successful Fine Gael leadership bid in 2017 and was subsequently appointed as his head of policy when he became Taoiseach. Mr Carroll played a pivotal role in devising Fine Gaels 2020 General Election strategy which saw the party lose 12 seats. Suzanne Morel, country manager at Mastercard SA You're the country manager for South Africa at Mastercard. Tell us more about your role here? Briefly tell us about your journey to where you are now? I joined Mastercard in 2012 to lead public policy for the company in Canada. I successfully negotiated Mastercards voluntary agreement on interchange thereby avoiding regulation, a first for the company. Thereafter, I moved to New York to serve as chief of staff to our CEO, Ajay Banga which gave me a tremendous vantage point and reach across the company. How do you keep a work-life balance in this time of Covid-19? The lockdown is tough on everyone - in many ways - depending on the person and their circumstances. The fact that Mastercard committed to no job losses as a result of Covid-19 has had a very positive impact on the emotional wellbeing of my team and across the company. What can government do to help drive women entrepreneurs in SA? Government can further support women-owned businesses by promoting entrepreneurship as an exciting career opportunity. Furthermore, it can promote programmes that prioritize them as suppliers and launch awareness campaigns on how women can access state funding. But government cannot go it alone. The private sector must be part of the equation. What strides need to be taken in unlocking new innovations and opportunities for women in the financial economy? This is why weve spent significant time and resources understanding womens financial priorities and mapping these out across different life stages to better understand how our technologies fit or dont fit into them. We call this Women by Design. This does not mean pink washing products to make them more appealing to women, nor is it targeting products only for women. It is about doing intensive market research to understand womens needs and pain points, so that we create products and services that get used and impact lives, uplifting everyone in the process. What can the world learn from Africa when it comes to digital innovation? Digital innovation must be locally relevant. And through digital partnerships with telcos, e-tailers and fintechs, we can affect the most wide-spread positive change. We must innovate in Africa for Africa, which is exactly what we do at the Mastercard Lab for Financial Inclusion in Kenya. How does enabling women create limitless possibilities for the continent, particularly in South Africa? Women are also key drivers of prosperity as they often invest the vast majority of their income back into their families and communities, creating a ripple effect that can help alleviate poverty. What is Mastercard doing in leading the charge in reshaping the way our world is designed, coded and constructed by bringing diverse perspectives to the table to unlock powerful ideas that open our industry and the worlds possibilities to women? Our focus ensures gender sits at the centre of our decisions, not at the margins or as an afterthought. Im incredibly pleased to share that weve achieved gender pay equity. Women at our company earn $1.00 to every $1.00 men earn, based on our latest analysis of employees at the same level, doing the same role. Building the next generation of female leaders is essential for our company and for our world. Through our Girls4Tech programme, Mastercard is developing a strong pipeline of talent by encouraging girls to embrace STEM subjects that will prepare them for the workforce of the future. As we celebrate Women's Month in South Africa. Do you have any words of encouragement for all the women out there? Its a world that gives everyone the chance to unleash their potential, pursue their passions and make extraordinary things happen. According to Harvard Business Review , more diverse companies experience increased innovation which results in 19% higher revenue and 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee. In addition, companies who are intentional about hiring, retaining and developing diverse talent are 35% more likely to outperform their industry competitors. Therefore, it is very important for companies to embrace and celebrate diversity in different forms such as cultures, gender, generations and backgrounds in order to provide new perspectives, ideas and solutions.Suzanne Morel, who has previously spoken at various women empowerment events and is passionate about the growth of female SMEs and women leadership, shares some insights into how Mastercard is putting the power in women's hands.My role is to oversee the performance, strategic direction and business development of Mastercard as a leading payments technology company in South Africa. This includes finding new ways to scale our innovative technologies and services in partnership with Mastercards customers - banks, fintechs, telcos, merchants and government - to create a world beyond cash.I am also very dedicated to Mastercards commitment to financial inclusion as is the entire South Africa team. As we increasingly shift away from cash and to a world that is digital, we need to ensure that everyone is given the opportunity to participate in the digital economy.I spent the first part of my career in the public service with the bulk of my time as an international trade negotiator for the Government of Canada. I subsequently did an MBA and joined a large investment fund, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.This led to a role in our operations and technology team as senior vice president of Technology Value Management, which allowed me to lead another first for the company: creating a map all of our technology assets and as a result, a new lens on how we build and maintain product.It is not easy! I am disciplined about getting up early to exercise as its the one time of the day that I safeguard. Its good for the body and the mind. I also make sure to connect with friends and family as its incredibly uplifting.While the conditions of daily life have been dramatically altered, our work has not stopped. Our core capability is enabling commerce. While we keep doing that, we continue to support our employees, customers, and cardholders, both today and into the future. But, we are also going beyond commerce to support our various communities, because thats what we need to do in order to navigate this crisis together.Entrepreneurs fuel our economy and there is no greater time to stand in support of those creating employment for themselves as well as others. Women account for 21.5% of business owners in South Africa, up 0.5% from 2018. While progress has been made, more can be done by both the private and public sector.According to the latest Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), which tracks female entrepreneurs ability to capitalize on opportunities granted through various supporting conditions within their local environments, South Africa saw a sharp drop in its Supporting Entrepreneurial Conditions score in 2019. This decline was weighed down by a marked pullback in cultural regard for entrepreneurship, especially in terms of the extent to which the nation encourages and supports entrepreneurial success, risk-taking, individuality, creativity and innovativeness.By joining forces with different stakeholders like government, financial service providers and SME associations we believe that our collective work will make the world a lot better for our communities and societies.Connecting 50 million small businesses to the digital economy is a crucial part of Mastercards global goal to financially include 1 billion people by 2025. As part of this effort, there will be a direct focus on providing 25 million women entrepreneurs with solutions that can help them grow their businesses.As an example, we have partnered with Junior Achievement South Africa to help equip young women with the skills to start and grow their own businesses, and instill the discipline of earning a living, saving, spending and investing.According FINDEXs most recent survey, only 37% of women report access to financial services in sub-Saharan Africa compared with 48% of men. There are several barriers to including women into the financial ecosystem, including legal or societal restrictions, lower levels of education and financial literacy and lack of a regular income.One of the biggest challenges holding women back is the fact that financial products do not work for them. This is not just a developing world idea: most women globally (73%) reported being unsatisfied with their financial services providers, according to BCG.One of the ways to better reflect womens needs is to ensure that women have a seat at the table and are involved in the decision-making, innovation and engineering processes. Diversity is crucial to bring to life ideas powerful enough to transform womens financial experiences and our industry for the better.In short, we must help design and develop a world with both women and men in mind.Africas digital transformation is an extraordinary example of innovation driven by mobile penetration, delivering value and the opportunity to financially transact to even the most remote villages. The continents infrastructure challenges and its large number of unbanked individuals including nearly 190 million women across sub-Saharan Africa with no account at a financial institution have necessitated an alternative way to drive financial inclusion. Mobile money has driven both digital innovation and financial inclusion in Africa today nearly half of the worlds mobile money accounts are in sub-Saharan Africa.From digital supply chains for farmers to payment solutions for parents to keep children including many girls in school, we have forged public-private partnerships that are spearheading the innovation of locally relevant technology solutions that are underpinned by a deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities that exist in Africa.Innovative fintech solutions are also helping to close the gender gap, since they are often more flexible than traditional banking services, by negating physical proximity to a branch, lowering transaction fees, and providing simpler loan application processes.Removing barriers to inclusion by ending all forms of gender discrimination and fostering their participation in the economy isnt just the right thing to do; its also good women, for society, for economies and for business.When women work, economies grow. In fact, closing the workforce gender gap could add $28 trillion to global economic growth by 2025. In sub-Saharan Africa, the failure to integrate women into national economies costs $95 billion in lost productivity every year.From a business perspective, studies show that companies with a greater share of women on their boards of directors and executive committees tend to perform better financially and those with gender-diverse executive teams are 20% more likely to experience above average profitability.Women also make good customers. By 2025, South Africa is expected to have 21 million women making buying decisions. Already, their purchasing power is undeniable and Nielsen estimates 60% are the primary purchaser within South African households.At Mastercard, we have made gender equality a central, guiding theme, not only in our own diversity and inclusion efforts, but also in our business strategy.First, were focused on how we support our own people. Its essential for our business that we foster a workplace where all employees feel valued, respected and empowered to reach their greatest potential. That includes equal pay for equal work.Were committed to cultivate diverse talent across the company as we build a globally dynamic, engaged and balanced team.Second, we look at how we impact the market. We have various programmes were implementing to meet the unique needs of women. This includes our continued commitment to female small business owners. Solutions like Jaza Duka that offers affordable access to capital, are making an impact in Kenyan communities where many women are micro-merchants. In South Africa, Ukheshes financial inclusion platform is enabling unbanked informal traders, street vendors and casual laborers the majority of whom are female to accept safe and simple digital payments via Masterpass, Mastercards digital payment service.Third, were focused on how we drive change in society.Connecting people to possibilities is fundamental to what we do at Mastercard. Its what Priceless is all about unlocking the potential in every person across all parts of their lives.Be a force for good in four key ways. Firstly, learn as much as you can and share your knowledge. Secondly, plan for and pursue your goals knowing that as you achieve, you are creating opportunities for others. Thirdly, stand with conviction and authenticity when it comes to your values and beliefs. And lastly, support and champion the people, businesses and innovations that are transforming the way our world works because a world that works better for women creates limitless possibilities for us all. Recruiting and hiring top-quality workers is one of the most difficult aspects for any type of business, but when you decide to hire remotely a new layer of complexity gets added. Hiring remote workers requires a slightly different approach and process. Due to the massive shifts in the global workforce, the field of online remote work has been grown inexorably. Consequently, there has never been a better time to scale and grow a remote team. Maybe you are struggling to find quality candidates for your role or perhaps you are overwhelmed with candidates, but dont have an efficient hiring system in place? The good news is that there is a massive influx of remote workers during these times. A large portion of job seekers are shifting to remote work so they can meet the growing economic requirements while prioritizing their health and safety. If you want some help hiring a great remote team, keep the following tips in mind. 1. Provide benefits that workers actually want Having good benefits is one of the ways that you can ensure that you get plenty of interest in your job listing and also increase employee longevity. This can include higher-than-average pay, company trips, flexible hours, unlimited vacation, and so on. Depending on the nature of your company, the exact variety of benefits may differ. Related: 4 Essential Traits for Great Remote Workers For example, companies that dont require physical meetings and can thrive solely with online video calls and chats may not need to offer company meetups. However, if you hire a remote worker that you eventually want to send off abroad as an ambassador for your brand, then paying for the flights and accommodations will be necessary. In any case, highlight the benefits for every job posting and on your career page. If you arent sure what benefits to add or remove, then consider surveying your current employees. You may be surprised by the benefits that remote employees actually prefer. 2. Require a short video in the application As the owner of a business, you want to get to know each of your applicants in a genuine and personal manner. Since physical interviews are not feasible when hiring remote workers, you can instead have them record a short 2-3 minute video. This often works out well for you as the employer since it provides a small barrier for applicants and saves you time otherwise spent organizing the logistics of an interview. Related: The Complete Toolkit for Leading Remote Workers For best results, give your applicants clear guidelines to follow while recording their video and use this as a small test to see if they are able to follow instructions correctly. Having a video in the application will save you a lot of time and allow you to focus on the best potential applicants. 3. Market your roles internally and externally If you want to find the best possible remote employees, you must market your job listings around both internally and externally. Ask your current employees if they have any trustworthy friends, family, or acquaintances that they can refer over to you. If so, be sure to offer some incentives to them as a token of your gratitude if you hire one of their referrals. Also, be sure to market your job listing on multiple job boards. This way, you can receive a high level of applications to sift through. With more options, you will be able to quickly shortlist those who are not good applicants from the handful that you are considering seriously. If you get flooded with too many applicants, you can consider utilizing an applicant tracking system to help stay organized. 4. Share the company vision Part of how you can make your business successful is by only working with those who you know believe in you and your company. If you hire employees who do not align with the company vision, then there is a good chance they will not stay long-term with the company. After all, if all they care about is the paycheck, they will not be a great person for you to pursue. Related: How to Work from Home Successfully As the owner of a business, you deserve to have the respect and loyalty of your remote employees. This is why you should hire remote workers that share in your company vision. For best results, have a way to quickly gauge who they are as a person in their short video, cover letter, or something similar. The idea is that you can determine a fit without investing too much time. 5. Utilize an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) If you are trying to hire remote workers and have a solid pool of qualified professionals that you need to sift through without wasting too much time, then utilizing an applicant tracking system (ATS) will be extremely beneficial. For starters, this type of software can help you automatically shortlist applicants that will simply not be a good fit for your company based solely on keywords found on their resume. Some of the core features of an ATS are interview scheduling, career page hosting, resume storage, and much more. In addition, an ATS will help you as the employer stay organized during the hiring process. Before the digital era, employers were forced to sift through a large stack of papers while looking through their applicants. With software, you can easily organize all of your applicants information and make things much easier while you decide who is the right fit for your company. Ready to build your team of remote employees? If you have been hiring remote workers but are unable to get the ones you have been looking for, then use the tips above as a guide to getting high-quality workers. At the end of the day, though, you are the one who knows what is best for your business and should be the one who makes informed decisions keeping your needs in mind. Related: How to Recruit and Hire the Best Remote Workers Where Vs. When: Keeping Track Of Your Dreams Can Help You Maintain Your Balance In An Upside-Down World Working From Home? Here Are 7 Ways to Be More Productive. Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-16 23:54:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A tourist wears a mask while watches an ash emanation from the Turrialba Volcano, from the top of the Irazu Volcano, 65km southeast of San Jose, capital of Costa Rica, on May 21, 2016. (Xinhua/Kent Gilbert) Across the region, Central Americans have begun to turn to the informal economy to survive, running businesses out of their homes or even begging in the streets in order to make ends meet. MEXICO CITY, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The COVID-19 pandemic has increased poverty, expanded the size of the informal economy, and threatened the weak health systems of some countries in Central America, experts have said. According to the Inter-American Development Bank, 274,000 formal jobs could be lost in Guatemala, 130,000 in Honduras, and 70,000 in El Salvador due to COVID-19. Salvadoran economist Julia Evelyn Martinez said that the loss of jobs in the region has led to an increase in informal employment in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, where the informal economy already measured around 70 percent before the pandemic. Martinez said the region had already been facing a multidimensional crisis due to economic stagnation, deterioration of public finances and unemployment, while restrictions imposed by the government during the pandemic have only exacerbated the problem. "The approval of containment measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has added further deterioration to the welfare conditions of Central American families," said Martinez. Across the region, Central Americans have begun to turn to the informal economy to survive, running businesses out of their homes or even begging in the streets in order to make ends meet. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, poverty will increase exponentially in the region this year due to the pandemic. Nancy Sandoval, president of the Guatemalan Association of Infectious Diseases, said that the region lacks healthcare networks with the capacity to respond to projected future cases. The gradual relaxation of restrictions aiming to jumpstart their economies means an increase in cases, which is why more medical personnel, beds, and tests are required, said Sandoval, giving Guatemala and Honduras as examples, where less than one doctor is available for every 1,000 inhabitants. Central America reported over 237,000 COVID-19 cases on Friday, according to the Pan American Health Organization. Getty Images Donald Trump has come under fire for appearing to endorse a tweet calling for Democrat cities to be left to rot amid continuing unrest in several metropolises over the killing of George Floyd. The president retweeted a post by Brandon Straka, a right-wing activist, which called for people to leave Democratic cities, as Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets for an 11th week running. Mr Straka, a Trump supporter who started the #WalkAway movement in 2018 after renouncing the Democratic Party, was commenting on a video of demonstrators in New York City. The video, originally posted by retired NYPD detective Rob ODonnell, showed protesters shouting at the driver of a car while they attempted to block traffic on Times Square. Responding to the video, Straka, who made headlines in June after being recorded refusing to wear a face mask on board an American Airlines flight, said Democrats had activated a mental illness that was ruining US cities. Mr Trump retweeted the post, leading to criticism the US was now existing in a state of cold civil war. If Obama had retweeted someone saying leave Republican states. Let them rot it would have been a multi-week, multi-month political scandal requiring clarifications and apologies from every top Dem., columinst Mehdi Hasan said in a tweet. With Trump, it wont even register in *todays* headlines. If Obama had retweeted someone saying leave Republican states. Let them rot it would have been a multi-week, multi-month political scandal requiring clarifications and apologies from every top Dem. With Trump, it wont even register in *todays* headlines.#imagineifObamadidit https://t.co/Y8vvITaPHQ Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) August 16, 2020 CNN anchor Jake Tapper said: I couldnt believe it when I first saw it, but I checked, and yes, the president of the United States actually retweeted this message to Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot. Story continues How do @GOP voters living in Democrat-controlled cities feel about the strategy your leader in D.C. just endorsed: Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot. Maybe you should vote #BidenHarris2020 this time round, said the author Keith Devlin. Brandon Friedman, former columnist at the New York Daily News, said that the tweet showed the country was in a civil war of sorts. This is from the commander-in-chief, the President of the United States, further confirming that we are presently in a cold civil war, Friedman wrote. Read more Pelosi calls back House for emergency vote to save postal service Lana, a new startup based in Madrid, is looking to be the next big thing in Latin American fintech. Founded by serial entrepreneur Pablo Muniz, whose last business was backed by one of Spain's largest financial services institutions, BBVA, Lana is looking to be the all-in-one financial services provider for Latin America's gig economy workers. Muniz's last company, Denizen, was designed to provide expats in foreign and domestic markets with the financial services they would need as they began their new lives in a different country. While the target customer for Lana may not be the same middle to upper-middle-class international traveler that he had previously hoped to serve, the challenges gig economy workers face in Latin America are much the same. Muniz actually had two revelations from his work at Denizen. The first -- he would never try to launch a fintech company in conjunction with a big bank. And the second was that fintechs or neobanks that focus on a very niche segment will be successful -- so long as they can find the right niche. The biggest niche that Muniz saw that was underserved was actually in the gig economy space in Latin America. "I knew several people who worked at gig economy companies and I knew that their businesses were booming and the industry was growing," he said. "[But] I was concerned about the inequalities." Workers in gig economy marketplaces in Latin America often don't have bank accounts and are paid through the apps on which they list their services in siloed wallets that are exclusive to that particular app. What Lana is hoping to do is become the wallet of wallets for all of the different companies on which laborers list their services. Frequently, drivers will work for Uber or Cabify and deliver food for Rappi. Those workers have wallets for each service. (Photo by Cris Faga/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) Lana wants to unify all of those disparate wallets into a single account that would operate like a payment account. These accounts can be opened at local merchant shops and, once opened, workers will have access to a debit card that they can use at other locations. Story continues The Lana service also has a bill pay feature that it's rolling out to users, in the first evolution of the product into a marketplace for financial services that would appeal to gig workers, Muniz said. "We want to become that account in which they receive funds," he said. "We are still iterating the value proposition to gig economy companies." Working with companies like Cabify, and other, undisclosed companies, Lana has plans to roll out in Mexico, Chile, Peru and, eventually, Colombia and Argentina. Eventually, Lana hopes to move beyond basic banking services like deposits and payments and into credit services. Already hundreds of customers are using the company's service through the distribution partnership with Cabify, which ran the initial pilot to determine the viability of the company's offering. "The idea of creating Lana was initially tested as an internal project at Cabify," Muniz wrote in an email. "Soon Cabify and some potential investors saw that Lana could have a greater impact as an independent company, being able to serve gig economy workers from any industry and decided to start over a new entrepreneurial project." Through those connections with Cabify, Lana was able to bring in other investors like the Silicon Valley-based investment firm Base 10. "One of the things we've been interested in is in inclusion generally and in fintech specifically," said Adeyemi Ajao, the firm's co-founder. "We had gotten very close to investing in a couple of fintech companies in Latin America and that is because the opportunity is huge. There are several million people going from unbanked to banked in the region." Along with a few other investors, Base 10 put in $12.5 million to finance Lana as it looks to expand. It's a market that has few real competitors. Nubank, Latin America's biggest fintech company, is offering credit services across the continent, but most of their end users already have an established financial history. "Most of their end users are not unbanked," said Ajao. "With Lana it is truly gig workers... They can start by being a wallet of wallets and then give customers products that help them finance their cars or their scooters." The ultimate idea is to get workers paid faster and provide a window into their financial history that can give them more opportunities at other gig economy companies, said Ajao. "The vision would be that someone can plug in their financial information for services. If they're working for Rappi and have never been an Uber driver and they want to be an Uber driver, Lana can use their financial history with Rappi to offer a loan on a car," he said. That financial history is completely inaccessible to a traditional bank, and those established financial services don't care about the history built in wallets that they can't control or track. "Today if you've been a gig worker and you go to a bank, that's worth nothing," said Ajao. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) Philippine National Police chief Archie Gamboa denied reports that he hosted a party in his home in Baguio City, saying he followed health protocols for an official visit. It was reported that Gamboa gathered friends and classmates for a testimonial dinner ahead of his 56th birthday and mandatory retirement on September 2. "I don't know where the information came (from), but again, I vehemently deny that. There was no party at the chief PNP cottage in Baguio City," Gamboa said in a press briefing on Monday. He first denied reports on social media that he hosted a party and even a concert at the Navy Base in the city on Sunday night. In a statement, he clarified that there were only three vehicles which accompanied him as his security protocol. All members of his contingent passed through Baguio's triage protocols, he added. "There was no party or concert. It was a dinner that ended at 9:30 p.m. Social distancing was strictly followed and the food was individually catered," the PNP official added. Gamboa said he sat down with Mayor Benjamin Magalong and regional PNP officials to discuss the peace and order situation at the summer capital and nearby provinces. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Malacanang will inquire about these reports. "We will check with General Gamboa if there was such a party. Number two, kung nagkaroon ng party, then we will ask for an explanation," he said. Roque added that President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to name Gamboa's successor before he vacates the top PNP seat next month. In July, Roque himself came under fire after driving to Subic to swim with dolphins while Metro Manila was under general community quarantine. Baguio City is under modified general community quarantine, which allows more relaxed rules amid low risk of COVID-19 transmission. However, Metro Manila where Gamboa is based reverted to a lockdown since August 4. Travel is restricted unless deemed essential. Health standards also prohibit mass gatherings and buffet arrangements to lessen chances of COVID-19 transmission. Earlier, the team of San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora was criticized for heading to Baguio without first going through the city's triage protocols. Back in May, Metro Manila police chief Debold Sinas was also in hot water for holding a birthday mass gathering called mananita at the height of strict lockdowns in the capital region. RELATED: PNP chief defends NCRPO head Sinas on birthday celebration Pakistan is planning to deploy medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at Line of Control (LoC) to create further unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, according to reports. Security agencies sources said that Pakistan is procuring Cai Hong-4 (CH-4) UAV from China in big numbers in order to unleash mayhem in Kashmir valley. It is learnt that a 10 member-team of Pakistan Army led by Brigadier Mohammad Zafar Iqbal has visited China to review the procurement process. The Pakistan Army team recently visited China for factory acceptance test for items procured from Aerospace Long-March International Trade Company (ALIT) in China. Iqbal had earlier visited China in December 2019 for factory acceptance test of first tranche of Cai Hong-4 for which delivery was to commence in 2020. The CH-4 has a take-off mass between 1,200-1,300kg depending on the variant. It can also carry a wide range of payloads. The UAV is already in service with military forces including the Iraqi Army and the Royal Jordanian Air Force. Few days ago, intel reports had revealed that Pakistani Army Special Service Group (SSG) commandos are giving arms training to Talibani and Afghani terrorists in secret places of Afganistan. The report added that these terrorists are planning to launch attacks on security establishment and patrolling party in Jammu and Kashmir. The report also claimed that different terrorist outfits in Kashmir were working in tandem with each other to launch terror attacks in the valley and facilitate infiltration of terrorists from Pakistan. The Commerce Department restricted Huawei even more in the U.S. today, adding to its export blacklist 38 Huawei affiliates the Trump administration says the company used to evade its own earlier blacklisting. Why it matters: The Trump administration is escalating its technological battle with China. Monday's announcement makes it even harder for Huawei to get chips it needs for its hardware from American companies. What they're saying: The Commerce Department says Monday's action will "prevent Huawei's attempts to circumvent U.S. export controls to obtain electronic components developed or produced using U.S. technology." This May, Commerce amended a rule to go after Huawei's acquisition of semiconductors that use U.S. technology and software. Monday's announcement tightens that rule. As we have restricted its access to U.S. technology, Huawei and its affiliates have worked through third parties to harness U.S. technology in a manner that undermines U.S. national security and foreign policy interests," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. "This multi-pronged action demonstrates our continuing commitment to impede Huaweis ability to do so. Go deeper: The great tech decoupling is here Conservationists are urging ministers to protect beavers as a native species in England by law and let them stay on several rivers where they are already living wild. They also say plans should be drawn up to license the release of the animals to other suitable rivers, including from where they are living in enclosures. The steps would form part of a national strategy for the semi-aquatic mammals, according to wildlife charity Beaver Trust and other groups. Earlier this month, a population of the animals living wild on the River Otter in Devon was given permanent right to remain following a trial that showed they delivered benefits for wildlife and people. Beavers, which were hunted to extinction in the UK more than 400 years ago, are valued for the downstream flooding-prevention properties of their dams and wetlands. The Beaver Trust wants the same protection as the Devon group to be given to those in enclosures in the countryside and those living on river catchments, including the Stour in Kent, the Tamar in Devon and Cornwall, and the Wye in Wales and the west country, following unofficial releases. The Environment Department (Defra) has promised it will consult later this year on the management of beavers in the wild in England and a national approach for any further releases. The Beaver Trust has gathered 39 organisations including conservation, farming and countryside groups, to try to plan a future for the animals. Organisations including the Country Land and Business Association, Thames Water, National Trust, and the RSPB are in the working party. Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Show all 11 1 /11 Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Shaaz Jung Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Will Fortescue Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Bjorn Persson Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Chris Schmid Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation David Lloyd Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Michele Bavassano Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Amy Shutt Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Harry Skeggs Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Thomas Vijajan Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Graeme Purdy Prints for Wildlife: Top animal snappers campaign for conservation Marion Payr Not all of the groups back the proposals submitted to Defra, but the Beaver Trust said all agreed collaboration was key to restoring and managing Englands rivers. Some, including farmers, fear beavers will damage land and fish stocks, and that dams can exacerbate flooding rather than preventing it. But conservationists say negative effects can be managed. A national framework for managing the effects and funding to support the animals return would be created under the proposals. They also involve plans for new licensed releases, with funding to incentivise landowners to make space for water and pay for any changes. Recommended Beavers returned to Forest of Dean after 400 years James Wallace, a director of Beaver Trust and convener of the English Beaver strategy working group, said: To many, these ecosystem engineers could help us tackle issues across river catchments like water security, floods, pollution and loss of wildlife. Harry Barton, chief executive of Devon Wildlife Trust which led the trial on the River Otter, said it showed how beavers could thrive and co-exist with people, and conflicts could be managed through engagement, landowner advice and support. Shaun Leonard, director of the Wild Trout Trust, said: Research shows the impact of beavers on trout and salmon can be both positive and negative. English rivers and their fish populations are already suffering from fragmentation of habitat due to tens of thousands of weirs and culverts. Beavers habitat engineering activity, including building dams, could be problematic for fish in many rivers. Additional reporting by PA BRIDGEPORT Police are searching for a driver who they say struck a 14-year-old child with a car on Saturday and then fled the scene. Police said the 14-year-old boy was crossing the street near 600 Connecticut Ave. around 5:30 p.m. Saturday when he was struck by the car. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:13:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TOKYO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government said on Monday that a second disaster relief team will be dispatched to Mauritius this week to help respond to an oil leak from a Japanese freighter that ran aground offshore last month. According to the Japanese Environment Ministry, the team consists of seven experts including officials from the ministry and the National Institute for Environmental Studies. They will leave Japan on Wednesday to help clean up oil and assist in grasping the environmental damage of the incident. The first team, consisting of four experts from the Japan Coast Guard and one official each from the Foreign Ministry and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, has already started relief activities last week, said the Japanese Foreign Ministry. The second team will be sent at the request of Mauritius and carry with them items such as sorbents to deal with oil spills, the ministry added. The Panama-flagged bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on July 25, according to Nagashiki Shipping Co., the owner of the ship. The operator of the vessel, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., has said more than 1,000 tons of oil have leaked from it, triggering a state of environmental emergency in the Indian Ocean island nation. Enditem Iran and the European Union have rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to trigger a "snapback" of sanctions on Iran at the United Nations under a provision of the Iran nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, noting that the United States withdrew from the agreement, was quoted by state media on August 16 as saying that the Americans know very well that the implementation of the snapback is something illegal and therefore absolutely unacceptable. A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, also speaking on August 16, said that since Washington withdrew from the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), it could not be considered a part of it. "Given that the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and has not participated in any JCPOA structures or activities subsequently, the U.S. cannot be considered as a JCPOA participant," Borrell said. "We therefore consider that the U.S. is not in a position to resort to mechanisms reserved for JCPOA participants (such as the so-called snapback)." The United States claims it remains a "participant" in the nuclear accord because it was listed as such in a 2015 UN Security Council resolution that enshrined the deal and can therefore bring back sanctions. It also has noted that since the United States exited the deal Iran breached some of its nuclear commitments. The UN Security Council on August 14 rejected a U.S. resolution to extend an international arms embargo on Iran, which is set to be progressively eased beginning on October 18 under the nuclear deal. The United States now wants to force the reinstatement of all international sanctions on Iran using the snapback mechanism. "We'll be doing a snapback," Trump told reporters on August 15. "You'll be watching it next week." Diplomats and analysts say a U.S. snapback of all sanction on Iran would lead to a messy diplomatic battle that could undermine the UN Security Council and potentially lead to the complete collapse of the nuclear deal. The chief of staff for the Iranian presidential office, Mahmoud Vaezi, predicted the U.S. effort would fail. "The United States continues to make mistakes. They will fail again with the same process as the recent resolution, but with strong political and legal reasoning," Vaezi said on August 16 on Twitter. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke by telephone on August 16 to discuss a proposal put forward by Russian President Vladimir Putin of an online summit among the leaders of the countries that signed the nuclear deal. But the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, tweeted on August 17 that the United States did not agree with the idea. "The U.S. rejected President Putin's proposal to hold on-line summit to ease tension in P.Gulf. So, there are 2 competing approaches to problems of the region. The Russian one aimed at dialogue and collective security and US approach based on maximum pressure and one-sided policy," Ulyanov tweeted. Trump had already said he probably would not join such a summit. With reporting by dpa, Reuters, and Interfax US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House advisor Jared Kushner said Monday it would be in Saudi Arabia's interest to normalise ties with Israel as the United Arab Emirates has agreed to do. It would also weaken their common foe Iran's influence in the region and ultimately help the Palestinians, Kushner told reporters during a telephone briefing. "It would be very good for Saudi business, it would very good for Saudi's defence, and, quite frankly, I think it would also help the Palestinian people," Kushner said. Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy, has been silent on Trump's surprise announcement last Thursday that the UAE, a close US and Saudi ally, and Israel had decided to normalise relations. In return, Israel agreed to suspend the annexation of occupied West Bank territories, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan was not off the table in the long run. Saudi King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had repeatedly expressed their desire for an independent Palestinian state with economic opportunities, Kushner said. "What they basically said is that they ... want to see the Palestinian people have a state and economic opportunities," said Kushner, the architect of Trump's Middle East peace plan, which was wholly rejected by the Palestinians. The landmark UAE-Israel deal is only the third such accord the Jewish state has struck with an Arab country, and raises the prospect of similar deals with other pro-Western Gulf states. Trump said leaders from the two countries would sign the agreement at the White House in the coming weeks. Common Enemy Iran Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) Bahrain and Oman have welcomed the deal, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have yet to comment. Home to Islam's holiest sites, Saudi Arabia would face sensitive political calculations if decided on a formal recognition of the Jewish state. "It is in the interest of a lot of these countries from a security point of view and from an economic point of view to have relations with Israel," Kushner said. "A lot of GCC countries want to have breakthroughs. "The more that countries come together like Israel and the UAE... the harder it will be for Iran to divide and conquer." Saudi Arabia and Israel have a common enemy in Iran, which most Gulf countries have accused of supporting militant groups in the region. "If you think about the people who don't want Saudi Arabia and Israel to make a peace agreement, the number one opponent for that is going to be Iran," said Kushner. "That shows that is probably the right thing to do." Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the UAE's decision to normalise ties with the Jewish state was a "big mistake" and warned "against opening the path of Israel to the region". * This story was edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: The oil industry is facing an immense amount of uncertainty, even for a sector that bobs along in the currents of global markets and geopolitics despite its enormous power. The big picture: As Democrats hold their convention this week, seeking a boost for Joe Biden heading into the heart of the 2020 campaign, the election is unfolding against another huge source of uncertainty for the industry: the coronavirus pandemic. The state of play: Biden's platform calls for major new restrictions and regulations on oil-and-gas development, as well as steps to greatly speed deployment of electric vehicles and renewables. It's a stark departure from Trump administration practices. And Biden is also hoping to use diplomacy and trade policy to pressure other countries to move faster on climate. Biden's platform would also go much further than anything proposed let alone implemented during the Obama years that saw rapid growth of domestic production. Its hard to overstate how far Joe Bidens Democratic party has shifted on fossil fuels, especially natural gas, in just four years, Robert McNally of the Rapidan Energy Group tells the Financial Times. COVID-19 and its unknown trajectory create big new question marks around future oil demand for at least three big reasons... Nobody really knows when the pandemic will be brought under control in the U.S. or worldwide, and vaccine timing and distribution are mysteries too. The long-term stickiness of pandemic behaviors, especially working from home, is unclear as well. How much governments worldwide use economic recovery packages to invest in low-carbon energy is also an unfolding story. The intrigue: Some of the world's largest companies like BP and Shell are accelerating their moves to diversify away from their still-dominant fossil fuel businesses and into areas like renewable power and EV charging. What we're watching: How much space the prime-time convention speakers including Biden and VP pick Kamala Harris devote to their energy agenda. As the rainy season entering the last phase in northern India, scientists have assessed a bleak chance of revival of locust attacks in the states of Punjab and Haryana in the coming few months. The evaluation based on the field input by Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), a subsidiary of the central ministry, has brought breather to cotton and paddy growers of the semi-arid districts of south Malwa belt of Punjab. Several districts of Punjab, including Fazilka, Muktsar, Ferozepur and Bathinda, were on constant alert for the last over five months for possible invasions by swarms of migratory pests that target vegetation. KL Gurjar, LWO deputy director and national coordinator on mitigating locust attacks, said on Monday that no locust swam was reported in Punjab and Haryana noticed in the last few weeks. He said after movements in the parts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, locust swam have returned to Rajasthan to mature and lay eggs. Locust tends to lay eggs during humid weather. The desert locusts normally live and breed in semi-arid regions and numerous egg colonies were reported in various parts of Rajasthan. But our teams have significantly contained the situation and almost entire these egg colonies have been wiped out, said Gurjar. The expert said with the onset of winter, the locust population is expected to leave the Indian region from October onwards. Gurjar said there is no threat assessment of the pest attack in the coming months but much will depend upon Pakistan how effectively it manages the locust crisis. On February 1 this year, Pakistan had declared a national emergency to tackle the insects destroying crops on a large scale in its Punjab province. Two days later, few villages located along the Pakistan border in Fazilka district witnessed locust attack. Agriculture secretary KS Pannu said no egg-laying by locust was reported in Punjab or its adjoining areas in Rajasthan and Haryana. Since February, Fazilka and few other districts experienced stray incidents of locust invasion but no crop loss was reported since February this year, he added. EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wpromote announced the addition of Aubrie LaMar, an experienced leader specializing in enterprise marketing strategy and vision, as the new Managing Director, Client Services. LaMar is based in Dallas, a key area of expansion for Wpromote's rapidly growing organization. LaMar brings a deep bench of client experience to the table, most recently serving as the Vice President, Group Account Director at iProspect. In that capacity, she focused on integrated marketing strategies for enterprise and portfolio clients, working with major brands including NRG, Hilton, K12, Sally Beauty, and Anheuser Busch. Wpromote's Chief Relationship Officer (CRO), Michael Stone, explained what makes LaMar such a valuable addition to the team. "We are beyond thrilled to welcome Aubrie to the team. Her deep digital experience and long history of building incredible client relationships that empower marketing leaders to grow their businesses are exactly what Wpromote needs. Her challenger spirit will serve as an exciting catalyst for our team's continued evolution, and she will drive all of us to double down on supporting (and pushing) our clients to "think like a challenger," at a time when digital marketing has never been more critical to business success." In her new role, she will be leveraging that expertise to provide strategic guidance to both Wpromote's clients and the Client Services team. She will be responsible for both establishing relationships and new pathways to growth for clients, as well as building best practices and processes to help her new Wpromote team continue to grow and develop. LaMar remarked on the impressive alignment between her passion for client growth and team development and Wpromote's priorities: "I was immediately drawn to Wpromote for two reasons: the people and vision. Everyone in the organization is focused on a common goal, working together to drive change and build marketing strategies for our clients that drives growth and puts people first, and having fun while they're doing it. I've now seen firsthand that the Challenger Mindset isn't just a phrase on the website, but truly infused in every conversation. Wpromote's vision is game-changing and not just exciting for our clients and our teams, but for the marketing industry as a whole. I'm thrilled to be a part of this team." As the National Director of Display for iProspect, LaMar also built and deployed the go-to-market strategy for performance display advertising. She is an ideal fit to help execute on Wpromote's commitment to data-driven innovation and mission to stay at the forefront of the expanding digital marketing space. LaMar is joining Wpromote's expanding leadership team, demonstrating the continuing growth of the agency. Recent additions include VP of Social Kevin Simonson; SVP, Head of Client Services Jon Leicht; VP of Growth and Innovation Soso Samesh, and CTO Paul Dumais. About Wpromote Founded in 2001 by Michael Mothner, Wpromote is an award-winning digital marketing agency with nine offices across the United States including Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Dallas. Wpromote helps clients Think Like A Challenger, driving transformational growth for leading brands such as Marriott, Whirlpool, TransUnion, Zenni, Adobe, and Frontier Airlines. Wpromote utilizes an integrated, data-driven approach across services including paid search, SEO, social media, Amazon marketing, programmatic, video, and digital intelligence. For additional information, visit http://www.wpromote.com. Contact: Jessica Bright [email protected] (310)321-4434 SOURCE Wpromote Related Links http://www.wpromote.com In the wake of the Port of Beirut explosions which have devastated many parts of Lebanons capital city, Emirates is standing with Lebanon to provide critical emergency relief and aid to the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the blasts. Emirates SkyCargo plans to ramp up its freighter operations to Lebanon by dedicating over 50 flights to deliver much needed airlift to the country. Emirates is providing people around the world the opportunity to donate cash or pledge their Skywards Miles, through a dedicated, secure and convenient portal via the Emirates Airline Foundation. For the next three months of donations, the Emirates Airline Foundation will in turn directly coordinate shipments of urgent food, medical supplies and other much needed items with a range of NGO partners to ensure donations directly help those affected on the ground in a swift and transparent manner. Work is underway to mobilise recognised humanitarian partners. For every donation, cargo capacity will be provided for humanitarian organisations to transport critical medical equipment and supplies, food and other emergency relief goods directly to Beirut through Emirates SkyCargo. Additionally, Emirates SkyCargo will further contribute by providing a 20% reduction on air freight transportation charges for approved shipments, underscoring its commitment to expedite emergency relief efforts to Beirut. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline & Group said: Today, the world is banding together to stand in solidarity with Lebanon, providing urgent relief and immediate recovery support to those affected by this tragic disaster. Emirates supports the UAEs ongoing humanitarian efforts to support Lebanon and is committed to bolster its global emergency response to ensure that it can support organisations which provide urgent care, shelter, food and medical support to the Lebanese people. People from all corners of the globe have been sending their support to Lebanon and we are proud to facilitate a means for them to tangibly and proactively assist the Lebanese people with relief and recovery efforts on the ground during this difficult time. Emirates has already been supporting disaster relief efforts in Lebanon through the dispatch of several charter flights carrying food, clothing and medical supplies donated by various grassroots organisations in the UAE. Emirates is committed to being a strong partner by making a difference and giving back to the communities it serves. Through the Emirates Airline Foundation, the airline supports over 30 humanitarian and philanthropic projects in 16 countries. Over the years, Emirates has supported humanitarian flights in partnership with the Airbus Foundation, and since 2013, Emirates A380 ferry flights have transported over 120 tonnes of food and vital emergency equipment to those in need. Emirates has been serving Lebanese skies and communities since 1991. The airline started its operations between Dubai and Beirut with a three times weekly service utilising a Boeing 727. Today, Emirates operates two daily flights to Beirut utilising the Boeing 777, with plans to add further frequencies. To find out more, visit: http://www.emirates.com/standwithlebanon To donate, visit: https://www.emiratesairlinefoundation.org/make-a-donation/donate-now Image Credit: Emirates Airlines Testing Finds New Positive Cases Over Weekend There are 38 active cases of COVID-19 among University of Wyoming students and employees. Two of those involve students who were living in UWs residence halls; they have been moved to isolation housing, and the affected areas in the residence halls have been thoroughly cleaned according to current disinfection protocols. The other 36 cases involve students and employees living off campus, some in communities outside Laramie, and they are isolating at their homes according to current Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Eight people who had close contact with the two students in the residence halls are now in quarantine housing for 14 days. Close contact is defined by the Wyoming Department of Health as being within 6 feet for more than 10 minutes. Reporting from pre-return Vault Health tests showed 30 new positive cases over the weekend, as a total of 8,260 tests have been processed by Vault. Here is the breakdown of the new cases, in addition to the two students in the residence halls: -- Six are students self-isolating in other cities and states -- Casper, Riverton, Sheridan, Colorado, New Jersey and South Dakota. -- Nine are students in Laramie in off-campus housing whove had no presence on campus. -- Six are UW employees, now isolating at home. The facilities where they work have been cleaned according to current disinfection protocols. -- Four were past positives who have recovered. -- Five are individuals the university is attempting to contact. The total of UW-related COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began is 50; 12 of the individuals have recovered. A COVID-19 dashboard may be found at www.uwyo.edu/campus-return. It will be updated with the new numbers today and regularly during the fall semester. In Albany County, 85 total cases have been reported as of Aug. 16. BURLINGTON, Mass. and PLANO, Texas, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE: KDP) (the "Company" or "KDP") announced today the commencement of a registered public secondary offering of 45 million shares, or approximately 3.2%, of the Company's outstanding common stock. All of the shares sold in the offering will be sold by Maple Holdings B.V. ("Maple"). Maple is a holding company majority-owned by JAB Holdings B.V. ("JAB"). The Company is not selling any shares of common stock and will not receive any proceeds from the proposed offering. Upon completion of the offering, Maple and JAB will collectively own approximately 49.5% of the Company's outstanding common stock. Maple may distribute the proceeds of the offering to its members or otherwise redeem interests of its members from time to time, including JAB. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as underwriter for the proposed offering. The offering will be made only by means of an effective registration statement and a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the proposed offering may be obtained from: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, telephone: 1-866-471-2526, facsimile: 212-902-9316 or by emailing [email protected]. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the related prospectus may also be obtained free of charge from the website of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") at http://www.sec.gov. The Company has previously filed with the SEC a registration statement (including a prospectus) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-233477) and a prospectus supplement, each dated August 27, 2019, as well as a preliminary prospectus supplement for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the issuer has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the issuer and this offering. Copies of the registration statement can be accessed through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. About Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) is a leading beverage company in North America, with annual revenue in excess of $11 billion and nearly 26,000 employees. KDP holds leadership positions in soft drinks, specialty coffee and tea, water, juice and juice drinks and mixers, and markets the #1 single serve coffee brewing system in the U.S. and Canada. The Company's portfolio of more than 125 owned, licensed and partner brands is designed to satisfy virtually any consumer need, any time, and includes Keurig, Dr Pepper, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Canada Dry, Snapple, Bai, Mott's, CORE and The Original Donut Shop. Through its powerful sales and distribution network, KDP can deliver its portfolio of hot and cold beverages to nearly every point of purchase for consumers. The Company is committed to sourcing, producing and distributing its beverages responsibly through its Drink Well. Do Good. corporate responsibility platform, including efforts around circular packaging, efficient natural resource use and supply chain sustainability. Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained herein are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws and regulations. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "may," "might," "should," "could," "predict," "potential," "believe," "expect," "continue," "will," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "intend," "plan," and "would," or the negative version of those words or other comparable words or phrases of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements have been based on the Company's current views with respect to future events and the timing of this secondary offering. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including prevailing market conditions, as well as other factors. All of the forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and the Company's other filings with the SEC. Forward-looking statements represent the Company's estimates and assumptions only as of the date that they were made. The Company does not undertake any duty to update the forward-looking statements, and the estimates and assumptions associated with them, after the date of this release, except to the extent required by applicable law. Investors Tyson Seely T: 781-418-3352/ [email protected] Steve Alexander T: 972-673-6769/ [email protected] Media Katie Gilroy T: 781-418-3345/ [email protected] SOURCE Keurig Dr Pepper Related Links http://www.keurigdrpepper.com Dynamic Advisor Solutions Our inclusion in the nations fastest-growing private companies is a true testament to our outstanding team and the successful wealth advisors we serve through our virtual model at Dynamic. - Jim Cannon, Dynamic Founder and CEO Inc. magazine recently revealed that Phoenix-based Dynamic Advisor Solutions dba Dynamic Wealth Advisors is No. 2,586 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. Dynamic supports close to 80 advisory practices, both IARs and RIAs, across the U.S. through a complete business solution, myVirtualPractice, serving nearly 4,000 clients and approximately $2.4 billion of assets. Dynamics ranking on the Inc. 5000 is both a tremendous honor and a crowning achievement for our firm, said Dynamic Founder and CEO Jim Cannon. Our inclusion in the nations fastest-growing private companies is a true testament to our outstanding team and the successful wealth advisors we serve through our virtual model at Dynamic. Not only have the companies on the 2020 Inc. 5000 been 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 Dynamic Advisor Solutions dba Dynamic Wealth Advisors For successful wealth advisors looking to elevate their practices to the next level, Dynamic Advisor Solutions is a professional services provider, delivering a complete business solution, myVirtualPractice, to create efficiencies so advisors can focus on providing exceptional client experiences. Founded in 2009, Dynamic has experienced steady growth, working with advisory firms of all types and sizes. Today, Dynamic supports approximately 80 advisory practicesboth IARS and RIAsacross the U.S., serving nearly 4,000 clients and approximately $2.4 billion of assets. For more information, visit dynamicadvisorsolutions.com. More about the Inc. 5000 Methodology and Inc. Media 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/. # # # Dynamic Advisor Solutions, LLC dba Dynamic Wealth Advisors is an SEC registered investment advisor. Investment advisory services are offered through Dynamic. 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 must submit an application, pay a $195 application fee and submit financial statements. 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. Juan Carlos, the former king of Spain who went into exile this month in the face of graft allegations, is in the United Arab Emirates, the royal palace said August 17, ending the mystery on his whereabouts. The 82-year-old "travelled to the United Arab Emirates on August 3 and he remains there," a spokesman said without giving further details. In a surprise move, Juan Carlos announced on August 3 that he was leaving Spain to prevent his personal affairs from undermining his son King Felipe VI's reign, but did not say where he would be going. The royal palace had up until now refused to reveal where Juan Carlos is living, saying he would announce it himself if necessary. While pro-monarchy Spanish daily ABC had reported that the former king had travelled to Abu Dhabi, other media singled out Portugal, where Juan Carlos spent part of his youth, or the Dominican Republic as possible destinations. While Juan Carlos is not under formal investigation, revelations by a former mistress, German businesswoman Corinna Larsen, raise legal questions about his financial affairs which officials are looking into in Spain and Switzerland. The suspicions centre on $100 million (85 million euros) which that late Saudi king Abdullah allegedly deposited into a Swiss bank account in 2008 to which Juan Carlos had access. Prosecutors at Spain's Supreme Court are looking into claims made by Larsen that Juan Carlos received kickbacks for a Saudi high-speed rail contract, which was awarded in 2011 to a consortium of Spanish companies. The 450-kilometre (280-mile) link between Mecca and Medina was inaugurated in 2018. Juan Carlos, who has long had warm relations with the Gulf monarchies, ascended the throne in 1975 on the death of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco and ruled for 38 years before abdicating in favour of his son Felipe VI in June 2014. He was a popular figure for decades, playing a key role in the democratic transition from the Franco dictatorship which ruled Spain from 1939-1975. A majority of Spaniards, 56.2 percent, feel his decision to move abroad is "misguided", according to a poll of 802 people published Sunday in the daily ABC, with only 25.4 percent saying it was the right step. An even greater number of Spaniards, 60.9 percent, believe his self-imposed exite is harmful for his son, the current King Felipe VI, according to the poll of 802 people carried out August 10-14. Since ascending to the throne in 2014, King Felipe VI has since taken steps to improve the monarchy's image, such as imposing a "code of conduct" on royals. Earlier this year he stripped his father of his annual allowance of nearly 200,000 euros after new details of allegedly shady financial dealings emerged Picture books help children learn about their identity, navigate new situations, and embrace themselves through relatable characters who are facing new challenges. If someone is not represented in books, those lessons can be more difficult to internalize. To expand these opportunities for Indigenous children, whose stories and unique challenges are underrepresented in picture books, Rebecca Thomas created Swift Fox All Along, the story of a young girl who meets her Mikmaw family for the first time after growing up off-reserve. Representation is crucial for young Indigenous people, Thomas says. I never saw anyone who looked like me or had a similar experience growing up represented in books, movies, or TV. Those of her books that did include Indigenous people often portrayed these characters as historical figures and as belonging to the past. It was very difficult to feel connected to my identity when I didnt see myself in stories, she says. This book shows the modern and often complicated life of an Indigenous person in a way that validates so many Indigenous kids and that challenges non-Native people to shift how they think about who is considered Native. Swift Fox All Along highlights the challenges of maintaining traditional culture when not living on the reserve. Swift Foxs Mikmaq family welcomes her with open arms, but she gets shy and overwhelmed in this new place. When she finds a little space outside to be quiet in, she becomes curious about her environment, and its familiar sounds and smells draw her back inside to meet new people. I wanted little kids to be able to point to the pictures and see themselves or people in their family even before they can read, Thomas says. I wanted to show the wide range of emotions that Swift Fox has. I wanted to show a home with Mikmaq imagery and faces. I also wanted to show the wide variety of what those faces look like. Thomas brings her own story to the book: when she was a child, her dad called her Swift Fox. Thomas is lnu of the Mikmaq Nation and grew up off-reserve in Riverview, New Brunswick, the traditional territory of the Wolastoqiyik. Her parents separated when she was young, and when her father visited, he would bring Indigenous items so he could pass along a bit of the Mikmaq identity. While he had lost the Nations language and some of its culture after attending the Shubenacadie Residential School, he prioritized passing the traditions he remembered on to his own children to connect them to their culture. Illustrator Maya McKibbin created the engaging and lively drawings in the book. I was very insistent that my illustrator be Indigenous, Thomas says. I saw character sketches from other work that Maya had done and immediately knew she could bring Swift Fox and all her family to life. I was thrilled when Maya agreed to take the project. Through these drawings and stories, Mikmaq children can now see themselves in characters who share familiar experiences. Thomas also remains active in her Native identity. I have been working with my community members, going to events and ceremonies, and reading, practicing, and staying humble, she says. I am Mikmaw. I participate by living as a Mikmaw person. ABC News In an effort to keep a newly-arrested member of the Oath Keepers militia group charged in last week's seditious conspiracy indictment behind bars -- the Justice Department in a new court filing Wednesday revealed even more details behind the group's alleged plotting in advance of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Prosecutors argue in the filing that Edward Vallejo, who will appear in federal court in Phoenix for his detention hearing Thursday, would present both a threat to the safety of the general public and a risk of obstruction of justice if released pending further legal proceedings in his case. Vallejo is not alleged to have joined the Oath Keepers at the Capitol on Jan. 6 -- he instead is accused of waiting with a so-called 'Quick Reaction Force' of heavily armed individuals at a hotel in Virginia just outside the city, waiting to be activated once the militia's members in D.C. called for help. NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Branford Castle Partners, LP, a New York City-based private equity firm, today announced that its affiliate has purchased Fibrix Filtration, a leading provider of specialized high loft and pleat media air filtration products. The Company sells its products to many of the large, brand name filter manufacturers throughout the United States. Branford is teaming up with existing management including CEO Keith White, who is one of the current owners and who will be investing in the transaction as well. This investment represents the first transaction for Branford Castle Fund II, which had a first close in late 2019. "Branford's Fund II is off to a fast start, despite the challenging environment, and we are delighted that Fibrix Filtration is the first investment for our second fund. With air filtration an area of increasing concern throughout the world, we look forward to working with Fibrix management to grow the business and develop new products," said Senior Managing Director Laurence Lederer. Based in Charlotte, NC, Fibrix Filtration has been manufacturing air filtration media products for over 50 years. With four facilities located in North Carolina and Texas, the Company's products are pivotal in optimizing the performance of commercial and industrial HVAC systems, leading to enhanced system efficiency, lower energy costs and improved air quality. Fibrix's air filtration media products are designed to meet specific technical standards related to particle capture, pressure drop and dust collection. "We are excited about the Fibrix opportunity and believe the company is well-positioned to grow through a number of organic initiatives under the direction of its excellent management team," said Branford Senior Associate, Ceon Francis. "We are especially pleased to work on this investment with Byline Sponsor Finance, a division of Byline Bank, which is providing senior debt financing, and Brookside Mezzanine Partners, which is providing mezzanine debt financing." Keith White, CEO, further said, "The team and I are very proud of all that we've accomplished over the last few years at Fibrix. We look forward to working closely with our partners at Branford Castle in the next stage of growth of our business." Branford Castle was advised by its legal counsel, Akerman LLP. Fibrix was advised by Alantra LLC and Adams & Reese provided legal counsel to the sellers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. About Branford Castle Partners (http://www.branfordcastle.com/) Branford Castle is a private market investor focusing on lower-middle-market investments, with a more than 30+ year history of helping to grow businesses. The firm typically makes control investments in companies with less than $15 million of EBITDA and a leadership position in a niche industry. Branford is particularly keen on the strong relationships it develops with its portfolio company managers. Branford has particular expertise in industrials/specialty manufacturing, consumer products, business services and logistics. SOURCE Branford Castle Partners Related Links http://www.branfordcastle.com The UK internal market is critical to the interests of Scottish agriculture and the food and drinks sector it underpins, according to NFU Scotland. Responding to the UK government white paper on internal markets, the union said it was a 'priority' that the internal market operates as it does at present. Scottish food exports to the rest of the UK in 2017 were worth 3.6 billion while drink exports in the same year were worth 830 million. For all goods and services, the value to Scotland of the UK internal market, as a whole, is four times higher than the value of Scotlands trade with the EU. NFU Scotland said it supported the intention in the paper to ensure that the internal market continued to operate with free movement of goods produced to the same basic regulatory standards. However, the union said that some proposals posed a 'significant threat' to the development of Common Frameworks and to devolution. It stressed the need for agricultural support policies to diverge where necessary to reflect different needs and objectives in different parts of the UK, while regulatory requirements converge to protect the internal market. In its response, the union said Common Frameworks would provide the most effective alternative to manage policy divergence, whilst respecting devolution, and so enable the UK internal market to operate without friction. NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick said: The proposal on mutual recognition contained in the paper raises the potential for Common Frameworks to be rendered meaningless. Since 2017, the Common Frameworks process has intended to specifically manage policy differences between all parts of the UK based on agreement and founded on respect for devolution. Common Frameworks can manage the practical regulatory and market implications of the UK leaving the EU and is the specific tool that was jointly designed by the government and devolved administrations. However, the internal market proposals put forward limit the devolved administrations ability to act if any standards were lowered and give the government a final say in areas of devolved policy, such as agriculture." South Africa: Medical Association welcomes move to alert level 2 South Africas move to level 2 of the lockdown is a step in the right direction, says the South African Medical Association (SAMA). This is the correct decision by government and signals a major shift in the countrys response to the Coronavirus. We are happy with this decision and believe it will go some way to begin addressing some of the economic issues our country currently faces, SAMA Chairperson, Dr Angelique Coetzee, said on Sunday. Coetzees comments come as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa would move to lockdown level 2 from midnight on Monday, 17 August 2020. The President made this announcement in an address to the nation on Saturday night. Dr Coetzee said it is particularly important for SAMA that the President acknowledged the role of doctors and healthcare workers in dealing with Coronavirus, and the sacrifices many have made in fighting the pandemic. Our doctors are on the frontline of fighting COVID-19 and continue to put themselves and their families at risk every time they leave for work. We applaud these courageous men and women for their dedication and commitment to the health of the nation. We stand with the President in recognising these efforts and similarly express our condolences to those who have died in the service of others, Coetzee said. Call to remain vigilant While supporting the move to alert level 2, SAMA echoed President Cyril Ramaphosas call for people to continue wearing masks, washing and sanitising their hands, and practicing social distancing. Its extremely important that South Africans understand that we are not rid of this Coronavirus, and that the road ahead remains long and uncertain. Moving to level 2 is welcomed but people must not think this is the end of the fight against the pandemic. We must all still play our role in curbing the spread of Coronavirus, and ensure we are all still safe going forward, Dr Coetzee said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:46:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIGALI, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Remains of over 100 victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide Against the Tutsi have been exhumed from in Rwandan capital city Kigali, survivors' organization said on Monday. The remains were discovered from a pit at the backyard of a house in Nyarugenge district, which belongs to a former notorious Interahamwe militia member, Masengo Rutayisire, head of IBUKA, the umbrella organization of genocide survivors associations of Rwanda, told reporters at a news briefing on the site. The remains were discovered after a local resident who heard occupants of the house talking about the whereabouts of the mass grave informed the authorities, said Rutayisire. The search for the remains, which started last week, is still ongoing, with two more pits expected to be dug out, he said, adding that the occupants were arrested on suspicion of concealing information on the remains. Remains of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are still being discovered in many parts of Rwanda. An estimated 500,000 to 1 million Rwandans were brutally murdered during 100 days from April 7 to mid-July 1994, the overwhelming majority of the victims being Tutsis. In 2018-2019 fiscal year, remains of 118,049 genocide victims were discovered in 17 districts countrywide, according to National Commission for the Fight against Genocide. Enditem Kujawa was born on the South Side on May 15, 1924, Heather Gleason, the Park Districts director of planning and construction, said at last weeks meeting. He was among those who landed on Iwo Jima in February 1945 with the 5th Marine Division, C Company, 2nd Platoon. Kujawa, then 20, was one of four survivors of his company, Gleason said. He fought for 36 days with fellow Marines until the Japanese surrendered. Two bars in the Mohawk Valley have had their liquor licenses suspended for what the state calls egregious violations of Gov. Andrew Cuomos executive orders aimed at containing the coronavirus. The two bars are Dick Smiths Tavern in Utica and Side Street in Mohawk, Herkimer County. They have a right to appeal the suspension and could face fines up to $10,000. In the latest release of coronavirus-related cases brought by a special state task force, one bar in Onondaga County Sharkeys Bar & Grill on Route 57 in Liverpool has been charged with failure to comply with local regulations. The bar was cited on Aug. 5 and no further details were given. Sharkeys remains open with its license pending a hearing. Todays report from the state brings to 148 the number of liquor licenses the State Liquor Authority has suspended since the first pandemic orders were issued in March. In all, the SLA has issued 812 charges since March (including those suspended). From mid-March until early June, most of the cases involved violations of Cuomos initial order banning dining or drinking on the premises (take-out only was allowed). Since then, most violations have been for violating amended rules that allow no more than 50 capacity on the premises, require social distancing and masks, and require that food be served with alcohol. Most of the egregious cases resulting in suspended licenses have involved large crowds mingling together, often without masks. Since March, the vast majority of the businesses charged or suspended for coronavirus violations have been in New York City, Long Island or Downstate counties close to the city. Of the 16 suspensions announced today, two were Upstate, one on Long Island and 13 in New York City. The state task force, which is led by the SLA and State Police, conducted 3,000 compliance checks this weekend in New York City and Long Island, with 66 violations. The two suspensions in the Mohawk Valley happened after inspections on Aug. 14. A news release from the governors office gave these details: Dick Smiths Tavern, 1310 Schuyler St. Utica. On August 14th, investigators with the states multi-agency task force observed approximately 30 patrons standing and congregating around the bar area inside the premises, with every seat at the bar filled and several patrons walking around, drinking and mingling without facial coverings. Investigators ordered and were served alcoholic beverages without food from a bartender who was not wearing a facial covering, and noted no patrons ordered or consumed food." Side Street, 2 Otsego St. Mohawk. On August 14th, investigators with the states multi-agency task force entered the premises and found a standing room only bar scene, with approximately 30 patrons in the bar area, none of whom were wearing facial coverings. Investigators ordered and were served alcoholic beverages without being seated and without food from a bartender who was not wearing a facial covering. The investigators also observed numerous patrons drinking and milling about, including two who were playing pool near the back of the premises. MORE ON FOOD AND DINING RULES 3 more CNY bars cited for coronavirus violations Relax, Upstate New York: The governor is not coming after your beloved chicken wings Update: State charges 5 CNY bars with violations of post-reopening rules We just lost control that night. CNY restaurant owner explains state coronavirus violation From chips with booze to walk-up service: State clarifies new bar rules Cuomo threatens to reverse NY bar, restaurant reopenings if big crowds continue Cuomos new booze rules: What bars can and cant do (and do chips count as food?) Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook The number of active cases of COVID-19 at the Department of Veterans Affairs has dropped by 38% in the past month, but the case count continues to be nearly three times that of late May, before much of the country began easing stay-at-home orders. The VA reported Monday that 3,960 patients have active cases of the coronavirus, down from 6,424 four weeks ago. The decline is good news for a population considered to be at risk for serious cases of COVID-19 -- an aging population with chronic health conditions related to their military service. Read Next: Army Street Gang Activity is Increasing, Report Shows But the VA continues to see an upward trend in fatalities: With nearly two weeks to go until the end of the month, at least 338 veterans have died from the virus. In all of June, 400 veterans died, while 473 veterans succumbed to the illness in July. The deadliest month for veterans with COVID-19 in the VA health system was May, when more than 700 patients perished. A total of 46,431 patients have been treated by the VA for the coronavirus since the first veteran was admitted to the VA Medical Center at Palo Alto, California, on March 2. More than 40,000 have recovered. As has been seen in the last month across the country, the number of cases at the VA has surged in the Sun Belt, with VA hospitals in Texas, Arizona, Georgia and Florida seeing an increase in patients with the coronavirus. However, deaths remain highest at VA hospitals in New Jersey and New York, which were hit hard early in the pandemic. The total number of U.S. veterans who have died as a result of the pandemic is unknown. The VA is tracking patients only within its own health system, as well as employees. Deaths in veterans homes run by states are not included in the count. As of July 17, more than 1,000 veterans had died in 47 state-run veterans homes in 34 states. More than 4,300 VA employees have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and 46 have died. Related: The Military's Coronavirus Cases: The Latest Rundown While the number of cases appears to be on the decline, VA Secretary Robert Wilkie told Government Executive magazine last week that the department is preparing for a resurgence of cases, along with influenza, as fall approaches. Wilkie said that, following challenges at the beginning of the pandemic in ensuring a steady supply of personal protective equipment for all employees, the department has been stockpiling and is in "an excellent place." "We have months of supplies on hand," he said. Wilkie added that the department has tested "hundreds of thousands" of employees and veterans and plans to continue testing all employees in nursing homes, as well as residents. Across the U.S., more than 5.4 million people have tested positive for COVID-19 while 170,000 have died. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: Back From the Brink: 4 Veterans Who Beat COVID-19 Tell Their Stories The tuberculosis bacterium has been around as long as mankind has. To fight the bacterium, we need to know how it attacks the body's immune system. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have taken the next step toward that goal by filming the process. It's thought that every fourth person harbors tuberculosis bacteria in their body, although only five to ten percent of the infected population actually get sick. People who contract the illness need to take antibiotics for up to two years. Antibiotic resistance in some patients means they never recover. Those who have had the disease and survive do not become immune. One person who lives close to the tuberculosis bacterium is Professor Trude Helen Flo at NTNU's Centre of Molecular Inflammation Research (CEMIR). Now she and nanotechnologists Kai and Marianne Sandvold Beckwith at NTNU and EMBL Heidelberg have managed to film in detail how the death process unfolds inside a cell. This is rare fare, even among researchers, which is why the world premiere was recently published in the journal Nature Communications. "We observed the tuberculosis bacterium and some of the proteins we study with fluorescent colours like blue, red and green in the cells. We used advanced fluorescence microscopy to film them before studying them with a 3D electron microscope that has nanometre resolution," says Flo. The most harmful bacteria are the best at fooling the body's immune system. The TB bacterium hides in the very cells that are supposed to kill it. "The tuberculosis bacterium lives in macrophages that are the guards, waste removers and caretakers of the immune system," says Flo. The main role of macrophages in the immune system is to eat and destroy microbes, while alerting the rest of the immune system. TB bacteria have found ways to hide inside the macrophage and avoid being killed. "The tuberculosis bacterium lives in the world's best hiding place," says Flo. The research team filmed the infection in multiple 24-hour time-lapse sequences. When the tuberculosis bacterium makes a person sick, it is because cells full of bacteria rupture and spread the contents to other cells in the lungs, creating an inflammation that damages the lung tissue. The person begins to cough, and the bacteria spreads. For the first time, NTNU researchers have managed to show exactly how this happens inside the cell and in what order. The only way for the tuberculosis bacterium to spread is to first get out of the cell it lives in. The bacteria begin to reproduce and at some point kill the cell they live in in order to spread further. "The TB bacterium does this by punching holes in the membrane that encloses the macrophages. This triggers an explosive immune response in which the cell they live in dies, allowing the bacteria to spread to other cells. The bacteria operate in two modes: one where they divide and multiply while hidden inside the cell they live in, and one where they break out and infect healthy tissue," says Flo. Filming allowed the researchers to study this process much more precisely. The researchers can apply this understanding in their work to treat the disease. "Antibiotics work against the bacteria, but we envision developing a treatment that could control the cell death and tissue damage caused by the tuberculosis bacterium. Combined with antibiotics, this might provide more effective treatment, but we aren't there yet," says Flo. ### Citation: Beckwith, K.S., Beckwith, M.S., Ullmann, S. et al. Plasma membrane damage causes NLRP3 activation and pyroptosis during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Nat Commun 11, 2270 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16143-6 By Azernews By Akbar Mammadov Nagorno-Karabakhs Azerbaijani Community has described as another provocation the intention of the so-called "regime" created in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, to relocate its headquarters from Khankendi to Shusha. Shusha is a city of great historical and spiritual significance for Azerbaijan, and on the eve of the 270th anniversary of its foundation, we condemn another provocative attempt by Armenia, the Community said in its statement. We have repeatedly witnessed such provocations, the community stressed, adding that one of such provocations was the distortion of the architecture of the Yukhari Govhar Aga Mosque of Shusha as the Iranian mosque and the distortion of the Russian Church as the "Armenian Church". In addition, the Armenian leadership organized a so-called "inauguration" show in Shusha a few months ago, the community reminded. The community emphasized that such regular steps serve nothing but hinder the settlement of the conflict and should be strongly condemned by the international community. Such provocative and perverse actions of Armenia will never break our determination to return to our ancestral lands The Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been subjected to ethnic cleansing, will return to our lands and form institutions that embody the sovereignty of Azerbaijan," the statement concludes. Recently, Armenian armed forces committed the military provocation, firing artillery at Azerbaijan's positions in the direction of Tovuz district of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border. As a result of the military provocation, the Azerbaijani army lost 12 servicemen as a result of Armenian attacks. One civilian was killed as a result of artillery fire by the Armenian armed forces. It should be noted the occupation of Shusha region was one of the most painful losses of Azerbaijan in the Karabakh war because of the fact that Shusha was the capital city of the historical Karabakh khanate of Azerbaijan, which was occupied as a result of heavy fire from rockets, artillery, tanks and other weapons by Armenian armed forces on the night of May 7-8, 1992. During the defence of the city, 195 civilians were killed and 165 were injured. 114 Azerbaijanis captured by Armenians and detained in Shusha prison were later killed with special cruelty, 58 residents of the city are missing. Before Shusha was occupied, about 25,000 people lived there, of which more than 24,000 people of Shusha have been become internally displaced persons and settled in 58 regions of Azerbaijan. As a result of the occupation, Armenian armed forces destroyed and looted many valuable historical and cultural monuments in Shusha. This includes a total of 279 religious, historical and cultural monuments, including the famous Shusha fortress, the Khan Cave, the Gakhal Cave, more than 170 residential buildings, temples and mosques, which are considered architectural monuments. Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) will meet brokers associations, clearing corporations and depositories on August 18 to discuss the proposed framework on margin obligation, to be given by way of pledged or repledged shares in the depository system. The market regulator will review the preparations of depositories and brokers backend systems before implementing the new facility from September 1, sources said. The depositories have been finding it tough to implement the new mechanism owing to technical issues. "SEBI has already extended the deadline to implement the pledge-repledge policy twice and does not want to delay it any further. Tomorrows meeting is to check the stakeholders readiness to implement it," a source told Moneycontrol. The regulator had issued a circular way back in February for implementing the facility from June 1. But owing to the COVID-19 lockdown, the deadline was extended to August 1, and then at the request of brokers, extended it further to September 1. The new mechanism is aimed at ensuring the safety of an investor's shares. In the new system, an investor doesn't need to transfer physical shares to his broker as collateral, as was the norm earlier, which was called margin pledge. Instead of that, brokers further pledge the holding in favour of clearing member or clearing corporation. Under the new mechanism, an investor will get to know the status of their pledge and also the brokers status of re-pledging. Listen: Setting Sail | Wow Momo may cut jobs in September, business still not back to pre-Covid level: Sagar Daryani National Securities Depository Limiteds (NSDL) pledging function is working properly but repledging still has issues," a Mumbai-based broker told Moneycontrol. However, NSDL, in a statement to Moneycontrol, clarified that its system is ready for margin pledge with effect from August 1, 2020. Many stockbrokers have also used the NSDL system for the purpose of creating a margin pledge, marking a repledge as well as the release of margin pledge, which is working smoothly. In addition to this, based on demand from the market, NSDL is also introducing from today a functionality of repledge and release of partial quantity at the client level," the statement reads. A source in NSDL also confirmed this: "The new facility is operational and more than 50 brokers are using it. In fact, we issued a circular on August 15 asking brokers not to wait for the last day to start using this facility. We have also done a conference call with around 100 brokers. But most brokers back end systems are not updated for this mechanism," the person pointed out. "We are ready with an extra feature of partial pledging of shares from today," another NSDL official told Moneycontrol. According to sources, the regulator is unlikely to extend the timeline this time. SEBI may pull up brokers, clearing corporations and depositories if they are not ready with the system. The regulator is adopting many measures in favour of investors, but brokers and depositories are not coming up to its expectations," a broker said on condition of anonymity. Interestingly, Central Depository Services Limited (CDSL) is already ready with the mechanism. Brokers associations are also willing to adopt the new policy though they seek time for its smooth implementation for the benefit of investors. "Intermediary systems can be made ready only after Market Intermediaries Infrastructure (MII) systems are ready. Now that MIIs claim to have completed their work, the intermediary back-office vendors can design and test their system and give to the brokers for implementation," a broker observed. "We have always supported the pledge-repledge system and look forward to the same, but implementation should be smooth as it will help customers," a broker association office-bearer opined. Indian foreign secretary Harsh Shringla will make a previously unannounced visit to Bangladesh on Tuesday, during which he is expected to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, people familiar with developments said. This will be Shringlas first trip abroad since the Covid-19 outbreak. It will also be the first visit to Bangladesh by a senior Indian official since travel restrictions were imposed due to the pandemic. Shringla, who earlier served as the Indian envoy in Dhaka, is expected to carry a message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for Hasina, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity. The people said Shringlas discussions in Dhaka are expected to focus on ways to further strengthen the bilateral relationship. He is expected to return home the same day. There was no official word from the external affairs ministry regarding the visit. Hasina visited India last October, while Modis planned visit to Bangladesh in March to participate in events marking the birth centenary of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was called off due to the pandemic. The two leaders have spoken on phone several times this year, most recently in May. Ties between the two sides have been under some strain since last year, when Bangladeshi leaders were irked by comments from BJP leaders about deporting illegal migrants from Assam. The Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the implementation of the National Register of Citizens also hit ties, and Hasina had questioned the need for CAA during an interview earlier this year. India has taken several steps in recent weeks to improve connectivity with Bangladesh, including handing over 10 railway locomotives last month. This was done days after the first container train made its way from India to Bangladesh and the first shipment of goods was sent from Kolkata to Tripura via Chattogram port. After taking over as foreign secretary in January, Shringla had visited Dhaka in March. Shringla had met Prime Minister Hasina during his last visit to Bangladesh. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 04:28:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Aug. 17, 2020 shows debris at Port of Beirut, Lebanon. The damage toll in Lebanon following the Beirut blast is rising as the United Nations and partners continue their assessment, now reporting more than 290,000 people who have been left jobless, a UN spokesman said on Monday. Two huge explosions rocked Port of Beirut on Aug. 4, shaking buildings all over Lebanon's capital, while killing at least 177 people and wounding 6,000. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich) UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The damage toll in Lebanon following the Beirut blast is rising as the United Nations and partners continue their assessment, now reporting more than 290,000 people who have been left jobless, a UN spokesman said on Monday. The statistics showed that an estimated 220,000 people have lost their jobs from the beginning of the October financial crisis while 70,000 people can no longer work because of the Aug. 4 explosion, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The figures did not include those who lost jobs because of COVID-19. At least 2,000 doctors have been either injured or their clinics destroyed, Dujarric said, putting the total number of buildings damaged at 40,000, including 3,000 residential structures severely damaged. As for the COVID-19 toll, he said that as of Sunday there were 8,881 cases in the country with 102 deaths. The UN Relief and Works Agency said there have now been eight deaths from the disease among Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is mobilizing 35 million U.S. dollars for its emergency response to the most vulnerable Lebanese, refugees and migrant households in the capital. The agency said its aid stockpile in the country was not affected by the explosion, making available to the Lebanese Red Cross and other partners shelter kits, blankets, plastic sheeting, mattresses and other critical items for survivors. In a related development, the spokesman said the Spanish contingent of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), operating in the mission's East Sector has donated firefighting equipment to the Lebanese Civil Defense. The donation to seven Civil Defense centers will help up to 175,000 people living in the Marjayoun district, southeast of Beirut, where the contingent is headquartered. Natural gas prices surged Friday on rising expectations for cooling demand as forecast models turned warmer through September. Already on the back of a scorching June and July, and continued heat wave in August, the latest weather outlook calls for a further ramp-up in air conditioning use. Riding on this positive momentum, natural gas prices ended the week at an eight-month high of $2.356 per MMBtu. In fact, the onset of hotter weather has helped lift natural gas prices by nearly 60% since late June, when they hit their lowest level since 1995. With the commodity being the primary U.S. power plant fuel, firms in natural gas business are set to benefit from the bump in cooling demand. Weather Models Showing Strong Projected Heating Demand With the updated weather data revealing an ongoing bullish pattern extending into September particularly in Texas, where record-breaking temperatures show no signs of abating cooling loads should experience a consistent upward spike. The escalation in summer heat translates into the burning of more gas to feed higher electricity consumption for air conditioning. According to the EIA's latest Short Term Energy Outlook, natural gas share of electricity generation would rise to 40% this year from 37% in 2019. Therefore, as Americans crank up their air conditioning to combat hotter-than-normal weather, companies in the natural gas industry stand to make more money. This should also significantly reduce the current inventory surplus that remains bloated due to a combination of weak consumption from a warmer-than-expected winter 2019-2020, coronavirus-induced drop off in usage and a dip in volumes flowing to LNG export plants. As of Aug 7, natural gas stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states stands at 3.332 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) 608 Bcf (22.3%) above 2019 levels at this time and 443 Bcf (15.3%) higher than the five-year average. With weather models suggesting a continuation of this warming trend over the next few weeks, the storage surplus is expected to shrink and push prices even higher. This bodes well for companies that develop and sell natural gas. Story continues Additional Tailwinds The novel coronavirus outbreak remains a big catalyst for balancing the natural gas market. Analysts believe that the brake in skyrocketing shale oil production growth tied to the crude price collapse will also limit associated gas output, thereby cutting the massive supply glut. As a proof of the impending supply drop, the EIA expects that the United States will churn out 88.7 billion cubic feet a day (Bcf/d) of dry natural gas this year, down from the 2019 average of 92.2 Bcf/d. The U.S. natural gas rig count, an indicator of future production, also points to the same. According to Baker Hughes (BKR), the gas rig count continues to decline, recently falling to a record low of 68 from 165 a year ago. Finally, the steady improvement in shipments of LNG for export will facilitate the natural gas market. Volumes flowing to LNG export plants recently dropped to multi-month lows due to weak international demand. However, there has been a sustained increase in feed gas volumes over the past few weeks on the back of a better demand outlook. This is likely to translate into rising LNG shipments in August the first in six months and a bullish demand factor for U.S. natural gas prices. Which are the Best Natural Gas Companies Going Forward? Scorching hot weather forecasts across the lower 48 over the next few weeks are likely to spur natural gas demand for cooling, and therefore prices, at least for the near term. The upward trend should aid gas-weighted producers. We present five companies that investors should watch out for. SilverBow Resources, Inc. SBOW: A pure-play upstream operator in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, SilverBow Resources is a natural gas-focused E&P company. Over 30 days, the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 increase 21%. SilverBow controls 165,000 net acres in the Eagle Ford and 79% of its total output comprises natural gas. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Range Resources Corporation RRC: The company, carrying a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), has a strong footing in the prolific Appalachian Basin. In the gas-rich resource, the upstream firm has huge inventories of low-risk drilling sites that are likely to provide production for several decades. About 70% of the companys total output is natural gas. Over 30 days, Range Resources has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 increase 112.5%. Gulfport Energy Corporation GPOR: The company's asset base primarily focused on natural gas is concentrated in the Utica Shale of Ohio and the SCOOP play in Oklahoma. Gulfport has a combined inventory in excess of 3,000 gross drilling locations in its two primary plays. Of Gulfports total output, nearly 90% comprises natural gas. Over 30 days, the #3 Ranked company has seen the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 increase 104.5%. Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation COG: Cabot is an independent gas exploration company with producing properties mainly in the continental United States. The company with Zacks Rank of 3 owns 174,000 net acres in the dry gas window of the Marcellus play. Cabot beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters and reported in-line in the other, delivering an earnings surprise of 20.79%, on average. All of Cabots production is natural gas. CNX Resources Corporation CNX: CNX Resources is a leading operator in the Appalachian basin the most prolific domestic gas basin with more than 1.1 million net acres. About 96% of the companys total output is natural gas. The 2020 Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #3 company indicates 88.5% earnings per share growth over 2019. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Cabot Oil Gas Corporation (COG) : Free Stock Analysis Report CNX Resources Corporation. (CNX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Range Resources Corporation (RRC) : Free Stock Analysis Report Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR) : Free Stock Analysis Report SilverBow Resources Inc. (SBOW) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research FRANKFURT, Germany and NIZWA, Oman, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Deutsche Hospitality is expanding its presence in the Sultanate of Oman. On 15 August, the group has opened a second hotel operating under the Intercity brand name. The hotel is situated in Nizwa at the edge of the Hadschar mountain range and surrounded by the Nizwa Grand Mall and the Aqua Water Park. Set in an oasis, the city of Nizwa is considered to be a cultural centre and is the historic trading centre of the Sultanate. The IntercityHotel Nizwa will offer 120 guest rooms and suites, a restaurant, a cafe and an Aqua Pool Bar. Health and beauty spa facilities will comprise a gym, a steam bath and a rooftop pool. The hotel's luxurious Ballroom will be able to accommodate up to 700 people and stage unforgettable weddings, family celebrations and business events. Three combinable conference rooms will also provide additional options for meetings. "We are delighted to be establishing a further IntercityHotel in Oman," explained Thomas Willms, CEO, Deutsche Hospitality. "Oman offers fantastic holiday destinations and an outstanding host culture. Our guests in Nizwa will be provided with a new international hotel with superb services that combine bot European and Arab influences." Deutsche Hospitality has been operating in the Sultanate since 2016, when the IntercityHotel Salalah opened. Nizwa exudes historic flair and is considered to be both a centre and a link between various parts of the country because it lies between the routes connecting Muscat and Salalah. It is also highly popular amongst domestic travellers. "The huge Ballroom, the rooftop pool and the events rooms are all USPs for us in this wonderful city," said Anees Shinnara, General Manager of the IntercityHotel Nizwa. "The whole team is ready to fire the enthusiasm of our guests." - Picture is available at epa European Pressphoto Agency (http://www.epa.eu) and AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) - Current press information is available in our press portal. IntercityHotel is a Deutsche Hospitality brand which stands for modern upper mid-range urban hotels. IntercityHotels are located within easy walking distance of airports or railway stations. Guests also benefit from a "FreeCityTicket" scheme, which enables them to use local public transport free of charge. The IntercityHotels portfolio includes more than 40 hotels in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Oman and China, and 20 further properties are currently at the development stage. Deutsche Hospitality operates four further brands. Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts boast 60 hotels housed in historic traditional buildings and lively city residences and also offer health and beauty oases set at the very heart of nature. MAXX by Steigenberger is a new and charismatic concept which places the focus on the essential in accordance with its motto "MAXXimize your stay," whilst Jaz in the City branded hotels reflect metropolitan lifestyle and draw upon the local music and cultural scene. Zleep Hotels provide quality and design at an affordable price in Denmark and Sweden. Press contact: Deutsche Hospitality | Lyoner Strae 25 | 60528 Frankfurt am Main | Germany Sven Hirschler | Tel: +49 69 66564-422 E-mail: [email protected] Facebook | Twitter | YouTube www.deutschehospitality.com/en www.steigenberger.com/en | www.maxxhotel.com/en | www.jaz-hotel.com/en www.intercityhotel.com/en | https://www.zleep.com/en/ SOURCE Deutsche Hospitality Related Links https://www.deutschehospitality.com WASHINGTON - The Trump administration will open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, a move that will auction off oil and gas rights in the heart of one of the nation's most iconic wild places. Achieving a goal Republicans have sought for 40 years, it marks a capstone for an administration that has ignored calls to reduce fossil fuel consumption in the face of climate change. The move will allow leasing on the 1.6 million-acre coastal plain, part of a nearly pristine wilderness that is home to migrating caribou and waterfowl as well as polar bears and foxes that live there year-round. It marks a major step toward reviving fossil fuel development in an area that has been untouched for three decades. In a conference call with reporters, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said that his department was following through on the 2017 budget bill that instructed the federal government to conduct oil and gas leasing on the refuge. "President [Donald] Trump's leadership brought more than three decades of inaction to an end," he said, adding that the plan was "carefully tailored" to minimize its impact on the surrounding environment. "This is no ordinary oil and gas program on public lands." The push to grant rights to drill on the refuge represents one of the most significant energy policy decisions Trump will make before his first term ends in January. He has doggedly worked to expand fossil fuel production in the United States, even as the climate impacts of burning those fuels - scorching temperatures, increased flooding and more-intense storms - have battered the country. In recent months, the administration has expanded oil and gas drilling, weakened gas mileage standards and rolled back energy efficiency standards for appliances. According to an analysis by the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, the lease sales would result in the release of more than 4.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide over the projected life of the field. That total, which includes the impact of oil and gas once it is burned, is equal to roughly three-quarters of U.S. annual emissions. Environmentalists and some Alaska Natives - including the Gwich'in, who live outside the refuge but rely on the Porcupine Caribou Herd, which migrates through it - have pledged to fight the drilling plan in court. Under the 2017 law, the federal government must conduct two lease sales of 400,000 acres each by December 2024. The first auction would be held by Dec. 22, 2021, according to the plan, though Bernhardt said it was possible that it could take place by the end of this year. "I am confident that we can move forward quite promptly after this decision is rendered," he said. Bernhardt estimated that drilling could begin in roughly eight years and that the operations could last for about half a century. Stretching into the Arctic Ocean's frigid waters and 200 miles south on land, the refuge encompasses rolling tundra, jagged mountains and boreal forest. It provides habitat for more than 270 different species, including 900 denning polar bears, 250 musk oxen and 300,000 snow geese. While Congress authorized drilling on the coastal plain in 1980, opponents have managed to block energy development there for decades. The move opens up all of the coastal plain's polar bear denning habitat to energy exploration. In 2010, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, there were 900 Southern Beaufort Sea polar bears left in the world. The overall number of bears, some of whom den on land, has declined 50% since 1980. In issuing a "record of decision," officials at the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management concluded that establishing a network of well pads and pipelines would not pose an undue threat to the wildlife that depend on the refuge for survival. The plan calls for the construction of as many as four airstrips and major well pads, 175 miles of roads, vertical supports for pipelines, a seawater-treatment plant and a barge landing and storage site. Adam Kolton, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said in a statement that the administration ignored science and the law in making this decision. "Our climate is in crisis, oil prices have cratered, and major banks are pulling out of Arctic financing right and left. And yet the Trump administration continues its race to liquidate our nation's last great wilderness, putting at risk the indigenous peoples and iconic wildlife that depend on it," Kolton said. "We will continue to fight this at every turn, in the courts, in Congress and in the corporate boardrooms." Bernhardt said that while Democrats might want to scuttle the lease sale after taking office, they must contend with the fact that Congress has legally mandated auctions there. "They can't just simply unduly delay. So that is a reality that Congress created." But if Democrats win control of the White House and both the House and Senate, experts said, they could pass new legislation overriding the 2017 law. David Hayes, who served as Interior deputy secretary under both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, said he believes the administration's decision is legally vulnerable because it restricted its environmental analysis to the leasing stage and said it would only affect 2,000 acres on the surface. The 2017 law, he noted, instructs Interior to conduct an oil and gas program that covers "the leasing, development, production and transportation of oil and gas in and from the Coastal Plain area within the Arctic refuge." "You can't just take the first step of the program," Hayes said. "I think that statutory language is a real tripwire for these guys." Bernhardt, who noted that he had significant experience litigating cases related to Interior's oil and gas leasing programs, said the department had crafted the decision within the confines of the law. "I would not be going forward if I was not very comfortable with the lines that we drew in this case." Alaska Republicans hailed the decision as an economic boost for their state. Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement that the vision of Trump and Bernhardt "will lead to the responsible development of Alaska's abundant resources, create new jobs, support economic growth and prosperity." Sen. Lisa Murkowski agreed. "This is a capstone moment in our decades-long push to allow for the responsible development of a small part of Alaska's 1002 area." Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement that the oil and gas industry has proven it can drill on Alaska's North Slope safely. "The industry has a well-established record of safe and environmentally responsible development of Alaska's energy resources and has been recognized for its success in being respectful of Alaska's wildlife and surrounding communities," he said. It is unclear which companies will bid on leases in the refuge and risk a potential backlash from conservation groups and the public. In an April poll, Yale and George Mason universities found that 33% of registered voters supported drilling for oil there, while 67% opposed it. And the low price of oil has made projects on Alaska's North Slope, where operations are more costly, less attractive recently. Some major banks, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, have already announced they will not finance projects in the refuge, and other financial institutions are under pressure to follow suit. The government estimates there could be 7.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil on the coastal plain, though seismic surveys have not been conducted since the 1980s. Initially the administration projected that leasing would generate $1.8 billion in revenue over a decade, but it has subsequently cut that estimate in half. One of the unanswered questions is how much oil lies beneath the refuge's surface. There has not been seismic testing to identify potential deposits since the 1980s, and the results of any new testing will not be released before companies are asked to make bids on leases there. But Bernhardt said he did not think that would deter bidders. "I think a lot of people will bid for leases without seismic data." Joe Biden, the Presidential Candidate of the Democratic Party, United States of America (USA) picked Senator Kamala Devi Harris on Tuesday, 11th August, 2020 as his Running Mate for the Countrys November 2020 general elections. A selection which has become a major concern of the many in America even among a large section of the Democratic Partys extremists. The choice has left the many Blue Party extremists and other Bidens strong support base perplexed due to how Harris Kamala was very extreme and personal with her attacks at Biden during the Presidential Aspirants primaries. Such categories of individuals are wondering how constant confusion and acrimony can be managed and cleansed from within such a pair in their course of working together in the interest of the country. Kamala is in addition certainly not the choice of the apolitical American who feels an incompetent person like Joe Biden in his choice for a running mate should have pushed aside a play on racism and sexism, and should have rather considered a competent person, at least someone more competent than him to aid with consolidation and supplementation of his many weakness for enhancement of strengths for better management and the forward march of the Nation. In fact, a choice of Kamala Harris by Joe Biden is only a pick of a worse than him. Actually, Kamala is just an attention seeking rant with many deficiencies; she is highly incompetent, corrupt, promoter of radical policies not in favour of the ordinary American, and many others. Kamala has not even been able to manage California properly, her people live under unwarranted and could have been avoidable distress, misery and hardship. The choice of Kamala only moves on to corroborate the fact that Biden is just a loser, an incompetent and corruption man who is only gladdened with a pair and work with a worse of his kind so that his inabilities, inefficiencies and ineffectiveness would be overcrowded and not easily be noticed. Kamala will bring absolutely nothing on board aside just adding a negative to the managerial inabilities of Joe Biden. Biden is just on a journey to drown America and her recently rejuvenated economy due to his unwillingness and stubbornness to correct his incompetence, so I will admonish America to resist this future social and economic set back by voting against this would be future deteriorating social and economic pair of a virus; Biden and Kamala, and rather vote massively and maintain President Donald Trump and his enviable, invaluable and incredible Vice President, Mike Pence for the continuous forward march of America. Kamala Devi Harris, born on October 20, 1964, was elected by California to the U.S Senate as a Democrat in 2016 and began her representation of California in Senate from 2017. Kamalas selection as the Running Mate to Joe Biden makes her the third woman to be nominated for such a position by a major political party in the USA. Hhhmm, May God be praised always Nana Kwadwo Akwaa ([email protected]) Member, Critical Thinkers International (CTI) Two Egyptian military aircraft loaded with medical supplies and foodstuff were dispatched to Lebanon as part of the air bridge Egypt has extended to Lebanon in the wake of the massive warehouse explosion at Beirut Port. The humanitarian aid is in line with the directives of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the country's military spokesman said in a statement on Monday. A massive blast at Beirut Port on 4 August damaged buildings across the capital and sent a giant mushroom cloud into the sky, killing at least 171 people, injuring around 6,000, and leaving as many as 300,000 homeless. The trip is the sixth aid shipment to arrive in the Arab country from Cairo. Lebanese officials said the explosion was caused by ammonium nitrate, 2,750 tons of which had been stored in a warehouse at the port for six years after being confiscated from a ship. Egypt has taken several steps to provide assistance to Lebanon, including launching an airlift to offer humanitarian aid and relief supplies and a sealift to help in the reconstruction of the blast-hit country. The first batch of Egyptian humanitarian aid was delivered to Lebanon on 5 August, one day after the bombing, with a planeload of medical supplies. An Egyptian field hospital in Beirut is also providing aid to victims of the blast. Search Keywords: Short link: The initial investigation did not find those photos or emails on Easterbrooks phone in late October because Easterbrook, with the intention of concealing their existence from the Company, had deleted them from his phone, the suit alleges. Unbeknownst to Easterbrook, however, the deletion of the e-mails from the mail application on his Company-issued phone did not also trigger the deletion of those e-mails from his Company e-mail account stored on the Companys servers. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic leaders will summon the House back in session this coming week to confront President Donald Trumps attempts to undermine the U.S. Postal Service, she announced Sunday night. The House is expected to vote as early as Saturday, Aug. 22, on a proposal to block the Trump administrations plan for overhauling the Postal Service. This is weeks earlier than Pelosi and the House Democratic leaders had originally planned to return to Washington. But the revised House schedule comes amid a national uproar over a crisis within the Postal Service ahead of a national election that will see an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots. Democrats have grown increasingly alarmed that Trump is using the coronavirus pandemic to force service cutbacks at USPS ahead of Nov. 3. Democrats allege Trumps appointee to lead the Postal Service, Louis DeJoy, has overseen substantial operational changes to the agency that has led to backlogs and service interruptions an immense concern as millions of Americans prepare to receive and return their ballots through the mail. Trump has long alleged, without evidence, that mail-in voting perpetuates election fraud. Alarmingly, across the nation, we see the devastating effects of the Presidents campaign to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters, Pelosi said in a letter to fellow House Democrats on Sunday. "That is why I am calling upon the House to return to session later this week to vote on Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman [Carolyn] Maloneys 'Delivering for America Act,' which prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020." Pelosi said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) would formally announce the new schedule on a call with members set for Monday. The next set of House votes had orignally been slated for the week of Sept. 14 before this latest uproar. Story continues House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), a Trump ally, claimed Democrats are trying to focus on the Postal Service's problems because they weren't able to reach a deal with the White House over a new coronavirus relief package. Republicans are 100 percent committed to ensuring a fair and accurate election. Whether Americans choose to vote in-person which Doctor Fauci has stated will be safe or vote absentee, I have complete confidence in the integrity of our electoral process," McCarthy said in a statement. "House Democrats are simply attempting to distract from the fact their ridiculous demands are dragging down the American recovery and adding more uncertainty to peoples livelihoods. But House Democrats signaled this weekend that they will mount aggressive oversight of DeJoy, a Trump donor and loyalist, and have demanded the postmaster general appear for an emergency committee hearing on Monday, Aug. 24. Pelosi and Maloney announced the hearing this weekend, warning that the agencys changes are slowing the mail and jeopardizing the integrity of the election. Democrats in both the House and Senate had already demanded a slew of documents from DeJoy and his top staff, seeking details on why DeJoy had cracked down on overtime hours, restricted certain deliveries and offered conflicting information on the timeline for mail-in ballots. Pelosi and her leadership team held an emergency call Saturday to discuss several options to deal with the turmoil at the Postal Service as several rank-and-file Democrats from progressives to moderates publicly demanded action. Letter carriers load mail trucks for deliveries at a U.S. Postal Service facility in McLean, Va., on July 31, 2020. Some Democrats, including moderate Rep. Jim Cooper (Tenn.), said DeJoy should be arrested if he ignores a congressional subpoena to testify. Democratic leaders would not pursue that option, but Coopers suggestion, which was echoed by other Democrats, signals how angry lawmakers are about whats unfolding at the Postal Service. The House is expected to vote on a modified version of a bill Maloney introduced last week that would block many of the major organizational changes DeJoy is seeking before the election. Some top Democrats on the call this weekend also argued for having the House take additional action on other measures tied to the coronavirus pandemic, including expired federal unemployment benefits. The House could vote on other economic proposals during its emergency session, but nothing has been officially decided, according to multiple Democratic aides. The House passed a major coronavirus relief bill in May that included a $25 billion infusion for the Postal Service and an additional $3.6 billion in election security funding. Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the White House had agreed to provide $10 billion in Postal Service funding during coronavirus talks earlier this month before the negotiations fell apart. Schumer on Sunday called on Senate GOP leaders to bring back their members, as well, to vote on the Houses bill to undo the extensive damage Mr. DeJoy has done at the Postal Service. Identity Theft in the Workplace Trend Analysis Cybersecurity is not only in the hands of an IT or security department," said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. "Every employee plays a crucial role in its companys security network." Today, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity crime, and AuraTM Identity Guard, one of the first to establish the identity theft protection industry in a colossal effort to help consumers protect their identities, released their findings from research on how employers and employees feel about having access to identity compromise support as a benefit option. The results from the trend analysis, The Impacts of Identity Theft on Employees and Their Workplace, show that employees find significant value in having access to an identity compromise solution; having an available remediation solution creates a better mindset for those that use it; and that there are halo results that benefit others (especially employers). In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received over 3.2 million reports of fraud with more reports of identity theft than any other category. There is an opportunity to provide the needed support employees are asking for by giving them access to an identity compromise solution as a component of the benefits suite. Access The Impacts of Identity Theft on Employees and Their Workplace trend analysis Cybersecurity is an organizational issue, said Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center. Cybersecurity is not only in the hands of an IT or security department. Every employee plays a crucial role in its companys security network. That is why it is so critical employees are educated on cybersecurity and have the proper cyber-hygiene tools. In some cases, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of offering an identity compromise solution as an employee benefit. COVID-19 forced many employers to rethink how to conduct business when federal and state governments, under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), issued stay-at-home orders for all nonessential businesses. Many employers were put in an unfamiliar situation of ensuring that their employees home environment could sustain their work requirements. Employees had to ensure that their home computing networks, including home routers and modems, had the appropriate security settings in place. Tessians The State of Loss Data Report found nearly half of the people surveyed said they are forced to find workarounds for security policies while working from home to do the work required. "At Aura, we don't consider our products and features a benefit, rather a necessity," said Hamed Saeed, General Manager of Aura Identity Guard. "The results of this study clearly indicate the value employees place on having their personal information protected - especially during this pandemic. Additionally, the results illustrate something weve known to be true: by protecting employees, employers are also able to protect themselves from digital malice by instilling a culture of cybersecurity across the enterprise. The findings support that many employees want an identity compromise solution in some manner from a referral to a free non-profit service, all the way to an employer-paid solution. Over 82 percent of employers surveyed said that offering access to an identity compromise solution did, indeed, provide value to their staff. In early 2020 AftermathTM survey results, 24.6 percent of victims have had issues with their employer as a result of their personal identity compromise and 27.3 percent have had challenges with their boss or coworkers. The report is available for download now. Consumers and victims can receive free support and guidance from a knowledgeable live-advisor by calling 888.400.5530 or visiting http://www.idtheftcenter.org to live-chat. About the Identity Theft Resource Center Founded in 1999, the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) is a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity theft in resolving their cases, and to broaden public education and awareness in the understanding of identity theft, data breaches, cybersecurity, scams/fraud and privacy issues. Through public and private support, the ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its contact center, website, social media channels, live-chat feature and ID Theft Help app. For more information, visit: http://www.idtheftcenter.org. About Aura Aura is a technology company dedicated to simplifying digital security for consumers. Committed to creating a unified platform of services, Aura uses adaptive technology to enable customers to manage disparate cybersecurity needs with ease. Innovative personal identity protection and security products such as Identity Guard and Hotspot Shield, privacy products FigLeaf and PrivacyMate and technology services including Intrusta antivirus are part of the Aura family. Trusted by millions of customers, Aura is the digital halo that provides real-time peace of mind. For more information about Aura, visit http://www.aura.com. MEDIA CONTACT Identity Theft Resource Center Charity Lacey VP of Communications O: 858-634-6390 C: 619-368- 4373 clacey@idtheftcenter.org Aura Identity Guard Lark-Marie Anton (781) 552-3259 lark@auracompany.com WWE performer Sonya Deville had a frightening wake-up call at her Tampa-area home early Sunday morning. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office, officers responded to a disturbance call after Deville, 26, reported that someone had broken into her house and tried to kidnap her. The suspect, later identified as Phillip Thomas II, from Cordesville, South Carolina, had been reportedly stalking the wrestling star for years, according to a Facebook post from the agency. Scary! .... He was carrying a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, and mace, said the sheriffs office statement. Fortunately, the homeowners alarm went off and they were able to run away and call 911. Deputies arrested Thomas, who was still inside the home, and through the investigation process learned he traveled from South Carolina to Lutz, specifically targeting this homeowner who he didnt know, but stalked on social media for years. Sonya Deville According to a police report, Thomas, 24, entered the home through a sliding glass door a little before 3 a.m., triggering the alarm, which woke her and a guest. Though the victim was not identified, ESPN reported that the Florida home was owned by the E! reality star whose real name is Daria Berenato. Thank you everyone for your love and concern. A very frightening experience but thankfully everyone is safe. A special thank you to Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office for their response and assistance. Daddy Deville (@SonyaDevilleWWE) August 17, 2020 The New Jersey native later sent a tweet thanking the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office for their response and assistance, adding that the experience was frightening. According to court records, Thomas faces several charges, including armed kidnapping, aggravated stalking, armed burglary and criminal mischief. He is being held without bond. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 23:19:28|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Zambia has continued to see a surge in COVID-19 cases, with the country recording 496 new confirmed cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative cases to 9,839, its health ministry said on Monday. The 496 new cases were picked from 1,549 tests. Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya told a daily COVID-19 briefing that the country also recorded four new deaths, bringing the total deaths so far to 264 while 163 patients were discharged in the last 24 hours, bringing the cumulative recoveries to 8,575. Meanwhile, the health minister said the government will strengthen its collaboration with private health facilities in order to improve health care delivery. While appreciating the role of the private health facilities in supplementing health care, the minister said there was an urgent need for collaboration in the fight against the pandemic. The partnership, he said, was meant to build the capacity of private health facilities in detecting cases. Enditem Little Traverse Bay Humane Society hires training and behavior specialist Sarah Schertel will serve the training needs of Little Traverse Bay Humane Society, in addition to offering classes to the public. Stephenie Meyer created a pop culture phenomenon in 2005, when she published the first in the Twilight Saga. The American author recently revived the series of young adult novels, dropping the long-awaited fifth installment Midnight Sun. She's still not quite done with the globally successful franchise, recently revealing that she has at least 'two more books' in her, although she's keeping them on the back-burner. Two more: Stephenie Meyer still isn't quite done with the Twilight Saga, recently revealing that she has at least 'two more books' in her (pictured in August, 2013) The 46-year-old said last week during a virtual Books-A-Million event: '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 it's there. I am not ready to do that right now. I want to do something brand new.' As for the potential plots, she told Hypable in 2015: 'I think if I was really going to do it, it would be Renesmee. And Leah. Those are the two most unresolved characters. 'If I was going to do it if it wasnt for my enjoyment the fans would want Alice I think. That would be the one they definitely would want to have.' Not yet: The 46-year-old said last week: '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 it's there. I am not ready to do that right now. I want to do something brand new' (pictured in October, 2015) Brainstorming: As for the potential plots, she told Hypable in 2015: 'I think if I was really going to do it, it would be Renesmee. And Leah. Those are the two most unresolved characters' (pictured in November, 2011) Up in the air: Meyer has left the fate of the franchise up in the air for several years, before announcing the release of Midnight Sun this year (L-R: Edi Gathegi, Cam Gigandet, Meyer, Robert Pattinson, Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner and Rachelle Lefevre pictured in July, 2008) Meyer has left the fate of the franchise up in the air for several years, before announcing the release of Midnight Sun this year. According to Collider, she said at a press junket for Breaking Dawn, Part 2 in 2012: 'I dont know. Like I said, Im not into permanence, so I wouldnt say no absolutely. Im not going to do it today, but I dont know how Im going to feel in five years.' Meanwhile, the author's prequel book sold more than 1million copies in its first week, after it was released earlier this month. She told Seventeen: 'I did doubt whether anyone would still want this story. Its been so long it would only serve me right if nobody cared. So to know that people still wanted to read it was kind of amazing.' Midnight Sun tells the story of the original Twilight book through the perspective of the lead vampire protagonist Edward Cullen. Iconic series: Meyer published Twilight in 2005, followed by the sequels New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008), selling more than 100million copies worldwide Page to screen: The books inspired five films (Breaking Dawn split into two parts), released from 2008 to 2012, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Anna Kendrick The rest of the books in the franchise have been narrated by his mortal romantic counterpart Bella Swan. Meyer previously shelved the book back in 2008, after 12 chapters of the unreleased manuscript were leaked online. She published Twilight in 2005, followed by the sequels New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007) and Breaking Dawn (2008), selling more than 100million copies worldwide. The books inspired five films (Breaking Dawn split into two parts), released from 2008 to 2012, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Anna Kendrick early in their careers. BALTIMORE - Maryland's top-ranking Democrats gathered with union officials at a mail-sorting facility here Monday to decry delivery slowdowns as a threat to democracy and call on average citizens to take action. "The Postal Service is in great trouble," said Sherry McKnight, president of the Baltimore-based Local 181 chapter of the American Postal Workers Union. "I'm asking you to stand with us. March with us. Be there with us so that we will be assured that the Postal Service will still be there for years to come." Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said the event was part of a new strategy to channel public furor over U.S. Postal Service delivery delays that could threaten mail-in voting in the November election. Democrats hope to pressure the Trump administration, Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Senate Republicans into reversing operational changes that have slowed mail service by as much as a week. "We're going to turn up the heat," Van Hollen said. "It's going to make it really hard to continue down this road." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a close ally of Van Hollen during his 14 years in the House, has encouraged her Democratic colleagues to stage similar events at Postal Service locations around the country Tuesday. Van Hollen will hold a news conference outside Postal Service headquarters in downtown Washington, joined by other members of Congress from the national capital area, including the District and northern Virginia. Republicans have derided the Democrats' outrage as a partisan "manufactured crisis." Van Hollen and Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., were joined Monday by Reps. Kweisi Mfume and John Sarbanes, Baltimore Mayor Bernard "Jack" Young, and Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson of Baltimore City, all Democrats. Each took a turn vilifying DeJoy as leading a sabotage campaign designed to undermine one of the country's most well-regarded public institutions. "The foolishness must end," Mfume said. Added Sarbanes, "When you attack the Postal Service, you are attacking American families, plain and simple." In DeJoy's short but contentious tenure, his cost-cutting directives to forbid extra trips, limit overtime and remove 10% of the agency's mail-sorting machines have contributed to delays in mail delivery. Union officials said rank-and-file letter carriers are pushing back against the directives but need the public's help to persuade the Postal Service leaders to end them. Democratic lawmakers said their offices have been deluged by frustrated citizens waiting on mail, including veterans who were missing medications and seniors whose Social Security checks hadn't arrived. The stakes for timely delivery of mail are heightened as voters in the vast majority of states prepare to cast ballots through the Postal Service this fall, in part to lessen the spread of the novel coronavirus. The agency warned 46 states and D.C. that last-minute ballots could arrive too late to be counted for the November election. "This is an attempt to stop people's ability to vote by mail, and that's what we're fighting against," said Jermaine Jones, president of the Metropolitan Baltimore Council AFL-CIO Unions, which represents postal workers. "The cavalry is coming," he said, "and we're not going to stand by and let this happen." The FIA is pressing ahead with reported plans to ban so-called 'party mode' engine settings ahead of the next race at Spa-Francorchamps. Many see the move as a clear attack on Mercedes' dominance - but not everyone thinks it will succeed. "Everyone talks about Mercedes being hurt more than the others," said former F1 driver JJ Lehto. "But when you look at how fast that car is, you have to admit that it is not because of the engine alone," he told Iltalehti. Even Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is not hiding that the 'party mode' ban could spectacularly backfire on F1. "The so-called party mode is great for us because we can use it in qualifying. If we can no longer do that, then we will have a lot more power in the race," Wolff warned. "I agree with Lewis that we are not worried about losing power." Wolff said he believes the FIA when it argues that the party mode ban will make it "easier" for the governing body to monitor "these incredibly sophisticated power units". But he also told Kronen Zeitung newspaper that he thinks there is another reason. "You always try to slow down the fastest, so you have to take that in a sporting context," said Wolff. "But to simplify from our side, it means that we will make the engine even more powerful in the race because we have to take something away from qualifying." F1 race director Michael Masi confirmed that the FIA is pushing ahead with the ban. "Our engineers have done a tremendous amount of preparatory work and we have also consulted with the power unit manufacturers," he said in Barcelona. "So we have full confidence and we fully intend to issue such a technical directive before the race at Spa," Masi added. Meanwhile, amid rumours that Istanbul and Jerez could be poised to join the 2020 'corona calendar', Masi was asked if he is planning inspections of those circuits. He responded: "The FIA regularly inspects circuits, which is done at the request of the local regulatory bodies, and this work will continue." (GMM) She keeps the boat docked at a friends house on the Intracoastal Waterway near the Wonder Bar in Atlantic City. It was something for the whole family, the 52-year-old mother of two said. I knew my 19-year-old son (Thai) would get reinvolved with us, and my daughter was home from college. I knew it would definitely be a family thing for us to do together. And while she didnt originally think of the pandemic when she bought the boat, Punthrangkul says now its been the perfect way to do all the fun things they like to do in the summer while social distancing. We can get some lunch on the boat instead of going to happy hour, she said. Plus, we were all at home in March, April and May. It was time to be outside. The boat was a way to be outside and still be safe. Donahue agreed the isolation that comes with boating is a major factor in the increased sales. The boating lifestyle lends itself perfectly to the era of social distancing, Donahue said. Boating is something you can do without traveling. You can stay pretty close to home with your family in your bubble. You can do it while maintaining your proper distance and keeping your bubble tight. As the probe into the Kerala Gold smuggling case intensifies, a Kochi court on Monday sent three key accused - Sarith PS, Swapna Suresh, and Sandeep Nair to judicial custody till August 26. A Kochi court had just a day earlier dismissed the bail petition of Swapna Suresh in connection with a case being probed by the Customs Department. Principal Sessions Court in Ernakulam remanded the three accused to judicial custody till August 26 after hearing the submission from all sides. Earlier in the day, ED also revealed more details about the relation between M Sivasankar, who was the former principal secretary of Kerala CMO, with Swapna Suresh. "During April 2017, Swapna Suresh had travelled to the UAE with Sivasankar. Further, during April 2018, Swapna had travelled to Oman and met Sivasankar who was on a trip to Oman in the same period and they returned together to India from Oman," the ED said. The court has directed the ED to conduct an interrogation of Swapna Suresh should take place from 10 am to 5 pm and noted that it will take action if the accused faces mental torture in custody. READ: Kerala gold smuggling case: Sarith PS, Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair sent to ED custody READ: Kerala gold smuggling: ED reveals 'proceeds of crime' stored on ex-CMO secy's instructions ED Reveals 'proceeds Of Crime' Stored On Ex-CMO Secy's Instructions the Enforcement Directorate (ED), on Monday has submitted its investigation details in Special court regarding accused Swapna Suresh and ex-principal secretary M Sivashankar. ED stated that Suresh had meetings with Sivasankar when the state machinery was in UAE from October 17, 2018, to October 21, 2018, seeking the assistance of the Indians there for flood relief. Furthermore, ED has claimed that proceeds of the alleged crime were kept in a bank locker by Suresh on instructions of Sivashankar. On Saturday, the ED interrogated suspended IAS officer M Sivasankar for five hours - ED has stated that he was fully aware that the integrity of Swapna Suresh was dubious. Minister for Public Works in the Pinarayi Vijayan ministry - G Sudhakaran has called Sivashankar a traitor. Meanwhile, the NIA has arrested 20 accused in connection with the case and conducted several raids in Malappuram & Kozhikode. (With inputs from ANI) READ: Kerala gold smuggling case: ED interrogates suspended IAS officer READ: Kerala gold smuggling case: NIA arrests four more people, Swapna Suresh sent to ED custody LUTHERVILLE, Md., Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Celebree School, a leader in early childhood education with 44 open or under development school locations in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, today awarded a franchise to Claas and Jessica Wiley-Ritzmann. They expect to open their Celebree School in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, by summer 2021. Jessica Wiley-Ritzmann is a lifelong educator with experiences teaching close to home in Bucks County, Penn., and abroad in both London and Germany. One of the reasons the couple wanted to move forward with opening a Celebree School is the companys approach to education. I really liked that there is a curriculum for students and the value placed on individualized education, said Jessica Wiley-Ritzmann. I believe it is valuable to teach a child the way they learn and be a resource for every family within a community. Like all Celebree Schools, our location will be a positive, family-centered place that helps prepare each child for success. Faculty and staff at Celebree School believe success in early childhood development is equal parts curriculum and connection that extends beyond the classroom and into the homes and neighborhoods of the students. The Celebree approach is not simply about educating the whole child but the whole family. Were excited to have Jessica and Claas on the Celebree team, said Richard Huffman, founder and CEO of Celebree. I look forward to working with them closely as they begin their journey as entrepreneurs. Celebree School franchises come with the resources an owner needs to start and run a successful business. Opportunities to open Celebree Schools are available in Maryland, Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Celebree School Grows People Big and Small starting with students who range from six weeks to school age and extending to parents, teachers and directors. Now people who want to own their own business can be part of Celebree School and channel their passion for the community into the success of their school. Dublin, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Stepper Motor Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Type; Technology" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The stepper motor market was valued at US$ 1,992.8 million in 2019 and is projected to reach US$ 2,803.6 million by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.85% from 2020 to 2027. Motors form an essential component of medical equipment. Presently, stepper motors are one of the most common motor types used in medical analyzers. Further, there is an increasing demand for stepper motors in X-ray machines, ultrasound scanners, IV pumps, as well as blood analyzers. Recent technological developments in the healthcare industry, e. g., oxygen concentrators, use stepper motors in fans for cooling. The compact size and low noise of stepper motors make it an ideal choice for medical applications. Additionally, hybrid stepper motors are an appropriate choice for applications that require low-cost along with a fine resolution of shaft movements, such as in peristaltic pumps and medical syringe. The rising demand for medical devices worldwide owing to the increasing number of patients and governments efforts to enhance healthcare infrastructure is, in turn, propelling the growth of the stepper motors market. Based on type, the stepper motor market is categorized into integrated lead screw stepper motor, rotary stepper motor, and fully enclosed stepper drives. In 2019, the rotary stepper motor segment dominated the stepper motor market. Rotary stepper motors are brushless and synchronous electric motors, which split a full rotation of the motor into several numbers of steps. They are considered to act as synchronous AC motors comprising several poles, which are mounted on both rotor and stator. These motors are used in a wide range of systems in industrial setup, including multi-axis machines, CNC machines, rotation stages, high-speed pick-and-place equipment, constantly driving linear actuators, linear stages, lead screws or ball screws, and mirror mounts. While selecting a rotary stepper motor, one should consider parameters such as required speed range, desired rotary or linear step resolution and step accuracy, maximum loading in each direction, and type of load (frictional, inertial, mechanical spring, or shock load). These motors can be customized or engineered as per the requirement of applications. The stepper motor market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. APAC held the largest share of the global stepper motor market, followed by North America and Europe, in 2019. The largest share of this region in the stepper motor market is mainly attributed to countries such as India, China, and South Korea have robust automotive sectors. These countries are also among the leading vehicle manufacturing countries in the world. Further, the region is becoming prime manufacturing hub for medical devices, with China and India being the leaders. Developing economies, such as Vietnam, are also witnessing growth in the manufacturing of medical devices. China and Japan have prominent aerospace manufacturing industries. ABB Ltd., Applied Motion Products Inc., Delta Electronics Inc. Faulhaber Group, National Instruments Corporation, Nidec Corporation, Nippon Pulse Motor Co. Ltd., Oriental Motor Co. Ltd., Sanyo Denki Co. Ltd., and Schneider Electric SE are among the major players in the global stepper motor market. Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Stepper Motor Market COVID-19 outbreak, which began in Wuhan (China) in December 2019, has rapidly spread across the globe. It has badly affected China, Italy, Iran, Spain, the Republic of Korea, France, Germany, and the US in terms confirmed cases and reported deaths as of March 2020. The continuous growth of infected individuals has led the government to impose lockdown across the nation's borders. The majority of the manufacturing plants are shut down, municipalities are functioning slowly as compared to the past, and the automotive and semiconductor industries are at a halt, which is negatively impacting the stepper motor market. In terms of patient count and death toll, Canada and Mexico are still at a nascent stage in comparison with the US. However, the manufacturing plants, the semiconductor industry, and several other businesses are functioning slowly, which is negatively impacting on the stepper motor market. Reasons to Buy 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 stepper motor market, thereby allowing players 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 components, aircraft type, and end-users. Key Topics Covered: 1. Introduction 2. Key Takeaways 3. Research Methodology 3.1 Coverage 3.2 Secondary Research 3.3 Primary Research 4. Stepper motor Market Landscape 4.1 Market Overview 4.2 PEST Analysis 4.2.1 North America - PEST Analysis 4.2.2 Europe - PEST Analysis 4.2.3 Asia-Pacific - PEST Analysis 4.2.4 MEA- PEST Analysis 4.2.5 SAM- PEST Analysis 4.3 Ecosystem Analysis 5. Stepper motor Market - Key Market Dynamics 5.1 Market Drivers 5.1.1 Growing Adoption of Robotics and Automation in Diverse Industries 5.1.2 Rising Applications of Stepper Motors in Medical Field 5.2 Market Restraints 5.2.1 Growing Implementation of Servo Motors in Motion Control Applications 5.3 Market Opportunities 5.3.1 Surging Demand for Miniature Stepper Motors 5.4 Future Trends 5.4.1 Technological Advancements 5.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints 6. Stepper motor Market - Global Analysis 6.1 Stepper motor Market Overview 6.2 Stepper motor Market - Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 6.3 Market Positioning - Global Market Players Ranking 7. Stepper Motors Market Analysis - By Type 7.1 Overview 7.2 Stepper Motors Market Breakdown, by Type, 2019 and 2027 7.3 Rotary Stepper Motors 7.3.1 Overview 7.3.2 Rotary Stepper Motors Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 7.4 Fully Enclosed Stepper Motors 7.4.1 Overview 7.4.2 Fully Enclosed Stepper Motors Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 7.5 Integrated Lead Screw Stepper Motors 7.5.1 Overview 7.5.2 Integrated Lead Screw Stepper Motors Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 8. Stepper Motors Market Analysis - By Technology 8.1 Overview 8.2 Stepper Motors Market Breakdown, by Technology, 2019 & 2027 8.3 Permanent Magnet Stepper Motor 8.3.1 Overview 8.3.2 Permanent Magnet Stepper Motor Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 8.4 Hybrid Stepper Motor 8.4.1 Overview 8.4.2 Hybrid Stepper Motor Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 8.5 Variable Reluctance Stepper Motor 8.5.1 Overview 8.5.2 Variable Reluctance Stepper Motors Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 9. Stepper Motors Market Analysis - By End User 9.1 Overview 9.2 Stepper Motors Market Breakdown, by End-User, 2019 & 2027 9.3 Semiconductors 9.3.1 Overview 9.3.2 Semiconductor Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 9.4 Packaging and Labelling 9.4.1 Overview 9.4.2 Packaging and Labelling Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 9.5 Medical Equipment 9.5.1 Overview 9.5.2 Medical Equipment Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 9.6 Industrial Machineries 9.6.1 Overview 9.6.2 Industrial Machineries Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 9.7 Others 9.7.1 Overview 9.7.2 Others Market Revenue and Forecast to 2027 (US$ Million) 10. Stepper Motor Market - Geographic Analysis 10.1 Overview 10.2 North America: Stepper Motor Market 10.3 Europe: Stepper Motor Market 10.4 APAC: Stepper Motor Market 10.5 MEA: Stepper Motor Market 10.6 SAM: Stepper Motor Market 11. Impact of Coronavirus Outbreak 11.1 IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON GLOBAL STEPPER MOTOR MARKET 11.1.1 North America: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 11.1.2 Europe: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 11.1.3 Asia-Pacific: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 11.1.4 RoW: Impact Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic 12. Industry Landscape 12.1 Market Initiative 12.2 Merger and Acquisition 12.3 New Development 13. Introduction 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 Applied Motion Products, Inc. 13.3 Delta Electronics 13.4 FAULHABER Group 13.5 National Instruments Corporation 13.6 Nidec Corporation 13.7 Nippon Pulse Motor Co. Ltd. 13.8 Oriental Motor USA Corp. 13.9 SANYO DENKI CO., LTD 13.10 Schneider Electric SE 14. Appendix 14.1 About the Publisher 14.2 Word Index For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k59fla Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Morton has decorated the one-bedroom homes interior with prints of artwork and pieces that speak to Douglasss life, as well as artifacts from Black culture and works from African American artists. As such, guests feel as if theyre experiencing Black life in an authentic way. Theres a difference between going to a gallery or museum and seeing the works [in a private home]. Somebody who collects works is going to put it over their couch and live with it. ... Its like a backdrop to their existence, says Morton, who has a story behind every artist showcased in the two-level home: Cartoonist Bryan Robinson, Morton explains, is a Baltimore native and hometown hero. Abstract artist Mildred Thompson came to prominence posthumously. Jerrell Gibbs is an emerging figurative artist who grew up in Baltimore. Kehinde Wiley entered the public consciousness after his portrait of Barack Obama. Among the homes relics, there is a limited-edition poster for the 1975 film Cooley High and a vintage poster from a Motown Revue concert advertising such acts as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight and the Pips. The African Union (AU) Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, has reiterated the Unions commitment to the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), as a practical contribution to economic development of Africa. We welcome the progress achieved thus far in the implementation of the Niamey Decision of July 2019, but we also acknowledge the challenges that still exist in the negotiations at the moment, in particular around the issue of Rules of Origin and Trade offers, as well as trade in services, President Ramaphosa said on Monday in a speech read on his behalf at the official commissioning and handing over of the AfCFTA Secretariat Building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo officially commissioned and handed over the AfCFTA Secretariat Building to Mr Moussa Faki, AUC Chairperson. We are confident that, through your leadership and the determination of the AU Member States, all bracketed issues should be resolved, President Ramaphosa said. On behalf of the African Union and the entire Continent, President Ramaphosa expressed their profound gratitude to the Government and people of Ghana for generously offering the building and residences, which house the AfCFTA. This day is indeed a milestone and a strong affirmation of the vision of an integrated Africa, which was envisioned by the founding fathers of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), including Kwame Nkrumah, 57 years ago, he said. It is a fitting tribute that the AfCFTA Headquarters are being housed in Ghana. He reassured Mr Wamkele Mene, first Secretary-General, AfCFTA, of his unwavering support, as he execute his responsibilities of promoting the successful implementation of the AfCFTA, as entrusted to you by the Continent. Mr Mene, you are facing enormous challenges ahead, but they are not insurmountable. When successfully implemented, the AfCFTA will be a huge milestone towards the realization of Agenda 2063, the Africa We Want, he said. I wish you, Mr Mene all the best in your new role and to assure you of the continents confidence in your stewardship. With regards to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Ramaphosa noted that the AU remained concerned about the impact of the global pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus on the Continent, which resulted in thousands of fatalities. He said the COVID-19 pandemic arrived at a moment when prospects for many African countries were promising; adding that the beginning of 2020, Africa was on track to continue its economic expansion, with growth projected to rise from 2.9 per cent in 2019 to 3.2 per cent in 2020, and 3.5 per cent in 2021. He said it was also equally important to state that important gains were being registered in poverty reduction and health indicators. We are witnessing unprecedented embracing of technology and innovation across the continent, with young Africans acting as early adopters of new platforms, such as mobile money. He said progress had also been made with respect to political unity and economic integration; declaring that the entry into force of the AfCFTA in May 2019 promised to boost intra-African trade by as much as 25 per cent by 2040. He said peace and security on the African continent was a prerequisite to sustainable economic development; stating that accordingly we must continue our efforts to silence the guns so as to achieve the African we want. We have decided to also prioritize infrastructure development to ensure seamless transportation of goods and services as we increase trade amongst ourselves. President Ramophosa said furthermore, it was important to note that, Africa enjoyed some of the highest global returns on foreign direct investment. He said several inclusive elections, increasingly the norm for a majority of African countries, are due to be held in 2020. He intimated that at the same time, as with other regions of the world, Africa faced important challenges. He said it was not on track to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063. Our progress is undermined by weak governance, environmental degradation, lack of economic diversity, and humanitarian and conflict situations. He said the pandemic necessitated the postponement of the July 2020 start date of trade under the AfCFTA, which delayed the promise of opportunities for new exports, jobs, investments in infrastructure and financing for Africas development. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A large study in the US indicated that patients treated early within three days of diagnosis with convalescent plasma which has high levels of antibodies had an improved chance of survival. The study, led by the Mayo Clinic, assessed more than 35,000 patients who were given convalescent plasma, included a high number who were critically ill. NHS officials collecting plasma for a major trial in the UK said the findings support the need for people to donate convalescent plasma in Britain. Have you recovered from #COVID19? By donating plasma you could help others still fighting the virus. https://t.co/vb1ukgyGxg NHS Blood+Transplant (@NHSBT) July 9, 2020 Research in the UK is assessing whether convalescent plasma donations can be transfused into patients who are struggling to develop their own immune response. Advertisement The plasma from former patients is hoped to be rich in the antibodies that develop as a person recovers from an illness. It is transfused into people who are seriously ill with Covid-19 and struggling to develop their own antibodies. If the trial is successful, being treated with convalescent plasma could become a widespread practice in hospitals. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which is collecting the plasma for the UK trial, said it is looking for Covid-19 survivors particularly men. Professor Dave Roberts, associate director for blood donation at NHSBT, and one of the investigators for the UK convalescent plasma trials, said: These are promising results that support the need for people to donate convalescent plasma in the UK. The results indicate a preliminary and encouraging significant reduction in mortality for people with Covid-19 treated with convalescent plasma. However, the research is not conclusive and cannot be easily correlated to our work or other trials. The results are also observational and not the fair comparison we would see using a randomised control trial. We need people who have recovered from Covid-19, especially men, to offer to donate at nhsbt.nhs.uk. Men are particularly important donors because they are more likely to have the higher antibody levels which are observed to show more effect. Google warned on Monday that the Australian government's plans to make digital giants pay for news content threatens users' free services in Australia and could hand users' data to media organisations. The US-based company's warning, contained in what it called an Open letter to Australians, comes a week before public consultations close on Australian draft laws that would make both Google and Facebook pay for news siphoned from commercial media companies. A proposed law...would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia, Google Australia and New Zealand managing director Mel Silva wrote. Google owns YouTube, a video-sharing platform. Both Google and Facebook have condemned the proposed legislation, which was released last month and aims to succeed where other countries have failed in making them compensate media businesses for news content. Australian competition watchdog Rod Sims, chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which drafted the laws, said Google's letter contains misinformation. Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so, Sims said in a statement. Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so, he added. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the minister responsible for the consumer watchdog, said in a statement that the draft law remains open for consultation, providing an opportunity for media companies and digital platforms to provide feedback until August 28. Swinburne University senior lecturer on media Belinda Barnet described the Google letter as a cynical exercise designed to scare Google users. I see no merit in any of the arguments, she said. One of the most ironic arguments is that they're going to have to hand over some data to news organisations for example which article people have read and how long they may have read it for and this coming from the world's major privacy violator and certainly the world's largest data aggregator is a bit rich, Barnet added. Google has been battling the Australian consumer watchdog on two fronts. Last month, the watchdog launched court action against Google for allegedly misleading account holders about its use of their personal data. The commission alleges that Google misled millions of Australians to obtain their consent and expand the scope of personal information that it collects about users' internet activity to target advertising. Google denies the allegations. The US Department of the Interior approved oil and gas drilling on Monday in Alaska's pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that drilling leases could be auctioned off by the end of the year. Environmental groups vowed to fight the move to allow drilling in the remote area of northeast Alaska which is home to polar bears, caribou and other animals. "Our climate is in crisis, oil prices have cratered, and major banks are pulling out of Arctic financing right and left," Adam Kolton, executive director of the Alaska Wilderness League, said in a statement. "And yet the Trump administration continues its race to liquidate our nation's last great wilderness, putting at risk the indigenous peoples and iconic wildlife that depend on it." The then Republican-held US House of Representatives and Senate approved oil leases in part of the vast federally-owned refuge three years ago. "Congress gave us a very clear directive here, and we have to carry out that directive," Bernhardt said. "I have a remarkable degree of confidence that this can be done in a way that is responsible, sustainable and environmentally benign." With oil prices at 15-year lows and potential deposits unknown, it is unclear how much bidding interest there will be among the major oil companies. "We will continue to fight this at every turn, in the courts, in Congress and in the corporate boardrooms," said Kolton of the Alaska Wilderness League. "Any oil company that would seek to drill in the Arctic Refuge will face enormous reputational, legal and financial risks." cl/jh Alleging that the ruling YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh was resorting to illegal tapping of phones to further its political gains, Telugu Desam party president N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting that the Centre order an inquiry by a competent body to check the illegal acts. He alleged that the YSRC was illegally tapping phones of opposition parties, advocates, media persons and social activists. It appears that the ruling YSRC has now even targeted judiciary, the third pillar of the democracy, as it is facing hurdles from the judiciary, the TDP president alleged in the letter, a copy of which was also marked to Union Communications and Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad. Alleging that some private persons were also illegally tapping phones using cutting-edge technology and tools, Chandrababu Naidu apprehended that if such illegal phone tapping went unchecked, it would pose a serious threat to the integrity and security of the nation. He said the tapping was being done using illegal software and unlawfully. The people of AP are facing a grave threat under the rule of YSRCP.Ever since the YSRC came to power, there has been a systematic and concerted attack on the democratic institutions in the state. Initially, the process of governance was completely derailed by attacking the investors and policies of previous regimes.This was followed by attack on institutions like State Election Commission and Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC), he said. Concomitantly, the YSRCP has been attacking and threatening leaders of opposition parties, advocates, media persons, and social activists among others through various deceitful means, he alleged. The Leader of Opposition claimed thestate government has not followed any due procedure of law in tapping the phones of people from various walks of life. Thus, it directly stands against Articles 19 and 21 of fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution, wherein right to privacy is violated. Further, Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act and Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 are violated by this government as there is no reason to tap the phones of leaders of opposition parties, advocates, journalists and social activists, he contended. The ruling party in its over enthusiasm to retain power at any cost is dangerously threatening and attacking any person or institution raising their voice against the mal-functioning of the Government, he said. Lawyers, journalists and social activists were not spared along with the leaders of the opposition parties, the former chief minister said. In the long run, such nefarious activities would result in breakdown of democratic values and freedom of speech leading to jungle raj, the TDP chief added. He appealed to the Prime Minister to initiate immediate and stern action to check any further unlawful activities (phone tapping) by the ruling party and private persons in AP. It would be appropriate to order an inquiry by a competent body of the Government of India to check the illegal acts of phone tapping, he said. Indigenous airborne munitions dispenser can paralyze airfield in one shot Global Times By Liu Xuanzun Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/16 19:00:55 China has revealed a type of domestically developed airborne munitions dispenser, a hybrid weapon that lies between an air-to-ground missile and a guided bomb droppable by an aircraft from a safe distance, that can release hundreds of submunitions that cover a large area. This kind of weapon can effectively paralyze an airfield in one shot, leaving enemy warplanes grounded or destroyed, experts said on Sunday. Formally classified as a guided glide dispenser bomb, this highly accurate, modularized weapon weighs 500 kilograms. While it looks like a missile, it has a square cross-section to hold more submunitions. This design can also reduce the weapon's radar cross-section, enhancing the weapon's stealth capability, making it more difficult to intercept, according to a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday. When dropped, the dispenser can open its wings, which can provide extra lift force and controllability and allow it to have a range of more than 60 kilometers, the CCTV report said, noting that this means the aircraft carrying it can safely drop the weapon without entering the enemy's air defense zone. Each dispenser can carry 240 submunitions of six types, which when released will cover more than 6,000 square meters, CCTV quoted a senior engineer at the weapon's manufacturer, China North Industries Group Corp (NORINCO), as saying. When attacking groups of tanks and armored vehicles, the dispenser can use anti-tank submunitions that can penetrate tanks' armor from the top, or it can equip regional lockdown submunitions when attacking large facilities like airfields, CCTV reported. A typical munitions dispenser like this can disable an airfield for an extended period with only one shot, because the sheer number of submunitions means the whole runway will be destroyed, and it is also possible that some of the submunitions will be mines, which will make attempts to repair the runway very risky, a Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Sunday on condition of anonymity. This will provide crucial battle opportunities, because it means the enemy would not be able to make any warplane sortie, and the user of the dispenser can seize air superiority and gain tactical and even strategic advantages, the expert said. A separate CCTV report in March 2019 showed a Chinese J-16 fighter jet equipped with a weapon that looked very like a munitions dispenser. The report speculated at that time that the weapon had been commissioned into the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force. In addition to the J-16, China's JH-7 fighter bomber and H-6 bomber could also be equipped with the dispenser, the expert said. Foreign media reported on Saturday that the island of Taiwan has officially signed an agreement with the US to buy 66 F-16V fighter jets. Chinese mainland military analysts said that if a reunification-by-force operation breaks out, the PLA would destroy Taiwan's airfields and command centers, giving the F-16Vs no chance to even take off, and giving those already in the air no place to land. NORINCO has also developed airborne munitions dispensers for export, including the TL500 that made its appearance at Airshow China in previous years, Shanghai-based news website eastday.com reported on Sunday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address European Union leaders will hold an emergency meeting on August 19 to discuss the growing crisis in Belarus. Mass protests have entered their second week with demonstrators demanding the resignation of President Alyaksandr Lukanshenka, whom they accuse of rigging the August 9 election. But Lukashenka has refused to "surrender the country," while the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had promised Lukashenka military help if needed. The National Organizer for the opposition National Democratic Congress, Joshua Hamidu Akamba is urging Ghanaians not to vote for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for banning the importation of salvage vehicles into the country. The law banning the importation of salvaged and used cars older than ten years will come into force in October this year. The Customs (Amendment) Bill, 2020 which was opposed by the Minority and vehicle dealers across the country was later passed into law by Parliament in March 2020. President Akufo-Addo also assented to the Act on April 30, 2020. According to section 154 (5) of the Act, the prohibitions will come into force six months after the Act is assented to by the President. The prohibition against the importation of salvaged motor vehicles into the country under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 58 shall come into force, six months after the date of the coming into force of this Act, the said section of the Act reads. Speaking to a group of Taxi and Trotro drivers in a video that went viral on the social media, NDC's Joshua Hamidu Akamba urged the group to vote massively for former President John Mahama as the sure way to keep their business. Mr. Joshua Hamidu Akamba stated "How many people can afford a brand new car for a Trotro in the taxi business and how much sales will the driver make at this time that Bawumia is only seen mounting platforms for comedy whilst he leaves the real Economics Job unattended to? "The Government led by Nana Addo is just deliberately bringing hardship to the people of Ghana whilst he made his friends and families Rich forever So please don't go and make a mistake by voting for this heartless Government that says you cannot import used cars again meanwhile, these are the cars that you the 'Trotro' and taxi drivers are using for survival and payments of taxes." Joshua Hamidu Akamba appealed to car dealers, the taxi and trotro drivers to vote for the NDC to bring positive change into the country. "Vote for the NDC to come to power and transform the country and if we come to power and you don't see such positive changes, everywhere you see me, hoot at me." The NDC's National Organizer who will be in Akatsi South Constituency on Tuesday together with the leader and flagbearer of the party Mr Mahama urged party supporters, Constituency Executives, Branch Executives, and floating voters to be very committed to the 'Rescue Mission' agenda outdoors by the NDC to save this country from the NPP government. France's interior minister Gerald Darmanin has issued a warning after police thwarted a suspected vigilante reprisal by Chechen immigrants in north-eastern France. No immigrant community on French soil can make up their own rules, said Darmanin during a visit to Saint-Dizier, which is situated between Paris and Strasbourg. Darmanin, who took over from Christophe Castaner when Prime Minister Jean Castex reshuffled the cabinet, hailed local police officers for foiling the alleged plan with the arrests of 16 Chechen men on Friday following a series of road blocks around Saint-Dizier. Three men have been detained after being found with weapons including knifes, clubs and a sword. The men are suspected of heading to Saint-Dizier in search of revenge after a 30-year-old Chechen man was injured in a brawl in the town on Thursday. They have been accused of organising an armed act of revenge and are due to appear before an investigating magistrate who will decide whether to press charges. Dijon violence The Chechen community in France - many of whom are fleeing the rule of Chechnya's pro-Russia leader Ramzan Kadyrov - have been under intense scrutiny after four successive nights of violence rocked the eastern city of Dijon in June. An assault on a 16-year-old Chechen in the Gresilles district prompted as many as 150 members of the community from across France and abroad to stage reprisal raids. On Sunday, following the Saint-Dizier seizure of weapons, Frederic Nahon, the prosecutor for the Chaumont region, said that a criminal investigation would be started to look into the possible illegal transport of arms and organisation of a criminal group. "Most of the Chechen community are asylum seekers or have asylum in France," said Darmanin. "However, having asylum does not give someone the right to stir things up, settle scores or to attack the lives of each other." The travel industry has today been plunged further into crisis as transport firms announced they have slashed capacity and routes due to a drop in demand. Budget airline easyJet axed bases in Stansted, Southend and Newcastle in a cost-cutting drive - as Ryanair grounded flight capacity by a fifth. Meanwhile Brittany Ferries, which run 12 ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain, said 'tough decisions' had to be taken on what routes should still run. It comes after the ferry firm 35,000 of its passengers either cancel or move their reservations over the weekend with many changing their reservations to next year. Eurostar has also reduced its journeys to Paris by a fifth due to a lack of demand from potential passengers. The numbers of paying seats on plane, trains and boats have plummeted in line with the Government's ever-changing list of countries that need visitors to quarantine for two weeks when they return home. Paul Charles, the chief executive of the PC Agency travel consultancy, told MailOnline: 'The government's quarantine policy is scarring the UK economy now and the dogged pursuit of that policy is hurting the travel sector. It's causing anxiety among consumers. Ryanair will be stopping some of its flights to the likes of Spain, Sweden and France in September and October, after noticing a downturn in the number of bookings Eurostar said it was tweaking its timetable from eight to six trips a day to Paris as demand fell Brittany Ferries have also said it is going to look at 'tough decisions' on what routes to keep The government has been putting countries onto quarantine lists over infection rates 'It's hurting companies like airlines and Eurostar and it's saying to companies around the world that Britain is closed for business 'We can't continue with this highly damaging policy that is hurting the economy. 'The government needs to invest more in testing. They have got to abandon the quarantine measure in their current form. 'How many jobs need to go before they realise how much damage this is doing?' EasyJet confirmed it would close its bases in Stansted, Southend and Newcastle, which currently have 670 members of staff. Chief executive Johan Lundgren said: 'We have had to take the very difficult decision to close three UK bases as a result of the unprecedented impact of the pandemic and related travel restrictions, compounded by quarantine measures in the UK which is impacting demand for travel. 'I know this is a very difficult time for our pilots and crew and I would like to thank them for their continued professionalism.' Elsewhere Ryanair will slash flight capacity by a fifth over the next two months as bookings slump over fears passengers will have to quarantine for 14 days, depending on where they go on holiday. The budget airline has said the number of passengers booking flights has dropped in the past 10 days, due to 'uncertainty over recent Covid case rates in some EU countries'. The cuts will reduce the frequency of flights from countries such as Spain, France and Sweden, it said. Greece has seen a rise in new cases - from 202 last week to 226 yesterday - while Croatia has now gone above the UK Government's quarantine benchmark of 20 cases per 100,000 people in a seven-day period. The graph shows the number of cases being diagnosed per million people every day - not per 100,000 people every week Data shows that France is still recording significantly more coronavirus cases each day than other nations on the quarantine list - but it is home to six times more people than Greece EU figures showed the Greek infection rate had quadrupled in two weeks, soaring past the benchmark of 20 Covid cases per 100,000 people A Ryanair spokesman said: 'These capacity cuts and frequency reductions for the months of September and October are unavoidable given the recent weakness in forward bookings due to Covid restrictions in a number of EU countries.' Passengers who have been impacted by the change are expected to receive emails today. Christophe Mathieu, chief executive of Brittany Ferries said there could be cuts to the boat service. He said: 'Unfortunately, weak forward demand for the autumn means we may have to make some tough decisions about which services we run and which we don't in the months to come. That is the reality of our difficult decisions.' Italy closes nightclubs for three weeks and orders masks to be worn in public at night Italy is to shut discos and clubs for three weeks and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas at night after an increase in new Covid-19 cases. The new rules mark the first reimposition of coronavirus restrictions as cases pick up across the country, especially among younger people. New cases in the past week in Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus, were more than double those registered three weeks ago and the median age of people contracting the virus has dropped below 40, data showed. The new rules will start on Monday - two days after an Italian holiday when many young Italians go out dancing - and will run until early September. Masks will be required between 6pm and 6am in areas close to bars and pubs and where gatherings are more likely. Advertisement The passenger ferry firm, which operates out of Portsmouth and Plymouth, says it has seen 35,000 of its passengers either cancel or move their reservations over the weekend with many changing their reservations to next year. Mr Mathieu said: Over the weekend around 35,000 passengers booked with us in the immediate future either cancelled or moved their reservations. The good news is that many of those moved to next year. In terms of those travelling to France this weekend, around half of those who were originally booked travelled. Eurostar said in light of a reduction in current demand it was cutting services to Paris from eight journeys a day to just six. A spokesman said: 'We have been tweaking timetable since March. If demand changes we will tweak the timetable on that.' News of the slash in capacity comes just hours after Jet2 announced it was making 102 pilots redundant and Easyjet declared it was closing its bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle, putting up to 670 jobs at risk. Last month the operator cut holidays short amid quarantine measures resuming for countries such as Spain. Flights back to the UK were cancelled and passengers were asked to return sooner than planned. The move was described as a 'kick in the teeth,' by pilots union Balpa, as many Jet2 workers had joined from Thomas Cook after the airline went bust. Planes were largely grounded from the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine measures have made it a slow start for the aviation industry's recovery. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has previously said the pandemic has caused firms to suffer the 'worst downturn we have ever had in our 100-year industry'. Further outbreaks in Europe have dealt a blow to hopes the summer holidays would be a chance to recover. A Ryanair spokesman said today: 'Over the past two weeks, as a number of EU countries have raised travel restrictions, forward bookings, especially for business travel into September and October, have been negatively affected, and it makes sense to reduce frequencies so that we tailor our capacity to demand over the next two months.' Ryanair also said it is reducing flight numbers due to Ireland's Green List travel guidance, which includes 14-day quarantine for visitors from most other EU countries. The spokesman added: 'We again call on the Irish Government to amend its Green List of travel counties to include those EU countries with lower or similar 14-day Covid case rates, most notably Germany whose Covid case rate is 25% lower than Ireland, and which will allow for some resumption of normal business and economic travel in September and October.' Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has said aviation firms have suffered the 'worst downturn we have ever had in our 100-year industry' Jet2 is set to make 102 pilots redundant after quarantine measures and lockdown dealt a heavy blow to the aviation industry Brian Strutton, general secretary of Balpa, called for greater support of the aviation industry from the UK government, should quarantine measures continue. He said: 'The Government has a significant role to play in supporting the vital British aviation industry. Its quarantine changes keep throwing every restart plan into chaos. 'If these quarantines are really needed the Government must stump up the support to help the airline industry which is doing its best to get back on track but keeps being knocked back at every juncture.' Today's travel blow come as Britons face a desperate scramble to get home from Greece and Croatia as fears continue to grow that the European nations could be added to the quarantine 'red list' within days. Greece has seen a significant rise in the number of new cases - from 202 last week to 226 yesterday - while Croatia has now gone above the UK Government's quarantine benchmark of 20 cases per 100,000 people in a seven-day period. Ministers are being urged to replace the disastrous 14-day quarantine system with a 'game-changer' virus test at airports, before more countries are put on the red list. Other holiday destinations could also be added if like Spain and France they have a sudden second spike in infections that catches travellers unawares. An estimated 500,000 raced to return home from France before the 4am Saturday deadline for quarantine that was announced barely 30 hours earlier. Ministers had previously encouraged people to take holidays to places such as Spain and France as part of a return to normal life. But hundreds of thousands of travellers were then caught out when the rules changed while they were away, requiring a 14-day quarantine on their return. Suggestions that Greece and Turkey might be added to the red list have been rejected by travel industry experts. However, such reports have created further confusion, which has hit bookings. There are also hopes that Portugal, where infection rates are falling, could be removed from the red list this week. But Croatia has now gone above the UK Government's quarantine benchmark of 20 cases per 100,000 people in a seven-day period at 21.5. Other nations such as Denmark and Switzerland are also perilously close to reaching that limit. HOBOKEN A Jersey City man was arrested after robbing a car, pulling out a knife on a victim and injuring two police officers, Hoboken Lt. Danilo Cabrera said. Gerard R. Fleetwood, 36, was arrested Sunday shortly after midnight at 600 8th Street in Hoboken. He faces charges of robbery, burglary, theft, possession of a weapon, unlawful possession of weapons, terroristic threats, resisting arrest and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, Cabrera said. Hoboken Police Chief Ken Ferrante called Fleetwood a 10-time felon. Officer Kyle Seper and Sgt. Anthony Russo responded to the area of 2nd and River Streets on a reported burglary and theft where they found a male victim from Elizabeth and a female victim from Newark in the back of their car, Cabrera said. The victims said an unknown male entered through the front passenger door, was startled by them and grabbed the females cell phone before running northbound on River Street, Cabrera said. The male victim ran after the man, but then he turned around and threatened the victim with a knife. The man fled westbound, Cabrera said. Police tracked the victims cell phone to the area of 7th and Madison Street. Officer Joseph Spano and Officer Daniel Barron were dispatched and found a male matching the description in the area of 8th and Madison Street, Cabrera said. Fleetwood was ordered to stop for investigation. Police found the victims cell phone case and a knife in Fleetwoods possession. As he was placed under arrest, he resisted by tensing his body, preventing officers from placing handcuffs on him, Cabrera said. Two officers wrestled Fleetwood to the ground as a second knife fell out of Fleetwoods pocket, Cabrera said. Fleetwood was placed in handcuffs and taken to police headquarters. Cabrera said, at headquarters, Fleetwood refused exit the police car, so officers carried him inside. While in the processing room, Fleetwood refused directions. Officers tried to secure Fleetwood, but as they did, he started to flare his arms around, scream and act erratic. Officers brought Fleetwood to the ground to re-secure his handcuffs, Cabrera said. As a result, Soto suffered a laceration to his right arm and pain to his right knee. Sgt. Saverio Binetti suffered pain to his left hand, Cabrera said. Soto was taken to Hoboken University Medical Center. where he was treated Binetti was treated by an ambulance and sought no further treatment, returning to full duty with no restriction. Fleetwood was transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility, Cabrera said. Steve Easterbrook, president and chief executive officer of McDonald's Corp., walks the grounds after a morning session during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., on Wednesday, July 12, 2017. Steve Easterbrook, McDonald's former CEO, shot back at the fast-food giant, saying the company's lawsuit accusing him of fraud and trying to claw back an estimated $42 million of his compensation was "meritless" and "misleading," according to a new court filing. McDonald's sued Easterbrook last week, months after its board fired him for having a relationship with an employee. The lawsuit filed in Delaware state court alleges that Easterbrook committed fraud and lied during the company's probe into a relationship he had with an employee. The company said it found three alleged additional relationships with employees he did not disclose before his firing. McDonald's is seeking to recover the compensation he received as part of his separation agreement. In Friday court filings, Easterbrook requested to dismiss the case against him, claiming that the equity award agreement mandates litigation in DuPage County, Illinois, and that there is language in the separation agreement barring the company from reversing it. McDonald's said in a statement to CNBC that it stands by its complaint, including both the factual assertions and the court in which it was filed. The company said it's incorporated in Delaware, and its bylaws require the lawsuit to be filed in the state. Easterbrook also argues that the new information McDonald's cited in bringing forward its suit emails that were allegedly deleted from his phone but still available on the company's server was available to the company prior to the separation agreement being signed. "McDonald's a sophisticated entity represented by numerous internal and external experts when it entered into the Separation Agreement is aware that it cannot credibly allege a breach of contract claim," Easterbrook's lawyers said in the filings. "Instead, it improperly seeks to manufacture claims for a breach of fiduciary duty or fraud." The separation agreement included a nondisparagement clause, which makes Easterbrook "essentially unable to make any public comment." In McDonald's lawsuit against Easterbrook, the complaint alleges that Easterbrook approved "an extraordinary stock grant, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars" for one of the employees while they were involved in a sexual relationship. Easterbrook's response notes that the board reviewed and approved the employee equity award. Mr Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Monday, presented his credentials to Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. The presentation of the credentials took place ahead of the Commissioning and Handing Over of the AfCFTA Secretariat Building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra. Madam Ayorkor Botchwey congratulated the Secretary-General on his new appointment and welcomed him to Ghana. She assured the Secretary-General that the Government of Ghana would work closely with him towards the successful implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement. The Minister, who reiterated the importance of the AfCFTA Agreement in transforming the lives of Africans, also expressed appreciation to the AUC for their continued cooperation in transitioning the interim Secretariat of the AfCFTA from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the permanent Secretariat in Accra, Ghana. She said due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa now more than ever needed to catalyse its industrialization process with the aim of increasing intra-African trade. Madam Ayorkor Botchwey urged the Secretary-General to use his good offices to encourage Member States to ratify the Agreement to facilitate negotiations and decision-making processes as well as mobilise resources for the work of the Secretariat. She recalled the decision to postpone the start of trading to 1 January, 2021 and encouraged the Secretary-General to work diligently towards completing all outstanding work and negotiations before the deadline. She reiterated the need to leverage on the excitement of Africans towards this historic Agreement, reminding the Secretary-General to implement people-centred policies to benefit the ordinary African. She further assured the Secretary-General of her availability and that of the Ministry to assist him in the discharge of his duties and to make his tenure fulfilling. 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 Gas reserves update 10-year record in Ukraine 11:30, 17.08.20 1383 Some 23.9 billion cubic meters of gas has been pumped into underground storage facilities. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 05:27:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Officials from China and Syria discussed Monday about more cooperation against COVID-19 as several countries in the Middle East saw tally of infections crossed major marks. Chinese Ambassador to Syria Feng Biao discussed with Syrian Health Minister Nizar Yazigi ways to enhance cooperation on the health sector between the two countries, particularly regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Yazigi, meanwhile, hailed the Chinese support to the Syrian people on all levels, particularly the health sector, to mitigate the country's difficulties caused by the economic siege and war. 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 testing kits, to Syria. On June 4 and June 24, Syria received another two batches of medical supplies donated by China, including testing kits, protective suits, masks, goggles, and infrared thermometers. Also on Monday, Turkey reported 1,233 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total diagnosed cases to 250,542. Meanwhile, 22 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,996, and 1,002 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 231,971 in Turkey since the outbreak. The Iraqi Health Ministry reported 3,202 new COVID-19 cases, while the total nationwide infections climbed to 180,133. It also reported 94 fatalities during the day, raising the death toll from the virus to 5,954, while 3,571 more patients recovered in the day, bringing the total number of recoveries to 128,945. The Iraqi Health Minister Hassan Al-Tamimi said in a statement that the ministry decided to establish a center dedicated to those infected with coronavirus in an attempt to improve the efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic. Saudi Health Ministry announced Monday 1,372 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 299,914. It said 28 more deaths and 1,432 recovered cases from the virus were confirmed, pushing the death toll to 3,436 and recoveries to 268,385. Iran, the worst-hit country in the Middle East, reported 2,247 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising the total number in the country to 345,450. Since Sunday, 165 people have died from the viral disease, taking the total fatalities over the virus to 19,804 in the country. So far, 299,157 patients have recovered and 3,773 remain in critical condition in ICU. Kuwaiti health ministry on Monday reported 622 new COVID-19 cases and one more death, raising the tally of infections to 76,827 and the death toll to 502. Currently, 7,692 patients are receiving treatment, including 109 in ICU. The ministry also announced the recovery of 498 more patients, raising the total recoveries in the country to 68,633. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced 229 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 64,541. And 100 more patients have recovered from the virus, taking the tally of recoveries in the UAE to 57,794. The nationwide death toll stands at 364. The Qatari health ministry announced 288 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 115,368. Meanwhile, 294 more recovered from the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 112,088, while the death toll remained 193. The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Monday reported 434 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 8,172. The center said 39 more patients have recovered and eight died from the virus, raising the total recoveries in Libya to 933 and the death toll to 153. Enditem "Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family" details the hostility and racism faced by the erstwhile Duke and Duchess of Sussex. (Alexi Lubomirski via Getty Images) Meghan Markle has been going through it, according to a biography released last week. The American actress and her husband, Prince Harry, who recently bought a home in Southern California, have been unable to escape relentless press coverage since they began dating in 2016. "Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family" is a somewhat sympathetic account of the couple's life, from their first date onward. The highly anticipated, nearly 400-page biography written by royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who promise insider knowledge about the couple, was released by Harper Collins in the U.S. A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry said in a statement that 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," the statement continued. "Finding Freedom" delves into Meghan's tumultuous tenure as a senior member of the royal family, the often racist coverage from tabloids, her rupture with her father, Thomas, and the tension between her and the other residents of the palace. Markle, 39, and her husband, 35, stepped down as senior members this year. Below are five essential facts gleaned from the book: Meghan and Kate weren't fighting, but they weren't close. Meghan Instead, the two had struggled to move past the distant politeness of when they first met." Scobie and Durand write that although Meghan might have understood Kates wariness to strike up a meaningful friendship, they were still no closer by the time she was a fellow senior working member of the royal family and the wife of Williams brother." "Flowers for her birthday were nice," they continue, "but Meghan would far rather have had Kate check in on her during the most difficult times with the press. Story continues The royal family has a way with Christmas gifts According to the book, Harry has given his grandmother, the Queen of the United Kingdom, Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith, a shower cap emblazoned with the phrase Aint Life a Bitch.' (Spoiler: She loved it, according to the authors.) Before Harry was with Meghan, Kate gave him a "Grow Your Own Girlfriend" kit. The couple fired a nanny during her second night of work The nurse did a fine job," the authors write. But she compared unfavorably to the day nanny. (Relatable!) Neither Harry nor Meghan found themselves comfortable sleeping through the night without going to check on Archie regularly." Prince Willam told Harry of his reservations about Meghan Meghan William did eventually tell Harry to "take as much time as you need to get to know this girl." Needless to say, Harry didn't like that! "Harry was pissed off," a source told the authors. "Pissed off that his brother would ask such a thing. Some felt it was an overreaction. But then this totally sums them up as people William, the calm and rational one, and Harry, who cant help but take things far too personally." Thomas Markle is not in Meghan and Harry's life Meghan As much as she was hurt and humiliated, she wanted him to be there and was willing to move on, Meghan's close friend told the authors. Plus, she was worried about him; she honestly wasnt sure if he was actually okay. His behavior was bizarre. He has essentially ghosted her. According to the book, when Archie was born, Meghan had her mother, Doria Ragland, text Thomas the good news because she "did not want him to find out after the rest of the world." But Meghan reportedly left it there; she "didn't want to know whether her father replied to her mothers text. The ex-royals reportedly recently purchased a $14.65-million estate in the Santa Barbara area, where the couple is expected to move with their son. The Ghana Academy of Muslim Professionals (GAMP) has expressed its solidarity and sympathy to the people of Beirut and the entire Lebanon community everywhere in the world after the explosion the country experienced days ago. A release signed by Mr Abdul-Wahab Abubakar, General Secretary, GAMP, and copied to the Ghana News Agency on Monday, in Accra, said GAMP was aware of the unfortunate explosion, which had devastated people and properties in Beirut. We learnt with a heavy heart that about 170 people have lost their lives and more than 300,000 people now homeless. It said as Muslims, they must remind themselves of what the Almighty Allah had said in Quran 64:11, which states: No calamity occurs but by the permission of Allah, and whosoever believes in Allah, He guides his heart, and Allah is the All-knower of everything. The release said as the world mourned with the people of Lebanon, GAMP assured the people of Lebanon and Lebanese Community in Ghana that their thoughts and prayers were with them in this difficult time. We pray that Allah rewards the patience of the affected with His infinite mercy and blessings. 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 Producers: Vonne Patiag, Polly Staniford, Angie Fielder SBS has commissioned a new 4 part heist caper, The Unusual Suspects, described as a fun, yet gripping story about female friendship and a celebration of Filipino culture and community. Set in Sydneys glamorous Eastern suburbs, this tale of female empowerment will be led by a female cast and is produced by Aquarius Films for SBS and About Premium Content, with filmmaking duo Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford (Lion, Berlin Syndrome, Dirt Music, The Other Guy and The Unlisted). When a $10 million necklace is stolen from self-made Filipina businesswoman Roxanne Waters home during her twins extravagant birthday party, the ensuing police investigation threatens to expose cracks in Vaucluses sparkling facade, shedding a light on hidden rivalries, shady business deals and forbidden affairs. No one is safe from suspicion, from social darling Sara Beasley, whose perfect life is crumbling fast, to her long-suffering nanny, Evie De La Rosa, a godmother of sorts for other Filipino domestic workers. With the stakes higher than ever, can they stop themselves from turning on each other, or will they discover a friendship worth more than diamonds? Directors are Natalie Bailey (Retrograde, Run, Avenue 5, The Thick of It) and Melvin Montalban (Rope Burn, Cupid), with the writing team including Vonne Patiag (Halal Gurls) also an associate producer, Jessica Redenbach (Spirited, Rush) and Roger Monk (Nowhere Boys, The Secret Life of Us). Melvin Montalban said, To be working and learning under experienced helmer Natalie Bailey is a wonderful opportunity. And, as a Filipino-Australian, to direct a largely Filipino cast is an equally exciting prospect. I cant wait for the opportunity to share the experience of Filipino domestic workers in a heartfelt and genre-bending way. Natalie Bailey said, Im thrilled to be working back in Australia with Aquarius and SBS, the most forward-thinking channel in Australia. It is a rare opportunity to direct a female-centred series, let alone one with such a dynamic heist at its core. The Unusual Suspects explores the bonds of female friendship and experience while cutting to the heart of some of Australias ethical blind spots wealth disparity and the exploitation of immigrant workers. Producers, Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford, said: The Unusual Suspects is a female friendship story about a group of women from different walks of life wrapped up in a wildly entertaining heist caper with an important message at its heart. This is Aquarius first collaboration with SBS and we are extremely excited to be moving into the production phase with such a strong creative team. SBS Director of Television and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said: The Unusual Suspects uses the hook of a heist genre to unpack the complex relationships between a diverse group of women. SBS has a proud history of producing original and exceptional drama and this latest chapter marks our first foray into dramedy. The talented creative collective behind this exciting new commission will ensure The Unusual Suspects entertains and enthrals whilst telling a story that explores a different facet of the Australian multicultural experience with female friendship at its core. Casting is yet to be announced, with pre-production underway in Sydney. The Unusual Suspects is an Aquarius Films production for SBS with major production investment from Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW. The series is financed with support from Cutting Edge. International distribution managed by About Premium Content. U.S. Attorney John Durham speaks to reporters on the steps of U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn., on April 25, 2006. (Bob Child/AP Photo) Waiting for Durham May Be Over Commentary Things seem to be speeding up now, which is good. I was beginning to think that John Durham was auditioning for a PoMo production of Waiting for Godot with himself in the title role. The public would be left like Vladimir and Estragon, disillusioned and alone. But the recent news that a felony charge has been brought against Kevin Clinesmith, the FBI lawyer who altered an email and lied to the FISA court in order to get a warrant issued to surveil Carter Pageand thus gain a secret backdoor entry to the Trump campaignprovides a ray of hope that Godot-Durham will appear after all. Hell have to be quick about it, because the Democrats are already sweating bullets about what hell turn up. Like Koko in The Mikado, I have a little list of society offenders. Clinesmith is on that list, but, to be honest, rather far down. True, he doctored evidence and lied in order to bring the awesome police power of the state against an innocent U.S. citizen, but at the end of the day, Clinesmith was a minnow in the pond of corruption that was the deep state plot to rig an election and destroy a presidency (to cite the subtitle of Andy McCarthys book on the subject, Ball of Collusion). Yes, it was preposterous for a lawyer representing Clinesmith to say that it was never [Clinesmiths] intent to mislead the court or his colleagues, as he believed the information he relayed was accurate. No, he didnt. The email in question came from the CIA and reported that Carter Page was a source for the agency. Clinesmith altered the email to say that he was not a CIA source. As legal commentator Jonathan Turley notes, The CIA made clear to Clinesmith that Page was working for United States intelligence, a fact that critically undermined the basis for the original application for secret surveillance. Remember, Page was not the object of the Obama administrations interest. Donald Trump was. Page was merely the conduit, the doorway, into the Trump campaign. The fact that people in the FBI were perfectly happy to abuse a surveillance apparatus designed primarily to investigate foreign actors, wielding it instead against a U.S. citizen they knew to be innocent, is actually quite shocking. Biggest Political Scandal And it is all the more shocking when you factor in the motive: to determine the result of a U.S. presidential election and then, when that did not work, to alter the result by framing the duly elected president for fabricated crimes they knew he did not commit. Its why I and others have described what Svetlana Lokhova calls Spygate as the biggest political scandal in U.S. history. Someone won the presidency whom the Deep State, prominently including members of the outgoing administration, did not like. Therefore, they plotted to take him out. The moral is, democracy is all well and good, so long as the voters vote for a candidate we approve of. Somehow, Donald Trump was elected without the permissionindeed, over the strenuous objectionsof the permanent bureaucracy. The whole TrumpRussia narrative was concocted to correct that mistake. The centerpiece of that effort was of course the pathetic investigation presided over, at least nominally, by Robert Mueller, a former director of the FBI. Some two years and $30 million or $40 million later, Mueller and his dream team managed to ruin the careers and lives of a handful of Trump associates, but they proved exactly nothing about any connection, coordination, or collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Indeed, the only Russians in the story were the shadowy figures that Christopher Mr. Dossier Steele dredged up in assembling the smoldering packet of salacious and unverified rumors paid for by the DNC and the Clinton campaign. Mind-boggling, really. Nominally in Charge I said that Mueller was only nominally in charge of the investigation that bore his name. Just how nominal became embarrassingly clear when, at long last, he testified before Congress about his findings. This was supposed to be the moment that The Resistance was waiting for, the moment when the ax fell for Trump, who would finally be exposed as Vladimir Putins puppet. What the world actually saw was a doddering old man who had only the foggiest idea of what was happening around him, ormore to the pointwhat was in the report that bore his name. The nadir came when Mueller was asked about Fusion GPS, the anti-Trump oppo-research firm that directed Steeles activities. The name Fusion GPS was everywhere in those days. It probably appears dozens of times in Muellers report. Im not familiar with that, Mueller said. No, Mueller was just the public face of the investigation that bore his name, much as Joe Biden would be the public face of the administration bearing his name were he (per impossible) to be elected in November. The real power behind the Mueller investigation was Andrew Weissmann, a left-wing poster boy for prosecutorial abuse (he figures prominently in Sidney Powells scathing Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice). Writing about Muellers appointment of Weissmann to be his chief aide, Turley noted that it raised eyebrows because of Weissmanns notorious record. Weissmann, Turley noted, has been widely criticized for a pattern of prosecutorial overreach in cases like Enron. Weissmanns work against the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen is one such example. The convictions that he secured at any cost in that case were unanimously reversed by the Supreme Court. [Too late! Some 18,000 people lost their jobs because of Weissmanns overreach.] Likewise, Weissmann secured convictions against four executives with Merrill Lynch by stretching the criminal code beyond recognition. The Fifth Circuit reversed them. He also resigned from the Enron task force in the midst of complaints over his tactics, Turley wrote. I would not doubt that it was Weissmann who recommended those pre-dawn raids against Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, who engineered the use of Manaforts own lawyer against him, or who saw to it that Manafort was kept in solitary confinement while repeatedly being dragged out and asked whether he didnt remember anything incriminating about his friend Trump. Disgusting behavior by a disgusting human being. Nor has Weissmann learned any lessons. Today, when he isnt holding fundraisers for Biden, he is penning op-eds for The New York Times urging Justice Department officials not to cooperate with the Durham investigation or posting nonsensical protestations on Twitter that Clinesmith really did nothing wrong in doctoring evidence and lying about it. As Turley notes, Weissmann was completely distorting both the law and the facts to disregard the significance of [Clinesmiths] guilty plea. But that is precisely what Weissmann does: distort the law and the facts in order to destroy people he doesnt like and feed his appetite for power. I noted above that Clinesmith came rather low down on my little list of reprobates. Weismann comes much higher up, and I know I am not the only one who hopes he has attracted the interest of John Durham. Roger Kimball is the editor and publisher of The New Criterion and publisher of Encounter Books. His most recent book is The Fortunes of Permanence: Culture and Anarchy in an Age of Amnesia. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. The National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu has told an emotional story of how the government of Ghana extended an extraordinary courtesy to him which enabled him travel to Senegal for the funeral of the son of his teacher and mentor. Sheikh Ahmed Tijjanni Ibrahim Niass, who was Khalipha General of Faidatu-Tijjaniya Ibrahimiyya, or world leader of Tijjaniya Ibrahimiyya, one of the biggest Islamic sects, died in Senegal earlier this month, and with Ghana's boarders closed to normal commercial flights due to the Coronavirus, the National Chief Imam was caught in a quandary and appeared set to miss the burial and funeral rites of the revered cleric, who was also married to the Chief Imam's daughter. Speaking at Fadama on Sunday during a special prayer session organised for the renowned Senegalese cleric, Sheikh Sharubutu emotionally revealed how the government came to his aid to make the seemingly impossible trip possible. Sheikh Sharubutu said, upon Dr. Bawumia hearing the difficult situation he found himself in, the Vice President reached out to President Akufo-Addo, who released a special flight for him to make the emergency trip to Senegal with his delegation. The National Chief Imam said considering the crisis the nation face and the absence of commercial flights due to the closure of the country's boarders, he was quiet certain he would miss the funeral. He expressed his delight and appreciation to Dr. Bawumia and President Akufo-Addo for not only making the trip possible, but also for the diplomatic courtesies he received upon his arrival in Senegal, where he said a delegation led by Ghana's Ambassador to Senegal met him at the airport in Dakar. "What the President and the government did has really touched my heart," Sheikh Osman said on Sunday. "I could have just expressed my appreciation to the government but this gesture has really touched my heart and I want to publicly acknowledge and express my gratitude," Sheikh Sharubutu said. "I want to say a special thank you to President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Bawumia for this special courtesy. May Allah continue to guide and bless 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. Featured Video Many U.S. cities are experiencing a revenue crunch due to the coronavirus pandemic, forcing sharp budget cuts that will stretch into next year, according to a new analysis that will appear in the National Tax Journal. Cities that rely heavily on tourism (i.e., New Orleans) or assistance from state governments (i.e., Rochester, New York) will be particularly hard hit, the study found, with budget cuts of up to 20% in the next fiscal year relative to pre-pandemic spending levels. And contrary to charges made by President Trump that cities are suffering because they were badly run by Democrats, the drop in revenues is very much a bipartisan affair, with some of the worst-hit cities located in both Democratic-controlled New York and Republican-dominated Florida. The Great Recession was a story of long, drawn-out fiscal pain this is sharper, said economist Howard Chernick, one of the studys authors. City leaders make the case for a fiscal lifeline. Reporting on the analysis Monday, Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui of The New York Times said that if Congress is unable to make a deal to aid cities an issue that has divided Democrats and Republicans so far the budget cuts will be enough for residents to experience short-staffed libraries, strained parks departments and fewer road projects. Mayor Lovely Warren of Rochester, New York, explained to the Times why her city needs federal assistance: We cant produce money, we cant borrow our way out of this, we cant tax our way out of this. But our residents expect that the trash will be picked up on trash day. They expect that the snow will be plowed when it snows. They expect that when they call 911 that a police officer will show up. For Washington to ignore that reality it hurts. Dave Massaron, the chief financial officer for Detroit, argued that dealing with the fallout from an international pandemic is beyond the ability of individual cities. This is really what the federal government was built to do: to handle these events that are bigger than the borders of a city and bigger than the borders of a state, he said. Like what you're reading? Sign up for our free newsletter. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Central Prison at Poojapura continues to be a major concern for the jail and health authorities, with 145 more persons, including a staffer, testing positive for Covid-19 on Sunday. The prison also reported its first Covid death on Sunday when a 72-year-old under-trial prisoner died of the disease at the Medical College Hospital here. The deceased, Manikandan of Kilimanoor, who had tested positive last Tuesday, was the first inmate to be diagnosed with the disease. It was after Manikandan contracted the infection that extensive testing was conducted among the inmates and staff. So far, 362 people have contracted the infection, of whom three are prison staff and the remaining are prisoners. A total of 298 antigen tests were conducted among the prison staff and jail inmates on Sunday. As many as 53 new cases were reported from the jail on Saturday. The results of the antigen tests show that the Central prison and its premises have become an epicentre of the virus spread. The infected inmates whose source of infection is yet to be identified are currently housed in a special facility in the prison complex itself. Since all patients are asymptomatic, they have been isolated in the prison and are being treated there. A special ward will be opened in the prison soon for treatment. According to prison authorities, Manikandan, was suffering from age-related ailments and his health condition worsened due to Covid. Manikandan was hospitalised on Monday after he collapsed in the prison. Remanded in connection with a murder case, Manikandan had been in the jail for the past 18 months. Sources said he continued to be in jail as there was no one to release him on bail, nor did he have any place to stay once out of jail.Prison Superintendent B Sunil Kumar said Manikandans test result prompted them to go for an extensive screening of inmates and staff. He said a confirmation Covid test will be conducted and the procedures for conducting his last rites will be decided on the basis of the outcome of the test. With more cases being reported from the jail, the DIG (Prisons) S Santhosh has gone into self-quarantine. Prison authorities said more antigen tests will be conducted in the coming days. Presently, there are 975 inmates in the Central prison at Poojapura. The state prison headquarters was shut down for three days on Friday after two prisoners, who were engaged in sanitising the headquarters and its premises, tested positive. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 01:58:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BRUSSELS, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on Sunday urged Turkey to immediately end renewed drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. "I call on the Turkish authorities to end these activities immediately and to engage fully and in good faith in a broad dialogue with the European Union," he said in a statement. The statement was issued after Ankara announced on Saturday that it will resume drilling activities by the Yavuz vessel, an ultra-deepwater drillship, in a maritime zone that has been delineated by Cyprus and Egypt. Borrell said the move "regrettably fuels further tensions and insecurity in the Eastern Mediterranean" and "runs counter and undermines efforts to resume dialogue and negotiations, and to pursue immediate de-escalation." In an urgent meeting convened by Borrell on Friday, the foreign ministers of EU member states considered the recent naval mobilizations by Turkey would "lead to greater antagonism and distrust" and supported Borrell to re-establish dialogue and facilitate re-engagement with Turkey. The High Representative will also prepare "options on further appropriate measures in case tensions do not abate," according to the Council of the EU. On Aug. 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country resumed drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean, one day after Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries and setting up an exclusive economic zone between them. Enditem DUBLIN Ryanair will reduce its flight capacity by a further 20% during September and October after a reimposition of some travel restrictions led to a notable weakness in forward bookings over the last 10 days, the Irish airline said on Monday. Ryanair, which last month cut its passenger target to 60 million for the financial year to March 2021, from the 80 million it had forecast in May, said a recent upsurge of COVID-19 cases in some European countries had particularly impacted business bookings. Ryanair shares, which had rallied in recent sessions to their highest since early June, fell 4.4% to 11.22 euros by 1220 GMT. The airline said cuts will be heavily focused on France, Spain Ireland and Sweden, and would mostly involve frequency reductions rather than route closures. It had increased flights to 60% of its normal schedule this month after resuming services in July. Europes biggest budget airline said last month it expected to run around 70% of last years schedule between October and March. Increased travel restrictions have hit air traffic to Spain and France in recent weeks, while Ireland only allows unencumbered travel to 10 European countries, a policy Ryanair criticised again as uniquely restrictive on Monday. Ryanair said impacted passengers will be advised of their options. 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 Three police officers were shot and a man remained barricaded inside a home with three of his family members in a suburb of Austin, Texas, authorities said. Officers responded to a call about 3:10 p.m. at a home off Natalie Cove from a mother who said her son kicked in the door of the home, Interim Chief of Police Mike Harmon said during a news conference near the scene. The mother, a juvenile and another person, whose age was unknown, remain in the home held by the suspect, believed to be in his mid-20s, Harmon said. The suspect has some mental health issues, he said. Harmon said when officers arrived they were met with gunfire and taken to a local hospital. All three officers were in stable condition with non life-threatening injuries. At least one officer will remain in the hospital overnight. It is unclear if the suspect was injured. We want to end this peacefully for everyone involved, Harmon said, making a plea to the unidentified suspect. Please, come out and surrender peacefully. Harmon said that the Cedar Park Police Department has a history at the residence, but did not provide details, including when police last visited the home. As night fell in the Cedar Park neighbourhood on Sunday where a water tower could be seen in the distance, lights from multiple police and emergency responder vehicles bounced off nearby homes. Vehicles moved along one street that ran perpendicular to another, where orange cones had been placed to restrict traffic. The city of Cedar Park has asked residents to avoid Bagdad Road between Osage Drive and New Hope Drive, the city said on Twitter. The Cedar Park police and fire departments have closed the southbound lane of Bagdad Road at Heritage, the post said. Multiple agencies are on the scene, which is still active. We have negotiators right now reaching out to the suspect Harmon said. Our hearts are with the police officers who were injured while protecting the Cedar Park community this afternoon. We must never take for granted the service and sacrifice of our law enforcement officers, and the State of Texas stands ready to provide the support and resources needed to bring justice to those involved, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. ___ Associated Press writer Haleluya Hadero contributed to this report from Atlanta. They claimed they had been offered a job in Libya and Syria. Members of Russia's private military company (PMC) Wagner who were detained in Minsk and later extradited by the Belarusian authorities have announced upon return home that they were heading to Libya and Syria as they had been offered a job there. Several of the members transferred to Russia told TV Channel Russia 24 they had seen a job announcement on Avito.ru, a Russian classified advertisements website, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Read alsoZelensky warns Minsk of "tragic consequences" of Wagner PMC troops' extradition to Russia One of them said it was a job related to crude oil facilities. Yet, the job requirements included experience of participation in hostilities, especially in Donbas and in Syria. They claimed they had been accommodated at the Belorusochka health center outside Minsk for a short period. They claim they allegedly did not know that presidential elections were to take place in Belarus. PMC Wagner in Belarus Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has said that there is nothing bad in borrowing, provided the funds are invested in infrastructure rather than services or consumption. According to a statement released by his media aide, Segun Adeyemi, the Minister made this statement on Saturday, August 15, while speaking with journalists after he and Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, inspected the LagosIbadan rail line. Lai Mohammed said the government does not borrow money for overhead but for capital projects. There is no better way to answer Nigerians as to what we have done with the money we have borrowed than this trip. On this trip, you have seen first hand the stations being constructed, the rail lines, and the people who are working on the projects. Rather than arguing with critics, we opted to allow you (journalists) the ears and eyes of Nigerians to come and see for yourselves what we are doing with the money we are borrowing. We didnt borrow money for services or overhead expenditure. We borrowed money for capital projects: rail; roads; bridges; power infrastructure generally. There is nothing bad in borrowing, provided the funds are invested in infrastructure, especially when it will create jobs, create an enabling environment for the economy he said On his part, Amaechi said $1.6 billion is being expended on the Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail line and the stations. He appealed to the national assembly to approve a $5.3 billion Chinese loan request to enable the government execute the Ibadan-Kano standard gauge rail line. After weeks of unrest in 2015 following the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody, many residents fled Baltimore. While distraught about the injustices taking place there, Greg Morton also saw an opportunity to do good. "I was like, 'Oh man, I could probably go back to Baltimore and start some type of community redevelopment ... then start like a mini Black town,' " says Morton, a Baltimore native who was living in New Jersey at the time. His goal was to find a low-maintenance property that he could live and work in immediately. He ended up with much more: a home that celebrates Baltimore and Black culture while exemplifying the principles of its former owner, Frederick Douglass. Morton, 38, bought 524 S. Dallas St., one of five historic houses tucked into an alleyway in the Fells Point neighborhood, in late 2015, for $190,000. He began renting it out on home-sharing sites like Airbnb two years later. At a time when some say Black culture in Baltimore is being erased, the property has become an unofficial tourist destination that preserves African American history in Charm City. "The sky kind of opened up for this," says Morton, whose mother had told him the house was on the market after seeing it on the news. Though its bones were still intact, the house needed to be completely redone, says Morton, who had never completed a renovation before. "I kind of passed on it ... but then I couldn't sleep at night. I was like, 'Man, it's Frederick Douglass's house. ... I should try to work that out.' " Morton believes the seller got word that he wanted to preserve the home by paying homage to Douglass. The seller (who didn't respond to requests for comment) dropped the price by $50,000, allowing Morton to buy it. He spent the next year renovating the home, preserving parts of the interior such as the exposed brick, hardwood floors and a winding staircase between the first and second floors. Modern additions included an upgraded kitchen and a bathroom on the first floor. Morton has decorated the one-bedroom home's interior with prints of artwork and pieces that speak to Douglass's life, as well as artifacts from Black culture and works from African American artists. As such, guests feel as if they're experiencing Black life in an authentic way. "There's a difference between going to a gallery or museum and seeing the works [in a private home]. Somebody who collects works is going to put it over their couch and live with it. ... It's like a backdrop to their existence," says Morton, who has a story behind every artist showcased in the two-level home: Cartoonist Bryan Robinson, Morton explains, is a Baltimore native and "hometown hero." Abstract artist Mildred Thompson came to prominence posthumously. Jerrell Gibbs is an emerging figurative artist who grew up in Baltimore. Kehinde Wiley entered the public consciousness after his portrait of Barack Obama. Among the home's relics, there is a limited-edition poster for the 1975 film "Cooley High" and a vintage poster from a Motown Revue concert advertising such acts as Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight and the Pips. Lou Fields, president of the Baltimore African American Tourism Council of Maryland, has passed by the house thousands of times. But it wasn't until Morton moved in that Fields went inside, sometimes bringing tour groups. "I don't really push going inside too much because it's still his private home, and what he does with it on weekends prohibits how often we can go in," says Fields, who shares the history of Douglass's life in Baltimore on a walking tour in Fells Point. Born into slavery, Douglass lived in Baltimore as a child. He spent most of his time in Fells Point learning to read and write and working in shipyards before he escaped to freedom in 1838. He would go on to become a civil rights pioneer, a renowned speaker, author and diplomat, as well as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln. In 1892 - three years before his death at his home in Anacostia - Douglass returned to Baltimore for a visit. He bought a plot that held Strawberry Alley Methodist Church, where he worshiped in his youth. He razed the church and built five properties as rental homes for African Americans. It was his way of creating stability and community for Black people in Baltimore after the Civil War. The five homes of Douglass Row were listed on the National Register of Historic Places nearly a century later, in 1983. Kerry Stanley and her then-husband had bought the center home at 520 S. Dallas St. a year earlier for $23,000. All of the homes had White occupants at the time, including Stanley, who learned about the properties' connection to Douglass through a neighbor. "I knew nothing about Frederick Douglass beyond what I had been taught in school in my formative years. But I knew he was important and significant, so I said we have to do something about this," recalls Stanley, 62. Another neighbor told Stanley that there was a sign under the formstone of her house. Intrigued, Stanley had a contractor peel away the facade and discovered a marble plaque that read Douglass Place. After more than a year of research, she was successful in listing the homes on the historic register. She later gifted Morton with the documents she used to build her case. Stanley and her husband moved out of the home in 1990, selling the property for $72,500. Since then, homes on the block have been largely unkept or uninhabited. Fields says, "It's unfortunate that our city of Baltimore and our state of Maryland have not seen fit to do better than what they have done with these properties - so individuals like Mr. Morton have stepped up to the plate." Fields argues that neglected homes associated with prominent African Americans should be bought by the local government, restored and turned into tourist destinations. Instead, people like Morton, who spent $40,000 on renovations, have bought and fixed up the homes. "We have lots of wonderful museums," Fields says, "but the issue with smaller or niche historical sites is a fight for equity and funding in dollars." There are many ways in which "the physical and tangible evidence of African Americans, their contributions and their history is largely vanishing or misunderstood" in the city, says Dale Green, a professor at Morgan State University who served for eight years on the board of the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture, which oversees the Banneker-Douglass Museum in Annapolis. Many people have no idea that Douglass Row even exists, says Green, who described Fells Point as "a highly gentrified and transformative community that's seeing many of its African American population be pushed out or nonexistent." He commends Morton for keeping Douglass's legacy alive. "Frederick Douglass talked about an economic agenda, and certainly Greg has taken that to task with preserving his house and breathing new life into it." Michelle O'Neill has condemned thugs who placed poppy wreaths on a bonfire in Londonderry, while Arlene Foster has hit out at those who placed an effigy of a hanged Orangeman on another. The DUP First Minister described the effigy as a "disgraceful hate crime". "The ignorant people behind this display of hatred and racism should be pitied," she wrote on Facebook. "When all you have to say is to attack someone else's culture and identity, then your own 'culture' is really bereft of any meaning or worth." The Deputy First Minister said those responsible for the various displays were acting against the wishes of the local community. The wreaths were placed on a bonfire built in Curryneirin in the Waterside area. Wreaths had recently been stolen from a nearby war memorial. Ms O'Neill said: "There can be no place in society for the burning of flags and emblems. "Those involved in bonfires in Derry do not reflect republicanism. They are also acting in contrary to the wishes of the local community. "We must all continue to work to end these displays of hate." Expand Close The hanged Orangeman effigy on a bonfire in Londonderry / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The hanged Orangeman effigy on a bonfire in Londonderry The bonfires are lit to mark the Catholic Feast of the Assumption and to mark internment during the Troubles. On one of the biggest fires, in the Bogside, a picture of the Queen was attached to the structure before it was torched on Saturday night. Union flags, Northern Ireland flags and a US and Israeli flag were also placed on the stacks of wooden pallets, as were flags of the Parachute Regiment - the regiment responsible for the Bloody Sunday shootings in the city in 1972. PSNI Supt Gordon McCalmont said officers would investigate the incident. He said: "Police are aware of images of poppy wreaths and other items on bonfires and recognise the hurt this will have caused to individuals. "Police have commenced an investigation into this." Ahead of the fire, DUP representative Gary Middleton tweeted: "This is disgraceful and utterly insulting to the war dead. There needs to be leadership shown in this community. Poppy wreaths were stolen from the war memorial in Londonderry recently. "Those who place wreaths on bonfires clearly have a warped mindset." Yesterday, Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson added her condemnation. She said: "The appearance of poppy wreaths on a bonfire in Curryneirin was wrong and must be condemned. "Everyone has a right to remember their dead in a respectful and dignified manner and the theft and desecration of these wreaths goes totally against that." Ulster Unionist councillor Darren Guy said the images were "absolutely despicable". "To do it on the anniversary of VJ Day, which marked the end to hostilities in the Second World War which delivered us freedom from fascism, is reaching a new low, even for militant republicanism," he said. He added: "To further emphasise their hatred of all things British, those filled with sectarian hatred also burned images of the Queen, Northern Ireland supporters' flags and an effigy resembling a member of the Orange Order." NEW YORKTwo of a Canadian fashion moguls sons have filed a lawsuit against their father claiming they were statutorily raped at his direction when they were teenagers. The lawsuit says the sons want to shine the light of truth on Peter Nygards sexual abuse. It alleges that Nygard, 79, arranged the rapes of his sons by a sex worker. Each of the sons has experienced, first-hand, the destruction caused by Peter Nygards sex trafficking venture and, through their truth, stand for accountability and justice, says the lawsuit filed Sunday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Nygard, through his lawyer, said Monday that he was shocked by the allegations and categorically denied them. The lawsuit says the sons names are being withheld for their protection. It alleges that in 2018 Nygards 14-year-old son was brought from California to Winnipeg, where Nygard arranged for a woman to have sex with the teen to make a man out of him. The woman was a longtime girlfriend of Nygard, the document says. The lawsuit also claims that Nygard instructed the same woman to have sex with another son, when he was 15, in the Bahamas in 2004. The suit names privately held Nygard Inc., Nygard International and Nygard Holdings Ltd. as defendants. Nygards sexual predation is an open secret at the Nygard companies, the lawsuit alleges. The sons are asking for a trial by jury and are seeking yet-to-be determined damages. Nygard is facing a separate class-action lawsuit by 57 women alleging he used violence, intimidation, bribery and company employees to sexually assault them and avoid accountability for decades. Many allegations from the women who are from Canada, the Bahamas, the United States and the United Kingdom date back decades. Two women allege they were as young as 14 when they were sexually assaulted. The law firm representing the women is also counsel for Nygards sons. The bravery of these two young men, who have come forward to testify to their own fathers heinous, decades-long career of shocking sexual crimes, corroborates what so many survivors have already revealed, said co-counsel Greg Gutzler. Nygards lawyer, Jay Prober, said the allegations are part of an ongoing publicity campaign against his client. Nygard has previously denied all allegations and blamed them on a feud with his billionaire neighbour in the Bahamas. Prober said the sons allegations are lacking in detail because the rapes never happened. They are without merit and he categorically denies them, Prober said. RELATED STORIES Canada Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard asks court to dismiss class-action lawsuit Nygard was once one of the richest people in Canada. He started his clothing company in Winnipeg more than 50 years ago. The lawsuit says Nygard has an estimated net worth of about $900 million. In February, soon after the womens initial lawsuit was filed, the FBI and police in New York City raided his offices and Nygard stepped down as chair of his company. In court filings in July, Nygard argues the New York court does not have jurisdiction to hear the original lawsuit. Nygard has said Manitoba has been his primary residence since the start of 2019. Before that, his main home was in Nassau in the Bahamas, where he has permanent residency. The Congress on Monday refuted former party leader Sanjay Jhas claim that 100 members of the party had written a letter to chief Sonia Gandhi, expressing their angst at the state of affairs in the Grand Old Party. Taking to Twitter, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala called it BJP's ploy to divert attention from the issue of the latter's links with Facebook. "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN 'Special Misinformation Group on Media-TV Debate Guidance' in its whatsapp of today directed to run the story of a non existant letter of Congress leaders to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links. Of course, BJP stooges have started acting upon it," he said. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERNSpecial Misinformation Group on Media-TV Debate Guidance in its whatsapp of today directed to run the story of a non existant letter of Congress leaders to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links.Of course, BJP stooges have started acting upon it. Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) August 17, 2020 The Congress had accused the BJP of manipulating social media after a Wall Street Journal report claimed that Facebook deliberately overlooked hate speech and objectionable content from BJP leaders. Suspended Congress leader leader Sanjay Jha had earlier claimed that about 100 leaders of the party, including MPs, had written to Sonia Gandhi seeking a change in the political leadership of the party. The letter also requested for transparency in elections within the party, said Jha in his tweet. "It is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (including MP's), distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have written a letter to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, asking for change in political leadership and transparent elections in CWC. Watch this space," he tweeted. It is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (including MP's) , distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have written a letter to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, asking for change in political leadership and transparent elections in CWC. Watch this space. Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) August 17, 2020 Jha was sacked as spokesperson of the party last month for indulging in anti-party activities after he backed rebel MLA Sachin Pilot during the political turmoil in Rajasthan. Pilot's rebel brought additional discomfort to the party, months after Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP in March, bringing down the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh. Last week, the Congress announced a truce with Pilot who was assured by party leaders, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, that his grievances with RPCC would be addressed. The truce, however, is reportedly believed by many to be temporary. Dubai Airport has witnessed a dramatic increase in the arrival of travellers at the airport since the emirate reopened its doors to tourists on July 7, a report said. "Everyday we have more than 20,000 travellers through the airport. Majority of travellers are tourists as well as residents travelling in and out the country, Brigadier Talal Ahmad Al Shanqiti, general director assistant of Ports Affairs in GDRFA-Dubai, was quoted by a Gulf News report. Brigadier Al Shanqiti said GDRFA-Dubai has set up 15 counters to complete the visitors procedures in order to make the travel smoother. He said that wearing masks have become a habit in UAE and that has helped increase the number of tourists. We expect by November, the peak numbers will be similar to those of 2019, he added. Dubai Airports has received international delegations to check the operation at the airport after easing travel movement around the world. UAE has taken the lead in opening the airports by taking all precautionary measures to curb the pandemic. UAE has dealt with the pandemic with priority and the results have been positive. Dubai Airports was a pioneer in operating and returning to flying, Brig Al Shanqiti added. A month after a video went viral showing huge crowds and few protective masks on Clifton Hill, a Crush the Curve ambassador program has helped stabilize the area, according to one of the businesses funding it. Aided by a mask bylaw in enclosed public spaces which the region made mandatory July 31, the brightly-clad ambassadors have been effective after not the best of starts, said Joel Noden, vice-president of marketing for HOCO, which owns most all the properties on the south side of Clifton Hill. Funded by the streets three main business owners, the ambassador program sees staff members in neon shirts reminding visitors to social distance while giving out masks and sanitizers. They also help delegate lines and clean counters, benches, etc. Once the bylaw came into effect, it really made it a lot easier, Noden said. People were wearing masks, people were social distancing. Really, when youre trying to stop people coming up the hill and educate them, its like stopping the centre lane of the Gardiner Expressway during rush hour. The program was a direct response to a video uploaded to YouTube last month showing hordes of people on Clifton Hill in close proximity to each other, with hardly anyone wearing masks. It gained national attention and led to a press conference at which Mayor Jim Diodati introduced the ambassador program, stressing compliance rather than convictions. Further videos have shown the street still busy one showing a scuffle between a man and security near the Skywheel but Diodati said the program is making an impact. Tens of thousands of Niagara residents have been counting on our efforts being successful in order for them to be able to work and be safe so that they can put food on the table, pay their rent and mortgages, he said. We are utilizing common sense and moderation as we utilize guidance from experts. It is a balancing act to be open and safe. On Saturday, four weeks after the initial video was filmed, Clifton Hill was busy but lacking the congested areas that raised alarms. About a dozen members of the ambassador program were spotted up and down the street. Noden said that number increases during the busiest times Friday and Saturday nights. All members of the ambassador program are supervisors from various businesses along the street and are paid for their efforts. In recent weeks, Clifton Hill has also cordoned off parking spots along the street to open up more room for pedestrians and brought in two paid duty officers with Niagara Regional Police for Saturday nights. Sitting on a Clifton Hill bench with his friend, Ryan Senti from Toronto said he has no worries about visiting the street after watching the recent videos. As long as were out in the open, we should be OK. Despite the new safety measures, longtime tourist area business owner Maria Ramunno said it has been a tense summer. Youre exposed to so many people all day long, said Ramunno, who owns the Rockworld store on Centre Street, just off Clifton Hill. I dont know where theyve been, where they come from. I dont know if nervous is the word. Im just not sure. Most people are really good, though. RELATED STORIES Niagara Region New safety measures on Clifton Hill in wake of video showing large crowds Flare-ups with customers still occur, she added. On Saturday a man entered her store without a mask, and when reminded of the bylaw said weve become a fascist society. He was livid. Another man said he was going to sue her when asked to leave. Its a battle that will forever define the summer of 2020, Ramunno said. We cant close down we have bills to pay. We have to take this chance. Well survive even if were not making anything because we dont pay rent here, its family-owned. But people paying high rent, my heart goes out to them. A virtual sitting is on the cards for Federal Parliament with strict rules around how politicians can join via video link right down to what can be on the walls behind them. Hard borders and strict quarantine rules have made it nearly impossible for MPs from at least two states, let alone their staff, to travel to Canberra for the fortnight of sittings starting next Monday. Hard borders and strict quarantine rules have made it nearly impossible for MPs from at least two states to travel to Canberra for Parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Parliament House will again close to the public from the start of the sitting week, with school visits cancelled and lobbyists and former politicians barred from the private areas of the building due to concerns about spreading coronavirus. The lower house is working on arrangements for those unable to make it to Parliament House to give speeches and take part in question time via secure video link from their electorate offices, sources say. A retired CIA officer and contract linguist for the FBI has been charged with spying for China by disclosing 'highly classified' information to Chinese intelligence officers, according to a court documents unsealed Monday. Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 67, of Honolulu, is accused of revealing government secrets to at least five officers from China's Ministry of State Security in a hotel room in Hong Kong during a three-day period in March 2001. It was there that he is accused of disclosing a 'substantial amount of highly classified national defense information', according to court documents obtained by NBC. A reitred CIA officer and contract linguist for the FBI has been charged with spying for China, including by disclosing secret information on sources to intelligence officers, according to a court documents unsealed Monday Some of that information included facts about the CIA's internal organization, methods for communicating covertly and the identities of CIA officers and human assets, NBC reported. Once he left the CIA, Ma went to work for the FBI field office in Honolulu as a Chinese linguist. While there he allegedly used his security clearance to copy or photograph classified documents related to guided missile and weapons systems in the US. He then reportedly gave that information to Chinese handlers. Ma was arrested last week after a recent sting operation in which prosecutors say he accepted cash from an undercover law enforcement officer and revealed that he wanted the 'motherland' to succeed. Video from the operation reportedly shows Ma counting $2,000 in cash that the undercover agent gave him for his work. Ma was charged in federal court in Honolulu with conspiring to gather and communicate national defense information for a foreign nation According to NBC, Ma then admitted that he provided classified information to the Ministry of State Security. Ma was charged in federal court in Honolulu with conspiring to gather and communicate national defense information for a foreign nation. The incident comes more than a year after another ex-CIA agent was sentenced to prison. Last year, former CIA officer Jerry Chun Shing Lee was sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to become a spy for China. Lee, 55, left the CIA in 2007 and moved to Hong Kong. A few years later, in 2010, he was approached by two Chinese intelligence officers who offered to pay him $100,000 and to take care of him 'for life' for information he had acquired as a CIA officer. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 17 By Nargiz Ismayilova - Trend: The Electronic Security Service (ESS) under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan has established cooperation with centers for combating cyber incidents of a number of countries, the service told Trend. Having established links with international communities and structures operating in this area, the Electronic Security Service became a full member of such the influential global organizations in the field of cybersecurity as Trusted Introducer, Anti-Phishing Working Group, FIRST, CAMP, and also established cooperation with the centers for combating cyber incidents of a number of countries, the service said. In order to study and apply international experience in the field of cybersecurity in Azerbaijan, the Electronic Security Service conducts regular consultations with the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) of Turkey, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Romania, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Bulgaria and Belarus on possible measures to eliminate cyber threats, the service noted. In addition, various services of Shadowserver and Microsoft companies, as well as Anti-Phishing Working Group, FIRST, Team Cymru, OpenPhish Team and Trusted Introducer international organizations, were introduced in our country. Collaboration with Facebook, Youtube, Apple and Google expanded to prevent cybersecurity incidents, said the service. In September 2019, a meeting was held on the Skype-call platform with members of the EU4Digital working group on Azerbaijan within the framework of Network Trust & Security. The meeting was held as part of the Harmonization of the Digital Markets (HDM) initiative of the Economic Integration and Convergence with EU Policies platform of the EUs Eastern Partnership program. The purpose of the meeting was the assessment of the level of cybersecurity of the country for the allocation of grants within the program to support the digital economy and society in the Eastern Partnership countries next year. During the meeting, questions regarding the cybersecurity situation in Azerbaijan were answered, and current problems and needs were identified. On November 19, 2019, a seminar was held within the first stage of the project prepared by the Transnational Threats Department of the OSCE Secretariat for the development of cooperation between the relevant state structures of Azerbaijan in the field of combating cybercrime and international service providers such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Paypal and others. At the seminar, which was attended by international service providers, information was shared on their experience of cooperation with law enforcement agencies in the fight against cybercrime. Since June 2019, under the organization of the Council of Europe, a project called Cyber training in the Eastern Partnership region of the EU CyberEast, which will last 36 months, has begun. The aim of the project is to strengthen cooperation between the structures involved in the fight against cybercrime, electronic evidence, internet governance and criminal justice, accelerate legal reforms in accordance with the Budapest Convention, as well as provide relevant training in the field of cybercrime and electronic evidence for experts working in law enforcement agencies, prosecutor's office, justice. Taking into account the activities of the Electronic Security Service, in order to improve the level of training and study international experience as part of the TAIEX program, it was proposed to conduct seminars in subsequent years on the mechanisms and problems of the practical application of legislation, audit and certification, forms of control legislation and mechanisms for their application, methods of education in the field of personal data, studying international experience in the field of ensuring the protection of personal data. Under the ESS' direct appeal to the Facebook team, the Ghosty application, which caused great concern among Instagram users in our country and abroad, and violated user privacy rights and Instagram privacy rules, was removed from the Google Play Store and App Store, said the message. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @IsmailovaNargis People gathered for public prayer in the Democratic Republic of Congo for the first time in five months on Sunday as the country further eased restrictions linked to the coronavirus pandemic. Catholics flocked joyfully to Kinshasa's Notre Dame Cathedral for Sunday's first mass at 6:30 am, AFP correspondents reported. Worshippers were required to wash their hands with chlorinated water before entering the sanctuary, where they were kept a metre apart. The priest -- the only person not wearing a face covering -- said those who did not observe the measures risked home confinement. Worshippers were required to wash their hands with chlorinated water before entering the sanctuary, where they were kept a metre apart. By ARSENE MPIANA (AFP) Nearby at the Philadelphia evangelical church, some worshippers were not wearing masks, but all had their temperatures taken before entering. Worship resumed in many other cities of the vast central African country including Beni in the east, Kikwit in the southwest and northern Kisangani. The poor former Belgian colony has recorded 9,676 cases of COVID-19 including 240 deaths since the first cases emerged on March 10, according to the latest official figures. The health emergency decreed on March 24 was lifted on July 21. Fail: Students take to the streets in Westminster over the mishandling of exam results. Photo: Victoria Jones/PA Wire The UK government is facing the threat of legal action and criticism from its own MPs after it sparked anger by mishandling English exam grades during the pandemic. After the nationwide lockdown forced exams to be cancelled, the Conservative government used an algorithm to assess grade predictions made by teachers, and lowered them for almost 40pc of students taking their main school-leaving exams. It was a process that saw many students lose places at top universities. To compound the issue, results show grades were less likely to be lowered for students who attended fee-paying private schools, while bright students at traditionally poorly performing schools could have results downgraded. On Saturday night the exams regulator published guidance on an appeals process, only to withdraw it hours later because it needed further review. Barrister Jo Maugham said his Good Law Project had appointed solicitors to pursue litigation on behalf of students, and urged the government to launch a suitable appeals system in time for students to go to college in September. Robert Halfon, chairman of the cross-party education select committee in parliament and a Tory MP, described the removal of the appeals guidance as farcical. "It sows confusion among pupils, head teachers and school teachers and it's the last thing we need at this time," he told the BBC. And fellow Conservative MP Robert Syms said the government risked Conservative MPs "going on warpath". Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government has been criticised for its handling of the pandemic, with the country recording the highest death toll in Europe and the most severe economic contraction of any major economy so far. Having won an electoral landslide in December with a pledge to "level up" struggling parts of the country, the Conservatives have retained a solid lead over the opposition Labour Party in opinion polls despite the problems. That could change however over issues, including hastily introduced quarantines that have forced the cancellation of holidays and the looming end of a successful job support scheme, as well as the chaos surrounding exam results. Labour leader Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson needed to take charge and fix the problem before results were released on Thursday for GCSE exams taken by 16-year-olds. The government has said pupils will not have to pay to appeal grades and most students will have received the correct results. Exams regulator Ofqual said some of the predicted grades given by teachers were "implausibly high". The over prescribing of antibiotics is reducing survival rates in patients with urothelial carcinoma and it needs to be stopped to avoid the serious risk posed by resistant bacterial infections, according to a new medical study. By analysing data collected within clinical trials on a common immunotherapy treatment called atezolizumab, cancer researchers at Flinders University have found antibiotics are consistently associated with worse survival rates in patients with urothelial carcinoma. Clinical Pharmacology Dr Ashley Hopkins, from the Precision Medicines Group, says the study's findings suggest antibiotics may specifically reduce the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies. "We demonstrated that antibiotic use is directly associated with worse survival in patients with urothelial carcinoma when they're treated with atezolizumab. But no antibiotic association was observed in patients treated with chemotherapy, suggesting that antibiotics may specifically reduce the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapies," says Dr Hopkins. Previous research suggests up to 50% of antibiotic use in cancer treatments is prescribed inappropriately as a result of false misconceptions about there being no consequences, but this new study in the European Urology journal demonstrates that over reliance needs to stop. "They're concerns that practitioners are over prescribing antibiotics like atezolizumab, potentially increasing the risk of resistant bacterial infections, and this study's findings suggest a need for extra caution when an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) like this is being used." The authors say future research will need to explore the effect of antibiotics on other immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and confirm whether ICI's remain the treatment of choice in cancer patients requiring antibiotics. "These results provide strong justification for prospective studies to tease out whether antibiotics are primarily a surrogate of an unfit or immunodeficient patient or whether antibiotic effects on the gut microbiota are having casual impacts on ICI efficacy," says Dr Hopkins. "If the latter is true, in patients at a high risk of recurrent infections, it may need to be considered whether ICI therapy is the most appropriate way to go." ### The research was part funded by Cancer Council of South Australia and The National Breast Cancer Foundation. Even with the awkward limitations of a virtual convention, the programming of the last three nights has built steadily and more or less smoothly toward the unveiling of Mr. Biden as a president-in-waiting. It now falls to Mr. Biden to fill the political silhouette his party has gradually sketched one that frames him as a steady hand for difficult times, capable of bringing concrete relief to people suffering through a crisis. In the 2020 campaign, Mr. Biden has seldom been the most eloquent advocate for his own cause. In the most important moments of his campaign, he has leaned heavily on other, more magnetic and fluid speakers: Representative Jim Clyburn in the days before the South Carolina primary, and Senator Amy Klobuchar and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., before the Super Tuesday contests in March. And he will have help again tonight, from allies who will address the audience before him, including Mr. Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, a former presidential candidate, and Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. Online 'sextionary' targeting teens shuttered following complaints from Christian groups Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment An online sextionary targeting teenagers has been shuttered after Christian groups complained that its content was dangerous and degrading. The Respect Yourself guidance, set up by NHS Warwickshire, Warwickshire County Council, and Coventry Council in the West Midlands region of England and endorsed by Public Health Warwickshire, has been taken offline and is under review after parents and various Christian groups complained, the Sunday Times reported. Launched in 2012, the controversial website included a 47-page sextionary a glossary of explicit sexual vocabulary along with definitions of slang terms for genitalia, and a question-and-answer section covering a variety of sexual acts, according to the Telegraph. The website also included an area where users could click on pictures of a man and woman to find their pleasure zones. Additionally, the online guidance reportedly condoned promiscuity, with one section telling girls about the best way to sleep with a stranger. It said: If you are on a girls holiday and make the decision to sleep with someone youve just met for safetys sake, take them back to your place, where you know your friends are only in the next room." The site also included more explicit content about masturbation, pornography, and prostitution and informed teenagers that while the age of consent is 16, every individual is the only person who knows when they are ready to have sex. The law says you are not old enough to decide for your self until you are 16 as this is the age the law sees us as being mature enough to decide, read the website. You are the only one who knows when you are ready. Some are ready before, some not till much later. The councils project manager for the site, Amy Danahay, told Channel 4 News that the site was created to speak to teenagers in their language and provide information in a medium that we know they use and which is monitored by professionals. She also claimed the site has been based on thorough research into what young people need, how they want to access the information and how it should be presented. But following continued complaints from Christian groups, the Warwickshire County Council this week pulled the site down while it reviews its content. The Christian Institutes Deputy Director Simon Calvert criticized the website, saying: Respect seems to be the last thing on the minds of the people responsible for this appalling material. Young people deserve to be treated with dignity, not spoken down to as if they have no self-control or moral compass. Compiling an A-to-Z that includes some of the most dangerous and degrading sexual practices imaginable and presenting them all to young people as equally valid and healthy is profoundly irresponsible. Back in 2012, Norman Wells, director of the Family Education Trust, a national charity, told the Telegraph that the website only paid lip service to the legal age of consent, noting, It pretty much tells young people they can engage in sexual activity whenever they feel ready, regardless of what the law says. Parents throughout the region will be appalled that health professionals have supported the development of a resource that condones sexual experimentation by young people and uses crude and sometimes even foul language, he said. Wells called the site grossly irresponsible and a complete misuse of taxpayers' hard-earned cash. Many of the topics covered are totally unnecessary and positively unhelpful. Young people and older people for that matter simply don't need a 'sextionary' containing an A-Z of all manner of sexual practices and perversions, he said. It merely encourages an unhealthy obsession with physical acts and will do nothing to help young people build healthy relationships or prepare them for a stable and fulfilling marriage in the future. Not only does the site include a considerable volume of unhealthy and unhelpful content, but much of the information provided is not even accurate. The shuttering of the site comes just weeks after the same council was criticized for a Relationships Education resource, which told children as young as six years old about the concepts of touching themselves and self-stimulation, reports Sputnik News. A section titled Touching Myself, All About Me suggested that masturbating in the bath, shower or bed would be most appropriate for children. Matthew Seymour, who has two sons at a Warwickshire primary school which used the resource, told The Christian Institute, This sexualization of our children is just totally inappropriate. We dont want to start picket lines and wave banners. Were just an ordinary family. I think many families who had seen these lesson plans would feel the same way we did. The Christian Institutes education officer, John Denning, said, If schools are teaching about sexual activity or sexual relationships, then it is sex education, whatever the school calls it. Parents have a right to request their children are withdrawn from sex education, a request which primary schools must always grant. And it is the schools duty to consult with parents and provide relationships education which is appropriate to childrens age and religious background. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Monday urged expanding national efforts to decrease water shortages, including the establishment of desalination plants worth EGP 435 billion ($27.32 billion), the presidential spokesman stated. During his meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Housing Assem El-Gazzar and Presidential Adviser for Urban Planning Amir Ahmed, El-Sisi called for expanding other projects to reduce water loss and acquiring the technical ability to localise the technology of water treatment and desalination plants. El-Sisi also reviewed a religious project, namely The Greater Disclosure over the Land of Peace. The presidential statement gave no further details about the project. However, it said the president called for studying the different aspects of the project, including its infrastructure, in coordination with relevant governmental bodies, for the project to be an added value to humanity as a whole. The meeting also reviewed the Ministry of Housings projects nationwide, especially the new cities, slum development, social housing, as well as efforts to modernise Cairo districts and provide water through desalination plants. The modernisation of Cairo districts should be conducted in an integrated manner, so that an accurate vision that takes into account the engineering, social, financial and structural aspects is formulated, El-Sisi said. El-Gazzar reviewed the government's efforts to support and establish social housing projects, such as the new national project known as Residence for all Egyptians, at new cities nationwide, in line with President El-Sisis initiative to provide a residential unit for every citizen. Search Keywords: Short link: STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Public school students will be taught in a variety of methods during the 2020-2021 school year, according to the city Department of Educations reopening plan amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Synchronous learning, which refers to real-time remote learning, will take place for students at home through different channels, depending on the class and school. An example of synchronous learning would be students at home being taught by a teacher who is in a classroom also instructing students who are physically present. Asynchronous learning, or self-paced learning without real-time instruction, will also take place. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** Both blended learning students and students whove opted for full-time remote learning will receive instruction through both synchronous and asynchronous models, the DOEs reopening plan says. 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. There should be fluidity between in-person and remote learning, tasks, activities, and assignments to create one meaningful and integrated learning experience for students, the DOE said. During a press conference this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that 26% of public school students -- or 264,000 students -- across the five boroughs will start the school year learning remotely full-time, according to the number of applications families submitted to the DOE requesting full-time remote learning. Students who opted for full-time remote learning will have both synchronous and asynchronous instruction daily; synchronous instruction will be directly tied to the asynchronous learning activities in which they engage to promote continuity of instruction, the plan states. Both forms of instruction will complement each other, the DOE said, and all lessons will be directly tied to each other. The DOE said synchronous instruction should include a number of considerations, including: What time of day the most students are likely to be engaged, age and grade level of students, student readiness, and feedback from students and families. If changes to the synchronous schedule need to be made, the teacher should notify the principal and give adequate notice to students and families so that schedule adjustments can be made. STUDENTS SHOULD BRING THEIR ISSUED DEVICES TO SCHOOL Students who are participating in blended learning and received a DOE-issued device at the end of the 2019-2020 school year are expected to bring the device to school for the 2020-2021 school year. Many students needed their device for summer school, or to participate in the citys Summer Bridge program. In April, the DOE partnered with Apple, T-Mobile, and other public and private companies to provide more than 300,000 LTE-enable devices to public school students who did not have access to one at home so they could participate in remote learning. When asked if there was a backlog of students waiting for a device, a DOE spokeswoman told the Advance/SILive.com, We know how critical internet access is, and we have worked hard to close the technology gap during remote learning, delivering more than 320K internet-enabled iPads to students who need them, in addition to 175,000 school-based devices. Our schools will continue to distribute iPads and devices to any family who needs one, so students can hit the ground running in the fall. According to the city, the DOE has been able to fulfill device requests as they come in and does not anticipate a backlog this coming school year. In September, children who may be entering a new school, such as moving from an elementary school to an intermediate school, should bring their DOE-issued device to their new school. If a student still needs a device at that time, the school will return the old device to the previous schools inventory and issue a new one. The DOEs reopening plan states that schools must acknowledge the impact of remote and blended learning and the ways in which students complete their work. HOW DO I REQUEST A DEVICE? If your child does not have access to a device at home or internet access, you can request an internet-enabled device through the DOE. Parents should contact their childs school, as well as fill out the iPad Distribution form on the DOEs website; the form will ask if youre in need of a device, WiFi access, or both. Theres a limit of one device per students. Parents should fill out a separate form for each student who is in need of a device. The LTE-enabled devices allowed students to connect to the internet without a previously established connection. If a student needs a device as well as internet connection, they will receive one of the citys LTE-enabled device. If a student is only in need of a device and has access to internet, the student will receive one of the schools devices that does not come with internet connection to prioritize those with internet for students in need. According to the city, there are 20,000 LTE-enabled iPads remaining and the DOE will work with schools to distribute them accordingly, prioritizing students who reside in shelters. The DOE continues to advocate with Optimum, Spectrum, and Verizon to extend or offer free or reduced internet services to the K-12 families in need. On March 15, when Mayor Bill de Blasio first announced that public schools would shutter to curb the spread of the coronavirus, the city had already identified 300,000 students who were in need of technology to participate in remote learning. Devices were prioritized and given to students living in shelters, followed by students in temporary housing, emergency shelters, youth shelters, and foster care. High school students, multilingual students, students with disabilities, and students living in public housing received their devices next. After priority groups were accommodated, the DOE shipped iPads to the remainder of students in need. 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 KRISTIN F. DALTON ON TWITTER. A person holds a Remington Outdoor Co. Model 700 rifle for sale at a gun store in Orem, Utah, U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 11, 2016. George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images The Remington Arms Co. appears on the verge of being sold off in pieces following its second Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in just over two years. It is an inauspicious fate for the 204-year-old company, which bills itself as America's oldest gun manufacturer. But civil liability claimants who helped drive the company to this point allege that Remington's attempt to auction itself off is deliberately crafted to deny them the compensation they say they are owed. The federal judge overseeing the bankruptcy case, Clifton R. Jessup in Decatur, Alabama, has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday on whether to approve the process, which would see Remington's various businesses which operate under the umbrella Remington Outdoor Co. auctioned off as soon as Sept. 8. Among those objecting most strenuously to the proposal are the families of nine of the 26 victims of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which was carried out by a gunman using a Remington-made Bushmaster AR-15 rifle. The families sued Remington in 2014 alleging that the company's marketing of the assault-style rifle led to the attack. Last year, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the suit to proceed. Remington's proposed bankruptcy auction which aims to sell off parts of the company "free and clear" of liabilities is silent about the lawsuit. The families allege that is intentional. In a court filing on Aug. 7, the families said the proposed fast-track auction would "prevent Remington from ever answering for its role in the wrongful marketing of the weapon and that marketing's causal role in the devastating loss of life at Sandy Hook Elementary School." They are asking the judge to slow down the process and to give liability claimants like them a seat on the official committee of unsecured creditors, which will help steer the bankruptcy process. Remington said it will let the court decide whether to give the families a seat on the committee, but the company said the families' liability claims should be decided later. "This is not the time nor the process for addressing the merits of the Sandy Hook Plaintiffs' claims," the company said in a court filing on Friday. Remington attorneys did not respond to emails from CNBC seeking a comment. Liability cases in limbo The Sandy Hook lawsuit is far from the only liability case thrown into limbo by the bankruptcy filing. CNBC has been reporting since 2010 on allegations that Remington covered up a design defect in its popular Model 700 bolt-action rifle that is said to allow the gun to fire without the trigger being pulled. Lawsuits have linked the alleged defect to dozens of deaths and hundreds of serious injuries. Remington has steadfastly denied any defect, and the company maintains the guns are safe. In 2014, without admitting wrongdoing, the company agreed in a class action settlement to replace the trigger mechanisms on millions of guns. But that case only covered economic losses from the alleged defect. Dozens of wrongful death and personal injury cases are still pending, all of which are on hold as a result of a provision in U.S. bankruptcy law that imposes an automatic stay on claims outside the bankruptcy case. Remington's proposed bankruptcy plan is silent on those cases as well. "What they're doing through this bankruptcy is they're asking the court to circumvent our entire process of justice in this country, to let this company off the hook," said Richard Barber, a Montana man whose 9-year old son was killed when a Remington Model 700 went off during a family hunting trip in 2000. The Barber family and Remington settled a wrongful death claim in 2002. Since then, Barber has been a vocal critic of the company. He has amassed a trove of internal company documents and has assisted other families pursuing claims. Not only are all of the pending claims against Remington on hold because of the bankruptcy; so, potentially, are dozens of pending claims against its former parent company, DuPont de Nemours, which owned Remington during most of the key design and marketing decisions involving the Model 700, before selling the business in 1993. One such case involves the death of 16-year-old Mark Teague of Missoula, Montana, who was killed in 2015 when his Model 700 rifle went off in the family's living room. While authorities ruled the death a suicide, the family claimed the gun fired accidentally as a result of the alleged design defect as the boy was trying to unload it. The family sued Remington and DuPont in 2018 for an unspecified amount, alleging the company knowingly sold a dangerous product. Last year, the companies jointly moved to dismiss the case, calling the family's allegations speculative. The case was set to go to trial in October, until Remington's bankruptcy triggered the automatic stay of pending claims against the company. Attorney Robert Carlson, who represents Remington and DuPont, argued in a court filing last week that the bankruptcy stay should also apply to DuPont which reported net sales of $21.5 billion in 2019 because it would be "extraordinarily inefficient" to try a case against DuPont while the case against Remington is on hold. For now, the judge has agreed to delay the entire case at least until December. Liquidity crisis Iran paid Taliban fighters to attack American soldiers and other coalition forces in Afghanistan, CNN reported on Monday. U.S. intelligence has assessed that a foreign government paid fighters who took part in at least six attacks over the past year, including a December 2019 suicide bombing at the U.S. Air Base in Bagram, Afghanistan, that left two dead and over 70 injured. Four American servicemen were among the injured, while the remainder were Afghan civilians. While the name of the foreign government remains classified, two intelligence officials told CNN that the nation behind the payments is Iran. The Bagram attack was carried out by fighters from the Haqqani network, led by the Taliban second-in-command Sirajuddin Haqqani. National Security Council officials recommended in March of this year that the Trump administration not take action against the Iran-Haqqani collaboration because the move would likely jeopardize peace talks with the Taliban, according to an internal memo. The news of possible Iranian bounties for Taliban fighters comes after reports in June that Russia had paid Afghan fighters to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that he had warned Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov against placing such bounties. 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 told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Trump administration officials claimed in June that the president was never briefed on intelligence of Russian bounties, because that intelligence was not verified. However, the House Armed Services Committee voted in early July to approve additional conditions to be met before the U.S. withdraws any further troops from Afghanistan. Currently there are about 8,600 U.S. soldiers stationed in the country. More from National Review A quartet of Republicans will endorse Democrat Joe Biden on the opening night of this week's virtual Democratic National Convention. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran for president as a Republican in 2016, will speak along with former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former New York Rep. Susan Molinari and former GOP California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, the former CEO of Hewlett Packard who now runs Quibi. 'I call them the silent Biden voters, which are those Republicans who feel bullied, those Republicans that fear that they will be isolated if they support Biden and that they will be picked on. And so this will show them that they're not alone,' explained Biden campaign co-chair, Rep. Cedric Richmond, who spoke to reporters on a Zoom call Monday morning. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, is one of four Republicans who will address the Democratic National Convention on its opening night John Kasich will be joined by three Republican women set to disown President Donald Trump. From left: Former California GOP gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman and former New York Rep. Susan Molinari The Democrats kick off their virtual convention Monday to nominate former Vice President Joe Biden (left) for president and Sen. Kamala Harris (right) for vice president. The opening night program includes speeches from four Republicans who've ditched Trump Kasich had been the only Republican who had been previously announced to speak at the 2020 DNC, which kicks off Monday and will conclude Thursday night with Biden's speech, now taking place in his adopted hometown of Wilmington, Delaware due to the coronavirus crisis. The DNC was supposed to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a state President Donald Trump won over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016. The three GOP women speaking haven't been politically active recently. Meg Whitman ran and lost her California governor's race in 2010. Christine Todd Whitman left office in 2001 and then became President George W. Bush's Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Molinari ended her Congressional tenure in 1997 and went on to become a lobbyist for Google. Sen. Mitt Romney, a more prominent Republican who has squared off with Trump, told The Daily Caller that 'no,' he will not be a surprise DNC speaker. Conventions have featured endorsers from the opposing party in the past, most notably Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman's 2008 endorsement of Republican Sen. John McCain, which came eight years after Lieberman was nominated to be vice president by the Democrats. Progressive members of the party were already grumbling that Kasich was given more speaking time than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most prominent lawmakers with that ideology - and that was before the other three Republican speakers were announced. Richmond pushed back and pointed out that every speech was condensed. 'I would just say that this is a two hour convention. It is not the normal convention. It's the complete opposite of it, it's very concise and it's abbreviated speaking roles,' the Louisiana lawmaker said. Sen. Mitt Romney, another Republican who has spoken out against President Donald Trump, will not be speaking as part of the Democratic National Convention, The Daily Caller reported Monday The main program will take place between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. for the next four nights, with speakers livestreaming in from places all around the nation. Richmond said that Bernie Sanders, the former progressive rival of Biden for the 2020 Democratic nomination, was getting eight minutes Monday night, 'which is one of the longer speeches of the convention,' Richmond explained. 'AOC is doing the introduction of Bernie Sanders and I think that her time is consistent with that,' Richmond said. Ocasio-Cortez won't technically be introducing Sanders, as she's slated to address the convention Tuesday, a day after the Vermont senator and former 2020 hopeful. Additionally, Richmond argued, the theme for Monday night's virtual DNC is 'We the People,' which means a cross-section of Biden supporters should be heard from. 'I would just say that we are making sure that every segment of this country that supports the Biden-Harris ticket has a chance to express why they're supporting them, that includes GOP members,' he said. 'This is about winning an election,' he added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 06:06:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The continuing heavy rains and floods have impacted nearly 220,000 people in 17 of Sudan's 18 states, a United Nations spokesman said Monday. "More than 20,000 houses have been completely destroyed and an additional 20,000 more have been damaged," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at a regular noon briefing. Some 2,000 water sources have now been contaminated or are non-functional, compromising access to clean water in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, he added. The collapse of the Bout Earth Dam in Blue Nile State on July 29 could impact 100,000 people's access to water, said Dujarric, adding that the government and aid organizations are providing plastic sheeting, tents, medicine, water purification supplies and mosquito nets. In Darfur, they are providing shelter, and water and health assistance. "The quick response has been possible because UN agencies and our partners prepositioned supplies for 250,000 people before the rains started," said the spokesman. "But our colleagues warn that supplies are being depleted rapidly and more support, including from donors, is urgently needed." "We, along with our partners, are appealing for 1.6 billion U.S. dollars to provide critical aid in Sudan this year, but only 43 percent of that appeal has been received," he added. Enditem The government on August 17 extended the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 till November 19, giving public sector banks (PSBs) three more months to purchase bonds and commercial papers (CPs) from non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs). The government has also allowed public sector banks (PSBs) to invest up to 50 per cent of total investments under the scheme in AA and AA- rated bonds. Earlier, the limit was 25 per cent of total investments. The decision was taken in keeping in view the progress under the scheme and the fact that the stipulated limit for AA/AA- rated bonds/CPs has been nearly reached while the appetite for lower rated bonds/CPs is nearing saturation considering their lower ticket size, the government said in a release. "Additional 3 months have been granted to build up the portfolio. At the end of six months, i.e. by 19.11.2020, the portfolio shall be crystallised based on actual amount disbursed, for the Guarantee to come into effect," the release said. "At the portfolio level, AA and AA- investment sub-portfolio under the Scheme should not exceed 50% (instead of 25% stipulated earlier) of the total portfolio of Bonds/ CPs purchased by PSBs under the Scheme," it added. As part of Rs 20.97 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, announced by the government, the government launched the PCGS 2.0 on May 20, to provide portfolio guarantee for purchase of papers issued by NBFCs/HFCs/micro finance institutions (MFIs) with a rating of AA and below, by PSBs. PHOENIX, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Gordon Newton, author of the Consumer's Guide to Timeshare Exit and President of Newton Group, a leading timeshare exit company, has published an editorial rejecting Diamond Resorts CEO Mike Flaskey's national video campaign proclaiming his dedication to "shutting down" the timeshare exit industry. "Flaskey's push to prevent Diamond timeshare owners from seeking third party assistance when exiting a Diamond timeshare is both self-serving and dangerous for consumers," Newton said. Newton, a 15-year veteran in the timeshare exit industry, is an advocate of consumer education and industry reform. In early 2018 he published the Consumers' Guide to Timeshare Exit to educate and assist consumers when selecting a timeshare exit company. He expressed his concern over Diamond's efforts to limit consumer choice in the free marketplace. "Timeshare exit is very different from timeshare sales--they are separate industries," Newton said. "The fact is, there wouldn't be an exit industry in our free market economy if there was no consumer demand. A trustworthy, legitimate, third party exit company is a valuable part of a healthy life cycle of timeshare ownership." Newton strongly objected to Flaskey's position that "there is simply no need for [exit] companies to exist other than to mislead consumers for their own benefit" by stating that Flaskey "has a financial interest in persuading consumers to talk only with Diamond." He quoted statistics (see graph) gathered from Newton Group client declarations of timeshare owners whose exit requests were rejected by Diamond. "Flaskey is either blind to the problems that diamond timeshare owners are facing today, or he is fully aware and his national campaign to shut down the exit industry is an attempt to keep Diamond owners locked into contracts and paying fees into perpetuity," Newton said. Newton took further exception to Diamond's exit program, labeled "Transitions By Diamond Resorts ," and its list of "Conditions to Apply", including that "participation with a timeshare exit or resale company or firm may negatively impact [the] ability to apply for Transitions." "[Transitions is] ripe with disclaimers, open to Diamond's interpretation and not even guaranteed to remain in existence," Newton said. "Their entire program to 'relinquish...vacation ownership' shocks the conscience. It's akin to hostage takers saying not to seek help from the police, or in this case, any third party help or legal advice." Newton ended his editorial with a commitment to pursuing timeshare exit industry reform, by stating that Newton Group will be publishing their reform recommendations in the coming days. "Consumers benefit from choice," Newton said. "Flaskey is missing a valuable piece to solve the problem: a need for comprehensive legislation and strict rules that protect consumers when ending their timeshare ownership." About Gordon Newton Gordon Newton is a 15 year veteran of the timeshare exit industry and author of the Consumer's Guide to Timeshare Exit. Newton Group is A+ rated with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), finalist for the Torch Award for Ethics and five star rated at Google, Trustpilot and the BBB. SOURCE Gordon Newton BEIJING : China on Monday said it is ready to work with India to enhance political mutual trust, properly manage their differences and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this at a regular briefing when a Western media journalist sought China's reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that the Indian armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty. Modi, in his 74th Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, said the armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty "from LoC to LAC", in a veiled reference to Pakistan and China. "From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand," Modi said. Modi's comments came amid India's bitter border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and rise in incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC with Pakistan in the last few months. Responding to the question, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao said that we have noted Prime Minister Modis speech." We are close neighbours, we are emerging countries with over one billion people. So, the sound development of bilateral ties not only serves the interest of the two peoples but also stability, peace, prosperity of the region and the whole world," he said. The right path for the two sides is to respect and support each other as this serves our long-term interests," Zhao said. So, China stands ready to work with India to enhance our political mutual trust, properly manage our differences, step-up practical cooperation and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties," the spokesman added. In his speech, Prime Minister Modi also said that "whether it is terrorism or expansionism, India is fighting both with determination." Referring to the Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh in June, the prime minister said respect for India's sovereignty is supreme and the world has seen in Ladakh what its brave jawans can do to maintain this resolve. "I salute all those brave soldiers from the Red Fort," Modi said, adding the whole country is united in protecting the sovereignty of the country. Twenty Indian army personnel were killed during the clashes on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) review the oath of the CPC when visiting the site of the Second Plenary Session of the 7th CPC Central Committee in Xibaipo, north China's Hebei Province, June 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong) Recently, a few American politicians, out of ideological prejudice and a Cold War mentality, attempted to separate the Communist Party of China (CPC) from the Chinese people for precision attacks on the CPC or create antagonism and sow discord between the two. These politicians engage in such crazy acts in explicit ignorance and stupidity mainly because they have neither the knowledge nor the ability to understand the special relationship between the Chinese people and the CPC through weal and woe, glory and shame, life and death. This article is meant to help them make up the missed lesson about why the Chinese people love the CPC so much and save them the ridiculous delusions. First, in the nearly 100 years since its birth, the CPC has always adhered to its original intention and mission of seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. No matter how difficult and tortuous the path is, this has never changed and will never change! It is the fundamental reason why the CPC has grown from a few dozen members to over 93 million today and made unparalleled achievements. Unlike political parties in Western countries, the CPC conducts no partisan politics. It has no self-interest but serves as the faithful representative of the interests and will of the Chinese people. The CPC takes the cause of the country and the people as that of its own. The CPC firmly defends the interests of the Chinese people and does not allow any special forces or groups, that abuse the peoples interest, to breed and exist in China. The CPC comes from and depends on the people. It engages and trusts the people. And it protects and serves the people. As General Secretary Xi Jinping puts it, the CPC follows a people-centred philosophy. In essence, the CPC is part of the Chinese people, and the most advanced and capable part to lead the various causes of our country. In other words, the Party and the people are inherently one and the same. If an analogy could be made between the 1.4 billion Chinese people and a human body, the CPC is appropriately its brain and soul: they cannot be separated from each other! Second, under the CPC leadership, the Chinese people have found the development path that best suits China's national conditions, is the most conducive to solving existing problems, taps the greatest institutional advantages and generates the most benefits for the Chinese nation. It is the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which has already demonstrated bright prospects. In the modern times, in order for the country to become independent, rich and strong, and for the people to gain freedom and liberation, various attempts were made and failed. History has proven that only socialism can save China by ridding the country of foreign bullying and oppression and bringing it national independence and liberation, can steer the nation towards rejuvenation and a proud standing among all nations of the world, and can bring dignity and happiness to the Chinese people as masters of their country and their own destiny. Without the guidance, leadership and hard work of the CPC or the support, dedication and sacrifice of the Chinese people, it would have been impossible to find this promising path. The path has been blazed by the Chinese people led by the CPC at the price of blood. On the journey of building a better homeland and moving towards a bright future together, the mutual trust and dependence between the CPC and the Chinese people have grown deeper. Third, bearing in mind its founding mission, the CPC and all Chinese people have persisted tirelessly and worked miracles unparalleled in human history. Under the CPC leadership, the Chinese people drove off the imperialist powers, overthrew the feudal warlords and established their own republic. The Chinese people have not only stood up but also grown rich gradually. Now the world's second largest economy and the largest manufacturing country, China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty and will eliminate absolute poverty throughout the country by the end of this year, becoming the first developing country in the world to achieve the UN's no poverty goal. China has put in place a universal health care system with its quality steadily improving. Average life expectancy is now over 77 years and increasing. The enrollment rate in compulsory education is close to 100%; that in higher education is more than 51%, moving towards universal coverage. The numbers of college graduates in 2019 and 2020 both exceeded 8 million. With wisdom and creativity, the Chinese people have made remarkable achievements in many fields of science and technology, some of which lead the world. China was the first to contain the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, minimizing the threat and harm to people's lives and health. It also leads the world to restore economic growth. These testify to the CPCs strength, greatness and true care for the people! Fourth, the CPC is brave in self-revolution and strong in self-purification, self-correction and self-improvement. Therefore, it has a fighting power and vitality far greater than that of political parties in Western countries, hence an infinite future. The CPC believes in seeking truth from facts, combining theory with practices and guarding against doctrinaire rigidity or rigid old ways. The CPC pursues people's democracy and accepts people's supervision with an open mind. Through unremitting political, organizational, work style, discipline and system constructions, the Party intends to stay true to its original mission and always be people-oriented, advanced and responsive to the changing times. For those among its own ranks who become degenerate or corrupt, demonstrate weakness of will or lose faith, the CPC always takes timely measures to ensure its own purity. It stresses the need to always refrain from arrogance and rashness and pay attention to learning from the strengths of others. It persists in reform and innovation and keeps forging ahead so that it keeps pace with the times in both theory and practices. Because the CPC is rooted in the people and wholeheartedly works for their well-beings with a strong enterprising spirit, it is impossible for it to not win the heartfelt support, love and trust of the Chinese people! It is fair to say that the CPC is the great savior, guide and protector of the Chinese people while the Chinese people are the very foundation and source of strength for the survival and development of the CPC. No one can separate them! Li Yang is Consul General of China in Rio de Janeiro Village Council dumps $40,000 bike-ped plan A bicycle-pedestrian study recommended a variety of greenways and trails in Flat Rock. The Village Council voted last week to kill the plan. The Flat Rock Village Council voted last week to kill a $40,000 bicycle-pedestrian study that envisioned an ambitious network of greenways and sidewalks linking popular destinations along public roads and through undeveloped land. The boards action was the latest in a series of moves by the newly elected council majority to roll back or kill projects that former councils had endorsed, including a sidewalk on the south side of Highland Lake Road, a crosswalk to the Park at Flat Rock and a paved bike path through the park. Developed in a more than two-year process, the study identified miles of on-road and off-road trails that the village could develop. Beginning in October 2016 with a kickoff meeting, the traffic engineering firm Kimley Horn and a 14-member steering committee spent months collecting public input, drafting a plan, estimating costs and settling on recommendations. A grant from the NCDOT covered 90 percent of the plans cost, with the village paying $4,000. By accepting the study, board member Anne Coletta said, the council would be signaling that greenways and trails could be constructed. The new council majority opposes nearly all of them, reflecting in particular broad opposition among homeowners along Little River Road. It looks (from the map) as though at some point the village or someone potentially may use your property for a path, Coletta said. I just think it should be deleted because its not reflective of adequate community input at this time. I disagree, of course, said Sheryl Jamerson, who has clashed with Coletta repeatedly over Highland Lake Road, the bike-ped plan and other issues that last Novembers election pivoted on. The language could not be more clear. The map does not identify approved paths but paths that could be considered by the village at some future point in time. That map does include possible places for trails in the future and thats all it says it does. Coletta responded that people see it on the map adopted by the village and they see it as something that might happen. Mayor Nick Weedman also opposed the studys recommendations. To me, all of those trails and potential pedestrian-bike paths are located primarily on scenic byways and there are private owners involved, none of whom have been consulted, Mayor Nick Weedman said. And when you take a look at the cost, theres never been a cost estimate with any of that. Only a proposed path from Carl Sandburg Home to the Park at Flat Rock has a cost estimate, at $1.2 million. The cost concerns me and the fact that were identifying private property without any consultation also concerns me, Weedman said. Colettas motion to kill the bike-pedestrian study passed on a 5-1 vote with Jamerson voting no. Joe Sanders, a Blue Ridge Bicycle Club representative on the steering committee, said the plan would have brought numerous benefits. Its disappointing they do not recognize the value and the benefit on so many fronts of bicycle and pedestrian transportation, he said. It offers health benefits, environmental benefits and provides a low cost way for people to get around. With the bicycle clubs agreement, I had set aside $15,000 to help implement some of the recommendations. Cost up to $8.8 million The largest historic district in North Carolina, the village contains 8.3 miles of officially designated North Carolina Scenic Byways. Although North Carolina Bike Route 8, a 120-mile signed state bike route from Brevard to Lincolnton, runs through Flat Rock along Little River Road, Greenville Highway and West Blue Ridge Road, the route is not supported by any bicycle-specific infrastructure. The draft plan recommended: A multiuse path from Highland Lake Road to Little River Road to connect the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site and the Park at Flat Rock. Paved bikeway shoulders on Kanuga Road through Flat Rock. Four-foot paved shoulders and six-foot grass shoulders on Little River Road. A sidewalk along Erkwood Drive and on Greenville Highway from the roundabout to Highland Lake Road. A streetside trail from Highland Lake Road to the Claremont subdivision. Various off-street trails throughout the village. The engineers projected costs at $150,000 per mile for 5-foot sidewalks, $220,000 per mile for 8-foot roadside bike paths, $220,000 per mile for off-street paths in open space or along streams and creeks and $2,000 per mile for 4- to 5-foot striped bike lanes. Cost of the highest priority projects was estimated to be $5.2 million to $8.8 million. Most highway grants to fund greenways and sidewalks require a 20 percent match from the local government bodies. Inadequate public input Coletta said the Village Councils outreach was inadequate given the magnitude of the bike-ped plan. I think that we need to work on public input, she said. We had 50-something people participate were a village of over 3,300 people. We really need to do a more comprehensive job of reaching out. To me it was boilerplate. Their solutions to me seemed very generic and did not take into account our historic character and frankly it would have taken a lot of our tree canopy. I looked at all specifics, the population and demographics and I thought it was a very good document, Jamerson said. It has a great deal of suggestions about what could be done in the future to implement a bike-ped plan and specific actions that would be taken and by whom. I dont see anything about it that was done improperly or done sloppily and I dont think it was boilerplate. Let me just say that the previous council twice considered this report and sent it back, Weedman responded. This was really in my opinion of marginal value. It didnt do anything. It didnt talk to any of the property owners, it didnt offer any specifics beyond cost estimates for sidewalks and bike paths. To me that was valuable but there was very little else in it to me. Last falls bitter campaign over the Highland Lake Road project and other growth issues stirred up emotions that were not prevalent when the bike-ped plan was under development. The atmosphere has become incredibly political and divisive because people have decided they were very interested in these things (and) never were before, Jamerson said. Now they want to get involved. I think (Kimley Horn) did what we asked them to do, they did a great job. Future councils could pursue or reject any parts of the plan it chose over time, she added. I think theres a great deal of information in here thats usable. But to say now were wanting to get rid of it, we dont want anything like this on record. It is on record, it was done, it was accepted. Weedman again said that the council rather than accepting the bike-ped plan had deferred action. It will be in the file, he said. Anybody that wanted to see it, they can. We just decided it doesnt do much. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 10:33:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Isolation boards are seen in a barbershop in Johannesburg, South Africa, Aug. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng) - South Africa's recovery rate reaches 80 percent - U.S. death toll tops 170,000 - Kenya's cases surpass 30,000 - Chinese mainland reports no new locally-transmitted cases BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - - CAPE TOWN -- South Africa's COVID-19 recovery rate has reached 80 percent from 48 percent more than one month ago, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said Sunday. The number of recoveries currently stood at 472,377, Mkhize said in his daily update. - - - - Cyclists wearing face masks ride along the Santa Monica Beach, Los Angeles County, the United States, Aug. 15, 2020. (Xinhua) NEW YORK -- The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 5.4 million on Sunday, and the death toll has surpassed the 170,000 mark, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. - - - - NAIROBI -- Kenya on Sunday confirmed that COVID-19 positive cases had surpassed 30,000 in the country amid steady increase in recoveries. Mutahi Kagwe, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Health, said that 271 people tested positive for the disease, raising the national tally to 30,120. - - - - People wearing face masks are seen in Rabat, Morocco, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua) RABAT -- Morocco on Sunday reported 1,472 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 42,489. The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 29,344 after 778 more were added, while the death toll rose by 26 to 658, said Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Center for Public Health Operations at the Ministry of Health. - - - - QUITO -- Ecuador on Sunday reported a total of 101,542 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6,070 deaths from the disease since the onset of the pandemic five and a half months ago. In the previous 24 hours, the Andean nation registered 854 new cases and five more deaths. - - - - Tourists have fun at Playa Maya Water Park in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Aug. 15, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi) BEIJING -- No new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported Sunday across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said Monday. A total of 22 confirmed cases arriving from outside the mainland were reported Sunday, the commission said in its daily report. Mary Helen Schmidt swore she would never put her mother, Mary Louise, in a home. She had retired from a career at Texas Instruments in 1984 and treasured her independence. But as her dementia progressed to Alzheimers and she could no longer walk, feed or bathe herself, Schmidt and her sister made the gut-wrenching choice. She then swore that not a day would go by without her being there for her mom. It was a promise she kept seven days a week, nine hours a day for 10 months until March 13. When she showed up that day at Highland Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, she was told she could no longer visit. The significant health and safety risk to residents posed by COVID-19 prompted the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the federal agency that oversees and regulates nursing homes, to issue guidelines banning visitors. The state followed suit. Overnight, friends and family members such as Schmidt lost face-to-face contact with their loved ones. It breaks my heart that I cannot be there with her, even if at times she does not know who I am, Schmidt wrote Chronicle reporter Emily Foxhall on June 5. She knew why the safety measures were in place, she told the editorial board in an interview last week, but didnt understand the blanket approach that treated people like her, intimately involved in a relatives care, like every other visitor. Even though the federal government issued reopening recommendations for nursing homes in May, Texas remained one of a handful of states that kept restrictions in place. On Aug. 6, state officials announced that after almost five months, visitors would be allowed back on a limited basis. The change comes too late for Schmidt. Two days after she wrote the Chronicle, doctors called to say her mother was sick. A week later, on June 14, Mary Louise died of COVID-19. She was 97. During her last moments, her family couldnt be there to hold her and it had been 93 days since they had last seen her in person. Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Schmidt is glad the state has finally listened. No one should have to go through what her family did. The painful reality, however, was that a visitation lockdown like the one that kept Schmidt away from her mother made sense initially, as little was known about the virus. Older residents underlying health conditions mean any spread can be tragically fatal. But as weve learned more about the virus and how to limit its spread, Texas can now protect its most vulnerable population from the pandemic while minimizing the damaging effects of isolation which can prove deadly as well. For Texas to be able to both, though, more resources are needed. About a third of all COVID-19 deaths in Texas are seniors in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, vulnerable populations that Texas traditionally has done a poor job protecting. Recent outbreaks at a Missouri City nursing home and a Katy facility that killed more than 30 residents only underscore the need for caution and better oversight. Loneliness and isolation, long issues inside nursing homes, have been exacerbated to a breaking point by the pandemic, said George Linial, president and CEO of LeadingAge Texas, which represents nonprofit nursing homes. When people cant see their loved ones, it creates a lot of not just psychological, but physiological problems, he said. Prolonged isolation leads to higher rates of depression and anxiety, as well as increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, cognitive decline and the progression of Alzheimers disease. Short-term solutions, such as video calls or closed window visits, are no substitution for in-person contact, advocates said, especially for those suffering from dementia who may not understand what is happening. The states initial reopening plan for visitations allows outdoor visits in facilities where there are no active cases of the virus among residents and no confirmed cases in staff for at least 14 days. Nursing homes that allow visits must also test staff members weekly. While the state signed a contract with a provider to test nursing and assisted living facilities, testing continues to be an issue in many parts of the state, Linial said, with scheduling problems or delays in results common. Godofredo A. Vasquez, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer With more than 1,200 nursing homes in Texas, it is imperative the state shore up testing as more facilities qualify for reopening. The federal government has sent point-of-care testing equipment to nursing homes in areas hard hit by the virus, but they only come with a weeks worth of tests, advocates said. After those are used, nursing homes are on their own in securing the limited supplies. Availability of personal protective equipment also fluctuates, with N95 masks and gloves sometimes being in short supply. The House version of the latest pandemic stimulus efforts by Congress promises help for nursing homes, including $500 million for strike teams that would assist facilities with COVID cases and increased Medicaid funding, as well as support for essential workers. We urge Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to work on a compromise bill that retains, or even expands, these protections. Safeguarding the health and well-being of elderly and severely disabled Texans, along with the staff who care for them, is vital. As the pandemic continues with no end in sight, they must continue to be among our top priorities. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 17:37:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- One Syrian soldier was killed and two others wounded on Monday when a U.S. warplane struck a Syrian military checkpoint in the northeastern city of Qamishli, state news agency SANA reported. The U.S. warplane struck the checkpoint in the Tal al-Thahab area southeast of Qamishli in the province of Hasakah after the Syrian soldiers at the checkpoint prevented a U.S. patrol from passing through, SANA said. Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported that a U.S. patrol was prevented from passing through the Syrian checkpoint. It is not the first time that a Syrian checkpoint stands in the face of U.S. patrols in the northeast of the country. In July, Syrian soldiers and civilians from Dardara town cut a road and prevented a U.S. patrol from passing. A Russian patrol later intervened and the U.S. patrol changed its route, according to the Observatory. The United States maintains several bases in Kurdish-controlled areas in northeastern Syria and its forces often patrol near government-held areas in the region. Seeing the U.S. forces in Syria as units of occupation, the Syrian government has repeatedly urged the international community to pressure Washington to withdraw its forces from Syria. Enditem Williams and Matthews have identified several possible sites that could be part of the trail, and Henrys students will use available resources such as the university, regional library and newspaper and city archives to identify others. Theyll also look at racial covenantslegal contracts embedded in deeds that prevented people of color from buying propertythat existed in local neighborhoods, Henry said. Thats what were doing this semester. In the spring, well take on two independent study students to carry that work through and polish it, she said. All the students are excited about working on this and Im really thrilled this is something the city is working on and theyll have impact on. Williams and Matthews have also begun identifying local figures within the Black community who lived in the area during segregation to interview for the oral history project. Williams, who also works as a freelance music journalist, will conduct the interviews over the phone, to protect subjects from any possible exposure to COVID-19. Devlin, assistant professor of history and American studies at UMW, teaches a spring course in oral histories and said students in that class might work on transcribing the interviews and processing them for long-term preservation. A San Antonio man was fatally shot Sunday night on the Northeast Side, according to the San Antonio Police Department. The victim, a man in his early 20s, was shot during a confrontation in the parking lot of an apartment complex. The future of Warkworths A&P show is looking more secure, after several new people volunteered their services at the societys annual meeting last month. They came forward after chairman Allan Barber voiced fears in Mahurangi Matters that the historic show could fold after 153 years unless new blood was found to replace executive members planning to retire next year (MM June 15). Weve now got four new people on the committee and others keen to help and they all expressed interest as a result of the article, he said. Its great, were going full steam ahead now. The influx of volunteers could also see the reinstatement of the cattle section at the 2021 show, as one new committee member, Courtney Davies, has agreed to step in as the new section steward. Courtney breeds pedigree Ayrshire cattle at her Dairy Flat home and works as administration, logistics and programme support manager for BLAKE, the Sir Peter Blake environmental trust. She was also the youngest person to be elected to the executive board of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand. The other new committee members are Carl King, who keeps goats on his Warkworth lifestyle property, is chair of the Federated Farmers goat group and general manager of EnviroNZs Hampton PARRC landfill and speciality transport; Karen Black of Warkworth, who runs her own bookkeeping business and ran a major annual truck and machinery show in Kumeu and Pukekohe from 2016 to 2019; and registered valuer and Warkworth Rodney Local Board member Tim Holdgate, who has a lifestyle block near Matakana. The elected executives for the 2021 Warkworth A&P Show are: Patron Ian Ferguson, president Warren Churches, chairman Allan Barber, treasurer Vanessa Barber, secretary Penny Webster. Committee members are Jenny Ferguson, Malcolm Webster, Gaelene Dorreen, Courtney Davies, Carl King, Karen Black and Tim Holdgate. Section Heads: Indoor Louise Graham, shearing Neil Sidwell, woodchopping Paul Norris/Robert Brown/Mike Paddison, and cattle Courtney Davies. The A&P Society will be holding a movie night fundraiser at the Matakana Cinemas on October 12. Tickets to a special screening of Death on the Nile will cost $30, which includes a drink from The Vintry, the movie and spot prizes. The 2021 Warkworth A&P Show will be held on Saturday, March 20 at the Showgrounds. Info: warkworthshow.co.nz After the medical fraternity demanded an apology from Shiv Sena parliamentarian Sanjay Raut for a statement he made during an interview, the Rajya Sabha member stood his ground. Raut on Monday said that he did not disrespect doctors and that there is a difference between an insult and a joke. Raut faced the ire of doctors after he said that compounders know more than doctors and blamed the World Health Organization (WHO) for the spread of Covid-19 during an interview to a Marathi news channel. The Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) wrote to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and asked if he too has a similar opinion on the knowledge that doctors have. They [doctors body] are seeking an apology, but they should first understand that I have not insulted them and had no intention to do so. Whatever I said was in reply to a question on WHO. There is a difference between an insult and a joke. I have always had respect for doctors and the medical community. The politics over the statement should stop, Raut told reporters. The Sena leader stated that his comments were directed at WHO, which according to him has become a political organisation more than a health organisation. He said that that the doctors body should not take statements against WHO to their heart, as similar statements, against WHO, have been made by United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin too. I am of the clear opinion that WHO has now become a political entity and is no longer a health organisation. Many leaders, including Trump and Putin, have said that WHO is responsible for the spread of Covid-19 across the world. Will doctors here hold protests against Trump and Putin for their statements against WHO? Will they go on a strike against it, he questioned. The Sena Member of Parliament (MP) added that he hailed doctors and the medical fraternity for their work during the pandemic in public statements and through articles in party mouthpiece Saamana, which he edits. He also claimed that he has sided with MARD whenever they have come up with any issues against the government. Directing criticism to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, Raut claimed that the PM had insulted Indian doctors at an event in London. Narendra Modi went to London and insulted doctors. Somebody sent me a clip. He said how doctors in India are businessmen and are not interested in the service of the patients, but are only interested in earning money and utilising medicines. [After this] doctors there [in London] had protested, but not the ones here, he said. . SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Japanese tanker that ran aground in Mauritius in late July has split apart, pouring the rest of the fuel it carried into the ocean. The disaster off Mauritius began on July 25 when bulk carrier Wakashio, owned by Japan's Nagashiki Shipping and on its way to 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. According to the Mauritius National Crisis Committee, the ship split into two on Saturday, as reported by Fox News. "Booms had been placed already around the ship and the skimmer boat is also present as precautionary measures," the committee said. In a press release published on its Facebook page, Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio said authorities had prepared for the split and the subsequent clean-up. 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. "Around 814 metric tons of oil liquid waste, 318 metric tons of solid waste sludge and contaminated debris, and 250 cubic metres of saturated artisanal booms have been collected as at mid-day on 15 August 2020," the crisis committee said. There has been serious concern about the environmental effect of the accident given the cargo of the vessel. Most of the oil that remained in the tanker after the initial spill was pumped out before the vessel cracked. According to reports, this amount was about 3,000 tons. Even so, environmentalists worry that not all of the spilled fuel would be recovered, threatening the local marine ecosystems. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Libya and Syria on Monday in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said in a statement. As for the Libyan crisis, the need for real steps by the warring parties towards a sustainable ceasefire and the launch of direct negotiations in accordance with the decisions of the January 2020 Berlin Conference and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2510 were reiterated, it said. Putin and Erdogan agreed on a further coordination of efforts in the fight against terrorism in Syria to fulfil the Russian-Turkish agreements on the Idlib de-escalation zone, it added. The leaders also touched upon other international issues, particularly the Middle East settlement, the Kremlin said, without providing details. (ASIA PACIFIC DAILY) The terrifying moment a hooded gunman 'fires 10 rounds through his ex-lover's window' before running away from the scene has been captured in CCTV footage. In the video shared on Sunday by NYPD Crime Stoppers, the anonymous man is seen walking up to an apartment in the Bronx and pulling the trigger of his firearm, unleashing ten rounds at the apartment. According to the New York Daily News, The shooting took place near Bryant Ave. and Freeman St. in Morrisania around 11:40 p.m. June 15, and cops are asking for help from the public to identify the shooter. The outlet reported that no one was hurt in the shooting. In the CCTV footage shared by NYPD Crime Stoppers (pictured) the man is seen walking behind a black vehicle parked outside an apartment building, before letting off 10 shots In the video, the man - who has been described by police as Hispanic and in his 20s - is seen crossing the street behind a black vehicle. He is wearing mostly black clothes and a black hood and mask to cover his face. As he gets behind the vehicle and near what appears to be the building's mail boxes, he raises a handgun in the air, pointing it at the building that's out of view. Before he fired the weapon, he is seen approaching the building wearing mostly black clothes, with a black hood and mask covering his face He is then seen raising the firearm, pointing it at the building and reportedly at his ex-lover's window. On his first attempt, the weapon doesn't fire, but after adjusting it, he begins shooting Mid-way through firing 10 rounds at the widow, he begins to run away from the scene, back down the road in the same direction from where he approached. Police are appealing for anyone who may know the identity of the shooter to come forward On his first attempt, the handgun does not fire. However, he appears to adjust something on the weapon. In a second attempt, he raises the gun again and begins firing in the direction of the building and reportedly at his ex-lover's window. He is able to get off 10 shots - likely emptying the magazine - some of which he firest as he is running back back down the street from where he arrived from, and into the night. The NYPD have asked for anyone with information relating to the identity of the shooter to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential. The government is in the process of setting up a system to secure the countrys financial sector from cyber attacks after agencies pointed to its vulnerability due to the increase in number of digital transactions over the past few months on account of Covid-19, and threats from hostile countries such as China and Pakistan, three officials aware of the plans said on condition of anonymity. At present, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) deals with all types of cyber security threats but officials in the administration have been discussing the need for a specialised agency, which could be called Cert-Fin, the officials said, asking not to be identified. This is a work in progress. Several rounds of discussions have been held at the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on the matter of securing the financial sector from cyber attacks, one of the officials said. FSDC is an apex body for coordination between the various regulators of the financial sector, and is chaired by the finance minister. Its members include top bureaucrats and heads of financial sector regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India (PFRDA), the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) and the Forward Markets Commission (FMC). The government may set up a Computer Emergency Response Team for Financial Sector (CERT-Fin). This has been also discussed at FSDC, but a final decision is awaited as the government wants to take a comprehensive view of cyber security a second official said. CERT-Fin was first proposed on February 1, 2017 by then finance minister, the late Arun Jaitley. Banking and ATM networks have been the target of cyber criminals for several years, with attackers often disrupting operations and attempting to steal sensitive data. In one of the biggest attacks of this kind, the data of 3.2 million debit cards used in India was stolen after a malware was injected in a back-end banking system in 2016. A third official said cyber security, in general, tops the governments agenda since it can disrupt social and political harmony and dislocate financial systems. Based on inputs from agencies such CERT-In and complaints received by agencies, the government recently decided to ban 59 mobile applications mostly of Chinese origin over what it said was concerns that they may be jeopardising user data. The security of the financial system has been accorded high priority ; Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the matter in his Independence Day speech on Saturday. CERT-In functions under the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY). The finance ministry and MeitY did not respond to queries on this matter. The PM announced on Saturday that a draft of new cyber security policy would be unveiled soon. He said that the government was aware of cyber threats to the social fabric and the economy. According to the proposal under consideration, Cert-Fin will draw expertise from various financial sector agencies such as the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA), the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) and the Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN). RBIs latest Financial Stability Report also flagged the issue of cyber threats to the financial sector. Cyber security preparedness requires continuous and synchronous efforts from multiple stakeholders with varied levels of cyber security preparedness, it said. Quoting a report by VMware Carbon Black, Shree Parthasarathy, partner and national leader- Cyber Risk Services at Deloitte India said that hackers from various countries attempted over 40,000 cyber attacks on Indias Information Technology infrastructure and banking sector over five days in the last week of June. Cyber attacks against banks and financial institutions globally have increased 238% amid the Covid-19 crisis between February and April 2020. Ransomware attacks increased by nine times during the same period. Cyber threats are fast evolving and the threat landscape is dynamic. It will be foolhardy to assume current set of controls are adequate, he said adding that the CERT-Fin is necessary though it may not be adequate. The combination of a sudden pandemic, quarantine and unconventional work from home situations has exacerbated this security threat, said GV Anand Bhushan, partner at law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. India was ranked 23rd in the UN Cyber security Index amongst 165 nations. We need to view India as a maturing and evolving category of countries which are continually trying to improve cyber security measures, he added. Bhushan described CERT-Fin as a grand vision. Unfortunately till date there has been no budgetary allocation for setting up such a body, he said, adding that it was however clear that CERT-In alone would not be able to meet the emerging challenges in the space. Above: GAA collaborates with Simloc for new training solutions in Bahrain. Image: Gulf Aviation Academy Gulf Aviation Academy is located within close proximity to Bahrain International Airport, and provides pilots, cabin crew, engineers and air traffic controllers certified training 24 hours a day, every day of the week. Simloc will establish a new base of operations in Bahrain for business development and R&D projects. This alliance aims to make Simloc training devices accessible to GAA clients both in Bahrain and in its countries of influence. As a sign of Simloc's high confidence in GAA, the academy will also become the exclusive local and regional business partner (GCC / MENA / ISC), to sell and install its wide range of simulators. Carlos Perez, CEO of Simloc said: It is an honour and a great challenge for Simloc to have reached this collaboration agreement with an academy as prestigious as GAA. The excellent relationship as suppliers that we have achieved with them now leads to an exciting future project to do business together within an increasingly influential region of the world in the aeronautical sector. He added: During the last year, we have had the opportunity of visiting the Kingdom of Bahrein several times. Besides the fantastic warmth and hospitality of the region, we identified an incredible opportunity to bring and develop new technology to be exported worldwide. YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Sevres, the ARF Youth Office published a joint statement with socialist and social-democratic youth organizations of countries that signed the Sevres Treaty. ARMENPRESS presents the text of the statement. ''The Treaty of Sevres represents the only international legal document which provides for just reparations of the Armenian genocide and which was signed between principle allied powers and Turkey following World War I during the Paris Peace Conference in 1920. Based on the resolution that was unanimously adopted by the International Union of Socialists Youth (IUSY) World Council (2015) in Yerevan, which condemns the genocide of Armenians that was carried out by the Ottoman Empire We, as socialist and social democratic youth organizations of countries and successor states that have signed the inviolable document, reaffirm the importance of the Treaty of Sevres and call upon the Republic of Turkey to begin the process of eliminating the consequences of the Armenian Genocide by initiating the restoration of the rights of the Armenian people. We believe that this is the only way to create mutual trust between the people of both nations and to establish peace within the region''. Co-signed by the following organizations: Armenia Armenian Youth Federation Youth Organization of the ARF-Dashnaktsutyun Belgium Young Socialists (Jongesocialisten) Belgium Movement of Young Socialists (Mouvement des Jeunes Socialistes) Canada New Democratic Youth of Canada Croatia Croatian Social Democratic Youth Czech Republic Young Social Democrats France Movement of Young Socialists (Mouvement des Jeunes Socialistes) Greece Panhellenic Socialist Movement PASOK Youth India Young Voters Party Italy Young Democrats (Giovani Democratici) New Zealand New Zealand Young Labour Portugal Young Socialists (Juventude Socialista) Poland Union of Young Social Democrats Republic of North Macedonia Social Democratic Youth of Macedonia Slovenia Young Forum of Socialist Democrats (Mladi forum Socialnih demokratov) Serbia Youth of Freedom and Justice Party Turkey HDP (Peoples Democratic Party) Youth NEW DELHI: Prime Minister of the Tibetan government in-exile Lobsang Sangay on Saturday criticised China for objecting to Dalai Lamas meeting with President Pranab Mukherjee asserting India did the right thing which Beijing should not oppose. Sangay made the remarks on the sidelines of an event where a report on the Middle Way Approach to the Tibet issue was released by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) here. His Holiness the Dalai Lama attending Nobel laureate event at Rashtrapati Bhavan and him meeting the President is Indias business and I think the Indian government did the right thing. He is Indias honourable guest and the Chinese should not comment on or criticise what he or India does, Sangay told PTI. India has dismissed Chinese objection to the Dalai Lamas meeting with Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan during a childrens summit few days back. Sangay, who was re-elected in April, said that China looks anxious and sometimes paranoid reacting to the CTAs activities, adding that Chinas hardline policies towards Tibet have failed. China considers the Dharamsala-based Tibetan government-in exile illegal. Asked about the future of CTAs dialogue with China, which virtually collapsed in 2010, Sangay said the Xi Jinping-led Chinese administration needs to treat the Dalai Lama as the solution and not as an obstacle. I hope the Chinese leadership realise that their policy on Taiwan failed. They did the waiting game and it failed. And I hope they see the Dalai Lama as the solution and not the problem. I hope in Xi Jinpings second term (as President) he will relook and review the Tibet policy and realise that the hardline policies have failed, he said. The middle way approach, conceived by the Dalai Lama and described by him as a win-win solution, is a moderate policy propounded by the CTA that seeks genuine autonomy for the Tibetan People without challenging the unity and stability of China. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. August 17 : Even after two months, Sushant Singh Rajputs death case is still a mystery. While Mumbai police, Patna police, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and CBI are all into the probe, ED, which is investigating the money laundering angle in the case, has reportedly summoned Rhea Chakrabortys chartered accountant Ritesh Shah, ANI tweeted the information. Rheas CA Ritesh Shah will appear before the ED today. Earlier, ED had quizzed Rhea, her brother Showik Chakraborty, their father Indrajit Chakraborty, late actors former business manager Shruti Modi, and several others including the house staff. #SushantSinghRajput death case: Ritesh Shah, CA of Rhea Chakraborty, has been summoned by Enforcement Directorate (ED) to join the investigation today. ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2020 After the late actors father alleged in an FIR that a sum of Rs 15 crore was withdrawn from the late actors account, ED reportedly confirmed that the amount of Rs 15 crore has indeed been withdrawn from the late actors account. However, the amount has not been directly transferred to Rheas account. ED is reportedly studying the withdrawals from the late actors accounts to find out where the amount was spent and for what purpose. Meanwhile, ED has requested Mumbai police four times to provide them with statement copies, Sushants phone, and other digital evidence they had collected in the late actors case. Mumbai police has now released a statement promising to extend support to ED. Sushants family has also alleged that the forensic department that did the late actors autopsy has not mentioned the time of his death in the report, it is reported. Latest updates on Sushant Singh Rajput Death Mystery BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.15 Trend: Nearly 600 Azerbaijani Jews marched in the Old City of Jaffa and gathered outside of the Armenian Cultural Center and the Armenian Church in Israels Tel Aviv-Jaffa on August 10, Rachel Avraham, Israeli correspondent and political analyst wrote in her article headlined Hundreds of Azerbaijani Jews Demonstrate Against Armenias Aggression and published on the authoritative Jewish Press News Agency's website, Trend reports. The article reads that the demonstrators were angry with the fact that in a recent border skirmish, Armenian mortar fire killed a 76-year-old Azerbaijani civilian and 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, following by intense hostilities for several days in the Tovuz district of Azerbaijan. As Avraham wrote, Rabbi Shmuel Siman Tov, who addressed the demonstration, declared that Armenia killed his bother and son-in-law. Speaking about the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts of Azerbaijan by Armenia in violation of four UN Security Council resolutions, he accused Armenia of the illegal occupation. "We demand that the Armenian armed forces withdraw from the historic Azerbaijani lands of Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts. Azerbaijan and Israel stand together," Tov said. Israeli political analyst Arye Gut, one of the demonstration organizers, reiterated that Nagorno Karabakh is occupied by Armenians. On behalf of the Azerbaijani-Jewish diaspora of Israel, I declare that our demonstration in support of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani soldiers is absolutely peaceful. We, as Israelis and immigrants from Azerbaijan, have the right, within the framework of Israeli legislation, to hold demonstrations where we think it is necessary, Gut said. We have no intentions to commit any provocations either against the Armenian cultural center, or against the Armenian church. We are immigrants from Azerbaijan, citizens of Israel tolerant of all peoples and religions. We only demand that Armenia complies with the UN Security Council resolutions and withdraws from Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent districts of Azerbaijan, which are the historical and internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, and that one million Azerbaijani refugees return to their ancestral land, he stated. In his words, Armenia is striving to damage relations between Israel and Azerbaijan by all means possible. They cant do it. Azerbaijan is a real strategic partner of Israel in the world. Azerbaijan is an example of multiculturalism and tolerance. Today, there is a Jewish community of 25,000 Jews in Azerbaijan, while in contrast, Armenia almost has no Jews. There are about 50 ethnic Jews in Armenia, he noted. Gut went on to ask: Four years ago a monument to commemorate Garagen Nzhdeh, an anti-Semite and Nazi accomplice, was erected in Yerevan. How can we, Israelis, react to this?! The honoring of Nazi accomplices memory is a reprehensible insult to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. My own grandfather lost all members of his family during the Nazi atrocities in Ukraine. For me this is unbearable pain, he said. Its no longer a secret that the ideology of fascism, the glorification of Armenian fascists who worked closely with Nazi Germany, are being promoted at the state level in Armenia. What is outrageous is that the fascist ideology called Nzhdehism is included in Armenias educational institutions' curriculum and young generations are brought up on these values. The Jewish people will never forget the acts of cruelty committed by 20,000 Armenian legionnaires led by Nzhdeh during World War II, Gut stressed. Historic documents confirm that the purpose of the Armenian Legion led by Nzhdeh was to raid the homes of Jews not fitting for the Germany Army and destroy them. It was the result of the Armenian Legions actions that the cities of Simferopol, Yevpatoria, Alushta, Kerch and Feodosia, as well as other areas of Western Crimea, were completedly 'cleaned-up' of Jews," the Israeli political analyst reminded. "Garagen Nzhdeh is declared a national hero and has a memorial in the center of Yerevan. He was a fascist but because he was Armenian, he is a national hero, he added. The head of the Azerbaijani House in Israel Shirin Nehamia Michaeli thanked the compatriots who supported the march. On the ancient land of Azerbaijan, Judaism, Islam and Christianity have always coexisted. This land continues to show religious tolerance today. For centuries, Azerbaijanis and Jews have lived together in brotherhood. They are linked by a common destiny and common history, she said. We declare with full responsibility to the whole world and, most importantly, to the Armenian occupiers that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is both our tragedy and pain, since justice is on Azerbaijans side, Michaeli stated. In this terrible war against the occupiers, Jews and Azerbaijanis have always fought together. They fought together just like they have lived and rejoiced together. We, Azerbaijani-born Jews, are proud of the fact that in this war against the Armenian invaders, one of the first national heroes of an independent Azerbaijan was our brother Albert Agarunov, who became a symbol of courage and brotherhood for the Azerbaijani and Jewish peoples, she emphasized. Firidun, one of the demonstration participants, announced that he joined this protest march because Armenia is illegally occupying Azerbaijani land. We want our land back so that the refugees can return home. As a result of the occupation of Azerbaijan's Nagorno Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, on average, every seventh Azerbaijani citizen is a refugee or internally displaced person. This leaves many people without a home. But what is even worse is that Armenians want to seize more land. They want to seize all lands from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, he said. On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces committed an act of genocide against the residents of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly, Mari Rjanorosky, another demonstrator, said. During this bloody event, 613 people were killed, 487 people were crippled, and 1,275 women, children and the elderly were captured and subjected to torture and humiliation. The Khojaly civilians were massacred only because they were Azerbaijanis. This barbaric cruelty towards innocent children, women and the elderly can not be expressed. This is not only the tragedy of the late 20th centurys generation, but also one of the worst crimes in the history of mankind. Yet sadly, as recent events demonstrated, the issue still exists; and 20 percent of Azerbaijan remains under occupation. We want the international community to do something and to do justice for Azerbaijan, added Rjanorosky. As Rachel Avraham, the article author, reported, throughout the demonstration, the protesters chanted: Stop the Armenian aggression against Karabakh!, Stop the Armenian occupation!, Karabakh is a historical part of Azerbaijan, Karabakh is Azerbaijan! Karabakh is ours! and Israel respects territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The demonstrators also held posters that proclaimed, Nazi anti-Semitic General Garagin Nzhdeh is an embarrassment that desecrates the memory of Holocaust victims, Stop Armenian aggression: remember the children of Khojaly, Stop Armenian terrorism against Azerbaijan and others. In an exclusive interview, the analyst Arye Gut noted that military clashes that occurred recently along the Azerbaijani-Armenian border took place about 300 kilometers away from the Nagorno-Karabakh region and adjacent seven districts of Azerbaijan which are occupied by Armenia. While the previous Armenian regimes tried to refrain from provocations at the countries mutual border, Armenias current regime went in a completely different direction. Why did official Yerevan decide to launch a military adventure on the state border, rather than in occupied Nagorno Karabakh region? he questioned. There are several factors that can explain the transfer of the theater of operations from the contact lines in Azerbaijan's Karabakh to the state border. First, a year ago, the government of Azerbaijan decided to transfer the supervision of the state border with Armenia from the Defense Ministry to the State Border Services. This decision caused hysterical panic in Armenia, as they would like the border to remain in the status of a war zone, which would enable the Armenian armed forces to quietly advance positions into Azerbaijani territories, Gut pointed out. Second, Armenia pursued the objective of drawing the military-political organizations, to which it is a party, into the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, in order to evade the responsibility of the occupation and aggression against Azerbaijan, he said. Armenias provocation, perpetrated along the border with Azerbaijan, is yet another evidence that official Yerevan is disinterested in settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict via negotiations. According to him, by acting so, Armenias leadership aims to escalate the situation against the backdrop of the socio-economic problems deteriorated by the widespread of COVID-19 in Armenia. Aside from the COVID-19 pandemic, Armenia has many domestic economic problems such as power cuts, deep economic crisis, a 30-percent unemployment rate and a 50-percent poverty rate, the analyst said. In other words, by provoking military hostilities on the border with Azerbaijan, the current Armenian prime minister tried to preserve his power, diverting the attention of his people away from internal problems, some of which were much intensified by the coronavirus pandemic. Gut stated that Azerbaijani Jewish community in Israel decided to hold the protest rally in Tel Aviv, despite the dangers posed by the coronavirus pandemic. We, Jews from Azerbaijan, protest against the Armenian provocations and show our support of Azerbaijan. This demonstration is different from those ones in the US and around the globe. If there were no police, Armenians would have attacked us, as they did in Los Angeles and other places. I invited the police so that they could not make provocations, he added. President Donald Trump has made one thing abundantly clear: He cares far less about democracy than he does about winning in November. If he has to cheat to win, so be it. His latest ploy is to kneecap the U.S. Postal Services ability to function properly just as it braces for an unprecedented deluge of mail-in ballots. If Missouri election officials want to protect the integrity of the Nov. 3 vote, now is the time to prepare so voters can be fully aware of their options. Trump has been complaining for years about Postal Service inefficiency and billion-dollar operating losses. He could have addressed these problems long ago, yet he waited until now a mere 76 days until the election. His administration canceled overtime, cut staffing and ordered removal of high-speed letter-sorting machines from processing centers. Trump has admitted openly that his goal is to thwart mail-in voting. This is blatant, anti-democratic cheating, and Republican elected officials who tolerate it or stand by silently as it happens are complicit in the cheating, including those in the Missouri Legislature who created overly complicated rules that effectively discourage mail-in voting in November. Those who care about preserving Americas cherished democratic system and ensuring it remains functional despite the pandemic must prepare now for the possibility of major problems if mail-in ballots start clogging a hobbled postal system in the days and weeks before Nov. 3. St. Louis County election officials estimate that one-third of participants in the Aug. 4 election cast their ballots by mail or as absentees. Statewide, voter turnout was heavier than normal, and an estimated 16% of voters cast absentee or mail-in ballots, in contrast to only 6% in 2016. Solutions dont have to be expensive or complicated, but they must not be delayed until it is too late for voters to take advantage of them. The simplest solution would be a dramatically expanded network of absentee ballot drop-off boxes and manual collection centers monitored by authorized election staffers. Local election officials already are supposed to offer curbside voting for people who are afraid to enter polling places. Ahead of the Aug. 4 vote, confusion reigned over notary requirements and deadlines for postmarking mail-in ballots. Unlike absentee ballots, which can be hand-delivered, mail-in ballots must be notarized on the envelope and sent through the postal system the very system Trump is working so hard to sabotage. Gov. Mike Parson and the Missouri Legislature have aided and abetted Trumps plan by imposing more cumbersome restrictions and rules for mail-in balloting compared with absentee voting. What are they afraid of fair elections? The most effective way for voters to fight back is either to mask-up and brave the crowds or start planning now so Trump and his enablers cannot thwart their voting rights. Waitress with a mask and clients at an outdoor bar, cafe or restaurant, reopen after quarantine restrictions. Photo: Getty The first two weeks of the UK governments Eat Out to Help Out dining scheme has seen the number of people eating in restaurants from Monday to Wednesday increase by an average 26.9% year-on-year. This compares to an average 21.3% year-on-year decline for Thursday to Sunday in the same period, according to data published by OpenTable, a restaurant booking service. One effect of the scheme is that it has encouraged some restaurant goers to eat out Monday to Wednesday, instead of during the other days, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). Looking at the annual change in diner numbers for the whole week commencing August 3, on average the total was down 7.1%, compared to a decrease of 28.2% for the week before the scheme started. Even accounting for the redistribution effect, the net impact of the scheme is a desirable one, says CEBR. Two weeks ago, CEBR estimated that the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in 2.3bn ($3bn) of spending in shops, pubs and eateries near London employment hubs being lost or displaced between March and June, as a significant share of the citys workers continue to work remotely. In August, this is set to reduce to a loss of 178m and Eat Out to Help Out will be partially responsible for the return of activity. READ MORE: 73% of UK business leaders predict office downsizing in the coming year The Eat Out to Help Out scheme will help businesses recapture some of this lost income in two ways. The first way is the obvious one - the discount is encouraging more people to spend money in eligible restaurants. The second way in which the scheme is helping along the economic recovery is less direct. While the name of the scheme is Eat Out to Help Out, the sentiment is clearly Get Out to Help Out. The goal isnt just for people to eat in restaurants, but also to get back into the habit of socialising, making non-essential journeys, and being surrounded (albeit not too closely) by groups of strangers, argues the CEBR. Story continues It is arguably this push towards normality that will prove the biggest benefit of the scheme. Having realised that the economic downturn facing the UK will be deeper and more prolonged if central London and other urban areas remain ghost towns, the government has been trying for some weeks now to nudge people towards their former lifestyles, for example by softening its advice on home working. Judging by the restaurant visits data (and the sounds of clicking glasses and chatter in newly busy restaurant areas) it seems that by restoring confidence and giving people a taste of the old normal, Eat Out to Help Out is doing more to help the UKs return to normality than the many changes in government guidance have, CEBR concludes. Texas Democrats were largely left out of the national spotlight as the Democratic Nation Convention got underway on Monday, despite the partys declarations that the state will be a battleground in 2020. Instead of starring roles like in conventions past when the late U.S. Rep. Barbara Jordan or Gov. Ann Richards delivered memorable moments, Texans this time will be relegated to mostly cameo bits. I dont understand that, a frustrated Texas Democratic Party Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa told NBC affiliate KXAN in Austin. Somebody messed up. Somebody dropped the ball. On Monday, former El Paso Congressman Beto ORourke and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo played minor parts. On Tuesday night U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Rep. Victoria Neave both from North Texas will be among more than a dozen people on stage for a rising stars segment. And thats about it. More Information Texas Democrats plan 'pre-convention' events Before the Democratic Convention begins each night at 8 p.m., Democrats in Texas are part of pre-convention events. To attend any of the events, the public is required to RSVP at https://www.mobilize.us/tdporganizing/event/305151/ TUESDAY, AUGUST 18 Texas Democratic National Committee Virtual Watch Party with State Rep. Rafael Anchia, State Rep. Victoria Neave, and Rep. Colin Allred Start Time: 7:30 PM CT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19 Democratic National Convention Texas Virtual Watch Party with Former Ambassador Susan Rice Start Time: 7:30 PM CT THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 Convention Pre-Show Discussion with Former Georgia House Democratic Leader Stacey Abrams, Former Congressman Beto O'Rourke, Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, Actress Connie Britton, Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez, and Texas US Senate Democratic Nominee MJ Hegar Start Time: 7:00 PM CT See More Collapse The dearth of Texans on the schedule has party officials here trying to compensate by hosting their own events on the side, with help from the Biden campaign. DNC DEBUT TUESDAY: How Texas became home away from home for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez The Texas Democratic Party is hosting an open-to-the-public conference call on Thursday night just before the DNC concludes. That bill will include ORourke and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, plus Democrat Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost her race for governor in Georgia in 2018. Abrams has Texas connections, having attended the University of Texas, where she earned her masters degree in 1998. Those three will be on a call with 2020 U.S. Senate hopeful MJ Hegar, who is challenging Republican John Cornyn in November. The topic: How The South is changing politically and states like Texas and Georgia are now in play. I could not be more excited to discuss the face of the changing South and our plans to elect Joe Biden as the next President of the United States with my Texas colleagues and friends, Abrams said. Phone-banking, flashes of face time No Democratic candidate for president has carried Texas since Jimmy Carter in 1976. But since ORourke came within 2.6 percentage points of beating Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018, Democrats say the time is now. Early polls have shown Biden and Trump neck-and-neck in Texas, a state with a handful of congressional races that are expected to be close. Trump has scoffed at the notion that Texans will pick Biden. His campaign has been organizing for well over a year in Texas, convinced it can boost Trumps vote totals from 2016 when he won the state by 9 percentage points. ORourke and Castro have had little to say about being left off the prime time lineup, instead focusing on other events. ORourke spent nearly two hours before the convention kickoff doing phone-banking to get Texans ready for November. ORourke will hit the phones again on Wednesday. The energy were seeing across the state is going to carry us to a new Democratic majority in the state house and Joe Biden to the presidency in November, ORourke said. Meanwhile, Castro spoke before the Democratic National Conventions Hispanic Caucus on Monday, where he called on activists to redouble their efforts to make sure Biden wins the White House in November. The Latino community is in a state of emergency, Castro said during his five-minute speech focused largely on the impact of COVID-19. He said Latino workers have been the ones working in the fields and in factories to make sure Americans have food on the table. But at the same time, he noted Latinos in places like Texas are contracting COVID-19 at higher rates than other ethnic and racial groups. In his appearance on the big stage of the national convention, Acevedo was part of a segment on racial justice, participating in a pre-taped round-table discussion with former Vice President Joe Biden and others including activist Jamira Burley and NAACP President Derrick Johnson. I really believe as a police chief, you have to weigh in, Acevedo said about accepting the invitation to speak. Texas Democrats will host their pre-convention events from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Staff writer Nicole Hensley contributed reporting from Houston. jeremy.wallace@chron.com Kington, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 08/17/2020 -- Merging two company data files into one company is currently not available with QuickBooks Online. Each company is created as a separate file and this is the reason data cannot be merged, but can be manually input into the required company. Due to Intuit's lack of an appropriate tools or feature to merge two files into one, third party service provider have become the go-to for guaranteed and error-free file merge services. The service merges the local data file into a networked data file, consolidates multiple QuickBooks data files into a single file after adding a class to each data file and also assists in merging data files prior to uploading to QuickBooks Online. In order to combine multiple company data files, the chart of accounts in both files cannot have the same account name with different types. The "classes" feature in QuickBooks, allows users to track the income and expenses for any given period and are unique to each type of business. E-Tech's file merge service focuses on merging lists including Chart of Accounts, Customers, Vendors, Employees, Items, and Other Names, merging transactions including all financial transactions, as well as add classes to all transactions in each company file which can be used for reporting purposes. On the downside, payroll checks will only be merged as regular checks and do not appear in payroll reports or W2 calculations. Bank reconciliations also cannot be merged because QuickBooks does not support the transfer of Bank Reconciliations. Data files with negative inventory and assembly builds do not merge correctly because there is insufficient quantity on hand to build the assemblies and they transfer over as pending builds. Customer notes and to-do lists are also not included in the merge. For detailed information on this E-Tech's file merge service, visit https://quickbooksrecovery.co.uk/quickbooks-file-data-services/quickbooks-file-merge-service/ About E-Tech E-Tech is the leading service provider of QuickBooks File Repair, Data Recovery, QuickBooks Conversion and QuickBooks SDK programming in the UK and Ireland. In their 20 years plus of experience with Intuit QuickBooks, they have assisted over 1000 satisfied customers with their requirements. E-Tech UK covers US, UK, Canadian, Australian versions which include Reckon Accounts, and New Zealand versions of QuickBooks through PC and Mac platforms. For media inquiries regarding E-Tech, individuals are encouraged to contact Media Relations Director, Melanie Ann via email at Melanie@e-tech.ca. To learn more about the company, visit: https://quickbooksrecovery.co.uk/ Bethenny Frankel has revealed she once attempted to adopt a three-year-old child. Frankel, 49, revealed Sunday she tried adopting a toddler, but the process proved to be much more difficult than that of adopting an infant. 'The thing that surprises people is that once they get into the system, it is hard to get them out. Growing up, we always heard that everyone wants a baby and not an older kid. Big heart: Bethenny Frankel has revealed she once attempted to adopt a three-year-old child (pictured with daughter Bryn Hoppy) 'I tried a while back to adopt a 3-year-old and it was a harder process than a newborn. If it's like other family law systems, it's not as easy as the movie[s] make it,' she wrote on Instagram. Frankel left the remark in the comments section of People's Instagram post about a nine-year-old foster child named Jordan, who wished for a family. Jordan, who lives in a group home, spoke with KFOR about how his younger brother Braison was adopted last year and how now he too hopes for a 'mom and dad. Or just a mom. Or just a dad I don't really care.' 'The reason it's important is because so I could have some people to talk to anytime I need to,' Jordan said in the clip. 'I hope one of y'all pick me.' Two of a kind: Frankel enjoyed the great outdoors with her 10-year-old daughter Heart-wrenching: Jordan, who lives in a group home, spoke with KFOR about how his younger brother Braison was adopted last year and how now he too hopes for a 'mom and dad. Or just a mom. Or just a dad I don't really care' Soon after Jordan made his request, more than 5,000 people inquired about adopting him. The story not only moved Frankel, but her 10-year-old daughter Bryn Hoppy. 'I will adopt him,' Frankel wrote in the comments section. 'Bryn said "momma you should adopt him."' Frankel obviously has a big heart, with the reality star previously expressing interest in adopting a five-year-old girl who was abandoned at a bus station by her father in 2016, who later plead guilty to murdering her mother. 'Bryn said "momma you should adopt him"': Bryn was also interested in having Jordan join the family 'How do I adopt this child?' Bethenny tweeted at the time, along with a link to the tragic story. She added: 'I am serious.' However less than an hour later the Real Housewives Of New York star said she sadly doesn't believe there is anything she can do. 'Lawyer says once w the state a private adoption impossible which is now upsetting me more. That is bulls**t,' she wrote. 'There's a misconception that everyone wants an infant. Bc of this rule, babies r the only option. Once in system kids r lost. Sad,' she continued. Bethenny shares daughter Bryn with her ex Jason Hoppy, whom she married in 2010 and filed for divorce from in 2013. She has been dating producer Paul Bernon since 2018. The way they were: Bethenny shares daughter Bryn with her ex Jason Hoppy, whom she married in 2010 and filed for divorce from in 2013 (pictured 2012) Three arrested for drug trafficking in Carlisle County Chairing the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador Thai Xuan Dung delivered an eulogy highlighting the life, career and contributions of the late leader to the Party and nation, and expressed the grief over his passing. Writing in the book, Dung said the former General Secretary was a leader with great prestige of the Vietnamese Party, State and people who made eminent contributions to the revolutionary cause of the Party and nation. His passing has left a profound sorrow for comrades and people at home and international friends, he wrote. The same day, representatives from local agencies and diplomatic missions of nations such as Russia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Pakistan, Kuwait and Iraq and the Vietnamese community in the host country also paid tribute to and wrote in the funeral book, extending their condolences to the Vietnamese Party, people and family of the former Party chief. The Washington region is about to experience self-driving vehicles in public transportation. Fairfax County, Va., and Dominion Energy are testing an autonomous electric shuttle that could be carrying passengers between the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station and the county's eclectic Mosaic District as early as this fall. Called Relay, the 13-foot-long blue bus will trek a mile-long route without a driver aboard. The vehicle, which has no steering wheel or pedals, is equipped with sensors programmed to keep it on a predefined route and to spot and avoid any obstacles in its way, officials said. "This is our future," said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay, a Democrat, who recently went on a test ride. "People's heads were swiveling off their necks trying to get a glimpse of it. It was a pretty amazing ride." The bus travels no faster than 15 mph, adjusting its speed as it encounters traffic and making precise stops. Officials say a successful year-long trial would lead to decisions on how to more widely incorporate the driverless technology into the region's public transit. "We'd like to be the birthplace of where autonomous vehicles first were successful," McKay said. Cities across the country are weighing the benefits and cost of the technology, collaborating with private companies pushing for the multibillion-dollar development and deployment of self-driving vehicles. For years, urban planners have been studying how self-driving vehicles could transform the way people get around and could reduce congestion and pollution. Some cities have changed zoning codes to facilitate autonomous vehicles. In the Washington region, Uber this year announced plans to test self-driving cars in the District of Columbia, expanding testing on public roads after the conclusion of a federal investigation into problems with the ride-hailing company's technology and management that left an Arizona pedestrian dead in 2018. Argo AI, another self-driving firm, has been working with Ford to test autonomous cars in the nation's capital since last year. The companies are projecting the launch of a commercial service in the city by the end of 2021. But before that, the region's eyes will be on Fairfax. The Relay shuttle is the first such testing of autonomous technology in public transportation in the region and the first such local operation that is state-funded. On the streets of Fairfax, the shuttle is essentially learning its fixed route, undergoing testing and awaiting approval from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to begin passenger operations. That is expected to occur before the end of the year. During the year-long pilot, officials and scholars from Virginia universities will closely monitor and study the operation, looking at ridership, rider demographics and any problems or concerns. Project officials already anticipate effects from the coronavirus pandemic, as people are generally traveling less and are less likely to be using public transit. In the long run, however, Deputy County Executive Rachel Flynn said the expectation is that the program will be successful and offer a road map for how to incorporate the technology into public transit. "It's exciting, innovative, new," Flynn said, adding that it could take some adjustment for those skeptical of the technology. "When cars first came out, I'm sure people had fears about riding on a carriage that involved a combustion engine, right? And they got used to it, and they said, 'Oh, this is really convenient. This works.' Same thing with an autonomous vehicle. It'll become the norm, and then they'll forget that we ever had people operating cars," Flynn said. The shuttle, a third generation of the EZ10 shuttle made by French manufacturer EasyMile, is designed for public transportation and is already carrying passengers in cities and on college campuses across the world, according to Kristin Buchholz, a U.S.-based project manager at EasyMile. EZ10 shuttles are operating in 16 cities across the United States, including Salt Lake City; Columbus, Ohio; and Corpus Christi, Texas. They're programmed on routes that connect people from transit hubs to commercial districts, between airport terminals and within university campuses. The bidirectional shuttle is mapped on a route and uses several sensors and technology such as GPS and light detection and ranging, or lidar. "That's how the vehicle knows exactly where it is within three millimeters," Buchholz said. "The vehicle is constantly scanning the environment once it's on a trajectory to see if there's any obstacles in its path." If it detects an obstacle, even at a long distance, she said, it will begin slowing down. If the obstacle does not clear as the shuttle gets closer, the vehicle makes a smooth stop. If something jumps in front of it, the shuttle makes an emergency stop. In late February, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration suspended passenger operations on all 16 EasyMile autonomous shuttles in the United States after a passenger fell aboard one that was part of a pilot program in Columbus. The shuttle made an emergency stop. NHTSA ruled in May that passenger operations could resume after additional safety enhancements were made, including corrective actions to increase awareness that sudden stops can happen, more signage and audio announcements, and retrofitting the vehicles with seat belts. EasyMile said it has since made changes and resumed operations. Dominion Energy, which owns the EZ10 being deployed in Fairfax, said it is confident in the safety of the vehicle and the company. "We feel good about their safety record," said Julie Manzari, innovation strategist at Dominion. She said EasyMile, which has been in the autonomous vehicle business for nearly six years, has made more than 200 deployments worldwide without any incidents with the vehicles. Since 2016, NHTSA has granted permission for the testing of 87 self-driving vehicles as part of 89 different projects in 20 states. The projects include 64 publicly operating low-speed shuttles in 45 cities. NHTSA said in a statement that it undertakes a "risk-based evaluation" of every application for such testing, with additional scrutiny for vehicles that might be operated on public roads or that might take passengers, such as the one in Fairfax. "Evaluations take into account the vehicle's characteristics and capabilities, and where, when, and how it will operate. All applications granted thus far have limited operations to specified routes, times, and speeds, and have required a trained safety operator on board responsible for monitoring the vehicle at all times and taking control if necessary," the agency said. "The limited exemptions granted by NHTSA require reporting and adherence to specific terms and allow the agency to revoke operating permission when appropriate," the regulator said. In Fairfax, the 12-passenger shuttle will serve two stops: one at the Metro station and the other at the Barnes & Noble within the Mosaic District. It will travel from the station's bus bay via Avenir Place, which turns into Merrilee Drive, and then onto Eskridge Road, until entering the town center. It will cross only two intersections, including Route 29, where it will use technology that communicates with the traffic signal to extend the green light for it to get through that intersection, officials said. The shuttle is accessible, in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act, and has audible and visual alerts and Braille instructions. A "safety steward" will always be on board, in accordance with NHTSA regulations. An app will allow users to track Relay and know when it will arrive next. It will serve stops every 15 to 20 minutes, officials said, and rides will be free. Transdev, a global transportation company that operates Fairfax's bus system, will operate the service. Transdev's autonomous vehicle division operates similar services in Denver; Livermore, Calif.; and Gainesville, Fla., according to its website. Operations will be paid for with a $200,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation and a $50,000 match from Fairfax County. Dominion Energy owns the shuttle. Mark Webb, chief innovation officer at Dominion, said the company sees potential to reduce carbon emissions with electric, autonomous transportation, and it wants to be part of that future. County and company officials also cite it as a solution to reducing road crashes often caused by distracted drivers. Human error - including distracted and drunken driving - causes 94% of car crashes nationwide, according to NHTSA data. "An autonomous vehicle is never distracted. It is never reading a text, so it can drive very safely," Webb said. The density and diversity of residential, office and retail options made Mosaic ideal as a testing ground, officials said. The Mosaic District has turned into a bustling town center within the past decade, with restaurants, retailers, luxury apartment buildings and townhouses. "We have a lot of millennials living there," McKay said. "It's a cool, hip place to live. We have a lot of empty-nesters, older folks who live there for the conveniences and no maintenance on their homes. "And so you have this really good mix of people and you have a Metro station," he said. "I think a majority of people are at least intrigued enough to look at it. And a lot of folks will jump right on, no questions asked." Priti Patel has been accused of sparking a 'war of words' with France - TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images/TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images The Government has created a diplomatic storm of its own making, MPs have warned, after Priti Patel suggested migrants were making channel crossings to escape France because it is "racist". A war of words between the two nations broke out on Sunday, as Paris gears up to impose reciprocal quarantine measures on British travellers. French politicians accused the Home Secretary of spreading hateful claims in a callous manner, after her comments emerged on Sunday. In the frank discussions between Ms Patel and MPs last week, the Home Secretary reportedly said that migrants were crossing the Channel because they believe France is a "racist country" where they may be "tortured". One MP on the conference call said: "Priti was asked why the migrants are so desperate to leave France and come here. She told us some believe racism to be an issue. "They claim they feel discriminated against when, for example, looking for work in France. Others claimed they feared being tortured if they stayed in France or Germany. Her comments stoked anger in Paris, with one politician from President Emmanuel Macron's ruling LREM party saying: Hateful claims are not a healthy part of politics, but this woman seems to spread them all the time. While an MP from France's opposition Republicans party told the Mail On Sunday: Madam Patel has caused a lot of upset already with absurd and untrue claims about our forces not stopping immigrant boats. Wherever these latest claims about racism came from, Madam Patel should not be spreading them in such a callous manner. Tory backbenchers last night suggested Ms Patels comments were at best unhelpful as we try to come to a consensus on Channel migrant crossings. More than 4,500 have made the dangerous crossing this year, more than double the amount thought to have crossed during the whole of 2019. Last week Immigration Minister Chris Philp said French officials had agreed to work on a joint operational plan to make the English Channel unviable to migrants. Story continues However, few details on the agreement have been released and it was reported last week that little of substance was ultimately decided upon. Some Tory MPs fear Ms Patels comments could set us back further in discussions with France. A senior backbencher said: "The current administration doesn't seem to give much thought to diplomacy in these matters. Surely the migrant crossing issue can only be solved by mutual agreement? We need action not a war of words. Posturing is all well and good but ultimately we need to find a solution. However, a separate MP told the Daily Telegraph that Ms Patel was on the money. In my view you get a much easier life here than you do in France and I applaud Priti for saying it publicly, the ally said. Frankly I think people are fed up of politicians who dont say as they feel and like that she speaks as she finds. Meanwhile, France is expected to announce a reciprocal quarantine on travellers from the UK on Monday, in what one government source described as a logical and politically necessary measure. It is expected to mirror the requirement for travellers from France to self-isolate for two weeks after arriving in the UK. Arrivals in France from the UK will be asked to give an address where they will quarantine, the source said. When Britain lifts its quarantine on people coming from France, we will do the same, the government source added. Clement Beaune, the Europe minister, said France regrets restrictions imposed by the UK on Saturday and has urged the British government to end them as soon as possible. His predecessor, Nathalie Loiseau, now an MEP for President Emmanuel Macrons party, told French radio on Sunday that Britain had no need to quarantine travellers from France. Despite another record surge in coronavirus infections in France during the weekend, she claimed the quarantine is not based on scientific data. She said: We know that the coronavirus has spread less in France than the United Kingdom, so this measure has no reason to exist. It places a lot of people in difficulty. Ms Loiseau said Britain had suffered Europes highest number of deaths and the UK government had delayed a lot before taking action against the coronavirus. She added that the quarantine comes at a time when Brexit is posing difficulties, which will only increase. The quarantine requirement, she added, is negative for the United Kingdom and its relations with Europe. France reported 3,310 new infections on Saturday, the highest daily increase since the country exited from lockdown in May. The unusual weekend announcement of the latest figures signalled deepening concern in France as the authorities try to hammer home the message that the public must maintain social distancing, wear face-masks and avoid crowds. The government and public health experts fear the epidemic may spiral out of control after the French return to the cities from summer holidays across the country. French officials say Paris is exasperated with Boris Johnsons pledge to be ruthless with Britains foreign partners over the pandemic. The British government is doing the same thing over the coronavirus that its doing over the migrant boats from Calais, which is to blame the foreign enemy, a French government source said. Seen from here, the quarantine appears to be motivated more by domestic British political concerns than halting the spread of the virus. A major leap into actualizing the dream of establishing a seaport in Ondo State has been taken as the Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, received the Outline Business Case (OBC), which is one of the critical requirements preceding port declaration and showcases the project as a multipurpose deep seaport. At the occasion in Akure, Governor Akeredolu expressed satisfaction with the level of cooperation by his administration at establishing Port Ondo, saying that the confidence of the consulting firm on the viability of the project is a pointer to its eventual success. The governor said the avalanche of resources the state is blessed with, within its riverine communities coupled with the fact that the state has the longest coastline in Nigeria would make the proposed port the hub for the West Africa sub-region. This port is very important to me, to the people of the state, Nigeria and indeed West Africa. We are going to pursue this dream with vigour, he said. Describing lack of continuity and abandonment of projects by successive administrations as the greatest problem retarding the development of most states in Nigeria, Governor Akeredolu said if the vision of the Olusegun Agagu administration on establishing a seaport for Ondo State had been kept alive by the immediate past administration, Ondo State would by now become a critical player in the maritime sector. Earlier, the Head of the consulting firm, OIM-FBS Consortium, Ekong Etim, said the OBC is essentially a confirmation of the governors vision that the port is a productive business worthy of venturing into by both public and private concerns. We are happy that our report confirms that the governors vision is viable. Its viability has been carefully assessed technically, legally, financially, and economically, the consultant said. Etim said the OBC has been submitted to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) for onward processing through the Federal Ministry of Transportation and will subsequently receive the attention of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) for the issuance of certificate of compliance, adding that at the procurement stage, which is the final, prospective investors would be invited to form a consortium to finance the project. Also speaking, Special Adviser to the Governor on Development and Investment/Chief Executive Officer, Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), Boye Oyewumi , said, In two years, we have been to places where people have not been in 14 to 16 years, that is no mean feat. Commitment starts from political will and the determination that whatever happens, this project must come to fruition. So we thank the Governor for being actively involved in the project. Oyewumi, who described the project as an investment magnet, assured that given the location, it would enjoy the interest of international investors. The construction of the port is off the states balance sheet. That means it will not be funded from the coffers of the state. Private investors would develop the port. When you have the magnet, metals are attracted to it. Investors, without even having a road show before we got to this stage, have been coming to us that they want to invest in the port. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:52:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JAKARTA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian security forces have gunned down one separatist in a raid at a rebel camp in the country's easternmost province of Papua, a police officer said on Monday. Hengki Wamang, 31, a member of the separatist group which Indonesia calls an armed criminal group, was killed during the crackdown at the Kali Kopi camp situated in Mimika district, the Provincial Police's Spokesman Senior Commissioner Ahmad Musthofa Kamal said. Three pieces of weapons with hundreds of bullets and some cash were seized during the mission, the spokesman said. The police and military joint security forces have been investigating the camp since Thursday before launching the operation on Sunday, he said. After the operation, the chase of the other members of the separatist group in Papua province would continue, the spokesman said in a statement. The separatist Free Papua Movement, locally known as OPM, based in Papua province has been seeking an independence through guerrilla wars since decades ago, targeting soldiers, police personnel and civilians. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:01:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ACCRA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ghana is likely to reopen its entry points for inbound traffic on Sept. 1 as active cases of the new coronavirus decline, Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has hinted. In his 15th nationwide broadcast on COVID-19 late Sunday, Akufo-Addo said the decision would be based on the outcome of preparatory work by various stakeholder institutions. "Under my instructions, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Co. Ltd, have been working, with the Ministry of Health and its agencies, to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport," the president said. "I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger that arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of that exercise will show us the way, and determine when we can reopen our border by air. I am hoping that we will be ready to do so by Sept. 1," he said. However, he said special dispensation would continue to be given for the evacuation of Ghanaians stranded abroad, and they would be required to observe the mandatory quarantine and safety protocols. Enditem Facebooks inaction against hate content destabilises democracy in India, the Congress alleged on Monday, sharpening its criticism of the global social media giant after a US media report claimed that it refused to apply hate speech rules to certain BJP politicians. In its reaction to the swirling controversy fuelled by the report in the Wall Street Journal, Facebook said the companys social media platform prohibits hate speech and content that incites violence, adding these policies are enforced globally without regard to political affiliation. However, Facebook, which counts India among its largest markets globally, acknowledged that there is more to do. In the report published on Friday, the US newspaper cited interviews with unnamed Facebook insiders to claim that one of its senior India policy executives intervened in internal communication to stop a permanent ban on a BJP MLA from Telangana after he allegedly made communally charged posts. The Congress on Monday reiterated its demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) into the charges mentioned in the report. At a press conference, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said India is one of the most thriving democracies in the world and anybody or any platform that undermines it by indulging in hate mongering must not be spared. With all responsibility, I will say that Facebooks inaction destabilises our democracy. More often than not Facebook takes no action and even worse allows objectionable content to continue despite being brought to notice, she alleged. Shrinate also claimed that Facebook has different rules for different countries and that is not acceptable. The rules for India are dramatically different and are bent as per their convenience. In Singapore while deposing before policy makers, Facebook said they were a social media platform and cant take down content unless it was brought to notice. Ironically in India, despite external complaints and red flags being raised by their own trust and safety teams, hate content has been allowed to wilfully continue, Shrinate alleged. She said the social media company has removed pages and issued press releases across the world including the US and Turkey, citing coordinated inauthentic behaviour, but wondered why it has never done something similar in connection with rumour mongering and hate speeches in India. There is enough and more objectionable content that exist on its platform. Some of which incites violence, some of which is abusive against women, some of which targets particular communities and groups, she claimed. Responding to the media report and the subsequent controversy, a Facebook spokesperson said, We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence and we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyones political position or party affiliation. While we know there is more to do, were making progress on enforcement and conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy, the spokesperson said. Shrinate also criticised the government saying instead of responding to the media report in the Wall Street Journal, it is targeting the Congress party. Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had hit out at the Congress over the issue on Sunday and reminded the opposition party of the Cambridge Analytica issue. Prasads reference to Cambridge Analytica was about the allegations the Congress faced in 2018 that the UK-based firm offered the party data mining of Facebook posts to influencing voters in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Congress had rejected the charges. Apart from Facebook, the rumour mongering, disinformation and hate speech that go unchecked on WhatsApp are even more damaging, Shrinate said. We also expect Facebook global to look into discrepancies that exist in its India operations and we hope Facebook will take immediate remedial measures, she said. Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, has said the panel would like to hear from Facebook about the report. By ANI NEW DELHI: Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the incident in which a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Isanagar in Lakhimpur Kheri and said that Bharatiya Janata government is unable to prevent crimes against women in the state and the Centre must look into it. "Crimes are becoming normal news in Uttar Pradesh. Every day we hear incidents of murders, rapes and other incidents in Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is unable to control crimes against women in the state. The Centre should look into it," he said. A 13-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered on August 14 in Lakhimpur Kheri. The girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Isanagar in Lakhimpur Kheri on Friday. Later, the police recovered her body from a sugarcane field in Isanagar. Satyendra Kumar, Superintendent of Police (SP), Lakhimpur Kheri said two men have been booked under offences of murder and gangrape, adding that action will also be taken against them under the NSA. When asked about his party leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations against the Centre on the China issue, Singh further said, "Whatever he said is absolutely correct. This is the fact that 20 jawans of the Bihar Regiment had lost their lives. China has occupied some parts of our land. The PM cannot run away from this fact. Even as talks are on at the military level, the situation remains the same." The Congress leader also slammed the Centre on increase in COVID cases in the country. "The nearly 26 lakh people have been affected in total across the country. It continues to increase every day. In Bihar, people are dying because of the virus. No proper treatment facilities are being provided. State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is looking at the other way," the Congress leader added. Rajkumari Sharma Tankha By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Barely a year after the International Astronomical Union named a minor planet after him, the doyen of Indian classical music Padma Vibhushan Pandit Jasraj on Monday left the material world to be a part of the cosmos. The 90-year-old passed away in New Jersey after suffering a cardiac arrest. Born in Pili Mandori village of Haryanas Hisar district on January 28, 1930 to classical singer Pandit Motiram and Krishnabai, Jasraj was initiated into vocal music at 14. Pt Jasraj 28-01-1930 - 17-08-2020 A major part of his youth was spent in Hyderabad though he often travelled to Sanand in Gujarat to study music from the musicians of the Mewati Gharana. In 1946, Jasraj moved to Calcutta (now Kolkata) where he started singing classical music for radio.He debuted as a tabla artist in 1937 to support family. It helped him internalise rhythms which lent finesse to his singing.His first stage concert was in 1952 when as a 22 -year-old, he performed as a vocalist in the court of King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah of Nepal in Kathmandu. During his musical career spanning more than eight decades, not only did he popularise classical music, he worked with semi-classical style as well.He wasnt just a vocalist but a researcher and innovator too. As a researcher, he popularised Haveli sangeet style, while as an innovator he created Jasrangi. The latter is a unique form of jugalbandi in which male and female singers sing different ragas in their respective scales but at the same time merge their individual displays into one unified performance. Millions of children and hundreds of thousands of teachers are beginning to return to schools. Full attendance is mandatory, with everything that goes with itovercrowded classrooms, cancelled lessons, run-down sanitary facilities and crowded public transport and school buses on the way to school. At the same time, the number of new COVID-19 infections in Germany is at its highest level since the introduction of protective measures. In the last two days alone, 1,226 and 1,445 people were infected with the deadly coronavirus. In the USA, where a patient dies every one and a half minutes of the virus, parents or students now have to sign a statement exempting the school management from any liability if a child at school falls ill with COVID-19 and dies. Against this background, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert outlined two goals in dealing with the pandemic at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday. One is to keep the economy running as well as possible and the other is to get schools and the entire educational system back on track. Seibert did not explain how many deaths this policy will causeand the journalists present did not ask him. Pupil Moritz is on his way to the first day at his new school in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) Seibert was summing up the attitude of the entire ruling class. On Saturday, in a joint statement, four major business associations declared with remarkable frankness, It is high time that the regular operation of Berlin schools starts again. It is in the interest of employers and their employees to send children back to school as soon as possible. The return of children to school so that parents are available for work sets the course for a further devastating spread of the pandemic, which will cause countless new deaths and unspeakable suffering. More and more studies show how dangerous it is to resume attendance at school. The claim that children are not infected or do not pass on the virus has been clearly refuted. In the USA, 97,000 children tested positive for coronavirus in the last two weeks of July alone, and according to a recent report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the number has risen to 338,000 since the beginning of the pandemic. The German state governments are preparing for similar conditions by reopening schools. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where schools opened already at the beginning of last week, a grammar school in Ludwigslust and a school in Rostock had to be closed again because teachers and students tested positively. There were similar cases in Hamburg. In Berlin, where classes resumed on Monday, coronavirus infections have been detected at eight schools, as the Senate (state) Education Administration informed local radio station rbb. One, the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Gymnasium in Treptow-Kopenick with 800 students, was closed again on Thursday. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Germanys most populous state, where the school year only began on Wednesday, a day-care centre in Dortmund and an elementary school in Essen were closed again due to coronavirus infections. Other schools remained open despite positive tests. Nevertheless, the state governments are ruthlessly reopening schools. In Schleswig-Holstein, which is governed by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Greens and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), even teachers with a medical certificate showing they are at risk are being forced to teach. Of 1,600 teachers belonging to coronavirus risk groups, only 32 have been exempted from teaching. All others must teach, even if an infection means a possible death sentence for them. In North Rhine-Westphalia, where 200,000 teachers and 2.1 million pupils returned to classrooms on Wednesday, there is compulsory school attendance even for children of high-risk parents. As a matter of principle, pupils are obliged to take part in face-to-face teaching. The general provisions on compulsory schooling and participation apply, the NRW Education Ministry states. State Education Minister Yvonne Gebauer (FDP) has already openly admitted that COVID-19 victims are an integral part of her school reopening concept. We cannot protect people from falling ill with COVID-19, she said in a radio interview. There will always be diseases. The government can only ensure that our hospitals are prepared, that enough intensive care beds are available, that enough ventilators are available. But we cannot protect all people. With more than 2,370 new infections in the last seven days (413 new infections within one day alone), North Rhine-Westphalia now has the highest infection rate in Germany, with around 52,600 cases. In Bochum in the Ruhr Area, the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, averaging 30 over the last seven days, is dangerously close to 50, at which point a regional lockdown is imminent. What I cant get into my head, is regular schooling in the face of rising infection rates, demonstrably even during the holiday season, Martina R. from North Rhine-Westphalia commented on Facebook. Actually, for at least three weeks, lessons should be designed in such a way that as few people as possible are infected. Previously ill people, for example, should generally be taught in home-schooling, the rest in a mixture of attendance and home-schooling, especially smaller groups are necessary. With a view to the new infections in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Hamburg, Martina added, It is already apparent that regular [school] operations cannot function in this way. Politicians have no conscienceand children cost money, but do not contribute anything to the coffers, nor do they have a lobby. In any case, regular operations have nothing to do with science. NRW Education Minister Gebauer and State Premier Armin Laschet (CDU), who are hated for their particularly ruthless coronavirus policies, represent the only state government to have felt compelled to make wearing masks compulsory, introduced at short notice, but not for primary school pupils. In all other federal statesincluding Thuringia, which is led by the Left Partythe regulations do not mandate the wearing of masks. Brigitte, a teacher from Rhineland-Palatinate, explained to the World Socialist Web Site, So far, officially on Monday, in our state, we will continue with limited regular classes. What exactly this means was not clear before the holidays. More detailed instructions will not be available until tomorrow. Otherwise: full classes, frequent airing, wearing masks outside classrooms in the corridors and the schoolyard. In classeswhere it is already quite crampedthere should be no compulsory wearing of masks. I was usually happier to go to school on my first day than this year. Brigittes colleague Maria reported similar conditions in Hesse. Before the holidays, the Education Ministry issued a timetable that classes should be similar to those before the coronavirus. That means full class sizes and a full timetablebut hand washing should be maintained. Whether or not masks should be compulsory in the schoolyard is to be decided by the respective school management. There was no progress towards digitalisation. Well start again on Monday, and I doubt that anything will come of it. Scientific studies from Israel and Japan, as well as investigations by the Berlin Charite, have proven that conditions such as those found in classrooms, gymnasiums and changing rooms pose a particularly high risk of so-called cluster infections and superspreading events, in the course of which, hundreds of people fall ill within a very short time. Barbara, a high school teacher from Lower Saxony, said in an interview with the WSWS, A mass outbreak at schoolthat would mean school closuresjust like a mass outbreak in the city. We had that in June and therefore had to teach online for two more weeks. Although Barbaras secondary school is also scheduled to resume regular operations next week, she has not yet received any information about how lessons are to be organised in concrete terms or what measures are to be taken. Yesterday we received our lesson plans. Timetables are not yet ready. I would be happy if we had to wear masks compulsorily in class and in the teachers rooms for the first two weeks. Many colleagues and students have been on vacationthats pretty scary to me personally. The case of Bavaria shows just how far-reaching the efforts of the state governments are to get back to business as quickly as possible in the interests of making profits. There, the state health office had not informed 44,000 holiday returnees of their results until yesterday, who had voluntarily had themselves tested for the coronavirus since 30 July. Among those tested were about 900 infected persons, who had thus remained undetected for days. The same information policy is also being applied in schools. Ricarda, who is due to return to her school next Monday, told us, I dont even have a timetable. The school management is waiting for new instructions until the last minute. I have already set up the desks individually. Then, during the introductory days, I will do a targeted Iserv training [online training system] with the students, in case the school is closed again. Students should bring their equipment and I practice with them. I hope thats enough. The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District reported seven more deaths related to the novel coronavirus in Bexar County on Sunday and 59 new cases, a further sign that conditions are improving. But officials emphasized that the good news just means area residents should redouble their efforts to maintain precautions to keep the virus at bay: wash your hands frequently; wear a mask covering mouth and nose when out in public; keep at least 6 feet away from others not from your household, including other family members; and avoid large gatherings. In all, 44,052 people in the county have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Weve seen how quickly COVID-19 can spread, so we must remain vigilant to accelerate the downward trend in cases and hospitalizations, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said via social media Sunday night. Dont let your guard down in the face of smaller daily case numbers. This is not the time to let up. We all have to do our part. Hospitalizations rose slightly, with 612, up from 598 Saturday. While the hospitalizations went up by 14, local officials were heartened that there were only 35 new COVID-19 admissions to hospitals. The number of people in intensive care also decreased to 279, from 285 Saturday. So did those on ventilators, dropping from 194 on Saturday to 192 Sunday. On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases The deaths announced Sunday occurred between July 19-24, officials said. The death toll in Bexar County now stands at 598. The deceased included a white woman in her 80s with underlying health conditions who was a resident at Sonterra Health nursing home; two men in their 60s, both with underlying conditions, one who died at Audie Murphy Veterans Administration Hospital and another who died at Methodist Hospital Specialty and Transplant; and a man in his 50s with an unknown medical history who died at Baptist Medical Center. The others were a Hispanic man in his 50s with unknown medical history who died at Methodist Metropolitan; and two men in their 70s whose ethnicity/race wasnt listed, both with underlying conditions, one who died at St. Lukes Baptist Hospital and the other at Mission Trail Baptist Hospital. South Texas report In the Rio Grande Valley, Hidalgo County reported 24 more people with COVID-19 have died in the last two days, pushing the death toll to 955. And there have been 207 new cases of the virus; 22,013 Hidalgo County residents have tested positive since the pandemic started. But Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez noted that negative tests for the virus moved past the 100,000 mark Sunday for the first time, a good sign. He said the number of people with COVID-19 in hospitals also was down, from 813 a week ago to 528 Sunday. There are some encouraging numbers we are seeing that I hope are the beginning of trends, Cortez said. Of course, the one number that continues to haunt this community is the number of people dying from this disease. I continue to ask the community to employ safe practices by staying at home when at all possible and to avoid crowds. Overall, 122,858 tests have been administered in Hidalgo County, which includes McAllen, Edinburg and Pharr. Farther up the Rio Grande in Webb County, Laredo officials reported two more deaths, putting the death toll at 193. Officials reported 9,552 people in Webb have tested positive since the pandemic started; there are 1,050 test results pending. Overall, 25,687 people have been tested. As of Sunday noon, there were 178 people with the virus in Laredo hospitals, of which 71 were in intensive care. Thats up slightly from the 170 who were hospitalized Friday and the 64 who were in intensive care. Bruce Selcraig is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Bruce, become a subscriber. BSelcraig@express-news.net Sudhir Suryawanshi By Express News Service MUMBAI: The dams that supply drinking water to Mumbai have got 79 per cent of annual storage, claimed the city's civic body. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation claimed that in a week, the majority of its water supply dams will start overflowing. BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal said that if the rain continues for next few days, then they will lift out the 20 per cent imposed water cut soon. In Ganesh festival season, the BMC will ensure the full water supply to the residence of the Mumbai. There are six major dams that provide the drinking water to Mumbai. As per the BMCs hydraulic department data, these dams have got the 79 per cent total storage this year against 94 per cent in 2019 and 90 per cent in 2018. The Tusli and Vihar lakes are overflowing while remaining dams are closer to fill. Bhatsa dam has got 135 MTR water levels against 140 metre (MRT) in 2019 while Middle Vaitarana has got 280 MTR against 283 MTR in 2019. The Tansa dam 127 MTR in this year season against 128 MTR in last year while 162 MTR in Modak Sagar this year against 163 MTR in last year. The Upper Vaitarana has 600 MTR level this year against 602 MTR last year. This year, the total storage of all dams are 11,44,672 million litre water against 1,367061 Million-litre last year while 1,311708 MTR in 2018. Universities were frantically trying to unravel the Government's exams U-turn last night as experts warned that 55,000 students might now try to switch back to institutions that rejected them. The industry's main umbrella body said universities were seeking 'urgent clarification' on how to accommodate students they had earlier refused because of A-level results downgrades. Ministers last night lifted a temporary recruitment cap designed to prevent the most popular universities from hoovering up students at the expense of less popular institutions. However, universities suggested they might not have space for all the students they had earlier turned down due to space constraints and the new demands of social distancing. Now thousands of bright students could be let down by Britain's top universities as they run out of spaces for everyone they offered places to - and universities have been left with 'no idea' how to honour offers following the lifting of the earlier imposed limit on student numbers. Universities are now seeking legal advice to find out what obligations they have to the 55,000 pupils who did not get good enough grades under the algorithm, but after the u-turn now have the sufficient marks, as reported by The Times. Gavin Williamson last night said the Government would expect universities to try to 'build as much capacity' as possible so students could make their first-choice offers although detailed plans do not yet exist. Gavin Williamson last night said the Government would expect universities to try to 'build as much capacity' as possible so students could make their first-choice offers although detailed plans do not yet exist The Education Secretary said: 'We expect universities to be flexible and to go above and beyond to be able to honour those commitments that's why today we've lifted student numbers caps in order for universities to be able to expand put extra capacity into the system.' Lucy is off to Cambridge after government's grades U-turn Lucy Lipfriend now has the grades for a place at Cambridge University. The 19-year-old had been given teacher-assessed grades of A*AA, before the Government's computer algorithm downgraded her to three Bs. But after yesterday's U-turn, the teenager has achieved the grades she needed to study theology, religion and philosophy at Clare College. The past few days have been a 'whirlwind' but Lucy now has a place at her 'dream' university. She said: 'I haven't heard anything yet from Ucas or Cambridge yet so it's not fully sunk in yet.' Lucy Lipfriend now has the grades for a place at Cambridge University Lucy had originally planned to appeal her grades, as she believes the algorithm downgraded her after a poor performance in last year's A-level exams when her mother was ill. Lucy planned to take them again this year. After exams were cancelled, her former teachers submitted centre assessed grades of A*AA. Three private tutors predicted three A*s. And Lexie Bell said she is 'relieved' the Government has 'finally seen sense'. The 18-year-old's centre-assessed grades of A*s in English and religious education and an A in psychology had been 'unfairly' downgraded to ABB. The pupil, from Shoeburyness High School in Southend-on-Sea, said she felt 'survivor's guilt' after Sussex University held its offer despite her dip in grades. Advertisement Up to 1,500 potential Oxbridge students could miss out on going to one of the ancient universities. It is thought that Cambridge University extended offers to around 4,500 pupils but only has 3,450 places. Oxford made around made about 3,900 offers for an expected 3,287 places, reported the Daily Telegraph. Both Oxford and Cambridge have already said some applicants will have to take deferred places as they do not have spaces for everyone to start in the autumn. This came as students in next year's cohort have already expressed concerns about the knock on effect of deferred places on their chances of getting into top institutions. A large number of this year's students deferring will limit the number of places available for the 2021 intake. Popular courses, including law, are already full, despite there being 135,000 potential students, with many qualified for their first choice institutions. Universities say that they were not consulted about the Government's decision to use teachers' predicted grades instead of the controversial algorithm to determine A-levels. Now, amid the U-turn, the number of pupils who meet the requirements for their first choices has risen by a considerable amount. A head of admissions at one university told The Times withdrawing offers for successful applicants was 'unthinkable' - but he admitted he had 'no idea' how to handle the thousands of applicants who would be able to claim a position. Roughly 55,000 pupils who were rejected by their first choices had signed up for other institutions - and could now want to return to their desired university if their grades are bumped up by the U-turn. Roughly 30,000 accepted a place at their second choice university, while an additional 80,000 are holding out for appeals. One parent of a daughter who plans to apply to Cambridge told the Times: 'I'm pleased for the kids who have been through this but what happens now? 'I cannot see how she doesn't face an even bigger uphill battle to get a place if some of them have already been earmarked for this year's students.' In a statement, Ucas the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service did not offer a guarantee for youngsters to get a place at their first choice destination. It means the U-turn threatens to throw struggling admissions departments into disarray over the coming days as they try to resolve the crisis. 'I'm relieved the government and Ofqual have finally seen sense,' says 18-year-old set for three A*s Lexie Bell said she is 'relieved' that the government and Ofqual have 'finally seen sense'. The 18-year-old's centre assessed grades of A*s in English and Religious Education and an A in psychology had been 'unfairly' downgraded. Lexie Bell said she is 'relieved' that the government and Ofqual have 'finally seen sense' Ofqual's standardisation process meant that her grades in English and RE were both reduced to B's. The pupil from Shoeburyness High School in Southend-on-Sea received an A for psychology. But she felt 'survivor's guilt' after Sussex University held its offer despite her unexpected dip in grades. Her father Michael Bell, 53, CEO of a charity, said: 'Lexie was lucky, she still got her offer given to her even though she didn't meet the offer grades. 'But there was an element of survivor's guilt there because she realised she was going to be okay but clearly lots of people weren't going to be. 'She is relived that the government and Ofqual have finally seen sense. 'There is definitely a sense of relief on behalf of the students who have been affected by this in a far more difficult way because they have lost their places at university.' Mr Bell, who is attempting to launch a judicial review of the A-level system, added that the U-Turn is 'too little too late'. 'It's about time but it should never have got this far,' he said. 'If you want my honest opinion we should be seeing resignations from Ofqual and from the government - they should be ashamed of themselves.' Advertisement Mary Curnock Cook, former head of Ucas, last night predicted 'chaos' due to the 'extra volume' of students, which she estimated at 55,000, now trying to switch to their first-choice destinations. Appearing on Good Morning Britain, chief executive of UCAS Clare Marchant said: 'My first bit of advice to students as of last night when we had this change is don't knee jerk into anything, talk to your parents or guardian and then look at your centre assessed grade and then say do I need to contact my first choice university and have a conversation with them, and that would be my immediate advice.' The key questions and answers in the government's exam grade saga What was the original plan? After exams were cancelled, Ofqual, the exam regulator, asked teachers to submit grades for students and list them in order of ability. However, it was apparent that many had been overly optimistic. It was decided that more reliance would need to be placed on statistical modelling or 'standardisation'. This led to the algorithm which was used to calculate grades. Why was this controversial? A huge proportion of teachers' predictions were deemed useless. A school's performance in previous years played a greater role reducing 40 per cent of A-levels, and an even higher proportion of GCSEs. The system penalised students at low-performing schools in poor areas. Its aim was only to preserve existing trends including educational inequality. What has now changed? Before yesterday's U-turn, Ofqual loosened its strict criteria on appeals, saying schools could challenge results. But the onus on schools to submit evidence that their grades were wrong meant the row deepened. The Scottish government was first to U-turn, promising to restore the original teacher predictions. Westminster came up with a 'triple lock' guarantee, meaning pupils could fall back on mock exam grades or take fresh papers in October. But after a weekend of confusion, it announced England would also allow teachers' grades. How will they get new grades? Guidance is yet to be issued by the Department for Education, but it is assumed that boards will send out new exam certificates in the coming days for A-level students. The Government has said GCSE results will not be delayed, so they should also reflect teachers' grades. Can students still appeal? The Government hopes the vast majority of appeals will now be dropped. Gavin Williamson indicated appeals would need to be based on 'bias and discrimination'. But full guidance is yet to be released. What about universities? Universities demanded 'urgent clarification' on how they could be expected to accommodate a wave of extra students with upgraded marks. Although the Education Secretary is lifting the student numbers cap, universities may find they are fully subscribed and the only option is to defer places. Mr Williamson said he expected universities to be 'flexible' and 'honour the commitments' to students who now have better grades. There is no detail yet on how the system will work, having already been under massive strain. Advertisement Those with offers for some of the most competitive universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, are expected to be the most likely to be told to defer for a year if they want to go to their original first choice. Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute, said universities will 'only be able to fit a certain number of people before social distancing becomes impossible'. He also flagged concerns around 'physical capacity' and the number of teaching staff universities would need to accommodate all students. Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, warned that the sector needed 'urgent clarification' on a 'number of crucial issues' immediately. He said: 'The events and confusion of recent days have added further uncertainty and distress to students who have already faced many difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 'Universities will do everything they can to work through these issues in the days ahead. The Government will need to step up and support universities through the challenges created by this late policy change.' The prestigious Russell Group of universities also demanded answers on how they should deal with the surfeit of new students. Dr Tim Bradshaw, the group's chief executive said: 'We know the changing situation is creating uncertainty for students and universities. 'However there are limits to what can be done by the university sector alone... We now need urgent clarification from Government on the additional support it will provide to help universities with the expected increases in student numbers, particularly for high cost subjects such as chemistry, medicine and engineering.' Ucas pointed out that at present, 69 per cent of 18-year-old applicants had been placed with their first-choice university a higher percentage than last year. It advised students who had been rejected from their first choice university because of the A-level downgrades not to rush into a decision about what to do next, and said it would issue further advice to students and schools. The Government introduced a one-year student numbers cap to limit the number of domestic undergraduates each university could take, preventing less popular universities from losing out in a smaller student market during the pandemic. This cap has since been ditched. Some universities, including Buckingham, had already pledged to take applicants who missed their grades before yesterday's U-turn, with a few Oxford colleges taking the same decision. Professor Alan Smithers of Buckingham University agreed the decision will 'create major difficulties'. He said: 'Many will have already filled their places, as they make more offers than they expect to admit.' And the University and College Union said admissions staff were already facing 'unbearable workloads', with general secretary Jo Grady saying the 'political incompetence is unforgivable'. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said: 'The big question remains as to why this decision has taken so long to come, as it may already be too late for some... who have already missed out on their first choice of university and course.' Dr Simon Hyde, the incoming general secretary of the Headmasters' and Headmistress' Conference said the U-turn is 'not perfect, but it will do', but called for 'urgent clarity' on university admissions. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Working from home could become a permanent arrangement for some employees of the Ohio Attorney Generals Office, even after the coronavirus pandemic recedes. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said his office is developing a new normal plan through which around one-third of the attorneys in his office would mostly work from home on a long-term basis. The plan, which would incorporate limiting which employees come into the office and when, and offering shared work spaces for those who come in infrequently, is expected to lead to a 30% reduction in office space. The plan is still in development, but should be done later this year. Yost said it will take time to phase in, given his offices lease commitments, but when its done, it could yield significant savings, in the six or seven figures. The Ohio Attorney Generals Office isnt alone in considering a permanent change in work space. For months, private-sector employers have been re-evaluating whether they really need office space given that employees have successfully been able to do their jobs remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twitter and Facebook have announced theyre allowing their employees to work from home permanently, while Nationwide Insurance in Columbus announced in June a plan to close satellite offices in other states, according to WOSU. Weve really inherited the way we work from generations upon generations, Yost said. And we changed a little bit with the advent of the Information Age. But this has shaken up the paradigm, and our office and a lot of private sector businesses are saying, if we can do this work, if we can do it as well or better, and we can do it without having the huge real estate footprint and costs that go with that, why would we go back? The Attorney Generals Office employs more than 1,400 people, including state lawyers and criminal investigators, and has offices in Columbus and 11 other counties, with much of that space in leased buildings. Yost said he and most of his staff have worked from home since March, when the coronavirus pandemic first emerged. Some employees, like technicians in the state crime lab, have needed to come into the office, so they worked out staggered schedules to limit their exposure to other people. Like other office environments, there have been some soft costs, like a lack of interaction that can help more experienced attorneys mentor those with less experience, and some employees who may feel lonely or stressed managing work-life balance. But for the most part, Yost said once people adjusted to the new setup, functioning of his office hasnt been affected. So I think this is really a tectonic shift. We will look back at 2020 as the year that we substantially changed how we work together in the work place, he said. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines staff, along with most state employees, also largely has been working from home. Dan Tierney, a spokesman for the governors office, said there are no immediate plans to bring them back. The Ohio Department of Administrative Services, the state governments human-resources office, announced Friday that work-from-home status for most employees would be extended through Jan. 4. Obviously this is something that the governors team is evaluating moving forward, Tierney said. But that is where we are currently. Its too early to comment what things might look like after Jan. 4. Telugu Desam Party president and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday demanded that the Centre order a high-level inquiry into the alleged telephone tapping by the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state. In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the former chief minister alleged that the YSR Congress government in the state had been indulging in tapping phones of the opposition leaders, advocates, journalists and social activists. He accused Jagan of perpetrating a jungle raj on all sections of people in the state. Requesting that the PM order a comprehensive inquiry by a competent authority into the alleged telephone tapping by the Jagan government, Naidu said the Centre should take stringent action in this regard. The TDP chief said that the ruling party in Andhra and some private individuals were using sophisticated technology and illegal software to tap the phones belonging to the opposition leaders, advocates, journalists and social activists. This is in violation of the Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India that protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The ruling YSRCP is using illegal tactics to safeguard its power by intimidating and blackmailing the opponents and dissenting voices. These illegal activities are posing a serious threat to the right to privacy in the State, he said. It appears that the ruling YSRCP has now even targeted the judiciary, the third pillar of the democracy, as it is facing hurdles from the judiciary, Naidu said. He brought to the notice of the PM that even private individuals were using cutting edge technology and equipment to unlawfully tap the phones. If these nefarious activities were not put to an end, they would emerge as a bigger threat to national security and sovereignty of the country as a whole, he said. Stating that the YSRCP was already misusing its power to destroy institutions, the TDP chief deplored that systematic efforts were being made to deny fundamental rights and perpetrate oppression. As a result, the overall administration came off track in the state due to ongoing attacks on investments and pro-people policies. Interestingly, ruling YSR Congress Party rebel lawmaker from Narasapuram parliamentary constituency, K Raghurama Krishnam Raju, who has raised a banner of revolt against the state government, made a similar complaint to Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla on Sunday. He requested that the Centre order a probe into the telephone tapping by the Jagan government. He alleged that the state intelligence department was tapping his two numbers. Meanwhile, a senior advocate Sravan Kumar filed a lunch motion petition before Andhra Pradesh high court on Monday seeking a comprehensive inquiry into the alleged telephone tapping of political rivals by the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. He presented certain evidence before the court, which agreed to take up the hearing on the petition on Tuesday. YSRCP leaders could not be immediately reached for a comment on Naidus petition to the Prime Minister. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Border Security Force will get a full-time director general after five months with Rakesh Asthana, Gujarat cadre IPS officer, being appointed as chief of the border guarding force, weeks after Chinese aggression at the line of actual control and Pakistani build up at the line of control. Asthana, 1984 batch officer, will return to the CGO complex in New Delhi after his exit from the CBI in October 2018. Both the CBI headquarter and the BSF headquarter are located in CGO complex, a stones throw away from each other. Asthanas stint at the CBI as a special director had ended amid conflict with the then director Alok Verma. As the top two officers of the countrys premier investigation agency had accused each other of corruption, the government decided to transfer both of them. Verma was sent as DG fire services, a post he refused to take charge of, citing his retirement. While Asthana was appointed director general of bureau of civil aviation and narcotics control bureau. Interestingly, Asthana continues to lead the narcotics control bureau, where a lot of drug seizures have happened across the country ever since he took charge. Considering that most of drug trade happens across the border, his role as BSF and narcotics control bureau chief could give a new dimension to Indias war against drugs. The history teacher-turned-IPS officer has throughout his career dealt with high-profile political cases. Asthanas father was a biology teacher at Netarhat Residential School, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in undivided Bihar. Asthana, too, finished his schooling from there and then moved to St. Johns College, Agra and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. He returned to St Xaviers, Ranchi to teach history for a brief period before cracking the civil services in his first attempt in 1984. He moved to Gujarat after getting the cadre and returned to Bihar/Jharkhand as a CBI SP in the Dhanbad branch, which was given the task to probe the fodder scam. Asthana had led investigations in Purulia arms drop case but he shot to fame as CBI SP who probed the fodder scam against former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. His refusal to give in to pressure and summon Yadav, question him for hours, before chargesheeting him was acknowledged by then CBI joint director Upen Biswas. In 2002, Asthana headed the SIT which probed the Godhra train burning case and called it a pre-meditated conspiracy. Asthana served as Surat police commissioner a few years later where the investigation and arrest of Asaram Bapu and his son Narayan Sai became a national story. His stint at the CBI led to success in a number of high-profile cases. During his tenure, Asthana probed the Augusta Westland scam and the INX media case, in which Congress leaders P Chidambaram and his son Karti are accused. He headed successful CBI probe against Vijay Mallya, leading to Indias victory in the UK High Court. The post of BSF chief was lying vacant since March 2020 after incumbent VK Johri was called back by then Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath and appointed as the state DGP. ITBP DG SS Deswal had been handling BSF as an additional charge since then. The Managing Director (MD) of Consolidated Bank Ghana, Daniel Wilson Addo has given a rare insight on how banks have supported to revive Ghanas economy amidst the mitigating impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at the Ghanas Most Respected CEOs breakfast series under the theme: Bringing the economy back to life: the role of the banking sector, Mr Addo noted thatCOVID-19 had resulted in the slowdown of the economy however, banks could be essential to the recovery of the economy. He said As banks, we are very much aware of this greater responsibility, because COVID-19 has taught us to show more empathy than we used to. We have also taken up the role as educators, and I believe we will ensure customers and small scale enterprises stay in business. Mr Addo said CBG was adjusting to the needs of customers by gearing to support SMEs in many ways such as lending to them and introducing them to key products that focuses on helping them grow. Pointing out how CBG was ensuring effective customer service in the face of the pandemic, he explained that the bank was operating efficiently even with reduced workforce at the various branches. Banking is a customer focussed business and we at CBG have been very innovative in a time like this to ensure business continuity and customer satisfaction. To enable effective communication, we have beefed up our contact centres, leveraging technology for efficient customer-service delivery. We are communicating more with customers on digital platforms, social media pages, and updating them on the activities of the bank every now and then, he said. Our business model as a resilient and agile bank is to be poised and play our role as a financial institution to help customers and businesses. We will continue to stand with customers during these difficult times, he added. According to Mr Addo, all businesses should learn from this pandemic as business disruptions and pandemics are inevitable. The 5th edition of the CEO Breakfast Series aimed at bringing together seasoned business leaders and banking experts to deliberate on how financial institutions can successfully navigate the COVID crisis, support businesses, revitalise and revive the economy, and ultimately spur economic growth. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Egypts Ministry of International Cooperation hosted the second virtual Multi-Stakeholder Platform on Global Partnerships for Effective Development Cooperation, an initiative that targets international multilateral cooperation amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The first meeting was held on 2 April with more than 120 representatives from 45 international institutions and foreign courts to discuss Egypts Response and Rebuild strategy, immediate requests by the Ministry of Health and Population to combat COVID-19 and the ministrys Global Partnerships Narrative, People at the Core, Projects in Action and Purpose as the Driver. The meeting acknowledged cooperation to combat the pandemic, highlighted the ongoing partnerships portfolio and the wide array of projects and initiatives that are under negotiation and implementation covering various sectors, including health, electricity, transportation, housing, community development, education and women empowerment with an emphasis on partnerships that support the private sector directly and through financing by domestic banks, the ministry said in a statement on Monday. The meeting also witnessed the participation of several multilateral and bilateral development partners, including the UN and its agencies, World Bank Group, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), JICA and several foreign courts including the UK, Spain, Canada, France, Germany, and the European Union. "Increased coordinated action is key to boosting confidence and providing stability to the global, regional and local economy. The Ministry of International Cooperation through pillars of economic diplomacy that were identified early on, aims to ensure that COVID-19 does not derail us from pushing forward with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda, Minister of International Cooperation Rania El-Mashat said. During the meeting, El-Mashat added that the Ministry of International Cooperation has been aiming to push the frontiers of collaboration through economic diplomacy. The launching in April aimed to strengthen partnerships to achieve value-centric results through the set-up of Multi-Stakeholder Platforms, activating the Global Partnerships Narrative and creating the framework for Official Development Assistance (ODA) mapping to the sustainable development goals. The three pillars of economy diplomacy actively involve a wide range of stakeholders to enhance a sense of ownership, developed knowledge, creating a linkage between different governance levels and, most significantly, improved policy formulation. The second element of economic diplomacy is to have a strong, consistent and consolidated narrative that helps document stories of development creating awareness, mobilising audiences and easing the narrative on the SDGs with the overall goal of not just engaging with development-minded people, but to also include members of the international community in the process, allowing them to contribute to and advocate Egypt's development story, said El-Mashat. With only a few percentage of people aware of the SDGs, effective communication on development stories is essential to produce future agents of change that can accelerate progress in development and impact more human lives. This is how we build back better, the minister said. "In its effort to promote effective development cooperation and ensure the optimal contribution of development cooperation projects to the UN SDFS, the Ministry of International Cooperation also conducted a comprehensive ODA mapping exercise of all current effective projects to identify their alignment with the SDGs, El-Mashat stated. El-Mashat also highlighted Egypts efforts, in collaboration with the international development partners, in green recovery and empowering communities in line with the UNs 17 SDGs. "We are very happy with the ministrys initiative to create a Multi-Stakeholder Platform which is helping increasing coordinated efforts and work among international institutions. This second meeting showed already an increased dialogue to set up the countrys priorities and is key for the development of various sectors based on the expertise of each institution, putting the impact on peoples lives at the heart of our efforts. This will help to avoid work duplication and to achieve quicker results and impact in developing the Egyptian economy, said Heike Harmgart, EBRDs managing director for the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. Search Keywords: Short link: Metallic alloys at nanometer scale (nanoalloys) have great potentials in electrocatalysis. The interaction among different components in nanoalloys may modify the electronic configurations of active metals and generate synergistic effects, boosting their performance in terms of activity, durability and selectivity in electrocatalytic reactions. Alloying with cheap transition metals is an effective way to reduce the dosage of relatively expensive metals, e.g. Pt and Pd. Usually, the nanoalloys composed of miscible metals could be synthesized and tailored by wet-chemistry methods. However, engineering of nanoalloys composed of various immiscible metals or dissimilar elements (referred to as high entropy nanoalloys) remains challenging due to vastly different chemical and physical properties. Recently, Prof. Mansoo Choi's group from Seoul National University (SNU) and Prof. Jun YANG's group from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences proposed an approach to synthesize unconventional nanoalloys for electrocatalytic applications. The study was published in Matter on August 17. Dr. FENG Jicheng from SNU and Associate Professor CHEN Dong from IPE serve as the co-first authors. They prepared 55 distinct nanoalloys with the mean particle size of ca. 5 nm, including miscible, immiscible and high entropy nanoalloys via a vapor-source technology, also called "sparking mashup". The proposed synthetic approach broke through the limitation of wet-chemistry methods for synthesizing immiscible and high entropy nanoalloys. The composition and size of the obtained nanoalloys were also controllable by varying the experimental conditions/parameters. In specific, benefiting from their tiny sizes, electronic interactions among different components and clean surfaces, the as-prepared Pt-/Pd-containing nanoalloys exhibited superior performances in electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol and ethanol. The next goal of the research focuses on the optimization of Pt-/Pd-containing nanoalloys to further enhance their performance in catalyzing electrochemical reactions in direct alcohol fuel cells. "Through this way, we expect that cost-effective, highly active and durable electrocatalysts could be created for a variety of renewable energy technologies and beyond," said Prof. YANG. ### A Dublin publican whose premises has been closed for over five months has labelled the scenes witnessed in Berlin Bar over the weekend as absolutely appalling. Ronan Lynch, who runs the Swan bar on Aungier Street, has voiced his anger at the blatant disregard for public safety at an event that happened in the Dame Lane restaurant on Saturday afternoon. Ive been a publican since I was 26, Im a third-generation publican but its been in the family since 1937. Read More The day I got my license, my dad turned around to me and said, From here on in, youve got to run this pub in a responsible manner; no messing. Ive been closed for five months now and seeing something like that, where theres a total disregard for the people on the premises, is hard to see. Thats not what the majority of publicans do. Ive never seeing anything like that in any of pub Ive ever been in. I just dont get it and in the current climate, its totally irresponsible. He said for those 3,500 publicans that have remained closed due to Covid regulations, the hedonistic scenes sent out entirely the wrong message especially given the hard work that has been done to try and reopen those businesses. The Dublin 2 venue in question is not a licensed premises but does hold a restaurant license. There are guys all over Ireland, running little country pubs in towns and villages that are still closed, theyre all doing the best that they can and this is absolutely disgraceful, he continued. To see this kind of carry-on when theyre all closed is unacceptable. To run your business in that manner is bananas. He said the nature of the event showed a cavalier disregard for what the Irish Government was trying to achieve during the crisis. That model in the current environment is just disgraceful, he continued. He said there was real frustration among publicans whose businesses have been forced to stay closed, with real fears now that the Government will not let them re-open at the end of the month as they make schools a priority. Mr Lynch, whos also Chairman of the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA), is running a #supportnotsympathy campaign with the Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) calling on the Government for meaningful subsidy packages as the bills need to be paid. Its just going to be really challenging, he said. Theres no tourists or office workers in town and things are only half open. He said they need to see more support for those in the industry, whose mortgage moratoriums will come to an end soon and are facing into a tough Winter. There was plenty of news across Georgia on Monday. If you missed any of it on your local Patch, here's a roundup of the top stories from the past 24 hours. Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United games played in September at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will not have fans, team officials said Monday. Several students tested positive for COVID-19 after Georgia College reopened this month. 2020 isn't a typical year. People all over Georgia have reported seeing things in the sky they just can't explain. Gov. Kemp's order allows local governments to issue mask mandates on public property if they "meet specific health-related metrics." Creekview High School in Canton is the third Cherokee County high school to have closed due to the coronavirus, the district said. A Decatur man is being charged with assault and battery on a police officer and being drunk in public. Contribute your own content to Patch by signing up for an account and clicking the "Post on Patch" button at the top right of the site. Also Worth A Look Today: Story continues Across America This article originally appeared on the Sandy Springs Patch It may not be the biblical end of times, but the searing heat and humidity, rain, thunder and lightning thrashing California could be the beginning of the end of the regions dry Mediterranean climate and a prelude of more surprises to come, scientists said Monday. The strange and, in many ways, unprecedented weather fits in with the pattern climate scientists have been predicting for 30 years if nothing were done to stop carbon emissions. Weve gotten to the point where, when it comes to extreme heat waves, there is almost always a human fingerprint on them now, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research, who issued a warning last week about the weird weather system barreling down on California. Every study weve done says that climate change is making heat waves worse and more frequent. Record or near-record temperatures combined with periodic thunder storms are expected to continue through Wednesday night, including in San Francisco and other coastal areas unaccustomed to tropical temperatures, let alone bolts of lightning. Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service across the region, throughout the state and over the entire southwestern United States. McArdle Hankin / San Francisco Chronicle Nothing this extreme has been recorded by meteorologists in the Bay Area in recent memory, but that doesnt mean events like this werent expected, said Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate and earth systems scientist at Stanford University. His research laboratory found that increasingly brutal spells of heat and drought as well as rain and snow are up to five times as likely to occur over large stretches of the planet in coming decades as global temperatures continue to climb. We found that global warming has increased the odds of record hot daily temperatures over more than 80% of the globe, including in California, Diffenbaugh said Monday. The southwestern U.S. is one of the areas where we find a strong influence of global warming on record daily hot temperatures. It is impossible to attribute any single weather event to global warming because there is no way of knowing whether it would have happened in the absence of climate change. Thats why researchers focus their studies on determining probabilities. Diffenbaughs research team has determined, for instance, that record-setting heat would be expected across 50% to 90% of North America if global warming were limited to an average of 3.6 degrees above preindustrial levels. Climate change has so far increased global temperatures about 1.8 degrees above preindustrial levels, he said, so it could take decades before such widespread heating occurs. Still, Diffenbaughs published studies suggest that the amount of global warming that has already occurred has more than doubled the probability of the hottest day of the year being exceeded in the western United States. Global warming has at least doubled the odds throughout the region and, in some areas, it has tripled the odds, he said. These kinds of heat waves are a feature of the climate that we are now living with as a result of the global warming that has already happened. Warmer overnight temperatures, like the balmy nights the Bay Area is now experiencing, were also predicted by climate scientists. Scientists have shown that warmer air means more evaporation and greater surface drying, as well as more moisture in the atmosphere and bigger storms. 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 blistering heat in the Bay Area is being held in place by a ridge of high pressure, but meteorologists say there are other influences. Humid air from the remnants of Hurricane Elida in the Pacific also moved over California, and moisture from Tropical Storm Fausto, a thousand miles south of San Francisco, has also pushed into the area. Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle All of that created a convection system that caused thunder and lightning storms the likes of which at least one Northern California meteorologist said he hasnt seen in more than four decades. Thunderstorms like the one that struck the Bay Area over the weekend are highly unusual for this time of year. Diffenbaugh said, however, that it is harder to blame the thunder and lightning on global warming. Still, he said, there is strong theoretical evidence of that for most of the U.S. as the average global temperature rises. It is particularly hard to predict how current or future global warming is likely to influence weather in the Bay Area because the ocean, mountains and topography create so many microclimates, Diffenbaugh said. But the current hot, humid weather may be giving us a glimpse. Heat waves like this one, according to all the evidence, are likely to be more common from now on. Once the event comes to completion, well be able to assess where it fits historically, he said. But its very clear that these are conditions that have been predicted as the globe heats up. Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite One of the lowest globally, India's Case Fatality Rate below 2% and sliding India PIB Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Recovery Rate maintains upwards journey, nearly 72% today COVID tests nearly 3 cr Posted On: 16 AUG 2020 12:40PM by PIB Delhi On a continuous positive path of slide in its COVID-19 Case Fatality Rate, India has one of the lowest mortality globally. It stands at 1.93%, as of today. This is a result of coordinated efforts of the Centre and State/UT governments which has led to a continuous decline in the Mortality Rate. USA crossed 50,000 deaths in 23 days, Brazil in 95 days and Mexico in 141 days. India took 156 days to reach this national figure. There has been sustained focus of the Union and the State/UT governments on improved and effective clinical treatment in hospitals, supervised home isolation, use of non-invasive oxygen support, and improved services of the ambulances for ferrying patients for prompt and timely treatment. Tireless efforts of ASHA workers have ensured effective surveillance and tracking progress of the patients in supervised home isolation. Clinical management skills of doctors treating COVID-19 patients have been upgraded by active technical guidance through tele-consultation sessions by domain knowledge experts from AIIMS, New Delhi. These measures have collectively ensured seamless and efficient patient management from home to hospital for critical and severe patients. This has ensured that India's Case Fatality Rate (CFR) is maintained below the global average. Successful implementation of TESTING aggressively, TRACKING comprehensively & TREATING efficiently through a plethora of measures have contributed to the existing high level of recoveries as well. India's Recovery Rate has reached nearly 72% ensuring more and more patients are recovering. 53,322 have recovered and been discharged in the past 24 hours.With this number, the total recovered COVID-19 patients have increased to more than 18.6 lakh (18,62,258). The steady rise in recoveries has ensured that the percentatge caseload of the country is reducing. The current active cases (6,77,444) compose the actual case load of the country. It is 26.16% of the total positive cases today, registering further drop in the last 24 hours. They are under active medical supervision. With efficient and aggressive testing India is rapidly moving towards completing 3 crore COVID tests; 2,93,09,703 samples tested so far. 7,46,608 tests were done in the last 24 hours. This has been made possible by a rapidly growing national network of diagnostic labs which comprises 969 labs in the government sector and 500 private labs, adding up to 1469. The different types of labs include: Real-Time RT PCR based testing labs: 754 (Govt: 450 + Private 304) TrueNat based testing labs: 598 (Govt: 485 + Private: 113) CBNAAT based testing labs: 117 (Govt: 34 + Private: 83) For all authentic & updated information on COVID-19 related technical issues, guidelines & advisories please regularly visit: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/ and @MoHFW_INDIA. Technical queries related to COVID-19 may be sent to technicalquery.covid19@gov.in and other queries on ncov2019@gov.in and @CovidIndiaSeva . In case of any queries on COVID-19, please call at the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare helpline no.: +91-11-23978046 or 1075 (Toll-free). List of helpline numbers of States/UTs on COVID-19 is also available at https://www.mohfw.gov.in/pdf/coronvavirushelplinenumber.pdf **** MV/SJ HFW/COVID Updates/16Aug2020/1 (Release ID: 1646259) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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He countered El-Rufai saying the leaders are responsible for the continued killings in Southern Kaduna. El-Rufai who appeared on Channels Television, said that his predecessors paid some leaders to stop such acts but hes administration on assumption of power stopped it. According to him, some of the Southern Kaduna leaders were aggrieved that he stopped the alleged payment. He was quoted as saying, Most of the people saying they have no means of livelihood were living off the government. The governments before us were paying them money every month, they called it peace money. We stopped it. This is why they say I am taking sides. Reacting, Apostle Suleman dared El-Rufai to mention the names of the leaders or keep quiet and fix the mess. He tweeted, Just heard the Kaduna governor say some elites in Kaduna want brown envelopes, thats why they are fanning the embers of war. If you are sure of your claims, mention their names so we drag them on this street. If not, keep quiet and fix the mess. Enough of the bloodshed. Five months ago, as the coronavirus pandemic surged across the nation, the urgency to build more critical care ventilators swelled to meet a shortage of the life-saving machines. So General Motors and Ventec Life Systems teamed up to produce ventilators. In just two weeks, the companies will deliver the full 30,000 ventilators they owe the U.S. government, helping to bring the U.S. stockpile closer to an inventory level that positions the nation to withstand any near-term pandemic spikes. "While there is not currently a shortfall of ventilators in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), the new ventilators procured during the COVID-19 response will ensure the United States is prepared to respond to any hotspots in the coming months as well as any future public health emergency response that might require these devices for lifesaving care," said Amber Dukes, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in an email to the Free Press. The Strategic National Stockpile has more than 95,100 ventilators available for deployment to hospitals across the United States as of Thursday. The stockpiled devices can be used as "a short-term, stop-gap buffer when the immediate supply is not sufficient," Dukes said. Walmart changes shopping hours: Retailer had cut them in March amid COVID-19 Taking a COVID-19 gap year?: Study says students could lose $90,000 over their lifetime Ventec Life Systems clinical team members show respiratory and clinical staff at Franciscan Health Olympia Fields Hospital how to operate VOCSN critical care ventilators Thursday, April 16, 2020, in Olympia Fields, Ill., just outside of Chicago. Franciscan received the first shipment of ventilators produced by General Motors and Ventec in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A million-dollar question But the unknown future demand for ventilators means Ventec executives will still need to run their production operations on a month-by-month basis at GM's facilities in Kokomo, Indiana, they say. At month's end, when GM and Ventec complete building the ventilators owed to the government as part of a $489 million contract, GM will return its focus to the car business. Ventec will then lease factory space from GM at the plant to keep making the ventilators. For how long is anybody's guess. "That is the million-dollar and $5 million question," said an executive at Ventec, who asked to not be identified because of the sensitivity of the subject. How many will we need?" Story continues As of Thursday, the stockpile had sent 14,957 ventilators to public health jurisdictions nationwide to help in the pandemic response, Dukes said. "At this time, the SNS has fulfilled all requests and has not experienced a shortage of ventilators to support public health and healthcare facilities treating COVID-19 patients," Dukes said. In early April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded contracts for ventilator production under the Defense Production Act to GM and Ventec, GE Healthcare and Ford Motor, and several other medical equipment companies. Ford and GE Healthcare were awarded a $336 million contract to make 50,000 ventilators. In total, these combined contracts will produce more than 200,000 ventilators to be delivered to the stockpile by the end of the year, Dukes said. As of Thursday, the stockpile had received 93,892 new ventilators from these contracts. The new ventilators are arriving weekly, she said, and they are made immediately available for deployment to jurisdictions that request federal assistance with supplies. 'Probably in good shape' GM and Ventec, based in Bothell, Washington, have been building the ventilators at GM's sprawling 272-acre complex in Kokomo, Indiana, since early April. Ventec is also building them at its own facility in Bothell. Workers prepare to build ventilators at the GM manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Indiana, where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce critical care ventilators amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The efficiency of the production with GM has allowed the companies to meet contract deadlines and help boost the country's stockpile. "In my opinion, were probably in good shape, that being said the demand continues to exist for ventilators as states and hospitals want to be triple sure theyre not caught in the state they were in earlier this year," the executive said. GM also builds electronic components for vehicles at the Kokomo facility. The ventilator production is done in a separate, large office building on the same campus that was converted for manufacturing, said GM spokesman Dan Flores. General Motors makes components at its facility in Kokomo, Indiana. But it will lease part of the facility to Ventec Life Systems to make critical care ventilators. GM and Ventec have made more than 20,000 ventilators. Week-by-week Flores declined to discuss any details of the lease agreement as Ventec continues building at Kokomo, including length and financial terms. "Ventec will determine how long theyll keep building ventilators," Flores said. "In the pandemic, there continues to be demand for ventilators. But Ventec said it doesn't know for certain how long it will maintain the lease on the building because it is so dependent on demand that could fluctuate. Work being done Sunday, March 29, 2020, at the General Motors manufacturing facility in Kokomo, Ind., where GM and Ventec Life Systems are partnering to produce Ventec VOCSN critical care ventilators in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "From our perspective we hope that social distancing and other mitigating efforts reduce the spread of the disease," said Chris Brooks, Ventec Chief Strategy Officer. "However, critical care ventilators continue to be needed to provide care for patients with COVID-19. So we will continue to produce those. Were evaluating it on a month-by-month basis. There are about 800 workers at the facility building the ventilators, 70 of whom are GM employees. The balance are GM temporary employees, Flores said. They are a mix of hourly and salaried workers, all of whom have been with the project from the beginning. The 70 full-time GM employees will return to their previous jobs or laid-off status with GM, Brooks said. The remaining will become either Ventec temporary employees, some will be hired permanently and some will work for a contract company, he said. "Positions are posted and conversations are ongoing now and itll be a mix of full-time and some temporary," Brooks said. "Its week-by-week decision making." The 72-hour plan GM and Ventec's venture together began with a March 17 phone call between GM CEO Mary Barra and representatives of StopTheSpread.Org, who suggested GM work with Ventec, GM said. GM and Ventec executives had their first conference call a day later to see whether GM could help Ventec increase ventilator production. The next day, a GM team flew to Seattle to meet with the Ventec team and went to work. By March 20, GM engaged its global supply base and within 72 hours, suppliers had plans to get all the necessary parts. The UAW's national and local leadership signed off on the project and by March 25, crews began preparing the Kokomo site for production. By April, GM and Ventec were awarded the contract to deliver the ventilators by the end of August. By mid-April, the team delivered the first ventilators, a shipment of 10 to Franciscan Health Olympia Fields in Olympia Fields, Illinois; 10 more to Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and 34 to FEMA at the Gary/Chicago International Airport on Saturday for FEMA to distribute to locations in need. Contact Jamie L. LaReau at 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: No shortfall in US supply of ventilators as GM, Ventec end contract - Senator Christopher Lang'at claimed police were waiting to arrest him outside his house - The senator said he had been informed earlier that he could be arrested by the Bomet county commissioner - Lang'at's colleagues came to his rescue asking the detectives to wait until daylight to arrest him There was drama at Nyayo Estate in Embakasi, Nairobi county, during early morning hours of Monday, August 17, when detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided Senator Christopher Langat's home. So serious was the altercation that the senator decided to remain indoors and refused to open the door to the detectives who stayed put outside the house from Sunday at around 11pm. READ ALSO: Mama mzee zaidi Marekani mwenye watoto 12 na vitukuu 200 atimu miaka 116 Detectives pitched camp outside Senator Christopher Langat's home in Nyayo estate. Photo: Citizen TV Source: UGC READ ALSO: COTU boss Francis Atwoli hosts Peter Kenneth, Gideon Moi for lunch date His colleagues, led by Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, also pitched camp outside his house while questioning the sleuths why they were intending to arrest him. In a viral video, Lang'at was seen addressing them through his house window saying he had been informed of plans by the detectives to arrest him in a bid to deter him from voting on the controversial revenue formula. "I am being threatened from every corner, I received a call from Bomet county commissioner that I should go there (Bomet) so that I be quarantined to avoid me appearing tomorrow in the Senate and when I refused he told me I will be arrested, so I was expecting these people," said Langat. READ ALSO: COVID-19 billions: Uproar following report Jack Ma's donations to Kenya were sold to Tanzania Senator Cleophas Malala also claimed police officers had camped outside his house seeking to arrest him. The officers claimed to have been sent by one of their superiors known as Pius Gitari to bring the senator in for questioning but Malala declined to oblige. Murkomen also alleged that Samburu Senator Ltumbesi Lelegewe had been arrested and was being taken to Samburu DCI headquarters for questioning. READ ALSO: Papa Shirandula's Wilbroda confesses she didn't like Awinja when they first met "Senator Lelegwe (Samburu county) has just been arrested he is being taken to Samburu for grilling. No Malala, Langat and Lelegwe, no Senate," said Murkomen in a Twitter post. The drama unfolded barely days after reports that some senators' accounts had been frozen by the State. Also, former State House digital director Dennis Itumbi also claimed there were some senators who received KSh 5 million each to vote in favour of the formula as proposed by the Commission of Revenue Allocation (CRA). Itumbi alleged the senators' accounts were frozen after they refused to refund the money. 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 One of the dumped diesel pods outside Keady in Co Armagh Laundered diesel pods have been illegally dumped near a popular border beauty spot, sparking anger from local residents. The containers were found on the Upper Darkley Road near Keady, with one left toppled. It is part of a growing trend of incidents in the South Armagh area within the last year. Condemning those behind it, Sinn Fein councillor Brona Haughey confirmed she had reported the dump to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. "It is just disappointing that this criminal activity is rearing its ugly head again," she said. "Compared to how the situation was 10 or 15 years ago, it had been great not to have this issue anymore. "I had been out attending constituency queries on Thursday when I came across them. "I have been elected for over a year at this point and it is the first time I've ever seen something like this in my constituency personally, but I know other colleagues have come across it." Fuel laundering involves the illegal removal of government marker dyes from red or green diesel. For years it has been big business for criminals in the border areas. Ms Haughey said those responsible were damaging the countryside. She added: "It is sad that these people are abusing our environment in this way. It is a very picturesque area, surrounded by a number of lakes. "Darkley Forest is nearby where a lot of families go walking and it is just disappointing that this illegal activity is affecting us so badly in this area. "I have no idea who is behind it and, given the location, whether it is coming from this side of the border or not." She added: "This ongoing criminal activity cannot continue. Ratepayers are paying the bill for this behaviour." Easyjet has announced it is cutting up to 670 jobs as it plans to close bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle - just hours after Jet2 axed 102 pilots in another 'kick in the teeth,' for the aviation industry. Hopes the summer holiday could kickstart the aviation industry after months of lockdown have been dealt repeated blows as Covid-19 cases in Europe saw popular destinations such as Spain and France added to Britain's quarantine list. Today's announcement from Easyjet comes three months after it said it would have to cut 4,500 jobs across Europe to cope with a smaller market in the wake of the pandemic. Johan Lundgren, chief executive of Easyjet, blamed 'the unprecedented impact of the pandemic and related travel restrictions' for the base closures and said in a statement that Britains quarantine measures were affecting demand. Up to 670 pilots and crew work at the three bases and many of those will lose their jobs, as part of plans outlined in May that could leave up to 1,900 people redundant in the UK. A Jet2 spokesperson told The Mirror: 'We are greatly distressed and deeply regret these redundancies that are entirely caused by the current situation.' Easyjet has put up to 670 jobs at risk as it plans to close its bases at Stansted, Southend and Newcastle Jet2 is set to make 102 pilots redundant after quarantine measures and lockdown dealt a heavy blow to the aviation industry The company is based at Leeds-Bradford airport, but redundancies could also impact workers based at BelfastInternational, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, LondonStansted, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham. Brian Strutton, BALPA General Secretary, said: 'This announcement is yet another which shows the desperate state of the British aviation sector. Despite enormous efforts to work with Jet2 to find ways of saving these jobs the airline is insisting on 102 redundancies. 'This will be a particular kick in the teeth as many of those who may lose their jobs have recently joined the airline after having been dismissed from Thomas Cook which went into administration last year. 'BALPA will be supporting our pilot members in Jet2 and every other airline where they are facing the threat of losing their jobs.' Last month Jet2 cut holidays short amid quarantine measures resuming for countries such as Spain. General secretary of pilots' union Balpa, Brian Strutton, said the announcement was a 'kick in the teeth,' for some pilots who had joined from Thomas Cook Flights back to the UK were cancelled and passengers were asked to return sooner than planned. Hungarian airline Wizz Air is offering cut-price 'rescue fares' for Jet2 customers whose flights to and from the Spanish islands have been cancelled amid low outbound demand following the change in the Government's policy. Ryanair followed a similar line today, cutting the frequency of flights to destinations such as France, Sweden and Spain after noticing a downturn in the number of bookings. Flights have been cut by a fifth throughout September and October, with passengers expected to be notified today. Ryanair will be stopping some of its flights to the likes of Spain, Sweden and France in September and October, after noticing a downturn in the number of bookings Mr Strutton called for greater support of the aviation industry, should quarantine measures continue. He said: 'The Government has a significant role to play in supporting the vital British aviation industry. 'Its quarantine changes keep throwing every restart plan into chaos. 'If these quarantines are really needed the Government must stump up the support to help the airline industry which is doing its best to get back on track but keeps being knocked back at every juncture.' Last week Heathrow's boss called on the government to scrap quarantine measures in place of testing on arrival. The West London airport's chief executive, John Holland-Kaye said: 'Tens of thousands of jobs are being lost because Britain remains cut off from critical markets such as the US, Canada and Singapore. 'The Government can save jobs by introducing testing to cut quarantine from higher-risk countries, while keeping the public safe from a second wave of Covid.' Just 867,000 people travelled through the west London airport last month, compared with 7.7million in July 2019. MBH Corporation Plc / Key word(s): Investment MBH CORPORATION PLC ACQUIRES ASHLEY DAVID TAXIS TO ESTABLISH NEW TRANSPORTATION VERTICAL Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR of the Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. MBH CORPORATION PLC ACQUIRES ASHLEY DAVID TAXIS TO ESTABLISH NEW TRANSPORTATION VERTICAL London, 17 August 2020 - MBH Corporation plc (MBH), a diversified investment holding company, has acquired 100 % of Driven by Riide Ltd (trading as Ashley David Taxis (ADT)), a taxi company based in the UK. For the 11 months ended April 30, 2020, the company generated audited revenues of GBP 3.9 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of GBP 0.8 million. With the acquisition of Driven by Riide, MBH is establishing a sixth business segment "transportation" in addition to education, construction services, engineering services, health and leisure. With this acquisition, MBH's pro forma revenues based on the results of the financial year ended 31 December 2019 will increase to GBP 85.4 million. Driven by Riide Ltd. was founded in 2002 and owns 150 vehicles and employs 600 drivers. The fleet is fully cloud-based and 70% of bookings are made through a customer app developed in-house. The total consideration for the acquisition is approximately GBP 3.4m of which the majority is settled by way of a listed bond in accordance with the MBH bond programme with the following terms: Contact: MBH Corporation plc, Charlotte Williams, charlotte@unity-group.com, +44 (0)770 396 3953 Information and Explanation of the Issuer to this News: About MBH MBH Corporation plc is a diversified investment holding company, listed on the Frankfurt and Dusseldorf Stock Exchanges. The company acquires small to medium enterprises across multiple geographies and sectors that are well established, profitable and looking to scale. By leveraging the Agglomeration strategy, MBH Corporation plc is able to create substantial shareholder value through the consistent and accretive acquisition of excellent companies. www.mbhcorporation.com About Driven by Riide Driven by Riide Group is predominantly a taxi service with over 600 drivers in the East Midlands area. The group was established in 2002. http://www.adt-taxis.co.uk/ Contacts for IR and media enquiries: MBH Corporation plc, Charlotte Williams, charlotte@unity-group.com, +44 (0)770 396 3953 Kirchhoff Consult AG, Anika Heske, anika.heske@kirchhoff.de, +49 (0)40 609186 39 17-Aug-2020 CET/CEST The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de Type address separated by commas Your Email: Recently, the UAE-Israel deal was partly helped by the peril that Iran poses to the region. One of the unforeseen outcomes of the deal is assigning the US and Israeli F-35s as SAM killers into mission profiles. US is seeking an extension of the Iran arms embargo to prevent the Islamic nation from acquiring new weapons to threaten others. This will raise the specter of Tehran's overall ambitions in the region to acquire Russian and Chinese arms one it ends on October 18. Another aspect of the situation is that Israel and the United Arab Emirates have signed an agreement that is influenced by Iran's threat to the region, according to Breaking Defense. Tehran will be using these weapons to amount offensives against American forces and their allies in the Middle East. The weapons can also be used to protect installations that are connected to nuclear weapons research. The U.S. and Israel are concerned about the repercussions that go with it. Arabian countries have a stake in these initiatives that will impact the peace and order situation there. Both the Department of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces are not taking these perils for granted. They are forming initiatives to prepare for all outcomes, especially if it concerns the Iranians. The joint exercise between America and Israel on August 2, as the second time Enduring Lightning, is an operation geared to orient pilots on specifics of how to do air to air battle and attacking ground targets. Used for this specific mission for training is the F-35 5th generation stealth capable aircraft. Also read: US Air Force Sends Spy Drones as Eyes Over South China Sea Enduring Lightning II involves the F-35Is of the Israeli Air Force 140th Squadron training with U.S. Air Force F-35As from the 421st Expeditionary Fighter Squadron. Coordinating all these planes is the Israeli Nachshon command and control as main support. An earlier iteration the Enduring Lightning I was improved on the second version that added some more actions to the former. The coordination of USAF and IAF operators familiarizing themselves with this training is also critical. When going after intended targets, communication and data on the connected battlefield is vital. The training involved two teams, the USAF and IAF Blue team and Red team. Both would be imitating the behavior of simulated surface to air bogeys. These teams will be learning to react to fighter attacks and how to nullify air defenses, similar to what Iran may throw when the time comes. USAF and IAF pilots will be facing these threats that will be dangerous without adequate training. An F-35 pilot needs to null air defenses and combat aircraft, before launching either a direct or standoff weapon without getting shot down. Iran is hardly without defense, such as the S-300 SAM. A newer model S-400 was not allowed for sale by the Soviets. Failure of the Iran arms embargo extension might see USAF and IAF F-35s facing off with these systems soon. Related article: U.S. Navy's Weapons: F-35 Lightning and Super Hornet Adds Tactical Layers to Win @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. There's no greater pleasure than diving into the pages of a good book, but what happens after the story ends? In the latest of an occasional series, we explore the story behind a classic book and discover more about its author plus find fabulous places to eat, drink and stay related to it. This week: The French Lieutenants Woman by John Fowles. New York has the Statue of Liberty; Paris the Eiffel Tower and Lyme Regis has Meryl Streep in a black cloak on a wind-whipped jetty staring wildly out to sea. It remains an iconic image after the 1981 five-time Oscar-nominated film The French Lieutenants Woman put this picturesque Dorset coastal town on the map. But John Fowles had captured the literary worlds imagination long before the book was turned into a Hollywood movie. Lyme Regis is the setting of the classic novel and Oscar-nominated movie The French Lieutenant's Woman. The poster scene was filmed on the Cobb, pictured, with Meryl Streep's character shot standing at the end, dressed in a black shawl The French Lieutenants Woman is set in Victorian Lyme Regis Born in suburban Essex in 1926, John Fowles was academically brilliant but also repelled by the pursuit of respectability: conflicting natures he would later explore in his novels which managed to be both daringly post-modern and brilliantly gripping. It was while teaching in Greece that he found the inspiration to write. His first novel, psychological thriller The Collector (1963), was followed by Greece-inspired The Magus (1965), both wildly successful. Heroine: Meryl Streep as Sarah in the feted movie He gave up teaching and moved to Underhill, a farmhouse overlooking Lyme Regis. Walking one day on Lymes imposing Cobb, a 13th Century stone breakwater, Fowles was struck by the sight of a woman who stood motionless, staring, staring out to sea. The French Lieutenants Woman was born. Set in Victorian Lyme Regis, the story follows unconventional Sarah Woodruff, shamed and abandoned by a French sea captain, but defiantly refusing to be cowed. In 1968, Fowles moved to the grand Georgian mansion Belmont, and completed The French Lieutenants Woman in his writing room overlooking the Cobb in 1969. It was lovingly restored in 2015, you can now stay here (landmarktrust.co.uk). Or book into the harbourside Rock Point Inn (rockpointinn.co.uk) perfect for the beach and exploring Lyme Regiss narrow streets. The Cobb in Lyme Regis curves around the harbour, which is always peppered with small yachts and fishing boats Order burgers and microbrews at beach-boho diner Swim (weswim.co.uk), or grab goodies to go at Town Mill Bakery (townmillbakery.co.uk) and fossick for fossils along the coast path. Take time to visit fossil-packed Lyme Regis Museum, where Fowles was curator from 1987 to 1988. It plans to reopen on September 8 (lymeregismuseum.co.uk). Theyre all worth a visit, but Lymes real star is the Cobb: curved protectively, like a muscular arm, around the harbour of pretty fishing boats. Even on a sunny day, it draws you to stand staring, staring out to sea. Roper Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: ROP), a diversified technology company, reached a definitive agreement to acquire Vertafore, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.35 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. 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. Vertafore provides a cloud-based software featuring agency management, compliance, workflow, and data solutions that simplify and automate the complex property and casualty (P&C) insurance lifecycle. More than 20,000 agencies and 1,000 insurance carriers use it to streamline their processes, improve efficiency, and drive productivity. Vertafore is expected to contribute approximately $590 million of revenue and $290 million of EBITDA in 2021. Led by Neil Hunn, President and CEO, Roper Technologies operates businesses that design and develop software (both license and software-as-a-service) and engineered products and solutions for a variety of niche end markets. FinSMEs 17/08/2020 One of the largest private equity firms in the world has hired a lobbyist with deep ties to President Donald Trump, with the intention of targeting the Department of Defense and State Department. Blackstone, a massive investment firm that has more than $500 billion in assets under management, brought on David Urban earlier this year to join its ranks of outside lobbyists, according to a disclosure report. Urban is president of the American Continental Group, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firm. He is also a member of Trump's reelection advisory committee and was a key architect of the president's successful campaign in Pennsylvania during the 2016 run. Since Urban registered to lobby for Blackstone's administrative services arm in February, the firm has paid at least $120,000 for the Trump ally to engage with the Department of Defense and State Department on what the disclosures call "issues related to military preparedness and training." Blackstone's CEO is Steve Schwarzman, who recently gave $3 million to the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action, and has been a close confidant of the president's since his inauguration. After repeated requests for comment, neither Blackstone nor Urban would say what they're hoping to see from either the Pentagon or the State Department. The company doesn't have any publicly listed government contracts, and its known investments don't appear to have direct links to the defense industry. Blackstone does have a "veterans network," according to its website. The network launched in 2019. "It gives transitioning military personnel the support and guidance needed to enter the financial services industry," Blackstone's website said. "Once our veterans are at Blackstone, the network provides an extended community to not only act as a support system, but to better educate our employees." Blackstone lobbyists contacted the Pentagon and State Department in 2014, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. However, since then there is no sign that Blackstone representatives have engaged with them and there are no lobbying reports showing that the private equity giant has, in fact, ever spoken with officials from those agencies through lobbyists until Urban was hired. Urban is the latest Trump-linked lobbyist hired by Blackstone. The firm has also tapped Jeff Miller, a lobbyist that's bundled more than $2.7 million for Trump Victory, a joint fundraising operation between the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee. Miller's firm was paid $90,000 by the same Blackstone office as Urban in the first quarter and an additional $140,000 the following three months. Miller's team mainly focused on coronavirus relief legislation at the time. Blackstone has previously told CNBC the firm was not lobbying Congress on any of the Covid-19 loan programs and was instead using lobbyists as a way to mainly monitor the coronavirus legislation. The payments to Miller and Urban are only pieces of Blackstone's larger lobbying expenditures. In the first half of 2020, the firm paid lobbyists $2.7 million, according to data gathered by CRP. That's the most paid in the first half of a year for lobbying by Blackstone since 2012. Beyond Urban's direct ties to Trump himself, he has extensive experience lobbying both the DOD and State Department. American Continental Group has made close to $8.4 million from Urban clients including TikTok parent ByteDance, Lockheed Martin, Oracle, Raytheon, Roche and Zoom Video Communications. Kolkata, Aug 17 : West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress legislator Samaresh Das, who had tested positive for COVID-19, died at a hospital in West Bengal's East Midnapore district on Monday. Das was a three-time MLA from Egra Assembly constituency in the district. He was admitted to the hospital a few days back after he had tested positive for coronavirus on July 18 and developed multiple complications of heart and kidney and died this morning. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed condolences, saying: "I am deeply saddened at the demise of Samaresh Das who was an MLA from the Egra Assembly constituency in East Midnapore. His untimely death will create a great vacuum in the field of politics". Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST Bazaar Corporate Radar Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar. It is a strong signal from a senior Belarusian diplomat, the Slovak foreign affairs minister commented. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Belarusian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Alexandrovich Leshchenya has expressed solidarity with protesters in his homeland, which is currently witnessing mass protests following the recent presidential election. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement In a video published on YouTube on August 15, he said he was shocked by the torture and beating of his compatriots. video //www.youtube.com/embed/gJ9UzxH8__Y Leshchenya, who took the ambassador post in Slovakia in 2016, served as the assistant for foreign affairs of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko between 2002 and 2006, the SITA newswire reported. A strong signal Slovakias Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok (SaS nominee) called the statement fundamental. His words confirm our evaluation of the current situation in Belarus, which is so serious that the representative of Belarusian diplomacy has also been openly critical of it, Korcok wrote on Facebook. Its a strong signal from a senior Belarusian diplomat who has expressed support to his compatriots with his brave and clear attitude. Leshchenya has shown extraordinary bravery as he has been the very first Belarusian diplomat to express solidarity with the protestors, said Pavol Demes, a leading foreign policy expert who also served as the minister for international relations in the early 1990s. Slovakia active too Meanwhile, people in Slovakia have organised several events to point to the current situation in Belarus and support demonstrators in their fight for freedom and democracy. Starting on August 10, the silent protests for Belarus have been organised every day at 18:00 in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Slovakia. The organisers are ready to continue until the dialogue between the current ruling powers and the opposition starts, SITA wrote. They have also sent an open letter to Korcok, signed by 121 people, in which they express support for the current actions of the ministry and specified questions they consider important in this matter. Activists also organised a discussion in Bratislava about the current situation in Belarus, SITA wrote. Meanwhile, a protest was held on August 15 at SNP Square in the Slovak capital. The representatives of Bratislavas Old Town borough raised a flag of Belarus at the local authority building to express support to demonstrators, too. The logos of Facebook and Google apps displayed on a tablet. Denis Charlet | AFP via Getty Images Australia's consumer watchdog on Monday slammed a letter from Google that claimed a proposed media law will hurt local users, and said the letter contained "misinformation." In an open letter to Australians, the managing director and vice president of Google Australia and New Zealand, Melanie Silva, said the proposed new law would force the tech giant to provide users with "a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube." She also said it "could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia." Rod Sims, chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), said Google's letter contained "misinformation" about the draft media law. "Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so," Sims said. He added that the tech company will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chose to. "The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists' work that is included on Google services. This will address a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook," Sims said. Google responds Australia introduced a draft bill last month called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code that would require tech companies like Google and Facebook to pay media outlets for news. The legislation also states that the companies would have to inform media organizations in advance if there are any changes made to algorithms that would significantly affect news rankings on their platforms. The draft bill is in consultation period until Aug. 28. Sims said that the ACCC will continue to consult on the draft code with interested parties, including Google. Responding to the ACCC's comments, a Google spokesperson said that the company did not say the proposed law would require it to charge Australians for services like Search and YouTube, adding that it does not intend to charge users for its free services. "What we did say is that Search and YouTube, both of which are free services, are at risk in Australia. That's because the Code as it is drafted is unworkable," the spokesperson said. "For example, the Code requires us to give all news media businesses advance notice of algorithm changes and explain how they can minimise the effects. Even assuming Google could comply with this provision, it would seriously damage our products and user experience. It would impact our ability to continue to show users the most relevant useful results on Google Search and YouTube," the spokesperson added in an emailed statement. The company added in its statement that the code requires it to tell news media businesses what user data it collected, what data is supplied to them and how they can access the information that is not supplied to them. "This goes beyond the current level of data sharing between Google and news publishers," Google said. A new weighbridge for cargo trucks has been inaugurated at Tema Community One in the Greater Accra Region. The weighbridge will check and ensure that cargo trucks do not exceed their load limits. The facility cost GH10-million and comes with offices and truck parking spaces and was constructed by Quality and Quantity (Q and Q) Services, a subsidiary of Kingdom Exim Ghana Limited (KEGL), in collaboration with the Tema Metropolitan Assembly. The weighbridge uses an electronic or digital monitor to determine the weight of goods being conveyed by a vehicle. Roads Beta Malt - Accra Breweries Speaking at the ceremony to inaugurate the facility last Saturday, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Samuel Atta Akyea, said the facility would checkmate excessive overloading of vehicles plying the roads from the port of Tema to the hinterlands and the Sahelian countries in West Africa whose goods transit at the Tema Port. Mr Atta Akyea, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akim Abuakwa South, explained that weighbridges were necessary in order to maintain the lifespan of roads which were often damaged by articulated vehicles that carried overload of goods. He commended the investors for their expenditure and expressed the hope that the facility would ensure that the measure of weights was reliable and accurate and would provide the exact figures to transporters to enhance their operations. He again lauded the investors for contributing to job creation and also supporting the community with humanitarian and social interventions by way of donations of personal protective equipment and food items during the COVID-19 lockdown. Kinapharma Safeway A Deputy Minister of Transport and MP for Tema East, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, said the project had come at the right time as the ministry was putting in efforts to make the countrys roads safer as well as make sure that drivers operated in a conducive environment where lives and properties were protected. Support The Director of Tema Port, Ms Sandra Opoku, commended the investors for establishing the facility and supporting the port community. She said the weighbridge had come to support the logistics base of the Tema Port which handled over 17 million tonnes of cargo last year and to aid trade facilitation into the hinterland. This weighbridge will complement what we already have in the port, in addition to that of the Ghana Highway Authority, she said. Safety The Chief Executive Officer of Meridian Port Services (MPS), Mr Mohamed Samara, welcomed the move and stressed that cargo heading to and out of the port ought to carry the requisite weight to ensure that the various roads that carried cargo trucks were in good condition. The Metropolitan Chief Executive for Tema, Mr Felix Mensah Nii Annang-La, said the project was a demonstration of the assemblys commitment to work with the private sector and creating an enabling environment for global businesses to thrive in the metropolis. Rev. Edwin Langmer, who spoke on behalf of the CEO OF KEGL, Mr James Rajamani, said the company undertook the investment because it was committed to bringing roads in the country to life. He added that since outbound cargo to the sahel region of West Africa were transported via trucks, it was necessary to ensure that the weights they carried were the right weights in order to protect the roads. 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 Keeping Up with the Kardashians is set to return this September, and judging by the latest teaser trailer, reality TV's first family are serving up more drama than ever. Khloe Kardashian kicks things off by telling viewers they're back in action, before she is seen holding a tense conversation with her on/off boyfriend Tristan Thompson, with whom she shares two-year-old daughter True. It appears as though Khloe, 36, and Tristan, 29, - who are now rumored to be back on and looking to buy a house together - are discussing what went wrong in their relationship, which first broke down after he allegedly cheated on her. Drama: Khloe Kardashian kicks off the latest Keeping Up with the Kardashians trailer by saying 'it's been a minute' since we last saw them, before holding tense talks with Tristan Thompson 'Why couldn't you be that when we were together?' Khloe asks him, as Tristan nods in agreement, while they appear to be outside at her home holding reunion talks. It then transpires that Khloe had a coronavirus scare as she is seen getting tested for COVID-19, before we see footage of her coughing in her bedroom. Kim Kardashian West, 39, expresses her concern on a family call to Kourtney, 41, saying that Khloe has been 'so sick.' Summit: Khloe, 36, is seen hashing out her relationship issues with Tristan, 29, at her home in LA Good listener: Tristan appears to be interested in giving the relationship a second chance in the clip Scare: But Khloe also gives sister Kim, 39, a worry over her health in the dramatic new scenes 'Everybody in the world is talking about coronavirus,' Scott Disick says as we see Khloe get a swab test by a doctor. The drama really starts to escalate when the cameras show footage of Kim's trip to Paris, France, just as lockdown started to get enforced earlier this year. 'We have to get out,' Kim says in a confessional, after dramatic scenes show her making a dash for the airport and is heard saying 'we have to leave Kourtney!' Cause for concern: Kim is worried that Khloe may have COVID-19 and details her own panic when she thought she was stuck in Paris amid lockdown Scare: Khloe is seen coughing in her bed fearing she may have caught the virus Worry: Kim chats with sister Kourtney Kardashian on FaceTime about Khloe's helth Check up: Khloe is then seen getting a COVID-19 test by a medical professional Kim and Kourtney had been seen at Paris Fashion Week in March as quarantining began, meaning the family were eager to jet back to the US with their children in tow. Elsewhere in the trip, Scott, 37, also discusses his recent issues, presumably referring to his stint in rehab and the breakdown of his relationship with Sofia Richie, 19. 'There couldn't have been a bigger betrayal,' Scott is heard saying, as he holds a family summit on a Zoom call. In the thick of it: Kim and Kourtney had been seen at Paris Fashion Week in March as quarantining began 'We have to leave Kourtney!' Kim makes a dash for it in Paris as the world goes into lockdown Left behind: It's not clear how Kourtney makes it home or whether or not she was ditched by her sister Kim as panic set in Tense: Scott, 37, talks about his rehab stint in the clip Family summit: Rob Kardashian can be seen joining in on the action this season Interestingly, Rob Kardashian can be seen on the Zoom call, proving that the reclusive family member is now well and truly back on the show. The 33-year-old sock designer recently posted a selfie to Instagram saying 'we back' and it appears that he is planning to be a more active member of the family when it comes to appearing on their show. The show returns Thursday, Sep. 17 at 8 p.m. on E! Keeping Up With The Kardashians returns to the UK & Ireland on hayu on September 18. What will Kourtney say? We don't hear much from this Kardashian in the clip, as her ex Scott talks about his issues Family talks: Scott and Khloe discuss personal matters in the kitchen together Gold & Silver Detailed Trend Forecast 2020 and 2021 This research article may get a bit technical, so please excuse us in advance if we ramble on about Measured Moves, Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs, and other technical jargon. Our goal is to share with you our expectations for Gold and Silver near the end of 2020 and out into early 2021. ARCS, MEASURES & THE US DOLLAR Our first observation to share with you today is the potential for the Measured Price Moves in Gold and Silver to continue. Weve seen near-perfect price advances over the past 8+ months relating to these Measured Moves. In Gold, the Measured Move equates to about $263.20. In Silver, the measured move equated to about $5.40. Recently, both Gold and Silver rallied beyond the projected Measured Move level, for Gold the level was $1,945 and for Silver the level was $27.50. The extreme breakout in Gold and Silver pushed prices well above these levels and into extreme overbought levels. This big move in metals was propelled by the decline in the US Dollar as well. When the US Dollar declines, metals tend to move higher. Additionally, we believe the decline in the US Dollar was partially related to the uncertainty related to geopolitical events and US policy events over the past few weeks. The US government leads the world, in a lot of way, in terms of Congress and Fed policies and capital controls. Uncertainty related to future expectations could cause the US Dollar and metals to move dramatically. We also want to highlight the Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs on the following Gold and Silver charts (the Arcs and Circles). Our research team believes the current price moves indicate that these upside Measured Moves in Gold and Silver are targeting the Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc target levels related to price range expansion. The Gold chart, below, shows how the price of Gold has move to and through each successive Fibonacci Price Amplitude level recently clearing the 2.0x Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc. It is our belief that Gold will initiate another upside measured move, quite likely in correlation with a weaker US Dollar, that will target the $2,160 level next. After that level is reached, a brief pause in price will happen before another upside measured move will target the $2,400 level. This upside move is likely to happen before the end of January 2021. Silver has also moved in a series of Measured Price Moves that correlate with Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arcs. The current Measured Move level, near $27.50, was reached on August 6, 2020. In fact, Silver rallied to a peak level of $29.91 the next day before peaking, rotating downward (retracing), and moving lower to close at $27.54 (almost exactly at our Measured Move Level). Before you continue, be sure to opt-in to our free-market trend signalsnow so you dont miss our next special report! When we add the Fibonacci Price Amplitude Arc analysis to these Measured Move structures for Silver, we quickly come to the conclusion that support near $27.50 should prompt another upside Measure Move targeting the $32.50 level. Beyond that, we can clearly see targets near $37.50 and $42.50. We do believe brief periods of congestion will take place throughout these upside Measured Moves so pay attention to how price reacts near these targeted levels. Additionally, pay attention to any future price weakness in the US Dollar as that will relate to the speed and volatility of the upside price moves in Gold and Silver. GOLD-TO-SILVER RATIO PREDICTIONS Our researchers posted the chart below many months ago related to the peak in the Gold-to-Silver ratio near March 19, 2020. At that time, we suggested that a similar type of downside Pennant/Flag formation would setup, prompting a big breakdown in the extremely high Gold-to-Silver price ration. The Gold-to-Silver ratio has recently moved from peak levels, near 125, to 73.1. This downward ratio collapse is the result of the incredible upside price move in Silver recently. Historically, this Gold-to-Silver price ratio should target levels near 55 (or lower) as Silver rallies to comparable price levels to Gold. In 2010~2011, the Gold-to-Silver ratio fell to levels near 31. This happened when Gold rallied to near $2,000 and Silver rallied to near $50. Currently, Gold is trading just below the $2,000 level and Silver is trading near $27.50. This suggests that Silver still has another $24+ of rally waiting to explode higher if the fear and uncertainty expectations are similar to 2010~2011. Should Gold rally to $2,400 or higher, there is a very strong possibility that Silver could rally above $60 per ounce while Gold continues to move to near all-time highs. In short, we believe this move higher in metals will likely continue as we head into the US Presidential Election and post-election transition. From a traders perspective, the upside price trend, and the bigger downside price move setting up in November 2020 Presidential election cycle, presents very real opportunity for huge gains if you know how to time these moves and prepare for the risks. Right now, this market and the profits therein are fantastic opportunities for skilled technical traders. As we suggested throughout 2018 and 2019, 2020 and 2021 are going to be incredible opportunities for skilled technical traders. This is just getting started, folks. Pay attention and avoid unnecessary risks. Isnt it time you learned how I and my research team can help you find and execute better trades? Our incredible technical analysis tools have just shown you what to expect 6+ months into the future. Do you want to learn how to profit from these huge moves? Sign up for my Active ETF Swing Trade Signals today! If you have a buy-and-hold account and are looking for long-term technical signals for when to buy and sell equities, bonds, or cash, be sure to subscribe to my Passive Long-Term ETF Investing Signals. Stay healthy and rest easy at night by staying informed through our services sign up today! 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. Huthi rebels and the United Nations have once again reached an impasse over a decaying oil tanker off the coast of Yemen. According to reports, the United Nations is concerned that the 45-year old tanker could cause a major oil spill or/and explosion that could have devastating environmental and humanitarian consequences. Read: UN Envoy In Riyadh To Meet Yemen Govt Ministers Abandoned tanker poses significant risk According to reports, the oil tanker has been lying abandoned near Hudaydah port since 2015 and in 2019 sprang a leak. The oil tanker was originally abandoned after its engine room was flooded with seawater thereby causing concerns that water may destabilise the vessel. The oil tanker contains 1.1 million barrels of crude oil on board. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is worried that any leak in the ship, causing potential oil slick in the Red Sea, will be devastating for the marine ecosystem which sustains 30 million people, as reported. UN officials are also added that an oil spill from the tanker will force Hudaydah port to close down for months. Yemen is already facing a severe economic crisis and cannot afford to exasperate the situation. As per reports, Huthis rebels that control much of northern Yemen have been reluctant to give UN inspectors access to the stranded oil tanker and only recently permitted them to go to the tankers. However, UN officials have stated that the necessary documentation and permits needed from the rebels have not arrived. Read: UN Chief 'deeply Concerned' Over Environmental Threat Posed By Stricken Oil Tanker Off Yemen Coast A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on August 14 stated that following the tragic accidents in Beirut and the major oil spill in Mauritius, it was of utmost importance that the UN take urgent action in order to prevent possible loss of life and livelihoods. According to reports, the rebels that aim to take control of the tankers $40 million cargo have accused the United Nations of bias towards Yemens internationally recognised government and wishes for a third and neutral country like Sweden and Germany to supervise all procedures related to the tanker. (With agency inputs) Read: UNESCO-listed Old Sanaa Houses Collapse In Heavy Rainfall In Yemen Read: Yemen Houthi Rebels Claim Fighters Shot Down A US-made Drone San Francisco, California--(Newsfile Corp. - August 16, 2020) - Hagens Berman urges Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK) investors with losses in excess of $250,000 to submit your losses now. A securities fraud class action has been filed and certain investors may have valuable claims. Class Period: July 27, 2020 - Aug. 7, 2020 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Oct. 13, 2020 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/KODK Contact An Attorney Now: KODK@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895 Eastman Kodak Company (KODK) Securities Class Action: The complaint alleges that Defendants perpetrated a scheme to profit from the use of material non-public information by misrepresenting and concealing material facts regarding a purported deal Kodak reached with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). Specifically, on July 27, 2020, Defendants caused Kodak to issue a statement to media outlets based in Rochester, New York, where Kodak is headquartered, on the imminent public announcement of a "new manufacturing initiative" involving the DFC and the response to COVID-19. Following media publication of Kodak's initial statement on the deal, the Company claimed this information was released inadvertently. That same day, Kodak granted several insiders options to purchase approximately 1.885 million shares of the Company's common shares, including Executive Chairman and CEO Jim Continenza, who received options to purchase 1.75 million shares, and CFO David E. Bullwinkle, who received options to purchase 45,000 shares. On July 28, 2020, the price of Kodak's shares jumped 200% following news that the Company had won a $765 million government loan from the DFC to produce pharmaceutical materials, including ingredients for COVID-19 drugs. Shares continued to surge by over 300% the next day. This massive stock price increase allowed Kodak insiders to enrich themselves from the compensation scheme. In days following the deal announcement, media outlets uncovered Defendants' compensation scheme. As a result of these revelations, the SEC is reportedly investigating, the DFC paused the deal, and Kodak's share price has declined sharply thereby damaging Class Period investors. Story continues "We're focused on investors' losses and holding Kodak and its insiders accountable for their fraudulent compensation scheme," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation. If you are a Kodak investor who lost over $250,000 on Class Period investments, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman. Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Kodak should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email KODK@hbsslaw.com. # # # About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a national law firm with nine offices in eight cities around the country and eighty attorneys. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61887 Lovecraft Country Sundown Season 1 Episode 1 Editors Rating 5 stars * * * * * Previous Next Photo: Elizabeth Morris/HBO Atticus Tic Freeman screaming shoot the mothafucka! about the racist sheriff-turned-vampiric-Lovecraftian-being feels like a gift. The episode has moved into full-blown, gory horror by this point, but the comedic timing is impeccable. When the deputy hesitates, and Atticus insists further, ILL DO IT, motioning to be thrown the gun, I actually found myself laughing. What strikes me about Lovecraft Countrys premiere, Sundown, is how full of adventure it promises this series might be. Despite being a story intent on grappling with the real horror of Americas past and present (and distorting and reaffirming that horror through genre-play), there are times in this first episode when things are fun. Its satisfying to watch our characters outsmart their opponents, multiple times. Its exciting, albeit nerve-wracking, to watch Letitia give us final girl genius as she uses her skills and surroundings her trusty camera bulb buying her time to get her friends out of trouble and save the day. Showrunner Misha Green and team have imbued the horrific world the characters exist in with moments of thrill and even pleasure. Part of the fun, of course, is that we get to see Black people be the heroes in their horror story. And Sundown does feel like a compact horror movie: full of mystery, character development, comedic relief, and that glorious ending our survivors, triumphantly arriving to their destination as the sun rises, scarred yet resilient, all covered in blood. The block party is also some lighthearted fun before the other shoe drops. Its 1955, in the South Side of Chicago. The air is celebratory and full of color. The community is finding refuge in each other amid the heat, despite the world around them not caring about their humanity. One of the most interesting moments of the episode happens early on in this celebration. We see veteran Atticus (Jonathan Majors) watch on as a white cop stops children from playing in a busted fire hydrant, and immediately after, as he continues walking, exchanging a disapproving glance with a military officer promising opportunity to see the world to the kids gathered around him. This positioning puts the two systems that are most prominent in Atticuss life in tandem American lawmaking and policing in hand with American war imperialism both full of violence in the name of white, American supremacy. At nightfall, Atticus busts the hydrant back open. Its a fuck you to those cops and the scout he watched promise Black boys adventure. The episode is full of fuck yous, actually: the flipping off of old Jim Crow on Atticuss segregated bus ride to the city, the moment in the episodes cabin-set climax when Tic gets to yell fuck you to the sheriff (before he turns nonhuman) and live to tell the tale, and, more subtly, the Black women insisting on their ability and competency in a society that doesnt see them as having such. I love these small moments of indulgence in the face of the world around them. The party, too, is our introduction to Letitia (Jurnee Smollett), who arrives just in time to give us the musical stylings of D.C.s Black Canary she and her musician sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku). This will be the last stress-free sundown our characters experience in the episode, but it reminds us of the wonder thats imbued in the series. Its all a middle finger to the genre storytelling before it that has pushed Black people aside. Of course, not everything is joyous and without baggage. Letitia is broke and her wherever-the-wind-blows antics have worn thin for Ruby, who, on top of other frustrations that have mounted over their lives, cant believe that Letitia missed their own mothers funeral. Ruby is steadfast: She offers Letitia two nights of help, then suggests she finds help elsewhere with her brother Marvin. Tics uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) appears to be a loving father and husband our first introduction to him is a cozy lovemaking scene with Hippolyta (Aunjanue Ellis), the episode lingering in its pleasure where most other shows would cut away. But Hippolyta would like to take on more responsibility with their guidebook, The Safe Negro Travel Guide, and asks if she can go in his place on the next outing. Its clear that both Hippolyta and their daughter Diana (Jada Harris) could be doing more if sexism and gender norms werent in the way. And while Georges love for his family seems full and sincere, he still carries around a photo of what seems to be a previous lover. Atticus has made the trek back to Chicago because his father has gone missing, sending a mysterious letter describing Atticus and his mothers secret legacy, centering on a place called Ardham. For these reasons, our traveling trio is formed: Atticus to search for his father, George to assist and help fill out his guide, and Letitia to catch a ride halfway to take refuge with her brother, Marvin, if hell let her (he doesnt). The story clips along at an almost unforgiving speed blink and you might miss a small detail that gives us some backstory on whats transpired in the characters lives up to this point. The show seems less invested in making sure we understand each intricacy, and more intentionally invested in the emotional plight our main characters are thrust into by the world around them. The episode gives us not one but two big chase plotlines with different white characters bent on killing our protagonists. In the first, the three are chased out of a diner that was once a safe pit stop in the guide. The chase ends when a silver car approaches on a merging road and Letitia, smartly, puts the car between them and the townsmen who crash into it or its forcefield sending the men flying. A mysterious, blonde woman steps out to peer at Atticus after, looking menacing despite having just helped save them. But the episodes big bad is the sheriff of Devon County, Eustace Hump. The problem is that the route to Ardham isnt on a map its a region shrouded in mystery, and the trio will want to avoid this sheriff en route (they cant). Look at what this episode juxtaposes in the same shot: Atticus jokes that a noise in the woods might be a shoggoth or a massive bubble blob with hundreds of eyes, while we see the sheriff car pulling up closer and closer behind them, as if to say, who cares about the monsters in the woods, the real monster is here. If the information that Marvin found wasnt enough to show how evil this man is, his dialogue is. He forces Tic to repeat after him something I dont even want to type and follows them, urging that if they dont make it out of the county limits by sundown, he will kill them. For a minute I was sure their car would die. The sequence is full of dread. Somehow, theres still more terror in store for these folks. The chase isnt really over. The sheriff and his deputies are now collectively trying to pin local burglaries on the trio the rules established before never really mattered, its all nonsense to get to the same, racist end. Thankfully, as if Atticuss imagination summoned them, creatures that look awfully like shoggoths appear. Most of the deputies are killed (brutally!), the sheriff is bitten, and those still living take refuge in a cabin. George figures out that the beasts are afraid of light, and that the sheriff seems to be turning into one of them. They cant catch a break! Thankfully, Letitia goes and gets the car and saves the day, but the sheriff-shoggoth escapes. Outside, they are surrounded by more bubble blobs (were these all once humans?) and use flares to keep them at bay. I fully believed theyd be able to fight them all off, but a mysterious whistle sends the creatures scrambling and they dont have to. Its all excess, but in a good way. By the end of just the first episode, our characters have survived so much, in a stunning, plot-packed addition to the horror canon. And like a true horror film, we end on a cliffhanger. It isnt Atticuss father who greets the characters at the door of the giant mansion in Ardham, but rather a blond white man who strangely says, Weve been expecting you Mr. Freeman Welcome home. Will they survive whatever comes in the sequel? Leftover Country MY NAMES NOT GIRL, ITS LETITIA FUCKIN LEWIS! The narration in the opening dream sequence is from the 1950 film The Jackie Robinson Story. The voiceover during the Midwest travel montage is James Baldwin speaking during his debate with William F. Buckley Junior in 1965. The characters seem to be listening to it when they stop for a break, despite the speech being a decade out of time. Im interested in how the show will think about color and colorism (which is bias and discrimination against people with darker skin tones). Casting Jurnee Smollet as the female lead makes it so that the show must engage with this, and Im hoping they do so responsibly. It feels like the conversation is already there bubbling just under the surface in her discussion with Ruby. I know Jamie Chung when I see her (Ive enjoyed her since she started on The Real World: San Diego in 2004)! Shes the Martian gloriously descending from the spaceship in the opening dream sequence. I suspect she also might be the voice from Tics ominous call to South Korea. The way Atticus slides the tile with his foot to confirm the diner-formerly-known-as-Lydias has been burned down because it served Black people is paced so satisfyingly. The reveal is quick and the action is kinetic. The choreographies of the car chase scenes (and the characters actions within the car) across the episode are also thrilling theres lots of adrenaline and lots of dread! The car is even a character of sorts the characters call it Woody. Fuck, Eustace Hump! (Which sounds like never mind). Diana is basing her new comic The Interplanetary Adventures of Orithyia Blue off her dads adventures. Its very sweet and I need the comic ASAP. The show goes out of its way to let us know shes talented for her age. Gaywatch: Atticus walks in on the bar owner hooking up with a man in the back alley. Im glad he doesnt react negatively. Fingers crossed for some queer representation as the show progresses. VULTURE NEWSLETTER Keep up with all the drama of your favorite shows! Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. Protesters in Pittsburgh are demanding answers from the city's mayor after an activist was abducted by plainclothes officers into an unmarked van on Saturday. A video captured the moments after the protester, Matthew Cartier, 25, was pulled into an unmarked van by the city's police. Mr Cartier was helping to lead the protest at the time of his arrest. The next day, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto held a press conference during which a city police incident commander explained the department's rationale for abducting the protester. "Watching these tactics, [Mr Cartier's] refusal to cooperate and the information that we were given ... we decided to effect a low visibility arrest of the individual because when high visibility stuff takes places with these marches, it tends to attract a crowd and incite them further," the police commander said. "So we decided low visibility was the best way to do it and it also gave us the ability if he suddenly started cooperating to call the arrest off." Ryan Deto, a reporter for the Pittsburgh City Paper, obtained the criminal complaint against Mr Cartier, which police used to justify their arrest. "According to the criminal complaint, Pittsburgh Police's rational for rolling up & arresting Matthew in an unmarked van, was that he 'startled drivers' because he was marshaling the protest," Mr Deto wrote on Twitter. Mr Cartier was marching with the youth activist organisation Black, Young, and Educated, which has led 11 demonstrations in the city in recent weeks. He said the police lured him towards the van by pretending to be lost and in need of directions. "The Pittsburgh Police approached the bike perimeter in an unmarked van and lured me closer by pretending to need directions around the march," he wrote on Twitter. "@billpeduto answer for this you rat." Mr Peduto said the video of the arrest made him "uncomfortable," according to CBS affiliate KDKA 2 Pittsburgh. "When we look at pop-out as a tactic, especially with officers who are in plain clothes, we have to examine when that is appropriate," Mr Peduto said. "We have to have an understanding if that is a tactic that should be utilised for a protest, and if so, when. And if when, why." In a tweet on Saturday, Mr Peduto suggested that a protest blocking traffic was in violation of the city's code. "The right to assemble is a guaranteed right, the right to shut down public streets, is a privilege," he wrote. "That privilege is sanctioned by laws and codes. In Pittsburgh, we worked w ACLU & CPRB to create our codes." The ACLU of Pennsylvania confirmed that they worked on the codes alongside the city's leadership, but also said it appeared the officers were in violation of those guidelines. "However, based on eyewitness accounts, the arresting officers were in clear violation of their own guidelines. According to those who were there, the law enforcement officers involved made no effort to work with protest leaders to clear the area and gave no clear dispersal order," an ACLU spokesperson wrote on Twitter. "Instead, they tricked a protest leader to approach them and then whisked him away. The ACLU of Pennsylvania has never suggested that the snatch-and-stash arrest of a peaceful demonstrator is ever acceptable." Police officials claim they warned Mr Cartier "several times" not to block intersections during the group's march. Mr Cartier said that the individual sitting in the passenger seat grabbed him as several other men "sprang out of the back of the van heavily armed" and arrested him. He said he was searched and then taken to the county jail. "The actions taken by the city's police department and tacitly endorsed by @billpeduto are horrifying. Every protester must now live in fear of getting grabbed by the police in such a violent and terrifying manner," he said. Mr Cartier is being charged with failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and obstructing highways and other public passages. He was initially facing five total charges, which included risking a catastrophe and being an unauthorized person directing traffic, but the city dropped those charges. Mr Cartier's legal representation, attorney Lisa Middleman, issued a statement on social media condemning the city's actions. "I have no intention of trying my client's case in the court of public opinion, but I am disturbed by leadership's failure to admit the errors in judgement and tactics that are designed to have a chilling effect on the exercise of civil liberties and constitutional rights," she wrote. "If we are to have any meaningful dialogue about the future of policing in this city and county, a better effort must be made to address the concerns of the community. Demanding communication under threat of arrest is not an honest effort to encourage dialogue." She said that the leadership's failure to "meaningfully engage with the actual people whose day-to-day lives are impacted by our broken legal system" is why so many people fear and distrust the police. "The responsibility to change that lies with our elected and appointed officials," she wrote. "And the mayor's 'serious concerns' must result in serious action." Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal noted that the Ukrainian economy began to recover in the third quarter. "In the third quarter, the Ukrainian economy began to recover. In addition to the recovery in consumption, this was positively affected by the harvest, which was actually postponed from the second quarter to the third due to weather conditions. Also, according to forecasts of the Ministry of Economy, in the next three years, GDP will grow on average more than 4% annually," wrote Shmyhal on his official Facebook page on Saturday night. The premier noted that the situation with the coronavirus is not only a serious blow to the medical systems of different countries. "This is also one of the largest economic recessions in the past 70 years. Almost all world economies showed a rapid decline in GDP in the second quarter," Shmyhal said. WASHINGTON U.S. Democrats stepped up pressure on Sunday against a cost-cutting campaign by President Donald Trumps appointed Postal Service chief that they fear will hold up mail-in ballots in Novembers election, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling lawmakers back and several states considering legal action. Top Democrats in Congress called on Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and another top postal official to testify this month at a hearing on a wave of cuts that has slowed mail delivery across the country, alarming lawmakers ahead of the Nov. 3 election when up to half of U.S. voters could cast ballots by mail. Democrats have accused Trump, who is trailing presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in opinion polls, of trying to hamstring the cash-strapped Postal Service to suppress mail-in voting. Trump has repeatedly and without evidence said that a surge in mail-in voting would lead to fraud. Voting by mail is nothing new in the United States, as one in four voters cast ballots that way in 2016. Several Democratic state attorneys general told Reuters they were in discussions about potential legal action to stop Postal Service changes that could affect the election outcome. It is outrageous that Donald Trump would attempt to undermine the U.S. Postal Service for electoral gain," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy told Reuters in a telephone interview, adding that the Republican presidents actions raised constitutional, regulatory and procedural questions. Healy added that counterparts in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Carolina, Washington and other states were conferring. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein declined to say how many states were participating in the legal discussions, adding that North Carolina residents could request ballots now and general ballots would be sent to voters starting on Sept. 4. There are many states that share this concern about what the president and the postmaster general are doing to the Postal Service, and are reviewing all legal options available to us to protect the integrity of these elections," Stein told Reuters. HOUSE BACK TO WASHINGTON Pelosi, the countrys top elected Democrat, said on Sunday she was calling the Democratic-controlled House back to Washington later this week to vote on legislation to protect the Postal Service from what she called Trumps campaign to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters." A senior Democratic aide said House lawmakers would likely return on Saturday to vote on the bill, which would prohibit changes to Postal Service levels that were in place on Jan. 1, 2020. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said there were no scheduling updates for the Republican-controlled Senate. But Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate locked in a tight re-election race, said https://twitter.com/SenatorCollins/status/1295161050481004544 on Twitter that the Senate should return this week to consider legislation to provide the Postal Service up to $25 billion in coronavirus funding. Congressional Democrats also called on DeJoy, a Trump donor, and Postal Service Chairman Robert Duncan to testify at an Aug. 24 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the Postal Services board of governors should remove DeJoy if he refuses to come before Congress." DeJoy did not respond to a request for comment. Trump said on Thursday he had held up talks with Congress over a fresh round of coronavirus stimulus funding to block Democrats from providing more funds for mail-in voting and election infrastructure. Trump later walked back those comments, saying he would not veto a bill that included funds for the Postal Service. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told CNN on Sunday that he was open to $10 billion to $25 billion in new postal funding. The House approved $25 billion in a bill passed in May. Mark Dimondstein, head of the 200,000-plus-member American Postal Workers Union, said on Sunday the Postal Services Republican-dominated governing board sought more than $25 billion. TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ACT Appearing on Fox News, he said the service required emergency funds because of the coronavirus pandemic-driven economic slowdown, pointing out that it received no funds in a stimulus package passed in March. The Congress and this administration took care of the private sector to the tune of over $500 billion," Dimondstein said. The postal office did not get a dime. Its time for Congress to act." Meadows told CNNs State of the Union" that the White House feared a surge in mail-in voting could delay election results and leave the naming of the new president to the speaker of the House. A number of states are now trying to figure out how they are going to go to universal mail-in ballots," Meadows said. Thats a disaster where we wont know the election results on Nov. 3 and we might not know it for months and for me thats problematic because the Constitution says that then a Nancy Pelosi in the House would actually pick the president on Jan. 20." 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 Two workers were killed, while four others were injured in an explosion at Nandolia Organic Chemicals plant, located in the Plot 141 of Tarapur Chemical Zone on Monday, at 7.30pm. The company manufactures fine and organic agrochemicals, pharma intermediates, pigments, and other products, like methoxy phenylacetone, benzaldehyde, benzimidazole, propanil and other highly inflammable products, since January 1998. The blast occurred in the reactor and its parts fell into the adjoining pharma unit, shattering the window panes and other materials. Fire dousing process is still on, said senior inspector Pradip Kasbe of Boisar, MIDC police station. Five fire tenders from different areas rushed to the spot. The fire dousing process was still on till the time of going to press. The four injured persons - Pramod Mishra, 35; Dilip Gupta, 28; Umesh Kushwaha, 21; Mohammed Mohsin Altaf Ansari, 31, are undergoing treatment at the Thunga Hospital in Boisar, while Sandeep Kushwaha, 28, and Brijesh Maurya, 25, succumbed to injuries. The 11 other who were at the unit at the time of the blast managed to escape safely. We will file a first information report (FIR) only after we receive a report from the director of industrial safety and health (DISH), Vasai. We have registered a case of accidental death for now, said Kasbe. A civic body official said, Our priority is to rescue any workers who may have been stuck inside the unit the said. We are contacting the owners who reside in Jogeshwari. On April 13, three workers were killed and 2 others were injured in a blast at a soap and sanitiser manufacturing unit in Tarapur Chemical Zone. /* custom css */ .tdi_75_f14.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_f14 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_f14.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_f14.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_f14.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement Oilserv Limited in conjunction with Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation distributed COVID-19 containment items and personal protective equipment worth over one hundred million naira to churches in Oraifite town and Dioceses in Anambra state to support the efforts of the church and government in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The flag off of the distribution took place at Umueshi-Irefi village square. The medical supplies and personal protective equipment were also extended to Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Awka, Niger/Onitsha, Aguata, Nnewi and the items distributed by the foundation include disposal face mask 3-ply flu virus dust protection, Nitrile Protective and disposal PVC hand gloves, Neutral infrared Thermometers, Alcohol based hand sanitizers of different sizes and Antiseptic liquid hand wash. In a remark during the exercise, the Executive Director of Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation, Sir Azuka Okwuosa said the foundation was established in 2011 by Engr. Sir Emeka Okwuosa with the mission to help individuals and communities become self- reliant and realize their full potentials by providing access to fundamental needs such as quality health care, education, security and sustainable development. /* custom css */ .tdi_74_9b4.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_9b4 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_9b4.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_9b4.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_9b4.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement Sir. Azuka who reeled out the achievements of the foundation in various sectors noted that this year has seen the unprecedented case of COVID-19 Pandemic affecting all areas of human life and the foundation deemed it right to support the church and government to curtail the spread of the virus by procuring the COVID-19 containment items and partner the church in the distribution to ensure it gets to the people. He recalled the food items earlier distributed to various communities in the state to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown and advised people to continue to adhere to Federal and State government guidelines in fighting the disease. The Archbishop, Province of Niger and Anglican Bishop of Awka, Most Reverend Alexander Ibezim while receiving the medical supplies for the diocese at the Bishops Court, Our Saviour Church, Awka, said the church has been sensitizing the people on the need to observe COVID-19 protocols saying that the gesture will complement the efforts made so far to contain the pandemic. Other dioceses that benefitted from the gesture include Archdiocese of Awka, Roman Catholic diocese of Awka, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, Roman Catholic diocese of Nnewi, Diocese of Nnewi, Diocese of Aguata and Diocese on The Niger. Archbishop Ibezim on behalf of all Anglican Dioceses in Anambra state thanked Sir Emeka Okwuosa for his generosity and described him as a man sent by God at a time like this to give succor to the helpless and praised his passion to touch lives. The Catholic Bishop of Awka diocese, Most Reverend Paulinus Ezeokafor who also received the COVID-19 containment items for his diocese at St. Patricks Cathedral, Awka, stressed that good things come from God hence the need for those who are opportune to bless others and thanked the donor for making life meaningful for the less privileged. The Catholic Bishop of Nnewi, Most Reverend Hillary Odili-Okeke told the foundation that they are doing the biddings of Jesus Christ and expressed gratitude to the foundation for including the diocese in the distribution, praying for Gods blessing on the donor; Sir. Engr. Emeka Okwuosa. The coordinator of the foundation, Professor Johnson Anene on his part called for judicious distribution and use of the items. In their separate comments, Reverend Father Hyginus Ajiero of School of Deaf and Dumb, Amakom and Chairman, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Ekwusigo branch, Reverend Christian Osondu who noted the effects of COVID-19 on the church, prayed God to bless the donor while Reverend Canon Chamberlain Igwenazo of All Saints Irefi-Oraifite led in short exhortation and prayer for the foundation. The Metropolitan of Onitsha Ecclesiastical Province, His Grace, Most Reverend Dr. Valerian Okeke says the church is open to partner with people of good will to uplift mankind. Archbishop Okeke stated this when the team from Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation led by the Executive Director of the foundation, Sir Azuka Okwuosa brought medical supplies and COVID-19 containment items for the Archdiocese at Basilica of The Most Holy Trinity, Onitsha. Archbishop Okeke represented by the Chancellor of Onitsha Archdiocese, Very Reverend Fr. Prudentus Aroh who expressed joy over the philanthropic gestures of Sir Emeka Okwuosa, said that what he is doing is in consonance with Christ teaching. The Archbishop while thanking the foundation for the COVID-19 containment provisions and confidence in the church, promised to always remember them in prayer. The Executive Director of the foundation, Sir Azuka Okwuosa hinted that the foundation founded in 2011 with the primary aim of touching lives, has been impacting the lives of Nigerians in various sectors such as health, education and skills development among others. He expressed readiness of the foundation to partner the church and government in raising the standard of living in communities. The team also delivered the COVID-19 containment items to Diocese on the Niger, Anglican Communion where the Bishop on the Niger, Rt.Rev. Dr.Owen Nwokolo received them at the Bishops court. Bishop Nwokolo represented by the Subdean,All Saints Cathedral, Onitsha, Ven. Obiora Uzochukwu and his Chaplain, Rev. Chidi Okonkwo appreciated the donor for his greatly touching lives at the grassroots saying that the hallmark of church preaching is worship God and service to humanity and urged the foundation to extend more to the diocese. The COVID-19 containment items were also delivered to Anglican and Catholic Dioceses of Nnewi, and Aguata. The Anglican Bishop of Nnewi, Rt. Reverend Ndubuisi Obi described the donor, Engineer Emeka Okwuosa as a man with a large heart whom God sent at a time like this to give succour to the helpless and praised his passion to touch lives while the Bishop of Aguata diocese, Rt.Rev. Samuel Ezeofor remarked that the gesture will assist them to combat the pandemic pointing out that the COVID-19 situation has taken Nigerians back to hygienic practices just as he pleaded with the foundation to come and sink bore hole for the diocese as portable water poses challenge to people living in Ekwuluobia. The Catholic Bishop of Nnewi,Most Reverend Hillary Odili-Okeke told the foundation that they are doing the biddings of Jesus Christ and expressed gratitude to the foundation for including the diocese in the distribution, praying for Gods blessing on the donor. The coordinator of the foundation, Professor Johnson Anene,the Facilitator and a former ABS MD, Sir Oselloka Offoh, Mr.Udechukwu Enechukwu and officials from OilServ ltd. ,Port Harcourt made up the team from Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation. /* custom css */ .tdi_76_2f0.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_2f0 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_2f0.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_2f0.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_2f0.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } - Kenyans lashed out at KEMSA and the government at large for the misappropriation of COVID-19 funds and donations - This was after it emerged the institution could not account for KSh 43 billion COVID-19 funds - Even more worrying, the consignment of medical supplies donated by billionaire Jack Ma did not benefit front-line health workers - KEMSA in tandem with government officials and businessmen sold a huge portion of the medical supplies to various Tanzania companies A damning investigative report on Sunday, August 17, exposing the rot at the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) has left Kenyans with a bad taste in their mouths. The expose' confirmed Kenyans' fears of embezzlement of COVID-19 funds were valid after the institution was accused of mismanaging KSh 43 billion and selling medical supplies donated to Kenya to Tanzania, leaving frontline health workers with inadequate equipment. READ ALSO: COVID-19: Kenya's coronavirus cases hit 30k after 271 more test positive KEMSA could not account for KSh 43 billion. Photo: KEMSA. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: DP Ruto aende mashambani baada ya Uhuru kutangaza likizo In the report by NTV's Dennis Okari, over a dozen unscrupulous Tanzanian companies benefited from Jack Ma's donations, which included 100,000 masks and 20,000 testing kits. According to Network Against Corruptions (NAAC) director Godwin Agutu, the remaining quarter was then sold out to other companies in the country who later inflated the prices of the goods and sold back the supplies to KEMSA. KEMSA appointed and authourised Mega scope healthcare and crown healthcare limited to clear the consignment from the airport who drove the shipment to a private warehouse. READ ALSO: Sevilla vs Man United: De Jong's strike ends Red Devils' Europa League dream "The consignment came, it was cleared and sold out. Some went to Tanzania. Over three-quarters were taken to Tanzania and the quarters that was left to circulate in the market were sold out to other companies who were suppliers of KEMSA. Thereafter they inflated the price and sold the goods to KEMSA," Agutu told NTV. Award of tenders It also emerged that various authentic companies that were KEMSA suppliers were denied tenders while companies from well-connected people received the multi-million deals when the pandemic struck. Faceless cartels were also said to be using shadow companies to receive payment from the authority even without supplying any goods or services. READ ALSO: Sheilah Sheldone, mtoto wa miaka 11 amchora DP William Ruto State protection Agutu said companies such as Mega Scope Healthcare and Crown Healthcare Limited were linked to individuals who were enjoying some kind of protection from the state. "If you look at the people associated with Mega Scope Company and Health Crown Company, these are people who sit with the who is who in this country," he said. The director said it was thus difficult to investigate such people whom he said some were MPs, senators and PAs to powerful people. READ ALSO: Dj Mo complains wife Size 8 is petty, compares him to other husbands The detailed report which revealed KEMSA could not account for KSh 43 billion left Kenyans' stomachs cringing with many calling for action and further investigations. Here are some of the comments: This came days after KEMSA CEO Jonah Manjari Mwangi was suspended by following accusations of misappropriating COVID-19 funds by flouting procurement procedures while awarding tenders for the supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs). Mwangi was suspended alongside Charles Juma (Head of Procurement) and Eliud Mureithi (Commercial Director) to pave way for investigations. 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 To make lessons less passive and more effective, many of the lessons being broadcast now use all the tools of professional studios, like eye-pleasing sets, script writers, 3-D animation, multicamera shoots, graphics and even related smartphone apps. In the United States, where education varies widely because it is handled at the local level, some places have paid little attention to developing remote learning, focused instead on an ill-fated effort to reopen schools. Others have worked hard to develop robust online programs. But that is of no use to the four million schoolchildren who do not have internet access at home, a difficulty especially prevalent among Black, Latino and Indigenous students. Television holds promise as a low-cost complement to online schooling and a lifeline for students with few other resources. A vast catalog of educational programming exists, but analysts say policymakers have mostly missed an opportunity to make use of it. How many parents right now are just trying to figure out how to get through the day while their kids are just watching TV or on the iPad? said Melissa S. Kearney, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, who has published research about Sesame Street. We could do a lot of good if people who are in a position of trust with those families could point them to some of that positive content. Since March, many parts of the world have resorted to televised schooling, with an array of strategies. The programs range from recordings of classroom lessons to educational cartoons, and from local efforts to national ones. Some focus on one age group, while others, like Peru, have adapted the national curriculum for all grades. Many parts of China offered a blend of online and televised classes, but Sichuan Province chose to broadcast all of its lessons on television because the government said it worried about students spending too long on their computers. This article, NASA shows off best Mars orbiter images from the past 15 years, originally appeared on CNET.com. NASA's Mars rovers might be glamorous attention-getters, but they have a quieter sibling in the martian skies. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) left Earth 15 years ago on Aug. 12. NASA celebrated the anniversary this week by highlighting some of the spacecraft's finest images of the red planet. Mars doesn't have the blues. Some of MRO's images appear in distinctly un-martian colors thanks to the use of false color, an image processing technique that helps certain details stand out. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona This crater is 100 feet (30 meters) in diameter and is one of many impressive craters found on Mars. The thin martian atmosphere doesn't burn up meteors the same way Earth's does. MRO is equipped with three cameras. The Mars Color Imager takes fisheye images, the Context Camera snaps the surface in black and white and the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRise) delivers most of the knockout views we've come to expect from the orbiter. NASA/JPL/UArizona This image of a dust devil on Mars comes from the HiRise camera in 2012. It was big. "The length of this whirlwind's shadow indicates that it was more than half a mile (800 meters) high -- about the size of the United Arab Emirate's Burj Khalifa, the tallest building on Earth," NASA said. The MRO anniversary highlights collection is beautiful through and through, from a view of Earth from a great distance to a shot of a the small moon Phobos. MRO may be one of the oldest spacecraft at the red planet, but it isn't thinking about retirement. Here's to more years of gorgeous images of Mars. The yawning gap between AMP's account of the allegations that led to its second most senior executive, Boe Pahari, being penalised after the company settled a sexual harassment complaint and what she has now publicly outlined just gets wider. Surely it's time for the inquiry undertaken by an external barrister to be made public so that AMP's customers and shareholders can decide. Pahari was penalised $500,000 after the complaint was settled but later promoted to run AMP's largest and most profitable division, AMP Capital. It is extremely difficult to understand how allegations leading to a financial penalty that size wouldn't be a career killer. Julia Szlakowski believes AMP has trivialised the harassment she endured. The complainant, Julia Szlakowski, left the company with her future in tatters and has become increasingly incensed by AMP's characterisation of Pahari's behaviour. A street surveillance camera has captured the moment a man opened fire from a moving vehicle and shot four people, killing one, in Mexico City. One of the alleged attackers has confessed to targeting the victims in an assassination plot, according to local media. The shocking incident occurred Friday afternoon in the municipality of Iztapalapa, when a Ford Explorer slowly pulled up in front of a store. The shooter is clearly seen aiming a rifle before opening fire, as pedestrians desperately run for cover. Authorities on Saturday said Gustavo Davila, 27, one of the targets, died at a local hospital as a result of the gunshot wounds. WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT A street surveillance camera registered the tragic drive-by-shooting in the Mexico City municipality of Iztapalapa on Friday afternoon. One of the three suspects told authorities that they had been hired to killed three of the four men who were shot The assailants attempted to escape to the State of Mexico but were captured following a pursuit, authorities said. Two of the alleged attackers were pictured by local media in a police cruiser after the attack. The three suspects were identified as Jean Escobedo, 32; Eduardo Ulises Escobedo, 44; and Hector Erick Garcia, 44. Mexican news outlet La Silla Rota reported that the Escobedo brothers confessed to authorities that the trio had been hired to murder Davila and two other individuals identified as Christopher and Hector, both of whom were hospitalized. Two of the alleged attackers were pictured by local media in a police cruiser after the attack Garcia, however, has reportedly denied it was a paid assassination, and allegedly told the police the shooting was carried out due to a problem between both parties involved. Cops seized a military rifle from the three men which they said was used in the attack. Srinagar, Aug 17 : People in Central Kashmir's Ganderbal district have welcomed the restoration of high speed 4G internet. Internet was suspended across Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year. While 2G internet was later restored in a phased manner, the high speed 4G internet continued to remain blocked. The government on Sunday evening restored 4G internet in two districts of J&K on a trial basis. The two districts are -- Ganderbal in Central Kashmir and Udhampur in Jammu region. However, other parts of Jammu and Kashmir will remain on a low speed 2G network for now. "High speed internet has started working in Ganderbal since Sunday evening, we welcome it, this will benefit the people," Mudassir Ahmad, a resident of Ganderbal said. Voicing similar views Bilal Ahmad Shah, a businessman said restoration of high speed internet has come as a big relief to the people of Ganderbal. "It is a good news," he said. "But it would be really nice if the internet was restored all across Jammu and Kashmir." Students who could not attend online classes on 2G network during the pandemic are likely to benefit the most due to the restoration of the high speed internet. "We will get a lot of benefit with the restoration of 4G, we can attend online classes, download and upload study materials without any buffering," said a law student in Ganderbal. The move for restoration of 4G internet comes after the Supreme Court asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to explore the possibility of restoring 4G services in certain areas. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd's deal-making spree hasn't ended yet. After selling stake in Jio Platforms to global tech giants and other big investors, he's now eyeing multiple takeovers in tech and consumer business space. Reliance Industry is currently looking at investment in at least six different companies. Let's take a look at the list of companies RIL is in talks with for investment or future takeover. Future Retail RIL is in late-stage talks with Kishore Biyani-led Future Group to buy a controlling stake in its retail business, according to reports. The companies have supposedly reached a common accord regarding certain terms and conditions and a deal is likely to be announced soon. RIL might acquire Kishore Biyani-controlled Future Group's retail business for Rs 24,000-27,000 crore. RIL will also absorb Future Group's partnerships with foreign brands and retailers. The deal will make RIL the number one player in brick-and-mortar space in India across categories such as fashion, groceries, and merchandise. Also read: RIL in advanced talks to acquire online start-ups Urban Ladder, Milkbasket TikTok 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. Both the companies started discussions in July but the final decision on the deal is yet to be taken. The popular video-sharing app, along with 58 other apps, was banned in India on June 29 over national security and data privacy concerns. Investment in TikTok by India's biggest oil-to-retail conglomerate could save TikTok in one of its biggest markets. Before the ban in June, TikTok India had over 200 million subscribers and the company was valued at $3 billion. Besides, Ambani is also working on the sale of 49 per cent stake in Jio-BP fuel retailing business to British oil giant BP plc for Rs 7,000 crore. He also plans to sell 20 per cent stake in Reliance O2C, the newly-formed subsidiary, to the world's most profitable company, Saudi Aramco, for Rs 1.14 lakh crore. Also read: Reinventing Reliance Urban Ladder In its plan to strengthen the company's presence in the e-commerce market in India, Mukesh Ambani's RIL is planning to acquire online furniture brand Urban Ladder, talks with whom are at an advanced stage, The Times of India reported. If the talks move to the final stage, RIL could peg the deal at around $30 million and pump in more money to expand its presence in the online consumer business. Milkbasket Milkbasket, which earlier held discussions with Amazon and Bigbasket, is also negotiating its valuation and talks with RIL are at an advanced stage. Milkbasket deals with over 9,000 products across different categories, including fruits, vegetables, FMCG, and dairy, and operates across Gurugram, Noida, Dwarka, Ghaziabad, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, serving around 1.30 lakh households. RIL wants to cash in on the rise in demand for online grocery amid coronavirus outbreak. Also read: Mukesh Ambani's RIL in talks with parent ByteDance to acquire TikTok in Indi Netmeds Pharmacy is the new battleground for big companies as they try to cash in on thriving pharma and tele-medicine space. RIL has been in talks with Chennai-based start-up Netmeds for around $120 million takeover deal. The bigger aim could be to consolidate the online pharmacy market that is dominated by the likes of Practo, 1mg, PharmEasy, Medlife, among others. This month, Amazon also made a foray into India's online pharmacy market. The service has been launched by the e-commerce major in Bengaluru, and plans to carry out pilots in other cities as well. Zivame RIL's subsidiary Reliance Brands recently bought out the entire 15 per cent stake of Ronnie Screwvala-owned Unilazer Ventures in Zivame, which sells many luxury brands such as Diesel, Jimmy Choo, Tiffany and Mothercare in India. At present, Zodius is the largest shareholder in Zivame with about 60 per cent stake. Malaysian sovereign fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad owns about 25 per cent. The company is eying bigger pie in this thriving start-up, founded by Richa Kar in 2011. Zivame has 30-plus retail stores and a presence in more than 800 partner stores across the country. ALSO READ: Mukesh Ambani-led RIL may acquire Future Group's retail business for Rs 27,000 crore RIL-Future deal: Mukesh Ambani to retain brand names Big Bazaar, FBB and others India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist India, Nepal to hold meeting today under 'oversight mechanism' amid border row India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi Aug 17: Amid strained ties over several issues, India and Nepal will hold talks on August 17 under their 'oversight mechanism' for reviewing all bilateral economic and developmental projects in the Himalayan nation. This would be the first major engagement between the two countries since bilateral ties came under strain after the Kathmandu came up with a new political map in May showing several Indian territories as its own. Asked about reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli could have a telephonic conversation on August 15, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "I have no information on this, I need to check." India, Nepal to hold senior level dialogue on Aug 17 after a nine-month hiatus On whether the issue of floods in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar could come up for discussion in the upcoming bilateral "oversight mechanism" talks and if any high level dialogue between the two countries is proposed, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said, "On the scheduled oversight mechanism, I think you are referring to the meeting which is to take place on August 17." This "oversight mechanism" was set up in 2016 to review all bilateral economic and developmental projects in Nepal, he said. This meeting will review all such projects across Nepal, Srivastava said. Earlier this week, official sources said Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal''s Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi are scheduled to hold talks on August 17 in Kathmandu under the oversight mechanism. Amidst boundary tensions, India-Nepal meet next week Asked about Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali''s reported remarks that the 1947 agreement among India, Nepal and the United Kingdom that deals with the military service of Gorkha soldiers has become "redundant", Srivastava said, "We are aware of the remark, but we have no information on any official communication in this regard." Srivastava also asserted that he has made India''s stance clear several times and had nothing more to add. In June, Nepal''s Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. In its reaction, after Nepal''s lower house of Parliament approved the bill, India termed as untenable the "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims by the neighbouring country. India had said Nepal''s action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. Meanwhile, to a separate question on former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad raking up the Kashmir issue, Srivastava said, "You are aware of the outlook and position of Mahatir Mohamad on this issue." "As the saying goes, you are known by the company you keep," he said in an apparent reference to Mohammad''s closeness to Pakistan. Asked if any development has taken place on the extradition of Zakir Naik, he said India was in touch with the Malaysian government on the issue. Naik, a 54-year-old radical Islamic preacher wanted by the Indian authorities for alleged money laundering and inciting extremism through hate speeches, left India in 2016 and subsequently moved to the largely Muslim Malaysia, where he was granted permanent residency when Mahathir was the prime minister. On the case of the Income Tax Department detaining a 42-year-old Chinese man, identified as Charlie Peng, alleged to be the kingpin of a money laundering racket, Srivastava said, "We have seen the reports and we are awaiting more information at this stage." For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, August 17, 2020, 11:09 [IST] The highest predicted grade is to be given to A-level students in Northern Ireland, Stormonts education minister said. Peter Weir abandoned plans to use centralised standardisation following an outcry from teachers, parents and pupils over last Thursdays results. A-level and AS-level candidates will be awarded grades expected by their teachers when they are higher, Mr Weir confirmed, after exams were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. New grades awarded are expected to inflate by more than 10% as a result. The minister said: Concerns remain over the impact of changes to the qualifications system throughout the United Kingdom and any potential solution offered has its flaws. However, my prime concern is to ensure that young people in Northern Ireland are in no way disadvantaged in comparison to their peers elsewhere. Portability and comparability of qualifications is critical for students, particularly in Northern Ireland. Whilst standardisation is normally an important feature of awarding qualifications, these are truly unique circumstances and this approach is now being adopted across the UK. This is why I have taken this decision today. More than a third of A-level grades issued last Thursday were lower than teacher estimates. I have just asked CCEA to ensure that all AS & A2 students now receive the highest of either their CAG (teacher assessed grades) or the grade provided by CCEA. This will safeguard students from NI so that they are not disadvantaged in comparison with other students in GB Peter Weir (@peterweirmla) August 17, 2020 The major policy shift follows a raging controversy about the system used to allocate them. The Stormont Assembly will be recalled from summer recess on Tuesday to debate the furore caused by a centralised formula designed to rule out anomalies caused by individual schools or teachers. Story continues Mr Weir said: I have today instructed CCEA (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment) that all of their AS and A-level qualifications will now be awarded the higher of the grade submitted by their centre or the grade calculated by CCEA. He said the organisation was working to release the revised results to candidates as quickly as possible. The minister added: In the challenging situation in which we find ourselves, there are no perfect solutions. Students would have preferred to have taken their exams, but that was simply not possible in the circumstances. There is no substitute for exams themselves and recent events highlight the need for a full-time return to education, five days a week. He made the announcement hours after announcing GCSEs would be based solely on teacher predictions. After consulting @CCEA_info & having listened to the concerns of principals, teachers, parents & young people, I have decided that all GCSE students on Thursday will now receive the grades submitted by their school. Peter Weir (@peterweirmla) August 17, 2020 A-level and GCSE students in England and Wales will also be given grades estimated by their teachers. The proportion of A* to A A-level grades awarded in Northern Ireland last Thursday rose by 2.3%. In total, 37% of estimated grades were lowered while 5.3% were raised. L-R Kylie McComb and Kathleen Malone both GSCE students from Belfast Royal Academy, with A level Ruben Hughes from St Malachys College Belfast show their homemade signs during a protest (Liam McBurney/PA) Zara Meadows from Belfast grammar school Belfast Royal Academy is an AS-level student. She attended a protest in Belfast city centre outside the Education Authority on Monday afternoon. She said the change of heart was a welcome one. There is a real demonisation of teachers which is disgusting. That needs to change. On Sunday, United States President Donald Trump shared that top infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci has advised that in-person voting is plausible amid the coronavirus pandemic and that there is no reason for it not to be done. In a tweet by Trump, he quoted Fauci saying that if the voting is done carefully and people adhere to the guidelines it is not impossible to hold the voting at polling places. If carefully done, according to the guidelines, there is no reason why you shouldnt be able to do that (vote at polling place). Doctor Anthony Fauci Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 16, 2020 The statement was made by Fauci during an appearance at a National Geographic event that was aired on the same day that Trump shared the statement. According to the New York Post, when Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was asked about the concerns regarding the elections and voting at polling places amid the outbreak, he stated that as long as the guidelines are followed it is possible. However, Fauci also stated that observation of measures that could help curb the spread of the virus should be done. Such measures include physical distancing by 6-feet, and wearing face masks. He also warned people with weak immune systems or are immunocompromised to not take the chance since it may endanger their health. Moreover, Fauci also said that those who do not want to go to polling centers still have the option of mail-in voting. Read also: South Dakota Declines Trump's Weekly $300 Unemployment Benefits Despite High Jobless Rate 76% of Americans Can Vote by Mail in 2020 Meanwhile, despite Trump's disapproval of mail-in voting, around 76% of Americans will be eligible to vote via mail for the upcoming 2020 presidential elections. In an analysis by the New York Times, this is the highest number of citizens that will be able to receive a ballot via mail-in US history. Moreover, experts have predicted that if the trend continues at least 80 million ballots are expected to arrive in election offices via mail this fall, a number that doubles the 2016 turnout. The sudden change in the way many Americans will be voting is due to the coronavirus pandemic that has made leaving homes unsafe. There has been a rising amount of concern regarding the potential of virus transmission in polling places, thus, many states have decided to shift to mail-in voting. In a statement by California secretary of state and also chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, Alex Padilla, he pointed out that this is the first time in the history of the US that such a significant change in the way of administering the elections happened over a short period. However, it can be noted that most of the changes are only temporary and were only put in place due to the current health crisis. In total, Washington DC and 26 states have increased the access of voters to mail ballots for the election in view of the pandemic. The goal of the changes is to make it easier and safer for people to cast their votes without putting themselves at risk of infection. While in other states that have maintained their rules, counties have taken similar efforts to make voting more accessible to people. Related article: Judge Orders President Trump's Team to Produce Evidence of Voter Fraud in Pennsylvania @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Niagara Falls city council wants more information before it potentially decides whether to endorse a call from the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to decriminalize simple possession of illicit drugs. During its meeting last week, Coun. Lori Lococo put forward a motion that Niagara Falls endorse the call from Canadian police chiefs, as St. Catharines city council did last month. But after several councillors said there are many unanswered questions, Lococo withdrew her motion to allow for more information to be brought forward on the issue. Last month, Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer, who heads CACP, said arresting people for simple possession of illicit drugs has proven to be ineffective, and that the current enforcement-based approach for possession be replaced with a health-care approach that diverts people from the criminal justice system. Lococo said decriminalization does not make drugs legal, but rather people in possession would probably face a fine, rather than have a criminal record. The current cycle is not working, she said. People get arrested, they get thrown in jail, they get a criminal record and then that costs the society money. Then, they return to the community with no supports they cannot get a job, they cannot get housing. Lococo said when Portugal, which had the highest drug use in Europe, decriminalized the personal possession of drugs in 2001, overdoses decreased by 80 per cent and the rate of overall consumption became lower than any other country on the continent. Criminalization of drug use has not led to a decrease in drug use, only an increase in the number of individuals in our criminal justice system and is therefore not a successful harm-reduction strategy, she said. Lococo said she agrees with CACP that drug consumption is best treated as a public health, rather than a criminal, matter. Decriminalization should lead to increased funding and access to health-care treatment and social services to divert people struggling with substance abuse or addiction away from the criminal justice system, she said. Coun. Wayne Campbell said prior to the 2018 provincial election, he spoke with then Ontario attorney general Yasir Naqvi about how the majority of the problems coming through the court system was drug use, which is really related to mental-health problems. Campbell said decriminalization should have been done a long time ago. But some councillors, including Chris Dabrowski and Vince Kerrio, said they would like more information before voting on such a motion. Dabrowski said he has several unanswered questions, such as whether decriminalization would lead to an increase supply of drugs on the street, and whether that would tempt younger people to potentially use drugs without the fear of a legal implication. He also wanted to know whether existing treatment centres would be able to handle an influx of people using illicit drugs. Im not saying I wouldnt support the motion, but at this time I just dont feel I have the information necessary to make a responsible decision. Kerrio said when he was young, knowing that possessing drugs could lead to a criminal charge was enough of a deterrent for him and his friends. Im not suggesting (the motion is) a bad thing, or I wont support it, Id just like a little bit more (information), he said. Coun. Victor Pietrangelo said hes concerned decriminalization could invite more people to try drugs. In the end, council approved a motion from Lococo for staff to gather further information on the topic from relevant groups, and to get answers to the several questions asked by councillors, and to bring them forward at a future council meeting. The Trump administration, backed by the entire political establishment, has placed great emphasis on the need to re-open schools as an essential component to the overall drive to force working people back on the job amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A pillar of this campaign is early childhood care, which faces an existential crisis in health, safety and funding. Parents suspecting the obvious dangers of COVID-19 have withdrawn children from day cares en masse. According to a National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) survey conducted in June, early childhood enrollment plummeted by 67 percent since March. Roughly five million small children normally in day cares are now largely being cared for by their parents who have had to stay home with them. In March, the US Congress passed the multi-trillion-dollar CARES Act, which included a meager $3.5 billion in child care spending while hundreds of billions were allotted to financial firms and other non-essential corporate entities. To date, this is all that has been done to help preserve child cares continued existence in the US. At least 40 percent of all child care providers expect they will be forced to close unless they receive some sort of government support. Only 18 percent of such providers expect to last another year on their current resources. With the loss of providers, as well as forced limits on class sizes due to social distancing, an additional 450,000 children may be left without day care as facilities reopen. This shortage of supply will in turn entice businesses to cut corners on safety, licensing and other necessities for entering the child care industry. Even in places where day cares are able to remain open, teaching staffforced to choose between making a living and maintaining their physical healthwill be compelled to work under impossible conditions. Staff and teachers are going to have a lot of anxiety and stress at day cares, said Lorena, a child care provider that spoke at length with the World Socialist Web Site about the impact of COVID-19 on day care. I hate to say it, but teachers are not trained for having kids all day, creating curriculum and lesson plans, she said, adding, If schools are closed, theyll have to monitor a childs actual academic progress as school aged children will be expected to engage in distance learning. On top of all of this, there is still the threat of acquiring COVID-19. Lorena commented, Children are going to get into fights, take off masks and spit at each other. As a teacher, youre going to want to kneel and get at the kids level and take off your mask to show your face to them out of empathy. Youll be putting yourself at risk in this job. Early childhood educators on average make less than $11 an hour, a mere fraction of their peers even in public schools. The forcing of low-paid teachers to assume the tasks of an accredited grade school educator will have the effect of placing downward pressure on the wages of all teachers, as day care staff struggle with the added difficulties with which they have been saddled. As schools have begun reopening, incidents of COVID-19 infecting students and youth have become widespread, exploding the claims that young people are either immune to COVID-19 or do not become ill. In late July, two Florida teens succumbed to the deadly virus, adding to the states enormous death toll. An American Academy of Pediatrics study done with the Childrens Hospital Association found that at least 338,000 children have come down with COVID-19 in the US. In the final two weeks of July, 97,000 children tested positive for the virus. Classrooms are modified, according to CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] standards, or at least as best as possible, said Kendra, who teaches a multi-age classroom in Virginia, to the WSWS. However, she added, Not all children are able to wear masks. My classes will go up as high as 15 kids as schools reopen in September, she said. Kendra, who also works in a retirement home, said that despite the high levels of fatal COVID-19 infections in assisted living environments, she felt safer at that job due to a higher level of safety precautions. A study released this month in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ) found that infants have been known to possess viral loads in their upper respiratory system that are as much as 100 times greater than average adults. In a comment this month to the Seattle Times, child care provider Johnny Otto stated, You dont want to advocate for the closure of your own business But at the same time, when were having a debate about whats healthy for the community and whether public schools should even open in the fall, its interesting to me that nobody is having a conversation about why have child cares not been mandated to close in any way, and how are child cares operating with very little social distancing with children in small spaces. At least 1,000 facilities in Washington state have been closed due to financial losses during the pandemic. A considerable portion of these closures are in small, home-based facilities. Such businesses make up the majority of child care centers in at least 20 US states, according to a 2019 Child Care Aware of America study. In addition, the closures of schools and other child care facilities have forced parents to withdraw from the work force. A Brookings Institute report from 2018 revealed that 41 million working people in the United States have children under the age of 18. Of that group, 34 million had kids under the age of 14. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that in over 60 percent of married couples with children, both parents work. According to Vox, by June at least 13 percent of these parents had either quit their job or were forced to take reduced hours due to having to take care of their family. As a result of the pandemic, over 1 in 10 women are currently out of work, having an immense impact on their ability to provide financially for their families. A 2018 study done by the liberal think tank Center for American Progress found that 83 percent of parents had difficulty finding affordable and adequate child care support for their children prior to the pandemic. Lorena also spoke about the conditions facing parents. Theyre going to feel anxious and guilty too. Theyre afraid theyll lose their job if they dont go to work and send their kids off to day care. At the same time, theyll be paying for all day plans, no more just after school. She remarked pointedly that a lot of these parents [working in essential jobs] are low wage, and they have to pay the most for care. It is the same circle of people getting hurt by the pandemic. The coronavirus has exposed so many injustices in our society, Kendra added, noting that after the $600 extended unemployment benefits ended in July, the government threw people under the bus. Where are they going to work? Retail? The service industry? Theyre all social distancing too! Speaking of her own situation, Kendra stated she works two jobs to afford a small apartment in the Northern Virginia suburb where she works. This is my reality, she said, because I choose to live in an area that I work. The crisis in child care demonstrates the irrationality of the ruling classs entire policy of reopening schools and businesses as the deadly pandemic spirals out of control. It is absolutely essential that teachers in all facilities, both private and public schools, form independent rank-and-file safety committees in defense of their rights as workers, as well as in defense of the children and families they take care of, and prepare for a general strike to halt the homicidal back-to-work drive. A top Facebook executive in India has filed a police complaint in New Delhi saying she is receiving death threats following a media report that said she and the US social network company allegedly favoured Narendra Modis ruling party. Ankhi Das, Facebooks top public-policy executive in India, in her complaint to Delhi police, said some individuals online had intentionally vilified her due to their political affiliations and were engaging in abuse, Indian media reported. Ms Das has said the threats followed a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report last week that said she opposed applying Facebooks hate-speech rules to a member of Mr Modis party and some other Hindu nationalist individuals and groups flagged internally for promoting or participating in violence. I am extremely disturbed by the relentless harassment meted out to me, Ms Das said in her complaint, according to Indias Hindu newspaper. A spokesman for the Delhi Police did not respond to calls and text messages from Reuters. Recommended Facebook algorithm found to be recommending Holocaust denial Ms Das and Facebook did not respond to a request for comment on the police complaint. Facebook on Monday referred Reuters to a weekend statement that said it prohibited hate speech irrespective of ones political position but acknowledged, there is more to do. The WSJ article has sparked a political storm in India and raised questions about Facebooks content regulation practices. Ms Das had told staff that punishing violations by politicians from Mr Modis ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would damage the companys business prospects in the country, the WSJ article said. For Facebook, which has over 300 million users in India, the controversy comes months after it invested $5.7bn (4.3bn) in the digital unit of Indias Reliance Industries. The company was also seen close to receiving permission to launch a payments service on WhatsApp, which counts India as its biggest market with more than 400 million users. Indias main opposition Congress has seized on the WSJ story to seek a parliamentary investigation of Facebook employees alleged ties with Modis BJP. On Sunday, Congress said on Twitter: Millions of Indians are controlled and manipulated by BJP through Facebook, and WhatsApp. BJP lawmakers in turn accused Facebook of censoring nationalist voices, with lawmaker and former minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in a column in the Indian Express newspaper on Monday accused Facebook of being a Left-Congress-leaning platform. This storm in a teacup is merely an exercise to browbeat Facebook for allowing certain opinions to even exist, Mr Rathore wrote. There are examples of current and former Facebook executives with links to the former government and opposition parties, and some of them have been openly critical of the prime minister as well. To accuse them of being pro-BJP is laughable. Tejasvi Surya, another BJP lawmaker and a member of a parliamentary committee on information technology, said many people had complained to him that Facebook was unfairly censoring many nationalist, pro-India or pro-Hindu voices, and that he would take up the matter with relevant authorities. Reuters (Natural News) Being one of the richest men in the world has given Microsoft founder Bill Gates far too much time on his hands and, in many ways, far too much power and influence. As reported by Great Game India, the Indian government is set to implement a mandatory health card program that is modeled after a concept developed by Gates, a one-world globalist and vaccine pusher who literally has the power to control messaging, access to information, and other necessities a free people require in order to remain free. The outlet notes: Under the One Nation One Health Card scheme, a persons medical history records, including all the treatments and tests that the person has undergone, will be digitally saved in this card. Hospitals, clinics, and doctors will all be linked to a central server. The move is aimed at mapping the health records of every citizen of the country in a digital format. Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to make the announcement during his countrys Independence Day celebrations Aug. 15. Privacy rights advocates in India, the worlds most populous democracy, are attempting to warn fellow citizens. I am not seeing any discussion around this. This is a huge step! A mandatory card and a number with all your health info accessible? How is that a good thing? What about confidentiality issues? one Twitter user wrote. Are we living in data privacy myths? Besides, the scheme is completely up to hospitals/ citizens, whether they want to opt for the 'One Nation One Health Card' scheme or not. https://t.co/AGuRdeVVU9 biju govind (@bijugovind) August 9, 2020 But her tweet was answered by another user who called her concerns a data privacy myth and said that the One Nation One Health Card plan is voluntary. And yet, that would seem to undermine the entire concept of making universal access to health records by medical providers possible throughout India. The scheme is really part of a wider push by Gates to turn over all health care to all governments around the world, the United States included. Annalisa Merelli, a geopolitics reporter for Quartz, claimed in February as the COVID-19 outbreak was just beginning to spread that the billionaire Microsoft founders plan to tackle the pandemic only works if governments handle health care. Merelli summarized Gates thoughts on how best to handle the pandemic: Key amongst them are actions only the government can take: Investments to tackle treatment which are too risky for private companies to make; control of the market price of treatments and vaccines, which would otherwise skyrocket were makers allowed to maximize profits from them; and international aid, which would strengthen the health systems of low-income countries and reduce the spread of the virus. Thats nonsense. If anything, there is already too much government in health care, which is why rules are so byzantine, delivery of care often spotty but always expensive, and why there is so much red tape involved just to provide care to Americans. If its bad now, can you imagine how much worse the paperwork-and-overhead nightmare would get? Well, thats what Gates wants. And thats what singular medical card tracking systems do, they involve government in every single healthcare decision, treatment and encounter. (Related: VIDEO: Young voters love Trumps COVID planwhen told its Bidens.) As for investments, the private sector makes much wiser decisions. And government control of the market price of treatments and medications would result in the loss of treatment options and the health care professionals needed to provide them. Mandatory price controls historically fail because political leaders, in an attempt to appeal to the masses, always set prices far too low for businesses (and yes, providing health care is and should be a business because profits encourage better practices and inspire competition which makes delivery of care better) to survive. Just take a look at what has happened to health care (and every other business sector) in Venezuela: Price controls destroyed businesses and industries because the price controls (lets just call them price limits because thats what they are) were far below necessary profit margins to stay open and keep people employed. The more our societies advance, the less free we become, it seems. Its not supposed to be that way. Sources include: Quartz.com GreatGameIndia.com NaturalNews.com It's easy to dismiss the recent Turkish uproar over a Joe Biden video as political theater. The video, from a conversation between the Democratic presidential candidate and the New York Times editorial board, is eight months old. In it, Biden describes Turkey's president Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an "autocrat" and suggests the U.S. should "embolden" his opponents to defeat him in elections. Yet it was only over the weekend that the old video somehow floated to the top of Turkish headlines, prompting Ibrahim Kalin, the president's communications director, to denounce Biden's comments on Twitter as "based on pure ignorance, arrogance and hypocrisy." It beggars belief that the clip escaped the attention of Turkish politicians and media for so long. A cynic might instead connect the timing of the contretemps to American opinion polls showing Biden with a significant lead over President Donald Trump ahead of this week's virtual Democratic Party convention in Milwaukee. A Turkish display of defiance - "You will pay the price," fumed Kalin - was bound to to get attention. Although Ankara's outrage feels stage-managed, its underlying concern is not misplaced. Turkey has reason to be anxious about prospects of a Biden victory on Nov. 3. Not only would that end the close relationship Erdogan has cultivated with Trump - his phone calls to the White House are reportedly put straight through to the American president - it would require him to deal with someone whose views are at odds with his own. Caught in the same circumstances, many world leaders would downplay any differences of opinion and instead concentrate on causes they share with the leading presidential candidate. That is not Erdogan's style. A month ahead of the 2016 Republican convention, he called for Istanbul's Trump Towers to be renamed on account of the candidate's Islamophobia. The two leaders got over their mutual distrust, mainly because Trump's positions on the issues Erdogan cares about - from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to Syria and Libya - are either complementary or easily malleable. That Trump regards himself as the Erdogan-whisperer, when all evidence points to the contrary, suits Ankara just fine. Biden, on the other hand, has firmly held views about Turkey and its neighborhood and will be harder to persuade. Biden's tendency to speak his mind on Turkey was an occasional irritant in Erdogan's relations with President Barack Obama: In 2014, the vice president was obliged to issue an apology for suggesting that Erdogan had acknowledged his government's mistake in letting terrorists pass through Turkey on their way to Syria and Iraq. But it is the Democratic candidate's longstanding sympathy for the Kurds, in Iraq and Syria, that will cause Ankara the greatest anxiety, should he become president. As I have argued, Biden has many woolly and reckless ideas about the Middle East, but none is woollier than his 2006 proposal for the division of Iraq along sectarian and ethnic lines. In effect, this would have created a Kurdish nation on Turkey's southeastern border - anathema for Ankara, which has hostile relations with its own Kurdish population. (An American president sympathetic to Kurdish nationalism would represent a serious headache not only for Turkey, but for all countries with Kurdish minorities, such as Iraq, Syria and Iran.) On Syria, Biden has denounced Trump for betraying the Kurdish militias that helped the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State. Erdogan regards the militias in Syria as allies of Kurdish terrorists and separatists within Turkey and is determined to stamp them out. Trump has not been inclined to stand in his way. But in his conversation with the NYT editors, Biden asserted he would have held firmer against the Turkish leader on this issue: "The last thing I would've done is yielded to him with regard to the Kurds. The absolute last thing." Biden said plenty more in that conversation that would have furrowed brows in Ankara. He criticized Turkey's aggressive moves in the Eastern Mediterranean and its purchase of Russian missile-defense systems, and he expressed concern about American nuclear weapons in NATO's Turkish airbases. It was abundantly clear, long before last weekend, that a Biden White House would not give Erdogan's phone calls the special treatment he has come to expect. - - - This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Ghosh is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. Two CRPF soldiers and one Special Police Officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir Police got martyred after some unidentified opened fire on them in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday (August 17). Sources said that the terrorists attacked a joint naka party of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) and Police at Kreeri area of Baramullah district. Security forces have cordoned off the area and search operation has been launched to arrest the terrorists. "The two CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) soldiers who were injured in the Baramulla attack today have succumbed to injuries," said Vijay Kumar, Inspector-General, Jammu & Kashmir Police. The two soldiers of CRPF were were rushed to nearby hospital for treatment but both succumbed to their injuries. This is second such attack on security forces in the last 24 hours in north Kashmir. On Sunday (August 16), a joint team of forces were fired upon terrorists in orchards of Sopore village. NEW YORK Forget the possibility of a coronavirus shutdown. Forget the perceived cheapness of a 60-game season and the expanded playoffs. Decision-makers around the majors still expect trades to happen leading up to the Aug. 31 deadline. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 19:27:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's University of Witwatersrand on Monday started the second COVID-19 vaccine trial in the country, said the institution. Shabir Madhi, Executive Director of the South African Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA) at Wits and the Faculty of Health Sciences Dean-elect, will lead the Phase 2 trial of the NVX-CoV2373 vaccine, which is produced by US-based biotech company Novavax. Madhi said the trial will enroll up to 2,904 volunteers aged 18-64 years and evaluate if the nanoparticle S-protein, in the COVID-19 vaccine protects against the disease in these age group. "The major motivation for COVID-19 vaccines being evaluated at an early stage in South Africa is to generate evidence in the African context on how well these vaccines work in settings such as our own. This would enable informed decision-making when advocating for the adoption of this or other COVID-19 vaccines in African countries, once they are shown to be safe and effective," said Madhi. He is also leading the South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial launched on June 23, in association with the University of Oxford and the Jenner Institute. "Participating in the clinical development of these vaccines at the outset will assist in advocating for South Africans to be amongst the first in line to access these life-saving vaccines, once they become available," he said. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Novavax a 15 million USD grant towards the COVID-19 vaccine efficacy trial in South Africa. The South African study is part of a larger, global clinical program to evaluate NVX-CoV2373, including a larger Phase 3 studies with approximately 30,000 participants, to be launched throughout the world. Enditem New Delhi: Three jawans were killed when suspected militants attacked an army convoy near Kadlabal area of Pamore on Srinagar-Jammu highway on Saturday. Police sources said that the militant fired indiscriminately on the vehicles carrying soldiers. The militants managed to flee from the spot after the attack. A police official said two soldiers were also injured in the attack that took place at the place crowded with civilians. He said the security forces exercised restraint and did not retaliated in order to avoid civilian casualties. Preliminary investigations suggest that the militants might have used motorcycles to carry out the deadly attack, the official said. The army convoy was on its way from Jammu to Srinagar when the attack took place. Security forces have cordoned off the adjoining residential area and launched search operation to track down the militants On Wednesday, two suspected militants were killed in separate encounters with security forces in Anantnag and Baramulla districts. J&K: Terrorists attack security forces at Pampore in Pulwama district; More details awaited. ANI (@ANI_news) December 17, 2016 (With inputs from PTI, more details are awaited) Read | Hafiz Saeed says Rajnath Singh's remarks on Pakistan a declaration of war For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Thailand plans to introduce more stimulus measures later this month, a new deputy prime minister said on Monday, as the economy contracted sharply in the previous quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, Trend reports with reference to Reuters. The measures will help all groups hit by the crisis, Supattanapong Punmeechaow told a briefing after a meeting with new Finance Minister Predee Daochai and officials. Supattanapong is also energy minister and will oversee the governments economic agencies. Southeast Asias second-largest economy shrank 12.2% in April-June from a year earlier, the sharpest pace since 1998, during the Asian financial crisis. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 01:22:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran reported on Monday 2,247 new COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, raising the total number in the country to 345,450, official IRNA news agency reported. Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said during her daily update that 1,255 of the new cases have been hospitalized. Since Sunday, 165 people died from the viral disease, taking the total fatalities over the virus to 19,804 in the country. So far, 299,157 patients have recovered and 3,773 remain in critical condition in ICU, said the spokeswoman. She added that 2,887,938 lab tests for COVID-19 have been carried out in Iran as of Monday. The Iranian health official said 15 provinces are still in high-risk and 11 others remain in alert condition over the virus resurgence. Iran announced its first cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 19. Iran and China have offered mutual help in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-February, at the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak in China, Iran lit up the Tehran Azadi (Liberty) Tower to show its solidarity with China, and donated 3 million masks to China. In return, China has delivered several shipments of medical supplies to Iran. On Feb. 29, a five-member Chinese medical team visited Iran for a month-long mission to help Iran fight the pandemic. Enditem Take action to ensure your vote counts Editor, Times-Dispatch: On Aug. 14, the RTD reported that the United States Postal Service might not be able to deliver timely ballots in 46 states. The same day, President Donald Trump admitted on a Fox News interview that he is choking off critical post office funding to suppress absentee voting by mail. Do not let this assault on free and fair elections stop you from exercising your rights. Thanks to new laws passed by Virginia's Democrats, Virginians do not need an excuse or application to vote early, though you do need an application to vote absentee, so consider these options as Election Day approaches: Check your registration status online at elections.virginia.gov to make sure you are registered to vote; Bring your ID and vote early in person at your local registrar or satellite voting office between Sept. 18 and Oct. 31. Curbside voting and accessible equipment are available by request; If you are voting absentee by mail, fill your ballot out and mail it back immediately; Although I left California some time ago, I'm still connected to alerts from the emergency services in my former Bay Area home. That's how I first learned that California has been suffering from rolling blackouts as citizens try to cope with a heat wave. The text messages, which come from NextDoor.com, from PG&E, and from local law enforcement, have been pinging my phone non-stop all weekend. The first message alerting me to a warning from PG&E, which provides power to the northern two thirds of California, covering 5.2 million households, arrived this past Friday: Given Strain on Power Grid During Excessive Heat, PG&E Begins Rotating Power Outages at Direction of State Grid Operator- Outages Expected to Affect Approximately 200-250k Customers in Rotations of About One Hour Each - PG&E Is Not Calling A PSPS [Public Safety Power Shutoff]. PG&E's News Releases page has all of the messages that it's been sending to its customers over the past three days. On Saturday, August 15, this message went out: Rotating Power Outages Could Happen Saturday Night from 5:00 to 10:00 PM; California Grid Operator Monitoring Statewide Energy Usage, Coordinating with PG&E and the State's Other Electric Utilities Sure enough, that same day, the power went out: Outages Expected to Affect Approximately 220,000 Customers; Customers Encouraged to Conserve Electricity through Wednesday Night; PG&E Is Not Calling A Public Safety Power Shutoff The problems for Bay Area residents continued on Sunday. First, those residents who have A/C (which is something of a rarity in the foggier parts of the Bay Area) were warned to swelter rather than use electricity: Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) continues to urge customers to conserve energy as above-normal temperatures continue to dominate across the service area today and are expected to continue at least through the middle of the week. Conservation is the best way customers can help prevent stress and strain on the electric supply that could lead to power outages for some electric customers. Later that day, residents were warned that their power was going to be shut down again: Outages Expected to Affect Approximately 210,000 Customers in portions of San Francisco, San Mateo and Contra Costa Counties; Customers Strongly Urged to Conserve Electricity through Wednesday Night; PG&E Is Not Calling A Public Safety Power Shutoff It didn't have to be this way. Once upon a time, California had a power grid that was large enough to serve the state's population. As the population grew, though, the grid did not. Additionally, California had five nuclear power plants that helped provide stable energy. Two years ago, though, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to close the last nuclear power plant in California, which PG&E owned, although that plant will remain online until 2025. These closings flowed directly from (1) hostility to nuclear power and (2) the green energy movement: "With this timing in mind, and this decision today, we chart a new energy future," Commissioner Michael Picker said at the meeting, according to the Tribune. "We agree the time has come." "It moves California away from the era of nuclear power and toward the era of zero-carbon renewable energy," said Commissioner Liane M. Randolph. "I will be voting in favor." The four other nuclear power plants had all closed by 2013. California currently has 6 battery storage power stations 20 biomass power stations (which burn plant matter, depleting land available for edible crops) 1 coal station 7 geothermal stations 53 hydroelectric stations (which work when water flows) 7 pumped storage stations (which augment electric capacity) 72 natural gas stations 1 nuclear plant 2 petroleum stations 32 solar power stations 4 thermal stations 16 wind farms (which work when the wind blows). The only new construction planned is for three solar-powered stations. These numbers show that, albeit slowly, California is moving to a future of green energy. The rolling power outages, however, suggest that green energy isn't quite up to snuff, and, indeed, the news bears this out (emphasis added): "Extreme heat is really the driver behind this," said Anne Gonzales, spokeswoman for the power grid operator. The move came as temperatures around the state hit triple digits in many areas, and air conditioning use soared. Temperatures were 10 to 20 degrees above normal in some areas, Gonzales said. In addition, cloudy weather from the remnants of a tropical weather system reduced power generation from solar plants, she said. Power is only as good as it is reliable. When you have a power system that works only when the sun shines, the wind blows, and the water flows, you don't have a power system at all. Mike Shellenberger, who lives in Berkeley, has been tweeting about the problem and the foolishness of the politicians who support it: To recap: - In the name of preventing deadly heat waves from climate change, California is making heat waves more deadly - In the name of protecting the poor, California raised electricity prices 6x more than rest of US Mike Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) August 15, 2020 - In the name of protecting the environment, we Californians are shutting down our nuclear plants & replacing them with fossil fuels & industrial solar projects that require 400x more land & kill endangered species including our condors & desert tortoiseshttps://t.co/sVKlFIw1Ld Mike Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) August 15, 2020 Same nightmare is unfolding in Europe I am currently finding it difficult maintaining my pro-renewables position.https://t.co/c1nfLTq8Ky https://t.co/k7RViL8Tis Mike Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) August 15, 2020 At 4:21 pm Californias electric grid operator said no emergencies planned At 7:51 pm it said Stage 3 Emergency & rolling blackouts! Why? Too little nat gas (lost 470-MW plant) & too much unreliable wind (loss of 1,000-MW) The climate crusade is putting lives at risk pic.twitter.com/FPbZsPLlHi Mike Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) August 16, 2020 Hi @KamalaHarris - Berkeley, Calif. resident here We are in 3rd night of blackouts b/c of our over-reliance on unreliable renewables & the closure of nat gas & nuclear plants Genuine question: why should the rest of the U.S. follow our lead? https://t.co/X7VpXQ2fZ2 Mike Shellenberger (@ShellenbergerMD) August 17, 2020 California is a preview of coming attractions if we hand Washington, D.C. back to the Democrats. For those of you who live in regions with extremely hot summers or extremely cold winters, prepare to be cast back to a pre-modern world of unbearable heat in the summer and deadly cold in the winter. Image: Part of the 354 MW Solar Energy Generating Systems (SEGS) parabolic trough solar complex in northern San Bernardino County, California, by the Bureau of Land Management; public domain. NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has walked back his praise for the troubled insurer icare, after previously defending the executive team for doing a "superb job" as it came under fire for mismanagement and poor performance. In his first public media appearance since the agency has become mired in scandal, Mr Perrottet conceded that he could have "chosen my words better" when asked if he stood by his full-throated endorsement of icare's executive and board. NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said he could have chosen his words better after last month praising icare's senior management for doing a "superb job". Credit:Kate Geraghty "Obviously you always want to support the agencies who fall within your ambit as a minister. In the circumstances, I think I could have chosen my words better," Mr Perrottet said on Monday. "Clearly there are challenges in relation to icare." STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) said Sunday she is calling the House back into session for a vote on legislation to block changes at the Postal Service that has drawn the ire of a slew of politicians and has concerned millions of Americans who will try to vote by mail in the upcoming election. The Postal Service is a pillar of our democracy, enshrined in the Constitution and essential for providing critical services: delivering prescriptions, Social Security benefits, paychecks, tax returns and absentee ballots to millions of Americans, including in our most remote communities., Pelosi wrote in a letter to Democratic Lawmakers. Pelosis decision will cut House representatives summer recess short with a vote that the New York Times reported is expected to occur on Saturday just after the Democratic National Convention. In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central, Pelosi wrote in her letter. Changes made recently by Trump-appointed leaders at the USPS most notably Postmaster Louis DeJoy have included the removal of sorting machines. In addition, employees have been instructed to leave mail behind rather than make extra trips or wait for a delayed truck. The changes reportedly have caused delays in service for some Americans, including military veterans who receive essential items from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and seniors who rely on medications through the mail. Rep. Max Rose (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) railed at a press conference Sunday outside a U.S. Post Office facility in West Brighton Sunday against recent operational changes that have delayed postal service, while calling on emergency funding proposed by Democrats that would allow for reliable mail-in voting come November. For hundreds of years postal workers have delivered the mail on time no issues. shouted Rose. Im not going to sit by while this administration guts an American Institution. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) said Sunday the senate will demand DeJoy be present at hearings this upcoming week. The USPS did not immediately return a request for comment regarding Schumers assertions. Im pushing new action here to undo the changes and get DeJoy to back off. Moreover, we will use the letter of the law to call the postmaster for hearings this week while driving legislation to fix the mess hes purposely made, Schumer said. Bottom-line, we will not stand for the in-your-face slowing down of the mail and the undermining of Americans who depend on medications, VA benefits, paychecks, even food, and we will not allow this to take place all in an effort to hobble the November electionno way. Trump said Thursday in a televised interview hed block emergency funding proposed by Democrats intended to help the USPS handle mail-in voting ballots in November. He said the funding would lead to more citizens opting for mail-in voting, which hes deemed a faulty method of casting ballots. On Friday, the President backtracked on the statement, according to multiple reports, saying he would be willing to provide emergency funding as part of a larger stimulus bill if certain conditions were met by Democrats. Pelosi called on House representatives to participate in a day of action on Tuesday by appearing at a post office in their district for a press event. Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy are under threat from the President, Pelosis letter read. With the media and the Democrats completely dedicated to fictional narratives, from Trump calling neo-Nazis "fine people" to the wacky conspiracy theory that Trump is sabotaging the U.S. Postal Service in order to disenfranchise voters, the challenge facing the Trump campaign is letting truth annihilate propaganda. I have long stressed that President Trump understands video narratives better than any other president in American history. He was the most successful reality television producer in the history of the medium, crafting compelling narratives about job competition that drew record audiences. He understands that in order to reach people effectively, a narrative has to follow a structure similar to that of a play, with three acts. The political narrative of the Trump administration is now entering Act Three, in which the conflicts that developed in the first two acts come to a satisfying conclusion, with surprises sprung and conflicts resolved. We got an excellent preview of the developing messages yesterday, thanks to Maria Bartiromo. If you want to understand the deep currents of American politics, Maria Bartiromo's weekly show on Fox News Channel, Sunday Morning Futures, is essential viewing. Set your DVR to never miss it if you care about politics. Her guests on yesterday's edition, embedded in full below, laid out the arguments that the Trump campaign can use to win the race, despite the full force of the media behind the artificial narratives pushed by the Democrats. Each guest capably explained the reality that invalidates the media narratives the American public is marinated in. I am optimistic about the Trump campaign's ability to push reality into the public consciousness among the persuadable segment of the electorate because the public distrusts the media so deeply and because the truth has a lot of gravity when contrasted with the phony narratives that constitute the Democrats' public stances. Before I describe what each guest covered and provide the time at which the segment starts so readers can focus on what interests them most, I need to note one bombshell that Maria dropped: her sources tell her that John Brennan is slated for an interview with the Durham investigators on Friday of this week. In federal investigations, a target for indictment is usually called in to speak with prosecutors as the last stage of the investigation, after all the relevant facts have been gathered. The mere fact of being called doesn't guarantee an indictment, of course. But in practice, in an investigation such as Durham's, an interview is a necessary but not sufficient precursor of an indictment. Jared Kushner was the first interview, beginning 19 seconds into this video: Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Kushner offered a detailed and convincing narrative of the strategy that the Trump administration has used to completely reverse the position of the United States in the Middle East and bring about peace, rather than war, as the trend. Under the Obama administration, Iran was ascendant, and the Arab regimes were turning away from the United States, while Israel faced terrorism from Hezb'allah and Hamas, financed by Iran with the billions handed over to it by Obama's bribe for the Iran deal. The mainstream media are doing their best to ignore the triumph of the normalization of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel. But as Kushner explains very clearly, it is a landmark that is leading to even better things ahead, heading toward real peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. This is Nobel Peace Prizeworthy. But the Nobel Prize Committee that awarded the Peace Prize to Barack Obama for no accomplishment at all, just for being Obama, is unlikely to recognize this historic major achievement. Kushner strikes me as extremely smart and articulate. Since he was the point man on negotiating with the Arabs and Israelis, it is pretty easy to imagine him selling them on the Trump administration's vision for the new Middle East. The only reservation I have about the way he presents himself is that there is curious lack of affect. I would call it "poker face-plus," in the way he speaks in a monotone and shows no facial expression other than deadpan. The one time he gives away his inner thoughts is when he listens to a question and the corners of his mouth show clues about his reaction. I think Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump are likely to be a force in politics for a long time. It is worthwhile watching the interview just to get a sense of how smart and well controlled he is. Maria followed Jared Kushner with an interview with President Trump, mainly on the Democrats' demands for $25 billion in U.S. Postal Service funding to handle mail-in ballots, and Trump's opposition. They can't appropriate the money without a presidential signature, so he holds the power to scuttle their scheme to steal the election with millions of ballots mailed out, stolen, and harvested. Trump is hanging tough. At the end, Trump also makes the case that Russia hoax coup plot was directed by Obama and Biden another truth bomb that should be a focus of the campaign. Here is where the Trump segment begins: [UPDATE: The following video does not play. We are looking for a live link.] Steve Bannon followed his former boss and explained the big picture of Trump reversing the globalist agenda, which sacrificed American manufacturing, devastating the blue collar middle class, and enriched the top tier of financial and technology elites. Bannon is passionate and articulate. The message he powerfully articulates should win the industrial Midwest for Trump: Here is where Bannon starts: Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Following Bannon is Senator Ron Johnson, who explains how the evidence of the coup has been covered up, but now is breaking out, as long-suppressed evidence finally is coming to light. He speaks with genuine passion and outrage. Given the high probability that indictments will be forthcoming from the Durham (and maybe other) investigators, the members of the electorate who are not already committed to the left have a chance to finally understand "the greatest political crime in American history,"as President Trump described it to Maria. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com The final segment with Steven Schrage on the set-up of spying on Trump campaign, as apparently masterminded by Stefan Halper, Schrage's PhD thesis supervisor at Cambridge University. Halper has been kept in the shadows, probably because he was a spy for the US who collaborated with Britain's MI 6 and Christopher Steele, a former MI 6 spy and has been shielded as a "sources and methods" secret that must be protected. The outrageous sums that were paid to Halper for vague "studies" on broad topics looks to me a lot like the American spooks financing the set-up of spying on the Trump campaign by falsely painting Carter Page as a potential Russian agent when, in fact, he was already an asset for the CIA, which was concealed from the FISA Court by former FBI lawyer Kevin Clinesmith, who reportedly is pleading guilty and turning state's evidence in the Durham probe. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com Photo credit: YouTube screen grab. New Delhi: Jagga Jasoos will uncover about some of its facts through a written piece, The World of Jagga that is to be released on December 20. In a never-seen before marketing initiative, the makers are to unveil the 'World of Jagga', which will showcase the fun and adventures that unfold in the life of Jagga Jasoos, on December 20," said a source close to the team. This content piece will be a teaser of the film, told the source. Jagga Jasoos directed by Anurag Basu and starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif, is scheduled to release on April 7, 2017. Also read: Ranbir Kapoor-Katrina Kaif starrer Jagga Jasoos to release in April 2017 For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. This article, The threat to vote by mail isn't fraud. It's disinformation and sabotage, originally appeared on CNET.com. Millions of Americans have voted by mail securely for more than 150 years, with fraud historically being so rare that election officials wouldn't even consider it significant enough to be a rounding error. But with the coronavirus pandemic pushing a record number of absentee ballot requests, President Donald Trump and his administration has attacked the time-tested system, claiming that it will lead to a chaotic Election Day outcome. Since April, Trump has questioned the legitimacy of vote-by-mail on Twitter, saying it will "lead to massive corruption and fraud," without offering any evidence of what security flaws are present. Attorney General William Barr also claimed, in June, that voting by mail "opens the floodgates to fraud," also without any proof. These attacks on mail-in voting aren't new, but they do come at a time when a record number of people in the US are expected to request absentee ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19 has killed more than 160,000 Americans, causing businesses to shut down to prevent the spread of the infectious disease; pushing people to keep their distance from each other; and leading children to attend school online or have their parties via webcam. Sending in your ballot is the next logical step when trying to stay safe. In Minnesota alone, the number of requests for mail-in ballots has risen more than 16 times, to roughly 470,000, according to Steve Simon, Minnesota's secretary of state, who doesn't buy into the concerns raised by the president. "It would be almost impossible to pull off voter fraud on a scale that would be required to tip the balance," Simon said. "We have vanishingly rare cases of voter misconduct. The security precautions in place have stood the test of time." The real danger is that these attacks damage the credibility of our entire democratic system. Election security officials have long warned that disinformation over votes is more concerning than the potential for someone to tamper with ballots. If you can get people to believe that results aren't legitimate, it doesn't matter whether fraud actually happened. "Nobody really has to successfully attack an election and demonstrate that votes were changed or ballots disappeared," said Mike Hamilton, a founder of CI Security and a former chief information security officer for Seattle. "You just have to raise enough doubt in people's minds." USPS said it remains committed to delivering election mail on time, and has been coordinating with local election officials, despite the many cuts to its services by the Trump administration. The truth is, fraud associated with mail-in ballots is exceedingly rare, and when it does happen, it's miniscule enough that it wouldn't affect the outcome, election officials and experts said, noting there are several safeguards in place. That truth gets distorted thanks to social networks. A Wall Street Journal report found over 100 claims from Trump, via Twitter, attacking mail-in voting, a majority of which are factually inaccurate. The attacks on mail-in ballots, particularly when a pandemic threatens the health of voters and election volunteers, have frustrated experts, who point out that many of the scenarios raised by the Trump administration would be impossible to carry out. "When people throw these ideas around, it shows a lack of understanding of the overall process," said Amber McReynolds, CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute and Coalition, and the former director of elections for Denver. How to get away with vote-by-mail fraud Trump has repeatedly made claims -- which have been disputed by election officials -- that voter fraud could happen through foreign countries printing fake ballots and rigging the election. RIGGED 2020 ELECTION: MILLIONS OF MAIL-IN BALLOTS WILL BE PRINTED BY FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND OTHERS. IT WILL BE THE SCANDAL OF OUR TIMES! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2020 Across the board, election security experts have pointed out just how difficult it would be to carry out election fraud on a scale large enough to actually affect the outcome. Printing a fake ballot would fall into the "nearly impossible" category. "The statement that other governments can print ballots and mail them to everybody is bullshit," Hamilton said. He pointed out that each ballot has a specific barcode generated and matched to the voter, with scanners being able to tell which votes are legitimate. "To print fake ballots with a matching barcode is not even possible." But in case you're curious, here's what you'd need to do to actually carry out voter fraud by mail and affect the outcome of an election. Figure out every registered voter who requested a mail-in ballot Not everyone's going to have a ballot automatically sent to their mailbox. For starters, you need to be registered to vote to receive one, and in some states, you need to have requested an absentee ballot to get it. Election officials aren't going to count votes for people who aren't registered voters, so any nation-state looking to print fake ballots would have to make sure they're for people who actually exist. Absentee ballot requests are confidential in states like North Carolina, so depending on where you are, you'd have to get access to an election county's voter registration records illegally. That's not impossible, as Russian hackers had stolen data from two Florida counties' voter registration databases in 2016, but the next steps make committing fraud even more difficult. Intercept the ballot Now that you know who you're looking to defraud, you have to actually get their ballot to vote in their name. You can intercept the ballots by either racing to every mailbox and snatching the envelope out before the voters receive them while hoping they don't notice it's gone, or changing the voters' address so that they all send to your inbox instead. "You have to get into the voter registration system, get their address changed and go undetected doing that," Vote at Home's McReynolds said. "If you're in a state that offers ballot tracking, you have to avoid voters getting a text saying 'your ballot is on its way to you' or seeing that it went to the wrong address. You have to assume they're not going to vote or pay attention in a presidential year where we're going to have the highest turnout on record." Counties across the US use ballot tracking, including Virginia, Florida, Kansas, South Carolina, Michigan and Illinois. BallotScout, an app from the organization Democracy Works, offers online tracking services for ballots where voters can see the status of their ballot the same way you'd track a package shipping. Ballot envelopes have specific barcodes on them that let the US Postal Service know that the package is a vote, with unique serial numbers on them tied to individual voter records. If you're trying to intercept a ballot, you'll need to overcome this tracking system too. "A voter would be able to see their ballot move through the mail stream, and they can advocate for themselves now," said Jessenia Eliza, Democracy Works' director of government initiatives. "They can say they sent this ballot five days ago, it should've been received, and call the office themselves." Get good at forging signatures and really good at guessing Nearly every state requires a signature on the ballot to verify a voter's identity when it's mailed in. The signatures need to match the ones logged on the voter's registration file, and is required for both issuing ballots and counting the vote. "Forging someone else's signature on an application and submitting it to receive a ballot is both extremely difficult, and a crime," Michigan's Department of State said in a statement. "It is rarely attempted." Some states require multiple signatures, like a notary or a witness to sign off on the mail-in ballot. In North Carolina, voters have to sign their ballots in front of a witness, who also signs the envelope the vote is sent in. When you register to vote in Minnesota, Simon said, you also have to provide your driver's license number, your state ID number and the last four digits of your Social Security number. The state uses that to verify votes also. So once you intercept the ballot, you'd need to be able to account for all of these details too. "Unless the mailbox thief knows not only the person's personal identifying information, or which specific form they used, the joke is on the would-be thief," Simon said. Assuming you try your luck at forging signatures, some counties also have machines scanning for accuracy on the votes to make sure they match up. If it's not a good enough match, it often gets flagged to a person to check, and if enough anomalies pop up, election officials said they would investigate further. If you've successfully gotten through all of these security checks, congratulations: You've done something most election officials would consider nearly impossible. But remember, you need to do this for hundreds -- if not thousands -- of people for your effort to actually affect the outcome. Laying the groundwork for disinformation A much easier way of disrupting the process is to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election's outcome. Lawmakers are criticizing the Trump administration's decision to replace the United States Postal Service's two top executives, calling it a veiled attempt to sabotage the mail system and disrupt the mail-in voting process. Trump is also opposing funding to the Postal Service that would help it handle all of the mailed-in ballots. "They want $25 billion, 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," Trump said in an interview with Fox Business on Aug. 13. It could mean delays in receiving mail-in ballots, leading to uncertainty on Election Day and sowing more doubt. Stacking the deck against USPS makes it much easier to cast doubt and disinformation about the election's outcome. The USPS also has a warning for the public. "In order to allow sufficient time for voters to receive, complete and return ballots via the mail, and to facilitate timely receipt of completed ballots by election officials, the Postal Service strongly recommends that jurisdictions immediately communicate and advise voters to request ballots at the earliest point allowable but no later than 15 days prior to the election date," a USPS spokeswoman said in a statement. Because a lot of votes are expected to come in by mail, there's already an expected delay in results for tallying the ballots. Many states have deadlines to vote by mail right up until the polls close, which means you're not likely to get the results on Election Day. New York City's primaries have taken weeks to tally up its mail-in votes, and experts are concerned about the same for the general election in November. People are used to knowing who won the election that same evening. The longer the delay, the greater chance there is for disinformation and distrust to flow on social media. "Mail ballots certainly do take more time to process," McReynolds said. "We need to have a national conversation on what voting results look like." Digital doubt Disruptions can also come digitally -- election officials are frequently on alert for cyberattacks, working with government agencies like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to test for vulnerabilities. There's no evidence that hackers have ever changed votes in an election, but a cyberattack could still cause concerns for officials. Counties that use computers to verify signatures, for example, could be affected if those devices are vulnerable. "A ransomware attack could affect the outcome of an election if it happens during the counting process," CI Security's Hamilton said. "If I can encrypt your data, I have enough access to change it. How are we going to prove it wasn't changed? It's the integrity of the votes -- that's exactly where this applies." Simon, the secretary of state of Minnesota, said that while a cyberattack could cause disruptions, paper ballots and human intervention would prevent it from becoming catastrophic. People could still count the votes by hand, and even if the voter registration database was deleted, Minnesota has same-day voter registration policies. "Let's say a malicious hacker deletes a bunch of voter records so that an eligible voter stops in and they tell her she's not on the list," Simon said. "The remedy there would be some sighs and then a re-registration. We have figured out ways to foil or at least delay the impact of those kinds of things." Election officials can have security measures in place to prevent mail-in voter fraud and cyberattacks, but managing disinformation is going to be a much more difficult challenge. Twitter and Facebook have both labeled Trump's posts on mail-in voting as misleading information, but it hasn't stopped the spread of disinformation. A ProPublica investigation in July found that nearly half of all top posts on Facebook about voting by mail were misleading, presenting a concern more threatening than voter fraud for election officials. "You have to retain public confidence in these systems," Simon said. "My worry is that there's been criticism bordering on trash-talking." Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - August 17, 2020) - The Stock Day Podcast welcomed US Nuclear Corp. (OTC Pink: UCLE) ("the Company"), a radiation and chemical detection holding company specializing in the development and manufacturing and sales of radiation and chemical detection instrumentation. CEO of the Company, Bob Goldstein, joined Stock Day host Everett Jolly. The interview began with Goldstein discussing the complications found in patients that have survived COVID-19. "Most of them have not dodged the bullet completely," explained Goldstein. "We all know that COVID-19 attacks the lungs, but at the same time the virus is affecting the heart, blood vessels, liver, intestines, brain, nervous system, and can cause blood clots, strokes, and seizures," he continued. "The people who are hospitalized, and even some that are not, are in need of serious medical care for months or even years to come." "How does nuclear medicine and medical isotopes apply to COVID-19?" asked Jolly. Goldstein elaborated on the importance of in depth patient scanning and testing to allow medical professionals to properly care for COVID-19 patients. "The nuclear medicine scans are really fantastic because you can target a specific organ, and you can see it not just as a picture, but see it in motion," shared Goldstein, adding that this allows doctors to view and analyze the structure and function of different organs. Goldstein also shared that medical isotopes such as Technecium-99 are vital for nuclear medicine scanning and isotopes such as Cobalt-60 are urgently needed for sterilizing clothing, equipment and supplies. "Because of Covid-19 these isotopes are in even higher demand than before." "What makes an isotope is the number of neutrons," explained Goldstein. "MIFTEC is scheduled to do a new test with their neutron generator, and this test will be made with four to ten times more power going through it than MIFTEC's previous tests," said Goldstein, "That should get them the data that will allow them to make their final adjustments and start production." "Why is there an isotope shortage?" asked Jolly. "The reason for the shortage is that the isotopes are sort of a secondary use for a few nuclear power plants around the world; none of these plants are in North America," said Goldstein. "You can imagine there is a horrible logistics problem," he added, noting the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. "These are 40 year old reactors that are going to be phased out over time, so a new source of isotopes is needed," explained Goldstein. "MIFTEC uses heavy water that is distilled from sea water, so it doesn't come from highly enriched uranium, which is what most of the plants are now using," he continued. "There's no radiation waste when they're done." Goldstein then explained that the medical isotope generator developed by MIFTEC is modular, allowing it to be used by single or multiple hospitals. "I think it's going to be a huge improvement," said Goldstein. "We do have some competitors, but with a $7 billion shortage, that will keep all of the competitors very busy." "When do you think that will go into production?" asked Jolly. "I think we'll get the final prototype sometime this coming year and then we'll go into production in 2022," shared Goldstein. To close the interview, Goldstein shared that the Company has been continually improving upon their technology in the medical isotope sector and is now looking forward to entering the production phase. To hear Bob Goldstein's entire interview, follow the link to the podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/7659641-us-nuclear-corp-discusses-supporting-our-covid-survivors-by-combating-the-global-medical-isotope 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 US Nuclear Corp. US Nuclear Corp is a radiation and chemical detection holding company specializing in the development and manufacturing and sales of radiation and chemical detection instrumentation. Through three operating divisions (Technical Associates (TA), Overhoff Technology (OTC), and Electronic Control Concepts (ECC), US Nuclear Corp. harbors more than 100 years of combined experience in supplying top of the line instrumentation to any industry utilizing radionuclides. This includes nuclear power plants, national laboratories, government agencies, homeland security, military, universities and schools, research companies, hospitals, medical and dental centers, energy companies, weapons facilities, first responders, local governments, and manufacturing plants. Safe Harbor Act This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ from expectations, estimates and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as "expect," "estimate," "project," "budget," "forecast," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "may," "will," "could," "should," "believes," "predicts," "potential," "continue," and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. Investors may find additional information regarding US Nuclear Corp. at the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov, or the company's website at www.usnuclearcorp.com CONTACT: US Nuclear Corp. (UCLE) Robert I. Goldstein, President, CEO, and Chairman (818) 883 7043 Email: info@usnuclearcorp.com 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/61933 Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has announced government's plans to reopen schools early September, despite a surge in COVID-19 cases. In his weekly national address Saturday evening President Chakwera said only schools which meet the governments safety standards on coronavirus prevention will be allowed to reopen. But health experts warn of further spread of the disease should the schools fail to put up necessary measures to contain the spread. Malawis government announced the indefinite closure of schools on March 20 before the country registered its first three cases of COVID-19, on April 2. But as of Saturday, Malawi had confirmed 5,026 cases and 157 deaths. In his weekly national address on Saturday, Chakwera said the decision to reopen the schools stems from strides Malawi is making in its fight against COVID-19. He says although the number of those who have been found with the virus has now passed 5,000, only 5% have gotten sick enough to need hospitalization. Even among the 389 health workers, who have contracted the virus, we have lost only one and the rest are in recovery. The daily update by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 shows over half of the confirmed cases have so far recovered. This leaves the country with 2,246 active cases out of nearly 40,000 people so far tested across the county. Chakwera said such efforts are worth being commended. He says It is because of their organization that we are now able to set some benchmarks for the restoration of social order and the recovery of the economy. For instance, in the education cluster of the taskforce, guidelines have already been developed on what schools need to do to reopen safely. The move to reopen schools is an apparent response to a request from education activists who last week met Chakwera and told him the closure of schools was jeopardizing the future of students, especially girls. They cited hundreds of girls across the country who have fallen pregnant and others getting married since the schools closed. Titus Divala, an expert in epidemics at Malawis College of Medicine, warns that the good number of recoveries form COVID-19 should not be a ticket for complacency. The unfortunate thing that will happen is that once we reopen the number of cases may increase again, the number of deaths may increase again. So what will happen is that now there will be a huge burden on an innocent sector that has single-handedly fought the epidemic from the beginning, health sector. Earlier this week, Ministry of Health announced guidelines for school authorities to follow once schools are reopened. These include temperature checks, documentation of persistent cough or shortness of breath, and routine documentation of students from families affected by COVID-19. The Health Ministry also recommended washing of hands with soap and water or using hand sanitizer for students, wearing a face mask and observing physical distance. However Chakwera said the government will from this week start assessing the readiness of each school so that only schools that meet safety standards can reopen. A woman in Hawaii ambushed a small wedding ceremony and threatened to call the police on them for apparently violating local COVID-19 regulations. The coronavirus confrontation happened in a tucked away area of Waimanalo Beach in Oahu, home to the capital Honolulu and the highest number of cases in the state. The video begins with the unidentified wedding crasher filming with her cell phone as she walks onto Waimanalo Beach. 'They're hiding,' she says, turning towards what appears to be a row of houses or rental properties. 'The cops are coming.' 'They're getting married right now. I'm trying not to be really rude, but I've had enough of this s***,' she adds. She focuses her camera on a group of around eight people, some of whom are wearing face masks, in the midst of sharing nuptials. 'Aloha, aloha! Thats not your house, youre lying. This is the beach and the beach is closed,' the unidentified woman says. The bride is heard trying to explain the situation, but the woman interrupts to point of that the beach is currently closed because of the pandemic. She tells the group, which includes children, that they will arrested for holding the wedding ceremony on the beach. 'The cops are coming,' the woman says before turning her attention to the officiant of the wedding. 'You're always doing this for money!' An unidentified woman recorded herself breaking up a small wedding on Waimanalo Beach on Oahu, Hawaii, over COVID-19 beach regulations The officiant ushers the small group off the beach and towards the residence while the woman continues to chide them. When one guest argues that they were on someone's property, the woman answers,'You want to tell me about property? Lets talk about property cause she's going to get arrested, too.' 'It's not harassing,' the woman adds. A bystander who appears to have witnessed the exchange defends the wedding ceremony. 'Honey, these people dont know thats the property line,' she says. It's unclear by the video's end if the group was arrested or if the couple was successfully married. However, the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural resources ordered that beach wedding permits are invalid through September 4. 'With the approval of Governor Ige, Mayor Caldwell closed Oahu beaches to all activities except ocean access effective 8/8/20 at 12:01AM through 9/4/20,' the agency said. Unidentified woman: 'Aloha, aloha! Thats not your house, youre lying. This is the beach and the beach is closed' The woman chastised the wedding party for reportedly throwing a beach wedding after Oahu officials prohibited the act earlier this month 'No new Wiki Permits will be issued for Oahu and any permits already issued for dates in the closure period are invalid.' Activities like surfing and swimming are still allowed, but social gatherings on the beach are not. Additionally, certain types of short-term rentals, including renting out an entire home to tourists for a short period of time, were deemed illegal on Oahu on August 1. The island is working to mitigate coronavirus spread and unregulated tourism. It's unclear if members of the wedding party were tourists or locals. Honolulu County, where Waimanalo Beach is located, has recorded 4,591 confirmed coronavirus cases, 33 deaths and 246 hospitalizations since Friday. The Hawaii COVID-19 dashboard showed Honolulu County far surpassing the number of cases and deaths of other counties. Hawaii County amassed 146 cases, Kauai County had 54 and Maui County counted 226. The entire state of Hawaii has just over 5,000 infections and 39 deaths. Officials in Hawaii have struggled with tourism during the pandemic because of visitors fleeing to the islands and not quarantining for 14 days, per official mandate. In one instance, a 20-year-old from Oregon and a 19-year-old from Washington were arrested in May for violating the mandatory 14-day travel quarantine. The Oregon man was also arrested for animal cruelty after allegedly shooting a rooster with a speargun in Honolulu. At that time, Hawaii officials announced that they had arrested 15 people for flouting the 14-day quarantine. Passive investing in an index fund is a good way to ensure your own returns roughly match the overall market. Active investors aim to buy stocks that vastly outperform the market - but in the process, they risk under-performance. Investors in Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (ASX:CCL) have tasted that bitter downside in the last year, as the share price dropped 15%. That's well below the market decline of 0.2%. On the other hand, the stock is actually up 5.3% over three years. The silver lining is that the stock is up 2.8% in about a week. View our latest analysis for Coca-Cola Amatil To paraphrase Benjamin Graham: Over the short term the market is a voting machine, but over the long term it's a weighing machine. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Unhappily, Coca-Cola Amatil had to report a 8.3% decline in EPS over the last year. This reduction in EPS is not as bad as the 15% share price fall. Unsurprisingly, given the lack of EPS growth, the market seems to be more cautious about the stock. You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Even so, future earnings will be far more important to whether current shareholders make money. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Coca-Cola Amatil's earnings, revenue and cash flow. What About Dividends? As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Coca-Cola Amatil's TSR for the last year was -11%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! Story continues A Different Perspective While the broader market lost about 0.2% in the twelve months, Coca-Cola Amatil shareholders did even worse, losing 11% (even including dividends). Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. On the bright side, long term shareholders have made money, with a gain of 5.8% per year over half a decade. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. I find it very interesting to look at share price over the long term as a proxy for business performance. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Coca-Cola Amatil you should know about. Coca-Cola Amatil is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on AU exchanges. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 13:52:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Three security personnel, including two belonging to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a local policeman, were killed when unidentified militants opened fire at them in India-controlled Kashmir, local media reported on Monday. Two other CRPF personnel were also injured in the attack, a local senior cop told the media. The incident occurred in India-controlled Kashmir's Baramulla district when a group of militants attacked a joint team of the CRPF and local police. According to the latest media reports, the area has been cordoned off and a search operation is on to nab the militants. A guerrilla war is going on between militants and Indian troops stationed in the region since 1989. Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their Independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Enditem RYE BROOK, N.Y., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Here to Serve Holding Corp. (OTC:HTSC) ("HTSC") is pleased to announce nine-month earnings of $362,034, or $0.01 per share, and third quarter earnings of $323,653, or $0.01 per share, and for the periods ended June 30, 2020. Revenues amounted to $494,990 and $283,965 for the nine- and three-month periods ended June 30, 2020, respectively. According to Paul Riss, CEO of HTSC, "We are pleased to report a profitable quarter to our fellow shareholders. Our newly formed division, Executive Industries, was a profitable addition to the company's operations. We find ourselves now with large portfolio positions in Agri-Dynamics Inc., a mining and exploration company trading under the symbol OTC:AGDY and ATWEC Technologies Inc., a growing security firm trading under the symbol OTC:ATWT. We are providing substantial consulting, marketing and advisory services to these firms and believe they will become attractive assets in the months and years to come, enhancing our balance sheet as we grow together." "The company is firing on all cylinders and our customer and vendor partners have multiplied in the past nine months," continued Mr. Riss. "The demand for Executive Industries' services from small public companies has been tremendous. We plan to invest heavily in moving all company subsidiaries and divisions forward expeditiously. We are also making adjustments to our business model as opportunities present themselves. We look forward to announcing a timely and industry needed acquisition in the coming days that we believe will help us substantially grow shareholder value." The quarterly report is available on https://www.otcmarkets.com. About Here to Serve Holding Corp. Here to Serve Holding Corp. operates as three entities: Novus Ordo Industries Inc. ("Novus"), ICF Industries Inc. ("ICF") and Executive Industries, which operates as a division of ICF. Novus is a California-based licensed construction company. Working with strategic partners, Novus provides its clients with architectural, engineering, and construction services for the custom building of residential homes, commercial properties, hotels and cannabis facilities using insulated concrete forms. ICF is a distribution, consulting and sales corporation designed to supply construction material throughout North America. ICF has contracts to distribute a diverse array of industrial products such as stuccoes, plasters, insulated concrete forms, Gigahomes, modular homes and greenhouses and medical supplies from strategically designated vendors. Executive Industries offers corporate advisory, consulting and marketing services to both public and privately-owned companies. Executive Industries helps entities with corporate strategy, negotiation, corporate structure, marketing and executive management decisions. The information contained herein includes forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond our control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Any forward-looking statement reflects our current views with respect to future events and is subject to these and other risks, uncertainties and assumptions relating to our operations, results of operations, growth strategy and liquidity. We assume 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. SOURCE Here to Serve Holding Corp. By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The election to local self-governments in the state will be held adhering to the COVID-19 protocol. The local body polls will not be postponed in view of the COVID-19 scenario. However, the date of the election will be finalised only after high-level discussions with the government and various political parties, State Election Commissioner V Bhaskaran has said. He was addressing mediapersons after a meeting with the state health department on the conduct of elections adhering to the COVID-19 protocol here on Monday. In view of the prevailing situation, the protocol will kick in during campaigning also. According to Bhaskaran, the elections could be conducted without any disruptions complying with all the norms issued by the health department. "A fresh protocol will be prepared by the health department for the election. The commission will conduct the containment activities for the officers who will be deputed for election duties. The health department will engage in creating awareness among the public, political parties and election duty officers," he said. The elections are due this year in all the local self-governments except Mattannur municipality in Kannur district. The five year administration of the local self-governments will be completed on November 11. "It is the responsibility of the election commission to conduct elections on time. Hence we are going ahead with the elections. However, the date will be decided after weighing all options," Bhaskaran said. The training for the officers deputed for the polls will begin this month itself as per the guidelines of the health department. Online training will be conducted for master trainers while the other officers will undergo training at block level by forming separate batches with 30 members in each batch. The health department will also assist the commission in the training process. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (DiDi) has launched onto its App the navigation function that can be used by the general public, marking its ambition to deploy its self-owned mapping business. Currently, the newly-launched function is only available in some cities like Shenzhen and Chengdu, while has not been popularized nationwide yet. Compared to congeneric Apps, DiDi navigation offers similar functions, such as pathfinding and providing three routes for users' options. However, some nuances in road demonstration and marking can still be noticed, which need to be improved in the future. DiDi's deployment in mapping business can date back to October 2017 when Ditu (Beijing) Technology Co.,Ltd., DiDi's subsidiary dedicated to manufacturing electronic navigation map, filed for the Class-A qualification certificate of navigable surveying and mapping to the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. In December of that year, DiDi was formally granted the certificate. In the eyes of many industry insiders, DiDi's mapping deployment may be an unnecessary move as the cake has been largely taken by two giantsAutoNavi and Baidu. However, for DiDi, the mapping and navigation businesses will help it better form a data close loop, so as to improve its mobility service quality. Besides, the huge raft of data about passengers and drivers collected by DiDi will provide data foundation for the continuous improvements of its navigation and mapping development. More importantly, HD map is considered crucial to autonomous driving development, which is one of major technical businesses DiDi has been forging ahead with. The company began on June 27 the trials for self-driving taxis in downtown Shanghai, offering free trips to users who are prepared to trust the AI-powered machines (photo source: DiDi). The Karnataka government has decided to recover the cost of damages to public property during violence in Bengaluru from the protesters. Our Govt has decided to assess the damages caused to public & private property in the violent incidents in KG Halli & DG Halli & recover the costs from the culprits. We will approach Honble High Court for appointment of Claim Commissioner as per Honble Supreme Court order, chief minister BS Yediyurappa announced in a series of tweets on Monday. Our Govt has decided to assess the damages caused to public & private property in the violent incidents in KG Halli & DG Halli & recover the costs from the culprits. We will approach Hon'ble High Court for appointment of Claim Commissioner as per Hon'ble Supreme Court order (1/3) B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) August 17, 2020 He further said that stringent action has been initiated against the culprits of violence. The state government has booked them under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). A Special Investigation Team has already been formed to conduct a detailed investigation in the matter and a team of three special prosecutors will be appointed for speedy trial of the cases. SIT will consider invoking Goonda Act if warranted, Yediyurappa said. Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the state government will hold discussion with representatives of the social media companies to regulate it. As far as social media is concerned, we are looking into the present law. Were going to have a discussion with technical chiefs of all social media companies shortly. We wish to have some regulation which will be applicable to social media, Bommai said. At least three people were killed and 60 police personnel injured after violence broke out in the eastern part of Bengaluru last week over a social media message, which was allegedly posted by a relative of a Congress legislator. The police arrested 340 people for arson, stone-pelting and assault on cops, officials said. Congress member of legislative assembly (MLA) Srinivas Murthys nephew was also arrested for sharing the derogatory post on Facebook. Murthys house was attacked by people for the alleged controversial Facebook post regarding a religious figure by his nephew. Lilly Wachowski confirmed a popular fan theory earlier this month when she acknowledged that The Matrix trilogy, which she wrote and directed with sister Lana Wachowski, was in fact a transgender allegory. Im glad that it has gotten out that that was the original intention, the filmmaker said in a video for Netflix Film Club. In a new interview with Yahoo Entertainment, the series star Keanu Reeves reacted to Wachowskis revelation, admitting he was unaware of those particular deeper meanings. I never spoke to Lilly about that, she never conveyed that to me, Reeves told us during an interview promoting the new installment of whats now his other sci-fi trilogy, Bill & Ted Face the Music, where he was joined by costar Alex Winter (watch above). I think The Matrix films are profound, and I think that allegorically, a lot of people in different versions of the film can speak to that. And for Lilly to come out and share that with us, I think is cool. Fans have speculated about what gender identity intentions the Wachowskis had in mind for the series, which kicked off with 1999s The Matrix and was followed by 2003s The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, since at least 2012 when Lana came out as transgender. Lilly followed suit in 2016. Keanu Reeves in 'The Matrix' (Warner Bros.) Some of the more prevalent theories pointed to the fact that Reevess hero lives a double life as computer programmer and hacker, that his chosen name is Neo, and that the red pill that awakens reality within the Matrix could symbolize red estrogen pills. Im glad people are talking about The Matrix movies with a trans narrative, Lilly said in the Netflix video. I love how meaningful those films are to trans people and the way that they come up to me say, Those movies saved my life. Because when you talk about transformation, specifically in the world of science fiction, which is just about imagination and world-building and the idea of the seemingly impossible becoming possible, thats why it speaks it to them so much. Story continues Reeves began filming the upcoming sequel The Matrix 4 in San Francisco in February, but the production was shut down due to the coronavirus in mid-March. Asked if the newly confirmed themes will manifest in the sequel, which is being directed by Lana only (from a screenplay she wrote with Aleksander Hemon and David Mitchell) and slated for release in 2022, Reeves said this: I dont know. I think itll be open to interpretation, he laughed. Bill & Ted Face the Music opens in theaters and on video on demand Aug. 28. Watch the trailer: -Video produced by Jon San Read more on Yahoo Entertainment: Bangkok, Aug 17 : Thousands of young protesters took to the streets of Bangkok and repeated calls for a constitution amendment, subsequent dissolution of Parliament and an end to coups in Thailand. The protesters, led by the so-called Free People movement in alliance with the so-called Free Youth movement, peacefully gathered on Sunday at Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnoen Avenue under police watch, reports Xinhua news agency. The leading demostrators, majority of them university students, repeatedly called for the government to put forward constitution amendment. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has been pressed by the protesters to dissolve parliament, which will be automatically followed by a general election of MPs, after the sought-after constitution amendment is completed. In recent days, Thai pro-democracy activists have been defying a government ban on public gatherings amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic to protest against the Prime Minister who seized power in a coup in 2014. Christies has announced its support for the art community in Lebanon and it will stage a charity auction to benefit the efforts to rebuild the cultural scene in Beirut following the devastating recent events. Being held under the title: "We Are All Beirut - Art for Beirut: A Charity Auction," the online auction will be held late October to the first half of November 2020. Guillaume Cerutti, CEO Christies, commented: We are committed to help and hope that many of our international clients, friends and collectors will follow our call to action. Seeing the images of devastation on Tuesday 4 August will always remain in all our collective memory and our thoughts are with all families, friends and artists who have lost so much. We hope to raise enough funds with this initiative to make a significant difference. My deepest thank you to all who have already committed or inquired about what Christies plans to help rebuild the artistic community of Beirut. Michael Jeha, Chairman Christies Middle East, said: Lebanese art has been at the heart of our Middle Eastern auctions since 2006 and Christies feels a deep sense of responsibility to be part of the global efforts to help rebuild Beirut, a city so rich in culture. We have been so affected by the solidarity shown and the sincere wishes to help that Christies has received in the past week. Caroline Louca-Kirkland, Managing Director Christies Middle East, noted that the Christies initiative will include approximately 40 to 50 lots of international and regional art, jewellery, design and watches to raise significant funds to help in rebuilding the citys art and cultural community, including the Sursock museum. Lebanon -- its people, its culture and its creative community has contributed so significantly to the wider art landscape and this sale provides an opportunity to demonstrate the extensive and long-term support and affinity that both the region and international communities have for the rebuilding of Lebanons cultural destinations. The first Christies charity sale held in the Middle East was the Camel Caravan Charity auction in 2004 which raised $1.3 million / AED4.7 million. The most recent was conducted in partnership with the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia in June 2019 entitled Art for Al Balad which raised $1.3 million / SAR4.7 million in aid of SAR for a new heritage Museum in Jeddahs Historical District, a Unesco World Heritage Site. - TradeArabia News Service The move comes as the United States toughens scrutiny of Chinese-owned firms in one of its most promising markets BIGO Technology, a smaller rival of embattled Chinese appmaker ByteDance, is shifting servers from Hong Kong to Singapore, out of the reach of a new national security law at a time when it is seeking to emphasise independence from its Chinese parent. The move, which follows India's ban on the firm's apps during this year's flare-up in hostilities between New Delhi and Beijing, comes as the United States toughens scrutiny of Chinese-owned firms in one of its most promising markets. President Donald Trump has said the United States could exert more pressure on China-owned companies after threatening to ban ByteDance's popular short-video app TikTok over concerns about the safety of the personal data it handles. Bigo, whose equivalent app, Likee, and live streaming app, Bigo Live, compete with TikTok, has not been named by U.S. authorities, but a senior official of the firm told Reuters it hoped "not to be caught in the crossfire." "The unfortunate thing is sometimes we can't control what other people think," Mike Ong, vice president of government relations, said in an interview at the firm's headquarters in the city state, where it was founded in 2014. Ong said the firm runs "totally independently" of JOYY , a U.S.-listed Chinese tech firm that bought it last year in a deal valuing Bigo at $2.1 billion. Bigo is an abbreviation of "Before I Get Old." JOYY's chief executive, Chinese national David Li, is a co-founder and chairman of both companies. Ong, who worked with Singapore's telecoms regulator before joining Bigo late last year, said it does not provide services in China, and has its own management, resources and infrastructure, including data centres. With Hong Kong's new national security law giving Beijing authority to demand that companies turn over user data, Bigo, like other global tech firms, is moving its servers out of the semi-autonomous city. "There's a certain apprehension with what's going on in Hong Kong," said Ong. "To be safe, we have decided to make sure that we relocate them (servers) to Singapore." Bigo's biggest data centre capacity is in Singapore, along with other markets where it operates, such as India, the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Still, despite its repeated assertions of independence and Singapore origins, India banned it, along with some Chinese apps, in June as presenting threats to the South Asian nation's "sovereignty and integrity", after a border clash with China. India is among Bigo's biggest markets and the base of more than a fifth of its global staff of 5,000. Bigo said it had appealed to both Singapore and Indian governments for help in the matter. Neither immediately responded to a request for comment. Singapore is among the most popular locations for Chinese firms looking to expand overseas, since ethnic Chinese make up a majority of its population and Mandarin is widely spoken. But even there, Bigo's situation exemplifies the growing challenges for firms in a world of increasingly polarised technology. "The ownership of a company isn't decided by where the headquarters is, but who takes the majority share," said Xiaofeng Wang, an analyst with research firm Forrester. If countries were to ban apps based on politics, companies would have few options even if they were separate entities from their parents with different brands, she added. Asked if the company was looking at listing Bigo, diversifying its ownership or selling its U.S. business, Ong said it was weighing various scenarios, but declined to give details. As the coronavirus pandemic forces people to stay home, Bigo has become a major growth driver for parent JOYY. Bigo Live has seen growth of more than 30% in monthly active users since the start of the year, with a corresponding figure of 50% for Likee. Europe and North America are the firm's fastest growing markets, it said. Search Keywords: Short link: Gordon Ramsay's restaurant empire made a profit of more than 15million last year and is pressing ahead with plans to open 50 eateries across the UK. The TV chef, famous for his salty language, is also planning a major expansion into Asia with 200 sites in the next five years. His ambitions to 'create a billion-dollar dining proposition' are undented by the Covid-19 pandemic that has devastated much of the hospitality trade. Cooking up something big: Gordon Ramsay, pictured with wife Tana, is pressing ahead with plans to open 50 new restaurants across the UK Ramsay believes the restaurants will create around 2,000 jobs in the UK including some in head office. 'We have big dreams, big plans and a global strategy so ambitious it takes my breath away,' he said. 'We have had to acknowledge and review the impact of the horrendous coronavirus pandemic. 'We continue to be optimistic and ambitious, knowing it is more important than ever before to invest in our industry, to support suppliers and to create jobs.' Brands in his stable include Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, the three Michelin-starred fine-dining flagship in Chelsea, and Petrus in Belgravia. At the more modest end of the scale are Bread Street Kitchen, Heddon Street Kitchen, Union Street Cafe and Street Pizza. At present, Ramsay's restaurants are concentrated in London. He is expected to look at more openings in other cities such as Manchester and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as well as further outlets in the capital. Despite the coronavirus, he intends to launch a new 'Street Burger' outlet this winter, which will be modelled on his 15 all-you-can-eat Street Pizza brand. A second Hell's Kitchen is opening in Dubai the first is in Las Vegas and a Pub and Grill is scheduled to open in Macau in the autumn. Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, his company, made pre-tax profits of 15.1million on sales of 54.6million in the year to the end of August 2019. During that period, he secured a $100million deal with investor Lion Capital to expand in North America, where he has a Pub and Grill in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and steak restaurants in Baltimore and Atlantic City. The restaurant company is now in talks with potential backers in the UK and Asia, including Lion Capital, over funding for the next round of expansion. Ramsay, 53, was criticised during the pandemic for allegedly using the taxpayer-funded furlough scheme to pay staff. Sources said virtually none of his employees are currently on furlough and that Ramsay had put up several million pounds of his own fortune to bolster the group during the pandemic. If his programme of openings is successful, it will be a boost to the hospitality trade which has been flattened by the coronavirus. But fellow TV chef Jamie Oliver saw his UK restaurant empire collapse last year with the loss of 1,000 jobs. Ramsay, however, said he is confident he can succeed where others have failed. 'I've lived and breathed the restaurant business for over 30 years. Fundamentally our focus is, and will always be on the guest and their experience. 'We have seen the mistakes others have made by not being focused, we do not intend to make the same mistakes,' he said. TOKYO Japans economy shrank 7.8 percent in the second quarter of the year, its worst performance on record, as the coronavirus pandemic ground economic activity to a near halt in April and May. The nosedive in output in the three months an annualized drop of 27.8 percent was the third straight quarter of contraction for Japan, the worlds third-largest economy after the United States and China. It followed a 0.6 percent decline in the first quarter of 2020, or an annualized decrease of 2.2 percent, the countrys government said on Monday. It is the largest decrease since 1955, when the Japanese government began to use gross domestic product as a measure of its economy. Already weakened by a tax increase, slowing demand from China and a series of natural disasters last fall, Japans economy became the first among major nations to officially fall into recession when the pandemic hit, causing exports to plunge and effectively obliterating the countrys tourism sector. By Associated Press MINSK: Thousands of factory workers in Belarus took to the streets and hundreds of demonstrators besieged the state television headquarters Monday, raising the pressure on authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after 26 years in office. On the ninth straight day of protests against the official results of the Aug. 9 presidential vote handing him a sixth term, Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in the capital in a bid to rally support but was heckled by workers chanting Go away! Facing the angry crowd, the 65-year-old former state farm director dismissed the calls to step down. As he spoke, over 5,000 striking workers from the Minsk Tractor Works plant marched down the streets of Minsk, demanding that Lukashenko cede his post to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate. The official results of the Aug. 9 vote gave Lukashenko 80% of the votes and Tsikhanouskaya only 10%, but the opposition claimed the vote was rigged. ALSO READ | UK rejects 'fraudulent' Belarus election results, warns of sanctions Lukashenko is a former president, he needs to go, Sergei Dylevsky, the leader of the protest at the Minsk Tractor Works plant, told The Associated Press on Monday. Sveta (Tsikhanouskaya) is our president, legitimate and elected by the people. Tsikhanouskaya, a 37-year-old former English teacher, entered the race after her husbands jailing in Belarus. She managed to galvanize nationwide support, drawing tens of thousands to her campaign rallies. Large-scale protests against the vote results continued even after she left the country for Lithuania last week, a move her campaign said was made under duress. The protests have posed the biggest challenge yet to Lukashenko's iron-fisted rule of the ex-Soviet nation of 9.5 million. Belarusian authorities initially tried to suppress the rallies, detaining almost 7,000 people in the first days of the protests. Police moved aggressively, using stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds, injuring scores of people. However, as protests grew and the harsh crackdown drew criticism in the West, law enforcement refrained from interfering with the crowds and appeared all but absent during a rally on Sunday that attracted some 200,000 people. In Brussels, European Council President Charles Michel convened an emergency summit of EU leaders on Wednesday to discuss the handling of the election and the crackdown in the wake of the polls. The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader," Michel said in a tweet. Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed. The video-conference summit will take place on Wednesday at 1000 GMT. On Friday, the 27 EU foreign ministers underlined that the elections were neither free nor fair and that they refuse to accept the results of the polls, as announced by the Belarus electoral commission. They tasked officials with drawing up a list of people who could face sanctions over their role in the violence. Tsikhanouskaya said in a video statement Monday she was ready to facilitate a rerun of the disputed election. I'm ready to take on the responsibility and act as a national leader in order for the country to calm down, return to its normal rhythm, in order for us to free all the political prisoners and prepare legislation and conditions for organizing new presidential elections, she said. Lukashenko bristled at the idea of talks with the opposition, insisting his government was the only legitimate one, and rejected the idea of repeating the election at a rally in his support on Sunday. The embattled president told a crowd of 50,000 that the country would perish as a state otherwise, and denounced the protesters as stooges of foreign masterminds. Lukashenko visited another tractor plant on Monday and dismissed the strikes as insignificant. So, 150 (people) at some factory, even 200 don't make a difference," the president was quoted as saying by the state Belta news agency. Thousands of workers from several other plants in the meantime gathered outside, shouting We're not sheep, we're people," and Strike! Maria Kolesnikova, Tsikhanouskaya's top associate, attended the gathering and said that only the former president (Lukashenko) stepping down will calm the nation down." Senator Kamala Harris, the first-ever American of Indian and African descent to be the vice presidential candidate of a major political party, had at one point asked her aunt in India to break coconuts for good luck at a Hindu temple when she was in the fray for California attorney general election in 2010, according to a media report. Harris had won the election by a margin of 0.8 per cent. The New York Times, in an article titled 'How Kamala Harris's Family in India Helped Shape Her Values', said when Harris was fighting the elections for California Attorney General, she called her aunt Sarala Gopalan in Chennai and asked her to break coconuts for good luck at a Hindu temple overlooking the beach at Besant Nagar where she used to walk with her grandfather. The aunt lined up 108 coconuts - an auspicious number in Hinduism - to be smashed. "And it takes a whole day to arrange that," Harris was quoted as saying by the newspaper in a 2018 speech to an Indian-American group. The NYT report, published on Sunday, said one of Harris' brightest childhood memories was walking down the beach in Besant Nagar in Chennai with her maternal grandfather P V Gopalan. Her grandfather had worked in the Indian government and every morning he would meet up with his retired friends at the beach in Besant Nagar. When Harris was visiting India as a child, she would accompany her grandfather to the beach. "I remember the stories that they would tell and the passion with which they spoke about the importance of democracy," Harris said in her 2018 speech. "As I reflect on those moments in my life that have had the most impact on who I am today. I wasn't 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," she added. Democratic presumptive presidential candidate Joe Biden scripted history last week when he selected 55-year-old Harris as his running mate in the presidential election on November 3. According to the NYT article, although Harris has been more understated about her Indian heritage than her experience as a Black woman, her path to US vice-presidential pick has also been guided by the values of her Indian-born mother, her Indian grandfather and her wider Indian family who have provided a lifelong support network that endures even from 8,000 miles away". The report said friends and neighbours who knew the family, speak highly of Harris' mother and grandparents. "That family had an immaculate reputation," N Vyas, a retired doctor who was their neighbour, was quoted as saying by the report. "They never raved about the great things that they have done in Delhi or something like that. They were straight-shooters, down-to-earth, happy people." Vyas' wife Jayanti said they were not surprised when Harris was named the first woman of colour on the presidential ticket of a major US party. "All the women in her family are strong personalities. These are women who know what they are talking and what they are saying," she said. Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, Harris, who has many firsts to a trailblazing career starting with an attorney from California, was also the district attorney for San Francisco -- the first woman and first African-American and Indian-origin to be elected to the position. She is one of only three Asian Americans in the Senate and she is the first Indian-American ever to serve in the chamber. Harris would have several firsts in her role as vice president also: the first woman, the first African-American woman, the first Indian-American and the first Asian-American. Although the Veterans Administration has established an official burn pit registry for inflicted veterans, the department has denied several claims and does not permit service members to submit updated health information or allow dependents to submit a death entry by proxy. The conference will highlight the long-term health effects of toxic exposure from burn pits and introduce new legislation being proposed to reform current veteran affairs policies. MTEC will be livestreamed on Grunt Style's official Facebook channel and will feature notable guests and healthcare experts including: Jon Stewart , Political Commentator, Actor and Guest of Honor Dr. Anthony Szema , Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/ Northwell Dr. Robert Miller, Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University David Shulkin , Former Veteran Affairs Secretary , Former Veteran Affairs Secretary John Feal , Fealgood Foundation , Fealgood Foundation Kerry Baker, Toxic Exposure Class Expert VA Appellate Practitioner To learn more and register for the Military Toxic Exposure Virtual Conference, visit: https://bit.ly/MTEC2020. "Burn pits are commonly used by the government to destroy hazardous materials such as batteries, rubber, chemicals, ammunition as well as medical and human waste," said Tim Jensen, Chief Strategy Officer for Grunt Style. "The proximity of these burn pits to military bases left many soldiers vulnerable to their emissions, which caused devastating health conditions and thousands of deaths. MTEC 2020 aims to inform our nation's veterans of new legislation being proposed to help secure health benefits they and their families rightfully deserve." "Decades of advocacy begins with the suffering, the wounded and the dead whose families are now calling on congress demanding justice. The 9/11 World Trade Center first responders were told by our government that the air was safe, they too are sick and dying," said Rosie Torres, Executive Director for Burn Pits 360. "After a decade of building systemic momentum we partnered with Grunt Style, FealGood Foundation and Jon Stewart to apply their blueprint of advocacy. MTEC is us delivering hope to the service men and women that have borne the burden of America's defense. It's time we recognize these injuries as an instrumentality of war." ABOUT GRUNT STYLE Founded in 2009, Grunt Style is an online patriotic lifestyle retailer designed for a new class of warriors: first-responders, military veterans and their friends and family. With four million social media followers, the company works hard to deliver the highest quality, most Patriotic apparel on the planet that is backed by its unbeatable lifetime guarantee. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Grunt Style stands behind its products, its service and its ability to America. Find out more about the company and its American-made products at gruntstyle.com and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram at @GruntStyle. SOURCE Grunt Style Related Links https://www.gruntstyle.com A welcome reception for Sen. Kamala Harris and rising enthusiasm for Joe Biden mark President Donald Trump's challenges in the 2020 election, as do two realities on the ground: just 14% of Americans in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll say the coronavirus pandemic is under control, and two-thirds say the economy is in bad shape -- the most since October 2014, when voters reacted with a vengeance. As the virtual Democratic National Convention opens, Biden holds a 12 percentage-point lead over Trump among registered voters, 53-41%, and a similar 10 points among likely voters, 54-44%, with two and a half consequential months to go. See PDF for full results, charts, and tables. Beneath that result is an underlying shift: the share of Biden supporters who are very enthusiastic about supporting him has grown from 28% in March to 48% today. He still has a wide deficit on this gauge compared with Trump, with 65% strong enthusiasm, but it's eased considerably. It's a measure to watch because enthusiasm can encourage turnout, especially given the extra effort needed to vote in many states this year. Biden's enthusiasm score started up before he selected Harris; it's risen in ABC/Post polls since May. Nonetheless, views of her selection are positive; as reported Sunday, Americans approve by a 25-point margin, 54-29%. Moreover, 54% see Harris as qualified to take over as president if something happened to Biden, as many as those who say the same about Mike Pence and Trump. Just 33% see her as "too liberal" -- a GOP line of attack. And a narrow majority, 52%, sees her favorably overall, the only one of the four to cross that line. Biden toes it, at 50% favorability, vs. 44% for Pence and 42% for Trump. PHOTO: Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Sen. Kamala Harris pass each other during a campaign event at Alexis Dupont High School in Wilmington, Del. (Carolyn Kaster/AP) Trump is the only one in the group to be seen unfavorably by most Americans, 56% in this poll, produced for ABC by Langer Research Associates. He's seen strongly unfavorably rather than strongly favorably by a 17-point margin, 46-29% -- about double the strongly negative margin for Biden, 8 points, 34-26%. Story continues Looking back four years, Hillary Clinton had a favorability rating of 42% heading into her convention, 8 points below Biden's now. By late October, she and Trump were equally unpopular, taking favorability off the table as a differentiating factor in that election. Trump/Pandemic Trump's underwater favorability reflects views of his job performance overall -- 43% approve, while 55% disapprove, similar to last month. He remains the only president in modern polling, since the Truman administration, never to reach majority approval, with the lowest career average approval as president on record. Further, strong disapprovers of Trump's performance outnumber strong approvers by 18 points. Fifty-nine percent disapprove specifically of Trump's handling of the pandemic. As many say it has had severe economic impacts in their community. Sixty-five percent remain very or somewhat worried they may catch the virus, steady for months. And, as noted, just 14% say the outbreak is completely or mostly under control. Compared with community-level economic impacts, fewer, 29%, report severe economic impacts of the pandemic on their personal finances. That rises in some groups, to about four in 10 Black people, Hispanics, lower-income and younger adults and, notably, politically independent women. Independents can be swing voters. Economy Views of the broader economy typically outweigh personal finances in political considerations, and here is a root of Trump's risks. Sixty-eight percent of Americans say the economy is in not-so-good or poor shape, the most, as noted, in ABC/Post polls since October 2014 -- heading into the midterm elections that flipped the Senate to the then out-party Republicans and boosted their margin in the House. Negative ratings of the economy are up 20 points since Trump took office, double their level in November 2018 and 39 points higher than in a Bloomberg survey in February, a month before the pandemic came crashing in. PHOTO: President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, Aug. 15, 2020. (Sarah Silbiger/Reuters) These views matter: among registered voters who say the economy is in excellent or good shape, 79% support Trump and Pence. Among those who say it's in bad shape, by contrast, 70% support Biden and Harris -- rising to 84% of those who give the economy the worst rating, poor. Indeed, in a statistical analysis called regression, including controls for partisanship, ideology and demographic variables, discontent with the national economy is a significant independent predictor of vote preferences, as is worry about catching the coronavirus -- both negatively for Trump. Better with Biden? Given current conditions, if voters cast a ballot on the basis of the economy, Trump's got trouble. On the other hand, if it's a question of whether Biden would have done a better job handling the economy, the ground is more even: the public splits roughly in thirds on whether, if Biden were president, the economy would be in better shape than it is now (32%), worse (35%) or about the same (30%). That said, there are three other measures on which more people think things would be better than worse if Biden were president: Handling the country's response to the pandemic (seen as better under Biden by a 22-point margin), health care (13 points) and race relations (26 points). Trump prevails in assessments of whether safety from crime would be better or worse under Biden -- 25% say better, 32% worse. The margin here is largest in rural areas, where Trump generally is more popular, but also is substantial, 20 points, among suburban whites. It's an open question whether or not Harris, with her prosecutorial background, can offer Biden assistance on perceptions of handling crime. Informed that she's a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, 32% say they have a more favorable opinion of her, 16% less favorable. More broadly, as is typical for a vice presidential candidate, most people by far -- 71% -- say Harris won't have any impact on their voting decision. Of the rest, 17% say she makes them more likely to vote for the Democratic ticket, 10% less likely, a 7-point net positive, when each point can count. The course of the campaign likely will matter here: in an epic case of VP-backfire, Palin's presence in 2008 started with 19% of registered voters saying it made them less likely to vote for the Republican ticket -- and went as high as 46% (of likely voters) saying so. PHOTO: President Donald Trump listens as Vice President Mike Pence speaks at an event called 'Kids First: Getting America's Children Safely Back to School' in the State Dining room of the White House, Aug. 12, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/AP) Vote Groups Among registered voter groups, Biden leads Trump by 8 points in the suburbs, 51-43%, essentially steady since May. Biden's advantage is far bigger in urban areas, 67-29%, where he needs turnout. In rural areas Trump leads by 24 points, down from 47 in March as the pandemic has spread. Critically, Biden has a 17-point lead among independents, 54-37%, potentially a swing group that Trump won by 4 points in 2016. Whites divide closely, 50-45%, Trump-Biden, compared with Trump +18 points in March; Biden's +45 points among racial and ethnic minorities. And men have moved toward the Democrat; they now divide 51-43%, Biden-Trump. Biden is +16 points among women. Onward Trump has reached for ideology as pushback. Overall, it may not fly: about as many Americans call him too conservative, 34%, as see Biden as too liberal, 36%. Similarly, 33% say Harris is too liberal; about as many, 36%, call Pence too conservative. About equal numbers call all four of these candidates "about right" ideologically, 43 to 47%, with vast differences among groups, of course. As such, Trump's approach on ideology wars looks to be more about motivating his base than claiming a middle ground. Overall, these results suggest the Democrats will pound hard on the economy and the pandemic, as well as their traditional advantages on health care and race relations, while Trump seeks to motivate his base, push on crime, and hope for improvements in the pandemic and the economy. Biden, to be sure, has his own set of risks. Among registered voters, strong enthusiasm for his candidacy has grown especially among whites (+27 points since March, to 54%), people age 40 and older (up 25 points, to 60%) and mainline Democrats (up 24 points, to 58%). It's notably lower among racial and ethnic minorities, independents and younger adults -- groups in which turnout can lag. In the end, though, incumbent elections are first about the incumbent. Trump's support is more affirmative: Seventy-three percent of his backers say their aim is to support him, not to oppose Biden. For Biden, it's different: A majority of his voters, 59%, are more focused on beating Trump than on supporting Biden. Negative motivations aren't always as powerful as positive ones, but they can suffice as demonstrated by none other than Trump himself, four years ago. At this point in 2016, 57% of his supporters said they cared most about opposing Clinton, not supporting him virtually matching the share of Biden supporters who say the same about Trump today. Methodology This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by landline and cellular telephone August 12-15, 2020, in English and Spanish, among a random national sample of 1,001 adults. Results have a margin of sampling error of 3.5 points, including the design effect. Partisan divisions are 31-26-37%, Democrats-Republicans-independents. The survey was produced for ABC News by Langer Research Associates of New York, N.Y., with sampling and data collection by Abt Associates of Rockville, Md. See details on the survey's methodology here. This report was featured in the Monday, Aug. 17, 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. Election advantage stays with Biden; enthusiasm deficit eases, but remains: POLL originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. ALBANY With the level of shootings soaring across New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday said he will send a letter to 500 police agencies reminding them they must develop "collaborative" response plans to deal with the violence or face the possibility of losing their state funding next year. The governor's administration has brushed aside criticism that New York's "Raise the Age" and bail-reform laws have contributed to the surge in gun violence, contending there are no formal studies showing that the criminal justice initiatives are contributing to the problem. Cuomo highlighted the increase in gun violence in multiple cities, including Albany, where shootings are up 240 percent from a year ago, as he called for an immediate response. "It is imperative that we address this urgent crisis," he said. "Denial is not a successful life strategy. This state does not run from a crisis. It's not what we do. It's not how we are ... and we're not going to deny that this is a crisis." In June, Cuomo signed an executive order dubbed the "New York State Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative" requiring local police agencies, including the New York Police Department, to develop a plan to "reinvent and modernize" police strategies and programs based on community input. His order directs that each agency have a plan must address their policies and procedures, including use of force. "Let's design a public safety function, a police department where the police say they can operate with these policies and the community says there are reforms they require ... for social justice," Cuomo said. "It's not going away. The relationship is frayed. The relationship is based on trust and respect, and the relationship is ruptured. But divorce is not an option here." In apparent response to calls in many cities across the country to "defund" police, Cuomo said that is not an option. "What happens at 2 o'clock in the morning when someone's coming through the window and you hear the glass break?" Cuomo said. "You have to resolve the tensions and reconcile it. It has to be done; it has to be done quickly. If you don't have a plan that is a reimagined police department by next April, there will be not state funding for that jurisdiction. I'm trying to force attention ... on this issue. People are getting shot everyday; it's getting worse, not better. We have to act." BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.17 Trend: Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation and its in regional security and development are among the topics actively discussed today. Multifaceted relations and partnership between the two brotherly countries were discussed during Hadaf broadcast am of Azerbaijan Television (AzTV) channel, Trend reports. Spokesman of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Ibrahim Kalin, who participated in the Hadaf broadcast via video link, gave detailed answers to the questions of the programs host Elnar Mammadli and the guests that included Head of the Yeni Musavat Media Group Rauf Arifoglu and Head of the Telegraf Media Group Aynur Jamal. Speaking about the development of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, Kalin said that the friendly and fraternal relations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev contribute to their development. He noted that Turkey and Azerbaijan have always been and will be next to each other. The spokesman of the Turkish President stressed that Turkey supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan at all levels and added that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Kalin also noted the important role played by the Turkish-Azerbaijani cooperation in ensuring regional security. Touching upon the large-scale joint tactical exercises of the armed forces of the two countries, he pointed out that the exercises once again demonstrated the strategic partnership between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The full Hadaf program can be viewed on the YouTube channel by following the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1yy_SK8N80. https://www.instagram.com/aztvresmi/?hl=ru http://www.aztv.az/az/ https://www.facebook.com/aztvresmi https://twitter.com/aztvresmi https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVf7OL0jKiO1OMHN_qaNf0w The following information was provided by police unless otherwise noted Trenton Chased with Knife: Ramiro Lopez-Perez, 39, was charged after police responded to the first block of Adeline Street. The victim told cops that she argued with her boyfriend Lopez-Perez over their son. She tried calling police to have Lopez-Perez removed from the home. He grabbed a knife and threatened to kill her if she called police. He chased her around the home before putting the knife down and sitting down in his room. The woman was not injured. Lopez-Perez was charged with weapons offenses and terroristic threats. Police Pursuit: Rashon Lawery, 23, led police in a a stolen Audi for two blocks in a low-speed pursuit. Lawery ditched the car and ran away from cops. He was apprehended and found with six bags of marijuana and synthetic marijuana. He was charged with eluding, drug offenses and issued tickets for reckless driving and driving unlicensed. Beefing: Lon Linton, 29, was arrested after a victim said the suspect followed him around after allegedly breaking Lintons car windows on a different day. The men got into a fight. The victim dropped his cell phone during the fight. Believing Linton took it, he went to Lintons house to confront him, and thats when Linton pointed a black handgun at the victim. He was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses. Strangulation: Matthew Wallace, 34, was arrested after police responded to a domestic flap at Prospect Village. The victim told cops she and her boyfriend Wallace went to buy pills. When they returned, they got into an argument during which Wallace strangled her. The victim called police, and Wallace was charged with aggravated assault. Strong-arm Robbery: Zaira Glover, 20, and Jordan Walker, 18, were arrested in connection with a July 15 robbery on Spring Street. The victim told cops she drove Glover home. Glover pulled the victims hair while Walker opened the driver-side door, put a gun to the victims head and told her to give up the money. The suspects made off with $4,000 and another $5,000 in money orders and took the victims purse containing another $300. The two were charged with robbery and weapons offenses. Drug Pop: Darius Thompson, 34, was arrested after he frantically threw an object into the back seat of the vehicle after seeing the boys in blue. Cops searched the vehicle and found weed. He was found with $634 in cash of suspected drug proceeds and a digital scale. He was charged with drug offenses. Domestic Violence: Iris Ortiz, 38, was locked up after slashing her boyfriend during an argument on the 100 block of Rusling Street. The victim told cops he was cut with a utility knife but declined to provide more information. He received stitches and was released from the hospital. Ortiz was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses. Cops did not recover the weapon used in the stabbing. Wikipedia FBI agents have arrested Puerto Rico Representative Maria Milagros Charbonier over her alleged connection with a long-term conspiracy theory to defraud the government through means of bribery, theft, kickbacks and money laundering. A federal grand jury of the District of Puerto Rico returned a 13-count indictment against Ms Charbonier, as well as her husband Orland Montes-Rivera, their son Orland Gabriel Montes-Charbonier, and her assistant Frances Acevedo-Ceballos for their alleged participation in the conspiracy. US Attorney Stephen Muldrow said the scheme involved Ms Charbonier allegedly receiving some $100,000 in bribes and kickbacks after she increased the pay of her assistant. His pay went from $800 to nearly $3,000 every two weeks, and she would then receive about $1,000 to $1,500 in return from each paycheck. "It wasn't very complicated," Mr Muldrow said about the alleged scheme, which went on from 2017 to 2020. Ms Charbonier allegedly inflated her assistant's salary only after they agreed to the kickback scheme. That kickback was paid through a variety of means, including directly to Ms Charbonier, her husband or her son. All four were charged with one count each of conspiracy and theft of federal funds, bribery and kickbacks using federal funds, and wire fraud. Ms Charbonier and her family were also charged with money laundering. She additionally was charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly destroying data on her cell phone. The indictment stated that Ms Charbonier "deleted nearly the entire call log, nearly all WhatsApp messages, and nearly all iMessages" on her phone once she learned there was an investigation into her office. "Puerto Rico legislator Maria Milagros Charbonier-Laureano, her family, and her associates allegedly carried out a brazen scheme to defraud the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico through bribery, kickbacks, theft, and fraud," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C Rabbitt of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "When elected officials betray the people's trust in order to enrich themselves at the public's expense, the Justice Department will hold them accountable." Story continues Ms Charbonier is one of Puerto Rico's most conservative legislators and was first elected to the country's House of Representatives in 2012. Her career in politics is a controversial one, as she lands more conservative on issues relating to LGBTQ rights, marijuana legalisation, and other more progressive policies. As part of her anti-LGBTQ initiatives, she attempted to block same-sex marriage through the Supreme Court by claiming the United States' 2016 decision did not apply to Puerto Rico. The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico dismissed her claim. Ms Charbonier has served as a representative since 2012, but she lost in Sunday's primary election. The politician was expected to appear in court later on Monday to address the 13-count indictment against her. Google has launched a brazen attack on the Australian press and threatened to end free web searches after the country's competition watchdog said the tech giant should pay for news content. Anyone using the search engine in Australia is now confronted by an abrasive yellow exclamation mark with a link to an 'open letter' which attacks the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The ACCC's draft law - created at the behest of the Treasurer Josh Frydenberg - mandates that a sliver of the colossal $6billion ad revenue generated by Google and other tech giants like Facebook, goes to news corporations. Google has put on hold deals it was negotiating separately with individual publishers as a result of the planned legislation. It suggests the tech company had hoped to avoid being compelled to pay an arbitrary, potentially more expensive sum to media organisations. The battle between Canberra and Silicon Valley will be watched keenly by governments across the world, not least in London and Washington, which have raised concerns over the 'advertising duopoly' operated by Google and Facebook. In the United Kingdom, 36.7 per cent of all online advertising revenue is earned by Google and 28 per cent by Facebook. The online advertising market was worth 13.5billion in the UK last year. Google has been accused of spreading 'misinformation' by claiming Australians will be denied free internet searches if tech giants like them are forced to pay for news they use Anyone using the search engine is now confronted with a yellow exclamation mark with a link to a so-called 'open letter to Australians' from the company's managing director in Australia Mel Silva Australians on Monday were greeted by a strongly-worded letter from Google's managing director in Australia Mel Silva. Those who click on the link are confronted with a warning about the end of free internet searches and data being 'handed over to big news businesses'. 'We need to let you know about new government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube,' Ms Silva's letter said. Google's managing director in Australia Mel Silva: 'We need to let you know about new government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube' 'A proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia.' A day after suggesting they could stop offering free searches, Google backtracked and said it would not be charging users. 'We did not say that the proposed law would require us to charge Australians for Search and YouTube - we do not intend to charge users for our free services,' a spokesman in Australia said. 'What we did say is that Search and YouTube, both of which are free services, are at risk in Australia.' On Monday, the ACCC accused Google of not telling the truth. 'The open letter published by Google today contains misinformation,' ACCC boss Rod Sims said. Last month, the ACCC declared Google and Facebook would be forced to pay media companies for the right to use their stories or face fines of up to $10million for breaching a copyright deal. In a world first, the competition regulator is proposing a new draft code directing the American search engine and social media giants to negotiate fair payment deals with commercial media outlets. Google hinted its rankings would end up favouring news outlets that had entered into commercial arrangements with them under the ACCC proposal. 'The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businesses - news media businesses - over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business,' Ms Silva said. 'News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result. 'The proposed changes are not fair and they mean that Google Search results and YouTube will be worse for you.' Swinburne University senior media lecturer Belinda Barnet, who specialises in social media, pointed out Google's parent company Alphabet had fourth-quarter earnings of more than $US45billion. The earnings added up to $US38.3billion or $A53billion Ms Silva also claimed Google would have to hand over data to media companies. 'You trust us with your data and our job is to keep it safe,' she said. 'Under this law, Google has to tell news media businesses 'how they can gain access' to data about your use of our products. 'There's no way of knowing if any data handed over would be protected, or how it might be used by news media businesses.' Mr Sims strongly disputed Google's open letter and said it would not be required to 'charge Australians for the use of its free service such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so'. 'The open letter published by Google today contains misinformation about the draft news media bargaining code which the ACCC would like to address,' he said. Mr Sims said the draft code was designed to address 'a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook'. 'A healthy news media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy,' he said. Swinburne University senior media lecturer Belinda Barnet, who specialises in social media, pointed out Google's parent company Alphabet had fourth-quarter earnings of more than $US38.3billion ($A53billion). 'Oh cry me a river, Google,' she tweeted. 'A trillion-dollar company with Q4 earnings of $46 billion is trying to convince YOU that sharing a *teeny tiny fraction* of their earnings with Australian media outlets is somehow dangerous.' The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accused Google of releasing a letter that 'contains misinformation' Under the ACCC's draft code, a maximum penalty of $10million would be imposed on the multinational companies if Google or Facebook breached a deal to share content and were convicted in the Federal Court. The digital giants could also be fined the equivalent of three times the commercial benefit they obtained from illegally sharing the news content, or ten per cent of their annual revenue in Australia during the past year. Under the proposed new arrangement, Google and Facebook would be forced into third-party arbitration with media companies if they failed to reach an agreement with them. An independent umpire would make a decision within 45 business days. Google has reportedly sought a means around being compelled to share its profits by doing individual deals with newspaper publishers. Publisher Curated News - a news licensing product - was announced by Silva in June. At the time it was considered a major backtrack after the tech giant had said that news was not a major revenue source. Under the ACCC's plan Google will have three months to negotiate deals with media companies before an independent body will arbitrate an arrangement on their behalf. It is not clear precisely how much news corporations will get, or how many of them will be entitled, but ACCC chairman Sims said the proposal would not wipe billions off Google's profits. The competition watchdog is hosting talks with publishers this week and once those have concluded, the legislation will be finalised. ACCC chairman Rod Sims strongly disputed Google's open letter and said it would not be required to 'charge Australians for the use of its free service such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so' Tim Loughton, whose East Worthing and Shoreham constituency is on the south coast, suggested stricter measures were needed. Migrants crossing the Channel from France to Britain should be held in military bases or even aboard cruise ships to ensure they quarantine properly, a senior Tory MP has suggested. Tim Loughton, whose East Worthing and Shoreham constituency is on the south coast, suggested stricter measures were needed to prevent an influx of coronavirus. He said it 'made a nonsense' of the quarantine facing British tourists returning from France if migrants were not facing a strict regime. And he called for those trying to cross the Channel to be immediately handed back to the French authorities. His comments came as yet more migrants arrived in Britain this morning, the day after 112 refugees crossed the Channel. It emerged last night that smuggler gangs are offering migrants 'gold, silver and bronze' package deals - with the cheapest costing less than 1,000. 'If the procedure was that when the French saw a boat they would forcibly take them back, or if they made it into British territorial waters the Border Force could do the same and take them back, then that would be the most effective thing,' Mr Loughton told the Telegraph. 'People would soon start to realise that they had paid people smugglers 4,000 only to end up where they started.' His comments came as yet more migrants arrived in Britain this morning, the day after 112 refugees crossed the Channel A baby was among 112 migrants to be intercepted while crossing the Channel to the UK yesterday Traffickers take advantage of vulnerable asylum seekers desperately fleeing their homelands by offering the paid-for arrangement at a camp in Calais. The most expensive package, gold, costs 10,000 and means you get a larger boat with better conditions, less other people and lifejackets, as reported by The Sun. One migrant who is hoping to make the journey in the next few days told the newspaper: 'The prices vary. It depends on the size of the boat and how many people are inside. 'People come around offering the crossings. We pay and keep in touch. They tell us when and where to go and pick us up. 'I'm looking forward to it. Britain is like heaven to me!' It comes as Dan O'Mahoney, the man overseeing Britain's response to crossings in The Channel, revealed limits imposed by other countries made it difficult to export migrants who have had their asylum claims refused in the UK. The silver package costs between 3,000 and 5,000, and means you get a worse boat. And the lowest package, bronze, means you pay a prize of 1,000 or less and are often crammed onto a stolen boat. It comes as more than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the past 10 days, with more than 100, including a baby, picked up along the coast of Dover, Kent, yesterday. Yesterday 112 people, including a baby, arrived on eight vessels. Mr O'Mahoney, the Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said other countries caps' make it difficult to send refugees back, if they don't have a legitimate asylum claim to stay in the UK. He said: 'It is a fact that these crossings are illegally facilitated by criminals who are making money exploiting migrants desperate to come to our country. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a COVID-19 vaccine called Sputnik-V on Aug. 11, but with the vaccines testing incomplete, stateside doctors and experts are skeptical and concerned about whether it will be safe, much less if it will work. According to a report from the Washington Post, Russian officials are planning to administer this potential vaccine to millions of people this summer and fall. The Russian vaccine has only gone through Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials, but not yet Phase 3. The third phase is an important step in any vaccines development, as its where thousands of people are tested and studied to determine the drugs benefits and drawbacks. Dr. Elie Saade, who works in the infectious disease department at University Hospitals, and other doctors dont know much about the vaccine because Russia has released no information or data about it. Putin claimed earlier this week he knows the vaccine works quite effectively and that one of his daughters felt well after receiving it. The onset of the Russian vaccine brings about a side effect Saade said doctors have been wary of. Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) has been present in past respiratory virus vaccines such as Zika, Dengue and RSV, along with other types of coronavirus. ADE happens when someone is exposed to a disease, Saade said. This side effect can happen naturally, or if someone gets a vaccine and is then exposed to the actual virus. When someone is exposed, they could develop an immunity but it may not be protective. And then when a person contracts the same virus or a similar one again, theyll have a more serious reaction. Saade said it is possible ADE could be a side effect of the Russian vaccine, but that he and other doctors dont know for certain. Saade said he would not recommend taking the vaccine. According to a CNN report, Russian officials have said at least 20 countries and some US companies have showed interest in the vaccine. I personally would not take it, Saade told cleveland.com. I mean everybody would be able to decide about what type of risks they are able to tolerate. Saade said if he were to take a vaccine, he would do so within a controlled study and not based on the information from the Russian vaccine. University Hospitals does have two vaccine trials beginning, but Saade isnt able to take vaccines in the trials because hes an investigator. Wearing masks and social distancing are two effective ways to slow the spread of COVID-19. While an effective, thoroughly researched vaccination still eludes scientists, Saade said theres no way to determine whether theres a greater risk in taking an incomplete vaccine like Sputnik-V. We dont know, we dont know that, Saade said. We dont know for sure. There will be no way, or it will be difficult to know that if we dont have comparisons. The thing is like if youre giving it to millions of people and then one or two of them will have these, or 10 or a thousand will have problems or complications, we cannot really know if its because of the vaccine or because they will have complications anyways because we are not able to compare with others. In a Phase-3 trial, Saade said doctors have more control. For example, doctors could give 15,000 people the vaccine and the other 15,000 a placebo giving researchers a more reliable sense of whether the vaccine is effective or has critical side effects. For now, doctors say its important for people to focus on living safely and taking proper precautions when going to public places. Dr. Amy Edwards, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals, said people need to live their life as if a vaccine is never coming. Edwards said rushing any potential vaccine poses risk, and there is a possibility that no safe and effective vaccine could surface. People need to realize that waiting for the vaccine to save us is not realistic, Edwards said. Katharine Van Tassel studies the intersection of law and public health and food and drug law as a visiting professor of law at Case Western Reserve University. She noted a rushed national vaccine program that was developed during a 1976 swine flu outbreak. According to the CDC, the National Influenza Immunization Program (NIIP) led in implementing the program and vaccinated 45 million people over 10 weeks. Van Tassel said about 450 people contracted Guillain-Bare Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder where, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the bodys immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system. People with this disorder experienced muscle weakness and paralysis. The CDC suspended the program after the adverse side effects surfaced, and the program wasnt reinstated. This is why the third phase of medical trials are so important. The vaccine can be exposed to a wide variety of people to see how their bodies and unique immune systems react. If Sputnik-V results in adverse effects, that could discourage people from using future vaccines that undergo more traditional vetting. In that particular case, there were pretty serious side effects, Van Tassel said. And even though only 450 people got that out of 40 million, public trust was eroded. People still remember this, all this time. And we dont want that. We want people to feel confident and comfortable about being vaccinated because really what were doing is were asking people to trust the government and to make a sacrifice, healthy people, for the benefit of all of us. An investigation is underway after human remains were discovered over the weekend in Shelby County. Sheriffs deputies were dispatched shortly after 11:30 a.m. Saturday to the area of Twin Creek Drive in the Shelby community. Once on the scene, they found and examined what appeared to be an adult human skull. Investigators searched the area but no additional remans were found. The skull was removed by the Shelby County Coroners Office for forensic testing and identification by the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences. Anyone with information is asked to call the Shelby County Sheriffs Office at 205-669-4181 or investigators at 205-670-6283. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777 or submit tips via their website at www.crimestoppersmetroal.com. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Americas Gold and Silver Corporation. the Company) (TSX: USA; NYSE: USAS) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of underwriters (the Underwriters) co-led by Desjardins Capital Markets and Cormark Securities Inc. pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a boughtdeal basis, 6,477,000 common shares of the Company (Shares) at a price of C$3.86 per Share (the Offering Price) for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of C$25.0 million (the Offering). The Underwriters have been granted an option (the OverAllotment Option), exercisable in whole or in part, at any time within 30 days following and including the closing of the Offering, to purchase from the Company up to an additional 15% of the Shares offered under the Offering at the Offering Price for market stabilization purposes and to cover over-allotments, if any. The proceeds from the sale of the Shares will be used for the exploration, development and/or improvement of the Companys existing mine properties, including those relating to bringing Relief Canyon into commercial production and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Offering is scheduled to close on or about September 4, 2020 and is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary securities regulatory approvals and the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American LLC. The Offering is being made pursuant to a short form prospectus to be filed in all the provinces of Canada excluding Quebec. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities, nor shall there be any sale of the securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities to be offered have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act), or under any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered, sold, directly or indirectly, or delivered within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. persons (as such terms are defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in certain transactions exempt from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and all applicable U.S. state securities laws. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy such securities in the United States, Canada or in any other jurisdiction where such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which reflects management's expectations regarding the Company's future growth and business prospects and opportunities. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, all disclosure regarding the Offering, including the closing of the Offering and receipt of all necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals, the anticipated use of proceeds of the Offering, and possible events, conditions or results of operations, future economic conditions expectations and anticipated courses of action. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect management's current beliefs based upon information currently available to management and based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, such forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions, opinions and analysis that management believes to be reasonable and relevant but that may prove to be incorrect. The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: the inherent risks involved in exploration and development of mineral properties, including government approvals and permitting, changes in economic conditions, state of the financial markets, changes in the worldwide price of gold and other key inputs, changes in mine plans and other factors, the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), such as project execution delays, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, as well as other risks and uncertainties which are more fully described in the Company's Annual Information Form dated March 9, 2020 and in other filings of the Company with securities and regulatory authorities which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change. Nothing in this document should be construed as either an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy or sell the Company securities. All references to the Company include its subsidiaries unless the context requires otherwise. About Americas Gold and Silver Corporation Americas Gold and Silver Corporation is a high-growth precious metals mining company with multiple assets in North America. The Companys newest asset, Relief Canyon in Nevada, USA, has poured first gold and is expected to ramp up to full production over the course of 2020. The Company also owns and operates the Cosala Operations in Sinaloa, Mexico and manages the 60%-owned Galena Complex in Idaho, USA. The Company also holds an option on the San Felipe development project in Sonora, Mexico. For further information, please see SEDAR or www.americas-gold.com. Contact Information Stefan Axell VP, Corporate Development & Communications Americas Gold and Silver Corporation 416-874-1708 Darren Blasutti President and CEO Americas Gold and Silver Corporation 416-848-9503 WA Police are searching for the driver of a black BMW coupe which crashed after travelling through the Graham Farmer Freeway tunnel, shearing off three power poles before bursting into flames. The crash happened about 11.40pm on Sunday near the East Parade exit on the eastbound side of the freeway. Police believe the car was travelling with another vehicle, before the driver lost control and crashed. The BMW caught fire. Credit:Nine News Perth They said the second vehicle stopped and extracted the driver of the 2008 model BMW before driving away. Author Shelly Emerson published her spiritual new workbook to help individuals understand and incorporate Gods Word into their own lives by intertwining unique mazes with scriptures that reflect their messages. Cover of Shelly P. Emerson's new book Cover of Shelly P. Emerson's new book TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Enduring constant seizures from epilepsy all her life, author Shelly P. Emerson began to tap into her creative side. She found it therapeutic to draw and color following a seizure, and it was during these creative sessions that she realized just how vital the relationship between verbal and visual elements is in understanding complex messagessuch as Gods Word. Thus, Shelly began designing unique mazes that incorporated both scripture and visual elements to help readers understand the Bibles multifaceted messages as featured in her new book Spiritual Mazes & Puzzles: This Book Can Help You Grow Stronger & Closer of Gods Word & America. Through this spiritual workbook, Emerson hopes readers and puzzle enthusiasts of all ages can have fun completing her puzzles and mazes while adopting a stronger relationship with Christianity as well as gain more profound insights into biblical stories, national holidays, and even the history of America. Readers can find peace, hope, and healing through Emersons vast array of inventive mazes, puzzles, and word searches. Emerson has described her book as a medium in which readers can learn what the benefits are of letting Jesus into their hearts. Through reading and completing this book, readers will encounter engaging puzzles such as Emersons puzzle entitled Power in Prayer on page 29. In this puzzle, Emerson uses the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea to the Promised Land with an enigma so that the reader can similarly engage in Moses journey of the challenges to salvation, embarking on the worlds of scripture along the way. To see the variety of puzzles and mazes and to learn more, please visit www.authorsspirit.com. Story continues Spiritual Mazes & Puzzles By Shelly P. Emerson ISBN: 978-1-5127-74153 (sc) Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and WestBow Press. About the Author Author Shelly Emerson, a devout Christian, was raised in a Christian environment and was always taught to stand firm in what she believes. Thus, when Emerson was diagnosed with Epilepsy at the age of five, she decided to look at this new challenge through a positive lens and utilize her strong Christian background to cope with her new obstacle. She would ask her parents, Why me, why do I have to have seizures, in which they responded that it could be the Lord using her in some way. This message has followed her throughout her life. Through her seizures, she began to partake with a more creative sideusing drawing and coloring as a therapeutic coping mechanismand ultimately, the idea for a book of both visual and verbal messages to help engage Gods word sparked in her mind. Emerson lives in Tucson, AZ, and has attended classes from multiple colleges such as Pima Community College, American River College, Orange Coast College, and others. After her mother passed away in 2003, Emerson took care of her father until his passing in 2008. She fervently believes that the Lord is always with her, and it is through Gods word and Christianity that all individuals can get through difficult times. WestBow Press is a strategic supported self-publishing alliance between HarperCollins Christian Publishing and Author Solutions, LLC the world leader in supported self-publishing. Titles published through WestBow Press are evaluated for sales potential and considered for publication through Thomas Nelson and Zondervan. For more information, visit www.westbowpress.com or call (866)-928-1240. Attachment CONTACT: Lauren Dickerson LAVIDGE 480-306-7117 ldickerson@lavidge.com Donald Trump has come under fire for appearing to endorse a tweet calling for Democrat cities to be left to rot amid continuing unrest in several metropolises over the killing of George Floyd. The president retweeted a post by Brandon Straka, a right-wing activist, which called for people to leave Democratic cities, as Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets for an 11th week running. Mr Straka, a Trump supporter who started the #WalkAway movement in 2018 after renouncing the Democratic Party, was commenting on a video of demonstrators in New York City. The video, originally posted by retired NYPD detective Rob ODonnell, showed protesters shouting at the driver of a car while they attempted to block traffic on Times Square. Responding to the video, Straka, who made headlines in June after being recorded refusing to wear a face mask on board an American Airlines flight, said Democrats had activated a mental illness that was ruining US cities. Mr Trump retweeted the post, leading to criticism the US was now existing in a state of cold civil war. If Obama had retweeted someone saying leave Republican states. Let them rot it would have been a multi-week, multi-month political scandal requiring clarifications and apologies from every top Dem., columinst Mehdi Hasan said in a tweet. With Trump, it wont even register in *todays* headlines. CNN anchor Jake Tapper said: I couldnt believe it when I first saw it, but I checked, and yes, the president of the United States actually retweeted this message to Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot. How do @GOP voters living in Democrat-controlled cities feel about the strategy your leader in D.C. just endorsed: Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot. Maybe you should vote #BidenHarris2020 this time round, said the author Keith Devlin. Brandon Friedman, former columnist at the New York Daily News, said that the tweet showed the country was in a civil war of sorts. This is from the commander-in-chief, the President of the United States, further confirming that we are presently in a cold civil war, Friedman wrote. Anti-government protesters swarmed the capital Minsk after President Lukashenko held a rally earlier in the day - Sergei Grits /AP Hundreds of thousands of people filled the city centre of the Belarusian capital of Minsk, demanding an end to the reign of President Alexander Lukashenko in the largest political rally the country has ever seen. Dressed in white and chanting Go Away!, crowds poured into the streets despite an earlier public appearance by Mr Lukashenko warning of a still more ferocious crackdown on protesters. The dam has burst, a smiling Andrei Grinberg told the Telegraph, wrapped in the historic red-and-white flag used by opposition supporters amid a sea of fellow demonstrators. People were unhappy before but its only now that theyve had the courage to come out and see that everyone is against him, he said, referring to Mr Lukashenko, who has empowered the secret services, sidelined the opposition and censored the media in a 26 year-reign made possible by removing constitutional checks on power. Outside the headquarters of the feared KGB, the intelligence service that bears the same name as its Soviet predecessor, hundreds of demonstrators also held up the oppositions red-and-white flag in a rare show of defiance. None of the delirious scenes in the capital were relayed on state television, which last night did not mention the protests whatsoever. Mr Lukashenkos landslide victory on Sunday 9th August was widely condemned as fraudulent, with reports of election officials disposing of bags of votes for the opposition. The position of the 65-year old former collective farm boss came under further pressure in the following days as blue-collar workers, who form the core of his support, staged walk-outs and threatened industrial action on Monday unless a new election is called. In apparent desperation, Mr Lukashenko on Sunday called a rally for supporters, mostly consisting of state-paid workers who were bused in Minsk from all over the country, and vowed to fight on. Story continues Alexander Lukashenko held a rally with supporters, who were reportedly bused in from all over Belarus - YAUHEN YERCHAK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock /Shutterstock Someone wants me to give away our country, a visibly distressed Lukashenko shouted out to the crowd of about 20,000 people on Sunday afternoon. Even when Im dead, Im not going to give the country away. The embattled president warned of a foreign invasion and sought to portray the opposition movement as in hoc to Western powers. Look out of the window: tanks and jets are at the ready 15 minutes away from our border. Nat troops are clanking by our gate, Mr Lukashenko said to the crowd in Independence Square, wiping sweat from his brow. While some Belarusian senior officials including the prime minister have sought to ease tensions, Mr Lukashenko on Sunday called the opposition scum and rats. When tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators took to the streets of Minsk in the immediate aftermath of the election, riot police responded with shocking violence, plunging entire neighbourhoods into urban warfare, throwing stun grenades at passers-by and firing rubber bullets at protesters. Horrifying stories of torture among the 7,000 detained protesters in Belarusian jails triggered even larger protests across society. The violence has wiped out what little support Mr Lukashenko did have, Yelena Seliverstova, 49, said. With his actions he showed that he stands against the entire nation, Ms Seliverstova, who makes wedding dresses, told the Telegraph. A girl holds a balloon as she sits on posters during an anti-government demonstration in Minsk - Sergei Gapon/AFP We do not recognize this government. He wont leave. The only thing we can do is to come out in protest and not go to work tomorrow, Ms Seliverstova said. Although aimed at creating the appearance of public support for the aging leader, Mr Lukashenko's rally revealed cracks even among his traditional supporters. An army veteran who was invited onstage by the organisers stunned the crowd by accusing election officials of rigging the results and lashing out at riot police for their savage treatment of detainees and violence on the streets. You cannot turn your back on people, he said to a mix of jeers and applause. Earlier that day, veterans of Belarus' elite special forces unit put out a statement, condemning violence by riot police. While Minsk was last night filled with jubilation it was not clear what the protesters next step would be or whether Mr Lukashenko would heed their demand for his exit. The Kremlin, a key ally, has remained tight-lipped on whether it will directly intervene to prop up Mr Lukashenko. Russian state media has described the protests as peaceful, but is also promoting the idea that the foreign forces are seeking to destabilise Belarus. Everyone is thinking about what happens next, Mr Grinberg, the 23-year old protester said. When workers go on strike on Monday, we will know for sure. The group representing leading super funds on ethical issues and a top proxy advisory firm have called for AMP Capital chief executive Boe Pahari to resign after accusations of sexual harassment against him were detailed by a former female subordinate. AMP shares fell by more than 4 per cent on Monday as concerns grew within the investment community about cultural issues at the wealth manager, which has in recent months been hit by successive scandals. "I can't see how his position as CEO is tenable," Australian Council of Superannuation Investors chief executive Louise Davidson said. "It concerns me particularly that the company has tried to downplay the seriousness of the sexual harassment [allegations]." ACSI CEO Louise Davidson said Boe Pahari's position is no longer tenable. Credit:Wayne Taylor ACSI represents 38 major super funds, which collectively manage about $2 trillion of investments, on environmental, social and governance issues. Ever since Google Maps came out in 2005, it has without a doubt connected the world. Allowing you to search in street view, Google Maps is perfect for getting clear directions to wherever you wanna go, by letting you "walk" down any street in the world. It pretty much makes life easier and a little bit better for all of us. All of us, except one Peruvian fella, who was using the app back in 2013 to find out the best way to get to a popular bridge in Peru. Unfortunately, he discovered a lot more than just the directions he was looking for. As the man was scanning through street view to find different routes, he was shocked to find an image of his wife sitting on a park bench, with a man's head resting on her lap. Although his wife's face was blurred out for privacy, the man straight away identified her clothes and knew it was her. The man confronted his wife soon after, which led to her admitting that she had been unfaithful. And just like that, the divorce papers were signed. Loves a happy ending. AKRON, Ohio The University of Akron will again pay more than $300,000 to former President Luis Proenza to teach this academic year while laying off other faculty and possibly dipping into reserves to offset millions of dollars in revenues lost to the coronavirus pandemic. The university also might have to pay a second former president, Scott Scarborough, more than $112,000 to teach if the union representing some faculty prevails in a grievance contesting the elimination of Scarboroughs position and others. The Kaipara District Council has been allocated $2.35 million to invest in water assets before mid-2021 but it is unclear exactly what strings are attached. Local Government Minister Nanaiah Mahuta has not ruled out amalgamation of Northlands water services with Aucklands Watercare but insists it will be on an opt-in basis. To qualify for the fund, the KDC has to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Crown by August 31. The stimulatory fund is tied to councils participating in a good faith opt-in reform conversation, Ms Mahuta says. But, signing up to the MoU does not commit councils to structural reform that commitment will be sought on an opt-in basis some time towards mid-2021. Last month, northern mayors attended workshops with the Government and concluded that amalgamation will be forced on northern district councils (MM Aug 5). All three northern district mayors say a Northland regional approach to three water management would be preferred over amalgamation with Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty. Ms Mahuta has also allocated $14.13 million to be shared between the KDC, Whangarei District Council and the Far North District Council. The councils must agree on how this money will be spent before September 30 in order to access it, in what appears to be a test of their capability to cooperate. Meanwhile, the Northern Regional Council has taken a passive stance on potential amalgamation. At this stage, the Northland Regional Council has not formed a position on the potential amalgamation or what changes would result in the best outcome in the delivery of those services, chair Penny Smart says. Ms Mahuta sought to address concerns that small community organisations, such as rugby clubs, churches and marae will have to pay to meet the costs associated with new reforms. A total of $30 million has been set aside in recognition that many small non-council rural water supplies might struggle to meet aspects of the proposed new regulatory regime, she says. Ms Mahuta says how the money will be allocated or precisely how it should be used is yet to be determined by ministers. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.17 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Azerbaijan, Croatia have increasing interest in starting charter flights, Croatian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Branko Zebic told Trend. Unfortunately, the applications for the issuance of Croatian visas for touristic purposes has been temporarily suspended due to still ongoing situation caused by COVID-19. Because of the unpredictability of the further impact of coronavirus globally and the uncertainty of finding a vaccine, for which we are hoping it will be in the very near future, it is difficult to predict how the exchange in tourism sector will develop, he said. Earlier in 2016, Croatia simplified the rules of entry to the country for Azerbaijan's citizens. According to those new rules, the Azerbaijani citizens with double or a multiple entry Schengen visa with a permission to enter any other EU country, got the right to enter Croatia without visiting the country of which the Schengen visa was obtained. Azerbaijani citizens, obtaining Schengen visa, for example, in the embassies of Lithuania, Latvia and France, got the right to directly visit Croatia without the need to enter the country that issued the visa, as it was earlier. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn HMD has not forgotten about the Nokia 5.3 months after it was announced, the phone is finally ready to launch in India. The event is scheduled for the 25th (thats Tuesday next week) and things being what they are right now, it will be a virtual briefing (using Microsoft Teams). The company sent out invites to the press that dont reveal the price, which is the one unknown (also, theres no mention of the Nokia 8.3 and 1.3). For the Indian market the latest entry in the 5-series is the 5.1 Plus from the distant 2018 jokes aside, it has been a while since HMD updated its mid-range offerings. HMD schedules Nokia 5.3 launch in India for August 25 The 5.1 Plus costs just north of INR 11,000 right now, down from the original price point of INR 13,000 or so (which is now occupied by the Nokia 6.2). Expect the new Nokia 5.3 to cost around that much (of course, we wont know for sure until next week). The phone features a 6.55 720p display and is powered by a Snapdragon 665 chipset with 3 GB of RAM and 64 GB storage (plus a microSD slot, 4 and 6 GB RAM options are available too). The rear camera setup has a 13 MP main module, 5 MP ultra wide cam, 2 MP macro and a 2 MP depth sensor, the selfie cam has an 8 MP sensor. A USB-C port charges the 4,000 mAh battery at 10 W and theres also a 3.5 mm headphone jack. Nokia 5.3 in Cyan, Charcoal and Sand The Nokia 5310 remake is also listed as New on the Nokia India website and is already available. Theres a chance that HMD will add the Nokia 125 and 150 (2020) to its stable of basic feature phones during the event as both phones were certified by BIS on June 30. Via The Government has refused to deny that tourists returning from Croatia and Greece could face quarantine measures after an increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the past week. A No 10 spokesman said the Government continue to keep these rules under review and that protecting public health remains the main priority. Defending the short notice of the Governments policy change in adding France to the quarantine list on Saturday morning, the spokesman added: It is right that we take quick action to prevent cases being imported into the UK. It came as the number of cases per 100,000 people in Croatia has reportedly risen above 20, seen as a key benchmark. Meanwhile, cases in fellow popular summer holiday destination Greece have also increased during August. Expand Close (PA Graphics) Press Association Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp (PA Graphics) The No 10 spokesman said: We continue to keep these rules under constant review and we publish a list of the countries and territories that we are concerned about. Youll have seen the last update as of last week. Asked whether Greece and its islands would count as one country for quarantine rule purposes, he added: As I say, we will continue to keep data for all countries and territories under constant review. We update the list on a weekly basis. Pushed on the limited time between new quarantine measures being announced and their implementation, the No 10 spokesman said: Weve always said that protecting public health remains our top priority, which is why it is important that, when we make changes to the exemptions list, we do so in a swift way. While these changes we understand can be disruptive, it is right that we take quick action to prevent cases being imported into the UK. Travellers from countries on the quarantine list are asked to provide an address where they will self-isolate for 14 days after their arrival in England. Travel advice can change at short notice. Take action now. Tag or share this post with a friend or family member if they are travelling overseas, to help them access the latest guidance https://t.co/Wp7MVmz8zE pic.twitter.com/FbaoAnUUxE Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (@FCDOGovUK) August 11, 2020 People who do not self-isolate can be fined up to 1,000 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with fines of 5,000 for persistent offenders. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can make their own quarantine rules. Asked if people returning from countries which are not exempt from the 14-day quarantine are able to do a big supermarket shop on their way home before isolating, the No 10 spokesman said: The guidance is published and clearly sets out what you can and cant do when you are quarantining. It specifically says you should not go shopping. If you require help to buy groceries, other shopping or picking up medication, you should ask friends or relatives or a delivery. Its been a summer of unrest in Chicago. The homicide rate spiked. Protesters have clashed with law enforcement. Theres been looting. Theres been violence. At least once Mayor Lori Lightfoot described the actions of demonstrators as anarchy. But what did city and state officials think would happen? You cant slowly build a powder keg and then be surprised when it explodes. As someone who grew up on Chicagos South Side, graduated from Chicago Public Schools and lived in the city most of my life, Im certainly not. Chicago remains one of the most segregated metropolitan areas in the U.S, and the South and West Sides, where residents are mostly Black, have faced a decades of neglect and police brutality. A 2018 analysis found that about 72% of victims of use of force by Chicago police from 2005 to 2015 were Black. During the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment has reached more than 30% in certain neighborhoods. Meanwhile, Chicagos Black residents have died of COVID at a disproportionately higher rate than its white ones. Budget shortfalls are frequently cited when anyone complains about inequality in Chicago schools, transit and every other city service, but how the money is allocated is a reflection of priorities. More than a month after the schools were closed by COVID-19, the city had not yet figured out how to ensure all public school students could continue their learning. In July the city cut funds to a high-performing childcare center in Englewood, a neighborhood that lacks options for working parents and their children. In the middle of a pandemic with a deficit in hospital beds, the state legislature failed to approve funds for a plan intended to keep four hospitals open on the citys South Side. Meanwhile, an analysis by the nonprofit journalism organization Injustice Watch found that police spending per capita has nearly tripled in the last 40 years. According to U.S. News, Chicago spends $660 per capita, second only to New Yorks $671, whereas Los Angeles spends $436, Houston spends $403 and Phoenix spends $429. This figure is alarming given the falling crime rates in the city since the 90s, the low clearance rates for criminal cases and the high cost of officer misconduct lawsuits. Besides, if Chicago were serious about ending violence, one way to show it would be to actually fund the Cook County witness protection program, so that those able to testify against criminals would feel safer doing so. Story continues Bridges across the Chicago river are raised to control access into downtown as widespread looting broke out in the city on August 10 | Scott OlsonGetty Images While Mayor Lightfoot has talked about the importance of ending poverty and reducing gun violence, she has defended the police again and again this summer even as residents act in desperation. For just one example of the skewed priorities of Chicago politicians, consider what happened this month after hundreds of people looted the citys Magnificent Mile. Mayor Lightfoot restricted access to the Loop, the citys downtown area, by ordering river bridges raised. She did this previously in the days after George Floyds death when downtown businesses were looted and vandalized, calling in the Illinois National Guard as well. Yet theres been no such mobilization to make other areas safer despite shootings happening all over the city. The message is clear: The windows in downtown Chicago are more important than the children at risk of violence from gangs and police. Many have argued that looting is not the solution, that it could undermine legitimate protests and reduce sympathy for the very real issues. But at some point, there must be space to demand accountability for the ways that the city redirects tax dollars away from the places with the greatest need. Corporations rarely pay taxes, but the residents of neighborhoods often decried as the most violent pay a proportionally higher property tax rate and get less for their funds than other communities in the city. Chicagos misuse of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds has also had serious consequences for marginalized communities. While the money is supposed to be earmarked for things like infrastructure improvements and revitalizing commercial strips in underserved communities, it is instead doled out in ways that make already well-off parts of the city even more valuable. Apparently, looting is a legal Chicago pastime when it comes to tax revenues. At the end of July, President Trump announced a surge in law enforcement as part of what he called Operation LeGend. For those people in Chicago and other cities where well be: Help is on its way, he said. This is not the help we need. But I suppose its easier to send in officers with weapons to try to control the Black and brown people who live there than to ensure their health, safety and financial well-being. Whats happening in Chicago is what happens when people are pushed to the brink. Violence is an epidemic in the city, a public health emergency that politicians refuse to address in any meaningful way. Just as we should pay attention to science when it comes to fighting the coronavirus, we should follow the advice of the experts when it comes to reducing gun violence. And research has found that it is done with investment in low-income neighborhoods. The situation in Chicago did not come out of nowhere. It is the result of decades of choices about who matters in the eyes of those who control resources. If you continually deprive people of the ability to fulfill even the basic needs of their families, what do you really expect? Five popular seafoods bought from Australia market revealed traces of microplastics in every single sample taken. (Photo : Pixabay) Microplastics are present everywhere: in our oceans, in the air that we breathe, birds of prey, and even at the deepest and highest places on earth. Here is more: microplastics are found in our favorite seafood. Five popular kinds of seafood bought from Australia revealed traces of microplastics in every single sample taken. Microplastics were found in the following seafood samples brought from markets in Australia: wild blue crabs, wild squid, wild sardines, farmed tiger prawns, and farmed oysters. The study findings were published in Environmental Science and Technology. Finding Microplastics on Seafood in Australia A novel spectrometry technique was done to scan for five different kinds of modern plastics. Researchers said that findings revealed that among the samples, squid from the Australian market had the fewest traces, while sardines had the most marks. Polyethylene was found to have the highest concentration in the seafood sampled, while polyvinyl chloride or PVC was the most pervasive at was found in every sample. Francisca Ribeiro, one of the study authors, said that the amount of plastics in seafood varies among species and individuals per species. READ: Microplastics Equivalent to 120-300 Million Plastic Bottles Travel and Fall From Our Sky Microplastics on Seafood Servings The study also revealed that consuming an average meal of oyster or squid exposes a seafood eater to 0.7 milligrams of plastic. In contrast, an average serving of sardines presents us to 30 mg of plastic. She added that a grain of rice averages 30 milligrams in weight. Previous studies show that it is also found in sugars, salts, alcohol, and water. But researches also reveal that seafood account for most of the plastic intake. A study on European shellfish suggests that consumers ingest at least 11,000 microplastic particles every year, studies reveal. There is limited information on what microplastics can do to human bodies. There have been several finds that in marine species, several studies indicate struggling with physical damage and oxidative stress. Many animals, like beach whales stuffed with garbage, have even died. While the risk of microplastics on land mammals is yet unknown, it is essential to know how much of microplastics are we ingesting, and how much is enough to know that we are in danger. READ ALSO: New Study Finds Microplastics in Sea Breeze Effects of Microplastics on Human Health It is unethical to administer or feed doses of microplastics to humans intentionally. Mark Browne, an ecotoxicologist at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, made use of medical studies to track how the plastics might move through humans. The studies indicate that minute microplastics can migrate through the body and accumulate in bloodstreams. Hamsters injected with microplastics revealed that the particles could cause blood clots. As microfibers are also found in the sea breeze, small airborne particles move deep into the lungs and cause several diseases, including cancer. Exposure to plastic food and beverage containers also exposes people to BPA, a known endocrine disruptor. READ NEXT: Researchers Confirm: Microplastics Found in Florida's Birds of Prey 'He spoke about 20 jawans in Ladakh, but he couldn't even name China.' 'He said the world had seen what had been achieved, even though we Indians don't know because Modi has himself said that nothing had happened and nobody had come,' points out Aakar Patel. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi addresses the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort,August 15, 2020. Photograph: Press Information Bureau The prime minister made a speech for Independence Day. I think it was a good speech as his fans have come to expect from him; I can say with certainty that it was a long speech. He is an entertaining speaker for some (not for me, because I like intellectual material and his style does not appeal to me). Certainly he speaks a lot. Former Australia ambassador Walter Crocker wrote a biography of Nehru in which he observed that Nehru sometimes spoke three times a day. Modi is like that in some ways, though the content is not the same. I stopped watching Modi speak long agom but thought it was important to hear him on Independence Day. This is what I observed. Modi unfurled the flag and saluted, which I didn't think he should have done. The salute is a military gesture and civilians should abstain from it. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did not salute with Modi, which I thought was the right gesture. In his speech, Modi made much about the freedom struggle though, of course, his Sangh Parivar had abstained from it. Perhaps he was speaking for the others who participated though he did not mention the Congress or its leaders. He also made some historical errors in his explanation of the freedom struggle, which we can explain away as his usual lyrical flourish. He said he bowed to the Covid warriors. I am not sure if Modi knows that 600,000 Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) women are on strike, being paid only Rs 2,000 per month and not given protective clothing while doing their contact tracing work. Last week, Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah's police in Delhi filed an FIR for against them for protesting. Perhaps Modi doesn't know. News channels do not report such things as much as they do Bollywood suicides. e spoke again of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, without explaining what it meant or how it was different from license raj and 1970s style import substitution which has demonstrably failed. The world is interconnected and interdependent as he has himself said so often and he repeated today. He said something about finished goods and value addition (Nirmala Sitharaman looked suitably stricken when he said this). But there was nothing of any depth. But it is fine not to expect details and granularity from him because that is not Modi's style. I wish, however, he had told us why our economic growth had been declining for 10 consecutive quarters and this year our GDP will contract. He said we were blessed with natural wealth, but didn't say why his new environmental policy was eroding safeguards to protect this wealth. He spoke about India importing wheat in the past which had changed. Perhaps he did not know that this was because of an American scientist, Norman Borlaug and his work on dwarf wheat which led to the Green Revolution here. He said we would win against Corona. But how would this victory be achieved and what would it look like? What happened to the 21 day Mahabharat he said we would need to fight? We are still fighting 130 days later and in fact we have raced almost to the top of the global infected chart. Victory seems to be a hollow word. At some point I switched off because he was rambling about unconnected things -- ports, airports, Jan Dhan accounts, highways, EMIs, RBI, middle class, GST, MSME sector, carbon neutral model, national education policy, dolphins of two types, innovation, optical fibre, sanitary pads, gas pipelines, Covid vaccine, houses for migrant labour -- and it was hard to focus. He said many times that this thing or that thing could never have been imagined by anyone in the past. Perhaps he should have said it could not be imagined by him. There was something about another ID card to add to our Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID that would bring better health. He raised Kashmir, but didn't speak about its people. He said some delimitation work was on there and it would benefit Kashmir's chief minister and MLAs, but it may have slipped his mind that it doesn't have either MLAs or a chief minister or statehood. He said not one word about the Kashmiris he has locked up and denied connectivity. He was evasive about China. He raised his voice even louder and began screaming about Indian unity and sovereignty. He spoke about 20 jawans in Ladakh, but he couldn't even name China. He said the world had seen what had been achieved, even though we Indians don't know because Modi has himself said that nothing had happened and nobody had come. All in all it was like reading a laundry list or shopping list. There was no substance and no focus on a subject that could have been spoken about at length. How will we manage the recession in which millions of us currently on the cusp are likely to slip back into poverty? How will migrants get back to cities when rather than 16,000 daily trains only 260 special ones are running? What will happen to middle class urban individuals who have to pay rent and school fees and have lost their jobs? It may have been better for him to spend time on that rather than just reel off a list. Perhaps he has left that for his next speech, though I don't plan on listening to it. Aakar Patel is a columnist and writer. You can read Aakar's columns here. While good time credit does allow those serving time to deduct some time off their sentence if prison rules and policies are adhered to, this system has been dramatically scaled back over the years. Prior to 1994, a person serving time in Virginia could earn up 30 days of credit for every 30 days served. Now, only a maximum of 4.5 days credit can be earned for every 30 days a person serves in prison, ultimately assuring that more people will spend longer periods of time behind bars. Virginia can do better than this, and the time to act is now. Another area ripe for reform is the issue of mandatory minimum sentencing. Mandatory minimums tie the hands of judges by forcing them to dole out blanket punishments for certain categories of crimes. In Virginia, this plays out in interesting ways, especially when it comes to misdemeanor charges of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer. Some might be shocked to learn that an individual found guilty of punching an officer and an individual with mental health issues found guilty of throwing an onion ring at an officer both would be forced to serve a minimum sentence of six months behind bars. India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist Fearing COVID-19 spread, DMK opposes reopening of retail liquor outlets in Chennai India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Chennai, Aug 17: DMK President MK Stalin on Monday urged the Tamil Nadu government not to open TASMAC retail liquor outlets in the state from August 18, saying it would lead to further spread of coronavirus. Opening liquor shops again was like clearing up "big way" for the spread of the pathogen in the statecapital, he alleged in a Facebook post. On Sunday, the government said liquor outlets in Chennai, are shut since March 24, would be reopened on August 18. The DMK chief alleged that TASMAC shops in the rest of TamilNadu had a "big role" in increasing the spread of the virus. India records over 57,000 fresh Covid-19 cases, 941 deaths in a day "It was inhuman to not worry about those who may be affected by the opening of liquor stores and be concerned only about the revenue to the government," he alleged, and said the move to resume liquor sales would lead to further spread of coronavirus. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam chief TTV Dhinakaran also opposed opening TASMAC shops again in Chennai. Barring shops in Chennai and other nearby areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Greater Chennai Police, liquor outlets in the rest of Tamil Nadu werereopened on May 7. '100 Congress leaders wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking change of leadership, transperency State-run Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation liquor shops were not reopened in May in view of a comparatively high number of COVID cases during that period of time. COVID-19 cases in Chennai began witnessing a declining trend since the first week of last month and in recent times recorded less than 1,000 new virus cases every day. From August 14 onwards, the fresh infections were between 1,000 and 1,200. TASMAC shops were closed on March 24 evening across Tamil Nadu when the lockdown was imposed for the first time in the state to tackle the COVID-19 spread. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, August 17, 2020, 13:24 [IST] RICHMOND, Va. - Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, was meticulous about the new rules of canvassing. Step one: Knock on the door. Step two: Turn and walk six feet away. Step three: Wait for a voter to reach the door and make the sale to them behind the mutual safety of a mask. "You're just the person I want to talk to!" Phillips told Laura Fultz, 34, on Monday, as he brandished literature for Republican congressional candidate Nick Freitas. "I can tell you, health care's a big issue for us, and Nick Freitas really tried to open up access through telemedicine, with licensing reforms. I hope you consider him." More than two dozen Americans for Prosperity (AFP) organizers were doing the same thing across Virginia's 7th District on Monday, introducing the Republican who's trying to win the district back from Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger. They were part of a distributed army around the country, focusing on a few key candidates in a few key states and contacting voters through Americans for Prosperity Action, the group's super PAC. Phillips's group has done this for a decade, growing from semi-obscurity into the best-organized, and best-funded, organ of what became the tea party movement. David Koch, whose donations created and grew AFP, died last year, but in 2018, the group spent $10 million through the PAC, and door-to-door canvassing is one of its specialties. It boosted campaigns to prevent state legislatures from expanding Medicaid, to persuade voters not to fund more public transportation, and to elect the right kind of candidates, who happen to be conservative Republicans. AFP usually had more competition. With Democrats wary of traditional door-to-door canvassing in the pandemic, and with the Biden-Harris campaign discouraging it, conservatives have less competition. The surge of in-person volunteers that helped defeat Spanberger's predecessor, Republican David Brat, is not happening, and may not happen unless Democrats revisit their pandemic campaign plan. "The Democrats are in a bind, and they can't knock on doors, because their whole thing is to stoke fears about covid-19," said John Fredericks, a radio host and co-chair of the Trump campaign in Virginia. (Fredericks hosted his show from AFP's Richmond-area office on Monday.) "That's a huge disadvantage for them right now. Republicans understand they can put a put a mask on, do social distancing and reach people at home. They're going to answer the door, and you're going to be able to have a safe conversation with them." In 2018, Fredericks said, Spanberger had "buses of volunteers coming in from two or three states away," and in 2020, she would not. Democrats dispute that theory, arguing that their shift to a virtual outreach campaign has paid off. "As of August 7 we've made 550,688 total calls across the coordinated campaign, local campaigns and congressionals this year, sent 2,225,962 total texts, and held over 2,000 virtual events," said Virginia Democratic Party spokesman Grant Fox. "It really seems like Republicans in Virginia are trying to live in a fantasy world where the virus doesn't exist and they can campaign like normal." The Trump campaign and GOP were already at the doors. The AFP operation had started up again weeks ago, for an initial cost of nearly $900,000 across the country. Their targets included Senate races in Colorado, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina and Texas, as well as a few House races, such as Freitas's. Since kicking off, they'd contacted 6 million voters, but unlike the GOP, they were not mentioning the president in their messaging or surveys. "The only presidential we've ever done was Romney in 2012," Phillips said. "And that was obviously a bitter experience and defeat." In Virginia, canvassers began the process by walking into an office building, getting their temperature taken with an external thermometer, and, if there was space inside, sitting in for a quick training on how to use AFP's canvassing app. Chairs were spaced out, but to avoid crowding, some canvassers went under a tent in the parking lot. After a phone-in to another group canvassing in the district, Phillips brought everyone outside. "Just a couple of things are different than a lot of the operations that we've done in the past," Phillips told the canvassers when they had all gathered outside. "We want to make sure that we're keeping the voter safe, and also yourself. So please step back, and make sure you have your mask on." Canvassers agreed to the rules, and some of them had already been knocking on doors under the new conditions. "I haven't had that much experience of people having super-negative reactions," said Aaron Kubat, 22. "Most of the negative reactions just come from the fact that, you know, people want privacy. That's understandable. You're walking onto someone's property, knocking on the door and asking them questions about politics here. That makes you persona non grata for some people. But for the most part, people are polite." There were just two questions on AFP's voter script. One asked whether voters were more or less likely to support Freitas once they knew he "supported legislation that made access to health care easier and more affordable" as a Virginia state legislator. Another asked the same support question after informing the voter that Freitas "has voted to remove red tape to help small businesses rebuild and cutting government spending to save taxpayer dollars." The repeal of the Affordable Care Act, a central cause for AFP for most of the organization's life, was not among the issues. "I think that moment, in all candor, has passed, and Republicans failed miserably," Phillips said. "So, no, that's not what we're calling for. It's a combination of things. One is that this pandemic has shown us the foibles of one-size-fits-all government medicine, socialized medicine. Let's not go that direction. Two, there's a false choice right now that some have put forward that says if you don't want a full shutdown, then you're not really for good health care. That's the silliest argument I've seen in a while." The message was a reflection of how much politics had shifted during the Trump presidency, shifting faster during the pandemic. The president had dropped the Obamacare repeal from his list of 2020 promises, even pledging an executive order on something that the ACA made law in 2010, protections for people with preexisting conditions. Republicans were hitting the doors to pitch an economic comeback in a second Trump term, and to warn against the dangers they say a Biden presidency would pose. "It doesn't mean on some particular race they don't have a favorite candidate," Phillips said, explaining that the group's algorithm caught voters who were set in their opinions on races up the ballot. "A House race is more scrambled." The canvassers fanned out, with apps that displayed their walk routes, and colors (green for a successful contact, black for a hard no) that tracked their progress. Over two hours, the voters who opened their doors or politely said they were not interested were White, most in modest homes. One block contained two Trump flags and two Confederate stars-and-bars flags; one contained Spanberger signs. Until the door opened, there was mostly no hint of what the voter might say. "At my first house, the look on his face was like: Get out of here," said Jacob Fish, 27, working through his walk sheet before a brief storm blew through the area. "I thought to myself, let me get through kind of the initial sentence, but he was like: Man, enough. I wanted to go ahead and at least get a chance to read the literature." Fish had much more luck at other homes. The value of pandemic-era door knocking, as some campaigns were finding, was that voters were almost always home. If someone came to pitch a candidate and nobody came to pitch the opponent, that was a gift, which overwhelmed the risks of finding the occasional voter who resented the interruption. If a conversation seemed to be going well, Phillips added a question of his own. Did the voter want to open up schools again? One of his theories about the race was that more than any partisan goal, voters pined for the return of normalcy. "Hey, we're going to help you get your life back to normal," Phillips said. "Part of that is getting health care to a point where we can handle this pandemic so that we can get kids back in school. And we want to make sure you can see your mom or dad who might be at an assisted-living facility. It is a fight. I'm not disputing that. But I do think that approach gives us a shot on that issue to make a difference." By the end of the day, across the country, AFP claimed to have contacted 11,000 voters in the district, knocking on about 1,000 doors and making 10,000 phone calls. By Rami Ayyub and Alexander Cornwell TEL AVIV/DUBAI (Reuters) - From a proposed rail link to the Gulf from the Israeli port of Haifa, to quick-hop direct flights from Tel Aviv, the prospect of formal relations with the United Arab Emirates is stirring excitement in Israel. In the UAE, which Israeli business executives with foreign passports have visited for years, companies that are likely candidates for above-board deal-making with Israel are taking a more cautious line, apparently awaiting government guidance on future policy. Israel and the Gulf State announced on Thursday they would normalise relations under a U.S.-sponsored deal that still awaits negotiations on details such as opening embassies and travel links before it is officially signed. Israeli officials have been quick to play up the economic benefits of the accord, which once formalised would also include agreements on tourism, technology, energy, healthcare and security, among other areas. Some Israeli and Emirati businesses have already signed deals since Thursday, and several small-scale medical and defence collaborations were announced in the weeks preceding the normalisation agreement. But Emirati state entities and private businesses have been circumspect in discussing investment opportunities before ties are official, with many declining to comment. Conglomerate Al Habtoor Group, which has several hotels in Dubai, is in talks to partner with Israeli carrier Israir, a spokeswoman said, declining to provide further details. It was too early to discuss expanding the group's business into Israel, she said. Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala declined to comment about potential business opportunities emerging from the deal, and some government departments deferred requests for comment to the foreign ministry. 'SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE' Israeli Finance Minister Israel Katz said official ties with the UAE "could be a basis for a very significant upgrade of Israel's economy, alongside, of course, the things they need from us - in water technology, agriculture, hi-tech". Story continues On Israel's Kan Radio, Katz highlighted the potential for grand, regional transportation projects - "a rail connection between Gulf countries and Haifa port" - that he said would make Israel the UAE's "gateway to the Mediterranean". Such a rail network would have to cross Saudi Arabia, which has no relations with Israel and has so far been silent on its deal with the UAE. An Israeli delegation is expected to travel to UAE within weeks to work out the modalities of normalisation, a historic shift that could reshape Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran. The UAE would only be third Arab state in more than 70 years to establish relations with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan. 'NOT GOING TO BET THEIR SHIRTS' But there are sensitivities for businesses in openly welcoming Israeli investment in the Arab world's second-largest economy when public opinion in the Middle East is largely pro-Palestinian. Some in the UAE have called for boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians in occupied territories. Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said UAE businesses would carefully gauge regional reactions to the deal to avoid tensions in existing relationships. "Established UAE companies and family-owned businesses are not going to bet their shirts just to enter Israeli markets," he said. Israeli investors acknowledge that new trade agreements would likely take time to strike, but say Israel's booming high-tech scene and innovations in agriculture would be tough for the UAE to pass up. Jon Medved, CEO of Israeli crowdfunding firm OurCrowd, said "co-investment talks are ongoing (with Israelis) throughout the Arab world, not just with the UAE" - alluding to Israeli expectations that Bahrain and Oman would follow in normalising ties. Tourism could also stand to benefit, some analysts say, though it would take time to kick off given the coronavirus pandemic's impact on global travel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel is preparing for direct flights, over Saudi Arabia, to the United Arab Emirates, but gave no timeframe for their start. Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and its air space is closed to Israeli airliners. Asked about flying to Israel, Dubai's Emirates said it had nothing to announce. Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. (This story has been refiled to fix typos in 15th, 20th paragraph, comment in 17th) (Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Tel Aviv and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai with additional reporting by Steven Scheer, Dan Williams and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Angus MacSwan) ALBANY - Former MyPayrollHR CEO and confessed felon Michael Mann purchased a $1 million "crime" insurance policy from an insurance company back in 2013 at the same time that he himself was defrauding his banks and finance companies out of tens of millions of dollars. The policy, which Mann purchased from the Ohio Casualty Insurance, was designed to protect his Clifton Park company, MyPayrollHR, from losses due to criminal activity. It was supposed to spare Mann's firm, in part, from theft by his own employees. Last week, Mann admitted a criminal sat at the top of the firm. He pleaded guilty in federal court in Albany to 12 felonies, including bank fraud, wire fraud, identity theft and filing false tax records, as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors to resolve a $100 million fraud scheme Mann directed from 2013 to 2019. It caused the collapse of his payroll services company, MyPayrollHR and left thousands of employers across the country unable to pay their workers. Arguing that Mann lied on his application for the crime insurance, which included providing false financial statements that inflated the true value of his various businesses and concealing his fraudulent activity, the Ohio Casualty Insurance Co. was successful in getting a federal judge to nullify the policy earlier this year. "Nowhere in the application, (his financial statements), or in any other information submitted by or on behalf of MyPayRoll in its application for insurance to Ohio Casualty did MyPayRoll or Mann disclose, state, or reveal that Mann ... had been engaged and was engaging in an ongoing fraudulent scheme," lawyers for Ohio Casualty Insurance wrote in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Albany seeking to void the policy. Mann never made a claim on the Ohio Casualty Insurance policy and didn't try to block the lawsuit. He remains free on bail and is facing up to three decades in prison when he is sentenced in December, although his attorney will seek a much shorter sentence. Federal guidelines suggest a sentence of between 17 and 32 years. The Ohio Casualty Insurance crime policy had a $1 million coverage limit for "employee dishonesty" as well as "loss of clients." The annual premium increased from $2,600 to $3,400 over the years as the assets and revenues of ValueWise increased over the years, according to his financial statements that were compiled by the Albany accounting firm Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte. The insurer claimed in its lawsuit that the "financial statements misrepresented the financial status of the Mann companies in several material respects." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. According to those financial statements, ValueWise's assets grew from $9.4 million in 2011 to $20 million in 2014. The lawsuit filed by Ohio Casualty Insurance doesn't spell out how Mann inflated his firm's finances, although accounting firms rely on their clients for the numbers. A telephone call and email to Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte seeking comment were not immediately returned. Dozens of Mann's victims have tried unsuccessfully to make claims against Mann's crime policy, arguing that they should be compensated for the fraud that led to damage to their reputations and financial losses, including tax penalties from unpaid payroll taxes. But they were not eligible because the policy was a so-called "first party" crime policy that protects the policy-holder from criminal losses, not third parties such as MyPayrollHR's customers. Mann, described as a serial entrepreneur who started and bought a number of companies, ran his businesses including MyPayrollHR, under an umbrella company called ValueWise that did legitimate consulting. Mann purchased MyPayrollHR in 2013 from a Boston-area company called F.W. Davison that is now known as PrismHR. He also owned a staff recruiting company and a physical therapy company, in addition to shell companies that had little or no operations. Mann admitted to a six-year scheme to obtain tens of millions of dollars in business loans from several finance companies and his banks by producing fake invoices for non-existant consulting work that he claimed he was doing for major companies. The invoices were used as collateral to qualify for the loans. The revenue that was supposed to come in when the invoices were paid would be used to pay down the loans as well, but since the invoices were fake, Mann had to find money somewhere else to come up with the revenue. That money came from a line of credit from Pioneer Bank, which gave Mann access to millions of dollars, although that loan was obtained by faking invoices and financial documents too. Pioneer is seeking $35 million from Mann that he has not repaid the bank since MyPayrollHR collapsed in September as Mann's scheme unraveled. Were familiar with the designation of places like Somalia as failed states, but cant we equally recognize failed cities when we see them? New York City in the 1970s, when it needed a federal bailout, was one example from our past, and New Yorks fiscal woes were closely connected with its larger social problems of crime, welfare dependency, and all the other factors that diminished the shine of the Big Apple. Today our obviously failed cities are Seattle and Portland, with Minneapolis, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York (again) trending that direction. (And the entire state of Illinois is on the equivalent of a watch listI think it is literally on credit watch listswith California not far behind.) As mentioned here previously, it appears lots of people are fleeing or preparing to flee these cities, and their economies (and consequent tax bases) may be in free fall even if the COVID-induced economic coma ends in the next few months. Which raises a frequent worry: what if these dazzling urbanites move to Rock Ridge and vote for the same kind of progressive candidates they foolishly supported where they came from? I think it wont actually work that way, although I understand the logic behind it. In our Three Whisky Happy Hour Podcast with Charles Lipson yesterday, Charles expressed skepticism that the voters of Chicago (or New York, etc.) will wise up and toss out the current Democrats who obviously cant govern. We didnt talk about some of the deeper reasons to doubt such a sensible outcome. One of them is simply that there arent any credible Republican candidates in Chicago, New York, Seattle, etc. Like turtles, its Democrats all the way down. They are going to dominate the big cities because they just have a much deeper bench. Republicans competing in the big cities is like putting up a NCAA Division II team against the Houston Astros who, like Democrats, cheat to ensure their success. The best we can hope for in most big cities is a more sensible Democrat, and we have seen a few sensible Democratic mayors in recent decades. My favorite was John Norquist, the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee back in the 1990s. Norquist not only favored robust economic development and tough crime-fighting; he even supported school choice. Conversely, when dazzling urbanites move to Rock Ridge, they will look around and find that there arent very many good Democratic candidates. As we know, Republican strength these days is increasingly in exurban and rural areas, where good Democratic politicians are being added to the Endangered Species List. Sure, some clueless dazzling urbanites will want to vote for progressive candidates, but unless they move to Austin they wont find very many. I expect the diffusion of dazzling urbanites out of the cities will result in gradual improvement of Republican fortunes. It may not happen this year or next, but as the cities continues to circle and then go down the drain, some of those dazzling ex-urbanites may even start to change their mindlike many did back in the late 1960s and 1970s. So relax. Bottom line is that the exodus from the big cities is going to weaken Democrats and strengthen Republicans. Failed cities will lead to failed parties. 100 Years Ago 1920: John Smith, alias Walter A. Lewis, who gives his address as New York, was yesterday held in connection with the hold-up and murder of John Dalton, at Hook and Academy roads, Sharon Hill, on July 7. Smith, who was arrested Aug. 7 at 19th and South streets, Philadelphia, while attempting to pawn two fur coats, was given a further hearing in Philadelphia yesterday, charged with burglary. The murder of John Dalton, early on the morning of July 7, was the climax of a series of hold-ups in Sharon Hill and vicinity. 75 Years Ago 1945: Contract adjustments and terminations in Delaware County industries had brought estimated employment from the wartime peak of 100,000 in 1943 to approximately 75,000 at the announcement of V-J Day. More than 75 percent of county industrial workers are in iron and steel plants, including Baldwins, Sun Ship and Westinghouse. Sun Ship, dropped 15,000 workers from 1943 to VJ-Day. The other 35 percent of county industrial workers are in five classifications: textiles, petroleum, paper and chemicals, building products, and miscellaneous. 50 Years Ago 1970: The first planned residential development (PRD) of its size in the county may soon be built on about 60 acres off Mt. Alverno Road, as a result of a new ordinance passed last week by Middletown Township Supervisors. The new ordinance permits a PRD on a minimum of 50 acres, with at least 50 percent of the total tract set aside for open space. 25 Years Ago 1995: Two Parkside police officers received letters of commendation for exceptional job performance. In a letter to Chief John Flynn Jr., Brookhaven Police Chief John Eller hailed Officer Robert Birney for his quick response to a burglary in process last month. The second letter of appreciation came from resident Eileen Devine. She commended Officer Maureen Hackett for helping her locate her house key. The woman wrote that while taking her rosary out of her purse in church, she dropped her house key. Hackett took the resident from her home back to the church, then returned her home. 10 Years Ago 2010: Magisterial District Judge Phil Turner administered the oath of office to Eddystone Junior Councilman Stephen Ferzetti at a recent council meeting. Ferzetti is 16 and a junior at Ridley High School. There are not a lot of young people who want to get involved in government, Turner said in congratulating Ferzetti. On hand for the swearing in was new Ridley School District Superintendent Lee Ann Wentzel, who contacted the borough last January about appointing a junior council member. COLIN AINSWORTH So far we have said nothing about Kevin Clinesmiths guilty plea, which illustrates the fact that these days, the news is impossible to keep up with. Clinesmith, as you probably remember, was an FBI lawyer, an assistant general counsel assigned to the Bureaus National Security and Cyber Law branch in Washington. In that capacity, he supported FBI investigations, including Crossfire Hurricane. Clinesmith was instrumental in submitting some, at least, of the fraudulent FISA applications to spy on Carter Page. Of all of the Obama administration loyalists who contributed to the Russia collusion hoax, Clinesmith is the one most obviously guilty of a felony: he altered an email he received from the CIA to say that Carter Page was NOT a CIA source, when in fact the email said Page WAS a CIA source, and submitted that fake document to the federal court in order to obtain a FISA warrant. That is worth five years in prison and, of course, the end of his legal career. Clinesmiths guilty plea is significant, in part, because he may be willing to implicate others who are higher in the DOJ chain of command. More about that later. Andy McCarthy and Mollie Hemingway have written insightfully about Clinesmiths plea, and I commend their analyses to you. Andy, as usual, focuses on legal issues. He explains Clinesmiths felony clearly: As I describe above, in the actual email, the CIA liaison said: My recollection is that [Page] was or is . . . [digraph] but the [documents] will explain the details. Clinesmith altered it (as I now highlight in bold italics) to say: My recollection is that [Page] was or is [digraph] and not a source but the [documents] will explain the details. It is hard to imagine a more blatant fraud on the court. Andy points out that in all four Page FISA applications, in which the FBI claimed that Page was likely a spy collaborating with the Russians, the agency failed to tell the court the obviously relevant factwhich it knewthat Page had been working with the CIA for some years vis-a-vis Russia. He also notes the almost incredible dishonesty of Adam Schiffone would say incredible, except that it is Adam Schiffin the report that he produced in January 18. Here you really need to read the whole thing, but this conveys the main point: The Nunes memo contended that the FBIs surveillance of Page was essentially baseless and materially dependent on the bogus Steele dossier. [Ed.: Which, of course, turned out to be true.] In an effort to rebut that claim, the Schiff memo highlighted pre-dossier information: Pages past relationships with Russian spies. In fact, Schiff maintained, the FBI interviewed Page in March 2016 about his contact with Russian intelligence, the very month Donald Trump named him a foreign-policy adviser. Nowhere did the now chairman of the Intelligence Committee mention that Page had been reporting his past relationships with Russian spies to the CIA as an operational source. To the contrary, those past relationships were emphasized as a basis, independent of the Steele dossier, to believe that Page and, indeed, the Trump campaign and Donald Trump himself, were in cahoots with the Putin regime. Schiffs corruption is almost impossible for a normal person to comprehend. Mollie Hemingway takes a different but equally important approach. She puts Clinesmiths guilty plea in the context of Inspector General Michael Horowitzs 434-page report, which first revealed Clinesmiths crime and documented far wider corruption within the Department of Justice. Mollie points out how Democratic Party reporters have tried to downplay the significance of Clinesmiths crime: Another falsehood uncritically parroted by the New York Times reporter Adam Goldman, who was previously awarded a Pulitzer for his role in spreading the damaging Russia collusion theory, was that Clinesmith had merely made a mistake while trying to clarify facts for a colleague. The claim, pushed in the second paragraph of the story, is highly at odds with the litany of facts laid out in the Horowitz report and the charging document. The Crossfire Hurricane team had already been notified by the CIA on August 17, 2016, of Pages assistance in Russian-related matters. Page himself had told the FBIs Confidential Human Source of his assistance to the CIA, and that had also been reported back to the FBI. But only when Page publicly stated that hed been a U.S. intelligence source did the FBI revisit the issue, just before the third and final application renewal was set to be filed. Detailsmany, many more detailsat the link. Mollie sums up the corrupt role played by Democratic Party media: In large part because of their role as co-conspirators in the Russia collusion hoax, the media move to downplay the facts surrounding the hoax even when they must be conceded, such as when individuals involved plead guilty to crimes, or when reports from independent investigators catalogue 17 major errors and omissions. That all four the applications to spy on Page failed to include the key exonerating information of his role as a source to U.S. intelligence is major news, even as the Pulitzer winners try to pretend otherwise. The most pressing question at the moment is whether Clinesmith will implicate higher-ups in his crime. One would assume that no lawyer would commit an offense so blatant as to alter an email from the CIA and then use it to obtain, fraudulently, a warrant to spy on an American citizen, without assurance that he enjoys protection from the top. We can take that as a given. But two questions remain. First, how high up the food chain can Clinesmith go? If we analogize the Obama Department of Justice to the Mafia, it is safe to assume that Clinesmiths orders came from someone relatively far down the totem pole. Loretta Lynch, James Comey, et al. would not have compromised themselves by personally authorizing perjury, just as the top Mafia boss does not deal directly with the hit man. Whom can Clinesmith implicate, assuming he is willing to talk? We have no idea. Second, will Clinesmith benefit more by talking or by remaining silent? Again, using the Mafia as an analogy, most Mafiosis who are caught dont squeal on higher-ups. They know that if they stay silent and serve their prison term, they will be taken care of when they regain their freedom. Kevin Clinesmith may be in the same position. Prosecutors can urge the court to give him a lighter sentence in exchange for cooperation, but they cant make his crime go away, and they cant do anything for Clinesmith when he gets out of prison. At that point he will be a disbarred lawyer, a man without a career. The Democratic Party, on the other hand, can take care of him lavishly and I expect would be willing to do so in return for his silence. So silence may be the better bet. We know, too, that Clinesmith is a loyal if not fanatical Democrat, a self-described member of the resistance to our lawfully elected president. We may begin to find out what Clinesmith is able and willing to say when he appears in court in connection with his guilty plea. All of these events occur in the context of the Durham investigation, whose long-awaited report must be coming soon. Traditionally, DOJ does not release a report or announce indictments within 60 days of an election, where such action might have political consequences. I think it virtually certain that Durham will respect that tradition, meaning that his report will issue by September 4 or else not until after the election. By which time, of course, it will be much too late. But then, it is probably too late already. The wholly unsupported and frankly insane Trump-Russia narrative, cooked up out of nothing on behalf of the Hillary Clinton campaign and propagated by the Democratic Party media, has taken hold. And we live in a world of narratives, not a world of truth, thanks in large part to our utterly corrupt press. The Russia collusion hoax was the biggest scandal in American history, but it will be left to a future generation to take its full measure. A petition was filed before the Supreme Court on Monday seeking initiation of criminal contempt of court proceedings against Bollywood actor Swara Bhasker for her statements criticising the top court and its judgment in the Ayodhya dispute. The plea, filed by Usha Shetty from Karnataka, was placed before the Attorney General of India, KK Venugopal, for his consent to list the matter before the court. As per Section 15 of the Contempt of Courts Act and Rule 3 of Rules to Regulate Proceedings for Contempt of Supreme Court, the consent of Attorney General is required before the apex court can hear a criminal contempt petition filed by a private individual. On February 1, the actor had attended a panel discussion organised by NGO Mumbai Collective on the topic Artists against Communalism. During the discussion, Bhasker, as alleged by the petitioner, said: We are now in a situation where our courts are not sure whether they believe in the Constitution or notWe are living in a country where the Supreme Court of our country states in a judgment that the demolition of Babri Masjid was unlawful and in the same judgment rewards the same people who brought down the mosque. The November 9 judgment of the Supreme Court in the Ayodhya dispute, which was delivered by a bench headed by former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, had awarded the 2.77 acre disputed site to Ram Lalla Virajman, the child deity. The bench had also ordered that 5 acres of land at an alternative site should be granted to Muslims for construction of a new mosque. The apex court had, interestingly, acknowledged the existence of a valid mosque at the disputed site and had expressly stated that the acts of Hindus in placing idols inside the mosque in 1949 and destruction of the mosque in 1992 were illegal. Shetty submitted that the statement by Bhasker is derogatory and intended to scandalise the Supreme Court. It is not merely a cheap stunt for publicity but a deliberate attempt to incite masses to resist and revolt against the apex court, she added. The statement intends to incite a feeling of no confidence amongst the public with respect to the proceedings of the Supreme Court. It amounts to criminal contempt, the petition said. HT did dial the actor for a comment, but she was unreachable. The Supreme Court had recently initiated contempt of court proceedings against advocate Prashant Bhushan for his tweets against the court and the Chief Justice of India, SA Bobde. The court had, on August 14, convicted Bhushan for the same and will hold a separate hearing on August 20 to decide the punishment to be given to him. What is noteworthy is that the petition against Bhushan was filed by one of Shettys lawyers, Mehek Maheshwari. Maheshwari had not obtained Attorney Generals consent in that case but the court nevertheless took up the matter suo motu based on Maheshwaris petition. The Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge did not speak for two months after the Sandringham summit sparked by Megxit, a royal writer has claimed. Finding Freedom, the new biography which chronicles the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs relationship, has made many claims about the couple, from the meaning behind their pet dog's name to speculation surrounding an ongoing feud with the Cambridges. A spokesperson for the duke and duchess stated that the couple had no involvement in the writing of the book, outlining that the publication is based on the authors own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting. Now, co-author and royal correspondent, Omid Scobie, has discussed the widening distance between brothers William and Harry, claiming that they completely stopped talking for months. During an interview for True Royalty TV, Scobie said tension grew following the Sussexes online announcement that they were stepping down as senior members of the royal family. The bombshell announcement in January triggered a crisis at the palace, forcing the Queen to call the unprecedented Sandringham Summit at her Norfolk home so that the situation could be sorted out. William was allegedly unhappy with his younger brother for damaging the Royal Familys reputation and was not speaking to Harry around the time that the family met at Sandringham to discuss details of their exit. Where it really went wrong for Harry and Meghan and the Cambridges was that decision to go public with the roadmap to their new working model, the statements that weren't discussed internally, Scobie said. That's really what caused the most amount of hurt to William because he wears two hats. Omid Scobie claims the brothers did not speak for two months (Getty) He's not just the brother. He's also a future king and he felt that that damaged the reputation of the family, that it put family business out in the public domain when it should have been discussed privately. And there was a lot of hurt there that continues to this day. Before the announcement, there were already reports of a disagreement between the Cambridges and the Sussexes, but according to Scobie the distance between them grew wider and wider. Harry and Meghans final public royal engagement was the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in March, where Kate was accused in the book of barely acknowledging her sister-in-law. It's why we saw such an awkward moment at that Commonwealth service, Scobie added. Harry and Meghans final public royal engagement was the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in March (Getty) The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit. They hadn't seen each other. And, you know, that's really going to take some time to heal. Scobie also suggested that Harry, who has outlined his personal commitment to tackling institutional racism, will at some point address his own past mistakes. The author said: He's on a journey at the moment and I do think that at some point we'll hear him really talk about that journey and what he's learnt on that. But I think at the moment ... he's still educating himself. Maybe he feels he's not there yet. Scobie described Harry and Meghan's new 11 million home in Santa Barbara, California, as pretty much their forever home. Kensington Palace has declined to comment. The Independent has contacted a representative for the Sussexes for comment. Swedish metal band Hammerfall has pulled out from a scheduled concert in Worcester. The group was booked to play The Palladium on Oct. 16 as part of its North American tour. The entire tour has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The band was touring to support its Live! Against the World album, which is due out in October. Tickets will be refunded at point of purchase. Hammerfall formed in Gothenburg in 1993. The group won a Metal Hammer Award in 2015. Shop for concert tickets here: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster Osteopathic Medicine Osteopathic physicians, who receive the DO degree, consider the whole person, including physical, emotional and spiritual components, instead of focusing on specific symptoms or illnesses. They regard your body as an integrated whole and focus on preventive health care. They also use a hands-on system of diagnosis and treatment known as osteopathic manipulative medicine. The course work for osteopathic medicine includes two years of basic science courses followed by two years of clinical training. DOs can specialize in any medical field and practice the full scope of modern medicine. To learn more about osteopathic medicine, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) offers a helpful timeline for applying to osteopathic medical school. The coronavirus outbreak that continues unabated is exacting a toll on mental health with economic uncertainty, job losses and fall in income leaving people stressed and anxious. India, too, is seeing a rise in mental illnesses even though it is a topic that largely remains a taboo. "We have seen a spurt of cases post the lockdown announced on March 24 in India. The lockdown has seen people lose their jobs, salary reduction, layoffs, and rental incomes not coming on time. This has led to an increase in anxiety among those who are suffering a loss of income," said Dr Prerna Kohli, a clinical psychologist who is also a member of the Niti Aayog Nutrition Committee. Those in debt were making irrational financial decisions and were being preyed upon by multi-level marketing operators, overseas scams and other get-rich schemes promising unrealistic returns on investments, she said. Experts say India is sitting on a mental-health time bomb and there is an urgent need to raise awareness and build an effective support system. Worsening trend Around 20 percent of Indians suffer from some form of mental illness and the lockdown has aggravated the situation, media reports say. India is the depression capital of the world. Hectic working conditions, coupled with uncertainty, may have resulted in increased pressure, stress and anxiety which is bound to tell on mental health. To make matters worse, mental health is neither talked about nor mental illnesses acknowledged. Most people are either ashamed to talk about it or are not taken seriously when they share the problem. "Unfortunately mental health is a big taboo in our country. It is estimated that one in four women and one in seven men suffer from mental health problems. Every three-four minutes someone is India commits suicide, every hour a student in India commits suicide. Suicide and mental health is the real pandemic but our society behaves like an ostrich and refuses to address it," Kohli said. Financial losses suffered in such trying times are only compounding the problem. A recent study by online financial services marketplace BankBazaar found that COVID-19 has taken a toll on young Indians aspirations, which has fortified the position of health and pushed wealth creation down the order of priorities for 2020. Indias National Aspiration Index for 2020, as computed by the financial products aggregator, stands at 79.9, a decline of seven points compared to 86.9 in 2019. How to handle financial losses? Given the fact that there is no certain way to project how the market will behave, losses in investing are almost inevitable. The magnitude of this risk, however, can certainly be reduced by prudent and well-calculated investment decisions. A diversified portfolio reduces the risk of losses and increases the chances of gains. Also, timing the market is something that investment veterans do not suggest. They favour timing the moves. "If someone you know is undergoing financial difficulties, the person is at risk of committing suicide, immediate family members need to keep a vigil and take them for a psychiatric evaluation and counselling from a qualified psychologist," Kohli said. Financial losses are hard to accept but rebuilding lives is not difficult, she said. "Once the individual accepts that a loss has occurred, they can reconfigure their lives, reduce their lifestyle, cut down their expenses, and move forward. Meeting a psychologist will help speed up the healing process and moving quickly to the stage of acceptance. In some cases it is true, but for most patients, the sooner that reach the stage of acceptance, the sooner they are able to rebuild their lives," Kohli said. The advent of the internet and social media is also blamed for rising cases of depression. But should they be regulated by the government? "Absolutely not, people need to self-regulate the amount they spend on social media. The government has no role to play in it. Social media addiction is no different than addiction to tobacco or alcohol. The only difference is that it is a recent phenomenon so the awareness of it is less," Kohli said. The views expressed by the experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. MILWAUKEE Mike Atari has run the In & Out Pantry convenience store for two years at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and James Lovell Drive, a short walk from the Fiserv Forum, where the 2020 Democratic National Convention was supposed to take place this week. Over the past few weeks, business has been slow, but manageable. On Monday, he had two other people working besides himself. Despite the convention going virtual, he expected Monday to be a little bit busier than normal. There would be sightseers, out-of-towners, protesters, somebody who would stop at his store to pick up a snack or a drink. Instead, he said Monday was maybe the slowest day hes had since the pandemic began. He sent his employees home. There was nothing for them to do. Construction workers in the area and other workers werent even Downtown, Atari suspects because everyone normally in the city wants to avoid the irregularity and blocked-off streets of a national convention security zone. Im mad, Atari said, although he admitted he didnt know who he should be angry at. He just knows that this was supposed to be one of his best weeks ever business-wise, and instead its starting out as one of the worst. Its not good, he said. Atari chatted with a customer at about 2 p.m. Monday. They both wondered what all of the security Milwaukee Police Department, Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security officers and private security all seen in the area was here for. They couldnt name anyone of international importance who is expected this week at the Wisconsin Center, the site of the scaled-down, now largely virtual convention. Gov. Tony Evers is one of the few who has said he will be speaking from Milwaukee in person. Joe Biden, the former vice president and presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, Joe Biden, is expected to speak from afar on Thursday to accept his partys nomination, sparking continuous criticism from the Trump campaign, which has paid for Wheres Joe? billboards around Milwaukee. On Monday afternoon, Trump spoke to an audience at an airport in Oshkosh, with protesters gathering outside. Forrest Darby, 76 Forrest Darby, of Las Vegas, flew to Milwaukee this week. He's a delegate for the 2020 Democratic National Convention and feels let down about Forrest Darby, 76, flew in to Milwaukee from Las Vegas this week. Despite being an active Democrat for five decades, he never tried to be a national delegate. Now in his later years, the retired union electrician finally got himself picked to represent his county at the national convention. It was a bucket-list thing, he said in the hotel lobby of Hyatt Regency Milwaukee less than a block from the fenced border around the convention center. He expected, as a delegate, that there would be some event going on. Something to watch. That hed be able to hear some speaker. But there wasnt. Monday afternoon, there werent even political protesters anywhere near the campus. It was quiet, quiet even for Milwaukee during a pandemic. Streets were empty. I havent seen our international (union) president here. I havent seen anyone here. I havent seen anyone even in a union T-shirt here, he said, bemoaning what could have been. Some Democrats, including Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, have blamed President Trump specifically for the convention not being in-person, claiming if the U.S. had more thoroughly shut down and better precautions earlier on then the pandemic would be less widespread. Trump and most Republicans have taken the opposite approach, saying that keeping the country mostly open is the best path forward. Darby is turning his political trip into a sightseeing tour, planning to rent a car and see Wisconsin, a state hes never visited. Hes staying at a bed and breakfast in the Milwaukee neighborhood of Bay View. Months ago, every room at the place was booked. Now, he said, hes the only guest. When it was announced more than a year ago that the DNC was coming to Milwaukee, 50,000 people and $200 million worth of consumer spending were expected to descend on Milwaukee. Instead, theres next to nothing. This is a far different footprint of what we expected in March of 2019, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said while speaking from his home during a virtual press conference Monday. Its not a conventional convention by any stretch of the imagination. Still, Barrett said that thanks to federal grants, the heavily changed convention shouldnt directly cost Milwaukee taxpayers. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. YCC in collaboration with TILT Johannesburg, R 23000 - R 27500 per month 12 Jan 2022 LONDON Oil prices steadied on Monday as news that China planned to ship large volumes of U.S. crude in August and September countered rising tensions between the two countries and a delay in the review of their trade pact over the weekend. Brent crude was down 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $44.77 a barrel by 0858 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 3 cents, or 0.1%, to $42.04 a barrel. The United States and China delayed a review of their Phase 1 trade deal initially slated for Saturday, citing scheduling conflicts. However, in a positive signal, Chinese state-owned oil firms have tentatively booked tankers to transport at least 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September. Record crude imports from China and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions globally have supported oil prices in recent weeks, although new waves of coronavirus outbreaks in several countries are expected to cool consumption again. Clearly the market is not tightening as quickly as initially anticipated. Demand is taking longer than expected to get back to normal levels," ING Group said. Investors are also looking for more clues on future supply from a meeting this week of a panel representing ministers of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+. The Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), monitors OPEC+ production curbs agreed earlier this year. Last month, the JMMC recommended that cuts be eased from Aug. 1 to about 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) from a reduction of 9.7 million bpd since May, in line with an earlier OPEC+ agreement. Irans oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh said OPECs performance has been successful because the price of oil has risen from $16 in May to around $45 and has stabilised." ANZ estimated that demand had risen 8 million barrels per day (bpd) over the past four months to 88 million bpd - still 13 million bpd below this time last year. In the United States, meanwhile, the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating last week remained anchored at a record low for a 15th week, even as higher oil prices prompt some producers to start drilling again. 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 Abhay 2 has released three new episodes recently. Director Ken Ghosh, streaming partner ZEE5 and makers of the second season of the investigative thriller series faced heavy trolling on social media recently when some eagle eyed watchers spotted revolutionary freedom fighter Khudiram Bose's image on criminal board during one of the scenes filmed inside a police station. Bose was India's youngest revolutionary freedom fighter who was executed on August 11, 1908 at the age of 18. It is said that when he was martyred for going against the British colonial rulers, he went to the gallows with a smile and the Bhagavad Gita in his hand. Read: Abhay 2 Review: Kunal Kemmu Returns with More Vigour to Counter Supervillains Fans even clicked images of the particular scene featuring lead actor Kunal Kemmu and circulated it widely on social media. They came down heavily on Abhay 2 team for the huge blunder. The misuse of Bose's image is in episode titled 'One-legged Skeleton', which features actress Bidita Bag in a special role. However, as a result of trolling, the image of Bose on criminal board has been blurred out in the particular scene. Amid outrage, #boycottzee5 also started trending on social media. Take a look at some reactions to the viral hashtag here. #boycottzee5 @ZEE5Premium@ZEE5APAC who give you the permission to playing with our emotion. How dare you put picture of Khudiram Bose on a criminal board?Do you have any Knowledge that he was the 2nd youngest revolutionaries in India, who gave his life for nation.Shame on u pic.twitter.com/jSAoSt9V4o Arpita Ganguly (@ArpitaG65371376) August 16, 2020 What the hell is wrong with you? @ZEE5Premium @ZEE5APAC How dare you put picture of a freedom fighter who gave his life for his country on a criminal board? @ibfindia please look into the matter. This is a matter of grave concern and is disrespectful to the country. #boycottzee5 pic.twitter.com/zqIFIFQgFt Youth For Social Change (@YFSCOFFL) August 16, 2020 Shaheed Khudiram Bose was an Indian revolutionary who opposed British rule of India and fought against them, martyred at the age of 18. You idiots placed his picture with the criminals. Shame on u @ZEE5Premium & @ZEE5India#shameonzee5 #boycottzee5 pic.twitter.com/oKnVd06L7z Sachin Mandwariya (@SMandwariya) August 16, 2020 #BoycottZee5Khudiram Bose One of the youngest revolutionaries of the Indian freedom struggle, he was hung on August 11, 1908, when he was just 18 years old.@ZEE5India @ZEE5Premium should apologise for that. pic.twitter.com/R75C2EVuxX Prasanna Joshi Reporter (@prasanna_joshii) August 16, 2020 New episodes of Abhay 2 will stream from September 3. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 04:39:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden attends a rally in Philadelphia May 18, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) The 2020 Democratic National Convention is turned into an almost all-virtual event due to COVID-19 concerns. Former Vice President Joe Biden will be formally nominated during the convention as the Democratic presidential nominee. WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. presidential race has intensified as the Democratic National Convention (DNC) kicks off on Monday, less than 80 days before the general election. The 2020 DNC, which was scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July, is now turned into an almost all-virtual event beginning Monday and running through Thursday, due to safety concerns amid a lingering COVID-19 pandemic that has killed over 170,000 Americans. The four-night program themed "Uniting America," beginning at 9 p.m. and ending at 11 p.m. ET, will be livestreamed on the DNC website and its social media handles, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. According to the DNC, each night of the convention will feature "both live and curated content originating from Milwaukee and other satellite cities, locations and landmarks across the country." Party business will occur remotely during the daytime, with caucus and council meetings scheduled throughout. A woman at a house in Arlington, Virginia, watches news showing U.S. presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden (R, on the screen) speaking at a campaign event together with Kamala Harris in Wilmington, Delaware, the United States, on Aug. 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Former Vice President Joe Biden will be formally nominated during the convention as the Democratic presidential nominee to try to unseat President Donald Trump in November. Biden will give his acceptance speech Thursday night and his 2020 running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, will deliver hers Wednesday night. Former first lady Michelle Obama is headlining Monday's addresses on the "series of monumental challenges" facing Americans -- the ongoing pandemic, economic recession and racism and inequality in the country. The DNC comes as a latest Washington Post-ABC News poll found Biden leading Trump by 53 percent to 41 percent among registered voters. GOP COUNTER-ACTIONS As Democrats look to boost Biden with the convention, Trump and the Republican Party have scheduled many counter-programings, on and off line, in several battleground states this week, including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arizona. U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, the United States, on Sept. 9, 2019. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) On Monday, Trump will travel to Wisconsin and Minnesota to deliver remarks on jobs and the economy. He will campaign in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, where he is expected to take on Biden hours before he officially accepts the Democratic nomination. The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Trump campaign is spending "high seven figures" on an intensive digital ad campaign during the Democratic convention -- including a banner ad on the YouTube homepage for 96 hours, beginning Tuesday. Democrats launched a cable TV ad Monday calling Trump's visit to Wisconsin "a political stunt that's putting human lives at risk," reported Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday. The ad by the DNC starts by discussing Trump's June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the spike in coronavirus cases in that city in the weeks afterward. "Now Trump is coming to Wisconsin for a political stunt that puts you at risk," the narrator says in the ad. The president's campaign also put up digital billboards in Milwaukee mocking Biden for not appearing in person at the DNC. "Where's Joe?" the billboards ask. Lashkar terrorist from Pakistan sentenced to 7 years in jail for plotting attacks in India Lashkar off-shoot TRF kills 3 civilians in J&K, says more to come Baramulla attack avenged: Top Lashkar commandeer gunned down India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 17: A top commander of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba has been shot dead in an encounter at Baramulla. The terrorist Sajjad alias Haider was involved in the Baramulla attack in which three security personnel lost their lives. IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that the gunning down of Haider is a big achievement for the security forces. Earlier in the day two CRPF jawans and one Jammu and Kashmir police personnel were martyred in a terror attack at Baramulla, J&K. Terrorists kill civilian in J&K Terrorists today attacked a Joint Security Naka Party of the Jammu and Kashmir Police and CRPF at Baramulla's Kreeri area in North Kashmir. One J&K Police SPO was martyred in the encounter. Two CRPF jawans who were injured in the attacked succumbed to injuries. Meanwhile, alert security forces averted a major tragedy after recovering an Improvised Explosive Device near the Pujan village in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. The IED was planted beneath a bridge. IGP, Kashmir, Vijay Kumar said that an IED planted by terrorists under a bridge near Pujan village was recovered. This is a road between Pujan and Galwan, Kumar also said. This timely action by the security forces averted a major tragedy as the road connects Pulwama district with Budgam. The road is extensively used by the security forces. It may be recalled that a similar incident was reported last month after an IED was recovered from the Gangoo area in Pulwama. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, August 17, 2020, 17:55 [IST] (Newser) A giant wildlife refuge in Alaska home to caribou and polar bears will soon have something new on the landscape: oil and gas drills. The Department of the Interior on Monday approved a program to dole out drilling leases for a 1.6-million-acre coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reports the AP. The first leases should be handed out around the end of the year, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt tells the Wall Street Journal. He and advocates such as Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy say the step is long overdue and that any drilling will be done without harming wildlife. But environmentalists promise to challenge the move in court. "The Trump administration's so-called review process for their shameless sell-off of the Arctic Refuge has been a sham from the start," says Lena Moffitt of the Sierra Club. "We'll see them in court." story continues below The leases are the culmination of a long fight to open up land for drilling in the ANWR, reports the Washington Post. "It marks a major step toward reviving fossil fuel development in an area that has been untouched for three decades," writes Juliet Eilperin. Congress paved the way for this development in 2017, when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate. "Congress gave us a very clear directive here," says Bernhardt. "I have a remarkable degree of confidence that this can be done in a way that is responsible, sustainable, and environmentally benign." The Gwich'in, an Alaskan Indigenous group that relies on caribou in the refuge, disagrees and also plans to sue. The Journal notes that the ANWR is roughly the size of South Carolina, and Congress gave the region federal protection in the 1980s. (Read more Arctic National Wildlife Refuge stories.) At a meeting on Monday, the Ukrainian government decided to terminate the Agreement with Russia on the mutual establishment of trade missions, said Emine Dzhaparova, the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine. "Today, at an extraordinary meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, it was decided to terminate the Agreement between the government of Ukraine and the government of the Russian Federation on the mutual establishment of trade missions, which has been in effect since October 1992," Dzhaparova wrote on her Facebook page. According to her, given the Russian aggression and the occupation of Crimea, and, accordingly, the current state of relations between the countries, this agreement has lost its practical significance and does not meet the national interests of Ukraine. NEWARK, NJ Classes in the Newark Public School District will stay remote-only until at least November due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said Monday. Newarks public schools will remain remote for staff and students until the end of the first marking period, according to John Abeigon, president of the Newark Teachers Union, Local 481. The Newark Board of Educations task force on reopening will reassess the situation in mid-November, Abeigon said. The school board confirmed the decision on social media. During a morning meeting of the task force, Superintendent Roger Leon thanked its members and their constituencies, as well as Mayor Ras Baraka, state Sen. Teresa Ruiz and the Newark Teachers Union, for offering input on the districts reopening plan. Many teachers have been pushing to begin the year virtually, worrying that a premature return to class could endanger students and staff. Patch reached out to Newark school officials for comment and will update this article with any reply we receive. Monday's announcement is a big change from the districts earlier decision to offer daily in-person classes to families who want them when school starts Sept. 8. As required by the state, the district also gave families the option of all-remote learning, which they had until Friday to select. See related article: As More Districts Go All-Remote, Newark Sticks With Plan To Reopen Classrooms Several charter schools in Newark have already chosen to delay the start of in-person learning. North Star Academy, KIPP New Jersey and Great Oaks Legacy, which collectively enroll about two-thirds of the city's more than 19,000 charter school students, have asked for state approval to begin with all-remote classes this month before adding some limited in-person instruction in the following weeks. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com Dont forget to visit the Patch Newark Facebook page. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Sign up for Patch email newsletters. This article originally appeared on the Newark Patch Visit NJ.com/education for the latest list of schools that have announced plans to start the year with all-remote instruction. An increasing number of New Jerseys largest school districts are planning to begin the upcoming academic year remotely following Gov. Phil Murphys announcement last week that all-virtual learning would be acceptable under certain conditions. Newark the states largest school district said Monday that students would learn remotely for at least the first marking period. The 40,000 student district had previously been planning for as much as five days of in-person instruction. The states second, third and fourth-biggest districts Jersey City, Paterson and Elizabeth have also pivoted to remote learning start the year. If schools say they cant meet one or more of the guidelines, districts can request to start start the year with all-remote learning. Districts that are granted permission to start the year all-remote will need to show they are trying to make changes to start in-person classes at a later date. Heres a sampling of districts that dont plan to offer in-person instruction when schools around New Jersey open next month. Keep up with the latest in N.J. schools coverage. Sign up with your email here: BERGEN COUNTY Edgewater and Teaneck will start the year fully remote. Teaneck will be remote for the first marking period with plans to re-evaluate in October. CAMDEN COUNTY Students in the city of Camden will learn virtually from the start of the school year Sept. 8 until at least Jan. 31, the district said last week. During this remote period, we will continue to assess and monitor the needs and feedback of our families and staff at which time we will make a determination in early January whether the district will be ready to adequately offer in-person instruction, Camden school officials said in a statement. ESSEX COUNTY Nutley schools plan to ask the state to approve 100% virtual learning for the first marking period of the year. We are still challenged in several areas under the requirements for general health and safety, particularly ventilation, and those that ensure the delivery of general and special education and related services to students with disabilities, the district said in a letter to parents Monday. The district wants to provide emergency child care for kindergarten-6th grade students when school opens Sept. 8. HUDSON COUNTY Bayonne was Hudson Countys first district to plan for fully remote learning, with the Board of Education approving a fully distant start to the semester late last month. Earlier this month, the Jersey City Board of Education voted for a similar plan. Jersey City is the states second-largest district. Union City, Guttenberg, North Bergen, West New York, Harrison and Kearny announced new plans for all-virtual learning in September. The Hudson County Schools of Technology will also begin the school year with remote learning. MERCER COUNTY Hamilton Township school district will instruct students remotely to begin the year before transitioning to a hybrid plan Oct. 12, according to TapInto.net. An official announcement is expected Monday. MIDDLESEX COUNTY Highland Park and neighboring New Brunswick will start the year virtually. We will slowly but surely transition students into an in-person instructional program over the course of the next several months, Highland Park Superintendent Dr. Scott Taylor said in a YouTube video released Monday. North Brunswick will instruct students remotely to begin the year for at least the first marking period. South River will provide virtual learning for all students from Sept. 9-30 with the plan to start an in-person program on Oct. 1. MONMOUTH COUNTY Asbury Park will instruct students remotely to begin the year for at least the first 30 days. OCEAN COUNTY Toms River students will start Sept. 8 with remote instruction. Under the previous hybrid plan, students would have attended school up to four days, a week according to APP.com. PASSAIC COUNTY Paterson, the states third-largest district, and Passaic are planning to start the school year remotely. Paterson school will remain closed through October, with Passaic schools learning virtually through at least September. UNION COUNTY Two days before Murphy said an all-remote plan would be OK, Elizabeths school board voted to begin the 2020-2021 school year that way so its school buildings can remain closed due to the teacher shortage. As of Monday, 375 teachers have notified the district that they cannot report to work inside a school building in September due to health related issues. There would be insufficient staff to open safely in person with that many teachers unavailable for in-person instruction, a spokesman said. Parents in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood district were blindsided with an email late Friday night informing them that the previous hybrid plan of two days per week of in-person instruction had been tossed in favor of an all-remote plan to start the year. The start of the school year has also been pushed to Sept. 14. Some parents are planning a Rally to Open Scotch Plains-Fanwood Schools at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Park Middle School. 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. Coronavirus pushes more Tunisians to risk all on crossing to Europe August 17,2020 | Source: AlKhaleej Today Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - Zarzis fishing port in eastern Tunisia sprawls out in every direction with all manner of craft jostling for berths among the vast network of wharves. Hulking trawlers that spend weeks fishing the waters of the Mediterranean compete for space among the small traditional craft of local fishermen. Now though, the boatmen of Zarzis are turning to a new trade carrying Tunisians across the blue waters from North Africa for a new life in Europe. In recent years, thousands of mainly sub-Saharan Africans have paid to be smuggled to the shores of the Mediterranean in Libya and Tunisia and made the perilous crossing to Europe. Thousands have died on the way. In the years after Tunisias 2011 uprising, the number of locals trying to cross fell to almost none. But the numbers began to increase after the country's economic downturn in 2017. Now, Tunisians in large numbers are delivering their verdict on the countrys future in the most dramatic way available, by gambling all on a clandestine trip to Europe to build their lives afresh. The numbers are stark. Italian authorities responsible for intercepting the boats from Tunisia say the first seven months of 2019 saw only 1,277 arrivals from Tunisia. For the same period this year, that number was 6,628. In July alone, as the seas calmed and the countrys lockdown measures eased, 4,252 people were intercepted by Italian authorities, up from only 502 in July 2019. These figures do not include the "ghost landings" that elude authorities. Recent years have not been kind to Zarzis. Once a relatively prosperous tourist town, the instability after uprisings in Tunisia and in nearby Libya, just 80 kilometres away, saw the towns resorts dropped from international itineraries. Meanwhile, hotels nearby on Djerba Island limped through political crises and economic turmoil. The coronavirus pandemic made the situation even more dire. Despite avoiding the worst of the outbreak Tunisia has recorded just over 1,700 cases and 52 deaths the economic damage of lockdown, the loss of the tourism season and the global downturn will be critical. The governments figures show about 400,000 jobs could be lost in the tourism sector, with the results rippling throughout the Tunisian economy. The IMF estimated in April that the countrys economy would shrink by 4.3 per cent because of the pandemic, with joblessness and social unrest inevitably set to follow. Increasingly, Italian authorities are reporting that families and the middle class are among a tide that was dominated by young men hoping to establish themselves in Europe, before returning to Tunisia to build houses on land inherited from their families. In early August, the Italian coastguard intercepted one group of 11 Tunisians dressed for their holidays, pulling wheeled trolleys, with one walking her poodle on a lead. The images of those arriving in Europe have done little to endear Tunisians to a nation already reeling from the full force of the global pandemic. The Migration Data Portal website estimates that 15,500 people have died between January 2014 and October 2019 while making the crossing. Italian authorities say Tunisians are now the largest single nationality arriving at reception centres. Theme(s): Communities and Organisations. Accordingly, the French Government will send three additional high-level experts to help analyse the different possible scenarios with regard to the MV Wakashio, stated Mr. Lecornu. He also underlined France's solidarity, friendship and fraternity towards Mauritius in this period of crisis. His mission, he said, is symbolical of the deep relations of both countries while adding that it is based on an Indo-Pacific axis that the French President Macron wishes to further develop and promote. Discussions during the meeting also focused on issues pertaining to the protection and resilience of the marine and sub-marine biodiversity, he said. Hillsboro ISD Board Approves Bids For Work On New School The Hillsboro Independent School District Board of Trustees approved bids totaling $29,355,180.18 to build a new elementary school during a regular meeting held Monday, August 10. Bids on the alternate plan to include pre-kindergarten classrooms in the new school were also approved as part of the overall package. The district sought bids on two plansone with pre-kindergarten classes and one withoutto determine whether it was feasible to move those classes to the new building. With the pre-kindergarten included, the bids still came in $484,819.82 under the budget approved by voters in the November 2019 bond election. In an effort to move forward with the project during the COVID-19 pandemic, bids were submitted electronically and opened Thursday, July 30. Richardson based Gallagher Construction reviewed proposals with administration staff members. Over 200 bids were received for the various aspects of the construction project. District officials said that Gallagher ensured that the lengthy list of chosen contractors were bonded, reputable and would be able to complete the projects. Groundbreaking on the new campus is expected in early September. In public comments, high school band director Ramon Carrillo addressed the board stating that he would not be able to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols, citing religious beliefs. "Unwanted or unneeded medical tests, even as insignificant for some as having your temperature taken, for me, this is an act of faith," Carrillo said. He added, "I do not go to annual doctor visits, I don't do colonoscopies, and I don't subscribe to any of the traditional preventative medical care that's dictated by so-called modern science." He said that masking, face shielding and other measures present a problem due to his religious convictions. "I cannot in good conscience enforce this," he said. "I would not enforce it on you, and I will definitely not enforce it on your children." The band director said that he is seeking relief from what he called a hostile work environment. HISD Chief Financial Officer Dale Snyder updated board members on school lunch prices for the district. Junior high and high school student lunch prices will remain unchanged from last year at $3.25. Meal prices at the intermediate and elementary campuses were set at $3, and Franklin elementary students will pay $2.75. Free breakfast will be available to students at the intermediate, elementary and Franklin campuses, while high school and junior high students will pay $1.25 for breakfast. Snyder indicated that it is possible that Pre-K through eighth grade students could see free lunches, pending approval by Texas Department of Agriculture. That decision is expected in the coming days. The student code of conduct was approved by the board, and the 2020-2021 handbook was reviewed. HISD officials said that no major changes were made. The board approved a resolution accepting bids for petroleum and office supplies. Dixie LP-Gas, Fuel Mart will provide oil at 10% above cost. Gas and diesel will be provided at $0.05 above cost. Business Supply Center was selected to provide the district with office supplies. Superintendent Vicki Adams informed board members that a budget workshop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday, August 17. Adams also said that a special called meeting will be held for budget and tax rate discussions at 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 25. In personnel matters the board approved employees that were hired through the summer hiring process. New employees include: Billy Beddingfield, Lastashia Brooks, Easton Brown, Melissa Dittmar, Misty Ellison, Yannery Escobedo, Yaeli Flores, Victoria Gordon, Mariah Henke, Leslie Jett, Susan Nixon, Molly Parker, Kenzie Promes, Jazlyn Rodriguez, Beckie Rosenbaum, James Rost, Debbie Scott, Lacey Tadlock, Andrew Van Quill, Kimberly Van Quill and Klarice Welch. Resignations included Tiffani Chatman, Victor Cortez, Lesley Corvin, Melissa Hawkins, Maria Jasso, Bob Jones, Vanessa Morrison, Miranda Robinson and Kelli Tucker. Tiffany D. Hightower Named Executive Director of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF), the civic/philanthropic arm of the ILBC, is pleased to announce Tiffany D. Hightower was recently named Executive Director of the organization. Previously, the skilled political strategy consultant served as Interim Director. The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF), the civic/philanthropic arm of the ILBC, is pleased to announce Tiffany D. Hightower was recently named Executive Director of the organization. Previously, the skilled political strategy consultant served as Interim Director. CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF), the civic/philanthropic arm of the ILBC, is pleased to announce Tiffany D. Hightower was recently named Executive Director of the organization. Previously, the skilled political strategy consultant served as Interim Director. I am excited to assume this role of Executive Director for the Foundation, said Hightower. The work that the foundation does is critical especially in these extremely perilous times. The further promulgation of African Americans in the state of Illinois through advocacy, scholarship, policy analysis (economic and educational) will be at the forefront of our efforts. Established in 2002, the ILBCF has been at the forefront of addressing the needs of the states African American population. The mission of the ILBCF is to provide a forum for non-partisan educational research, public policy development, and analysis of various issues of social and economic importance for African American communities and to provide students with scholarships and internship opportunities to advance their educational goals. Sending Congratulations to Tiffany Hightower for being named Executive Director of the ILBCF, Congresswoman Robin Kelly said. I know she will continue to make a positive impact. While working as a consultant, Hightowers developed strategies to assist with statewide/ward outcomes for success, leveraging key relationships with stakeholders, organizations, and allies. Her clients included Kennedy for Illinois (Political Director) and Chicago Victory PAC (Regional Director) among other various political candidates. Story continues We are happy to announce the hiring of Tiffany Hightower as the new Executive Director of the ILBC Foundation, Paul Williams, Chairman of the Board of Directors of ILBCF, added. Ms. Hightower brings a wealth of experience to the role having previously served as the Political Director for a gubernatorial race and director of operations for the former Treasurer of Chicago. We appreciate her willingness to serve and we look forward to her taking us to the next level. Prior to joining ILBCF, Hightower was Director of Operations for Chicago City Treasurer Kurt A. Summers Jr. where she managed the departments $4.3 million budget. She directed the planning, development, implementation, and administration of initiatives pertaining to human resources and operations. During her career, she also served as the Deputy Director of Community Assistance Programs and as the Executive Director of Developing Communities Project. I have had the pleasure of working with Tiffany Hightower over the course of the last few months, Majority Leader/ILBC Joint Caucus Chair Kimberly A. Lightford commented. She is a dynamic and driven leader whose ability to define and accomplish the objectives of the foundation are stellar. Her executive level skill set has brought the foundation several great gains. We are excited to have her and work in tandem to further progress the mission of this organization. Hightower earned a Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership, with a concentration on Non-Profit Management and Integrated Business Leadership Theories, from Dominican University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Hightower has numerous distinguished accolades and appointments. She is currently a Board Member for The Ideal Candidate, The Center for Advancing Domestic Peace, and Social Change. Hightower was appointed by the mayor to the Roseland Medical District Commission, where she serves as the secretary. Among her notable honors, she received Sigma Gamma Rho Sororitys Visionary Award. For More Information Contact: Taroue Brooks Taroue.brooks@yahoo.com 202-431-1119 A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5b171cc0-a21b-4138-9c9e-bdc035f69d8c Its no secret that laptops have been hot commodities for students during the pandemic, but that might just lead to a crisis as school resumes. Axios has found evidence of acute laptop shortages going into the back-to-school season, particularly for Chromebooks. Acer America president Gregg Prendergast warned that his company was not even close to supply enough of the Chrome OS laptops to support virtual classrooms. It wasnt likely to taper off, either, as Acer just received government requests for hundreds of thousands of devices in California and Nevada. NPD Group analyst Stephen Baker also warned that laptop sales have been 20 to 40 percent higher every single week, while a cursory check of Best Buys site showed that 24 out of 28 low-cost (under $400) Chromebooks were sold out. A number of factors have contributed to the shortfall. Prendergast warned of supply chain issues ranging from individual parts to shipping Acer is resorting to air freight to bring laptops quickly to the US. And while schools have existing machines to rely on, many of those systems have to be replaced due to heavy use. The shortages could make it difficult for some students to start classes on time. It could also prove costly for school districts and parents that might have to buy more expensive portables to avoid a delay. Theres no easy solution, and it might not get better until either PC makers catch up or its safe for students tor return in person. In March this year, we were told that the pandemic lockdowns would only last a few weeks. Then, that was extended to perhaps a couple of months. Now, its likely that the collective quarantining could last until 2021, if not longer (at least in some form). The future has never been more uncertain. But there is one industry that seems to thrive on life's unpredictability: subscriptions. No, not just to Netflix and Spotify, but to physical items, like cars, clothes and furniture. Its a trend thats been slowly catching on over the past couple of years, and in a lot of ways, we have technology to thank for it. Furniture subscriptions, in particular, have gone up in popularity recently due to a large swath of the population suddenly working from home. To be clear, with these kinds of subscriptions, youre not getting a new chair every month. Instead, theyre really more like rentals. Fernish and Feather, two start-ups that specialize in so-called furniture subscriptions, have reported that the rental of work-from-home furniture has increased by as much as 300 to 400 percent since March. Fernish even ran out of desks at one point, according to CEO Michael Barlow. We had to double the amount of desks we offered, he said. One of the reasons Fernish and Feather consider themselves subscription services rather than simple rentals is that they claim the level of service is significantly higher. The furniture is shipped directly to your door complete with white glove delivery; they either come pre-assembled or theyll set it up themselves. When you have to move, theyll even move the furniture for you. Returning and swapping out furniture is also generally allowed if youre willing to pay for it. So if you like, you could swap out the yellow couch for a blue one if you so choose. And if you dont want to give it up after renting it for a year, you can either extend the lease or buy it outright, minus the amount you already paid for it. Both Fernish and Feather say you never have to pay more than the furnitures retail cost. Yanic Z Fridman / Feather [Our customers] could afford to go buy a sofa, but instead choose to buy into this lifestyle, said Feather CEO Jay Reno. Its an access lifestyle rather than an ownership lifestyle. Reno said that most of Feathers clientele are young twenty and thirty-somethings who are constantly moving from one place to another, and prefer the flexibility of simply returning a piece of furniture rather than having to buy and sell them each time they move. The American dream is completely different with our generation, said Reno of tech-savvy millennials. We care less about buying houses and cars and jet skis and white picket fences and that sort of stuff. We care more about freedom and flexibility over being tied down to a physical thing. Now, as brick and mortar stores shutter during the pandemic, even established furniture companies like Muji are experimenting with subscription models too. But as modern as subscribing to furniture seems to be, the concept is nothing new. The subscription-based economy has actually been years in the making, with roots in software and digital media. Weve had rentals for a long, long time, said Jeff Galak, associate professor of Marketing at Carnegie Mellon Universitys Tepper School of Business. For companies, recurring revenue is a beautiful thing. If I have a customer who buys a product once, thats kind of the end of my relationship with them. But if I have a customer thats paying me a monthly subscription fee, the longer I keep them. Think of Adobe, he said. It used to be, if you wanted Photoshop, you had to spend hundreds of dollars. But if you paid for it, you had it, and it was yours. Now, however, youre forced to subscribe to Adobes Creative Cloud to get access to Photoshop, which costs around $10 a month. That seems a lot cheaper at first, but youd be paying a lot more over time. Muji Yet, Galak thinks most people do realize that theres a higher cost. I dont think people are being duped, he said. It comes down to how much value you are getting from a product as a function of it. If Im spending two, three hundred dollars on a product thats going to become obsolete at some point, I can still use it for a pretty long time. On the other hand if I have to subscribe to it, Im at least getting the latest updates, and all these new features. The question is how much extra value are people getting from the small incremental improvements? Then theres the move from physical media to digital. Streaming videos and music from Netflix and Spotify is a lot easier and convenient than having to rent or buy physical copies. Sure, consumers no longer owned any of their own movies or music, and it probably costs more over time if you dont really watch or listen to a lot of media, but the sheer convenience of it outweighs the negatives. I do believe that our experience with some of these digital services that most people have experience with, has helped open our minds, said Amy Konary, the Vice President and Chair of the Subscribed Institute at Zuora, a think tank for subscription-based companies. The advent of cloud, digital technologies, mobile and mobility, over the last twenty years have enabled these types of models that revolve around us. And for the millennial and Gen Z crowd who were born after the 1980s, this kind of technology is ubiquitous. The digital natives who grew up during this time, all of these services were available to them in ways that werent available to people before, said Konary. So when they have to accomplish something, they think of options that didnt exist previously, such as subscribing to things instead of buying them, and having to store things and maintain them. It frees them from the hassle of ownership. Theres no surprise then, that many of these subscription services are advertised on Instagram and other social media platforms that are popular with the millennial generation. Andrew Kelly / reuters Will Stewart, an economist and technology advisor based in New York City, concurs with the idea. Millennials and Gen Z people like myself, weve grown up basically our whole lives with subscriptions, he said. I also think theres generally a sense that we dont depend on ownership as much. An older generation likes to own things more than younger generations do. He brings up examples from the sharing economy such as Uber and Lyft. Though youre not technically subscribing to them, they still make it less necessary to own a car. Were just not as attached to the car like the older generation. Almost 70 percent of our customers are millennials, said Georg Bauer, a co-founder of Fair, a vehicle subscription company that recently snapped up Fords subscription service last year. Fair lets customers subscribe to a vehicle on a monthly basis, which can be around $300 to $400 a month, without committing to a long-term lease. Forcing a millennial into a six, seven year commitment can be a burden, especially in these uncertain times, he said. Theres also a similar sentiment around clothing subscriptions to companies like Rent The Runway or Le Tote, which let customers rent out clothes for a few months, and simply exchange them when theyve run their course. At first these services were popular among young women who wanted formal outfits for special occasions or job interviews, but now have expanded their repertoire for everyday wear. Of course, there are other kinds of subscriptions too, such as those for monthly deliveries of cosmetics, snacks and sillier things like cat toys and plants. People subscribe to these things not because they cant buy them, said Konary. They just want a curated selection thats personalized for them thats going to show up at their doorstep every month. These kinds of subscriptions are generally sillier and just for fun, but at least you can usually keep them. The newer trend of subscribing or renting furniture and clothes, however, skews more toward not embracing ownership in the first place. sureeporn via Getty Images We were raised to save and invest and buy a home and do all of these things, Miki Reynolds, a 38 year old who subscribes to many of these services, told the New York Times. But my mentality to currently rent -- its not YOLO, Its more living in the present as much as planning for the future because I feel like nothing is guaranteed. Lili Morton, a 36-year-old, expressed the same to the outlet. I want nice things, but Im also not going to drop thousands of dollars all at once on a bunch of things when I dont know in a year if Im going to be in the same place, she said. But as popular as subscriptions are, there is a significant downside, and that is simply cost. As mentioned above, subscribing to things can seem inexpensive at first, but if you continue renting the same thing over a long period of time, then you might end up paying more than what its worth. If you subscribe to a lot of small little things, it ends up being very costly, said Stewart. With furniture, for example, subscriptions only really make sense if you are dead sure youre only going to be in one place temporarily. And even if youre fine with subscribing to your furniture, cars and clothes, not everyone is vigilant with their money. A survey (via the Atlantic) found that Americans tend to estimate their monthly subscription spend as one-third lower than the actual amount. According to Mint and the New York Times, we spend $640 a month on digital subscriptions alone. There are even dedicated expense tracking apps like TrueBill and Subby that are designed to help you audit out any unnecessary commitments. Add on payments to the various aforementioned rental services, and thats easily over $1,000 a month spent on goods that one doesnt even own. This is great news for businesses, but not so much for your bank account. In the end, it might not even be that millennials dont value ownership. It doesnt mean that people wont own houses ever, said Konary. Youll just own things that make sense to own, at least to you. And right now were seeing more interest in a model that shifts the value from ownership to actually the use of the product, and the outcome that the product helps you to achieve. Galak views it a little differently. Were not going to see a big shift to subscription over ownership, he said. Ownership is just too ingrained in our culture. The jury is still out on whether these newer subscriptions will work in the long run. I think a lot of these companies are just trying to get a recurrent revenue stream, and trying out different ideas that might stick. And what about uncertain times like the pandemic? Sure, if this situation lasts for 12 to 24 months, then yes, ownership does become cumbersome because I might not want to deal with something that I have to get rid of in a year or two, said Galak. But, well, I think most people believe the pandemic is going to go away eventually, he continued. Its not going to be forever. DES MOINES Road warriors in Iowa soon will have fewer places to rest and refresh or park their rigs while traversing the interstates. Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation have released an updated long-range plan for the states rest area system that calls for closing eight full-service rest areas six in western and two in central Iowa and 10 smaller parking-only locations before 2028. Iowa DOT officials say 30 of the 38 exiting full-service rest areas will remain open with 12 older sites to be upgraded before 2033. They also plan to upgrade and expand truck parking at six remaining strategically located parking-only rest areas and add 247 truck parking spaces throughout the system. The rest areas are one of the more popular features that the DOT has on the highway system, said Steve McMenamin, Iowa DOT rest area administrator. Our rest areas are very popular and we get compliments from all over the country from people who say they are the best rest areas in the country, McMenamin added. We may not be on the leading edge but were close. Were doing things that other people want to do. The 10 parking-only rest area sites and seven of the eight full-service locations targeted for closing are approaching the end of their useful life after 50 years or more of service, and would have required considerable expense to replace. So Iowa DOT officials decided to take the $32.8 million in savings tied to the closures and channel that money toward the $100 million in improvements at other sites slated over the next 30 years. McMenamin said the proposed changes represent kind of a trade off by replacing some of the less-used rest stops several along Interstate 29 while making some of the other rest areas nicer than they are. By so doing that, we can add more new structures and that will change the whole look of the entire system far more quickly than it would doing piecemeal, he said. I think its probably a good thing. Im not in favor of closing anything, but nonetheless I think it will be a better program in the end. Northbound and southbound rest areas slated for closing are located along Interstate 29 near Missouri Valley and Sergeant Bluff; northbound and possibly the southbound rest areas along I-35 near Story City; and the eastbound and westbound rest areas along I-880 near Loveland in western Iowa. Although the southbound Story City rest area along I-35 is included as a proposed closure, Iowa DOT officials say that because it was recently constructed it will remain open through 2049 or later, and plans for closure will be re-evaluated at that time. Parking-only areas along I-29 near Mondamin and Salix as well as along I-35 near Osceola, St. Charles, Huxley, Story County and Northwood and an eastbound I-80 parking-only area near Avoca are on the list slated for closure. Locations recommended for expansion at existing sites include rest areas near Pacific Junction and Onawa on I-29; the Osceola rest areas and Clear Lake parking-only areas on I-35; rest areas near Underwood, Mitchellville, Victor and Davenport and parking-only locations near Minden and Wilton on I-80; and the Cedar Rapids southbound rest along I-380. Iowa DOT spokeswoman Andrea Henry said the process of determining the outcomes in the long-range plan issued this month began in 2012. The time came, she said, to re-evaluate the needs of rest areas in enhancing a modern transportation system balanced with the need for investment in the roadside facilities. The only thing that we considered was just the truck parking, Henry said. If anything needed to be improved, we were just looking at modernizing and creating improvements to make it better for users but not adding any new. The process moved through several phases that included a study and documentation of customer needs and satisfaction with existing rest areas, two public input periods and an initial implementation strategy for the rest area system, she said. The final proposal keeps Iowa in compliance with federal guidelines requiring up to one hours travel time between interstate rest stops. This is our plan moving forward, Henry said, noting that each of the proposed closures will have to be included in the five-year transportation program that the Iowa DOT Commission approves annually. This is our vision, but if things change that may be adjusted as were actually programming out our projects. Brenda Neville, president and chief executive officer for the Iowa Motor Truck Association, praised state officials for reaching out to various stakeholders, including truck drivers and transportation company owners, to get input. This kind of collaboration is important and necessary, Neville said. Truck parking is a very big issue for the trucking industry. Having adequate truck parking is essential for the efficient delivery of the products we all depend on. The Iowa DOT has been very proactive in dealing with truck parking here on Iowa. McMenamin said the Iowa system lacks adequate truck parking statewide, so that was a future need that had to be addressed. Also, even though legislation seeking to require adult changing stations at Iowa rest areas failed to pass during the 2020 session, McMenamin said Iowa DOT planners already are incorporating them in the design of new facilities given the demand they see coming. Other changes in the offing are the removal of the few remaining pay telephones at rest stops and a switch from Wi-Fi access to expanding connections for computers, providing new information kiosks and other offerings given the changing nature of personal devices and user needs, he said. We still have pay phones out there but its entertaining to me. People stop there and take family pictures by the pay phone because theyve never seen one before, he said. Nobody uses them. We used to have four to five per building but now we have one and its rare that you see anybody use them. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 4 President Donald Trump denied Monday that he had done anything to slow mail delivery as accusations grow that he, as well as Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, have politicized the U.S. Postal Service and hamstrung the agency's work. Meanwhile, DeJoy agreed to testify before Congress next week on the issue. Trump told reporters Monday that he had encouraged everybody to speed up the mail, not slow the mail, but critics point to policy changes made by DeJoy, a close ally of the president and a Republican fundraiser, as the cause of the holdup. As a result, Democrats have demanded that Congress return to session during its August recess to address DeJoys policies and have him testify in a week about the situation. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that members of the House would return as soon as possible to examine the issues surrounding the Postal Service. House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said that DeJoy had agreed to testify next Monday about the sweeping operational and organizational changes he has been making to the Postal Service. In the other chamber of Congress, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell remains quiet on the topic but not all of his colleagues are doing the same. Seven Senate Democrats sent a letter to the USPS Board of Governors urging them to reverse changes to postal service operations and mail service delays put in place by Trump megadonor turned Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. The board has the power to remove DeJoy under the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970. During his testimony, DeJoy is likely to be asked about why he banned overtime work and extra routes taken by postal carriers to deliver the mail on time. Questions also surround the removal of blue Postal Service mailboxes, as well as the decommissioning of 671 letter-sorting machines at Postal Service facilities, though those removals likely predate DeJoys appointment in May as the postmaster general. The Postal Service said the removals were related to a decrease in letter volume. Story continues Nevertheless, postal workers say it is the personnel policies that have caused the most damage to timely deliveries now the focus of scrutiny as states were warned that vote-by-mail ballots could be discarded because they won't arrive on time to be counted. Robert Helmig, president of the Colorado Postal Workers Union, said that a lot of mail is currently backed up on the docks of the Postal Service plants in his state leading to massive delays with little hope of a quick delivery. And there's no overtime, so they can't take out extra loads at the stations when the carriers leave for the day, he said. They can't come back to grab more packages that may come in later to then take back out and deliver. If there's people that are available that still have time left and not going into overtime, they can take them out. But if not, then it sits there for the next day. Image: Hard Hit Imperial County Struggles With Surge In COVID-19 Cases In California (Mario Tama / Getty Images file) Some postal workers said they believed it to be pretty clear why these changes are occurring now. Trump hasnt quibbled about his reasoning, they said. How many times has he come out and blatantly said, Dont bail out the post office because we don't want them to do mail-in ballots, Paul McKenna, president of the Milwaukee area American Postal Workers Union, said. So what other conclusion can you have? Marylands two Democratic senators, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, stood outside a Postal Service building in Baltimore on Monday demanding the majority leader call back the Senate so they could work to reverse the changes. Both said they had received calls from constituents who said they hadnt received their medications or Social Security checks. Van Hollen called it a deliberate effort by DeJoy to undermine voting by mail. DeJoy and Trump have both maintained the changes at the Postal Service are made to address the major financial issues faced by the agency. I also want to have a post office that runs without losing billions and billions of dollars a year, Trump told reporters Monday The Postal Service said earlier this month that it had lost $2.2 billion between April and June, as the cash-strapped federal agency continued to be hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2007 and 2019, the agency lost about $78 billion because of declining mail volumes and growing personnel costs, according to a Government Accountability Office study. But the shortfall, according to experts, is partially caused by a 2006 congressional mandate pushed by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, that requires the agency to prepay health and retirement benefits for the next 75 years. "This includes postal service employees who are not yet hired, many of whom are not yet born," said James ORourke, professor of management at the University of Notre Dames Mendoza College of Business. "No other federal agency or private corporation has been saddled with that kind of prefunding mandate. It is roughly $6.5 billion a year and its growing." O'Rourke said the Postal Service faces $161 billion of debt, but they could do away with $120 billion by lifting the mandate and authorizing the use of the funds. Download the NBC News app for alerts and all the latest on the Democratic convention. Meanwhile, the Trump administration and Congress still cannot find common ground over $25 billion slated to go to aiding the Postal Service as it struggles with COVID-19. Trump has previously threatened to hold up the funding until the pushes for mail-in voting are abandoned but recently walked back his threat of vetoing the funds. Trump said Thursday that holding up the emergency funding would ensure that the federal agency would be unable to take all of these millions and millions of ballots. Now, if we don't make a deal, that means they don't get the money," he said. "That means they can't have universal mail-in voting. They just can't have it. The president has often claimed without evidence that mail-in voting could lead to fraud, though he does not make the same accusation of absentee voting, which is how he has cast his ballot in the past. Trump tweeted another unsupported claim of voter fraud Monday. Postal workers, meanwhile, say the agency needs the coronavirus aid money now more than ever, but they said their major concern remains DeJoys policy to reduce overtime hours and cut the number of trips carriers can take to deliver Americans mail. Anthony Wilson, the state president of the North Carolina Council of the American Postal Workers Union, noted that veterans medications, Social Security checks and even the COVID-19 stimulus checks were delivered by mail. He said the Postal Service previously fired workers for delaying the mail, but DeJoys actions essentially encourage it and function as an attempt to suppress our voting rights. The [postmaster general] is purposely delaying the mail, which is against everything the postal service stands for in our job supplying a service to each and every citizen of this Country, Wilson said in an email. Segments of the beltway from New Walkertown Road all the way to U.S. 52 on the northern side of Winston-Salem are under contract and under construction. There's lots of red dirt to be seen across the northern Forsyth County countryside. So far, there aren't many signs that a development boom will occur on most sections of the eastern beltway leg, said Aaron King, planning director for Winston-Salem and Forsyth County. "It provides better access, but you need access, water and sewer, and it is hard to get sewer out to many of the areas where the beltway is running," he said. But first, let's get the road built: According to the timetables, work on the long segment between New Walkertown Road and University Parkway will finish sometime before the end of 2021. But even then, the eastern leg doesnt quite hook up to U.S. 52 on the north side of town: The massive interchange that merges the two freeways wont get finished until later in 2022. A church in Mission, Texas, which would normally be filled to capacity with worshippers - but not during the coronavirus outbreak. The US now has the greatest number of cases anywhere in the world: AP A priest in Detroit has won a defamation suit he filed against a detective he alleges fabricated claims of child sex abuse against him. The lawsuit ended last week with a $125,000 settlement for former priest Eduard Perrone. The Detroit Free Press reported that a three-person court advisory panel ruled in his favour. Mr Perrone was removed from his position as a priest and hopes to get his job back. He was accused of sodomizing an altar boy 40 years ago. The now-grown man said the abuse did not happen. Mr Perrone also said the detective attempted to pressure another man into making abuse accusations against him, but the man said the detective twisted his words and that he had never seen the priest harm any boys. The church has yet to respond to Mr Perrone's legal victory. "The silence is deafening," he said. "I was confident that I would be vindicated in this way." He said his case has "never been about the money" and said he was most concerned with "restoring my good name and bringing me back to the parish, which I have served for 25 years". Mr Perrone was suspended from his position in 2019. His firing prompted a lawsuit against the Detroit Archdiocese for $20 million, in which 20 parishioners from the Assumption Grotto church where Mr Perrone served claimed his removal caused them emotional distress. That lawsuit is still pending. Two weeks after Mr Perrone's removal, another accuser surfaced, who claimed the priest had touched him inappropriately during a car ride 40 years earlier. Mr Perrone denied the allegations, claiming he'd never met the individual and didn't recall him ever serving as an altar boy. Though the Archdiocese of Detroit has not commented specifically on the results of Mr Perrone's case, they did offer a statement regarding the situation earlier this month. "The Archdiocese of Detroit was not party to that lawsuit. It had no involvement whatsoever in the recent decision to settle the matter prior to trial. Thus it would not be appropriate to comment on the decisions made by the parties involved," a spokesperson said. Story continues The archdiocese noted that the ruling was regarding a monetary settlement, and did not determine fault in the abuse allegations against Mr Perrone. That statement suggests the archdiocese may not consider the ruling grounds for rehiring the priest. The spokesman said the archdiocese can't make a decision on the case because the matter is being handled by the Vatican. "Until that canonical proceeding is fully resolved, Fr Perrone is presumed innocent while restricted from all public ministry," the spokesperson said. "Such cases come under the jurisdiction of the Vatican. The Detroit archdiocese continues its call for prayers for all those involved in this matter." Read more Priest sent mothers explicit pictures of children he blackmailed One dorm was set aside to isolate those who test positive and another to quarantine those who had come into close contact with confirmed cases. One first-year student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for privacy reasons, told The Washington Post on Monday that she had been in quarantine since Thursday night. This student said the problem arose because she had breakfast one day just off campus with a classmate who later tested positive. Uganda is yet to officially express its view on the August 13 agreement between United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel, involving normalization of diplomatic, commerce and defense cooperation. The delay is understood to stem from Kampalas established foreign policy of non-interference in other countries affairs. Also Ugandas stance for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict needs no repetition. As per the agreement, bilateral deals regarding investment, tourism, direct flights, security, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, culture, environment, reciprocal embassies, and other areas of mutual benefit are due soon. Rosy as it appears, however, a significant section of the Ugandan society, particularly the Muslim community is not impressed at all. According to a radio news bulletin of August 16, on Pearl FM, Ugandan Muslims expressed dismay and betrayal by UAE on the obligation to liberate the forcefully occupied territories of Palestine including Jerusalem. According to them, all Muslim and Arab resources should be directed towards the liberation of Al-Quds Masjid and Palestine territory and not to cooperate with aggressors. This, therefore, suggests existence of a communication gap for Abu Dhabi to fill among the millions who had faith in its global influence. For the Muslim concerns Abu Dhabi just has to revisit authentic Islamic history. The current treaty carries all the hallmarks, features and good in the Treatyof Hudaybiyyah conducted over a thousand years ago in early days of the Islamic faith. This Treaty, signed in January 628 during the time of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) was a master piece of diplomacy between the state of Madina and the Qurayshi of Makka. Like the current treaty is due to decrease tension in the Middle East region and affirm peace, the Hudaybiyyah treaty delivered a similar result between the polities of Madina and Makka. After Hudaybiyyah, the non-Muslim Quraysh of Makka stopped to consider the Muslims as enemies and for once, they recognized the Islamic state in Madina. The same is currently feasible not only between UAE and Israel but also between Israel and Palestine and other Arab and Muslim nations. The same way Huddaybiyyah enabled Muslims in Makka to freely practice Islam publicly, the current Pact will gradually lead Muslims in Israel to freely and publicly practice their faith. As constant struggles reduced between Muslims and the polytheists after Huddaybiyyah many people saw Islam in a new light, leading to several new converts. The same is imminent in current circumstances. The same way the Huddaybiyya treaty served as an example that Islam was not merely spread with the sword so will the current treaty. The Holy Quran (48:1) describes the Huddaybiyya event as a manifest victory. The current UAE-Israel Treaty is similarly a clear victory not only for United Arab Emirates but also the entire Muslim Ummah. However, what must be appreciated is that good things come at a cost. Even Prophet Muhammad had to painfully omit the inclusion of his important identities in the main text such as (Basimallah-or in the name of Allah and Rasul-Llah or Prophet of Allah), in order to successfully execute the Huddaybiyyah treaty. The rest was the resultant victory being enjoyed to this day by every Muslim who freely accesses Makka for religious obligations. Therefore, the fact that Israel has willingly committed to withdraw plans of annexing more Palestine territories in the Jordanian Valley without spilling a pint of blood is a critical diplomatic victory for which UAE must be applauded by every knowledgeable and visionary Muslim. Two persons were confirmed dead in an accident involving a bus and two motorcycles near Odumodu junction along Awka-Onitsha expressway, Anambra, on Sunday night. Andrew Kumapayi, the Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), confirmed the incident to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Awka on Monday. Mr Kumapayi said the accident, which occurred around 7 p.m., was caused by speed. The FRSC boss noted that 13 people, eight male adults and five female adults, were involved in the accident, which claimed two lives. According to him, the crash involved a Toyota Hiace bus with enlistment number AAA863XJ, and two motorcycles with registration numbers NSK808QT and AAl863XJ. The bus driver and the riders of the motorcycles were reportedly on top speed and had a head-on-collusion which caused the death of two male adults, while three female adults sustained injuries. The victims were rushed to Iyeanu hospital in Ogidi and the dead victims were handed over to their families after being confirmed dead by the doctors, he said. Mr Kumapayi said the Nigeria Police Force took the vehicle and motorcycles to their station for further investigation. While condoling with the families of the dead, he warned motorists against excessive speeding, especially within built-up areas. According to him, road traffic crashes are avoidable, if drivers are careful.(NAN) Mali's opposition announced fresh protests against President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on Monday, including a women's march and protest caravans planned this week in the poor Sahel state. Speaking at a press conference in the capital Bamako, representatives of the June 5 Movement (M5) said the series of protests would begin on Tuesday and culminate in a mass rally on Friday. "The M5 has decided to step up its actions to get President IBK," said one the group's leaders, Ibrahim Ikassa Maiga, using the initials by which Keita is known. The call comes after Mali's opposition last week spurned pressure to enter dialogue from the 15-nation West Africa bloc ECOWAS, which is keen to help prevent the fragile country from sliding into chaos. The nation of some 19 million people is mired in a deep political impasse as the June 5 Movement insists on Keita's resignation. So called after the date of its first protest, the movement has been channeling deep anger over a dire economy, perceived government corruption and an eight-year jihadist conflict. But its campaign to topple Keita plunged Mali into crisis last month, when at least 11 people were killed in clashes with security forces during three days of unrest following a protest. In a bid to resolve the deepening crisis, ECOWAS heads of government recommended forming a unity government on July 27, among other measures. The June 5 Movement has rejected the ECOWAS proposals, however, and continues to insist on Keita's departure. On Monday, the group said that "awareness-raising caravans" of thousands of vehicles would criss-cross the streets of Bamako from Tuesday through Thursday. A women's march will also take place in the city on Thursday, before a mass anti-Keita rally on Friday, after which protesters will be encouraged to camp overnight in a central square. The June 5 Movement is also planning other protests on August 25 and 26. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 08:07:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Vintage vehicles are displayed at the Wings and Wheels drive-thru event in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, Aug. 16, 2020. The Wings and Wheels drive-thru event featuring about 11,100 square meters of vintage buses, tractors, antique cars as well as vintage airplanes was held in Abbotsford of Canada from Aug. 15 to 16. (Photo by Liang Sen/Xinhua) The Greater Accra Regional Peace Council has condemned the use of violence to resolve political issues. It deplored the use of vigilantism and social social media to incite and perpetuate political violence, saying this phenomenon was a clear and present danger to Ghana's democracy. In a speech, the Right Reverend Samuel K. Osabutey, Greater Accra Regional Chairman, Peace Council, said, violent expression of views along a wide range of issues including political and ideological lines should not be encouraged. He said, certain individuals or groups of people tend to radicalize these differences and use violent means as a way of resolving their differences, adding that the activities of political vigilante groups undermined the nation's drive towards democratic maturity. He was addressing an engagement attended organized by the Peace Council and attended by officials of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), party leaders and other stakeholders at KassehAda in the Greater Accra Region, on how to eradicate vigilantism in Ghana, funded by the Danish Embassy. "The Council among other things, was required to increase or create awareness on the use of non-violent strategies to prevent, manage and resolve conflict; facilitate the implementation of agreement and resolutions reached between parties in the conflict; promote understanding of the values of diversity trust, tolerance, confidence building, mediation, negotiation, dialoguing and reconciliation." Madam Lucille Hewlett Annan, Greater Accra Regional Director, NCCE, told the GNA that the negative acts of political vigilante groups must be condemned by all, particularly civil societies in an attempt to also pile pressure on government and state institutions to deal with those who operate under the cloak of political vigilantism. "It is therefore recommended that state institutions such as the Police, military and all security apparatus of the state should not only be well equipped but must be encouraged by regime heads and political leaders to deal rigorously with all forms of threat posed by vigilante groups without fear or favor. "Our peace of mind can be guaranteed if we all behave as we are expected and those who flout the law are made to face the law, " she said. The political leaders present told the GNA that they had been enlightened on the procedures of ensuring political vigilantismfree campaign before, during and after the December 7 polls. GNA Time: Location: More info: Wednesday, January 26 - 12:00 - 1:00 PMWebinarIn this webinar, Scheherzade Rana, a corporate mindfulness trainer, meditation teacher, speaker and Founder of Innerspace Mindfulness will share ideas and strategies for becoming an inclusive leader. You will cultivate openness and awareness of bias and learn new ways to connect to your colleagues (and yourself) with empathy, compassion and courage.Using the latest mindfulness science, you will gain a greater understanding of how to create a culture of well-being and psychological safety - one that is integral to inclusive and high-performing teams today.You'll also learn the "how-to" of organizational mindfulness with a simple minutes-a-day practice that you can start right away! Seizure of assets of ex-Governor of Russias Khabarovsk Region accused of murder upheld Moskva city news agency, Sergey Vedyashkin 13:22 17/08/2020 MOSCOW, August 17 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Monday upheld seizure of 3 million rubles and 2 cars belonging to the former Khabarovsk Region Governor Sergey Furgal charged with organized murders of businessmen in 2004-2005, RAPSI was told in the courts press service. On July 10, Moscows Basmanny District Court placed Furgal charged with killing and attempted murders of businessmen in detention until September 9. The hearing was held behind closed doors. A judge took the decision granting a motion of investigators who said about threats against other defendants in the case. Furgal denied his guilt and political nature of the case. Governor of the Khabarovsk Region Sergey Furgal was arrested on July 9. According to investigators, crimes were committed by an organized criminal group allegedly led by Furgal in Russias Khabarovsk and Amur Regions in 2004-2005. Earlier, four alleged members of the gang were arrested and placed in detention. Born in the Amur Region, Furgal worked as general physician at a hospital more than 6 years before the start of his political career. After being discharged from healthcare in 1999, he went in for business, according to his biography on the Khabarovsk Krai governments website. He was elected as the State Duma lawmaker three times. In September 2018, he was elected as a Khabarovsk Region governor by popular vote. For the past several months, many restaurants have either been closed or are offering limited services because of the coronavirus health crisis. This means people all around the world have had to prepare meals for themselves. The COVID home cooking experiences are all over the map -- meaning something with a lot of different results: some good and others not-so-good. For those who like to cook and are good at it, cooking during the coronavirus pandemic is business as usual. But they still may tire of it. Cooking every single meal, day after day, is difficult. Yet others may have learned how to cook for the first time and found that they like it! Erika Navarrete Nagle is from Denver, Colorado. The 33-year-old television producer told The Associated Press (AP) that she was not very good at cooking. In fact, before she started working from home in late March, she had never cooked chicken. Navarrete Nagle explains that she grew up in a Cuban family with a mother and sister who always cooked for her. So, she did not learn to cook for herself. Plus, she describes herself as a workaholic -- someone who likes to work and works all the time. She never had the time to cook nor did she want to. Then COVID struck. It took a global pandemic and mandatory quarantine for me to learn (to cook), she said. But now, she says she feels great about her progress. I jumped up and down when I sauteed my first onions and garlic." She said she "almost took to social media to brag." Her experience is different from John Wing, a travel agent in New York City. He used to spend a lot of time in his car, taking his children from one activity to another. Wing was already the main cook in his family of 5 people. But since March, he has cut back on his driving duties. So, he has been cooking more than ever! Wing still cooks things his children will eat. But he also has started a few cooking projects. He has been learning how to make some new dishes. His family has begun ordering more takeout meals from restaurants. And his children have started making baked goods -- things like bread, cakes, and cookies. When it comes to buying food, Wing likes to make his own choices. He describes himself as that guy who picks up and looks at almost every piece of fruit before buying one. However, since the pandemic started, he has been ordering fruit, vegetables, and other groceries online. This has been a little difficult for him to get used to. Emmie Lee also lives in New York City with her husband and two teenage children. She was already an active cook. But she has used her time during the pandemic to learn to make difficult dishes. One of her cooking goals is to make Chinese dumplings. If you know anything about making Chinese dumplings this is not an easy dish to make. Lee started her quarantine cooking by making foods her family usually ordered at restaurants. These are the dishes that you think about and then want to eat immediately in other words, you crave them. She also started exploring time-saving methods. For example, she would cook a big piece of meat and then use it in several meals. But then Lee got tired of cooking. Lee said she could not spend all day in the kitchen. So, now she cooks dinner and the family eats it together at sunset. But anything earlier in the day -- for example, breakfast and lunch -- has become DIY meals, in other words do-it-yourself. Lee says she still enjoys cooking but has had dark days times when she is not so happy to cook. One way she plans to brighten her dark days this summer is to organize socially distanced outdoor meals with friends. Wing, the father in New York City, says once things are back to normal, his family will go back to ordering more meals from restaurants. And he will go to supermarkets for food in person. Navarrete Nagle, the TV producer in Denver, says she feels empowered now that she can cook. She can feed her family more than just simple meals. And that, she said, feels good. And Emmie Lee, the mother from New York, cannot wait to return to restaurants with friends. She plans to eat all the foods she has craved but not tried to cook at home. Im Jonathan Evans. And Im Anna Matteo. How has your cooking experiences changed during the pandemic? Are you cooking more or less? Are you tired of cooking? Have you learned new recipes? Have you missed eating in restaurants? Katie Workman wrote this story for The Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story mandatory adj. required by a law or rule quarantine n. the period of time during which a person or animal that has a disease or that might have a disease is kept away from others to prevent the disease from spreading saute v. to fry (food, such as small pieces of meat or vegetables) in a small amount of fat brag v. to talk about yourself, your achievements, your family, etc., in a way that shows too much pride bake v. to make (food, such as bread and cake) by preparing a dough, batter, etc., and cooking it in an oven using dry heat groceries n. food sold by a grocer : food bought at a store kitchen n. a place (such as a room) with cooking facilities Let's be clear: The Academy is in no way affiliated with this group. We are a partner in Americas Front-line Physicians -- the Group of Six -- a coalition that advocates for evidence-based care. And the "frontline doctors"? One is Douglas Deibele, who claimed on Twitter in March that he'd successfully treated 500 patients on a combined regimen of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin -- curious, given that Deibele is a dentist who has not practiced medicine in more than two decades, having set aside teeth in favor of acting. Look fast to see his uncredited bit parts in, for instance, Bad Samaritan. He is not the only member of the group who is no longer practicing medicine, but that didn't stop them from advising a vulnerable public against wearing masks and maintaining social distance, among other false, potentially lethal rantings. So large numbers of Americans who are used to generally benefitting from the Internet era's immediate access to information and social networks have heard, and helped to spread, damaging misinformation. And actual frontline physicians must yet again remind their patients how much context, expertise and credibility count. Navigating a pandemic, after all, is a lot different from asking your Facebook friends for help perfecting your enchilada sauce. (For the record, I omit the cinnamon.) I admit I'm a recovering consulter of Dr. Google myself. I used to be quite adept at web sleuthing to diagnose whatever weird constellation of symptoms was distracting me or someone I knew. But this is different: a lingering public health emergency. And with the higher stakes have come starker miscues. At the president's suggestion that household disinfectants might stave off the virus, some people began washing their food in bleach or other household cleaners, and a few imbibed directly, with dreadful results. The AAFP, the World Health Organization and others have tried to break through this wall of nonsense with more reliable information. That work gets harder with every sham press conference called by fringe "doctors." In fact, any bypassing of trusted information sources creates critical gaps and inconsistences in the nation's response. Witness HHS' recently instituted hospital data reporting system, which is meant to snapshot bed capacity. The CDC, the previous keeper of these numbers, was making the data publicly available to researchers, health officials and the general public in order to streamline a coordinated response. The new system is instead opaque and rife with inaccuracies and anomalies -- causing unnecessary delays and serious questions about the validity of the data. The AAFP -- as part of America's Frontline Physicians -- told Vice President Mike Pence and HHS Secretary Alex Azar in a joint letter last month that "the growing sense of misinformation and mistrust in the U.S. will be exacerbated by policies that limit transparency and undermine public confidence in the accuracy of government information about of the true impact of this pandemic." On the ground, on the real front lines, the Academy's engaged membership is working every day to fight falsehoods. Family physician Chris Tramp, M.D., of Sabetha, Kan., is on Facebook, informing his patients and others about the risks of opening schools and not wearing masks, and also sharing clinical information. Other members have hosted weekly town halls where their patients can ask questions live. Lee Norman, M.D., a family physician and the secretary of Kansas' Department of Health and Environment, has seen "a lot of anger out there" aimed at public health officials. "I am alarmed by the politically driven and deliberate use of social media platforms to spread misinformation," he told me this week. "The question about the effectiveness of masks has been asked and answered since the 1500s." He, too, along with his team, continues to educate, to push back against the noise. As the pandemic surges, the trustworthy voice of the family physician is more important than ever. It's been a voice of calm for patients. Now, though, we must raise the volume as we tell the truth and demand that decision-makers value the empirical over the political. Stephanie Quinn is senior vice president of advocacy, practice advancement and policy. The entire global diamond industry is now greatly affected. And we also have to make decisions to keep the company. We are working for the future, because some day, this crisis will end. ALROSA should emerge from it with the least losses, while maintaining its competitiveness, said Aleksey Dyachkovsky, Deputy CEO for Social Policy, ALROSA, in his interview to taigapost.ru. Aleksey Dyachkovsky found it difficult to forecast the company's profit amidst a sharp decline in activity in the global diamond market. It is difficult to say now what it [profit - ed.] will be and whether it will be in 2020 at all, he said. What will happen in 2020? ... We see that the global pandemic is lasting longer than expected and the second wave has come to some countries. For example, to the United States, and this country is the world's largest market for selling diamond jewellery. According to the ALROSAs Deputy CEO, in a situation when enterprises and businesses suspend their operations, people do not think about diamonds. In India where nearly all the world's diamonds are manufactured, cutting and polishing units have been shut down for several months due to the quarantine because of the high incidence of the coronavirus among the workers. As a result, the diamond trade suffered. All diamond companies have found themselves in a difficult situation, they have announced a reduction in their production targets for this year - some companies by 20%, some by 50%. This is a forced move as the market now simply will not digest the same amount of diamonds which was mined previously and it is also impossible to accumulate them endlessly, says Dyachkovsky. Asked about the payment of dividends to eight uluses (districts - ed.) of the Yakutia diamond province, he said that since 2018, the dividends to the budgets of the Republic and uluses have been paid in two tranches. The dividends based on the results of work in H1 2019 were paid at the end of last year, the second tranche was paid this year. The next reporting period for dividends is the first half of 2020, and the performance for this period, of course, will be affected by the pandemic, Dyachkovsky said. He said that ALROSA suspended the work at some production facilities to reduce the output, not completely, but seasonally, and for each of them, the operation schedule was developed. This fall, after the suspension of operations, the Aikhal mine, Verkhne-Munskoye deposit, factory No.12 will reopen. The employees of the divisions where activities were temporarily suspended were not laid off, but they continued to receive money due to the forced downtime - this makes two-thirds of the salary every month despite the fact that they didn't have to go to work. The company is interested in preserving the team, it values each employee and will do so in the future, said the Deputy CEO of ALROSA. As for the reports about the 6,000 workers allegedly laid off in the Mirninsky district and the transfer of some company departments outside Yakutia, Dyachkovsky assured that this is not true. In the Mirninsky district alone, more than 24 thousand people work at the ALROSA's subdivisions. According to the estimates, several hundred jobs will fall under the optimization as a result of the projects aimed to reduce the costs; if possible, these people will be offered an alternative work within the group, he said. At the same time, Dyachkovsky admitted that given the current negative market conditions, it is impossible to do without layoffs, but the company does its best to minimize them. The company has taken a lot of measures for this, for example, the salaries of the administrative employees were decreased, costs were significantly cut, as well as all the projects that were not of primary importance, he says. Dyachkovsky explained that the orders to temporarily ban on hiring the labour force in Yakutia, which are so heatedly discussed in the media and social networks, were dictated precisely by ALROSA's desire to reserve jobs for those who would be laid off. According to him, one cannot endlessly spend the same level funds when the incomes decline. In this case, we will simply ruin the company and then the number of those laid off will be tens of thousands rather than hundreds people. These are the laws of economics. We all have to obey them. We also form the family budget based on our income. But I repeat: we believe that the end of the crisis is on the horizon. All crises come to an end, and after them, the growth comes, said Dyachkovsky. At the same time, he said that about 120 jobs would be transferred from Mirny to the ALROSAs General Service Centre in Novosibirsk where the unified accounting department and other structures of the administrative apparatus operate. In addition, the company has problems with its Yakutniproalmaz Research Institute. The todays needs of the company do not provide the amount of work required to maintain the institute: as of today, all ALROSAs large construction projects have been completed. Now, for some time, the number of orders received by the institute have decreased, so some of the departments will be transferred to Novosibirsk so that the company could work as much as possible on the market, including civil and industrial construction, explained the Deputy CEO of ALROSA. Talking about the dividend payments, Dyachkovsky noted that ALROSA has never tried to recommend the local authorities how to spend the funds they owned. He denied the talks about the possible alienating the company's shares owned by the government of Yakutia (25.0002%) and eight uluses of the diamond province (8.0003%). Even within the company, I have never heard such talks, moreover, there are no official intentions, Dyachkovsky said. According to him, the company has built up constructive relationships with the heads of the uluses and provides them with assistance in addition to the funds paid as dividends. But the dividends go to the ulus budgets and are spent through public hearings and approvals at the meetings of the Unions of ulus deputies. At the same time, ALROSA has agreements on the social and economic development with the Nyurbinsky and Olenyoksky districts where the Nyurbinsky Mining and Processing Plant and the Verkhne-Munskoye deposit are located. Under these agreements, we annually transfer over 320 mn and 100 mn roubles, correspondingly, to the uluses in addition to the dividends. We make our proposals on how to spend these funds, but we do not play a key role in making their decision. Nevertheless, we see how money is spent under the social and economic development agreement, we are informed about this, Dyachkovsky said. At present, ALROSA also participates in the republics programme to provide the residents of the Vilyui group of uluses with clean water, to which the Company allocates 150 mn roubles a year through the Future Generations Fund in addition to the dividends paid. The total amount of the ALROSA's participation in the programme will be 800 mn roubles. Moreover, these funds are paid in addition to the dividends and the social and economic development agreements of the Nyurbinsky and Olenyoksky districts. At the same time, we allocate another 800 mn to 900 mn roubles annually through the Future Generations Fund for the implementation of the social projects in the republic, said the Deputy CEO of ALROSA. ALROSA became a joint stock company in 1992. At the same time, the government of Yakutia and a number of uluses belonging to the so-called diamond province received the shares in the company. The first dividends were paid in 1996 based on the results of work in 1995. Until recently, the amount of dividends was small. Thus, according to the ALROSA's operating results in 2010, the uluses having approximately 1 percent of shares each received 18,300,000 roubles. However, in 2019, based on the performance in 2018, the dividends increased 40 times and amounted to 740 mn roubles paid to each district. This was the result of our serious steps to reduce costs and increase profits, revise the dividend policy, which benefited not only ALROSA but also all its shareholders, including the republic as a whole and its eight uluses. Of course, the favourable global rough and polished diamond market conjuncture also played its role, Dyachkovsky concluded. Alex Shishlo for Rough&Polished Jason Gerner, cofounder of the Bucks County drug treatment company Liberation Way, was sentenced Monday after admitting to milking patients for profits in a wide-ranging insurance fraud scheme. Read more The cofounder and former CEO of a Bucks County drug rehab firm was sentenced to three years in federal prison Monday for spearheading a wide-ranging fraud scheme that made millions illegally, profiting from the struggles of patients it had pledged to help. Jason Gerner, who had emerged from crippling opioid dependence to launch Liberation Way in 2015, admitted last year that he accepted kickbacks from lab operators and illegally bought insurance for dozens of addicted patients so that he and his partners could profit from frequent, medically unnecessary, and expensive drug screenings. As he stood before U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone at a sentencing hearing Monday, Gerner, 46, of Shamong, Burlington County, apologized for his crimes, while his attorney, Brian J. McMonagle, urged the court to consider all those who managed to beat their addictions thanks to the treatment they received through the company. Mr. Gerner is truly humbled by his failures, McMonagle said in court papers filed in the run-up to the proceedings. He has accepted complete responsibility for his crimes and done everything in his power to remedy the harm he has caused. That includes already paying more than a third of the roughly $9.3 million in court-ordered restitution and agreeing to forfeit an additional $445,000, the lawyer said. Beetlestone appeared swayed by those arguments as well as Gerners decision to plead guilty last year to charges of conspiracy to commit health-care fraud and money laundering, and to cooperate with prosecutions against others in the company. The sentence she imposed which also included a three-year term of probation upon his release was more than two years less than Gerner could have faced under federal sentencing guidelines. From its launch in 2015, Liberation Way proved wildly successful. Averaging more than 80 new patients a month in a region racked by an opioid epidemic that has killed thousands, it was making more than $23 million in gross revenue by 2017 at its treatment centers in Yardley, Bala Cynwyd, and Fort Washington. It fetched a $40 million payday for its owners and investors when it was sold later that year to a private equity firm that kept Gerner on as CEO. He and cofounder Dallas Fetterman cited their personal understanding of addiction due to their past struggles with drugs as the key to their success. For Gerner, that came in the form of a decade-long addiction to heroin after he became hooked on painkillers while recovering from a neck injury during his days as a student at Drexel University. But a damning statewide grand jury report last year painted the company in a much darker light, describing it as a revolving door that trapped patients suffering from addiction in a cycle of ineffective treatment and near-inevitable relapse. Before its demise, its facilities had been cited by the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs for more violations than any other program in the state. The report forced Liberation Way to shutter its doors and sell off sober homes it ran to house patients. State and federal prosecutors filed charges against Gerner, cofounder Branden Coluccio, and nine others, including the companys former medical director, Domenick Braccia. (Fetterman died of a drug overdose in 2017.) Gerner admitted last year that the company had actively recruited patients with premium insurance plans so it could maximize profits by billing carriers for high-cost, out-of-network reimbursement for treatment. In some cases, Liberation Way even paid for health plans for clients without coverage, routing the money through sham charities with names like Hope for Families to skirt rules barring anyone but family members, religious organizations, or legitimate nonprofits from covering the costs. Patients whose insurance had been bought for them were required to live in sober homes rented and owned by Liberation Way. State grand jurors described them as breeding grounds for relapse, where those allegedly receiving treatment were poorly supervised, and housing staff and employees engaged in sexual relationships with patients. One in North Wales was known among patients and staff as the party house, the grand jury said. Their true purpose, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said in a statement Monday, was to ensure that clients living there would show up for frequent treatments, including hundreds of unnecessary urine screening tests ordered by company doctors, who in many cases had never met the patients that they claimed to be treating. Those who think that they can game our health-care system, which is already strained under the weight of an ongoing opioid epidemic, and prey upon vulnerable people will face the consequences, he said. Gerner has admitted getting kickbacks equal to as much as 40% of the money paid to one chain of Florida labs that billed insurance companies for urinalysis tests on samples sent by Liberation Way. Some patients were cycled through treatment at Liberation Way up to eight times, the grand jury wrote in its presentment last year. Once a patients benefits were exhausted, Liberation Way transferred the patient to another treatment center. Yet despite that approach to the business, several former Liberation Way patients urged the judge Monday to consider those the company did help overcome their addictions. One, a woman from Mickleton, Gloucester County, told the judge that the personal connections Gerner forged with patients had made all the difference in her recovery after failed stints in rehab in California, Florida, and New Jersey. We were put in gorgeous homes, taken out to outings, she wrote in a letter submitted to the court. Jason always went the extra mile to make us know we were important and special. He gave us a sense of normalcy that you crave when you are in treatment. Her mother also wrote to the judge: I was looking for a gravestone to buy my daughter before Liberation Way. Now, I am watching her live life as a strong, amazing, beautiful and sober woman. Irish Support for Global Responses to COVID-19 Reaches 123 Million Press release With the World Health Organisation expressing concerns regarding the acceleration of COVID-19, Colm Brophy T.D., Minister for Overseas Development Aid and Diaspora, today underlined Irelands important contribution to the global COVID-19 response. Minister Brophy said: This virus is probably the biggest global challenge of our lifetime. To be safe at home in Ireland means that we must also work to help others be safe where they live too. That is why the Government, through Irish Aid, has invested 123 million to date in the international response to the pandemic, since being the first country to respond to the WHOs global appeal last February. That investment is helping save lives across the globe through strengthening health care systems, the provision of PPE, vaccine research and in ensuring that those most affected get access to food and other essentials. Our support goes beyond money. Irish influence is helping shape the international response, with Irish officials leading the donors to both the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent and the UNs Central Emergency Response Fund as together they built their global emergency response strategy. In Mozambique, Irish expertise is helping shape the Mozambican Governments own COVID-19 response, building on a long-term relationship between the Embassy of Ireland in Maputo, the HSE and the Mozambican Health Ministry. This includes quality improvement training in 14 hospitals, with Irish experts remotely guiding the application of COVID-19 protocols. Irish diplomats are also organising the international donor support to the health systems in Liberia, Zambia as well as Mozambique. Using the experience gained in Irish Aids effective response to the Ebola crisis, Irish Aid is supporting Concern Worldwide, GOAL and Trocaire to work in an innovative partnership with the European Union to strengthen basic health care in Sierra Leone and, in particular, to ensure that vulnerable teenage girls who are out of school are protected. This experience which will stand to us when we take our seat on the Security Council in January, when the challenges arising from the pandemic will continue to resonate, particularly in conflict affected countries. ENDS Press Office 16 August 2020 Notes to Editors To date, Ireland has allocated over 123 million to the global COVID-19 response, providing 46.5 million to enable our partners the UN, WHO, NGOs and partner countries to respond directly to COVID-19 on the ground, as well as fast-tracking 76.8 million of other funding to partners to help them to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the pandemic. Ireland has also made an additional pledge of 18 million for GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, for the period 2021-25 (a 20% increase). Ireland is part of the European Unions #TeamEurope global response to COVID-19, which has mobilised more than 35 billion to date and focuses on countries that are already fragile and highly vulnerable. Irelands Embassies in Africa work closely with EU Delegations and other EU Member States to ensure the maximum effectiveness and coherence of our Team Europe response on the ground. Given the interconnectedness of the COVID crisis, Ireland has been a consistent and strong advocate for a coherent international response. Ireland was the first country to respond to the WHO COVID-19 Appeal. Through our Embassies in Africa, we have supported UN Resident Coordinators to enable the multilateral system to deliver as one. Irelands development cooperation in Mozambique, with a budget of 24 million in 2020, focuses on reducing poverty and inequality; improving access to essential services, particularly health and education; and promoting peace and strengthened governance. Ireland has supported the strengthening of Mozambiques healthcare system since the early 2000s, primarily through the health sector pooled funding mechanism, PROSAUDE. Since 2014, Irelands Health Service Executive and Mozambiques Ministry of Health have a partnership. This strong track record in strengthening Mozambiques health system has enabled Ireland to play a leadership role in coordinating international action to support the Government of Mozambiques COVID response. Ireland has provided ongoing support to Mozambiques peace process since 2018, including through the provision of key technical expertise from the Defence Forces to the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) process. One year after the signing of a historic peace and reconciliation agreement between the Government of Mozambique and opposition party, RENAMO, ten percent of RENAMO combatants have been demobilised and have returned to civilian life, despite the additional challenges to the process caused by the COVID pandemic. In Sierra Leone, Irelands development cooperation programme focuses on the empowerment of women and girls, with a budget of 9.6 million in 2020. Ireland is working with UN Women to strengthen gender aspects of the national COVID-19 response plan and with UNFPA to support schools as safe spaces for girls. Ireland has also provided support for awareness raising and hand-washing facilities in schools, and food assistance in COVID treatment centers and for vulnerable households in Sierra Leone. Ireland has provided 1,215,000 to a consortium of Irish NGOs (Concern Worldwide, Trocaire and GOAL Global) for COVID-related humanitarian response as part of Team Europes support to Sierra Leone. Ireland is also actively engaged on the ground through its Embassy network in supporting the COVID response in Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In 2019-20, Irish officials chaired the ICRC Donor Support Group and, separately, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, who together helped shape the Global Emergency Response. Irelands international development policy, A Better World, is guided by an overarching commitment to reaching the furthest behind first, with a focus on: prioritizing gender equality, reducing humanitarian need, climate action, and strengthening governance. Previous Item | Next Item Police at the scene in the Windermere Road area of south Belfast A man in his 60s has been arrested after the sudden death of a woman in the Windermere Road area of Belfast, police said last night. There were few details about the incident as concerned residents contacted councillors seeking information surrounding the tragedy. It's believed the PSNI made the arrest as the man walked down Cairnshill Road in the area. Residents said four police cars and two ambulances were at the scene in what one described as a "quiet residential street". Castlereagh South Alliance councillor Michelle Guy, who lives in the area, said local people were stunned by the news. "It's a tragedy, everyone in the community is shocked by what's happened tonight," she said. "Everyone has a lot of questions about what has happened, but I suppose we will have to wait for the PSNI to give more details," she added. The name of the woman who died has not yet been made public. In a short statement issued, the PSNI said: "Detectives from the PSNI's Serious Crime Branch are currently in attendance following a report of the sudden death of a woman at a house in the Windermere Road area of Belfast this evening. "One man in his 60s has been arrested and is currently assisting police with their enquiries. "There are no further details at this stage." Times Union Join Table Hopping's Steve Barnes live on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube at 1 p.m. Tuesday. He will be talking with Art Riley, chef-owner of McGreivey's restaurant in Waterford, who has found different ways to thrive during the coronavirus pandemic. This is part of a series of Times Union Live discussions with a range of Times Union journalists covering the COVID-19 pandemic. PRESIDENT Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi inaugurated the New Administrative Capital Airport, the Sphinx International Airport, and the newly renovated Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis via video conference on Monday. The new airports will help alleviate the pressure on Cairo International Airport. The New Administrative Capital Airport is built over 5,000 square metres with dozens of buildings and two terminals. The Sphinx Airport is built over 4,000 square metres. The restoration of the Baron Empain Palace, which was built in 1911, was carried out by the Armed Forces Engineering Authority and the Arab Contractors Company and cost more than LE100 million. The inauguration also saw Al-Sisi and Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouli hail the building of roads and bridges which have to a large extent ended traffic congestion. Had it not been for the road building programme vehicles in Cairo would have been crawling at 4km per hour, said Madbouli. Al-Sisi instructed the planned automatic traffic signal system, which monitors the speed of the vehicles and sends signals to drivers mobiles to warn them when they exceed the speed limit, be installed as quickly as possible. A documentary was presented during the inauguration ceremony showcasing the new bridges that have been built in Heliopolis. During the event Madbouli said LE300 million has been earmarked for developing the road network in the coming fiscal year. According Madbouly, in the last six years Egypt has implemented 20,000 national development projects at the cost of LE4.5 trillion, and a further LE1.1 trillion has been pumped into 2,800 projects constructed by the Armed Forces. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Short link: Prashant Bhushan From 1933 to 1945, within 12 years, 12,000 Germans were executed and more than 66,000 Germans were put into prison. These are manipulated and reduced official figures but the realities were far worst. During the Nazi period, the number of crimes declined, number of special courts increased and prison population increased in Germany. These contradictions within the Nazi legal system revealed its political objectives and judicial compliance with the Nazi regime. These courts were working as legal and institutional deterrence against opposition to the Nazis. The trials were held in the forms of publicity stunts in public halls and in city squares to inflict psychological fear among the masses. The sole goal of the Sondergerichte and the Volksgerichtshof was to perpetrate legal terror in defence of the Third Reich. The legal institutions were used for the Nazi propaganda and censorships. It controlled art, architecture, literature, music, cinema, research, teaching, journalism and mass media. These special courts have eliminated civil liberties in Germany in the name of patriotism and nationalism. And justice disappeared in Germany. The Supreme Court of India was established on January 26, 1950 to deliver independent and impartial justice by following both 'niti' and 'nyaya' as envisioned in the Indian Constitution. The first few decades of its establishment, most of Indians have witnessed and trusted the impeccable and impartial nature of judgements from the highest court of the country. However, in recent times, there is a pattern emerging in the recent judgements of the Supreme Court, which questions its own foundational principles, missions and visions. The public display of political allegiance by some of the retired and current judges of the courts in India reduces its judicial legitimacy in legal praxis. Its verdicts resonate with the legal and political culture of the Sondergerichte and the Volksgerichtshof in Germany. Somewhat like Nazis, the Hindutva forces have swept away many of the freedoms in the name of nationalism. It is the duty of the Supreme Court to ensure and protect citizenship rights and individual freedom of speech and expression as enshrined in the Constitution of India. It is not malicious to criticise the governments and courts in a democratic country. It is not the tweets of lawyer Prashant Bhushan that threaten the very foundation of constitutional democracy in India. It is the silence of judges that destroys judicial impartiality and independence of the Supreme Court of India. The Supreme Courts silence on human rights violation, marginalisation of civil liberties in Kashmir and diminishing citizenship rights of the Dalits, tribals, workers and religious minorities weaken the moral foundations of judiciary in India. The Nazi regime in Germany had established the Sondergericht (summary courts or special courts) and Volksgerichtshof (special peoples court) outside the constitutional framework. The objectives of these totalitarian courts were to destroy internal opposition to Adolf Hitlers mission in dominating and establishing absolute control over German state, government, culture and society.The legal systems were destroyed and reconstructed to support in the making of the Third Reich. The more special courts were established and given arbitrary powers to intimidate general public, execute and imprison the political opposition to Nazis.From 1933 to 1945, within 12 years, 12,000 Germans were executed and more than 66,000 Germans were put into prison. These are manipulated and reduced official figures but the realities were far worst.During the Nazi period, the number of crimes declined, number of special courts increased and prison population increased in Germany. These contradictions within the Nazi legal system revealed its political objectives and judicial compliance with the Nazi regime. These courts were working as legal and institutional deterrence against opposition to the Nazis.The trials were held in the forms of publicity stunts in public halls and in city squares to inflict psychological fear among the masses. The sole goal of the Sondergerichte and the Volksgerichtshof was to perpetrate legal terror in defence of the Third Reich.The legal institutions were used for the Nazi propaganda and censorships. It controlled art, architecture, literature, music, cinema, research, teaching, journalism and mass media. These special courts have eliminated civil liberties in Germany in the name of patriotism and nationalism. And justice disappeared in Germany.The Supreme Court of India was established on January 26, 1950 to deliver independent and impartial justice by following both 'niti' and 'nyaya' as envisioned in the Indian Constitution. The first few decades of its establishment, most of Indians have witnessed and trusted the impeccable and impartial nature of judgements from the highest court of the country.However, in recent times, there is a pattern emerging in the recent judgements of the Supreme Court, which questions its own foundational principles, missions and visions.The public display of political allegiance by some of the retired and current judges of the courts in India reduces its judicial legitimacy in legal praxis. Its verdicts resonate with the legal and political culture of the Sondergerichte and the Volksgerichtshof in Germany.Somewhat like Nazis, the Hindutva forces have swept away many of the freedoms in the name of nationalism. It is the duty of the Supreme Court to ensure and protect citizenship rights and individual freedom of speech and expression as enshrined in the Constitution of India.It is not malicious to criticise the governments and courts in a democratic country. It is not the tweets of lawyer Prashant Bhushan that threaten the very foundation of constitutional democracy in India. It is the silence of judges that destroys judicial impartiality and independence of the Supreme Court of India.The Supreme Courts silence on human rights violation, marginalisation of civil liberties in Kashmir and diminishing citizenship rights of the Dalits, tribals, workers and religious minorities weaken the moral foundations of judiciary in India. It is not the tweets of lawyer Prashant Bhushan that threaten the foundation of constitutional democracy. It is the silence of judges There is a pattern growing today in India, where professors, doctors, student and youth activists and human rights activists are suffering in prison, violent cow vigilantes, rioters and other criminals are roaming free with political patronage. Such a culture of justice empowers crime and criminals in India. If the majoritarian conscience determined by ruling class becomes the foundation of justice, then justice is doomed in India. The legitimacy and authority of the Supreme Court of India should not be based on spreading the fear of justice but the love to deliver and ensure justice by following the letter and spirit of both niti and nyayaas enshrined in the Constitution of India. The ideas of dissent and freedom are inalienable rights in a liberal democracy; sustained by the culture of criticisms. The monopoly of justice by judiciary and dominance of power by the government of the day destroys the very foundation of justice, freedom and democracy. It erodes public faith in different institutions in the country. The culture of criticism sharpens democratic and judicial values. It is imperative for a democratic and constitutional court to promote the culture of criticisms for its own survival and growth. The attempt to throttle the culture of criticism is pushing India with a medieval mindset, which is a leap backward. It is dangerous for the future of India and Indians. It is time for the courts and leaders of the governing party to look at history as their sole witness. The absolute power erodes quickly without any doubt. It is better to be conscious than be sorry. Justice survives in the moral canvas of struggles in history and all illiberal forces die their natural death in the dustbins of history. It may nor may not be televised but the fall of power is inevitable. In spite of all legal support, political, economic and military power, all young people did not participate in the Hitler Youth movement in Germany. The working class youth organised under the Edelweiss Pirates (Edelweipiraten), the students organised under the White Rose group (die Weie Rose) and the middle-class youths organised under the Swing Youth and Jazz Youth groups who rejected Nazi values and fought against Nazi regime and its legal infrastructures. Students. youths, socialists and communists played a major role in defeating Nazi rule and re-establishing liberal, social, secular and multicultural democracy in Germany today. It is within this context, it is the historic responsibility of Indian students and youths to fight and save India and Indians from the ruinous path. --- *Senior Lecturer in Business Strategy, Coventry University, UK Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) There are now 164,474 coronavirus cases in the Philippines, the Department of Health said, as it reported 3,314 new infections on Monday. The top five areas nationwide with the most number of new cases are Metro Manila with 1,918, Laguna with 274, Cavite with 219, Rizal with 118, and Bulacan with 105. The DOH also announced a new batch of 237 survivors, bringing the tally of recoveries to 112,759 or 68 percent of the total COVID-19 case count. On Sunday, the department reported the countrys highest single-day rise in recoveries with over 40,000 more patients tagged as recovered under its time-based recovery program. The countrys death toll, meanwhile, went up to 2,681, with 18 new deaths. DOH said of the newly announced deaths, four occurred in August, 12 in July, and two in June. It added that five were recorded in Calabarzon, four in Central Visayas, four in Metro Manila, three in Central Luzon, and one each in Northern Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Active cases or currently ill patients in the country are now at 49,034, according to DOH. President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to announce on Monday the new quarantine status in Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, which are under a modified enhanced community quarantine until August 18. Philippine College of Physicians President Dr. Mario Panaligan said hospitals in virus hotspot Metro Manila are not yet ready to shift to a more relaxed quarantine status this week, as they are still seeing high rates of admission for COVID-19 patients. READ: Physicians group: Metro Manila hospitals not yet ready for GCQ shift However, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque earlier called an MECQ extension "highly unlikely," saying the government is running out of funds to distribute to poor families affected by the strict lockdown restrictions. Armenian universities closed because of the coronavirus pandemic in March will reopen their doors to students next month, Education Minister Arayik Harutiunian has said. Harutiunian made the announcement after a meeting on August 17 of senior government officials who are coordinating the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Harutiunian added that university classes for freshman students will open on September 1, while all others will start on September 15. "Universities themselves will decide on how to organize courses, including a hybrid way that will allow online learning. Universities will publish details on their websites and will provide additional information about their curricula," Harutiunian said in a Facebook post. Last week, Harutiunian announced that classes in all secondary schools in Armenia as well as in vocational training colleges, music, and art schools will begin on September 15. He stressed that all educational establishments must comply with sanitary and hygienic rules set by the government. All schools, universities, and other general education institutions in Armenia have remained closed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in March when they switched to distance learning to ensure the continuity of the educational process. The current state of emergency in Armenia ends on September 11. The government has indicated that it will not extend it unless the coronavirus situation takes a turn for the worse. Armenia has recorded 41,701 coronavirus cases and 824 deaths since the start of the epidemic. In recent weeks, however, the countrys heath authorities have been reporting decreasing numbers of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Alarmed health officials say Donald Trump is pushing for FDA approval of an oleander plant extract to cure coronavirus. The President has been urged to consider the benefits of oleandrin by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, a huge Trump fan. A White House official told Axios: 'The involvement of the Secretary of HUD and MyPillow.com in pushing a dubious product at the highest levels should give Americans no comfort at night about their health and safety during a raging pandemic.' Trump's latest gambit comes after his optimistic overtures about intravenous disinfectant, UV light and hydroxychloroquine. None of which have been shown to be cures for COVID-19. Donald Trump (left) sat down with a director of Phoenix Biotechnology after the potential benefits of its oleander plant product were impressed upon him by Ben Carson (right) and Mike Lindell The oleander plant is known for its white and pink flowers and is found across the US, particularly in California OLEANDER PLANT AND COVID-19 Oleandrin, the extract of the oleander plant being touted as a cure for coronavirus, has been used in various scientific trials over the last decade. In one study it was shown to inhibit the growth of human pancreatic cancer and in another as 'a novel inhibitor of HIV infectivity.' Oleandrin is a cardiac glycoside - an organic compound which increases the output of the heart and increases the rate of its contractions. Antiviral effects of cardiac glycosides have been shown against a range of viruses, including Herpes, Ebola, influenza and chikungunya virus. In July, the University of Texas published a paper which described its effects on the kidney cells of monkeys infected by coronavirus. The paper said that their tests showed 'the strong inhibitory profile of oleandrin in greatly reducing infectious virus production.' Professor Sharon Lewin, an antiviral drugs expert at the University of Melbourne, said that a lot more work needed to be done. She told Axios: 'Oleandrin looks to have antiviral activity at high doses in a test tube model. You'd certainly want to see more work done on this before even contemplating a human trial.' Advertisement The FDA even approved use of hydroxychloroquine in March after firm lobbying by Trump - who was taking the anti-malarial - before withdrawing approval in June, citing the 'risk of heart rhythm problems.' Oleandrin - an extract of the plant known for its pink and white flowers - was shown to inhibit the coronavirus in the kidneys of monkeys, in a July study by University of Texas at Galveston. Lindell claims that at an Oval Office meeting that month, Trump essentially said: 'The FDA should be approving it.' The study by UT has not been peer-reviewed and one of the authors is Robert Newman, a director at Phoenix Biotechnology - the company developing oleandrin. Phoenix Biotech's Vice Chairman, Andrew Whitney, told Axios that oleandrin had been tested on humans but the results of that had not yet been published. It was through the MyPillow boss Lindell that Whitney gained an Oval Office meeting with the president, first reported by the Washington Post. Carson also attended the meeting along with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and a lawyer. Asked why Carson was backing the unproven plant extract, a spokesman told Axios: 'The Task Force is looking at a plethora of therapeutics to fight COVID-19. 'To suggest that Secretary Carson, who is a world-renowned expert in the medical field, shouldn't be involved is not only absurd but unhelpful in our collective fight to eradicate the pandemic.' Carson is a leading expert in pediatric neurosurgery, but is not regarded as such in the fields of antiviral drugs or infectious diseases. Whitney told Axios he was still '100%' behind the claim that oleandrin is a cure for the virus. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell is a huge supporter of Trump (pictured: speaking outside the White House during a coronavirus briefing in March) He says that the FDA has been too slow in granting approval for a clinical trial, which he believes should happen immediately. This response by the FDA has reassured some officials within the Trump administration, according to Axios, who worry about the president's support for the experimental oleandrin. Whitney said: 'Now, there are all sorts of lawyers who would tell me I can't say things like that, because you know you need to have years of studies, and you need to have this, that, and the other, and so forth, but as an American with a right of free expression, I'm telling you, I've seen it with my own eyes.' Cyprus' foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides, right, talks with Under Secretary of the United States of America, for Political Affairs, David Hale during their meeting at Larnaca international airport, Cyprus, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Christos Avraamides/Press and Information Office of Cyprus via AP Photo) US Supports Cyprus, Wants Closer East Med Gas Cooperation LARNACA, CyprusThe United States wants tighter cooperation on developing gas finds in the strategically significant eastern Mediterranean and supports Cyprus right to exploit hydrocarbon deposits discovered in its waters, a senior U.S. State Department official said Sunday. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale said hydrocarbon development would aim to provide durable energy security and economic prosperity throughout the Mediterranean, according to the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. The statement was issued after Hale met with Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides to discuss the eastern Mediterraneans growing strategic significance as well as recent developments in the region, including the devastating Aug. 4 blast in Lebanons capital of Beirut. Hales brief visit to the island nation came amid growing military tensions over Turkeys gas prospecting in waters where European Union members Greece and Cyprus say they have exclusive economic rights. Cyprus foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides (L), and Under Secretary of the United States of America, for Political Affairs, David Hale touch elbows following their meeting at Larnaca international airport, Cyprus, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Christos Avraamides/Press and Information Office of Cyprus via AP Photo) On Friday, EU foreign ministers expressed full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus and urged an immediate de-escalation by Turkey as Greek and Turkish navy ships shadowed each other. Turkey had earlier dispatched a pair of warship-escorted research vessels to explore the southeastern sides of both Crete and Cyprus. But on Sunday, Turkey appeared to be upping the ante by announcing that another drill ship, the Yavuz, would be conducting a month-long hydrocarbons search off Cyprus southwestern coast. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the move which he said further fueled tensions and undermined efforts to resume talks. He called on Turkey to end these activities immediately and to engage fully in good faith in talks with the EU. Turkey, which doesnt recognize ethnically divided Cyprus as a state, claims 44 percent of the islands economic zone as its own and insists it has every right to carry out such explorations in defense of its interests and those of breakaway Turkish Cypriots. The U.S. Embassy statement said Hale reaffirmed American support for the right of the Republic of Cyprus to exploit its natural resources, including the hydrocarbons found in its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone. The U.S. official added these resources should be equitably shared between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. The Cyprus government has bemoaned what it called the EUs appeasement of Turkey, which has so far failed to rein in the country. It also says an apparent U.S. disengagement from the eastern Mediterranean has emboldened the Turkish government to exert further control over the region. Cyprus Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said Hale assured him that the United States remains committed to the eastern Mediterranean region. Cyprus has licensed ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum, as well as Texas-based Noble Energybought out last month by Chevronto drill for gas in its exclusive economic zone. Hale also lauded expanding U.S.-Cyprus security cooperation and reiterated American support for a resumption of stalled reunification talks. By Menelaos Hadjicostis (Natural News) Attorney General William Barr has, for the first time, laid out the exact nature of the radical leftist group known as Antifa. This organization has been at the center of the wave of engineered rioting and civil unrest that has swept the nation since late May. In an interview with Fox News Mark Levin, Barr described Antifa as a socialist and communist revolutionary group that is interested in establishing socialism and communism in America. Theyre essentially Bolsheviks. Their tactics are fascistic. While Antifa has never hidden their ties to radical leftist ideologies, the Fox interview marks the first time that Barr has detailed the organizations political leanings as well as their tactics and organizational structure. Barr commented that the nationwide rioting launched by Antifa is a new form of urban guerrilla warfare. Antifa, according to Barr, acts like guerrillas because of how they are easily able to disguise themselves by claiming to participate in the many peaceful demonstrations that usually precede riots. If they are called out, they can say that they are merely exercising their rights under the First Amendment. Barr pointed out that Antifa members hide within the relatively peaceful demonstrations, which allows them to conduct their activities with ease. And what they do is they hijack these demonstrations and they provoke violence, said Barr. Barr also took this opportunity to strongly criticize the Democratic Party, who have responded very weakly to the rioting. He said that Antifas radicalism is reflective of how the Democrats are shifting further to the left of the political spectrum and thereby pulling themselves away from classical liberal values. Instead, the Democrats have made a secular religion out of winning a complete political victory. (Related: BREAKING: Antifa terrorists in Austin, Portland just received a large cache of weapons in preparation for coordinated multi-city TET offensive against America.) When asked about when this all began, Barr explained that there has been a left-wing resistance to President Donald Trump since the day he won the 2016 election. While Antifa have been out in the streets trying to cause enough chaos, the Democrats, Barr argues, have been busy in the Capitol trying to impeach Trump out of a desire for power that the left wants. Barr must use the Justice Department to destroy Antifa Kyle Shideler, director and senior analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, said that Barrs interview regarding Antifa is groundbreaking because the federal governments previous statements regarding Antifa have not shed enough light into the true nature of the domestic terrorist organization. Shideler, who talked to the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution regarding his analysis of Antifas origins and current structure on August 4, said that this escalation of rhetoric might be a sign that Barr is now willing to use the full force of the Department of Justice to attack Antifa and to treat the group as the subversive and insurrectionist force it is. The highly organized, but loosely distributed and non-hierarchical structure of Antifa, Shideler notes, makes gathering strong and actionable intelligence that can deal a decisive blow to the entire group very difficult. To counter this, the federal government needs to step up, especially if local and state governments are either unwilling or unable to do so. This is crucial since, as Shideler argues, Antifa is fundamentally committed to the overthrow of the government and the destruction of the Constitution that guarantees the rights of all Americans. The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been concerned by Antifas criminal activities since at least 2018, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service, Congress public policy research arm. Hopefully, with the help of Barrs statements, the federal government will step up and respond to Antifas actions where local and state authorities have been lacking. Keep an eye out for the latest criminal attacks against life, liberty and property perpetrated by Antifa at AntifaWatch.news. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com FoxNews.com Educators across Ontario have launched a video campaign to voice their safety concerns about the provinces back-to-school plans this September amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Through a series of online videos shared through social media, education workers say they want to highlight how unsafe the school environment is for both students and staff while the pandemic is still looming large. They say its careless for the province to be sending kids back to school when the risk of contracting the virus is still high. The short videos have been released by Ontario Education Workers United, under the campaign dubbed #SafeSeptember. Each video ends with a message urging parents to call Premier Doug Ford and demand a safer, fully funded school reopening process. Im supposed to have 29 students in September, and with that many students, I wont be able to keep them safe, Tara Wannamaker, a Toronto kindergarten teacher, says in one of the videos. We all want to get back to school, but Doug Fords reopening plan is not safe for me, my students, or our communities, she adds. Toronto adult day-school teacher Deborah Buchanan-Walford, in another one of the videos, highlights problems with school infrastructure and how they can put students and teachers at risk. The rooms themselves are unsafe, she says. Even with 15 students in a class, the windows dont open and ventilation systems are in dire straits. We need Doug Ford to fund a safe return to school for all students. Elementary school students and some high school students across Ontario are expected to return to class early in September, for five days a week in standard class sizes. But some boards will allow high school students to attend class half the time, while spending the other half on independent, remote learning. Parents will also have the option to register their children for online remote learning. Since Education Minister Stephen Lecce announced plans for school reopening, parents and teachers across the province have raised concerns about safety. Many still question the provinces ability to enforce proper physical distancing measures and mask-wearing requirements. Transportation is another big concern, as a number of school bus drivers are expected not to report for work. The Ontario Education Workers United collaborated with two other advocacy groups, the Ontario Parent Action Network and the Ontario Families for Public Education, to come up with demands for the provincial government concerning school reopening. Those demands include funding in-class learning and keeping class sizes to 15 students or fewer, safely opening before- and after-school child-care centres, and making personal protective equipment and other cleaning supplies available to keep everyone safe from COVID-19, among other requests. Educators will need to spend a lot of time this year managing the physical distancing, managing the hygiene, and managing the cleaning of materials, Marya Anderson, a kindergarten teacher in Peel Region, says in one of the videos. Wheres this extra time going to come from, when were back in the classroom with the same number of students that we had in the past, who need our time and attention? And how will we limit the spread of those droplets from those enthusiastic voices when children are not wearing masks? Almost all of Victoria's second coronavirus wave can be traced to travellers quarantined at two Melbourne hotels: the Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza. Genomic sequencing of Victoria's COVID-19 clusters by the Doherty Institute presented to the state's quarantine hotels inquiry on Monday confirmed returned travellers were the source of more than 99 per cent of the state's current COVID-19 cases. Professor Ben Howden speaks during the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry. The Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza were the only quarantine hotels to record major outbreaks and the sequencing data presented to the inquiry shows those began with international travellers in May and early June and peaked in July and early August, when the state was recording its worst coronavirus infection numbers. Professor Ben Howden, head of the Doherty Institutes genomic sequencing unit, told the inquiry that their genomic sample provided a sufficient cross-section to be confident that all of Victorias second wave was linked to returned travellers. Investors who take an interest in Camping World Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CWH) should definitely note that the Chairman & CEO, Marcus Lemonis, recently paid US$32.56 per share to buy US$100k worth of the stock. Although the purchase is not a big one, by either a percentage standpoint or absolute value, it can be seen as a good sign. View our latest analysis for Camping World Holdings The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Camping World Holdings In fact, the recent purchase by Chairman & CEO Marcus Lemonis was not their only acquisition of Camping World Holdings shares this year. They previously made an even bigger purchase of US$633k worth of shares at a price of US$6.33 per share. Although we like to see insider buying, we note that this large purchase was at significantly below the recent price of US$33.27. Because it occurred at a lower valuation, it doesn't tell us much about whether insiders might find today's price attractive. In the last twelve months Camping World Holdings insiders were buying shares, but not selling. Their average price was about US$11.08. We don't deny that it is nice to see insiders buying stock in the company. However, we do note that they were buying at significantly lower prices than today's share price. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction! Camping World Holdings is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Insider Ownership I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Camping World Holdings insiders own 1.0% of the company, worth about US$30m. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. Story continues What Might The Insider Transactions At Camping World Holdings Tell Us? The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But we don't feel the same about the fact the company is making losses. Insiders likely see value in Camping World Holdings shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. When we did our research, we found 3 warning signs for Camping World Holdings (1 is concerning!) that we believe deserve your full attention. If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 10:59:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close In this combo photo, the upper taken by Zhou Hua on Jan. 12, 2018 shows Lu Mingrong, wife of Lu Laoqiao, taking care of her children at their former residence in Renguang Village of Lihu Yao Township, and the lower taken by Lu Boan on Aug. 5, 2020 shows Lu having fun with her kid in front of their new house inside a poverty-relief relocation site for the Baiku Yao people, in Nandan County, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Located in the northwestern part of Guangxi, Nandan County is noted for the Baiku Yao people, an ethnic minority known for their white-colored pants. The minority has kept its culture intact, and is dubbed as a "living fossil" of human civilization. China has about 50,000 Baiku Yao people, and 42,000 of them reside in Nandan County. During the country's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), more than 23,000 Baiku Yao People in Nandan were registered as poverty-stricken, accounting for nearly half of the county's poor population. Many of the Baiku Yao people used to live in the hard-to-reach hamlets scattered in the bare rock mountains. The towering mountains blocked people and services from the outside, and kept the isolated mountain dwellers in a battle against poverty for generations. Back in the mountain-locked villages, fewer roads accessing to the outside have made people have to travel on foot most of the time. The roads here were either paved with dirt or small stones, which made rides very bumpy and vehicles could barely get through. People used to live in wood or mud huts with simple, old household items. When it rained, the roofs leaked and wind blew through. The acute shortage of drinking water and soil was another challenge for the mountain inhabitants. They had to collect rainwater in water tanks for daily use. Facing limited arable land for crops because of barren soil, locals eked out a living by growing corns in the cracks of the rock mountains. As the rock mountains were not suitable for living, the local government decided to relocate the Baiku Yao people to help them shake off poverty. In 2017, the county government started a resettlement project that involved a total of 1.37 billion yuan (about 197 million U.S. dollars) of investment to build three major resettling residential districts in the county to accommodate the ethnic people, with about 13,500 people moving there. More than 2,400 new houses were built with cultural features of the Baiku Yao people, with bronze drums and ox horns painted on the walls. The new houses have been equipped with gas, tap water, flushing toilets and a variety of furnishings. Kindergartens, primary and middle schools and hospitals have also been in place in these districts. With paved roads, a motorcycle ride to the county seat takes only about 20 minutes. Most of those residing in the mountains moved into the county center, beginning a new phase of their lives. While lifting people out of poverty was the first step, efforts should be made to ensure the relocated residents can settle down, have jobs, earn money and lead better lives. In the resettlement sites, poverty-alleviation workshops have been established and the related industries have also developed based on local conditions, promising a steady source of income for the relocated residents. Local authorities have also stepped up tourism industry. For instance, the three relocation districts have become tourist attractions featuring ethnic culture. Meanwhile, locals are encouraged to do ethnic performances for tourists and run homestays. Wearing their distinctive white pants, the Baiku Yao people are always seen welcoming tourists from afar by firing guns in the air, playing drums and whipping tops. So far, most of the impoverished Baiku Yao people in the county have bid farewell to poverty. (Xinhua) LONDON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis outlined the process for safely harbouring two Royal Caribbean vessels this week. In a press conference today, the Minister of Tourism, Lindsay Grant, said that the Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines reached out to the islands to harbour the Vision of the Seas and the Rhapsody of the Seas at Port Zante. Both cruise ships will arrive on August 19th with 70 crew members on each vessel. According to the Minister, each crew member will be given an RT-PCR test upon arrival and quarantine for 14 days on their vessels. When all crew members receive a negative test at the end of their quarantine, they will be allowed to disembark while observing social distancing and mask-wearing safety measures. There are currently zero active cases of COVID-19 on the island. "The health and the safety of our citizens, residents, and of our visitors remains our number one priority [] We have taken all the necessary health and safety protocols to ensure that St Kitts and Nevis remains safe." Minister Grant noted. "This assistance represents the true nature of our people to support others in a time of need," he added. The Minister said that he did not doubt that citizens would be welcoming to the crew. He also said that this initiative would benefit many businesses because those on board would be using local amenities. Port Zante, financed partly by the country's Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme, allows the twin-island to host up to three of the largest ships in the world. The islands welcomed an astonishing 1 million cruise passengers for two consecutive years. The small but ambitious Caribbean country now holds the marquee status of larger cruise destinations in the region. Reputable foreign investors are welcome to obtain St Kitts and Nevis' valuable citizenship in exchange for an economic contribution. The fund option provides the fastest route to second citizenship, which, when coupled with the Accelerated Application Process, can take 60 days or less. Investors are attracted to St Kitts and Nevis because it is a safe, modern democracy, with high regard for the rule of law. Citizens can easily access almost 160 countries and territories, thanks to Foreign Minister Mark Brantley's diplomatic efforts. Contact: [email protected], www.csglobalpartners.com SOURCE CS Global Partners Sonia Young is celebrating a birthday this month. Her own Celebration of Life was planned for this spring, and like many folks, she planned it herself. Unlike most folks, she intended to be there front and center, and not in spirit only. Why wait til you die? the Purple Lady quipped in her ever-youthful voice. Coming up on 86 this week, this gals energy belies her age. She has never let any moss grow, and isnt about to start now. But the main reason she wanted to celebrate her life is because, well, she truly wants to celebrate it. She wanted to squeeze the peoples hands who came to pay their respects, and be there to look them in the eye and thank them, truly thank them, for how important they are in her life. Sonia Young has attended almost every notable event in Chattanooga for years, and still isnt about to miss this one. This renowned philanthropist has made it her life mission to improve her community, and her community is vast. She is called to serve in the art community and the theatre community, and also champions the underdogs with no voice of their own; children and animals hold a spot in her purple heart. Honored as a recipient of the Ruth Holmberg Arts Leadership Award and as a Tennessee Woman of Distinction, she has served on boards that range from the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, Kids on the Block and Childrens Hospital Foundation to Chattanooga Cares (Cempa Community Care) and McKamey Foundation, with many more in between. The former UTC professor always dresses in her trademark purple, and attends as many galas, fundraisers and community events that she can schedule on her calendar. Not the least bit ready to settle back and put her feet up, Sonia feels very blessed that people seem to care that I attend their events, and as long as they do, I will be there! When her beloved husband, Mel, died several years ago, Sonia was devastated. But she managed because she was so blessed and held up by this community. Women she barely knew showed up at her doorstep and invited her to dinner, and people she knew well supported her with a shoulder to lean on, as well as cry on, during this heartbreaking time. Her daughter, Melanie Young Ransom, was at her mothers side as they planned this event for the spring of 2020. Melanie was actually thrilled because I told her I would write all the thank-you notes myself and she wouldnt have to, Sonia quipped. This true celebration of life was to be held at the Chattanooga Zoo, with the new giraffe exhibit usurping most of the attention. Im just so blessed. I have no complaint about anyone, Sonia said, adding in her witty style that she could could certainly find something to complain about if she tried, buy why bother with that? And that philosophy, more than any of her laurels, sums up our communitys Purple Lady. INDIANAPOLIS Purdue University Global and Ivy Tech Community College have enhanced an existing partnership with an admissions agreement that will provide a pathway for transfer students. Students graduating from Ivy Tech with an Indiana Transfer Single Articulation Pathway associate degree are eligible to receive a guaranteed articulation of credit into the related bachelors program at Purdue Global. All TSAP associate degrees include the Statewide Transfer General Education Core. As a result, students will have all of their standard bachelors program general education requirements fulfilled by the TSAP associate degree. Qualifying associate degrees will be evaluated for alignment to the approved bachelors programs based on statewide associate degree competencies. As such, transfer of credit will be seamless and standardized. Purdue Global is uniquely positioned to offer a seamless transfer to the thousands of students who have graduated, or will graduate, from a TSAP associate degree program, Purdue Global Chancellor Frank Dooley said. Purdue Global faculty have analyzed the TSAP associate degree areas and corresponding degree competencies to identify alignment to Purdue Global bachelors degrees. As a result, Purdue Global will begin to offer guaranteed articulations for students enrolling from an eligible TSAP associate degree into an approved Purdue Global bachelors degree. There are seven TSAP areas of study that align with Purdue Global curricula: business administration, computer science, criminal justice, human services, information technology, nursing and psychology. Ivy Tech is the predominant associate degree participant in the TSAP program, which is marketed through its Transfer as a Junior initiative. Purdue Global already has a substantial partnership pipeline with Ivy Tech that TSAP pathways will enhance. This TSAP pathway articulation agreement with Purdue University Global provides a tremendous opportunity for Ivy Tech transfer students seeking an online option for their bachelors degree completion, Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann said. This expanded articulation agreement guarantees that students will seamlessly transfer as a junior. But a unique benefit is that after students transfer to Purdue Global, they will still have some electives. This provides more flexibility than transfer pathways typically offer. TSAP is a statewide program to standardize the transferability of a completed associate degree toward a related bachelors program. TSAP formalizes the statewide competencies of the two-year degree in order to support unified transfer into a four-year degree. The Indiana TSAP program provides a statewide framework for students to transfer associate degrees toward bachelors degrees, but at Purdue Global we take it one step further, said Allegra Fowler, director of transfer and articulation for Purdue Global. We will not only accept Indiana general education credits completely and ensure that the major requirements of every students associate degree apply seamlessly to their Purdue Global bachelors degree, they also will be able to pursue electives that interest them and select from available concentration options. We give students the credit they deserve while preserving the flexibility of their bachelors degree requirements. About Purdue University Global Purdue University Global is the extreme personalization online university, providing students the competitive edge to advance in their chosen careers. It offers a hyper-tailored path for students to earn an associate, bachelors, masters or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, desired pace, military service, previous college credits and other considerations no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global serves more than 31,000 students (as of June 2020), most of whom earn their degree online. It also operates several regional locations nationwide. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by The Higher Learning Commission. It is affiliated with Purdue Universitys flagship institution, a highly ranked public research university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue University also operates two regional campuses in Fort Wayne and Northwest, Indiana, as well as serving close to 6,000 science, engineering and technology students at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) campus. For more information, please visit purdueglobal.edu. About Ivy Tech Community College Ivy Tech Community College serves communities across Indiana, providing world-class education and driving economic transformation. It is the states largest public postsecondary institution and the nations largest singly accredited statewide community college system. It serves as the states engine of workforce development, offering high-value degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its communities, along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Writer, Media contact, Purdue: Tom Schott, 765-427-1721, tschott@purdue.edu Media contact, Ivy Tech: Kelsey Batten, 317-917-5732, kbatten1@ivytech.edu Sources: Frank Dooley, frank.dooley@purdueglobal.edu Allegra Fowler, alfowler@purdueglobal.edu Sue Ellspermann San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has filed a motion against food delivery firm DoorDash urging it to reclassify its delivery workers as employees. The move comes just days after a California judge issued a similar preliminary injunction against ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft. 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. The preliminary injunction would apply to DoorDashs operations throughout California. A California state law, which determines if someone is a contractor or an employee through an ABC test, requires the company to treat its delivery workers as employees rather than independent contractors. The same law applies to Uber and Lyft as well. Advertisement On Monday, California Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman passed a ruling that asked the latter two companies to reclassify their drivers as employees after state attorney general Xavier Becerra filed a motion. However, the action only applies to Ubers ride-hailing business. The companys food delivery division, which functions just as Doordash, would continue to operate as it is, at least as of now as theres no complaint against it yet. The San Francisco district attorneys office was unable to comment on the discrepancy, the Financial Times reports. Doordash faces a possible shutdown in California Its unclear if Doordash would be able to continue operating in California under the new rules. Classifying delivery agents as employees mean the company would be entitled to provide them with benefits including health insurance, paid leave, minimum wage, and more. A decision on this may come by October this year, according to the report. Advertisement 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, a Doordash spokesman told the FT. The firm argues that the majority of its delivery workers want to remain as contractors. This gives them flexibility over working hours and location. This would not be possible under an employee model. Uber and Lyft have also made similar arguments supporting their current business model. The ruling against the two ride-hailing giants gives them until August 20 to make the necessary changes. Both companies plan to file an appeal against the decision, though. Its unclear if the deadline will be pushed back while that appeal is heard. Advertisement According to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, it may take the company several months to change its business model and reclassify its drivers as employees in California. In the meantime, the company may have to temporarily shut done its services in the state. The same possibly goes for Doordash, and perhaps, Lyft as well. This would result in thousands of job losses. Not quite ideal during the current COVID-19 pandemic induced economic recession. Novembers ballot measure would decide the companies fate Doordash, Uber, and Lyft are all backing Proposition 22, a new measure on Novembers ballot. This measure would allow California voters to override the state law that has put these companies in the current situation. The override would only apply for app-based workers, though. Advertisement The three companies have each contributed $30m to a joint fund supporting the proposition. The total backing for the campaign now stands at more than $110m. People opposing this proposition have raised just $1.6m as of now. However, they have the support of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as well as his running mate, Kamala Harris. Harris herself is a former California Attorney General and San Francisco district attorney. A United Nations tribunal in The Hague will finally deliver verdicts this week in the case of four members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, accused of assassinating former prime minister Rafik Hariri more than 15 years ago.The verdicts in The Hague are likely to raise tensions in Lebanon still further, a fortnight after the port explosion in Beirut. Hariri was blown up by a truck bomb in the Lebanese capital in 2005, in an attack that killed a total of 22 people and injured several hundred others.He was Lebanon's most prominent Sunni politician at the time and was seen as generally pro-Western, while Hezbollah is a Shiite movement backed by Iran. The death of Hariri changed the face of Lebanese politics and split the country into two broad factions - one of them largely pro-Western, the other influenced heavily by Iran and Syria.The killing triggered widespread street protests which eventually led to Syrian troops withdrawing from Lebanon, although Syria denied any role in his murder.The UN tribunal was set up in 2007 under a Security Council resolution, and initially five suspects were tried in absentia in the case, all of them Hezbollah members. One of the group's top military commanders, Mustafa Badreddine was killed in Syria in 2016.The four remaining defendants are Salim Ayyash, also known as Abu Salim; Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa; Hassan Habib Merhi; and Assad Sabra.They are charged with offenses including conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and face maximum sentences of life imprisonment if convicted. Sentences will not be announced Tuesday but will be determined at later hearings.But they are unlikely to serve any prison time: despite international arrest warrants, they still haven't been handed over to the court, and Hezbollah has vowed they never will be. Even if they are all convicted, Hezbollah as a group will not officially be blamed as the tribunal only accuses individuals, not groups or states.Marwan Hamadeh served under Hariri as economy minister, and was himself the target of a car bombing in 2004, a year before Hariri died. Hamadeh survived, although one of his bodyguards was killed.He said that even if no individual is brought to justice at the end of the tribunal hearing, the case will have succeeded in sending a message about the organisation or the country that ordered Hariri's death. "It's going to say there is an organization in Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East who has been, until now, using political murder as a way of putting countries under their control," he said.The verdicts are expected to add to the current turmoil in Lebanon, still reeling after the Beirut port blast. Lebanese officials believe the port explosion was caused by the accidental ignition of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate which was stored in a warehouse there.While it remains unclear what caused the fire that led to the explosion, Hezbollah - which maintains huge influence over Lebanese politics - is being sucked into the public fury directed at the country's ruling class. (Image Credit: AP) Joe Biden will get a preview of whats in store for his potential presidency when the Democratic National Convention starts Monday: pressure from progressives to tack left. Known to brag more about his work across the aisle with Republicans than his progressive bona fides, Biden will be facing an energized left flank that wants to ensure he wont forget them if he wins. We want to be clear: We are saying, Vote for Joe Biden. But we are going to make our demands known, said Marcy Winograd, a delegate from Santa Barbara who is spearheading opposition to Bidens potential foreign policy team. And once he gets elected, there will be no honeymoon. Even without an actual gathering in Milwaukee Democrats are being forced to deliver all four nights of speeches from remote locations because of the coronavirus pandemic Bidens coronation week will be dominated by calls for him to adopt Medicare for All and a Green New Deal and to defund the police. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call 2019 A lot of that heat will be coming from the California delegation, which is led by progressive Bay Area Reps. Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna and the more centrist Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis. Khanna, of Fremont, has already announced that he wont support the partys platform because it doesnt back Medicare for All, a government-administered health care system that would eliminate private insurance. Instead, it would keep the current system and allow users to buy into the government-run Medicare program through a public option, which is Bidens preferred plan. With the coronavirus pandemic highlighting longstanding inequities in the quality and accessibility of medical treatment in the U.S., I believe that moving away from a profit-based health care system is the moral issue of our time, Khanna wrote in an opinion piece. Because of that belief, I could not vote for a platform that lacks a clear statement supporting Medicare for All. Hes not alone. Progressives say more than 750 delegates wont support the partys platform this week, largely for the same reason. While thats not enough to sidetrack the statement of Democratic principles there will be 4,750 delegates at the convention progressives hope it will be enough to send a loud message. Another 400 delegates, led by Winograd, have signed a letter urging Biden not to add several people to his foreign policy team who have demonstrated poor judgment on national security issues in the past. Their do-not-hire list includes several members of the Obama administration, including former undersecretary of defense Michele Flournoy, former United Nations ambassador Samantha Power and former national security adviser Susan Rice, who was on Bidens short list of possible running mates before he chose California Sen. Kamala Harris. Over the weekend, several progressive groups supportive of Sanders hosted an in-person gathering called Peoples Assembly: Building Beyond Bernie in Los Angeles. Organizers, who included several Sanders delegates, say they held this shadow convention where they advocated for Medicare for All and a Green New Deal because the virtual convention denies delegates a voice and renders us invisible. Elsewhere, the Progressive Democrats of America will host two hours of online counterprogramming every night of the convention before the partys prime-time events begin called the Peoples Convention. The message that progressives want to send, said Norman Solomon, a Sanders delegate from Marin County, is that were not kidding around. This is a matter of life and death. Were not going to go quietly into this valley of death, Mr. Biden. And we dont want other people in this country to, either. Solomons organization, Roots Action, is rallying progressives to get behind Biden in several battleground states. It calls its campaign Vote Trump Out/Then Challenge Biden. While it may be harder for progressives to grab media attention without an in-person gathering, Rep. Lee said the virtual convention might engage more people than normal because travel wont be a barrier for those who couldnt afford the trip to Wisconsin. I think this really speaks to how creative we can get, because you certainly have members all over the country, not just in California, who agree or dont agree with aspects of the platform, said Lee, who represents Oakland. Amar Shergill, chair of the California Democratic Partys 800-member progressive caucus, said progressive activists will be hounding Biden the moment he takes his hand off the Bible during his inauguration. Many Democrats will be surprised how aggressive the advocacy campaign will be on day one, Shergill said. Matt Morrison, who is organizing blue-collar voters in several battleground states, isnt concerned that the progressive sniping will alienate centrist voters. Whats pulling Biden and Harris leftward is not forces on the convention stage, its the electorate itself, said Morrison, who is executive director of Working America, a labor-funded group. Its the underlying financial vulnerability of 5 million people losing their health care and 20% of renters facing eviction. Solomon said there isnt the animosity between progressives and Biden that there was with Hillary Clinton at the 2016 convention. Sanders supporters even jeered Lee that year when she mentioned Clintons name at a California delegation breakfast. An estimated 12% of people who voted for Sanders in the primaries went on to back Trump in the general election, according to a Tufts University study. Progressives hated Hillary Clinton, Solomon said. They dont feel that way toward Biden. But that doesnt mean that theyll march in lockstep with him. Khanna argues that even if it doesnt deliver outright victories for progressives, pressure to move the Democratic Party leftward can result in incremental change. Nobody understands the realities of incrementalism better than progressives, Khanna wrote. I see a vote of conscience against the platform as an ultimate show of unity. A party that cannot embrace honest debate and differences of opinion would be too rigid to learn or to grow wiser. Both Khanna and Lee have been at the vanguard of pushing their party to the left not just in Congress, but also in electoral politics. Khanna was a national co-chair of Sanders campaign, and Lee is a longtime member of the House Progressive Caucus and a leading anti-war advocate. But both are also pragmatic. They have actively courted Republicans on issues where they can find common ground and have shown in Washington they can vote for compromises. You look at Congressman Khanna and my past in terms of my legislative efforts and what we have done on a lot of policies, we always work in a bipartisan way on most issues where we come to agreement, Lee told The Chronicle, citing as examples her work on HIV/AIDS, cannabis reform and the military. When Democrats retook the House in 2018, many analysts wondered whether progressives would embrace the hard-line tactics of the GOPs right flank in Congress. The House Freedom Caucus would frequently scuttle legislative deals by refusing to vote for them, forcing Republican leadership to seek Democratic allies if it wanted to pass bills. But progressives have not followed suit, working instead to pull legislation as far to the left as they can in negotiations and then supporting Democratic leadership on the House floor. Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., told The Daily Show that progressives could support Biden and hold him accountable. She was a member of the unity committee that sought to find common policy ground between Sanders and Biden after the former vice president clinched the nomination. Their report formed the base of much of the partys platform. I will be right there with him. I will be doing everything I can to support and get everyone to turn out for Joe Biden, Jayapal said. And I will be pushing him, as soon as we get him in the White House. Democratic convention schedule Monday Speeches by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former first lady Michelle Obama will conclude the evening. Other speakers include Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Tuesday Highlights will be the all-virtual roll call of the states nominating Joe Biden, along with the convention's keynote address by a speaker yet to be announced. Scheduled speakers include New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, former President Bill Clinton, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York, and Jill Biden, the nominee's wife. Wednesday California Sen. Kamala Harris will be nominated for vice president and give her acceptance speech. Other speakers include former President Barack Obama, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Thursday Biden's acceptance speech will be the highlight of the convention's closing evening. Other speakers include Gov. Gavin Newsom, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang. Convention programming will air from 6 to 8 p.m. PDT each evening. There will be more than a dozen options for watching the convention, including the official live stream hosted on DemConvention.com, where viewers can find the full convention schedule. See More Collapse Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer, and Tal Kopan is The Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com, tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli, @talkopan A woman who lost both her legs in a Belfast restaurant bombing has said victims have been treated with "contempt" as a High Court challenge over delays to a Troubles pension begins today. Jennifer McNern was 21 when a bomb believed to have been planted by the IRA exploded in the crowded Abercorn Restaurant in the city centre on March 4, 1972. She had been having coffee with her sister Rosaleen who also lost both legs, her right arm and an eye in the explosion. Two young women, Anne Owens (22) and Janet Bereen (21), died instantly in the blast while many more were seriously injured. Read More Although legislation for a scheme to compensate victims of the Troubles has been passed, there has been no agreement between Stormont and the Government on who should foot the 100m bill. Those considered eligible would receive between 2,000 and 10,000 annually. On Friday, another row emerged after new Government guidance stated that anyone convicted of causing serious harm during the Troubles would not be eligible. Those with a recent terrorism conviction of any sort will also be unable to access the money, according to the guidance. Sinn Fein has claimed it will exclude thousands of republican and nationalist victims while unfairly protecting state forces, and have refused to assign the scheme to the Department of Justice. Frustrated with the long-running delays, Ms McNern has taken a judicial review against the "devastating" refusal of the Executive to administer the scheme. Speaking ahead of the first hearing today, she said: "I have been with the Wave Injured Group from the beginning of the campaign for recognition and acknowledgement for the severely injured. "It's been 10 long and hard years. We have never looked for sympathy. All we ever wanted was to be treated with respect and dignity and not be left as the part of the forgotten legacy of the Troubles." The effort is being supported by the former Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, now Lord Hain. "The treatment of severely injured victims and survivors by the Executive Office is shameful," he said. "That Jennifer should have to go to court to get Executive ministers to do what the law demands is a disgrace. "There needs to be an end to this political intransigence and the scheme implemented without further delay." Ms McNern added: "It shows how little the Executive Office thinks of severely injured victims and survivors that they were not even going to let us know that the scheme was not going to be implemented. "We were told nothing until days before we were due to submit applications. "We feel like we are being treated with contempt". She said the urgency for progress was highlighted after the sudden death of Paddy Cassidy, a member of the Wave Injured Group who died just days before the scheme was due to open. She said: "His death brought home to us all that time is not on our side. We need action now". The delays were also criticised yesterday as "a great stain on the record of this Government" by Ulster Human Rights Watch. Its advocacy manager Axel Schmidt said: "There are no words to describe the cruelty of this quite shameful abdication of responsibility by the national Government. "This was legislation passed by the UK Parliament and the scheme is, therefore, a national scheme. "If the local Executive is incapable of implementing the scheme, then it is the job of Government to step in to end this stalemate." (Newser) Two suspects have been indicted in the 2002 killing of hip-hop artist Jam Master Jay, which until now had been one of New York City's most notorious unsolved killings, two law enforcement officials tell the AP. Federal prosecutors were expected to announce the charges at a news conference Monday afternoon. Jason "Jay" Mizell, known professionally as Jam Master Jay, was a member of 1980s hip-hop sensation Run-DMC, behind hits such as "It's Tricky and the Aerosmith remake collaboration "Walk This Way." The 37-year-old Jay was shot once in the head in his Queens recording studio by a masked assailant, police said at the time. He left behind a wife and three children. story continues below Law enforcement sources identified the two suspects to the New York Times as Ronald Washington, 56, and Karl Jordan Jr., 36. Washington, who had reportedly been living on a couch at Jays home in the days before his death, was publicly named as a possible suspect or witness as far back as 2007. He is currently serving a federal prison sentence stemming from a string of robberies he committed while on the run from police after Jay's death. Jordan was arrested Sunday. Washington provided cover for his associate to shoot and kill Jason Mizell, prosecutors wrote. (Read more Run-DMC stories.) JERUSALEM - The Palestinian-led boycott movement against Israel said Monday that a campaign organizer has been released without charge by Israel after more than two weeks in detention. The BDS campaign said Mahmoud Nawajaa was on his way back to the occupied West Bank. In a statement, Nawajaa thanked his supporters and said a global pressure campaign on his behalf had helped win his release. They cannot break us because they cannot crush an idea or counter our strategy, despite all the financial, intelligence, political, diplomatic and propaganda resources theyve invested, Nawajaa said in a statement. Israels Shin Bet security agency said Nawajaa was arrested on July 30 on suspicion of unspecified security offences. It said the suspicions were not connected to his boycott activities. The Shin Bet said he was freed at the conclusion of its interrogation. The BDS campaign advocates boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel to protest what it says is Israels oppression of the Palestinians. Israel says the BDS movements nonviolent message masks a deeper agenda that aims to delegitimize and even destroy the country. Last week, dozens of Palestinians protested in the West Bank city of Ramallah calling for Nawajaas release. The global human rights group Amnesty International also had called on Israel to immediately and unconditionally free him. Read more about: Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B made history on Monday when her critically-acclaimed sex-positive song WAP, featuring Megan Thee Stallion, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The raunchy track produced by Ayo & Keyz marked the Bronx-born 27-year-old's fourth No. 1 hit and the 25-year-old Texan's second No. 1 hit. 'Good f***ing morning! Number f***in one!' Cardi (born Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar) exclaimed via Instagram. 'Number f***in one!' Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B (R) made history on Monday when her critically-acclaimed sex-positive song WAP, featuring Megan Thee Stallion (L), debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Congrats! The raunchy track produced by Ayo & Keyz marked the Bronx-born 27-year-old's fourth No. 1 hit and the 25-year-old Texan's second No. 1 hit 'My 4th number 1 on billboard hot 100. I'm just so thankful I want to hug the LORD! Thank you soo much @theestallion. I don't even know how to thank you, I wish I can give you a big a** hug! 'Thank you to my fans Megan fans. Thank you the world for listening. I'm just so thankful I can't even type it. Imma get like a bad b***h and tell ya later. Love ya WAAAAAAAPP!' WAP - short for Wet-A** P***y - has also been RIAA certified gold despite heavily sampling Frank Ski's 1993 Baltimore club single Wh***s in This House. Cardi's music video directed by Colin Tilley has also shattered YouTube records earning the biggest ever debut week for an all-female hip-hop collaboration, which has amassed 103M views as of Monday. Cardi (born Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar) exclaimed: 'My 4th number 1 on billboard hot 100. I'm just so thankful I want to hug the LORD!' She added: 'Thank you soo much @theestallion. I don't even know how to thank you, I wish I can give you a big a** hug! Thank you to my fans Megan fans. Thank you the world for listening' Twerk queens: WAP - short for Wet-A** P***y - has also been RIAA certified gold despite heavily sampling Frank Ski's 1993 Baltimore club single Wh***s in This House The former stripper - who boasts 123.2M social media followers - triumphantly tweeted: 'Power of the p***y!' Cardi famously spent $100K just on coronavirus testing on the set of her music video - which featured cameos from two tigers, a leopard, snakes, Kylie Jenner, Normani, and more. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cleverly recoined the title 'Women Against Patriarchy' as it's remarkable for two women to reach success in the typically misogynistic medium of hip-hop. The Hustlers actress' milestone came the day after she interviewed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on the opening day of the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention. Talented twosome: Cardi's music video directed by Colin Tilley has also shattered YouTube records earning the biggest ever debut week for an all-female hip-hop collaboration, which has amassed 103M views as of Monday The former stripper - who boasts 123.2M social media followers - triumphantly tweeted: 'Power of the p***y!' BTS: Cardi famously spent $100K just on coronavirus testing on the set of her music video - which featured cameos from two tigers, a leopard, snakes, Kylie Jenner, Normani, and more 'What I want is free Medicare. It's important to have free [healthcare] because look what is happening right now,' Cardi said via Zoom for Elle Magazine. 'Of course, I think we need free college. And I want Black people to stop getting killed and no justice for it. I'm tired of it. I'm sick of it. I just want laws that are fair to Black citizens and that are fair for cops, too. If you kill somebody who doesn't have a weapon on them, you go to jail. You know what? If I kill somebody, I've got to go to jail. You gotta go to jail, too. That's what I want.' The 77-year-old former Vice President replied: 'There's no reason why we can't have all of that.' The Latina It Girl and her husband Offset - who are parents of two-year-old daughter Kulture Kiari Cephus - will celebrate their third wedding anniversary in September. Politically outspoken: The Hustlers actress' milestone came the day after she interviewed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on the opening day of the virtual 2020 Democratic National Convention Dawson's Creek alum Katie Holmes scraped her hair into a top bun and dressed down in wide-leg blue jeans and Birkenstock sandals to go grocery shopping in Manhattan on Sunday. The Ohio-born 41-year-old wore a T-shirt featuring the obscure cover of The Beatles' 1988 unofficial release in South Korea, Back-Track. Katie made sure to protect herself and others from the coronavirus by wearing a surgical mask, which New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made mandatory for public outings way back on April 15. Errands: Dawson's Creek alum Katie Holmes scraped her hair into a top bun and dressed down in wide-leg blue jeans and Birkenstock sandals to grocery shop in Manhattan on Sunday As of Monday, there have been over 230K confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York City leading to 23,684 deaths - according to Johns Hopkins University. Holmes' street sighting came five days after she announced she was voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden by posting a steamy shot from her InStyle cover shoot in April. The Coda actress received glowing comments from her former design partner Jeanne Yang, High Fidelity star Zoe Kravitz, Camp co-creator Jenni Konner, and InStyle editor Laura Brown who wrote: '#communityservice'. Last week, Katie shared a rare video of her 14-year-old daughter Suri from her six-year marriage to Top Gun: Maverick action star Tom Cruise, which ended in divorce in 2012. Obscure: The Ohio-born 41-year-old wore a T-shirt featuring the cover of The Beatles' 1988 unofficial release in South Korea, Back-Track Hauling three bags: Katie made sure to protect herself and others from the coronavirus by wearing a surgical mask, which New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made mandatory for public outings way back on April 15 '#BidenHarris2020': Holmes' street sighting came five days after she announced she was voting for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden by posting a steamy shot from her InStyle cover shoot in April The Coda actress received glowing comments from her former design partner Jeanne Yang, High Fidelity star Zoe Kravitz, Camp co-creator Jenni Konner, and InStyle editor Laura Brown who wrote: '#communityservice' 'I like to keep [Suri] out of my interviews, but I will say that this time of quarantine has been such a lesson,' Holmes told The Daily Telegraph last Friday. 'Just really looking at everything you have and celebrating the simplicity of making dinner and [spending] that time together.' Worryingly, the 58-year-old Oscar nominee hasn't been pictured with Suri in seven years, even though his custody arrangement allots '10 days a month of visitation' - according to Us Weekly. Some speculate Tom's alleged estrangement has to do with Suri and Katie 'disavowing the Church of Scientology' and devotees don't associate with SPs (suppressive people). Jump for joy! Last week, Katie shared a rare video of her 14-year-old daughter Suri from her six-year marriage to Top Gun: Maverick action star Tom Cruise, which ended in divorce in 2012 Unfortunate: Worryingly, the 58-year-old Oscar nominee hasn't been pictured with Suri in seven years, even though his custody arrangement allots '10 days a month of visitation' (pictured in 2012) '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,' their wedding guest Leah Remini told the New York Post last Wednesday. '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.' The Brahms: The Boy II star plays widowed mother-of-three Miranda Wells in Andy Tennant's dismally-reviewed film The Secret: Dare to Dream, which is now streaming via VOD. The Louisiana-set romantic drama - based on Rhonda Byrne's 2006 self-help book - also features Josh Lucas, Jerry O'Connell, and Celia Weston. Now streaming via VOD! The Boy II star plays widowed mother-of-three Miranda Wells in Andy Tennant's dismally-reviewed film The Secret: Dare to Dream Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 05:54:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KHARTOUM, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)/northern sector, led by Malik Agar, on Monday signed with initial letters on a security arrangements agreement related to South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas. "The agreement was signed in Juba, the capital of South Sudan," said Sudan's Sovereign Council in a statement. The deal included establishment of a mechanism to reform the military and security institution so that there would be one professional and unpoliticized army. It has also been agreed to integrate the SPLM fighters in the military and security institutions within six to 12 months. The SPLM/northern sector has been fighting the government in South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas since 2011. The movement later split into two factions, one led by Malik Agar and the other by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. Earlier on Monday, South Sudan's mediation team expected that the Sudanese government and the armed groups would sign a comprehensive peace deal on Aug. 28, according to a statement by Sudan's Sovereign Council. Since October 2019, South Sudan has been mediating between the Sudanese government and the armed groups from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions to reach a peace deal. Enditem US to Lobby Allies to Deploy Midrange Missiles in Asia Against China, Trump's Envoy Says Sputnik News 12:26 GMT 16.08.2020 No longer bound by the INF Treaty with Russia, which it unilaterally quit last year, Washington is seeking to up its deterrence game against Beijing, with little success so far. The United States is considering the deployment of intermediate-range missiles in Asian countries, including Japan, according to Donald Trump's special envoy for arms control. Marshall Billingslea told Nikkei Asian Review on Friday that the United States wants to engage in talks with "friends and allies" in the Asia Pacific region over what he called "the immediate threat" posed by China's nuclear arsenal. Billingslea added that several branches of the US military are developing hypersonic weapons, which could also be deployed in Asia as deterrence against Beijing. The US official is scheduled to meet with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in Vienna on Monday to discuss a new arms control agreement following the US's unilateral withdrawal from the INF Treaty with Russia. The US opted out of the pact, which banned all of the two nation's ground-based midrange missiles, last year on allegations that Russia violated the agreement by deploying a new type of cruise missile. Moscow denied the claims and accused Washington of pulling out because it wants to ratchet up a new arms race. Confirming Russia's suspicions, Trump very publicly complained that the INF Treaty does not put any limits on China's ballistic missile programme. Billingslea indicated that he would like to agree in Vienna on a framework that would also include China. "Our concept is that it is possible to have bilateral negotiations, us and the Russians and the United States and China, as long as the principles of those negotiations lead to a trilateral framework, in the end," he said. Beijing has so far refused to bind itself by any such deal with the US over concerns that Washington would not cut its arsenal to China's level. The Trump administration signalled last year that it would like to deploy missiles to Asia "sooner rather than later" with the underlying goal of countering China. Speaking in Tokyo in August 2019, US Defence Secretary Mark Esper conceded that it would take "a few years to actually have some type of initial operational-capable missiles" since the US currently does not field land-launched intermediate-range weapons. Australia and South Korea have refused to provide sites for US missiles. According to Japanese media, US officials have raised the topic of deploying new ground-based missiles with their Japanese counterparts, though Tokyo has never officially confirmed such reports. Japan's Defence Minister Taro Kono said in an October interview with The Financial Times that the United States "doesn't have non-nuclear missiles that can be deployed yet. Maybe they're in the phase of development. We have not been discussing any of it." In June, Japan also abandoned plans to deploy the US Argis Ashore missile defence system, citing ballooning costs and technical issues. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Flash High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on Sunday urged Turkey to immediately end renewed drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean. "I call on the Turkish authorities to end these activities immediately and to engage fully and in good faith in a broad dialogue with the European Union," he said in a statement. The statement was issued after Ankara announced on Saturday that it will resume drilling activities by the Yavuz vessel, an ultra-deepwater drillship, in a maritime zone that has been delineated by Cyprus and Egypt. Borrell said the move "regrettably fuels further tensions and insecurity in the Eastern Mediterranean" and "runs counter and undermines efforts to resume dialogue and negotiations, and to pursue immediate de-escalation." In an urgent meeting convened by Borrell on Friday, the foreign ministers of EU member states considered the recent naval mobilizations by Turkey would "lead to greater antagonism and distrust" and supported Borrell to re-establish dialogue and facilitate re-engagement with Turkey. The High Representative will also prepare "options on further appropriate measures in case tensions do not abate," according to the Council of the EU. On Aug. 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country resumed drilling activities in the eastern Mediterranean, one day after Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on the demarcation of the maritime borders between the two countries and setting up an exclusive economic zone between them. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 18:31:35|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NANJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- East China's Jiangsu Province will boost support for the sales of goods originally produced for export in the domestic market, said a circular released by the provincial government. According to the circular, Jiangsu will take 12 new measures, including streamlining certification process for domestic sale of those products and reduce certification fees, to promote integrated development of domestic and foreign trade amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The province will encourage foreign trade companies to make products for the domestic market in accordance with international standards, and support such firms to start online sales, the circular said. Export products will also be introduced in shopping malls, supermarkets, wholesale markets and streets in a bid to help foreign trade companies reduce inventory and recoup funds, according to the circular. In the first half of this year, Jiangsu saw its foreign trade decrease by 2.8 percent year on year to 2 trillion yuan (about 289 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem CBA will provide high-quality analytical services for biopharmaceutical developers and manufacturers The Center for Biopharma Analysis (CBA) supported by the National Biopharma Mission (NBM) of Department of Biotechnology (DBT)- Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) at Pune-based technology business incubator, Venture Center was inaugurated virtually by Secretary, DBT, Dr Renu Swarup. CBA will provide high-quality analytical services for biopharmaceutical developers and manufacturers. This center is envisioned to become a resource center for structural and functional characterization of biologicals and biopharmaceuticals that will create long lasting value for bioentrepreneurs and industry. Inaugurating the facility via video conference, Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, DBT, said that she expects that the CBA will play a pivotal role in supporting biopharma innovations from academic and government research labs, startups and many Indian companies with not only high-quality analytical characterization but also advise on studies needed for regulatory approvals. This can help speed up the development process. Also speaking on the occasion, Prof AK Nangia, Director, CSIR-NCL highlighted how NCL is keen to contribute to the large molecule therapeutics revolution waiting to happen in India as it did for small molecule therapeutics in 1970-80s. Prasanta Biswal, CEO of International Biotech Park Limited, Pune said that IBPL is happy to have contributed CSR support for the CBA infrastructure development and looks forward to working closely with Venture Center and BIRAC in positioning the Pune Knowledge Cluster for excellence in biopharma and medtech development and manufacturing. Using data from sources like the American Kennel Club and Vet Street, Stacker has compiled a list of 55 dog breeds that originated in America. Read on to learn a bit about the histories of each of these dog breeds, whether popular, obscure, or long-extinct. /* custom css */ .tdi_75_5d5.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_5d5 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_5d5.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_5d5.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_5d5.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement From Ahmad SAKA, Bauchi Bauchi State Police Command has arrested a First Bank Staff and four other suspects over misappropriation,breach of trust. State Commissioner of Police lawal Tanko Jimeta told reporters in Bauchi, when he briefed them in Bauchi, He said one Abdulganiyu Tanimu m of Gadau town came to Gadau Police station and reported that one Aliyu Garba m aged 22yrs of Azare town, Katagum L.G.A, came to his POS Shop and withdraw the sum of fifty thousand naira (50,000) through account no. 2000325930 belonging to one Ezeuwean Paul by cashless transfer using mobile no. 08130837887 he became suspicious of him and refused to give him the money, on receipt of the report team of policemen was mobilized and arrested the suspect. /* custom css */ .tdi_74_5bd.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_5bd .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_5bd.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_5bd.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_5bd.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement When interrogation he confessed to have conspired with the following persons namely; Salisu Umar m aged 23yrs, Abbati Mohammed m aged 24yrs, Bilyaminu Usman m aged 25yrs, Abubakar alkali m aged 27yrs all of the same address. Upon preliminary investigation the account number is emanated from one Mustapha Yau staff of First Bank Azare branch he conspired with the above names and withdraw the money without the knowledge of the owner of the account the sum of one hundred and sixty-six thousand naira (166,000) was recovered from them. He gave the name of the five suspects arrested in connection with the cases include Salihu Umar m 23yrs ,Abbati Muhammad m 24yrs,Bilyaminu Usman m 25yrs,Abubakar Alkali m 27yrs and ,Mustapha Yau m a staff of First Bank Azare branch. Jimeta said the case is under investigation and the suspects will be charged to court. /* custom css */ .tdi_76_449.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_449 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_449.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_449.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_449.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } The Democratic Party will convene, sort of, amid a pandemic that has upended the usual pomp-and-circumstance of presidential nominating conventions. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez will be in Milwaukee, which he'd chosen as the 2020 convention host city. But presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, won't be. Nor will the 57 state and territorial delegations, party activists and media hordes that would have filled a downtown arena to see Biden and Harris nominated to take on President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in November. Instead, Democrats will put on essentially an all-virtual convention, broadcasting two hours of prime-time programming starting at 9 p.m, much of it pre-taped, Monday through Thursday. No crowds. No hullabaloo. And no balloons. Here's how to watch (or stream) the convention this week: When is the convention? The Democratic National Convention will be held from Monday, Aug. 17, to Thursday, Aug. 20. It will air for two hours each night, from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern time. Each night has been given a theme: Monday is "We the People," Tuesday is "Leadership Matters," Wednesday is "A More Perfect Union" and Thursday is "America's Promise." ___ How do people tune in? There are more than a dozen ways to watch the entire DNC schedule, including breakout panels, on TV, through smart devices or online. The official livestream of the convention will be available at DemConvention.com. The convention will also stream online on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Amazon Prime Video and Microsoft Bing and on smart devices such as Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku TV. For TV viewers, it will be available on AT&T U-verse, DirecTV and Comcast Xfinity. And the Times Union will livestream the convention as well at timesunion.com. Our coverage begins at 8 p.m. until approximately 11:30 p.m., or 15 minutes after the official program ends. Coverage will include key moments and speeches from the convention, as well as interviews with political insiders. Also look for updates in the Capitol Confidential newsletter. Gov. Andrew Cuomo will be speaking Monday night as part of the convention. ___ Will the networks be covering the convention? Oh, they will indeed. The major news networks have all planned special convention coverage that can be viewed on air, online, and through various social media and devices such as Roku and Apple TV. Here's what the stations have planned: ABC News will air an hour of the convention from 10 to 11 p.m. (all times Eastern); digital coverage will stream on ABC News Live starting at 7 p.m. CBS News will begin covering the event on its streaming platform starting at 2 p.m. The network's TV coverage will air from 10 to 11 p.m. CNN will air convention news from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Fox News will air an hour of the convention, from 10 to 11 p.m. MSNBC will air it from 4 to 11 p.m. NBC News will show an hour of the event, from 10 to 11 p.m. ___ Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Who's speaking when? With the convention cut down to just two hours a night, there will be fewer speakers. And instead of live speeches, the convention will rely more heavily on videos to prevent technical glitches, including for the most popular figures. Former First Lady Michelle Obama was recording her speech from the family's vacation home in Martha's Vineyard, according to the New York Times. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who was Biden's final rival for the nomination, will be featured the first night. Former President Bill Clinton will speak Tuesday. Harris' speech is set for Wednesday, as is Sen. Elizabeth Warren's. She is among several of the women considered in Biden's running mate search who are scheduled to give convention speeches. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also speak the third night, as will gun control advocate Gabrielle Giffords, a former Arizona congresswoman who was critically injured in a mass shooting nearly a decade ago. The speaker list has already drawn some controversy over who was and wasn't included. Some Democrats have argued the schedule favors moderate Democrats and Republicans over progressives and Latinos. Organizers granted speaking slots to former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican. And former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tweeted that he's "honored" to be speaking at the convention, though he's not listed on the official schedule. Former Housing Secretary Julian Castro was not included though other former Democratic presidential candidates were. And progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has reportedly been granted just one minute. In addition to its political stars, the convention will feature performances from musicians including Billie Eilish, the Chicks and John Legend. The official list is subject to change, but here's who is scheduled to address the convention so far: Monday, Aug. 17: Michelle Obama; Sanders; Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Doug Jones of Alabama and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; Govs. Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan; Reps. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Gwen Moore of Wisconsin; and Kasich. Tuesday, Aug. 18: Former acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Sally Yates, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York, former Secretary of State John F. Kerry, Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, former President Clinton and Biden's wife, Jill Biden. Wednesday, Aug. 19: Harris, former President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, Hillary Clinton, Warren, Giffords, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Thursday, Aug. 20: Biden and his family; California Gov. Gavin Newsom; former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms; Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Tammy Duckworth of Illinois and Chris Coons of Delaware; and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang. Arit John of the Los Angeles Times contributed to this report. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 17 By Nargiz Ismayilova Trend: Electronic Security Service (ESS), a coordinating executive body under Azerbaijans Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, attaches great importance to cybersecurity education, which is one of its activity directions, a source in the ministry told Trend. According to the source, all issues within the direction of the service are constantly under strict control. "The Electronic Security Service receives appeals from citizens, regarding information security and cyber security through Cert.az website, 1654 hotline and its profiles in social networks, keeps all of the appeals in the center of attention, conducts respective investigations on this issue and provides methodological and coordination support," the source said. "As its known, the best way to protect oneself from any attack is awareness. From this point of view, in order to educate and inform the population in the field of cybersecurity, www.cert.az regularly posts warnings and recommendations on various topics in the field of cybersecurity." "An example of this are the recent cyber theft cases faced by our country. Thus, according to the information received by the Electronic Security Service, in our country there are massive cyber hacks of the accounts of social network users." "For example, one such method is when cyber criminals use fake "I forgot my password" notifications, send fake links for password recovery to user mobile phones, and track their actions," the source noted. The Electronic Security Service under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies calls on Azerbaijani citizens to be especially careful, take security of social media accounts seriously and to pursue the following general rules. Dont click on suspicious links One of the most common reasons for hacking social media accounts is that users are trapped by cyber fraudsters (phishing). Cyber fraudsters use various techniques to hack login accounts. A user, when clicking on the link, is redirected to a fake login page on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social networks and enters a username and password, only to expose himself/herself. These messages can appear come from anywhere, including a user's friends in social networks. Use strong and unique passwords Weak passwords are one of the most common reasons for hacking social media accounts. Make sure to pick strong passwords. Do not use personal information while setting your password or combinations of words/numbers that are easy to figure out. Don't share your mobile or email notifications about your social media account Dont forward or share e-mails, links, notifications, sent to you, about your account. These notifications contain sensitive information about your account and make it easy to intercept your accounts. Be careful when granting third-party apps and sites access to your account When creating a new account to simplify the process, we often come across options such as "Sign in with Facebook" and "Sign in with Google". Remember that trusted or secure sites and applications also provide other basic registration tools (such as using email). First, check the reliability of the app or web-site. Also check what information is available in your social account for third-party applications that you have given permission. Remove apps you are not using. Don't forget to update Update your browser and operating system regularly. Use antivirus software. The email used in conjunction with the account must be accessible and the mobile phone number must be active! Practice has shown that users often forget the email password used during registration or enter inactive mobile phone numbers. Remember that this email is used to recover your account when intercepted. Dont forget to sign out of your account on public or shared devices Dont use the "Remember Password" function when doing this. Dont log into your social media accounts when using public or private Wi-Fi. Don't accept offers of friendship from strangers Cyber fraudsters can send you friend requests and malicious messages by creating fake accounts to learn more about you. Change your password immediately if you find suspicious activity on your account Finally, don't panic if you can't access your account. Follow the instructions of your social network. For additional help, contact the Electronic Security Service via the official website www.cert.az or by e-mail [email protected] to receive support. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: @IsmailovaNargis Rio Grande Valley, TX | Owners: Alex and Anna Mandea We wanted to be able to offer our customers something extraordinary and just didn't know how to get there on our own. When we discovered Premier, we instantly resonated with the values of the organization and the caliber of people working there, says Anna Mandea, co-owner of Premier Pools & Spas in Rio Grande Valley. Anna and her husband Alex moved to Texas in 2017 with a dream to design and build outdoor living spaces in Annas hometown. Learning through experience and Alexs engineering background, the Mandeas learned quickly in this new industry; three years later they are ready to open their own PPAS franchise. Anna says they look forward to building outstanding relationships in their community and making dreams a reality. The Big Country, TX | Owners: Craig and Cindy Walsh Craig and Cindy Walsh started in the construction business in 2006 but were not introduced to the pool industry until building their own pool with Premier Pools & Spas in 2018. They formed a strong working relationship with the PPAS team and felt their previous experience plus the Premier company culture would be a great fit. Co-owner Cindy Walsh said, We love the experience of owning a pool (and) want to pass this along to other families. Being in Texas, and having a spa, allowed us to use our pool year-round. We saw the value that this brought to our family and we want to help others create that same experience. The Walshs' have 15 years of construction and design experience. Both Craig and Cindy graduated from Texas A&M University in 2001, have been married for 18 years, and have two boys together. They look forward to bringing the Premier Pools & Spas brand to The Big Country! About Premier Pools & Spas Since redefining the pool industry in 1988, Premier Pools & Spas has received numerous awards. This includes several Association of Pool & Spa Professional (APSP) International Awards of Excellence for Design. Premier Pools & Spas was also named National Pool Builder of the year (2006) and were ranked #1 Pool Builder (2012) in the US, by Pool & Spa News. As of 2017, Premier has begun franchising service companies under the name Premier Pool Service. Premier Pools & Spas is an industry leader; with more than 70,000 pools built, and serving more than 65 markets worldwide, Premier Pools & Spas welcomes partnership opportunities with aspiring business owners. Potential Premier Pools & Spas franchisees must pass a comprehensive background check and provide multiple references from vendors and distributors as well as personal and professional contacts. If you are interested in joining the Premier Franchise family, please visit our website or call (844) 243-0860 Im very conscious that Im a writer of history, not a historian, Charles Allen once said at a literary festival in India in 2015, while talking about his book Ashoka the Search for Indias Lost Emperor, which had released in 2012. The work was well-received, and Allen travelled with it, speaking at panels, including the Jaipur Literary Festival, marveling often at the number of youngsters who had come to hear him speak about the Mauryan emperor who, over two millennia ago (from 270 to 233 BC), popularised Buddhism and respect for all sects and communities as a reformed ruler. Allens books achieved a good deal of success, not only because they were written skillfully reviewers across the world spoke highly of his ability to tell a story well but also because they made history, and particularly history of the British in India, more accessible to readers. Long-time associate Toby Sinclair, who worked with Allen on the documentary Bones of The Buddha in 2013, which was broadcast by National Geographic Channel said, Charles talked about the many layers of Indian history and he walked the land he wrote about. Without giving too much prominence to the European rulers, Allen focused on the men or women in the field who studied India, be they local historians or British or European academics, interlinking different bits of information across a wide area of research. It was well written accessible history backed up by rigorous research. Nowhere was this more prominent than in the books on Buddha that Allen wrote. In 2002, The Buddha and the Sahibs, Allen wrote of James Princep, an assay master in the Calcutta Mint who helped decrypt the Brahmi Script of the third century BC, and of the legwork of members of the Asiatic Society who studied Ashokas edicts inscribed on slabs across the subcontinent. In The Buddha and Dr Fuhrer: An Archeological Scandal, which was published in 2008, Anton Fuhrer, an unscrupulous archeologist who trafficked in forged Buddhist relics, is part of the very title of the book. As a review of the 2012 book on Ashoka in the Guardian read, Allen was adept at putting back together such a vast academic jigsaw for the readers benefit. Allen has been critiqued for not adequately acknowledging the study of the subcontinents natural and political history during the British rule as an exercise of colonial aggrandizement an exercise that was brought into sharp focus with critical theorist Edward Saids seminal work, Orientalism. Yet, Allen was not a stranger to these criticisms. After all, in the same 2015 literary festival alluded to above, he went on to say, We use that word history we bandy it about too seriously. History is a minefield. It has always been used as propaganda. We have to look at it with an open mind. Allens association with India went back generations. He was born in Kanpur in 1940, and authored several books, including Plain Tales from the Raj: Images of British India in the Twentieth Century and Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling. He passed away at his home in England on August 16. He is survived by his children and his wife, Elizabeth. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Paleontologists have found that Aulacopleura koninckii, a species of trilobite that lived around 429 million years ago (Silurian period), was equipped with a fully modern type of visual system an apposition compound eye comparable to that of living bees, dragonflies and many diurnal crustaceans. Trilobites are extinct marine arthropods that dominated the ecosystems of the Paleozoic era (542-251 million years ago). From the very beginning of their appearance they were equipped with compound eyes, which during the Cambrian explosion and later differentiated into highly diverse visual systems. The most basic type, and still very common among diurnal insects and crustaceans, is the apposition compound eye. It consists of up to 30,000 individual, more or less identical receptor units, so-called ommatidia, optically isolated from each other by a set of screening pigment cells. In a new study, University of Colognes Dr. Brigitte Schoenemann and Dr. Euan Clarkson from the University of Edinburgh used digital microscopy to examine apposition compound eyes of a small trilobite called Aulacopleura koninckii. This extinct species was first described in 1846 by the French-Czech paleontologist Joachim Barrande, a pioneer of trilobite research, from specimens collected at several paleontological sites near Lodenice in the Czech Republic. The excellently-preserved specimen studied by the study authors is 1-2 mm high and has two protruding semi-oval eyes on the back of its head, one of which has broken off. They identified a number of internal structures that are similar to those of the compound eyes of many modern insects and crustaceans, including their ommatidia (measuring 35 m in diameter) that contain eight light-detecting cells grouped around a transparent tube called a rhabdom. Each visual unit is topped with a thick lens and the remains of what the paleontologists suggest is a flat crystalline cone that light passed through before being focused onto the rhabdom. The small size of its visual units indicates that Aulacopleura koninckii lived in bright, shallow waters and was probably active during the day, as smaller diameter lenses are efficient at capturing light under bright conditions. The presence of pigment cell barriers between visual units suggests that the trilobite had mosaic vision with each visual unit contributing a small portion of the overall image, similar to the compound eyes of many modern insects and crustaceans. The researchers also think that Aulacopleura koninckii likely was a translucent trilobite, comparable to modern shrimps and other smaller aquatic crustaceans with translucent shells, providing an excellent camouflage in water. This 429-million-year-old trilobite already possessed a modern type of compound eye, and it is shown that the principles of vision in modern honeybee or dragonflies, as many crustaceans, is almost half a billion years old, they said. Its excellent preservation expressly underlines the relevance and potentials of insights into the fossil record in understanding the evolution to functional principles to modern sensory systems of today. The teams paper was published in the journal Scientific Reports. _____ B. Choenemann & E.N.K. Clarkson. 2020. Insights into a 429-million-year-old compound eye. Sci Rep 10, 12029; doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-69219-0 James Altucher, who co-owns a comedy club in the city and also describes himself as an angel investor and author, is among the many who have fled. He is convinced the city will never recover A born and bred New Yorker has laid bare why the city will never recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, a dark week of looting in June and its ongoing struggle against escalating crime, homelessness and violence. James Altucher, who co-owns a comedy club in the city and also describes himself as an angel investor and author, is among the many who have fled New York City. He and his family fled to Miami after the June riots and looting made them fear for their lives and their children's safety, when people tried to break into his apartment building. He is convinced that the city will not 'bounce back', as many claim it will, and explains that unlike in previous times of crisis like 9/11 or the crime wave of the 70s, there is nothing bringing people back now because everyone can work remotely. 'Even in the 1970s, and through the 80s, when NYC was going bankrupt, even when it was the crime capital of the U.S. or close to it, it was still the capital of the business world (meaning, it was the primary place young people would go to build wealth and find opportunity,' he wrote in his blog. 'It was culturally on top of its game home to artists, theater, media, advertising, publishing. And it was probably the food capital of the U.S. 'NYC has never been locked down for five months. Not in any pandemic, war, financial crisis, never. 'In the middle of the polio epidemic, when little kids (including my mother) were becoming paralyzed or dying (my mother ended up with a bad leg), NYC didnt go through this,' he wrote. THE END OF NYC CULTURE One of the things that used to attract people to the city is its endless amount of attractions. Now, all entertainment venues are closed for the foreseeable future. 'I love NYC. When I first moved to NYC, it was a dream come true. Every corner was like a theater production happening right in front of me. So much personality, so many stories. 'Every subculture I loved was in NYC. I could play chess all day and night. I could go to comedy clubs. 'I could start any type of business. I could meet people. I had family, friends, opportunities. No matter what happened to me, NYC was a net I could fall back on and bounce back up. 'Now its completely dead. An abandoned Times Square on Saturday with a billboard welcoming people back to the city. Thousands have fled, crime is on the rise and there is growing concern for how leaders like de Blasio and Cuomo are responding to the crisis But NYC always always bounces back. No. Not this time. But NYC is the center of the financial universe. Opportunities will flourish here again. Not this time. This time is different. Youre never supposed to say that but this time its true. If you believe this time is no different, that NYC is resilient, I hope youre right. NYC has experienced worse. No it hasnt,' he wrote. His comedy club are among those that have closed. 'Its a great club. Its been around since 1986 and before that it was a theater...we have no idea when we will open. Nobody has any idea. 'And the longer we remain closed, the less chance we will ever reopen profitably. 'Broadway is closed until at least the spring. The Lincoln Center is closed. All the museums are closed. 'Forget about the tens of thousands of jobs lost in these cultural centers. Forget even about the millions of dollars of tourist-generated revenues lost by the closing of these centers. 'There are thousands of performers, producers, artists, and the entire ecosystem of art, theater, production, curation, that surrounds these cultural centers. People who have worked all of their lives for the right to be able to perform even once on Broadway, whose lives and careers have been put on hold. 'I get it. There was a pandemic. 'But the question now is: What happens next? And, given the uncertainty (since there is no known answer), and given the fact that people, cities, economies loathe uncertainty, we simply dont know the answer and thats a bad thing for New York City. ' Among the biggest loss is the closure of restaurants. 'My favorite restaurant is closed for good. OK, lets go to my second favorite. Closed for good. Third favorite, closed for good,' he said. FASTER INTERNET MAKES WORKING FROM HOME EASIER THAN AFTER 9/11 'I lived three blocks from Ground Zero on 9/11. 'Downtown, where I lived, was destroyed, but it came roaring back within two years. Such sadness and hardship and then quickly that area became the most attractive area in New York. 'And in 2008/2009, there was much suffering during the Great Recession, again much hardship, but things came roaring back. 'But this time is different. Youre never supposed to say that but this time its true. 'If you believe this time is no different, that NYC is resilient, I hope youre right. 'I dont benefit from saying any of this. I love NYC. I was born there. Ive lived there forever. I STILL live there. I love everything about NYC. I want 2019 back. FILE - A woman wearing a mask walks her dog past the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, June 30, 2020. Wall Street is a ghost town now, like the rest of the city, with more and more people continuing to work from home 'But this time is different. One reason: Bandwidth.' In 2008, the average bandwidth speed was megabits per second, which was not fast enough for a Zoom meeting. Now, it's 20 per second. 'Theres a before and after. BEFORE: No remote work. AFTER: Everyone can work remotely. The difference: bandwidth got faster. And thats basically it. People have left New York City and have moved completely into virtual worlds. 'The Time-Life Building doesnt need to fill up again. Wall Street can now stretch across every street instead of just being one building in Manhattan. 'We are officially AB: After Bandwidth. And for the entire history of NYC (the world) until now, we were BB: Before Bandwidth. Remote learning, remote meetings, remote offices, remote performance, remote everything. In 2005, a hedge fund manager was visiting my office and said, In Manhattan you practically trip over opportunities in the street. Now the streets are empty. 'Thats what is different,' he said. Later, he said bleakly: 'Businesses are remote and they arent returning to the office. 'And its a death spiral the longer offices remain empty, the longer they will remain empty. 'In 2005, a hedge fund manager was visiting my office and said, In Manhattan you practically trip over opportunities in the street. 'Now the streets are empty.' HOMELESSNESS AND CRIME ON THE RISE Altucher also cites a Facebook group where residents aired their concerns. 'In the last week: I watched a homeless person lose his mind and start attacking random pedestrians. Including spitting on, throwing stuff at, and swatting. 'Ive seen several single parents with a child asking for money for food. And then, when someone gave them food, tossed the food right back at them. I watched a man yell racist slurs at every single race of people while charging, then stopping before going too far.' Another said: 'Ive been living in New York City for about 10 years. It has definitely gotten worse and theres no end in sight. 'My favorite park is Madison Square Park. About a month ago a 19-year-old girl was shot and killed across the street. 'I dont think I have an answer but I do think its clear: its time to move out of NYC. 'Im not the only one who feels this way, either. In my building alone, the rent has plummeted almost 30% more people are moving away than ever before. So Homeless people in New York City on August 14. Some residents say they no longer want to stay in New York because the homeless population is growing and becoming more aggressive In the last week, there have been more than 60 shootings across New York City that have left 76 people injured and 14 dead. Above, one crime scene on August 16 'Its not goodbye yet. But a lifelong New Yorker is thinking about it.' Altucher said he was not tempted to leave until June, when riots and looting took over the city for a week. 'Nothing was wrong with the protests but I was a little nervous when I saw videos of rioters after curfew trying to break into my building,' he wrote. He has now moved with his family to south Florida and is unsure if they'll come back. 'Im temporarily, although maybe permanently, in South Florida now. I also got my place sight unseen,' he wrote. Not everyone shares his view. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase, said recently there was still a need to bring people back into offices. Facebook is also investing in New York City to try to ensure it will remain a global business center. As shootings spiral, there is also a growing homeless problem with encampments popping up all over Manhattan. 13,000 homeless people have also been moved into hotels around the city In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising The Sergeants Benevolent Association, the largest NYPD union, is endorsing Trump for re-election. The union is furious with de Blasio for stripping some of the police department's resources President Trump has lashed out at New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio after a weekend of violence in which at least 50 people were shot in various incidents across the city His comments come as the NYPD's largest union - the Sergeants Benevolent Association - has taken the unorthodox step of formally endorsing Trump because cops are so frustrated with de Blasio's handling of the city. In June, he stripped the NYPD of $1billion in response to Black Lives Matter protesters who wanted to defund the department entirely. Trump has vowed to revitalize the city if he wins the November election, but he hasn't yet explained how. De Blasio remains in power until November 2021. He cannot be re-elected. On Monday morning, the President phoned into Fox & Friends to discuss a range of issues, including New York City. 'The mayor has no response. He doesn't know what he's doing, he's a fool. 'He's a socialist, communist maybe he's a fool. He got rid of some of the most talented policemen that there are in the world and that includes looking for very bad things all beyond New York. 'Some of those people are gone and that's no good. No, this is a fool. This is a fool.' he said of de Blasio. Crime has shot up in recent weeks, particularly shootings. There were more than 60 shootings across New York City in the last week, leaving 76 people injured. Trump said on Monday: 'Look at the shootings. When I left New York four years ago, New York was, I could see the seeds of this because he's been a bad mayor but new York was good. 'It was okay. It all happened recently. It all came together. All of this over a period of years as he's been mayor, but about a year, and then six months ago, it's incredible what happened. 'When I left New York four years ago, we were doing great. I was doing good. Everybody was doing good. Now but you could see the seeds were being sewn. 'The seeds it was happening, bad stuff was happening you could see it, the squeegies were starting to come out, tents were starting to be built on the sidewall.' The President then praised Rudy Giuliani as a 'great mayor' who did 'a great job'. 'Rudy Giuliani did a great job, between window, you know, fixed broken windows because he said that's a sign and it leads a lot of people wouldn't even understand that. 'It's psychologically very important but Rudy, he was a great mayor and he did stop and frisk. He did stop and frisk. He took guns away from bad people. 'Now, if you take a gun away from a bad people oh, you got, you know, they sue you. 'They sue you. It's so crazy what they've allowed to happen,' he fumed. Trump added that most of the country was 'strong' and 'law abiding', but that Democratic cities like New York, Chicago and Portland are 'run by fools'. Last week, it emerged that 13,000 apartments were sitting empty in New York, the highest number in 14 years. NYC and San Francisco see housing prices fall and homes linger on the market for longer amid COVID-19 pandemic - as demand for rental properties in US cities drops nationally New York City and San Francisco have seen housing prices fall and homes linger on the market for longer amid the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for rental properties in US cities has dropped nationally. Despite initial reports that city-dwellers were snatching up homes in the suburbs amid the pandemic, housing prices in urban areas have actually been keeping pace with suburban regions across the country, according to a data analysis by Zillow. The exception to that trend, however, is being seen in NYC and San Francisco - the nation's two most expensive housing markets. The analysis looked into whether the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent explosion in people working from home had kicked off a boom in typically less-expensive suburban areas. It found that the rate of newly pending sales, which is a leading indicator of completed sales, has picked up since February in both urban and suburban areas. Price cuts have moved evenly through the crisis with most areas having seen price cuts decelerate relative to February and slightly more so in the suburbs San Francisco has seen an even bigger flood of new listings. Homes for sale is now up 97 percent this month compared to last year, according to the report States in the Northeast show new pending listings volume in urban ZIP codes re-accelerating more slowly than in the suburbs, the report shows. It likely comes from larger declines in overall inventory. The Northeast added much less urban inventory early into the pandemic, leading to fewer possible sales later Zillow economist Jeff Tucker said this trend showed there was no widespread evidence that Americans were buying up properties in the suburbs in a bid to flee cities. The number of houses on the market in NYC has surged but buyer demand has not kept pace, according to StreetEasy's July Market Report. Homes for sale in the city's five boroughs was up 6.1 percent in early August compared to last year and the number of rental properties across the city is up 63 percent. The Zillow report says many sellers have accepted offers well below their asking price and homes are typically lingering on the market longer than usual - almost twice as long as last year in Manhattan alone. Meanwhile, San Francisco has seen an even bigger flood of new listings. Homes for sale is now up 97 percent this month compared to last year and listing prices have fallen 4.9 percent, the Zillow report shows. 'When you step back and look at the bigger picture, it seems that those writing off urban real estate have done so prematurely,' Tucker said. 'There is some localized evidence of a softer urban market, particularly in the highest-priced markets, San Francisco and Manhattan, and an eye-catching divergence in sale prices, but no evidence of a widespread flight to suburban pastures. 'The primary issue in much of the country is the inventory drought, both urban and suburban, that's failing to meet the surprisingly robust demand from buyers eager to lock in record-low mortgage rates.' Suburban home listings on Zillow are not getting any more attention compared to last year, according to the report. Homes in the suburbs attract about three times the number of views that urban homes do but that is no different from last year. Total page views on Zillow were up about 42 percent year over year in June, which was spread across suburban, urban and rural markets. It shows that housing demand is high generally but not that buyers are flocking to homes in the suburbs in greater numbers than in previous years. The rental market, however, has taken a hit nationally with rent prices in cities slowing more than in the suburbs compared to this time last year, according to the report. While rent prices were stable earlier this year, rental demand has been hit by the spike in unemployment and the millions of young people that have moved in with parents or grandparents, the report says. The typical urban ZIP code saw a decrease in rental demand of 2 percent from February to June, while the typical suburban ZIP code fell 1.4 percent in the same time frame. Before the pandemic, demand was moving upward but both urban and suburban rentals have fallen below their pre-crisis trends. Of the 43 major metros analyzed by Zillow, 24 saw higher rent growth in suburban ZIP codes compared to urban ZIPs. Urban areas in New York saw a 3.8 percent drop in rental demand and a 1.3 percent decline in suburban areas. Dallas saw rental demand drop 3.7 percent in urban areas but only 0.5 percent in the suburbs. Rental demand dropped 3.9 percent in San Francisco's urban areas but only declined by 1.3 percent in the suburbs. Phoenix saw rental demand drop 3.2 percent in urban areas compared to the 2.8 percent drop in suburbia. Pittsburgh's urban areas saw a decline of 3.8 percent but only a 2.4 percent drop in suburban areas One Black doctor is working on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic as a medical student at the same facility where he once worked as a security guard. Dr. Russell Ledet, who worked security at Baton Rouge General Medical Center for about five years, said that he would study medicine on note cards and ask doctors that passed by if he could shadow them. Ledet said that while many of the medical professionals told him that they didnt have the time, Dr. Patrick Greiffenstein, the chief surgery resident, was one mentor willing to take him under his wing. MORE:15 medical students pose in front of slave quarters at plantation in powerful photo This is one of those reflective points when you're trying to understand how far you've come and how far you got to go, Ledet told "Good Morning America." Ledet, a U.S. Navy veteran, has a Ph.D. in molecular oncology from New York University and is currently enrolled in both the M.B.A. program and medical school at Tulane. PHOTO: Dr. Russell Ledet, a medical student at Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Louisiana, is working at the same facility where he previously worked as a security guard. Photo courtesy of Russell J. Ledet. (Courtesy of Russell J. Ledet) Now he has returned to that exact same facility helping patients while also paving the way for other young students of color hoping to enter into medicine. He calls the opportunity to treat Louisiana patients near where he grew up in Lake Charles a reminder of his humble beginnings. PHOTO: Dr. Russell Ledet, a medical student at Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Louisiana, smiles alongside his wife and two daughters on Dec. 14, 2019. (Courtesy of Russell J. Ledet) He says that although hes proud of how far hes come, the reality of todays racial climate has produced an ongoing trauma for him and his family, so much so that he says his wife of 14 years encourages him not to leave the house without his white coat in the car. My two little Black girls can turn on the TV, once a week, sometimes once a month, and they see a video of somebody who looks like them being murdered and its legal," Ledet said. "These kinds of things are happening and no matter how much education I have, society doesnt see me as a human. To help change that image, the 34-year-old organized an image that went viral of him standing alongside his fellow Black students from Tulane Universitys Student National Medical Association while wearing their white coats in front of Whitney Plantation, a former slave plantation turned museum. Story continues PHOTO: Dr. Russell Ledet, co-founder of 'The 15 White Coats,' stands alongside fellow students from Tulane University's Student National Medical Association in front of a former plantation on Dec. 14, 2019. (Courtesy of The 15 White Coats) "The idea of the photo was to illustrate our presence essentially, and the history behind where we are today," Ledet told "GMA" in December. Since that powerful moment, the company The 15 White Coats was born, which provides opportunities for minority medical students around the world. The organization's long-term goal is to start a high school in Louisiana that prepares kids to become doctors. Additionally, Ledet says that the photos are now being used as cultural imagery so that the next generation knows whats possible. MORE: Doctor delivers baby 25 years after delivering his mom I'm from Louisiana," Ledet said. "Being from here and understanding a lot of the health burdens and health disparities, I know if I'm not loud about it, then who will be?" Former security guard now a medical student at the hospital where he worked originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com President Donald Trump planned to send more than $1,200 stimulus payments to millions of Americans to help them through the current economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to Trump, millions of Americans are supposed to receive more than $1,200 stimulus payments this month. The president has always expressed support for the second round of stimulus payments, but Congress did not act on it. According to an article, Trump said the Democrats were the reason why the sending of the next stimulus payments did not happen immediately. To somehow address the financial problems of millions of Americans, Trump signed and issued an executive order that expanded the unemployment claim. However, the president could not issue an executive order for the next stimulus payment because it needs approval from Congress. For this reason, during the stimulus negotiations, Trump said Congress must act because millions of Americans are waiting. In a tweet, Trump wrote on Friday: "DEMOCRATS ARE HOLDING THIS UP!" Trump has already instructed Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to get ready to send $3,400 to a family of four. While waiting for this to happen, four states will first receive the unemployment benefits. These are Iowa, Louisiana, Arizona, and New Mexico. These were the first states who agreed in the program to cover the cost of $100 in the $400 federal unemployment benefit. Last month, Trump said his goal was to send an even larger stimulus payment compared to the first stimulus payment. However, stimulus negotiators failed to act on this because they keep blaming each other. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said top negotiators from the Democrats are still rejecting the stimulus relief package and are pushing for demands that have no relationship with COVID-19. "They are still rejecting any more relief for anyone unless they get a flood of demands with no real relationship to COVID-19," he said. The two groups have found common ground to help millions of Americans. However, they disagreed when it comes to weekly unemployment benefits. The Democrats wanted to continue the $600 weekly unemployment aid. However, the Republicans wanted to cut it down at $200 with additional cash to those who will go back to work. As stimulus negotiators failed failed to send the next relief aid to millions of Americans in need, Trump issued executive orders that would provide immediate and vital relief to Americans. Both Congress and the Senate are now in recess, and most lawmakers focused on the upcoming Democrats and Republicans conventions. The Democrats will be busy this week as they nominate Joe Biden for President and Kamala Harris for Vice President. On the other hand, the Republicans will be busy to renominate Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The most optimistic time frame to have the stimulus payments be discussed and likely be on the hands of millions of Americans will be in September. Not unless the House will call for a special session to tackle the new round of relief bill. Check these out! In 2008, residents of Iowa waited a day for a major disaster declaration when an EF-5 tornado struck Parkersburg. That twister cut through Butler and Black Hawk and counties, killed nine people and injured dozens. It destroyed nearly 200 homes, totaling several millions of dollars in damages. President George W. Bush granted then-Gov. Chet Culvers disaster declaration request within 24 hours. Culver used a provision in the federal code available to all governors: After catastrophic events the state can ask for a waiver to begin the flow of federal help immediately. Its been a week since the massive derecho storm hit. Thousands of Iowans already struggling and frustrated due to the COVID-19 pandemic are now left without homes and hot food and many were in their eighth day without power on Monday. They wonder where the help is. Where's the help? We cannot pull ourselves up by the bootstraps without boots, Desiree Sade, a Cedar Rapids resident, wrote in an online interview with IowaWatch. She spent several days coordinating help for disabled and elderly residents. The help is coming, state leaders say. Gov. Kim Reynolds submitted a nearly $4 billion request for federal aid Sunday. On Aug. 10, a huge storm ripped up trees, flattened corn fields and left the landscape littered with downed electrical poles, remnants of roofs and semi trailers turned on Iowas highways. The term derecho was first used by a University of Iowa professor in 1888 to describe the widespread straightline windstorms. Last weeks derecho traveled 770 miles in 14 hours with winds of up to 112 mph. With more than 50,000 cases of COVID-19 and as of Sunday 975 deaths, the devastation brought by last weeks derecho feels like an insult piled on injury. Between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Monday, leaders of Marshall County communities were allotted five minutes each to discuss disaster updates with state officials, according to an email from Reynolds team. It was Reynolds second visit to the town since the derecho. I dont have anyone to send. I cant go. My guys are already working overtime digging out from the storm, and we get five minutes to tell her what? We dont even know what is going on yet, Steve Sodders told IowaWatch on Sunday. Sodders, a former Democratic state senator from Marshall County is now the mayor of State Center, which had extensive damage. I was watching out the window and it was incredible the way the wind was whipping up, then down, and then swirled up, he said in a phone interview. Though the town sustained significant damage one person was rescued from his car smashed by a tree limb it only lost power for about 10 minutes. The city has its own electric company. In that way, Sodders said they are lucky. Reynolds has faced questions from Iowans criticizing what they see as a lack of urgency to ask President Trump for a federal disaster declaration. IowaWatch asked why the state didn't use the same 2008 waiver provision for a single county like the Parkersburg declaration. In the case of the derecho, that would mean Linn County would be issued a federal declaration and Cedar Rapids could potentially secure much needed resources. Reynolds' spokesman Pat Garrett said the governor was following a different process to allow for more aid and pursuing a major disaster declaration. IowaWatch pointed out the 2008 designation was that of a major disaster. Garrett agreed, but said it was limited in scope and Culver had to go back several times and ask for more. However limited, that declaration allowed for immediate assistance directly to Butler County, and eventually included Black Hawk and surrounding communities. It also assigned a federal coordinator to work with state and local authorities and established a central location to assist families face to face. Not only does a federal disaster declaration help cover costs incurred by state and local government, direct monetary assistance is also available. Although the state declaration provides some direct individual payments for losses, the federal declaration again offsets the ultimate cost to the state taxpayers. The state process for disaster declaration appears to be limited and then expands as the devastation becomes clearer. Reynolds issued the initial declaration the day of the storm, which covered six counties, but not Linn County with Cedar Rapids. As of Aug. 14 Reynolds issued five disaster proclamations due to the derecho, which now covers 27 counties. At the end of the Friday news conference a reporter asked if any aid already in the state could be used. Reynolds said, were looking at everything. She said they would check if tweaking the CARES funding would be allowed. According to the latest federal guidance CARES Act funds cannot be used for anything but COVID-19 related expenses, cannot be used to cover revenue shortfalls or expenses that can or will be reimbursed under any other federal program. This is beyond us Iowans remember the storms of 2008 a summer of tornadoes, severe weather and massive flooding. Parkersburg was not the only disaster that year. Cedar Rapids, the states second-largest city, was submerged when the Cedar River crested 20 feet above flood stage. But officials there are saying the devastation by last weeks derecho is more widespread than the historic flooding. The 2008 flooding hit a specific section of the city, said Kristin Roberts, the president and CEO of the United Way of Eastern Iowa. Other areas fully functioned. This affected the entire city. That is the challenge to work around. Everyone is in the same boat, she said. The derecho left Cedar Rapids at a near standstill no one goes to work, communication is slowly being restored, everyone focuses on the next need. Roberts couldnt leave her neighborhood for two days because of the downed trees. On Tuesday, Reynolds saw the destruction. Cedar Rapids the towns logo is a tree had half the canopy ripped away. She was to Thursday again for a news conference but it was held Friday. (Vice President Mike Pence made a campaign stop Thursday in Des Moines to launch the Farmers and Ranchers for Trump coalition. Reynolds accompanied Pence to Living History Farms near the capital, where he met with some farmers and looked through copies of pictures of flattened cornfields. Later he was the keynote speaker at a private GOP fundraiser in Urbandale. Pence didnt visit a single farm.) Residents have struggled to find gas for generators and food and water. Neighbors and strangers are coming to their aid. Sade, the resident helping disabled and elderly, has been getting food and other supplies through a Facebook-based fundraising campaign. As of Saturday, donations totaled $3,000. My late father was disabled and had he been alive he wouldve been trapped in a second-floor apartment with no power, no way to get a hold of me and no one to help him, Sade said. I know many of our seniors do not have the luxury of having family that are able to assist them during these times, Sade, the founder of a nonprofit animal rescue Adopt A Pal, wrote to IowaWatch in an online interview. Sades own home was damaged; the derecho took out a big pine tree and part of a fence. There was also damage to the house and garage. We put our house on the back burner for now as far as most cleanup goes because we feel like others have more pressing issues that we can help with, she said. Like a bomb went off A spot did not exist in Iowas second-largest city that didnt sustain damage, city officials said. It basically looks like a bomb went off, Michael Hachey of Cedar Rapids said. He and Andrew Alberts, also of Cedar Rapids, were among the many professional workers cutting trees for residents needing fast help. They were in Cedar Rapids for the 2008 flood. Its not just low-lying, riverside areas that were affected, Hachey said about this storm, although 2008 was devastating. Weve heard a lot of people say that theyve purchased these homes in this area for the mature trees, and everything, and now theyre gone, Alberts, a lifelong resident of the citys northwest side, told IowaWatch. Tree removal companies ranged from small cutters like Alberts and Hachey to those with cranes, necessary to remove huge trees from houses roofs. Companies with cranes were charging in the $15,000 to $18,000 range in some instances. Blake Rowland, living on Grand Avenue SE, said this is the worst storm damage hes ever seen in Cedar Rapids. Everyone felt something from it, he said. Kavin Martin, who lives about a block away from Rowland on Grand Avenue SE, used a generator for temporary power that kept his food from spoiling. Surrounded by fallen trees and power lines along the street, Martin said the toppling trees missed his house and car. I feel blessed, he said. United Way of Eastern Iowa is coordinating volunteers and donations. It is coordinating with a group of organizations to meet needs and skills to specific areas. Call (224) 406-1366 or go to uweci.org/volunteernow. Roberts said 14 out-of-state organizations are headed to Iowa to help. One is the United Cajun Navy out of Louisiana, bringing in food and other supplies. The Cajun Navy assists hurricane victims, according to its website. The need is great and will go on for some time, Roberts said. God bless every single person who has helped their neighbor. This is beyond us, she said. She urged residents to give grace to leaders who likely have had property damage or injuries and to also watch out for scams when giving a donation. Down to the dime Back in Marshall County, Maureen Gummert is frustrated. We are sick and tired and there isnt a way for us to go get help and there is no help in sight. She lived through the 2018 tornado that took out a good part of town though fortunately spared lives. She and her wife, Shawn, are currently recovering from COVID-19 and are raising a 5-year-old daughter with a rare genetic disorder. Fortunately, they have a generator. We cant just pick up and move to a hotel with our special needs child, who needs a special bed and is on a special medication schedule. But there isnt gas, she told IowaWatch in an online interview, people had to drive 50 miles to get gas for their generators. Some parts of town have power, others dont. With the massive number of trees straining on power lines, it isnt safe for crews to even get in. Sodders told IowaWatch State Center, like neighbors in Cedar Rapids, pulled together to clean up. But as a small town mayor he worries about money We are still trying to dig out from COVID, he said. We took a financial hit from that, and it is still going on. But now with the storm I dont know where were going to have to pull money from. Sodders and the workers in State Center are keeping track of the money the city spends on disaster clean-up, down to the dime. Because Marshall County is one of the 27 counties Reynolds declared state disaster areas, the city can recoup the cost of clean up. But, Sodders said, a federal declaration is needed because in essence it frees monies to pay back the state for the cleanup and means Sodders and other mayors facing an already rocky fiscal outlook wont have to consider raising property taxes on citizens who are already suffering from the one-two punch of COVID and the derecho. Federal dollars are taxpayer dollars and they are there for a reason, he said, just like when a hurricane hits down South, Iowas federal taxpayers help foot the bill for those folks suffering. This story was produced by the Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism-IowaWatch, a non-profit, online news website that collaborates with news organizations to produce explanatory and investigative reporting. Read more at www.IowaWatch.org. Suzanne Behnke and Lyle Muller, of IowaWatch, contributed to this report. 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. MILFORD A man accused of kicking his dog to death saw a judge Monday raise the the charges from misdemeanor animal cruelty to a felony. The judge also issued a protective order against 43-year-old Nazareno Goldston, requiring he stay away from his relative and her residence. Advocates were outside Superior Court in Milford pushing for the court to levy more serious charges against Goldston and bring awareness to the issue of animal cruelty and its connection with domestic abuse. It was animal control and police who responded earlier this month to a report of a domestic dispute and pronounced the dog dead. Goldston also is charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with a 911 call, after police said he grabbed the phone during an argument while a relative was trying to call for help. Neither Goldston nor the public defender appointed to him in court Monday could be reached for comment. Zilla Cannamela, co-founder and president of animals rights organization Desmonds Army, said the court needs to be reminded about how social violence, domestic violence and animal cruelty can be interwoven. Milford has been an issue where theyve been soft on animal cruelty, Cannamela said. Wed like to see Milford take animal cruelty more seriously. Approximately 15 people, some with Desmonds Army and others there in support, held signs outside the courthouse and garnered honks of support from passersby. Cannamela said animal cruelty is a crime that often occurs before heinous acts are committed against people, so if the judicial system were to take animal cruelty more seriously, it could prevent violence against human beings. Advocates said the judges decision in court Monday was a positive step in the case and a win for their cause. Milford resident Tim McLaughlin said he was shocked to read that Goldstons initial charges were misdemeanors, given the nature of the case. The more details I found out (about the case) the more I waned to take action, McLaughlin said. McLaughlins first introduction to the Milford court system was as an advocate for his sister, who was severely beaten by a neighbor. Her attacker, Russell Molleur, originally was offered and accepted a plea deal for a sentence of eight years in prison suspended after two years served, and three years of probation, with the right at sentencing to argue for a full suspended sentence. McLaughlin gained enormous public support in his quest to have the more severe consequences in play and, in the end, the judge tossed the deal and Molleur received a sentence of eight years in prison, suspended after four years served, and five years of probation. McLaughlin said Monday he couldnt believe the leniency of the court in his sisters case and worried the court in Goldstons case would be similarly lenient. When I saw this case I thought it would slip through without our pressure on the court to prosecute him, McLaughlin said. Im not going to stand by when someone kicked a dog to death and was only charged with a misdemeanor. Cannamela said not every case of animal cruelty deserves a jail sentence, but cases in which theres violence, perpetrators should serve jail time in addition to receiving counseling. The judge also honored a request for a student from the University of Connecticut School of Law to be an advocate on the case, something for which Desmonds Army organizers also were pushing. Cannamela said having an advocate in animal cruelty cases helps with the court taking them more seriously and giving a voice to animals, as they aid the prosecutor. mdignan@hearstmediact.com TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tampa General Hospital is honored to again be recognized on Forbes' 2020 list of America's Best Employers for Women. The 1006-bed academic medical center is ranked 24th out of the top 300 employers on the list. Tampa General is also ranked third in the "Healthcare & Social" industry category and is also the primary teaching hospital of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. The organization last received this prestigious honor in 2018. "Tampa General Hospital's vision is to become the safest and most innovative academic medical center in the United States. Our culture and team members are just as important to us as our patients. We are incredibly proud of this prestigious recognition from Forbes. We continue to grow and develop our team members and leaders, and are proud of the fact that more than 75 percent of our talented workforce is comprised of women and more than 70 percent of our leadership positions are held by women," said John Couris, President & CEO of Tampa General Hospital. Forbes worked with Statista, a research firm that surveyed 75,000 Americans including 45,000 women. The survey went to individuals working for organizations with more than 1,000 employees in 31 industries. Questions were about company culture, career development, image, working condition, salary, wage and diversity. At Tampa General Hospital, there are many reasons why both men and women prefer to launch their career inside the hospital or beyond at one of TGH's more than 50 locations including primary care, urgent care medical imaging or general outpatient centers. Attracting and retaining top talent is a top strategic initiative at TGH. Tampa General is committed to ensuring flexible work schedules and supportive solutions to address present day challenges including a Team Member Emergency Fund to provide financial support or working with team members to accommodate reduced hours requests. Additionally, TGH offers robust training and education programs designed to support working women looking to advance their careers. Recognizing the need to care for their talent holistically, Tampa General offers on-site child care, lactation rooms for nursing mothers and an overall commitment to health and wellness. TGH offers the wellness platform Virgin Pulse, at no cost, to all team members to incentivize them to lead physically, mentally and emotionally healthy lifestyles. "I know I speak for my colleagues when I say that I'm proud to work for an organization that is ranked among America's best employers for women. Not only is TGH a great place to work for women, but all genders and races and ethnicities. One of the best things about working at TGH is the diversity at all levels of the organization, which allows us as an organization to gain different thoughts, experiences and perspectives from a broad-spectrum of team members. It makes for a better culture, and a better patient experience" said Stacey Brandt, EVP and Chief Strategy Marketing Officer of Tampa General Hospital. The evaluation process for the list was based on four different criteria: direct recommendations on general work topics, direct recommendations on topics relevant for women, indirect recommendations and diversity among executives and board members. The 300 companies receiving the highest total scores were awarded as the Best Employers for Women 2020. Tampa General Hospital fosters an environment where caregivers provide the highest quality care with kindness and respect. Tampa General is an equal opportunity educator and employer. If you are interested in learning more about a career with Tampa General Hospital, please visit our website at www.tgh.org/careers or call (813) 844-7551. ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL Tampa General Hospital, a 1006-bed non-profit academic medical center, delivers world-class care as the region's only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. It is one of the nation's busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital's footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health and 18 outpatient Radiology Centers. Tampa Bay residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track. As one of the largest hospitals in Florida, Tampa General Hospital is first in the state to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost. For more information, go to www.tgh.org. ABOUT FORBES MEDIA The defining voice of entrepreneurial capitalism, Forbes champions success by celebrating those who have made it, and those who aspire to make it. Forbes convenes and curates the most influential leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving change, transforming business and making a significant impact on the world. The Forbes brand today reaches more than 120 million people worldwide through its trusted journalism, signature LIVE events, custom marketing programs and 40 licensed local editions in 70 countries. Forbes Media's brand extensions include real estate, education and financial services license agreements. For more information, visit the Forbes News Hub or Forbes Connect. Media Contact: Phil Buck Public Relations Specialist (813) 844-4666 (direct) (406) 370-6226 (cell) [email protected] SOURCE Tampa General Hospital Related Links https://www.tgh.org Work continues on Clear Lakes multimillion-dollar Marriott hotel and event center project, despite COVID-19s global impact on the hospitality industry. Excavation, underground utilities and footings have been completed and construction of the concrete elevator shaft has begun at the projects future site in Courtway Park east of Interstate 35. Our project is coming along well, said Scott Flory, Clear Lake city administrator. The hotel the citys first in at least 20 years was celebrated with a groundbreaking ceremony in late June after the Clear Lake City Council approved a development agreement with JSM Investment LLC, of Johnston. The project features an 85-room Marriott-brand hotel and an attached conference center and event space that accommodates about 450 people. The building will be positioned on the southern four acres of Lot 4 in the Courtway Park subdivision with one entrance from Bayou Road. Marriott International Inc. posted its second quarter results Monday, which were significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The companys net loss totaled $234 million for the quarter, a drop from the $232 million in net income it reported a year prior. It is the hotel chains first quarterly loss in nearly nine years, Reuters reported. Marriott President and CEO Arne Sorenson said in a press release Monday that the business is seeing steady signs of demand returning. Currently, 96% of Marriott hotels in North Iowa are open today and occupancy rates are increasing, the company reported earlier this week. While the full recovery from COVID-19 will clearly take time, the current trends we are seeing reinforce our view that when people feel safe traveling, demand returns quickly, Sorenson said. At the end of the quarter, Marriotts worldwide development pipeline totaled nearly 3,000 hotels and about 510,000 rooms, 45% of which are under construction. Kalpesh Patel, CEO at VKB Management LLC, of West Des Moines, and Ryan Huegerick, CEO at HCI Hotel Supply, of Omaha, Nebraska, are the development team behind the Marriott hotel and event center project in Clear Lake. Patel and Huegerick described their companies as a packaged development team. HCI Hotel Supply, of Omaha, Nebraska, builds hotels and VKB Management, of West Des Moines, owns and operates them. As part of the development agreement, the city plans to offer a forgivable loan to JSM Investment not to exceed $1.2 million funded by incremental property tax revenues, a 10-year incremental property tax rebate agreement not to exceed $1.5 million with payments subject to annual appropriation by the council, and an additional $300,000 in construction incentives from incremental property taxes. Clear Lake has agreed to pay the developer $150,000 if construction of the project, including at a minimum the excavation of utilities or footings, began before June 30. Another $150,000 will be paid to the developer if the hotel is operational by June 30, 2021. The city has also agreed to reimburse JSM Investment up to $50,000 to cover a portion of the franchise application fee to Marriott International, which was reviewed and approved in early April. The Fairfield by Marriott hotel in Clear Lake will be among nearly 20 in Iowa, and its the only one along Interstate 35 between Ames and Burnsville, Minnesota, which Flory said speaks volumes about the developers and Marriotts confidence in the community. The Courtway Park subdivision comprises 11 lots six highway commercial and five light industrial and two roadways and curb and gutter on nearly 64 acres east of Interstate 35 and north of Highway 122. Ashley Stewart covers Clear Lake and arts and entertainment in North Iowa for the Globe Gazette. You can reach her at ashley.stewart@globegazette.com or by phone at 641-421-0533. Follow Ashley on Twitter at GGastewart. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. (Newser) Spain's former king set off a global guessing game earlier this month when he left the country amid financial controversy. Nobody seemed to know where Juan Carlos I went. Now, Spain's royal household has confirmed rumors that the 82-year-old former monarch has holed up in the United Arab Emirates, reports the BBC. Separately, Spain's justice minister said Juan Carlos would return to Spain if he's summoned to appear in court, per El Pais. story continues below "If the justice system is looking for him, he will immediately appear," says Juan Carlos Campo. Meanwhile, critics want to know who covered the estimated $166,000 cost of the relocation to the UAE. The former king gave up the throne to his son, King Felipe, in 2014, and he has been beset by a number of scandals since. In the latest, he's accused of receiving improper payments from Saudi Arabia involving a high-speed rail contract. (Read more King Juan Carlos I stories.) Upcoming political events in the Bay Area. Events take place online unless otherwise noted: 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 take part in a debate hosted by sf.citi. 5 p.m. More information is here. FRIDAY 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. SATURDAY Save the post office: Protests planned at post offices around the Bay Area in response to the Trump administrations efforts to suppress mail voting. 11 a.m. List of protests is here. 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. TUESDAY 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. SEPT. 12 Flipping Texas: A Zoom event in support of Democratic candidates for the Texas state House, Sharon Hirsch and Akilah Bacy. Sponsored by Sister District CA Peninsula. 6 p.m. More information is here. To list an event, please email Chronicle politics editor Trapper Byrne at tbyrne@sfchronicle.com Warren Buffetts Berkshire Hathaway has sold its common stock interest in Occidental Petroleum, according to a regulatory filing cited by Bloomberg. Berkshire Hathaway had bought $10 billion in Oxy shares to help fund the companys acquisition of Anadarko, which in hindsight, turned into one of the most ill-timed acquisitions in the history of oil. The acquisition cost Oxy some $55 billion and was aimed at expanding its presence in the U.S. shale patch. In addition to the investment that helped fund the deal, Buffetts investment vehicle also accumulated more interest in the oil company as Oxy paid its latest quarterly dividend in shares because it lacked the cash. The exit could add to already significant pressure on Occidental, which has been desperately trying to turn things around as it became the worst-performing oil company on the S&P 500 Energy Index, shedding 64 percent since the start of the year. The news about Buffetts offloading of his stake in the company will hardly serve to push the stock higher. Occidental reported a net loss of $8.4 billion for the second quarter of the year, booking impairment charges on its oil and gas assets because of the slump in oil prices. These came in at $6.6 billion. Of this, $5.2 billion in impairments was booked on continuing operations. Oxy has a debt load of some $40 billion, most of which it took on last year when it bought sector player Anadarko just months before oil prices tanked. About $11 billion of this debt matures by 2022, and the company is actively seeking ways to conserve and generate cash. Part of its efforts in this direction had it agree to sell its African operations to Frances Total for $8.8 billion, but the supermajor only bought Oxys assets in Mozambique and South Africa. According to Total, an understanding between Occidental and the Algerian authorities prevented the company from selling that business, on which the Ghana asset sale was contingent. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Jammu: In an ongoing anti-terror operation, one more terrorist was killed on Monday (August 17). One terrorist was earlier killed in the encounter that broke between forces and terrorists in Kreeri village of Baramullah district of North Kashmir where earlier terrorists attacked a security checkpoint and three soldiers were martyred. According to police, the terrorist killed in Kreeri encounter was one of the attackers on the security forces. A police official said that one terrorist has been killed in an ongoing encounter that broke after the terror attack between forces and terrorists in Kreeri village of Baramullah district of North Kashmir. The encounter broke out after a few hours the joint security forces party was attacked in which one SPO of Jammu Kashmir police and two CRPF soldiers got martyred. Kashmir zone police earlier twitted, #Encounter has started at #Kreeri area of #Baramulla. So far, 01 attacker killed. Police and security forces are on the job. #Operation going on. Further details shall follow. @JmuKmrPolice" Confirming the encounter, IGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar said that one terrorist was killed in the encounter. Kerala government takes over church amid resistance from followers India pti-Madhuri Adnal Kochi, Aug 17: The Kerala government took over a church in Mulanthuruthy in the wee hours on Monday amid strong resistance by followers of the Jacobite church, as part of implementing a 2017 Supreme Court order granting possession of over 1,100 churches to the rival Orthodox faction, police said here. Police entered the ancient Cathedral in Mulanthuruthy, armed with a recent Kerala High Court order directing to take over it on a contempt of court petition filed by the Orthodox vicar. Hundreds of Jacobite church followers, led by their priests, had gathered inside and outside the church since Sunday night locking its gate from inside preventing the police from taking its custody. Four who helped procure gold in Kerala smuggling case arrested Police broke open the gate of the church using a cutter and forcefully removed the priests and followers before taking over its control. Police entered the church wearing PPE kits to protect themselves from COVID-19 infection during the action to take over the Church. The Jacobite Church condemned the police action, alleging the administration "acted in haste to satisfy the needs of someone". Several priests and followers were injured in the police action, they alleged. Early this month, the Kerala High Court had directed the Ernakulam district Collector to take over the Mulanthuruthy church. In his petition, the Orthodox faction priest had sought to initiate contempt proceedings against the Ernakulam Collector and others for not implementing the court's earlier directive to hand over the administration of the church to the Orthodox faction. The High Court had pointed out that despite the Supreme Court order and directives by the High Court, the petitioners were not in a position to function and discharge their duties. In 2017, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the Orthodox faction on a dispute with the rival Jacobite faction over control of over 1,100 churches. Netanyahu Says UAE-Israel Peace Deal Shows Arab Countries Won't be 'Held Hostage by Palestinians' Sputnik News 22:29 GMT 16.08.2020 The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel on Thursday agreed to sign a treaty to begin the process of normalising relations, in a deal said to have been brokered by US President Donald Trump. The Israeli Prime Minister claims that the new relationship between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv will lead to an agreement with the Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that a normalising of relations with the United Arab Emirates shows that Arab countries will not be "held hostage by the Palestinians". In an interview with Fox News' Eric Shawn, Netanyahu enthusiastically celebrated the promise of the treaty and hoped for a prosperous future between Israel and its Arab neighbors. "If we join forces we can do wonderful things, limitless things," he said, "for the benefit of our people, their well-being, and for their security. All I could tell you is I have been talking to Arab leaders," he said, in reference to a visit he recently made to Oman. "I can tell you that's not the only meeting that I've had in the region". Netanyahu did not specify which leaders he met with but suggested that relations could improve with other countries. The Israeli PM said that the deal with the UAE - the first with a Gulf state - is "good for peace, good for security, good for prosperity" and described both counties as "two of the most advanced economies in the world" and "two of the most moderate" countries that share the common goal of opposing Iran and terrorism". Netanyahu suggested that Israel's drive against Iran was appealing to Gulf countries who have been involved in historic conflicts with the Islamic republic. "Nobody wants to make peace with a weak country," he remarked, adding, "everybody wants to make peace with a strong country". Netanyahu asserted that countries that once considered Israel an enemy could now see an "indispensable ally" in Tel Aviv. "I think Arab countries are coming around to see that they can't be held hostage by the Palestinians," he stated, adding that countries in the Middle East have "their own interests to develop peace with Israel, to exchange technology, to exchange things like the coronavirus vaccine development". The Tel Aviv PM also said that relying on the Palestinians to "veto on peace" between Israel and the Arab world would not allow an agreement to be possible, as, he claims, the Palestinian Authority is not interested in a "realistic settlement". Netanyahu called the Trump plans "the only realistic proposal" in decades, predicting that peaceful relations between Tel Aviv and the Arab world would lead to the Palestinians accepting Israeli regional policies "in a more realistic way". While those Arab countries thought by the Israeli PM to be considering a move toward more cordial relations with Tel Aviv were not mentioned by name, Oman and Bahrain are known to have expressed support for a renewed arrangement with the UAE, as has Egypt, which normalised relations with Israel in 1979. The only other Arab country to do the same is Jordan in 1994. Arab nations have historically held ending the Israeli encroachment on Palestinian territory as a prerequisite to normalised relations. Many Gulf states, including the UAE, have maintained de facto relations with Tel Aviv due to a shared alliance with the US. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, has presented his credentials to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. The credentials presentation was done on Monday, August 17, 2020 ahead of the Commissioning and handing over of the Secretariat to the African Union Commission today. During the presentation, the Minister assured the Secretary-General of the Government of Ghana's commitment in working closely with him towards the successful implementation of the Agreement. She reiterated the importance of the AfCFTA Agreement in transforming the lives of Africans. Ms Ayorkor Botchwey expressed appreciation to the African Union Commission for their continued cooperation in transitioning the interim Secretariat of the AfCFTA from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to the permanent Secretariat in Accra, Ghana; She highlighted that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa now more than ever needs to catalyse its industrialization process with the aim of increasing intra-African trade. The minister urged the Secretary-General to use his good offices to encourage Member States to ratify the Agreement to facilitate negotiations and decision-making processes as well as mobilise resources for the work of the Secretariat. She recalled the decision to postpone the start of trading to 1 January, 2021 and encourage the Secretary-General to work diligently towards completing all outstanding work and negotiations before the deadline. She indicated the need to leverage on the excitement of Africans towards this historic Agreement and remind the Secretary-General to implement people-centred policies to benefit the ordinary African. She assured the Secretary- General of her availability and that of the Ministry to assist him in the discharge of his duties and to make his tenure fulfilling. ---Daily Guide This is such an honor....We will keep expanding and continue our commitment to reinvesting heavily into R&D. We want to ensure our growing number of traders are cared for and that our service and software are always at the cutting edge. - Lane Mendelsohn, President, Vantagepoint AI Vantagepoint AI, the first company in the world to give independent traders the power of artificial intelligence to forecast market trends, has been recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing privately held businesses in the United States. Vantagepoint has been empowering traders for over 40 years. The companys founder, Louis Mendelsohn, essentially created the FinTech industry for independent traders. Our annual Inc. 5000 list is the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies, notes Inc. magazines Editor-in-Chief, Scott Omelianuk, The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economys most dynamic segmentits independent small businesses. Vantagepoint has been on a steady path of growth and innovation. Over the past three years, the company has seen an almost 60% growth. This is such an honor, says Lane Mendelsohn, President of Vantagepoint AI. We began as a small business at my parents kitchen table and today we are part of an elite group of companies that has included Microsoft, Timberland, Intuit, Oracle, and Patagonia. Also noteworthy is the guidance Lane Mendelsohn brings to the company. As the second generation of the family to lead the business, he has focused on building the companys reach to empower as many traders as possible without losing the personal touch for which Vantagepoint is highly regarded. We will keep expanding and continue our commitment to reinvesting heavily into R&D. We want to ensure our growing number of traders are cared for and that our service and software are always at the cutting edge. About Vantagepoint AI, LLC.: Vantagepoint AI, creator of VantagePoint Software, is a leader in trading software research and software development forecasting Stocks, Options, Futures, Forex, and ETFs with proven accuracy of up to 87.4%. Vantagepoints patented Neural Network processes predict changes in market trend direction up to three days in advance, enabling traders to get in and out of trades at optimal times with confidence. Vantagepoint actively gives back to the Tampa Bay community donating more than $680,000 to date to local charities, Shriners Hospitals for Children and the Childrens Cancer Center. The coronavirus pandemic is still very much with us, but in the midst of it all there is the good news that more than 2,400 people in Northern Ireland have volunteered to take part in Covid-19 vaccine trials in order to overcome this deadly disease. (PA) The coronavirus pandemic is still very much with us, but in the midst of it all there is the good news that more than 2,400 people in Northern Ireland have volunteered to take part in Covid-19 vaccine trials in order to overcome this deadly disease. This commendable effort by people in our province reflects well on the co-operation of our volunteers who are prepared to put themselves on the line to help people from all backgrounds. Those who will most directly benefit include the over-65s, the frontline health and social care workers and people from ethnic minorities. Kate Bingham from Vaccines Taskforce says "protecting those at risk is the only way we will end this pandemic". The decision to volunteer for vaccine trials takes courage, and a public-mindedness that should not be taken for granted. The initiative of these people has rightly won the praise of the Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis who has also appealed for more volunteers. A perfect example is Dr Josef Kuriacose, who reveals in today's paper why he is happy to step forward. Originally from India, he eventually settled in Magherafelt some 44 years ago, and he has extensive experience of working in medicine as a consultant and as a GP. He says "Throughout history we have tackled measles, polio, smallpox, rubella, and all through finding a vaccine. Vaccines have doubled life expectancy in the past 250 years, and that is remarkable." His vision is compelling. "We have seen the problems the virus has caused. The deaths, the economic impact, the impact on our children and their education. "Any trial of a potential vaccine is about building a better future. I want our children to enjoy life. I don't want to see them robbed of an education. I don't want to see shops being closed." Dr Kuriacose is most perceptive when he says: "This is a very difficult time we're living in with this virus but do we just shut down the world and do nothing, or do we try to prevent further suffering?" We are indebted to the brave example of this good doctor who sums up by saying: "We have to make the future happen. What we do today will influence the lives which our future generations will get to live." Dr Kuriacose and his fellow volunteers are an inspiration and his words might encourage yet more volunteers to step forward. 7 Kids in Michigan Rescued in Michigan Sweep, Including 16-Year-Old Locked in Barn: Sheriff A Michigan sheriffs office task force located seven missing children, including a 16-year-old who was described as being locked inside a barn. Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson said in a news conference that the Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team, or GHOST, led an investigation that resulted in the arrests of 17 people. They also found seven children who were lost in the cracks, Swanson added. They set up six human trafficking stings in about five months, Swanson noted. Agents posed as children between the ages of 13 and 15 on social media sites. People who arrived at locations with the expectation to abduct or assault those children were arrested instead, he said, reported MLive. In one instance, officials located a 16-year-old in a barn surrounded by barbed wire. The sheriff added that it appears the girl was being held by human traffickers. The fear in her eyes was real, he said at the conference. Among the suspects who were arrested was a firefighter who was previously a police officer for several agencies. His name was not disclosed but was charged with three felonies. Over the course of the operation, Swanson said that law enforcement made contact with about 2,000 people who were seeking vulnerable teenagers. The ones that actually come (to meet the child), those are ones that are going to really harm, he said. These are people from all walks of life, he added of the suspects now under arrest. These suspects face multiple charges including using a computer to commit a crime, accosting a child for immoral purposes, and possession of child sexual abuse material. Some of the felonies can lead to 20-year prison terms. National stats confirm that a pedophile or predator taken off the street can save the life of 25 future victims, said Swanson, as reported by WNEM-TV. I dont want to take police reports of people that have already been assaulted, said Swanson. I want to find the people before they hurt the victims. A man reported missing from a Florida hospital has been arrested hiding in the backyard of a local attorney's home after she was found dead in a 'random killing'. William Franklin, 33, has been charged with first-degree murder and burglary with a battery after the death of 44-year-old Erin Hartigan. The body of Orange County attorney Hartigan was found in the early hours of Sunday morning by her mom, who woke to the sound of a struggle and called 911. At least three bloody knives are said to have been found at the scene in Orlando. Franklin had earlier been reported missing from Orlando Health Regional Medical Center. He was arrested hiding his victim's backyard, wearing only his boxer shorts and a shirt and is said to have told police he had been swimming a nearby lake. William Franklin, 33, left, has been charged with first-degree murder and burglary with a battery after the death of 44-year-old Erin Hartigan, right He is said to have told cops he cannot remember what happened after he was 'given some type of drug which caused him to lose his memory' at Orlando Health. It is not known why Franklin had been in hospital but there is not thought to be any link between the suspect and his alleged victim. Police believe her killing was random, detectives told clickorlando.com. The hospital is less than a mile from Hartigan's home where she lived with her mom. At least three bloody knives are said to have been found at the scene in Orlando Home surveillance footage is said to have shown Franklin behind neighbor's homes A police report states: 'Ms. Hartigan got out of bed and opened her door at which time she saw Erin lying on the floor. She saw an individual standing over her. 'Once she opened the door, the individual stood up, turned away from her and walked down the hallway.' Home surveillance footage is said to have shown Franklin behind neighbor's homes. The investigation continues. A married businessman whose body was found in a Queensland hotel room died when a sex act with a prostitute went horribly wrong, police will allege, as she remains behind bars charged with manslaughter. Madeleine Joan Lewin, 32, allegedly killed Brisbane man Anthony Brady, 52, at the Sunshine Tower Hotel in Cairns on Wednesday. Mr Brady had been in Cairns on a business trip but failed to return to his family in the Queensland capital on Thursday. Hotel staff and police discovered his body about 4pm on Friday, with Lewin arrested on Sunday morning. Police allege Mr Brady's death was the result of a sexual encounter with Lewin that went wrong in the hotel room. Brisbane businessman Anthony Brady (pictured) was found dead in a hotel room in Cairns on Friday Sex worker Madeleine Joan Lewin (pictured) has been charged with manslaughter over Mr Brady's death Police will allege Lewin owed Mr Brady a 'duty of care' but instead fled the hotel room on Wednesday night, according to The Courier Mail. Court documents from Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday state police believe Mr Brady died 'on or about' last Thursday following his meeting with the sex worker the night before. CCTV footage from a Caltex petrol station shows Mr Brady buying items before returning to his hotel on Wednesday evening. Exactly what happened next remains unclear. Brady's family raised the alarm when he did not arrive home in Brisbane the next day. Queensland Police officers combed through drains and shrubs close to where he was last sighted. Lewin was arrested on Sunday morning at Manoora, a suburb of Cairns, and fronted Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday. Mr Brady was captured on CCTV in a Caltex service station on Wednesday, August 12 before heading back to Sunshine Tower Hotel where he was found dead on Friday Police initially released an image of Lewin in an effort to identify her to help with their investigation. They now allege Mr Brady's death was due to a sex act gone wrong between the pair She was on parole at the time of the arrest and had previously been named only as a person of interest on Saturday, with police releasing images of her as part of a public information campaign. Lewin had gone missing from the NSW central coast less than a year before her dramatic arrest 2,000 kilometres away in north Queensland. Originally from Gladesville on Sydney's lower north shore, Lewin was known to move throughout the central coast and far north Queensland. Lewin was reported missing in mid-2019, with NSW police releasing a picture of her with long hair. She will reappear in court on Tuesday. NSW Police released this image of Lewin when she was reported as a missing person in 2019 Mr Brady had been staying at the Cairns Plaza Hotel on the city's esplanade, about 650 metres away from the Sunshine Tower Hotel where his body was discovered. Cairns Police Detective Senior Sergeant Ed Kinbacher told media that Mr Brady was a 'family man' and that his death had shocked his loved ones. 'He was last seen on Wednesday night. We have managed to track his movements to about 9pm that night where he was on Sheridan Street,' Det Snr Sgt Kinbacher said. TIMELINE OF MYSTERY - THE DEATH OF TONY BRADY: Monday, August 10 - Anthony Brady, 52, arrives in Cairns from Brisbane for a series of key work meetings Wednesday, August 12 - Mr Brady attends business meetings during the day. - About 9pm that night he is seen at a service station on Sheridan Street in Cairns Thursday, August 13 - Mr Brady is due to attend a number of business meetings and then fly home to Brisbane, but he does not attend his meetings and misses his flight - Late on Thursday evening his family raise the alarm Friday, August 14 - Police and hotel staff find Mr Brady's body in a Sunshine Tower Hotel room. He was staying at a different hotel 650 metres away Saturday, August 15 - Police issue an appeal of help to find Mr Brady and identify one key woman of interest, Madeleine Joan Lewin, 32 Sunday, August 16 - Ms Lewin is arrested in Cairns and is charged with manslaughter Advertisement 'It appears that he was just going about his business inside the service station, he has obtained some items and then left. 'This man is a person of regular habits, he is a family man, he had flights back to south Queensland the following day and he didn't attend the flight, nor did he attend the business arrangements he had the following day. 'My understanding is this is only the second time he had been in Cairns on business, and that was in the last few months. He'd attended functions in the days prior to his disappearance.' Mr Brady's cousin Ian Brady posted on Facebook that he hopes those responsible for 'taking his life away' are brought to justice. 'Unfortunately Tonys body was found yesterday,' he wrote. 'We dont have much more information yet, hopefully the investigation will quickly bring justice to those responsible for taking his life away.' Detectives from State Crime Command's Homicide Squad have travelled to Cairns to assist with the investigation. Acting Detective Inspector Jason Smith said a post-mortem examination was being carried out that would 'reveal more information to police' about the death. 'The circumstances of the death appear suspicious at this stage, however we're keeping an open mind. 'We currently have four homicide investigation officers here in Cairns assisting with the investigation,' he said. Det Ins Smith said officers are working with Mr Brady's family during the investigation. 'A police family liaison officer has been appointed and we are keeping the family of the deceased updated on the progress of this investigation and well keep talking to them as it progresses further through the courts,' he said. 'Were keep trying to keep everything as discreet as possible for them.' Queensland Police believe a number of people could have seen Mr Brady on the streets of Cairns on the night he was last seen. Anyone with information regarding Mr Brady's death have been urged to call Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Former Flybe shareholders are preparing legal action over claims they were misled about the airline's performance before it was sold in a cut-price deal last year. Several dozen retail investors want a judge to decide if former directors put out inaccurate statements and overstated how well the company was doing. The shareholders' investments were wiped out after they received just 1p per share when it was sold in early 2019 to a group called Connect Airways, which was led by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin. The budget airline's stock had been trading at 16.4p per share, valuing it at 36m, the day before the rescue deal was announced. But the 1p offer was 94 per cent lower than this and left the amount owed to shareholders at just 2.2m, even though the airline raised another 2.8m by selling assets. Flybe had put itself up for sale in late 2018 after running into financial difficulties. Connect bought Flybe, but the airline eventually went bust this year after the coronavirus crisis hit bookings and the Government refused to hand it a 100m bailout loan. The former shareholders want to claim compensation and have hired a UK law firm to put together a case to see if they can take ex-directors including then-chairman Simon Laffin and chief executive Christine Ourmieres-Widener to court. One investor, who did not wish to be named, lost 350,000 because of the rock-bottom sale price. The investor said: 'First, the impact this has had on me as an individual is irreversible. Life changing measures have had to be made including having to sell assets etc to survive. Mentally this has also been very challenging.' Another investor said: 'The use of language, often repeated by the board, to stimulate investment, maximise shareholder value and provide for a stable and positive future for the business, was influential in my decision to invest.' A spokesman for the law firm said: 'We are exploring the merits of a potential claim by shareholders against the former directors of Flybe for their alleged misconduct and mishandling of the company's affairs. We are analysing the prospects of recovery and whether the board has insurance. 'We will be considering the robustness of the sale process and seeking answers as to how confidential information surrounding terms of the takeover was leaked to the media, which resulted in Flybe having little to no opportunity to mitigate its position. 'The directors could be potentially accountable for any failure to provide accurate and true statements and failing to act in the best interests of the company and shareholders.' Laffin and Ourmieres-Widener declined to comment. Hannah Witheridge and David Miller were murdered on a Thai island in 2014. (PA) The parents of a murdered British backpacker have welcomed the king of Thailands decision to spare the killers the death penalty. Two Burmese workers were sentenced to death in 2015 after being found guilty of murdering David Miller, 24, from Jersey, and Hannah Witheridge, 23, from Norfolk. They were found dead in Thailand on a beach on the island of Koh Tao in September 2014. Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, also known as Win Zaw Tun, were sentenced to death for the murder of Mr Miller and the murder and rape of Miss Witheridge. Read more: A-level students take legal action against Ofqual But in a review, their sentences have been commuted to life imprisonment to commemorate King Vajiralongkorn's birthday and to show his clemency. Ian and Sue Miller said in a statement: "We are grateful to His Majesty the King of Thailand for showing his clemency to the murderers of our son David. The couple have campaigned against the death penalty. "Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo finally admitted to the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge and the murder of our son. Zaw Lin and Wai Phyo, who murdered two British backpackers, have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment. (AP) "The final admittance of their guilt has allowed this act of clemency to become possible. They said it had brought an end to a "lengthy and disturbing period" in which social media activists had tried to influence public opinion and the Thai courts. "But in the end the truth has been revealed," the couple, from St Helier, said. Every moment we miss our son. Our thoughts are also with the Witheridge family and the tragic loss of their daughter. Read more: 2 million jobs will be lost as furlough scheme ends "We hope that these two murderers will now spend a very, very long time in jail where they cannot harm other families and will have time to reflect on the consequences of their acts." Ian, left, and Sue Miller, right, with their son Michael outside a Thai court, say they are grateful their son David's killers will not be executed. (PA) The kings pardon decree, published on Friday, applies to all death-row inmates in Thailand. It was published to mark the kings birthday on 28 July and to illustrate the kings clemency. Mr Miller, a civil and structural engineering graduate, and Miss Witheridge, a student at the University of Essex, were bludgeoned to death. The mens murder convictions were upheld in a court of appeal in 2017 and in the Thai Supreme Court in 2019. European Union leaders will hold an emergency video conference about a deepening political crisis in Belarus, bloc officials have said, expressing support for a protest movement rallying against the disputed re-election of longtime President Alexander Lukashenko. The EU has agreed to impose sanctions on Belarusian officials it deems responsible for alleged election fraud and a violent crackdown on mass protests that followed an August 9 vote in which the official count gave Lukashenko 80 percent of the vote. His opponents say the election was rigged. The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader, said Charles Michel, president of the European Council, which represents the 27 national governments, in announcing Wednesdays video conference. Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed. Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, welcomed the upcoming talks, writing on Twitter: The people of Belarus need to know that the EU stands by them firmly, and that those responsible for human rights violations and for violence will be sanctioned. The EUs top diplomat, Josep Borrell, also called on Monday for a thorough and transparent investigation into the reports of abuse and mistreatment of thousands of protesters. Describing a huge protest in the capital, Minsk, on Sunday as the largest rally in Belarusian modern history, Borrell said, The sheer numbers clearly show that the Belarusian population wants change, and wants it now. The EU stands by them. A senior EU official, speaking to Reuters News Agency on condition of anonymity, said Wednesdays gathering would also send a message to Russia not to meddle in the former Soviet republic. Lukashenko has accused Belaruss EU neighbours of interfering and has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered comprehensive help to ensure the security of Belarus if needed. The way out of the crisis is through an end to violence, through de-escalation, through dialogue and without outside interference, said the official, without naming Russia. The EU does not see Russian military intervention in Belarus, a landlocked country of 9.5 million, as a likely scenario for now, according to diplomats. The announcement of the video conference came as Lukashenko said he was prepared to relinquish some of his authority through constitutional changes that would come not under pressure and not through the streets according to an official transcript. The president, who has been in power since 1994, suggested that such amendments could be put to a referendum with input from the political opposition. Come, sit down and lets work on the Constitution. Well put it to a referendum, he said as he toured a factory. Rejecting calls for a revote, Lukashenko said, no one should ever expect to pressure me into doing something, according to the transcript. A leading independent news source in Belarus, Tut.by, quoted Lukashenko as saying at the event, Unless you kill me, there will not be a revote. But Lukashenko had to abruptly end the speech as a crowd of striking workers chanted Leave!, according to a video of the scene. Reporting from Minsk, Al Jazeeras Step Vaessen said while Lukashenko now appeared to be in favour of power redistribution after the Constitution is changed, this is a long process which could take years. Many people here see that as efforts by him to buy time, Vaessen said. Call for Security Council meeting Separately on Monday, a British official said the United Kingdom would adopt the EUs sanctions on Belarus as its own when the blocs rules no longer apply at the end of a post-Brexit transition period. Earlier, UK Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said the re-election of Lukashenko was fraudulent, and the UK would work with international partners to sanction those responsible and hold the countrys authorities to account. Meanwhile, Estonia called for United Nations Security Council talks on the situation in Belarus at the earliest possible opportunity, because of the potential threat to international security. EU and NATO member Estonia is currently one of the 10 non-permanent members of the council. Due to the political crisis in Belarus and the potential threat to international peace and security, Estonia will propose a discussion on the situation in Belarus at the UN Security Council at the earliest opportunity, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said in a statement. One of the main objectives of Estonia as an elected member of the Security Council is to ensure compliance with international law, and keep grave violations of human rights in international focus, the statement said. Poland and the three Baltic states Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have called for new elections to be held and have offered to mediate. Separately, US President Donald Trump said Washington would be closely watching the terrible situation in Belarus. Its terrible. Thats a terrible situation, Belarus. Well be following it very closely, Trump said on Monday. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Saturday said the US was discussing the situation in Belarus with the EU. Speaking in Polands capital, Warsaw, his last stop on a tour of central Europe, Pompeo said that the aim of US contacts with the EU was to try to help as best we can the Belarusian people achieve sovereignty and freedom. Embrace: Florian Mehler hugs his Brazilian girlfriend Renata Alves after she arrived at Frankfurt Airport in Germany. Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach A German-Brazilian couple kept apart by coronavirus restrictions have been reunited after Germany eased border controls for unmarried couples who can prove their relationships preceded the pandemic. Florian Mehler (41), from Wiesloch near Frankfurt, had not seen his girlfriend Renata Alves (40) since she returned to her native Brazil in January after visiting him in Germany. "We had to get so much paperwork together, unbelievable," said Mr Mehler after he hugged Ms Alves at Frankfurt Airport. "I did ask myself why couples didn't count, as the love we have is the same as with married couples. But now she is finally here!" Most European Union borders have been closed to non-EU travellers since March, unless they are essential workers or married to an EU resident. Berlin's decision to allow people from countries it considers a high coronavirus risk - such as Brazil - to join their German partners followed a social media campaign under the hashtags #LoveIsEssential and #LoveIsNotTourism. Ms Alves took a test at the airport and will stay at Mr Mehler's home until the results come in. The couple met online a year ago. The coronavirus cases and the deaths attributed to the disease have exploded in Punjabs industrial and financial hub of Ludhiana to the extent that it has virtually turned into the states Covid-19 capital. Such is the situation that the district tops the states tally of case count at 6,500 as well that of fatalities at 226 till Saturday. What makes the situation even more alarming is that fact that Ludhiana also has the highest number of active cases (2,028). A look at the figures reveals that the neighbouring district of Jalandhar ranks a distant second with 3,773 confirmed cases, including 1,270 active cases and 96 deaths, followed by Patiala (3,577 cases), Mohali (1,732 cases) and Sangrur (1,490 cases). Ludhiana accounts for 22% of all cases and 29.4% of deaths reported in Punjab due to the coronavirus. Moreover, given that it is Punjabs most populated (35 lakh) city and witnesses a massive interstate movement of people due to bustling commercial activities, Ludhiana continues to remain more vulnerable to the spread of virus more than any other urban pocket. It is hardly surprising that the city alone has 19 micro-containment zones. The overall scenario appears to be bleak at the best. Consider this: The districts case count per 1 lakh population is 258.5, far higher than the states figure of 104.5. Of the 6,438 cases reported till August 13, as many as 1,718 were reported in the preceding seven days alone, pointing towards a steep rise. In contrast, Patiala and Jalandhar reported 994 and 820 cases in seven days from August 7 to 13. Cases in Ludhiana have nearly doubled from 3,439 in July-end to 6,560 till August 15. Of a total of 793 coronavirus patients admitted to Ludhiana hospitals, 143 are at level stage III (critical care), also the highest for any district in the state. The one reassuring aspect is that the district has conducted the maximum number of coronavirus tests in the state with the number of collected samples exceeding 90,000. Equally reassuring is the fact that it also so far has the highest number of recoveries at 4,304. DEATHS DOUBLE FROM JULY-END TO AUG 15 Figures also reveal that 95% of the 226 deaths in Ludhiana were reported the lockdown was relaxed in early June when businesses started reopening and people began venturing out of their homes. This was besides the return of a section of migrant workers to the district. The deaths rose twofold from 88 in July-end to 226 on August 15. Till the lockdown was lifted on June 8, the district had recorded only 11 deaths. The districts testing number (90,966) is ahead of Amritsar (62, 410), Jalandhar (58,285), Patiala (54,503) and Gurdaspur (48,464). It has tested 1.5 times more than Jalandhar which has the second highest number of cases. Pradeep Kumar Agrawal, who was Ludhiana deputy commissioner till mid-June, said, Unlike Jalandhar and Amritsar where people are cautious of visiting the civil hospital to get their test done, more people volunteered to be tested in Ludhiana even if they exhibited mild symptoms. More testing facilities in Ludhiana is another reason for a large number of samples being tested. HOME TO MAJOR CHUNK OF INTERSTATE TRAVELLERS Of the 2,456 travellers having tested positive for the disease in Punjab, a major chunk is from Ludhiana, a hub of cycle, cycle parts, hosiery and sewing machine industry. A large number of people from the district travel to other states for business deals on a regular basis. As per official figures, 3.47 lakh people entered the state ever since the curfew was relaxed in Punjab. Of these, samples of 1. 51 lakh (43%) were collected. Rahul Ahuja, chairman, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), says labourers in a large number have started returning to Ludhiana to resume work. It is but natural for the city with the largest population to have the highest number of cases in the state, he said. COPS, MC OFFICIALS WORST-AFFECTED As many as 260 police personnel and 20 civic body employees have tested positive for the disease. At least 160 cops are still getting treatment. Besides the death of an additional commissioner of police (ACP) due to the cononavirus in April, an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) also succumbed to the infection last week. The infected civic body employees also included the personal assistant of the MC commissioner. INADEQUATE HEATH INFRASTRUCTURE Government hospitals in Punjabs most populated city have no ventilators or intensive care units (ICUs) as they are completely dependent on private facilities for treatment of patients with severe symptoms. There are just 43 ventilators in private hospitals in Ludhiana. At least 17 patients are currently on ventilator support. While the cases are rising in the district, the health infrastructure has proved to far from adequate. Compared to 450 isolation wards in government hospitals in the district, the private hospitals have 787 such facilities of which 628 (80%) are occupied. Interestingly, only 159 of a total of 450 beds in government hospitals for Covid patients in Ludhiana are occupied. This is because nearly 1,000 of those having tested positive are being treated at home. Maheshinder Singh Grewal, a senior Akali Dal leader from Ludhiana, said, The same level of rigour (for those found infected) cannot be observed at home. The government doesnt have enough beds and they are left with no other option but to send a majority of positive patients home. This further increases the risk of spreading the infection. The lynx could soon reintroduced in a forest in Scotland following an ecological feasibility study. The Lynx UK Trust announced it could soon be reintroducing the big cats at a site in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park near Aberfoyle, Loch Lomond, more than 1,300 years after the animals were wiped out. While discussions with the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) are ongoing, the site could host as many as 250 lynx in total. Dr Paul O'Donoghue, the Director of Lynx UK Trust said: 'The Queen Elizabeth Forest park is a lynx paradise, it ticks all the boxes; high deer densities, extensive forest cover, extremely low human population density and no major roads.' The Lynx UK Trust has announced it could soon be reintroducing the lynx at a site in Loch Lomond, Scotland He added: 'It is vital to point out that we hope to develop widespread community support for our plans. 'This will not be imposed on anyone, rather we see this as an opportunity to build strong networks with partners and stakeholders to deliver what is undoubtedly, the most exciting and large scale conservation project ever proposed in Scotland.' Over the years the absence of the wild cats has led to an overpopulation of deers which in turn has damaged the UK's native forest ecosystem and also caused problems on the food chain. However the reintroduction of the Eurasian lynx is hoped to help drive forest regeneration and restore a broken forest ecosystem. Mr O'Donoghue added: 'Currently there is virtually no natural forest regeneration anywhere in Scotland due to excessively high deer densities. The organisation has selected the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park near Aberfoyle, as the site that the big cats will be released into While the absence of the wild cats has led to an overpopulation of deers, their introduction is hoped to restore the forest's ecosystem The return of the Lynx The lynx is typically found in remote forests in North America, Europe, and Asia. The Eurasian lynx once roamed the UK before they were wiped out through a combination of fur hunting and loss of habitat. The lynx was most likely hunted to extinction for its fur between 500-700AD. Today their numbers have reduced greatly throughout Western Europe. The Eurasian lynx varies in size and can be between 80 to 130cm in length and up to 70cm tall. They eat a wide range of prey but tend to hunt for deers in particular. They will also occasionally hunt gamebirds and, quite rarely, sheep. Source: Lynx UK Trust Advertisement 'Lynx will invigorate our forest ecosystems, increasing forest cover and creating more robust ecosystems that will provide crucial ecosystem services such as flood mitigation and increased carbon storage, which has the potential to benefit millions of people' In 2018, efforts to release six Eurasian wildcats into Kielder Forest in Northumberland were rejected by the government. Some landowners had agreed to the scheme, but a number of farmers expressed concerns that the animals could attack livestock, like sheep and chickens. Meanwhile the Environment Secretary at the time Michael Gove said government advisors had 'particular concerns in a number of areas' relating to the proposal. In his letter, Mr Gove said: 'Kielder Forest is an area where the Forest Commission has been taking action to manage and restore important habitats and ecosystem functions to enhance biodiversity. 'This has included the release of hundreds of water vole and the removal of mink from the Tyne and monitoring the return and spread of pine martens to understand options for their recovery. 'The area has also seen significant recolonisation by a number of bird species as a result of continued efforts, all of which is positive news.' The Lynx Trust UK has now met with senior officials at the Scottish Natural Heritage and are in talks about using the site to reintroduce the big cats. If they are given permission then three Eurasian Lynx will be reintroduced to the Scottish forest over a five-year period. Joseph Kitchen, President of Maryland Young Democrats Group, Found Dead Young Democrats Of Maryland President Joseph Kitchen was found deceased late Sunday, about a week after going missing, police officials said. Kitchen was last seen on Aug. 8 at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, the Prince Georges County Police Department said in an alert on Friday. In an update over the weekend, the department said Kitchen was found dead in the District of Columbia. The Prince Georges County Police Department offers our condolences to Mr. Kitchens family and friends, it said. The Metropolitan Police Department is leading the investigation into the death. The Maryland Democratic Party issued a statement saying Kitchen had a kind heart that has impacted so many. Thank you everyone for your efforts to find @josephlkitchen. Sadly, I am sharing that Joseph has passed away. Rest in peace, my dear friend. I truly miss you, added Jheanelle Wilkins, a Democratic state delegate. In statements posted on Facebook on Aug. 9, Kitchen said he was coming for the national Young Democrats of America. LETS BE CLEAR, it is not trauma informed that you silence an entire discussion on sexual trauma because you individually cannot tell with the story. Thats ignoring the solutions necessary and young liberals doing it are not the future of our party. THEY ARE TRASH, he wrote in one. In another, he accused a group official of missing one of her duties but later entering a group chat to say derogatory things about other people. The Young Democrats of America said in a statement that workers were saddened to learn of the tragic and untimely passing of Joseph Kitchen, calling him a fixture within YDA for over a decade and was well known for his veracious style and fierce advocacy for continued transparency within the organization. Lawrence Ramirez, Kitchens brother, told The Washington Post that no foul play is suspected. Ramirez said in a post on Facebook that his brother was found at his apartment. We now ask that you give our family some privacy to process their horrible new[s], he wrote. Kitchen worked for the Washington School for Girls. It is with profound sadness that we share with you the news that our colleague Joseph Kitchen has been found deceased. As an integral part of the WSG community for so many years, our hearts are heavy; we cant even fully process this loss at the moment, the school said in a statement on Facebook. Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: America's Car-Mart Shares of America's Car-Mart jumped nearly 5% in extended trading after the auto financing company reported better-than-expected earnings. The company reported earnings per share of $2.83, versus an estimate of $1.45 per share, according to FactSet. Its revenue also came above expectations. Kohl's Shares of Kohl's gained 0.9% in after-hours trading ahead of its earnings report on Tuesday before the bell. Wall Street analysts were expecting the retailer to report an 88 cents loss in the second quarter on revenues of $3.807 billion, according to FactSet. Uber Shares of Uber climbed 0.4% after the ride-hailing company said it does not plan to shut its California Uber Eats operations due to the court case that forced it to susped service in the state to reshape its business model. A judge recently granted a preliminary injunction requiring the company to reclassify drivers as employees, instead of contractors. Home Depot Shares of Home Depot gained 0.7% after hours, extending Monday's 2.7% rally. The retailer's stock jumped after the Wall Street Journal reported foot traffic at Home Depot has soared at least 35% since April despite the pandemic. The company is set to report earnings Tuesday before the bell. US Democrats will kick off Monday night their first virtual convention yet with Senator Bernie Sanders stressing party unity as a lead speaker. Michelle Obama, the former first lady, will close the evening, possibly with an inspiring speech similar to her we go high as they go low in 2016. Sanders had been a hold out at the 2016 convention and only nominally offered truce after a bruising primaries in which party officials had brazenly worked to help Hillary Clinton clinch the ticket. He is truly on board this time and is expected to exhort his legions of supporters to rally behind Joe Biden. I understand we do not agree with Joe Biden on all of the issues believe me, I know that, I ran against Joe Biden, Sanders told delegates in a call last month, as reported by The New York Times. But at this moment, what we need to do is engage in coalition politics with the goal of defeating Trump. Former first lady Obama remains extremely popular in the party and is an inspiring speaker. She had set up Clintons 2016 run as a glowing contrast to Donald Trumps divisive campaign. Our motto is, when they go low, we go high, she had said. That phrase was all her own, her speech writer has said since, and continues to reverberate till this day. The four-day convention to officially nominate Biden as the Democratic party nominee for president will be a two-hour daily mix of pre-recorded videos and live speeches, all done virtually because of the Covid-19 epidemic that continues to ravage the US. It remains the worst-hit in the world with tens of thousands of new infections every day and hundreds of fatalities. The convention was preceded Sunday by an interfaith service that included Sikh leader Pardeep Kaleka and Hindu leader Neelima Gonuguntla The Trump campaign will be stalking the convention with a plan called The Real Joe Biden, a mixture of on-ground activities, ads and live speeches. President Trump is expected to speak live just hours before the start of the convention on Bidens economic failures. And the campaign will have live commentary till the end of the day. Thats the plan for the duration of the convention, with Trump expected to pick a new issue every day. The two parties continued to clash over the Trumps attempts to curtail mail-in voting by overhauling the US postal service. The president has alleged, without proof, that mail-in voting is vulnerable to widespread fraud. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called a session of the House to pass a legislation blocking Trumps attempts to overhaul the US postal service. Were moving the industry forward by enabling FIs to more quickly and cost effectively develop innovative products and services and bring them to market. Finzly, a fintech provider of modern banking applications for foreign exchange, trade finance, payments and digital banking, has been named a finalist in two different categories of the second annual Finovate Awards. A finalist for Best Back-Office/Core-Service Provider, Finzlys bank operating system, BankOS, enables financial institutions to offer customers a more modern banking experience, freeing banks and credit unions from the limitations of legacy technology systems. In doing so, BankOS extends the value of institutions existing technology investments by layering onto existing core systems. With BankOS, FIs can create and choose best-in-class products and services to effectively engage with their customers while utilizing the latest technologies, such as open APIs, microservices and cloud computing, to transform operations and innovate at the speed of fintech. Finzly was also named a finalist for Best Enterprise Payments Solution for Payment Galaxy, a payment services hub that offers financial institutions the opportunity to transform legacy payment infrastructure and operations with modern, centralized payment processing, monitoring, reporting and compliance capabilities. Finzlys payment services hub efficiently connects multiple payment networks through intelligent payment routing and open payment APIs into a single user interface, sparing FIs from the burden of managing multiple systems and vendors while simplifying payment network connections. Finzly is bringing modern technology to an industry that still largely relies on legacy technologies, complex architectures and disjointed experiences, said Booshan Rengachari, founder and CEO, Finzly. Were moving the industry forward by enabling FIs to more quickly and cost effectively develop innovative products and services and bring them to market. Our team is honored to be recognized by Finovate as one of the industrys best and brightest for our commitment to driving innovation and digital transformation. Finzly is slated to present at both of Finovates digital events this fall, FinovateFall and FinovateWest. About Finzly Finzly connects financial institutions with customers through a modern digital banking experience and an efficient, real-time payment services hub. Freeing financial institutions from core system limitations, Finzlys open, cloud-based bank operating system, BankOS, enables transformation and innovation at the speed of fintech. With freedom to adopt solutions from Finzly and third parties of choice, financial institutions can implement apps in three simple steps subscribe, try and launch. Serving customers across North America, Finzly has been modernizing international banking and treasury management solutions since 2012. For more information, visit http://www.finzly.com. New Delhi: It has been four years since December 16 gangrape that had shook the entire nation with its barbarity. But the hope for justice seems to falter day by day for the victims mother as the convicts who were sentenced to death continue to remain in Tihar jail. For Asha Devi, Nirbhayas mother nothing has changed in these years as far as women's safety is concerned. The horrific gangrape of a para-medical student in moving bus had triggered nationwide protests and outrage. It was after this heinous crime that prompted the government to re-look at the existing laws protecting womens safety. ALSO READ: (Nirbhaya gangrape 4th anniversary: Women still feel unsafe in Delhi) We feel nothing has changed. The governments have also changed. It has been four years but the situation remains the same. For the last four years, we have been running from pillar to post to get justice. But no action has been taken against the accused, she said. One of the convicted among the six was released last year as he was a juvenile when he had committed the crime. Another accused had committed suicide while four others are lodged in jail as they have appealed against their death penalty. As per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Delhi has the highest rate of crimes against women among all the cities in the country. The startling figures show how unsafe national capital is for women. ALSO READ: (Four years after Nirbhaya rape case: Girl allegedly raped; accused arrested, car bearing MHA sticker seized) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, visiting war-torn Libya's capital Monday, warned of a "deceptive calm" since fighting has stalled around Sirte, the central hometown of fallen dictator Moamer Kadhafi. Outside powers are "continuing to massively arm the country," Maas, whose government has tried to broker peace in Libya, said during a surprise visit to the oil-rich North African country. "In Libya at the moment we are observing a deceptive calm," he said in Tripoli, seat of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA). Libya has been in chaos since a Western-backed uprising toppled Kadhafi in 2011, and has become a major departure point for desperate migrants trying to reach Europe with the help of traffickers. Eastern-based military commander Khalifa Haftar launched an offensive in April 2019 to seize Tripoli. Fighters loyal to the UN-recognised Libyan Government of National Accord on July 20 secure the area of Abu Qurain, half-way between Tripoli and Libya's second city Benghazi, against forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar, who is based in eastern Benghazi. By Mahmud TURKIA (AFP/File) After 14 months of fierce fighting, forces loyal to the GNA expelled Haftar's troops from much of western Libya and pushed them back east to Sirte, a gateway town to Libya's oil fields. While the GNA has been boosted by Turkish and Qatari support, Haftar has had the backing of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Russia. Now, said Maas, "both sides and their international allies are continuing to massively arm the country and holding firm to their preconditions for a ceasefire". 'Dangerous situation' A July 9 picture shows a residential building in the south of Tripoli damaged during the 14 months of fighting between the GNA and forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar. By Mahmud TURKIA (AFP/File) Maas urged "ways out of this very dangerous situation" and backed a UN proposal to establish a demilitarised zone around Sirte, located 450 kilometres (280 miles) east of Tripoli. According to Turkish media reports, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was also in Tripoli on Monday. Germany's top diplomat was next due to also visit the United Arab Emirates, which last week agreed to normalise diplomatic relations with Israel. Maas said the UAE had "shown that it has the ability to make an important contribution to peace in the region" and added that now he also hoped "to see encouraging signs from Abu Dhabi on the issue of Libya". "The United Arab Emirates is in a position to influence General Haftar, and we expect it to do so, in the spirit of the Berlin Process," he said. "Only those who participate in a political process will be part of Libya's future," he added. Vehicles of the "Tripoli Brigade", a militia loyal to the GNA, parade on July 10 through Martyrs' Square at the centre of the capital Tripoli. By Mahmud TURKIA (AFP/File) Maas said that in Libya he also wanted to discuss the fate of migrants stuck in detention centres, where human rights groups have reported widespread abuses and mistreatment. "For a long time we have been calling for the closure of the detention centres and the establishment of alternatives in urban regions," he said, calling for "effective measures to finally combat human trafficking networks". Colby Douglas is a Special Olympics gold medalist in swimming, but its his victory over the coronavirus that has people cheering. The 21-year-old from Pequannock, New Jersey, who was born with Down syndrome, returned home last week after spending 136 days in a hospital with COVID-19. Watch TODAY All Day! Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long. Colby Douglas had a parade in his honor after returning home following his extended hospital stay. (TODAY) Douglas' return home was fit for a king, with people turning out for a parade in his honor. When asked by TODAYs Savannah Guthrie about the best part of the parade, he said, The fans. Douglas had a long road to recovery after falling ill. He asked his parents to take him to the hospital when he woke up feeling sick. And by the time we got there, they said he already had pneumonia, his mom, Gayle Douglas, said. She said they were transferred to another hospital where he was intubated on April 2 and diagnosed with the coronavirus. He would go on to spend a total of 136 days in the hospital, the majority of that intubated and on a ventilator. I kneeled in the backyard and I prayed to God that Colby had so many people believing in him that he needed to heal him, Gayle said. Douglas' ordeal even caught the attention of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who wished him well in a Facebook post back in June. "Meet 21-year-old Colby Douglas an extraordinary young man and a Special Olympian," the governor wrote. "His inner strength was pushed to its limits as he fought a nearly 11-week battle with #COVID19. After 75 days of being hospitalized, Colby began his rehab. Were rooting for his full recovery! Because Douglas has special needs, his mother was allowed to stay in the room with him, but only if she didnt leave. I just needed to be there, she said. Her husband, George, told TODAY that Gayles role in taking care of their child should be celebrated. Colby Douglas with his parents at home in New Jersey (TODAY) You've interviewed presidents and actors and everybody else. Well, here's another rock star that you can be interviewing here, is Gayle. Because she's just phenomenal, he said. Story continues Gayle Douglas said she dropped 20 pounds pacing 5 miles a day in the hospital room. Not the way you want to lose weight, at all, but I just needed to be with him all the time, just to make sure he was OK, she said. Douglas eventually woke up to his mom, his dog and thousands of get-well cards at his side, while his doctors called what happened a miracle. When he returned home on Aug. 14, people from his town and surrounding towns gathered for a parade in his honor. Above all else, George Douglas said he was grateful his son recovered. Just a blessing beyond blessings. It's just unbelievable. And then the crowning jewel is he's OK and he's home. And that's what we were all praying for all this time, you know? How blessed we are." China must guard against any rebound in off-balance sheet lending in the so-called shadow banking sector, and must dispose of non-performing assets as soon as possible, the head of the country's banking and insurance regulator said yesterday. In recent years, China has clamped down on shadow banking, concerned about the hidden risks in the high volume of complex and potentially risky loans in the sector. But as a weakening economy puts pressure on businesses and individuals, authorities fear shadow lending and illegal loans might surge. After the outbreak of the coronavirus this year, high-risk banks with complex structures may stage a comeback, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, wrote in an article published in the Communist Party journal Qiushi. "A slight relaxation of regulations may lead to a full resurgence, and all previous efforts would go to waste," he wrote. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, leverage is expected to rebound significantly in the Chinese economy this year, and bad debts of financial institutions may rise substantially, he warned. After the "black swan" epidemic, it is inevitable that asset quality will deteriorate, and due to a time lag, the current asset classification has not accurately reflected the true risk, he said. A "black swan" event refers to an unforeseen occurrence that typically has extreme consequences. Financial institutions should dispose of non-performing assets as early as possible, and covering up would only bring serious consequences, Mr Guo said. China should also implement targeted measures in dealing with institutions with varying levels of risk, he said. Outside of China, external factors could also threaten financial security, Mr Guo said. He added that current international co-operation is not ideal, and the US entity list imposed on some companies, including Chinese firms, has added uncertainty to the global economic recovery and disrupted financial stability and security. Washington restricts sales of US goods to companies on the entity list. Read what is in the news today: The Vietnamese Ministry of Health announced two locally-transmitted cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Monday morning, including one in the northern province of Hai Duong and one in the central province of Quang Nam. The national tally sits at 964 cases, with 456 recoveries and 24 virus-related deaths. A tropical depression from the Philippines is moving toward the northern area of the East Vietnam Sea on Monday morning, forecast to bring rains to Vietnams northern region on the same day. It is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting. The Peoples Committee of virus-hit Da Nang on Sunday night put forward a proposal to the prime minister to especially allow citizens of other localities who have been stranded in the central city due to its implementation of travel restrictions and enhanced social distancing since late July to return to their hometowns. The Standing Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control of Da Nang on Sunday requested the Vietnam Fatherland Front chapter in the city to support finncially challegned people in its locked-down areas with five kilograms of rice per capita per 14 days, and food and necessities worth VND40,000 (US$1.73) per person a day during the implementation of enhanced social distancing. Dak Lak Province in Vietnams Central Highlands on Sunday afternoon decided to end enhanced social distancing rules across its entire capital city of Buon Ma Thuot and lift a lockdown on four areas from Monday after two weeks implementing the safety measures. Police in Bien Hoa, the capital city of the southern Dong Nai province, on Sunday said that they were handling nearly 100 young people who illegally gathered and participated in motorbike racing at a local industrial park amid the citys implementation of social distancing due to COVID-19. Police in Hai Duong on Sunday said that they had busted a group trading narcotics in large quantity led by a 36-year-old man, who employed the tactic of hiding the narcotics inside pumpkins. The provincial Party Standing Committee of Bac Lieu, located in Vietnams Mekong Delta, on Sunday dismissed the provinces deputy chairman Duong Chi Binh, who had been disciplined for a violation related to land management, and named him deputy director of the provincial Department of Construction. Authorities in Hai Duong have slapped a local male university student with a VND3.5 million ($152) administrative fine for leaving his home for Hanoi one day before his mandatory quarantine for COVID-19 prevention and control ended. Hanoi has encouraged people to refrain from going out and not to gather in crowds, as more COVID-19 infections were found on Sunday. Activities like festivals, sporting events, large gatherings, and unimportant events will be halted throughout the capital city. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! CO:RE Surgical Chair Chronic musculoskeletal disorders among ophthalmologists are on the rise, often cutting careers short and equipment that ignores proper ergonomic positioning of the surgeon is a major factor. Haag-Streit USA is reinventing the surgical chair to provide ideal ergonomics for the physician in the surgical suite. To understand the unique issues surgeons face, Haag-Streit USA collaborated with Michael E. Snyder, M.D. of the Cincinnati Eye Institute and other ophthalmologists across the country. As an ophthalmologist, theres nothing more important than ergonomics, especially if you develop neck and spine disease, says Dr. Snyder. Ive been proactive on this approach for more than twenty years. By improving ergonomics in your practice, you do a better job and your patients benefit from better care. The new CO:RE Surgical Chair is a concrete example of the visionary ideas were developing to maximize comfort and prolong the careers of surgeons, said Mike Luley, Haag-Streit USA Surgical Division, Director of Sales. Historically, equipment design has not focused on the comfort and well-being of the surgeon. Shifting our focus to encompass the surgeons joints and spine will not only improve their health in the operating room, but overall quality of life as well. Haag-Streit USA teamed up with the Columbus, OH-based product design firm Zukunplan to engineer the doctor-inspired CO:RE Surgical Chair. Every aspect of the physicians experience in the surgical suite has been considered to advance the chairs design. The curved backrest, for instance, aligns the spine for added lumbar support, with multi-directional adjustment for perfect positioning, notes Terry Birchler, owner of Zukunplan. To accommodate the wide range in surgeons lumbar lordosis, theres a choice of curvatures. And the armless design and narrow seatback allows freedom of movement without the risk of contamination. Aesthetically stunning as well, the clean, sleek look of the CO:RE chair complements the design of any modern surgical suite. As ophthalmologists build their practice, they should look for equipment thats just as invested in their long-term success and well-being as they are, says Luley. Doctors are caregivers and have always put the needs of their patients ahead of their own. But a more holistic view is warranted, and with Haag-Streit USAs focus on ergonomics, were making it easier for physicians to take care of themselves, too. The CO:RE Surgical Chair will be featured during the Women in Ophthalmology 2020 Virtual Meeting in the wellness session Proper Posture for Surgical Longevity. Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD of UPMC Eye Center will be presenting this session on Sunday, August 23, 2020 at 3:15 PM ET. For more information on the CO:RE Surgical Chair or to schedule an evaluation, please visit coresurgicalchair.com. ### Flooding of the Huaihe River in east China's Anhui Province in late July prompted a large relief effort. Among the volunteers were also 12 female soldiers from the 71st Army Group, who arrived in Yingshang County to join in the flood fighting mission. A young Loganlea couple have been identified as the second and third victims of a horrific two-car crash on the Gold Coast at the weekend. James Hunter, 21, and his partner Marnie Zuk, 17, were passengers in the vehicle driven by Bryton Thompson, a 21-year-old from Pimpama. All three died from injuries suffered in the crash. Loganlea couple James Hunter, 21, and Marnie Zuk, 17. Credit:Facebook Mr Thompson and Ms Zuk died at the scene while Mr Hunter was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition, where he died shortly after. The 28-year-old male driver of the second vehicle, and sole occupant, was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a serious condition with head, chest, pelvic and leg injuries. Adopt a Highway works because of a small army of dedicated volunteers and the permit technicians in ADOTs maintenance districts statewide who support them, Mary Currie, Adopt a Highway program manager, said in a statement. All Arizonans benefit from the many hours put in by volunteers who beautify the highways that for many forms a first impression of the Grand Canyon State. While ADOT expects to see a dip in participation through 2020 because of the pandemic, the hope is operations can one day return or exceed the programs record-breaking 2019. The Adopt a Highway volunteer program added 155 volunteer groups last year, bringing the total to more than 1,100. Other 2019 records included nearly 2,000 miles of state highways adopted, an increase of more than 300 miles, and 16,000 bags of litter removed, up nearly 2,000 from the previous record, ADOT said. Those bags contained 107 tons of litter. Last years efforts contributed savings of more than $580,000 based on the volunteers 23,000 recorded labor hours, which was also an increase of nearly 2,000 from 2018. Each group that adopts a roadway gets a sign bearing its name once committing to at least two miles of roadside cleanup. One person was killed in a crash Sunday on Interstate 195 eastbound in Mercer County, authorities said. A Hyundai sedan went off the road into the woods at Exit 5B, according to New Jersey State Police spokesman Trooper Alejandro Goez. The wreck was reported around 5:30 p.m. The ramp remained closed as troopers investigated at the scene, according to the states traffic website. Authorities did not immediately release more information. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Thai Anti-Government Protests Draw Largest Crowd Since Coup By VOA News August 16, 2020 Thousands of protesters called for radical changes to the Thai government Sunday the latest in near daily protests lead by students against the government. Bangkok police estimated 10,000 attendees, which would make the demonstration the largest Thailand has seen since the 2014 coup. Student leaders are demanding new elections to form a new parliament, including the dismissal of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a former general who took power in the 2014 coup and won disputed elections last year. But Sunday's protests also called for changes to the monarchy a sensitive subject in Thailand, where anyone criticizing the Royal Family may face long prison sentences. "We want a new election and a new parliament from the people," student activist Patsalawalee Tanakitwiboonpon, 24, told the crowd. "Lastly, our dream is to have a monarchy which is truly under the constitution." Demonstrators also waved banners and chanted "Down with dictatorship, long live democracy." Bangkok police said they had deployed 600 officers to observe the demonstration. A counter-rally defending the monarchy drew dozens of attendees. The latest wave of protests began in February when the Future Forward Party (FFP), a progressive party largely supported by young Thais, was dissolved by court order. Protests were then halted due to COVID-19 concerns, but regained energy in July, despite a ban on large gatherings. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address T he temperature in California's Death Valley reached 54.4C (129.9F) on Sunday possibly the hottest ever reliably recorded on Earth. The extreme heat was recorded by the United States National Weather Services automated weather station at Furnace Creek, near the border with Nevada, at 3:41pm on Sunday afternoon. The humidity was 7 percent with gusts up to 9.6 km (6 miles) per hour. This observed high temperature is considered preliminary and not yet official, a statement from NWS Las Vegas said. If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913, also at Death Valley. The temperature reading will be investigated by the National Center for Environmental Information and the World Meteorological Organisation. If it is verified, it would be the hottest August day ever recorded in the US, and the third highest temperature ever recorded. The all-time highest temperature reading on the planet was also recorded in Death Valley, according to the World Meteorological Organisation. Greenland Ranch hit 56.7C (134F) on 10 July 1913. However, some experts have questioned the accuracy of old temperature reports. The Death Valley 1913 reading was named the Earth's hottest in 2013, after a WMO investigation struck off a 58C temperature apparently recorded in Libya in September 1922. A committee dismissed the Libya reading after concluding it was likely wrong due to human-error, the type of thermometer used and inconsistencies with other temperatures in the region. However, Christopher Burt, who prompted the investigation into the Libya reading and who works for a private US meteorological service, has also said the 1913 Death Valley readings were essentially not possible from a meteorological perspective". Prof Randy Cerveny, a climate extremes expert from Arizona State University, told the Washington Post: Everything Ive seen so far indicates that [the new Death Valley reading] is a legitimate observation. Prof Cerveny recommended the WMO preliminarily accept the observation, although it will be examined in detail later. Another WMO-verified temperature reading, when Kebili in Tunisia hit 55C (131F) in July 1931, has also been challenged over its accuracy. Some extreme weather watchers believe the most recent Death Valley reading could eventually verified as the hottest temperature ever reliably recorded on the planet. Meteorologist Bob Henson told a blog of the American Geophysical Union: Its quite possible the Death Valley high set a new global heat record. The extreme nature of the surrounding weather pattern makes such a reading plausible, so the case deserves a solid review. There are nagging questions about the validity of even hotter reports from Death Valley in 1913 and Tunisia in 1931. What we can say with high confidence is that, if confirmed, this is the highest temperature observed on Earth in almost a century. Prof James Renwick, a climate scientist at Victoria University of Wellington, who has helped WMO with checking temperature readings, said the Death Valley reading would need to be verified before they could confidently declare any record. Instruments used to record the temperature at the Death Valley site, near a visitors' centre at Furnace Creek, would need to be checked to ensure there were no changes. He said: There will be a lot of cross-checking to make sure that that value is correct. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police Officer Thomas Schimenti Jr. was a Sunnyside resident who served the NYPD for 12 years. Monday marks 41 years since he died in the line of duty at the hands of a bank robbery suspect in Manhattan. On Aug. 17, 1979, the 35-year-old cop was pursuing the suspect from outside a Chemical Bank on Park Avenue near Grand Central Station. Schimenti cornered him inside an arcade on 42nd Street. As Schimenti attempted to arrest the suspect, the suspect turned around suddenly and fired, fatally wounding Schimenti and injuring a detective who was with him. Francine Bruno touches her uncle's plaque with then-City Councilman Jay O'Donovan, her father Frank Schimenti Sr. and his son Frank Schimenti Jr. in 1999. (Advance file photo) The South Beach native and New Dorp High School graduates death created a push for bulletproof vests for every police officer city-wide. He was one of 1,000 police officers chosen in a lottery for the vests but had not received it yet when he was gunned down. At the time of his death, Schimenti was living with his wife, Diane, and two daughters, then 9 and 10. We will #neverforget @NYPDMTS Police Officer Thomas Schimenti Jr. who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1979. May he rest in eternal peace. pic.twitter.com/Ml5taXFsOj NYPD Chaplains Unit (@NYPDchaplains) August 17, 2020 On Monday, the NYPD Chaplains Unit commemorated the officers sacrifice in a Twitter post. The post reads: We will #neverforget @NYPDMTS Police Officer Thomas Schimenti Jr. who was shot and killed in the line of duty in 1979. May he rest in eternal peace. Frank Schimenti Jr., nephew of Officer Schimenti, and Sandra Schimenti, the officers daughter, address the gathering at a street renaming in his honor in 2004. Ms. Schimenti is holding the cops granddaughter, Stephanie Cucuzza. (Advance file photo) In 2009, a memorial plaque was placed below the flagpole at the corner of Richmond and Todt HIll roads in Grant City in Schimentis honor. Then-Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly stood in solidarity with Schimentis family to honor the NYPD hero. We are all here to pay tribute to a true New York City hero and indeed an American hero, said Kelly. One thing is still true today as it was then. The essence of the strength of this department lies in the dedication of its police officers. ATLANTA - The Democratic Party will convene, sort of, amid a pandemic that has upended the usual pomp and circumstance of presidential nominating conventions. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez will be in Milwaukee, which hed chosen as the 2020 convention host city. But presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, wont be. Nor will the 57 state, territorial and international delegations, the party activists and the media hordes that would have filled a downtown arena to see Biden and Harris nominated to take on President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence in November. Instead, Democrats will put on essentially an all-virtual convention, broadcasting two hours of prime-time programming starting at 9 p.m. EDT, much of it pre-taped, Monday through Thursday. No crowds. No hullabaloo. And no balloons. What to watch on opening night Monday: THE MESSAGE: The theme is deliberately vague, We the People, and the lineup doesnt fit neatly into any box. Viewers will hear from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who finished second to Biden in the nominating contest, and Republican John Kasich, the former Ohio governor and 2016 primary rival to Trump. To underscore the gap: Thats a self-identified democratic socialist who wants a political revolution and a conservative Republican who was once a budget hawk in Congress and fought labour unions in the Ohio statehouse. And both will pitch for Biden. That reflects a key reality of Bidens candidacy: Its always been more about Trumps moral and competence than about the particulars of Democrats policy fights. Hence Bidens campaign pledges to unify the country and restore the soul of the nation. Yet he has spent the last several months trying to shore up relationships with the partys left flank, which remains skeptical about him. He has a lengthy policy slate he touts as the most progressive of any modern Democratic nominee. The conventions opening night will test how seamlessly the Biden campaign can spend the next 78 days casting such a wide net across a splintered American electorate. SANDERS TONE: The Vermont senator is a two-time runner-up for the nomination but by Bidens own admission has done as much as any losing presidential candidate to shape a major political party. Four years ago, Sanders was at the microphone to nominate Hillary Clinton on the floor in Philadelphia, but the bitterness between their camps was apparent, and it wounded her against Trump. Theres no convention floor to have a fight on this year. No way for viewers at home to hear delegates jeering at anyone on stage they dislike or disagree with. There are other key differences: Sanders and Biden are personally more friendly to each other than Clinton and Sanders were; Biden sewed up the nomination earlier, giving Sanders less leverage this year; and, of course, Trump isnt a hypothetical president as he was in 2016. He is the president, and Sanders has made clear that he sees 2020 as an existential election for the country. Given all that, the question becomes how Sanders balances his own ideological fervour which highlights distinctions between himself and Biden with his personal affinity for the nominee and their shared mission to defeat Trump. OBAMA. NOT HIM. HER: Perhaps any intrigue about Sanders and Kasich will fall away once the evenings headliner, Michelle Obama, makes her case. Polls suggest the former first lady is even more popular than her broadly popular husband, who will speak Wednesday night. She managed that, in part, by steering clear of the most obvious fault lines in politics. Remember her speech in Philadelphia four years ago. When they go low, we go high, she said, without even mentioning the caustic Republican nominee who years before had helped drive the lie that Barack Obama wasnt constitutionally eligible to serve as president. Days before the conventions opening gavel, Trump recycled the same tactic against Harris, a daughter of immigrants who is the first Black woman on a major partys presidential ticket and is also of Asian descent. In her case, Trump said he didnt know if she was eligible but wasnt pursuing the matter. Michelle Obama is uniquely positioned to talk about Democratic ticket. She knows Biden and his wife, Jill, as genuine friends from Bidens eight years as vice-president. The Obamas also know Harris well but in an example of what can be lost with a virtual convention, Mrs. Obama recorded her address before Biden named Harris his running mate last week. Unless theres a late edit, that means the nations first Black first lady will miss an opportunity to speak in personal terms about what it means to see the first woman of colour nominated by a major party for national office. Compare that to her recollections four years ago in Philadelphia. I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves, she said at the 2016 convention, and I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent Black young women, playing with their dogs on the White House lawn. HOW TO WATCH: The convention will air from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern time. The DNC will provide the official livestream online and on its social media channels. CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC and PBS will air the full two hours. ABC, CBS, Fox News Channel and NBC will air the final hour, from 10 to 11 p.m. The event also will be available via Twitch, Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV. RATINGS: Perez, the DNC chair, has promised an inspiring convention. But people must watch to be inspired, and no one knows what kind of audience will tune in. Conventions have declined in relevance for years. So, in one sense, the pandemic has given Democrats a license to experiment with what amounts to a slickly produced party infomercial. But lost are the rare big, even viral moments when a nominee, a party luminary or an up-and-comer, perhaps even veering off the teleprompter, makes a searing connection with both the party faithful in the arena and the millions watching at home. Cronkite News PHOENIX After winning the title of Miss Navajo Nation in September, Shaandiin Parrish immediately got to work on the cultural preservation and advocacy efforts central to the role. At times, she attended five or more events in a single day, traveling across the 27,000-square-mile reservation to speak to elementary school students and attend conferences. You really hit the ground running, Parrish recalled. Theres no event too small. Theres no event too big. But in March, as COVID-19 swept through the Southwest, Parrish suddenly went from visiting elders and delivering motivational speeches to distributing food, supplies and information to Navajo families hit hard by the novel coronavirus that causes the deadly disease. In the months since, Navajos have turned to Parrish for information, encouragement and aid as the virus killed at least 462 Navajos and sickened more than 9,000 others. I had a voice as Miss Navajo, she said. I never had a second thought about helping. Shaandiin Parrish, Miss Navajo Nation 2019-2020: Navajo Code Talkers Day 2020 A sacred responsibility The title of Miss Navajo Nation is won at an annual pageant established in 1952. The competition, held during the Navajo Nation Fair, tests contestants ability to handle tasks ranging from modeling traditional wear to butchering a sheep. During her one-year term, Miss Navajo Nation serves as a goodwill ambassador for the executive branch of the tribal government and a beacon of hope for the community. Her role honors the matriarchal structure of Dine society and provides an example of strong female leadership for the tribe. Miss Navajo Nation represents all of the female deities, the female beings and all of the Navajo women that exist, Parrish said, calling the responsibility both sacred and huge. To the public, you become everybodys mother, sister, auntie, their friend. You become the mother of the people, she said. Its important to me to represent with dignity, power, strength and just the beauty of Navajo women. The position is a full-time job: Miss Navajo Nation cannot work elsewhere or go to school during her year of service. She also is expected to consistently appear positive, healthy and strong to show she can endure and be in the spotlight. Theres just so much to do within one year itll wear you out, said Alyson Shirley , who held the title in 2015-16. I know some former Miss Navajos that were hospitalized toward the end (of their year) because they were just so exhausted. And they werent dealing with a global pandemic, as Parrish is. Miss Navajo Nation Shaandiin Parrish distributes food and supplies to Navajo families hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in Cornfields on May 27, 2020. Photo courtesy of Shaandiin Parrish Travel now done out of necessity After COVID-19 hit, she became a public information officer for the Navajo Nation Health Command Center. The role is crucial when it comes to getting information about preventive measures out, she said especially to elders who speak Navajo only. With our reservation, there are two languages that we need to translate everything into, Parrish said. She also helped out on the front lines, distributing food and supplies to families in need despite the risk of contracting the virus. There are just 13 grocery stores on the vast reservation, she said, meaning some families would have to travel for hours to stock up if they didnt receive aid. We keep our people out of clustered places and allow for some relief for a week or two, so that they dont have to risk going to a crowded supermarket, Parrish said. Instead of allowing invitations to determine her travel schedule, as she did before the pandemic, Parrish said she now travels out of necessity with presidential approval. But expectations regarding making every interaction with her people a positive one havent changed. Its important to keep a balance and positivity whenever I get to interact with them, because what if they had a really bad day and somebody is dealing with domestic violence, or somebody is not getting paid and they need food? she said. I need to leave that positive impression to ensure that they know that theyre loved, that theyre cared about and their lives are important. Not just something glamorous Parrishs efforts moved rug weaver Marie Nez-Gamble to make a sash for Parrish, to show her familys appreciation for the amazing things she does and has done and will continue to do for our community. The sash took Nez-Gamble 36 hours to weave. She just really inspired us and just really didnt hold back, Nez-Gamble said of Parrish. She educates young and old, encouraging them to continue their education, continue to speak their native language and learning their native culture. Crystal Littleben , who was Miss Navajo Nation in 2017-18, also praised Parrish for putting herself out there during a dangerous time. Littleben, who already lost relatives to COVID-19, said she couldnt assist her community the way she wanted to because shed never forgive herself if she brought the virus home. Its a hard task to take on, Littleben said. Parrish knows all those risks, and she probably has to distance herself from her own family just so that she can help her community that way. Left: Miss Navajo Nation Shaandiin Parrish distributes food and supplies to Navajo families hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in Durango, Colorado, on June 2, 2020. Right: Miss Navajo Nation Shaandiin Parrish visits elders at the Nahata Dziil Senior Center in Sanders on Feb. 14, 2020. Photos courtesy of Shaandiin Parrish Shirley said Parrish has shown the title is a real service job, not just something glamorous. When she came to my community, there were a lot of the elderly that were happy to see her in her Navajo traditional attire handing out things, Shirley said. They were looking at her as a glimmer of hope, and they were saying, Were going to be OK. Were going to be OK. Parrish acknowledged the mental and emotional toll the pandemic relief efforts had taken on her, but she has no plans to step back. Her latest aid project has the ambitious goal of ensuring that all 173,000-plus Navajos living on the reservation have five face masks each and shes sewing many of them herself. I know that our people need to see our leadership taking this on, Parrish said. Ive really had to set aside my own emotions, my own thoughts, my own opinions about anything and everything thats going on around me. The well-being of our people comes first. 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 Join the Conversation As a result of these two innovations, Right Height has reduced the number of exposed surfaces that people will need to touch in their workstation. Right Height Manufacturing, makers of the LifeDesk SmartLegs, which convert virtually any work surface into a sit-stand desk, today announced two solutions to help employers address the fears and risk with employees returning to the office. Employers are currently scrambling to find ways to reduce the risk of disease spreading between their employees at the office. Right Height has taken its antimicrobial know-how from its StableRise medical workstation to bring antimicrobial desktops treated with silver ions to inhibit viral growth in office workstations. The specially formulated anti-bacterial treatment continues to inhibit microbes regardless of surface wear. These desktops retain their color, are fully reclaimable, durable against scratches, and can be painted in many colors for office space redesigns for Return to Office (RTO) plans. The second solution to further complement the RTO safety plans that Right Height brings to the market is its hands-free height-adjustable desk controls. Now, users of their SmartLegs sit-stand accessories will be able to raise and lower their desk without ever having to touch the desks handset, which could be exposed to microbes from other people in the office. According to Brian Carmody, President of Right Height Manufacturing: We have doubled-down on the investment in our LifeDesk app to address this immediate need. Every LifeDesk user can make their sit-stand workstation smart by controlling the desk from their personal smartphone or their laptop. As a result of these two innovations, Right Height has reduced the number of exposed surfaces that people will need to touch in their workstation. This solution also provides a safety net for those times when it is inescapable for the employee to touch their work surface. Compatible with LifeDesk SmartLegs, the LifeDesk app is designed to encourage workers to properly use their sit-stand desks for health and productivity benefits. Designed by Right Height jointly with StanData, Inc., the app recommends personalized settings based on the users height and sends reminders on proper sit-stand transitions. Right Height has always pushed us to innovate and we believe this is going to be game-changer for many organizations, says Michael Kind, CEO of StanData. They saw the market demanding touchless sit-stand desk control, particularly in shared workstation environments, and they put us to work on a solution. As more employees begin to share desks, they need to work at their correct height safely. Our technology allows an employee to create custom preset preferences with any workstation, as opposed to saving settings on a specific workstation. Employees can access this information via their mobile device, desk or mobile workstation through a chrome-based application. This ensures the employee is always working at their correct preset heights while sitting or standing to maximize comfort and productivity. If an organization already has sit-stand workstations and is interested in the technology they can contact us as the software is compatible with a myriad of manufacturers, Kind continued. Studies have shown that the majority of sit-stand desk users dont understand how to use their height-adjustable desks, including how often they should transition from sitting to standing throughout the day. Right Height developed the LifeDesk app to provide an easy way for users to make the proper sit-stand transitions, resulting in measurable results that deliver a positive return on investment on their sit-stand desks. When used properly, sit-stand desks improve workers health, increase productivity, and are proven to elevate workplace engagement, which can have a positive impact on the companys bottom line, said Carmody. And now as weve learned that half of American office workers are afraid to return to their workplace, our hands-free controls and our new antimicrobial work surfaces should help companies ease the concerns of their most valuable assets, their people, he added. About Right Height Manufacturing: Right Height Manufacturings ergonomic accessories empower enterprises to create a company culture in which workers perform at their highest levels, contributing to the companys overall success. LifeDesk SmartLegs, which convert virtually any desk into a height-adjustable sit-stand workstation, are the choice of leading enterprises, healthcare organizations and universities nationwide. Right Height Manufacturing is a customer-driven company that exists to make the workplace a healthier place. The company is located in Manchester, New Hampshire. For more information, visit: https://thelifedesk.com About StanData:StanData is a research-driven team of professionals from the wellness, ergonomics, and technology sectors driven to improve health and productivity with a measurable ROI for office-based employees. Their innovative, leading edge technology delivers measurable quantitative and qualitative data metrics and safety. Its simple user interface, and free and freemium price models, are revolutionizing office space in both pre- and post-Covid environments. The company is located in Boca Raton, Florida. For more information, visit: http://www.standata.com UAE opens phone services with Israel, unblocks Israeli websites following normalization accord Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 5:50 PM The United Arab Emirates has removed a block on telephone services with Israel and unblocked Israeli websites as part of their new agreement to normalize bilateral relations Foreign ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates held their first publicly-acknowledged direct phone call on Sunday after Abu Dhabi's recent agreement to normalize relations with Tel Aviv. The UAE's Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, spoke by phone to inaugurate the newly-opened lines. Shortly afterwards, Ashkenazi tweeted that the two regimes "decided together on the establishment of a direct communication channel ahead of the signing of the normalization agreement and... to meet soon." Phone links for the public were also functioning between the two sides. According to reports, Israeli news websites, which previously were blocked in the UAE, could also be accessed using UAE internet connections. "I congratulate the United Arab Emirates on the unblocking," Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel said on Twitter, adding that the normalization of the two regime's relations could open up "many economic opportunities." UAE's Telecoms Regulatory Authority and the country's two main telecoms operators, Du and Etisalat, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel and the UAE on August 13 reached the deal that will lead to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two sides, in an agreement apparently brokered by US President Donald Trump. Under the agreement, Israel has allegedly agreed to "temporarily" suspend applying its own rule to further areas in the occupied West Bank and the strategic Jordan Valley that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had pledged to annex. According to the accord, Israeli and UAE delegations will meet in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements covering sectors including investment, tourism and direct flights and the opening of reciprocal embassies. Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv also on Saturday signed the first business deal since the accord. Emirati APEX National Investment company and Israel's Tera Group will cooperate on research and development related to COVID-19, including a testing device. In a statement to Reuters, the UAE foreign ministry said the country plans to sign an agreement on reciprocal visas, saying more details will be announced in due course. Anger is boiling in the Middle East and elsewhere over the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize diplomatic relations, with Palestinian leaders describing it as a "stab in the back" by an Arab country. Leading Palestinian factions have voiced their strong resentment at the "agreement". In a telephone conversation with Islamic Jihad resistance movement Secretary General Ziad al-Nakhala on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the "treacherous" deal between the Israeli regime and the UAE does not affect the Palestinian resistance against the Tel Aviv regime. "We are confident that this treacherous move will not impact the resistance of the Palestinian people and the resistance movement," Zarif said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Its the opening of fire season in California. But the biggest threat to the people of the state right now is Gov. Gavin Newsom and his shifting rules about closing businesses and schools to fight the coronavirus. Until last week, things were starting to look up out here, pandemic-wise. Los Angeles County, where I live, has been the worst hit county in the state, by far, with 5,112 of its 10,813 COVID-19 deaths. As in every other state between here and Boston, the already very sick and the very old accounted for most of the deaths. About 75 percent were over age 65 and 4,486 were living in nursing homes. California was struggling to come back to life in mid-June when Newsom finally allowed dine-in restaurants, retail stores, bars, religious services and gyms in some counties to reopen under certain state guidelines. More recently, deaths per day have been in a slight decline. So have new positive case numbers per day, COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions. Those and other hopeful trends werent good enough for Newsom, however. Last week, seizing on a spike in hospitalizations, he and his health experts again effectively shut down most of the states economic and social life. Newsom forced gyms, houses of worship, hair salons, malls and other businesses to lock their doors again. He also outlawed all indoor dining and ordered the closing of bars, zoos and museums. Whats worse, he decreed that public and private schools in 32 of the most populous counties must remain closed this fall and kids can only be taught via remote learning. Preventing schools from reopening even private ones is Newsoms most foolish and harmful mistake. Even Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York knows how important it is for kids to get back in school for the kids sake, the sake of their parents and the sake of society. Californians are trying hard to survive Newsom and his fickle rule-making. In my neighborhood I see people getting manicures and pedicures on the sidewalks. The other day, when I ate dinner at my favorite local Italian restaurant, my wife Colleen and I sat outside on the sidewalk at a table next to the grill of a car in a parking lot. Very romantic. Inside, the poor owner had put up plastic shields, sanitized everything and spaced out tables to make sure he met the governors earlier rules, but he is once again forbidden to serve anyone. Up in Napa Valley, I have a friend who owns wineries and has three wine tasting places. Only one is allowed to be open because it has outdoor tables. So far this year, hes down $8 million. Business people like my friend across America are getting slaughtered by Newsom and power-mad governors like him. It didnt surprise me when I heard an industry spokesman say on TV that 85 percent of the countrys restaurants are going to go bankrupt. We need to get some politicians with guts in California and elsewhere. We cant continue to have authoritarian governors shutting down a school system or an entire state every time theres a spike in new COVID-19 cases. We have to start finding ways to live with the coronavirus, not hide from it, because its not going away anytime soon. Even when we get a vaccine well still need to wash our hands and keep social distance and wear a mask. Now that were into the craziness of a presidential campaign, the politics are going to make everything worse. We already have Joe Biden and his new sidekick Kamala Harris blaming President Trump for a virus that started in China. So far everything Biden says hed do to fight the virus when he becomes president has already been done by President Trump. But on Thursday Biden came out with a brilliant new idea a national mandate for wearing masks outside. Apparently, Newsom is advising Joes campaign team. Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of Lessons My Father Taught Me: The Strength, Integrity, and Faith of Ronald Reagan. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Natwest's customers have rated it as one of the worst banks, calling out its poor branches and shoddy overdraft services. The taxpayer-backed lender, which was until recently known as RBS, operates in the UK under both the Natwest and Royal Bank of Scotland brands. But personal banking customers have ranked both among the poorest for service. Consumer group Which? said the bank rankings, published every six months by the Competition and Markets Authority, should serve as a 'wake-up call' for traditional banks. Unsatisfied customers: Royal Bank of Scotland's personal banking customers ranked it 18th out of 19 lenders surveyed, with only Tesco Bank faring worse. Natwest ranked in 12th place Their newer digital-only rivals, including Monzo and Starling Bank, were included for the first time and swooped straight to the top of the table on overall service quality. Royal Bank of Scotland's personal banking customers ranked it 18th out of the 19 lenders surveyed, with only Tesco Bank faring worse. ranked in 12th place. Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said: 'Some challenger banks are doing an impressive job at keeping their customers happy, and their scores should serve as a wake-up call to the big household names.' Just 50 per cent of RBS customers were likely to recommend the lender's branch services the worst of all 15 UK banks with branches. Natwest fared little better, ranked 12th out of the 15. Customers were also unimpressed with their overdraft services, as Natwest were 15th of 18 banks which offered overdrafts and RBS came 17th. A Natwest spokesman said: 'We're focused on doing more and doing better in order to provide the best possible service to customers, businesses and communities. 'We've been listening to customer feedback and are investing in a number of improvements we've made to address the areas where our service falls short of expectations.' Swaraj is my birthright and I will have it. - Lokmanya Tilak The year was 1914. In the month of June, the first World War broke out. The Great War, as it was known, would go on to redefine the rest of twentieth century. The war would also rekindle a hope, a much-needed direction to the Congress nationalist movement that had long lost relevance since the partition of Bengal was called off by the British in 1911. This period would also see the entry of the Mahatma in Indias quest for independence, the spurt in militant nationalism and the formation of the Hindu Mahasabha. June, that year, also saw the release of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak. Six years of rigorous imprisonment at Mandalay getting diabetes at prison had mellowed the father of Indian unrest. There was a raging debate around whether India was going to support the deployment of one million Indian troops by the British in World War I. Over a million Indian soldiers left for the shores of North Africa and Europe in the years to come. Why would Indian lives be put at stake to defend the British imperialist interests, many would argue. However, the moderates believed that the support from Indians would serve as a token of loyalty and the British would pay back with a greater devolution of powers post World War. The moderates also feared that the British would come down heavily on the nationalists were they to foment unrest amongst the military and the masses. Tilak, who was mostly at daggers with the moderates before his imprisonment, wanted to reconcile with them in order to get the Congress together. So Tilak pledged his allegiance to the British Crown. He used his oratory skills to find new recruits for fighting Britains war. All this was done in the hope that the British would grant India self-governance soon after the war ended. At that time, none of the nationalists could foresee that their demand was rather naive. To secure colonial interests was one of the primary reasons why the European imperialist powers were at war. Story continues Before the Congress had officially been unified, Tilak along with Annie Besant started the Home Rule Leagues in 1915. They led the movement across the country in a bid to raise political consciousness of the masses and pressure the British for swaraj or home rule. It was in this regard that Tilak famously came up with the Swaraj is my birthright remark. Many moderate Congress leaders joined the agitation as well. ********** While a surge of Home Rule League-led nationalism swept across India, there was a militant national movement that was gathering steam outside her shores. The Ghadar (Rebellion) Party was formed in 1913 by Indian revolutionaries comprising mostly of Punjabi farmers and former army-men who had migrated to the United States of America and Canada. At the helm of the party affairs were some prominent leaders like Lala Har Dayal, Mohammed Barkatullah and Sohan Singh Bhakna. Unlike the Home Rule League, the Ghadar Party saw the First World War as an opportune moment to catch the British off-guard and lead a mutiny within the British Indian Army. They decided to fund and provide ammunitions to local revolutionaries. Soon after the First World War broke out, the party started reaching out to the British India military camps in Southeast Asia and in India. Thousands of men volunteered to go back to India in a bid to overthrow the British. The party also rode on the resentment caused due to the horrendous Komagata Maru incident in 1914. Indians, mostly Sikhs, were asked to return on reaching Canada under the contentious Continuous Passage Act that was engineered to discriminate against the entry of the Asian origin immigrants. On returning to the Kolkata Port, an argument ensued between the British India officials and passengers on board. Subsequently, the protesters were fired upon and 20 people lost their lives. The party was quick to act on the outrage that gripped India following the incident. February 21,1915 was decided as the date to bring about an armed revolt in Punjab. However, the British got a whiff of it and successfully crushed it. Many Ghadarities in Punjab and rebel soldiers were hanged, imprisoned and killed. Inspired by the Ghadar struggle, 700 men of the 5th Light Infantry at Singapore revolted unsuccessfully. Their movement was crushed and many of them were publicly executed. Lala Hardayal and a few Ghadarities reached out to Britains arch-rivals Germany during the same period. As United States of America entered the First World War to join hands with Britain and France, the Ghadar movement in the United States was crushed around 1917. Anti-German sentiments were on the rise in the US. The Ghadar Partys link with the Germans in order to destroy allies Britain werent viewed with kind eyes. However, after indictment, eight Ghadar nationalists werent deported back to India by the US federal jury despite several attempts made by the British. On the contrary, the Home Rule League was much more organised, less scattered and inclusive in nature. It delivered nationalist consciousness even to the politically backward regions of Gujarat and Sindh. Under the joint efforts of Besant and Tilak, the Congress was re-unified in the Lucknow session of 1916. Soon after, the Lucknow Pact, which was also known as the Jinnah-Tilak pact brought the Muslim League and the Congress together thus adding teeth to Indias fight for Swaraj. The British fighting Turkey in WW1 led to anti-imperialist sentiments among Indian Muslims as the Ottoman Caliphate was considered the spiritual head of Islam. The Congress was even ready to support the Muslim Leagues want for separate electorates in order to establish self-governing institutions. This was met with stiff opposition from the Hindu Mahasabha that was formed in 1915. ********** This was also when Mahatma Gandhi had set foot in Indias political scene. He added more inclusivity to the Congress by bringing peasants issues to the fore and causing popular stirs in the hinterland like the Champaran (1917) and the Kheda (1918) Satyagraha. The period of the first World War was like a crescendo in Indias freedom struggle before the climax. The Lucknow Pact re-instated religion as an identity in politics and paved way for the resurgence of communalism in the future. As the war was nearing its conclusive end that of a victory to the British and its allies the Montague-Chelmsford recommendations officially talked of granting self-governance much to the Indias joy. However, the joy was to be short-lived as the nationalists would soon find out that a different reality was in store. Dont Miss: (TNS) With the University of New Mexico back at the helm, the Innovate ABQ high-tech development zone in Downtown Albuquerque could soon enter a new, accelerated phase of growth.UNM purchased the seven-acre property at Broadway and Central in 2014, and then handed ownership, management and development over to Innovate ABQ, a nonprofit whose board of directors includes leaders from the city, county and business community.Under the nonprofit, Innovate ABQ gained significant initial momentum, with the 2017 opening of the six-story Lobo Rainforest Building built by UNM, plus the launch of the FUSE Makerspace in the old Noonday Ministries soup kitchen a 13,000-square-foot facility that Central New Mexico Community College renovated into a modern community center.Those facilities have since evolved into bustling locations for entrepreneurial development and startup activity. And despite the coronavirus, community events and programs continue to operate online.But further buildout of the Innovate ABQ property ground to a complete halt long before the coronavirus broke out, reflecting the nonprofits difficulty in raising cash, plus legal and structural issues that have distracted the board, such as a two-year battle over property taxes with the Bernalillo County Assessors Office.In response, the UNM Board of Regents voted in July to reclaim ownership and management of the Innovate ABQ property. Its now turned further development over to the university real estate entity Lobo Development Corp., and to UNM Rainforest Innovations, the universitys technology transfer and economic development office.With UNM back in the saddle, Lobo Development Corp. is making plans for the next phase of growth, which will focus on redeveloping the old 71,000-square-foot First Baptist Church Sanctuary, office tower and parochial school.The Innovate ABQ board did draw up plans to renovate and rebuild that building, which sits on the southeast corner of the Innovate ABQ property. Those plans never moved forward, but they provide UNM with substantial building assessment and redesign work to draw on, said Lobo Development Corp. Vice President Tom Neale.We want to build on whats been done, Neale said. They left some projects teed-up to move forward.The original plans called for tearing down the two-story west wing of the church building where the parochial school operated to replace it with an entirely new five-story office tower. The new facility would become a biotechnology incubator with wet and dry labs, plus offices for startup companies and possibly a food court or a restaurant.On the east side of the building, where the churchs two-story chapel and a five-story office tower are located, plans called for renovating those structures into a mixed-use area while preserving the original architecture.The chapels front doors, which face Central Avenue, would become the main community gateway into Innovate ABQ, providing a welcoming area with administrative offices in the entranceway. The chapel itself would become a community gathering space for meetings and events. And the office tower behind the chapel would house different groups, including nonprofits, economic development organizations, entrepreneurial support programs and startups.Lobo Development is now reviewing those plans to determine what can be renovated and what should be torn down, Neale said. It will begin with the west wing, which will be converted into a biotechnology incubator as anticipated, but UNM must still decide whether to reconstruct or rebuild.Were looking at the feasibility of everything right now to decide the right course of action, Neale said. Its expensive to renovate, because we have to make sure the structure has a long life going forward.If the west wing is razed, the new building might not have five stories as anticipated in the original plans.We want to get as much density as we can, but given the current economic environment, well rebuild to the highest density we can actually fund and sustain economically, Neale said. We re in the process of securing grant funding to develop the property at a price that allows us to offer competitive rates for tenants.The Innovate ABQ board did raise significant funds to build the biotechnology incubator, including a $1 million grant from the U.S. Commerce Departments Economic Development Administration, plus matching funds from private sources, said Rainforest Innovations President and CEO Lisa Kuuttila. The EDA will permit UNM to use the grant as the new property manager, but the university must still raise more funds.Were working on options now to fill the gap, Kuuttila said. We expect to get the funding worked out in the next few months.Innovate ABQ leaders previously estimated a $23 million price tag to demolish the west wing and build a new five-story building. But current costs are unclear, since UNM must finalize its plans there.Separately, Innovate ABQ projected about $8 million to remediate and remodel the church chapel and tower into a mixed-use structure. But Neale said costs must yet be determined, and Lobo Development is postponing plans there to first concentrate on the west-wing biotechnology incubator.The former church sanctuary and five-story office tower is a complex structure to redevelop with significant costs to put it back in operation, so were holding off on that for the moment, Neale said.UNM expects the future biotechnology incubator, plus the eventual mixed-use space on the east side, to be in high demand from prospective tenants, given the rush to occupy space when UNM opened its $35 million Lobo Rainforest Building, which sits just north of the First Baptist Church structure. Students live in dormitories on Lobo Rainforests five upper floors. The ground floor is fully occupied by UNMs Innovation Academy, startup companies, and tech-transfer teams from UNM and three of the states national laboratories.One of the challenges after we opened the Lobo Rainforest building was the tremendous demand from startup companies to locate onsite, Neale said. We just didnt have enough room.There are no other existing structures on the rest of the seven-acre Innovate ABQ property, meaning future development apart from the church building must start from scratch. But UNM could potentially partner with CNM on more projects beyond the FUSE Makerspace, something both institutions are discussing.CNM has yet to publicly commit to any new projects. But the college remains committed to its partnership with UNM at Innovate ABQ, said CNM President Tracy Hartzler.We look forward to Innovate ABQ evolving and generating more opportunities for entrepreneurship, creativity and economic development to flourish in Albuquerque, Hartzler told the Journal in an email. Japan's economy shrank at its fastest pace on record between April and June as trade and consumer spending dropped off sharply in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The world's third largest economy saw output drop 7.8 per cent in the second quarter, official data released on Monday showed. At an annualised rate, the fall was 27.8 per cent, the worst ever recorded in Japan. However, it is not as severe as the economic hit taken in a number of other countries. Last week the UK reported its own record slump, with gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking 20.4 per cent in the second quarter alone. Spain, which implemented a stringent lockdown, saw its economy contract by 21.8 per cent over the same period. France, Germany and the US are among other wealthy nations to have reported large falls in GDP this year as millions of people stayed home and businesses shut down to slow the spread of the virus. The Eurozone economy shrank by a record 12.1 per cent and the wider EU by 11.9 per cent in the second quarter of the year. Unlike many other countries, Japan has not implemented a lockdown, instead relying on an effective contact tracing system and government advice to limit social contact. The country had experienced relatively few cases and deaths but a recent increase has prompted the government to introduce some restrictions. Japan's economy was already struggling before the pandemic, shrinking 0.6 per cent between January and March, following a 1.8 per cent contraction in the previous quarter. The latest figures show that exports fell at an annual rate of 56 per cent between April and June, while private consumption dropped at an annual rate of just under 29 per cent. Japan's economy is heavily reliant on exports which dried up as trading partners shut down their economies. Experts predicted that Japan's recovery will be slow. "Expect to see a GDP bounce-back in the current quarter to the tune of 6 perc ent, thanks in large part to the very low base set in Q2," said Miguel Chanco, senior Asia economist at Pantheon. "The recovery, overall, will be more gradual than the steepness of the downturn, due to the second Covid-19 wave having over domestic demand and the still-uneven relaxation of restrictions globally." NEW YORK (AP) Joe Biden is poised to unveil his vision for the modern Democratic Party in the first presidential nominating convention of the coronavirus era, an all-virtual affair that will test the former vice president's ability to overcome unprecedented logistical challenges in an urgent mission to energize a winning coalition. The Democratic National Convention, which formally begins Monday, is not a convention in the traditional sense. There will be no physical gathering place, no cheering audience, no balloons. The program will consist instead of a series of online video addresses half of which will be prerecorded that play out for two hours each night until Biden formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination in a mostly empty Delaware ballroom on Thursday. Along the way, Biden's party will make history by unveiling the nation's first Black vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris. The speaking program also features two former presidents, two past presidential nominees, a former Republican governor, a New York ultra-billionaire and various working-class Americans. Nothing about 2020 has been normal. So I dont think anyone expected that this convention would be normal either, said Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who was under consideration to serve as Biden's running mate and will speak at the convention. I hope wherever people are that theyre excited about the moment and the opportunity that lies before us. The online gathering comes as Democratic officials work to energize supporters behind Biden's candidacy not simply against President Donald Trump's. While Trump is a huge motivator for many Democrats, there is some concern within the party that lower-information voters who lean Democrat and swing voters aren't locks to cast ballots for Biden this fall, especially as the pandemic creates barriers to voting. At the same time, Trump and his allies are fighting to scare away would-be Biden-Harris backers by describing the Democrats' 2020 ticket as the most ideologically extreme in American history. While widely considered a political moderate at least compared with the likes of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren Biden has plans to implement a Medicare-like system for those who want it, sweeping environmental protections and higher taxes on the rich. Still, Biden attracted the support of former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, who is scheduled to speak Monday. The Biden campaign hinted that Kasich would not be the only high-profile Republican featured at the convention, but refused to say more. The inclusion of Kasich, who opposed abortion rights and fought labor unions while in office, rankled some progressives. One of the far left's champions, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is scheduled to speak for just 60 seconds to help introduce Sanders the day after Kasich. Prominent liberal activist Ady Barkan, who previously backed Sanders, is scheduled to deliver remarks the next day. Im glad that John and other moderate-type Republicans understand that it is wrong to be supporting Trump, Sanders told The Associated Press. But what John says has nothing to do with what I will say. My speech has everything to do with the need to defeat Trump, elect Biden and move the country into a government that works for all of us and not just the 1%. There appears to be far less tension among the Democrats' often-competing factions heading into the 2020 convention than many predicted earlier in the year. Just six months ago, political operatives were openly contemplating the prospect of a contested convention in which none of the Democratic candidates had a clear delegate majority going into the convention. That possibility quickly faded in early March. After Biden's commanding South Carolina primary victory, several competitors suddenly rallied behind him as the pandemic began to explode. Even if there was leftover resentment among wings of the party, the convention's online forum doesn't provide any opportunities for public infighting. Key votes on the party platform already will have taken place by mail ballot. The details, which are expected to be approved overwhelmingly, were hammered out in Zoom meetings. Progressives got their say when they extended party rules through 2024 that ban superdelegates from voting for the partys presidential nominee on the first nominating ballot. But without the opportunity for the approximately 4,800 Democratic delegates from across the country to gather on the same convention hall floor, as is tradition, the opportunity for a genuine convention debate over the direction of the party has been eliminated. Larry Cohen, a prominent Rules Committee member and Sanders confidant, lamented the loss of an in-person convention, but not because it limits debate. The key of a convention, really, is the party building that comes with 57 different delegations, he said, noting the in-person daily meetings that would occur in hotels across a host city. You shape the party in those breakfast meetings, where you argue over what it means to be a Democrat in Wyoming, what does it mean in Georgia. The Biden campaign on Friday announced watch parties in all 50 states featuring elected officials and celebrities such as Alyssa Milano, Pete Buttigieg and Valerie Jarrett. The watch parties, like the convention itself, will be online. With less focus on policy debates, convention officials are highlighting the historic racial diversity on the ticket as the nation experiences a national awakening on race. Harris, who is also of Asian descent, is scheduled to address the nation Wednesday night as the first woman of color on a major party's presidential ticket. The high-profile Black speakers also on the program include former first lady Michelle Obama, former President Barack Obama, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Bottoms, who will introduce a video tribute to the late Georgia congressman John Lewis on Thursday night, ahead of Biden's speech. "For so many people of color in this country, race is always at the forefront," Bottoms said. "To be able to have this collective conversation in so many ways is cathartic, especially as were going into an election year, because there wont be any secrets about what people across this country expect from the next administration. Despite the focus on racial justice, the Rev. Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, predicted next week's convention would lack excitement. He said it likely doesn't matter, however, especially as Trump and his party prepare for their convention the following week. As excited as I am about Kamala Harris, the best weapon Democrats have is Donald Trump, Sharpton said. He will do himself in. Just dont get in his way. He will beat himself. ___ Barrow reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in Wilmington, Del., contributed to this report. ___ This story has been corrected to show that Ocasio-Cortez is scheduled to speak the day after Kasich, not the same day. Gerry Pecht, Norton Rose Fulbright Gerry Pecht, Norton Rose Fulbright Houston, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright announced today the election of Gerry Pecht as Global Chief Executive of Norton Rose Fulbright, effective January 1, 2021. Gerry Pecht will succeed Peter Martyr, who has led Norton Rose and then Norton Rose Fulbright since 2002. Currently Norton Rose Fulbright's Global Head of Dispute Resolution and Litigation, Gerry Pecht commented: I am proud and honored to be elected Norton Rose Fulbrights Global Chief Executive. Over the past ten years, we have built a global platform with exceptional lawyers serving valued clients in virtually every major business center. The quality of our people around the world enables us to collaborate on a truly global level. I look forward to building on our platform and taking our firm to the next phase of its evolution. As Global Chief Executive, I will promote our firms unity and strategic alignment, emphasize our client service focus, utilize our technological and innovative advantages and optimize our financial performance. I will also place a priority on social engagement. Lawyers play a special role in society, and our firm must use its influence to fight racism, sexism and social injustice. Diversity and inclusion is a key focus for our firm and a cause I will continue to champion. On behalf of the global business, I would like to thank Peter Martyr for the outstanding contribution he has made to the firm as its first Global Chief Executive, and I am committed to continuing to build on the foundations laid by Peter. Peter Martyr, Norton Rose Fulbright's Global Chief Executive, added: Gerry is a highly experienced business leader, with whom I have worked closely over the past eight years. Gerry is a US lawyer with a global personal and professional background, making him well equipped to drive the firms global business transformation strategy. The firm is in good hands, and I am certain it will flourish under his leadership. Story continues Gerry has been a member of the firms Global Executive Committee since 2013 and has served as Global Head of Dispute Resolution and Litigation since 2014. He joined our Houston office in 1980 and was named a partner in 1987. Regularly representing publicly traded companies located both within and outside the US and their officers and directors, Gerry built a commercial litigation practice focused on securities litigation and enforcement, energy litigation, internal corporate investigations, international litigation and arbitration. Both Chambers USA and The Legal 500 United States have recognized Gerry for his work in securities litigation. Notes for editors: Norton Rose Fulbright Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm providing the worlds preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. The firm has more than 4,000 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. Recognized for its industry focus, Norton Rose Fulbright is strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Through its global risk advisory group, the firm leverages its industry experience with its knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses. Norton Rose Fulbright operates in accordance with its global business principles of quality, unity and integrity, aiming to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of its offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact. Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices. Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com Attachment CONTACT: Dan McKenna Norton Rose Fulbright +1 713 651 3576 dan.mckenna@nortonrosefulbright.com A second person has been charged in connection with the death of a 27-year-old soldier who was killed near the embattled Fort Hood base in Texas. On May 18, the body of Army Pfc. Brandon S. Rosecrans was discovered in a ditch with several gunshot wounds and his 2016 Jeep Renegade was found three miles away 'completely engulfed in flames'. On August 5, Brandon Michael Olivares, a 28-year-old resident of Killeen, was arrested and charged with murder in Rosecrans' death. According to the affidavit Olivares and Rosecrans got into an argument over the sale price of a gun and Olivares allegedly shot Rosecrans at close range as he slept in his Jeep. Last week Estrellita H. Falcon, 37, was also charged in Rosecrans' death, accused of helping Olivares, according to the Army Times. Rosencrans' death was just one of a string of mysterious disappearances and deaths to take place at the base, which came under fire following the April disappearance of 20-year-old soldier Vanessa Guillen. She was brutally murdered, allegedly by another soldier at the base, and her remains were found June 30. A second person has been charged in connection with the death of Army Pfc. Brandon S. Rosecrans, 27, who was killed near the embattled Fort Hood base in Texas in May In early August Brandon Michael Olivares (left), a 28-year-old resident of Killeen, was arrested and charged with murder in Rosecrans' death. Last week Estrellita H. Falcon, 37, was also charged in Rosecrans death, accused of helping Olivares Falcon is charged with the unauthorized use of a vehicle and hindering the apprehension and prosecution of Rosecrans killer, as per Bell County Jail records. Olivares is now being held on $1million bail after being charged with murder. He was already in jail for a separate incident. Falcon is being held on $100,000 bail. The Dallas County medical examiner determined Rosecrans' cause of death as 'homicidal violence'. An autopsy revealed he sustained four gunshot wounds on the left side of his head and neck and 'dense stippling' was found at the wounds' entrances, leading experts to believe he was shot from very close range. Rosecrans was stationed at the Fort Hood Army Base in Killeen, Texas Officials found a bullet hole in the back passenger door of Rosecrans' Jeep and the front passenger seat was reclined almost all the way. That car was later found on fire off-road in a wooded area near Fuller Lane in Harker Heights and Rosecrans' body was found three miles away. A search of Rosecrans' and Olivares' cell phones showed he was in touch with Olivares the night of May 17 and the morning of May 18. Both mens phones 'pinged' in the same locations on the morning of the murder and the night prior. A photo sent from Olivares' phone showed a hand holding a 9mm Ruger and the tattoos on the hand matched those of Olivares. Rosecrans is just one of a string of disturbing deaths and disappearances at the base, including the murder of 20-year-old Vanessa Guillen. She disappeared in April and her remains were first found June 30 Guillen's remains were found days after search teams discovered the corpse of missing soldier Pvt. Gregory Wedel-Morales, 24, (above) on June 19 Pvt. Mejhor Morta, 26, (left) of Florida was found unresponsive on July 17 near Stillhouse Hollow Lake. The body of Spc. Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas, 24, (right) was found Sunday after he died in a boating accident at the same lake over the weekend Olivares admitted on June 18 that the photo was him holding the firearm. Timeline of Fort Hood disappearances/deaths August 19, 2019: Pvt. Gregory Wedel-Morales, 24, disappeared. He was last seen driving his personal vehicle outside of Fort Hood days before he was due to be discharged. He was listed as a deserter by the Army one month after he was last seen. April 22, 2020: Vanessa Guillen goes missing and is last seen in the parking lot of the base. She disappeared after telling her family she was being sexually harassed by a sergeant on the base. May 18, 2020: Body of Army Pfc. Brandon S. Rosecrans, 27, was discovered with gunshot wounds and his Jeep was found three miles away engulfed in flames. June 19, 2020: Search teams discover the corpse of missing soldier Wedel-Morales following a tip to Army base investigators. Remains were found in a field in Killeen, just over 10 miles from Stillhouse Hollow Lake, five miles from Fort Hood. June 30, 2020: First parts of Giullen's remains found about 20 miles east of Fort Hood July 17, 2020: Pvt. Mejhor Morta, 26, of Pensacola, Florida was found unresponsive July 17 in the vicinity of Stillhouse Hollow Lake, around 15 miles from the Fort Hood base. August 2, 2020: The body of Spc. Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas, 24, is recovered from Stillhouse Hollow Lake following boating incident not far from where Morta was found. Advertisement That photo was for a gun sale he 'middle manned' on May 17 for $300. A search warrant of his home on June 4 found a burned Jeep key in a firepit in his backyard. In police interviews Olivares repeatedly changed his story. In one story he claimed he was with Estrellita Falcon and Rosecrans to purchase illegal narcotics, but they didnt kill him. Police said no drugs were found in the car or with Rosecrans body. Then he switched his story to say another person killed Rosecrans in front of him. In two follow-up interviews Olivares said Falcon had nothing to do with the death, but said she was in the Jeep. One person who spoke with Falcon after the alleged murder said she told him Olivares and Rosecrans got into a fight over the price of a gun and Olivares wanted more money than Rosecrans was willing to pay. 'Olivares was scared to shoot Rosecrans and Falcon had called Olivares a "punk" for being scared. Falcon told [the third-party] that Olivares waited to shoot the man, Rosecrans, until he fell asleep,' according to the affidvait. Rosecrans, from Kimberling City, Missouri, served as quartermaster with the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat team, 1st Cavalry Division. He had been with the unit since November 2018 and joined the army in May 2018. Fort Hood has been shrouded in controversy following the disappearance of Vanessa Guillen and the killings of a high number of soldiers. An independent command climate review will be conducted at Fort Hood in the coming weeks by five civilian experts to identify the 'root causes' associated with the 'rise of felonies, violent acts [and] to better understand why this is happening at this installation,' Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy said during a visit to the base last week. Olivares and Falcon, who have criminal records of theft, burglary of a home and forgery, are the second Killeen couple accused in the killings of Fort Hood soldiers in recent months. Spc. Aaron David Robinson, along with his girlfriend, Cecily Aguilar, were linked to the slaying of Spc. Vanessa Guillen. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures as he delivers a speech during a rally of his supporters near the Government House in Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Stringer/Reuters) Lukashenko Says He Is Ready to Share Power in Belarus As Protests Mount MINSKFacing growing protests that have posed the biggest challenge to his 26 years in power, President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday he was ready to share power in Belarus, although not under pressure from the streets. His apparent concession came after exiled opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was willing to lead the country. People attend an opposition demonstration to protest against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 17, 2020. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) Amid increasing demands to quit after the biggest protest against him yet, Lukashenko faced heckling from workers at a factory he visited in Minsk on Monday morning with people chanting Step Down as he tried to answer their questions. Opponents of Lukashenko say he rigged a presidential election on Aug. 9 to secure a sixth term in power. He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80 percent of the vote. He told workers on Monday there would be no new presidential election, something the opposition wants, until he was killed. People attend an opposition demonstration to protest against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 17, 2020. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) The official Belta news agency quoted him as saying he would be willing to share power however, and to change the constitution, but that he was not prepared to do so under pressure from protesters. Work was already underway on possible changes to the constitution that could redistribute power, Belta reported him as saying. Speaking in a video address from Lithuania, opposition politician Tsikhanouskaya urged security and law enforcement officers to switch sides from Lukashenkos government, saying their past behavior would be forgiven if they did so now. I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader during this period, Tsikhanouskaya said, saying it was essential to make the most of the momentum generated by a week of protests. Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the nation in an unknown location in Lithuania, in an image taken from video released on Aug. 17, 2020. (Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Headquarters/Handout via Reuters) She called for the creation of a legal mechanism to ensure that a new fair presidential election could be held. Her video was released as Interfax reported that employees from the state broadcaster BT has gone on strike, after several of their presenters and staff publicly resigned last week in solidarity with the protesters. The broadcaster was showing re-runs of old programs on Monday morning before issuing a fresh news bulletin. Videos circulating on social media suggested BT had at one point aired footage of an empty studio with white sofas, and music playing. Reuters could not independently confirm that and the broadcaster could not immediately be reached for comment. Thousands of protesters marched in Minsk on Monday morning to the state-run Minsk Automobile Plant (MAZ) to where Lukashenko flew by helicopter to speak to striking workers. Lukashenko played down the impact of the strikes, saying those who want to work, let them work. They do not want to work, well, we will not force them, according to comments released by Belta. The media outlet Tut.By reported that workers at Belaruskali, one of the worlds largest potash producers, had also threatened to stop production. The state-owned firm, which is a key source of dollar revenue for Belarus, told Reuters on Monday its plant was still working. By Andrei Makhovsky Amitabh Bachchan is known for always encouraging young talent. The veteran actor sending a hand-written note to praise a performance has been the norm in the industry for a long time. And actors consider it a huge achievemnt to receive such a note. The latest actor to make it to the list is Kunal Kemmu. Kunal Kemmus latest filmwas released on an OTT platform a few weeks back. The comedy film has been winning hearts. And the actor has won him accolades for his performance. While the netizens have flooded the actors timeline, praising him, what he didnt expect was Amitabh Bachchans words of praise. The legend sent him a hand-written note and Kunal Kemmu couldnt contain his excitement. He soon shared the priceless letter on his social media saying, Whatt! This is just the most awesome thing ever. I have often read or heard about this happening and always wished that one day I would also be deserving of one myself... Thank you so much Amitabh Bachchan Sir. This means so much to me. I'm doing back flips in my head and my heart. Well we can totally imagine his state of mind.Amitabh Bachchan called his performance exceptional and praised him for getting his character bang on. Coming from Big B, that is surely a big deal. The film was meant for a theatrical release but due to the pandemic it was directly streamed on an OTT platform. Kunal Kemmu also stars in another web series Abhay 2. Older Huawei smartphones and other devices will no longer receive official Android and Google updates, according to a report from The Washington Post. The publication has confirmed that the temporary license, which allowed for certain exceptions to a ban on US companies dealing with Huawei, expired on 13 August 2020. US President Donald Trump originally issued an order which barred software and hardware makers in the country from conducting business with certain Chinese companies back in May 2019. The ban came amidst an ongoing rift between the countries regarding trade policies and concerns over Huaweis equipment, which the US has claimed could be used to conduct surveillance on its citizens and undermine its national security. This meant companies like Google could not provide Huaweis new devices with its apps or software, including Google Mobile Services (GMS). GMS is the platform which allows for the integration of Google accounts on Android that users with access to the Google Play Store, and apps like Gmail, YouTube, and Google Photos. Exceptions for older smartphones Due to the ban, Huaweis latest smartphones including the Mate 30 and P40 range have shipped with an open-source version of Android without GMS. These phones run the companys own EMUI interface with its AppGallery store for downloading and installing apps. Owners of older Huawei smartphones and Android-based devices, however, have been able to continue using GMS and its accompanying apps thanks to a temporary license which the US government has repeatedly extended since the ban was originally announced. This license was primarily intended to allow rural communities in the country which rely on the companys network equipment to continue receiving support and updates while they seek alternative suppliers. What the expiry means If you own an older Huawei smartphone which still offers GMS, you may no longer be served with updates from Google which offer new features and critical security fixes for its apps. This could possibly lead to the withdrawal of support for the Google Play Store, as well as apps like Gmail and YouTube on older Huawei devices. Huawei has collaborated with various companies in South Africa to expand the apps available on its AppGallery store. For example, it now offers apps from most of the major banks in South Africa including Absa, Capitec, Nedbank, Standard Bank, and Discovery Bank. Update Huawei responds Huawei South Africa has told MyBroadband it will continue providing system updates and security patches for older Huawei devices. For phones with Google Play installed out-of-the-box, all apps downloaded from Google Play and other Google apps will continue receiving updates, the company said. Our customers can keep receiving software updates and services thanks to the strength of the open source community and our own advanced R&D capabilities, Huawei explained. For phones that do not come with Google Play, new apps and updates can be managed through the pre-installed Huawei AppGallery, the company noted. Now read: Discovery Bank app launched on Huawei AppGallery Jenkintown Road closed from Monday through May National leader of the National Liberal party (PNL), Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, said on Monday that the censure motion the Social Democratic Party (PSD) intends to table is "irresponsible action." "Things never turn out as planned. This motion is another irresponsible action on the part of PSD," Orban said in a press statement.The Social Democratic Party would table with Parliament today a motion of censure against the Orban Cabinet. In what amounts to the largest demonstration of any kind in the Belaruss history, an estimated 50,000 protesters descended on the capital in Minsk on Sunday to demand their freedom after a disputed election that left Belarus President Alexander Lukashenkos victory in question. Ever since it was announced that Lukashenko had amassed 80 percent of the vote during Belaruss August 8 polls, thereby extending his 26-year hold on power, election observers, including those in the U.S. and the E.U., have been vocal in questioning whether or not the contest had been free and fair. By Sunday, thronging crowds had turned out in Minsk to demand that Lukashenko a Soviet-style strongman who has been dubbed Europes last dictator resign from his post. In addition to their massive size, the protests have been distinguished by brutal police violence, with human rights groups alleging violence against hundreds of demonstrators. Now, as an imminent strike takes hold of the entire country, many are wondering what exactly is going on in Belarus, how it started, and what will happen next. How did the Belarus protests start? Although the protests began peacefully, videos and photos show increasingly grizzly clashes between civilians and security forces. According to reports, some 6,700 people were detained amid the chaos, hundreds more injured, and at least two people have been killed thus far. The state violence, originally meant to quell the demonstrations, has only further galvanized protestors, and has now sparked calls for a general strike among the countrys state-owned companies and factories. During a visit to the state-owned MZKT military vehicles factory on Monday, which had been planned as an outing to prove Lukashenkos enduring popularity among the factory workers that comprise the backbone of Belaruss economy, the president was instead met with cries of Resign! and liar! from the assembled crowd. You are talking about unfair elections and want to hold fair ones, Lukashenko told the workers present at the address. My answer to you is: we held elections, and as long as you dont kill me, there wont be any other elections. Story continues How could workers change the Belarus protests? The dissent among factory workers is the clearest evidence yet that Lukashenkos support is in free fall, since Belaruss working class has made up his base for more than two and a half decades. A general strike among workers could also help to turn up the momentum in what have so far been sustained and massive protests, especially when considering that workers at oil refineries, fabric manufacturers and even state television reporters are among those threatening to withhold their labor until Lukashenko steps down. One detained factory worker, who declined to give his full name out of concern for his safety, told the Financial Times that prison guards had asked protesters, You wanted regime change and democracy? Here you go! before forcing them to do 100 squats, subsequently beating those who failed to comply. The first to be arrested were the luckiest, because they didnt hit them so badly, the man, identified only as Yaroslav, said. With every passing night the people they brought were treated worse. Two or three people might beat them, one guy even got hit in the face with a truncheon. In a video message released on Monday, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the opposition leader in who fled to Lithuania last week amid contested reports that she had only managed to secure 10% of the vote, claimed victory in the election and said that she was ready to become the countrys national leader. I am ready to take on the responsibility and serve in this period as a national leader so that the country calms down, returns to a normal rhythm, so that we free all political prisoners in the shortest possible period and prepare for new presidential elections, Tikhanovskaya said. She also appealed to the countrys police, calling upon them to come over to the side of the people. What is Alexander Lukashenko saying about the Belarus protests? Lukashenko has continued to grip onto his power throughout the protests, telling demonstrators that he will not back down unless they kill him. In a leaked video, he told workers, Dont worry, I wont beat you, its not in my interestsBut if one of you provokes me, Ill deal with it cruelly. Be a man. Theres a whole crowd of you here and Im only all alone. Put your phone down! Lukashenko, while refusing to concede, has called upon Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to his aid, but as his grasp on power becomes shakier by the day, it seems less and less likely that Russia will abide by the request. Meanwhile, E.U. sanctions appear to be looming. The violence against peaceful protesters in Belarus is appalling, U.K. foreign secretary Dominic Raab tweeted on Monday. The U.K. does not accept the results of this fraudulent presidential election & calls for an urgent investigation through @OSCE into its serious flaws & the grisly repression that followed. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? How You Can Help Beirut After The Explosion Why Protest Broke Out In Chicago Overnight How To Vote Without Relying On A Mailbox By Moira Warburton (Reuters) - Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou and her lawyers are set to attend hearings in a Canadian courtroom via telephone on Monday, arguing for the Canadian attorney general to release more confidential documents relating to her arrest. Meng, 48, was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport on a U.S. warrant charging her with bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in Iran. She has said she is innocent, and is fighting extradition to the United States while under house ... Michelle Obama will make a personal plea for Joe Biden, describing the man she knows, as she keynotes the first night of the Democratic National Convention Monday. The former first lady's speech, which was pre-taped at the Obamas' Martha Vineyard home, is expected to be the second most-watched speech of the virtual convention, after Biden. It marks her first campaign appearance for her husband's vice president. 'I know Joe,' she said in a clip of her addressed released by the party Monday afternoon. 'He is a profoundly decent man guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president. He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country. And he listens.' A Biden for president campaign sign is visible behind the former first lady. Michelle Obama is the keynote speaker for Monday night's Democratic National Convention; her speech was pretaped at the Obama family's Martha's Vineyard home Michelle Obama will make a personal plea for Joe Biden, describing the man she knows - the former first lady and Biden are seen together above at March 2011 reception at the White House Obama also said that Biden will 'tell the truth' and 'trust science' when it comes to handling the coronavirus pandemic, an area where voters give President Donald Trump low marks. 'He will make smart plans and manage a good team,' she said in the 33 second preview clip. 'And he will govern as someone who's lived a life that the rest of us can recognize.' The teaser from her speech was released several hours before the DNC's livestream would begin to air, but President Donald Trump already labeled the night's program boring. 'You want to go to a snooze?' he asked supporters in Minnesota Monday. He specifically mentioned Michelle Obama's forthcoming address. 'You know I noticed that their convention tonight, these are all taped speeches. Michelle Obama's speech is taped,' Trump told supporters Monday in Minnesota. 'Why don't they tell me that? I'll tape my speech next week. It's a lot easier.' Trump will accept his party's nomination next Thursday, a week after the Democratic National Convention concludes. 'I'll make sure it's perfecto, every word will be perfect,' the president went on. Trump traveled to Minnesota and Wisconsin on Monday, with more trips planned for later next week, as part of his counter programming to Biden's coronation as the party's presidential nominee. Democrats have largely scrapped an in-person convention and will instead produce two hours of programming for the next four nights that will culminate with Biden accepting the Democratic nomination in his adopted hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. Republicans also are planning a mostly virtual event when their convention begins next Monday. Michelle Obama ends the first night of the Democrats' online gathering where the theme will be 'We the People.' The evening's speeches and program will address racial injustice with a speech from Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Democratic Congressman James Clyburn of South Carolina; the COVID pandemic with a speech from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer; and putting people over party with speeches from Republican politicians former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, former Congresswoman Susan Molinari, former Hewitt Packard CEO Meg Whitman and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich. Cuomo will attack Trump's handling of the pandemic, which has infected more 5.42 million Americans and killed more than 170,000 people. 'Americans eyes have been opened, and we have seen in this crisis the truth: that government matters and leadership matters. And it determines whether we thrive and grow, or whether we live or die,' he will say according to his prepared remarks released by the party. President Donald Trump mocked Michelle Obama for recording her speech ahead of time But Obama got top billing on the first day of the gathering, which will also feature an eight minute-long speech from Sen. Bernie Sanders, Biden's progressive primary rival. Sanders will appeal for his progressive supporters and those who voted for Trump to come together behind Biden. 'My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election. The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake. We must come together, defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next president and vice president. My friends, the price of failure is just too great to imagine,' he will say according to his prepared remarks released by the party. Obama's husband, former President Barack Obama, is scheduled to speak on Wednesday evening. The former first lady's 2016 convention speech was a viral, motivating moment for the party, remembered for her words: 'When they go low, we go high.' Eva Longoria opens the Democrats' virtual convention saying 'the past four years have left us diminished' as Joe Biden's grandchildren lead the Pledge of Allegiance before line-up of ordinary voters and party big names is paraded to slam Trump on race and coronavirus The Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday night with opening remarks from actress Eva Longoria before a montage ensued of Americans reciting the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. Longoria, who is serving as the night's MC, insisted that this election is the most important of her lifetime. 'Every four years we go together to reaffirm our Democracy, this year, we've come to save it,' Longoria claimed in her opening remarks. 'We always hear that line about this being the most important election of our lifetimes, but this year, it really is,' she urged. Longoria added that 'the past four years have left us diminished' and specifically said in regards to the coronavirus pandemic that 'the past few months have tested us all.' Along with a flurry of 'everyday Americans,' soccer star Megan Rapinoe, actor Daniel Dae Kim, the woman who posed for the 'Rosie the Riveter' poster Agnes Moore and a few state legislators were featured saying 'We the People.' Actress Eva Longoria kicked off the Democratic National Convention Monday night with opening remarks claiming this is 'the most important election of our lifetimes' Biden's grandchildren led the Pledge of Allegiance. From left to right: Finnegan Biden, Hunter Biden, Natalie Biden, Naomi Biden, Maisy Biden A flurry of 'everyday Americans' and some with star power, including the real life WWII 'Rosie the Riveter' Agnes Moore recited the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution Soccer star Megan Rapinoe (left) and Gold Star father Khizr Khan (right), both of whom have been highly critical of Trump, were part of reciting the Preamble and repeating 'We the People' Also featured reciting parts of the preamble in a pre-recorded video from separate locations were Gold Star father Khizr Khan and retired Major General Frank Vivala. Khan harshly criticized Trump at the 2016 DNC after losing his son, Humayun, in 2004 in Iraq. He blasted Trump for his proposed Muslim ban. All of the other speakers were in introduction of presumed Democratic candidate Joe Biden, who completed the preamble with the last sentence. After the convention Chairman and Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson slammed his gavel signaling the start of the 2020 events, Bidens grandchildren recited the Pledge of Allegiance and individuals of all ages, races and genders from all 50 states, Washington D.C. and U.S. territories sang the National Anthem. The virtual convention is the first of its kind in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and will end Thursday night with the nomination of Joe Biden. After images of Trump's infamous Bible photo-op were used in the Springsteen video, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke on a roof overlooking 'Black Lives Matter Plaza,' the section of 16th Street N.W. painted with the yellow message the day after peaceful protesters were teargassed minutes before the president walked across Lafayette Park. 'While we were peacefully protesting, Donald Trump was plotting,' she said. 'He stood in front of one of our most treasured houses of worship and held a Bible for a photo-op. He sent troops in camouflage into our streets, he sent teargas into our air and federal helicopters too.' 'I knew if he did this to D.C. he would do this to your city or your town,' Bowser said. 'And that's when I said enough.' That 'enough' was Bowser's decision to create the plaza, situated due north of the White House. 'I said enough for every black and brown American who has experienced injustice,' Bowser said. Bowser kicked off a virtual discussion on racial injustices after Longoria revealed the night would focus on systemic racism, the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis and how Democrats plan to tackle those issues. She also introduced Philonise Floyd, who provided brief remarks from Texas about his brother George Floyd's death earlier this year, which was filmed, went viral and sparked months of nationwide riots and Black Live Matter protests. 'Our actions will be their legacies,' Philonise said while he and George's other brother sat by his side. He also initiated a moment of silence for George and other black Americans who died at the hands of law enforcement. Following those remarks, singer Leon Bridges performed a song 'Sweeter,' which Longoria revealed was written after George Floyd's death. 'How do we the people take the protests and turn them into progress?' Longoria posed. 'We need to address the economic inequalities that this virus has exposed and worsened.' 'We need a president who understands that this is the moment,' she said before a video of Biden addressing that exact issue played. This transitioned to a pre-recorded video of a conversation between Biden and social justice activist Jamira Burley, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner. NEW DELHI (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the proposal to expand the National Cadet Corps (NCC) in 173 border and coastal districts from where one lakh new cadets will be inducted, an official statement said on Sunday. The expansion of the NCC was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech on Saturday. He said the NCC will be expanded in border and coastal districts so that these areas "get trained manpower for disaster management, and the youth will also get skill training for making their career in the armed forces". The Defence Ministry's statement said Singh has approved the NCC proposal "for a major expansion scheme". "More than 1,000 schools and colleges have been identified in border and coastal districts where NCC will be introduced," it said. A total of one lakh cadets from 173 border and coastal districts will be inducted into the NCC, it said, adding that one-third of them will be girls. "As part of the expansion plan, a total of 83 NCC units will be upgraded (Army 53, Navy 20, Air Force 10) to impart NCC training to the cadets in the border and coastal areas," the Ministry noted. The Army will provide training and administrative support to NCC units located in border areas, it said. The Navy will provide support to NCC units in coastal areas and the Air Force will provide support to those located close to its stations, it added. The NCC is a youth development movement managed by the armed forces. It also provides exposure to cadets in a wide range of activities, with a distinct emphasis on social services, discipline and adventure training. It is open to all regular students of schools and colleges on a voluntary basis. The NCC expansion plan will be implemented in partnership with state governments, the Ministry said. Addressing the country from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Modi had said, "About 173 districts in our border areas, our coastal areas share their boundaries with some or the other nation's border or coastline. In the coming days, NCC would be extended in those border districts for the youth there." "We will train around one lakh new NCC cadets from bordering areas, and we will work towards the idea that amongst those, one-third of them are our daughters," he had said. By Hongshanke At a time when COVID-19 pandemic was raging in America, the death of a black man killed by a white police officer kneeling on the neck sparked a wave of protests across the country. In the face of domestic instability, some U.S. politicians who had been planning to shift the blame of incompetent response to contain COVID-19 to China began to blame their counterparts in the country. The drama of those U.S. politicians shows that they are playing the fool to please the anti-intellectual supporters, aiming at inciting the supporters at the bottom of society to shift conflicts and win support. In order to reap benefits from the blame-shifting game by inciting populism, they frequently play the trick at the expense of Americas long-term interests. Illustration: Wang Yunmiao Despite the fact that America leads the world in science and technology, anti-intellectualism has long existed among the people. A survey suggests that nearly a third of the Americans do not believe in Darwins theory of evolution and only around 40% Americans trust scientific conclusions. Anti-intellectualism has been multiplied by the election, providing a breeding ground for populism that has flourished in American politics in recent years. Due to slow response, the American government wasted more than two months of window of opportunity in the early stages of the epidemic, driving America to be the epicenter of the global COVID-19 pandemic. While a few U.S. politicians have spared no effort to stigmatize China, propagating man-made virus rumor, and even encourage and support some forces to ask China for compensation. They shifted blames to China for "ineffective epidemic control", and tried hard to pretend to be victims, maliciously creating an atmosphere of sharing a common hatred for China. These anti-intellectual statements are categories of conspiracy theories and pseudoscience without even common sense. Some U.S. politicians exploit the anti-intellectualism that has flourished in America and expand its influence ever greater. This is an important reason why they are anixous to shift the blame for benefits in current situation of severe epidemic and civil unrest. Malicious behavior is bound to result in malign results. By using and manipulating public opinion, some American politicians have seemingly gained some support, but have actually torn the American society apart and harmed the whole world, making its domestic situation more difficult to control. They should learn lessons from the failure of epidemic control due to slow response. If they still try to shift the blame without really solving the problem, the current situation in America may turn out even worse. Pope Francis has called for dialogue, the rejection of violence, respect for justice and rights in Belarus as mass protests continue to take place following last weeks disputed presidential election. Speaking the faithful in St Peters Square following the recitation of the Angelus, the Pope said he was following the attentively the post-electoral situation in that country. Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators in Belarus have retaken to the streets to demand that the nation's authoritarian leader resigns after a presidential vote they claimed was rigged. In response, President Alexander Lukashenko declared that Russian leader Vladimir Putin had agreed to provide security assistance to restore order if Belarus requested. By Stefan Bos Lukashenko's comments came amid mounting pressure on the embattled head-of-state to step down. Thousands rally in the Belarusian capital Minsk. They gather at a makeshift memorial at the exact spot where 34-year-old protestor Alexander Taraikovsky died last Monday in clashes with police. Many bring flowers. Belarusian police claim he died when an explosive device he intended to throw at police blew up in his hand. But his partner, Elena German, told reporters that when she saw his body in a morgue on Friday, his hands showed no damage. She claimed he had a perforation in his chest that she believes is a bullet wound. People here express their anger over what they view as an authoritarian president's ongoing crackdown on opposition demonstrators. Alexander Lukashenko. Some male protesters pulled off their shirts to show bruises they said came from police beatings. Others carried pictures of loved ones beaten so severely they could not attend the rally. Many also participated in Taraikovsky's funeral. There have been seven consecutive days of massive protests prompted by the country's August 9 presidential election results. Officials claimed the 65-year-old Lukashenko won a sixth term in a landslide. Listen to the report LUKASHENKO'S WARNING He warned that everyone is fighting for markets to sell, for instance, tractors. And Lukashenko suggested that if the strikes continue, Belarus may not be able to "kick-start" its production. However, the European Union and the United States have urged him to respect the people's will. Speaking in Poland, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed concern about the reported crackdown in protestors. "We've spent these last days consulting with our European partners." He said he had personal meetings and by telephone "trying to understand precisely what's happening," he told reporters. "The common objective is to support the Belarusian people to achieve their own sovereignty, their own freedom, to build out what you're seeing happen in these protests. These people are demanding the simple things that every human being wants: the right to have determination for themselves about the nature of their government," Pompeo added. "And so we urge the leadership of Belarus to broaden the circle, as the foreign minister said, to engage with civil society in a way that reflects the central understandings that the Belarusian people are demanding." The international community is also considering stepping up sanctions against the authoritarian leader and other senior officials. Exiled opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya from Belarus had called for peaceful rallies across the country this weekend. And there are no signs yet that the mounting protests are losing momentum. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:04:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The personal remittances or the money sent home by overseas Filipinos grew 7.6 percent in June to 2.737 billion U.S. dollars from 2.545 billion U.S. dollars in June 2019, the Philippines' central bank said on Monday. "This trend is a reversal from three consecutive months of decline from their comparable levels last year," the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement. According to the BSP, the increase in personal remittances in June led to the total decline of the cumulative contraction in cash remittances for the period January-June to 4.2 percent. The BSP said the growth in the remittances was attributed to the 14.2 percent rise in remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more to 2.164 billion U.S. dollars in June from 1.896 billion U.S. dollars in June 2019. Meanwhile, the BSP said the remittances mainly from sea-based workers fell by 13.1 percent from 593 million U.S. dollars posted a year ago to 515 million U.S. dollars in June 2020. Similarly, it said the cash remittances that are coursed through banks rose by 7.7 percent to 2.465 billion U.S. dollars in June from 2.29 billion U.S. dollars in June 2019, supported mainly by remittances from land-based workers. "The continued drop in sea-based workers' remittances was due to the repatriation of many sea-based workers amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic." the BSP added. The government estimates the number of overseas Filipino workers at 12 million, accounting for one-tenth of the Philippine population. BSP data showed that personal remittances sent home by overseas Filipinos in 2019 reached a record high of 33.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2019, 3.9 percent higher than the 32.2 billion U.S. dollars recorded in 2018. Remittances from overseas Filipino workers are forecast to decline this year due to the economic fallout brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asian Development Bank has projected the remittances from overseas Filipino workers, equivalent to 9 percent of the gross domestic product, to slow this year due to COVID-19. Enditem Pro-life lawmakers urge Trump admin. to end IRS abortion tax deduction Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment More than 100 U.S. senators and representatives have written to the Department of the Treasury to end tax breaks in the IRS code for abortion. Presently, the IRS allows abortion expenses to be tax-deductible as a "medical expense." Abortion is not healthcare. Any procedure where a successful outcome is the death of a living human being born or unborn is not healthcare, a letter signed by 23 senators, including Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and James Lankford, R-Okla., along with 80 representatives reads. The lawmakers noted that abortion was a crime in virtually every state when the deduction for medical care was first enacted in the Revenue Act of 1942. However, shortly after Roe v. Wade, the IRS imposed on the then-three-decade-old statute a meaning of medical care that would have been unthinkable to the 77th Congress that enacted it. The members of Congress requested Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to take swift action to issue new regulations to protect innocent human life by ending tax breaks for abortion under the guise of medical care. They urged the IRS not to consider abortions (except when the mothers life is physically endangered) to be medical care. The IRS should not treat premiums for health insurance that covers such abortions as medical care, unless in compliance with the laws separate accounting requirements for coverage of non-medical care. In a press release, Rep. Warren Davidson from Ohio said, Abortion is not health care and it should not be recognized as such by the IRS. Davidson called the 1973 IRS decision controversial, and said, taxpayers should never be forced to subsidize abortion, according to Pregnancy Help News. Every human life from the moment of conception is invaluable, Braun said. Taking the life of an unborn child through abortion is certainly not health care and should not be treated as such. Many pro-life organizations, including March for Life, Susan B. Anthony List, Family Research Council, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Concerned Women for America, Americans United for Life, Heritage Action and Students for Life of America have endorsed the letter. In March, Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other Democrats for seeking to include a possible way to guarantee federal funding for abortion into the coronavirus economic relief plan. While schools are closing and hospitals are gearing up, Speaker Pelosi is waging unnecessary culture wars, Sasse told National Review in a statement. Sasse was referring to a report in The Daily Caller, in which White House officials anonymously said that Pelosi attempted to secure a funding stream of up to $1 billion for reimbursing laboratory claims. According to the officials, the provision would set a precedent of health spending without protections outlined in the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal tax dollars from paying for abortions. We never discussed it as a board and when I tried to bring it up for discussion I was told it wasnt the right time, said Black, who was the only African-American board member during much of her two-term tenure. Unfortunately, many times people know its a problem, but sometimes its easier to ignore it than to address it, and I think that was the case here. Spotlight PA is joining forces with PA Post, a project of WITF Public Media, to create the largest statewide news organization in Pennsylvania. The newsroom will continue to be known as Spotlight PA. Read more Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with PennLive/The Patriot-News, Triblive/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter. HARRISBURG Were about to kick things into a whole new gear. Over the past 11 months, Spotlight PA has proven to be an essential source of accountability journalism about Pennsylvania state government and urgent statewide issues, delivering stories that otherwise would have gone untold and getting results. From our reporting on the states failure to protect nursing home residents from COVID-19, to how lawmakers have hidden millions in campaign spending, our work has changed the equation in Harrisburg, led to calls for reform, and sparked real change. We now provide this in-depth and high-quality reporting from the capital at no cost to 48 newsrooms in communities across Pennsylvania, an innovative and efficient way to combat the financial crisis facing the news industry and to help make our state better for all. Today, Im proud to announce were joining forces with another independent newsroom PA Post, a project of WITF Public Media in Harrisburg to expand our coverage. As part of the merger, WITF will join The Inquirer, PennLive/the Patriot-News, and Triblive/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review as a governing partner and board member. Our two newsrooms were founded around the same time and share a similar mission: to connect Pennsylvanians to their state, and to each other, through accountability driven, public service journalism. Now, Im excited to transform our work into a single, stronger collaborative newsroom. DONATE NOW: Journalism that calls out injustice and holds the powerful to account is more important than ever. If you agree, please become a donor today at spotlightpa.org/donate. Our combined newsroom which will continue to be known as Spotlight PA will give us more expertise to expand our reporting and grow our audience, all in pursuit of the day when everyone in Pennsylvania has the information they deserve to understand how their tax dollars are spent, to hold their elected officials accountable, and perhaps most importantly to make their voice heard in pursuit of a more equitable future. As part of the merger, two PA Post reporters Ed Mahon and Joseph Darius Jaafari will be joining Spotlight PAs team. We will be creating a new, statewide coverage area focused on the criminal justice system and its disproportionate impact on communities of color, as well as expanding our footprint to ensure issues important to rural communities and communities in Western Pennsylvania are adequately reflected in our work. To support this expansion, we will be hiring another deputy editor. Additionally, Spotlight PA is leading the creation of a diverse source database a directory of at least 100 experts of color across Pennsylvania to improve representation in our own coverage, and to provide a resource to help other newsrooms do the same. You can support that effort at spotlightpa.org/donate. In total, our combined newsroom will now include 14 reporters and editors in addition to technology and fund-raising staff. We will continue to publish all stories at spotlightpa.org and across our partner network. We will also continue to offer our free weekly newsletter, the Investigator, as well as our new weekly coronavirus alerts, customized by county, to provide more localized data to keep you informed and safe. Finally, Spotlight PA will take over production of PA Posts free daily newsletter, the Context. None of this critical public service journalism would be possible without the support of foundations and individuals who value the truth and share our commitment to holding power to account and making Pennsylvania a better place for all. Christopher Baxter is the editor-in-chief of Spotlight PA. 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. A man in his 30s was shot outside Encore Boston Harbor Sunday morning, the Middlesex District Attorneys Office and Everett police said. Police responded to a report of a man being shot at the casino in the area of Sweetser Circle in Everett at around 3 a.m. on Sunday, authorities said. The victim, who authorities didnt public identify, was taken to a hospital where he was teated for injuries he sustained during the incident, authorities said. His condition wasnt provided. The shooting is not believed to be random and no arrests have been made at this time while authorities continue to investigate the incident, the district attorneys office said. Encore Boston Harbor reopened on June 12 after shutting down due to the coronavirus. Related Content: President Donald Trump has dismissed accusations that he is attempting to undermine the United States Postal Service (USPS) in an effort to win the November presidential election. Im just making it good, Mr Trump said when speaking on Fox & Friends Monday morning. The hosts specifically asked the president if he was attempting to sabotage the postal service, an accusation Mr Trump shrugged off. Were making it so it is going to be good, and were going to take care of our postal workers above all, Mr Trump said. Were not firing people, but the way they ran that thing for many years, this isnt a Trump thing... This has been one of the disasters of the world the way its been run. Its been run horribly. And were going to make it good, he added. Now what am I supposed to do? Let it continue to run badly. So if you fix it, they say oh hes tampering with the election. No, were not tampering. Mr Trump has claimed that the service has lost billions of dollars of profit, but the USPS is actually a federally-funded government entity, meaning it is not necessarily meant to boast a huge profit. Conversations surrounding the USPS have come to light in recent weeks as more states are preparing to hold mail-in ballots as an option for the upcoming election. These plans are being put in place to lessen the number of voters gathering at polling locations amid the coronavirus pandemic. Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for all House lawmakers to return to Washington DC this week during their recess to vote on a bill that would fund the USPS before the election. Democratic lawmakers have pushed for $25bn in funding to the USPS as an addition to the next coronavirus relief package. Also, $3.5bn would be designated towards services within USPS directly related to the upcoming election. Mr Trump, even though hes said he was not opposed to giving more funding to the USPS, has called these efforts by Democratic lawmakers a con. This is a con game by Pelosi and Schumer, Mr Trump said, referring to Ms Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Mr Schumer, a Democrat of New York, has put pressure on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to agree to call the Senate into session to vote on the USPS legislation if it were to pass in the House. All of this comes after Postmaster General Louis Dejoy, a Donald Trump appointee and supporter of the president, has made sweeping changes in a bid to help the USPS save money amid a decline in revenue. Changes included adjusting delivery policies and overtime pay for workers, which could impact the speed in which people receive their mail. On Friday, a top USPS official sent a letter to 46 states and Washington DC to warn that the service could not guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the upcoming election would arrive on time, The Washington Post reported. Mr Trump also confirmed last week on Fox News that he was against any push from Democrats to help fund the USPS before the election, hinting that method would impede his plans to make mail-in voting more accessible. They need that money in order to have the post office work so it can take all of these millions and millions of ballots, Mr Trump said. If they dont get those two items, that means you cant have universal mail-in voting because theyre not equipped to have it. Nine states currently have universal mail-in voting in place where voters automatically receive their ballot in the mail. In some of these states, such as Colorado and Utah, this has been part of their voting system for years without complaints from lawmakers. Other states have implemented mail-in ballots for the upcoming election by having voters request their ballot by a specific date. Neighbors Help Each Other Amid Apple Fire Destruction As a raging wildfire approached Cherry Valley, California, neighbors united to help each other evacuate, along with their horses and other animals. Most escaped without injury or loss, but others werent so lucky. Won Kyoung Lee and Myung Ok Lee had just retired and moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Southern California to enjoy their golden years. They spent their life savings on a 3,400-square-foot home on Avenida Miravilla in Cherry Valley. Won Lee heard fire engines in the distance in the early evening of July 31. As he stood outside their home and watched a thick column of smoke and ash billowing, he knew their dreams were going to have to wait. He called to his wife, Honey, we need to get out! They fled with only the clothes they had on. Myung Ok Lee grabbed her car keys and purse, and they headed for her car. Won Lee decided to take his truck as well, so he ran back in the house for his keys. It was smoky in house already, he told The Epoch Times. He was in the house only a couple of minutes, but by the time he got out, the grass in his yard was already burning. Within minutes, their home was engulfed in flames. They drove some distance away and watched their home burn. Won heard a couple of explosions. An hour later, the house was completely destroyed. All that was left was the ruins of the house and of a third vehicle, a Lexus convertible. He said of the convertible, It was good to drive in California. A Lexus convertible owned by Won and Myung Ok Lee was destroyed during the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., on July 31, 2020. (Courtesy of Jennifer Chen) The home of Won Lee and Myung Ok Lee was destroyed by the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., on July 31, 2020. (Courtesy of Jennifer Chen) The Apple Fire began at about 5 p.m. near Oak Glen Road and Apple Tree Lane, north of Cherry Valley, and has consumed more than 33,000 acres. The blaze started as three separate spot fires before it merged into one large wildfire. As of Aug. 17, it was 95 percent contained. The Lees are South Korean immigrants. They adopted the names of Bill and Emily when they immigrated, but prefer more often in recent years to use their real names. Won Lee is 71 and Myung Ok Lee is 69. They had lived in South Carolina for 21 years before moving to California. I invested my retirement money, Won Lee said. After a long pause, he continued, After 2 1/2 months, I almost completed the renovations [on the house]. The Lees had no insurance. Won Lee had hoped to finish the renovations, get an estimate, and buy insurance. About a week before the fire, he had called an insurance company, but discovered that the firm had moved its office to Banning. I just hesitated, and that was my big mistake, he said. The Lees have been staying at a friends place in Yucaipa, a short drive from their property. They feel blessed to have received donations of food, clothing, blankets, and furniture from the Fellowship Church in Beaumont. They helped us a lot, Won Lee said. Won Lee and Myung Ok Lee have been helped by friends and relatives through a local church and a Go Fund Me campaign after losing their home to the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., on July 31, 2020. (Courtesy of Jennifer Chen) Jennifer Chen, their daughter-in-law, recently set up a Go Fund Me page to help the couple recover from the devastating loss. As of Aug. 17, more than $30,000 of the $250,000 goal had been raised. We are so deeply touched by the outpouring of love and support! We thank you for your generosity and prayers during this difficult time, Chen wrote on Aug. 14. Won Lee is grateful to the many friends, relatives, and others who have donated to the recovery fund. So many people have come forward [to offer] comfort and encouragement, he said. Just after 6 p.m. on the first night of the blaze, the Lees neighbor, Jeff Elser, smelled smoke and saw that the fire had spread to the ravine behind his house on Whispering Pines Road. On Whispering Pines All the smoke was coming right at me, in my direction, rolling over my house, Elser told The Epoch Times. The first thing I did was I called the Edward-Dean Museum in Cherry Valley. Its a fine art museum on Oak Glen Road. I worked there for 16 years, and Im sort of their lookout. Whenever I see smoke in that area, I call the curator and let her know. As he finished dinner, he saw the flames moving closer. I emptied my safe, I got some clothes, I got my medicine and I got some documents, and I packed up my car. During the 10 minutes it took to gather those essentials and get his dog, Timber, into his vehicle, the fire had nearly reached his property. It looked like the fire was almost upon me, Elser said. I got in my car and pulled out. I started to head down the road, and I got just a little beyond my house, and I stopped. I could see my house from the road and I saw the hillside behind my house was engulfed in flames. I had a swimming pool with a pool house and it looked like it was on fire already. At that point, I thought I better just go. Soon, fire engines raced up the ridge, and water bombers and helicopters began to douse the flames. For the next few hours, Elser waited anxiously to find out if he would have anything left or if it would all be lost. All this time, I didnt know if my home was going to be there, he said. Later that night, he went back to check. He had lost his pool house and landscaping, but his home had been spared. My life has changed. I dont know how to describe it. You feel very vulnerable. You realize whats really important, he said. Jeff Elser stands with his dog, Timber, a Husky-German Shepherd mix. (Courtesy of Jeff Elser) Jeff Elsers pool house was burned to the ground by the Apple Fire in Cherry Valley, Calif., on July 31, 2020. (Courtesy of Jeff Elser) A view of the charred hillside behind Cherry Valley resident Jeff Elsers home. Many mature oak trees were lost in the Apple Fire. (Courtesy of Jeff Elser) For the next two weeks, Elser said he has patrolled along the ridge of the ravine near his house with his shovel, putting out several small fires from embers on the hillside. I just put out two more this morning, he said on Aug. 12. Its a good thing I did, because it could have started another forest fire. The first night of the fire, neighbor Lynn Warren watched as helicopters swept in to save Elsers home. They sent over four helicopters one right after the other to dump water over his backyard and they got it out really fast, she told The Epoch Times. Help With Evacuating Warren, who also lives on Whispering Pines Road, evacuated the first night of the fire after some friends arrived to help take her horses, Baby and Dixie. The horses are now back home happily munching hay, she said. The evacuation order in Cherry Valley was lifted Aug. 4. Her home was spared. It was just cool that our neighbors all banded together and supported each other, she said. Lynn Warrens horses, Baby (L) and Dixie, are happy to be back at home sharing some fresh hay with the goats. (Courtesy of Lynn Warren) Laurie Brooks spent the week moving horses from high-risk areas to safer ones, and then back again. It has been an exhausting week, she told The Epoch Times. She didnt evacuate herself, but helped others nearby. They did ask us to evacuate, but we felt we were safe. We were two blocks down from the fire. Dorothy Kliewer also spent several days helping friends rescue their horses, goats, donkeys, and other animals. During all the commotion of sirens and helicopters, smoke and people panicking, Kliewer was worried the horses could break loose and bolt from the barns. Dorothy Kliewer (R) helps to evacuate a neighbors goats not long after the Apple Fire started in Cherry Valley, Calif., on July 31, 2020. (Courtesy of Dorothy Kliewer) Residents in Cherry Valley, Calif., evacuate along with their horses, on July 31, 2020. (Laurie Gonzalez) Theyre flight animals, and theyll run when theres a fire, she told The Epoch Times. They get confused and dont really know where to go. As far as she knows, no horses were lost in the blaze. In the equestrian community, everybodys really nice and willing to help each other, Kliewer said. If you have a horse, youre a sister or a brother, you know what I mean? Its a neat kind of relationship. If anybody needs anything or help with some things you have people you can depend on. You cant just throw felonies on everybody for speaking their mind, said Taylore Norwood, of GoodKids MadCity. Shaundric has not been processed, he has not been released, weve been here for 12-plus hours and she (Mayor Lori Lightfoot) still has said nothing, nothing to the community, nothing to the Black organizers who were brutalized. We havent heard anything. This on-demand session on March 10 features our expert panel, including "Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution" producer, Dr. Barbara Berney. You need to know how to identify and address social determinants of health to improve health outcomes for your patients and vulnerable populations in your community. The results of an AAFP member survey indicate that while 85% of surveyed physicians believe social needs are directly related to poor health, 80% are not confident in their ability to address their patients' social needs. In response to this need and a AAFP Congress of Delegates resolution, the AAFP formed the Center for Diversity and Health Equity to address social determinants of health with The EveryONE Project. The EveryONE Project aims to address social determinants of health by: Twelve staff members working at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawars home Silver Oak in south Mumbai were tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday. Following this, Pawar and his family members also underwent antigen tests. Their results came negative. However, as a precautionary measure, Pawar will remain in isolation for the next four days and will not meet people. The antigen test report of Pawar sahib, conducted at Breach Candy Hospital, has come negative. He is taking all the precautions. There is no reason to worry, state health minister Rajesh Tope said, adding that the party would request the senior leader to postpone all his visits for some days. Of the 12 staffers whose Covid-19 test results came positive on Monday, 10 are members of Pawars security detail, while the other two are drivers of his family members. Some other staff members also underwent tests and their reports are awaited. The security personnel have to ensure that there is a distance maintained between the NCP chief and the people who meet him. Thus, they may have come in contact with someone who was infected while ensuring security, the health minister said. We conduct the Covid-19 testing of the family members and staff every 15 days. The samples were taken on Sunday. All the 12 staffers are asymptomatic and have been admitted to the NSCI facility at Worli, said a close aide of the veteran leader. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Australian swimmer Chloe McCardel Sydney [Australia], Aug 17 (ANI): Australian swimmer Chloe McCardel has broken the men's world record for the most swims across the English Channel after making her 35th journey. The 35-year-old completed the roughly 35-kilometre swim between Dover, in south-east England, and northern France in 10 hours and 40 minutes on Sunday. It was her fourth crossing of the channel in 16 days, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The swimmer had received a travel exemption from the Australian government to travel to the United Kingdom amid the coronavirus pandemic and contest the men's record. McCardel surpassed Kevin Murphy who holds the record for the number of men's crossings after completing his 34th swim in 2006. He has been beaten only by British long-distance swimmer Alison Streeter, who has made 43 crossings. "I am just so excited, it is a really special moment to really nudge ahead of all the men and be the second-highest English Channel swimmer in history. I am just elated," The Sydney Morning Herald quoted McCardel as saying. In 2016, McCardel set a record for the number of English Channel swims by an Australian with her 20th crossing. (ANI) As Congress failed to draft and approve a further stimulus relief package amid the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on 8 August that included an enhancement in unemployment benefits that could run for an additional five weeks. The weekly $600 in unemployment benefits expired on 31 July and since then millions of Americans have been wondering what was going to happen next. President Trump had appeared to provide for an extra $400 a week in benefits (a third of that made available in the CARES Act), but in a statement released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) only $300 per week was authorized. FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor approved the states of Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and New Mexico for the first FEMA grants under this unprecedented program. FEMAs grant funding will allow Arizona, Iowa, Louisiana, and New Mexico to provide those unemployed due to Covid-19 $300 per week on top of their regular unemployment benefit. "FEMA will work with Arizona Governor Ducey, Iowa Governor Reynolds, Louisiana Governor Edwards, and New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham as they implement state systems to make this funding available to the residents of their states, read the statement. How the money is distributed According to the memorandum the federal government would cover $300 and the states have to cover the remaining $100. The problem is that many governors argued that they did not have enough funds to cover that money so for that reason only $300 a week will be available in unemployment benefits in those cases. This is half of what was being provided before. A-level students in England have shared their delight after a U-turn on the grading of exam results turned despair over their futures into hope once more. After days of outcry over an algorithm which appeared to unfairly hinder high-achieving students from lower-performing schools, schools regulator Ofqual announced it would change course and also allow teachers predicted grades to inform results. My heart is beating so fast, said student Alaa Muhammad, who had faced missing out on her dream of studying medicine in Pakistan after being downgraded. She told the PA news agency: I am ecstatic, I am so so happy. I was so hopeless a couple of days ago and now I feel like I can finally breathe again. Ms Muhammad, from south-east England, had seen her grades fall from a predicted ABB to EDD due to the heavily criticised algorithm. The stark drop saw her post an emotional plea on Twitter to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson. I deserve to know why you have ruined my chance at life. Why I dont feel like living anymore. Why I feel like all my hard work and money has gone to waste, she wrote in the tweet, which was retweeted more than 60,000 times. Ms Muhammad told PA she had paid more than 2,000 to take resits at a private college after her studies in year 12 and 13 were disrupted. She now hopes she will be able to find a university place after all. Jess Johnson, 18, last year won an Orwell Youth Prize for a piece of dystopian fiction about an algorithm that sorted students into bands based on class. I mean, Miss has been saying you should get Band 1 all year. Its not about that anymore is it?, he snapped In 2019, @Jess_Johnson_02 was an @OrwellYouthPriz winner for 'A Band Apart' a prescient dystopia judged by @caitlinmoran - do read it - https://t.co/EV4HmwrZFK Orwell Youth Prize (@OrwellYouthPriz) August 14, 2020 When she first received the A-level results dictated by the algorithm, Ms Johnson faced losing out on a 16,000 scholarship and believed she had fallen into my own story. I wrote about it because I saw the educational inequality in the UK was there, but now its physically being enforced by an algorithm, she told PA. However, after the change in policy to use teachers assessments, she will get the A she needed in English to fulfil the terms of her initial offer at St Andrews. Expand Close Jess Johnson was set to miss out on a 16,000 scholarship (Jess Johnson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jess Johnson was set to miss out on a 16,000 scholarship (Jess Johnson/PA) Im very excited about that, Im glad they made the change, said Ms Johnson, who studied at Ashton Sixth Form College in Greater Manchester. I think it would have been unfair if (Northern) Ireland, Scotland and Wales made the change and we didnt, so Im very glad. Student Thomas Jukes, who had missed out on a place to study medicine at the University of Birmingham, questioned why the rubbish algorithm was used in the first place. Im much more pleased now I have got my centre-assessed grades. Its just dependent now on whether my places have been held, Mr Jukes, 18, from Great Barr in Birmingham told PA. If they managed to turn around in four days and say, well, you can just have your centre-assessed grades, it wouldnt have been that much hassle in the first place, would it? I think they put a lot of time and effort into this rubbish algorithm, which has been a monumental failure, to just literally give us what the teachers predicted us anyway. Expand Close A level students celebrate outside the Department for Education in London after it was confirmed that candidates in England will be given grades estimated by their teachers (Victoria Jones/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A level students celebrate outside the Department for Education in London after it was confirmed that candidates in England will be given grades estimated by their teachers (Victoria Jones/PA) Ms Muhammad was in agreement, adding: They had four months to think of this. They should have thought every situation through. It was extremely unprofessional of them to follow suit to other countries instead of creating a system that would have been realistically fair. The announcement came as students took part in a demonstration outside the Department for Education in central London on Monday afternoon. Describing the U-turn as a bit late but better late than never, Fawad Sajid, 18, of Kingsbury, north-west London, said: For the greater good, this change is definitely a step in the right direction but I still feel there needs to be a process in which students can appeal against their teachers (assessed grade). Some students will naturally feel that having that assessment is not fair either. These appeals need to be treated on a case-by-case basis. We have been out here for three days protesting and we only got our results on Thursday. To see them make a change makes me feel good to see the power of the youth. Expand Close Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson in his office at the Department of Education (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Secretary of State for Education Gavin Williamson in his office at the Department of Education (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Glen Morgan-Shaw, 18, of Mitcham, south-west London, who also took part in the demonstration, said Mr Williamson needs to resign. I think he needs to make a large-scale apology and he needs to be on live television and tell all the students of the country that he wants to put down, who are of a lower class than him, that he is sorry and he is going to resign, he said. Pennsylvanias tree-covered mountains and valleys are expected to begin its annual tourist-attracting, fall foliage display in a few weeks, right on schedule, as they have for as long as anyone can remember. But most of the long-standing fall foliage festivals will be skipping this fall because of restrictions imposed by the state to battle the coronavirus pandemic. Alone in an attempt to push forward with some sort of event this fall, the Clarion Area Chamber of Business and Industry is trying our best to have a fall event, with the 67th annual Allegheny Toyota Autumn Leaf Festival tentatively scheduled for October 1-4 but with a crowd limit of 200. The Flaming Fall Foliage Festival announced that the event in Renovo has been canceled due to Covid-19. Follow this website for information about the 2021 Flaming Fall Foliage Festival activities. Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency noted it will be focused on your safety and the safety of our community. And so, instead of an organized festival this October, we will be highlighting and advertising our local merchants and restaurants fall specials and sales. Due to all the unknowns around COVID-19, the JTTA has decided to CANCEL Fall Festival 2020. Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce slapped a big red Canceled symbol over its webpage for the 40th annual Fall Festival and a note about Returning next year, October 9th and 10th 2021. Bedford Fall Foliage announced, This years 2020 festival is canceled due to Pennsylvanias mandates, which limit crowds to 250 people. Coudersport organizers noted on the Facebook page, In choosing safety above fun, we wont be able to enjoy the 2020 Falling Leaves Outdoor Show together. See you next year. Fall foliage season usually doesnt begin to show even a glimmer of color until late September in Pennsylvania. 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. Contact Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com. Crunchyroll is rumored to be the next one to be shut down for good after KissAnime. The anime website's fans are worried that it could go out of business after third-party licensing and stories of sales circulated online. Also Read: Reddit CEO Explains Why the Platform Allows Donald Trump's Political Ads, Points Outs Some Restrictions Besides the speculations that the anime platform could help up because of a steep asking price, there are also reports claiming that Japan's top anime studios are currently developing a YouTube channel that would stream anime content for free. Also Read: Redditors Leaked SpaceX Starlink Internet Speeds That Are Way Below Target Variety first reported that several studios, including Kodansha, Toei Animation, and Nippon Animation, are working together to create their own channel on YouTube called Animelog or Anilog. This channel will provide the contents from the anime studios for free, which will give these anime websites control over content distribution. Popular websites such as Funimation and Crunchyroll may be out-of-date once the new channel and similar studio-led distribution networks are completed. These platforms will provide millions of people outside of Japan with a streaming service by licensing anime from the networks, as well as acting as a third-party distributor. There is a possibility that platforms like Crunchyroll or Funimation will no longer be needed if free channels managed by a union of animation studios become successful on the YouTube platform. Other platforms you can stream anime content legally Comicbook's report provided the list of other websites where users can stream anime content legally. These websites are free of malware and also support the original teams behind each of the anime. 1) VRV - This platform includes HIDIVE and Crunchyroll catalogs. ($9.99 ad-free subscription available) 2) Pokemon - If you're a Pokemon fan, this anime platform is perfect for you since it provides free English dubbed Pokemon episodes from the series' official site. 3) Viz Media - Viz Media's English language anime licenses can be found on this website. 4) Anime-Planet - This anime platform provides content from HIDIVE, Hulu, and Crunchyroll. 5) Asian Crush - Bringing nostalgia as it includes rare classic anime content, as well as non-anime offerings. For more news updates about anime websites, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes. Also Read: [BREAKING] KissAnime and KissManga Closed Permanently: Are There Alternatives? This article is owned by TechTimes, Written by: Giuliano de Leon. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. thl advises that it has appointed Nick Judd to the role of Chief Financial Officer. Nick joins thl with a wealth of experience in the tourism industry, having most recently spent 17 years in various senior leadership roles with Air New Zealand, most recently as their Chief Strategy, Networks & Alliances Officer. Nick is a chartered accountant and has held a number of finance-based roles prior to moving into broader general management positions. Along with the appointment of Nick, thl has appointed current General Manager Finance Steven Hall to the role of Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Steven has been with thl for 5 years and has led various aspects of the finance function, including taking up the role of Acting Chief Financial Officer on two occasions. Steven will be supporting Nick in overseeing and managing the finance function, and will enable Nick to engage in broader management responsibilities within the business. As such, thl does not intend to fill the Chief Operating Officer role that will shortly be vacated by Jo Allison. Chief Executive, Grant Webster, said we are thrilled to have someone of Nicks experience join our team at thl. Nicks contribution will be valuable as we execute on our framework for FY21 and beyond in what are truly unique market conditions. Nick will be based out of thls Auckland office and is expected to take up the position of Chief Financial Officer in September 2020. Source: Tourism Holdings Limited (Thl) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Z Energy Limited (NZX: ZEL) Q3FY33 Operating Data Smartpay Holdings Limited (NZX: SPY) Trading Update Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Shareholders Approve Zalm Therapeutics Share Issue Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY achieves cash NPAT profitability in 1HFY22 19th January 2022 Morning Report PaySauce Limited (NZX: PYS) Quarterly Market Update Dec 2021 FTX announced as naming rights sponsor of Australian Blockchain Week 2022 18th January 2022 Morning Report 17th January 2022 Morning Report Mosaic lands leading corporate trust expert as new partner Ghanaians have been advised by the Member of Parliament for Tamale North Hon Alhassan Suhuyini to vote back into power in the December 7 polls former President John Dramani Mahama to restore their comforts in life. According to him, there are quite a number of reasons for Ghanaians must reconsider the comeback of former President John Mahama to the Presidency and relegate the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to opposition. Speaking on The Big Issue on Citi FM, Hon Alhassan Suhuyini said his reasons for Ghanaians to consign the governing to NPP to opposition is based on the recent military intimidation in the voter registration, series of corruption and the untold hardship meted out to Ghanaians for more than three years under President Akufo-Addo. He reiterated that the Akufo-Addo led NPP Government has exhibited gross disappointment in the management of the country thus the current President lacks what it takes to manage the affairs of the country. The misuse of the military, the media that is intimated and the fact that there is growing despondency in this country, he noted. The Tamale North lawmaker also added that voting back former President John Mahama to the President will see massive economic transformation in the country as it used to be in his first term in office. In his second coming, the investments will be targeted at the private sector, the public sector and the informal sector. The next phase of his presidency will ensure that investment goes into creating jobs. Dr. Bawumia and the NPP do not portend well for the future of the NPP. That is why there is the need for us to rise above partisanship as Mr. Mahama has always demonstrated to support the rescue mission that will take him back to the Flagstaff House to continue the God things he was doing, correct what he may have done wrong so that together, we can put this country back on the path of growth, inclusiveness and development. He maintained that the only ways Ghanaians will see some comfort is to vote the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and its leader John Dramani Mahama to continue the rescue mission of the party. So we need to ensure that President Mahama gets back to the flagstaff house, he insisted. There is that imperative need for all to join hands to ensure that we rescue this country not only from the debts this government is piling on us with nothing to show, not even only from the deficit left for generations, not even only from the abandoned projects but the politicization of state institutions and the handling of corruption fighters, he urged Ghanaians. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/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 Six protesters have been arrested after a George Washington statue in Los Angeles was defaced and torn down during protests last week. Footage of the incident showed the life-size figure of America's first president with red bands around its neck as a group tried to pull it to the ground. The group are said to have changed clothes in an attempt to avoid detection moments after the statue was toppled in Grand Park on Thursday. Protesters have been tearing down statues across the country as part of anti-racism demonstrations fueled by George Floyd's death in Minneapolis in May. Washington, the first US president, owned hundreds of African-descended slaves. He also had a torturous relationship with Native Americans and a lifelong pursuit of their land. The LA police department said the 'group, including the six people arrested, cheered and celebrated as others vandalized and spray painted the statue' shortly before 7pm. Those arrested are Anna Asher, 28 and Barham Lashley, 30, both of North Hollywood; Andrew Johnson, 22, of Glendale; Elizabeth Brookey, 20, of Burbank; and Emma Juncosa, 23, and Christopher Woodard, 33, both of Los Angeles. Footage of the incident showed the bronze figure with red bands around its neck as a group pulled it to the ground in Grand Park last Thursday shortly before 7pm The group are said to have changed clothes in an attempt to avoid detection They 'cheered and celebrated as others vandalized...the statue', police said Police added: 'The suspects hid nearby to change the clothes they had been wearing and conceal items in their backpacks in an attempt to avoid detection and apprehension. 'As they left the protest, they were immediately detained and arrested by Los Angeles Police Department officers at Spring Street and Temple Street.' This specific George Washington bronze statue is one of 30 replicas of a 1796 sculpture in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. It was presented to LA in 1933. Posters for the protest suggest it was a meeting to show 'solidarity against colonialism' and a call to 'end white supremacy'. The flyer used a picture of Mount Rushmore with 'slave owners' across it. Police shared a picture of the gas mask, laser pointer, helmet, goggles, arm protectors, and change of clothing they say were found on those arrested This specific George Washington bronze statue is one of 30 replicas of a 1796 sculpture in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. It was presented to LA in 1933 WASHINGTON'S HISTORY WITH SLAVES AND NATIVE AMERICANS George Washington, a founding father and America's first president, was known to have owned hundreds of slaves on his plantations. He also supported measures passed by Congress to protect slavery in a bid to preserve national unity at the time. He later freed his slaves in a 1799 will. Washington also had a torturous relationship with Native Americans. He tried to assimilate them into Anglo-American culture and vowed bloodshed if they refused. He tried to combat resistance from Native Americans with violent conflict. His Indian policy was primarily about acquiring indigenous land and he became known to Native Americans as Town Destroyer. Advertisement 'Slave owner' and an anarchy symbol were spray-painted on the base. Police shared a picture of the gas mask, laser pointer, helmet, goggles, arm protectors, and change of clothing they say were found on those arrested. In a statement police said: 'This case will be presented to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office for felony filing consideration.' The six suspects were booked on $20,000 bail, according to records. In June a statue to George Washington in Baltimore was defaced with red paint. Days earlier a burning American flag was also draped across a Washington statue in Portland, Oregon. The memorial, which stood on the lawn of the German American Society, had been pulled down by a group of about 30 to 40 protesters. Anger over racial injustice has broadened in recent weeks to target founding fathers, colonialists, monarchs and explorers, who in some cases destroyed or enslaved local populations across the world in the European scramble for empire and treasure. In Washington's case, he was known to have owned hundreds of slaves on his plantations. He also supported measures passed by Congress to protect slavery in a bid to preserve national unity at the time. He later freed his slaves in a 1799 will. Washington also tried to assimilate Native Americans into Anglo-American culture and vowed bloodshed if they refused. He tried to combat resistance from Native Americans with violent conflict. His Indian policy was primarily about acquiring indigenous land and he became known to Native Americans as Town Destroyer. A statue of George Washington with a burning American flag draped across it was toppled by protesters in Portland, Oregon in June When Paterson School District learned last week that over 13,000 Chromebooks ordered in June wont arrive until October, they began scrambling to refurbish thousands of district laptops and tablets so that students without their own devices would be able to start school remotely in a few weeks. Superintendent Eileen F. Shafer said they still expect to be 4,000 short unless something else comes through. "We are proud to welcome Calvin Ann to Geneva," said Telle VanTrojen, COO and Partner of Geneva Financial. "We have experienced explosive growth over the past 22 months and the level of experience and professionalism she brings will ensure our commitment to quality and compliance holds pace with our rapid evolution." During her first week with Geneva, Calvin Ann received the prestigious Everett C. Spelman Award an honor bestowed periodically from a major trade organization to an individual for extraordinary contributions to the mortgage lending industry, whose reputation of ethical and professional conduct with both the public and fellow lenders is exemplary, and whose record of service to the community and the mortgage lending industry is outstanding. She is the first recipient of the Spelman Award since 2013. Evans previously served as Chief Compliance Officer for Loan Simple, Inc. and Universal Lending Corporation where she was a recipient of the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association's (CMLA) prestigious Robert G. Boucher award for her contributions to the industry and serves on the trade organization's Board of Directors. She was also recently honored by receiving an inaugural #NEXTPowerhouseAward. A well-published and highly respected professional in her field, Evans has contributed coursework for the Mortgage Bankers Association and continues to serve as a subject matter expert. "I'm thrilled to be joining a company that has been on a meteoric climb in the mortgage industry," said Evans. "I look forward to helping to secure the quality of that growth through advisement, systems and the highest level of compliance integrity," she continued. Prior to entering the mortgage industry, Calvin Ann proudly served in the U. S. Army as a Chief Warrant Officer. About Geneva Financial (NMLS #42056 | BK #0910215) Founded in 2007 by Aaron VanTrojen, Geneva Financial is a direct mortgage lender headquartered in Chandler, Arizona with more than 100 branch locations nationwide. Our mission at Geneva Financial is to approach every aspect of our business from the "inside-out". With a culture-forward mindset, we focus on our loan originators and support staff first in order to ensure an unbeatable experience for our customers. Our Core Values were created as a daily reminder to operate with the inside-out approach in mind. Core Value #1 is the backbone of all our Core Values, our mission and our brand vision: Home Loans Powered by Humans. Learn more about Geneva Financial at www.GenevaFi.com SOURCE Geneva Financial Related Links https://genevafi.com We are honored to join this group of industry experts and innovators who have also received this recognition. We look forward to meeting and speaking with other entrepreneurs and sharing our journey in building an inbound marketing business from scratch. On July 9, 2020, the Hispanic Unity of Florida announced that it will recognize Wendy Lieber and Dave Kustin, co-founders of ContentBacon, as recipients of the American Dreamer Award at the 2020 Entrepreneur Summit (E-Summit). The award recognizes individuals for their steadfast success, business acumen and community service. Previous winners include Jim Ryan, CEO of OutPLEX, and Carolyn Aronson, owner and founder of Its a 10 Haircare. We are honored to join this group of industry experts and innovators who have also received this recognition, says Lieber. We look forward to meeting and speaking with other entrepreneurs and sharing our journey in building an inbound marketing business from scratch. Its an exciting time to be able to connect with other entrepreneurs, especially when weve all had to be more innovative and adaptive than ever, says Kustin. What a privilege to be recognized and given the opportunity to participate in this years summit. The 2020 E-Summit will take place every Wednesday in August of 2020 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The goal of the summit is to bring together new business owners and successful innovators to promote networking and inspirational opportunities, helping entrepreneurs create a path to business success. New entrepreneurs and founders will learn how to incorporate experts insights and advice into their own business strategies. This years E-Summit will be a virtual event and will feature workshops, presentations, and talks, as well as a keynote interview with Jennifer Fitzgerald, CEO and co-founder of Policygenius. All sessions will provide valuable resources to small business owners. Attendees will hear about women-led businesses, how to deal with the pandemic, generating capital, and more. On the agenda for the third day, Wednesday, August 19, is the American Dreamer Panel Discussion, featuring the award recipient honorees. The discussion will be moderated by renowned journalist and vice president of news and special correspondent for WLRN, Tom Hudson. ContentBacons Lieber and Kustin will be joined on the panel by Guillermo Jaime, founder and CEO of Social Global Leaders, and Claudio Sorrentino, CEO of Body Details. Learn more about the events history, this years agenda, and recipients of the American Dreamer Award by visiting the E-Summit website. About ContentBacon: ContentBacon is a subscription content marketing service committed to building trustworthy, recognizable brands. ContentBacons team of marketing strategists, content creators, and designers helps businesses tell a compelling story that resonates with their audience, increases brand awareness, and converts leads. Wendy Lieber and Dave Kustin founded ContentBacon in 2013, after many years working in the marketing and branding worlds Lieber as the president of Athena Marketing and Kustin with media giants like MGM, Sony, and Comcast. They wanted to help brands find easier solutions to building a better content marketing strategy. The head of Germany's largest trade union has proposed a four-day week to protect jobs threatened by digitalisation and the coronavirus-induced economic slump. Jorg Hofmann, head of IG Metall, said he planned to negotiate the reduced working hours for his members in wage talks with major players in the German automotive and mechanical parts sectors. "The four-day week would be the answer to structural shifts in sectors such as the automotive industry," he told the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. The proposal "would allow industrial jobs to be retained instead of being written off", he insisted. Digitalisation and the shift towards electric mobility have uprooted the German automotive industry, with major manufacturers planning to cut jobs in coming years. Mr Hofmann, whose union represents 2.3 million Germans, claimed a four-day week would allow companies such as Daimler and Bosch "to retain specialist workers and save money on redundancy packages". Initial talks with industry representatives were "met with widespread approval", he said. But he warned there would also have to be wage compensation "so that employees can afford it". Recovery German industry has experienced an unexpectedly robust recovery since the height of the pandemic when production was run down to a minimum, with orders rising 28pc in June. But the prospect of a V-shaped recovery has not stopped struggling car makers working on restructuring plans. Daimler is reported to be on the verge of expanding job cuts to 30,000 globally. BMW is planning to cut 6,000 of its 120,000 staff worldwide, while Volkswagen announced up to 7,000 job losses last year. Actor Chunky Panday joked that there would be a world war at home if he ever signed a film with his daughter, actor Ananya Panday. He said that both of them were extremely competitive and would try to outdo each other. In an interview with IANS, Chunky said, Ananya and I will have a lot of fun if we work together. We will have that one-upmanship because she is extremely competitive and so am I. He went on to say that this competitive spirit of theirs might just cause a rivalry in the family. If we come in front of the camera, main toh purana chawal hun (I am old), so I try to hog the limelight. Ananya will also try some tricks. There will be a rivalry in the family if we come together in one film. There will be a world war at home, he quipped. Chunky was rumoured to be playing Ananyas father in Puri Jagannadhs Fighter, which also marks Telugu star Vijay Deverakondas Hindi debut. However, he denied the reports in a recent interview and clarified that he had not signed any project with his daughter yet. Also read: Sushant Singh Rajputs sister Shweta reveals over 1 million joined prayer meet, Ankita Lokhande says prayers can change anything In the recent past, Ananya has been at the receiving end of negativity online, when the nepotism debate was reignited after actor Sushant Singh Rajputs death. Sushants fans have claimed that he lost out on projects because of being an outsider and that he was isolated by the Bollywood privilege club. In a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Chunky said, I dont even know how this term insider and outsider have come into place. The moment you sign a film, you become an insider. Its your first assignment that makes you an insider. From what I can tell you is that the equation of the industry has not changed. It is an equal playing field. Youve to have a huge amount of luck and then things will fall in place. Talking about Ananyas entry into Bollywood, Chunky said that he never pressurised her to follow in his footsteps. If my daughter chose to get into films, its her prerogative, Ive not forced her. I wanted to become a doctor. I couldnt become one. My father was a renowned heart surgeon and my mother was a doctor. I must confess that I tried. And I just couldnt succeed. Then I became an actor. Kids today decide what they want to do, he said. Follow @htshowbiz for more Fire last Friday razed down about 100 wooden structures used as homes by squatters at the Shiashie Kiosk Estate in the Ayawaso West Wuogon municipality in Accra. And in the Western Region, a warehouse and three shops near the Takoradi Central Market were also destroyed in a fire outbreak in the early hours of last Saturday. Although no lives were lost in both incidents, many people are said to have lost their sources of livelihood, while hundreds of families have also been displaced. The Shiashie fire was the third fire incident in three days. Last Thursday, fire burnt the storeroom of the Greater Accra Regional Office of the Electoral Commission at Sapeiman in Accra. Shiashie At Shiashie, Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson & Joshua Bediako Koomson report that the fire started about 10 p.m. last Friday and quickly spread, razing the over 100 structures down. While the cause of the fire is yet to be established, eyewitnesses said they only heard an explosion from one of the structures. Some of the victims said they were awoken by shouts and screams of fire, fire. I tried to salvage what I had in my kiosk but the fire was spreading so quickly that I could not take much, a squatter who gave his name as Efo said. It was so serious that it reminded me of the explosion that occurred at the Atomic Junction two years ago, another victim, Musah, said. Shelter Most of the victims are temporarily putting up at the Faith Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Shiashie. The Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Ms Lydia Alhassan, visited them on Saturday and provided them with relief items such as buckets and toiletries. I am appealing to people beyond this constituency to come to our aid. Support them; help me support them. We have a fund; so far we have been able to raise about GH20,000, but its woefully inadequate, she pleaded. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the constituency, Mr John Dumelo, also visited the scene to commiserate with the victims and pledged to help them out of their predicament. Sekondi From Sekondi-Takoradi, Dotsey Koblah Aklorbortu reports that the Takoradi Central Market fire resulted in the total destruction of the warehouse and adjoining shops. The cause of the fire is yet to be known. The Western Regional Minister, Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, who was at the scene to assess the situation, described the incident as unfortunate. According to the Western Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Mr Emmanuel Bonney, even though his men arrived at the scene on time, the intensity of the blaze made it difficult for them to control it. As a result, we had to mobilise seven fire engines from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA), the Air Force and the Ghana Navy to assist. Safety measures To forestall the recurrence of such incidents, the PRO of the GNFS in Accra, Divisional Officer II Mr Ellis Okoe Robinson, has urged service providers, such as the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), and local assemblies to work hand-in-hand with the GNFS to ensure early response to fire outbreaks. He entreated the ECG to take fire emergency situations seriously to help reduce the impact of fires on the country and called on assemblies to ensure proper spacing of houses in their respective areas to provide easy access for personnel of the GNFS in emergency fire cases. He also asked the assemblies to set up fire taskforces in the various communities to support education on safety measures, early detection and containment of fire. He also called for attitudinal change towards fire safety and prevention. 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 Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a speech during a rally held to support him in central Minsk, on August 16, 2020. (AFP) Minsk: Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters gathered for the largest protest rally in recent history in Minsk as President Alexander Lukashenko rejected calls to step down in a defiant speech. Crowds of protesters marched through the streets to the central Independence Square on Sunday, with an AFP journalist estimating the turnout at more than 100,0000, a scale of protest not seen since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Belarusian independent news site Tut.by called the rally "the largest in the history of independent Belarus". Columns of demonstrators raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons as a sea of protesters gathered in Independence Square, the focus of peaceful demonstrations in recent days. "Now we're changing history," said 26-year-old Yekaterina Gorbina, a content manager. "Blood was spilled and the people will never forget that." Darya Kukhta, 39, a mother of six, told AFP: "We believe that a new Belarus is beginning. I'm very happy to be seeing this with my own eyes." Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as "You can't wash off the blood" and "Lukashenko must answer for the torture and dead". Popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of protests after leaving for neighbouring Lithuania following the disputed election, which gave Lukashenko 80 percent of the vote. Other major towns and cities in the ex-Soviet country of nine million also saw large rallies, local media reported. More and more Belarusians have taken to the streets over the last week to condemn Lukashenko's disputed victory and a subsequent violent crackdown by riot police and abuse of detainees. Unusually, tightly controlled state television news aired a short item on the "alternative protest" in Minsk, while not showing anti-Lukashenko slogans. Outside Belarus, hundreds of Czechs and Belarusians, some holding the traditional red and white Belarusian flag and portraits of Tikhanovskaya, gathered in Prague's historic centre Sunday in support of the protests. There were also smaller shows of support in Romania and Poland, AFP journalists said. 'Defend your country!' Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, is facing an unprecedented challenge to his leadership. The 65-year-old strongman held a rare campaign-style rally on Independence Square before the opposition protest. He told flag-waving supporters: "I called you here not to defend me... but for the first time in a quarter-century, to defend your country and its independence." State television said 65,000 people attended the rally, though an AFP reporter put the number closer to 10,000. "The elections were valid," Lukashenko said in a sometimes emotional speech. "We won't give away the country!" he vowed. Kremlin 'ready' to help With pressure growing from the street and abroad after EU leaders agreed to draw up a list of targets for a new round of sanctions, Lukashenko has reached out to Russia, Belarus's closest ally. Moscow said Sunday it was ready to provide military help if needed. The Kremlin said that in a call with Lukashenko, President Vladimir Putin had expressed Russia's "readiness to provide the needed assistance" including "if necessary" through the CSTO military alliance between six ex-Soviet states. RT Kremlin-funded television reported that this was in the case of "outside military threats". Tens of thousands have taken to the streets over the last week to denounce the election result and support Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran after other potential candidates including her husband were jailed. A violent police crackdown on protesters saw more than 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and two people dead. From exile in Lithuania, where she fled on Tuesday, Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of peaceful rallies. Thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated in Minsk on Saturday at the spot where a 34-year-old protester died during unrest on Monday. Officials said the man, Alexander Taraisky, died when an explosive device he was holding blew up in his hand. Following the release of video footage contradicting this, Interior Minister Yury Karayev told Tut.by on Sunday: "Maybe they shot him with non-lethal weapons", saying only rubber bullets were used. Call for mass strikes The opposition has called for a general strike from Monday after hundreds of workers at state-run factories downed tools on Friday in a first sign that Lukashenko's traditional support base was turning against him. Tikhanovskaya has announced the creation of a Coordination Council to ensure a transfer of power, asking foreign governments to "help us in organising a dialogue with Belarusian authorities". She demanded the authorities release all detainees, remove security forces from the streets and open criminal cases against those who ordered the crackdown. She has said she will organise new elections if Lukashenko steps down. Here is an overview of news from August 17, 2020. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has pointed to a temporary ban to enter China. (Source: AP/TASR) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled This is your overview of news from Slovakia from Monday, August 17, 2020. Do not miss out on tips for interesting reads. In The Slovak Spectator, were trying to bring you news you can trust every day. If you want to support your efforts, consider becoming our subscriber. Thank you. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Belarusian ambassador publishes a critical video Belarusian Ambassador to Slovakia Igor Alexandrovich Leshchenya has expressed solidarity with the protesters in his homeland, which is currently witnessing mass protests following the recent presidential election. In a video published on YouTube on August 15, he said he was shocked by the torture and beating of his compatriots. Slovakias Foreign Affairs Minister Ivan Korcok (SaS nominee) called the statement fundamental. Meanwhile, several events have been held in Slovakia to express support of the demonstrators in Belarus. Prepare for stormy days The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) has issued first- and second-level warnings against storms for all Slovakia that will be in force until Tuesday (August 18) midnight. The storms have been especially strong in southwestern Slovakia. The air is very damp and the sticky weather in southwest Slovakia is the most distinct, which will result in torrential rains with high precipitation, SHMU wrote on Facebook. The precipitation may amount to more than 40 millimetres, while there is also a high probability of hail and strong wind. The weather has also complicated traffic, and Sitina tunnel in Bratislava had to be closed. Some areas may even struggle with floods. Coronavirus developments in Slovakia Only 481 COVID-19 tests were carried out in Slovak labs on August 16, revealing five new cases . The total number of coronavirus-positive people increased to 2,907 , with Slovakia currently registering 907 active cases . Check out more detailed statistics. . The total number of coronavirus-positive people increased to , with Slovakia currently registering . Check out more detailed statistics. Following the increasing number of new coronavirus-positive cases among people returning from abroad, the Austrian Health Ministry ordered to strengthen health controls on borders with Slovakia, Italy, Slovenia and Hungary . . Slovakias Foreign Affairs Ministry has pointed to a temporary ban on foreign citizens who have visas and residence permits in certain categories, from entering China. This also applies to APEC Business Travel Card holders. who have visas and residence permits in certain categories, from This also applies to APEC Business Travel Card holders. The Constitutional Court has registered 39 motions concerning mandatory state quarantine or other measures adopted to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Thirty motions were submitted by natural persons, while nine came from legal entities. Related article Related article Travelling abroad? You should avoid these regions Read more In other news The Transport Ministry has launched the final voting round for the name of a new bridge across the Danube . People can choose between two options until the end of this week . . People can choose between two options until the . Comenius University in Bratislava is the only Slovak school to rank in the Shanghai Rankings Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). It placed 601st in the list of 700 top world universities. (ARWU). It placed 601st in the list of 700 top world universities. The renegades from the Faculty of Informatics and Information Technologies of the Slovak Academy of Technology in Bratislava (FIIT STU) have founded the new Kempelen Institute of Intelligent Technologies (KInIT) with the aim of improving research activities and education in informatics and IT. (FIIT STU) have founded the new (KInIT) with the aim of improving research activities and education in informatics and IT. New trains between the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland operated by the private carrier RegioJet will stop in Bratislava . The train will also stop at the Polish-Ukrainian borders where passengers will be able to transfer to Ukraine. . The train will also stop at the Polish-Ukrainian borders where passengers will be able to transfer to Ukraine. State-run railway passenger carrier ZSSK will resume car transport of the Motorail trains from August 22, 2020 . It will be part of two night trains operating between Bratislava and Humenne. (ZSSK) . It will be part of two night trains operating between Bratislava and Humenne. (ZSSK) Another outbreak of the African swine fever has been confirmed in a large pig breeding farm in the village of Luhyna in the Trebisov district in eastern Slovakia. The farm has altogether 380 swines. Another outbreak has been detected in the village of Zemplinske Hradiste, also in the Trebisov district , with 16 swines. has been confirmed in a large pig breeding farm in the village of in eastern Slovakia. The farm has altogether 380 swines. Another outbreak has been detected in , with 16 swines. Swans from Strkovec Lake in Bratislava often wander to a nearby housing development. To protect the animals, the representatives of Ruzinov borough have put up new warning signs on Drienova Street. Do not miss on Spectator.sk: Related article Related article A new Porsche plant will be built in Slovakia Read more Related article Related article The mystic cords of memories: Havranok and Likava Castle Read more Related article Aamir Khan is currently trending on Twitter after his recent visit to Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan, while shooting for his upcoming film Laal Singh Chaddha in Istanbul. Images of his official meet with the Turkish First Lady are going viral on social media, as netizens express their disappointment. According to reports, India's relationship with Turkey has deteriorated in the past several months, especially after Article 370 was revoked in Kashmir last year. Turkey reportedly has sided with Pakistan and the former's foreign ministry spokesperson claimed that revoking Article 370 has not brought peace to the region. Over the weekend, after holding a meeting with Aamir, Emine took to Twitter to share a pictures from the meet and wrote, "I had the great pleasure of meeting @aamir_khan, the world-renowned Indian actor, filmmaker, and director, in Istanbul. I was happy to learn that Aamir decided to wrap up the shooting of his latest movie 'Laal Singh Chaddha' in different parts of Turkey. I look forward to it!" Netizens were quick to point out that the actor's official meet comes when the ties between the two countries are strained. Several called out the actor and said that it was unwise of him to hold an official meet with the Turkish First Lady at the moment. Here Are Some More Reactions To Aamir's Meet With Turkish First Lady @AazaadSatyam: #AamirKhan can go to Turkey and meet Emine #Erdogan, wife of Recep who openly challenges India's sovereignty from Pak's parliament ! But won't attend Shalom India fest in Mumbai itself, where Netanyahu and Modi were present too. @Its_AnimeshS: Aamir khan feels unsecure in India. Now,he is feeling safe in Anti-India Turkey. Iski movie release per yeh pic yaad rakhna. Humare paise ko humare against use mat honay dena!! #AamirKhan #Erdogan @khiladi_fanatic: Previously he promoted Anti-Hindu things by his movies. Now he met with enemies of INDIA. This man Aamir Khan han no shame #AamirKhan TheRhino2131: Did #AamirKhan met Turkey's President,Erdogan and his family as an Actor or as Ambassador of somebody else? This meeting shouldn't be taken as an ordinary meeting. @narendramodi177 Once Aamir Khan refused to meet India's friend Israel's PM. Today He is meeting Anti Ind Erdogan. As we all know Turkey opposed abrogation of Article 370. Openly support Pak. Choose your heroes wisely. #AamirKhan @SainiPolitics: Aamir Khan Refused to join Nationalist Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu when he was in Mumbai. But he Went to Turkey to meet Turkish PM who supports Pakistan on Kashmir issue and also gave anti-india statements. Won't be surprised if #AamirKhan feels unsafe again in India Meanwhile, Aamir Khan is shooting for Laal Singh Chaddha, which is now set to release in Christmas 2021. The film is a remake of the 1994 American film Forest Grump. Laal Singh Chaddha also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan as the lead actress and popular Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi in a pivotal role. Aamir Khan Meets Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan, Raises Awareness About Paani Foundation When Aamir Khan Shared His Opinion On Nepotism And Asked, 'What Does It Mean?' Doctors treat COVID-19 patients in a hospital in central Quang Nam province (Photo courtesy of doctor Luong Quoc Chinh) Hanoi - A two-month-old baby girl is among 11 new COVID-19 cases announced on August 16 evening, bringing the national total to 962. Eight of the new patients are in central Da Nang city, one in the capital city of Hanoi and two who came on repatriation flights into the country. The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control also announced that nine more people have been given the all-clear, bringing the total number of recoveries to 456. The baby who has tested positive lives in the same house in Cam Le in Da Nang as another person who had previously contracted the virus. The patient in the capital city is a 30-year-man who lives in Thanh Xuan district. He had visited Da Nang from July 20-22 and began to suffer a fever on August 3. Initial tests results were negative but on August 15 a second sample was taken and he tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The two imported cases are both Vietnamese citizens repatriated from Japan. As many as 107,642 people are currently quarantined at hospitals, concentrated quarantine facilities and their homes. So far, 24 people have lost their lives due to COVID-19-related complications. VANCOUVER, BC, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Western Copper and Gold Corporation ("Western" or the "Company") (TSX: WRN; NYSE MKT: WRN) announces the resignation of Archie Lang from the Board of Directors of the Company, effective August 17th, 2020. Executive Chairman Dale Corman stated: "Archie has been a great friend and a key player on our Board of Directors since 2014. We wish him all the best in the future." ABOUT WESTERN COPPER AND GOLD CORPORATION Western Copper and Gold Corporation is developing the Casino Project, Canada's premier copper-gold mine in the Yukon Territory and one of the most economic greenfield copper-gold mining projects in the world. For more information, visit www.westerncopperandgold.com. On behalf of the board, "Paul West-Sells" Dr. Paul West-Sells President and CEO SOURCE Western Copper and Gold Corporation Related Links www.westerncoppercorp.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 16:38:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People check the blast site of the Elite hotel in Mogadishu, Somalia, Aug. 17, 2020. At least 16 people, including suspected attackers, were confirmed dead, and 28 others injured in the attack at a popular hotel in Somalia capital Mogadishu on Sunday. (Photo by Hassan Bashi/Xinhua) MOGADISHU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 16 people including a police officer were killed and dozens injured after the Somali security forces ended a five-hour siege by the militant group al-Shabab at a beachside hotel here on Sunday night. Government spokesman Ismael Mukhtar Omar said five al-Shabab fighters were also killed by security forces when the attackers stormed Elite Hotel in Lido Beach. "The total number of casualties at the Elite Hotel attack is 16. Five of the 16 people killed were the attackers, while one police officer was killed in the rescue operation," Omar said in a statement. The attack also claimed two senior officials from the ministries of information and defense. Omar said 18 people had been injured but a medical charity, Aamin Ambulance had earlier said 28 who were injured during the attack had been rushed to hospitals. The government official said the Somali special forces had rescued 205 people inside the hotel including the hotel owner, who is a lawmaker. He said an investigation has been launched to establish how al-Shabab fighters managed to enter the fortified Elite Hotel, a recently opened upscale facility frequented by senior government officials. The latest attack started on Sunday afternoon after the militants detonated a car bomb that ripped off the hotel's gates before storming inside the facility. The Special Forces immediately arrived at the scene and undertook rescue operations. An al-Qaida allied terrorist group, al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for the hotel bombing. Congress criticized the BJP govt in UP over the incident in which a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Isanagar in Lakhimpur Kheri and said that the government is unable to prevent crimes against women in the state and the Centre must look into the matter. New Delhi [India], August 17 : Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh slammed the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh over the incident in which a 13-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Isanagar in Lakhimpur Kheri and said that Bharatiya Janata government is unable to prevent crimes against women in the state and the Centre must look into it. Crimes are becoming normal news in Uttar Pradesh. Every day we hear incidents of murders, rapes and other incidents in Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is unable to control crimes against women in the state. The Centre should look into it, he said. A 13-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped and murdered on August 14 in Lakhimpur Kheri. The girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Isanagar in Lakhimpur Kheri on Friday. Later, the police recovered her body from a sugarcane field in Isanagar. Satyendra Kumar, Superintendent of Police (SP), Lakhimpur Kheri said two men have been booked under offences of murder and gangrape, adding that action will also be taken against them under the NSA. When asked about his party leader Rahul Gandhis allegations against the Centre on the China issue, Singh further said, Whatever he said is absolutely correct. This is the fact that 20 jawans of the Bihar Regiment had lost their lives. China has occupied some parts of our land. The PM cannot run away from this fact. Even as talks are on at the military level, the situation remains the same. ALSO READ : Make Madurai second state capital: Tamil Nadu Minister ALSO READ : Gehlot welcomes Maken as Rajasthan AICC gen-secy after Pilot truce The Congress leader also slammed the Centre on increase in COVID cases in the country. The nearly 26 lakh people have been affected in total across the country. It continues to increase every day. In Bihar, people are dying because of the virus. No proper treatment facilities are being provided. State Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is looking at the other way, the Congress leader added. Status quo ante or nothing: Indias clear message to China India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 17: India will continue to maintain a firm position on the disengagement demand by the Chinese PLA. No demand will be met until status quo ante is restored, officials familiar with the developments tell OneIndia. It is quite clear that the transgressions that began in May had the approval of the Chinese Central Military Commission headed by Secretary, Xi Jinping. This is because it involved both the Tibetan and Xinjiang district as troops were inducted from outside the Western Theatre Command. The official cited above also said that during the talks, China continues to make demands that are clearly not acceptable to India. For instance, they are seeking the removal of an old administrative base in Pangong Tso. The officer also said that India will call out China's bluff convey that the PLA is the aggressor. China has been holding routine meetings and projecting normalcy so that India must accept the PLA's aggression. Also Read: New Delhi will call out this bluff even as it gets ready for another round of diplomatic level talks at the joint secretary level. Officials say that on one hand, China says that it is building trust with India. However, the PLA is still at the green top of Finger 4 feature on the north bank of Pangong Tso. This kind of posturing by the Chinese is not acceptable. The fact of the matter is that the PLA is the aggressor and India will call out this bluff soon, the officer 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. 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. 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. Chennai: Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland is re-examining the business and operating models in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, a top official has said. In this direction, the company has taken a series of initiatives for sustainable growth, its chairman Dheeraj G Hinduja said. The long-term outlook for the commercial vehicle sector continues to remain positive amid the pandemic, he said. With the government taking measures to re-activate the commercial space, Hinduja, addressing the shareholders, said the management has taken the opportunity in the last few months to re-examine the business and operating models without any presumptions. "On an assessment of the short- and long-term prospects, a series of initiatives has been set in motion to reconfigure the company aimed at sustainable growth while minimising the adverse impact of economic cycles," he said. The current market situation is the right time for Indian OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) like Ashok Leyland to move, without inhibition and seek a global position by showcasing the company's manufacturing prowess and demonstrate the products of global standards of quality and reliability, Hinduja said. With the upcoming light commercial vehicle range of products, the company was ready to expand its presence in the country and overseas, he said. "Another thrust area is the defence sector," he said, adding as one of the largest providers of logistic vehicles to the armed forces, Ashok Leyland would continue to position mobility products and solutions in an accelerated manner. "We should be seeing the benefits of our plans and efforts before long," he said. On the impact of COVID-19 outbreak, he said the pandemic has caused an debilitating effect on all sectors of the economy. During the pandemic, the situation was managed well with some careful planning, he said, adding that the management made a courageous decision to introduce for the first time a modular truck platform AVTR for medium and heavy range alongside the introduction of BS-VI emission technology. "Both are individually major technical challenges along with a mandated timeline to be met. It is a proud moment for the company when the design, cost and time targets were achieved indigenously and innovatively," he said. The company was also ready with in-house developed new light commercial vehicle range but the launch was deferred due to the virus outbreak, he said. "The introduction of the new range of products was expected to be a game-changer," he said. On the company's launch of electric vehicles, he said Ashok Leyland was making inroads in this segment with buses in the domestic market and through the Optare range of products in London. "We are moving fast in the learning curve in this realm keeping pace with global trends and are poised for major strides soon," he said. Soi Dog Foundation urgently seeks flight volunteers Soi Dog Foundation is appealing for any foreign nationals from European and North American destinations who are repatriating soon to come forward as potential flight volunteers to help adopted animals get to their new homes overseas. Community By Soi Dog Foundation Monday 17 August 2020, 05:40PM Flight volunteers are needed to help take adopted cats and dogs to Europe and North America. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation Flight volunteers are needed to help take adopted cats and dogs to Europe and North America. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation Flight volunteers are needed to help take adopted cats and dogs to Europe and North America. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation Flight volunteers are needed to help take adopted cats and dogs to Europe and North America. Photo: Soi Dog Foundation "More than 100 adopted animals are currently waiting patiently at Soi Dogs shelter in northern Phuket to fly to homes in Europe, the USA and Canada. However, international travel restrictions in response to COVID-19, and a lack of potential flight volunteers travelling in and out of Thailand, have forced them to stay at the shelter," explained a release by Soi Dog this afternoon (Aug 17). "With adopted animals unable to leave but new animals in need of life-saving care arriving every day, the shelter is experiencing severe overcrowding. "To accommodate the ever-increasing shelter population, which currently stands at close to 1,300, five new dog runs have been constructed. "However, to make room for more dogs and cats in need, its vital that adopted animals leave the shelter as soon as possible. With cargo costs prohibitive, the only way they can currently travel is as a passengers extra baggage a process which Soi Dog is well-versed in," the release added. Soi Dog arranges all of the logistics and are even in a position whereby they can partly assist with costs. All you have to do is accompany the dogs or cats as your excess baggage, explained International Logistics Coordinator, Simon Humphries. There is no work or expense on your part. Imagine the satisfaction you will feel when you see an adopted dog or cat meet its new family thanks to your help! he added. If you are looking to fly to Europe, the USA or Canada soon, please email logistics@soidog.org or call 098-7011341. Guwahati, Aug 17 : Indian and foreign experts are now in the final stages of capping the oil well leakage and dousing the fire at the state-owned Oil India (OIL) field in eastern Assam's Tinsukia district. Sujit Chakraborty Guwahati, Aug 17 (IANS) Indian and foreign experts are now in the final stages of capping the oil well leakage and dousing the fire at the state-owned Oil India (OIL) field in eastern Assam's Tinsukia district. "The experts and engineers expected to control the outflow of gas and oil condensate and douse the blaze at any moment," a top OIL official told IANS over phone on Monday evening from the accident site. Natural gas and oil condensate started leaking from an OIL's oil well around three months ago. The leakage caught fire 70-days ago on June 9. An OIL press release also said that the well capping operation was initiated on Monday morning and the capping BOP (Blow Out Preventive) stack was successfully placed over the well head. "The 16 studs have also been tightened. The preparations for killing operations are on. The BOP and the lines connected to it are being kept cool through continuous spraying of water," it added. The OIL official said that the excavation of ramps and cellar and opening of a wellhead flange are complete while other technical formalities and requirements are underway. The OIL official said that as part of the final phase of preparation for the killing operation after capping of the well, sufficient chemicals are in place at site. American and Canadian experts and engineers, who are associated with Singapore-based M/S ALERT, firefighters, NDRF personnel and OIL and ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) engineers continued their efforts to check the gas leak and douse the well fire at Baghjan. The OIL official, who refused to be named, said that besides flood and hostile weather, experts, engineers and workers have been facing numerous other problems in putting out the fire and capping the gas leak at Baghjan (in Tinsukia district), around 550 kms east of Assam's main city of Guwahati. So far, since May 27, over 29,475 metric tonne of crude oil and around 70 million standard cubic metres per day of natural gas have been lost as a section of agitators continue with their protests for higher compensation and on other issues at a few locations in Tinsukia district. Though some of the agitators called off the protests and lifted the road blockade earlier, others continue to demand higher compensation for the affected people and hold OIL responsible for the mishap. OIL has so far provided Rs 30,000 to each of the affected families and arranged shelter and relief for them. Around 10,000 people have been evacuated and sheltered in 14 relief camps as the fire damaged many houses and other property. According to the OIL press release, a total of 2756 number of families have been surveyed for assessment of damage for compensation till Sunday in Doomdooma and Tinsukia Circle put together. OIL officials said transportation of consignments, comprising heavy machinery and equipment, from Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh), Vadodara (Gujarat) and other places was delayed due to the COVID-19 protocols and standard operating procedures. In the meantime, the Army has built a 150-metre bridge over a water body to facilitate technical work to control the gas leak and oil well fire, following a request from Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner Bhaskar Pegu. Environmentalists and local people said the fire had left a trail of devastation in the adjoining areas, including a famous lake. Farms with standing crops as well as ponds and wetlands in the adjoining villages have also been affected. Various NGOs and government bodies, including Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI), have been conducting environmental and pollution studies in view of the fire and blowout of natural gas and oil condensates. TERI is also arranging drone-fly cameras for aerial photography and videography of the affected areas and surveys are being carried out depending on weather conditions. ( can be contacted at sujit.c@ians.in) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) The embattled chief of Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and other officials have agreed to let the Anti-Money Laundering Council look into their bank transactions. During the joint hearing of the House committees on public accounts and good government and public accountability on Monday, Anakalusugan Partylist Rep. Mike Defensor bared that PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales was among those who signed bank secrecy waivers to allow the anti-corruption body to check their accounts following numerous irregularities in the agency. The other officials were: EVP COO Arnel De Jesus SVP Dennis Mas SVP Atty. Rodolfo Del Rosario Jr. SVP Jovita Argona Acting SVP Nerissa Santiago SVP Renato Limsiaco Jr. SVP Israel Francis Pargas, MD VP Oscar Abadu Corporate Sec. Atty. Jonathan Mangaoang VP Shirley Domingo, MD Area VP Walter Bacareza Area VP Francisco Soria, MD Senior Manager Bernadette Lico Meanwhile, Bulacan First District Rep. Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado said that many of the agencys regional directors, who are the questionable ones, have not submitted their waiver. Napansin natin na yung mga regional director na kwestiyonable, sila pa yung hindi nagbigay ng waiver. Kung doon sila nagbabayad, malaking pagkakataon ang mabubuklat natin kung makapagte-testify rin sa harap kongreso yung mga pinaghihinalaan na regional director sa PhilHealth, Sy-Alvarado said. [Translation: We noticed that the questionable regional directors have not submitted their waiver If they do the payment processing there, we can have the chance to interrogate them if they will also testify here in Congress.] This is in connection to PhilHealth SVP for fund management sector Renato Limsiaco Jr.s explanation that payment processing of the agency to its members mainly happens in the regional level. Lawmakers questioned this and asked if he meant that the fraudulent acts happen in the regional level, which he denied. Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund LRay Villafuerte earlier challenged PhilHealth officials to sign a bank secrecy waiver for transparency. Morales was initially unable to respond to the challenge after leaving the House hearing on Wednesday due to health reasons. PhilHealth officials cite nausea attack, hypertension for absence in probe On Monday, Defensor bared that Morales had already sent a letter of apology clarifying that he missed the August 12 probe due to a nausea attack. I had checked in online earlier and remember being acknowledged, Morales letter read. However, I suffered from a nausea attack and could barely sit up, much less follow the discussion. Morales previously said he was advised by his doctors to take a medical leave as he was undergoing treatment for lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. Morales was not present on Mondays hearing. Meanwhile, Del Rosario had apologized for also being absent last week due to hypertension. However, during the second part of the hearing, he asked to be excused due to the same medical concern. PhilHealth EVP and COO Arnel De Jesus also asked to be excused from the afternoon hearing due to his medical condition. Del Rosario and other officials will attend a closed-door executive session with lawmakers later in the day. The House panels have not specified what time this will take place. It will be the Senates turn to resume its investigation Tuesday on more controversies hounding the agency. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III will virtually attend the hearing, Senate President Vicente Tito Sotto III said. CNN Philippines' Xianne Arcangel and Glee Jalea contributed to this report. Jared Kushner, senior adviser to President Donald Trump, during a press briefing in Washington on Aug. 13, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) White House: PalestinianIsrael Issue Ultimately Will Be Resolved The thorny PalestinianIsrael conflict will be resolved at some point, a top White House adviser said on Aug. 17, pointing to the recent normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). People are looking at all of the great opportunities that can exist by working together if we let go of conflicts of the past and figure out how to carve a much brighter and better future, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump, told reporters on a phone call. We do believe that there will be more normalizations with Israel and we do believe at some point, the PalestinianIsrael issue will be resolved. The IsraelUAE deal sent shockwaves throughout the Middle East. It was just the third such agreement since Israel became an independent nation, and the first since Egypt and Israel finalized a deal in 1979. While Iran and Turkey condemned the move, Bahrain and Oman are said to be considering whether to formalize ties with Israel. The national flags of Israel and the United Arab Emirates flutter along a highway following the agreement to formalize ties between the two countries, in Netanya, Israel, on Aug. 17, 2020. (Nir Elias/Reuters) Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the UAEs Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan credited Trump with helping to craft the agreement. Trump told reporters in Washington last week that he believes the Palestinians very much want to be a part of what were doing. And I see, ultimately, the PalestiniansI see peace between Israel and the Palestinians. I see that happening. I think as these very big, powerful, wealthy countries come in, I think the Palestinians will follow, quite naturally, he said. On Jan. 28, the president released a map that showed a potential future Palestinian country, including a capital in eastern Jerusalem. The map received an endorsement from Netanyahu, but was rejected by Palestinian leaders. Those leaders condemned the UAEIsrael deal after it was announced. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said in a statement that what the UAE did amounts to treason. The Palestinian leadership also calls on the international community to abide by international law and resolutions of international legitimacy that form the basis for the resolution of the PalestinianIsraeli conflict and that peace is achieved only through the complete end of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, he said. Protesters hold a portrait of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas during a demonstration against Israels West Bank annexation plans, in the Gaza Strip on July 2, 2020. (Said Khatib/AFP via Getty Images) The Islamic terrorist group Hamas also condemned the agreement. Abbas took issue with Netanyahu only promising to pause the annexation of the West Bank temporarily, not permanently. Asked what guarantees the United States received on annexation, Kushner told reporters that Israels prime minister gave his word. Israel has agreed with us that they cannot move forward without our consent. We do not plan to give our consent for some time, he said. We believe they will stick to their agreement. They have trust with President Trump. The White House reached out to Palestinian leadership recently, saying if they want to engage now, the issue of Israeli sovereignty is on hold. But the United States wont chase Palestinian leaders, Kushner added. The ball is really in the court of the Palestinians now, he said. This should be done through a constitutional process, not via street protests, he stressed. President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus says work is underway to draft amendments to the country's constitution, which would deal with power redistribution. The statement came as Lukashenko was addressing a rally at the MZKT plant on Monday, August 17, BelTA reports. Alexander Lukashenko assured he was up for sharing presidential powers. We can't give this Constitution to whomever. Because this would be a mess. "Not under pressure and not via street [protests]," Lukashenko stressed, "but through the constitutional process." Also, Lukashenko claimed work was already underway on options for amending the Constitution, which would provide for redistribution of powers. Read alsoKremlin deploying Russian Guard troops to Belarus border media (Photo, video)"We can't give this Constitution to whomever. Because this would be a mess," Lukashenko said. Belarus protests: developments On August 9, presidential elections were held in Belarus. The Central Election Commission said Lukashenko had sealed a sweeping win with 80.1% of the vote, while his main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya gained 10.1%. Thousands of Belarusians took to the streets to protest what many believe was a rigged vote count. In a heavy crackdown on protesters, riot police fired rubber bullets, applied tear gas, and detained thousands, of whom many were beaten up and injured while in custody. A large number of detainees have since been released. In their comments to media and on social networks, they recall torture they had been subjected to by law enforcement. Belarus' largest-to-date March of Freedom was held in Minsk August 16, seeing hundreds of thousands rallying. On August 17, enterprises throughout Belarus went on strike. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya via a video address from Lithuania where she had fled shortly after the election said she was ready to take up the role of "national leader" to calm down the unrest and bring the country back to normal. There will be no additional election in Belarus "unless you kill me", Lukashenko said Monday, August 17, addressing a crowd of protesters at the MZKT plant. An Ikeja sexual offences and domestic violence court has sentenced John Otema, an alumnus of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), to 50-year ... An Ikeja sexual offences and domestic violence court has sentenced John Otema, an alumnus of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), to 50-year imprisonment for raping a 19-year-old student of the institution on campus. NAN reports that Otema, 34, a quantity surveyor and facilities manager, was arraigned on Monday with three counts of rape and assault occasioning harm on two female students. He was found guilty on two counts of rape and assault occasioning harm in respect of the rape of the 19-year-old student (student X) but pleaded not guilty on a charge of raping a 20-year-old student (student Y) of the institution. He bagged 50-year in prison for the rape and three-year in prison for the assault on student X with both sentences to run concurrently. In absolving Otema of raping student Y, Abiola Soladoye, the judge, noted that the demeanour of student Y in her testimony was mischievous and she would not have claimed that she was raped if Otema had paid her the N50,000 agreed upon before their rendezvous. The judge quoted a portion of student Ys testimony which stated that With the intention to scare him off, I asked him for N100,000 but he said he will give me N50,000. I gave him my account number but he did not credit my account. Friendship with benefits was the crux of our relationship. The judge described student Y as a game player who had embarked on a sexual frolic. John Osagie Otema, the defendant, in respect of count-one (rape) is found not guilty as there is overwhelming evidence before the court that sexual intercourse between the defendant and PW2 (student Y) was consensual as it was friendship with benefits, she said. In convicting Otema of rape and assault occasioning harm of student X, Soladoye noted that in addition to medical evidence and photographs tendered by the prosecution, student X had also identified the defendant as her assailant who bit her back and punched her eyes. For count-two (rape), the defendant is found guilty and is hereby sentenced to 50-years in prison as it the evidence adduced before this court has been proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution, she held. With regard to count-three (assault occasioning harm) the defendant is found guilty and is hereby sentenced to three years in prison as the prosecution has done its job diligently by proving the charge beyond reasonable doubt. The judge, who decried the spate of sexual violence committed against women and girls, said the development will serve as a deterrent to others. Fred Onyeka, the defence counsel, had earlier in his plea for mercy, said Otema is a young man with aged parents who also had his whole life ahead of him. Otema had during the trial denied committing the offences charged against him. Arinola Momoh-Ayokanbi, who led the prosecution team, however, said the defendant had sexual intercourse with student Y without her consent on January 31, 2018 at his home at No. 6, Ajileye St., Bariga, Lagos. The prosecution claimed that earlier that month, Otema had raped student X within the premises of the institution. Pharmaceutical companies have made significant progress in their search for a coronavirus vaccine. However, the more significant bit is the time of the arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine. If WHO scientists Soumya Swaminathan is to be believed the wait could be for as long as a year. During a press conference on Saturday, Swaminathan said, "Eight vaccines are being developed by different companies in India. Normally, it takes five to ten years to develop a vaccine. However, due to the pandemic, it will now take up to one and half years at least." But concerns abound as a new strain might throw the spanner in the works. Malaysia recently discovered a new strain of coronavirus that is said to be 10 times more infectious. That strain, D614G, was predominantly found in the European countries and the US. The strain was detected in a cluster that emerged from an Indian restaurateur who violated the 14-day quarantine order upon arrival from India. The strain was also found in a cluster of people arriving from the Philippines. "People need to be wary and take greater precautions because this strain has now been found in Malaysia," said the country's Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah. Abdullah also expressed concerns over the efficacy of the coronavirus vaccine in the works due to the new strain. Nevertheless, coronavirus vaccine trials are progressing at full speed. In fact, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India is currently testing three COVID-19 vaccines. When approved, the country would start production of the candidates. Also read: Malaysia finds COVID-19 strain 10 times more infectious; jails Indian man for starting cluster of cases Here are the latest developments on coronavirus vaccine: Russia's Sputnik V: Russia has produced the first batch of COVID-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, the health ministry said hours after they started manufacturing. The country said that the coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out by end of month. President Vladimir Putin has assured the public that it is safe, adding that one of his daughters had taken it as a volunteer and felt good afterwards. Moscow's Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine had previously said that Russia would be produce about 5 million doses a month by December-January. However concerns over the accelerated efforts of the Russians remain. Some scientists believe that the country is putting national prestige before safety amid the global race to develop a vaccine against the disease. Also read: COVID-19 vaccine: What is COVAX Facility and why does WHO want countries to join it? CanSino: The Chinese vaccine specialist has won a patent approval from Beijing for its coronavirus candidate, Ad5-nCOV. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine patent granted by China, state-owned newspaper People's Daily reported on Sunday. China's National Intellectual Property Administration said that the patent was issued on August 11. Saudi Arabia said this month it plans to begin Phase III clinical trials for the CanSino vaccine. CanSino has said it is also in talks with Russia, Brazil and Chile to launch Phase III trials in those countries. CureVac: German biotech firm has said that it does not rule out a speedy approval process for its coronavirus vaccine candidate. The company said on Friday that it expects to put its vaccine on the market by mid-2021. Considering the push for speedy approval suggests that the company is aiming for an earlier release date. "We are not ruling out accelerated approval, but this can only be achieved in close cooperation with the authorities," said CEO Franz-Werner Haas. CureVac is backed by Microsoft founder Bill Gates. AstraZeneca: Drugmaker AstraZeneca has signed an agreement with the European Union to deliver 400 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for no profit. Under the agreement, EU countries would be able to access the coronavirus vaccine in an equitable manner. The drugmaker's deal is bigger than other supply arrangements inked with other governments till date but smaller than the licensing agreement it has with Serum Institute of India for 1 billion doses. Also read: Made in India coronavirus vaccine soon, waiting for scientists' approval: PM Modi in Independence Day speech Also read: China approves first COVID-19 vaccine patent to CanSino Biologics The Department of Health said yesterday that 27 cases had been confirmed over the previous 24 hours, bringing to 288 the number of people diagnosed over the last seven days Almost 300 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in Northern Ireland over the last week, official figures have revealed. The Department of Health said yesterday that 27 cases had been confirmed over the previous 24 hours, bringing to 288 the number of people diagnosed over the last seven days. Read More According to the official statistics, there were seven people with Covid-19 in hospital and one person with the virus fighting for their life in intensive care yesterday. It follows on from the diagnosis of a further 65 cases of Covid-19 on Saturday and 74 cases on Friday, and the news that the R number is likely to be 1.6. The majority of positive cases over the past week have been in Mid and East Antrim, with 74 people diagnosed, followed by Belfast where 60 people have tested positive, and a further 48 cases in Antrim and Newtownabbey. There have been no further deaths from the virus since the death of 32-year-old Andreea Maftei, who passed away in hospital last Thursday. The death of Ms Maftei, who lived in Ballymena but who was from Romania, has served as a reminder of the danger posed by Covid-19 at a time when officials are expressing alarm over public complacency regarding the virus. The number of positive cases being confirmed in Northern Ireland has risen in recent weeks as the lockdown measures have eased. Health Minister Robin Swann and chief scientific officer Professor Ian Young have both warned the public to adhere to social distancing guidelines and respiratory and hand hygiene techniques. Meanwhile, the Taoiseach has expressed "deep concern" at an upsurge in Covid-19 cases in the Republic. Micheal Martin's comments come after Ireland recorded 200 new cases on Saturday - the highest daily rise since the start of May. Mr Martin, deputy premier Leo Varadkar, Green Party leader and Government minister Eamon Ryan, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn met on Sunday morning to discuss the situation. "Yesterday's #COVID19 numbers were deeply concerning and this morning I discussed the evolving situation with the Tanaiste, Green Party Leader, Health Minister and acting CMO," Mr Martin tweeted. He said the Government and the National Public Health Emergency Team would continue to monitor the situation closely. "It's essential that we adhere to the public health guidance and maintain social distancing to suppress this virus #HoldFirm," he added. The total number of Covid-19 cases in the Republic since the outbreak began now stands at 27,191. There were no further deaths reported on Saturday, with the Republic's toll remaining at 1,774. Of the new cases reported, 68% are people below the age of 45. Sixty-eight of the cases are associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case, while 25 cases have been identified as having been contracted through community transmission. Kildare, which is one of three counties currently subjected to localised lockdowns, saw the highest number of new infections at 81. Dublin had 56. After yesterday's meeting, a Government spokesman said: "The Taoiseach, Tanaiste, Green Party leader, Health Minister and acting CMO met this morning to discuss the evolving Covid-19 situation and to examine the recent spike in cases. "They expressed deep concern at yesterday's figures. There will be a further analysis of the situation ahead of the Cabinet Committee on Covid, which will meet again on Tuesday." The organizers of Shanghai's decade-old Pride event have announced its cancelation this year and in future years, without giving a reason. "ShanghaiPRIDE regrets to announce that we are cancelling all upcoming activities and taking a break from scheduling any future events," the organizers said in a statement posted to the group's website. "We love our community, and we are grateful for the experiences weve shared together. No matter what, we will always be proud and you should be, too," it said. It said the event had worked hard to enrich the city's culture and diversity, with art and theatrical events, parties, forum, and platforms for individual expression. "Over the past 12 years, we worked hard to enrich the culture and diversity of this city that we love so much," the statement said. "Pride has a lot of different meanings for different people for us, it has always been about showing our community that not only is there nothing wrong with who we are, but that our identities and the people that we love are worth celebrating," it said. The statement gave no reason for the decision, but local activists said the team had likely come under political pressure from the authorities. An art industry employee surnamed Han told RFA that ShanghaiPRIDE was the only related organization legally permitted under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, and that something must have changed in the corridors of power. "If the reason isn't political, then they should just say so," Han said, adding that the Pride event had been highly successful in attracting investment and sponsorship, so funding was unlikely to be the issue. He said ShanghaiPRIDE had also been involved in ongoing civil society activities in support of the LGBTQ community in China, including running seminars for the parents of LGBTQ people. "[This means] that all queer activities will have to go underground now, otherwise they will be accused of running events without official permission," Han said. "There will be no way LGBTQ groups will be able to run events now." Ignored by state media The news of Pride's cancellation was largely ignored by state media, nor did the organizers make an official announcement on their social media accounts. Only the Chinese-language "Voice of the Comrades" and some individual social media accounts reported the event's demise, drawing a sad reaction from commenters. "I only just found out today ... that they have done enough for the LGBTQ community now in our country, and that ShanghaiPRIDE won't be allowed to go ahead," @xiangshuhualv wrote. "Yet another slap in the face!" User @yanyuanbujiatang said the move was "yet more intolerance," while @youlingtekuai added: "They even attack love in this place; they want to extinguish who we are." A journalist surnamed Bao said many of the critical voices have since disappeared from China's tightly controlled internet. "Now the comments are basically dominated by the 50-cent brigade [of paid, pro-government commentators]," Bao said. He said rumors that ShanghaiPRIDE was being investigated for connections to overseas funding were likely amplified by them. "There is no actually basis for thinking that," he said. "In fact, it is clear confirmation that this is a political issue." The cancellation comes after the organizers of a planned LGBTQ conference in the northern city of Xian were forced to cancel in 2017 after official pressure. A number of crackdowns Government censors have since carried out a number of crackdowns on LGBTQ representation on social media, in books, comics, TV and film. Earlier this year, the education authorities in Jinan, provincial capital of Shandong, called for the "strengthening of political and ideological education" for students of foreign-invested schools, at both primary and secondary level. The guidance was to include the view of homosexuality as "corrupt behavior imported from the West [that is] inconsistent with core socialist values." Bao said the crackdown stems in part from a conservative attitude to sexuality under the indefinite rule of Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping, and partly from a fear that civil organizations are a threat to party rule. Homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, and removed from official psychiatric diagnostic manuals in 2001. More and more highly educated urban Chinese have begun coming out in recent years, and while some find acceptance among their peers, social attitudes still strongly favor heterosexual marriage and children. How many Chinese identify as LGBTQ is unknown. The countrys health and family planning ministry has estimated that there are between five and 10 million gay men in China, but activists say the actual number is far higher. LGBTQ activists say there have been a growing number of anti-discrimination lawsuits filed by the community in China since around 2010, as well as some rare though unsuccessful bids to register same-sex marriages. Reported by Han Jie for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Hyderabad, Aug 17 : The death toll due to COVID-19 in Telangana crossed the 700-mark on Monday as 10 more people succumbed to the virus. The fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 703 while 894 people tested positive during the last 24 hours, ending Sunday 8 p.m. This is the second time this month that the daily count of cases slumped below 1,000 as the authorities also reduced the daily tests. It was surprising that the number of tests were halved despite a big increase in the number of rapid antigen test centres. According to the media bulletin issued by the office of the director of public health and family welfare, the number of government and private laboratories conducting RT-PCR/CBNAAT and TRUENAT types of tests stands at 39. The number of rapid antigen testing centres increased from 323 to 1,076. However, the total number of tests conducted during the last 24 hours were only 8,794 against 12,120 tests the previous day. This number on Saturday stood at 21,239. The officials claim that the number of tests was still much higher than the state's target of 5,600 as per the World Health Organization (WHO) benchmark of 140 tests per million per day. With this the number of tests conducted in the state so far mounted to 7,53,349. Samples tested per million population stands at 20,291. Test results of 421 samples were awaited. Officials said 2,006 people recovered from COVID-19 during the last 24 hours, taking the cumulative recoveries to 70,132. With this the state further improved its recovery rate to 76.01 per cent against the national average of 71.91 per cent. The number of active cases now stands at 21,420 including 14,404 who are in home or institutional isolation. The case fatality rate in the state stands at 0.76 per cent against the national average of 1.93 per cent. Officials said 53.87 per cent of the deceased had co-morbidities. After more than two months, the daily case load in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits slumped to less than 200. The state capital reported 147 new cases followed by 85 in neighbouring Ranga Reddy district, 69 in Karimnagar, 58 in Siddipet, 51 in Medchal Malkajgiri, A44 in Khammam and 38 in Nizamabad. Out of 33 districts in the state, no new cases were detected in three districts while 10 districts reported new cases in single digit. Age-wise COVID positive details show that 65.9 per cent of those tested positive were in the age group of 21-50 years. Authorities have urged people in this age group not to go out unless absolutely necessary. They were advised to strictly exercise precautions like wearing face mask and maintain physical distancing. Among positive cases, 24.4 per cent are above 51 years of age. About 10 per cent were aged below 20 years. Officials said 65.10 per cent of those tested positive were male while the remaining 34.90 per cent were female. According to the media bulletin, out of 20,396 beds in government-run hospitals, 17,804 beds were vacant. While 120 private hospitals treating COVID have a total of 8,001 beds and out of them 3,577 beds were vacant. According to the media bulletin, the state has 856 containment zones with the highest 121 in Ranga Reddy district, followed by 81 in Mahabunagar, 80 in Rajanna Sircilla and 79 in Gadwal. Greater Hyderabad has 64 containment zones. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) 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. ** Have you taken pictures of littered beauty spots in Britain? Email them to katie.weston@mailonline.co.uk ** A Friends of the Lake District volunteer cleaning up the litter said: 'It breaks my heart. It makes me want to cry' Meanwhile, a charity shared a picture of camping equipment, food and nitrous oxide cans left in Lake District It comes just days after Balmoral hit out at 'increasing quantities of human waste' on the 50,000 acre estate Advertisement Staycationers have been blasted for littering the UK's beauty spots with rangers at the Queen's Balmoral estate shaming wild campers for abandoning tents as the Lake District is buried under mounds of 'heartbreaking' rubbish. The estate's rangers posted a picture of an array of abandoned tents left on Saturday. It echoes a catalogue of other similar incidents throughout the Scottish countryside over the summer. Meanwhile, volunteers cleaning up litter left in the Lake District have described the piles of rubbish as 'heartbreaking' as visitors flock to the area. Rangers at the Queen's private Scottish estate posted a picture, above, on Twitter of three abandoned tents at Loch Muick, thanking a nearby camper, called George, from Edinburgh, for helping to tidy up the rubbish Friends of the Lake District, a charity, shared a picture, above, showing leftover camping equipment, food and nitrous oxide cans abandoned at the beauty spot. Balmoral's rangers wrote on Twitter: 'Three abandoned tents at Loch Muick today! Thanks very much to George from Edinburgh, who was camping responsibly nearby, for helping to tidy up the mess.' Social media users reacted to the post, with one writing: 'The people who left those must have money to burn!! Hope you can auction them off and put the money towards covering clean up costs!' Many praised the man who helped clear up the mess, saying: 'Well done to George shame there not all like him. Would they leave there (sic) homes in this mess keep Scotland clean.' 'Give that man a knighthood,' said another, while Willie Munro wrote: 'Well done for tidying it up but I really cannot understand what goes through them minds of people who camp in such a wonderful location and then ruin it by leaving a mess.' It comes as the Friends of the Lake District, a charity, shared a picture showing leftover camping equipment, food and nitrous oxide cans abandoned at the beauty spot. Engagement officer Ruth Kirk told the BBC: 'It just breaks my heart. It makes me want to cry. 'It's been replicated right across the Lake District, particularly around the lake shores. 'It's understandable people want to spend time here, but it has created quite a problem with the amount of litter left behind. Engagement officer Ruth Kirk said the rubbish 'breaks her heart' and 'makes her want to cry', adding: 'It's been replicated right across the Lake District'. The litter is said to have been left particularly on the lake shores A volunteer for Friends of the Lake District pictured picking up litter, including leftover BBQs and bottles, left by campers at the beauty spot in a photo posted at the weekend as visitors flock to the area for staycations Recently, Balmoral estate warned over the growing problem and asked people to camp responsibly and leave no trace. Scores of followers on social media were furious at one mess describing the scene as 'diabolical' and 'absolutely clueless'. One wrote: 'Unfortunately it's all so cheap & disposable these days, that once-a-year campers / festival goers think nothing of just leaving / dumping it for somebody else to clear up & throw away.' Another added: 'Seriously??? All that gear dumped - people never cease to amaze me.' The Mountain Bothies Association previously announced that two vital shelters on the estate have been locked - at least one due to 'irresponsible' behaviour. It came just days after Balmoral hit out at wild toileting on the 50,000 acre estate. Recently, Balmoral estate, pictured above, warned over the growing problem and asked people to camp responsibly and leave no trace. The estate has also hit out at 'increasing quantities of human waste' (file photo) The Queen, 94 (pictured in a file photo on her 14-year-old Fell Pony Fern in Windsor Home Park) and Prince Philip, 99, moved to Balmoral for their annual summer retreat after self-isolating at Windsor Castle Balmoral staff took to social media to post pictures of toilet wipes dumped even next to monuments and warn of 'increasing quantities of human waste on the estate'. For a period, traffic will be managed at two Deeside locations to protect public safety and ensure that two of the Cairngorms National Park's best-known beauty spots are not damaged by off-road parking. Access to Loch Muick will be limited at the entrances to Glen Muick once the car park is full, with barriers staffed and cars only being permitted entry if there is capacity at the car park. It is crucial people have an alternative plan if they cannot access Glen Muick, warned the park authority. At the National Trust for Scotland's Linn of Dee - once the Quoich and Linn of Dee car parks are full - people will be asked to park in a new overflow car park just before Linn of Dee. If this also becomes full people will be asked to find an alternative location to enjoy a walk. Social media users reacted to the post from Balmoral's rangers, praising a nearby camper for cleaning up the mess, with one writing: 'Give that man a knighthood', and another saying the litterers must have 'money to burn' The formal restrictions will be in place for 21 days. The 'No Entry' restrictions do not apply to pedal cycles, emergency vehicles or vehicles requiring access to properties only. 'The Cairngorms National Park is 4,500km2 and so there are plenty of alternatives for people to consider. There are 666 miles of core paths and quieter locations for people to enjoy around the park,' said the park authority. Balmoral has also attacked litter louts who have plagued the estate over the years - and in 2016 one group left such a mountain of rubbish in a bothy that it needed three trips by one of Her Majesty's land rovers to remove the mess. Among the items left were shopping trolleys. It follows the Queen, 94, and Prince Philip, 99, moving to Balmoral for their annual summer retreat after self-isolating for the last four months at Windsor Castle. They have created a new 'bubble' of staff although visitors will still not be able to get too close. The Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon's huge church in northern Seoul has emerged as a major cluster of COVID-19 infections. (Associated Press) A controversial South Korean pastor who defied public health authorities to hold services and massive anti-government rallies despite the COVID-19 pandemic has tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Monday. The church led by the Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon has been at the center of a growing cluster of cases in the capital, Seoul, which until recently had avoided large numbers of coronavirus infections despite a population of 10 million. More than 300 members of Jun's 4,000-member Sarang Jeil Church have tested positive for the virus thus far, according to authorities. South Korea has been struggling to keep a lid on outbreaks in the densely populated greater Seoul area in offices, fast-food restaurants and markets, but especially in some of the country's large churches. On Monday, the country reported 197 new infections, the fourth day in a row of cases in triple digits. Protesters smash the window of a police bus during a rally in Seoul on Saturday. Right-wing mega-church pastor the Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon spoke at the protest. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The 64-year-old Jun is a firebrand right-wing pastor with a fervent following who has been waging a caustic public battle against South Korean President Moon Jae-in, particularly for his conciliatory North Korea policies. Jun is currently on bail after being arrested on suspicion of election-related charges and of flouting orders from health authorities with his mass gatherings. His positive coronavirus test result comes after he spoke at a densely packed conservative rally in central Seoul on Saturday. Jun and his followers were among thousands who crowded the downtown area, clashing with police. On stage, after first pulling his mask down to his chin and then taking it off to hold up in the air, Jun asserted that the outbreak among church members was a conspiracy to undermine him, saying that the virus had been intentionally brought into his congregation by outsiders. For his part, Moon expressed concern that some churches at the center of outbreaks had not been cooperative with regard to testing and contact tracing, putting the country at risk. Story continues "It's senseless behavior that throws cold water on the long effort by the Korean people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus," the president wrote in a message on social media Sunday. "It's a direct challenge to the nation's disease-prevention system and inexcusable conduct that endangers people's lives." Jun's invective against Moon he once likened the president to Hitler have made him controversial even among Christian leaders but earned him a steady base of support, especially among older South Koreans critical of Moon and his approach to North Korea. Jun has been openly defiant of coronavirus-related restrictions on church services or gatherings from the onset of the pandemic. In February, when South Korea was first experiencing a spike in cases, he told followers at a massive rally of thousands that they shouldn't be afraid of the virus. "Has anyone here been infected? Come to services next week," he said at the time. "God will heal it all." South Korea's public health authorities said they were running into resistance from Jun's church after the first congregant tested positive last week. They said rumors were circulating among its members that tests for the virus were rigged and would all come back positive. Tens of thousands of people attend a protest in Seoul on Saturday, despite a ban on rallies by the Seoul metropolitan government. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Officials warn that the country is in the beginning stages of a widespread coronavirus caseload surge after months of keeping the daily number below 100 through an extensive contact tracing regime aimed at identifying and isolating the infected. South Korea's first spike in cases also came from a fringe Christian church. A cluster of cases that emerged among the believers of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, which some have called a cult because of its unorthodox teachings, eventually rose to more than 5,000 infections. Authorities last week charged founder Lee Man-hee and other church leaders for obstructing justice and violating disease-prevention laws, alleging that they turned over misleading or incomplete information to investigators trying to track down infections. Across the globe, the needs of young people are recognized as important and worth investing. However, many young people, particularly young girls still suffer serious inequalities in health, education and social support. Among the many challenges faced by young people include unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, unsafe abortions, among others. Reports from the World Health Organization (2020) shows that on average, about 12 million girls aged 1519 years and at least 777,000 girls under 15 years give birth each year in developing regions. Unfortunately, the WHO does not aggregate for one-time pregnancy and repeat pregnancy but, it can be inferred that these staggering statistics include girls who have had repeat pregnancies. So what at all is the Repeat Pregnancy and why is it a big deal? According to Aslam et al. (2017), repeat pregnancy refers to the incidence of two or more pregnancies before an individual reaches age 20. For example, if a girl aged 15 has more than one child before she attains age 20, then that pregnancy or pregnancies would be categorized as repeat pregnancy. There are a number of factors that may facilitate the incidence of repeat pregnancies among young people aged 15-19. These may include the poor social support systems, cultural factors as well as some economic factors. The weak social support system of developing countries in particular can be cited as one major enabler of repeat pregnancies. Often when an out-of-school gets pregnant and goes on to have another child before age 20, it is seen as an expected outcome because girls with low or no formal education tend to engage in risky sexual behaviours such as having unprotected sex and early sexual debut. And so, for such a case, the individual is blamed. However, when you have girls who are in-school getting pregnant, it becomes challenging. For starters, pregnancy was not averted while the girls were in-school; so what is the assurance that after their birth and subsequent return to school, the school system would have the safe space that can protect young people from having a repeat pregnancy? Beyond the school itself, the overall educational system of some developing countries serves as an enabler for repeat pregnancies. For some countries such as Tanzania, girls would have to immediately drop-out of school simply because they are pregnant. One may argue that it is supposed to serve as a deterrent to other girls but the question is that has it been truly successful in reducing unintended pregnancies? The answer is a big NO. In the entire continent of Africa, only 26 (Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Ghana, etc.) of the 54 countries have adopted continuation or re-entry policies, and strategies, to ensure that pregnant girls can resume their education after giving birth (Human Rights Watch, 2018). Hence, in countries where there are stringent policies on the accessibility of education to pregnant girls, they tend to drop-out and engage in manner of activities for survivorship which may cause them to have a repeat pregnancy. Cultural inclination and dogmatism also plays a pivotal role in facilitating repeat pregnancy. In Africa, and Ghana to be precise, sexual communication between adults and young people is a taboo and an uncomfortable thing to do. Hence, young people rely heavily on their peers and the media for sexual and reproductive health education. In most cases, such conduits through which young people learn to express their sexuality tend to expose them to the risky aspects thereby resulting in unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions. Even when the first pregnancy has happened, it is expected that parents and the community as a whole would have used this opportunity to provide accurate, youth-friendly sexual education; rather, they chastise the young person and stigmatize against them. Such behaviours may reinforce their trust and dependency on their peers and other means of sexual education. In the end, they end up pregnant again and the cycle continues. If repeat pregnancy is left unabated, it may significantly exacerbate inequalities among young people. Already, young people are marginalized groups with limited resources. Therefore, any time a young girl experiences repeat pregnancy, in the absence of proper social support systems, that girl may probably drop-out of school. This may affect their ability to attain higher education, better rewarding jobs, among others. It is important to note that at any point in time, where there is repeat pregnancy, the male who is responsible for the pregnancy will still be going about his daily routines untouched and unperturbed by the issue. Hence, it is the girl who suffers. This situation alone can worsen gender inequalities, income inequalities and social inequalities. Repeat pregnancy has the potential to worsen health inequalities. Therefore, there is the need for all stakeholders including the government, Civil Society Organizations, Non-governmental Organizations, and others to make conscious efforts to reduce the incidence of repeat pregnancies. One way will be the prevention of first time pregnancies through the provision of comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). By doing so, young people become aware of their bodies, the changes that comes with it, how to avoid pregnancies through abstinence for those who have not started having sex, and the use of contraceptive for those who are sexually active. Another critical step in reducing repeat pregnancy is to demystify the misconceptions communities and parents have about having sexual and reproductive health communication with their young ones. Sexual socialization is imperative to the health and wellbeing of young people; when parents, churches and schools deny them of this socialization, they are bound to find it in their friends for which the outcome may not be pleasant. No one is preaching against having beliefs and doctrines and morals. They are all important to young people, but denying young people information about their sexual and reproductive health may result in catastrophic implications which the society is not ready for. A well informed young person, is a well behaved young person. Stakeholder collaboration will be key in eliminating repeat pregnancy. #theGhanaianDream References Aslam, R.W., Hendry, M., Booth, A. et al. (2017). Intervention Now to Eliminate Repeat Unintended Pregnancy in Teenagers (INTERUPT): a systematic review of intervention effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, and qualitative and realist synthesis of implementation factors and user engagement. BMC Med 15, 155 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0904-7 Human Right Watch (2018). Leave No Girl Behind in Africa. Retrieved from: https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/06/14/leave-no-girl-behind-africa/discrimination WHO (2020). Adolescent pregnancy. Retrieved from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescentpregnancy LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Monday urged elderly people and volunteers from Black and Asian minority groups to sign up to a COVID-19 vaccine trial registry to boost efforts to find a working vaccine against the disease that offers protection for higher risk groups. No COVID-19 vaccine candidate has yet been proven effective against the disease, but around 20 are in clinical trials. Over 100,000 people have volunteered to take part in vaccine trials, Britain's business ministry said, but more volunteers are needed to make sure candidate shots work for everyone. "Protecting those at risk is the only way we will end this pandemic," said Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccines Taskforce. "Getting 100,000 volunteers on board is a great start but we need many more people from many different backgrounds that we can call on for future studies if we are to find a vaccine quickly to protect those who need it." The government said it was particularly keen for over 65s, frontline health and care workers and people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to sign up. A study last week showed that minority ethnic groups were two to three times more likely to have had COVID-19 compared to white people in England. Disproportionate numbers of people from minority groups have also died from the disease. (This story clarifies in first paragraph that the aim is to boost protection for higher risk groups) (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Christina Fincher and Jon Boyle) CMMS Data Group What started as a dream to help maintenance departments achieve maintenance and reliability excellence has become a reality. Thank you to my team and our customers for making CMMS Data Group what it is today and for making the world more mechanically reliable. Inc. magazine revealed that CMMS Data Group (CDG) once again made 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 Inc. 5000 honorees. This incredible news comes right after another big win for CDG. The Companys computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), MVP Plant, recently won the GOLD award for Plant Engineerings 2019 Product of the Year, also for the 2nd year in a row. It was the third consecutive year MVP Plant was recognized in the magazines maintenance software category. To be recognized again by Inc. magazine is an incredible honor. It serves as a testament to the ongoing impact our products and services have had on our clientele over the years. What started as a dream to help maintenance departments achieve maintenance and reliability excellence has become a reality. Thank you to my team and our customers for making CMMS Data Group what it is today and for making the world more mechanically reliable. Ruth Hughes, CMRP, CDG 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, may 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. And as always, speakers will include some of the greatest innovators and business leaders of our generation. About CMMS Data Group Founded in 2000, CMMS Data Group is the market leader in CMMS software and services. Led by the award-winning MVP Plant CMMS software combined with its professional services and technical support, the company also provides comprehensive Reliability Engineering Services. These solutions empower maintenance and reliability professionals to increase customer satisfaction, reliability, capacity, productivity and profitability, delivering a competitive edge to their organization. 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/. HOLYOKE -- The Holyoke Public Schools will open the 2020-2021 academic year via remote learning Sept. 14 for grades 1-12 and Sept. 21 for PreK and kindergarten. The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education required school districts to submit a reopening plan across the state. COVID-19 forced schools across the Commonwealth to close and switch to remote learning since mid-March. Holyoke School Receiver Dr. Alberto Vazquez Matos originally proposed a hybrid reopening plan, a mix of online and inperson instruction. However, the Holyoke School Committee, parents, teachers and staff rejected the proposal. In a statement, Vazquez Matos said the new school year would look, sound and feel much different than past ones as COVID-19 continues to grip the nation. Based on the science, we know that COVID-19 will continue to evolve. Hence information provided by local, state, and federal health agencies will also continue to change, Vazquez Matos stated. With that said, we need to reevaluate and reimagine teaching and learning and how we can best support and engage with our students and families. As Holyokes public schools turned to a remote model in March, Vazquez Matos noted students holistic needs were also met, including equipping them with Google Chromebooks and web services and daily curbside meal pickup at sites around the city. Our Reopening Leadership Team and committees have worked diligently to resume teaching and learning with safety and equity for all, across each learning model, Vazquez Matos wrote. Our team reviewed the latest medical research and educational guidance and gathered feedback from all stakeholders via surveys, Facebook Live sessions, emails and meetings. Vazquez Matos said the districts newest plan was based on input from educators, students and families, and when conditions improve to bring students back into classrooms. The district identified K-12 students for whom inperson instruction is essential while providing a remote option. The group includes students with disabilities, English Language Learners defined as newcomers, and Career and Vocational Education participants on the Dean Campus. We plan to contact families of selected students by Aug. 31 and strongly encourage them to consider inperson learning, Matos said. Matos expects all staff, teachers, paraprofessionals, and students would have devices in hand as the school years begin, including internet service. Remote students will follow a real-time schedule with direct instruction, collaboration, independent work time and conferring with teachers. PreK-2 children will access instructions through SeeSaw and Google Classroom for grades 3-12, with Zoom video for the live video feed. Staff teaching remotely also has the option of working from their classroom, according to Vazquez Matos. The Holyoke Public Schools will enact strict health and safety protocols that align with state and federal guidelines. Staff and students must wear masks at all times when inside a school or facility. The district will provide breakfast and lunch service at locations three times weekly. This year ahead will undoubtedly be a challenging one for us all. However, we are HPS strong! I am confident that together we will respond to these challenges with flexibility, patience, grace and commitment, Vazquez Matos stated. For more information, visit the districts Return to School page or call 413-561-0862. The budget airline said it will reduce its flight capacity by 20 per cent in September and October after forward bookings notably weakened in recent days. It reported a drop-off in flight bookings over the past 10 days driven by uncertainty over recent Covid case rates in some EU countries. Ryanair say they are calling on the Irish Government to include those EU countries, with lower or similar Covid case rates, to Irelands Green List. When schools reopen in September they are asking the government to allow Germany (16.3), the UK (18.6), Austria (22.4), Portugal (26.0) and Poland (25.7) to be added to the Irish Green List. The cuts will reduce the frequency of flights from countries such as Spain, France and Sweden, it said. It makes sense to reduce frequencies so that we tailor our capacity to demand over the next two months A Ryanair spokesman said: These capacity cuts and frequency reductions for the months of September and October are unavoidable given the recent weakness in forward bookings due to Covid restrictions in a number of EU countries. Advertisement Any affected passengers in September received email notification today advising them of their options. Similar communications will be issued to the small number of affected passengers in October later today. Over the past two weeks, as a number of EU countries have raised travel restrictions, forward bookings, especially for business travel into September and October, have been negatively affected, and it makes sense to reduce frequencies so that we tailor our capacity to demand over the next two months. Ryanair also said it is reducing flight numbers due to Irelands Green List travel guidance, which includes 14-day quarantine for visitors from most other EU countries. The spokesman added: We again call on the Irish Government to amend its Green List of travel counties to include those EU countries with lower or similar 14-day Covid case rates, most notably Germany whose Covid case rate is 25% lower than Ireland, and which will allow for some resumption of normal business and economic travel in September and October. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Despite a monthslong shutdown, the New Mexico film industry brought in nearly $400 million in direct spending to New Mexico in fiscal year 2020. According to the New Mexico Film Office, the direct spend of $396.8 million was less than the record, $525.5 million recorded in fiscal 2019, yet still topped three of the past six fiscal years. The fiscal year 2020 ran from July 1, 2019, through June 30. The amount brought in fiscal year 2015 was $288.6 million, fiscal year 2016 was $387.2 million, fiscal year 2018 was $234.20 million. According to the NM Film Office, there were 80 productions during fiscal year 2020. Of those, 27 projects had a New Mexico budget over $1 million. In fiscal year 2019, there were 73 projects filmed in New Mexico, 43 of which had a budget of $1 million or more. Preproduction on film and TV projects is slowly starting to roll out in New Mexico all being required to adhere to COVID-19 guidelines. The media and the construction industry have always been deemed essential and the film industry is considered part of these sectors, so limited work is allowed under the public health order with COVID-safe and industry-specific health and safety practices as well as capacity and gating restrictions, said Bruce Krasnow, New Mexico Economic Development Department public information officer. Krasnow said work such as preproduction activities, editing, location scouting, set design and building are part of the list of essential work. All, of course, with COVID-safe practices, social distancing, gating and capacity limits stipulated in the orders as well as the industry-specific guidelines, Krasnow said. We will see a lot of remote work until the restart of a more robust production cycle, which would begin in phases when the governor deems it safe to do so. Krasnow said film and television has been on hold around the United States until the industry is able to establish a safe way forward. Many studios now have a proper plan that will align with New Mexicos COVID-safe practices and we will most likely see productions coming soon to New Mexico when public-health conditions are safe enough to warrant a more robust resumption of productions, he said. When New Mexico projects come back, the state Film Office said film, television, and video productions must adhere to COVID-safe practices set forth by the state and the film industry. This includes wearing a mask and social distancing. Productions will hire COVID-19 officers who will monitor the health of the cast and crew. This means multiple COVID tests a week. Zones will also be set up for production, and crowd scenes are basically going to be nonexistent. Eric Witt, a line producer on The Biggest Loser, said the industry was going to move to smaller productions. It was a model the USA Network used while it filmed at the Glorieta Adventure Camps, just north of Santa Fe, earlier this year. Its a self-contained compound on a few thousand acres, Witt said in May. It had everything we needed, and we could construct our sets to be done in smaller, practical locations. Amber Dodson, NM Film Office director, said when the industry shut down in New Mexico, 12 productions were filming in the state. USA Networks limited series Evel was in preproduction before the pandemic. It was set to star Milo Ventimiglia and is based on the story of larger-than-life 1970s daredevil Evel Knievel as he prepared for his greatest death-defying feat, the historic Snake River Canyon jump. The series was written by Etan Frankel. In late July, USA Network decided to not move forward with the production. USA is incredibly disappointed to have had to make this decision, as we were so excited about this project and working with Milo, Etan, and everyone involved, USA said in a written statement. The state also lost another series. ABCs Big Sky was scheduled to film in New Mexico and Nevada before making the move to Canada in mid-July. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) Libyan, US and UN officials have held talks to discuss military de-escalation of the central Libyan city of Sirte, a communique issued by the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) said on Sunday After a hairline fracture robbed him of his rookie season, Pemberton has turned heads in Ontario this summer seemingly every time he has set foot on the racetrack. But how good is Pemberton? Even a four-race win streak capped by a resounding 1:52.2 win in a $104,800 Ontario Sires Stakes Gold event can only begin to shed light on that question. Brenda Walker, who bred and owns the three-year-old Wheeling N Dealin gelding with her daughter, Christine, attributes much of Pemberton's success to an easy, efficient gait: "(Trainer) Paul (Walker) says that when Pemberton takes off, he just seems to drop his butt and lengthen his stride," she said in a recent feature that appeared in the Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator. "It does not feel like he is moving his legs faster.... And Paul and our driver, Trevor Henry, both say he seems to barely touch the ground. So light on his feet with that cleanest gait which requires him to wear only trotting boots." That fleetness has enabled him to soar to victory in each of his races to date after his career debut. Following a fourth-place finish at Georgian Downs on June 6, he climbed rapidly through the lower conditions at Woodbine Mohawk Park and delivered that 1:52.2 OSS Gold win on July 21 with incredible ease a "piece of cake," according to Woodbine commentator Ken Middleton. But before Pemberton whom Brenda named after her late grandfather, Albert Pemberton had the opportunity to showcase his talent among the province's elite, he was held up by an early setback. "At two, he trained down to 2:13 in the spring, but came up with a hairline fracture in a knee. Season over before it began," Walker told the Spectator. "These things heal, and late that fall we began again." Being that Pemberton is only eligible to the Ontario Sires Stakes program for this season, he won't be able to take on the toughest trotters from across North America until his four-year-old campaign. But with three Gold preliminaries left leading up to the Oct. 17 Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final including his next test on Aug. 19 at Grand River Raceway Pemberton will still have ample opportunity to make up for lost time in his home province. ... and so far, he's exceeded the Walkers' every expectation. "He did everything he was supposed to, and here we are today," Brenda said. "He is almost push-button, and there are not many of those." To view the harness racing entries for Wednesday at Grand River, click the following link: Wednesday Entries - Grand River Raceway. (with files from the Hamilton Spectator) Opinion Article 17 August 2020 Every year in my home country the provincial premiers get together to eat lobster and drink cheap wine. Meanwhile some political work is being done. I remember two such conferences. I have a story about both. Advertisements It's always a big deal when the premieres and their staff and the media descend on your hotel. This meeting was particularly memorable for the media's work and my firsthand experience of how it all really works. When these big conferences happen the hotel management team is often used to handle the flow and my job that August afternoon was to be in the press scrum area in the lobby. The premieres pretty much all stopped by to make some remarks when they arrived. The thing that was most amusing and revealing was the way the press ramped up the scoop for the conference. Early in the day all the reporters were talking among themselves about the Quebec premier's supposed position on attending the upcoming federal constitutional conference. Many of them made solo news segments speaking about the upcoming conference on unity and would the Quebec premier be there. Spin, pure spin. As each premier arrived the press asked the same questions. What about Quebec, will they attend, what about the conference? Making news. The tone of the entire conference and the headlines that followed all centered around this one obviously controversial yet made up topic. Don't think your evening news or your CNN is any different. This stuff is manufactured to appeal to our sense of scandal, drama and controversy. We didn't hear a thing in the news about the actual topics the premiers and their staffs discussed, including National Children's Agenda, National Mobility Initiative, National Shipbuilding Policy, Agreement on Internal Trade, Harmonizing Environmental Management, Justice Reform Issues on Criminal Procedure Reform and the Young Offenders Act. Just to name a few real pieces of news that were not so scandalous. My second and most entertaining premiers' conference was in 1999. For that conference, I was at the front door and assigned to wait for and to escort two premiers directly to their suites. The first one to arrive was an ex-schoolteacher and a man who had a reputation for getting back to basics and his common-sense revolution. Word came in that he had arrived at the airport and was on his way to the hotel. He arrived with his wife and teenage son. I greeted them at their car and informed them that I would be taking them directly to their suite. Do you know what it's like when you just entered a room and two people have been arguing? You know the energy you feel? Well, the energy that came out of that car was "nuclear." I escorted them through the lobby to the doorman who had a private elevator waiting for them. In the elevator we went and no sooner had the button for the 10th floor been pressed, and the door closed, did the premier let loose on his son. He was a big man and this scared the crap out of me. At the same time, he said to his son, "You have been messing around all day and I have had enough." The rest of the elevator ride and the walk down the hall on the 10th floor was silent. I opened the door to the suite, they entered in silence, I informed them that their luggage would be up momentarily and asked if they needed anything. Mrs. simply looked at me with such a cold and helpless face and said politely, "No thank you, we're fine." This was not going to be a fine stay. This guy was a monster. Good luck! The second premier I was assigned to was much younger and from the west. He arrived a little later that afternoon and was with his son as well, but no wife. I opened the door of the town car that transported him from the airport and the first thing I noticed were his unlaced Converse High Tops. He was so relaxed and in a great mood. He asked me where the check in was and I told him I was the check in and he laughed and said, "That's cool. You don't seem to be to French." To which I replied, "I'm working hard on learning French but someone else is welcoming the Quebec premier." He laughed and asked me a question about beer. Our trip up the elevator to his suite was smooth and fun. He was in a great mood and the furthest thing from a tight-lipped politician that you would ever meet. What a contrast between the two. The following week I went to London, England for a work assignment and was fortunate to get a business class upgrade from my Toronto-based boss. A week later I was returning home and I grabbed the Globe and Mail to catch up on news from home. I will never forget that newspaper. On the front page were two headlines: "Ontario Premier and His Wife Separate, she is filing for divorce," and "British Columbia Premier Resigns over casino licensing scandal." Man, do I have the Midas Touch. Dozens of young men gathered in the southern province of Dong Nai on Sunday to take part in an illegal motorbike race in the face of social distancing measures put in place to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Police in Bien Hoa, the provincial capital city, told local media they were taking measures to penalize those who took part in the race. On Sunday afternoon, police officers in Bien Hoas Long Binh Tan Ward who were on patrol discovered nearly 100 youths participating in a motorbike race in the 365-hectare Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park, around 30 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. The officers promptly alerted their colleagues in Bien Hoa City and Dong Nai Province for backup. Law enforcement officers later patrolled a number of T-junctions and intersections within the industrial park and detained dozens of young men, seizing their motorbikes. An initial investigation revealed that most of the racers are between 16 and 20 years old who hail from Dong Nai, neighboring Binh Duong Province, and Ho Chi Minh City. The youths admitted they had known each other through social networking sites and intended to hold the illegal race along the roads in the major industrial park. A police officer takes a statement from a young man who is held in custody for taking part in an illegal motorbike race in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, August 16, 2020. Photo: B.A. / Tuoi Tre Amid coronavirus outbreaks in other parts of Vietnam, the authority of Dong Nai Province has already imposed restrictions on gatherings as a preventative measure against COVID-19, the acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Gatherings of more than 20 people in public places have been banned in Bien Hoa from August 4, with residents asked to stay at least one meter from one another while outside. As of Monday afternoon, Vietnam has reported a total of 964 COVID-19 cases, with 464 recoveries and 24 virus-related deaths. Dong Nai Province has reported two local infections since July 25, when a domestic case in the central city of Da Nang ended the countrys streak of 99 days without COVID-19 transmission in the community. Dozens gather for an illegal motorbike race within the Bien Hoa 2 Industrial Park in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam, August 16, 2020. Photo: B.A. / Tuoi Tre Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! At least, 35 accused were arrested on Sunday in connection with Bengaluru violence, taking the total number of arrests in the case to 340 Karnataka government has formed a special investigation team (SIT) to conduct a "detailed investigation" into the violence that broke out in Bengaluru on 11 August, chief minister BS Yediyurappa confirmed on Monday. The chief minister added that the government will recover the costs of damage to property from the "culprits". He said that the government will approach the high court for the appointment of a 'claim commissioner' to aid in the assessment of the damage. "A Special Investigation Team has already been formed to conduct a detailed investigation in the matter and a team of three special prosecutors will be appointed for speedy trial of the cases. SIT will consider invoking Goonda Act if warranted," Yediyurappa said in a series of tweets. At least three people were killed and 60 police personnel were injured in the violence that broke out in the city over an alleged "derogatory" social media post. "Our government has decided to assess the damage caused to public and private property in violent incidents in KG Halli and DG Halli and recover the costs from the culprits. We will approach Hon'ble High Court for appointment of Claim Commissioner as per Hon'ble Supreme Court order," Yediyurappa tweeted. Yediyurappa said that a team of three special prosecutors will be appointed for speedy trial in the cases. "Stringent action has been initiated against the culprits of DJ Halli and KG Halli violent incidents including invoking of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA Act," he added. Stringent action has been initiated against the culprits of DJ Halli and KG Halli violent incidents including invoking of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act - UAPA Act. (2/3) B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) August 17, 2020 The chief minister's statement comes after a meeting with Karnataka home minister Basavaraj Bommai, among other officials, The Indian Express reported. Additionally, Chief Secretary TM Vijaya Bhaskar, Advocate General Prabhuling K Navadgi, DGP Praveen Sood, Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajneesh Goel, ADGP (Intelligence) B Dayananda, and ADGP (Law & Order) Amar Kumar Pandey also attended the meeting, the report said. Earlier on Monday, one more accused was arrested in connection with violence, said police. The accused has been identified as Samiuddin. "One Samiuddin was detained in connection with violence in DJ Halli. It was found that he was in touch with accused of RSS activist Rudresh murder case and Al-Hind members for the past few years. He will be taken into custody and probe will be done," said Sandeep Patil, Joint CP, Crime, Bengaluru. A total of 35 accused were arrested on Sunday in connection with Bengaluru violence, taking the total number of arrests in the cases to 340, ANI quoted officials as saying. The imposition of Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in areas under DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits has also been extended till 6 am on Tuesday. The situation in the area remains tense even though Section 144 has been extended twice. An FIR was registered on the complaint of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy at DJ Halli Police station three days after the violence broke out, over an alleged "derogatory" social media post by his nephew, ANI reported. Among the accused who have been arrested are Naveen, the nephew of MLA Srinivas Murthy, and include Kaleem Pasha, the husband of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike corporator from Nagwara ward Irshad Begum. With inputs from agencies Amid the pandemic, we heard of many faceless heroes countless female doctors and cops separated from their kids for weeks, newlyweds who chose PPE kits over wedding finery, women who didnt let Covid-19 sap their morale, women in small towns who shed patriarchy to bits, as they led the fight against Covid-19. This Independence Day, designers pay a tribute to these heroes strong, spirited and ready to take up any battle. Sketch by designer Shubhika Davda Wings of freedom by Shubhika Davda The freedom girl is dressed in a voluminous and embellished skirt in leheriya silk, with hues borrowed from the Tricolour. The bow at the back symbolises wings of freedom as well as the celebration of the female power. The black strike on the eyes signifies looking inwards to focus on whats good inside of us. Sketch by Shruti Sancheti She wont give up by Shruti Sancheti The pandemic doesnt sap her strength. She is the new-age Indian woman who draws positivity from the Tricolour hues as she takes a vow to keep her loved ones safe. Mask and shield dont dim her inner light. Sketch by Alpana Mittal Women, the fighters by Alpana Mittal When women unite, they can do the unbelievable. This army of women dressed in identical outfit is ready to take up any fight. Sketch by designer Nikita Mhaisalkar Kudos to courage by Nikita Mhaisalkar The illustration depicts a mother in a PPE kit separated from her child. Hats off to brave mums who put duty first and made endless sacrifices to ensure that we remain safe in the pandemic. Sketch by designer Neeta Lulla Keeping chin up by Neeta Lulla This illustration showcases the power of positivity. The empowered Indian woman has a modern outlook and at the same time, she derives strength from her roots and culture to overcome adversities. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The UK Government is being urged to give beavers in Britain more protection. Wildlife charity Beaver Trust and other groups want the dam-building rodents to be granted legal status as a 'native species' in Britain following a spate of successful reintroductions. The semi-aquatic mammals, dubbed natures engineers, were hunted to extinction in Britain 400 years ago. Conservationists also want beaver populations to be able to stay on a number of English rivers where they are already living wild. Defra has promised it will consult later this year on the management of beavers in the wild in England and a national approach for any further releases. Scroll down for video Wildlife charity Beaver Trust and other groups want the dam-building rodents to be granted legal status as a 'native species' in Britain following a spate of successful reintroductions (file photo) Plans should also be drawn up to license the release of beavers to other suitable rivers, including from where they are currently living in enclosures, the groups say. The call comes after a population of beavers living on the River Otter were given permanent right to remain. This ruling came following a scientific trial which showed they delivered benefits for wildlife and people. Last year, the National Trust announced it would be releasing beavers at two sites in the south of England with the aim to boost local wildlife and combat flooding. One of the projects will see two pairs of the aquatic mammals released into separate large enclosures in Holnicote, Somerset. Alongside this, a third pair will be released into a fenced enclosure at Valewood, on the Black Down Estate, on the edge of West Sussex's South Downs. The focus has now turned to the wider issue of beavers in England, including other populations living on river catchments including the Stour in Kent, the Tamar and the Wye following unofficial releases, and those in enclosures in the countryside under licensed schemes. BEAVERS: 'FRIENDS' OR 'FOES'? There is some contention as to whether Beavers should indeed be released into the wild. The points on either side of the argument include the following: FOR REINTRODUCTION The UK's wetland fauna and flora evolved alongside beavers. They reduce siltation, which can pollute waterways with silt and clay. Their dam-like habitats help to reduce downstream flooding after heavy rain. Beavers make ponds, which are needed by two-thirds of UK wildlife. The public is in favour of restoring the animals to the wild. AGAINST REINTRODUCTION UK rivers have changed dramatically since beavers went extinct. British waterways are in poor health, potentially putting beavers at risk. Beavers can spread a foreign tapeworm to both humans and dogs. They can damage both infrastructure and local forests. Dams can sometimes exacerbate, rather than prevent, flooding. Advertisement Beavers are found throughout the UK. The animals live as far north as Bamff, Scotland and as south as Nankilly Water in Cornwall Ahead of that consultation, Beaver Trust has gathered 39 organisations ranging from conservation groups to farming and countryside representatives to try to establish consensus on the future for the animals. Organisations including the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), Thames Water, National Trust, and the RSPB are part of the working group. Not all of the groups back the 'English beaver strategy' proposals that have been drawn up and submitted to Defra, but Beaver Trust said all agree collaboration is the key to restoring and managing England's rivers. Conservationists support the return of the animals, whose dams create wetlands that boost wildlife, prevent flooding downstream and improve water quality, and say negative impacts on the landscape can be managed. But others, such as farmers and anglers, have raised concerns about damage to farmland and other species such as fish. James Wallace, a director of Beaver Trust and convener of the English Beaver Strategy Working Group, said: 'It is critical for people with different views to collaborate on how to coexist with this remarkable, if sometimes troublesome, species. Beavers were once native in Britain, but were hunted to extinction in the 16th century. They have made a return to the wild in some parts of the country, however, including in Scotland and a small number on the River Otter in Devon. Pictured, a beaver on a dam 'To many, these ecosystem engineers could help us tackle issues across river catchments like water security, floods, pollution and loss of wildlife.' But he said: 'Understandably, some people are concerned about beavers returning to heavily-managed land and rivers. 'We recognise the need to help mitigate risks of negative impacts on farmland, watercourses and infrastructure. 'So, we are convening diverse interest groups to create a strategy that works for everyone.' Harry Barton, chief executive of Devon Wildlife Trust which led the trial on the River Otter, said it showed how beavers can thrive and co-exist with people and conflicts managed through engagement, landowner advice and support. 'This groundbreaking work should now form the basis of a national strategy and management framework so that communities across the country can benefit from these amazing animals,' he said. Shaun Leonard, director of Wild Trout Trust, said: 'Research shows the impact of beavers on trout and salmon can be both positive and negative. 'English rivers and their fish populations are already suffering from fragmentation of habitat due to tens of thousands of weirs and culverts. 'Beavers' habitat engineering activity, including building dams, could be problematic for fish in many rivers. 'We can't support the proposals at this stage, but by participating in the working group we will be able to influence the future strategy for beaver introductions and their management.' D etectives have made an arrest after a man was shot in the back of the head while walking home through a south-east London park in a suspected case of mistaken identity. A 25-year-old man was held on Sunday on suspicion of the murder of Dean Edwards, 43. Mr Edwards was killed in the early hours of July 12 in Betts Park, Penge, after meeting friends for a drink. He was about to leave the park via the Croydon Road exit near Tremaine Road, when he was shot. Detectives previously said they believed the popular father-of-four and grandfather to six was killed in a case of mistaken identity. Senior investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Kate Kieran, said: This is a major development in our investigation and we will continue to work hard to make sure that those responsible for Deans death are brought to justice. The people that killed Dean had absolutely no regard whatsoever for his life, or for the law. Deans death is a tragic reminder that carrying a gun has devastating consequences and I continue to plea to anyone with any information to come forward, either by calling police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously. Appealing last week for witnesses, Ms Kieran said: We believe this is a case of mistaken identity. There is nothing in Deans life, background, family and friends, or in the pubs he visited earlier that evening, that indicate hes had a row or argument. Nothing. Hollie Edwards, the daughter of Dean Edwards, stands next to tributes for her father at Betts Park in south-east London, as police renew an appeal for information / PA Mr Edwards daughter Hollie Edwards, 21, described her dad as a "friendly, bubbly and loving person". He was never confrontational and hated arguments. He was a big softie at heart, loved all the grandchildren and spoiled them," she said. He was a good, innocent person. Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 020 8721 4868, or via 101, quoting CAD 1402/12JUL. United States President Donald Trump warned on August 15 that it could take "months" or even "years" for the country to know the result of the presidential election scheduled to happen on November 3. "Usually at the end of the evening, they say 'Donald Trump has won the election, Donald Trump is your new president,'" Trump said during a press conference. "You know what? You're not going to know this possibly if you really did it right for months or for years. Because these ballots are all going to be lost, they're all going to be gone," Trump said, repeating his unverified claims about vote-by-mail ballots. Blaming the Democrats for the Postal Service being underfunded, the US president said that the agency did not have enough resources to collect the expected increase in mail-in ballots for year's election. Referring to lawmakers from the Democratic party, Trump said, "They want a trillion dollars to bailout sates ... badly run Democrat states.. They're not giving the money to the post office." While Democrats have been calling for vote-by-mail ballots for the November presidential polls amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Trump and the Republican party have claimed that it would not work. Vote-by-mail ballot refers to a ballot that a voter can request and pick-up or have delivered to them without having to be physically present at a polling station for voting on Election Day. Earlier in July too, Trump said he does not want to delay the election, but had expressed apprehension that counting of mailed ballots could take weeks and hamper the results, leading to a compromised poll. Haiti - Politic : The PM meets the presidents of the municipal commissions of the metropolitan area Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe, accompanied by Ministers Audain Fils Bernadel (interior) and Nader Joiseus (Public Works) held a meeting last week with the acting presidents of municipal commissions of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, with a view to to address the problem of insecurity and unhealthiness in these communes. The measures to be taken in order to guarantee the safety of the inhabitants; creation of a municipal police force; Finding the best formula to ensure the management of sanitation and rationally address the issue of the environment were among the topics at the center of the discussions. Prime Minister Jouthe took the opportunity to discuss the possibility of inserting a section in the national budget for the functioning of municipalities. In addition, in its desire to continue to support the population, Jouthe wished to remind the commissioners that they are the highest authority in their respective commune and that it is their responsibility to take all the necessary measures, in concert with the central power, to better organize their communes and become more involved in the security management of their commune. After having collected the grievances of the Municipal Commissioners who participated, the Head of Government promised to do everything possible to facilitate their actions and also advised them to seriously and rigorously address the problem of insalubrity. HL/ HaitiLibre The So Long To Summer Sale, a two-day sidewalk sale modified for social distancing, will be held in downtown New Canaan Friday, Aug, 21, and Saturday, Aug. 22, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Elm and Forest streets will be closed to vehicle traffic for the event. The New Canaan Chamber of Commerce is hosting the event to help local businesses, which have seen a drop in foot traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is being held during Connecticuts tax-free week. For the first time in over 54 years, we were unable to hold the traditional Village Fair and Sidewalk Sale, and we heard from so many how much they missed it. Many of our local retailers expressed interest in participating in the sale so we consulted with State and local authorities, implemented safety protocols, and received approval to run the event, said Laura Budd, who will soon take over as executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the number of vendors has been cut in half, hand sanitizer will be available at multiple locations, and masks which are required will be available for any customer who does not have one. Customers will be required to wear a mask when six-foot social distancing cannot be maintained as well as inside merchant tents. William Raveis and Hannelore Kaplan are sponsoring the So Long To Summer Sale. Parking is free in legal spaces in the municipal lots, as well as the train station and lumberyard lots. Questions can be directed to the Chamber of Commerce at 203-966-2004 or laura@newcanaanchamber.com. A list of confirmed vendors can be found on the So Long To Summer Web Page https://newcanaanchamber.com/so-long-summer-sale/ RIDGEWOOD, NJ The Ridgewood Police Department will undergo an accreditation review this week following a summer of rising tensions between officials, officers and community activists. Beginning Tuesday, a team of assessors from the Coalition of Accredited Law Enforcement Agencies will review the department, and determine if it follows best practice standards. Personnel will be interviewed and proof of compliance will be presented to assessors, but the reviewers will also seek public comment. If the public decides to participate, it could provide community members with an opportunity to air grievances which have been building since the arrest of a local activist and teenage bicyclist in July. Accreditation, which is voluntary, isn't the end-all be-all for the way departments operate. In the event that the department were to lose it, in fact, the visible changes would likely be minimal. However, Ridgewood Police take pride in the fact that, according to a news release, the department is the longest continuously accredited law enforcement agency in the state, a streak they'd presumably like to keep. A call-in session will be hosted on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., and a second public hearing via Zoom will follow at 6 p.m. Generally, these sessions would be held in person, but according to a news release from the department, the coronavirus pandemic is forcing much of the assessment to be conducted virtually. Public comment during both sessions are limited to five to 10 minutes, and must address the department's ability to comply with CALEA standards. To reach an assessor via phone on Wednesday, call (201)857-5734. The Zoom information is as follows: Webinar ID: 847 4702 8207 Participant ID: 443216 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbFm... Written comments will also be accepted, according to the news release, and can be sent to CALEA by writing to: Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. ("CALEA"), 13575 Heathcote Boulevard, Suite 320, Gainesville, Virginia 20155. Story continues Prior to these public hearings, here's what you should know: What are the standards? Golden, apparently. According to the CALEA website, the set of standards put forth by the organization are the "gold standard in public safety." The organization was created in 1979 as a "credentialing authority through the joint efforts of law enforcement's major executive associations." Ridgewood, according to the news release, has the longest continuously accredited law enforcement agency in New Jersey, having been accredited for the first time in 1996. In total there are 484 CALEA best practice standards, according to a news release from the department. These standards are wide-ranging, covering topics such as bias, evidence collection, internal affairs and public information. Within those categories and more the criteria delves deeper into specifics. For example, there are 13 criteria that must be met under the use of force standards, which cover aspects of use of force including: The use of reasonable force Use of deadly force Warning shots Use of authorized less-lethal weapons Rendering aid after use of weapons Reporting uses of force Reviewing reported uses of force Removal from line of duty assignment relating to the use of force Authorization: weapons and ammunition Demonstrating proficiency with weapons Annual and biennial proficiency training Issuing written directives Analyzing reported uses of force Mind you, this is just one subsection of the larger law enforcement role and authority standards, which also include regulations regarding limits to authority and agency defining language such as their code of ethics and oath of office. Other standards to be reviewed include bias based profiling, command protocol, entry level training, grievance procedures and emotional stability and psychological fitness examinations. The full list of standards can be found here: https://bit.ly/2E0yNvb Anything to worry about? That probably depends on who you ask. Ridgewood Police officers were recorded making two controversial arrests in July which gained a level of relative virality and local and state activists have called for added accountability and transparency within the department. The second instance, in which a teenage bicyclist was arrested in what some are calling an unnecessary use of force. The two arresting officers were placed on administrative duty, something that correlates with what Police Chief Jacqueline Luthcke says is a standard investigation into any use of force arrest. Young people of color were arrested in both instances, which sparked additional outrage among area residents. "We keep saying: 'not in our town...' 'not our police...' but living while black or brown is dangerous everywhere in America," said Glen Rock council member Arati Kreibich, in a tweet. We keep saying: not in our town... not our police... but living while black or brown is dangerous everywhere in America.This happened today in Ridgewood NJ. pic.twitter.com/CBD5VmW8Ru Dr. Arati Kreibich (@AratiKreibich) July 27, 2020 Ridgewood for Black Liberation, an anti-racist organization, released a statement condemning the department's actions, but group members said they weren't unusual. "Ridgewood police used excessive and unacceptable use of force against a latinx minor today in RW. Officer grabbed his neck, pushed him to the ground," the group wrote. One of the group's founding members, Thria Bernabe, was arrested during a July 4 protest. The group has started a petition to have her charges dropped, and her attorney, Gregory M. Jachts, penned a letter to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in which he requested that the AG's Office open an investigation into unconstitutional policing by the department. The department, for their part, has held steady in defense of their officers. A lengthy statement was offered following the arrest of the teenage bicyclist detailing a rowdy group that eluded police in two other municipalities, and causes safety hazards for motorists. Safety reasons were also the given reason for the July 4 arrest of Bernabe, who police charged with obstructing a highway or other public passage. "The Ridgewood Police Department fully supports the right of citizens to protest peacefully and safely," Luthcke said. "We also support the rights of citizens to be free from others imposing upon their civil liberties." It's unclear how much these moments could impact the accreditation review, which will likely take some time to complete. Even in the event that the department does lose accreditation, it won't impact the way Ridgewood Police operate in large part. This week will only be the first part of the process, as the assessors will need to finish the review and report back to the commission prior to an official decision being handed down, the department said. "As always, we are proud to serve the fine community of Ridgewood as we have since 1894 and we look forward to continuing our service to you through professionalism and pride in the future," the release read. This article originally appeared on the Ridgewood-Glen Rock Patch Hundreds of private schoolteachers rallied in the northwestern Pakistani region of Swat on August 17 to demand an immediate reopening of schools that were closed to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Last week, the federal government announced that schools will reopen from September 15, but the protesting teachers said there was no point in keeping the schools closed while the nationwide lockdown had already been lifted. Police arrested several school principals in Swat for opening their schools on August 15. Earlier this month, the Pakistani government lifted the lockdown that had been imposed on cities in mid-March but decided to keep educational institutions closed. Private school owners complain that the closure is affecting their business and wasting the academic time of students. Hundreds of teachers have lost their jobs since March, they say. During U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit here, Poland and the United States sealed a deal on military cooperation by signing the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). The agreement signed last Saturday, which makes Poland a staunch U.S. ally, is supposed to strengthen the European country's security. However, analysts have noted that it might be seen by Russia as provocation and broaden the discord among NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) members. TROOPS INCREASE According to the EDCA, the total number of U.S. soldiers stationed in Poland will increase by 1,000 to around 5,500. Apart from that, the core of the deal consists of the creation of the forward command of the 5th U.S. Army Corps. The infrastructures to be constructed would allow Poland to accommodate up to around 20,000 U.S. soldiers. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, signatory of the new defense pact, said that the agreement paved the way for permanent presence of U.S. troops in Poland and more military exercises to be conducted by the two armies. Analysts have said that Poland has been coordinating its pace with the United States in various fields stretching from diplomacy, economy to security and military affairs. Polish President Andrzej Duda has told media that Poland-U.S. relations have never been closer, and the two countries are committed to further cooperation on defense and economy. Poland has long been seeking a larger U.S. military presence in the country, even suggesting the expenditure of 2 billion U.S. dollars to build a military base dubbed "Fort Trump" for U.S. troops' permanent stationing. However, its pursuit of a closer relationship with the United States has raised controversy and criticism domestically, with regard to the potential immense expenditure and extraterritorial jurisdiction. Blaszczak explained after the signing of the agreement that in cases deemed important, U.S. soldiers would be subject to Polish criminal jurisdiction, with the exception of acts committed while on duty. "There is also no question of extraterritoriality of the facilities where American troops will be stationed," he added. IRRITATING RUSSIA In Warsaw's point of view, increased U.S. military presence consolidates the security of Poland and even the whole region. But according to some experts and analysts, such as Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference, the U.S. move could bring negative impacts. Sylwester Szafarz, a Polish expert on international affairs, told Xinhua that it is questionable whether the move -- while enhancing the Polish relation with the United States but at the same time irritating neighboring countries -- would serve Poland's interest. Analysts have also noted that NATO's eastwards movement sounds alarm for Russia, deteriorating the relations already fraught with difficulties between Warsaw and Moscow. After U.S. President Donald Trump said in late June during his joint press conference with Duda that he would send some U.S. troops from Germany to Poland, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that Warsaw risked "the status of a frontline state," adding "they probably realize that the costs associated with this include their own security." DIVIDING NATO The inking of the EDCA came right after the U.S. announcement of troops withdrawal from Germany, making it possible for the United States to redeploy part of the soldiers to Poland. Analysts have pointed out that for Washington, the redeployment serves two goals simultaneously -- penalizing Berlin for its "delinquency" on military spending, and awarding Warsaw for fulfilling its NATO "monetary obligation" and above all, a positive attitude towards Washington. The unilateralist policy of "America First" adopted by the Trump administration has contradicted with the multilateralist approach of Germany and other U.S. traditional European allies on multiple issues, including military spending, Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The U.S. regrouping of forces in Europe was considered by critics as compromising and dividing NATO. William Courtney, a retired U.S. ambassador and now an adjunct senior fellow of U.S. nonprofit think tank RAND Corporation, told Xinhua that "by unsettling the NATO alliance once again, Trump's actions are likely to reduce Europe's confidence in U.S. support for its security." In recent years, Poland has expressed its willingness to grant permanent U.S. military presence on its soil. Russian media have said the White House is concerned that if Poland reduces defense spending as it is secured by U.S. protection, Washington might face complaints from other NATO members and Moscow. On top of that, enhancing military cooperation with Poland serves the Trump administration's domestic agenda. Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, pointed out that seeking re-election in November, the administration aims to gain Polish-Americans' support. U.S. news daily The Washington Post has also reported that Trump wants to earn the votes of the Polish diaspora, which represented a considerable influence in 2016. SINGAPORE and MUMBAI, India and NEW YORK and MANILA, Philippines, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LearningMate, the leader in business to business ed-tech services has sold a majority stake to SPi Global, the market leading content technology enterprise. SPi Global is owned by Partners Group, a global private markets investment management firm with over USD 96 billion in assets under management, on behalf of its clients. Founded in 2003, LearningMate has today close to 1000 ed-tech professionals, across the globe. LearningMate is among the leading diversified digital enablement providers in the ed-tech space with a strong multi-geographic presence across 6 locations LearningMate leads with a 'Services over Platform' strategy in the K-12, Higher education and Corporate Training sectors. LearningMate's best-in-class middleware technology platform provides clients with a cloud-based infrastructure that allows them to create, curate, enhance and deliver digital learning content to multiple delivery channels. LearningMate also supports its clients with digital content and curriculum services that focus on improving learning efficacy and reach. LearningMate's platforms and solutions have benefited over 250 clients till date and touch millions of students and faculty every day across the globe. LearningMate was majority owned by Helix Investments, a New York based private equity fund with a special focus on India. Helix made the investment in 2009 and has been a LearningMate partner for over a decade. Helix will retain a minority stake in the company, demonstrating their continued commitment in the future growth of LearningMate. Given that LearningMate has built a unique position and brand due to its focus on innovation and digital technologies, the company will continue to operate independently under Samudra (Sam) Sen, Founder and CEO of LearningMate. The new LearningMate board will consist of representatives from Partners Group, SPi Global and independent directors of repute. Sam will continue to be part of the LearningMate board. The partnership will help both companies leverage complementary strengths and bring greater value to their customers. The ed-tech space is booming today and online learning is becoming the new normal especially in the light of the recent developments. LearningMate's founding team and senior management will continue to remain invested in the company and successfully lead the organization to build value for the future. "We are very pleased to join hands with the LearningMate team. Having known the organization and management for more than a decade, I have always considered LearningMate as one of the leading players in the ed-tech space. I am pleased to be part of the LearningMate board and look forward to working alongside Sam to create value in the Education markets" said SPi Global President and CEO Ratan Datta. "We are excited with this new partnership and look forward to working closely with Partners Group and the SPi Global leadership to accelerate our growth and make a significant contribution to our education and training communities in these unprecedented times of rapid change that will need us to innovate more than ever before." added Samudra Sen, Founder and CEO, LearningMate. About SPi Global SPi Global is a market leading content technology and content solutions enterprise that provides data services and subject matter expertise (SME) to multiple industries such as research, learning and education, finance, healthcare and life sciences, media and retail, and other corporates. Leveraging its deep domain expertise and suite of proprietary technology platforms, the company brings forth cutting-edge innovation for the extraction, enrichment and transformation of structured and unstructured content and information assets. With a client-base scoping 30 countries worldwide, SPi Global delivers business transformation services across the globe. The company's multi-geographical resource pool is strategically located in eight countries, India, the Philippines, United States, China, Nicaragua, Vietnam, United Kingdom and Singapore. For more information, visit www.spi-global.com . Contact: Bhaskar Jha Bhaskar.jha@spi-global.com Islamabad, Aug 17 : The first foreign expedition team of this climbing season has arrived in Pakistan to summit a 6,500-metre high peak in Shimshal Valley of Gilgit-Baltistan, a top official said. "The five-member outfit is led by renowned German climber Felix Berg," The News International quoted Karrar Haidri, Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan (ACP), as saying on Sunday. According to Haidri, the unnamed mountain is located in an open area of Shimshal Valley and was hitherto unclimbed. "The Germans will be making its first-ever climb," he added. Haidri further said that since the Covid-19 pandemic hit Pakistan, this is the first expedition of the year. "Some more European teams are expected to arrive in the next few days as the summer season is ending in September," he added. Pakistan is home to five of the world's 14 tallest mountains. Besides that, more than 100 peaks above 7,000 metres and as many above 6,000 are also located in the country, reports The News International. Every year, the country recieves hundreds of climbers and trekkers from around the world, who aspire to scale its dangerous peaks. However, this year the impact of the pandemic has been devastating for mountaineering. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text By Akbar Mammadov Azerbaijans Foreign Ministry has said that Armenia has constructed a new illegal settlement in occupied Kalbajar region as part of Yerevans artificial settlement policy aimed at consolidating the occupation. In a press release issued jointly with Azerbaijans satellite operator Azercosmos, the ministry said that the monitoring carried out via the Azersky satellite has revealed that a residential complex, which began to be built in Kalbajar in late 2019, now consists of 15 houses. The speed and the continuation of construction work make clear that this settlement will be further expanded. Thus, if in January 2020, 6 houses were completed, in March - 10 houses, in April - 14 houses, and in August this figure reached 15, the ministry said. The ministry said that the settlement was part of an artificial settlement policy of Armenia, adding that new settlements were constructed in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, including the residential complex "Aracamux" in Jabrayil and "Ariavan" in Lachin region, as well as in Zangilan and Khanlig village of Gubadli region. The fact of the construction of new settlements in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as seen from the analysis of satellite images, proves that Armenia continues its illegal activities in violation of international humanitarian law, including the 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, as well as the human rights norms, the ministry said. This illegal activity is aimed at continuing and strengthening the occupation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan, the annexation of our territories and the prevention of the return of Azerbaijani IDPs to their homes and properties, the statement reads. The ministry stated that Armenia, its individuals and legal entities carrying out illegal activities in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of our country in gross violation of the international law, and the legislation of Azerbaijan, as well as all other individuals and companies participating in illegal activities in the occupied territories, bear administrative and legal responsibility. In the statement, the ministry stressed that the right of the Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions of Azerbaijan to return to their homes will be ensured, and the aggressor state Armenia will be held accountable for all its illegal actions. It should be noted that earlier, the Armenian leadership saw the recent deadly blast in Beirut as another opportunity to illegally settle Armenians in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent seven regions. Thus, the leader of the separatist regime set up in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan offered the settling of 150 Lebanese-Armenian families in Nagorno-Karabakh. The separatist leader voiced his readiness to receive Armenians on August 5, during the phone conversation with the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I who is based in Lebanons capital-Beirut. Armenia had earlier moved thousands of Syrian Armenians to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan since the start of the Syrian war. According to UNHCR figures, at least 15,000 Syrians have found refuge in Armenia since the start of the crisis. Kalbajar was occupied by Armenain forces in April 1993. Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Groups efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. --- Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Saturday said the government action on the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wanis brother will proceed as per the outcome of the probe into his death and an FIR has been registered in this connection. His comments came amid protests by several organisations over the PDP-BJP coalition governments decision to compensate the family of Khalid Wani, who was killed in an encounter with the Army in Pulwama district on April 13 last year. Singh said an FIR has been lodged and whatever be the outcome of the probe, government will act accordingly. There is a law of the land applicable to it. Whatever be the outcome of the investigation, action would be taken as per that, Singh told reporters at a function in Jammu. If it is proved that he was a terrorist as the FIR has been lodged, action would be taken as per that, he said replying to a question on giving compensation to Khalids family. Khalids brother Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by security forces on July 8, and his death had led to months-long protest in the Valley in which 86 people died. Asked about the impact of Union governments move to demonetise old high-value currency notes on unrest in Kashmir, Singh said the exercise has badly-hit terrorism and hawala transactions, which is believed to support the militancy. That is why the terrorists are engineering cases of looting of money from the banks because they are facing dearth of money, he said, adding that the government was making full security arrangement to ensure such incidents do not recur. There is a dip in smuggling of weapons from Pakistan. They are frustrated by the demonetisation, he said. He asked Hurriyat leaders and other separatists to think positively so that normalcy returns and added that shutdown by separatists is causing loss to everyone, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has retweeted an audio recording that U.S. intelligence officials have described as part of a Russian campaign to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The leaked conversation, purportedly between Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, dates from Feb. 18, 2016, and centers on the resignation of Ukraines chief prosecutor. By amplifying the recording to his more than 85 million Twitter followers, Trump underscored the ease with which pro-Russian narratives can seep into American public discourse ahead of the 2020 election despite being flagged by intelligence officials as the product of a concerted Russian effort. Russia has also published disinformation under the guise of legitimate news stories, U.S. officials say, reflecting something of a shift in tactics from 2016, when Russia relied on a social media campaign to sow discord and also orchestrated the release of stolen Democratic emails. The Biden campaign didnt immediately comment on the retweet Monday. The White House also did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Andrii Derkach, a member of Ukraines parliament and a 1993 graduate of a Russian spy academy who long has aired corruption allegations against Biden and his son, has released this year what he says are recordings of conversation between Poroshenko and Biden when Biden was vice president during the Obama administration. That effort was flagged in a U.S. intelligence assessment earlier this month warning of Russian interference in the upcoming election, and specifically efforts to denigrate Biden. For example, pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach is spreading claims about corruption including through publicizing leaked phone calls to undermine former Vice President Bidens candidacy and the Democratic Party, said the statement from William Evanina, the U.S. governments chief counterintelligence official. In the conversation retweeted Sunday night by Trump, Poroshenko can be heard telling Biden that he had accepted the resignation of prosecutor Victor Shokin despite of the fact that we didnt have any corruption charges, we dont have any information about him doing something wrong. An anti-Biden narrative pushed by Trump and his supporters alleges that Biden, as vice president, pressured Ukraines government to fire Shokin because Shokin had investigated a Ukrainian energy company on whose board sat Bidens son Hunter. But Bidens position on the prosecutor, who was seen by critics as soft on corruption, was the position of the U.S. government and was also supported by other Western governments and many in Ukraine. But the Twitter user whom Trump retweeted said in his tweet that the conversation revealed that Shokin was not corrupt" and that there was no information to suggest he had done anything wrong. A White House summary of the conversation available online does show that Biden and Poroshenko spoke on Feb. 18, 2016. But Poroshenko has generally rejected the tapes disclosed by Derkach as a fabrication by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine. ___ Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP 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 plague of tiny mountain pine beetles, no bigger than a grain of rice, has already destroyed 15 years of log supplies in British Columbia, enough trees to build 9 million single-family homes, and are chewing through forests in Alberta and the Pacific Northwest. Now, an outbreak of spruce beetles is threatening to devour even more trees in North America just as similar pests are decimating supplies in parts of Europe, creating a glut of dead and dying logs. The bugs are thriving as climate change warms winters that would normally keep them at bay, destroying a swath of the worlds timber supplies. That may eventually spur shortages for the global housing market. Right now, lumber prices are soaring to record highs thanks to a surge in pent-up repair, renovation and housing demand sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. All told, the beetles felled 730 million cubic meters of pine between 2000 and 2015 in British Columbia, Canadas largest exporter of timber to the U.S. housing market. Thats erased more than a decade of lumber supplies and and will reduce the allowable production in the B.C. Interior by a staggering 40%, said David Elstone, owner of Vancouver-based Spar Tree Group. Provincial modeling indicates about 55% of B.C.s marketable pine trees will be dead by 2020. Squashing these bugs is no easy feat, according to Caroline Whitehouse, a forest health specialist for the province of Alberta. Helicopters scour areas of Albertas northern timberland looking for signs a pine trees green needles have turned a ghastly red. Whitehouses team on the ground then ferrets out pines oozing a creamy, reddish resin to confirm the beetles have bored into the bark and overwhelmed their host. Finally, infected trees are cut down with chainsaws before they are chopped into bits and burned with fuel to destroy any chance the larvae could spread. Youve got to utilize these dramatic, very effective techniques of cut and burn, said Whitehouse, noting Albertas efforts have reduced the area that could have been impacted by the mountain pine beetle by 30%. Still, the pests have affected more than 2.2 million hectares (5.4 million acres) and the outbreak is unlikely to subside for another five or six years. Certainly its a difficult thing. When you have an outbreak you have millions and millions and millions upon millions of beetles in the forest. Decades ago, the mountain pine beetle was part of the forests normal cycle of death and regrowth. The pests would feast on mature trees, providing fuel for forest fires that would then spur new growth. But by 1950, humans became very good at putting out forest fires, leaving a smorgasbord of older trees for the insects to attack, said Allan Carroll, professor of insect ecology and director of the Forest Sciences Program at the University of British Columbia. Temperatures have climbed in the province more quickly than across the world in general. The nighttime minimum average temperature in winter rose by 3.1 degrees Celsius (5.6 degrees Fahrenheit) between 1900 and 2013, according to provincial records. As winters warmed, more of the beetles were able to survive and extend their reach into areas that used to be too cold to live. The wily insects chew through the bark and convert the trees only defense mechanisma toxic sticky, resininto pheromones to alert thousands of their friends to join in on the mass attack, using it as a place to lay their eggs and eventually killing it. The only way to stop the rapid spread is to find and destroy infected trees. The epidemic, which took off in the early 2000s, spurred a massive salvage operation in B.C. as sawmills raced to process and export timber before the dying trees lost market value. Since 2005, about 40 sawmills have gone out of business following the collapse of the U.S. housing market and as timber shortages emerged from the fallout of the bugs. Further closures are expected to occur in the coming years, Elstone said. The beetles have spread to neighboring Alberta, where they have destroyed chunks of forest normally harvested for timber in addition to valuable caribou habitat. At the same time, the bugs cousin, the spruce beetle, is threatening to take a bite out of B.C.s spruce tree supplies. The situation is even worse in Europe, where several years of hot summers and dry winters has left drought-stressed trees ripe for the spread of bugs. About a dozen European countries have outbreaks of the spruce bark beetle, including significant infestations in Germany and the Czech Republic, said Russ Taylor, managing director of FEA Canada. The amount of lumber destroyed in the outbreak could surpass how much the mountain pine beetle killed in B.C. should existing climate conditions persist, according to an FEA report. In the Czech Republic the beetle kill is bigger than their total harvest capacity, Taylor said. Theyre fighting a losing battle. Its a vicious cycle. As a result of climate change, forests are more easily attacked and killed by beetles as older, more mature trees are the most affected by drought, Taylor said. The bugs in turn, impact the ability of forests to absorb carbon and emit oxygen, indirectly creating more climate change and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The situation has already upended normal trade flows. Central Europe is now one of the worlds lowest cost suppliers, sending a surge of cheap, damaged timber to China. Eventually, Europe will be in the same boat as B.C., tightening supplies just as U.S. housing starts recover and need more wood, Taylor said. To be sure, there is still an ample supply of lumber down in the southern U.S. and forest inventory could grow as parts of the world become more adept at using technology to plant and grow faster-maturing trees, said Mark Wilde, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets in New York. Right now, it can take as many as 80 years for a pine tree in B.C. to reach maturity. Canadian producers have already shifted their sights to the U.S. South, where they have bought mills and expanded their operations. Less than half of Canfors lumber capacity comes from Canada, down from 88% just seven years ago, according to a company spokeswoman. Meanwhile, scientists like Carroll say increased climate variability and warmer temperatures are going to boost the number of outbreaks of beetles and other insects in the decades to come. The bugs are able to thrive as forests become stressed and the markets often dont accommodate what he calls the solid and beautiful truth: ecology trumps all. Im astonished how an animal the size of a grain of rice could alter the ecological landscape, Carroll said. Thats the craziness of this whole thing. By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijani Melioration and Water Industry OJSC will drill 18 sub-artesian wells in Sheki in 2020 as part of measures to tackle the country's water shortage problem. The drilling is planned in accordance with the order of Azerbaijani President On measures for design and drilling of sub-artesian wells to meet the needs of arable land and drinking water in Sheki from February 6, 2020. Head of Sheki sub-artesian wells operation department Sabir Ahmedov told local media that, in accordance with the order, drilling of 5 sub-artesian wells was already completed in Birinci Bilecik, Bash Goynuk, Aydinbulaq, Ibrahimkend and Dashbulaq villages of the region and preparation for installation of electrical equipment is underway. Moreover, a new sub-artesian well has been drilled in Dashbuz village in the region. Two more sub-artesian wells will be drilled in the village. Furthermore, new wells will be drilled soon in other villages. It is expected that all these wells will be put into operation by late 2020. As a result of the commissioning of the new sub-artesian wells, irrigation water supply to arable lands and farmlands used for planting greenery in 15 settlements with the population of over 116,00 people will be improved, and the populations need for drinking water will be met. Earlier it was reported that the drinking water supply and sewage system of western Gazakh region was being reconstructed. The project aims to improve access to water and sanitation services for 26,000 people in the region. In addition, the project envisages supply of drinking water to Agkoynak, Garapapag, Huseynbeyli and Dag Qasaman villages of Gazakh and Agstafa regions in the future. Overall, 45,000 residents will benefit from the project. Seven of the 12 sub-artesian wells to be drilled in Agstafa region, will provide Gazakh region and surrounding villages with sustainable drinking water. A 4-kilometre section of a 9-kilometre main water pipeline has been laid from the spring to Gazakh. It should be noted that on July 28, President Ilham Aliyev signed the Order on additional measures to ensure the efficient use of water resources, the presidential website has reported. The new order was signed in a bid to increase water resources in the country, to improve the supply of drinking water and irrigation water to consumers. In this regard, the president approved the "Action Plan for 2020-2022 on ensuring efficient use of water resources". Likewise, on July Azersu OJSC started construction of new main water pipeline in Neftchala, where drinking water has been insufficient for many years. On July 23, during the meeting dedicated to the water management situation, President Ilham Aliyev spoke about measures required to tackle the country's water problems. Water reserves in Azerbaijan are estimated at 30.9 billion cubic meters, out of which 33 percent are local inland waters and 66 percent are transboundary rivers, meaning that access to fresh water requires large investments. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz ENTERPRISE, Ala., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Top 25 accounting and advisory firm Carr, Riggs & Ingram (CRI) was recently recognized by Construction Executive in The Top 50 Construction Accounting Firms, the publication's annual ranking of accounting firms making significant impacts to the construction industry. The firm placed thirteenth on the 2020 rankings list. Construction Executive is the premier trade magazine focused on the construction industry, having been in circulation now for 18 years. In its August 2020 issue, Construction Executive published a comprehensive list of The Top 50 Construction Accounting Firms, featuring industry analysis from noteworthy firms. Construction Practice Leader and CRI Jackson partner Larry May contributed to the focal piece in which thought leaders in the accounting industry offered advice to businesses amid a recession and pandemic. Read the full article here. CE developed The Top 50 Construction Accounting Firms ranking by asking hundreds of U.S. construction accounting firms to complete a survey. Data collected included: 1) 2019 revenues from construction practice; 2) number of CPAs in construction practice; 3) percentage of firm's total revenues from construction practice; 4) number of construction clients in 2019; 5) number of office locations with a construction accounting practice; 6) number of employees with CCIFP certification; and 7) year construction accounting practice established. The ranking was determined by an algorithm that weighted these factors in descending order of importance. For more information, contact [email protected]. CRI delivers a broad range of accounting services to construction clients of all sizes both contractors and subcontractors, including electrical, HVAC/plumbing, and roadbuilding. The company advises clients regarding strategies to maximize their bonding capacity, plan tax savings, and enhance working capital. The CRI team also stays up to date on timely business topics through its memberships with Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA), and other industry organizations. For more information, visit CRIcpa.com. About Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC CRI is a CPA and advisory firm located in 30 markets throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. CRI's industry specializations include construction, government, banking/financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, not-for-profit, manufacturing, and distribution. CRI offers traditional and specialized services, including audit and assurance, business consulting and support, forensic accounting, IT auditing, retirement plan auditing, SEC compliance, business valuation, tax planning, and trusts and estates work. Additionally, CRI's portfolio companies deliver service organization control (SOC) reports, data analytics, investment banking, business consulting, retirement administration services, wealth management, payroll management, and trust and estate services. CRI is a top 25 nationally ranked accounting firm. For additional information, please visit CRIcpa.com. Related Images carr-riggs-ingram-cpas-and-advisors.png Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors Related Links CRI Website SOURCE Carr, Riggs & Ingram Related Links http://www.CRIcpa.com NEW YORK U.S. states claimed they are owed $2.2 trillion (1.68 trillion pounds) to address harm from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LPs alleged role in Americas opioid epidemic, accusing the drugmaker in new filings of pushing prescription painkillers on doctors and patients while playing down the risks of abuse and overdose. In filings made as part of Purdues bankruptcy proceedings that were disclosed on Monday, the states said Purdue, backed by the wealthy Sackler family, contributed to a public health crisis that has claimed the lives of roughly 450,000 people since 1999 and caused strains on healthcare and criminal justice systems. The filings cited more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S. tied directly to prescription opioids between 1999 and 2016. In large states such as California and New York, claims alone totaled more than $192 billion and $165 billion, respectively. Forty-nine U.S. states, Washington, D.C. and various territories are making the claims. Oklahoma settled litigation with Purdue last year. Purdue filed for bankruptcy in 2019 under pressure from more than 2,600 lawsuits brought by cities, counties, states, Native American tribes, hospitals and others. The lawsuits said the company, and in some cases the Sacklers, used deceptive marketing and took other improper steps to flood communities with prescription opioids. The company and family have denied the allegations and pledged to help combat the opioid epidemic, including by providing addiction treatment drugs and overdose reversal medications under development. In response to the state claims, Purdue said it continues to work toward resolving litigation and emerging from bankruptcy, and that it is typical for claims from various creditors to be filed in amounts substantially larger than what is ultimately allowed by the court." Sackler representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Purdue and the Sacklers have pointed to fentanyl and heroin as more significant culprits in the opioid crisis. States in their filings, though, pointed to National Institute on Drug Abuse research estimating that about 80% of heroin abusers previously took prescription opioids. In addition to the assertions from states, Purdue faces claims exceeding $18 billion from the U.S. Justice Department on account of potential penalties resulting from criminal and civil investigations. In filings tied to Purdues bankruptcy case, federal prosecutors said Purdue contributed to false claims being made to federal healthcare insurance programs by allowing doctors to write medically unnecessary opioid prescriptions that were at times tainted by illegal kickbacks, according to a person familiar with the matter. The Justice Department claims also included possible penalties arising from allegations that Purdue violated the U.S. Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and violations of federal conspiracy and anti-kickback laws, the person said. The Justice Department has declined to comment on the claims. Claims from states and federal prosecutors are being processed after being filed just before a July 30 deadline set by a U.S. bankruptcy judge. While they will collectively exceed trillions of dollars, the filings are in many cases placeholders as opposed to roadmaps for how much money Purdue will ultimately pay its creditors, the bulk of which are U.S., state and local governments. Purdue is only worth a bit more than $2 billion if liquidated. The company values a proposal to settle litigation, which includes providing addiction treatment and overdose-reversing drugs, at more than $10 billion. The Sacklers would contribute $3 billion and cede control of Purdue, with the company becoming a trust run on behalf of plaintiffs. Those financial realities underscore that Purdue does not have enough money to satisfy the myriad claims against it. States and other litigants are in talks to determine how to allocate proceeds from Purdues bankruptcy estate as part of the companys attempted reorganization. Many states, including Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut, have opposed Purdues settlement offer, insisting the Sacklers contribute more money and reveal more details about their finances. 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 Rio Grande Exploration & Production plans to drill for natural gas in the western end of the Eagle Ford Shale near the U.S./Mexico border. The privately held Houston company filed for a pair of permits for two horizontal wells on the companys Nido Ranch lease in Webb County about 20 miles east of the Laredo-Colombia Solidarity International Bridge. The wells target the natural gas-rich Hawkville field of the Eagle Ford geological formation down to a total depth of 14,000 feet. Founded in June 2017 by former Laredo Energy CEO Glenn Hart, Rio Grande focuses solely on natural gas in the Eagle Ford Shale. The companys first wells were placed into production in December 2019. Rio Grandes Nido Ranch lease has produced nearly 1.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas through May of this year. Drilling Down: French oil major Total has big plans in Barnett Shale Permian Basin Denver oil company Ovintiv plans to drill six new horizontal wells in Howard County. The oil wells target the Spraberry field down to a total depth of 10,000 feet. Top 10 Texas Drillers (Aug. 5-11) SM Energy 7 EOG Resources 7 WPX Energy 6 ConocoPhillips 6 Ovintiv 6 High Roller Wells 6 Pioneer Natural Resources 5 Endeavor Energy Resources 5 ExxonMobil 5 Blackbeard Operating 4 Source: Railroad Commission of Texas See More Collapse Eagle Ford Shale British petrochemical company Ineos plans to drill for oil in Fayette County. A new horizontal well planned on its Egan-AC-1 lease targets the Giddings field of the Austin Chalk formation down to a total depth of 11,800 feet. Fuel Fix: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox Haynesville Shale Aethon Energy of Dallas plans to drill a natural gas well on the companys Byrd-Cousteau lease in San Augustine County. The horizontal well targets the Carthage field of the Haynesville formation down to a total depth of 14,000 feet. Barnett Shale French oil major Total plans to drill three horizontal wells within Fort Worth city limits. Located on the northeast corner of Trinity Boulevard and Loop 820, the gas wells target the Newark East field of the Barnett Shale formation down to a total depth of 9,000 feet. More: Read the latest oil and gas news from HoustonChronicle.com Conventionals Center-based conglomerate High Roller Wells plans to drill six injection wells that will be used as saltwater disposal wells in the Permian Basins Winkler County. The vertical wells target the Ellenburger formation down to a vertical depth of 11,500 feet. Love for our elders means we all win, he said. Looking out for family The leaders of Defend Our Community have been both heartened and haunted by the elders theyve met. During one delivery, Whitehair and Slowtalker approached a trailer home and called out for the man who lived there but got no answer. They found him lying on the ground between some cinder blocks. Because diabetic ulcers had destroyed the feeling in his feet, the elder had stumbled and couldnt get up on his own. Whitehair and Slowtalker got him out of the 102 degree heat, then called his relatives to see whether someone could check on him after theyd left. No one called back. It turned up more of an angry side, Slowtalker recalled. How can we treat our elders like this? All of these things are running through my head like why, why, why, why, and I didnt have the answers. Members of Defend Our Community, along with some other elders, have taken to keeping watch on the man. As many reader know, the Mayberry v. KKR, Kentucky public pension suit over alleged abuses by hedge fund managers KKR/Prisma, Blackstone, and Prisma, was rescued from the dead. Mayberry v. KKR looked dead parrot level dead when the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that its eight plaintiffs did not have standing to act as plaintiffs even in a derivative suit because they had not suffered an injury in fact, as required by Article III standing rules. Kentucky, unlike most states, has adopted Federal Article III standing provisions. The US Supreme Court had just ruled in an ERISA case, Thole v. US Bank, that the plaintiffs did not have standing because they had not suffered a loss, which is what the Supremes decided was the basis for determining injury. Note that ironically, the Trump Solicitor General had submitted an amicus brief in favor of the plaintiffs, arguing that a loss did not necessarily have to be realized to meet the Article III threshold, so the Supreme Court decision was hardly a given. Even though anyone with an operating brain cell knows that the Kentucky Retirement System beneficiaries have pension haircuts in their future thanks to the 13% funded status of the system, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled they had to pound sand because they had not yet suffered any losses. Oh, and the state, which has yet to show any seriousness about plugging this monster hole, was legally obligated to Do Something, so the plaintiffs should not worry about not getting paid. That check surely will be in the mail. The Kentucky Supreme Court ordered that the original complaint be dismissed for lack of standing based on Thole, and that the claims made by the beneficiaries as taxpayers be dismissed because only the Attorney General could sue when the state was the real party at interest. The Supreme Court spilled some ink on the fact that the Attorney General was aware of Mayberry v. KKR and had done nothing. KKR and Blackstone, who presumably thought they were in the clear, have suffered a serious reversal of fortune. As we discussed, the Attorney General filed a Motion to Intervene, an unprecedented move. Then Michelle Lerach, one of the two original co-counsels, filed a Second Amended Complaint on behalf of a reconstituted Mayberry Eight. Three of the original plaintiffs were replaced by three new plaintiffs, all hired after January 2014 and hence Tier 3 beneficiaries in the Kentucky Retirement Systems plans. As we explained late last month: .the Supreme Court ruling instructed the trial court to dismiss the case, which by implication was without prejudice. The loss on standing issues was based entirely on court decisions made after the initial complaint was filed and amended. Parties to litigation are permitted to re-file their cases; as the filing below notes, for instance, .ample federal authority exists for the proposition that a plaintiff is entitled to amend his complaint to comply with intervening change in the law. The Supreme Court did not hear new arguments from the plaintiffs; it made its ruling based on their so-called First Amended Complaint. It didnt consider supplemental filings and evidence submitted at the trial court even though those were part of the record. The filing stays just short of grumbling that an argument presented in supplemental filings cited by the trial court judge, Philip Shepherd in his favorable ruling on standing, were not considered by the Kentucky Supreme Court by virtue of considering only the First Amended Complaint The filing below describes how the plaintiffs were harmed in tangible ways. It also differentiates between the initial plaintiffs, all hired before 2014, who were Tier 1 or Tier 2 beneficiaries and together represent roughly 80% of all KRS beneficiaries and later Tier 3 beneficiaries. Tier 1 and Tier 2 beneficiaries were stripped of their Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs) in 2013 which were never part of the states inviolate contract yet were a benefit the employees were supposed to receive when they had 5% to 9% deducted from their pay. The filing contends that theses individual plaintiffs each lost between $2,000 and $40,000 and collectively, the Tier 1 and Tier 2 beneficiaries, using conservative estimates, have lost over $200 million. The new filing also removed some of the original plaintiffs (only five of the original Mayberry eight remain) and added three, all of whom are Tier 3 beneficiaries hired after January 1, 2014. They do not have a defined benefit pension and their pensions are not backed by the state (they are a hybrid cash balance plan where individuals make contributions as in a defined contribution plan, but eventual payouts are based on how the pooled monies perform). The Second Amended Complaint contends they were harmed because even though the plan did show positive returns from 2014 to present, they were diminished due to the high fees and misrepresented performance of the defendants products and that more specifically, KRS added to rather than exited hedge funds, as most of its peers did, due to self-serving actions of a KKR staffer who was tasked to work at KRS and deliberately not supervised (juicy new details include an earn out contract). Finally, all beneficiaries were damaged by the fact that their annual deductions also fund health and life insurance plans that are not state backed, are deeply underfunded, and were invested in part in the dodgy hedge fund vehicles. The Second Amended Complaint also argued that the plaintiffs have standing to pursue a derivative case against the defendants, a topic the Kentucky Supreme Court appears not to have addressed squarely. Needless to say, these filings elicited outraged responses, which has in turn engendered more legal submissions (you can see the documents here). Weve embedded the Attorney Generals terse reply at the end of this post, which gives you an idea of the ratio of puffery to substance in some of the filings. For instance, the objection by the Blackstone defendants banged on about how the Attorney Generals motion was untimely. In addition to discussing the various legal reasons why that wasnt so, the Attorney General noted (emphasis original): While the Defendants argue that the Commonwealths motion is untimely because they have been litigating this case for two and a half years, the duration of this litigation to date is not the only factor to be considered. There has been a great deal of procedural posturing concerning motions for protective orders, but it appears from the Courts record in this action that there has been little substantive discovery taken to date beyond some initial document requests. No depositions have been taken. The long, arduous path this litigation has taken has all been a result ofthe Plaintiffs novel theory of standing (which the Supreme Court has rejected) and the Defendants motions to dismiss attacking the Plaintiffs debunked theory. To date, as far as the Commonwealth can tell from the record, there havebeen no summary judgment motions directed to the merits of the claims asserted by the Plaintiffs, and now, by the Commonwealth. Despite the longevity of this case, it has not advanced so far on the substance of the claims that the Defendants would be prejudiced by the Commonwealths intervention. The sniping at the plaintiffs attorneys may seem odd since the Attorney Generals Motion to Intervene made no attempt to hide being completely depending on their filings. It not only hoisted and closely replicated their arguments, but it even copied their framing, for instance, calling KKR/Prisma, Blackstone and PAAMCO the Hedge Fund Sellers. The Attorney Generals original filing made clear that he intends to pursue fiduciary duty claims as well as taxpayer claims: The Commonwealth of Kentucky, as the Intervenening Plainitff, brings this action, seeking compensatory and punitive damages and states as follows. The relief sought includes (i)damages for the losses incurred by the Commonwealth as a result of breaches of fiduciary and otherduties, including unsuitable investments, the loss of trust assets, the loss of prudent investment opportunities and positive investment returns; (ii)disgorgement of fees from the sellers of unsuitable hedge fund products, investment, actuarial and fiduciary advisors and the annual report certifier; and (iii) the greatly increased costs to the taxpayers of restoring KRS and its Pension Plans to properly funded status, after years of concealment of the true financial condition of KRS and the waste of its funds. The action alleges Defendants individual breaches of duty,their participation in a joint enterprise and their knowing aiding and abetting of one another while participating in a scheme, civil conspiracy, and concerted course of conduct in violationof Kentucky law. Because of the wanton nature of the misconduct of certain defendants, punitive damages are sought from them. That is less straightforward than it might appear. Plaintiffs co-lead counsel Michelle Lerach filed a motion for the plaintiffs supporting the Attorney General and also asking that the court permit the Attorney General to proceed with his claims for the state, along with the claims made by the Mayberry plaintiffs on behalf of the pension beneficiaries, and derivatively, for the Kentucky Retirement System. Normally, a layperson would assume that an Attorney General would trump any private plaintiffs. However, there are complicating considerations. As both the Lerach group and even some of the defendants have argued, the claims about losses to Kentucky Retirement Systems are contingent assets of the System. The Attorney General cannot properly represent the beneficiaries or Kentucky Retirement Systems derivatively because any judgment he wins goes into the Kentucky general fund, which creates a conflict of interest. He cannot contribute any recovery or damages to the Kentucky Retirement Systems. Any monies garnered by the Attorney General are distributed by the legislature in its budgeting process. Another wee problem is that the Attorney General (admittedly in the prior regime) said it lacked the expertise to pursue the case, as you can see in the second embedded document at the end of this post. Of course, they could hire an outside firm and cut a deal for a contingent recovery, but the expense and hours outlay on a case like this would be very large and any winnings would be well down the road. There are perilously few firms that have the skills, the risk appetite, and the staying power. Lerach then filed a Motion for Appointment of Lead Plaintiff, Lead Counsel and Liaison Counsel to the effect that the Lerach group be put in charge of the plaintiffs actions, since former lead counsel Anne Oldfather had been missing from action in the heavy lifting to revive the case, and was also not representing the three new Tier 3 plaintiffs who helped bolster the new standing arguments. The Oldfather group responded, and observes are unsure as to whether she is acting on her own behalf or as a stalking horse for the Attorney General. An even later Lerach filing points out that five of the original eight Mayberry clients have dismissed Oldfather as their counsel. It also provides a blistering, detailed account of how Oldfather has not only been a free rider on the heavy lifting done by the Learch group (particularly Michelle Lerachs husband, the formidable if disbarred Bill Lerach, who is still phenomenally effective as an investigator and strategist) but also actively tried to sandbag avenues of research that exposed an additional big ticket, damaging claim: that KKR had schemed, and had a considerable amount of success, in trying to take over the investment decisions of Kentucky Retirement Systems. This charge is troublingly similar to the way Mike Milken took over the investment of zombie thrifts, faxing them the daily lists of the junk bonds Drexel bought for them with no formal approval or participation on the thrift side. In other words, a big power struggle is underway as to who get to represent the various plaintiffs on what matters. And if I understand the law correctly, the court makes that determination. Judge Philip Stephens is hearing the case tomorrow and is limiting the scope to the Attorney General intervention. The media alert also stated: Judge Shepherd has also requested that the parties responding to the Attorney Generals Motion to attempt to coordinate your responses and decided amongst yourselves who will present, and to notify the Court after deciding who is planning to speak during the Zoom session. The hearing is public via Zoom and I intend to listen in, but Im a terrible typist and really rely on reading transcripts, so I am not sure my impressions will be post worthy, even before you get the fact that judges dont always rule the way one would guess given their line of questioning. The part that is not clear about the scope of Mondays hearing is if it will simply be about whether the court will allow the Attorney Generals intervention to proceed (which seems very likely) or whether it will also consider arguments on the scope of his intervention (as in does he take over the entire case or not) Let the fireworks begin! According to NBC, Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago claims that the citizens of Illinois have been subjected to miseducation in their history curriculum, and as such, he demands immediate action by removing current history books and curriculum practices that unfairly communicate our history. Fords press release quotes Meleika Gardner of the organization We Will, saying, It is urgent that [the miseducation of our children] comes to an end as we witness our current climate become more hostile. Miseducation has fed and continues to feed systemic racism for generations. Theres a good point here: Miseducation does seem to be at the heart of the hostile environment were currently experiencing. But I would argue that removing history from the classroom is not the answer. Far from it. In fact, a more thorough knowledge of history may actually diminish the hostility and chaos surrounding us. Thomas Jefferson makes this point in his Notes on the State of Virginia in 1784. Writing on the subject of education and the role of public schools in America, Jefferson encourages education of the poor as [well as] the rich for the well-being of the nation. Such education is necessary for maintaining a generation of thinkers, who will in turn keep the population safe by being the ultimate guardians of their own liberty. In his education plan, Jefferson holds historyparticularly the history of Western civilizationas one of the most important subjects we can teach children. He lists three reasons for this. 1. Good Judgment The study of history, as we all know, imparts knowledge of the past to current generations. The past has been scoffed at in recent years as the realm of old white men who have no sensitivity toward race, class, or gender. Yet such an excuse has no place in Jeffersons reason for teaching history. As he sees it, a strong knowledge of the past creates good judgment for the future. Those who understand the problems of the past can recognize when those patterns play out in the present. In doing so, they can offer wise advice and choose paths other than those trod by their forebearers. 2. Diversity History, Jefferson claims, will avail [students] of the experience of other times and other nations. In other words, history promotes knowledge of diverse customs and cultures. In a world that idolizes diversity, how can we argue with that? One has to wonder if we actually hinder a diverse view of the world when we limit history, preferring instead to see everything through our own 21st-century lens. 3. Defeat Flawed Thinking Like many founding fathers, Jefferson understood that human nature is flawed. A good system of government, therefore, was needed to keep the human nature of our leaders in check. A good knowledge of history is one of the ways to do this, for, as Jefferson notes, history will enable [students] to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views. Jefferson goes on to say: Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves therefore are its only safe depositories. And to render even them safe their minds must be improved to a certain degree. This indeed is not all that is necessary, though it be essentially necessary. Only 12 percent of American high school seniors are proficient in U.S. history. Perhaps this low proficiency explains why many young people seem unable to recognize the flawed nature of ideologies infiltrating societys current thought patterns, or why they seem unable to exercise good judgment about current events. If they dont know what came before their lifetimes, or the consequences resulting from those previous historical events, then how can we expect them to do anything except run with the crowd toward a multitude of evils? And if their minds cannot understand these things, then how can we expect them to elect or lead a government that is anything but degenerate? CALGARY - Shares in Suncor Energy Inc. fell Monday after it reported it will be early September before bitumen production resumes at its base oilsands mining operation in Fort McMurray, Alta., following a fire on Friday. The Calgary-based companys stock fell by as much as 37 cents or 1.6 per cent to $22.20 on Monday after it released an update on operations in the wake of the blaze in the extraction area of the mine. The fire was contained quickly, extinguished several hours later and no one was hurt, it reported. Suncor said its two upgraders at the oilsands project are working at minimum rates to process strip-mined bitumen inventory, as well as production piped in from its other operations that use steam to produce bitumen from shallow wells. The ability to process alternate streams of bitumen at the upgraders thus creating a synthetic crude product that sells for a higher price than raw bitumen could alleviate some of the feared impact of the shutdown, analyst Michael Dunn of Stifel FirstEnergy pointed out in a report. Our understanding is that Suncor has the logistical capabilities to deliver approximately two-thirds of its (in situ) Firebag bitumen production ... but will certainly be looking to draw down bitumen inventories and also move some bitumen production from its Mackay River project (about 30,000 bpd) to the upgraders, he said in a report. These efforts would represent potential upside to our new financial estimates. The outage will likely translate into a 70,000-bpd shortfall in upgraded production in the third quarter, translating to about five per cent less free cash flow for Suncor, Dunn estimated. Regulators have been notified and maintenance planned for the third quarter has been accelerated in advance of a return to normal mining operations, Suncor said. The company has not released a cause of the fire but says it will have a further operational update by early next month. In late-afternoon trading, Suncor shares were down 21 cents or 0.9 per cent to $22.36. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug 17, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:SU) Read more about: Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:40:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of seven fighters including two soldiers and five insurgents were killed as clashes erupted in Darqad district of Afghanistan's northern Takhar province on Monday, spokesman for provincial government Mohammad Jawad Hajari said. The clashes broke out at 1:00 a.m. local time Monday after the Taliban militants attacked security checkpoints at the center of Darqad district along the border with Tajikistan, triggering a gun battle which lasted for a couple of hours, the official said, adding the militants fled away after leaving five bodies behind. Hajari also said two army soldiers were killed in the fighting. Five more militants and three soldiers were injured, the official added, saying the security forces have been chasing the fleeing insurgents. Taliban militants, who have been attempting over the past couple of years to overrun the frontier Darqad district, have yet to make comment. Enditem TeamViewer announced the launch of a web monitoring module as part of its existing Remote Monitoring and Management solution. The TeamViewer Web Monitoring module offers extended functionality for website administrators and operators of online shops, as they now have the possibility to monitor and remotely manage the server and check the website for accessibility and functionality, thus minimizing downtime and losses. In Germany alone, according to Statista 2019, 59.2 billion Euros turnover were achieved in online trade. Successful e-commerce providers must measure and optimize mandatory criteria such as accessibility and performance of their offer. Critical factors are above all the loading times of the site and the smooth functionality of the online shop. According to Google, the loading time influences, for example, the bounce rate and thus directly affects the conversion rate and search engine ranking. The new TeamViewer Web Monitoring helps to monitor the functionality, immediately notice failures, and correct errors. With the TeamViewer Web Monitoring module as part of the Remote Monitoring and Management solution, we offer an integrated service that now also enables the monitoring of your own online presence, explains Frank Ziarno, Director Product Management. Companies of all sizes are dependent on a functioning website, as nowadays it acts like a business card. Many have also integrated a customer login or web shop. It was therefore obvious to integrate website monitoring in addition to our functions such as workstation & server monitoring, patch management and virus protection, adds Frank Ziarno. The new TeamViewer Web Monitoring module combines a classic website accessibility test with a load time audit and a script-based module for carrying out automated test purchases or similar processes such as customer logins, the rhythm of which can be freely selected. These tools can be used to reliably and individually check whether websites and especially online shops are functioning smoothly. A special feature of the reachability test and the load time audit is that, thanks to the global TeamViewer server network, tests from different countries can be simulated and in this way it is also possible to check how the website or web shop presents itself to customers in other parts of the world, for example. The integration into the existing TeamViewer Remote Monitoring and Management solution makes the module especially interesting for companies that prefer a single vendor solution for monitoring all their IT systems. However, the service can also be used without integration into existing TeamViewer offerings. Existing Monitis customers will be transferred to the new platform. Hamer also co-founded the National Womens Political Caucus, which seeks to recruit, train and support women of all races in their quest for elected office. A statue of Hamer at the site of her memorable stand for civil and womens rights would help bring her story to the general public. Stockton Universitys nearby Fannie Lou Hamer Event Room advances that awareness too in a more limited way. Too bad, though, that Atlantic City Council the very same day it sought the grant for the Hamer statue paid $19,000 to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus that had long stood at the Atlantic City Expressway entrance to the city. That gives the days proceedings the appearance of advancing a partisan ideology, as if they were seeking to suppress one remembrance of the past in favor of another. Awareness of and understanding history is like free speech best served by unfettered and diverse efforts ever working toward mutual agreement about better ideas. The melding of more perspectives on the past is crucial to people knowing who they are, how they got here and where theyre going. HONG KONG The defendant wasnt so lucky. But one fortunate bidder is hoping the persons phone number will be. The Chinese phone number, which ended with five 8s, was so coveted that it attracted 5,000 bids over the weekend from businesses and individuals eager to own it. It ultimately sold for $325,000 on Sunday in an online auction by a court in the Chaoyang district of Beijing. In Chinese, the number eight is a homonym for prosper or, more bluntly, get rich. The phone number was among the assets seized from a defendant who had failed to comply with a court order, a local news outlet said. The identities of the buyer and the defendant were not disclosed, nor were details about why the defendant was in court. A phone number with consecutive repeating digits, let alone a string of the same five, is rare and considered appealing in China. A string of repeating auspicious numbers is worth an even higher price. Like a vanity license plate, if it contains the right combination of digits, it can be a coveted status symbol. MANISTEE, MI Officials are investigating a suspicious fire in Northern Michigan. The Manistee Police Department and Manistee Fire Department responded to the structure fire at the Hi Way Bar, 715 Kosciusko Street, in Manistee at approximately 5:39 a.m. on Aug. 11. Upon arrival, firefighters found flames visible at the rear of the two-story building. The upstairs occupant was assisted out of the building by police personnel. First and foremost, we would like to let everyone know that all persons got out safe, a post on the bars Facebook page reads. We want to thank every single person who helped and reached out today. We cannot thank everyone and the Manistee city police, Filer Fire and rescue, Manistee Fire, Grant township Fire, all of the amazing people helping get everything out and patched for the moment. We will keep everyone updated as soon as we get details. The Manistee Police Department and the Michigan State Police Fire Marshal Division are investigating the incident to determine the cause of the fire. Based on information received by investigators up to this point, the incident is being investigated as a suspicious fire. Manistee City Firefighters were assisted at the scene by Filer Township Fire Department, Manistee Township Fire Department, Stronach Fire Department, and Grant Township Fire Department. Anyone with information about the blaze is encouraged to contact the Manistee City Police Department at 231-723-2533. Gabon celebrates 60 years of independence on Monday, marked by a military parade in the capital Libreville attended by President Ali Bongo. The oil-rich country gained its independence from France in 1960 and has been ruled by the Bongo family dynasty since 1967, when Omar Bongo came to power. During a television address on Sunday night, Ali Bongo used the countrys anniversary of independence as an opportunity to sum up his performance as president since succeeding his father in 2009. On the political level, despite the trials and tribulations with which we are confronted, Gabon remains united and together," said Bongo. Bongo was reelected in 2016 following a vote that was disputed by opposition leader Jean Ping, a former Gabonese foreign minister and ex-chairperson of the African Union Commission. Clashes erupted between opposition protesters and security forces with at least 27 people killed and more than 1,100 arrested in several days of violence. Economically, we can all see progress, although it's certainly insufficient, said Bongo, in his 60th anniversary address. Progress isnt fast enough, but it's still undeniable. Theres been delay over global factors that hits all countries. Bongo also touched on employment, education, digital services and healthcare, saying Gabon must rely on its past in order to build for the future. The Gabonese leader has faced a number of challenges in the last few years, suffering from a stroke at the end of 2018 and spending several months receiving treatment in Morocco. Bongo effectively ruled in absentia while recuperating in Rabat, appearing in videos recorded in Morocco and making trips back and forth to Libreville in order to swear in a new government. During his time in Morocco, Gabon suffered a high-profile coup attempt called Operation Dignity led by Lieutenant Kelly Ondo Obiang who took over the state-run television and broadcast a message describing Bongo's absence as a spectacle bringing shame on the country. Story continues The opposition Also speaking to mark independence day, opposition leader Jean Ping talked about the countrys healthcare system during the Covid-19 pandemic, saying it had been abandoned by the authorities. Ping recalled 2016 elections and his claims that he won more than 60 percent of the ballot, pledging that he would remain committed to the vote of the people. The former African Union chief discussed the government-led crackdown on the opposition, saying they had endured the same blind and heartless repression for the past four years. Gabons first president, Leon Mba, did not actually support his countrys independence, in fact he preferred for Gabon to become an overseas department of France. For the ceremony marking Gabons independence, Mba said his thoughts were with friendly France towards whom he felt great gratitude. To General Charles de Gaulle, champion of the black man and of the Franco-African community, I say thank you from the depths of our soul," Mba added, reported French daily Le Monde. By Akbar Mammadov With all its means and capabilities, Turkey stands by brotherly Azerbaijan, Turkeys Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hami Aksoy said on August 17. Aksoy made the remarks while commenting on Armenias remarks regarding Turkeys policies in the Eastern Mediterranean. It is conspicuous that Armenia, who dared to propound a remark regarding the Eastern Mediterranean, is in a fallacious perception of the global geography and her place in it. The issue at hand is the Eastern Mediterranean, not Lake Sevan, reads the statement. Aksoy stressed that following its provocative statement on the Treaty of Sevres, Armenia expressed an opinion regarding the Eastern Mediterranean this time. He called Armenian provocative statement regarding the Eastern Mediterranean a novel instance of impertinence and irresponsibility. The statement said that the fact that Armenia, which has no coastline to any sea, presumes itself to have a voice in the region. Aksoy added that this unravels the dimensions of an insidious alliance that is being attempted to be forged against Turkey. No matter what, Turkey will resolutely continue to protect both its and Turkish Cypriots rights in the Eastern Mediterranean stemming from international law. No alliance of malice will manage to prevent this. Those who think otherwise have not taken their lessons from history." --- Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Two troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and a Special Police Officer (SPO) of Jammu & Kashmir Police (J&K Police) were killed in a militant attack in north Kashmirs Baramulla district on Monday. Later two militants, who were involved in the terror strikes, were also killed in an encounter with the security forces. Police said a group of militants targeted the security forces joint patrol party at Watergam Kreeri, where three personnel were wounded and succumbed to their injuries at a hospital. The operation to track the militants was launched soon after the attack on the patrol party by a joint team of J&K Police, Indian Army and CRPF personnel. Vijay Kumar, inspector-general of police (IGP), Kashmir, J&K Police, said three militants, who were hiding in an apple orchard, came out and started firing indiscriminately on the joint patrol party on Monday morning. In the firing, two CRPF jawans, and an SPO of J&K Police were killed. Soon, the forces launched an operation against the militants. Kumar said there is a likelihood that the militants were affiliated to outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). The militants seem to have changed their strategy. Now, they are targeting patrol parties in remote areas in the Kashmir Valley. However, two attackers were chased and killed in an encounter, he added. Sources said that the militants had also decamped with the security forces weapons that were recovered from their possession following the encounter. This is the second attack on security forces in the Kashmir Valley since last Friday, when two policemen were killed and another was injured at Nowgam in Srinagar. Police suspected the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) militants behind Fridays attack. A closed-circuit TV (CCTV) footage, which has since gone viral on social media, showed two militants armed with Avtomat Kalashnikova (AK)-47 rifles running after the attack. Last week, militants had also targeted an army patrol in neighbouring Hygam, where a jawan had sustained injuries. Officials said there has been a spike in militant activities in north Kashmir and security forces are on high alert. Prominent panchayat members and political leaders from north Kashmir have been shifted to the popular tourist resort town of Gulmarg following inputs that they could be targeted, especially those affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is seen to be inimical to the secessionist forces in the Kashmir Valley. West Australian tourism businesses have largely gone unsupported by $10.4 million promised in emergency grants, with almost half going unspent, after it was revealed in state parliament the vast majority were ineligible. Tourism Minister Paul Papalia responded to tabled questions that 884 of the 1138 small businesses which applied for the Tourism Recovery Fund's $6500 handouts were successful. West Australian tourism businesses are struggling in the wake of pandemic restrictions. Credit:Tourism WA That was 19 per cent of the 4500 small businesses selling or providing a tourism-product, or just 3 per cent of the state's 28,766 tourism-related businesses, which included retail, cafes, restaurants, roadhouses, other hospitality businesses and taxi services. This 'saving grant', as the minister was claiming it to be, was only going to be available to 1600 tourism operators who had to meet a certain criteria of being a member of Tourism Council WA or their regional tourism operator, Opposition tourism spokeswoman Alyssa Hayden said. Meghan Markle's BFF Misha Nonoo has posted a rare snap of her son Leo as she's pictured for the first time since the release of the royal's bombshell biography, Finding Freedom. Sharing the adorable photo to Instagram, the British-Bahraini fashion designer, known for her eponymous clothing line, can be seen holding five-month-old Leo with her back towards the camera as she dons a pair of flared mom jeans, a dark blue vest top and hoop earrings. Misha, who cuts a casual figure in white and blue stripe trainers, appears to show her son some surrounding plants as she gently kisses the top of his head. With her hair scraped back in a bun and Leo donning a white a light blue dungaree set, she then proceeded to write a caption about the latest 'summer staples.' Meghan Markle 's BFF Misha Nonoo has posted a rare snap of her son Leo as she's pictured for the first time since the release of the royal's bombshell biography, Finding Freedom (pictured) Meghan Markle's BFF Misha Nonoo (pictured together in 2015) has posted a rare snap of her son Leo as she's pictured for the first time since the release of the royal's bombshell biography Finding Freedom The snap comes just days after the release of bombshell biography Finding Freedom, co-authored by journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, which documents the friendship of Meghan Markle and Misha Nonoo. It alleges how Markus Anderson, Soho Houses global membership director, provided the royal with introductions to many business and cultural elites - both in Canada and further afield. The authors penned: 'At a Soho House lunch in Miami, he was the one who sat the actress next to Misha, a budding fashion designer with a vivacious personality and impeccable pedigree. 'The occasion for the December 2014 Miami trip was Art Basel, a decadent art fair that brings the internationally rich and famous for a week of parties and events of all sorts and sizes. Alongside the snap, fashion designer Misha tweeted about several types of summer staples (pictured) 'Markus invited Meghan, an art lover, to stay at the epicenter of the action, Soho Beach House, to set some sun, see some art, and have some fun. 'A perfect place to make new friends and connections, the Soho house event saw Misha and Meghan hit it off immediately.' The explosive biography goes on to suggest Misha and Markus were behind Meghan and Prince Harry's first meeting. It's thought the Duchess' close pals set the pair, who are now living in the US, up on a blind date in London. 'Despite reports that Violet von Westenholz had set up the date, it was mostly Meghans pals Misha Nonoo and Markus Anderson who were in on the first meeting,' wrote the authors. It comes weeks after the fashion designer confessed to 'massively missing her friends' while quarantined in New York with Leo - and revealed that she 'needs her girlfriends to have a laugh with and make light of things' when speaking to People magazine. Misha and her oil heir husband Mikey Hess, 33, announced the birth of their first child Leo in March. The first time mother has since been making an effort to connect with friends virtually, with New York's lockdown only having eased last month. 'Its very stressful not having your normal life to return to I knew having a baby would change my life, but I never expected this,' she told the publication. Misha worked with the duchess (pictured together in 2019) on her Smart Works charity clothing line, calling Meghan 'wonderful, thoughtful and considerate' 'Ive massively missed seeing my friends. As soon as Leo was born we would have been in the store and seeing friends and been to London by now and, obviously, all of those plans are on hold,' the designer added. Visitors from America wishing to travel to the UK currently need to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. In the meantime, the fashion designer has been taking advantage of FaceTime, but admits its not the same. Being a new mum, you need a support network, and I definitely miss having in-person time with my new baby and my friends,' she explained. I miss having my girlfriends to have a laugh with and make light of things. This is a challenging and stressful and discombobulating time, but we have to look forward to the time when we can all be together. However, Misha said she has really enjoyed the family time shes been able to have, since her husband wouldve been travelling for work under normal circumstances. During her pregnancy, Misha told People, that the Duchess of Sussex had been sharing her advice about becoming a first-time mother. The designer revealed: 'As with all friendships, you share lots of tips and everything.' Her baby announcement came less than a year after close friend Meghan gave birth to baby Archie in May 2019. Future friends? Misha gave birth to baby Leo less than a year after Meghan and Prince Harry welcomed baby Archie in May Misha married her husband Mikey in a ceremony in Rome in September that was attended by Prince Harry, Meghan, Princess Eugenie, 29, and Princess Beatrice, 31 before announcing her pregnancy at the end of the year. The Duchess has continued to support her friend by wearing Misha Nonoo styles over the years and donned the famous 'Boyfriend shirt' for her first appearance alongside Prince Harry, and also wore another of Misha's designs for her final day of meetings in the UK before stepping back from royal duties. Misha, who worked with the Duchess on her Smart Works charity clothing line, opened up to FEMAIL earlier this year about her friendship with the royal. Reflecting on the experience of working together, Misha described Meghan as 'the ultimate professional' and very 'considerate' of the women the collection was helping. 'It was such an ideal, incredibly easy collaboration,' she said. 'It was, from start to finish, wonderful, thoughtful, considerate, as is she.' It is the first study of its kind, putting hard data behind the painful reality Black Torontonians already knew too well. With its release this week of a highly disturbing report on racial profiling within the Toronto police, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) detailed all the ways Black people in the city bear a disproportionate burden of law enforcement. The statistics tell a stark story. Between 2013 and 2017, a Black person was nearly 20 times more likely than a white person to be fatally shot by police in Toronto. And its not just deadly force, Black people have been dramatically more likely to be subjected to varying types of force, considering their representation in the general population about 9 per cent the report found. About more than four times more likely to be pepper-sprayed, five times more likely to be Tasered, and more than six times more likely to be taken down by a police dog. Landing amid an international uprising over police use of force against Black people, the study was enabled through the OHRCs power to compel data from the Toronto police and Ontarios police watchdog. Building off the first phase of the research released in 2018, which focused mainly on deaths and serious injuries involving Toronto police, the new report homed in on lower-level force and dug deeper into different types of incidents involving police, including allegations of sexual assault. Prepared by a team of researchers led by University of Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley, the research included a never-before-seen analysis of injuries caused by police that didnt meet the serious injury threshold of an investigation by Ontarios Special Investigations Unit (SIU) such as head injuries, split lips and black eyes. What they found: Black people were grossly overrepresented in lower-level use of force, too incidents that can still have significant adverse physical and emotional impacts on the person subjected to that force, the report states. The gross over-representation of Black people in police lower-level use of force incidents raises concerns of systemic racism or anti-Black racial bias, it says. The researchers also drew from two datasets from the SIU, the first spanning 2000-2006, the second from 2013 to 2017, allowing the team to examine changes over nearly two decades. Heres a closer look at the landmark report: How the researchers got the data As of this year, the government has required police services to collect race-based data about the people officers use force against. This was not the case when the researchers set out to examine cases involving lower-levels force incidents that are not deemed serious enough to trigger an SIU investigation. The use-of-force form used by Toronto police contains a slew of data, including the reason for the encounter, the type of force used, whether the person was armed and, if so, with what but called for no demographic information about the person on the receiving end. The researchers learned that police also filled out a second form for any and all civilian injuries, including those caused by officers, that contains information that can be used to link back to a use-of-force report. That form does include the age and gender of the injured person but, again, no racial data. Yet another form, called a general occurrence, does, however, have race information plus a detailed summary of what happened. Together, the three types of forms allowed the researchers to do what no one had done before study race and Toronto police officers use of low-level force. In all, the commission obtained more than 2,000 injury reports, covering July 2016 to June 2017, then painstakingly matched them to corresponding use-of-force reports using the dates and times. The general occurrence reports, meanwhile, shared a unique identification number with the injury reports. Once the links were confirmed to be accurate, the research team as about to establish 591 cases in which an injured persons race was determined. The process is very similar to the techniques used by investigative journalists. What jumped out in lower-level use of force Black people were grossly over-represented in the lower-level force cases, compared to Torontos Black population 8.8 per cent of the people in the city represented 38.9 per cent of the cases while white people and those from other backgrounds were under-represented. Whats more, researchers were able to break both the SIU data and low-level force data by the patrol zones where the incident took place. That allowed them to test whether other factors, such as the neighbourhood violent crime rates, income and percentage of single-mother homes contributed to the disparity. The found people who reside in poor, high-crime communities are more likely to experience lower-level use of force than people residing in wealthy, low-crime communities, but controlling for these factors did not explain the racial differences. They found Black people over-represented in cases in every single zone, but even more so in areas of the city that had low-levels of overall crime areas that also tend to be whiter. Reactive versus proactive policing What happened right before police used force? The context in which officers used force was another new finding, with the key difference being why an officer was present. Reactive policing is when officers are summoned, namely, responding to a 911 call. Proactive policing is when officers are initiating contact with a member of the public, such as when an officer stops and questions someone. The distinction is important. The researchers note there is little police discretion in reactive policing, namely an officer has no option but to respond to a call for service. But proactive policing is the opposite in that the officer initiates the contact and is, therefore, more likely to expose bias, according to the report. The data showed that Black people were more likely to have force used on them as a result of proactive policing than white people. According to the report, over a quarter of 2013 to 2017 SIU cases where the complainant was Black resulted from proactive police stops, compared to just over 11 per cent of cases where the complainant was white. Black civilians were more likely to be involved in use-of-force cases that started with a traffic stop, warrant, follow-up investigation or police raid, the report notes. It continues: It suggests a possible relationship between racial profiling and racial disparities in police use of force statistics. Since Black people are more likely to be subjected to discretionary police stops, they may be more likely to experience a negative police encounter that eventually deteriorates into a use of force incident. Criminal history and community crime rates Researchers we also able to debunk the commonly held view that police primarily use force against known criminals with a lengthy rap sheet. This is simply not true, the data shows. The researchers found that most civilians involved in SIU use-of-force investigations did not have a criminal record. From 2000 to 2006, Black civilians in SIU cases were slightly more likely to have a criminal record than white people. By 2013 to 2017, that had flipped, with white civilians being more likely to have a criminal record (54.5 per cent) than their Black counterparts (44 per cent). The report also looked at the impact of neighbourhood crime on police use of force to explore another common belief: That Black people are more vulnerable because theyre more likely to live in a high-crime area. Using Toronto police annual patrol zone violent crime rates from 2013 to 2017, researchers found that almost 40 per cent of SIU investigations happened within high-crime areas, suggesting a correlation between community crime and police use of force. But when the team then looked at race, they found Black people were over-represented in police use of force cases in both high- and low-crime areas. Although Black people represent just over 5 per cent of the population of low-crime patrol zones, they represented more than 20 per cent of SIU investigations in these areas. This finding suggests that Black over-representation in SIU investigations cannot be explained by Black over-representation in high-crime communities, the report said. A rise in sexual assault allegations made by Black men SIU data shows the number of sexual assault allegations made against Toronto police has increased in recent years. From 2000 to 2006 there were only 14 sexual assault allegations made against Toronto police, representing less than 8 per cent of all cases; from 2013 to 2017 that number grew to 36 cases nearly 15 per cent of all SIU investigations involving Toronto police. The report notes its unclear whether this represents an increase in police sexual assaults, or greater willingness by complainants to report allegations of sexual assault to the SIU. But researchers also discovered a big change in who was making sexual assault allegations. There has been a dramatic rise in the number of Black males who have made sexual assault allegations, the report states, noting they report they were assaulted during police frisks or strip searches. Between 2000 and 2006 nearly 80 per cent of complainants were women. Between 2013 to 2017, however, 58 per cent were male, and one-quarter of all the sexual assault allegations made against Toronto police were by Black men. Overall, the researchers found Black men and women are significantly over-represented in SIU sexual assault investigations. Why the gross over-representation? There is no question that Black people are subject to more use of force by Toronto police than other racial groups, a fact thats strongly consistent with the argument that racial bias exists within the service, the report states. Still, the researchers note more information is needed to find the reasons why Black people are over-represented, although they did explore models of established explanations for the disparity. They range from the bad apples or racial animus model that argues removal of some specific officers would reduce disparities, to the argument that racialized people are generally devalued, particularly if they live in socially disadvantaged communities, which has its roots in our shared history of colonialism and slavery, and as a result police use of force is less likely to be questioned or scrutinized. Racial stereotypes stemming from media reports and work experience may cause some officers to believe racial minority males are more dangerous or violent and result in a fear that translates into increased use of force. Another possibility is statistical discrimination the thinking that statistics showing some groups may be more likely to be involved in violent crime can be used to flag all individuals in this group and may impact officer fear and vigilance and how they interact with Black males in the community. The researchers note that even though risk profiles appear to be justified by empirical data, they can still constitute a major source of racial bias. It must be remembered that, regardless of race, the vast majority of people from the Black community never engage in violence. And then there is the proactive, or profiling model, backed up by decades of data, that Black people are more likely to be subject to proactive police surveillance practices and frequency of contact increases the likelihood or probability of experiencing police use of force. Police culture and a code of silence may be a factor, as could be the demeanour model, in which bad attitudes become a reason for force, and Black people may be less respectful of police. Wendy Gillis is a Toronto-based reporter covering crime and policing for the Star. Reach her by email at wgillis@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @wendygillis Read more about: Governor Nasir El-Rufai has alleged media hype of the protracted violence that has seen many killed in the southern part of Kaduna State, saying the crisis is not different from those in other states in the North-western zone of Nigeria. Mr El-Rufai spoke on Monday when leaders of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), led by its president, Samson Ayokunle, paid a visit to the state over the killings. At a meeting with the delegation at the council chambers of Sir Kashim Ibrahim House in Kaduna, Mr Ayokunle had urged the governor to improve security and end the killings in the area. Our coming here is not to point hands at anyone but to ask the government of Kaduna state to do more. It will be enough only when the killings stop, Mr Ayokunle said. We cry against the killings in Kaduna State. These bandits are not spirits, they should be brought to book. If we continue to do repraisal attacks, the problem will not end. Reacting, Governor El-Rufai said the crisis was being misinterpreted and hyped in the media. We challenge anyone to characterise or differentiate the communal clashes, attacks and killings in parts of Northern and Central Kaduna State, as well as in Zamfara, Katsina, Sokoto and Niger States from those in Southern Kaduna. Is it because in all the other cases, the victims are lesser humans or lacking in voice and media hype? What happened to our common humanity? The governor denied that the crisis had persisted because some people hijacked land that do not belong to them. Delegation of the CAN at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna. We have requested and encouraged anybody to present evidence of an inch of land within Kaduna State that has been forcibly or illegally occupied. Were such a clear, physical and actual transgression to occur, it will constitute not only injustice against the community displaced, but a challenge to the authority of the state within its territory that cannot be allowed to stand, he said. READ ALSO: He said the state government would keep doing its best to secure the state and its environs. Powerpoint presentations of the history of the crisis were done by the state Commissioner for Security and Homeland Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, and the Senior Special Adviser to the governor on Media, Muyiwa Adekeye. President of CAN, Sampson Ayokule and Kaduna state governor, Nasir El-Rufai at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna on Monday 17,2020. By Mohammed Lere. In her remarks, the state deputy governor, Hadiza Balarabe, thanked the leadership of the religious body for coming to Kaduna at this critical time. Also speaking, the speaker of the state House of Assembly, Yusuf Zailani, called on religious leaders to be adherents of peace. We should always preach peace to our people. We cannot get peace if we preach the opposite to our people, Mr Zailani said. Members of the Kaduna state executive council at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House. Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES after the event, the senator representing Kaduna central district, Uba Sani, called on the government to also sanction people caught perpetrating crisis in the region and the state. The state government is up and doing to make sure these killings stop. The governor is leaving no stone unturned, he has achieved a lot and more will be done, he said. English French OTTAWA, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Canadian Red Cross is pleased to announce its annual fundraising campaign with Walmart Canada has raised more than $3.7 million, making it the most successful corporate campaign in the past 17 years. This total includes over $2.89 million through a combination of Walmart customer donations and employee initiatives, in addition to $820,000 through Walmart corporate match dollars. The annual campaign is in support of disaster relief and preparedness. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way the Red Cross responds to disasters across the country. This funding support helps the Canadian Red Cross to continue to adapt to emerging needs and carry out its mandate to assist those most vulnerable. Since 2003, Walmart Canada associates and customers have helped raise more than $50 million for Red Cross disaster preparedness and relief. With this support, when disasters happen, the Canadian Red Cross is ready to assist with pre-positioned supplies and trained volunteers. With the gracious support of Walmart Canada, the Canadian Red Cross remains well positioned to respond in times of disaster and uncertainty, says Ronan Ryan, Chief Marketing and Development Officer, Canadian Red Cross. We are thankful for those who participated in the annual Walmart Campaign, as it allows us to continue to bring relief to individuals and communities across the country. Were overwhelmed by the generosity of our customers and associates and the record success of this years fundraising campaign, especially in these challenging times, said Horacio Barbeito, President and CEO, Walmart Canada. Walmart Canada is proud to work with the Canadian Red Cross to provide urgently needed relief items during disasters and to ensure our communities get the help they need when they need it the most. Disasters are unpredictable, can strike quickly without warning and can impact anyone. Being prepared in the event of a disaster or emergency can make a big difference in protecting you, your family and your home. As the largest corporate supporter of the Red Cross, Walmart Canada enables the Red Cross to be prepared to address the needs of Canadians. For tips and advice on what to do before, during, and after a disaster, please visit www.redcross.ca/ready. About the Canadian Red Cross Here in Canada and overseas, the Red Cross stands ready to help people before, during and after a disaster. As a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement which is made up of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and 192 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies the Canadian Red Cross is dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity in Canada and throughout the world. About Walmart Canada Walmart Canada operates a chain of more than 400 stores nationwide serving more than 1.5 million customers each day. Walmart Canadas flagship online store, www.walmart.ca, is visited by 900,000 customers daily. With more than 90,000 associates, Walmart Canada is one of Canadas largest employers and is ranked one of the countrys top 10 most influential brands. Walmart Canada's extensive philanthropy program is focused on supporting Canadian families in need, and since 1994 Walmart Canada has raised and donated more than $400 million to Canadian charities. Additional information can be found at walmartcanada.ca, facebook.com/walmartcanada and twitter.com/walmartcanada For more information, please contact: Canadian Red Cross English Media Line: 1-877-599-9602 French Media Line: 1-888-418-9111 Felicia Fefer, Corporate Affairs, Walmart Canada, Felicia.Fefer@walmart.com The strategy made political (though not moral) sense. When Nixon announced the existence of a silent majority in late 1969 and employed the Southern strategy in two presidential elections, he had two things going for him. First, about 88 percent of the U.S. population was White. Second, the social disorders that Nixon decried were widespread. In July 1967 alone, there were riots in Newark (where 26 people died), Plainfield, N.J.; Minneapolis; Detroit (where 43 people were killed); and Milwaukee. After the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in early 1968, violence spread to more than 100 cities. In that demographic and social environment, appeals to law and order were often disturbingly effective. VILNIUS, Aug 16 (Reuters) - NATO member Lithuania does not pose a military threat to its neighbour Belarus, Lithuania's defence minister said on Sunday, after Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko accused NATO of massing on his country's western border. "The Belarus crisis is a political one, and any allegations by the Belarus leadership about foreign countries' interference or about threats they pose are an attempt to shift blame and justify its own actions," Raimundas Karoblis said in a statement to Reuters. All international military training in Lithuania is held according to a long-term schedule, he said. (Reporting by Andrius Sytas; editing by Philippa Fletcher) Cambridge life sciences firm Horizon Discovery Group has said a reduction in academic research work caused by the coronavirus pandemic has negatively impacted its earnings. Revenues fell by 13.9 per cent to 22.4million in the first six months of the year, with the most significant effect happening in the second quarter when large swathes of the UK economy went into lockdown. Its research reagents division experienced the most significant drop in business activity as it was hurt by lower orders for reagents and cell line products as well as the closure of some of its research laboratories. The firm expects its earnings to recover from next month as academic labs return to operation Earnings were down more than 40 per cent in April compared to the same month last year before gradually starting to improve from May. The company expects its earnings to recover from next month though as the academic labs return to operations. Revenues in its smaller Bioproduction unit plunged by 29 per cent due to hold-ups in its Chinese Hamster Ovary cell lines, which are used to help produce biologic drugs. However, rising demand for CRISPR screening helped to offset harms caused by the Covid-19 virus in the firm's screening division. Overall revenues grew 2.8 per cent to 4.4million. CRISPR is a modern gene-editing technology that could potentially cure genetic defects, enhance crop supplies, and treat diseases. CRISPR is a modern gene-editing technology that could potentially cure genetic defects It stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats and were discovered by a scientist in Alicante. Six years later, a Massachusetts lab published a method by which genomes in human cells could be engineered using CRISPR. HOW DOES CRISPR DNA EDITING WORK? The CRISPR gene editing technique is being used an increasing amount in health research because it can change the building blocks of the body. At a basic level, CRISPR works as a DNA cutting-and-pasting operation. Technically called CRISPR-Cas9, the process involves sending new strands of DNA and enzymes into organisms to edit their genes. In humans, genes act as blueprints for many processes and characteristics in the body they dictate everything from the colour of your eyes and hair to whether or not you have cancer. The components of CRISPR-Cas9 the DNA sequence and the enzymes needed to implant it are often sent into the body on the back of a harmless virus so scientists can control where they go. Cas9 enzymes can then cut strands of DNA, effectively turning off a gene, or remove sections of DNA to be replaced with the CRISPRs, which are new sections sent in to change the gene and have an effect they have been pre-programmed to produce. But the process is controversial because it could be used to change babies in the womb initially to treat diseases but could lead to a rise in 'designer babies' as doctors offer ways to change embryos' DNA. Source: Broad Institute Chief executive Terry Pizzie wrote: 'Despite the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of 2020, we concentrated our efforts to ensure the business remained focused...whilst continuing to invest in long-term growth drivers such as our collaborations with Mammoth BioSciences and Rutgers in Base Editing. 'The fantastic efforts of our staff have ensured that we have been able to continue to operate effectively through the crisis, enhancing relationships with our biopharma customers despite the challenging operational environment.' He added: 'We are encouraged by the July 2020 trading levels, and looking ahead we expect a return to growth in the second half. 'With a good cash position and large parts of the business already regaining momentum, we look forward to the remainder of the year with confidence.' Horizon writes that despite the harm caused by the coronavirus, many parts of the company have shown a 'sustained recovery' and it expects to return to growth in the last half of 2020. Its cell engineering business has been helped by increased outsourcing, which it believes will continue to grow, while it predicts the screening entity will enlarge at 'mid-teens rates.' The firm is headquartered in Cambridge, but manufactures its products in Boulder, Colorado, and employs more than 400 people across 12 countries. Shares in Horizon were down 4.2 per cent to 102.5p by the end of trading. Australia today announced a record daily spike of 25 coronavirus deaths, all of them in Victoria where Melbourne is entering its third week under curfew. The 25 new deaths surpass last Wednesday's previous high of 21, taking Australia's total from 396 to 421. Australia's chief medic warned today that 'it's entirely possible' that the record will be beaten again as the outbreak continues in Victoria. However, the state saw only 282 new cases from nearly 16,000 test results in the last 24 hours, down from the peak of more than 600 in late July and early August. Australia suffered a record 25 deaths today, all of them in Victoria, taking the country's total from 396 to 421 This chart shows daily cases in Australia, with Victoria accounting for the vast majority of new cases today but numbers falling from their peak in late July and early August Melbourne has been under the toughest Stage 4 restrictions since August 2, with a curfew in place from 8pm to 5am. Even outside those hours, people can only leave their homes for limited reasons including exercise and shopping for essential goods. Outside central Melbourne, there is no curfew but people are still expected to stay at home as much as possible. The border between Victoria and New South Wales has been closed since July 8 while only essential travellers are allowed to enter Victoria from South Australia. Speaking today, chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth said the tough restrictions were needed to 'bring the community outbreak under control'. He warned that although cases have fallen from their peak, the time lag between infection and death means that fatalities may continue to rise. 'One of the things about this wretched virus is that it seems to make people deteriorate at around about the seven- to 14-day mark,' he said. 'And that is an indicator that your severe disease will peak around about one to two weeks after your numbers in the community will peak. 'So it's entirely possible that we will see more deaths from Covid-19 in Victoria and that daily number could exceed 25. 'I think we just need to keep in mind of course that when we talk about these numbers, there are family and friends every day that are mourning the loss of a loved one because of Covid-19 and that is precisely why we need to continue the Stage 4 restrictions, bring the community outbreak under control. 'And of course, the number of severely affected Australians and Australians dying from Covid-19 will follow [the trend in cases] and go in the right direction.' A resident of Hambleton House care home is moved into a patient transport vehicle by healthcare workers in Melbourne today Of the 25 new deaths in Victoria, 22 are 'linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities', the state government says. Seven of the latest victims are people in their 90s while another 10 are people aged between 80 and 89. After crushing its first wave of the disease, Australia saw its daily case totals fall into single figures in May and June, before rising to record levels in July and August. While the numbers are still low compared to most developed countries, the second wave has forced drastic new restrictions and dashed hopes of setting up a 'travel bubble' with New Zealand. Victoria alone recorded nearly 700 new cases on August 4, but the daily numbers have gradually fallen again since then. State premier Daniel Andrews says he feels 'cautious optimism' that the strict lockdown in Melbourne is beginning to flatten the curve. 'I am and always was very cautious but there is on my part at least a cautious optimism and a sense of real hope that this strategy is working and that we are seeing numbers fall now,' he said. There are 657 people currently in hospital in Victoria after being infected with coronavirus, of whom 44 are in intensive care. Victoria has seen 17,028 cases and 334 deaths in total, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of Australia's total 421 deaths. New South Wales - which includes Sydney - has seen 52 deaths, with 13 in Tasmania and only a handful elsewhere. A report in New South Wales found that authorities made 'inexcusable' mistakes by allowing sick passengers to leave the Ruby Princess (pictured) Meanwhile, the premier of New South Wales apologised today for failing to prevent an outbreak linked to a cruise ship in March. A public inquiry found that NSW authorities made 'inexcusable' mistakes by allowing 2,700 passengers to leave the Ruby Princess on March 19 when around 120 of them were feeling unwell. The inquiry found 914 infections could be traced back to the Ruby Princess, mostly among passengers. The outbreak led to 28 deaths. 'The lessons weren't learnt soon enough and again I apologise unreservedly on behalf all of those individuals and agencies who made those mistakes,' state premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney. Berejiklian apologised particularly to the 62 people who contracted the virus from a passenger. 'I can't imagine what it would be like having a loved one or being someone yourself who continues to suffer and experience trauma as a result,' she said. The inquiry commissioned by Berejiklian's government found that NSW health officials failed to ensure that sick passengers were isolated in their cabins. They also failed get quick test results for unwell passengers before they disembarked. New South Wales reported seven new cases on Monday while South Australia added one, bringing the total for the country to 290 because of Victoria's 282. A GAA player was centrally involved in identifying witnesses as part of a campaign of intimidation linked to the Adrian Donohoe murder trial. Aaron Brady (29) was last week found guilty of the capital murder of Detective Garda Donohoe during a robbery at Lordship Credit Union seven years ago. The trial took place amid a widespread campaign to prevent witnesses from giving incriminating evidence against the Crossmaglen man. After the trial, senior gardai said that investigations into the intimidation were continuing. One man living in the US was identified as Aaron Brady's "boots on the ground" in New York. He was passing on information about the inquiries carried out by Homeland Security agents who were assisting gardai in the hunt for the killer. Detectives suspect the man, a GAA player originally from Northern Ireland, was tasked with identifying potential witnesses who were prepared to make statements implicating Mr Brady. Expand Close A plaque at Lordship Credit Union, where Garda Donohoe (inset) was murdered. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A plaque at Lordship Credit Union, where Garda Donohoe (inset) was murdered. Photo: Gerry Mooney Read More Gardai received information that the man was approaching people in the US to establish who was speaking to investigators even before Mr Brady was arrested over Det Gda Donohoe's murder. When Mr Brady was arrested and deported in May 2017, US agents seized his phone which showed that he was in daily contact with his close associate. During the longest running murder trial in the history of the State, concerns were repeatedly raised about witness interference. This included family and associates of Mr Brady making direct contact with scheduled witnesses in the case via social media, and in some cases they were accused of "digging up dirt" on people prepared to testify. The court heard that, in some instances, the accused was aware who had made statements against him before the information was disclosed to the defence. The prosecution said that Mr Brady and his family were "precisely aware what was happening" with the Homeland Security investigations in the US and that the GAA player's name was repeatedly coming up as the person providing assistance. The man was described as Brady's "boots on the ground" in New York. One of the people that this man approached as part of his campaign was barman Daniel Cahill. Originally from Dublin, Mr Cahill testified that he heard Mr Brady admit on a number of occasions to shooting a guard. He had made a statement on July 25 last year. Then, just two weeks later and before the fact he had made a statement was even disclosed, he was contacted by a relative of Aaron Brady Mr Cahill also became the target of severe intimidation before and after giving evidence. More than 60 people were tracked down by Homeland Security agents, but many were too afraid to give statements against Mr Brady. One witness recalled how he was assaulted by Mr Brady after overhearing him, in a Bronx bar on St Patrick's Day 2015, brag about what it was like to kill someone. The man made a statement to detectives but later refused to come to court. A number of people who associated with the garda-killer while he lived in the United States are suspected of withholding potentially key evidence and remain people of interest in the ongoing Garda inquiry. Each week, we spotlight a cool innovation recommended by some of the industry's top tech writers. This week's pick is a new AI privacy software. A new software tool can "cloak" your selfies to trick facial recognition systems, said James Vincent at The Verge. Scientists at the University of Chicago designed new AI privacy software to combat the proliferation of commercial facial recognition systems that scrape people's images off social media, such as Clearview AI. (Courtesy image) Their tool named Fawkes after the Guy Fawkes masks adopted by some hackers and revolutionaries makes subtle enough changes to your photos "so that any algorithm scanning those images in the future sees you as a different person altogether." Some early trials did reveal flaws. A New York Times tester found that she looked "ghoulish," and her husband "appeared to have a black eye." But Fawkes says "the updated algorithm is much more subtle, and The Verge's own tests agree with this." This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here. More stories from theweek.com John Boehner would 'rather set himself on fire' than get involved in the 2020 election Kamala Harris' Secret Service code name reportedly reflects her groundbreaking nomination The DNC backdrops stole the show By Trend Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 31 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. -- A skirmish between US-led coalition troops and Syrian pro-regime forces near the city of Qamishli left a Syrian soldier dead and two others wounded, Syrias state-run SANA news agency said Monday morning. The US-led coalition confirmed a firefight had taken place but denied SANAs claim that a US helicopter had fired on the Syrian government checkpoint. The two sides issued conflicting accounts of the incident. SANA claimed the pro-regime checkpoint denied the coalition troops passage, leading the US patrol to open fire. The coalition said its patrol was allowed through the checkpoint before it came under fire. After receiving safe passage from the pro-regime forces, the patrol came under small arms fire from individuals in the vicinity of the checkpoint, the coalition said in a statement. Coalition troops returned fire in self-defense. The coalition did not conduct an airstrike, the statement read. The coalition patrol returned to base. The incident remains under investigation. Coalition spokesman Col. Myles Caggins told reporters via WhatsApp that no coalition helicopters fired their weapons in the incident and that he could not confirm the regimes specific casualty numbers. It seems likely there were pro-regime forces shot during the skirmish they initiated, Caggins said. A video purporting to show the firefight surfaced on social media on Monday. In it, US armored vehicles are visible alongside a road as automatic weapons fire kicks up dust at buildings off to the right side. Visible in the brief footage is at least one Apache helicopter, though it does not appear to be involved in the fight. Russian and Syrian pro-regime forces in northeast Syria have increased pressure on US-led coalition patrols in the area since the coalition downsized its presence in the country in response to President Donald Trumps order to withdraw last October. A Syrian man was killed in February when US soldiers shot back after coming under fire near a pro-regime checkpoint near Qamishli. US troops in Syria are not authorized to initiate fighting with the Syrian regime or with Russian or Iranian forces except in self-defense. Though coalition officials coordinate with their Russian counterparts on patrolling areas daily, the rival sides have had a number of tense encounters along local roads over the past several months. A US-led coalition patrol came face-to-face with a Russian convoy in June near Derik. The standoff, the second in just a few days in the area, reportedly blocked traffic for hours as US and Russian helicopters observed from overhead. Russian forces in Syria are always testing us, US Envoy to the coalition James Jeffery said in January of the tensions. The US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) also recently reported that the coalitions local partner militias, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), have been indirectly enabling Russian efforts to push the boundaries of deconfliction agreements. The DIA said in May that a Russian patrol inside coalition territory had been escorted by members of the SDF, according to a US inspector general report released earlier this month. Threatened by Turkey and the Syrian regime, the predominantly Kurdish-led SDF has flirted with Moscow as the Trump administration has proven a temperamental guardian in the past. SDF commander Mazlum Abdi said in July he met with head of Russian forces in Syria Alexander Chayko just days before he sat down with CENTCOM commander Gen. Kenneth Frank McKenzie, commander of all US forces in the Middle East. So far, it appears Mazlum is hedging his bets with Washington. The State Departments Syria team has been quietly laying the groundwork for a newly established US oil company to develop infrastructure in Kurdish-controlled areas in the hope of financially stabilizing the autonomous region and lulling Turkey into an agreement that will preserve the SDF. Russia, which backs the Syrian regime in its near decadelong civil war and has sought control of the countrys oil fields in exchange, has long opposed the US militarys presence and tested coalition commanders resolve. Former Defense Secretary James Mattis said he personally ordered groups of pro-regime fighters backed by Russian Wagner Group paramilitary contractors to be annihilated when they attacked a US- and SDF-held gas field in Deir ez-Zor in 2018. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to retake all of Syria by military force and has repeatedly rejected the SDFs demands for political semi-autonomy. The regime sent a few thousand war-weary soldiers into northeast Syria beginning last autumn to fill the gap left by the consolidating US-led presence. The Syrian government forces have since sought to recruit from the local population, the US Defense Intelligence Agency has said. Bill Fay, senior vice president of automotive operations, TMNA, is retiring after more than 38 years with the company, effective September 1, 2020. Fay has held key sales positions at four regional TMNA offices and senior-level roles at the company's headquarters operations, including group vice president and general manager of the Toyota division, where he was responsible for sales administration, retail market development, customer satisfaction, call center operations and marketing for the Toyota Division. In his current role, Bill is responsible for all sales and marketing functions for Toyota and Lexus Divisions. Jack Hollis, current group vice president and general manager, Toyota Division, will be promoted to senior vice president of automotive operations, TMNA, effective August 31, 2020. Hollis will be responsible for leading all sales, market representation, marketing and customer relations activities for Toyota and Lexus brands, and for Puerto Rico and Mexico. Hollis will report to Bob Carter, executive vice president of sales, TMNA. "For nearly four decades, Bill has been an integral part of our automotive operations and helped propel both the Toyota and Lexus nameplates to world-class brands that are admired for their safety and quality," said Carter. "We thank Bill for his leadership and countless contributions to our organization. Jack's strong track record, deep understanding of our dealer network and passion for customers will be a great asset to both brands." Other executive changes to TMNA's automotive operations include: David Christ, current group vice president and general manager, Lexus Division, will replace Hollis as group vice president and general manager, Toyota Division. Christ will be responsible for leading all sales, marketing and market representation, plus all guest experience and retention activities for Toyota regional sales offices and distributors. Christ will report to Hollis. Andrew Gilleland, current vice president of sales operations, Toyota Division, will be promoted to group vice president and general manager, Lexus Division. Gilleland will be responsible for all aspects of U.S. Lexus automotive operations, including sales, marketing, customer service and dealer operations. Gilleland will report to Hollis. These new appointments are effective August 31, 2020. 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 40 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 nearly 2.8 million cars and trucks (nearly 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 www.toyotanewsroom.com. Contact: Victor Vanov 469.292.1318 SOURCE Toyota Motor North America Related Links www.toyota.com New Delhi: CBI has arrested two RBI employees in Bengaluru in connection with alleged conversion of Rs 1.99 crore of demonetised currency with specified bank notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 100. CBI sources said senior special assistant Sadananda Naika and special assistant AK Kavin were arrested for unauthorised exchange of the currency and have been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating besides provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act. Both the accused have been sent to four days of CBI custody by a special court in Bengaluru, they said. "It is alleged that both the accused and other unknown officials of RBI, Bengaluru entered in criminal conspiracy with unknown others," CBI spokesperson Devpreet Singh said. Read | Bengaluru: CBI arrests RBI official, JDS leader in cases related to illegal currency conversion She said in furtherance with the criminal conspiracy, the accused, along with other unknown officials, who were entrusted with the responsibility of new currency notes, "fraudulently" gave away new notes to the tune of Rs 1.99 crore to RBI officials and others. It is alleged that the exchange was done in violation of exchange limits imposed by the Bankers' Bank. CBI had earlier arrested another employee of RBI in a separate case in which currency worth over Rs six lakh was converted by him using his influence over officials of State Bank of Mysore. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Victoria's Secret vet Elsa Hosk shared three new stunning pinup photos to Instagram on Sunday for her over 6M followers. The 31-year-old blonde beauty from Sweden was showing off her toned tummy in a leopard print bikini while sitting on a white princess bed with sheer material streaming down from the ceiling. 'Miss Jamaica and those vibes,' the New York City resident state in her brief caption which was liked by up-and-coming model Josie Canseco. Model moment: Elsa Hosk shared three new stunning pinup photos to Instagram on Sunday. The 31-year-old blonde beauty from Sweden was showing off her toned tummy in a leopard print bikini while sitting on a white princess bed Elsa looked happy with her choice of attire as she made it obvious she is proud of her sculpted curves. The star had her hair pinned up and she was nicely made up with bronze lipstick and blush which went well with her beach tan. The hotel room she was in looked chic with a white bed and draped material as a nice contrast to the dark wood shutters and dark wood framed mirror. The star was most likely at the resort with her longtime beau, Danish entrepreneur Tom Daly. Toned and tanned: 'Miss Jamaica and those vibes,' the New York City resident state in her brief caption for her fans Last week, Hosk joined the major talent agency CAA. The Victoria's Secret beauty revealed the news on Instagram, sharing a screenshot of the news article with the caption: 'Hiii got some news. I joined CAA, so excited for this new chapter!' This likely means she will go into acting or writing. In July Elsa showed off her very stylish apartment in New York City. The blonde bombshell recently revealed that her abode is so beloved that it will be featured in an upcoming issue of Architectural Digest. DailyMail.com compiled some of her best images taken inside the roomy pad. In some shots, her beloved cat can be spied. A getaway: The hotel room she was in looked chic with a white bed and draped material as a nice contrast to the dark wood shutters and dark wood framed mirror. The star was most likely at the resort with her longtime beau, Danish entrepreneur Tom Daly She shared an image from her home, with her trusty cat near her, with the caption, 'Bts at home for @archdigest today cant wait to show you guys the result.' She was in a beige suit with her hair down as she sat on a large, puffy sectional sofa that was the focus of the room as floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a view of the a brick building were behind her. Hailey Bieber liked the shot as did 132K others. The main color in the apartment is sandy beige mixed in with dark brown hardwood furniture that looks mid century. And on the walls are also tastefully framed sketches that go with the muted, relaxed theme of the roomy home. Like a painting: Hosk has been working as a model for 15 years and has saved up enough money to live in a very stylish apartment in New York City Snuggled up with her cat: The cover star has given traveling the world a break to nest inside her cozy quarters during the coronavirus pandemic But here and there are pops of color thanks to post-modern paintings with saturated primary colors and abstract designs. Often the star models fashion inside the home that she shares with boyfriend Tom Daly. Hosk and Daley first got together in 2015 after being friends for a number of years. In June she was seen in her bed saying she felt like she was on 'vacation.' Artsy: And on the walls are also tastefully framed sketches that go with the muted, relaxed theme of the roomy home Plenty of room for all her supermodel pals: This sectional sofa could sit 15 people; it is dotted by large beige pillow The Swedish catwalk princess was modeling a bra and shorts. They showed off her slender figure that has helped her get jobs with Victoria's Secret, H&M and Shiseido. She was also photo-bombed by her cat. 'Taking you through a week of looks in @voguemagazine,' said the looker from Stockholm. And she also said, 'This look is Jacquemus.' Simon Porte Jacquemus is a 30-year-old French fashion designer and the founder of the Jacquemus fashion label. She added, 'It's raining today, and this look makes me feel like it's sunny and I'm on vacation. I love Jacquemus; I met Simon for the first time at a dinner he had in Paris. He is so sweet. I respect the brand he has built so much. Strike a pose: The curvy lady was seen in a belted white blouse with matching pumps in this mid century wood chair 'And he has such a clear and beautiful aesthetic from the colors he uses to the food, places, architecture, and ceramics. 'I put these sheets on from a Swedish brand called Tekla to match my look. They make the prettiest colors.' She has been seen often this year with her beau Daly, who's the co-founder and creative director of Running Vision, has long hair and favors a bohemian look when running errands with his photogenic partner. Hosk also said in the spring that she is taking care of her mental health during the scary pandemic. 'I spend time doing meditation, cooking, not sleeping longer than usual, working out, staying creative, taking pictures, drawing, painting , playing games, and checking in on family and friends.' During the crisis, Hosk has been very open proactive about spreading the word of home sequestering to her six million followers. Slate has relationships with various online retailers. If you buy something through our links, Slate may earn an affiliate commission. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. All prices were up to date at the time of publication. Helen Macdonalds celebrated 2014 memoir, H Is for Hawk, describes her efforts to address her grief at the death of her beloved father by taming a goshawk. Its not your usual tale of healing human-animal communion, like those countless interchangeable memoirs of how dogs saved various authors lives and taught them how to be better people. A goshawk, a beautiful but merciless killing machine, is not going to do that. For Macdonald, the salutary effect of the task was partly the task itself: Falconry is a demanding discipline that gave her days structure and goals. And it was partly the intimate encounter with a being so alien, the imaginative stretch of adapting herself to the hawks fundamental otherness. Coexisting with such a creature is a lot like coexisting with death itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. I choose to think that my subject is love, Macdonald writes in the introduction to her radiant new essay collection, Vesper Flights, musing on the notion that every writer has a single underlying subject, and most specifically love for the glittering world of non-human life around us. That world, she goes on to stress, is not all about us. It does not belong to us alone. Yet something in her also resists any stringent division. Vesper Flights includes several essays about encounters with animals that visited her like revelations. Once, when she was sitting beside a river, marinating in her own loneliness, a swan approached, sat down next to her, and curled up to sleep. While working at a ramshackle falcon conservation center and breeding farm, she had two experiencesdispatching an ostrich so badly injured it could not survive, and stalking and startling a herd of semiferal cattlethat somehow worked on her psyche, enabling her to leave a situation that had grown stagnant. The ostrich and the cattle were living animals with their own life-worlds and deserving of their own stories, she writes. But they were also emblems to me, signs read by my subconscious mind to hasten me out of the quotidian incomprehension fostered by dismal circumstances. They were encounters with animals that resolved themselves into personal truths. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Ill agree that every writer has a commanding theme that fuels her work, Id add that for great writers, its never a simple one like love. The most transfixing texts are powered by an irresolvable tension. In Macdonalds case, its between her almost religious belief in the otherness of animals and her own lifelong desire to find significance in that otherness, to seek lessons that pertain to herself and to humanity. The nonhuman world is not all about us, but we also cant help but find that at least some of it is about us, because we are the animal that seeks meaning in everything. Advertisement Advertisement Several of the essays in Vesper Flights use the exercise of appreciating the natural worlds otherness as a metaphor for how to respond to the rise of populist xenophobia in Macdonalds native England. Others get tangled up in the paradoxes of 20th century patriotic naturalism, citing, for example, Julian Huxleys radio broadcasts during World War II, in which he argued that if you dont know your birds, you cant fully know your country, and the conservationist Peter Scott, who sailed off to the front knowing that he was fighting to protect the mallards and teal that reared their ducklings in the reed beds of Slapton Ley. Somehow they were England. These are deep thickets. How does the desire to preserve the last colony of orioles in Britain compare to the longing to hold as if in amber the culture of 20th century England? They may be different enterprises, but the emotions that propel them, the imperative to preserve something on the verge of being lost, are uncomfortably alike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the essays included here is titled The Numinous Ordinary, a phrase that pinpoints Macdonalds forte. The pressure Macdonald puts on the natural world to serve up humbling lessons occasionally grates. Then again, an instructive takeaway is increasingly regarded as essential to the contemporary personal essay, and many of these pieces were written for publications (the New York Times Magazine, the New Statesman) not much invested in bucking that trend. Nevertheless, Macdonald finds reminders in the natural world often enough that a faint and not very welcome whiff of pedagogy occasionally rises from these pages. The lack of obvious life in winter reminds me of the limits of my own human perception, she writes, and The history of hawfinches in Britain reminds us how seamlessly we confuse natural and national history. (Although I must admit, I did enjoy her dismissal of the middle-class preference for austere birdhouses over the kitschy but sincere anthropomorphizing of the working-class kind painted with picket fences and window boxes: The birds dont care, of course, she writes.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those teacherly moments may be this collections only flaw. Readers willing, once in a while, to put up with the sensation of being schooled like a recalcitrant toddler will receive in exchange armfuls of literary riches. One of the essays included here is titled The Numinous Ordinary, a phrase that pinpoints Macdonalds forte. No one describes the everyday natural world with greater power or beauty. The deer drift out of the woods like breathing, she writes. They appear unexpectedly delicate and cold, as if chill air is pouring from them to the ground to pool into the mist that half obscures their legs and turning flanks. Flocks of starlings on the wing seem uncannily like an alien, groping entity, living sand or smoke moving through a suite of topological changes. She is particularly thrilling when she zooms from the intimate to the panoramic. One day, I discovered that if I held a falcon egg close to my mouth and made soft clucking noises, a chick that was ready to hatch would call back. I spoke through the shell to something that had not yet known light or air, but would soon take in the revealed coil and furl of a west-coast breeze and cloud of a hillside in one easy glide at sixty miles an hour, and spire up on sharp wings to soar high enough to see the distant, glittering Atlantic. Advertisement The potency of these images finds its ideal form in Macdonalds shortest essays. Many are only a page or two in length and yield up their glories with minimal sermonizing. When you write this well, you dont have to explain much. A few of the longer piecessome apparently magazine features, such as a story about an expedition to a remote desert in Latin Americacan feel weighed down at times by the need to dispense information. High-Rise strikes the consummate balance, as it recounts Macdonalds visit to the top of the Empire State Building with a researcher from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology to observe the twice-yearly flight of migratory birds over the city. The sky may seem like a void, she writes, but like the ocean, this is a vast habitat full of lifebats and birds, flying insects, spiders, windblown seeds, microbes, drifting spores. Looking over the city, she reimagines the skyscrapers as deep-sea submersibles, transporting us to inaccessible realms we cannot otherwise explore. Its as if her words have flipped the world upside down, and the effect is exhilarating, if also a bit dizzying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her introduction, Macdonald writes that she hopes this collection works a little like a Wunderkammer, a German word usually translated as Cabinet of Curiosities, but she prefers the more literal cabinet of wonders. It is that, but the treasures in it are mostly not exotica and relics collected from far-off lands. Theyre all around us, just waiting to be noticed by the right person. The United States will not consent to Israeli annexations in the occupied West Bank for "some time," preferring to focus on the Israel-UAE peace deal and wider regional peacemaking, senior White House adviser Jared Kushner said on Monday. The United Arab Emirates has said that its move to formalise relations with Israel, announced on Thursday, put paid to an annexation plan that angered Palestinians - who want the West Bank for a future state - and worried some world powers. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts the annexation plan - already dogged by disputes within his governing coalition - as temporarily on hold. But he has also said he wants approval from Israel's main ally first. "Israel has agreed with us that they will not move forward without our consent. We do not plan to give our consent for some time," Kushner told reporters in a telephone briefing. "Right now the focus has to be on, you know, getting this new peace agreement implemented. "We really want to get as much interchange between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as possible and we want Israel to focus on creating new relationships and new alliances." The US-UAE-Israel joint statement on the peace deal said Israel had agreed to "suspend" the annexation plan. "What youre saying as suspension, we're seeing as stopping," UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told reporters shortly after the deal was announced. Palestinians, feeling sidelined six years after their own peace talks with Israel stalled, have condemned the Gulf power. Dismissing such censure as "noise", Kushner said the onus was on the Palestinians, who are boycotting US President Donald Trump's administration for perceived pro-Israel bias, to come around to a new peace proposal it unveiled in January. Kushner said Washington was not pressuring other Gulf Arab states to recognise Israel. Kuwait, he said, was "out there taking a very radical view on the conflict to date in favour of the Palestinians and obviously that hasn't been very constructive". After the 1991 Gulf war, Kuwait deported Palestinians for their leadership's siding with Iraq. Eli Avidar, a former Israeli diplomatic emissary in the Gulf turned opposition lawmaker, invoked such a scenario for Palestinians in the UAE. "Emirati citizens are different to Israelis and Americans. They won't forget," he said in an Arabic speech. "Your brothers who reside in the UAE will be expelled due to your attitudes."` Search Keywords: Short link: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press briefing in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 5, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) Mike Pompeo just wrapped up his second trip to Europe within a month where he spared no efforts to goad the European allies of the U.S. into his new "Cold War" campaign against China. But his fanatical policies have only been met with cold shoulder so far. BEIJING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- During his second trip to Europe in less than a month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unsurprisingly carried on his malign campaign, hurling insults at China, scrambling to indoctrinate "America's friends" with slanders and lies, and contriving to revive a Cold War. Addressing a press conference with Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Pompeo repeated his anti-China agenda, groundlessly calling the country a threat. To his dismay, the Czech prime minister did not echo his rhetoric, but said instead that Czech is "a sovereign country and I do not see any major threat here." Tirelessly calling Huawei a threat, Pompeo provided no concrete evidence for his claim. On the contrary, as divulged by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks, it was the United States that has implemented a notorious global surveillance. When the ink was not yet dry on the U.S.-Slovenia 5G joint declaration, local media pointed out that Pompeo's so-called threats to 5G, human rights and democracy are not about those values of Western civilization, but about who gets a bigger slice of the pie in the future business and consequently controls the world. File photo taken on Jan. 28, 2020 shows a Huawei 5G mobile phone testing speed in Huawei 5G Innovation and Experience Center in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan) On the issue of 5G and cyber security, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told a press conference with Pompeo on Friday that they have adopted a common position within the European Union. He also noted that Austria "deeply" regrets the U.S. use of extraterritorial sanctions against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, adding they "would rather endeavor on or pursue the way of bilateral talks to find a common solution on this ground, on this matter." The former CIA director embellished his trip to Europe with the purposes of safeguarding freedom and democracy, and protecting allies from existential threats. The mentality reflected the fact that a handful of U.S. politicians still believe America has a mission to save and dominate the world. Driven by strong ideological biases, Pompeo delivered his infamous "new iron curtain speech" last month, which came from nowhere but the imagination and anxiety of a troubled soul mired in a Cold War mentality. Unfortunately, under the influence of this mentality, U.S. foreign policy has often swerved from diplomacy to war, according to professor Jeffrey Sachs at Columbia University. During the Cold War era, anti-communist fervor led the United States to fight multiple disastrous wars in Southeast Asia and Central America. While Americans are still languishing in those debacles, demagogues like Pompeo are seeking another Cold War. Indeed, some might be prone to associate Eastern Europe with a Cold War. But by no means are the peace-loving people living in this region and anywhere else around the world fooled by Pompeo and his ilk into repeating the tragedy. As a Czech proverb goes, "people are often caught in their own trap." Pompeo should realize his self-made Cold War trap could catch no one but himself. It's actually the 'Harris-Biden' ticket! By Mark Alexander It's official. Joe Biden was informed by his campaign puppeteers that they chose leftist Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) for the bottom (read: "TOP") of his presidential ticket. They completed the selection of Biden's [Insert Woman of Color Here] requirement just in time for the Socialist Democrat Party convention commencing Monday. Apparently, neither Michelle Obama nor Susan Rice passed Biden's sniff test, both with too many skeletons in their closets. Apparently, Harris, in Biden's estimation, is the "first mainstream African American [woman] who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking [gal]." This ticket will be "a storybook, man!" Biden said: "I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough, and ready to lead. Kamala is that person." By "ready to lead," he means ready by high noon on Inauguration Day, January 20, 2021, to step in and name a leftist replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who has been propped up by a 2x4 since Donald Trump took office. Within minutes of Biden's announcement, both The New York Times and the Associated Press described Harris as a "pragmatic moderate" whose record is "relatively centrist." Only in the alternate Marxist universe occupied by Leftmedia propagandists does Harris qualify as "moderate" or "centrist." Harris's Senate record affirms she is a card-carrying socialist, but you can expect to hear the "moderate" and "centrist" adjectives repeatedly until November 4th. And the Leftmedia better toe that line recall that a gaggle of the nation's most influential leftist women already put the media on notice about any criticism of Biden's female VP. In a memo to "News Division Heads, Editors in Chiefs, Bureau Chiefs, Political Directors, Editors, Producers, Reporters, and Anchors," these women warned that no criticism of Harris would be tolerated. Notably, regarding the Biden campaign's big demographic play for multitudes of emotionally incontinent liberal women voters, I thought they had dispensed with that antiquated binary gender construct. As Matt Walsh notes: "'Woman,' by the light of the Left's philosophy, is an arbitrary concept. It has no substance. It is not objective. It can mean anything and be anyone." Fact is, Biden's handlers, as well as a majority of Americans, already know he's just a placeholder, or, as Joe calls himself, a "transitional candidate." His strategy is to remain hunkered and bunkered through Election Day maybe even avoiding the traditional presidential debates altogether and to send Harris out for media ops. If elected, Biden will likely resign during his first term due to his progressive state of dementia, so Democrat voters know they're casting their presidential ballots for Harris. (Incidentally, the last time the nation was saddled with a placeholder president was in 1944, when it was evident to his inner circle that Franklin Delano Roosevelt would not survive his fourth term. His handlers thus tapped Senator Harry Truman (D-MO) as his successor.) Cleary, the LONG delay in selecting Harris was caused by big changes in the political calculus after Biden and his Democrat race-bait tag team, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, spent the last 10 weeks fomenting race riots in their Demo-controlled urban centers nationwide. They spuriously claimed that American justice is replete with "systemic racism" from top to bottom. Thus, having incited mobs of radical leftists, Biden's handlers were faced with a "Harris problem": Now that Democrat opportunists had incorporated into their campaign the black supremacist Marxists operating under the Black Lives Matter brand, they needed to find a black female who wouldn't dampen the enthusiasm of Stacey Abrams's racially charged radicals to her left, nor upset the sensibilities of the more moderate Demo supporters and independent voters to her right. The problem with Harris is that, despite her effort to portray herself as a "progressive" former prosecutor, even The New York Times concluded that she "was often on the wrong side of history when she served as California's attorney general." By "wrong side," the NYT means "right side," which is why the far Left may reject her as the next president. After adopting the "defund the police" mantra, Biden puts the former chief law enforcement officer (attorney general) for the most populous state in the nation (California) on his ticket? Bernie Sanders's former national press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, summed up the problem: "We are in the midst of the largest protest movement in American history, the subject of which is excessive policing, and the Democratic Party chose a 'top cop' and the author of the Joe Biden crime bill to save us from Trump. The contempt for the base is, wow." Outlining a few of Harris's more egregious offenses as AG, Loyola law professor Lara Bazelon declared in The New York Times: "Harris fought tooth and nail to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct that included evidence tampering, false testimony and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors." Further, in 2014, after a federal judge ordered the release of nonviolent offenders for parole in California, then-AG Harris argued that her state prisons would lose "an important labor pool." (Talk about keeping black folks on the Demo plantation...) Harris never apologized for that assertion, and she hopes Biden's constituents will forget about her record as a "Draconian Prosecutor." By the way, while she was locking up pot smokers, recall that when asked if she had smoked marijuana, Harris responded, "Half my family's from Jamaica are you kidding me?" That was funny, except the "stereotype" drew a strong rebuke from her father, who responded: "My dear departed grandmothers, 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. Speaking for myself and my immediate Jamaican family, we wish to categorically dissociate ourselves from this travesty." The Wall Street Journal's Jason Willick asked last year, "Can a prosecutor win the Democratic presidential nomination?" We will see. Unfortunately for Harris, Trump, who calls her Biden's "political living will," brilliantly preempted her "criminal-justice reform" recovery platform by working across party lines to enact reforms last year. As it stands, Biden's handlers believe Harris will appeal to enough moderates and independents to make up for the radical leftists who see her as a political prop, and blacks who see her as lacking a real connection to their community. But to bridge that gap, Harris has endeavored to adopt radical socialist policies from Bernie Sanders. Harris votes with Sanders on 92% of legislation and was his socialized healthcare cosponsor. She also cosponsored with Sanders the so-called "Green New Deal" and, of course, cosponsored the absurd $14 trillion "reparations rebate." She also supports open borders, free healthcare for illegal aliens, and compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the KKK. Moreover (and as fodder for Trump campaign ads), Harris's problems with Biden are no small matter. In the second Democrat presidential primary debate last year, Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard confronted Harris about her record as California's attorney general claiming her tough-on-crime policies were unjust. In an effort to recover, Harris attacked Biden for his support of racist segregationists. She also asked for an apology from Biden which he didn't deliver. But alas, her standing in the polls dropped after those summer confrontations, and she never recovered, ultimately withdrawing from the race in December. Of course, Biden's campaign was on life support too, as he finished a dismal fourth in Iowa, fifth in New Hampshire, and got clobbered by 26 points by Bernie Sanders in Nevada. But once he received the endorsement of Demo House Whip Jim Clyburn just ahead of the South Carolina primary, he regained momentum on Super Tuesday (or "Super Thursday" as Biden gaffed it) for a first-place finish. A bigger problem would be that on April 3rd last year, after several women accused Creepy Joe of sexual assault, Harris declared, "I believe them and I respect them being able to tell their story and having the courage to do it." So, she has joined the ticket of a man who she believes panders to racists and is guilty of sexual assault? Just who is the real Kamala Harris? There are personal profiles and policy primers, but suffice it to say, she's to the left of Sanders and former Cherokee candidate Elizabeth Warren. On a personal level, Harris is most assuredly not the product of poor and unwed parents, as was the case with Barack Obama. But like Obama, she only had one black parent, and her parents divorced when she was only seven, which is why she grew up primarily in Canada. Her mother was a scientist who emigrated from India, and her father was a Stanford University economist who emigrated from Jamaica. After graduating from Howard University and UC Hastings Law School, she got a helping hand from California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, who gave her a $120K "patronage job," and with whom Harris had an extended affair. Brown was 30 years her senior, but she didn't let that interfere with the doors he could open for her. Ironically, Brown advised Harris to pass on Biden's offer to join his ticket. Harris is now married to a white leftist lawyer, Douglas Emhoff, and they live in a posh multimillion-dollar Brentwood mansion. They list assets in excess of $5 million. So much for a connection to working-class blacks, who constitute one of the Democrats' most loyal constituencies. In 2017, after six years as California attorney general under leftist Governor Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, she succeeded California leftist Senator Barbara Boxer to serve with aging Senator Dianne Feinstein, where Harris made a name for herself leading the disgraceful Senate mob's obstructionist confirmation hearings of now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. So, what does Harris do for the Biden ticket? Again, in effect, this is a Harris-Biden ticket, and the reason why last year I put Harris at the top of my speculative list of Biden running mates is because I estimated then, as I do now, that as the real Biden ticketholder, she'll be the most difficult opponent for Trump to beat. That will be especially true given the millions of dollars allocated for swing-state advertising, funded by the "Archenemies of Liberty," George Soros, Tom Steyer, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Bloomberg. According to seasoned political analyst John Fund, Trump has been branded a "misogynist" and "racist" by the Left, so Harris will be "a candidate who would appeal to feminists and minorities alike and drive turnout up." In short, she "checks all the requisite liberal boxes." But Trump's greatest adversary is not Harris or Biden it's the amount of hate he has fomented over the last four years. Even so, all that race calculation doesn't change the fact that, as I have noted previously, "The great irony about the Biden's VP race-pandering charade is that the Democrat Party is the most enduring monument to racism in America." Mark Alexander is the executive editor of the Patriot Post. A visitor gets tested for the coronavirus at a makeshift testing center set up in Seongbuk-gu, the northeastern Seoul, Monday, amid growing fears over the resurgence of the virus in the greater Seoul area. Yonhap Seoul church under fire for mass infections, uncooperative response to virus tests By Bahk Eun-ji The health authorities said Monday that the recent resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the Seoul and metropolitan areas is the early stages of a massive outbreak, and stressed that they will take tougher quarantine measures if it does not subside by the end of this week. The statement came as infections linked specifically to a church in northern Seoul have kept surging, raising public concern over the coronavirus spreading quickly across the country. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 197 new infections, including 188 domestic cases, for Sunday, taking the nation's total caseload to 15,515. The figure came a day after the nation reported 279 new daily cases, marking the first time since early March that the new daily infections surpassed 200. Of the newly identified local infections, 89 were reported in the capital, while 67 were from the surrounding Gyeonggi Province, the KCDC said. Cases tied to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk District, Seoul, added 70 additional ones for a total of 319. With the latest figure, the church has emerged as the country's second-biggest virus hotbed following the 5,214 cases linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a religious sect that was deemed accountable for mass infections in the southeastern city of Daegu early this year. Ten patients were members of the Yoido Full Gospel Church, the world's biggest church with 560,000 members. "If the number of new cases in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province doesn't stabilize by the end of this week, the government will further strengthen quarantine measures such as imposing strict social distancing rules nationwide," said Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip during a regular press briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong. The measures will include keeping public facilities such as libraries, galleries and museums closed, and banning large gatherings with estimated attendees of more than 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors across the country, Kim said. In Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, these rules are already in effect. Companies in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province responded to the resurgence quickly by asking employees to work from home. SK Innovation and Kakao Corp were among the firms to do so. "The ongoing situation in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province reminds us of the mass infection in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province in February and March, but it has more dangerous factors than that in terms of infection patterns and responses to our quarantine work," Kim explained. In the case of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the spread of infection was fast, but the fatality rate was relatively low as the majority of patients were younger. But in recent cases reported in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, the risk is higher as sporadic infections have been taking place in various areas and facilities, involving small-sized worship services or rallies. "As the pandemic prolonged with the summer rainy season, public awareness toward social distancing has loosened. This is another difficulty for quarantine work," Kim said. Meanwhile, starting Monday, foreign arrivals infected with the virus will be required to pay for the cost of their treatment in full, if they violate local quarantine rules. Democrats may well be to blame for the cuts at the Postal Service that are threatening their vote-by-mail program. The cuts look like a logical reaction to the lockdown-induced reduction in overall mail volume. The USPS reported its fiscal third-quarter results on August 7. First-Class Mail revenue decreased by $373 million, or 6.4 percent, on a volume decline of 1.1 billion pieces, or 8.4 percent. Secular declines in mail have continued to negatively affect mail revenue and volume, and those declines have been significantly exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Shipping and Packages revenue increased by $2.9 billion, or 53.6 percent, on a volume increase of 708 million pieces, or 49.9 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. In the near term, the Postal Service anticipates that these trends will continue, given the surge in e-commerce as many Americans stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic The pandemic has accelerated the secular decline in First-Class mail volume. An obvious reaction would be a reduction in overhead, such as sorting equipment. In fact, the tech site Vice reported that those reductions predate Trump's Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. One of the documents suggests that these changes were already in the works because it is dated May 15, a month before DeJoy assumed office and only nine days after the Board of Governors announced his selection. The Postal Service proposed removing 20 percent of letter-sorting machines it uses around the country before revising the plan weeks later to closer to 15 percent of all machines, meaning that 502 will be taken out of service, according to documents obtained by Motherboard outlining the agency's plans. USPS workers told Motherboard this will slow their ability to sort mail. Of course, Democrats are now scrambling to blame the president for their dilemma a Postal Service that's quickly transitioning away from First-Class letters to packages, due in large part to their insistence that the lockdowns continue. No one doubts that Trump has long been preparing to fight the vote by mail movement, only now he has Democrats trashing about as living examples of Sir Walter Scott's famous observation: "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive." The Journalists for Responsible Fisheries and Environment (JRFE), a network of Ghanaian journalists promoting responsible fishing on Ghanas waters, is calling on the government to as a matter of urgency stop illegal transshipment of fish at sea. The JRFE believes that the practice, which is popularly known as Saiko, if not stopped immediately will threaten the livelihoods of many artisanal fishers at the countrys coastal communities. The group in a statement issued and signed by its Executive Director, Kingsley Nana Buadu, on Monday, August 17, 2020, said The JRFE is worried about how the livelihoods of artisanal fishers in the four coastal regions of Ghana, are being affected with the wanton disregard for the fisheries laws in Ghana by some industrial trawlers, especially in these times of COVID-19. According to him, Saiko is threatening the jobs and food security of the fishing communities and Ghanas economy in general. He noted that although the countrys laws forbid the practice of saiko, some trawlers licensed to fish on Ghanas waters engaged in the practice with impunity, hence promoting and encouraging the practice. Some of these trawlers have been and are still engaging in the transhipment of fish at sea which the countrys fisheries laws forbid. The worrying aspect is that, they target species meant to be caught by local fishers, freeze them and then resell to the fishermen for profit, Nana Boadu explained. He said considering the fact that, saiko has contributed to the decline and near collapse of the small pelagic stocks such as sardinella, chub mackerel and anchovies, it is necessary for the government to take decisive action against the practice. He also called on the government to stop other illegal fishing activities such as over fishing and overcapacity, light fishing and fishing with chemicals to help save the lives of local fishers. Below is the statement Press Release The Journalists for Responsible Fisheries and Environment (JRFE), is calling on government of Ghana to end illegal transhipment of fish at sea popularly known as Saiko and help better the lives of artisanal fishers. The JRFE is worried about how the livelihoods of artisanal fishers in the four coastal regions of Ghana, are being affected with the wanton disregard for the fisheries laws in Ghana by some industrial trawlers, especially in these times of COVID-19. In particular, the JRFE shares in the concerns of fishermen that has led to a series of agitations across a number of coastal communities in the country in recent times. Some of these trawlers have been and are still engaging in the transhipment of fish at sea which the countrys fisheries laws forbid. The worrying aspect is that, they target species meant to be caught by local fishers, freeze them and then resell to the fishermen for profit. Subsides less useful This is rendering the governments support for fishermen in terms of giving out subsidized outboard motors and premix fuel, less useful. This is because these fishers spend hours on sea but return with little or no catch. Both the Fisheries Act 2002, Act 625 Section 132 and the Fisheries Regulations 2010 (Regulation 33) clearly prohibit Saiko. This illegality is undermining governments efforts to better the lives of local fishers through fishing which serves as a source of livelihood for over 2.7 million Ghanaians. Saiko is threatening the jobs and food security of the fishing communities and Ghanas economy in general. In 2019, fisheries scientists warned that Ghana is likely to lose fish stocks in the near future in the marine waters and put food security and goals for the economic growth and poverty reduction in fishing communities at risk. The chairman of the Scientific and Technical Working Group for the Ghana Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP), Professor Kobina Yankson, has cautioned that Ghana is facing imminent fish stock depletion unless something drastic is done to save the industry. Call Considering the fact that, Saiko has contributed to the decline and near collapse of the small pelagic stocks such as sardinella, chub mackerel and anchovies, JRFE calls on the government of Ghana to as a matter of urgency end Saiko and other illegal fishing activities such as over fishing and overcapacity, light fishing and fishing with chemicals to help save the lives of local fishers. The time for the country to act is now. It is time to save the fisheries sector. Ending saiko in Ghana means, the country is greatly contributing to the achievement of the targets set under the Sustainable Development Goal 14 - Life Below Water. JRFE JRFE is a community of journalists committed to promoting sustainable fisheires and environment through effective reportage. Signed Executive Director of JRFE Kingsley Nana Buadu (0243335705) 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 A section of the bulk carrier ship MV Wakashio, belonging to a Japanese company but Panamanian-flagged, ran aground on a reef, is pictured at the Riviere des Creoles, Mauritius, August 13, 2020. (Photo : REUTERS/Reuben Pillay) The ship ran aground on a coral reef on July 25 and spilled more than 1,000 tonnes of oil off the coast of Mauritius broke into two, its Japanese operator said on Sunday. Oil has been oozing from the ship for more than a week, threatening a marine park known for its pristine mangrove forests and endangered species. MV Wakashio got stuck at Pointe d'Esny, pristine sanctuary for wildlife, and was given recognition by the Ramsar Convention on wetlands as a site of international importance. READ: Mauritius Citizens, Groups Try to Contain Oil Spill to Protect Coastline and Mahebourg Lagoon The Ship Split in Two On Saturday, the Mauritius National Crisis Committee announced that a significant detachment of the vessel's forward section was observed. "It was confirmed on August 15 that the vessel has broken into two," the ship's operator Mitsui OSK Lines said. Officials have been anticipating the inevitable development for days, as images indicated that the two pieces are only partially attached. The split was due to a crack on the rigid side portion of the cargo hold. Recent oil recovery efforts have pumped out more than 3,000 of the 4,000 tonnes of oil, according to Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. But at the time when the vessel split, about 90 tonnes of fuel are still on board, most of it is residue from the leakage. Matsui confirmed on Sunday than unrecovered oil has leaked out of the vessel. A police official in the capital Port Louis disclosed to AFP that to prevent further damage in the coastline, the salvage team intends to pull a portion of the broken ship from the sea using tugboats and let it sink in the sea. A portion of the vessel remained stuck on the reef. Officials are still at a loss of how it may be removed. Adding to the predicament is that the weather is expected to come worse in the next days, with waves expected to climb to 4.5 meters. The committee said booms were reinforced to absorb more oil leaks. Coast guard vessels are also operating the area. The island country will seek compensation for the disaster from Japanese firm Nagashiki Shipping, and the company has pledged to respond to the compensation request. READ ALSO: MV Wakashio Oil Spill in Mauritius Stirs Nationwide Alarm The Extent of Damage The US analytics company Ursa Space Systems, which used radar data from the Finnish Iceye satellites, found a 27 square kilometer spill as of August 11. The country's Prime Minister declared a state of emergency last week with appeals for international help. Japan and France responded to the plea for help. Japanese environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi said a team of experts would be sent to Mauritius to assess how they may be of assistance. France is also making relief efforts with its Minister of overseas territories expected to visit the islands to oversee the team sent there and help mitigate the pollution. Thousands of volunteers have been making barriers by collecting straws from fields and filling sacks, while others stuffed tights and hair in the tube, while other have been cleaning up the beaches despite orders to leave the clean up to the government. According to an oceanographer and environmental engineer in Mauritius, the spill has caused residents to inhale heavy vapors of oil and harbor "a mixture of sadness and anger." READ NEXT: Sustainable, Biodegradable, and Cheap: Dog and Human Hair Useful for Oil Spill Clean-Up How Mauritians in Canada are trying to help their island community recover from massive oil spill by Desmond Brown August 17,2020 | Source: CBC News Joy Nursiah a Canadian who was born in Mauritius remembers the devastation she felt when she saw the usually stunning turquoise waters of her homeland stained black and brown. In late July, a Japanese-owned ship ran aground off Mauritius and began leaking oil. Soon, the oil spill had become so large it was visible from space. "I feel sad for my country," Nursiah the Mississauga resident told CBC News. "I know for sure this is going to be impacting the economy and the environment and we highly depend on the Mauritian environment for tourism, which is our biggest export." Nursiah no longer lives in Mauritius, but she knew she had to do something to help. So she decided to collaborate with other Mauritians in the GTA to raise funds to help with the huge clean-up effort and help restore the biodiversity hotspot where more than 1,000 tonnes of fuel have leaked. Nursiah launched a Facbook group called WAKASHIO-Oil Spill-Canada, which she says it is working with non-profits including EcoSud, Sovlanatir and Lagon Blue. The hope is to raise enough funds to purchase bio microorganisms that would help with breaking down oil in areas where manual clean-up is impossible. "We're hoping to get funding as well for a coral reef plantation and conservation," Nursiah said. "We're currently trying to [communicate] with NGOs [in Mauritius] to find out what supplies they need the most and we're hosting fundraisers for PPEs, for waterproof full body suits and masks," Nursiah said, adding volunteers doing clean-up are being exposed to toxic crude-oil. "The focus is moving more towards clean-up around the animals and the wild life more like replanting [and] conservation," Nursiah explained. Mauritian waters are extraordinarily rich in biodiversity, thanks to an abundance of coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves. According to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the island's marine environment is home to 1,700 species including around 800 types of fish, 17 kinds of marine mammals and two species of turtles. Like Nursiah, Pamela Pakium, president of the Ottawa chapter of the Canada Mauritius Cultural Association, has also been mobilizing fundraisers. Pakium said she is reaching out to CMCAs in each province to consolidate their efforts. Initially, they were hoping to purchase a skimmer, but they have since been advised it's no longer needed. Instead they're looking at a longer-term project focused on preserving marine life. Pakium said various Mauritius-based NGOs will be asked to submit a technical sheet detailing the project plan. "We are going to choose three different universities here in Canada to help us vet which projects we should associate with," she said. "The three different universities have their own marine biology programs, so the professors would be able to help us assess the technicality of the project and the viability of each and every project. Then, she said, the Mauritian community in Canada will be able to vote on the three projects. "And whichever wins that competition we are going to put the funding towards that," Pakium said. Many Mauritians, including fishermen, need the ocean for daily living, Pakium says. Beyond that, she points to the importance of tourism to the Mauritian economy. "Tourism is one of the pillars of our economy, so obviously if we are not able to get the marine life back, tourism obviously is going to decrease," she told CBC News. "The fishermen won't be able to have a living and the population in itself will be very sad and very depressed. For a Mauritian, going to the beach every weekend is an activity or a hobby, so they look forward to that." Nursiah says she's aware it's a strange time to be trying to raise money given the global pandemic underway. But given the extraordinary circumstances, she says she had no choice but to try to help. She's also hoping others will pitch in once more people become aware of the magnitude of the oil spill. "Personally, I'm very, very dedicated to this movement, but as I'm fundraising and spreading awareness, I have to take into consideration that not everyone is going to be as involved as I am, especially because it's a problem directly, personally to me," she said. "So it has been difficult, especially since not everyone is aware of what's happening and with everything happening around in the world." Environmental group Greenpeace Africa warned that the consequences of the oil spill may be lasting, with some experts saying the impact is likely to remain for years. 2020 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved. Theme(s): Others, Post Harvest Technology and Trade. Up The Ravens! FC IOM win inaugural match FC Isle of Man won their inaugural match on Saturday. The Ravens beat Guernsey one nil in front of a sell out crowd at the Bowl. Jack McVey score a penalty for the Manx team. Speaking to MTTV, Captain Frank Jones says it was a great start for the club: Media Frank Jones Clip Europe is tightening some restrictions on public life again as summer partying risks reigniting the spread of the coronavirus. Wary of returning vacationers spreading covid-19 at workplaces and schools, European officials are caught between fostering an economic recovery and the threat of a widespread outbreak. The concerns prompted Spain and Italy to shut discos and Greece to restrict hours for bars and restaurants in hopes of avoiding more stringent measures after the holiday season winds down. "We cannot waste the sacrifices made in the past months," Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said in a Facebook post. The government also made wearing face masks compulsory from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in public venues and in outdoor spaces, including squares and streets, where crowds can gather. German Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed the sentiment, telling a meeting of her CDU party in Berlin that rising infections are of concern and there is no scope currently for loosening restrictions. Spain has again emerged as a hot spot, with a 1,833 new infections in the last 24 hours, according to Health Ministry data published Monday. By comparison, Italy -- the original epicenter of the outbreak on the continent -- reported 320 new coronavirus cases on Monday, the lowest increase in a week. Even so, the number of active Italian patients continued to climb to 14,867. Irish authorities are considering new measures to curb the pandemic. In addition to outbreaks at food-processing plants, concern is mounting around potential contagion in bars following a weekend video of a Dublin barman standing on a counter to pour shots into customers' mouths. Ireland's Chief Medical Officer Ronan Glynn described such scenes as "reckless." "The next three weeks are incredibly important," Irish Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said on RTE radio. From Ibiza to the crowded urban nightspots of Madrid, some 25,000 discos and clubs in Spain will be required to suspend operations as part of a package of 11 measures to curb the fastest virus growth rate among Europe's major economies. Spain's Health Ministry blamed nighttime socializing for fueling new outbreaks, punching a hole in the government's seven-week experiment to restore the country's $175 billion tourism industry. "This will devastate us," said Antonio Gomez of the SpainTOP travel agency in Madrid. "People don't travel to Spain any more just for sun and beaches." In the fallout from the travel chaos, Ryanair Holdings cut flight capacity for September and October, and TUI, the world's biggest tourism operator, suspended trips to Spain from both the U.K. and Germany. Greece reported 150 new covid-19 cases on Monday, bringing the total to 7,222 -- nearly 40% of those have come in August. The government is requiring bars and restaurants to close between midnight and 7 a.m. in the greater Athens region and introduced an upper limit of 50 people at social events such as weddings in regions particularly affected by the virus. Authorities are preparing protocols to help people safely return to work from vacations. In France, an increase of new cases over the past week -- near the alert level in areas such as Paris and Marseille -- has prompted authorities to seal some public areas such as beaches to prevent parties with nightclubs closed since mid-March. A ban on gatherings of more than 5,000 people was extended until the end of October. Austrians rushed back from Croatia before a midnight deadline. A travel warning that kicked in Monday means returnees from the country now have to provide a negative coronavirus test at the border or go into a two-week quarantine. The Balkan country last week prohibited bars from operating past midnight. It reported 85 new cases on Monday after a record-breaking Friday. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg warned that more travel warnings for other European regions could come at short notice. Romania, the eastern European nation with the highest virus-linked death toll, extended a state of alert for another 30 days last week with restrictions in crowded public spaces in the capital Bucharest and most-affected counties. Estonia imposed stricter alcohol sales requirements in the region around the southern city of Tartu after a jump in infections was traced to nightclubs there. A passenger on a packed Gold Coast to Adelaide Jetstar flight was told she wasn't allowed to move to a row of empty seats. Travellers were bunched up together on the left-hand side of Saturday night flight JQ455. In economy, strangers were seated right next to each other on the Qantas budget subsidiary flight direct from Coolangatta airport to the South Australian capital. The passenger was also told travellers had to remain in their allocated seat, even if this breached social distancing rules that would normally apply on buses and trains, so health authorities could more easily carry out contact tracing. Scroll down for video A passenger on a packed Gold Coast to Adelaide Jetstar flight was told she wasn't allowed to move to a row of empty seats Travellers were bunched up together on the left-hand side of Saturday night flight JQ455 On the right-hand side of the plane, however, some rows of seats remained empty, as the two-hour flight took off at 7.10pm on August 15. A 'crammed in' passenger on this Jetstar flight, who wished to remain anonymous, said had asked to be allowed to move to an empty row of seats only to be told that was against the rules. 'Just made me angry all the spare seats,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'I specifically asked to change seats as I didn't like being crammed in and the flight attendant said they had to keep us in the same seat due to coronavirus.' An air hostess replied that was 'just been the way the seats are booked'. 'I guess she means if there's a COVID case, they need to identify people sitting close but I said to her, "Yes, but the airline allocated the seats",' the passenger said. 'The lady next to me agree it's a double standard.' A Jetstar spokesman told Daily Mail Australia the passenger should have been allowed to switch seats provided a cabin crew member took note of it - and offered an apology. 'In this instance, it was a one-off misalignment of policy,' he said. 'It was just the one-time mistake. Customers are allowed to change seats during the flight. 'We sincerely apologise that the customer's request to move seats was not accommodated in this instance and we have reminded our crew of the correct procedures.' On the right-hand side of the plane, however, some rows of seats remained empty, as the one-hour and 40 minute flight took off at 7.10pm on August 15. A 'crammed in' passenger on this Jetstar flight, who wished to remain anonymous, said had asked to be allowed to move to an empty row of seats only to be told that was against the rules Jetstar said: 'Customers may ask our crew to change their allocated seat when space in the cabin is available'. 'When a customer moves from their original seat, our crew submits a report to our operational teams for contact tracing purposes,' the spokesman said. The passenger was also told travellers had to remain in their allocated seat, even if this breached social distancing rules that would normally apply on buses and trains, so health authorities could more easily carry out contact tracin Despite the crowding, not all passengers were wearing face masks - as is mandated on public transport in Victoria and strongly advised in New South Wales. Qantas, Jetstar's parent company, advises travellers to wear face masks on flights but this is not compulsory. Qantas group medical director Dr Ian Hosegood said the risk of catching coronavirus on an aircraft was 'extremely low'. 'That's due to a combination of factors, including the cabin air filtration system, the fact people don't sit face-to-face and the high backs of aircraft seats acting as a physical barrier,' he said. 'As far as the virus goes, an aircraft cabin is a very different environment to other forms of public transport.' Travellers flying or driving into South Australia from New South Wales are required to self quarantine for 14 days, even if they have only been to the sparely-populated mining town of Broken Hill, which is just 48km east of the SA border. Travellers flying into South Australia (state police in Adelaide pictured) from New South Wales are required to self quarantine for 14 days. That means someone can fly from the crowded Gold Coast not have to isolate but are hit with strict rules if they drive into SA from the sparsely-populated mining town of Broken Hill in the far west of NSW Those flying direct from Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory or Queensland do not need to self isolate when they arrive in SA - regardless of whether they have come from a big city or a small town. This policy saw Sydney residents catch the last direct flights to Queensland before the Sunshine State on August 1 banned anyone who had been to greater Sydney so they could holiday on the Gold Coast for a fortnight and be spared hotel quarantining in Adelaide. Surfers Paradise was crowded on Friday as Brisbane residents made the one-hour drive south for the Ekka public holiday, commemorating the annual agricultural show in the Queensland capital. The passengers on the packed Gold Coast to Adelaide flight were most likely at popular tourist spots in southern Queensland before embarking on the Saturday night flight. Air passengers arriving in Adelaide are required to present to police their airline ticket showing their seat number for authorities to record. The National Institute of Hydrology and Water Management (INHGA) has issued a Code Yellow for floods warning valid for rivers in the northern counties of Maramures and Satu Mare. According to the forecast, until 16:00hrs, EEST, as a result of forecasted and propagated precipitation, important leaks on slopes, torrents, streams, flash floods, increases in flows and levels can occur, with possible exceedances of attention levels on the rivers from the hydrographic basins: Tur - upper basin and tributaries middle and lower basin; Lapus - tributaries in the downstream sector Razoare, Barsau (tributary of the Somes) and Iza - tributaries related to the downstream sector Stramtura.The warning was sent to: the Ministry of Waters and Forestry, Ministry of the Environment, General Inspectorate for Emergency Management, Romanian Waters National Administration, Interior Ministry, the mass media, Hidroelectrica SA, the Somes-Tisa Water Basin Administration and the Satu-Mare and Maramures Water Systems. Al-Kadhimis rise, following months of political bickering and deadlock, did not pacify the demands of protesters. But he made it a point to portray himself as their champion: He selected civil activists among his close advisers, set next year as the date for early elections a key demand of demonstrators and when two protesters were killed recently he promised them justice within 72 hours. China has effectively moved the Line Actual Control westwards by creating new facts on the ground along the entire LAC in Ladakh It has been over 100 days now that the Chinese are squatting on Indian territory. They are refusing to move back. Neither the government nor any former official or for that matter any strategic thinker has answered the basic question Why have the Chinese occupied our land? The Chinese, of course, choose to deny that they are in our territory and profess they are only at best on their perception of the Line of Actual Control. For the sake of argument even if you buy the Chinese explanation, their behaviour still is in stark contrast to 1962 where the Chinese were tactically successful in the eastern sector. After launching an unprovoked aggression then they still chose too retreat 20 kilometres not from their professed claim line but from the Actual Ground Position as on November 7, 1959. The Chinese ceasefire declaration of November 19, 1962, stated as follows Beginning from 21 November 1962, the Chinese frontier guards will cease fire along the entire Sino-Indian border. Beginning from 1 December 1962, the Chinese frontier guards will withdraw to positions 20 kilometres (12 miles) behind the line of actual control, which existed between China and India on 7 November 1959. In the eastern sector, although the Chinese frontier guards have so far been fighting on Chinese territory north of the traditional customary line, they are prepared to withdraw from their present positions to the north of the illegal McMahon Line, and to withdraw twenty kilometers (12 miles) back from that line. In the middle and western sectors, the Chinese frontier guards will withdraw 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the line of actual control. What is the salience of November 7, 1959? It was on this date a seminal proposal was made to Pandit Nehru by the then Chinese premier Chou-en-Lai. Excerpts from that letter are worth quoting: In order to maintain effectively the status quo of the border between the two countries, to ensure the tranquility of the border regions and to create a favourable atmosphere for a friendly settlement of the boundary question, the Chinese government proposes that the armed forces of China and India each withdraw 20 kilometres at once from the so-called McMahon Line in the east, and from the line up to which each side exercises actual control in the west, and that the two sides undertake to refrain from again sending their armed personnel to be stationed in and patrol the zones from which they have evacuated their armed forces, but still maintain civil administrative personnel and unarmed police there for the performance of administrative duties and maintenance of order. This proposal is in effect an extension of the Indian governments proposal contained in its note dated September 10 that neither side should send its armed personnel to Longju, to the entire border between China and India, and moreover a proposal to separate the troops of the two sides by as great a distance as 40 kilometres. If there is any need to increase this distance, the Chinese government is also willing to give it consideration. In a word, both before and after the formal delimitation of the boundary between our two countries through negotiations, the Chinese government is willing to do its utmost to create the most peaceful and most secure border zones between our two countries, so that our two countries will never again have apprehensions or come to a clash on account of border issues. If this proposal of the Chinese government is acceptable to the Indian government, concrete measures for its implementation can be discussed and decided upon at once by the two governments through diplomatic channels. In his reply on November 16, 1959, Nehru after extensive consultations both in the Congress Working Committee and his Cabinet rejected the proposal for all the right reasons outlined in that letter except insofar it applied to Ladakh. He wrote I suggest, therefore, that in the Ladakh area, both our governments should agree on the following as an interim measure. The Government of India should withdraw all personnel to the west of the line which the Chinese government have shown as the international boundary in their 1956 maps which, so far as we are aware are their latest maps. Similarly, the Chinese government should withdraw their personnel to the east of the international boundary, which has been described by the Government of India in their earlier notes and correspondence and shown in their official maps. Since the two lines are separated by long distances, there should not be the slightest risk of border clashes between the forces on either side. One can only speculate that had Nehru accepted Chous proposal the trajectory of Sino-Indian relations could have been different. Since 1962, India and China have had a number of standoffs but eventually they were all surmounted some with casualties and others without any loss of life. Even Doklam that persisted for 73 days was eventually cracked through a fortnight of diplomatic negotiations in 2017. However, the current crisis is substantively distinctive for both Chinese belligerence and brazenness. They have killed 20 Indian soldiers and injured numerous more in at least three clashes in Ladakh alone. Ten Indian soldiers were taken hostage and subsequently released by the Peoples Liberation Army. Despite both foreign ministers speaking to each other, Doval confabulating with his special representative equivalent, numerous conferences of the working mechanism for consultation and coordination on India-China borders affairs, five corps commander level exchanges and other tactical level military talks, the Chinese are not budging. In fact, in the July issue of the China-India Review, Ambassador Wei Sun Weidong has squarely blamed India for the current crisis. Unlike this government that pulled documents of the MOD website. China has effectively moved the Line Actual Control westwards by creating new facts on the ground along the entire LAC in Ladakh. They have instigated Nepal and Pakistan to indulge in cartographic aggression. The question, however, remains, why? Did Prime Minister Modi renege on some commitments given to President Xi in Wuhan and Mamallapuram, is it about distance from the US, accepting Chinas new hedonistic world order or all of them? Till the time we do not know what the Chinese want we will not be able to deal with them effectively going forward. Even desperate homeowners usually have better options If youre a homeowner, you may have recently received some unsolicited offers from total strangers who say theyll buy your house, sight-unseen, for cash. The housing market is red-hot, with median home prices at record highs, so why would any homeowner respond to such an appeal? Josh Stech, CEO and founder of Sundae, a company that facilitates home sales to investors without using a broker, said these solicitations are targeting a certain type of homeowner one who is ... Rep. Ryu Ho-jeong, left, and Rep. Jang Hye-young of the minor opposition Justice Party / Yonhap By Park Han-sol Young first-term lawmakers are bringing a wind of change at the 21st National Assembly. Several of these young politicians are challenging the conservatism and formality of the legislative body through their choice of attire, inclusive rhetoric and advocacy of groups that have long been underrepresented in the political sphere. Challenging tradition and social norms The viral image of a young lawmaker wearing a red-patterned wrap dress as she crossed the main chamber of the Assembly, Aug. 4, stirred up a heated discussion over the political institution's dress code and social norms. Rep. Ryu Ho-jeong of the minor opposition Justice Party, who wore the dress along with a yellow mask representing her party, faced heavy scrutiny and even became the target of misogynistic remarks online comparing her to a prostitute and urging her to wear something more revealing. Whether one deems the dress appropriate or unfit for an elected official, the 27-year-old's choice of attire has started a meaningful conversation about the Assembly's predominantly conservative and authoritarian idea of decorum. And this is what Ryu had hoped to do with her outfit: "The National Assembly is known for being male-dominated, especially with middle-aged men in their 50s. I wanted to shatter the old practices accepted as the norm here that are symbolized by dark-colored suits and ties," she said in an interview on a CBS radio show. "By putting on display our politics' obsolete way of thinking and the barrage of hate speech directed against young women, this case could set in motion a reconsideration of our values," she explained in another interview with a local news media outlet. On Aug. 10, Ryu also put 100 posters around the Assembly that called fellow lawmakers' attention to her bill aimed at punishing all nonconsensual sex as rape. Currently a perpetrator can be charged with rape if the victim was unable to resist due to violence or threat, but can only be found guilty of "quazi-rape" in cases involving other factors such as the victim being unconscious. Although it is common for a lawmaker to seek support from fellow representatives to pass a bill, putting up such posters was a fresh way, a method often seen at college campuses. Seeking inclusive Assembly for the disabled Rep. Jang Hye-young, 33, is another newly elected lawmaker of the Justice Party. Jang's persistent calls to make the political landscape more favorable to the disabled led the Assembly's secretariat to officially provide a sign language interpreting service for all pre-registered press conferences held at the briefing room starting Aug. 10. This is the first time in the Assembly's 72-year history for sign language interpreters to be permanently staffed at the press room. With a sign language interpreter by her side, Jang proposed a revision bill to the National Assembly Act during a press conference, Aug. 10. The bill mandates sign language interpretation, closed captioning, audio description and braille display service when broadcasting the Assembly's decision-making processes to ensure accessibility of information for people with disabilities. The lawmaker also pointed out the problematic usage of a discriminatory term against people with disabilities during a plenary session of the strategy and finance committee at the Assembly, July 28. She explained that the word "lame" used by Rep. Lee Kwang-jae of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) to describe the weakness of finance ministry's policymaking is disablist language, but faced criticism for "quibbling over a figurative expression." However, as the National Human Rights Commission of Korea has earlier advised against using such words that can fuel prejudice and encourage negative stereotypes of people with disabilities, Jang's comment ultimately resulted in Lee making a public apology on Facebook, Aug. 6. Representing the underrepresented "I am a tenant. I've been married for three years and live in a villa (multiplex housing) in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul, with my husband after receiving a jeonse loan for newlyweds." Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party gave the speech in a plenary session, Aug. 4. Jeonse is a form of renting whereby tenants pay a large lump sum upfront, in lieu of rent, which is returned after they move out. The 30-year-old shared her own experience of being a young tenant worried about the unpredictable housing market situation. As part of a generation without proper political representation, Yong criticized both the ruling and the main opposition parties, most of whose members have no concerns about paying rent; instead, many of them will benefit from rising housing prices. "If you really care for the lives of the people who are suffering because of these housing issues, please be a representative for those who can barely achieve a minimum standard of living in a 13-square-meter home, let alone afford to have a home registered in their own name," Yong told her fellow lawmakers. Touched by her speech, ruling DPK floor leader Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon sent snacks to Yong's office in a show of gratitude. "It is noteworthy to see that some of the young first-term politicians have chosen not to succumb to the preexisting androcentric political culture and instead to focus on representing the views of young women and other important minority groups," Park Sang-hoon, chief of Political Power Plant, a grassroots organization dedicated to civic and political education, told The Korea Times. While many lawmakers used to resort to personal attacks on members of rival parties and strictly follow the party line, several first-term representatives "have used language that can promote careful examination of policy agendas," thereby demonstrating that the Assembly is more than just a battlefield between rival parties, Park added. Park remarked that although the activities of a few first-term lawmakers may not mean sweeping changes to the Assembly just yet, they do help draw attention to some fundamental problems faced by the legislative body. Actor Mammoottys latest post workout selfie which he shared on his Instagram page has gone viral, with fans concluding that the star hasnt aged in years. Sharing a couple of pictures on his Instagram page, Mammootty wrote: Work at Home! Work from Home! Home Work ! No other Work So Workout (sic). The picture has gone viral with over 98 thousand comments. On Twitter, the actors fans circulated the pictures on Sunday. Its worth mentioning that actor Dulquer Salmaan recently revealed that his father Mammootty hasnt stepped out of the house in 150 days. In June, the star gave fans a taste of his photography skills. In his Instagram post, Mammootty shared his latest clicks. He wrote: Morning guests! #myphotography #oldhobbies #stayinghome #stayingsafe (sic). Using a tripod and a telephoto lens, Mammootty clicked pictures of birds which came out extremely well. Also read: IAF pilot who served with Gunjan Saxena slams film for peddling lies, gives stern advice to Janhvi Kapoor On the career front, Mammootty awaits the release of upcoming Malayalam political thriller, One. Directed by Santosh Vishwanath, One star Mammootty in the role of Keralas chief minister. Its worth mentioning that he was recently seen playing the role of a CM, after featuring as late YS Rajasekhar Reddy, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister, in Telugu film Yatra. Mammootty had also played the role of chief minister in the Tamil film Makkal Aatchi which released in 1997. The film also stars Vishnu Unnikrishnan, Renji Panicker, Sreenivasan, Joju George and Murali Gopy in important roles while Ishaani Krishna makes her acting debut. Recently, rumours emerged that One will be heading for direct OTT release. However, the makers quickly rubbished these reports. The makers confirmed their stand to go for theatrical release via a statement. We would like to bring it to your kind attention that we are not planning to release our movie One through OTT platforms. We are looking at a theatrical release of One once the pandemic situation settles down and we get back to normalcy. Taking a moment to express our gratitude and respect to everyone in the front line relentlessly working to tackle the existing challenges. Until then, lets stay united in our distances, read the statement. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways said the retirement of its jumbo jet fleet will start on Tuesday when the first of its 31 remaining Boeing 747s takes off from Heathrow and heads to Spain to be scrapped. The COVID-19 pandemic forced BA to bring forward the retirement of the 747, which with its humped fuselage and four engines is the world's most easily recognised jetliner. The airline said in July they would all go with immediate effect. BA's first jumbo to face the scrapyard, registration G-CIVD, first entered service in 1994 and last flew in April, when mid-lockdown it flew back from Lagos, Nigeria as part of the UK's repatriation efforts. The 747 democratised global air travel in the 1970s, but fell behind modern twin-engine aircraft and now trails newer planes in fuel efficiency, making it expensive to run, particularly during the current travel slump. BA, owned by IAG , has said it is fighting for its survival due to coronavirus and needs to axe as many as 12,000 staff. Restrictions on travel between the UK and popular destinations in the United States and India have wiped out BA's most lucrative international routes, while demand for European flights has also waned due to British quarantine rules. (Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Jan Harvey) MIDDLETOWN Downtown Business District commissioners say theyve found the perfect match in bringing aboard Sandra Russo-Driska, the citys former longtime town clerk, in her new role as coordinator of the organization. Russo-Driska, who came aboard Aug. 1, worked for the city for more than 30 years, retiring in 2003. She since forged a career in leadership as general manager of the Taino restaurants in Middletown and Meriden, as well as the Inn at Middletown. She also made a foray into politics when she challenged former Mayor Dan Drew in 2015. Russo-Driska also owned her own shop, Sandra James Boutique, on upper Main Street, selling womens clothing and accessories. I love Main Street. Its a special place for my husband and I. Downtown has become a normal part of our lives, said Russo-Driska, who lives in the Village District, not far from Main Street. Jennifer Alexander, owner of Kidcity Childrens Museum and Downtown Business District commissioner, said Russo-Driska is a perfect fit for the job, considering her experience in the restaurant industry and love of the city. She really brings everything together to understand whats special about Middletown and why people come here, Alexander said. Russo-Driska is intent on enhancing the agencys social media presence, as well as its Facebook page and newly revamped website, saying, Im a sponge right now. I listen to everything. The dining business is her top priority supporting owners efforts, connecting them to resources, and other measures especially as many struggle with operating during a pandemic, where safety measures abound, outdoor dining is permitted, and inside capacity restricted to 50 percent. Each restaurant figures out whats best for them. Were waiting for Phase 3 (reopening) and whether we see an uptick [in COVID cases] if another wave hits, she said. A few retail and eateries in the city are still struggling because they lack outdoor space. Entrepreneurs reached out to Russo-Driska, saying theyre happy she took the job and she said shes been walking Main Street visiting business and building owners introducing herself to those who may not be familiar with her work. It makes me feel good. A lot of them know me either from my history with the city of Middletown, or Bruce and I being frequent customers downtown, she said. Russo-Driska derives comfort from that trust, noting. I hope that will create a relationship where were all working together, and try to help everyone survive through COVID, and the future, when everything gets back to normal and, hopefully, will be thriving. Alexander was on the search committee for a new leader of the agency. They were seeking an individual who could slide into the job. Its independent business owners, walkablility, and theres both family businesses that have been here for generations. Theres also a lot of new energy, she said. The interview panel was impressed with Russo-Driskas insight and ideas for the downtown during unprecedented times, said former DBD head Maria Kalita, who also looks to the future, hoping society will regain a type of normalcy. Russo-Driska was town clerk when the agency was born. She knows the history of the taxing district. She was born and raised in Middletown, and her love for the city and the downtown area were apparent during her interview, said Kalita, who knows the new coordinator is a strong asset. The new coordinator brings a lot of excitement to the idea of promoting Main Street, Alexander said all the more important during a pandemic. This is very special time. We needed somebody who was going to build relationships with all the different business owners and find out what they need at this time. The next six to 12 months will be difficult for business owners, Russo-Driska said. Come cold weather, theyre going to lose their going to lose their outdoor dining. Things will get tough for them, she said. Most of all, Russo-Driska realizes that, despite all the hard work, its fun running ones business, Alexander said. Shes in touch with that. The whole sense that people running businesses down here are not just in it to make a living, they have a passion about doing it. Russo-Driska encourages those who feel safe to consider supporting local restaurants. Theyve gone above and beyond to try and follow all safety guides for COVID, to be very diligent in their processes to sterilize things in between customers. I think youre going to find Middletown has done it right. Its an incredible mix of cuisines and businesses. I would love for people to give us a chance, she said. The DBD office is located at 330 Main St., Suite 200. For information, call 860-347-1424 or visit DowntownMiddletownCT on Facebook or downtownmiddletown.com. Video posted online of the incident showed the man sitting in the street next to the truck. A crowd gathered around him and repeatedly punched and kicked him in the head until he was bloody. It wasn't immediately clear what led to the crash or the confrontation. Users should probably be worried about the US Secret Service when it comes to their personal data, particularly location data. Thats because, according to recent reports, the service has been buying up access to location data from aggregators. And its been doing so in a way that explicitly bypasses due process. That leaves very little if any recourse or oversight for end-users. In fact, the discovery of the contract appears to have been mostly circumstantial. Protocol reported on the Secret Service pouring millions into the Virgian company Babel Street back in March. The US Secret Service decision to track location data was only discovered following a Freedom of Information Act request. That was then published this month by Motherboard. Specifically, the US Secret Service signed an approximately-$36,000 contract with the service Locate X. The service thats previously been used by law enforcement to catch criminals. And, between 2017 and 2018, the Secret Service was also buying up that same data via Locate X. The deal was part of an already-$2-million social media monitoring package from Babel Street. Advertisement What data does this deliver and whats the problem here? Now, the underlying problem with this discovery is, of course, accountability. Locate X, like other products of a similar nature, is an aggregate service. In effect, the service pools data thats theoretically anonymous from mobile applications. Those are the apps users are accessing on their smartphones every day. And this isnt the first time these types of uses of that data have been called into question. The aggregate data is, at least at the surface level, collected anonymously. It has traditionally been used by non-government agencies to locate and interact with users for marketing purposes. But it doesnt necessarily remain anonymous. Its often used specifically to target identified individual users. And it can be used to identify individual mobile users. So, it isnt actually anonymous with proper analysis. So it isnt immediately clear precisely how that data was used. Or whether any individual users were identified and tracked beyond the scope of crimes. At least its not possible to know without oversight or accountability afforded by the usual warrant process. And that doesnt just apply to the location data. Thats only one small piece around 1.79-percent of the $2-million tech services purchased. Advertisement How did the US Secret Service use the location data? A former employee speaking under anonymity has reportedly indicated at least one use of all that location data. Namely, it was used to catch illegal credit card skimmers installed at gas pumps in 2018. But that the specifics of that, in terms of benefits to citizens and how much data had to be processed to find those skimmers isnt apparent. Probes have been launched into some of these services where theyve been used to similar ends in the past. Particularly where theyve worked with Homeland Security. Theres also a bill dubbed The Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale thats been proposed to make these types of purchases illegal. For now, Babel Street has not responded to questions from representatives with regard to the US governments use of these services to spy on its citizens. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of the largest schools in the country to bring students to campus for in-person teaching, said Monday that it will pivot to all-remote instruction for undergraduates after testing showed a pattern of rapid spread of the novel coronavirus. The shift signaled enormous challenges ahead for those in higher education who are pushing for professors and students to be able to meet on campus. Officials announced the abrupt change just a week after classes began at the 30,000-student state flagship university. They said 177 cases of the dangerous pathogen had been confirmed among students, out of hundreds tested. Another 349 students were in quarantine, on and off campus, because of possible exposure to the virus, they said. The remote-teaching order for undergraduate classes will take effect Wednesday, and the university will take steps to allow students to leave campus housing without financial penalty. The actions are likely to reverberate in North Carolina and beyond, including other major public universities that have hopes of playing college football in the fall. UNC-Chapel Hill's Tar Heels teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference. "We understand the concern and frustrations these changes will raise with many students and parents," UNC-Chapel Hill's chancellor, Kevin Guskiewicz, and provost, Robert Blouin, wrote in a statement. "As much as we believe we have worked diligently to help create a healthy and safe campus living and learning environment, we believe the current data presents an untenable situation." The leaders pointed out a bright side: "So far, we have been fortunate that most students who have tested positive have demonstrated mild symptoms." In Chapel Hill, clusters of coronavirus cases had popped up in three residence halls and a fraternity house in the first week of the fall term, sending students into isolation and quarantine rooms and raising faculty worries about how far the virus will spread in the campus community. The public health conditions at UNC-Chapel Hill were being closely watched as colleges and universities around the country move this month toward the first day of class, some with entirely remote instruction and others with a mix of teaching online and in person. Among 100 major public universities - two per state - an analysis from Davidson College found that 23 have plans to teach primarily in person or offer a "hybrid" of face-to-face and online. Those with in-person plans, the analysis found, include the universities of Alabama, Georgia, Iowa and Kentucky. Reports have emerged of risky gatherings of students in close quarters, without masks, in college towns including Tuscaloosa, home of the University of Alabama, and Dahlonega, home of the University of North Georgia. A cluster of 23 confirmed coronavirus cases also hit a sorority house at Oklahoma State University. At the University of Notre Dame, which is also one week into its term, there have been 58 confirmed coronavirus cases this month. The prestigious Catholic university, with 12,000 students, is teaching primarily in person. But Notre Dame officials are keeping a close eye on off-campus parties in South Bend, Ind. "That has caused us concern," Paul Browne, the university's vice president for public affairs and communications, said. In the week before class started Aug. 10 at UNC-Chapel Hill, 10 students and one employee tested positive, according to the university. But clusters of cases piled up in the residences known as Granville Towers, Ehringhaus and Hinton James, as well as the Sigma Nu fraternity house, according to text alerts the university sent students in recent days. A UNC-Chapel Hill dashboard shows 130 students tested positive last week out of 954 tested. Five employees also tested positive. "After only one week of campus operations, with growing numbers of clusters and insufficient control over the off-campus behavior of students (and others), it is time for an off-ramp," Barbara Rimer, dean of public health at UNC-Chapel Hill, wrote in a statement Monday. "We have tried to make this work, but it is not working." Faculty, too, were calling for a review of the situation. "The fact that it is happening this early in the school year, just a week into classes, has everyone quite concerned and quite alarmed, quite frankly," said Mimi V. Chapman, a professor of social work who is chair of the UNC-Chapel Hill faculty. Clusters are defined as at least five cases in a residence. The public university has about 20,000 undergraduates and 10,000 graduate students. This month it is housing about 5,800 students in campus housing - less than two-thirds of capacity - with many more students living off campus in Chapel Hill and nearby communities. More than half of classes had at least some in-person teaching on opening day, although many faculty have been switching in recent weeks to all-online delivery. Before the first day of class, university officials said they were confident in their plans but would closely monitor how many cases emerge and other data, including the number of students in quarantine. Officials say many students appear to be taking public health seriously. Masks are worn all around campus, they said, and students are maintaining physical distance from each other when they go to class. "It has been heartening to hear reports from faculty and staff and to experience for myself the excellent compliance on campus this week," the provost, Blouin, wrote Thursday. "Our goal, certainly, is full participation both on campus and off among all members of our Carolina community." But they were deeply concerned about gatherings off campus. The UNC-Chapel Hill chancellor, Guskiewicz, wrote a letter recently warning fraternities and sororities and other groups that they must follow health rules. One dorm was set aside to isolate those who test positive and another to quarantine those who had come into close contact with confirmed cases. One first-year student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for privacy reasons, told The Washington Post on Monday that she had been in quarantine since Thursday night. This student said the problem arose because she had breakfast one day just off campus with a classmate who later tested positive. "I was definitely worried," she said. "I kind of broke down when I first got here." But she said she has adjusted and is resigned to waiting for her viral test results and living apart from her peers for two weeks. She said her meals are delivered, including a turkey sandwich for lunch and grilled chicken for dinner, as well as a supply of Pop-Tarts, oatmeal and cans of soup. "I was told I could only leave if I need a breath of fresh air," she said. It took Otis Mallet 12 years, three months and 16 days to clear his name. District Judge Ramona Franklin signed a request from Harris County prosecutors to dismiss Mallets drug conviction, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Monday. Mallets case is the first of more than 150 convictions that prosecutors say could be overturned because of lies or fraudulent testimony from a former Houston police officer now charged with murder. The findings of Judge Franklin, the Court of Criminal Appeals, and the wording of the States dismissals all prove that Mr. Mallet is innocent of the crimes he was wrongfully convicted of years ago, said Mallets attorney, Jonathan Landers, calling the cases conclusion long overdue. It began in 2008, when former narcotics officer Gerald Goines arrested Mallet and accused him of selling drugs. He maintained his innocence, but a jury sentenced him to eight years. He spent two years behind bars before being paroled. His appeals failed. Still, he kept fighting, and asked for post-conviction relief. His case sat for years. Out of Control: Damning HPD narcotics audit reveals hundreds of errors Then in early 2019, Goines led a raid on a house in southeast Houston with other members of Narcotics Squad 15, ostensibly looking for heroin. The raid devolved into a firefight that killed homeowners Rhogena Nicholas and Dennis Tuttle. Five officers were injured, including one who remains paralyzed. Authorities didnt find any heroin and later said Goines had lied about the drug buy used to justify the raid on 7815 Harding St. The Houston Police Department, the Harris County District Attorneys Office and the FBI launched investigations into the raid. Prosecutors eventually tossed dozens of active cases linked to Goines and his partner, Steven Bryant, and announced a review of thousands of past cases that they or other members of their squad had worked on. Investigators later accused Goines of lying about buying drugs from the home, prompting additional probes by the Harris County District Attorneys Office and the FBI. Prosecutors said they believed that Goines lied when he arrested Mallet. Goines is now charged with murder and other crimes. Five of his fellow former officers have also been charged with crimes related to lying on documents or overtime. The former officers trials have not yet been set. In February, Mallet appeared in Franklins court, where the judge said she agreed with prosecutors and would recommend the states highest criminal court declare Mallet innocent. What a miscarriage of justice we have all witnessed with your case, Mr. Mallet, she said, at the time. WRONG DOOR: Botched Houston drug raid not the first The case sat at the states Criminal Court of Appeals until July, when the court issued a two-page ruling declaring him actually innocent. Then on Friday, Franklin formally dismissed the two cases that led to Mallets 12-year saga. In her motions, Ogg said no credible evidence exists against Mallet and that his convictions were the direct result of lies Goines made at trial. The innocence finding from the CCA rather than just a finding that he is entitled to a new trial means Mallet will be eligible for compensation under the Tim Cole Act. Prosecutors have asked that judges appoint attorneys to review more than 160 other cases. A Harris County judge has also recommended Mallets brother, Steven Mallet, be declared innocent. A third defendant, sentenced in 2017 to two years probation after pleading guilty to buying $10 worth of crack, also had her case overturned, though she was not declared actually innocent. No matter how long it takes, we are going to see that justice is done for every person victimized by this corrupt officer, Ogg said Monday. [Mallets] dismissal is a down payment on restoring community trust in our criminal justice system. st.john.smith@chron.com (Photo : Pixabay) (Photo : Pixabay) (Photo : Unsplash) A breakthrough for CanSino Biologics, Inc., being the first local vaccine company of the province of China to be approved of a patent to a Novel coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine, Reuters said. State media, People's Daily, reported last Sunday, August 17, 2020, that CanSino Biologics, Inc., a Chinese biopharmaceutical firm, has been approved by China to patent a COVID-19 vaccine called Ad5-nCoV. This vaccine from CanSino is the first patent that has been given concerning vaccine development in the country. China's National Intellectual Property Administration granted the firm a patent last August 11 but is only publicized on Sunday. China Global Television Network reported that this vaccine is developed by a military infectious disease expert, Chen Wei, a Chinese military general, and virologist. CanSino Biologics said that this patent ensures the vaccine's safety and efficacy demonstrated in the ownership of the intellectual property. Tao Lina, a Chinese vaccine expert, also supported this statement by saying that the patent would promote market confidence and marketing process, placing trust in the Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccine. The Chinese Intellectual Property Administration also stated that in case of an outbreak triggered by the virus, the CanSino Biologics vaccine could be mass-produced and used. Currently, Reuters stated that Saudi Arabia is using the CanSino-made vaccine for the Phase Three clinical trials in their country. Alongside this, CanSino collaborates with participant countries such as Russia, Brazil, and Chile to launch the same Phase Three Clinical Trials for the Chinese vaccine. ALSO READ: Experts Say Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine is 'Scary', But Some Countries Already Pre-Ordered A Billion Doses The Worldwide search for a COVID-19 Vaccine CanSino's efforts led to a patenting of the first coronavirus vaccine made by China. This is just one of the country's many vaccines that are in development as of the moment. Pharmaceutical companies worldwide have been in a race that is aiming to procure a vaccine for the pandemic that struck the world. Other players Russia's vaccine is the most notable one because of the recent announcement of President Vladimir Putin. The announcement boasted the country being the first to create a viable vaccine for COVID-19. However, speculations and issues rise that questioned the Russian vaccine's effectiveness and harm. Sputnik V has stirred quite a buzz about the vaccine development; but, it is considered development and breakthrough by some countries despite its Russian Health Ministry lead quit right after the announcement. The US and UK are also frontrunners for the vaccine development with several of the country's biopharmaceutical firms and universities creating a vaccine that is now on its clinical trials and Phase three final approval. Reuters cites India's efforts in the procurement of the vaccine with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that a vaccine is ready for mass-production, only awaiting scientists' directives. Japan is falling behind as it just enters Phase 1 of development, with Professor Yoshiharu Matsuura stating that the country takes its time in procuring a vaccine. China's domination in COVID vaccines As the world struggles to produce a vaccine widely used for mass use, China leads the development by stating that they have promising results in their laboratories. CanSino Biologics prove this, saying that their newly-approved patent would be a frontrunner in the vaccine race. Nikkei attributes 29 total pharmaceutical companies in the clinical trial phases, and nine are in China. Also, of seven drugs in Phase Three, five belongs to Chinese laboratories. The country boasts that their vaccines would be in practical use in the coming months earlier than that of the US' target in January of 2021. ALSO READ: 2021 Tokyo Olympics Cancelled: Japan Wants COVID-19 Vaccine and Cure Before Games Start This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Isaiah Alonzo 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. During the first half of 2020, National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) has opened 406 criminal proceedings and served 125 people with charges. "Over the past six months, we have initiated 406 criminal proceedings, 125 people have been served with charges, 33 cases have been sent to court. In total, five convictions have been handed down against six people," NABU Director Artem Sytnyk said during a briefing at the Ukrinform news agency. According to him, the economic effect of work in the first half of 2020 amounted to more than UAH 1.5 billion, of which almost 700 million was compensation for damages caused to state-owned enterprises. "Lawmakers voluntarily returned more than UAH 1.5 million for illegally obtained compensation for housing. [NABU] also prevented the embezzlement of almost UAH 800 million. The state budget has already received UAH 65 million paid in form of bails posted by suspects," Sytnyk noted. NABU currently has 653 employees, including 245 detectives, he added. As reported, on July 20, Poland's Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CAB) detained Slawomir Nowak, the former Polish transport minister who later headed Ukraine's State Road Agency (Ukravtodor), for corruption and activities in a criminal organization. Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) reported later that they, together with Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, CAB and the District Prosecutor's Office, were conducting searches in Kyiv, Lviv, and Poland as part of a joint investigation into the activities of a criminal organization in the road industry. ol MINSK, Belarus - More workers in Belarus joined a widening strike Tuesday to press for the resignation of authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko, who has extended his 26-year rule in an election the opposition says was rigged. Lukashenko has refused to step down following a harsh police crackdown on peaceful protesters in the days after the Aug. 9 vote. In a move intended to secure the loyalty of law enforcement agencies amid the demonstrations and strikes, he signed a decree honouring over 300 police officers for their service. The opposition denounced the awards as a national insult following the suppression of protests with rubber bullets, stun grenades and clubs. Nearly 7,000 people were detained, hundreds were injured and at least two people died. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, insisted the awards werent linked to the crackdown that has galvanized public anger and drawn international criticism. In a tacit recognition of a split in the ranks, the ministrys spokeswoman said in a statement that some officers had resigned under pressure and threats from the opposition. She didnt say how many quit. Lukashenkos actions prompted thousands including workers at state-controlled factories and plants, actors and broadcasters to walk off the job. The prospect of a nationwide shutdown was an unprecedented challenge to Lukashenko, who has relied on blue-collar workers as his base of support. During Mondays visit to a factory in Minsk he was heckled and jeered by workers shouting Go away! The authorities should understand that they are losing control, head of an independent miners union Yuri Zakharov told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Only Lukashenkos resignation and punishment of those in charge of rigging and beatings can calm us down. The strike will continue and grow until he steps down. The labour action that began Monday quickly grew to several major industrial plants, including a factory that accounts for a fifth of the worlds potash fertilizer output. In the city of Soligorsk, home to the giant Belaruskali factory, strike organizer Anatoly Bokun said workers at all potash mines have halted work. The factory, which employs 16,000, is Belarus major cash earner. They are putting pressure on us and threatening us with mass dismissals, but we will not return to work until Lukashenko steps down, Bokun said as thousands of workers joined a rally. They have stolen our choice, said 32-year-old Gleb Sandros. What else can we do to stop the authorities arbitrary and lawless action? Belarus ambassador to Slovakia, Igor Leshchenya, became the first government official to challenge Lukashenko on Saturday when he posted a video supporting the protests before handing in his resignation. He was joined Tuesday by the ambassador to Spain, Pavel Pustavy, who posted a statement on Facebook urging authorities to recount the vote and prosecute those who beat protesters. Some workers at state-controlled television and the troupe of the nations most prominent theatre also joined the protests. Nearly 1,000 people gathered in front of the Janka Kupala National Theater in Minsk to support members of its troupe who quit en masse after its director, Pavel Latushko, was fired for siding with protesters. They heckled and jeered the culture minister who visited the theatre and then threw a stack of resignation letters at his feet. On Tuesday, Latushko, who was culture minister and then ambassador to France before taking the theatre directors job, emerged from a meeting of opposition activists who discussed forming a co-ordination council to negotiate a transition of power. He later told reporters of the growing dissent among public servants, many of whom support the protests. We are tired of law enforcement agencies effectively running the country, he said. The co-ordination council must help return the country to the rule of law. On Tuesday, workers searching a wooded area found the body of Konstantin Shishmakov, who headed a small military history museum in Volkovysk near the Polish border. He was a member of an election commission and exposed alleged falsifications in the Aug. 9 balloting. Local police said they found no evidence of a crime, but the death has raised suspicions of foul play. Several hundred demonstrators also gathered outside a detention centre in Minsk where the husband of Lukashenkos top challenger in the vote, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, was being held to cheer him on his 42nd birthday. Tsikhanouskaya joined the race after the jailing of her husband, Sergei, a popular opposition blogger who had wanted to run for president. Last week, Tsikhanouskaya left for neighbouring Lithuania in a move her campaign said was made under duress. On Monday, she declared her readiness to act as a national leader to facilitate a new election. Her top associate, Maria Kolesnikova, said the oppositions co-ordination council should help create the mechanism for a peaceful transition of power. Lukashenko, a 65-year-old former state farm director who has been in office since 1994, described the opposition councils meeting as an attempt to grab power and warned that the government will take adequate steps to cool those hotheads. Western officials refused to recognize the election as free or fair and criticized the violent crackdown. The U.N. Security Council scheduled a closed-door discussion of Belarus on Tuesday, and European Union leaders are to discuss it on Wednesday. The EU has anxiously watched a response from Russia, which has a union agreement with Belarus envisaging close political, economic and military ties. Lukashenko spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin twice over the weekend and said that the Russian leader promised him security assistance if Belarus needs it. In an apparent bid to persuade Moscow to offer more energetic support, Lukashenko has accused NATO of bolstering its forces on Belarus borders and harbouring aggressive plans claims the alliance has dismissed. He also accused his opponents of planning to annul the union treaty with Russia and ban the Russian language that is widely spoken and serves as a second state language along with Belarusian. The opposition rejected those allegations. Russia has remained tight-lipped and said nothing about possible security assistance. Putin on Tuesday had phone calls with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council President Charles Michel to discuss developments in Belarus. Merkels spokesman Steffen Seibert said she underlined that the Belarusian government must refrain from violence against peaceful protesters, immediately release political prisoners and enter into a national dialogue with the opposition and (civil) society to overcome the crisis. According to Macrons office, he underscored the EUs determination to play a constructive role at the side of Belarus people so that the violence toward the population stops immediately and try to help expedite a political solution. Terse readouts from the Kremlin said Putin underlined the need to refrain from foreign interference in Belarus affairs. Lukashenkos office later said Putin called to inform him about conversations with Merkel and Macron, but the Kremlin didnt report the conversation. Asked about developments in the country, President Donald Trump said it doesnt seem like theres too much democracy there in Belarus. But we are speaking to lots of people and well be speaking at the appropriate time to Russia and well be speaking to other people that are involved, he said. - Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed. Parents push back against Wash. state sex ed bill; gov. expected to sign Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Despite considerable public pushback, Washington state lawmakers have approved a comprehensive sex education curriculum in legislation for public school students some parents say is tantamount to grooming. According to MyNorthwest, Republicans in the Evergreen state strongly resisted the measure, at one point even attempting to add more than 200 amendments to impede the bill from advancing. Conservative legislators contended that the material was not age-appropriate and that it usurps the parent-child relationship. "I'm not sure why we're rushing to remove the innocence of our youth," Rep. Mike Steele, R-Clehan, said in a house floor speech last week. "We put so much on them. I don't know why we think it's appropriate to put more, to put such weight upon their backs at such young ages. This is heavy, heavy material." Democratic defenders of the legislation maintained that the bill is vital for children. The hard work that we put into this bill in both the House and Senate is well worth it because it will improve safety for children statewide, said the bills sponsor, Democratic Sen. Claire Wilson. We must ensure that our kids have the tools and knowledge they need to recognize and resist inappropriate behavior." Around the country, particularly in politically liberal states, sex-ed curriculum and recommended resources that feature explicit descriptions of various sexual acts and cartoon images that appear pornographic have been contested by parents who do not want their children exposed to it, prompting activism, including sit-outs where children are withdrawn from school in protest of graphic sex ed. Also included in the controversial lessons is the promotion of the idea that some people might be born in the wrong body and that biological sex exists on a spectrum. Beth Daranciang, a Seattle resident who was a Republican candidate for state senator and an activist for the protection of children and women, commented in an email to The Christian Post Monday that influential interest groups appear to be calling the shots. "The Democrats in Washington are heavily funded by Planned Parenthood and their allies. Planned Parenthood helped develop the curriculum and is frequently mentioned in the curriculum as a resource," Daranciang said. "Planned Parenthood benefits when teens and young adults get contraceptives, STI testing and abortions from them. A new program of PP provides hormone therapy for transgender patients. Those hormones are expensive and life-long, which is a huge benefit to Planned Parenthood's business model," she added. Kim Wendt, a Tacoma-area mom and co-founder of Informed Parents of Washington, told The Christian Post in a phone interview Monday that the curriculum is being presented as necessary and full of vital tools for children. Her parent group believes, however, that this is all part a larger more nefarious agenda to sexualize children. "Backed by Planned Parenthood and my guess would be the porn industry," she mused, noting that this is a worldwide movement being fought at the smallest, most rural school districts in the United States all the way to the United Nations. "It's well-funded and it's meant to sexualize our children all the way down to kindergarten." Wendt recounted that Seattle-area police officers have gone on local radio stations and, having viewed some of the content in the CSE lessons, said that with their work in the human trafficking division, the material mirrors how traffickers groom their child victims to enter the sex trade. Wendt and Daranciang were both present in the room until approximately 2 a.m. early Thursday morning when the bill was finally voted on. "To me, it was just obvious that it was an agenda. There were very reasonable amendments put forth and every one of them was shot down and it was on party-line and there was no negotiation." "So it was obvious that there was something pushing the Democrats to push this through," she reiterated. "So there's a lot of power behind it and money. They didn't get it through last year, they took a lot of flack so they made sure it went through this year." She urged parents to get involved at the school board level. While a provision exists that teachers do not have to teach every lesson specifically set forth in the curricula, parents need to be engaged locally because truth and transparency coming from the state as to what is being taught is scarce, particularly given how sex ed lessons are being integrated with other subjects where students cannot opt out, she noted. "Parents really need to wake up and pay attention to what is being put in their schools," she stressed. "They need to engage at the school board level to make sure they know fully what is being taught." When the bill was being considered, members of the local Satanic Temple, dressed in head-to-toe black, rallied at the state capitol to support the bill. Gov. Jay Inslee, a liberal Democrat, is expected to sign the legislation. Washington House Republican leader J.T. Wilcox and Senate Republican leader Mark Schoesler announced in a Sunday joint press release obtained by CP that they were forming a committee called Parents for Safe Schools, which is committed to having the governor veto the bill and should he refuse, rally Washington parents to overturn it through a referendum at the ballot box. Rep. Wilcox said: I am a father and a grandfather. These are young children. The youngest are still learning to tie their shoes. The state is going to take away parental rights and force a curriculum that is not age appropriate. That is outrageous. Nothing we do in Olympia is more important than protecting our kids. We will fight this with every tool at our disposal. For a referendum to appear on the November ballot, 129,811 signatures will have be to gathered by June 10. Covid-19 has given a strong push to the digital transformation process in the last half of the year. However, this remains out of reach of small and medium sized enterprises. Customer experience, according to Nguyen Van Phi, CEO of Son Kim Retail, is one of the most important keywords in the retail industry. Son Kim on July 31 signed a contract with Hitachi Vantara Vietnam on comprehensive management, sales and business solutions for Son Kim Retial and Son Kim Mode. The deployment of the ERP system (enterprise resource planning) is hoped to upgrade performance as well as competitiveness, and expand operation scale. In early May, Loc Troi Group signed a contract with Citek on the deployment of SAP S/4HANA, an ERP system. Prior to that, FPT Group last March signed an MOU on cooperation to step up digital transformation with three largest timber associations in Vietnam, including HCM City (Hawa), Dong Nai (Dowa) and Binh Duong (Bifa) wood processing associations. Enterprises in the woodwork industry have high interest in IT application and they want to optimize production, design and business with high technologies, said Nguyen Chanh Phuong, deputy chair of Hawa. The increased interest by Vietnams enterprises in digital transformation is reflected in large solution providers. FPT, for example, reported revenue of VND1.773 trillion from digital transformation services in H1, an increase of 65 percent. Phuong told VnExpress that there would be as many 50 online showrooms to introduce wooden furniture products with 3D display. The increased interest by Vietnams enterprises in digital transformation is reflected in large solution providers. FPT, for example, reported revenue of VND1.773 trillion from digital transformation services in H1, an increase of 65 percent. The revenue from the sale of made-by-FPT products in the domestic market alone increased by 28 percent compared with the same period. Viettel also reported that its subsidiaries providing digital transformation products saw revenue increasing sharply in February. Viettel Business Solutions Corporation reported a 111 percent growth rate, and Digital Viettel 107 percent. However, while large enterprises have geared up with digital transformation, SMEs remain indifferent. A survey by the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (Vinasa) found that enterprises carrying out digital transformation accounted for 15 percent, while 99 percent of SMEs have problems in capital. Nguyen Dinh Tue from the HCMC Union of Business Association (HUBA) commented that SMEs are not in hurry about digital transformation. Tue thinks that SMEs still do not understand all the benefits that digital transformation can bring. Second, they dont know about the costs and benefits from investments, so they do not make decisions. And they dont know what they should do to start the digital transformation process. Kim Chi E-government growth to closely connect with smart city, digital transformation The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has just held a consultation session with businesses about proper strategies for e-government development in the period from 2021 2025, with a vision to 2030. Meat producer Cranswick says Britons eating at home during lockdown has helped to 'comfortably offset' any lost revenues from eating out. The meat firm, which produces pork, bacon, sausages and poultry, expects earnings to normalise for the rest of the financial year, however, as more people return to consuming food and drink in restaurants, pubs and bars. Shares in Cranswick were up 6.6 per cent to 40.76 after it revealed that its year-on-year revenues climbed by 24.8 per cent between April and June 27 as customers were forced to do more home cooking. Eating at home boosted Cranswick's revenues by 25 per cent during the quarter Cranswick, which owns farms and supplies pork and chicken to British grocery retailers, also said it benefited from the opening of its 78million production facility in Eye, Suffolk and the gaining of new contracts. The FTSE 250 firm's earnings have grown strongly in the last year thanks to burgeoning demand in the Far East, with revenues rising by 230million in the previous financial year and pre-tax profits increasing by 17.5million. Three new businesses were acquired by Cranswick during the year; the Mediterranean food products supplier Katsouris Brothers, free range pork producer Packington Pork, and the Buckle family pig operations in February. The success for Cranswick follows a year when meat sales were expected to fall due to the rise of veganism. Chief executive Adam Crouch said his employees 'have responded brilliantly during these extraordinary and unparalleled times' and that the firm 'have made a strong start to the year.' He added: 'Whilst we remain cautious about the longer-term economic impact of Covid-19 and the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing Brexit negotiations we are well-positioned to address these challenges. 'Our positive momentum reflects the continued investment we make across our asset base and the quality and capability of our colleagues across the business.' Cranswick owns farms and supplies pork and chicken to British grocery retailers Cranswick implemented numerous safety measures in March in response to the coronavirus, such as social distancing and additional cleaning and hygiene standards in order for its sites to continue working. The company also offered a 500 bonus to site-based staff at the end of June, as a reward for their work throughout the pandemic and provided NHS workers with sandwiches and sausage rolls. For the coming year, it expects its outlook to be 'ahead of its previous expectations'. However, Cranswick retains a cautious outlook due to Brexit, trade deal negotiations, and the long-term impacts of the coronavirus. Under the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, customers eating at certain restaurants can get a 50 per cent discount worth up to 10 on their meals if they eat out on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday It could also be negatively impacted by people returning to eating meals outside the home. The UK government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme has proven very popular since it began at the start of the month. In the past fortnight, restaurants have been on average 27 per cent more occupied than they were on the same day last year, according to online restaurant-reservation service firm OpenTable. Under the initiative, customers eating in at certain hospitality venues can get a 50 per cent discount worth up to 10 per person if they eat out on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Chain restaurants that are using the scheme include burger place Byron, Nando's, pub operators Greene King and Shepherd Neame, and Wagamama. (TNS) Businesses are installing new thermal imaging kiosks to check employees and visitors for high temperatures and even face coverings.Watkins Security, LLC, a Johnstown-based company that specializes in networks and security systems, introduced the technology in response to interest from the local business community that is continuing efforts to protect people from COVID-19.Watkins Security, LLC, President Christopher Watkins said its a form of artificial intelligence or deep learning technology.There is a paradigm brewing. The market is heading to these types of systems fast response, automatic. Every little second matters, he said. It is really perfect technology for our current COVID-19 situation. The temperature-scanning kiosk uses advanced facial recognition and provides an accurate temperature within about one second.Those using the scanner do not have to touch any buttons. They stop within three feet of the screen for one second and their temperature is provided.The technology can also be programmed to provide alerts for anyone with temperatures over the normal range as well as to remind those not wearing a mask to please put one on.Watkins said units cost $3,000 and are supplied from a Florida-based vendor.Area businesses are only beginning to purchase and install them. The technology has been implemented in six Head Start early childhood programs across the county. The centers are set to open Monday.Head Start is provided through the Community Action Partnership of Cambria County, which is led by Executive Director Jeff Vaughn, who said the kiosks were purchased with CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act funding. Vaughn said he researched vendors to ensure there were no parts manufactured in China which would disqualify the devices from being bought with funding supplied to businesses from the CARES Act.The kiosk contains a thermal imaging camera that provides an outline of a persons head and provides a temperature reading.If their temperature is over 100.4 degrees, then it will flag red. It can also identify whether a person is wearing a mask, Vaughn said. It will send a text or email to our Head Start health and safety supervisor.I think you will start to see them in different places, he said. It looks like a large cellphone on a pole. It recognizes your face and displays your temperature.The kiosks software can also be enabled for facial recognition, which could be utilized in high-security businesses, Watkins said.Cambria Regional Chamber of Commerce President Amy Bradley foresees many companies using the kiosks.A lot of companies are trying to keep employees and customers safe, Bradley said. And this technology is so simple. It works with companies existing employee badge systems and door entry systems. Yes No I think I caught it, but never got tested I'm waiting for a better variant Vote View Results Democracy at its ironical best View(s): Democracy, whilst being accepted as the best form of governance by most countries in the world, is yet known for many shortcomings. The commonest of the shortcomings are: Misuse of public funds and time Populism Rule by incompetent, irresponsible and corrupt leaders Going for short term gains Money-power to influence voters Tyranny of the majority, leading to internal wars In the August 5 General Elections in Sri Lanka, in a twist of irony, the people overwhelmingly voted into power leaders known for authoritarian governance, over liberal democracy. The reason is that when comparing the two modes of governance, both of which the people had seen, they chose militarised authoritarian governance over liberal democracy because they had seen the aforesaid rampant shortcomings in the so-called Yahapalana Government (The good governance Government)irony upon irony! Democracy is defined as Government of the people, by the people, for the people. Militarised authoritarian governance per se is contrary to democracy. But, what can anyone say when the people, exercising their democratic rights, have sacrificed liberal democracy in preference to authoritarian militarised governance? This ironical situation reminds me of a speech made by Dr. Colvin R. de Silva at an election meeting in the mid 1960s. He referred to the capitalist bourgeoisies describing Communism and Marxism as a monster. Drawing a parallel, he said that in the days gone by, baby-sitters quietened babies saying, Onna babo Billa enawa. (Baby, the monster is coming) But, he said, todays babies will cry till they are shown the Billa. What prophetic words! In the ensuing elections an SLFP-led Left-heavy coalition party defeated the UNP government and came to power. Those of us who shouted foul at the authoritarian actions of the Rajapaksa regime, will have to do some re-thinking. Just now, I am in a flat spin trying to reconcile with the reconciliation of two irreconcilables, democracy and authoritarianism. Populism in politics is a dicey game. Leaders make promises without seeing the feasibility of granting/implementing such promises, purely to win votes, leaving the voters disappointed and angry when unable to fulfil the promises. The rift becomes highly volatile when the disappointed supporters have been the kingmakers and have invested in large measure with a view to garner their private agendas having massive stakes. The assassination of Prime Minister SWRD Bandaranaike, conspired by Buddharakkitha Thero in 1959, is a case in point. God forbid such an eventuality because this may be the last chance we have to raise our country to its true potential. A highly professional security apparatus is also the need of the day. Great expectations are there that this government will deliver the goods. True, such expectations have been there with every new government, but those expectations were relegated to the limbo of forgotten things. This Government, however, is a government with a difference. The leaders of this new Government have already achieved the impossible many a time. How it will get the economy to an even keel will be a miracle yet unsurpassed. Peace, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish, and is most important. As for lasting peace, much would depend on how magnanimous the Government will be to the minorities, not forgetting what portents are there in tyranny of the majority. The Government is in a commanding position where, should wise counsel prevail, and minority rights and aspirations respected, that elusive peace should be getable. Apart from internal squabbles that may arise, taming the Sinhala-Buddhist extremists will be a Herculean task. Rule of law is non-negotiable under whatever backing or pressure. The judiciary has now an additional role to play when the legislature and the executive fail the people. Failure and falling short of expectations on all fronts, including the judiciary, are the reality we are confronted with, and have been confronted for some time to this day. (The writer is a Retired Senior Superintendent of Police. He can be contacted at seneviratnetz@gmail.com) WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - A Florida man arrested after police discovered more than two dozen pipe bombs near his home was found dead in his jail cell with a torn sheet wrapped around his neck, authorities said Monday. The Palm Beach County Sheriffs Office said in a statement that Gregory Haasze was found unconscious Saturday night and could not be revived. The county medical examiner will determine if the death was a suicide, the sheriffs office said. Haaze had been jailed since Wednesday night after his arrest by Boynton Beach police officers. They had been called to a dead-end street after reports of an explosion. Investigators found remnants of an exploded pipe bomb and several undetonated bombs along the roadway. They sealed off the area and the Palm Beach County sheriffs bomb squad disabled the devices. A neighbour told them a man named Greg who lived nearby makes bombs and sometimes detonates them in vacant lots. Officers also found a box in a trash bin with Haaszes name on it and found several bombs and gunpowder. They say Haasze soon approached officers and told them he was the reason they were there. Investigators say he told them he had been making bombs for years and had made some of the devices for this past Fourth of July. He said he never meant to hurt anyone, saying he put the screws, nails and pellets in the bombs to remove tree stumps. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had taken over the investigation. Haasze had been charged with 26 state felony counts of making, possessing and placing a destructive device and held on $130,000 bond. Canadian company wants tech workers affected by U.S. immigration ban Foreign tech workers may find silver lining with Canadian tech businesses Canadian company wants tech workers affected by U.S. immigration ban Foreign tech workers may find silver lining with Canadian tech businesses Canadian company wants tech workers affected by U.S. immigration ban Foreign tech workers may find silver lining with Canadian tech businesses Mohanad Moetaz Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A What if my visa gets cancelled? What if I lose my job and health insurance? Those are the messages on nine billboards around Silicon Valley, the hub of innovation and technology in the San Francisco Bay Area of Southern Californiaand a Canadian company is behind them. Communitech is using this ad campaign to target foreign tech workers in the Bay Area who are affected by the U.S. immigration ban. The company will offer tech workers a work permit as well as health insurance. The work permit will be processed quickly through the Global Talent Stream. In June, U.S. President Donald Trump suspended immigration for the remainder of 2020 for certain visa holders. This includes H1-B visas that are issued to highly-skilled tech immigrants. Some foreign tech workers in the U.S. have been worried about their employment and immigration status since the ban, and a Canadian tech company Communitech is looking to capitalize on that. We are all looking for great talent and I think the great thing about Canada is that it is a very welcoming place. We do care about diversity and inclusion, said the CEO of Communitech, Iain Klugman, speaking to ABC7 News. While the reason behind the immigration ban in the U.S. is to preserve employment for American citizens, Klugman recognizes that each foreign tech worker that comes to Canada creates a number of jobs for Canadians. According to Klugman, that number is between six and 19. Many Silicon Valley CEOs are also facing difficulty hiring talent from all over the world. Michael Worry, CEO of Nuvation Engineering appreciates that Canada does well at accelerating these systems, AB7 News reports. Canada makes it considerably easier for Canadian employers to recruit highly skilled talent through the Global Talent Stream. The processing time is just two weeks after the employer submits a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), which also takes two weeks. The LMIA is a document an employer needs to obtain before hiring a foreign worker. The purpose of the document is to show that there no Canadian or permanent resident is available to fill the position. An employer would need to be eligible for one of two categories through the Global Talent Stream. Category A requires the employer to be referred by a designated referral partner, except in Quebec where the referral must come from a Quebec partner. In the case of Communitech, this requirement would be waived, since Communitech itself is a designated referral partner. Contact a lawyer who can help with Canadian work permits The candidate must have advanced knowledge of the industry, hold an advanced degree and have five years of experience. The annual base salary offered must be north of $80,000, depending on the occupations prevailing wage. As for Category B, the employer must be hiring for one of twelve occupations. The salary of the position also depends on the occupations prevailing wage. In addition to the Global Talent Stream, Canadas provinces also boast tech-specific immigration streams such as the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program Tech Pilot, as well as Ontario Tech Draws. The U.S. immigration ban paves the way for Canada to emerge as a leader in technology and innovation, taking advantage of the countrys welcoming immigration policy. Get a free Canadian immigration assessment #Canada | Would you move to Canada? 9 billboards like this one are hoping to lure international #tech workers to move to #TheNorth offering: Job Health Insurance H-1B visa in 10 day@abc7newsbayarea pic.twitter.com/k73DXsuBs3 Luz Pena (@LuzPenaABC7) August 10, 2020 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved Iran's Armed Forces General Command said in a statement on Monday that cyber-threats from "any government, group or person and at any level will be "mightily reciprocated, warning about cyber operations from foreign countries in "political, economic, social or cultural" areas, including elections. Iranian authorities have admitted on several occasions that the country's online infrastructure had been targeted by other governments, but always claimed that the cyberattacks were unsuccessful. In June and July, a series of suspicious explosions and fires broke out across the country, including a massive explosion at Iran's main nuclear establishment in Natanz and another explosion at a military site near Tehran, incidents that some said could have been caused by cyberattacks. Earlier in February, an official of the Telecommunications Infrastructures Company had admitted that a cyberattack had disrupted Internet services but eventually was repelled, with experts calling the botnet attack "massive". From the text of the Armed Forces General Commands statement, however, it appears that Iranian authorities are concerned about more than DDoS attacks, including botnet attacks to steal data, send spam, access the device and its connection, or other forms of sabotage. The statement broadens the definition of attack to include just about anything involving the medium of the Internet that Iranian authorities may perceive as hostile or as a "threat to national security. The statement declares that the Armed Forces believe that territorial sovereignty and jurisdiction of states apply to "all areas of their cyberspace, and that any deliberate use of cyber influence "with or without physical consequences" will be reciprocated. These acts include any outside cyber activity "which poses a threat to national security" or "causes instability, whether political, economic, social or cultural, which the statement calls "violations of the sovereignty of the state. The statement also stresses that cyber interference with the aim of "regime change," including "cyber-manipulation of elections or engineering the public opinion ahead of an election," can be considered "plain intervention. The current U.S. administration, which has taken a tough stance against Tehran, endorses regime change in the country, and has based its traditional and social media propaganda against the Iranian regime around the same principle. "Cyber operations that target websites in order to provoke tension and conflict in a state or the use of the cyberspace to send messages on a wide scale to voters to influence election results can be considered as examples of banned intervention," the Armed Forces statement says. Recently, the U.S. State Department's Reward for Justice Program sent a message to some Iranians asking them to provide information on foreign attempts to interfere in U.S. elections "through computer fraud or hacking" in return for a cash reward. The message was sent to mobile phones of a population which appeared to be social media users. In October 2019 Irans Passive Defense Organization Chief Brigadier-General Gholamreza Jalali said that America has started its cyber war against Iran" without providing more details, but vowed to ward off the threats through "cyber defense. In May 2019, he alleged that the U.S. used social media for media-based and psychological operations "to influence Iranians minds. Iran considers U.S. government-affiliated media such as Radio Farda, Voice of America (VOA) and the BBC Persian TV channels and websites as hostile, seeing them as tools in service of affecting regime change and manipulating public opinion in Iran. Journalists working for these outlets and even their families in Iran are often threatened and harassed. The Asaba Airport in Delta State on Monday recorded its first flight, four days after it was reopened by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for meeting the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) protocols on COVID-19 pandemic. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the airport welcomed Aero Contractors flight from Abuja with the state Commissioner for Information, Charles Aniagwu, on board. The airport and others were shut on March 27 to contain the spread of COVID-19. On arrival, Mr Aniagwu told journalists that re-start of flight operations by Aero Contractors was an indication that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa had upgraded facilities at the airport. He said, There are prospects for other airlines to join and increase the flight options to and from Asaba. The arrival of Aero Contractors is a good omen for flight users in Asaba because it will give air travellers more options. Good enough, we have more airlines that will be coming into this airport. Ibom Air is resuming flight in this airport; we have always had AZMAN and Air Peace and this is Aero, we are also looking forward to having Arik back to the airport. So we are excited, he said. He lauded Austin Ayemidejor, the Special Projects Director of the Asaba Airport, who worked tirelessly to ensure that the airport met NCAA requirements. READ ALSO: On his part, Mr Ayemidejor said the state government had invested a lot to ensure compliance with regulatory protocol for the reopening of the airport. He commended the governor for his commitment to the development of the airport. The airport got a very satisfactory approval from NCAA and we must ensure that the airport continues to operate in line with laid down protocols and international best practices. Our objective is to upgrade the airport to a new category to accommodate flights of all sizes because we are currently on Category 6, Mr Ayemidejor said. (NAN) Second IntercityHotel in the Sultanate opens in the oasis city of Nizwa FRANKFURT, Germany and NIZWA, Oman, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Deutsche Hospitality is expanding its presence in the Sultanate of Oman. On 15 August, the group has opened a second hotel operating under the Intercity brand name. The hotel is situated in Nizwa at the edge of the Hadschar mountain range and surrounded by the Nizwa Grand Mall and the Aqua Water Park. Set in an oasis, the city of Nizwa is considered to be a cultural centre and is the historic trading centre of the Sultanate. The IntercityHotel Nizwa will offer 120 guest rooms and suites, a restaurant, a cafe and an Aqua Pool Bar. Health and beauty spa facilities will comprise a gym, a steam bath and a rooftop pool. The hotel's luxurious Ballroom will be able to accommodate up to 700 people and stage unforgettable weddings, family celebrations and business events. Three combinable conference rooms will also provide additional options for meetings. "We are delighted to be establishing a further IntercityHotel in Oman," explained Thomas Willms, CEO, Deutsche Hospitality. "Oman offers fantastic holiday destinations and an outstanding host culture. Our guests in Nizwa will be provided with a new international hotel with superb services that combine bot European and Arab influences." Deutsche Hospitality has been operating in the Sultanate since 2016, when the IntercityHotel Salalah opened. Nizwa exudes historic flair and is considered to be both a centre and a link between various parts of the country because it lies between the routes connecting Muscat and Salalah. It is also highly popular amongst domestic travellers. "The huge Ballroom, the rooftop pool and the events rooms are all USPs for us in this wonderful city," said Anees Shinnara, General Manager of the IntercityHotel Nizwa. "The whole team is ready to fire the enthusiasm of our guests." - Picture is available at epa European Pressphoto Agency (http://www.epa.eu) and AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) - Current press information is available in our press portal. IntercityHotel is a Deutsche Hospitality brand which stands for modern upper mid-range urban hotels. IntercityHotels are located within easy walking distance of airports or railway stations. Guests also benefit from a "FreeCityTicket" scheme, which enables them to use local public transport free of charge. The IntercityHotels portfolio includes more than 40 hotels in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Oman and China, and 20 further properties are currently at the development stage. Deutsche Hospitality operates four further brands. Steigenberger Hotels & Resorts boast 60 hotels housed in historic traditional buildings and lively city residences and also offer health and beauty oases set at the very heart of nature. MAXX by Steigenberger is a new and charismatic concept which places the focus on the essential in accordance with its motto "MAXXimize your stay," whilst Jaz in the City branded hotels reflect metropolitan lifestyle and draw upon the local music and cultural scene. Zleep Hotels provide quality and design at an affordable price in Denmark and Sweden. Press contact: Deutsche Hospitality | Lyoner Strae 25 | 60528 Frankfurt am Main | Germany Sven Hirschler | Tel: +49 69 66564-422 E-mail: sven.hirschler@deutschehospitality.com Facebook | Twitter | YouTube www.deutschehospitality.com/en www.steigenberger.com/en | www.maxxhotel.com/en | www.jaz-hotel.com/en www.intercityhotel.com/en | https://www.zleep.com/en/ SPRINGFIELD The elephant in the room turned out to be a blip during an hour-long joust between Holyoke Mayor Alex B. Morse and incumbent U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, on Monday. In their first televised debate, the controversy over Morses sex life that has dominated recent headlines was raised, but not the focus of the entire event. Instead, the Democratic candidates tangled intensely over police reform, environmental issues, campaign finance, healthcare and fallout from the pandemic. The first question out of the box by moderator and panelist Ray Hershel focused on the firestorm over the College Democrats of Massachusetts disinviting Morse to their events over allegations he consistently pursued sex with students. But, the issue received very little airtime during the debate at WGBY in Springfield. The entire debate will air on WBGY at 7 p.m. and was hosted by The Republican, MassLive.com, The Berkshire Eagle and New England Public Media. After a coin toss, which Neal won, Morse fielded the first question. When I got that email a couple Fridays ago alleging that I made students feel uncomfortable ... as a human I would never want to make someone uncomfortable and I need to honor that truth, Morse said. But then come to find out over the last week that this was a backroom political smear against this campaign. When the controversy first erupted, Morse, an openly gay mayor, conceded that he had consensual sexual relationships with adult males some of whom have been college students. Morse was a guest lecturer at the University of Amherst in the political science department between 2014 and 2019. Morse, 31, who was first elected mayor of one of the states major cities when he was 22. University officials have since announced that it will not invite Morse back as a professor, and launched an investigation into Morses relationships with students there. Names of students who raised concerns have not been publicly identified. Morse supporters and progressive groups across the country cried foul when the allegations became public so close to the primary election on Sept 1 arguing it was politically-motivated and homophobic. Neal denied he or proxies on his behalf urged the students to come forward. Lets square the facts here. This is inconsistent with my career and its inconsistent with my character, said Neal, 71, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and a member of Congress since 1989. Theres no room for homophobia, misogyny or racism in my campaign I dont even know the names of the students who have stepped forward. The Intercept, a political blog, published stories saying a former student of Neal who also teaches at UMass planted the story to curry favor with Neal in the hopes of an internship or a job. Morse attempted to exceed his allotted time to rebut Neals response to focus more heavily on the texts cited in those stories, but was reined in by Hershel. In your mind, was there a power dynamic in play here because of your position as mayor, adjunct professor, and congressional candidate that made your behavior with students inappropriate? Hershel asked. I would respond to Congressman Neal that this goes all the way to the height of power in the Democrat party. Not just in Springfield Democratic establishment but in D.C., Morse said, adding that he believes personal attacks in political campaigns discourages both prospective candidates and voters. Quick follow-up youve got ten seconds, were your actions inappropriate, yes or no? Hershel responded. I will not apologize for being a young person, being gay and being single and having consenting adult relationships with other adults, Morse said. Neal said he believed the investigation should run its course and the students voices deserve to be heard. Morse also said this week was the best fundraising week of his campaign. Due to antimicrobial resistance, the treatment of diseases like HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and malaria has become a major challenge. In the 2015 survey by the World Health Organisation, it was found that in India, 75 percent of the patients are prescribed antibiotics for minor colds and flu, which can otherwise be cured without any medicine. They also found that only 58 percent of the people knew that they need to stop taking antibiotics only once they finish the entire course and not just when they start feeling better. Doctors have seen that the infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant organisms result in increased deaths and a prolonged duration of hospitalisation. The cost of healthcare for these patients is higher than care for patients with non-resistant infections as they require additional tests and are given more expensive drugs for the treatment. Usually, antimicrobial resistance arises if the prescribed course of antimicrobials is not completed by the patient or there is an overprescription of any antimicrobial which can result in its resistance. However, in recent research published in the journal Scientific Reports, scientists found that poor hygiene could also be one of the reasons for the increases in antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance Antimicrobial resistance can be simply put as the ability of a disease-causing microorganism (such as bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites) to withstand any antimicrobial therapy, which includes antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and anthelmintics. These microorganisms that become antimicrobial-resistant, are also known as superbugs. Poor hygiene practices resulting in antimicrobial resistance Researchers from Washington State University (WSU) and Universidad del Vale de Guatemala (UVG) found that there is a critical need to improve sanitation and hygiene in both urban and rural areas, to slow down the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. WSU and UVG have already been working on large-scale research which aims at explaining how the use and regulation of antibiotics, the access of humans and animals to the healthcare services, and sanitation can affect antimicrobial resistance in countries with both high and low income. The scientists surveyed different people from the rural and urban households of Guatemalan communities to track the spread of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria, which is usually found in contaminated water and can result in acute diarrhoea. The scientists examined different aspects of the community such as the population density, their access to antibiotic therapies, sanitation facilities, access to clean water, ways of food preparation, milk consumption and prevalence of open defecation. The results of the survey showed that antimicrobial-resistance was found in people who had an increased incidence of antibiotic use, had poor household sanitation, consumed milk on a regular basis, and had frequent episodes of diarrhoea. Conclusion The scientists conclude that in order to reduce the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance, access to antibiotics needs to be controlled better along with ensuring hygiene in every household. For more information, read our article on Precautions to take with antibiotics. Health articles in Firstpost are written by myUpchar.com, Indias first and biggest resource for verified medical information. At myUpchar, researchers and journalists work with doctors to bring you information on all things health. Retired Indian Air Force officer Gunjan Saxena, whose biopic Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl was recently released on OTT platform Netflix, has responded to the criticism surrounding the alleged 'lies' peddled in the movie. Slamming naysayers, she wrote on NDTV that some people have tried to distort the basic founding values of my existence and identity. The film starring Sridevis daughter Janhvi Kapoor has been embroiled in controversies since the release, with the Indian Air Force (IAF) dragging in the Censor Board over the 'undue negative' portrayal of the forces. Several air force officers, including Saxenas coursemate Flight Lieutenant Sreevidya Rajan (retd), have alleged that facts were 'twisted; in the film. Retired Wing Commander Namrita Chandi, on the other hand, had accused the biopic of 'peddling lies'. She had claimed in an Outlook India article that Srividya Rajan was the first lady pilot who flew to Kargil, not Gunjan Saxena. Replying to her, Saxena said: Let me inform readers with utmost conviction and honesty that even though cinematic liberties were exercised in my biopic by the filmmakers, what they did not miss or exaggerate was me, the real Gunjan Saxena. I admit without hesitation that I have even more of an iron will and resoluteness than was portrayed in the movie. The retired flight lieutenant said it was disheartening to see some people trying to tarnish her hard-earned reputation with 'nonsensical rants' and listed her list of achievements, which includes the first woman to fly in a combat zone and the first woman officer to undergo the jungle and snow survival training. Discussing the latent gender bias projected in the film, she wrote there was no gender-based discrimination in the Air Force at an organisational level when she joined, but to deny it completely speaks of a feudal mindset and undermines the grit of women officers. She admitted that she did face discrimination at the hands of some persons for being a woman, but because it was not at an organisational level, she always enjoyed equal opportunities. A candidate nominated by the government for the post of a Constitutional Court judge has withdrawn his candidacy. In a Facebook post on Monday Vahram Avetisian, who was named one of three candidates last month, wrote: Today I have submitted an application to the parliament speaker withdrawing my consent to being elected judge of the Constitutional Court. At the same time, I thank the government for nominating me for the post. I wish every success for the judicial reforms being carried out in the Republic of Armenia for the benefit of Armenian citizens and our Homeland. The nomination of Avetisian, a senior law professor at Yerevan State University, has been criticized by a number of human rights activists, lawyers, as well as by relatives of protesters killed during the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan and supporters of former President Levon Ter-Petrosian. Eight relatives of the unrest victims and 50 current and former activists imprisoned during the 2008 crackdown on the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition issued a joint petition urging the government to withdraw Avetisians nomination. In particular, the signatories, among them several senior members of Ter-Petrosians Armenian National Congress party, argued that his father, Davit Avetisian, upheld prison sentences handed to opposition members and supporters when he served as a senior Court of Cassation judge in 2008-2016. They said that Vahram Avetisian cannot act independently and impartially also because he has never publicly condemned Armenias former ruling regime and its use of force against protesters who challenged the official results of the February 2008 presidential election in which Ter-Petrosian was the main opposition candidate. In his statement today Avetisian said that he made his decision to withdraw after apparent disagreements with some representatives of the pro-government My Step faction in parliament that came to light during recent discussions. One of the main tasks of our state is to establish an independent judiciary staffed with professional judges who administer independent, accountable, predictable justice and enjoy public authority. This is a problem without solving which the state and the society have no prospects for development, Avetisian said. It was my desire to contribute to the solution to these problems that made me accept the nomination to run for the post of a Constitutional Court judge. However, it became clear to me from my meeting with My Step faction members and further discussions that some of the lawmakers approaches and ideas on the role of the Constitutional Court, the apolitical nature and independence of a Constitutional Court judge are not in line with my views and in some cases are even unacceptable to me, he added. In order to be elected Constitutional Court judge a candidate should receive the support of at least three-fifths of deputies in the 132-seat National Assembly where My Step has 88 mandates. Avetisian said that in such conditions he considered it unrealistic that he would receive the required 80 votes and that further he did not think that it would be expedient for him to serve as a Constitutional Court judge even if he did that. Meanwhile, Deputy Parliament Speaker Alen Simonian insisted that the government has not yet withdrawn Avetisians candidacy. I think that in conditions of issues related to opinions being expressed on the internet, in the media and in different places, Mr. Avetisian had some impression, which is why he made such a statement. But lets not forget that he is a candidate nominated by the government. The government has not withdrawn his candidacy yet, and My Step has not taken a vote and has not made any announcement of a vote, Simonian said. Opposition Bright Armenia faction member Taron Simonian (no relation to the deputy parliament speaker) said he regretted Avetisians decision as he considers him a worthy candidate. He said Avetisians step was a message to professionals not to deal with the government. I have no precise information on how many deputies came out against him, but there was some information that his candidacy was not accepted unequivocally in the My Step faction. When politicians take such an attitude towards professionals, the rest of the professionals start avoiding becoming government officials, they prefer working in the private sector, the opposition lawmaker said. Vacancies in the Constitutional Court emerged after three Court members were controversially dismissed in June following changes in the constitution adopted by the National Assembly. The two other candidates have been nominated by Armenian President Armen Sarkissian and a general assembly of judges. They are also expected to hold meetings with lawmakers before having their candidacies discussed and voted on in parliament. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The day after the United Arab Emirates announced that it was recognizing Israel, the local Israeli media framed it as a simple transaction. Israel was dropping its pending annexation of 17% of the West Bank and in return was receiving full diplomatic and economic relations with the wealthy Arab Gulf state. The UAE cast the decision as primarily a move to stave off the annexation. I think we have bought a lot of time, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, told an Israeli interviewer. I dont think it is a short suspension The Palestinians were disbelieving. They understood the agreement not as a friendly diplomatic move to ward off an Israeli land grab, but as, in the words of Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas, a stab in the back. Abbas is right. The UAE has secretly been doing business with Israel for years. Such clandestine dealings are considered par for the course in the region. But by going public with a peace treaty, the UAE did something revolutionary it proclaimed its independence from the Palestinian cause. The country is willing, even happy, to be of help to the Palestinians, but it is no longer committed to Ramallahs side or its demands from Israel. Those demands include Israel withdrawing to the pre-1967 border (minus territorial swaps between the two sides) and the creation of a fully independent Palestinian state. This is what has traditionally been called the two-state solution. There is nothing inherently wrong with these terms, except for the fact that no Israeli government, presently or in the future, will agree to evacuating Israelis from the territory that Palestine claims. And none will agree to a fully independent Palestine which would then be free to build an army, make military alliances with Iran and other hostile powers or engage in diplomatic warfare. In January 2020, the U.S. introduced a new vision for peace that offered Palestinians a demilitarized state in a fraction of their claimed territory: about three-quarters of the West Bank, and possibly all of Gaza, if the Palestinian authority could wrest it away from the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The city of Jerusalem would remain in Israeli hands, but the Palestinian capital could be in a nearby suburb of the city. The deal sweetener was access to vast American and international financial aid, as well as entry into the Israeli job market and economy. Story continues The Palestinians flatly rejected this idea, which was far from what theyd been led by the international community to believe was attainable. But time and history are not on their side. In 1977, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt broke the Arab boycott of Israel by traveling to Jerusalem and making peace with the Jewish state. A decade later, King Hussein of Jordan followed suit. Both were unmoved by Arab calls of solidarity. They paid lip service to the Palestinian issue, but ultimately made deals that were in the best interest of their countries. That is what the UAE is doing today. Israel has high-tech products and expertise that the Emirates need, as well as influence in Washington D.C. The UAE offers vast investment funds as well as regional legitimacy. They have a mutual enemy in Iran, and the Israel is a military and intelligence asset. A partnership between the two powers simply makes sense. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that there will be more peace agreements in the region and that peace with the UAE will also promote peace real, secure and supervised peace with the Palestinians. According to Israeli media reports, the head of the Mossad has been on the phone with the Prime Minister of Bahrain discussing the possibilities for a peace deal. Other Arab countries that already have extensive dealings with Israel Oman, Morocco and Sudan are also said by Israeli intelligence sources to be waiting in line to discuss a deal. As for the big prize a peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia it is inevitable according to Jared Kushner, the architect of the U.S. vision for peace plan. Of course, it is wise for Israel to be cautious. After signing the Oslo accords with the Palestine Liberation Organization in the mid-nineties, there was an unrequited burst of optimism in Israel about the readiness of the Arabs to embrace the Jewish state. And no deal is final until it is signed. To finalize the most recent agreement, the UAE will have to withstand harsh threats and pressure from Iran and Turkey. But the country has more to offer than it did back then. And there is considerable Arab impatience with the incessant demand by Palestinian leaders for solidarity. Implicit in the peace agreement with the Emirates is that its leader will be free to offer advice and support to Palestine, but will leave the governance of the West Bank to Israel. Netanyahu has already agreed to a Luxembourg-sized state for Palestine, and most Israelis support it. That would relieve Israel of the burden of occupation. But if the Palestinians refuse to negotiate, Israel can live without a two-state deal. And so can its Arab allies. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Zev Chafets is a journalist and author of 14 books. He was a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the founding managing editor of the Jerusalem Report Magazine. 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. Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today paid a working visit to Gegharkunik Province where he learned about the course of implementation of state and subvention programs under implementation in a number of villages, as reported the news service of the Government of Armenia. The visit began with a visit to Ltchashen village where the local Manchuk kindergarten is being capitally renovated through the governments subvention program. At the kindergarten, the Prime Minister was told that whereas there were only three groups of children before implementation of the program and some childrens parents couldnt afford to take their children to the kindergarten, there will be an additional group of 40 children after renovation and enlargement. The Prime Ministers next stop was Gandzak village where he was introduced to the asphalting of a particular street in the village and the capital renovation of the central square in Gandzak. Pashinyan was told that the street is being capitally renovated through government funding and will be asphalted by September of this year. Afterwards, the Prime Minister headed to Tsovasar village, which will have a kindergarten for the first time ever through a subvention program under implementation. Pashinyan continued his visit by stopping in Litchk, Vardenik and Artsvanist villages where roads are being asphalted. During all visits to the villages, Pashinyan met with residents, talked to them about the development programs and answered several questions. The visit to Gegharkunik Province ended with tours to the construction sites on the Tsovagyugh-Shorzha-Vardenis interstate road. The Prime Minister also visited the construction site for the 20 km road on the east side of Lake Sevan where repair works are almost over. The Prime Minister stated that capital renovation of the Shorzha-Vardenis sector is the biggest project of the year and is part of the logic of the government according to which there has to be a high quality road around Sevan. People have been arguing that Eastman is too liberal. Maybe she is, but we wont know until weve had a chance to examine her voting record. If you believe the campaign rhetoric that shed ruin the country, its worth noting that she would be one of 435 members of Congress, limiting her ability to do damage. All we hope is that if she is elected, she does her best to represent our district. If she doesnt do a good job, we can vote her out in two years. Here something to help you decide. Bacon was a Air Force brigadier general. Had one of his subordinates behaved as badly as President Trump, Bacon would have had him court-martialed and hed be serving time in prison. Since Bacon wont stand up to Trump, its time to give somebody else a chance. George Mills, Omaha Young boys showed kindness The 15th address of the President on the management of the COVID-19 outbreak came at the time the country was experiencing low numbers in terms of infection rate and an increase in recoveries. It is good news when the president said there are no backdrops of test samples; an indication that the country had won the battle against the deadly virus. Among other measures and interventions outlined was the intention of the President to provide one hot meal for BECE candidates as well as their teachers. This will cover both private and public schools. With over 500,000 candidates waiting to be fed, their teachers of over 146,000 staff are also to enjoy the same treat. This has come to many of us as a disappointment. Indeed, I commend the president for interventions such as free water and light which directly affect the income of the ordinary Ghanaian. But the intention of feeding JHS teachers with one hot meal a day is counterproductive in the face of the many difficulties teachers had gone through during the COVID era especially the private institutions. The private school teachers have suffered most since school pupils were given a break in their academic work. The owners of these schools had not been able to live up to expectations in terms of payment of bonuses, allowances and salaries. More private school teachers had been laid off eventually due to the pandemic and more are likely to experience downtrend in their remuneration. It is of concern for the government to note that giving the citizens relief must include those who through no fault of theirs had lost their jobs. Private institutions are major stakeholders in our education system and the government and the ministry as such cannot in any way pretend about their predicaments and relegate them. Again, most public school teachers had returned to school with the aim that apart from providing them with the needed materials to prevent the spread of the virus, the President would have extended the gesture he did to the health workers to them. In the midst of fear and panic, they had agreed to support the Ghana education system with their lives. Their expenditure had increased due to their long stay in the house and needed some level of financial interventions to enable them to defray some of their extra spendings. The government had tried to motivate the SHS teachers with some, not less than, 500 on the average. We thought the JHS teachers in all fairness deserve the same treatment. The dichotomy created by the ministry is unfortunate and these JHS teachers are disappointed the more when the government came to announce one hot meal a day for them. We are in an election year and I think whoever advised the president to descend into this path of propaganda should kindly go back to the drawing board and withdraw this lame intervention for astute teachers who had risked their lives in the midst of global heinous pandemic. If the government thinks about the welfare of the school children by feeding them, it is in the right direction but for teachers feeding them is absolutely a misplaced priority. Teachers need money to survive in these hard times, they need to balance their lives with additional income, not one hot meal on a daily basis. Many people will conclude that perhaps the government wants to create another juicy avenue for party caterers who might have been putting pressure on him for a job. It will also shock you to note that this food might turn out to be a sub-standard meal with many controversies as it happened during the workshop on the new curriculum by NaCCA. We humbly appeal to the government to consider properly rescuing and motivating the private and public school teachers with monetary intervention, in these hard times, rather than feeding them. It is a misplaced agenda and many teachers in all fairness are not pleased with this form of end of days propaganda. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on August 17 said that he is ready to share power but not under pressure from protesters, who are acting at the behest of external powers. Lukashenko was speaking at a rally addressing employees of state-run industrial plants, where he faced heckling and "step down" chants. Lukashenko said that presidents come and go, no problem but they (those who are against a quiet Belarusian state) will eat it up and will not even choke, adding that he is ready to share power and change constitution after a referendum but not under pressure from demonstrators. Lukashenko's comment came as he is facing increasing pressure from his people to step down as the country's president following the recent disputed election result that declared him the winner. Read: German President Urges Military In Belarus To Refrain From Using Violence Meanwhile, Lukashenko's main challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who on August 11 fled the country with her children to take exile in Lithuania, said that she is ready to take responsibility of the national leader. Tikhanovskaya released a video message where she said offered authorities and officials in Belarus to join hands with opposition to evade punishment in the future. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had last week released a message where she levelled a series of allegations against the authorities and also urged Belarusian people to protest peacefully. Read: Germany Threatens Stronger EU Sanctions Against Protest-hit Belarus Disputed election result Lukashenko on August 10 secured a record sixth term as the country's president after the authorities announced the preliminary results in which the 65-year-old former Soviet Army member allegedly secured over 80 percent of the total votes polled. Opposition leaders, including the main challenger Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, denounced the result, calling it a rigged election. People in large numbers took to streets to protest against the outcome following which Lukashenko ordered a crackdown on demonstrators. One protester reportedly died in the clashes between police and the protesters. Read: UK Rejects 'fraudulent' Belarus Election Results Amid Massive Protests Read: Belarus President Lukashenko Claims Putin Agreed To Provide Security Assistance Seoul, Washington briefly postpone joint drills after S Korean officer tests positive for COVID-19 Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 6:29 AM South Korea and the United States have briefly postponed their annual joint military drills after a South Korean officer tested positive for the new coronavirus. The drills will start with a two-day delay on Tuesday "considering the COVID-19 situation," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Sunday. The annual joint drills had been scheduled to begin on Sunday, but were pushed back after a South Korean army officer who was required to join the maneuvers was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday, the South's Yonhap news agency reported. This year's drills, which are scheduled to end on August 28, will focus on a "combined defense posture," while exercises for the transition of wartime operational control on the Korean Peninsula will be "partly conducted," the joint chiefs said in a statement. Springtime military drills between American and South Korean forces were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The joint military drills, which usually begin in August, involve tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides. They also include computerized simulations of war scenarios and field training. This year, however, the US troops based at home will not join the maneuvers amid the coronavirus-related restrictions placed on the travel of American military personnel to the Korean Peninsula. According to figures released by American media, there have been around 150 COVID-19 infections, since February, among around 25,000 US soldiers deployed to South Korea. Annual Seoul-Washington drills usually draw angry reactions from North Korea, which sees them as a rehearsal for war and invasion. US President Donald Trump had formerly questioned the value of the joint military exercises with South Korea, promising to end the war games during his first summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018. Washington-Pyongyang talks, however, collapsed and the drills have continued. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has denied he is plotting to return to the position. ... Former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has denied he is plotting to return to the position. Oshiomhole stated this on Monday while addressing State House Correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja. He was reacting to recent remarks made by Director-General of the Progressives Congress Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, that he was scheming to return to helm of the ruling party. Oshiomhole insisted he would not resit a class he had passed and said only an empty brain would suggest that he is eyeing a comeback. The former Edo State Governor said: You see, what I want the media to interrogate, how does winning Edowhen I was removed as national chairman, Edo was APC. So do I have to win Edo to become the chairman? Do I look so unemployed? Im 68. So, what they dont understand is that it is not the office of chairman that made me who I am. So, it takes an empty brain to suggest that Oshiomhole wants to stage a comeback to become the national chairman. For what? To go and do a resit? The unexpected findings were a result of data collected for more than a decade at the NSF facility, which is managed by the University of Central Florida, and from data from NASA's Fermi Large Area Space Telescope. ORLANDO, Aug. 17, 2020 - An international team of researchers using data from Arecibo Observatory and the Fermi Space Telescope have discovered what they call a "gamma-ray heartbeat" coming from a cosmic gas cloud. The cloud is in the constellation Aquilla and "beats" in rhythm with a black hole 100 light years away in a microquasar system known as SS 433. The results were published today in the journal Nature Astronomy. "This result challenges obvious interpretations and is unexpected from previously published theoretical models," says Jian Li, a Humboldt Fellow with the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Zeuthen, Germany, and study co-author. "It provides us with a chance to unveil the particle transport from SS 433 and to probe the structure of the magnetic field in its vicinity." In the SS 433 system, a black hole orbits a giant star, 30 times the mass of Earth's sun. The black hole sucks matter from the giant star while orbiting it, forming a swirling accretion disc that drains into the black hole, like water into a bathtub drain. Some of the matter doesn't fall into the hole though, but rather jets out in high speed spirals from the disc's center in both directions, top and bottom, like pegs on a wheel. The researchers made the discovery by analyzing more than a decade of data from NASA's Fermi Large Area Space Telescope and from Galactic ALFA HI survey data collected with the Arecibo Observatory's 1,000-foot-wide radio telescope. The observatory was recently damaged and is currently offline, but scientists continue to have access to data previously collected. Engineers are assessing what caused a cable to break and plans for repairs. The researchers found that the precession, or wobble, of the black hole's jets matched with a gamma-ray signal emitted from a gas cloud. The researchers have labeled the position in the gas cloud Fermi J1913+0515. The position was revealed using Arecibo Observatory's telescope, and Fermi provided data about the SS 433 system. "The consistent periods indicate the gas cloud's emission is powered by the micro quasar," Li says. Scientists still do not fully know how the jets overcome the black hole's pull and are emitted from the disc, and the current study presents a new question - How does the black hole power the gas cloud's heartbeat? The study's researchers say further observations and theoretical work are needed, but one suggestion is that the cloud's gamma-ray emissions are caused by the injection of the nuclei of hydrogen atoms, known as fast protons, that are produced at the end of the jets, or near the black hole. "SS 433 continues to amaze observers at all frequencies and theoreticians alike," Li says. "And it is certain to provide a testbed for our ideas on cosmic-ray production and propagation near microquasars for years to come." Study co-authors also included Diego Torres with the Institute of Space Sciences, Barcelona, Spain, the Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats in Barcelona, and the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya in Barcelona; Ruo-Yu Liu with the School of Astronomy and Space Science, at Nanjing University in China and the Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics at Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, in China; Matthew Kerr with the Space Science Division of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.; Emma de Ona Wilhelmi with Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Zeuthen, Germany, and the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain; and Yang Su with Purple Mountain Observatory and Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing, China. UCF manages the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory under a cooperative agreement with Universidad Ana G. Mendez and Yang Enterprises Inc. The facility, which is home to one of the most powerful telescopes on the planet, is used by scientists around the world to conduct research in the areas of atmospheric sciences, space weather research, planetary sciences, radio astronomy and radar astronomy. ### Arecibo is also home to a team that runs the Planetary Radar Project supported by NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program in NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office through a grant awarded to UCF. Funding for the research came from NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des Particules in France; the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana and the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Italy; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Japan and the K. A. Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish National Space Board in Sweden. Additional support for science analysis was from the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Italy and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in France. The work was performed in part under DOE Contract Number DE-AC02-76SF00515 and from support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China via grant numbers NSFC-11673013 and NSFC-11733009 and by grant numbers PGC2018-095512-B-I00, SGR2017-1383 and AYA2017-92402-EXP. SCIENCE CONTACT: Jian Li, DESY, +49 33762 7-7268, jian.li@desy.de CONTACT: Robert H. Wells, University of Central Florida Office of Research, robert.wells@ucf.edu The Houston Chronicles Live Updates blog documents the latest events in the coronavirus outbreak in the Houston area, the state of Texas and across the U.S. with a focus on health and economic impacts. The Houston Chronicles ongoing coverage is available to subscribers. Subscribe now for full access and to support our work. Total coronavirus cases: 560,833 cases in Texas, including 10,427 deaths. 133,662 in the Houston region, including 2,419 deaths. More than 5.4 million in the U.S., including 170,458 deaths. Click here to see a U.S. map with state-by-state death tolls and the latest coronavirus case counts. More than 21.8 million in the world, with more than 772,782 deaths. More than 13.8 million people have recovered. You can view the worldwide totals here. Resources on COVID-19 and Texas' reopening: Use our interactive page to track the spread of cases through Harris County and the rest of Texas. For a detailed look at our state, check out the Chronicle's Texas Coronavirus Map. To get regular updates on our coverage, sign up for our coronavirus newsletter. Latest updates from today: 7:30 p.m. Texas' positive test rate on Monday saw its first increase since Aug. 11, going from 11.25 percent to 11.87 percent, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data. The seven-day rolling average of viral tests was 57,501. The statewide case total jumped from 555,770 to 560,833, an increase of 5,063 cases. Another 71 deaths brings the overall fatality count to 10,427. The state's seven-day rolling average for new cases hit 7,507. The Houston region's case count is 133,662, up 1,470 from Sunday. Harris County added 691 new cases Monday, and is now at 92,944 cases total. There have been 2,419 deaths in the Houston region, up 9 from Sunday. Statewide, there were 6,200 patients hospitalized for lab-confirmed COVID-19, the 17th straight day with a decline and the fewest number of patients since June 29. There are 55,018 total staffed hospital beds, 12,180 beds available and 1,263 ICU beds available. There are 6,902 ventilators available. 5:50 p.m. Living Word Fellowship Church has been feeding close to 200 people every Monday through Thursday since the pandemic began back in March. Pastor Paul Cannings and Associate Pastor of Outreach Allen Boutte never expected to see the volume of cars they get daily, but thanks to the efforts of church members and the Houston Food Bank, they're able make sure no one, regardless of race or background, goes without. - ShaCamree Gowdy 3:30 p.m. Despite the economic upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Houston will see two new restaurants open this week, Greg Morago reports. Chef Aaron Bludorn, one of the country 's top young chefs, will open his namesake restaurant Friday in what is considered one the most significant Houston restaurant openings in years. Renowned local Chef Ronnie Killen will open his most personal restaurant to date, Killen's, on Wednesday at 101 Heights, his first restaurant inside the Loop. 1:45 p.m. A state agency on Aug. 7 issued new rules to allow visits to resume at nursing homes, but one week later, only four of the states some 1,220 licensed facilities had been approved to start visits, reports the Chronicle's Emily Foxhall. The small number highlights that a return to routine visits might still be far off in Texas nursing homes, which have barred relatives for five months. Assisted living facilities, which have been less hard-hit by the virus and have less restrictive requirements for visits, meanwhile were approved in greater numbers, with 248 of some 2,020 total facilities cleared so far. 1:20 p.m. American Airlines is making a few changes to their facial covering policy, following new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said facial coverings with one way valves or vents allow air to get through holes in the material and can actually contribute to the spread of coronavirus, so effective Aug. 19, they will no longer be allowed when flying with American, the airline said in a press release. - ShaCamree Gowdy 11:35 a.m. The latest round of rental assistance for people impacted by the novel coronavirus will begin accepting applications on Monday, Aug. 17. How do I apply? How much money is available per tenant? What conditions apply to landlords? Housing and homelessness reporter Sarah Smith fills you in on what you need to know to get help. 11:10 a.m. The Texas Supreme Court has suspended a temporary restraining order issued against Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, allowing the district to require teachers to report back to their classrooms, reports Houston Chronicle education writer Shelby Webb. The high courts decision Sunday came days after a Harris County District court told the states third-largest school district that educators could not be compelled to return until Sept. 8. While most of the case is still pending, the decision represents a setback for the Cypress-Fairbanks chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, which filed a lawsuit on Friday. The teachers association had asked a judge to prevent the district from mandating that teachers return to their campuses for several weeks of professional development. 9:30 a.m. Slim Thug was Houston's first celebrity to announce a COVID-19 diagnosis. He's been out of quarantine for months now, so sometimes the veteran rapper speaks out. Slim Thug has become an official city spokesman for COVID prevention, part of Mayor Sylvester Turner's #MaskUp campaign. And his BossLife line will bring out masks and hand sanitizer. But even with a mansion and vintage cars to entertain him, he says he's undergoing the same COVID stresses as everyone else. No matter what kind of house you live in, he says, you still get bored. Read more on what Slim Thug has been up to here. 8:25 a.m. Finn Hall was bustling. Now, the office workers - and customers - who bring downtown to life are staying at home. But since the pandemic slowed business for the new food hall, Finn Hall owner Lionstone Investments has begun throwing its tenants a lifeline. The landlord, along with JPMorgan Chase and other organizations, have raised $54,450 to support Finn Hall's restaurant owners. 8:00 a.m. Texas positive test rate saw a significant drop Sunday from 14.62 percent to 11.25 percent, the fourth straight day with a decline and less than half of the rate five days ago, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data. The decline comes as the statewide rolling average of viral tests continues to grow. The state reported an additional batch of 117,365 viral tests Sunday, bringing the weekly average to 59,025. The average has more than doubled since Aug. 12. Texas also saw an increase of 8,203 cases for a total of 555,770. A reporting backlog at the Texas Department of State Health Services contributed to Sundays cases total. Another 112 deaths brought the overall fatality count to 10,356. The state's rolling average for new cases is now at 7,660.4, an increase from Saturday. - Julian Gill and Jordan Rubio Parts of B.C.'s South Coast were treated to a dazzling lightning show Sunday night. Between 5 p.m. Sunday and 5 a.m. Monday, about 1,600 lightning strikes flashed across southern Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and the western parts of the Lower Mainland, Environment Canada meteorologist Trevor Smith said "It's somewhat unusual to see that number of lightning strikes," he said. This weekend's heat was to blame for the storm, which swept across the South Coast before moving into the central Interior, after a high-pressure ridge of warm air broke down. "There's a lot of buildup of energy in the lower atmosphere," Smith said. "When we see a small disturbance moving up from the south just a little bit of cooling in the higher levels in the atmosphere it destabilizes things enough to get these high-level thunderstorm clouds to develop." Smith noted the show wasn't technically dry lightning, which occurs when the lower atmosphere is dry and precipitation evaporates before it reaches the ground. Vancouver Island saw a few showers, although the rain wasn't heavy like a typical thunderstorm. What about that sunset? Social media also lit up with photos of Sunday evening's majestic sunset. CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe said it was the result of fine particulate matter in the air, which led to some haze and an air quality advisory for eastern parts of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. The light was able to bounce off more particles in the atmosphere, producing surreal colours. Wildfire risk The B.C. Wildfire Service reported 10 new fires in the past two days, including at least three new spot fires that flared on Sunday in the Nanaimo area. Smith noted lightning without precipitation poses the greatest risk for wildfires. Robbie J. Stevens Fire danger ratings across much of the lower third of the province are ranked high to extreme, but a weekend of torrential rain in northwestern B.C., means the fire risk there is listed as very low. Story continues Temperature records broken Environment Canada is forecasting another day of sizzling heat through much of British Columbia's southern Interior, Okanagan and Fraser Canyon. The weather office says 13 temperature records were broken or tied across southern B.C. on Sunday. The Fraser Canyon community of Lytton was the hot spot in Canada at 41.2 C, which broke the old record of 40.4 set 12 years ago. Heat warnings remain posted for the Fraser Canyon, as well as the Okanagan, North and South Thompson, Cariboo and 100 Mile regions. Forecasters say temperatures are expected to moderate slightly but remain at least in the mid-30s. LAUSD staff member Adrian Pacheco demonstrates the use of sanitizing tools as Supt. Austin Beutner tours Burbank Middle School. As the school year looms, preparations have been underway to make campuses safe. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) The Los Angeles Unified School District announced Sunday that it was launching an ambitious coronavirus testing and contact-tracing program for all students, staff and their families aiming to create a path to safely reopening campuses in the nation's second-largest school district. If the plan unfolds as described, it could be one of the most detailed to date for a U.S. school district, involving nearly 500,000 students and 75,000 staff members. It appears to be the most sizable, at least until the larger New York City school system clarifies how it will manage testing and contact tracing. The L.A. testing program is not an immediate prelude to reopening campuses. No date has yet been set for reopening, and plans for offering distance learning will proceed as the school year formally begins this week. But what the testing and contact-tracing program will offer is a scientifically based confidence builder leading up to the day campuses are able to reopen, providing a road map for safely managing renewed school operations and the data needed to assemble a valuable base of knowledge. "Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary actions, and while this testing and contact-tracing effort is unprecedented, it is necessary and appropriate," said L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner in remarks prepared for broadcast on Monday morning. "This program will provide public health benefit to all in the school community as well as the Greater Los Angeles area. It will also provide significant education benefits for students as it will get them back to school sooner and safer and keep them there." The spread of COVID-19 in the Los Angeles area still far exceeds state guidelines governing the possible return of students to campuses. Beutner reiterated that it was not yet safe to return to campuses even as this plan launched. "The level of new cases in Los Angeles are still 2 times the state guidelines, and while the portion of those testing positive is below state thresholds, its still considerably higher than the World Health Organization standards and those in place for New York," Beutner said. Story continues The superintendent referenced the New York school system because that district was planning to open campuses in a modified fashion when its school year started in September. Beutner also outlined the plan for testing and contact tracing in an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times published Sunday. The district hopes to be able to test all students and staff as part of a partnership that includes UCLA, Stanford and Johns Hopkins University, Microsoft, Anthem Blue Cross and HealthNet, among others with a price tag of roughly $300 per student over a year, close to $150 million. The superintendent did not immediately identify the source of the funding, but the district has received hundreds of millions of state and federal dollars for its coronavirus response efforts. District officials also have said they could use additional funding. The testing logistics are currently being fine-tuned, and tests will first be administered to teachers and staff who are choosing to work on school campuses as well as any of their children enrolled in day care provided by the district, Beutner wrote in the opinion piece. "Tests will then be provided for all staff and students over a period of weeks to establish a baseline," he wrote. "On an ongoing basis, sample testing based on epidemiological models will be done for each cohort of staff and students." The district's announcement comes amid growing concerns among parents about a fall semester of online learning. A Times survey published last week showed students from low-income families generally fared much worse than students from more affluent families. This month, the Los Angeles Board of Education unanimously approved a plan to restore structure to the academic schedule while also allowing for an online school day that is shorter than the traditional one. Members of the teachers union also have approved the agreement. The distance learning schedule leaves some L.A. Unified parents and advocates wanting more teaching hours. There also are parents who want fewer mandatory screen-time hours for their young children a reflection of the complexities of distance learning and the widespread parent angst over the start of the school year at home and online. Beutner has long called for widespread testing of students and staff, saying such protocols are key to safely reopening schools. Public health experts have said that such a plan seems impractical. "At this point, we need to reduce risk," Claire Garrido-Ortega, an epidemiology lecturer at Cal State Long Beach, told The Times in July. "Testing doesn't necessarily reduce risk." Beutner pointed to the success seen by South Korea, Denmark, Germany and Vietnam in fighting the virus, noting that those countries contact-tracing operations could be applied to L.A. County schools. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explicitly "does not recommend" comprehensive school-based testing, citing a lack of evidence that it would reduce transmission, plus concerns about resources, parental consent and student privacy. It is not yet clear how often LAUSD students will be tested. It was not clear Sunday when the first testing would begin. It's also not clear whether certain provisions of the plan would involve negotiations with employee unions. School nurses are likely to play a central role in the plan. They are represented by United Teachers Los Angeles. Union leaders said they were preparing to negotiate over issues related to a return to campus. So, far, we only negotiated the impact and effects of distance learning, said Arlene Inouye, the unions elected secretary. Our next negotiations will be about the physical return to schools. She pointed out that members of UTLA were not required to work from campus, although members of some other unions must do so. The plan for contract tracing underscores the unusual nature of the school year that is about to begin. Idled bus drivers, for example, may be asked to "support" the contact-tracing process under a temporary distance-learning agreement reached between the school district and Local 99 of Service Employees International, which was announced Monday morning. Researchers at UCLA and Johns Hopkins University, who are providing services pro bono, will use the testing data to analyze the effects of reopening campuses, the district said. Researchers hope the program can be a national model. During the first phase of the program, researchers will determine a schedule for the frequency of testing for students and staff, the district said. Determining an ideal testing strategy involves the application of epidemiologic principles and modeling informed by all available information, Dr. Kristan Staudenmayer, an associate professor at Stanford who is spearheading the university's contribution, said in a prepared statement. Staudenmayer, in an interview with The Times on Sunday night, said the plan pursued "a very noble cause: continuing to give education to the children of L.A. Unified School District." Experts at UCLA will study Los Angeles Unifieds reopening plans and also share findings from this effort worldwide, Dr. Steven M. Dubinett, director of the school's Clinical & Translational Science Institute, said in a statement. Other key players include Microsoft, which will provide an app that families and employees can use to report symptoms and which will be used to gather data districtwide that will guide the district's ongoing response. The application also is intended to help people register for testing and obtain needed information. A 19-year-old has been charged in the deadly shooting of a Montgomery man who was killed while he was streaming a Facebook Live video. Montgomery police on Sunday night announced the arrest of Bakari Ano Taylor. He is charged with capital murder in the Jan. 23, 2020 death of 34-year-old Roosevelt Rankins Jr. Taylor was taken into custody Friday by the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force and remains held without bond. Montgomery police Capt. Saba Coleman said the circumstances surround the shooting are unknown, however Taylor was identified as a suspect and subsequently arrested. On that January Thursday, Montgomery police and fire medics responded about 3 p.m. to the 2300 block of Stella Street on a report of a person shot. They found a crashed vehicle with Rankins inside. He was pronounced dead on the scene. A man who had been in the vehicle with Rankins was not injured. Rankins, under the Facebook name Crum King, streamed a video which lasted roughly 45 minutes. Just under 25 minutes into the video, a shadow appears to the right of the victim. He looks to his right, flinches and then gunfire can be heard. The phone appears to drop to the floorboard. It shows the victim trying to flee the scene before the vehicle crashes and the screen goes black. The livestream, however, continued and the victim could be heard moaning. Somebody could be heard yelling call 911 and telling the victim dont go and wake up. Ultimately, first responders get to the scene on Stella Street and the livestream eventually goes silent. By the following day, the video had been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. AL.com spoke with Rankins father after the killing. Roosevelt Rankins Sr., who served in the U.S. Army and retired after 26 years as an Alabama Department of Corrections officer, said he got a call from his niece telling him his son had been shot. He rushed to the Stella Street scene but could not get close. Rankins Sr. said he believes his son, who had five children, was set up, possibly for robbery. He said hes had an outpouring of support following the killing, even from former inmates who were in prison when Rankins Sr. worked there. There are too many young black men killing young black men,' Rankins Sr. said at the time. I cant understand whats going on with our people. The violence has to stop,' he said, and Im going to step up and start speaking out about it. Im hurt. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:01:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's counter-Narcotics Police have arrested eight people over producing, selling and trafficking drugs in eastern Nangarhar and Kunar provinces, Ministry of Interior said in a statement released here Monday. Units of Counter-Narcotics Police conducted operations early Monday in parts of Nangarhar and the neighboring Kunar provinces, arresting eight drug traffickers, added the statement. An amount of arms and munitions including hand-grenades, AK-47 assault rifle and also illicit drug including hashish and heroin have been seized from the possession of arrested persons during the operations, the statement said. Afghan counter-narcotics police would continue to target drug traffickers elsewhere in the country, the statement of the ministry asserted. Enditem Saudi Arabia has appointed 10 women in senior roles at Islam's two holiest sites, authorities said Sunday, as the conservative petro-state seeks to boost female employment. The appointment of women in senior positions at religious institutions is rare in the Islamic kingdom, which is in the midst of a wide-ranging liberalisation drive spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The women were appointed in the two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina across various departments, including administrative and technical, according to statement released by the general presidency for the affairs of the two holy mosques. The recruitment drive was aimed at 'empowering Saudi women with high qualifications and capabilities', the statement said. Conservative Saudi Arabia is seeking to boost female employment and has appointed 10 women in senior roles at Islam's holiest sites, according to authorities Muslim pilgrims complete a socially distance hajj in Mecca earlier this month. The Grand Mosque is one of the sites where the women have been appointed The two holy mosques previously recruited 41 women in leadership positions in 2018, according to Saudi media. Prince Mohammed has sought to boost employment for women as part of his 'Vision 2030' plan, which is aimed at diversifying the kingdom's economy and ending its addiction to oil. The number of working women in Saudi Arabia reached 1.03 million in the third quarter of 2019, 35 percent of the total workforce, compared to 816,000 in 2015, according to official figures. In other reforms, women in the kingdom are now allowed to drive cars, cinemas have reopened and genders are permitted to mix at events, including concerts, and in public places. But the reforms have also been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent. Saudi Arabia has detained and put on trial a dozen women activists who long campaigned for the right to drive, sparking widespread condemnation. Some of the activists allege they were tortured and sexually harassed by interrogators. While the deal to normalize ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been celebrated by some analysts and regional and world leaders, it instantly became an issue of concern for the Islamic Republic of Iran, which sees potential danger in an Israeli presence in the Persian Gulf. Immediately after the announcement that Israel and the UAE have decided to normalize ties and establish commercial and communication links, President Hassan Rouhani criticized the decision. The Emirates are making a huge mistake and I hope they return from this path, Rouhani said. The chief of staff of Irans armed forces, Mohammad Bagheri, also attacked the UAE over the decision, saying that since Egypt and Israel signed a peace deal 42 years ago, Israels relations with Muslim countries have not expanded; rather, Israel has become more isolated. Bagheri added, The Islamic Republic, like other countries and Islamic nations, views this as strategic stupidity and dangerous. He said this signals a dangerous future for the Emirates glass palace. Bagheri warned that if the Islamic Republics national security even sees the smallest damage from the normalization of ties, which brings in an Israeli presence to the Persian Gulf, they will view the UAE for being at fault and will not tolerate it. He added, We recommend until it is not too late for the UAE to reconsider this decision and not continue this path, which is detrimental to the security of the region and their country. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement in response to the UAE-Israel agreement, saying it is the biggest betrayal in history against the Palestinian cause. The statement said the agreement has multiple goals, including giving Israel legitimacy, weakening the Palestinian resistance front, downplaying the issue of Jerusalem and attempting to clear the path for the deal of the century. The statement reflecting the views of the IRGC said they see this as a US, Israeli and Saudi decision. The statement said the agreement will make the leaders of the UAE hated in the region for their clear betrayal of the Muslim nation" and warned that rather than securing the interests of Israel it will have the reverse effect. In speaking with members of Hamas, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian a special adviser to parliament who has long been in charge of Arab affairs in the Foreign Ministry also warned that normalizing relations with Israel will not bring peace to the region. The friendly relation with Israel has no justification, and they will see damages as a result of friendliness with the Zionists, Amir-Abdollahian said. In response to Rouhanis comments, the UAE summoned Irans charge daffaires in Abu Dhabi. UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash tweeted that the decision to normalize ties with Israel had nothing to do with Iran and said it was a domestic issue. In this article LIGHT-NL Lighting company Signify acquired Germicidal Lamps & Applications (GLA), including its upper-room UV-C air disinfection portfolio. Signify | GLA New ways to clean or disinfect buildings, surfaces and clothes are seeing increased demand, according to tech company leaders. Eric Rondolat, chief executive of lighting company Signify, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" Monday that many professional environments are looking to its products, those that emit UV light that can degrade coronavirus particles. "In terms of retail, we see a lot of need for disinfection and for schools, also a lot of need for disinfection and that would be the same in places like plants, manufacturing plants, warehouses, where this technology can apply," Rondolat stated. Signify is developing products such as disinfection "tunnels" that use UV-C light to deactivate the coronavirus, which could be used for grocery carts or airport luggage trollies for example. "Or in clothes retail so that they are able to put the clothes that have been tried by someone into a UV-C chamber in order to be disinfected for the next customer," Rondolat said. In June, Signify said it had tested its latest technology with Boston University researchers and found that the exposure of the virus to UV light helps to "degrade" it. But, Rondolat added, Signify is looking at applications where there is no human exposure to UV light, which can be potentially harmful. "When we talk about UV and UV-C, it uses wavelengths where the exposure of human body and human eyes has to be limited. But we've been using that technology now for 35 years, so we know which type of applications are going to be enabled by using that technology," he stated. Rondolat said that both demand from corporates as well as government policy could generate a need for its disinfection technology, which it is making available to other lighting companies. "We need companies like ours to really step up ... At the beginning of 2021 we will have eight times the capacity that we had at the beginning of 2020," he stated. "Now we have more and more countries enabling through standards and norms that technology to be implemented in the right application, so we need both sides," Rondolat added. It's not just commercial environments that are generating a rising demand for products that sanitize. Samsung's senior vice president of its digital appliance business, Mark Choe, told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" that the company is seeing an increased demand for products that have hygiene functions, such as dishwashers and air purifiers. Its AirDresser, an in-home closet that steam cleans clothes and retails at 1,999 ($2,619) on its U.K. website, is proving popular, Choe said. "This is a product that uses powerful air and steam to remove odor, dust and germs and this is a product that's gaining really great interest globally," he stated. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka helicoptered in to a firestorm on August 17 in an effort to rally industrial workers following a major show of force by the opposition the night before. But instead of saving his political skin, he walked away from the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Factory (MZKT) vowing not to hold a repeat of the recent election that gave him a sixth-straight term and resulted in nationwide protests "until you kill me." Videos of the event showed hundreds of workers on the grounds of the major heavy-duty truck manufacturer drowning out the president's words with heckling, boos, and chants of "Leave!" Speaking outside the plant just hours after his main rival in the disputed August 9 election, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, called for a fresh vote and said she was prepared to lead the country through a transition, Lukashenka took a hard line. "We held elections already," he told the workers. "There will be no other elections until you kill me." He slightly modified this position later the same day, saying Belarus could hold a new presidential election after the country adopted a new constitution. His trip to MZKT was also marred by scenes of confrontation with his audience, including one in which he approaches workers and promises he won't beat them before shouting at one person filming the encounter: " Be a man! There is a crowd of you, and I am alone! Put down your phone!" The opposition, which says Lukashenka rigged the presidential vote and is demanding he step down, amassed a crowd in the Belarusian capital on August 16 that dwarfed a pro-presidential rally earlier in the day. Unlike the nightly protests that followed the contentious vote, the August 16 demonstrations were not marred by bloody police crackdowns and mass detentions. The opposition has called for factory workers, a traditional source of support for the long-serving authoritarian president, to join a general strike -- adding to the instability that has crippled the country's economy in recent months. Seeking to head off walkouts like those seen at factories around the country earlier, Lukashenka traveled to MZKT and another industrial powerhouse, the Minsk Auto Factory, apparently with an eye toward showing he was willing to compromise. The independent media outlet Tut.by published a transcript of much of Lukashenka's back and forth with workers in which he indicated he was willing to share power and said that a new constitution, to be approved by a national referendum, was possible. But things got heated early when workers, dismayed by official election results that had Lukashenka winning with 80 percent of the vote, peppered him with questions, asking how that was possible considering the obvious support for his rival and why no election observers were allowed. Lukashenka doubled down by asking, "Guys, tell me, how can you falsify 80 percent of the vote?" The crowd answered with a collective scoff. Crisis 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. Asked when his promise of a new constitution would be delivered, Lukashenka insisted he would not be pressured to leave early. "Yes, I'm not a saint," he said. "You know my toughness. You know that if there was no toughness, there would be no country. But you know what I am willing to do and what I am not. You know that I will not harm your children and that I will not give away the country to anyone." Soon after, dissatisfied workers began shouting "Leave!" -- a frequent chant by protesters calling for the presidents resignation in the wake of the election. Eventually, the chants drowned out Lukashenka's attempts to respond to accusations that he was lying, forcing him off the podium. "Thanks, I said everything," he concluded. "Now you can shout 'Leave.'" "We are thrilled about the Top Tier Product Award for our S-Series Cabinet Solution and the recognition of our design excellence of cabinets with the ability to cool the most demanding workloads efficiently and be deployed virtually anywhere. We are revolutionizing the way companies are planning and modernizing their data centers," said Gavin Miller, chief sales and marketing officer of DDC Cabinet Technology. Perhaps the most unique feature of the platform, and the one that stuck out most to the judges, according to Mission Critical is the Dynamic Density Control. The proprietary Dynamic Density Control technology delivers the efficiency of liquid cooling, with the flexibility and low-risk benefits of air. At the rack level, water and electrical consumption, fan speed, and air volume react to changes in IT hardware activity to sustain ideal environmental conditions for each individual enclosure, whether it's operating at 5 kW or 55 kW all without any human intervention. OpenAPI integration to existing building management system (BMS) tools provides dynamic operating feedback to pumps, chillers, and supporting infrastructure to deliver PUE benefits and further reduce costs and increase efficiency. "The S-Series Cabinet is now the data center with integrated environmental control, biometric security, fire suppression, and monitoring," said Mr. Miller. "We continue to push the boundaries of efficiently cooling the highest density workloads at our onsite lab and we're seeing promising results of cooling 100kW and beyond. Our customers can be rest assured that DDC Cabinet Technology will continue design excellence with the best future-proof cooling solutions and cabinet enclosures." DDC Cabinet Technology will virtually showcase the award-winning S-Series Cabinets at Data Center World 2020 (August 24-27, 2020), as well as the ruggedized R-Series lineup for mobile, outdoor, or Edge deployments. Visit our website www.ddcontrol.com to learn more DDC Cabinet Technology. About DDC Cabinet Technology DDC Cabinet Technology designs and manufactures cabinet and enclosure technologies to enable the deployment of any hardware, at any density, anywhere. The portfolio includes a variety of modular and edge solutions which allow efficient operation of IT hardware in nearly any environment, in either modular or self-contained form factors. The DDC family of products include fire suppression, various security options, shock mounting, extreme environment support, and other key features which ensure the success of any IT deployment, anywhere. To learn more, please visit us at https://ddcontrol.com. About Mission Critical magazine Mission Critical has been connecting data center and critical facility buyers and sellers for more than 12 years. The print and digital versions provide must-read editorial content that data center owners/managers/designers/engineers, IT managers, network systems integrators, cloud/IT specialists, and power and cooling professionals all require in this multibillion-dollar market. www.missioncriticalmagazine.com SOURCE DDC Cabinet Technology Related Links https://ddcontrol.com An internal investigation by Motherson Automotive Technologies & Engineering (MATE) in India has endorsed its dismissal of militant workers involved in last years 140-day strike over wages, conditions and union recognition at the companys Sriperumbudur plant in Tamil Nadu. On July 20, Motherson management sent notices to the 51 permanent workers it sacked during the dispute, informing them that an internal company inquiry had confirmed the charges against them. The letter gave the victimised workers one week to reply to the inquirys bogus findings. Mothersons witch-hunt of these workers was directly facilitated by the betrayal of the protracted strike by the Maoist-controlled Left Trade Union Centre (LTUC). Having isolated the strike for more than four months, the LTUC directed the strikers back to work on January 13 without any of their demands being granted or the reinstatement of the sacked workers. The union rubber-stamped the company investigation, claiming that if the 51 permanent workers were not reinstated there would be a legal challenge. MATE, which was established in 1986 as a joint venture between Samvardhana Motherson Group and Japan-based Sumitomo Wiring Systems, has facilities in 42 countries, employing a total of over 135,000 workers. In 2018, the giant corporation had a turnover of $US11.7 billion. Along with its Sriperumbudur plant, MATE operates two other factories in Tamil Nadu and has a total of 11 facilities across India, including in the states of Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana and Gujarat. MATEs Sriperumbudur facility has over 1,500 workers but only a third are permanent, with the remainder either contract or trainee employees. In defiance of management pressure and intimidation, 300 of the plants total 568-strong permanent workforce began an indefinite strike on August 26 last year. The strikers demanded a wage rise, better working conditions and recognition of the Chengai Anna Mavatta Jana Nayaga Thozhilalar Sangam (CAMJTS) union. The newly-formed union was initially linked to the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), the union wing of the Maoist Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist-Liberation (CPI-ML-Liberation). Towards the end of the strike, however, and following an unexplained factional split in the AICCTU, the CAMJTS affiliated with the LTUC, a regional breakaway. Under the MATE-LTUC return-to-work deal, managements disciplinary inquiries would be submitted to an assistant labour commissioner for a final ruling. This was ignored by management, whose July 20 letters by-passed the assistant labour commissioner. Thus far, neither the assistant labour commissioner nor the LTUC has raised a word of protest against MATE managements arbitrary violation of the agreement. The deafening silence of the LTUC is no surprise but a continuation of the role it played, along with the AICCU, throughout the Sriperumbudur dispute. Both union coalitions isolated the strikers, refusing to mobilise the hundreds of contract workers and trainees at the plant, and made no appeal to other Motherson group employees in Tamil Nadu or anywhere else in India. Instead, the unions directed the strikers into harmless and futile appeals to the anti-working class Tamil Nadu state government and various government labour officials. The AICCTU and LTUC bureaucracies both told MATE management they would end the strike and drop all demands if the company agreed to take no action against the strikers. The AICCTU factional split and formation of the LTUC was another manifestation of the right-wing Tamil regionalist orientation of all the Maoist-Stalinist organisations in Tamil Nadu. The LTUC aligned itself with the chauvinist Velka Thamil (Rise up Tamil) campaigns led by the various Tamil nationalist organisations. The Maoist union leaders, in a calculated effort to split the Motherson autoparts workers from their fellow workers across India, directed the strikers to participate in Tamil nationalist demonstrations and protests. The reactionary policies of the AICCTU and LTUC flow from the nationalist and pro-capitalist program of the CPI-ML-Liberation, which is electorally aligned with the two main Stalinist parliamentary partiesthe Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) and the Communist Party of India (CPI). In the 2019 Indian parliamentary elections, these organisations joined an electoral bloc led by the big-business Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam (DMK). In Bihar state, the CPI-ML-Liberation aligned itself with the pro-capitalist Congress Party and pledged to help it form an alternative government. Throughout the Motherson strike the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) published articles exposing the treacherous policies of the AICCTU and the LTUC and elaborating a socialist and international program through which Motherson workers could advance their struggle. Indian supporters of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) distributed and discussed this material with the strikers in defiance of the desperate attempts to block them by AICCTU and LTUC officials. MATE managements bogus inquiries and its ongoing attempts to intimidate the victimised strikers vindicate the warnings made by the WSWS. The central lesson of the MATE workers strike and its betrayal by the unions is that the struggle for permanent jobs, decent wages, improved working conditions and basic democratic rights can only be advanced by challenging the capitalist system and all its political agencies. This requires a complete break from all Stalinist-Maoist controlled, pro-capitalist unions and for workers to establish genuinely independent rank-and-file committees that fight to mobilise autoworkers in unified action throughout India and internationally. Some of the victimised strikers, who do not want to be named due to fear of reprisals, have contacted the WSWS since receiving MATE managements July 20 letter, explaining that they have lost faith in the LTUC. These workers, who had turned to the WSWS for guidance during the dispute, said that the union had not contacted them about MATEs letters. They also explained that they now realise why LTUC officials were so hostile to the WSWS and why they told strikers not to talk to WSWS reporters. The number of Americans who mail in their ballots in November is expected to double amid the coronavirus pandemic. The number of Americans voting by mail in the national election on November 3 is expected to nearly double due to coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the United States harder than any other country in terms of the number of deaths and cases. But election experts see little reason to expect an increase in ballot fraud, despite President Donald Trumps repeated claims. Voting by mail is not new in the US nearly one in four voters cast 2016 presidential ballots that way. Routine methods and the decentralised nature of US elections make it very hard to interfere with mailed ballots, experts say. And while mail-in balloting does have its drawbacks, it can help minimise the long lines at polling sites, faulty voting machines and COVID-19-induced staffing shortages that have already hindered some US elections this year. How secure is it? Election experts say it would be nearly impossible for foreign actors to disrupt an election by mailing out fake ballots, a scenario floated by Attorney General William Barr. For one thing, voters will not just be selecting a president: they might be choosing candidates for city council, school board and weighing in on ballot initiatives. That can require hundreds of different ballot designs in a single county and the US has more than 3,000 counties. Ballots are not counted if they are not printed on the proper type of paper and do not include specific technical markings. States also require voters to sign the outside of their envelope, which they match to a signature on file. Some 29 states and the District of Columbia allow voters to track their ballots to ensure they are received, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Fourteen states and DC also allow voters to return their ballots by hand if they do not trust the mail. Those envelopes are typically opened by a different group of workers than those who scan the ballots. Outside observers are allowed to monitor the process to ensure voter privacy. Is fraud a problem? As with other forms of voting, documented cases of mail-ballot fraud are extremely rare. The conservative Heritage Foundation, which has warned of the risks of mail voting, found 14 cases of attempted mail fraud out of roughly 15.5 million ballots cast in Oregon since the state started conducting elections by mail in 1998. The most prominent cases of mail fraud have involved campaigns, not voters. People drop off their mail-in ballots in the US presidential primary election in San Diego, California [File: Mike Blake/Reuters] North Carolina invalidated the results of a 2018 congressional election after state officials found that a Republican campaign operative had orchestrated a ballot fraud scheme. Experts say those scenarios can be minimised by nixing requirements currently in place in 11 states which instruct voters to get at least one witness to sign their return envelopes. At least two of those states have created special exemptions for voters who cite the coronavirus as the reason for requesting the mail-in ballot. All of these policies remove the need to hand over your ballot to someone you dont know, said Tammy Patrick, a former election official in Maricopa County, Arizona. Do universal mail-in ballots change anything? The Trump administration, in recent days, has focused its criticism of mail-in ballots more specifically on states that have so-called universal mail-in ballot systems. These states send ballots to all registered voters, as opposed to only those registered voters who request them. With Universal Mail-In Voting (not Absentee Voting, which is good), 2020 will be the most INACCURATE & FRAUDULENT Election in history. It will be a great embarrassment to the USA. Delay the Election until people can properly, securely and safely vote??? Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020 Before the coronavirus pandemic, five states Washington, Utah, Oregon, Hawaii and Colorado had previously sent mail-in ballots to all registered voters and planned to do so in 2020. California, Nevada, Vermont and New Jersey have since adopted the approach in light of the pandemic. The White House, which has sued Nevada, notably the only battleground state currently planning to send ballots to all registered voters, over the policy has said that more widely distributed ballots increase the chances of fraud, especially in instances where voters no longer live at the address at which they registered to vote. However, there has been no evidence of increased fraud in states that had already been sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters. Democrats have argued that fraud under all systems of mail-in voting generally remains easy to detect and investigate, with Senator Corey Booker noting, according to Politico, you literally have a paper trail. Does mail-in voting help voter turnout? Turnout rates tend to be higher in states that conduct elections by mail. A Stanford University study found that participation increased by roughly two percentage points in three states that rolled out universal voting by mail from 1996 to 2018. It had no effect on partisan outcome and did not appear to give an advantage to any particular racial, economic or age group. When folks in CO #VoteAtHome every ballot goes through a rigorous security process ensuring its safe & secure including: Signature verification Secure ballot design Vote tabulation overseen by judges Checking their work Read more herehttps://t.co/P4fAHu5tHa Vote At Home (@voteathome) August 16, 2020 In Colorado, 77 percent of voting-age citizens cast ballots in the 2016 presidential election, the highest figure in the country, according to the US Election Assistance Commission. In Oregon, that figure was 72 percent and in Washington it was 68 percent, well above the national average of 63 percent. Are there barriers? Like any other voting method, mail balloting has its drawbacks. States rejected 1 percent of returned ballots in 2016 for arriving too late, missing signatures or other problems, according to EAC figures though that figure was as high as 5 percent in some states. It can be more difficult to fix errors on mail ballots than on those cast in person, experts say. Mail ballots can pose additional barriers to those who do not speak English or have disabilities, and delivery can be problematic on Native American reservations, where residents sometimes do not have street addresses. In California, which started transitioning to mail ballots in 2018, Black and Hispanic voters were twice as likely to cast their ballots in person, according to David Becker, head of the Center for Election Innovation and Research. A man who was ordered to quarantine at Perths Mercure Hotel has been accused of fleeing through a window and climbing down a ladder on four occasions to visit his girlfriend. WA tyre-fitter Yusuf Karakaya flew into Perth from Sydney on July 30 when he began his 14-day quarantine at the inner-city hotel, Nine News Perth reported. Within hours he emailed police asking if he could instead isolate at his Langford home, but the request was rejected. It has been alleged Mr Karakaya then squeezed through the hotel window and used a ladder an acquaintance had brought to scale down to the ground before driving to his girlfriends house in Medina. Special Prosecutor Dan Webb concluded Monday that Chicago prosecutors committed substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures in their handling of the case against actor Jussie Smollett last year but are not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. According to a news release in which Webb announced the conclusion of his investigation, Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx made false statements about the case against the former Empire actor and continued to be involved in the prosecution even after she had publicly recused herself. The special prosecutors report also said that Foxx made misleading statements about her contacts with Smolletts sister, Jurnee Smollett. Foxx continued to communicate with Smolletts sister for five days after learning that Smollett was a suspect in a Chicago police investigation despite stating that she had stopped communicating with his family after receiving that information, Webbs report said. However, Webb said he found nothing supporting criminal charges against Foxx or those in her office, and no third party influenced decisions about the case. Smollett, who is a gay African-American, told police last year that two men attacked him as he was walking home around 2a.m. on January 29, 2019, punching him and putting a noose around his neck while shouting, this is MAGA country, along with racist and anti-gay slurs. Chicago police chief Eddie Johnson later announced that Smollett had hired two acquaintances of his, brothers from Nigeria, to stage the attack in order to raise his public profile. The brothers later sued Smolletts attorneys for defamation, saying the actor, whom they worked with on Empire had directed every aspect of the attack, including throwing a chemical substance on him. In February, Smollett was indicted by a grand jury on sixteen charges, including a felony charge for filing a false police report, after evidence from an investigation suggested he had in fact staged the attack in an attempt to boost his career. Story continues However, all charges against Smollett were abruptly dropped a month after he was charged and his record wiped clean, sparking a public outcry. Prosecutors gave Webbs team significantly and meaningfully divergent explanations for how the resolution was reached. A Chicago judge appointed Webb as special prosecutor to probe how local officials handled the case against Smollett, and in February, Webb indicted Smollett on charges related to the accusations that the actor paid two acquaintances to stage an anti-gay and racist attack on him. The Cook County States Attorneys Office issued a statement saying it categorically rejects Webbs teams characterizations of its exercises of prosecutorial discretion and private or public statements as abuses of discretion or false statements to the public. While the release does not say so, any implication that statements made by the CCSAO were deliberately inaccurate is untrue. More from National Review Visa Europe Ltd -Breach of Personal Data Melbourne, Aug 17, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - iSignthis Ltd ( ASX:ISX ) ( FRA:TA8 ) has been advised by Visa Europe Ltd that personal data held on behalf of its European subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, has been manually transferred to Visa Australia (AP) Pty Ltd.No member of the iSignthis group has any contractual relationship with Visa Australia (AP) Pty Ltd. The licensing agreement for Australia was between Visa Worldwide Pte Ltd, being Visa's Asia Pacific regional head office in Singapore, and iSignthis Ltd.The manual data transfer was not at the request of the data controller iSignthis eMoney Ltd, and was likely in breach of Visa's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) obligations, the Non-Disclosure Agreements and Membership Deed confidentiality agreements between Visa and iSignthis group companies. No consent was given for the data transfer by any iSignthis group company.iSIgnthis eMoney Ltd has notified and/or lodged a complaint with;- the United Kingdom Information Commissioner's Office reference IC-48691-X9P8- the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner reference DBN20/00827- the Cypriot Office of the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection reference "Visa_iSignthis"The Company is also aware from communications originating from Visa Europe that Visa Australia has shared data with Australian Government agencies, including the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). iSignthis is not aware of any legitimate purpose under European regulations for the sharing of the data, nor why Visa Australia would have the data in the first instance.iSignthis is further also aware from communications originating from the ASX, that ASIC has shared some data and documents with the ASX Ltd under s127 of the ASIC Act.Affected persons are being advised individually, and that they may lodge a complaint regarding Visa's mishandling of their personal data by visiting the below hyperlinks and including the relevant reference from above:AustraliaCyprusUnited KingdomThe Company apologises to its merchants, business owners, customers and cardholders who may have been affected by Visa's data breach, and for any inconvenience this data breach may cause.The Company is not aware if Visa Europe Ltd has reported the data breach under its General Data Protection Regulation obligations, which includes disclosure of the number of persons affected, the reason for the breach, and the impact to persons affected by the breach.About iSignthis Ltd iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions. By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard. iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia. ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others. Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service. Meet DJ LALIT aka Lalit Kudle the DJ whos making the right kind of noise YashXDMusic aka Yaash Gupta is now shining on this planet as a known name building his brand in the music worl LS Pannu has the power to rule your senses with his soulful music pieces and songs DJ KJ: Making You Tap Your Feet to his beats Legendary vocalist Pandit Jasraj passes away at 90 India oi-Deepika S New Delhi, Aug 17: Legendary classical music vocalist Pandit Jasraj passed away on Monday at the age. He was 90. With a career spanning over 80 years, he was a recipient of various prestigious awards and honours including Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. The classical vocalist, who infused life into the most complex ragas and held audiences spellbound with his craft, leaves behind a storied legacy spanning more than eight decades. Noted Urdu Poet Rahat Indori passes away, had tested Covid-19 positive He is survived by his wife Madura, son Shaarang Dev Pandit and daughter Durga Jasraj, both musicians. Bapuji is no more, his daughter Durga told PTI over phone from Mumbai. She was inconsolable and could not speak any more. Pandit Jasraj, who belonged to the Mewati Gharana and was one of India's greatest music legends, was in the US when the coronavirus-led lockdown happened and decided to stay back in that country. Demonstrating his ability to adapt with the times, his last performance was in April this year. He sang on Hanuman Jayanti for the Sankat Mochan Hanuman temple in Varanasi through Facebook Live. With profound grief we inform that Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj ji breathed his last this morning at 5.15 EST due to a cardiac arrest at his home in New Jersey, USA, a statement issued by his family said here. May Lord Krishna welcome him lovingly through the doors of heaven, where Pandit ji will now sing Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaya exclusively just for his beloved Lord. We pray that his soul rests in eternal musical peace. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers," it said. Among those who mourned the death of the world renowned maestro were President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Music legend and unparalleled classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj's passing makes me sad. Spanning a distinguished career of over 8 decades, Pandit Jasraj, a Padma Vibhushan recipient, enthralled people with soulful renditions. Condolence to his family, friends & music connoisseurs, the president said on Twitter. The prime minister added that his unfortunate demise leaves a deep void in the Indian cultural sphere . Not only were his renditions outstanding, he also made a mark as an exceptional mentor to several other vocalists. Condolences to his family and admirers worldwide. Om Shanti, the PM tweeted along with two pictures with the vocalist. Home Minister Amit Shah described Pandit Jasraj as an incredible artist who enriched Indian classical music with his magical voice and said his death felt like "a personal loss". Pandit Jasraj was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. Music composer A R Rahman also paid tribute to the great vocalist. "RIP PanditJasraj Indian classical music has lost one of its shining stars," he tweeted. Composer Shankar Mahadevan said he was devastated after hearing the news that Pandit Jasraj has moved on to the next dimension . "A big void in the world of Indian Classical music. His music will live on in this planet, he wrote. Grand-niece Shweta Pandit remembered her "precious dadu". "So many insanely beautiful memories you have given me but I have no words now. In an interview with PTI on his birthday this January, Pandit Jasraj had spoken about being in sync with times and technology. "I teach through Skype. I suggest everyone do it. I am walking with time and that's what one should do. I don't like when people say 'Woh zamaana achha tha' (Those were the good times). "I believe the current phase is good. One should not compare it with the past -- good or bad. One has to walk with time and only then you will like the current time," he had told PTI in an interview. The classical music stalwart had also spoken about his eclectic taste in music and fondness for melody queen Lata Mangeshkar. "I listen to western music, African music and also cinema music. My all-time favourite is Lata Mangeshkar, there is no one like her. I often talk to her. I watch movies, I catch up on films on OTT platforms. Whatever my granddaughter plays it, I see it," he had said. He also sang in the movies. His first song was in 1966 with the bhajan Vandana Karo in raga Ahir Bhairav for his father-in-law V Shantaram's Ladki Sahyadri Ki . The bhajan was composed by Vasant Desai. Pandit Jasraj's second film song came almost after a decade in the 1975 movie Birbal My Brother , for which he collaborated with another legend, classical vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, on a 'jugalbandi' in raga Malkauns. Pandit Jasraj's last Bollywood song was in 2008 for Vikram Bhatt's horror movie 1920 . The song, titled Vaada tumse hai vaada , was composed by Adnan Sami. His rendition of raga Ahir Bhairav was also used by filmmaker Ang Lee in his Hollywood movie Life of Pi . Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in his Independence Day speech that over six lakh Indian villages will soon be connected with optical fibre networks. The task is said to be completed in the next 1,000 days making it one of the biggest initiatives taken in the country to bring internet to rural India. VoiceAndData PM Modi also pointed out that as of 2014, only five dozen panchayats in the country were connected with optical fibre. In the last five years, 1.5 lakh village panchayats have now been connected with optical fibre, he said. In the next 1,000 days, all villages in the country will be connected with optical fibre, he said. Whats also interesting is that a union territory like Lakshadweep, that is not part of the mainland, will also be getting fibre optics cables. However, in this case, the region will be connected with a submarine optical fibre cable. CSA Ocean Sciences Brining optical fibre to 6 lakh villages comes with many advantages that add to the digital society of India and here are some key benefits: 1. Faster Internet Connections In Remote Areas paul-hanaoka-unsplash Many villages are often secluded in remote areas where even mobile connectivity suffers. Bringing fibre optic to remote villages can prop up hot-spot regions for citizens in remote areas that need access to the internet. 6 Lakh villages getting access to fibre optic internet will add millions of more internet users from their homes. The optical fibre network will be able to bring high-speed broadband internet to villages that currently rely on mobile internet for irregular connectivity. 2. It Will Contribute To The Digital Economy Twitter_BJP4India As high-speed internet gets more accessible to users in villages, they will start consuming digital content, start purchasing online and make digital transactions to save time. This will not only lead to more consumption but will also benefit key players like content creators, e-commerce websites and other media websites. During his speech, PM Modi said the importance of the new initiative was realised during the COVID-19 pandemic. "In the last month only, transactions worth about Rs 3 lakh crore took place through BHIM UPI alone, he said. PM Modi added that digital transaction witnessed a huge surge during the lockdown period. Often enough, villages are quite distant to their nearest bank and online transactions will weed out that problem thanks to internet banking and high-speed internet. 3. Cheaper Broadband Prices jonathan-unsplash India is already known for offering some of the cheapest mobile internet prices and with the potential of new millions of broadband users, we will see broadband internet get cheaper across the board. It will be quite similar to how Reliance Jio disrupted the mobile internet market. As the demand for broadband internet will increase, the price could drop down significantly in the next 1000 days. 4. Access To Education mohammad-shahhosseini--unsplash For villages that dont get enough wireless connectivity, people will be able to use resources like Wikipedia, journals and news websites for educational purposes. With the COVID-19 pandemic, online classes have also become more relevant than ever, however, due to lack of optic fibres, some schools in villages are being left behind. With the addition of fibre optic connectivity, schools will now be able to host online classes for their students who can attend these classes with reliable internet connections. RALEIGH North Carolina election officials are encouraging voters to request and cast their absentee by-mail ballots sooner as a result of potential United States Postal Service delays. The Postal Service, in a letter to North Carolinas Secretary of State Elaine Marshall received Friday, said that under our reading of North Carolinas election laws, certain deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots are incongruous with the Postal Services delivery standards. The state deadline to request a ballot is 5 p.m. on Oct. 27, but state election officials and the Postal Service indicate that date might be too late. Election Day is Nov. 3. North Carolina voters can request an absentee by-mail ballot now. County election boards will begin mailing ballots to voters who have requested one on Sept. 4. Were encouraging folks to put it in the mail at least a week before Election Day, said Patrick Gannon, spokesman for the state board of elections. The letter was signed by Thomas Marshall, the general counsel and executive vice president of the USPS. North Carolina businessman and big-dollar Republican donor Louis DeJoy is the new Postmaster General. Government revenues in Africa are estimated to drop in 2020 by $45 billion, from the pre-COVID forecast, the African Union (AU) Chairperson, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, has said. He said this depreciation would further compound African countries high levels of debt, which had increased to roughly $40 billion annually, driven higher by the depreciation of many African currencies in 2020. President Ramaphosa said this on Monday in a speech read on his behalf at the official commissioning and handing over of the AfCFTA Secretariat building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo officially commissioned and handed over the AfCFTA Secretariat building to Mr Moussa Faki, AUC Chairperson. President Ramaphosa said in 2020, African debt was expected to increase by about 4.4 percentage points of GDP and was thus likely to trigger a debt crisis and potentially a default by some countries. He said the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the postponement of the July 2020 start date of trade under the AfCFTA, which delayed the promise of opportunities for new exports, jobs, investments in infrastructure and financing for Africas development. He said the huge economic effect of the crisis had led to exchange rate depreciations and a projected decline in Africas GDP. He noted that the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) envisages a -2.6 per cent contraction in terms of economic growth in Africa, depriving 19 Million people of their livelihoods and pushing 29 million people into poverty. This pandemic has further exposed the entrenched inequalities between men and women and the plight of women and girls with regard to gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, education, economic empowerment and financial inclusion of women and girls in Africa must be a priority, he said. Therefore, there is no time to delay the right and access of women to contribute and meaningfully participate in decision making and policy development to ensure a gender responsive approach that is appropriately budgeted for in programmes targeting the development of women and girls so that no one is left behind. He intimated that decades of progress to raise living standards and reduce poverty had now been replaced by increasing insecurity and inequality during this pandemic; adding that the pandemic was a health, economic, and environmental problem. President Ramaphosa said its impact on the health of the population, economic activity and social development were all interlinked, requiring them to have a comprehensive approach of inclusive and sustainable development. He said it was regrettable that the COVID-19 had had huge implications on the upcoming Extra-ordinary Summit of the AfCFTA, which was originally scheduled to be held in South Africa in May 2020, and had to be postponed to 5 December 2020 and the start of trading under the AfCFTA has also been moved from July 2020 to January 2021. However Africa is a resolute continent. Today bears testament to our tenacity to rise in the face of adversity. Together we will emerge stronger in a post-COVID-19 era to usher in prosperity and development in the African continent, he said. The road to economic recovery may be long and pose many challenges. But we are ready to tackle and overcome any adversity when we act together. Mr Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the AfCFTA, said the establishment of the AfCFTA, signals that Africa was opened for business and mutually beneficial investment thereby creating decent jobs and improving livelihoods. 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 Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition United Future Party, speaks in an interview with Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, at the National Assembly, Friday. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-han By Kang Seung-woo When Kim Chong-in took the helm of the moribund United Future Party (UFP) in June when it was reeling from a crushing defeat in April's general election, few believed the veteran politician could resuscitate the conservative party. However, it has only taken less than three months for Kim to prove them wrong, as evidenced by the UFP's recent approval ratings overtaking that of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which has 176 National Assembly seats, compared to the UFP's 103. And the credit is going to the long-term-focused leadership of Kim, who is the interim leader of the UFP, although some critics still underestimate the achievement, claiming the UFP's current winning position is mainly thanks to public disappointment toward the government and the ruling side. Trump tunes in to Calif. church after brothers death, hears sermon on Holy Spirit-led prayers Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment President Donald Trump praised his late younger brother Robert S. Trump as my biggest fan Monday, a day after seeking solace for his loss in an online worship service with Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, who preached on the power of prayer. Robert S. Trump died at the age of 71 in Manhattan on Saturday. In an interview with Fox and Friends Monday, President Trump explained that even though he knew his brothers death was imminent it was still tough to deal with when it happened. This was not a great weekend. Its very hard. You know it was going to happen but still when it happened its a very tough thing. He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy. He was my friend. I guess they say best friend and thats true. And losing him, not easy, Trump said. He noted that even though his brother was smart and competitive, he was never jealous of his achievements. He was always there. He wasnt a jealous person. A very smart guy and he would be there and he would be behind me. If I had the number one show, if I had a big success, no matter what I did, whether it was real estate deals or anything else, he was right there and in many cases helped me very much with whatever I did. And then when I became president, he was, I think, one of the most loyal people. There was no jealousy, he said. Watch the latest video at foxnews.com You know a lot of times in families, I hate to say it but theres jealousy, especially among children and among children that are competitive children because he was very competitive. Theres not an ounce of jealously, Trump continued, noting that his brother was proud of his work as president and was really upset with China for upending the progress that was being made. Hed go around talking about how great this is for the country and its so incredible. And he was my biggest fan. People would tell me all the time I spoke to your brother and your brother was so thrilled and so thrilled at what was happening and what was happening for the country. In his sermon on Sunday, which White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president watched online, Pastor Rodriguez of New Season Church in California, who is also president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said the White House called him on Saturday after Robert Trumps passing. Yesterday I get this call from the White House and the call was 'Pastor Samuel, weve been looking for you and weve been trying to reach you. Pastor Samuel we want to inform you that the president, the current occupant of the White House, his brother passed away.' And I went I am so sorry. 'Well, Pastor Sam, thats why were calling you because the president and the First Family would love to be ministered to by you and New Season,' Rodriguez said during his sermon in which he urged Christians to pray more unconventional prayers in the Holy Spirit. Pointing to the story of Hannah in the Bible, who was accused of being drunk by the high priest Eli when she prayed in an unusual way for a child, Rodriguez urged the church to pray crazy prayers. I need your prayer to remove the lid off your faith. I need you to pray like Hannah. I need you to pray where people start questioning your sanity. Dont pray religious prayers. Pray crazy things. What Im asking God, I refuse to pray for a new season. Im not asking God to bless our church; Im asking God to bless every church in America and every church around the world, he said. He also urged Christians in California who are upset about coronavirus-related restrictions on worship services not to pray against government leaders. Certain Christians in California are praying for the judgment of God to fall on governmental leadership because they are holding Christians back from worshiping. Im not making that prayer, he said. He then noted that his prayer is for God to fill government leaders with the power of the Holy Spirit. O Lord, I want you to show up in the middle of the night and I want you to show the governor, show the mayor, of every city that Jesus Christ is Lord, he said. I want to see the president calling upon the name of the Lord. I dont want hellfire. I want grace and the power of Jesus to saturate every life. Thats a crazy prayer. Rodriguez, who is also part of the global Spirit Empowered movement, highlighted Ephesians 6:18 in urging Christians to pray in the Holy Spirit as the times demand it. Ladies and gentlemen, we need to pray in the Holy Spirt. Now this may be, some people may not get this but you will. Praying in the Spirit, when Samuel prays in the Spirit, its not Samuels ideas. Its not my concepts. Im not praying based on my need or the needs of my loved ones or my church or my community, he said. When I pray in the Spirit is when I pray, Lord you know things that I dont know. So Im going to tap into your presence and Im going to be a vehicle by which your Spirit will pray through me. Use my mouth. Use my heart, use this mind and pray through me. You need to start praying in the Holy Spirit. We need a church that prays in the Holy Spirit. We are living in some very difficult precarious times. We dont need more churches; we need more churches that pray in the Holy Spirit. Pray with the language from Heaven. Its not weird. It makes you wired. It is powerful when you pray in the Holy Spirit, it is powerful when youre filled with the Spirit and you pray in the Spirit When you pray in the Spirit, there is not a demon in Hell or a devil on earth that can grab a hold and try to hold back the heavenly language that activates the fullness of the promises of God. Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading. State Rep. Mike Carter is in the Intensive Care Unit at Erlanger Hospital with COVID-19, House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison said in an email. He stated, Our friend and colleague Mike Carter is in ICU at Erlanger with COVID. He is asking for prayers. Lets lift him up yall. On Monday morning, Rep. Carter tweeted, "Feeling a little better this morning but expect ups and downs during recovery. "Sincere thanks to the wonderful staff here at Erlanger and for all the prayers and well wishes." Rep. Carter, a Republican from Ooltewah, was among those attending the Lincoln Day Dinner in Chattanooga on July 31. Afterward, the county Health Department warned of a COVID exposure at the heavily-attended event that featured both U.S. Senate candidates Bill Hagerty and Manny Sethi. Rep. Carter is an attorney who was formerly a Hamilton County judge in General Sessions Court. Earlier, former House Speaker Glen Casada said he had come down with the virus. He did not attend the recent special legislative session. Money laundering: Jaqueline to appear before ED on Dec 8 From Lous Vuittons to Hermes to Gucci gym clothes: What conman Sukesh gifted Jacqueline Fernandez ED registers case under PMLA in China hawala scam India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 17: The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case in connection with the China hawala scam. The case was filed against Luo Sang alias Charlie Peng and others under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002. It may be recalled that last week the Income Tax Department conducted raids against some Chinese individuals and their local associates for allegedly indulging in a money laundering racket involving Rs 1,000 crore using shell or dubious firms, the CBDT said. Who is Charlie Peng, the alleged mastermind of the Chinese hawala racket in India It said 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". The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), that frames policy for the tax department, said the searches were launched basedA 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. Some bank officials were also raided, it 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," it said in a statement without identifying the entities involved. "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. South Africa, with the continents highest burden of COVID-19, has reached the peak of the pandemic, according to the president and top health officials. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a loosening of restrictions but said that he is not yet breathing a sigh of relief. A ray of hope for the Rainbow Nation, as the president announced that South Africa, with the continents heaviest known burden of the coronavirus, has passed its viral peak since reporting its first cases in early March. President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking late Saturday, said that over the past three weeks, the number of new confirmed cases has dropped from an daily average of about 12,000 to around 5,000 per day. A ray of light is visible now on the horizon," said Ramaphosa. "Let us continue to exercise the greatest caution and care and remain ever vigilant. Let us continue to stand united in our determination to defeat this virus. On the streets of Johannesburg Monday, residents had mixed feelings about the news. Robert Etzinger said while he was happy that the restrictions have eased, he wants more. I feel as though it's now lagging on too long. You know the rest of the economy needs to get back into the swing of things," said Etzinger. "The sooner we get over level two down to one, the sooner we can get the economy going and restart again. That's my feeling. The chair of South Africas advisory committee on COVID-19, Dr. Salim Abdool Karim, credits the governments swift lockdown measures. He says the government gained about 6 to 8 weeks of precious time to prepare by declaring a state of disaster, closing schools, banning international travel and banning the sales of alcohol and tobacco. The period where we are now, just past the peak of the epidemic, we have been seeing a slowing down in the number of cases, so that we are now between 4,000 and 5,000 cases a day," said Karim. Ramaphosa also announced a loosening of restrictions, including allowing sales of tobacco and alcohol. "Guided by the advice of our health experts and medical advisory committee, and after consultation with provincial and local government, Cabinet has decided to place the entire country on alert level 2, with effect from midnight on Monday, the 17th of August 2020," said Ramaphosa. South Africa has at least 600,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the nation of nearly 60 million. It is also at the forefront of coronavirus prevention, with scientists at the University of the Witwatersrand this week launching the nations second vaccine trial. Karim says the nations long history with other pandemics has prepared it for this challenge. South Africa was able to build its capacity to undertake testing because of its TB and HIV epidemics," said Karim. "Its the same technology. The problem has been in South Africa that we cant buy enough test kits, because we are trying to buy the same test kits everyone else is trying to buy, and so we were constrained for a substantial period, in just not being able to get enough kits. As that problem has been solved, now we do have enough kits, weve been able to escalate our testing to around 40,000 to 50,000 tests per day. The COVID-19 peak may have passed, says Karim, but the danger of a second surge remains. To that end, he urges South Africans to remain cautious. Henry Ridgwell and Zaheer Cassim contributed to this report. A longtime member of Houstons Independent Police Oversight Board has resigned, saying the organizations structure prevents it from providing meaningful oversight of the Houston Police Department and should be disbanded. In a pointed letter to Mayor Sylvester Turner dated last Thursday, board member Kristin Anderson wrote that the civilian police watchdog does not serve its stated purposes and it provides cover by making it appear that independent oversight is taking place. In this time of radical rethinking of the purpose and function of law enforcement, someone with the courage and moral imagination beyond tinkering with the edges of reform should rethink citizen oversight in Houston, she wrote. If we do not act now, what a profound opportunity we will have missed. The resignation marks the latest criticism of the volunteer board and comes amid widespread scrutiny of law enforcement departments following the death of longtime Houston resident George Floyd in an encounter with a Minneapolis police officer in May. Floyds death, captured on video, galvanized calls for systemic reform of local policing and widespread demonstrations. In Houston, more than 60,000 people gathered in early June to protest Floyds treatment at the hands of officer Derek Chauvin, who is now charged with second-degree murder. After the June march, more than 100 people called into a City Council committee meeting to demand that city leaders strengthen the oversight board and make other reforms a move that would put Turner at odds with the police, longtime political allies during his election campaigns who provided him political cover during a long-running pay dispute with the citys firefighters. In response to the outcry, Turner appointed a 45-person task force to consider reforms to the Police Department and public safety in Houston. Civil rights advocates raised further concerns after board chairman Marvin Hamilton struggled to answer basic questions from City Council members about how the IPOB could be improved. Hamilton could not be immediately reached for comment Monday morning. In an emailed statement, Turner said that when he appointed his policing task force earlier this summer, he ordered its members to review potential changes regarding the IPOB. Their work is ongoing, and I look forward to receiving the final report, he wrote. In fact, I already have sent Kristin Andersons letter to the chair. Ms. Anderson has served on the Independent Police Oversight Board since 2011. I appreciate her work and contributions to the City of Houston and wish her well. IPOB Scrutiny: Critics say Houston needs more robust civilian police oversight board In her letter, Anderson said that because the department provides the IPOB with only completed investigations, narratives and frames are already in place, leading IPOB members toward the outcome already determined by Internal Affairs. It is not surprising then that IPOB signs off on most cases without any deviation from IAs conclusions. The board comprising 20 civilian volunteers reviews HPDs completed investigations into possible excessive force, the discharge of a firearm and other major incidents. Its official purpose is to review internal investigations to determine if the investigation was sufficient, according to the citys website. They are appointed by the mayor and confirmed by City Council. The body is divided into four panels, each of which meets about once a month to review three or four cases. One member estimated the group reviews about 150 cases a year. The heads of each panel also sit on HPDs Administrative Disciplinary Committee, which reviews punishments against officers accused of misconduct. But Anderson, a psychology professor at the University of Houston-Downtown, said some IPOB members approached their job with a default lens tilted in favor of police officers. While I have served with some brilliant and inspiring Houstonians who are earnestly motivated to bring peace and justice to our community, far too many board members are uncritical boosters of the police and policing, sometimes shamelessly so, she wrote, which hinders their ability to fairly evaluate officer conduct. Anderson called on Turner to include members with a broader range of perspectives on the board. Formerly incarcerated citizens and others who have had both positive and negative experiences with law enforcement would represent the Houston community in a way that IPOB does not, she said. She also noted that she had never seen the IPOB fulfill one of its other charges: to review and make recommendations on recruitment, training and evaluation of police officers; and to consider community concerns regarding the department. Past criticism: Houston's police oversight group called a 'toothless watchdog' Some city leaders have resisted calls for reform. Giving the board more power would politicize every single police activity and allow members to punish officers based on the emotion of the event, said Councilman Mike Knox, a former Houston police officer. But other cities across the country have similar bodies with more robust powers, according to a list compiled by the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. In Austin, for example, the citys Office of Police Oversight has the power to initiate independent investigations and to make recommendations to city officials and the police department about individual incidents and investigations or broader policy recommendations. The Austin board also posts complaints against police officers or about the department itself. In Houston, residents can receive information only about sustained complaints and only after they have gone through the full disciplinary process. Related: Residents denounce police task force, call for immediate reforms at heated council committee meeting Other current and former IPOB members have raised concerns about its effectiveness, urging for it to be granted subpoena power and other abilities. Gerald Birnberg, an IPOB member, said he agrees with many of Andersons criticisms but did not think the board should be disbanded. There are too many state laws and meet-and-confer obstacles to replace it with an independent investigative body until those structural problems are fixed, he said. So disbanding the board would result in no citizen oversight at all. st.john.smith@chron.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 14:40:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW YORK, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The fallout of "an escalation in the economic war" between the United States and China "could be gargantuan," according to a recent article of the Economist magazine. Citing an estimate by Deutsche Bank, the article said "lost revenues in China, the expense of moving factories out of the country and compliance with the Chinese and American technospheres' diverging standards could cost global technology firms 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars over the next five years." "A large chunk of that burden" would fall on U.S. firms, added the article published Saturday. The article cited a tech entrepreneur from the Chinese mainland stranded in the United States due to COVID-19, who said that his U.S. partners "remain keen to do business" but his lawyers warned him of "two to three years of tension." "No foreign entity in America is fully safe" after the "arbitrary" TikTok case, he was quoted as saying. U.S. companies have "robust and growing businesses in China," the article said, citing examples that General Motors "sells more cars in China than in America," and that a research firm estimates Tesla may produce between 25-40 percent of its electric cars in China in 2021. The article also referred to a recent survey by the U.S.-China Business Council, a trade group representing more than 200 U.S. companies that do business with China, which showed that more of its members "now consider China a top strategic priority and top-five priority than did in 2019," and that "few plan to decamp from China." As China takes up more than 25 percent of global sales in a wide range of sectors including electronic components and Internet retail, "the biggest victim of decoupling would be America's tech giants, many of which rely heavily" on Chinese demand and suppliers, it noted. If U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order forces U.S. companies to stop business activities with Chinese tech firm Tencent, parent company of messaging and social media app WeChat, then Apple "will be forced to block" the app's Chinese version Weixin, said the article. "If that happens, Chinese smartphone users would choose Weixin over iPhones," it said, citing an Apple analyst to say that "a harsh ban could lead to a global decline in iPhone sales of as much as 25-30 percent." Enditem Zareen Khan says people still assume Salman Khan helps her find work: "I cannot be a monkey on his back" North Carolina Virtual Learning System Crashes on First Day of School The first day of the new school year in North Carolina started with frustration after a statewide virtual learning system crashed, denying students and teachers access to online classes for hours. NCEdCloud, the system used as a portal to other popular online learning platforms such as PowerSchool and Canvas, experienced an overload and crashed on Monday morning after students across the state tried to log in at the same time, school districts reported. The system remained down for about three hours until 11 a.m., when the technical issue was finally resolved. Not all districts experienced the NCEdCloud crash. Wake County Public Schools, the largest district in the state, did not report any issues with logging into the system. The NC Department of Public Instruction received reports this morning that teachers and students were having problems logging-in to NCEdCloud, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction said in a statement. The vendor-provider of the NCEdCloud Service confirmed that the product experienced a degradation in service this morning. The vendor will provide an explanation of the root cause once it has identified the source, the statement read. In the meantime, the service is now working. Some Republicans, citing the incident, criticized Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers school reopening plan, which requires school districts to either exclusively offer remote learning, or rotate students between in-person and online instruction to reduce classroom capacity. Hearing stories like this throughout North Carolina as the school year starts for a majority of students today, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who is running against Cooper for governor in the Nov. 3 general election, wrote on Twitter. Just one more reason why families should be given the choice to have their children in the classroom. Republican state senate leader Phil Berger also cited the NCEdCloud failure in arguing that the State Board of Education shouldnt have disapproved a proposal last week that would have allowed the states two virtual charter schools to increase their enrollments by as many as 3,800 students for the new school year. The virtual charter schools, despite poor performance, have 9,500 students on their waiting lists, largely due to high demands for virtual learning by parents who are concerned about in-person learning amid the ongoing pandemic. Meanwhile, the virtual charter schools, which @NC_Governor-controlled Board of Education prohibited from expanding, are fully up and running, Berger wrote on Twitter. The consequences of the State Board choice to deny additional educational opportunities are already on full display. State utility regulators have fined the states two largest electric distribution companies $10,000 each for not making significant progress in developing pricing and billing mechanisms necessary for the implementation of shared renewable energy programs. The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority levied the fines in a ruling issued late Friday. PURAs commissioners in late February had threatened the utilities with fines. Jeff Gaudiosi, PURAs executive secretary, said in a letter to representatives for the two utilities that information regulators had received from the two companies on July 1 was insufficient and short of the Authoritys standards. The companies had been warned that if such circumstances occurred again they would be fined, Gaudiosi said as part of his letter. One of the areas in which PURA officials found Eversources and UIs filings insufficent was in detailing how the utilities would work with community action agencies to recruit participants for shared solar as well as the type of relationships and coordination they would have with solar developers, according to Gaudiosis letter. Eversource spokesman Mitch Gross said company officials strongly support Connecticuts commitment to renewable energy and we look forward to continue working with PURA and other stakeholders on the implementation of this important program. We are presently evaluating whether a hearing will be requested, Gross said, referring to whether Eversource officials would seek a meeting with PURA members to discuss the ruling. UI spokesman Ed Crowder said company officials remain fully committed to this program and its clean energy goals, and we will continue to work with PURA to resolve technical issues. We expect to be ready to procure power under the program this year, Crowder said. State officials have been discussing shared renewable energy programs, especially those involving solar energy, since 2014. Shared solar energy programs, for example, involve setting up photovoltaic panels in a remote location and distributing the electricity that is generated to members who sign up for the service. The program at the center of PURAs frustration with the utilities involves setting up shared renewable energy projects across the state that would produce up to 25 megawatts of electricity for a period of six years. Mike Trahan, executive director of the trade group Solar Connecticut, said PURAs findings, combined with the fines, show state regulators are serious about making broad-based shared solar a reality sooner rather than later. Its a message there is a new team at PURA and they have new expectations, Trehan said, referring to the agencys chairwoman, Marissa Paslick Gillett, who began her new job in April 2019. The lower-level staff at PURA, he said, has seen some changes since Gov. Ned Lamont took office at the start of last year. Its not as if this is uncharted territory, Trahan said of shared solar. There are already 15 states that have some form of this in place. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 18:28:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TOKYO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed lower Monday amid concerns over the prospect for the Japanese economy following a record economic contraction in the April-June period, as exports and private consumption slumped due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 192.61 points, or 0.83 percent, from Friday to close the day at 23,096.75. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 13.56 points, or 0.84 percent, to finish at 1,609.82. Local brokers said that data released by the government showing Japan's economy shrank an annualized real 27.8 percent from the previous quarter in the April-June period, marking a record contraction as the global coronavirus pandemic stifled economic activity amid restrictions under a state of emergency declared over the situation, and dented investor sentiment from the off. They highlighted that while to a certain extent the contraction in GDP had been expected and hence to a degree factored in, investors were concerned about the pace of decline in private consumption, a key pillar of the world's third-largest economy, accounting for more than 50 percent of GDP. "The market was capped by the caution that recovery will be at a slower pace than expected in the July-Sept. quarter and Oct.-Dec. period," Yutaka Miura, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities Co., was quoted as saying. Other analysts struck a more positive tone, suggesting that in comparison to other major economies, the contraction was inevitable. Looking ahead as Japan continues to strike a balance between containing the novel coronavirus while reopening its economy, the market was not facing an imminent selloff and had seen positive factors recently. "The stock market could take some time to catch its breath because it has already priced in a lot of positive factors. I don't expect a big sell-off. Countries have been able to balance containing the virus without restricting economic activity," Masayuki Kichikawa, chief macro strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management Co., noted. Reports that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe checked into a hospital in Tokyo on Monday for what one of his aides' described as a "health checkup" amid rumors about his physical condition, including reports saying that the Japanese leader vomited blood at his office on July 6, and has been pacing his work activities, were largely shrugged off by the market, analysts here said. Also weighing on the market was profit-taking by those locking in gains following recent rises in companies performing well during earnings season amid the pandemic, as well as those that have gained traction recently such as pharmaceutical and precision instrument makers on expectations of their contribution in battling the coronavirus pandemic. By the close of play, precision instrument, service and land transportation issues comprised those that declined the most. Among pharmaceutical issues that were sold for gains, Eisai dropped 0.6 percent, while Daiichi Sankyo retreated 2.2 percent. Electric appliance issues also weighed, with NEC down 1.6 percent, while Fujitsu also closed 1.6 percent lower. Bucking the downward trend, Honda Motor was a notable winning, accelerating 0.7 percent. Issues that fell outpaced those that rose by 1,452 to 635 on the First Section, while 86 ended the day unchanged. On the main section on Monday, 819.22 million shares changed hands, dropping from Friday's volume of 1,055.53 million shares. The turnover on the first trading day of the week came to 1.501 trillion yen (14.106 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem RTHK: 'Eat out' scheme feeds restaurant revival in UK A British government scheme to encourage people to visit restaurants, by paying a slice of the bill, has boosted a sector devastated by the coronavirus, according to a study published on Monday. The incentive "Eat Out to Help Out" valid Monday to Wednesday until the end of August sees the government contribute 50 percent of the cost of a cafe, restaurant or pub meal, up to 10 (US$13) per person. Analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) shows that despite the pandemic it has helped to increase diner numbers by more than a quarter year-on-year. In the first two weeks of August, the number of people who ate out on the scheme's active days leapt 26.9 percent, said the CEBR. It noted the month-long scheme, crafted by finance minister Rishi Sunak, would give Britain "a much-needed boost towards normality". Nina Skero, economist at CEBR, said it was "impossible to deny" that the initiative had been a success. She noted it encouraged people to use restaurants while also helping people "get back into the habit of socialising", which could provide a broader economic benefit. However, despite the scheme providing a rare piece of good news for Britain's reeling economy, analysts have noted it could be impacting customer levels on days when it is not in operation. In contrast to the healthy restaurant figures for Monday to Wednesday, diner numbers fell 21.3 percent on Thursday to Sunday, the CEBR said, citing figures from OpenTable, an online restaurant reservation service. And for the entire week, there was an overall drop of 7.1 percent year on year an improvement on the almost 30 percent fall for the period prior to the scheme's introduction. The government has set aside 500 million to fund the "Eat Out to Help Out" policy, which is aimed at aiding the struggling hospitality sector. It is one of various stimulus measures announced by Sunak to try to kickstart the British economy, which has been devastated by the pandemic. More than 22,000 restaurant jobs have been cut since the start of the year, twice as many as for 2019 as a whole, according to a recent study from the Centre for Retail Research. (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. House Democrats Call for FBI Criminal Probe of USPS, Claiming Leaders Have Retarded the Passage of Mail Two House Democrats have called on the FBI to launch an investigation to establish whether the leadership of the United States Postal Service (USPS) committed any crimes in connection with reports of mail delays. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement on Aug. 17 that they have asked federal investigators to probe whether Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, or members of the USPS Board of Governors, have committed any crimes. Multiple media investigations show that Postmaster DeJoy and the Board of Governors have retarded the passage of mail, the two wrote in a letter addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray (pdf). If their intent in doing so was to affect mail-in balloting or was motivated by personal financial reasons, then they likely committed crimes. The two Democratsboth members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Securitysaid in their letter that there is overwhelming evidence that USPS authorities have hindered the passage of mail. They cited reports about the dismantling of 19 mail sorting machines and a recent announcement by USPS that the agency warned 46 states that their election laws allow such tight deadlines for voters to request blank ballots that it amounts to a mismatch with the Postal Services delivery standards and so carries the risk of completed ballots arriving too late to be counted. The lawmakers also claimed to have evidence that DeJoy has a financial stake in entities that are competitors of the Postal Service and implied that the organizational and operational changes made by the postmaster may have impaired the performance of the USPS and so driven up the value of its competitors. If Postmaster General DeJoy instituted these sweeping changes at the Post Office that obstructs or retards the passage of the mail for his own personal financial benefit, then that would be a violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1701, they wrote, noting also that breaking this law carries a punishment of a fine or six months in jail. The USPS didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. In July, DeJoy imposed cost-cutting measures meant to address the Postal Services longtime financial problems, including cutting overtime. Lawmakers from both parties criticized the changes, with 84 House members, including four Republicans, arguing in a recent letter that 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. DeJoy insisted in Aug. 7 remarks that, despite recent cuts to operating expenses to help the agency shore up its finances amid what he said was a dire financial position, the Postal Service is not slowing down Election Mail or any other mail. He added that the USPS remains fully committed to fulfilling [its] role in the electoral process, and that the agency will do everything [it] can to deliver Election Mail in a timely manner consistent with our operational standards. We continue to employ a robust and proven process to ensure proper handling of all Election Mail, he said. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump said that managerial changes at the USPS that have been blamed for mail delays across the country are, in fact, aimed at fixing what he called a long-term disaster in its finances. This isnt a Trump thing. This has been one of the disasters of the world, the way its been run, Trump said in an Aug. 17 interview on Fox & Friends. What am I supposed to do, let it continue to be run badly? DeJoy recently said the USPS lost $9 billion in 2019 and 2020 closing in on $11 billion in losses. Our financial position is dire, stemming from substantial declines in mail volume, a broken business model, and a management strategy that has not adequately addressed these issues, he said. Despite our very significant challenges, I remain optimistic about the future of the Postal Service, but we need to get moving to effect change immediately, DeJoy said, adding that he intends to continue to improve operational efficiency and push ahead with other reforms. Lawmakers in Washington have raised concerns about delays in mail delivery amid reorganization efforts at the Postal Service. Prior to the letter by Lieu and Jeffries, a group of Senate Democrats wrote to DeJoy on Aug. 12, citing reports that USPS told state election officials it wont automatically treat all election mail, including that sent via the cheaper, slower Marketing Mail option, as First Class. Prior to 2020, it was the practice of the Postal Service to prioritize the delivery of all election mail, including voter-registration materials, absentee ballot requests, and ballots, to meet the equivalent of First Class delivery times no matter what class of mail was used to send it, the lawmakers wrote, asking DeJoy pointedly, Will the Postal Service commit to continuing this practice? The lawmakers asked DeJoy to provide answers by Aug. 25 to that and other questions, including to indicate what service standards postal workers have been directed to apply to election mail. The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commissioned and handed over the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area to the African Union (AU) Commission, at a brief ceremony, at the Africa Trade House, on Monday, 17th August 2020. Delivering a speech at the ceremony, President Akufo-Addo stated that Ghana had discharged all of her obligations towards the establishment and the setting up of the office, following the selection of Ghana, in 2019, by the AU Assembly to host the AfCFTA Secretariat. We are today, handing over a fully furnished and befitting office space, in a secured and easily accessible location within the business centre of Accra, as the Permanent Secretariat of the AfCFTA. We have provided also an appropriate, furnished residential accommodation as the official residence of the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA, he said. With Africas low levels of intra-Africa trade, as compared to those of the European Union, the President explained that this situation hinders Africas prospects of bringing prosperity to her peoples. A large part of the growth and prosperity that we seek on the continent will come from us trading more among ourselves. We, in Ghana, believe that an increase in trade is the surest way to deepen regional integration in Africa, he said. An effective implementation of the AfCFTA, President Akufo-Addo told the gathering, will dispel the notion that the AU is not capable of executing its own decisions, explaining that Africas new sense of urgency and aspiration of true self-reliance will be amply demonstrated by the handing over ceremony. The President, thus, appealed to all Member States, who are yet to ratify the AfCFTA Agreement, to take advantage of the postponement of the date for start of trading, and do so by December 2020, to enable AU Member States to trade fully among themselves, so Africa can harness the benefits of the AfCFTA together. The pandemic has heightened the importance of the success of the AfCFTA. The disruption of global supply chains has reinforced the necessity for closer integration amongst us, so that we can boost our mutual self-sufficiency, strengthen our economies, and reduce our dependence on external sources, he said. The President continued, We are now the worlds largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation, and we must make it count. Covering a market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined GDP of $3 trillion, across the fifty-four (54) Member States of the AU that have signed up to the Agreement, it will provide the vehicle for us to trade among ourselves in a more modern and sophisticated manner; it will offer a huge opportunity to exploit the abundant wealth and resources of our great continent for the benefit of all our people; and it will give us protection in how to deal with other trading blocks. New Secretary General In welcoming the newly elected first Secretary-General of the Secretariat, Mr. Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, and his family to Ghana, President Akufo-Addo urged him to work towards building a strong, efficient and effective Secretariat, with the capacity to implement the various trade rules, in line with the text of the Agreement, to help build credibility, and reduce trade policy uncertainty in the continent. The world is watching to see whether the Secretariat will, indeed, provide the springboard for Africas economic integration and rapid growth, and I am confident that, under your tenure, it will. Mr. Secretary-General, be rest assured of the firm support of the Government of Ghana for your work and activities, he added. President Akufo-Addo, in concluding, commended the President of the Republic of Niger, His Excellency Mahamadou Issoufou, current Chair of ECOWAS, for the stellar work he has done in championing the African Continental Free Trade initiative. He congratulated and saluted and congratulated His Excellency Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, and current Chair of the Authority of the Assembly of the AU, for the benign, progressive guidance and supervision he has offered to make handing over ceremony possible. 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 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on August 16 said that the agreement signed between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv proves that the country doesn't need to retreat from the occupied lands in order to achieve peace with Arab states. The United Nations maintains that Israel has occupied Palestinian territories in the West Bank, which the Jewish country had recently expressed plans to annex but the new US-brokered pact with UAE requires Tel Aviv to suspend it for the moment. Read: UAE Minister Calls Israel Deal 'sovereign Decision', Says Not Directed To Iran Netanyahu in a video statement on Sunday said that for too long the Palestinians and the countries who agreed with them thought peace between Israel and Arab states could not be achieved without the country's retreatment from occupied lands, uprooting of settlements, withdrawal to 1967 lines and division of Jerusalem. Netanyahu added that the latest deal with UAE proves the concept wrong. Palestine wants Israel to retreat from West Bank and remove the UN-deemed illegal settlements from its territories. Read: Israel, UAE Strengthen Diplomatic Ties With First Strategic Commercial Agreement UAE-Israel deal On August 13, Israel and the United Arab Emirates along with the US released a joint statement that US President Donald Trump, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed agreed to the full normalisation of relations between UAE and Israel. With the signing of the deal, UAE became the third country after Egypt and Jordan to normalise relations with Israel. Major Muslim countries, including Iran and Turkey, condemned the UAE's action. Hamas, the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip, immediately denounced the agreement raising concerns about the Palestinian cause. Read: Mauritania Supports Deal Between UAE And Israel To Improve Relations Read: Iran's Army Chief Says Tehran's Approach To UAE Will Change After Deal With Israel Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ron Lopez (Agence France-Presse) Manila Mon, August 17, 2020 10:41 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e80fd4 2 SE Asia Jeepney,Philippines Free Forced off the road by coronavirus lockdowns, Philippine "jeepney" driver Daniel Flores now plies the streets of Manila on foot begging for money to feed his hungry family. The 23-year-old has not picked up a passenger since March when public transport was halted and people ordered to stay home as President Rodrigo Duterte's government tried to slow the fast-spreading contagion. Jeepneys -- first made from leftover US jeeps after World War II -- are a national symbol in the Philippines, and serve as the backbone of the country's transport system, providing rides for millions of people across the country for as little as nine pesos ($0.18). But drivers like Flores, and millions of others, are out of work after the months-long restrictions crippled the economy, plunging it into recession. With no income and debts piling up, Flores started living in the jeepney with his wife, two of his children and a fellow driver after they were evicted from their apartment because they could no longer pay the rent. Instead of sitting behind the wheel, Flores has spent many days begging for alms just to get by. Other drivers carry plastic containers and cardboard signs around their necks to catch the attention and sympathy of passing motorists. "We have absolutely nothing left to spend," Flores told AFP as he sat inside his jeepney, parked in a street and crammed with cooking pots, clothes and other humble possessions. A sign asking for help from passers-by sits on top of the vehicle, which his empathetic boss has loaned him. Flattened cardboard boxes cover the side windows and rear entrance to give the family some privacy -- and a feeling of protection from the virus they fear is lurking outside. As the number of confirmed infections in the Philippines surges past 157,000 -- the highest in Southeast Asia -- and Manila endures another lockdown, Flores has no idea when he will be allowed to drive again. He occasionally picks up odd jobs selling scrap metal, painting or welding. But it is not enough to feed his family. "Often we will eat just once a day. Sometimes, if no one helps us, we don't eat at all," Flores said. So dire is their predicament the couple sent their seven-month-old baby to live with relatives outside Manila to ease pressure on themselves and ensure the child gets enough food. Read also: Philippines delays start of school year as virus surges 'Growling stomachs' Sesinando Bondoc, 73, started driving a jeepney when he was 28 and at his age finding another job seems impossible. Standing on the side of a busy road in sweltering heat with other drivers asking for money, Bondoc says the desire to eat overrides his fear of the virus or speeding cars. "One time we were almost hit by a car but we don't really have a choice. We have to leave our homes and take our chances in the streets just to have something in our growling stomachs," Bondoc said, his voice cracking as he fought back tears. Drivers have received some money and food handouts from the government. But it does not make up for their lost income. In June, six jeepney drivers were arrested by police for allegedly violating a ban on mass gatherings and rules on social distancing after they protested over the loss of their livelihoods. They were later released on bail. Even when the initial lockdown restrictions in Manila were eased in June only a fraction of the city's roughly 55,000 jeepneys were allowed to operate under strict rules. Drivers had to make their vehicles virus-safe by installing plastic seat dividers and reducing capacity to comply with social-distancing regulations. Those used to pocketing as much as 1,500 pesos a day had to settle for much smaller takings. Then a new lockdown imposed nearly two weeks ago in Manila and four surrounding provinces -- home to a quarter of the country's population -- forced those lucky few off the road. Some are worried they may never drive again as the government phases out smoke-belching jeepneys that are 15 years or older. The program to modernize the vehicles was due to finish this year. The government has not announced if the deadline will be extended. Renato Gandas, 57, who has been a driver for 30 years, said the owner of his vehicle had already sold a jeepney due to the phasing-out programme and the lockdowns. With his livelihood at risk, Gandas is losing hope. "We might just beg for alms for the rest of our lives," he said. Topics : Jeepney Philippines Brasilia, Aug 17 : Brazilian First Lady Michelle Bolsonaro has recovered from the novel coronavirus, after she tested positive for the disease on July 30. "The test came out negative, thank you for your prayers and affection," Xinhua news agency quoted the 38-year-old as saying in an online post on Sunday. The First Lady tested positive after her corona-sceptic husband and President Jair Bolsonaro contracted the disease on July 7. The President announced on July 25 that he had recovered. According to official information, Jair Bolsonaro underwent four COVID-19 tests in 18 days and tested positive thrice. Besides the President and the First Lady, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Marcos Pontes; Citizenship Minister Onyx Lorenzoni; Education Minister Milton Ribeiro were also tested positive in July. Two other ministers, Bento Albuquerque, who is in charge of mines and energy, and Augusto Heleno, who heads the institutional security cabinet, tested positive in March, but quickly recovered. Brazil currently accounts for the second highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths, just after the US. As of Monday, the total number of cases in the country stood at 3,340,197, while the death toll increased to 107,852. It is also the country with the maximum amount of infections and fatalities in Latin America. Sao Paulo, the most populated state in the country and the epicentre of the pandemic, has registered over 699,000 confirmed cases and 26,852 deaths, followed by Bahia, Ceara and Rio de Janeiro. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case against a Ludhiana based company - SEL Textiles Ltd for cheating a consortium of 10 banks led by Central Bank of India of 1,530 crore between 2009 and 2013 and using a Canada-based company - Aarti Impex - named in Panama Papers leaks for diversion of funds, officials familiar with development said Monday. The CBI has named the promoters of SEL Textiles - Ram Saran Saluja, Neeraj Saluja, Dhiraj Saluja for diverting the banks funds using several companies abroad. Aarti Impex is not named as accused in CBI FIR, reviewed by HT, but it is listed as one of the exporters to SEL Textiles which was used for diverting the money by latter to siphon the funds out of India and there were no genuine business transactions. The company was named in Panama Papers leaks among 500 Indians - individuals and entities - who paid the Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca to set up offshore entities in tax havens around the world. Aarti Impex, an exporter of textile products, is a company based in Canada and has branch offices in Bolivia and Columbia and represent textile spinners from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey, China etc. The amount received by SEL from the above company (Aarti Impex) kept on increasing since 2010, states the CBI FIR quoting the banks complaint. The credit period has shown continuous increase since 2010 giving signals of possible risks to realisation. Upon searching the company on internet, there was a link to Panama Paper leaks, wherein, the director is stated to be Sandeep Gupta, and company is registered in Panama Islands, it adds. An email sent to Aarti Impex by HT remained unanswered till filing of this report. According to the CBI FIR several Dubai- based companies have also been used by SEL for diversion of banks money. According to CBI officials, Dhiraj Saluja is said to be out of India and a look out circular (LoC) will be issued against him. Apart from Central Bank, which has an exposure of 371 crore on SEL Textiles; other banks which have been cheated include - Allahabad Bank ( 429 crore), Punjab National Bank ( 176 crore), Indian Overseas Bank ( 120 crore), Bank of Maharashtra ( 92 crore), Punjab & Sind Bank ( 52 crore), Corporation Bank ( 115 crore), Union Bank of India ( 46 crore), UCO Bank ( 101 crore) and United Bank of India ( 24 crore). It is alleged that the company diverted funds for acquiring unproductive assets, creating additional chain of intermediary for capital goods purchases through capital advances and investments which are considered beyond the capacity of the company to support looking to its own weak financials, according to CBI FIR. The bank said in its complaint that Dhiraj Saluja is abroad as he used to handle overseas business of SEL, while asking CBI to investigate as the case has inter-state and international ramifications. College conservatives are still waging the campus culture wars even if they dont have a campus. With President Donald Trump facing a tough reelection fight, throngs of conservative college groups around the country are getting creative as they try to maintain the energy Trump tapped in 2016 on his way to a surprise victory. Activist training sessions have moved online. Speaker series that bring controversial right-wing figures to campus are pivoting away from nationally recognized pundits to local ones instead. Pro-Trump student groups are organizing off-campus events to get around universities restrictions on hosting large gatherings. The Leadership Institute, perhaps the oldest college conservative group in the country, has even held online seminars for students on how to safely host events on campus. Trump himself is similarly trying to keep the momentum alive. One of the two Covid-era rallies he held was a packed event in Arizona with Turning Point Action, a pro-Trump campus organizing committee, that featured a parade of college students lamenting the encroachment of PC culture to 2,000-plus mostly maskless attendees. Charlie Kirk, the groups chairman and the founder of the affiliated Turning Point USA, will also have a speaking slot at the upcoming Republican National Convention. Honestly, what we do won't change that much, said Emma Meshell, the spokesperson for the libertarian organization Young Americans for Liberty. The message is the same: were promoting liberty to young people. But the medium that we use may have to be adjusted a little bit depending on the rules that are in place. Yet the slate of work-arounds cant fully replicate the on-campus activism that helped Trump capture a higher-than-expected percentage of young voters in 2016. Numerous right-leaning student groups admitted it has been hard to establish any national action plan for 2020, given the wildly different reopening plans each college has adopted. That reality has left some college conservatives conceding that their basic activism is up in the air just as the president tries to rally support to win another term. Story continues Are you allowed to have a literature table as long as you don't come within six feet of people? said Spencer Brown, the spokesperson for Young Americas Foundation. Are they allowed to walk past your table and pick up a book and a pamphlet and then keep going? The solution, so far, seems to be an ad hoc one, based on the most conservative of principles: let the local students on the ground figure it out. For the groups on campuses that will physically open this fall, life will go on as normal, albeit in manners that fit social-distancing guidelines. I mean, there's hundreds of clubs on some of these campuses, said Tyler Bowyer, the chief operations officer of Turning Point USA who also oversees Students For Trump, a special project of a sister organization, Turning Point Action, which is focused on Trumps reelection. So I think everyone's going to kind of figure it out, whether that means being off campus or in a more outdoor, safer place to do so, where people don't feel like they're being forced into a small room with a big group of people. Students for Trump has been weighing the option of holding off-campus events to get around local university regulations on in-person gatherings. Over the next few weeks, the nationwide organization has planned a 12-stop tour across the country to hold events for youth activists in public parks, with speakers like Kirk and founder Ryan Fournier included, that adhere to social-distancing guidelines. In their first stop this weekend in Michigan, Bowyer said, the group would attempt to pull off the least socially-distanced electioneering activity imaginable: sending activists to knock on over 10,000 doors to canvas potential voters. Now obviously, a lot of people aren't opening their doors, which, if they're in a situation where they're not [comfortable with] face-to-face contact, we totally respect that, said Bowyer. Others are seeing this as an opportunity to build out their digital operations, encouraging Gen-Z students stuck at home to put videos on social media or phone bank from home. Student activists are left to figure out how to organize on campuses (such as North Carolina State, pictured above) where there are fewer students than usual, and social distancing is in place. Meshell, of Young Americans for Liberty, claimed her organization has actually seen a greater interest in the groups mission since the early days of the pandemic. A lot of our students immediately started reaching out to us and saying, Hey, my school is shutting down, I have this time on my hands, how can I get involved? Meshell said. And I do think that that comes from the political conversation that we're having right now about civil liberties and about things like mask mandates and like quarantine, where students feel strongly about these issues one way or the other. Since declaring his run for president five years ago, Trump has developed an unexpected and fervent fan base on college campuses. Though young voters are overwhelmingly Democrat back in April, the Harvard Institute of Politics found that Joe Biden had a 23-point lead on Trump among voters between the age of 18 and 29 Trump has a millennial following thats more loyal than those of past Republican presidential candidates. In 2016, a Tufts University survey found that although Trump won just 37 percent of the millennial vote, 32 percent of those voters said that they were enthusiastic about his candidacy, far exceeding the 18 percent of the Hillary Clinton voters who registered excitement about their candidate. Since then, conservative activist groups have proliferated on college campuses across the country, diminishing the standing of traditional groups like the College Republicans. Turning Point USA has become the most notable of those groups, bringing high-profile MAGA speakers such as Donald Trump Jr. to college campuses, and its affiliated group, Students for Trump, was tapped to hold Trumps second mega-rally after the pandemic lockdowns started in March. But those MAGA speaker series, which have been drawing sizable crowds throughout Trumps presidency, are not an option during a pandemic-altered election year. The Young Americas Foundation, for instance, cant fly in conservative pundit Ben Shapiro, one of the foundations most popular speakers, to speak to a packed college auditorium. Instead, local chapters are searching for people within driving distance. Speaker safety is something that we've had to worry about for a lot, a lot longer than just Covid times where people have, you know, tried to assault our speakers and throw things at them and everything else, said YAFs Brown. So thankfully, we have a pretty good plan for that. Groups are also considering gathering an audience to a speaker beamed in over Zoom, the default pandemic conferencing app. The students on that campus can still experience [an] in-person event, but the guests might be remote just via Zoom and take questions that way, Bryan Bernys, the Leadership Institute's vice president of campus programs. The Leadership Institute has similarly transitioned its activist lecture events to Zoom conferencing. In addition to the normal slate of seminars, the group has also integrated programs and events teaching how to hold socially-distanced events during the pandemic. The biggest obstacle, however, might not have anything to do with social distancing but how to keep students engaged in activism, or even in the local chapters, when theyre studying from home. Across the country, many students are opting to take time off school to wait out the pandemic, and conservative students arent immune. That does have an impact on your activist base and cultivating relationships, said Bowyer, of Students for Trump. If the bodies that were there one semester aren't the same ones that come back the next semester, it's like kind of retraining and reorganizing. The situation for every conservative activist group, from local chapter to nationwide organization based out of Northern Virginia, remains fluid. But Brown argued that such a situation appeals to conservative ideology. I think it's one of those things that actually kind of fits into what we would be [doing when] advancing ideas on campus, which is this idea that a universal plan is not going to work well for everybody, said Brown. We obviously as conservatives prefer smaller units of decision making and more localized control. ST. JOHNS, N.L.Masks must be worn on buses and in the common areas of high schools when Newfoundland and Labradors largest school district resumes classes in a few weeks. The Newfoundland and Labrador English School District, which represents approximately 64,000 students and more than 8,200 employees, presented its back-to-school plan Monday. Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, told an online news conference that students in elementary and high school will need to wear masks on buses. Only high school students, however, will be required to wear a mask inside school buildings and only in common areas. Fitzgerald said students who cannot tolerate it will be exempted from wearing masks. Masks arent needed inside classrooms, she explained, because students can safely maintain distance while seated, adding that rule may change. Our goal in all of this is to have kids go back to school in as normal a way as possible, Fitzgerald said. If the information we get changes, if the evidence changes, then well change. The district will provide one reusable mask for each student and two for each teacher. The provincial government presented a plan last month outlining three possible scenarios when school starts up again: in-class instruction, remote learning or a combination of both. Mondays plan departs from the governments earlier strategy, which said masks would not be required in schools. Tony Stack, the districts director of education, said Monday all schools in the district will reopen under the first scenario given the low number of COVID-19 infection in the province, where there are two active cases. Stack said each school will develop a plan that works best for the space and size of the school population, adding the strategy is a living document that may change before classes resume Sept. 9. In the case of a moderate-to-widespread COVID-19 outbreak, schools will move to online learning. Classroom capacity will be limited to about 50 per cent when the outbreak is considered low to moderate. Families can apply to home-school their children if they do not wish to send them back to classes. The plan also imposes new passenger limits on school buses based on public health guidance. School buses that could formerly accommodate up to 72 students can now only transport 46. Stack said the 46 students on each route who live furthest from school will be given priority, meaning more than 6,000 students will have to find another ride. I realize its a difficult thing, but we are in difficult times, Stack said of the bus-riding limit. This is necessary to ensure the health and safety of our students. In the school buildings, there will signage in hallways and other common areas to encourage physical distancing. A health room will be designated in each school in the event someone becomes ill and needs to be isolated. Extracurricular activities will not be permitted outside school hours to allow staff time to clean the school buildings. Staff will also undergo training on trauma-informed teaching in order to care for students emotional and learning needs. The Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers Association responded to the plan Monday by noting expectations for mask-wearing will be looser in schools than among the general public. The association said it has concerns about large classes of more than 30 students, something it said would likely continue. It also expressed worry about the additional workload teachers will take on with extra supervision and planning required to keep up with health directives. It was hard enough to balance a career and small children before Covid-19. Now the pandemic could push a generation of Irish mothers out of the workplace. As our Tanaiste jumps to the defence of middle-class men on Twitter, it is Irish women, not men, who will take pay cuts, and who will go from full-time to part-time to no-time, as a second wave looms. Nobody knows how long schools will reopen for, and if they do shut, it will mostly be women who pick up the pieces. Women will make these sacrifices despite having spent years accumulating degrees and capsule wardrobes and working frantically to prove that we can be good employees. It is Irish women who will learn first-hand what second-wave feminists and Jordan Peterson have said for years: that "having it all" isn't possible. Coronavirus came and has succeeded where previous efforts to limit women getting ahead in the workplace - the absence of paid leave, pregnancy discrimination, taxation of maternity benefit, lack of good, affordable childcare options - have failed. Overnight, we were expected to work our normal nine-to-five, as well as clean, care for, and teach feral children as they ran around hyped up on sugar and boredom. It wasn't and isn't possible. A recent report by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service has anticipated how Irish women's income and careers will be affected by the pandemic. The Caring and Unpaid Work in Ireland study found that 40pc of women compared to 26pc of men reported daily involvement in childcare. It also found that 81pc of women, compared to 44pc of men, reported doing daily housework and that women spent more total weekly hours on housework than men (20 hours compared to nine). So, it's likely that women will have less time available to work from home than men in the same position. "A likely immediate consequence of this is that women's productivity in employment will suffer more than men's; a longer-term consequence is potentially fewer economic opportunities for women (eg, merit-based promotion) and a wider gender remuneration gap," according to the report. Thanks, Covid. The coronavirus pandemic shuttered bars, restaurants, daycare centres, and other businesses around the country, leading to levels of unemployment not seen since the recession. But not all workers have been affected equally. Certain sectors of the economy, like retail, hospitality, and childcare, were hit especially hard - and in many of those areas, the majority of workers are women. Even before Covid-19 hit Ireland, PwC's Women in Work Index showed that Ireland's gender pay gap actually increased in recent years, from 5.9pc in 2017 to 7.5pc in 2018. Then, wham - every creche on the island shut down and grandparents went home to cocoon. Stefania Albanesi, a University of Pittsburgh professor of economics, said it best: "Every recession is a 'mancession' except this one." Coronavirus is our recession. It is moms, not dads, who have shouldered the childcare burden, and continue to do so during the pandemic. According to a recent UK study, 67pc of key workers were forced to reduce their hours because of a lack of access to childcare, 60pc struggled with childcare, and 45pc didn't have the childcare in place they needed over the summer. 30.5pc of pregnant key workers had been suspended on incorrect terms, such as being told to take sick leave or to start maternity leave early. Ladies, it's no different on this side of the Irish Sea. Once upon a time, things were different. Women did all the housework and childcare and men brought home the bacon. When a revolution allowed women to see that we could bring home bacon too, everything changed. Or, rather, some of it did. We were told girls can do whatever boys can do, but nobody talked about boys doing what girls do. That's left us to "do it all", and it isn't working for us. Even back in normal times, being a working mother could feel like being a wallflower at the world's most tedious party. I've heard all the stories: the nights when we didn't get much sleep, the two-year-old was teething, the backup babysitter cancelled and still we had to show up for work. The sad thing is that male voices are always absent from the discussion. Please, guys. You can stand up for your wives and partners too. We need everyone talking if we want to get something done about this mess. Last month, women in Switzerland staged a nationwide scream as part of a protest over the gender pay gap. I can't think of anything more cathartic than a mass scream. Unless, I don't know, our male-dominated government step up and finally give us affordable childcare that is tax-deductible, the right to take time off to have a baby and not be fired, mandatory gender pay-gap reporting for business and a mandatory lactation space in every workplace so that our babies can be fed. When you pay women equally, when you give them decent childcare, when they have access to maternity leave and fathers have access to paternity leave (almost half of fathers entitled to paternity benefit in 2018 did not take it, according to the CSO), and the right to flexible working schedules, those are not women's issues. They are issues that are good for every one of us. MACKINAC COUNTY, MI A man suspected of dragging a police officer with a vehicle, reckless driving and fleeing police has been charged with multiple felonies. Michael Joseph Hoehn, 47, of Harbor Springs, is charged in relation to an incident in which he is suspected of dragging a Michigan State Police sergeant with a vehicle, driving through a Mackinac Bridge toll booth and leading police on an over 40-mile chase. Hoehn has been arraigned on charges of third-degree fleeing and eluding, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting and obstructing resulting in an officer injury, failure to stop at a personal injury scene, operating a vehicle while visibly impaired, reckless driving and violation of license restrictions, according to police. The incident that began when the Alger County Sheriffs Office was in pursuit of a reckless driver in a white Chevrolet Tahoe with an Iowa registration on Aug. 12. The pursuit was eventually terminated and a be on lookout alert was issued to police in the area. A short time later, the suspect vehicle drove into the parking lot of the Michigan State Police St. Ignace Post. A sergeant from the post attempted to contact the driver, but the suspect sped away. The sergeant pursued the suspect in his patrol vehicle and caught when he was stopped at the Mackinac Bridge toll booth. The sergeant blocked the suspect vehicle with his patrol car. The suspect then refused to turn off the vehicle when ordered. When the sergeant reached into the vehicle to turn it off, the suspect put it in reverse. The sergeant was dragged while the suspect vehicle struck two other vehicles before busting through the toll gate and fleeing south on I-75. Several police agencies were involved in a pursuit that ended over 40 miles away in Resort Township, Emmet County, after the suspect eluded officers in Petoskey. Officers from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Police Department later found the Tahoe abandoned on Resort Pike Road near Sheridan Road. A search of the area by ground units and helicopters from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City and the MSP Aviation Unit began. The suspect was located at a condominium in Harbor Springs on the morning of Aug. 13. Hoehn was arrested and taken to the Mackinac County Jail. RELATED: Police arrest hit-and-run suspect after trooper is dragged by vehicle on Mackinac Bridge The sergeant was treated at McLaren Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey for non-life-threatening injuries. He has been released and expected to make a full recovery. Heohn was arraigned in the 92nd District Court of Mackinac County on Aug. 14. Bond was set of $500,000 cash surety. A probable cause hearing is set for Aug. 24. A preliminary examination is scheduled for Aug. 27. The MSP was assisted by Mackinaw City Police Department, Emmet County Sheriffs Office, Petoskey Department of Public Safety, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Police Department, Boyne City Police Department, and Charlevoix County Sheriffs Office. READ MORE: 12-year-old boy dies after trying to save sister swept away by strong current on Lake Superior DNR search and rescue: Man sawing off his leg at Pictured Rocks beach among recent calls for help Teenage jogger hit by truck, killed near Traverse City Monday, August 17: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan Oscar Cuevas-Landa (pictured in mugshot) was arrested on Sunday after reportedly stabbing a women and pushing her from a moving car A Utah woman was stabbed to death and thrown from her car on Interstate 15 after reportedly giving a ride to an 18-year-old who had taken LSD beforehand. The Utah Highway Patrol on Monday charged Oscar Cuevas-Landa on first-degree felony murder and second-degree aggravated assault charges resulting in serious injury. He was booked into to Davis County jail without bail. The female victim, who was in her 20s, has not been publicly identified pending the notification of her family, authorities said. The woman's body was discovered just before 10pm on the inside lane of I-15 in Farmington on Sunday night, The Standard Examiner reports. Authorities alleged that the victim had agreed to give Cuevas-Landa a ride to a place 30 minutes away in West Valley City. The two were reportedly strangers. But during the trip, Cueves reportedly became upset when he thought the victim gave him a unnecessary look. 'Based on the current evidence, [Cuevas-Land] got a ride with a person (he) did not know,' according to the police affidavit, Deseret News reports. 'During that journey [he] stated that the victim looked at him funny, so he stabbed the victim several times and then pushed the driver from a vehicle moving at freeway speeds.' Authorities discovered the body of an unidentified Utah woman along the side of Interstate 15 on Sunday evening after she was reportedly stabbed and thrown from the vehicle Witnesses said they saw the moving 'erratically in traffic and almost impacting the median. A short time later witnesses stated a person or what appeared to be a body came out of the vehicle on the driver side.' Authorities said Cuevas-Landa then steered the vehicle from the passenger seat as it continued for another 300 yards before coming to a stop. Cueves reportedly exited the vehicle and attempted to walk away. Officers located Cuevas-Landa at the intersection of State and Main. 'The deputy observed the individual had blood on his hand, forearm and pants,' Deseret News reports. Authorities said they found Cuevas-Landa without a shirt and only one shoe. According to the Utah Highway Patrol, Cuevas-Landa allegedly told officers he stabbed the victim several times, unbuckled her seat belt, opened the driver's door and pushed her out onto I-15 He initially told authorities that he had been robbed, but reportedly confessed after waiving his Miranda rights. Cuevas-Landa told troopers he stabbed the victim several times, unbuckled her seat belt and pushed her out of the moving vehicle. 'We believe the male began stabbing the female and she was either trying to escape and jumped out at freeway speed or the suspect was able to kick her out,' UHP LT. Nick Street told Standard-Examiner. 'We are not sure if it was the stabbing or the fall or a combination of both that was the cause of death.' Cuevas also allegedly admitted to taking LSD and smoking marijuana around that time. DailyMail.com has reached out to Utah authorities for additional information. While en route to the Porter County Jail, Bryan spontaneously advised me that he had a glass smoking pipe in his pants. He also stated he had two baggies of methamphetamine in his pants as well, the report stated. When I asked Bryan where those items were located, he stated they were under his pants/underwear in the region of his crotch. As the overall index of the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) fell sharply for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday, the Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani tried to instill optimism saying, "corrective fluctuations in the stock market are normal." After the fall of 65,000 points of the TSE index on Tuesday and about 25,000 on Wednesday last week, Tehran Stock Exchange experienced a drop of more than 72,000 again on Saturday and 90,000 on Sunday. The slide is a historical record in the fall of the country's stock market index by sheer points. Responding to the TSE crash, the Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani maintained, "Capital market experts consider correctional fluctuations in the stock market as normal and natural. Nevertheless, inconsistencies in statements and actions should be avoided." However, he did not elaborate on the "inconsistency in statements," but his administration had previously warned against "inconsistent" comments during crises such as coronavirus outbreak. The Tehran Stock Exchange index was around 500,000 units as late as in March but aggressively climbed to more than two million points by early August without any economic fundamentals backing its rise. While the country is struggling with stagflation quadrupling the total index means quadrupling the value of mostly government-controlled companies' shares. Experts and the media regarded such developments as surprising and suspicious. So far, many warnings have been issued concerning a huge bubble in the TSE; either created or encouraged by government manipulation. The seemingly unstoppable rise in the stock market finally came to a stop last week and in a few trading sessions it fell by more than 250,000 points, dropping to 1,880,000 units on August 16. Still the fall is not a total collapse. The index has pulled back some 10 percentage points. In recent days, government-owned giant corporations such as the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Company, Mobarakeh Steel, National Iranian Copper Industries, Isfahan Oil Refinery, Tehran Oil Refinery, Islamic Republic Shipping, Telecommunications, and Ghadir Investment Company have lost significant value. These companies have always had the most significant impact on the stock market. It is not clear whether the decline in the stock market will continue in the coming days and weeks. Nonetheless, small investors trying to make money in a depressed economy have poured more than forty trillion rials (approximately $950 million) in the stock market this year. Therefore, the sharp decline could hurt many ordinary people. Furthermore, according to the budget law, the government had planned to sell assets worth 49.5 trillion rials from the beginning of the year, which is ten times more than last year. Most of these assets are being put on the market through the stock exchange, which raises suspicions about the government's deliberate manipulation of stock values to make more money. Many of the companies it controls and tries to offload are money-losing enterprises. Despite warnings of bubbles in the TSE by experts, the Iranian government has been campaigning extensively in recent months to attract the public to the stock market. Meanwhile, President Rouhani, has stopped short of explaining why the overall stock market index quadrupled in five months while the country is facing an economic crisis. Moreover, he has not revealed why the TSE lost 250,000 units in the past week, and what will be the fate of people who bought shares in the past few months partly by government encouragement. In his remarks on Sunday, Rouhani referred to his administration's decision to implement a "stock market strengthening policy" and said, "Offering government and public's diverse, profitable and secure assets in the stock exchange will continue in an orderly and sustained manner, as planned." Since the beginning of the new Iranian calendar year, the country's national currency, the rial, has lost more than 40% of its value against foreign currencies. At the same time, due to the housing crisis, the industrial sector's recession, and widespread government propaganda to attract people's assets, many Iranians have rushed to the stock market. The Romanian Academy is protesting against the dismissal of Nicolae Zamfir as general director of the Horia Hulubei National Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering, claiming that the decision taken by the Ministry of Education endangers the completion of the high intensity laser project Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) at the institute. In a letter protest to the Minister of Education, Monica Anisie, the Presidium of the Romanian Academy says that it has taken note with "deep disappointment" of the decision to dismiss Zamfir as director general of the institute, a decision they consider "unjustified"."The scientific career, the prestige and the results of academician Zamfir in leading IFIN-HH and the ELI-NP project are well known nationally and internationally. By virtue of the collaboration between the Romanian Academy and the Ministry of Education and Research, we would have expected a dialogue before taking such a serious decision. The Romanian Academy has already disavowed, through a point of view made public on May 21, 2020, the concerted actions to discredit Romania, the ELI-NP Centre and has drawn attention back then to the evidence of the existence of obscure interests the purpose of which lies outside the interests of Romanian and Romanian scientific research. The members of the Romanian Academy consider that the ELI-NP project is representative for placing Romania on the map of strong countries in the field of scientific research and technological development."In the opinion of the Romanian Academy, the dismissal of Zamfir is threatening to stymie the ascending evolution of the Romanian scientific research worldwide and endangers the completion of the ELI-NP project."The move in itself and the manner of dismissal by the minister of education and research of the director general of the Institute implementing the ELI-NP project are incomprehensible. In addition, they have broader connotations, representing a real threat to stymie the clearly ascending development of scientific research. The ELI-NP project means investments in state-of-the-art technologies, unique in the world and already put into operation; it means attracting the most qualified specialists from all over the world, capitalising on the Romanian intelligence at the highest level and, last but not least bringing back to Romania the young people who left precisely because of the lack of a high-performance research infrastructure. The dismissal of the management of the institute when the ELI-NP starts to be operational is threatening the completion of the project, with serious financial consequences and affecting Romania's image. To the same extent, the unjustified gesture of this dismissal illustrates, unfortunately, the inability of decision-makers to act consistently and predictably and to show the world that Romania has the potential and capacity to be a partner with equal rights in at least one field of reference in the world: scientific research."The Presidium of the Romanian Academy believes that it is the duty of the highest science and culture forum of the country to publicly disapprove of such practices and to draw attention to the danger that a strategically unconsolidated administration contributes to destroying the field opened by ELI-NP.The Romanian Academy is also sounding calling on the government to get involved in stopping such actions running "contrary" to the interests of Romania. Since 2017, the Peoples Republic of China has ramped up its persecution of Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and members of other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. It is no accident that this date follows on the heels of the 2016 installation of Politburo member Chen Quanguo as Communist Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. There he also servesas the head of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, or XPCC, an economic and paramilitary organization in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region which is under direct control of Chinas central government and fulfills numerous governmental functions in Xinjiang. Soon after his arrival in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, Chen Quanguo, began implementing a comprehensive surveillance, detention, and indoctrination program there, targeting Uighurs and members of other religious and ethnic minorities. At this time, hundreds of thousands of Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic Turkic Muslims were arrested for infractions such as having a beard or refusing to drink alcohol, and are being held in internment camps. The United States and the Trump Administration are committed to defending the human rights of oppressed people everywhere. For their connection to the egregious abuses they have heaped on the people of Xinjiang, the both the United States Departments of Treasury and State have sanctioned Chen Quanguo; director of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau Wang Mingshan; Zhu Hailun, a senior Party member in Xinjiang; former security official Huo Liujun; former XPCC Party Secretary Sun Jinlong; and XPCC Deputy Secretary Peng Jiarui. Treasury also imposed sanctions on the PSB and XPCC themselves. Treasurys sanctions, pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act that forbids sanctioned individuals from entering the United States. These sanctions also freeze their U.S.-based assets. The United States has taken the strongest actions of any nation in the world to protect the human rights of all people in China. The Chinese Communist Partys human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China against Uighurs and other Muslim minorities rank as the stain of the century, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a written statement. The Trump Administration has led the worlds effort to impose tangible costs on the PRCs continuous campaign of repression, mass arbitrary detention, intrusive surveillance, forced labor, forced population control, involuntary collection of biometric data, and genetic analyses targeted at these groups." Today, we are continuing that record of principled action. In fact, Vince Lombardi was right when he said winners never quit and quitters never win! As Winston Churchill rightly puts it, you can never give up on something that you cannot go a day without thinking about. That is the story of Ahmed Boakye, who was last night crowned as the ninth edition winner of Ghana's Strongest reality show organized by Ghanas leading television station, TV3 Network after participating in the competition for eight times. The grand finale of this years edition of Ghanas Strongest was held on Sunday 16th August 2020 at the Elli Beach Resort in Tegbi, in the Volta Region. With a total of 96 points, Ahmed Boakye outclassed his three competitors to become the winner. The Kumasi-based athlete, Ahmed Boakye, beat competition from Prosper Dakora, Mustapha Arhin and Godfred Akolbila to be crowned this years champion, taking over from last years winner, Victor Ampofo. Speaking after the completion, an elated Ahmed Boakye said it has been a long road for me and this has been a tough game also. I have suffered a lot but now everybody is happy for me for this great achievement. I made it a point to train very hard coming into this years competition in order to grab the ultimate. I kept to my schedules and ensured I was disciplined and that has been a major contributor to this win today. Boakye started on a rather disappointing note, coming last in the very first event of the day the Truck Pull. That got him only 16 points but his resilience showed in the remaining events as he amassed a total of fourscore points to emerge triumphant. With his 17 repetitions in the 250-kilogramme squats, Ahmed Boakye opened a wide gap between him and the other three contenders. He maintained that throughout the competition which earned him the ultimate spot, winning the brand new Hyundai sedan vehicle plus a cash amount of GH5,000 and bragging rights. Prosper Dakora, who was participating in the competition for the second time came second despite a knock during the Stone Toss event. Though he was stretchered off, he came back to complete the final event. He walked away with GH8,000 plus souvenirs from the sponsors. Third came a consistent finalist Mustapha Arhin who walked away with GH6,000 and souvenirs from sponsors. Godfred Akolbila, who could not complete his events, came fourth, walking away with GH4,000. There were performances from popular local artiste Jah Phinga and multiple award-winning hiplife artiste Edem. The Sept. 1 primary in the 7th Hampden District is a preview of the matchup voters will see in the November general election between two Ludlow School Committee members. Chip Harrington is on the ballot in the Republican primary, and Jake Oliveira is running in the Democratic primary. Both candidates responded to a questionnaire from The Republican / MassLive. Their responses are below, with the candidates listed alphabetically. James Chip Harrington Party: Republican Age: 52 Address: Overlook Drive, Ludlow Current job title or elected office: Dept. of Correction, Program Manager & School Committee Member Why are you running? This district needs experienced, independent leadership at the State House. My top priority will be making families and businesses whole again since COVID-19 has been devastating for so many. I will ensure funding is provided and investments are made so that our communities are supported from Beacon Hill. Several projects such as the development of the Belchertown State School property and the Ludlow Mills have the ability to spark long-term job creation with the support of state government. I am very fortunate to have a strong relationship with Governor Baker and will ensure funds are returned to this district and invested to improve the quality of life for all of us. What is the most important issue facing the district, and how would you address it? Management and recovery from this pandemic will be the most important issue for the next several months and year. So many small to medium locally owned businesses have been devastated by the pandemic. It is imperative that both our state and federal government continue to provide a financial lifeline so that these business owners can keep their doors open and adjust to the new normal. I will work with the Baker/Polito administration to fund the Paycheck Protection Program and Small Business Administration Programs so that businesses can remain viable while keeping employees working. What do you see as the premier economic development priorities in your district, and how do you anticipate those will get funding during uncertain fiscal times? We are fortunate to have so many successful businesses in the 7th Hampden District. Indian Orchard, Ludlow, Belchertown and Chicopee all have great industrial space. State and federal funding is vital to clean up State School property in Belchertown and provide infrastructure improvements for Westmass Development in Ludlow. Although funding will be challenging over the next few years I will be working with the executive branch to continue making these projects a priority. Job creation and retention in our industrial parks and for long standing small businesses and start ups will be a priority for me. I will not rest until the funding we deserve for these projects is approved. How do you feel about the Ludlow School Districts opening plans, and the states guidance and reaction to COVID-19 regarding schools? What would your recommendation have been and why? I voted to support the hybrid educational model for this fall because it allows for teachers and students to return to the classroom for some in person learning. I am very concerned that a full remote learning model would leave too many of our special education students falling through the cracks. As a district we have the protocols in place to keep our staff and students safe with PPE, daily cleaning and sanitizer. It has been frustrating waiting for guidance from DESE. The response has been too slow from them for districts to make appropriate plans. The goal should be to return to the classroom safely. In terms of going forward with a new normal during and after the pandemic, what long-term changes do you see for education and state / local government? I am hopeful that with an effective vaccine we can return to life as we knew it. Shopping, dining, family gatherings will once again be the norm. The next 18 months will be important for state and local government. State revenues are way down which will create cuts from the state to municipalities for local aid. This will be a challenging time for the next state representative. I am up for the task and will fight to get the funding we deserve in this district. I also feel it is time to suspend MCAS testing in all public schools until we can get our students back on track. Jake Oliveira Party: Democratic Age: 34 Address: East Street, Ludlow Current job title or elected office: Elected: Ludlow School Committee Member 2009 - present; Professional: Assistant Director, State Universities Council of Presidents, 2009 - present Why are you running? I feel that I have the energy and fresh perspective needed to bring new ideas to Boston. At the same time, my experience working at the State House and as a school committee member, coupled with over a decade of advocating locally, regionally, state-wide and nationally for public education, will allow me to hit the ground running on day one. Now more than ever, the communities of this district need someone who has a proven record of working with policymakers at the state and federal levels to be a strong voice for Western Massachusetts on Beacon Hill. What is the most important issue facing the district, and how would you address it? The most immediate issue is managing this public health crisis and transitioning to safely re-open our economy. As a legislator I will work to rebuild and modernize our economy to retain and attract young people to Western Massachusetts. My focus will be to modernize our economy with new ideas so it works for all, particularly for the residents of Western Massachusetts. I will embrace policies that encourage telecommuting. Moving in this direction will allow Western Mass to attract more young people because of our lower cost of living. What do you see as the premier economic development priorities in your district, and how do you anticipate those will get funding during uncertain fiscal times? Public/private partnerships like the continued development of the Ludlow Mills and the Belchertown State School properties are both major priorities as they allow entrepreneurs and small businesses to grow in both communities. Additionally, I believe that efforts should be made to help at-risk commercial shopping centers in Ludlow, Belchertown, Springfield and Chicopee to survive by helping to re-purpose them in ways that will help ensure their viability. I will partner with our congressional delegation on infrastructure improvements to these facilities to help take the funding burden off the state. How do you feel about the Ludlow School Districts opening plans, and the states guidance and reaction to COVID-19 regarding schools? What would your recommendation have been and why? There are no good options for students, families and educators during this public health crisis. This is not a reflection of poor plans developed by any school district, but it is the reality were faced with given the limited options for schools during a pandemic. Full in-classroom instruction is the best option educationally, but the health risk is too high. Full remote learning is challenging for many students and particularly hard on working families. The hybrid model, which Ludlow is pursuing, attempts to give options to families full remote learning or blend of social distant in-classroom instruction and remote learning. In terms of going forward with a new normal during and after the pandemic, what long-term changes do you see for education and state / local government? A well-educated workforce will continue to be critical to success of our Commonwealth and region. Our Commonwealth must invest in each level of education early childhood, K-12, career/technical, and public higher education. Even when we move out of this public health crisis in-classroom instruction will continue to remain the most effective way to educate students. However, for other professions and for state and local governments, moving to more telecommuting would result in less traffic on the roads creating a more environmentally stable and cost-effective way for our state to operate. This is one in a series of posts about the candidates who will appear on Western Massachusetts ballots on Sept. 1. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 17, 2020) - PreveCeutical Medical Inc. (CSE: PREV) (OTCQB: PRVCF) (FSE: 18H) (the "Company" or "PreveCeutical"), is pleased to announce that it has received AU$1,227,902 cash rebate from the Australian Federal Government's Research and Development ("R&D") Incentive Program. The cash refund is related to expenditure on eligible Australian R&D activities conducted during the financial year ended December 31, 2019. The R&D activities were across PreveCeutival's portfolio, including the Sol-gel nose-to-brain drug delivery system and the non-addictive analgesics programs, conducted at the University of Queensland, Australia. This funding will support and reinforce the Company's continued investments in its R&D programs. The R&D tax incentive encourages companies to engage in R&D programs that have the potential to improve global health outcomes while generating economic benefits locally. PreveCeutical's Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Stephen Van Deventer, stated, "Receiving this tax credit, which provides us with funding without dilution of the Company's capital, has strengthened our financial position. We are very pleased with the results that we have got from our four programs in Australia. This funding will be applied towards the research and development programs and protection of our intellectual properties derived from these programs". About PreveCeutical PreveCeutical is a health sciences company that develops innovative options for preventive and curative therapies utilizing organic and nature identical products. PreveCeutical aims to be a leader in preventive health sciences. The Company's current research and development programs include dual gene curative and preventive therapies for diabetes and obesity; the Cannabidiols Sol-gel Program aiming to provide relief across a range of indications from pain, inflammation, seizures, and neurological disorders; Nature Identical peptides for the treatment of various ailments; non-addictive analgesic peptides as a replacement to the highly addictive analgesics such as morphine, fentanyl and oxycodone; and a therapeutic product for treating athletes who suffer from concussions (mild traumatic brain injury). Story continues For more information about PreveCeutical, please visit our website www.PreveCeutical.com or follow us on Twitter and Facebook. On behalf of the Board of Directors Stephen Van Deventer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer For further information, please contact: Stephen Van Deventer: +1 604 306 9669 Or, Investor Relations ir@preveceutical.com Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations and orientations regarding the future including the Company's anticipated business plans, and the prospect of its ability and success in executing its proposed plans. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "should", "budget", "schedules", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential", "will" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors including risks and uncertainties relating to the inability of the Company, to, among other things, obtain any required governmental, regulatory or stock exchange approvals, permits, consents or authorizations required, including Canadian Securities Exchange acceptance of any planned future activities, commercialize therapeutic and diagnostic technologies, pursue business partnerships, complete its research programs as planned, and obtain the financing required to carry out its planned future activities. Other factors such as general economic, market or business conditions or changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting the biotechnology or pharmaceutical industry, may also adversely affect the future results or performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the statements, beliefs, plans, expectations, and intentions contained in this news release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that those statements, beliefs, plans, expectations, or intentions will prove to be accurate. Readers should consider all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to other periodic reports provided by the Company from time-to-time. These reports and the Company's filings are available at www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly, are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61912 Alan Dershowitz is refusing to back down in his fight to grill billionaire fashion mogul Les Wexner over his links to Jeffrey Epstein, DailyMail.com can reveal. Wexner has agreed to supply written evidence but wants to skip an in-person deposition in the bitter ongoing defamation battle between Dershowitz and Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. But lawyers for Dershowitz dismissed the offer on Monday, telling a New York Federal Court that it was inconceivable that Victorias Secret founder Wexner should escape the full discovery sit-down. Giuffre has accused a string of prominent men, including Dershowitz, of having sex with her while she was being trafficked as an underage girl by his rich former client, Epstein. When the Harvard Law professor responded by accusing Giuffre of making the story up to extort millions of dollars from himself and other former Epstein associates, namely Wexner, she sued him for defamation. Dershowitz wants the Ohio tycoon and his lawyer John Zeiger to answer questions about their communications with Giuffre and to reveal if there was ever any secret deal in his bid to prove the plot was real, despite both men indicating it wasnt. Alan Dershowitz (left) is refusing to back down in his fight to grill billionaire fashion mogul Les Wexner over his links to Jeffrey Epstein, DailyMail.com can reveal. Wexner (right) has agreed to supply written evidence but wants to skip an in-person deposition in the bitter ongoing defamation battle between Dershowitz and Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre Giuffre has accused a string of prominent men, including Dershowitz, of having sex with her while she was being trafficked as an underage girl by his rich former client, Epstein There can be no serious question that Wexner is a central figure in this litigation. His name is referenced nine times in plaintiffs submitted complaint, his attorney, Christian Kiely, told the court. The court heard that Zeiger had agreed to sit down for a deposition subject to a protection order that will likely designate much of confidential and under seal. But there is close to zero percent chance Mr. Wexner is going to volunteer to be deposed, Kiely told the court. Professor Dershowitzs ultimate defense is the truth, he added. He's entitled to prove the truth of that extortion claim, including by deposing Mr. Wexner, so that the jury can hear from Mr. Wexner in a form that's admissible and that we can use at trial. US District Judge Loretta Preska said she would await until she had reviewed Zeigers deposition as well as other documents that he and Wexner agreed to provide before she decides whether to compel the latter to submit to a full deposition. In a letter submitted to her ahead of Mondays hearing, Wexners attorney in the current proceedings, Marion Little, insisted once more that his client had no information that supported Dershowitzs claims of an extortion plot. Little admitted that Zeiger had engaged in a series of conversations with David Boies, Giuffres attorney, after she went public with her allegations in 2015. But he added: Attorney Zeiger communicated what has been public stated: That Mr. Wexner was unaware of, and was never a participant in, any of the abhorrent behavior engaged in by Epstein against Epsteins victims, that Mr., Wexner had never met Ms. Giuffre, and that any claims to the contrary were not true. When the Harvard Law professor responded by accusing Giuffre of making the story up to extort millions of dollars from himself and other former Epstein associates, namely Wexner, she sued him for defamation These discussions culminated in a meeting in Mr. Boies office on July 8, 2015 wherein Zeiger explained in detail the mass of evidence definitely proving that no meeting with Ms. Giuffre could have occurred. Following the meeting, Mr. Boies dropped the issue. Little said in his letter that Dershowitz had tried to contact Wexner repeatedly to discuss his extortion theory, even speaking to his wife, who promptly referred the inquiry back to Zeiger. At no time has Ms. Giuffre or her legal counsel made an extortion demand or otherwise solicited money or any other consideration from Mr. Wexner, he added. To be clear, no settlement or agreement of any kind has been entered into with Ms. Giuffre or her legal counsel. Defendant [Dershowitz] had no role in the foregoing but it was not for lack of trying. Wexner hired Epstein as his personal money manager in the 1990s, admitting last year that he was embarrassed by his long-standing ties to the dead pedophile. The 82-year-old tycoon has never been implicated in his former employees sex trafficking operation, although Epstein was known to have exploited his ties to Victorias Secret to target underage girls with promises of modeling careers. Being taken advantage of by someone who was so sick, so cunning, so depraved, is something that Im embarrassed I was even close to. But that is in the past, Wexner told investors after Epstein hanged himself last August while awaiting trial. Wexner did not comment publicly when Dershowitz first aired his extortion defense in 2015 but a source close to him told the New York Times that no such attempt was ever made by Giuffre and the pair had never met. Brad Edwards, a longtime lawyer for Epsteins victims, said in July last year that he had no reason to suspect that Wexner was involved or aware of Epsteins sick crimes. We have not seen where he is in the company of Jeffrey Epstein at the time when he was engaging in these things, Edwards told reporters. In 2014 Giuffre named him as one of several prominent men she was forced to have sex with, including Britains Prince Andrew, who also denies the allegations. She sued Dershowitz in 2019 claiming he had made false and malicious defamatory statements against her in the process of making vociferous denials In fact, its very seldom that many of the victims actually even met him or saw him. I do know that theres a lot of business ties to him, but other than receiving information about their business connection, I dont have any information to believe otherwise. Dershowitz helped Epstein agree to a cushy non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in 2008 which allowed him to plead guilty to minor charges and spend only 13 months in jail, most of it on work release. In 2014 Giuffre named him as one of several prominent men she was forced to have sex with, including Britains Prince Andrew, who also denies the allegations. She sued Dershowitz in 2019 claiming he had made false and malicious defamatory statements against her in the process of making vociferous denials. The veteran attorney responded by vowing to prove she was a liar in open court and predicted Giuffre would end up behind bars herself for perjury. Dershowitz was back in the Epstein crosshairs last month after his name appeared in a tranche of newly unsealed documents revisiting accusations that he had sex with Jane Doe 3, who is identified elsewhere as Giuffre. He told DailyMail.com the allegations that dated back to 2014 were old news and that he has denied them numerous times. Dershowitz has admitted having a massage at Epsteins Palm Beach mansion, where the dead predator attacked many of his underage victims, but says it was entirely innocent. We were guests and everybody got massages, said Dershowitz, who was also on President Trumps defense team in his Senate impeachment trial. When you went into Epstein's house, the first thing they offered you was to have a massage therapist come to your room and give you a massage. I did it once. And my massage therapist was a middle aged woman from Eastern Europe. I had never had a quote erotic massage in my life, period. Saurabh Mukherjea Great investors differ from good investors in three key respects: (1) they are able to reduce mental clutter and thus focus more deeply on the key issues that matter; (2) they hone their creativity through extensive reading of diverse, and complex material well beyond Finance as well as Investing; and (3) they are able to build collaborative relationships with other people who have complementary skill sets. Great vs Good in the context of the Simplicity Paradigm The Simplicity Paradigm shown in the diagram above - has two layers of skills. The first layer focuses on building positive behavioural habits (specialisation, simplicity, and spirituality) which become the foundations of a high performing professionals career. The second layer focuses on building more advanced skills (clutter reduction, creativity, and collaboration). Millions of people are hardworking & ambitious but, as we have explained in the book, only a select few have the discipline to adopt the Simplicity Paradigm in a disciplined manner. In my 20 year career as a broker and a fund manager, first in the UK and then in India, I have found that there are three specific facets of the Simplicity Paradigm on which great fund managers work very hard to pull away from the herd: Deep focus alongside clutter-reduction: One of the most interesting things I have found in my meetings with great investors over the years is how fiercely they can concentrate on a subject for an extended period of time. We have spoken to Mark Mobius several times over the last couple of years. In some instances, our discussions have extended beyond 90 minutes. Not once has Dr. Mobius interrupted the meetings to take phone calls or read his Whatsapp messages. In fact, the longer the meeting goes on, the greater the powers of concentration of this 83-year old investment legend who did much to build the asset class that is today called Emerging Market equities. When we met Prof Sanjay Bakshi, the managing partner at Value Quest Capital, in Delhi at the Lodhi Hotel to interview him for the book, the meeting lasted for over two hours. Prof Bakshi is a big believer in the idea of intense focus and cutting off all distractions to spend quality time on a single idea. He showed his phone has a blank home screen and no notifications. Throughout our meeting, his phone did not beep or light up or ring even once. In those two hours he gave us some of the deepest insights into fierce focus that I have received in my career. Chapter 3 of The Victory Project contains these insights. Similarly, when we interviewed Sanjiv Bikhchandani of Infoedge arguably amongst the most successful VC investors in contemporary India - for the Victory Project, the meeting lasted for over 90 minutes. During that time, he did not once look at his mobile phone or entertain other visitors. Clearly these investors have numerous calls on their time but their ability to de-clutter their minds and their diaries and concentrate for extended periods of time marks them out from a typical fund manager whose life revolves around monitoring news flow and share prices all day long even as emails and Whatsapp messages keep pinging away on his mobile phone. Creativity alongside extensive reading: The tendency of investment analysts is to believe that their success, or lack thereof, is down to how hard they work on reading annual reports or on building their financial models. The reality is that if you want outsized success as an analyst or investor you have to necessarily see the world from angles that others cannot even imagine. You have to discover perspectives that are undiscovered. You have to take your mind to places that no else has been to. So how do you do that? Mark Mobius and Prof Sanjay Bakshi are not just successful investors, they are also voracious readers. Not only do they read plenty of finance literature but also material pertaining to the arts and spirituality. As Dr. Mobius says in Chapter 9 of the book, Learn the fundamental skills like reading and writing. Go to museums because art gives you a hint about how the future can look. Develop your creativity so learn to play an instrument, learn to draw, learn creative writing. Machines and robotics will take away a lot of the normal work that we do and we will be relegated more and more to the creative aspects like creating new concepts. We also saw during our research for the book, how the Marico Chairman, Harsh Mariwalas, library is well stocked with books on management and on psychology. In fact, every single expert we interviewed for the book turned out to be a voracious reader. By the time we finished writing the book, we fully understood why Charlie Munger says, In my whole life, I have known no wise people.who didnt read all the time none, zero. Collaborative skills: The modern cult of achievement is very much built around the individual. It is a bit like Ayn Rands philosophy from her book The Fountainhead on steroids. People have been taught to believe that they can succeed in highly competitive professions by riding roughshod over people. The exam-oriented education system in India further encourages this type of thinking. However, back in the real world, whether you want to build a great company, a great product, launch a successful fund or compose great music all successful endeavor is necessarily collaborative. Great investors understand this. Jason Voss, a successful American investor, who we interviewed for the book told us that the idea that capitalism is the pre-eminent institution of competition is a faulty one. In his view, capitalism is as much about co-operation as it is about competition. All of this is hardcoded in us like a program. I would say that it is a software programme that is in need of an upgrade, he told us. This collaborative spirit pervades the great investment partnerships of our era whether it is Warren Buffett & Charlie Munger or Motilal Oswal & Raamdeo Agrawal or George Soros & Stanley Druckenmiller. Such partnerships are especially effective if the partners bring different skillsets and diverse perspectives to the table. As psychologist Matthew Liberman says in his book Social, The greatest ideas always require teamwork to bring them to fruition; social reasoning is what allows us to build and maintain the social relationship and infrastructure needed for teams to thrive. (The author is the CIO at Marcellus Investment Managers) Disclaimer: 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 post-operative nightmare. In this clip from tonight's all-new Botched, former dancer Parisa presents her case during a consultation with doctors Terry Dubrow and Paul Nassif. Per the new patient, she had her first plastic surgery procedure done in Las Vegas, a breast augmentation with 600 cc implants. However, after retiring from dancing, Parisa says she was ready to downsize her implants. Rather than get her implants removed in the United States, Parisa reveals she went abroad for her next procedure. She explains to the Botched doctors, "I decided to go to the Dominican Republic because it was pretty cheap." Yet, as Parisa tells it, there were many red flags even before her consultation. "When I first arrived, we were waiting to have the consultation on the same day of the surgery," Parisa shares. "There was about 15 girls who were getting surgeries that dayby one surgeon." This fact leaves Dr. Dubrow thoroughly shocked. Botched Patients Before and After: Shocking Transformations! "You almost never do more than three to four surgeries in a day," Dr. Dubrow states in a confessional. "Anything more than that, you're gonna cut corners and the patients are gonna suffer." And that's exactly what happened to Parisa! After returning to the States, Parisa says she noticed "pus coming out" of her incision. Parissa, Botched 619 "I went to the emergency room and I was crying," the new patient laments. "The doctor came in and he said, 'You need to take this out now. If the infection goes into your bloodstream, you're dead.'" Upon hearing this, Dr. Nassif applauds the E.R. doctor for scaring Parisa into making the right choice. Paul Nassif & Terry Dubrow's Bromance "You can get surgical post-operative infections even when you do everything right," Dr. Dubrow tells the Botched camera. "But the fact that Parisa was in a foreign country, and they don't necessarily have the same surgical standards that we have in this country regarding surgical technique, post-operative care or even the way the tools are sterilized, you just don't know really what caused it." Story continues As for Parisa's Botched goals? She says she just wants "two even breasts." "It really boils down to what are the risks of putting an implant in that breast," Dr. Dubrow concluded. "Scary." Watch the consultation in the clip above. Actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith attend the premiere of Warner Bros Pictures' Focus at TCL Chinese Theatre on 24 February 2015 in Hollywood, California: (Getty Images) At least 10 employees at Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smiths production company have tested positive for Covid-19, amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, production company Westbrook Inc released a statement to Variety that read: We received 10 positive tests and the crew members quarantined and remain in quarantine. In June, California released strict guidelines and outlined safety protocols for film and television productions, as filming started to begin again in the state. Despite continuing production on two shows during that period, Westbrook Inc confirmed to Variety that it followed all of the states guidance. The production company added: All 10 people were retested and have received negative results. We will continue to follow all official guidelines and safety protocols. The 10 employees showed no symptoms and tested negative in tests taken shortly after they received positive results, and Westbrook Inc added that it has changed its testing company as a consequence. The production company confirmed that it will be cooperating with a Department of Public Health investigation into the outbreak and added that it has halted production on a show, but did not identify which one. When the pandemic hit the US in March, Westbrook Inc launched a new Snapchat show, Will From Home, while Pinkett continued to host her Facebook show, Red Table Talk, with her mother, Adrienne Banfield-Jones, and daughter, Willow Smith. Covid-19 has featured as a topic on both shows in recent months, as Pinkett spoke about life under lockdown, and Smith interviewed Dr Anthony Fauci, one of the countrys top infectious disease experts and part of the US governments coronavirus task force. It is unclear if the test results will affect the couples work, but a representative for Westbrook Inc told the Daily Mail: Will and Jada are both involved in active productions that are all following strict guidelines outlined by the CDC, California State and Los Angeles County. Story continues California has recorded more than 629,000 Covid-19 cases, as at least 11,225 people have died after contracting the virus since the pandemic began, while Los Angeles has seen the most coronavirus cases of any county in the US, with at least 222,000 confirmed cases and 5,254 deaths. According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, in the US as a whole, some 5.4 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 170,178. Read more Will Smith jokes about his eventful 2020 after August Alsina song Despite coronavirus fears, the people of Belarus have taken to the streets in the thousands to call for an end to violence against protesters and for the government to step down. With the countrys opposition leader in hiding across the border following an election result she says was rigged, the people of the small European nation have continued to defy authorities in incredible displays of anger and frustration. They want President Alexander Lukashenko dubbed Europes last dictator to hand over power after more than 26 years of running the country. Belarus opposition supporters hold a giant former white-red-white flag of Belarus used in opposition to the government, during a demonstration in central Minsk on Sunday. Source: Getty Mass protests have been erupting in major cities across Belarus resulting in clashes with the police. Source: Getty Angry residents are calling for the president to step down. Source: Getty Belarusians chanting Step down! filled the centre of the capital Minsk on Sunday (local time), in the biggest protest so far against what they believe was the fraudulent re-election a week ago of the nations long time leader. The countrys central election commission said Mr Lukashenko won 80 per cent of the vote while his chief opponent, former school teacher Svetlana Tikhanouskaya who emerged from obscurity to take the nation by storm, allegedly got just 9.9 per cent of the vote. The latest protest was estimated to have involved more than 200,000 people who say they are tired of the government corruption. Many carried the red and white flag used in Belarus after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union before Mr Lukashenko restored the Soviet version four years later. At least two protesters have died and thousands have been detained in a crackdown since the vote. Meanwhile crowds also gathered in Prague in the Czech Republic, and Warsaw in Poland on Sunday to show their support for protesters in Belarus. While police wore masks during Sundays protest, a majority of demonstrators did not. Story continues According to official data, Belarus has recorded more than 69,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 during the pandemic, with only 600 deaths. However health care workers have suggested the number of deaths in Belarus has been intentionally underreported, international publication Foreign Policy noted. Belarus was one of the only European countries that did not implement strict coronavirus containment measures and cases surged earlier this year. The country also shares a border with Russia, which has the fourth highest coronavirus case count in the world at more than 920,000 known cases. Protest have been escalating into violent clashes with the police. Source: Getty Policemen observe an event staged outside the Belarusian Embassy in solidarity with protesters last week. Source: Getty Putin offers military help to Lukashenko Olga Dryndova, editor of the Belarus Analysis at Bremen University in Berlin spoke to ABC Radio this morning, saying the nation was united in wanting political change. This is the first time the Belarusians are not willing to accept this election result, she said. Its not the first time we have got this [80 per cent] result but its the first time the society has reacted ... nationwide not only in Minsk. People are really wanting a new phase in politics after 26 years, she said. Ms Dryndova said the now exiled opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanouskaya rose to challenge the countrys leader on a spontaneous wave of support which has sustained the ongoing demonstrations despite stories of the imprisonment and torture of protesters. She was actually only registered because no one saw her as a politician ... she was not dangerous for the authorities, she said. And then spontaneously she became the most important alternative candidate. The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Mr Lukashenko that Moscow was ready to assist Belarus in quelling the civic unrest. The Belarus leader, who is under pressure from the European Union for cracking down on his opponents, claimed NATO tanks and planes had been deployed 15 minutes from the Belarusian border. NATO troops are at our gates. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and our native Ukraine are ordering us to hold new elections, Mr Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus would die as a state if new polls were held. I have never betrayed you and will never do so. with Reuters Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. CLEVELAND, Ohio Voters concerned delays at the U.S. Postal Service could jeopardize their vote this November have a clear course of action: Request vote-by-mail applications as soon as possible, Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Director Anthony Perlatti said Monday. Completing and submitting an application now will allow the Board of Elections to mail actual ballots in early October. That means voters could have nearly a month before the Nov. 3 election to complete it and return it to the elections board. Why wait? Get your application done now, Perlatti said in an interview with cleveland.com. You will have received your ballot way ahead of Election Day and youre maximizing the window of time in which you can return the ballot. About 40,000 applications for absentee ballots had been processed by elections workers as of Monday, far more than the number of applications processed at this point in the 2016 presidential election, Perlatti said. Voting by mail in Ohio is a two-step process. First, a voter must request a vote-by-mail application (or print one themselves) and then return it to the Board of Elections. If the application checks out, the board will then mail the applicant an actual ballot. That process can begin when early voting commences on Oct. 6. To be counted, ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 2 and received by the board within 10 days after the election. Ohios deadline to request an absentee ballot is the Saturday before the election, which has always been a tricky deadline, pandemic or not, Perlatti said. And that close-cut timeline puts Ohioans as well as residents in 45 other states at risk of not having their ballots delivered in time to be counted, Thomas J. Marshall, the USPS general counsel and executive vice president warned last week. Marshalls warning came amid a heated political debate over funding for the U.S. Postal Service. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he was against a bailout for the USPS because he wanted to restrict mail-in voting, a move that drew heavy criticism from Democrats concerned about disenfranchised voters. Absentee voting has become an increasingly popular option as voters seek to avoid traveling to the polls during the coronavirus crisis. Ohios spring primary was largely conducted via mail. Trump has claimed the practice could lead to widespread fraud, although he has not shown evidence to back up that claim. Perlatti on Monday opted not to weigh in on the USPS political debate. But he said Cuyahoga County voters should be assured that absentee voting continues to be a safe, viable option. We want people to have faith in the vote-by-mail process. Its convenient. Its secure, Perlatti said. Still concerned about possible delays? Voters can drop off completed ballots in person at a secure drop-box in the parking lot for the Board of Elections headquarters, located at 2925 Euclid Avenue in Cleveland. Cuyahoga County voters can click here to request a vote-by-mail application. The joint study of the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and University of Jyvaskyla estimated the impact of cormorants breeding and living in Quark on perch populations and catches in the area. A large number of breeding cormorants in the important perch fishing and reproduction areas may reduce perch populations and catches especially in areas affected by breeding. On a larger spatial scale, the impact of cormorant predation is lower. The study was published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science in August 2020. Since 2016, a large number of cormorants had breeding colonies in Quark. Their impact on perch populations was studied using Passive iIntegrated Transponder (PIT) tags in 2018, when 3,140 cormorant nests were calculated in the area. A total of 1,977 perch individuals were marked using small and invisible PIT tags placed under the skin. "The PIT tags showed that a large number of breeding cormorants in a key perch fishing and reproduction area may reduce perch populations and catches locally. On a wider spatial scale, the impact of predation decreases. Overall, the large cormorant population in Quark may reduce the profitability of perch fishing, especially in the area affected by breeding colonies", says Lari Veneranta, research scientist at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). Some nine per cent of the total number of the tags placed were found from colonies. These results help to determine that, during the whole breeding and migration period, cormorants caught at most 20 to 33 per cent of the tagged perch individuals, if the fish consumption of young individuals is included and if it is assumed that cormorants remained in the same area after breeding. "Based on literature, we estimated that roughly half of all perch individuals consumed by cormorants and all the tags placed ended up in colonies during the breeding period. The tags were recovered well, and according to our tests, some 90 per cent of the tags found from breeding colonies were discovered using detection equipment", Veneranta says. Cormorants were estimated to increase natural mortality in the tagged perch populations by seven to 26 percentage points. The growth rate of perch individuals affects how large a proportion of perch populations is caught by cormorants. The typical length of a perch individual eaten by a cormorant is 15 cm. On the basis of the determined age and growth of perch individuals, roughly half of perch individuals in the studied area remain small-sized, while the other half reach the fishing threshold size of 22 to 25 cm in three to four years. Small-sized individuals can be at risk of being caught by cormorants throughout their lives, while they are rarely at risk of being caught by fishermen. In the 2,800 square-kilometre fisheries statistical rectangle surrounding the breeding colonies, the proportion of the biomass and production of perch individuals of more than two years consumed by cormorants was estimated to be roughly eight per cent, while other natural mortality accounted for 63 and fishing for 29 per cent. The impact of fish caught by cormorants migrating through the area was not included in the calculations. The impact of cormorants on perch populations in Quark has been assessed in the long term If perch populations decrease, cormorants will increasingly use other fish species. Other natural mortality will also decrease and the growth and reproduction rate of perch individuals may increase. "These factors compensate for the decreasing impact of cormorants on perch populations, at least in part. The size of perch populations is mostly affected by environmental factors, such as the temperature during the first summer of young perch individuals", says Outi Heikinheimo, visiting specialist at Luke. The long-term impact of cormorants on perch catches in the Quark has been assessed on the basis of the results of the PIT tag study and other available data. The aim is to take into account any uncertainties associated with the background data and their impact on results. If the number of cormorants and the density of two-year-old perch individuals remained at the 2018 level in the long term, perch catches would decrease by at most 32 to 67 per cent in the predation area of breeding cormorants, assuming that perch populations do not migrate, young cormorants catch their food in the same area in which they nest and cormorants remain in the same area until they migrate. When generalised over a broader area, statistical rectangle, perch catches would decrease by at most ten to 33 per cent. "Estimates of fish catches, expanded from test results, have broad probability distributions, as initial data about perch population dynamics, regional distribution and movements comprises rough estimates at best. Nevertheless, these probability distributions offer the best available data from 2018 regarding the maximum impact of cormorant populations on perch populations and catches in Quark", says Timo J. Marjomaki, lecturer in the Department of Biological and Environmental Science at the University of Jyvaskyla. ### Link to the study in ICES Journal of Marine Science in August 2020. The study was conducted as part of the partnership programme between researchers and fishermen, coordinated by Luke and funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The programme's partners include University of Jyvaskyla, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and Finland's professional fishermen's association. Further information: Lari Veneranta, research scientist, Luke, lari.veneranta@luke.fi, tel. +358 29 532 7203 Timo J. Marjomaki, lecturer, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyvaskyla, timo.j.marjomaki@jyu.fi, tel. +358 50 428 5274 Ari Leskela, principal scientist, Luke, ari.leskela@luke.fi, tel. +358 29 532 7404 Sensitive Data Breach Possible as Germany's Bundeswehr Transport Service Hacked Sputnik News 11:57 GMT 16.08.2020 The attack on the German company was reported to have occurred last week, with no clear details regarding the extent of the breach and its impact. Sensitive data from federal politicians and the military might have been comprimised in an apparently successful hacking attack that targeted a Bundestag transport service, reports Bild am Sonntag. Last week's attack, confirmed to television channel ARD by a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of Defence, was directed against the data center of BWFuhrparkService GmbH, which also runs the Bundestag transport service. 75.1 percent of the company is owned by the Federal Ministry of Defense, with Deutsche Bahn owning the remaining 24.9 per cent. In 2019, members of the German federal parliament the Bundestag - resorted to the company's transport services on a total of 142,000 occasions, reports the publication. On 14 August BWFuhrparkService GmbH informed parliament of the hacker attack. Private residential addresses of members of the Bundestag might have been tapped by those behind the incident, as when a parliamentarian books transport services the passenger name, the time of the start of the journey, the destination and all optional requirements such as a child car seat are saved in the scheduling system. The Bundestag administration wrote to inform the parliamentary groups about the incident, adding: "Those behind the attack and its motives are not known." It is yet unclear whether this was the first incident involving a hacking attack on the data center, or whether data was manipulated or leaked. In addition to its own IT forensic experts, who have been tasked with analyzing and repairing the damage, the vehicle fleet company has enlisted the services of HiSolutions AG, which works closely with the German armed forces. The Federal Office for Information Security had also been informed of the attack. "If a successful analysis does not succeed, the intention is to involve the Bundeswehr Cyber Security Center," says a cited letter from the Bundestag administration. Bundestag Vice President Thomas Oppermann (SPD) was quoted by Bild am Sonntag as saying: "There is a serious security breach The incident must be resolved quickly." Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address We're a family of seven living in Georgia where Andrew's working as a professor at GSU. You can read more about us here The pandemic is forcing both parties to do what they should have attempted years ago: Blow up the crusty, old formula for political conventions. Driving the news. We'll see how it plays starting tonight, when the Democratic Party kicks off the start of a highly condensed, mostly virtual, four-day show choreographed for the social-mobile era. What we're watching: Convention organizers tell Axios one way they're trying to engage their audience is by calling for self-shot videos from Americans across the country, with a promise to play the videos in prime time like Republicans declaring their support for Joe Biden. Democratic National Convention CEO Joe Solmonese has swapped out the traditional Tuesday night keynote address, instead dividing the slot among 17 different speakers. Biden will close out the show Thursday night when he takes the stage at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware delivering his acceptance speech to a mostly empty space with extreme health protocols in place. Why it matters: Democrats privately acknowledge there's some risk in relying on just eight hours of political programming over four nights, woven together with pre-taped, live, and remote events with no real sense of how it will come across to the millions of American voters watching it on TV. Networks aren't going to know how to cover this, said Erik Smith, who was creative director for the 2008, 2012 and 2016 conventions. In the past, they'd take the speeches but not the interludes." Democrats expect cable news channels to cover both hours of programing, and networks to cover the second hour, perhaps with a little give on the back end if a big speech goes long. But with a virtual convention, there also are fewer opportunities for disgruntled Democrats to protest or disrupt speeches, making it easier to paper over differences and emphasize party unity. Don't expect the "Bernie! Bernie!" chants Hillary Clinton endured in 2016. Flashback: As conventions morphed from nominating contests into coronation ceremonies, party planners tried to script and stage every detail to achieve made-for-TV perfection. Along the way, the conventions became pageants. Their outcomes haven't really been in doubt since Sen. Ted Kennedy held out against Jimmy Carter in 1980. Conventions still need to be geared towards broadcast TV to some extent because "networks get people who are casually interested in politics, Smith said. That's who you want." Planners expect some awkward television moments, when activists call in from self-made home studios for live chats. They hope it lends authenticity. If the convention feels too much like a telethon, viewers will change the channel. Biden, his running mate Kamala Harris and the other speakers won't have the energy of mass crowds to feed off. But Biden was always stronger in smaller settings than giant rallies. The other side: While Democrats have been preparing for months for a virtual convention, Republicans only recently gave up on having part or all of their convention in person. Because Republicans' convention is a week later, they have the advantage of watching Democrats to see what works and what doesn't and adjust accordingly. Between the lines: Convention speeches are shorter this year and this means less time for rising stars in the party to grab the spotlight. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets only 60 seconds, hemmed in by musical interludes and a master of ceremonies to move events along. Be smart: What party strategists wont miss: Prima donna politicians demanding prime-time speaking slots. Reporters talking to disgruntled delegates who backed losing candidates. Cable commentators talking over speeches instead of playing them live. What delegates will miss: In-person state roll calls. Meeting and taking measure of many up-and-coming party leaders. The balloon drop. In-person state roll calls. Meeting and taking measure of many up-and-coming party leaders. The balloon drop. What lobbyists wont be doing : Early morning policy panels and breakfasts. Squiring CEOs to meetings with lawmakers. Last-minute changes to the platform. : Early morning policy panels and breakfasts. Squiring CEOs to meetings with lawmakers. Last-minute changes to the platform. What reporters will miss: Unscripted moments. The kitsch and sweep of the spectacle. Conversations with activists and voters. Unscripted moments. The kitsch and sweep of the spectacle. Conversations with activists and voters. What everyone will miss: The parties. The bottom line: Coronavirus crashed the conventions, but its forcing a reboot thats long overdue. A Melbourne council has been lambasted after floating the idea of banning some outdoor barbecues, smokers, ovens and fires due to offensive emissions. The Bayside Council, which has jurisdiction over beachside suburbs Brighton, Brighton East, Hampton, Hampton East, Highett, Black Rock, Sandringham, Beaumaris and Cheltenham, put the idea to its constituents after receiving a petition with just five signatures. In the Have Your Say section on the Bayside Council website, residents are urged to submit feedback on new local law ideas. There are calls to ban charcoal barbecues in some Melbourne suburbs. Source: Getty Clause 31 of Local Law No.2 bans the burning of any offensive materials or any materials that cause offensive emissions of smoke and odour to enter any neighbouring property, Bayside Council says on its website. This idea seeks to include a ban on the burning of solid fuel (eg wood and charcoal) for outdoor cooking or heating due to offensive emissions. Council received a petition with five signatories about this issue in August 2018 and, on average, three complaints each year. This would mean coal barbecues would be banned, as well as charcoal smokers, woodfire ovens and fire pits. A number of local residents are furious at the suggestion some outdoor cooking could be banned, saying the idea is ridiculous with a Change.org petition against the proposal garnering thousands of signatures. Bayside Council is thinking of banning the use of open flames, mainly wood and charcoal, for the purposes of heating and cooking, the petition says. This ban is based on a petition received in 2018 with five signatures and on average three complaints per year. Downright un-Australian If this ban is enforced it will mean that there are no more spit roasts, charcoal BBQs, pizza ovens and meat smokers in all of Bayside. Furthermore, you will not be able to enjoy an outdoor open fire for the purposes of heating. This is a horrible proposal and an overreaction to the will of a small minority. The burning of solid fuels like wood and charcoal could be banned in Bayside Council suburbs like Brighton. Source: Getty Many agreed, with a number of residents saying it was downright un-Australian. Story continues Whats wrong with open fires for cooking outside? So stupid to ban this, one said. Three complaints a year is not significant enough to upset thousands, another claimed. I love my fire pit and the way it brings my family together outside. Other people have open fires inside and I dont see the difference between the impact of an outdoor or indoor fire. Please dont ban outdoor fires, a third pleaded. A local added the potential ban was absurd, moronic, stupid, ridiculous, obscene and downright dumb. Woodfire pizza ovens could too be outlawed in Bayside Council suburbs. Source: Getty Mayor Clarke Martin told The Age he had received a number of angry emails and was aware the issue was divisive. However he claimed residents in the area could be suffering from respiratory issues. For someone who is having a romantic evening by the fire, its beautiful for them, but if the smoke is coming across and affecting 20 units down the road then its a problem, he said. Yahoo News Australia has contacted Bayside Council for comment. 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. Indias bid to control its surging virus infections by increasing the use of fast but less sensitive tests could actually be making things worse for the nation. With one of the worlds fastest-growing epidemics but also one of the lowest testing rates, India in late June started to use quick antigen tests to ramp up detection. But the tests, which can report false negatives as much 50 per cent of the time, threaten to obscure the true picture of its outbreak, further challenging containment efforts. Between 25-30 per cent of the countrys daily tests now are rapid ... Island-wide events mark VJ Day A series of events were held across the Island to mark VJ Day at the weekend. The events on Saturday marked the 75th anniversary since the Japanese surrendered, marking the end of the Second World War. In Ramsey, a memorial and wreath laying ceremony took place. A mosaic plaque created by school children in the north of the Island was also on display. Speaking to MTTV, Colin Douglas from the Ramsey branch of the Royal British Legion says the plan is to permanently install the plaque: Media Frank Douglas clip Shocking footage and photos have emerged of hotel quarantine guards asleep on the job in Melbourne, as it's revealed nearly every active COVID-19 case in Victoria is linked to returned travellers in isolation. The Doherty Institute's Professor Ben Howden told the inquiry into the state's hotel quarantine program on Monday 'more than 99 per cent' of Victoria's second wave of infections be linked people coming back to the state from overseas. Professor Howden's evidence came as a Four Corners investigation showed multiple guards fast asleep in the corridor of an undisclosed Melbourne hotel. In one picture, a guard wearing gloves was seen lying across the width of the corridor with his hands across his chest, while another was filmed snoring in a chair. Security guards have been caught fast asleep (one pictured above) in a Melbourne quarantine hotel as experts reveal '99 per cent' of Victoria's active cases came from returned travellers The security company which employed the guards said all of the workers pictured asleep in the investigation had since been fired. A security guard named Peter told the ABC program he felt unsafe on the job - claiming he did not receive proper training and guests were walking through corridors without protective equipment or masks. 'There is not much social distancing, no proper training. I have a family waiting for me at home. I don't wanna pass this disease to them,' he said. He claimed none of his training was related to the virus and all the information he knew about COVID-19 was what he saw on television. A spokesman for the security firm said the guards had shared an area with other hotel workers which was meant to be coronavirus-free. The company which employed the guards, said all of the workers pictured asleep (two pictured left and right) in the investigation had since been fired This graph illustrates the closing gap between new daily case numbers and daily deaths In New South Wales, the company said it had provided guards to quarantine hotels without any breaches. The firm has also insisted it mandated online and face-to-face infection control training for its guards. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the security company for further comment. Security guards at Victoria's quarantine hotels told they DON'T need to wear PPE while interacting with isolated guests Security guards working in Victoria's quarantine hotels were told they didn't need to wear personal protective equipment when interacting with guests. An inquiry into the COVID-19 hotel quarantine program was on Monday shown the Department of Health and Human Services advice, dated June 8. It stated there was no need for security guards to wear PPE when greeting guests in the lobby, taking them out for fresh air breaks or when making doorway visits if physical distancing could be maintained. Infectious disease expert Professor Lindsay Grayson told the inquiry the advice was 'inappropriate'. 'It's not just about the 1.5 metres (distance), PPE is needed anyway because there is a level of the unpredictability of that 1.5 metres suddenly becoming less in those scenarios,' he said. Prof Grayson said security guards should have been wearing eye protection, gloves, a gown and a mask when interacting with returned travellers or handling objects belonging to them. The document was shown to the inquiry by Arthur Moses SC, who is representing Unified Security, one of three companies contracted to guard Victoria's quarantine hotels. Prof Grayson was also shown excerpts from a Commonwealth government training module, which was provided to security guards. 'The majority of it is like a training module for the general public, rather than someone who is going to come into direct contact or be responsible for managing COVID patients,' he said. The module stated people did not need to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which was true for the general public at the time but was 'misleading for health workers or quarantine staff'. 'I would consider it crucial if they were in likely contact with a potentially infectious patient,' Prof Grayson said. The training module was not updated until July 25. The head of the Doherty Institute's genomic sequencing unit, Professor Ben Howden, told the inquiry about '99 per cent' of Victoria's second wave of coronavirus can be linked to returned travellers in hotel quarantine. In late May, when the virus first broke out of hotel quarantine, 19 people in Victoria had died from COVID-19. The state's death toll now stands at 334, with almost 7500 cases active. Senior counsel assisting the inquiry Tony Neal QC said the program was set up in 48 hours and was without 'precise lines of responsibility, control, supervision and management'. He identified the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions as well as Emergency Management Victoria as playing key roles in the program. But 'it was not clear who was in overall command'. 'From the beginning, it seems there were multiple and potentially overlapping areas of responsibility between the departments,' Mr Neal said. He said the inquiry would also probe why private security guards were used over the Australian Defence Force and Victoria Police. Government ministers will be called to give evidence. Premier Daniel Andrews said he was yet to be called to appear. 'If I am called, I will be there,' he told reporters on Monday. An application by Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien to appear at the hearing, however, was rejected by the inquiry head, retired judge Jennifer Coate. Mr O'Brien had submitted he had a 'direct or special interest' in the probe on behalf of coalition voters, and that his participation would 'enable a different voice to be heard'. In her ruling, dated August 12 but posted online on Monday, Justice Coate rejected Mr O'Brien's arguments and defended the independence of her inquiry. 'It will be conducted on behalf of all Victorians,' she wrote. International flights are being diverted away from Victoria while Corrections Victoria has taken over quarantine operations. The inquiry continues on Tuesday. Advertisement Two young women wearing masks are seen walking along the Williamstown foreshore on Sunday. The Doherty Institute's Professor Ben Howden has said '99 per cent' of Victoria's second wave of coronavirus can be linked to returned travellers The shocking images come as Professor Howden told the inquiry his researchers used genomic sequencing from the first outbreak to discover the first strains of the virus died out in early May and June. He said all 'bar a few' of the current cases stem from new networks which broke out in May. Professor Howden said the active cases were in almost all cases linked to networks he called two, three or cluster 45A. He added he could not say though how many cases in the second wave had come from hotel quarantine as he did not yet have the necessary data yet. VICTORIA'S BUNGLED HOTEL QUARANTINE PROGRAM KEY DATES * March 16 State of emergency declared in Victoria, returned travellers instructed to undergo 14-days of quarantine at home. * March 27 National cabinet decides returned travellers will be subject to mandatory 14-day quarantine 'at designated facilities, for example, in a hotel'. * May 27 Outbreak at Rydges on Swanston first identified. * May 31 Victoria's state of emergency extended for three weeks ahead of stage-three restrictions easing the next day. Four new COVID-19 cases, 74 active cases. * June 6 No new cases for the first time since March 5. * June 9 Students return to school. * June 17 Stamford Plaza outbreak identified; Victoria records 21 new COVID-19 cases its highest increase in more than a month. * June 21 Further easing of restrictions. * June 26 Concerns grow about the program after it's revealed 30 per cent of travellers are refusing tests. Confirmed COVID-19 cases continue to rise. * June 29 Hot spot suburbs in Melbourne's north and north-west return to lockdown and all international flights into the city are put on hold for two weeks. * July 2 Inquiry into Victoria's hotel quarantine program announced. * July 4 A full lockdown is announced at short notice for nine Melbourne public housing towers. Victoria records 108 new cases its first day above 100 since late March. * July 6 The Victoria-NSW border shuts for the first time in a century. * July 8 Melbourne and Mitchell Shire placed into stage-three lockdown for six weeks. * July 13 Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton tells ABC Radio that it was conceivable all current cases in Victoria could be traced back to outbreaks stemming from the hotel quarantine system * July 20 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry begins. Victoria records 275 new COVID-19 cases, the 15th consecutive day of triple-digit increases in new infections - Australian Associated Press Advertisement A health worker wearing PPE at the Hambleton House home in Melbourne's Albert Park. Residents at the home - which provides housing for those with mental health issues or behavioural problems - were escorted to Patient Transport Ambulances on Monday Overseas travellers get off their bus and wait to check in as police officers look on at a Melbourne hotel New South Wales health authorities have meanwhile on Monday added the City of Sydney to its list of local government areas declared COVID-19 hotspots. It is believed a new infection confirmed at Sydney Girls High School in Surry Hills and the growing outbreak at the Thai Rock Restaurant in Potts Point - which has reached 37 cases - have prompted the move by NSW Health. The council area - which covers about 240,000 residents - stretches from Circular Quay to Eastlakes south of the CBD. Anyone who has lived in or has visited the City of Sydney in the past two weeks has been told to get tested even if they are experiencing the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms. The other LGAs declared as hotspots by NSW Health are Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Liverpool and Parramatta. Pedestrians wearing face masks are pictured out shopping in the Sydney CBD on Saturday. The City of Sydney has been added to New South Wales Health's list of COVID-19 hotspots State premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday authorities were still concerned about community transmission in Sydney's west after NSW recorded seven new COVID-19 cases. 'My anxiety remains the same, if not slightly higher, because every week we have had an of undetected or unsourced cases,' she said. 'It means potentially the virus is continuing to spread in particular parts of south-western and Western Sydney.' New South Wales has recorded seven new COVID-19 cases overnight (pictured, a nurse carries out a COVID-19 test at a pop-up clinic) Sydney Girls High School has closed because of the COVID infection and said a trial HSC exam set down for Monday would be rescheduled. Tangara School for Girls in Sydney's northwest, which has been linked to 25 cases, remains closed. Ms Berejiklian said the trend was a chilling echo of how the second outbreak of COVID-19 spread in Melbourne. It is believed a new infection confirmed at Sydney Girls High School in Surry Hills has prompted the move to label the City of Sydney local government area a hotspot Pedestrians wearing face masks are pictured in the Sydney CBD on Saturday. The City of Sydney covers about 240,000 residents and stretches from Circular Quay to Eastlakes south of the CBD 'If you look back to Melbourne, Melbourne didn't get worse because of the number of cases they had, they had undetected community transmission which then unknowingly got to a stage where it did.' Ms Berejiklian went on to 'apologise unreservedly' to residents who had contracted COVID-19 following the Ruby Princess cruise saga. 'I want to say I can't imagine what it would be like having a loved one or being someone yourself who continues to suffer and experience trauma as a result.' Victoria records 25 coronavirus deaths and another 282 cases in Australia's deadliest day since the pandemic began - as doctors make a chilling prediction Victoria has confirmed a record 25 COVID-related deaths in a 24-hour period for the first time since the pandemic began as experts warn fatalities could soar. The latest figures mark the deadliest day in Australia's fight against COVID-19, surpassing the record figures set by Victoria last Wednesday, when 21 people died. Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed 22 of the 25 deaths are associated to aged care facilities, making up 216 of the state's 309 total deaths since the pandemic began. The deadly respiratory virus has reached at least 120 care homes in the state, and there are 87 active cases among vulnerable people living in disability care homes. Victorian authorities and medical experts have warned the death toll will likely continue to rise as a direct result of the high case numbers the embattled state identified weeks ago, particularly in the aged care sector. 'This is a long way from over, and we've got to keep pushing forward every day,' Mr Andrews told the public during his 50th consecutive daily press conference on Monday. A further 282 cases of the virus were also confirmed in the state on Monday, as the daily case numbers continue to drop on the back of the state's extreme lockdown measures, which were introduced on July 30. Staff wearing PPE are seen at an aged care facility in Melbourne on Sunday, August 16. The aged care sector in Victoria is experiencing high casualty rates as a result of COVID-19 Last week, medical officials expressed hope that the case numbers appeared to be on a slow but steady decline - while also warning the death rates likely hadn't peaked yet. The ABC's medical commentator Dr Norman Swan said the strict lockdown measures have helped to stem the spread of the virus. 'I actually think we've turned a corner,' he told ABC News last Monday. Two security guards speak with Victoria Police during Melbourne's lockdown while all wearing face masks and PPE Dr Swan said the surging death toll could be directly attributed to the soaring case numbers the state experienced weeks ago, which peaked when 725 cases were identified on August 5. 'What you're seeing now with these deaths, tragically, is these high numbers that you saw over two weeks or so ago in Victoria,' he said. Victorian authorities had also warned deaths would continue to rise given the number of people in hospital with the virus. There are currently 44 people in intensive care in Victoria, up from 40 on Sunday. Of those, 32 are on ventilators. At least 2,000 cases are still active among aged care residents. 'For so long as we have large numbers of people that are in hospital and gravely ill, then we will see people who sadly continue to die,' Mr Andrews said. Metropolitan Melbourne has been under tough stage-four restrictions - including an 8pm curfew - while regional Victoria is under stage-three measures 'Even if you are young, and otherwise unhealthy, you are not immune from this.' Deakin University epidemiology chair Catherine Bennett made a similar observation, but was confident the death toll would soon drop off in accordance with the cases. 'That will be the pattern this week, but hopefully it will be relatively short-lived,' she told The Age. 'Just as we saw cases peak last week, it will be this week we will probably see the peak in daily deaths. 'The consequences of the previous infection hike is playing out in terms of the daily death counts.' Metropolitan Melbourne has been under tough stage-four restrictions - including an 8pm curfew - while regional Victoria is under stage-three measures. The lockdowns are in place until at least September 13 after Mr Andrews extended the State of Emergency and lockdown by four weeks. 'We will beat this virus and extending the State of Emergency ensures we have all the tools we need for the fight,' he said on Sunday. By Brittany Chain For Daily Mail Australia An emotional photograph captures a mother embracing her surrogate just moments after the birth of her son. Mirelle Leguia, 37, and Jason Porras, 39, from Texas, who are also parents to Nico, seven, were devastated when they suffered three miscarriages in two years while trying to conceive a second child. After being diagnosed with unexplained infertility, the couple decided to downsize their home and use their savings to pay for a surrogate and IVF. Thanks to the help of surrogate Christine Puryear, 31, Mirelle and Jason welcomed son Luca in April. A photographer was on hand to capture Mirelle, Jason, Christine and Christine's husband George, 32, in the moments before and after the baby's arrival. Mirelle Leguia, 37, and Jason Porras, 39 (left), from Texas, welcomed son Luca, now four months old, with their surrogate Christine Puryear, 31, and her husband George, 32 The couple were present at the birth and Mirelle was able to have skin-on-skin contact with her baby Luca straight after the birth Christine, who had never been a surrogate before, said it was so surreal helping the couple complete their family. Pictured, in the moment after the baby's arrival They have since shared the raw and poignant images from their birth to highlight surrogacy and to give hope to other hopeful parents. Mirelle said: 'After our three heartbreaking miscarriages, we sought advice from a fertility doctor who said we should consider surrogacy. What the surrogacy cost IVF clinic and medicine costs $50,000 Surrogacy expenses $55,000 Health insurance and prenatal care $20,000 Legal, agency and other fees $21,000 Birth $5,000 TOTAL: $151,000 Advertisement 'Once we realized we could use our own embryos we quickly realized it would be the best option for us. 'We longed to give our son, Nico, now seven, a sibling and thankfully we met Christine in 2018. 'She was a hopeful surrogate who was local to us so we could ensure we didn't miss an appointment and through Shared Conception in Houston we began our surrogacy journey.' The couple began speaking to Christine via video calls so they could all get to know each other and they all had in-depth psychological tests to ensure they were ready. 'I felt like I'd known Christine for years and although she hadn't been a surrogate previously, I trusted her completely. 'The clinic had only managed to fertilize three of the 10 embryos collected - two girls and one boy. 'The first two female embryos failed to implant in 2018 but we were thrilled when the third one worked in July 2019 as it was our last chance.' Speaking about the birth, Mirelle said: 'It was the most amazing moment and I had arranged for a photographer to capture it all so we could look back on the moment our family was completed.' Christine fell pregnant in July 2019 - which marked a year that Mirelle and Jason had known their surrogate. Mirelle added: 'It was hard to not worry throughout Christine's pregnancy, especially after everything we had gone through. Cameras documented the moment Christine gave birth to the baby at home, pictured Mirelle cradles her baby boy Luca, left and right, who was born thanks to IVF and surrogacy Surrogate Christine following the arrival of Luca, Mirelle and Jason's second child 'But we felt reassured when we saw our baby on the sonographer's screen when he was six weeks old. 'It was such an emotional moment and as the weeks passed it was such a relief to see our baby growing well each week. 'We were so excited for Nico to have a baby brother. 'But it was challenging to watch someone else carry our baby and I worried whether I'd bond with the baby like I had with Nico. 'Then my friends told me about "induced lactation" which meant I'd be able to breast feed Luca myself.' Christine gave birth on April 21 and Mirelle says it was one of the most special moments of their lives. She added: 'Christine called us and said she was in labour so we quickly got in the car and headed towards her home. She wanted a natural home birth. 'All four of us ended up on the bed with Christine, me, Jason, and her husband and she pushed down into her contractions. Christine gave birth on April 21 and Mirelle says it was one of the most special moments of their lives. Pictured: Christine and Mirelle in Christine's home after Luca's birth Christine gave birth in the bathroom and then the four of them got on the bed to deliver the placenta. 'There were two midwives on hand to help and I was prepped into position for the final push. 'I could see his head appearing and as Christine gave it one last deep breath, I caught our baby in my arms. 'Christine had always said it was her dream to give a couple a baby and we felt so honored that she'd done that for us. 'Three hours after being born we took our son, who we named Luca, home. 'It was surreal introducing him to Nico.' Surrogate Christine wanted a homebirth and the couple were happy to follow her wishes. Pictured: Mirelle and Christine and the baby Mirelle added: 'We had researched the cost of surrogacy and we quickly decided to downsize our home and use our life savings to ensure we could complete our family. 'The IVF clinic and medicine costs are not usually as expensive as ours - as it cost $50,000 - but we ended up having to do seven cycles, two embryos failed, four mock cycles to check it was the right timing. 'But it was more than worth it, now we couldn't be happier to start our lives together.' Christine said: 'It took two years to conceive my first son seven years ago and from that moment I knew I wanted to help another family by being a surrogate. 'My husband, George, was completely on board with the idea but after consulting a surrogacy agency back in 2013, we decided to complete our own family first due to the risks. 'But after having a further two boys of our own, we decided it was finally the right time to become a surrogate in 2018. 'Mirelle and Jason were there at every appointment and it was so surreal helping them complete their family. 'They were both there at the birth as was my husband and the look of pure happiness on Mirelle's face as Luca was born was something I'll never forget. 'They were so grateful and the overall experience of being their surrogate was just amazing. 'So much so that once my body has recovered from this pregnancy and birth I am planning to do it another two times.' Press Release August 17, 2020 HONTIVEROS SEEKS PROBE ON IATF CABINET MEMBERS' 'MICROMANAGEMENT' OF LGUs Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday filed Senate Resolution No. 495 urging the proper Senate committee to investigate, in aid of legislation, Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) Resolution No. 62, which assigned IATF member-cabinet secretaries to various local government units (LGU) in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Laguna, Cavite, and Rizal to monitor their COVID-19 response. "This is toxic micromanagement. There are even reports that cabinet members intervene at the barangay level," Hontiveros said. "The IATF members, while arguably experts in their respective fields, are not experts nor do they have any experience in health system performance, critical care capacity, and surveillance, isolation, and treatment protocols. Baka sila pa nga ang turuan ng mga mayor," she added. "It is also rather imprudent to assign these members to monitor LGUs when IATF as a body has already been saddled with controversies involving its policy decisions and pronouncements, the accuracy and integrity of the data reported, and even some allegedly anomalous procurement-related transactions," Hontiveros declared. Hontiveros said that the Senate has previously raised concerns about the procurement of overpriced personal protective equipment (PPE), the Department of Health's erroneous COVID-19 data, as well as the credibility of the IATF Chairperson Secretary Francisco Duque, particularly his 'flip-flop' pronouncements on the wave of COVID-19 infections in the country. This, she said, should set off alarm bells about allowing IATF to interfere with the LGUs' affairs. "The members of the IATF, many of whom have no background in local governments or pandemic response, are unnecessarily overstepping. What the LGUs need is a coherent national COVID management strategy, not undue interference," the senator said. Hontiveros also questioned the rationale behind how the cabinet members were assigned to their respective LGUs. "Bakit si Sec. Harry Roque naka-assign sa Pasay? Shouldn't he be focusing on his job as a presidential spokesperson? At bakit si Sec. Duque sa Quezon City, when as Secretary of the Department of Health, he should be overseeing the overall management of the COVID-19 response? At bakit pagkatapos i-assign si Sec. Nograles sa Quezon City din, sinabi niya na ang mga residente ng QC ay maaaring sumali sa clinical trials ng vaccine galing sa Russia? Iyan ba ang plano nila? Mukhang wala namang datos o siyensiya sa pagdesisyong ito," she said. "Pagkatiwalaan sana natin ang ating LGUs. Ang mga mayor ang mas may alam at matagal nang umaaksyon sa ground. Dapat gawin nalang mismo ng IATF ang mandato nito na magbigay ng buo at maayos na istratehiya, plano, at suporta," the senator explained. "Sana huwag mawalan ng kumpiyansa ang ating mga mayor dahil sa walang basehan na panghihimasok na ito. Kitang-kita naman ng publiko ang mga inisyatibo na pinangunahan ng mga LGU. Sa katunayan, ang mga proyekto at programa ng mga lokal na pamahalaan ang mas naramdaman ng mga kababayan natin ngayong may krisis," Hontiveros concluded. Please see attached PSR No. 495 in PDF format Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 17:26:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOGADISHU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Somali security forces killed five al-Shabab militants on Monday morning in Gof Gadud Burey village, in the southern region of Bay, an official confirmed. Isak Ali Isak, governor of Gof Gadud Burey, told journalists that al-Shabab militants started an attack with explosions on a base run by government forces in the area, but the army managed to repulse them. "The militants' attempt to overrun the base was foiled and our army repulsed them, killing five of them," Ali said. He said the army is now in control the base, denying al-Shabab claim of capturing the base. Locals told Xinhua that they heard the sound of mortars in the area. Al-Qaida allied al-Shabab also claimed killing government soldiers in the attack. The latest attack came barely hours after another militant attack on Elite hotel in the capital Mogadishu, which killed 16 people and injured dozens of others. Enditem Huawei has partnered with MyBroadband as the main sponsor of the Cloud 2020 Online Conference, which will launch on 21 September. The Cloud 2020 conference will showcase South Africas leading cloud, backup, hosting, data centre, and security providers. It will be presented in an exciting new format which makes it easy for delegates to listen to the speakers which interest them. Radio and TV personality Aki Anastasiou will host discussions with South Africas top cloud executives. These interviews will then be available through multiple platforms, including the official Cloud 2020 website, YouTube, and Facebook. Topics which will be covered in the Cloud 2020 Online Conference include: How the COVID-19 pandemic increased the demand for cloud services. Cloud data centres, storage, and networking technologies. Data backup and disaster recovery. Cloud application portability, web services, and interoperability. Virtualization technologies and resource management. Cloud deployment models, including public, private, and hybrid cloud models. Cloud privacy, security, and trust. Data-as-a-service, cloud management platforms, and cloud automation. Mobile cloud computing. The Cloud 2020 Online Conference will make it easy for delegates to learn more about the latest cloud services and engage with sponsors. Registrations for the Cloud 2020 conference will open this week and delegates stand a chance to win prizes worth over R30,000 by registering. Biotechnology major Biocon's Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has tested positive for coronavirus. Her bio-pharmaceutical company has been working to launch biologic drug Itolizumab for the treatment of moderate to severe Covid-19 patients at a price of around 8,000 per vial. Taking to Twitter, Shaw said that she had been added to the coronavirus tally. I have added to the Covid count by testing positive. Mild symptoms n I hope it stays that way. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (@kiranshaw) August 17, 2020 Shaw had recently said that India now needs to draw up its immunisation strategy as the vaccine for Covid-19 will be ready anytime between "the end of this year to the middle of next year". If the Bharat Biotech vaccine, or Zydus Cadila vaccine starts showing good, promising results, we could also have it (vaccine) by the end of the year, she had said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 14:18:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand workers whose jobs may be affected by the re-emergence of COVID-19 in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, will be supported by a new wage subsidy scheme and a simplified leave scheme. The government set out the criteria for a new nationwide wage subsidy on Monday covering the period that Auckland is at COVID-19 Alert Level 3. It has also removed the revenue-drop test for the COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme. Under Level 3, businesses are required to implement COVID-19 safety measures, and most people are encouraged to work from home and school children learn from home. "The government is again moving quickly to cushion the blow for businesses and workers," Finance Minister Grant Robertson told a press conference. "The new wage subsidy will help support cash flow and confidence," Robertson said, adding along with the existing wage subsidy extension - which is open until Sept. 1 for eligible businesses - the Treasury estimates that about 930,000 jobs will be covered by the two schemes. "We've seen the benefits to the economy by going hard and early to get on top of the virus," with activity in June and July running above levels seen last year as the economy reopened after the first lockdown between late-March and mid-May and business got going again, he said. The COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme means businesses with workers who have been told by health officials or their medical practitioner to self-isolate will receive the equivalent of the wage subsidy to help cover that person's wages for the time they cannot be at work, he added. "That means removing barriers to a person getting tested, including fears that a positive result would put their employment at risk or that they wouldn't receive income while they couldn't work because they had used up their sick leave," Robertson said. The mortgage deferral scheme is also being extended from its current end-date of Sept. 27 to March 31, 2021. Further details will be made available by the Reserve Bank and the retail banks, the minister said. At the same time as putting these measures in place to cushion the blow, New Zealand is continuing to roll out a comprehensive recovery and rebuild plan by investing in training, creating jobs through infrastructure investment and supporting businesses through the tax system, Robertson added. Enditem Photo: The Canadian Press Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne rises during a sitting of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 Pandemic in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says Canada does not accept the results of the "fraudulent" presidential election in Belarus. He says Canada is calling for "free and fair elections" in Belarus, where authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko is under increasing pressure to step down. The statement from Champagne comes as strikes grew across Belarus, following a brutal dispersal of peaceful, post-election demonstrations last week. At least 7,000 were detained by riot police, many complaining they were beaten mercilessly, while one protester was killed and hundreds were wounded. Champagne, who spoke with opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya over the weekend, says Canada condemns the crackdown on protesters. He is also calling for a thorough investigation by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, whose assessments of elections are widely regarded as authoritative. "Canada joins its partners in the international community in condemnation of the crackdown on peaceful protesters following the presidential election in Belarus," Champagne says in the statement. "We do not accept the results of this fraudulent presidential election in Belarus and call for free and fair elections," he says. "Canada will continue to stand with the people of Belarus, and we will work with our international partners to ensure that their voices are heard and that those responsible for undermining democracy and for brutal actions against protesters are held to account." Three one-time employees of the Fort Braden School, in Tallahassee, Fla.two of them members of the same familyhave died of COVID-19 this summer, losses of life that have deeply affected the school community. Karen Bradwell, 53, manager of the after-school program at the school, succumbed to the coronavirus in late July. A week earlier, a 19-year old custodian at the school, Jordan Byrd, had died of the disease. The pain experienced by the Leon County school district did not end there. Last week, Jacqueline Byrd, Jordans mother and a former employee of the school, also died of the coronavirus. Both members of the Byrd family, and Bradwell, are remembered as devoted, caring individuals who made positive contributions to the school system, in very different ways. The three deaths offer a stark portrait of the indiscriminate toll inflicted by the coronavirus, which has taken the lives of educators of all backgrounds, across many age groups. Jimbo Jackson, the principal at Fort Braden, praised Bradwells devotion to the school, according to an email published by WCTV, a television station. He said hed known Bradwell for 25 years. "[Karen] was a solid rock in our school community as our after-school director. More importantly, she was a devoted and loving mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, godmother, and mentor to hundreds of students over many years, Jackson wrote. One life lost is one too many, Jackson continued: She will be terribly missed by all who knew her and her incredibly positive attitude regardless of the situation. Cynthia Bradwell, the schools building supervisor and Bradwells sister, posted a message on Facebook. I would like to thank everyone for the love and support that was shown to my family and I during this difficult time; we really appreciated everyone reaching out to us to provide words of comfort, donations, and most importantly prayers. We are overly blessed to have so many friends near and far that loved Karen; She will truly be missed. God Bless! COVID-19 has had a broad and ongoing impact on the Leon County School System, of which the Fort Braden School is a part. Last month, the Fort Braden school principal, Jackson, announced that he and his wife, Beth Jackson, who is principal at Hawks Rise Elementary School in the district, and his brother all tested positive for coronavirus, according to the Tallahassee Democrat . All three are believed to be recovering, the Democrat reported. Jacqueline Byrd, 55, who passed away last week, was a former Fort Braden school employee, the newspaper said. In a message posted on Facebook, Jacqueline Byrds surviving son, Jacary, paid honor to his mother and brother. To my heart I will definitely miss you he wrote. You and Jordan Byrd have both left me. I know that you both are having a good time in the Lord. Mommy I will definitely miss you. The deaths come as the 34,000-student Leon County school district, like many others across Florida, prepares for the in-person reopening of its schools. Those plans have deeply worried educators in the state who are concerned about their exposure to the virus. The Leon County system said it will reopen in-person classes on Aug. 31, though it will have an online-only option for families. People Gravitated to Him When Tricia Rizza, Jordan Byrds English professor at Tallahassee Community College, heard of his passing, two things popped into her mind: his positivity and hard work. He really was this quiet beacon in the class, Rizza said in an interview. He wasnt the one who wanted a lot of attention drawn on him and yet when he participated, it just happened people gravitated to him, and it was done so humbly. In Rizzas class, Jordan sat in the second-to last-row. I found myself a lot of times walking back into his area because he did participate and he had great discussions and worked with others constantly, Rizza remembered. When the college made the shift from in-person classes to online, Rizza said Jordans positivity shined through. Jordan would say something like, You guys, I get it. This is not the way we want it. But we have to plow through. Weve only got four weeks left, so weve got to make the best of it, Rizza said. That was kind of his message where he acknowledged that everybody was struggling, but in a sense he was that person that helped push us forward. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump has retweeted an audio recording that U.S. intelligence officials have described as being part of a Russian campaign to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The leaked conversation, purportedly between Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, dates from Feb. 18, 2016. The excerpt of it retweeted by Trump centres on the ouster of Ukraines chief prosecutor, who had previously investigated the owner of a Ukraine energy company where Bidens son, Hunter, once held a board seat. By amplifying the recording to his more than 85 million Twitter followers, Trump underscored the ease with which pro-Russian narratives can seep into American public discourse ahead of the 2020 election even after being flagged by intelligence officials as the product of a concerted Russian effort. Russia has also published disinformation under the guise of legitimate news stories, U.S. officials say, reflecting something of a shift in tactics from 2016, when Russia relied on a social media campaign to sow discord and orchestrated the release of stolen Democratic emails to boost Trumps candidacy. The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Monday. But the Biden campaign accused Trump of having habitually attacked the sovereignty of American elections, including by attempting to coerce his Ukrainian counterpart into spreading conclusively-disproved lies. That is a reference to a July 2019 phone call in which Trump encouraged his Ukraine counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to investigate unsubstantiated corruption allegations against Biden and his son. The call was at the centre of the impeachment case against Trump that ended with his acquittal by the Senate in February. Donald Trump is the most hostile president to American democracy in our history, Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in the statement. Andrii Derkach, a member of Ukraines parliament and a 1993 graduate of a Russian spy academy who long has aired corruption allegations against Biden and his son, released this year what he says are recordings of conversation between Poroshenko and Biden when Biden was vice-president during the Obama administration. That effort was flagged in a U.S. intelligence assessment earlier this month that warned of Russian interference in the upcoming election, and specifically efforts to denigrate Biden. For example, pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach is spreading claims about corruption including through publicizing leaked phone calls to undermine former Vice-President Bidens candidacy and the Democratic Party, said the statement from William Evanina, the U.S. governments chief counterintelligence official. In the conversation retweeted Sunday night by Trump, Poroshenko can be heard telling Biden that he had accepted the resignation of prosecutor Viktor Shokin despite of the fact that we didnt have any corruption charges, we dont have any information about him doing something wrong. The Twitter user whom Trump retweeted posted that the leaked conversation revealed that Shokin was not corrupt and that there was no information to suggest he had done anything wrong, or that he had lost the support of powerful figures in Ukraine. An anti-Biden narrative pushed by Trump and his supporters alleges that Biden, as vice-president, pressured Ukraines government to fire Shokin because Shokin had led an investigation into Burisma, where Hunter Biden had a paid board seat. But Bidens position on Shokin, who was seen by critics as soft on corruption, reflected the broader position of the U.S. government and was also supported by other Western governments and many in Ukraine. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens, and Hunter Biden has denied using his influence with his father to aid Burisma. A White House summary of the conversation available online does show that Biden and Poroshenko spoke on Feb. 18, 2016. But Poroshenko has generally rejected the tapes disclosed by Derkach as a fabrication by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine. ___ Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP Excited: Jordan Perez (12) gets a hug from his mum Sinead. He will start treatment next month and is the happiest boy on the planet, says his mum. Photo: Ciara Wilkinson Jordan Perez is the "happiest boy on the planet" following the news that he will finally start treatment on the drug Spinraza next month. Jordan, from Sixmilebridge, Co Clare, was born with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) but his mother believes Spinraza can make a huge difference to his life. It is more than a year since Spinraza was fully approved for use by the Health Service Executive (HSE), but it was only earlier this month that Sinead Perez was given a date for her 12-year-old son to start his treatment, She previously stated that waiting for the date was "breaking my heart". Now, however, she says it is "the miracle" they were waiting for. Read More "Spinraza is making such a remarkable difference to the other children and their families," Ms Perez said. "One girl couldn't hold her hands up over her head for some time before receiving Spinraza and now she can. "They are all doing so much better and gaining milestones everyday." Jordan has been told that his treatment will begin on September 1. His mother said: "To say it's the best feeling is probably an understatement. I've been waiting for this moment for 11 years, since Jordan was diagnosed. "Having a treatment like this so soon, when we thought there was never going to be one, is something I cannot put into words except to say that we can now plan our future - not just for Jordan, but for the whole family." She added: It's the miracle we've prayed and waited for, for so long." Ms Perez said that her son is thrilled and "so excited at the prospect of what he will be able to do and that it's finally happening for him". Jordan, who graduated from primary school this month, said he is "very happy" with the news. "It will change my life completely," he said. "Nothing will ever be the same and I'll be able to do so much more for myself. I'm so so excited." His mother described him as "the happiest boy ever on the planet right now". Ms Perez logged on to Facebook to describe what the treatment will mean to her son. She wrote: "After two long hard stressful years filled with many many tears and many sleepless nights I'm so delighted to finally announce Jordan will start his life-saving treatment Spinraza on September 1. "Thank you all for all your wonderful support over the years. "We now can't wait for the future and all the fantastic things Jordan will be able to accomplish." Google is testing a new feature that will let websites recommend ways Chrome can reduce battery usage when accessing them, The Windows Club reports. This Battery-Savings Meta Tag feature is particularly relevant for video streaming and video conferencing websites and will allow users to reduce their CPU usage. An explainer on GitHub detailed that the feature would align with the battery saving features on modern operating systems. Most modern OSes also have battery saving features that kick in either when the battery is low or the user wishes to save battery, said Github user Chrishtr. Ideally web sites should be able to respect these settings. Sites may wish to advise the UA on which strategies work best for the site in these situations. An example of how sites could implement battery-saving measures is by informing Chrome that it can run non-essential javascript tasks at a slower speed than would usually be the case. Examples of such tasks might including third-party ads setup or incremental pre-rendering setup of offscreen content, said Christhtr. The Battery-Savings Meta Tag feature is currently available for testing through Origin Trial. Google will reportedly experiment with this feature on Chrome V86 and v87. Chrome battery-saving measures This is not the first recent attempt by Google to reduce battery consumption on laptops and mobile devices. The Windows Club recently reported that Google has recently experimented with a prototype of Chrome that limits JavaScript timer wake-ups to one per minute. One test, where Google opened 36 random tabs in the background of Chrome, found that throttling Javascript timers extended the battery life by 28% or almost two hours. A second test substituted the blank foreground tab used in the first test, with a YouTube video in fullscreen mode. The gains were less significant in this instance, but battery life was still increased by 13% or around 36 minutes. HARRISBURG, Pa., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Centric Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary of Centric Financial Corporation (OTC: CFCX), has been recognized as one of American Banker's Top 200 Community Banks in the U.S. for the second consecutive year, as well as one of Independent Banker's Top Lenders for 2020. American Banker's annual ranking is a list of publicly traded banks and thrifts with less than $2 billion in assets. The rankings are based on Return on Average Equity (ROAE) over a three-year period. Centric Bank finished in the #92 position, climbing from #106 in the 2019 ranking. Capturing an additional national recognition, Centric Bank ranked #14 among commercial lenders in the $500 million to $900 million category of Independent Banker's 2020 Top Lenders. The annual Top Lenders list is based on the strength of competitive banking services and operational efficiencies using 2019 FDIC data. Scores were determined by combining the average of the bank's percentile rank for lending concentration and for loan growth over the past year in each lending category and asset size and adjusted for loan charge-os at certain percentile thresholds. The listing showcases their commitment, ingenuity, and skill in adapting to market dynamics and evolving customer needs. Independent Banker is the monthly magazine of the Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA). "Centric Bank is honored to be ranked by both American Banker and Independent Banker on these lists of exceptional community banks," says Patricia (Patti) A. Husic, President and CEO. "We bring every resource and financing tool to make sure small businesses thrive, especially minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned small businesses in our service area. Our team prides itself on making our customers' dreams and big ideas a reality with access to capital. Whether it's helping a physician acquire a practice, walking a bakery owner through buying a building to support an expansion, or putting together a new business plan with an entrepreneur, Centric Bank is committed to meeting your goals and securing the financing you need to succeed." "With COVID-19 at the forefront of everyone's mind, this year in particular our focus was on being a lifeline to businesses keeping their doors open and sustaining their employees through the SBA's Paycheck Protection Program," Husic adds. "We were privileged to fund more than 2,000 PPP loans totaling more than $215 million to existing customers and new customers." ABOUT CENTRIC FINANCIAL CORPORATION AND CENTRIC BANK An American Banker 2019 and 2018 Best Banks to Work For, three-time American Banker Most Powerful Women in Banking Top Team, three-time Best Places to Work, and Top 50 Fastest-Growing Companies for seven years, Centric Bank is headquartered in south central Pennsylvania with assets of $1.05 billion and remains a leader in organic loan growth. A locally owned, locally loaned community bank, Centric Bank provides highly competitive and pro-growth financial services to businesses, professionals, individuals, families, and to the health care and dental industries with the Doctor Centric Bank Division. Centric Bank is a Top 10 SBA 7(a) Lender in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and one of the Top 200 Community Banks in the U.S. Founded in 2007, Pennsylvania-based Centric Bank has financial centers located in Harrisburg, Hershey, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Doylestown, and Devon, loan production offices in Devon and Lancaster, and an Operations and Executive Office campus in Hampden Township, Cumberland County. To learn more about Centric Bank, call 717.657.7727 or visit CentricBank.com. Connect with them on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Centric Financial Corporation is traded over the counter (OTC-Pink) with the ticker symbol CFCX. Safe Harbor Statement Except for historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this release are forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. Because of these risks and uncertainties, our actual future results may be materially different from the results indicated by these forward-looking statements. In addition, our past results of operations do not necessarily indicate our future results. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Contact: Anne Deeter Gallaher Tel. 717-580-4856 [email protected] SOURCE Centric Financial Corporation, Inc. Related Links https://www.centricbank.com She has returned to filming ahead of the 10th anniversary special of The Only Way Is Essex. And Chloe Sims put on a glamorous display as she stepped out in a white midi dress for a night out with her sister Demi, 23, and co-star Georgia Kousoulou, 29, on Sunday. The TOWIE star, 37, looked chic in the one-shoulder ensemble which accentuated her hourglass figure as she enjoyed an evening away from filming in Knightsbridge, London. Stunning: Chloe Sims, 37, put on a glamorous display as she stepped out in a white midi dress for a London night out with her sister Demi, 23, and co-star Georgia Kousoulou, 29 Chloe opted for a chic up-do and twisted half of her caramel locks into a topknot as she left the rest of her tresses cascading down her back. The reality star looked sensational in the tight-fitting dress which she paired with a white clutch bag and towering metallic heels. Accentuating her eyes, Chloe opted for a rust-red shadow and applied highlighter to her cheekbones. Close: Georgia looked effortlessly chic in a black mini shirt dress as Demi opted for a floral ensemble Work it: Chloe's sister Demi turned heads in her mini yellow floral dress and paired the sweet ruched dress with square-toe nude heels Meanwhile Georgia looked effortlessly chic in a black mini shirt dress with puff sleeves for the occasion at Sumosan Twiga. She wore her long blonde tresses in loose waves and styled her look with black mules. Highlighting her bronzed complexion, Georgia applied a slick of berry lipgloss and coated her fluttery eyelashes in mascara. Trio: The TOWIE stars headed out in Knightsbridge as they took a break from filming the ITVBe show Chic: She wore her long blonde tresses in loose waves and styled her look with black mules Chloe's sister Demi also turned heads in her mini yellow floral dress with an oversized taupe blazer draped over her shoulders. She paired the sweet ruched dress with square-toe nude heels and added a pop of colour with a coral pedicure. The star wore her locks in a sleek centre parting and blow-dried her ends to form perfect flicks. Bronzed: The star wore her locks in a sleek centre parting and blow-dried her ends to form perfect flicks Radiant: Highlighting her bronzed complexion, Georgia applied a slick of berry lipgloss and coated her fluttery eyelashes in mascara Chloe shared the trio singing on her Instagram Stories where the girls were showing off their moves at the table. It comes after Chloe oozed sophisticated chic in a white pinstripe suit as she stepped out with sisters Demi and Frankie, 25, for filming in London earlier on Sunday. The TOWIE star looked sensational in the white ensemble with her sisters in co-ordinating neutral outfits as the trio returned for the 10th anniversary special of the ITVBe show. Chloe put on a glamorous display in the white pinstripe waistcoat and flared trousers as she draped the blazer over her shoulders. Fun: Georgia was seen singing along at the table (left) while Chloe filmed the trio enjoying the night (right) Sweet: Chloe shared footage of Demi singing on her Instagram Stories during the night out Heading out: Chloe opted for a chic updo and twisted half of her caramel locks into a topknot as she left the rest of her tresses cascading down her back Beauty: Georgia looked effortlessly chic in a black mini shirt dress with puff sleeves for the occasion at Sumosan Twiga Holding a nude clutch bag, the reality star added height to her outfit with towering neutral sandals. She accessorised with silver hoop earrings and a chain adorned with a cross pendant. With her dark tresses cascading down her back, Chloe opted for a berry lipstick and smokey eye to add depth to her ensemble. Wow! Chloe looked effortlessly chic in a pair of pin-stripe flared trousers with matching waistcoat and blazerearlier on Sunday for TOWIE filming Power trio: Chloe, Frankie and Demi Sims also got in on the filming action on Sunday as they donned co-ordinated ensembles Meanwhile Demi showcased her toned sun-kissed pins and offered a glimpse of her washboard abs in a nude co-ord. The neutral ensemble featured a mini skirt and cami top with bow detailing which Demi teamed with an oversized blazer over her shoulders. She added a chunky black chain necklace and 90s-style shades for the look and completed her outfit with strap nude sandals. Stunning: Chloe put on a glamorous display in the white pinstripe waistcoat and flared trousers as she draped the blazer over her shoulders Twinning: Frankie, 25, paired a beige bodysuit with a white canvas mini skirt which she cinched in at the waist with a rattan belt (left) and Demi, 23, teased a glimpse of her midriff in a beige crop top, complete with bow detailing, along with a matching mini skirt (right) In keeping with her sophisticated look, she styled her blonde locks in a centre parting and flicked the ends under. And in a similar neutral ensemble, Frankie, 25, looked every inch the fashionista in a white mini skirt paired with a beige cami. With a jacket over her shoulders, Frankie cinched in her waist with an oversized rattan belt and paired her look with white mules and a matching handbag. Work it: Chloe paired her look with towering nude sandals and finished her look with a white clutch Close: The TOWIE stars looked sensational in their co-ordinating neutral outfits for filming Beautiful: In a similar neutral ensemble, Frankie, 25, (right) looked every inch the fashionista in a white mini skirt paired with a beige cami She wore her caramel locks in loose waves and opted for fluttery eyelashes and a dash of bronzer over her cheekbones for the outing. It comes after TOWIE released a trailer ahead of its special reunion episodes that air in September. The hit ITVBe show posted a video to Twitter on Friday full of key moments from the show's history including when Lauren Goodger pushed ex Mark Wright into a swimming pool. Other hilarious parts include Sam Faiers asking for a vajazzle and Gemma Collins telling people to 'Google her'. TOWIE tweeted: 'SHUT UP! 10 years of #TOWIE!? BRAND NEW episodes coming this September, starting with an anniversary speciall. 'Things are about to get REEM, You ain't ready for this candy! #TOWIE10 on @ITVBe.' Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 16:46:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Yosley Carrero HAVANA, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's impressive economic development is unstoppable notwithstanding the U.S. administration's efforts to undermine China's exemplary role in the world, a Cuban analyst has said. Ruvislei Gonzalez, head of the Asia and Oceania Division at Havana's Center for the Study of International Politics, made the remarks as the Trump administration escalated attacks against China. "The United States is really concerned about (the) social and economic achievements that have turned China into the world's second largest economy," he told Xinhua in a recent interview. The Trump administration has launched an "aggressive and unfair campaign against China, which will have serious impacts on the global economy," Gonzalez said. He is impressed with the scope of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which "will have (a) direct impact on more than 60 percent of the world population and boost regional and global trade." The Trump administration is trying, by all means, to discredit China's BRI, a transcontinental development program that will benefit a considerable number of the Caribbean and Latin American states, including some U.S. allies, Gonzalez said. According to the Cuban analyst, the U.S. economic policy to contain China has failed, for plenty of products the U.S. citizens consume are manufactured in China. "In addition, the United States desperately seeks to contain China's economic collaboration with developing countries. That is why the Trump administration is currently trying to gain some ground in Africa and the Caribbean (countries)," he said. As regards the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the expert said China has adopted a timely decision to protect its sovereignty. It will also improve the business environment in Hong Kong under the framework of a new Chinese foreign investment law that took effect in January, he said. "However, the U.S. decision to end Hong Kong's special status harms the interests of the United States and foreign companies based in the Chinese special administrative region." Speaking of the future of China-U.S. ties, the expert said tensions will continue to rise in the short term as the U.S. presidential election approaches. "What the Trump administration really cares about is the fact that China is on track to overtake the United States as the world's number one economy," he added. Enditem Indians and Asians are among those who have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but new figures released on Monday show that barely 3 per cent of over 1 lakh volunteers enrolled for vaccine trials come from these sections of the UK population. A targeted campaign in Punjabi, Gujarati, Urdu, Bengali and other minority languages is to be launched to encourage more people to enrol for future trials of several vaccine candidates currently being developed in the UK. Health officials said that researchers welcome people from all parts of society, especially those who are more likely to benefit from a vaccine, including those over 65, frontline health and social care workers, and those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. According to Bradford-based Dinesh Saralaya, consultant respiratory physician and one of the directors of the recruitment programme, only 3 per cent Asians enrolling for the trials is very worrying. Its very important that we dispel the myths in the Asian community that vaccines are going to be harmful. Its perfectly safe. They are very, very closely monitored and there are very strict protocols. The standard of care is in fact better than what you would receive outside of a trial (and) the side effects are very, very minimal, he told The Guardian. Business secretary Alok Sharma said: Scientists and researchers are working day and night to find a vaccine that meets the UKs rigorous regulatory and safety standards, but they need hundreds of thousands of people of all backgrounds and ages to sign-up for studies to speed up this vital research. I urge everyone to play our part in the fight against coronavirus and join the 100,000 people who have already registered, so we can help save and protect millions of lives, he added. The highest number of non-white patients infected by the virus and who died in England, are British Indian: 792, as of August 12. Indian and other non-white communities accounted for 15 per cent of the deaths in England by that date. Several trials in the UK are expected to begin this autumn. Launched on July 20, the Vaccine Research Registry is an online service allowing members of the public to register their interest in vaccine studies and be contacted to participate in future clinical trials. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Next year if this virus that China has exported spares me I will turn 70. During this time I have watched 60 Independence Day speeches by 14 prime ministers. The first three were in 1961, 1962 and 1963. I attended those at the Red Fort where our father patriotically took us. After that I have listened on the radio and watched on television Every speech has been an exhortation to the citizens to do their bit for the country, while the government does its bit for them. Not quite Napoleonic in form but the message has always been the same come on, you lazy ... The Commerce Department announced further restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co. aimed at cutting the Chinese companys access to commercially available chips, the latest move in an increasingly tense relationship between Beijing and Washington. The changes, which the department announced in a written statement on Monday, build on restrictions announced in May, adding 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries to an economic blacklist as the US seeks to limit adoption of the companys 5G technology. We dont want their equipment in the United States because they spy on us, President Donald Trump said Monday in an interview on Fox and Friends. The move is the latest tit-for-tat in escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing over everything from the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic to Chinas increasingly tight grip over Hong Kong. Despite the US decision, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Fox Business that talks with China continue on various levels. Ross said the action was aimed at closing loopholes the company explored after previous U.S. actions. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo praised the move as a direct blow against the Chinese Communist Party. The company has long rejected accusations that its technology can be used to spy on foreign nations or companies. NORTHWEST Young people in Northwest Lower Michigan still have time to participate in Michigans 2020 Summer Young Professionals employment experience, preparation and exploration program. Funding for this program is available through Dec. 31. The Summer Young Professionals program is designed to reduce youth unemployment and place young adults, within a target age group of 16-24, on the right path to gain the skills necessary to achieve lifelong economic self-sufficiency. Northwest Michigan Works! received a $65,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) to offer the program in the region. Northwest Michigan Works! will provide young adults in the program with career services such as resume development, interview tutoring, and connections to employers that are looking for talent. Northwest Michigan Works! will also place eligible youth in on-the-job training opportunities with local employers with a goal of getting them hired on full-time. Support services such as transportation help can also be provided to help program participants overcome barriers to employment. We are very pleased to offer the Summer Young Professionals program to both employers and young adults in Northwest Lower Michigan, said Terry Vandercook, chief program officer at Networks Northwest. This initiative provides job seekers with the support and assistance needed as they begin a pathway to sustainable living wage employment. Participating employers will be connected to the young talent found throughout Northwest Lower Michigan. The Summer Young Professionals program places an emphasis on career exploration which will inform participants about educational requirements for their preferred career pathways. This aligns with the states Sixty by 30 initiative to help 60% of Michiganders achieve a postsecondary attainment by the year 2030 ultimately putting them on a path to a good job, whether that be through a community college degree, a four-year degree or a path in the skilled trades. Employers interested in participating in the Summer Young Professionals program are encouraged to contact Rob Dickinson at (231) 357-5082. Young adults interested in participating should contact their nearest Northwest Michigan Works! American Job Center. Contact information for the nearest Center is available at nwmiworks.org or by calling 800-692-7774. # # # NOTE to Media: Images are oftentimes available upon request by e-mailing Dan Boss at danboss@networksnorthwest.org and stating preferences for resolution (300 dpi?), file format (.tif? .jpg?) and file size (1MB or less?). Or, phone (231) 929-5047. Check our online Media Room at: networksnorthwest.org/media Founded in 1974, Networks Northwest facilitates and manages various programs and services for the 10 county region. These programs include Northwest Michigan Works, Small Business Development Center, Procurement Technical Assistance Center, various business services, and many different regional planning initiatives in response to our communities requests and needs. You will see the broad spectrum of workforce, business and community services Networks Northwest offers if you visit our website, networksnorthwest.org Networks Northwest's member counties are: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Manistee, Missaukee, and Wexford. (Newser) At least 18 people were shot, including four killed, as gunfire erupted in several places around Cincinnati overnight, authorities said Sunday. Officers responded just after 12:30am Sunday to the Avondale neighborhood and found 21-year-old Antonio Blair with gunshot wounds, police said in a statement, the AP reports. He was taken to University Hospital and died there, they said. Three other gunshot victims were also taken to the hospital. At about 2:15am, officers responded to a report of gunfire in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood where 10 people were shot, police said. One died at the scene and another at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center; they were identified in a statement as 34-year-old Robert Rogers and 30-year-old Jaquiez Grant. story continues below Three people were shot at about midnight Saturday in the Walnut Hills neighborhood, about a block away from the Harriet Beecher Stowe house, police said. News outlets reported the shootings took place within 60 to 90 minutes of each other, but Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate told reporters that they "seem to be separate independent incidents but horrific and tragic." Police didn't immediately provide details about the fourth fatal shooting but confirmed that it occurred on the city's West End, where media reported that one person was pronounced dead at the scene. No suspect information was immediately available in any of the cases. "One extremely violent night in the city of Cincinnati," Neudigate had said before the fourth shooting was announced. "Why? That's going to be the question." (Read more shooting stories.) Were ankle-deep in Joyce Carol Oates foot Twitter! Want us to back up a few paces? OK. Well dip a toe in, because this one might become permanently singed in the brain if we dont provide enough warning. (Official warning: the image below may be too graphic for some.) Oates, 82, a prolific author and Syracuse University alumna, tweeted about her Saturday morning walk in the woods (thats the G-rated version of this tweet). The short version: dont hike or walk in the woods in sandals, everyone! The problem was that Oates had brushed up against something menacing on the hike which she realized afterward. Whatever it was caused big yellow, purple and liver-hued bubbles to form on her left foot. Her skin, which appeared to be reacting to some allergenic or dangerous plant, turned a deep purple and pink, as if it was severely bruised. So important to wear proper hiking shoes, the National Book Award winner tweeted, sharing a graphic close-up of her foot. Never/ever walk in the woods in sandals. the instep of my left foot this morning--poison ivy? poison oak? mustve stepped in something... Some tried to help Oates, suggesting, based on the reaction, that the offending plant was maybe giant hogweed, otherwise known as giant cow parsley, or giant cow parsnip. Others shrunk away in horror, sharing their revulsion with the masses in order to process the trauma. Whatever had caused the authors foot to be in such a state, chalk it up to the vicissitudes of fate (which Oates later cited in a warning about the dangers of hiking in improper footwear). Thank you for all your suggestions & sympathy, Oates tweeted. I have subsequently seen a doctor, am taking antibiotics & have steroid cream. doctor doesnt know what it is, however--venomous weed or insect. (also had a tetanus shot.) pain & itching have subsided. moral is: proper footwear! Oates, a longtime New Jersey resident and author of The Gravediggers Daughter, Them, Black Water and What I Lived For, among 58 novels alone, was a creative writing professor at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014 and is a five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. The Lockport, N.Y., native graduated as valedictorian from SU with an English degree in 1960. (Update, August 16:) What is most embarrassing about this incident is that my late husband Charlie Gross was an avid hiker & always stressed proper footwear: always proper hiking boots w/ two pairs of socks, & laces tight; for ordinary woods, hiking shoes, always w/ socks, Oates tweeted Sunday, sharing NJ Advance Medias post about her foot. Gross died in 2019. always proper footwear for hiking! steep trails, slippery rocks, mud & vicissitudes of fate. pic.twitter.com/SJKUCwusfM Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) August 16, 2020 He would be scandalized, she said. Oates said she had a telephone consultation with an urgent care doctor in Hillsborough which went very well, then a consultation with an actual doctor, which also went well. She posted a photo of a wooded trail with a reminder: Always proper footwear for hiking! steep trails, slippery rocks, mud & vicissitudes of fate. The author was known for her quirky tweets long before Susan Orlean drunkenly live-tweeted her disappointing encounter with candy-coated fennel seeds last month, to pandemic acclaim. So barbaric that this should still be allowed... No conservation laws in effect wherever this is? https://t.co/hgavm9IBaM Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) June 9, 2015 Oates, a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame, drew attention in 2015 after tweeting a reply to a photo of Steven Spielberg posing with an animatronic dinosaur from Jurassic Park. So barbaric that this should still be allowed, she said in reply to Spielberg smiling in front of the dead-looking triceratops, as if he had poached the animal. No conservation laws in effect wherever this is? Oates later confirmed the tweet was indeed a joke. Here are some of the many ways people acknowledged Oates foot photo Saturday night ... or attempted to process the Twitter trauma. Get well soon, Joyce Carol Oates. oh hey why is Joyce Carol Oates trendiiiohhhhh god pic.twitter.com/GVeznUcwZz Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) August 16, 2020 [rocking back on forth on a porch chair] you kids think that joyce carol oates picture was bad? heck, was a time there'd already be ten '"joyce carol oates' foot" accounts by now my pal andy (@andylevy) August 16, 2020 No one: Joyce Carol Oates: pic.twitter.com/VEwrbspia7 John Manuel Arias (@johnmanuelarias) August 16, 2020 Twitters algorithm absolutely determined to show you Joyce Carol Oates foot. pic.twitter.com/k9VMRzLlA1 Screaming Pectoriloquy (@Caulimovirus) August 16, 2020 I've long thought Joyce Carol Oates was a master of gothic horror on par with Poe. What I didn't know is that she'd achieve her her biggest impact with a foot selfie. (Will not repost original tweet because it is too much). https://t.co/QUmkIQC2lI Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 16, 2020 You have to hand it to Joyce Carol Oates, at her age, after all she's accomplished, she could be taking it easy, phoning it in, and yet every day she gets online and posts like the goddamn champ she is Aaron Bady (@zunguzungu) August 15, 2020 Opened twitter after several hours being normal with friends on a roof and was immediately assaulted by Joyce Carol Oatess necrotic foot. Thanks guys Amanda Mull (@amandamull) August 16, 2020 I think its cool that Joyce Carol Oates foot got dipped in the stuff that mutated Ricky Coogan in FREAKED pic.twitter.com/6VNUkHt9QN Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) August 16, 2020 WOW friends if you are curious about why everyones talking about Joyce Carol Oates DO NOT I repeat DO NOT search, in fact, mute her name for a few days. What is seen cannot be unseen. s.e. smith (@sesmith) August 16, 2020 Quentin Tarantino after seeing Joyce Carol Oatess foot: pic.twitter.com/rywbqMEnHl Ashley Naftule (@ashleynaftule) August 16, 2020 Joyce Carol Oatess foot has just been named the new White House Communications Director. Jason Pinter (@jasonpinter) August 16, 2020 sometimes twitter giveth (drunk susan orlean) sometimes twitter taketh away (jco foot) Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) August 16, 2020 Of course, there were also a fair few defenders of Oates and her foot tweet, Kathy Griffin included. Joyce Carol Oates posting her blistering foot on main is the ultimate Oatespost and I support her Connor Goldsmith (@dreamoforgonon) August 16, 2020 Love that JCO is trending. She can tweet as many pics of her damn foot as she wants to. @JoyceCarolOates The Gravediggers Daughter High Lonesome: New & Selected Stories Mmmmk? Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) August 16, 2020 Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Send a coronavirus tip here. Technology has given millions of people all across the globe a means to earn their livelihood and be independent. Many of these people come from small towns and villages in India, where pay is meagre and life is extremely difficult. Technology is one of the greatest boons of modern times. It has not only brought the world closer but it has also made the world a healthier place to live. Besides making the world a better place, technology has given millions of people all across the globe a means to earn their livelihood and be independent. Many of these people come from small towns and villages in India, where pay is meagre and life is extremely difficult. We at HT Tech spoke with a few women coming from small villages in India, who leveraged various technological tools to overcome the challenges in their lives to go from being married at a young age without any source of income to being successful entrepreneurs and leaders. Vijaya Deshmukh, Vidya Kirve, Tahira Bagwan and Anjana Bhise are women hailing from small villages in Maharashtra. They share a similar story. All of them come from extremely humble backgrounds and they were struggling to make ends when they decided to take charge of their lives and change their fates. The beginnings Bhuinj, Maharashtra-based Vidya Kirves husband lost his job in 2013. Their financial condition forced her to work, which is when she enrolled in the Mann Deshi Foundations Business School on Wheels and learnt how to stitch. Soon after, she started stitching and selling bags made out of old clothes. For Sinnar, Maharashtra based Vijaya Deshmukh trouble began soon after she got married over 25 years ago. At the time her husband, who worked as a mechanic, barely earned 200 in a month. Managing household expenses within his meagre salary was a monthly struggle. So, she started saving 5-10 every month to enrol in a tailoring class two years later. The fee for the class was 150. Soon after the class, she started taking orders for stitching blouses and embroidery. But when that wasnt enough, she started selling spices. Phaltan, Maharashtra based Anjana Bhise shares a similar story. She started selling brooms in the initial days of her marriage as her husband was unable to earn enough money from farming. She also opened a small canteen in her village a couple of years later expanding her broom selling business further. Velapur, Maharashtra based Tahira Bagwan, on the other hand, always wanted to do something of her own. But it wasnt until she visited her sister in Pandharpur that she got to know about the nitty-gritty of running a business. But nothing was easy. Their struggles and challenges A common challenge for almost all these women was to convince their families to allow them to work. They also faced difficulties while creating acceptance in their families and their societies regarding working women. In my community, its not very common for women to go outside and work. So, when I got into the business, it was looked down upon by people who knew us. Even when I used to sit in the weekly market to sell my brooms, there would be very few women. Sometimes, the men fold wouldnt allow me to sit and I had to plead with them. There were times when I used to not have money to buy raw materials for the brooms, Bhise told HT Tech. The biggest challenge was that though my husband allowed me to work, I wasnt allowed to travel outside my village. Even when I enrolled with Mann Deshi Foundation for a 10-day tailoring course in Bhuinj, I had to gather another 11 women participants, Kirve shared. The first time I put up a stall at Mann Deshi Mahotsav organized by Mann Deshi Foundation for women entrepreneurs for 4-5 days across Satara district, I had a bare-minimum sale and my husband told me that it was a loss-making business. I patiently waited for the customers the next day. The sale picked up and I had customers at my stall till the end of the exhibition, she added. How technology transformed their lives While these women worked hard to make their business successful, it was technology or rather various technological tools that they used that not only helped them in spreading their message but also enabled them to be financially independent. Most of these women used WhatsApp to connect with their customers. They also used UPI-based payment methods such as BHIM, Google Pay and Paytm to send money to their suppliers and even take payments from their customers. Whenever there is a new arrival or a new offer at my shop, I share photos with the members. I operate the Facebook page of my business on my own to publicize the material available. Most of the new customers I get are through WhatsApp, Bagwan said in a statement to HT Tech. I have two WhatsApp business groups - one for my customers and the other for my tailoring students. Last month, after a Mann Deshi training workshop, I launched a Facebook page for my bag business. My daughter manages my Instagram account. For all the orders I receive online, I use apps like GooglePay, PayTM or Bhim for transactions, Kirve added. ALSO READ: Life during the lockdown: How SMEs are using technology to serve their customers And what of the pandemic? Whats amazing (and inspiring) about these women and the businesses that lead is that even as the lockdown owing to the pandemic disrupted businesses across the globe, they kept going from strength to strength. For many of them, the pandemic proved to be a blessing in disguise as it helped them expand and even strengthen their operations. ...given that I run my shop, the recent lockdown did not have much impact on my business. In fact, the sales increased as other shops in the main market were closed, Bhagwan shared. During the lockdown, weekly markets were shut and I could neither sell brooms nor vegetables from our farm. Even my canteen business had to shut temporarily. Thats when I came up with the idea of making vada pavs and supplying them to peoples homes. My son created a small flyer advertising my products and shared it on various WhatsApp groups. Within 2-3 days we started getting bulk orders, Bhise added. The future Their dedication and their years of hard work paid off. All these women are successful entrepreneurs today. They are also mentors and leaders who are teaching others what they have learnt so far. Deshmukh earns a comfortable 10,000 a month and shes trained another 800 women to make various masalas. Once things get back to normal, she plans to create her own WhatsApp group and promote my businesses more aggressively. Kirve, on the other hand, has 13 employees and earns 40,000 50,000 per month. In future, she plans to diversify and start stitching backpacks. I have gathered some information through YouTube videos. After this pandemic fear gets over, I along with my son, plan to attend training at an institute in Hyderabad, she added. Bhagwan today earns a profit of around 20,000 every month. In the coming days wants to expand her shop area so that I can stock more material and add variety, she said. Similarly, Anjana today makes a monthly income of around 15,000. Once the situation is a bit better, she plans to start a new business. I am also planning to buy a good smartphone for myself soon so that I am not dependent on my husband or sons to promote my businesses using their cellphones, she added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:24:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's northern Borneo state of Sabah will hold state level elections to select its new government on Sept. 26, the country's Election Commission said on Monday. There will be a two-week campaigning period from Sept. 12 to 26, with early voting to begin on Sept. 22, the commission's deputy chairman Azmi Sharom told a press conference. Azmi added the commission would target a turnout of 70 percent of the 1.12 million registered voters in the state and that precautions would be taken in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak. Some 30,000 election staff would help facilitate the elections at 741 voting centers, with voters casting their ballots for 73 state assembly seats. The state government was dissolved on July 30 after Chief Minister Shafie Apdal sought the consent from the state's governor, with elections having to be called within 60 days of the dissolution. Shafie had done so after an alleged attempt by the former chief minister Musa Aman to draw state representatives to his side to form a new state government, after Shafie's government took power in the aftermath of the 2018 state and national polls. Musa and the state representatives supporting him have challenged the dissolution of the state government with a judicial review through Sabah's High Court, but the commission said the elections would proceed unless a court decision was made against it. Enditem Yahoo UK News Video Rishi Sunak brought an abrupt end to an interview after he was asked if he fully supported Boris Johnson. (Watch the interview above). The Chancellor was giving an interview to Sky News over the future of the prime minister, who has been accused by his former chief adviser Dominic Cummings of lying to Parliament over allegations of lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street. Johnson rejected the claim in an interview on Tuesday afternoon, insisting he did not know in advance about the event in May 2020, adding that "no one told him" it was against the rules. Asked whether he backed his boss, Sunak replied: Of course I do. The prime minister set out his understanding of this matter in parliament last week and Id refer you to his words. Sue Gray is conducting an inquiry into this matter and I fully support the prime ministers request for patience while that inquiry concludes. Sunak then refused to comment on whether Johnson should quit following Cummings bombshell allegations. Im not going to get into hypotheticals. The Ministerial Code is clear on these matters. Pressed on whether he supported the PM unequivocally, Sunak promptly stood up, took off his microphone abruptly and walked off while his adviser stood in front of the journalist. Sunak is the bookies favourite to replace Johnson and has tried to distance himself from the scandal in recent days. He told Yahoo News UK last week that he had not attended the garden party. And he was noticeably absent from the House of Commons last Wednesday during the prime minister's apology for the anger sparked by the revelations. The Ministerial Code states that ministers who lie to Parliament and do not correct the record should resign. If Johnson is found to have lied, his position would become untenable. Brandon Baker, center and Prescott McKenzie, right, take cover from flying embers during a brush fire in Ventura in December 2017. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) The former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security claims in a political ad released Monday that President Trump tried to withhold disaster relief money for California's wildfires because voters in the state opposed him politically. "He told us to stop giving money to people whose houses had burned down from a wildfire because he was so rageful that people in the state of California didn't support him and that politically it wasn't a base for him," Miles Taylor, who left the Trump administration in 2019, claims in the ad. "A lot of the time, the things he wanted to do not only were impossible but, in many cases, illegal," Taylor said, recalling how Trump "didn't want" to hear aides inform him that his policies wouldn't stand up to legal challenges. "These were his words: He knew that he had 'magical authorities,'" Taylor said, recalling a phrase he said Trump used to brush off questions from aides. The Department of Homeland Security oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Taylor doesnt say which wildfires he is referring to, but the group running the ad confirmed it was the Camp fire of 2018, and Trump toured the devastation in Paradise that year. No evidence has surfaced to show that federal aid was withheld, despite public threats from Trump at the time, who said he would withhold money because he disapproved of the state's forest management practices. Taylor took a job at Google after leaving the Trump administration and is on leave, according to his Twitter profile. The two-minute ad, promoted by a group called Republican Voters Against Trump, follows sharp criticism from several former top White House aides and others, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who have questioned Trumps fitness to serve a second term. The ad was released on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, which will nominate former Vice President Joe Biden to run against the incumbent. Story continues In the video, Taylor calls his 2 years in the Trump administration terrifying and says that, although he disagrees with Biden on many issues, he is confident Joe Biden will protect the country. I'm confident he won't make the same mistakes as this president." The White House quickly fired back. "This individual is another creature of the D.C. Swamp who never understood the importance of the presidents agenda or why the American people elected him and clearly just wants to cash in," said Judd Deere, a White House spokesman. A senior administration official questioned why Taylor served so long if he had such qualms about Trump. The official also pointed to Trump's public threats to withhold money and the fact that the money was not ultimately withheld. Gov. Gavin Newsom declined to comment. The allegation that Trump tried to stop California from getting FEMA assistance serves as the most emotional attack on Trumps leadership in the testimonial. But there are others. "We would go in to try to talk to him about a pressing national security issue a cyber attack, terrorism threat he wasn't interested in those things. To him they weren't priorities," Taylor says of Trump. Taylor recalled how Trump "wanted to go further" with his family separation policy to send a stronger message of deterrence to would-be asylum seekers fleeing Central American countries for the United States. "I came away completely convinced, based on firsthand experience, that the president was ill-equipped and wouldn't become equipped to do his job effectively," Taylor says, explaining his decision to support Biden despite continuing to identify as a Republican. "And what's worse was actively doing damage to our security." Taylor worked under acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, who briefly held the job in 2017 after former Gen. John Kelly left the post for the White House and before the Senate confirmed Kirstjen Nielsen, the last non-acting head of the third-largest federal department. Taylor was deputy and chief of staff to Nielsen, who oversaw the implementation of the administration's family separation policy for migrants on the border. Staff writers John Myers in Sacramento and Molly O'Toole in Washington contributed to this article. Prime minister Boris Johnson visiting a whisky distillery in last year's election campaign. Photo: PA The UK government has launched a new fund to help the whisky industry go green, while promising to keep fighting unacceptable and unfair US tariffs. Distilleries can apply for 10m ($13.1m) of research and development funding from Monday (17 August), in a bid to spur innovation in reducing emissions in the sector. Whisky chiefs in Scotland and Northern Ireland, home to most of Britains leading distilleries, welcomed the cash. Dagmar Droogsma, director of industry at the Scotch Whisky Associaiton, called it an important step on our sustainability journey. He said it would allow firms to run demonstration projects with so-far untested technologies. The government hopes it will encourage distilleries to test low-carbon hydrogen, biomass and repurposed waste to power their operations. The department for business, energy and industrial strategy claimed in a press release the funding could prevent pollution equivalent to 100,000 cars emissions from entering the atmosphere. READ MORE: UK stepping up trade talks with US after levy kept on whisky Energy and clean growth minister Kwasi Kwarteng said he wanted customers to be able to enjoy their favourite tipple in the knowledge they are helping us to tackle climate change. It comes as the UK government struggles to push back against US tariffs on single malt Scotch, with the US government doubling down on the levies last week. The US won a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling last year as part of a long-running spat with the EU over state aid to Airbus (AIR.PA) and its US rival Boeing (BA). The decision allowed it to slap 5.7bn of tariffs on European goods. The WTO 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 worth of goods from the bloc. The Scotch Whisky Association warned last week a 25% tariff on Scotch single malt had led to losses of around 300m for the industry since it was introduced. Story continues 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: FTSE rises as Chinese stimulus and oil demand lifts mining stocks The US government ditched a threatened extension of the import taxes to blended whisky, gin and sparkling wine, however. International trade secretary Liz Truss promised in a comment piece for the Daily Telegraph on Monday to fight to consign these unfair tariffs to the bin of history. She also suggested Britain would be better able to resist the tariffs once outside the EUs rules after the Brexit transition period ends on 31 December. The minister argued the US-EU dispute encapsulates why it is so important for Britain to have its own independent trade policy, able to set its own tariff regime and take direct control of the issue. The continued inclusion of whisky in the dispute comes in spite of Britains exit from the EU and lobbying by Truss, including meetings with US trade representative Robert Lighthizer last week. Geoffrey Downs walked away from the Catholic Church nearly 40 years ago. He never told anyone about what led to that split. Now he says he wants everyone to know. In a new lawsuit against the now defrocked and disgraced former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Downs charged that he had been groped by the cleric before Mass while serving as a teenage altar boy decades ago. The Diocese of Metuchen was also named in the suit, filed in Superior Court in Monmouth County. According to Downs, McCarrick who at the time was serving as bishop of the Metuchen Diocese offered to help him with his grades and arrange some alone time at a beach house owned by the diocese at the Jersey shore. The allegations come amid a growing number of similar lawsuits that have targeted McCarrick in recent months. Downs is one of the few who has publicly come out and identified himself. I want the story told, he explained. I want the church and those monsters to atone for what theyve done. Three weeks ago, lawyers for an unnamed victim charged that the individual they named only as Doe 14 had been groomed for a role in what they called a sex ring involving McCarrick, who was cast out of the ministry last year. In that lawsuit, they charged other priests served as procurers to bring victims to McCarrick at the beach house, where he assigned sleeping arrangements, choosing his victims from the boys, seminarians and clerics present at the beach house, and that they were paired with adult clerics. McCarrick has been repeatedly accused of sexual abuse in other court filings as well, under a new law that gives people more time to sue their alleged abusers and the institutions that protected them. Last year, James Grein charged McCarrick had sexually abused him for 20 years, even after he alleged he told Pope John Paul II during a visit to the Vatican about the abuse. In a separate lawsuit, John Bellocchio, a former Catholic schoolteacher and principal, has alleged in a lawsuit that McCarrick sexually assaulted him when he was the archbishop of Newark. Downs, now 53, was born in Carteret. Raised in a devout Roman Catholic family, he was a student at St. Francis Cathedral School and later Bishop George Ahr High School, serving as an altar boy at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Metuchen from grade school into high school. That was my whole life growing up there, he recalled in an interview arranged through his attorney, Derek T. Braslow of Wayne, Pa. He said he never told his parents and continued serving as an altar boy until high school, when he was preparing for Mass with McCarrick. He does not remember exactly what was said, but said the cleric fondled him. I was kind of frozen, Downs said. I got away from him. He glared at me the whole Mass. He never said another word to McCarrick. And never went back to church. I didnt want anything to do with organized religion, he said. Downs kept what had happened mostly to himself. I definitely did not tell my parents. Back then, that generation the church was the most reverent thing. You couldnt say anything about the church, he said. I think I told another altar boy. Washington attorney Barry Coburn, who represents McCarrick, 90, had no comment. Anthony P. Kearns III, a spokesman and chancellor for the Diocese of Metuchen, said they have not been served with the complaint and could not comment on it, nor could they comment on any pending litigation. Our prayers are with all survivors of abuse and we stand with them in their journey toward healing and hope. With Gods grace, all survivors of abuse, particularly those wounded by members of the church, will continue to heal and move forward, said Kearns. We stand firm in our commitment to prevent these types of abuse from ever happening again and encourage anyone who has been harmed in any way, by any clergy in the church, to notify law enforcement by calling 1-877 NJ ABUSE. He said the diocese director of Child and Youth Protection can also be reached at (908) 930-4558. McCarrick, who has never admitted to any wrongdoing, had a history of allegations brought against him behind the scenes, even as he was rising through the church hierarchy and long before the first lawsuit was filed. The Archdiocese of Newark, where McCarrick served as archbishop, revealed that he had previously been accused of sexual misconduct with three adults during his time in New Jersey. Two of those cases resulted in secret legal settlements, including $80,000 paid to a former priest turned lawyer who said McCarrick, known as Uncle Ted, would invite young seminarians and priests to the house in Sea Girt, where they would be expected to share a bed with McCarrick. Picked by Pope John Paul II as Washingtons archbishop in late 2000, McCarrick was made a cardinal a year later. But new abuse allegations against him suddenly became public after a former altar server went to the Archdiocese of New York, upon learning that a panel was considering settlements for alleged victims. He reported he had been fondled as a teenager while being measured by McCarrick for a special cassock for Christmas Mass at St. Patricks Cathedral. Those charges led to McCarrick being removed from public ministry and later forced to resign from the College of Cardinals. A subsequent Vatican investigation ended with his being laicized, or dismissed from the clerical state considered one the harshest forms of punishment that can be issued by the church. Now living in Charlotte, N.C., Downs talked about the impact on his life of what happened so many years ago. I can only imagine how many lives have been destroyed, he said. I want to be a voice for the kids who dont have a voice. Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Who is responsible for getting rid of pests like rodents and bugs? Here's what you're responsible for, and what your landlord has to do. Read more This article is part of our guide to tenants rights in Philadelphia. Got a question? Ask us using the form at the bottom of this article. Most of us in Philly have seen an occasional cockroach or mouse in our homes. After all, these types of pests are something of a fact of life in a major city. But what if those sightings are ... more than occasional? And if you rent, who is responsible for dealing with the problem you, or your landlord? Well, it can be complicated, depending on your situation. There is not really any set rules or codes about pest extermination being the responsibility of the tenant or the landlord, says Osarugue Grace Osa-Edoh, an attorney with Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. Its not clear, except in the case of bedbugs. Philadelphia, however, does have rules about the condition of rental properties that can help. So, if youre infested, here are basic things that you should know: Check your lease If you suspect you have an insect or rodent infestation in your home, the first thing you should do is check your lease, which may have a section explaining who is responsible for pest control and when. Some, for example, might say that you are responsible for taking care of a pest problem after a certain amount of time living in the unit. Or, it might say nothing at all. In either case, you should speak with your landlord and let them know about the infestation. You may be able to work out an agreement with your landlord to share the cost of extermination particularly if your lease is silent on extermination responsibilities. Communicate with your landlord in writing Its a good idea to have your communications in writing in case the situation escalates. If you are used to communicating through the phone, you can have a phone call and send a follow-up email and summarize the situation, Osa-Edoh says. That way, you dont have to worry about it later. What are your landlords responsibilities? The Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code states that landlords are responsible for: Extermination on their properties before they rent to a new tenant. Infestations caused by defects in the structure, such as a crack or hole through which pests can enter. In multi-unit housing, landlords are responsible for extermination in public or shared areas. However, argues Osa-Edoh, a landlords responsibility for pest control doesnt end there. Landlords are responsible for something called an implied warranty of habitability, she says. That means rental properties have to be safe and sanitary, and landlords have to fix serious defects in their units, according to the Housing Equality Center of Pennsylvania. Osa-Edoh says that infestations often happen because of a structural problem, so she typically advises that tenants call L&I and report the issue, which could result in a violation that may get the landlord in gear. Philadelphia is a city with old housing stock, so there are likely to be structural problems. But, the landlord could argue that you are leaving food out or not cleaning up properly, and the infestation is your fault so you may end up on the hook for extermination. It comes down to between the landlord and tenant, who is willing to fight out the issue? she says. What are your responsibilities? Even with the implied warranty of habitability, the Philadelphia Property Maintenance Code generally puts the responsibility for pest extermination on tenants. According to the code, if you live in a single family home, you are responsible for extermination on the premises. And whether its a house or apartment, tenants are responsible for keeping the place in rodent and pest-free condition. The citys Partners for Good Housing brochure which landlords are supposed to give to tenants says that tenants in houses must keep the house clean and sanitary. But if you live in a multi-unit building, both the occupant and owner are responsible, even if its your fault. Confused? Yeah. Some of those rules seem inconsistent. So if you have an infestation, Osa-Edoh recommends calling the Philly Tenant Hotline for advice at 267-443-2500. (Thats especially true if you are considering withholding rent, as that is where things tend to get more dicey, so you should be careful about how you go about that, she says.) And while pest control responsibilities can be complicated, George Gould, an attorney with Community Legal Services, puts it more simply. I would say that if you move in and find mice, that is a habitability issue, and the landlord has to deal with it, he says. Once you are there for a while, it is the occupants responsibility. What about bedbugs? There is one big exception in Philly as far as who is clearly responsible when dealing with an infestation: bedbugs. New rules that go into effect in January 2021 makes landlords responsible for the investigation and remediation of bedbug infestations. But you have to report the issue within one year of the start of your lease after that, the costs are shared. And if you find out that an adjoining unit is infested with bedbugs, you have 180 days to tell the propertys landlord about the problem. Theres more: Landlords have to tell tenants about previous bedbug infestations, and develop a plan to deal with the pests. The new rules were passed late last year. Once they go into effect, the rules will be enforced by L&I. It will be a major improvement we just have to make sure it is enforced, says Gould, who helped write the bedbug bill. Most major cities in the country have some remediation requirement for bedbugs. In Philadelphia, we are one of the most infested cities in the country. Expert sources: Osarugue Grace Osa-Edoh , J.D., landlord-tenant attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphias Medical-Legal Partnership. George Gould, J.D., of council attorney with Community Legal Services of Philadelphias energy unit. READ MORE: Your rights as a tenant: Check out our tenants' rights guide. The Philadelphia Inquirer is one of more than 20 news organizations producing Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on solutions to poverty and the citys push toward economic justice. See all of our reporting at brokeinphilly.org. A couple years ago, I was struck by a long article that ran in Chicago Magazine in 2011, describing how Chicago's Democratic politicians are working hand in glove with Chicago's gangs. The fact that the police could never touch them based on their connections to Democratic political power was why Chicago's violence was so high. I wrote about that here. The 2011 Chicago Magazine article (hat tip: Instapundit), titled "Gangs and Politicians in Chicago: An Unholy Alliance," described how gangs and Democrats offered protection to one another. Gangs performed the muscle tasks to bring in votes once done by political machines and supplied Democratic pols with drugs on the side, while politicians gave gangs complete immunity from police enforcement. (The article can also be read on Outline here). It was why Chicago was so violent, why Democrats needed to be held to account. Scroll to June and August this year. We now have mass lootings of certain areas of Chicago in the name of Black Lives Matter, in what its mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has quite persuasively called "organized criminal activity." It's getting worse than it used to be. It's happening repeatedly and more brazenly. And all signs out there that it will happen again. According to Time: "When people showed up on Michigan Avenue in the downtown area with U-Haul trucks and cargo vans, and sophisticated equipment used to cut metal, and the methods that were used, and how quickly it got spun up... that wasn't any spontaneous reaction," Lightfoot told TIME in her fifth-floor offices at Chicago's City Hall on Tuesday. The chaos that unfolded Sunday night, and into the predawn hours Monday, was initially blamed on a police shooting in the city's southside Englewood neighborhood. News of the incident along with misinformation that a minor had been shot pinballed on social media, resulting in "caravans" of cars headed north downtown, Lightfoot says. "To be sure, there are people that did join in that were motivated by lots of different reasons, and certainly were motivated by social media posts encouraging people to come downtown," Lightfoot says. "But the core of what happened that's organized criminal activity... It was a planned attack." ...and... "We're still going through lots and lots of video tape," Lightfoot says. "But people were able to fairly quickly take out cash registers, ATM machines, cut through metal grate, and to get beyond and behind security systems that are pretty sophisticated. That's not your average looter. So, more likely, what happened in Chicago was some kind of power struggle. It's an ongoing power struggle, and obviously there are some new players. That certainly would explain Lightfoot's sudden interest in getting tough with the looters, calling out the corrupt prosecutors such as Kim Foxx, establishing a looting task force, and calling in the feds. She is, after all, left-wing. Imagine a guy like Bill de Blasio doing that wouldn't happen. All the other left-wing mayors have kowtowed to the looters, keeping the feds out, letting the rioters go, and blaming Trump. But not Lightfoot. For here, sure, there was the matter of businesses packing up and leaving Macy's, for one, wants out. But more likely, if this is the way Chicago works. The mass-organized loot-fest would more likely be the work of Lightfoot's leftist political opponents, threatening her power base. Her tough stance is a stance for her own survival. What it shows is what's likely to happen in other blue cities seeing the rise of far-left extremists, which is more violence. Lightfoot is an ex-prosecutor herself and has an abrasive governing style, calling out opponents by name, as described in this piece here. Here's her name and shame website for aldermen who didn't support her budget, which she considered a big enough deal to create a website for and which now kind of creates a map outline of politicians who like her and politicians who don't. She has enemies. Who are her main ones? The Democratic Socialists of America, as it turns out, who are unconditional supporters of Black Lives Matter. In recent years, they have very suddenly proliferated. According to this piece here, there had been just one DSA socialist among the aldermen in Chicago for many years, and now, all of a sudden, there are six of them in wards 1, 20, 25, 33, 35 and 40. All of them were on her "shame" list over the budget. Chicago's Magnificent Mile, which got targeted for organized looting, is ward 42, and its alderman on her "good" list. DSA, Marxist itself, is intimately connected to the Marxist activists in Black Lives Matter, which is making threatening noises about continuing the violence. Note this statement by BLM Chicago organizer Ariel Atkins to the press: Atkins has justified the widespread looting in Chicago as "reparations" and claimed it doesn't matter because the ransacked stores "have insurance." Speaking Monday at a rally outside the South Loop police station, Ariel Atkins said: "I don't care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macy's or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats, that makes sure that person has clothes." "That is reparations," Atkins added, according to NBC Chicago. "Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance," she said at the rally organized by Black Lives Matter Chicago. Her BLM has promised more of this for Chicago in this menacing statement here: "The mayor clearly has not learned anything since May, and she would be wise to understand that the people will keep rising up until the [Chicago Police Department] is abolished and our Black communities are fully invested in," the statement read. For the record, she's also made the ridiculous claim that the protests were spontaneous, sounding like Hillary Clinton and Susan Rice claiming that the Libyan terror attack of 2012 was just an overexcited mob protesting a video. With Black Lives Matter also connected to gangs as well as socialists, it seems pretty obvious that their agenda is to burn the city down, chasing out conventional Democrats and leaving just leftist crazies to control it. Lightfoot is obviously no slouch in knowing how dirty Chicago politics work, which is why she can see the outlines of these new unholy alliances of gangs, rabid leftists, and political enemies coming together. It's a new phenomenon, with new power players entering the scene and new grabs for power through violence at the expense of the existing blue structures. In places where DSA is rising and voters are in tight with them, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's New York and Rep. llhan Omar's Minneapolis, the dynamic may just be repeated. Lightfoot is fighting back, ironically, because as Robert Conquest once said, everyone is a conservative about things he knows best. The disintegration of Chicago is the disintegration of the left, with all sorts of crawly things coming out. Image credit: ABC News via shareable YouTube screen shot. SPRINGFIELD The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission announced Monday that it has secured nearly $2.25 million in grant money for COVID-19 relief to area communities. The Springfield-based agency, which is the Commonwealth-designated regional planning agency for Hampden and Hampshire Counties, will distribute the funding for communities to assist businesses. The funding was provided under the federal CARES Act of 2020 and distributed through the Massachusetts Community Development Block Grant COVID-19 program under the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development. The CARES Act funding we have secured via the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development will go a long way towards helping stabilize our local communities, their residents, and businesses during these unprecedented times, said PVPC Executive Director Kimberly H. Robinson. Funding is to be distributed as follows: The Minister of Information has recently come under attack after his 'papano' comment in Parliament. The Ofoase Ayirebi MP, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah trended for a while on social media with some describing his comment as needless. Political Scientist with the University of Ghana, Professor Ransford Yaw Gyampo in a reaction on social media asked him not to be 'complacent and swollen-headed'. National Communication Officer of the National Democratic Congress, Sammy Gyamfi thinks he is gay. "Greetings toPAPANO, who is famed for groping women, has slept with more than half of his female appointees and has rewarded them with juicy appointments. Ayekoo! #KON-GAY @konkrumah" he tweeted. Other MPs on the Minority side also feel the use of 'Papano' is unparliamentary. But speaking in an interview on Peace FM morning show 'Kokrokoo', Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said he is unperturbed by those comments because 'we are in an election year' and apart from that he made the comment in jest. According to him, "I have really been insulted, smeared, castigated; infact I was taken to the cleaners after that comment but I took it all in good faith because we're in an election year but I will not be flustered or distracted, I will continue to do my work" 'Papano' expunged Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said he subsequently requested that the use of 'Papano' be expunged from the records since his colleague MPs felt offended by it; even though it was a joke. "I dont think John Jinapor was offended because we share jokes and as I have stated it was a comment in jest. Its true its a comment on social media but I made it in jest; I didn't mean any harm and after the Speaker said sleeping dogs should be allowed to lie, I requested to speak and I said the comment was just a joke and that since they feel offended by it, it should be expunged from the records and the Speaker allowed," he added. Listen to him in the video below Papano has become a popular phrase on social media after actress Tracey Boakye used it repeatedly to describe a married man she claims she and musician Mzbel are dating.It subsequently ended in Parliament during the approval of the Agyapa Royalties Limited agreement.Mr Speaker, I want to encourage my colleagues on the other side. I want to encourage my good friend who just spoke (John Jinapor). In my hometown, we will say, Papa no. Papa no. I want to encourage Papa no to take some time and follow the structure of this conversation and support, the Ofoase Ayirebi MP told the House.Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu in reaction demanded he withdraws the comment else they wont recognise him as a minister and referred to him as Maame no.You come to parliament to employ those words used on social media, we take strong objection to it. If you dont withdraw, we wont recognize you today as a minister. We will not. Do what you will do...We will give you a name. We will give you a name. And we are serving notice, he was elected just like you. And his constituents respect him. Because you people use Papa no on social media. We know what it means. We will match you. You have lost my respect as Minority leader from today. We will match you. We too, we will call you Maame no, Haruna Iddrisu said.Eventually, First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joe Osei Owusu ruled that sleeping dogs should be allowed to lie. Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Khartoum, Aug 17 : Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have agreed to resume talks over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River on Tuesday. A video meeting, called by South Africa, was held on Sunday with participation of foreign ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia, reports Xinhua news agency. "After prolonged discussions, the participants in the meeting decided to resume the talks on August 18 and work to unify the texts of the draft agreements presented by the three countries," Sudan's Irrigation and Water Resources Ministry said in a statement. Sudan reiterated commitment to returning to the talks with the spirit of African solidarity and on bases of the previously agreed agenda and the principles of the international law related to equitable use of water resources without causing harm to others, according to the statement. Sudan further stressed that reaching a comprehensive deal on filling and operation of the GERD and the future projects would be an additional evidence on enhancing regional cooperation and a confirmation to the principle of searching for African solutions to the African issues. Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have been negotiating under the African Union over technical and legal issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD. Sunday's development came after Egypt on August 4 reiterated its rejection against any "unilateral move" by Ethiopia to fill the reservoir of the dam without reaching an agreement with the downstream countries. Ethiopia in mid-July started filling some four billion cubic meters of water in the reservoir whose capacity is 75 billion cubic meters. On July 25, Egypt stated that the first filling of the $4 billion dam wouldn't harm the country's share of the Nile resources. However, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia's controversial points of discussion over the past 10 years have been inflamed by the Ethiopian desire to fill the reservoir in only three years while the other two countries target the filling in seven to ten years to avoid the implications of the time of severe drought. The massive dam is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity and become Africa's largest hydropower dam upon completion. Ethiopia started building the dam in 2011, while Egypt, a downstream Nile Basin country that relies on the river for its freshwater, is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of the water resources. The Delhi High Court Monday sought response of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea by a firm, which was acquitted in the 2G scam related money laundering case along with former telecom minister A Raja and others, seeking to release its properties worth Rs 22 crore attached by the agency. Justice Brijesh Sethi, who was conducting hearing through video conferencing, issued notice to the ED on the application by Conwood Construction and Developers Pvt Ltd seeking to modify the high court's March 21, 2018 order by which status quo was directed to be maintained regarding release of the attached properties. Conwood was accused of parking the proceeds of alleged crime of Rs 22.56 crore from Dynamix Reality to Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, whose promoters were also acquitted in the 2G scam cases. The plea said the firm was ready to execute an 'indemnity bond' of Rs 22.56 crore as a surety and if the appeal by ED is allowed against the acquittal, it will deposit the amount with the agency as equivalent to the properties' value. Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for the firm, contended that till now leave to appeal is not granted to ED and CBI, challenging the trial court's verdict and if its allowed, the appeals will take several years to be decided. "If the high court sets aside the trial court's decision of acquittal and I lose and the property is confiscated by the government, I am ready to pay the indemnity bond. But till then, I should be allowed to use the property," he submitted. Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, representing the ED, apprised the court that the same firm had filed a similar application in 2018 and the agency had filed its reply to it. However, if the court directs, he will again file the reply to this plea. During the hearing, Jain along with advocates Amit Mahajan and N K Matta urged the court to hear the fresh application along with the pending appeals of CBI and ED in the 2G scam case. "It will be in the large public interest that the country's largest trial which was conducted at the public exchequer's cost be brought to its logical conclusion and the agencies leave to appeal be heard," the law officer submitted. Leave to appeal is a formal permission granted by a court to a party to appeal a decision to a higher court. Jain said he has completed his arguments on behalf of CBI on January 15, but thereafter, the matter could not be heard due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that as Justice Sethi will demit the office on November 30, the leave to appeal be heard and decided expeditiously as if the part-heard matter, which has consumed a lot of judicial time, will be heard afresh by another bench it will cost too much to the public exchequer. To this, the judge said if there is any urgency and the agencies wish for an early hearing in the appeals, which are listed for October 12, they are at liberty to file an application for preponement of the hearing. A special court had on December 21, 2017 acquitted Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others in CBI and ED cases related to the scam. It had acquitted 17 others, including DMK supremo M Karunanidhi's wife Dayalu Ammal, Vinod Goenka, Asif Balwa, film producer Karim Morani, P Amirtham and Sharad Kumar, Director of Kalaignar TV in the ED case. On the same day, the trial court had also acquitted former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's erstwhile private secretary R K Chandolia, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra and three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair, in the CBI's 2G case. Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka and directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal were also acquitted in the CBI case. On March 19 2018, the ED had approached the high court challenging the special court's order acquitting all the accused. A day later, the CBI too had challenged in the high court the acquittal of the accused in the case. Also Read: This app lets you manage all your capital market investments in one place Also Read: Facebook executive in India alleges threat to life; seeks police protection Buttons in the Natural History Museum's 19th Amendment centennial exhibition, clockwise from top left: "ERA YES" from the 1960s or '70s; Shirley Chisholm's campaign button; a 1970s button supporting activist Angela Davis; and a 1960s button combining the Venus symbol with the Aztec Eagle logo of the United Farm Workers, co-founded by Dolores Huerta. (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) One of the vintage buttons simply says in all capital letters: "ERA YES." Another says "Viva la mujer," a yellow female pictogram set against a strong red background. Still another button reads "Chisholm for president," a reference to the first Black woman elected to Congress and one of the subjects in HBO's recent series "Mrs. America." Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton and Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress, are here too on buttons displayed in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's upcoming digital and physical exhibitions celebrating the 100th anniversary of womens suffrage. One of the fears that people had when women were getting the right to vote was that women would vote together as a bloc and we would have an automatic majority as a result," said Sarah Crawford, the museum's senior manager of exhibition design and development. "But the reality is we're diverse, we're different, and so by showing these different political buttons, that's one way of kind of saying, 'Look, all of these issues, different women were fighting for them in different ways. The exhibitions will focus on four themes: community, education, labor and voting. Each section will consist of a timeline featuring important dates as well as six to 12 photographs that highlight womens stories. The thing that I think makes the exhibition worth seeing versus just learning about this online is that each of those sections has a case of original ephemera, Crawford said. So I think that's the thing that's really spectacular, thinking about the woman in 1911 [who] picked up this vote-for-women button, you know, and pinned it to her dress and marched for women's suffrage. The stories of the women who owned these objects that we now have on display really transport you to that moment. It makes you feel kind of connected to this whole group of women." Story continues Most of these objects are political buttons, but they also include ballots, fliers, protest signs and magazines. To me the most important is just being in close proximity to those original objects, Crawford said. More political buttons in the 19th Amendment exhibition, clockwise from top left: a 1950s protest against the tax discouraging lower-income people from voting; a button from the 1910s worn by women who hoped a ban on alcohol sales would stop men from neglecting or abusing their families; "Mr. Suffer-Yet," believed to be from between 1900 and 1920, suggesting women's voting rights were bad for men; and a Pat Nixon button from the 1960 presidential election. (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) The exhibition will have an interactive component involving the 1920 California ballot, a DIY protest poster that visitors can design and print, and events including a three-part discussion series held in conjunction with Zocalo Public Square. Sometimes when I look at history and when I go to exhibitions about different historical events, I feel kind of alienated," Crawford said. "I don't know if other people feel that way too, but sometimes it feels like, Well, I'm not George Washington, you know, I'm not this. I'm not the first woman to go into space. ... You have kind of like that feeling of I'm not important. In working on this exhibition, I really wanted to help people understand that it takes the actions of many people to create cultural, political change. A key part of the exhibition will be a 30-minute film that contains interviews with women older than 65 about their experiences with voting. Most of the women in this ethnography project were chosen from the volunteer corps at the museum or its sister operation at the La Brea Tar Pits; others were recommended because of their unique stories. "One of the objects in the exhibition we're featuring is a yearbook from a young woman who was in a Japanese internment camp, Crawford said of the World War II incarceration of mostly American citizens. Her family had to leave Los Angeles, and she went to high school in this camp, and so we have her high school yearbook. ... Once we found out she was alive, we were like, Oh, my gosh, we have to talk to her. Judith Sydner-Gordon, a participant in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County's oral stories project on voting, gender equity and activism, photographed in Exposition Park with the museum in the distance. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) Judith Sydner-Gordon was one of the women to be featured in the ethnography project. The first thing that I hope this project accomplishes is the celebration of women of my generation," she said, adding that she hopes the project connects young women to the timeline of the women's movement via shared stories and memories. "I think women speaking to women, women speaking to young women, women speaking to girls, all of those interactions are important in order to be able to sustain the movement that began decades ago. Not just to sustain it, but to build on it and to expand it and to not forget about the things that women have done in order to get us where we are today. Sydner-Gordon, who is African American, said her parents were politically active and emphasized the importance of voting. "I think you can probably understand why they took it very seriously, because as African Americans, we as a group were not allowed to vote," she said. "The Voting Rights Act did a lot for that piece of history for us as a group of people. ... It is from them that I developed my feelings of respect for the voting process." Francille Rusan Wilson, a USC associate professor of American studies and ethnicity, history, and gender and sexuality studies, was the Natural History Museum's guest curator. Crawford said the museum partnered with many groups to stage the exhibition, including the L.A. County Women and Girls Initiative, the museums community engagement council and its task force for Womens History Month, and teams from local colleges including Scripps, USC and Cal State Los Angeles, which are lending objects from their archives. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Crawford and her team had to pivot from a physical exhibition in June to an online version in August and what they hope will be an in-person experience starting Oct. 1. Although the in-person exhibition will be small and limited to 1,000 square feet, with a capacity of 10 people at a time, it's augmented by the virtual experience. We didn't want to have the online exhibition just duplicate everything that's in the physical exhibition. We wanted them to be a complement to one another, Crawford said. So in some ways the online exhibition is a bit of a teaser; it gives us an opportunity to tell some stories that we couldn't in the physical exhibition." Perhaps the most timely component of the show: voter registration, which will be offered in the physical exhibition and linked to from the digital exhibition. Crawford said the museum considered ending the voter registration component after the election but ultimately decided it will stay for the duration. Let's keep this top of mind, and keep it keep pushing on it, she said. In a time of high political divisions, Crawford emphasized that the goal of the exhibition isn't to support any particular agenda but to make people think and focus on local politics of all kinds. We're trying to advocate for advocacy, she said. We're trying to advocate for people taking action and deciding what issues are important to them and fighting for those issues. We're not officially in the exhibition supporting one side or the other. I just want people to think, you know, about what's meaningful to them. She said one the points she wanted to make was "sometimes for women, just living your life every day is an act of bravery. "Being brave, or standing up for yourself or your kids or your community members," she said, "all that can add up to change." For the record: 11:19 AM, Aug. 17, 2020: An earlier version of this articles event infobox misstated the title of the Zocalo series as When Women Vote No. The title is When Women Vote. The article also misstated the name of the museum in one reference as National History Museum instead of Natural History Museum. A sexual predator has been found guilty of raping a teenage girl after luring her off the street and plying her with alcohol. Glenn Ian Morrison sexually abused a 13-year-old girl from Sydney's northern beaches in a boarding house in Rosebury last year. The 52-year-old busker met the teenager at Manly Wharf on August 19 and bought her alcoholic drinks. The guitarist, known as 'Barnesy' but has no links to the famous Australian, then took the minor to the boarding house more than 20km away on public transport where he repeatedly sexually assaulted her. Glenn Ian Morrison (pictured) was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in Rosebury last year NSW Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec told reporters after Morrison's arrest in August 2019 the incident was 'every parents worse nightmare'. At one point during their 45-minute journey to the boarding house, Morrison was quizzed by a passenger about how he knew the girl. 'During these movements the man told a member of the public the girl was his daughter,' Det Supt Kerlatec said. Eerie footage shows Morrison luring the girl through Rosebery before the attack. Morrison was captured on CCTV (pictured) travelling with the girl to his boarding house before raping her The youth fled from the boarding house the following morning and notified police when she arrived home, with Morrison arrested three days later. Photos from Morrisons social media show he previously posed arm-in-arm with a group of young women during his busking performances around Sydney. A Downing Centre District Court jury found Morrison guilty of two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse of a child aged under 16 and three counts of sexually touching a person aged 10 to 16. He will remain in custody until his sentencing in October. StreetDrone, the full-stack autonomous technology company, has won UK Government funding as part of a consortium tasked with delivering an autonomous logistics capability to Nissans Sunderland car plant. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport grant will be used to develop 5G connected and self-driving 40-tonne trucks capable of moving parts and assemblies between Nissans Sunderland manufacturing plant and local businesses contributing to the car makers just-in-time supply chain. ') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> ') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write(' ') } // --> ') } else if (width >= 425) { console.log ('largescreen'); document.write('') } else { console.log ('nompuad'); document.write('') } // --> The 800 acre Nissan site in Sunderland is Europes most efficient car plant and the proof-of-concept project will assess how 5G connected and autonomous logistics operations can drive more efficiency into industrial supply chain operations. The project, termed 5G CAL or 5G Connected and Autonomous Logistics will build on StreetDrones pioneering autonomy work that includes the stewardship of various open-source autonomous software solutions with a focus on low-speed applications, including urban and suburban metropolitan areas, campuses and manufacturing plants. The 5G project will require StreetDrone to develop both software and hardware solutions spanning redundant braking systems, a driving robot capable of complex articulated truck manoeuvres in confined areas and the integration of driverless software with telematic control for remote fleet management. The consortium is made up of businesses and institutions including Sunderland City Council, Newcastle University, Vantec, Coventry University, Connected Places Catapult, The North East Automotive Alliance and Perform Green. Mike Potts, StreetDrones CEO believes that logistics can be one of the first commercially viable autonomous services and the 5G CAL project provides an ideal testbed for the roll-out of a UK-developed autonomous product. The reality is that autonomous cars are still many years from widespread adoption, he says. However, the technologies that weve already developed can be used in an industrial logistics setting and will quickly scale to many other similar contexts where reducing cost and increasing safety are critical factors in profitable operations. Update 9:03 p.m.: This has been updated to note Houston Police Chief Art Acevedos brief role in Mondays nights Democratic National Convention. No party should take for granted the votes of any group tied together by race, ethnicity, gender or religion. And yet for all the focus theyve put on diversity in recent years, Democrats appear to be doing just that as they gather virtually beginning tonight for the partys four-day online convention. Latinos, part of a voting bloc that is expected to play a large role in determining the outcome of the election, are all but shut out of the prime speaking spots. In fact, Texas itself, where Latinos are an especially big factor and helping to make the state competitive for the first time in decades, is nearly absent from the podium. Thats a big mistake on both fronts. Sure, Latinos have traditionally leaned Democratic, but not always by large margins. And yes, President Donald Trumps cruel border policies and his sometimes racist rhetoric arent likely to have won over large swaths of the Latino voters this year especially. But ignoring Latinos at the convention sends a message that Team Biden has decided it counts on Latinos vote no matter how little attention it pays them. We suppose the same message is being sent to Texas Democrats as a whole Thanks for your support, but were putting our emphasis elsewhere. The DNC has reserved some time for Latinos, though not much. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will speak briefly. We were pleased, too, to see Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo make a brief appearance Monday night. And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, one of the most visible young Democrats in the country, will speak, too though as of press time she was expected to have just 60 seconds. The only Texans scheduled in prime-time U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Rep. Victoria Neave, both of Dallas will be part of a group of 17 rising stars who will jointly deliver the keynote address Tuesday night. Texans missing in prime-time will be former presidential contenders Julian Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, and former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke of El Paso, whose insurgent if unsuccessful bid to defeat U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2018 propelled him to make his own abortive run for president. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, who prosecuted the case against Trump as one of the House impeachment managers, are also notably absent. Castro and ORourke will be part of a panel of former presidential contenders, U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela of Brownsville will be in a short montage, and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar of El Paso will announce Texas delegates for Biden in a 30-second video. The scarce Latino and Texan presence may be due in part to limitations forced by coronavirus. This years virtual convention has been shrunk to two hours each night compared to six hours in previous years. Thats a poor excuse, however, for making the twinned strategic blunders of overlooking Latino voters and Texas. Pushing big names such as Beto and the Castro brothers out of premier speaking slots still represents a missed opportunity for Biden and the Democratic Party. If Biden and his party are truly trying to carve out an inclusive platform that appeals to the future, then Latino voters and the state of Texas should be front and center not squeezed into the margins. Portlands 81st consecutive night of protests against police violence and systemic racism was marked by speeches, a violent altercation at the scene of a pickup truck crash and limited interactions between police and protesters. Letha Winston, the mother of a 27-year-old man fatally shot by Portland police in 2018 after he had wounded two others in a downtown Portland parking lot, addressed a crowd of demonstrators Sunday night outside the downtown Multnomah County Justice Center. She called the officers who fatally shot her son cowards. Joining her was Demetria Hester, an activist and hate crime survivor who advocated defunding the police. We need to continue to keep marching. We need to continue to keep chanting. We need to continue to keep running. We need to continue to keep screaming, said Winston, mother of Patrick Kimmons. We need to stand tall through it all. Do not ever let anyone discourage you from getting justice.... A change is going to come. Law enforcement officers later in the night emerged in two instances: to clear people away from the entry to the Justice Center garage and respond to the truck crash. Neither encounter resulted in arrests. The demonstrations came at the end of a weekend in which Portland police declared riots Friday night in North Portland and late Saturday into early Sunday outside the Penumbra Kelly building on East Burnside Street, after some people assembled outside threw fireworks, rocks or scrawled graffiti on the building. Letha Winston, whose son Patrick fatally shot by Portland police in 2018, addresses a crowd of demonstrators in front of the Justice Center downtown as Portland protests continued for the 81st consecutive night Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Dave Killen/Staff Winston, speaking for more than an hour Sunday in front of signs on the Justice Center steps that read, Justice for Patrick Kimmons, urged the community not to forget the killing of her son. She said she was speaking out not only for her son but for others killed by police. I said, they took my son! so I am taking and demanding justice for Patrick Kimmons and all others, she said, addressing the crowd for more than an hour. Were here to take our streets back. A Multnomah County grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by the officers involved. Patrick Kimmons, who had a daughter and two sons, was fatally shot about 3 a.m at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Harvey Milk Street. After hearing gunshots, two police officers saw Kimmons step away from a group of men fighting in a parking lot and saw him run toward them at first. One officer said he saw Kimmons shove a gun into the front of his waistband and then reach to pull it back out. The other officer said he saw Kimmons point the gun toward them. They fired 12 times as Kimmons ran in their direction and then turned toward parked cars. Police located a Taurus .38-caliber revolver near Kimmons, they said. An autopsy found Kimmons was struck nine times, including twice in the heart. An autopsy showed Kimmons was shot in the right lower leg, right buttocks, right lower mid-buttocks, left mid-buttocks, upper left buttocks, left thigh, left groin, left chest and right chest. After Winston spoke, the crowd began marching about 8:45 p.m., chanting, No justice, no peace! Take it to the streets. And (expletive) the police! The crowd gathered outside the Southwest Second Avenue entrance to the Portland Police Bureau headquarters and Central Precinct, chanting, dancing, with some people pounding on the plywood covering the glass doors. At one point, Multnomah County sheriffs deputies emerged and pushed people away from the entry to the Justice Center garage, to allow a police car to gain access to the Justice Center garage and the booking area for the downtown jail. By 10 p.m., a smaller group remained outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, drumming and dancing. Some left flowers in the street and candles beside a photo of Kimmons, propped up against a concrete barrier outside the courthouse. Blocks away, shortly before 10:30 p.m., a violent encounter unfolded at the scene of a crashed white Ford truck. Police said they received a report that protesters were chasing the truck before its driver crashed at Southwest Broadway and Taylor Street. Video showed a group of people kick, punch and restrain the driver in the street while others tried to hold them back. As the man sat dazed in the street, a person ran from behind and kicked him in the face, apparently knocking him unconscious. Another video showed the driver bleeding from the back of his head. Some street medics attempted to provide aid to the man as they urged others to call 911. A large police response arrived later and encountered a hostile crowd, police said. The driver was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, and the truck was towed. It was not immediately clear what spurred the encounter, which is under investigation. The crowd outside the Justice Center mostly dissipated shortly after midnight. A crashed Ford truck in downtown Portland on Sunday, Aug. 16. Video showed a man connected to the truck being restrained and beaten.Beth Nakamura/Staff Saturday night into Sunday, Portland police made 11 arrests and said they struggled to keep up with emergency calls as they handled protest coverage and an hours-long standoff with an armed burglary suspect in Forest Park Saturday night. Earlier Saturday afternoon, a pro-police demonstration attracted small groups of opposing protesters downtown and ended in a report of a gun fired by a motorist, which police were investigating. No one was injured by gunshots. On Friday and Saturday nights, police used smoke and physically pushed people, ripping from their hands shields they hold in front of them, into neighborhood streets to attempt to disperse them. Officers also have repeatedly slashed tires of vehicles along the streets theyve tried to clear. Police said theyre trying to keep marchers away from police buildings, which have been the target of fires and vandalism in the past two months. Portland police have continued to make arrests, charging people with everything from riot to interfering with arrest, despite a new policy announced Tuesday by the new Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt that his office would not prosecute allegations of interfering with officers, harassment or disorderly conduct or a riot charge alone, stemming from current protests. On Thursday, Oregon State Police pulled about 100 troopers out of the citys protest coverage, marking the end of a two-week agreement Oregon Gov. Kate Brown reached with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The state police agreed to provide security to the exterior of the federal courthouse and assist Portland police with public safety on the streets around it, while federal officers remain inside the courthouse. -- Maxine Bernstein Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com; 503-221-8212 Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian https://twitter.com/maxoregonian Subscribe to Facebook page Jim Ryan of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report. Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter A Hospitality major Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) on Monday said it has joined hands with Tata Power for supply of solar energy for its Mumbai hotels as part of strategy to focus on sustainable and cost-efficient business practices. The company has signed a solar energy power purchase agreement (PPA) with TP Kirnali Solar Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Power Company Ltd, IHCL said in a statement. "IHCL hotels in Mumbai, namely The Taj Mahal Palace, Taj Lands End and Taj Wellington Mews, will get approximately 60 per cent energy from green source and will reduce nearly 22.9 million kg of carbon dioxide emissions on an annual basis," it added. This agreement is valid for a period of 25 years, the statement said. "This initiative is in line with the company's focus on adopting sustainable and cost-efficient business practices, while leveraging group-wide synergies and competencies," IHCL managing director and chief executive Puneet Chhatwal said. The company is pleased to collaborate with Tata Power, which is a leader in clean energy generation, he added. "We are glad to collaborate with IHCL to reduce their carbon footprint and reaffirm the Tata Group's commitment for sustainability. Presently, the association is limited to IHCL properties in Mumbai and we look forward to working closely with them for covering all their facilities across India," Tata Power managing director and CEO Praveer Sinha said. Sustainability is a prerequisite to IHCL operations and in the last four years, the company has increased its renewable energy mix from 7 per cent to 25 per cent, the statement said. Also read: India to set up solar manufacturing zones; impose 15-20% duty to discourage imports from China An email scam is trying to defraud council tax payers FRAUDSTERS are attempting to scam people out of their personal details by offering a reduction in their council tax. Officials from Stratford District Council issued an urgent warning to residents about the email scam, which has been dropping into people's inboxes purporting to be from the government. In reality, the council has no powers to suspend the collection of council tax and the emails are merely an attempt to get people to click on a link to a fraudulent website asking for personal details including bank information. The email is branded with official logos from the government and is signed from the "Government Digital Services Team". A button invites recipients to claim a council tax reduction but the website it links to is a fraudulent copy of the genuine gov.uk website. Cllr Jo Barker, holder of the council's people portfolio, said: Its so sad to see an email scam using the pandemic as an opportunity to target vulnerable people. "There are many people that may fall prey to this with very real money worries as many are furloughed or out of work and would welcome a reduction in their council tax and might assume this email is genuine. Many scams take advantage of the real financial support schemes put in place by the government to help people manage, and exploit peoples financial concerns, impersonating trusted organisations to trick them into giving away their money or information. The key is to stay alert. If something looks too good to be true, then chances are its a scam. And if youre in any doubt then be sure to contact the district council. The council has already paid out more than 500,000 to 3,500 residents who receive local council tax support as part of the government's response to the coronavirus crisis. It is also offering options to pay council tax over 12 months instead of the usual ten at no extra cost, or taking the annual two-month council tax "holiday" now, instead of in February and March. Ross M. Wallenstein Last week, former vice president Joe Biden announced Senator Kamala Harris of California as his choice to run alongside him in the fall election against Donald Trump and Mike Pence. In the midst of a global pandemic and an economic meltdown, the rollout of Harris the first woman of color on a major party ticket could have gone a thousand different ways. But given all of the tough circumstances, it was well-executed, well-timed, and well-received. As political communications programs go, this was about as good as anyone on the Biden team could have hoped. Heres why. Ever since he secured the Democratic nomination in March (just as the world began to shut down over COVID-19), Biden said he would be deliberative and thoughtful in picking his running mate. He knew firsthand, having twice run alongside former president Barack Obama, the importance of getting the selection right. At 77 (he will be 78 before inauguration day), Biden also must know what everyone else knows that should he win the presidency, he is at a higher actuarial risk of having his vice president succeed him than other recent candidates. Also, given that he would be 82 years old at the end of his first term, many have suspected that a President Biden would opt out of a rigorous reelection campaign and instead hand the baton to his second in command. Lunch with Obama in the White House every week for four years and a host of concrete responsibilities compared with some previous vice presidents also convinced Biden that he not only wanted a partner who could help him govern effectively, but someone who would be a sounding board to him and who could tell truth to power. So, despite his original assurance that he would make his selection by August 1st, Biden and his team took their time. They did their homework. They vetted every serious candidate. Biden himself spoke to the finalists for the job. Then he made his decision. In a text to supporters on Tuesday, August 11th a little more than a week before he will accept his partys nomination for President Biden announced that he had chosen Harris. Within seconds, the Biden campaign (now rebranded as Biden Harris) posted the same on social media and the website had been revised to reflect the ticket. Amazingly, this was accomplished without a single reporter in America having the information in advance (perhaps as a result of people staying in their homes). The campaign announced it in its own way, on its own time. For a national political communications effort, this was a real coup. Past running mate announcements have been typically picked up in advance by a member of the media. Bidens own selection as Obamas running mate in 2008, for example, was announced by CNN hours before the Obama campaign was able to send out the news via text message. Later that afternoon, a video of Biden calling Harris and offering her the job went up online. It seemed genuine and heartfelt. Supporters and surrogates began swooning on Twitter and on television. Perhaps more importantly, the Biden Harris campaign announced it had its best 24 fundraising period in months raising more than $26 million in a single day after the announcement of a vice-presidential candidate (and more than $50 million in the days after). Since early March, the entire country has been all-consumed by two things: COVID-19 and Donald Trump. With the announcement of Harris, the political world which had been basically devoid of news since Biden clinched his partys nomination had something else to focus on for a few days. Despite her time as California Attorney General and U.S. Senator, coupled with her brief presidential run, Harris was still mostly unknown to most Americans. Ever since the announcement, America was treated to images of Harris smiling, dancing, and laughing with family and colleagues. We heard about her story as the daughter of immigrants raised to believe she could change the world, now her partys designated nominee for the second-highest office in the land. In the grand story that is America, the selection of only the third woman and the first woman of color to be named as a vice-presidential candidate is a truly amazing milestone. At a time when so many feel underrepresented and underappreciated, Harriss candidacy seems to have been a real boost not only to the Democratic ticket but to people in the country who needed a jolt of inspiration and excitement, if only for a moment. Without ignoring the bad news of hundreds of thousands of Americans still struggling to make sense of the virus while staying safe and healthy, a few days of an only-in-America fairytale was a nice respite on the nightly news, social media, and the front page of the paper. As for the Biden campaign, the announcement was well-done and well-received. In a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll taken after the announcement, 54 percent of Americans and 86 percent of Democrats approved of Bidens selection of Harris. While this weeks Democratic Convention may move those numbers even higher when Americans get a better look at Harris and her story, there are nearly 80 days left until the general election and anything can happen - especially in the year 2020. *** Ross M. Wallenstein is Vice President of J Strategies, Inc., a communications and government relations firm with offices in New York City, Albany, and Boston. Previously, he served in the administration of former New York governors Eliot Spitzer and David A. Paterson and was an aide to former US Representative Gary L. Ackerman. Find him on Twitter @rosswallenstein China welcomes Putin's proposal of holding online summit over Iranian nuclear issue People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:23, August 16, 2020 Trump says 'probably not' to join Putin-proposed summit on Iran BEIJING - China welcomes Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal of holding an online summit over Iranian nuclear issue, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Saturday. Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks when asked to comment on Putin's proposal. Putin proposed on Friday holding an urgent online meeting of the heads of the five states that are permanent members of the UN Security Council with the participation of the leaders of Germany and Iran to discuss Iran and the Persian Gulf situation. China appreciates Russia's efforts to ease tensions on the Iranian nuclear issue and to strengthen regional security, Zhao said. China has always firmly supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and is devoted to safeguarding peace and stability in the Middle East, said Zhao. "China is willing to work with parties concerned to keep close communication and coordination, and jointly promote the process of political resolution of the Iranian nuclear issue." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Photo: (Photo : Photo by Donald Tong from Pexels) A 10-year-old boy is pleading for the release of his dad, who stole a phone in 2011. In the letter from Kayden Wright to the Ministry of Justice, he begs the government to help him speak to his dad. According to reports, the 10-year-old boy's dad, Thomas White, was imprisoned when sentenced with Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). This law became controversial and was abolished in 2012. The 10-year-old boy's letter Kayden sent his letter to Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland, the minister of state for prisons. However, the ten-year-old boy from Manchester has not received a reply yet. In his letter, the young boy said that he had not seen his dad since he was a baby. Kayden wrote, "Sir I'm asking you, can you help me speak to my daddy?" Kayden is staying with his grandmother, and he does not see his mother much because she is not doing well from an accident. The boy also asked in his letter, "Please sir do you think he will be home for Christmas or my first day at big school? Please please write back sir." READ ALSO: 9-Year-Old Florida Boy Rescued Dad Who Injured Himself After a Dive The dad's sentence According to the White family, the dad, Thomas, was into trouble as a young boy. Then in 2011, he stole a phone from a couple in Manchester. During his trial, Thomas pleaded guilty. He was sentenced with IPP, but with a minimum term of two years only. Almost a decade after, there are reports that over 2,000 people sentenced to IPP are stuck in prison. Most of them do not have any idea if they will still be released. The IPP was abolished in 2012 by Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke. The reason behind the abolishment was that IPP was seen as punishing low-level offenders disproportionately. READ ALSO: Kenyan Boy Invents a Handwashing Machine to Fight Coronavirus [He Is Only 9 Years Old!] The family's worries In the letter, Kaydeln asked the government when his father can come home. He said he wanted to know as his grandmother does not have an answer. Besides Kayden, his aunt and Thomas' sister, Clara White, has been calling for the dad's release. Clara said the imprisonment affected Thomas' mental health, and that the 38-year-old dad spent most of his sentence in segregation while reading the Bible. She said, He is extremely unwell, and no one seems to be doing anything about it." READ ALSO: Boy Raises $26K in a Hog Auction for Hospital Bills of His Father Who Has Cancer [The hog was resold five times!] The government's response According to Metro, the Ministry of Justice spokesperson said, "These types of offenders were deemed by a judge to pose a high risk to the public." The spokesperson added that offenders like Thomas are released when the Parole Board finds that they are no longer a threat to the public. The ministry also mentioned that they have already dedicated progression regimes for struggling prisoners. READ ALSO: Dad Arrested next to Dying Daughter [Video Shows Police Dragging the Father] Dear Ms. Vicki, Hi, I hope you can help me because I didn't find the answer on the website. I met someone on a dating site, who says he is working for the US Air Force as a Master Sergeant and is currently in Afghanistan. He says the deployment will be done by December. He seems very serious about the relationship; he calls from there using a Telstra Satellite Mobile Connect, and we chat using Yahoo messenger. But I don't know how to ask him [if he's for real]. You know we cannot trust too much and believe everything people say, that's why I searched in Military.com trying to find out if is true, and could not find him. Do you think that some military personnel are not on the list? He also says that I have to send an email to his superiors asking for his leave, but maybe I have to help him with some money for the ticket because he has no money. I know many men lie, so I sending this email to you, as a woman, not as a member of the military community. So please, if you think you can help me, I will be so happy to receive your answer. Sincerely, Be blessed Dear Blessed, I really hope that you did not send this guy any money. Obviously, this is a very popular scheme that's going around on dating sites where men are pretending to be in the armed forces. Only they need someone to send money so they can come home on leave. Moreover, that someone needs to speak to a commander so that he can be given permission to come home for leave. This is where the "lies" are exposed. There is no such thing -- if you are in the U.S. armed forces you would not have to speak to a commanding officer to get permission to leave, and you would not need money for travel. His travel should be paid for and he would not have to pay a dime. I received a recent letter from a woman who spoke with a "so-called" commanding officer. He told her to send $2,500 so this person could get a plane ticket and be granted permission to leave. She sent the money and never heard from them again. Here's the deal: Do not have any contact with this person again. Don't give them any more information about you, such as personal information like your address. Leave him alone, it's a SCAM! I hope you are okay. Sincerely, Ms. Vicki Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox. US Democrats are kicking off an unprecedented political experiment on Monday, an all-virtual national convention that nominates Joe Biden as their White House candidate to battle Donald Trump in the heat of a deadly pandemic. With his vice presidential pick Kamala Harris, the first woman of colour on a major US presidential ticket, Biden is campaigning to unify a nation ravaged by political and racial turmoil, voter suppression concerns and profound anxiety over the devastating coronavirus crisis. The running mates will deliver their message under unique circumstances: a four-day Democratic National Convention conducted entirely online. Wednesday evening will spotlight Harris, a 55-year-old US senator who is the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants. Biden has promoted her story as the American Dream. The four-day affair culminates on Thursday night with Biden being nominated by state delegates casting their votes online. Trumps re-election campaign will sink up to $10 million into a digital ad campaign during the Democratic convention. It will include the campaign taking over the banner of YouTube for 96 hours starting on Tuesday. Newsweek magazine has apologised for an op-ed that questioned Harris US citizenship and her eligibility to be Bidens running mate, a false and racist conspiracy theory which Trump has not dismissed. This op-ed is being used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia. We apologise, read Newsweeks editors note on Friday. We entirely failed to anticipate the ways in which the essay would be interpreted, distorted and weaponised, read the apology, signed by Josh Hammer, opinion editor, and Nancy Cooper, global editor in chief. But they ended the note by saying that the op-ed would remain on the site, with their note attached. The op-ed was written by John Eastman, a conservative attorney who argues that the US Constitution doesnt grant birthright citizenship. Meanwhile, President Trump said he may ask for the resignation of every member of his cabinet if hes re-elected. I wouldnt say Im thrilled with everybody, frankly, he said, when asked about the prospect. The coronavirus recession will erode city budgets in many insidious ways. It will slash the casino revenues that Detroit relies on. It will squeeze the state aid that is a lifeblood to Rochester and Buffalo in upstate New York. It will cut the sales tax revenue in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where a healthy government depends on people buying things. The crisis has arrived faster than the damage from the Great Recession ever did. And it will cut deep in the fiscal year ahead, with many communities likely to lose 10 per cent or more of the revenue they would have seen without the pandemic, according to a new analysis. Thats enough for residents to experience short-staffed libraries, strained parks departments and fewer road projects. The hardest-hit cities like Rochester and Buffalo could face 20 per cent losses. The Great Recession was a story of long, drawn-out fiscal pain this is sharper, said Howard Chernick, a professor emeritus of economics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, who worked on the new analysis estimating revenue shortfalls for 150 major cities across the nation. These numbers give a sense of the possible economic pain for cities if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a new relief package that includes aid to state and local governments. It also rebuts some of the prevailing, largely Republican arguments that have stalled those negotiations: that federal help will bail out only blue cities and those that have mismanaged their finances. Many cities facing steep losses are in states represented by Republican senators, like Florida or Louisiana. And the analysis found little relationship between whether a place was fiscally healthy before the pandemic and the most dire projections of revenue shortfalls. What matters more in this pandemic moment is how a city generates money: Those highly dependent on tourism, on direct state aid or on volatile sales taxes will hurt the most. Cities like Boston, which rely heavily on property taxes that offer the most stable revenue, are in the strongest position for now. The estimates, to be published in the National Tax Journal by Chernick, David Copeland at Georgia State University and Andrew Reschovsky at the University of Wisconsin, are based on the mix of local revenue sources, the importance of state aid and the composition of jobs and wages in each city. The researchers predict average revenue shortfalls in the 2021 fiscal year of about 5.5 per cent in a less severe scenario, or nine per cent in a more severe one. These projections cover not just municipal budgets but also every local government entity that spends money on services to residents in a given city, including counties and sewer or school districts (those budgets are adjusted for the share of residents who live within city borders). As the pandemic has worsened in many parts of the country this summer, the researchers now believe their severe forecasts are more likely. Some of the most vulnerable cities are those like Rochester that rely heavily on state aid, which is also likely to shrink, as it did in the Great Recession. Rochester already has deferred millions of dollars of non-essential expenses like new uniforms or fire trucks. It furloughed or reduced the hours of about 1 in 10 city workers, many of whom will return as the city reopens further. Officials delayed an incoming class of new police recruits and cancelled the next class of firefighters. We cant produce money, we cant borrow our way out of this, we cant tax our way out of this, Mayor Lovely Warren said. But our residents expect that the trash will be picked up on trash day. They expect that the snow will be plowed when it snows. They expect that when they call 911 that a police officer will show up. For Washington to ignore that reality it hurts. Its wrong to punish the victim, she added. The city here is the victim. Other city officials around the country say they have tried to plan prudently for down times. But the pandemic has brought added costs, while state laws have limited their ability to raise revenue. This is really what the federal government was built to do: to handle these events that are bigger than the borders of a city and bigger than the borders of a state, said Dave Massaron, the chief financial officer for the city of Detroit. In Detroit, one-fifth of the municipal budget typically comes from casino revenue. And casinos have only just reopened, at reduced capacity. The city managed to save money when its recreation centres closed, and it hasnt spent as much as usual managing downtown traffic. This coming year, the city will also mow the grass less often on vacant properties it owns. With such moves, officials believe they will be able to get through fiscal year 2021 with a balanced budget. But after that the decisions will get harder, especially without federal help. The city needs only to look back into its past to understand what happens when you have a structural imbalance and you dont have a way of addressing it, Massaron said. Before Detroit exited bankruptcy in 2015, emergency response times averaged 18 minutes. All 65,000 street lights needed replacing. Other cities heavily dependent on sales taxes felt the implosion of the economy more immediately than cities that count on income or property taxes. Revenue from income taxes will lag behind unemployment; property taxes are set a year or two in advance. Consumer spending, particularly by the biggest spenders, dropped sharply early in the pandemic. And it is expected to fall now for millions of workers whose added $600 (U.S.) federal unemployment benefits expired at the end of July. Broad shifts in how Americans eat during the pandemic have affected tax receipts as well: Restaurant meals are taxed, but in most states the groceries people cook at home are not. In Colorado Springs, which relies heavily on sales taxes, those revenues plummeted in late March and April. But they crept back in May and, to everyones surprise, the city saw slightly more in sales tax revenues in June than it did in June of last year. Mayor John Suthers attributes that to the resilience of the local military and defence sectors and to all the online shopping residents have been doing. Thanks to a 2018 court ruling, states can now collect sales taxes on purchases through Amazon or other online retailers, regardless of whether those retailers have a physical presence locally. Thats a silver lining. Without the Supreme Courts intervention, in the last three years this would have been a whole different ball game for us, Suthers said. Orlando, Florida, is projected to suffer about as much as Colorado Springs in these estimates. But with the county responsible for many services, the Orlando municipal government will be spared the worst of the pain. Orlando City Halls revenues rely heavily on property taxes, which were already set to grow next year. And, like Colorado Springs, the Orlando area has long benefited from population growth and a construction boom the other side of broad demographic shifts toward the Sun Belt that have left Northeastern cities like Rochester more vulnerable. Maybe Orlando isnt in the same dire situation as other places, said Chris McCullion, the citys chief financial officer. But he, too, is calling for direct federal aid, as is Suthers, a Republican mayor. This is really, really important for the long-term health of cities and states, McCullion said. At risk is not just services for local residents in any given city, but the possibility that disparities will widen between cities that can weather this crisis and those that cant, if they are largely left on their own. One legacy of the Great Recession was exposing and increasing inequities between communities, said Amanda Kass, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Now those disparities could grow even wider. TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compass Gold Corp. (TSX-V: CVB) (Compass or the Company) is pleased to announce that it will host a webinar and conference call at 11:30 a.m. E.T. on Tuesday, August 18th, to provide a review of the Companys recent activities, as well as its plans for continuing exploration on its Sikasso Property in southern Mali. Before the webinar, investors are invited to review the Companys latest news releases ( http://compassgoldcorp.com/category/news/ ) and investor presentation ( http://compassgoldcorp.com/investor-presentation/ ). Compass CEO, Larry Phillips, said, Our field team in Mali has accomplished a great deal over the past year before the rainy season began, having collected a large amount of invaluable geological and geophysical data that continues to reveal the exceptional potential of our Sikasso Property. Based on our analysis of these results, we are anxious to begin an aggressive and sharply focused new round of drilling once ground conditions permit. We want to take this opportunity to provide investors with an exploration update, and once again, we will have our Director and Exploration Manager, Dr. Madani Diallo, and our Technical Director, Dr. Sandy Archibald, P.Geo, joining the rest of our management team on this webinar. We hope that you will either join us on this webinar or go to our website afterward to review the replay. The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, August 18th, at 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada), and is to be recorded and available for later playback. Replay details will be available on Compasss website following the call. Please register in advance for this meeting: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwpc-2srzItHtX6HmuxxwQioGwbHdCE0KEm After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. For technical and security reasons, all participants will be muted, but will be able to type their questions into the Q&A during the webinar. You can also submit any questions to: gtaylor@compassgoldcorp.com . Story continues Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): Canada: +1 647 374 4685 or +1 647 558 0588 or +1 778 907 2071 or +1 438 809 7799 or +1 587 328 1099 US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 301 715 8592 Australia: +61 8 7150 1149 or +61 2 8015 6011 or +61 3 7018 2005 or +61 731 853 730 or +61 861 193 900 Webinar ID: 984 4441 9741 Password: 490643 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kd7jPQ2vD 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. 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. Germany has launched a probe into Amazons pricing policies with third-party stores on its site, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (paywall), via CNET. We are currently investigating whether and how Amazon influences how traders set prices on the marketplace, said Andreas Mundt, the president of the Federal Cartel Office. In the US, Amazon was accused of charging astronomical prices for things like masks and hand sanitizers early in the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Germanys regulator appears to be focused not on price gouging, but instead on Amazon making prices artificially low. According to Mundt, the probe kicked off after third-party vendors complained that Amazon had blocked them because of high prices. Amazon must not be a controller of prices, he said. Amazon said its policies ensure that partners set competitive, but not inflated prices. Amazon selling partners set their own product prices in our store," a spokesperson told the New York Times in a statement. Our systems are designed to take action against price gouging. PESHAWAR, Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban have brought two splinter groups back into their fold, they announced in a statement, days after the army said anti-militant operations nationwide had brought hard-earned success". The Pakistani Taliban, fighting to overthrow the government and install their own brand of Shariah, are an umbrella of Sunni militant groups called Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has broken into many divisions. The TTP, designated a terrorist group by the United States, has been in disarray in recent years, especially after several of its top leaders were killed by U.S. drone strikes on both sides of the border, forcing its members into shelter in Afghanistan, or fleeing to urban Pakistan. Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan welcomes them," the TTP statement said of the two splinter groups, adding that it would like all groups to unite. The reunion with Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA) appears significant in view of the rise in militant attacks against security forces, most claimed by the TTP, including some suicide bombings. Pakistani army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said last week however that the militarys operations against militants had been very successful. The war against terrorism has yielded some hard-earned success," he told a news conference. More than 18,000 terrorists have been killed and more than 400 tonnes of explosive material seized" in a countrywide anti-militant operation that started in 2017. The reunion comes at a time when the United States is promoting peace talks between the Afghan Taliban, also seeking to reimpose their strict form of Islamic rule, and the government in Kabul. The Pakistani Taliban said the two groups pledged allegiance to the TTP chief, Mufti Noor Wali, shown in photos at a ceremony. It was not clear what side of the border the ceremony took place. Government and military officials did not comment on the merger or the location of the ceremony. The JuA, which broke from the TTP in 2014, has been involved in major attacks, including the 2016 suicide bombing in a park in eastern city of Lahore that the group said targeted Christians celebrating Easter. It killed more than 70 people. The HuA, a faction that further split from the JuA, has not been so active. (Writing by Asif Shahzad; Additional Reporting by Saud Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, and Umar Farooq in Islamabad; Editing by Nick Macfie) 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 President M K Stalin on Monday urged the Tamil Nadu government not to open TASMAC retail liquor outlets here from August 18, saying it would lead to further spread of Opening liquor shops again was like clearing upa "big way" for the spread of the pathogen in the statecapital, he alleged in a Facebook post. The government on Sunday said liquor outlets here, shut since March 24, would be reopened on August 18. The chief alleged that TASMAC shops in the rest of TamilNadu had a "big role" in increasing the spread of the virus. It was "inhuman to not worry about those who may be affected by the opening of liquor stores and be concerned only about the revenue to the government," he alleged, and said the move to resume liquor sales would lead to further spread of here. Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam chief TTV Dhinakaran also opposed opening TASMAC shops again in Chennai. Barring shops in Chennai and other nearby areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Greater Chennai Police, liquor outlets in the rest of Tamil Nadu werereopened on May 7. State-run Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation liquorshops were not reopened here in May in view of a comparatively high number of COVID cases during that period of time. Virus cases in Chennai began witnessing a declining trend since the first week of last month and in recent times recorded less than 1,000 new virus cases every day. From August 14 onwards, the fresh infections were between 1,000 and 1,200. TASMAC shops were closed on March 24 evening across Tamil Nadu when the was imposed for the first time in the state to tackle the COVID-19 spread. (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.) Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson will encourage voters to vote by mail in the Nov. 3 presidential election in a pre-recorded statement that will be played at the Democratic National Convention Thursday. Benson will join California Secretary of State Alex Padilla in a segment broadcast on national television after the DNCs tribute to the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, a longtime congressman and civil rights leader who died last month. Bensons remarks will encourage viewers to exercise their right to use an absentee ballot and will otherwise focus on voting rights, according to a press release from her campaign committee. Lets be clear. There is absolutely zero difference between voting by mail and voting absentee. Millions of Americans vote absentee and have for decades, Benson will say in the pre-recorded remarks. Donald Trump, his family, his staff: they all vote by mail. In fact, states like Colorado, Utah, and Oregon have been voting by mail for years. Republicans and Democrats agree that its safe. Benson faced criticism from Michigan Republicans and the Trump administration after she mailed absentee ballot applications to all of Michigans registered voters earlier this year. However, she said it led to a record-breaking number of absentee ballots cast in the August primary election. A total of 1.6 million Michigan citizens cast absentee ballots on Aug. 4. The previous record was 1.3 million absentee ballots cast in the 2016 November election. Bensons office also plans to mail postcards to 4.4 million registered voters who arent on a permanent absent-voter list and havent already applied to have their November ballot mailed to them. Benson is one of several Michigan figures who will have a presence at the largely virtual convention, which starts at 9 p.m. each night. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is set to deliver remarks Monday night. State Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, will be part of Tuesdays keynote address. Michigan UAW official and team leader at General Motors Lake Orion Assembly Plant Gerald Lang is also scheduled to deliver remarks this week. Manoogian, a first-term legislator representing Michigans 40th state House District, will speak alongside 16 rising stars in the Democratic Party to kick off primetime programming on Tuesday evening. I am honored to deliver this years Democratic National Convention keynote address alongside 16 other inspiring leaders from around the country, she said in a statement. Together, we will represent a new generation of Democratic leadership to voters nationwide, proving the importance that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris put on building up a strong, vibrant, and inclusive Democratic Party. Manoogian, 27, flipped a historically Republican state house district representing suburban communities in Oakland County. She was not challenged in the recent primary election and will face Republican Kendra Cleary in November. Read more on MLive: In must-win Michigan, Trump campaign takes fight door to door as polls show Biden with strong lead Whats a stamp? Absentee voting could pose challenges for young people in 2020 elections Turnout for Michigans August primary shatters records. What does that mean for November? 8 takeaways from the 2020 primary election in mid-Michigan Thousands of protesters hit the roads across Assam on Monday, demanding the repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the draft Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020. Assembled under the aegis of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad, the agitators warned of more intense protests in the future. The AJYCP supporters also demanded the release of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi, who is in jail and is being probed by the National Investigation Agency for his alleged role in the violent anti-CAA protests that rocked the state last year. "We will not stop till the CAA and EIA are repealed. It is also unfortunate how this government has vindictively kept Akhil Gogoi inside jail just to derail the anti-CAA movement," AJYCP's Guwahati unit president Pradip Kalita said while taking part in a human chain in the Narengi area. In Dibrugarh city, hundreds of protestors were detained by police as they assembled to form a human chain, an official said. A protestor taking part in a human chain in front of the historic Nagaon College said: "We will not accept the CAA and EIA. We have been protesting against the CAA since 2016, but this government has not listened to us." In Morigaon town, the All Assam Students' Union and a few tribal student groups joined AJYCP and formed a long human chain. "The Assam government has failed to protect the people of Assam. We cannot accept the diktat of Delhi. They have to repeal these two," a protestor said. Human chains were formed across many cities and towns in various districts, including Dhemaji, Darrang, Nalbari and Biswanath. The contentious CAA seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis entering India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after five years of residence here. On the other hand, the draft EIA Notification 2020 seeks to supersede and completely replace the EIA Notification 2006 along with several amendments made since then. The new draft intends to bring in controversial amendments such as post-facto grant of approval, exemption of several large industries from public hearings and reducing the time for public consultation to 40 days from 45 days. It also proposes to permit industries to submit just one compliance report a year rather than two along with increased validity of the environment clearances for mining and river valley projects. Initiating stringent action against accused of last week's Bengaluru violence, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Monday invoked the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and said that they may also be booked under Goonda Act. "Stringent action has been initiated against the culprits of DJ Halli and KG Halli violent incidents including invoking of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act - UAPA Act. A Special Investigation Team has already been formed to conduct a detailed investigation in the matter and a team of three special prosecutors will be appointed for speedy trial of the cases. SIT will consider invoking Goonda Act if warranted," the chief minister tweeted. He further said that the Karnataka government has also decided to assess the damages caused to public and private property in the violent incidents in KG Halli and DG Halli, and recover the costs from the culprits. Our Govt has decided to assess the damages caused to public & private property in the violent incidents in KG Halli & DG Halli & recover the costs from the culprits. We will approach Hon'ble High Court for appointment of Claim Commissioner as per Hon'ble Supreme Court order (1/3) B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) August 17, 2020 The violence in DJ Halli and adjoining areas on Tuesday night last week was unleashed by hundreds of people over a purportedly inflammatory social media post allegedly put outby P Naveen, a relative of Pulakeshinagar Congress MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy. The MLA's residence and a police station at DJ Halli were torched by rioters who also set many police and private vehicles afire, and looted the belongings of the legislator and his sister. Police have arrested about 200 people while detained many others in connection with the case. Meanwhile, prohibitory orders clamped in parts of the city after the violence have been extended from August 18 to 21 "to prevent any destruction of evidence, threat to eyewitnesses and victims". The order was to have ended on August 18 and would now be in force till the morning of August 21. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant, in his order, said police felt the need to extend the prohibitory orders toprevent those who indulged in violence on the night of August 11 to possibly destroy the evidence, threaten eye-witnesses and victims. Pant quoted Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru East division as saying that the investigation was on and many arrests have been made. "If the prohibitory orders are lifted,the accused persons may go out with their accomplices, destroy the evidence,threaten eyewitnesses, go violent and further damage private and public property, which would pose a law and order problem," he said. Young lovers from the Gold Coast were among three killed overnight in a horror smash that has devastated their families. Two cars collided on Rifle Range Road in Upper Coomera at 6pm Sunday, killing 17-year-old Marnie Zuk and her boyfriend Jamie Hunter, 21, at the scene. Another passenger and Mr Hunter's cousin, Bryton Thompson, 21, was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital but died a short time later. The three were travelling in the same car when it slammed into another vehicle that was being driven by a 28-year-old driver. The two cars collided on Rifle Range Road in Upper Coomera at 6pm Sunday, killing 17-year-old Marnie Zuk and her boyfriend Jamie Hunter, 21, (pictured together) at the scene Another passenger and Mr Hunter's cousin, Bryton Thompson, 21, was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital but died a short time later He suffered pelvic injuries and remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition. Mr Thompson's father, Arthur Thompson, visited the scene on Monday accompanied by police and fell to the ground, The Courier Mail reported. Friends and family have flooded social media to pay tribute to the trio, saying they will be sorely missed. 'Losing a workmate is like losing family,' friend Billy McKinnon posted. 'The terrible news I received late last night of a young bloke who works for me passing away in a car wreck will be forever in my mind. 'It's always the good people who are taken from us way too soon. Rest In Peace Bryton Thompson you'll be missed severely mate.' 'My heart is hurting for the sudden and unexpected passing of our beautiful Marnie Zuk and her partner and his cousin,' Katrina Crouch wrote. 'Fly high our precious angel. We love you sweetheart. Watch over your beautiful mum.' Three young people from the Gold Coast have been killed overnight in a horror smash that has devastated three families 'Remembering Marnie Zuk...a beautiful girl who laughed and danced around our house many years ago,' Diana Bryson wrote. 'You will be celebrated for the gorgeous woman you were becoming. I feel like I've lost a daughter...' Gold Coast High Acuity Response Unit paramedic Gary Berkowitz, who attended the incident, said the scene had been distressing. 'As paramedics, we're often called to the worst half an hour of someone's life,' he said. Three of the crash victims were trapped for about half an hour and firefighters had to cut at least one person from the wreckage. Mr Berkowitz said members of the public also stepped in to help. Friends and family have flooded social media in tribute to the three young people, saying they will be missed severely Jamie Hunter (pictured) was among three people who were killed in a horror crash on Sunday 'I heard there were some people who were suffering from anxiety-related problems from what they saw ... I believe some of our paramedics did speak to [them].' Chief Superintendent Mark Wheeler said investigations would determine if speed was a factor, and pleaded with parents to speak with their children about road safety. 'I would just ask parents out there - please speak to your children, speak to your young adults, tell them they've got to slow down, drive to the conditions,' he told reporters on Monday. 'This loss of life is needless, it's preventable and it just shouldn't happen.' He said eight people under the age of 22 had died on Gold Coast roads in the past month. 'Unfortunately our police and emergency services attend these scenes far too frequently,' he said. 'Many of our police and partner agencies...have got kids that age. It's incredible stressful.' Investigations are continuing and police have urged anyone with dashcam footage who was in the area about the time of the crash to come forward. New York The state will step in to close individual schools in New York if the coronavirus begins to spread in a building, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today. Theres no precise numerical standard for when that would happen, Cuomo said. It depends on the size of the school and numerous other facts in each case. It would be about a spread, Cuomo said during a press conference in New York City. Were going to be aggressively conservative. Cuomo previously said that the state would close all schools in a given region if the positive test rate for the virus rises above 9%. But his comments today referred to the possibility that the state could close individual school buildings where the virus is spreading. If something happens and theres a spread, then the state will step in and we will close the school, Cuomo said. But we dont want to get to that point. Thats exactly what we want to avoid. Its why districts reopening plans are so important, Cuomo added. Sound policies on contact tracing, mask wearing and more will make all the difference if a child tests positive, Cuomo said. Thats likely to happen at some point. He said again today he has been hearing numerous questions and concerns about reopening schools from both parents and teachers. The people who are going to make the decisions are not a bunch of bureaucrats, he said. It is going to be the parents and the teachers. If the teachers dont come back, you dont have a school. If the parents dont send their students, you dont have a school. He reminded districts they must conduct three to five public sessions on their reopening plans with parents and teachers by Aug. 21. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources A promising young doctor from CNY fights for her life vs. the coronavirus Teachers in Upstate NY city districts join Syracuse, ask to delay in-person school People at 4 Syracuse area churches may have been exposed to coronavirus Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 The design is modelled after a traditional Manaeba meeting house. The Kiribati community has a design for a cultural centre now it just needs the funding and the land. The Kiribati Aotearoa Diaspora Directorate (KADD) is proposing to build a shared space in Mahurangi for Pacific peoples and is investigating locations in Matakana, Warkworth and Wellsford. For the design, KADD commissioned UK-based architects Edward Couper and Lucka Kuhar who have years of experience designing prominent projects in Kiribati, including social housing and flood resilient buildings. KADD chair Rae Bainteiti says the building would provide a much-needed cultural space for new migrants. It will not only provide a space where they can be reminded of home, but also be a vital monument to honour their culture as they adapt to life in New Zealand, Rae says. By opening up the space to the public, it also addresses the importance of sharing Kiribati culture with the wider community, improving its perception and approach. The design is modelled on Manaeba meeting houses that are traditionally the centre of village life in the Kiribati Islands. It is envisioned it could host exhibitions, community fairs, orientations for new migrants, support groups, youth art programmes and community kitchens. In November 2018, Netflix and Warner Brothers were sued over copyright infringement. The entity that sued them took issue with a particular statue in the Netflix show the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, in which a teenage witch is preyed upon by a shady organisation populated by demons. The statue at the centre of the controversy is usually known as Baphomet with Children, and depicts a goat-headed figure with a pentagram on its forehead, the torso of a man and the wings of an angel. The entity suing Netflix over the effigy? None other than the Satanic Temple of the United States. The Satanic Temple is pleased to announce that the lawsuit it recently filed against Warner Bros and Netflix has been amicably settled, wrote Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves on the religion-themed website Patheos in November 2018, before continuing to say that he was surprised by the amount of hate mail he and his compatriots had received after choosing to file the lawsuit. When I read these things, I cant help but wonder when the last time was that any of these angry commenters wrote to a public representative or approached any issue of importance in any way, Dean added. I particularly loved the confused claim from the people who said we were playing victim, with the alternative being that we simply stand silent when we feel our work may have been exploited. Interesting, too, are the almost equal numbers of those who say were being just like Christians (though how is never made clear). The terms of the settlement remain confidential; we can presume that the Satanic Temple did not receive the $50m they asked for when they filed the suit in Manhattan, New York, arguing that their statues association with an evil cult in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina would bring serious injury to their reputation. We know that they are now thanked in the credits of the show, which is a significant PR win for an organisation which relies on the shock factor and the associated googling it leads interested viewers to do. Any and all other details remain between the Satanic Temple, Warner Brothers and Netflix (a sentence few of us may have thought wed ever read or write). KYODO NEWS - Aug 17, 2020 - 20:28 | World, All, Coronavirus The Philippines started its nine-month clinical trials for Avigan on Monday to study the efficacy of the Japanese anti-flu drug against the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the clinical trials will include just four hospitals in Metro Manila initially but more will be included in the future. "The list of hospitals will be expanded for us to be able to have these 100 patients who will receive the allocated drugs coming from the Japanese government," Vergeire told a press conference, adding that there have sufficient stocks of the drug. Avigan is the brand name of favipiravir, an antiviral drug manufactured by a subsidiary of Japanese firm Fujifilm Holdings Corp., which is seen as a potential treatment for COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus. Clinical trials on Avigan will be an "open label, multicenter, randomized comparative study," Vergeire said last week, with participants split into two study groups. The first set of patients will be given the existing supportive care provided at the hospitals. The second group will receive the same on top of being administered with the drug. The Philippine official added that only people aged between 18 and 74 can participate in the trials, and they must be willing to use contraceptives during the duration of the study. Vergeire said contraceptives are needed as the drug is teratogenic, meaning it could cause birth defects. A total of 18 million pesos ($366,000) has been allocated by the Philippine government for the clinical trials. Fujifilm Holdings said last Thursday it expects to complete clinical tests in Japan of Avigan in September and seek approval. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had earlier this year expressed hope to have Avigan approved in May but a Japanese university's interim report, released that month, did not indicate clear efficacy of the drug in treating COVID-19. In the Philippines, 164,474 cases of COVID-19 have been recorded as of Monday, including 2,681 deaths. Related coverage: Philippines says nation has yet to start Avigan clinical trial Fujifilm to start clinical study of COVID-19 drug Avigan in Kuwait Avigan study fails to demonstrate benefit in COVID-19 treatment RAK Petroleum, an Oslo-listed oil and gas investment company, has reported a net loss of $101.4 million for the first half (H1) of 2020as against a net profit of $123.8 million during H1 2019. The companys revenues reached $277.7 million during the period, as compared $469.7 million during H1 2019. RAK Petroleums principal holdings are 44.94 percent of DNO ASA and 33.33 percent of Foxtrot International held through Mondoil Enterprises. DNO ASA is a Norwegian oil and gas operator focused on the Middle East and the North Sea. Foxtrot International LDC is a privately-held company active in West Africa. At June 30, 2020, the company indirectly owned 44.94 percent of the total outstanding shares of DNO (including treasury shares) and indirectly owned 33.33 percent of Foxtrot International. TradeArabia News Service On the Sensex chart, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, ONGC and Maruti were among the major gainers. Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty broke their three-session losing streak on Monday as gains in power, metal and auto stocks offset losses in banking counters. After opening 185 points higher, the BSE Sensex was gripped by early volatility and swung about 386 points during the session. The 30-share index finally settled 173.44 points or 0.46 per cent higher at 38,050.78. Likewise, the NSE Nifty ended 68.70 points or 0.61 per cent up at 11,247.10. On the Sensex chart, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, ONGC and Maruti were among the major gainers, climbing up to 7.92 per cent. On the other hand, SBI, Bharti Airtel, RIL, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank ended with losses. Bourses in Asia, barring Japan, closed significantly higher. Japan's Nikkei slumped after the country's GDP shrank 7.8 per cent in the April-June period compared with the previous quarter. International crude oil benchmark Brent was trading 0.40 per cent higher at $45.13 per barrel. Analysts, meanwhile, said concerns over rising coronavirus cases around the globe will continue to weigh on investor sentiment. Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters Shalom Brune-Franklin is one of those lucky people who seem to have managed to flourish during the lockdown. When the orders to shut everything down first hit, she was in a hotel room in Northern Ireland "drilling" lines from Line of Duty into her head. When word came through that the set was shutting down, she was on the first plane back to Sydney, her head "spinning from the speed it all happened at". The lockdown has been anything but difficult for the 25-year-old star, though. After several years of non-stop working, she was due a break, she tells me: "Secretly my inner introvert homebird has loved it. It was great to be home." Her career has also climbed to new heights even as the pandemic shut the world down: after starring in the BBC series Our Girl, Radio Times recently named her one of the brightest young actresses in the world, and she is currently starring in Netflix's big-budget series, Cursed. Adapted from Thomas Wheeler and Frank Miller's bestselling book of the same name, it's an epic, 10-episode retelling of the Arthurian legends, with magic spells, folklore and epic battles. Unlike previous depictions of the legends, Cursed has a decidedly feminist bent, with female characters taking centre stage, and Shalom says this was important to her. "The characters in Arthurian legends are fascinating but they've never really been led by a women," she says. "The pilot gave me Xena (Warrior Princess) vibes, which I loved growing up. I think it's the right time for the series in other ways too. Game of Thrones brought me, and many others, back into fantasy and made that whole area more mainstream. So I'm really excited to see what people think of it." Unlike many starlets, there were no pushy stage parents or silver spoons for Shalom, who grew up on a council estate near London. "We lived in a little flat and I shared a room with my brother my whole life," she tells me. "I like to say my mum was a hustler but she was a nail technician and braided people's hair and my dad worked for an electrical distribution company. We got by, I would say. It definitely wasn't a lavish upbringing, but there was a lot of love and we were really close as a family." When she was 15, her parents decided to move to Perth in Australia. "I remember my mum saying she would rather struggle by the sea than struggle in a little flat in England. They felt that their surroundings were holding them back, and the change of scene just gave them the drive to do what they really wanted to do. My dad became a chef and my mum got into bodybuilding and got an incredible job with the government. They got their dream in the sun." Video of the Day The upheaval and leaving all her friends behind was difficult, she says, but it was also formative. "It's such an awkward time to lose all your friends but in a sense I think it was also the making of me. It psychologically prepared me for acting, which involves picking up your life and moving somewhere else at various points." Inspired by her parents' determination, she enrolled in the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts; she says it was only there that she really became aware of how her race influenced people's perception of her. "I became aware of my skin colour only when I got into drama school. There was this constant acknowledgement of what I look like and I was thinking 'oh, I'm just this person doing the work'. I couldn't believe how much it came into it. In a way, though, it was a good preparation for the industry." She graduated from drama school with a Hugh Jackman scholarship for the most outstanding performer. One of the first big roles she got after leaving college was as an Irish nurse, Aoife, in the Australian series Doctor Doctor. She says she still cringes when she thinks back on her attempt at an Irish accent. "I hope that doesn't get dug up and I get messages about it," she says, adding that her favourite TV series of all time is Love/Hate. Early on in her career, she suffered from "impostor syndrome", she says. "I always thought they'd figure out this wasn't really what I do for a living. There was one particular reading where I had a bit of a breakthrough. I had a moment where I sort of owned my space and thought I had a right to be there and decided I wouldn't let nerves rule me. I quite literally had a seat at the table." Her career went from strength to strength - she is soon to star in David Hare's political thriller Roadkill, alongside Hugh Laurie - but she rejects the idea that it was all a gilded passage of continual success. "There was one part I was so close to and I thought it was mine. It was a lesson to me that everyone in the room can tell you you're perfect and you're the one, but you're actually not until you're on the set performing. I remember being told it was a no and being so heartbroken. "There were some really dodgy reasons around why, and as I got the bus home, I just started bawling my eyes out, and this guy, a total stranger, turned to me and said whatever it is, it will get better with time. He was like an angel and I couldn't even thank him and I kept crying. And yet he was right. What's for you won't go by." The constant work-related travel has made relationships difficult but she's currently very happy in a long-distance relationship. "When you find the right person, you'd be surprised how easy it is. The long distance also makes those times when we are together more special and fun." Her return from Australia to Ireland is still up in the air and will depend on Covid-related restrictions on filming. "I feel very lucky that things are going well. I know that when everything starts up again, I'll be able to pick up where I left off," she says. "I think when I was a teenager, I'd have found spending so much time at home challenging but now I really love it. I cherish every day." Cursed is streaming now on Netflix Three years after prominent human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng disappeared from his cave dwelling home in the northern Chinese province of Shaanxi, his wife still has no idea where he is and appealed for international attention to his case. Gao, once a prominent lawyer feted by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, began to be targeted by the authorities after he defended some of Chinas most vulnerable people, including Christians, coal miners, and followers of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement. Gao was arrested and sentenced for "inciting subversion of state power," and was subsequently "disappeared" several times before finally being sent to serve his sentence. Gao's wife Geng He, who escaped to the U.S. with her son and daughter in January 2009, told RFA she hopes the outside world including the United States will press the Chinese Communist Party to release Gao Zhisheng. "(The Chinese government) has persecuted Gao Zhisheng for fifteen years, but it has still not ended and he continues to be denied freedom. (Gao Zhisheng) is still so far away from returning home, a tearful Geng told RFAs Mandarin Service in an interview. "I hope the United States has a way to rescue Gao Zhisheng and whistleblowers like him in China, and restore their freedom. I hope the international community can endow the U.S. with such strength." Geng and friends who support Gao protested in front of the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco on Aug. 9, ahead of the Aug. 13 anniversary, calling on the U.S. government to help rescue Gao, whose long period of solitary confinement during which he suffered torture has left him in poor health. "When I disappeared two or three years ago, my health was very bad, and my teeth were almost all gone. A man in his 50s becoming like this, it makes people feel heartbroken, said San Francisco Pastor Liu Yi, a supporter of Geng and Gao. Out of humane care, the Chinese government should not imprison a well-known lawyer for so long. Of course, I also know that the Chinese government has absolutely no boundaries, said Liu, founder of the "Chinese Christian Fellowship of Righteousness," a group that has lobbied U.S. lawmaker and the Trump administration on the cases of Gao and other Chinese Christians. Liu told RFA that due to prolonged torture and imprisonment, Gaos physical condition is very bad and urged the Chinese authorities to release him as soon as possible. Rights groups including Amnesty International have repeatedly called on the Chinese government to immediately and unconditionally release Gao. In a published memoir in 2016, Gao details the torture he later endured at the hands of the authorities during his time in prison, as well as three years of solitary confinement, during which he said he was sustained by his Christian faith and his hopes for China. Activists say his continuing house arrest even after being "released" from jail mirrors the treatment meted out to fellow rights lawyers and activists detained in a nationwide police operation since July 2015. Reported by RFAs Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Scott Savitt and Paul Eckert. Ted Diadiun finally wrote a column that I agree with (Arm yourself with information before deciding about The Bomb, Aug. 16). And Elizabeth Sullivan in her Aug. 5 column (Bearing witness to the unthinkable) said if the bombs had not been dropped on Japan, she might not have been born. I know that my wife would not have been born if the bombs were not dropped. Her father, after surviving Anzio, would have been sent to the Pacific if the Japanese had not surrendered. Instead, he went home, and approximately nine months later, my wife was born. Then much later, my two children and three grandchildren. It seems like ages since I read Richard Rhodes book The Making of the Atomic Bomb, published in 1987. Based on his information, and what I know about the convictions of the Japanese military at the time, I believe more Japanese civilians would have died fighting a conventional invasion than were killed by the two atomic bombs. The military would not have surrendered even then, if not ordered to by their emperor. Donald E. Dozer, Chardon There have been 236 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in British Columbia since Friday, including six from the Interior Health region. Friday to Saturday saw the biggest jump with 100 new cases, followed by 88 from Saturday to Sunday and 48 in the past 24 hours. The 100 new cases recorded Friday marks the second highest single day increase since the beginning of the pandemic. This brings the province's total number of positive cases to 4,594, and the Interior's total to 405 cases. There have been two new deaths since Monday, both in the Fraser Health region. This brings the total numbers of deaths to 198. B.C. currently has 743 active COVID-19 cases, including four in hospital, of which three are in ICU. As of today, 3,653 people have fully recovered from the virus. Two new healthcare outbreaks were announced, at the Czorny Alzheimer Centre in the Fraser Health region and at the Arbutus Care Centre in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. The outbreak at the Joseph & Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre has been declared over. This brings the total remaining active healthcare outbreaks to 10, nine of which are in long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one is in an acute-care facility. Within the province, 2,286 people are currently under active public health monitoring. There have been no new community outbreaks, but exposure events continue to happen and new flights have been identified for cases recently. A community exposure alert has been issued for anyone who may have attended the It Is Time Canada event in Alberta from Jul. 30 - Aug. 2. If you attended the event, you are asked to self-isolate for 14 days and check for symptoms. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry was not in attendance at Monday's announcement, but deputy provincial health officer Dr. Reka Gustafson joined Minister of Health Adrian Dix to provide the update. Gustafson says the new cases are mostly related to young people, which is good news for the elderly population. "This tells us we have done to date a relatively good job of protecting the most vulnerable, but are also reporting some new outbreaks in long-term care facilities and that's a really important reminder for us all that the risk to vulnerable citizens of British Columbia remains. The stability of the early years workforce in England, a report by the Social Mobility Commission, has exposed extreme levels of exploitation across the sector. Half of Englands 280,900 Early Years (EY) workers are paid less than the minimum wage of 8.72 an hour for those over 25 years old. Thirteen percent were paid under 5 an hour; 29 percent between 5 and 7 an hour; and 31 percent between 7 and 9 an hour. Low pay is one of the main reasons given for leaving the job, alongside increasing work demands and a lack of training and continuous professional development (CPD). More than one third (37 percent) of EY workers stay in their job less than two years. This compares to a 47 percent turnover rate in retail and a national average of 29 percent. Of the 280,900 EY professionals in England, 58 percent are nursery nurses and assistants, 33 percent are childminders and 9 percent are playworkers. The workforce is predominantly young, with 40 percent below the age of 30, and 96 percent female. There is a pronounced pay gap between those who work in public versus private and voluntary settings (PVI). Of public sector employees, 47 percent earn above 9 per hour compared with 20 percent in PVI. At the lower end of the pay scale, 26 percent in public settings are paid lower than 7 an hour, compared to 47 percent in the private sector. The report says this situation is compounded by unintended effects of government policies such as the minimum wage and the 15 and 30 hours of funded childcare. EY providers rely on Local Authority funding for 30 hours of funded payments, which amounts to just 1,000 per child each year, if the setting has a qualified EY teacher. This is paid on an hourly basis, equating to an average of 4.38 per child, which barely covers costs and guarantees downward pressure on wages. Many EY staff are poorly qualified for tasks they are asked to carry out. Apprenticeships are a common route into the EY profession, especially for young people unable to shoulder the burden of university and college fees. But the apprenticeships on offer deny young people an in-depth theoretical or pedagogical training and are a form of cheap labour. Those under 19 years of age or in their first year of apprenticeship get 4.15 an hour. This equates to 8,632 a year for a 40-hour week. Average living costs for a single person excluding rent are 9,072 in London and 7,152 in Manchester. Some EY workers told researchers they had to take second jobs, while others described themselves as living on the edge of financial survival. The report found excessive work demands are leading to burnout and low morale. Staff cited long hours of physically tiring work, poor child-to-staff ratios, excessive paperwork, high levels of responsibility and a lack of resources to help children, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND). Staff in privately run settings reported they had to pay for their own training and attend sessions outside of paid hours. Managers said they plan to spend 55 percent less on training in the coming years. But staff in PVI settings described their managers as being disengaged and controlling, with little understanding of what the job entailed. A lack of adequate skills, including literacy, is cited as a problem. One manager explained, We dont need somebody that can come in and just babysit children and look after them. They have to be literate, they have to be able to read and write effectively, to do the required reports and observations and things that we require. But without a massive training programme and value placed on young workers to develop their skills, they are treated as babysitters. Cuts to local authority budgets are endangering the most vulnerable children. A nursery teaching assistant whose family outreach centre had closed described the pressures on remaining staff, Weve got so much going on with safeguardingWe (are) trying to do the role that our outreach colleagues used to do. Safeguarding work includes engaging hard to reach families, protection from maltreatment, and ensuring that children suffering abuse or neglect are reported, which are statutory responsibilities. Quality EY provision is vital to a childs cognitive, social, and emotional development, especially in more deprived areas where parents struggle at home. In the last 10 years more than 1,000 Sure Start centres that provided a variety of services to support childrens learning, health, and well-being, have closed. Tory austerity cuts imposed by Labour controlled councils have forced the poorest families to rely on volunteer provision run by charities and the church. The Social Mobility Commissions research was concluded before the COVID-19 pandemic that has plunged the sector into crisis. The reports authors note that many EY workers have been furloughed, but that even before the pandemic around 45 percent of childcare workers claimed state benefits or tax creditswell above the average among the wider female workforce. They warn this proportion will increase throughout the second half of 2020 and beyond. A recent survey by the Sutton Trust into the impact of COVID-19 on the EY sector found a staggering one quarter of providers said they were unlikely to still be operating next year, rising to one third of providers in deprived areas. Research by the National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) shows that 71 percent of nurseries expect to operate at a loss over the coming months, putting thousands of childcare places at risk. The charity Pregnant Then Screwed found 81 percent of employed mothers need childcare to work and that 51 percent of these do not have childcare in place to return to the workforce. The pandemic has revealed an existential crisis for early years education that has been long in the making. Mass closures and job losses are the product of a decades-long assault by the ruling class on public education. Capitalism is incapable of providing the care, nurture, and stimulation that young children need from the earliest ages. Billions must be seized from the financial oligarchy to build nurseries, creches and pre-schools in every neighbourhood, and to fund well-paid jobs and training for all who work in the sector. WASHINGTON In October 1960, a young James Clyburn gathered with other students and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as frustrations mounted over civil rights protests in what was becoming a tumultuous, dangerous year. John Lewis was there. Marion Barry, too. The one-hour meeting at Atlantas Morehouse College stretched to 4 a.m. Clyburn, who said he had not bought into nonviolence, emerged to view it as a valuable tactic in the struggle, and a King disciple. Clyburn is now the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in Congress, the House Democratic whip, and with so many of his contemporaries gone, one of the few leaders of the civil rights movement still in elective office today. Hell bring that connection to the Democratic National Convention on Monday, speaking to a country in a new, contentious chapter in its pursuit of racial justice and to a party on the verge of nominating the first Black woman for vice president. This country moves like a pendulum on the clock, Clyburn told The Associated Press in an interview. It goes to the right for a while and it goes back left for a while. Whether it shifts again, he said, depends on how we participate in November. The 80-year-old from rural Sumter County has lived and worked through those swings, and remained an often quiet political force throughout. Last year, he used his sway to help deliver his home state for Joe Biden. It was a moment that revived the former vice presidents campaign and set him on a path to the nomination he is due to receive later this week, along with running mate Sen. Kamala Harris of California. Clyburn is pressing many of the same issues he has for decades particularly focusing on Black voting rights ahead of the election. Clyburn is also a close confidant of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and has been a prominent congressional critic of President Donald Trump. Sixty years ago, 19-year-old Jim Clyburn was seeking a better future for himself and those around him," said Bobby Donaldson, a professor of history at the University of South Carolina who heads the Center for Civil Rights History and Research. So its ironic now, 60 years later, two generations later, he is now one of the architects of the very nation that he sought to be aspiring toward. The son of a reverend and a beauty shop operator, Clyburn early on wanted to pursue a career in public service, only to be warned off by teachers as not the place for a Black boy from the South, he recounts in his autobiography, Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black. As a South Carolina State University student he quickly engaged in the 1960 student boycotts that sparked the civil rights movement. Within weeks of the Greensboro, North Carolina, lunch-counter sit in, Clyburns classmates organized a 1,000-student march in rural Orangeburg, South Carolina, with hundreds arrested, jailed in an outdoor stockyard. A decade later he made his first run for elective office. He describes racial disparities that resonate to this day boarding an airplane in the most expensive suit I ever bought in my life, flanked by the Capitol Police security detail that are assigned to House leaders. The flight attendant mistook him for a prisoner transport, he said. Clyburn is seen by many as a political kingmaker in South Carolina; he earned Bill Clintons wrath for tipping the scales to Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton in the states 2008 primary. Clyburn was instrumental in positioning the Palmetto State after Iowa and New Hampshire for the early vote. This time around, Clyburn said, he didnt want to just back Biden. He wanted to ensure the lift he needed for the campaign. Joe Biden was limping along. Clyburn told the AP. What we had to do was to do something that would allow him to take on the aura of a winner. Clyburn said he recorded radio ads and calls to flood South Carolina with his endorsement. Some Democrats downplay the influence, arguing South Carolinas robust Black electorate was already inclined to vote for Biden. But Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright, an ally, said Clyburns push gave Black voters the assurance their vote would be worth it. A younger generation of rising leaders both in South Carolina and in the halls of Congress is eager for the older one to move on. Clyburn, Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer have held the top three leadership positions in the House for more than a decade. Clyburn was long seen as possibly stepping aside if Hillary Clinton had won in 2016, much the way Pelosi has since said she was ready to do. Now they all seem poised to win their own reelections and remain regardless of who wins the White House in November. Bidens campaign is leaning into Clyburns longtime priorities, including his signature 10-20-30" formula to spend 10 percent of federally appropriated funds in places where 20 percent of the population or more has spent 30 years in poverty. Clyburns decade-long push for rural broadband so critical now during the coronavirus pandemic for remote education, employment and health care is gaining fresh currency, approved as part of an infrastructure bill and being eyed as part of a COVID-19 aid package. One of Clyburns longtime colleagues in the civil rights movement and Congress was Lewis, who died in July. Clyburns last conversation with the Georgia congressman on the House floor was discussing Black Lives Matter and the protest movements now pushing for police reform. Clyburn said they talked about all of this yelling about defund the police and his own worry that it would undercut the movements effectiveness. Clyburn marveled over polling showing Black Lives Matters widespread public support. I want them to keep that support." And, he said, I just wish we had the benefit back then. My dad used to tell me, Son, experience is the best teacher. Nothing teaches better than experience. 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 From youth to youth: Drug Abuse Prevention Centre (DAPC) Japan volunteers donate to support UNODC UNODC 17 August 2020 - UNODC's Executive Director Ghada Waly met with the Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations in Vienna, Ambassador Takeshi Hikihara, in a handing over ceremony. The Drug Abuse Prevention Center (DAPC), based in Japan, raised funds in a campaign last year and donated USD 145,000 (JPY 16,000,000) to UNODC. Since 1993, DAPC Japan has made a total donation of approximately USD 6.4 million to UNODC. The youth volunteers working with DAPC mobilise communities and raise funds that they donate to UNODC to support youth-centred activities to prevent drug use in low and middle income countries. This initiative is truly from youth, to youth, for youth! Thanks to generous donation, every year, UNODC is able to promote drug use prevention and youth empowerment in many countries around the world by awarding small grants to youth organizations working in low and middle income countries. The aim is to empower youth to take more active roles in supporting the health and wellbeing of their peers, helping them to initiate and scale up concrete activities and to connect youth groups working in prevention, health promotion and youth empowerment via Youth Initiative. To date, 113 grants in 53 countries have been awarded. At the signing ceremony, Ms. Waly expressed UNODC's appreciation for the support provided by the DAPC and commended their success in leading a fund-raising campaign involving youth and civil society. Ms. Waly also highlighted that this was an effective example of an NGO helping other NGOs, and of young people promoting effective, evidence-based drug use prevention and youth empowerment. Ambassador Hikihara said: Japan is very pleased to have the opportunity to hand over the donations made by DAPC Japan from its 2019 fundraising campaign in support of the United Nations. We request that UNODC use the donations to effectively support anti-drug abuse activities of national NGOs. Further Information Press Release August 17, 2020 Bong Go urges DepEd to use additional time to better prepare teachers and students amid school year opening postponement Senator Christopher "Bong" Go urged the Department of Education and other education stakeholders to use the time provided by the postponement of the 2020-2021 school year opening to develop and further improve flexible distance learning programs to avoid putting additional unnecessary burden on students and teachers who are still struggling to adapt to new modes of learning and teaching. "Gamitin natin ang dagdag na oras upang plantsahin at ayusin ng mabuti ang lahat ng mga plano sa pag-conduct ng flexible o blended learning. Siguraduhin nating magiging maayos ang implementasyon para hindi na madagdagan ang paghihirap ng mga tao," Go explained. "Siguraduhin rin natin na lahat ng mga estudyante ay mabibigyan ng pantay na oportunidad sa ilalim ng ating learning continuity plan in all levels of education. Despite the current health crisis, our aim is to ease the burden on our students and also their families," he further emphasized. As Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Go said that while the government understands the importance of education, above all, the right to live and the need to prioritize the welfare of many must be of utmost priority. "We can continue to improve our education system and bridge the gaps of learning without giving more stress physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially," he said. "Huwag po natin biglain at pilitin, at baka naman dumugo. Kapag binigla natin ang pagbalik sa normal ng klase, buhay po ng mga bata ang itinataya natin. Kapag pinilit natin ang makabagong paraan ng online learning, mahihirapan rin ang estudyante kung hindi sila makapag-adjust ng maayos," he added. Go earlier appealed to the Executive branch to postpone the opening of the new school year to give more time for students, teachers, learning institutions, education authorities and the general public to better prepare and fine tune the country's flexible continuity learning plans. President Rodrigo Duterte recently decided to move the opening of classes to October 4 of this year. "Katulad ng sinabi ko noon pa, hindi ako sang-ayon na magsimula ang klase kung hindi pa handa ang lahat. That is why I supported the measure allowing the President to move the opening of classes when it was tackled in the Senate months ago," Go explained. Last July 17, 2020, Duterte signed into law Republic Act 11480, giving authority to the President of the Philippines, upon the recommendation of the Education Secretary, to set a different date of opening of school year in the country or parts thereof in cases of the declaration of state of emergency or state of calamity. It shall apply to all basic educational institutions, including international schools. "Katulad ng sinabi ko noon, dapat siguraduhin na makakapag-aral ang ating mga estudyante sa maayos at ligtas na paraan. This is also in line with the President's position of always prioritizing the safety and welfare of our people," Go said as he consistently emphasized that in the absence of a COVID-19 vaccine, no face-to-face classes must be conducted as well. "Mas magiging kawawa ang mga estudyante kung ituloy natin pero hindi pa handa ang lahat. Mas kawawa rin ang mga teachers. Hirap na po ang mga Pilipino, huwag na nating dagdagan pa ng pressure ang mga bata at mga magulang nila," he added. Go also clarified that postponing opening of classes is not just to provide government more time to prepare, but also to provide students and their families time to recuperate and recover from the socio-economic impact of the crisis so they can be more prepared to attend class. "Sa totoo lang, marami pang mga estudyante ngayon na walang pambili ng mga gamit pang eskwela at walang access sa computer, tablet o iba pang gadgets dahil nawalan ng trabaho o pagkakakitaan ang kanilang pamilya. Karamihan rin wala pang pambayad ng matrikula o iba pang gastusin," Go shared. Go also encouraged the education department to make sure that all teachers are adequately equipped and trained to use the new teaching platforms. "Importante rin masigurong handa ang mga teachers natin. Kailangan handa sila na gumamit ng mga makabagong paraan para masigurong hindi makompromiso ang matututunan ng estudyante," he continued, adding that "regardless of the mode of learning, the quality of education will still depend on the ability of educators to perform their functions well in the new normal." Go went on to express concern over the ongoing public health crisis that has exacerbated economic inequality in the country, and affected many low-income students' focus on education. "Ayaw nating maipasa ang burden sa estudyante at ma-pressure sila dahil sa makabagong paraan ng pag-aaral kung hindi pa naman po handa ang lahat," he added. Finally, the Senator impressed upon DepEd to ensure that limited access or knowledge of technology should not be cause for Filipino students to fail. "Sana naman po ay walang bumagsak na estudyante dahil sa kakulangan sa kagamitan, walang access sa teknolohiya, o hindi sapat na kaalaman sa bagong modes of learning na maiimplementa ngayon," said Go. South Africa's coronavirus recovery rate has reached 80 per cent, 48 per cent more than a month ago, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said. The number of recoveries currently stood at 472,377, Xinhua news agency quoted Mkhize as saying in his daily update. Currently, South Africa's overall caseload stood at 587,345. Of the total tally, 3,692 cases were reported in the past 24 hours, Mkhize said. "Regrettably we report a further 162 COVID-19 related deaths -- 70 from Eastern Cape, 27 from Gauteng, 21 from KwaZulu-Natal, six from Free State, 18 from North West and 20 from Western Cape. This brings the total COVID-19 related cumulative deaths to 11,839," said Mkhize. The total number of tests conducted to date was 3,400,638, with 22,609 new tests conducted since the last report on Saturday, said Mkhize. South Africa has seen a decline in the number of cases in recent days. Over the last three weeks, the number of new confirmed cases has dropped from a peak of over 12,000 a day to an average of around 5,000 a day over the past week. The number of patients hospitalized has decreased from 10,000 at the beginning of the month to around 4,000, significantly reducing the pressure on the health facilities, official figures showed. According to the country's risk-adjusted strategy announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday, South Africa will further ease the lockdown restrictions from level three to level two, beginning from midnight on Monday. Level two allows the country to remove nearly all of the restrictions on the resumption of economic activity across most industries. Under level two, all restrictions on inter-provincial travel and the ban on sales of tobacco and alcohol will be lifted, with the re-opening of restaurants and bars. 25 years ago: Mumia Abu-Jamal escapes death penalty Mumia Abu-Jamal. Photo Credit: Jennifer Beach/Prison Radio Mumia Abu-Jamal, the former Black Panther and broadcast journalist who had been on Pennsylvanias death row for over 13 years, narrowly escaped an execution scheduled for August 17, 1995 when his trial judge granted a stay. Abu-Jamal was convicted in the 1982 shooting death of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner. The stay, granted by Judge Albert Sabo of Common Pleas Court, came in the midst of a hearing on Abu-Jamals motion for a new trial. Sabo also presided at the original trial and had handed down more death penalty sentences than any other sitting judge in the country at that time. The case against Abu-Jamal was riddled with inconsistencies and signs of a frame-up from the beginning, including the testimony of two witnesses who testified that they saw the shooting of the police officer, and that the perpetrator was not Abu-Jamal. Abu-Jamal was in fact targeted by the authorities, and the notoriously brutal Philadelphia police department, because of his political activity. He was a prominent supporter of the black nationalist MOVE organization, the object of a campaign of state repression which culminated in the 1985 bombing of MOVE headquarters. This atrocity killed defenseless men, women and children and destroyed dozens of homes in the surrounding west Philadelphia neighborhood. Abu-Jamal, now 63 years old, has spent well over half his life behind bars following the conviction, which Amnesty Internationalamong various other advocates and observerscharged was tainted by unfairness and racial bias. In 2011, he was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. In 2018, in a significant legal victory for him, a ruling by a Pennsylvania Superior Court judge gave him a chance to appeal the conviction. Over the years, attorneys have brought forward evidence of many instances of flagrant misconduct in the case, including bias by Sabo. They have pointed to the exclusion of exculpatory eye-witness testimony and fabricated confessions. Abu-Jamal has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout his trial. During his imprisonment, he has continued to speak from behind bars on Prison Radio, as well as writing books, including Live From Death Row in 1995. 50 years ago: Soviet Union launches probe to Venus Soviet postage stamp honoring Venera 7 On August 17, 1970 the Soviet Union launched the Venera 7 unmanned space probe to the planet Venus. Venera 7 was one of several Soviet probes sent to Venus but was the first to make a successful soft landing making it possible to send data back to scientists on Earth. Earlier attempts by Soviet craft were crushed by the intense pressure shortly after entering Venus atmosphere. Venera 7s trip to the second planet from the Sun would last for 120 days, reaching the atmosphere of Venus on December 15, 1970. Once inside, the probe began a descent to the surface of the planet. Despite a failure in the parachute that caused Venera to impact the surface at a higher speed than planned, which turned the antenna away from earth, the probe still transmitted useful data for 53 minutes. Scientists learned that the surface temperature of Venus was 475 C (887 F). Using this data and readings of the atmosphere, a surface pressure of 9.0 MPa (1,300 psi) was calculated on the planet. Although already suspected, the probe confirmed that there is no potential for human life to survive on Venus. The mission also confirmed that the planet could not hold any water in liquid form. Between 1970 and 1985 the Soviet Venera missions would land a total of 10 probes on the surface of Venus. Notably in 1975 Venera 9 would send the first images from another planets surface and in 1983 Venera 15 would use radar to make high-resolution mapping scans of the planet. The landing on the planet was essential for collecting concrete information about earths closest neighbor. Until the Venera 7 landing the only information available came from images taken from probes flying thousands of miles from the planets surface. At the time, the closest US probe to Venus was only able to pass within 2,400 miles. These missions were unable to provide any information about the surface of the planet since it is constantly surrounded by thick walls of clouds. 75 years ago: Indonesia proclaims independence after Japanese defeat Sukarno On August 17, 1945, nationalist leaders in Indonesia issued a proclamation of independence, as Japan, which had occupied the sprawling archipelago for three years during WWII, suffered a decisive defeat at the hands of the Allied powers. The declaration of independence was issued just a week after the Japanese imperial regime had announced that it would surrender to the United States. Already facing a crippled civilian and military infrastructure, as a result of over a year of Allied air raids, at the beginning of August Japan was hit by the first nuclear attack in history when the US detonated atomic weapons over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing hundreds of thousands. Japanese forces had, over the preceding year, suffered a series of major defeats throughout southeast Asia, including in the Philippines, which signaled that its imperial ambitions in the region, its so-called Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, had been thwarted. In the space of three months, Japanese military forces occupied Indonesia in March 1942, defeating the Dutch who had ruled the archipelago. The Dutch state and military administration, having previously preoccupied itself primarily with the repression of Indonesian opposition, was ill-equipped for an assault by a major army and was cut off from supplies and reinforcements from the Netherlands, which had been overrun by Nazi Germany. A number of nationalist Indonesian leaders, including Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, collaborated with the Japanese. Hostile to the independent mobilization of the working class and peasantry, they viewed the Japanese ouster of the Dutch, who had pillaged Indonesia for centuries, as a potential boon to the cause of bourgeois national independence and their own exploitation of the islands impoverished masses. Over the course of the three years of Japanese occupation, opposition from below grew, registered in several significant strikes, along with peasant disturbances and protest movements. In September 1944, Japanese Prime Minister Kuniaki Koiso, fearful of the developing movement and facing the prospect of military defeat to the Allies, promised to grant Indonesia independence at an unspecified point in the future. The August 1945 declaration was agitated for by nationalist forces to the left of Sukarno and Hatta, who were fearful that some accommodation would be made to renewed Dutch occupation. Signed by both men on behalf of the people of Indonesia, it declared simply that We the people of Indonesia hereby declare the independence of Indonesia. Matters which concern the transfer of power, etc., will be executed by careful means and in the shortest possible time. 100 years: US womens suffrage amendment ratified US House Speaker Frederick Gillett signing the suffrage bill into law On August 18, 1920, by a vote of 50-46, the state legislature of Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women 21 years or older the right to vote in local, state, and federal elections. It became the 36th state to pass the amendment, reaching the two-thirds majority of states necessary to pass the amendment. The amendment became law on August 26, 1920, enabling 26 million women to vote in the presidential election of 1920. The struggle for womens suffrage began in earnest in the US in the decade leading up to the Civil War, when the development of the struggle against slavery raised broad demands for equality. The critical factor, however, in the achievement of womens suffrage was the emergence of international socialism and the explosive growth of the class struggle in the late 19th century and early 20th century, and especially the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the United States, major industrial struggles of women workers were led by socialists in the textile and garment industries, sharpening calls for equality. Meanwhile, bourgeois feminists argued that they more rightly deserved the vote than propertyless, working-class men. In Russia, the overthrow of the Tsar in March 1917 was led by women textile workers. It was in the political hothouse of the revolutionary month of July of that year that the bourgeois Provisional Government was forced to grant women the right to vote. But it was the new Soviet state created by the October Revolution that not only granted women the right to vote, but passed a whole slew of legal and social reforms that elevated womens equality with men, including the legalization of abortion in 1920. It was only in the years following the Russian Revolution that witnessed the extension of the right to vote to women in the United States, as well as Britain (1918 and 1928) Germany (1918), and the Netherlands (1919). President Donald Trumps jet was nearly hit by what appeared to be a small drone as it approached an airport near Washington Sunday night, according to several people aboard Air Force One. The device, which was yellow and black and shaped like a cross, was off the right side of the plane. It was seen by several passengers on the jet, which occurred shortly before the plane touched down at 5:54 p.m. The Secret Service didnt immediately respond on Monday to a request to confirm the reports. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which coordinates air security issues in North America, referred questions to the Secret Service. The Federal Aviation Administration referred questions on the matter to the Air Force. While it has been notoriously difficult for aviation safety investigators to verify such fleeting events, it appears to be among the thousands of such safety incidents involving unmanned devices in the U.S. that have prompted calls by law enforcement and homeland security agencies for greater measures to rein in their use. Most civilian drones weigh only a few pounds and probably couldnt take down a jetliner. But government research suggests the damage could be greater than that from a similar-sized bird, which could shatter a cockpit windshield or damage an engine. Trump was flying in the modified Boeing Co. 757 that is among the fleet of jets known as Air Force One when the president is aboard. The FAA receives thousands of reports per year in which drones fly too close to other aircraft or operate in restricted areas. Most of the reports come from pilots. Under current federal regulations, drones must be flown within sight of the operator and no higher than 400 feet (122 meters) above the ground without special waivers. While the most popular drone models are equipped with software designed to prevent longer range flights, incidents continue to pile up, according to government records. There have been a handful of instances in which drones actually struck aircraft, but none have resulted in a serious crash or injuries, according to National Transportation Safety Board data. A hobbyist drone being flown illegally near New York City struck an Army helicopter on Sept. 21, 2017, the NTSB found. The impact damaged the helicopter, but it was able to land safely. The NTSB last month concluded that a drone most likely struck a KABC-TV chopper flying above downtown Los Angeles on Dec. 4. Drone sightings have occasionally disrupted operations at major airports, such as when pilots nearing Newark Liberty International Airport reported nearly colliding with a small drone in January 2019. The FAA hopes to unveil regulations requiring that civilian drones transmit their location and identity by the end of the year. The new requirement is designed to help prevent the devices from being used by terrorists and to reduce the risks they pose to traditional aircraft. Autonomous vehicle startup AutoX announced the public launch of of its self-driving taxi service in Shanghai today. Called simply RoboTaxi, AutoXs offering already faces competition from Didi, Chinas largest ride-hailing platform, which launched its own robo-taxi pilot program in Shanghai at the end of June. AutoX's RoboTaxis will first be available in Jiading District, starting with a fleet of 100 vehicles. Rides can be booked through AutoNavi, the mapping and transportation-booking app owned by Alibaba, one of the startups investors. AutoX, which is headquartered in Shenzhen, raised a $100 million Series A last year from backers including Dongfeng Motor, one of Chinas largest vehicle manufacturers, Alibaba, and Plug and Plays China fund. AutoX's service will compete against Didis self-driving taxi pilot, which also operates in Jiading District, a large suburban district that is fairly close to Shanghais center, but less congested. Didis service launched a few weeks after the company announced it had raised $500 million from investors including SoftBank for its new autonomous driving subsidiary. Didis ambitious goal is to deploy more than one million autonomous vehicles by 2030. AutoX and Didi are both competing against a list of autonomous taxi services from Chinese rivals like Pony.ai, Baidu and WeRide. All have already deployed robotaxi programs in different cities. Other companies, like Momenta, are focused on building and selling software for self-driving taxis to partners, which may enable even more robotaxi fleets to launch. Momenta's progress is due in part to state support, because the Chinese government has created several large funds for industries including autonomous driving, 5G and artificial intelligence, as it tries to offset the economic impact of COVID-19. When asked about the competitive landscape, Jewel Li, the chief operating officer of AutoX, told TechCrunch that one of its advantages is investor list, which includes original equipment manufacturers and Alibaba. This means AutoX's backers not only provide funds, but also "the use cases in both mobility and logistics for autonomous driving. This investor portfolio is one of a kind, not only in the China market, but also globally." Story continues The company also has a robotaxi fleet in Shenzhen's Nanshan District, she added, giving the company experience with autonomous rides in a densely-populated urban area. AutoX is currently the third, and only China-focused company, to hold a permit for driverless robotaxis in California, which Li calls the "highest standard permit in the autonomous driving industry." (The other two holders are Waymo and Nuro). AutoX's RoboTaxis will also be available for bookings through Shanghai-based taxi fleet Letzgo's app. The two companies announced a strategic partnership today that will have Letzgo staff running RoboTaxis at AutoXs Shanghai operations center, which opened in April. AutoX also has plans to build out its robotaxi service in Europe. South Korean multinational conglomerate and one of the world largest electronics company, Samsung is looking to manufacture mobile phones worth Rs 3.7 lakh crore in India over the next five years, government sources said. The firm has presented its plan to senior officials in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It will be manufacturing smartphones worth Rs 2.2 lakh crore, valued over Rs 15,000 per unit, under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, people aware of the matter told PTI. "Samsung is now planning to make mobile phones worth USD 50 billion (Rs 3.7 lakh crore) in the next five years. Out of this, smartphones worth USD 30 billion will be produced under the PLI scheme," an official told PTI on the condition of anonymity. Samsung did not respond to a query sent on the matter. Apart from Samsung, major global players Wistron, Pegatron, Foxconn and Hon Hai and Indian companies such as Lava, Dixon, Micromax, Padget Electronics, Sojo, UTL and Optiemus have applied for benefits under the PLI scheme. The government expects mobile phones worth Rs 11 lakh crore will be made in the country in the next five years. According to estimates of the India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA), mobile phone companies will increase device production in the country to up to Rs 27.5 lakh crore under the PLI scheme. At present, mobile phone production in the country is estimated to be over Rs 2 lakh crore per annum, employing around 5-6 lakh people. The government expects to attract Rs 1 lakh crore investments in the sector and sees manufacturing revenue potential of Rs 10 lakh crore by 2025. It had notified three schemes on April 1 for the promotion of electronics. These were schemes for manufacturing of electronic components and semiconductors, modified electronics manufacturing clusters (EMC 2.0) scheme, and production-linked incentive scheme for large scale electronics manufacturing. Samsung has been bullish on the government's Make in India initiative. It has set-up the world's largest mobile phone factory with an annual handset production capacity of up to 12 crore units in Uttar Pradesh. According to the ICEA, the total mobile phone market in India has crossed Rs 2 lakh crore in terms of value. Samsung led India's mobile phone market with 24 per cent share in the April-June quarter, according to research firm IDC. SightMD, a multi-specialty ophthalmology platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Larry P. Berstein, M.D., F.A.A.O, a Nassau County-based ophthalmologist. SightMD, a multi-specialty ophthalmology platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Larry P. Berstein, M.D., F.A.A.O., a Nassau County-based ophthalmologist. Sight Growth Partners, the administrative services provider for SightMD, will also serve Dr. Berstein in all administrative matters. The acquisition represents SightMDs first office in Plainview, with Dr. Berstein bringing 35+ years of ophthalmic experience to SightMDs growing team of over 80 providers and 39 convenient locations in the greater tri-state area. SightMD has continued to serve the community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Our commitment and dedication to our patients have never been interrupted. SightMD continues to expand and look for additional practices and doctors that align with our values and patient-first mindset. Dr. Berstein graduated from Boston University. He went on to complete both his Internship in Internal Medicine and Residency in Ophthalmology at Montefiore Hospital & Medical Center (Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Affiliated Hospitals) where he was Chief Resident in Ophthalmology from 1981-1982. Dr. Berstein is a former Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has held appointments as Chief of Ophthalmology, President of the Medical Staff, and was a Member of the Board of Directors at Plainview Hospital (now part of Northwell Health). As we continue to expand our practice, we're fortunate to be able to welcome a physician with the skill and reputation of Dr. Berstein to our growing SightMD family, said Jeffrey Martin, M.D., a Co-Founder and CEO of SightMD. Dr. Berstein has built a legacy of superior patient care and is very well known in the Nassau County ophthalmology community. He has always been on the forefront of our specialty's patient care advancements and we could not be more excited to partner with him at his Plainview office. Dr. Berstein added, I joined SightMD because I wanted to be affiliated with the patient-centric quality of care and level of excellence that SightMD stands for and has demonstrated in the community; always putting patients first and striving to meet their needs and improve their quality of life. This belief system is in line with mine and is how I have practiced ophthalmology my entire career, which is why I knew it would be a great fit. The COVID-19 pandemic reinforced why I wanted to join the SightMD family. The resilience and commitment shown by everyone at SightMD made me 100% confident in my choice. Jonathan Lujan, CEO of Sight Growth Partners, added, Sight Growth Partners continues to be committed to its mission of easing the administrative burden of physicians so they can focus on the patients. Despite the challenges faced by our community and the nation due to COVID-19, we continue to partner with and empower blue-chip providers like Dr. Berstein." Dr. Berstein will continue to care for his patients at the same Plainview office. With this partnership, Dr. Bersteins patients and the community in central Nassau County will have access to seamless care at all of SightMDs office locations throughout Long Island, Westchester and New York City. Dr. Bersteins new affiliation with SightMD brings his patients and the community new services including, laser cataract surgery, LASIK laser vision correction, pediatric ophthalmology, facial cosmetic and reconstructive eye surgery, audiology, refractive surgery, glaucoma management, retinal and diabetic eye disease treatment and advanced cataract care. SightMDs strategic partnership with Dr. Berstein represents the twelfth practice to join the Company since Sight Growth Partners partnered with Chicago Pacific Founders in September 2018. About SightMD SightMD is a rapidly-growing integrated ophthalmic provider group, offering patients access to over 60 ophthalmic surgeons and specialists through the convenience of 39 locations across downstate New York. SightMD's track record of providing clinically-excellent care spans over 50 years, and its services include laser cataract surgery and lens implantation, glaucoma management, retinal disorder treatment, corneal services, neuro-ophthalmology, LASIK laser vision correction, oculoplastic surgery, pediatric ophthalmology, and audiology. For more information about SightMD, please visit http://www.sightmd.com ### About Sight Growth Partners Sight Growth Partners is a leading management services organization serving the ophthalmology sector. It has over 100 employees who provide administrative solutions to physicians, ophthalmology clinics and ambulatory surgery centers. Sight Growth Partners provides its clients with world-class administrative services, including a 24/7 call center, billing, credentialing, human resources and other services, enabling them to continue delivering best-in-class care to patients in their communities. Sight Growth Partners is backed by Chicago Pacific Founders, a leading middle market private equity firm which focuses exclusively on partnerships with growing companies in the healthcare services sector. For more information about Sight Growth Partners, please visit http://www.sightgrowthpartners.com. ### Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 16) A recent survey by the Social Weather Stations revealed that joblessness among adults in the country has reached a record high of 45.5 percent. According to the National Mobile Phone Survey conducted from July 3-6, 2020, the figure was a 28-point increase from 17.1 percent in December 2019 and marked a new record high from the 34.4 percent logged in March 2012. "The estimated numbers of jobless adults were 27.3 million in July 2020 and 7.9 million in December 2019," the SWS reported. The SWS said that in July 2020, there were around 60 million adults in the workforce, compared to 45.5 million in December last year. The pollster defined "adult" as a person 18 years old and above, and "labor force" as adults who presently have a job or are looking for a job. Adults who are jobless consist of those who voluntarily left their old jobs, are seeking jobs for the first time, or lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control. The survey revealed that half of those polled lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis. The SWS said those who lost their jobs during the crisis was highest in Balance Luzon (23 percent), followed by Visayas (19 percent), Mindanao (19 percent), and Metro Manila (18 percent). The joblessness rate was also up in all age groups, as well as among men and women, and in both rural and urban areas. The survey was conducted using mobile phone and computer-assisted telephone interviewing of 1,555 adult Filipinos. As China is about to become the world's largest consumer market this year, the U.S. government's executive order against WeChat may result in U.S. companies leaving China, said a former vice-minister of commerce. "For a country boasting a free economy, the Trump administration's recent move is unimaginable and will severely damage U.S. companies' businesses in China," Wei Jianguo, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said in an exclusive interview with China Daily. Wei is a former vice-minister of commerce. "This is particularly unwise as China is going to become the world's largest consumer market this year, owing to its rapid recovery from the pandemic," said Wei, adding that this development has made the country's consumer market critical for domestic and international producers. Retail sales in China reached 41.2 trillion yuan ($5.92 trillion) last year, and retail sales dropped by 1.1 percent in July on a yearly basis, narrowing from the 1.8 percent decline in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Market research firm eMarketers said in a report in June that retail sales in the U.S. will drop 10.5 percent to $4.89 trillion this year, a level not seen since 2016. "Quite a number of U.S. companies, in fact, are betting on the Chinese market to salvage their global earnings," Wei said. The shoemaker Skechers U.S., for instance, saw overall quarterly sales drop 42 percent year-on-year but got some relief from 11.5 percent growth in China. More than a dozen major U.S. multinationals, including Apple Inc, Walmart and Walt Disney Co, raised concerns in a telephone call with White House officials on Tuesday about the potentially broad scope and impact of President Donald Trump's executive order targeting WeChat, saying it could undermine their competitiveness in the world's second-biggest economy. WeChat is a widely used app around the world, especially by Chinese, and banning it could effectively cut off much informal communication between people in China and the United States. "For those who don't live in China, they don't understand how vast the implications are if American companies aren't allowed to use it," Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, was quoted by The Wall Street Journal as saying. "They are going to be held at a severe disadvantage to every competitor." In a recent online survey by xueqiu.com, 807,000 respondents said they would get rid of their Apple phone if WeChat had to be removed from its devices, compared with 48,000 who said they would remove the app instead. According to Tencent's first-quarter financial report of 2020, the monthly active users of WeChat have exceeded 1.2 billion. Wei considered the U.S. government's latest move against Chinese internet companies a part of its "maximum pressure" campaign, forcing China to compromise on issues of core interests. "Those moves, on the other hand, reflect a U.S. image as a closed and isolated economy, a retreat for the world's largest economy," Wei said. Despite the U.S. government's pressure, 18,800 foreign-funded companies were established across China between January and July, including 860 U.S. companies, justifying global investors' confidence in the market. And foreign direct investment from the U.S. continued to flow into China, rising 6 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2020, according to the Ministry of Commerce. Huawei is the second-largest smartphone brand in the world and also the largest telecom equipment maker. At Lighting Up Shenzhen, a 5G-powered Smart City press conference held today, Guo Ping, Huawei Rotating Chairman, said there are already 100 5G users worldwide. He also revealed that 92 carriers have already deployed their 5G networks across the world. With the widespread adoption of 5G network, the company is now working on deploying industrial solutions built on 5G connectivity. Huawei to transform Shenzhen into a 5G-powered smart city According to him, commercial success will primarily be based on collaboration between five major tech domains connectivity, cloud, computing, industry applications, and pervasive AI. With these industrial solutions, the company aims to make Shenzhen from a city with 5G connectivity to a city of 5G intelligence. If you didnt know, Shenzhen is home to Huaweis global headquarters. Advertisement Obviously, Shenzhen will be an example for Huawei to showcase its 5G-based solutions. With low latency, high data speeds, and superior reliability, 5G is the key enabler for a future smart city. According to Huawei, these technologies are already being implemented in smart grids, smart ports, smart airports, and smart factories. There are already 100 million 5G users worldwide Additionally, the company is already providing smart solutions for improving efficiency at Shenzhen Airport. With facial recognition-based access control, there is very little need for manual passenger identification. This is just one example of how these solutions can help in building a smart city. Huawei also stresses the importance of integrating data across various industries and government agencies. Nevertheless, few of these principles seem more suited for a country like China than for a democratic country. Huawei claims a centrally-located command center with support for scenario-based services and intelligent decision-making needed for 5G-powered smart cities. Advertisement The company will work with carriers and other partners to build a network capable of operating a 5G-enabled smart city. Moreover, Huawei will be using its OpenLabs to distribute the capabilities to its partners. The coronavirus pandemic could delay 5G deployment in most parts of the world. On the other hand, China is pushing for a faster rollout of 5G connectivity. Huawei along with Honor has captured 74 percent of the 5G market share in China, according to Counterpoint Research. With 46 percent of worldwide sales, China is the largest contributor to 5G sales in 2019. It will be facing hard times in the smartphone market, with the chipset ban coming into effect on September 15 and the recently expired temporary general license for working with US companies. Analysis of the genomes of 28,000 tumours from 66 types of cancer has led to the identification of 568 cancer driver genes Performed by the Biomedical Genomics Lab at IRB Barcelona, the study has allowed a major update of the Integrative OncoGenomics (IntOGen) platform, aimed at identifying mutational cancer driver genes. Published in Nature Reviews Cancer, the results provide the most complete snapshot of the compendium of cancer driver genes to date. Cancer is a group of diseases characterised by uncontrolled cell growth caused by mutations, and other alterations in the genome of cells. A tumour can present from hundreds to thousands of mutations, but only a few are vital for its tumorigenic capacity. These key mutations affect the function of cancer driver genes. Finding the genes that harbour this cancer driver mutations is one of the main goals in cancer research. Researchers from IRB Barcelona's Biomedical Genomics Lab, led by ICREA researcher Nuria Lopez-Bigas, have performed an extensive computational analysis of around 28,000 tumours from 66 types of cancer and have identified 568 cancer driver genes. These pivotal genes play specific roles in the regulation of cell growth, the cell cycle and DNA replication, among others. Mutations in these genes, confer malignant cells the capacity to reproduce rapidly and endlessly, evade the immune system and other defence systems, spread and invade other tissues, and modify the environment to their benefit, among other capabilities. The compendium of driver genes provides cancer researchers, both in the clinical and basic research setting, with crucial knowledge and it has an important impact on clinical decision-making, For instance, if we know that the tumorigenic capacity of a tumour relies on a specific protein, an approved targeted therapy -i.e., antibodies or other inhibitors hindering its function- may be employed by oncologists to treat the patient", she adds. Nuria Lopez-Bigas, ICREA Researcher Most cancer driver genes are highly specific With the identification of the 568 cancer driver genes, the researchers have observed that most are highly specific and with their mutations capable of triggering only a few tumour types. However, there is a small group, accounting for less than 2% of those identified, that is very versatile and can drive more than 20 different types of cancer. "Although it's been known that cancer driver genes have different degree of specificity since they were first identified, having this snapshot of the compendium has allowed us to address this question it in an unbiased way," says Abel Gonzalez Perez, Research Associate in the Biomedical Genomics Lab, who also led the study. Previous studies by other groups have shown that cancers are caused by an average of 4 key mutations in cancer driver genes. Some types of cancer, characterised by a low number of mutations, present only one mutation in these genes, while others that typically present many mutations, such as colorectal and uterus tumours, hold up to 10. Other genomic alterations, such as structural variants, changes in the number of copies of genes, and mutations affecting non-coding areas of the genome also contribute to tumorigenesis. Positive selection as an indicator Surprising mutational patterns in a gene, different from the expected under neutrality, constitute signals that they are under positive selection in tumorigenesis. IRB Barcelona researchers use these signals of positive selection to identify mutational driver genes. To compute these signals, the accumulation of mutations under neutrality needs to be accurately modelled for all genes, so that deviations of any gene from the expected pattern may be readily spotted. Signals of positive selection that are exploited to identify mutational driver genes are, for example, the abnormally high number of mutations in a gene or an unexpected distribution of mutations along the sequence of a gene. In this latest article, published in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer, the researchers present an update of the open-access IntOGen platform, including the values computed for these signals across all mutational driver genes. "The IntOGen platform provides the ideal infrastructure for the systematic update of the compendium, as more tumour sequencing data are released into the public domain," says first author Francisco Martinez-Jimenez, postdoctoral researcher in the Biomedical Genomics Lab. Enriching the Cancer Genome Interpreter The Biomedical Genomics Lab previously developed a platform called the Cancer Genome Interpreter, aimed at supporting clinical decision-making in oncology. The recently published compendium of driver genes in each cancer type, as well as their mutational patterns across tumours, will feed the new version of Cancer Genome Interpreter, under development, thus refining its capability of identifying mutations that may be key for an individual's tumour, and which constitute therapeutic targets. The snapshot of the compendium of driver genes, and the computational system used to produce it are freely available to clinical and basic cancer researchers for exploration and download. AKRON, Ohio If youve ever wanted to take a flight on, or crawl inside, a legendary B-17 bomber, youll have a chance starting today through Sunday, August 23 at the Avflight at Akron-Canton Airport. The B-17 Sentimental Journey will be available for tours, and even flights, for fans of the bomber as part of the Flying Legends of Victory Tour. Tickets to tour the plane are $10 per person, or $20 for a family of four. Tours will take place Monday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday though Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets to take a flight on the plane are $425 per waist compartment seat, or if you want the experience of being the bombardier/navigator, the tickets are $850. There are only six waist compartment seats and two bombardier/navigator seats available per flight, and the flights are at 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and noon August 21 through 23 only. Pilots Colonel John Middleton, of Dallas, and Colonel Reid Maccosham, of Phoenix, flew the plane into Akron from LaPorte, Indiana on Monday morning. Both pilots fly for American Airlines and volunteer for the Commemorative Air Force flying the plane as needed. Movie buffs might recognize the plane from the movies 1941 with John Belushi and All The Young Men starring Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier. In addition to its movie history, you can look at autographs from B-17 pilots who have visited the plane, including an autograph from WWII Triple Ace C.E. Bud Anderson who was friends with Chuck Yeager. The Flying Fortress was introduced in 1938 by Boeing for the United States Army Air Corps and primarily used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. More than 12,700 of the planes were built, but only nine currently remain airworthy, so taking a flight on one is rare. The Sentimental Journey was was built in 1944 and was used as a firefighter in its early life. It was restored to its original wartime configuration (although it never flew in battle) in the 1980s and is part of the Commemorative Air Force based in Mesa, Arizona. More information can be found on its Facebook page. The use of the local customs clearance procedure is one of the new measures to streamline the traffic of goods through the Romanian customs offices, according to a study conducted by the EY Romania consulting company. "Since August 2020, at the level of the Romanian customs offices, new measures have been implemented to streamline the traffic of goods taking into account the long waiting times (between 30 and 500 minutes), as well as to support business operators in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. These measures are intended to help border customs offices also in the context of the Brexit, which will materialise in less than 5 months (January 1, 2021) and will attract an additional volume of imports/exports of over 4 billion euros," according to Mihai Petre, Associate Partner, Tax and Legal Assistance, EY Romania.According to the study, one of the measures with immediate effect is the directing goods that are imported through the customs offices at the border to the inland customs offices, located within the activity of the importer's headquarters. Border customs offices will take care as a matter of priority of the import formalities for bulk, perishable goods, groupings or those subject to tariff quotas.Secondly, as an optimal solution, business operators are encouraged to apply for the use of simplified customs clearance procedures. More specifically for the local clearance procedure or centralised customs clearance available for those with AEO certification.Petre says that the simplified customs clearance procedures are currently used to a very small extent in Romania - 10% compared with 65.57%, the EU average. That means that approximately 1 million customs declarations are submitted annually in the normal procedure, on paper, together with the corresponding set of documents. The use of customs simplifications can reduce this number by 5 or even 10 times, with the help of recapitulative statements."In short, the local clearance procedure allows the means of transport to arrive directly at the warehouse of destination, without having to travel to the customs office. As a matter of procedure, importers can benefit from the deferral of the payment of VAT at customs on import, and to register VAT through the reverse charge mechanism, thus avoiding the pre-financing of VAT," according to the EY specialist.Also, the payment of import duties will be made cumulatively (for a previous period of 30 days) at the time of submission of a single global customs declaration. It can also be used in the case of exports of goods, with the customs clearance for export being obtained directly at the place of loading, without the need to travel to the customs offices.In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the local clearance procedure makes it possible to reduce the interaction between the staff of the importer and customs officials.At the same time, the procedure allows business operators holding an AEO certification (ie both the importer and his customs representative) to submit the customs declaration (import or export) to a single customs office, the one responsible for the area where they are established, even if the goods are to be physically presented at other customs offices in the country.Thus, in the context of the new fluidisation measures, the procedure will allow the transporters' parking times to be halved, eliminating the need for customs transit. So far, the transport would wait twice: once at the entrance to the country for the opening of the transit, then at the destination for the closing of the transit and for the customs clearance of the goods.The procedure applies to all customs procedures, except transit. At the same time, excisable products that fall under the warehousing regime and the rules regarding the movement receipt of excise duty under suspension, as well as military products subject to the control of exports, imports and other operations cannot be the subject to the procedure. New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Supreme Court on Monday told the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation not to reclaim any more of the stretch of sea than what is required for the construction of the coastal road project to connect Marine Drive area in south to suburban Borivali in north. A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde noted that the BMC must not overreach the apex court order. The bench emphasised that there shouldn't be more reclamation of the sea than which is needed for the coastal road project. The Chief Justice said the court is inclined to see the map where the officers would point out the areas they are going to touch and those which they are not going to. "And you are not going to go beyond this", the bench told the BMC. The top court asked the BMC to file an affidavit detailing the land it is acquiring, land required only for road along with a map of the area in two weeks. Environmentalists have opposed the project saying no EIA was taken. The observation from the top court came while hearing a plea seeking a stay on the ongoing reclamation work by the BMC for the coastal road project. In February, the Conservation Action Trust (CAT) and Shweta Wagh, founder of Collective for Spatial Alternatives, had urged the Supreme Court to stay the ongoing reclamation work of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) coastal road project to connect the Marine Drive area in the south to suburban Borivali in the north. The applicants contended before a bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobde and comprising Justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant that the BMC was violating the top court order by reclaiming more land than required for the Rs 14,000 crore coastal road project. On December 17, the top court had stayed the Bombay High Court decision to quash the coastal road zone (CRZ) clearances granted to this project. The counsel, representing the petitioners opposing the project, contended instead of 22 hectares of coastal land, 75 hectares have been reclaimed so far. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Maharashtra government and its authorities, had vehemently opposed this contention by citing minimum requisite land for the project was being reclaimed. "Can I stand in the sea and build a road," Rohatgi had contended. He told the top court that minimum facilities were required for construction of the coastal road. The court asked the parties to bring on record through an affidavit whether 95 hectare land was required for reclamation for construction of the coastal road project. The court will hear the matter after two weeks. The court also asked the concerned authorities to examine the loss of livelihood of the local fishermen due to construction activities. The top court in its December order had restrained the BMC from carrying out any other development work, instead of the coastal road project, until further orders. The Bombay High Court in July last year had quashed the CRZ clearances granted to the coastal road project, saying that there was "serious lacuna" in the decision-making process and lack of proper scientific study. To the Editor: Re Growing Crisis in Postal Service Alarms Voters (front page, Aug. 16): On May 11, I wrote to my senators and representative expressing my concern that President Trump would attempt to suppress the vote in the fall election. No one replied. And now, three months later, Mr. Trump has publicly stated that he is dedicated to keeping people from being able to vote by mail during this life-threatening pandemic. His administration has already implemented plans for slowing mail delivery by cutting postal workers hours and removing sorting machines. That this can be done in broad daylight without every person in both parties speaking out against it is unbelievable. The peoples right to vote is the foundation of our democracy. It is therefore incumbent upon the House and the Senate to fully fund the Postal Service immediately and stop Mr. Trumps tyrannical attempt to stop the vote. This is not a partisan issue. Our democracy is at risk. Sharron Miller Norman, Okla. To the Editor: A plea to owners and directors of businesses and nonprofits with a social conscience: Please do not send anything but urgent mail through the post office during the month before the election. This could free up capacity for the post office to handle the deluge of mail-in ballots that need to reach boards of election by Election Day. A gas cloud 15,000 light years from Earth has a 'gamma-ray' heartbeat powered by a nearby black hole - but astronomers don't know how the heartbeat gets its energy. Scientists detected the heartbeat in the centre of a cloud in the constellation Aquila and it beats to the rhythm of a 'microquasar' system with a central black hole. According to the team from the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (Desy) this suggests there is a connection between the gamma-ray burst and black hole. The problem is that they're not sure how the black hole powers the cloud's gamma-ray heartbeat when there is about 100 light years between the two stellar objects. One theory is that fast protons are produced near the black hole then injected into the stellar cloud where they hit gas and produced the gamma-rays. The microquasar SS 433 (background) sways with a period of 162 days. The inconspicuous gas cloud Fermi J1913+0515 (foreground), about 100 light years away, pulsates with the same rhythm in gamma rays, suggesting a direct connection The system has been dubbed SS 433 and consists of a giant star with about 30 times the mass of our sun and a black hole with about 10 to 20 solar masses. The black hole is drawing matter from the giant star The research team rigorously analysed more than ten years of data from NASAs Fermi gamma-ray space telescope which was looking at a so-called micro quasar. MICROQUASAR SS 433 IS LIKE A 'MINIATURE QUASAR SYSTEM' Microquasar SS 433 is a black hole and a giant star orbiting each other. The black hole sucks matter from the star which collects as an accretion disc before falling into the black hole. Some of the matter does not fall into the hole, but is hurled out into space. This forms two energetic jets. As the accretion disc isn't on an exact orbital plane it sways like a spinning top set at an angle. The jets are also at an angle and form something like 'spirals in space'. In the same rhythm as the jets and disc, a gas cloud 100 light years away shines with gamma radiation. It is unclear how the gas cloud gets its energy to shine but the team say it is powered by the black hole. The system is called a microquaser as it is similar in structure to active galaxies called quasars with monstrous black holes that shoot jets tens of thousands of light years. Advertisement The system has been dubbed SS 433 and consists of a giant star with about 30 times the mass of our sun and a black hole with about 10 to 20 solar masses. The two objects are orbiting each other with a period of 13 days, while the black hole sucks matter from the giant star. 'This material accumulates in an accretion disc before falling into the black hole, like water in the whirl above the drain of a bath tub,' explains study author Jian Li. 'Part of that matter does not fall down the drain but shoots out at high speed in two narrow jets in opposite directions above and below the rotating accretion disk.' This setting is known from active galaxies called quasars with monstrous black holes with millions of solar masses at their centres that shoot jets tens of thousands of light years into the cosmos. As SS 433 looks like a scaled-down version of these quasars, it has been dubbed a micro quasar by the research team. The high-speed particles and the ultra-strong magnetic fields in the jet produce X-rays and gamma rays, said Diego F. Torres from the Institute of Space Sciences. 'The accretion disc does not lie exactly in the plane of the orbit of the two objects. It precesses, or sways, like a spinning top that has been set up slanted,' he said. 'As a consequence, the two jets spiral into the surrounding space, rather than just forming a straight line.' The precession of the black hole's jets has a period of about 162 days, according to the team who completed meticulous analysis. This same analysis revealed a gamma-ray signal with the same period from a position located relatively far from the micro quasar's jets. The signal has been labelled as Fermi J1913+0515 by the scientists and is located at the position of an unremarkable gas enhancement. Consistent periods indicate that this signal is powered by the micro quasar. 'Finding an unambiguous connection via timing, 100 light years away from the micro quasar, not even along the direction of the jets is as unexpected as amazing,' Li said. 'But how the black hole can power the gas cloud's heartbeat is unclear to us.' Direct periodic illumination by the jet seems unlikely, the team explained, adding that they are working on trying to solve the mystery of the unexpected signal. An alternative that the team explored is based on the impact of fast protons (the nuclei of hydrogen atoms) produced at the ends of the jets or near the black hole. Bright jets of energy burst out from the black hole at the centre of the microquasar - the system is similar to a larger quaser but massively scaled down The precession of the black hole's jets has a period of about 162 days, according to the team who completed meticulous analysis They are then injected into the cloud, where these subatomic particles hit the gas and produce gamma rays. Protons could also be part of an outflow of fast particles from the edge of the accretion disc, the team speculated. Whenever this outflow strikes the gas cloud, it lights up in gamma rays, which would explain its strange heartbeat. 'Energetically, the outflow from the disc could be as powerful as that of the jets and is believed to precess in solidarity with the rest of the system,' explains Torres. Further observations as well as theoretical work are required to fully explain the strange gamma-ray heartbeat of this unique system beyond this initial discovery. 'SS 433 continues to amaze observers at all frequencies and theoreticians alike,' emphasises Li. 'And it is certain to provide a testbed for our ideas on cosmic-ray production and propagation near micro quasars for years to come.' The discovery has been published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for school candidates on Monday commenced across the country under strict COVID-19 protocols. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 1,550,000 candidates would be participating in this years examination spread across 19,129 centres nationwide. The examination, which was supposed to commence on April 6 to June 5, was suspended due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. Patrick Areghan, the Head of National Office (HNO) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), told journalists during an inspection tour of some centres in Lagos that he was impressed with the level of compliance with the COVID-19 protocols. Firstly, let me offer thanks to God that the much-awaited examination for this year has finally commenced today. As I speak, this examination is going on simultaneously across all member states in the region. As you already know we have visited a couple of schools in the state on this first day of the examination and I will like to say I am highly impressed with what I saw on ground in terms of compliance level by everyone participating in this examination. We all observe the rules by washing our hands with soap and water, carry(ing) out temperature checks, use of hand sanitisers and face masks or shields. Even the sitting arrangement of the candidates are very well established by ensuring a two-meter gap from each other. So, if you ask me, I will say I am very impressed with the level of the compliance of the COVID-19 safety protocol and the smooth take-off of the examination, the HNO said. Mr Areghan warned that the council would deal decisively with any act of malpractice, irrespective of who was involved. READ ALSO: He warned principals of schools that they would equally not be spared, if any act of malpractice was recorded in their respective schools during the duration of the ongoing examination. Right now, with the aid of technology we have caught a supervisor in Nasarawa and a candidate in Rivers trying to snap a question paper and send outside for solution. These persons have since been handed over to the security agents for necessary actions. We will stop at nothing to ensure that the integrity of our examinations is not compromised. I will like to let you know that the Federal Ministry of Education is very interested in the process and conduct of this examination. In fact, as we speak, the Minister of State for Education, is currently in Imo to monitor the examination too, just like all other top officials of the ministry. So, together, we will ensure that this examination comes out highly successful, Mr Areghan said. He, however, dismissed the possibility of lowering the standard of the examination as a result of the pandemic, adding that it would not be obtainable. Lets not delude ourselves that because of COVID-19, WAEC will lower its standard. This examination was supposed to have commenced by April 6. Before then, it was expected that these candidates would have covered their syllabus. With the outbreak of the pandemic that affected all activities in the country, they had enough time (to) further get themselves better prepared. So, for those who prepared, they will surely record success and for others who played with their time, too bad, as WAEC will never compromise standard, he said. Advertisements Mr Areghan said that the council was faced with the challenge of increased cost of conducting the examination, as it had engaged more supervisors and invigilators. He, however, assured that WAEC would do everything within its reach to ensure a smooth outcome of the examination. NAN reports that schools visited included Baptist Academy, Obanikoro, BABS Fafunwa Millennium Senior Secondary School, Ojodu and Agidingbi Senior Grammar School, Ikeja, all in Lagos State. (NAN) Karl Jordan and Ronald Washington have been charged with murdering Run DMC's Jam Master Jay in 2002 while engaged in cocaine trafficking, according to an indictment unsealed in the Eastern District of New York that also charged the two with drug offenses. The pioneering DJ Jason Mizell was shot in the head at point-blank range with a .40-caliber handgun as he sat on a sofa in a Hollis, Queens, recording studio on Oct. 30, 2002. Washington is currently imprisoned on a prior robbery case. The judge ordered Jordan detained pending his bail application. He is due back Sept. 17. PHOTO: Jason Mizell, known as Jam Master Jay, walks to the stage during Run-DMC's Together Forever Tour on July 29, 1987, at the Pine Knob Music Theater in Clarkston, Mich. (Ross Marino/Getty Images, FILE) Jordan is eligible for the death penalty since the murder was carried out as part of a drug deal. Police had never released a motive for Jam Master Jay's killing, but federal prosecutors said Monday that the motive for the killing resulted from Jay's previous acquisition of approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine from a narcotics supplier in the Midwest. The cocaine was allegedly intended to be distributed in Maryland by Washington, Jordan and other co-conspirators, according to prosecutors. MORE: Unmasked crowd takes over NYC bus for wild pop-up party captured on video Mizell had recently informed Washington that the defendant would not be involved in distributing the narcotics in Maryland, which precipitated the murder conspiracy, prosecutors said. "Today we begin to answer the question of who killed Jason Mizell," acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Seth DuCharme said in announcing the charges. "Primarily this is a case about a murder that for nearly two decades had gone unanswered," DuCharme said, noting how the office has been working the case for 18 years. "We don't give up on these cases." PHOTO: Seth DuCharme, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, speaks during a news conference about charges relating to the 2002 shooting death of Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay, outside the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, Aug. 17, 2020. (Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters) "It was important to us then and remains important to us now to bring justice for the victim," DuCharme said. NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison, a Queens native and self-described Run-DMC fan, said "this arrest was very important to me." Story continues "There are certain crimes for which the passage of time affords no safe harbor and murder is one of them," DuCharme said. Defense attorney Michael Hueston entered a not guilty plea to the 10-count indictment on Jordan's behalf. Two men indicted for the 2002 murder of Run DMC's Jam Master Jay originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Fayaz Wani By Express News Service SRINAGAR: Two paramilitary CRPF men and a policeman were killed in a militant attack on a joint party of security forces in Kreeri area of north Kashmirs Baramulla district on Monday morning. A police official said militants fired automatic weapons towards a joint patrol party of CRPF and police at village Tindim, Kreeri in Baramulla district at around 9.30 am. In the militant firing, two CRPF men and a police man sustained grievous injuries and were evacuated to a nearby hospital, where the trio succumbed to injuries. The deceased policeman has been identified as SPO Muzaffar Ahmad. Militants managed to escape from the area after carrying out the attack. It is not known whether militants also escaped with the weapons of the three security men. Immediately after the militant attack, a contingent of police, CRPF and army men rushed to the area and launched a cordon and search operation in the area to track down the militants responsible for the attack. The search operation was going on when reports last poured in. It is the second militant attack on security forces in the Valley in last four days. On August 14, militants attacked a joint patrol party of SSB and police at Nowgam area in the outskirts of Srinagar. In the militant attack two policemen were killed. Police had blamed Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militants for the Nowgam attack. Daimler AG will pay about $2.2 billion to settle U.S. diesel-emissions issues in the latest fallout from years of closer regulatory scrutiny on vehicle pollution. An agreement in principle with authorities including the U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency will cost the German automaker roughly 1.27 billion euros ($1.5 billion), according to a statement. The Stuttgart-based company will pay another 592 million euros to settle class-action litigation brought by consumers. While this hopefully resolves this issue and allows the company to focus on other pressing challenges, it is a reminder that other stakeholders are likely to receive the majority of Daimlers cash flow in the period 2020-23 irrespective of underlying performance, Citigroup Inc. analyst Angus Tweedie said in a note. Daimler shares fell 1.2% to 41.91 euros as of 9:55 a.m. in Frankfurt, in line with the Stoxx 600 Autos & Parts index. The shares are down 15% for the year. The pacts resolve issues that arose when U.S. regulators stepped up their examination of diesel emissions after Volkswagen AGs cheating scandal emerged in 2015. The Justice Department asked Daimler to investigate its vehicle-certification process the following year. Although the costs add to Daimlers financial headwinds triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the amounts are relatively small compared with the larger-scale emissions violations that have cost VW more than 30 billion euros. Daimler says it fully cooperated with U.S. authorities, whereas VW officials lied to EPA and California regulators before admitting the company created devices to defeat emissions tests. Daimlers issues also involve fewer vehicles. Its agreement with U.S. authorities covers civil and environmental claims related to the emission-control systems of about 250,000 cars and vans. VWadmitted in 2015 to rigging as many as 11 million diesel engines worldwide, including roughly 600,000 in the U.S. Emissions Issues The auto industry is still far from out of the woods with U.S. regulators. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV recently disclosed that it had started discussions with the Justice Departments criminal division to resolve an investigation of diesel-emissions issues. Ford Motor Co. also revealed last year that its emissions-certification process may have been flawed and that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation. Electric-car maker Tesla Inc. has meanwhile posted a string of consecutive quarterly profits thanks in part to selling regulatory credits to carmakers that could not otherwise meet tougher pollution standards. The Model 3 makers market capitalization has soared past $300 billion, almost double VW, Daimler and Fords combined value. Years of Impact Daimler expects to incur hundreds of millions of euros in additional expenses related to fulfilling the requirements of its settlements and said the costs will impact its business for the next three years. The company warned in its annual report published in February that German motor-industry watchdog KBA is likely to rule that additional vehicles are equipped with defeat devices. Daimler boosted provisions for legal and regulatory costs as a result. In its statement, Daimler said it has made sufficient provisions for the cost of the U.S. settlements. In the coming weeks, authorities will file consent decrees with a U.S. district court for final approval. A spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board, one of the authorities involved in the settlements, said the consent decree is expected to be filed in mid-September. Representatives for the Justice Department and EPA declined to comment. With assistance from Oliver Sachgau and Morwenna Coniam. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, the 1st World Mask Week (WMW) was also commemorated during the week. The week, slated for August 7 to 14, aims at reinforcing the importance of wearing a facemask to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As of August 16, coronavirus has already infected over 21 million people and caused at least 769,207 deaths globally. Nigeria has recorded over 48,000 cases and 974 deaths. Here is a round-up of some of the health stories which made the headlines. Nigeria records 325 new coronavirus cases The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday night announced 325 new cases of COVID-19 in the country. That brought the total number of infections in the country to 48, 770. Nigeria has continued to report less than 500 daily coronavirus infections in the past three weeks, a sign that the countrys epidiemological curve is heading downwards. JAMB, NDA, PREMIUM TIMES hold colloquium on measures against COVID-19 A virtual colloquium was held on Tuesday to debate divergent opinions on measures adopted by relevant authorities to curb the spread of coronavirus in Nigeria. The event was organised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), in collaboration with the Nigerian Defence Academy and PREMIUM TIMES. Participants discussed several questions on what Nigeria should locally adapt as best preventive measures against the spread of the coronavirus. The Director-General, National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Obi Adigwe, and the National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 Sani Aliyu are among other dignitaries present. The event was streamed live on PREMIUM TIMES website and Facebook page. Five takeaways from Virtual Colloquium on contentious COVID-19 measures One contentious issue that generated heated debate and pitched government officials and health experts against each other is the use of body disinfectants. Disinfection tunnels that many countries, including Nigeria, are setting up to spray disinfectant on people as they enter certain premises have become a common sight in the COVID-19 era. The experts, however, expressed divergent views on the propriety of spraying such disinfectants on humans. Other issues on the use of hand sanitizers and gels to prevent the coronavirus were also discussed. First World Mask Week The NCDC has joined the first global movement of World Mask Week (WMW) to motivate all citizens to wear facemasks toward reducing the spread of COVID-19 infection. Chikwe Ihekweazu, the Director-General of NCDC, made this known in a statement made available to reporters on Tuesday in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first World Mask Week (WMW), slated for August 7 to 14, aims at reinforcing the importance of wearing a facemask to reduce the spread of COVID-19. New COVID-19 test and trace app The British government on Thursday announced 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. Coronavirus: 50,000 deaths in five days In less than five days, 50,000 deaths and a million new coronavirus infections were confirmed across the globe, a milestone that not just reflects the pathogens devastating spread but also the upscale in testing. COVID-19: Survivors say mental health key to defeating virus Some survivors of the COVID-19 in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), say mental health is key to defeating the virus. Advertisements The COVID-19 survivors said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja. Mary Adenuga, a lawyer, said that she recovered from the infection having tested positive on July 17. She said that she experienced severe chest pains, extreme fatigue, lack of appetite and a high fever. COVID-19: Nigeria approves N8.5 billion for test kits Nigerias Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday approved N8.5 billion for the purchase of items needed to test for COVID-19. This was disclosed by the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, after Wednesdays meeting presided by President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Ehanire said he presented a memo to FEC on the matter on behalf of the NCDC. Coronavirus: Handwashing facilities key for safe reopening of schools Nearly 820 million children worldwide do not have basic handwashing facilities at school, putting them at increased risk of COVID-19 and other transmittable diseases, according to a report published on Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Childrens Fund, (UNICEF). The Director- General of WHO, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said access to water, sanitation and hygiene services is essential for effective infection prevention and control in all settings, including schools. Council approves national healthcare provision fund guideline The National Council on Health (NCH), has approved the 2020 Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), Guideline aimed at expanding the fiscal space for health. Olujimi Oyetomi, Director, Information, Media, Federal Ministry of Health said this in a statement on Friday in Abuja. According to the statement, Mr Ehanire describes the BHCPF, enshrined in the national health Act 2014, as an irrevocable testament of Nigerias commitment to achieving universal health coverage. Nigerias low COVID-19 cases due to low sample collection NCDC The NCDC says that the low number of the coronavirus cases in the country is due to lesser number of samples collected across the states. Mr Ihekweazu said this on Thursday in Abuja during the Presidential Task Force briefing on COVID-19. Mr Ihekweazu, who was represented by NCDC Head of Surveillance and Epidemiology Department, Elsie Ilori, said that the testing labs were underutilised because the states were not collecting enough samples for the laboratory to test. Malaria: WHO targets 2.1 million children in Borno The World Health Organisation (WHO) says it has targeted 2.1 million children for the 2020 Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) campaign in Borno. SMC is designed to prevent and protect children against malaria. The National Consultant Malaria Emergencies in Nigeria, Iniabasi Nglass, disclosed this during the inauguration of the SMC programme at the Elmiskin Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in Maiduguri. WHO chief calls for equal access to COVID-19 vaccine The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday that six months after first sounding the international alarm over COVID-19, it is now focused on shepherding global vaccine candidates through the necessary trials, and guaranteeing rapid, fair and equitable access to them for all countries. Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Richard Natonski served as head of U.S. Marine Corps Forces Command and is a former observer to U.N. peacekeeping operations in the Middle East. He is also a member of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America's (JINSA) Board of Advisors and Hybrid Warfare Policy Project. The world looked on in horror as two massive explosions ripped through Beirut on Aug. 4, killing more than 150 people and injuring thousands. Lebanon's president attributed the disaster to 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate that were improperly stored at the city's port, where Hezbollah is believed to wield significant influence. While the same material has been stockpiled abroad by this Iranian proxy, there is currently no indication of its direct involvement in the blasts, and preliminary information points to government negligence. Regardless, the incident underscores the need to protect the Lebanese people, who have already withstood too many tragedies -- including, most concerningly, from another conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The threat is immediate, as evidenced by recent tensions on Israel's northern border. The Israeli military repelled an apparent Hezbollah incursion from Lebanon on July 27, as well as a bomb-planting attempt by a suspected Iran-backed cell from Syria on Aug. 2. This escalation followed the death of a Hezbollah operative in an alleged Israeli airstrike in Syria, where Jerusalem has vowed to resist Iranian entrenchment. Israel has told international officials that it isn't seeking a war with Hezbollah, but pledged to retaliate strongly to any attack -- something that the Iranian proxy warned is still forthcoming, after denying involvement in the July 27 incident. Such a threat should not be taken lightly. The Shiite group has expanded its arsenal from 13,000 rockets and missiles on the eve of its 2006 conflict with Israel, to an estimated 130,000 currently. It could fire these weapons by the thousands each day in order to overwhelm Israel's missile defense systems. Indeed, Hezbollah recently threatened that it could strike "very precise targets in Tel Aviv and anywhere in occupied Palestine." Israel has likewise warned that Hezbollah is seeking to grow its arsenal of precision-guided missiles, including through the establishment of facilities in Lebanon to manufacture the weapons. A reported Israeli drone attack in Beirut last August targeted the Iran-backed project. In line with past practices, Hezbollah emplaces such weapons amongst Lebanese civilians, illegally using the population as human shields. As noted in a recent report by an Israeli research center, Hezbollah's missile infrastructure has been positioned near homes, schools, clinics and cafes in Beirut, as well as in civilian areas in southern Lebanon -- a tactic that extends to Hezbollah's tunnel warfare strategy. During Operation Northern Shield, launched in late 2018, Israel uncovered six Hezbollah cross-border attack tunnels. The longest, which penetrated 250 feet into Israeli territory, originated in a home in the Shiite village of Ramiyeh in southern Lebanon. Equipped with electricity, ventilation and communication systems, the tunnel was indicative of the sophistication of Hezbollah's efforts. These developments suggest that, when Hezbollah next seeks a major conflict with Israel, the damage will be even more devastating than it was in 2006. They also highlight, yet again, the failure of the international community to successfully enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701. This measure, which marked the end of the 2006 Lebanon War, calls for "the disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon, so that ... there will be no weapons or authority in Lebanon other than that of the Lebanese State." Yet far from disarming, Hezbollah's military capacity has only grown under the scrutiny of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), the U.N.'s peacekeeping force. With stakes as high as ever, the international community must urgently rally to help Lebanon as it struggles to recover from this latest tragedy, amid a severe economic collapse and the novel coronavirus pandemic. An estimated 300,000 people have now been left homeless in a country already struggling with skyrocketing poverty and unemployment. Yet it must also ensure Hezbollah cannot take advantage of relief efforts to further its entrenchment in Lebanon and enrich its own coffers, which have been heavily hit by the American sanctions campaign. Along with European and Gulf Arab allies, Washington should take a leading role in pushing Lebanon's political elites to accept much-needed reforms and ensuring foreign aid directs them away from Hezbollah -- perhaps the most significant threat to Lebanon's long-term stability and development. Pressure must also be ramped up on Hezbollah to disarm. UNIFIL, whose mandate will come up for renewal at the Security Council this month, must be empowered to police Hezbollah's military build-up, including by proactively inspecting areas labeled as private property, where the terrorist group often keeps its assets, and assert greater freedom to operate independently of the Lebanese Armed Forces. Such efforts could increase international pressure for action against Hezbollah and Iran over their violations of UNSCR 1701. More pressingly, they might help strengthen the Lebanese people -- already deeply disturbed with the Hezbollah-dominated political system -- as they reckon with the immediate dangers posed to their families by this Iranian proxy. Another war between Israel and Hezbollah will be devastating to Lebanon, which has already suffered too much. Rather than waiting idly by, the international community must work vigorously to avert the next tragedy. -- The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Military.com. If you would like to submit your own commentary, please send your article to opinions@military.com for consideration. Malaysia has discovered a strain of coronavirus that is believed to be 10 times more infectious. The mutation, called D614G, has been found in other parts of the world, but was detected in Malaysia in at least three cases in a cluster of 45 cases that started from an Indian man. The man, a restaurateur, violated his 14-day quarantine order. He has been jailed by a Malaysian court for five months. The restaurateur owns an eatery in the northern state of Kedah. The strain was also found in another cluster that involved people who returned from the Philippines. Malaysia's Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah expressed concerns over the current coronavirus vaccines and said that the current studies might be incomplete or ineffective against this strain. The mutation has become a predominant variant in Europe and the US. The World Health Organisation (WHO), has, however, said that there is no evidence to suggest that this strain is linked to a more severe disease. Also read: Coronavirus vaccine: Russia produces first batch; CanSino receives patent approval in China "People need to be wary and take greater precautions because this strain has now been found in Malaysia. The people's cooperation is very needed so that we can together break the chain of infection from any mutation," said Noor Hisham in a Facebook post on Sunday. The restaurateur had returned from India before violating his quarantine order. He was also fined $2,864 or 12,000 ringgit by a magistrate's court. A special hearing was held at Kedah hospital where he was undergoing treatment. The man who had initially tested negative had violated his quarantine to visit his restaurant. After his second test showed positive, dozens of people who came in contact with him were found to be infected. According to Bloomberg, 45 cases linked to the cluster have since been reported in three states. Also read: Coronavirus in India: Deaths cross 50,000; 941 die in a day Also read: China approves first COVID-19 vaccine patent to CanSino Biologics Meghan Markle wears affordable British jewellery brand on latest virtual engagement. (Getty Images) Yahoo Lifestyle is committed to finding you the best products at the best prices. We may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. Meghan Markle wore a vibrant silk Hugo Boss tunic during her video call interview with The 19th* co-founder Emily Ramshaw. Markles tangerine outfit was every bit as chic as weve come to expect from the royal, but our eyes were drawn to the former Suits actors arm candy during the talk, as she opened up about her and husband Prince Harrys move back to America. Those looking to emulate Markles style may be interested to learn that there is a British accessory brand that she rates. In case you missed it: At The #19thRepresents summit, Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex, interviewed our co-founder and CEO, @eramshaw, about The 19th's mission to create a transformative newsroom centered on gender equity. More: https://t.co/Tlvss9EQRg pic.twitter.com/SgKR3dGeZU 19thnews (@19thnews) August 16, 2020 Markle - who has son Archie with Harry - could be seen wearing an array of gold jewellery on her left hand, during The 19th* Represents 2020 Summit on 14 August. She paired her Cartier Love Bracelet with a more affordable accessory from British jewellery brand Monica Vinader the Linear Friendship Bracelet in gold. This is not the first time Markle has sported the design. Back in June 2020, she was seen wearing the pairing during a video message to students leaving the Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles. Buy it: Linear Friendship Bracelet | 125 from Meghan Markle Linear Friendship Bracelet Monica Vinaders Linear Friendship Bracelet features a short curved bar, measuring 35mm in length and 4mm in depth and is made from 18ct gold vermeil on sterling silver, which is fitted onto the twisted golden cord. Story continues The bracelet is fixed with a stopper so you can adjust the fit to suit your wrist, plus it can be engraved with a personal message or a name. It is available to buy online and in store for 125. This design can also be snapped up in other colours, including a red, black or rose gold rope, as well as with silver and rose gold bars, or chain cords. How Churches are Filling the Gaps in the 'Last Mile of Need' Church members from Canyon Hills Assembly of God deliver food boxes to apartments across the street from the church NEWS PROVIDED BY CityServe Aug. 17, 2020 WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2020 /Standard Newswire/ -- While each step of the supply chain is important, there is none more pressing than delivering through the "Last Mile of Need." Local churches are innovatively taking the torch where others fall short and feeding the most food-insecure families. Due to the many challenges of the pandemic we know the health and economic impact of COVID-19 is having a devastating impact on millions of Americans who lack basic necessities in their homes including food, clothes, and essential household items. Over the past four-plus months as we've adjusted to the COVID-19 pandemic, food insecurity has increased in the United States. "Food insecurity for U.S. households last week reached its highest reported level since the Census Bureau started tracking the data in May, with almost 30 million Americans reporting that they'd not had enough to eat at some point in the seven days through July 21." (Bloomberg). Many have watched the television news coverage of desperate people waiting in long food lines all day for a few boxes of food. However, the story that is rarely shown is of the multitudes of families and individuals residing in the most critical leg of the supply chain"Last Mile of Need." The "Last Mile of Need" Defined This metaphorical region defines a subgroup of people with food needs that are often unmet for a variety of reasons. The federal government and most nonprofits admit there are significant gaps of unmet need mostly due to limited program capacity. You likely know someone who has fallen between the gaps: the homebound elderly man, the family who cannot afford gas for their already unreliable car, the single mother quarantined with her children, or the college student trapped at home with underlying health conditions. Though government assistance programs and food bank "truck to trunk" events play a vital role, simply put, there is no "Plan B" to serve those living in the gap. Individuals and families in the "Last Mile of Need" share, but are not limited to, one or more of the following challenges: Unable to get to food lines due to health or lack of dependable transportation Lack of awareness of available feeding programs Household resources are insufficient, but its scarcity is not enough to qualify for assistance A New Approach: The CityServe Distribution Model Understanding this challenge, CityServe and its partners came together to meet this need on a national scale. A HUB/POD distribution model has proven most effective in serving families and has surpassed 3 million USDA Farmers to Families food boxes distributed through the "Last Mile of Need." Suppliers of the program have committed over 3 million food boxes a month to CityServe and its partners to funnel through the distribution model. The CityServe distribution model is based on a HUB & POD supply chain. A CityServe HUB is a church with the capacity and space to be a distribution center of household goods, furniture, and food to local churches, also known as PODs (point of distribution), in its geographical region. A POD is a local church in agreement with and trained by CityServe to receive resources from its assigned HUB and meet the needs of its neighborhood with compassionate giving and relationship building. In many instances, we're developing franchised affiliates across different geographical regions who operate in conjunction with the HUB & POD distribution model to eradicate the "Last Mile of Need." There are real costs associated with delivering through the "Last Mile of Need." When implementing HUBs & PODs, CityServe assumes all transportation and refrigeration expenses, allowing churches to join the collaborative community with no monetary memberships costs or fees. The Role of the Local Church Local churches have a unique ability to fill the gaps because they are in close relationship with their neighbors and most aware of the needs and specific circumstances in their community. They look out for the unseen, forgotten, and left behind. To this end CityServe is focused on delivering to the "Last Mile of Need" by empowering and equipping the local church to fulfill its purpose to overcome despair and transform lives by resourcing them with tangible goods and capacity building. Alta Vista Assembly of God, a church in the CityServe network located in Bakersfield, CA, shares a story of how they were able to reach a family in the "Last Mile of Need." They received news of a family with young children whose parents were farm laborers and recently laid off because of the COVID-19 crisis. They were out of work, money, and food. To make matters worse, their 1-year-old baby had tested positive for COVID-19 and now they were quarantined. When church leaders heard about their hardships, they packed up three weeks' worth of food, diapers, and other household items and delivered them to their front yard gate. The church kept in touch with the family and provided much needed support, including prayer. They were pleased to learn that the baby fully recovered from the virus and all family needs were met over the weeks of quarantine. To this day, the church still connects with the family every week and delivers food boxes. This is just one of the many stories of a church going the extra miles so families living in the last mile are not forgotten. "Someone's entire life can be saved by a simple act of kindness," says church leader Ryan Anderson of Hope Christian Center, as he recalls a story of a man who had reached a dark point of depression. With young children at home, the man was overcome with despair because of a loss of a job and anguish over how to support his family. He was walking down the street contemplating how to take his own life when he saw a church sign that read "FREE FOOD." That sign represented a hope that he was not alone and that others from the church cared about him and his family. USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program CityServe is currently supporting the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and their Farmers to Families Food Box Program through the CityServe HUB & POD distribution model. On April 17, 2020, the USDA announced the program as part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program developed to help farmers, ranchers, and consumers in response to the COVID-19 national emergency. The USDA approved $3 billion in contracts to suppliers for meat, produce, and dairy packaging and distribution to food banks, nonprofit and faith-based organizations. "The Farmers to Families Food Box Program was designed to put American farmers and distributors of all sizes back to work while supporting over-burdened food banks, community, and faith-based organizations, and other non-profits serving Americans in need, and the program is doing just that," said Agricultural Secretary Perdue. "It's encouraging to see the passion with which farmers, distributors, and nonprofits have gone above and beyond to make this program work in support of the American people." On July 24th, the USDA announced it had reached a momentous milestone of distributing more than 46 million food boxes through the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. Faith-Based Community Recently, we have begun partnering with other faith-based groups to coordinate with the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box distribution program. CityServe is facilitating the Faith-Based Community in support of Farmers to Families which also includes World Vision, Convoy of Hope, Citygate Network, The Dream Center Network, Teen Challenge, Mercy Chefs, God's Pit Crew, Victory Churches, and other faith-based organizations. Reporting Numbers The Faith-Based Community in support of Farmers to Families has played an essential role in delivering food through the "Last Mile of Need." HUBs within the Faith-Based Community = 348 USDA-approved suppliers collaborating with the Faith-Based Community for food box distribution = 33 Food boxes distributed since program launch = 3.3 million+ Food boxes committed each month to Faith-Based Community = 3 million+ Food box commitments to the Faith-Based Community continue to increase weekly as the HUB & POD distribution model proves most effective in reaching the most vulnerable to food insecurity. With support from the White House and the USDA the network provides an unparalleled establishment of churches and faith-based organizations that are committed to helping people who need it the most. To find out how you can get involved from a church, corporate, community or on an individual level visit us online at www.CityServe.us to deliver critical items to those in need and help offer a sense of hope for a more secure life. You can also get more information by calling us at 661-371-2650. Additional information on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, including webinars and FAQs, is available at https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box. SOURCE CityServe CONTACT: Crissy Cochran, 661-472-7305, crissy@cityserve.us Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 16:59:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, both Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for their conventions after economic turmoil and rioting in cities nationwide. While the economy is slowly but surely returning to normal and most of the riots have ended, the conventions will occur during a highly uncertain time. In a historic first, Democrats are going totally virtual, and U.S. President Donald Trump will deliver his convention speech from the White House, in a bid to stem the spread of the virus. According to Fox News, the Republican convention will highlight the country's "greatness, opportunity and President Donald Trump's bold leadership." One speaker will be Tanya Weinreis, owner of Mountain Mudd Espresso in the U.S. state of Montana, a small coffee shop with around 50 employees. Weinreis received a special loan reserved for businesses that have suffered from the pandemic, and she is slated to speak about how the loan made a big difference for her company during this unprecedented time. "[The loan] will allow us to continue paying our employees, as well as covering other operational costs like rent and utilities," she was quoted as saying on Fox News. A sergeant in the St. Louis Police Department, Ann Dorn, will also speak. She is also the wife retired St. Louis Police Captain David Dorn, who was murdered by looters while protecting a store during the nationwide riots that lasted over a week last May. The speech comes at a time when some Democratic politicians are pushing to defund police departments. Last month, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio passed a city budget that took 1 billion U.S. dollars from the city's police budget. For their convention, Democrats will highlight stories of how ordinary Americans are struggling through the pandemic. The party will use that as a platform to cast blame on Trump and argue that Joe Biden is the leader to shepherd the nation through this ordeal, U.S. media reported. Democrats have chosen "Uniting America" as the main theme for the four-day virtual event. The event will kick off Monday and feature former Democratic candidate for president and self-avowed socialist Bernie Sanders, as well as former First Lady Michelle Obama. Tuesday night will see a speech by AOC -- Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. On Wednesday night, former President Barack Obama will speak, and Thursday will be Biden's big night. Clay Ramsay, a researcher at the University of Maryland, told Xinhua that some air time will go into explaining what a Biden administration would do -- perhaps more time than people are expecting. The criticism of Trump will mostly be handled by speakers below the top headliners, he added. "The tone of (Republican) speeches will be darker, implying a future of racial turmoil if the Democrats win ... The usual format will be remodeled to give us lots more Trump-some every night. And there's a large audience for that," Ramsay said. Christopher Galdieri, assistant professor at Saint Anselm College, told Xinhua that Trump will emphasize crime and policing and argue he is the only thing standing between voters and chaos. "He'll argue that if Biden wins, every place in the U.S. will turn into Minneapolis at the height of the protests and rioting there," Galdieri said of recent massive riots that tore that city apart. Biden will emphasize his biography and record in office as part of his pitch that he can get the country back to something resembling normal, Galdieri said. "Biden will probably make the coronavirus pandemic central to his speech, and blame Trump ... for the extent of it and the fact that life has been abnormal and kids aren't in school and so on," Galdieri said. Enditem Secretary-General of the People's Action Party of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong, in which he expressed his deep sympathy over the passing of the former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu. Lee Hsien Loong also spoke highly of the important role played by the former Vietnamese Party chief in promoting the Singapore-Vietnam bilateral cooperation. In a message to the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Politburo member and head of the Communist Party of France Central Committees Commission for External Relations Lydia Samarbakhsh spoke of efforts and contributions made by Le Kha Phieu for Vietnams Doi Moi (Renewal) cause and peace in the world, saying that his official visit to France in 2000 opened a new page in the relations between France and Vietnam. Chairman of the Mozambique Liberation Front and President of Mozambique Filipe Jacinto Nyusi sent a letter of condolences to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong. President of the Moroccan House of Representatives Habib El Malki extended his condolences to National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) Shah Alam and CPB President Mujahidul Islam Selim sent condolences to the CPV Central Committee. The Movement of Popular Participation of Uruguay also sent condolences to the CPV Central Committee. A high-ranking delegation of Cambodia led by President of the National Assembly of Cambodia Samdech Heng Samrin paid their last respect to Le Kha Phieu in Hanoi on August 15. By Deepak Chopra,TM MD and Menas C. Kafatos, PhD As we go about everyday life, we are embedded in a mystery no one has ever solved. The mystery was voiced by one of the most brilliant quantum pioneers, Werner Heisenberg: Not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think. (There are variants of the quote that use reality for universe, and the remark has also been attributed to other famous scientists, but the gist is always the same.) If we take this remark seriously, it turns out to be truer today than it was in 1900 when the quantum revolution began and the revolutionary new theory of quantum mechanics was put together. How can reality be stranger than we could possibly think? Look at the framework of your life. You pick up your morning coffee, and instantly you are acting in space and time. Your perception of the cup in your hand depends upon the five senses as communicated through the brain. You can think about anything you fancy as you sip your coffee. These might not seem so mysterious, but there is one mystery after another nested inside everyday experience. Science can reach no consensus on the following: Where did time come from? Why do properties of physical objects have their origin in invisible waves of probability of observation? Where does a thought come from? How did matter transform into mind? Is consciousness solely a human trait or is it everywhere in the universe? The pioneers of quantum physics werent the first to ask such questions, but quantum physics got to the nub of how the physical universe is constructed. Everything in existence emerges from ripples in the quantum field, and underlying these ripples is an invisible or virtual domain that goes beyond spacetime, matter, and energy. In the virtual domain, the universe and everything in it is a field of infinite possibilities, and yet the virtual domain cannot be observed directly. As a result, contemporary physics can take us to the horizon of reality, the womb of creation, but it cannot cross the boundary between us and our source of existence. Almost all the recent models that have gained popularity, including superstrings, the multiverse, and dark matter and energy, exist in so-called mathematical space, or Hilbert space, in recognition that they are not going to yield direct empirical evidence that can be perceived with our senses. Astrophysics had already gotten used to the fact that just 4% of the created universe is accounted for by the matter and energy visible to the eye or to telescopes. With dark matter and energy added in, most of what we see is not really what the universe consists of. Leaving the technicalities aside, it has become far more difficult to foresee that the human mind can fully comprehend the nature of reality when so many crucial aspects are beyond the setup that our brains can grasp. The thinking mind needs the brain in order to operate, and the brain is a creation in spacetime consisting of matter and energy, that are in spacetime. We wear mind-made manacles. When this fact dawned on the late Stephen Hawking, he ruefully conceded that scientific models might no longer describe reality in any reliable or complete way. When we discussed these issues in our book, You Are the Universe, the title reflected another approach entirely. Instead of founding the universe on physical things, however small, or even ripples in the quantum field, which are knowable only through advanced mathematics, reality can be grounded in experience. Everything we call real is an experience in consciousness, including the experience of doing science. Mathematics is a very refined, complex language, but there is no language, simple or complex, without consciousness. The vast majority of scientists will continue to engage in experimentation and theoretical modeling without this venture into metaphysics, which is a no-no word in science (a famous put down when things get to speculative is Shut up and calculate). But it was quantum physics that brought the mystery of reality into the laboratory in modern terms, even though Plato and Aristotle also wondered about what is real. A younger generation has proved more open-minded, and a growing cadre of cosmologists now hold to the notion of panpsychism, which holds that mind is built into reality from the start. This is a huge turn-around from the view that mind evolved out of matter here on Earth as a unique creation. The fact is that nobody in the physicalist camp could explain how atoms and molecules learned to thinkcreating mind out of matter was dead on arrival, even though the vast majority of scientists still hold on to this view as an assumption or superstition. Ironically, to say that reality is stranger than we can think isnt confined to the queer behavior of atoms and subatomic particles. You cannot think about consciousness, either, any more than the eye can see itself or the brain know that it exists (without cutting through the skull to see the brain from the outside). A fish cannot know that water is wet unless it jumps out of the sea and splashes back down again. We cannot think about consciousness without a place to stand outside consciousness, and such a place doesnt exist in the entire cosmos. The source of space isnt inside space; the source of time isnt in time. Likewise, the source of mind isnt inside the mind. The ceaseless stream of sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts that run through your mind are the products of consciousness. Consciousness itself has no location. It is infinite, without dimensions in space and time, unborn and undying. Can you really think about such a thing as consciousness? And yet you know without a doubt that you are conscious. This is what allows us to make peace with reality being too strange to think about. We can simply drop the strange part. Reality can be founded on knowing that you exist and that you are aware. Existence is consciousness. If science is dedicated to the simplest, most complete explanation of things, existence = consciousness is the simplest and most complete explanation. There is no need for religious or spiritual beliefs in order to accept this foundation for reality, since it is based on what science has arrived at. By removing our outdated allegiance to things existing independently of consciousness, the basis of reality can be seen clearly. In our everyday life we navigate with existence and consciousness at our side, indivisible, secure, inviolate, and unchallengeable. A whole new future may spring from accepting this simple but awe-inspiring fact. DEEPAK CHOPRATM MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers.His 90th book, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities. TIME magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century. Menas C. Kafatos is the Fletcher Jones Endowed Professor of Computational Physics at Chapman University. Author, physicist and philosopher, he works in quantum mechanics, cosmology, the environment and climate change and extensively on philosophical issues of consciousness, connecting science to metaphysical traditions. Member or candidate of foreign national academies, he holds seminars and workshops for individuals, groups and corporations on the universal principles for well-being and human potential. His doctoral thesis advisor was the renowned M.I.T. professor Philip Morrison who studied under J. Robert Oppenheimer. He has authored 334 articles, is author or editor of 20 books, including The Conscious Universe, Looking In, Seeing Out, Living the Living Presence (in Greek and in Korean), Science, Reality and Everyday Life (in Greek), and is co-author with Deepak Chopra of the NY Times Bestseller You are the Universe (Harmony Books), translated into many languages and at many countries. You can learn more at www.menaskafatos.com New restrictions will today be considered as the number of coronavirus cases here continues to spike. Our infection rate has now hit 23 per 100,000, surpassing that of the UK, with 18.6 per 100,000 and 16.3 in Germany. Spain's rate is 115.7 and France's 41.2. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has called the situation "deeply concerning". It comes amid outrage over a video that circulated showing a bar in Dublin's city centre where revellers appear to completely ignore public health advice. The Government, representatives of the bar trade and the public hit out at the weekend scenes at Berlin D2 bar. There were more than 260 new cases of coronavirus reported over the weekend. The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is today meeting to decide measures to protect the most vulnerable as our number of Covid-19 cases continues to spike. Acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said the reopening of schools will be considered as part of advice to Cabinet. Read More "Nphet will meet to review and discuss the case figures that have been reported in recent days and will make any necessary recommendations to government which are required to protect the vulnerable, continue with the resumption of healthcare services and ensure the safe reopening of our schools," he said. Meanwhile, influential Dr Gabriel Scally told the Irish Independent he believed the State should pass emergency legislation to fight the spread of Covid-19 as "reckless" behaviour, bordering on "criminal" may have influenced 1,100 cases in just 14 days. Dr Gabriel Scally, who authored the report into the CervicalCheck controversy, last night told the Irish Independent the State must now act legally against any businesses aiding the spread of the virus through neglect, after the concerning "trend" of spread in every county. An unwelcome growth in the number of cases has alerted the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), which is expected to trigger discussions on the reopening of schools. Nphet is meeting today to discuss its advice to Government as the number of Covid-19 cases spikes. Dr Scally said: "The Government needs to take extremely strong action when anyone is putting others at risk, as this is verging on criminal activity because lives are at stake. "The State can alter the law, pass emergency legislation to take away people's licences, close businesses who are not protecting public health, including pubs. "It will be very difficult to open schools unless we know exactly where the cases are. "If there are substantial numbers in local communities, it's not wise to open the schools. Not because young children are at risk, but they do transmit the virus." He said there were concerns about schools acting as "transmission hubs", so the only way for schools to safely open, was for there to be good local knowledge about the level of infections. The phased reopening of the country has afforded people the opportunity to socialise with each other again. "However, some are doing this recklessly and undermining the efforts of the majority of people around the country who are following public-health advice. This cannot continue. This pandemic isn't over just because we are tired of living with it. "We must all learn to behave and interact in a new way over the coming months so that Covid-19 cannot take root again in our communities. Please avoid crowds, reduce your social contacts, keep your distance from others, wash your hands and wear face coverings." Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said Ireland's worsening incidence of Covid-19 is "deeply concerning" while the Labour Party has insisted school reopenings had to go ahead. The Government could hold an incorporeal Cabinet meeting tomorrow if new restrictions on socialising are to be proposed and approved. But the focus is currently on a new messaging and advertising drive to tell young people, in particular, of the dangers of congregated settings and the need not to associate with older people and the vulnerable, including parents and grandparents, if they attend parties or ignore advice. The Taoiseach, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly met acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn to discuss the "evolving" situation yesterday. A Government statement said: "They expressed deep concern at yesterday's figures. There will be a further analysis of the situation ahead of the Cabinet Committee on Covid." Aligarh : , Aug 17 (IANS) When a team of officials belonging to different government agencies reached Peepal village in Khair area in Aligarh on Friday to meet one Rahul, they were shocked, to put it rather mildly. Seeing Rahul's house, reportedly a director in two Chinese firms and shareholder in two others, the team went back after making polite inquiries from the family, mainly his father Shyam Sunder and mother. The officials spoke to Rahul on the phone and he told them that he has been working in Gurugram in a motor vehicle parts' firm since the past one year. He said that one person offered him another part-time job at an office, located in DLF Cyber City, and he readily agreed. Rahul told the team that the person, Saggu, had taken his Aadhar and PAN card when he joined the job. The documents were apparently used without his consent in a recent money laundering racket that has been unearthed in Delhi. Since Sunday afternoon, Rahul's mobile phone has been switched off and his father is also untraceable. According to sources, Rahul's family owns 12 bighas of land and agriculture is their only source of income. Family members, who are now unwilling to speak to the media, are 'shocked' that their son is allegedly a millionaire. "We cannot believe that Rahul could be involved in anything like this. His house is dilapidated and there are no signs of such money coming in," said a neighbour who refused to be identified. Meanwhile, in its probe into a hawala racket being run by Chinese entities, income tax officials have found that a suspect, Lou Sang, had changed his identity to Charlie Pang, an Indian national. He held an Indian passport and even an Aadhaar card and was married to a girl from Manipur. He got the passport issued from Manipur. The I-T department, last week, had busted a hawala racket perpetrated by a few Chinese individuals and their Indian associates. The initial probe revealed that one Lou Sang was representing many Chinese firms for hawala operations in India. It was found that Sang operated over 40 bank accounts, created by various dummy entities, which received advances of thousands of crores from shell companies. Department officials have also raided bank employees and premises of several Chinese companies, suspecting the scam to be well over Rs 1,000 crore. The accused, who has been running this hawala racket for the past three years, kept on changing his addresses frequently. Earlier, he used to stay in Dwarka area of Delhi but his current address changed to DLF. While the local automotive industry has yet to fully rebound from the huge slump caused by the turnout of events earlier this year, a major local carmakers group has opened the third quarter on a significantly positive note. Based on the joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA), vehicles sales for July reached 20,542, representing a 31.9 percent jump over the 15,578 units sold back in June. However, it is still down by 35.4 percent when compared to the 31,810 units delivered in the same month last year. On a year-to-date comparison, the group only rolled out 105,583 unitswhich is a 48.7 percent drop from the 205,945 units attained for the first seven months of 2019. Motorcycle EDSA Despite all the negative numbers, CAMPI President Atty. Rommel Gutierrez expressed high hopes with the recent sales achievement that the group garnered. It is understandable that achieving the industrys average monthly pre-COVID-19 level remains elusive and a challenge at the same time amid this pandemic and the recent pronouncement of economic recession. But this month-on-month of nearly 32% growth is what the industry needs at this point to achieve its sales forecast of 240,000 units for this year, Gutierrez said. The CAMPI chief claimed that the massive decline in sales can have an adverse effect in the operations of the country. This volume reduction can have serious operational and financial impact on the automotive industry. We have submitted some recommendations for industry support, which are now under study by the DTI, Gutierrez revealed. Edsa traffic The industry is doing all it can to sustainably provide sales promotions to encourage customers amid another stricter community quarantine for this month. Further, the industry is ensuring that all the necessary safety measures are strictly observed to protect both our customers and our front liners. Last June 2020, vehicle sales skyrocketed by as much as 225.4 percent with 15,578 units sold, versus the lowly 4,788 units sold back in May. Story continues Photo/s from Ruben D. Manahan IV Also read: Car, Truckmakers' Group Sales Down in January 2020 Local Car Manufacturers Rebound in February 2020 Auto Industry 2019 Sales Shows Steady Climb BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 17 Trend: An international virtual conference entitled Efforts of Uzbekistan and Pakistan in resolving the situation in Afghanistan: Prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation has been held, Trend reports with reference to the Uzbek embassy in Azerbaijan. The joint event of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Pakistani Center for Global and Strategic Studies (CGSS) was attended by the heads and leading experts of analytical and research centers of the two countries, as well as representatives of political and academic circles of Pakistan including diplomats, scientists and specialists in security and foreign policy. The central topic of the event was the role of Uzbekistan and Pakistan in resolving the Afghan crisis. The participants discussed in detail the issues of economic recovery in Afghanistan, prospects for the implementation of joint projects contributing to the development of trans-regional cooperation between Central and South Asia. Akramjon Nematov, first deputy director of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan noted that thanks to the efforts of the international community, including regional countries, significant qualitative shifts are taking place in Afghanistan in promoting the peace process and direct inter-Afghan talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha are planned in the coming days. The speaker emphasized that Uzbekistan's involvement in solving the Afghan problem is not limited to diplomatic efforts. Today, Uzbekistan makes a significant contribution to improving the socio-economic situation in Afghanistan through the implementation of specific projects in transport, economy, energy and education, supports the neighboring country in overcoming the humanitarian crisis caused by the pandemic. Drawing attention to the significant efforts being made by Uzbekistan to resolve the situation in Afghanistan, CGSS President, Major General Khalid Amir Jaffery emphasized that Tashkent Conference, initiated by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, played an important role in achieving the current practical results in conducting inter-Afghan negotiations. According to him, Tashkent Declaration, signed following the conference, is a strategic document covering such key aspects of achieving long-term and sustainable peace in Afghanistan as respect for the independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Afghanistan, ensuring equal rights for all Afghans and ending violence. Major General Jaffery emphasized that Uzbekistan and Pakistan, being neighbors of Afghanistan, and directly observing the emerging situation in this country, can and should play a significant role in the peace process and post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan. He also highlighted the initiatives of the President of Uzbekistan on involving Afghanistan in the regional trade-economic cooperation, which makes a significant contribution to the process of stabilizing the situation in this country. Following the conference, the participants emphasized that peace and stability in Afghanistan will create necessary conditions for the launch and implementation of large-scale trans-regional projects that can become promising driving force for sustainable development of the macro-region of Central and South Asia. "Many students who had intended to take classes in-person had a difficult experience with online learning this spring when campuses closed and learning quickly moved online," said Fernando Bleichmar, EVP and General Manager of Higher Education and Skills, Cengage. "Online learning can be intimidating and many students worry if they can be successful in an online environment. They are also worried if they can afford their education because of the financial impact of the pandemic. Cengage Unlimited helps by giving students the flexibility they need, along with affordable access to quality learning with supports to be successful in any environment." The "Change How You Learn" tutorials provide quick skills-based learning activities for successful online or hybrid learning. Some of the topics covered include: "Best Practices for Online Learning" Teaches students to evaluate strengths so they can tailor online learning best practices to fit their style. "The Challenges of Online Courses" Students can gain awareness of the challenges faced when taking an online course in order to understand the need for discipline and identify methods to succeed in the online learning environment. "Tips for Online Test Taking" Helps students take charge of their online testing experience by presenting strategies for before, during and after the test. "Connecting with Your Peers" With remote learning making it hard for students to connect with their peers, this tutorial looks specifically at approaches to connect with peers through online classes. Students actively looking for a job or currently working can also access "Changing How You Work Tutorials" in the "Career Success Tips" section of their Cengage Unlimited dashboard to find helpful tips to prepare them for the global shift to remote working including tutorials like these: "How to Do a Video Interview" Student's next job interview is likely to take place online, so it is imperative they learn to present themselves to a prospective employer in front of the camera. "Working Remotely" Student employees can learn how to evaluate their strengths and what makes them most productive during remote work in order to tailor best practices to fit their style. Beyond academic support, students can also find support for Self-Care, including guided meditations, exercise demonstrations, and tutorials about "Managing Feelings of Loneliness" and "Maintaining Social Connections." A Cengage Unlimited subscription includes additional college success and career support activities to help with things like time management, financial literacy, studying techniques, health/wellness and resume building. Since Cengage Unlimited launched in August 2018, more than 2.2 million subscribers have saved more than $200 million. For more information on offerings within Cengage Unlimited, visit https://www.cengage.com/unlimited/ or https://www.cengage.com/unlimited/instructor/ About Cengage Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. As the largest US-based provider of teaching and learning materials for higher education, we offer valuable options at affordable price points. Our industry-leading initiatives include Cengage Unlimited, the first-of-its-kind all-access digital subscription service. We embrace innovation to create learning experiences that build confidence and momentum toward the future students want. Headquartered in Boston, Cengage also serves K-12, library and workforce training markets around the world. Visit us at www.cengage.com or find us on Facebook or Twitter. Media Contact: Jessica Kravet, Cengage 857.329.5416, [email protected] SOURCE Cengage Related Links http://www.cengage.com From the four-foot-tall emperor penguin to the aptly named foot-long little penguin, these unique flightless birds have invaded habitats from Antarctica to the equator, not to mention the hearts of the public. A comparison of the full genomes of 18 recognized species of penguins provides clues to how they achieved this success -- though not their adorability -- over tens of millions of years, through warm and cold climate swings. It also cautions that today's rapidly changing climate may be too much for them. "We are able to show how penguins have been able to diversify to occupy the incredibly different thermal environments they live in today, going from 9 degrees Celsius (48 F) in the waters around Australia and New Zealand, down to negative temperatures in Antarctica and up to 26 degrees (79 F) in the Galapagos Islands," said Rauri Bowie, professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and curator in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ) at Berkeley. "But we want to make the point that it has taken millions of years for penguins to be able to occupy such diverse habitats, and at the rate that oceans are warming, penguins are not going to be able to adapt fast enough to keep up with changing climate." The researchers established conclusively that penguins arose in the cool coastal regions of Australia and New Zealand, not frigid Antarctica, as many scientists thought, and they pinpoint the origin of penguins at about 22 million years ago. Despite their success in spreading widely throughout the Southern Hemisphere, many penguin populations are now threatened. Breeding colonies of emperor penguins in Antarctica have had to relocate because of receding sea ice, while last year saw mass mortality of Adelie penguin chicks on the continent. Galapagos penguin populations are declining as warm El Nino events become more common. In New Zealand, populations of little and yellow-eyed penguins must be fenced off to protect them from the depredations of feral cats, while African penguin populations are declining drastically as the waters off southern Africa warm. "We saw, over millions of years, that the diversification of penguins decreased with increasing temperature, but that was over a longtime scale," said Juliana Vianna, associate professor of ecosystems and environment at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Santiago. "Right now, changes in the climate and environment are going too fast for some species to respond to the climate change." Vianna is first author of a paper with Bowie and other colleagues describing their findings that will be published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Where did penguins come from? For the study, Vianna, Bowie and colleagues at museums and universities around the world gathered blood and tissue samples from 22 penguins representing 18 species and then sequenced and analyzed their whole genomes to chart penguin movement and diversification over the millennia. Their conclusions resolve several long-standing questions: in particular, where penguins originated -- along the coasts of Australia, New Zealand and nearby islands of the South Pacific -- and when -- 22 million years ago. The genetic evidence indicates that the ancestors of the king and emperor penguins, the two largest species, soon split off from the other penguins and moved to sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters, respectively, presumably to take advantage of abundant food resources. This scenario is consistent with the contested hypothesis that the emperor and king penguins -- the only two species in the genus Aptenodytes -- are the sister group to all other penguin lineages. "It was very satisfying to be able to resolve the phylogeny, which has been debated for a long time," Bowie said. "The debate hinged on where, exactly, the emperor and king penguins were placed in the family tree, whether they are nested inside the tree closer to other lineages of penguins or whether they are sisters to all the other penguins, which is what our phylogeny showed and some other previous studies had suggested. And it fits with the rich fossil history of penguins." The other penguins diversified and spread widely across the southern oceans, after the Drake's Passage between Antarctica and the southern tip of South America fully opened about 12 million years ago. The opening revved up the clockwise-moving Antarctic Circumpolar Current allowed these flightless birds to swim with the ocean currents throughout the southern ocean, populating both the cold sub-Antarctic islands and the warmer coastal areas of South America and Africa, where they populated to coastlines and remote islands with cold, upwelling, nutrient-rich water. Today, penguins are found in Australia and New Zealand (yellow-eyed, little and other crested penguins), Antarctica (emperor, Adelie, gentoo and chinstrap), the tropical west coast of South America (Galapagos and Humboldt), the southern coasts of South America (Magellanic and southern rockhopper), the South Atlantic (Magellanic and Macaroni), southern Africa (African) and some in the sub-Antarctic (king, gentoo and Macaroni), Indian Ocean islands (eastern rockhopper) and sub-tropical regions (northern rockhopper). Using powerful analysis techniques, some developed recently to analyze historical interactions among humans and our Neanderthal and Denisovan relatives, the researchers were able to determine that several groups of penguins have interbred over the course of their evolutionary history. Through exchange of genetic material, penguins may have shared genetic traits that facilitated the diversification of penguins across the steep thermal and salinity gradients encountered in the southern oceans. The most hybridized are the rockhopper penguins and their close relatives, which experienced at least four introgressions, or transfers of genetic information, over the course of millions of years. The team also pinpointed genetic adaptions that allowed penguins to thrive in new and challenging environments, including changes in genes responsible for regulating body temperature, which allowed them to adapt to subzero Antarctic temperatures, as well as tropical temperatures near the equator; oxygen consumption that permitted deeper dives; and osmoregulation, so they could survive on seawater without the need to find fresh water. New analytical tools helped the researchers to infer the sizes of ancient penguin populations going back about 1 million years. Most penguin species, they found, increased to their greatest numbers as the world cooled 40,000 to 70,000 years ago during the last glaciation -- many species prefer to breed on snow and ice -- and some had a bump in population during the previous glaciation period 140,000 years ago. Two species -- the gentoo and the Galapagos -- seem to have been declining in populations for at least the past 1 million years. DNA from the most isolated birds on Earth Vianna has long-running research projects on penguins in Chile and Antarctica and, for this study, obtained blood samples from many species in those areas. Colleagues in France, Norway, Brazil, Australia, the United States and South Africa supplied blood from some remote species -- Norwegian colleagues provided blood from the chinstrap penguin of the Bouvet islands, for example -- while Vianna and Bowie obtained blood samples from an African penguin in a colony at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. But some species were harder to locate. The researchers were forced to rely on tissue from a preserved specimen of the yellow-eyed penguin in UC Berkeley's MVZ, while the American Museum of Natural History in New York supplied tissue from preserved erect-crested and Fiordland penguins. Each genome was sequenced 30 times by Illumina shotgun sequencing, which produced tiny pieces -- about 150 base pairs long -- of the entire genome. Vianna, who at the time was working with Bowie at UC Berkeley on a sabbatical, painstakingly aligned each piece along a reference genome that had previously been sequenced -- that of the emperor penguin -- as a scaffold. "Having a reference genome is like using the cover of a puzzle box to assemble a jigsaw puzzle: You can take all your super little pieces and align them to that reference genome," Bowie said. "We did that with each of these penguin genomes." The genome comparisons told them that penguins arose between 21 million and 22 million years ago, narrowing down the 10-to-40-million-year window determined previously from fossil penguins. They also disproved a paper published last year that suggested that the closely related king and emperor penguins were a sister group to the gentoo and Adelie penguins. Instead, they found that the king and emperor penguins are the sister group to all other penguins. Vianna and Bowie now have genome sequences of 300 individual penguins and are diving more deeply into the genetic variations within and among disparate penguin populations. They recently discovered a new lineage of penguin that awaits scientific description. "Penguins are very charismatic, certainly," Vianna said. "But I hope these studies also lead to better conservation." ### The work was supported by the Chilean Antarctic Institute, Fondecyt Project, GAB PIA CONICYT (ACT172065) and the U.S. National Science Foundation (DEB-1441652). Among the paper's co-authors are Ke Bi and Cynthia Wang-Claypool of UC Berkeley and Daly Noll of Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Interlink Electronics, Inc. (OTC: LINK), a world-leading trusted advisor and technology partner in the advancing world of human-machine interface (HMI) and force-sensing technologies, today announced its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. GAAP net income for the quarter was $13 thousand or $0.00 per share, reflecting an improvement in revenues and income on a sequential quarterly basis. Consolidated Financial Highlights (Amounts in thousands except per share data and percentages) Three months ended June 30, Six months ended June 30, Consolidated Financial Results 2020 2019 $ % 2020 2019 $ % Net revenue $ 1,702 $ 2,006 $ (304) (15.2) % $ 3,393 $ 3,456 $ (63) (1.8) % Gross profit $ 998 $ 1,053 $ (55) (5.2) % $ 1,957 $ 1,753 $ 204 11.6 % Gross margin 58.6 % 52.5 % 57.7 % 50.7 % Income (loss) from Operations $ 41 $ 371 $ (330) (88.9) % $ (31) $ 28 $ (59) NA % Net income (loss) $ 13 $ 109 $ (96) (88.1) % $ (5) $ (205) $ 200 (97.6) % Earnings (loss) per share (basic and diluted) $ 0.00 $ 0.02 $ (0.00) $ (0.00) $ (0.03) $ 0.03 EBITDA $ 95 $ 464 $ (369) (79.5) % EBITDA margin1 5.6 % 23.1 % TTM EBITDA $ (27) $ 354 $ (381) NA % 1 EBITDA margin is EBITDA divided by net revenue. Revenue in the second quarter of 2020 decreased approximately 15% to $1,702 from $2,006 in the same year-ago period, primarily due to market challenges existing in many of the industries we serve. from in the same year-ago period, primarily due to market challenges existing in many of the industries we serve. Gross margin increased to 58.6% from 52.5% due to revenue mix and efficiencies derived from relocation of our medical manufacturing to China from the United States . from . Income from Operations was $41 for the second quarter of 2020, compared with $371 in the same period in 2019. The second quarter of 2019 included receipt of a milestone R&D incentive payment of $179 from the Singapore government. G&A expenses increased by costs associated with our submission of a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, partially offset by a COVID-19 related stimulus grant we received from the Singapore government. Sales and marketing costs increased as a result of the Company building out its sales and marketing team. for the second quarter of 2020, compared with in the same period in 2019. The second quarter of 2019 included receipt of a milestone R&D incentive payment of from the government. G&A expenses increased by costs associated with our submission of a Form 10 registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, partially offset by a COVID-19 related stimulus grant we received from the government. Sales and marketing costs increased as a result of the Company building out its sales and marketing team. In the second quarter of 2020, after-tax net income was $13 or $0.00 per basic and diluted share, compared to after-tax net income of $109 or $0.02 per basic and diluted share in the same year-ago period. or per basic and diluted share, compared to after-tax net income of or per basic and diluted share in the same year-ago period. EBITDA was $95 for the quarter, compared to $464 in the same period in 2019. On a trailing-twelve basis, EBITDA was loss of $27 . for the quarter, compared to in the same period in 2019. On a trailing-twelve basis, EBITDA was loss of . The company ended the period with $6,097 in cash and cash equivalents. Coupled with no debt, its balance sheet remains robust. "We are pleased with our results in light of the challenging environment created by COVID-19," stated Mr. Bronson, CEO of Interlink. "We are continuing to make investments in our business supported by a new HQ in Irvine and a pending investment and expansion of our Camarillo, California location to include a world-class R&D and materials science lab. During the last six months, in continuing our drive for growth, we hired a new director of global sales and have successfully onboarded multiple new partners around the globe, who are already making an impact by driving fresh opportunities." Interlink makes available its annual financial statements, quarterly financial statements, and other significant reports and amendments to such reports, free of charge, on its website as soon as reasonably practicable after such reports are prepared. Please visit www.interlinkelectronics.com to view the Company's financial results in more detail. About Interlink Electronics, Inc. Interlink Electronics is a world-leading trusted provider of HMI, sensor, and IoT solutions. In addition to standard product offerings, Interlink utilizes its expertise in materials science, manufacturing, firmware, and software to produce in-house system solutions for custom applications. For over 35 years, Interlink Electronics has led the printed electronics industry in its commercialization of its patented Force Sensing Resistor technology. It has provided solutions for handheld user input, menu navigation, cursor control, and other intuitive interface technologies to the world's top electronics manufacturers. These innovative solutions include the VersaPad and the new VersaPad Plus, which boasts the largest active surface area of any resistive touchpad. The company has a proven track record of supplying human machine interface solutions for mission-critical applications in a wide range of marketsincluding medical, automotive, consumer electronics, telecommunications, and industrial controlproviding standard and custom designed sensors that give engineers the flexibility and functionally they seek in today's sophisticated electronic devices. Interlink Electronics serves an international customer base from its headquarters in Irvine, Calif., and a pending world-class materials science lab and R&D center in Camarillo, CA. These are supplemented by strategic global locations that cover manufacturing, distribution, and sales support. For more information, please see our website at InterlinkElectronics.com. Forward Looking Statements This release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the Company's views on future financial performance and are generally identified by phrases such as "thinks," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," and similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statement. These statements are based upon, among other things, assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management, including management's own knowledge and assessment of the Company's industry, R&D initiatives, competition and capital requirements. Other factors and uncertainties that could affect the Company's forward-looking statements include, among other things, the following: our success in predicting new markets and the acceptance of our new products; efficient management of our infrastructure; the pace of technological developments and industry standards evolution and their effect on our target product and market choices; the effect of outsourcing technology development; changes in the ordering patterns of our customers; a decrease in the quality and/or reliability of our products; protection of our proprietary intellectual property; competition by alternative sophisticated as well as generic products; continued availability of raw materials for our products at competitive prices; disruptions in our manufacturing facilities; risks of international sales and operations including fluctuations in exchange rates; compliance with regulatory requirements applicable to our manufacturing operations; and customer concentrations The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Non-GAAP Financial Information A non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's performance, financial position, or cash flows that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally excluded or included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. Non-GAAP measures are not in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for, GAAP measures. Other companies may use different non-GAAP measures and presentation of results. In addition to financial results presented in accordance with GAAP, this press release presents EBITDA and EBITDA margin, each of which is a non-GAAP measure. EBITDA is determined by taking net income and adding interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and EBITDA margin is determined by dividing EBITDA by net revenue. Interlink believes that these non-GAAP measure, viewed in addition to and not in lieu of net income and gross margin, provide useful information to investors by providing more focused measures of operating results. These metrics are an integral part of Interlink's internal reporting to evaluate its operations and the performance of senior management. A reconciliation of EBITDA to net income, the most comparable GAAP measure, is available in the accompanying financial tables below. The non-GAAP measures presented herein may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. SOURCE Interlink Electronics, Inc. Related Links http://www.interlinkelectronics.com The newest report by global consultancy McKinsey & Co. has just highlighted the severe socio-economic impacts of intensifying climate hazards for Asian countries, including Vietnam, as a result of global warming, lethal heatwaves, droughts, floods, and typhoons. By 2025, 8-13% of Asian countries' GDP could be at risk due to climate change. Photo: UNDPClimate In its report titled "Climate risk and response in Asia", McKinsey shows that COVID-19 is highlighting the importance of risk and resilience, and as the world focuses on recovery, it is important to not lose sight of climate risk. The Earths climate is changing after more than 10,000 years of relative stability, and Asia is on the front line. Absent adaptation and mitigation, the climate hazards the region faces in the future (from heat waves to flooding) are likely to be more severe and more intense. Indeed, the impacts in Asia in some cases could be more severe than in many other parts of the world. As Asia seeks to grow its economy and remain a key source of growth for the world climate is a critical challenge that the region will need to manage. Asia is also well positioned to address these challenges and capture the opportunities that come from managing climate risk effectively. Infrastructure and urban areas are still being built out in many parts of Asia, which gives the region the chance to ensure that what goes up is more resilient and better able to withstand heightened risk. Like all parts of the world, Asia can also contribute to reducing emissions. Climate science noted that further warming will continue until net zero emissions are reached. If policymakers and business leaders can harness the regions innovative spirit, talent, and flexibility, Asia could lead a global response to climate risk by adapting and mitigating the most severe potential consequences. Asia faces a range of climate hazards, with potentially different impacts depending on geography. Already, climate scientists find evidence of the growing effect of climate change on the likelihood and intensity of extreme events. For example, in China, the 2017 floods in Hunan province affected 7.8 million people and resulted in US$3.55 billion of direct economic loss, including severe infrastructure damage. Researchers have examined the likelihood of fires in Australia and found that the risk of weather conditions that result in fires as severe as observed in 2019-2020 (measured with a so-called Fire Weather Index) has increased by at least 30% since 1900. In the high-emissions Representative Concentration Pathway (RCPs) 8.5 scenario considered in the report, climate science predicts significant temperature increases across Asia and conditions of rising heat and humidity in many parts of the continent. More than 75% of global capital stock that could be damaged from riverine flooding in a given year is in Asia. Experts at McKinsey translated the hazards into socio-economic impacts across a range of systems. As noted, socio-economic impacts include five systems: livability and workability, food systems, physical assets, infrastructure services, and natural capital. The socio-economic impacts of these physical changes are nonlinear: once hazards exceed certain thresholds, the affected physiological, human-made, or ecological systems work less well or break down and stop working altogether. This is because the systems have evolved or been optimised over time for historical climates. Rising heat and humidity levels, for example, could affect the human bodys ability to work outdoors and also the survivability of healthy human beings. The knock-on effects can be systemic, because direct impacts in a particular geography could spread and have cascading impacts. For instance, in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, where direct infrastructure damage from a 100-year flood could be between US$500 million and US$1 billion by 2050, knock-on costs could be between US$1.5 billion and US$8.5 billion. McKinsey analysis finds that the socio-economic impacts from intensifying climate hazards could in many cases be more severe for Asia than for other parts of the world, in the absence of adaptation and mitigation. Under RCP 8.5, by 2050, between 600 million and one billion people in Asia will be living in areas with a nonzero annual probability of lethal heat waves. This compares with a global total of 700 million to 1.2 billion; in other words, a substantial majority of these people are in Asia. By 2050, on average, between US$2.8 trillion and US$4.7 trillion of GDP in Asia annually will be at risk from a loss of outdoor working hours because of increased heat and humidity; that accounts for more than two-thirds of the total annual global GDP impact. Finally, about US$1.2 trillion in capital stock in Asia could be damaged by riverine flooding in a given year by 2050, equivalent to about 75% of the global impact. Emerging Asia in McKinseys analysis consists of Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. These culturally diverse countries see a high share of regional trade, capital, and people flows, and are a major source of labour. Like Frontier Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan), they are expected to see increases in heat and humidity. By 2050, in an average year, between 8 and 13% of GDP could be at risk as a result of rising heat and humidity. The region could also experience growing exposure to extreme precipitation events and flooding. The socio-economic impacts of these hazards could potentially be severe. Capital stock at risk from riverine flooding in Frontier Asia countries is expected to double from 0.7% today to 1.5% by 2050, or US$220 billion. Drought could become less frequent in this region. Agriculture yields could see increased volatility here. In agriculture crop yield, annual probability of a 10% yield decline will increase 2% today to 8% by 2050. At the same time, annual probability of a 10% yield increase will decrease from 5% today to 1% by 2050. Another characteristic of climate risk is its regressive nature; the poor will be hit hardest. While different parts of Asia are affected differently, countries with lower levels of per capita GDP are probably most at risk from the impacts of climate change. They are often exposed to climates that are closer to physical thresholds than those of wealthier countries. They rely more on outdoor work and natural capital and have fewer financial means to adapt. Both of these sets of countries (Frontier and Emerging Asia) face potentially disproportionate impacts on workability from extreme heat and humidity. By 2050, under RCP 8.5 scenario, some 7 to 13% of GDP in Frontier Asia and Emerging Asia could be at risk. This compares to 0.6-0.7% for Advanced Asia (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Republic of Korea). The regressive impacts of climate change, if allowed to proceed without adaptation or mitigation, thus could put the Asian growth story at risk and potentially affect the lives and livelihoods of millions. VIR Mobilising community resources for climate change actions one of VN's priorities Head of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's Climate Change Department Tang The Cuong talks about the national plan on climate change adaptation for 2021-30, with a vision towards 2050. FARMINGTON, Conn., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Otis Worldwide Corporation (NYSE: OTIS) has acquired Bay State Elevator, including its service portfolio and operations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and upstate New York. Otis is the world's leading company for elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service. "This acquisition expands our scale and density in the Northeast region and demonstrates our commitment to strategically accelerate service portfolio growth," said Jim Cramer, President, Otis Americas. "The Bay State Elevator team is well-respected within our industry, and we welcome them to Otis. We look forward to working together to serve existing Bay State customers and introducing them to our service offerings and comprehensive range of Otis products." "We're proud of the legacy we were able to build with Bay State Elevator and would like to thank all of our dedicated employees and customers," said Buddy Potts, President, Bay State Elevator. "With Otis, we know our team and customers are in good hands, and we are confident that legacy will continue to grow in the region we call home." To learn more about Otis products and services, visit www.otis.com. About Otis Built on a legacy of innovation, Otis was founded in 1853 after Elisha Otis invented the elevator safety brake, giving rise to the modern city, transforming how people live and work, and revolutionizing architecture itself. Today, we are the world's leading company for elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service. We move 2 billion people a day and maintain more than 2 million customer units worldwide, the industry's largest maintenance portfolio. We can be found in many of the world's most recognizable buildings, as well as the busiest transportation hubs and retail centers we are everywhere people are on the move. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 69,000 people strong, including 40,000 field professionals, all committed to meeting the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. To learn more, visit www.otis.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @OtisElevatorCo. This release includes "forward looking statements" concerning a transaction, its financial and business impact, the beliefs and objectives of each party with respect thereto, and current expectations for future operating and financial performance, based on assumptions currently believed to be valid. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "plans," "strategy," "anticipate," "will," "confident" "target" and other words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operating or financial performance. At this time, it remains uncertain what impact the transaction will have on our results of operations and financial condition. These forward looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to the ability of the company to implement anticipated business plans and achieve anticipated benefits. Other important economic, political, regulatory, legal, technological, competitive and other uncertainties are identified in filings submitted by Otis Worldwide Corporation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Media Contact: Ray Hernandez +1-860-674-3029 [email protected] SOURCE Otis Worldwide Corporation The family of a five-year-old North Carolina boy who was shot dead while riding his bicycle have called for the death penalty for his killer as donation surpass $750,000 for his funeral. Cannon Hinnant's grieving family laid him to rest on Thursday, just days after he was fatally shot in their driveway. A neighbor, 25-year-old Darius Nathaniel Sessoms, has been charged with first-degree murder in his death. Cannon's mother, Bonny Waddell, told KCTV 5, that her 'baby didn't deserve this,' adding that she wants the death penalty for Sessoms. Cannon Hinnant's mother, Bonny Waddell (left) said that her 'baby didn't deserve this,' adding that she wants the death penalty for the boy's killer Cannon (left) was shot dead while riding his bicycle on August 9. A neighbor, 25-year-old Darius Nathaniel Sessoms (right), has been charged with first-degree murder in his death 'We lost a big piece of our family,' Waddell said through tears. Cannon's father, Austin Hinnant, said he also agrees with seeking the death penalty. The family had only asked for $5,000 in donations to help with Cannon's funeral, but they've received more than $755,000 as of Monday morning. The donations poured into a GoFundMe page organized by Gwen Hinnant, who identifies herself on the website as Cannon's grandmother. 'This family has faced unimaginable pain because of this senseless act of violence,' the post reads. 'We offer our sincerest appreciation in this extremely difficult time, #justice for Cannon.' Merrill Race joined others at his grandson's funeral on Thursday night to remember him as a 'kid that was always polite, kind of laid back, but he was a beautiful little kid'. Cannon's youth pastor, Daryl High, said the boy was always a joy in Sunday school. The family had only asked for $5,000 in donations to help with Cannon's funeral, but they've received more than $755,000 as of Monday morning Cannon (pictured with his mother) has been remembered for his 'huge' smile and 'big' personality 'His smile is huge. His personality is big. You could not help to be changed when you met Cannon. If a word wasn't said, you can't help to be changed,' High said. Austin Hinnant told The Wilson Times that the boy had been playing with his sisters outside when he heard a gunshot nearby. He said he rushed outside and found his son lying on the ground. When he scooped the boy into his arms, he realized his son had a gunshot wound to the head. 'That is why this is so horrific to me,' Hinnant said. 'He was doing something he loved.' Hinnant told the newspaper that he and Sessoms were friendly and he always checked in with Sessoms' parents, who lived next door. The night before the shooting, Hinnant was grilling chicken, saw Sessoms 'sitting in his car, like he had a lot on his mind' and asked if he wanted to eat. Austin Hinnant (pictured) said the boy had been playing with his sisters outside when he heard a gunshot nearby First responders at the scene following the shooting on August 9 Hinnant was playing in front of his father's house with his seven-year-old and eight-year-old sisters when he was shot in the head at point blank range on Sunday evening. The childrens' home is pictured, with the five-year-old's bike circled The two shared a beer on the front porch, Hinnant said, adding that he saw no foreshadowing of what was ahead. 'I have no idea why he did what he did,' Hinnant said. 'It was literally out of nowhere. He puts a gun to my son's head and shoots him.' Hinnant said his family is grateful for the community's support, but he's been disturbed by social media posts that suggest race was a factor in Cannons death. 'This is no racial issue,' Hinnant said. Cannon was white and Sessoms is Black. 'It didn't matter what color, male or female, he just had that love and joy in his heart,' he said. 'He loved everyone.' Sessoms' parents said they believe their son was on drugs and having hallucinations at the time of the shooting. As of Monday morning, authorities have not released a motive for the killing. Gao Yongzhe (C), a doctor with the department of neurology at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan University, conducts psychological counseling for visitors with problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei Province on May 14. [For China Daily/Zhao Jun] As well as overcoming the physical challenges posed by COVID-19, there is a need to tackle the psychological fallout from the pandemic, Li Yingxue reports. Five days after Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, was locked down in January, Liu Zhengkui and his team started an operation of psychological assistance and psychological crisis intervention to help people at the epicenter of the pandemic. "Usually we start the operation right away when an emergency happens, but the pandemic is different because it's an infectious disease, so it took us a couple days to figure out how to proceed," Liu, a researcher at Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, explains. Liu spent almost three months in Wuhan providing psychological assistance to local medical workers, recovered COVID-19 patients and community staff since March. At the end of August, he will return to continue his work. Initially, the operation was planned to last for a year, but recently Liu's team has managed to secure the funding and support to extend it by two years. "Large-scale disasters always have long-term influence on people. For people in the core area of the Wenchuan earthquake, its influence has lasted for five years," Liu says. "The influence of the pandemic may last as long as three years for people in Wuhan." Liu says when a disaster happens, the public's attitude usually goes through three steps nervous and terrified first, then angry, before gradually going back to normal. "In the first phase, people think their lives are threatened, and then, when they realize their lives or work are unaffected by the disaster, society needs an emotional release and the anger will gradually fade away over time," Liu explains. In Liu's mind, as transmission prevention has become the norm, the public's mentality also flows into a new phase. "Social distancing is still required, which will affect people's emotions. There are occasionally new cases showing up in some places in China, which will still make people in those locales feel nervous again," Liu says. "The prompt reaction to control the spread of the pandemic when it reoccurs will calm local people more quickly than the first wave, such as the cluster of cases which originated at Beijing's Xinfadi wholesale market," he says. Medical workers at Shenyang Anning Hospital call on a hotline for psychological issues related to the pandemic in Liaoning Province on February 12. [China News Service/Yu Haiyang] A seven-day self-help online training camp was launched by Liu's team at the end of January. A special version of the training camp for medical workers went online on February 23 followed by a version for parents and children. The training camp takes one person 10 to 20 minutes each day to learn how to cope with stress and manage their emotions. According to Liu, the core content of the training camp is based on the courses and intervention plans that are recommended by the WHO and the Chinese Psychological Society, and have been widely applied in many post-disaster psychological rebuilding operations worldwide. "The content is combined with psychology research literature and also experiential decompression training," Liu adds. "We also have an online psychological counseling team. If there are situations that the person who takes part in the camp cannot deal with alone, the specialists will offer help," he says. So far, around 250,000 people have finished this online training camp, Liu says. Liu's team was founded in 2008.They helped people affected by the Wenchuan earthquake. The team includes six tutors and a dozen students. Liu says the strength of one team is not enough. Therefore, their team produced a list of more than 800 psychology service institutions across the country and trained them to be able to help their local communities. Technology has also played an important role in this operation. More than 1,000 smart bracelets have been distributed to medical workers, recovered COVID-19 patients and community staff. "The bracelet can warn people if he or she has a violent mood swing and push some information about how to manage the emotions," Liu says. Besides helping in Wuhan, Liu's team has also opened a nationwide hotline for people to ask for help. More than 400 experienced psychological counselors take shifts to answer the calls. Li Huijie, a member of the National Alliance of Psychological Aid, is one of the volunteers manning the phones for the hotline. Li stresses that it's normal for the public to experience feelings of worry, fear and anxiety, and people should understand and accept this situation. "When a crisis happens, some people will exhibit certain emotional and physical behaviors they would otherwise not display. It is a normal reaction for people in an abnormal situation," Li explains. (Source: China Daily) Huawei has been on a US ban for more than a year, a development that forced companies like Google to cut off their products to the Chinese company. However, there was an extension granted to the two companies to work together and support existing Huawei phones that have sold in the past. However, now that its license has expired most Huawei phones are in a state of jeopardy. MensXP_Akshay Bhalla The general license that was granted to Huawei and Google for supporting the phones that are already in the hands of customers has expired, as confirmed by The Washington Post. This extension was granted to users, currently using Huawei products, to acquire new devices. The same is true of equipment being used in rural areas of the US, whose network capabilities relied on Huawei equipment. The US commerce department said in an email: An opportunity for users of Huawei devices and telecommunications providers to continue to temporarily operate such devices and existing networks while hastening the transition to alternative suppliers. YouTube Now that the license has expired, Huawei smartphone owners will not be able to get vital Android updates that keep devices safe. It will also affect the P30 Pro, which was the last phone by Huawei to sell in India. Google issues new security updates that fix bugs and secures all Android devices from malware. The lack of new security updates also means that some applications will also stop working including popular OTT apps like Netflix and others. Existing Huawei smartphones that use Google services will also probably not get Android 11 or any other updates from now. Reuters Huawei has been under a lot of pressure due to the US ban as the company recently said that due to tougher trade restriction, Huawei is running out of chipsets for their phones. As of now, Huawei will have to look for alternative suppliers as the company cannot trade with US companies thanks to the ban. Source: The Washington Post (Natural News) In celebration of the dozens of people who were arrested for mass looting and other criminal activity that took place in Chicago over the weekend, Black Lives Matter (BLM) activists held a rally, during which one organizer openly claimed that looting is a form of reparations, thus making it a legitimate form of protest. According to Ariel Atkins, who spoke to a crowd through a microphone in front of the South Loop police station, looting is no longer a crime because it is necessary for black people to achieve social justice and equality within what she claims is a broken and racist system. I dont care if someone decides to loot a Gucci or a Macys or a Nike store, because that makes sure that person eats, Atkins proclaimed, as many cheered her on for these statements. That makes sure that person has clothes. After more than 100 people were arrested for looting, as well as for destroying property and violently assaulting people, Atkins decided to set the record straight that black people can basically do and take whatever they want because they deserve it. This is the same position being propagated by mainstream media outlets such as Teen Vogue. That is reparations, she bellowed, adding that the business being stolen from will be just fine because they are fully covered. Anything they wanted to take, they can take it because these businesses have insurance. Roving blacks are destroying Chicago because one of their own tried to shoot police officers, only to be shot back in self-defense This latest crime spree by restless blacks was reportedly sparked by a police-involved shooting that took place on Sunday in Chicagos Englewood neighborhood. A 20-year-old man named Latrell Allen fired a weapon at police, prompting them to return fire, injuring but not killing Allen. Allen now faces attempted murder charges for discharging his weapon at police officers. This person fired shots at our officers, stated Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown about the incident. Officers returned fire and struck the individual. After this shooting, a crowd gathered on the South Side. Following the police action, tempers flared, fueled by misinformation. None other than BLM Chicago is directly responsible for spreading such misinformation, as the groups official Twitter page tweeted out that CPD failed to protect A 15 year old Black boy while only protecting High end stores and Themselves. Not only is Allen not 15 years old, but he was not unarmed as BLM Chicagos tweet implied. BLM Chicago deliberately lied about the incident by not disclosing the fact that Allen was the first to discharge his weapon in an attempt to murder police officers. Consequently, Chicago businesses and individuals were terrorized all weekend long by BLM Chicago followers who believed the fake news tweet. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, is blaming a lack of gun control on all the mayhem, rather than BLM Chicago and Twitter, which allowed its fake news tweet to remain on the companys platform igniting more needless violence. We cannot continue to have circumstances where anybody and their brother can go across the border, or into other parts of Illinois, and bring illegal guns into the city of Chicago, Lightfoot is quoted as saying, apparently oblivious to her own stupidity. I am open to reparations for hostile, hateful, anti-American blacks if theyll formally renounce their citizenship and get a one-way flight to the African country of their choice, wrote one Breitbart News commenter. In fact, offer the same package to the godless white Antifa members and anyone else who hates America. GET THEM OUT OF HERE! The latest news about BLM and Antifa terrorists rioting, looting and trying to murder people is available at CivilWar.news. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com BR Shetty stepped down as Finablr chairman with immediate effect yesterday, with no explanation given The chairman of Travelex's former parent company has resigned amid a growing accounting scandal. B R Shetty stepped down from his role at Finablr with immediate effect yesterday, with no explanation given for his departure in a one-sentence statement to the stock market. However, the Indian billionaire's exit comes as Finablr, which had its shares suspended in March, investigates the shock discovery of more than 700million in previously secret debt. The company said the debt had not been properly disclosed to its board or investors and fears the cash may have been used for fraudulent purposes. The revelation bore similarities to events at another Shetty-founded company, NMC Health, which is also probing huge debts that had previously not been disclosed to investors. Shetty resigned from NMC earlier this year but until now had kept his seat on Finablr's board. He resigned from Travelex's board in March. The 78-year-old denies any wrongdoing and insists he is the victim of a fraud, claiming that his signature was forged to obtain loans and other forms of credit via his companies. He owns 63 per cent of Finablr but cannot sell these shares after a worldwide freeze of his assets was ordered by a court in Dubai. The announcement of his exit yesterday came as Finablr revealed HM Revenue & Customs had suspended the business registration of its subsidiary, Xpress Money Service, meaning it cannot conduct business. HMRC has also proposed suspending UAE Exchange UK, which is another of its subsidiaries, Finablr said. In a statement, it added: 'The company intends to work with HMRC to attempt to restore the registrations.' Photo: (Photo : Twitter/RTE News) Heroic Irish fishermen rescued a pair of paddleboarders who had gone missing for 15 hours. On Thursday, Patrick Oliver, and his son, Morgan, 18, found cousins clinging on to a lobster pot near one of the Aran Islands. A news release by the Galway RNLI Lifeboat Station reported that people last saw the two women paddleboarding about 20 miles from where they were found. The wind blew the two women out to the sea The local media outlets identified the two women as 23-year-old Sara Feeney and 17-year-old Ellen Glynn. On Wednesday at nine in the evening, the duo was paddleboarding near Furbo Beach, when suddenly, a north wind blew them out to the sea. Thankfully, the two did not need any medical attention even after spending the night out on the water under extreme conditions. See also: The Story Behind the Beirut Blast Nurse Who Saved 3 Babies Many helped out in search of the two A relative quickly alerted the authorities after losing sight of the two from the shore. The Irish Coast Guard and local lifeboat services did an overnight search and rescue operation to find the adult woman and her teenage cousin. On Thursday morning, a shore crew volunteer member with the Galway RNLI, Oliver, and his son joined the search. Two helicopters from Coast Guard Rescue from Sligo and Waterford also joined the search the next morning. Coast Guard lifeboats from Oranmore/Maree, Cashla Bay, and Doolin also joined the group search. See also: Volunteers Help Teen Who Has Inoperable Brain Tumor Restore Classic Car Along the north shore and co-ordinated by the Gardai, the Civil Defence searched too. Galway Flying Club and Aer Arann also deployed volunteers in search of the two missing women. The father calculated the wind speed and direction The father and son set out on their fishing vessel called "Johnny O." The father told RTE, the national broadcaster, that after calculating the wind speed and direction, he had worked out a rough idea of where the two paddleboarders could have drifted to. He said that since it is not worth giving up so he would have gone 30 miles further from where he found the two cousins. The two women were in shock because the fishermen found them. Oliver said that they were lucky because the weather is warm during that time. See also: Teacher Used Own Money to Make Schooling Safe and Fun for Kids Oliver explained that after they got them in the boat, they brought the two into the island and the chopper landed there. He also said that the cousins were "fairly shook" but they were utterly thankful. Thankful for all the help The two cousin's grandmother, Mary Feeney, said that Flynn and Feeney were able to stay afloat by making good use of their paddleboards. The two attached them to a marker buoy on the lobster pot. Mary told RTE that she could not put into words how good and kind everybody who joined the search was. She is praying that God would bless not only the two fishermen that saved her grandchildren but also to everybody that helped. Helen Feeney, Feeney's mom, also said her praises for Oliver and his son for saving the two women. She said that they are forever indebted to them. 340 more Vietnamese citizens brought home from Canada As many as 340 Vietnamese citizens from Canada were brought home on a repatriation flight which landed at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on August 16. Passengers wait for the repatriation flight in Canada. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the flight was arranged by local authorities of the two countries and the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines. Passengers include children aged under 18, the elderly, the ill, workers with expired visas and labour contracts, students without accommodations, stranded tourists, and those in disadvantaged circumstances. After landing safely at the airport, all passengers and crew members were given health check-ups and sent to quarantine areas in line with regulations. To date, the Vietnamese Consulate in Vancouver has helped repatriate 970 Vietnamese citizens stranded in the country due to the Covid-19 pandemic home. Since April 10, as many as 102 repatriation flights have been arranged by Vietnamese authorities to help over 25,500 local people stranded abroad due to Covid-19 return home, the ministry said. A Medicare and Centrelink office sign is seen at Bondi Junction on March 21, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Matt King/Getty Images) Aussies Repaid $545 Million From Robo-Debt System Australians who paid the government money through the controversial robo-debt scheme have been reimbursed $545 million. Department of Social Services officials told a Senate inquiry on Aug. 17 the $545 million figure amounted to about 80 percent of cases. About 338,000 people have been reimbursed or had their debt wiped. The automated welfare recovery scheme matched Australian Taxation Office and Centrelink data to claw back overpaid welfare payments. It was ruled unlawful last year, with the Federal Court saying Centrelink could not have been satisfied the debt was correct. The Morrison government announced in May it would repay all debts, estimated to cost about $721 million. Department secretary Kathryn Campbell acknowledged the scheme caused hurt and harm, and that it was legally insufficient. I believe there were many people who felt uneasy, frustrated, had some difficulty managing through this system, she said. Labor senator Deborah ONeill read Campbell a letter from a mother whose son died after receiving multiple letters through the system saying he owed up to $17,000. Of course we apologise for the hurt and harm caused to that family. That is a tragic story. No one wants that to happen, Campbell said. Senator ONeill read another letter from a mother whose son also died after being told he owed thousands of dollars to Centrelink. Campbell said the department had apologised for any harm caused. Im sorry for any death, she said. The scheme is facing a class action lawsuit. The previous Labor government introduced a similar process in 2011 but had each case reviewed by a department staff member, while the coalition moved to a fully-automated system in 2016. Centrelinks debt recovery system is currently on pause until October. Income averaging is no longer used as the sole proof for a possible debt. Rebecca Gredley in Canberra Wildfire risk: Key trends and future outlook In this episode, IBA sits down with Dr. Tom Jeffery, senior hazard scientist for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions, to discuss the threat of the incoming wildfire season, and the compounding concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic that make wildfire preparation and response more complex and difficult. This episode is presented in partnership with For more, visit corelogic.com/commercialexpress Image: ANI The Karnataka government has initiated 'stringent action' against those accused of resorting to violence in some parts of Bengaluru on August 11 night. Going the Delhi Police way, the state has invoked the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against people who were allegedly involved in the incident, and will also resort to the Goonda Act, if need be. A Special Investigation Team has already been formed to conduct a detailed investigation in the matter and a team of three special prosecutors will be appointed for speedy trial of the cases. SIT will consider invoking Goonda Act if warranted. (3/3) B.S. Yediyurappa (@BSYBJP) August 17, 2020 Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said, "Stringent action has been initiated against the culprits of DJ Halli and KG Halli violent incidents including invoking of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act - UAPA Act. A Special Investigation Team has already been formed to conduct a detailed investigation in the matter and a team of three special prosecutors will be appointed for speedy trial of the cases. SIT will consider invoking Goonda Act if warranted." The state has also decided to recover the costs from the culprits after assessing the damage caused to public and private property in the violent incident. On August 11 night, violence broke out in DJ Halli and adjoining areas in east Bengaluru over an allegedly inflammatory Facebook post against Islam. Three died in the incident and three others were injured after the police fired on the mob. As many as 2,000 people were on the streets vandalising and setting property afire. LAPEER COUNTY, MI A 12-year-old girl could face charges after police say she stole her parents van over the weekend in Lapeer County and was pulled over by police several miles away in a neighboring county. Deputies were dispatched around 3:40 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, after a call to Lapeer County 911 for a report of a runaway juvenile whod stolen a vehicle from a residence on Bronson Lake Road in Oregon Township, northwest of Lapeer. The girls parents advised there had been no recent issues aside from prohibiting the use of social media and electronic devices at night. The parents were awakened during the early morning hours and saw their 2003 Chevy Express 1500 series leaving the residence. They began to follow in a second vehicle for a distance to try and stop the girl but were unsuccessful. Around 90 minutes later, deputies with the Sanilac County Sheriffs Office conducted a traffic stop on the van in Marlette, approximately 25 miles northeast of the familys home. The van had sustained some damage after hitting an unknown object, but it was still drivable. The girl was not injured. The case will eventually be turned over to the Lapeer County Prosecutors Office for review of possible criminal charges against the girl. TORONTO - TMX Group Ltd. has named John McKenzie as its new chief executive, effectively immediately. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The TMX Group logo, home of the TSX, is shown in Toronto on June 28, 2013. TMX Group Ltd. has named John McKenzie as its new chief executive, effectively immediately. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Aaron Vincent Elkaim TORONTO - TMX Group Ltd. has named John McKenzie as its new chief executive, effectively immediately. McKenzie has been serving as interim chief executive of the company, which owns the Toronto Stock Exchange and other market operators, since the retirement of former CEO Lou Eccleston in January 2020. 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. He has spent 20 years in increasingly senior executive positions at TMX Group, including as chief financial officer. Eccleston stepped down in January following allegations against him related to conduct prior to his time at the company. Business Insider in November reported that Eccleston was accused in court records and filings of inappropriate behaviour involving female employees while he was a senior executive at Bloomberg in New York. TMX has said an investigator found no evidence that Eccleston engaged in sexual harassment or sexual misconduct while employed at TMX. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020. Companies in this story: (TSX:X) SIU updates student code to support campus and community safety CARBONDALE, Ill. Southern Illinois University Carbondale students returning to campus this week are focused on safety as well as academics. From wearing face masks to social distancing, they are paying attention to the guidance received from the university. To reinforce this guidance, the university has updated its student conduct code, which outlines their rights as well as responsibilities. Students do care about safety, and we are seeing broad compliance with mask requirements, said SIU Chancellor Austin Lane. We have a lot of communications out there reminding them of their responsibilities, and we have peers stepping forward to serve as positive role models. Students are listening. However, it is important for us to have an avenue to address issues if they arise. The university has updated its Student Conduct Code, which outlines student rights and responsibilities, to cover health and safety measures adopted by the university in compliance with ordinances, directives and guidance from health officials, the City of Carbondale and the State of Illinois. These include, but are not limited to, failure to wear a face mask in public or in a university classroom, failure to social distance, attending, holding, or sponsoring a gathering with an attendance greater than permitted by law and university guidelines and failure to isolate or quarantine as ordered by a public health official or the university. Lori Stettler, the universitys vice chancellor for student affairs, agreed that students want to do their part. Our goal is to make sure they know they are accountable for following through, she said. We have a range of options for students who are referred to our Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, which oversees the disciplinary process. First and foremost, a student has a right to due process, when they can accept responsibility or opt for a hearing. If a student or a student organization is found to have violated the code, the sanction will be based on the individual circumstances. For a student, it could range from education to expulsion. For a student organization, it might include putting the organization on probation or involuntary separation from the university. Stettler said the update to the conduct code provides the university with internal tools to enforce pandemic safety measures. But students are also subject to other consequences. For example, the City of Carbondales new face mask ordinance requires people to wear protect face coverings when engaging in in any activity outside of their residence, while other people are present when its not possible to maintain a minimum 6 social distance from others. Violation of the ordinance could lead to fines of up to $750. On campus, masks are required in indoor public spaces regardless of the ability to maintain social distance; indoor public places include spaces anyone can access, such as reception areas with walk-in access, lobbies of buildings and restrooms. Masks must be worn in all locations, including offices, laboratories and classrooms, where multiple people are present and social distancing is variable or not possible. Masks are strongly recommended when outdoors on campus and are required outdoors when social distancing is not possible. The governors Restore Illinois Plan currently allows gatherings of up to 50 people with appropriate safety measures, including masks and social distancing. The university and city fall under the plan, but Stettler strongly advises students to stay away from parties or events where people will gather. On campus, we are requiring the submission of rigorous safety plans before approving any events, and our registered student organizations will be held to the same standards, she said. We will not be approving off-campus parties sponsored by student organizations. No matter who hosts an off-campus event, however, we are telling students to stay home. You put yourself and others at risk. While we understand that students want to socialize and have fun while at college, we want to impress on them their responsibility to do so in a responsible manner, Stettler added. Protecting our Saluki community is our highest priority, and everyone must do their part to stop the spread of the virus. Coronavirus vaccine trials have become multi-billion dollar efforts, but they haven't recruited enough minorities like Latinos. COVID-19 Prevention Network's Dr. Jim Kublin said in a CNN report that of 350,000 people who've registered online for a coronavirus vaccine trial, only 10 percent of them are Latino or Black. With only a small portion of Latinos in the test subjects, the vaccine trials won't nearly be enough. Clinical trials have to reflect the population that is affected. Research showed that most U.S. coronavirus cases have been among Latino and Black people. A Los Angeles Times report noted that Latino people are three times as likely as white people to get infected by the coronavirus. Data also showed that they are twice as likely to die from the disease. Asian Americans account for fewer cases but have higher death rates. Those aged 65 and older also account for about 80 percent of the reported COVID-19 deaths. But history has shown that these groups are less likely to be a part of clinical trials. This was despite federal rules requiring minorities and the elderly to be part of the tests. The research noted that Latinos account for around 18 percent of the U.S. population, but only one percent of them are taking part in clinical trials, on average. Building Trust of Latinos A group of doctors and scientists urges the U.S. government to have more Latino, Black, and Native Americans in COVID-19 vaccine trials. Other than building a more diverse profile for vaccines, having them involved in the trials will hopefully build trust among these at-risk groups, said a Reuters report. Dr. Richard Baron of the American Board of Internal Medicine sent an open letter to the White House's Operation Warp Speed, appealing to get more minorities on trials. He said without these actions, at-risk groups may be doubtful to take a vaccine once it is available. Baron noted that as long as these groups do not trust the people and the process that produced the drugs, it is "entirely predictable" that they will not want to get a vaccine. They'll deny it no matter how safe and scientifically proven it maybe if they don't trust the trial itself. "The only way we're going to know if a vaccine is safe and effective for [African Americans and Latinos] is if they are included in the vaccine trials," said Marjorie Speers, PhD. Diversifying Vaccine Trials There are at least six coronavirus vaccines that have entered phase III clinical trials. These large-scales seek to have tens of thousands of test subjects to show whether the vaccines are safe to use. Drugs have to be tested in a diverse group of people because some people tend to respond differently to drugs or therapies. The immune response also changes with age. According to Healthline, these researchers are aiming to have a broader range of people in their studies. Some examples are older adults and people with underlying health problems like heart disease and diabetes. Moderna said they are working to have participants who "are representative of the communities at highest risk for COVID-19 and of our diverse society." But Phase 1 trials showed that of the 45 people they had in their safety test, only six were Latino, two were Black, one was Asian, and one was Native American. With the move to produce an effective vaccine quickly, health workers worry about the chance that having a more diverse pool of vaccine test subjects is not coming soon. Check these out! Two CDC Senior Officials Resign From Their Positions, Here's Why Fighting COVID-19: Groom Marries Fiancee from Hospital Bed COVID-19 Saliva Test Partly Funded by NBA Gets FDA Emergency Use Approval FREDERICTON - New Brunswickers will be heading to the polls Sept. 14 after Premier Blaine Higgs on Monday said the province needed stability to face the coming challenges and triggered the first election in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. New Brunswick is reporting another case of COVID-19 in the Fredericton region. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs speaks to media during a press conference in Fredericton on Thursday, July 30, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kevin Bissett FREDERICTON - New Brunswickers will be heading to the polls Sept. 14 after Premier Blaine Higgs on Monday said the province needed stability to face the coming challenges and triggered the first election in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic hit. "We are in a pandemic and the coming election campaign will not be like any election we have ever experienced," Higgs told reporters following his meeting with Lt.-Gov. Brenda Murphy, during which he asked her to dissolve the province's 59th legislature. He said candidates will need to be creative and innovative to get out the vote during the 28-day campaign while they follow health directives to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. "As difficult as it is to imagine, our candidates will not be going door-to-door and they will not be leaving any hand-delivered papers or brochures on your doorstep." Higgs said he spoke with Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell before his decision to call the snap election and she advised that a general election could proceed safely. The Tory leader said he was forced to go to the polls after the Opposition Liberals abandoned talks on Friday aimed at preventing an election until 2022. But Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers accused Higgs of listening to political advisors instead of the people of New Brunswick by plunging them into an election they don't need or want. "Blaine Higgs chose to send New Brunswickers to the polls in the middle of a pandemic," Vickers told reporters outside the legislature. "The premier of New Brunswick chose political opportunism instead of the health and safety of our citizens." Higgs threatened last week to trigger a provincial vote unless opposition parties agreed to keep his minority government in power until 2022 or until the pandemic was declared over. New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs talks with journalists after calling an election following a visit with Lt.-Gov Brenda Murphy at Government House in Fredericton on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020. The election will be held September 14. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan But Vickers walked out of talks aimed at reaching a multi-party power-sharing arrangement Friday, saying they amounted to a power grab by the leader of the Progressive Conservatives. Vickers said Monday his party was willing to make concessions that would've meant stability in government until well into 2021. Higgs said he felt Vickers "had a lot of pressure not to get an agreement, not to have a path forward, and I think that's extremely unfortunate." The premier said this election is about "substance and stability." "New Brunswickers will need to decide who can lead them into the unknown that may surface in the coming months and years." Green Leader David Coon said New Brunswickers have greater concerns right now than an election. "It's very alarming that the premier has called an election during the pandemic when people are so concerned with their health, with the health of their children, the health of their elders and their parents, when so many other concerns are going on," he said. This campaign, Coon added, will be about the well-being of New Brunswickers. People's Alliance Leader Kris Austin vowed to increase his party's seat count in the legislature from its current three members. He said New Brunswickers were pleased with the work of the all-party COVID-19 cabinet committee and have embraced the advantages of a minority government. "We've seen good changes in the province," Austin said Monday. "We've seen a sense of stability that we haven't seen in quite some time. We've seen varying opinions brought to the table, and I think the people of New Brunswick like that." Higgs was elected with a minority in 2018 and has said in recent weeks he needed to ensure stability in New Brunswick as the province recovers from the impacts of COVID-19 and prepares for a possible second wave of the pandemic. On Aug. 10, Higgs invited opposition leaders to talks to reach a formal agreement not to trigger an election until September 2022, or no earlier than 30 days after public health officials declare the COVID-19 pandemic over. At dissolution, the Progressive Conservatives and Liberals each have 20 seats in the legislature, while the Greens and the People's Alliance each have three. There are two vacant seats and one Independent. Higgs said Monday the election could be halted or delayed if a major outbreak of COVID-19 occurs during the campaign, but didn't provide details. Chief Electoral Officer Kim Poffenroth recently said there would be no way to stop the campaign once the writ was dropped. Poffenroth has said more than $1 million had been spent on personal protective equipment for both electors and elections staff for a province-wide vote. She said that included cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer, and additional posters and supplies for mail-in ballots. 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. About $250,000 will be spent on additional staff for polling stations. In a recent interview, Poffenroth said a media campaign will be launched to ensure voters understand they don't have to wait until election day to cast their ballot. "Once the returning offices are open, any elector in the province can go into any of the 50 returning offices, six days a week to vote," she said. "There is also the advance voting opportunities and election day. There's also the opportunity to apply for a mail-in ballot as well." Poffenroth said her office will also encourage people to go to the polls at off-peak hours in an effort to "flatten the election curve." "We want to reduce the number of people in the polls at any given time, and reduce the waiting time," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020. Srinagar, Aug 17 (UNI) Three militants, who were responsible for the killing of three security force personnel earlier Monday morning in Baramulla, were shot dead this afternoon in an encounter, official sources said. They further said that immediately after the attack on joint naka party at Kreeri, Pattan, in Baramulla in which two CRPF and a Special Police Officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir police were killed, security forces cordoned off and launched a massive Cordon and Search Operation (CASO). However, contact with the militants was established in the nearby orchards, they stated adding when the security forces were moving towards a particular area militants hiding there opened fire. Security forces also retaliated and in the encounter all the three militants were killed. The operation was almost over and security forces were withdrawing from the area, they further stated adding that arms and ammunition were recovered from them. Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir range, Vijay Kumar has earlier told reporters that Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) was responsible for the attack. UNI ABS JTS 1429 Soho was a hotspot for UKs underworld in mid-20th century and started process of gentrification in 1980s etty criminals, known as spivs, achieved notoriety in the 1950s following the end of the Second World War Advertisement Fascinating photos show the streets of the London nightspot Soho 70 years ago when it was the centre of the capital's sex industry and in the grip of gangsters. In one image a spiv, a term used for a petty criminal who trades in illicit goods, is photographed selling black market jewellery to women on the streets of post-war London. In another, a group of men enter a building signposted Non Stop Striptease in a Soho alleyway in February, 1962. Other photos show mysterious figures inhabiting a dark Soho alley in 1947, and the raucous revellers of The Fitzroy Tavern on February 22, 1949. Petty criminals, known as spivs, achieved notoriety in the 1950s following the end of the Second World War. Spivs took advantage of rationing - which was maintained until July 4, 1954 - selling hard-to-find black market goods such as suits, cigarettes, and watches. They faced a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if caught. Londons Soho area was a hotspot for the UKs underworld in the mid-twentieth century. The district had been the centre of Londons sex industry since the late 1700s but it was following the end of the First World War that the gangs moved in. Rival gangs led by Chan Nan and Eddie Manning - both infamously known as dope kings of London - controlled prostitution and drugs in the area until they were both imprisoned in the early 1930s. By the late 1940s, Brewer Street and Rupert Street were flooded with gangs running their own prostitution rings. Police were bribed to turn a blind eye and photographers would snap away hoping to catch men in the act of visiting the prostitutes to later use as a blackmail. It wasnt until the 1980s that Soho entered the process of gentrification. Places like Piccadilly Circus have been completely modernised, with the former neon lights used to advertise Bovril and other businesses being replaced with a giant electronic screen. Other places, such as Berwick Street Market and the Carnaby Street shopping area show how many former independent traders have been replaced, often by international chains. A group of men stand outside an entrance to a strip club, with the building signposted 'non stop striptease', in a Soho alleyway in February 1962. Londons Soho area was a hotspot for the UKs underworld in the mid-twentieth century A spiv selling nylons on the pavement in Oxford Street is caught by police, with an officer seen appearing to fine him. Petty criminals, known as spivs, achieved notoriety in the 1950s following the end of the Second World War Vice and crime share the same streets as those who go in search of innocent employment, with a black and white photo revealing the inside of a bar in Soho filled up with people around the mid-twentieth century An exterior view of the Club Panama Theatre on Great Windmill Street in London's Soho district in February 1962. The street runs north to south in Soho and is currently home to the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum Spivs pictured selling their black market goods in post-war London. Spivs took advantage of rationing - which was maintained until July 4, 1954 - selling hard-to-find black market goods such as suits, cigarettes, and watches The streets of Soho at night in 1947, showing mysterious figures silhouetted against the light pouring inside inhabiting a dark alley in the district. It wasnt until the 1980s that Soho entered the process of gentrification The interior of a cafe in Leyton, East London, showing three man sat around a table and having a conversation. Fascinating photos show Soho 70 years ago when it was the centre of the capital's sex industry and in the grip of gangsters A man dressed in a suit looks through the window of a sex shop in Soho in the 1960s. The district had been the centre of Londons sex industry since the late 1700s but it was following the end of the First World War that the gangs moved in Showgirls rehearse at Murray's Cabaret Club, which has a membership of 60,000, in June 1954. The jazz and cabaret club on Beak Street opened in 1913 and is known for its hostesses, Christine Keeler and Mandy Rice Davies Three men stand outside the entrance to a striptease while two women walk past on the street. By the late 1940s, Brewer Street and Rupert Street were flooded with gangs running their own prostitution rings Joy, the cigarette and flower girl, hands over her takings at Murray's Cabaret Club in the 1950s. Places like Piccadilly Circus have since been completely modernised, with the process of gentrification starting in the 1980s The Fitzroy Tavern in Soho on February 22, 1949, showing raucous revellers and a barman pouring drinks. The pub, situated in the Fitzrovia district and became famed during the 1920s to 1950s Shops on the corner of Frith Street and Old Compton Street in Soho, London, on March 19, 1956. Berwick Street Market and the Carnaby Street shopping area show how many former independent traders have been replaced An exterior view of the Casino De Paris strip club on Denman street with a man reading one of its posters, left, and another man stands late at night on the streets of Soho, London, in the 1950s, right Spivs, a term used for a petty criminal who trades in illicit goods, are pictured selling jewellery and other black market wares on the streets of Soho as black and white photos reveal London's gangster-ridden underworld in the mid-20th century A Soho street corner in the 1950s, with a woman pictured walking in the dark outside The Intrepid Fox, a pub established in 1784 and named after the British Whig statesman Charles James Fox A spiv selling membership cards plus rules and regulations in Fleet Street on October 17, 1947, with a poster reading: 'Government declares war on Spivs. Spivs must work! Be prepared - join the Spiv's Union' A group of men gather on Soho's streets with one pictured reading the Evening Standard while stood next to a newspaper stand. By the late 1940s, Brewer Street and Rupert Street were flooded with gangs running their own prostitution rings A man enjoys a drink at a bar in Soho while another man walks past outside. It comes as many pubs in the area are at risk of going under due to the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, with rent due but no customers Southern California is currently in the midst of a brutal heat wave. And Sofia Richie kept herself cooled off by paddle boarding with pals in Malibu on Sunday. The 21-year-old model showcased her killer curves in a tropical print wetsuit as she ventured in and out of the refreshing ocean water. Staying cool: Sofia Richie kept herself cooled off by paddle boarding with pals in Malibu on Sunday Beach style: The 21-year-old model showcased her killer curves in a tropical print wetsuit as she ventured in and out of the refreshing ocean water Richie had her golden hair down and rocking its natural wave before immersing it in the water and slicking it back with her hands. She added a tinge of glamour to her paddle boarding ensemble by placing a pair of gold hoops in her ears. Before heading out into the water, Sofia trekked through the sun with a male friend. She had her tresses pulled up into a messy bun and she shielded her eyes from the blazing sun with a pair of black sunglasses. Glam: She added a tinge of glamour to her paddle boarding ensemble by placing a pair of gold hoops in her ears Out of the way: Richie had her golden hair down and rocking its natural wave before immersing it in the water and slicking it back with her hands Success: Once she got into deep enough water, Sofia stood upright on her board - which she seemed proud to be able to do Richie expertly paddled out into the ocean on her aquamarine toned board. Sofia's friends opted to use an inflatable boat built for two as they paddled out next to her. Once she got into deep enough water, Sofia stood upright on her board - which she seemed proud to be able to do. Victorious: To celebrate her victory, Richie raised her arms into the air Enjoying herself: Sofia, eventually, sat back down on her board and paddled around leisurely Chatty: Sofia's brunette friend exited the dual person boat and swam next to Sofia's board to chat To celebrate her victory, Richie raised her arms into the air. She continued to stand, while conversing with her friends who immersed their entire bodies in the water. Sofia, eventually, sat back down on her board and paddled around leisurely. Walk it out: Before heading out into the water, Sofia trekked through the sun with a male friend Eager: Sofia and her pal ran into the water with their boards in hand Baywatch moment: Sofia had a total Baywatch moment as she emerged from the water in her wetsuit Effortless: She looked effortlessly beautiful, while wiping the water from her eyes and pushing her hair out of her face Drying off: After enjoying her fun out on the water, Sofia returned to shore and covered up with a white beach towel The daughter of Lionel Richie appeared to be leading back as she kept turning her head to look at her lagging friends. Sofia's friends in the double seated boat returned to shore, leaving Sofia to linger in the water. Sofia's female friend in a pink and black wetsuit paddled up next to her and the pair reached out to one another before grabbing hands. Expert: Sofia sat with her legs crossed on her boat as she paddled Cheeky: The short style of Richie's wetsuit flattered her pert derriere Lingering: Sofia's friends in the double seated boat returned to shore, leaving Sofia to linger in the water Hurry up: The daughter of Lionel Richie appeared to be leading back as she kept turning her head to look at her lagging friends Richie slid off her board for a moment and plunged into the water, before getting back on and riding out the incoming waves. Sofia's friend in the pink and black wetsuit, eventually, got off of her board, and held onto Sofia's. The pair chatted for a long while in the water Hurry up: The daughter of Lionel Richie appeared to be leading back as she kept turning her head to look at her lagging friends Standing tall: She continued to stand, while conversing with her friends who immersed their entire bodies in the water Coming over: Sofia's friend in the pink and black wetsuit, eventually, got off of her board, and held onto Sofia's Conversing: The pair chatted for a long while in the water Eventually, the girl tried to climb onto Sofia's board, but the board could not handle both of them at the same time. The board quickly flipped over, which dumped Sofia and her pal into the ocean. As the conversation between them continued, Richie shifted from sitting vertically on her board to laying horizontally with her hands folded in front of her. Taking a dip: Richie slid off her board for a moment and plunged into the water, before getting back on and riding out the incoming waves Switching it up: As the conversation between them continued, Richie shifted from sitting vertically on her board to laying horizontally with her hands folded in front of her Jovial: Sofia appeared to be in high spirits, while surrounded by her pals Total pro: Sofia powered through the calm water Sofia's female friend then got back on her board and Sofia sat on folded legs as she paddled around. One of her friend said something to her, which caused her to burst into a fit of laughter atop her board. After spending hours in the ocean, Richie eagerly made her way towards the shore. Back at it: Sofia's female friend then got back on her board and Sofia sat on folded legs as she paddled around Cracking up: One of her friend said something to her, which caused her to burst into a fit of laughter atop her board Sofia had a total Baywatch moment as she emerged from the water in her wetsuit. She looked effortlessly beautiful, while wiping the water from her eyes and pushing her hair out of her face. The tones in Sofia's wetsuit brought out her glowing tan. Together: Sofia's female friend in a pink and black wetsuit paddled up next to her and the pair reached out to one another before grabbing hands Oh no: Eventually, the girl tried to climb onto Sofia's board, but the board could not handle both of them at the same time Wipe out: The board quickly flipped over, which dumped Sofia and her pal into the ocean Despite COVID-19, Sofia has been doing her best to live out all of her summer fantasies with her tight knit friend group. She shocked fans on the Fourth Of July when she was spotted with ex Scott Disick, 37, for the first time since their split in May. Despite attempting to rekindle their romance, Us Weekly reported earlier this month that Scott and Sofia 'have simmered down a little' in recent weeks. Doing her best: Despite COVID-19, Sofia has been doing her best to live out all of her summer fantasies with her tight knit friend group Shocking: She shocked fans on the Fourth Of July when she was spotted with ex Scott Disick, 37, for the first time since their split in May Simmered down: Despite attempting to rekindle their romance, Us Weekly reported earlier this month that Scott and Sofia 'have simmered down a little' in recent weeks 'Their relationship has taken a bit of a backseat and it's not either of their main priorities right now.' A source close to the situation also alleged to the outlet that 'Scott has been making a big effort to refocus on himself and his family.' Disick shares three children: Mason, 10, Penelope, eight, and Reign, five, with his ex Kourtney Kardashian, 41. Ukraine/Russian wheat price effect Heartland Investor Services Inc. - 18 minutes ago Lets dive into the story behind todays string move higher in grain prices Cocoa Prices Settle Mixed as European Q4 Cocoa Demand Surges Barchart - 1 hour ago March ICE NY cocoa (CCH22 ) on Wednesday closed up +26 (+0.99%), and March ICE London cocoa #7 (CAH22 ) closed down -5 (-0.28%). Cocoa prices on Wednesday settled mixed. Signs of strength in global cocoa... CCH22 : 2,657s (+0.99%) CAH22 : 1,764s (-0.28%) Emerging talents in spotlight at hybrid Paris Fashion Week AP - Wed Jan 19, 12:54PM CST PARIS (AP) A spattering of Paris Fashion Week menswear shows began in earnest this week for the fall-winter season, with French virus restrictions forcing many to an online-only presence. $SPX : 4,532.76 (-0.97%) $DOWI : 35,028.65 (-0.96%) $IUXX : 15,047.84 (-1.07%) Donors to launch Houston newsroom with $20M in seed funding AP - Wed Jan 19, 11:50AM CST Five philanthropies plan to spend more than $20 million to bolster news coverage in Houston and create what they say will be one of the largest local nonprofit news organizations in the country. $SPX : 4,532.76 (-0.97%) $DOWI : 35,028.65 (-0.96%) $IUXX : 15,047.84 (-1.07%) Wheats Adding Double Digits to the Recovery Barchart - Wed Jan 19, 11:39AM CST Following the double digit strength to start the short week, wheat futures are adding another 20+ cents through midday. Chicago futures are 2.5% to 3% stronger with May up 23 1/4. KC is also up 22 to 23... ZWH22 : 796-4s (+3.58%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.5611 (+3.80%) KEH22 : 800-0s (+3.53%) KEPAWS.CM : 7.8161 (+3.66%) MWH22 : 939-6s (+3.61%) Corn Prices Bounce Back Double Digits Barchart - Wed Jan 19, 11:39AM CST Corn is extending the bounce back from Tuesday into the Wednesday session. Yesterday prices rallied back from early session losses to close only 1 to 3 cents weaker. Through midday so far, corn is back... ZCH22 : 610-4s (+1.83%) ZCPAUS.CM : 5.9707 (+1.89%) ZCK22 : 611-0s (+1.83%) ZCZ21 : 588-6s (+0.77%) ZCPZ21US.CM : 5.7930 (-0.49%) Beans Recovering for Wednesday Barchart - Wed Jan 19, 11:39AM CST After the double digit losses yesterday rallied to close 8 cents weaker, soybean prices have extended the bounce through Wednesdays midday with 18 to 22 3/4 cent gains. Soymeal is also bouncing back... CSH22 : 153-0 (+4.26%) ZSH22 : 1391-2s (+2.20%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.4813 (+2.25%) ZSK22 : 1400-6s (+2.17%) ZSX21 : 1234-0s (+1.79%) ZSPX21US.CM : 12.3270 (+1.90%) A thermometer at Death Valleys Furnace Creek in the Southern California desert has soared to 54.4 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature in more than a century, the US National Weather Service said. If verified, this will be the hottest temperature officially verified since July of 1913, NWS Las Vegas said of the reading on Sunday afternoon, emphasising that it was preliminary. It will need to undergo a review before the record is confirmed, it said on its Twitter feed. The automated weather station close to the Furnace Creek visitors centre near the border with Nevada hit the high at 3.41pm local time. Death Valleys all-time record high, according to the World Meteorological Organization, is (56.7C) taken on July 10, 1913 at Greenland Ranch. It still stands as the hottest ever recorded on the planets surface, according to the WMO. Coming soon: Arctic Summer Without Ice Theres a standard image of the Earth as seen from space: vast blue seas, green bands of forests, and frozen white caps on the top and bottom. But by the summer of 2035, it may no longer be so. Scientists say that in just 15 years, Arctic summer sea-ice could disappear. The new research is the latest in a steady stream that has moved up the predicted time frame for the ice-free Arctic milestone. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON MEXICO CITY - Just as Mexico promised justice for the long-attacked Yaqui Indigenous community, businessmen in the countrys north are complaining that a Yaqui blockade of a key rail line is causing millions of dollars in losses. The rail line in northern Sonora state runs to the U.S. border and carries autos, autoparts, grain and other commodities. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador suggested the Yaqui group that has been blocking the railway line was being manipulated by politicians or outsiders. They were not among the group members who met with Lopez Obrador earlier this month for the establishment of the Justice Commission for the Yaqui People. I feel there has been manipulation. In all these cases, the corrupt politicians get involved, Lopez Obrador said, adding he was sending the head of the Justice Commission to speak with the dissident Yaquis. The commission has promised housing, development projects and a greater voice for the impoverished Yaqui communities, but the blockade has put the train-loving president in a tough spot. Many Yaquis are angry that in the past, gas ducts, water pipelines and railway lines have been run across their territory without consulting them or giving them much benefit from the projects. The national Confederation of Industrial Chambers, a business group, complained in statement last week that the railway blockade, which started Aug. 5, is preventing the transport of goods that are needed by the people and inputs that are essential for agriculture, industry, and the countrys imports and exports. It came after a similar blockade from July 13 to 25. Mexican ranchers import much of their feed grain from the United States, while Mexican auto factories import parts from the U.S. and export finished vehicles. Lopez Obrador ruled out using force to break up the blockade, though he has frequently sought to smooth sometimes tense relations with Mexicos business community. In the case of the producers, we are not going to ignore their requests, seeking dialogue and conciliation, Lopez Obrador said, adding the easy way out is always the use of force, and that doesnt help, it hasnt solved the problem. Lopez Obrador has called the Yaquis Mexicos most persecuted Indigenous group. Perhaps best known for the mystical and visionary powers ascribed to them by writer Carlos Castaneda, the Yaquis stubbornly fought the Mexican governments brutal campaign to eliminate the tribe in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But they were largely defeated by 1900, and dictator Porfirio Diaz began moving them off their fertile farmland to less valuable territory or to virtual enslavement on haciendas as far away as eastern Yucatan state. Read more about: President Donald Trump criticized Michelle Obama Monday, accusing her of pre-taping her speech for Joe Biden kicks off his political convention. The former first lady will be the keynote speaker on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, taking place virtually instead of in person for the first time. Trump brought up the format as he greeted a few hundred supporters in Minneapolis, where he touted his own 'law and order' campaign and hosted small businesses owners who said their dreams got torched amid looting amid protests over the death of George Floyd. He spoke at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on the first stop of a series of speeches beside Air Force One in Minnesota and Wisconsin intended to counter-program the Democrats' convention, which had been scheduled to take place in Milwaukee but which is now entirely virtual. Attack on first lady: Donald Trump used a campaign stop at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport to slam Michelle Obama for recording her tape at the Democratic National Convention Mini-rally: Donald Trump was greeted by a limited number of supporters at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on a campaign swing intended to counter-program the Democratic National Convention Supporter: Trump addressed a small crowd at the airport on the first stop of his campaign swing through Minnesota and Wisconsin Greeting: Supporters salute Trump as he ends a mini-rally at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Brief stop: Donald Trump re-boards Air Force One after speaking to a small number of supporters at Minneapolis-St.Paul airport 'These are all taped speeches. Michelle Obama, her speech is taped,' he said. 'Why don't they tell me that. I'll tape my speech,' said Trump. He quipped he would do multiple takes to get it right. 'I'll make sure it's perfecto. I'll make every word perfect,' he said. 'You want to go to a snooze. When you hear a speech is taped it's like there's nothing very exciting about it right?' Trump said. Trump brought up his own campaign surrogate introducing White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Although she is a taxpayer employee, it is allowable for government officials to campaign on personal time in certain circumstances. 'It is such an honor to work for the law and order president,' McEnany said in brief remarks. First Lady Melania Trump had to fend off negative press coverage during her own convention speech after it was revealed passages were lifted from Michelle Obama's 2008 effort. Star of the night: Michelle Obama is delivering the keynote speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention Trump then called up a series of business owners to talk about how they suffered when their businesses were torched, including a pharmacy owner whose business burned. 'At the Democrat convention we will not hear a word about these innocent victims or the left-wing violence that's taking place,' Trump said. Trump called out 'radical left anarchists' he held responsible. He also attacked Biden's new running mate Kamala Harris. 'She's the one who finished so badly,' Trump said. 'She was embarrassed she ran out of town,' he said of her time in the Democratic presidential primary. 'She went down like a rock in water,' Trump said. DUBLIN, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Electronic Toll Collection Market with COVID-19 Impact Analysis by Technology (RFID, DSRC, ANPR/ALPR, and Satellite-Based), Offering (Hardware, and Back Office and Other Services), Application, Type, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The electronic toll collection market was valued at USD 8.1 billion in 2019, and it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.7% from 2020 to 2025 to reach USD 10 billion by 2025. The electronic toll collection market in APAC is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Countries such as China, Japan, India, and South Korea are major contributors to the growth of the electronic toll collection market in APAC. The growth prospective of the electronic toll collection market in APAC is promising with a steady growth rate in the near future. The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the market in APAC, however, a steady recovery by 2021 is expected with the significant infrastructural investments and government support. The major restraints for the growth of the market are implementation constraints in emergent nations. Issues related to interoperability and common standards act as major challenges for the growth of the market. The transponder-/tag-based tolling segment projected to hold a larger share of the electronic toll collection market during the forecast period. TransCore (US), Q-Free (Norway), and Star Systems International (Hong Kong) are the major companies that offer transponders for electronic tolling systems. TransCore (US) offers RFID transponders and readers, which are widely used in toll operations across the US. Interoperable multi-protocol transponders provided by the company use existing toll infrastructure, thereby eliminating risky and costly modifications for tolling agencies. Among applications, the highways segment to grow at a higher CAGR between 2020 and 2025. The electronic toll collection market is significantly driven by its adoption mainly in developing countries. Government initiatives to promote faster payments of toll fees through a digital mode and decongest highways would generate immense growth opportunities for the ETC market. For instance, in December 2019, the National Highways Authority of India initiated electronic toll collection at national highways through FASTag, an RFID tag. Many interurban toll highways, including Highway 6 (Israel) and Northern Gateway Toll Road (New Zealand), all over the world use DSRC-based ETC systems. RFID technology to hold the largest share of the electronic toll collection market during the forecast period. RFID technology utilizes its radio-frequency electromagnetic fields for the identification of objects that carry RFID tags. This technology is used in electronic identification, tracking, and storing information contained on the tag. Two-way radio transmitters/receivers called interrogators or readers send a signal to the tag and read its response. RFID readers scan the tag and then send that information to the database for storing. RFID is a prominent technology used in ETC systems owing to its low operational cost. North America projected to hold the largest share of the electronic toll collection market in 2025. North America is expected to continue to lead the electronic toll collection market by capturing the largest market size throughout the forecast period. The US and Canada are the key countries in North America with most vehicles per person, which is one of the most contributing factors to the growth of the electronic toll collection market. Additionally, both the countries have the largest networks of interstate and state highways wherein advanced toll collection systems are installed at many locations, and several toll installation projects are in progress for lanes with high traffic. Leading companies such as TransCore (US), Raytheon (US), and Conduent (US) in the electronic toll collection market have their base in North America while having operations in countries across the world. They contribute significantly to the growth of the electronic toll collection market in the region. Key Topics Covered: 1 Introduction 2 Research Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Premium Insights 4.1 Attractive Opportunities in Electronic Toll Collection Market 4.2 Electronic Toll Collection Market in North America, by Technology and Offering 4.3 Electronic Toll Collection Market, by Application 4.4 Country-Wise Electronic Toll Collection Market Growth Rate 5 Market Overview 5.1 Market Dynamics 5.1.1 Drivers 5.1.1.1 Effective Solution to Reduce Traffic Congestion, Accidents, and Environmental Pollution 5.1.1.2 Strong Government Support to Accelerate Electronic Toll Collection 5.1.1.3 Greater Convenience and Flexibility of Cashless Payments 5.1.1.4 Increased Use of Advanced Digital Technologies in Transportation Infrastructure 5.1.2 Restraints 5.1.2.1 Implementation Constraints in Emergent Nations 5.1.3 Opportunities 5.1.3.1 Growing Utilization of Blockchain Technology in Toll Collection Systems 5.1.3.2 Rising Number of Public-Private Partnership Agreements in Transportation Sector 5.1.3.3 Increasing Transition to All-Electronic Tolling Systems from Manual or Coin-Based Tolling Systems 5.1.4 Challenges 5.1.4.1 Issues Related to Interoperability, Common Standards, As Well As Selection of Toll Technology 6 Industry Trends 6.1 Value Chain Analysis 6.2 Case Study Analysis 6.2.1 Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Massdot) 6.2.2 Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and National Highways Authority of India 6.2.3 Promotora Y Operadora De Infraestructura (Pinfra) 6.2.4 Government of Brazil 6.3 Region-Wise Recent Developments in Electronic Toll Collection Market 6.4 Toll Payment Methods 6.4.1 Introduction 6.4.2 Prepaid Toll Payments 6.4.3 Post-Paid Toll Payments 6.4.4 Prepaid/Post-Paid Combination 6.5 Parameters for Charging Toll Amount 6.5.1 Introduction 6.5.2 Distance Based 6.5.3 Point Based 6.5.4 Time Based 6.5.5 Perimeter Based 6.6 Covid-19 Overview 6.6.1 Overview and Statistics 7 Electronic Toll Collection Market, by Type 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Transponder-/Tag-Based Tolling Systems 7.3 Other Tolling Systems 7.4 Impact of Covid-19 on Types of Tolling Systems 8 Electronic Toll Collection Market, by Technology 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) 8.2.1 RFID Remains Largely Adopted Technology in Global Electronic Toll Collection Market 8.3 Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) 8.3.1 High Adoption of DSRC Technology-Based ETC Systems in Europe Boosts Market Growth 8.4 Other Technologies 8.4.1 Booming Trend of Gnss-/Gps-Enabled Electronic Toll Collection Techniques to Propel Market Growth 8.5 Impact of Covid-19 on Technologies of Tolling Systems 9 Electronic Toll Collection Market, by Offering 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Hardware 9.2.1 High Adoption of Advanced Tolling Systems to Boost Demand for Hardware Offerings 9.3 Back Office and Other Services 9.3.1 Increased Requirement to Process High Volume of Transactions Creating Demand for Back Office and Other Services 9.4 Impact of Covid-19 on Hardware and Service Offerings Related to Tolling Systems 10 Electronic Toll Collection Market, by Application 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Highways 10.2.1 Governments Plans to Promote Faster Digital Payments at Toll Plazas Accelerate Demand for ETC Systems on Highways 10.3 Urban Areas 10.3.1 Deployment of ETC Solutions to Ensure Congestion-Free Traffic Flow in Urban Areas Propels Market Growth 10.4 Impact of Covid-19 on Applications 11 Geographical Analysis 11.1 Introduction 11.2 North America 11.2.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Electronic Toll Collection Market in North America 11.2.2 US 11.2.2.1 US to Continue to Dominate Electronic Toll Collection Market in North America Throughout Forecast Period 11.2.3 Canada 11.2.3.1 Canada to Exhibit Implementation of ETC Systems on Major Highways and Bridges Connecting Cities 11.2.4 Mexico 11.2.4.1 Mexico to Carry Out Highway Development Projects to Connect Neighboring Countries Propelling Market Growth 11.3 Europe 11.3.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Electronic Toll Collection Market in Europe 11.3.2 Eu5 11.3.2.1 Collaborations Between Automotive Companies and Technology Providers Fuel Market Growth 11.3.3 Western Europe 11.3.3.1 New Installations and Modification of Electronic Toll Systems in Western Europe Foster Market Growth 11.3.4 Rest of Europe 11.4 APAC 11.4.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Electronic Toll Collection Market in APAC 11.4.2 China 11.4.2.1 China to Hold Prominent Share of Electronic Toll Collection Market in APAC in 2025 11.4.3 Japan 11.4.3.1 Technologically Equipped Ecosystem Offers Potential Growth Opportunities for ETC Market 11.4.4 South Korea 11.4.4.1 Major Developments Such As Hi-Pass Cards Foster South Korean Market Growth 11.4.5 Rest of APAC 11.5 Row 11.5.1 Impact of Covid-19 on Electronic Toll Collection Market in Row 11.5.2 Middle East and Africa 11.5.2.1 need to Streamline Traffic Flow on Highways and Urban Roads Propel Growth of ETC Market 11.5.3 South America 11.5.3.1 Developing Economies and Wide Network of Highways Creating High-Growth Opportunities for South America ETC Market 12 Competitive Landscape 12.1 Overview 12.2 Market Ranking Analysis (2019) 12.3 Competitive Scenario and Trends 12.4 Recent Developments (Top 5 Players) 12.4.1 Product Launches 12.4.2 Partnerships/Agreements/Contracts 12.4.3 Acquisitions 12.5 Competitive Leadership Mapping, 2019 12.5.1 Visionary Leaders 12.5.2 Dynamic Differentiators 12.5.3 Innovators 12.5.4 Emerging Companies 13 Company Profiles 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Key Players 13.2.1 Kapsch Trafficcom 13.2.2 Conduent Business Services, Llc 13.2.3 Efkon Gmbh 13.2.4 Transcore 13.2.5 Thales Group 13.2.6 Raytheon Technologies Corporation 13.2.7 Cubic Corporation 13.2.8 Siemens 13.2.9 Neology, Inc. 13.2.10 Feig Electronics 13.2.11 Vinci 13.3 Other Important Players 13.3.1 Toshiba 13.3.2 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. 13.3.3 Abertis 13.3.4 Q-Free 13.3.5 Quarterhill Inc. (International Road Dynamics Inc.) 13.3.6 Tecsidel, S.A. 13.3.7 Perceptics, Llc. 13.3.8 Star Systems International 13.3.9 G.E.A. 13.3.10 Electronic Transaction Consultants (Etc) Corporation 13.3.11 ARH Inc. 13.3.12 Sociedad Ibrica De Construcciones Elctricas, S.A. (Sice) 13.3.13 Autostrade Per L'italia Spa (Atlantia) 13.3.14 Jenoptik 13.3.15 Norbit 13.4 Key Innovators 13.4.1 Far Eastern Electronic Toll Collection Co. (Fetc) 13.4.2 Toll Collect Gmbh 13.4.3 Geotoll 13.4.4 Indra Sistemas, S.A. 13.4.5 Kistler Group 13.4.6 American Traffic Solutions 14 Appendix For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/c3cm53 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com To the editor: Sometimes I overthink things, but with regard to the presidential election, I figured it out. Trump claims Biden is a radical. I dont care. I dont care if Biden is a radical, or a socialist, or a moderate, or a conservative. I will vote for Joe Biden because our democracy will not survive another four years of Trumps malevolence, corruption, and authoritarian behavior, and Biden is the only viable alternative to Trump. Donald Trump calls Joe Biden Sleepy." I wouldnt care if Joe Biden was in a coma. I would still vote for Biden because hes running against Donald Trump, and Trump is the greatest danger our Constitution has faced since the Civil War. Trump implies that Biden has cognitive issues. I wouldnt care if Joe Biden couldnt recognize his own children. I would still vote for Biden because Joe Biden will never be so incompetent that he would tell Americans that coronavirus is a hoax, or that it will disappear like a miracle, or that children are virtually immune, or that we should treat the virus with very powerful lights inside the body. Joe Biden will never put children in cages, or send the U.S. military to gas peaceful American citizens, or threaten to delay the election. Our democracy is at stake in this election. The only way to save our democracy is to send Trump and his enablers packing in a thundering electoral defeat. The only way to do that is to vote for Joe Biden. No matter what. Dont overthink it. JOE WEIR Midland Yves here. As readers likely know, a Covid-19 vaccine, even if it confers more than relatively short-term immunity, is unlikely to be approved and ready for mass distribution before late 2021. And thats before you get to the wee problems of not just anti-vaxxers but even medical experts being concerned about a rushed approval process. So prophylactics and treatments are likely to remain the first line of defense for quite a while. Thus non-invasive treatments like hyperbaric oxygen therapy should not just be considered, but arguably given priority. However, there is the wee problem of not just limited facilities but that the US isnt oriented towards cheap (on a marginal cost basis) medical treatments. By Stephen Verchinski, B.S., M.S., the Green Party Candidate for New Mexico State House of Representatives District 25 The free market is not good at disaster recovery. Catastrophe is not profitable. Kim Stanley Robinson, Green Earth Introduction How a public department responds to a crisis is a measure of its effectiveness. As for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease known as COVID-19, the responsible department in New Mexico is the New Mexico Department of Health,1which is overseen by the governor. No easy job at this time, the governor must balance the potential effects of the disease, which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)2, both on mortality and on our economic activity. A study in March of this year implied that if this virus was as virulent as the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920, the deaths could be as high as 2% of the world population, resulting in flu-generated economic declines for GDP and consumption in the typical country of 6 and 8 percent, respectively.3 Today some economists believe that it will be even worse, exceeding Great Depression rates of mass unemployment and falling-off-the-cliff decline of gross domestic product. What we know about todays global pandemic has been provided primarily by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), World Health Organization (WHO), and international news sources. No cure or vaccine is currently available against the virus. Indeed, many believe a vaccine will not be available till late 2021 when Phase 3 trials similar to those of mRNA-1273 by Moderna are completed.4Some like Dr. Fauci and Bill Gates figure otherwise with earlier time frames though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will likely have the last say. Mass vaccinations that likely may happen could involve risks due to shortened observation time for negative systemic side effects (Moderna has had 80% systemic side effects.) Acting on this information, the state government and health officials have focused on preventing too many persons with COVID-19 severe symptoms from impacting the ability of hospitals to provide mechanical ventilator treatment (e.g. breathing with a machine). A limiting factor, mechanical ventilators are used in about 20% of patients with COVID-19 symptoms of unusually serious respiratory distress. That is the reason for the states emergency targeting, the flattening the curve of symptomatic cases, intended to prevent a rise in numbers hospitalized with severe symptoms. So far, it may have worked. However, that may even get worse because what we know about coronaviruses is that viral mutation happens and is usually deadlier in such pandemics in the fall. In many cases the mechanical treatments are not available at many of New Mexicos rural and tribal health clinics. Further according to the Albuquerque Journal reporting, we have had 680 people who have died with COVID-19. Many of those who died also had preexisting diabetes, heart disease or lung disease (92%). All of those conditions have an existing treatment that is approved by the FDA for treatment with hyperbaric oxygen. This therapy has not been used in our state on COVID-19 patients. Why not? That is a good question. Perhaps it is our not challenging the FDA and the mainstream narrative on this disease, that all we need to focus on is hope for a vaccine or drug for an immediate cure. I believe after reading the data on this therapy called hyperbaric oxygen therapy, that the states focus is shortsighted. will result in the Our governor and the Department of Health will not be effective with COVID-19 in the fall and deaths may skyrocket especially among our indigenous population. So, what I have provided here is an overview of the COVID-19 disease, current treatment approved for the symptoms of the disease that is most prevalent and what the hyperbaric oxygen treatment is that has been bypassed. I have also included a list of recommendations to pursue to provide this treatment as soon as possible to save New Mexican lives. COVID-19 Hypoxia and the Cytokine Storm Hypoxia is the main cause of death for COVID-19 patients. Patients cannot get enough oxygen at the tissue level, leading to pulmonary fibrosis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It is similar to a mountain climbers disease high altitude pulmonary edema where liquids build up in the lungs and thus prevents oxygen from circulating from the lungs to the blood. Without oxygen, this dangerous condition, hypoxia, according to WebMD website, leads to damage to brain, liver, and other organs. Even though the general mortality rate is low (0.2-7%, country based), patients who develop ARDS have a significantly higher mortality rate, up to 61-90%.5 With COVID-19, a second major cause of death comes with what is known as the cytokine storm syndrome. This inflammatory response mechanism is still not clear but appears to occur when proteins are released during ones immune response to the disease. Then when the body seeks to clear the coronavirus and tries to protect it against future reinfection, a pulmonary fibrosis sets in.6 Unfortunately, for many, in those couple of weeks after the initial COVID-19 infection, their immune systems cytokines ramp up dangerously. That can contribute to the morbidity by attacking and killing the bodys own cells. Data from around the world notes poor recovery prognosis, especially in patients with both an elevated level of IL-6 (an important cytokine found to be elevated early on in COVID-19 patients compared to those who survived), and ferritin which is a blood protein that contains iron. COVID-19s Current USA Treatment of Hypoxia (Drugs, HFOT, ECMO, CPT) Treatments of COVID-19 hypoxia has typically involved the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, such as corticosteroids or those used for rheumatoid arthritis and Stills disease, 7 a rare inflammatory arthritis. Some of the drugs have a long half-life in the body, and it is possible to have significant side effects, according to Dr. M. Konig of Johns Hopkins University, a specialist in the arthritis field. The typical COVID-19 patient seen by Dr. Konig will in the first week or week and a half of the disease exhibits the symptoms (cough, shortness of breath or breathing difficulty, fever, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell) but they are not yet critically ill. Some new research suggests that a possible new drug treatment could use the terpenes from cannabis with CBD to provide better results than corticosteroids.8 In any case, the drugs administered might not succeed alone, and then the patient might be placed on oxygen through a mask and administered high flow oxygen therapy (HFOT). HFOT is another method of non-invasive respiratory support. A patient that is not improving following those steps typically then is placed on invasive mechanical ventilation. It is documented that mechanical ventilation with intubation can contribute to the possibility of additional fungal and bacterial infections and can damage the lungs. The COVID-19 death rate on ventilators by studies exceed 70% not a good patient outcome. An advanced treatment measure for those who get so sick that even mechanical ventilators cannot keep them alive is a radical option called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). It is a form of lung and sometimes heart bypass that allows for the insertion of tubes into a patients blood vessels, which is used to remove the venous blood, that is then run through an artificial lung which then pushes oxygen rich blood back into the body. Patients survival rate is 50% or lower, and only 264 hospitals in the USA out of 6,000 are capable of performing this procedure.9 Still another approach to combating COVID-19 is passive antibody administration in a treatment known as convalescing plasma therapy (CPT) in which the antibodies in a recovered COVID-19 patients whole blood or plasma is taken to treat another COVID-19 patient; if administered early the hope is in 10 to 14 days, the patient develops primary immunity against the virus. This work was already being done in Houston. The FDA has stated that more clinical trials are needed. This was despite the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in its March 27, 2020 issue, citing the success of 5 patients who showed symptoms of severe respiratory distress, severe pneumonia, and a high viral load. Of the 5 patients, three were discharged and two were in stable condition.10A number of clinical trials are now ongoing. Compassionate Treatment by Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) During the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, a therapy was indeed found that showed effectiveness against the influenza. In 1918 Dr. Orval Cunningham of Kansas City was brought a dying friend of a fellow physician. The patient was moribund and blue. Before Cunningham could perform his planned animal experiments, he was asked to treat this dying patient. With just a one-hour treatment with compressed air at 1.68 atmospheres absolute, the patient experienced improvement. Combined with additional hyperbaric treatments over the next 3 days this patients life was saved. Others followed.11Known as hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), it is a process in which your entire body is exposed to oxygen under increased atmospheric pressure.12It typically involves a mono-place chamber suitable for one patient, or a multi-place chamber a room, capable of holding two hospital gurneys and/or seats for up to a dozen patients.13 Such HBOT chambers are pressurized for treatment usually from 1.4 to 2.0 atmospheres absolute ATA. (1.0 ATA is a gauge pressure that is true regardless of location, relative to the average atmosphere pressure at sea level of 14.7 pounds per square inch, or psi. So, 2.0 ATA is twice the atmospheric pressure at sea level.). The HBOT chamber, then with 100% hyperbaric oxygen added, enables a flooding of the body and its tissues. It is carried out typically in doses lasting 60 to 120 minutes a day. Depending on every patient response, the treatment could be increased from once a day to two twice a day over a course of a number of days, usually five. Today, aside from injuries suffered by deep sea divers, HBOT is typically used for wound care, such as for flesh-eating bacteria, but also for poisonings, strokes, crush injuries, vascular diseases and complications from diabetes. HBOT treatment efficacy on COVID-19 is thought to be due to it altering the lipid structure (fats) of the virus and modifying the viral RNA. Doing so blocks virus replication and prevents it from binding to the ACE2 receptor. These results have similarly been seen in the treatment and viral suppression of AIDS HIV, and in the recovery of ASRS-CoV-1 patients during the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Positive Treatment Results and Clinical Trials for COVID-19 The experience with HBOT varies, but this summary is notable. The use of HBOT for the treatment of COVID-19 is supported by various international clinical trials and recognized by the World Health Organization as a non-drug treatment for COVID-19. Clinical trials categorically show that HBOT halts viral progression and COVID-19 pneumonia, rejuvenates hypoxic organs, and accelerate the bodys natural healing process. The ability of hyperbaric oxygen to penetrate inflammatory pulmonary secretions allows adequate oxygen to reach the blood while inhibiting the inflammatory process.14. Chinese doctors in Wuhan also have used it as a treatment saving many patients. During the current pandemic, various hospitals from China to USA have been using hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) to treat dozens of critically ill COVID-19 patients with pneumonia and severe breathlessness plus multiple high-risk factors including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and hypertension. The outcome: Following a short cycle of HBOT, patients have consistently made a swift and full recovery.15 By contrast, the Russian Academy of Sciences had noted that lung ventilation fails in 70% of COVID-19 cases and TASS Russian news reported on June 5, 2020 that Moscows Research Institute of Emergency Care (Sklifosovsky Institute) began to use HBOT to treat COVID-19 cases. New Mexico and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy Availability and Use. On June 16, 2020, this author made a public record request of the state Department of Health for a hyperbaric oxygen therapy chambers location list for the State of New Mexico and if they had any records of the use of them in treatment for COVID-19. In the reply, health department officials said no documents exist responsive to the request.16 Calling hospitals and facilities, I found the state has three hospitals, with HBOT chambers and treatment. Out of the total of four though, only two are accredited clinical hyperbaric medicine facilities, Christus St. Vincent in Santa Fe and the Sherman and Sally Dugan Center at the San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington. The third facility is at the Mountain View Regional Medical Center in Las Cruces. One other facility called Taos Hyperbaric offers HBOT chamber and is privately owned. None offer COVID-19 HBOT either clinically or for compassionate use. Status of Clinical Trials for HBOT and COVID-19 and Availability The website www.clinicaltrials.govis an access site for global studies and trials for COVID-19. Currently, it says it has some 2,965 active studies as of 8/10/2020. As for HBOT, this site has but nine.17Trials are currently recruiting in that database some 840 patients and have December 2020 to December 2021 for completion dates for their studies. That could be due the relatively small numbers of chambers available. China, for example, has one chamber per 270,000 persons, and many are multi-place, and indications are that availability is being increased. In the United States, excluding private and military chambers, we have according to the Underseas and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS), only a few hundred locations are clinical. With a U.S. population of more than 326 million, only one clinical chamber per one million people. It was said without references however that up to 1,300 hospitals in the USA offer HBOT but this I have not been able to confirm. Clearly, fewer clinical trials with HBOT are being conducted in response to COVID-19. Why not? Well, a medical doctor at one of our national HBOT facilities said as I mentioned that Albuquerque has no clinical HBOT chambers, that it is not a surprise since there is little money in treating people with something that makes them well. Medicare and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBO) Medicare Part B (medical insurance) might cover HBO therapy, but only if the therapy is administered in a clinically approved FDA medical chamber and the patient shows one of 15 conditions that qualify. Further there is the issue of protocols and acceptance for treatment with a virus pathogen and cleaning at any clinical setting and training. Costs are 20% of the Medicare approved amount, and the Part B deductible could apply. COVID-19 ARDS is not a condition that is currently qualified for HBO treatment under Medicare. As a senior if I could get HBOT, my own Presbyterian insurance supplement under Medicare base deductible responsibility would be $2,500 and I would still be responsible for premium charges of over $1,200. Considering many seniors have little to no savings, the treat of bankruptcy and loss of shelter can be the outcome of treatment if it were available for patients with COVID-19 ARDS. Our Fall Future With vaccines on the near horizon still in testing phases and many showing systemic side effects, and having knowledge that coronavirus mutations are usually occur in the fall and that are more deadly, New Mexico elected officials and leaders in the states healthcare community must be planning ahead. At the very least, we in New Mexico (and nationally) should have a crash plan for making HBOT systems available by the fall of this year yes, just a few weeks from now in much greater numbers than the few that exist statewide today. I then feel that with HBOT, COVID-19 patients needing extra oxygen to breathe will see significant health improvements as well as a decrease in complications, inflammation in the blood, need for invasive care, death, and cost of care. Some recommendations to make this happen. Standardization of minimum requirements for any HBOT system developed, to be certified by the FDA rapidly with this COVID-19 pandemic as an approved medical therapy device for use. Quick training for technicians with support personnel classes. HBOT syllabuses needs immediate development for the nation using WHO and NIH best practices for COVID-19 safety of medical personnel and technicians. Train the trainers for the technicians and support personnel could be drawn from the U.S. Air Force (Lackland Air Force Base, in San Antonio TX. has two chambers, one six patient multi place and one mono place. 210-671-3722) The HBOT technicians for medical board licensing for HBOT currently require a 40-hour HBOT specific course, then 270 hours of work in a supervised clinical setting, then the technicians must complete and pass a national certification licensing test. A call on our states congressional delegation to allow HBOT to be an approved therapy for COVID-19 and for removal of the Medicare Part B deductible for COVID-19 HBOT and the 20% co-pay for the Medicare-approved amount. In China, HBOT is clinically approved for 12 emergency conditions, according to data from 2013, along with 48 non-emergency conditions including (ARDS) associated with many COVID-19 patients. 18 Federal and or state legislation to require insurance companies in the United States to approve HBOT for treatment without co pays or deductibles. The federal government would pay the normal co pays and deductibles for anyone who has early symptoms and tests positive for COVID-19, both of which would qualify an individual for treatment. Immediate analysis of hospitals nationally and their carrying capacity ability to provide non-invasive lung ventilation under pressure for patients on the cusp of needing mechanical ventilation. The number of accredited clinical facilities, with monoplace and multiplace chambers in the USA, according to the undersea and hyperbaric medical society database (UHMS.org) is 186. This is not counting other public and private facilities whose actual numbers are not in an easily accessible database. Immediately, conduct a full analysis of the ability of all HBOT chambers nationally to have protection against infection transmission in their chamber use for COVID-19 treatments. Implement a regional plan for manufacturing multi-person high pressure oxygen chamber systems, and set a goal similar to the Chinese experience after construction, to ship, install, and commission within 15 days in those areas in the United States experiencing the most serious COVID-19 outbreaks. Investigate repurposing airplanes for use as pressure chambers and the use of airports as hospitals. 19 these have good advantages including The Boeing 737 and some others use electrical air compressors; the patients can be located away from city centers; they are once repurposed can serve as flying hospitals and sent to locations with outbreaks quickly; the planes themselves require no major modifications; the pandemic has significantly reduced airplane and airport use. Repurposing allows for airports not to go bankrupt.This repurposing should be undertaken immediately in conjunction with engineers from the Air Force and U.S. government laboratory physicists and technicians hired and tasked from such locations like MIT, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, and the Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. these have good advantages including The Boeing 737 and some others use electrical air compressors; the patients can be located away from city centers; they are once repurposed can serve as flying hospitals and sent to locations with outbreaks quickly; the planes themselves require no major modifications; the pandemic has significantly reduced airplane and airport use. Repurposing allows for airports not to go bankrupt.This repurposing should be undertaken immediately in conjunction with engineers from the Air Force and U.S. government laboratory physicists and technicians hired and tasked from such locations like MIT, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, and the Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. Guarantee access to care. More than 33 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the coronavirus outbreak. In the process, many are losing access to health care. All hospital providers must increase access to care and testing. Testing must be available to all citizens, and including those in immigrant status and asylum seekers. Provide guaranteed access and pricing for any vaccines developed and tested. This work normally takes years. New Mexico laboratories need to be used as much as possible, which would mean placing weapons research and development on indefinite hold. New Mexico needs to ask its federal delegation to remove patent restrictions for generic vaccine development and make sure the vaccine is safe before it is being given to the public. This includes making sure the vaccines are free of heavy metals, DNA fragments, nanoparticles, chemical toxins, and tumorigenic particles. Task the state Department of Health to review all the COVID-19 testing kits and reject the use of ones that do not give correct positives. Allow for testing of antibodies during blood drawn for any purpose in New Mexico. Bailouts during COVID-19 need restrictions. The state legislature should have met in emergency session to review the impact of the CARES Act on New Mexico. Legislature and the states congressional delegation must join together to pass an emergency resolution to prohibit this money to be used for corporate stock buys or to increase executive compensation while immediate needs such as production and deployment of HBOT chambers are being ignored. Provide for this information to be made for the State of New Mexico in a documentary video mode in multiple languages including sign language and distributed in communities statewide. Place a priority chamber acquisition and use the chambers to the states hardest hit communities.21 It is my belief that going with the existing narrative that a cure, either that a vaccine or drug will soon be available will result in the state not protecting its population. Our State of New Mexico will be forced to both continue to close economic activity and inaction will allow many New Mexicans to unnecessarily die of the hypoxia and cytokine storm of COVID-19. We have to be ready for the fall. Chanting "freedom", hundreds of people rallied Sunday in Madrid to protest against the mandatory use of facemasks and other restrictions imposed by the Spanish government to contain the coronavirus pandemic. A crowd of clapping and cheering people gathered beneath an enormous yellow and red Spanish flag that stands in the Plaza Colon in the centre of the city in response to calls on social media. Protesters held up home-made placards featuring slogans that included "The virus does not exist", "Masks kill" and "We are not afraid". The demonstration drew a variety of attendees, including conspiracy theorists, libertarians and opponents of vaccination. Pilar Martin, a 58-year-old housewife from the northeastern city of Zaragoza, said she had come to Madrid for the rally because she believed governments around the world were exaggerating the number of infections to curb people's freedoms. "They are forcing us to use a mask, they want us to stay home practically locked up. It's obvious that they are continuously tricking us with talk of outbreaks. It's all a lie," she told AFP at the rally. A number of participants cited a slickly edited documentary dubbed "Plandemic" which has been removed from several social media platforms including YouTube and Facebook because it was found to have false claims, such as that wearing masks can cause harm or that vaccines have "killed millions". Many protesters did not wear a mask even though it is required by law in public across Spain, which has seen a surge in new infections since it lifted its three-month lockdown measures on June 21. Mask-wearing was initially imposed in early May as a requirement for those using public transport, and was later expanded in a country where the virus has killed nearly 29,000 people. The protest comes two days after the government announced new restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, including the closure of discos and a ban on smoking in public areas when it is not possible to keep at least two metres from other people. (AFP) Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 03:47:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. presidential race has intensified as the Democratic National Convention (DNC) kicks off on Monday, less than 80 days before the general election. The 2020 DNC, which was scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July, is now turned into an almost all-virtual event beginning Monday and running through Thursday, due to safety concerns amid a lingering COVID-19 pandemic that has killed over 170,000 Americans. The four-night program themed "Uniting America," beginning at 9 p.m. and ending at 11 p.m. ET, will be livestreamed on the DNC website and its social media handles, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. According to the DNC, each night of the convention will feature "both live and curated content originating from Milwaukee and other satellite cities, locations and landmarks across the country." Party business will occur remotely during the daytime, with caucus and council meetings scheduled throughout. Former Vice President Joe Biden will be formally nominated during the convention as the Democratic presidential nominee to try to unseat President Donald Trump in November. Biden will give his acceptance speech Thursday night and his 2020 running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, will deliver hers Wednesday night. Former first lady Michelle Obama is headlining Monday's addresses on the "series of monumental challenges" facing Americans -- the ongoing pandemic, economic recession and racism and inequality in the country. The DNC comes as a latest Washington Post-ABC News poll found Biden leading Trump by 53 percent to 41 percent among registered voters. GOP COUNTER-ACTIONS As Democrats look to boost Biden with the convention, Trump and the Republican Party have scheduled many counter-programings, on and off line, in several battleground states this week, including Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Arizona. On Monday, Trump will travel to Wisconsin and Minnesota to deliver remarks on jobs and the economy. He will campaign in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, where he is expected to take on Biden hours before he officially accepts the Democratic nomination. The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Trump campaign is spending "high seven figures" on an intensive digital ad campaign during the Democratic convention -- including a banner ad on the YouTube homepage for 96 hours, beginning Tuesday. Democrats launched a cable TV ad Monday calling Trump's visit to Wisconsin "a political stunt that's putting human lives at risk," reported Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Monday. The ad by the DNC starts by discussing Trump's June rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the spike in coronavirus cases in that city in the weeks afterward. "Now Trump is coming to Wisconsin for a political stunt that puts you at risk," the narrator says in the ad. The president's campaign also put up digital billboards in Milwaukee mocking Biden for not appearing in person at the DNC. "Where's Joe?" the billboards ask. Enditem Cameroon Civilians Protest Growing Separatist Barbarism, Increasing Violence By Moki Edwin Kindzeka August 16, 2020 Hundreds of Cameroonians have braved a heavy military presence and separatists' threats to protest increasing violence and barbarism in the central African state's restive English-speaking regions. The protest in the southwestern town of Muyuka was provoked by the killing of civilians and other brutality by the military, which is searching for separatists said to be responsible for a recent wave of attacks and murder of women and aid workers. About 300 people, most of them women and children marched silently on the streets of Cameroon's southwestern town of Muyuka Sunday. Twenty-nine-year-old Ernestine Naayah said Cameroon's Womens Peace Movement, which she represents in Muyuka, and four other organizations organized the protest because they are fed up with growing violence in Cameroon's English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions. "I am out here today to say no to violence, to decry the killings of innocent civilians and especially women. Our cry today is for the leaders of the nation to do something about the crisis in the North and Southwest regions. We all deserve to live in peace in this glorious land God has given us," she said. Naayah said the groups organized the anti-violence protest in Muyuka because it is in the southwestern town that the latest gruesome case of murder was reported. Gruesome killings On August 11, Comfort Tumasang a 32-year-old mother of two was gruesomely murdered in Muyuka. A video her beheading went viral on social media, provoking widespread condemnation. Comfort's mother, 63-year-old Mary Tumasang, said separatists accused her daughter of collaborating with the military as an informant. She said she supports the protest because she wants peace to return to Cameroon. She said she wants her daughter's killers arrested. She said when separatists came to her home, her frightened daughter, Comfort, did not hesitate to hand over her telephone as the fighters requested. She said 30 minutes later, she watched helplessly as Comfort was forced out of the house to a neighborhood called Sandsand. She said in Sandsand, the fighters tied Comfort to a tree but residents raised an alarm and the fighters fled, taking her daughter along. Comfort Tumasang was later found dead in a pool of her own blood. Thirteen other cases of gruesome killing were reported in Cameroon's two English-speaking regions. Emmanuel Ledou Engamba, highest administrative officer in Muyuka's Fako Division said the military has been deployed to restore peace. He said the troops have been instructed to arrest Tumasang's killers. "These criminals are going to be prosecuted, and actions have been undertaken to make sure that they are tracked down. I have extended the condolence message of the head of state [Cameroon's President Paul Bya] to the bereaved family of late Mrs. Tumasang, who was brutally assassinated by criminals [separatist fighters]," he said. The separatists say the military organizes some of the attacks on civilians to give fighters a bad name. The military says separatists have resorted to attacking civilians because their fighters' ability to attack has been greatly reduced by government troops. The Cameroonian government, rights groups and embassies also blame separatist fighters for the increasing brutality and gruesome killing of civilians and aid workers. Civilians say the military brutalizes populations as troops search for separatists suspected to have been responsible for the killings. The military insists that its troops have remained professional. The United Nations reports that Cameroon's four-year separatist crisis has killed over 3,000 and displaced at least 500,000 others. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address More than 10,000 Thai protesters chanted down with dictatorship at a rally in Bangkok in the biggest demonstration against the monarchy and the government since a 2014 coup. There were cheers for student calls to curb the monarchys powers once a taboo subject as well as demands for the departure of former junta leader Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, a new constitution and an end to the harassment of opposition activists. Students have led protests almost daily for the past month, but yesterdays demonstration drew a broader crowd in the south-east Asian country, which has experienced decades of protests punctuated by military coups. We want a new election and a new parliament from the people, student activist Patsalawalee Tanakitwiboonpon (24) told the crowd. Lastly, our dream is to have a monarchy which is truly under the constitution. Mr Prayuth won elections last year that the opposition says were held under rules to ensure that he kept power. The most vocal opposition party was subsequently banned. Anger has further been fuelled by accusations of corruption, the arrest of some student leaders over earlier protests and the economic fallout from the coronavirus epidemic. Organisers of the Free People movement and police said there were more than 10,000 people at the protest. The Chana Songkhram police station said there were not more than 12,000. The prime minister sends his concern to officials and protesters to avoid violence, said a government spokeswoman. She added that Mr Prayuth had also ordered the cabinet to help build understanding between generations. Students have presented 10 reforms they seek to the monarchy of King Maha Vajiralongkorn including curbing his powers over the constitution, the royal fortune and the armed forces. Down with feudalism, long live the people, protesters chanted. We will no longer be dust for anyone. Thailands lese majeste law sets a penalty of up to 15 years for criticising the monarchy, but Mr Prayuth has said the king requested that it not be used for now. Several dozen royalists also held a counter-demonstration, waving national flags and holding up gold-framed portraits of the king and other royals. I dont care if they protest against the government but they cannot touch the monarchy, said Sumet Trakulwoonnoo, a royalist activist. New actions aimed at preventing Huawei from end-running US export controls on chips imposed in May, say US officials. The Trump administration announced on Monday it will further tighten restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co, aimed at cracking down on the Chinese telecoms giants access to commercially available chips. The United States Commerce Department actions will expand restrictions announced in May aimed at preventing Huawei from obtaining semiconductors without a special licence including chips made by foreign firms that have been developed or produced with US software or technology. The administration will also add 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries to the US governments economic blacklist, sources tell Reuters news agency, raising the total to 152 affiliates since Huawei was first added in May 2019. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told US network Fox Business the restrictions on Huawei-designed chips imposed in May led them to do some evasive measures. They were going through third parties, Ross said. The new rule makes it clear that any use of American software or American fabrication equipment is banned and requires a licence. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the rule change will prevent Huawei from circumventing U.S. law through alternative chip production and provision of off-the-shelf chips. He added in a statement Huawei has continuously tried to evade US restrictions imposed in May. Huawei did not immediately comment. With US-China relations at their worst in decades, Washington is pushing governments around the world to squeeze Huawei out, arguing it would hand over data to the Chinese government for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China. The new actions, effective immediately, should prevent Huaweis attempts to circumvent US export controls, a Commerce Department official said. It makes clear that were covering off-the-shelf designs that Huawei may be seeking to purchase from a third-party design house, the official told Reuters. A new separate rule requires companies on the economic blacklist to obtain a licence when a company like Huawei on the list acts as a purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee, or end user. The department also confirmed it will not extend a temporary general licence that expired on Friday for users of Huawei devices and telecommunication providers. Parties must now submit licence applications for transactions previously authorised. The Commerce Department is adopting a limited permanent authorisation for Huawei entities to allow ongoing security research critical to maintaining the integrity and reliability of existing networks and equipment. Existing US restrictions have already had a heavy impact on Huawei and its suppliers. The May restrictions do not fully go into effect until September 14. On August 8, financial magazine Caixin reported Huawei will stop making its flagship Kirin chipsets next month due to US pressure on suppliers. Huaweis HiSilicon division has relied on software from US companies such as Cadence Design Systems Inc and Synopsys Inc to design its chips and outsourced the production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), which uses equipment from US companies. TSMC has said it will not ship wafers to Huawei after September 15. Political tension in central Ivory Coast ahead of a looming presidential vote has stoked friction along ethnic lines, in a country still scarred by post-election turmoil nearly a decade ago. Clashes erupted in the town of Daoukro last Thursday after President Alassane Ouattara announced he would run for a third term on October 31, thanks to a controversial tweak to the constitution. The protests began in a stronghold of former president Henri Konan Bedie, who is standing again at the age of 86. But two days later, political turbulence lurched into a battle along ethnic lines. A local man, Apollinaire NGoran Kouame, 45, was shot dead as he mounted a guard patrol with local youths in nearby Anoumabo, Bedies birthplace. Kouame came from the Baoule ethnic group which largely supports Konan Bedie, himself a Baoule. After Kouames death was announced, enraged youths armed with hunting rifles, machetes and clubs raced to a part of town which is home to Malinke people, held to support Ouattara. Spoiling for a fight, the Baoule found Malinke youths on a war footing and gendarmerie police had to intervene to make the two sides back off. All we want is peace On Saturday, the streets were covered with stones, broken glass and the remains of burned tyres, which had been used as barricades. In Baoulekro, a district not far from Bedies residence, several houses were set on fire and most of the inhabitants fled, saying they feared attacks by the Malinke. All we want is peace, sobbed Marcelline Kouame Aya, a woman in her 30s, in the rubble of her home. In the predominantly Malinke district of Dioulakro, all shops and places of business were paralysed. We didnt want to prevent them (the Bedie supporters) from demonstrating. Its once they began to smash up the trucks and the shops that we had to defend ourselves to protect our businesses, said a young Malinke on a motorbike, surrounded by his comrades. Look at all the damage theyve done, he said, pointing to a burned-out shop and the mass of broken glass underfoot. Security forces set up a buffer zone between the two districts, which they then patrolled. The violence also claimed the headquarters of Bedies Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI) and Ouattaras Houphouetist Rally for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party. Both premises were gutted. Adama Kolia Traore, head of Daoukro council, said at least five people had died and 116 were injured. But he said, We avoided the worst. It could have been a bloodbath. Scars of 2010 Ivory Coast, one of the worlds biggest producers of coffee and cocoa, is still traumatised by a brief civil war that erupted after elections in 2010, when the then president, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to cede to the victor, Ouattara. More than 3,000 lives were lost in a months-long conflict which divided the country along north-south lines. Ouattara, 78, was re-elected in 2015 and last March made it known that he would bow out and pass the baton to his respected prime minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly. But that scenario dramatically changed when Coulibaly died of a heart attack on July 8. With no other appropriate candidate in sight, Ouattara announced on August 8 that he would run for a third term after all. The constitution limits the number of presidential terms to two, but the authorities and the opposition hotly disagree on the interpretation of a reform passed in 2016. Ouattaras supporters assert that this amendment takes the number of mandates back to zero. His foes accuse him of seeking a third, unconstitutional term. Gbagbo was put on trial before the International Criminal Court, which cleared him last year of crimes against humanity. His Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party has yet to name a candidate. Nigerian military personnel on the front lines of fighting Boko Haram, over the weekend, joined a parish community for Sunday Mass in the Diocese of Maiduguri to thank God for their ability to repel a series of Boko Haram attacks. Paul Samasumo Vatican City Barely, a few hours after Pope Francis Saturday tweets, urging prayers for northeast Nigeria, on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a sizeable number of Nigerian military personnel attended Sunday Mass at the Madagali community parish in the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri. This is according to information made available to Vatican News English Africa Service by Fr. Gideon Obasogie of the Catholic Diocese of Maiduguri. The Mass became a thanksgiving event It was an emotional Eucharistic celebration as the Madagali community Mass turned into a celebration of thanksgiving. The Nigerian military personnel, in attendance, had literally come from the front line following a week spent repelling a series of Boko Haram attempted attacks on the Madagali community. Pope Francis is praying with us, says Parish Priest The Parish Priest, Fr. Innocent Sunu encouraged the Military personnel to remain steadfast in protecting the vulnerable community. He reminded parishioners that they were not alone, but that the Holy Father, Pope Francis, and the Universal Church were praying and were united with them in their life of constant insecurity. We are neglected by politicians Fr. Sunu, however, said the state of insecurity in Nigeria and particularly in the northern regions was the result of neglect by politicians. With some bridges in the region recently washed away by heavy rains or destroyed by Boko Haram, the area could as well be considered comfortably cut off from other towns, said Fr. Sunu. The weak but faithful Christians here in the north (of Nigeria) have nothing much to say or do other than seek the intercession of our Mother of Hope -as prayed by the Holy Father. This is the only lifeline left for our people in a country where our political leaders seem to have fallen asleep at the wheel and have taken their eyes off the ball, lamented the Madagali Parish Priest. Madagali is near the Sambisa forest Nigerias Madagali community has in the past been vulnerable to Boko Haram attacks because it is situated just a few kilometres from the infamous Sambisa forest that unfortunately has become synonymous with Boko Haram terrorists. Boko Haram has used the forest as its fortress and hiding place. The insurgents have been waging deadly attacks against the Nigerian State in a bid to impose their brand of a religious government (Caliphate). In the process, Boko Haram has attacked civilians through killings, bombings, forced conscription and abductions of women and girls. Abducted victims are often spirited away in the dense Sambisa forest. Over the last few years, the Nigerian military has, appeared to have gained a noticeable upper hand over the terrorists. Nonetheless, Boko Haram are relentless fighters who are still a significant menace to Nigerian society. We thank God for sparing us from COVID-19 Turning to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Madagali Parish Priest, Fr. Sunu, thanked God that, so far, the community had been spared the worst. We give thanks to God for His care as we have been protected against the Coronavirus. The world is experiencing a global pandemic, but we have been saved in this our little village. If COVID-19 cases come here, the numbers would hit the roof, and we would all be history because the health care facilities here are as good as non-existent, said the Parish Priest. TORONTO, August 13, 2020 Thomson Reuters today announced that it has acquired CaseLines, a leading cloud-based court document and evidence management platform. The CaseLines platform facilitates users, such as governments, judges, courts and legal practitioners to ensure that this essential service to courts and the justice system is technically available anywhere to those who need it. The CaseLines platform delivers justice efficiencies for the court room and is expediting the digital transformation of legal processes for governments, judges, courts and practitioners around the world. CaseLines enables the legal community to securely manage, organize, share and present evidence between the courts and legal teams both remotely and in person. CaseLines digitizes court processes by essentially eliminating paper and creating digital court files managed on one common platform. It empowers anyone with a phone, or an internet connected device to maintain workflows in the justice system, anytime and anywhere. The acquisition of CaseLines enhances Thomson Reuters offerings in the courts administration space and furthers the companys strategic approach to deliver innovative end-to-end solutions to its legal community partners internationally. CaseLines has proven successful in the UK, and the acquisition further supports a recent agreement between Thomson Reuters and Ontarios Ministry of the Attorney General to provide CaseLines to support civil, criminal and family courts across the province. By bringing Thomson Reuters CaseLines to our province, a game changing technology that will make Ontario a leader in modern court systems, I sent a clear signal that we have put an end to watching Ontarios justice system fall continuously behind. Together with our justice partners, we have moved our entire justice system forward by decades in a matter of months during the COVID-19 recovery, and we are not looking back. This procurement by the Ministry of the Attorney General is part of a broad and urgent strategy to build a more responsive and resilient justice system that supports the safe expansion of in-person and virtual court proceedings, said the Honourable Doug Downey, Attorney General of Ontario. I am thrilled that Thomson Reuters CaseLines a robust, online digital platform with a proven track record in courts around the globe will be implemented in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. With the strong support of Attorney General Doug Downey, this tool will significantly advance our shared goal of a modern, efficient and accessible justice system, stated Chief Justice Geoffrey Morawetz of the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario. The demand for transformation to more technology-driven solutions has increased around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges to maintaining court proceedings and operating effectively in old paper-based systems may have caused delays in justice being served. The COVID-19 pandemic is driving the courts to expedite their transition to the digital era, said Stephen Rubley, President of the Government Segment of Thomson Reuters. The CaseLines platform enables the courts to operate in a faster, more efficient manner, helping people get the justice they deserve. By developing new technologies and capabilities, of which we are at the forefront, our aim is to support our customers in creating an increasingly accessible justice system for all. In Thomson Reuters we found a strategic buyer that shares our commitment to delivering a step change in the efficient delivery of justice, said Paul Sachs, Founder, CaseLines. We have a proven record of enabling the courts digital transformation in the UK. We are optimistic that with Thomson Reuters global footprint we will be able to help courts around the world continue to operate effectively and efficiently into the future. CaseLines has significantly transformed our Criminal Justice system in the UK. Paper documents have been replaced by the CaseLines digital system and the Judges are universally positive about the efficiencies this has created for everyone working in the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal. Without CaseLines it is very difficult to see how we would have been able to function during the coronavirus difficulties, said The Right Honourable Lord Justice Fulford, Vice-President of the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division), England and Wales. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Link to Thomson Reuters CaseLines CaseLines CaseLines is a leading platform for sharing documents and multimedia between justice agencies and legal teams for case preparation and courtroom presentation. Our solution enables cross-functional agencies to create a common platform for sharing of documents and multi-media without the need for costly integrations or replacing legacy systems. Police, prosecutors, lawyers, attorneys and barristers, and judges in civil and public law cases around the world use CaseLines. The platform supports over 40,000 users, who have conducted over 400,000 trials, with over 150 million pages of evidence. To learn more visit www.caselines.com or follow us on twitter @CaseLines. Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters is a leading provider of business information services. Our products include highly specialized information-enabled software and tools for legal, tax, accounting and compliance professionals combined with the worlds most global news service Reuters. For more information on Thomson Reuters, visit tr.com and for the latest world news, reuters.com. CONTACT Dave Moran Thomson Reuters Communications +1 647 285-3815 dave.moran@thomsonreuters.com A Nevada judge has said she wants proof she would have the authority to order the governor to rescind a coronavirus pandemic directive and let Las Vegas-area bars and taverns reopen. What is the law that says I have a duty to review the state action on an ongoing basis? Judge Kerry Earley asked near the end of nearly two hours of arguments about whether Clark County bars and taverns can force Gov. Steve Sisolak to lift the closure order he re-imposed July 27. The states attorney, Craig Newby, said he found no precedent for such an action, and it was up to the Democratic governor, as an elected official, to weigh the balance of hardship and the public interest. The governor is trying to manage the ongoing emergency response to what is known as the novel coronavirus, said Newby, a deputy state solicitor general. The response is going to change over time. Attorney Dennis Kennedy, representing 62 Clark County businesses in the case that he said affects hundreds more, told Early she could rely on court rulings in recent years from Iowa and Texas. Kennedy also quoted U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alitos dissenting opinion last month when the court denied a rural Nevada churchs bid to strike down as unconstitutional Sisolaks 50-person cap on worship service occupancy due to conronavirus concerns. As more medical and scientific evidence becomes available, and as states have time to craft policies in light of that evidence, courts should expect policies that more carefully account for constitutional rights, Alito wrote. Earley agreed to review the Iowa and Texas cases before issuing her decision, possibly Friday, on Kennedys request for an injunction and restraining order. This lawsuit doesnt challenge the governors authority to act, Kennedy acknowledged about the case filed July 12. He has the authority. He thought it was the right thing to do. But the attorney argued that after taking emergency action, Sisolak should now reconsider. The bar closure order singled out this particular group of businesses for economic hardship, and continues to cripple businesses that were complying with rules aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19 and idling thousands of employees, Kennedy said. He guessed that most of his clients employ between 15 and 20 people. Bars were closed for 48 days before being allowed to reopen June 30, more than three weeks after casinos were permitted to reopen June 4, the attorney said. By July 3, state inspectors reported that 80% of bars they visited were compliant with mask-wearing and crowd distancing directives, the same percentage as casino gambling floors. Bars were ordered closed again July 27. Casinos remain open. There is no evidence that continued operations of bars and taverns in Nevada that are compliant with social distancing and face covering (is) disproportionately contributing to the spread of COVID-19, Kennedy said in written filings. The judge made it clear she would weigh the question of her authority to act before she considers what she called equal protection and rational due process issues. In written filings, Newby characterized bar closures as a lesser hardship than further allowing the COVID-19 virus to spread throughout Nevada, killing people and ruining the economy. These are not easy decisions for the governor to make, the state attorney generals deputy wrote. He quoted from a 115-year-old U.S. Supreme Court decision in a case from Massachusetts that said that during health crises, it is no part of the function of a court to determine the most effective way to protect the public against disease. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits Legislation Nevada By PTI LONDON: The UK's Opposition Labour Party is determined to rebuild trust and win back Indian voters alienated following a controversial Kashmir motion passed at the party's conference last year, the Labour Friends of India (LFIN) group said on Monday. The Labour Party's diaspora engagement group sought to draw a distinction between conference motions and party policy as it pledged a distinctive change in Labour's engagement with voters away from former leader Jeremy Corbyn's policies to a new approach under Labour Leader Keir Starmer and Indian-origin shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy. "Conference policy is not party policy. The Labour Party policy is that the issue of Kashmir is an internal one for India. It's not for the Labour Party to be dictating what should or shouldn't be happening in other people's countries around the world," said Darren Jones, LFIN Co-Chair and parliamentary lead as the Labour MP for Bristol North West. "You will see a different style of leadership under Keir Starmer in the future. Lisa Nandy as new shadow foreign secretary has also made clear that any difficulties of the past are no longer positions of the party," said the MP, who is also part of the Joint Committee on National Security in the UK Parliament. "In the Asia-Pacific region, and also with the broader geopolitical tensions going on in the world, democracies such as ours with values of rule of law and freedom of speech and personal liberty need to work together," he added. The Labour Party traditionally attracted loyal support of the Indian diaspora, with over 50 per cent of Indians living in the UK voting Labour in 2017. However, that figure took a big hit in the December 2019 General Election amid growing resentment over the controversial emergency motion passed by the then Corbyn-led party's conference in September 2019. The motion, which the party later admitted was "open to misinterpretation", was widely seen to imply the need for international intervention in Kashmir following India's revocation of Article 370 in August 2019 to withdraw the special status of Jammu and Kashmir. "There is no doubt we have lost some Indian votes in the last few years and that's why the Labour Party needs to work harder in that direction," said Rajesh Agrawal, the India-born LFIN Co-Chair and Deputy Mayor of London, in an online interaction with the Indian Journalists' Association in the UK. "Keir Starmer has made his position absolutely clear that we must not allow the issues of the subcontinent to divide our communities here and any constitutional issues in India are a matter for the Indian Parliament. Kashmir is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully," he said. To mark Indian Independence Day on Saturday, LFIN had announced the launch of a new Mahatma Gandhi Future Leaders Programme, which will open for applications on Gandhi Jayanti on October 2. The aim of the programme is to encourage greater Indian diaspora representation in the elected offices of the party. "One of the issues that came out quite clearly was the lack of Indian representation, which is where the Mahatma Gandhi Future Leaders Programme comes in. The party leadership have pledged their support to that programme and they are committed to work closely with LFIN to increase the representation of the Indian community within the Labour Party," said Agrawal. According to news released by the U.S. Embassy in Belize, on August 6, 2020, the United States Government has donated an ambulance, six vehicles, and aircraft and vehicle parts valued at $1 million to the Belize Ministry of National Security in a handover ceremony at Force Headquarters on Price Barracks. The donation was funded by U.S. Southern Commands Building Partner Capacity and Foreign Military Financing programs through the U.S. Embassys Security Cooperation Office. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link United States donates ambulance and military vehicles to Belize Ministry of National Security. (Picture source U.S. Embassy Belize) The handover ceremony represents the culmination of almost three years of effort and partnership with the Ministry of National Security to purchase the equipment. The donation includes a fully-equipped Toyota Land Cruiser ambulance, six Hino 500 44 Troop Transport Vehicles and vehicle parts, and a container of aircraft parts. The U.S. Embassy understands how critical these troop transport vehicles are in moving soldiers around the country to secure Belizes borders and deter illegal activity, including that of transnational criminal organizations, said Keith Gilges, U.S. Charge dAffaires, a.i. These vehicles will provide an enhanced emergency response capability dedicated to Belizes soldiers and sailors of who often take great risk in service to their country. The donation of the ambulance to the Belize Defence Force complements a second ambulance donated to the Belize Coast Guard last year. The six Hino vehicles delivered today will join an existing fleet of seven Hino vehicles donated by the United States five years ago. The newly expanded fleet is expected to significantly improve the effectiveness of border security operations. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 17:11:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Peter Mertz DENVER, the United States, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Formal events recognizing Japan's surrender in World War II took place throughout Europe this weekend, but in America, celebrations were muted. Still, U.S. vets spoke out, while pundits and historians looked ahead to a future with more international cooperation and detente. "When word came that the Allies had won the war, the prisoners dropped to their knees and wept," former POW Michael Hurst told NBC news Friday. On local time Aug. 14, 1945 -- 75 years ago -- U.S. President Harry Truman announced to the country by radio that the once mighty Empire of Japan had agreed to unconditionally surrender. In the United States, the event is officially celebrated on Sept. 2, although many states use the second Monday in August, which this year fell on Aug. 10. Other states, such as Arizona, celebrate V-J Day on Aug. 14 or Aug. 15, when Truman delivered his speech, according to a Friday article in local SignalsAZ newspaper. The inconsistent date is one problem for the event's lack of attention in the United States. In addition, "there's no return of veterans to the battlefields, as with D-Day celebrations in France. No gathering of national leaders," NBC said Friday, nothing that "V-J Day, as the anniversary of the allied victory over Japan is called, receives far less attention than Victory in Europe, or VE Day, on May 8." Ironically, V-J Day actually represents the end of WWII, and the end of Japanese brutalization of Americans and Chinese alike. Of the 27,465 Americans captured by the Japanese, 11,107 died, according to the National World War II Museum, as compared to only 1.2 percent of American POW's held by the Nazi's in Europe. "We had people who lost their mind and went hysteric," said Robert Rosenthal, now 98, who survived as a Japanese POW after being captured. "It was a hellhole; people were dying left and right. The only duty was to bury 100 men a day," he told NBC News Friday. On Saturday, the official V-J Day in the United Kingdom, millions of citizens observed a two-minute silence, listened to a compelling memorial speech by Prince Charles, and an emotional, first-hand description of V-J Day by the Queen herself, honoring the 75th anniversary of Japan's surrender. That surrender triggered wild, jubilant celebrations across the globe, especially in America where an iconic photo went viral across the globe of a U.S. Navy sailor kissing a woman on Times Square in New York City. Seemingly forgotten in these times was the intense cooperation and camaraderie forged between Chinese and American military leaders, well-documented by numerous historians. The late historian John Yee, a former member of the legendary Flying Tigers in WWII, represented that connection as a lieutenant serving under the command of U.S. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault. Yee, a Chinese-American and Denver history professor, passed last April. He was vocal in his demands for Japan to officially apologize for atrocities committed against Chinese civilians during the war, and even penned a personal letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2015. More than 30 million soldiers and civilians were killed in the Pacific theater during the war, compared with the 15 million-20 million killed in Europe, the National WWII Museum said. And, most importantly, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, pundits wonder why the cooperation and detente that stopped a common enemy in 1945, cannot occur in 2020. "We missed a golden opportunity to cooperate with the good people of China and in our shared struggle, bring our nations closer together," said former Capitol Hill policy advisor David Richardson on Sunday. "We live under a government that didn't tell the truth to its people about the virus, and in fact blamed the virus on China," he added. Stewart King, a college history professor and U.S. State Department officer during the Reagan Administration, agreed with Richardson. "U.S.-China cooperation on zoonotic viruses was quite effective, until the current administration pulled us out of the project about the time the SARS-CoV-2 virus was breaking out," King told Xinhua. "Hopefully, a new administration will be able to renew international scientific cooperation, and we can beat this one and the next one too," he said Sunday. "We are all hoping for cooperation between these two great countries in the future," Richardson echoed. Enditem The firm highlights that at the conclusion of most successful claims, damages are usually paid in a lump sum sometimes reaching millions of pounds. That payment may come from the government in cases of medical negligence, or from insurers in other cases. The money is then invested with the discount rate used to adjust the lump sum to factor in the income such investments are likely to generate and avoid over-compensation. In Northern Ireland, the rate stands at 2.5% - but the Department of Transport has mooted a potential change to -1.75%. Kennedys, however, believes this could lead to significant over-compensation due to the way the rate is calculated. Kennedys instead wants a similar approach to be adopted as that currently employed in England and Wales determining the rate by reference to expected rates of return on a low-risk diversified portfolio of investments. It fears that the current tactic could lead to higher premiums compared to the rest of the UK. The overriding principle is that injured people should receive 100% of the compensation they are awarded no more and no less, said Amanda Wylie, managing partner of Kennedys Belfast LLP. We in Northern Ireland can benefit from the lessons learned from the experience of England and Wales to create a fair and balanced outcome given that the compensation system is funded largely by taxpayers and consumers, and their interests must be part of the equation. Now it wants the Department of Justice to establish an independent panel to advise on the appropriate rate every five years. New Delhi: Government has issued instructions to tax authorities so that there is no 'tax terrorism' for businesses going formal post demonetisation, Power Minister Piyush Goyal said. The demonetisation process is a fundamental shift in how the economy works and is aimed at cleaning up the economy and expanding the formal sector. As such, the government has issued instructions to tax authorities that there will be no tax terrorism by Income Tax Department for businesses going formal, Goyal said in an interactive session organised by CII in Delhi. Explaining that demonetisation of high denomination notes had become necessary due to doubling of such notes in circulation over 2004-2010, the minister said that it has been estimated that Rs 6 lakh crore worth of the total cash issued of approximately Rs 17 lakh crore was not circulating in the system. The government is in the process of studying the level of currency notes required for the economy and this would not go back to previous levels, he stated. The minister noted that honest citizens would benefit from formalisation of the economy. This would increase the tax base, provide an avenue to lower tax rates, and create fair competition and a level playing field for all, he added. The minister stated that if all income earners pay tax honestly, there is the possibility of reduction in tax rates. Goyal reiterated that costs of transactions through electronic means will be reduced and the government is in the process of studying applicable charges on debit and credit cards. After December 31, customers would not be charged on transactions through electronic means. He observed that while there are over 70 crore debit and credit cards, most of these are not being used for transactions. Replying to questions, Goyal said that the real estate sector needs special attention, and the government is considering lowering of stamp duty. He welcomed the idea that public infrastructure projects should be expedited to boost demand. The minister also called upon industry to participate in communication outreach to popularise digital transactions. CII Vice President Rakesh Bharti Mittal called for lowering of corporate taxes to 18 per cent and a commensurate reduction in personal income taxes. He also suggested that micro financial products can help meet the needs of households who preferred to maintain cash balances. CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that the government should increase the number of POS machines to ensure smooth transition. Also, the use of mobile phones without internet connectivity for money transactions can be encouraged. For all the Latest Business News, Economy News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A VIDEO of Limericks most most popular band singing to a man left blind after an unprovoked attack in a surprise session is warming the hearts of thousands of people online. Hermitage Green played a five-hour session in the home of Brian Hogans sister in Kilteragh, Dooradoyle, on Sunday last, with the video receiving over 15,000 views to date - and a further 20,000 views on the band's own page. Brian, who turns 40 this June, was left blind and partially paralysed by an unprovoked attack in 2009 in Nottingham in the UK, where he worked as a quantity surveyor. In 2012, he spent three weeks in China, where he underwent stem cell infusions in the hope that one day he might be able to see and walk again. He is now living in supported accommodation through the brain injury charity, Headway. His sister Nevis told the Limerick Leader that throughout his ordeal in the eight years since the attack music has always been Brians therapy. When he initially came home after the attack, Hermitage Green who started out playing Sunday sessions in the Curragower bar came to see and sing to him in a nursing home in Limerick. The band, who have now held sold out gigs in Dublins Olympia Theatre and played on the main stage at Electric Picnic, enjoyed a much more intimate audience in Limerick last weekend, which came as a complete surprise to Brian. Wow, said Brian, as the band started up, to the tune of their new song Jenny. Initially he thought his sister had bought a new sound system, as he hadnt heard them live in some time due to the difficulty in travelling to gigs as he is wheelchair bound. At the end of the first song, Jenny, he managed to stand up and warmly embrace the members of the band. To do that is a just a testament to who they are and they are just so grounded, praised Nevis. After the session, the band said in a message online that Brian and his family are "some of the coolest people we've ever met" and they were happy they could do this for him and his family. They added that they are also happy he "didn't tell them to turn the CD off!" They also played a recent impromptu gig in Castletroy, during RAG week in UL, to raise funds for suicide prevention in the city. They will be playing in King Johns Castle on Sunday, April 30. Brian will be giving a talk on his life and his struggle to regain his full mobility and sight to staff in Northern Trust in Castletroy this week under Acquired Brain Injury week. The inspirational man from Ballykeeffe, who continues to remain hopeful for his future, received a special recognition award under the Pride of Ireland awards in 2014. There were many times Brian could have given up but never once did he succumb," the judges said. At the same time, Super Tucanos will not be considered as a sub for Su-27, Su-25M, Su-25, and Su-24MR warplanes, which the Command are also planning to shift from toward a foreign-made 4++ generation fighter jet. Ukraine's Air Force Command is considering modernizing its fleet of combat training aircraft, to replace the currently-used but ageing L-39 Albatros. That's according to the Ukrainian Military Portal citing the Air Force Command's Facebook post. The replacement is Brazil's EMB314 Super Tucano turboprop trainer aircraft, Defence Blog reports. "The Super Tucano aircraft was considered during a visit of the delegation of the Ukrainian Air Force to Brazil in 2019, as a combat training aircraft, which, according to its characteristics, can replace the so-called 'school desk' for military pilots, the combat training aircraft L-39," the press service reported. Read alsoUkraine's MFA: Iran will have to pay compensation for downed passenger jetThe Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer developed in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s, the first trainer to be equipped with a turbo propeller. The type was a successful export product worldwide. The Air Force has added that Super Tucanos will not be considered as a replacement for Su-27, Su-25M, Su-25, and Su-24MR warplanes, which the Command are also planning to shift from toward a foreign-made 4++ generation fighter jet. Super Tucano The Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano, also named ALX or A-29B, is a Brazilian turboprop light attack aircraft designed and built by Embraer as a development of the Embraer EMB 312 Tucano, Wikipedia reports. The A-29 Super Tucano carries a wide variety of weapons, including precision-guided munitions, and was designed to be a low-cost system operated in low-threat environments Gregory Hill, new chief administrative officer and dean of faculty at the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) in Songdo, Incheon/ Courtesy of University of Utah Asia Campus By Kim Se-jeong For students who had planned to head to the U.S. to complete their higher education, the COVID-19 pandemic has made that goal more difficult to achieve. However, Gregory Hill, the new chief administrative officer of the University of Utah Asia Campus (UAC) in Songdo, Incheon, said UAC could be of help to such students as it offers a U.S. education on Korean soil. "We have a U.S experience right here in front of them in Korea. One of the things that as we are out recruiting that we are telling our future students is, 'Look, You don't have to go to the United States,'" Hill said during a recent interview with The Korea Times. "You can have that experience right here and then three years from now when things have hopefully calmed down, you will still get the opportunity to go to the U.S. and have that educational experience. In the meantime, you can do it right here in Korea where it's safe and where they are very careful about managing the COVID-19 situation. They can do it here in Korea." Opened in 2014, the UAC is the University of Utah's first expanded campus offering five bachelor degree programs in psychology, communication, urban ecology, civil engineering, and film and media arts, and two graduate degrees in public health and bioinformatics. The university's opening in Songdo was possible thanks to Incheon Global Campus (IGC), an initiative by the Korean government and Incheon Metropolitan City to make the city a global education hub in Northeast Asia and to nurture talented young students in education, economics, industry, culture and art. The UAC currently has 670 enrolled students and 100 alumni. The University of Utah in the U.S. has 32,000 students enrolled. Among the outstanding alumni are Ed Catmull, co-founder and president of Pixar Animation Studios and president of Disney Feature Animation, and Kim Sang-wan, a professor of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry and founder of the Center for Controlled Chemical Delivery. Graduating from Texas A&M University in 2006, Hill was an associate professor of public policy and administration at Boise State University in the U.S. In 2018, he taught summer courses at the UAC. A little over a month into the job, Hill said he would like to focus on strengthening the student experience. "The most important thing I feel for a successful university is that the students have an experience where it is second to none, where they become part of the University of Utah so that it is in their hearts." Along with that, he would also like to strengthen faculty opportunities and improve community engagement. Financial independence is a challenge facing the UAC, but Hill was confident that the UAC can achieve it. "We want to organize a student research symposium where they can present their research and can show it off and we can advertise that to whoever wants to look at it. That will give us the chance to build a solid financial foundation." The UAC is temporarily receiving financial support from the IGC. Hill is married to a Korean American wife, and they have three children. "My children are able to come now and experience a part of their heritage that they otherwise hadn't been able to experience," he noted. In response to Independence Day wishes from his Mauritian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Pravind Jugnauth on Sunday, August 16. PM Modi not only noted the unique friendship that both nations share but also said that the relationship is based on cultural as well as linguistic heritage and cooperation in several areas. Earlier, Mauritius PM had called India a great nation as he sent across his best wishes for 74th Independence Day. Thank you for your greetings, Prime Minister @PKJugnauth! India and Mauritius enjoy a unique friendship, based on shared cultural and linguistic heritage and robust cooperation in many areas. https://t.co/BWHTEilqKr Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 16, 2020 Read - Mauritius Oil Spill: PM Jugnauth Says Almost All Leaked Fuel Has Been Pumped Out The leaders interaction came as Minister of External Affairs Dr. S Jaishankar announced Indias assistance to the Mauritius government in the wake of the horrific oil spill that endangers its pristine beaches and rich marine wildlife. Even though MV Wakashio, believed to have been carrying 4,000 tonnes of oil, ran aground back in July, it recently split apart releasing more residual fuel in the turquoise waters. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs on August 16 announced that the government has dispatched urgent humanitarian assistance. Read - India Sends Over 30 Tonnes Of Technical Equipment To Mauritius To Help Contain Oil Spill As a response to the request of Mauritius government (GoM), the MEA informed that India has dispatched over 30 tonnes of technical equipment and material on board an IAF Aircraft. The ministry also said that a 10-member Technical Response Team has also been deployed to island in a bid to help the crisis-stricken nation amid ongoing Environmental Emergency. Moreover, as an immediate step, the Indian Oil (Mauritius) Limited (IOML) was also asked to extend all possible assistance to the Mauritius government. #SAGAR Policy at work. To assist Mauritius in its ongoing #oilspill containment & salvage operations, an IAF aircraft has just landed in Port Louis with 30T of specialized equipment along with a 10-member Technical Response Team from @IndiaCoastGuard pic.twitter.com/muRYOy6mOp Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 16, 2020 Read - Mauritius Oil Spill: Grounded Ship Splits Apart Leaking Tons Of Residual Oil Into Water Mauritius PM declared emergency On August 7, a day after roughly 1,000 tonnes of fuel began to leak in Mauritius' water, the government had declared a state of emergency over the oil spill and had called for international assistance. Since then, volunteers have been assembling straw from fields and filling up sacks to make barriers against the oil. According to reports, even the satellite images showed a dark slick spreading in the turquoise waters near the wetlands that the government considers very sensitive to the marine ecology. (Image Credits: MIB/Twitter) Read - Mauritius Residents Cutting Off Hair To Make Nets And Tubes To Soak Catastrophic Oil Spill Thousands of letters stuffed with money flooded Jonas Salk's mailbox the week after his polio vaccine was declared safe and effective in 1955. Everybody wanted his vaccine. Desperate parents clogged doctors' phone lines in search of the precious elixir; drug companies and doctors diverted doses to the rich and famous. Some of the first batches of the vaccine were disastrously botched, causing 200 cases of permanent paralysis. That barely dented public desire for the preventive. Marlon Brando even asked to play Salk in a movie. Eight years later, with polio a fading threat, the first measles vaccines went on sale. Measles had killed more than 400 children the year before and caused permanent brain damage in thousands more. Interest in the vaccine was modest. Its creator, Maurice Hilleman, was never lionized as Salk had been. "People felt, 'What's the big deal? I had measles; why does my kid need a vaccine?' It was a very difficult sell," said Walter Orenstein, an Emory University professor who headed the national immunization program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 1988 to 2004. When a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, will it be met with a roaring ovation, like the polio vaccine, or communal yawning, like the measles shot? Or some strange hybrid of the two? Americans' trust in authority, affordable access to the vaccine and a sense of solidarity will determine the result, said Orenstein and other public health veterans and historians. Perceptions of particular diseases and vaccines reflect the seriousness of the diseases themselves, but popular values, culture, human risk assessment and politics all play important roles. Acceptance of public health measures be they face masks or vaccines is never entirely determined through a rational balancing of risk and benefit. We can see that in the history of national campaigns for new vaccines meant to vanquish a scourge. No disease was more feared in the mid-20th century than polio. With the possible exception of AIDS, no disease since has been as feared until the arrival of COVID-19. The polio vaccine was one of the few the public greeted eagerly. Diseases like measles and whooping cough were familiar childhood afflictions. In most years they killed more children than polio, but polio, which put people in iron lungs and leg braces, was visible in ways that an infant's death certificate, tucked away in a drawer, could never be. Vaccines are often a hard sell, since they prevent rather than cure disease and seem scary even though they are generally quite safe. Since vaccines must be widely used to prevent outbreaks, successful vaccination campaigns rely heavily on trust in those who sell, recommend and administer the medicines. And trust in science, government and business has not always been in steady supply. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, when public health laws were in flux, authorities battling smallpox epidemics would often send vaccinators out with police to enforce the jab. They'd enter factories where cases had been reported, lock the doors and frog-march the workers through a vaccination line. The workers' resistance was not unmerited; the vaccine sometimes caused swollen arms, fever and bacterial infections. Vaccination could cost a week's missed wages. Authorities had learned their lesson by the 1920s, when the diphtheria vaccine came on the scene, as James Colgrove notes in his book "State of Immunity: The Politics of Vaccination in Twentieth-Century America." Diphtheria was a much-feared killer of children, and publicity campaigns run by public health officials, insurance companies and charities sought to educate and persuade rather than coerce. Polio terrified Americans, peaking in 1952 with more than 57,000 cases. In 1938, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, himself a polio patient, had begun a national scientific program to battle the disease, backed by millions of Americans' contributions through the March of Dimes. The result of this national quest, uniting government and the people, was Jonas Salk's inactivated polio vaccine. It cemented a powerful post-World War II trust in the U.S. scientific and medical establishment that would endure for many years. Social solidarity was also important. Vaccines prevent the circulation of a disease among the unvaccinated via what scientists call herd immunity if enough people are vaccinated. When a reliable rubella vaccine became available in 1969, states quickly required childhood vaccination, even though rubella was practically harmless in children. They wanted to protect a vulnerable population pregnant women to prevent a repeat of the 1963-64 congenital rubella epidemic, which resulted in 30,000 fetal deaths and the birth of more than 20,000 babies with severe disabilities. The embrace of the rubella vaccine, as historian Elena Conis of the University of California-Berkeley notes in her book, "Vaccine Nation: America's Changing Relationship With Immunization," marked the first time a vaccine had been deployed that offered no direct benefit to those who were vaccinated. Still, it took a combination of fear, solidarity and coercion for Orenstein and his colleagues at the CDC and state public health agencies to drive childhood vaccination rates for measles, whooping cough, rubella and diphtheria to 90% and above in the 1990s to assure herd immunity. Shame was also a tool. Orenstein remembered testifying to the Florida Legislature when it was considering a tougher vaccine mandate. He showed them that disease rates were lower in neighboring states that had tighter mandates. It worked. What's different now? In a politically divided nation, trust in science is low and experts are distrusted, politicians more so. Childhood vaccination efforts are already beset by large numbers of hesitant parents. And efforts to fight the COVID epidemic in the United States have been clumsy and chaotic at best, leaving Americans to doubt the competence of their governments and institutions. There is still fear. "Maybe I'm an old-fashioned fool, but I think that most people will welcome a vaccine, if the rollout is done right," said David Oshinsky, a professor of history at New York University and author of "Polio: An American Story," a Pulitzer Prize-winning history. "Most people are desperately afraid of COVID. A minority thumb their noses, many of them for political reasons. How will this change when there's a vaccine that [hopefully] changes the health risk equation to some degree?" Recent surveys show as few as half of Americans are determined to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Those numbers could change depending on a number of hard-to-predict factors, said Conis of Berkeley. "A lot of people will be really eager to get it," she said. "A lot will be hesitant, not only because of misinformation but because of a lack of trust in the current administration." When a coronavirus vaccine is introduced, it may be sold as personal protection, even for young, healthy people. But those who suffer most from the virus are usually older or sicker. An effective vaccination campaign may try to instill a sense of solidarity, or altruism, as well as a more general sense that without vaccination, the economy can't get back on its feet. "I'm not clear if people accept that solidarity," Orenstein said. "People look more for what's good for themselves than what's good for society." That said, the risk of COVID-19 to young people is "not zero. That's one of the major ways to sell this, in a sense." This KHN story first published on California Healthline, a service of the California Health Care Foundation. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has said that it would seek Facebooks response on the allegations that, to protect its India business, the social media giant ignored hate speeches by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology would certainly wish to hear from Facebook about these reports and what they propose to do about hate-speech in India," Shashi Tharoor, the committees chairperson and senior Congress leader, tweeted on August 16. Tharoor said that the subject was squarely within the committee's mandate and Facebook had been summoned in the past. Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic Safeguarding citizens rights & prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms. The subject is squarely within the IT Cmts mandate& @Facebook has been summoned in the past. https://t.co/saoK8B7VCN Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 16, 2020 "Our Parliamentary committee will, in the normal course, consider testimony under the topic - Safeguarding citizens rights and prevention of misuse of social/online news media platforms," the Congress leader added. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, reacting to Tharoor's comments, said the subjects which were permissible and were in accordance with rules of the parliamentary standing committees could be raised. But, at the same time, he added that these panels should not be made a political platform by members to satisfy the "ego of their respective party leaders". A report by the Wall Street Journal that sparked the controversy had stated that Facebooks top public policy executive in India opposed applying hate-speech rules to individuals and organisations linked with the ruling BJP. The article alleged that a top Facebook India official had told staffers to not punish violations by BJP members as it would damage the companys business prospects in the country." Controversy erupted after Congress leader Rahul Gandh hadi shared the article alleging that Facebook and WhatsApp were controlled by the ruling party and their fringe group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India. Rahul shared the newspaper clipping on Twitter and wrote: BJP and RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook. Responding to Gandhi's allegations, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad tweeted: You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica & Facebook to weaponise data before the elections & now have the gall to question us? Also read: 'BJP controls Facebook' Rahul Gandhi attacks Centre citing Wall Street Journal report There was no immediate comment on the issue by Facebook, for whom India is one of the fastest-growing markets globally with over 340 million users. More homes were sold in Canada this July than any other month on record, as the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped demand and pushed prices to all-time highs. The Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday that the 62,355 sales in July 2020 marked the highest monthly sales figure on record, with data going back more than 40 years. Sales in July were up 30.5 per cent compared with the same month a year ago and up 26 per cent from June, rebounding from lows of earlier this year when the COVID-19 pandemic froze the market. CREA said the sales came as the actual national average price for homes sold in July hit a record $571,500, up 14.3 per cent from the same month last year. CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said there was more than one driving force behind Julys full-tilt housing market, citing both COVID-19 and existing issues heading into 2020. A big part of what were seeing right now is the snap back in activity that would have otherwise happened earlier this year, Cathcart said. Recall that before the lockdowns, we were heading into the tightest spring market in almost 20 years. Some purchases will no doubt be delayed, but the new-found importance of home, lack of a daily commute for many, a desire for more outdoor and personal space, room for a home office, etc. will certainly also spur activity that otherwise would not have happened in a non-COVID-19 world. Sales have also been helped by low mortgage rates with rates for five-year fixed-rate mortgages being offered at less than two per cent. The uptick in home prices was broad-based, with all 20 of the markets tracked by CREA reporting month-over-month increases in July. The Toronto area, Guelph, Ont., Ottawa and Montreal saw the biggest price spikes, with prices climbing faster in most markets east of Saskatchewan. Prices rose more modestly in British Columbia and Alberta, CREA said. While work-from-home solutions may be temporary for some, Ottawa real estate broker Rachel Gagnon agreed with Cathcart that the new-found importance of home has emerged as a more permanent consideration for buyers. She noted that the dangers of the pandemic such as relying on daycare or navigating the grocery store have translated into buyers who want to create a self-contained family unit with a playground and veggie garden. This has put things in perspective, theyd much rather have full control in their day-to-day, says Gagnon. But Gagnon also noted that many of those in the market at the moment are second-time homebuyers, who may have benefited from rising prices and are taking advantage of low interest rates to move up. Unfortunately, its definitely the lower bracket first-time home buyers who are getting hit the hardest. Theyre the first ones to be touched with employment and child care financial issues during the pandemic, so as home prices keep soaring and lending restrictions get tighter, theyre the ones to get pushed out of the market, said Gagnon. Brian DePratto, senior economist at TD Economics, said it can be hard to understand how the housing market can be so hot when the unemployment rate remains in double-digits. DePratto said that the strength of the recent rebound in the housing market is definitely surprising and he will be watching for the end of mortgage forbearance programs that have helped insulate the economy during the pandemic. As autumn approaches, these programs will expire or change form. Depending on the progress of the broader economic recovery, this could bring significant headwinds to housing markets, particularly prices, DePratto wrote. Bethany King, real estate team leader and sales representative at Century 21 Millennium Inc., says she also has seen fear about a second wave pushing housing decisions. For instance, she said, parents may be worried schools will close again and may decide to move to a home with a classroom, even if its outside the desired school district. On the other hand, she said, a second wave of COVID-19 infections may force parents to take unpaid leave from work and stay home with children, which could lead to long-term mortgage defaults. King said that condos are already being listed in Toronto, as owners have failed to make money through renting on short-term rental sites such as Airbnb. If other homeowners hit hard by the pandemic eventually decide to sell and downsize, it could push supply onto the market and shift from a sellers to a buyers market this fall, King said. In July, demand outpaced supply, as sales increased faster than new properties could be listed. Although new listings hit a record for the month of July, as the number of newly listed homes climbed by 7.6 per cent in July compared with June, it came amid a 26 per cent jump in sales. Cathcart said despite the surge in new listings hitting the market, the total number of listings that lingered on the market as inventory was at a 16-year low. CREAs statement also suggested that new supply appears to be tapering off in many parts of the country, with the Toronto area dominating new listings. The sales-to-new listings ratio in July was at its highest levels since 2001-2002, at 73.9 per cent. There are listings that will come to the market because of COVID-19, but many properties are also not being listed right now due to the virus, Cathcart said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 23:13:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The following are the updates on the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. - - - - SHANGHAI -- Coca-Cola China and its bottling partners will continue to expand investment in local supply chains to improve efficiency, ensure supply, and serve domestic consumers' demand. The beverage giant achieved good second-quarter results in the Chinese market, despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, and continues to set up new factories and production lines in China to meet evolving consumer needs. - - - - MINSK -- Belarus reported 73 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the nationwide count to 69,589, according to the country's health ministry. Meanwhile, 77 new recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours, bringing its total to 67,149, the ministry said. - - - - MANILA -- The personal remittances or the money sent home by overseas Filipinos grew 7.6 percent in June to 2.737 billion U.S. dollars from 2.545 billion U.S. dollars in June 2019, the Philippines' central bank said on Monday. "This trend is a reversal from three consecutive months of decline from their comparable levels last year," the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement. - - - - DAR ES SALAAM -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Monday handed over the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi and commended the regional bloc for its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Magufuli commended the SADC member states when he handed over the chair during the 40th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of SADC in a virtual meeting hosted by Tanzania from Chamwino State House in the capital Dodoma. - - - - STOCKHOLM -- Twenty-three out of 56 army recruits at a military unit in the northern Swedish town of Umea have been confirmed infected with the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. One officer has also been confirmed sick, Swedish Television reported on Monday. Extensive testing was carried out at the unit after five soldiers were confirmed sick with COVID-19 last week. The test results showed that a further 18 recruits had contracted the coronavirus, as well as one army employee. All 24 have now been isolated in a separate section of the garrison, according to a press statement from the Swedish Armed Forces. - - - - KABUL -- A total of 77 new COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in Afghanistan over the past 24 hours, totaling the number of patients infected with the virus to 37,676, the Public Health Ministry said in a statement on Monday. Two patients have died due to the virus over the past 24 hours, bringing the number of COVID-19 related deaths to 1,377 since the outbreak of the disease in Afghanistan in February, the statement added. - - - - KUWAIT CITY -- Kuwait on Monday reported 622 new COVID-19 cases and one more death, raising the tally of infections to 76,827 and the death toll to 502, the Health Ministry said in a statement. Currently, 7,692 patients are receiving treatment, including 109 in ICU, according to the statement. Enditem Almost as quickly as they welcomed students back, some U.S. schools are closing again due to outbreaks of COVID-19, the latest challenge as the nation tries to reopen while the level of new cases per day remains high in most states. Schools in the United States are set to reopen for the start of the academic year either this month or early September. Some - particularly in urban centers - have opted for online-only learning, while others have chosen in-person learning, or a hybrid of the two. But outbreaks or staffing shortages have forced some schools to halt in-person learning already. A third high school in Georgias Cherokee County has closed for in-person classes, the countys school district said, citing an increase in the number of positive cases at Creekview High School to 25, with nearly a third of students under quarantine. As we have said since we announced our reopening, we will not hesitate to quarantine students and close classrooms in an effort to continue operating school in-person for as long as possible," the district said in a statement on Sunday, postponing the planned start to in-person classes from Monday to Aug. 31. Cherokee County schools were featured in the national media earlier this month after students posted images on social media, showing pupils massed together in hallways, many of them not wearing masks. Georgias new cases are down slightly from their peak but the state reported over 20,000 new infections last week and a 12% positivity rate, which suggests there are more cases in the community that have not yet been uncovered. The problems in Georgia follow an Arizona school district having to cancel classes after staff said it was unsafe to return and called in sick. Greater Phoenixs J.O. Combs Unified School District had been set to begin in-person learning on Monday, contravening state safety guidelines. A Nebraska school district said on Saturday it had canceled classes after three staff members tested positive and 24 more were in quarantine for exposure in the Broken Bow School District, about 190 miles (300 km) west of Omaha. Nationwide, new cases of COVID-19 fell for a fourth week in a row but infections remain at high levels in most states and deaths continue to average 1,000 people a day. Over 30 states have test positivity rates over 5% and Mississippi, Nevada, Florida and Idaho are over 16%. New York, once the epicenter of the coronavirus in the country, has an infection rate below 1%, along with Connecticut, Maine and Vermont. New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that gyms could reopen from next week. In total, there have been over 170,000 deaths in the United States from the disease, according to a Reuters tally. Officials at a school district in Oklahoma learned that one high school student attended the first day of classes on Thursday, even though the student had tested positive and had not completed the 10-day quarantine. Upon speaking with the student, they said since they were asymptomatic then they believed their quarantine period was five days," Dawn Jones, public information officer for Moore Public Schools told Reuters. Upon speaking with the students parent, they apologized and said they misunderstood the date on the letter received by medical professionals." 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 Portland State University to Disarm Campus Police Amid Unrest in the City Portland State University (PSU) recently announced that starting this fall, its public safety officers will patrol the campus unarmed, as part of the universitys initiative to re-imagine campus safety. The move comes as protests, often deteriorated into violent assaults against local and federal law enforcement officers and property, have continued in Portland, Oregon, for nearly 80 nights following the death of George Floyd. Violent crimes have also soared across the city, with the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) investigating 15 deadly shootings and stabbings in Julythe citys highest number of single-month homicide investigations in three decades. Over the past few weeks we have listened to many voices across our campus, PSU President Stephen Percy wrote in an Aug. 13 statement. 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 PSUs public safety officers will replace their guns with non-lethal tasers, said Campus Public Safety Chief Willie Halliburton in a short video explaining the decision. He also noted that the university will rely on the PPB to respond to high risk emergency situations. We will have police officers available. We will have them here, but they will be unarmed, said Halliburton. If theres a call that requires an armed presence, Portland Police Bureau has agreed to assist us. The PPB, alongside other police departments in the nations major cities, has become the target of the growing defund the police movement. In June, the Portland City Council approve a last-minute change to the citys 2020-21 budget, diverting more than $15 million from the PPB to other public programs. DisarmPSU, a group of students, staff, and others affiliated with the PSU community, said it was thrilled by the change. The group, which has been advocating to disarm the universitys campus police force for the past seven years, gained more attention and support after PSUs safety officers in 2018 shot and killed Jason Washington, a black Navy veteran who was holding a gun during a drunken street brawl near the PSU campus. This campaign was a seven year uphill battle, and it came at a high cost, the group wrote in a statement. Even the death of Jason Washington wasnt enough to convince the university to disarm. Today, we are reminded that we dont win by appealing to the goodwill of those in power; we win through organizing and unwavering persistence. Governor Willie Obiano of Anambra state Anambra oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze, has tackled Anambra state Governor, Willie Obiano over his latest suspension of monarchs who followed him to see President Muhammadu Buhari. He insisted that he will continue to tackle Obiano until he does the right thing. According to Punch, Eze spoke at his Ukpo home in the Dunikofia Local Government Area of Anambra State, on Sunday. He said Im not afraid of anybody. I have installed three African presidents. One of them gave me oil blocks in his country. I have assisted in enthroning many governors in Nigeria. I have given a governorship candidate N10bn to assist him prosecute his election. I didnt know the candidate from Adam. He just approached me and told me about himself and his people; I empthatised with him and gave him the money. Obiano is just a small fry. Even this Obiano, I have given him financial assistance as a person and as a governor several times. I have no personal problems with him. My grouse with him is that he is not doing the right things as a governor. Many people are suffering under his government. He is not paying the traditional rulers in the state their five per cent entitlement from the Local Government allocation. The oil moguls rift with the governor had led to the suspension of 13 traditional rulers suspected to be Ezes loyalists. In response, the Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C-Don Adinuba, said officials of the state government had decided to maintain dignified silence on comments by Eze. Mark Okraku Mantey has revealed that Sarkodie has reported Stonebwoy to the police following the incident which left his manager injured in the eye. Last week Monday, Sarkodie's manager by name Angel was physically assaulted by Stonebwoy following a disagreement between them. The incident occurred at the final rehearsal and pre-recording stage of Sarkodie's Black Love virtual concert at the Independence Square in Accra. Stonebwoy was unhappy he had to wait for a long time to do his session, although he arrived on schedule. This led to a scuffle between him and Angel, who allegedly sustained injuries in his eye. Stonebwoy had come out to apologise to Angel and denied allegations that he brandished a gun during altercation. Sarkodie, on the other hand, is yet to make a statement about the incident. But on TV Africa on Friday, Mark Okraku Mantey disclosed that the incident had been reported to the police, according to information from Sarkodie's camp. Yesterday, intel, I know that there was some police report, he revealed. He also indicated that Sarkodie will soon make a statement on the incident because he and his management are managing communications at the moment in order not to damage anyone's brand. ---Daily Guide Lianna Harrington and Marie (Mary) Nzeyimana delivering computers to high school students. Both interns were supported with grants: Nzeyimana received a funded internship from Bowdoin's Career Exploration and Development Office, and Harrington had a Denning Summer Fellowship from the McKeen Center for the Common Good. The organization they are interning for is The Emergency Action Network, or TEAN. After receiving anonymous referrals from school teachers and administrators, TEAN taps its network of community members, via a closed Facebook group, to provide school supplies, winter coats, food, cash, blankets, mattresseswhatever a family might need. "I am inspired by the way TEAN formed," Harrington said. "The board members saw a need in the community, especially with growing poverty in Maine, and they wanted to help out in some way." Since 2016, she estimated that TEAN has donated over $20,000 of food, clothing, and other supplies. "They have this big Facebook group, so if they hear that someone need clothes for an eighteen-month-old baby, a crib, or formula, they literally have mothers come together. One of them will say they have clothing, another says they have formula, and they come together," Nzeyimana said. The board is made up entirely of womenmany of them working jobs outside of TEANa fact that Nzeyimana appreciates. "They're just part of the regular Brunswick community," she said. "It is wonderful being around women. It is very empowering to be a part of, as a woman myself." "The board is six fantastic women, all on a volunteer basis," Harrington agreed. "And they love the work that theyre doing, and to see that and the impact they're having, based on the generosity of Brunswick folks. It's just really, really amazing." This summer, the interns have focused on a few specific projects, including revamping the TEAN website and updating its social media.They're also creating an oral history for TEAN, to "see how far it's come" in four years, Nzeyimana said. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) The Philippine Red Cross cannot afford to maintain its COVID-19 testing operations if the Philippine Health Insurance Corporations unsettled balance to the organization further balloons to a billion pesos, its chairman Senator Richard Gordon said Monday. Speaking to CNN Philippines, Gordon lamented PhilHealths slow payment for its debt which he said has spiked to around 700 million. Right now, its (debt) is about 700 million and growing. If they do not pay in about a week, it will go to a billion pesos. And we cannot afford that, because were trying to replenish our stocks from China, Gordon said in an interview with The Source, adding the Red Cross has ordered around 400 million test kits from China which cost about $6 million. Were holding that, and definitely, well have to stop until we get some replenishment of funds, Gordon added. In a statement over the weekend, the senator already warned of the possible suspension of Red Cross COVID-19 testing for patients whose payments will be charged to the state health insurer as he cited the agencys unsettled dues. Gordon stressed he personally does not want to halt the organizations testing operations, saying the countrys testing capacity will slow down in effect. However, he noted that the Red Cross cannot give something it does not have. We have to replenish our resources to be able to continue testing, he said. Red Cross testing suspension a big loss Malacanang, in response, admitted it will be a big loss for the countrys COVID-19 response should the Red Cross indeed halt its operations. However, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque stressed the Philippines has ample laboratories to maintain the testing capacity for the infectious disease. Hindi naman po tayo magkakaroon ng highest actual PCR testing conducted kung umaasa lang tayo sa isang laboratory, although malaking kawalan po iyan kapag tumigil ang (PRC), Roque said in his virtual media briefing. [Translation: We wouldnt have the highest actual PCR testing conducted if we only relied on one laboratory, although it will be a huge loss if PRC stops its testing operations.] Roque likewise expressed hope that the supposed delay and problems in payment will be threshed out soon, especially with the spotlight now directed at PhilHealth. In an interview with CNN Philippines on Sunday, PhilHealth spokesperson Dr. Shirley Domingo confirmed the agency has received a 700 million bill from the Red Cross in the past few days, but noted they have so far already paid 504 million to the organization. She added the rest of the bill is still to be processed. Gordon earlier said he has already reached out to concerned government officials to help address the situation, and has likewise called on PhilHealth to act on the matter. COVID-19 infections in the country have surpassed 161,000, with the Health Department reporting over 3,000 new cases of the disease on Sunday. Facebook rolled out an update that merges Instagram with Messenger, providing users with access to a list of features in Direct Messages. The move adds a 'new colorful look for your chats,' more emoji reactions, swipe-to-reply and the ability to chat with others who use Facebook. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last year that the firm would bring together the messaging infrastructure of popular apps, as well as with incorporate end-to-end encryption. The merger comes as the tech tycoon battles with government regulators who are investigating the possibility of breaking up the social giant. Scroll down for video Facebook rolled out an update that merges Instagram with Messenger, providing users with access to a list of features in Direct Messages. The move adds a 'new colorful look for your chats,' more emoji reactions, swipe-to-reply and the ability to chat with others who use Facebook The update, first spotted by The Verge, appeared in the latest version of both Instagram and Messenger. When a user selected the update, a screen appears sharing, 'There's a New Way to Message on Instagram.' The description provides more details about features that will now be available in Instagram's Direct Message. Users have access to new colorful look for chats, a new list of emojis, the swipe to reply to message option and the ability to chat with friends on Facebook bringing the messaging services into one platform. The update, first spotted by The Verge, appeared in the latest version of both Instagram and Messenger. When a user selected the update, a screen appears sharing, 'There's a New Way to Message on Instagram' A Facebook spokesperson confirmed it was testing the experience. 'A small set of people were able to update to a new test experience for Instagram messaging,' the spokesperson said in an email to The Verge. 'We hope they enjoy the experience and we are looking forward to testing it in other countries so we can keep learning from this.' DailyMail.com has reached out to Facebook for comment and has yet to receive a response. Facebook recently went in front of Congress, which is investigating the social media site's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. However, Zuckerberg is hitting back stating the claims are based on Instagram's present-day success. 'It was not a guarantee that Instagram was going to succeed,' he said. 'The acquisition has done wildly well, largely because not just of the founders' talent, but because we invested heavily in building up the infrastructure and promoting it.' With the merge, it will be more difficult for government officials to break up the social media giant. Just last month, Florida Rep Matt Gaetz has called for the Justice Department to investigate Zuckerberg for allegedly lying to Congress about political bias in the social media giant's content moderation practices. Facebook recently went in front of Congress, which is investigating the social media site's acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp. However, Zuckerberg is hitting back stating the claims are based on Instagram's present-day success The Republican congressman sent a letter to Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday accusing Zuckerberg of making 'materially false statements to Congress while under oath' during two hearings in April 2018. 'On both occasions, members of Congress asked Mr. Zuckerberg about allegations that Facebook censored and suppressed content supportive of President Donald Trump and other conservatives,' Gaetz wrote. 'In his responses, Mr. Zuckerberg repeatedly and categorically denied any bias against conservative speech, persons, policies, or politics. Mr. Zuckerberg also dismissed the suggestion that Facebook exercises any form of editorial manipulation.' Gaetz cited a recent investigation from Project Veritas, a right-wing activist group, which found that the 'overwhelming majority' of content filtered by Facebook's artificial intelligence was in support of Trump and other Republicans and conservative ideals. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 08/17/2020 ADVERTISEMENT [ Spoiler Warning: This report features spoilers that reveal if Deavan and Jihoon are still together or if the couple have broken up.] ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT So are Jihoon and Deavan still together or have they split since reconciling in South Korea? ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. couple Deavan Clegg and Jihoon Lee are off to a fresh start on Season 2 of : The Other Way, but then Drascilla ran off from Jihoon and chaos ensued -- so what happened to Deavan and Jihoon's relationship -- and are they still together?Deavan was a 22-year-old from Salt Lake City, UT, when she met Jihoon, a 29-year-old mobile phone dealer from Seoul, South Korea, on a dating app.Deavan and Jihoon communicated with the help of a translating app for several months before Jihoon traveled to America to meet Deavan and her daughter Drascilla, now five, from a previous relationship.Deavan and Jihoon clearly didn't lack a mutual attraction or chemistry because they slept together during Jihoon's trip and Deavan got pregnant with Jihoon's first child.Jihoon and Deavan discovered they were expecting after six positive pregnancy tests confirmed their suspicions on the day he was leaving to return to South Korea in 2018.Deavan and Jihoon therefore wanted to get married, but Deavan had to win over his parents first. Once she succeeded in receiving a blessing from Jihoon's parents, Jihoon proposed marriage at a Las Vegas restaurant.Jihoon planned to return to America just two months later for Deavan's scheduled C-section, but Deavan had to deliver the baby early due to high blood pressure.Since it would be expensive to cancel his initial flight, Jihoon decided to stay home and miss the birth of his son in the United States.Deavan welcomed son Taeyang in April 2019 without Jihoon by her side, and Jihoon admitted he was "a very bad father" at first.Jihoon eventually made his way to the United States to meet his son, but he had lost his job and lacked "financial responsibility," which really worried Deavan.Jihoon told Deavan not to worry and their future would be bright, but she was greatly disappointed when she first moved to South Korea with her son. (Drascilla stayed in the America so Deavan could get settled first and make sure life would be good for her daughter).Deavan expected Jihoon to have landed a full-time job and an apartment for them, but he was still living in his parents' house and broke the news they'd continue living there for a few months.Deavan said it was "unacceptable" to be stuck sharing a one-bedroom apartment with a newborn and Jihoon's parents, but Jihoon explained he was in debt.Jihoon apparently owed $30,000 (which included interest on a loan he had taken out to pay the original $15,000 fine) due to illegally selling used and lost phones, but at the time of their conversation, he said he had his debt down to $5,000.Despite the major red flags, Deavan and Jihoon still filed marriage papers so she could reside in Jihoon's country permanently. And three weeks later, they had a traditional Korean wedding ceremony.Deavan documented her relationship with Jihoon in Summer through Fall 2019 on social media and started a small T-shirt business with Jihoon that was doing well at the time.But Deavan unfortunately suffered a miscarriage with her third child. She announced on Instagram in October 2019 she had lost a baby.On Season 2 of : The Other Way, Deavan lamented how she was exhausted and overwhelmed raising two children by herself.Deavan therefore flew back to South Korea with the intent of living there permanently and Jihoon helping to raise her children. Jihoon had let her to believe he was finally financially secure.Deavan traveled with her mom Elicia, Drascilla and Taeyang, hoping Jihoon would have his "sh-t together."But Jihoon admitted to the cameras, "I don't really have a job. I have a side job doing deliveries and it goes by the hour. It's a part-time job. I lied to Deavan because if I not have money, then Deavan's not come to Korea."Jihoon's friends and even his father thought Jihoon was making Korean men look bad.Deavan then arrived in South Korea, which marked her second attempt to move there permanently. Jihoon hadn't seen Deavan in two months, and he said he was very excited to see her.Once Deavan saw the apartment they'd be living in for one month and appeared disgusted, Jihoon's mother scolded her son for not checking the apartment before Deavan and her family traveled.The place was broken down in a bad neighborhood, and Elicia vented she was "totally losing [her] sh-t." Deavan described the apartment building as "the ghetto of Korea," and her apartment had no stovetop or living room.Elicia pulled Jihoon aside and gave him a piece of her mind by saying she had expected him to behave like a man and find a safe place for her daughter and grandkids to live.Elicia appeared to be on the verge of tears and complained, "I am extremely disappointed in Jihoon," and Deavan was also "extremely angry" at her husband."It just feels like I'm doing all the heavy lifting in this relationship and he has done nothing so far," Deavan noted in a confessional. "It's just to the point where I can't do it anymore."Deavan was clearly tired of Jihoon's empty promises, and Jihoon acknowledged the situation was a mess and he had failed to earn back Deavan's trust. He called himself a total "idiot," and Deavan vented, "All the things I was worried about were true."The pair tried to communicate through a language-translating piece of technology but it wasn't translating correctly and so the pair couldn't have a clear conversation."If I would have known you didn't have money, I wouldn't have came here," Deavan said. "Why do you keep lying to me?""To be honest, I wanted you to come here fast," Jihoon said. "If you're worried about money, you can leave here."Jihoon asked Deavan to stay for a few months and give him another chance, but she refused to stay in the apartment and threatened to leave when her mother was scheduled to leave South Korea.Deavan was furious and cried because she had nothing at home to go back to but she didn't have a good reason to stay in South Korea either.Jihoon claimed he earned around $2,000-3,000 a month, but Deavan had been working 17 hours a day while raising two kids. She thought Jihoon working a part-time job so he could "take more naps" was "ridiculous."Jihoon's mother apparently managed his money so he couldn't spend it on himself, and so he told Deavan that he was saving for a new house."It sounds like you didn't want to spend your money so you let me spend all my money, and now we're here and I don't have anything. I don't have money, I don't have a car," Deavan told Jihoon."I gave up everything for you, but you couldn't give up some time to work harder to help. My life is not a game. I have sacrificed a lot and you've sacrificed nothing, and I at this point, have lost all trust. If you loved me and the kids, you would've helped."Jihoon replied, "You're right, I am so sorry. But I do love you.""I don't think I want to be together anymore after this," Deavan noted. "I am going to get a hotel tonight with just my mom so I can be alone with the kids and think."Jihoon realized it was probably "game over" for him and this was the "last straw" for Deavan.Jihoon vented about how he had been living his life "all wrong" and felt like "a loser," and he was scared to lose Deavan.Meanwhile, Deavan's mother Elicia believed Deavan had made a huge mistake in moving her family to South Korea, and Deavan was beginning to think she was right. Deavan couldn't speak the language or even order for her kids at a restaurant.Deavan considered using the rest of her money to return to America, but she wanted answers and figured the only way to do that would be to sit down with Jihoon and his mother, who was controlling Jihoon's finances."If this conversation doesn't go well, I will leave and go back to America and never speak to [Jihoon] again," Deavan said."If I were to make the decision, we'd be on the plane right now," Elicia confessed.Deavan then met Jihoon and his parents at a restaurant to get to the bottom of what was going on. Jihoon ignored Deavan at first at the restaurant, which Deavan couldn't believe, but Jihoon said he couldn't even face his wife because he felt so bad about his behavior.Deavan and Jihoon then communicated through a translator, and Jihoon apologized for being selfish and explained his money was in his mother's bank account for safekeeping, which Jihoon's father dubbed "a mistake" since his wife and baby needed money.Jihoon said his mother had his money because he was afraid of making another mistake, and the translator changed his words to, "I'll make another mistake. I'll waste that money again."Jihoon was so frustrated with the translator, and when he asked Deavan for another chance, the translator failed to relay that information.Jihoon grew furious and then he and his parents started shouting at each other about how to communicate with Deavan, but all Deavan could comprehend was that Jihoon was yelling."They seem like they're very angry at me," Deavan said.Jihoon wanted to explain that his mother had his money so he couldn't spend it on himself, but he was just shouting the words in Korean at Deavan and she couldn't understand.Deavan said it was "disgusting" how Jihoon had lost his temper, and she said, "You made me give up my life to come here. You scammed me; you tricked me. My life is ruined now."Jihoon's mother laughed, and then Deavan said in tears, "This isn't a joke. I don't want to do this. They think it's a joke. I want to end this. I don't want to do this anymore. I am uncomfortable."With that being said, Jihoon stormed away from the table and said Deavan was pissing him off."Am I a joke?" Jihoon vented. "I'm not a f-cking joke... I am really serious -- more than Deavan. F-ck this!""I don't want to be here right now," Deavan told the cameras.There was clearly a huge misunderstanding and the couple just couldn't communicate.When the pair tried to talk things out, Jihoon admitted he didn't take his relationship with Deavan seriously because of the distance between them."F-ck you. I don't ever want to talk to you again. Don't ever talk to me again!" Deavan cried. "Apparently my pregnancy was not serious. You obviously f-cking didn't love me."Deavan told the cameras everything she had believed was "a lie" and she felt "broken." She said Jihoon just wanted to have fun and she felt like she had been scammed.Deavan cried with her face in her lap and Jihoon repeated how he felt "embarrassed," but Deavan said she wouldn't even consider forgiving Jihoon unless he could place the $3,000 he said he had saved into her hands.Deavan explained it wasn't about the money -- she just needed to see that Jihoon wasn't lying and she could trust him.Jihoon therefore ran to a nearby ATM and completed the task, which Jihoon's mother apparently found ridiculous."[This is] kid's play," Jihoon's mother said. "If we give her $100,000, will she finally see the truth?"But Jihoon said he'd be willing to do anything to keep Deavan in his life. In fact, he told the cameras Deavan could take "everything" from him if it meant staying in South Korea with his family.Deavan just asked Jihoon to take her back to her hotel room so she could "crawl into a hole and disappear." She felt she had "ruined" her life and her children's lives over a romance.But the next day, when Deavan had some time to cool off, she chose to give Jihoon another chance and use the $3,000 he had given her to rent an apartment for one month.Deavan was willing to give Jihoon one month to change his ways and show he cared through his actions, not just his words."Let's fix it," Jihoon told his wife."No, you fix it," Deavan responded.Deavan had given Jihoon a second chance, and so with the $3,000 Jihoon had saved, he and Deavan found a much nice apartment to stay in, and even Elicia thought it was really nice.Elicia said she'd have to force a relationship with Jihoon and get along with him if Deavan was going to ultimately stay in South Korea, but she admitted to being "selfish" in wanting her daughter to come home with her.Deavan thought the new apartment was "fantastic," and Jihoon apparently planned to treat this new apartment as a new start. However, the couple could only stay there for one month and then Jihoon would have to find them a more permanent place to live.Once Deavan, Jihoon and her family got settled into a nice place, they took Drascilla to a local nearby park so she could play.Deavan said Jihoon's family needed to stop enabling him because Jihoon was very spoiled. Elicia just asked Jihoon to put as much effort into his relationship as Deavan was putting in.Deavan, however, wanted both sets of grandparents to "stay back a little" and allow Jihoon to step up as a father and husband on his own.Jihoon's mother said she'd be more than happy to let Jihoon be independent, and Jihoon promised to take care of his family.After playing in the park, Jihoon was walking back to the apartment with Drascilla in his arms but Drascilla asked to be put down so she could sit down.However, Drascilla suddenly took off running and no one was quick enough to grab her."Stop!" Deavan yelled, as Jihoon began sprinting after Drascilla.At the beginning of : The Other Way's second season, Deavan was shown waiting out the coronavirus pandemic while living in South Korea.The footage filmed earlier this year, around February or March, and was seemingly intended for TLC's : Self-Quarantined spinoff.Deavan shared how COVID-19 was "very serious" where she was staying in South Korea. She said South Korea was the second country with the most infected people and so she and Jihoon were in quarantine in an apartment together.Deavan admitted her daughter Drascilla was going stir crazy and her son Taeyang couldn't play outside."They're predicting 60 percent of the country could get the virus, and that's really scary. Everyone is in panic mode, and I don't know what to do," Deavan told her Diary Cam.( : The Other Way then flashed back to seven months earlier, when Deavan was preparing for her move to South Korea with her two kids.)Although Deavan and Jihoon were just together a few months ago, Deavan's mom Elicia revealed in late July that Deavan had returned to the United States and was quarantining separately from Jihoon.Elicia posted a photo of her granddaughter Drascilla on July 20, and in the comments section, she wrote Deavan has been "stuck" in America with her two kids while Jihoon remains in South Korea, according to In Touch Weekly."She is visiting here, but the travel restrictions have forced her to be here longer," Elicia wrote, adding, "[Deavan and Drascilla] are stuck here until travel restrictions are lessened because of the virus."Elicia saying Deavan is "visiting," "stuck" and "forced" to be in the U.S. longer that anticipated suggests Deavan is trying to get back to South Korea to be with Jihoon again, so it appears the couple is still together despite the distance between them right now.And Jihoon seemingly misses his wife and children, as he took to Instagram on July 19 with an image that read, "If love is deep, longing becomes pain."Earlier in July, Jihoon seemingly gave away he and Deavan are still together when he lashed out at trolls on Instagram, saying is in his past and he now has a job that supports his family, meaning Deavan and her two kids.After posting several hashtags, Jihoon wrote, "To people who ask me to get a job, I'm always so kind to people who are kind to me first. But to those who are rude to me, I'm an assh-le to them. Distinguish between show and reality. And the show is in the past."Jihoon continued, "I've said countless times that I have a job. My job is to deliver food. I earn enough money to take care of my family. If you read this and you tell me to get a job, from now on, I'm thinking of you as a goldfish with a memory of three seconds.""I'll just ignore it and block it," he added. "Cuz I don't want to talk to fish, yeah think about it how crazy huh?! Bye."Jihoon's post served as the caption to a screenshot of him slamming a hater."I'm working right now... You need to be logical. Don't be so old. I have a job. And my side job blocks a b-tch like you."There was also evidence in June on social media that Deavan and Jihoon were still going strong, at least at the time.On June 17, Jihoon posted a funny picture of Deavan holding a large box of condoms, and Deavan commented, "Jihoon knows how to work it whoot whoot."Given the box said the condoms were "small pecker condoms," Deavan clarified, "Hahahahaha haha everyone knows it was a joke."And a few days earlier, Deavan posted a selfie of herself modeling in a really nice home or apartment."Loving this dress. Super cute. #90dayfiance #90daytheotherway #fashion #tattoos #morningvibes," Deavan captioned the June 14 photo.One follower commented, "Omg she's back in the states!!??"And then Deavan confirmed, "Just visiting," suggesting her permanent residence is still South Korea.Deavan also confirmed in the comments section of her post she is "definitely not pregnant" again.In addition, Deavan often adds the hashtags #southkorea and #deavanandjihoon to her Instagram posts.Going back to early June, Deavan conducted an interview with Access in which she said she was really excited for fans to see more of her relationship with Jihoon on Season 2 of : The Other Way."It's very exciting. I'm so excited to continue my journey and share my journey. I'm really, really excited that people get to see me and Jihoon and more of that aspect, because I think on Season 1 people didn't get to see too much of us," Deavan said."But this time, everyone will get to see that and this beautiful journey. You guys are going to see definitely some of our lowest points and some of our highest points, so it's going to be worth the watch."Deavan assured Access that Jihoon "loves [being a father].""It's definitely a life-changing thing for him and I think he's very happy with it, even though it was a surprise to both of us. But he absolutely loves both kids," Deavan shared.Despite the ups and downs in her relationship with Jihoon, Deavan called starring on the with him "a great experience" that was "life-changing."Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage! Member of the NDC COVID-19 Team, Dr. Jehu Appiah has commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for announcing a possible reopening of Ghanas air borders amid the Coronavirus pandemic. He also agreed to some safety protocols outlined by government to be implemented if the borders will be opened. That is a very good thing, its a beautiful thing, we have to live our normal lives again, he told host Kwesi Aboagye on NEAT FMs morning show, 'Ghana Montie'. The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced on Sunday, August 16, 2020, that his government was working to re-open Ghana's borders depending on the readiness and ability to ensure that every passenger who arrives in Ghana is tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Consequently, he said the government was hoping that by September 1, 2020, the assessment of the readiness to test all passengers would have been completed to enable the borders to re-open. "I know many still ask whether our borders, especially our international airport, Kotoka International Airport will be opened. "Under my instructions, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) have been working with the Ministry of Health and its agencies to ascertain our readiness to re-open our airport." "I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger who arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of that exercise will show us the way and determine when we can re-open our border by air. "I'm hoping that by God's grace we will be ready to do so by the 1st of September [2020]. Until further notice, our borders by air, land, and sea remain closed to human traffic," President Akufo-Addo said. "Beaches, pubs, cinemas and night clubs are still to remain closed until further notice," President Akufo-Addo added. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video When medical schools switched to online learning in March, It was a lot harder to do by myself, said Michael OConnor, 25, a second-year student at Thomas Jefferson University. Add to the usual stress of long nights studying, high tuition, and relentless exams the social isolation that has been imposed on medical students by the coronavirus pandemic. This spring, OConnor moved back to Canton, Ohio, where he worked from his boyhood room. He found that some essential aspects of medical education were lost when delivered online. We tried virtual dissections, he said. But you just cant do a dissection of a human body on a computer. With the academic year starting again for medical students in a hybrid format, students have learned to get creative. As a first-year student, OConnor volunteered Tuesday nights with JeffHOPE, a student-run free clinic. At home, he needed another activity to fill his time, so he channeled his artistic background. Before medical school, OConnor painted and shot photographs and even taught high school art classes for two years. His latest pieces are inspired by the pandemic. I had the idea immediately to make it about how heavily reliant we were on our screens, OConnor said. Before the pandemic, OConnor could study in the library, take walks around the city, see live music, and enjoy Phillys food and bar scenes. But during the pandemic, suddenly all those things were gone and I was in the same two rooms whether for working out, cooking, or getting assignments done. One piece is a digital drawing of a person looking at a computer screen doing four different activities: studying, trying out a recipe, learning to play the guitar, and working out. In another drawing, OConnor shows what a safe beach day looks like now: A woman sits in a beach chair, tropical drink by her side, in front of a window in her home. The picture reflects the missed experiences of some upper-level students. Many medical students go on vacation after finishing their first board exam at the end of their second year, but these exams have been delayed by the pandemic, as testing centers were temporarily closed. It was anxiety-producing, said Emma Cooper, 25, a third-year medical student at Thomas Jefferson University, who is originally from Wichita, Kan. HELP US REPORT: Are you a health care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker or other expert? We want to hear from you. Coopers exam was rescheduled three times before she was finally able to take it. The start of her clinical rotations was also delayed for months. Going into [rotations], I was definitely concerned about being in the way in clinic. Thats something every student worries about even outside of the pandemic, Cooper said. But now, I feel like Im a part of the team and am important to patient care. Fortunately, medical students say, the pandemic has also helped to reinforce the reasons why they wanted to go into medicine. I came into medicine for the service aspect to do better and fix systems, OConnor said. On one hand, its very depressing to see the way that COVID-19 has affected communities in a detrimental way. But I also have to remember things cant change if I personally dont act to help them. For students such as Cooper, expanding access to health care is one reason why she wanted to become a doctor. It was a little scary at first the pandemic made me realize the seriousness of my responsibilities, Cooper said. But I want to be doing work that is at the forefront of these problems of society. Still, the coronavirus has added a layer of stress to an already stressful time for medical students. Class is still mostly online, opportunities in clinics are limited, and students are also at risk of exposure to the coronavirus. Its hard, but I feel like Im lucky to be around people who are taking the pandemic seriously, said OConnor, who relocated back to Philadelphia in July. Even though were limited in our interactions, Im excited to see everyone again. Were making it work however we can. We just have to roll with the punches. (Bloomberg) -- Election voting is the cybersecurity industrys most difficult challenge, and casting ballots on paper is the safest option against any digital disruptions, says CrowdStrike Holdings co-founder and former Chief Technology Officer Dmitri Alperovitch. Voting is the hardest thing to secure when it comes to cybersecurity, Alperovitch said on CBSs Face the Nation on Sunday. The only way we know how to do it well and safely is by using paper. The best ways to ensure that a digital hack wont happen, he said, are in-person voting and ballots that are either mailed in or dropped off at collection sites. Alperovitch said he hasnt seen evidence of Russian hacking into campaigns or political organizations and leaking information so far this year. He warned of influence operations by China, Iran, and Russia conducted through social media. U.S. intelligence agencies have said Russia is still using social media and television to help President Donald Trump, while China and Iran want the Democratic candidate Joe Biden to win the presidency in November. The election infrastructure, which includes voter databases and vote-tallying and vote-reporting systems, is very, very, vulnerable to hacking, Alperovitch added. Im not so much concerned about foreign entities interfering in the paper process, but we do need to make sure that states are prepared to take in the huge number of mail-in ballots that will come in. The number of Americans voting by mail is expected to jump this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Postal Service had warned that 46 states may not be able to deliver their ballots on time for the November election. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly, without evidence, that voting by mail is subject to widespread fraud. One less-discussed but viable option is ballot drop-off, Alperovitch said. All precincts should install drop boxes by the curbside, where people can drop off the ballot without using the mail, he said. Story continues The election in November may be one where we may not know who the president is the night of the election or the day after, Alperovitch said, echoing comments last week by Facebook Inc.s head of cybersecurity policy. The social media platform is preparing to rein-in misinformation in a prolonged period before the result is released. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday hinted that not all of the Rs 15.44 lakh crore worth of currency junked will be remonetised through issuance of new notes as he said digital currency will fill the gap. Calling the scrapping of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes as a courageous step, he said the government could do it as India today has the capacity to take such decisions and experiment boldly. The move will create a new Indian normal as the one that existed for the past seven decades is unacceptable, he said, adding that demonetisation will help rid the economy of high cash circulation that had led to tax evasion, blackmoney and currency being used for crime. One of the efforts of this exercise has to be that even though a reduced cash currency could remain, our conscious effort... (is) to supplement the rest with a digital currency, he said while addressing annual general meeting of industry chamber FICCI here. As many as 17,165 million pieces of Rs 500 denomination and 6,858 million pieces of Rs 1,000 banknotes were in circulation on November 8 when the government made the surprise announcement. Jaitley further said: The whole process of remonetisation is not going to take very long time and Im sure very soon the Reserve Bank by injecting currency daily into the banking and postal system will be able to complete that. Also, the push to use the digital mode to make payments has been gaining ground. The manner it has taken place in the last five weeks is indeed commendable. Only a section of Parliament seems unaware of what is happening, he said. Once the remonetisation process is complete, it will mark the creation of a new Indian normal because the normal that existed for 70 years is an unacceptable normal, he added. The 70-year normal had become a way of life for almost every Indian. It was not merely a fact that you had a lot more cash currency, far larger cash currency as part of your GDP... the economic and social consequences of that are extremely adverse. He made a point that dealing in that cash currency had led to a lot of aberrations in terms of tax non-compliance, currency being used for collateral purposes like crime, escaping the tax net and not getting into the banking system. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. State secretary for national policy Arpad Janos Potapi (pictured on top) on Sunday commemorated the tenth anniversary of the adoption of Hungarys dual citizenship law. Speaking at an event in Bataszek, in south-western Hungary, at a fair organised by the local Szekler society on Sunday, Potapi said that ten years ago a radical change of direction had taken place in Hungary, most visibly reflected by the policy for Hungarian communities abroad. Since the adoption of the law on dual citizenship on May 26, 2010, more than 1,100,000 people have been granted Hungarian citizenship, Potapi said. This has created the opportunity for all Hungarians to join the Hungarian nation in the legal sense, he added. He noted that the Fundamental law had made it compulsory for all Hungarian governments to address the issue of ethnic Hungarians living beyond the countrys borders. In 2014 and 2018, Hungarians with a dual citizenship were also able to vote in the national elections, he noted, adding that the Hungarian parliament could be considered a national assembly as it represented the whole nation. MTI Photo: Zoltan Mathe Two more people contract Covid-19, Vietnam tally rises to 964 Local residents stand in line to have their samples taken for Covid-19 testing at Tam Ky market in Quang Nam Province, central Vietnam, August 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh. The Ministry of Health announced two more people have been diagnosed with Covid-19, both linked to current hotspots. Patient number 963 is a 30-year-old man in the northern province of Hai Duong. On August 3 he ate dinner at a local restaurant where four employees were later diagnosed with Covid-19. His samples were collected following contact tracing, and the infection was confirmed on Sunday. "Patient 964" is a 49-year-old woman in Quang Nam Province, next door to epicenter Da Nang, who attended a wedding at a restaurant in the city on July 11. She too tested positive on Sunday. Same strain The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said the virus that caused the first locally transmitted case in Hai Duong recently was the same strain as the one in Da Nang. In late July the health ministry had said the virus causing the resurgence in local transmissions in Da Nang was a new, more contagious strain of foreign origin. Experts have yet to find out if it is more virulent than the previous strains. Doctors had also said Da Nang was not the source of the Hai Duong outbreak. The two new cases took Vietnams Covid-19 tally to 964, including 484 active cases. There have been 24 deaths. Since July 25, when local transmission returned after three months, 488 cases have been reported in 15 cities and provinces, including Hanoi and HCMC. Most have been linked to the outbreak in Da Nang, where 344 people have contracted the disease. More than 107,000 people who had returned from abroad or come into close contact with infected people are in quarantine. Globally, more than 772,600 people have died. The U.S. Forest Service on Thursday approved a controversial forest restoration project in southeastern Wyoming aimed at addressing mountain pine beetle infestation, the severity of wildfires and other shifting forest vegetation conditions. The Medicine Bow Landscape Vegetation Analysis project, known as LaVA, grants the Forest Service the authority to remove and sell beetle-killed timber, with the goal of reducing the risk of wildfires and improving overall forest conditions. The plans approval also allows several types of forest management treatments to occur across 288,000 acres throughout the next 15 years, including prescribed burns and tree thinning in the Snowy and Sierra Madre mountain ranges. Thursdays record of decision marks the completion of the environmental review required under the National Environmental Policy Act. Accomplishing the condition-based review affords agencies the flexibility to execute smaller management projects over the next 15 years, without triggering another full federal environmental review. The LaVA project decision will provide us an amazing opportunity to increase the pace and scale of landscape restoration on the Snowy and Sierra Madre mountain ranges, Forest Supervisor Russ Bacon said. As I look out the window today at the large smoke columns from active fires in Colorado, it reminds me why we undertook LaVA in the first place. Part of the impetus to develop the long-term forest management plan came in response to the uptick in frequency and severity of wildfires in the region. LaVA will give us a long-term foundation to implement fuels reduction projects that reduce the risk of catastrophic fire, Bacon continued. There will be real benefits to reducing threats to public and firefighter safety, damage to property, as well as natural and cultural resources. Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities spokeswoman Dena Egenhoff participated in the development of the LaVA project and said she was pleased with the outcome. Utilities in the area depend on several reservoirs located on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service to supply drinking water. For that reason alone, Egenhoff said active watershed management is crucial. The healthier and more resilient the forest is can only benefit our water and water quality, she said. Were seeing more intense fires, she added. Recently a fire around the town of Keystone decimated one of the watersheds the city relies on, causing the board to shut down the collection structure because of poor water quality. Egenhoff, who is also a hydrologist, is confident the projects approval will enable her team to collaborate with other agencies on forest management projects more efficiently and effectively to ultimately increase the forests health and protect the areas watersheds. Long time coming The idea to institute a sweeping forest management strategy in the southeastern region of Wyoming started in 2017 under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. Along the way, the Forest Service has worked with several local, state and federal agencies. A previous version of the environmental impact statement was withdrawn in 2019 after the review period attracted substantial objection from the public. A modified environmental impact statement and draft record of decision were finalized and published in April. In response, nearly 100 comments were submitted, a majority in opposition to the plan. Multiple conservation groups have adamantly objected to the project since its inception, saying the proposed treatment methods will cause irreparable damage on the wildlife and habitats in the Medicine Bow National Forest and beyond. Home to a pair of mountain ranges, the assessed area is bursting with biodiversity that could be unintentionally compromised by intensive logging and construction, they said. Over all this time, our concerns have remained unaddressed and therefore unchanged, Connie Wilbert, director of the Sierra Club Chapter of Wyoming, told the Star-Tribune. We have tried and tried to get the Forest Service to do a better job identifying what the environmental impacts of this project will be, and they have refused to do that. The decision allows for substantial clearing and commercial harvesting of timber, along with road construction. The revised decision does decrease the permitted acreage of the treatment areas by 20%, or 123,000 acres, to avoid disturbing roadless areas. The Forest Service will have the authority to do stand initiation (like clear-cut logging) on 86,119 acres, intermediate logging on 149,550 acres and other treatments on 52,331 acres. Wilbert is also concerned the conditioned-based NEPA analysis will bar the public from participating in yet-to-be-determined treatments and limit substantive environmental reviews for each management project. The problem is they want to approve a very far-reaching plan without any details of actual environmental impacts on the ground, Wilbert said. And they are not going to do any environmental analysis when they do specific projects. Though the specifics of the plan remain subject to the Forest Services discretion over the next 15 years, as part of the plan, the agency will prepare supplemental information reports every five years to assess the effects of treatment processes on the environment. Follow the latest on Wyomings energy industry @camillereports Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 The business news you need Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Mogadishu, Somalia Mon, August 17, 2020 13:14 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e86f79 2 World Somalia,attack,Hotel,Al-Shabaab Free Ten civilians and one police officer were killed in a gun and bomb attack by Al-Shabaab fighters on an upscale beachfront hotel in Somalia's capital on Sunday, an official told AFP. Security forces took four hours to regain control of the Elite Hotel in the Lido beach area of Mogadishu after five assailants stormed it early Sunday evening, said information ministry spokesman Ismael Mukhtaar Omar. "Ten people were dead and five militants were also killed, plus one Somalia special police officer," Omar told AFP. It was not clear how Somali security forces managed to end the siege on the hotel and kill the assailants, who at one point were said to have taken hostages. Earlier on Sunday, while the siege was still ongoing, a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that one of the assailants had died in the car bomb explosion that kicked off the attack and two others had died in a shootout. Ambulance workers at the scene reported that at least 28 people were wounded. Read also: Somali jihadists kill 3 Americans in attack on Kenya military base 'There is chaos' Witnesses said the attack began with a heavy explosion and people ran from the area as gunfire could be heard from the hotel, which is frequented by government officials. "The blast was very heavy and I could see smoke in the area. There is chaos and people are fleeing from nearby buildings," said witness Ali Sayid Adan. The dead included government official Abdirasak Abdi, who worked at the information ministry, his colleague Hussein Ali said. Al-Shabaab said they carried out the attack, according to a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement claimed its fighters "took control over the hotel" in the "martyrdom-seeking operation". Hotels targeted Somalia plunged into chaos after the 1991 overthrow of then-President Siad Barre's military regime, leading to years of clan warfare followed by the rise of Al-Shabaab which once controlled large parts of the country and Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab was driven out of the capital in 2011, but its militants continue to wage war against the government, carrying out regular attacks. Last week four Shabaab fighters held in Mogadishu's central prison were killed in an intense shootout with security forces after they somehow managed to get their hands on weapons within the facility. The group has targeted hotels multiple times over the years, including in February 2019 when it killed at least 20 people in a car bomb and gun attack on a hotel in Mogadishu that lasted for nearly 24 hours. A month before that, Al-Shabaab killed 21 people in a siege on an upscale hotel in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, an assault that highlighted its ability to expand its network beyond Somalia's borders. Its last major attack in Mogadishu was in December 2019, when it slaughtered 81 people by detonating a vehicle packed with explosives. It is difficult to say whether the relative lull this year reflected improved capacity on the part of Somali security forces or a change in strategy by Al-Shabaab, said Omar Mahmood, Somalia senior analyst for International Crisis Group. For the past year Somali forces have been engaged in an offensive in the nearby Lower Shabelle region designed to stymie efforts by Al-Shabaab to move weapons into the capital, Mahmood noted. But there has been "an uptick in activity" in Mogadishu since late June including suicide attacks targeting government and military facilities, he said. The claim of responsibility distributed Sunday stressed that the Elite Hotel "is inhabited by a large number of government officials". "This is kind of getting back to the attacks they used to do," Mahmood said. "Al-Shabaab sees these hotels as an extension of the government more or less, so they are targeted in that way." A young girl has dies in al-Hol camp, a motorcycle bomb has killed one in Jarablus, a drone strike has hit two vehicles in Idleb and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has arrested an American activist. Catch up on everything that happened over the weekend. 1. A young girl died due to lack of healthcare in al-Hol camp in Hassakehs eastern countryside, which is controlled by the US occupation-backed Syrain Democratic Forces. Civil sources told SANAs reporter that the lack of healthcare in al-Hol camp caused the death of the girl, as the camp witnesses a state of continuous deterioration of its residents conditions, shortage of water, food materials and unhealthy conditions, which led to spread of diseases, and among children in particular. 2. A rigged motorcycle exploded in the border city Jarablus in northern Syria, killing one person and wounding seven more people. The blast took place in the city center near the main bakery, according to Zaman Al-Wasl. 3. Eight children under five years of age have died within days of each other in a northeastern Syria camp hosting thousands of relatives of jihadists, the Save the Children charity said on Thursday, according to Middle East Eye. Health and nutrition services have deteriorated rapidly in the Kurdish-run al-Hol camp, where the children died over a five-day period, it said. The spike in under-five mortality was recorded between Aug. 6-10, 2020, and is more than three times higher than the mortality rate since the beginning of 2020, a statement said. 4. A suspected US drone strike targeted two vehicles in the northern countryside of Idleb on Thursday, resulting in their subsequent destruction. According to opposition reports, seen by Al-Masdar, the drone, which is believed to belong to the US-led International Coalition, struck two vehicles near the town of Sarmada, north of the administrative capital of Idleb. The reports from the scene of the attack indicate that both vehicles were destroyed and all passengers were either killed or wounded. 5. Al-Monitor reported that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants arrested American-born activist Bilal Abdul Kareem in Syrias Idleb province Thursday, his stepson said in a video posted to social media. Abdul Kareem was taken from his car and taken into custody by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militants along with his driver, identified as Abu Mohamad al-Homsi, near the city of Atmeh in the Idleb countryside, the stepson said. The arrest followed Abdul Kareems interview of Racquell Hayden-Best, wife of Tauqir Sharif, a British aid worker arrested in June by the militant group. Hayden-Best claimed on Abdul Kareems social media outlet, On the Ground News, that her husband had been tortured by the militants. 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 death penalty could be considered for such act in accordance with the Penal Code. In this very urgent situation, when the whole country is trying hard to fight Covid-19, it is necessary to strictly punish such acts for deterrence." Chinese people who illegally entered Vietnam are detected by traffic police on Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway. (Photo: Lao Cai newspaper) This is the opinion of National Assembly (NA) deputy Bui Van Phuong, member of the NA Economic Committee, vice head of the NA delegation of Ninh Binh province in response to the proposal of the HCM City Center for Disease Control (HCDC): It is necessary to impose heavy sanctions against people who illegally enter the country, to consider imposing special criminal penalties on those who give a hand to illegal entry. In particular, assisting infected people, particularly Covid-19 infected, to illegally enter Vietnam is a violation that can cause very serious consequences for the country if the act is not detected in time. So it is necessary to strictly punish such acts to deter and alert those who have intentions to bring people illegally into Vietnam for profit during the pandemic time. If the penalty framework is not enough to prevent or deter such acts, it must be modified, deputy Phuong said. In response to the opinion that it is necessary to impose the death penalty on these cases, deputy Phuong emphasized that the penalty must be based on the consequences caused by the act. If that act leads to the spread of the disease causing death to many people, seriously affecting the life, economy and society of the country, that act is especially dangerous for society. Such acts in accordance with criminal law can be considered the death penalty framework. In this very urgent situation, it is necessary to impose heavy penalties to prevent and deter the acts," said deputy Phuong. On August 14, the Ministry of Health announced that HCM City had found a Covid-19 infected Chinese who illegally entered Vietnam through the northern border with seven others on July 27. The group went to HM City by car on July 29. On July 30, the group was discovered and quarantined. They were tested three times and all were negative. The fourth test on August 12 revealed that one of them was positive for SARS-CoV-2. The HCM City Center for Disease Control said that if this case had not been detected, this would have been a source of infection in the community and would have led to an outbreak from an unknown source of transmission. And then epidemic prevention would have been much more difficult because HCM City has a large population and it is the exchange hub of the country. This is really dangerous to the city and the whole country if we cannot detect all cases of illegal entry, the HCM City Center for Disease Control said. The center recommended that the entire society, community and relevant agencies take measures to thoroughly solve the problem. It also proposed imposing heavy sanctions on those illegally entering Vietnam and special criminal penalties on those who give a hand to illegal entries. N. Huyen Vietnam deports 21 Chinese citizens due to illegal entry Police in Quang Nam province said on August 9 they are completing procedures to deport 21 Chinese citizens who have illegally entered the locality in recent times, reported VOV. New Delhi, Aug 17 : Engaged with India at their border in eastern Ladakh, China is, at the same time, helping Pakistan to enhance its firepower by selling to it state-of-the-art defence items. Intelligence sources said Pakistan is procuring medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle 'Cai Hong-4' (CH-4) from China in bulk. Sources said that a 10-member Pakistan Army team, led by Brigadier Mohammad Zafar Iqbal, has visited China to review the procurement process. "The Pakistan Army team went to China for factory acceptance test for items procured from the Aerospace Long-March International Trade Company (ALIT), China. The team was led by Brigadier Mohammad Zafar Iqbal," a source said. It was also found that Iqbal had also visited China in December 2019 for the factory acceptance test of the first tranche of Cai Hong-4 for which delivery was to commence in 2020. The CH-4 has a take-off mass between 1,200-1,300 kg, depending on the variant, and can also carry a wide range of payloads. It is now in service with various military forces, including the Iraqi Army and the Royal Jordanian Air Force. Sources also stated that the ALIT has offered Pakistan command and control options for these UAVs, including direct line-of-sight and satellite communications. Pakistan has planned to deploy these UAVs at Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir to create further unrest. "China is helping Pakistan to do so," said the source. India and China are locked in an over three-month-long stand-off, hitherto unprecedented, at multiple points along the border. China had changed the status quo on the Line of Actual Control at various places, moving into Indian territory. India has objected to this and is taking up the matter with China at all levels. On June 15, as many as 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in a violent clash in the Galwan Valley. Both the countries have engaged in military and diplomatic talks, but nothing has been agreed so far. The troop disengagement happened only at patrolling point-14 in Galwan Valley, the site of the June 15 clashes, and patrolling point-15 in Hot Springs. As the dispute remains unresolved, both the countries have started deploying men and material at the disputed points. India has directed its armed forces to prepare for a long haul as Chinese People's Liberation Army troops are not moving back from the disputed points. (Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in) Local stocks are trading higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 106.44 points or 0.28% at 37,983.78. The Nifty 50 index was up 43.50 points or 0.39% at 11,221.90. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.47%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.59%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1290 shares rose and 527 shares fell. A total of 77 shares were unchanged. Sector to watch: Telecom stocks will be in focus as the next hearing on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case will be held today, 17 August 2020 after the no verdict was passed on the time frame for a staggered repayment of telecom companies' AGR dues. In the last hearing on August 14, the Supreme Court directed telecom companies under insolvency to submit details of spectrum sharing agreements that they have entered into. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s central board has approved the transfer of Rs 57,128 crore in surplus as dividend to the government for the accounting year 2019-20. The Board reviewed the current economic situation, continued global and domestic challenges and the monetary, regulatory and other measures taken by RBI to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Stocks in news: ICICI Bank rose 0.5%. ICICI Bank has completed the allotment of equity shares under its Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) and raised approximately Rs 15,000 crore (approximately US$ 2 billion) through the issuance of 418,994,413 equity shares at an issue price of Rs 358 per equity share. The equity issuance witnessed healthy participation from the global and domestic investor community, including foreign portfolio investors, domestic mutual funds and insurance companies. Lupin fell 1.06%. Lupin said that its U.S. based wholly owned subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced results from its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial to assess efficacy and safety of single-dose Solosec (secnidazole) 2g oral granules in female patients with trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral, curable sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the U.S. The trial results showed a clinically and statistically significant response rate, or microbiological cure, in patients treated with Solosec as compared to placebo (p<0.001). Berger Paints India dropped 2.19% after the company reported 91.28% slump in consolidated net profit to Rs 15.42 crore on 46.01% fall in total income to Rs 938.59 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals gained 3.2% after the company reported 132.47% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 254.04 crore on 4.59% rise in total income to Rs 2,431.29 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Sun TV Network jumped 8.76%. The company reported 33.44% slump in consolidated net profit to Rs 257.41 crore on 38.15% fall in total income to Rs 723.10 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Fortis Healthcare fell 0.76%. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 178.92 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net profit of Rs 67.81 crore in Q1 June 2019. Total income dropped 47.55% to Rs 613.71 crore. NLC India rose 1.99%. The company said it has issued and allotted 20,000 units of commercial paper of a face value of Rs 5,00,000 each aggregating to Rs 1000 crore in favour of SBI Mutual Fund - SBI Liquid Fund on 14 August 2020. Global Markets: Overseas, Asian stocks were trading mixed on Monday as tensions between the U.S. and China continue to weigh on investor sentiment. Markets in South Korea are closed on Monday for a holiday. China's central bank on Monday rolled over maturing medium-term loans while keeping borrowing costs unchanged for the fourth straight month. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement it was keeping the rate on 700 billion yuan ($100.74 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to financial institutions steady at 2.95% from previous operations. Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed business and consumer spending. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank an annualised 27.8% in April-June, government data showed on Monday. In US, stocks ended on a mixed note on Friday as data on the U.S. economy added to uncertainty over the recovery. U.S. President Donald Trump issued an executive order Friday forcing China's ByteDance to sell or spin off its U.S. TikTok business within 90 days. In his order, Trump cited credible evidence that ByteDance might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States. Meanwhile, a planned U.S.-China trade deal review initially set for Saturday was reportedly delayed with no new date agreed upon. The delay was due to scheduling conflicts as well as to give time for more Chinese purchases of U.S. exports. Back home, domestic equity barometers ended with significant losses on Friday, tracking weak global cues. Banks and auto shares corrected while metal and pharma shares bucked trend. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped 433.15 points or 1.13% at 37,877.34. The Nifty 50 index lost 122.05 points or 1.08% at 11,178.40. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 46.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 797.08 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 August, provisional data showed. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Former President John Dramani Mahama will Monday, begin a four-day tour of the Volta Region. A statement issued by Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, Spokesperson, NDC Campaign Team said Mr Mahama would subsequently proceed to tour the Oti Region for three days. "While in both regions, Mr Mahama will meet with traditional rulers, opinion leaders, organised labour, supporters, members and activists of the NDC," it said. The statement said in the Oti Region, the Flagbearer would highlight the NDC's superior record of infrastructure development across the country as well as re-state his commitment to develop the six new regions by providing, among others, regional hospitals and a public university each. It said Mr Mahama would return to Accra on Sunday, August 23. ---GNA Prince Harry has said that he stepped away from the royal world to ease some of the tension in his life. However, it doesnt look like things have gotten any better between him and his brother, Prince William. In a new interview, royal writer Omid Scobie claimed the brothers allegedly ceased communication for months after Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexs decision to step down from their posts. The alleged gap has grown wider and wider to the point that the brothers barely speak now, said Scobie. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex at an event in October 2018 | Tolga Akmen WPA Pool / Getty Images Prince Harry and Prince William allegedly dont talk much Scobie who co-wrote the new biography on the couple, Finding Freedom, along with author Carolyn Durand opened up about the alleged rift in a new interview on True Royalty TV. He said the brothers didnt talk for two months after Prince Harry announced his decision to scale back from his royal duties and that things are allegedly still tense now. I think the distance between the brothers grew wider and wider, Scobie said (via The Sun). Thats really going to take some time to heal. Prince Harry and Prince Williams relationship was already deteriorating before Megxit, according to reports Rumors of tension between the brothers began shortly after Prince Harry began dating Meghan in 2016. It was said that they had a falling out after Prince William confronted his brother about the speed of his relationship with the former Suits star. But neither of them addressed the reports. RELATED: Prince Williams Warning to Prince Harry About Meghan Markle Is Revealed in New Biography It wasnt until the October 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey that Prince Harry confirmed there was tension, saying he and his brother were on different paths. By January, he and Meghan had decided to step away from the royal family. They finished their duties in March and moved briefly to Canada before settling in the United States. The couple recently purchased a $14 million pad in Santa Barbara, California after spending several months in a Los Angeles mansion belonging to Tyler Perry. The couples decision to scale back from their duties hurt Prince William, according to Omid Scobie Of the decision to step back, Scobie added: I think really where it went wrong for Harry and Meghan and the Cambridges was that decision to go public with the road map to their new working model. The statements werent discussed internally. Thats really what caused the most amount of hurt to William, because he wears two hats, he continued. Hes not just the brother, hes also future king and he felt that damaged the reputation of the family. That it put family business out into the public domain when it shouldve been discussed privately and there was a lot of hurt there that continues to this day, Scobie continued. The brothers have not addressed his claims, but if they are true, hopefully they can work out their issues. TikTok wants to expand its influence and help users make money through a new deal with music-industry-shunning distributor UnitedMasters. In fact, according to a recent report from The New York Times, the deal is set to be signed today. If the deal moves forward without a hitch, the global partnership could propel TikTok into a new industry. Summarily, it could help TikTok users push their musical creations well beyond the bounds of TikTok as it currently stands. What exactly is UnitedMasters and how can this deal potentially help TikTok? The UnitedMasters that TikTok is reportedly making a deal with is effectively a music distributor. It was founded in 2017 by former record label exec Steve Stoute and had big-name funders from Alphabet to Andreessen Horowitz. Its goal, from its very first launch, is to help musicians and artists cut out the middle man. Namely, it addresses the industry machine from eliminating the need for record labels to confronting the rights artists typically have to give up when they sign a contract. Individuals who sign with UnitedMasters not only get to keep 90-percent of their royalties. They also own the master recordings, which have historically not been well-managed by industry giants. Those are, for clarity, the recordings other releases are typically taken from. Advertisement For instance, a fire at Universal Studios in 2008 resulted in the loss of between 120,000 to 175,000 master recordings. Record labels also routinely reuse masters that artists dont have rights to, in a bid to make money from the music and bypass the artist themselves. In this deal with TikTok, UnitedMasters would effectively act as a distributor to TikTok users who want to take advantage of it. In effect, UnitedMasters would do what it does best. Thats redistributing music directly from the application to the likes of Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, and others. It would also potentially work to arrange music deals between artists and brands like ESPN, among others. TikTok could really use this partnership Now, financial details and other terms of the transaction have not been reported. And TikTok itself doesnt appear ready to talk too much about how the deal would work in terms of practical application. Or in terms of how users would access the potentially-groundbreaking distribution benefits. But this deal could also not come at a better time for TikTok. Advertisement The short-form video platform is under a massive amount of scrutiny over its practices and potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party. It may ultimately be forced to shut down in the US if a deal cant be brokered to sell off its US assets. Breaking into the bleeding-edge of the music industry could not only lend the company some credibility. It may also provide a secondary source of income. At least in the event that TikTok is banned in the US entirely, losing a significant portion of its market. OTTAWA - The Canada Revenue Agency has temporarily suspended its online services after two cyberattacks in which hackers used thousands of stolen usernames and passwords to fraudulently obtain government services and compromise Canadians' personal information. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/8/2020 (521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A person looks at a Canada Revenue Agency homepage in Montreal, Sunday, August 16, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes OTTAWA - The Canada Revenue Agency has temporarily suspended its online services after two cyberattacks in which hackers used thousands of stolen usernames and passwords to fraudulently obtain government services and compromise Canadians' personal information. A total of 5,500 CRA accounts were targeted in what the federal government described as two "credential stuffing" schemes, in which hackers use passwords and usernames from other websites to access Canadians' accounts with the revenue agency. The decision to suspend CRA's online services comes at a time when many Canadians and businesses have been using the revenue agency's website to apply for and access financial support related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is hoping to reinstate online access for businesses on Monday, according to a senior government official. That is when companies struggling due to the pandemic can start to apply for the latest round of federal wage subsidies. It wasn't immediately clear what impact the suspension of services will have in terms of other federal benefits, however, including the Canada Child Benefit and Canada Emergency Response Benefit for those affected by COVID-19. The revenue agency was also vague in terms of what victims of the attack will have to do to get their accounts reinstated after it disabled them to prevent further fraud, saying only that letters will be mailed to those who have been affected. At least one victim says she has yet to hear anything from the government after someone hacked into her CRA account earlier this month and successfully applied for the $2,000-per-month Canada Emergency Response Benefit for COVID-19. Leah Baverstock, a law clerk in Kitchener, Ont., says she first realized her account had been compromised and contacted the revenue agency herself when she received several emails from CRA on Aug. 7 saying she had successfully applied for the CERB. "The lady I spoke to at CRA, she's said: 'This is a one-off,'" said Baverstock, who has continued to work through the pandemic and did not apply for the support payments. "And she told me a senior officer would be calling me within 24 hours because my account was completely locked down. And I still haven't heard from anybody." Baverstock expressed frustration at the lack of contact, adding she still does not know how the hackers accessed her account. She has since contacted her bank and other financial institutions to stop the hackers from using her information to commit more fraud. "I am quite concerned," she said. "Somebody could be living under my name. Who knows. It's scary. It's really scary." Many of the hacked CRA accounts were targeted as part of a broader "credential stuffing" attack in which more than 9,000 accounts that Canadians use to apply for and access federal services were compromised. Those hacked accounts were tied to GCKey, which is used by around 30 federal departments and allows Canadians to access various services such as employment insurance, veterans' benefits and immigration applications. "These attacks, which used passwords and usernames collected from previous hacks of accounts worldwide, took advantage of the fact that many people reuse passwords and usernames across multiple accounts," the Treasury Board of Canada said in a statement. One-third of those accounts successfully accessed services before all of the affected accounts were shut down, said the Treasury Board, which is responsible for managing the federal civil service as well as the public purse. Officials are now trying to determine not only how many of those services were fraudulent while the RCMP and federal privacy commissioner have been called in to assess the scale and scope of personal information stolen. The government warned Canadians to use unique passwords for all online accounts and to monitor them for suspicious activity. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says more than 13,000 Canadians have been victims of fraud totalling $51 million this year. There have been 1,729 victims of COVID-19 fraud worth $5.55 million. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2020. 12 more Covid-19 infection cases confirmed, total rises to 976 12 new Covid-19 infection cases have just been reported, raising the total number of patients in the country to 976, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday evening. Doctors take care of a Covid-19 patient in Danang Hospital. The new patients include six in Danang City, four in Hai Duong Province, one in Hanoi and one imported case who has been quarantined upon arrival at the Hanoi-based National Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The central city of Danang confirmed six new patients aged between 33-59. They include a health worker, three relatives of patients and a guard at the Danang Hospital, and one resident at Thanh Khe District. The northern province of Hai Duong recorded four new patients aged between 13-41, who are all linked to a restaurant in Ngo Quyen Street. So far nine patients have been confirmed here and some 1,000 local people have been sent to quarantine after being found to have had close contact with these cases. The patient in Hanoi is a 25-year-old woman in Hai Ba Trung District. She contracted the virus from another Covid-19 patient and is now being treated at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Dong Anh District. The imported patient is a 42-year old man who returned from Equatorial Guinea on July 29 and was immediately taken to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases for health monitoring. He is now being treated at the hospital. With these latest infection cases, the number of Covid-19 patients coming from abroad has risen to 337 while those related to Danang City has increased to 499 since July 25, the ministry said. As of Monday evening, a total of 467 patients have recovered and the country has reported 24 deaths. At present, 107,642 people who had close contact with Covid-19 patients or returned from virus-hit areas are being monitored at hospitals, quarantine facilities, and at home. GCSE students will be awarded with their teacher's predicted grades despite calls to have their results delayed in the wake of the A-level results fiasco. Pupils will be able to take the higher of either their adjusted grade or their estimate mark after the regulator Ofqual confirmed England would follow steps already taken by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The move comes just a week after A-Level students, who were given a 'triple lock' on their results, saw 40 per cent of their results downgraded due to a controversial algorithm used by exams regulator Ofqual. Following a humiliating U-turn on exams today, students will be given grades estimated by their teachers, rather than by an algorithm, later this week. Today Education Secretary Gavin Williamson apologised to students and parents affected by 'significant inconsistencies' with the grading process which marked down thousands of teenagers. GCSE students will be awarded with either their adjusted grade or their estimate mark this Thursday. Pictured: Students from Codsall Community High School protest outside the constituency office of their local MP, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson Education secretary Gavin Williamson acknowledging the 'extraordinarily difficult' year for students Ofqual's algorithm, which calculated an estimated 82 per cent of A level results, took into consideration teacher ranking, but not teacher-assessed grades. Acknowledging the 'extraordinarily difficult' year for students, Mr Williamson said: 'This has been an extraordinarily difficult year for young people who were unable to take their exams,' he said. 'We worked with Ofqual to construct the fairest possible model, but it is clear that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process.' He added: 'We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher assessed grades for both A and AS level and GCSE results. 'I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve.' The U-turn comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson last night faced fresh calls to delay this week's GCSE results. Lord Baker, who introduced the GCSE system, said Thursday's results announcement should be delayed by two weeks to allow the grades to be revised. While Professor Tina Isaacs, who sits on regulator Ofqual's advisory group, also warned that Thursday could see 'another wave' of grades that do not reflect those given by teachers if the government were to use the controversial algorithm system. Speaking on BBC Breakfast she said: 'Ofqual's role is to carry out Government policy. And when policy shifts every 12 to 24 hours, Ofqual then has to deal with it as best as it can. 'Hence the changes to the appeals process, which now Ofqual has taken off the board so that it can give as much consideration to it as possible given the timeframe. 'The GCSE results are due out on Thursday, so we're going to have another wave of potentially, not marked down, but potentially student grades that do not reflect the grades their teachers gave them.' Today MP George Freeman said the exam handling was a 'total shambles' and told Times Radio: 'Ultimately, the Prime Minister is in charge. And I think he will want to take firm control of this and get a grip and show that his government is taking the life chances of a generation of children seriously... 'I'm told the Prime Minister's you know, planning to reshuffle in the autumn, and I dare say he wants to take everything into account.' Meanwhile Robert Halfon, Tory chairman of the Commons Education Committee, said the Government has 'serious questions' to answer over its handling of exam results this summer. A-level students celebrate outside the Department for Education in London after it was announced they would be able to receive their teacher's grades Students from Codsall Community High School hold placards as they take part in a protest Speaking to the BBC's PM programme, he said: 'I had hoped that they would have developed with Ofqual what I call a Ronseal-type appeal system - that ''does what it says on the tin'', that was clear, that was easy to understand, that was fair, that every pupil should have been able to appeal via their headteacher if they had felt their grade was unfair. 'I would also have hoped that Ofqual would have gone around to the schools explaining about their standardisation process. 'None of this happened and there clearly need to be serious questions asked about what on earth has gone on.' Last week, just 36 hours before A-level results were set to be released, Mr Williamson said students could now opt for the grades they got in their mock exams. He was forced to offer the unprecedented move after Nicola Sturgeon performed a U-turn on Scotland's exam results. Earlier this month, Scottish pupils sitting the equivalent of A-levels received their computer-moderated grades under a similar system to that being used in the UK. However, 125,000 results about one in four were downgraded from what teachers had predicted, leading to an outcry and complaints that disadvantaged pupils had been hardest hit. Timothy Mellon, reclusive heir to a Pittsburgh banking fortune, was such an unknown figure among Republican operatives that they needed to Google his name when he reached out in 2018, unexpectedly, to offer his help in the midterm elections. The staff of the Congressional Leadership Fund quickly discovered this was no middling donor: Mellon planned to give $10 million with the suggestion that he wanted to contribute more to the party at a later date, according to two people with knowledge of the exchanges. This April, Mellon gave another $10 million, this time to President Donald Trumps super PAC, America First Action, the only Trump-endorsed fundraising group permitted to collect unlimited contributions. The donation instantly transformed Mellon, a septuagenarian investor who would sometimes communicate by fax, into the presidents biggest political benefactor of 2020. Mellons millions would be a big deal in any cycle, but the gift was especially welcome for this incumbent this year. The fact that an outsider like Mellon has emerged as one of the few supporters willing to be so generous illustrates a surprising problem for the president: his struggle to attract and retain a reliable stable of millionaires and billionaires willing to write seven-figure checks, despite his takeover of the Republican Party and a policy agenda that largely serves the interests of Americas ultrawealthy. Trump is hardly lacking for cash; he has received huge numbers of small donations online from a fervent grassroots base, and he raised a jaw-dropping $165 million in July for his campaign and the two fundraising committees that he shares with the Republican National Committee. The Trump Victory fund, one of those committees, has also collected respectable sums through donations that cannot exceed $580,600 as opposed to super PACs, which are vessels for unlimited contributions. But the presidents sagging popularity, driven by his erratic and divisive behavior during the coronavirus crisis, has prompted some of the wealthiest Republicans the heavy artillery of modern politics to delay, divert or diminish their giving, just as Joe Biden has begun to tap a rich vein of Wall Street and Silicon Valley support, party operatives and donors said in interviews. Thus far, only six of the top 38 donors to Trump-related super PACs in 2016 and 2018 have contributed to America First for the presidents reelection, according to a New York Times analysis of federal campaign finance data. In 2016, that group donors giving at least $500,000 shelled out a total of $71 million to four major Trump-backing super PACs, which America First was created to replace during the 2020 cycle. In contrast, with less than three months to go until the 2020 election, America First has raised only about $35 million from donors offering $500,000 or more. Many of the biggest checks to Trump came in the last few weeks of the 2016 campaign, and allies are hoping that history repeats itself. America First had, however, raised a total of just $45 million as of July 1, with 40% of that coming from three people: Mellon; Linda McMahon, the former pro wrestling executive who runs America First; and Geoffrey Palmer, a polo-playing, Beverly Hills, California, based real estate magnate. In June 2019, McMahon predicted that the PAC and its sister nonprofit, America First Policies, would raise about $300 million for the reelection cycle. As of last month, the two groups had raised about a third of that, roughly $107 million, according to a spreadsheet of their finances provided by a party official. The campaign faces significant headwinds going into its last few, furious months. In recent weeks, prospective contributors to America First, and Trumps joint-fundraising committees with the Republican Party, have responded to solicitations by expressing concern that the president has not articulated a clear vision for the next four years, according to interviews with donors and people close to Trump and his fundraising efforts. While many in Trumps orbit have been encouraged by an uptick in internal polling recently and see Biden as a weak Democratic nominee some of the partys top donors remain skeptical about their own candidates prospects. In a move that speaks to that uneasiness, some of them including Trumps top 2016 contributor, Sheldon Adelson have begun discussing the possibility of putting their cash into other fundraising groups, ones not blessed by Trump or run by his team. The motive would be to promote a broader, more positive Republican message on the economy to offset the Trump campaigns focus on negative, anti-Biden attacks, according to two people with direct knowledge of those discussions. Some prominent donors have held back or have drastically decreased their support of the president while putting significant sums toward down-ballot races. Indeed, the PACs problems stand in contrast to the Republican Partys Senate fundraising groups, which have been attracting a historic crop of big contributors hoping to hold onto the Senate even if Trump loses. Trumps two top 2016 benefactors, Adelson, a casino mogul, and his wife, Miriam, who gave a combined $20 million four years ago to a pro-Trump super PAC, have told party officials they are concerned about the optics of funding political campaigns at a time when their employees are facing financial hardship. Nonetheless, they recently uncorked a $25 million contribution to Senate Republicans. That donation prompted Trump to chastise Adelson when an aide slipped a news article about it onto his desk, according to party officials. Few of Trumps erstwhile donors have openly criticized him. But even those who have continued to give large amounts this cycle appear unhappy with aspects of his performance. Obviously, Trump, you wish sometimes he would just shut up dont go there, its not necessary, said Liz Uihlein, a shipping supply company executive who, together with her husband, Richard, has donated nearly $3 million to America First in the 2020 cycle, after giving roughly a 10th of that in 2016 and 2018 to Trump-related super PACs. She said she had faced blowback for her support, including customers who have threatened to take their business elsewhere. But Ive got a thick skin, Uihlein said. I just try to do the best for our company and our family. Big-Money Comings and Goings Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the Trump campaign, said the presidents overhaul take, about $1.1 billion, gave him all the resources he needs to beat Biden. McMahon, a family friend who Trump appointed as head of the Small Business Administration, rejected suggestions that his unpopularity was driving away major money. No one could have anticipated the economic shock to our economy this spring due to the coronavirus, so of course that impacted our fundraising numbers, she wrote in an email. We didnt push donors in May, but we began moving forward in June. Every day we are on the phone with donors and prospects. Some of the slack is being picked up by new supporters, or contributors like the Uihleins, who have increased their giving in 2020. Ten individuals and families who did not give significant amounts to pro-Trump super PACs in 2016 or 2018 have given at least half a million dollars to America First in the 2020 cycle. Among the best-known newcomers is Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of investment firm Blackstone, who gave $3 million to America First early this year. Schwarzman, who has also given $10 million to the Republicans Senate fund, has praised Trumps efforts to reduce federal regulations, while acknowledging, gingerly, his concerns with the presidents style. He appears to be quite aggressive, Schwarzman said in January, the week before he made his contribution, adding that Trumps negotiating style was sometimes quite difficult to watch. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga., and her husband, Jeffrey C. Sprecher, chair of the New York Stock Exchange, did not give to Trumps super PACs in 2016. But this year, as Loefflers tough battle against fellow Republican Rep. Doug Collins intensified, Sprecher sent $1 million to America First, a contribution that Loefflers aides say was not tied to her push for an endorsement. (Trump has stayed neutral.) Trump has filled his administration with wealthy individuals, and a number have become major donors to America First in the 2020 cycle. They include Trumps ambassador to Britain, Robert Wood Johnson IV, who has given $1 million to the PAC after contributing nothing last cycle, and Kelly Craft, Trumps ambassador to the United Nations. Craft and her husband, Joseph W. Craft III, a billionaire coal executive, gave $750,000 to a super PAC that supported Trump in 2016, and $500,000 to America First in March. Several of Trumps recent donors, including Joseph Craft, have direct ties to the energy industry, including coal. In 2017, the administration tried to subsidize the stockpiling of coal at energy plants, and it has subsequently taken various steps to weaken Obama-era restrictions on coal plant emissions. But other businesspeople who have said their economic priorities align with the administrations have so far limited the money they have put toward Trumps reelection. Diane Hendricks, who runs a building supply business in Wisconsin and has served as an economic policy adviser to the president, gave $8.1 million to a super PAC supporting Trump in 2016, but she has given nothing so far to America First this cycle, according to federal election filings. An Angel Investor Emerges Mellons outsize gift has made him stand out, but so has his biography, and the fact that his donation has established him as an angel investor of sorts in Trumps version of the Republican Party. A self-described former liberal, he had little history of multimillion-dollar political contributions before pouring more than $40 million into Republican groups since 2018. Seeking fewer people and lower taxes, he moved to Wyoming from Connecticut 15 years ago, as he detailed in a self-published autobiography in 2015. He made a splash in 2010 by giving $1.5 million to the legal defense of Arizonas strict immigration law, which was later partly struck down by the Supreme Court. Mellon, the grandson of Andrew Mellon, Treasury secretary in the 1920s and early 1930s who made a fortune in banking, has shown an interest in reviving embattled legacy brands, having attempted to pull Pan American World Airways out of bankruptcy in the 1990s. His book also revealed his views on race. In it, he wrote that in the mid-1980s Black people had become even more belligerent and unwilling to pitch in to improve their own situations. He wrote that, decades later, he considered some Americans slaves of a new master, Uncle Sam, for their reliance on federal aid. And his 2010 donation to Arizonas legal defense, unmentioned in the memoir, signaled his support of the restrictive immigration policies for which the future President Trump would go on to fight. When a reporter with a Hispanic surname first reached out to Mellon, he responded with two text messages written in Spanish, though the queries had been made in English. In one, he invoked the slogan of Goya, the Latin foods company whose chief executives support of Trump set off a boycott among some consumers. Unprompted, he wrote: Si es Goya, tiene que ser bueno! This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Nation/Asia News Network) Mon, August 17, 2020 12:49 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e856e2 2 News Thailand,tourism,destination,travel Free Thailand was ranked the safest destination in the world to visit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The country topped the list because of its high International Health Regulations score of 85 per cent, moderate population density and very low number of COVID-19 cases. Malaysias Malay Mail news agency recently reported that a Berlin-based travel startup, Tourlane, had carried out a study on August 10 to determine safe holiday destinations amid the outbreak. The company assembled data and analysed various metrics, including hours of sunshine per day for outdoor activities as well as the national 14-day notification rates of new COVID-19 cases published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Also taken into account for the list were each country's population density and its IHR score, which evaluates a country's ability to respond to public health risks and emergencies of national and international concern. Read also: Thailand to extend emergency decree until end of August The top-10 safest destinations across the world are: Thailand, Jordan, French Polynesia, Greece, Uruguay, Italy, Cambodia, Japan, Ireland, and Botswana. As of Aug. 16, the total number of confirmed cases in Thailand stood at 3,377 (440 in state quarantine) -- 125 are under treatment, 3,194 have recovered and been discharged, and there have been 58 deaths. There have been no domestic cases of COVID-19 for 83 days. Topics : Thailand tourism destination travel Topics : This article appeared on The Nation newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post Before the pandemic began, one out of five children in Toronto grew up in poverty. Six months later, the situation is dramatically worse. The temporary relief measures introduced by both federal and provincial governments will run out soon. To ensure women, racialized communities and gender-diverse people are not left behind, we must prioritize poverty reduction as we rebuild our economy. Almost two million Canadians will be unable to access income supports such as Employment Insurance when the CERB ends. Many women will be excluded from EI because women constitute the majority of the part-time workforce, which means they have little job security. Those who do qualify for EI will be expected to live on 55 per cent of their previous income; 55 per cent of minimum wage is not enough to survive. Given that women are concentrated in part-time, minimum wage, and precarious work, the CERB ending will have devastating gender and racial impacts. In every category Indigenous women, immigrant and refugee women, Black women, senior women womens poverty rates are higher than those of men. It is the poverty of women that is behind the poverty of so many children in our city and province. At YWCA Toronto, we recently submitted recommendations for an equitable, gender-responsive recovery plan to the province that prioritizes poverty reduction. Recent data released by Toronto Public Health also reveals that communities with a high proportion of low-income, newcomer and racialized residents experience much higher levels of COVID-19. For example, while racialized people make up 52 per cent of Toronto residents, they make up 83 per cent of all COVID-19 cases. Conversely, while white people make up 48 per cent of all Toronto residents, they constitute only 17 per cent of COVID-19 cases. Women who are racialized are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, which is confirmed by the data from Toronto Public Health. Poor people tend to do worse in a public health crisis, and women and racialized people are overrepresented among the poor. Prioritizing equity, rejecting austerity and rebuilding social infrastructure that support communities facing poverty and violence will promote resilience. Without aggressive poverty reduction measures, our province will not bounce back from this pandemic. Deep systemic dynamics of inequity have given rise to poverty it goes beyond mere individual choices. Women are overrepresented among the poor because they are typically the primary caregivers of their children and elderly family members, child care continues to be expensive and difficult to access, and work in feminized industries is often poorly paid and exploitative. These dynamics must change. While the pandemic has laid bare many pre-existing inequities, it has also created an opportunity to reimagine and rebuild our social infrastructure. COVID-19 recovery must focus on building back better, and poverty reduction is central to these efforts. As Ontario develops its next five-year poverty reduction strategy and continues to respond to the challenges posed by this pandemic, recovery measures should align with robust poverty-reduction targets. This means reforming Ontarios income security system and strengthening decent work practices, particularly in feminized industries. This also means collecting race-based data and other forms of information to evaluate the efficacy of poverty reduction initiatives. At the federal level, a commitment to poverty reduction means seriously exploring a basic income program. While there are policy detractors, a national basic income program can lift adults and children out of poverty by providing a guaranteed income floor below which no Canadian can fall. Given that unpaid care work is a source of womens marginalization and poverty, we believe a basic income program will support women on low and fixed incomes in particular. The Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls report also calls for a guaranteed annual livable income for all residents of Canada, including Indigenous Peoples. Therefore, a well-designed basic income program may be able to support reconciliation efforts. As highlighted in a series of consultations with YWCA Toronto shelter residents and program participants, poverty destroys lives and limits opportunities. If we are committed to ending systemic racism and closing gender disparities in our country, all levels of government must act to reduce poverty now. (ANSA) - ROME, 17 AGO - Six Roman youths have tested positive for the coronavirus after returning from the Sardinian resort of Porto Rotondo. They are two groups of three who attended a party there on August 8. Officials said a new cluster had been found at Porto Rotondo. Lazio's COVID crisis unit said the six had just tested positive. It added that new testing at Rome's Fiumicino Airport had detected a first positive case. It is a youth from Pescara in Abruzzo who flew back from Malta on a Ryanair flight. Contact tracing has been started, the unit said. "The young man has already been informed telephonically and placed in isolation", it said. According to the latest figures Sunday, there were 472 new COVID cases across Italy in the previous 24 hours, 150 fewer than the previous daily tally in Italy. But the number of swabs was down too. Italy has been the second hardest hit European country after the UK. It has had over 35,000 COVID-related deaths. In all, it has had over 250,000 cases of the novel coronavirus. The government has ordered the re-closure of discotheques and the wearing of facemasks in 'movida' youth partying amid a spike among young people. (ANSA). In early 2020 Ukraine received another shipment of American FGM-148E Javelin ATGMs (Anti-tank guided missile). This was a small order ($27 million) and the Javelin is an expensive system. Each missile costs $112,00 and the CLU (command launch unit) costs $130,000. Ukraine received a larger order of Javelins in 2018 but these were provided free. Ukrainian interest in the Javelin has more to do with the effectiveness of Russian APS (Active Protection Systems) on their latest tanks than just obtaining a modern ATGM. These APS systems have proved capable of defeating many existing ATGM systems, including those manufactured by Ukraine and several other nations. APS systems have been around since the 1990s and in the last decade they have improved to the point where they can regularly defeat many ATGMs as well as RPGs and other unguided systems. The Israelis have taken the lead in developing ATGMs that can defeat APS and the American Javelin is headed in the same direction. The Javelin is also lighter and easier to use than Ukrainian ATGMs and the troops at the front (in eastern Ukraine) appreciate that. The American Javelin was introduced in 2002. So far over 5,000 of these have been fired in combat and responses from users has led to regular upgrades. The 148F Javelin model entered service in 2020. The missile weighs 22.3 kg (49 pounds, with disposable launch tube and battery/seeker coolant unit) and is fired from a 6.4 kg (14 pound) CLU which contains a 4x day sight and a 9x heat sensing night sight. The missile has a tandem (two warheads, to blast through reactive armor) that can hit a target straight on or from the top. This latter capability enables the Javelin to use its 8.2 kg (18 pound) warhead to destroy any existing tank (including the U.S. M1). Maximum range is 2,500 meters. The seeker on the missile is "fire and forget." That is, once the operator gets the target in the CLU crosshairs and fires the missile, the computer and seeker in the missile warhead memorizes the target and homes in on it. The infantry loves this because it allows them to take cover once the missile is fired and indicates to the enemy where CLU and its operator are. Ukraine develops and manufactures cheaper and nearly as effective ATGMs. Since the 1990s Ukraine has been trying to develop new and competitive (with Israeli and American) systems and in 2017 began shipping the Skif ATGM. The Russian invasion in 2014 accelerated the need for locally developed weapons because Russian threats prevented Ukraine from receiving new weapons from the West. Before 2014 these new Ukrainian weapons were intended mainly for the export market but now much of the new stuff goes to Ukrainian troops, at least until the war with Russia in eastern Ukraine (Donbas) is over. Skif is based on work done with neighboring Belarus to develop the older Shershen ATGM. The two countries differed on design of the joint project and each went their own way with Ukraine developing the Skif. The Ukrainian ATGM is a 29.5 kg (65 pound) missile stored and fired from an 8.5 kg (18.7 pound) container that is mounted on 32 kg (70 pound) control unit. Max range of the laser guided missile is 5,500 meters. The control unit contains a thermal sight and allows the operator to manually guide the missile to a moving target or designate a stationary target in fire and forget mode. The firing unit can be detached from the tripod and operated up to 50 meters away from the rest of the system. Skif has two types of armor piercing warheads (130mm and 152mm), the larger one capable of penetrating 1.1 meters of reactive and composite armor. There is also a fragmentation warhead that is useful against structures. Skif is touted by the manufacturer as being comparable to the Israeli Spike-LR but as a practical matter the Spike uses more advanced technology and the main advantage Skif has is lower price. Shelf life of the missiles (in their sealed containers) is 10 years but few of those produced over the next year or so are expected to remain on the shelf long. Ukraine has a long history with development of ATGMs. For example, in 2013 Ukraine tried to interest buyers in its new Corsar ATGM, which was something of a scaled down Skif. The 105mm (diameter) Cosar missile and its storage/launch container weigh 18 kg (40 pounds). The missile is laser homing, with a range of 2,500 meters, and its tandem warhead can penetrate 550mm of armor that is behind reactive (explosive panels) armor. At the time Poland expressed some interest, even though Poland has been using the Israeli Spike LR for several years. But Corsar is cheaper than Spike and uses laser guidance rather than the more expensive fire and forget system Israeli missiles employ. The Spike LR, along with the sealed storage/launch canister, weighs 13 kg (28.6 pounds). The canister is mounted on a 13 kg fire control system (10 kg without the tripod) for aiming and firing. The missile in its canister has a shelf life of twenty years and a range of 4,000 meters. The Spike uses a fiber-optic cable so that the operator can literally drive the missile to the target, although the missile can also be used in "fire and forget" mode. Israel is apparently flexible on what they charge for the Spike LR, saying only that it's cheaper than the similar U.S. Javelin. Ukraine found that the export market more crowded and competitive than they expected. The larger, longer-ranged and cheaper (than Spike LR) Skif may not have been the answer but if it does well in Donbas, that will be a powerful assist for sales efforts. Ukraine has a lot of other potential new weapons and has made some progress in finding customers. Before the Cold War ended in 1991, many Soviet weapons design and production operations were in Ukraine. These were inherited by the newly independent Ukraine after 1991. But most of these organizations went out of business because there was no more Soviet Armed Forces placing large orders each year. Most of the foreign sales disappeared as well. Ukraine salvaged some weapons and design capability by selling off its large Cold War stocks of Soviet weapons at low prices and developing a willingness to sell to anyone who could pay. Ukraine now has a lot of customers in Africa and Asia and noted a demand for ATGMs. These weapons are popular not just for their ability to destroy or disable most tanks but as highly portable and accurate artillery against all sorts of targets. Corsar and Skif are old technology but the Ukrainians still know how to produce it cheaply and reliably enough to attract some customers. Yet when Skif or Corsar fail against Russian T-90s equipped with an upgraded Arena APS, its time to check out what the foreigners have to offer. The Auditor-General will scrutinise the Victorian government over its plans to borrow up to $24.5 billion in emergency funding to deal with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The Andrews government has spent $9.7 billion on its response to the coronavirus pandemicand say it has drawn down $2.5 billion of the debt facility it set up in April. Premier Daniel Andrews and Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien exchanging barbs in the chamber in June. Credit:Jason South Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien had urged the Auditor-General in June to audit the government's budget management during the coronavirus crisis to ensure the pandemic was not being used to disguise poor financial management on a massive scale. Even before COVID-19 ravaged the economy, state borrowings were expected to balloon by $29.7 billion (47.2 per cent) to $92.6 billion by June 2023. The net debt over the same period was projected to "rise significantly" to $43.4 billion, according to the Auditor-General's most recent annual assessment of the state's financial position tabled in Parliament almost a year ago. ANN ARBOR, MI -- With the University of Michigan school year approaching in two weeks, more residents will live, study and interact in Ann Arbor since the coronavirus pandemic sent students home or indoors in March. The Ann Arbor News/MLive sat down with UM President Mark Schlissel and Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor on Friday, Aug. 14, to discuss how the city and university plan to address the return of thousands of people to Ann Arbor, beginning in earnest on Aug. 24 when freshman move-in begins. Here are some key takeaways from the interview. Watch the full interview online here. UM urges following public health guidelines as a social responsibility Students will arrive on campus to find many reminders of social distancing and masking guidelines, Schlissel said. A 14-day enhanced social distancing before arriving in Ann Arbor, a campus-wide mask mandate and calls for limited gatherings are part of the universitys message for students. UM hopes to limit potentially risky scenarios, too. No in-person classes will have more than 50 people, Schlissel said, with 70% of classes remaining remote to avoid gatherings. All of this is to maintain a goal of keeping the Ann Arbor-areas infection rate low. The seven-day average of rate of people who have tested positive for COVID-19, was 2.1% as of Aug. 14, according to the states database. Everyone required to wear mask everywhere on all 3 University of Michigan campuses Wed like the risk for having our students attend this public health-informed hybrid semester end up with the city of Ann Arbor a similar level of risk as if we were fully remote in our education, he said. Many of our students come to Ann Arbor and stay in Ann Arbor. Last spring, when we had to go fully remote, many, many of our students stayed in town. There have been students through the summer, many are back in town already. So were aiming for a level of risk thats similar to what would occur if there werent any in person classes at all. City, administration repercussions are a last resort UM does not plan to penalize every person not wearing a mask or interacting with people outside their household. Schlissel said the administration wants to educate our way to good behavior instead of using enforcement tools. The university temporarily modified the student code of conduct to include expectations on following public health guidelines as a potential mode of enforcement, he said. But if there are reports of large parties at off-campus apartments or Greek Life houses, university officials will first call the leaders of the student organizations, landlords or other leadership, before attempting to break a party up with police presence. 8 things to know about the University of Michigans plans for in-person classes in 2020-21 Schlissel also said the university wants to work with city and county officials to lower the number of people allowed at an outdoor gathering from 100 -- the states current limit -- to as low as 25. You could have fun with 25 friends. You dont need to have fun with 100 friends and the larger the number of people, the harder it is for good behavior to be intact, he said. But the leaders of the groups are responsible for the behaviors of the groups. What could happen if the outbreak worsens Both Taylor and Schlissel acknowledged the rate of infection could go up when students return as part of the increased movement patterns and behaviors of the returning residents. UM has established 600 isolation beds for students if they are exposed or become sick with COVID-19, officials said. The university also plans to create a public-facing website with data on testing, confirmed cases and rates of the coronavirus in its communities. University of Michigan students unsure if enhanced social distancing requirement will be effective Schlissel said the university could go fully remote once again if the rates of COVID-19 become unacceptable, though he did not say what that number may be. If the rate of infection increases at an unacceptable rate or we have evidence that its spreading from person-to-person in a dormitory, or a class setting or an off-campus house, eventually well get to a point that well pull back, he said. Well say, Look, its really not safe. We havent been able to live up to our commitment to these public health interventions like masks and small groups and distancing and hand-washing, and then we would have to go fully remote. MORE ON MLIVE: A look inside Wax Bar, Ypsilantis new record-themed lounge Whats a stamp? Absentee voting could pose challenges for young people in 2020 elections MichMash: Welcome Back? College Students Anxious, Excited About Return to Campus In a first of its kind in Odisha, the Ganjam Chamber of Commerce (GCC), has set up an institute of leadership for youth pursuing their career in different aspects of trading including MSME sector. Union Minister of State for MSME Pratap Sarangi inaugurated the GCC Institute of Leadership on Saturday online from New Delhi . The institute will impart training to the young aspirants in different aspects of trading, including MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) and help them to become successful entrepreneurs, said P Satya Narayan Senapati, chairman of the newly set up institute and vice president of GCC. The Union minister hailed the decision of the GCC. Training the young aspirants was needed to make them successful entrepreneurs in the MSME sector, he said. He also opened the website of the institute. As many as 100 young men and women have already enrolled their names in the institute to take one-year training, he said. Though the detailed course of study was yet to be developed, we have decided to offer courses like innovation, technology upgradation, managing self, art of communication, business development, with practical training in different business establishment, he added. Senapati said they would invite resource persons from different trade-related fields to impart training to the young aspirants. The classes will now start online, initially after designing the detailed course of studies soon, he said. We are happy as the institute has become a reality, with its first batch (100 aspirants) already enrolled willing to take training, said Epari Siba Prasad, president of GCC. Our main aim is to sharpen the skill of the aspirants with several training programmes and expose them to various business opportunities, especially in the MSME sector and encourage becoming a successful entrepreneur, said GCC secretary V Santosh Kumar. New Delhi: Stating that they live in an extended neighbourhood that continues to face multiple security challenges, India and Tajikistan on Saturday decided to strengthen defence cooperation and inked a pact to share financial intelligence to counter money laundering and financing of terrorism. The pact was among three signed by the two countries after comprehensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on strategic issues including threats posed by radicalisation and extremism, trade and investments. We assessed the broad progress achieved under different pillars of our bilateral engagement, including our partnership in defence and security. India and Tajikistan live in an extended neighbourhood that continues to face multiple security challenges and threats. The threat from terrorism endangers not just our two countries. It casts a long shadow of violence and instability over the entire region, Modi said at a joint press meet with Rahmon. Also read | India and Tajikistan will work on trade and transit linkages through Chabahar Port in Iran, says PM Modi Combating terrorism has, therefore, been an important area of cooperative engagement between the two countries, the PM said. We appreciate Tajikistans role in the Central Asian region as a mainstay against forces of extremism, radicalism and terrorism. President Rahmon and I agreed today to strengthen action on this front based on mutually agreed priorities, he said. On his part, Rahmon said terrorism and extremism undermine all developmental efforts worldwide. A joint statement issued after the talks said the two leaders discussed situation in the region and stressed that terrorism and extremism seriously threaten peace, stability and progress of all countries. The two leaders agreed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be eliminated without any distinction between good and bad terrorists and called for an end to sponsorship, support and provision of safe havens and sanctuaries to terrorists, the statement said. Modi and Rahmon reaffirmed their resolve to work for early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism by the UN General Assembly. Apart from MoU concerning Cooperation in the Exchange of Financial Intelligence related to money laundering, related crimes and financing of terrorism, the two sides also inked pacts on broadcasting of audio visual programmes and protocol amending the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion and announced initialling of document on Bilateral Investment Treaty. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. It is imperative that the industry restart safely as soon as possible, said Muhammad Al Bakri, IATAs Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. Image: IATA Job losses in aviation and related industries could grow to 1.5 million. That is more than half of the regions 2.4 million aviation-related employment and 300,000 more than the previous estimate. Full-year 2020 traffic is expected to plummet by 56% compared to 2019. Previous estimate was a fall of 51%. GDP supported by aviation in the region could fall by up to $85 billion. Previous estimate was $66 billion. Middle East economies have been brought to their knees by COVID-19. And without air connectivity being re-established, the socio-economic impact is getting worse. Businesses which contribute substantially to the regions GDP and provide thousands of jobs are at risk without these vital connections. For the regions economic recovery, it is imperative that the industry restart safely as soon as possible, said Muhammad Al Bakri, IATAs Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East. Restarting Aviation in the Middle East To minimise the impact on jobs and the broader Middle East economy, an accelerated recovery of air transport across the region is paramount. This can be achieved through government action in two priority areas: Harmonising the restart of air transport across the region Some countries in the Middle East are opening their borders to regional and international air travel but inconsistent application of biosafety measures along with unnecessary entry requirements are deterring passengers and suppressing the resumption of air travel. Harmonizing the restart of aviation across the region is critical for economic recovery. Governments need to implement the common global set of air transport biosecurity measures, contained in the International Civil Aviation Organizations CART Take-off Guidelines. Continued financial and regulatory support In particular, direct financial aid such as wage subsidies and loans, an extension of the waiver to the 80-20 slot rule, and relief from taxes and charges. "We are grateful to governments which have provided relief to aviation. However, the situation is not getting better, governments need to continue applying relief measuresfinancial and regulatory. A regional priority is securing support in the form of wage subsidies and loans as well as an extension of the waiver for the 80-20 use-it-or-lose-it slot rule. This is needed to provide critical relief to airlines in planning schedules amid unpredictable demand patterns. Saudi Arabia has confirmed a waiver for its slot coordinated airports and we hope the UAE, Morocco and Tunisia will do so soon. Airlines need to focus on meeting demand and not meeting slot rules that were never meant to accommodate the sharp fluctuations of such a crisis, said Albakri. Country level impact The latest assessment from IATA Economics shows that the outlook at the national level has worsened for major aviation markets in the Middle East since June. For example, the passenger numbers, jobs at risk and GDP impacts for the five biggest Middle East markets all have declined. We had one extra element that we had to do with music that we had to deal with via Zoom, which was extraordinary and weird and peculiar not being in the room with people, Sharrock said. She added: Doing what we do is all about collaboration. Its all about being in a room with people, and thats how you get the work done. Thats how you push projects forward. So, its very, very peculiar. Nicholson shares a similar feeling. While he understands these technologies can help resume production during the pandemic, he doesnt see it as a complete substitute for returning to a normal workflow. It does represent a fundamental change in production towards the virtual realm where anything is possible. But by saying anything is possible, you still have to put the story up front. You still have to put the acting up front and use it as a supportive tool to put the wrapping on the story, Nicholson said. Still, virtual production can provide a viable solution during the pandemic, and perhaps become a useful production technique moving forward. * Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh * Graphic: Foreign flows into Asian stocks https://tmsnrt.rs/3f2vwbA * Chinese, Indian shares gain the most * Thai stocks hit two-week low * Indonesia, South Korea shut for holiday By Shriya Ramakrishnan Aug 17 (Reuters) - Philippine shares reversed early losses on Monday, but investors remained cautious ahead of a decision on whether to ease quarantine restrictions and over concerns that a substantial pick up in economic activity will take time. Manila's benchmark stock index closed 0.1% lower after falling as much as 1.1% earlier in the day, as investors picked up beaten down blue-chip real estate stocks while the peso gained 0.2% against a broadly weaker U.S. dollar. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is set to announce on Monday his decision whether to extend or ease strict quarantine measures that were reinstated in and around the capital Manila in mid-August to stem the rise in new coronavirus cases. "Investors are still wary of the efficiency of the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Jennifer Lomboy, a fund manager at First Metro Asset Management. "Daily cases are still elevated but economic activities need to resume soon as strict lockdowns have heavily impacted household income and businesses' profitability." In Thailand, the baht weakened 0.2% and shares fell more than half a percent, as a double whammy of political protests and data showing the economy shrank by 12.2% in the second quarter added to the government's headaches. Chinese shares stood out with gains of over 2%, as the country's central bank provided more medium-term loans to the financial system and as shares of securities brokers rose in anticipation of reforms and consolidation. Indian shares were also among the top performers, as markets cheered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assurance on mass production of COVID-19 vaccines and more infrastructure spending. Investors will also focus on central bank meetings this week in Indonesia and the Philippines. A majority of economists polled by Reuters expect Bank Indonesia to keep its main policy rate unchanged when it concludes its two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, after cutting it four times so far this year. Analysts also expect the Philippine central bank to keep rates steady especially after Governor Benjamin Diokno signalled key rates could remain unchanged for the rest of the year. Financial markets in South Korea and Indonesia were closed for holidays. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Top losers on Thailand's SETI include Thai-German Products PCL down 14.29% at 0.06 baht; Thai Film Industries PCL down 13.33% at 0.13 baht ** In the Philippines, top index gainers are Alliance Global Group Inc up 6.47% at 6.25 peso, GT Capital Holdings Inc up 5.74% at 424 peso, JG Summit Holdings Inc up 4.4% at 64 peso ** Thailand's 10-year government bond yields are down 3 basis points at 1.3% Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0749 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX YTD INDEX STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % % DAILY % YTD % Japan +0.10 +2.00 -0.83 -2.37 China India +0.01 -4.69 0.34 -7.82 Malaysia +0.02 -2.41 -0.49 -2.00 Philippi +0.17 +4.18 -0.13 -22.35 nes Singapor +0.05 -1.85 -0.22 -20.08 e Taiwan +0.47 +2.39 1.26 7.99 Thailand -0.16 -4.04 -0.62 -16.52 ($1 = 48.5900 Philippine pesos) (Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber) To the editor: My name is Jeremy Rodgers and I am running to be the next councilman for Ward 1 of the City of Midland. I have lived in Midland for nearly a decade, and graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor of science in history and a minor in political science. In 2019, I married my college sweetheart, Olivia, and we welcomed our first child, Andrew, into the world. Olivia, Andrew, and I are happy living here in Midland and we appreciate this great community. I believe Midland is a great place to live, work and raise a family. One of the reasons I am running for city council is to do my part to ensure it remains that way for my child and your children and grandchildren. I have the necessary experience to serve as the next city councilman for Ward 1. I graduated from Midlands Citizen Academy in 2018. Since January 2019, I have worked in the Michigan Legislature serving the people of Midland by assisting them in their interactions with the many different state departments including the Departments of State, Health and Human Services and Treasury. Additionally, I have served on the City of Midland Planning Commission since April 2019. I was proud to introduce the motion to approve the Costco site plan which, when it opens, will bring good paying jobs to Midlands first ward. I think it is important for our community to have leadership that listens, uses common sense, and is solution-oriented. I can offer that leadership. A city councilman should be focused on local opportunities and not be distracted by hyper-partisan politics at the national or state level. I pledge to keep a local focus. A city councilman should be honest, transparent, and accountable to the people. To that end, I commit to holding monthly coffee hours to provide opportunity for constituents to have input. It is my sincere hope to be able to continue to serve the people of Midland on your City Council. I respectfully ask for your vote this Nov. 3. JEREMY RODGERS Midland A new study conducted by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, has found that many species of marine mammal are highly vulnerable to infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The team says poor wastewater management can lead to these species being exposed to the virus, which could have devastating effects on marine mammal populations that are already on the decline. Graham Dellaire and colleagues also discuss potential approaches to reducing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 spilling over into rivers and ocean so that further damage to these already vulnerable marine populations can be prevented. A preprint version of the paper is available on the server bioRxiv*, while the article undergoes peer review. 2. Marine mammal species predicted to be susceptible belong to the IUCN Red list. Many of the species predicted to be susceptible are members of the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species ( https://www.iucnredlist.org ). The IUCN Red list is an indicator of the worlds biodiversity and provides the most comprehensive data on the global conservation status of a species. 15 susceptible species ranging from medium to higher than human predicted susceptibilities can be identified on the IUCN Red list. Conservation statuses updated as of July 25th, 2020 were used. Silhouettes of species were drawn or obtained from PhyloPic ( http://phylopic.org Patients with COVID-19 shed the virus in their urine and stool Although SARS-CoV-2 is primarily a respiratory illness, reports have recently pointed to multi-organ infection, including the gastrointestinal tract. Researchers have also shown that patients with COVID-19 shed viable SARS-CoV-2 in their urine and stool and that the virus can be been detected in untreated wastewater in many countries, including Italy, Spain, France, and Australia. The absence or failure of a wastewater treatment plant can lead to sewage being another form of transmission that affects both humans and susceptible species, write Dellaire and team. The researchers say many types of marine mammals that are found close to contaminated natural water systems will be exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and that it is vital to identify which animals are most at risk. Predicting the susceptibility of marine mammals Now, Dellaire and colleagues have examined all publicly available data on the sequenced genomes of marine mammals and used a modeling approach to predict their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Amazon River Dolphin. Image Credit: COULANGES / Shutterstock The team reports that most species of cetacean (18 of 21) are more susceptible than humans. Since many of the species are social such as the beluga whale and bottlenose dolphin, they are especially vulnerable to intraspecies transmission. The majority of seal species (8 of 9) were also highly susceptible to infection. The one exception was the California sea lion, owing to a mutation in the animals angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor, which SARS-CoV-2 uses to infect host cells. Of all the mammalian species analyzed, the Atlantic Walrus had the ACE2 with the most significant binding affinity for the virus. Otters were also highly susceptible to infection. Many of the vulnerable species are already at risk More than half of the species that were identified as being highly susceptible to infection are already categorized as near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. If these organisms are infected by SARS-CoV-2, their already dwindling population numbers will be even more at risk, says the team. In addition, geo-mapping studies showed how poor wastewater management in Alaska might further increase the risk to marine mammals. Since Alaska is home to many well-documented marine populations, the team analyzed this information together with data available on wastewater treatment plants across the state. Municipalities in the southern and northern shores primarily used secondary treatment, which has previously been shown to remove most traces of SARS-CoV-2. However, the western shores primarily rely on lagoon treatment, a primary type of treatment that is less effective at removing infectious viral particles. Three species of seal are found along these shores, and the researchers say it will be important to gather data on their ACE2 receptor sequence to predict the potential risk to these populations accurately. The team also identified some high-risk locations that use lagoon treatments on southern shores. These included Cold Bay in Naknek, which is home to highly susceptible sea otter species and Bristol Bay, where endangered Beluga whales are found. Beluga whale. Image Credit: Kirill Skorobogatko / Shutterstock Efforts to mitigate and carefully assess the impact of the wastewater effluent discharged only after primary treatment into these marine mammal habitats will be important for protecting these species, write the researchers. We must act with foresight to protect marine mammal species Dellaire and colleagues say it will be key to assess and appropriate wastewater treatment to reduce the impact of sewage-based transmission in natural water systems and those high risk areas should be particularly careful regarding how wastewater is managed and treated. At this point in the pandemic, the available evidence indicates that wastewater is an important vector for SARS-CoV-2 transmission for humans and susceptible wildlife, they write. Given the proximity of marine animals to high-risk environments where viral spill over is likely, we must act with foresight to protect marine mammal species predicted to be at-risk and mitigate the environmental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Related study The Dalhousie research echoes the finding of another recent preprint research paper by scientists in the United Kingdom and Poland, and published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020, that described the presence of stable SARS-CoV-2 in water for up to 25 days. The researchers pointed out that cetaceans, especially whales, are known to express ACE2 receptors with high similarity levels to humans, which means they can be vulnerable to the infection. The researchers estimate that a medium-sized whale could receive 5.65 million copies of the virus every second. Study authors concluded, The analysis suggests that public interactions with rivers and coastal waters following wastewater spills should be minimized to reduce the risk of infection. The main risk is human-to-human spread, but it could also allow the virus to infect new animal species and, in turn, result in a future re-entry of the virus into the human population. *Important Notice bioRxiv and medRxix 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. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday welcomed Congress president Sonia Gandhis decision to appoint senior party leader Ajay Maken as the new general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan. Gandhi has also set up a three-member committee to resolve the issues raised by party rebels in the state. Senior party leader Ahmed Patel, general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken and general secretary organisation KC Venugopal have been made members of the panel. I welcome the decision of Sonia Gandhi ji to appoint Ajay Maken as AICC General Secretary in-charge of Rajasthan, Gehlot said in a tweet. I welcome the decision of CP Smt. Sonia Gandhi ji to appoint Shri @ajaymaken as AICC General Secretary in-charge of #Rajasthan. Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 16, 2020 In another tweet, he said, I congratulate Maken and hope that his vast organisational experience will help strengthen the party and energise party workers in the state. Eagerly looking forward to working with him. Gehlot also thanked the outgoing national general secretary and state in-charge Avinash Pande for his support. I congratulate Shri Maken and hope that his vast organisational experience will help strengthen the party and energise the party workers in the state. Eagerly looking forward to working with him. Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) August 16, 2020 My heartiest thanks to Avinash Pandey ji for his valuable support and guidance as the AICC in-charge of Rajasthan. His efforts to establish coordination between the party organisation and the govt have been highly commendable. I wish him all the best, he said. The appointments come close on the heels of the Congress government in Rajasthan winning a crucial trust vote with the backing of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and and his loyalist MLAs, who had revolted against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot but later called a truce with the party after assurance by top party leadership. An important part of the reconciliation plan was the Congress announcement that a high-powered three-member committee would be formed to duly address the grievances of dissidents in a time-bound manner. The Pilot camp has been seeking active participation in governance and flagging concerns over the manner of functioning of CM Gehlot. Pilot and other rebels welcomed the move and expressed hope that all their issues would be resolved. 17.08.2020 LISTEN The newly compiled voters register by the Electoral Commission (EC) is arguably the most credible voter register in our history, President Akufo-Addo has declared. Delivering his 15th COVID-19 update to the nation on Sunday, August 16, 2020, the President described as remarkable the ability of the Ghanaian to conduct an exercise such as the compilation of a new voters register for a general election in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 outbreak. He said the moment is enough poof that Ghanas democratic entities have what it takes to carry out their constitutional mandate no matter the situation. Fellow Ghanaians, the remarkable nature of us, the Ghanaian people, the first colonised people in sub-Saharan Africa to gain their freedom and independence from foreign rule, is manifesting itself again. In the midst of the pandemic, we have been able to compile a voters' register, arguably, the most credible voter register in our history; our democratic institutions continue to function effectively. According to the President, despite the severe shocks and disruptions of the pandemic, there continues to be a vigorous public debate on issues of public policy, respect for the rule of law continues to be central to governance and the virus itself is being fought systematically. Indeed, a stronger, healthier Ghana is being built before our very eyes, and the great majority of Ghanaians can see it. Let us continue down this path, so that the dreams of freedom and prosperity that inspired the great patriots, who founded our nation, can find expression in our generation, he added. Nana Addo congratulates EC for successful registration The President, also praised the EC for the recently compiled new voters register in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Nana Akufo-Addo says he is extremely happy over the orderly and safe conduct of the registration contrary to widespread condemnation of the exercise over claims it will lead to a surge in the number of infections and deaths. The Electoral Commission has completed the successful compilation of a new register ahead of the conduct of the 2020 general election. On behalf of the people of Ghana, I congratulate warmly, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Ms. Jean Mensa, her two deputies, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare and Mr. Samuel Tetteh and the entire Commission for their efficient, safe and transparent nature of the registration exercise, he said. Independent audit of register The voter registration exercise, which officially ended on August 6, 2020, did so with 16,963,306 persons registered to vote. Opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has already called for an immediate independent audit of the new voters' register compiled by the Electoral Commission. The party argues that the audit will check de-duplication and multiple registration issues recorded in the register. But the Commission has already inaugurated a 16-member Adjudication Committee chaired by Deputy EC boss responsible for Operations, Samuel Tettey, political party representatives, civil society groups and IT personnel of the commission to manually determine cases of duplicated voter registrations. 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. citinewsroom Burma Myanmar Think Tank Boss Wins Justice Award for Boosting Trust, Reconciliation in Rakhine Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing at the Geneva Center for Security Policy (GCSP) in 2017. / GCSP YANGONThe director of a Myanmar-based NGO promoting tolerance, social harmony and peaceful coexistence has been granted this years MC Bassiouni Justice Award for his efforts towards domestic fact-finding and accountability at the courts in Myanmar for alleged human rights violations in northern Rakhine State in 2017 and other achievements. The Forum for International Criminal and Humanitarian Law (FICHL), under the Brussels-based Center for International Law Research and Policy, announced last week that Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing of the Center for Diversity and National Harmony (CDNH) had been granted the award. The award recognizes outstanding service to the adjudication, prosecution, investigation, documentation, defense, analysis, diplomacy or study of core international crimes such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. More than 730,000 Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh from northern Rakhine State when the governments security forces launched clearance operations after attacks against police outposts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army. Those who fled claimed they suffered rape, extrajudicial killings and arson by the security forces, attracting an international outcry. Following international criticism, Myanmar formed a commission of inquiry to investigate the violations. The commission submitted its finding in January, ruling out genocidal intent but not denying that war crimes, serious human rights violations and violations of domestic law took place during the security clearance operations. Founded in 2015, the CDNH is a Yangon-based think tank that says it fosters an inclusive society through civic education, stops communal violence through the collection and analysis of information and brings fractured communities together through capacity building and dialogue. In its announcement, the FICHL said the award acknowledges Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaings efforts to increase trust, reconciliation and unity among members of different religious communities in Rakhine State. It said his leadership of the think tank produces in-depth studies of living conditions among minority communities such as those in Shan State. A former assistant professor at the National University of Singapore and the City University of Hong Kong, Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing used to be a senior member of the Myanmar Peace Center, a government-backed body working to establish peace with ethnic rebel groups. He was an advisor to the former president, U Thein Sein, under the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party. You may also like these stories: High Court in Myanmars Kayah State Rejects Militarys Appeal to Increase Farmers Sentences Over 7,000 Apply to Run in Myanmars November Election Five Abducted as Feud Between Myanmars Ethnic Rakhine Groups Continues The Peoples Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong released footage of a live-fire drill in the South China Sea on Sunday, a day after the US navy said a strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan had carried out operations in the area. The footage included images of a Hong Kong-based warship, the Huizhou, firing cannons and torpedoes, and also showed military personnel carrying out anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations. The garrison said anti-submarine training was one of the main elements of the drill. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. The Huizhou is one of the two warships based in Hong Kong and the corvette is mainly used for coastal defensive purposes. As well as torpedoes it is also armed with surface-to-air missiles. Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming said the drill was a symbolic action, mainly designed as a warning to independence-leaning forces in Taiwan as the self-ruled island edges closer towards Washington. Zhou said that while China is not happy with the US, its priority is to rein in the islands independence-leaning President Tsai Ing-wen. A military analyst said the drill was primarily defensive. Photo:Weibo Based on the rather conventional weaponry involved in this drill, it is quite clear that China has tried hard not to provoke the US, Zhou said, citing the absence of missile tests. He said it was not a high-intensity drill and exercises such as firing torpedoes indicated its primary focus was defensive. Last week China announced that it was planning live-fire drills near Taiwan, a day after Tsai had said that relations between the US and the self-ruled island were at a historical high. Washington and Taipei have moved closer to each other in recent years amid deteriorating relations with Beijing. Last week also saw US Health Secretary Alex Azar visiting the island, the highest-level visit by an American official since Washington formally switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979. Story continues The Chinese government views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must eventually be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. Zhou also said the involvement of a Hong Kong-based ship in the drill had an added symbolic weight following the imposition of a controversial national security law in the city, but added that too much weight should not be attached to the Huizhous involvement in a routine drill. This article Hong Kong-based warship joins South China Sea live-fire drill first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 17 Trend: The military-political leadership of Armenia continues to make provocative statements to compensate for the failure of the recent military adventure on Azerbaijani-Armenian state border on July 12-16 and to divert attention from the growing socio-economic and political crisis in Armenia, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said, Trend reports on August 17. According to the ministry, the Armenia's leadership being guided by "new war for new territories" idea undertook the provocation in the direction of Tovuz district along the state border in order to implement its aggressive military strategy. All this clearly demonstrates that Armenia's intentions are not to eliminate the consequences of the conflict, but to continue the occupation strategy based on the illegal use of force, said the ministry. "After making the statements of the Armenian military-political circles that large settlements of Azerbaijan and such strategically important civilian objects as the Mingachevir hydroelectric power station are considered as 'military targets', the Armenian side, through the so-called "head " of the illegal regime created in the occupied territories Azerbaijan, is trying to threaten the Azerbaijani people with a military strike on the city of Ganja, the ministry said. All this reveals the terrorist essence of Armenia, which does not abandon its aggressive policy. Armenia, which, after decisively repelling its military provocations thanks to the military power and high professionalism of the Azerbaijani army, found itself in a helpless position both inside the country and abroad, again resorting to its traditional method - targeting civilian objects and civilians, and in a manner characteristic to terrorist organizations pursues a goal to instill fear among civilians, the ministry noted. The Armenian side, abusing humanitarian problems in the Middle East for its vile political purposes, announced a plan for the illegal resettlement of ethnic Armenians after the horrific explosion from the Lebanese city of Beirut to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, added the ministry. Through the illegal regime created in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Armenia announced its intention to move some so-called "official institutions" to Shusha, the ministry noted. This insidious intention towards the city of Shusha, which is of exceptional importance for the Azerbaijani people in terms of its cultural, historical and spiritual terms, is another attempt aimed at strengthening the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. As the ministry added, the restoration of the right for a safe and decent return of the Azerbaijani population expelled from their homeland to their places of permanent residence in Nagorno Karabakh, including the city of Shusha, as well as in all other occupied territories, runs like a red thread throughout the entire process of the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Armenia, within the framework of illegal economic and other activities that it carries out in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, is taking steps towards changing the infrastructure of the Sarsang reservoir [in Nagorno Karabakh], the ministry stated. Armenia's actions in relation to the reservoir are illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan's natural resources, a violation of the rights of state and private property. By using the Sarsang reservoir as an instrument of environmental terrorism since the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Armenia deprives Azerbaijani citizens living near our occupied territories of water resources, pointed out the ministry. As a result, the ecological situation in these regions has worsened and biodiversity has been damaged. This fact is unconditionally enshrined in Resolution No. 2085 (2016) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Armenia's attempts to change the reservoir infrastructure should be seen as the next step in the framework of Armenia's environmental terror policy, the ministry said. Moreover, all infrastructure changes in the occupied territories, including the construction of roads connecting Armenia with the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as well as steps related to the Sarsang reservoir, serve as an illegal policy to attract more ethnic Armenians to settle in the occupied territories, the ministry further said. Armenia must stop testing the patience of the international community, and first of all the Azerbaijani state and society, with its illegal actions and provocative statements. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry unequivocally states that Azerbaijan is determined to take all necessary steps to restore its territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders, protect the constitutional order, ensure the security, rights and freedoms of its citizens, using all the resources provided by the Constitution of Azerbaijan and international law. According to the ministry, it informed the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs about these provocative attempts aimed at increasing tension in the region and finally disrupting all possibilities for a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. In order to adequately assess the behavior of Armenia, to prevent steps that could lead to serious and dangerous consequences for the region as a whole, and to resolve the conflict peacefully, it is necessary to return it to the negotiation process, the political and legal framework of which is based on four relevant UN Security Council resolutions - No. No. 822, 853, 874 and 884 (1993), and OSCE Resolutions, added the ministry. The ministry stressed that it will continue to take the necessary steps to suppress the illegal activities of Armenia and eliminate its consequences, using all political and diplomatic mechanisms. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. By 2030 Vietnam will be listed as one of the top 30 countries for the International Telecommunication Unions (ITU) Global Cybersecurity Index, targeted the national digital transformation program. The Ministry of Information and Communications has also issued a plan to achieve this goal. A regular task of the Ministry of Information & Communications' plan to enter the group of 30 leading countries for the Global Cybersecurity Index is to build the Vietnam network of information security products. The national digital transformation program approved by the Prime Minister on June 3, 2020 confirmed the viewpoint: Ensuring network security is key to successful and sustainable digital transformation, an inseparable part of digital transformation in Vietnam. All equipment, products, software, information systems, and investment projects in information technology must include with mandatory components on network security right from the design step. Under this program, Vietnams goal is to enter the group of 40 leading countries in the world for the ITUs Global Cybersecurity Index in 2025 and among the top 30 countries in 2030. In Directive 01 on the development orientation of Vietnams information and communication industry, the Ministry of Information and Communications emphasized that network security is the prerequisites for the development of e-Government and digital transformation, so it must move one step ahead. The Ministry assigned the Department of Information Security to develop a plan to add Vietnam into the group of 30 top countries for the Global Cybersecurity Index. This plan has been recently approved by the Ministry of Information and Communications. In addition to clearly assigning tasks among the relevant agencies, the deadlines, the plan specifies tasks and solutions to improve Vietnams Global Cybersecurity Index, with six groups, including: (i) Legal Measures, (ii) Technical Measures, (iii) Organizational Measures, (iv) Capacity Building, (v) Cooperation; and (vi) support missions. Under this plan, this year the Department of Information Security will complete the development of a project to protect and support children in healthy interactions on the Internet, the Decree on prevention of spam messages, spam emails, spam calls and the regulations on text-, email- and call- based advertising. The Department of Information Security is also responsible for coordinating with the Ministries of Education and Training; Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Science-Technology and Environment to add information security content into curricula at general schools; to organize campaigns to raise awareness about child protection on the Internet; and to promote start-ups in the field of information security. In the period 2020-2021, the Department of Information Security will be responsible to promote the establishment of regional computer emergency response teams (regional CERT), organize drills for these teams, and encourage the teams to joint regional CERTs such as APCERT and FIRST. Developing the Vietnam Network of Information Security Products is another important task of this agency. The ITUs Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) is a trusted reference that measures the commitment of countries to cybersecurity at a global level to raise awareness of the importance and different dimensions of the issue. Based on a multistakeholder approach and initiative, the GCI leverages the capacity and expertise of different organizations, with the objectives of improving the quality of the survey, fostering international cooperation, and promoting knowledge exchange on this topic. The ITU Global Cybersecurity Agenda (GCA) provides the general foundation and framework for the initiative. According to GCI 2019 report, for the first time, Vietnam was listed among the group of countries and territories with a high commitment to network security, ranked 50 out of 175 countries and territories, up 50 grades compared to 2017. M.T Cybersecurity in Vietnam sees positive changes in 2019 The number of detections of web threats in Vietnam fell by more than 30 per cent last year compared to 2018, with 75 million different Internet-borne cyberthreats, according to Kaspersky Security Network (KSN) 2019. For a moment, it looked as if a federal overhaul of the nations law enforcement departments would finally happen. Amid nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd, the Democratic-controlled House on June 25 passed a sweeping police reform bill that would ban chokeholds, put an end to no-knock warrants in federal drug cases, and lower the threshold to prosecute officers for misconduct. The legislation, however, stalled in the Senate, where a competing GOP bill had been blocked by Democrats just a day before. Now, with the nations attention refocused on COVID-19 after weeks of protests over systemic racism have largely ended, has the window for changing the nations policing practices closed? Not quite, according to a leading criminologist in the University of Miamis College of Arts and Sciences. The momentum is still there, said Alex R. Piquero, the new chair of the Universitys Department of Sociology and Arts and Sciences Distinguished Scholar. But to achieve true reform in policing practices, it will take reimagining what police departments look like and building greater trust and transparency between law enforcement officers and citizens, he stated. The George Floyd killing really is a watershed moment in policing in America. It has led to some reforms in certain cities around the United Statessome faster than others, Piquero said. If we really care about injustices that are happening in communities in America, now is the time to act. In the wake of demonstrations that spilled onto Americas streets, some civic leaders and residents in municipalities across the nation called for the dismantling of police departments. But taking police departments apart is not the answer, Piquero pointed out. There is a need for police. If someone burglarizes your home or steals your car, you need to call someone. The reallocation of police resources, or whats being called defunding, is one of the more likely components of police reform, Piquero explained. Were going to eliminate some of the roles police have had dumped on them and give them to other individuals who are more qualified to deal with those situations, he said. Police officers are not mental health specialists. They werent trained for that in the academy. Yet many of the calls they respond to are mental health calls. We need trained people who know what to do in those circumstances, he added. So defunding means taking a little bit of funding away from the police and funding some other agency. But if were going to do that, we have to provide those agencies with adequate resources. Donna Coker, professor and deans distinguished scholar at the School of Law whose work focuses on criminal law and gender and race inequality, echoed Piqueros sentiments. And she also said other measures need to be enacted to bring about reform, including putting an end to qualified immunity, which shields officers from being sued for misconduct. We need to invest in communities and people, Coker said. We know that income inequality is a major driver for some forms of crime. We should put more of our money into prevention and community-based responses. Minor misdemeanor offenses of the kind George Floyd (spending a counterfeit $20 bill) and Eric Garner (selling untaxed cigarettes) were suspected of committing should be decriminalized and reclassified as civil citations, according to Coker. These kinds of encounters are part of what creates a climate of siege in low-income neighborhoods of color and increases the opportunities for oppressive and sometimes violent tactics, she said. Other measures, she added, can include the creation of civilian review boards that have the power to enact change and reform that diminishes the ability of police unions to keep officers on the force who have a history of misconduct. While much of the attention has focused on police violence against Black men, not enough scrutiny has been given to police violence against Black women, Coker explained, noting that Breonna Taylor and Sandra Bland are the rare exceptions. Much of police violence against women is both racialized and gendered-sexual assaults, she said For example, a protestor here in Miami was groped by an officer, and in Hialeah, it wasnt until federal investigators got involved that a police officer, accused of multiple rapes, was actually investigated, four years after the alleged attacks. Coker said there are plenty of examples of good officers who are focused on upholding the Constitution. And we should applaud those officers who face extraordinary pressures. But we have to dismantle the structures that create racial caste and doing that requires more than changing the ways that officers think, though that is useful. It requires fundamental social change, she remarked. But ultimately, said Osamudia James, professor of law and associate dean for diversity, equity, and community at the School of Law, everyone must take a hard look at the fundamental nature of policing in the United States. What do we want police to do, and how do we want them to do it? Calls to defund the police are about drastically limiting the situations and contexts in which police are asked to respond to a problem or crisis in favor of non-police trained professionals who are prepared to respond to particular crises, she said. Its also about interrogating the culture of policing, she continued. The idea that police are the only ones standing between us and societal chaos, that civilians could never possibly understand what police are up against and so cannot question them, or that it is the job of police to subdue and control the people with whom they come in contact, is dangerous in a democracy, and often manifests as racist and classist policing that subordinates and terrorizes poor communities and communities of color. It is those poor communities that are often the epicenters of high-profile police brutality cases. Before the Floyd incident, the coronavirus was the hot news 24/7, Piquero said. Then the Floyd killing occurred. And we had protests, and that was the news 24/7. Then it was COVID-19 again, and police reform now has taken a backseat. But the two are actually more intertwined than people realize because a lot of the calls for police reform are being driven by individuals who historically are in either disadvantaged neighborhoods or crime-prone neighborhoods. And thats exactly where the disproportionate rates of COVID cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are. We cant talk about these things in isolation. The danger of not addressing the issues will only perpetuate inequality in underserved communities where many residents come to the plate with two strikes against them already, Piquero said. The sons and daughters of today will be the mothers and fathers of tomorrow, and the grandparents after that. If we dont address inequality now, it will continue in those neighborhoods within those families over time. When Piquero was the Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology at the University of Texas at Dallas, he served on the Dallas mayors task force on safe communities, helping to spearhead efforts aimed at reducing violence through non-law enforcement strategies after more than 200 homicides were committed in the city in 2018. Simple but effective solutions such as improved street lighting and assembling a team of so-called violence interruptersformer gang members who mentored at-risk youthwere created. And the measures, said Piquero, could be easily replicated in other municipalities. But the bedrock to any form of police reform, he said, lies in improved police-citizen relationships. We need to have citizen boards. Not the kind that look at police shootings, but a situation where, every month, a board would meet one-on-one with the police chief in a jurisdiction. The chiefs would talk about the issues their officers are facing and the data they have, and ask about the concerns of citizens, Piquero said. Sometimes, thats all citizens wantto be heard. Thats how you start to build trust. If you dont invite citizens into the process, youre never going to succeed. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is eyeing a White House funeral service later this week for his younger brother, Robert, who died over the weekend in a New York hospital. Were looking at Friday. And we may do just a small service right here at the White House, Trump told reporters Monday as he departed Washington on a trip to the Midwest. The president said such a service would be a great honour for his sibling. I think hed be greatly honoured. He loves our country. He loved our country so much. He was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country, Trump said. Robert Trump, a businessman, died Saturday after being hospitalized in New York. He was 71. President Trump announced his brothers death in a statement Saturday that referred to his sibling as my best friend and promised they will meet again. Trump had visited his brother in the hospital on Friday; White House officials had described him as seriously ill. The cause of death has not been released. Trump discussed his brothers death during a nationally broadcast interview Monday. This was not a great weekend. Its very hard. You knew it was going to happen, but still when it happens its a very tough thing, the president said on Fox News Channels Fox and Friends. He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy. He was my friend. I guess they say best friend, and thats true. And losing him, not easy. Trump said Robert Trump had always supported him and there was no rivalry between them. There was not an ounce of jealously ... he was my biggest fan, Trump said. ___ Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report. New Delhi, Aug 17 : The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has found that KPMG's arm BSR and Associates LLP was illegally appointed the statutory auditor of IL&FS Financial Services (IFIN) for 2017-18. The authority's Audit Quality Review Report (AQRR) of BSR and Associates noted that the firm was not eligible to be appointed as an auditor due to violation of Section 141(3)(e) for subsisting business relationships on the date of appointment, and Section 141(3)(i) for provision of non-audit services directly or indirectly, of the Companies Act, 2013. "Consequently, the certificate provided by the audit firm in terms of Section 139 (1) was also fraudulent, having been provided despite such illegality," the report said. The authority was of the view that BSR and other entities in its network de facto use the KPMG Trade Mark and Brand Name for all their audit and non-audit services, while making a "clearly futile attempt to show a de jure separation from KPMG". This attempt will have to fail in view of the clear public perception of the BSR network entities being part of the larger KPMG global network, and also the legal agreements between them, the report said. "The non-audit services provided technically by the KPMG-labelled entities of the network are clearly services indirectly provided by the BSR entities, and thus result in gross violations of the independence requirements for auditors laid down under the Companies Act, as well as the Code of Ethics mandated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India," it said. The NFRA found that the audit firm, despite knowing about major misstatements by the management in its financial reporting, did not highlight them. The IFIN was not compliant with the minimum Net Owned Funds (NOF) and Capital to Risk Assets Ratio (CRAR) prescribed for an NBFC of its type, as of March 31, 2018, the report said, adding that these numbers were actually heavily negative, against a minimum positive requirement and this non-compliance had continued since some time. The financial statements of a NBFC have to disclose these numbers, but IFIN's decided to show positive numbers. The audit quality review showed that BSR was convinced that the IFIN management was clearly in the wrong, but they went along with the wrong numbers disclosed in the financial statements, contenting themselves with only an Emphasis of Matter (EOM) paragraph in the Auditor's Report, when such EOM is justified only when the disclosure requirements as per the standards of auditing are fulfilled. "Thus, BSR failed to highlight a material misstatement of major magnitude and fundamental importance," it said. KPMG's arm BSR and Associates and Deloitte Haskins and Sells have been under the lens in the alleged IFIN fraud case. In March this year, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had dismissed the pleas of both audit firms along with independent directors to challenge their impleadment in the alleged fraud. Tourism stakeholders in Goa want the Centre to announce its policy for the arrival of foreign charters as part of the roadmap to revive tourism in the state. The sector which has come to a standstill on account of the global Covid-19 pandemic and has failed to pick up despite the state being open for tourists from within the country, believes that there are hopes of revival later this year, if the right decisions are made now. We need the government to announce its policy on charter flights that it will allow charters to fly in from countries like Russia and UK so that we can at least begin marketing, Nilesh Shah, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa has said. In the absence of that we cannot entertain inquiries or indicate that we will be open later this year unless there is clarity from the government, he added. Goas tourism season that largely coincides with European winter begins in October but picks up in November, December and January when it is at its peak before tapering off by the month of April. Hotels and tour operators begin marketing campaigns and begin receiving inquiries and even bookings during the months beginning August for trips later in the year, which this year hasnt even begun. International travel has been suspended with uncertainty over when it will resume, but stakeholders are hopeful that if not scheduled flights charter flights in which only those who have passed the valid safety cheques or have been given a Covid-19 passport or have been vaccinated will be allowed to travel. The launch of a vaccine in Russia has offered some home that those who could get vaccinated may choose to travel, but it is yet unclear whether India will recognize the vaccine. We cannot wait until the last minute to decide, Shah said. Ernest Dias, a tour operator, said that until the number of cases begins to stabilize will be a prerequisite for people to travel. Our (Indias) numbers are still very high and we are not sure whether people will want to come or if their governments will allow them to travel. Its too early to say anything for sure, he said. Goa has opened for tourism with strict protocols in place for those wishing to visit the state for a holiday, but operators say the numbers are only about 5-7% of normal levels and havent really grown since the sector opened up back in July. Tourists arriving by charter flights make up the bulk of the foreign arrivals, who are the more sought after tourists as they, on average, stay longer and spend more during their stay. Tourists are worried about quarantine protocols which are in place and under which they have to remain quarantined till their test results come which could be 72 hours and then undergo quarantine back in their home state upon return, which is not very enjoyable. Unless there is a uniform policy across the country, which will happen only once the numbers start decreasing, the situation will not change, Shah said. Goa is not a large state where people from within the state will substantially and sustainably contribute to tourism, he added. Operators are hopeful that the government will announce consistent policies over the next 2-3 weeks, which they say will help the industry restart by December. The tourism industry that has been hardest hit by the lockdown, and which comprises between 9-11% of Goas Gross Domestic Product. The Travel and Tourism Association of Goa has estimated that Goa will have lost upwards of Rs 1,000 crore into the state economy on account of the shut down. With numbers still too small to be sustainable, only a few hotels have reopened with even those permitted to do so, yet to reopen. The direct and indirect economic impact of the tourism industry in India is estimated at 10% of the GDP and 40% in Goa including multiplier effects, the TTAG said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON By Express News Service TIRUCHY: Even as frontline workers are battling the spread of Covid-19, volunteers have been helping the affected fight a different battle hunger. Alumni of Jamal Mohammed College are one such group that has been distributing food ever since lockdown was imposed. Working under the banner of Nal Ullangal Trust, the alumnus of the college distribute lunch packets to 100 people on Sundays. They primarily hand over food to relatives of those admitted in the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital and street dwellers who find it difficult to buy food during total lockdown. Mostly packs dont remain, if it does we distribute it in the neighbourhood, Syed Muhamed, a member of the group. During the initial days of lockdown we distributed food at many places and did not restrict to any particular time. But we are now focusing on GH, Syed said. Before Unlock 1.0 (first round of lockdown relaxations), they distributed food on all days. We used to distribute 250 to 300 packets a day then. There were so many people on the street with no way to source food, he said. The trust has distributed over 20,000 food packets since the lockdown. But it is not new to them. For over two years they have been distributing food on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The alumni pool money for the cause. They have distributed grocery packets for the visually impaired, supported women for weaving baskets and sent milk powder for orphaned kids. JACKSON, Miss. - Three Mississippi police officers have been charged with second-degree murder in the death of a Black man last year, according to a recently unsealed indictment. A Hinds County grand jury indicted the officers in the January 2019 death of George Robinson, 62, according to the Aug. 5 indictment. It accuses the officers Desmond Barney, Lincoln Lampley and Anthony Fox with willfully, unlawfully and feloniously causing Robinsons death, The Clarion Ledger reported. All three worked for the Jackson Police Department at the time. The indictment alleges that the three officers removed Robinson from his vehicle, body-slammed him on the pavement and repeatedly struck him in the head and chest. Robinson died from bleeding on the brain caused by blunt force trauma to the head, Hinds County Coroner Sharon Grisham-Stewart said shortly after his death. Neighbor Connie Bolton told Mississippi Today that officers hit Robinson and slammed him down while seeking suspects in the fatal shooting of a pastor who had been shot in a robbery in front of his church. Francis Springer, one of the attorneys representing the officers, said that evidence will show that the officers are not guilty. These officers did exactly what they are trained to do and used an appropriate level of force, Springer told The Clarion Ledger on Friday. The three officers were placed on administrative leave as the departments Internal Affairs Division and the FBI investigated the case, The Clarion Ledger said. The officers were later reinstated, though Fox and Barney currently work for the Clinton Police Department. After the officers posted bond at a court hearing and were released Thursday, several police officers met them outside and prayed with them on the courthouse lawn, WLBT-TV reported. Robinsons relatives said they were grateful that charges were brought against the officers. For us, the charges prove that Georges life mattered and no one deserves to die the way he did, the family said in a statement obtained by news outlets. We are grateful that the District Attorney has taken this action. We have co-operated with the investigation in every way and will continue to do so until we finally get justice for our beloved George. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 17, 2020) - Argo Gold Inc. (CSE: ARQ) ("Argo Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Reinhard Schu has joined the board of directors. Mr. Schu is an international lawyer, investor and entrepreneur. He grew up in Germany, before moving to London in the mid-1990s. During his 23-year legal career he has spent time working in the UK, the USA, India and Japan working on corporate and finance transactions and negotiating commercial contracts. Mr. Schu has been an active investor in the precious metals and junior exploration and mining sectors for 20 years and has an extensive investor network in the UK. He has served on the boards of several investee companies. Mr Schu will contribute his expertise in corporate governance, M&A transactions and investor communications to the Company. Argo Gold also announces that it has granted an aggregate of 400,000 options to purchase common shares of the Company exercisable at a price of $0.27 per share and expiring on August 16, 2023 to a director and a consultant of the Company. The company also announces that it has agreed to settle an aggregate of $135,000 of indebtedness of the Company with various arm's length and non-arm's length creditors through the issuance of an aggregate of 500,000 common shares ("Common Shares") at a price of $0.27 per Common Share. The Common Shares issued pursuant to the debt settlement will be subject to a four month and one day hold period pursuant to applicable securities laws. The shares for debt transaction constitutes a "related party transaction" within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") an insider of the Company will receive 100,000 Common Shares of the Company in connection with the debt settlement. The Company is relying on the exemptions from the valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 contained in sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the shares for debt transaction with the insider does not exceed 25% of the market capitalization of the Company, as determined in accordance with MI 61-101. The Company did not file a material change report in respect of the related party transaction at least 21 days before the closing of the debt settlement, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances as the Company wishes to improve its financial position by reducing its existing liabilities. Story continues About Argo Gold Inc. Argo Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration and development company, focused on gold exploration projects in central and northwestern Ontario. Argo Gold recently added the Talbot Lake Gold Project to its portfolio. (Argo Gold PR, June 11 2020). All of Argo Gold's projects are 100% owned by the company and its shareholders. Information on Argo Gold can be obtained from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.argogold.ca. Argo Gold is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (www.thecse.com) under the ticker ARQ, on the OTC under the ticker ARBTF and on the FSE under P3U. For more information please contact: Judy Baker, CEO (416) 786-7860 jbaker@argogold.ca NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Forward-looking Information Cautionary Statement Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the CSE. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61939 Bay of Plenty Have you got your Class 2 manual license and are looking to get your foot in the door of a well renowned company? Read on!he... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Districts in Western Maharashtra, including Pune, Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli, are expected to receive strong spells of showers, IMD said Children cover themselves with raincoats as they walk during rainfall, at Mahim in Mumbai. (PTI Photo) Mumbai: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted heavy rainfall at isolated places in Mumbai, Raigad and Palghar from Monday onwards. An official said that the intensity of rains would reduce from Tuesday. A red alert has been issued for isolated places in Pune and Satara districts in Maharashtra. The IMD classifies a minimum 204.5 mm rainfall in 24 hours as extremely heavy. A red alert requires authorities to take preventive steps to minimise damage. Districts in Western Maharashtra, including Pune, Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli, are expected to receive strong spells of showers in the week beginning Monday (August 17). Satara and Pune districts are very likely to receive extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places on Monday, the IMD official said. He said the rest of the region is expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places during the week. Parts of Maharashtra including north, Madhya and Vidarbha regions are expected to receive heavy to very heavy showers till Thursday. Meanwhile, due to heavy rains, some villages in Kolhapur district remained cut off from rest of the district due to flood in the Kasari river, a major tributary of the Panchganga river. The official said the rate of the water discharge from the Almatti dam in north Karnataka has been increased by 20,000 cusecs to 2 lakh cusecs, after Maharashtra minister Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar spoke with Karnataka's water resources minister Ramesh Jarkiholi. WASHINGTON A few years ago, a college student in Georgia stood on a stool outside a campus food court to talk about his Christian faith. He spoke for 20 minutes about human frailty and the possibility of salvation when school officials told him he had to stop or face discipline. This fall, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether the student, Chike Uzuegbunam, can sue the officials for violating his First Amendment rights when they enforced a particularly severe version of the school speech codes that have become commonplace at colleges and universities around the nation. Mr. Uzuegbunam had tried to comply with the rules at his school, Georgia Gwinnett College, a public institution in Lawrenceville, Ga., that sprawls over 260 acres. The college had designated two small patches of concrete as free speech expression areas. By the calculations of Mr. Uzuegbunams lawyers, the areas in which free speech was permitted a patio and a sidewalk amounted to .0015 percent of the campus. The Paramount Chief of Kusaug Traditional Area in the Upper East Region, Zug-Raan Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, has touted Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, running mate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), as a blessing for the progress of the country. According to the traditional leader, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang's decent character and focus on issues would impact positively on Ghana's political environment and development agenda. He made the observation when he welcomed the NDC running mate and her entourage to his palace as part of her tour of the region. We have not had rain for a long time and our crops are dying, but your coming here has brought rain and it has meaning, Zug-Raan Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, remarked. Decrying the acrimonious nature of the political environment in the country, the paramount chief expressed confidence that the inclusion of the former Minister for Education in the political contest as a running mate would make the electioneering campaign more focused on national development. He commended Prof. Opoku-Agyemang for accepting the running mate role and urged her to maintain the decency she has exhibited in politics so far, noting that the conduct of a clean campaign was critical to maintaining peace in the country. In a related development, the NDC running mate arrived in Zebilla to a rousing welcome from residents in the town. The chief of the town, Naba Abilia Belwin, praised the running mate for her peaceful character, an attribute he said would help address the politics of insults in the country. Professor Opoku-Agyemang assured both traditional leaders of the NDC's commitment to an issue-based campaign, solely influenced by a manifesto the party will implement to save Ghanaians from the present socio-economic difficulties in the country. She thanked the chiefs for their show of support, adding that the NDC was counting on them to return to power to do more for the advancement of their communities. The running mate was accompanied by Mr. Alex Segbefia, a former Minister for Health and Deputy Campaign Manager of the party for the 2020 elections, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu, and Ms. Emelia Authur, a former Deputy Western Regional Minister. Other members of the team included Mrs. Mawuena Trebarh, Spokesperson and Head of Communications for the Office of the NDC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Hon. Isaac Adongo, MP for Bolgatanga Central, Hon. Lardi Ayii Ayamba, MP for Pusiga, Mrs. Maame Efua Houadjeto Deputy National Womens Organiser, and regional party executives. ---citinewsroom "I'm planting a 'high-tech field' now!" said a farmer from east Chinas Anhui province. For farmers like him, thanks to advanced technology, they no longer have to depend solely on weather conditions for an increase of production. A drone sprays pesticides over an orchard in a village in Linfen, north Chinas Shanxi province. (Photo/Xinhua) Yu Wenhe, a farmer from Anhui province said that for his high-yield disaster resistant varieties, he no longer need to rely solely on the weather conditions; from planting to harvest, every process can be finished by machines, and the yield can be well guaranteed. "Mobile phones have become the new farm tools. You can control the land at home," Yu opened the mobile phone software and had a clear understanding about the "transplanting area", "operation track" and "fertilizer". "After farm machines are equipped with positioning function, I can grasp in time about how many seedlings and how much fertilizer are needed, as well as receive accurate data, Yu said. Agricultural science and technology, such as the integration of agricultural machinery and agronomy and intelligent agriculture, helps ensure the high production of autumn grain crops. "Farming has changed from manual work to technical work!" said Huang Qinyong, a farmer from the eco-agricultural demonstration field in Zhengbaotun town, Xiajin county, east China's Shandong province, adding that "the leaves of these corns are thick and broad. Under the guidance of experts, the temperature can be calculated accurately. When growing five days later than usual, the plants are 20 centimeters higher than the ordinary varieties." Huang also noted that with the application of a new type of organic fertilizer and high-tech agricultural equipment, corn can grow faster, with abundant and well-developed roots; this year, the yield of more than 300 mu (20 hectares) of corn is expected to increase by more than 100 jin (50 kilograms) per mu. "The breeding level has been improved; agricultural mechanization and intelligence has been improved, and the disaster prevention and reduction system is improving to help stabilize grain production capacity," Li Maosong, a researcher at Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said. At present, the coverage rate of fine varieties in China has reached 96 percent; varieties' contribution rate to agricultural yield has increased over 43 percent, and the comprehensive mechanization rate of crop cultivation and harvest has exceeded 70 percent. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) talks about the transcript of the call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times) Rep. Adam B. Schiff is dramatically increasing his political fundraising in the wake of his high-profile role in President Trump's impeachment trial and ahead of possible vacancies next year in the U.S. Senate and House Democratic leadership two promotions that could interest the Burbank Democrat. Schiff has raised more than $22 million since the beginning of 2019 for his campaign committee and other Democratic groups, including Joe Bidens presidential race, according to the congressman's campaign. That includes $1.7 million Schiff raised Monday as host of a virtual event for Biden. It's a sharp rise in fundraising for Schiff, who became chairman of the House Intelligence Committee in 2019 and gained national attention as the lead prosecutor in the Senate impeachment trial of Trump this year. He's already doubled the $9.9-million fundraising haul for his campaign and other committees in the two-year cycle before the 2018 election. In the 2016 cycle, he raised only $1 million, according to the Open Secrets website. That did not include fundraising for the party committees, which was minimal, according to his campaign. Compared with other House Democrats, Schiff now ranks third in fundraising behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.), who leads the committee to elect House Democrats, according to a fundraising document viewed by The Times. Schiffs fundraising surge comes as two potential political promotions come within view. If Biden is elected in November, Gov. Gavin Newsom would have the power to appoint a replacement for Sen. Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic vice presidential candidate. While Newsom is viewed as likely to choose a woman or person of color for the seat, Schiffs fundraising efforts could be seen as boosting his chances. Schiff has eyed the Senate before. When Sen. Dianne Feinstein was deciding whether to run for a fifth term or retire in 2018, he considered running if she stepped down. Story continues There's also a possible House leadership race if Pelosi retires. In late 2018, she agreed to step down as leader of the House Democrats by 2022 and could leave office earlier. There is no clear successor in place, and Schiff would probably be a contender for a job in which fundraising prowess is key. He has also built a powerful group of potential allies in the other Democrats to whom he's contributed. A Schiff aide downplayed any link between political ambitions and his fundraising. Schiff has always felt that if you keep your head down and focus on doing the work, the rest will take care of itself. And that philosophy has put him at the center of House Democrats effort to hold the president accountable and defend our democracy, said the aide, who asked to not be identified in discussing the issue. Besides the impeachment trial, Schiff gained an increasingly prominent party role in 2019 when he was placed in charge of fundraising for the House Democrats who face the toughest reelection fights, called front-line members. These Democrats typically represent historically Republican districts and oftentimes are freshman members. While Democrats are expected to retain control of the House in the 2020 election, the most vulnerable Democrats often require the most fundraising to fend off challengers. The $22 million Schiff has raised since the beginning of last year includes $12.4 million for his reelection campaign, $7.3 million for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and for House Democrats in tough races, more than $2.4 million for Biden and $635,000 for Democratic Senate candidates, according to figures provided by his campaign. California has often been called the Democratic Partys ATM for fundraising, a machine that Schiff has been able to successfully use to help Democrats. Half of the money raised in his reelection committee came from California donors, according to the campaign. Because Schiffs seat is considered safe, he is able to spread that money to other Democrats. Schiff's Republican challenger, Eric Early, has raised $1.4 million as of June, according to Federal Election Commission documents. In almost any other district, Earlys fundraising would be enough to provide a substantial challenge, but Democratic voters dramatically outnumber Republicans in the district. Like the Biden fundraiser Monday, Schiff has focused on virtual events since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down in-person gatherings. Earlier this month, he held a fundraiser with actor Jason Alexander and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) in support of Democrats. By election day, he's expected to have done 50 events for House and Senate candidates. NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Data breaches are inevitable in the enterprise space, and endpoints continue to be a popular vector of cyberattacks. In response, endpoint security tools have evolved from signature-based antivirus to advanced endpoint security solutions.Endpoint security includes host-based software products that secure computing devices such as laptops, desktops, netbooks, tablets, servers, IoT devices, and smartphones from malware, cyberattacks, unwanted applications, and physical loss or theft.Traditionally, endpoint security comprised 2 segments, namely endpoint protection platforms (EPPs) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools. Over the past 2 years, many vendors have combined EPP and EDR capabilities in a single platform, resulting in the birth of next-generation endpoint security tools. The radar indicates companies' market positioning through growth and innovation scores. The write up presents profiles for all the companies marked on the radar. The analyst examines hundreds of companies in the industry and benchmarks them across 10 criteria. Leading participants are then positioned on the radar, and these include Microsoft, McAfee, ESET, and Kaspersky. Companies that garner top scores on both the growth and the innovation indices are recognized as best practice recipients. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05948429/?utm_source=PRN Author: Swetha Ramachandran Krishnamoorthi Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05948429/?utm_source=PRN About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 03:30:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Xinhua file photos of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's full support for UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which created the international legal basis for the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal. MOSCOW, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday discussed the proposal of Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold a seven-state summit on Iran. On Friday, Putin proposed holding an urgent online meeting of the heads of the five permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council with the participation of the leaders of Germany and Iran to discuss Iran and the Persian Gulf situation. During the phone call with Pompeo, Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's full support for UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which created the international legal basis for the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press release. Lavrov stressed that the Iran nuclear deal is a major political and diplomatic achievement aimed at strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime and regional security in the Middle East, it said. Lavrov and Pompeo also discussed scheduling bilateral contacts in the near future during the phone conversation, it added. Hollywood cinematographer Sheldon Chau and Polish cinematographer Miroslaw Brozek who cranked the camera for big-ticket Telugu films such as Mosagallu and Gang Leader, respectively No doubt, Telugu filmmakers are trying to raise the bar with their films, roping in ace cinematographers to deliver visual splendours. Take for instance, Hollywood cinematographer Sheldon Chau and Polish cinematographer Miroslaw Brozek who cranked the camera for big-ticket Telugu films such as Mosagallu and Gang Leader, respectively. Closer home, the legendary P. C. Sreeram (Rang De), Senthil Kumar (RRR) and Tirru (Acharya), American-born cinematographer Shaneil Deo (Nishabdham) are trying to deliver eye-catching visuals. From behind the cameras Ace cinematographer Senthil Kumar admits that visuals in Telugu cinema have improved drastically over the last few years. Also, talented cinematographers are getting some good work to do. It is also equally true that cinematographers are getting some space in the media these days after being relegated to behind-the-screens for many years, says Senthil with a smile. Talking about the cinematography for period drama RRR, with two big stars Jr NTR and Ram Charan donning legendary roles, he says theyve been trying to capture the pre-Independence era as authentically as possible. Of course, working with an ace director such as Rajamouli adds to his calibre, points out Senthil. In exploration of lights and angles Similarly, another National-Award winning cinematographer Tirru, who worked in big Bollywood blockbusters such as Krissh 3, will join hands with ace director Koratala Siva for Chiranjeevis big-ticket movie Acharya. Chiranjeevi garu could create magic within a moment on screen, says Tirru. He then tells us that theyve shot in a township erected in 15 to 20 acres with 300 feet roads and an elegant 80-feet temple gopuram. They will also soon start shooting in dense forests to give a Western kind of look for their magnum opus. This is one of the costliest movies in Tirrus career, he tells us, promising also to deliver a visually enchanting movie. Directing visual feasts Hemant Madhukar brings a directors perspective in roping in talented cinematographers. For Nishabdham, we wanted breath-taking visuals and so roped in American-born Shaneil Deo to deliver a movie in anamorphic format, explains Hemant. He states that unlike a few seasoned Telugu cinematographers, Shaneil is well-versed in technology. He is also exposed to world cinema and comes up with fresh ideas on location to capture stunning visuals. Besides, he understands the temperature of foreign locales, which is the key for beautiful cinematography, Hemant adds. He also remembers how directors such as Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who create soft love stories rich in visuals and splendour, have been delivering visual feasts. A Yankee in T-wood Another pertinent example in this set of famed cinematographers stepping into Tollywood is Hollywood cameraman Sheldon Chau of Summer Night and Nigerian Prince. In T-wood, he cranked the camera for the upcoming movie Mosagallu starring Vishnu Manchu, Kajal Aggarwal and Suneil Shetty. R. Vijay Kumar, executive producer, of the big ticket movie tells us that after browsing through various big names, Hollywood director, Jeffrey Gee Chin, felt that Sheldon Chau would be the right fit. Pointing out how Sheldon believes in minimal lighting and works hard for extravagant visuals, Vijay recollects how he turned an almost everyday visual to something extraordinary with his touch. Although, I have seen the Charminar a hundred times before, Sheldon captured it from a new angle, leaving us stunned. And that is the cream of his works elegance, explains Vijay. Similarly, during a shoot, though he goes with the storyboard, he improvises on location to capture the best moments on screen. Personally, I think Santhosh Sivan is one of the best cinematographers in India, and Sheldon is equally good and is soon going to make his mark. Houstons public charter schools are opening their virtual doors for their 2020-2021 school year, despite the obstacles created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Public charter schools in the Greater Houston area serve more than 69,000 students with more than 38,000 living within Houston ISDs boundaries. Many public charters serve high rates of Black, Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged students while focusing on preventing dropouts. Related: Spring Branch ISD balancing multiple objectives in return to class Gulftons Etoile Academy focuses on grades five through eight with high academic expectations for their students. Supportive, targeted interventions for all their students are frequent and required, and students learn French in the seventh and eighth grade, with the opportunity to travel to a French-speaking country, administrators said. After kicking off a virtual start to the school year today, the district is set to begin in-person education on Sept. 8. We have kept busy focusing on our mission to provide every student with a world-class education and practiced out skills with virtual summer school serving over 90 students that opted in to continue their education, said Founder and Superintendent Kayleigh Colombero. We are thrilled to start a robust virtual learning program on (Aug. 17). We are also eagerly awaiting the return to in-person learning our desk shields are already in place. Each week, Etoile Academy will assign students coursework on Google Classroom and give them short lesson videos to watch. Students will need to complete exit tickets and assessments to pass their classes with the support of teachers on Google Hangout throughout the day to answer questions. Bloom Academy, located in Third Ward, is a tuition-free public school that prepares students to make a positive impact in their community, administrators said. After opening in August 2019, the school will add a new grade level each year until they reach the fifth grade. In the 2020-2021 school year, Bloom will have kindergarten, first and second grade students. Bloom students return to virtual education on Aug. 24 and remain online for at least the first four weeks of instruction. Bloom incorporates chants, songs and movement breaks throughout the day to ensure students are engaged and looking forward to school even on Zoom with regularly scheduled Wiggle Breaks. We know how incredibly important it is to ensure that our students, all of whom identify as Black and Brown, do not get left behind emotionally or academically, said Courtney Sales, Founder and Head of School of Bloom Academy. Our mission is to ensure our elementary scholars are prepared for middle school, high school, and college and to lead lives of positive impact in their communities, remains unshaken. Bloom Academy is not our building its our relentless pursuit of excellence by our team members and by our students no matter the setting. Founded in 1996, Raul Yzaguirre School for Success was one of the first open-enrollment charter schools approved by the Texas State Board of Education. The school was established by the Tejano Center for Community Concerns to provide a college preparatory educational experience for students in Southeast Houston and their second campus in Brownsville, Texas. At Raul Yzaguirre Schools for Success, we serve children who need our support the most. Our administrators and teachers are going above and beyond to support our students and families with the tools they need - theyre showing why they are heroes, said Adriana Tamez, Superintendent of Raul Yzaguirre Schools for Success. Students began virtual learning at RYSS on Aug. 12, with a hybrid instructional model beginning on Sept. 8. Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated when Bloom would return to in-person education. ryan.nickerson@hcnonline.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:09:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Over 100,000 people have volunteered to take part in COVID-19 vaccine trials in Britain, the British government said Monday, encouraging more to sign up to the National Health Service (NHS) COVID-19 Vaccine Research Registry. Researchers want volunteers from all parts of society, especially those who are more likely to benefit from a vaccine, including the over 65s, frontline health and social care workers, and those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. "To enable large-scale vaccine studies to take place across the UK, the aim is to get as many people as possible signed up to the Registry by October," said a spokesperson of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). The department said clinical studies with a diverse pool of volunteers will help scientists and researchers better understand the effectiveness of each vaccine candidate and will considerably speed up efforts to discover a safe and workable vaccine. It said a number of trials in Britain are expected to begin this fall, involving the NHS, research institutions and businesses, to help develop and manufacture vaccines. Enditem She failed to receive a rose from Locky Gilbert on the first night of The Bachelor. And now Nadine Kodsi has revealed that she has no plans to appear on spin-off series Bachelor in Paradise - or any other reality show for that matter. 'I have a life outside of The Bachelor,' the 30-year-old entrepreneur told Daily Mail Australia last week when asked if she would consider returning to the franchise. EXCLUSIVE: Bachelor reject Nadine Kodsi (pictured) has revealed she has no plans to appear on spin-off series Bachelor in Paradise - or any other reality show for that matter 'I don't have time to just pretend and play along and be degraded in that way,' she continued. 'I wouldn't do Married At First Sight either unless my partner could join me,' she added, confirming she has found love since appearing on The Bachelor. Nadine went on to say that the reality behind Channel 10's dating show was anything but the fairytale experience shown on TV. Thanks, but no thanks! 'I have a life outside of The Bachelor,' the 30-year-old entrepreneur told Daily Mail Australia last week when asked if she would consider returning to the franchise She said the experience of spending a few days in a lavish mansion was 'degrading' and 'inhumane'. Since filming the reality show earlier this year, the Melbourne-based businesswoman has struck up a romance with a mystery man. Nadine shared a photo to Instagram of herself kissing a bearded man, and wrote in the caption: 'My muse.' Pray for Nadine: The Melbourne-based businesswoman said the experience of spending a few days in a lavish mansion was 'degrading' and 'inhumane' 'Muse': Since filming The Bachelor earlier this year, Nadine has found love with a mystery man Nadine was sent packing after the first cocktail party, alongside Paige Royal. There are now 22 women left in the mansion vying for Locky Gilbert's heart, including intruder Kaitlyn Hoppe. The Bachelor continues Wednesday from 7:30pm on Channel 10 The Congress on Sunday appointed senior party leader Ajay Maken as the new general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan, replacing Avinash Pande. IMAGE: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot along with senior Congress leaders Sachin Pilot, Avinash Pandey, second right, Randeep Surjewala, right, Ajay Maken, second left, and K C Venugopal, third left, in Jaipur. Photograph: PTI Photo Congress chief Sonia Gandhi also set up a three-member committee to resolve the issues raised by party rebels in Rajasthan. Senior party leader Ahmed Patel, general secretary in-charge for Rajasthan Ajay Maken and general secretary organisation KC Venugopal have been made members of the panel. 'The Congress president has constituted a three-member committee to oversee and follow up the smooth resolution of recent issues in Rajasthan. 'The members of the committee are Ahmed Patel, AICC (All India Congress Committee) general secretary in-charge Organisation (K C Venugopal) and AICC general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan (Ajay Maken),' a party statement said. The appointments come close on the heels of the Congress government in Rajasthan winning a crucial trust vote with the backing of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and and his loyalist MLAs, who had revolted against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot but later called a truce with the party after assurance by top party leadership. An important part of the reconciliation plan was the Congress' announcement that a high-powered three-member committee would be formed to duly address the grievances of dissidents in a time-bound manner. The Pilot camp has been seeking active participation in governance and flagging concerns over the 'manner of functioning' of CM Gehlot. Pilot and other rebels welcomed the move and expressed hope that all their issues would be resolved. Another statement by the party said, 'Congress president has appointed Ajay Maken as the general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan in place of Avinash Pande with immediate effect.' 'The party appreciates the contribution of Avinash Pande,' it said. Maken was recently sent as observer by the party to Rajasthan, along with party chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, to help resolve the differences and save the government from the possibility of losing its majority in the state assembly. Maken was earlier the Delhi Congress chief but had resigned citing health reasons. Avinash Pande thanks all Cong workers for support during his tenure Congress national general secretary Avinash Pande on Sunday expressed his gratitude to all party workers for their support during his tenure as the Rajasthan in-charge. Pande said that his tenure as the in-charge of Rajasthan Congress Organisation has been satisfactory and that he had a very positive experience working with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former state Congress president Sachin Pilot and other senior party leaders. As a result of people's unity, the Congress government was formed in 2018. Party workers worked with full enthusiasm in wards, blocks and districts of the state, he said in a statement and wished a bright future for the party in the state. (Natural News) Violent Antifa and Black Lives Matter rioters broke into a home in Wisconsin to attack an African American police officer and his girlfriend. The officer, identified as Joseph Mensah, was assaulted by a group of 60 people at around 8 p.m. on Saturday, August, 8, while he was staying at his girlfriends home in Wauwatosa, a city directly to the west of Milwaukee. According to the news release published by the Wauwatosa Police Department (WPD), Mensah first tried to deescalate the situation by speaking with the group. However, diplomacy did not work with the agitators, as the officer was ultimately physically assaulted outside of his home. When Mensah tried to retreat to the safety of the house, several of the rioters who were bearing firearms followed. One person approached the back of the house and fired a single shotgun round into the rear door. Fortunately, the WPD was able to disperse the violent mob, with help from numerous neighboring agencies. Officials from the department said that the investigation into the attack is ongoing. WPD Chief Barry Weber has met with his command staff to discuss the incident, and they have announced that steps have been taken to ensure Mensahs safety. For his part, Mensah issued a statement stating that when he confronted the violent mob, he was unarmed and trying to defend his property and that of his partner. We were both assaulted, punched and ultimately shot several times. He added that a shotgun round missed him, without elaborating. Without a more detailed statement, the extent of Mensah and his partners injuries remains unclear. The irony in all of this is that they chanted Black Lives Matter the entire time, but had zero regard for any of the Black children that live there or for me, a Black man. (Related: Seattle police chiefs home targeted by Black Lives Matter because of her opposition to defunding the police.) The mayor of Wauwatosa, Dennis McBride, said in a statement that the event was not a peaceful protest; it was criminal behavior. If the perpetrators of this criminal behavior are identified, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent allowed by law. Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the domestic terrorist movement known as Black Lives Matter is now using their illegal firearms to shoot at innocent civilians in their vehicles. Mensah may have been targeted due to his connection to officer-involved shooting Mensah may have been targeted by the Antifa and BLM mob due to his involvement in the deaths of three individuals, one of whom died in February. The first two officer-involved shootings occurred in 2015 and 2016. A judge ruled that both deaths were justified. The third involved Mensah shooting a 17-year-old boy. The Wauwatosa Common Council unanimously voted to suspend Mensah from the WPD back in July due to his involvement in the latest shooting. The case is still being reviewed by the Milwaukee County District Attorneys Office. Mensah, who claims to have fired upon the 17-year-old in self-defense, said in a radio interview that nobody can explain why the common council voted to suspend him, which makes him believe that it was done to appease the rioters. Mayor McBride also seems to want to placate the mob, as he has called on Mensah to transition from the Wauwatosa Police Departments employment. WPD clash with state officials over incident David Bowen, a Democratic representative for the Wisconsin State Assemblys 10th district, had a radically different account of the events that unfolded. In a statement released on social media, Bowen described Mensah as an out of control, yelling and aggressive man that came out of his house with the goal to provoke peaceful protesters and incite violence. Bowen said that nobody tried to kill Mensah or his girlfriend. Bowen accused Mensah of totally fabricating the events. According to him, nobody tried to kill Mensah or his partner and enter their home, nobody fired more than one shot and the one demonstrator with the shotgun did not fire a round into the backdoor. Bowen further asserts that Mensah left out several key details in his statement, such as how he supposedly pepper-sprayed the crowd and brought a large dog with him to potentially attack them. He also claims that Mensah chose to engage with the rioter with the shotgun, and in the ensuing confrontation, it was Mensah that pulled the trigger. The WPD has pushed back on Bowens statements, calling them unsupported by the facts. However, they refused to divulge any more information because the investigation is still ongoing. The Black Lives Matter rioters are beginning to enter residential areas and attacking people at their own homes. Learn more about their latest brazen actions at Rioting.news. Sources include: TheEpochTimes.com Fox6Now.com WPR.org Patch.com The Sudanese authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Al Sadig Al Rezegy President of Sudanese Journalists Union following their decision to dissolve the union last year. The IFJ has condemned the arrest warrant and the attempts to seize the assets of the SJU and called for the authorities to engage in an open dialogue with the SJU and IFJ. The warrant was issued on Sunday 16 August after Al Rezegy refused to hand over the property and assets of the SJU which was disbanded by the authorities earlier this year. Among the charges against Al Rezegy, who is also President of the Federation of African Journalists, is claims that he continued to run the union and be active after it had been outlawed and that he attended meetings of the IFJ, FAJ and other international bodies representing the banned SJU. A Police officer from Empowerment Removal Committee called Al Rezegy by phone three times on Sunday asking him to surrender himself. He refused. In a statement, the SJU said it rejected these grave attacks by the Sudanese government and calls on all regional and international journalists unions, all human rights organizations to condemn this irrational behaviour against trade union freedom in Sudan. IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger said: We condemn the heavy-handed approach of the Sudanese authorities and their continued attempts to undermine union rights. We urge them to immediately rescind the arrest warrant. Alexander Ma allegedly began working with Chinese intelligence in 2001, according to court documents made public Monday. A former Central Intelligence Agency and FBI officer was arrested and charged with spying for China in a years-long operation, the US Justice Department said on Monday. Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, aged 67, according to court documents, was arrested on Friday on charges of conspiracy to communicate national defence information to aid a foreign government and faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted, the Justice Department said. The criminal complaint was unsealed on Monday. This serious act of espionage is another example in a long string of illicit activities that the Peoples Republic of China is conducting within and against the United States, Alan E Kohler Jr, Assistant Director of the FBIs Counterintelligence Division, said in a statement. This case demonstrates that no matter the length or difficulty of the investigation, the men and women of the FBI will work tirelessly to protect our national security from the threat posed by Chinese intelligence services. Numerous allegations A sworn affidavit (PDF) from Special Agent Chris Jensen of the FBI said Ma joined the CIA in 1982 and was assigned as CIA officer overseas, holding Top Secret clearance. Ma is alleged to have worked with a co-conspirator, aged 85, who also worked for the CIA. This individual is listed in the document as CC#1. No arrest warrant is sought for said individual, given an advanced and debilitating cognitive disease from which they suffer, the document says. The affidavit alleges that Ma became a compromised asset of Chinese intelligence agencies by early 2001. Ma, alongside CC#1, met with at least five Chinese intelligence officials in Hong Kong hotels between March 24, 2001, and March 26 of that same year, the document claims. The two men disclosed a substantial amount of highly classified national defense information of the US to said agents, the affidavit alleges. The document further claims that Ma continued working with Chinese intelligence as he sought employment with the FBI, where he began working in August 2004 at the Honolulu field office as a Chinese languages contract linguist. Ma allegedly continued his illegal activities at the Honolulu field office through 2010, according to a timeline found in the affidavit. The FBI conducted an undercover operation in January 2019, during which an undercover officer allegedly claimed to be working for Chinese intelligence services and showed Ma a video recording of a 2001 meeting. The undercover agent continued meeting with Ma through August 2020, offering the accused payments for working with Chinese intelligence, which Ma allegedly accepted. The FBI did not immediately respond to Al Jazeeras request for comment on Monday. No defence lawyer was listed for Ma, who will make his first appearance in court on Tuesday, August 18. PRINCETON, N.J.--Negative life events can cause crippling distress, significant hardships, and even lifelong trauma. The poor are perceived to be "hardened" by these events and therefore less harmed by them than those with more means, even when this is patently false, according to a series of studies published by Princeton University. The researchers found this "thick-skin bias" persisted when looking at poverty in both childhood and adulthood, as well as across White, Black, LatinX, and Asian groups. The researchers also found strong evidence for the bias in a nationally representative U.S. sample, as well as people working in customer service, mental health, and education. The findings, published in the journal Behavioral Public Policy, have profound implications. According to the authors, the assumption that lower-socioeconomic individuals are better equipped to handle distress than their higher-socioeconomic counterparts is persistent, often wrong, and could lead to institutional and interpersonal neglect of those most in need, further exacerbating cycles of poverty. "If people in poverty are perceived as happy with less -- less distressed when things go badly and more pleased when little things go well -- they may receive less courtesy, less care, and less attention, along with greater neglect and disrespect," said Eldar Shafir, Class of 1987 Professor in Behavioral Science and Public Policy and professor of psychology and public affairs at the School of Public and International Affairs. "The thick-skin bias risks focusing attention, effort, and other resources on those who overwhelmingly receive them, while exacerbating and justifying the failure to support those most in need -- even when such treatment is neither strategic nor profitable, nor even intentional." Shafir and co-author Nathan Cheek, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology at Princeton, theorized that a thick-skin bias might influence how people perceive the hardships of the poor. They decided to investigate this across a series of studies that looked at various negative life circumstances, from major to minor. Participants in the first few studies were recruited primarily through Amazon's Mechanical Turk, a crowdsourcing website, as well as other online platforms. In the first four studies, participants were asked to rate the extent to which they thought individuals of different races would be affected by various negative life events. These ranged from minor inconveniences, like being served an overcooked meal, to more serious experiences like being wrongly accused of shoplifting by a police officer. Participants were presented with a photo and short "story" about each person -- all of whom were described as "born and raised in a large city in the U.S." and identified as either low or high socioeconomic status. Independent of race, individuals of lower socioeconomic status were perceived as significantly less harmed by the negative events that those of higher socioeconomic status. In the next set of studies, the researchers evaluated poverty in childhood versus adulthood. Participants rated the extent to which a number of negative life events would affect an adult who was described as either having grown up in poverty or affluence or having experienced poverty or affluence in the last 10 years. In follow-up studies, the procedure was the same, though the person was said to have lived in poverty or affluence in the last year instead of 10 years. Other studies in this set followed this approach, differing slightly on details. These studies found that both past and present socioeconomic status can drive the thick- skin bias. The researchers also observed that people believe the formerly rich are more easily toughened by poverty than the formerly poor are weakened by abundance. In the last set of studies, the researchers evaluated the thick-skin bias in the judgments of professionals. They recruited chefs, social workers, teachers, and graduate students training to be therapists to be part of the study. These professionals read about a person who had either a lower or higher socioeconomic background, and had experienced a series of negative events in their field. The chefs, for example, read about people experiencing an overcooked and badly prepared meal, or waiting an exceedingly long time to be served. The teachers read about a child who was scolded by a teacher. These professionals consistently rated the protagonists of lower socioeconomic status to be less affected than those of higher socioeconomic status by the same negative experiences. Finally, the researchers conducted a representative survey across the U.S. population; 772 participants were analyzed and given a similar test. Participants judged the effect of 10 negative events on a low-socioeconomic or a high- socioeconomic person; sex and race differed, as well as the severity of the events. Across all studies and scenarios, the thick-skin bias persisted: Participants generally perceived people of lesser means to be less affected by the same negative events than their higher socioeconomic counterparts. This was not driven simply by perceptions of the rich, either. While people thought the absence of hardship left the rich more vulnerable, they clearly felt that hardships hardened the poor. And, the researchers explain, this is often false: "Chronic stress and repeated adverse life experiences of the kind often encountered by those in poverty...do not buffer against future such negative events. On the contrary, they can exacerbate their impact," Shafir said. The findings held true regardless of expectation, age, or profession. Whether the traumatic event was "to be expected" in the lives of the poor, or was equally surprising for poor and rich, people generally perceived those of lower socioeconomic status to be less distressed by it. Those who were presumed to grow up in poverty were also seen as being less affected by distress than those who grew up in higher socioeconomic contexts. Importantly, professionals working in a variety of fields displayed the thick-skin bias, which could affect how people of lower socioeconomic status are treated in restaurants, schools, and other settings. This pattern of results, the researchers said, should be concerning. Policymakers themselves are likely to exhibit the thick-skin bias, which is likely to shape their judgments of urgency and need, and can fuel institutional inequality. This is also true for other practitioners like those in finance, housing, law, philanthropy, or the criminal courts. Perhaps most consequential, the researchers conclude, are the implications of the thick-skin bias for the levels of concern and civility shown in everyday life. "During a global pandemic and recession, it is perhaps more important than ever to ensure that people in poverty receive the resources and support they need," said Cheek. "But it is hard to imagine achieving that if the thick-skin bias prevents us from fully seeing people's experiences -- their distress and their pain -- in the first place." ### The paper, "The Thick Skin Bias in Judgments About People in Poverty," first appeared online Aug. 14 in Behavioral Public Policy. Photo: (Photo : YouTube/WSAV3) On Wednesday, at around 3:38 in the afternoon, a Ryder box truck crashed with the back of a stopped school bus near Alma in Bacon County, Georgia. The truck driver, Johnathon Grayer, died after saving ten children from getting out of the school bus, a Georgia State Patrol spokesperson told People. The truck driver jumped out immediately. Cpl. Shane Copeland told CNN that the 25-year-old driver immediately jumped out of the truck and rushed to the bus to help the kids get out. The bus surveillance camera revealed that Grayer collapsed after he lifted the seats off students who were trapped underneath. Copeland said that the driver must have been running on adrenaline. He noted that his body could not hold it anymore. He also said that at that point, the driver was pretty much done, so he collapsed. The Georgia State Patrol said they moved Grayer to Bacon County Hospital, but he later died. See also: Mom Got Shot and Killed While Daughter Was Having Online Zoom Class Troopers did a great job. Copeland said that the crash had left metal scattered across the highway after it sent the box truck into the air. Thankfully, the trained troopers know how to treat every accident as if their loved ones were involved, so they were very thorough. A Bacon County fire and EMS compliance officer, Tyler Beach, told WSAV, that they had other tragedies and accidents like that before, but this one had shaken them the most out of the previous incidents. The troopers brought Jerry Sweat, the school bus driver, and three other children to the same hospital. Then, they moved three other children, with non-life-threatening injuries, to Shands in Jacksonville, Florida. WTOC reported that authorities believe that the truck was running 50 to 60 miles per hour when it crashed with the rear-end of the school bus. See also: The Story Behind the Beirut Blast Nurse Who Saved 3 Babies See also: The Story Behind the Beirut Blast Nurse Who Saved 3 Babies Crashes are treated equally. Copeland told the outlet that they try to do standard procedures on every crash and try to treat all crashes equally. However, he added that he could not help but get emotional because he also has three children at home. He said that incidents like that become more personal because he could relate to the children's parents. On Wednesday, Brian Kemp, Georgia Governor, tweeted about the fatal accident. He wrote that they are praying for the family and loved ones of the truck driver who lost his life. He is also praying for the children that got injured in the accident. See also: Mayor Loses Stepdad and Mom Due to Coronavirus Weeks Apart The GSP Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) is doing a follow-up investigation about the devastating incident. Copeland said that since children are back to school now, drivers should pay more attention to the road to keep the kids from encountering horrifying accidents. /* custom css */ .tdi_75_933.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_933 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_933.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_933.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_933.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement Controversial as Prince Arthur Eze has become in his desperate bid to become the godfather of Anambra State which has earned him the moniker of Money Miss Road, he may not be a fool, after all. Aware that his mission of taking a handful of obscure traditional rulers from Anambra State on Wednesday, August 5, to the Presidential Villa with the sole purpose of criticizing Governor Willie Obiano before President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, August 7, was dangerous, he carefully made sure that his half-brother, Dr Robert Eze who is the monarch of Ukpo in Dunukofia Local Government Area, did not make the trip. Dr Eze received the 12 traditional rulers in his palace while they were on the way to the airport, but did not follow them to Abuja. Humiliated by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja and now suspended by the Anambra State government, the traditional rulers are feeling swindled. Arthur Ezes brother, a medical doctor, did not suffer any humiliation because he committed no offence. Why didnt he join? He probably felt that they are not in the same class. The 12 traditional rulers are pipsqueaks; they are individuals whom most Anambra people have never heard of. In a state which boasts of such monarchs as Professor Laz Ekwueme, winner of Nigerias highest honour for intellectual and artistic excellence, just like Professor Vincent Chukwuemeka Ike, and Agbogidi Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe, an alumnus of Stanford and Columbia universities who used to be a director of Shell International in London, it is unimaginable that a handful of villagers would arrogate to themselves the prerogative to represent the Anambra State Traditional Rulers Council on the national scene. Despite President Buharis decision not to grant audience to these fellows because they are insignificant and were on a less than noble mission, they chose to remain in Abuja for another week to see if any state House official would see them even for a minute. Taking a cue from his boss who had directed Arthur Eze to make peace with Governor who is doing a very good job, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo turned down the request from Arthur Eze and his putative monarchs to see him. Interestingly, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, who had arranged the botched meeting between the president and these traditional rulers led by Arthur Eze on Friday, August 7, declined meeting the chiefs whom Professor Olatunji Dare once famously described as sociological artifacts. /* custom css */ .tdi_74_7fb.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_7fb .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_7fb.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_7fb.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_7fb.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement The Presidents Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Agboola Gambari, decided, out of pity, to see them on Thursday, August 13, for a few minutes. Professor, 75, is a diplomat of international repute who not only represented Nigeria at the United Nations but also served the UN in different capacities. He adopted the policy well known to diplomats as Let us keep the fool happy, and so met Arthur Eze, together with those now referred to in Anambra State as ndigwe Arthur, that is, Arthur Ezes monarchs. Even so, it was on certain conditions, including that not even one line in their speech would be critical of Governor Obiano in recognition of his impressive record. In fact, the speech was vetted very well in advance. This vetting led the monarchs to claim that they were in Abuja not to abuse Governor Obiano because they know his good record but to praise President Buhari for his work in Anambra State like the reconstruction of failed federal roads in Anambra State, the building of the Second Niger Bridge and the completion of the Zik Mausoleum. It is also worthy of note that only two out of the five traditional rulers were allowed into Professor Gambaris office, as the other seven had left Abuja the previous week out of frustration. Indeed, one fellow who has been pretending to be the Awka monarch but has never been recognized, Chief Austine Ndigwe, has even denied going to Abuja with the monarchs in spite of various trending videos showing him conspicuously everywhere! To add insult to injury, the monarchs were last Thursday kept at the outer Banquet Hall at State House for long. And yet they all endured! What for! It is a pity Arthur Eze has brought the royal institution to its lowest ebb in Nigerias history. Last Friday, for instance, the suspended traditional ruler of Alor in Idemili South Local Government Area, Igwe Mac-Anthony Okonkwo, was on the Anambra State Broadcasting Service apologizing profusely to the Anambra people and the state Traditional Rulers Council for his gross misconduct. The video, as expected, went viral. Still, this degrading video is not as bad as a series of videos showing the monarchs collecting raw cash from Arthur Eze in both Anambra State and Abuja to do his bidding! There is hardly any person from Anambra State, whether at home or abroad, who has not watched the videos. Thanks to the ubiquity of modern technology, the videos have been watched far more than the popular Sani Abacha video of the late 1990s showing top generals in government and elsewhere crying like babies when their coup plot against Abacha was discovered and they were matched to the military ruler, Sani, who pretended to be moved by their cries and so offered someone like General Oladipo Diya, his second in command, a handkerchief to clean his face and runny nostrils. Why has Arthur Eze brought the revered traditional institution to these depths? Just in a desperate bid to become the godfather of Anambra State! Why would anyone aspire to be called Anambra State godfather after the notoriety which the term has acquired in the state, thanks to such inelegant fellows as Chris Uba? After the states liberation by Dr Chris Ngige on July 10, 2003, from the stranglehold of godfathers, it will be a tragic mistake for anyone to seek to be considered a godfather. Since the liberation, Anambra State has been witnessing fantastic growth and development up to this day. Therefore, our people can never, never tolerate a situation that will remind them of the dark days of godfatherism, let alone take them back to the days which the locusts consumed. Finally, people who know Arthur Eze should counsel him to desist from acting in a way which confirms the worst notions about him. Whether in State House in Abuja or in his village of Ukpo, people refer to him as a money bag in a way they do not refer to wealthier Nigerians like Femi Otedola, Mike Adenuga, Tony Elumelu and Aliko Dangote because they consider these younger people thoughtful. In fact, they call Arthur Eze in his back a Money Miss Road. Quite painfully, he seems to be acting in ways which validate this unflattering reputation. Probably with his blessing, his agents posted on the social media last Thursday the story that he has donated a Lexus SUV to each of the 12 traditional rulers who travelled to Abuja with him on Wednesday, August 5. Of course, no one has seen any of the monarchs with the fabled vehicles. But must Arthur Eze behave in a way which suggests that his world begins and ends with money, money and money? At 71, Arthur Eze has lost it completely. Dr Okemmadu is a medical doctor and writer based in Lagos. /* custom css */ .tdi_76_710.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_710 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_710.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_710.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_710.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } MEXICO CITY Just as Mexico promised justice for the long-attacked Yaqui Indigenous community, businessmen in the countrys north are complaining that a Yaqui blockade of a key rail line is causing millions of dollars in losses. The rail line in northern Sonora state runs to the U.S. border and carries autos, autoparts, grain and other commodities. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador suggested the Yaqui group that has been blocking the railway line was being manipulated by politicians or outsiders. They were not among the group members who met with Lpez Obrador earlier this month for the establishment of the Justice Commission for the Yaqui People. I feel there has been manipulation. In all these cases, the corrupt politicians get involved, Lpez Obrador said, adding he was sending the head of the Justice Commission to speak with the dissident Yaquis. The commission has promised housing, development projects and a greater voice for the impoverished Yaqui communities, but the blockade has put the train-loving president in a tough spot. Many Yaquis are angry that in the past, gas ducts, water pipelines and railway lines have been run across their territory without consulting them or giving them much benefit from the projects. The national Confederation of Industrial Chambers, a business group, complained in statement last week that the railway blockade, which started Aug. 5, is preventing the transport of goods that are needed by the people and inputs that are essential for agriculture, industry, and the countrys imports and exports. It came after a similar blockade from July 13 to 25. Mexican ranchers import much of their feed grain from the United States, while Mexican auto factories import parts from the U.S. and export finished vehicles. Lpez Obrador ruled out using force to break up the blockade, though he has frequently sought to smooth sometimes tense relations with Mexicos business community. In the case of the producers, we are not going to ignore their requests, seeking dialogue and conciliation, Lpez Obrador said, adding the easy way out is always the use of force, and that doesnt help, it hasnt solved the problem. Lpez Obrador has called the Yaquis Mexicos most persecuted Indigenous group. Perhaps best known for the mystical and visionary powers ascribed to them by writer Carlos Castaneda, the Yaquis stubbornly fought the Mexican governments brutal campaign to eliminate the tribe in the late 1800s and early 1900s. But they were largely defeated by 1900, and dictator Porfirio Diaz began moving them off their fertile farmland to less valuable territory or to virtual enslavement on haciendas as far away as eastern Yucatan state. 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 Yet with many parents working from home since March amid COVID-19, and with many schools planning to conduct classes virtually this fall, the buildings owner believes there will be a demand for learning pods. So-called pandemic pods and micro-schools allow small groups of kids from close-knit families to study together in person with a teacher, tutor or parent. Here's what parents should know about their paid leave or unemployment options if their child's school or day-care facility shuts down during the pandemic. Despite all these new concerns, not much has changed since the spring in terms of legislation that provides support to working parents who must navigate their jobs while kids are at home. The void of uncertainty is leaving many working parents wondering how they'll juggle their jobs and child care if schools move fully or partially online, or if day-care centers reach capacity or shut down altogether. According to a Care.com survey of 1,000 parents with children under the age of 15, 73% of parents say they plan to make major changes to their professional lives to accommodate the lack of child care for the upcoming school year, and of those, 15% say they are are considering leaving the workforce altogether. Back-to-school season looks dramatically different this year as school districts across the country enter a new world of remote learning, in-person teaching under social distancing guidelines, or a hybrid of the two . If you're a parent and work full- or part-time, you may be able to take paid leave to care for kids at home through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA). Passed in March, the act grants two weeks (up to 80 hours) of emergency paid sick leave at two-thirds pay (up to $200 per day) if you're unable to work because you must care for a child under the age of 18 whose school or care provider is closed or unavailable due to the pandemic. Parents can take this leave option so long as school and day-care locations are physically closed, even if schools are conducting virtual learning. If schools are partially reopened, you may be able to take paid leave on the days school is closed and your kids are home. You may also be able to prove that your normal child-care options are unavailable as a result of the pandemic, including arrangements with a nanny, au pair, grandparents or a day care that is open but at capacity. If you've been employed for at least 30 calendar days, you can get up to an additional 10 weeks of paid expanded family and medical leave at two-thirds pay (up to $200 per day) if you're unable to work because you must care for a child whose school or care facility is closed or unavailable due to to the pandemic. These 10 weeks of extended family leave can be taken intermittently with employer permission. So, for example, if school is in-person three days a week and virtual for the remaining two, you may be able to take paid leave twice a week until you've exhausted 12 weeks worth of leave. If you've already taken time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in the past 12 months, the amount of time you can take off during the pandemic will be reduced by that amount out of the 12 total weeks. A major benefit of this program is that, unlike filing for unemployment insurance, the Families First leave allows you to retain your workforce attachment and, importantly during a global pandemic, your health insurance and other employer benefits. Not everyone can take this leave, though. The paid leave act applies only to certain public employers and private employers with fewer than 500 workers. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees may be exempt from providing child-care leave if they can prove doing so could jeopardize their business. Some health-care providers and emergency response workers are also not eligible. These limitations mean that as many as 106 million workers aren't eligible for paid leave provided by federal legislation, according to estimates from the Center for American Progress. Ruth Martin, senior vice president and chief workplace justice officer at the advocacy group MomsRising, says many working parents remain in the dark about their FFCRA paid leave options. With all the challenges posed by the pandemic, "it's hard for a working parent just to know which way is up." "We're very worried about the lack of awareness about it it's alarming," Martin tells CNBC Make It. "This is the first time the country has had a nationwide limited paid leave program. With the law passed in March and going into effect two weeks later, there hasn't been a lot of time for a mass public education campaign." If you think you may qualify for FFCRA leave, you should bring it up with your employer directly, Martin says. "It's not perfect and doesn't go far enough we need permanent and comprehensive paid leave in this country but the benefit is there and can help a number of families as we go into fall and continue to face the challenges of the pandemic." The Department of the Interior on Monday approved an oil and gas leasing program within Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the sprawling home to polar bears, caribou and other wildlife. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt signed the Record of Decision, which will determine where oil and gas leasing will take place in the refuge's coastal plain, a 1.56-million acre swath of land on Alaska's north shore with the Beaufort Sea knows as the 1002 area. Trump said his administration was considering whether to allow oil drilling in the ANWR, a 19 million acre refuge that has been off-limits to drilling for decades. 'We will take a look at that,' Trump told Fox News in a telephone interview when asked about a Wall Street Journal report that his administration plans to approve an oil leasing program. Controversial move: Donald Trump says his administration is looking at allowing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Environmentalists and Native American groups have fought the development of the refuge after legislation passed in 2017 allowed it to be opened up to oil and gas exploration. 'Congress directed us to hold lease sales in the ANWR Coastal Plain, and we have taken a significant step in meeting our obligations by determining where and under what conditions the oil and gas development program will occur,' Bernhardt said in a statement. Congress approved the program in 2017, and the Interior's Bureau of Land Management in December 2018 concluded drilling could be conducted within the coastal plain area without harming wildlife. 'Today's announcement marks a milestone in Alaskas forty-year journey to responsibly develop our state and our nations new energy frontier,' Gov. Mike Dunleavy said. The Republican governor called Monday's decision 'a definitive step in the right direction to developing this area's energy potential,' which he estimated at 4.3 and 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil reserves. Wildlife: The ANWR is home to caribou, see in herds on the Porcupine Coastal Plain Source of contention: The Sierra Club said it would sue over the Trump administration move to finalize plans for oil exploration Environmental groups immediately assailed opening the refuge and promised litigation. 'The Trump administration's so-called review process for their shameless sell-off of the Arctic Refuge has been a sham from the start. We'll see them in court,' said Lena Moffitt with the Sierra Club's Our Wild America campaign. 'Our climate is in crisis, oil prices have cratered, and major banks are pulling out of Arctic financing right and left,' Adam Kolton, Executive Director at Alaska Wilderness League, said. 'And yet the Trump administration continues its race to liquidate our nation's last great wilderness, putting at risk the indigenous peoples and iconic wildlife that depend on it.' Man confesses to murder in NW Midland Porras on Wednesday was being held at the Midland County Detention Center on $500,000 bond for... U.S. government to issue three free N95 masks to every adult On Wednesday, the White House announced plans to make 400 million N95 masks available for free... Midland High lifts lockdown The investigation revealed no credible threat, according to Midland ISD officials. Wildlife Services to help deter grackles at Midland Dr./Loop... That bird bangers are strictly used as a deterrent to relocate birds and cause no harm. Dak Prescott tweets about postgame comments regarding officials Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott apologized Tuesday night in a series of tweets for his... Midland Arts Association puts out call for Juried Art... The MAA will be collaborating with the Museum of the Southwest to host this years event. Update: MPD arrests man for homicide in NW Midland An arrest was made after the Midland Police Department reported it took a man in custody for... London, Aug 17 : A major scuffle took place between several pro-Pakistani and pro-Kashmiri groups protesting over the Kashmir issue outside the Consul General of India in Birmingham, the UK. The incident occurred as India celebrated its 74th Independence Day. The face-off, which took place on the eve of India's Independence Day, saw a British Kashmiri group led by Raja Qadri and Khadim Hussaian confronting Shah Nawaz of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) representing overseas Pakistanis in Birmingham. A video of the protest showed the Shah Nawaz group holding pro-Kashmir placards with the logo of 'Pakistan Peoples Party'. The confrontation took place when the Kashmiri nationalist groups objected to the placards and raised slogans like "Foreign Forces Go Back from Kashmir". British Kashmiris from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) have accused the pro-Pakistani groups of dominating the Kashmiri diaspora and trying to give Pakistani colour 'to the 'indigenous' Kashmir movement. The Kashmiri groups also raised their voice against the forcible occupation of Kashmir by Pakistan. Kashmiri nationalists in the UK demand Kashmir's independence from both India and Pakistan while pro-Pakistan groups like Shah Nawaz's seek Kashmir's merger with Pakistan. Independent sources seeking anonymity told IANS that this is not the first time there has been a confrontation between Pakistani and Kashmiri groups, and it has been a few months since both the groups became publicly hostile to each other. Birmingham has the second largest Pakistani population in the UK. Pakistanis living in Birmingham make up to 13 per cent of the city's total population. Anti-India protests have hit a new high in the UK after the Indian government revoked Jammu and Kashmir's special status granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in August last year. Following the abrogation of Article 370, hundreds of British Pakistanis descended on the streets of London, threw eggs and vegetables on the Indian embassy building. The demonstrators also smashed a windowpane of the Indian High Commission. Did some Congress leaders sent an SOS letter to their party president Sonia Gandhi criticising the current state of the main opposition party? Former party spokesperson Sanjay Jhas claim to that effect may have been denied by the party, but at least one other person confirmed that a letter had indeed been written and delivered on Independence Day to 10, Janpath, Gandhis residence. The signatories, this leader said, included former ministers and Chief Ministers although neither was available for comment and HT was unable to verify this. The partys chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala took to Twitter to rebut Jha whose claim created a buzz in Congress circles. He called it a ploy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to divert attention from the issue of the ruling partys links with Facebook. Special Misinformation Group on Media-TV Debate Guidance in its Whatsapp of today directed to run the story of a non-existent letter of Congress leaders to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links. Of course, BJP stooges have started acting upon it, Surjewala tweeted. His reference is to the controversy surrounding a Wall Street Journal story that said Facebooks India policy chief had advised against acting against an account belonging to a BJP leader for hate speech. Earlier in the day, Jha claimed that about 100 leaders of the Congress party, including Members of Parliament, wrote to Gandhi on the leadership issue , seeking transparent elections to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the partys highest decision-making body. It is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (including MPs), distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have written a letter to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, asking for change in political leadership and transparent elections in CWC. Watch this space, Jha had tweeted. In a virtual news conference, Congress spokespersons Supriya Shrinate and Pranav Jha said no such letter has been written or received by the party, alleging the issue is being raised at the behest of the BJP to divert the attention its nexus with Facebook. Jha was suspended from the Congress last month for anti-party activities and breach of discipline following his criticism of the leadership over the handling of the political turmoil in Rajasthan in the wake of rebellion by Sachin Pilot and 18 other legislators. And before that, Jha was sacked as a Congress spokesperson after he criticised the party leadership in an article. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 01:53:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A visitor views exhibits at the Naguib Mahfouz Museum in Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 13, 2020. In an ancient redeveloped two-floor building dating back to 1774, Naguib Mahfouz Museum and Creativity Center is located in the heart of Cairo, just near monumental Al-Azhar Mosque, to commemorate the life and works of Egypt's Nobel laureate novelist who died in August 2006. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) by Mahmoud Fouly CAIRO, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- In an ancient redeveloped two-floor building dating back to 1774, Naguib Mahfouz Museum and Creativity Center is located in the heart of Cairo, just near monumental Al-Azhar Mosque, to commemorate the life and works of Egypt's Nobel laureate novelist who died in August 2006. Opened by the minister of culture in mid-July 2019, the museum houses personal belongings, books and handwritten drafts and texts of Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1988 to be the only Arab to do so. Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel-Dayem described the museum as "a new Egyptian landmark on the international cultural path," noting that the museum hosts Mahfouz's medals and certificates, a collection of his personal belongings, all his works in their old and modern editions in addition to those of them translated into other languages. "Naguib Mahfouz Museum, with all its symbolism, confirms Egypt's keenness to preserve the biography and history of its creative nationals who have formed the elements of its soft power," the minister told Xinhua. A few-step outdoor staircase leads to the central hallway of the first floor, which contains a seminar room and a group of libraries with one housing researches and studies on Mahfouz's works. The entrance is surrounded by a large picture of Mahfouz and several signs reading quotes from his most famous novels in both Arabic and English. The main part of the museum lies in the second floor of the old-style building, which was built by a ruler of Egypt during the Ottoman Empire as a free shelter attached to a mosque. It contains several small halls: one has the Nobel Medal displayed in a showcase in the middle, another hosts personal belongings of Mahfouz including his suit, hat and shoes, a third screens shots of movies based on Mahfouz's novels, a hall displays a documentary on the unique novelist, and others. "Through the museum, Egypt shows appreciation to Mahfouz for his creativity and persistence and for his beautiful works that pleased millions of people in Egypt, the Arab region and the whole world," said the museum's manager Youssef al-Qaeed, who wrote a book on Mahfouz that was published in 2015. "I have known Mahfouz for long years and I have been influenced by his writings as well as his kind and noble character," Al-Qaeed, also a prominent author, told Xinhua. "Mahfouz always believed that one day he will go but his works will remain," said the museum manager. Two halls in the museum are dedicated to showcase the many medals and certificates Mahfouz was awarded locally and internationally. Among the displayed awards he got are the State Award in Literature in 1957, the Medal of Merit of First Rank in 1962, the Order of the Nile in 1988, the American Academy for Arts and Literature honorary degree in 2002 and Cavafy's Award in 2004. His daughter Umm Kulthum said that Mahfouz's personal belongings, books and awards were dedicated by his family to the museum. "We have also provided the museum with more than 1,000 books from my father's personal library and translations of his works into other languages, besides his personal belongings, awards and handwritten articles and novels," Mahfouz's daughter told Xinhua. She said she was very happy about the opening of the museum as she was worried about his personal belongings the family provided to the ministry years before its inauguration. At the personal level, Umm Kulthum said Mahfouz was a very kind and just father who never scolded her or her late sister. Cairo's Gamaliya district, where the museum is located, is near the birthplace of the author and was a source of inspiration for him as reflected on many of his novels and characters. "As for his work, I love The Cairo Trilogy and The Harafish the most," his daughter said. Among Mahfouz's masterpieces are Children of Gebelawi, The Beginning and the End, The Thief and the Dogs, The Beggar, Khan al-Khalili, Karnak Cafe, The Homeless Girl, Miramar and Ancient Egypt. "Most Egyptians love the black-and-white films based on Mahfouz's novels. He entered every Egyptian home through them," said Noha Selim, a young lady visiting the museum, noting that she liked the large signs of Mahfouz's quotes everywhere in the museum. Awarding him in 1988, the Nobel Prize committee said that Mahfouz, "through works rich in nuance - now clear-sightedly realistic, now evocatively ambiguous - has formed an Arabian narrative art that applies to all mankind." Enditem IDBI Bank has rejected a revised offer from Mauritius-based Royal Partner for Essar group arm EPC Constructions after the investor sought a 10 percent discount on its previous offer of Rs 1,150 crore. Royal Partner cited the companys 'value erosion' during insolvency proceedings as reason for the discount. "IDBI will not be open to any change in payment consideration (for EPC Constructions)," the lender said in a statement, adding that the resolution process has concluded. "National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) have directed Royal Partner to implement the plan," the statement said. IDBI Bank also ruled out the possibility of reconsidering an offer from Arcelor Mittal, who was the second-highest bidder for the Essar group company last year. Track this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic Royal Partner is seeking a discount on grounds that operations have stagnated during the insolvency period as no new contracts were executed, The Economic Times reported. Responding to the report, Mayur Ghule, Managing Director, RPMG Investment, Royal Partner's parent said, "We cannot comment on the report at this stage as discussions are ongoing in relation to the implementation of the resolution plan." The Essar group company owes an IDBI Bank-led consortium Rs 7,000 crore. EPC Constructions was the engineering think tank of the Essar group and carried out most of the design and fabrication for steel and power plants. The dispute over EPC Constructions arose because Royal Partner had assured banks that the cash balance would be transferred to them at the time of the handover of the company, but later proposed that it should be split equally, sources told ET. "There has been a lag in salary payments. Bonus payout has also been impacted and if the company stays in insolvency longer, it will be harmful for the employees," sources added. China on Monday said it is ready to work with India to enhance political mutual trust, properly manage their differences and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this at a regular briefing when a Western media journalist sought China's reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that the Indian armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty. Modi, in his 74th Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, said the armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty "from LoC to LAC", in a veiled reference to Pakistan and China. "From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand," Modi said. Modi's comments came amid India's bitter border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and rise in incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC with Pakistan in the last few months. Responding to the question, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao said that we have noted Prime Minister Modi's speech. We are close neighbours, we are emerging countries with over one billion people. So, the sound development of bilateral ties not only serves the interest of the two peoples but also stability, peace, prosperity of the region and the whole world, he said. The right path for the two sides is to respect and support each other as this serves our long-term interests, Zhao said. So, China stands ready to work with India to enhance our political mutual trust, properly manage our differences, step-up practical cooperation and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties, the spokesman added. In his speech, Prime Minister Modi also said that "whether it is terrorism or expansionism, India is fighting both with determination." Referring to the Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh in June, the prime minister said respect for India's sovereignty is supreme and the world has seen in Ladakh what its brave jawans can do to maintain this resolve. "I salute all those brave soldiers from the Red Fort," Modi said, adding the whole country is united in protecting the sovereignty of the country. Twenty Indian army personnel were killed during the clashes on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. SPRINGFIELD, Mo. and BOSTON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BriteCore , a leading provider of next-generation core software solutions for insurers, and Xceedance , a consulting, technology, and managed services company focused on property and casualty insurance, today announced that Xceedance has joined BriteCore's growing partner ecosystem. The cloud-native BriteCore platform provides end-to-end support for P&C insurers, including core policy, billing and claims modules, agent and policyholder portals, and data and analytics capabilities. BriteCore has seen rapid expansion in its customer base over the last decade. Xceedance has developed deep domain expertise from its work with insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and MGAs, and will provide diverse services to BriteCore clients in support of their system implementations. "The partnership expands BriteCore's capacity to support our growing client base," said Phil Reynolds, CEO, BriteCore. "We're especially pleased with the systems integration, configuration, and strategic support services that Xceedance offers, which align with the implementation strategies that BriteCore has refined over the last decade." As P&C insurers face an urgent need to adopt new digital capabilities to better serve policyholders and eliminate costly legacy processes, they are prioritizing investments in cloud technologies and digital channels. BriteCore and Xceedance are uniquely positioned to meet these needs with this pairing of award-winning SaaS capabilities with world-class service. "We are excited to leverage our deep industry and insurtech acumen to support the implementation, maintenance, and support of the BriteCore platform," stated Travis MacMillian, Chief Business Officer, Xceedance. "Our U.S.-based technology team is reinforced by global IT and operations teams, so we can provide proven right-shore support models to insurers bringing best-in-class services to new and existing implementations of BriteCore technology." ABOUT XCEEDANCE: Xceedance (www.xceedance.com ) is a global provider of strategic consulting and managed services, technology, data sciences, and blockchain solutions to insurance organizations. Domiciled in Bermuda, with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Liechtenstein, Germany, Poland, India, and Australia, Xceedance helps insurers launch new products, drive operations, implement intelligent technology, deploy advanced analytic capabilities, and achieve business process optimization. The experienced insurance professionals at Xceedance enable insurers, reinsurers, brokers, and program administrators worldwide to enhance policyholder service, enter new markets, boost workflow productivity, and improve profitability. ABOUT BRITECORE: BriteCore is a fully-managed core software platform for property and casualty insurers that supports digital transformation, emerging technologies, and new business models. BriteCore offers end-to-end insurance capabilities, including policy administration, claims management, underwriting rules and rating, agent quoting and inquiry, contact management, billing, imaging, printing, data warehousing, and reporting. Designed as a cloud-native solution, BriteCore is deployed using Amazon Web Services and is continually updated for maximum security, efficiency, and durability at scale. Insurance carriers, MGAs, and InsurTechs partner with BriteCore to gain a competitive edge through efficient operations, compelling customer experiences, and speed to market. For more information, please visit www.britecore.com . MEDIA CONTACTS Jennifer Overhulse, St. Nick Media (for Xceedance) Telephone: +1 859 803 6597 Email: [email protected] Chastin Reynolds, SVP Marketing (for BriteCore) Telephone: +1 417 773 8303 Email: [email protected] SOURCE BriteCore Related Links http://www.britecore.com This year, when the worlds movement and celebrations are restricted, we at Radico have taken up the task to not to allow the pandemic affect the spirit of our people. Continuing its momentum to keep the consumers spirit high, Radico Khaitan has come up with another power packed initiative for India's 74th Independence Day. The company has launched a gratitude song- Shukriya under the banner of The Spirit of Victory in the honour of the courageous Indian Army on the eve of August 15. Through the song, Radico Khaitan pays tribute to the Army for their immense sacrifice throughout and protecting the motherland without fearing for their own lives. The song is written and sung by our friend and versatile musical artist Padamjeet Sehrawat. The brand had earlier associated with programmes like Tales of Valour and Avadh Festival to pay tribute to martyrs and also honour soldiers for their selfless deed in protecting the country. Tales of Valour is a series of authoritative factual documentaries which depicts the 10 most valiant stories of bravery. Speaking on the launch of the song, Mr. Amar Sinha, COO of Radico Khaitan, said, The Army plays a vital role in protecting the borders of the country and ensuring all the citizens are safe at all times. Even during tough times as the pandemic, the Army is fighting tirelessly to protect our country. Launching this song is a small effort in the direction of saluting their bravery and devotion towards the country. He further added, Radico Khaitan has always been at the forefront to cater to this segment of the society. Be it creating a product dedicated to the fighters of 1965 War that exclusively caters to the armed forces or contributing to the upliftment of the martyrs families, it is our commitment to keep the protectors of our country in focus of our endeavours. With this association, Radico Khaitan is also taking forward the tradition of the celebrating art, cultural and literature in the country. The companys focus on mindful marketing strategy leaps into the future with its associations with a social cause attached to it. As the company has been outperforming the industry for the last 4 years, our objective of creating an inclusive and wholesome ecosystem comes true with such activities. The company has seen a manifold growth since its inception and now has embarked on the journey to become one of the market leaders and this, can never be made possible without keeping each and every segment of the society at the centre of all our initiatives commercially and socially. There is more to come and get mesmerised by Radicos plans and progress Mr Sinha emphasised. The Nifty50 remained high for a major part of the session and recouped the previous week's losses to close above its 20-day moving average on August 17 amid mixed global cues. All sectoral indices, barring pharma, also participated in the rally on August 17. The index closed near its opening levels and formed a Doji candle on the daily charts, which also resembled the Inside Bar formation as the Nifty moved within the trading range of the previous session. A Doji candle indicates indecisiveness among the bulls and the bears, and bounce was being sold in the absence of follow-up buying interest. Overall, the market has been rangebound for a couple of weeks and the same trend is expected to continue in the coming days. The index will have to decisively cross its recent high of 11,366 for some upside, experts say. Traders should to remain neutral on the index by focussing on stock-specific opportunities, Mazhar Mohammad, Chief Strategist Technical Research & Trading Advisory at Chartviewindia.in told Moneycontrol. Fresh shorting opportunity shall arise on a close below 11,120 levels, he said. The Nifty50 started off the first day of the week higher at 11,248.90. It touched the days high of 11,267.10 after dropping to its sessions lowest level of 11,144.50. It ended the day 68.7 points higher at 11,247.10, much above the 20-day moving average of 11,182. "The current bounce without breaching last Friday's low shall not be construed as end of the correction, which appears to have triggered in last Friday's session unless the Nifty registers a close above 11,366 levels," Mohammad said. In that scenario uptrend shall resume with an initial target of 11,450 levels, he said. But as the near-term trend appears to be tilting in favour of bears especially with the fall of August 14 session, breach of 11,111 shall once again set the ball rolling in the favour of the bears and in that case, the index shall head towards 10,882 levels, he said. India VIX fell by 1.67 percent to 21.30 levels, which continued to indicate that the downside is limited and support-based buying could again emerge at lower levels. Options data suggested an immediate trading range of 11,000-11,400 for the Nifty. Maximum Put open interest was at 11,000 followed by 10,000 strike, while maximum Call open interest was at 11,500 followed by 12,000 strike. Minor Call writing was seen at 11,900 and 11,600 strike while Put writing was seen at 11,200 then 11,000 strike. The Bank Nifty opened positive at 21,906.95 but failed to cross 22,000 and drifted towards 21,400. However, it witnessed some recovery from lower levels and closed near its 50-DEMA. The index closed 21.40 points higher at 21,700.80 but formed a bearish candle on daily charts as closing was lower than opening levels. "Now the index has to cross and hold above 22,000 levels to witness an upmove towards 22,250 and 22,500 while on the downside immediate support is seen at 21,500 then 21,250 levels," Chandan Taparia, Vice President | Analyst-Derivatives at Motilal Oswal Financial Services said. Positive setup was seen in Motherson Sumi, Escorts, Jindal Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto, Tech Mahindra, Coal India, Mindtree and Amara Raja Batteries while weak structure was seen in MRF, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Ramco Cement, MGL and BPCL, he added. Hospital and health system leaders should consider how health inequity issues in their patient populations may affect some patients financially. Leaders should go through their organization's patient financial experience as a patient would, with an eye toward identifying any areas that could be impacted by inequity. Hard questions to ask include whether patients are treated equally, regardless of race, in processes such as financial assistance and collections. After reflecting on the racial unrest throughout the country this summer, I wrote a message to the HFMA membership, Board and staff, urging everyone to pause and learn about the impact of racism on the people of our nation and, perhaps most important, to care about it. Now its time to start getting specific about what else we, as healthcare leaders, can do, particularly about health inequity issues related to business operations. Acknowledging racial disparities in healthcare Its common knowledge that there are racial disparities in healthcare. Whether its life expectancy, pregnancy-related mortality rates, the incidence of certain chronic conditions or COVID-19, Blacks fare worse than whites in the U.S. Among many underlying causes of these disparities is access to health insurance. Black people are twice as likely to be uninsured as white people, which can pose a significant financial barrier to care. Black unemployment rates are generally higher than those for whites, which continues to be the case during the COVID-19 pandemic, as shown by July data. Furthermore, the average net worth of a Black family in 2016 was only about one-tenth that of a white family, which affects ability to pay for insurance cost-sharing and unexpected medical expenses. In the long term, reducing racial inequities in access to healthcare likely will require policy solutions. But in the short term, health system leaders can take steps to reduce racial disparities in access to care at the organizational level. Understanding the patient financial experience I have often said that for CFOs, there is no substitute for going through their organizations patient financial experience as a patient would. When considering the benefits of engaging in this process, I usually think of insights on patient convenience and the ease of obtaining information about prices and patient financial responsibility. But there is another lens through which to view this experience: Equity. Ask your finance leaders to walk you through the entire financial experience, from the initial patient engagement and education on the front end to the collection efforts on the back end. In particular, familiarize yourself with your hospital's eligibility criteria for financial assistance (i.e., free or reduced-fee care) and the application process. You should also become conversant with your hospitals policies on extraordinary collection actions (ECAs), which may include credit bureau reporting, liens, garnishment or lawsuits that is, if your hospital, through its business affiliates, uses any ECAs. Asking the hard questions Once you know the process, you can identify the areas where inequities potentially are a risk. For example, when it comes to financial assistance, are all patients given the same opportunities, regardless of race? Is financial counseling made available to all? If a hospital uses ECAs, are such actions being taken without regard to race? Before you take offense at such insinuations, consider this: No matter how well-designed your hospitals policies and procedures may be, and no matter how much progress has been made in eliminating overt discrimination, hospitals and their business affiliates are staffed by human beings. And humans have implicit biases. Throughout the patient financial experience, with its numerous touchpoints, there are many decisions, large and small, in which implicit bias could tip the scales the wrong way, toward unequal treatment. For public-facing staff, thorough anti-racism training that addresses implicit bias can be an important way to raise awareness. In my home state of Michigan, the governor recently signed an executive directive recognizing racism as a public health crisis and requiring implicit-bias training for all state employees, joining several other states that have done so. As a healthcare leader who wants to make a difference, your challenges are to be open to the idea that implicit bias exists in your organization, to be willing to ask hard questions and to be tenacious enough to go beyond easy answers. Throughout the process, maintaining an organizational culture of respect, trust and a shared vision will be paramount. Easy? Not at all. But identifying and working toward elimination of inequities whatever the basis, not just racial should be an integral part of contemporary leadership roles. Learning and caring about racial equity is the place to start. The Ghana Health Service has launched a national campaign to promote and raise awareness of the benefits of breasfeeding as part of activities to commemorate the 2020 World Breastfeeding Week. Known as the Start Right, Feed Right--from birth to two years it is being supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), who are the major implementing partners. It aims to raise more awareness of the benefits and the need for six months of exclusive breastfeeding and complementing breastfeeding with other nutritious foods after six months until two years. Campaign launch Launching the campaign virtually in Accra on Thursday, the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, said there was substantial evidence that exclusive breastfeeding for six months had many benefits for the infant and mother. She said scientific evidence had proven that early initiation of breastfeeding, within one hour of birth, protected the newborn from acquiring infections and reduces newborn mortality; boosts their immune system, increases their intellectual abilities while it protects mothers from some cancers, among other benefits. She said the commemoration was another opportunity to remind stakeholders that six months of exclusive breastfeeding was one of the best investments to saving human lives and improving the health, social and economic well-being of individuals and nations. She noted that the WHO had established that it was safe for mothers with or who had recovered from COVID-19 to breastfeed. As we communicate this to our women, it is also important to emphasise all the safety precautions in relation to the preventive protocols they need to take, she said. Breastfeeding situation Mrs Akufo-Addo said it was important to take a more critical look at the breast feeding situation in the country, mentioning that the current rate of 43 per cent exclusive breastfeeding was a drop from 63 per cent in 2008. That, she stressed, called for more efforts to support mothers to breastfeed exclusively for six months. She underscored the need to improve current support systems for exclusive breastfeeding, especially, by creating the enabling environment in the workplaces, markets and all public places for women to breastfeed. All stakeholders are needed to work collectively to help establish exclusive breastfeeding as a cultural norm, Mrs Akufo-Addo stated. The week The 2020 theme is Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet. World Breastfeeding Week is an annual celebration which is held every year from August 1 to 7 to raise awareness and galvanise action on themes related to breastfeeding. It was initiated in 1991 by the WHO and UNICEF with the goal to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life because science says it yields many health benefits, including providing critical nutrients, protection from deadly diseases such as pneumonia and fostering growth and development. Benefits and prospects The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Mr Charles Abani, said as the week was being commemorated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it was prudent to reiterate the benefits of breast milk to safeguarding the lives of newborns. It provides antibodies that protect children against many childhood illnesses and reduce premature maternal and child mortalities. The magical ingredients in breast milk prevent the risk of acquiring non-communicable diseases such as childhood asthma, obesity, diabetes and heart-related diseases. The WHO has confirmed that the benefits of breast milk to mother and child far outweigh any risk from the new coronavirus pandemic, he emphasised. He called for collective efforts to champion breastfeeding and underscored the need to tap into the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding. In a statement read on his behalf, the Minister of Health, Mr Kwaku Agyeman Manu, gave an assurance that the government would leave no stone unturned in supporting the health system to roll out programmes that would ensure that families and mothers received the necessary support to breastfeed successfully. 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 Flash The U.S.-led international coalition forces, tasked with fighting the Islamic State (IS) militant group, on Sunday handed over the largest site of ammunition depots in the north of Baghdad to Iraqi forces, the official Iraqi news agency reported. During a handover ceremony in al-Taji Camp, some 20 km north of Baghdad, up to 50 ammunition depots and related facilities were handed over to the Iraqi side, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) said. The handover of "the primary ammunition depots site, that supports the operations of the Iraqi security forces and the international coalition against IS, was planned for a long time in coordination with the Iraqi government," the agency said, according to a coalition document obtained by INA. The international coalition will continue to keep a smaller presence in al-Taji Camp to coordinate the logistical and security operations with the Iraqi forces, the INA said. Al-Taji Camp is a huge military base containing an air base where some U.S. troops are stationed. Earlier, the international coalition forces handed over several military sites to the Iraqi security forces in central and northern the country. The relation between Baghdad and Washington has witnessed a tension since Jan. 3 after a U.S. drone struck a convoy at Baghdad airport, which killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces. The tension pushed the two sides to hold a round of strategic dialogues on June 12, during which the United States confirmed that it does not seek permanent military presence in the country and that over the coming months the U.S. would continue reducing forces from Iraq and discuss with the government of Iraq the status of remaining forces. Over 5,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in Iraq to support Iraqi forces in battles against the IS, mainly for training and advisory purposes. The troops were part of the U.S.-led international coalition that has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria. DENVER, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Karen Toulon, who has spent much of her two-decade-plus career at Bloomberg News working behind the scenes, has been named a 2020 Business News Visionary. The distinction is bestowed on an elite group of journalists whose dedication, foresight, and talents have had a transformative impact on the profession. Toulon's oral history and profile are available at www.NewsLuminaries.com and will be featured in a commemorative book to be published in 2021. 2020 Business News Visionary Honoree Karen Toulon Dean Rotbart, editor-in-chief, NewsLuminaries.com "Karen has led by example, helping Bloomberg News' diverse global journalists establish a cohesive identity and encouraging team members to realize their full potential," said Dean Rotbart, chair and editor-in-chief of the Business News Visionary Awards. After eight years as the team leader overseeing Bloomberg's newsmaker and broadcast interviews, in 2007, Toulon was named chief of the New York bureau, home to more than 700 journalists. "In that capacity, and all her subsequent roles, Karen has demonstrated through her accomplishments that journalists and their newsroom colleagues will rise to meet a wide variety of career challenges, if they believe in themselves and if others will believe in them," he added. Earlier this summer, Toulon assumed her current position as a senior writer on Bloomberg's global, cross-platform team that explores inequality in all its forms. "The whole notion of role modeling is something I take very seriously," Toulon explains in her oral history, acknowledging that she considers herself a representative for her gender, race, and "a profession that I continue to adore." The Business News Visionary Awards are a continuation of the Business News Luminary Awards, which, in 2000, honored the 100 top business and financial journalists of the 20th century. "The goal of this project extends beyond the celebration of the specific men and women who are profiled," notes Terri Thompson, who introduces each journalist's oral history. "It is also to educate the public about the high standards to which these and so many other dedicated journalists have adhered and to offer a proven playbook for other journalists and journalism students to follow," she says. Thompson is the former director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism at Columbia University. Rotbart is a Pulitzer Prize-nominated, award-winning financial journalist, former columnist with The Wall Street Journal, author, and a news entrepreneur. He, along with a panel of more than two dozen distinguished nominating judges including past award recipients and top business news organization editors and reporters is responsible for selecting the 2020 class of honorees. Other 2020 Business News Visionary oral histories now available at www.NewsLuminaries.com include Stephen J. Adler, Reuters; Maria Bartiromo and Neil Cavuto, FOX Business Network; Susan Antilla, author and investigative reporter; Henry Dubroff, Pacific Coast Business Times; Nina Easton, Fortune Global Forum; and Matthew Quayle, CNBC. Future oral histories will include Andrew Ross Sorkin, The New York Times and CNBC; Randall Lane and Kerry A. Dolan, Forbes; Adi Ignatius, Harvard Business Review; Joanne Lipman, author and editor; Pattie Sellers, Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, and Sarah Bartlett, dean of the School of Journalism at City University of New York. The Business News Visionary and News Luminary Awards are made possible, in part, by the support of Monday Morning Radio, a weekly podcast produced in cooperation with the nonprofit Wizard Academy and its founders, Roy H. and Pennie Williams; and Robert L. Dilenschneider and Joan Avagliano of The Dilenschneider Group, providing an unsurpassed level of communications counsel to global clients. Additional support is provided by TimeinaBottlePhotography.com and its founder, Avital Rotbart, specializing in world-class portrait photography. Media contact: Dean Rotbart [email protected] 303-296-1200 SOURCE NewsLuminaries.com The Turkish Foreign Ministry has issued a statement regarding Armenia's support for Greece and Cyprus. Arman Abovyan, an MP of the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party, wrote about this on his Facebook page. "Let me recall that the Turks are openly trying to occupy a part of the Greek and Cypriot maritime economic zones. In their statement, the Turks very indignantly complained about our [Armenias] position [on the matter]. Here it can be unequivocally stated that the more proactive we will be to counteract the Turks in all directions, the Turks will be that much more well-behaved and, naturally, constructive ... in a word, I will repeat once again: We must diplomatically annoy the Turks in all possible international platforms; they do not understand any other language," Abovyan added. ATLANTA - For the second time in four years, the Democratic presidential primary pitted the expanding progressive movement against an eventually victorious establishment. But as the party gathers virtually this week to nominate Joe Biden for the presidency, the possibility of U.S. President Donald Trumps re-election has become Democrats unifying and energizing force. Nobody fits neatly and tightly into any one bucket, said Georgia Democratic chair Nikema Williams. What we all fit into is knowing that right now we dont have leadership in our country, and its hurting all of us. Thats an important shift from 2016, when Hillary Clinton struggled to build a coalition between her supporters and those who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders, who again finished as runner-up this year. It reflects both the work Biden has done to court the left and the urgency among Democrats to defeat Trump, which has only intensified amid the coronavirus pandemic, economic turmoil and a national reckoning on racism. Still, the partys ideological splits havent vanished. There are disagreements over how to achieve universal health care, make higher education affordable, overhaul law enforcement practices and re-engage with countries that are questioning Americas role in the world. Leaders on the left warn that Biden must still keep their interests in mind, offering a reminder that even a November victory wont guarantee a united front during a Biden presidency. Progressives are going to vote against Trump, said Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, but she called it demoralizing and wrong for Biden and the Democratic National Committee to give convention airtime to figures like billionaire Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who spent more than $500 million (U.S.) of his own money running for the nomination. Taylor nodded at Bidens pick of Kamala Harris as his running mate, the first Black woman on a major partys ticket. But she cast the California senator, who is also of Asian descent, as an establishment politician alongside Biden, a former vice-president first elected to the Senate in 1972. If Biden and Harris want to energize progressives to donate and volunteer, Taylor said, they need to elevate leaders like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Julian Castro, and policies like cancelling student debt and Medicare for All. Progressive energy matters, and voter energy matters. Were fighting Trump as hard as we can right now just dont take that for granted. In fact, Ocasio-Cortez, the New York congressperson and a face of young progressives, and Castro, who set the 2020 presidential fields left flank on immigration, will be featured during the four-night convention. But Taylors sentiment underscores the complexity in Bidens effort to corral the spectrum of voters dissatisfied with Trump. Despite Bidens five decades at the core of the Democratic party, hes not a natural fit for every faction in 2020. As younger activists gain clout in shaping the partys priorities, Biden will be 78 on Inauguration Day, making him the oldest person to assume the presidency if hes elected. As a white man, his core constituencies are white moderates and Black women, who revived his campaign in part because of their appreciation of Bidens service as vice-president to Barack Obama, the first Black president. And his reverence for institutions such as Congress is at odds with the most intense voices of both political parties, where activists often put a premium on outsiders and arent eager to compromise. To a large degree, Biden is comfortable with the challenges. From its start, his campaign has been as much a moral argument against Trump as about settling an absolute identity for his party. Hes said plainly he wouldnt have run if Trump werent president. Two of his three campaign themes are aimed squarely at the incumbent: restore the soul of the nation and unite the country. On policy, Biden did take a side in Democrats identity battle, running as a pragmatic alternative to Sanders and Elizabeth Warren in the primary. He wants a public option government health insurance plan, not their preferred single-payer insurance system that would scrap private insurance altogether. He wants to offer considerable aid for college tuition and to ease student debt, even widening his proposals since capturing the nomination. Yet he still doesnt go as far as Sanders. Hes pitched trillions in spending to combat the climate crisis but doesnt fully embrace progressives Green New Deal. Biden wants a range of tax hikes on corporations and the wealthy, and since the pandemic has ratcheted up his rhetoric on the deep-seated inequalities in U.S. society. Hes adopted Warrens proposed overhaul of U.S. bankruptcy laws to make them more consumer friendly, but he also goes out of his way not to vilify business and wealth. A deal-maker from his 36 years in the Senate, Biden spent his months as presumptive nominee working with progressives on various proposals. He calls himself the most progressive nominee in the modern era and says his agenda, if enacted, would rank alongside seminal Democratic Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson. But hes never expressly retreated from a core message he wielded against Sanders: People are looking for results, not a revolution. All that leaves Biden and the party wide latitude to solicit voters but also to leave some disillusioned. We are a big party, said Democratic National chair Tom Perez, arguing that a convention lineup that ranges from Sanders, a democratic socialist, to a conservative Republican like former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, still speaks to common values. When talking more broadly, Democratic leaders and activists interviewed ahead of the convention most often mentioned three qualities: the partys diversity, support of workers and Bidens reputation for empathy. The Democratic party is a microcosm of the United States of America, said House Minority Whip Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat whose endorsement of Biden was a turning point in the nominating fight. Williams, the Georgian who is also the Democratic nominee to succeed the late Rep. John Lewis, celebrated Harris nomination, regardless of any hand-wringing over the senators record as a prosecutor or how she treated big banks as California attorney general. That motivates me to get out there and work my butt off, she said. Perez called Biden an ideal figure to tie disparate factions together with Trump as the opponent. Joe Biden is a fundamentally honest and decent person, he said. Among many progressives who didnt want him as nominee, those personal characteristics and the presumption they attract independents and Republicans in the voting booth is enough to warrant support. Larry Cohen, a prominent Democratic national committeeman, Sanders confidant and labour leader, pointed to Democrats on Capitol Hill as the guide for the party. Democrats won the House majority in 2018 largely on the strength of more moderate nominees running in suburban and exurban swing districts. But several young progressives, including Ocasio-Cortez, won seats, as well, across battlegrounds and safe Democratic districts. Democrats hopes to retake the Senate and, in turn, move any significant agenda depends first on a similarly varied slate winning enough seats. Even then, Cohen said, Democrats will have to navigate internal party fights, almost certainly including whether to abolish the filibuster, so that major legislation doesnt require 60 votes. When I look at the ticket, I see two experts on the Senate, on getting things done, he said, invoking a personal motto: Forward ever. The rest of that line that I dont always use, Cohen said, is backward never. The government will ask Parliament to expedite the debate of the bill that allows the hiring of teachers, non-teaching staff, physicians and school nurses in the educational units where this is necessary, Prime minister Ludovic Orban announced on Monday. "We have drafted a bill, we cannot issue emergency ordinances for the amendment of Law 55, but we have drafted a bill to be able to hire teachers, non-teaching staff, school physicians, school nurses, where necessary, in the educational units, because at the present time Law 55 has practically prohibited the filling in of any positions by competition in the public system and, if we need teachers, non-teaching staff, medical staff at the school level, we cannot at the moment hire and here we will even ask Parliament for a prompt debate on this bill," the prime minister said in a statement to the press.He recalled that the Government considered in a first read several pieces of legislation related to the start of the school year, including an emergency ordinance (OUG) aimed at allocating EUR 175 million to local authorities and schools for the purchase of tablets, facial masks or disinfectants. Orban expressed hope that the procurement procedure for 250,000 tablets will be completed this week."That's why we have mobilized EUR 175 million additionally, to allow local authorities that have a smaller number of tablets and can make purchases easier than our purchase, at the national level, for tablets and we will settle the tablets' price that are purchased by the local authorities. We will settle up to 500,000 tablets, in addition to the 250,000 that are the subject of the auction. Also, through a programme from the World Bank, we have 74,000 laptops in the process of purchasing. Sure, they'll be mostly for the teachers. Also, interactive blackboards, also webcams, we will launch 3D manuals, which will support the form of online learning, where online learning will be needed," Orban explained.According to the Prime minister, the Government is also preparing an OUG on the payment of 75 pct of the salary for those parents who have to stay at home with their children in the areas where classes will be suspended."We are preparing another emergency ordinance that, where the hours are suspended for a period of time, during which the hours are suspended to continue the measure that we had during the period of the emergency state and that is to pay 75 pct of the salary for a parent so that he/she can stay at home with the child/children, but, I repeat, this measure will be used only where decisions will be taken in the Emergency Committees when the schools are suspended. We are also preparing additional resources for other types of school preparation improvement for the start of the school year," he said. Bay of Plenty Our Client is looking for an Assembler for their finishing department. This role is based in Tauranga and will be an immediate... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Three people were injured in a shooting on the Alabama State University campus over the weekend, according to authorities. One of the victims was a student at the university in Montgomery, said Kelvin Kendrick, the school's director of public safety. Kendrick said all of the injuries were minor and that the student was treated at a hospital and released. Montgomery police and Alabama State University police responded and placed the campus on lockdown. No arrests were reported. Kendrick said authorities were still investigating the shooting. The university did not provide the time or specific location of the shooting, news outlets reported. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president JP Nadda on Monday in a blistering attack against former Congress chief and Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi, accused his family of diverting money from the Prime Ministers Relief Fund into family trusts and taking money from the Chinese to hurt national interests. Your familys dubious legacy includes appropriating a permanent position in PMNRF and then diverting money from PMNRF into your family trusts. You and your mother also took money from the Chinese to hurt our national interest. Can anyone stoop lower? Nadda tweeted. His attack against the Gandhis came in response to a single tweet by Rahul Gandhi, where he quoted a newspaper report that said the Prime Ministers Office had declined to share information to a RTI activist asking for the total number of RTI applications and appeals received and disposed of since April 2020, as well as the number of such applications and appeals related to PM-CARES and the Prime Ministers National Relief Fund. Gandhi quoting the media report had tweeted: PMCares for Right To Improbity. Lashing out at the Congress MP, the BJP leader said the entire nation has full faith on the PM and his initiatives. This faith was yet again visible with the massive support for PM CARES. Being the loser you are, you can only crib and spread fake news while the entire nation has joined hands in the fight against Covid-19, he said. He also went on to add, This happens when the Prince of Incompetence shares articles without even reading them. The RTI was filed to know details of other RTIs and this is maliciously spun by you as an attack on transparency. Well, its natural given how your career is only based on spreading fake news. The Congress and the BJP have sparred in the past over the PM-CARES Fund. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Authorities are trying to identify two young men sought for questioning in connection with a weekend shooting at Alabama State University. The schools Department of Public Safety on Monday released photos of the two unknown males. The shooting happened at 11:40 p.m. Saturday in the Acadome parking lot, police said. The victims included one ASU student and two others who were not students. All three suffered minor injuries, said ASUs Director of Public Safety Kelvin Kendrick. The student was treated and released from the hospital. Police are trying to identify two men wanted for questioning in a shooting at Alabama State University that wounded three, including one student. (ASU) Authorities have not said what led to the shooting. Montgomery police and ASU police responded and put the campus on lockdown. Central Alabama Crime Stoppers said those being sought are wanted only for questioning at this time. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call police immediately or Crime Stoppers 24-hour tip line at 334-215-STOP (7867) or through the P3-tips app. Medical Student Membership You already know the journey youre on will be worth it, but it doesnt hurt to have a community to lean on while you're a medical student. Join the thousands of members who have gone before you in networking, learning, and growing as physicians together when you become part of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Gain access to all the support the AAFP provides, such as our popular AAFP board review questions, in our free medical student membership from current enrollment until graduation. Global phone makers are taking more and more interest in India to manufacture smartphones. A few weeks ago we saw Apple looking to shift its manufacturing from China to India while also diversifying its production line-up, and now next in line is Samsung. BCCL As per a recent ET report, Samsung is looking to shift a major part of its smartphone production from Vietnam to India and other countries. The South Korean giant is working on closing a deal to produce smartphones worth $40 billion (approximately Rs 3 lakh crores) in India. A person familiar with this said in a conversation with ET, Samsung is likely to diversify its production lines for making smartphones to India under the PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme and this will have an impact in its existing capabilities across various countries like Vietnam. Today, Vietnam stands to be the second-largest smartphone exporter in the world, after China. People familiar with the matter state that the current decision has been made under the new PLI scheme. As per a senior government official, out of the $4 billion worth phones that will be made in India, phones of factory price of over $200 could account for over $25 billion and most of the phones manufactured in this category will be exported. This current move could help India abstain from getting cheap imports from ASEAN countries to India. And from the looks of it, Samsung already looks prepared. Reuters It already has its largest smartphone manufacturing unit in India, Noida where it already exports devices from India to other parts of the world. Moreover, last quarter, with anti-China sentiments looming in India, Samsung became #2 brand in India. Today, Samsung is making 50 percent of phones in Vietnam, according to industry estimates. It also has manufacturing facilities in Indonesia and Brazil. It had a massive facility in China which it decided to shut down last year. It now also plans to wind down its facilities in South Korea where manufacturing costs are going through the roof. Theresa May, Britains second female Prime Minister, has sounded off about the absence of women in company boardrooms in a recent report. By gender diversity group Pipeline, the report criticised the fact there are only 13 female chief executive officers at the top 350 FTSE companies. Mrs May thunders in the report: Every single male CEO who looks around his boardroom table to see nine out of ten male faces staring back at him needs to ask himself what he is doing to make his business one which his daughter or granddaughter can get on in. Act now to change your businesses, to make the most of every talent, and to play your part in making our economy one which works for everyone. Theresa May (pictured on July 24), Britains second female Prime Minister, has sounded off about the absence of women in company boardrooms in a recent report Noble words from the former PM who, to her credit, carried on as an MP at the last election after being ousted from No 10. But we should not forget that in her final ministerial reshuffle, she handed 14 of the top Government positions to men. Only five women held Cabinet minister positions and only four more had the right to attend Cabinet meetings. As the former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan witheringly observed: The PM has promoted more people called Jeremy than women. Whats more, only six of the 39 special advisers in No 10 under Mrs May were women. Those in glass houses No chewing the fat with Boris Boris Johnsons fractious relationship with some of his backbenchers is no secret. But is the rift deepening? In the Tory MPs WhatsApp group chat, there was much bickering about the Governments new policy on reducing obesity. One MP vented her frustration at the plan to give overweight people free access to bikes. Another by the name of Boris Johnson popped up in reply to explain the rationale behind the scheme. The dissatisfied MPs promptly moved to another WhatsApp group to continue the conversation without the PM. Is Gavin's prime number up? The bookies have spoken. Gavin Williamson, tipped for the Cabinet axe after his serially incompetent handling of British education, has drifted to 100-1 in the next PM odds. The dunce of a minister shares the outsider ranking with former Tory minister and failed London Mayoral candidate Rory Stewart. Quote of the week: Sir Edward Leigh, a senior Tory backbencher exasperated by the Governments failure to stem the migrant Channel crossings, said: Problem with cross-Channel migrants? 'We should never have lost Calais in 1558. So now we know. Its not Home Secretary Priti Patels fault. Its Queen Marys. Nothing better illustrates the chasm in earnings among those working for the NHS than the experiences of two MPs. Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Tooting, declared in the MPs register of interests 1,277.56 for two shifts totalling 20 hours thats 63.88 an hour. Sarah Atherton, Tory MP for Wrexham, declared 876.86 for 61 hours work (thats 14.37 an hour), which she gave to charity. Shes a nurse, and Allin-Khan is a doctor. One of the Governments biggest critics over the A-level results shambles has been Labours deputy leader Angela Rayner (pictured) One of the Governments biggest critics over the A-level results shambles has been Labours deputy leader Angela Rayner. Yet in April, when the system was devised, Rayner took a rather different view: We have always said predicted grades are not always accurate, and can disproportionately affect the children who need the most support, and we pushed ministers to ensure students can sit an exam later if they wish. Yet more political opportunism from the Labour Party. Newly ennobled Charles Moore, the former Daily Telegraph editor, is amused by the Electoral Reform Societys criticism of the new peerage list Newly ennobled Charles Moore, the former Daily Telegraph editor, is amused by the Electoral Reform Societys criticism of the new peerage list: We new boys and girls, it says, have grotesquely warped backgrounds. 'Perhaps they mean that several of us are pro-Brexit, a thing abhorred on the red leather benches, he writes in The Spectator. I wanted to hit back in kind, but realised it is wiser to use the lingo of modern public service. Our peerages, I say sweetly, will improve diversity. New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the Chinese National Charlie Peng, also known as Luo Sang, and others involved with him in the Rs 1000 crore Hawala Case. ED has registered a case on the basis of Delhi Police FIR lodged on September 13 in 2018. As per the latest reports, Luo is still being questioned by Income Tax for Money Laundering and Hawala connection. He was apprehended from Delhis Majnu Ka Teela area on the suspicious of Spying on Dalai Lama but later arrested in the charges of Forgery and Passport Act. Police found a fake passport from his possession which was issued on the Manipur address from Guwahati Passport office. He was released later on the bail and Police filed a charge sheet against him on June 6 2019, but the charges are yet to be framed. Earlier on August 11, 2020, Income Tax started raids against Charlie Peng and others involved accused including Bankers and CA and unearthed Rs 1000 crore Hawala and Money Laundering racket. IT released a press note saying that Charlie Peng and some other Chinese National with the help of Bank Officials and CA opened 40 bank accounts and were operating Shell Companies. They withdrew Rs 100 cr from the bogus companies and established Retail Chain Showroom in India. On The Beach is refusing to back down on its decision not to refund flights if customers cancel holidays to Spain as a result of a change in the Foreign Office (FCO) advice. The online holiday company has said that it will refund travellers accommodation and transfer costs but not their air fare if the flight goes ahead as scheduled. Most tour operators, such as Tui and Jet2 Holidays, have been automatically cancelling package holidays to destinations where the FCO advises against all international travel, and refunding customers in full. However, On The Beach CEO Simon Cooper said in a statement that: Industry practice, mainly driven by Abtas historic guidance, has been to treat the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) as a trigger for full cancellation and refund rights for customers. Industry practice is, by its definition, the usual thing that is done in a particular situation, but it is not law, and it is something which can and should change and evolve over time and should certainly change in response to this highly unusual situation. Recommended Travel Republic customers furious after company closes phone lines Travel industry body Abta, of which On The Beach is a member, stated last week that its members should offer refunds to package holiday customers where the Foreign Office advises against travel. Abta has said it is carrying out preliminary investigations into On The Beach and fellow online travel agent Love Holidays refund policies under its Code of Conduct. But Cooper responded: Contrary to common misconceptions, Abta is an industry body, of which membership for travel businesses is not mandatory. It is not a regulator or a lawmaker. The Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) make no mention of the FCO advice, and in fact merely stipulate that the passenger is entitled to a refund in the event of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances occurring at the place of destination or its immediate vicinity and which significantly affect a) the performance of the package, or b) the carriage of passengers to the destination. Cooper said: The blanket approach within the current FCO advice on Spain is highly unusual. Many in the industry, including Abta, have called for a more nuanced approach. The advice has not triggered airspace closures or widespread flight cancellations. Large volumes of flights continue to go ahead to Spain and its islands every day and hotels and tourist attractions remain open. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Donegal airport in Ireland grabbed the top spot for the second year running in PrivateFly's 2019 poll of the most scenic landings in the world. Owen Clarke The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 The Outer Hebrides' Barra airport in Scotland claimed second place. Ewen Weatherspoon The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Nice, France, took third place. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Orlando Melbourne in the US came fourth. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 St Maarten in the Caribbean ranked fifth thanks to a dramatic approach. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Saba in the Caribbean swings into sixth position. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Queenstown, New Zealand, is seventh most scenic. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Canada's Toronto Billy Bishop was voted eighth most beautiful. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 The UK gets a second spot in the top 10 with London City airport, which claims ninth place. The 10 most beautiful airport landings in the world for 2019 Aosta in Italy bags 10th place with its mountain views. In accordance with the PTRs, we are still able to fulfil our obligation as a package organiser the carriage of passengers is unaffected and the holiday is still able to be delivered. He added that, in the event that the airline cancels the flight part of its package holidays, On The Beach will pass the refund along to the customer in full. On The Beach claims it is not proposing to take a rigid approach. Before making this assessment, we review the circumstances at the relevant destination(s) to establish carefully whether the package would be significantly affected. We will also clearly consider individual circumstances. The latest round of rental assistance for people impacted by the novel coronavirus will begin accepting applications on Monday, Aug. 17. Heres what you need to know to get help. Where and when can I apply? Apply online at www.bakerripleyrenthelp.org If youre a landlord, you can apply from Monday, Aug. 17 to Wednesday, Aug. 26. If youre a tenant and your landlord is approved to participate in the program, you can apply from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30. How much money is available per tenant? Where does it go? Nonprofit BakerRipley is administering the program and will give funds directly to participating landlords with approved tenants. Harris County is providing $25 million, and the city is providing $20 million. Tenants approved through the county program are eligible for up to $1,200; tenants approved through the city program are eligible for up to $2,112. Im a landlord. How do I tell if my property is eligible? Check your property in this map to see if youre located in Houston, Harris County, or both. Only submit one application. Landlords eligible for both programs can choose to opt into both programs during the enrollment process. What conditions apply to landlords? The city and county programs require that the landlord gives tenants credit for partial payment and cancel any notices to vacate. The county program requires landlords take 10 percent off the total past due rent, not begin the eviction process for nonpayment of rent within 60 days of receiving a payout from the program and to try mediation before filing a formal eviction. The city program requires landlords to enter into an interest-free payment plan for excess fees not covered by the rental assistance. It also bars landlords from initiating any evictions throughout the entire month of September and enter into a payment plan with all tenants who both report problems paying because of the novel coronavirus and who applied for assistance (regardless of whether tenants received the assistance). Im a tenant. How can I tell if my landlord is participating in the program? BakerRipley is creating a Participating Landlord Directory where you can look up your landlord. Participating landlords are encouraged to notify tenants of the program. The directory will be updated several times throughout the day, so keep checking back. Im a tenant, and my landlord is participating in the program. What are the other requirements? The county and the city have slightly different eligibility requirements for tenants. Both require that tenants are having problems paying rent because of economic fallout from COVID-19. The Harris County program requires the total household income to be below 50 percent of the Area Median Income. (Heres a chart to see if you qualify, based on household size). Households that received any other COVID-19 related assistance from the county are not eligible. The Houston program requires tenants to be below 80 percent of Area Median Income (chart here) or to be participating in publicly funded programs like Medicaid, the Gold Card SNAP, WIC or CHIP (the full list of public programs can be found here.) The list of documents required to prove eligibility is here. I got rental relief through Houstons program in May. Can I apply again? Yes. Is it first-come, first-serve? If not, how are tenants selected? When you apply does not impact how likely you are to get assistance. (Houstons May rental assistance program was first-come, first-serve. The $15 million was used up in 90 minutes.) Harris County will be picking the order of application processing through a random lottery. The Houston program will be based on vulnerability. Whats the timeline for getting help? BakerRipley will begin selecting applications after Aug. 31 (selected tenants will be notified and asked for any other documents needed). After Sept. 8, the program will begin making payments to landlords. Im a tenant and my landlord wont enroll in the program. Can I still apply? No the program requires landlord participation. Call 2-1-1 to see if there are other resources (or email help@unitedwayhouston.org or search 211texas.org). MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday eased the strict coronavirus lockdown in and around the capital Manila as his government promised a refreshed" approach to fighting COVID-19 that includes intensified testing. Duterte, in a televised address, said there was a need to reopen the economy with small and medium enterprises barely surviving", while at the same time calling on the public to follow the safeguards". The Philippines, which before the pandemic was one of Asias fastest growing economies, fell into recession for the first time in 29 years with a record slump in the second quarter, due to the pandemic-induced lockdown. The Philippines, which has the most number of coronavirus cases in Southeast Asia, has so far recorded a total of 164,474 infections and the death toll from COVID-19 has risen to 2,681, according to health ministry data. The quarantine measures were reimposed in the capital and nearby provinces from Aug. 4-18 after a group of doctors and nurses warned that the healthcare system could collapse. Harry Roque, Dutertes spokesman said, the government used the two-week window to refresh" and reboot" its responses against the coronavirus pandemic, to allow for business activity to resume and let more people to go back to work. Under the relaxed rules which take effect on Aug. 19, Roque said, most businesses, including dine-in services will be allowed to reopen. Religious services will also be permitted provided that houses of worship limit total attendance to 30% of a buildings capacity. We will intensify our testing," Roque said, adding the government will continue to conduct house-to-house checks to trace COVID-19 patients with mild or no symptoms so they could be escorted to isolation centres. The government has so far tested more than 1.9 million and it aims to test 10 million people - or nearly a tenth of the population - by the second quarter of next year. In the same address, Duterte also thanked Russia and China for offering to provide the Philippines with COVID-19 vaccines as soon as they become available. He said he would ask Russia President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping for a credit line so the government could afford the vaccine. 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 Four years after raucous and contentious scenes, with Sen. Bernie Sanders' delegates on occasion openly booing from the partys convention floor, Democrats this year are positioned for much less drama and set to show off a far more united front. "While Joe Biden and I, and our supporters, have strong disagreements about some of the most important issues facing our country, we also understand that we must come together in order to defeat Donald Trump, the most dangerous president in modern American history," Sanders said in early July. Though some of his delegates have made noise about opposing the platform, Sanders voted for the current party platform and, more, distanced himself from other progressives publicly opposing the current charter in recent interviews. He even attempted to assuage concerns about his liberal base's priorities come November on the eve of the convention's opening night. "The overwhelming majority of progressives understand that it is absolutely imperative that Donald Trump be defeated," Sanders told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday. "There may be disagreements. A lot of my supporters are not enthusiastic about Joe Biden. You know why? I ran against Joe Biden." MORE: 2020 Democratic National Convention Viewer's Guide: Biden anchored in Delaware, a virtual nomination and history to be made The theme of this year's convention is "Uniting America" -- a more concerted effort to reconcile ideologically divergent factions in the party. Last time around, Sanders' delegates used their leverage -- and the threat of a floor flight -- in the process for crafting the party's platform. They pushed the non-binding blueprint of the party's goals and vision to embrace some of their progressive ideals, such as, a $15 minimum wage, closing private prisons among other criminal justice reforms, and concessions on climate change, including support for limits to fracking. Story continues Days before the convention, Wikileaks released thousands of internal emails from the DNC, which showed some top party officials appearing to aid Clinton's campaign during the primaries, including disparaging emails from Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, then the chairwoman of the DNC, about the Sanders campaign. Sanders allies, both frustrated by the outcome of the race and enraged over the leaked emails, arrived at the Philadelphia convention loaded for bear -- turning a typically dull affair into a tense and bitter clash with open fissures on full display. In an attempt to stop the bleeding, the party committed to set up the Unity Reform Commission, which consisted of representatives from both the Sanders and Clinton camps, to examine and propose structural changes to the nominating process after the convention. The commission, which ultimately approved of stripping superdelegates of much of their power, paved the way for a less contentious primary process in 2020. PHOTO: Sen. Bernie Sanders announces the votes for the state of Vermont in favor of Hillary Clinton during the roll call on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, July 26, 2016, in Philadelphia. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, FILE) "It's night and day," Larry Cohen, a longtime ally of Sanders who is also chair of Our Revolution, a nonprofit political organization aligned with Sanders, said of the primary season in July. "The differences in those four years, huge. You don't hear any of those candidates -- we've had more candidates than ever -- saying that it was rigged. It wasn't." For any convention, party rules allow for delegates on the three standing committees who muster enough support to force proposals, known as minority reports, to be brought to the convention floor for a vote. But the reports can cause headaches if they appear to expose of divisions within the party's ranks. This year, no minority reports were submitted, a Democratic official told ABC News. Although a small procedural tool, the lack of any possible debates over policy or rules reinforces Democrats' efforts to put unity out front at the convention. Earlier this year, seeking to head off the divisiveness that defined the 2016 race, Biden and his team began an outreach campaign before Sanders officially endorsed him that included a mild embrace of some more progressive policies like lowering the Medicare eligibility age to 60 and expanding his support for various student debt forgiveness policies. Unlike 2016, Sanders quickly stood behind Biden once it became clear that the former vice president would become the nominee -- endorsing him a week after his departure from the race. Sanders' exit from the Democratic primary set off the start of negotiations between the two campaigns. "Bernie gets a lot of credit for his passionate advocacy for the issues he cares about. But he doesnt get enough credit for being a voice that forces us all to take a hard look in the mirror and ask if weve done enough," Biden wrote in a Medium post after Sanders dropped out. The early olive branch by the Biden campaign was followed by the creation of the "unity task forces," formed by both the Biden and Sanders campaigns to deliver a unified set of policy recommendations on issues -- ranging from health care to the economy to criminal justice reform -- to the Democratic National Convention's Platform Committee. The task forces reflected the breadth of the party -- including members of the old guard, such as former secretary of state John Kerry, and young, progressive stars, such as, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. MORE: Bernie Sanders predicts overwhelming support for Democratic ticket despite some progressives disagreements Sanders has repeatedly returned to and praised the work done during the joint Sanders-Biden "unity task force" meetings and argued the new party platform included many recommendations and concessions to the progressive wing of the party. The 2020 platform includes a nod to Medicare for All, saying that the party "welcomes advocates who want to build on and strengthen the Affordable Care Act and those who support a Medicare for All approach." According to a senior campaign aide, Sanders has felt content and included working with the former vice presidential since the primaries wrapped. This aide remarked too that, for Sanders' staff, working with team Biden has felt noticeably more open and collegial compared to working with the Clinton teams four years ago, and that Sanders is telling his supporters to gear up for pushing Biden after they help him get elected first. Recent down-ballot wins, from up-and-comers like Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman, have left many progressive grassroots organizers upbeat and confident. The move by Biden was seen by some establishment Democrats as a key factor in bridging a divide that marred the 2016 race as Democrats openly showed their struggle to unify behind the Democratic nominee in the first matchup against Trump. PHOTO: California delegates hold Hillary signs along with a few TPP and band tracking signs at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 28, 2016. (Bill Clark/Getty Images, FILE) "It was the right thing substantively to engage Bernie Sanders after the election," former President Barack Obama said on his former campaign manager David Plouffe's podcast "Campaign HQ" last week. "A lot of the so-called divisions within the Democratic Party, I think are not going to be a major factor in the election." MORE: Biden-Bernie Sanders Unity Task Forces release DNC platform recommendations But still some Democrats in the party's liberal wing feel the party's policy platform does not go far enough, particularly on the issue of health care. Several hundred Sanders delegates are expected to vote oppose the platform over Medicare for All, Politico reported. Two high-profile Sanders allies, Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., also publicly announced they would vote against the party's platform for falling short on health care. "When we say that healthcare is a human right, we must truly mean itand fight for it," Khanna, who was a national co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign, wrote in an op-ed. Despite the dissenters, the convention's virtual format might make it harder for any boos and jeers during the choreographed four-night gathering, although there still could be some disputes bubbling to the surface remotely. For Sanders, who is set to take the stage on Monday night, the intraparty fights are over, as he believes the party has moved further to the left. But he said, there is always room for progress to be made. "The progressive movement has been making enormous progress," Sanders said on Sunday, "in bringing the American people in our direction, especially the younger generation...We are going to continue the fight for Medicare-for-all." ABC News' Adam Kelsey contributed to this report. After 2016, Democrats could be on track for much less infighting at 2020 DNC convention originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds was toasting a massive payday yesterday after the world's biggest drinks company, Diageo, bought his gin brand for 465million. The FTSE 100 owner of Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky acquired Aviation American Gin, which sells for between 31 and 36 per 700ml bottle in the UK, as the latest celebrity-backed spirit in its stable. Canadian-born Reynolds will retain a stake in the brand and has signed an agreement to continue working on its marketing for the next decade. Celebrity appeal: Diageo has bought Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds's Aviation American Gin brand for 465m His share has not been disclosed but is understood to be substantial. The X-Men actor, 43, said learning about the gin industry had brought a 'sheer creative joy'. Reynolds was one of the highest-paid actors in 2020 with his annual earnings reaching 54million, according to Forbes, thanks to lucrative roles with streaming services Netflix, including 6 Underground. In 2017, Diageo bought George Clooney's tequila brand Casamigo for 790million. It also has a partnership with David Beckham for Haig Club whisky. A sessions court in Bihars Gopalganj awarded death penalty to a woman and her daughter-in-law for indulging in black magic that resuklted in the death of a four-year-old boy. This is the fourth capital punishment awarded by the Gopalganj court in the last five years. Durgawati Devi, 60, and her daughter-in-law Sankesha Devi, 40, were held guilty on July 5. Additional district and session judge Lavkush Kumar awarded capital punishment to Durgawati and Sankesha, holding that this was among the rarest of the rare cases and the accused deserved maximum punishment for the inhuman and heinous crime, Gopalganj government counsel Jairam Prasad said. Nine witnesses, including the doctor who conducted the autopsy of the victim, were examined by the court during the trial. According to the prosecution, the incident happened on the evening of September 5, 2017. The victim, identified as Dev Kumar, who was playing outside his house, went missing under mysterious circumstances. His mutilated body was found in front of the house of the suspected accused at Chhitauna village, the next day. Both the accused were arrested. Accused Sankesha was involved in Black Magic and had taken the boy to her house on the pretext of giving him a chocolate, said the prosecution. There, she along with her mother-in-law, slit the boys throat with a knife, said the prosecution. The victims body had several injury marks. It is also said that during the interrogation, the duo confessed to their involvement in the murder of the child. After Sankeshas statement, the police also recovered the knife used in crime. A murder case was lodged on the basis of the statement of victims father Binod Shah against the two women. Defence lawyer Dhananjay Choubey said that her client would challenge the order in the Patna high court. The victims father said that he had finally got justice. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has praised former National Security Advisor John Bolton for being consistent in questioning the use of the snapback option by Washington to trigger UN sanctions against Iran. In an article in the Wall Street Journal published August 16, Bolton has said the Trump administrations determination to force the snapback option Is not wroth the risk. His concern is for the United States to overuse its veto power at the Security Council, which Bolton says will impair this important foreign policy tool. In a tweet August 16, Zarif said Bolton has repeated today what he said on May 8, 2018, while National Security Advisor in the Trump administration. At least he is consistenta trait notably absent in this US administration. Zarif says that Bolton had expressed the same view in 2018 when the U.S. withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. President Donald Trump announced August 16 the United States will start the process of triggering the return of international sanctions against Iran, after Washington failed to push through a resolution to extend the UN arms embargo on Tehran. Russia, China and three European powers who are the original signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran argue that Washington cannot trigger the snapback aspect imbedded in resolution 2231, passed in 2015 and linked with the nuclear agreement. They say that after withdrawing from the accords the U.S. is no longer a participant and has forfeited its right to ask for punishing Iran. Proponents of resorting to snapback argue that the U.S. still has a right to trigger the mechanism as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, regardless of its withdrawal from the JCPOA. Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki's casting as Princess Diana for the final two seasons of The Crown has delighted longtime fans of the Netflix show. From her big break in 2013's The Great Gatsby to becoming a household name thanks to 2016 TV series The Night Manager, the 29-year-old has steadily climbed up the ranks of showbusiness to secure her career-making new role. The decision to cast the Melburnian has been welcomed by royal fans, who have pointed out that her statuesque height (6ft 3in, or 190.5cm) reflects the fact that the People's Princess (5ft 10in, or 177.8cm) was also taller than many people remember. Royally pleased: The decision to cast Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki (left) as Princess Diana (right) for the final two seasons of The Crown has delighted longtime fans of the show A former ballerina in training, Elizabeth switched to theatre during high school. She studied at University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts, where she was also awarded the Richard Pratt Bursary for outstanding acting students. Debicki shot to stardom after making her debut in The Great Gatsby in 2013, after impressing the film's director, Baz Luhrmann, with her brief appearance in the 2011 Australian movie A Few Best Men. Since then, she has appeared in several movies including The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Vita and Virginia, Widows and The Cloverfield Paradox. Debicki has also done voiceovers for Peter Rabbit and appeared in television series The Kettering Incident and The Night Manager alongside Tom Hiddleston. Elizabeth will also be seen in the soon-to-be-released Christopher Nolan project Tenet, alongside Robert Pattinson and Michael Caine. Rise to stardom: From her big break in 2013's The Great Gatsby (pictured) to becoming a household name thanks to 2016 TV series The Night Manager, the 29-year-old has steadily climbed up the ranks of showbusiness to secure her career-making new role True to form: The decision to cast the Melburnian has been welcomed by royal fans, who have pointed out that her statuesque height (6ft 3in, or 190.5cm) reflects the fact that the People's Princess (5ft 10in, or 177.8cm) was also taller than many people remember Elizabeth's impeccable acting talent, and ability to hold her own alongside huge Hollywood names, unquestionably impressed the creators of The Crown. The star will take over from Emma Corrin in the hit Netflix program, playing Diana for the fifth and sixth series, which will include Diana's death in 1997. At 29, she is the same age the late princess was in 1990, the year the fifth series begins. The actress said of her casting: 'Princess Diana's spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many. It is my privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one.' As well as her talent, Elizabeth's casting has also been celebrated because of her physical appearance. 'Casting Elizabeth finally embraces that Diana was tall!' As well as her talent, Elizabeth's casting has also been celebrated because of her physical appearance At 6ft 3in, she towers above other actresses who have played statuesque Princess Diana in other projects. Naomi Watts (5ft 5in) took on the royal role in the 2013 movie Diana, while Kristen Stewart (also 5ft 5in) will play the fashion icon in the upcoming historical drama Spencer. One viewer tweeted: 'The Crown gonna make every man wear platforms under their shoes and won't let Elizabeth Debicki stand in any of the cast photo shoots let my tall queen tower over these peasant men.' Another curious fan said: 'I don't watch this show but now I have to just to see Tall Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana oh my God.' Someone else added: 'To save everybody the Googling of, "How tall was Princess Diana?" and the answer is, apparently, 5'10". Granted that Elizabeth Debicki will still have to slouch a little... that's not bad!' Another noted: 'No one serves tall but fragile like Elizabeth Debicki, the casting director for The Crown just gets it.' 'Casting is spot on!' The love and support continued to pour in for the Aussie actress on Twitter 'She has the perfect combination': Insiders have revealed the Netflix show's creators were impressed by Elizabeth's 'star quality' as she beat out several big names for the coveted role The love and support continued to pour in for the Australian actress with the following messages on social media: 'Miss Elizabeth Debicki playing Princess Diana in TWO seasons of the crown THIS IS HOW WE WIN.' 'Claire Foy is happy with this choice! Okay I'm super happy. Elizabeth Debicki is the best choice! She is tall and beautiful just like the late and beloved Princess Diana! No doubts s5 & s6 will be a-m-a-z-i-n-g!' 'Their casting is always, always spot on.' 'The crown really outdid themselves with casting Elizabeth Debicki as Princess Diana. I mean the implications this has.' Meanwhile, insiders have revealed the Netflix show's creators were impressed with Elizabeth's 'star quality' as she beat out a number of big names for the coveted role. Humble beginnings: A former ballerina in training, Elizabeth switched to theatre during high school. She studied at University of Melbourne's Victorian College of the Arts, where she was also awarded the Richard Pratt Bursary for outstanding acting students The source said: 'Season five and six will see Diana emerging as an effortless icon with superstar quality but yet still retaining that fragility. 'The role requires a fearless actor to bring truth to this beloved yet complex icon. Elizabeth had that perfect combination of megawatt star quality and vulnerability. 'She was an instant hit - when Elizabeth walked into the room producers were immediately struck by a sheer force of personality and energy and they knew they had found the perfect Diana for the final chapters of The Crown. 'As well as having the acting ability to tackle such a challenging role, the obvious similarities between Elizabeth and Diana in terms of appearance also made her a natural choice.' Star: Elizabeth's next film role is in Christopher Nolan movie Tenet, after famously landing her breakthrough role as Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby. Pictured with co-star Tobey Maguire Elizabeth's casting comes after she took her native Australia to task for falling victim to tall poppy syndrome and knocking down anyone who gets 'too ambitious'. She told British newspaper The Observer it was the reason why talented Australians 'often have to leave the pool and collect experience, collect people, and then come back to it. Or, they just sort of leave and they don't necessarily go back.' Tall poppy syndrome is a common Australian term referring to the idea poppies should grow at the same rate and any plant that gets too tall should be cut down. 'If you're an actor, you mustn't get any ideas about your craft. In Australia, you're barely allowed to say this is a job,' Debicki said. Accolades: She also won acclaim in the 2016 BBC drama The Night Manager, starring opposite Tom Hiddleston in the adaptation of John le Carre's novel 'You're supposed to be like, I don't know, sometimes I just do this thing, the camera rolls, then like, I go home! You can't own any of it, they'll just knock you down.' Speaking from her adopted home in Los Angeles, the Melbourne-raised actress said she was uncomfortable with the idea of being comfortable and Australia's tall poppy syndrome holds people back from 'being too ambitious, not too provocative or transgressive'. 'I understand that makes for a pleasant drink at the pub, but I'm not really interested in being too comfortable,' she said of Australia's attitude. 'I understand what it means to one day pack your suitcase up and leave the thing that was familiar to you, and have to come to Los Angeles or wherever and do that rite of passage. I get that, because I've done it. I think that is common ground for us.' (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Keeping schoolchildren home again this fall will come at a hefty price for families and economies around the world. In Hong Kong, authorities may be underestimating the cost. The governments decision to start the new academic year online after a resurgence in Covid-19 cases has generated little public discussion. Thats a surprise, given that the poorest will suffer disproportionately from another prolonged shutdown, in what is already one of the most unequal societies on Earth. One in four children in Hong Kong lives in poverty, and most families own few books. Caution is appropriate when it comes to a virus that is often silent, especially in a densely populated city. Yet while Hong Kong has been quick to close schools and libraries, its malls and cafes are bustling. The $370 billion economy battered by months of demonstrations last year, then a coronavirus pandemic and sweeping national security legislation will suffer from this reflexive prudence. So, too, will all corners of Hong Kong society. Rich families and expatriates will move faster for the exits. The least wealthy, in a city with no real social security net, face the prospect of a lost generation of children marooned in tiny apartments, with insufficient privacy, technology and parental support. This isnt a blanket demand for classrooms to open in September. Hong Kongs wariness, even after quarantine failures that sparked the latest outbreak, has helped contain infections. School closures elsewhere have been associated with a drop in cases. Yet the burden already carried by Hong Kongs most disadvantaged, with a population under mental and economic strain even before the health crisis, suggests it is urgent to weigh the wider damage. The debate around when to resume face-to-face teaching is international. At one point in April, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, better known as Unesco, estimated 1.5 billion kids were out of the classroom. There are few easy answers for policy makers. Israel returned to normal too fast back in May; seen from Asia, pictures of mask-free, packed school corridors in the U.S. are terrifying. Story continues Hong Kongs Gini coefficient a measure of income inequality that ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 being perfect equality stood at 0.54 in 2016, the widest gap in nearly half a century. After taking into account tax and social benefits, that dips to 0.47, still considerably worse than developed economies including the U.S. Research globally shows moving learning online widens that chasm. The first results from a major study at the University of Hong Kong did have good news last month: Questioned after the first coronavirus closures, teachers said students were by and large able to get through the required curriculum, and neither teaching staff nor parents saw long-term negative effects. Dig deeper, though, and the findings show students struggled to master complex concepts, while sustained online learning was seen to aggravate disadvantages. Only 55% of primary school students had sole access to a large-screen device, meaning almost half were sharing or had no access at all. For secondary students, almost one in four was sharing. The government has sought to mitigate that, with financial support for schools and students, and funds made available to help underprivileged children get adequate technology and internet access. The Education Bureau says HK$73 million ($9.4 million) was disbursed in the last academic year, through schools, to help with devices and accessories alone. Thats a help, though with 281 schools participating, the average is hardly gargantuan. Anecdotal evidence from my working class neighborhood of Shek Kip Mei suggests that, in a city used to fending for itself, the information hasnt always trickled down. Technology is also only a partial solution necessary, but not sufficient, especially for early learners. Primary school educators in particular said they struggled to interact with students; weaker ones, without support, became disengaged. Ethnic minorities fare worse. Scarred by SARS, Hong Kong moved laudably fast to close schools back in January. That doesnt mean it is right to continue fighting with the same weapons for the next 12 months or more. The longer the pandemic continues, the more glaring the costs. The American Academy of Pediatrics has advocated starting with the aim of getting children back to school, given the impact of staying home on their social and emotional development. Thats before considering the impact on future earnings, the increased risk of older students dropping out and the effect on poorer women, who already struggle to join the workforce in Hong Kong. Oxfams acting director for its Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan program, Wong Shek Hung, said job losses in a place where it isnt easy to qualify for state support had also left families cutting back on food, without free school lunches to fall back on. One advantage the former colony has is that schools have opened safely here before. Students trickled back from the end of May, after four months at home. My children, and thousands of others, were kept safe with social distancing, hand-washing and simple measures like eating lunch at home. With its latest outbreak coming under control, Hong Kong can certainly afford to reopen classrooms before bars, gyms and spas. It can also improve testing efforts. After teachers and students were subjects of controversy during the 2019 protests, with one in five of those arrested after last years demonstrations under 18, the decision to keep schools closed might also appear politically convenient. In fact, Hong Kongs blunt approach probably has more to do with bureaucratic rigidity. Flexibility is hard, but necessary. A long-lasting pandemic, a battered economy and a traumatized generation demand it. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia. 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. A WhatsApp scam that convinces users to hand over their personal details is just one of many that have seen Australians lose almost $90 million this year. Scams doing the rounds on WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok have affected a staggering 15 per cent of Australians since the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns in Australia, a report by software security provider, NortonLifeLock, has revealed. The research shows cyber crime rose during the COVID-19 lockdown as social media use soared by 62 per cent and hackers targetted Australians. One woman in her 20s, who didn't want to give her name because she was too embarrassed, said she only realised she'd fallen for the WhatsApp numbers scam in June when a friend contacted her. Scammers used her WhatsApp account to send messages to her contacts asking for a six digit code that's then used to log the WhatsApp account on a new device. This would allow the scammers to then impersonate the unsuspecting user. Scammers used a Sydney woman's WhatsApp account to send messages to her contacts asking for a six digit code that would have exposed their personal details as well Research shows cyber hacks rose during lockdown as social media use soared by 62 per cent When she found out she had been scammed into handing out her details, the woman changed her passwords and went to the bank and closed her accounts. She was upset she had to explain to her friends not to reply to her hacked messages after she'd already fallen for it. Cyber security expert Mark Gorrie said a staggering 15 per cent of Australians were a victim of cyber crime during the first few months of the pandemic. The scams include romance and online dating scams where people ask for money, investment scams and puppy scams where 'sellers' disappear after receiving the money. The attacks on social media often look like advertisements and trick people into believing they are buying something that doesn't exist The attacks on social media often look like advertisements and trick people into believing they are buying something that doesn't exist 'Were seeing more and more young people targeted who might think theyre too smart to be scammed. They are targeted through social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram,' Mr Gorrie explained. The attacks on social media often look like advertisements and trick people into believing they are buying a product that in reality doesn't exist. 'Look for spelling mistakes or poor grammar, generic greetings or email URLs that dont match the company in the email. If someone is sending you an unusual request or offers too good to be true, its a red flag,' he said. The Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award program (https://www.civic-volunteer.com/) committee has extended the application deadline through September 15, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern standard time. Local government elected officials in small communities now have an additional month to nominate a civic volunteer or organization for this inaugural award competition. The initiative will recognize 100 entries, helping to shine a spotlight on the growing need for local engagement in critical civic roles. The top three winning nominees will receive cash awards of $10,000, $7,500, and $5,000 for their respective communities. All 100 winning entries will receive a new CivicCMS community website, at no charge, that includes a volunteer module to aid in future recruitment efforts. We have been overwhelmed by the moving stories described in the submissions we have received to date, said Brian Rempe, chief executive officer of CivicPlus, the competitions primary sponsoring organization. We also know that the top priority for elected officials across the country is the safety of their citizens, which is why we are extending the submission deadline. We hope to enable even more small-town local leaders to nominate their worthy citizens and community-based organizations to further our goal of showcasing the crucial work of these people and programs. Local government representatives may nominate citizens or citizen organizations for the Small Town America Civic Volunteer Award using this online application: https://www.civic-volunteer.com/home/webforms/small-town-america-civic-volunteer-award-stacva-nomination-form. Nominators are asked to describe their candidates compelling story of local volunteerism and its positive impact on their community. CivicPlus has retained the Barton Russell Group to administer the program and judge the nominations. The award program is open to all communities of 5,000 people or less and will close on September 15. Winners will be announced on October 1. The Small Town American Civic Volunteer Award is sponsored by the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), the National Association of Counties (NACo), the National Association of Towns and Townships (NATaT), Points of Light, and Main Street America. To learn more, visit civic-volunteer.com or download our media kit https://www.civic-volunteer.com/home/pages/media-kit. SADC meeting comes days after ISIL-linked fighters seized a strategic port near major gas projects in Cabo Delgado. When fighters from a shadowy group, known as Ahlu Sunnah Wa-Jama (ASWJ) or followers of the prophetic tradition, began launching attacks in northern Mozambique in October 2017, security agencies dismissed it as isolated acts of banditry. But the fighters continued attacking villages and towns in the resource-rich Cabo Delgado region, killing residents, burning houses and forcing thousands from their homes. While not much is known about the fighters or ASWJ itself, some of the more recent assaults have been claimed by the ISIL-affiliated Islamic State Central Africa Province (ISCAP). In April this year, police said 52 villagers in Cabo Delgado were killed when they refused to be recruited by the fighters, a major escalation that prompted authorities to admit for the first time the presence of ISIL-affiliated fighters in the country. The National Council for Defence and Security, the body that advises President Filipe Nyusi on security matters, said in a statement it had analysed the situation of the attacks in the province of Cabo Delgado and concluded that they were committed by the Islamic State, a terrorist organisation. The council added that the country was dealing with external aggression. The group, known locally as al-Shabab, with no established links to the armed group in Somalia, has continued to launch attacks, briefly seizing key towns, barricading important roads and reportedly beheading residents and abducting girls. Some displaced villagers have shared gory details and say they are too worried to even contemplate returning home soon. For several months, we couldnt sleep well because these al-Shabab boys could strike anytime. They came mostly at night, said Miguel Marcos, 57, who fled to the district headquarters in Pemba. We were left on our own. No government security came to our rescue, no help from anywhere. We lived in great fear until I decided to run away with my family, Marcos told Al Jazeera. Monitoring groups say at least 1,500 people have been killed and tens of thousands displaced since the fighting began. The increasing attacks by ASWJ in Cabo Delgado speaks both of the failure by the Mozambican government to counter the threat posed by the insurgency, in addition to the insurgents continuing to enhance their overall operational capabilities within Cabo Delgado province, Ryan Cummings, a political and security risk analyst, told Al Jazeera. At this stage, it appears that the Mozambican government is ill-prepared to counter the threat, he said. Last week, the fighters scaled up their operations by attacking for the third time this year the town of Mocimboa da Praia and seizing its port. The strategic port is used for cargo deliveries to the $60bn-worth gas projects located 60km (37 miles) further north that are being developed by oil giants such as Frances Total, Exxon Mobil Corp and other energy firms. The violence has raised concerns regarding investment in Cabo Delgados Liquified and Natural Gas sector, given that multinational companies have to increase both onsite and offsite security which will all impact the operational costs of their investment in the region, Cummings said. Insecurity in Mozambiques gas-rich region was part of the agenda on Monday when Southern African regional leaders gathered for a virtual summit that saw Nyusi assume the chairmanship of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The regional bloc was expected to consider reported suggestions for deployment of foreign troops to assist Mozambican forces in Cabo Delgado. They should do whatever they can to help us and secure our region. We want peace to return, Marcos said. We need immediate action from our leaders because these people [fighters] are so vicious in their attacks, he added. Analysts have pointed out that Mozambiques army has historically been weak, and the country has reportedly employed the services of private security operators to support the battle against the fighters. Its engagement of private military contractors such as Wagner and the Dyck Advisory Group is not stemming the flow of violence or degrading insurgency capabilities, Cummings said. SADC needs to mobilise both its diplomatic and security resources to ensure that the insurgency is contained in the near term, while looking at various mechanisms it could employ to ensure longer term solutions to socioeconomic grievances, he said. Enhancing intelligence sharing and bilateral border security will also play a key role. But in joint a statement, the leaders of the 16-member bloc expressed their commitment to support Mozambique in addressing the terrorism and violent attacks and praised Mozambique for its continued efforts. It was almost exactly one year ago that David Robertson underwent Tommy John surgery, and the veteran reliever is now hoping to finally return to the mound sometime in September, the Philadelphia Inquirers Scott Lauber writes. Robertson has spent the past month working out and rehabbing at the Phillies Spring Training facility in Clearwater, and is now reporting to the clubs alternate training camp. I think if I could get comfortable I could pitch at the big-league level in three weeks. But thats not a hard date, Robertson said. Were it not for the COVID-19 outbreak that hit the Phillies camp in June, Robertson might already be back on the roster. Robertson was ready to start throwing off a mound when the outbreak hit, which sent Robertson back to his home in Alabama after the Clearwater facility was closed, costing him about a month of preparation time. After throwing multiple bullpen sessions, Robertson will face live batters for the first time at the alternate camp. His velocity isnt all the way back, as Robertson said he could probably hit 90 miles per hour on his fastball but he hasnt topped 88mph during his bullpens. While the right-hander has never been a flame-thrower, Robertsons fastball has averaged 92mph during his 12 MLB seasons. A late-season return would give Robertson a chance to salvage something from what has been a disastrous stint in Philadelphia. After signing a two-year, $23MM free agent deal in the 2018-19 offseason, Robertson pitched in only seven games before being sidelined by a flexor strain, which eventually led to his Tommy John procedure. It was a major blow for a pitcher who has been known for his durability, as Robertson averaged 65 innings per season from 2010-18. Robertsons contract contains a $12MM club option for 2021, though that will almost surely be bought out for $2MM. As such, banking a few innings and pitching well in September would give Robertson at least some type of free agent platform for the winter, though it will likely be difficult for a recent TJ patient entering his age-36 season to land a guaranteed contract. A good showing over the Phillies last few games could help Robertson make the case (perhaps personally, since he represented himself in his last foray into free agency) that he can return to his old All-Star form now that he is healthy. Australians who paid the government money through the controversial robodebt scheme have been reimbursed $545million. Department of Social Services officials told a Senate inquiry on Monday the $545million figure amounted to about 80 per cent of cases. The automated welfare recovery scheme matched Australian Taxation Office and Centrelink data to claw back overpaid welfare payments. Australians who paid the government money through the controversial robodebt scheme have been reimbursed $545million (stock image) It was ruled unlawful last year, with the Federal Court saying Centrelink could not have been satisfied the debt was correct. The Morrison government announced in May it would repay all debts, estimated to cost about $721million. Department secretary Kathryn Campbell acknowledged the scheme caused hurt and harm, and that it was 'legally insufficient'. 'I believe there were many people who felt uneasy, frustrated, had some difficulty managing through this system,' she said. Labor senator Deborah O'Neill read Ms Campbell a letter from a mother whose son died after receiving multiple letters through the system saying he owed up to $17,000. 'Of course we apologise for the hurt and harm caused to that family. That is a tragic story. No one wants that to happen,' Ms Campbell said. The scheme is facing a class action lawsuit. At First Bank & Trust Company, Chris Guy will work with business and commercial clients in to identify, provide and leverage flexible financial solutions that provide them with access to capital. He will serve Boone and Banner Elk, North Carolina markets as well as the surrounding western North Carolina region. "We're glad to welcome Chris to the team as our commercial division continues to grow in northeast Tennessee and western North Carolina," stated Hugh Ferguson, Senior Vice President and Regional Manager in Northeast Tennessee. "He will be an important resource for our customers, and can help us build on the $279.6 million in loans we've already invested in the community." Chris Guy may be reached at 423-900-3013 or [email protected] About First Bank & Trust Company First Bank & Trust Company, one of the top community banks in the United States, is a diversified financial services firm with office locations in southwest Virginia, northeast Tennessee, and New River and Shenandoah Valleys. Financial objectives are addressed by offering free checking products for personal and business accounts, and assessing lending solutions managed by mortgage, agricultural and commercial lending divisions. Comprehensive financial solutions are available through trust and brokerage service representatives. For more information, visit www.firstbank.com or contact Nicole Franks [email protected] SOURCE First Bank & Trust Company Related Links https://www.FirstBank.com Japan on Monday reported its worst drop in GDP on record, with its economy shrinking a record 7.8% from April to June as the coronavirus pandemic severely slowed economic activity in the country. The decrease translates to an annual rate of decline of 27.8%, the worst quarter the worlds third largest economy has recorded since they began keeping track in 1980, and the third consecutive quarter of contraction. In April, May, a state of emergency was issued, it was a situation where the economy was artificially stopped so to speak, and the impact was severe, said Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister Economic and Fiscal Policy. These are tough numbers but they bottomed out in April and May, we would like to put all our efforts into returning to a growth trajectory, Nishimura said. From April to June, Japans exports dropped at an annual rate of 56 percent, while private consumption decreased at an annual rate of nearly 29% as shoppers stayed home. Taro Saito, an economist at the NLI Research Institute, told the New York Times it would take at least three years for Japans economy to return to pre-pandemic levels. While Japans economy was the first among major nations to fall into recession when the pandemic hit, the country performed better than other major economies in the April-June period, when the United States and Germany both recorded 10% falls over the previous quarter and British output declined 20.4 percent. Japan, which has recorded 55,426 confirmed coronavirus cases and 1,101 virus-related deaths, never instituted a full lockdown, as the authorities there do not have the legal power to force people to stay home. However, economic activity slowed as workers and consumers chose to stay home. The economy began to rebound late in the second quarter as the countrys national emergency ended in May and people returned to work. The country then also began to feel the effects of an economic stimulus package worth 40 percent of its GDP which included cash handouts and zero-interest loans. Story continues The stimulus helped keep unemployment and bankruptcies low and in June, as the virus waned, the government began a campaign to encourage domestic travel and restart the local tourism industry. Then, in July, case numbers began to rise again, prompting criticism that the government had re-opened too quickly. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said earlier this month that the countrys economy could not afford a second national emergency and that he was dedicated to avoiding one. Meanwhile local governments have declared emergencies on their own. Tokyos government has asked restaurants and bars to close by 10 p.m. as the city has reported more than 200 new cases a day for the past month. More from National Review Teen Vogue, Snapchat urge teens to send sexually explicit sext messages during COVID-19 quarantine Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment Online magazine Teen Vogue and multimedia messaging app Snapchat are encouraging their teen audience and users to create porn while they're at home during the coronavirus quarantine, according to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. Like anything worth doing, sexting takes practice, said a Teen Vogue story published Monday on the Snapchat Discover page, according to The Daily Caller. Here are 7 things you might not have known about sexting. Another read, Sending someone details about what you want to do to them and getting back even more detail about what they want to do to you should be fun, easy, and ultimately joyful. Anything less than that isnt worth your time. The nonprofit group NCSE called on Teen Vogue to stop encouraging the creation of child sexual abuse material by sexting during quarantine. It also urged Snapchat to cease promoting these messages by Teen Vogue via Discover, which they said is putting kids at risk of sexual exploitation. Snapchat and Teen Vogue are playing right into sexual predators hands, Dawn Hawkins, senior vice president and executive director of NCSE, said in a statement. With the likely surge of young viewers on Snapchat due to quarantine, it is socially irresponsible for Snapchat Discover to encourage minors to self-produce underage pornography (i.e. child sexual abuse materials), thereby increasing their vulnerability to sexual predators, Hawkins continued. The proliferation of online child sexual abuse material has increased exponentially in recent years and more children are being targeted and groomed by predators via social media apps, Hawkins pointed out, saying Teen Vogue and Snapchat must be held socially accountable for promoting trends that put people at risk for exploitation. Research shows that sexting is often linked to offline sexual coercion, leaving teens inherently vulnerable, Hawkins said, adding that sexting can also make teens vulnerable to sexual extortion, sexual abuse or trafficking. Sexting is not harmless fun, as Teen Vogue would like teenagers to think, and Teen Vogue and Snapchat would be wise to stop promoting sexting to young, impressionable teens, Hawkins concluded. Last April, Teen Vogue pushed the idea that prostitution is acceptable to its young readers. In an op-ed called Why Sex is Real Work, Tlaleng Mofokeng, a medical doctor, noted that sex tourist destination Amsterdam would soon legally bar guided tours through the red light district but that many sex workers, a euphemism for prostituted persons but is often used to include brothel keepers and pornographers are opposing the ban. Not all sex workers engage in penetrative sex, though, undeniably, that is a big part of sex work. Sex-worker services between consenting adults may include companionship, intimacy, nonsexual role playing, dancing, escorting, and stripping. These roles are often pre-determined, and all parties should be comfortable with them, she explained. In 2017, Teen Vogue encouraged its audience to engage in anal intercourse and minimized its health risks. The explosion at Beirut's port on August 4 claimed more than 150 lives, more than 6 thousand people were injured. According to Beirut city governor Marwan Abboud, damages range between 3 and 5 billion dollars. About 160 thousand Armenians live in Lebanon, most of which in the capital. About 15 Armenians died, more than 300 were wounded after a blast. Against the background of the tragedy, the Armenian diaspora's activities intensified, the cabinet members rushed to declare their readiness to accept refugees in the republic, since the Armenian community of Lebanon was facing the threat of a humanitarian catastrophe. About 80% of the goods were delivered to Lebanon through the destroyed port. Officials did not mention on whose shoulders the costs of adaptation of refugees will be placed. Although the spread of the coronavirus pandemic is still depressing in Armenia, and the society is forced to pull the belts, the leadership of the republic does not miss the opportunity to use the diaspora-related events in order to secure Armenia's image of a collector of all foreign Armenians. Until recently, Armenian politicians summed up disappointing results in the fight against infection, hoping for an autumn decline in cases and overcoming economic stagnation. But on August 14, Armenia's Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs Zareh Sinanyan said that about 500 Armenians came from Lebanon to Armenia, as well as about a special package of documents aimed at ensuring that those who arrived could integrate into the republic. The Syrian war, local conflicts in the Middle East, the explosion at Beirut's port, to one degree or another, were used by Armenian politicians to overcome the demographic crisis. However, even now it is not clear Zareh Sinanyan's words what future awaits the Lebanese Armenians, whether they will be granted citizenship. Not a word has been said about assistance in acquiring housing, in learning a language, or in finding a job. It seems that Armenia's current diaspora policy boils down to attracting Armenian refugees from all over the world without taking into account fundamental everyday needs and cultural perception. However, since it is unnatural for the Armenians of the Middle East to be in conditions of ideological enmity towards their neighbors or the Turkic world, the Armenian politicians perhaps do not pay attention to such peculiarities. Some aspects of Zareh Sinanyan's current diaspora policy (the former mayor of the American city of Glendale) seem strange. One gets the impression that in the pursuit of figures and indicators of demographic growth, the Chief Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs does not think about creating an educational, social, cultural, economic and political system not implying full assimilation. It should be reminded that modern Armenia has no experience in building a multicultural society, and its policy is reduced to building a national state. What are the officials hoping for when they say that the republic should become attractive not only for Armenians, since today's Armenia cannot become the center of Armenian repatriation without the necessary intellectual, political and economic base? Relying on a mechanical increase in the population and the fact that the refugees will agree to live in conditions that the citizens of Armenia refuse when leaving, seems ill-considered. Against this background, Sinanyan's words that the current authorities are actually starting a diaspora policy from scratch look like outright populism. How are Armenian politicians going to improve the republic's attractiveness without solving the problem of population outflow? According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, more than 2000 people left the republic last year. Outflows have dropped comparatively this year, thanks to (if I may say so) the COVID-19 pandemic. The "revolutionaries" from the Pashinyan government, like their predecessors, stubbornly ignore Armenia's economic uncompetitiveness. However, instead of creating the necessary potential for attracting and integrating new immigrants, which could contribute to the growth of the market and an increase in the number of professions, it is easier for the Armenian officials to demonstrate an imaginary concern for refugees who are unlikely to want to connect their future with Armenia. China is ready to work with India to enhance mutual trust and properly manage differences, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that the right path ahead for the two countries is to respect each other. The foreign ministry was reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Independence Day speech where he talked about strengthening the Indian armed forces and said the countrys territorial integrity is supreme. From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand, Modi had said in his address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort. Modi also referred to the border clash in eastern Ladakh without naming China. Indias integrity is supreme for us. What we can do, what our soldiers can do everyone saw that in Ladakh, Modi said, referring to the June 15 border clash in the Galwan Valley. Also read | A timeline: India-Chinas deadliest border clash since 1975 explained At least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in the clash and China has also acknowledged that it suffered casualties but without citing an accurate death toll. Asked to comment on Modis speech, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said: We have noted Prime Minister Modis speech. We are close neighbours, we are all emerging countries with over one billion people. So the sound development of bilateral ties not only serves the interest of the two peoples but also stability, peace, prosperity of the region and the whole world. The right path for the two sides is to respect and support each other as this serves our long-term interests, Zhao said at the regular ministry briefing on Monday. So, China stands ready to work with India to enhance our political mutual trust, properly manage our differences, step-up practical cooperation and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties, he said. Also read | Make sure differences do not escalate into disputes: China to India on border row Prime Minister Modis speech was also analysed by the Chinese state media, which said it was important, in Chinas context, to follow what he does next. After the latest round of senior military-level talks between Beijing and New Delhi on August 8, India hasnt shown any sign of changing its stance. At the same time, China has also held its ground. As the two countries are still at a stalemate over key issues, Modis real intentions will likely be revealed in his next moves, Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies told the tabloid, Global Times. Referring to Modis speech, Zhao said that it could be explained from two perspectives. One is that Modi has become tougher and put on a combative look. The other explanation is that the Indian government thought it had done enough by demonstrating its attitude toward China. Therefore, what Modi said in his Independence Day speech is not very important - but what he will do next is. HMD Global has officially unveiled the Nokia 8.3 5G as its first-ever 5G smartphone in March this year. The Snapdragon 765G-powered smartphone is now expected to go on sale in the next few weeks. As per the latest leak, the company plans to launch as many as five new Nokia smartphones by the end of 2020. The new Nokia 7.3 5G & Nokia 6.3 will join the Nokia 8.3 5G in the mid-range segment. Then there is the flagship Nokia 9.3 PureView that could feature the Snapdragon 865 Mobile Platform. All these three new smartphones are reportedly nearing the end of their development phase and will soon go into production. Nokia 9.3 PureView, Nokia 7.3 5G & Nokia 6.3 to launch in Q4 2020 While there is no official confirmation, the Nokia 9.3 PureView, Nokia 7.3 5G, & Nokia 6.3 could make their global debut in the Q4 2020. According to Juho Sarvikas, Chief Product Officer at HMD Global, the upcoming Nokia flagship will be available in Polar White and Copper color options. Advertisement Based on the rumors, it will sport 6.29-inch PureDisplay pOLED display with Quad HD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. As seen on its predecessor, the Nokia 9.3 PureView will also sport Penta camera setup on the rear with Zeiss optics. Unlike earlier, the company should opt for more practical sensor choices. It could even support video recording up to 8K resolution. Nokia will be one of the first brands to introduce Snapdragon 690 5G SoC For selfies, the leaks suggest the device to come equipped with an under-display camera. Speaking of Nokia 7.3 5G, it could be one of the first smartphones to feature the Snapdragon 690 5G SoC. If you didnt know, the Snapdragon 690 announced in June is the first 5G chipset in the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6-series. As per the companys CPO, the device also comes with PureDisplay and Zeiss-branded cameras. HMD Global is also preparing to launch the Nokia 2.4 and Nokia 3.4 smartphones in September 2020. Both these two budget smartphones from Nokia are already spotted on a few certification websites. Advertisement The new Nokia 2.4 comes with a 6.5-inch waterdrop notch display with HD+ resolution. Under the hood, it features the older MediaTek Helio P22 octa-core processor. As seen on other Nokia smartphones, the Nokia 2.4 will also sport a dedicated button for Google Assistant. Moreover, the Nokia smartphones are known for offering pure Android experience with no bloatware or ads. With Android One, the devices also get at least two major OS updates and three years of monthly security patches. Expect the company to make an official announcement regarding these new Nokia smartphones in the next few weeks. As the coronavirus began to spread through Minneapolis this spring, Health Commissioner Gretchen Musicant tore up her budget to find funds to combat the crisis. Money for test kits. Money to administer tests. Money to hire contact tracers. Yet even more money for a service that helps tracers communicate with residents in dozens of languages. While Musicant diverted workers from violence prevention and other core programs to the COVID-19 response, state officials debated how to distribute $1.87 billion Minnesota received in federal aid. A series examining how the U.S. public health front lines have been left understaffed and ill-prepared to save us from the coronavirus pandemic. The project is a collaboration between KHN and the AP. As she waited for federal help, the Minnesota Zoo got $6 million in federal money to continue operations, and a debt collection company outside Minneapolis received at least $5 million from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, according to federal data. It was not until Aug. 5 months after Congress approved aid for the pandemic that Musicant's department finally received $1.7 million, the equivalent of $4 per Minneapolis resident. "It's more a hope and a prayer that we'll have enough money," Musicant said. Since the pandemic began, Congress has set aside trillions of dollars to ease the crisis. A joint KHN and Associated Press investigation finds that many communities with big outbreaks have spent little of that federal money on local public health departments for work such as testing and contact tracing. Others, like Minnesota, were slow to do so. For example, the states, territories and 154 large cities and counties that received allotments from the $150 billion Coronavirus Relief Fund reported spending only 25% of it through June 30, according to reports that recipients submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department. Many localities have deployed more money since that June 30 reporting deadline, and both Republican and Democratic governors say they need more to avoid layoffs and cuts to vital state services. Still, as cases in the U.S. top 5.2 million and deaths soar past 167,000, Republicans in Congress are pointing to the slow spending to argue against sending more money to state and local governments to help with their pandemic response. "States and localities have only spent about a fourth of the money we already sent them in the springtime," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday. Congressional Democrats' efforts to get more money for states, he said, "aren't based on math. They aren't based on the pandemic." Negotiations over a new pandemic relief bill broke down last week, in part because Democrats and Republicans could not agree on funding for state and local governments. KHN and the AP requested detailed spending breakdowns from recipients of money from the Coronavirus Relief Fund created in March as part of the $1.9 trillion CARES Act and received responses from 23 states and 62 cities and counties. Those entities dedicated 23% of their spending from the fund through June to public health and 7% to public health and safety payroll. An additional 22% was transferred to local governments, some of which will eventually pass it down to health departments. The rest went to other priorities, such as distance learning. So little money has flowed to some local health departments for many reasons: Bureaucracy has bogged things down, politics have crept into the process, and understaffed departments have struggled to take time away from critical needs to navigate the red tape required to justify asking for extra dollars. "It does not make sense to me how anyone thinks this is a way to do business," said E. Oscar Alleyne, chief of programs and services at the National Association of County and City Health Officials. "We are never going to get ahead of the pandemic response if we are still handicapped." Last month, KHN and the AP detailed how state and local public health departments across the U.S. have been starved for decades. Over 38,000 public health worker jobs have been lost since 2008, and per capita spending on local health departments has been cut by 18% since 2010. That's left them underfunded and without adequate resources to confront the coronavirus pandemic. "Public health has been cut and cut and cut over the years, but we're so valuable every time you turn on the television," said Jan Morrow, the director and 41-year veteran of Ripley County health department in rural Missouri. "We are picking up all the pieces, but the money is not there. They've cut our budget until there's nothing left." Politics and red tape Why did the Minneapolis health department have to wait so long for CARES Act money? Congress mandated that the Coronavirus Relief Fund be distributed to states and local governments based on population. Minneapolis, with 430,000 residents, missed the threshold of 500,000 people that would have allowed it to receive money directly. The state of Minnesota, however, received $1.87 billion, a portion of which was meant to be sent to local communities. Lawmakers initially sent some state money to tide communities over until the federal money came through the Minneapolis health department got about $430,000 in state money to help pay for things like testing. But when it came time to decide how to use the CARES Act money, lawmakers in Minnesota's Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled House were at loggerheads. Myron Frans, commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget, said that disagreement, on top of the economic crisis and pandemic, left the legislature in turmoil. After the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the city erupted in protests over racial injustice, making a difficult situation even more challenging. Democratic Gov. Tim Walz favored targeting some of the money to harder-hit communities, a move that might have helped Minneapolis, where cases have surged since mid-July. But lawmakers couldn't agree. Negotiations dragged on, and a special session merely prolonged the standoff. Finally, the governor divvied up the money using a population-based formula developed earlier by Republican and Democratic legislative leaders that did not take into account COVID-19 caseloads or racial disparities. "We knew we needed to get it out the door," Frans said. The state then sent hundreds of millions of dollars to local communities. Still, even after the money got to Minneapolis a month ago, Musicant had to wait as city leaders made difficult choices about how to spend the money as the economy cratered and the list of needs grew. "Even when it gets to the local government, you still have to figure out how to get it to local public health," Musicant said. Meanwhile, some in Minneapolis have noticed a lack of services. Dr. Jackie Kawiecki has been providing help to people at a volunteer medical station near the place where Floyd was killed - an area that at times has drawn hundreds or thousands of people per day. She said the city did not do enough free, easy-to-access testing in its neighborhoods this summer. "I still don't think that the amount of testing offered is adequate, from a public health standpoint," Kawiecki said. A coalition of groups that includes the National Governors Association has blamed the spending delays on the federal government, saying the final guidance on how states could spend the money came late in June, shortly before the reporting period ended. The coalition said state and local governments had moved "expeditiously and responsibly" to use the money as they deal with skyrocketing costs for health care, emergency response and other vital programs. New York's Nassau County was among six counties, cities and states that had spent at least 75% of its funds by June 30. While most of the money was not spent before then, the National Association of State Budget Officers says a July 23 survey of 45 states and territories found they had allocated, or set aside, an average of 74% of the money. But if they have, that money has been slow to make it to many local health departments. As of mid-July in Missouri, at least 50 local health departments had yet to receive any of the federal money they requested, according to a state survey. The money must first flow through local county commissioners, some of whom aren't keen on sending money to public health agencies. "You closed their businesses down in order to save their people's lives and so that hurt the economy," said Larry Jones, executive director of the Missouri Center for Public Health Excellence, an organization of public health leaders. "So they're mad at you and don't want to give you money." The winding path federal money takes as it makes its way to states and cities also could exacerbate the stark economic and health inequalities in the U.S. if equity isn't considered in decision-making, said Wizdom Powell, director of the University of Connecticut Health Disparities Institute. "Problems are so vast you could unintentionally further entrench inequities just by how you distribute funds," Powell said. 'Everything fell behind' The amounts eventually distributed can induce head-scratching. Some cities received large federal grants, including Louisville, Kentucky, whose health department was given $42 million by April, more than doubling its annual budget. Because of the way the money was distributed, Louisville's health department alone received more money from the CARES Act than the entire government of the city of Minneapolis, which received $32 million in total. Philadelphia's health department was awarded $100 million from a separate fund from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Honolulu County, where COVID cases have remained relatively low, received $124,454 for every positive case it had reported as of Aug. 9, while El Paso County in Texas got just $1,685 per case. Multnomah County, Oregon with nearly a quarter of its state's COVID-19 cases landed only 2%, or $28 million, of the state's $1.6 billion allotment. Rural Saline County in Missouri received the same funding as counties of similar size, even though the virus hit the area particularly hard. In April, outbreaks began tearing through a Cargill meatpacking plant and a local factory there. By late May, the health department confirmed 12 positive cases at a local jail. Tara Brewer, Saline's health department administrator, said phone lines were ringing off the hook, jamming the system. Eventually, several department employees handed out their personal cellphone numbers to take calls from residents looking to be tested or seeking care for coronavirus symptoms. "Everything fell behind," Brewer said. The school vaccination clinic in April was canceled, and a staffer who works as a Spanish translator for the Women, Infants and Children nutritional program was enlisted to contact-trace for additional COVID-19 exposures. All food inspections stopped. It was late July when $250,000 in federal CARES Act money finally reached the 11-person health department, Brewer said four months after Congress approved the spending and three months after the county's first outbreak. That was far too late for Brewer to hire the army of contact tracers that might have helped slow the spread of the virus back in April. She said the money already has been spent on antibody testing and reimbursements for groceries and medical equipment the department had bought for quarantined residents. Another problem: Some local health officials say that the laborious process required to qualify for some of the federal aid discourages overworked public health officials from even trying to secure more money and that funds can be uneven in arriving. Lisa Macon Harrison, public health director for Granville Vance Public Health in rural Oxford, North Carolina, said it's tough to watch major hospital systems some of which are sitting on billions in reserves receive direct deposits, while her department received only about $122,000 through three grants by the end of July. Her team filled out a 25-page application just to get one of them. She is now waiting to receive an estimated $400,000 more. By contrast, the Duke University Hospital System, which includes a facility that serves Granville, already has received over $67.3 million from the federal Provider Relief Fund. "I just don't understand the extra layers of onus for the bureaucracy, especially if hundreds of millions of dollars are going to the hospitals and we have to be responsible to apply for 50 grants," she said. The money comes from dozens of funds, including several programs within the CARES Act. Nebraska alone received money from 76 federal COVID relief funding sources. Robert Miller, director of health for the Eastern Highlands Health District in Connecticut, which covers 10 towns, received $29,596 of the $2.5 million the state distributed to local departments from the CDC fund and nothing from CARES. It was only enough to pay for some contact tracing and employee mileage. Miller said that he could theoretically apply for a little more from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but that the reporting requirements which include collecting every receipt are extremely cumbersome for an already overburdened department. So he wonders: "Is the squeeze worth the juice?" Back in Minneapolis, Musicant said the new money from CARES allowed the department to run a free COVID-19 testing site Saturday, at a church that serves the Hispanic community about a mile from the site of Floyd's killing. It will take more money to do everything the community needs, she says, but with Congress deadlocked, she's not sure they'll get it anytime soon. AP writers Camille Fassett and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report. President Akufo-Addo has condemned the reported incidents of violence during the just-ended voter registration exercise. Delivering his 15th national address on Ghanas fight against COVID-19, he described those incidents as regrettable, although claiming that they were isolated incidents within the largely successful exercise. Akufo-Addo said the Police Service must deal decisively with those involved in the violence. By the grace of God, the work of the Electoral Commission, and the effective measures put in place by the government, these prophecies of doom did not materialize. There were, nonetheless, deeply regrettable, isolated incidents of violence, which I condemn unreservedly, and which I expect the Police to deal with without fear or favour, but the exercise was generally peaceful, he said. The president further mocked persons who had kicked against the plan to compile a new register. He said some of them who swore heaven and earth to resist the compilation of the register at the peril of their lives, ending up registering. There were also those who offered delicate, personal sacrifices in the event of the register, again, ending up registering. And, there were those who claimed that, in the midst of a pandemic, the registration exercise should not be conducted, with some warning of an explosion in our case count and very high numbers of deaths, should the exercise go ahead, Nana Addo added. Nana Addo , also said he is extremely happy over the 'orderly and safe' conduct of the registration contrary to widespread condemnation of the exercise over claims it will lead a surge in the number of infections and deaths. The Electoral Commission has completed the successful compilation of a new register ahead of the conduct of the 2020 general election. On behalf of the people of Ghana, I congratulate warmly, the Chairperson of the electoral Commission, Ms. Jean Mensa, her two deputies, Dr. Eric Bossman Asare and Mr. Samuel Tetteh and the entire commission for their efficient, safe and transparent nature of the registration exercise, he said. CODEO demands swift investigation, prosecution of persons behind voter registration violence On the same issue, the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to fast track investigations and prosecution of persons who perpetrated the violence. CODEO further asked the IGP to make available findings of its investigations to the public to foster confidence in the security agencies and to serve as a deterrent to others. It specifically mentioned incidences that happened at Banda and Dormaa West all in the Bono Region and Awutu Senya East in the Central Region. It made the call in its preliminary report on the phases 4, 5, and 6 of the just-ended exercise. CODEO calls on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Ghana Police Service working with the Attorney General (AG) to act expeditiously to complete all investigations including the violent incidents in Banda which resulted in the death of one young man, as well as the incident in Awutu Senya East in the Central Region and in Dormaa West in the Bono region. Persons found culpable in various criminal breaches of the law should be prosecuted and sanctioned in accordance with the laws of Ghana. CODEO urges the Police administration to share updates of these investigations with the Ghanaian public to foster confidence in the security agencies and to also server as a deterrent against future incidents of this nature. Failure to enforce the rule of law will erode confidence in the security agencies and the rule of law. citinewsroom Crown Casino was hit by two vicious brawls in the space of a few hours as angry punters threw punches on the gaming floor. The rowdy Perth venue was a virtual fight club with the combatants egged on by onlookers in both scuffles allegedly filmed on Saturday night. Two women squared off just outside on of the lounge areas and began by screaming at each other while standing inches from each other's face. Eventually one of the women gave the other a push to get her out of her face, and received a punch towards the face in return. Two women squared off just outside on of the lounge areas and began by screaming at each other while standing inches from each other's face From then it was on, with the pair trading blows and one falling down before jumping up and getting back in the fray. Both women were so eager to battle it out that they threw punches over the heads of friends trying to break them up. Onlookers yelled encouragement even after the brawl was broken up - though the verbal jousting continued while friends held them back. Elsewhere in the casino, another brawl broke out among a group of men at the top of an escalator that was filmed by a passing guest. Yelling could be heard as the man approached the area and the fight between at least six people began soon after. Punches were thrown while other wrestled or shoved each other and a few tried unsuccessfully to break it up. From then it was on, with the pair trading blows and one falling down before jumping up and getting back in the fray Elsewhere in the casino, another brawl broke out among a group of men at the top of an escalator that was filmed by a passing guest The combatants of both fights were mocked as 'bogans' by social media users after the videos were shared online. Daily Mail Australia has asked Crown Perth whether any action was taken against the combatants over the brawls. The casino has a long history of scuffles and is the only venue in Perth that stays open 24 hours a day. Social distancing is far less observed in Perth than most other Australian states and territories with very few active cases leading to lax restrictions. Patrons are allowed to drink without being seated and twice as many people are allowed to pack inside with a 2sqm rule instead of a 4sqm one. Crown's other Australian casino, in Melbourne, has been closed for weeks as the city's coronavirus outbreak shuts down all shops and pubs. Baghdad, Aug 17 : A Katyusha rocket hit Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses some of the main Iraqi government offices and the US embassy, the military said. A Katyusha rocket was fired on Sunday from an area located near the al-Nahdha bus station in downtown Baghdad, Xinhua news agency quoted the media office of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command as saying in a statement. The attack caused no serious damage, the statement said, adding that the security forces found a rocket launcher and defused two more rockets which were ready to be fired. Meanwhile, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua that the attack was conducted by two rockets and landed in the zone without causing casualties. Sirens were heard in the zone as the rockets landed and a helicopter was seen hovering over the area. The roughly 10 sq-km Green Zone is located on the west bank of the Tigris River, which bisects the Iraqi capital. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the rocket attack. The Baghdad airport and the Iraqi military bases housing American troops across Iraq, as well as the US embassy in the Green Zone, have been frequently targeted by mortar and rocket attacks. Shootings across New York City have increased by 82 percent year to date, and murders are up by 30 percent in another startling indication of how crime is taking over the city. The NYPD released figures on Monday for the week of 8/10/2020 through 8/16/2020 which paint a worrying picture of how the situation in New York is growing increasingly hostile. Year to date, shootings are up 82.1 percent, murders are up 30.2 percent, burglaries are up 43.3 percent and car theft is up 58.7 percent. This week compared to this week last year is even worse; shootings are up 142 percent, murders are up 40 percent, rape is up 11.1 percent and car theft is up 71.9 percent. Year to date, crime is down by 2.7 percent but compared to this week last year, it is up by 2.0 percent. As the crimes go up, the number of arrests being made are declining. Year to date, they are down by 30 percent. When comparing this week to the same week last year, they are down by 50 percent. The statistics go some way to explain why NYPD police officers are now endorsing Trump for re-election. In the last week, there have been more than 60 shootings across New York City that have left 76 people injured and 14 dead. Above, one crime scene on August 16 The President has promised to prioritize law and order and restore it in New York if he wins in November. He has also fumed at Democratic cities like New York, San Francisco and Portland, where leaders like Mayor Bill de Blasio have all but abandoned police forces and sided instead with Black Lives Matter protesters. Over the last week, 76 people in New York were shot, including 14 who died. More than 90 percent of the victims were black 'or brown', Gov. Cuomo said on Monday. One of them was a man who was killed while attending a candle lit vigil for another shooting victim. Paul Pinkney was shot in the head twice on Saturday at 2am as he lit a candle for his friend, Deshawn Reid, who was killed in a drive-by shooting last week. Pinkney was killed on the periphery of Prospect Park in Brooklyn. The Sergeants Benevolent Association has repeatedly lashed out at de Blasio for cutting the NYPD's budget which they say is stopping them from being able to do their jobs. On Monday, de Blasio brushed off responsibility for the escalating crime. Instead he said: 'It's just painful. 'It's horrible when you see a situation like the one you talked about, someone's there at a memorial and see an act of violence like that is very, very painful and it should not happen in this city. 'We are dealing with a perfect storm. I keep telling everyone, I think every-day New Yorkers understand it. 'We have been put through hell on the city. 'Everything fell apart simultaneously because of the coronavirus. In the last five years the number of shootings fell to a low of 754 in 2018, but is now rising Shootings in New York City have nearly doubled in the past year, and there has been a nearly 30% increase in murders In the past week, there have been 18 murders - up from 10 in the same time period last year, while car thefts have doubled and there have been 37 more shootings President Trump has lashed out at New York City's mayor Bill de Blasio after a weekend of violence in which at least 50 people were shot in various incidents across the city 'We're now building it back up and the NYPD is moving officers where they're needed, engaging with the community more deeply to fight crime, increasing gun arrests, but it will take time, and we need the whole picture to come back into focus. Paul Pinkney, pictured, was paying his respects to slain neighbor Deshawn Reid when he was blasted twice in the head 'We need the court system to get working again. 'We need a lot of things to work so we can really stop this problem. 'But it's painful.' He fumed at Trump - who has threatened to send in the National Guard to regain control of the city - saying: 'The President blusters and the President tries to draw attention to himself and rarely has much to back it up. 'The bottom line is, the NYPD is, obviously, as they have done for decades upon decades, they are the people who can help us address this issue and end this violence and that's who I'm relying on.' Cuomo said at his press conference that not enough had been done to get a handle on the situation. 'Very little has been done. It is imperative that we address this urgent crisis. I understand it's complicated. 'I understand it's difficult. I also understand that people are dying,' he said. After having beaten breast cancer, Santosh Batra (72) was a bit concerned when she felt pain and uneasiness on the left side of her chest in mid-June, but she postponed a visit to the hospital for fears of contracting the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) infection. I took Santosh to a friend, a doctor, and he prescribed an ECG (to assess her heart function). I considered taking her to a neighbourhood hospital but she refused because that facility was treating Covid-19 patients. We came home but that night, her pain and uneasiness got worse and her blood pressure began fluctuating, I kept checking it throughout the night. The next morning, when we went to a hospital, they said she had had a severe heart attack and there was some damage to the heart. We were asked to rush her to a bigger hospital, said Batras husband Bal Kishan Batra, who works as a consultant in a private company. Also read| Covid-19: What you need to know today Batra was then taken to Indraprastha Apollo hospitals emergency department. By the time the patient came to us, she had a ruptured septum (heart wall that separates the left and the right side). When a person has a heart attack, there is a 1% chance of complications such as a leakage of the heart valve or rupture of a chamber wall, but if they delay treatment the risk increases to 5%, said Dr Mukesh Goel, senior cardiac surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo hospital who treated her. Because of the delay, she had to undergo a complex surgery instead of a simple angioplasty (a procedure where a tube is inserted through the blood vessel to remove the arterial blockage). The surgery that had to be performed was also very risky as the tissue around the heart became friable and the stitches wouldnt hold, he said. Click here for complete coronavirus coverage Since the onset of the pandemic, many like Batra have been missing out on crucial treatment for fear of contracting Covid-19 at hospitals. A Delhi-based doctor, not wishing to be named, says half of his patients have been coming in with complications resulting from delays in treatment. Dr AK Singh Rana, medical superintendent of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia hospital, said, With hospitals flooded with Covid-19 patients in June and July and public transport not being available, the general tendency among people to was to wait for symptoms to resolve themselves -- patients were not coming to hospitals even they needed to. Even after the lockdown has been lifted, the number of patients in the OPD is a fraction of what we got before March. This is leading to people needing life-saving emergency surgeries that could have been avoided with timely treatment. Open surgeries, longer hospital stays Initially, it was on account of the lockdown and then out of fear that patients were postponing elective surgeries resulting in further complications and longer hospital stays. In the last three months, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has seen at least 31 such cases in the emergency, including those of ruptured gall bladders, intestines and appendices. Also read: Govt kick-starts talks to explore Covid-19 vaccine deal The number of such cases that we have had to perform in the last three months is probably what we would have done over two years pre-panedmic. When we say a procedure is elective, it means that it can be planned in advance, but it cannot be postponed indefinitely. Some of the procedures were cancelled when the lockdown happened but even after restrictions were lifted, patients are reluctant to come in because of the fear of Covid-19. This results in complications such as gall bladder ruptures, or blockage of the intestine, or the appendix bursting, Dr Vinod Bindal, vice-chairman of minimally invasive surgery, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, said. He narrated the case of a patient who had initially been diagnosed with gall stones and insisted on just tele consultation thereafter. Bindal said, unfortunately, the patient had gall bladder cancer that had already metastasised and could not be removed surgically. Many patients also had to undergo open surgeries. All these procedures are fairly simple and can be done using minimally invasive techniques. But because of complications, at least 10 patients had to undergo open surgery. The complications also led to a longer hospital and ICU stay, Dr Bindal said. Delays in reaching the emergency Patients with routine problems such as high fever and stomach ache have vanished from the hospital emergencies these days and have been replaced with complicated cases. In the emergency, we categorise patients as priority 1, 2 and 3 with priority 3 patients being those who come in with fever, headache, tummy ache, gastroenteritis and suchlike and can wait till we manage the more severe cases. This category of patients is completely missing right now. Earlier, even with a full out-patient clinic running, we used to see these cases in the emergency department, Dr Priyadarshini Pal Singh, head of emergency department, Apollo Hospitals, said. Instead, they have been seeing patients with complications arising out of not coming to a hospital sooner. Patients with fever had waited till they got pneumonia and were breathless. Diabetes patients who were not able to regularly monitor and maintain their blood sugar levels ended up with diabetic ketoacidosis (a severe complication where the body starts releasing high levels of blood acid called ketones), Dr Pal Singh said. With a person suffers a stroke, we need the patients to come to a hospital as soon as they see some slurring of speech or facial deviation or something as simple as dizziness. In case of a stroke, we need to act fast to prevent further damage. But now we get cases that come in only after half the body is paralysed, she said. Patients also come in with fractures days after the injury. Usually, in cases of orthopaedic injuries, people tend to reach hospitals immediately because of the severe pain. But we have seen a few cases wherein patients waited days before coming to the emergency -- a fracture needed surgery or resulted in embolism (a clot formed because of the bone fragment getting lodged in a blood vessel), Dr Pal Singh said. Doctors advise patients that if they are wary of going to a hospital, then they must consult doctors online in a timely manner. Dr Pal Singh said, A simple rule is that if you considered going to a hospital or a doctor for any discomfort or ailment and dont want to, then at least get an online consultation. And please follow the advice of the doctor. If the doctor thinks you need to go to a hospital, please do so. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON If an expert was presented with data from the coronavirus epidemic in Spain in two blocks from the start until June 21, when the lockdown ended, and from that date up until now they would struggle to determine that they represented the same pathogen. The age of those being infected, the areas worst affected and the death rates are completely different between the two data sets. The change in behavior of Covid-19 has been achieved thanks to isolating those infected, and monitoring suspected cases although the recent rise in new cases could reverse this trend. Here is an analysis of the radical changes in the most frequently used indicators. Death rate. The arrival of the so-called new normality after Spains strict coronavirus lockdown has been accompanied by a change in the lethality of the virus. When measured by victims per 100 infections confirmed via a PCR test, on June 21 this figure was at 9.07. Nearly two months later, the percentage has fallen to 0.31, which is a drop of 96%. Taking into account that no mutations of the virus have been detected that would justify such a fall, other factors explain this decrease. The first is that more cases are being diagnosed, something that increases the denominator in the deaths-to-cases relationship. The second is that the positive cases being detected now are less serious, most likely because the average age has fallen. And there is a third factor that groups such as Nomorepandemics, an analysis collective from the party Por Un Mundo Mas Justo (For a Fairer World) attribute a huge amount of relevance: now that the health system is not overloaded, the best care possible has been available to all of those with Covid-19, avoiding deaths due to the inability to treat everyone in the best conditions possible. This is what is suspected to have happened with residents of senior homes in regions such as Madrid, who were not sent to hospitals for treatment due to their being overwhelmed. This fall in victims caused by the coronavirus is well reflected in the Momo excess deaths study from the Carlos III health institute, which shows that there has been no excess deaths registered compared to previous years from practically the second week of May, when Spain was still in its deescalation phases. Also of note is the fact that the death rate varies greatly between regions given the combination of aforementioned factors. During the pandemic, and up until June 21, the rate ranged from 6.71% in the Canary Islands to 17.27% in Extremadura, a factor of practically one to three. Meanwhile, in the new normality the proportion runs from 0.12% in Navarre to 0.93% in Castilla y Leon, a factor of one to nine, although in this case the numbers are very small and an outbreak in a healthcare center or a senior residence can mean a large difference, given that the citizens involved are in a more vulnerable situation than, for example, agricultural workers or young people who become infected at a party or nightclub. Regions. Aragon is the only one of Spains 19 territories monitored (the countrys 17 regions plus the North African exclave cities of Ceuta and Melilla) whose case rate per 100,000 inhabitants has grown since June 21, when Spains deescalation phases ended. Taking this date as a starting point, the coronavirus has created two very different maps across Spain, with varied effects between regions, according to the data provided by the Health Ministry and based on reports supplied by the regional governments. On June 21, the average across Spain was 524 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. At the top of the list was La Rioja, a small region that saw a major outbreak at the start of the pandemic, with 1,285 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. It was followed by Madrid (1,069), Castilla y Leon (959), Catalonia (790) and Castilla-La Mancha (749). Navarre, a region that took more restrictive measures than other areas, saw 823 cases per 100,000 inhabitants during the same period, while Aragon was just below the average, followed by Andalusia (153), Melilla (143), the Canary Islands (112) and Murcia (110). In the new normality, the average rate of new infections in Spain fell to 194, based on the report released on August 13. This parameter fell for all regions and cities, apart from Aragon, which went from 450 to 1,055 the figure doubling in less than two months. The second spot was held by Catalonia (394), followed by Navarre (369) and the Basque Country (285). Castilla y Leon and Castilla-La Mancha were under the Spanish average, and at the bottom of the list were Galicia (53), the Canary Islands (37), Asturias (32) and Ceuta (seven). Age. In the new normality, more young people are becoming infected with the coronavirus. The reports that are produced by the Carlos III institute, which include diagnoses from all methods, and not just PCR tests, confirm a significant fall in the average age of new positives. For example, the report issued on April 3 by the research institute showed the average age of those diagnosed as infected as between 50 and 59. However, the latest report, published on August 6, shows an average of 30 to 39 years old. Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa has recently stated that the average age of new contagions is 40, whereas during the peak of the pandemic it was over 60. Hospitalizations. In line with this fall in the severity of cases being detected in the new normality is the number of people requiring hospitalization. Since the start of the epidemic up until June 21, the average in Spain was at 50% of cases. This was very high, but is explained by the fact that during the worst part of the epidemic in Spain the majority of cases were going directly to the emergency room. Now, however, the average is at 4.5% given that many asymptomatic cases are being detected, and given the lower average age, they are less serious. English version by Simon Hunter. A fed up farmer has taken revenge on a fly-tipper who dumped hundreds of tyres on his farm in Merseyside. Stuart Baldwin, who farms in Haydock, near Wigan, found 471 tyres dumped on his land on Tuesday 11 August. CCTV footage allowed Mr Baldwin to track down the alleged culprit as it showed a man tipping tyres out of a van. The 56-year-old farmer gave the fly-tipper three days to clean up the mess, hoping the incident would be resolved. But when the deadline passed and nothing had been done, Mr Baldwin loaded the tyres into a lorry and handed them back. A clip posted by the Twitter page We Hate Fly-Tipping, which has gained over 5,000 retweets, shows the tyres being tipped back onto the pavement outside a house. This farmer is our Hero of the Week. Someone fly-tipped dozens of tyres on his land - so he delivered them back to the fly-tipper. ?????? Please Follow and Retweet and download our free app to report fly-tipping anywhere in the country. pic.twitter.com/QjjOx4gvr7 We Hate Fly-Tipping (@ClearWasteApp) August 14, 2020 Revenge is best served cold, isnt it? Mr Baldwin told MailOnline. I got sick of it so I thought I would do a bit back. I just thought Ive had enough of this. Fly-tipping is horrendous why should farmers put up with it? "People in the community have called me a legend and a hero. Hopefully people will now think twice now about dumping on our land. A Wigan Council spokesman said they were aware of the incident and are currently investigating it. They added: We encourage anybody with information relating to fly tipping offences to contact us so we can take the appropriate course of action. Defra statistics show that 1,072,431 incidents of fly-tipping were dealt with by local authorities in 2018/19, an 8% rise on the 998,000 in 2017-18. The figures account for waste illegally dumped on public land that has been reported to, and cleared by, local authorities. This year has seen a number of high profile fly-tipping incidents which have affected farmers and landowners. Just last week, a Lanarkshire farmer had no choice but to pay 2,000 to clean up two tonnes of raw meat waste which was dumped on his land. (TNS) Two U.S. senators have shared their concerns over the University of Arizonas agreement to purchase a for-profit college and use its assets to bolster its online offerings.Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said in a letter to UA President Robert Robbins that the university must take steps to ensure students are not taken advantage of.Without clear protections for students built into this transaction by UA, its accreditors and the Department of Education, Arizona taxpayers risk becoming owners of a predatory for-profit college cloaked in the aura of your prestigious university, the senators wrote.The UA agreed to purchase Ashford University for $1 and add its assets including the San Diego schools 35,000 online students to create the University of Arizona Global Campus. The new platform will be a separate nonprofit, fully online entity. It will serve as an expansion of the Global Campus, made up of 150 sites worldwide.UA officials said the 18- to 22-year-old population makes up most of its students, but the deal would boost UAs support for nontraditional and underrepresented students as well as its online offerings.It helps us to serve a population of students that are often left behind and those are individuals who may not have had the opportunity for whatever reason to go to a university out of their high school education, said Robbins. These are primarily working adults, and I am very excited and proud that the University of Arizona is going to serve this population of students.Ashfords owner, Zovio, which is an education technology services company, will pay $25 million annually for the first five years of a $225 million, 15-year agreement, according to an SEC filing. It will then pay $10 million annually to complete the contract before being up for a renewal.The agreement also calls for Zovio to receive annual tuition revenue to the tune of 19.5% after the UA Global Campus covers its direct costs of operations.Zovio providing its recruiting, student advising and financial aid counseling services is one of the points of concern for the senators due to the for-profit college being in legal trouble in recent history.The organization and in some cases individuals responsible for Ashfords shameful record as a for-profit college are slated to continue to be responsible for a variety of key functions of the UA Global Campus many of those the very functions for which Ashford was investigated and sued.Zovio, formerly known as Bridgepoint Education, is still facing a San Diego Supreme Court case set for April 2021. A suit was brought against the company by the state of California in 2017 for allegedly using its admissions office to make false promises regarding prospective students financial aid to get them to enroll.Illegal debt collection practices were then used to get the struggling students to pay their bills, according to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who filed the lawsuit.Ashford, now owned by Zovio, has been a major player during a period of the last two decades that a group of state attorneys general referred to as open season on students because of the systemic defrauding of students and fleecing of taxpayers across the for-profit college industry, the senators letter said.In 2014, Zovio paid a $7.25 million settlement with Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller for consumer fraud.Unfortunately for many Ashford students, they did not receive the degree they had hoped for or the job they were led to believe they would be offered after graduating. What they did end up with was a crushing amount of student loan debt, Miller said following the three-year investigation.In 2016, Zovio was ordered to pay $30 million by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for deceptive acts, including misleading students regarding their loans.Robbins pointed to the WASC Senior College and University Commission, the regional accrediting agency for Ashford, saying the main concerns around these practices had been addressed in its latest report.As we did our academic due diligence, governance due diligence and business due diligence, we were satisfied that we could go in, take over this university, serve the students and provide our mission support of being a land grant university, Robbins said.Meanwhile, the senators recommended the UAs Global Campus Board of Trustees should have clear policies in place, including independent oversight structures and an elimination of class-action bans, which force students to give up their rights to sue or join a class-action suit against an entity that may have caused them harm.The senators letter only added to the list of concerns, some of which echoed previous topics mentioned by a group of six professors within the UAs Eller College of Management. They were one of several groups consulted in June about the potential Ashford purchase.Under a nondisclosure agreement, the UA administration unveiled more information about the proposed agreement naming it the DigiCat Project and changing the names of Ashford and Zovio to Antelope and Zebra respectively.The professors called the deal a potential catastrophic mistake and presented their reservations in a response to the administration.A quick google search reveals that less than 29% of their students graduate the average student leaves with $36,000 in debt, the group said about Ashford.Furthermore, enrollment at Antelope (Ashford) University has dropped by an average of 10.54% per year over the past seven years. If this trend continues, we estimate that Antelope University will lose somewhere between $35 million to $94 million per year over the next five years. Hence, we believe the DigiCat project is a bad investment.The group also said associating with Ashford University and its history of predatory practices could harm the UAs efforts to attract instructors and donors.Robbins said earlier this month hes mindful of things that may effect UAs brand.One of the issues is that Ashford was a for-profit university, and there have been practices around aggressive recruiting and individuals not finishing their degrees but having large debt, Robbins said. I think weve got to execute and make sure that we deliver a high-quality, ethical education to these students, and Im confident that we will do that or I wouldnt have agreed to do this deal. In the weeks leading up to a prayer and worship event on his family farm in Deadwood, Alta., evangelist Chris Lindberg acknowledged he wasnt sure if he would go ahead with the gathering this summer due to COVID-19 concerns. But ultimately, the Lord has spoken to me, he said in a Facebook video. Theres never been a more pivotal moment for Christians and concerned citizens to come together, he said. I know that God will protect us and use us to shake this nation. At least 29 confirmed COVID-19 cases in western Canada have now been linked to the event, called It Is Time Canada, which was held in the hamlet in northwestern Alberta from July 30 to Aug. 2. On Monday afternoon, health officials in Alberta said they were aware of 12 COVID-19 cases connected to the event. In a statement, an Alberta Health spokesperson advised anyone who had attended or been in close contact with someone who had been at the event to book a test online and monitor for symptoms. Earlier in the day, northern B.C. health officials issued an alert saying they had linked 17 COVID-19 cases of their own to the same event. Twelve of the cases were due to attendance at the event, while the remaining five were believed to be from secondary exposures. Another two dozen people have been identified as close contacts and are in self-isolation with daily monitoring by public health officials. The majority of these cases are said to be in the Fort St. John area, however the exposure alert applies to all of northeast B.C., the alert said. Contact tracing and testing has also identified that some individuals may be at risk of secondary transmission, from contact with cases related to attendance at the event. Lindberg did not respond to the Stars requests for comment. But in a Facebook post Aug. 9, he acknowledged that a few people who were at the event had been diagnosed with COVID-19. They did not have the symptoms when they were at the event. I do believe it was an incredible time that we had and keep praying in faith with us that nothing will take away from all that God did. Three days later, on Aug. 12, Lindberg posted a video saying he had tested positive for the virus. It is true. There was some COVID that happened. Youre looking at a guy right now that has COVID. I am diagnosed with COVID. And I am in quarantine here until the 17th of August. I thank God I dont know of anyone else in this area thats got COVID. Lindberg had posted a COVID-19 action plan before the event, which was held beneath a large tent. It said attendees would be screened for symptoms before entry; physical distancing would be enforced; sanitizer would be available throughout the venue; and food servers would wear masks and gloves. Attendance was capped at 100. Carla Wetherill, who attended the event, defended the decision by organizers to proceed, telling the Star via text message it was one of the cleanest events I have attended in Canada. I would go again and again! she wrote. Wetherill said there were no crowded lineups, people had their temperatures checked before going in and the venue was well-ventilated. I was in a row with my son and there were two chairs separating us from a lady that was on her own throughout the whole event, she said. Wetherill added: There were many lives changed for better at that event, including mine! I was highly blessed! The leadership followed all the instructions for gathering given by ministry of health and other authorities. One of the events guest speakers, Steven Holmstrom, an Alberta businessman and preacher, told the Star that organizers were jumping through a lot of hoops to ensure the safety of attendees. I saw them working really hard to keep people safe. He referred all further questions to Lindberg. Lindberg describes himself online as a successful farmer and evangelist. He enjoys ministering abroad, but has a vision to see his own homeland on fire for Jesus. It has been on his heart for several years to host gospel meetings on his farm and praise God, it is now a reality! On July 29, the day before the event, Lindberg posted a video saying that a tornado had recently come through the area. It really feels like the devil is trying to stop this event, he said. Weve had so much challenge with the event this year. But I also believe with all my heart God has called us to do it and its going to be one of the most impacting most powerful events that Ive been involved with. Its going to take more than that for the devil to stop us. Barely a week after the media in Georgia ignored the fact that a Savannah-area seven-year-old boy who supposedly died "from the coronavirus" actually had a seizure and fell in the shower, the largest newspaper in Georgia the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) is again perpetrating the false narrative that the Wuhan virus presents widespread danger for American children. On Saturday, August 15, the AJC had this headline: "15-year-old Gwinnett boy dies of COVID-19." The first sentence of the piece declared: "A 15-year-old Gwinnett County boy with no underlying conditions [emphasis mine] has died after contracting COVID-19, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health." An internet search revealed that the story was new. Thus, it seemed likely that all the AJC reporter who authored the story did was find the death info via the Georgia Department of Public Health's website that counts Wuhan virus deaths in Georgia. On this site, ages of the deceased are listed, along with whether underlying conditions were present. Being apparently eager to scare parents of school-aged children and to further the lockdown narrative, the AJC plastered at the top of its home page. Less than 24 hours after they again went with the child dying "with no underlying conditions" misrepresentation, Atlanta's WSB radio reported: "A 15-year-old boy in Gwinnett County has died of the coronavirus, according to officials with the Georgia Department of Public Health. The boy, identified only as being Caucasian, was from Gwinnett County. Officials said he did have an underlying medical condition [emphasis mine]." The fact that the boy died "with an underlying condition" also makes it likely that he died with the coronavirus instead of dying "of the coronavirus." Proving again the proverb that a lie makes it halfway around the world before the truth can get its boots on, much of the drive-by media were quick to run with the AJC's false account of the Gwinnett County boy's death. An AP story on the incident stated: "A 15-year-old boy in metro Atlanta has died from complications caused by COVID-19, making him the second-youngest individual to die from the virus in Georgia, according to state health officials. The Georgia Department of Public Health said the Gwinnett County teenager had no underlying conditions, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Saturday." Since these reports are likely to change or disappear, I provide screenshots: U.S. News & World Report echoed the AP's account: Sadly, even my local media outlet housed in one of the most conservative areas of the U.S. ran with the AP story: The Daily Beast was quick to get in on the deceit, running their story on the same day as the AJC. A piece entitled "15-Year-Old Boy Dies of COVID in Georgia," begins: "A 15-year-old boy has become one of Georgia's latest coronavirus fatalities, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported on Saturday. The teen is the second-youngest person to succumb to the virus in the state and had no underlying health conditions." There was also a Reddit thread on the incident. The self-described "front page of the internet" directly quoted from and had the link to the AJC story: Whether or not they took their cues from the AJC, local TV also got in on the act. Atlanta's CBS 46 reported, "A 15-year-old boy in Gwinnett County has become metro Atlanta's youngest victim of COVID-19. The teen is the second youngest in the state of Georgia to die from the virus, and is reported as having no underlying medical conditions." Notice that, whether or not a deceased individual has underlying conditions, if he has a positive Wuhan virus test (before or after death), he always seems to have died of the Wuhan virus. Interestingly, not long after WSB radio gave a more accurate account of the boy's death, the AJC "updated" their story. Notice that, though this account contains the "original story," the first sentence of the "original story" has been edited and the "with no underlying conditions" phrase removed. So again we see, the drive-by media are eagerly invested in keeping the lockdown narrative alive and, shamefully, are willing to use the deaths of children thus scaring children and their parents alike to do so. Trevor Grant Thomas: At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason. www.trevorgrantthomas.com Trevor is the author of The Miracle and Magnificence of America tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com Screen grabs under Fair Use. Derren Brown: 20 Years Of Mind Control Rating: A Suitable Boy Rating: Soviet Union dictator Joseph Stalin was so fascinated by a stage magician named Wolf Messing that he ordered his spies to investigate the mans psychic powers. Messing, a Polish Jew who fled to Russia after the Nazi invasion in 1939, claimed to be able to control peoples minds through telepathy. It isnt hard to understand why a crazed despot would find that appealing. Stalin had his security service, the NKVD, interrogate Messing. He proved able to walk past their guards by coolly claiming to be Lavrentiy Beria, head of the secret police. Derren Brown calls himself a psychological illusionist. He comes across as an oddly nervous fellow In 1940, the NKVD challenged him to rob the state bank. Messing walked up to the cashiers counter, handed over a sheet of blank paper and announced it was a government draft for 100,000 roubles. Ten minutes later, he left with the money. When the cashier was confronted by police and shown the blank sheet again, the poor man had a heart seizure. That improbable story was one of Messings favourite boasts. It becomes more credible when you see the mesmerist and master manipulator Derren Brown perform essentially the same mind trick . . . though for just a couple of hundred quid, not a kings ransom in roubles. The retrospective Derren Brown: 20 Years Of Mind Control (C4) included an excerpt from early in his telly career, when he handed a worthless betting slip to a cashier at Walthamstow dog track. She duly paid out. Brown calls himself a psychological illusionist. He comes across as an oddly nervous fellow. Perhaps that is part of his strength: nobody expects this diffident man, tying himself in knots as he talks, to be planting ideas in their minds. He revealed how some tricks rely on subliminal suggestion the way he emphasised the first syllable of the word WIN-dow as he proffered the betting ticket, for instance. But this doesnt explain how he was able to lie down on stage and allow a beefy member of his audience to stand on his face, grinding it into a carpet of broken glass. Moments like that were wasted, because we saw only snippets from past shows without the build-up. Heres a man pushing a stranger off a roof, heres a woman who believes she is staring at her own corpse, and now we cut to Derren playing Russian roulette. Perhaps he imagines viewers will remember all those stunts as well as he does. If you didnt, this 130 minutes of highlights was frequently a confusing melange of clips linked by gushing messages from famous friends such as Martin Freeman and Claire Danes. Still, its marvellous to know that Derren has a hidden staircase in his house, behind a door that swings open when he pulls on a lamp bracket. How satisfyingly Gothic. Lata (Tanya Maniktala) cant make up her mind who she likes or what she wants to do. The relationship between selfish Maan (Ishaan Khatter) and his best chum Firoz (Shubham Saraf) is baffling one minute the boys are mooning over a courtesan and her teenage sister, the next theyre canoodling together on a bed What I wouldnt give for a hidden staircase or any sort of surprise to liven up A Suitable Boy (BBC1). The story plods along, with dialogue that dumps information on us in fat wads, and lots of scenes that show people walking from one place to the next. Lata (Tanya Maniktala) cant make up her mind who she likes or what she wants to do. The relationship between selfish Maan (Ishaan Khatter) and his best chum Firoz (Shubham Saraf) is baffling one minute the boys are mooning over a courtesan and her teenage sister, the next theyre canoodling together on a bed. I wanted to like this adaptation of a literary epic. The setting is romantic and gloriously colourful. But like the clouds of paint powder the characters throw around, theres nothing really here to be grasped. Feather duster of the weekend: Remember Emu... Michael Parkinsons least favourite guest? How To Build (C4) revealed that every Maserati is brushed with real emu feathers to remove static before the paint goes on. Serves the silly bird right. RAMALLAH, West Bank The cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh in the central West Bank turned into a war zone Aug. 5, following the killing of Fatah leader Khalil al-Sheikh. Sheikh is the brother of Hussein al-Sheikh, head of the Palestinian General Authority of Civil Affairs and member of the movements Central Committee. Following the killing, dozens of young men close to Sheikh took to the streets of Ramallah and al-Bireh, carrying M16 rifles and firing bullets into the air until dawn. This came amid conflicting stories about Sheikhs killing. Palestinan security services are still investigating the matter, but to this date no investigation results have been shared. In an attempt to prevent the security situation from spiraling out of control and to contain the incidents repercussions, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh visited the Red Crescent Hospital after Sheikh arrived there injured. Sheikh was later pronounced dead, amid an unprecedented deployment of security services in the streets. On Aug. 6, Shtayyeh issued a decision to form a committee to investigate the incident. What happened in the city of al-Bireh falls within the context of the rampant chaos and the spread of weapons in the West Bank. An increasing number of people have been using arms in recent months, whether in quarrels or even at celebrations such as weddings. On July 30, a citizen was killed and four were injured in a family feud that broke out in the town of Beit Furik, east of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Another citizen was shot dead in the city of Qalqilya on July 26. On the same day, a citizen was killed in a family brawl in the town of Kafr Aqab near Ramallah. On July 25, Emad al-Din Abu al-Ameed, secretary-general of Fatah in the Balata neighborhood in Nablus, was killed by Palestinian security services during a dispute over the opening of a supermarket despite the governments decision to close commercial stores during the coronavirus pandemic. On July 21, a young man was killed in Bethlehem while working at a construction site near the Shuafat refugee camp in Jerusalem. The phenomenon of arms proliferation and the resulting chaos worries the Palestinian Authority (PA). A source in the Fatah movement told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the Palestinian leadership has been discussing for days how to confront this phenomenon. The source said that decisions are expected to be issued in the coming weeks to address this problem. Israel is showing leniency in allowing the entry of weapons to the West Bank. It is confident that these weapons will be used internally, not against it, the source said. What further exacerbates the PAs fear is that this weapons proliferation comes in tandem with a stifling political and economic crisis. This crisis emerged after the PA rejected the US Middle East peace plan, known as "the deal of the century," and the Israeli annexation plan. The PA suspended security coordination with Israel and refused to accept the tax clearance revenues, which prevented the government from paying the salaries of its employees. While the proliferation of arms among the Palestinians reflects the PAs weakness, it also paints a bleak picture of the chaos and instability that will prevail in the West Bank should the PA collapse. The governor of Jenin governorate, Akram Rajoub, who has repeatedly publicly called for dealing with weapons proliferation, told Al-Monitor, We must put an end to the proliferation of weapons and the ensuing chaos. This phenomenon has dangerous repercussions on Palestinian society, the social fabric and the citizens security. Rajoub added, This phenomenon is weakening the entire political system. The PA must reconsider all measures taken to curb it in order to preserve a strong society against Israel. Commenting on the inability of the PA and the security services to confront this phenomenon, he argued that they are showing flexibility in some areas and firmness in others. The rule of law shall be applied to all with no discrimination. It shall be enforced on everyone without giving exceptions to any tribe or organization. These exceptions will keep us from building a society that respects the dignity of the citizen. He added, Palestinian citizens are starting to feel the security servicess inaction regarding this phenomenon for many considerations. If this situation persists, the rule of law will surely be undermined. Rajoub wondered whether the PA wants a state of law or a state of clans and gangs. In light of the continuing proliferation of weapons, if we do not reconsider our actions we will face a real and strategic crisis that will afflict our Palestinian society, he said. Human rights bodies and institutions had warned of the repercussions of the proliferation of weapons in the West Bank. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said in a press statement Aug. 6 that the chaotic use of weapons in the West Bank threatens civil peace, stressing the need to take serious steps to instill the rule of law and achieve accountability. Ammar Dweik, director general of the Independent Commission for Human Rights, told Al-Monitor, Since the beginning of 2020 we have witnessed a decline in the security situation. This appeared in the increase of the crime rate by 43% compared to last year. On the proliferation of weapons in Area A under the PAs control, Dweik said, Many of those who carry weapons are affiliated with political parties or protected by influential figures in the PA. He called for the imposition of the rule of law, which completely prohibits the carrying of weapons at festivals and during public gatherings. Stopping security coordination with Israel has made it difficult for the Palestinian security services to contain weapons proliferation. This suspension prevented Palestinian security from accessing several areas, Dweik said. He emphasized that the Palestinian security services have the capability to enforce the law and combat the proliferation of weapons, but they need a political decision and will in order to impose the law on everyone without exception. There is no political decision to impose the law and withdraw weapons. Such a step would entail a confrontation with some influential people and strong entities in the Fatah movement. This will not be easy, Dweik added On the dangers of this phenomenon in the future, Dweik noted, The current situation paves the way in the event the PA weakens and loses its strength for the occurrence of an uncontrollable dangerous security chaos. Disarmament has become an urgent necessity. Whatever you might think about the privatization of public infrastructure, its now abundantly clear former prime minister Jean Chretiens impulsive stance against private sector investment at Torontos Lester B. Pearson International Airport is to blame for the grave financial peril currently facing the entire airport sector. Keeping Canadas airports open for business will likely require correcting Chretiens decades-old policy mistake. Recall that during the 1993 federal election, then-prime minister Kim Campbells Progressive Conservative government announced a controversial plan to turn over operation of Pearsons Terminals 1 and 2 to a private consortium. This group, which included several well-connected Tories, promised to spend $700 million renovating the airport in exchange for a share of the profits for 37 years. Calling it an indecent patronage deal, the Liberal leader vowed to kill it. After winning the election and stung by complaints hed reneged on promises to renegotiate NAFTA and scrap the GST Chretien dug in his heels on Pearson. While airports around the world were then embracing full or partial privatization schemes, the Liberal government declared the entire sector off-limits to the private sector. The countrys most important federally owned airports were thus handed over to local, non-profit, non-share capital airport authorities such as the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) that runs Pearson on 60-year leases. At the end of these leases, all land and buildings are to be handed back to Ottawa. We are the only country operating airports in this manner. Theres good reason why no one has copied us. Among the many problems unleashed by Chretiens dogmatic political pledge, Canadian airports are required to make costly annual ground lease payments to Ottawa and have virtually unlimited powers to levy fees on travellers and airlines factors that make them markedly less competitive than their international peers. This is why, back when air travel was still a thing, GTA residents would drive to Buffalo for cheap flights to Florida or Europe. And because theyre not motivated by profits or constrained in the fees they can charge, Canadian airport authorities developed a peculiar preference for grandiose gold-plated renovations. In 2005, when the GTAA finally rebuilt Pearsons terminals, the price tag was a stunning $4.4 billion a far cry from that cancelled $700-million private sector plan. As non-profit corporations, Canadas airports also have no choice but to finance all their expensive renovations and expansions with debt. The countrys airports owe a collective $15.2 billion; thats more than the combined provincial debts of Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. When air travel was still growing by seven per cent a year, such a huge debt load didnt seem like a problem. Today, however, with non-essential flying at a standstill, Canadian airports are facing an existential crisis. Their passengers have disappeared, but those debt expenses havent. Last month Pearson, which owes a total $6.4 billion, felt it necessary to ask bondholders to relax certain conditions attached to its debt for the next two years in light of the significant decline in passenger and flight activity. (Pearson declined to comment on this issue.) The outlook is even grimmer elsewhere. Calgarys International Airport the fourth busiest in the country owes more, on a per-passenger basis, than Pearson, and will need another $250 million just to keep the lights on for the next couple of years. Reginas airport is facing similarly grave prospects. The possibility of a Canadian airport going bankrupt is now openly discussed. In countries that allowed full or partial privatization of their airports, the situation is nowhere near as dire. In Britain, for example, the government told its privately owned airports to seek help from investors rather than look to taxpayers for a bailout; Amsterdams public-private Schiphol Airport has suspended dividend payments. But Canadas airports have no investors to lean on, and Ottawa has so far resisted direct aid. The federal government has instead forgiven ground lease payments for the rest of 2020, but thats small comfort since those payments are based on revenue. As the ultimate owner of all the major airports in the country, however, Ottawa could soon find itself on the hook for that mountain of debt if Canadian airports start defaulting on their bonds. And with federal finances already seriously constrained by the COVID-19 recession, the once-heretical notion of private sector investors coming to the rescue of Canadian airports might start to look appealing, if not inevitable. While the Trudeau government briefly dallied with airport privatization four years ago, the Liberals may soon find they no longer have a choice in the matter. Even partial privatization would dramatically improve the financial resiliency of our airports, lift the burden on taxpayers and make life easier for Canadian air travellers, if and when we start flying again. Read more about: ST. CLAIR SHORES, MI Michigan regulators have rejected a plan to convert a drainage canal in suburban Detroit to a sewage overflow treatment basin on Lake St. Clair. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes & Energy (EGLE) announced the permit denial on Friday, Aug. 14; an outcome the agency signaled earlier this summer. Reconstruction of the Chapaton Retention Treatment Basin was pushed by Macomb County public works commissioner Candice Miller, who argued the plan was a cost-effective way to curb sewage overflows into Lake St. Clair and create a coastal wetland area in the process. The $30 million project would have temporarily stored treated sewage overflows from combined sanitary and storm sewers during heavy rain events. The state legislature approved $3 million for the project in December 2018. Miller blasted the states proposed denial in June, calling it unbelievable. She accused EGLE of showing disregard for the health of the Great Lakes with its decision. State officials characterized the plan as a short-term fix that would have created a large, open-air lagoon near homes and a marina. EGLE said residual chlorine in the treated sewage would have made a wetland unworkable. The state says better solutions to combined sewer overflow (CSO) problems in Macomb County involve the removal of illegal connections and filtration of stormwater runoff through upstream green infrastructure projects that would permanently solve the problem. This project, though well-intended, had marginal impact and would have used public waters of the state, said Teresa Seidel, director of EGLEs Water Resources Division. Partially treated sewage overflows from Macomb and Oakland counties during heavy rains have been an ongoing problem impacting Lake St. Clair water quality for years. Related Stories: Marathon fined over rotten odors, emissions at Detroit refinery Lake Michigan, Huron water levels peaking short of 1986 record It begins. A moderate toxic algae bloom is forming in Lake Erie Detroit toxic green ooze site cleanup to cost $4M Michigan scientists use beach testing tools to track COVID-19 FAIRFIELD Family and friends of Jake Panus gathered Saturday in Southport to remember the 16-year-old Fairfield boy killed recently in a car crash. After a closed service, the larger community gathered on the lawn outside of the Pequot Library for a socially distanced memorial. Fences around a locked down area in Hai Duong City, the northern province of Hai Duong. The city has been isolated to stop the spread of COVID-19. - VNA/VNS Photo Manh Minh The period started at midnight on Friday and lasts for 15 days. Residents are required to stay at home and only go out to shop for basic necessities. They must also refrain from travelling out of the city and must ask for permission if travel is of the utmost necessity. All restaurants and shops, including those with delivery services, have been closed. So have hair salons and beauty parlours which possess a high risk of community infection. Taxis are allowed to carry only one passenger at a time. Buses from outside are not allowed to enter the city. Four more COVID-19 patients have been identified in Hai Duong since Friday. Three of them had contact with Patient 867 (known as Patient 906, 907 and 908) and another visited the restaurant at No 36 Ngo Quyen Street where he frequented (known as Patient 950). Hai Duong Provinces authorities said they have identified 621 people linked to these five patients and the restaurant, which are now being isolated at the dormitory of the University of Hai Duong. Speaking at a meeting of the citys leaders on COVID-19 prevention on Sunday, Nguyen Dinh Thuc, deputy director of Hai Duongs Disease Control Centre, said the genetic code of the SARS-CoV-2 virus found in Hai Duong City is identical to that of the virus found in the central city of Da Nang in late July. It is the 6th strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus identified in Viet Nam, which can spread faster than the previous five. On Saturday, a team of five medical experts was sent from Hanois Bach Mai Hospital to Hai Duong Province to support local doctors in testing people suspected of having COVID-19. Five persons were killed and four critically injured when two cars collided on National Highway-8 at Nadiad in the Kheda district of Gujarat on Sunday night. Two cars collided on the Ahmedabad-Vadodara National Highway-8 killing five on the spot. The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Nadiad, the police said. Five people have died, four others are seriously injured. The injured have been rushed to a hospital, says Dixit Patel, Nadiad Fire Superintendent. As soon as the accident was reported, a fire brigade team, three ambulances and the Kheda police reached the site. All the deceased were from Ahmedabad. The police are now investigating the exact cause of the accident. Puerto Rico resumed its primary elections without significant issues on Sunday, a week after electoral officials suspended the event when precincts across the island did not receive ballots or began the voting process late after a delay in the arrival of voting materials. Close to 8 p.m., with 71% of precincts reporting, Gov. Wanda Vazquez, of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party (NPP), conceded to primary opponent Pedro Pierluisi, who was leading with 58% of the vote. Pierluisi previously served as Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in Congress and was briefly sworn in as interim governor after the dramatic ousting of former Gov. Ricardo Rossello in 2019. The islands Supreme Court later ruled that the swearing in was unconstitutional. With about 60% of precincts reporting for the pro-territorial-status Popular Democratic Party (PDP), Carlos Charlie Delgado was leading with 63% of the votes over Puerto Rico Sen. Eduardo Bhatia and San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, who were trailing Delgado with 23% and 13% of the vote, respectively. According to the Associated Press, over 60 of the islands 110 electoral precincts opened to voters on Aug 16. Officials from the islands main parties said that ballots had arrived on time at voting centers and reported no major delays. The majority of polling places closed at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The days proceedings stood in stark contrast to the first round of primaries on Aug. 9, when most voters were unable to cast ballots after showing up at their assigned polling places. Hector Luis Acevedo, an election expert and electoral law professor, told the Miami Herald over email that the second round of elections had gone very well and had been an example of civic virtue. A volunteer scans a voters hands before he casts his ballot in LoAza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territorys democracy. He added that what was left to deal with was the selection of a new president for the elections commission (CEE for its Spanish initials.) There have been widespread calls for the head of the electoral entity, Juan Ernesto Davila, to resign. Public officials and private citizens on the island alike have faulted the CEE, among others, for the botched primaries. Story continues Last week, the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico ordered that votes cast on Aug. 9 were valid and that the primaries would resume Aug. 16 for voting centers that never opened or werent open for eight hours. The unprecedented and historic debacle sparked outrage on the island, which, according to Acevedo, has had a decades-long, well-respected electoral tradition. The Supreme Court ruling created a blueprint for the primaries to proceed. However, many Puerto Ricans worried the Supreme Court did not accommodate the voters who had not cast ballots despite their assigned precincts finishing the electoral process last Sunday. The Miami Herald visited precincts across the metropolitan area with hours-long wait times, and voters in San Juan left polling places after experiencing long lines. And in some places, people never returned to their voting centers after they opened later than expected. On Sunday, local daily El Nuevo Dia reported that voters were allegedly showing up in a San Juan voting center after not being able to cast their ballots at their assigned voting center last week. And in the western city of Mayaguez, perplexed voters showed up at polling places that did not reopen for this primary round. Voters wait to cast their ballots in LoAza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territorys democracy. The PDP and the NPP both held primaries to choose candidates for governor. Candidates were also competing for seats in the Senate and House of Representatives and for municipal mayor. The results from the first portion of the primaries were also being released on Sunday after the Supreme Court in its ruling ordered they could not be published before the primaries resumed Aug. 16. The five gubernatorial candidates, who spent the last week campaigning, called on their supporters to vote. Cruz, two-term mayor of San Juan and PDP gubernatorial candidate, posted Sunday morning on Twitter a photograph of a map of all the municipalities that had not yet voted. In another tweet, she stated that the eyes of the world are on PR and that Puerto Ricans hearts wanted to regain hope. She also advised poll officers to watch for a clean [voting] process. Pierluisi posted campaign-tailored informational videos about which municipalities would have polling centers open on Sunday and urged voters to show up. Voters leave a classroom with the required face masks after casting their ballots as volunteers look on in LoAza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Thousands of Puerto Ricans on Sunday got a second chance to vote for the first time, a week after delayed and missing ballots marred the original primaries in a blow to the U.S. territorys democracy. The AP contributed reporting to this story. Australia's large gas producers are charging local customers far higher prices than overseas buyers, fuelling demands for urgent intervention and calls for exporters to open their books on pricing. The latest findings of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's gas inquiry revealed gas exporters are charging locals at least 20 per cent more for gas, with contract prices of $10 a gigajoule - which is $2 more than the export-parity price offered to offshore buyers. The consumer watchdog and local industry have called for reforms to drive down domestic gas prices, which remain elevated despite a fall in the international market. Credit:Ashley Roach Fertiliser manufacturer Incitec Pivot, the country's top commercial gas user, seized on the findings on Monday as evidence supporting long-held concerns that local buyers were "unfairly paying more for their own gas". "The idea of indigenous gas being cheaper abroad should be a red flag to both consumers and the government, and a clear signal the market needs urgent intervention," Incitec Pivot chief executive Jeanne Johns said. Jared Kushner says he has 'no fear' about sending his children back to in-person classes as the new school year commences. The White House senior advisor, 39, made the declaration during an interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS' Face The Nation Sunday morning. Kusher and his wife, Ivanka Trump, are parents to three school-aged children: Arabella, nine; Joseph, six; and Theodore, four. Brennan told Kushner that parents across the country are 'nervous' about the prospect of sending their children back to school amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, before she asked whether his kids would be heading back into the classroom. 'Absolutely,' Kushner responded, adding that he and his wife have made the decision 'based on the data and science' that they have received. Jared Kushner says he has 'no fear' about sending his children back to in-person classes as the new school year commences. Kusher and his wife, Ivanka Trump, are parents to three school-aged children: Arabella, nine; Joseph, six; and Theodore, four 'Children have a six times higher chance to die from the flu than from the coronavirus, so based on the data Ive seen, I dont believe thats a risk,' Kushner stated. He added: 'Our school's not opening back up five days a week,' he told the program. 'I wish they would, but we absolutely will be sending our kids back to school, and I have no fear in doing so.' Kushner's children attend Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School in Washington, D.C. The school is due to commence the 2020-2021 academic year early next month, but Grades 1- 8 'will principally use distance learning for academic instruction, with regular in-person opportunities for outdoor education and community building.' The school appears only to be conducting in-person lessons in outdoor spaces and in small numbers. According to an official flyer from the school, gatherings 'will feature outdoor experiences in which the children will be physically distanced but socially connected. 'Students in the different grades will engage in developmentally-appropriate activities, from on campus outdoor play and hands-on learning for younger students to hikes, nature-inspired scientific exploration, and creative team-building challenges for older students'. Kushner made the declaration during an interview with Margaret Brennan on CBS' Face The Nation Sunday morning Kushner's three children attend Milton Gottesman Jewish Day School in Washington, D.C. A large majority of that school's teaching and learning will be conducted remotely when the academic year commences It's a far different story at many public schools across the country as in-person classes resume. Images from several schools in Georgia shared on social media last week showed students crammed into hallways without wearing masks. In one county, outside of Atlanta, at least 1,000 students are now in quarantine following the resumption of in-person classes last week. At least 38 students and 12 teachers from the Cherokee County School District tested positive for the virus in the week that in-person classes resumed. Elsewhere, a high school in Indiana suspended in-person classes two days into the school year after at least one staffer tested positive. The diagnosis sparked fear in the community. Parents remain divided about whether to send their children back to school - but President Trump has strongly insisted that schools re-open on a full-time basis. It comes as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cripple the country. As of Saturday, more than 5.3 million Americans have tested positive to the virus. More than 165,000 have died. Suddenly you see that half of that city is out. I asked some people, who say, This is the first time Ive expressed my opinion the first time Ive given my last name. The Times and other outlets have reported on police beatings of protesters. Is there any recourse to police brutality in Belarus? No. You cannot even say anything. The more you complain, talk about your rights, the more they beat you. They dont care who you are, where you come from. Is Vladimir Putin paying attention? Is he threatened by this? I think its very tempting to make it look geopolitical, but its not geopolitical as of now. I wouldnt say its a pro-Western revolution. Its an anti-tyranny revolution. Belarus is different from Ukraine in the sense that it is a very coherent and uniform country. There are no big regional differences: The whole country is basically pro-Russian or neutral. Thats it for this briefing. See you next time. Melina Thank you To Theodore Kim and Jahaan Singh for the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com. P.S. Were listening to The Daily. Our latest episode is about the race for a vaccine. Heres our Mini Crossword, and a clue: ___ Kitty (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. The Times noted the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave most women the right to vote in the U.S., with a package of stories. A Statement By The Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy Group; Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA) Condemning The Clampdown Against Nigerian Traders By The Ghanaian Political Authorities And Tasking The Nigerian Government To Wake Up To Her Responsibility To Her Citizens By Defending Them From The Unwarranted Attacks By The Ghanaian Government Through Taking Immediate Retaliatory Action Against These Evil Actions Against Nigerians In Ghana. *Background:* The perception of any country is a vital ingredient in assessing her international standing. One of the areas that leave more to be desired in the administrative style of President Muhammadu Buhari is his lack of an effective approach to provide formidable shields to secure Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to the point that experts are beginning to conclude that Nigeria has virtually become a failed State. On the African Continental, recent events have only shown that many African countries are not just backing off from our collective commitments to Africa; there is an outright rise in the quantum of hostility to Nigerians on the continent. There are waves of xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and Nigerian businesses in foreign jurisdictions. Meanwhile, these other hostile African nationals' businesses and economic interests are thriving in Nigeria, leveraging on our large and imports-loving population. Additionally, the declining powers of Nigeria outside of the Country which is evidenced by series of violent attacks targeted at both Nigerian citizens and the Embassies of Nigeria all over the World and the weakness on the part of the Federal Government to answer with an immediate reprisal action has turned Nigeria into a giant with a clay foot and diminished the respectability of the Country even within the West African Sub Region. *The Concerns:* It is evident that hostile attitudes towards Nigeria and Nigerians by the Republic of Ghana and Ghanaians have been on the steady rise in recent years. Ghanaians have been on the margins of levying xenophobic attacks, especially on Nigerians in spite of the sisterly historic ties between the two Anglophone West African countries. As a result, many Nigerian nationals resident in Ghana have come under siege from their hosts who attacked their business for allegedly taking over the retail business in their country. To frustrate Nigerian traders in Ghana, the Ghana Union of Trade Associations (GUTA) had pressured the government to make a law mandating any foreigner wishing to engage in trade in Ghana to show proof of having a deposit of US$300,000 in his or her company account or goods equivalent to that amount in stock. Based on this legislation which ignores the revised ECOWAS protocol on free trade and integration of markets, Nigerian traders legitimately trading Ghana have also been on the come under a barrage of levying and xenophobic attacks, their business have faced illegal targeted shutdowns, harassments and evictions. Article (3) of the Revised Treaty of ECOWAS stipulates the removal of trade barriers and harmonization of trade policies for the establishment of a Free Trade Area, a Customs Union, a Common Market and an eventual culmination in to a Monetary and Economic Union in West Africa. In total disregard to this, between June and August 2018, a task force of the Ghanaian government closed about 400 shops belonging to Nigerians and other foreign nationals and arrested their owners for alleged failure to comply with the countrys laws, particularly the stipulation that foreign-owned businesses must have $300,000 capital base.. In addition to this amount, which was subsequently increased to $1m, firms were directed to employ at least 10 Ghanaians or shut down, following the pressure from indigenous petty traders who complained of being crowded out by foreign competitors of which Nigerians constitute a huge segment. The law was reportedly targeted at protecting the interests of Ghanaian citizens, which runs contrary to the free trade policy of the Economic Community of West African States to promote economic cooperation among member states, to which both countries are signatories in order to raise living standards and promote economic development. The recent shameful development, wherein some Ghanaian policemen and soldiers were spotted in a video, which went viral on Sunday, 16th of August, harassing and forcefully shutting a shop belonging to a Nigerian businessman in Accra, capital of the West African country allegedly over the non-payment of $1 million as tax to the Ghanaian government was not only a slap on the face of Nigeria, but also a gross violation of the ECOWAS Treaty on Free Trade. We recall that not too long ago, in a desecration of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which regards a foreign missions property in any country as inviolable and must not be entered by anyone without permission, the Nigeria High Commission in Accra, Ghana, was invaded by a Ghanaian Citizen who destroyed a set of buildings under construction. Intriguingly, more than a dozen police personnel supervised this act of aggression which reflects a well-orchestrated and brazen assault on Nigerias sovereignty and till date no action has been adopted by Nigeria, which is diminishing the status of Nigeria internationally and against the national foreign policy of Nigeria as provided for in Section 19 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Though President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana has personally apologised to Nigeria, the sheer temerity that informed the infraction on our sovereignty by a private citizen further shows the level of disregard to which all things Nigerian in Ghana have ruined. *Our Position and Demands:* It is without any doubt that Nigerian Laws provide one of the best legal protections for foreign investors in the world. The 1999 Nigeria constitution gives equal rights and treatment to foreigners and nationals alike. The foreign investor has a right to life, a right to respect for the dignity of his person, he or she has right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing, right to private and family life, right to freedom of thought, right to freedom of conscience and religion, right to freedom and expression and the press, right to freedom of movement and the right to acquire and own moveable and immovable property in Nigeria. The ECOWAS trade policy is meant to foster the smooth integration of the region into free movement without any quantitative restriction as well as non-payment of compensation. Why is the current administration too weak to protect Nigerians and the integrity of our sovereignty? While African nationals living in Nigeria are thriving even more than most Nigerians, Nigerians live in fear in other African countries. Our foreign policy thrust must change. While we should maintain an open door to Africa, we must do so with Nigeria's interests first and uppermost in all our doings. We should place more emphasis on advancing our economic interests. We are calling for a rejig; a fine-tuning of our foreign policy; one that emphasises the core, existential interests of our country and people. THIS IS WHY THE CRAZY IDEA OF BUILDING RUGA FULANI SETTLEMENTS ALL OVER NIGERIA TO SETTLE FULANIS FROM NIGER, CHAD AND MALI REMAINS UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND ABSOLUTELY ILLEGAL. The cases of breaches of both the diplomatic immunities of Nigerian Embassies and the universal human rights of Nigerian traders some of whom have valid papers to live in Ghana is an inconvenient truth to the Nigerian authorities; a phenomenon that reflects how low the countrys image abroad has sunk. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this act of naked aggression of the Ghanaian political authority on Nigeria and charge the Nigerian Government to wake up to her responsibility to her citizens by defending them from the unwarranted attacks by the Ghanaian Government. More so, we demand that Nigeria takes immediate retaliatory action against these evil actions against Nigerians in Ghana by making a law mandating Ghanaian Traders in Nigeria to henceforth pay $5 million per trader as licensing fee to continue trading in Nigeria since Nigerian traders in Ghana are asked to pay $1 million. Furthermore, we urge Nigeria to be more pro-active in protecting her citizens in foreign jurisprudence, starting with the case in Ghana by demanding that the Nigerian traders be allowed to legally do their legitimate businesses in Ghana or Nigeria drives away all Ghanaian traders in Nigeria. Nigerias diplomatic ties with other countries cannot be said to be sound, when its citizens abroad with legitimate rights of residence or visit are gratuitously harassed, killed and their property destroyed. Abike DABIRI Orewa who heads the Diaspora Commission should not pick and choose which set of Nigerians living abroad her commission will speak for on the basis of whether they are Yorubas or Igbos. Her office and the minister of Foreign affairs and his assistant minister must wake up and speak for Nigerians in Ghana. Therefore, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration should stop making Nigeria the laughing stock of the international community and speak and take concrete reciprocal actions to defend Nigeria and Nigerians. Its time Nigeria reinvents its diplomacy for vibrancy, which in the past attracted respect in the comity of nations. COMRADE EMMANUEL ONWUBIKO: NATIONAL COORDINATOR. Miss. Zainab Yusuf: Director, National Media Affairs. HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA). 17th August 2020. The scrutiny started when it came to the governments notice that Shelf Drilling, a company that operates one third of ONGCs contracted jackup rig and earns a revenue of close to $220,000 a day, has China Merchant Group as its single largest shareholder. The Indian defence ministry and ONGC have started a thorough investigation into Chinese shareholding in rig operations in Indian waters, which is posing a security and surveillance threat to the countrys strategic sectors such as oil and gas. Fresh guidelines will be issued to make them much more stringent for strategic sectors, say sources. The scrutiny started when it came to the governments notice that Shelf Drilling, a company that operates one third of ONGCs contracted jackup rig and earns a revenue of close to $220,000 a day, has China Merchant Group (a key member of Belt and Road Initiative) as its single largest shareholder. Dubai-based Shelf Drilling was a contractor with ONGC for many years and till recently, was listed on Oslo stock exchange and owned by three private equity players. In 2019, CMG took a strategic stake in Shelf Drilling to become the single-largest shareholder in the company. According to the public data, CMG directly holds 19.4 per cent, while private equity players, Castle Harlan, CHAMP Private Equity, and Lime Rock Partners each have 12.5 per cent stake. CMG also has representation through two directors on the board of Shelf Drilling. After the strategic stake purchase by CMG, one of the original investors, Champ PE has withdrawn its board representation and is no more considered an insider. According to Shelfs annual report, CMG can control the management and take decisions. The recent notification by Indian government has objectively clarified the percentage stock participation threshold for entities/citizens of neighbouring country sharing land borders with India. "We would like to confirm that we are in compliance with the prescribed threshold, said a Shelf Drilling spokesperson. An ONGC official said the contracts with Shelf Drilling were ongoing contracts awarded at different point of time having contract duration of three years with present contracts continuing up to 2022. All government guidelines are followed by ONGC while awarding any contract and the same will be done in future as well, an ONGC spokesperson said in response to emailed questions. A senior official said ONGC cannot stop ongoing projects midway though they dont go into ownership issues at the time of bidding and only follow the qualification criteria. However, we abide by government norms and the directive relating to firms from neighbouring countries will also be followed for giving contracts henceforth, said the official on condition of anonymity. In an order dated July 23, 2020, the Ministry of Finance said any bidder from a country which shares a land border with India will not be eligible to bid in any procurement of goods, services, or works unless it is registered with the competent authority. The order extends this restriction to all state-owned units such as ONGC and OIL. The definition of bidder from a country which shares a land border with India clarified that it includes any entity which is substantially controlled through entities incorporated, established or registered in such a country or an entity whose beneficial owner is situated in such a country; and a consortium or joint venture where any member of the consortium or joint venture falls under any of the above. In case of a company, beneficial owner is to be determined on the basis of controlling interest or exercising control where controlling interest is defined as ownership of, or entitlement to, more than 25 per cent of shares or capital or profits. The control definition also includes the right to appoint majority of the directors, or to control the management or policy decisions, including through shareholding or management rights or shareholders agreements or voting agreements. Although this bold decision may be adequate for certain sectors, but for strategic sectors, the entry barrier should be made more stringent. "In such cases, any Chinese involvement, especially in the backdrop of border skirmishes, should be a strict no, said a source close to the development. As the current CMG stake is below the 25 per cent threshold in Shelf Drilling, there is a risk that they will be able to evade the scrutiny that is essential for the sensitive oil and gas sector. Bulk of Indian offshore oil and gas activities are in the sensitive western front stretching from coastal Maharashtra to coastal Gujarat abutting Pakistan. By allowing Chinese-controlled oil rigs in such a sensitive area, the security risk is paramount as these rigs can be used as surveillance platforms for Indian defence installations along the coast. India, say sources, should not allow Chinese presence, in any form, at the prolific Bombay High oil and gas producing block. In such a scenario, according to sources, Shelf Drilling will to be classified as being a bidder from a country which shares a land border with India. "This will prohibit it from participating in any on-going or future tenders. Photograph: Edgar Su/Reuters Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 07:13:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Liu Qingquan (R) examines a patient at Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 11, 2020. Liu is the president of Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). He went to Wuhan in January as a member of the National Health Commission high-level expert team to study the local response to COVID-19 and became the head of the Jiangxia temporary hospital, a TCM-oriented temporary hospital in Wuhan. The work of Liu and other experts of the team in Wuhan paved the way for deep involvement of TCM in the fight against COVID-19. Besides medication, the Jiangxia temporary hospital also provides acupuncture treatment and organizes activities such as shadowboxing to help boost the immunity of patients. TCM prescriptions have effectively relieved symptoms, slowed the progression of the disease, improved the cure rate and reduced mortality and boosted the recovery of patients. For his 81-day stay in Wuhan, Liu only packed a few shirts, a coat, a pair of trousers and a pair of shoes. His work was recognized, and TCM has convinced and impressed many COVID-19 patients and their family members with its therapeutic effectiveness. China set Aug. 19 as its Medical Workers' Day to call for respect from society for medical and health workers. To mark the 3rd Medical Workers' Day, Liu wrote down a message saying that the Medical Workers' Day warms our hearts, and the responsibility and duty of medical workers should be kept firmly in mind. (Xinhua/Zhang Yuwei) The victims family expressed forgiveness as a central Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 4 to 10 years in prison for causing a fatal alcohol- and drug-related crash. That punishment was levied on Abraham Smith, 34, of Conestoga, by Judge Dennis Reinaker under a plea agreement, the Lancaster County District Attorneys Office said Monday. Smith pleaded guilty to charges including homicide by vehicle. Investigators said Smith was intoxicated with alcohol and marijuana and cocaine when he crashed head-on into a car driven by 24-year-old Ian Gingrich on Safe Harbor Road in Manor Township on Feb. 24, 2019. Smiths Chevrolet Camaro was going 79 mph when it veered into oncoming traffic, police said. The Gingerich family spoke at the sentencing hearing and expressed forgiveness. A few days prior to the hearing, the family accepted a phone call from Smith, who expressed remorse for his actions, the DAs office said. First Assistant District Attorney Todd E. Brown said in his career he had never seen such grace and forgiveness from a family that had experienced such tragedy. Scorching temperature in US's Death Valley could be global high A new scorching temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) recorded in California's Death Valley could be the highest ever recorded, US officials say A temperature of 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 degrees Celsius) recorded in California's Death Valley on Sunday by the US National Weather Service could be the hottest ever measured with modern instruments, officials say. The reading was registered at 3:41 pm at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in the Death Valley national park by an automated observation system -- an electronic thermometer encased inside a box in the shade. In 1913, a weather station half an hour's walk away recorded what officially remains the world record of 134 degrees Fahrenheit (56.7 degrees Celsius). But its validity has been disputed for a number of reasons: regional weather stations at the time didn't report an exceptional heatwave, and there were questions around the researcher's competence. The next highest temperature was set in July 1931 in Kebili, Tunisia, at 131 degrees Fahrenheit (55.0 degrees Celsius) -- but again, the accuracy of older instruments has been questioned. In 2016 and 2017, weather stations in Mitribah, Kuwait and Turbat, Pakistan recorded temperatures of 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius). After evaluation by the World Meteorological Organization both were downgraded by a few fractions of a degree. The Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization said Monday it would start verifying the new US reading. "This observed high temperature is considered preliminary and not yet official," said the US National Weather Service. - 'On the fence' - Dan Berc, an official at the Las Vegas NWS office responsible for the site, told AFP that the sensor would be brought in for evaluation. The investigation would take "at least a couple of months," he said, adding: "Growing up as a kid, I thought 130 degrees Fahrenheit was a really cool record." Validation isn't a formality, and long-held records have been thrown out after modern evaluation. For decades, the heat record was officially the 136.4 degrees Fahrenheit (58 degrees Celsius) recorded in 1922 in El Azizia, now modern Libya. Story continues But a WMO panel that investigated it in detail between 2010 and 2012 stripped it of the title after finding multiple troubling aspects, including a potential problem with the thermometers and an inexperienced observer. Weather historian Chris Burt, who conducted an analysis in 2016 that disputed the 1913 record, said the meteorological community was "on the fence" about whether the new record was real. "The suspicion about yesterday is that normally... all the stations are also reporting record high temperatures at the same time, and yesterday that wasn't the case," he told AFP. Las Vegas, for example, only recorded 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius). On the other hand, he said, a tropical storm off the coast of the Baja California Peninsula had left a deep plume of moisture over much of California, which has resulted in large thunderstorms and localized heat surges. "There was also a lot of convection in the mountains just west of Death Valley so there could have been some kind of effect downslope into Death Valley that really pushed up the temperatures," he added. - Global warming - The southwestern United States is currently enduring an intense heat wave. Scientists say such waves are becoming more frequent and dangerous because of human-driven climate change. Worldwide, the five hottest years in history have occurred in the last five years. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, nations committed to limit temperature rises to "well below" two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, mainly through sweeping emissions cuts. These goals are seen as crucial to avoid triggering a series of tipping points that would cause irreversible global heating by the end of the century, making vast swaths of the planet inhospitable for life. Michael Mann, a climate science professor at Pennsylvania State University, said: "As the planet continues to warm, it is inevitable that we will continue to see records fall." If the new reading is confirmed, then "that record too shall fall soon enough," he added. bgs-ia-ico/st These Korean dramas that imitated the western ones are just as good as the originals. Once in a while, everyone really loves to watch a nice western drama. When we say western regions, automatically we think of America and the United Kingdom. And they are also considered as countries that produces the best television series ever. So, when it comes to the best series created by the western regions, it not shocking that a lot of other countries want to imitate or replicate these dramas for their own audiences as well like for example the Asian country South Korea. Plenty of Korean broadcasting networks have made their very own versions of those hit western dramas. Most of the Korean versions were a great success and some, however, did not quite impress the Korean audiences. Nonetheless, the remakes produced by South Koreans are still hot topics among their avid fans! Scroll down to see the Korean dramas that were inspired by the western series. The Good Wife The American drama series titled "The Good Wife" became a huge hit in their country. South Korea produced the same drama and the best part is that the story remains the same for this Korean remake. In this drama actress Jeon Do Yeon portrays the role of the drama's leading lady named Kim Hyekyung. The citizens of South Korean loved watching this particular drama since it consists of overly talented actors and actresses. Plus the storyline is amazing just like its western counterpart. SUITS Two years ago (2018), the premiere of 'SUITS' at long last arrived at the television screens of the South Korean residents. I think this American drama series is familiar with everyone since it's a hit show in the US which aired for eight seasons. "SUITS" was a huge success in the states that it was adapted into a Korean drama. The viewers watch out for this drama to see actors Jang Dong Gun and Park Hyung Sik work magic on the show. Mistresses Another western drama that was recreated by a Korean network was BBC's "Mistresses." This is a U.K. drama which centers on the story of four women and their complex relationships. Due to its massive popularity, the drama was remade by the United States and eventually South Korea has their very own version of this show, which stars actress Han Gain. Entourage "Entourage" is a series produced by the famous network HBO and almost all Americans has heard of this show. This drama will tell the story of a young actor and his friends from childhood as they work hard to make it big time in their respective careers. Sad to say, the Korean remake received low viewer ratings. The said series did not go over so well with the Korean viewers, maybe because they were given the R rating. Criminal Minds The CBS network famous drama "Criminal Minds" is another one series copied from the American version that sadly did not do so well in South Korea. The tvN network did a remake of this American drama series for their Korean viewers. And FYI, the Korean version actually cost a hefty amount when it was produced. This Korean version starred famous celebrities such as Lee Joongi and Son Hyunjoo. However, even with high profile stars cast in the series, still the drama received low ratings. The World of The Married Did you know that the hit Korean drama "The World of The Married" is actually a remake of the western drama 'Doctor Foster'? It has a different title but with the same storyline. This drama tells the story of a married couple where the experience of betrayal leads to a chaotic revenge from one another. And as of May 2nd, 2020 this drama was tagged as the highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history! She is known for hardly ageing a day during her impressive presenting career spanning two decades. And Natalie Gruzlewski, 43, has now revealed the secret behind maintaining her envy-inducing figure during the coronavirus lockdown period. The Farmer Wants a Wife host credits motherhood with helping her staying active, telling New Idea: 'I'm always out and about. My daughter Olivia is very active, and she's into sport.' Keeping active: Farmer Wants a Wife host Natalie Gruzlewski (pictured) has revealed the secret to maintaining her envy-inducing figure during the coronavirus lockdown period Natalie added: 'I just do what I can and keep active and try to lead a healthy lifestyle.' As well as taking her seven-year-old daughter, whom she shares with husband Jack Ryan, to her extracurricular activities, Natalie has also been homeschooling the youngster during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, she admitted this was more challenging than she had expected because her daughter 'doesn't take me seriously'. Secrets: The 43-year-old has credited motherhood for helping her staying active, telling New Idea: 'I'm always out and about. My daughter Olivia is very active, and she's into sport' 'She doesn't take me seriously': Natalie has also been homeschooling the youngster during the coronavirus pandemic - which she has admitted has been a challenge Natalie's youthful looks often leave viewers in awe, and this has been the case since she first appeared as a Channel Nine Gold Coast weather presenter back in 1999. While her hair has gotten darker over the years - she has traded in her long blonde hair for brunette tresses - Natalie is eternally fresh-faced. In an interview with Stellar Magazine in July, Natalie said that losing her mother to cancer in 2007 made her reflect on her own life and well-being. 'Losing my mum made me realise that life is short and time is precious, so I was happy to slow down and focus on family,' she said. Before and after: Natalie has been a fixture on Australian TV for more than 20 years, but she has hardly aged a day. Pictured left in March 2007, and right on Farmer Wants a Wife in 2020 'As you get older you do need to look after yourself and put your health and fitness first.' She also seems to have eased up on her early love of self-tanner, opting for a much more natural-looking glow today. In an interview with beautyheaven, Natalie said she's come to realise that 'less is more' when it comes to beauty. 'In my younger days when I first started experimenting, I went slightly OTT with the hair and makeup,' she admitted. The dark side: While her hair has gotten darker over the years, Natalie is eternally fresh-faced. Pictured at a launch party in Sydney in August 2007 (left) and at a media event on the Gold Coast in July 2015 (right) 'But now it's more about accentuating my natural features and assets to get the best result. It's not about wearing heavy, caked-on makeup - it's about being and feeling natural.' And she said that when it comes to warding off wrinkles, protection from sun damage is the secret. 'Prevention is key... Sunscreen and covering up in the sun really is the best prevention,' she advised. Chandigarh: The Punjab Vidhan Sabha will meet on August 28 for a one-day constitutionally mandated session, for the first time since the Covid pandemic broke out. The go-ahead for the session came on Monday during a video conference (VC) meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. The cabinet noted the constitutional requirement to hold a session within six months of the previous session and decided on a day-long session within two sittings on August 28, to be followed by a regular session later, when the Covid situation improves. With the cabinet decision, the Punjab governor has been authorised to convene the 12th session of 15th Punjab Vidhan Sabha, as per clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution. The session has been scheduled to open with obituary references, after which it will adjourn for a while and reconvene for the next sitting, during which legislative business will be conducted. The 11th session of the 15th Punjab Vidhan Sabha concluded on March 4, 2020. As per clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution, the governor is authorised to summon the state legislature to meet at such time and place, as he thinks fit. Six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. Therefore, the 12th session of 15th Punjab Vidhan Sabha is to be summoned before September 4, 2020. According to the rules of business of the Punjab Government, the approval of the council of ministers is necessary for summoning the session. In the region, he might not only derail the fledgling ties with the UAE by reversing course but short-circuit the possibility other Persian Gulf states would follow the Emirati lead, including Bahrain and Oman. Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi spoke by phone with his counterpart in Oman on Monday. According to Ashkenazis office, the two discussed the need to improve their own ties in light of the UAE deal. Hanoi has recorded one more positive case for SARS-CoV-2, a woman from Phu Thuong, Tay Ho district, raising the total number of Covid-19 cases in the capital city to 11. Mr. Hoang Duc Hanh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Health, told VietNamNet that the patient was defined to positive to SARS-CoV-2 this evening. The Hanoi Center for Disease Control has reported the case to the Ministry of Health for making official announcement. The 33-year-old patient is an accountant at a company based in My Dinh 2, Nam Tu Liem, Hanoi. She traveled Da Nang from July 19-14. She had stayed home for self-quarantine since July 25. On July 31, she had a rapid test, and the result was negative. The next day, the patient returned to work. On August 17 evening, she was confirmed positive for coronavirus after a Realtime RT-PCR test taking by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology. Previously, Hanoi had recorded 10 cases of Covid-19 since July 25 to present, of which 9 cases were related to Da Nang. Thuy Hanh Should violators who illegally take Covid-19 infected people into Vietnam receive the death penalty? The death penalty could be considered for such act in accordance with the Penal Code. In this very urgent situation, when the whole country is trying hard to fight Covid-19, it is necessary to strictly punish such acts for deterrence." UNION CITY President Donald Trumps move to thwart voting by mail during the coronavirus pandemic by denying emergency aid to the U.S. Postal Service is straight out of a dictators playbook, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez said Monday morning. It is the job of Senate Democrats to maintain pressure to protect the U.S Postal Service, Menendez said during an event in support of the agency at the Union City Post Office. Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise joined Menendez and encouraged voters to return their ballots quickly once they receive them. We believe that we will create enough heat that ultimately there will have to be hearings for a resolution, Menendez said of Senate Democrats, who are in the minority and are often stonewalled by Senate Republicans loyal to the president. Mail delivery has slowed in some areas since Trump appointed Republican megadonor Louis DeJoy as the Postmaster General earlier this summer. DeJoy has altered standard agency procedures at the USPS to cut costs, but the agency has said current delays could cause ballots across the country to arrive too late to be counted in November. Last week, Trump signaled he was against emergency funding for the Postal Service, repeating unsubstantiated claims of vote-by-mail fraud. The White House has since said it is open to providing aid to the USPS as part of a larger coronavirus relief bill. On Monday, Menendez stood in front of the main post office in his hometown of Union City, wearing a mask that featured the word vote on it. Many letter carrier and mail sorter positions in New Jersey are currently vacant, said Richard OConnell Jr., president of the New Jersey State Association of Letter Carriers. The lack of full employment has caused delays in mail delivery, as those still working are forced to deliver to extra addresses, he said. The routes that are empty, they want you to do your own route plus an hour or two on another route, so youre dragging at the end of the day, OConnell said. Routes are six hours to begin with. Since DeJoy was appointed in July, the agency has eliminated employee overtime, removed mail-sorting machines from postal facilities, and enacted other measures aimed to cut costs. But as the November election nears, the USPS expects to handle tens of millions of mail-in ballots. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are already planning to return to Capitol Hill earlier than scheduled to produce legislation that would stop the U.S. Postal Service from updating procedures in ways that have already proven to delay mail. DeJoy has agreed to appear at a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing next week. Meanwhile, seven U.S. Senators are calling for the USPS Board of Governors to reverse DeJoys policy changes that have been causing mail delays and remove him if necessary. Both OConnell and DeGise advised voters to return their ballots as soon as they can when they receive them in the mail. Drop-off boxes that dont require the U.S. Postal Service to process them will also be available, they said, as they were for the July primary election. The union president said he is confident that the election will be able to function properly in New Jersey. But the Postal Service itself issued a warning Friday that voters in 46 states, including New Jersey are at risk of their ballots not being received in time if they mail them in. The mail delay is already affecting those who receive medications and paychecks in the mail, Menendez said. Ive heard from so many constituents across New Jersey, he said. Some have been waiting weeks for lifesaving medication or diabetes supplies. Nishikant Kamat, the filmmaker who delivered successful films such as Madaari and Drishyam, died on Monday of multiple organ failure. Actor Riteish Deshmukh was among the first ones to inform about the directors death as he tweeted, I will miss you my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace. The director, who was suffering from chronic liver disease and secondary infections, was admitted to AIG Hospital in Gachibowli, Hyderabad on July 31. In a statement, the hospital said that Kamat was admitted on July 31 with complaint of fever and excessive fatigue. It was diagnosed that he was suffering from Liver Cirrhosis for the past two years. Initially, we started antibiotics and supportive medications upon which Mr. Kamat showed improvement, but his condition soon deteriorated with progressive liver dysfunction and drowsiness. He was immediately shifted to the ICU, where his general condition gradually declined. Since yesterday, he developed respiratory failure and hypotension, the statement read. Ajay Devgn, who worked with the filmmaker in Hindi remake of Drishyam, tweeted, My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant. Condoling his death, actor Nimrat Kaur wrote, Really sorry to learn of the untimely passing away of Nishikant Kamat. Heartfealt condolensces and prayers for all his loved ones. Randeep Hooda also shared grief on Kamats death. He wrote, Farewell Nishi!! You lived and died by what you decided you loved more than anything else .. Im sure you had no regrets about much .. thank you for all the movies, all the fun stories, warmth and smiles #NishikantKamat. Nishikant Kamat made his film debut as an actor with 2004 film Hava Aney Dey. He gradually veered towards direction and earned awards and accolades with his Marathi films such as Dombivali Fast and Lai Bhaari. Kamat went to direct Hindi films such as Madaari, Mumbai Meri Jaan and Force. He got national spotlight with Drishyam, which starred Ajay Devgn and Tabu in lead roles, and was a remake of the 2013 Malayalam film starring Mohanlal. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Panic As 8 -Year -Old Girl Is Shot And Killed At Teenage Birthday Party An eight-year-old female student at Portage Path Community Learning Center, Mikayla Pickett was shot and killed during a birthday party for a teenager last week Friday August 14, in Ohio, it has been revealed. According to the Beacon Journal, who broke the news, the shooting took place in the 700 block of Roselle Avenue near Manchester Road, UK. Police officers responded to reports of gunfire at the residence 11.48pm Friday and found the girl police with an apparent gunshot wound. She was then rushed to Akron Childrens Hospital, where she later died. A man, Willie Walker told the Journal he was hosting an outdoor birthday party for his 15-year-old grandson in his backyard when the shooting started. All hell broke out, he said. I dont know what the hell happened. Walker said three or four people showed up at the property and started shooting at the partygoers. I dont know know how many shells they took, he said, referencing police who found multiple bullet casings at the scene. A lot of them. Arrests have reportedly been made. See some more photos of the crime scene below; JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. You should upgrade or use an You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.You should upgrade or use an alternative browser Lou Cheng-wa (L), Taiwans representative to Somaliland, and Yasin Hagi Mohamoud, Somalilands Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, take part in a ceremony to open Taiwans representative office in Somaliland on Aug. 17, 2020. (Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Taiwan Establishes New Diplomatic Mission in Africa TAIPEI, TaiwanTaiwan opened a new diplomatic outpost in Africa on Aug. 17 in the capital of Somaliland, the islands newest ally. Mohamed Ali Bile, director-general of Somalilands presidential office, posted a video on his Twitter account on Aug. 17, showing Taiwans flag being raised outside the new diplomatic compound in the city of Hargeisa. He called it a historic moment, adding that Somaliland and Taiwan and its allies [have] a common principle and values of democracy, sovereignty, peace, human rights and aiming for a better tomorrow. Taiwans new representative office comes amid the Chinese regimes efforts to isolate the self-ruled island from the international community by prying away the islands diplomatic allies. Beijing sees the island as a part of its territory and thus seeks to diminish its status as a sovereign state. Since 2016, Taiwan has lost seven diplomatic partners to Beijing: Kiribati, the Solomon Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. Taiwan has 15 remaining diplomatic allies, with its only ally in Africa being Eswatini. Taiwan and Somaliland are not official diplomatic allies yet, as the two sides only established bilateral ties in July, signing an agreement to mutually establish representative offices and cooperate in the areas of fisheries, agriculture, and public health. Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a press release issued Monday night, said the opening ceremony of the islands office was hosted by Lou Cheng-wa, Taiwans representative to Somaliland, and Yasin Hagi Mohamoud, Somalilands foreign minister. Over 50 Somaliland government officials attended. After the ceremony, Taiwans foreign minister Joseph Wu and Mohamoud jointly signed a cooperation agreement through video conferencing. An important milestone for the #Taiwan#Somaliland partnership! Today we opened the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland. We are bound together by our shared values of freedom, democracy, justice & the rule of law, ideals that will guide our future cooperation. pic.twitter.com/upAcpnJGfp Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) August 17, 2020 Back in July, the White House National Security Council (NSC) welcomed the two states new bilateral ties in a tweet. Great to see #Taiwan stepping up its engagement in East #Africa in a time of such tremendous need. #Taiwan is a great partner in health, education, technical assistance, and more!, NSC wrote. In contrast, Somalia, from which Somaliland broke away from in 1991, voiced support for Chinas One-China principle in a July statement. It also denounced Taiwans violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia. Somaliland, located in the larger Horn of Africa region, has a population of about 3.9 million. Since declaring its independence in 1991, it has yet to be recognized by any foreign government. Since 2003, Somaliland has held three presidential elections. In 2017, several countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union, sent a delegation to observe Somalilands presidential election. On July 6, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian accused Taiwans ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party, of staging separatist activities in the international arena, over the islands inking of ties with Somaliland. On Aug. 6, the Somaliland Chronicle reported that Somalilands President Muse Bihi Abdi rejected a development package deal from China after meeting a Chinese delegation that included Chinas ambassador to Somalia. The package included Chinas offer to construct roads and airport infrastructure in Somaliland. Bihi also rejected the delegations request to sever ties with Taiwan, according to the Somaliland Chronicle. Somalilands representative to Taiwan, Mohamed Haji, arrived in the island in early August to take up his post. Haji recently retweeted an NSC post that quoted remarks made by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar during his recent Taiwan trip. The @WHNSC reiterates Taiwans good companionship with the #US & has encouraged to the rest of the #world to become friends with such a reliable & like-minded country, Haji wrote. He added: #Somaliland became the first like-minded country in the East & the Horn of Africa that relied on #Taiwan. Thomas J. Shattuck, managing director at the U.S.-based think tank Foreign Policy Research Institute, wrote an article in July explaining the significance of the new bilateral ties for the Taiwanese government. While a developing bilateral relationship likely will not amount to much economically or militarily, it could show how the [current president] Tsai Ing-wen government may choose to navigate the next four years diplomatically by finding unlikely new partners that are not as beholden to China or the international community, Shattuck wrote. He concluded: At the very least, it is a change in tempo for Taiwans diplomatic fortunes since 2016. Toronto police have retrieved a body from Lake Ontario near Bluffers Park in Scarborough on Monday morning, two days after a man went missing in the area. Its the third confirmed death in the area from a tragic Saturday. The area had been closed while a search was underway since Saturday evening for a 23-year-old man presumed drowned after swimming in the area. Insp. Liz Benoit told reporters that the body was spotted in the water by maintenance workers at the park. The missing mans 30-year-old brother had earlier been pulled from the water and died in hospital Saturday night. Benoit said police are still working to identify the body that was found Monday and notify next of kin. People need to remember how important water safety is, said Benoit. HIs death is part of a series of tragic incidents that unfolded Saturday which ended with three men dead, two others injured and a young boy rescued in that area. At around 5 p.m. Saturday, police received a call for something floating in the water near the shoreline. A man without vital signs was pulled from the choppy waters. He was pronounced dead on scene. No victim information has yet been released. Police say they consider the death suspicious. Not long after, at around 7:30 p.m., two men rescued a boy from the water. Toronto Fire Services and Toronto paramedics assisted in the rescue. The two men suffered non-life threatening injuries and the boy was in good health, police said. During the rescue of the boy, first responders noticed the two brothers requiring assistance in the water nearby, police said. One was pulled from the water and died in hospital Saturday night while the other was presumed drowned after police couldnt find him. With files from Margaryta Ignatenko Police officers work in front of a house in Cedar Park, Texas, where a standoff was happening Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. The Cedar Park Police Department said on Twitter that officers were responding to a call at a home when three were shot. They said one person was barricaded inside the home. The officers were in stable condition at a local hospital, Interim Police Chief Mike Harmon said on Twitter. Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Punjab and Haryana governments have submitted to a Supreme Court-mandated panel their action plans to check stubble burning a major contributor to extreme levels of air pollution in the national capital during winters. The states have proposed setting up more custom hiring centres (CHCs) to give farm machinery on rental basis to farmers who cannot purchase the high-end equipment for crop residue management and supplying more balers a machine used to compress stubble into compact bales. According to the Central Pollution Control Board, stubble burning contributed significacntyl last year with the share of farm fire smoke in particulate matter peaking to 44 per cent in November. The Punjab government has told the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) that it has been utilising crop residue through biomass-based power plants and various bio-CNG projects are under process. The state has now proposed to set up a 25-megawatt solar-biomass project. As the existing high price of electricity from biomass plants is unattractive for power utilities and distribution companies, a scheme for combining solar with biomass has been proposed. It will reduce the price of electricity generated, it told the EPCA. Punjab has already set up 7,378 CHCs. The state will establish 5,200 more CHCs this year to accomplish the target of having one CHC in each village. The administration will provide 220 balers this year, according to the EPCA. The Haryana government told EPCA that a committee has been set up to look into the progress of bio-CNG, bio-ethanol projects and biomass plants to manage crop residue. The state has set up 2,879 CHCs and 2,000 more will be established by October. Haryana govt sets up committee The Haryana government told the EPCA that a committee has been set up to look into the progress of bio-CNG, bio-ethanol projects and biomass plants to manage crop residue in the state. Many choirs are improvising through the COVID-19 pandemic by hosting online performances so students and audience members can participate from the safety of their own homes. (Chicago Childrens Choir) WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. K-12 musical instruction and performances may look different this fall, but the beat will go on thanks to creativity and music-making technologies, says a Purdue University expert. There are so many online tools out there that music educators can use to bring students together during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Christopher Cayari, assistant professor of music education in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance at Purdue. One option is for programs to host online concerts or performances through the recording and mixing of virtual ensembles and individual performances. Platforms like Soundtrap by Spotify and Protools are great resources for sound editing. Other softwares like Flipgrid and Adobe Premiere do video editing, while Acapella by PicPlayPost and BandLab are compilation apps available for mobile devices to create musical productions amid the pandemic. Cayari encourages music educators to experiment with these softwares to make music with their students, and the skills they develop while distance learning can then be carried into physical classrooms after the pandemic is over. Putting together a virtual ensemble can be difficult, but I have seen many tech-savvy educators or sound engineers helping music educators create virtual performances, Cayari said. Students can also collaborate with one another to create anything from karaoke videos to vlog projects. The great thing about technology is that students can collaborate with others without geographical restraint. For the last 10 years, Cayari has researched online music making and virtual performances, focusing most of his attention on YouTube and how the platform has changed the way people create, consume and share music. According to Cayari, online music-making projects, research, technologies and literacies occur within three dispositions: Do-it-yourself: There are many avenues for do-it-yourself projects thanks to social media or audio recording websites like SoundCloud or Bandcamp. This method is great for students because it allows them to learn for themselves about the aspects that go into music recording projects. Do-it-with-others: Online music making isnt a new concept. For many years, people have been collaborating with others to create music and connect with one another through the production of music. Do-it-for-others: These type of performances are organized projects where individuals submit their own performances and someone else pulls it all together. Everyone from the organizer to the performers to the editors have a hand in creating something for the enjoyment of others. This week, a special issue of the Journal for Popular Music Education, co-edited by Cayari and Janice Waldron from Windsor University in Ontario, Canada, was released that focuses on learning, performing and teaching, which includes international research about how music teachers are using the internet to teach students. About Purdue University Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to todays toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu. Writer: Madison Sanneman, msannema@purdue.edu Media contact: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-412-0864, apatterson@purdue.edu, @AmyPattersonN Source: Christopher Cayari, ccayari@purdue.edu, @DrCayari Journalists visiting campus : Journalists should follow Protect Purdue protocols and the following guidelines: Prime Minister Scott Morrison has personally asked state premiers to find urgent solutions for regional communities denied access to health, work and schools amid growing cross-border problems stemming from strict coronavirus measures. Border communities across Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Queensland many with no active COVID-19 cases have called on governments to urgently resolve border restrictions so farmhands, health workers and teachers and students can move freely across state boundaries. Canberra residents were stranded at the NSW/Victoria border because they weren't allowed to travel through the state to get home. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Mr Morrison has written to his national cabinet colleagues to seek a resolution to problems plaguing many communities, with an emphasis on vital medical treatments and essential workers, such as farmers. He has also spoken personally to some leaders about the issue, including South Australian Premier Steven Marshall, ahead of Victorians living on the South Australian border being virtually shut out from Friday unless they are year 11 or 12 students or a farmer with property on both sides of the border. Pittsfield to Begin Superintendent Search in the Fall PITTSFIELD, Mass. The School Committee will begin its search for a new superintendent next month. The committee voted Wednesday to table the superintendent search discussion until its September meeting allowing them time to focus on opening the schools. "Having been through a number of these through the years putting this off to September when instruction will be open, one hopes, it would allow us to focus a little better, School Committee member William Cameron said. "We might have a better sense of what we need going forward. Outgoing Superintendent Jason McCandless will take up a new position leading the Mount Greylock Regional School District this fall. Although the school officials have asked McCandless to stay in Pittsfield for the full 90 days in his contract, they would prefer to begin the superintendent search sooner than later. Deputy Superintendent Joseph Curtis has already been appointed as the interim superintendent. Chairwoman Katherine Yon pulled up a School Committee policy from the 1990s stating that they must begin the process at least 15 days after it is known that the position will be vacated. Specifically, it states they bring in a consultant. With actually opening school topping the committee's priorities, committee members agreed it may be worthwhile to begin the superintendent search in earnest this fall. Also, Mayor Linda Tyer was not in attendance, and the committee agreed she needed to be present for any discussion surrounding the superintendent. "She is a major player not just as a member of the School Committee but in terms of the city and financial support for the schools, Cameron said. Yon said she has been in contact with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) who told her if Pittsfield wanted to have a new superintendent ready for July 2021, they should start the search by at least January. In other businesses, the School Committee granted the administration permission to begin rolling out the beginning of school year plans to families. "I dont think we should languish over this because we have already decided what the model is going to be, Cameron said. Although negotiations with bargaining units are ongoing and a memorandum of understanding has not been signed, the administration did not want to blindside parents with only weeks to go before school begins. "We just wanted to have a discussion with the committee as we have done with our negotiation group to permit the release of information to our families on how we would open the school year, Curtis said. The School Committee did approve a morning/afternoon hybrid learning plan but would begin fully remote before phasing that in. McCandless said this still seems to be the plan going forward. The information was to be released to families Friday and a series of virtual meetings for parents will be held they can ask questions and prepare for the beginning of the school year. The working date for the first day of school had been Sept. 15. This date was later voted on by the School Committee when it accepted the revised school calendar. Cameron said he did not think it would be possible to change the plan, even if they wanted to, because there has not been proper public notice. The School Committee also voted to nominate Andrea Wadsworth of the Lee School Committee as the president-elect of MASC. "I have had the privilege of working with Ms. Wadsworth for five years in education issues associated with Berkshire County," Cameron said. "She is highly energetic, very bright, and I think she would make an outstanding leader." Wadsworth, who has served as the MASC Division VI chair, said the MASC's executive committee brings forth nominations for president. This year the person who would be nominated has instead decided to run for state representative. Without a nomination, members can run from the delegation floor but only with the support of five Massachusetts school committees. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 16:16:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Fishermen are seen at a port in Gaza City, Aug. 16, 2020. Palestinian fishermen from the blockaded Gaza Strip are complaining about being deprived of access to the sea amid the military tensions between the Israeli army and the Islamic Hamas movement, ruler of Gaza. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua) by Sanaa Kamal GAZA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian fishermen from the blockaded Gaza Strip are complaining about being deprived of access to the sea amid the military tensions between the Israeli army and the Islamic Hamas movement, ruler of Gaza. The fishermen all told Xinhua that they were "shocked" by the Israeli decision to prevent them from fishing, saying they had not been "informed about the complete closure." "We are hostages to the political situation in the coastal enclave," said Hussain Abu Ryala, a local fisherman, while pulling his nets from the boat. "Neither Israel nor the local authorities care about the fishermen and their families," the 19-year-old added. Israel on Sunday announced the closure of the fishing area off Gaza's coast until further notice, a move that is certain to hit local fishers as fishing is all but their only source of livelihood. Mohammed Baker, another fisherman from Gaza, said he was worried about his situation, especially if the military tensions continued for longer. As the sole breadwinner for his family, the 42-year-old man told Xinhua that his children "will suffer from hunger if nobody extends a helping hand." The father of six expressed his hope to see the end of the military tensions as soon as possible to "restore their normal life without any worries." Kamil Abu Rukun, coordinator of Israeli activities in the West Bank and Gaza, said the Israeli decision came "as a response to the violent acts carried out by Hamas such as the launch of arson balloons from Gaza into Israeli towns." According to the Egypt-brokered cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, the fishermen were allowed to operate within 15 nautical miles, before Israel slashed the number to eight and then closed the fishing zone completely. Nizar Ayyash, chairman of the Palestinian Fishermen Association in Gaza, told Xinhua that Israeli naval forces are pursuing Palestinian fishermen from a distance of eight miles (12.8 km) "without notifying them that fishing is prohibited." The Israeli army said on Sunday that its war jets and aircraft struck Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip after rockets and firebombs were launched into Israel. The violence came amid weeks of tensions, which according to Palestinian and Israeli commentators was triggered by Israel's refusal to allow the transfer of Qatari money to the besieged Palestinian enclave. Israel and Hamas had fought three rounds of war with occasional bursts of violence in between. Over the past months, both sides kept an unofficial cease-fire. Enditem Payless is returning from the abyss. The popular, low-price shoe chain emerged from bankruptcy in January and is now relaunching with an e-commerce store, new leadership and retail prototype. The first physical store of its new iteration will open in Miami, the home of its new headquarters, this November. Payless appointed former CAA-GBG president Jared Margolis as chief executive officer. The executive said that he sees the company as a once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity, both to alter the retail landscape and engage in social change. These efforts add to joint venture business operations in Latin America and franchise locations in Southeast Asia and the Middle East which continued, uninterrupted, during Payless bankruptcy proceedings in North America. Margolis says that the company currently sees approximately $700 million in annual topline revenue from these combined ventures a figure he estimates will double by 2025 once Payless North America returns to a fully functioning business. At the time of its second bankruptcy in 2019, Payless held around $470 million in debt and untenable amounts of real estate overhead. This trip to bankruptcy court followed earlier proceedings in 2017 that resulted in an unsuccessful restructuring plan. While the company once operated some 4,000 stores across the United States, at Margolis direction it will hold an optimal stable of 400 to 500. The remainder of areas will be serviced by the companys web site, which Margolis conservatively estimates will represent between 30 and 40 percent of the business in five years time. At one point, the company clocked $1.5 billion in annual sales, only $100 million of which came from e-commerce. We have all the learnings of what didnt work and now we have a blank canvas. All of the stores that were nonperforming, we know to never open stores in those areas. Even the old shop concept a lot companies are going through a lot, even if they make it through there is a new norm that we now have to create an environment for that is user-friendly, Margolis said. Story continues The new Payless will address its old mistakes by operating Five hundred stores instead of 4,000, being more asset-light corporate overhead was substantial and not relying on having everything in-house. We prefer to be nimble and can outsource and partner with companies, rather than own everything ourselves. This allows us to focus on offering great product for the best price, Margolis said. Shoes will retail from $9.99 to $49.99 with the average pair costing $19.99. Margolis says the business has historically proven to split evenly among kids, womens and mens styles. Payless intends to team with influencers, designers and high-profile figures to design collections a ploy to drum up excitement about its products. We need to stay focused, Margolis said of his larger retail plan. We are opening up our first store in Miami because that where our headquarters are and we need to be close to the prototype. Texas and the U.S.-Mexico border is where I see us having a strong 100-store footprint. The company intends to open 30 to 45 stores in the region by the end of next year. Margolis is signing all leases as percentage rent deals and says he will not take on spaces with traditional leasing terms. Payless stores will be designed with social distancing, omnichannel marketing and new technology in mind. There will be touch-screen mirrors for shoppers to view additional product and order directly to their homes. Payless will also roll out a partnership with Zappar, a program that allows shoppers to measure their shoe size with their phone, to assist with both in-store and online purchasing. While Margolis says that the company will initially relaunch without traditional advertising efforts, it will reach out to its database of 70 million former customers to notify them that Payless is back in business. Payless plays within the fast-fashion cycle offering prices that seem inconceivable without shortcuts in its supply chain and labor practices. Margolis was adamant, however, that the company has a best in class supply chain and employs 60 people across Asia who monitor manufacturing operations to ensure they are in compliance with ethical standards. The company also intends to conduct social outreach programs in key markets including Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Houston. Margolis says that this fall, Payless will introduce Wi-Fi hotspots for children learning remotely who do not have access to broadband Internet, and will also offer a school lunch program for students in need. Payless will offer them shoes as well, to help them students back on their feet, during this difficult time. Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. New Delhi: Actress Kangana Ranaut, who is quite vocal about her opinions on social media, has shared that her Twitter account may be suspended by movie mafias, who think that her "talks are unidimensional". She added that will "utilise this time to expose them". A tweet by Team Kangana Ranaut on Twitter read, "My friends here may find my talks unidimensional, mostly directed at movie mafia, their antinational and Hinduphobic racket. I know my time is limited here, they can get my account suspended any minute, even though I have a lot to share but I must utilise this time to expose them." My friends here may find my talks unidimensional, mostly directed at movie mafia,their antinational and Hinduphobic racket.I know my time is limited here,they can get my account suspended any minute, even though I have a lot to share but I must utilise this time to expose them Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) August 17, 2020 Kangana is not on social media, her team operates her Twitter and Instagram accounts. The actress has been staying in Manali with her family since the lockdown began in March. Recently, her mother also organised a puja at home for Kangana's safety. On the work front, Kangana Ranaut, who was last seen in 'Panga', has 'Thalaivi' and 'Dhaakad' in the pipeline. Discussing the acquisition, Paul Moors (pictured), group CEO of Bollington, said he is delighted to welcome Watson Laurie into Bollington Group as it is a business he has admired for years. He noted that Watson Laurie has established in the North West a mightily professional and innovative corporate insurance broker and has delivered a track record in developing niche areas and professional connections. With its suite of specialisms and first-class reputation among clients in the UK marketplace, he said, it makes an excellent addition to our expanding group. Meanwhile, Andrew Crompton, MD of Watson Laurie, who will also join the main board of The Bollington Group (Holdings) Ltd, said that completing the deal is great news for both parties as Watson Laurie is now part of a fast-growing and diverse group that is nationally recognised. Our clients and staff can rest assured that this development adds strength to Watson Lauries relationships with insurers and trading partners, he said, giving access to more products and services in the months ahead. In addition, the wider Bollington Group will benefit from our expertise and experience in a number of niche areas. The group MD of Bollington, Chris Patterson, highlighted that the opportunity to bring together the two businesses, stating that Watson Laurie has long been admired by Bollington as an entrepreneurial, insurance broker with an impressive portfolio of specialisms which are complementary to its own. Andrew Delves, director of Watson Laurie commented From early discussions with Paul and Chris, it was clear their business, like ours, has been built on strong foundations of client service, long standing client relationships and personalised service. We look forward to creating an extraordinary business together. 08/17/2020 Photo (c) Oleksandr Siedov - Getty Images The U.S. Commerce Department has announced that its placing stricter trade restrictions on Huawei, Reuters reports. The government will be expanding restrictions imposed in May that prevents the Chinese telecom giant from obtaining semiconductors without a special license. The original rules left open a loophole that allowed Huawei to go through third parties or use other evasive measures, such as using commercially available products, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business The new rule makes it clear that any use of American software or American fabrication equipment is banned and requires a license, Ross said. Limiting Huawei access to chips In a statement Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Huawei has continuously tried to evade U.S. restrictions imposed in May. The Department has now added 38 Huawei affiliates to the nations banned entity list. The Trump Administration sees Huawei for what it is an arm of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCPs) surveillance state and we have taken action accordingly, Pompeo said in the statement. We will not tolerate efforts by the CCP to undermine the privacy of our citizens, our businesses intellectual property, or the integrity of next-generation networks worldwide. We are backing up our words with actions across the U.S. Government. The Department of Justice has indicted Huawei for stealing U.S. technology, conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, racketeering, and helping Iran to evade sanctions, amongst other charges, Pompeo added. Women wearing face masks against the coronavirus walk past United Arab Emirates and Israeli flags at the Peace Bridge in Netanya, Israel. (AP) Dubai: Telephone calls began ringing Sunday between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, marking the first concrete step of a U.S.-brokered diplomatic deal between the nations that required Israel to halt plans to annex land sought by the Palestinians. Anger over the deal however continued as well, with protesters in Pakistan criticizing the UAE and Iran making new threats about the accord, which will see the Emirates become only the third Arab nation to currently recognize Israel. The UAE responded by summoning Irans charge daffairs to criticize earlier comments by Irans president it described as threatening. But for Dubais small expatriate Jewish community, which has worshipped for years at an unmarked villa in this city-state, the calls represented so much more than just the convenience of being able to directly dial loved ones in Israel. Theres a sense of a miracle upon a miracle upon a miracle, as all of these hurdles fall away and people at last can come together and start talking, Ross Kriel, the president of the Jewish Council of the Emirates, told The Associated Press. Direct telephone calls have been blocked in the Emirates, a U.S.-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, since its founding in 1971. That backed the standing position of Arab nations at the time, that Israel must first grant concessions to the Palestinians before being recognized one of their few points of leverage. Since Thursdays announcements, Associated Press journalists have tried to make calls between the nations without success. But around 1:15 p.m. Sunday, AP journalists in Jerusalem and Dubai could call each other from both landline and cellular phones registered to Israels country code +972. Over an hour later, Emirati officials acknowledged that Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had called his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi. The Israelis later acknowledged the call as well, saying the block had been lifted from the Emiratis side. Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel issued a statement congratulating the United Arab Emirates on removing the blocks. Many economic opportunities will open now, and these trust-building steps are an important step toward advancing states interests, Hendel said. Also Sunday, Israeli news websites that had previously been blocked by UAE authorities, like the Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Post and YNet, could be accessed without using means to bypass internet filtering in the Emirates. In the UAE, a recorded message in Arabic and English would typically play prior to Sunday saying calls to +972 numbers could not be connected. The advent of internet calling allowed people to get around the ban, although these too were often interrupted. Some in Israel used Palestinian mobile phone numbers with +970 numbers, which those in the UAE could call. Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced Thursday they were establishing full diplomatic relations in the U.S.-brokered accord. The historic deal delivered a key foreign policy victory to President Donald Trump as he seeks reelection, and reflected a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians. Palestinians maintain it puts a just resolution of the Middle East conflict even farther out of reach. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contended Sunday that the deal with UAE shows Israel doesnt need to retreat from occupied land sought by the Palestinians in order to have diplomatic ties with Arab states. Deals between Israel and the UAE are expected in the coming weeks in such areas as tourism, direct flights and embassies. Early Sunday, the Emirates state-run WAM news agency announced a UAE company had signed an agreement with an Israeli company for research and study of the coronavirus pandemic. The move has sparked anger among some who see it as a betrayal of longstanding efforts to establish an independent state of Palestinians. In Pakistan, hundreds of Islamists rallied Sunday to denounce the Emirati-Israeli deal. The Jamaat-e-Islami party chanted slogans against the United States and burned effigies of Trump. They also set ablaze American and Israeli flags. Those protests mirror others by Palestinians that have seen images of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan burnt, torn and trampled upon. Thats enraged some in the UAE, a nation of autocratic rulers where speech is strictly monitored. Emiratis online encouraged fellow citizens to report comments critical of the country to law enforcement. The deal also has enraged Iran and Turkey, regional rivals to the UAE. On Sunday, the chief of staff of Irans armed forces called the UAEs decision a disaster. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri urged Abu Dhabi to revise its position or the Iranian military may take a different approach to the nation. He did not elaborate on what that approach would entail. If an incident happens in the Persian Gulf and violates the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran, even a tiny bit, and we see it from the UAE, we will not tolerate it, Bagheri said. On Sunday, the WAM news agency also reported the Emirates summoned Irans top diplomat in the country to complain about speeches by officials in Tehran it said were unacceptable and inflammatory and had serious implications for security and stability in the Gulf region. The UAE reminded Iran its duty to protect its embassy in Tehran, where protesters had gathered the day before. Diplomatic posts have been overrun in the past in Iran, including in the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis. For Dubais small but growing Jewish expatriate population, the UAEs move toward diplomatic ties represents a new achievement. Alex Peterfreund, a cantor for the community, read a passage of the Torah for visiting AP journalists. To start from scratch is quite exciting, to know that you start a community where there was actually almost no Jews in all those centuries, its motivating you also, Peterfreund said. We feel (like) pioneers. The Holiday Guru is always on hand to answer your questions. This week the issues tackled include claiming a refund for a cancelled trip to the Maldives and the forms that need to be filled in before entering Croatia. Q. My husband and I tried to get a refund from Destination2 for a cancelled trip to the Maldives for which we paid 5,441.95. Weve been offered a credit refund note and told we cannot apply for cash until the end of November. Is this right? Jane and Guy Hastie, via email. All at sea: Trips to exotic destinations, such as the Maldives, above, have been cancelled A. The Government says it will protect refund credit notes issued between March 10 and September 30 for packages booked from travel companies covered by the Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL). Should a company go bust before then, your cash is protected. Regarding refunds, the Government also says credit notes can be exchanged for cash before September 30, 2021. This should be possible at any time. Anyone offered a refund credit note should beware: they are only valid if the original booking details, reference number and the expiry date of the travel companys ATOL are listed. They should also explicitly say that they are exchangeable for cash at any time up to the end of September next year. Otherwise, you may just have a voucher, with rules set by the travel company. Q. In June, I booked a trip for a party of six to go to New York next April with Travelbag. The deposit has been paid, with the balance due in January. Where do I stand in terms of getting a refund if I pay the balance but the U.S. is still not accepting visitors? Jules, via email. One reader asks if she will get a refund on flights to New York in January if travel restrictions are still in place then A. This is a grey area and a gamble. If your flights were to go ahead, as many are for some diplomats and U.S. residents, then there is a possibility you would lose all. If the flights you have booked are cancelled, you would be due a refund. Lets hope travel restrictions to the U.S. are lifted by next April. Q. I have organised a group booking for 20 for a week in Wales in October. I paid the deposit in January and the final balance is due next month. If there is a lockdown that affects us, will we get a refund? Jan Tunstall, Repton, Derby. A. Yes, in theory. The Competition and Markets Authority, which enforces consumer protection legislation, says that for most consumer contracts full refunds should be offered when Government public health measures mean [consumers] are not allowed to use services. For details, see CMA statement on consumer protection and to report misconduct go to Report a business behaving badly during the coronavirus outbreak both are at gov.uk. Finally, for peace of mind, ask your accommodation provider for reassurance that a refund would be available in such an instance. Get this in writing. Q. We have booked a villa for a week in Croatia travelling from Heathrow on August 29. Please can you advise what must be done on arrival? Mrs S Merrison, via email. Before entering Croatia, travellers must complete an entry form. Pictured is the country's crown jewel - Dubrovnik A. Before going, complete an entry form at entercroatia.mup.hr. Print this out and also a copy of your accommodation booking just in case an official asks for them (although this is not compulsory). See the entry requirements page for Croatia at gov.uk. Q. Three girlfriends and I were due to go to Lanzarote in May, but we have found it difficult to get through to Tui by phone to get our credit voucher number. We paid 3,660.76. Can you help? Sue Billingham, via email. A. Follow the instructions at tui.co.uk/destinations/info/coronavirus. The lead booking passenger whom I understand is not you ought to have been sent the credit booking voucher to input online already. WERE HERE TO HELP If you need advice, the Holiday Guru is here to answer your questions. Email them to holidayplanner@dailymail.co.uk and include your contact details. "It wasn't ambiguous," said Michael Feldman, managing director of the Glover Park Group, who served as an adviser to Gore's 2000 campaign. "All the networks said George W. Bush will be the 43rd president of the United States, with flags waving and graphics that was what the country saw. No matter what the actual vote was in Florida or anywhere else, Gore was always going to be the spoiler trying to unwind something that had happened even though, as we found out later, it hadn't happened." GODFREY Lewis and Clark Community College is offering classes to help people enter the real estate field as brokers. An individual must pass a total of 75 hours of instruction to take the Real Estate Brokers licensure exam. Lewis and Clark is offering three different Real Estate courses, all of which are needed for the exam. The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) scheduled to be held in September 2020. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra dismissed the plea observing that the career of students cannot be put under jeopardy for long. The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking the postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) scheduled to be held in September 2020. A bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra dismissed the plea observing that the career of students cannot be put under jeopardy for long. Life cannot be stopped. We have to move ahead with all safeguards and all Are you (students) ready to waste one whole year? Justice Mishra said. Now, the courts are also going to open gradually for physical hearing. We also have these glass panels now, Justice Mishra said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the National Testing Agency, submitted before the apex court that all the safeguards will be taken while holding the exam. Advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava for the petitioners told the court that lakhs of students are looking to Supreme Court for relief. He said that Prime Minister also said on Independence Day that vaccine is on its way. Also Read: RBSE 10th, 12th Compartmental Exams 2020 datesheet released @ rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in, Download Rajasthan Board 10th, 12th Supply Exam Time Table The petition, filed by eleven students from eleven states, contended that the decision to hold JEE (main) exam through online mode from September 1 to 6 and NEET UG-2020 through offline mode on September 13 at 161 centres across India are arbitrary, whimsical and violative of the fundamental right to life of lakhs of affected students. The plea said that the Institution of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) had cancelled the CA exams citing COVID-19 risk and remaining exams of CBSE/ICSE/ISC have also been cancelled. It said that the Common Law Admission Entrance Test (CLAT) and the National Institute of Open School exams have also been postponed. Also Read: JEE Main Admit Card 2020: When, where and how to download hall tickets Lakhs of young students are likely to appear in the aforesaid JEE (Main) April-2020 and NEET UG-2020 Exams in the month of September 2020. Meanwhile, COVID-19 cases are increasing in India at an alarming rate. The deadly pandemic COVID-19 has already affected about 20 Lakh people in India and the situation is worsening by every passing day, the plea said. Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students (including petitioners herein) at utmost risk and danger of disease and death, it added. (ANI) Also Read: IIM Rohtak IPMAT Result declared: Check results @iimrohtak.ac.in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy arrives at a meeting at the office of Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Aug. 5, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to Testify Before Congress Next Week Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is set to testify at a House Oversight Committee hearing next week, the panel confirmed on Monday, in the midst of Democrat-led fury over recent changes at the U.S. Postal Service. House Oversight and Reform Committee chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said in a statement DeJoy agreed to appear at the panel, which will be held on Aug. 24. Im pleased that the Postmaster General will testify voluntarily before the Oversight Committee on Monday about the sweeping operational and organizational changes that he has been making to the Postal Service, Maloney wrote in a statement. Maloney also said she wants DeJoy to produce documents and other information by this Friday in response to the detailed request I made last week with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and other top Democrats. Its not clear if DeJoy will hand over any documents or information about the changes. The American people want their mail, medicines, and mail-in ballots delivered in a timely way, she added, and they certainly do not want drastic changes and delays in the midst of a global pandemic just months before the election. On Sunday, Maloney, Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for his testimony in Congress. They also sought the testimony of Mike Duncan, chairman of the Postal Services Board of Governors. Reports have said that he has agreed to testify. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) leads a hearing about CCP virus preparedness and response on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 12, 2020. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) A number of Democrat members of Congress have said that DeJoy should resign, with one member even going so far as to say that he should be arrested by the Houses sergeant at arms if he didnt testify. According to a statement from Pelosis office, the House is also scheduled to vote on Saturday at the soonest on a proposal to block DeJoys plans to overhaul the postal agency. It came after Pelosi recalled members of the House back to Congress from their August recess. President Trump, in statements to reporters, indicated that $25 billion in funding to the USPS and an additional $3.6 billion to provide funding for the agency to deal with Election Day voting is tied to a broader stimulus measure that stalled in Congress earlier this month. Trump remarked last week that he would agree to the $25 billion if Democrats make concessions on the COVID-19 relief package. Sure, if they give us what we want, the president said on Friday at a news conference. And its not what I want, its what the American people want. Negotiations on a pandemic relief bill that includes unemployment benefits, stimulus checks, loans to small businesses, and other programs have stalled in recent days. It is not clear when the White House, Schumer, and Pelosi will meet again. Trump for months has said that universal voting-by-mail efforts could lead to election fraud and widespread delays. Democrats, meanwhile, said Trumps USPS plans are an attempt to rig the election and are an abuse of power. They have also alleged, with scant evidence, that DeJoys efforts at the agency produced backlogs and interruptions. On Monday, the president told reporters near the White House that he has encouraged everybody to speed up the mail, not slow the mail. Correction: This article previously mentioned that Louis DeJoy was appointed by President Trump. He was actually selected by The Board of Governors. The Epoch Times regrets the error. In a nutshell: Google is butting heads again with Australia's top competition watchdog group. The ACCC is consulting on regulations that the Mountain View tech giant says would give news outlets an unfair advantage in negotiations in how much Google pays them for content. Google has published an open letter to its Australian audience, warning them of the consequences of regulations currently under consideration in their country. The announcement pops up on the Australian version of the Google home page with a link to the letter. "The way Aussies use Google is at risk," reads the warning. "Your search experience will be hurt by new regulation." The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) "News Media Bargaining Code" proposes to compel large tech companies to inform media outlets when changes to their algorithms will affect their search rankings. Perhaps more importantly, it also grants more bargaining power to news organizations, effectively giving them what Google says is an "unfair advantage" in trade negotiations. The regulation limits this requirement to only Australian news outlets making more than $150,000 per year. Google's Managing Director Mel Silva claims that, if adopted, the new rules could put users' data at risk and "hurt" the Google services that are currently free to use. "Under this law, Google has to tell news media businesses 'how they can gain access' to data about your use of our products," Silva's letter reads. "We've offered to pay more to license content. But rather than encouraging these types of partnerships, the law is set up to give big media companies special treatment and to encourage them to make enormous and unreasonable demands that would put our free services at risk." The ACCC responded with a letter of its own saying that the regulation addresses "a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google," which was discovered after a 2019 investigation into its algorithms. "Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses [and] will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube." It is also quick to point out that the rules do not single out the search giant. They are equally applicable to other corporations, such as Facebook, which was also part of the ACCC's 2019 algorithm probe. The commission denies that firms will be required to share user data, nor will companies be forced to charge users. "Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so," says the ACCC. "Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so." Essentially the commission threw Mountain View's alarm-bell ringing back in its face saying that anything negative will be Google's doing, not the regulation. However, that seems to be at least partially myopic considering that the rules still seek to dip into the search giant's wallet. Google claims it already pays news organizations "millions of dollars" per year along with "billions of free clicks." It also says that until this proposal came along, it was negotiating paying outlets even more money to license contenttalks that are now on hold, according to the Financial Times. Image credit: Mehaniq Representative image A fire broke out at Parliament Annexe building on August 17. The Delhi Fire Service official said the fire broke out on the sixth floor of the building. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze. A call was received at 7.30 am and it is suspected the fire started following a short-circuit. The fire has been brought under control, Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service told news agency PTI. With doctors and few family members in attendance this wedding at a hospital in San Antonio was one of its kind. Carlos Muniz was on bed in the hospital wearing face mask, like other guests and the bride Grace Leimann when the couple took the wedding vows. Muniz from Texas got married to his fiancee Leimann on August 11 even though when he was undergoing treatment for Covid-19. He was diagnosed with Covid-19 the same week he was set to get married in July, KSAT.com reported. Muniz was admitted to hospital on July 15, but was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit as his health condition worsened. Even though Muniz was still on life-saving machine to help him with heart and lung function, the hospital officials decided to help the couple get married. Photographs of the unique wedding show Muniz in a tuxedo on the hospital bed while Grace walked through the hospital corridors in her bridal gown. Members of the hospital staff and some close family were present for the ceremony which was officiated by Munizs father. The groom has tested negative for Covid-19 after being in the hospital for nearly a month, he is still on the machine to assist heart and lung function and is yet to recover completely. Google has pushed a series of falsehoods in its 'open letter to Australians' which warned its products will be 'dramatically worse' if the company is forced to pay media organisations for the news content it uses. Anyone using the search engine in Australia is now confronted by a yellow exclamation mark with a link to the letter which attacks the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission over its proposed media bargaining laws. The ACCC's draft law mandates that a sliver of the colossal $4.8billion ad revenue generated by Google should go to the media organisations who produce the news it uses. The draft law comes as many community and regional newspapers have been forced to close around Australia, newsrooms have been shuttered or downsized and hundreds of journalists laid off as advertising revenue is instead siphoned off by the foreign tech giants. Those who click on the link to Google's open letter are confronted with a warning about the end of free internet searches and user data being 'handed over to big news businesses'. Here's the truth. Google's claims debunked GOOGLE'S CLAIM: 'We need to let you know about new Government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube' Not true. The new law will make no difference at all to how Australians use Google Search and YouTube. You will be able to search both in exactly the same way you do at present. The only change will be that Google will have to pay for Australian news content which at the moment they use for free. As Google's Australian revenue in 2019 was $4.8 billion it should not find this difficult. GOOGLE'S CLAIM: 'A proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia.' Not true. The Code will not force Google to provide a worse service, on the contrary it contains provisions to prevent it removing Australian news websites and replacing them with foreign ones. It will not lead to your data being handed over to news businesses, big or small. This is the ACCC's response to Google's claim: 'Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so'. Nor will the Code put free services at risk. The ACCC says: 'Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so.' GOOGLE'S CLAIM: 'The way Aussies search every day on Google is at risk from new regulation. You've always relied on Google Search and YouTube to show you what's most relevant and helpful to you. We could no longer guarantee that under this law. The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businesses - news media businesses - over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business ... We've always treated all website owners fairly when it comes to information we share about ranking.' Blatantly untrue. Google's search algorithms are a secret 'black box', and rankings are regularly changed without warning or explanation, sometimes with catastrophic effects for businesses. To give just one example: June 2019 Google made an algorithm change which reduced the Daily Mail's search visibility by 50pc worldwide meaning dramatic reductions in the number of Daily Mail stories appearing in your search requests. There was no warning or explanation nor did Google inform you, the user. Three months later our search visibility was suddenly restored, again without warning or explanation. Many other websites have had similar experiences. The Code simply provides that Google will have to give warning and explanation of changes that could impact traffic to a news website and tell it how it can minimise any damage. If Google thinks that is unfair, fine they can provide the same information to every website. Now, that would be fair. GOOGLE'S CLAIM: 'Your Search data may be at risk. You trust us with your data and our job is to keep it safe. Under this law, Google has to tell news media businesses 'how they can gain access' to data about your use of our products.' Not True. As the ACCC says, Google will not have to share any more user data than it does already. The ACCC's explanatory notes make clear it is lists of types of data Google must provide to news media businesses, not the data of individual users. In any case, why should users trust Google more than any other business? Only last month the ACCC launched Federal Court action over the alleged misuse of users' personal data by Google, and Google has previously been fined millions of dollars in Europe for misusing users' data. GOOGLE'S CLAIM: 'Hurting the free services you use.' Not true. Google's services aren't free - you pay for them with your data, which Google collects in order to sell advertising targeted at you. Google doesn't pay news media businesses millions of dollars. It currently pays nothing at all for the news it uses and only began offering to pay when it realised the ACCC was going to call its bluff by introducing legislation. It has also bought control of digital advertising by taking over smaller businesses to create a virtual monopoly, where it acts as both buyer and seller in digital advertising markets it controls, and for which it makes the rules. It forces news media businesses and advertisers to use its services and charges both millions of dollars, some of it in hidden fees. The result is consumers pay more for the goods they buy. These anti-competitive practices are under investigation by the ACCC here in Australia and by regulators in other countries. GOOGLE'S CLAIM: This law wouldn't just impact the way Google and YouTube work with news media businesses - it would impact all of our Australian users, so we wanted to let you know. Not true. The only impact this law will have on Australian users is that intended by the ACCC that instead of Australian journalism dying through being starved of revenue by monopolistic internet giants, it will have a sustainable future, for the benefit of all Australians. Oh, and Google - global annual revenue in 2019 $161 billion - might make just a little less profit GOOGLE'S CLAIM: You'll hear more from us in the coming days - stay tuned. True, regrettably. Google has won immunity from libel laws all over the world by claiming it has no opinions. Well, it does when its bottom line is under threat. It runs one of the world's largest lobbying operations and have no doubt, Australian legislators will be bombarded with misinformation as Google tries to overturn the ACCC's proposals. Watch out! Advertisement Google has reportedly put on hold deals it was negotiating separately with individual publishers as a result of the planned legislation. It suggests the tech company had hoped to avoid being compelled to pay an arbitrary, potentially more expensive sum to media organisations. The battle between Canberra and Silicon Valley will be watched keenly by governments across the world, not least in London and Washington, which have raised concerns over the 'advertising duopoly' operated by Google and Facebook. In the United Kingdom, 36.7 per cent of all online advertising revenue is earned by Google and 28 per cent by Facebook. The online advertising market was worth 13.5billion in the UK last year. Google's office in Melbourne, Australia, is pictured shorty after in opened in 2018 Anyone using the search engine is now confronted with a yellow exclamation mark with a link to a so-called 'open letter to Australians' from the company's managing director in Australia Mel Silva Google's managing director in Australia Mel Silva signed a strongly-worded letter warning Google and YouTube users suggesting could end up having to pay for searches. 'A proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia,' she said. Google's managing director in Australia Mel Silva: 'We need to let you know about new government regulation that will hurt how Australians use Google Search and YouTube' A day after suggesting they could stop offering free searches, Google backtracked and said it would not be charging users. 'We did not say that the proposed law would require us to charge Australians for Search and YouTube - we do not intend to charge users for our free services,' a spokesman in Australia said. 'What we did say is that Search and YouTube, both of which are free services, are at risk in Australia.' The ACCC hit back - accusing Google of not telling the truth. 'The open letter published by Google today contains misinformation,' ACCC boss Rod Sims said. Last month, the ACCC declared Google and Facebook would be forced to pay media companies for the right to use their stories or face fines of up to $10million for breaching a copyright deal. In a world first, the competition regulator is proposing a new draft code directing the American search engine and social media giants to negotiate fair payment deals with commercial media outlets. Google hinted its rankings would end up favouring news outlets that had entered into commercial arrangements with them under the ACCC proposal. 'The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businesses - news media businesses - over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business,' Ms Silva said. 'News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result. 'The proposed changes are not fair and they mean that Google Search results and YouTube will be worse for you.' Swinburne University senior media lecturer Belinda Barnet, who specialises in social media, pointed out Google's parent company Alphabet had fourth-quarter earnings of more than $US45billion. The earnings added up to $US38.3billion or $A53billion Ms Silva also claimed Google would have to hand over data to media companies. 'You trust us with your data and our job is to keep it safe,' she said. 'Under this law, Google has to tell news media businesses 'how they can gain access' to data about your use of our products. 'There's no way of knowing if any data handed over would be protected, or how it might be used by news media businesses.' Mr Sims strongly disputed Google's open letter and said it would not be required to 'charge Australians for the use of its free service such as Google Search and YouTube, unless it chooses to do so'. 'The open letter published by Google today contains misinformation about the draft news media bargaining code which the ACCC would like to address,' he said. Mr Sims said the draft code was designed to address 'a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook'. 'A healthy news media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy,' he said. Swinburne University senior media lecturer Belinda Barnet, who specialises in social media, pointed out Google's parent company Alphabet had fourth-quarter earnings of more than $US38.3billion ($A53billion). 'Oh cry me a river, Google,' she tweeted. 'A trillion-dollar company with Q4 earnings of $46 billion is trying to convince YOU that sharing a *teeny tiny fraction* of their earnings with Australian media outlets is somehow dangerous.' The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accused Google of releasing a letter that 'contains misinformation' Under the ACCC's draft code, a maximum penalty of $10million would be imposed on the multinational companies if Google or Facebook breached a deal to share content and were convicted in the Federal Court. The digital giants could also be fined the equivalent of three times the commercial benefit they obtained from illegally sharing the news content, or ten per cent of their annual revenue in Australia during the past year. Under the proposed new arrangement, Google and Facebook would be forced into third-party arbitration with media companies if they failed to reach an agreement with them. An independent umpire would make a decision within 45 business days. Google has reportedly sought a means around being compelled to share its profits by doing individual deals with newspaper publishers. Publisher Curated News - a news licensing product - was announced by Silva in June. At the time it was considered a major backtrack after the tech giant had said that news was not a major revenue source. Under the ACCC's plan Google will have three months to negotiate deals with media companies before an independent body will arbitrate an arrangement on their behalf. It is not clear precisely how much news corporations will get, or how many of them will be entitled, but ACCC chairman Sims said the proposal would not wipe billions off Google's profits. The competition watchdog is hosting talks with publishers this week and once those have concluded, the legislation will be finalised. President Akufo-Addo will later today, Monday, August 17 commission and hand over the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat Building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra. The Secretariat will administer the free trade agreement for creating a single market across 55 countries with a combined population of 1.2 billion and a total Gross Domestic Product of about $2.5 trillion. A statement signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyerematen stated that, 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. It also noted that, 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. Ghana was selected by member states to host the AfCFTA Secretariat in July 2019 during the 12th African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit held in Niamey, Niger. As part of the obligations and commitments under the Host Country Agreement, Ghana was required to provide a fully-furnished office complex as the Headquarters for the AfCFTA Secretariat and an official residence for the Secretary-General. Many have said that Ghana's hosting of the Secretariat will promote the country as an attractive regional and investment hub in Africa, boost economic activities, and provide job opportunities for Ghanaians. AfCFTA Implementation The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as of 2018 includes 28 countries. It seeks to establish a single market for goods and services across 54 countries, allow the free movement of business travellers and investments, and create a continental customs union to streamline trade and attract long-term investment. With a combined market of over 1.2 billion people (which is expected to grow to 2.5 billion by 2050) and a GDP of $2.5 trillion, AfCFTA could potentially make Africa the largest free trade area in the world since the formation of the World Trade Organisation. Following a report by Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, the date for the operationalization of the agreement has been moved to January 1, 2021, instead of the July 1 deadline due to the impact of COVID-19. KEY HIGHLIGHTS State-run ports have identified 6-7 locations for setting up solar manufacturing zones Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has proposed additional duty of 15-20% on solar equipment to promote local manufacturing Union Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh says safeguard duty is temporary and hence he prefers basic custom duty India imports over 80% of solar equipment especially from China Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, in consultation with Shipping Ministry, has zeroed in on 6-7 land parcels across major ports to set up production units for local manufacturing of solar equipment. Production units closer to seaports will help reduce logistics costs and make swift shipping of export consignments possible. "We are thinking of coming out with manufacturing zones. We had discussed the plan with Ministry of Shipping and requested to identify land parcels near ports," Union Minister of Power, New and Renewable Energy RK Singh told BusinessToday.In in an exclusive interview. On choice of locations, the Minister said, "One reason is availability of land and then if you have to import some raw material, logistics cost will be less. There are 6-7 locations under consideration." The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has also pitched for levying basic custom duty (BCD) of 15-20% on solar modules, solar cells and solar inverters, and written to Finance Ministry proposing the same. The BCD would be over and above the safeguard duty extended for another year till July, 2021 in a bid to tighten screw on China and protect domestic manufacturing. "That plan stays. We have written to them (Finance Ministry) that (basic) custom duty may be imposed on solar equipment. Safeguard duty is temporary. We said that we would prefer customs, which is permanent feature. It's not like safeguard duty which is there for a particular period. We have also suggested them the trajectory. Hopefully, it should come," the Power Minister said. The Department of Revenue in its notification on July 29 announced a duty of 14.90% from July 30, 2020, to January 29, 2021, and 14.50% from January 30, 2021, to July 29, 2021, for all solar cells and modules imported from China, Thailand, and Vietnam. While India has added renewable energy capacity, bulk of which is solar, at fastest pace in the world, it continues to import over 80% of the solar equipment, especially from China. It now wants to slash this import by building domestic capability. It has put in place tariff and non-tariff barriers to contain imports. Following border tensions with China, the government has laid more emphasis on cutting solar equipment import from the neighbouring country. Indian solar power firms imported equipment worth $1,179 million from China during April-December of FY20. The government has set a target of setting up 175GW of renewable energy capacity in the country by 2022 of which grid-connected solar power would be 100GW. A cumulative grid connected capacity of 34 GW has been installed in the country as on December, 2019. Also read: MPEDA opens quality control lab in Porbandar for seafood exporters Federal Attorney-General Christian Porter has defended former AFP boss Mick Keelty's role as an anti-corruption adviser, saying he provided "valuable insight" into the structure of a new national integrity commission even though his conduct was subject to a corruption investigation at the time. Mr Keelty, who has held various government positions since he retired in 2009, has admitted he passed on confidential information given to him by his ex-colleagues to former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith just days after the AFP had launched inquiries into the Afghan veteran and Victoria Cross recipient. Former AFP boss Mick Keelty has admitted passing on information about a police investigation to its target. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The police watchdog, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, has confirmed Mr Keelty's actions triggered an inquiry into "a potential corruption issue relating to the alleged release of information by an unknown AFP member about an investigation into Mr Roberts-Smith". The federal opposition is demanding the Morrison Government explain what action it is taking over the "extraordinary and deeply concerning" revelations. By Sudhi Ranjan Sen Indias move to ban the import of certain weapon systems will do little to boost local manufacturing and is sowing uncertainty at a time when the South Asian nation is trying to ramp up defenses on its restive borders with China and Pakistan, according to analysts. Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration earlier this month announced curbs on $47 billion worth of imports that include communication satellites, conventional submarines and light machine guns. But defense experts said they didnt address critical issues such as the certification of systems and locally made components, and wont prevent the military from making emergency purchases of equipment from foreign vendors. Read: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announces import embargo on 101 items to spur Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative Modi has struggled to transform the worlds second-biggest arms importer into a defense manufacturing powerhouse since a 2014 proposal to produce indigenous equipment and systems worth $100 billion by 2020. The target has since been slashed in half and the deadline extended to 2027, while the need for more advanced weaponry grows more urgent following the most deadly border clash with China in four decades. The ministrys ban on imports will have little impact beyond measures already taken to localize defense production and reduce import dependency, said Amit Cowshish, a consultant with the New Delhi-based Manohar Parrikar Institute For Defence Studies and Analyses and a former financial adviser on acquisitions in the Ministry of Defense. Also read: India prepares roadmap to promote defence exports using diplomatic channels The promotion of local manufacturing requires more cooperation between the military and domestic defense industry, Cowshish said. Mutual trust is missing, with everyone working at cross purposes. While New Delhi is the worlds third-biggest military spender, its air force, navy and the army are still equipped with weapons that are largely obsolete. Self-Reliance Push The push for locally-produced systems and hardware was a big step toward self-reliance in defense and creates an opportunity for the Indian defense industry to manufacture the items using their own design and development capabilities, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Aug. 9. A defense ministry spokesperson was not immediately available for comment. Similar policy declarations to stem imports were made by India in 2013, under then prime minister Manmohan Singh, and also by Modis administration in his first term in 2018, didnt significantly increase the Made in India products deployed by the military. Time and access to technology is fundamental to such efforts -- currently a large proportion Indias defense industry is little better than system integrators, said Rahul Bedi, a New Delhi-based independent defense analyst. A major dose of realism is needed. The banned list is also vague on the position of joint-ventures between Indian and foreign manufacturers and license-produced weapon systems, he said. Despite its drawbacks, Indias nascent defense industry is cautiously optimistic about the new policy. We are sure that this list will keep getting amended to add newer programs that lay a road map matching our nations aspiration, said Jayant Patil, senior executive vice president (defence & smart technologies), Larsen & Toubro Limited. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:56:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's pro-government forces announced aborting an attack launched by the Houthis in the country's southern province of Dhalea on Monday. According to a brief press statement released by the joint pro-government forces in Dhalea, the Houthi rebel group mobilized scores of its fighters and carried out an all-out attack against the military sites in the northern part of Dhalea. The Houthi attack sparked intense armed confrontations with the pro-government forces that succeeded in aborting the militia's assault, the statement said. Five soldiers of the pro-government forces were killed and more than 10 others were injured during the armed confrontations, it added. Local residents living near the fighting site in Qataba district of Dhalea confirmed to Xinhua that fighting began overnight and continued with more intensity throughout the day. "Sporadic explosions are still rocking the areas near Qataba as both sides are using heavy weapons including artillery shelling," one of the residents said on condition of anonymity. No information was given about casualties among the Houthis as a result of the armed confrontation with the government forces on Dhalea's outskirts. Last year, the Iran-allied Houthi fighters launched a series of intense armed attacks on the positions of the Yemeni government forces and succeeded in seizing key areas on the outskirts of Dhalea. The areas in the north and west of Dhalea have been witnessing non-stop fighting between government forces and Houthi fighters for about four years. Yemen has been plagued by a civil war since late 2014 when Houthi militias forced the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile. Enditem RYANAIR has announced it is to reduce flight capacity for the next two months as bookings have "notably weakened" following an increase in Covid-19 cases in some European countries. The airline said it will cut flight frequency "rather than route closures" to EU countries, such as Spain, Sweden and France, by 20pc over September and October. It said the decision came after "forward bookings have notably weakened" over the last 10 days. A Ryanair spokesperson said customers who booked flights for September and October have been notified of the changes via email today. These capacity cuts and frequency reductions for the months of Sept & Oct are unavoidable given the recent weakness in forward bookings due to Covid restrictions in a number of EU countries," they said. "Any effected passengers in Sept received email notification today advising them of their options. Similar communications will be issued to the small number of affected passengers in October later today." "It makes sense to reduce frequencies so that we tailor our capacity to demand over the next 2 months," they added. The airline is also calling on the government to amend the Green list to include EU countries with a lower or similar 14-day Covid case rates as Ireland. The spokesperson said: "We again call on the Irish Government to amend its Green List of travel counties to include those EU countries with lower or similar 14 day Covid case rates, most notably Germany whose Covid case rate is 25pc lower than Ireland, and which will allow for some resumption of normal business and economic travel in Sept & Oct once the schools reopen." Officials: Missing Teen in Extreme Danger, Could Be With 2 Adult Men A 15-year-old from Indiana was reported missing on Monday morning, with sheriffs officials describing her as being in extreme danger. The Decatur County Sheriffs Department is asking for the publics help in locating Shaelie Lynn Stephens, who disappeared at 1 a.m. in Greensburg, Indiana, according to WLFI-TV. A silver alert was issued across the state. She is described as a 15-year-old white female, 5 feet 6 inches tall, 115 pounds, brown hair with brown eyes, last seen wearing a red hoodie and ripped jeans. According to the department, She may be in the company of two white males late teens or early 20s and possibly in a late model white Chevrolet Cavalier. She is believed to be in extreme danger and may be in need of medical attention, it added. Greensburg is located about 50 miles southwest of Indianapolis, the state capital and largest city. Those who have information on Stephenss whereabouts should contact the Decatur County Sheriffs Department at (812) 222-4911 or 911. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) Hospitals in Metro Manila where majority of the countrys COVID-19 cases are being reported are not yet ready to shift to a more relaxed quarantine status this week, a physicians group said Monday. Speaking to CNN Philippines, Philippine College of Physicians President Dr. Mario Panaligan stressed that the medical sector is not necessarily seeking for more time out amid the health crisis, but rather underscored the need for authorities to ramp up measures and policies to battle the pandemic. I should say, not yet (ready to shift to general community quarantine). Primarily because were still seeing many patients who are consulting the hospitals, Panaligan said in an interview with The Source. Theres now this referral network that the One Hospital Command is doing. We just have to intensify it, making sure the referral network really functions well so that all those individuals who need to be transferred to other institutions can be done immediately, he added. Aside from boosting the hospital referral system, the group also sought for the intensification of the countrys telemedicine programs, as well as case detection methods and contact tracing protocols. In an earlier interview with CNN Philippines, health advocate and former COVID-19 Task Force adviser Dr. Tony Leachon urged the national government to impose another round of the modified enhanced community quarantine in the capital region, arguing that the countrys gains from the fresh lockdown will only be put to waste. Local chief executives in Metro Manila, on the other hand, sought a stricter form of GCQ, and have likewise recommended the tweaking of guidelines on the reopening of some sectors should the region ease to the relaxed quarantine measure. The final decision, however, still lies in the hands of President Rodrigo Duterte, who is set to announce the new lockdown rules for Metro Manila and the provinces of Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, and Bulacan on Monday night. Coronavirus infections in the country have surpassed 161,000, with the Health Department reporting over 3,000 new cases of the disease on Sunday. ST. LOUIS Kennard Classical Junior Academy, named after a Confederate Army lieutenant, will drop his last name from the school. The magnet school for gifted children in south St. Louis will be known as Classical Junior Academy for the 2020-2021 school year after approval from the St. Louis Public Schools board of education. Samuel Kennard worked as an aide to Nathan Bedford Forrest, the general who became an organizer of the Ku Klux Klan. After the Civil War, Kennard became one of St. Louis ruling elites who supported causes at the expense of Black and poor white people. He operated a carpet company on Washington Avenue, lived in a 25-room mansion on Portland Place and was the first president of the Veiled Prophet Association. Kennard died in 1916. Concerned parents launched efforts to change the schools name more than five years ago. The discussion was held in the context of a school where students are 61% white in a district that is more than 80% Black. A new group of parents is working on racial equity concerns in the district. In 2009, court-mandated desegregation requirements expired that reserved 60% of seats at magnet schools for Black students, give or take 5%. Black students now make up fewer than one in four students at the school, which requires students to score highly on an intelligence test for admission. Kennard school opened as a neighborhood elementary school in 1930 at 5031 Potomac Street in the North Hampton neighborhood. The building, with its grand terra cotta entrance, later held a junior naval ROTC middle school. It opened as a gifted magnet school in 1990. The school's new name is temporary. Groups of parents, alumni and community members have supported Black namesakes including the unrelated Clyde C. Kennard, a civil rights pioneer who fought to integrate the University of Southern Mississippi, and Betty Wheeler, founder of top-rated Metro High School. Kennard Elementary parents lean toward shedding Confederate namesake But the process of renaming the school is just now beginning. Stay up to date on life and culture in St. Louis. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Sudhir Suryawanshi By Express News Service MUMBAI: In a sero-survey, it has been found that Pune is a new hotspot of COVID-19 patients in Maharashtra. The infection rate has reached almost upto 65 per cent in some pockets of the city against 57 per cent in Mumbai. However, Pune Municipal Corporation got solace in the mortality rate that is lesser than the state capital. Pune Divisional Commissioner Saurabh Rao on Monday said that the city is the only place where swab-testing is happening in large numbers in comparison to the population. He said that daily they are testing 10,000 swabs in the concentrated areas. "In Pune, the the mortality rate of COVID-19 positive patients is 2.23 per cent against 3.20 per cent of Mumbai. While the doubling rate of COVID-19 patients are 35 days in Pune. Mumbai has 24 per cent positivity rate against 22 per cent in Pune. We will bring down the positivity rate below 10 per cent soon as per the advice of ICMR," said Rao. In Mumbai, total 1,28,736 COVID-19 positive patients detected, 103468 recovery and 7133 deaths reported. While in Pune 1,30,606 total cases, 86,393 recovery and 3193 deaths reported. The active positive patients in Pune are 41,020 against 17,825 in Mumbai. Pune Mayor Murlidhar Mohal said that there are many unaccounted deaths that are not counted into the Covid 19 official death tally because of several reasons. He said the administration should take the confidence the local leaders while initiating any program to contain the virus. "In Pune, the Kasarwadi, Lohiya Nagar, the concentrated slum pocket has recorded the highest 65 per cent Coronavirus infection. Lohiyanagar is like the Dharavi of Pune. But the administration is putting all efforts to contain the virus as per the chief minister Uddhav Thackerays suggestions of following four Ts tracking, tracing, testing and testing," said Pune health officer Ramchandra Hankare. Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has been also conducting several meetings and asked the officials to follow the Mumbai model to contain the virus. Interior designers Stephanie Jones, left, and Tara Martin, right, work in a conference room at the design firm Bergmeyer at the company's offices, in Boston on July 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Steven Senne) Taller Cubicles, One-Way Aisles Force Office Workers to Adjust NEW YORKBergmeyer, a design firm in Boston, has erected higher cubicles, told employees to wear masks when not at their desks, and set up one-way aisles in the office that force people to walk the long way around to get to the kitchen or the bathroom. The one-way paths take me a little out of the way, but it was easy to get used to, said Stephanie Jones, an interior designer with the company. It actually gives me the opportunity to see more people and say a quick hello when I might have just walked directly to my desk before. Around the United States, office workers sent home when the coronavirus took hold in March are returning to the world of cubicles and conference rooms and facing certain adjustments: masks, staggered shifts, spaced-apart desks, daily questions about their health, closed break rooms, and sanitizer everywhere. For some at least, there are also advantages, including the opportunity to share chitchat with colleagues again or the ability to get more work done. Employers in some cases are requiring workers to come back to the office, but most, like Bergmeyer, is letting the employees decide what to do, at least for now. Some firms say the risks and precautions are worth it to boost productivity and move closer to normal. Its a meager trend so far: Real estate trade group NAIOP Massachusetts estimated the occupancy rate for many office towers in downtown Boston at around 5 percent, and 10 percent to 20 percent in the suburbs. That echoes what is happening in other cities. In New York, real estate firm CBRE said the offices it manages have a 7 percent occupancy rate in Manhattan and nearly 30 percent in the suburbs. Bergmeyer began bringing people back in June in stages. It is now in phase three, with 60 percent of the staff back in the office but split into two groups: Half come in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the other half on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Employees are asked to report any symptoms to a human resources director, who can work with them on getting tested and quarantining themselves. Jones elected to come back in the second wave, in late June. I found that I was surprisingly more productive than I thought I would be working from home, but ultimately decided to come back. I live alone, and I was missing the social interaction, she said. She also missed the space in the office, her double computer monitors, and other advantages. Im an interior designer, and Im used to picking finishes and materials with a whole resource library here I didnt have access to, she said. Suddenly, I had to be ordering everything to my home, and it was taking over. At first, the one-way aisles meant that those who sat just past the restrooms had to walk all the way around the office to get to them. So Bergmeyer added another path down the middle. But if you go to the kitchen, Jones said, you have to keep walking around the circle to get back to your desk. The natural light in the office was too bright for some Zoom calls, so the company has been experimenting with audio, lighting, acoustics, and backdrops in several new dedicated Zoom rooms. All in all, Jones said, its great to come back in on a part-time basis on my own terms. Stephan Meier, a business professor at Columbia University, expressed skepticism about bringing workers back in the midst of the outbreak, which has been blamed for over 5 million infections and nearly 170,000 deaths in the United States. Most firms have discovered that people can work effectively remotely, he said. The safety of your workers has to be a top priority, he said. As virus cases surge in many states, some companies have found that reopening has led to reclosing. The Blue Sky advertising agency in Atlanta began reopening in May in stages, reconfiguring its open-plan workspace by spreading out tables, installing plastic partitions, and establishing a limit of 10 people in the office at any one time out of a workforce of 25 and caps on how many could be in certain rooms. But a surge in cases in Georgia led to another shutdown at the end of June. Now, employees come in only if they absolutely need to, said Dawn Evans, human resources manager. Kippy Castillo, an account manager at Blue Sky, was working at the office once a week before it closed again. She drove in and brought her lunch. She said the precautions around the office made her feel safe. I really didnt feel like weve missed a beat working from home, she said. But its nice to get back in the routine of being in the office. Being there, she said, helps if you need to focus on getting work done or a certain meeting. Steve Spinner, an accountant in Chicago, went back in June when his office started letting people return. He takes a commuter train into work and has to ride the elevator to the 27th floor. But he said for him its the best option. One, Im 51 years old, and Im not very good at working from home. Im not used to it, he said. Were more productive when we are all here together, and there have been no issues or incidents, knock on wood. Only a quarter of the 200 employees at the firm are allowed back. The desks have been reconfigured so no one sits next to anyone else, and common areas like the kitchen are closed. There are hand sanitizer stations and mask requirements. Only three or four people are allowed in the elevator at once, and building workers push the button for them. Spinner said the riskiest part of his day is the commute. Frankly, when I come to the office, Im not worried once Im here. Everything is safe, he said. The trains are a little more sketchy. Not everyone following rules for masks and whatnot. By Mae Anderson BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.17 Trend: Israeli media is continuing to highlight the action in support of Azerbaijan and against the Armenian aggression, which was held in Tel Aviv-Yafo on August 9, 2020, with the participation of hundreds of Azerbaijani Jews living in Israel, the State Committee on Affairs with Diaspora told Trend. The telecast of the Israel News program on the ILTV channel and the article by The Jewish Press news agency headlined "Azerbaijani Jews demonstrate in Tel Aviv against Armenian aggression" say that about 600 Azerbaijani Jews marched through the ancient city of Jaffa to Tel Aviv-Yafo and then gathered near the Armenian cultural center and the Armenian church. The demonstrators expressed their anger with the fact that during the fierce military operations in the direction of Azerbaijans Tovuz district that lasted for several days and as a result of the artillery fire of the Armenian armed forces, 12 Azerbaijani servicemen and a 76-year-old civilian were killed. They sharply condemned the fact of the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan by Armenia. Rabbi Shmuel Siman Tov, political scientist Arie Gut, Head of the House of Azerbaijan in Israel Shirin Nehemiah Michaeli spoke at the event. They emphasized that Israel once again expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan, where multiculturalism and tolerance dominate. They stressed that Armenia, which has installed a monument to the Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh, and which insulted the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, will not be able to damage the Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. Reminding that Azerbaijani of Jewish origin also died in the battles for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the speakers demanded the liberation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan and the return of over a million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to their historical lands. The 13.33-minute telecast of the Israel News program provided detailed information about the protest march held in Tel Aviv-Yofa, highlighted the history of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and featured information on the latest military provocation of the Armenian armed forces. The broadcast also aired comments by residents of Azerbaijans Tovuz district. Philip Morris, a large tobacco producer, has paid a UAH 1.18 billion fine imposed by the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU). According to the statement posted on the AMCU's website on August 14, the fine was paid after the Economic Court of Kyiv rejected the group's lawsuit against the AMCU demanding to recognize partially invalid the committee's decision to fine the group of companies. As reported, in October 2019, the AMCU imposed a UAH 6.5 billion fine for coordinated anti-competitive activities of four tobacco producers and Tedis Ukraine cigarette distributor. PJSC Philip Morris Ukraine jointly with LLC Philip Morris Sales and Distribution are affiliated companies of Philip Morris International (PMI). Since 1994, the PMI has invested more than $370 million in the production and distribution of cigarettes and commercialization of reduced-risk products in Ukraine. In 2016, Ukraine became the seventh market where Philip Morris launched sales of IQOS tobacco heating systems. Both affiliated companies provided more than 1,300 people with jobs. Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. Ukraine needs second IMF tranche NBU Governor 15:40, 17.08.20 2029 The central banks and the government are focusing on the implementation of the memo signed with the key donor. Gardai are investigating an alleged racist attack in which two Chinese men were verbally abused about the source of the Covid-19 virus before being assaulted. The two men - Martin Hong and Arthur Ma - were assaulted by three teens in Cork after they objected to comments passed to them about the source of the virus. Both required hospitalisation for minor cuts, bruises and a broken tooth. Gardai are now appealing for witnesses to the incident on August 8 - and are treating it as a racially-motivated attack. Mr Hong said their incident involved three teens. "It was around 8pm when I was walking with my friend to do some grocery shopping (in Cork)," he told RTE. "On the way, we heard some people talking about the Chinese virus as we were walking in their direction." "They were making fun of us but when we asked them to repeat what they were saying, they laughed at us and made fun of us." "They also raised their middle finger towards us." Mr Hong said when his friend tried to record the incident on his phone, one of the teens produced his own handset and claimed the Chinese men had been insulting Ireland. "My friend tried to film it because we did not want to get into any physical contact with them. We asked them to repeat what they said." "They said we were racist and were saying bad things about Ireland. They were also saying Black Lives Matter - I don't even know why they were talking about that." "They tried to portray themselves as the victims." The two Chinese men were then assaulted by one member of the group. "I stepped forward to try to reason with them and one of them just punched me. Both of my eyes got very severely bruised. I got punched in the eye and the nose, my nose was bleeding." "I lost one of my teeth and, for one or two minutes, I lost consciousness when I fell to the ground." Another member of the group attacked Mr Ma. "We both ended up in hospital. A very nice old lady walking by called the police and the police took us to hospital." The two were treated in hospital overnight before being released. Afterwards, they were so shaken by their ordeal they have been reluctant to leave their home for fear of further attack. The two men have been in Ireland for over a year and it was the first time they had endured a physical attack. "It happened around my home so I don't dare to go out from my home," Mr Hong said. "I went out for some shopping yesterday and a teenager said 'hi' to me and I was afraid to reply." Mr Hong has faced multiple dental appointments to repair the damage to his teeth. "Before now, all the racial things were verbal - this is the first time I got physically attacked." This comes after a Chinese woman was verbally abused and then pushed into a canal in Dublin by a group of youngsters who were mocking her about the coronavirus. "Since this pandemic began affecting the Irish community, the first racist comment I received was from some kids. They were toddlers, they had only learned to speak and they were already racially abusing (people). They were only kids and that is the shocking part," said Mr Hong. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia August 17, 2020 Senator Kamala Harris There are more than 122 black women running for U.S. Congress in the 2020 elections, thanks to the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and the Black Lives Matter Movement Watching AMJOY on Sunday morning, August 2, 2020, I felt the bliss of ecstasy to learn that 122 black women are vying for U.S. Congress in the 2020 elections. This is a momentous event in American history, especially African-American history ever since 1619. The event seems to speak to the late John Lewiss farewell message: Together, We Can Redeem the Soul of Our Country (the New York Times), and to the preamble of the constitution In order to form a more perfect Union and to Martin Luther Kings I Have a Dream speech That my children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of the character. In addition to this epic story, the Democratic vice presidential selection has become the most significant political story of the 2020 Democratic campaign because of the number of black women on the final list for consideration. This has given black women politicians greater attention than ever before. The selection of Kamala Harris has changed the 2020 electoral calculus and dynamics and electrified black women, the bedrock of the Democratic Party voting base. After nearly four years of colossal Presidential failure (predicated on xenophobia, misogyny, racism, and wallowing in the swamp of corruption) and a gargantuan failure in handling COVID-19, the worst pandemic since 1918s Spanish Influenza (H1N1 virus), the 2020 Congressional and Presidential elections are destined to be the most crucial in U.S. history. After the fall of Richard Nixon in 1974, the Republican Party was relegated to a political Siberia by the electorate. It seems that the fall of Donald Trump is likely to repeat history. Four years after the fall of Richard Nixon, the Newt Gingrich Revolution came and Congressional politics experienced a seismic change. Prior to the Gingrich Revolution, civil debate and compromise had been the core and bedrock of Congressional politics. After the Gingrich Revolution, Congressional politics became acerbic, vitriolic, tribal, and uncompromising. Thus, Congress became an institution of dystopia. The Gingrich Revolution is rooted in a speech he delivered to young Republicans in 1978: One of the great problems we have in the Republican Party is that we dont encourage you to be nasty, he told the group. We encourage you to be neat, obedient, and loyal, and faithful, and all those Boy Scout words, which would be great around the campfire but are lousy in politics (The Atlantic). The election of Barack Obama, the first African-American President of the United States in 2008 amid the global recession, gave birth to a new 21st-century populist political movement (Tea Party) in the United States. On the morning of February 9, 2009, Rick Santelli on CNBC accused the government of promoting bad behavior with the subsidized housing program of $75 billion proposed by the Obama administration (Mother Jones). His fury birthed the Tea Party Movement. The Tea Party hijacked the Republican Party in 2010. In the 2010 mid-elections, 87 Republican members who declared themselves Tea Party advocates came to Congress, threw out the first female House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and brought Barack Obamas presidency to a near halt (The Atlantic). Congress became more dystopic than ever. The Gingrich Revolution, the Great 2007 2008 Recession, anti-establishment and anti-intellectual sentiment, and above all racism regarding the election of a black president brought Donald Trump to power. Donald J. Trump became President of the United States with the help of Russia and the mechanism of the Electoral College. His election shocked the American consciousness and the world. His excessive mendacity, nihilistic delusion, xenophobia, racism, misogyny, his cerebral incapacity to accept facts, and above all his contempt for presidential norms have awakened another populist political movement that began with the Womens March on Washington and around the country on July 21, 2017, one day after Trumps inauguration. The 2018 (Year of The Women) midterm elections brought 117 women (89 Democrats and 13 Republicans) to Congress, the most in U.S. history. Among these 117 women, 20 blacks were elected for the first time (VOX). The Blue Wave, as the 2018 midterm elections were called, validated the new womens movement and rebuked Donald Trumps outlandish behavior as President. The convergence of the Year of The Women and the Black Lives Matter movement protesting police brutality against black people is set to trigger a tectonic political paradigm shift in the 2020 Congressional and presidential elections, especially in the state legislative and gubernatorial elections. The 2020 election is poised to be a watershed moment in U.S. history. There are 122 black women running for Congress (a historic record). The confluence of COVID-19, the killing of George Floyd that had inspired a movement of unprecedented proportions, and the second Great Economic Meltdown present the perfect storm for a new Congress and a new President to bring sanity, decorum, and normalcy to the U.S. It will be even more historic if 40 percent of the 122 black women running for Congress are elected. With this number of progressives and people of color running for Congress, social justice and Obamas legacy will be restored and the American position as leader of the free world will once again be respected. For this noble cause to materialize, Blacks and Hispanics must turn out in large numbers to vote, more so than during Obama's first election. This is the greatest opportunity since the 1965 Great Civil Rights March, and the opportunity must be seized. African immigrants should join their African-American brothers and sisters in getting out the vote. They should seek out candidates in their states (in Ohio, Ms. Desiree Tims, 10th District), support them financially, and VOTE. About The Autho: J. Patrick Flomo can be reached at zamawood@gmail.com and (614) 707 3636 One soldier killed, two injured after incident in northeastern Syria. Two US helicopters attacked a Syrian army checkpoint, killing one soldier and injuring two others, state media reported. The incident in northeastern Syria, near the largely Kurdish city of Qamishli, happened shortly after a US patrol was prevented from passing by an army checkpoint in the area on Monday, the agency SANA added. It quoted a military source say saying that army personnel at the checkpoint prevented a US patrol from entering the area where one of our military formations is deployed. The members of the US patrol opened several rounds of fire, it said before adding that after about 30 minutes, two US warplanes attacked the army personnel at the checkpoint. The injured were rushed to Qamishli National Hospital. Northeastern Syria is mainly under the control of US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces who are spearheaded by Kurdish fighters, but Syrian army forces are deployed in certain locations under agreements with Kurdish groups. More to follow Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan Kyeremanten, has observed that the implementation of the AfCFTA will bring many benefits to Africa. He was speaking at the commissioning and handing over of the AfCFTA Secretariat building in Accra on Monday August 17. According to him, the implementation of AfCFTA will increase the level of intra African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade within the African continent. He noted that it is estimated that intra African trade will increase by as much as 35 billion US dollars per annum or 52% by 2022. The Minister added that secondly, it will address the challenge of small fragmented markets in Africa by creating a single continental market which will lead to economies of scale. Thirdly, it will add value to Africa's abundant natural resources and promote economic diversification and industrialization. Fourthly, it will promote the development of regional value chains and facilitate cross border investments in Africa, he noted. Fifth, it will open up market access opportunities for SMEs in Africa on preferential trade terms. Sixth, with a population of 1.2 billion, estimated to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, Africa will become a very attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment because of its market size, with the potential for joint ventures and enhanced local content. Seventh, it will deepen the integration of Africa into global markets through supply chain arrangements and other forms of subcontracting transactions. Eighth, Africa will improve its terms of Trade with the rest of the world by earning higher values for its exports through value addition. He indicated that ninth, the AfCFTA will enhance benefits to consumers in Africa through lower prices of goods imported from within Africa. Tenth and last but not the least, it will significantly increase employment opportunities in Africa, particularly for the youth and other vulnerable groups. Whilst acknowledging the benefits to be gained from the AfCFTA, he said it is worth noting that these benefits will not accrue automatically to member States.. It will require each Member State to develop a National Programme of Action in order to harness the benefits of the AfCFTA. Such programmes must be mainstreamed into national development strategies. In addition, the effective implementation of the AfCFTA will require sustained political will and commitment from the highest level of executive authority in each country, in respect of providing adequate budgetary resources to support the growth and development of priority sectors, as well as creating the appropriate incentive and regulatory framework to attract investments from the private sector, both domestic and foreign. At the national, regional and continental levels, the need to develop modern trade related infrastructure, including multi modal transport infrastructure to improve connectivity, cannot be overemphasized. There will also be the need to diversify our economies and produce more value added products. The challenges posed by non-tariff barriers and technical barriers to trade, including but not limited to standards, customs clearance processes and procedures and issues relating to rules of origin would all have to be addressed substantively, he said. Historic Day Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in her welcome remarks at the commissioning ceremony, observed that Today is historic as we witness the realisation of one of the aspirations of the founding fathers of the Organisation of the African Union, now the African Union. She reiterated that at its formation in 1963, part of the agenda of the OAU, as reflected in the preamble of its Charter, was for African countries to explore their full potentials in order to develop greater capacity to negotiate better deals with the outside world. To achieve this objective, the Lagos Plan of Action was adopted by the Heads of State of the OAU in 1980, setting forth the idea of a continental free trade area, she said. That undertaking led directly to the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community in 1991. The journey to this point, for which we have gathered to celebrate, has indeed been long, rugged and arduous. Taking place even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, today's commissioning and handing over ceremony of the AfCFTA Secretariat is a reflection of our strong, collective resolve to push forward this African integration agenda. Undeniably, the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our economies and social lives makes this event even more imperative, according to her. The Africa We Want has a shared framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development over the next 50 years. Agenda 2063 underscored the AfCFTA as one of the African Union's flagship projects to significantly accelerate growth of Intra-Africa trade and use trade more effectively as an engine of growth and sustainable development. Specifically, its goal is to double intra-Africa trade by 2022, by addressing persistent challenges comprehensively and resolutely. This is the time for us to raise our ambitions even higher. This is not the time to sit back and watch. The Africa we desire and have worked for over the years is clearly visible on the horizon. This day ushers us onto the right stage to rapidly move towards achieving the other related flagship projects of Agenda 2063. We know that the road ahead will not be easy. It has not been easy all these decades, so we cannot expect any thing different. Our belief must be in ourselves and in our collective abilities as Africans. Together, we can and will build the Africa we want, she said. ---Daily Guide Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal Online learning in New Mexico has been a target for critics, but its the learning mode for hundreds of thousands of children due to the novel coronavirus. While legislative reports showed that students likely fell behind in the spring when COVID-19 forced school closures, the states largest school district says that its a different animal this school year, and student expectations are higher. We are not in the continuous learning plan like the springtime. This is a new semester, and the reentry plan is a lot different its not as (flexible) as it was in the spring, Albuquerque Public Schools Associate Superintendent Madelyn Serna Marmol said about the school year that began remotely on Aug. 12. After analyzing statewide continuous learning last school year, a Legislative Finance Committee report showed students especially those who were at risk of academic gaps to begin with could be facing months to a years worth of learning loss. The report blamed technology access issues, significantly reduced time spent on schoolwork each day and educators mainly teaching subjects they had already gone over, among other issues. In late July, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said schools would start the 2020-21 school year with remote learning and continue until next month at least due to a spike in COVID-19 cases at the time. State Secretary of Education Ryan Stewart has admitted that remote learning is an imperfect substitute for in-person class but noted school districts will be better prepared than they were in the spring. APS executive director of curriculum and instruction, Amelia Milazzo, said the setting may be different but the work students will be doing is largely the same as during a traditional year. For instance, while the district was encouraged by the state Public Education Department to move to a pass-fail system at the end of the 2019-20 school year, A-F grading will resume and grades will be comparable to previous years, Milazzo said. There are more things the same than different, she said. The PED released guidance on grading that said each district and school can approach grades as they find appropriate for their community. It also called for more feedback and less emphasis on letter grades by themselves. And unlike the spring, when attendance wasnt required, students are expected to show up this year. Students are being monitored for logging on for online lessons and doing their schoolwork. Attendance reporting to the state will still be required under remote learning, according to PED documents. But there will be some tweaks to APS teaching strategy. Teachers are encouraged to gauge academic performance earlier in the year than normal. That will give a general picture of baseline proficiency. Milazzo said parents should rely on teacher communication for student-specific feedback. We will be able to measure some things based on interim assessments and different kinds of assessments, but that doesnt really tell us the whole picture about what a kid knows and doesnt know. So we are really relying on teachers to communicate frequently with parents about how a student is performing, she said. The APS reentry plan directs teachers to prioritize critical lessons before moving on to other material. Within the time available for instruction, it may not be possible to cover all the standards that would normally be addressed. It is more important the most essential standards be addressed at a level of depth to ensure mastery and a solid foundation of learning, the plan says. Milazzo said critical standards are established by a group of experienced teachers in the district. Were really trying to prioritize what students need to have a really solid understanding of, she said. The general expectation is for teachers to provide three hours of virtual lessons for the class to do together and two to three additional hours of work for students to do individually. The PED wont be waiving the instructional hours requirement as of now but has said face-to-face instructional time and remote instructional time are equivalent during the public health emergency. Serna Marmol said the APS reentry plan took into account insights from last school year, legislative analyses, district data and educator feedback. Were back to regular school, she said, its just in a different format. NOTE: Read the latest story on three fires burning in Napa County here on SFGATE. A fast-moving brush fire in Napa County exploded in size Monday afternoon and had grown to 2,400 acres by 5 p.m., officials said. The Hennessy Fire ignited this morning and there's zero containment. The blaze was presumably started by lightning strikes amid a rash of thunderstorms in Northern California and has triggered evacuations in rural Napa County. The fire, in the 60 block of Hennessey Ridge Road in Rutherfod, was reported at 6:40 a.m., authorities said, and the evacuation order was given just before 11 a.m. It's not known how many homes are in the area, said Will Powers, a Cal Fire spokesman. RELATED: 1,600 lightning strikes spark 76 wildfires over last day in Northern California The Napa County Sheriff's Office issued mandatory evacuation orders for Sage Canyon Road from Chiles Pope Valley Road to Lower Chiles Road. An evacuation warning is in effect for Highwy 128 at Lower Chiles Valley Road to Turtle Rock and Highway 128 at Silverado Trail to Chiles Pope Valley Road, including Pritchard Hill. Chiles Pope Valley Road, Sage Canyon Road and Highway 128 were closed in the area, which is east of Lake Hennessey, Powers said. He said it wasn't known yet whether the fire was caused by a lightning strike. (Find evacuation information on the Napa County Sheriff's Office Nixle page.) Residents in the area were instructed to go to the launch ramp to get more information from Cal Fire. Visit the Cal Fire Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit Twitter feed for updates. Bay City News contributed to this story. Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com. A Tiffany & Co. logo is seen outside a store in Paris, France, on Nov. 22, 2019. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters) US Appeals Court Voids Tiffanys Judgment Against Costco Over Fake Tiffany Rings NEW YORKA federal appeals court on Monday overturned Tiffany & Cos $21 million judgment against Costco Wholesale Corp over the warehouse club chains sale of generic diamond engagement rings bearing the Tiffany name. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan said a lower court judge erred in finding Costco liable for selling the rings, which Costco said had a pronged setting known as a Tiffany setting, leaving jurors to decide only how much Tiffany should recover. In the 3-0 decision, Circuit Judge Debra Ann Livingston said reasonable jurors could find that Costcos use of Tiffany was unlikely to confuse customers or make them think Tiffany endorsed the rings. She also said jurors could find that Costco acted in good faith, and that discriminating Costco customers would be smart enough to know that Tiffany had nothing to do with Costcos diamond engagement rings. A worker pushes carts outside a Costco Wholesale store in Mount Prospect, Ill., on May 31, 2006. (Tim Boyle/Getty Images) The trademark infringement and counterfeiting case was returned to U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain in Manhattan for a new trial. Swain had in 2015 ruled for Tiffany on liability issues, including that Costcos conduct was willful. The award had included $8.25 million in punitive damages, $11.1 million representing triple Tiffanys lost profit, and interest. Tiffany said it expects to prevail in a retrial. We have no qualms about trying this case again, general counsel Leigh Harlan said in a statement. Costco and its lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tiffany had sued Costco on Valentines Day in 2013, to protect the now 183-year-old companys brand and cachet as one of the worlds best-known luxury retailers. In response, Costco said Tiffany had become a generic term and, citing a century of documents, was widely understood to describe a type of pronged diamond setting. Costco also said it removed Tiffany from store signs within one week after Tiffany complained. An estimated 3,349 customers bought Tiffany-set rings at Costco during the relevant period, court papers show. The case is Tiffany and Co et al v Costco Wholesale Corp, 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 17-2798. By Jonathan Stempel Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, has assured Mr Wamkele Mene, first Secretary-General, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), of Ghanas support in the projects operationalisation for Africas development. Our doors are widely opened to you, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey stated on Monday at the commissioning and handing over of the AfCFTA Secretariat Building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo commissioned and handed over the AfCFTA Secretariat Building to Mr Moussa Faki, AUC Chairperson. Today is historic as we witness the realisation of one of the aspirations of the founding fathers of the Organisation of the African Union, now the African Union, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey said. At its formation in 1963, part of the agenda of the OAU, as reflected in the preamble of its Charter, was for African countries to explore their full potentials in order to develop greater capacity to negotiate better deals with the outside world. She intimated that to achieve this objective, the Lagos Plan of Action was adopted by the Heads of State of the OAU in 1980, setting forth the idea of a continental free trade area. She noted that undertaking led directly to the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community in 1991; stating that the journey to this point, for which we have gathered to celebrate, has indeed been long, rugged and arduous. She said the event taking place even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioning and handing over ceremony of the AfCFTA Secretariat, was a reflection of their strong collective resolve to push forward this African integration agenda. She said undeniably, the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their economies and social lives make this event even more imperative. She said: The Africa we want has a shared framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development over the next 50 years. Madam Botchwey said agenda 2063 underscored the AfCFTA as one of the African Unions flagship projects to significantly accelerate growth of Intra-Africa trade and use trade more effectively as an engine of growth and sustainable development. She said specifically, its goal was to double intra-Africa trade by 2022, by addressing persistent challenges comprehensively and resolutely. This is the time for us to raise our ambitions even higher. This is not the time to sit back and watch, she said. The Africa we desire and have worked for over the years is clearly visible on the horizon. She said this day ushers the continent of Africa onto the right stage to rapidly move towards achieving the other related flagship projects of Agenda 2063. We know that the road ahead will not be easy. It has not been easy all these decades, so we cannot expect anything different. Our belief must be in ourselves and in our collective abilities as Africans. Together, we can and will build the Africa we want. Mr Alan Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, said the successful implementation of the AfCFTA would bring many benefits to the African continent. He noted that it would increase the level of intra African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade within the African continent; declaring that it was estimated that intra African trade will increase by as much as 35 billion US dollars per annum or 52 per cent by 2022. Mr Mene expressed his deep humility for having been elected by the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of States and Government of the AU, to the position of the first Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat. A mission to be at the services of Africa; which I shall undertake with resolute determination. Since the end of colonialism, the Republic of Ghana, he said. He said the AfCFTA offers Africa an opportunity to confront the significant trade and economic development challenges of their time with regards to market fragmentation, smallness of national economies, over reliance on the export of primary commodities and narrow export base, caused by shallow manufacturing capacity. 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 Israeli Tanks Attack Hamas Positions in Gaza Strip, IDF Says Sputnik News 22:32 GMT 16.08.2020(updated 23:06 GMT 16.08.2020) On Sunday, the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement that soldiers had repelled an attempted "terror attack" against Rachel's Tomb in the city of Bethlehem, detecting "terrorists who tried to hurl a Molotov cocktail toward the Tomb area". In the early hours of Monday morning, the IDF announced that Israeli tanks had conducted an attack against Hamas positions in the Gaza Strip. The attack came, according to the IDF, in response to explosive balloons allegedly sent into Israeli territory and the instigation of riots along the Palestinian-Israeli border wall by "dozens of Palestinians in Gaza". Israel has seen explosive balloon attacks several times during the week, the IDF claimed, alongside rockets fired from the Gaza Strip that were intercepted by the Iron Dome Aerial Defence System. Israel responded with airstrikes, reiterating that it holds Hamas accountable for all attacks coming from the area. The Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni militant organization, that remains in a protracted conflict with Tel Aviv. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Victorians hoping to escape that state's second wave of coronavirus are not expected to be allowed into Queensland until at least Christmas. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland would remain shut off to NSW and Victorian residents as long as there was still evidence of community transmission of COVID-19. "I think we are going to continue to see the restrictions in Victoria, I think it is up until around Christmas time," she said. "That is very unfortunate for the people living down there but it is a serious situation. Today, were turning this section over to our colleague Apoorva Mandavilli, who has been covering the pandemic for The Timess Science desk. The pandemic will end only when enough people are protected against the coronavirus, whether by a vaccine or by already having been infected. Reaching this threshold, known as herd immunity, doesnt mean the virus will disappear. But with fewer hosts to infect, it will make its way through a community much more slowly. In the early days of the crisis, scientists estimated that perhaps 70 percent of the population would need to be immune in this way to be free from large outbreaks. But over the past few weeks, more than a dozen scientists told me they now felt comfortable saying that herd immunity probably lies from 45 percent to 50 percent. If theyre right, then we may be a lot closer to turning back this virus than we initially thought. It may also mean that pockets of New York City, London, Mumbai and other cities may already have reached the threshold, and may be spared a devastating second wave. Privileges May hold floor at Congress of Delegates. May not hold national office or committee appointment and may not vote in national affairs. Privileges of supporting members in chapters may be determined under the Bylaws of individual chapters. Eligibility Physicians residing and practicing in the U.S. (or its territories or possessions) who completed an ACGME- or AOA-accredited residency program in specialties other than family medicine and not otherwise eligible for some other category of membership; or Physicians who previously held supporting membership before September 30, 2016. General Membership Information Applications are approved at the national level, subject to AAFP Bylaws. National headquarters completes enrollment. Transfers from one classification to another must be approved by the chapter. If all membership requirements are met, membership is continued on an annual basis, unless notification is received from the member. About Chapter Membership AAFP membership is unified, which means that members are required to belong to the national AAFP and to their appropriate chapter. The AAFP has a chapter for each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Uniformed Services, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Members are also required to belong to a local chapter, if one exists in their area. Chapter membership makes it convenient for AAFP members to access relevant information and focused resources right where they live and work. Chapters offer local and regional opportunities to network, mentor, volunteer, take a leadership role, and get involved in the AAFP. A NOTORIOUS sex killer is back walking the streets of Northern Ireland as he prepares for being set free from jail later this year. Evil Alastair Leighton will resume regular temporary releases now that coronovirus restrictions around prisons have been eased. The 53-year-old has served the recommended 20-year minimum term of a life sentence imposed in 2000 for the rape and murder of Julie Hamill. Leighton abducted the 28-year-old - who was the niece of South Down SDLP MP Eddie McGrady - as she left Kelly's nightclub in Portrush. He drove his vulnerable victim to an isolated park in the town where he raped her before stopping off at a late-night takeaway for a hamburger and chips. A sedated Julie, who had been locked in the car, was then taken to Portstewart Strand where Leighton kicked and strangled her to death. Her naked body was found on the beach the following morning by a dog walker. To prepare the sadistic thug for his eventual release, jail bosses moved him from the high-security Maghaberry Prison to the medium-security Magilligan Prison near Limavady. Leighton is from nearby Coleraine with the transfer allowing him to revisit the area where he grew up. Security sources told Sunday Life that his temporary releases have been shrouded in secrecy because of the sickening nature of his crimes. Expand Close Alastair Leighton / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alastair Leighton "That was one of the reasons why Leighton was moved up to Magilligan, to keep his releases secret. The Prison Service were worried about a scandal if the media found out," said an insider. "I'm sure the people of Coleraine will be horrified to find out that a b*****d like him is walking about the town. He has never offered a proper explanation as to why he raped and murdered that woman." Julie, who was from Downpatrick, had been working in the education sector in Ballymoney and living in Portrush. On the night of her death she went to Kelly's nightclub with a friend, but had been taking it easy because she had an appointment the following morning. A post mortem on the 28-year-old's body discovered traces of a sedative in her system, leading to fears she had been deliberately spiked. Leighton was arrested after CCTV from the nightclub showed him leading Julie to his car. He initially denied any wrongdoing, but faced with overwhelming evidence including DNA testing, he pleaded guilty to murder, abduction and rape. Prison insiders told Sunday Life that Leighton plays down the sickening sexual elements of his crimes when quizzed about why he is behind bars. "If anyone asks he lies by saying that he is in for murdering his girlfriend," added our source. "For me Alastair Leighton will always be a big danger to women despite his claims to have changed." Speaking after Leighton was sentenced to at least 20 years behind bars, Julie Hamill's devastated brother Martin said: "Even if he was sent away for 100 years, it would not have been a relief. "But the fact that he got such a short sentence does add to the pain. "She was a beautiful girl, a caring, giving and generous person. Everybody said how bubbly she was and that was true. She was a super, great girl. The family are completely shattered. A big black hole has been left in our lives." In police interviews, having admitted his guilt, Leighton said: "I'm very sorry for the little girl. I don't know what came over me, it must have been the drink in me." Lord Justice McCollum, who jailed the killer rapist, told him: "On that night you had the opportunity to conduct yourself in an honourable way. "But you chose to exploit the temporary vulnerability of this young woman to sexually attack her to the ultimate point of taking her life." cbarnes@sundaylife.co.uk COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Restaurant Association aims to raise $30,000 in donations over the course of 30 days to assist restaurant employees who are in need due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Ohio Restaurant Association Education Foundation launched the Ohio Restaurant Employee Relief Fund in April, and has dispersed grants to workers in need in the months that followed. The grants can be used for living expenses, medical bills and housing costs. Applications remain open at the relief funds website for workers in need. Now, the organization hopes to raise more more for employees who are struggling in an industry where the outlook continues to worsen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ORA said in a press release. Recent ORA data predicts that more than half of all Ohio restaurants may be forced to close if the situation doesnt improve in the next nine months. With sales continuously down month-after-month across the industry in most sectors, employees need assistance now more than ever, said John Barker, president and CEO of the ORA, in a press release. We must all work together to support those who have served us for years and help make Ohios restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry vibrant again. The fundraiser, which goes through mid-September, will offer several virtual events and specials for donors, including a cooking class and limited releases of Perseverance beers through local breweries, according to the press release. Donations are also accepted through the organizations website. You can find more information about the fundraising push at the relief funds website, ohiorestaurantsrelief.org. A Pakistani policewoman battling rising levels of violence against women in her country is one of three women featured in an Emmy-nominated documentary that filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy hopes will inspire other women. Obaid-Chinoy, winner of two Oscars and seven Emmys, said Freedom Fighters tells the stories of elite police officer Saima Sharif, former child bride Tabassum Adnan, and Syed Ghulam Fatima, an activist who took on the brick industry. Known for films that highlight gender inequality, Obaid-Chinoy said all three womens lives were shaped by their own experiences, which drove them to push for change, despite facing threats along the way. We need leaders like these three, emerging from the grassroots, from the neighbourhood and communities they come from and work in, and who are invested in them, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Every year thousands of women in Pakistan face some form of violence, ranging from acid attacks to sexual assault, kidnapping, rape or murder, often in the name of honour. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is the winner of two Oscars and seven Emmys [File: Danny Moloshok/Reuters] The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an independent watchdog, stated in its 2019 annual report that despite legislation enacted to protect and promote womens rights in recent years, violence against women has escalated. Obaid-Chinoy, who was the first Pakistani to win an Academy Award with her 2012 film Saving Face, inspired by the life of acid-attack victim Fakhra Younus, said Freedom Fighters continued her focus on resilient Pakistani women. She also won an Oscar in 2016 for her documentary, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, about a so-called honour killing in Pakistan that prompted then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to declare his commitment to eliminate such murders. Freedom Fighters was this month named to the shortlist for the 2020 Emmys; the winners will be announced on September 21. Childhood experiences It is important for girls to be inspired. Such films open their minds to the multitude of possibilities there are, said Obaid-Chinoy. The films co-producer, Maheen Sadiq, agreed. We can all take inspiration from these powerful women who have braved their past and are now standing up for change, shaping not just their own futures, but the futures of generations to come, Sadiq told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Syeda Ghulam Fatima, founder of the Bonded Labor Liberation Front who campaigns for the rights of bonded labourers, said her work stemmed from her childhood when she noticed the extreme living conditions that brick kiln workers faced. I was in Grade 8 and was used to seeing brick kiln workers coming from the periphery, to seek help from my trade unionist father, Fatima, 65, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation from the eastern city of Lahore in a phone interview. They would be in tatters and half-starved, and my father would ask us to provide meals and clothes for them. I would find it very painful and failed to understand why no one listened to their grievances. I later found out its a modern form of slavery and existed in agriculture as well. Fatima estimates there are about 4.5 million people engaged in making bricks in Pakistan of whom about 60 percent are women who are routinely harassed. Things are much better now than when I began work 40 years ago, but rape and sexual abuse continues, she said. Obaid-Chinoy also tells the story of Adnan, who escaped 20 years of domestic abuse after being married off as a child and now lobbies powerful men in the community to stop this abuse. Pakistan has the sixth-highest rate of child marriage in the world, according to UNICEF, with 21 percent of girls married before 18. The third woman in the film, Sharif, was accepted into the Pakistan Elite Force, refusing to let the violence and discrimination she faced on the job deter her from ensuring women play a greater role in her conservative country. Obaid-Chinoy said one of the main challenges was ensuring the filming did not put the women at risk. Both Fatima and Tabassum have always been at the receiving end of threats for taking on the superstructures, she said. The scene at the Bog Meadow, Belfast, where the body of Eddie Burns was discovered A man charged with a double murder in Belfast 13 years ago has been given a date for his legal bid to have the prosecution thrown out. Lawyers for 36-year-old Gerard Lagan will go to court next week to argue that he has no case to answer on allegations of killing Edward Burns and Joe Jones. The bodies of the two men were discovered hours apart on March 12, 2007. Burns, 36, was found shot in the head at Bog Meadows, close to the Falls Road in the west of the city. A short time later 38-year-old Jones was discovered battered to death at an alleyway in the Ardoyne district. Lagan, with an address at Butler Walk in Belfast, was extradited from the Republic of Ireland in October last year. He remains in custody pending the outcome of a challenge to the strength of evidence against him before any trial. At Belfast Magistrates' Court it was confirmed that a three-day preliminary investigation will begin next Monday. A judge was told that eight witnesses, including police officers and other experts, will be giving evidence remotely. They are expected to testify about business documents and telecommunications evidence in the case. During a previous hearing it was claimed that Lagan was involved in luring the victims to their deaths. Mobile telephone calls, cell-site analysis and eye-witness evidence allegedly links him to the murders as part of a joint enterprise with other suspects. The prosecution contended that within hours of the killings he crossed the border and began a new life in the Republic of Ireland. Burns was shot after receiving a phone call and leaving his home, telling an acquaintance that someone needed help but that he had a bad feeling. Another man believed to have been at the scene of the killing was shot in the neck with the same gun before fleeing the scene and getting a taxi to hospital, the court heard. Lagan is not suspected of being the gunman in either attack. Defence lawyers have stressed the case against him is circumstantial, with no forensic evidence linking him to either murder scene. Assertions that he left behind a life in Belfast to move to the Republic after the killings are also disputed. The iconic television, cinema, and Broadway actor Martin Sheen has become a household name. But it might behoove you to know that this isnt his real name! Born Ramon Antonio Gerardo Estevez, the actor took on a stage name when he found there were virtually no roles for Hispanic actors on the Hollywood scene. Child of an Irish immigrant mother (Mary-Ann Phelan) and a Spanish-born father from Parderrubias, Galicia (Francisco Estevez), Sheen didnt denounce his heritage and change his legal name. The name he chose was only a stage name and the one he passed on to his children. One of his sons, Charlie Sheen, also took on the stage name but his other children (Emilio Estevez, Ramon Estevez, and Renee Estevez) all kept their legal last names when they went into acting. Sheens roles as actor and activist have made him a living legend Martin Sheen | Mike Moore/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images At 80 years old, Sheen has been an actor for more than half a century. He moved to NYC from Dayton, Ohio with transport money given to him by a parish Catholic priest. Later, hed ask for his character on The West Wing to be a practicing Catholic. He was one of 10 children and, growing up with immigrant parents from two different minority groups in Ohio, he was no stranger to activism from the very beginning. Earlier this year, he addressed theater students at Youngstown State University and spoke of his background as a native Ohio resident as well as his career in acting and activism. He said that activism is what I do to stay alive. In the same speech, he also told the students: I have been an actor all my life and have no conscious memory of not being one, he said. When I started going to the movies at age 5 or 6, it dawned on me that I was like those people on the screen and I would never be happy and never live an honest life if I did not pursue that wondrous mystery that possessed me. His birth name has become famous in the next generation Martin Sheen | Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AFI The Estevez name is still famous even though Sheen uses a different stage name. Emilio Estevez, Sheens oldest son, has made a name for himself as an actor, writer, and director. Although Estevez is most famous for his role in The Breakfast Club and other 1980s and 1990s classics, in 2006, Sheen acted in one of these movies written and directed by his son. The movie, Bobby, had a star-studded cast and was portrayal of several peoples lives colliding in the wake of Robert Kennedys death. Martin Sheen played President Kennedy. Sheens other children, Ramon Estevez and Renee Estevez, have also gone on to have acting careers. Famous family trouble with the only son that carried on his stage name Charlie Sheen is famous for his role opposite his father in Wall Street in 1987, for the show Two and a Half Men, and for his outrageous life. Sheen has been in and out of tabloids and papers for his antics while on drugs, for stealing cars, and for all kinds of other problems. His father took a tough love approach for a long time and left Sheen to fend for himself. However, when Sheen came out about having HIV, his father was a steadfast supporter and stuck by him despite their previously strained relationship. Sheen isnt the only celebrity to change his name due to typecasting Psych star James Roday recently changed his name back to Rodriguez after spending a career spanning two decades as Roday. He chose the name from a play he was in during his last leg of film school, one by Anton Chekhov. During auditions with DreamWorks, Roday-Rodriguez was actually encouraged to change his name from Rodriguez. Before that, he was told that he couldnt be cast in roles he was suited for because of his last name. The roles that casting managers wanted to cast Hispanic names in slipped through his fingers because he looks white. Now, Roday has decided to change his name back and use Roday-Rodriguez. After nearly 70 years in the business, this is the kind of thing that Sheen hoped for with every activist speech given to young actors. Today, fans can see Sheen on Grace and Frankie where he is still an award winning actor, an inspiration, and a living legend. Israeli investor glee met with Emirati caution after deal on ties FILE PHOTO: The national flags of Israel and the United Arab Emirates flutter along a highway following the agreement to formalize ties between the two countries, in Netanya By Rami Ayyub and Alexander Cornwell TEL AVIV/DUBAI (Reuters) - From a proposed rail link to the Gulf from the Israeli port of Haifa, to quick-hop direct flights from Tel Aviv, the prospect of formal relations with the United Arab Emirates is stirring excitement in Israel. In the UAE, which Israeli business executives with foreign passports have visited for years, companies that are likely candidates for above-board deal-making with Israel are taking a more cautious line, apparently awaiting government guidance on future policy. Israel and the Gulf State announced on Thursday they would normalise relations under a U.S.-sponsored deal that still awaits negotiations on details such as opening embassies and travel links before it is officially signed. Israeli officials have been quick to play up the economic benefits of the accord, which once formalised would also include agreements on tourism, technology, energy, healthcare and security, among other areas. Some Israeli and Emirati businesses have already signed deals since Thursday, and several small-scale medical and defence collaborations were announced in the weeks preceding the normalisation agreement. But Emirati state entities and private businesses have been circumspect in discussing investment opportunities before ties are official, with many declining to comment. Conglomerate Al Habtoor Group, which has several hotels in Dubai, is in talks to partner with Israeli carrier Israir, a spokeswoman said, declining to provide further details. It was too early to discuss expanding the group's business into Israel, she said. Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala declined to comment about potential business opportunities emerging from the deal, and some government departments deferred requests for comment to the foreign ministry. 'SIGNIFICANT UPGRADE' Israeli Finance Minister Israel Katz said official ties with the UAE "could be a basis for a very significant upgrade of Israel's economy, alongside, of course, the things they need from us - in water technology, agriculture, hi-tech". Story continues On Israel's Kan Radio, Katz highlighted the potential for grand, regional transportation projects - "a rail connection between Gulf countries and Haifa port" - that he said would make Israel the UAE's "gateway to the Mediterranean". Such a rail network would have to cross Saudi Arabia, which has no relations with Israel and has so far been silent on its deal with the UAE. An Israeli delegation is expected to travel to UAE within weeks to work out the modalities of normalisation, a historic shift that could reshape Middle East politics from the Palestinian issue to the fight against Iran. The UAE would only be third Arab state in more than 70 years to establish relations with Israel, after Egypt and Jordan. 'NOT GOING TO BET THEIR SHIRTS' But there are sensitivities for businesses in openly welcoming Israeli investment in the Arab world's second-largest economy when public opinion in the Middle East is largely pro-Palestinian. Some in the UAE have called for boycotting Israel over its treatment of Palestinians in occupied territories. Robert Mogielnicki of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington said UAE businesses would carefully gauge regional reactions to the deal to avoid tensions in existing relationships. "Established UAE companies and family-owned businesses are not going to bet their shirts just to enter Israeli markets," he said. Israeli investors acknowledge that new trade agreements would likely take time to strike, but say Israel's booming high-tech scene and innovations in agriculture would be tough for the UAE to pass up. Jon Medved, CEO of Israeli crowdfunding firm OurCrowd, said "co-investment talks are ongoing (with Israelis) throughout the Arab world, not just with the UAE" - alluding to Israeli expectations that Bahrain and Oman would follow in normalising ties. Tourism could also stand to benefit, some analysts say, though it would take time to kick off given the coronavirus pandemic's impact on global travel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday Israel is preparing for direct flights, over Saudi Arabia, to the United Arab Emirates, but gave no timeframe for their start. Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and its air space is closed to Israeli airliners. Asked about flying to Israel, Dubai's Emirates said it had nothing to announce. Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters. (This story has been refiled to fix typos in 15th, 20th paragraph, comment in 17th) (Reporting by Rami Ayyub in Tel Aviv and Alexander Cornwell in Dubai with additional reporting by Steven Scheer, Dan Williams and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem and Hadeel Al Sayegh in Dubai; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Angus MacSwan) As the coronavirus continues to ravage the U.S., thousands of businesses continue to suffer. Before the pandemic, small and medium-size businesses accounted for around 48 percent of the U.S. economy. That number is certainly smaller now, and those that remain are uncertain about the future as the pandemic continues to lead to a reduction in revenues, especially for businesses that have traditionally relied on retail foot traffic. On the flip side, since consumers are now staying home much of the time, online businesses are less affected. If you can move your business online quickly, you can probably get it back on track. E-commerce offers a lot of benefits over traditional retail. When your business is online, it overcomes geographical limitations to reach out to more customers. Without the need to rent physical space for a shop, you can reduce your expenses as well. E-commerce also enables deals and bargains to encourage your customers to purchase your products online easily. And with so many convenient communication channels such as messenger and emails, you can even get to know your customers better and provide them with the services that suit them more. In fact, local stores such as the Curtain Shop in New York, Gary's Wine & Marketplace stores in New Jersey, and the Pufferbellies toy store in Virginia, which have an online infrastructure in place, have been able to stay connected with their customers, allowing them to keep selling even during the pandemic. So, how to move your business online and seize the opportunity? 1. Decide where to sell online. The first step is to decide where to move your business. The simplest way is to make use of the e-commerce platforms available in the market. Some popular ones are Shopify and Magento. They are easy to use and can help you reach a wide range of potential customers. Or you can try to create your own Website. While you may need more effort to work on the site's design and overall user experience, it's a great way to make your business site stand out from others. Here's a practical guide to help you to learn how to build an e-commerce website from scratch. 2. Decide what to sell from your existing offerings. If your business is service-based, then you don't need to worry about storage and shipping. But if you sell physical products, you may need to cut down your inventory to keep the cost low. Consider these when choosing products to sell on your website: Which group of your target customers will be online? What are their age and their consuming behavior online? What are your top-selling and lightweight items? Which items do your customers inquire about a lot? You can even consider using dropshipping tools to help you find suppliers who can handle everything from storage to delivery. Due to Covid-19, some carriers have temporarily changed their shipping services and policies. Stay up-to-date with these policies and expect shipping delays because of canceled flights and governmental decisions. 3. Let your shoppers know that your business is online. After all that you've done, of course, you need to let your shoppers know about your business online: Market your business in Google Search and Google Maps with Google My Business. Simply post your website URL and photos of your products on your Business Profile, and your business will appear in Google's search results. If you update your profile at least once a week consistently, you'll get more engagements and outrank other businesses. with Google My Business. Simply post your website URL and photos of your products on your Business Profile, and your business will appear in Google's search results. If you update your profile at least once a week consistently, you'll get more engagements and outrank other businesses. Send emails to your customers. If you have already collected your customers' emails in person or through an existing site, send them emails to let them know your latest deals and offers. If you have already collected your customers' emails in person or through an existing site, send them emails to let them know your latest deals and offers. Make good use of your social media channels. Post about your online shop on your Facebook Page or Instagram, and add your store's website link in your bio. Post about your online shop on your Facebook Page or Instagram, and add your store's website link in your bio. Partner with influencers to promote your products. Do your homework and look for influencers who can help you reach your potential customers. They also still have a connection with the NCPA while theyre here by participating in the Trenchard Foundation Institute of Excellence, our college retention program so if there is an issue or challenge, they can come to us. Padilla added, When you see it all work together, you think, No wonder it works. Theyre getting the support they need, and to me, thats equity. Were making sure that students have what they need to be successful, and if you take those barriers out of the way for them, they can rise up and achieve their potential. According to Esquivel, joining the NCPA was a pivotal part of both preparing for college and reaching the finish line once she got there. Before being a part of this program, I didnt know anybody who had gone to college, Esquivel said. So even though I knew that I wanted to pursue higher education, I had no idea how that would work or who I would be able to talk to about that. She enjoyed a luxury Greek getaway with her boyfriend and daughter India earlier this month. But Binky Felstead was back to reality as she ran errands near her London home on Monday. The former Made in Chelsea star, 30, put on a very casual display wearing a white sweater and black baggy trousers for the outing. Stepping out: Binky Felstead put on a very casual display in a sweater and baggy trousers to run errands in London on Monday following her recent trip to Greece The brunette beauty pulled off the relaxed daytime look by accessorising with a sweet headband and black sunglasses. She also put safety first by wearing a face mask under her chin as she prepared to hit the shops. The mother-of-one appeared to be in a sombre mood as she chatted on the phone while she walked along the pavement. Casual: The brunette beauty pulled off the relaxed daytime look by accessorising with a sweet headband Stroll: Binky appeared deep in thought during her outing Her outing comes after Binky enjoying a Greek getaway with her little girl India, three, and beau Max Darnton, 30, earlier this month. The doting mum sweetly said that she was 'making memories' with the youngster, while soaking up the sunshine in Corfu. Last week Binky also detailed her 'special' relationship with her boyfriend of 18 months, Max. Out and about: The mother-of-one appeared to be in a sombre mood as she chatted on the phone while she walked down the pavement Daytime chic: The Made in Chelsea star was out and about grabbing some essentials at her local shops on Monday morning Precautions: Binky also put safety first by wearing a face mask under her chin as she prepared to hit the shops She admitted she wouldn't be with the businessman if 'marriage wasn't in the plan', but insisted she 'doesn't mind' when the couple decide to tie the knot. The TV star said: 'I've always wanted to get married, but I never minded when. I've never been one of those girls who have their picture perfect wedding in their head and know what ring they want, but it would be nice to have that one day.' The pair have been going strong ever since meeting at separate parties at private members' club Soho Farmhouse in January 2019. Fresh air: Binky was seen out and about in London were she has just moved into a newly-renovated house On knowing he was 'The One' shortly after they embarked on a romance, the mother-of-one said: 'I knew he was special soon after I met him. We just got on really well and we laughed the whole time.' The Mummy Tribe founder confessed she was more selective about who she dated due to being a mother, but enthused she took Max seriously once she realised he was 'very open and honest from the beginning'. Binky added: 'Obviously, with me having [three-year-old daughter] India, I was very wary and he wanted to let me know that he wasn't just going to turn around and go. He was committed.' Federal agents arrested a man in Florida and charged him with kidnapping in connection to the disappearance of a young mother, last seen with her toddler at a gas station three weeks ago, officials said Monday. Leila Cavett. (FBI) Shannon Demar Ryan was taken into custody in Broward County and charged with one count of kidnapping, according to a federal criminal complaint filed Monday by FBI Special Agent Samuel Band. Local police and FBI agents have been searching for Leila Cavett, 21, since she was last seen July 26 in Hollywood, Florida, with her 2-year-old son, Kamdyn, authorities said. Hours later, the little boy was found wandering alone in an apartment complex in nearby Miramar, but there's been no trace of his mother, the FBI has said. Her unattended car was found in Hollywood days later. In the criminal complaint against Ryan, the victim is referred only as "L.C." but publicly known details of Cavett's disappearance match allegations listed in Band's complaint. Cavett's father, Curtis Cavett, told NBC South Florida that Ryan was arrested in connection with his daughter's disappearance. Ryan has been charged with one count of kidnapping of "K.A.," according for the complaint. Ryan used the victim's debit card for two purchases on July 26 at a Walmart near the gas station, where she was last seen, according to the court document. Surveillance video and store receipts showed "Ryan purchasing Hefty Strong 39 Gallon Extra Large Trash Drawstring Bags and two boxes of Extra Strength Carpet Odor Eliminator," Band wrote. Ryan returned to that same store in 15 minutes, where "video surveillance and receipts show that Ryan went back into the Walmart and purchased a roll of Advanced Strength Duct Tape," the FBI agent wrote. When investigators found the missing woman's car, they staked it out before "Ryan approached L.C.'s truck with the keys in hand," according to Band. Story continues "Law enforcement searched the truck and observed that the driver's side window was broken and the driver's side visor was bent out of its ordinary position," according to the complaint. "Among other things, law enforcement recovered shovels with small droplets of a red substance on them," Band wrote. The agent added that a search of the suspect's car "located a half-empty container of all-purpose cleaner with bleach, numerous black trash bags, and a white powdery substance under the front passenger seat." Ryan made his first appearance before a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale on Monday and was held over at least until a bail hearing on Friday. Ryan's court-appointed defense lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. The complaint made no mention of where the victim might be or whether she's alive. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in South Florida said prosecutors have "no position" on her whereabouts or status. The young mother's "separation from her son is completely out of character," the FBI said in a statement last week. Band appeared to reiterate that point in his complaint against Ryan on Monday, writing that, "Law enforcement interviewed numerous witnesses including her family members who indicated that L.C. would not leave her child alone with anyone" and that "law enforcement learned that L.C. was still breastfeeding." "I just want to know the fact that my child is OK, and if shes not, I have to deal with that," Curtis Cavett told NBC South Florida. Cavett is about 5-foot-4, weighs about 120 pounds and has her sons name, Kamdyn, tattooed on her right inner arm and a Jesus fish tattooed on her right wrist, according to the FBI. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 02:05:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Sanaa Kamal RAMALLAH, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The agreement to normalize relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel raised Palestinian fears of a crack in the official Arab position towards their cause, experts said. Palestinian officials and observers expressed their concern that more Arab countries would follow the UAE's example in establishing official relations with Israel without linking reaching an agreement to resolving the Palestinian issue. The Palestinian leadership, which condemned the UAE-Israel deal, called for emergency meetings for the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to discuss the agreement as well as to attempt to persuade the UAE to withdraw from the agreement. Saeb Erekat, secretary-general of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee, told Xinhua that the Palestinian efforts now focus on preserving the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002, which stipulates that normalization of relations between Israel and the Arab countries can only happen after Israel's withdrawal from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967. Erekat warned that "advancing this agreement is a meaningless stubbornness, feeding the occupation, extremism, and a reward for terrorism." On Sunday, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, Palestinian presidential spokesman, told reporters that the Palestinian leadership will adopt a robust foreign policy against the normalization agreement. Israel and the UAE have reached an agreement, brokered by the U.S., to work towards a "full normalization of relations." Under the agreement, Israel said it has agreed to suspend the annexation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, while it focuses on expanding ties with other Arab countries. The UAE is the third Arab country to establish relations with Israel after Egypt, which signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979, and Jordan, which signed a similar treaty in 1994. Palestinian observers expected that the UAE-Israeli agreement would encourage other Arab and Islamic countries to establish normalized diplomatic relations with Israel. Nabil Amr, former representative of Palestine in the Arab League, said the general trend indicates that a number of Arab and Islamic countries are heading for full normalization with Israel regardless of the settlement of the Palestinian issue. "This will greatly harm the Palestinians and their cause, and blocks chances for achieving a just and comprehensive peace," Amr told Xinhua. Palestinians are concerned about placing obstacles against holding an emergency Arab meeting to discuss the UAE-Israeli agreement. "They are also concerned that a meeting might be held at a low level so the decisions will not take serious actions against the UAE given the fact that normalization of relations is a sovereign decision," Amr pointed out. Meanwhile, Ramallah-based political observer Ahmed Awad emphasized that the UAE-Israeli agreement weakens the Palestinian position and encourages other countries to follow the example of the UAE. "The agreement is useless without solving the Palestinian issue...the UAE wants to protect itself from the Iranian threat through allying with Israel," Awad told Xinhua. He added that the UAE's step of normalizing unilaterally with Israel will not solve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, but will somewhat complicate it as other countries will sign similar agreements without paying attention to the Palestinian cause. In 2002, an Arab League Summit held in Beirut issued the Arab Peace Initiative in the Middle East under the proposal of Saudi Arabia to resolve the Palestinian cause and the conflict with Israel. Under the initiative, normalization between Israel, Arab and Islamic states only permitted after Israel withdraws from all the Arab and Palestinian occupied territories. Enditem Eight more East Baton Rouge residents died over the weekend after contracting the coronavirus as deaths continue to surge in the capital region, a spike that was anticipated after confirmed cases began increasing rapidly several weeks ago. The East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner's Office announced the latest deaths on its Facebook page Monday morning. That was after the office reported 13 deaths on Friday and nine on Wednesday. This brings the parishwide death toll to 390 since the start of the pandemic. Both cases and deaths had been trending downward in the Baton Rouge area following the initial statewide lockdown and widespread business closures. But that changed after the state started its economic reopening. +4 'It can affect anybody': Strong Louisiana family man dies of coronavirus at age 40 About a week after Patrick Hall received medication to treat what he believed to be a sinus infection, he realized something was off: He wasn' Data from the coroner's office shows that 10 people died on Aug. 11, which tied the previous record for the most deaths of East Baton Rouge residents reported in a single day. The last time that many deaths occurred in 24 hours was on April 17, not long after the pandemic arrived in Baton Rouge and before the impacts of business closures and mask mandates had been felt. Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up The eight new deaths announced Monday include five women and three men, ages 49 to 84. All victims had underlying medical conditions that made them especially susceptible to severe illness from COVID-19, officials said. They all died in the hospital. Some had been admitted more than a month earlier while others had been hospitalized just a few days. The Coroner's Office decided last week to start reporting death numbers more often to manage the workload and avoid a backlog until the current surge subsides, announcing the latest deaths on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the time being. Overall case numbers have started to decline statewide after a second peak in recent weeks. It's unclear whether that trend will persist as schools and universities continue reopening. Tata Motors on August 17 issued a statement "categorically" denying reports that stated the company plans to sell its stake in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Several media reports had previously claimed that Tata Motors may be looking at selling its stake in JLR owing to the losses. "Unconfirmed and unsubstantiated reports have been published by some media alleging that Tata Motors may sell stake in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Tata Motors categorically denies and dismisses any such intent," the company said, adding that Jaguar Land Rover is and remains a key pillar of Tata Motors and the wider Tata Group. Tata, in the statement, said that the company had recently announced results for Q1 and have indicated that it is maintaining solid liquidity despite the COVID-19 pandemic. "We expect to be cash positive from Q2 onwards. Jaguar Land Rover business remains strong as it transitions to new electrified, autonomous and connected technologies to support its Destination Zero ambition," it said. Tata Motors, the commercial vehicle major and the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, reported a consolidated loss of Rs 8,443.98 crore on July 31, for the quarter ended June 2020 as lockdown in several countries affected JLR as well as domestic businesses. Track this LIVE blog for all the latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic The loss, in fact, was significantly higher than Rs 3,679.66 crore loss posted in Q1FY20 and Rs 9,863.75 crore loss in Q4FY20. Revenue from operations during the June quarter fell significantly to Rs 31,983.1 crore, compared to Rs 61,467 crore in the year-ago period. In the JLR segment, the company said COVID-19 resulted in temporary retailer and plant shutdowns, significantly impacting sales and profits. Retail sales of 74,067 vehicles in the segment declined 42.4 percent YoY but improved month by month through the quarter with June down 24.9 percent, said the company. JLR segment's revenue was 2.9 billion pound in the quarter and the company made a pre-tax loss of 413 million pound. However, this was only down 18 million pound year-on-year, said the company. The United States has slammed financial sanctions and visa restrictions on four Ugandans, including two judges, for an alleged corrupt adoption scheme. In a statement on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, accused the affected individuals of involvement in activities that victimised young children. Pompeo identified them as judges Moses Mukiibi and Wilson Musalu Musene, and a Ugandan lawyer, Dorah Mirembe, and her associate, Patrick Ecobu. They participated in a scam whereby young children were removed from their families and placed into a corrupt adoption network, aided by the facilitation of Ugandan officials. Together, these individuals engaged in corruption to arrange the adoption of Ugandan children by unwitting parents in the United States. Mirembes law firm used the services of intermediary parties to seek out vulnerable families in remote Ugandan villages, promising parents that their children would be moved to Kampala to further their education. READ ALSO: American prospective adoptive parents then traveled to Uganda to adopt children from an unlicensed childrens home in Kampala, he alleged. According to him, Mirembe, assisted by Ecobu, facilitated bribes to Ugandan judges and other Ugandan government officials to fraudulently procure adoption cases, either directly or through an interlocutor. Mirembe paid bribes to get cases steered to judges Mukiibi and Musene. Mukiibi and Musene are current or former government officials who have, directly or indirectly, engaged in corruption. These individuals actions also resulted in the submission of false documentation to the Department of State for consideration in visa adjudication, a falsification the Department will not tolerate, he added. (NAN) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have discussed Russian President Vladimir Putins initiative to organize a summit of the leader of the five United Nations Security Council permanent members, Germany and Iran on security in the Gulf region, the Russian foreign ministry said after their telephone conversation. "The two top diplomats exchange views on Russian President Vladimir Putins initiative to hold a meeting of the leaders of the UN Security Council member nations, Germany, and Iran to look for ways of ensuring lasting security in the Gulf region with due account of concerns of all the sides," TASS cited the ministry as saying. According to the ministry, the Russian side reiterated its support to United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 that created a legal basis for the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the settlement of around the Iranian nuclear program. "Lavrov stressed that the signing of this agreement back in 2015 was a major political and diplomatic achievement geared to enhance the nuclear nonproliferation regime and regional security in the Middle East," it said. "The sides also discussed a schedule of bilateral contacts for the immediate perspective," the ministry added. On August 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin came out with an initiative to organize a summit of the United Nations Security Council permanent members, Germany and Iran to discuss problems of the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). "We suggest holding an online meeting of the heads of state from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and the leaders of Germany and Iran in the near future," the president said in a statement posted on the Kremlin website. "The purpose is to identify steps that will allow for avoiding confrontation and an aggravation of the situation in the UN Security Council and for furnishing collective support for the further uninterrupted implementation of UN Security Councils Resolution 2231, which provided an international legal basis for JCPOA implementation." Press Release 17 August 2020 The hotel managers Andreas Acker and David Nuenemann founded the consulting company Shoreline Hospitality. They provide consulting services to independent hotels, resorts but also restaurants in Germany as well as Internationally, with key markets being the Caribbean and South East Asia. Advertisements Both have worked in some of the most renowned hotels worldwide. Their portfolio includes: Fairmont - Raffles Hotels & Resorts, The Peninsula Hotels, Kempinski Hotels, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and Urban Resort Concepts. After a long time abroad, the circle closes again for both of them in Hamburg, Germany where everything started almost 2 decades ago. Andreas Acker has 20 years of experience in the international hotel industry in Europe, the USA, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East and the Caribbean. He was involved in opening, rebranding and extensive renovation projects of various hotels in managerial positions; most recently as General Manager of a newly opened hotel property in China. David Nuenemann has management experience in the hotel industry in Europe, the USA, the Middle East, China and the Caribbean. He spent a total of ten years in remote island environment and was responsible for the operation of a complex resort in the ultra luxury segment. Most recently, he worked as a general manager to subsequently serve as the owner's representative / asset manager for several companies. Their consulting work focuses on independent, small and medium-sized companies. They offer various modules that range from assessing the monthly operating results up to a complete company audit. Interim management of properties as well as project management is also part of their services. The business model sets itself apart from 'traditional consulting businesses' in the hospitality industry. Various packages are offered at fixed prices. In addition, there is obviously the possibility to provide bespoke solutions according to the respective client and their requirements, or to combine packages as desired. For more information, please contact: Andreas Acker [email protected] David Nuenemann [email protected] Website www.shoreline-hospitality.com Several cases against Amazon have been filed around the country, and Amazon has won almost all of them, said Jeremy Robinson, a partner with the CaseyGerry, the San Diego law firm representing the injured woman. This gives attorneys ammunition now across the country to say, OK, now their winning streak is no longer as good as it was. Now they have lost a case at the appellate level. Remember when Kia Philippines announced they will be launching an all-new crossover? They didnt exactly state what model they will be revealing, but the automaker did share a teaser image of the all-new model. Based on the photo, it looks to be the Stonic will be making its local debut in Q4 of 2020. Now the local Kia distributor has officially announced that the Stonic will officially be arriving in the country this October, and it will slot below the slightly bigger Seltos, serving as Kias smallest crossover offering in the local market. But with the Stonic set to arrive in 2 months, will we be getting the refreshed version or the pre-facelift model? Looking at the teaser video Kia posted, its hard to tell what well be getting exactly. The 2021 refresh only saw the crossover getting tweaked headlights, new color options, stylish 16-inch alloy wheels, and a mild-hybrid powertrain. Beyond that, the Stonic relatively looks the same as the current model being sold today in other markets. ICICI Securities (I-Sec) on August 17 said it had joined hands with Interactive Brokers LLC, a US-based online brokerage firm, to offer its customers the opportunity to invest in the US markets digitally, tapping the growing interest of Indian investors in the American equities. "The alliance will enable ICICI Securities more than 48 lakh clients to diversify their investments outside of the Indian market and access multi-asset investment opportunities through Interactive Brokers trading platform," I-Sec said. Domestic investors can now trade in the US markets across stocks, ETFs, and fixed income products. There is no minimum ticket size and US markets even allow for fractional ownership of shares, so even small retail investors can build a portfolio effectively, the media release from the brokerage said. Read more: Indian brokerages rush to offer overseas trading facilities for investors The brokerage said its account holders can digitally open the account through its website and choose from the subscription plans available, depending on their trading preference. As an introductory offer, the company is providing two months of complimentary subscription to its customers, details for which are available on the website, said the media release. For over two decades, ICICIdirect.com has been offering Indian investors the opportunity to invest and build their financial assets in a convenient and knowledgeable way. With ever-increasing globalisation, diversification has become an important objective for many investors to spread risks and tap opportunities across geographies and asset classes," said Vijay Chandok, MD & CEO, ICICI Securities. ALSO READ: Not FAANG, but Indian investors are lapping up FAAMNG stocks "The complete investment journey, right from account opening, broking, portfolio monitoring and statements will be offered seamlessly and digitally. Based on investor demand, the facility could be extended to other markets as well in the future said Chandok. Commenting on the alliance, Ankit Shah, Director of Interactive Brokers Indian entity, said: This alliance will provide ICICI Securities clients' access to stocks, ETFs, bonds and mutual funds listed in the US. We believe that many Indians have an interest in investing in companies outside of India and in brands that they use every day. Data from Google Trends reveals that the search term FAANG company has seen a breakout in India from April the first full month of the nationwide lockdown to date. FAANG is an acronym that refers to the stocks of five prominent American technology companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Alphabet (GOOG) (formerly known as Google). Media reports have been suggesting Indian equity investors, who are known to always keep a close watch on most blue-chip stocks that form a part of the Sensex and Nifty, are increasingly tracking US stocks as well. Investors want to invest in new-age technology companies and while India offers such opportunities, there are more opportunities in the international markets, said Arun Chaudhry, Head, Online Business & Product Development, Motilal Oswal Financial Services. Indian investors are now conscious of the fact that diversification of portfolio is important. The newer investors are regular users of companies like Netflix, Amazon and Google, among others, and so know the potential, he added. The first order of business? Know the rules. Don't show up at the door surprised," stresses J. Allen Meadows, an allergist in Montgomery, Alabama, and president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. Here are four other things to keep in mind as you plan doctors appointments. Is the appointment needed right now? As many doctors offices reopen, some caregivers of older Americans may be tempted to schedule a slate of routine appointments. But while health care practitioners struggle to return to normal, even with precautions in place, many of them are holding off on scheduling nonurgent visits. At present, most doctors don't advise patients to come into their office for routine follow-ups, Meadows says. But, he adds, If you have an urgent issue, go see your doctor." What is urgent? If your loved one is experiencing life-threatening or harmful symptoms that need to be immediately addressed difficulty breathing, acute injury or chest pain bring them to an ER or urgent care center at once. For concerning symptoms that don't require a visit to the ER, call their health care provider, who can decide if the patient should be seen. Depending on [the patient's] risk factors such as age and comorbidities, a discussion with [their] physician is critical before delaying any treatment, says Ramin Fathi, a Phoenix dermatologist and Mohs surgeon at Phoenix Surgical Dermatology Group, who treats skin cancer patients. Some skin cancers are slow-growing and asymptomatic, he says, and others are aggressive and life-threatening and need to be addressed sooner rather than later. The doctor makes the call on how quickly to attend to an issue. Last spring, dentist Arthur Yeh, who runs his own practice in Bloomfield, New Jersey, saw only patients who were experiencing swelling, pain, or difficulty eating or chewing, he says. He would treat them alone in his office to limit the risk of COVID-19 infection. The American College of Surgeons has issued a useful guide for more details on what to see the doctor about and what can wait. What is the office's visitor policy? If the doctor suggests you bring your loved one to the office, check its visitor policy before you go. In the time of COVID, policies are stricter. Currently, we only [allow] scheduled patients in the office, Yeh says. With older patients, we make exceptions for their caregivers as needed, but we also ask that, once the patient is seated, the caregiver go back to wait in the car. At the Montclair Breast Center in Montclair, New Jersey, policy changes include keeping friends or family outside the building. It's the same at the Santa Barbara Women's Imaging Center in Santa Barbara, California, which discourages non-patient people from entering the office. Says Brian Jenkins, director of marketing at the center, We recommend that caregivers wait in the car or outside the building while the patient is in the waiting or exam room. Hospitals also tightened their regulations for visiting caregivers. Early on [in the pandemic], there was a concern that caregivers could be a source of transmission into the hospital, which meant they couldn't accompany sick family members, says Sam Torbati, an emergency care physician and co-medical director of the Ruth and Harry Roman Emergency Department at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Now that we have a better understanding of COVID-19 and [personal protective equipment], and we have universal guidelines around screenings, we're in a better place to allow for more visitation and family." Carol Jones, chief nursing officer at Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, New Jersey, part of the Atlantic Health System, says that when caregivers were required to wait in the car at her hospital, the center's medical team took over to provide extra care for both admitted patients and outpatients. [We] had to become the eyes and ears of the patient and communicate with family, Jones says. Still, many medical facilities, Morristown included, made exceptions for caregivers who could not be replaced, Jones says. The medical team would ask, Is this [caregiver] needed by the patient? When a caregiver felt strongly, we would weigh the pros and cons and make a decision. Some adults or adult children who are caregivers to a compromised patient if they're caring for [their older loved one] around the clock at home, they can be with us as long as they're respectful of our rules." How is the office or center taking precautions against COVID-19? Right now, in most health care facilities, including imaging centers, doctors offices, hospitals with outpatient services, ERs and labs, vigorous facility cleaning and sanitizing, universal masking, physical distancing and hand sanitizing are the norm. Patients are almost always met at the door with a thermometer and a COVID-19 questionnaire. Preregistering for appointments is encouraged at the Santa Barbara Women's Imaging Center, a practice that cuts down on time spent in the waiting room. Special precautions used at other medical facilities include removing magazines, as Fathi's dermatology office has done, to protect against the risk of virus transmission, and asking that all patients use a special rinse before their dental exams, as does Yeh. He wears an N-95 mask, usually with another surgical mask on top of it, a full-face shield and a full protective gown, and his staff is protectively dressed as well. In addition to installing medical-grade air purifiers in the office, Yeh uses a fogging machine that sprays a compound of salt and vinegar called hypochlorous acid into the air. The compound bonds to viral particles in the air and destroys them, says the dentist, who mists the ceiling of every room with it himself. How should you prepare for an in-person appointment? Both caregiver and patient should wear a mask and arrive on time. When you call to make the appointment, ask this simple question: If the visit is a preamble to a scheduled surgery or procedure, does the patient need a COVID-19 test? Today, a test is often required two to four days before the procedure and is usually administered in the office. If your older loved one's present health care need is not urgent but pressing, it will help everyone to bring along a couple of important documents. One, a list of medications names, dosages and frequencies, Jones says. (You should also note the number of refills left.) Second, a medical history that includes symptoms, dates and durations can also be useful, not only in filling out the COVID-19 questionnaire but also to get more value out of the appointment. A list of questions for the doctor is also useful. The Neutral Bay Club, a genteel tennis and bowling club in one of the suburbs leafier cul-de-sacs, has won an application to have a $6000 council fine torn up. North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson. Credit:Brook Mitchell The club came up against North Sydney Council, led by mayor Jilly Gibson, earlier this year after rangers found its furniture and a marquee on one of its terraces broke the rules. The club responded in July by clearing the terrace and also launched an application to appeal the fine. A members update circulated earlier this month broke news of an impressive victory. After a very productive meeting with the council and the Mayor, club president Tamsin Baker struck an agreement on using the terrace. And there was more news. Our application to have the penalty notice cancelled has been approved, Baker added, while also offering her thanks to the local community and members who responded with their offers of support and willingness to get involved. A hiker shared shared skin-crawling footage showing the 'worst swarm of midges he has seen in 20 years'. Dr Alan Mackie, from Edinburgh, was camping at Gleann an t-Slugain, Aberdeenshire, when he was set upon by the mass of midges. The footage, taken on Friday morning shows Alan's tent besieged by thousands of the blood-sucking mites. Dr Alan Mackie, from Edinburgh, was camping in Gleann an t-Slugain, Aberdeenshire, when a swarm of midges covered his tent The video cuts to footage from the night before showing the insects in groups stuck between two layers of the tents As he films from the safety of the tent, the insects are seen swarming all over the outside of his shelter. The camera pans around to reveal how Dr Mackie is surrounded on all sides by the pesky parasites. Another video taken the previous evening shows dense patches of the bugs trapped between two layers of the tent. The 'ferocious' midges also managed to sink their teeth into Dr Mackie, who accidentally left a gap in his trousers. He shared a photo showing his leg covered in painful, red lumps which he says have joined together to become 'one huge bite'. Dr Mackie, who teaches at the University of Edinburgh's school of education, took to social media to share the itch-inducing footage. Dr Mackie left a hole in his trousers and the bugs left him with itchy, red bumps all over his legs Dr Mackie said they were the worst he has experiences in 20 years He posted the clip on Saturday [15 Aug] with the caption: 'Midges. Camping. Scotland.' His video has since been liked more than 4,000 times with many sharing their own midge horror stories. One user named Kevin shared a snap of his own mottled hands and said: 'Camped Glendevon a couple of weeks ago and it's the worst I've ever seen the midges, absolutely brutal.' @Look_its_Rhonda added: 'I've always wanted to go camping across Scotland. People always scoff a bit and mention the midges. Now I understand.' And Steve Smith said: 'Jeez! I'm really looking forward to my trip to Scotland now.' Speaking today, Dr Mackie said: 'They were the worst I've experienced in 20 years. Ferocious. 'I've been left with itchy legs. I was all kitted out. 'Unfortunately my trousers had patches of mesh on the calves which I hadn't noticed. Thought I was golden until the next day. 'I'm an experienced camper and hiker and have a long experience of the midge. Just the damned trouser oversight. That'll teach me.' Midge season in Scotland typically lasts from the end of May to September. It has previously been estimated that the biting bugs cost the Scottish tourism industry around 268 million per year in lost visits. The scenes come as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 56, prepares to take his partner Carrie Symonds and their baby Wilfred on their first family holiday in the Scottish countryside. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 56, is preparing journey to Scotland with his partner Carrie Symonds and their baby Wilfred next week for a trip that could include camping Mr Johnson and his family are expected to journey to Scotland for a 'paternity holiday' next week that could reportedly include some time camping, according to The Sun. The Prime Minister's official spokesman declined to confirm the report and said more details of the trip would be announced 'closer to the time'. The reported trip came as Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon urged him and anyone else coming for a 'staycation' to follow local advice. She said: 'Whether it's the Prime Minister or anyone coming to Scotland, I can't wait for the date where I can say ''everyone come to Scotland and holiday'' because we're over the worst of this virus but right now we need to encourage everybody whether they're living in Scotland or visiting Scotland to take great care. 'So, whether it's the Prime Minister or anybody else, when you're in Scotland - and you should hopefully be doing this wherever you live - abide by all the advice.' She added: 'If we all do that where we are then we've got the best chance of keeping it under control.' Iran Sunday will export weapons as soon as the UN lifts the embargo following the rejection of US draft for a prolongation, Anadolu News agency reports. Iran will export and sell weapons once the UN-mandated embargo is lifted, Defense Minister Gen. Amir Hatami told reporters on the sidelines of the National Defense Industry Day in Tehran. He said Iran will use all its capacities to meet its arms requirements by exporting weapons after the 13-year embargo expires in October. Hatami also indicated that Iran will keep the face with the developments in international military activities despite the long years of embargo, adding that the defense industry was the strategic depth of the country, assisted by science technology. Iran Saturday won a historical victory after the UN Security Council (UNSC) refused to back a US draft to extend arm embargo on Iran. US Secretary of States, Mike Pompeo slammed the UNSC members for the move, saying that the Councils failure to act decisively was inexcusable. Hatami also announced that Iran will in coming days unveil a new cruise missile. Dominic Raab today announced the UK 'does not the accept the results' of the 'fraudulent' Belarus presidential election as mass protests over the poll continued. The Foreign Secretary also hit out at the 'violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress' peaceful demonstrations that have followed the vote. Protests against the rule of Alexander Lukashenko remain ongoing after he claimed victory at the August 9 election which critics at home and abroad have insisted was rigged. Official results said the strongman leader of the former Soviet republic had received 80 per cent of the vote. Dominic Raab, pictured in London on July 21, said today that the UK does not accept the result of the Belarus presidential election Mr Raab said the election result was 'fraudulent' as he also condemned violent crackdowns on protests. An opposition demonstration is pictured in Minsk today The European Union said three days ago that it it did not recognise the result in Belarus. Mr Raab today echoed the bloc as he also called for an independent investigation by the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). He said in a statement: 'The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent presidential election. 'The UK does not accept the results. 'We urgently need an independent investigation through the OSCE into the flaws that rendered the election unfair, as well as the grisly repression that followed. 'The UK will work with our international partners to sanction those responsible, and hold the Belarusian authorities to account.' Mr Lukashenko has ruled the ex-Soviet nation with an iron fist since 1994, repressing opposition figures and independent news organisations. Democracy campaigners and protestors have called for the election to be re-run. But Mr Lukashenko has rejected any possibility of repeating the vote that gave him a sixth term. He has also lashed out at the West and declared his country will 'perish as a state' if the result is not accepted. Russia has said it is willing to intervene to protect Mr Lukashenko under the terms of an existing military pact with Belarus amid mounting tensions. Opposition leaders have said they are ready to take over if the leader is toppled by the protests, which drew up to 200,000 people in Minsk yesterday. A man was hospitalized after a shooting Monday morning on the North Side. Officers responded at 8:17 a.m. to reports of a shooting in progress at an apartment complex on the 1100 block of Patricia Drive. A resident, in his early 20s, was shot in the torso during an argument with another man outside of his apartment building, police said. RELATED: SAPD: Man speeding in stolen vehicle killed S.A woman The victim was transported to the hospital. His condition is unknown. Police have not identified a suspect. Officers recovered one shell casing at the scene. A blood stain could be seen in the parking lot shortly after the shooting Monday. Derrick Ayala moved into the apartment complex two weeks ago. He had left his apartment to grab breakfast when his partner called and told him a gun had been fired outside their building. RELATED: Barrage of bullets unleashed chaos at a crowded flea market After returning to the complex, Ayala said he expected things to calm down after the incident and intended to stay at his new home. Now if there was a hole through the wall or something, thatd be a whole different story, Ayala said. The shooting remains under investigation. Sudanese protestors in the capital Khartoum on Monday called for "justice" and "peace" as they marked the one-year anniversary of a transitional government following the ouster of long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. Large crowds marched through the government district of the capital Khartoum, some burning tyres, before police fired tear gas to break them up, an AFP journalist said. Clashes erupted at the end of the rally when an adviser to Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok came out to collect a letter written by the demonstrators, who demanded that the head of the government receive it personally. "We came to demonstrate to put pressure on the government to speed up the reforms, because after a year, we're not satisfied," said Mohammad Omar, a 20-year-old student. "The police use tear gas against us when it's our right to demonstrate. It's unacceptable." Bashir, currently on trial over the military coup that brought him to power, was overthrown by the army on April 11, 2019 after a wave of mass protests against his three-decade, iron-fisted rule. On August 17, 2019, after weeks of intense negotiations, the military rulers and protest leaders signed a "constitutional declaration" under which a sovereign council of six civilians and five military figures will govern for a transitional period. However, demonstrators said the government had not fulfilled its promises. "I am here to protest because we want to see the goals of our revolution achieved," said 22-year-old Sawsan Mohammad. Protesters called for justice for those killed during the demonstrations against Bashir and military rule, and several carried flags and banners bearings slogans including "Justice", "Peace", "Reform the security sector" and "The people are still suffering". Sudan's transitional government has been pursuing a string of reforms, seeking to rebuild ties with the US, boost its international standing and rescue its ailing economy. Story continues But demonstrators say action has been too slow. Prime Minister Hamdok outlined in a statement on Monday his transitional government's achievements over the past year, including negotiations with multiple rebel forces. However, he also acknowledged the challenges. "Issues of justice... remain one of the most important tasks we face," Hamdok said in the statement. "The state apparatus must be rebuilt, and civil service must... be modernised to be in the service of citizens". Hamdok has made finding a peace deal with rebel groups a priority, in order to bring stability to the restive regions of Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan. ab/sk/ff/pjm/lg/par By PTI WASHINGTON: Indian-American Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris has said that President Donald Trump and his campaign will "engage in lies" and "dirty tactics" to distract from the real issues that are impacting the American people. She was responding to President Trump's promotion of the conspiracy theories about her eligibility to serve as the vice president and president. On Saturday, Trump said that he would not be "pursuing" questions about Harris' eligibility, but did not dismiss the conspiracy theories as false. ALSO READ | Joe Biden blasts Donald Trump for 'abhorrent' birther rhetoric on Kamala Harris Trump on Thursday said he heard on "social media" that Harris could be ineligible. "I heard today that she doesn't meet the requirements," Trump said, referring to John Eastman, the lawyer and Chapman University professor who raised the issue in a Newsweek op-ed, as "very highly qualified." Responding to Trump's remarks, Harris, 55, told the American news website TheGrio on Sunday that the president and his campaign will engage in deception. ALSO READ | Democratic VP candidate Kamala Harris hit by 'birther' conspiracy theory "They're going to engage in lies. They're going to engage in deception. They're going to engage in an attempt to distract from the real issues that are impacting the American people. And I expect that they will engage in dirty tactics. And this is going to be a knockdown, drag-out. And we're ready," she said. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden scripted history on Wednesday by selecting Harris, an Indian-American and an African-American, as his running mate in the election on November 3. Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, California Senator Harris, if elected, would be the first woman vice president ever for the country. "What's at stake right now is that we've had over 160,000 people die in the last few months and many of them needlessly, tens of millions of people who have lost their jobs, we're in the midst of a hunger crisis in our country. The media isn't covering it so much," she said. "I'm prepared to fight because this is a fight that is for something, not against something. This is a fight for where we need to be. We need to focus on what can be unburdened by what has been," Harris said. Harris is no stranger to accusations about her race. During the Democratic presidential primary, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., retweeted then deleted a critic who said, "Kamala Harris is *not* an American Black. She is half Indian and half Jamaica." Harris' campaign slammed the attacks at the time, saying the same tactics were used against Obama. "It didn't work then and it won't work now," Harris' campaign communications director told CNN in June 2019. Harris told TheGrio that she wants Black communities to be hyper-aware of attempts to suppress their votes. "You may not fall in love with who you're voting for. We have to be heard and not let them stop us or prevent us or deter us from exercising our voices and making sure our voice is strong in this election," she said. "Nothing that we have ever achieved that has been about progress has come without a fight," she added. [Tuchong] BEIJING, August 15 (Xinhua) China's National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) has published a list of the country's 100 recommended exhibition programs promoting traditional Chinese culture in 2020. The exhibitions feature different aspects of traditional Chinese culture and core socialist values, with themes ranging from poverty alleviation to the battle against COVID-19, and from ethnic culture to revolutionary history. This year's recommendation event has seen a record number of 240 candidate applications from cultural relic departments and museums nationwide since its launch in January, according to the NCHA. The NCHA has launched the event annually since 2015. (Source: Xinhua) Tig Notaro (Credit: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP) US actor and comedian Chris D'Elia has been scrubbed from his filmed role in Zack Snyder zombie movie Army of the Dead, and will be replaced by stand-up star Tig Notaro. The movie, which is being made by Netflix and was written and directed by Snyder, had completed shooting and was set for a 2021 release. However, in June this year, D'Elia faced accusations that he had groomed multiple underage girls and solicited nude photos. D'Elia has denied the claims. Read more: Snyder on Justice League pressure However, he was later dumped by his agents CAA, and plans for a prank show, also to be produced by Netflix and fronted by D'Elia, were axed. Chris D'Elia (Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) Now Notaro, who shot to fame with her 2014 stand-up show Live and then on the Amazon drama Transparent, will replace D'Elia, filming reshoots in the coming months. According to The Los Angeles Times, she'll act opposite a partner, and in front of green screens, and then be stitched into the movie using CGI. Want to say a special thank you to Jarred Land at Red Digital Cinema for building our amazing cameras. They're killing it. #reddigitalcinema #8k #AOTD pic.twitter.com/P9AnTvQOfZ Zack Snyder (@ZackSnyder) August 11, 2019 The movie, which is a sequel of a sort to his 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead, will centre on a group of mercenaries who plan a heist on a Las Vegas casino amid a zombie outbreak. Read more: Ray Fisher accuses Joss Whedon of being abusive Notaro's new cast-mates include Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Raul Castillo, Theo Rossi, Ana de la Reguera and Garret Dillahunt. It's Snyder's first movie since 2017's Justice League, which he is currently re-cutting for a release on HBO Max next year. There's no release date currently confirmed for Army of the Dead, but it's expected to emerge some time next year too. The embattled President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has not only rejected the calls for a rerun of votes but raised yet another call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene and protect his 26-year-old leadership. According to reports, in telephonic conversations on Saturday and Sunday with Kremlin, the besieged Belurasian President sought confirmation from Russia that it would provide military support against external threats. Lukashenko warned the supporters that the country was battling with foreign pressure of repeating the vote on August 9 that gave him a sixth term. However, the opposition has responded with nationwide demonstrations that have attracted as many as 200,000 people. The Belarusian President said while addressing his supporters that if the authorities listen to other nations, we will perish. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and our native Ukraine, their leadership are ordering us to hold new elections, Lukashenko said. If we follow their lead, we will go into a tailspin we will perish as a people, as a state, as a nation. Kremlin has said that it stands with Lukashenko and will be prompt to abide by the collective military pact. In the same line as the embattled President of Belarus, Moscow has also said that the European nation is being subjected to external pressure but did not name the source. Read - Prague Protest In Support Of Belarus Opposition Read - Leader Of Belarus Rejects Calls To Rerun Presidential Vote NATO spokesperson rejected claims Day after Lukashenko said that Russia had agreed to send military support, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu rejected the claims and said that there is no NATO buildup in the region. Meanwhile, the Collective Treaty Security Organization which is a military alliance of six former Soviet states including Belarus, said it would think about providing assistance if Belarus requested it. NATOs multinational presence in the eastern part of the Alliance is not a threat to any country, Lungescu said. Its strictly defensive, proportionate & designed to prevent conflict & preserve peace. Lukashenko on August 10 secured yet another term as the country's president after the authorities announced the preliminary results in which the 65-year-old former Soviet Army member allegedly secured over 80 per cent of the total votes polled. Opposition leaders, including the main challenger Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya denounced the outcome and called it a rigged election. Read - Lukashenko Calls On Supporters To Defend Belarus Read - Anti-govt March In Belarus Demands Change Of President Inputs: AP Florida authorities are searching for a 'belligerent' Georgia man who forced his way into a Wendy's drive-thru window and threw items at staff. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office shared video of the incident to Facebook and asked for the public's help in locating 26-year-old Kelvin Barnes. According to a press release, Barnes and a group of unidentified passengers pulled up to a Wendy's restaurant around 11pm on August 2 in Tampa. 'An employee told deputies, Barnes, and his unidentified passengers, for some unknown reason became belligerent while placing their order,' the release said. Surveillance footage shows Barnes and around four others appearing upset outside the Wendy's building. Surveillance footage shows a man, identified as Kelvin Barnes, approaching a Wendy's drive-thru window on August 2 in Tampa, Florida A grey 2020 Nissan Maxima with Tennessee license plates sits unoccupied in the drive-thru lane. One man, identified as Barnes, calmly approaches the drive-thru window on foot before he unexpectedly squeezes through the opening and begins throwing stuff. With only half his body inside the Wendy's kitchen, Barnes begins to hurl nearby cups, straws and even makes a grab for the unattended cash drawer. Barnes manages to slip out of the window as four Wendy's employees rush to stop him. They slam the drive-thru opening shut, prompting an irate Barnes to strike the sliding window twice. Barnes (pictured) began throwing cups and straw at Wendy's employees after becoming upset for an unknown reason Barnes made a grab for the cash drawer, but it's unclear if he was going to throw it at staffers or take the money The group of unidentified friends appear to briefly calm Barnes and lead him to their waiting vehicle, but he once again beats on the drive-thru window. The Wendy's employees were left to clean up the discarded straws, utensils and spilled soda on the floor. Employees told Hillsborough deputies they didn't know why Barnes had become upset while making his order or why he allegedly threatened to physically fight them. 'We have clear surveillance video of this suspect and are asking everyone to take a good look and call us if they know where Kelvin Barnes is hiding,' said Sheriff Chad Chronister in the press release. 'He didn't get away with any money, but the damage and hostility this restaurant and its employees faced is unacceptable and we will make sure Barnes learns his lesson.' Barnes slipped out of the drive-thru window when four Wendy's employees rushed to the kitchen Deputies said that Barnes is now facing burglary, criminal mischief and petit theft charges for the August 2 incident Deputies learned that the Nissan Maxima driven by Barnes was actually a rental. The rental company is currently filing a failure-to-return report with the Tampa International Airport Police Department. 'Barnes has a Georgia driver's license and has no known local address.' authorities said. He is facing burglary, criminal mischief and petit theft charges. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at (813) 247-8200. At the signing ceremony (Photo: VNA) Washington DC - Ecom Net USA, a branch of Vietnams personal protective equipment (PPE) provider Ecom Net, on August 14 (US time), inked a contract to become the supplier of facemasks and PPE for the US medical group Spartans hospitals across the US. Speaking at the signing ceremony, which took place at the Spartan headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, general director of Ecom Net USA Ella Nguyen hoped the event would mark a good beginning of a partnership between the sides.Vince Proffitt, President at Spartan Medical Inc., lauded the quality of medical products made by Ecom Net USA and by Vietnamese firms in general.He cited an assessment by the US-based Nelson Labs, which said facemasks produced by the Vietnamese company are fireproof, waterproof, and capable of filtering out up to 99.9 percent of the particles in the air.Spartan, considered a leading provider of a network of more than 360 hospitals, has been secured more than 500 contracts with US federal governments, including multi-year transaction agreements in more than 30 treatment facilities of the US army.Earlier this month, Ecom Net USA sponsored 10,000 facemasks, which were presented by Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc to Maryland as gifts for the states fight against COVID-19. The authors of the document condemn the use of violence against participants in peaceful meetings. Head of the delegation of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Member of Parliament from the ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction Liza Yasko says she has initiated a statement on the current events in Belarus. "I've initiated the Belarusian Declaration, a document where we assess the events in the neighboring country and offer a way out of the current situation," she said on Facebook, sharing the text of the document on her page. Read alsoBelarus expects Ukrainian delegates to come to Grodno trade forum in Oct Yasko noted that the statement had been supported by the majority of the members of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE. Also, she added, the document was signed by Chairperson of the Estonian delegation to PACE Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, her counterparts Inese Libina-Egnere of Latvia, Algirdas Butkevicius of Lithuania, and Roger Gale of Great Britain. The signatories state that the campaign for the presidential elections in Belarus, voting on August 9 and the counting of votes do not meet international electoral standards, took place with massive violations of the rights and freedoms of citizens and do not show the free expression of the will of the Belarusian people. The authors of the document condemn the use of violence against participants in peaceful meetings, call on the authorities to immediately release all detainees and will welcome an independent investigation into the misuse of force against protesters. They also insist a peaceful dialogue between all parties to the electoral process should begin as soon as possible and they express their readiness to "facilitate the dialogue between the participants in the electoral process and provide a platform for such negotiations." The Russian Federation has been warned against meddling in the internal affairs of Belarus. Belarus protests in brief My first reaction this summer in realizing that the fight over reopening schools was largely pitting teachers--who were anti-reopening--versus parents (who were mostly pro-) was one of confusion. Shouldn't it be exactly the other way around? I had assumed that the parents would be the ones against sending their kids back into an unsafe situation--as some indeed are--while the teachers would be doing everything possible to coax them to return. Hence my puzzled feeling throughout this interview a few weeks back with the head of the Essex County, N.J., teachers' union. Thinking it over the past few weeks while watching my neighbors try their best to sort out their plans for their kids this fall has crystallized the paradox in my mind: I don't think public school teachers realized just how much they have to lose. Interest in homeschooling; in "learning pods" comprised of small family groups; even in parochial schools has absolutely skyrocketed, especially in areas where public schools aren't fully reopening this fall. One family I know is sending their kids to the local Catholic school this year, simply because they'll be open. (And they got in; many are stuck on the wait list.) Another is opting for a nearby private school for their youngest even though they've been deeply involved for years with the local public school's parent-teacher association. As families opt out, it's no wonder that some places--like Montgomery County, Md., whose public schools will be online-only this fall--have also tried to ban private schools from reopening. But even places that succeed in doing so can't stop parents from withdrawing their kids to do homeschooling or learning pods instead. My guess is that public school teachers and workers are suddenly realizing they've been advocating their own irrelevance. They are stuck in an awful situation, between that and risking their health; but that's something that essential workers across the country have been dealing with for months. Public schools now risk being classified altogether as non-essential. There will be dramatic consequences from this pandemic on the vitality of public schools--which I attended proudly from "K through 12"--from here on out. If I were the teachers' unions I'd be making the full-throated case for why the fracturing of public school will terribly worsen inequality in this country, and that "opting out" is unpatriotic. (Even though school choice is also the only way for low-income kids to escape failing public schools.) I'd be doing everything possible to get the schools open as safely as possible and urge parents not to prematurely withdraw. But the genie is out of the bottle now. In the same way that "work from home" has opened new possibilities for how and where people do their jobs now, families are realizing they can also basically do "school from anywhere." If you're forced to learn remotely, why go with your local school's online offerings when you can have your pick of curricula from the internet, and do it from anywhere? The same people who would have wrinkled their nose at the term "homeschooling" a year ago are now dazzled by the sophistication of the offerings. It doesn't even have to be that the number of kids who permanently opt out of public schools skyrockets. It may show simply modest growth. But the politics has shifted now that the public is more informed about these alternatives to public schools. Take, for instance, Senator Rand Paul's "SCHOOL Act," which would give parents control over the federal education dollars currently sent to public school districts where they live. In terms of dollars, it wouldn't be a huge amount; federal spending is about 8.5% of K-12 funding in the U.S., according to the Heritage Foundation. For low-income families, that roughly runs around $1,500 per child annually. But then you get people thinking about why other government spending shouldn't also "go with" their kid to pay for their education however it happens, as opposed to being sent to the local public school. In fact, roughly half of U.S. states offer "school choice" programs so that your state education dollars follow you that way; this could be worth, say, $6,000 a year in a state like Arizona, per Heritage. Now, you still have to pay your local property taxes no matter if you send your kid to public school or not. But the way of "opting out" from that share, which is the lion's share of taxes spent on education, is pretty obvious--if you're not sending your kids to public school, you move to a low-tax district without one. You can see the major long-term implications of what's happening here. Everything from local property values to the attractiveness of public school municipal bonds to the tax revenue that pays for all other local services is potentially undermined by this Great Awakening to school choice. Who will be most affected? It's hard to say. Perhaps, as we're seeing with the redistributed workforce, for every place that loses out, one will benefit, much like the "Zoom towns" we're seeing today. But I do wonder if public school funding writ large is at some kind of apex now, and will start to erode as taxpayers demand more control over where their school funds go. Just one of the many unforeseen consequences of Covid-19. See you at 1 p.m! Kelly Twitter: @KellyCNBC Instagram: @realkellyevans A beloved older sister. A friend who loved listening to Steve Earle. A quiet brother-in-law who was always reading. More than 100 people gathered at Oppenheimer Park in Vancouvers Downtown Eastside Saturday to remember family and friends who died in recent months, when COVID-19 precautions have prevented gatherings to remember lost loved ones. Many of the lives lost were due to overdoses. While the Downtown Eastside has not experienced a COVID-19 outbreak, overdose deaths have spiked during the pandemic. In May, 171 British Columbians died of overdoses, the highest number ever recorded. In June, 175 people lost their lives. The memorial in Oppenheimer Park followed a march down East Hastings and Cordova streets organized by the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users. Mourners called for an expansion of safe supply, which ensures users can access prescription drugs that arent tainted by dangerous additives. They moved through the streets chanting Safe supply so we wont die. Oppenheimer Park has been closed off behind a high blue metal fence since the province and city removed a tent city in May. But rally participants slipped through one panel where the bolts had been unscrewed and entered to remember loved ones near the parks memorial totem pole. Aiyanas Ormond spoke about Dave Murray who died this spring at age 68 of antibiotic-resistant septicemia. Murray, a participant in the North American Opiate Medication Initiative study the continents first prescription heroin trial advocated tirelessly for access to safe supply. Murray was an activist, but a gentle one, remembered for his habit of reading the newspaper every single day and wearing glasses held together by tape. As a leader, Dave was soft-spoken, he led by example, Ormond said. He was somebody on the team who made everybody better. Laura Shaver spoke about her brother-in-law, Ken Steward, who introduced her to her fiance. You would always see him, and he was reading a book, or he was colouring, Shaver said. He was a really sweet guy and he went way too soon. Shaver also remembered her friend, Chereece Keewatin. Keewatin was a member of the BC Association of People on Opioid Maintenance and a supervisor at an overdose prevention site. Chereece died needlessly, Shaver said. She was a big, big powerful little woman who, til the last day, worked, in a wheelchair, at VANDU. Elvis Wilson remembered his friend Dwayne, while Colin Trent-Rosso remembered his cousin Cyril Alec, who died just three days ago. He was a pretty innocent guy, a nice guy and I just want to acknowledge, hes with the angels now, Trent-Rosso said. Sorry about all the friends I lost down here, Wilson said. I miss them. Thank you for listening. God bless you all. Garth Mullins remembered Wade Crawford, a member of the Six Nations who had taken part in many protests, including the action at Oka, Que., in 1990. Crawford died at age 48 from health complications. Laura Pierre spoke about her older sister, Star, who recently died in hospital. Pierre said her younger sister also died several years ago. People gave my younger sister the wrong kind of drugs when she was drunk. They gave her heroin instead of rock (cocaine) and that stopped her heart right away, Pierre said. I stand here alone now without either of my sisters because they were drug sick. I hope our times will change, so we can have safe drugs for people, and we dont have to lose them anymore. Elli Taylor spoke about Duncan Grant, the son of her friend Erica Grant. Duncan was found dead in April in the London Hotel, the single room occupancy hotel where he lived. Duncan was a kind, strong warrior ... He was always at protests, beside his mother, and he did everything he could to make the community a better place, Taylor said. Myles Harpes and Brittany Graham spoke about their friend Arthur Lakis. He lived down the hall from me and we became fast friends, said Harpes. He liked Steve Earle, so wed get everything ready and ... put on Steve Earle and sing to the songs ... and pretend we were at a concert. Before a moment of silence, Ormond asked participants to speak the names of people they had lost. For a moment, the air was full of a chorus of names. As police and Vancouver park rangers gathered at the opening in the fence, with some participants reporting officers were not allowing any more people through, Graham said its been difficult to move on without a way to remember lost loved ones. We havent been able to gather this way, we havent been able to remember or move forward in our movement, Graham said. It feels horrible that we have to push into this park to use this park to memorialize people that we love, like Arthur. Read more about: Germany said Monday it was prepared to back an expansion of European Union sanctions against leading figures in Belarus over its bloody crackdown on demonstrators. After EU ministers agreed Friday to draw up a list of targets in Belarus for a new round of sanctions, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said even stronger measures should be considered. "Of course we are looking at the option of expanding the sanctions to other leading figures," he told reporters. Germany holds the rotating presidency of the EU. Seibert called the mass demonstrations against this month's disputed presidential election "impressive" and "moving" and urged an immediate end to violent reprisals and the release of "political prisoners". "These people should know that Europe stands by them," he said. Seibert urged a "national dialogue" between the government and opposition "to surmount the crisis", adding that the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) could play a role with a "review of the election". The OSCE has sent observers to Belarus since 2001 but has said it was not invited to monitor the latest presidential election. Pakistan: New Blue economy policy to help save foreign exchange, hopes PM August 17,2020 | Source: Dawn Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday congratulated the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for finalising a new and dynamic Blue Economy Policy aimed at revitalising the shipping sector. The premier tweeted that the new policy would help save valuable foreign exchange of Pakistan. We will ensure Pakistan fulfils its enormous maritime potential, Mr Khan expressed the commitment over harnessing the largely untapped sector. His tweet highlighted that the potentials of Blue Economy include creating more employment opportunities for the countrys seafarers. PM Khan had declared the year 2020 as the Year of Blue Economy to gain maximum advantage of the blue economy resources. Policy aims to strengthen shipping sector Meanwhile, federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Ali Zaidi said that the government would overcome all challenges and deliver its best through exploring potential of Blue Economy in Pakistan. Talking to Dawn, he said that the Blue Economy concept encompasses many industries like ports, shipping companies, energy, renewable energy, fisheries, maritime transportation, tourism, climate change and waste management, besides others. However, we are moving towards all potentials sectors step by step and the shipping policy announced recently, the deep sea fishing policy would be announced by mid of next month, the minister said. He added that the deep sea fishing policy has been finalised, it covers all four components required to take advantage of any natural resource appropriate licensing regime that would benefit investors as well as the government, secondly the policy has to cater for maximum transparency and provide support to the general public which are the fishing communities in this case. He added that the last and the most important segment of deep sea fishing policy is related to environmental protection to maintain the sea life sustainable. Currently the fish and seafood exports of Pakistan are limited to $450 million only, but it can be enhanced to $2-2.5 billion if we have a proper deep sea fishing policy, Mr Zaidi said. We will overcome challenges and deliver our best by realising and maximising the enormous potential of Blue Economy in Pakistan. Dawn, August 13, 2020 The presumptuously titled Tahaffuz-i-Bunyad-i-Islam Bill that was adopted with undue haste by the Punjab Assembly some time ago continues to generate controversy at various forums with the objections that had persuaded the governor to withhold assent not being addressed. When the Punjab Assembly met on Friday last, several members rushed to disown the bill they had earlier enthusiastically and unanimously adopted. One member said the bill had been adopted at the bidding of Shahzad Akbar, the federal governmentas anti-corruption boss. He has not denied the imputation nor is there any evidence of Punjabas religious affairs having been put into the package of the previous governmentsa misdeeds. The matter is important as it touches on, among other things, centre-province relations under the present regime. A special assistant to the prime minister (SAPM) has no legal authority to issue orders to a provincial government or assembly except for compliance with regulations about central services. It seems the culture of governance created by the government has reduced the provinces to the level of subsidiaries of the central authority. This equation is going to cause serious problems. Before the assembly proceedings could begin, Yawar Abbas Bokhari apologised for having supported the bill and having failed to realise that the measure had been designed to divide the people. Hassan Murtaza (PPP) appeared to complain that he had been made a member of the committee but was not informed of the procedure. Several PTI members also alleged that the bill was designed to split the Muslim community. This could mean that a few Shia members had discovered some undesirable features of the bill after the Shia Ulema Council had roundly denounced it. But these protests did expose an extra-democratic tendency to approve legislative proposals without due deliberation. Is a provincial assembly competent to make laws in the domain of religious affairs? But what was the Punjab government doing about the bill? The bill was going to be applied to the entire Muslim population of Punjab. Was the bill approved or even discussed by the Punjab cabinet? What was the level of the provincial chief ministeras awareness of the bill, assuming that he was not unaware of it? Did the party whip play any role in the passage of the measure? When the Shia ulema made a strong protest and the speaker of the assembly met them to assuage their feelings, was he acting as the prime mover of the bill or as a representative of the Punjab government? While adopting the bill the provincial assembly assumed that the subject of religious affairs fell within the provincial legislative list. The position is not quite clear. The Act of 1935 had a provision for ecclesiastical affairs, including European cemeteries. The constitution of 1956 made references to pilgrimage, zakat, and mosques but the subject of religious affairs was not mentioned as such. The 1962 document, described as the Ayub constitution, didnat refer to religious affairs. The 1973 Constitution includes as legislative subjects Islamic education, zakat and auqaf but not the subject of religious affairs. The provision in the Objectives Resolution regarding the stateas obligation to enable Muslims to order their lives in accordance with Islamic injunctions only means promotion of studies of the Quran and Sunnah. If the authors of constitutional documents avoided mentioning religious affairs as a subject for legislation in the belief that the state had no business to interfere in matters of religion, their farsightedness merits due recognition. The central issue centres on whether a provincial assembly is competent to make laws in the domain of religious affairs. The Punjab legislature accepted the view that the matter fell in its jurisdiction because it was not included in the federal legislative list. But everything not included in the federal legislative list cannot be presumed to automatically fall in the provincial list; the matter has to be decided in the context of deliberations conducted while the legislative lists were being redrawn. There are weighty reasons for not allowing a provincial assembly the power to make a law relating to religious affairs. Such a law will divide the countryas Muslim community because it will affect the provincial population only and place the rest of the countryas Muslim population at an advantage or at a disadvantage. If a provincial government feels the need for legislation touching on religious affairs, the proper course for it would be to request the federal authority to make a law for the whole country or take up the matter in the Council of Common Interests. The Muslim faith is not limited to Pakistan. While in some parts of the Muslim world country-specific interpretations have been attempted, the fundamentals of Islam have universal application. Therefore, whenever legislation that touches on the fundamentals of religion a as determined not by a puny assembly but by a recognised institution or an established school of thought a is planned, it is considered necessary to find out the practice in other Muslim countries. Otherwise we could be guilty of fostering sectarian tendencies and putting strains on an already tenuous Muslim unity. Further, the people have a disturbing feeling that hallowed democratic conventions are being subverted through none-too-concealed cunningness. When the question of opening the doors to the cabinet to non-elected persons was raised, the government undermined the debate by releasing SAPMsa nationality status and debatable wealth status, neither of which was an issue. If we find that federal principles are being ignored, that laws are being made without legitimate authority and without due deliberation, that the state is unaware of or uninterested in unauthorised interventions in matters of belief, and if non-elected persons are admitted into legislatures and the cabinet, thus denying the peopleas right to be governed by a proper cabinet, and majoritarianism is followed with a vengeance, with no effort being made to deepen democratic practices, the system can only be described as a sham democracy. Tailpiece: Lahore had a heavy downpour over the past weekend. As I drove through Model Townas streets-turned-rivers I wondered whether Syed Murad Ali Shah had taken over the Model Town area because the only person who could be blamed for urban flooding is the Sindh chief minister. AstraZeneca PLC AZN announced that it has concluded an agreement with the European Commission (EC) for supplying up to 400 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, which it is developing with the Oxford University. Earlier in June, AstraZeneca signed a contract with Europes Inclusive Vaccines Alliance (IVA), a group formed by Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands to supply 400 million doses of its potential coronavirus vaccine to a few European countries. The latest deal builds upon this pact and will enable all EU member states to access the vaccine at zero profit during the pandemic. The company expects to make the vaccine available, upon potential approval, and administer the first dose by the end of 2020. Shares of AstraZeneca have risen 10.7% so far this year compared with the industrys increase of 0.5%. AZD1222 is currently being evaluated in a phase II/III study. Last month, AstrraZeneca announced interim data form a phase I/II study on AZD1222. In the study, AZD1222 demonstrated robust immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in all evaluated participants. The data showed that in 95% of participants one month after injection, one dose of AZD1222 led to a four-fold increase in antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein. The vaccine achieved neutralizing activity in 100% participants who received a second shot. Meanwhile, AZD1222 led to a response of immune T-cells that target the virus in all participants, peaking by day 14 after injection. AstraZeneca inked a number of supply deals across the world to support access to the vaccine. In June, it announced agreements worth $750 million with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi the Vaccine Alliance to produce and supply 300 million doses of the vaccine. The company also reached a deal with the Serum Institute of India (SII) to supply one billion doses of the vaccine to India and other low and middle-income countries. AstraZeneca committed to provide 400 million doses to SII before the end of this year. Story continues In May, the company received more than $1billion in funding from BARDA to help produce the vaccine. It also secured agreements to supply at least 400 million doses to the United States and the United Kingdom. Notably, AstraZeneca is one of the dozen companies developing a vaccine for the deadly coronavirus disease. Of these, J&J JNJ, Moderna MRNA, Pfizer PFE and its Germany-based partner BioNTech along with AstraZeneca/Oxford University vaccines are in the most advanced stages of development. A potential approval for any of these companies vaccines will be a huge boost. Zacks Rank AstraZeneca currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor. Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Johnson Johnson (JNJ) : Free Stock Analysis Report AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Pfizer Inc. (PFE) : Free Stock Analysis Report Moderna, Inc. (MRNA) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 17 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 31 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. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - European stocks eked out modest gains in cautious trade on Monday after the People's Bank of China injected liquidity into the financial system to help lenders manage upcoming government bond sales. Investors also looked to the Fed minutes from last month's meeting, due to be released on Wednesday, for more clues on the thinking inside the U.S. central bank. The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3 percent to 369.26 after losing 1.2 percent on Friday. The German DAX, France's CAC 40 index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 were all up around 0.3 percent. Roche Holding shares rose over 1 percent after the FDA approved Enspryng for nervous system disorder. Unibail-Rodamco shares tumbled 3 percent. Responding to recent media reports regarding a potential rights issue, the real estate company said that no decision has been made yet on any of the available additional deleveraging options. French luxury group LVMH rose 0.3 percent and spirits maker Pernod Ricard advanced 1.7 percent on brokerage upgrades. Miner Anglo American rose over 2 percent, Antofagasta added 1 percent and Glencore gained 1.4 percent after a massive cash injection into financial markets by the Chinese central bank. Travel stocks continue to retreat after the United Kingdom added France and other countries to its quarantine list last week. IAG fell over 3 percent and TUI slumped 4.3 percent. Petropavlovsk surged 5.2 percent after the gold mining company announced the appointment of Maksim Meshcheriakov as Interim Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect. Cranswick shares jumped 5.7 percent. The food producer said that trading for the first quarter of the financial year has been strong and it expects retail volumes to begin to normalize through the remainder of the year. 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. Microsoft Weighs Buying TikToks U.K. Services Too, Reports By Bloomberg / Aug 17, 2020 11:48 AM / World Microsoft Corp. is interested in buying the popular music video app TikToks U.K. operations, expanding beyond the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand units that are already under discussion, Fox Business Network reported, citing a banker it didnt identify. Its unclear whether TikToks Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd. wants to sell the U.K. unit and if a formal offer for U.K. unit will be made, the banker with knowledge of the deal told the network. The U.K. government said in early August that it has no plans to block the ByteDance platform in the country. TikTok is sitting on a plan to move its headquarters from the U.S. to London as it waits for a public statement of support from the British government, the South China Morning Post reported last week, citing sources familiar with the situation. President Donald Trump on Friday formally ordered the Chinese owner of TikTok to sell its U.S. assets. Microsoft has been in talks with ByteDance to buy TikToks operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand with a Sept. 15 deadline for a deal. TikTok didnt offer a comment on the report, Fox Business News said. MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday he would volunteer to be among the first to try a Russian vaccine for the novel coronavirus if it proved effective. Moscow's decision to approve the vaccine and produce https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-russia-vaccine/update-1-russia-produces-first-batch-of-covid-19-vaccine-interfax-idUSL8N2FH09J the first batches after less than two months of human testing has raised concerns among some scientists considering only about 10% of clinical trials are successful. Some scientists have said they fear Russia may be putting prestige before safety. "I'd be the first to be vaccinated," Lopez Obrador said at his regular morning news conference. Meanwhile, the global vaccine race continues. The governments of Mexico and Argentina have partnered with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc to produce a vaccine. Martha Delgado, a Mexican deputy foreign minister, said the country will need up to 200 million vaccine doses and that if so-called Phase III trials conclude successfully, the first could be available by April next year. Mexico's government has so far reported a total of 522,162 confirmed coronavirus cases and 56,757 deaths. (Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher and Ana Isabel Martinez; editing by Grant McCool) Punjab Vidhan Sabha Chandigarh: The Punjab Vidhan Sabha will convene on August 28 for a one-day constitutionally mandated session, for the first time since the Covid pandemic broke out. The go-ahead for the session came on Monday during a video conference (VC) meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Advertisement Captain Amarinder Singh The Cabinet noted the Constitutional requirement to hold a session within 6 months of the previous session and decided on a day-long session within two sittings on August 28, to be followed by a regular/longish session later, when the Covid situation improves. With the Cabinet decision, the Punjab Governor has been authorized to convene the 12th Session of 15th Punjab Vidhan Sabha, as per clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India. Advertisement The session has been scheduled to open with obituary references, after which it will adjourn for a while and reconvene for the next sitting, during which legislative business will be conducted. It may be recalled that the 11th session of the 15th Punjab Vidhan Sabha concluded on March 4, 2020. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh at Punjab Vidhan Sabha Advertisement As per clause (1) of Article 174 of the Constitution of India, the Governor is authorized to summon the State Legislature to meet at such time and place, as he thinks fit. Six months shall not intervene between its last sitting in one session and the date appointed for its first sitting in the next session. Therefore, the 12th Session of 15th Punjab Vidhan Sabha is to be summoned before September 4, 2020. According to the Rules of Business of Punjab Government, 1992, the approval of Council of Ministers is necessary for summoning of the session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha. A Russian military train carrying the PLAs tanks and equipment arrives at the Alabino training field. By Lai Yuhong, Tian Dingyu and Pan Zhen MOSCOW, Aug. 17 -- On August 14, a military train carrying equipment, materials and personnel of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) for the "Tank Biathlon" competition of the International Army Games 2020 (IAG) entered the Alabino training field in the Moscow region. The Russian side held a welcome ceremony for the Chinese PLA. So far, all Chinas participating equipment including tanks, wheeled vehicles, ammunition supplies and maintenance equipment have arrived at the relevant competition venue. Next, the Chinese participating teams will conduct preparatory work including site surveys, weapon calibration, competition draws, on-site vehicle training, etc. The "Tank Biathlon" competition focuses on testing the overall performance of tank equipment such as cross-country marching and shooting, which requires high level capabilities of both the tank crew members and equipment under actual combat conditions. For this year, the Chinese participating troops will use Type 96B Tanks for the "Tank Biathlon" competition in line with the past few years, while the main equipment for other competitions will be provided by the Russian side. As the highlight of the IAG, the "Tank Biathlon" competition attracts many countries to participate every year, with16 teams for this year. Except for China's own Type 96B tanks and Belarus's own upgraded version of T-72 main battle tanks, all the other participating countries will use Russian-made T-72B3 tanks as their competition equipment. On Saturday 8 August, Donald Trump signed an executive order to extend the unemployment benefit bonus aimed at supporting struggling individuals and families amid the coronavirus crisis. His decision to take executive action came after Congress failed to agree on a new economic stimulus bill on the earmarked August 7 deadline a bill that is expected to cover extended unemployment benefits that were approved under the CARES Act in March. While the previous benefit under CARES Act, which expired at the end of July, was valued at $600, the extended benefit signed by Trump will see individuals receive up to $400. The federal government will pay $300 of that figure, while states are expected to cover the remaining $100. Though it remains to be seen how many states will be willing to pay the extra $100. Ohios Republican Gov. Mike DeWine was the first governor to state last week that his administration would accept the federal government's $300 per week enhanced unemployment benefits but would not top it up with the additional $100. As such, Ohioans would receive a bonus unemployment payment valued at $300, not $400. Several other states are also expected to only offer the $300 from the federal government. Full screen US President Donald Trump signs executive orders extending coronavirus economic relief, during a news conference in Bedminster, New Jersey, on August 8, 2020. / JIM WATSON (AFP) Why has South Dakota rejected the $300 benefit? But South Dakota has become the first state to take the unusual step of rejecting outright Donald Trumps offer of $300 per qualifying individual. According to South Dakotas Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, who has been a vocal ally of the White House, the additional funds are not needed because many workers in the state are returning to work as the South Dakotan economy continues to rebound following the fallout from the pandemic. My administration is very grateful for the additional flexibility that this effort would have provided, but South Dakota is in the fortunate position of not needing to accept it, Gov. Noem said in a statement. South Dakotas economy, having never been shut down, has recovered nearly 80% of our job losses. South Dakota is the only state in the nation that didnt have extended benefits kick in because our insured unemployment rate has been the lowest in the nation. The states Department of Labor and Regulation reported last Thursday that unemployment claims had increased slightly to 911 claims, up from 775 the week prior, according to CBS Sioux Falls affiliate KELO. 33,000 South Dakotans benefitted from extra unemployment benefits Some 33,000 South Dakotans benefitted from the extra unemployment funds that were approved in March under the CARES Act according to Forbes. Gov. Noems decision to turn down the extra help from the federal government through the extended benefit scheme will likely come as an unwelcome shock to many of those who are still unemployed in the state. If youre an unemployed person in South Dakota, its not going to matter to you there arent a lot of unemployed people, tweeted Michele Evermore of the National Employment Law Center (via Forbes). Live coverage of the coronavirus crisis You can follow live, US-focused coverage of the coronavirus crisis with our dedicated live blog. nicoolay/iStockBy MEGAN STONE, ABC News (NEW YORK) -- Ireland Baldwin is grateful to be alive as she reflects on a major health milestone. Six years ago, she officially overcame a series of severe eating disorders. Baldwin, the daughter of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, opened up Saturday about the exciting news she received "from my old program yesterday," which marked her sixth anniversary since beating her eating disorders. Understandably, she was all smiles as she celebrated the major milestone. "Today marks six years that I have been free of anorexia and bulimia and all of my other food compulsion and eating disorders that I have struggled through for many years," the 24-year-old happily disclosed in a video. "And today marks six years. So, you can do it." Baldwin concluded the announcement by blowing a sweet kiss at the camera. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, or worried about a friend or loved one, call or text the National Eating Disorders Association at 1-800-931-2237 for confidential emotional support. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. When Dr. Michael Rennie began researching microplastics in Lake Winnipeg back in 2014, he was surprised to find levels that were comparable to those in some of the Great Lakes. More recently, Dr. Rennie has been conducting research on microplastics at the Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) in northwestern Ontario and last year did background sampling on several ELA lakes, finding evidence of microplastics even in that very remote area. Plastic production and the use of plastic has been increasing since the 1950s and plastic waste has become an important environmental issue. A 2020 report estimated that one per cent of plastic waste enters the environment in Canada, which accounted for 29,000 tonnes of plastic pollution in 2016. Microplastics have been found in the Great Lakes on shorelines and in surface water and lake floor sediments, said Samantha Bayard, spokesperson for Environment and Climate Change Canada. Overall, plastic pollution negatively impacts ecosystems, entangles or is ingested by wildlife and burdens livelihoods including industries such as tourism and fisheries and communities responsible for managing the pollution. More research is needed to determine the effects of plastic pollution, including microplastics, in the Great Lakes. Dr. Rennie agrees. While there is considerable research into the effects of microplastics on the marine environment and there are insights to be gained by looking at the marine literature but more needs to be done specific to freshwater, he said. There are qualities to freshwater that make these investigations a little more relevant. This is where we get our drinking water from and often where our wastewater is received, particularly in Canadas inland regions, so understanding the impact of microplastics in freshwater is potentially more relevant in understanding the decisions we make and the policies we make in terms of impact on the ecosystems and how they affect us ultimately. Dr. Rennie, along with Chelsea Rochman from the Rochman Lab at the University of Toronto and Diane Orehil from Queens University, are two years into a microplastics experiment at ELA. The main goal of the study is to help them understand at what concentrations they start seeing ecosystem level impacts. Were trying to raise those concentrations in terms of low to high and whats relevant in terms of what youd find in the environment, said Dr. Rennie. Ideally theyd use that information to guide a whole lake experiment that is scalable. Plastics can disintegrate in the sun and chemical compounds found on microplastics can leach into the water and can have potentially negative impacts on aquatic life. We dont really know what the ecological consequences of (microplastics) are. Does it just get buried in the sediment and thats it? Or are there actual measurable responses to microplastic exposure to the ecosystem and biota that are supported by the ecosystem? One of the things that ELA research has really been able to demonstrate over the years is not just the direct impacts (exposing this organism to this concentration does this) but also indirect effects so when one organism respond how does the response of that one piece of the food web affect other pieces of the food web that might not be responding directly to microplastics but might instead be responding to the loss of a species or a reduction in abundance or slower growth rates, he said. Thats where the whole ecosystem approach becomes really valuable instead of just running beaker based experiments in labs. Lisa Erdle is a PhD student at the Rochman Lab where she has been specifically looking at microplastics in fish. She was finding a lot of microfibres so her research has focused on microfibres that shed from our clothing and what their effects are to aquatic species. Rochman Lab researches plastics from polystyrene to polyethylenes, looking at its prevalence in the Great Lakes, its prevalence in drinking water and then starting to understand what the effects are to different species. Some of Ms. Erdles work involves looking at fish from Lake Ontario and Lake Huron. Microfibres that shed from clothing during laundering are a significant source to waterbodies. A 2019 report by Ocean Wise in Vancouver estimated the average Canadian household releases 533 million microfibres from laundry every year and an estimated 878 tonnes of microfibres are released to water following wastewater treatment in Canada and the United States every year. Before I started my work I had no idea that a single load of laundry could release hundreds of thousands of microfibres, said Ms. Erdle. Washing machines are set up so they we can monitor items of clothing or other garments and see how much they shed. One of our research areas is to look at solutions. We know that theres a large amount of shedding, can we capture those microfibres? The answer is yes. Different devices were tested in the lab, including the Lint LUV-R washing machine filter that captures all the effluent from your washing machine and a device called the Cora Ball. She found that the washing machine filter is very effective and captured up to 90 per cent of the microfibres in a single load of laundry while the Cora Ball captured roughly 26 per cent, often smaller fibres. Working together these two technologies can be an effective way to reduce microfibre emissions to the environment, according to the report. Thats important because most of the microfibres that leach through washing are going to end up in the environment, she said, so we are really interested in capturing them at the source. I had no idea how many microfibres are coming out of your wash before I started. I never realized that are microfibres that are kind of like the lint fibres that are captured in the dryer. There is some work that has looked at different washing machines like top loader versus front loader and there are shedding differences but its still not clear whether laundry detergents or fabric softeners make a difference. Ms. Erdle noted recent research by Procter & Gamble that shows there is a significant temperature difference so washing in cold water, washing smaller loads and shorter load cycles all contribute to less shedding of fibres. Microfibres not captured by filters are released with wash water where they are sent to wastewater treatment plants. In most treatment facilities, the fibres will get captured in the solids that are then applied as fertilizers because theyre very rich in nutrients. If the plants arent directly releasing microfibres into the environment theyre indirectly releasing them through applying the sludge on agriculture fields, Ms. Erdle said. We also do see it in the final effluent at the plant. Research on the Great Lakes shows that a single wastewater facility can release in the upwards of millions of microfibres in a single day. Millions of microfibres would fill several buckets. It doesnt sound like much but buckets add up. A 2019 report by Pollution Probe and Clean Water Foundation noted there were 1,448 water treatment facilities distributed around the Great Lakes, discharging more than 18,000 million litres of water per day. What we see from previous research is the effects on fish can be different but some research shows that these microfibres can effect things like growth, they can affect physical characteristics such as the size of the liver in relation to the rest of the body, she said. In our lab were looking at what the effects are to different Great Lake specific species. Most of the work has been done on species that are not in the Great Lakes and Ive noticed that microfibres are the most common microplastic type in the Great Lakes. Shes curious about what it means for the species that live there. The microfibres are so small and lightweight. They can be carried on air currents so they can be deposited in northern regions. You have air rising and then you have air falling in the Arctic and that air is probably carrying microfibres. She is also testing natural versus synthetic microfibres, with and without chemical contaminants and with different species of fish and invertebrates, to see what those effects are. Cotton will eventually break down in the environment but this can be influenced by things such as chemicals. Even a cotton T-shirt can contain chemicals, dyes or finishes; those chemicals might impact how natural fibres are broken down in the environment. Since natural fibres might contain one-third chemicals by weight that likely will impact how long it takes to break down. I have fish that Ive raised since eggs and were raising them for their full life cycle. Well be looking at their offspring and seeing if theres any generational effects as well, she said. The experiment will wrap up later this summer or early this fall with initial results expected in the fall. Her current work is supported by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), in collaboration with Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) and Environment Canada and Climate Change (ECCC). Canada has set a target of zero plastic waste by 2030. The plan includes working with provinces, territories and all stakeholders to implement this agenda to keep plastic in the economy and out of the environment. In addition to addressing single-use plastics, the federal government will be investing in science, innovation and community action; working with partners to improve product design so that items can be repaired, last longer and be recycled; developing markets for innovative products and those that have recycled content; and finally, making producers responsible for the waste their products generate. Actions by individuals, communities and industry can also make a big difference, said Ms. Bayard. Other initiatives supported by the federal government include the Zero Plastic Waste Initiative and the prohibition of the manufacture, import and sale of all toiletries containing plastic microbeads as of July 1, 2019. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says Ghanaians will continue to be indebted to Ghanas health workers due to their dedication to the COVID-19 fight in the country. He explained that the role played by the health workers as well as the measures outlined by the government to deal with the novel Coronavirus resulted in the drastic reduction in the number of active cases in the country. Our health workers will forever be in our debts, for the dedication they have put in to ensure these impressive statistics. We can help them even further by continuing to adhere to the social distancing and hygiene protocols we have instituted to stem the tide of infections," Akufo-Addo said during his 15th televised coronavirus broadcast to the nation. He added, I have been encouraged by the results of a recent survey conducted by the Ghana Health Service into the use of face masks at selected locations in Accra that the overall intention to use face masks at the sites surveyed was very high, with 82% of persons surveyed possessing a mask. I believe we can do even more, and reach 100%. The President continued: The same survey demonstrated that only 44% of those who have the mask use them correctly. I urge each and every one of us to wear our masks, and do so correctly anytime we leave our homes. It is the new normal requirement of our daily existence until the virus disappears. 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. Featured Video The market rebounded and recouped last week's losses with the Nifty gaining six-tenth of a percent on August 17 backed by auto, FMCG, IT, metals and private banks stocks. The Sensex closed at 38,050.78, up 173.44 points, and the Nifty climbed 68.70 points to 11,247.1. On the daily technical chart, the index has formed a Doji kind of indecisive formation, which can also be viewed as an Inside Bar due to trading inside the previous session's trading range. The bounce back after August 14 sharp downtick indicated that the market could see another bout of upside, amid volatility, in the coming session. But if the index breaks the previous week's high decisively, then there could be a sharp rally, experts told Moneycontrol . "There is a possibility of further upside in the short term, before showing any downward correction again from the new swing highs," Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said. Immediate support is placed around 11,100-11,150 and the key overhead resistance is placed at 11,350-11,380, he added. Listen: Setting Sail | Wow Momo may cut jobs in September, business still not back to pre-Covid level: Sagar Daryani Daily 14 period RSI (Relative Strength Index) is placed around 60 levels. According to this pattern, RSI turning up from 60 levels could mean further strengthening of the upside momentum in the market ahead. The broader markets too participated in today's (August 17) gains with the Nifty Midcap and Smallcap indices rising half a percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. Ajit Mishra, VP-Research at Religare Broking, advised continuing with a positive yet cautious stance and maintaining its focus on overnight risk management. We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades: Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks given in this story are the aggregates of three-month data and not of the current month only. According to pivot charts, the key support level for the Nifty is placed at 11,172.03, followed by 11,096.97. If the index moves up, the key resistance levels to watch out for are 11,294.63 and 11,342.17.The Bank Nifty closed at 21,700.80, up 21.40 points. The important pivot level, which will act as crucial support for the index, is placed at 21,432.87, followed by 21,164.93. On the upside, key resistance levels are placed at 21,939.07 and 22,177.34.Maximum Call open interest of nearly 21.38 lakh contracts was seen at 11,500 strike, which will act as crucial resistance in the August series. This is followed by 11,300, which holds 16.58 lakh contracts, and 11,400 strikes, which has accumulated 12.48 lakh contracts. Call writing was seen at 11,900, which added 2.76 lakh contracts, followed by 11,600, which added 1.18 lakh contracts, and 11,300 strikes, which added 1.02 lakh contracts. Call unwinding was seen at 11,500, which shed 1.15 lakh contracts, followed by 11,800 strikes, which shed 4,200 contracts. Maximum Put open interest of 36.76 lakh contracts was seen at 11,000 strike, which will act as crucial support in the August series. This is followed by 11,200, which holds 19.87 lakh contracts, and 11,100 strikes, which has accumulated 16.93 lakh contracts. Put writing was seen at 11,200, which added 4.62 lakh contracts, followed by 11,000, which added 3.01 lakh contracts, and 10,700 strikes, which added 1.99 lakh contracts. Put unwinding was witnessed at 10,500, which shed 1.48 lakh contracts, followed by 10,600 strikes, which shed 27,825 contracts. A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in these stocks. Based on the open interest future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which long unwinding was seen. An increase in open interest, along with a decrease in price, mostly indicates a build-up of short positions. Based on the open interest future percentage, here are the top 10 stocks in which short build-up was seen. A decrease in open interest, along with an increase in price, mostly indicates a short-covering. : L&T Finance sold 1,13,06,222 shares in company at Rs 13.94 per share on the NSE and 4,12,93,778 shares at Rs 13.97 per share on the BSE. Singularity Holdings acquired 35 lakh shares in company at Rs 13.95 per share on the NSE and Blue Diamond Properties bought 4,12,93,778 shares at Rs 13.97 per share on the BSE. Rushil Decor: Aspire Emerging Fund sold 75,000 shares in company at Rs 105 per share. Supreme Engineering: Sanjay R Chowdhari offloaded 2.4 lakh shares in company at Rs 16.53 per share. McLeod Russel India: IndusInd Bank sold 22 lakh shares in the company at Rs 17.78 per share and Manju Gaggar sold 9 lakh shares at the same price, whereas Niraj Rajnikant Shah acquired 12,12,620 shares at same price. Satin Creditcare RE: Trishashna Holdings & Investments bought 1,90,842 Rights Entitlement shares in company at Rs 20.15 per share. Linkage Securities net sold 1,47,800 RE shares at Rs 20.2 per share. (For more bulk deals, click here) Hindustan Aeronautics, Gujarat Industries Power, GTL Infrastructure, Indo Count Industries, KNR Constructions, SPML Infra, TCNS Clothing, Uflex, Vascon Engineers, etc will announce their quarterly earnings on August 18.: RBI lifted regulatory restrictions on the remuneration of the bank's Managing Director and CEO. With this, all the regulatory restrictions imposed by the central bank are now withdrawn. Paisalo Digital will consider raising funds through various options, including issue of debt securities by private placement basis, in August and/or September. Jump Networks will grow its proprietary blockchain platform across India by partnering and investing with MOS Utility. Partnership is expected to generate a revenue of over Rs 1,000 crore in the next 12 months. Bharti Airtel: Commercial papers issued on May 18 have been paid by the company on August 17 (on the maturity date). Orient Paper & Industries: Q1 loss at Rs 17.4 crore versus a profit Rs 8.02 crore, revenue at Rs 80.6 crore versus Rs 149.76 crore YoY. Emami: Promoters Diwakar Viniyog Pvt, Suraj Viniyog Pvt and Bhanu Vyapaar Pvt released 40,100 pledged shares. Ajanta Pharma: Promoter Ravi Agrawal and Trustee Ravi Agrawal Trust released 10.5 lakh pledged shares. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 332.9 crore whereas domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth Rs 717.62 crore in the Indian equity market on August 17, as per provisional data available on the NSE.Eleven stocks -- Ashok Leyland, Aurobindo Pharma, Bata India, Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Vodafone Idea, Manappuram Finance, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Jindal Steel, Sun TV Network and Vedanta -- are under the F&O ban for August 18.Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit. A post-lockdown baby boom is expected early next year with the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) anticipating a 10pc increase in births. With couples spending more time at home together, and some women feeling more relaxed about daily life, the birth rate was tipped to rise. But now the director of midwifery and nursing at Holles Street has confirmed there is an increase in the number of women booking pregnancies with the hospital. It is about four months since the country was in its strictest lockdown and Mary Brosnan said it was still too early to see an exact trend. She told the Irish Independent she believed lockdown had helped people to "appreciate the more important things in life" - and it also appears to have led to an increase in pregnancies based on figures the hospital is seeing. Read More "If we compare last January to next January, I'd say we're up 10pc in bookings," Ms Brosnan said. "We don't have the full picture yet, we will start to see the numbers very clearly by September, but from what I can see already we're definitely up." Women who became pregnant at the start of lockdown will now be around 19 and 20 weeks pregnant. Ms Brosnan said that out of well over 3,000 women who passed through the hospital in the past five months, only 28 had tested positive for Covid-19. The NMH said women had reported being better able to rest during early pregnancy thanks to not having to commute and being able to work from home. This was a factor cited by Rosanna Davison, who is expecting twins after previously suffering 14 miscarriages. Ms Brosnan said: "Women are more rested and looking after themselves better, and being more conscious of their close contacts in pregnancy. Our overall numbers of women affected by Covid-19 has been very small. We would have between 650 and 700 births a month. "Since Covid-19 started, we've had a total of 28 women who had Covid-19 which is very, very small and we haven't had a case since the middle of April." Babies born in lockdown have also fared better, Ms Brosnan said. Because no visitors are allowed, new mothers are able to spend more time bonding with their baby and learning how to breastfeed. "When they're on the wards for that short period, their time is very much focused on themselves and their baby and not having to worry about extended family visiting or other children being there," she said. Like all maternity hospitals, Holles Street has had to impose some restrictions during lockdown. Ms Brosnan said people had been "incredibly understanding" about that. Since the start of lockdown, the NMH has not been allowing partners to attend 12-week or 20-week scans. Ms Brosnan said it was unlikely the NMH would be able to lift those restrictions on partners before the end of this year. "We are worrying about that. It's literally because of the space in the small clinics and waiting rooms," Ms Brosnan said. "Obviously if there is an emergency or something that requires bad news to be delivered, we will allow a partner to be in there. But for routine scanning and antenatal appointments, unfortunately not." She added that new fathers had been some of the "hidden heroes" of the pandemic in maternity hospitals. "I do think that the fathers and partners of women really did take the brunt of a lot of the anxiety during Covid-19," she said. "Being asked to sit outside on the street was really, really tough for them. But nobody complained, because they all understood." When Connecticuts final tally for this weird primary election is done in the next day or so, we will see that voters never used about one-third of all absentee ballots issued. In all, the unreturned ballots will total about 100,000, out of about 300,000 issued, if my estimates are correct. That says a lot about elections in the coronavirus era. It also says something about how Connecticuts hurried mail-in vote operation unfolded and how state and local election folks need to scramble to get ready for Election Day in less than 12 weeks. With these unreturned ballots, were talking about actual voting documents assigned to specific people the live bullets of democracy not just ballot applications. Theres no way to put the unused ballot number in perspective for Connecticut because weve never had an election with most voters mailing in or dropping off a ballot, rather than showing up at the polls. A typical absentee count would be around 7 percent compared with an overall 59 percent absentee in Tuesdays primary. By party, with the votes still being recorded Sunday afternoon, Democrats were at 64 percent absentee and Republicans much lower, at 42 percent. The overall average was closer to the Democrats total because almost three times as many Democrats voted as Republicans. Assessing the balloting The immediate question is, how did we do? Connecticut fared OK thanks to a lot of scrambling by state and local elections officials and U.S. Postal Service workers. But with Presidential election Nov. 3 that will probably see 1 million absentee ballots in Connecticut, well definitely need to up our game. Thats especially true since we have a United States president using the mail service as a cudgel against Democrats his admission, not my accusation in a desperate attempt to suppress voting. Many town clerks and registrars, as well as some Republican critics, say the ballot operations didnt run nearly as smoothly as they should have. When I told Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano about the estimated 100,000 unused ballots, he said slow delivery of ballots marred the primary. It speaks to the catastrophe that the secretary of the state brought on Connecticut, said Fasano a North Haven Republican. His argument: Many of the 300,000 voters who requested absentee ballots received them too late to use, especially if they were leaving on vacation through the primary. Thats an unfair charge, the office of Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said, because the whole system didnt start until May 20, when Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order allowing any voter to cast an absentee ballot without the excuse of being out of town or disabled. We got hundreds of thousands of people the ability to voteand we built the airplane while we were flying it, said Gabe Rosenberg, spokesman for Merrill. Were there hiccups? Sure, but Connecticut has never had an election like that. Amazing numbers Under Merrill, the state sent out absentee ballot applications to all registered Republicans and Democrats, 1.2 million in all. A vendor for the state, Cathedral Corp. in Rhode Island, mailed out 267,000 ballots. Another 20,000 that were requested before July 24 were temporarily caught in limbo due to a mixup between the state and municipal officials. And requests filled by cities and towns directly probably pushed the number over 300,000 by Aug. 10, the day before the primary. How many came back to towns? As of Sunday, 188,165 were recorded in the two parties about 152,000 from Democrats. That number includes 3,300 that were rejected either because they came in too late or voters forgot to sign the envelopes. The likely totals after all votes are recorded in the central reporting system on Merrills website bring absentees to 205,000, maybe a bit higher, by my projections. Thats exactly 10 times the number of absentees in the last statewide primary in 2018 when significantly more people voted than in Tuesdays election. And that means 100,000 never made the round trip back to city and town halls with the sacred oval marks of freedom. Some of those voters decided to cast ballots in person. Some never got around to mailing in their picks. Some decided not to bother in a presidential primary that didnt matter in the big picture as Connecticut became the last state to allocate delegates for President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. Republicans levy charges of potential fraud in expanded balloting. Yes, the potential is greater as those 100,000 unused ballots makes clear. Some of those people might be registered in other states and slipped through the cracks. Vigilance is crucial and all polling places should check off voters on electronic databases in addition to paper lists, starting in 2022. But actual, documented instances of fraud are about as common as two-headed giraffes and the benefits of absentee balloting are obvious. Scaling up for November Merrills office will send out ballot applications next month for the Nov. 3 election to all 2.1 million registered voters, including unaffiliated and minor party members. If the same patterns were seeing in Connecticut and other states hold up and they will we could see more than 1 million requests for ballots. Thats going to take stepped up communications between Merrills office and town clerks, who send out and receive the ballots, and registrars, who count them. This time around, said Lyda Ruijter, the outspoken Stamford city and town clerk, there were quite a few bumps in the system. That included a voter tracking computer system that was old to begin with, which had bugs in the massive ballot operation. And it included communications issues and cultural issues between the different offices. The secretary of the states office did not understand how operations in the town clerks offices worked and they did not allocate enough resources for the software to get the bugs out, said Ruijter, who resigned in protest in June but agreed to rescind that move. But she added, We did it. My staff just rose to the occasion and, man, did we work hard. Rosenberg, in Merrills office, said tremendous obstacles made the task brutally hard to coordinate. We designed this entire process when there wasnt a single town clerks office in the state open, he said, adding, the drop boxes were a godsend when the postal service went down. He was referring to the mail-type boxes Merrill had made and installed in towns, for voters to drop off ballots. The mail slowdown was due to Tropical Storm Isaias and Trumps slowdown. In the end, Rosenberg said, there were very few complaints from voters who didnt receive ballots in time to vote. Now the job is something that has tripped up human endeavors forever, from war to consumer goods marketing: Scaling up. In that, the Aug. 11 dress rehearsal was both a victory and a warning. dhaar@hearstmediact.com A heartbreaking plea from a boy who has been in foster care for six years has inspired thousands of adoption requests. Nine-year-old Jordan has been in care of the Department of Human Services in Oklahoma since 2014. In an emotional video for KFOR, he said if he was granted three wishes they would all be for a family. Last year his younger brother Braison was adopted, leaving him alone. Jordan said he wanted to be adopted so he could have "people to talk to". Jordan's younger brother, Braison, left, was adopted last year / KFOR In 12 hours after the video was broadcast, more than 5,000 people have asked about adopting him. People have made the requests from across the US, with people messaging in Florida and Illinois. In the video, Jordan told KFOR he wants a "mom and dad. Or just a mom. Or a dad - I don't really care." He added: "The reason its important is because so I could have some people to talk to anytime I need to. I hope one of yall pick me." Oklahoma's care department has had to introduce an overtime schedule to cope with the amount of requests. Christopher Marlow, who is reviewing profiles for potential matches for the nine-year-old, said that Jordan has been moved around to multiple foster homes since 2014. He said that Jordan has "been through a whole lot compared to most of our kids", adding that he is "really excited about this". A worker prepares packages for delivery at an Amazon warehouse in Brieselang, Germany. Amazon is being investigated by German authorities for allegedly abusing its market position during the coronavirus pandemic. The investigation, being led by the German Federal Cartel Office, is looking at Amazon's relationship with third-party sellers on its platform. It began around April and comes after the Cartel Office received a number of complaints. A spokesperson for the regulator told CNBC that it is "not up to a private platform to be a price regulator or the price police." Amazon is using "unknown mechanisms" to regulate sellers on its platform, they added. Amazon did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment but on March 23 Amazon said in a blog post that price gouging had "no place" on its platform. German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung was the first to report the investigation. "We are currently investigating whether and how Amazon influences retailers' pricing on the marketplace," Cartel Office president Andreas Mundt told Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview. The regulator told CNBC that Amazon had provided it with a statement after it asked the e-commerce giant a number of questions. The responses in the statement are now being considered. Germany is Amazon's second-largest market after the U.S. The Cartel Office, which has the power to fine companies hundreds of millions of euros, declined to comment on how long the probe will take. Pupils at Methodist College in Belfast - one of Northern Ireland's largest grammar schools - will be "strongly encouraged" to wear face coverings when they return to class. According to Methody's "return to school protocol", staff will also be provided with visors to wear on the school premises. Read More "Where practicable, face coverings must be worn in staff rooms and during adult to adult meetings lasting more than 15 minutes and by adults visiting the school site," the protocol adds. "Pupils in all year groups are strongly encouraged to wear a mask when indoors (school buildings, school transport etc) where it is safe and practicable to do so. "Face coverings are strongly encouraged for activities that entail large numbers of staff or pupils within an enclosed space where social distancing is not possible." It comes after Belfast Royal Academy (BRA) announced face coverings will be mandatory for pupils and staff when they return in the coming weeks. BRA principal Hilary Woods said the decision was made to ensure the safe reopening of the school. "We want the full education of the pupils to be our priority and we don't want anything to jeopardise that," she told the BBC. "We are a large school, we have over 1,400 pupils, 200 staff and due the nature of our site, it is impossible to maintain social distancing at the recommended one metre. "Therefore, in order to safeguard all members of the community and particularly our vulnerable pupils and members of staff we felt this was sensible advice." Meanwhile, Education Minister Peter Weir published guidance last week on how schools should prepare for the new school day. 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 The guidance, however, has been branded as "unrealistic and unfair" by Northern Ireland's largest teaching union. The NASUWT voiced concerns that schools have not been given enough time to prepare and the guidance will increase workloads for teachers. NASUWT General Secretary Dr Patrick Roach said: 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. Collaborate on a Grant Application Leadership and Senior Scientists in the AAFP NRN are open to discussing potential research ideas and may be able to assist in identifying potential funding opportunities. There are on-going opportunities to serve as a Co-Investigator, consultant, or content expert on research proposals. Be a peer reviewer on AAFP NRN research proposals. Co-author journal articles Attend and present at conferences as a part of the research team You can contact Brian Manning at bmanning@aafp.org for more information. Funding an AAFP NRN Study The NRN receives funding from government agencies such as the Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research (AHRQ), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as various pharmaceutical companies and private foundations. If youre interested in funding a research study please contact the AAFP Foundation at 800-274-2237, ext. 4454 or visit their website, www.aafpfoundation.org. Apply to Become an Advisory Group Member For all roles (with the exclusion of liaisons, student, residents, and fellows) this is a two-year term with the chance to renew for one additional two-year term. Advisory Group members may be asked to advise the Network Director in matters pertaining to the strategic plan, research agenda, and engagement of new and established members of the AAFP NRN. This group meets once in-person and 2-3 times by conference call on an annual basis. If you are interested in applying for either the Patient or Patient Advocate Member Role, please download the Patient Member document or the Patient Advocate document. See a list of current members here. Affiliated PBRNs The AAFP NRN is affiliated with numerous regional practice-based research networks through formal agreements to join forces and pool collective resources to collaborate on research for the best possible outcomes. The AAFP NRN is open to continued affiliation with additional PBRNs in order to facilitate knowledge sharing in the areas of research methodology and biostatistics; facilitate resource sharing in the area of information technology, network management, and communication; and increase the diversity of the population of patients cared for by the combined network members. We encourage all AAFP NRN members to also explore membership in their regional PBRN. Affiliated Regional Networks. The AAFP NRN currently has signed affiliation agreements with the following regional practice-based research networks: Oklahoma Physicians Resource/Research Network(www.okprn.org) -- Oklahoma City, OK Kentucky Ambulatory Network, University of Kentucky(www.mc.uky.edu) (KAN) -- Lexington, KY BIGHORN Research Network(www.ucdenver.edu) -- Aurora, CO Colorado Research Network(www.ucdenver.edu) (CaReNet) -- Aurora, CO High Plains Research Network(www.ucdenver.edu) (HPRN) -- Aurora, CO Southern Primary Care Urban Research Network(www.spurnetwork.org) (SPUR-NET) -- Houston, TX USC Department of Family Medicine PBRN(www.lanetpbrn.net) (LANet) -- Alhambra, CA Upstate New York Practice Based Research Network(fammed.buffalo.edu) (UNYNet) -- Buffalo, NY Virginia Ambulatory Care Outcomes Research Network(www.familymedicine.vcu.edu) (ACORN) -- Richmond, VA Residency Research Network of South Texas(familymed.uthscsa.edu) (RRNet) -- San Antonio, TX New Jersey Primary Care Research Network(rwjms.umdnj.edu) (NJPCRN) -- New Brunswick, NJ Connecticut Center for Primary Care(www.centerforprimarycare.org) -- Farmington, CT UAB Dental Practice Based Research Network(www.dental.uab.edu) -- Birmingham, AL South Texas Ambulatory Research Network(familymed.uthscsa.edu) (STARTNet) -- San Antonio, TX Free Clinic Research and Educational Engagement Network(pbrn.ahrq.gov) (FreeNet) -- Tampa, FL Capital Adirondack Practice-based Research Network, Cap-Ad (Latham, NY) Arkansas Practice-Based Research Network (ArkPBRN), Little Rock, AR Soluna Health, Inc and Mobile Medical Team International Network (MMTI), Sausalito, CA You can e-mail us at nrn@aafp.org for more information. Watch out gasoline, a new generation of batteries is in the rearview mirror and catching up fast. On the inside track is Toyota with a new sulfide-based chemistry. In the middle of the pack are Volkswagen, with a 5 percent stake in Quantumscape; BMWs partnership with Solid Power; and Hyundais work with Ionic Materials. Oil giant BP recently bought an advanced battery company too. Coming up on the outside is HydroQuebec, which licensed a lithium-based innovation from University of Texas professor John Goodenough, whose work I wrote about in 2017. He won last years Nobel Prize for inventing the ubiquitous lithium-ion battery we all use today. These new batteries have one thing in common: a solid-state electrolyte. They will change the world forever when they begin entering the commercial market in 2023. TOMLINSONS TAKE: A decade after Deepwater Horizon, time to end Gulf of Mexico drilling To understand the coming revolution, a quick refresher on batteries. They have three basic components: an anode, from which ions flow through an electrolyte to a cathode. With very few exceptions, the electrolyte has usually been a flammable, corrosive liquid or paste and the ingredient that most limits a batterys effectiveness and lifespan. Liquid electrolytes are why batteries cannot charge faster, hold more energy, or last longer. Researchers have spent decades trying to develop a solid material that allows ions to flow fast enough to be a useful electrolyte. Goodenough made a breakthrough working with a professor of engineering at the University of Porto in Portugal, Maria Helena Braga. She developed a glass filled with alkali metals that worked in the lab as an electrolyte. Their prototype holds three times more energy, charges in minutes rather than hours, works in hot and cold weather, can survive more than 1,500 charging cycles and poses no fire hazard. With a solid-state battery, charging my Chevy Bolt up to a 230-mile range at home would no longer take six hours. Instead, I could conceivably add 750 miles in 30 minutes at a commercial charging station. Braga and Goodenough are not alone. A variety of other researchers and companies, large and small, have announced they, too, have a solid electrolyte. There are nine different materials under development, according to a new report by IDTechEx, an industry research and consulting firm. For example, Toyota and the Tokyo Institute of Technology report their sulfide-based material has double the ionic conductivity of a liquid electrolyte, making their solid-state electrolyte appealing for high power applications, IDTechEx said. The race is on to see who can commercialize their invention first, and which will work best under real-world conditions. Most companies are focused on supplying electric vehicle manufacturers, and a Taiwanese company says it will have a solid-state battery in cars by 2022, IDTechEx added. Solid-state batteries could be available in Europe, Japan and the United States by 2025. Not surprisingly, thats the same year the worlds biggest automakers plan to launch an array of new electric models. By 2030, more than 245 million electric vehicles will be on the worlds roads, the International Energy Agency predicts, and IDTechEx estimates the solid-state battery market will total more than $6 billion a year. Solid-state batteries also help explain investor enthusiasm around Tesla and new electric vehicle companies, including Rivian, Fisker, Karma Automotive and Nikola Motors. Most of these companies are building factories from scratch and will begin reaching their full potential around 2025. TOMLINSONS TAKE: General Motors CEO betting on ACES, a new vision for transportation Old-school automakers are excited about new battery technologies. General Motors has recently unveiled the Cadillac Lyriq and has plans for 23 more all-electric models. Since solid-state batteries can adopt almost any form factor, they are easy to drop into existing designs. Lastly, consumers and investors should not overlook the considerable strides in charging technology, where the car cycles the flow of electricity for faster charging without overheating. Other companies are promoting wireless charging stations, light pole plug-ins, and longitudinal metal strips embedded in highways that can charge a car as it drives over them. Frequent readers will know I like my 2017 Chevy Bolt. For 51 weeks out of the year, it meets the needs of my wife and me, and for the other week, when we go on a road trip, we rent a car. I dont imagine a world without internal combustion engines, but there will be far fewer. Most importantly, I enjoy paying the equivalent of $1.06 a gallon for gasoline, and I charge at night when the wind provides most of the states electricity. As will most consumers once these batteries hit the market. Many technologies will revolutionize personal transportation in the decade ahead, electrification will likely be the biggest, and Texans should prepare. Tomlinson writes commentary about business, economics and policy. twitter.com/cltomlinson chris.tomlinson@chron.com Its Monday. Aug. 17, and Politics and Policy in the Sunshine State is back just in time for another topsy-turvy week. Florida holds its general election primary Tuesday, and the national political parties Monday night begin the first-ever virtual political conventions. Lets not forget, the U.S. economy remains in tatters because of the coronavirus. Congressional action regarding a second economic relief package remains stalled and, we learned last week, the impact the pandemic is having on Floridas budget is historic: Over the next two years, there will be $5.4 billion less revenue than expected by economists in January. Because the $92.2 billion budget was built on the pre-pandemic forecast, Floridas budget is operating in a deficit. WHAT WERE TALKING ABOUT Upside down: It seems perfectly fitting then that the gyrations of 2020 have spun the political wheel in Florida to an unfamiliar place. As Herald reporters David Smiley and Doug Hanks explain, Miami-Dade Countys previously established voting patterns are all out of whack as turnout trends among Democrats and Republicans have flip-flopped from just four years ago. Democrats, for example, have built a 15-point early voting advantage. Republicans, who once dominated mail ballots, had cast more ballots in-person than Democrats heading into Sunday, and Democrats, who previously favored early voting, are voting by mail now in unprecedented numbers. Dynasties and feuds: Then there are the stories that explain why we love Miami politics the dynasties and the very complicated internecine feuds. Families that for decades have sought and held office have returned to the ballot, either attempting to win back power from voter-imposed exile or trying to expand their influence. Heres the must-read on the the primary for Miami-Dade County mayor from Doug Hanks, featuring lots of detail on candidates Steve Bovo, Daniella Levine Cava, Alex Penelas and Xavier Suarez, the county commissioner who wants to become a mayor again more than three decades after first serving as mayor of the City of Miami, and whose campaign heavily features his son, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Story continues The story is also about money. The race for county mayor so far has been a $13 million fight with mega donations from the countys top billionaires. Fried featured: Just when we thought Democrats were freezing Florida from the national convention, the nations most important swing state in the presidential election, the Democratic National Committee announced Sunday that Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried had earned a speaking spot on the second night of the convention. Fried will join 16 other Democratic rising stars to deliver a joint keynote address Tuesday under the theme Leadership Matters. Tricks: And it wouldnt be a proper campaign season without the tricks and dirty tricks. A mysterious robocall emerged last week falsely claiming that Barack Obama was endorsing Senate District 35 candidate Daphne Campbell in the August 18 primary election. Dirty tricks: And after the Miami Herald wrote about state Rep. Shevrin Jones being turned away from donating plasma, a text message was sent to voters across his district attacking Jones, one of Floridas few openly gay members of the state House. Kamala connections: Kamala Harris, the U.S. senator picked last week by Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to be his running mate, drew praise from Floridas Black community, particularly among the large, growing and influential Caribbean community. Harris, whose mother is from India and father from Jamaica, also announced that her chief of staff is Karine Jean-Pierre, a well-known Haitian-American political organizer. A poll worker deposits a ballot after collecting from a citizen during the early voting for primary election at Miami Lakes Community Center located at 15151 Montrose Rd. in Hialeah on Thursday, August 13, 2020. WHAT WERE WATCHING Coronovirus calculations: As of Sunday, Floridas average daily positive test rate for COVID-19 in the last seven days was 9.1, down from 9.7 from the previous week but still a dangerous sign that the virus remains widespread in Florida. The data around COVID-19 has been politicized in many ways, but there are some incontrovertible facts: COVID-19 has sickened Floridians of every age group, race and region. Do try this: Want to know how people like you have been affected by the coronavirus in Florida? The Miami Herald has created this interactive tool you can customize to see how the virus has affected people who match your demographic stats. School mediation: Those numbers, and the fears from teachers, prompted a Leon County circuit court judge on Friday to deny the states motion to dismiss the Florida Education Associations lawsuit challenging a state order requiring schools to open with in-person instruction five days a week this fall. In another unprecedented move, the judge ordered mediation next week as schools across the state continue to reopen. Mailed ballot snags: Florida is now among 45 states the U.S. Postal Service has warned that its state deadlines for requesting mail ballots are too close to Election Day and may lead to mail ballots not being counted in the Nov. 3 presidential election. The Postal Service recommended mail-in ballots be sent back no later than Tuesday, Oct. 27, a week before Election Day, even though people can request mail-in ballots until Oct. 24. If making sure all votes are counted is the goal, Gov. Ron DeSantis could use his executive powers to change the deadlines, as former Gov. Charlie Crist did in 2008, but will he? Deficit denial: As if you needed any more proof that this is an election year, Florida legislators who have the sole authority to craft the states spending and revise and reconfigure it to meet the new normal have decided they will not be returning to address the states response to the budget crisis, or as weve written, the pandemic. If the election depends on the economy then how can you fix the economy if you havent fixed the coronavirus? Perhaps you just try to tell the story with a solitary focus on the incremental signs of improvement and hope people consider that enough? How big is Floridas deficit? It depends on how you parse it. The state was already $1.9 billion short for the budget year that ended June 30. Forecasters said Friday the current revenue picture will create another $3.4 billion shortfall and, if nothing is done, the shortfall next year will increase another $2 billion from the January 2020 expectations. Federal unemployment assist? If you accept the fact that the economy will need another federal boost, you can see why both Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Florida were encouraging DeSantis to become the first governor to sign President Donald Trumps controversial executive order extending unemployment benefits by $400 per week. Floridas unemployment benefits are so low just $275 per week legislators said, DeSantis was compelled to take it. But DeSantis rejected the suggestion, saying instead that borrowing money from the federal Department of Labor would be a more viable way to increase unemployment benefits by $400 a week than Trumps idea. How Tallahassee turns, part 1: Despite all the talk of historic change and unprecedented policies, we saw signs that much about Floridas state Capitol remains the same. State Rep. Jamie Grant, a Tampa-area Republican who sponsored legislation last year that rewrote the terms and conditions of the states chief information officer, resigned from his legislative post last week and did something not entirely unheard of: he took the job he had crafted. The legislation he authored changed the qualifications for the chief information officer, eliminating a requirement that the applicant be a proven, effective administrator who must have at least 10 years of executive-level experience in the public or private sector. Grant, who otherwise would not have qualified, called any suggestion that he created the job for himself a cheap political shot. How Tallahassee turns, part 2: Days after applying to the Florida Public Service Commission, state Rep. Mike La Rosa gave $50,000 to the Florida Republican Senatorial Committee. Why does this matter? La Rosa was one of four finalists sent to the governor last week to fill a seat on the powerful utility board. The chair of the Public Service Commission Nominating Council is Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican, and, if appointed by the governor to the post, La Rosa would have to be confirmed by the Senate. How Tallahassee turns, part 3: Deloitte Consulting, the company awarded a potential $135 million state contract, doesnt appear to have been penalized for its past work building Floridas dysfunctional CONNECT unemployment benefits system. Neither a negative recommendation by the states unemployment agency nor $8 million in penalties appears to have counted against Deloitte Consulting before it was selected for the new contract for the job of overhauling the states Medicaid data. Stay safe all and remember, the Miami Herald and McClatchy news sites have lifted the paywall on some of our coronavirus-related stories, but we very much need your help. To support vital reporting such as this, please consider a subscription for unlimited digital access. Know someone whod like to get this? Send this to a friend to receive our weekly newsletter on politics and policy. Even in the best of times, many of our military families are often only one unexpected bill away from a financial crisis, said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., President and CEO of Operation Homefront. Operation Homefront announced that they have fulfilled more than 700 requests for financial help, exceeding $500,000 in assistance provided to military families impacted by COVID-19 since March. Unexpected Guard and Reserve deployments, unemployment, and reduced work hours, have taken additional tolls on military and veteran families struggling to make ends meet. As the global pandemic continues to concern health officials and impact the American economy, the national nonprofit anticipates the number of requests will grow. Even in the best of times, many of our military families are often only one unexpected bill away from a financial crisis, said Brig. Gen. (ret.) John I. Pray Jr., President and CEO of Operation Homefront. Sadly, this national pandemic leaves them, like many Americans, really struggling to make ends meet. But, thanks to our amazing donor community, we have been able to fulfill over 700 requests for assistance and more importantly, we remain able help even more military families overcome their financial hardships in the uncertain times ahead. Operation Homefront, whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families, says their highly-valued Critical Financial Assistance program is specifically designed to help Americas military families overcome short-term financial challenges that have the potential to spiral into long-term crises and completely derail any hope of a better or brighter future. The program helps military families pay for overdue bills, including rent, mortgages, grocery/utility bills and car/home repairs, according to their website OperationHomefront.org. An example of families helped by Operation Homefront during this time include disabled Army veteran, Troy Wesley, and his wife LaQuanna, who shuttered their barbecue catering business for health concerns and remain furloughed from their jobs in law enforcement. The part-time income that I was getting supplemented what we used for emergencies. That was all dissolved because of COVID-19, Wesley said. As recipients of Operation Homefronts assistance for a critical home repair three years ago, the Wesley family turned to the nonprofit again and received a $250 gift card for food. Within a couple days, the card was here in the mail and we were able to go and stock up, he said. We bought food that would last and Im grateful to Operation Homefront. A number of corporate and foundation donors like the Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation, The Home Depot Foundation, Wounded Warrior Project, Chobani, Walmart, Procter & Gamble and others have recognized the financial challenges facing military families during this unprecedented time and have stepped up to support Operation Homefronts mission to meet what they expect will be a significant surge in urgent requests for assistance. Operation Homefront encourages military families who need assistance to visit http://www.operationhomefront.org and click on Get Help Now. For those who want to donate and support military families through Operation Homefront, visit http://www.operationhomefront.org and click on Donate. ### About Operation Homefront: Founded in 2002, Operation Homefront is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to build strong, stable, and secure military families so that they can thrive - not simply struggle to get by - in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. Recognized for superior performance by leading independent charity oversight groups, over 90 percent of Operation Homefront expenditures go directly to programs that support tens of thousands of military families each year. Operation Homefront provides critical financial assistance, transitional and permanent housing and family support services to prevent short-term needs from turning into chronic, long-term struggles. Thanks to the generosity of our donors and the support from thousands of volunteers, Operation Homefront proudly serves America's military families. For more information, visit OperationHomefront.org. Media Inquiries: Mike Lahrman Public Relations Manager Michael.lahrman@OperationHomefront.org (210) 834-7823 President Donald Trump with Linda McMahon, a major donor and former administrator of the Small Business Administration. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta President Donald Trump is failing to attract millionaire and billionaire mega-donors who've given to him in the past, according to a New York Times report. Just six of the top 38 donors to Trump-aligned super PACs over the past two cycles have donated to America First, the super PAC created to gather all the biggest donations to Trump's 2020 campaign, The Times said. Meanwhile, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, has raked in massive sums from mega-donors. Pro-Biden super PACs have gathered a combined $45 million in dark money so far this cycle, Business Insider reported on Monday. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump is failing to attract support from most of the mega-donors who bankrolled his 2016 campaign and continued to give to him in 2018, The New York Times reported. Just six of the top 38 donors to Trump-aligned super PACs over the past two cycles have donated to America First, the super PAC created to gather all the biggest donations to Trump's 2020 campaign, The Times reported. Sources told The Times that many donors were concerned about the president's reelection chances and that some were redirecting their money to groups working to secure the Republican Senate majority, which is increasingly in play. Sheldon and Miriam Adelson are among the most prominent examples. The Adelsons gave $20 million to Trump in 2016 and $10 million in 2018. They haven't sent any cash to the president this cycle reportedly angering him but they donated $25 million this year to a PAC supporting Senate Republicans. The Times noted that Sheldon Adelson had expressed concerns about publicly supporting Trump's anti-China rhetoric given the casino magnate's major business interests in Asia. Meanwhile, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, has raked in massive sums from mega-donors. Pro-Biden super PACs have gathered a combined $45 million in dark money so far this cycle, Business Insider reported on Monday. That figure is seven times what Hillary Clinton-aligned PACs raised in the entire 2016 cycle. Biden's biggest PAC raised more than double what America First did in June. Story continues Democrats have increasingly campaigned against dark money, and some, such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren, have banned corporate PAC money and shunned major fundraisers during their campaigns. Business Insider's Dave Levinthal reported that many Democrats were putting those concerns aside in their race to defeat Trump. Linda McMahon, the former Small Business Administration chief and a major Trump donor who now leads America First, said in June 2019 that she thought the PAC and its associated nonprofit would raise $300 million for Trump's 2020 campaign. The Times reported that the two groups had raised just $107 million this cycle. McMahon, who donated $7 million to Trump's 2016 bid, has blamed the pandemic and the economic crisis for the significant gap in funds. She's given $4 million of her own money to Trump's reelection. Even some mega-donors who've continued to send big sums to Trump have been openly critical of him. "Obviously, Trump, you wish sometimes he would just shut up don't go there, it's not necessary," Liz Uihlein, a shipping-supply company magnate, told The Times. Uihlein and her husband have given Trump $3 million this cycle. The Times reported that, despite Trump's success with smaller donors, both Vice President Mike Pence and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, were worried about the lack of big money. But there are still three months until the election, and big donors have a history of coming through in the last crucial days of a campaign. Read the original article on Business Insider Korvest Ltd (ASX:KOV) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 days. You can purchase shares before the 20th of August in order to receive the dividend, which the company will pay on the 4th of September. Korvest's next dividend payment will be AU$0.13 per share, on the back of last year when the company paid a total of AU$0.28 to shareholders. Based on the last year's worth of payments, Korvest stock has a trailing yield of around 5.9% on the current share price of A$4.78. Dividends are an important source of income to many shareholders, but the health of the business is crucial to maintaining those dividends. As a result, readers should always check whether Korvest has been able to grow its dividends, or if the dividend might be cut. Check out our latest analysis for Korvest If a company pays out more in dividends than it earned, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. It paid out 78% of its earnings as dividends last year, which is not unreasonable, but limits reinvestment in the business and leaves the dividend vulnerable to a business downturn. We'd be worried about the risk of a drop in earnings. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Fortunately, it paid out only 43% of its free cash flow in the past year. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously. Click here to see how much of its profit Korvest paid out over the last 12 months. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. Investors love dividends, so if earnings fall and the dividend is reduced, expect a stock to be sold off heavily at the same time. It's encouraging to see Korvest has grown its earnings rapidly, up 21% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share are growing at a rapid rate, yet the company is paying out more than three-quarters of its earnings. Story continues Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Korvest's dividend payments per share have declined at 1.9% per year on average over the past 10 years, which is uninspiring. The Bottom Line Is Korvest worth buying for its dividend? We like Korvest's growing earnings per share and the fact that - while its payout ratio is around average - it paid out a lower percentage of its cash flow. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention. On that note, you'll want to research what risks Korvest is facing. Our analysis shows 3 warning signs for Korvest and you should be aware of these before buying any shares. A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 19:27:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BERLIN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The number of people employed in Germany's manufacturing companies with 50 or more employees declined by 2.4 percent to 5.5 million in June this year, compared with that of the previous year, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Monday. "In almost all sectors of the manufacturing industry the number of employees decreased in June 2020," Destatis noted. With a drop of 4.5 percent, the number of employees in the rubber and plastic goods manufacturing sector with 50 or more employees fell most sharply. However, regular workers set to reduced hours as a result of the COVID-19 crisis would still count as employees so that the high number of short-time workers would "not have a negative impact on the number of employees," Destatis noted. The Federal Employment Agency (BA) recently announced that 6.70 million workers in Germany received short-time work compensation in May, after 6.10 million in April. The use of short-time work was "far above" the levels at the time of the financial crisis in 2009. The effects of the COVID-19 crisis were noticeable in terms of hours worked throughout Germany's manufacturing sector, Destatis noted. The number of hours worked in June decreased by 3.5 percent year-on-year to 623 million. Enditem Hillsboro City Council To Propose Tax Rate Tuesday The Hillsboro City Council is expected to propose a 2020 ad valorem tax rate during a regular meeting set for 6 p.m. Tuesday, August 18. The council will also hold a public hearing and second reading of an ordinance regarding the proposed rezoning of property at the southeast corner of North Waco Street and Julatka Street from single-family residential to light industrial. A resolution authorizing submission of an application to the Texas Department of Agriculture for the Texas Community Development Block Grant program will also be considered. The council will also discuss a resolution that would determine an area of the city to be a blighted area due to conditions that are detrimental to public health, safety and community welfare. In accordance with social distancing guidelines, the meeting will be open to the public, or the public and council members can dial 1-646-749-3112 and enter access code 172-523-125. The meeting will be held at Historic City Hall, located at 127 East Franklin Street in downtown Hillsboro. Patna: Bihar cabinet minister Shyam Rajak submitted his resignation to the speaker on Monday (August 17) and said that he cannot stay with a party where social justice is being stripped. Before submitting his resignation, Rajak denied claims of being expelled from JDU and had said that he will submit his resignation to the speaker soon. Addressing media Rajak said, ''I have not been expelled, I am going to give my resignation to the Speaker. I can not stay where social justice is being stripped.'' It is to be noted that JDU President Vasistha Narayan Singh on Sunday confirmed that cabinet minister Shyam Rajak was expelled from JDU. Vasistha said the decision was taken by the party due to Rajak's anti-party activity. Shyam Rajak is a sitting MLA from the reserved Phulwari assembly constituency in Patna district, and holds the portfolio of Industry Minister in Nitish Kumar's government. According to sources, Rajak was feeling marginalised and he was not getting along with the party's high command. Sources said, Rajak is prepared to leave the JDU and is likely to resign from the post of cabinet minister and as MLA in the Bihar Assembly at 10:00 am on Monday. He will reported join RJD at 11:30 am. Meanwhile, RJD leaders had been putting out posts on social media urging Shyam Rajak to join RJD. Sources have also claimed that Tejashwi and Shyam Rajak have had a meeting and are in mutual agreement. There is just a formal ritual of change of party which will happen on Monday. Assembly election in Bihar are due in October-November and the tenure of the current Assembly is scheduled to end on November 29. The Election Commission has not yet taken a final call on poll dates in Bihar due to coronavirus pandemic and has sought suggestions from political parties. Remains of more than 100 victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide Against the Tutsi have been exhumed in the Rwandan capital city Kigali, survivors organisation said on Monday. Masengo Rutayisire, the Head of IBUKA, the Umbrella Organisation of Genocide Survivors Associations of Rwanda, said this at a news conference in Kigali. The remains were discovered from a pit at the backyard of a house in Nyarugenge district, which belongs to a former notorious Interahamwe militia member, Mr Rutayisire said. The remains were discovered after a local resident who heard occupants of the house talking about the whereabouts of the mass grave informed the authorities, said Mr Rutayisire. The search for the remains, which started last week, is still ongoing, with two more pits expected to be dug out, he said. He added that the occupants were arrested on suspicion of concealing information on the remains. Remains of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are still being discovered in many parts of Rwanda. An estimated 500,000 to 1 million Rwandans were brutally murdered during 100 days from April 7 to mid-July 1994, the overwhelming majority of the victims being Tutsis. In 2018-2019 fiscal year, remains of 118,049 genocide victims were discovered in 17 districts countrywide, according to National Commission for the Fight against Genocide. (Xinhua/NAN) The Indian ambassador in Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, had a virtual interaction with Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi in Kathmandu on Monday. The virtual meeting was the first official interaction between the two sides since the KP Sharma Oli government pushed through Parliament a new map that included Indian territories of Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh. However, sources in the Indian government immediately downplayed the meeting by referring to it as a scheduled oversight mechanism meeting which they said was part of a regular interaction between India and Nepal. The oversight mechanism (OSM) was set up in 2016 to review ongoing bilateral economic and development projects and meets on a periodic basis, said sources, indicating that it should not be viewed as anything more than meeting that purpose. This was the 8th OSM held after a gap of one year since July 8, 2019. Significantly, out of the projects under assessment were two that were jointly inaugurated by PM Modi and his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli. These include the operationalisation of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline, inaugurated in September 2019, which is South Asias first cross-border petroleum products pipeline, It is 69 kilometres long with a capacity of 2 million metric ton per annum and very crucial for Nepals fuel needs. Similarly, the Integrated Check Post at Biratnagar was also jointly inaugurated by the two leaders in January this year itself. After the allegations levelled by Oli himself in 2016 against India conspiring his downfall, the joint inauguration of such projects gave an impression that the past was buried by Oli and both sides were looking a starting afresh. However, much has changed since the joint inauguration of these crucial projects. In May, the Oli government approved and later passed a controversial map in Parliament. Indian government sources indicated that New Delhi had offered Foreign Secretary level video-conferencing or phone call but Nepal didnt take up the offer and rammed through a constitutional amendment. However, Nepal has publicly been seeking a Foreign Secretary-level meeting for long and instead blamed India for not facilitating it. The friction with Nepal was palpable as India came out with a strong statement rejecting the map and asking Nepal to refrain from unjustified cartographic assertion. India categorically mentioned in the reply by MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava that such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India. Nepal had already started rubbing India the wrong way, first by summoning its ambassador to register its complaint over the road India had inaugurated on the Kailash Mansarovar route in Pithoragarh in Uttrakhand and then subsequently with KP Sharma Olis bizarre statements from Indians spreading Covid-19 in Nepal to Indian Ayodhya being fake. Amidst all this, when Nepal PM dialled PM Modi on August 15, sources stressed not only the fact that the call was made at the request of Olis office but also that it was only a courtesy call. Sources also clarified that the border or map issue was not touched upon in the conversation. This gave a clear indication that India was not ready to allow any high level political or diplomatic engagement just yet on the niggling issues especially with regards to the map or the border issue in general. Its significant to note here that the Nepali media has been reporting that one of the recommendations from the Nepali side in the Eminent Persons Group report, yet to be submitted to PM Modi, mentions regulating the border. This is an idea India may not be amenable to as it shares a special relationship with Nepal with a porous border allowing for more people-to-people contact and family ties across the border. India has been in a wait and watch mode as the strategic community believes that Oli is acting at the behest of Beijing. Indian Army chief General MM Naravane had also indicated the same when the controversy over Nepals new map had broken out. By downplaying both Mondays meeting and calling the phone conversation between the Prime Ministers two days ago as just a courtesy call, New Delhi is telling Kathmandu that it is displeased with Oli. As the coronavirus sweeps through San Quentin State Prison, a state appeals court says it may order the prison to grant supervised release to hundreds of aging or medically vulnerable inmates. After a contentious hearing in which state lawyers rejected settlement talks that could lead to releases of San Quentin inmates, a panel of the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco ordered prison officials Friday to justify any further refusal to remove those with heightened risk of COVID-19 from the 150-year-old prison. They include inmates serving sentences for non-capital crimes who are either 60 and older or suffering from conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes. San Quentin had no reported cases of the coronavirus before prison officials transferred 122 inmates there from the California Institution for Men in Chino (San Bernardino County), site of the largest outbreak in the prison system, in late May, four weeks after some of them had last been tested. After the transfer, San Quentin officials disregarded advice from Marin Countys top health official to prevent any contact between the new arrivals and those already at the prison. Since then, about two-thirds of San Quentins 3,100 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 25 have died. There is a pandemic within San Quentin Prison that is probably more severe than it is in any jail or prison facility in the U.S., Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline said at Wednesdays hearing. He said he was stunned that Gov. Gavin Newsom and his state prison director, Ralph Diaz, had been unwilling to discuss a settlement that would lead to release of either the inmate who filed the suit or the larger group of vulnerable inmates, who also seek their supervised release. With the massive infection of staff and inmates, said Justice Therese Stewart, there is at least a credible argument that prison officials have shown deliberate indifference to the condition of those in their custody. In response, Deputy Attorney General Kathleen Walton said, Settling the case is not on the table. She said the inmate who filed the suit, Ivan Von Staich, has a low risk of COVID-19 and is considered to pose a moderate risk of future violence. Von Staich, 64, and his 65-year-old cellmate, who spend 24 hours a day confined in a small cell in San Quentins West Block, both tested positive for the virus in mid-July. His lawyers said Von Staich is now free of symptoms, but his cellmate still suffers from fevers, coughing and other signs of the disease. Von Staich was convicted of murder in Southern California in 1983 and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole. His lawyers said his last serious prison disciplinary offense was in 1998, and the state parole board has signaled it is likely to approve his release at a hearing scheduled in October. 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. Prison staff try to talk inmates with COVID-19 symptoms out of medical treatment, Von Staichs lawyers said in a filing with the court. They are told that hospitals in the area are overwhelmed and that they have to kick it on their own. In Fridays order, the court told prison officials to place Von Staich in quarantine immediately, either in San Quentin or in some other location where he could be supervised. The court also ordered the state to file arguments by Aug. 24 explaining why similar release should not be granted to other San Quentin inmates, except for those on Death Row, who are at risk of the disease because of their age or medical condition. The broader release was advocated by the First District Appellate Project, a nonprofit appointed by the court to join the case last month after Von Staich had filed it on his own behalf. Kline, the presiding justice, is a 40-year judicial veteran who was Gov. Jerry Browns legal affairs adviser in the 1970s. Attorney L. Richard Braucher of the appellate project said the courts intervention was urgently needed. My client (Von Staich) and others like him are essentially lab rats, he said. In response, Dana Simas, spokeswoman for the prison system, declined to comment on the case but said the state is releasing large numbers of inmates who are assessed to be at high risk of COVID-19 and low risk of violent acts outside prison. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko John Oliver has condemned US president Donald Trump for promoting a racist conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris. On his HBO comedy series Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, the comedian played a clip of Trumps recent press conference, in which he suggested that Democratic vice presidential contender doesnt meet the requirements to run, adding: I have no idea if thats right. Ill tell you if its right, responded Oliver. It f***ing isnt. And its frankly amazing how slow Trump is to respond to so many things like, I dont know, public health crises, yet when it comes to amplifying racist conspiracy theories, suddenly hes the f***ing Flash on cocaine. Oliver also discussed Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican congressional candidate recently endorsed by Trump who has previously spoken of her belief in QAnon conspiracy theories. Greene is heavily tipped to win a seat in her deeply conservative district in Northwest Georgia. This should be worrying, Oliver continued. Its bad enough to encounter these conspiracy theories online, [but] it is worse to potentially encounter them in the halls of congress. He continued: I would love to be shocked that the Republican leadership is embracing an ongoing troll with a history of racist comments but the truth is theyve been doing that for years now because you can only see Greene as a disturbing anomaly if you ignore the basic facts that when it comes to the modern Republican party, Where they go one, they go all. Donald Trump has come under fire for amplifying a racist conspiracy theory about Kamala Harris (AFP via Getty Images) Oliver is a long-standing critic of the controversial Republican president. Earlier this month, the TV host and actor branded Trump shockingly reckless over his willingness to disseminate misleading information relating to the coronavirus pandemic. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As a growing chorus of politicians call for sweeping changes at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to be reversed, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) said the senate will demand Postmaster Louis DeJoy be present at hearings this upcoming week and proposed legislation that would reverse recent changes at the institution. What has beenand continuesto go on with the postal service, the undermining and destructive policies that are so clearly intent on upending a system that has worked for generations has simply got to stop, said Schumer. Im pushing new action here to undo the changes and get DeJoy to back off. Moreover, we will use the letter of the law to call the postmaster for hearings this week while driving legislation to fix the mess hes purposely made, Schumer added. Bottom-line, we will not stand for the in-your-face slowing down of the mail and the undermining of Americans who depend on medications, VA benefits, paychecks, even food, and we will not allow this to take place all in an effort to hobble the November electionno way. Changes made recently by Trump-appointed leaders at the USPS have included the removal of sorting machines. In addition, employees have been instructed to leave mail behind rather than make extra trips or wait for a delayed truck. The changes reportedly have caused delays in service for some Americans, including military veterans who receive essential items from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and seniors who rely on medications through the mail. The proposed legislation, according to Schumer, would undo the aforementioned changes slowing down the mail and ensure that mail-in ballots would be treated as first class priority mail. The USPS did not immediately return a request for comment regarding Schumers assertions. Schumers push came as Rep. Max Rose (D-North Shore/Brooklyn) railed at a press conference Sunday outside a U.S. Post Office facility in West Brighton against recent operational changes that have delayed postal service, while calling on emergency funding proposed by Democrats that would allow for reliable mail-in voting come November. For hundreds of years postal workers have delivered the mail on time -- no issues. shouted Rose. Im not going to sit by, while this administration guts an American Institution. On Sunday, Schumer said that the USPS processing facility in New York City, which employs more than 2,000 workers, could be in jeopardy if the recent changes go unchecked, in addition to Long Islands largest processing facility in Melville. If Mr. DeJoy refuses to appear before Congress and the American people to testify, he should be stamped Return to Sender. He shouldnt be allowed to be the Postmaster General, Schumer said. Kim Kardashian is aiming to free rapper C-Murder from his life sentence. As the 39-year-old reality star has become a force in the world of criminal justice reform, she is now working to free the brother of Master P who is serving a life sentence for the 2002 killing of Steve Thomas. Since his conviction, the 49-year-old rapper (real name Corey Miller) has maintained his innocence and many believe he is the victim of multiple missteps during the case's investigation and his trial. Beauty and brains: Kim Kardashian has become a force in the world of criminal justice reform and is now working to free the brother of Master P, C-Murder (born Corey Miller), who is serving a life sentence for the 2002 killing of Steve Thomas In addition to her 18 hours of legal work each week, Kardashian has made some serious steps after beginning her four-year apprenticeship with a San Francisco law firm in 2018. Over the weekend, the aspiring lawyer used her massive social media platform to shine a light on his case. 'On January 18, 2002 a tragedy occurred when a young man was killed. The next day Corey Miller was arrested for the murder,' she tweeted to her 66.4 million followers with the hashtag, FreeCoreyMiller, on Sunday. She explained: 'The jury convicted Corey 10-2 and he was sentenced him to life in prison. If his trial was today, the jury would have had to be unanimous for him to be convicted.' New case: Over the weekend, the aspiring lawyer pledged her commitment to use her massive social media platform to shine a light on his case 'Since his trial, witnesses have recanted, new evidence of his potential innocence has come to light, and there are claims of jurors being pressured into voting to convict. True justice for the young man requires that the person who actually killed him be held responsible and that Corey Miller he returned home to his kids,' she continued The KKW Beauty founder also included a message to the family of Thomas, who was killed, at only age 16-years-old. 'My heart goes out to the family of Steve Thomas. I can only imagine how hard this is and my intention is never to open up this painful wound but to help find the truth behind this tragedy,' she wrote. Seeking justice: Since his conviction, the 49-year-old rapper has maintained his innocence and his supporters allege he is the victim of multiple missteps during the case's investigation and his trial In addition to receiving support from Kardashian, C-Murder's ex, Monica Denise, shared a tribute to the convicted murderer. She revealed that they previously bonded over 'truth, honesty and loyalty,' before noting she was working with the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star. 'After a tearful conversation with @lala she and I spoke to @kimkardashian & I explained why I KNEW Corey was innocent... I shared that There are lots of issues in Coreys case that speak to his innocence including witnesses recanting their testimony, dna not matching & a 10-2 jury!' she captioned a series of throwback pictures. Hopeful: C-Murder's case recently sparked newfound interest after it was featured on the new No Limit Chronicles, which showcased the two famous Miller brother's rise to fame. She added: 'Corey deserves to come home to his girls and be the father they need, be the artist & leader hes always been as well as spread hope to those who have also experienced this.' C-Murder's case recently sparked newfound interest after it was featured on the No Limit Chronicles, which showcased the two famous Miller brother's rise to fame. Kardashian has previously visited the White House to discuss criminal justice reform with President Donald Trump and worked to grant clemency to Tynice Nichole Hall, Crystal Munoz and Judith Negron. Famously, she helped influence Trump's decision to enact the First Step Act last January and brought nation-wide attention to Alice Marie Johnson's case. Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh on Monday, alleging that incidents of caste violence and crimes against women are rampant in the state. Attacking the Adityanath government over the killing of a Dalit village head in Azamgarh's Basgaon, Rahul Gandhi alleged that in Uttar Pradesh, the "jungle raj" of caste violence and rape is "peaking". "Now another terrible incident Sarpanch Satyamev, being a Dalit, said 'no' due to which he was killed. Condolences to the family of Satyamev Ji," he said in a tweet. The Uttar Pradesh police has invoked the stringent National Security Act against four persons in connection with the village head's killing, which had triggered a mob violence. Satyamev (42), a Dalit and the head of Basgaon village in the Tarwan area of Azamgarh district, was shot dead last week. In a Facebook post in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi also hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the issue of security of women. "Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and now Gorakhpur. Such repeated incidents have proven that the Uttar Pradesh government has completely failed in providing security to women," the Congress general secretary said, referring to reports of crimes against women in these areas. There is no fear of law in the minds of criminals in Uttar Pradesh, she said, adding that as a result, gruesome incidents of crime are taking place against women. The police and administration are neither able to provide security nor take appropriate action, Priyanka Gandhi alleged. "The Uttar Pradesh government should review the law-and-order system and take every step to ensure the safety of women," she said. The Congress has been alleging that the law-and-order situation is deteriorating in Uttar Pradesh under the BJP rule, a charge denied by the state dispensation. Northern communities were caught by surprise last week when the Government declared that the Auckland region was in lockdown Level 3. Checkpoints on the Auckland-Northland regional boundary had sprung up by midday on Wednesday, August 12, and queues up to 10 kilometres long formed as drivers scrambled to cross the divide. Police in medical masks questioned drivers about the purpose of their journey at a checkpoint north of Te Hana. The news that Auckland was moving back into a Level 3 lockdown at midday last Wednesday was greeted with disappointment, but mostly resignation in Mahurangi. Few, at that stage, thought the lockdown would last only three days and many thought that it was inevitable that there would be a second wave sooner or later. Supermarkets were the first to feel the effects of the lockdown, with social distancing and hygiene rules back in place when the doors opened on Wednesday morning. Rest homes also responded quickly, cancelling residents activities and closing their doors to visitors. The weekly Mahu Community Trading Post sale was also cancelled. Checkpoints were set-up on nine roads on Aucklands northern and southern boundaries, with Police saying that their first focus was on ensuring that people were aware of the new restrictions. Long lines of traffic heading north formed early in the day and at the checkpoint at Te Hana, people were being turned around if their journeys did not meet the new criteria for crossing the Auckland/Northland border. Schools closed with little fuss, although a few students did turn up unaware of the lockdown. One Warkworth father thought Rodney was part of Northland and, therefore, not part of the lockdown. Construction work and work on major projects such as the Matakana link road and Puhoi to Warkworth motorway continued with protocols in place. Dentists offered emergency care only and doctors reverted to phone consultations where possible, but surgeries went ahead as planned at the Rodney Surgical Centre. Centre chief executive officer Marianne Davidson-Beker said the centre was already working through a backlog as a result of the first lockdown and did not want to cause patients further delays. We have good systems in place to keep staff and patients safe, as well as sufficient Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), she said. Even small delays can be life-threatening for some patients. More generally, Ms Davidson-Beker said she was concerned about the impact the lockdown would have on small businesses. Were really talking about the debate between health versus the economy, she says. The northern part of Auckland should not have been included in this lockdown. They should have put the police and army at the Harbour Bridge and allowed us to continue to function. The Government has to have some trust that we can make good decisions for ourselves and our community to keep everyone safe. Ms Davidson-Beker said the question now was whether the Government would extend the wage subsidy so small businesses could remain viable. Matt Henderson, of Warkworth Menswear, was thinking along the same lines. He said that although he was not surprised by the news, he was worried about the future because the subsidies were gone. Some comments from around Warkworth: Colin Stables, from The Camera Shop Warkworth: I dont feel like doing this again, but financially Im not going to worry; life is more important. Sally Peters, from Mr Grind: Ill remain open during Level 3. Although its not ideal, Im trying not to buy into the fear. Let It Brew, Mitzi Isla: I have mixed emotions. In a way I expected it because the virus was not gone; it was just a matter of time. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal After several years on Albuquerques West Side, High Point Grill Chef Mike White is crossing the Rio Grande for his new restaurant, Rustico Italian Kitchen by High Point. White said the new restaurant, which is planned to open late this year, will offer the house-made pastas that once occupied the menu at High Point Grill along with other Italian favorites like stone-fired pizza and entrees like fish and steak. White said the menu offers an expanded take on the Italian offerings at High Point and his eventual plan is to branch out to several different restaurants with each focusing on a specific type of cuisine. But Rustico, like High Point, will operate on the same guiding principle: comfort. Its comfort food with a chefs twist on it, White said. As a spin-off of the High Point Grill, Rusticos menu will also be centered on food made from scratch including the pastas. White said preparing all of the food in house is about taking the time to put our care into the food. Besides bowls of pasta, White said Rustico will have a full bar and a later closing time so patrons can enjoy cocktails and pizzas late into the night. Rustico is taking over the space at 5200 Eubank NE, the Promenade Shopping Center restaurant formerly occupied by the Barley Room. The location provides Rustico with plenty of indoor seating along with a small stage and a large covered patio. White said many of his customers had their fingers crossed for another West Side location, but the move eastward will allow him to reach more people. Traditions formed at the High Point Grill like the 505 Food Fights and the 505 Bar Fights will also make their way to the new restaurant. Ben Perich and Bo Galles of Colliers International of New Mexico represented Rustico in the transaction. Brewerys new spot Rustico wont be the only new tenant in the shopping center. Bosque Brewing Co. is also readying to open a location in the center the first Northeast Heights location for the brewery. The Bombay High Court on Monday directed the Mumbai police commissioner to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to conduct a probe against four policemen who allegedly fatally assaulted a 22-year-old man here while imposing the COVID-19 lockdown in March. The SIT should comprise two senior police officials and carry out the probe expeditiously, said a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai. The bench ordered constitution of SIT after observing it was not satisfied with the probe being conducted in the case since April by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Bandra division. There are prima facie allegations of police excess committed on the deceased victim. Hence, we expected the Mumbai police to complete the probe with utmost expedition. "However, the situation that emerges leaves a lot tobe desired, the court said in its order. "We have no option but to direct the Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising two senior police officers of impeccable integrity and unquestionable competence within 24 hours, it added. The court said it expects the new probe team to submit a charge-sheet within a month. We hope and trust that the SIT shall fairly and freely complete the investigation and submit a charge-sheet before the competent court within a month, the court said. The bench was hearing a petition filed by an advocate, Firdause Irani, raising concerns over police "excesses" while enforcing the COVID-19 lockdown which was first declared in March-end. Irani, in his plea, pointed out the case related to one Raju Devendra, whose family alleged that on March 29 night, when they were going to their relatives place, a police team chased them and caught him in suburban Vile Parle. The policemen allegedly informed the relatives that they were taking Devendra to the suburban Juhu police station, the plea said. The next morning, the police informed the family that Devendra was found lying at a nearby chowk (square) and declared dead when taken to hospital, the petition said. The police initially claimed the man died after he was assaulted by a mob who suspected him of committing a robbery, it said. Last month, the Maharashtra government told the high court that as per CCTV footage, Devendra was assaulted by four police constables. On Monday, government pleader Purnima Kantharia told the HC that a departmental inquiry has been initiated against the four constables who were placed under suspension by an order dated July 31. The court, however, was not satisfied just with their suspension. They will get a salary without doing any work. We are not at all impressed with the state of affairs, Chief Justice Datta noted. The court posted the plea for further hearing on September 21. Police Brutality Just One Side of Coin, Says HC The Court said "police brutality" during the lockdown is only one side of the coin, and noted that many citizens are not complying with restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. "There are black sheep everywhere," a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Anuja Prabhudessai observed while hearing the petition filed by advocate Firdause Irani. Irani's counsel Gopal Sankarnarayan told the court on Monday that they have 13 videos showing police excesses on people while imposing the lockdown orders. "Policemen are seen assaulting people with lathis or slapping them without first asking the reason why they are travelling, he said. The high court, however, said there are two sides to the story. "Police brutality is only one side of the coin. The truth is that there are many amongst us who do not care about the lockdown guidelines and do not comply with restrictions. There are black sheep everywhere, Chief Justice Datta said. Sankarnarayan argued that even if there are violators of lockdown restrictions, this does not give police the right to assault any person. To this, the court said it cannot sit to decide in which case or situation the use of lathis, teargas or force may be required. "Every case or situation cannot be painted with the same brush, Chief Justice Datta said. The court said if people violate laws, then they have to be dealt with strong hands. "Police has been given the task to safeguard interests of the general public. In such a situation, some policemen think just because they have a lathi they can use it, Chief Justice Datta said. The bench directed the petitioner to submit his suggestions on how police should handle such violators. "We will then see if police can be asked to follow the suggestions, the court said. The Health Ministry Sunday night confirmed 11 new infections - eight in Da Nang, one in Hanoi and two Japan returnees. Three of the patients, numbered 952 to 954, are a two-month-old baby girl, her 56-year-old grandmother and 57-year-old grandfather. They live in the same house with the baby's 35-year-old father, who was diagnosed with Covid-19 earlier. Patients 955 to 958 are aged between 31 and 67. These include a patient and a caretaker at the Da Nang Hospital, currently a Covid-19 hub, and two who'd come into contact with infectees. "Patient 961" is a 32-year-old female medical staff of the Hoa Vang field hospital in Da Nang. "Patient 959" is a 24-year-old woman and "Patient 960" a 66-year-old woman, both quarantined upon landing at the Cam Ranh Airport in Khanh Hoa Province in central Vietnam on August 5 after returning from Japan on a Vietjet flight. "Patient 962" is a 30-year-old man living in Hanoi's Thanh Xuan District. From July 20-22, he traveled to Da Nang, a popular tourism spot in the country. On August 3, he developed high fever and visited the Thanh Nhan Hospital for an examination. His sample was taken and sent to Hanoi's Center for Disease Control for testing, but the result came back negative. On August 15, his sample was taken for the second test, which confirmed that he was infected with the novel coronavirus. Since the novel coronavirus resurfaced in the country on July 25, Vietnam has recorded 486 community transmissions in 15 localities, most of them linked to Da Nang. With the latest infections, Vietnams Covid-19 count stands at 962, including 482 active cases and 456 recoveries. Twenty-four people have succumbed to Covid-19 so far, all of them with previous comorbidities. Sunday also saw nine patients in Da Nang declared free of the virus, seven at the Hoa Vang field hospital and two at the Da Nang Lung Hospital. Among them is a 55-year-old man in Da Nang, tagged as "Patient 582," who was in critical condition and placed on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) support. He was declared Covid-19 free Sunday morning after testing negative four times. However, he continues to stay at the Da Nang Lung Hospital for another week to make a full recovery. A 9-year-old boy from Oklahoma may be one step closer to finding a forever home. In July, Jordan touched the hearts of many across the country when he was interviewed by local news station KFOR about being in foster care. Since then, his permanency planning worker told Fox 4 that the department received over 5,000 adoption submissions. Im in the process of reading through those profiles to select a family to try to move forward with, said Christopher Marlowe, a OKDHS Permanency Planning worker who is working on Jordan's case. During the viral interview, Jordan was asked what he would wish for if he was given three wishes. To have a family, and family, family. Those are the only wishes I have, the 9-year-old said. The reason its important is so I could have some people to talk to any time I need to, Jordan added. I hope one of yall pick me. According to Fox 4, hundreds of people were touched by the child's plea and began calling in from states all across the country to inquire about adopting Jordan, who has been in foster care for six years. RELATED: 5 Siblings Adopted Together by Texas Family After Spending Time Apart in Foster Care I would just like to have a family to call mom and dad, or just mom, or just dad. I dont really care, Jordan said in the July interview. In the past, the department had a couple of families that expressed interest in adopting Jordan, but after doing disclosures, they decided not to move forward with the process, according to Marlowe. Even for a child thats been through custody, hes been through a whole lot compared to most of our kids, Marlowe told Fox 4. To make things even more heartbreaking, Jordan's biological brother, Braison, was adopted without him last year. However, with the thousands of new submissions, Marlowe is hopeful that they will find Jordan his forever family. Im really excited about this and very hopeful this is going to be the breakthrough we needed to find this kid a home, he said. Fortis Healthcare has said that the company board has given approval to change the name of the firm and its subsidiaries to 'Parkway' - a brand that Malaysian health care major IHH owns. SRL, the diagnostic arm of the hospital chain, will also look for a new brand name and logo. The company said that the move is to disassociate itself from the erstwhile promoters - Malvinder and Shivinder Singh. The board has taken decision "in light of various considerations including the expiry of the current brand license agreements in April/May 2021, and to reinforce the complete disassociation of the Company from its erstwhile promoters, unanimously given an in-principle approval to discontinue the use of 'Fortis', 'La Femme' and 'SRL' as part of the name, brand and logo of the Company and its subsidiaries. Basis the in-principle approval." 'Parkway' is a renowned brand in the field of healthcare, belonging to the IHH Group, the parent of Northern TK Venture Pte Ltd. Northern TK Venture is the promoter of the company with 31 per cent shareholding, Fortis Healthcare told stock exchanges last Friday. "As part of its commercial strategy, the company intends to, going forward, obtain a licence to use the brand 'Parkway' as the corporate name, brand and logo of the company and all its subsidiaries in relation to the hospital business," it added. "This is the culmination of the extensive overhaul and strengthening of the governance processes initiated by the reconstituted Board in 2018, and is a reinforcement of our efforts to completely disassociate ourselves from the erstwhile promoters of the company," Fortis Healthcare Chairman Ravi Rajagopal said. Shares of Fortis Healthcare were trading at Rs 134.25, down 1.55 points, or 1.14 per cent on NSE at the time of reporting. Also read: Former Fortis promoter Shivinder Singh gets bail in money laundering case Also read: Money laundering case: ED moves SC against bail to ex-Fortis promoter Shivinder Singh he National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control said the new patient is a 27-year-old man from Yen Thanh district in the central province of Nghe An. He returned to Vietnam on a repatriation flight from Equatorial Guinea at the end of last month and was quarantined immediately after landing. He is the 951st person to contract the coronavirus SAR-CoV-2 since the first case was detected in Vietnam in January. Meanwhile, 10 people in the pandemic hotspot of Da Nang city who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 have made full recovery. They will continue to be monitored and quarantined for 14 days. The total number of patients to be given the all-clear now stands at 447, or 47 percent, with 35 of those connected to the central city. So far, 23 people have lost their lives to COVID-19-related complications. All of them had underlying medical conditions. Among the patients undergoing treatment at medical facilities across the nation, 50 tested negative for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 once and 91 others tested negative at least twice. As many as 107,642 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or entering Vietnam from pandemic-hit regions are being quarantined, including 4,015 in hospitals, 24,948 in state-designated quarantine establishments and 78,679 at their homes. * Another death related to COVID-19 confirmed Another COVID-19 patient who had suffered from meningitis has died in the central city of Da Nang, health officials announced on August 16 morning. Patient 575 is an 82-year-old woman, residing in Da Nang citys Hai Chau district. She contracted meningitis before being infected with coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and died at the medical centre of Hoa Vang district. This is the 24th COVID-19-related death since the pandemic broke out in Vietnam. By Express News Service BENGALURU: The results of the common entrance test (CET) will be announced on 20th August, a record 19 days of the completion of the examination. Fees and seat matrix ratio for engineering courses will remain the same as in the previous year, Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayana, said after a meeting with the COMED-K, Karnataka association of unaided private engineering colleges and representatives of minority professional educational institutions, on Monday. There will be two types of fee structures. In one of the compositions, it has been decided to fix a fee of Rs 65,360 will be applied for CET students and Rs 1,43,748 for COMED-K students. In another composition, for CET students it would be Rs. 58,808 and Rs 2,01,960 for COMED-K students, In this government's share would be 45 per cent, COMED-K sharing would be 30 per cent and NRI's/Management quota would be given 25 per cent, he explained. The counselling process will be done before the end of October, and students can take counseling from their respective places. There will be two rounds of counseling . The management of the colleges should return the unfilled seats within the prescribed time. These will be given back to the colleges within 24 hours of duration, he clarified.CET counseling will be conducted after the NEET and JEE counseling, he mentioned. TV's Steph and Dom Parker, 52 and 54, draw on their 21 years of marriage to solve your relationship problems... Q Im 56 and have been married for 23 years. However, over the past few years, since our two kids have left home, things havent been the same with my husband and I. We get on one anothers nerves, and I cant remember the last time we had sex. I had been thinking about getting a divorce for a while but been too scared. Then lockdown happened. While we tried to keep out of each others way, things got worse stuck at home together for four months. For me, this provided the clarity I needed to end the marriage. Except, a few weeks ago, my husband was made redundant. He was devastated. Hed been at that company for most of his working life, and hes been so depressed. So now I worry that I cant leave him, that it would be cruel to abandon him. Equally, Im so unhappy and feel trapped. What should I do? This week a reader, 56, questions whether now is the right time for divorce after her husband lost his job. Pictured: File photo STEPH SAYS: Yes! Don't wait another 20 years. Your letter must have taken a great deal of courage to write and I thank you for that. In fact, I want to give you a virtual hug on behalf of all the women reading this who find themselves in a similar position. The truth is, in normal life, its entirely possible to distract yourself from the fact youre unhappy in your marriage. But spending four months together with no other company will reveal the cracks and, if youre not communicating properly as friends and lovers, theres little you can do to repair it. By coincidence, 23 years is exactly the same time Dom and I have been married. We all change over such a long time. At the start, we focus on each other, then on children and when theyre gone, we start to remember who we were before it all, and often find we are someone completely different. It happens to us all; no one is at fault. If your marriage was functioning well, you would expect your husband to turn to you to help him with the shock and feelings of rejection after losing his job, and together you would get through his devastation. To my mind, the fact he has not done so only confirms the wisdom of your decision to leave. As I read your words, I sense a finality. Words such as unhappy and trapped convey strong feelings. What youre asking of us isnt advice on whether to do it at all, but permission to do so now. Do I consider you cruel doing it now at a difficult emotional time for him? No. Youre not a bad person for wanting happiness in your life. Yes, its bad timing but thats not your fault, and its not your job to smooth it all over or find consolation prizes for your husband at the expense of your own wellbeing. I would advise you to continue the emotional journey youve begun to steel yourself and be selfish. Now is the time to stop thinking about everybody else. Yes, the conversation will be hard it would be under any circumstances and I dont presume to tell you how to do it because youre the one who knows him best. But I would advise you to be unwaveringly honest: by being so, there is a finality for him, too. What would be cruel is to suggest a trial separation if there isnt any hope of you changing your mind. Have a plan at the ready in terms of when you think youll move out and where you might live, so that all the answers are there when he asks. Youre much more likely to stand firm if youve thought it all through. It would be tragic to wake up in 20 years time and still be unhappy. I wish you luck. Steph said: 'Yes! Don't wait another 20 years', Dom said: 'Set him free to follow his dreams' DOM SAYS: Set him free to follow his dreams. Thank you for your sad letter. Perhaps the only consolation I can offer is that youre far from being the only person in the country to feel this way. Even the best relationships came under huge pressure during lockdown, and there are plenty that emerged in tatters. Neither, of course, is your poor husband the only person facing redundancy. Covid has blown apart many peoples lives in many different ways and it feels to me as though the world is changing almost by the minute. Id be amazed if your desire to end the marriage comes as a surprise to him. Unless youre terrifically good at covering up your feelings, or he is a particularly unobservant chap, then he must know, deep down, that its got to a point of crisis. Even if hes happy without a sex life and, actually, there are an awful lot more sexless marriages out there than were led to believe, he must be aware that the constant sniping and getting on each others nerves is a recipe for mutual misery. Indeed, it may be that once you tell him what you want, in an honest and unemotional way, he feels nothing but relief. I have to say I couldnt stand the thought of being in a marriage with someone who felt as you do. If Steph stopped loving me, I would want her to leave right away, or I would go. There may even be merit in everything going wrong for him at once. His marriage is stuck in an irretrievable rut. For decades hes been slogging for a company which doesnt value him. Would it be so terrible if both those things changed? With some time to digest it all, hes looking at opportunity, not disaster. Single again, and free of responsibility towards you and the routine of nine-to-five, theres scope for him to change everything about his life. Perhaps hes always dreamt of going to work in a bar on a Thai beach. Well, now he can! When the good Lord sends you lemons, make brandy sours or, at the least, a very stiff gin and tonic. Im being flippant, but theres truth here. Looked at like this, there is no need for you to feel guilty that you are abandoning him. You are setting him free. I share your fears (in your longer letter) about getting the lawyers involved immediately. Instead, tell him how you feel and suggest you work together on plans for your separation. You loved him once and you share children, after all the legal bits can come later. Aim for an ending that is gradual and amicable and points towards a better future for you both. Select Car Leasing partner with ODO to offer fleet management services to their customers LONDON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Select Car Leasing, the UK's largest car leasing broker, has agreed a major partnership with fleet management service ODO. The partnership represents a landmark strengthening of Select's fleet offering and aims to satisfy growing demand and maintain continued business growth plans. The partnership provides Select with the ability to offer an end-to-end fleet management service to complement its already well-established broker business. ODO is part of Drive Software Solutions, a leading provider of fleet management technology for the leasing broker and dealer sectors. ODO offer a modern fleet management solution which will help transfer Select's market leading service to the fleet management sector. Following an extensive in-house testing period, the Select team were impressed with ODO's ease of use and functional capabilities as well as the level of service provided by the ODO team. ODO's intuitive fleet management platform delivers three key benefits to Select Car Leasing customers, namely: Peace of mind ODO enables vehicles and drivers to remain compliant whilst also making it easy to deliver on duty of care responsibilities (including things such as driver health / driver safety) and giving confidence that any fraudulent activity is identified ODO enables vehicles and drivers to remain compliant whilst also making it easy to deliver on duty of care responsibilities (including things such as driver health / driver safety) and giving confidence that any fraudulent activity is identified Lower fleet costs through functionality that prevents end of lease surprises and reduces fuel and maintenance costs through functionality that prevents end of lease surprises and reduces fuel and maintenance costs Time saving driver app.. that empowers users to self-serve and manage vehicles efficiently, with proactive prompts to identify and prioritise issues, key tasks and reporting Commenting on the partnership, Select Car Leasing General Manager Graham Conway said: "Expanding our proposition to include full fleet management services is mission critical to our future growth and to satisfy our evolving customer needs." "We needed a partner and a platform that we could trust to deliver on our brand promise to our customers. We've been impressed with the ODO platform and are excited about the potential of this partnership. It provides us and our clients with a seamless, automated end-to-end fleet management solution which will help save time and reduce fleet costs." Robert Gorby, Chief Commercial Officer for ODO, said: "We're delighted Select Car Leasing have entrusted ODO to support them with their business expansion in Fleet Management Services." "Select are a widely known and well-respected business in the market and we look forward to working with them to enhance their fleet offering and provide the 5-star fleet management solution their customers have come to expect." For more information, please visit www.selectcarleasing.co.uk and www.ododrive.com ABOUT SELECT CAR LEASING Founded in 2004, Select Car Leasing has clearly established itself as the UKs largest car leasing company, both in terms of traffic to the website and visibility on Google. Offering the most competitive leasing rates in the market, Select Car Leasing is on course to deliver circa 18,000 cars in 2020 and there are over 40,000 people now driving a Select lease vehicle across the UK. The business has enjoyed significant growth over the past few years, increasing significantly in size each year for each of the last 5 years, and with annual website users likely to top 5 million during 2020, Select is now one of the largest automotive sites in the country by website visitors. About ODO ODO is an innovative Fleet Management application from Drive Software Solutions, a company with a long and successful history in the management of fleet and vehicle assets. ODO runs in the Oracle cloud, giving businesses a bespoke platform to manage their fleet and their drivers on the go at anytime, anywhere, using all devices. ODO. Time to optimise your fleet. www.ododrive.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1228679/ODO_Logo.jpg SOURCE ODO A medical staff is taking samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - Vietnam announced two new COVID-19 cases on August 17 morning, taking the national tally to 964. According to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, one case is in the northern province of Hai Duong and the other in the central province of Quang Nam.Patient 963 in Hai Duong is a 30-year-old man, who had his dinner at a restaurant at Pham Ngu Lao ward in Hai Duong city on August 3. The restaurant was later found to be a hotspot of COVID-19.Meanwhile, the 49-year-old female patient in Quang Nam attended a wedding ceremony in Da Nang on July 11.Among the patients confirmed in the country, 336 were imported cases and quarantined upon arrival, while 488 of locally-transmitted cases were related to the outbreak in Da Nang.The Steering Committees Treatment Sub-committee reported that as many as 456 patients or 47.3 percent of the total have fully recovered so far.Among the remaining active patients, 45 have tested negative for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 at least once, and 28 others at least twice.So far, 24 people have lost their lives due to COVID-19-related complications.A total of 107,642 people who had close contact with patients or returned from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined nationwide, including 4,015 at hospitals, 24,948 at concentrated quarantine establishments and 78,679 at home. California sizzled to a triple-digit temperature so hot that meteorologists need to verify it as a planet-wide high mark. Death Valley recorded a scorching 130 degrees (54.4 degrees Celsius) Sunday, which if the sensors and other conditions check out, would be the hottest Earth has been in more than 89 years and the third-warmest ever measured. The temperature, measured at the aptly-named Furnace Creek during a blistering heat wave, would be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth in August, said Arizona State University professor Randy Cerveny, who co-ordinates the World Meteorological Organizations extreme temperature team, which is already investigating the mark. That 130 is only below the disputed all-time record of 134 degrees (56.67 Celsius) at nearly the same spot in 1913 and a 131-degree mark (55 degrees) in Tunisia in 1931, but both were in July, traditionally the planets hottest month. The relentlessly hot weather conditions at the spot support such an extreme reading, so much of the verification effort will be looking at how the measurement was taken and the sensor itself, Cerveny said. Sundays temperature would beat marks of 129 (53.9 Celsius) recorded three times in recent years, he said. The monitor is an official one that follows world guidelines, but still needs to be examined in a process that takes months, he said. We are having more extremes than we had in the past, Cerveny said. The world is creeping up on (the 134-degree record) year after year. That is something that cannot be denied, Cerveny said Monday. These extremes tell us a lot about what will happen in the future. The western heat wave is due to a massive dome of high pressure that keeps roasting the West and the normal Southwest monsoon that would provide rain and relief is missing, so there has been no cooling, Cerveny said. Phoenix has gone weeks with temperatures not dipping below 90, even at night or early in the morning, he said. The 130-mark capped a week and an ongoing summer of very strange weather, said Deke Arndt, director of the National Weather Services Center for Weather and Climate and former chairman of the U.S. national weather extremes committee. On Saturday, a fire tornado formed during a wildfire near Chilcoot, California, worsened by the western heat wave. The fire was burning so incredibly intense, so there is just so much heat going into it that air rose in a swirl just like what happens in some thunderstorms, said Dawn Johnson, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nevada. It almost looks like a bomb went off. And days before that, a violent straight-wind derecho devastated parts of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, killing four people and causing billions of dollars in damages. Also, the Atlantic keeps setting records for earliest hurricanes, with 11 forming before mid August and the beginning of peak season. These kinds of things are certainly consistent with everybodys expectation for what we expect to see more often with man-made global warming, said Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, formerly Woods Hole Research Center, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Death Valleys National Parks 130-degree temperature was recorded at 3:41 p.m. at Furnace Creek near the parks visitor centre. Its the same area that holds the world record for highest temperature ever recorded 134 degrees (56.67 Celsius) set on July 10, 1913, although that record remains in dispute. Arndt said meteorologists have made good cases for and against the records legitimacy. With this new temperature, Arndt said his former committee might look yet again at the 1913 record, which Cerveny said is based on peer reviewed research and is official. While individual one-day records shouldnt be used to make a case for or against climate change, scientists say the overall context of more extreme weather and higher temperature shows global warming at work. Death Valley, an austere landscape in the desert of southeastern California, includes Badwater Basin, which at 282 feet (85.9 metres) below sea level is the lowest point in North America. Nearby mountains also help trap heat there and the dry land helps temperatures get hotter, Cerveny said. Summer heat is so routinely extreme that tourists are warned to drink at least a gallon (4 litres) of water each day, carry additional water in their cars, stay close to their vehicles and watch themselves and others for dizziness, nausea and other symptoms of potentially deadly heat illness. Ive been in Death Valley for 122 (50 Celsius), Cerveny said. Its just like be enveloped in a thick hot blanket of air. There is just no relief to it. John Antczak contributed to this report from Los Angeles. ___ Follow APs climate coverage at https://www.apnews.com/Climate ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears . ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content. The Bayelsa state governorship election tribunal sitting in Abuja has annulled the election of Duoye Diri, governor of Bayelsa state. King George, candidate of the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP), had asked the tribunal to cancel the election because he was excluded from the November 16, 2019 governorship poll. On Saturday, a three-man panel of the tribunal had dismissed three petitions challenging the election on the grounds of incompetence and lacking merit But while delivering judgment on another petition on Monday, the panel held that the election was unlawful due to the exclusion of ANDP and its candidate,. Yunusa Musa, the judge who read the judgement, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election in Bayelsa within 90 days. Diri, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was sworn in as governor after the supreme court sacked David Lyon as governor-elect 24 hours before his inauguration. The apex court based its rulings on the premise that Biobarakuma Degi-Eremieoyo, running mate of the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), presented forged certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). As the two major political parties prepare to open their national conventions, the race for the White House tilts toward the Democrats, with former vice president Joe Biden holding a double-digit lead nationally over President Donald Trump amid continuing disapproval of the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Democrats kick off their convention on Monday in a mood of cautious optimism, with Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., leading Trump and Vice President Mike Pence by 53% to 41% among registered voters. The findings are identical among a larger sample of all voting-age adults. Biden's current national margin over Trump among voters is slightly smaller than the 15-point margin in a poll taken last month and slightly larger than a survey in May when he led by 10 points. In late March, as the pandemic was taking hold in the United States, Biden and Trump were separated by just two points, with the former vice president holding a statistically insignificant advantage. Today, Biden and Harris lead by 54% to 43% among those who say they are absolutely certain to vote and who also report voting in 2016. A month ago, Biden's lead of 15 points overall had narrowed to seven points among similarly committed 2016 voters. Biden now also leads by low double-digits among those who say they are following the election most closely. The president's supporters are more eager than are Biden's to cast ballots for him, with nearly 9 in 10 calling themselves enthusiastic and 65% saying they are "very enthusiastic." Slightly more than 8 in 10 Biden supporters say they are enthusiastic about voting for him, with 48% saying they are "very enthusiastic." The motivations of the Trump and Biden supporters remain starkly different, with the president motivating both groups. Almost 3 in 4 who support Trump say they are casting an affirmative vote for the president, rather than to oppose Biden. Among those backing Biden, nearly 6 in 10 say they are voting mainly to oppose Trump rather than mainly to support the presumptive Democratic nominee. Overall, 54% of registered voters say they are following the election "very closely," a high water mark for polls at a similar point in campaigns over the past 20 years. The share of Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters who say they are very closely following the campaign stands at 58%, the same was it was in early September 2016. Among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independent voters, 53% say they are very closely following the campaign, which represents a 13-point jump over this time four years ago. A majority of Americans - 54% - say they approve of Biden's selection of Harris as his running mate, although views diverge significantly along partisan lines. Among Democrats, 86% approve of Harris's selection, including 64% who strongly approve. Among Republicans, 55% disapprove with 46% strongly disapproving. A bare majority of independents - 52% - say they approve, while 29% disapprove of Biden's decision. The poll also finds nearly 8 in 10 Black Americans approve of Harris's selection as a running mate, including 50% who approve strongly. Nearly two-thirds of Hispanic adults approve of Biden's choice, compared with just under half of White adults. But 71% of adults overall say Harris's selection will make no difference in how they vote, including majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents. Asked about the qualifications of Harris and Pence to assume the presidency, if that were required, the findings are identical, with 54% saying they thought each was qualified to take over the highest office in the land should that be necessary. Not surprisingly, majorities of Democrats and of Republicans offer negative views about the qualifications of the other party's running mate. Biden and Trump will use the next two weeks to present themselves to the American people through quadrennial conventions that will be held under unique circumstances, absent the traditional packed arenas, balloon drops and other festivities. But the conventions will still afford both Biden and Trump the opportunity to make a mostly unfiltered appeal to voters in hopes of energizing supporters and making their strongest case to persuadable voters. The findings in the latest Post-ABC poll are in line with a Washington Post analysis of national polls taken in July and August, although some recent polls have shown a closer margin. National polls, however, are only one measure of the state of the presidential race and reflect only the popular vote. To win the presidency, a nominee needs to win 270 electoral votes in the state-by-state competition. While Trump won the electoral vote in 2016, Clinton won the popular vote by millions of ballots. Trump has indicated his confidence in a second electoral college victory, but at this point, Biden holds an advantage in many of the key battleground states that are likely to determine the outcome in November. That advantage, however, is generally smaller than his national lead in multiple polls. In the Post-ABC poll, Biden has an edge of seven points in states that were decided by five points or fewer in 2016, a margin well within the range of sampling error. Historically, a president's job approval rating correlates closely with support in a reelection campaign. Currently, 43% say they approve of the job Trump is doing as president, up slightly from 39% last month, with 55% saying they disapprove. His approval rating today is about midway between his high and low points over the past year of Post-ABC polling. Trump's standing with Americans continues to be tied to perceptions of the pandemic and of the way he has dealt with it over a period of months. At present, 59% of Americans say they disapprove of his handling of the crisis, while 40% approve. That is statistically unchanged from last month. But it is sharply different from March, when 51% approved and 45% disapproved. There is widespread disagreement that the coronavirus outbreak is under control - 85% of registered voters say it is either just "somewhat under control" or "not at all under control," while 14% say the outbreak is "mostly" or "completely" under control. A clear majority of Americans are worried about their family contracting the coronavirus, a proportion largely unchanged from previous months, and most say the outbreak has had a severe impact on their communities' economies. Biden wins clear majority support among voters who are more worried about the coronavirus outbreak, as well as those who say the outbreak has had a severe economic impact on their community or their own finances. Among voters who are very or somewhat worried that a family member will become infected, 65% support Biden while 29% back Trump. Nearly half of all registered voters - 49% - say the coronavirus outbreak is "not at all" under control. Biden leads 83% to 11% among registered voters who hold this view. Trump leads with 62% support among voters who say the outbreak is "somewhat" under control and receives 90% among the smaller share of voters who say the outbreak is mostly or completely under control in the U.S. When asked whether, if Biden were president, the nation's response to the coronavirus outbreak would be better or worse than it has been under Trump, a plurality of Americans - 46% - say better and 24% say worse, with nearly all the rest saying it would be about the same. Biden also scores positively on two other big issues, race relations and health care. By a margin of 26 points (46% to 20%), Americans say race relations would be better under a Biden presidency. On health care, the margin is net-positive for him by 13 points, 39% to 26%. On the question of safety from crime, however, perceptions of what a Biden presidency could mean are not favorable, with 25% saying things would be better and 32% saying they would be worse. Trump's campaign has made crime a major focus of its advertising and messages recently, using images of recent protests to assert that Biden and the Democrats are weak on the issue. On the economy, which was Trump's strongest asset before the pandemic disrupted it and drove tens of millions into joblessness, Americans are roughly divided three ways when asked whether things would be better or worse if Biden were president. Thirty-two percent say the economy would be better under Biden, 35% say worse and 30% say about the same. Along with the pandemic, the state of the economy looms large in the election and Americans currently have a gloomy view. Slightly more than 2 in 3 give the economy negative ratings, including 1 in 3 saying the state of the economy is "poor." These are the worst findings in nearly six years in Post-ABC polls. Of the four candidates on the two major party tickets this fall, Trump has the lowest ratings on the issue of favorability, which is a different measure than job approval. While 42% say they have a favorable impression of the president, 56% say their impression is unfavorable, including 46% who say it is strongly unfavorable. Those numbers have changed little in the three-plus years of his presidency but are better than they were before the Republican convention in 2016, when 31% gave him a favorable rating. Biden currently has a narrowly positive rating, with 50% favorable and 46% unfavorable. That is a small improvement since May when his rating was a net two points negative. But it is better standing than Hillary Clinton enjoyed four years ago, when her favorability was at 48% just after her July convention and fell to 41% later in August. Majorities rated her unfavorably through the rest of the campaign. Harris has the highest positive rating of the four candidates on the ballot this year, with 52% favorable and 38% unfavorable. Pence nearly breaks even, with 44% favorable and 46% unfavorable. Biden's margin of voting support over Trump is built on stronger support among some groups of voters than Clinton achieved four years ago. He is winning independent voters by 17 points, for example, a group Trump narrowly won in 2016, according to network exit polls. Nine in 10 Democrats support Biden and about the same%age of Republicans back Trump. Biden and Trump are tied among seniors, a group Trump carried four years ago, although Biden has lost the 10-point advantage he held in May. They are also roughly even among voters ages 40-64. But among voters under age 40, who historically turn out in lower percentages than older voters, Biden leads by 62% to 29%. Among voters in the suburbs, a traditional electoral battleground, Biden has a narrow eight-point lead. Trump, who narrowly won suburban voters in 2016, has tried to appeal to them this year by holding himself out as the sole force preventing an influx of minority and poor residents. Still, suburban women currently favor Biden by 13 points, while suburban men are about evenly divided. Biden leads by 20 points among white voters with college degrees while Trump leads by 22 points among White voters without college degrees. Four years ago, Trump won non-college White voters by more than 30 points. Women back Biden by 56% to 40%, about the same as their margin for Clinton over Trump in 2016. Men currently favor him by half that margin - 51% to 43% - though they went for Trump in 2016, according to exit polls. Black voters support Biden by 87% to 9% for Trump. That margin is just shy of Clinton's winning margin among Black voters in 2016, and farther behind Barack Obama's 95% support in 2008 and 93% support in 2012, with Biden as his running mate. The Post-ABC poll was conducted Aug. 12-15 among a random national sample of 1,001 adults, with 75% reached on cellphones and 25% on landlines. Overall results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5%age points; the error margin is four points among the sample of 868 registered voters, and is larger among other subgroups. Ruling in politicised trial on the killing of former PM Rafik Hariri and 21 others will pile pressure on Hezbollah. Beirut, Lebanon Years after former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated, a large billboard was put up at a main Beirut intersection. It bore Hariris smiling image, contrasted against a black background, and the words time for justice in large, white letters. A ticker above the billboards top right corner counted up the days to justice. By last year, it stopped working. Then, at some point during the winter that no one in the area seems to remember, the billboard itself disappeared. On Tuesday, the verdict in the trial of four individuals accused of Hariris assassination will finally be handed down by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) an international court based near the Hague, in the Netherlands more than 15 years after he was killed in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005, along with 21 others. Four members of Iran-backed militia and political party Hezbollah stand accused of organising and carrying out the attack, though Hezbollah itself is not formally accused. At the time, large swaths of Lebanons population laid final blame for the assassination on Syria, and enormous protests set off a chain of events that led Syrian forces to withdraw from Lebanon after some 40 years in the country. Since its inception in 2007, the STL has been demonised by the pro-Syria camp in Lebanon, chiefly Hezbollah, who have said it is a conspiracy against them. Others see it as the only way to achieve justice in a country with a weak, politically exposed judiciary. But Lebanon has a different set of problems today than it did 15 years ago. The verdict will be announced to a people free-falling into an endless downward spiral of economic collapse, political crisis, coronavirus outbreak, and an explosion that killed more than 170 people and injured 6,000, dwarfing the attack that killed the former prime minister. There are some parallels: Many, including local and international organizations and the families of some victims, have called for an international investigation into the blast, citing their lack of trust in Lebanese authorities. The pro-Syria camp, represented by President Michel Aoun and Hezbollah, have rejected these calls, saying they have no confidence in international justice. In the run-up to the verdict, Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his brother Baha, two of Rafiks sons, have urged supporters to exercise restraint. Still, it will undoubtedly add to simmering tensions and rage against the strongest political forces in the country Hezbollah and its allies. The verdict will add fuel to rising anti-Hezbollah sentiment in Lebanon, Hilal Khashan, a veteran professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, told Al Jazeera. No one believes for a second that four unruly members of this highly disciplined group carried out this attack on their own accord. The trial Hariris assassination was internationalised from the beginning, owing to the scale of the attack and Hariris larger-than-Lebanon ties to world leaders including Jacques Chirac, the French president at the time. A UN investigation began just weeks after the explosion, before the STL formally took over in 2009. On trial are Salim Ayyash, accused of overseeing preparations for the attack, as well as Hussein Oneissi, Assad Sabra, and Hassan Merhi. None of the defendants was ever located, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah proclaimed they never would be, not even in 300 years. 20141177281161970 The prosecutions case focuses heavily on a network of mobile phones that followed Hariri around in the months before his assassination, before almost all went dark after it was carried out. The defence has argued there are gaps in the evidence and it is circumstantial at best. The UN investigation first focused on Syrian involvement, and four top generals were detained for four years until the STL ordered their release in 2009 saying they had been arbitrarily detained. Investigations then turned to focus on the Hezbollah members. Question of legitimacy MP Jamil Sayyed, a former head of general security who was one of the generals arbitrarily detained for four years, told Al Jazeera the investigation into Hariris assassination was a dirty political game from the beginning. The goal even before the investigation started was to show that Syria and its allies killed Hariri, and then they looked for the evidence to support those claims, rather than the legal procedure for investigation which gets to conclusions through facts and evidence and true witnesses, he said. But Peter Haynes, the lead legal representative for the victims in the case, told Al Jazeera the trial identified plainly criminal behaviour in the same way many international investigations do, and I dont think it is in any way illegitimate. Haynes cites the time elapsed since the crime as the main issue in the trial but said it is not a futile exercise for the roughly 70 people he represents. 160225101743385 From the perspective of the victims, it does achieve justice because it creates an historical record even if they would have liked the verdict to be out years back and to have the accused sitting on the dock, he said. The lead defence council did not respond to a request for comment. Public not convinced Even if victims are able to find some closure, Lebanese public opinion at large is not convinced, Karim Emile Bitar, director of the Institute of Political Science at Lebanons Saint Joseph University, told Al Jazeera. Most people you speak to, even die-hard supporters of Rafik Hariri, do not believe that this is really justice because its been 15 years, because there were so many shifting alliances in the past 15 years, because Hariris son, Saad, himself in 2009 reconciled with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Bitar said Lebanon had witnessed an average of one assassination per year since independence in 1943, be they top politicians, prominent journalists or investigators. The Hariri trial was significant in seeking to hold people accountable for such a killing for the first time, he said. But justice delayed is justice denied. China will further facilitate cross-border use of the renminbi by promoting pilot programs to boost trade and investment, making it possible for more foreign central banks and monetary authorities to hold the currency as a reserve asset, according to a report from the nation's central bank. After a decade of the currency's internationalization, Chinese policymakers expect that the allocation of RMB assets by foreign investors will be further facilitated, and domestic financial market transactions by foreign investors will keep growing rapidly. Cross-border use of the RMB has sustained rapid progress and maintained robust growth this year, even amid the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has severely hit global trade, finance and the economy, analysts said, commenting on the report released late on Friday by the People's Bank of China. More than 70 central banks and monetary authorities worldwide have incorporated the RMB into their foreign exchange reserves so far, according to the PBOC's 2020 RMB Internationalization Report. The central bank promised to steadily push forward RMB internationalization based on market forces and the orientation of better serving the real economy. "We expect more foreign traders to join crude oil, iron ore and other commodity futures trading and use the RMB more frequently in real commodity trading. More varieties of RMB-denominated financial products will be provided," it added. Jin Zhongxia, the International Monetary Fund's executive director for China, said, "China's capital market can further open up, which requires free floating of the RMB." "It also needs to develop foreign exchange forward products, and better control the overall money supply and foreign debt," Jin said at a seminar held last week by the China Finance 40 Forum. Jin suggested issuing RMB-denominated treasuries and central bank bills in the offshore market. Meanwhile, the stock market can attract more foreign investors through establishing an international board, which allows initial public offerings for high-growth enterprises from emerging economies. Under the complex international environment at the moment, "RMB internationalization is not a subordinate target that can be sacrificed, but a major issue related to whether China's economy can effectively alleviate the impact of external shocks", Jin added. Supported by the monetary authorities' policies, analysts expect more market participants will accept the RMB as a settlement and payment currency, especially those located either in neighboring countries or areas related to the Belt and Road Initiative. Free trade zones and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will become the driving force of RMB cross-border payment. Record high Last year, cross-border RMB settlement hit a record high of 19.67 trillion yuan ($2.83 trillion), increasing 24.1 percent year-on-year, the PBOC's report said. The yuan's share of global foreign exchange reserves hit a record high of 2.02 percent as a global currency in the first quarter, according to the IMF. This was the highest level since the fund first published details of renminbi reserve assets in 2016. The fund also said that by the end of 2019, the scale of renminbi reserves had reached $217.67 billion, accounting for 1.95 percent of the total foreign exchange reserves of designated currencies, ranking fifth and surpassing the Canadian dollar's share of 1.88 percent. Due to the impact of China-US trade frictions and other external vulnerabilities, the foreign exchange market showed increased fluctuations, and more enterprises prefer to use the RMB as a safe investment asset to mitigate risks, said Guan Tao, chief global economist at BOC International (China) Co Ltd. Another survey conducted recently by the Bank of China also showed that the international currency status of the RMB reached a new high in 2019. About 80 percent of domestic and foreign respondents to the survey believed that the RMB's role as an international currency will not be inferior to that of the Japanese yen or the British pound in the next decade. The result was 3 percentage points higher than that in 2018, and had continued to rise for the fourth consecutive year since 2016, Bank of China said. Farmers in the Upper Clyde Valley have been awarded 90,000 to expand local conservation efforts for wading birds. The RSPB Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage funding will be used to help farmers in the area improve farmland habitats for waders. It will also help undertake monitoring to better understand how these threatened birds are faring across the Lanarkshire and Ayrshire uplands. Globally, Scotland is a significant home for waders, but they are in steep decline with two thirds of curlews and half of lapwings lost since 1994. A group of 17 South Lanarkshire and East Ayrshire farmers were initially part of the RSPBs Clyde Valley Wader Initiative, working with SAC Consulting part of Scotland's Rural College (SRUC). The initiative helps direct agri-environment funding to farmers in wader hotspots. The parties then worked with the Soil Association Scotland-led Rural Innovation Support Service (RISS) to continue and expand on the work. Dan Brown, a senior conservation advisor at RSPB Scotland, said extensive farming systems, agri-environment schemes and predator management were the most important reasons for the birds nesting in the area. He said: Scotland is an important country for these species, and the agri-environment schemes have been a key delivery mechanism for their survival outside of nature reserves. "But their breeding success is still too low, so we need to understand and quantify what works, to better target the schemes and future management. The funding will allow the group to collect data on stocking rates, grazing techniques and soil characteristics and how they interact with bird nesting, hatching and causes of nest loss. In addition to the RSPB project, the farmers will carry out soil sampling, invertebrate counts and compaction testing over the summer. To the Editor: Re Susan Rices Diplomatic Disasters (column, Aug. 11): As a bipartisan group of former assistant secretaries of state for African affairs, we strongly disagree with Bret Stephenss portrayal of U.S. engagement in Africa since the end of the Cold War, including unfair and very personal criticism of Ambassador Rices record on Africa. As assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Ms. Rice was tireless in her effort to bring peace to the region and transform the U.S.-African relationship into one based on mutual respect and benefit. U.S. policy toward Africa has been a bipartisan endeavor for the last three decades. There is no clearer evidence of this than the United States longstanding commitment spanning both Republican and Democratic administrations to provide humanitarian, development, trade and security assistance to Africa, support that continues to be approved by large bipartisan majorities in Congress. Real-world decisions are rarely binary choices between good and bad outcomes, particularly in times of war and peace. Effectively advancing U.S. interests and values in Africa (as elsewhere) requires a mixture of pragmatism, principles and a keen understanding of what is possible. 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 Advertising for software and hardware designed to stalk and spy on people will soon be banned on Google. Promotion of products or services that are marketed or targeted with the express purpose of tracking or monitoring another person or their activities without their authorization will be prohibited on the platform starting Aug. 11, the company, which is owned by Alphabet, announced Friday in its ads policies center. Under a change in the Google Ads Enabling Dishonest Behavior policy, the ban will include advertising for spyware or malware used to monitor texts, phone calls, or browsing history, as well as hardware, such as GPS trackers specifically marketed to spy or track someone without their consent, and surveillance equipment cameras, audio recorders, dash cams, nanny cams marketed with the express purpose of spying. The ban doesnt include advertising for private investigation services or products designed for parents to track or monitor children. Google noted that violators of the policy will receive at least seven days notice before their account on the platform is suspended. Loopholes Security blogger Graham Cluley pointed out that the exemption for software that allows parents to track their children could be a big loophole in the new policy. To dodge the policy, he wrote in his blog, all a stalkerware company needs to do is pose as a family safety app, which helps you keep track of your young children. Sadly, I doubt Googles ad ban will stop stalkerware apps from promoting themselves, its just they may no longer be able to be quite so explicit in their online adverts about how they are most likely to be used, he added. There may be other loopholes, too. Google is banning ads from app developers and about the apps themselves, but what about the ads about the blog with an article on the top 10 surveillance apps to download? asked Liz Miller, vice president and a principal analyst with Constellation Research, a technology research and advisory firm in Cupertino, Calif. That isnt about an app. Its about content, she told TechNewsWorld. Is that going to be a loophole? A D V E R T I S E M E N T This is a great headline maker, she added, but the reality is I can still search for spy app and theyre still going to come up in my Google search results. Limitless Capabilities Miller maintained Googles new policy is looking beyond malicious persons. What Google is responding to is the realization that these apps are being used not only by individuals who have malicious intent, but also criminal enterprises especially when you start talking about apps that allow you to follow and track an individuals movements and see content on their devices without their knowing about it, she said. Thats a very slippery slope into some very dangerous privacy territory that Google doesnt want anything to do with, she added. Software for spying and stalking people is a very serious problem, observed David Ruiz, a blogger for Malwarebytes Labs, a cybersecurity software maker based in Santa Clara, Calif. The capabilities of these types of apps are nearly limitless they can pull text messages, emails, and call logs; reveal sensitive photos and videos; expose web browsing history; and pinpoint a persons GPS location, he told TechNewsWorld. In the hands of an abuser, he continued, these types of apps could make safety planning for a survivor extremely difficult, dismantling their attempts to privately call a domestic abuse hotline, find help from a friend or family member, or to physically escape. Industry Response The damage caused by the spying and stalking software can be severe, added Chlo Messdaghi, vice president of strategy at Point3 Security, a provider of training and analytic tools to the security industry located in Baltimore, Md. It gives someone the power to abuse a victim psychologically, which affects them physically and emotionally for years and years, she told TechNewsWorld. And when victims go to the FBI and device manufacturers and carriers, more often than not, they get no response, she said. Google should have done this years ago. Its illegal, she observed. A lot of us in the security space are astounded that companies still allow stalkerware to exist in their shops or their sites may carry ads for it. The stalkerware problem has prompted an industry response. To further improve the detection of such software in the cybersecurity industry, many organizations are joining the Coalition Against Stalkerware to share their knowledge and protect users against stalkerware, explained Tara Hairston, head of government relations for Kaspersky Lab North America, an information security software company located in Woburn, Mass. Beyond detection, further research on the link between cyberviolence, physical violence, and the gendered nature of stalkerware use is crucial in order to develop a clearer picture and better understanding of this issue, she told TechNewsWorld. Fall and Rise of Stalkerware Hairston noted that Kaspersky saw a decline in stalkerware infections among its global mobile users during the first four months of 2020, to 8,163 in April from 11,532 in January. It is our educated guess that this decrease may be related to the lockdown situation around the globe, she said. Since most stalkerware is used to spy on an intimate partner, she continued, nowadays the need for this type of app should be declining. There is no necessity to spy on partners when theyre locked down together. That trend may be changing, though, a report released by another cybersecurity company, Avast, found a 51 percent increase in the United States in the use of software for spying and stalking individuals from March to June, compared to the first two months of the year. James McQuiggan, the security awareness advocate at KnowBe4, a security awareness training company located in Clearwater, Fla., noted that the pandemic has created a fertile environment for malicious actors intent on spreading bad apps. Knowing that most people who use the Internet throughout the day are people at work, its become a target-rich environment for cyber criminals, he told TechNewsWorld. End users are more exposed and vulnerable at home than inside a building with coworkers, IT support, and network protections, he explained. The contrast between the images couldn't have been starker. More than 200,000 people flooded central Minsk on August 16 in the biggest outpouring of opposition yet to Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka following his disputed reelection for a sixth term on August 9. Hours earlier in the Belarusian capital, Lukashenka, in power since 1994, attracted a gathering a fraction of the size, with many in attendance reported to be state workers who were told either show up or find another job. As labor strikes widen amid other protests, analysts say Lukashenka is running out of options to defuse the crisis and could resort to even more forceful measures, possibly emboldened by vague promises of support from longtime ally Russia. "Lukashenka is not going to make concessions at this stage," explained Arsen Sivitski, director of the Minsk-based Center for Strategic and Foreign Policy Studies. "And probably will try to manage the crisis by force, introducing a state of emergency or even martial law." Already, some 7,000 people have been detained by police across Belarus in the postelection crackdown, with hundreds injured and at least two killed as police have used rubber bullets, stun grenades, and, in at least one instance, live ammunition. Hundreds of those held and subsequently released spoke of brutal beatings they suffered in detention, much of it documented and splashed across social media. Thousands remain in custody. During a visit to a factory in Minsk on August 17, Lukashenka made vague offers to share power and tinker with the constitution, but struck a defiant, almost belligerent tone to a skeptical audience. "You will not live to see the day I do anything under pressure," Lukashenka told the workers, some of whom shouted "Step down!" and "Leave!" Lukashenka added that there will be no new election "until you kill me." Lukashenka also said Belarus would "die as a state" if a rerun of the election were to take place, flatly rejecting the opposition's primary political demand. Later in the day, however, he speculated that new parliamentary and presidential elections could be held if a new constitution were adopted by a national referendum. The opposition has not been calling for a new constitution. Lukashenka's visit to the factory comes after some of the country's biggest state-run industrial plants were hit by protests and walkouts last week. More strike actions, including by state television employees, are planned for this week, further eroding Lukashenka's support. Opposition candidate Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya -- who left for Lithuania most likely under pressure from the authorities, who are holding her husband in custody -- appears to be growing bolder as Lukashenka's support appears to slip. In a fresh video message on August 17, the 37-year-old Tsikhanouskaya declared she was ready to become a "national leader" in order to restore calm, free political prisoners, and prepare for a new election. Tsikhanouskaya, who reluctantly entered the race after her husband, a popular vlogger, was barred from running, has said that where votes were properly counted, she won 60 to 70 percent of the vote, rather than the 10 percent she was allocated by the official vote tally. She's already said she was initiating the creation of a "Coordination Council" for a potential transition of power and called on the international community to help mediate. Whether Lukashenka would be willing to talk to Tsikhanouskaya or her surrogates appears doubtful. In his address to supporters in Minsk on August 16, Lukashenka said the opposition would "crawl like rats out of a hole" if they were not suppressed this time. "You came here so that for the first time in a quarter-century you could defend your country, your independence, your wives, sisters, and children," he said. Lukashenka also claimed a NATO buildup of forces on Belarus's western borders, something immediately rejected by the military alliance. Now Looking East? As he faces growing pressure, Lukashenka, who just weeks ago accused Russia of sending mercenaries to Belarus to stir up trouble, is turning to Russian President Vladimir Putin for help. The two spoke by phone on August 15 and 16, and after the second call the Kremlin said Russia was ready to assist Belarus in line with a military pact that both countries have signed if need be. It was not clear what form such aid would take. On August 17, Belarus started military exercises near the Astravets nuclear power plant, close to the border with Lithuania, which has protested the construction of the Russian-designed atomic station. Besides providing Tsikhanouskaya with refuge, Vilnius, whose historical ties to Belarus date back centuries when both were part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, has been among the loudest critics of the Belarusian vote and subsequent crackdown. According to Interfax, which cited the Belarusian Defense Ministry, the exercises, involving artillery and missile divisions, will last from August 17 to 20. More ominously, photos and videos uploaded to social media suggested that unmarked Russian military vehicles could be moving in the direction of Belarus. Writing on Twitter, Julian Ropcke, a journalist and conflict analyst, said, "The Putin regime is gearing up efforts to intervene in its neighboring country." None of these reports has been independently confirmed. Before seizing control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, Russian forces without insignias or other markings were deployed at strategic sites. Although Putin initially denied it, he later acknowledged their presence. 'This Is The End' As pressure to step down grows, many analysts predict Lukashenka will take even more repressive measures to maintain his grip on power. Seviaryn Kviatkouski, a Belarusian analyst, said no one could have predicted the course events have taken in Belarus. "I not only watch, but I visit the city center often," he told Current Time, a Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. "And I want to say that, of course, no one, least of all the authorities, could have predicted what has happened." "You have to understand that the people won't give in. This is it; this is the end. You are now watching the end of the Lukashenka regime," Kviatkouski predicted. "I am only afraid of one thing -- that perhaps he can still give the order for some executions, for some terrible things." Sivitski of the Center for Strategic and Foreign Policy Studies said Lukashenka's position is eroding as the protests grow, especially with the growing number of workers joining strike actions. "The protest agenda has already transformed significantly," he told RFE/RL in an e-mail. "A few days ago the main motivation behind the protests was injustice and the bloody brutality of the security apparatus. Now it has clear political goals: demand for Lukashenka's resignation and new presidential elections." What happens next could largely depend on what the so-called "siloviki" -- police, army, and other security forces -- do. Some have already resigned, with several posting videos on social media showing then trashing their uniforms. "I say it again: it depends on the security forces," Kviatkouski explained. "That is, how much will they drag out this drama? Either they will go over to the side of the people, or they will simply become neutral, or they will nevertheless start some kind of mass repression with executions, or other horrors." In any event, the postelection protest movement has changed Belarus, whether Lukashenka is able to remain in office or not, wrote Lizaveta Merliak, the international secretary of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union, in a commentary. "If Lukashenka is able to hold on to power, he will be compelled to turn to an even more repressive rule, as millions of dissidents need to be forced into obedience," Merliak wrote. "In the summer of 2020 the whole world, not without some surprise, is seeing a new country on the map of Europe," she said. "Not a Belarus asleep with apathy, but a Belarus whose people are seized by determination to win freedom and democracy." RFE/RL's Belarus and Russian services and Current Time contributed to this report Two cousins who were rescued at sea after surviving the night on paddleboards have met up and chatted about everything - apart from their terrifying ordeal. Ellen Glynn (17) and her cousin Sara Feeney (23) were reunited after the teenager was discharged from University College Hospital Galway. Now the pair, who live around the corner from each other, are anxious to get their lives back to some semblance of normality. They survived 15 hours at sea and drifted almost 20 miles on paddleboards before being found by a fisherman and his son on Thursday morning. For Sara, a return to normality might be going back to her summer job after completing her degree in psychology in NUI Galway a few months ago, while Ellen will have no problem coming up with material for the standard 'How I spent my summer holidays' essay when she returns to Colaiste Iognaid in a couple of weeks. Expand Close Family friends Anna Burke, Bridget Harrington Barry and Fiona Concannon. Photo: Hany Marzouk / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Family friends Anna Burke, Bridget Harrington Barry and Fiona Concannon. Photo: Hany Marzouk Read More "I think I will have plenty to write about on that," said Ellen as she enjoyed her first full day back at the family home in Knocknacarra, Galway. Her mum Deirdre said that when classes were suspended in March due to the outbreak of Covid-19, she feared that her eldest daughter might struggle to say how she had spent transition year. "I don't think she or any of us will forget the year now! It's still sinking in. Sara and herself are two great young people, really resilient and strong and they will move on from this. I think everyone realises how lucky we are," said Deirdre. Her niece Sara was only detained in hospital for a few hours on Thursday evening after being flown by Coast Guard helicopter from Inis Oirr. They were plucked from the water by fisherman Patrick Oliver (38) and his 18-year-old son Morgan, who had set out from the docks in Galway and correctly worked out the location of the pair after analysing wind and tidal information. Ellen's father Johnny, who was Galway United's hero goal scorer in the 1991 FAI Cup final, met the Olivers for the first time on Friday evening - they live within a mile of each other in Knocknacarra - to thank them. "I don't know what I'm going to say to them because I can't even put it into words how grateful we are to them," said Ellen. Read More And then, speaking as Gaeilge, she paid particular tribute to the people of Connemara and the Aran Islands who came out in their droves to search for them. "It's only now we are beginning to realise how much people did," she said. "Bit by bit, Sara and I are finding it out. It's hard to let it all sink in but we are just so grateful and we want to thank people. "But it's good to be home. It's still a big shock and it's starting to sink in. I spoke to Sara on Saturday evening, she's good, she's in a lot of shock as well." They chatted about everything except their ordeal, which has been dubbed 'The Miracle of Galway Bay'. MANKATO, Minn. - Declaring its crunch time for the upcoming election, President Donald Trump zeroed in on Midwest battleground states on Monday with a law and order message to counter former Vice-President Joe Bidens show at the Democratic National Convention. In Mankato, Minnesota, Trump stepped up his rhetoric against Biden, calling him a puppet of left-wing extremists trying to erase our borders, eliminate our police, indoctrinate our children, vilify our heroes, take away our energy. Speaking to a crowd of several hundred supporters outside an aircraft hangar, Trump alleged that a Biden victory would replace American freedom with left-wing fascism. Fascists. They are fascists, Trump continued, though fascism is a form of far-right nationalism. Some of them, not all of them, but some of them. But theyre getting closer and closer. We have to win this election. But the proud people of Minnesota will not let this happen. Trump on Monday also visited Wisconsin the official host state of the entirely virtual Democratic National Convention to launch a week of travel and political events aiming to blunt the customary polling bounce that a candidate gets during their convention week. The president trails in both public and private surveys less than three months before Election Day. Earlier in the day, Trump stopped in Minneapolis to hold an event with small-business owners whose stores were damaged after violent protests following the killing of George Floyd in police custody. Im here to help you. We will bring back law and order to your community. We will bring it back, and we will bring it back immediately, Trump told supporters on the airport tarmac. He did not venture to the scene of the protests or the memorial to Floyd in the city. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said the White House had been interested in Trump visiting the makeshift memorial in Minneapolis at the site of Floyds fatal encounter with police on Memorial Day. I spent this weekend trying to tell the White House why it was a really bad idea to have President Trump go down and stand at the George Floyd memorial and use (it) as a backdrop for his campaign and ignite the pain and the anguish that were feeling in Minnesota, the governor said Monday during a virtual breakfast for the states delegation to the DNC. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows disputed Walzs statement. Gov. Walz never reached out to me, nor the president, nor the campaign so perhaps he misspoke, Meadows told The Associated Press. Weve communicated before, so he has our contact information. On the tarmac in Minneapolis, Trump addressed about 150 supporters half of them wearing masks who chanted Four more years! Trump told them that the Democrats would take away the constitutional amendment to bear arms, though Biden has said he will work to enact common-sense gun reforms. Trump also criticized Biden for supporting an expansion in refugee asylum admissions, including from what the president termed terrorist hot spots, an apparent reference to Minnesotas large community of Somali refugees. Im going to be so politically correct, Trump said, before taking credit for his travel ban on some Muslim-majority countries, saying, We want people to come into our country who love our country. In Wisconsin, which Trump won by less than 1 percentage point in 2016, the president said hes seeing more spirit now. You see, this is easier in a sense. Now, the virus made it a little bit more difficult, maybe a lot more difficult, because all of a sudden something happened that nobody ever even thought about, Trump said in Oshkosh at another airport hangar event. But we handled it. As Trump attacked Biden, his plans for his own convention next week were beginning to come into focus after the coronavirus scrapped in-person gatherings in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Jacksonville, Florida. Trump is set to accept the Republican nomination from the White House, with the Republican National Committee filing a permit application to launch fireworks from the National Mall to mark the occasion. A spokesperson said the application was pending. Marking his heaviest week of political travel since the coronavirus put a stop to his campaign schedule and imperiled his reelection chances, Trump sharply criticized Bidens economic policies in the Upper Midwest battleground states. On Tuesday, Trump will take on Biden over his immigration policies during a visit to Yuma, Arizona. He is also set to travel to Pennsylvania, the state of Bidens birth, on Thursday, ahead of the Democrats acceptance speech. Trumps aggressive push comes as his path to reelection has narrowed since the coronavirus hit, and hes been forced to play defence in the states that carried him to reelection four years ago. Minnesota, viewed as a GOP pickup opportunity a year ago, now appears to be slipping out of reach, Republicans say. Wisconsin, a state that had voted for Democratic presidents for decades until Trumps 2016 victory, has emerged as one of the toughest battlegrounds of 2020. Vice-President Mike Pence plans to visit the southern part of the state on Wednesday. Trumps campaign views the states whiter, older demographics to be more favourable than Michigan, which Trump also won four years ago but is increasingly seen as a likely Democratic pickup. Trumps campaign is seizing on Bidens decision because of the coronavirus not to travel to Milwaukee for the convention, accusing the Democrat effectively abandoning Wisconsin. The GOP is sending surrogates to the state this week in a show of force, including Pence and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. Democrats are devoting resources to television ads and field organizing in the state. Biden and California Sen. Kamala Harris, his newly announced running mate, are set to deliver their convention addresses from Bidens home state of Delaware this week, mitigating the need for air travel. ___ Associated Press writers Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis, and Deb Riechmann, Darlene Superville and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report. The tech giant in an open letter claimed it would be forced to hand over users search data to news media companies. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission slammed Googles misinformation and said the company would not be required to share additional user data with the news media or charge Australians to use its free services unless it chooses to do so. (Photo of Google CEO Sundar Pichai | Flickr - Nguyen Hung Vu) Sydney: US technology giant Google went on the offensive Monday against an Australian plan forcing digital giants to pay for news content, telling users their personal data would be at risk. Australia announced last month that firms such as Google and Facebook would have to pay news media for content, after 18 months of negotiations ended without agreement. The landmark measures would include fines worth millions of dollars for non-compliance and force transparency around the closely guarded algorithms firms use to rank content. Google is now fighting a rearguard action to prevent the measures from entering into forceand been accused by Australia of spreading misinformation in the process. On Monday it told users in a new homepage pop-up that the way Aussies use Google is at risk and their search experience will be hurt by the changes. The technology titan linked to an open letter claiming it would be forced to hand over users search data to news media companies and give them information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking above other websites. Google says it already partners with Australian news media by paying them millions of dollars and sending billions of clicks each year, suggesting the changes could put its free services at risk. But rather than encouraging these types of partnerships, the law is set up to give big media companies special treatment and to encourage them to make enormous and unreasonable demands that would put our free services at risk, the letter states. The legislation will initially focus on Facebook and Googletwo of the worlds richest and most powerful companiesbut could eventually apply to any digital platform. Australias proposals are being closely watched around the world, as regulators increasingly train their focus on the rapidly changing sector. News media worldwide have suffered in the digital economy, where big tech firms overwhelmingly capture advertising revenue. The crisis has been exacerbated by the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with dozens of Australian newspapers closed and hundreds of journalists sacked in recent months. Unlike other countries so-far unsuccessful efforts to force the platforms to pay for news, the Australian initiative relies on competition law rather than copyright regulations. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is drafting the governments code of conduct, hit back at Googles open letter saying it contains misinformation. The consumer watchdog said the digital behemoth would not be required to share additional user data with the news media or charge Australians to use its free services unless it chooses to do so. The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists work that is included on Google services, it said in a statement. It has strong support from local media outlets and is expected to be introduced this year. People living in Galway - or those enjoying a staycation there - are being urged to check their tickets after the Lotto jackpot of 7.3m was sold there. A National Lottery spokesperson said it would reveal the name of the winning store in the coming days. "With a jackpot win of this magnitude, it is important that we inform the winning retailer and, of course, to give the winning ticket holder the time and space they need to let this 7.3m win sink in." Saturday night's draw produced more than 116,000 winners across the country "so we are encouraging everybody who bought a Lotto ticket to check them very carefully - particularly those who played in Co Galway", the spokesperson said. The jackpot was close to being shared, as a ticket holder in Sligo was just one number short of winning the jackpot. This Sligo player bought their ticket in the Topaz Service Station in Grange, Co Sligo, and will receive a cool 65,136. The winning Lotto numbers from the draw on Saturday night were: 03, 07, 18, 36, 40, 42, and the bonus number was 16. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a bookshop in Bandon, Co Cork, sold a EuroMillions ticket worth 1m on Friday. This lucky winner won the National Lottery's EuroMillions 'Ireland Only Raffle' draw, the second such special raffle events held last week, both of which were won in Co Cork. The winning ticket of Friday's 'Ireland Only Raffle' was sold in Bandon Books Plus in Riverview Shopping Centre in the town. Carmel Hayes, who manages Bandon Books Plus, said: "We're absolutely delighted with the news that the 1m ticket was sold here. "It was St Patrick's Day two years ago when we sold our last major winner of a quarter of a million but to think that someone who bought a Lottery ticket in our store is now a millionaire, it's astounding." New Delhi India and Nepal on Monday agreed to speed up bilateral projects, including infrastructure schemes and cross-border rail links, as senior officials of the two sides held a meeting for the first time since a border row strained ties earlier this year. The meeting of the India-Nepal oversight mechanism was held via video conference two days after a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli, which people familiar with developments said had helped to clear the air between the two sides. This was the eighth meeting of the mechanism, set up in 2016 to monitor the progress of India-funded projects, and it carried out a comprehensive review of economic and development cooperation schemes since the last meeting in July 2019. Both sides deliberated on the issues and agreed to expedite their implementations, said a statement from the Indian embassy in Kathmandu. A statement from Nepals foreign ministry added: Both sides underlined the need for the expeditious implementation of the bilateral projects. In that connection, they agreed to undertake necessary measures to timely address problems and obstacles in the course of implementation. The meeting in Kathmandu, co-chaired by Indian ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepals foreign secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, was attended by representatives of ministries and departments of the Nepal government and consultants and contractors engaged in implementing the projects. Kwatra and Bairagi noted the progress in development projects over the past year, including reconstruction of 46,301 earthquake-affected houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, operationalisation of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline, opening of an integrated check post at Biratnagar and high impact community development projects. India has committed to rebuild 50,000 houses damaged by the devastating earthquake of April 2015. The statement from the Nepalese side said the meeting discussed the status of several key projects such as the terai roads, cross-border railways, Arun-III hydropower project, Pancheshwar multi-purpose project, irrigation projects, power and transmission lines, construction of the Nepal Police Academy, Ramayana circuit, motorable bridges over Mahakali river, agriculture and cultural heritage. Nepal also appreciated the Covid-19-related assistance from India, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment. In May, Nepal objected to the opening of a new road by India to Lipulekh region on the border with Tibet. Nepal responded by issuing a new map that showed Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, all controlled by India, as part of Nepalese territory, exacerbating the border row. Some experts have highlighted the need for India to improve ties with Nepal at a time when it is engaged in a border standoff with China. But former ambassador Neelam Deo, director of Mumbai-based foreign policy think tank Gateway House, said the India-Nepal relationship is important regardless of other factors. It is as important as our relations with Bangladesh and Bhutan, even with all the difficulties. Its importance cant be overstated. Whether things will now improve is contingent on Prime Minister Olis political fortunes. Obviously, there are people within the Nepal government who want a more balanced situation and who dont want a break in ties with India, and they are pushing back, Deo said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 15, 2020. As Congress recesses for the rest of the summer without reaching a stimulus deal, tens of millions of Americans are left wondering how they will pay their bills. Though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said members will return to vote if a deal is reached, that could still be weeks away, CNBC reported. In the meantime, around 28 million Americans are currently collecting jobless benefits, and as many as 40 million could face eviction if Congress does not pass a relief bill soon, according to Emily Benfer, a housing expert. Hundreds of readers from all over the country and across the political spectrum wrote into CNBC Make It to detail how the Senate's failure to pass another aid package is affecting them and their families. Many expressed outrage at Congress's inaction. Others simply wanted to vent to someone about their situation, they said. "When I saw them ignore the desperate need for a new stimulus for almost two months, I was stunned," Hugh Wasson, 66, writes to CNBC Make It. Wasson is currently unable to find work, and lives off of his Social Security payments and jobless benefits from Florida, which do not cover all of his bills. "I am still unable to believe anyone could be so callous, let alone a whole roomful of them." Here's how seven other unemployed Americans across the country are faring. 'At this point, I'd take anything' Before Covid-19, Jane, who asked to be identified by a pseudonym for privacy purposes, made a good living as a waitress in Southern Indiana, taking home around $600 to $800 per week. Now, with her restaurant still closed, she receives $141 per week, after taxes, in state jobless benefits. With so little money, her rent, electric and cable bills have gone unpaid this month, and she has let her car and rental insurance policies lapse. Waiting for Congress to do something, she says, has turned her into "a ball of stress." "Literally the only thing[s] I think about [are] money, bills, money, debt, food," she says. "I wake up thinking about these things, and I go to bed, struggling to fall asleep, thinking about these things." The 33-year-old has been working since she was 15, she says, and this is the longest period of time she's been without a job. She says that if any member of Congress were in her place unsure of how'd they'd pay rent or be able to buy groceries they'd come to a deal fast. "I get that [Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] wants $600 extended benefits, I'd love that, when I was getting that I was able to keep up with all of my bills," she says. "But at this point, I'd take anything." 'We will lose everything' Without the extra $600 per week in jobless benefits the federal government was providing for the first few months of the pandemic, Jessica Moreno, 36, tells CNBC Make It her check dropped to $239 per week in Washington state, which isn't enough to cover all of her bills. One of her children has a rare heart condition, Moreno says, and her doctor has told her working could "risk the safety" of her daughter. She works in health care and would be at a higher risk to virus exposure. "Some of us don't have the choice to work and we will lose everything in the next few weeks," says Moreno. "We don't have much to begin with. I think it's very selfish of people in Congress to not think about the children and families who were already strapped." This is the first time Moreno has applied for unemployment benefits in her life, she says, and she would look for work if she could. But her child's health takes precedence. "As they argue, my family's well-being hangs in the balance," she says. 'How am I going to feed my kids?' Jon Meadows, a 28-year-old father of two in Mississippi, lost his job at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum a few months ago. Without the enhanced benefit, his unemployment payment has fallen to $34 per week, he says. Rent alone is $800 per month. The only jobs available near him, he says, are at fast food restaurants. But the pay wouldn't be enough to cover all of his bills, and they don't offer any other benefits, like health insurance, that he and his wife and kids need. "I am now stuck sitting here wondering, how am I going to feed my kids? How am I going to take care of my bills? How am I supposed to survive?" he says. "I hope that we get something, anything to help my family out." 'There is no help' Since March, Ashley Eldreth has been juggling searching for work, applying for unemployment benefits and taking care of her two children. The fear of catching Covid-19 is an ever-present menace in the background. It's a reality now familiar to millions of parents, and particularly mothers, across the country. "Right now I'm a teacher, a doctor, a chef, a mom, everything in one," the 30-year-old tells CNBC Make It. "A little help would be completely amazing right now! We need the help now more than ever!" The Pennsylvania resident wants Congress to "stop bickering" and come to an agreement to help people who are struggling to make it all work. Another stimulus check and a continuation of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which she qualifies for, would help her pay her bills and ease some of the worry in the coming months. "I am honestly just completely outraged at this whole ordeal right now," she says. "People, like myself, are struggling! And there is no help." 'What am I to do?' Without enhanced benefits, Adam Redmond, a 45-year-old widower, says he is trying to support himself and his 9-year-old daughter, Chloe, on $160 per week in Michigan. He typically makes enough from his lawn maintenance business and odd jobs to get by, but all of his work dried up thanks to Covid-19. "The extra money has saved me in every aspect humanly possible," Redmond tells CNBC Make It. Adam Redmond and his daughter, Chloe. Courtesy of Adam Redmond Compounding his worries, his daughter's school is not having in-person classes, so he needs to be home to care for her. "What am I to do?" he says. "I know I have to take care of my daughter, no matter what, and it drives me crazy, but I must be patient." 'I am personally at my wits' end' Troy Wilson, 57, thought 2020 would be the year he got back on his feet. He had fallen behind financially after losing his son and having a few surgeries, but he had scheduled a few larger projects at the beginning of the year that promised big paydays. Then Covid-19 hit, and he lost all of his jobs. Now, the contractor has been without income since March, and receives $150 per week in jobless benefits in Indiana. To make ends meet, he has sold most of the tools he needs to do his work. "Although I have always been resilient, I'll admit I personally am at my wits' end due to [Congress's] negligence," Wilson tells CNBC Make It. He has never applied for jobless benefits before, he says, which is a point of pride. That makes it especially difficult to hear critics say that people don't want to work because they are making more money on unemployment. "I cringe at the mention that they are paying me more to stay home than work," he says. "I pray that they in Congress are never faced with the tribulations they have placed all of us in and never experience the demeaning attacks I am now enduring." 'There aren't any jobs' HOLYOKE City Councilor Michael Sullivan on Monday clarified his earlier statement about directing the Personnel Department to launch an investigation into Mayor Alex B. Morse over allegations about Morses relationships with University of Massachusetts students. Sullivan told The Republican that he plans to file a motion with the council for the next meeting that seeks to have the council launch an investigation into Morse. Before that happens, it would need to be approved by at least seven of the councils 13 members. His initial statement issued to the press on Sunday night had Sullivan calling on Personnel Director Hector Carrasquillo to hire an outside counsel to conduct a formal investigation of Morse. He also goes on to say the City Council will solicit support and input from the state Ethics Commission and attorney general. Both would appear to be examples of putting the cart before the horse. An individual city councilor acting alone does not have the authority to direct a city department to act. Any such order would have to be approved by the majority of the council, a point that Sullivan acknowledged on Monday. Sullivan said he does not know if he has the support of the necessary seven councilors for the motion to pass. He said he knows he has some support among others on the body but is not sure if it is enough for the motion to pass. The earliest the council could consider his motion would be sometime next month. It meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month, which would mean the earliest date would be Sept. 1. In addition to Sullivan, just one other councilor, Linda Vacon, has called for Morse to resign over the issue. Morse, a candidate in the Democratic primary for the First Massachusetts Congressional seat vs. incumbent U.S. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, has been under scrutiny for more than a week amid allegations he dated UMass students while employed there as an adjunct faculty member. The matter came to light on Aug. 14 when the UMass student newspaper, the Massachusetts Daily Collegian posted an article in its website about the UMass Campus Democrats disinviting Morse from future events. The letter alleged that Morse had made a number of unnamed students feel uncomfortable. In recent days, there have been allegations that the students behind the letter may have had ulterior motives in its being released. Some have alleged one of the students behind the letter had aspirations of working for Neal and that publication of the letter was intended to hurt Morse heading into the primary. Morse, 31, acknowledges having relationships with college students including some from UMass while he taught there. But he says none of them were ever in his class, and the relationships were consensual. He has repeatedly charged that the release of the letter was a politically motivated attack orchestrated if not by the Neal campaign, then by people willing to do its bidding. In his response to Sullivan, Morse said Its obvious that Councilor Sullivan hasnt read the more recent news on this matter. He cited recent stories casting doubts on the letters origins, and said they document it is nothing more than a politically motivated smear job by individuals looking to curry favor with Congressman Neal. Neal on Friday issued a statement denying that he or anyone in his campaign had any involvement with the letter, or that there was any kind of quid pro quo between his campaign and the letters authors. UMass Amherst has hired former prosecutor Natashia Tidwell to handle an investigation into the allegations against Morse. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that she is calling the House back into session this week to vote on a bill prohibiting the US Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service. The action comes amid growing concerns that the White House is trying to undermine the agency during the coronavirus pandemic while states expand mail-in voting options. In a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Sunday evening, Ms Pelosi also called on her colleagues to appear at a post office in their district on Tuesday for a coordinated news event. In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central. Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote, she wrote. Ms Pelosi said House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer would soon announce the legislative schedule for the coming week. House Democrats were likely to discuss the schedule on a conference call on Monday and were expected to be in session next Saturday, a senior Democratic aide said on condition of anonymity because the plans were private. Earlier on Sunday, Democratic lawmakers demanded that leaders of the postal service testify at an emergency oversight hearing on 24 August on mail delays. The House Oversight and Reform Committee said it wants to hear from new postmaster general Louis DeJoy and from the chair of the Postal Service board of governors, Robert Mike Duncan. With heightened scrutiny of its operations, the agency is now requesting a temporary pre-election rate increase, from mid-October through Christmas, although not for first-class letters. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty The agency did not immediately respond to requests for comment about whether the two men would appear before the House committee. But it said on Sunday it would stop removing its distinctive blue mailboxes through mid-November following complaints from customers and members of Congress that the collection boxes were being taken away. Given the recent customer concerns the postal service will postpone removing boxes for a period of 90 days while we evaluate our customers concerns, said postal service spokeswoman Kimberly Frum. Mr DeJoy, a major Republican donor and ally of the president who took control of the agency in June, has pledged to modernize the money-losing agency to make it more efficient, and has eliminated most overtime for postal workers, imposed restrictions on transportation and reduced of the quantity and use of mail-processing equipment. The postmaster general and top postal service leadership must answer to the Congress and the American people as to why they are pushing these dangerous new policies that threaten to silence the voices of millions, just months before the election, congressional Democrats said in a statement announcing the hearing. The lawmakers included Ms Pelosi of California and New York Rep Carolyn Maloney, the committee chair, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Michigan Sen Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which oversees the Postal Service. Mr Trump said last week that he was blocking a $25bn emergency injection sought by the postal service, as well as a Democratic proposal to provide $3.6bn in additional election money to the states. The Republican president worries that mail-in voting could cost him re-election. The money for the post office is intended to help with processing an expected surge of mail-in ballots. Both funding requests have been tied up in congressional negotiations over a new coronavirus relief package. On Saturday, Trump tried to massage his message, saying he supports increasing money for the postal service. He said he was refusing to capitulate to Democrats on other parts of the relief package, including funding for states weighed down by debt accumulated before the pandemic. But the presidents critics were not appeased, contending that Mr Trump has made the calculation that a lower voter turnout would improve his chances of winning a second term. What you are witnessing is a president of the United States who is doing everything he can to suppress the vote, make it harder for people to engage in mail-in balloting at a time when people will be putting their lives on the line by having to go out to a polling station and vote, said Sen Bernie Sanders. Earlier this month, Ms Maloneys committee had invited Mr DeJoy to appear on 17 September at a hearing focusing on operational changes to the Postal Service that are causing delays in mail deliveries. But after Mr Trump acknowledged in a Fox Business interview on Thursday that hes starving the agency of money to make it harder to process an expected surge of mail-in ballots, the committee decided to move up their call for the appearance of Mr DeJoy as well as the governing board chair. Funding a cash-strapped postal service has quickly turned into a top campaign issue as Mr Trump presses his unsupported claim that increased mail-in voting will undermine the credibility of the election and Democrats push back. Mr Trump, who spent the weekend at his New Jersey golf club, derided universal mail-in voting as a scam and defended Mr DeJoy as the right person to streamline the post office and make it great again. Louis he is working very hard, Mr Trump said at a news conference Saturday. But as you know, the Democrats arent approving proper funding for postal, and theyre not approving the proper funding for this ridiculous thing they want to do which is all mail-in voting. His chief of staff tried on Sunday to counter criticism that Mr Trump was trying to stifle turnout with national and battleground state polls showing him facing a difficult path to re-election against Democrat Joe Biden. Ill give you that guarantee right now: The president of the United States is not going to interfere with anybody casting their vote in a legitimate way, whether its the post office or anything else, Mark Meadows said. But Democrats said changes made by Mr DeJoy constitute a grave threat to the integrity of the election and to our very democracy. They asserted that Mr DeJoy has acted as an accomplice in the presidents campaign to cheat in the election, as he launches sweeping new operational changes that degrade delivery standards and delay the mail. The agency in the meantime is now seeking a short-term end-of-the-year rate increase, according to a notice filed Friday with the Postal Regulatory Commission. The reasons: increased expenses, heightened demand for online packages due to the coronavirus pandemic and an expected increase in holiday mail volume. The plan would raise prices on commercial domestic competitive parcels, including Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, first-class package Service, Parcel Select and Parcel Return Service. No change is expected for first-class letters. The postal service is the countrys most popular government agency with 91 per cent of Americans having a favourable opinion of the service, according to a Pew Research Center Survey published in April. What concerns me is an all-out attack theyre not even hiding it by the president of the United States to undermine the United States Postal Service, to underfund it, to allow a mega-donor leading it to overtly do things to slow down the mail, said Sen Cory Booker, D-N.J. Mr Sanders was on NBCs Meet the Press, while Mr Meadows and Mr Booker appeared on CNNs State of the Union. AP Days after Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached a historic deal to normalize ties, Israels president has invited the UAEs de facto ruler, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to Jerusalem. "I am full of hope that the agreement being drawn up between our countries will help build and strengthen the trust between us and the nations of the region, President Reuven Rivlin tweeted Monday, saying he sent a formal invitation to the Emirati royal. In my letter, I wrote that I have no doubt that future generations will appreciate how brave and wise leadership restarted the discourse on peace, trust, dialogue. Last week, the two countries signed a US-brokered agreement in which Israel has agreed to temporarily suspend plans to annex large portions of the West Bank in exchange for cooperation with the Emiratis on investment, tourism, telecommunications and other areas. The two countries will also set up reciprocal embassies. As part of the deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that Israel is preparing direct flights to the Gulf Arab country that would fly over Saudi Arabia. This will change Israeli aviation and the Israeli economy with a huge amount of tourism for both sides and investments, Netanyahu said. In a separate development, the UAE has opened telephone lines to the Jewish state, unblocking calls from country code +972 on Sunday. Blocks were also lifted in the Arab kingdom on Israeli websites that were previously inaccessible, such as the Times of Israel and Jerusalem Post. With direct dialing permitted, the foreign ministers of both countries spoke Sunday in their first publicly announced phone conversation. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The 'Global Ophthalmoscope Market Outlook 2019-2024' offers detailed coverage of ophthalmoscope industry and presents main market trends. The market research gives historical and forecast market size, demand, end-use details, price trends, and company shares of the leading ophthalmoscope producers to provide exhaustive coverage of the market for ophthalmoscope. The report segments the market and forecasts its size, by volume and value, on the basis of application, by products, and by geography. The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from key industry participants. The global ophthalmoscope market has been segmented into five major regions, namely, North America (U.S., Canada, and others), Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Russia, and others), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, and others), South America (Brazil, Argentina, and others), and Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and others). Furthermore, the report also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key vendors operating in this market. Request for Report Sample: https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/sample/3767 Key Regions - North America - Europe - Asia Pacific - Middle East & Africa - South America Key Vendors - 66 Vision-Tech Co., Ltd. - Halma plc - Heine Optotechnik GmbH & Co. KG - IRIDEX Corporation - Nidek Co., Ltd. - Rudolf Riester GmbH - Suzhou Kangjie Medical Inc. - Welch Allyn, Inc. - Zumax Medical Co., Ltd. - request free sample to get a complete list of companies Key Questions Answered in This Report - Analysis of the ophthalmoscope market including revenues, future growth, market outlook - Historical data and forecast - Regional analysis including growth estimates - Analyzes the end user markets including growth estimates. - Profiles on ophthalmoscope vendors including products, sales/revenues, SWOT, and market position, recent developments. - Market structure, market drivers and restraints. More Info of Impact Covid19@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/3767 State-run on Monday said it has appointed Ashwini Kumar Shukla as its chief risk officer (CRO), effective August 3. Prior to his appointment, Shukla was working as general manager (risk management department) State Bank of India, thebank said in a release. Last year, the finance ministry, as part of a reform agenda, had said state-run banks can recruit chief risk officers (CROs) from the market. The state run lender is the first one to appoint a CRO from the market, the release 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.) Puducherry: Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy claimed that the Union Territory would adhere to the Supreme court ban on liquor shops on State and National Highways 'in letter and in spirit.' "We have not yet received the copy of the Apex Court`s ruling. Once we get it we will chalk out the action plan after taking a decision at the cabinet level to adhere to the ban," he told reporters here on the sidelines of the 20th annual national book festival. Narayanasamy said that there were reports of road accidents, including fatal mishaps, due to drunken driving in the Union Territory. "We welcome the Supreme Court`s ban and we will act upon it in letter and spirit`, he said. Earlier inaugurating the 10 day book exhibition, he urged the youth to develop the habit of reading books which would stand them in good stead. He said that the exhibition was making available books on various subjects, including spirituality.The Supreme Court had ordered a ban on all liquor shops Thursday on national as well as state highways across the country and made it clear that licenses of existing shops would not be renewed after March 31 2017.It had also directed that all signages indicating presence of liquor vends will be prohibited on national and state highways. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Harris took a trip down the memory lane, mentioning her 'long walks' in Madras with her grandfather Washington: Democratic vice-presidential nominee Senator Kamala Harris, during her maiden address to the Indian-American community, reflected on her Indian heritage and recalled how her mother always wanted to instill in her a "love for good idli". Harris, 55, who is the first black to be selected as a vice-presidential candidate of a major party, took a trip down the memory lane, mentioning her "long walks" in Madras (now Chennai) with her grandfather who would tell her about the "heroes" responsible for the birth of the world's largest democracy. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, 77, scripted history by selecting Harris, an Indian-American and an African-American, as his running mate in the presidential election on November 3. Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, California senator Harris, if elected, would be second in line of succession after Biden. "Today on August 15, 2020. I stand before you as the first candidate for vice president of the United States of South Asian descent," Harris said in her address organised by Indians for Biden National Council. Joined by Biden, she greeted Indian Americans on the occasion of India's Independence Day. "To the people of India and to Indian Americans all across the US, I want to wish you a happy Indian Independence Day. On August 15, 1947, men and women all over India rejoiced in the declaration of the independence of the country of India," Harris said during the virtual inaugural meet of the council. Harris was born on October 20 in 1964, at Oakland in California. Her mother Shyamala Gopalan migrated to the US from Tamil Nadu in India, while her father, Donald J Harris, moved to the US from Jamaica. "When my mother, Shyamala stepped off the plane in California as 19 years old, she didn't have much in the way of belongings. But she carried with her lessons from back home, including ones she learned from her parents, my grandmother Rajan, and her father, my grandfather P V Gopalan. They taught her that when you see injustice in the world, you have an obligation to do something about it," Harris said. "Which is what inspired my mother to march and shout on the streets of Oakland, at the height of the civil rights movement, a movement where leaders including Dr Martin Luther King Jr, were themselves inspired by the non-violent activism of Mahatma Gandhi," she said. Harris said it was during those protests that her mother met her father. The rest, as they say, is history, she said. "Growing up, my mother would take my sister Maya and me back to what was then called Madras because she wanted us to understand where she had come from and where we had ancestry. And of course, she always wanted to instill in us, a love of good idli," Harris said. "In Madras I would go on long walks with my grandfather, who at that point was retired. We would take morning walks where I'd hold his hand and he would tell me about the heroes who are responsible for the birth of the world's biggest democracy. He would explain that it's on us to pick up where they left off. Those lessons are a big reason why I am who I am today, Harris said explaining the deep influence of the Indian heritage on her. "Our community is bound together by so much more than our shared history and culture," she said. The reason there is a kinship between everyone who are a product of the South Asian diaspora, no matter how diverse our backgrounds may be, "is because we also share a set of values: values forged by overcoming colonial past, not only in one nation but in two," Harris said. "Values like tolerance pluralism, and diversity and reflecting on the past 73 years it's remarkable how much progress, people have made in the fight for justice. And should be proud. But we wouldn't be if we didn't commit ourselves to building an even better future. So, I hope you celebrate today, and then tomorrow, I hope you join me in getting to work," she said. The 1990s brought nearly a dozen Academy Award winners and nominees to town for starring roles in movies set and filmed in New Orleans. The most controversial was the 1991 film JFK. Directed, co-produced and co-written by Oliver Stone, it dramatizes former Orleans Parish District Attorney Jim Garrisons conspiracy theory surrounding the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Kevin Costner plays Garrison and Tommy Lee Jones stars as Clay Shaw, the New Orleans businessman charged with participating in the alleged conspiracy. (A jury found Shaw not guilty at his 1969 trial.) Stone was widely criticized for taking liberties with facts, but the film was an artistic success, winning two Oscars and nominations for six others. Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts co-starred in 1993s The Pelican Brief, based on the John Grisham novel. Roberts plays a Tulane law student who writes a legal brief detailing her theory about the assassination of two Supreme Court justices. She contacts a newspaper reporter (Washington) and the two chase down the story. Another locally made film also based on a book: Anne Rices Interview with the Vampire. The 1994 gothic horror movie (with scenes filmed in the French Quarter and at Destrehan and Oak Alley plantations) starred Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst as 19th century vampires. Rice initially criticized the casting but later endorsed the film, which earned Oscar nominations for art direction and best original score. Susan Sarandon won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in 1995s Dead Man Walking. Directed by Tim Robbins, the film is based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean, the New Orleans Roman Catholic nun known for her work to abolish the death penalty. The film dramatizes her role as spiritual adviser to Louisiana death row inmates. Sarandon (as Prejean) counsels Sean Penn, who portrays the fictional convicted killer Matthew Poncelet. In the movie, the real-life Sister Helen has a cameo protesting at a candlelight vigil outside the prison. Blakeview: Taking a trip through Hollywood South Beginning this week and continuing through the month of August, well take a trip through Hollywood South, revisiting some of the movies filme Blakeview: The 1960s brought serious star power to Hollywood South We continue our look at some notable films set and filmed in Hollywood South over the years by revisiting the 1960s, which brought serious sta Blakeview: 'Live and Let Die' brought James Bond to New Orleans James Bonds 1973 outing, Live and Let Die, tops our list of 1970s and 80s films made and set in New Orleans. Its the first Bond movie to New Delhi, Aug 17 : China has given 12.7 lakh Nepalese rupees to a Kathmandu-based NGO to carry out a study on what motivates Gorkha community members to join the Indian Army. Sources said that in the first week of June, China's Ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, funded a Nepalese NGO -- China Study Centre (CSC) -- to conduct a study on Nepalis being recruited in the Gorkha regiments of the Indian Army. "The CSC has been asked to conduct the study by addressing several points such as the reasons behind Nepalis joining the Indian Army, areas of Nepal from where such recruits are being made and their social-economic impact, their interest in joining the armed forces of foreign countries, among others," a source said. A fund of 12.7 lakh Nepalese rupees has been allocated by the Chinese Embassy for this task, said the source. There are seven Gorkha regiments in the Indian Army comprising around 28,000 Nepali citizens. The regiments have a total 39 battalions. In total, there were 11 Gorkha Regiments, out of which four went to the British Army after Independence. India has the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th and 11th Gorkha regiments while the British Army has the 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th regiments. The Gorkha community consists of mainly of four different tribes -- are Khas (or Chetri), Gurung, Limbus and Rais. The recruitment of Nepali Gorkhas into the Indian Army stems from an arrangement agreed to in 1947 between India, the UK and Nepal, known as the Tripartite Agreement. But Nepal has now stated that this agreement is redundant. The assertion was made after Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli first raised the issue during his meeting with former UK Prime Minister Theresa May. In the meantime, sources also said that the Communist Party of Nepal-Biplab, a banned underground insurgent outfit, has launched an extensive people's awareness programme to stop the youth of Nepal from joining the Gorkha regiments of Indian Army. Sources said the cultural wing of the CPN-Biplab is organising street plays, folk dances and other cultural events to spread anti-India campaigns. The ties between India and Nepal have come under strain after Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80 km long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal protested the inauguration of the road, claiming that it passed through its territory. Days later, Nepal came out with a new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories. Nepal's Parliament in June approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. India said Nepal's action violated an understanding that the two countries can resolve the border issues through talks. (Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in) In the settlement, the company, its board and CEO Chris Ripley agreed their insurers will pay $20.5 million into a settlement fund. After a deduction for an award of fees and expenses to the plaintiffs attorney, $5 million in the settlement fund will pay over a five year period for new corporate governance measures and compliance programs at Sinclair to meet an FCC consent decree. The remaining balance will be paid to Sinclair. Hyderabad, Aug 17 : Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday reviewed the rain and flood situation in the state and directed the officials to undertake rescue and relief operations on a war footing, wherever necessary. He directed the official machinery to be on high alert as the state was experiencing heavy rainfall and floods and take the necessary measures to prevent any loss to property or lives. As heavy to very heavy rains may continue to lash the state in the next three to four days, all the precautionary measures should be put in place, he said, asking officials to set up control rooms wherever necessary and monitor the situation round the clock. The Chief Minister also made it clear that there was no dearth of funds to undertake relief measures. He said reports should be obtained on the situation on a daily basis from villages and urban areas and action should be taken on their basis. KCR, as Rao is popularly known, elicited district wise information and made suggestions on the measures to be taken in those areas. He held a special review on the situation prevailing in Warangal Urban, Warangal Rural, Karimnagar, Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Peddapalli, Bhoopal Pally, Mulugu, Bhadradri Kothagudem and other districts where there was heavy rainfall and flash floods. "Due to the incessant rains for the past four to five days, tanks all over the state are full. Water is flowing into all the reservoirs. Rivers, canals and rivulets are overflowing. As on date, the situation is under control. But the coming three to four days are crucial. "There is a possibility of heavy rains due to the depression lying centred in northeast Madhya Pradesh, north Chattisgarh, and southeast Uttar Pradesh. Along with this, there is a possibility of a depression lying centred in the north Bay of Bengal on August 19. Moreover, there is heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of Rivers Godavari, Krishna, Tungabhadra, Pranahita, and Indravathi in the upper states. Due to all these factors, there is a possibility of heavy to very heavy rains and major floods. Hence, the entire official machinery should be on high alert, assess the situation that develops in the coming days and make arrangements accordingly," he said. The Chief Minister said that heavy floods may occur in Godavari river and asked the officials to identify the low-lying villages and shift people from these areas to safer places. "If Godavari gets floodwater, Bhadrachalam town may face problems. Take measures that water does not stagnate in the town," he said. Asking the officials to set up special relief camps in the areas where there was danger from the floodwater, he directed the ministers and public representatives to stay wherever they are and monitor the relief measures. As heavy rain inundated Warangal, KCR asked ministers K.T. Rama Rao and Etela Rajender to rush there on Tuesday and along with two other ministers, Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Satyavathi Rathod, visit the affected areas. Turkey has vowed to send drilling ships to the southwestern coast of Cyprus to explore for oil and gas in an area claimed by Greece. Ankara has rejected criticism from the European Union, France and the United States of its exploration, saying it will not be cowed by threats. The Turkish drill ship Yavuz is expected to drop anchor on Tuesday to the south-west of Cyprus and will explore the coast of the island for around a month. The Yavuz vessel joins another Turkish ship -- the Oruc Reis -- which last Monday kicked off a two-week drilling survey in disputed Eastern Mediterranean waters close to Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete. The move sparked alarm in Greece, which deployed its own naval vessels to the area. Turkeys claims to the waters, which it says are on its continental shelf, have repeatedly been dismissed as illegal by Athens and the European Union. Brussels on Friday called on Ankara to halt energy exploration off Cyprus, arguing that the drilling infringes on the countrys exclusive economic zone. Regrettable action Turkeys latest announcement regrettably fuels further tensions and insecurity in the Eastern Mediterranean, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. This action...undermines efforts to resume dialogue and negotiations, and to pursue immediate de-escalation, which is the only path towards stability and lasting solutions, as reiterated by EU foreign ministers, he said, following an emergency meeting. The United States has also urged Turkey to turn back, insisting there was an "urgent need to reduce tensions". Tensions in the region have simmered between Nato allies Greece and Turkey in recent months over overlapping claims to hydrocarbon resources in Mediterranean waters. France announced last week it would bolster its presence in the region in support of Athens. Standing firm Turkey on Saturday accused Paris of interference and rejected claims that its energy exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean encroaches on Greek territory. Story continues "We will not back down in the face of sanctions and threats," said Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking in the northeastern city of Rize. While he pledged that Ankara was ready for dialogue, he insisted: "We will never bow to banditry on our continental shelf." Ankara accuses Greece of pursuing maximalist policies in the Eastern Mediterranean and underlines that its maritime claims violate Turkey's sovereign rights. Row over Cyprus Since gas reserves were discovered within Cypriot maritime borders in 2011, Ankara has maintained energy profits should be shared. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, between the Republic of Cyprus, in the islands south, controlled by Greece, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, a breakaway nation recognised solely by Ankara. Greece claims that islands must also be taken into account in delimiting a countrys continental shelf, in line with the UN Law of the Sea, giving it the sole right to Cyprus regardless of the islands proximity to Turkey. The two countries have come to the brink of war in the past and the new race to develop energy resources in the East Mediterranean has exacerbated rivalries. Earlier this month, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel signed a deal to construct a pipeline to ship gas to Europe, which Turkey said left it out. German-led mediation efforts with Greece were called off and Ankara resumed its oil and gas exploration in increasingly troubled waters. Rajesh Kumar Thakur By Express News Service PATNA: Expelled JDU minister Shyam Rajak joined the RJD on Monday within 24 hours of his expulsion on Sunday evening. He accused Bihar CM Nitish Kumar of being anti-Dalit. "There is no room for dignity to people of Scheduled Caste communities in the JDU. I was expelled without being served a notice, overlooking the rules of the party constitution," Rajak said. Rajak had switched over to the JDU from the RJD in 2009 and returned after 11 years. ALSO READ: Bihar industries minister Shyam Rajak removed from cabinet post after being expelled from JDU; RJD ousts 3 MLAs Lashing out at the state government, Rajak said crimes against people from the Scheduled Castes are uncontrolled in Bihar. "The bureaucracy dominates in the state and the ministers feel hapless before the bureaucrats," he alleged. He said his fight for social justice will continue under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav. Meanwhile, Tejashwi welcomed Rajak into the party. Speaking to the media, he said all systems in Bihar have collapsed. "There is no one who has not been cheated by Nitish Kumar in politics," Tejashwi said. He claimed that many ministers in the Nitish Kumar cabinet were suffocating and mulling to desert the party. "Nitish Kumar only listens to officials, no one else," Tejashwi alleged. In another development, two of the three RJD MLAs expelled on Sunday for anti-party activities are likely to join the JDU today. Facebook's Irish arm is playing a key role in a patent battle being waged in Germany between the social media group and Canadian firm Blackberry, whose handset was once a must-have for businesspeople. US court filings by the social media giant show that Facebook is the subject of patent infringement proceedings taken by Blackberry at a Munich court. Blackberry has pivoted to being an Internet of Things firm since its heyday as a handset maker. The stock exchange-listed company says it holds more than 38,000 patents. Blackberry claimed in Germany that WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger - all owned by Facebook - infringed two patents owned by the Canadian firm. Blackberry has insisted that the apps breached patents that provide a means of displaying a chat session on a screen, during which a user could activate a function to edit a text message. Blackberry says the apps fall foul of its patents because they permit users to edit a text message while concurrently presenting a user's chat history in another portion of the display. Read More Blackberry also claims that the Facebook apps infringed one of the Canadian company's patents by permitting users of those apps to switch conversations between recipients by tapping on a banner that appeared at the top of a phone screen. Facebook, headed by Mark Zuckerberg, has argued that so-called prior art invalidated the patent. The Munich Regional Court eventually issued a judgment preventing Facebook from offering the WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger apps in Germany with functionality that infringed one of Blackberry's patents. New apps were designed by the social media group, but Blackberry has also filed infringement proceedings against those new versions. The case is now pending in Germany. Facebook Ireland has brought two actions to the Federal Patent Court in Germany in an effort to invalidate the two disputed Blackberry patents. In an effort to make its case against Blackberry, Facebook has pointed out that Microsoft's MSN Messenger - released before the application date for one of Blackberry's relevant patents - already featured a display comparable to that which the Canadian company says it developed. The MSN Messenger feature was available by 2002 at the latest, a year before Blackberry applied for the patent that it claims Facebook has breached. Facebook and Facebook Ireland have just been granted permission by a Seattle court to serve a subpoena on Microsoft in the United States seeking specific documents related to MSN Messenger, as well as relevant source code. Facebook told the court that the document discovery "will aid the German proceedings by establishing that the MSN Messenger's functionality is prior art anticipating both of Blackberry's patents". Facebook noted that German court proceedings do not provide for a document discovery process such as that used in the US. But it said German courts have previously accepted evidence obtained in the manner which Facebook will do from Microsoft. Riot police during a protest - REUTERS The Hong Kong police force is reportedly cancelling plans to send senior commanders to the UK for training after the British government barred military personnel from conducting the training. John Tse Chun-chung, a senior district commander who was previously the chief superintendent of the Hong Kong police public relations branch, was the face of the force while protests rocked the city last year. He had been expected to spend a year training in the UK starting in September, reported the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong newspaper. While both Hong Kong and the UK cited pandemic risks, the breakdown in the longtime training partnership comes after Beijing imposed a contentious national security law in Hong Kong. Amidst a deepening row between Britain and Beijing, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has returned an honorary fellowship to the University of Cambridge after Wolfson College raised concerns about her commitment to the protection of human rights and the freedom of expression in Hong Kong. Ms Lam denied the groundless accusations and said she had written to Wolfson last year and last week to explain her administrations stance regarding protests in Hong Kong. Carrie Lam has returned an honorary fellowship to the University of Cambridge - Shutterstock Wolfson had been under increasing pressure to revoke her honorary fellowship, which recognises persons of distinction whom the College holds in high standing and was bestowed to Ms Lam in 2017 after she was elected chief executive of Hong Kong. The UK government has said the national security law represents a serious violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, meant to guarantee the citys unique liberties for at least 50 years after being returned from British to Beijing rule. Chinese state media has said the UK cancelling training will push the Hong Kong police force closer to police units in mainland China. The British Army and Royal Air Force previously ran limited drill instructor programs for the Hong Kong police, the citys government flying service and its sea cadet corps. In July, Washington also halted training for Hong Kong police administered by the US department of state. Photo: HBO John Oliver is back in his stark white, corona-free Last Week Tonight void after a few weeks off, with the host covering the recent news blitz of Kamala Harris being chosen as Joe Bidens vice-president for the Democratic ticket. (But no love for Maya Rudolphs impending career renaissance? With memes? Boo.) Oliver noted, though, that Harriss announcement soon became clouded by the response from President Trump and a certain group of Republican cronies, who, surprise surprise, were eager to question if she could legally hold the position despite being born in California, the titular Sunshine State. The big news was Kamala Harris being announced as Bidens running mate, a decision that sent conservatives scrambling for attack strategies, from claiming its an extreme, far-left ticket which it absolutely isnt to a baseless accusation that she may not meet the citizenship requirements to hold the office despite being very much born in the United States, Oliver explained. Its a depressing resurgence of birtherism, so of course Trump jumped all over it. Oliver proceeded to play a clip of the president saying that he heard Harris doesnt meet the requirements to serve as vice-president with her citizenship status, which was posited last week in a Newsweek op-ed an op-ed that the magazine has since apologized for publishing. (Harriss mother was born in India, while her father was born in Jamaica.) Oh, Ill tell you if its right. It fucking isnt! Oliver said. And its frankly amazing how slow Trump is to respond to so many things like, I dont know, public-health crises, yet when it comes to amplifying racist conspiracy theories, suddenly hes the Flash on cocaine. Perhaps the CW would be interested. Chennai: DMK President M K Stalin urged the government not to belittle the sacrifice of 47 doctors in the fight against Covid-19 by covering up the deaths but to announce it openly and pay the Rs 50 lakh relief to their families, besides providing a family member a job in the government. The Tamil Nadu branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) had announced that 32 doctors succumbed to Coronavirus infection and 15 others died with symptoms of the disease, Stalin said in a statement on Sunday. Even IMAs vice president, G Kothandaraman, a doctor based in Rajapalayam died after a 35-day battle with the disease, Stalin said. Recalling the Health Minister C Vijaybaskar denying an earlier report that 43 doctors had died, Stalin urged him not to cover it up any more. He said the Health Minister, in the presence of his Health Secretary, had told the media that those reports on doctors death were baseless and rumours. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Robin Millard (Agence France-Presse) Geneva Mon, August 17, 2020 14:01 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e8c83a 2 Entertainment Locarno-Film-Festival,film-festival Free Switzerland's Locarno Film Festival said Sunday it hoped to have set the bar for future international film festivals, having adopted a new semi-virtual format due to the coronavirus crisis. Founded in 1946, Locarno is one of the world's longest-running annual film festivals and focuses on auteur cinema. Held in the town on the shores of Lake Maggiore, in the Italian-speaking Ticino region of southern Switzerland, films are normally screened in the central piazza holding up to 8,000 people -- a feature of Swiss national life captured on the country's 20-franc banknotes. However, the 73rd festival, which closed on Saturday, could not be staged in the usual way due to the COVID-19 pandemic and so switched to a hybrid format, with films and content made available online. The festival's artistic director Lili Hinstin, who put the semi-virtual concept together, said the festival "made us reflect about the future of the cinema". "It showed that screenings in theaters and video-on-demand or streaming are not necessarily in conflict, but can co-exist together," she said on the festival's website. Chief operating officer Raphael Brunschwig said the coronavirus crisis had sped up the move towards going online and Locarno hopes to become "the model of a film festival that looks to the future". During the August 5-15 festival, some 5,950 people saw films in Locarno indoor cinemas reopened after the coronavirus lockdown. But 320,000 visits were made to the festival's digital platform, where full-length movies, short films, masterclasses, panel discussions and talks were made available online. That included 80,000 views of films screened and original festival content. Read also: Hollywood French film festival postponed to 2021 Films on hiatus rewarded The festival's top prize is the Golden Leopard. Previous winning directors include Roberto Rossellini, John Ford, Stanley Kubrick, Milos Forman, Mike Leigh and Jim Jarmusch. As an exception this year because of the pandemic, two Leopards were awarded instead of one, to film projects that had to be put on hold due to the COVID-19 crisis. One Leopard went to the best international film project and one to the best Swiss film project, with prize money of 70,000 Swiss francs ($77,000, 65,000 euros) each, to support the two films to reach completion. The best international project award went to "Chocobar", a political documentary by Argentinian director Lucrecia Martel. It takes the 2009 murder of land rights activist Javier Chocobar as a starting point to investigate aspects of native culture and colonization in Argentina. "The pandemic struck just as we were getting ready to shoot," Martel said. "The way we tried to save humanity this time is so absurd. "A community cannot isolate its members from one another. This meant I had to rethink a lot of things in the documentary." The best Swiss project award went to "Zahori" by Mari Alessandrini, which is also set in Argentina, where an unlikely friendship grows on the Patagonian Desert between a 13-year-old girl from Ticino and an elderly Mapuche man. How much would someone have to pay for you to dive into the Hudson River? Donna Paysepar did it for the likes. A TikTok video of her plunging into waters associated with raw sewage, dead bodies and centuries of pollution has people on social media crying foul. As people on both sides of the Hudson secure their masks to help fight an actual pandemic, Paysepar went ahead and doused herself in who-knows-what. Many have made jokes about the swimmer transforming or mutating into some kind of creature a la The Toxic Avenger or the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But Paysepar says the splash of fame was all worth it however grimy. Donna Paysepar took a dip in the water on a family visit to the Statue of Liberty, horrifying social media with her TikTok video of the plunge.Donna Paysepar via TikTok The now-famous dip happened Aug. 12 after she and her family set out from Port Washington, Long Island on a friends boat. She came up with the idea when they stopped to have lunch in view of the Statue of Liberty. Paysepar, 20, says she dove into the water since it was her first time being so close to Lady Liberty, but also because her social media spidey senses were tingling. Her 10-second TikTok video, set to the saccharine synth of the Brns song Electric Love, has been viewed 2.7 million times, garnering more than 244,000 likes. Honestly I expected it to do that cause I kind of knew this was kind of an outrageous activity, Paysepar tells NJ Advance Media. I just have the YOLO (you only live once) mentality. In the clip, Paysepar waves to the camera before exposing her body to whatever lurks in the water. Though much of the general public seems revolted by the premise, she considers her excursion a success. She says she gained about 2,000 TikTok followers since posting the video (at the time of publication, her total was 8,709). When it started getting likes, I was like, OK, this was what I wanted, says the avid TikTok user, who normally uses the app to post things like her attempts at viral dance challenges. Ive always been really the crazy one in my family, always doing the most, says Paysepar, a resident of Nassau County, Long Island. Swimming with lady liberty, she captioned the video, using a pink hearts emoji and hashtags including #independentwoman. While Paysepar has become known for tangling with the waters of the Hudson River, she was technically in Upper New York Bay when she took the dip. And yes, it was her first time swimming there, though she does spend a lot of time in the water in general. Paysepar, a liberal arts major at Suffolk County Community College, works as a lifeguard at a day camp and gives private swim lessons. After her video was reposted on Twitter this weekend, the clip inspired a new wave of revulsion, horror and commentary about the swimmers health after the encounter. The aquatic adventure was posted to the TikTok Cringe subreddit. I literally just took a dip in and dip out just for the video, Paysepar tells NJ Advance Media. I didnt swim, really. Still, the water was really gross through, she said in another TikTok video. It tasted really bad, I got some of it in my mouth. Noticing the alarm surrounding her video in the age of COVID-19, no less Paysepar consulted the website of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. In a response video on TikTok, she shared one viewers comment: That water used to be on fire from pollution 30 years ago. Im on making fun of Hudson River girl tiktok. pic.twitter.com/JqYzNFvlPJ Theo (Joker Era) (@jewish_activist) August 16, 2020 I did not know this information, Paysepar said with a tentative smile. She proceeded to highlight this passage from the state website: Can you safely dive into the Hudson on a hot summer day? Generally, yes. However, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation says that while water quality in New York Harbor has greatly improved since the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, this is still not considered a swimmable portion of the river. But if someone chooses to swim there, the DEC recommends making sure they dont swallow water and keep their head out of the water. This reduces the chance of getting sick from bacteria, parasites or other microorganisms that can enter your body through your mouth, eyes, ears and nose, the department says. Paysepar says she learned on the website that if you swallow the water nothing really happens. (I didnt swallow any, she says.) In another video, she reads a passage from the website that talks about the history of sewage overflows in the water and how someone could dangerously expose themselves to toxins like PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, by eating fish from the Hudson River. But shes not the only one swimming near the Statue of Liberty. The website UrbanSwim lists a 2.2-mile Liberty to Freedom Swim in New York Harbor from the statue to One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower). The swim is planned for Sept. 5 in memory of those who died and served on Sept. 11, 2001. Paysepar, who also blogs about food on Instagram under the name @nyc_li_foodies (shes currently looking for restaurants to review), is feeling fine, though shes had to contend with harsh replies since posting the video. I thought it was funny but some comments are a little mean, Paysepar says. Some people are sending death threats saying, I hope she dies from that water ... Shes not going to be able to have kids. She addressed such comments in a response video, calling the harbor caca water and warning people against making suicide jokes. Still, would Paysepar jump in again? No. I did it for the video and for the memory, she says. And cause it was also hot. 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. Remember going to the movies?Summer 2020 is nearly over and the blockbusters that usually hit the theaters during the dog days have been put on hold because of COVID-19. But one movie chain is set to reopen and they've got a plan to draw moviegoers back to the theaters.No, it's not free popcorn. But AMC Theatres, the nation's largest movie theater chain, will offer ticket prices of 15 cents per movie when they reopen in the U.S. on Aug. 20.AMC Entertainment, which owns the movie chain, said Thursday that more than 100 cinemas will reopen, about a sixth of its U.S. locations. They're dubbing the retro prices as "Movies in 2020 at 1920 prices."At first, the chain will offer some retro movies to go along with the retro prices. For the opening day, AMC will show "Ghostbusters," "Black Panther," "Back to the Future" and "Grease," among others. After the reopening, those older films will continue to play for $5, the Associated Press reported Soon after, some brand new movies will debut.the AP said.The chain hopes to have most of its theaters reopened soon.the company wrote in an email sent to AMC "A-List" members, The Verge reported Customersand hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes will be widely available, the email said. In addition, the company claims it will use "high-tech HEPA vacuums" andAnd the theater chain willAMC said on its website And of course masks will be required for everyone.the chain said.A slew of big movies have been delayed, including the latest James Bond flick "No Time To Die," now scheduled for a Thanksgiving release, "Wonder Woman 1984," the "Black Widow" solo movie and Steven Spielberg's new version of "West Side Story." But the release dates for several movies are still up in the air, including Wes Anderson's "The French Dispatch" and the new "Dune" movie. JAZZ NOTES Robert was rubbish at school in Canterbury, Kent. Rubbish at the trumpet, too, for which he swapped his violin, vexing his father, who declared there were no great concertos for trumpet. Robert ventured to suggest Miles Davis with Gil Evans, but his father scoffed. When his trumpet teacher lost patience with him, too, he attempted suicide. Figuring he'd make a useless adult, he thought he'd save himself the trouble, and swallowed a bottle of pills. After he'd had his stomach pumped, his headmaster suggested Robert possibly was unhappy. Robert Wyatt's musical upbringing was extraordinarily varied. Fleeing school at 16, he found he was also rubbish at Canterbury Art College, although he could make an easy quid there modelling nude. More importantly, he began drumming with pop groups that, unlike most, played extended improvisations, because that's how Robert had heard it done on jazz records. Robert Wyatt's earliest listening had been to his parents' Stravinsky and Bartok records. His brother turned him on to jazz, and he'd reached puberty before he discovered pop on cafe jukeboxes when dating. This unconventional grounding meant he never put a lid on possibilities, so jazzy ideas naturally infused his pop-making. "I'm just grateful to my dad and my big brother for stretching my ears before I even started," he told me in 2013. When he began singing, he tried emulating Van Morrison, and was rubbish at that, too. But when the band turned to originals he instantly found his own sound like a muted trumpet, and influenced by players rather than singers. A 33-year-old New Jersey man was killed and a 29-year-old woman seriously injured late Saturday night in Montana when their SUV struck trees and tumbled about 300 feet down an embankment, officials said. The two Galloway residents were traveling south on a dirt road when Benjamin Clayton lost control of the SUV on a curve, struck the top of several trees and rolled multiple times down the embankment, a spokesman for the Montana Highway Patrol said Monday. Clayton was killed and his passenger managed to crawl out of the vehicle and call 911. Neither was wearing a seat belt, the spokesman said. The crash took place on South Fork Drive, an extremely rural area, about 40 miles south of Hungry Horse, Montana, the spokesman said. The crash remains under investigation. 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. Shifaa is a leading healthcare on-demand app in the UAE allowing patients to search, browse, book and rate healthcare providers. Its users can search for healthcare providers that work with their insurance, by speciality, location, or rating. As the digitization of healthcare evolves, Shifaa, aims to become a leading source of new patients for healthcare providers, as well as simplifying the patient selection process by providing timely information and direct Irma Cruz uses her soft voice and reassuring smile to try to persuade Latino residents of El Paso, Texas, to fill out the 2020 census. The civil rights activist explains that being counted as part of the official U.S. population means more money for their families and neighbors, as well as a voice in Congress. These days, it's a tough sale. Many of those living in the historic Segundo Barrio neighborhood are too busy working to fill out the form, they tell her. Some don't have the language skills to fill out the form, which is available only in English. And many are worried the government might use the information against them. I tell them not to worry, their data is protected by federal law, but they still worry, says Cruz, policy and civic engagement campaign coordinator for the Border Network for Human Rights. Its kind of an emergency now. People need to understand how important this is. Activist Irma Cruz, left, talks to students at Western Technical College in El Paso, Texas, in the fall of 2019. Cruz is trying to get residents of the city to fill out the 2020 census. Many experts warn that a severe undercount due to sped up timelines is likely to greatly affect communities of color. For many communities across the nation, especially people of color and those living in rural areas, the calculus is simple and dire: Fill out the 2020 census, or risk a historic undercount that could jeopardize everything from a share in $1.5 trillion in federal funding to political representation in Congress. Though historians note that each census count, which happens every 10 years, has its struggles, this one has been rife with challenges, including a pandemic, a historic recession and interference from President Donald Trump, including a failed attempt to add a citizenship question, a memorandum calling to exclude unauthorized immigrants from the count and a last-minute directive to speed up the count's completion by four weeks. Activists say these measures are aimed against people of color folks hit hardest by COVID-19 illnesses and deaths and pandemic-fueled unemployment in an attempt by the administration to hurt Democratic voters. They filed lawsuits to require a full count of anyone living in the USA and extend the census data collection deadline. Story continues "We are in a race against the clock," says Judy Reese Morse, president and CEO of the Urban League of Louisiana in New Orleans. She says her staff works overtime to demystify the census, explaining that not being counted could have dire effects on schools, community service programs and hospitals. We must not let up, Morse says. There is no other option for us. Morse and others hope their efforts get people to self-report, either by phone or online. Days ago, the Census Bureau started its standard practice of sending representatives to visit so-called Hard to Count households, typically folks in poor rural and urban areas where the rate of self-reporting is sometimes 20% to 50% lower than the fairly typical self-reporting national average of 63%. Judy Reese Morse, president and CEO of the Urban League of Louisiana, says her staff and volunteers work overtime to demystify the census, explaining that not being counted could hurt schools, community service programs and hospitals. At first, this outreach effort, postponed from the spring because of COVID-19, gave volunteers until Oct. 31 to contact these groups. But on Aug. 3, that deadline was moved up to Sept. 30 because, according to the census, that was the only way numbers could be tabulated in time to meet "our statutory deadline of Dec. 31, 2020, as required by law and directed by the Secretary of Commerce." The Census Bureau says it is committed to a complete and accurate 2020 census despite the accelerated timeline, according to a statement from bureau director Steven Dillingham. The statement says the bureau has a robust field data collection operation and plans to add training sessions and provide rewards to enumerators those in the field trying to reach Hard to Count households who maximize hours worked. The task facing the bureau's field reporters is daunting: In 2010, census volunteers had 48 million housing units to visit in 10 weeks. This time, its 56 million households in six weeks. We are talking about communities that already have low census reporting numbers, and now you add the COVID-19 crisis and the way Latino and Black people are wary about this administration, and you have a bad situation, says Roberto Bustillo, organizing director at Proyecto Pastoral, which focuses on LA's heavily Latino Boyle Heights area. His volunteers feverishly work the phones and hang flyers on doors to encourage people to fill out the census. From the pulpit, the Rev. Rhonda Thomas urges fellow residents of Miami to vote. She and other activists encourage the community to fill out the 2020 census. Experts predict a severe undercount that will disproportionately impact communities of color. In Miami, the Rev. Rhonda Thomas normally would use churches to spread the word, but because of the health crisis, she turned to digital communication and visits to polling stations to push her Black neighbors to be counted. Historically, we are a people that has been left out, Thomas says. Being counted affects everything, the quality and size of our hospitals, schools, community centers. We need to be included. Map shows huge census undercounts in Texas A review of the Census Bureau's Hard to Count map highlights areas of concern, including many neighborhoods with heavy Latino and Black populations that have yet to respond. Texas stands out: A majority of its counties show fewer than 50% of residents self-reporting their census information. Edwards County, by the Rio Grande, is at just 14.8%. Other undercounted areas include almost all of New Mexico; California's Central Valley; the southern half of Georgia; and the largely Native American Four Corners region where Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona meet. "In 2010, there were undercounts of people of color and Native Americans on reservations, and it seems that now with even more households to visit in less time, the undercount risks being much worse," says Steven Romalewski, who keeps a close eye on the map as part of the City University of New Yorks Center for Urban Research at the Graduate Center. "It's worrisome." A large census undercount will cast a long shadow, experts say. Census numbers hang around for a decade and are used for all sorts of government policy, says Margo J. Anderson, distinguished professor emerita in history and urban studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and author of The American Census: A Social History." So if we dont think these numbers we get are any good, were going to have a very complicated conversation about what to do next. Put more bluntly, "if the census is screwed up, it will have dramatic implications for all parts of society," says Andrew Reamer, research professor at George Washington Universitys Institute of Public Policy in Washington. "The census is foundational for democracy, as it affects redistricting, and for the efficient and fair distribution of taxpayer money." Many civil rights organizations push hard to get people to fill out the census while engaging in legal and social action. To the outside world, cutting the census short by four weeks might seem like no big deal, but its of huge consequence, says Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a Washington-based group that has been serving as a clearinghouse for census count activism. The accelerated deadline threatens to shortchange people of color, as well as low-income people and the homeless of all races. We need to press the Senate to extend the reporting deadline even if it means announcing the results in 2021. We cant let the pressure off. This has to be done right. That pressure includes a letter signed by 900 national and community organizations urging Senate leaders Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to add a provision to the next COVID-19 relief bill that would give the Census Bureau four more months until April 2021 to report its findings. The census count isnt just about political power, but its also a tool used by the private sector to decide where to put that next mall or store, real bread-and-butter stuff that determines where you might be able to shop or work locally, says Howard Fienberg, co-director of the Census Project, the nations largest census advocacy group, which organized the letter sent to McConnell and Schumer. Fienberg notes that a big undercount is likely to affect rural areas that already face limited commercial and federal resources, places such as Big Horn County, Montana, where 82% of the population of 13,000 is uncounted by the 2020 census, or Rich County, Utah, where 88% of 1,800 have yet to respond. This is all about letting people know you exist, he says. Immigration activists rally outside the Supreme Court in April as the justices hear arguments on the Trump administration's plan to ask about citizenship in the 2020 census. The president has specific ideas of who should be counted in the census. "Just as we do not give political power to people who are here temporarily, we should not give political power to people who should not be here at all, Trump said in July in a statement explaining his desire to not count undocumented immigrants. A range of Republican lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Chip Roy in Texas and Brian Mast in Florida, applauded the president's efforts. A Pew Research Center study indicates that Florida, Texas and California all stand to lose one congressional seat under Trump's new apportionment plan. Terry Ao Minnis, senior director of census and voting programs at the civil rights advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, says activist groups reach out to Asian Americans to explain the role and importance of the census through social media and other outlets in 15 languages, including Cantonese, Urdu, Tagalog and Bengali. We just have to redouble our efforts to tell people that they can and should be counted without fear that their information will be used against them by the government, says Minnis, whose group filed a legal complaint along with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. People need to know they can still respond, she says. Its vital. Running out of time to count every American John Thompson, a statistician who directed the Census Bureau until 2017 and oversaw planning for the 2020 census, isnt confident this count will be accurate simply because of the outsize number of households census workers need to reach during the pandemic in an unusually restricted time frame. That could mean a redistribution of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives, which could further push the political landscape in favor of Republicans when issues important to people of color from police brutality to social equality are front and center. Theres a lot of concern, and it goes beyond party lines, Thompson says. Myself and other colleagues worry this census will not be suitable for apportionment." Melanie Campbell, center, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, talks to a group of Black women March 5 in front of the U.S. Capitol. The women attended a conference focused on the census, voting rights and health care. Activists say they arent counting on Census Bureau officials changing the Sept. 31 deadline. They've bolstered their efforts to boost voter registration and census response rates among people of color. We are in a state of emergency, says Melanie Campbell, president of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, which organized a strategy call between organizations. We have to make sure we dont lose power. The NCBCP and other groups are pivoting from in-person outreach efforts to social media on Facebook and Twitter. There are plans to hand out census material at food distribution and COVID-19 testing sites. One positive sign, some advocates say, is a spike in census response rates in places that have had protests demanding social justice, including New York and Los Angeles. That uptick is believed to be tied to a specific need of the community to figure out ways to be relevant, ways to actually impact the system, says Austin Patrick, a strategist for Black/African American research for Team Y&R, a communication firm contracted by the census. Activists say they are doing whatever they can to get people to get over the fear and mistrust often associated with filling out the census, maybe now more than ever, says Edward Hailes, general counsel for the nonprofit Advancement Project, a Washington-based group focusing on racial justice. Hailes says his organization helps partners leverage technology and media to promote census self-reporting, through the familiar approach of radio spots and social media messages. He feels the pressure. "For the government to suddenly say we are going to stop short on collection, that just puts a huge burden on nonprofit groups to get the word out especially under COVID-19 restrictions," he says. "But we will do everything we can." The NALEO Educational Fund, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that aims to boost Latino civic engagement, earmarks funds for targeted media messaging in cities and counties with low self-response rates, such as Yuma, Arizona; Fresno, California; and New York City's Bronx borough. Texas-based civil rights activist Genesis Sanchez, right, speaks to volunteers who want to encourage Latinos to fill out the 2020 census. Texas has one of the nation's highest rates of uncounted households, which could result in a negative impact on federal funding and political representation in those communities. Lizette Escobedo, director of NALEOs national census program, says some of NALEO's field officers find that even though there is no question on the census about citizenship, its ghost lingers. Even though the Supreme Court struck down having a citizenship question on the census, 50% of the people we asked still expect to find that question," she says. "That makes them hesitate. In her outreach efforts across Texas, Genesis Sanchez has found that for many Latinos, concerns over health safety and job security join a fear that their information will be used against them. Im very worried, because as Latinos think about their current and future political power, they have to understand that a census undercount will negatively impact that power, says Sanchez, NALEOs Texas regional census campaign manager. "But we have to keep fighting to the last bit," she says. "All these communities deserve to be fairly represented both financially and politically." Contributing: Deborah Barfield Berry This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Census 'emergency' pits Trump against activists, communities of color Despite a court order locking doors and forbidding access to documents, employees of Par Funding the Philadelphia firm facing civil charges of investment fraud brought by federal regulators remotely downloaded more than 100,000 company records in recent days and altered some, officials allege. After hearing of this in an emergency plea from a court-appointed receiver, a federal judge over the weekend issued a new order to make certain electronic access was cut off, and ordered Par Funding staff to disclose and destroy any downloaded documents. U.S. District Judge Rodolfo Ruiz in Florida on Sunday gave the receiver he has named, lawyer Ryan Stumphauzer, the green light to suspend Par Funding staffs Google email and document access. The legal skirmishing has been frenetic since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late last month filed a sweeping civil fraud complaint against Par Funding and financial advisers in Montgomery County and Florida, among others, saying that they had violated securities laws, hid the risks facing investors, and kept secret the criminal past of a Par Funding founder. Par investors saw their payments suspended for two months earlier this year before they were resumed at lower interest rates. They were suspended again this month; advisers blamed the SEC action. Par and the other defendants say in court papers that the investments were legitimate. They say it is the SEC that is endangering investors future returns by taking over the business and expelling more than 70 employees along with outside lawyers and other professionals who serve the business. Investors put up nearly $500 million in a business model based on giving cash-advance loans to merchants. Gaetan Alfano, the lawyer for receiver Stumphauzer, said at a scheduling hearing Monday that his office is interviewing Par veterans and may bring some of them back to work. On Monday, Judge Ruiz said in a public conference call with lawyers that he hoped Par could be saved and avoid liquidation and that at least part of investors principal be returned to them. He said hes been inundated by calls from investors. The receiver has set up a website for investors, employees, and others following the case at parfundingreceivership.com/faqs. He added: Merchant cash advance seems like the Wild, Wild West when it comes to investor funds. Amie Riggle Berlin, the SEC senior trial counsel in the case, said in the SEC complaint that Joseph W. LaForte used aliases to hide his convictions for a $14 million real estate scam and the operation of an illegal gambling operation. He is behind bars awaiting trial on federal charges of illegal possession of guns by a felon. The seven guns and $2.5 million in cash were seized by the FBI after it raided his homes recently in Lower Merion, the Poconos, and Florida. The FBI also searched Par Funding offices in two locations in Old City and related facilities in Florida. The firm was founded in 2011 by LaForte and his wife, Lisa McElhone, shortly after he got out of prison. It operated solely out of Philadelphia until 2017, when it opened another office in Florida. The SEC brought its case in federal court in West Palm Beach. The fight over records broke out after the receivers Philadelphia-based lawyer, Alfano, told the judge that Par Funding employees had downloaded over 100,000 files from the companys G Suite cloud-based account and information from the firms Quickbook accounting software. Alfano said documents were transferred as recently as Friday two weeks after the judges order cutting off access. Alfano said about 10 employees had accessed data, including workers from the collections, accounting, and information technology units. One employee, he added, not only downloaded documents but also edited and changed information, including a spreadsheet titled Leads/Consolidated Data Sheet. In his order Sunday, Ruiz gave the receiver more authority to shut off Par employees remote access for as long as required to ensure that the electronic data is being properly preserved. In a separate filing, the SEC complained to the judge that a private investigator hired by Par Funding, Margaret Clemons, owner of a New York City detective agency, had been writing to Par Funding investors urging them to support the firm by sending letters to the court. The federal agency said the detective has urged people to join in an attempt to enter the case by Par Funding investor Alan Candell, of Villanova. Candell had filed papers with the court to intervene in the legal brawl, saying he was concerned that the receivership would damage his investment. The SECs Berlin said in court papers that Candell had neglected to note he is a lawyer and had done legal work for Par and for one of the financial advisers named in the SEC complaint. On Friday, Ruiz denied Candells petition to intervene in the case. Receiver Stumphauzer said his staff is working around the clock, seven days to restart collections from Pars small-business borrowers so investors, in turn, can get their money. Yumi Hogan helped the American state of Maryland secure 500,000 coronavirus tests from her native South Korea. Hogan is the wife of Larry Hogan, Marylands governor. Now she is working to secure donations from the states Asian-American communities to fight the coronavirus. Asian Americans in Maryland already have donated about 560,000 pieces of personal protective equipment to the state government. The donated supplies include face masks, hand sanitizer products, and medical clothing. They were given to Maryland Unites, a program that the governor launched in March. Its goal is to gather donations and sign up volunteers from private industry. Yumi Hogan told VOA, Through the donations, the Asian communities proved they can play an important role. Among the donors is Chiling Tong. She is the president of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce and Entrepreneurship. Tong worked with Eugenia Henry, the Baltimore Chapter president of the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women Association. The two women mobilized the Asian-American community to donate 40,000 surgical masks and 10,000 face shields to Maryland. Tong told VOA that the donations were aimed at showing thanks to the states doctors and healthcare workers. She said that her ties with Yumi Hogan were important in her decision to donate. Tong added that Hogan informed us about what PPE (personal protective equipment) the state of Maryland needs, how the state can accept and distribute them, which was very helpful for donors. On April 18, a special Korean Air flight landed at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The airplane was carrying 500,000 coronavirus tests. Two days later, Governor Hogan announced that he had purchased the test kits from South Korea because he could not secure them from the U.S. federal government. Hogan said that Maryland had to compete with every other state in America for tests. He also called his wife "a champion." He said the deal would not have happened if she did not help. Yumi Hogan made a personal appeal to the South Korean Ambassador to the United States, Lee Soo Hyuk, as part of the effort. U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the governor's deal to get test kits from South Korea. He said Hogan "could've saved a lot of money" if he would had called Vice President Mike Pence instead. Yumi Hogan still remembers the day the test kits arrived with great emotion. She said she was deeply moved when the plane landed. South Korean arts and culture Marylands first lady also has been active in supporting arts and cultural exchanges between the United States and South Korea. In 2017, she led a business delegation to South Korea. During the trip, Maryland reached a sister-state agreement with South Jeolla province. Yumi Hogan returned home with a Korean plant called Jjok and later used it to introduce Koreas natural dye culture to Marylanders. Hogan is an artist and enjoys painting. Art is what connected her with Larry Hogan 20 years ago. The two first met at an art show. They married in 2004. She has three daughters from an earlier marriage and is the first Korean American first lady of any state. Role as Marylands first lady Yumi Hogan noted that she is not a politician but a mother. She said that is how she defines her position as Marylands first lady. Children, women, people with disabilities, and financial difficulties, especially single mothers are the ones who need attention, she said. Hogan helps sick children by providing art therapy through her non-profit group Yumi CARES. She told VOA, Even with a great legal system and administrative system, there are still many people who need attention and care. Im Mario Ritter Jr. Eunjung Cho reported this story for VOANEWS. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story role n. the part that someone plays in an activity mobilize v. to prepare and organize for future use surgical adj. related to a medical operation distribute v. to give away or deal out mask n. a covering for the face or parts of the face kit n. equipment or materials needed for a special purpose first lady n. the wife of a head of state or a governor introduce v. to bring into use for the first time; to make something known dye n. a substance used to add color or change the color of something therapy n. a treatment for a disease or sickness Traditional rulers in the Bawku Traditional area of the Upper East Region have commended the running mate of the flagbearer of National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, for the decent manner in which she is campaigning towards the December general elections. She was commended when she a paid courtesy call on them on Saturday at their palaces to introduce herself to them as part of a two-day campaign tour to the Upper East Region. We have noted that peace and decency are the virtues of you, even before you were chosen as the running mate to former president John Dramani Mahama. We want to urge you and all other politicians to continue to exhibit such virtues by conducting clean campaigns devoid of acrimony and insults to help ensure peaceful elections this year. The Paramount Chief of the Kusaug Traditional Area, Naba Zug-Raan Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, stressed that God had already chosen the President for this years elections and therefore, underscored the need for all politicians to educate their supporters to stay away from violence. The Paramount Chief stated that the NDC running mate was an icon for changing the face of politics of insults in Ghana to decorous campaign. Professor Opoku-Agyemang pointed out that peace and unity was among the key ingredients for accelerated and sustainable development and assured the chiefs and people in the region that the NDC would embark upon peaceful campaigns devoid of insults. The running mate appealed to them to use their positions to ensure that politicians and their supporters conducted their electioneering campaigns peacefully before, during and after the December general elections. The former Minister of Health and Deputy Campaign Manager of the party for the 2020 elections, Mr Alex Segbefia, the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Tongu and former Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, former Deputy Western Regional Minister, Mrs Emelia Arthur, MP for Bolgatanga Central, Mr Isaac Adongo, MP for Pusiga Constituency, Madam Ladi Ayamba among other party executives accompanied Professor Opoku-Agyemang on the political campaign tour. As part of the tour, she visited areas including the Bolgatanga Central, Bawku Central, Zebilla, Garu, Tempane, Pusiga, Navrongo Central, Chiana-Paga, Builsa North and Builsa South constituencies. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video KEY HIGHLIGHTS To invest $200,000-$2million in 15-20 early stage startups Focus on start-ups building IPs, platforms, tools, tech, infrastructure in the gaming ecosystem With the Indian gaming sector witnessing unprecedented growth amid pandemic lockdowns, a gaming sector fund has announced funding in the Indian gaming sector. Lumikai fund, backed by gaming and technology companies from Japan, Finland, the US, and South Korea has announced that it will invest in as many as 15-20 start-ups in the gaming ecosystem. However, the size of the fund is yet to be disclosed by the venture fund. The new sector-focused lighthouse VC fund will look at early stage Indian startups with investment of between $200,000 to $2 million over the next five years. Salone Sehgal, partner at Lumikai said that the fund has a distinct investment strategy to help interactive and gaming companies grow in scale. "The focus will be on early stage start-ups largely pre-seed, seed and a few at Series A with ample capacity to follow on," she said. The fund hopes to deploy much faster than the typical investment period of five years given the deep-flow in the sector. "We will do content bets which would be Intellectual Properties; we will look at platforms, tools, tech and infrastructure play which we closely relate to the gaming and the interactive market," she added. Justin Shriram Keeling, partner, Lumikai said that gaming as a category in India has seen a sustained year-on-year growth of nearly 30 per cent. Last year the country overtook the United States to become the second largest game download market in the world with over 5 billion installs. "So that's obviously accelerated with March COVID lockdown. Just over the last quarter, India's gaming usage has increased 20-50 per cent depending on the gaming category. So from a demand perspective we obviously feel we are in the right place exactly at the right time," said Justin. Even from a supply perspective, in the last five years, Indian gaming industry has gone from over 25 game developers to 300 or more than 10X growth. "What's also exciting within those game developers is that for the first time we are seeing some of the high end game developers' breakout globally as well," he added. Even though India might lead in the download numbers, the monetisation for gaming companies still remains low. India does not even figure in the top 10 while countries like Canada, Italy and Spain which have users between 30-50 million generate upwards of $2.6 billion. Salone cites the example of PUBG phenomenon which has led monetisation in India. "However if we go back and trace historically, wherever we have content, which has leveraged familiar mechanics in the discrete category, those companies have been able to build profitable sustainable businesses," she added. Lumikai also sees an opportunity in the government's recent move to ban Chinese apps and closely scan Chinese investments into India. "Now is a great time for Indian content developers and content makers to bring their content out and put it on the app store and it's a great time for innovation for India, but however challenge is also on the capital side," said Salone. While the Chinese capital was helpful for Indian companies to scale, with renewed interest from other countries such as Japan, South Korea and the US in the Indian gaming market, the opportunities to tap are aplenty. Also read: Will PUBG Mobile be banned? All you need to know Also read: PUBG in India: Gamers stare at huge losses if govt goes ahead with ban The Shiv Sena on Monday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not addressing the economic situation in the country and the measures to revive it in his Independence Day speech. An editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said that more than 14 crore people have lost their jobs and remarked that the prime minister should have spoken about issues the people face in his 90-minute speech on August 15. Till now, around 14 crore people in the country have lost their jobs. In future, this number is going to increase. People have to get out of their homes, but what will they do once they are getting out? Jobs, businesses and employment have been destroyed. It would have been better if the prime minister would have spoken about these, the editorial said. The editorial said the prime minister also spoke about the Covid-19 vaccine trials in India, the countrys defence capabilities, and the National Digital Health Mission, among other things. It said, Merely beating the drums of Atmanirbhar Bharat programme is unlikely to help tide over the economic crisis caused by the pandemic. In a jibe at defence minister Rajnath Singh, the editorial said he had stated during the flag hoisting on Independence Day that India has the ability to speed up the global economy. It added, Leave alone the world Sir, speed up the countrys economy. Independence Day comes and goes, the Red Fort is the same, the problems and woes are still the same. The editorial added that the army and air force are there to safeguard the countrys borders and keep enemies away, but how will we fight the devil of hunger and joblessness which is running amok in the country? SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The British government scrambled Monday to staunch the damage from an exam-grading policy that has left thousands of 18-year-olds without university places and sparked claims of discrimination against disadvantaged students. Education Secretary Gavin Williamson was expected to make an announcement on the system for replacing exams that were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Universities in the UK offer final-year high school students places based on grades predicted by their teachers. Admission is contingent on the results of final exams, known as A Levels. This year, with schools largely shut since March and no exams, education authorities in England ran the predicted grades through an algorithm, intended to standardize results, that compared them with schools' past performance. That meant high-achieving students at under-performing schools, many in deprived areas, saw their marks downgraded, while students at above-average schools kept their predicted grades. Hundreds of students have held protests, calling the results an injustice, and lawmakers have been inundated with complaints from angry parents. Kay Mountfield, head teacher at a school in Marlow, west of London, said 85 per cent of her students had received lower than predicted grades. Seventy of my students have not had their first choice of university, she said. Normally that would be about five, or 10 maybe, students. The education secretary insisted Saturday that there would be no U-turn, though he said students who had been downgraded could appeal or retake the exams. But criticism of the policy spread quickly, even within the ranks of the governing Conservative Party. This group of young people have lost out on so much already; we must ensure that bright, capable students can progress on their next step, said Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt. Defense Minister Johnny Mercer said there were clear injustices in the system. In Scotland, authorities quickly reversed course after a similar fiasco last week, saying students would get their predicted grades. That increased pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to do the same for England. Johnson, who is on vacation, chaired a call on the crisis Monday with Williamson and senior officials. We recognise this has been an incredibly difficult year for students, said the prime minister's spokesman, Jamie Davies. We continue to work to come up with the fairest system possible. (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.) This is no longer just an anecdotal observation that some individual doctors have made, said Daniel Allington, a senior lecturer at Kings College London and co-author of a recent study that found people who obtained their news online, instead from radio or television, were more likely to believe in conspiracy theories and not follow public health guidelines. This is a statistically significant pattern that we can observe in a large survey. Dr. Howard Mell, an emergency room physician in an Illinois suburb of St. Louis, said the wife of a man who had died from the coronavirus in April accused him of falsely filling out the death certificate to make more money for himself. He explained that the form was accurate and that his pay was not based on the cause of death. She yelled, Weve seen online how you guys get more money, Dr. Mell said. Since then, the situation has not improved, he said. Several times per week, he meets someone who believes false medical information that was discovered online. It has absolutely become a job unto itself, said Dr. Mell, who is also a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, a group representing E.R. doctors. Some doctors say they get into arguments with patients who demand prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, the unproven drug championed by Mr. Trump. At some hospitals, people have arrived asking for a doctors note so they do not have to wear a mask at work because they believe it will harm their oxygen levels, another online rumor. Maryland residents who are turning age 65 are being advised to compare Medicare insurance policies as a way of achieving significant savings. Rates across Maryland for virtually identical Medigap insurance can vary significantly according to the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance (AAMSI). "In Baltimore a man turning age 65 could pay as little as $136 monthly or as much as $225 for basically identical Medigap coverage," shares Jesse Slome, director of the Association. "If he pays premiums for 10 years, the small amount will add up to well over $10,000 which I would call a significant reason to do a little comparison shopping." According to Slome, there are other benefits to comparing policy options and costs. "There can be added fees as well a available discounts for two-person households. In Maryland, they vary from zero to as high as 12 percent," Slome reports. The American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance 2020 Price Index reports both the lowest and highest insurance rates for Plan G. "Medigap Plan G is the most popular choice among seniors turning 65," Slome explains. To see 2020 Medicare insurance pricing for top U.S. cities visit the organization's website. Maryland Medicare Supplement Plan G 2020 Price Index Findings BALTIMORE, MD (Zip 21215) FEMALE age 65, Plan G Lowest monthly premium: $123.30 Highest monthly premium: $224.24 MALE age 65, Plan G Lowest monthly premium: $135.62 Highest monthly premium: $224.24 Germantown, MD (Zip 20874) FEMALE age 65, Plan G Lowest monthly premium: $123.30 Highest monthly premium: $224.24 MALE age 65, Plan G Lowest monthly premium: $135.62 Highest monthly premium: $224.24 SILVER SPRING, MD (Zip 20906) FEMALE age 65, Plan G Lowest monthly premium: $123.30 Highest monthly premium: $224.24 MALE age 65, Plan G Lowest monthly premium: $135.62 Highest monthly premium: $224.24 To locate local Maryland Medicare insurance agents consider using the Association's online directory of local Medicare agents. "The national's largest listing of Medicare insurance advisors is free to use and completely private," Slome adds. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the American Association for Medicare Supplement Insurance is an advocacy and informational organization. The national organization supports insurance professionals who market Medicare Supplement insurance. Press Release August 17, 2020 PRC VOLUNTEERS TO HELP DOH NOTIFY POSITIVE COVID CASES With community transmission a large contributor, along with the country's increased testing capacity, to the growing number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the country, which has reached 161,253 as of Sunday, the Philippine Red Cross has volunteered to help the Department of Health release positive results to patients. Senator Richard J. Gordon, PRC chairman and CEO, stressed that positive cases should be immediately informed of their status because if they are belatedly informed, they spread the virus in their community. "There are over 15,700 positive confirmed cases since July 30 and one-third of these people have not been informed about their status as confirmed positives and has been dangerously increasing community transmission. The movement and transmittal of COVID-19 positive test results should be done faster in a careful and secure manner by the DOH in favour of the patient," Gordon said in a letter to the DOH. "Given the urgency of the situation, we are now constrained to request the DOH to allow the PRC to send the positive results to patients through a team of volunteer doctors," he added. While the PRC sends negative results directly to those who undergo COVID testing at its molecular laboratories, positive results are sent to the DOH for individual release to the patients since these situations may produce perilous consequences and the DOH is in a better position and is better equipped to enforce government mandated health and safety protocols, which are embodied in the law and its implementing rules and regulations. Reports show that acts of desperation of patients who tested positive for COVID-19 is rising at an alarming rate, with some resorting to suicide, evading quarantine an isolation protocols, or simply keeping the result from public knowledge, if not destroying it, to avoid the stigma attached to the disease. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- InfoWars correspondent Millie Weaver and two others pleaded not guilty at a Monday arraignment in Portage County Common Pleas Court on felony charges including robbery that stem from an April altercation with Weavers mother, according to court records. Portage County Common Pleas Court Judge Becky Doherty set Weavers bond at $20,000 and ordered her released on her own recognizance. Weavers boyfriend Gavin Wince and brother Charles Weaver pleaded not guilty to the same charges and were issued the same bond. Update: Police report says InfoWars Millie Weaver, boyfriend and brother threw mother to the ground and took her cellphone Weaver, whose legal first name is Millicent, appeared via a video stream from the Portage County Jail where she has been held since her Friday arrest on felony charges of robbery, tampering with evidence and obstructing justice, as well as a misdemeanor charge of domestic violence. A Portage County grand jury handed up the sealed indictment on July 20, and a warrant was issued for the trios arrest the same day, according to court records unsealed Monday. The incident occurred on April 25, according to the indictment. The victim is listed as Felicia McCarron, who has been identified as Weavers mother. Cleveland.com could not reach McCarron for comment on Monday. Eugene OByrne, a Canton-based defense attorney who was listed in court records as representing Weaver, did not return a call to his office on Monday. Cleveland.com has requested records related to the case from the offices of the Portage County sheriff, prosecutor, clerk of courts municipal court, juvenile court and child and protective services. Weaver recorded a portion of her arrest on video with her cellphone. She claimed that she was about to break huge breaking news, and the video spurred conspiracy theories online that it was somehow connected to a video she was about to release online. The video, which claims to have uncovered evidence of a covert government mind-control program aimed at removing President Donald Trump from office based on interviews with two people, was published shortly after her arrest. A GoFund Me account established in her name has raised more than $140,000 as of Monday. InfoWars is an extremely far-right conspiracy theory website founded by Alex Jones that has been widely denounced as spreading debunked claims including that the government carried out the U.S. government is behind a host of tragedies including the September 11 terrorist attack and the 2012 killing of 26 students and teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Parents of eight children murdered in the Sandy Hook attack have filed defamation lawsuits against Jones and InfoWars. Jones has also claimed the government uses weather weapons to create natural disasters including tornadoes and also puts chemicals in drinking water in an attempt to turn people gay. Weaver, a former aspiring actress, joined InfoWars in 2012. Read more stories Ohio correspondent for the InfoWars conspiracy theory website is part of new conspiracy theories after her arrest: The Wake Up podcast InfoWars Ohio correspondent gets arrested, sparking instantly viral conspiracy theories: This Week in the CLE InfoWars correspondent arrested on robbery, domestic violence charges in Portage County Teen charged in crash that killed 13-year-old girl during Cleveland police chase to be tried in adult court Two arrested in East Cleveland after driver of stolen vehicle leads officers on chase, flashes submachine gun BetterBody Foods President and CEO Stephen Richards The Utah-based business BetterBody Foods & Nutrition LLC has filed a complaint with Oatly AB, a Swedish-owned brand with American investments, after receiving cease and desist letters from the oat milk brand. (United States District Court, for the District of Utah, Case No: 2:20-cv-00492-JCB.) Last year BetterBody Foods (BBF) entered the non-dairy beverage space with a non-GMO, organic, gluten-free, vegan and kosher certified oat milk. It successfully registered the OATSOME brand with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The health food company also registered the OATSOME mark in numerous countries including the United Kingdom, China, Australia and Singapore. In September of 2019 just as BBFs OATSOME brand was getting ready to launch, BBF received its first letter from Oatlys legal counsel asserting that it owned the mark TOTALLY OATSOME''. Oatly has also challenged BBFs right to use OATSOME within the European Union and China though BBF has registered the OATSOME mark in those countries. (United States District Court, for the District of Utah, Case No: 2:20-cv-00492-JCB.) On July 10, BBF filed a complaint (United States District Court, for the District of Utah, Case No: 2:20-cv-00492-JCB) against the global brand and its use of the tagline TOTALLY OAT-SOME'' on product packaging for oat milk. According to the court filing, Given that no use of OATSOME by Oatly had turned up during BetterBody Foods search of the OATSOME mark prior adopting it, BetterBody Foods was surprised at Oatly ABs claim to own the trademark TOTALLY OATSOME. The complaint also states that BBF was taken aback at Oatlys overreaching demand to never register trademarks incorporating the word oat into another word. The complaint was filed in the Utah District Court. BBF is seeking damages and a judgment that the alleged trademark infringement is willful and constitutes unfair competition. About BetterBody Foods & Nutrition LLC: Founded by Stephen Richards in 2007, BetterBody Foods believes making better food choices contributes to a happy and healthy life. Committed to providing the best organic and natural foods for cooking, baking, health and wellness, the BBF team is constantly innovating and creating new healthy products. The company created household names such as their best-selling PBfit peanut butter powder, Oatsome and Plant Junkie, all of which are available on-line and in major retailers around the country. New Delhi: The Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday (August 17, 2020) said that the Centre will be launching a holistic Project Dolphin in another 15 days for the conservation and protection of the Dolphins in the rivers and in oceans across the country. The minister took to his official Twitter account and wrote, "As announced by PM Narendra Modi ji on 74th Independence Day, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change will be launching a holistic Project Dolphin in another 15 days for the conservation and protection of the #Dolphins in the rivers and in oceans of the country." As announced by PM @narendramodi ji on #74thIndependenceDay , @moefcc will be launching a holistic Project #Dolphin in another 15 days for the conservation and protection of the #Dolphins in the rivers and in oceans of the country.@SuPriyoBabul @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/PfI5rVpx6I Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) August 17, 2020 Javadekar on Monday also attended a States Forest Ministers Conference held in New Delhi and said that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) is focused on enhancing forest quality and increasing tree cover for maximizing carbon stock. Minister of State in the Environment Ministry, Babul Supriyo, other officials in the Ministry, Chief Ministers of the State of Arunachal Pradesh and Goa, Deputy Chief Ministers and 24 Forest Ministers from various States also participated in the four-hour-long meeting held via video conferencing. Javadekar addressing the meeting said that We have taken many initiatives to bring out transformational changes in our policies and programmes and implement several schemes which include massive tree plantation, promoting urban forestry through Nagar Van Scheme, Landscape based catchment treatment of 13 major rivers, LiDAR-based survey of degraded forest areas for soil moisture conservation projects and launch of National Transit Portal to facilitate smooth movement of Forest produce. These efforts are critical to meet our national and international goals under National Forest Policy, Nationally Determined Commitments and restoration of degraded forest land, said Javadekar. Project Dolphin will involve conservation of Dolphins and the aquatic habitat through the use of modern technology especially in enumeration and anti-poaching activities. The project will engage the fishermen and other rivers/ ocean dependent population and will strive for improving the livelihood of the local communities. The conservation of Dolphin will also envisage activities which will also help in the mitigation of pollution in rivers and in the oceans. The Union Minister also stated that the government is working towards the Project Lion, that will involve conservation of the Asiatic Lion and its landscape in a holistic manner. The Project Lion will entail habitat development, engage modern technologies in Lion management and address the issues of disease in Lion and its associated species through advanced world-class research and veterinary care. The project will also address Human-wildlife conflict and will be inclusive involving local communities living in the vicinity of Lion landscape and will also provide livelihood opportunities. At the meeting, Javadekar stressed that states should use CAMPA funds exclusively for afforestation and plantation. I announce that 80% of afforestation fund shall be utilized only for afforestation/plantation and the rest 20% can be used for capacity building etc. The Centre in August 2019 released Rs. 47,436 crores CAMPA funds for afforestation to various states. Ministry is also going to announce the implementation of School Nursery Scheme shortly, said the Union Environment Minister during the meeting. The Nagar Van Scheme which was announced on this World Environment Day for creation of 200 Nagar Van, on forest land by adopting a collaborative approach, involving various agencies like forest and other departments, NGOs, Corporate Bodies, Industries etc, was also discussed at length during the course of the meeting. Initially, the Ministry will be giving grants for fencing and soil moisture works. The primary objective is to create a forested area in cities with Municipal Corporation, which will act as lungs of the cities. School Nursery scheme which aims at involving school students from the young age in nursery and plantation operations was also elaborated and discussed during the course of the four-hour-long meeting. The objective of the scheme is to inculcate the spirit of forest and environment in the mind of young students. Scheme guidelines will be shared with the States shortly. Another important issue highlighted during the meeting by Javadekar was the study given to ICFRE for river rejuvenation of 13 major rivers which will promote forestry along the river, increase groundwater recharge and reduce erosion. Similarly, LiDAR technology which is an airborne remote sensing method which will assist in the identification of the degraded land for construction of soil and water conservation structures and launch of a nationwide National Transit Portal to promote smooth inter-state movement of forest produce, whose pilot was launched recently was also an agenda item of the meeting. During the meeting, the States gave their status of preparedness for implementation of various programmes initiated by the Ministry and also conveyed their willingness to associate with all other initiatives of Government of India to promote green cover. States showed enthusiasm and expressed cooperation with MoEF&CC in this endeavour. President Donald Trump ended up retweeting a post by one of his supporters that called for Democrat-led cities to be abandoned and left to rot. The tweet was made by Brandon Straka, who is a pro-Trump activist. Straka first made headlines in June of this year after he was banned from American Airlines for refusing to wear a face mask. A Trump supporter who ended up tweeting people to 'Leave democrat cities. Let them rot.' ended up being retweeted by President Donald Trump The tweet was accompanied by video footage of a group of people driving in their car in New York City and being stopped by protesters in the street The footage saw a man driving a car through Midtown Manhattan when they were suddenly stopped by protesters. The video was shot by a retired NYPD detective last Thursday Straka's tweet on Sunday afternoon was accompanied with a video clip shot on Thursday showing protesters near New York's Times Square. 'Leave Democrat cities,' wrote Straka. 'Let them rot. The media and The Democrats have activated this mental illness and it's going to get more and more people hurt and killed. WalkAway from the radical left. And do it quickly.' The video was shot by retired NYPD detective Rob O'Donnell. 'NYC Times Square last night. They are threatening bodily & property damage, limiting the free flow of traffic, unlawfully holding others against their will. If NYC Leadership won't take action, the citizens will need to defend themselves.' The video shows Black Live Matter protesters yelling at the driver of a black Jeep to turn around as the demonstrators blocked part of the road. The tacit approval of the president appeared to anger many in the media including CNN's Jake Tapper Washington Post columnist shared her despair at the president's retweeting The tweet comes as pictures of homeless people lining streets of Los Angeles and New York City become more commonplace in recent months. Pictured, New York City on Friday Trump's tweet came in for criticism including from CNN anchor Jake Tapper. 'I couldn't believe it when I first saw it, but I checked, and yes, the president of the United States actually retweeted this message to 'Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot.' Similar despair was show by political reporter for the Washington Post. 'Have we lost our capacity to be shocked? The President of the United States -- who is supposed to lead an entire nation -- just retweeted someone urging "Leave Democrat cities. Let them rot."' A former columnist for the New York Daily News, Brandon Friedman, said that the tweet showed the country was in a 'civil war' or sorts. 'This is from the commander-in-chief, the President of the United States, further confirming that we are presently in a cold civil war,' Friedman wrote. A homeless tent is seen next to the Hollywood sculpture at the corner of Hollywood Blvd and Labrea Blvd last week in Hollywood, California Homeless people congregate inside a homeless tent encampment across the street from City Hall in San Francisco, California seen in May of this year New York Daily News columnist Brandon Friedman said that the country is now in a 'cold civil war' What is known is that Charlie Peng is the Chinese national being questioned by the income-tax department who detained him earlier this month for his alleged involvement in a Rs1,000 crore cross-border money laundering racket using shell companies. Around two years before income-tax detectives got to him, Peng, 41, was arrested by Delhi police on charges of forgery. In 2018, he was a Chinese man living illegally in India using forged papers. To his neighbours in the Dwarka neighbourhood where he lived, Peng posed as a northeast Indian who ran a successful pharmaceuticals business, had an office in Gurugram and moved around in swanky cars, including a Toyota Fortuner, and seemed to have plenty of money. Nobody knew much more about the short, middle-aged, bespectacled man. Until he was caught this month, no one in the neighbourhood knew that in 2009 Peng had fled China, trekking from Tibet to Nepal. No one knew that for six years he had lived as a monk at a monastery in Nepal and then travelled to India,where he became a garments trader. Many in the Delhi police recall him as a smooth talker who knew a lot about India, which enabled him to pass off as an Indian citizen. When he was first arrested on a rainy evening in September 2018, he tried to pass himself off as an Indian businessman. On the evening of September 12,2018, at 6.30, a police informant tipped off inspector Sanjay Gupta about a Chinese national who had forged papers and was living in India under a false identity. The informant told Gupta that the man, who identified himself as Charlie Peng, may be engaging in anti-national activities using fake identity documents. Less than an hour later, Gupta and his team were in Majnu Ka Tila, looking for a Toyota Fortuner with Haryana licence plates, that the informant had alerted the police about. The informant had told inspector Gupta that Peng was meeting an accomplice in Majnu Ka Tila, a Tibetan refugee settlement on the banks of the Yamuna near north Delhi. At 7.10 pm, we spotted a Fortuner car coming and the informer pointed to us that he was Charlie Peng. He could have escaped, but because of the heavy traffic...could not. We stopped his car. He was seated next to the driver. He said his name was Charlie Peng, read Delhi polices charge sheet, filed in a city court after his arrest in 2018. Delhi police officers who questioned Peng in 2018 said he was living at an apartment in Dwarka and had an office in Gurugrams Phase 5. Police then recovered two Aadhaar cards in the name of Charlie Peng, which showed he was a resident of Dwarka and another showing him to belong to Churachandpur in Manipur. His real name, according to police records, is Luo Sang. In Dwarka, none of the neighbours knew about his past. He had told them that he was from the northeastern state. He had also married a woman from Mizoram. Our team had gone to Manipur and also spoken to the sarpanch of the village. No one knew him at the Manipur address mentioned in his Aadhaar card, said an officer who questioned him. The beginnings Police records show that Peng was born in Tibet in 1978. He told police his parents had a troubled marriage. When he was eight, his mother met a man named Li Peng, who helped them flee Tibet and shift to Nanjing in Jiangsu, China, where Li Peng ran an auto spare parts business. He was not good in studies and had developed bad habits. When he was 18, he went to Tibet to meet his biological father. He stayed with his father for a year. He worked as a businessman dealing in medicines. He started trading of a local medicinal herb, dong chong xia cao. He earned handsome money from this business because he knew the Chinese language and could bargain hard with the Chinese people, his interrogation report in 2018 reads. Peng told police that he wanted to expand his business and illegally entered Nepal on foot with six other Tibetans in the summer of 2009. Police say Pengs motive was to come to India and that Nepal was only a transit point. In Nepal, Peng stayed for six years until 2014, living as a monk at the Gelug Monastery near Kathmandu and continued to trade in dong chong xia cao. He told his interrogators that the business was so good that many people from the monastery and outside became dependent on him. Some acquaintances in the monastery suggested to him to go to India to earn a fortune. In 2014, he came to India at Majnu Ka Tila, New Delhi from Kathmandu by bus, a report on his confession before the polices investigating officer reads. Detailing his early days in Delhi, police said Peng had stayed in the Punjabi Basti area opposite Majnu Ka Tila and used documents from the monastery to get an identity card as a Tibetan refugee. According to records, Peng then started importing noodles from China and sent them to monks in south India. When he made money, he shifted to importing Chinese goods through an online firm. As he knew Mandarin, he was able to converse with Chinese exporters and earned their faith. Gradually he developed links with them. From Punjabi Basti, New Delhi he went to Bangalore as his imports were destined to Bangalore. Thereafter he again shifted to New Delhi and took a flat in Dwarka, a police officer told a court in 2018. Move to Gurugram Police said that by 2016, when Pengs business grew, he shifted from Dwarka to Gurugram and also opened a company by the name of Sunhara Bird Pvt. Ltd. According to information of different search engines, the company is shown to be a financial planning firm. We always suspected that he was into money laundering and other crimes but we had little evidence then. We only charged him for fraud and forgery then, a second police officer, who did not wish to be named, said. Police then found that Peng operated a money exchange business from his Gurugram office. Two bank accounts --at IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank--were opened using fake Indian identity cards. There was at least Rs20 lakh in the ICICI Bank account and about Rs70,000 in IndusInd bank, according to the bank account statement details police mentioned in his interrogation report. Currently under investigation for his handling of the finances of several firms and laundering money using shell companies, Peng is suspected to have created a web of sham entities to transfer hawala funds to and from China, income-tax officials said. Currently out on bail in the forgery case, Peng was posing as a businessman who dealt in the import and export of medical and electronic goods to mislead authorities. After his arrest, the Central Bureau of Direct Taxes said that the subsidiary of a Chinese company linked to Peng and its related concerns had taken over Rs100 crore bogus advances from shell entities for opening businesses of retail showrooms... Income tax officials said that during raids on August 11 and 12, they recovered a large number of documents apart from over Rs50 lakh in cash, from premises in Delhi, Gurugram and Ghaziabad linked to his associates, such as chartered accountants, bank officials and representatives of a few Chinese firms who helped him. He had made it big. He had even married a woman from Mizoram. Initially, she also did not know about his past. He had got a tout to prepare a fake Indian passport from a tout in Manipur. He had money then and that money was possibly not earned from just selling clothes, a third police officer who questioned Peng in 2018 said, also requesting anonymity. Currently, he has approached the court to release his passport. He may not have thought that he would be arrested and that the government would find evidence. If the investigators go deeper, they will find more about Peng and the Chinese residents for whom he has been working for all these years, the officer added. Suspect Arrested in Connection to Missing Leila Cavett: FBI FBI agents arrested a suspect in connection to the disappearance of Georgia woman Leila Cavett, who was last seen in Florida in July. Shannon Demar Ryan, 38, was taken into federal custody on Saturday and is now being held in Broward County, officials told Fox News. The FBI is still searching for Cavett, 21. After Cavett went missing, her young son Kamdyn was found by police alone and in a diaper and bare feet in Miramar, officials said. Ryan is accused of lying to federal agents in the case, officials told The Associated Press. On Facebook, a man who appears to be Ryan posted a lengthy video saying that he was the last one to see Cavett. We have a missing woman, and I gave the police everything that I know, he stated in the clip, according to the AP. Ryan, on his social media page, claimed to be a witch, master of the occult arts, CEO of a vegan business, and a teacher. If you think I am guilty, come get me, he said on Aug. 13. Know what energy you are playing with, he said, reported the Sun-Sentinel. Why is it you have a missing woman, and the last person thats seen her, which is me, who talked to the police, you aint heard nothing about me, Ryan said in another video. He also admitted to serving time in prison when he was younger, including for drugs and burglary. FBI agent Samuel Band on Monday said in a court filing that Ryans phone was investigated, showing Google searches on July 26 for What day does commercial garbage pickup for Hollywood, Florida, and does bleach and alcohol make chloroform. According to the National Institute of Health, chloroform is commonly used to incapacitate a victim by rendering them unconscious, the complaint said, reported Fox News. Cavett is 5 feet, 4 inches tall, and weighs about 120 pounds. She has the word Kamdyn tattooed on her right inner arm and a fish tattooed on her right wrist, her family has said. Kuala Lumpur: A mutation of the deadly coronavirus that is far more infectious has been detected from two COVID-19 clusters in Malaysia, according to health authorities. "Recent results received from the Laboratory Medical Research Institute (IMR): as suspected D614G type mutation has been spotted from COVID-19 virus isolation test for three cases from Cluster PUI Sivagangga (close contact to index case) and also a case from Cluster Ulu Tiram (i.e. individual from the Philippines)," Noor Hisham Abdullah, health chief said in a Facebook post on Sunday. Dr Hisham said so far these two clusters have been found to be quite controlled by the results of various fast-paced public health control actions in the field. "This test is an early test and there are several follow-up tests in progress to test several other cases, including index cases for both these clusters. So, this means that people need to be aware and be more careful because the COVID-19 virus with this D614G mutation has been proven to be detected in Malaysia," said Dr Hisham. According to him, it is found to be "10 times easier to infect other individuals and spread easily if spread by the individual `super spreader`." "The latest COVID-19 situation is found still controlled and KKM and other agencies are still working to stem COVID-19. Community cooperation is very much needed so that we can decide the contagion of COVID-19 infection from any kind of mutation," he said. Meanwhile, the total number of COVID-19 cases have increased to 2,17,06,031 across the world and the death count has gone up to 7,75,926, as per the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. HALIFAXMore than a year after a federal report became public revealing that police erased and suppressed evidence that might have freed him, Glen Assoun is wondering whether anyone will be held accountable for his wrongful imprisonment. It affects me in that the governments just dont care, he said last week in a phone interview from his Halifax apartment. They have no feelings about what happened to me. Assoun, now 64, spent almost 17 years in prison on a murder charge and five more years under strict parole conditions before a court declared his innocence in March 2019. He says hes suffering from mental illness and heart disease as a result of his years in prison. And he is not alone in questioning who will answer for the actions that upended his life. Ian Scott, the former head of the unit that investigates police misconduct in Ontario, backs Assouns view that both a criminal investigation and public inquiry are warranted, saying his case fits a pattern of poor Canadian police accountability for wrongful convictions. The case ought not to rest .... The stakes are too high in these circumstances to have it end there, saying it was just a mistake, Scott said in a recent interview. Assoun was convicted in 1999 of the murder of Brenda Way, who was found with her throat slashed in a Dartmouth, N.S., parking lot in November 1995. The crime remains unsolved. His original conviction has long been criticized by Innocence Canada a group that has helped free 23 wrongfully convicted people for issues at his trial that ranged from the use of videotaped evidence from a dead witness through accepting a knife discovered at the scene 10 months after police dogs had scoured the area as a potential murder weapon. However, in July 2019, revelations of the troubling actions of the RCMP and the Halifax police before Assoun unsuccessfully appealed his conviction brought his case to national attention. Following a court application by The Canadian Press, CBC and the Halifax Examiner, a report by the federal agency that probes wrongful convictions was released, saying an RCMP unit in Halifax had destroyed an officers database of information about other suspects, along with physical evidence gathered to back his theories, prior to a 2006 appeal hearing. The report noted that Const. Dave Moore had tried repeatedly to tell his superiors his work was relevant, and yet it was never disclosed. The RCMPs only public response has been to point to an internal review about the destruction Moores findings and state there was no malicious intent. The RCMP was asked for comment on whether they had changed their position, and had not replied more than a week after the original request from The Canadian Press. The defence that there was no malicious intent doesnt sit well with some experts on police misconduct and criminal law who have reviewed the case. Anthony Moustacalis, a former president of the Criminal Lawyers Association, says that, like Scott, he believes there are potential grounds for a criminal investigation. We have a constable going up the chain of command to insist the evidence be produced, and it is not produced, he said. It is very disturbing. The experts formed their views after considering portions of the preliminary assessment of Assouns case by the Criminal Conviction Review Group. The 2014 document by federal lawyer Mark Green surveyed problems with the original investigation by the Halifax police. This included a revelation that a woman who testified Assoun confessed to the murder as he sexually assaulted her had altered her story and was now identifying serial killer Michael McGray as her attacker. Green also wrote that in the years prior to Assouns appeal, the RCMPs Moore had unearthed new information pointing to McGray and other suspects in the Way murder. Specifically, Moores use of the police database system know as ViCLAS in 2003 led him to believe Assoun was innocent and that McGray whos admitted to multiple murders and was convicted of seven was a suspect. In addition, Green reported statements from McGray, at least 10 notebooks of interviews from his investigations of the Way murder, a psychological profile and correspondence had disappeared at some point after the analyst was suddenly shifted out of the unit in 2004. McGray, serving a life sentence, has declined interview requests from The Canadian Press about the allegations. In an interview in 2000 with The Canadian Press, McGray included a Halifax murder in the list of locations of killings he said he carried out across Canada but he did not identify the victim or the circumstances. The serial killers claims were never proven. During his investigation, Green produced documents showing that Assouns lawyer in the appeal, Jerome Kennedy, had specifically asked for the Crown to disclose ViCLAS-related evidence. A 2014 internal investigation by RCMP Insp. Larry Wilson, then the head of major crimes in Halifax, concluded the missing files in the Assoun case were deleted for quality control purposes, but the actions were contrary to policy and shouldnt have happened. Scott said a probe by an independent investigator is needed to get to the bottom of the matter. There should be a further investigation because there could be potential criminal liability by the officer who ordered those documents destroyed, he said. Both Scott and Moustacalis say an obstruction of justice case is a difficult one to win, as prosecutors must show there was an intent to destroy evidence knowing it would have an impact on Assouns case. The hard part is proving it was wilful, Scott said. Meanwhile, the question remains of why neither Moores work nor its deletion was disclosed to Assouns defence counsel before his appeal, despite evidence a high-ranking officer in the RCMP knew of the analysis. In his report, Green noted that on Jan. 27, 2005, Insp. Leo OBrien, the head of the ViCLAS unit in Ottawa, and an RCMP lawyer discussed the issue of disclosure with the local RCMP officer who was the liaison with the Crown. A handwritten note reproduced in Greens report noted, they would argue (1.) no new evidence in response to Kennedys request for information about ViCLAS information on alternate suspects. Several days after the Jan. 27 discussion, OBrien started an email exchange with Moore in which the constable alleged his evidence had been suppressed and outlined his investigations into alternate suspects. Green noted in his report that, OBriens response was that he was not in a position to do anything. In addition, there was a Halifax police liaison officer, Sgt. Ken Bradley, on the ViCLAS unit, who Wilson said was aware of Moores work being deleted. The Halifax police declined comment, in light of the potential for future legal processes and in keeping with our practices in relation to unsolved crimes in our community. Moustacalis says any police officer who knows of non-privileged evidence relevant to a trial has a duty to disclose it. Regardless of whether a criminal probe proceeds, both Moustacalis and Scott say a public inquiry is needed to examine the wider issues involved. Meanwhile, the Assoun case is seen by Innocence Canada as the visible tip of a larger pattern of provincial attorneys general not ordering independent criminal investigations into police actions in cases of wrongful conviction. The organization reviewed seven public inquiries going back to the 1989 royal commission on the wrongful prosecution of Donald Marshall Jr. in Nova Scotia, and found only a single instance of an officer being prosecuted in a wrongful conviction, and the case was dropped due to the officers poor health. Although, almost every commission of inquiry makes recommendations related to police investigations generally, none of them seem to directly address police misconduct of individual officers, wrote Innocence Canada counsel Bhavan Sodhi after reviewing the commissions findings. At his home in Halifax, Assoun says he continues to struggle to leave his home and be around other people, and suffers from bouts of depression that would make it difficult to endure an inquiry or court case. But he said hed willingly sit through either to hear the truth behind his tragedy. There has to be accountability, he says. Read more about: Boris Johnson is facing a growing backlash from his own MPs as pressure mounts on the government to stem the crisis over this years controversial A-level and GCSE results. Conservative MPs and at least one minister have broken ranks to express their concerns over the row, which has led to accusations that poorer pupils have been penalised more than more affluent students. A number of Tory MPs have joined Labour in calling for an algorithm which has downgraded nearly four in 10 results to be dumped in England and teacher assessments used instead, as they have done in Scotland. Backbenchers are also pressing ministers to get a grip on the issue before GCSE results are due to be published on Thursday. In Northern Ireland ministers have announced that GCSE pupils will be given the grades decided by their teachers, not the amended grade, following the outcry over the use of the algorithm. As pressure from backbench Tory MPs grows, Paymaster General and Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt said she was "seeking a further meeting today" with the Department for Education after speaking with students and parents about exam results. "This group of young people have lost out on so much already, we must ensure that bright, capable students can progress on their next step, she said. She added that she had made her views on GCSE results known to DfE and would be posting updates later today". Former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith was among those called for the controversial algorithm - meant to standardise results - to be dropped and replaced by a combination of teacher assessments and mocks. "No algorithm is going to sort our problem out," he told LBC Radio. Ex-minister Stephen Hammond said the A-level process had turned into a "shambles" after Ofqual, the exams regulator, published its guidance on appeals over the weekend only to withdraw the document hours later. "This is not the actions of a body that seems to know what it is doing," he told Sky News. CALIFORNIA - After five separate wildfires scorched thousands of acres and forced residents to evacuate their homes, a terrifying 'firenado' emerged in the Southern California soil on Wednesday. This month alone, numerous wildfire sprung up throughout the state prompting the daily temperatures to reach the triple-digit mark, as the tumultuous wildfire season continues in the state. The recent incident overwhelmed the people from the fire and emergency department of the state as they tried to fight a Lake Fire which arose near Pine Canyons and Lake Hughes that started at around 3:40 pm. California Fire Department's spokesperson shared on Friday that around 11,637 acres of land had been burnt by the massive wildfire but based on their calculation, they only contained 12 percent of it. Based on the recent report, Lake Hughes' structures were burnt and five of them were carbonized as the wildfire continuously creeps across the Angeles National Forest, CNN reported. The video footage which captured the phenomenon shows the danger and the strength lurking within the fire whirl. The emergency vehicles passed quickly as the fire whirl can be witnessed crackling atop a hill that is near Pine Canyon Road. The fire crept towards the area's foliage and even some of which has not been burned since 1968 according to officials. Read also: Wildfire in Oregon Eats Up More than 500 Acres in Less Than Two Hours Induced by the massive fire, a powerful whirlwind appeared and absorb the flames resulting in a dangerous fire whirl also known as a firenado. The emergency crews who attempted to pass by the roadway were in awe about what they had witnessed. As of the moment, no fire-related injuries were reported. Fire Department's spokesperson also shared that the evacuation orders from the officials in Los Angeles prompted an estimated 250 residents to evacuate their homes. According to NBC News, the evacuation order specifies that areas of Lake Hughes Road West of Pine Canyon and North of Dry Gulch Rd; West of Lake Hughes Road and Fire Station 78; East of Ridge Route Road; South of SR-139; and North of Pine Canyon and Lake Hughes Road are included in the areas that need to be evacuated. To ease the burden of the displaces families and residents in their area, city officials of Los Angeles opened numerous evacuation centers for families while animal care shelters were also established for the lost and frightened animals. Road closures were also applied in the city's firefighters still fight the wildfire. Closed roads include the Old Ridge Route from Hwy 138 to Pine Canyon and the 3 points Road from Hwy 138 to Pine Canyon. The spokesperson also mentioned that the cause has yet to be determined but the authorities assured that the wildfire incident can be totally contained by September 2. Aside from the 14 crews that were assigned to quell the Lake Fire, not less than 1,150 fire personnel also battles with the wildfire. Three agencies from the city have joined forces to stop the fire which includes the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Moreover, a total of three helicopters, eight dozers, nine water tenders, and 162 fire engines were put to for the cause. Related article: 20,000 Acres of Land Burned as Wild Fire Engulfs Southern California @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. BHP Group said on Friday it will closely monitor the work of industry associations to ensure they match its climate position on keeping the world's warming to well less than 2 degrees Celsius. The world's largest listed miner has faced increasing pressure from investors worried that some mineral lobby groups, particularly in Australia, are promoting coal use in contravention of the goals of the Paris climate pact, and have urged BHP to stop funding them. BHP said it would instead work with industry associations to outline its priorities and approach for advocacy around climate goals. "As industry leaders like BHP make firm commitments on climate transition, we welcome this effort to ensure that trade associations remain in step with their more forward-thinking members, said Thomas OMalley, Global Head of Corporate Governance, HSBC Global Asset Management and co-lead of the Climate Action 100+ engagement with BHP. BHP, which quit the World Coal Association in 2018, said it will publish annually a list of material association memberships and disclose in real time if one any of the associations breaches its global climate policy standards. It also said industry groups it supports should not advocate in favour of Australia's use of Kyoto carryover credits, a controversial accounting method that would allow Australia to use its old carbon credits from the 1992 Kyoto Protocol to meet Paris targets. Last year, BHP said it was reviewing its membership of four industry associations including the New South Wales Minerals Council due to concerns about their climate and energy policies. The NSW Minerals Council last month petitioned the state government to fast track approvals for 21 new coal mines, the majority containing thermal coal. The Minerals Council of Australia said it welcomed BHP's findings and would will work with BHP and state associations to progress the key issues raised. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Nina A. Loasana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Mon, August 17, 2020 16:57 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e93b5b 1 Business bank-indonesia,banknote,banknotes,uang,money,#Indonesia75,Independence-Day Free Bank Indonesia (BI) has issued a special commemorative Rp 75,000 (US$ 5.08) bill to celebrate the countrys Independence Day. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the issuance of the new banknote was an expression of gratitude for the country's independence, as well as a symbol of optimism in facing future challenges. "[Bank Indonesia] did not issue the special currency notes to improve liquidity to fund [the country's] economic activities. [...] but to commemorate Indonesia 75th Independence Day and to express gratitude for the country's independence." Sri Mulyani said in an online press conference on Monday. "I hope that the celebration of our country's 75th will be a symbol of revival and optimism in facing these extraordinary challenges [brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic]. The new bill bears the faces of the country's first president and vice president, Sukarno and Muhammad Hatta. The commemorative banknote also depicts Indonesia's very first flag-hoisting ceremony during the countrys Declaration of Independence on Aug. 17, 1945, and several children wearing traditional attire. In addition, it features the country's infrastructure achievements such as the Jakarta MRT, Papuas Youtefa Bridge and the trans-Java toll road. Read also: Indonesia celebrates 75th Independence Day with subdued virtual ceremony amid pandemic Sri Mulyani explained that BI had released 75 million pieces of the Rp 75,000 bill. BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said the commemorative notes were enhanced with new security features to prevent counterfeiting. "The new commemorative banknotes were also made with higher-quality papers so they would last longer," Perry said. He explained that on previous independence days, BI had issued three commemorative notes to celebrate the country's 25th, 45th and 50th anniversaries. Citizens over the age of 17 can purchase the notes online at pintar.bi.go.id. Residents who have made the purchase can obtain their bill at BI branches across the country starting Aug 18. BI is limiting sales to one bill per customer. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:42:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday denied the U.S. allegations that Iran is arming the Taliban in Afghanistan, official IRNA news agency reported. "What is happening today in Afghanistan is the result of the U.S. warmongering actions and interference in the affairs of Afghanistan," read a ministry statement. The allegations by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Aug. 12 "are some sort of blame-shifting and an attempt to divert the public opinion of the Afghan people from Washington's assistance to the Islamic State," the statement quoted Foreign Ministry's spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh as saying. Enditem The coronavirus continued reshaping the Bay Area housing market last month, as demand for homes was weakest in San Francisco especially for downtown high-rise condos and strongest in the North Bay as buyers untethered to an office sought more space. July existing, single-family home sales were strongest year over year in Sonoma and Marin counties, each up roughly 36%, and in Napa, up 28% from the prior year, according to a California Association of Realtors report issued Monday. They were weakest in San Francisco, up 1.4%, and Alameda, up 6.5%, the report said. Overall, Bay Area existing, single-family home sales were up 14.8% year over year and up 26.1% from June. The contrast between San Francisco and some of the more suburban markets is dramatic, said Patrick Carlisle, chief market analyst for the Compass brokerage firm. In Sonoma County, buyer demand is through the roof, said Coldwell Banker agent Jeremy King. After falling sharply in April and May as strict shelter-in-place orders nearly froze the market, Bay Area home sales surged in June and continued rising, but not as sharply, in July. Relaxed rules on showings, record-low mortgage rates and less economic uncertainty coaxed buyers out of hibernation. The median price paid for an existing, single-family home in the Bay Area rose to $1,050,000 in July, matching its all-time high set in May 2018, according to the Realtors Association. That price was up 5% from June and up 10.5% from July of last year. Prices rose the most year over year in Marin (23%), Contra Costa (18.9%) and Napa (14.2%) counties. They rose the least in San Francisco (4.1%), Santa Clara (6.3%) and Solano (7.5%). The report excludes sales of condos, newly constructed homes and properties that were not advertised on a Multiple Listing Service. Condos make up a much larger chunk of sales in San Francisco than other counties. San Francisco condos are definitely hurting, Carlisle said. The single-family-home market in San Francisco is basically similar to last year, but that is not digging it out of the hole made in April, May and June as far as sales. Other markets are doing, generally, from pretty well to stupendously crazy, heated insanity. Now Playing: Lloyd Canamores Oakland house is a shrine to the Warriors. He has lived there for more than 50 years, and now he fights to keep it. Video: McArdle Hankin / San Francisco Chronicle King, who works mainly in Petaluma, said, We are inundated with people from outside of Sonoma County coming up here, from San Francisco, the South Bay, East Bay. I just put into contract someone moving from London, to be near family, he said. The London buyer is paying almost $200,000 over asking price for a place in Petaluma. What buyers want most is more space, he said. On the flip side, I have three sellers moving out of state, to be near family or to find a lower cost of living, King added. He has two clients moving to Idaho, two to Tennessee and one to Nevada. In a report last week, Carlisle ranked 12 markets by the change in the percentage of active listings going into contract in June and July compared to the same period of last year. By this measure, the hottest markets were Monterey, Santa Cruz, Sonoma and Napa. The coolest market was San Francisco condos, followed by San Francisco homes. The largest condo market in San Francisco the greater South Beach, SoMa, Mission Bay, Civic Center area, dominated by large complexes and high-rise buildings, including continuing new construction projects is seeing the weakest conditions, Carlisle wrote. In July, there were 1,169 condos for sale throughout San Francisco, said Gabrielle Bunker, a principal agent with Redfin. Thats nearly twice the number, 617, that were for sale last July. The number of single-family homes for sale in San Francisco was 597, up nearly 30% from 466 last July. These numbers exclude some new-construction condos, because many developers dont put them on a Multiple Listing Service, or may list only a few for a whole project. Because of the pandemic, people are not loving these high-rise, high-density environments, Bunker said. Before, people were willing to put up with congestion south of Market because they were close to the Caltrain station. Now, with most offices closed, many are no longer commuting to Silicon Valley and Caltrain is fighting for survival. Most of Bunkers clients moving out of the city need more space for kids or proximity to family for child care. The need for child care is acute in high-priced areas where couples were more likely to have two jobs. Joe Giovanetti is putting his condo in the Castro on the market this week. He and his wife had planned to stay in the unit, where theyd lived for three years, for at least two more. We love it because of all the conveniences of the city. We lived next door to a charming flower shop, he said. Giovanetti could work remotely before the pandemic, and his wife actually prefers being in an office. The only reason theyve moved to San Diego is because their day care center shut down and they need his wifes parents to watch their 2-year-old son. Theyre subleasing a place from a couple who moved to the East Coast to be closer to family. Deborah Odier, a Coldwell Banker agent in San Francisco, said there are well over 100 condos, (tenants in common units) and flats in San Francisco that are being marketed as coming soon. August is a gearing-up month. September is when people launch inventory for the fall market. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes Although it looks like there is an excess in the condo market, there will be plenty of condos still highly marketable. Some neighborhoods are still desirable and not everybody can afford a single-family home. Shanna Wagnor and her husband Sean Lewis put their two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo up for sale last week. Theyve purchased a larger home with a yard in Piedmont, to have more space, better schools eventually for their baby daughter Emery and to be closer to family in the East Bay. We made multiple offers before we got this one, Wagnor said. She now works remotely for a San Francisco tech company. He works in finance and travels a lot. Because of the pandemic, the commute doesnt matter. A lot of the things in the city we love, the restaurants and cafes, are all closed at the moment, she said. Although the condo market has softened, theirs feels more like a home, Wagnor said. Our agent said Pacific Heights ZIP codes should still have some draw. Paul Zeger, a principal with Polaris Pacific, which markets new condos for developers, said that when the pandemic hit, We had about 250 homes in San Francisco in escrow ready to be delivered as soon as construction is finished. Just about all of them are going forward. The number of buyers signing new contracts, however, has slowed. In California, you can only hold 3% of the purchase price as a deposit, he said. Buyers who back out could lose their 3%. The fact that most buyers have not is a sign they have a high level of confidence in the marketplace over the long term. Adam Gavzer, a Compass agent in San Francisco, said he hasnt seen many price cuts on new San Francisco condos, but developers dont publish their pricing very much. They prefer to negotiate on incentives, like upgrades, credits toward (homeowners association) dues, payments towards closing costs, credit for parking or storage for a year or two. I havent had a lot of buyers for those towers. He has been trying to sell two existing condos in South Beach for about two months. I am experiencing a slowdown of phone calls and emails regarding them. Yes, there is a trend away from communal living as people are concerned about infection. Theres a shift toward single-family homes or moving to the East Bay, South Bay, North Bay. Theres a strong appetite for outdoor space, he said. If theyre looking at condos, they want one with a balcony or terrace. Scott Strazzante / The Chronicle Gavzer just cut the price on 650 Delancey St., #417, to roughly $1.5 million from $1.6 million. That prompted a bunch of calls. We had a couple of showings, he said. One buyer was ready to write an offer but when they revisited his finances, he couldnt afford it. He said the condo market feels kind of stuck right now. If you are a seller, youre being told you might have to discount. The reality is, you feel like youre not getting full market exposure without an open house and broker tour. So why should I take a discount. Buyers feel, if Im willing to purchase at this time with the risk that the market might go down, I want to build that into my purchase (price). You have this frozen market right now in condos while people try to figure this out. Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender Joe Biden on gun control: Understanding Biden's 2020 platform and the Second Amendment By Sam Jacobs The one-two punch of the Wuhan Coronavirus explosion, and the civil unrest of early 2020, led to an unprecedented growth in firearms ownership in America. All told, there were about two million firearms sold in the month of March 2020 alone. Between March and July, an additional three million were sold, with about half of those happening in the month of June. Ammunition sales have similarly spiked, with record sales occurring on this website. However, gun owners dont need a report to know that there has been a massive surge in demand for ammunition. They need only go down to their local gun store and see that all of the most common rounds are in short supply, sold out or being rationed at the point of sale. But its not just guns and ammo. There has also been a significant increase in the number of Americans obtaining their concealed carry weapons permit and packing on a daily basis. Forbes magazine estimates that 20 million Americans are now carrying as part of their everyday life. The flipside of this is that Joe Bidens 2020 campaign has been perhaps the most radically anti-Second Amendment campaign on record. Former Vice President Biden is very proud of his role in spiriting the 1994 gun ban into passage. If hes elected, we will see an expansion of the power of the federal government and attacks on the rights of Americans that will not be restricted to the ownership of firearms. As president, Biden would resume the Obama-era attacks on the suburbs ended by President Trump, give citizenship (and voting rights) to nearly 30 million illegal aliens and use the Federal Reserve to address a racial wealth gap. However, Bidens desire to erode the Second Amendment deserves special attention. It is a radical agenda that will gut the right to bear arms in this country. Does that sound like bluster and hyperbole? Its not. Joe Bidens Record: What He Says vs. What Hes Done There are two ways to determine how a potential President Joe Biden would govern with regard to the Second Amendment: What he says and what he has done. As Joe Biden has been out of government since 2017, we will start with his history as a legislator and as Vice President of the United States. Joe Biden has a very long record of being anti-Second Amendment. He voted for the 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act, which was primarily a series of gimmes to gun grabbers in exchange for getting the ATF to leave law-abiding gun owners alone. If youve ever wanted to own an M-16, but cant afford one because of the high price of the related tax stamp, you can thank Joe Biden for that. Biden was also instrumental in the passage of the Brady Bill. This law, until the creation of the NICS background check system, provided for a five-day waiting period to purchase a firearm. He brags about his role in passing this bill into law on his campaign website, saying In 1994, Biden along with Senator Dianne Feinstein secured the passage of 10-year bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. As president, Joe Biden will defeat the NRA again. Far more concerning, however, is that, as a Senator, Joe Biden literally wrote the bill that banned so-called assault weapons in the United States for 20 years. This assault weapons ban defined assault weapons in an extremely broad sense. Under the law, the definitions of an assault weapon were as follows: Rifles: Flash suppressors or barrels threaded for them Pistol grips Folding and telepathic stocks Bayonet mounts Grenade launchers Pistols: Semi-automatic versions of any automatic firearm An unloaded weight of over 50 ounces Threaded barrels designed to accommodate flash suppressors, barrel extenders, suppressors and handgrips Barrel shrouds Shotguns: Pistol grips Detachable magazines Folding and telescopic stocks The law likewise targeted a number of specific firearms that were widely popular with American gun owners. This included the Colt AR-15, the INTRATEC TEC-9 (which were popular with the Roof Koreans who defended Koreatown during the LA riots of 1994) and the Action Arms Israeli Military Industries UZI and Galil. Not only were most of these restrictions unconstitutional, they were also largely useless. Many gun companies continued manufacturing virtually identical versions of firearms that had been banned by the law, removing only minor cosmetic features to get themselves into compliance. Numerous studies found that there was virtually no impact on violent crime throughout the United States. If we are being generous, this can be seen as a misguided attempt to curb urban violent crime. If we are being more cynical, it was little more than a power grab. The law expired on September 13, 2004. There have been several attempts to reintroduce the law, all of which have been unsuccessful. Joe Bidens 2020 Platform For most of his political career, Joe Biden has operated as a sensible centrist within the Democratic Party. While one can argue that his positions are outside of conservatism, they have certainly not historically been outside the mainstream of American political thought. However, Joe Bidens 2020 presidential campaign is a whole different animal. Joe Biden is running for president on a highly radical platform. There are a number of reasons why the former personal envoy of the credit card industry, the man who made it impossible to discharge student loans in bankruptcy, has pivoted toward appealing to the woke crowd. The reasons are unimportant, however. We can definitively say, without speculation as to motive, that Joe Bidens 2020 campaign is perhaps the most radical political campaign in modern American history. Nowhere is this more clear than on the subject of firearms. Why Language Matters The official website for Joe Bidens 2020 campaign defines gun violence as a public health epidemic. This might sound like boilerplate, but in fact it is language designed to lay the groundwork for moving firearms restrictions under the purview of the FDA. This alphabet organization has broad leeway to ban, tax and regulate anything deemed a danger to public health. He also cites a commonly used weasel statistic to advocate for such: that 40,000 Americans die from firearms-related injuries every year. This includes every firearms-related death suicides, accidental discharges, shootouts between gangland figures where no innocent bystander is killed, self-defense actions. And while any death is certainly tragic, this is simply not what anyone means when they talk about gun violence. All told, there were 14,542 gun homicides in 2017, less than half of the statistic that Biden cites in his platform. This doesnt even crack the top 10 of causes of death in the United States, according to the CDC. More Americans died of septicemia in 2017 than gun homicides, yet there is no public health crusade against this. Removing Protections for Gun Manufacturers In a related campaign promise, Biden says that he will hold gun manufacturers accountable for the use of their products. This means that the families of shooting victims will be able to file civil suits against gun manufacturers to obtain damages related to the misuse of their products in crimes. This is an attempt at corporate gun control through the backdoor. When facing such liability, gun manufacturers will be inundated with frivolous lawsuits that will cause them to either go out of business or discontinue their civilian lines entirely. Biden has previously voted to repeal these protections, which is another point he brags about on his website: In 2005, then-Senator Biden voted against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but gun manufacturers successfully lobbied Congress to secure its passage. This law protects these manufacturers from being held civilly liable for their products a protection granted to no other industry. Biden will prioritize repealing this protection. Banning Assault Weapons by Executive Order Even if a President Joe Biden cannot get a new assault weapons ban to be passed, he plans to use an executive order to ban the importation of such weapons into the United States. His campaign website boasts that he will accomplish this while working to pass this legislation using his executive authority. This would end the market for a number of lower-cost imports into the United States, restricting the Second Amendment rights of many low-income Americans who cannot afford high-priced domestic options. He also states that any new gun ban would be informed by the last one, meaning that it would be far more sweeping and ban a far greater number of weapons features than the 1994 bill. Regulating Existing Assault Weapons But what about the AR-15 you already purchased? Biden plans to use the National Firearms Act to regulate possession of these firearms. His language on his website is vague and this is probably intentional. Regulate can mean just about anything, allowing him to either do something minor and claim victory or to enact sweeping changes without the hurdle of legislative approval. When it comes to buybacks, his language becomes more clear: Those who now own assault weapons whatever that means, either under newly passed legislation or executive fiat will have to either sell them back to the government or register them with the ATF under the National Firearms Act: As president, Biden will pursue legislation to regulate possession of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act. Registration, of course, will be a prelude to confiscating these arms, either under the Biden Administration or future administrations even more hostile toward the Second Amendment. He would also seek to limit the number of firearms a person can purchase in a single month to one and close the so-called gun show loophole. Using Mental Health to Ban Firearms Ownership This should all be alarming to you. But unfortunately, it gets much worse. A Biden Administration would attempt to prevent Americans from owning firearms on the basis of mental health reasons. While this might sound reasonable (who wants a paranoid schizophrenic with a cache of AR-15s?), it is, in fact, a very troubling development. There are millions of Americans seeking treatment for anything from depression to anxiety. Oftentimes this isnt representative of any underlying medical condition. People are simply having a hard time and reaching out for a little help precisely what they are supposed to do. This initially will only exclude people that have been adjudicated by the Social Security Administration as being unfit to manage their own affairs. But it is extremely unlikely that this will not be quickly expanded. Closing the Loopholes Biden also seeks to close a number of loopholes in the law that arent actually loopholes at all, such as: The Hate Crime Loophole: This would deprive the right to bear arms from anyone who has received a politically motivated hate crimes enhancement to a misdemeanor potentially making petty crimes like vandalism a pretext for depriving Americans of their Constitutional rights anytime an overzealous left-wing prosecutor decided to pursue a hate crimes enhancement. Please note that flags such as the Betsy Ross flag and the Gadsden flag have become labeled as white supremacist images in recent years, so dont think you need to be wearing a swastika armband to receive such an enhancement. This would deprive the right to bear arms from anyone who has received a politically motivated hate crimes enhancement to a misdemeanor potentially making petty crimes like vandalism a pretext for depriving Americans of their Constitutional rights anytime an overzealous left-wing prosecutor decided to pursue a hate crimes enhancement. Please note that flags such as the Betsy Ross flag and the Gadsden flag have become labeled as white supremacist images in recent years, so dont think you need to be wearing a swastika armband to receive such an enhancement. The Charleston Loophole: This alleged loophole allows people to purchase a firearm if they have not received authorization to do so under the NICS system in three business days. Biden seeks to extend this to ten business days effectively making Americans wait up to two weeks to purchase firearms. This alleged loophole allows people to purchase a firearm if they have not received authorization to do so under the NICS system in three business days. Biden seeks to extend this to ten business days effectively making Americans wait up to two weeks to purchase firearms. The Fugitive From Justice Loophole: Biden wants to remove the right to keep and bear arms from 500,000 Americans who were declared by the Trump Administration to not actually be fugitives from justice. As we can see, none of the above are actually loopholes. They are simply laws that Biden and his constituents do not care for. We should all be troubled by the Biden Administration working within legitimate legislative channels to roll back the rights of our fellow citizens. However, Biden isnt even promising to do that: He plans to erode and cripple American Second Amendment rights through executive fiat. Banning Online Sales Get your ammunition and firearms online? Not under a Biden Administration. Beyond ammo and guns, Biden seeks to ban the online purchase of gun kits, such as 85 percent lowers or even parts for your weapons: Biden will enact legislation to prohibit all online sales of firearms, ammunition, kits, and gun parts. Those who have exotic or antiquated weapons will have an extremely difficult time finding the parts they need to keep their weapons operational. So-called ghost guns will likewise be banned under a potential President Biden. Gun Confiscation and Licensure Requirements The Biden platform includes creating a gun confiscation framework overseen by the ATF and the FBI. Ostensibly, this is to remove weapons from the hands of people who are no longer legally allowed to own them, such as felons and those awaiting charges. However, it is important to note that even if this is restricted to removing guns from the hands of felons and those awaiting charges now, that it can easily be used, in tandem with the new gun registration apparatus, to confiscate firearms from law-abiding Americans. As president, Biden will direct the FBI and ATF to outline a model relinquishment process, enact any necessary legislation to ensure relinquishment when individuals newly fall under one of the federal prohibitions, and then provide technical and financial assistance to state and local governments to establish effective relinquishment processes on their own." Biden does not seek a federal red flag law, but he does seek to incentivize the adoption of these laws by giving states funds to implement them. He would also seek to incentivize licensure requirements for Americans to own firearms. Using Big Tech to Spy on Americans A Biden Administration would spend government time and resources digging up threats on the taxpayers dime. He would create a Task Force on Online Harassment and Abuse to identify the connection between mass shootings, online harassment, extremism, and violence against women. This amounts to little more than a politically motivated creation of a committee to partner with Big Tech to snoop on Americans with the aim of depriving them of their Second Amendment rights. Expanding the ATF and Other Gun Control Tactics The Biden platform would move to require all gun manufacturers to eventually manufacture only so-called smart guns. He would pass a law that would require all gun owners to keep their firearms in a gun safe, dramatically increasing the cost of ownership of firearms. The Biden DOJ would prioritize the prosecution of straw purchasers a stark departure of Obama-era policy where the DOJ worked closely with them, eventually allowing narco-terrorists and Islamic terrorists access to heavy firepower. Local and state law enforcement would be informed whenever someone failed a background check. The State Department would take measures to block code from the Internet that might be used to 3D print a gun in someones home. He seeks a far more robust ATF than already exists. Finally, he would prohibit state and local governments from training teachers in how to defend their students with firearms. The bottom line to all of this is that the Biden Administration would work to further erode American Second Amendment protections than any other before it. It is just one component of a radical agenda that has taken over the Biden campaign. Whether or not Biden actually believes any of this and whether or not he has simply had his campaign hijacked by more radical forces is besides the point which is that the Biden Administration would actively pursue police-state measures against law-abiding gun owners in the United States. If you have a friend who is a new gun owner, who is unaware of the stakes in this election, we urge you to share this material with them. Sam Jacobs is a writer for Ammo.com where this originally appeared. New Delhi, Aug 17 : Aam Aadmi Party Chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party, a day after some key organisers of the Shaheen Bagh protest here joined that party. The spokesperson said that the BJP fought the Delhi election in the name of Shaheen Bagh and that the whole protest was pre-planned and well scripted by the BJP top brass. "The Delhi assembly election could have been fought on the work done in the field of education, health, environment or other developmental issues. But the Delhi BJP chose to fight the election on the issue of Shaheen Bagh," he added. Bharadwaj said that the people who raised anti-national slogans or pro-Pakistan slogans or talked about dividing India are now part of the BJP. "Yesterday the key people behind the Shaheen Bagh protest joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of the senior leadership." He added, "The Aam Aadmi Party has monitored the Shaheen Bagh protest very closely. I want to tell the BJP supporters of Delhi that the people against whom you guys protested or opposed were the people of Bharatiya Janata Party itself." He added that the BJP won seats by engineering a riot and polarising north-east Delhi. "Delhi election took place and the BJP got defeated. The BJP only won some seats in north-east Delhi because in those areas they could polarise the people in the name of religion. Due to this Shaheen Bagh, the BJP engineered a massive riot in north-east Delhi where 53 people lost their lives. When everything was done now the BJP has asked these people to join their party again," said Bharadwaj. Substantiating his point, he said that the BJP's poll campaign was completely based on Shaheen Bagh and all the top leaders repeatedly targeted Shaheen Bagh during their speeches. "Mr. Shah (Union Home Minister) said that when you press the Lotus button [of EVM] on February 8, do so with such anger that its current (poll result) is felt at Shaheen Bagh. I, as an Engineer, did not really understand the wired connection between Lotus Button and Shaheen Bagh. Now, we know there was a connection." The AAP spokesperson added that police alleged that the people there raised pro-Pakistan slogans, anti-national slogans. "But despite all these allegations, the police did not do anything and just remained a silent spectator of these violations. They also did not understand that this Shaheen Bagh protest is just a brainchild and a script of the Bharatiya Janata Party." Every name on the BrandBucket marketplace is exclusively listed with BrandBucket. That means that all of our sellers are very responsive, making for quick domain transfers. A dedicated BrandBucket agent will manage your domain transfer from beginning to end, ensuring a secure and easy transaction. They will manage the receipt of the domain into one of BrandBuckets secure registrar accounts and then complete the transfer to you. 1. Verification and registrar choice After we receive the payment and verify it, we will reach out via email to confirm which registrar you want the domain transferred to. We also provide a link to our tracking system, where you can communicate with us, check on the status of your transfer, view your invoice, and download your logo files. In most cases, if a domain is moved between accounts at a single registrar, the transfer is quick and usually completes within 48 hours. If a domain changes registrars (in other words, you would like to move it away from where it is currently registered), the transfer is slower. The total transfer time can then be anywhere from 48 hours to 7 days. BrandBucket has vetted and supports the following registrars: GoDaddy Namesilo Uniregistry NameCheap Google Domains Network Solutions Name.com Dynadot Amazon Route 53 123 Reg Gandi 2. We request the name from the seller. Once we know where you would like the domain transferred, BrandBucket will request the domain from the seller. All of our sellers are very responsive, making for a quick process. 3. Transfer the name into your account As soon as we receive the name from the seller, we start the transfer into your account and guide you through the whole process. 4. Verify with the buyer that the transfer is complete Once we confirm that you have received the name, we consider the escrow process to be complete. Only then do we release payment to the domain seller. - Senator Christopher Lang'at was arrested on Monday, August 17, at his house in Embakasi, Nairobi - The politician was taken to Embakasi Police Station in the company of his lawyer Nelson Havi - The legislator was arrested after a night of drama as detectives pitched camp outside his house insisting they must nab him Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have finally arrested Bomet senator Christopher Lang'at after a long night of drama. The senator was nabbed when he was leaving his home in Nyayo Estate, Nairobi county, on the morning of Monday, August 17. READ ALSO: Mama mzee zaidi Marekani mwenye watoto 12 na vitukuu 200 atimu miaka 116 Bomet senator Christopher Lang'at was arrested on the morning of Monday, August 17. Photo: Daily Nation Source: UGC READ ALSO: COVID-19 billions: Uproar following report Jack Ma's donations to Kenya were sold to Tanzania Lang'at was taken to Embakasi Police Station in the company of his lawyer Nelson Havi where he is currently being held for questioning. Although it is not yet clear why the senator was being pursued by the detectives, his colleagues claim he was arrested in a bid to stop him from voting against the controversial revenue allocation formula. The matter caused an uproar in the Senate which saw their colleagues asking for adjournment of the special sitting until Langa't and his other two colleagues are present in the chambers. "When one member is in trouble it does not matter who is winning ...we need to adjourn this matter until our colleagues are found," said Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr. Detectives pitched camp outside Senator Christopher Lang'at's house in Nyayo Estate, Nairobi county. Photo: Citizen Source: UGC READ ALSO: Papa Shirandula's Wilbroda confesses she didn't like Awinja when they first met Also missing in action was Samburu senator Ltumbesi Lelegewe who had been arrested and taken to Samburu DCI headquarters for questioning. Just like in the case of Senator Lang'at, it was not clear why the legislator was arrested. Kakamega senator Cleophas Malala stayed put at his home in Kitengela after a contingent of police officers pitched camp outside his house waiting to arrest him. Malala claimed electricity and water supply had been disconnected from his home under unclear circumstances. The youthful politician from Western Kenya said he would not leave his house until he is escorted by his bodyguards and lawyer. 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 This is the horrific moment an elderly man cleaning a Chicago sidewalk was sucker punched amid an uptick in violent crime in the city. In footage released by police Sunday the suspect attacks his victim before fleeing the scene. The incident is said to have taken place in the middle of the afternoon on July 23. The national spotlight has been on Chicago for weeks after a surge in gun violence that resulted in more homicides in July than any month in decades. Police tweeted the clip, writing: 'Help Detectives identify the subject seen in this video where a Battery of Senior Citizen occurred on the 100 block of West Jackson Blvd on July 23 approx. 2:50PM.' Clip released by police Sunday shows the thug flee the scene after the attack The incident is said to have taken place in the middle of the afternoon on July 23 There does not appear to have been any words exchanged between the two men The clip begins with the cleaner making his way across the sidewalk with his broom. A passing man, who is described as wearing a white tank top, blue shorts and blue shoes, then punches him. There does not appear to have been any words exchanged between the two men. Police have not released any information on the condition of the victim following the attack or his identity. Police have not released any information on the condition of the victim Police tweeted: 'Help Detectives identify the subject seen in this video where a Battery of Senior Citizen occurred on the 100 block of West Jackson Blvd on July 23 approx. 2:50PM' Violent crime has risen in many US cities this year. President Donald Trump recently announced he was sending federal agents to some of them, including Chicago, as part of what he calls Operation Legend to help local authorities fight such crime. Homicides and shootings have surged in Chicago during the first seven months of the year. The 440 homicides and 2,240 people shot by the end of this July compares to 290 homicides and 1,480 shootings in Chicago in the same period last year. July was especially violent; the city recorded 105 homicides and 584 shootings. The president has used violent spikes in Democratic-led cities such as New York, Chicago and Philadelphia to justify claims that recent reforms and cuts to police budgets have hampered officers and allowed criminals to run amok. Broken windows are seen at a Macy's following a night of civil unrest & looting in downtown Chicago following the shooting of an Englewood man on August 10 The national spotlight has been on Chicago for weeks after a surge in gun violence that resulted in more homicides in July than any month in decades. Chicago police officers detain a man suspected of carrying a gun Hundreds of people last week descended on downtown Chicago early Monday following a police shooting on the citys South Side. And Chicago's police superintendent was on Monday was forced to defend his officers' actions during weekend clashes with protesters. Superintendent David Brown said cops acted professionally in the face of a 'concerted effort' by those in the crowd trying to provoke a violent confrontation with them. Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised the departments response to Saturday evenings protest that turned into a violent clash between demonstrators and police officers, saying officers quelled the violence quickly to protect peaceful protesters. Brown said that between 6 p.m. Friday and midnight Sunday, 51 people were shot, including five fatally, in 38 shooting incidents. He said four juveniles were shot but none of them were killed. Clothing and other items litter the ground at Nordstrom after a night of unrest & looting in downtown Chicago on August 10. President Donald Trump recently announced he was sending federal agents to some of them, including Chicago, as part of what he calls Operation Legend to help local authorities fight such crime (Global Times) The US has not renewed a temporary general license that expired on Thursday for Huawei, indicating that a ban aiming to prohibit US firms from exporting technology to the Chinese company may have officially taken effect - dealing a heavy blow to Huawei's overseas smartphone sales and perhaps even reshaping the global industry landscape, analysts said. As the grace period for a chip ban is set to end in mid-September, the Chinese tech enterprise, which has been preparing for the worst-case scenario over the past year, will be able to survive but it may face an even more difficult time ahead, said analysts. A license allowing some US companies to do business with Huawei expired on Thursday night, and the US Department of Commerce has not renewed it so far. In May last year, the US put Huawei on a trade blacklist, saying the company "is engaged in activities that are contrary to US national security or foreign policy interest." The Department of Commerce slightly eased the timing of the restrictions later, saying it would allow some transactions to continue for 90 days, to facilitate "certain activities necessary to the continued operations of existing networks and to support existing mobile services." The Department of Commerce later extended the license several times - in August and November last year, and in March and May this year - but the latest extension expired on Thursday night. "As the ban officially comes into effect, the biggest blow could be to its mobile businesses - a cut to Google's services may exert a major impact on its already weakening overseas mobile business," Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst and close follower of Huawei, told the Global Times on Sunday. Over the past year, despite the US ban, Google has received a series of temporary general licenses from the Department of Commerce that have allowed it to continue supporting existing hardware with software updates. Ma noted that with Huawei's large share in the global smartphone market, the move may reshape the sector and force Huawei to shift focus from its surging mobile businesses to laptops and TVs. Capital: Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, is displayed on a tablet device beside a protective face mask during a live stream video. Photo: Alex Kraus Covid-19 is a health crisis first and foremost, but its impact on families and businesses across the real economy is devastating. In its wake it is leaving misery for people who have lost their job or whose businesses are no longer viable. Banks must continue to work with their customers to help people through this really difficult time. The role of banks as key lenders and investors in the Irish economy has never been more critical. The European Commission's latest forecast expects GDP to contract by about 8.3pc in the EU this year. Ireland, like other EU member states, is no different, and it's expected that there will be a significant downturn in the overall output of the economy in 2020 as a consequence of Covid-19. The banking sector, like other industries, is also at the centre of the economic hurricane. Banking activity and income is closely related to overall economic activity and so it is no surprise that banks' revenues are being negatively affected. We know that profitability in banks across the EU was already under pressure due to the lower-for-longer interest-rate environment before this crisis. Recent estimates by consultancy firm Oliver Wyman show that total revenue across the European banking sector is likely to decline by 30bn over the next two years. In addition, it is estimated that potential credit losses will total more than 400bn in the next three years. The expected losses arising from Covid-19 for Irish banks were reinforced with the recent publication of half-yearly bank results. The retail banking sector in Ireland has provided 2.6bn for expected impaired loans and reported half-year losses of 1.9bn. Despite the gradual improvement in business sentiment in the Irish economy since May, with the reopening of sectors, many bank analysts believe that total losses for the sector in Ireland in 2020 will be significantly more than 2bn. While it's clear that the wider economic impact of Covid-19 has dented the banks' financial circumstances, it's also a reality that many of those on payment breaks, through no fault of their own, will just not be in a position to return to their mortgage payment. That too is playing its part in expected bank losses. Banks need to provide additional capital for future losses due to existing performing loans becoming non-performing in the time ahead. Irish banks moved quickly to support businesses and individuals upon lockdown in March and were among the first European banks to offer comprehensive industry- wide payment breaks from all lenders. It is important to note that Irish banks entered this challenging period with stronger capital levels, better liquidity positions and much more stable funding structures than in the past. Irish banks' core capital levels were around 5.5pc in 2007 compared to around 15pc now, with most of the loans provided funded through deposits as opposed to reliance on wholesale international markets, as happened back in 2007. In addition, prudent risk-management strategies have been used by all retail banks in Ireland along with increased engagement with supervisors, which has resulted in a much more stable balance-sheet structure. In addition, Irish banks have gained significant experience during the last 10 years in dealing with loans that may become problematic. The average non-performing loan ratios across the sector have declined from around 17pc in 2016 to around 5pc at the end of 2019. Irish banks are better prepared this time in dealing with these loans by way of providing a range of sustainable solutions for both businesses and individuals. Bank results announced in August do not show the Irish banking sector making profits in 2020 or indeed 2021. Sustaining a loss has a real impact on the sector. Banks will have to reduce costs and improve efficiencies in responding to the financial reality of the business environment. Changes already underway across the sector from digitalisation to changes in the payment landscape will intensify in the coming years. Investment plans for future growth will be affected. Shareholders expecting dividends will see little return. The charge made by some that the banks are "profiteering" from the crisis is patently untrue. While the banking sector has made many serious mistakes in the past, the provision of payment breaks and the response of the sector to Covid-19 is not one of them. Irish banks know the constructive role they must play with their customers and the wider society in helping to reboot the economy and get people and businesses back to work. It is a challenge we all must rise to. Brian Hayes is CEO of the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland. Amazon may face a new probe in Germany - its second-biggest market. The country's anti-trust authority has reportedly launched an investigation of the online giant. Thats according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. It quotes the boss of the Federal Cartel Office as saying hes looking at Amazons relationship with third-party merchants. In the first months of the global health crisis the office reportedly fielded complaints from sellers, who claimed they had been blocked from charging what Amazon said were overly high prices. While that might sound good to consumers, cartel investigators say Amazon has no business controlling prices. German officials havent commented on the reports. An Amazon spokeswoman said the companys policies were designed to make sure sellers set competitive prices. She added that the firm had systems to take action against so-called price gouging - thats when prices are sharply raised to take advantage of high demand. Until 2013 Amazon prevented traders from offering their products via other sites at a lower price - a policy the anti-trust watchdog forced it to abandon. Last year it reached a deal with German authorities over its treatment of third-party merchants, ending a previous seven-month investigation. It seems the truce hasnt lasted very long. During the 2016 Democratic National Convention, supporters of Bernie Sanders protested to the bitter end. This year, as the Vermont senator comes in second once again, the animosity and recriminations of 2016 have been largely avoided. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) In 2016, Bernie Sanders supporters were fed up. The Vermont senator's loyal following from his progressive, insurgent campaign continued long after his bid for the Democratic Party nomination ended. His supporters marched in 97-degree Philadelphia heat outside the Democratic National Convention, their frustration fueled by leaked emails showing party favoritism for his primary opponent, Hillary Clinton. The tension between Sanders and Clinton and their supporters lasted through the nomination process and left a bitter aftertaste as Clintons campaign sought to unify the party against Donald Trump. Now, as Sanders comes in second once again, this time to Joe Biden, the animosity and recriminations of 2016 have been largely avoided. The two men have had a far more cordial relationship, even during a heated primary battle, than Sanders and Clinton did. It wasn't about avoiding animosity, because it wasnt there, said Symone D. Sanders, a senior advisor to the Biden campaign, who noted the rapport between the men. Going into the convention, our party is more united than ever. The Democratic Party platform largely reflects the points of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force, which is made up of supporters the men gathered to foster harmony and make policy recommendations. The party and the Biden campaign are reaching out to young voters, who lean progressive and formed a core part of Sanders' base, recognizing them as an important factor in defeating President Trump. Since Sanders' 2016 bid brought progressive policies such as canceling student debt and universal healthcare to the Democratic presidential race, he has helped move the party further left and energize the youth vote. Young people have become increasingly politically active and engaged since 2016, according to polling from the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement. More than 80% of those surveyed by the center this year say they believe they have the power to change the country. Story continues Young people dont want to be asked to just show up in November, said Sarah Audelo, executive director of the Alliance for Youth Action, a progressive young voters' group. They want to be part of this process. In March, the centrist Biden proposed free tuition for some students, and he recently earned praise from the youth-led organization Sunrise Movement for his expanded climate change policy. The group, which endorsed Sanders in the primary, had months earlier given Biden a failing score when comparing his climate change plan to the Green New Deal. When it became clear he was the presumptive nominee, Biden made direct appeals to Sanders' younger base , whose politics have been shaped by the crises facing their generations. But there are some concessions many in the Sanders camp are not willing to make, even with the coronavirus pandemic forcing the convention to go completely virtual. Sanders delegates are continuing their own protesting efforts: More than 700 delegates, the majority of whom are Sanders representatives, have pledged to vote against the party platform because it doesn't include one key issue: Medicare for all. Voting no is a symbolic gesture, a push for the core values of the left, said Zenaida Huerta, a Sanders delegate from California. "Its about saying that any kind of Democratic Party platform is woefully insufficient if it does not include something that is glaringly needed given our current pandemic," said the Whittier resident, 21, who attended her first convention four years ago. We were seen as pie-in-the-sky people in 2016, Huerta said. Now the party has moved closer to progressive ideals, with Democrats broadly supporting a government healthcare plan . In some ways, even though we have less Sanders delegates this time around ... we have more leverage than we did in 2016, she said. She signed a letter protesting the convention speaking slot for John Kasich, a former Republican governor of Ohio. And she recently began circulating another, from the Young Delegates Coalition, advocating for younger speakers. The coalition, consisting of 225 delegates younger than 36, estimated that the average age of this years speakers is 62. Only two are under 40. Sanders delegate Christopher McClain, 27, said he is disheartened at his partys efforts to reach out to moderate voters because it feels like the same old, same old. I completely understand the point to reach across the aisle, the California delegate said. The point of contention is that were losing policies and morality to do so, and were not standing strong on what our Democratic values are. McClain, who is attending his first convention, said his group has been pleading with the party to amplify progressive voices as a way to energize young voters. Its hard to get people excited to vote Trump out when our party is catering to the party who were trying to defeat. Some progressive leaders remain skeptical that Biden's choice of California Sen. Kamala Harris as a running mate will help bring the party's left wing into the fold. Norman Solomon, national director of the progressive group RootsAction, said Biden's choice of a fellow moderate could hurt turnout among progressives. It sends a message that "this big tent isn't big enough for you, he said. "Were committed to defeating Trump, but Im worried that the Biden bubble at the top of the campaign is just checked out of the turnout issues," he said. There are some delegates who feel there is more common ground this time around when it comes to generational affinity. Joseph Mullen, 18, co-founded the Young Delegates Coalition, which includes supporters of Sanders, Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Mullen, a Florida resident and Sanders delegate, said he does not agree with Biden's centrist views but believes it's important that his generation come together on their shared concerns, such as the climate crisis and criminal justice reform. "One way or another," he said, "Biden is going to be that bridge to the next generation of the Democratic Party." Symone D. Sanders acknowledged that although progressives have different ideas of how to address major issues, such as climate change, college affordability and access to healthcare, the Biden campaign has the same goals. "Its not about asking some groups or individuals to drop what they believe," she said. "But its also not about pulling Vice President Biden to a place where he is not. Its about, where do we align." Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 04:57:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian-Sudanese ties move with "a quantum leap" since the Sudanese uprising in 2018 that ousted a regime which had caused fluctuations in mutual ties, said Egyptian political analysts. "The exchange of official visits reflected the economic and political will of both countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation at several levels," said Salah Halima, vice president of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs. "The recent visit of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to Khartoum represented a quantum leap in the ties between Egypt and Sudan," Halima told Xinhua. Madbouly headed a large delegation to Sudan on Saturday, during which he discussed several issues with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chairman of the Sovereign Council of Sudan, and Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok as well as several Sudanese ministers. "Egypt sent two military jets loaded with foodstuff and baby formula milk to Sudan to help alleviate the burdens of the Sudanese people in light of the shortage of medicines and protective gear necessary in the battle against the COVID-19," the Egyptian armed forces said in a statement on Friday. "The timing of the Egyptian prime minister to Sudan is significant as it boosts cooperation at the economic and security levels," said Halima. Madbouly and his Sudanese counterpart agreed on activating the permanent Sudanese-Egyptian joint technical committee for bilateral cooperation and increasing the capacity of the electrical connectivity project between the two countries from 70 megawatts to 300 megawatts. The two sides also agreed on restructuring the Nile Valley Authority for River Navigation to raise its competitiveness, develop its fleet, and discussed a project to link railways between the two countries. "Sudan as a neighbor pays special attention to improve its ties with Egypt," Halima said, adding that the coming stage will see a growing role for Egypt in Sudan. He reiterated that the Egyptian prime minister has discussed during his visit the development of land and Nile roads, railways, and electric links which will promote the bilateral ties. The expert referred to the current Egyptian industrial zone in Khartoum that will lure more investment to Sudan. Halima explained that the relation between the two countries during the Sudanese former President Omar al-Bashir seemed quiet at the surface, but it was not that good. "The cooperation among the two countries was not as aspired in all fields, and attempts of coordination to contain the escalations were not most successful," he added. The conditions have been drastically changed in Sudan after the leave of al-Bashir as the new Sudanese government has followed completely different policies, according to the expert. He added the visit of the Sudanese prime minister to Egypt in September 2019 wrote "a new chapter in the two countries' ties." Asmaa al-Houseny, an expert in the African affairs, echoed the same opinion by saying "Egypt has encountered many difficulties in dealing with al-Bashir whose opinions were conflicted regarding Egypt on many occasions." "The visit of Madbouly to Sudan has sent positive messages in several fields including pushing the economic cooperation between the two countries and removing the obstacles that have been hindering the implementation of several agreements," said al-Houseny, who is also a managing director of state-run Ahram newspaper. The two counties also have consensus on the issues of the Nile River and they agreed on the importance of concluding an effective and binding mechanism for settling disputes as well as for coordination among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to ensure the safe operation of Grand Ethiopian Renascences Dam, she said. The mega-dam has been a source of tension. Egypt fears the project will significantly cut its water supply from the Nile, while Sudan fears it will endanger the safety of its own dams. Meanwhile, Ethiopia says the massive project, which it hopes will produce over 6 gigawatts of electricity, will push the country's development forward. Enditem Press Release August 17, 2020 With 100 billion pages of modules to print, cash-strapped schools need P30B--Recto The postponement of K-12 classes should give the Department of Education (DepEd) "breathing space" to print self-learning modules (SLM) for 21.5 million public school students, which Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said "could be around 100 billion pages." "My low-end estimate is about 93.6 billion pages. And that's about 1,500 times the 61 million ballots we printed during the last elections. That's enough paper to gift-wrap all the classrooms in the land," Recto said. Because printing and distributing these instructional materials has been farmed out to schools--forcing teachers to scrounge for every available printer in their locality--the cost is about P1 per page in most areas, or at least P93.6 billion this school year, Recto said. But the bigger problem, he said, is that DepEd can only cobble together from its funds a third of this amount. He estimates that DepEd will be needing P30-P35 billion more, "with other fund realignments, donations, grants from local governments, bulk printing already factored in." Recto said the printing of learning modules has become a "cottage industry" in all towns. As a result, teachers "have not only become photocopiers, but also binders and distributors of these worksheets," of which a new set is needed per subject per week, Recto said. DepEd designs the modules and are downloaded by teachers for printing weekly. "The belief that online education will result in paperless learning is false for a variety of reasons, Recto said. "Hindi lahat may computer. Mabagal na internet. Walang pambili ng load. And even when broadband is good, printed modules guide what is taught online. Ink on paper still rules." Recto's 93.6 billion pages estimate is pegged at just 80 percent of DepEd enrollees needing these printed materials, with the rest getting these online. He explained that his count is based on 20 pages per subject a week, 8 subjects, for 34 weeks, to be used by 17.206 million public school students out of the 21.507 million enrolled. "Pero kung lahat gagamit, 117 billion pages 'yan." "Even if you cut the number of pages per subject by half, to 10 pages, we will still be needing between 48 billion to 59 billion pages," Recto said. Whether the total cost is P48 billion, or P96 billion, or P117 billion, what funds DepEd has at the moment will not be enough, Recto warned. A DepEd Central Office circular said 30 percent of the school MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) can be diverted by schools for printing. "But this will only be about P7.34 billion. Kahit ibigay pa ng buo ang unobligated school MOOE, mga P24.1 billion lang 'yan. Kahit idagdag mo pa 'yung napabalitang ni-release na P9 billion para sa modules, kulang pa rin," he said. He explained that based on DepEd's formula, a class of 40 Grade 4 students will be entitled to about P18,750 in school-spent MOOE per year to cover upkeep of classroom, utilities. "If you realign this amount to modules it will barely cover the needs of 4 students. One student will be needing about 10 reams of paper or 5,000 pages in one year. Kahit 50 centavos per page, kahit gawing 30 weeks instead of 40 weeks ang klase, kulang pa rin," he said. Recto said this is a funding gap which must be solved because "this decentralized and DIY type of printing" is taking a toll on teachers who are forced to organize donation drives for papers. "Walang problema yung mga lungsod na bilyun-bilyon ang pera, who have money to spare and have a bigger Special Education Fund drawn from real property tax collections. Pero paano ang mga bayang kulang sa pondo? Yung taga-barrio na luluwas pa para kunin ang mga modules?" he said. Recto said there should be a "paper count" so government will know the total ink and new paper requirements. "That's our math homework." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal are set to return to a more relaxed general community quarantine starting Aug. 19 until the end of the month. President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for COVID-19 to loosen the lockdown restrictions in the said areas, following the imposition of a 15-day strict modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) from Aug. 4 to 18. Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque stressed that the easing of the quarantine status in the five high-risk areas comes with recalibrated government strategies against the pandemic. Roque said these include intensified efforts in testing, the active case finding via house-to-house symptom checks in high-risk communities, an improved contact tracing system, and the setting up of more COVID-19 facilities. Ginamit po natin yung dalawang linggo ng MECQ para po pag-isipan kung paano tayo magre-reboot, magre-refresh ng approach, at ito nga po ang gagamitin natin habang nagbubukas tayo ng ekonomiya, he said. [Translation: We used the two-week MECQ to assess how well be able to reboot, refresh our approach, and these are what well be doing while we're reopening the economy.] Under GCQ, measures which limit the movement of the public will still be imposed to prevent viral transmission, but more industries will be permitted to reopen. The dine-in option in restaurants, as well as religious gatherings at 30 percent capacity, are also allowed under GCQ, as long as health protocols are strictly followed, Roque noted. Former COVID-19 task force special adviser Dr. Tony Leachon previously said Metro Manila and the four provinces may need another round of MECQ extension, as the country may lose gains in the COVID-19 fight if those areas are placed under a more relaxed lockdown status. Metro Manila continues to account for the bulk of the new cases reported in the country over the past two weeks. During that time period, around 16,000 more of its residents have caught the viral disease, topping the list of regions nationwide by a wide margin, based on August 17 data from the Department of Health (DOH). However, according to Roque, a longer period of MECQ is "highly unlikely," as the government grapples to find new sources of funds for poor families affected by strict stay-at-home rules. Presidential adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion also said that while the return to MECQ in the first half of August is manageable for the economic sector, an extension will prove to have some serious effects. Concepcion joined calls for the government to shift to effective granularized lockdowns, saying the move will let citizens coexist with the unpredictable virus. The Presidents decision also came a day after the DOH reported another record single-day COVID-19 recoveries on Sunday at over 40,000 new survivors. The steep rise in recoveries has been attributed to the DOH's time-based recoveries scheme, wherein patients are released from isolation facilities after a certain number of days in quarantine, without needing to take a confirmatory RT-PCR test. The Philippines now has 164,474 confirmed cases of COVID-19, wherein 49,034 are active cases or currently ill patients, according to the DOH. Italy is to shut discos and clubs for three weeks and make it compulsory to wear a mask outdoors in some areas at night after an increase in new Covid-19 cases. The new rules mark the first reimposition of coronavirus restrictions as cases pick up across the country, especially among younger people. New cases in the past week in Italy, the first European country to be hit hard by the coronavirus, were more than double those registered three weeks ago and the median age of people contracting the virus has dropped below 40, data showed. The new rules will start on Monday - two days after an Italian holiday when many young Italians go out dancing - and will run until early September. Masks will be required between 6pm and 6am in areas close to bars and pubs and where gatherings are more likely. 'We cannot nullify the sacrifices made in past months. Our priority must be that of opening schools in September, in full safety,' Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Facebook. Bars and clubs are to close for three weeks across Italy and people will be required to wear masks in some areas at night after a spike in new cases, particularly in younger people. Pictured: People in a busy Italian club in Rome wear masks while they dance together The new rules will start on Monday - two days after an Italian holiday when many young Italians go out dancing. Pictured: Two woman wearing masks dance in an Italian club, which uses its screens to remind people to wear masks and stay 1 meter apart Speranza on Saturday urged young people to be as cautious as possible as 'if they infect their parents and their grandparents, they risk creating real damage'. The government had kept clubs open despite mounting criticism that they attracted large crowds, that social distancing was not being respected and masks were not being worn. The industry has yearly revenues of 4 billion euros, the sector's lobby group Silb said, calling on the government for support. Industry Minister Stefano Patuanelli conceded there would be economic damage, but said he saw no alternative. On Sunday, 479 new cases were confirmed, down from 629 on Saturday, with nightlife, the return of holidaymakers, and younger generations flouting social distancing rules being blamed by medical experts for the recent hike. Since its outbreak came to light on Feb. 21, Italy has recorded more than 35,000 deaths. On Sunday, Italy recorded 479 new cases, down slightly from Saturday's 629 (pictured top) as cases begin to creep up again across the country. On Saturday, Italy recorded 158 deaths (pictured bottom). Since the start of the outbreak in February, Italy has recorded more than 35,000 coronavirus related deaths Testing on holidaymakers landing in Rome's airports began on Sunday after the government said on Wednesday that people travelling from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain must be screened for the virus. Meanwhile, the first cruise ship set sail from Italy since its pandemic lockdown after the Italian government gave its approval for cruises to depart from the country's ports earlier this month, limited to 70 per cent capacity. Cruise ship passengers were required to have their temperatures checked and took COVID-19 tests on Sunday so they could set sail on what is being billed as the first Mediterranean cruise after Italy's pandemic lockdown. Coronavirus testing on holidaymakers arriving at Rome's airports began on Sunday (pictured) after the government said on Wednesday that people travelling from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain must be screened for the virus Pictured: Motorists wait in line for their swab samples to be taken for COVID-19 testing by health workers at the drive-in of the San Giovanni hospital in Italy as recommended by the Ministry of Health for all of those who returned from areas considered at risk The cruise ship company MSC has made the procedures, for crew as well as passengers, part of its new health and safety protocols. The MSC Grandiosa, which was christened last year, set sail from the northern Italian port of Genoa on Sunday evening for a seven-night cruise in the western Mediterranean. Any one testing positive, or with a fever, or having other COVID-19 symptoms was denied boarding, the company said. Guest must wear face masks in elevators and other areas where social distancing is not possible. The crew spent time in quarantine before the start of the cruise. MSC declined to say how many passengers were sailing on this cruise. Among the port calls for the Grandiosa, MSC's flagship, are Naples, Palermo, Sicily and Valletta, Malta. Passengers of the first cruise ship to set sail from Italy since the coronavirus lockdowns were required to have their temperatures checked, and to be tested before being allowed to board The Italian government gave its approval for cruises to depart from the country's ports earlier this month, limited to 70 per cent capacity. Pictured: People on their way to board the MSC Grandiosa cruise ship at a port in Genoa Malta is one of four Mediterranean countries that Italy now requires travelers arriving from to have COVID-19 tests. For now, MSC was limiting its guests to the residents of Europe's 26-nation Schengen visa free travel zone. MSC said every guest and crew member on board will be given a wristband that 'facilitates contactless transactions around the ship as well as providing contact and proximity tracing.' Cruise ships and the business they bring to many Italian cities during port excursions make up an important segment of Italy's vital tourism industry. An estimated 12 million cruise ship passengers arrived or departed from Italian ports last year or made port calls in Italy, according to industry figures. MINSK -- Belarusian leader Alyaksandr Lukashenka says fresh presidential elections are possible if changes are made to the constitution, a sharp turn from his previous statements as thousands of workers went on strike and participated in mass protests over election results many have called "rigged." In response to exiled opposition politician Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya saying she was ready to lead the country, Lukashenka on August 17 flatly rejected another vote, but later in the day indicated that after ruling for 26 years, he was willing to look at sharing power, though not under pressure from street protests. In a sign of his growing vulnerability, the 65-year-old leader was heckled and jeered at during a speech to workers at a major state-run tractor factory that was once considered a shining example of his economic model and the bedrock of his base. State television channel STV later reported that three people were arrested after Lukashenka left the plant, accused of "coordinating" the jeering. "We need to adopt a new constitution. You must adopt it in a referendum, and under the new constitution, you could hold if you like both parliamentary elections and a presidential one, as well as elections of local authorities," Lukashenka said in comments, some of which were aired by the Belarus-24 television channel. His concession to look at constitutional changes to allow for some form of power sharing was one of the starkest signs yet of how intense the pressure has become on Lukashenka after results from an August 9 election gave him just over 80 percent of the vote, a figure that immediately prompted accusations at home and abroad of rigged balloting. Lukashenka's speech to workers at the Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant came just hours after Tsikhanouskaya called for a new vote, saying she was ready to "act as a national leader." In a video address posted on YouTube late on August 16, Tsikhanouskaya, who left for neighboring Lithuania after the disputed election gave Lukashenka a sixth consecutive term in office a week earlier, called for the creation of a legal framework to ensure a new fair election could be held: The 37-year-old political novice who ran after other potential candidates, including her husband, were jailed, also said that the past behavior of security and law enforcement officers would be forgiven if they switched sides from Lukashenka's government. "I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader in order for the country to calm down and enter the normal rhythm," Tsikhanouskaya said in the video. A week of mass protests and strikes has posed the biggest challenge to Lukashenka's rule, with workers from state factories staging walkouts and some police, state media employees, and a sitting ambassador coming out in support of the protesters. As sunset approached Minsk on August 17, thousands had once again gathered for a ninth day of demonstrations. Between 5,000 and 7,000 people came to a pretrial detention center on Volodarsky Street where many protesters are being detained, before moving to another detention center in Akrestsin Lane. Some 7,000 people have been detained by police across the country in a postelection crackdown, with hundreds injured and at least two killed. Hundreds of people subsequently released spoke of brutal beatings they suffered in detention. The opposition called for a general strike on August 17, three days after hundreds of workers at state-run factories downed tools in a sign that Lukashenka's traditional support base was turning against him. The call was heeded by workers at the BelAZ plant in the city of Zhodzina, near Minsk, who vowed to begin an indefinite strike unless their list of demands is drawn up by a trade union committee and submitted to management. Among the demands that have been voiced are the resignation of Lukashenka and a new election. Employees of the Naftan petrochemical complex and Belaruskali, one of the world's largest producers of potash fertilizers, followed suit by walking out and making similar demands. On August 16, huge crowds gathered in Minsk in the biggest outpouring yet of opposition to Lukashenka's rule. Some reports said at least 100,000 protesters assembled near the city's Victory Park. RFE/RL was unable to independently verify the crowd size. Protesters waved the red-and-white flag used by the opposition as they called for Lukashenka to resign and the release of political prisoners. The rally competed with a large pro-Lukashenka demonstration that began two hours earlier about 2 kilometers away. Lukashenka told that crowd, which the Interior Ministry estimated at 65,000 people, that NATO tanks and planes had been deployed 15 minutes from the Belarusian border. A NATO spokesperson later denied any troop buildup in Eastern Europe. The Belarusian president also said that "one cannot rig 80 percent" of the vote. He vowed to never give in to those demanding he step down and hold a repeat election, saying, "If someone wants to surrender the country, I will not allow that, even when I am dead." Lukashenka addressed the crowd after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Lukashenka in a telephone call that Russia was ready to provide aid under the terms of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) if need be, and claimed Belarus was facing unspecified external pressure. With three of its member countries bordering on Belarus, European Union leaders are set to discuss the crisis at an emergency meeting on August 19 in Brussels. "The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader," European Council President Charles Michel wrote on Twitter. "Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed." Last week, EU foreign ministers agreed to begin preparing sanctions against Belarusian officials responsible for election fraud and police violence. Crisis 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. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius on August 17 said that Russian military help in Belarus would constitute "an invasion. "There are no reasons for military support from Russia, and no legal or other grounds for it. It would constitute an invasion into the country and would destroy the last traces of its independence," he told reporters. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz warned against Russia becoming involved. "Military interference in other states is not acceptable at all and breaks all the rules we have set ourselves under international law, he said in an interview with the Bild newspaper. The European Union said it will hold emergency talks on August 19 to discuss the crisis, while U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington was closely watching the "terrible" situation as it evolves. "It's terrible. That's a terrible situation, Belarus. We'll be following it very closely," Trump said on August 17. With reporting by BelTA, Reuters, Current Time, AFP, Interfax, Bild, and TASS Q: I have two deteriorating (but still standing) retaining walls made of timber and two even worse i.e., leaning cinder block retaining walls. I was planning to replace them all eventually, but to spread out the cost, I figured I'd do the cinder block walls first, making them timber to match the others. I do like the natural look, but one of the landscapers I had come out said timber just doesn't last like it used to maybe three years instead of 30! He said it was because they no longer use arsenic as a preservative. He suggested we use stone instead. The other landscapers didn't mention this and seemed happy to do the timber work. Whom do I trust here? The National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Anyaa -Sowutuom constituency has inaugurated its campaign team for the upcoming December general elections. Their mandate is to ensure that the party wins both the presidential and parliamentary seat for the party in the polls slated for December 7. The constituency campaign team includes; Kwesi Arhin Jnr- Chairman, Emmanuel Adotey Allotey, Parliamentary candidate, Theophilus Squire, Vice Chairman, Mawuli Kofi Kpodo, Communications Officer, Edem Attachie-Asamoah, Secretary, Karim Abdul Aziz, Organiser, Vincent Yengbe, Youth Organiser, Dorcas Ofosu, Women Organiser, Sarah Attipoe,Treasurer and Haruna Musa, Zongo Caucus Coordinator. The rest are, Mamudu Amadu, a former constituency Chairman and Chairman of Council of Elders, Irene Edem Mensah, former Parliamentary candidate , Ibrahim Babangida, former Parliamentary candidate, Ransford Lamptey, former Organiser, Aristo Aryee, former Municipal Chief Executive, Michael Acquah, assembly member, Sedina Tamakloe- Attionu, former Parliamentary candidate and Chief Executive office at the Microfinance and Small Loans Center, Adams Benyin Mustapha, Director of Elections, William Asare Akuffo, Director of Research, and other members. Swearing in the campaign team members, the Greater Accra Regional Communications Officer of the party, Mr. Jerry Johnson entreated them to value team work and unity in order to achieve their goal. He said the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has failed Ghanaians, hence the need to campaign effectively to vote the NPP out of power. Mr. Johnson asked the people to vote for the NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the constituency and the Presidential Candidate of the Party, John Mahama during the upcoming election. He also asked the team to embark on house-to-house campaign to win more floating voters for the Party during the December 7 election. Be proactive and work together as a team to rebrand to be attractive to the broad spectrum of the electorate in the constituency, Mr. Johnson advised. The Parliamentary Candidate, Mr. Emmanuel Adotey Allotey, said the ruling NPP government has indulged in so much corruption, mentioning contracts for sale at Public Procurement Authority (PPA) under the Minister for Procurement, PDS fraudulent deal, DVLA sells Ghc10 first aid kit for Ghc100, Special Development Ministry blows Ghc800k on website, Asuogyaman DCE buys Ghc1,850 printer for Ghc16,000, and over 600,000 litres of BOST contaminated fuel disappears to buttress his point. He asked that the NPP be rejected in the December polls and called on the people to vote him as parliamentary candidate and John Mahama to be the next president of the country. The Constituency Chairman, Mr. Kwasi Arhin Jnr called on party sympathizers to support the campaign team. He pledged the members' commitment to work assiduously towards winning more floating voters into the party to enable the NDC to win the parliamentary seat and re-capture power on December 7. Mr Arhin Jnr advised them to explain the partys achievement, policies and programmes to the electorate to disabuse their minds of any negative propaganda of their political opponents. Chairman of the Council of Elders, Alhaji Mamudu Amadu advised the youth to exercise restraint and tolerate opposing views to promote peace in the society. He entreated the party supporters and sympathizers to rally behind the campaign team towards retraining the seat. He charged them to do away with petty squabbles and rather work as a united front towards winning both the presidential and parliamentary elections to better the lot of the people. Nigerias aviation minister said airports in the country will reopen for international flights on August 29, after more than five months of closure to all but essential travel. Lebanons caretaker health minister, Hamad Hassan, has called for a two-week lockdown following a surge of coronavirus cases since the Beirut port blast on August 4. India reported a daily jump of 57,981 infections, taking its total to nearly 2.65 million, third only behind the US and Brazil, while the death toll jumped by 941, to 50,921. Worldwide coronavirus cases surpassed 21.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, while more than 13.6 million people have recovered. Almost 774,300 people have died. Here are the latest updates: Monday, August 17 20:10 GMT Indigenous tribe blocks key Brazil grains export route Kayapo indigenous people block one of Brazils national highway, as they protest against the government measures in the indigenous lands to avoid the spread of the coronavirus disease, in Novo Progresso, Para state, Brazil [Lucas Landau/Reuters] Members of the Kayapo indigenous tribe blocked a key grains transport route in centre-west Brazil, protesting against a lack of government protection from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed several of their elders. Kayapo wearing warrior body paint and headdresses used tires and wood to block trucks carrying corn on the BR-163 highway, a Reuters witness said. They were protesting against the so-called Ferrograo railway, set to cross part of the Amazon to connect grain-producing Mato Grosso state to river ports for soy and corn. 19:05 GMT Oman to lift some restrictions Oman will allow the reopening of tourist and international restaurants starting from Tuesday, as well as gyms and swimming pools located in hotels, under certain regulations and requirements. The supreme committee had also announced the ending of the ban on night movement as of Saturday. 18:16 GMT Turkeys latest figures A shopkeeper wearing a protective mask organizes his stall at Grand Bazaar, amid the coronavirus disease pandemic, in Istanbul, Turkey [Murad Sezer/Reuters] Turkeys total number of cases rose to more than 250,000, with 1,233 new cases identified in the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed. The data showed 22 people had died in the past 24 hours in Turkey, bringing the death toll to 5,996, while the total number of recoveries is up to 231,971. The majority of new patients can be easily treated. But the spread increases the number of seriously ill patients whose treatment is difficult, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca wrote on Twitter. 200724053500191 17:41 GMT US virus death toll exceeds 170,000 The total number of coronavirus deaths in the United States stands at 170,136, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally. Meanwhile, the total number of positive cases in the country has exceeded 5.4 million. 17:34 GMT Nigeria to reopen airports for international flights Nigeria will reopen its airports for international flights beginning on August 29, its aviation minister said. 16:55 GMT Philippines promises refreshed approach Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte eased the strict coronavirus lockdown in and around the capital Manila as his government promised a refreshed approach to fighting COVID-19 that includes intensified testing. Duterte, in a televised address, said there was a need to reopen the economy with small and medium enterprises barely surviving, while at the same time calling on the public to follow the safeguards. A boy wears a face shield while watching an online learning class from a smartphone in Manila, Philippines [File: Reuters] The Philippines, which before the pandemic was one of Asias fastest-growing economies, fell into recession for the first time in 29 years with a record slump in the second quarter, due to the pandemic-induced lockdown. The quarantine measures were reimposed in the capital and nearby provinces from August 4-18 after a group of doctors and nurses warned that the healthcare system could collapse. 16:35 GMT Mexican president to present plan to reactivate economy The Mexican government will present a plan to reactivate the economy in two weeks to help bring the country back from a sharp recession caused by the pandemic, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. In 15 days, a plan for the reactivation of the economy will be presented, Lopez Obrador said during a regular conference, noting that the government is in talks with the powerful business lobby CCE. Lopez Obrador has said in recent days that the pandemic is losing force in Mexico, but its death toll stands as the worlds third-highest after the United States and Brazil. 15:56 GMT Gyms in NY set to reopen at reduced capacity: Cuomo New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said that gyms can open as soon as August 24 at 33 percent capacity under strict health measures, including wearing mandatory face masks. Gyms can open as soon as August 24 at 33% capacity with mandatory mask wearing and other strict health measures. HVAC systems must meet guidelines. Localities must inspect every gym before it opens or within 2 weeks of opening. Localities must enforce regulations. Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 17, 2020 15:45 GMT Spains latest figures Spain reported 1,833 new cases in the past 24 hours, according to the health ministry below Fridays post-lockdown record of 2,987 but more than three times the average seen in July. Cumulative cases, which include results from antibody tests on patients who may have already recovered, rose to 359,082, with 32,389 detected in the past seven days, the ministry said. 15:11 GMT Englands exams regulator reverses course A level students hold placards as they protest opposite Downing Street, amid the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London [Henry Nicholls/Reuters] Following increasing criticism, Englands school examinations regulator admitted it had made a mistake with the way it awarded grades to school students after their exams were cancelled due to COVID-19. Roger Taylor, chair of the Ofqual exam board regulator, said the body had taken the wrong road and had to change course as he offered an apology to students and to schools. Outrage among students grew after Ofqual used an algorithm to assess grade predictions made by teachers, and lowered those grades for almost 40 percent of students taking their main school-leaving exams. According to a new methodology, grades will now be based on teachers assessments instead. 14:23 GMT Italy halts nightclubs and ballrooms activities No more clubbing in Italy, Health Minister Roberto Speranza announced in his latest effort to curb the spread of the novel virus. Activities taking place in nightclubs and dance halls across the whole country are now halted until September 7. Doing so we send a signal to the country that we need to keep the attention high, Speranza said as the number of infections is increasing. 14:03 GMT UK encourages at-risk groups to sign up for vaccine trials The UK government is calling on elderly people and volunteers from Black and Asian minority groups to sign up to a vaccine trial registry to boost efforts to find a working vaccine against COVID-19 that offers protection for higher risk groups. Protecting those at risk is the only way we will end this pandemic, said Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccines Taskforce. Over 100,000 people have volunteered to take part in vaccine trials, the UKs business ministry said, but more volunteers are needed to make sure candidate shots work for everyone. 13:46 GMT Czech govt to reimpose compulsory face coverings As the number of cases keeps increasing in the Czech Republic, starting from September 1 face masks will become compulsory on public transport and various indoor public venues. We consider this to be a preventative measure given that we are probably facing a complicated autumn, especially after September 1 when there will be high social interaction, Health Minister Adam Vojtech said announcing the decision. Schools are due to reopen on September 1 after the summer vacation. 13:30 GMT UK latest figures The United Kingdom recorded 713 new daily confirmed cases, it is the first time it has dropped below 1,000 in six days. Three more people have died within 28 days of testing positive for the coronavirus. Hi, this is Virginia Pietromarchi taking over the coronavirus liveblog from my colleague Linah Alsaafin. 12:05 GMT France deploys riot police in Marseille to enforce masks The French government is sending riot police to the Marseille region to help enforce mask requirements, as more and more towns and neighbourhoods are imposing mask rules starting Monday to slow rising infections. Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said 130 police officers are being sent to the Marseille region, which expanded its outdoor mask requirements to all farmers markets and more neighbourhoods on Friday. France has seen scattered incidents of violence by people refusing to wear masks. Paris expanded its mask requirements on Saturday, and other towns around France started requiring masks outdoors on Monday. 11:00 GMT Ghana leader says airports may reopen next month President Nana Akufo-Addo has indicated that Ghanas Kotoka International Airport may reopen next month after measures are set in place to test arriving passengers for coronavirus. Under my instructions, the ministry of aviation, the Ghana civil aviation authority and the Ghana Airports Co Ltd, have been working with the ministry of health and its agencies to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport, Akufo-Addo said. I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger that arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus, he said, adding the airport might be reopened on September 1. 10:40 GMT Thai economy worst hit in 20 years A woman wearing a protective face mask sits in a mobile shop at a shopping mall in Bangkok [File: Jorge Silva/Reuters] Thailands economy is expected to see its biggest slump in more 20 years due to the pandemic. Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to shrink between 7.3 and 7.8 percent this year, said Tossaporn Sirisamphan, secretary-general of the governmental National Economic and Social Development Board. An earlier forecast put the decrease at between 5 and 6 percent. It would be the biggest annual contraction since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. 10:00 GMT Indonesia reports 1,821 new cases, 57 deaths Indonesia reported 1,821 new cases, bringing its total cases to 141,370, the governments COVID-19 task force said. It also recorded 57 more deaths, taking its fatalities to 6,207, the highest coronavirus death toll in Southeast Asia. 09:40 GMT Hong Kong records 44 cases, physical distancing restrictions extended Coronavirus restrictions in Hong Kong include a ban on restaurant dining from 6pm and obligatory masks in all outdoor areas [Billy HC Kwok/Getty Images] Hong Kong has reported 44 new coronavirus cases as the government announced an extension to physical distancing measures aimed at controlling further spread of the virus, which has resurged in the city since early July. While the number of daily cases has come down from triple digits in recent weeks, authorities have cautioned residents from becoming complacent, warning that the situation remained severe. Restrictions, including a ban on dining in restaurants from 6pm and the mandating of masks in all outdoor public areas, are set to remain in force until August 25, the government said in a statement on Monday. 09:20 GMT Ireland has no plans for more local lockdowns Irelands health minister said he has had no conversations with his public health team about implementing other local lockdowns and the governments intention remains to lift two-week restrictions in the counties of Kildare, Offaly and Laois. Health officials will meet on Monday to decide if further measures are needed to slow a sharp increase in the spread of the coronavirus that the government and officials find deeply concerning. 09:00 GMT Malaysia and Singapore reopen border to business travel The land crossing between Malaysia and Singapore has reopened as the neighbours further relaxed curbs first imposed in March. Business travel of up to 14 days is allowed, while some Malaysians who are employed in Singapore can cross the border to go to work. An estimated 300,000 commuters crossed the frontier each day before a lockdown was imposed in Malaysia on March 18. Singapore initiated its lockdown on April 7. Both have since eased restrictions, but borders remain closed to tourists. 08:40 GMT Philippine minister tests positive for virus for second time Philippine Interior Minister Eduardo Ano has tested positive for the coronavirus five months after his initial illness [King Rodriguez/Presidential Photo Division via AFP] A Philippine government minister has tested positive for coronavirus five months after an initial diagnosis, authorities said, as experts investigate whether he had been reinfected. Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano, who is helping to spearhead the countrys virus response, returned a positive test on Saturday after experiencing flu-like symptoms last week. He was first diagnosed with COVID-19 in March, but did not show any signs of the disease at the time. 08:20 GMT Novavax begins mid-stage study of COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa US drug developer Novavax Inc said it is starting a mid-stage study of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine in South Africa, which is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases. The Phase 2b trial study of NVX-CoV2373 will be conducted on about 2,665 healthy adults and will evaluate safety and immunogenicity in about 240 medically stable, HIV-positive adults, the company said. Because South Africa is experiencing a winter surge of COVID-19 disease, this important Phase 2b clinical trial has the potential to provide an early indication of efficacy, along with additional safety and immunogenicity data for NVX-CoV2373, said Novavax research chief Gregory Glenn. 07:35 GMT Russia reports nearly 5,000 new cases Russia says 110 people died over the last 24 hours, pushing its official death toll to 16,914 [File: Anadolu] Russia reported 4,892 new coronavirus cases on Monday, pushing its tally to 927,745, the fourth-largest in the world. Authorities said 55 people had died across the country in the last 24 hours, increasing Russias official coronavirus death toll to 15,740. 06:40 GMT Lebanon needs two-week lockdown after COVID-19 spike: Minister Lebanon should be locked down for two weeks after a spike in COVID-19 infections, the caretaker governments health minister said. We declare today a state of general alert and we need a brave decision to close (the country) for two weeks, Hamad Hassan told Voice of Lebanon radio. Lebanon registered a record 439 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours on Sunday. 06:10 GMT South Korea battles worst outbreak in months South Korea has warned of tighter coronavirus restrictions as new outbreaks appear, including one linked to a church where more than 300 members have been confirmed infected but hundreds more are reluctant to get tested. The outbreak linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul is the countrys biggest in nearly six months and led to a tightening of distancing rules on Sunday. The Sarang Jeil outbreak revived fears of February when authorities struggled with an outbreak that emerged in a secretive Christian sect in the city of Daegu and became the countrys deadliest cluster. 05:50 GMT Malaysias Penang halts medical tourists Malaysias northern state of Penang has barred entry by overseas visitors seeking medical treatment until it finalises new health and safety procedures in light of the coronavirus crisis. Authorities toughened curbs on movement in some parts of the island over the weekend, as new infections emerged after more than three months with no cases. Hello, this is Linah Alsaafin in Doha, taking over the blog from my colleague Ted Regencia. 05:10 GMT Germanys Bavaria unable to trace dozens who tested positive for COVID-19 Bavarian authorities say they have not been able to contact 46 of more than 900 people who tested positive for coronavirus upon entering Germany, but did not receive the results, AP news agency reported. Last week, Bavaria admitted that thousands of returning travellers had to wait for weeks to receive their test results including the more than 900 who tested positive but were not aware. The bureaucratic breakdown led to an uproar in Germany over concerns that those who unknowingly tested positive could spread the virus. Germany has reported a total of 224,014 cases and more than 9,200 deaths. 04:41 GMT Indias coronavirus death toll surpasses 50,000 India reported a daily jump of 57,981 infections, taking the total to nearly 2.65 million, third only behind the US and Brazil. The death toll jumped by 941, taking the total to 50,921. Read more here. 04:30 GMT China grants countrys first COVID-19 vaccine patent Chinese authorities granted the first patent to the pharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc to develop a new coronavirus vaccine, according to state-owned Global Times. The vaccine, named Ad5-nCoV, is co-developed by CanSino Biologics Inc and a team of Chinese military infectious disease experts. Earlier it was reported that Saudi Arabia signed an agreement with China to begin clinical trials of the vaccine. 04:14 GMT Malaysia reports mutation of coronavirus Malaysias Institute of Medical Research (IMR) has detected a mutation of the coronavirus in the country, according to the countrys top health official. Health Director General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said on social media that the mutation would likely make existing vaccines ineffective against the disease, which was found to be 10 times likely to infect other individuals and easier to spread by super spreader individuals. Among those detected to have the mutated coronavirus was an individual from the Philippines. 03:53 GMT Japans PM Shinzo Abe in hospital for checkup: Report Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went into hospital for a medical checkup on Monday, a government source said, after a top official voiced concern the premier was suffering from fatigue because of his workload during the pandemic. Abe, Japans longest-serving prime minister, plans to return home later on Monday after being examined at Tokyos Keio University Hospital, the source familiar with the situation told Reuters news agency. The reason for the checkup was not immediately clear. More details here. 03:40 GMT Germanys coronavirus cases rise by 561 to 224,014 The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 561 to 224,014, Reuters news agency reported on Monday citing data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases. The reported death toll rose by one to 9,232, the tally showed. 02:50 GMT Bolivia surpasses 100,000 cases, authorities predict September peak Bolivia has surpassed 100,000 coronavirus cases, the countrys Ministry of Health reported, predicting that the virus would reach its peak in September, according to Reuters. Bolivias confirmed coronavirus infections reached 100,344, the ministry said, and there have been 4,058 deaths since the virus first emerged in the country in early March. Rene Sahonero, the ministrys director general of hospitals, told state television cases had accelerated among Bolivias population of 11.6 million after recent protests linked to the postponement of general elections due to the coronavirus. 02:04 GMT Brazils first lady tests negative for COVID-19 On Wednesday, Michelle Bolsonaros grandmother died of COVID-19 [Eraldo Peres/AP] Michelle Bolsonaro, the first lady of Brazil, says her latest COVID-19 test result is negative, more than two weeks after she announced that she tested positive. On Wednesday, her grandmother died of COVID-19. Bolsonaros youngest son, 22-year-old Jair Renan, also tested positive and he released a video on Saturday in which he appears to take hydroxychloroquine, a drug with no proven efficacy against the coronavirus but widely publicised by the president as a treatment. Bolsonaro had said he tested positive on July 7, suffered mild symptoms and was free of the virus in late July. He has downplayed the impact of COVID-19, appearing in public without a mask and meeting supporters despite distancing recommendations. Brazil has recorded more than 3.3 million coronavirus cases and more than 107,000 deaths, second only to the United States. 01:34 GMT South Korea reports 197 new COVID-19 cases South Korea reported 197 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday as it battles sporadic outbreaks in densely populated Seoul and its neighbouring area, according to Yonhap news agency. The additional cases raised the countrys total to 15,515, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the new cases, 188 were local transmissions. The country reported no additional fatalities, keeping the death toll at 305. Seven more people have been released after recovering from the disease, bringing the total to 13,917. 01:15 GMT Mexicos coronavirus cases rise to 522,162, deaths to 56,757 Mexicos health ministry has reported 4,448 new coronavirus cases and 214 fatalities, bringing the total in the country to 522,162 cases and 56,757 deaths as of Sunday, according to Reuters. The government said the real number of infected people is likely significantly higher than the confirmed cases. Members of the Star Wars fan club deliver food to relatives of patients hospitalised in Merida, state of Yucatan, amid the coronavirus pandemic [Hugo Borges/AFP] 01:00 GMT China reports 22 new coronavirus cases in mainland China reported 22 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for August 16, compared with 19 cases a day earlier, and 37 new asymptomatic patients, compared with 16 a day earlier, Reuters reported, quoting the National Health Commission. All the new infections were imported cases, the agency said in a statement. There were no new deaths. As of August 16, mainland China had a total of 84,849 confirmed coronavirus cases, it said. Chinas death toll from the coronavirus remained unchanged at 4,634. 00:50 GMT Evo Moraless sister dies in Bolivia of COVID-19 Esther Morales, the 70-year-old sister of former Bolivian President Evo Morales, has died of COVID-19, AP news agency reported, quoting a statement from the exiled leader. Morales, who was forced to resign last year after an election marred by irregularities, is in Argentina. He faces sedition and other charges if he returns to Bolivia. He blamed racism and political persecution for preventing him from visiting his sister in a hospital in Oruro, southeast of La Paz. 00:08 GMT Australia reports deadliest day of pandemic Australia has reported the deadliest day of the pandemic with 25 fatalities from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours and 282 new cases in the state of Victoria, according to the government. The previous record for Australia was 21 deaths in a day. 00:05 GMT Mexico president says vaccine expected to be ready early next year Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has announced that a COVID-19 vaccine could be available throughout Latin America by the first quarter of 2021. In a video posted on social media on Sunday, Lopez Obrador said Mexico has reached a deal with Argentinas AstraZeneca pharmaceutical company to produce a vaccine for distribution in Latin America. Mexico has recorded more than 517,000 coronavirus cases and more than 56,500 deaths the third-highest in the world, next to the US and Brazil. 00:01 GMT Lebanon registers new daily record of coronavirus infections Lebanon has registered a record daily number of coronavirus infections, 439, and six fatalities. The new infections bring the total tally to 8,881 in the country of about five million. Some 103 people have died. The country continues to grapple with the aftermath of an explosion in the capital that killed more than 200 people and injured about 6,000 others. Lebanons health sector has been challenged by the pandemic that hit amid a deepening economic crisis. The explosion in Beirut knocked out at least three hospitals in the capital and greatly increased pressure on those still operating. __________________________________________________________________ Hello and welcome to Al Jazeeras continuing coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. Im Ted Regencia in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. For all the key developments from yesterday, August 16, go here. Several dozen suspected Antifa members vandalized an Apple store and a Whole Foods supermarket in the trendy Williamsburg section of Brooklyn late on Saturday while spray painting anti-police graffiti and messages like Murder Bezos. Video shows several people wearing hooded shirts shattering the glass facade of the Apple location in Williamsburg using an object thrown against the window. At least one individual was seen inside the store, according to footage posted by the site LiveLeak. Vandals spray painted the letters FTP - or f*** the police - on the wall. Vandals do damage to the windows of an Apple store in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn on Saturday night At least two were seen walking inside the store after vandals threw objects at the glass window The NYPD is seeking the public's help in identifying the vandals from Saturday night At least one person was seen inside the Apple store in Williamsburg on Saturday night The video also shows graffiti spray painted onto the glass facade of an HSBC Bank location nearby on Bedford Avenue. A Whole Foods store nearby that was vandalized was spray painted with the message Murder Bezos. In one segment of the footage, a Whole Foods employee comes outside to confront some of the would-be vandals and protesters. Whole Foods is a subsidiary of Amazon, the online retailer owned by the worlds richest man, Jeff Bezos. The vandals also targeted a Whole Foods location nearby (seen in the above photo) A Whole Foods employee confronted the would-be vandals on the sidewalk in front of the store Vandals also spray painted 'Murder Bezos' on a nearby HSBC Bank location on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn on Saturday Anti-police graffiti is seen after it was spray painted onto the window facade of a store in Williamsburg on Saturday Antifa sympathizers are seen above marching through Williamsburg on Saturday night Broken windows and graffiti were also said to have been spray painted on a Compass Real Estate outlet store just down the block. One vandal wrote Die Yuppy, according to the New York Post. I feel sentiment for the times, but this stuff is just senseless, a Compass employee told The Post. They dont even know what theyre doing. Its just destruction for destructions sake. The employee added: The irony of it is you can clearly tell that everyone on the video is white. And its like, do you guys even know what youre doing this for? The Antifa activists were marching in solidarity with the counter-demonstrators who clashed with members of pro-Confederate and white supremacist organizations in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, Georgia, on Saturday. Several dozen right-wing activists toting rifles and Confederate battle flags gathered near Stone Mountain Park, home to a giant sculpture of Confederate leaders. The Three Percenters militia, which organized the event, had applied last month to hold a more than 2,000-strong rally 'to defend and protect our history and Second Amendment rights' at the park, in response to a march by an all-black militia held on July 4. Chaos unfolded in the city, just as officials had feared, as the rival groups faced off with each other for hours. People on both sides were seen carrying rifles. Members of right-wing groups proudly waving their Confederate flags were seen coming face to face with anti-racism and anti-fascist activists. Several Black Lives Matter supporters were spotted in heated confrontations with far-right activists, many of whom were wearing Trump 2020 shirts and hats. The Antifa march through Williamsburg on Saturday was staged in solidarity with left-wing protesters who clashed with pro-Confederate militias near Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday. Tensions between the two rival groups reached a boiling point in Stone Mountain on Saturday as brawls broke out among members of opposing sides A counter demonstrator holding a placard calling for the removal of the Confederate monument is seen facing off with a member of an opposing group For the first few hours of the rally, things were relatively peaceful, aside from some shoving and pushing and spirited arguments For several hours, there was little visible police presence and things were largely peaceful, aside from some shoving and pushing and spirited arguments. Some left-wing activists were also seen setting Confederate battle flags alight. But just before 1pm, tensions between the rival groups reached a boiling point, as brawls broke out among the crowd. People from opposing sides were seen punching and kicking each other and throwing rocks, prompting police officers in riot gear to move in to disperse the crowds. National Guard troops were also deployed to the scene as chaos erupted. New York, Aug 17 : Joe Biden, who will be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, will give "high priority to" strengthening India-US relations including on counter-terrorism and for ensuring China can't threaten its neighbours, according to his campaign. A document, "Joe Biden's Agenda for the Indian American Community," issued by his campaign on Saturday outlining his stand on issues of interest to those citizens said that Biden will introduce several immigration reforms that could benefit Indians, who face decades-long backlogs, and modernise the H1-B and other work-based visas for highly qualified professionals. The document said, "No common global challenge can be solved without India and the United States working as responsible partners." "Biden believes there can be no tolerance for terrorism in South Asia - cross-border or otherwise," the agenda said. "A Biden administration will also work with India to support a rules-based and stable Indo-Pacific region in which no country, including China, is able to threaten its neighbours with impunity," it added. Unlike communal appeals to Muslims and Jewish people in religion-specific documents, there were no such Biden agendas for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhist and Jains but only a general document directed at Indian Americans. The Democratic Party's list of religious leaders who will be saying the opening prayers and giving the blessings at its convention sessions has only members of various Christian sects, the Jewish faith and Islam. On bilateral relations with India, the Agenda for Indian American Communities noted that when Biden was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2007, he had said, "My dream is that in 2020, the two closest nations in the world will be India and the United States." "Biden will deliver on his long-standing belief that India and the United States are natural partners, and a Biden administration will place a high priority on continuing to strengthen the US-India relationship," it said. It added, "Together, we will continue strengthening India's defence and capabilities as a counter-terrorism partner, improving health systems and pandemic response, and deepening cooperation in areas such as higher education, space exploration, and humanitarian relief." On issues directly impacting Indian Americans, the agenda said that "Biden will ensure that South Asian Americans are represented in his administration, starting with his vice presidential nominee, Senator Kamala Harris, whose mother emigrated from India." On immigration, the agenda said that reforms that while supporting family-based immigration, increase the number of green cards for those qualifying based on employment, subject to "macroeconomic conditions," the agenda said. These reforms will cut the decades-long waits for visas, it said. Any recent PhDs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields would be exempt from the limits on the number of green cards, it said. Biden will also support reforming the the H1-B and other employment-based visa systems to "protect wages and workers," the agenda said without providing further details. It said that Biden will support a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants from India, who it said numbered 500,000. Trump has proposed ending green cards for extended family members beyond the nuclear family, while introducing a merit-based system of immigration. Biden's agenda said the work visas procedures for religious workers like priests and imams would be streamlined. The Biden agenda offered direct federal protection for places of religious worship like temples, gurdwaras and mosques so that they don't have to depend on donations to ensure their safety. The document mentioned the 2012 White supremacist attack on a Wisconsin gurdwara in which seven people were killed while he was vice president and the 2019 "horrific act of vandalism" against a Hindu temple in which a murti or sacred image was defaced, window broken and xenophobic messages painted. It said that "we cannot leave our faith-based organizations to rely on donations and internal fundraising efforts to guard against deadly attacks" and said that Biden would "ensure that places of worship have access to robust and direct security support from the federal government." The agenda accused Trump of encouraging and emboldening prejudice and hatred dangerously. "Indian Americans of all backgrounds -- Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jain, and others -- have been subjected to bullying and xenophobic attacks and need now, more than ever, a reassurance that our leaders in Washington will have their backs," the agenda said. A Biden administration would prioritise fighting hate crimes, "confront White nationalist terrorism" and increase penalties for hate crimes occurring in places of worship like "gurudwaras, mandirs, temples, and mosques." The agenda directed towards Indian Americans offered that "Biden will rescind Trump's 'Muslim ban' on day one," even though the restrictions by the Trump administration does not apply to all Muslims, but to citizens of all faiths from certain countries where there are problems with screening visa applicants. India is not among those countries and there are no blanket bans on Indian Muslims. The Agenda for Indian American Communities was silent on the Kashmir issue and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which had been raised in his Agenda for Muslim American Communities. In contrast, the document for Indian Americans was silent on the persecution or infringement of the rights of Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Christians in Muslim countries, whom the CAA sought to protect. However, responding to the attack on a gurdwara in Afghanistan, had said in May, "I stand with the Sikh and Hindu communities in Afghanistan seeking safety for their families and the freedom to practice their faiths." He had urged the Department of State to give them emergency refuge. (Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in and followed on Twitter at @arulouis) TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Battle North Gold Corporation (TSX: BNAU) (OTCQX: BNAUF) ("Battle North" or the "Company") reports that according to the Municipality of Red Lake (the "Municipality"), the threat of the forest fire near the community of Red Lake, Ontario has been 100% contained. The Municipality has rescinded the evacuation order and lifted all travel restrictions to the Red Lake area. All Battle North employees and contractors are safe and have begun returning to Red Lake. All operations at the Bateman Gold Project have now fully resumed and the Company remains on schedule to deliver the feasibility study for the Bateman project in the second half of 2020. New Website Design The Company plans to launch its new website on the morning of August 18, 2020 to provide all interested parties with continued up to date information about the Company and its assets. We encourage you to please visit our new website at www.battlenorthgold.com. About Battle North Gold Minerals Corporation Battle North Gold is a Canadian gold mine developer led by an accomplished management team with successful underground gold mine operations, finance, and capital markets experience. Battle North owns the significantly de-risked and shovel-ready Bateman Gold Project, located in the renowned Red Lake gold district in Ontario, Canada and controls the strategic and second largest exploration ground in the district. Battle North also owns a large gold exploration land package on the Long Canyon gold trend near the Nevada-Utah border in the United States. Battle North's shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BNAU) and the OTCQX markets (BNAUF). Please visit the Battle North website at www.battlenorthgold.com for further information. BATTLE NORTH GOLD CORPORATION George Ogilvie, P.Eng. President, CEO, and Director Cautionary Statement regarding Forward-Looking Statements and other Cautionary Notes All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained or incorporated by reference in this press release, including any information as to the future performance of the Company, constitute "forward-looking statements" and "forward looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "on schedule", "risk", "shovel-ready", "study", "strategic" and "trend" , or variations of such words, and similar such words, expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results can, could, may, should, will (or not) be achieved, completed or occur in the future. In some cases, forward-looking information may be stated in the present tense, such as in respect of current matters that may be continuing, or that may have a future impact or effect. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding advancement and delivery of the feasibility study for the Project. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions, which are considered reasonable and represent best judgment based on available facts, as of the date such statements are made. If such assumptions, estimates, expectations and opinions prove to be incorrect, actual and future results may be materially different than expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors include, among others, impact of the forest fire on the Project including prolonged suspension of exploration activities, delayed advancement and completion of the feasibility study and any resulting damage to and/or disruption of the Project; and the "Risk Factors" in the Company's annual information form dated March 27, 2020 ("2020 AIF") as well as those identified in the current Technical Report for the Project effective May 5, 2020 and dated July 7, 2020 (the "July 2020 Technical Report") as well as Management's Discussion and Analysis for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 (the "Q2, 2020 MD&A") and accompanying financial statements, all of which are available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and on its website at www.battlenorthgold.com. The foregoing list of risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors is not exhaustive; readers should consult the more complete discussion of the Company's business, financial condition and prospects that is provided in the 2020 AIF. The forward-looking statements referenced or contained in this news release are expressly qualified by these Cautionary Statements as well as the Cautionary Statements in the 2020 AIF, July 2020 Technical Report and the Q2, 2020 MD&A. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release (or as otherwise expressly specified) and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws. The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Battle North Gold Corporation Related Links http://www.battlenorthgold.com/ Thank you, Clive and Mandisa, the Association of Black Humanists and Black Non-Believers for convening this historic meeting, for creating this platform to highlight black atheist and humanist pride. It is exciting to be part of this event and to be connected with the growing network of black non believers, skeptics and freethinkers. Historical, cultural and social encumbrances have made it difficult for nonbelievers in the black communities to come out and openly identify as atheists or humanists. But as this online event and other recent developments have shown, the freethought landscape in Africa and the African Diaspora is changing and this is a cause for celebration even amidst the gathering clouds. The growing visibility of nonbelief in the black community is a welcome development especially in challenging the stereotype in academic and popular literature that conflates being black and being religious. This event is yet another step toward adequately situating the discourse on Black religiosity/irreligiosity, it is a step towards highlighting black freethought specifics-black freethought pride, solidarity, art and fellowship. For too long blacks have largely been associated with religious belief, magic, spiritism and occult. The black culture has been conceptualized as estranged from irreligious nontheistic elements and components. Some years ago, while I was doing my field work in Ghana, I travelled to a beach in Accra. I met a man wearing a white robe. He wanted to do some magical display for me. And in the course of our conversation, I told him that I was an atheist. The man stared at me for a while and asked: Are you not an African? From time to time, one confronts this narrative that says, a black person or an African is essentially religious or theistic. But we know this not the case and that the black/African culture is diverse. So with events like this explode the myth; fault the proposition and occasion some cognitive dissonance in the minds of many. Atheism, skeptical rationality and humanism have a long history and deep roots in Black/African culture. Incidentally these cultural currents are seldom emphasized, and are often designated as alien, western or white. So it is worthwhile to celebrate or at least recognize trends of irreligiosity and non belief in Africa and African Diaspora. It is in order to take pride in the history of freethought and the growing influence and possibilities of nontheism in black communities. I hope this event will not be a one off program and that in the months and years ahead, black non believers will have occasions like this to meet and interact online and offline, to congregate and take pride in black freethought history and struggles. We need platforms to send important messages, first to people of the world, that black non believers exist and are citizens and neighbours, friends and partners, children and parents, and yes fellow human beings. To people of faith, we seek to live in peace, equal dignity and respect. We seek an end to situations where discrimination and persecution of non believers is seen as an article of faith or implemented as a state policy. And to other nonbelievers who feel lonely or alone; who find themselves in places and societies where they are persecuted, imprisoned, threatened with execution or treated as mentally sick people, we want you to know this: you are not alone and you will not walk alone. We stand with you and we will walk with you all the way to freedom! President Nana Akufo-Addo in his 15th address of the nation on Covid-19 has indicated that only 44.3 percent of Ghanaians surveyed use the masks correctly out of the overall 82 percent of persons who possess the masks with the intention to use them. According to the President, the survey was conducted by the Ghana Health Service at selected locations in Accra in the month of August to see the usage of the nose masks. He described the results of the results as encouraging. It revealed that the overall intention to use face masks at the sites surveyed was very high, with eighty-two percent (82%) of persons surveyed possessing a mask. I believe we can do even more, and reach one hundred percent (100%). However, the same survey demonstrated that only forty-four-point three percent (44.3%) of those who have the mask use them correctly, he hinted. President Akufo-Addo however urged all and sundry to wear their masks, and do so correctly anytime they leave their homes; adding that it is the new normal requirement of our daily existence until the virus disappears. He therefore mentioned that the phased approach towards returning lives to normal, through the strategic, controlled, progressive, and safe easing of restrictions, will, thus, continue. Touching on regions with no record of Covid-19 cases, President Akufo-Addo said mentioned North East, Savannah, Upper West and Upper East regions respectively; charging their residents to do everything possible to maintain that situation. Currently, there are no recorded COVID-19 cases in the North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West Regions, and I charge their residents to do everything possible to maintain that situation, he stated.. President Akufo-Addo revealed that total of 40,567 persons have recovered so far from the virus even though Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, and Western continue to be the Regions with the highest number of active cases. This means our recovery rate has improved from eighty-nine-point five percent (89.5%) to ninety five point one percent (95.1%) in three weeks. Our death rate continues, mercifully, to be low at zero-point five percent (0.5%). President Akufo-Addo who could his joy said that there are no backlogs of tests at any of our testing centres, making the situational reports on the Covid-19 up to date. He again mentioned that tests results that used to take weeks are now available within forty-eight (48) hours. We have, so far, conducted four hundred and twenty-seven thousand, one hundred and twenty-one (427,121) tests, he revealed. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/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 Trump's administration uses hotels across the United States under emergency coronavirus orders to detain migrant children and their families before forcing them out of the country. Continuing with his campaign against immigrants, Trump and his administration have been using major hotel networks to lock children and their families who were arrested at the border. The move has created a system of discreet detention and expulsion system that bypasses protections that aimed to safeguard vulnerable migrants. Children hostage According to The New York Times, data from the United States government and court documents showed that a private security company that managed hotel detentions had conducted increasing activities over the last couple of months under a border closure policy related to the COVID-19 global crisis. Records show authorities have summarily expelled more than 100,000 migrants consisting of children and families from the country under the policy. Despite the policy's aim to reduce migration, border crossings seem to have increased in rate, partly because the legislation removes some of the legal consequences of repeat illegal crossings. Experts believe the surge in hotel detentions would more than likely result in widespread criticism of the policy. Several legal advocacy groups have expressed their disagreement and have filed to challenge the policy in court. The groups state that the policy endangers migrant children and violates the United States' asylum laws by placing them in life-threatening scenarios under their home countries. Reports show that a private contractor for the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is taking migrant children into custody and placing them in several hotels near the Texas-Mexico border, which have been used more than 200 times, as reported by AP News. The data also shows that children as young as one are being placed inside the establishments where transportation workers who have had no childcare training monitor and supervise their conditions. Also Read: New York Police Union Announces Supprt for Trump, "We Need a Strong Voice for This Country" Good living conditions According to Sun-Sentinel, officials from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement state the children were being taken care of during their stay at the hotels. They defended the expulsions as being necessary for preventing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic within the United States. Federal authorities have previously used hotels when immigration rates have shot up and as temporary areas before their traditional expulsions. Living conditions in the hotels are significantly better than those experienced inside Border Patrol holding cells where several migrants have died before. Despite the finer living conditions in the hotels, they exist outside the formal detentions system. This means the establishments are not subject to policies that prevent abuse while in federal custody or that detainees be given access to phones, food, and medical attention. While the hotel detention system was brought to light last month, new documents reveal the number of hotel chains participating in the activity. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was shown to have detained more than 860 migrants in multiple hotels. Despite no records showing the ages of the detainees, the official who was the source of the documents, and several former immigration officials who parted with Trump's administration said most, if not all were children due to the fact that parents were kept inside the Border Patrol holding stations. Related Article: Judge Orders President Trump's Team to Produce Evidence of Voter Fraud in Pennsylvania @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. (Newser) Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has delayed New Zealand's elections by four weeks due to the coronavirus outbreak in Auckland, which has grown to 49 infections, the AP reports. The election had been scheduled for Sept. 19 but will now be held on Oct. 17. Opposition parties had sought a delay after the virus outbreak prompted the government last week to put Auckland under a two-week lockdown and halt election campaigning. Before the latest outbreak, New Zealand had gone 102 days without any known community transmission of the virus; officials believe the virus was reintroduced to New Zealand from abroad but havent yet determined how. They also believe all of the infections are connected, giving them hope the virus isnt spreading beyond the cluster. story continues below Ardern had the option of delaying the election for up to about two months. She said she had called the leaders of all the political parties represented in the parliament to get their views before making her decision Monday. Ultimately I want to ensure we have a well-run election that gives all voters the best chance to receive all the information they need about parties and candidates, and delivers certainty for the future, Ardern said. She said she wouldn't consider delaying the election againno matter what was happening with any virus outbreaks. Ardern also announced that lawmakers would be called back to parliament, which had finished sitting ahead of the election. The parliament will now continue operating through early September. (Read more New Zealand stories.) Former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman will join three other Republicans on Monday, the opening night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention to talk about why she is supporting Joe Bidens candidacy. The theme will be We the People Putting Country over Party. Whitman will join former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran against Donald Trump for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination; former Rep. Susan Molinari of New York, the 1996 Republican convention keynote speaker; and business executive Meg Whitman, who had a prominent role in Mitt Romneys 2008 and 2012 GOP presidential campaigns. Both Christie Whitman and Meg Whitman backed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton over Trump in 2016. Kasich skipped the 2016 Republican Convention in his home state of Ohio, where Trump was nominated, and did not support him in the general election. Whitman has been outspoken in her criticism of Trump. In February, she said it was mind boggling that Senate Republicans voted to block witnesses in the Senate trial after he became only the third president ever to be impeached by the House. Our founding fathers said if we lose our democracy, our republic, itll be from within, she told NJ Advance Media in October. And this is a man who insists on absolute loyalty, will not hear any criticism. He looks at the Constitution as an inconvenient piece of paper that I dont think hes ever read in his life. And thats dangerous. The showcasing of Whitman and other Republicans is an effort on Bidens part to woo GOP and independent voters who disapprove of Trump. In a Monmouth University poll released earlier this month, 10% of Republicans and 59% of independents had an unfavorable view of the president. Separately, a group of long-time Republicans, including George Conway, husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, have formed the Lincoln Project to oppose Trumps re-election and support Biden. Also on Monday, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker is scheduled to join other unsuccessful 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, including vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris, U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Amy Klobuchar, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, and investor Andrew Yang, to talk about why they now are supporting Biden. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. A black doctor saving lives amid the COVID-19 crisis is a medical student based at the very same hospital where he once worked as a security guard. For five years Dr. Russell Ledet, 34, worked as a security guard at the Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Louisiana. Inspired to become a doctor himself, he studied on note cards and asked doctors at the center if he could shadow them. While most told him they were too busy to help, Dr. Patrick Greiffenstein, the chief surgery resident, took him on as a mentee and jumpstarted his career. Now Ledet, who is also a US Navy veteran, has a PhD in molecular oncology from New York University and is enrolled in both the MBA program and medical school at Tulane in Louisiana. Dr. Russell Ledet, 34, (above with wife and kids) is saving lives amid the COVID-19 crisis as a medical student based at Baton Rouge General Medical Center in Louisiana - the very same hospital where he once worked as a security guard for five years He said while working as security he studied medicine on notecards and asked to shadow the chief surgery resident 'This is one of those reflective points when youre trying to understand how far youve come and how far you got to go,' Ledet said to Good Morning America. Ledet says he returned to the same hospital where he started his medical journey with the hope of helping patients of color and being a mentor for the next ambitious prospective student hoping to enter the world of medicine. He also said serving the community, not so far from his 'humble beginnings' growing up in nearby Lake Charles, was important to him. Despite the great strides in his career, Ledet says he still has worries given the tense racial climate in the country in the wake of police violence and the Black Lives Matter movement. Now Ledet, who is also a US Navy veteran, has a PhD in molecular oncology from New York University and is enrolled in both the MBA program and medical school at Tulane in Louisiana At medical school Ledet organized a photo shoot among black students from Tulanes Student National Medical Association wearing white coats in front of Whitney Plantation, a former slave plantation and museum. 'The idea of the photo was to illustrate our presence essentially, and the history behind where we are today,' Ledet said His wife of 14-year years encourages him to not leave the house without his white coat in his car. 'My two little Black girls can turn on the TV, once a week, sometimes once a month, and they see a video of somebody who looks like them being murdered and its legal,' Ledet said. 'These kinds of things are happening and no matter how much education I have, society doesnt see me as a human,' he added. At medical school Ledet organized a photo shoot among black students from Tulanes Student National Medical Association wearing white coats in front of Whitney Plantation, a former slave plantation and museum. 'The idea of the photo was to illustrate our presence essentially, and the history behind where we are today,' Ledet said. 'I'm from Louisiana. Being from here and understanding a lot of the health burdens and health disparities, I know if I'm not loud about it, then who will be?' Ledet says Ledet pictured in scrubs working at the hospital The proud father pictured with his two young daughters 'I'm from Louisiana. Being from here and understanding a lot of the health burdens and health disparities, I know if I'm not loud about it, then who will be?' he added. He says those photos are now being used as 'cultural imagery' as inspiration for the generations to come. Today an organization called The 15 White Coats was established and provides opportunities for minority medical students around the world to achieve their goals. Farmers busy in harvesting early-season rice and transplanting late rice in Central China's Hunan Province. Photo: Xinhua More and more restaurants and catering associations in China have issued appeals and guidelines to prevent food waste, and restaurants are offering half-portions and order recommendations to save food as the country carries out a "Clean Your Plate Campaign 2.0" in full swing. Consumers reached by the Global Times on Sunday shared their latest dining-out experiences. They noted that restaurant measures and slogans had raised their awareness of valuing food, which was taught at school but is somewhat neglected in daily life. Industry associations like the World Federation of Chinese Catering Industry and China Cuisine Association, and at least 18 provincial industry associations, have issued appeals asking the industry to curb waste. A canteen for a state-owned enterprise in Beijing provides an eight-dish buffet for its employees. The canteen asked chefs to adjust the quantity of the ingredients for each dish. "For example, the chef cooks half the ingredients for a dish. If employees dislike that dish, the chef will not cook the second half and the ingredients will be preserved for later use," the manager of the canteen surnamed Lin, told the Global Times on Sunday. North China's Shanxi Province issued a notice to canteens of government offices, asking them to provide small and half-portions. It also encouraged canteens to register people coming to eat so they could purchase ingredients accordingly, according to a Friday report by local newspaper the Shanxi Daily. The notice, which was issued by Shanxi Government Offices Administration, said that catering for official events such as conferences and trainings should give preference to buffet-style meals, said the news report. Restaurants have also joined the campaign, offering dishes in customized sizes, giving order recommendations for customers and providing free takeaway boxes. Some also imposed "leftover fines" to prevent people from ordering too much. Zhang Xiaoyan, a Beijing resident, told the Global Times on Sunday that she went to a barbecue restaurant over the weekend and took the leftovers home. "The waitress asked whether I wanted to take the unfinished food home, and I thought for a bit before saying yes." "We all learned the ancient poem in primary school about farmers' sweat dripping into the soil, and every morsel of our meal coming with toil and pain. But we forget about it when we grow up," Zhang said She also recalled seeing slogans for "ordering the appropriate amount, save food" in the restaurant. Many netizens joined the campaign by sharing pictures of their empty plates after meals on social media, and the hashtag "clean plate challenge" received 240 million reads as of press time. But there are also concerns over rigid implementation in practice, such as a "10-1" appeal 10 people ordering food sufficient for nine, which has been criticized by many netizens. The Wuhan catering industry association, which issued the appeal, explained later that the rule was more of an advisory suggesting people should order less at first and add more dishes if needed. A restaurant in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, which included leftovers in waiters' performance assessments, also sparked controversy. "The move may be intended to urge waiters to stop customers from ordering too much, but what if a customer does not listen? The waiter should not pay the price for a customer," a net user posted. Clean Your Plate is an important campaign to address food waste problems, but it is important not to distort the original good intention or create new problems such as excessive use of takeaway boxes, analysts said. by Melani Manel Perera Large number of worshippers took part in the Mass co-celebrated at the shrine by the bishops of Kandy, Mannar, Galle and Anuradhapura. The service was in Sinhala and Tamil. For Bishop Fernando, Our Ladys protection is needed during the coronavirus emergency. He also urged action against the evil of drugs and support for families. Colombo (AsiaNews) Mass was held at Our Lady of Madhu shrine to mark the feast day of the Assumption last Saturday. In his homily, Bishop Vianney Fernando of Kandy (central Sri Lanka) told the faithful not be afraid and live in communion with the Blessed Virgin Mary who has always come to the rescue of our country, especially in the troubled periods of its recent history. The prelate, who celebrated the mid-August feast day together with the bishops of Mannar, Galle and Anuradhapura, noted that in the past 29 years, local Catholics were left without a priest, and yet their faith did not vanish". Thanks to the priest who came from Goa, the community has returned to flourish. History teaches us to live in communion with Our Lady, he said. Mary is the Amma (mother) of all of us he added. Celebrations were held at a time of serious difficulties and enormous dangers, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic which hit the island, albeit with less devastating effects than other Asian countries. "We have heard of many people praying for an end to the world pandemic, the bishop said in his homily. Equally, we have heard of the thousands of individuals who have died every day in countries considered powerful. We all fear this evil. As a country we have followed the health guidelines given to us; we can thus say that we are safe. Yet, I can also add that the Virgin Mary has come to protect us as well. However, the novel coronavirus is not the only emergency facing the country. Sri Lankans, especially young people, must pay attention to drugs. Parents must "protect our children", starting by not "drinking alcohol in front of them" and not using children in any drug-related deal. The bishop told parents that their children are the greatest treasure you have in the world. They require great efforts and lots of tears. Do everything you can to raise and educate them. Yet, beware that all this is useless if you do not spiritually educate them" starting with the faith which is the basis and foundation of the person. For the bishop of Kandy, parents are not the only ones who must do the right thing. For him, the countrys leaders are tasked with fighting all forms of violence, corruption, and drugs. They must pay particular attention to the new generation since one of their tasks is protecting the nation". Despite the limits and restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 emergency, many people attended the service, carefully listening to Bishop Fernandos words in order to share his concerns about the countrys fate. Speaking to AsiaNews, Ranjith Keerthi, a native of Jaela, who came with his family, said that during the Mass, he "prayed fervently for the country and its political leaders, as the bishop had called for, because "the future is in danger if they do not act correctly. "As Christians, our duty is to give priority to prayers and seek the intercession of Our Lady on every occasion, he added. One couple, Maala and Dhamma Tissera, pilgrims from Kalutara, noted that It is a great honour for us to pray once a year at the feet of the Virgin of Madhu. We thank Our Lady for saving our country from the dangerous COVID-19 pandemic". For those present and for the faithful who followed the service at home via TV, the feast day of the Assumption provided an additional opportunity to call for an end to the global health emergency and give new impetus to the future of the country. New Delhi: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has constructed a 180-feet bailey bridge in Jauljibi sector of Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand in less than three weeks despite frequent landslides and heavy rains. The 50-metre span concrete bridge was completely washed out on July 27, 2020, when cloudburst hit the area and the nallas and rivers were flooded which caused a mudflow of tremendous force. Many casualties were also reported due to landslides and the road communication was broken. The BRO mobilised its bridging resources and setup to construct the bridge. The biggest challenge was to transport parts to the site from Pithoragarh amidst frequent landslides and heavy rains. The bridge was successfully completed on August 16, 2020, which has led to accessing flood-affected villages and has connected Jauljibi to Munsiyari. The connectivity will bring relief to about 15,000 people in 20 villages. The constructed bridge has resumed road communication of 66-kilometre road starting from Jauljibi to Munsiyari. Notably, local Member of Parliament Ajay Tamta had expressed his concern about the worst affected isolated villages of Lumti and Mori at 25-kilometre from Jauljibi where maximum deaths had taken place. This bridge will also provide essential support in rehabilitating the villages. A 42-year-old Vietnamese man was sentenced to death Monday for delivering many packages of drugs for a Cambodian woman known only as Roem. The death sentence was awarded by the Long An Peoples Court to Truong Quoc Cuong, a former driver hailing from the Mekong Delta provinces Vinh Hung Town after it found him guilty of drug trafficking. According to the indictment, in mid-2018, Cuong made the acquaintance of Cambodian national hitherto identified as Roem, when he was hired to drive her for several hospital visits in Ho Chi Minh City. Roem later hired Cuong for many drug deliveries from Cambodia to HCMC via Hung Ha Commune in Long An. On May 11, 2019, Cuong was informed by Roem that there was a package to deliver the day after, for which he would be paid VND120 million ($5,160). At 3 p.m. the following day, a man called Phin, also a Cambodian national, summoned Cuong via a phone call to collect the drugs. Cuong drove to the border area and lowered the window of his car so that Phin and another young man could load boxes with drugs inside. Phin paid Cuong VND300 million ($12,900) for making the latest deliver and previous ones. Cuong was stopped near the Tuyen Binh Border Guard Station in Vinh Hung Districts Tuyen Binh Commune. About 64 kg of ketamine, methamphetamine and heroin was found in his car, and he was arrested. Cuong told the police that he was working for Roem delivering drugs ranging from two to 64 kilograms each trip. He had earned over VND4 billion ($172,000) from the illegal venture when he was arrested. He used many different phones to avoid being tracked. Cuong also said he never met the buyers. He would leave the drugs on roadsides or only lower the cars window for them to pick up the drugs, so he could not identify them. Vietnam has been a transit hub for drugs trafficked from the Golden Triangle. From here, the drugs are taken to Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia and even Europe, Australia and Latin America. On July 19, HCMC police for the first time busted an operation that trafficked drugs to South Korea. Vietnam has some of the worlds toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or over 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face death. Keren Aminia and Edward Hauck Join Scale Media's 2020 Advisory Board This new advisory board will provide critical insight and support for our company's ambitious agenda for the remainder of this year, and position us for massive growth in 2021. - Ben Flohr, Scale Co-Founder Scale Media announces the launch of their 2020 Advisory Board as part of an aggressive growth strategy to expand their beauty, health and wellness brands nationwide. Noted industry experts in business operational strategy, data intelligence and action planning, Keren Aminia and Edward Hauck have officially joined the tech-driven direct-to-consumer companys advisory board to provide critical insight and support for Scales ambitious agenda the second half of 2020 and beyond. Aminia is a Principal of Comxsen, a distinguished consulting firm that helps companies grow by translating vision into operational and business success. With past leadership roles at eBay and Magento and a degree in Business Economics from UCLA, she brings over two decades of experience spearheading expansion initiatives and building ecosystem engagement. Over the past few years working with the Scale team on creating an infrastructure for growth, it became clear that Scale is positioning itself to be an industry leader as a conglomerate of beauty, health and wellness brands and also as a trailblazer of scalable eCommerce and digital technology, said Aminia. This winning combination is unique in the market and has tremendous potential. My focus will continue to be organizational design and driving operational initiatives. Hauck has held several executive roles at prominent science-based health and natural product companies, and is presently the Managing Partner of Nutrition Business Advisors, creating and executing on new business opportunities for investors and clients. Previously, Hauck was President of Healthy Directions and COO of Stop Aging Now. He holds an MBA in Marketing, Finance and International Business from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management and is a member of several distinguished boards. Scale Media is passionate about optimizing business results through the combination of data, technology and marketing, said Hauck. I do not see a limit on Scales success over the next decades as they launch new brands and implement enhanced marketing techniques in the high growth Natural Products industry. Scales proprietary eCommerce and digital marketing engine continues to drive exponential growth in their consumer lifestyle brands. The LA-based company was recently recognized as one of Forbes Best Startup Employers for 2020, and honored with the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) Award for Leadership and Growth. Keren and Ed have been instrumental in guiding the executive team at Scale during our rapid growth by sharing their vast experience and expertise. We are confident in our ability to continue scaling up with their insightful counsel, added Partner and Scale Co-Founder, Ben Flohr. Learn more about Scale at https://scale.tech/. About Scale: Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Scale is a tech-driven direct-to-consumer company that builds and deploys next-generation CPG brands in the beauty, health and wellness industries. Through their proprietary eCommerce and digital marketing engine, Scale transforms consumers end-to-end online shopping experience while increasing brand loyalty and retention. Since 2014, the company has rapidly powered and scaled concepts into multi-million-dollar consumer lifestyle brands, including 1MD, Hair La Vie, Simple Beauty, LiveWell, and Essential Elements. Today, Scales growing portfolio of 70+ products helps hundreds of thousands of people live healthier lives. Learn more at Scale.tech. Media Inquiries: Nicole Khandhar, Director of Operations, Scale Two dozen nurses deployed to the frontline of Melbourne's COVID-19 outbreak last month were released from quarantine on Monday with a stern warning for Queenslanders. Danilo Derain and Lauchlan West, both aged 22, were part of a nursing taskforce sent to staff mobile fever clinics across Melbourne for four weeks. Danilo Derain (left) swabbed more than 1000 people for COVID-19 in Melbourne. Both men, part of the permanent pool at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital, said they each swabbed at least 1000 people during their four weeks working on the frontline. "It was daunting knowing we were going to be sent somewhere where there was a massive outbreak going on," Mr Derain said. Security forces have so far shot dead two of the attackers in the hotel amid fears of hostage crisis inside the complex, said Ismail Mukhtar, spokesman of Somalia's information ministry A Somali police officer says at least 10 people have been killed and more than a dozen others injured in an ongoing siege at a beachside hotel in Somalia's capital where security forces are battling Islamic extremist gunmen who have invaded the building, Security forces have so far shot dead two of the attackers in the hotel amid fears of hostage crisis inside the complex, said Ismail Mukhtar, spokesman of Somalia's information ministry. Military vehicles could be seen taking positions around the hotel amid the darkness of night, that officials worry could prolong the siege. Capt. Mohamed Hussein told The Associated Press that the attack started with a powerful car bomb which blew off the security gates to the Elite Hotel. Then gunmen ran inside and took hostages, mostly young men and women who were dining at the hotel, he said. Security forces rescued more than 10 people from the siege and were trying to prevent the attackers from moving up to the top floor, he said. Ambulance sirens could be heard in the area which has had a power outage since the attack started. Somalia's homegrown Islamic extremist rebels, al-Shabab, who are allied to al-Qaida, have claimed responsibility for the attack via its radio arm, Andalus. The hotel attack has shattered a period of calm of a few months. Earlier this year Somalia had a spate of bomb attacks. Search Keywords: Short link: Security guards in Melbourne's quarantine hotels were told there was no need to wear personal protective equipment when taking guests out for fresh air or delivering UberEats orders to their rooms. But the Victorian government advice, dated June 8, was inappropriate, leading infectious disease expert Professor Lindsay Grayson told the inquiry into the hotel quarantine program on Monday. Under advice from the Department of Health and Human Services, security guards were told there was no need to wear PPE on the hotel quarantine floor when guests arrived, or during doorway visits if physical distancing could be maintained. "You would regard that to be inappropriate advice?" asked Arthur Moses, QC, who is representing Unified Security, one of three companies contracted to Victoria's quarantine hotels. A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from removing nondiscrimination protections for transgender people in health care, issuing a temporary setback to a major policy priority for social conservatives. The new rules, which were set to take effect on Tuesday, would have reversed Obama-era Affordable Care Act regulations that said discrimination protections "on the basis of sex" should apply to transgender people. Civil rights advocates had decried the new interpretation, saying it could be used to deny care to transgender patients. The Department of Health and Human Services finalized the regulations in June, three days before the Supreme Court ruled that federal nondiscrimination protections "because of sex" include gay and transgender employees. The Supreme Court justices held that such discrimination "has always been prohibited by Title VII's plain terms," and that "that should be the end of the analysis." In Monday's preliminary injunction, U.S. District Court Judge Frederic Block said the administration's new rules contradicted this Supreme Court ruling and that HHS acted "arbitrarily and capriciously in enacting them." "When the Supreme Court announces a major decision, it seems a sensible thing to pause and reflect on the decision's impact," Block wrote. "Since HHS has been unwilling to take that path voluntarily, the Court now imposes it." The injunction illustrates the early impact of the landmark Supreme Court ruling, which is already changing the nation's legal landscape. It is among the first court decisions applying Bostock v. Clayton County beyond the workplace, to health care. In writing the high court's opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch said the decision was narrow - "we do not purport to address bathrooms, locker rooms, or anything else of the kind." But earlier this month, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit relied heavily on the Supreme Court decision when it affirmed a lower-court ruling that required a suburban Florida school district to allow a transgender student access to the restroom that matches his gender identity. Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, which challenged the transgender health-care rules in court, said the decision once again affirms that federal discrimination on the basis of sex includes transgender people. "I hope that this sends a message to the Trump administration and to federal agencies that they should protect people from discrimination," David said, "not expose them to bias and discrimination." The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The injunction delivers a blow to the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to roll back a series of protections for the LGBTQ community. Last month, the administration published its rule allowing single-sex homeless shelters to exclude transgender people from facilities that correspond with their gender identity. The administration also banned transgender people from enlisting or serving in the military, and revoked Obama-era guidance that allowed transgender students to use bathrooms of their choice or participate in sports corresponding with their gender identity. The director of HHS's Office for Civil Rights, Roger Severino, had argued the new interpretation of the health-care rules would align with what lawmakers originally intended. In a statement in June, HHS said it believed anti-discrimination provisions should apply only to "male or female as determined by biology." It said the change was part of a broader effort to eliminate "costly and unnecessary regulatory burdens" that it said were costing American taxpayers $2.9 billion. But civil rights groups described it as an attack on the transgender community that would leave them especially vulnerable to discrimination amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Human Rights Campaign filed a lawsuit on behalf of two transgender women of color, Tanya Asapansa-Johnson Walker and Cecilia Gentili - one of several legal challenges to the Trump administration's rule change. While Monday's injunction blocked the HHS provisions regarding sex discrimination in health care, it did not address other provisions in the rule change, including its elimination of language access protections and incorporation of religious exemptions, said Lambda Legal, which filed a separate challenge in Washington D.C. that takes issue with those provisions and others. A decision in that case, Whitman-Walker Clinic v. HHS, is still pending. "LGBTQ people, particularly transgender people, have been under constant attack by the Trump Administration. HHS's health care discrimination rule threatens to wreak havoc and confusion, hurting our most vulnerable populations, who already are suffering disproportionately at the hands of the COVID-19 pandemic," Lambda Legal staff attorney Carl Charles said. "We applaud today's decision and look forward to continuing our fight against this rule that unlawfully targets and singles out LGBTQ people for discrimination during their most critical time of need, when seeking health care." Ryan Anderson, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, argued that the Supreme Court's Bostock decision "does not require, let alone justify, this activist ruling by a district judge." "The HHS regulations are good law and sound policy. Sex is a biological reality and good medicine takes it seriously," Anderson said in a statement Monday. "Alas, there are human costs to getting human nature wrong." But David, of the Human Rights Campaign, said the rules would have a "disastrous impact" on the lives of transgender people such as the plaintiffs in their lawsuit, who are both transgender women of color with serious medical conditions that require ongoing care. Walker requires treatment related to her HIV-positive status and previous lung cancer, and Gentili requires treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema. During her treatment for lung cancer, Walker was misgendered, denied medication and forced to answer invasive questions about her genitals before being given care, according to the lawsuit. Gentili said she has been mocked, harassed and denied prescriptions for hormones. Both women said they are afraid to seek out essential medical care because of these previous experiences with discrimination. "They should be able to go to sleep tonight knowing that tomorrow morning, they still have protections under federal law," David said. BRISBANE, Australia, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Megaport Limited (ASX: MP1) ("Megaport"), a global leading Network as a Service (NaaS) provider, today announces the upcoming release of Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE), a product innovation that will enable the hosting of Network Function Virtualization (NFV), such as SD-WAN capabilities, directly on Megaport's global Software Defined Network (SDN). With MVE, customers will tap into Megaport's extensive platform reach to deploy and extend their network functions closer to the edge, in real time, and without the need to deploy hardware. Megaport and Cisco are collaborating to enable Cisco SD-WAN as the first use case on MVE. "As enterprises and service providers begin to fully understand the benefits of SD-WAN, the ability for Megaport customers to easily, and in minutes, 'spin up' SD-WAN virtual appliances around the world on our platform is a big enabler for global organisations," said Vincent English, CEO of Megaport. "Having these virtual appliances fully integrated into the Megaport Interconnection Platform leveraging our multicloud connectivity takes this to another level." The highly-distributed MVE footprint will align with global centres of commerce to support traffic localisation for low-latency networking and will provide an interconnection gateway to securely manage multicloud and multi-location interconnection. MVE includes gateway functionality to connect with Megaport's SDN in a platform-neutral and technology-agnostic manner, allowing customers to move beyond legacy networking models and take a unified approach to managing their network. SD-WAN on MVE SD-WAN, the first network use case supported on MVE, enables customers to take advantage of Megaport's secure, on-demand network from any internet-connected SD-WAN location around the world. This empowers customers to build a unified, multicloud network architecture that scales as their business needs grow in a matter of minutes. Customers will host and fully manage instances of SD-WAN devices on MVE to connect Megaport's global interconnection fabric with SD-WAN enabled locations. Setup and maintenance of SD-WAN instances is enabled through an API and soon will be available through Megaport's point-and-click portal. Once connected, SD-WAN enabled locations can provision on demand connections to Megaport's leading ecosystem of cloud, IT service providers, and more than 700 enabled data centres. Megaport is integrated with more than 200 cloud onramps the most of any neutral elastic interconnection platform and has an ecosystem of over 360 service providers including Alibaba Cloud, AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, IBM Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and Salesforce, among others. MVE unlocks the power of Megaport's ecosystem and makes it available regardless of location. The Megaport SDN provides carrier-grade, private connectivity that scales and secures traffic to vital locations and service providers to address performance and security requirements for mission critical applications. More than 1850 customers rely on Megaport to power their digital businesses. SD-WAN on MVE Highlights: IP-enabled connections to Megaport's industry-first elastic interconnection platform. Bring your own SD-WAN license. Highly-distributed for localised connections. Point-and-click network provisioning to support interconnection between branch locations, data centres, cloud providers, and IT services. Real-time provisioning of virtual network infrastructure and interconnections. No hardware to ship, install, or manage. Pay-as-you-go (PAYG) consumption model. Unified end-to-end network provisioning and management to transform legacy networks. Secure, multicloud connections to more than 360 service providers and 700+ enabled data centres. Cisco SD-WAN Collaboration Megaport and Cisco have an initiative to integrate Megaport Virtual Edge with Cisco's secure SD-WAN, powered by Viptela, to enable interoperation of Megaport's SDN and Cisco's SD-WAN fabric technology. Megaport and Cisco have invited a select list of customers to participate in the MVE beta program. General availability of the Cisco SD-WAN platform on MVE is planned for the first quarter of 2021. "The development of Megaport Virtual Edge marks a transformation point for Megaport," said Bevan Slattery, Founder and Chairman of Megaport. "By creating a platform that will bridge various network access types directly to Megaport's SDN, we have effectively made it possible to connect to our leading ecosystem of service providers and data centres from anywhere in the world. This will put the power of elastic interconnection in the hands of more businesses around the globe. We are excited to work with Cisco to integrate their SD-WAN services on MVE so customers can gain full control over how they connect to the vital services that power their business." For more information about Megaport Virtual Edge, or to express interest in the beta program, please visit megaport.com/mve . About Megaport Megaport is the global leading provider of Elastic Interconnection services. Using Software Defined Networking (SDN), the Company's global platform enables customers to rapidly connect their network to other services across the Megaport Network. Services can be directly controlled by customers via mobile devices, their computer, or our open API. Megaport connects more than 1,850 customers in over 700 enabled data centres globally. Megaport is an Alibaba Cloud Technology Partner, AWS Technology Partner, AWS Networking Competency Partner, Cloudflare Network Interconnect Partner, Google Cloud Interconnect Partner, IBM Direct Link Cloud Exchange provider, Microsoft Azure Express Route Partner, Nutanix Direct Connect Partner, Oracle Cloud Partner, Rackspace RackConnect Partner, Salesforce Express Connect Partner, and SAP PartnerEdge Open Ecosystem Partner. SOURCE Megaport Limited HOUSTON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A motion filed with the federal Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation is seeking consolidation of the growing number of class action lawsuits being filed by individuals claiming that online vacation rental company Vrbo's exclusive travel insurance provider has unlawfully denied their requests for reimbursement of fees paid for reservations that were later cancelled. The filing notes that class action lawsuits have been filed by plaintiffs in Texas, Kansas, South Carolina, California, Ohio, Illinois and New York alleging similar claims against a common insurance provider, CSA Travel Protection, the American affiliate of Italy-based Assicurazioni Generali Group. While varying in certain details, the lawsuits allege that the insurer has refused to honor its policies and refund thousands of dollars in properly cancelled bookings initially made on the Vrbo website. Typically those refund requests were due to government-imposed travel restrictions or personal health complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The lawsuits all seek class action status to represent every affected individual across the nation. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are requesting centralizing the lawsuits in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas, the only federal judicial district in which multiple actions are pending. According to the filing, consolidating the actions would conserve resources and reduce litigation costs for all parties. "Due to the number of cases spread across at least eight jurisdictions indicates that, absent centralization, it may be essentially unavoidable that all parties will be subject to inconsistent pretrial rulings," the filing states. "Plaintiff has reasonable belief that there are thousands of potential members in the Class." The filing also notes recent actions of the MDL panel that both affirmed and denied case consolidation based on the number of common insurance carriers that were parties to litigation. The panel upheld a similar MDL request against the StubHub ticketing website over refund denials to consumers, while ruling in another matter that some COVID-19 business interruption claims should not be consolidated as dozens of different insurance carriers were listed as defendants. "We are definitely seeing a trend in the travel and vacation rental insurance industry to deny all COVID-19 related cancellation claims, with little or no investigation or review of the claims at all," says Derek Potts of the Potts Law Firm's Houston office, who filed the motion with the MDL panel. "In this case, the allegations are basically the same, against one common defendant with the same insurance policy in every case, so we believe that consolidation in the Eastern District is both practical and proper under the law." The motion is In Re: Generali COVID-19 Related Travel Insurance Litigation. The next Joint Panel hearing is scheduled for September 24, 2020 in Birmingham, Alabama. Media Contact: Barry Pound 800-559-4534 [email protected] SOURCE Potts Law Firm Chief Minister on Monday spoke to state's Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, minutes after the latter expressed concern that the law and order situation at the Visva Bharati University was alarming. "Just had a word with Chief Minister over Visva Bharati worsening law and order scenario. She has assured that the administration will take all steps to restore law and order. Am sure those enjoined with the task will rise to the occasion," the Governor said in a tweet. However, prior to this tweet the Governor had said: "The situation of law and order in Visva Bharati is alarming. I am trying to be in touch with CM to secure peace in the temple of learning. As per the VC violators of law have entered the campus and destroyed property. The Cabinet Secretary (CS), Home Secretary (HS), District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP), CM have not responded to call of Visva Bharati." Earlier in the day, there was an uproar in the university over the construction of a wall near the Mela ground. Protestors had allegedly damaged some structures. Since his taking over as the Governor of the state, Dhankhar was often involved in a war of words with the state government. On Sunday, he had alleged that the Raj Bhavan in was under surveillance by the state government. "The Raj Bhavan is under surveillance. This should never have happened. How can the Raj Bhavan, the office of the constitutional head be under surveillance?" Dhankhar said during a press conference. (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.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Jerusalem, Undefined Mon, August 17, 2020 13:06 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e859f9 2 News Israel,travel,tourism,quarantine Free Israel said Sunday that citizens, residents and foreign workers returning from 20 countries would be exempted from a 14-day coronavirus quarantine period, but kept its borders closed to tourists. The health ministry's list of 20 "green" countries deemed to present a lower novel coronavirus risk includes the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Greece and Cyprus, as well as Canada, New Zealand, Rwanda, Jordan and Hong Kong. "As of today, people returning from green countries are exempted from quarantine," the ministry said in a statement. Read also: Israeli artist mocks Netanyahu in 'Last Supper' installation The measure only applies to Israeli citizens and foreigners with residency status or work visas, as the country's borders have yet to be reopened for regular tourism. The United States, Israel's closest ally, is on the list of "red" countries, deemed to present a higher COVID-19 risk. Travelers from countries on this list are still required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival. Israel has over 92,000 COVID-19 cases to its nine million population, with fewer than 700 deaths. Topics : Israel travel tourism quarantine Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 02:23:17|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 40 militants of the Houthi rebel group were killed in fighting with Yemen's government forces in the central province of al-Bayda over the past 24 hours, state-run media reported. According to the state-run Saba News Agency, "the national army forces backed by local pro-government tribesmen are engaging in continuous battles against the Houthis in Qaniya area for the second consecutive day." More than 40 Houthi rebels were killed and others injured within the past 24 hours of the ongoing battles in Qaniya located in the northern part of al-Bayda, Saba said. It indicated warplanes of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition targeted several Houthi sites and vehicles in separate locations in Qaniya area, leaving an unknown number of deaths and injuries among the rebels. The Saudi aerial bombardment destroyed military vehicles belonging to the Houthi rebels in the same area, according to Saba. No information, however, was given about casualties among the soldiers of the government during the ongoing battles against the Houthis in al-Bayda province. The Iran-allied Houthi militia recently intensified their military operations against the government-controlled areas in different parts of the war-ravaged Arab country. Following the recent Houthi military escalation, the rebels succeeded in capturing key areas from the government forces that withdrew from their sites in al-Bayda and elsewhere in Yemen. Yemen has been locked into a civil war since the Houthis overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014. Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthis forced him into exile. Enditem Srinagar, Aug 17 : With the killing of a second militant, the number of terrorists killed in the ongoing encounter in north Kashmir's Baramulla is two now, officials said. Earlier, two CRPF personnel and a Special Police Officer (SPO) of the J&K Police were killed in a terrorist attack at Kreeri in Baramulla district on Monday. Security forces had launched an operation immediately after the attack to track down the terrorists who had escaped from the spot after carrying out the attack in an orchard. A contact was established with them that triggered the encounter. "Kreeri encounter update, one more terrorist killed, total two terrorists killed so far. Operation going on," the police said. IG police Vijay Kumar told reporters that three terrorists from the LeT were behind the attack and an operation is underway to nab the attackers. Dhinesh Kallungal By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two major contradictory findings during the inspection of the Air India Express aircraft, which crashed in Kozhikode last week, have left experts perplexed. While the Air India Express plane's cockpit throttle was found to be in the forward position, the spoilers on the wings were partially open. The throttle's forward position indicates the aircraft could have been trying to take off while the position of the spoilers indicates the aircraft was in a braking mode when the accident happened. ALSO READ: Kozhikode plane crash: Experts doubt transparency in Air India Express flight mishap probe Once the engine is put into forward throttle position, the wing spoilers close automatically. The spoilers, which are opened fully when an aircraft touches the runway, are used to slow down the aircraft. "In the case of the aircraft that met with the accident, the cockpit throttle was in the forward position and, at the same time, the spoilers on the wings were partially open. Chances are there that rescue workers might have held on to various cockpit devices. But one can't change the position of cockpit throttle as it gets jammed in hydraulic pressure soon after the accident," said an Airports Authority of India official. Whether the impact of the crash led to the opening of the spoilers is another question. Only the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder (black box) retrieved from the accident site can answer these questions. The airport officials also confirmed that the cockpit throttle was in the forward position while the spoiler flaps were also partially opened. They also said the air traffic control department at the airport did not receive any emergency request or distress signal from the cockpit to lift the aircraft and go around. The New Indian Express had reported that the speed of the aircraft while approaching the runway was beyond the permissible speed limit of 120-140 knots. As many as 18 people, including two pilots, were killed when the Air India Express Boeing 737 carrying 191 passengers overshot the runway and plunged into a road 35 feet below the tabletop runway at the Kozhikode airport. (@FahadShabbir) The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Dutch interim charge d'affaires, Dominique Kuhling-Bakker, to express protest over the secret monitoring device in a work car of a Russian military attache, the ministry said Monday MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th August, 2020) The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Dutch interim charge d'affaires, Dominique Kuhling-Bakker, to express protest over the secret monitoring device in a work car of a Russian military attache, the ministry said Monday. "Strong protest was conveyed to the Netherlands because of a discovery of a spy equipment in a work car of the Russian military attache in the Netherlands," the ministry said. Police in northern Mexico are looking for two gunmen who assassinated the son of legendary drug lord Amado Carrillo. Julio Cesar 'El Cesarin' Carrillo was shot dead inside a home in the Sinaloa municipality of Novolato on Thursday. Carrillo's father was better known by his nickname, 'El Senor de los Cielos,' or Lord of the Skies, and worked alongside Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman in the now-defunct Guadalajara Cartel. Crime experts believe the murder was most likely orchestrated by El Chapo's children, known as Los Chapitos, according to local media outlets. Since El Chapo's extradition to the United States, the jailed kingpin's home state of Sinaloa has been exposed to a wave of attacks centered around drug turf battles. 'In recent years there has been a fight over the territory, especially with the sons of El Chapo who continue to have a dominance,' Mexican criminal organization expert Jose Gil Olmos told Telemundo. Julio Cesar 'El Cesarin' Carrillo was assassinated Thursday in Sinaloa, Mexico. Experts in Mexica organized crime believe Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's three sons, who operate under the monicker Los Chapitos, could have been behind Carrillo's death. Carrillo's deceased father, Amado 'Lord of the Skies' Carrillo was an associate of El Chapo Amado Carrillo Fuentes is considered one of Mexico's most notorious drug lords. He died July 4, 1997, while undergoing surgery to chance his physical appearance and avoid being arrested Mexican and United States authorities Medical examiner removes the body of Julio Cesar 'El Cesarin' Carrillo Julio Carrillo, 35, was known to have been a ranking leader in the New Juarez Cartel. Other criminal analysts linked him as a member of La Linea, a Ciudad Juarez-based street gang that serves as an enforcer for the organization. Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons, Ivan Archivaldo, Jesus Alfredo and Ovidio Guzman took over the Sinaloa Cartel after their father's extradition to the US last year. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency [DEA], Amado Carrillo owned a large aircraft fleet that was used to transport massive loads of drugs from Central and South America to Mexico before smuggling it across the border to the United States. At one point, the Lord of the Skies was responsible for half of the drug trafficking in Mexico when he assumed control of the syndicate in 1993 after the leader Rafael Aguilar was killed in Cancun. Julio Cesar 'El Cesarin' Carrillo (left) and Amado 'Lord of the Skies' Carrillo (right) Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's sons, Ivan Archivaldo (left) and Jesus Alfredo (right) head the Los Chapitos wing of the Sinaloa Cartel along with their brother, Ovidio Guzman Ovidio Guzman is one of El Chapo's three sons who has assumed control of the organization in his absence As U.S. and Mexican authorities zeroed on the Lord of Skies, the drug capo decided to undergo liposuction and facial surgery to change his appearance and evade capture, but died in the botched operation on July 4, 1997. After the death of the elder Carrillo, his brothers and some sons continued operating the Juarez Cartel, across from El Paso, Texas. For years, the Juarez Cartel became embroiled in a turf war with the rival Sinaloa Cartel, which had pushed into the state of Chihuahua. But in recent years, the Juarez Cartel's armed enforcement wing La Linea split off and began operating on its own. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 12:55:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- China's national observatory on Monday continued to issue an orange alert for rainstorms in several provinces and regions. From 2 p.m. Monday to 2 p.m. Tuesday, torrential rains and rainstorms are expected to lash parts of the Sichuan Basin, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Jilin, the National Meteorological Center said. The center warned that certain western areas of the Sichuan Basin will experience downpours. According to the forecast, some regions are likely to see over 70 mm of hourly precipitation, accompanied by thunderstorms and strong winds. The center advised local authorities to stay vigilant for possible flooding, landslides and mudslides, and suggested halting outdoor activities in disaster-prone areas. China has a four-tier, color-coded weather warning system, with red representing the most severe, followed by orange, yellow, and blue. Enditem WATERLOO REGION Four in five students plan to return to school in-person, according to early back-to-school survey results from the Catholic and public school boards. Both the Waterloo Catholic District School Board and the Waterloo Region District School Board asked parents to fill out surveys indicating if their children would attend school in person or learn remotely when classes resume on Sept. 8. The Catholic board asked parents to make their intention known early last week and the public board pushed its deadline to late last week. At least 80 per cent of all Catholic students intend to return to class in person, with 11 per cent saying they prefer to learn remotely, director of education Loretta Notten said Monday. The board is still waiting to hear from about nine per cent of its 24,000 students. The public board says 83 per cent of elementary students and 89 per cent of secondary students expect to attend school in person in September, according to survey responses received by Aug. 14. The public board collected more than 62,000 responses from its back-to-school survey the board has about 65,000 students. We want to assure parents that we are ready to welcome all students back to learning this fall, Notten said. We hope to see our students face to face, but we know we can also provide quality education through our remote option. The public board is presenting preliminary back-to-school survey results to school board trustees Monday evening. The public board also surveyed more than 6,000 staff members. Of those, 94 per cent of school staff and 86 per cent of board office staff plan to return in person. The boards are both working on getting responses from remaining caregivers and parents. We do need to hear from all parents, as there is planning that still has to occur, and in order for each and every student and family to know we have a fully thoughtful and safe learning environment, said Notten. Malaysias last rhinoceros, Iman, died last November. Some skin, eggs and tissue are all that remain of her. Now, scientists plan to use experimental technology to try to bring back Malaysias rhinos by using cells from Iman and two other dead rhinos. Muhammad Lokman Md Isa is a biologist at the International Islamic University of Malaysia. He said, If everything...works well and everybody supports us, its not impossible. Malaysias rhinos were a kind of Sumatran rhinoceros, the smallest among the worlds rhinos. These rhinos once lived across Asia. But hunting and forest losses reduced their numbers. There are about 80 such rhinos left in Indonesia. But, in Malaysia, the species disappeared from the wild in 2015. Iman was 25 when she died at her home in a protected natural area on Borneo island. Tam, the countrys last male rhino, died there in May of 2019. Efforts to get the two to mate and produce young had failed. John Payne of the Borneo Rhino Alliance has worked to save Malaysias rhinos for about 40 years. He said that Tam was likely too old to produce good sperm. To increase the chances of success, one should get sperm and eggs from the rhinos in Indonesia, he said. But, Payne said Indonesia is not supportive of the idea. Indonesias environment ministry says talks continue on ways to work with conservationists in the neighboring Malaysia. The Malaysian scientists plan to use cells from the dead rhinos to create an embryo. The embryo will then be placed into a living rhino, or a closely related animal, such as the horse. The plan is similar to one for the African northern white rhinoceros, of which there are only just two left. 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. Even if it worked, the animals lack of diversity could create a threat to their long-term survival, Galli told Reuters. Indonesian scientist Arief Boediono is among those helping in Malaysia. Arief hopes that success there will help his countrys rhinos. It may take five, 10, 20 years, I dont know, Arief said. 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 even organs with embryonic stem cells from rats and mice. The end goal of that research is to create replacement organs for humans who need them. For now, however, Imans skin will be used to create a reproduction of the animal. It will be placed alongside a reproduction of Tam in a Borneo museum. I'm John Russell. Joseph Sipalan reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. _____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story biologist n. a scientist who studies the life processes of animals, plants etc. species n. a particular group of living things that belong together or have some shared quality sperm n. a cell that is produced by the male sexual organs and that combines with the female's egg in reproduction stem cell n. a simple cell in the body that is able to develop into any one of various kinds of cells (such as blood cells, skin cells, etc.) diversity n. the condition of having or being composed of differing elements museum n. a building in which interesting and valuable things (such as paintings and sculptures or scientific or historical objects) are collected and shown to the public Elevated smog levels have prompted authorities to issue an air quality advisory for the Portland and Vancouver metro areas. Oregon and southwest Washington agencies expect ozone pollution to hit levels Monday afternoon that could be unhealthy for people including children, pregnant women, seniors and those with heart disease or respiratory conditions. Authorities recommend people in sensitive groups limit outdoor activity when pollution levels are elevated. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality also urges people to limit pollution-causing activities such as unnecessary engine idling and mowing grass during the advisory, which is expected to last until Tuesday morning. Smog is on the increase, and an air quality advisory has been posted by the Oregon Dept of Environmental Quality and Southwest Clean Air Agency. Conditions should improve starting Tuesday. https://t.co/mjr8rfYAtr https://t.co/vKxQNI6d0g#orwx #wawx #pdxtst #airquality pic.twitter.com/6QWdLGD5Hx NWS Portland (@NWSPortland) August 17, 2020 Smog levels should become better overnight and through the remainder of the week, according to the agency. Oregon and Washington residents can monitor air quality where they live using interactive online maps. -- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015 Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. A major U-turn was carried out on the exam school grades fiasco this afternoon as ministers agreed to issue teacher assessments for A-Levels, GCSEs and AS Levels. In a huge embarrassment for ministers and officials alike, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and exam regulator Ofqual conceded that the controversial algorithm behind the downgrading shambles must be dumped. It marked a victory for pupil power after a weekend of demos by school students outraged at seeing their results or those of their friends slashed by two or more grades in some cases. Massive pressure from Tory MPs came on top of anger from parents and teachers who were aghast at what appeared to some to be a system that favoured private schools and worked against talented kids in less advantaged schools. Students who were awarded a higher grade by the moderation process will be allowed to keep it, but for many pupils, their teachers' predictions could see their grades increased. In a contrite statement, Mr Williamson apologised for the distress caused by the handling of the process. The Education Secretary said: "This has been an extraordinarily difficult year for young people who were unable to take their exams. "We worked with Ofqual to construct the fairest possible model, but it is clear that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process. "We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher assessed grades for both A and AS level and GCSE results. "I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve." Roger Taylor, the chair of Ofqual, said: We understand this has been a distressing time for students, who were awarded exam results last week for exams they never took. The pandemic has created circumstances no one could have ever imagined or wished for. We want to now take steps to remove as much stress and uncertainty for young people as possible - and to free up heads and teachers to work towards the important task of getting all schools open in two weeks. He went on: After reflection, we have decided that the best way to do this is to award grades on the basis of what teachers submitted. The switch to centre assessment grades will apply to both AS and A levels and to the GCSE results which students will receive later this week. The screeching U-turn left a reek of burning rubber on the Whitehall tarmac and cast a cloud over the future of Mr Williamson. A Cabinet reshuffle is widely tipped for the autumn that MPs think could see him leave the post. Mr Taylor went on: There was no easy solution to the problem of awarding exam results when no exams have taken place. Ofqual was asked by the Secretary of State to develop a system for awarding calculated grades, which maintained standards and ensured that grades were awarded broadly in line with previous years. Our goal has always been to protect the trust that the public rightly has in educational qualifications. But we recognise that while the approach we adopted attempted to achieve these goals we also appreciate that it has also caused real anguish and damaged public confidence. Expecting schools to submit appeals where grades were incorrect placed a burden on teachers when they need to be preparing for the new term and has created uncertainty and anxiety for students. For all of that, we are extremely sorry. We have therefore decided that students be awarded their centre assessment for this summer - that is, the grade their school or college estimated was the grade they would most likely have achieved in their exam - or the moderated grade, whichever is higher. The path forward we now plan to implement will provide urgent clarity. We are already working with the Department for Education, universities and everyone else affected by this issue. Labour leader Keir Starmer called it a screeching U-turn that smacked of incompetence. He said: The Government has had months to sort out exams and has now been forced into a screeching U-turn after days of confusion. This is a victory for the thousands of young people who have powerfully made their voices heard this past week. However, the Tories handling of this situation has been a complete fiasco. Incompetence has become this Governments watchword, whether that is on schools, testing or care homes. Boris Johnsons failure to lead is holding Britain back. As recently as Saturday, Mr Williamson vowed that there would be "No u-turn. No change." Mr Johnson had said the system of grading was robust. But their hand was forced by an outcry that saw two ministers, Penny Mordaunt and Johnny Mercer, break branks this morning by signalling their unease along with over a dozen Conservative backbenchers. This morning Mr Johnson interrupted his holiday in Scotland to hold a meeting by phone with Mr Williamson and other ministers plus senior officials and the decision to row back was taken. However, there were fears that the decision would lead to chaos with university admissions, with some universities saying they were already full up. That suggested some youngsters who now have the grades they needed could be deprived of a place. David Seaton, assistant director of admissions and recruitment at the University of Bedfordshire, urged institutions to be as flexible as possible. Loading.... Collectively, higher education institutions need to recognise the great pressure on school leavers at this time and adapt our admissions policy accordingly, he said. A number of universities have already taken steps in this direction which includes placing greater weight on personal statements and refer-ences. At the University of Bedfordshire, we have since announced that we will allow students to use their teacher predicted grades and mock exam results." Gunmen kidnapped two people in Ondo State on Saturday, the police and a relative of one of the victims said. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the incident occurred along Ikun-Oba Akoko Road at Akoko South West Local Government Area of the state. The victims were said to be coming from Ikun Akoko, where they participated in the 2020 Ikun Day. A relative who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES disclosed that the abductors whisked away Surajudeen Alao and one other whose name could not be ascertained. My brother was abducted alongside the person in his car. We heard they were driven to an unknown forest and we are yet to get any link, the source said asking not to be named in this report. When asked if the kidnappers had reached out for ransom, he simply said No. When contacted, the states police spokesperson, Tee-Leo Ikoro, told our correspondent that the force had been briefed and efforts are ongoing to rescue the victims. The incident occurred days after the Governor of the State, Rotimi Akeredolu, launched Operation Amotekun, a southwest community police formed to tackle insecurity. Kidnapping for ransom has become rife in many parts of Nigeria despite the efforts of security agencies. Insurance claims toward the massive explosion at the Port of Beirut have so far reached $425 million, according to a minister. Caretaker Economy Minister Raoul Nehme said 2,500 claims have been filed, according to the presidencys Twitter account. The ministry expects claims to reach 10,000. Nehme met Lebanons president along with a delegation from insurance companies. Photograph: A deadly explosion on Aug. 4, 2020 destroyed residential apartment blocks near the Port of Beirut in Lebanon. This photo was taken on Thursday, Aug. 6. Photo credit: Hasan Shaaban/Bloomberg. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Claims DGAP-News: Corestate Capital Holding S.A. / Key word(s): Real Estate The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Corestate converts its entire 17 billion portfolio in Germany to green electricity and thus extends its pioneering role in real estate ESG strategy Frankfurt/Main, August 17, 2020. Corestate Capital Holding S.A. (Corestate), a leading independent real estate investment manager in Europe, will be converting its entire 17 billion portfolio managed in Germany to green electricity over the next few months. The company recently switched completely to green energy in the commercial real estate asset class ( 3.5 billion AuM) and has digitalized its entire metering point operations. This will save 104,000 tons of CO2 already by the end of 2024. Lars Schnidrig, CEO of Corestate Capital Group: "Corestate made a commitment very early on to define quantifiable ESG objectives and to be measured by the results. The conversion of our portfolio to a CO2-neutral energy supply in conjunction with digital access to real-time data represents an important step with which we are further expanding our pioneering ESG role and making a positive contribution." Corestate will publish its new fully digitalized ESG report on August 24, 2020. The report will detail the implementation of the overall strategy, as well as concrete measures and new environmental, social and governance objectives across the Group. Corestate thus comprehensively anticipates the increasing importance of ecological and social factors in real estate asset management. Both on the part of regulators and investors, the quantitative recording of sustainability factors and the ecological footprint is increasingly becoming the focus of investments. As part of the operational implementation, the operating costs company Westbridge Advisory GmbH was commissioned to restructure and sustainably optimize Corestate's German real estate portfolio. The portfolio can now be monitored continuously across the board and in real time, and optimization options can be effectively implemented. Stadtwerke Dusseldorf has been commissioned to supply the properties in the commercial portfolio. Press Contact Jorge Person T: +49 69 3535630-136 / M: +49 162 2632369 jorge.person@corestate-capital.com IR Contact Mario Gro T: +49 69 3535630-106 / M: +49 162 1036025 ir@corestate-capital.com About CORESTATE Capital Holding S.A. CORESTATE Capital Holding S.A. (CORESTATE) is an investment manager and co-investor with more than EUR 28 billion in assets under management. As a fully integrated real estate platform, CORESTATE offers its clients combined expertise in the areas of investment and fund management as well as real estate management services. The company operates as a respected business partner of institutional clients and wealthy private investors internationally. CORESTATE is headquartered in Luxembourg and has 42 offices, e.g. in Frankfurt, London, Paris, Madrid, Zurich and Amsterdam. The company employs around 800 people and is listed in the Prime Standard (SDAX) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Further information may be found at www.corestate-capital.com. Forward-looking statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by our management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of our company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in our public reports, which are available on our website at www.corestate-capital.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. 17.08.2020 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de 224 Shares Share Much of the conversation around voting in the primaries and general election has focused on the safety and feasibility of mail-in voting, yet we must also protect the millions of Americans who vote in-person during these elections. While we encourage people to vote by mail in the general election, we expect that millions of Americans will vote in-person. Helping these people do so as safely as possible is a pertinent public health issue and one in which health care students and professionals can play a vital role by working at polls on election day. Analysis of the primary elections suggests that having an adequate number of safely-run polling locations will protect the health of citizens and communities during the general election. Research from the Wisconsin primary found that more COVID-19 cases occurred in regions that had the highest number of voters per polling location. One of the causes of increased voter turnout at a given polling location is the closure of nearby polling locations. For example, only twenty polling locations were open during the primary in Washington DC, which normally has 143 polling locations. There were five polling locations in Milwaukee during the Wisconsin primary instead of the usual 180. A key reason for the closure of polling locations is that many elderly poll workers 58 percent of whom are over 61 decided to protect their health rather than work. The net effect of consolidating polling locations is a decrease in overall voter turnout and an increase in voter turnout at the remaining polling locations, which makes adhering to social distancing policies and hygienic practices more challenging. Rather than ask elderly poll workers to risk their health on election day, medical professionals and students can volunteer to work at polling locations. Health care professionals and students tend to be in a lower-risk population and are also well-versed in the public health practices critical to safely conducting an election during the pandemic. Even a modest volunteer effort among students and professionals could have a sizable impact on the safety and feasibility of in-person voting on election day. If only five students from every medical school in the country worked at a polling location, then we would add nearly 1,000 polling workers. And if a comparable number of nursing students from every nursing school also volunteered, then the total number would be nearly 10,000. Given that there were more than 200,000 polling locations and 600,000 poll workers in the 2018 general election, adding 10,000 poll workers might prevent hundreds or thousands of polling locations from closing. Additionally, poll closures seem to have often disproportionately affected communities of color and low-income communities, and thus preventing closures protects the rights of disenfranchised communities. As health care workers, our care for our patients extends beyond the walls of the hospital and the clinic and into the everyday, whether its encouraging patients to use seatbelts or to wear bike helmets. When it comes to voting in the upcoming general election, the logic is no different: as poll workers, we can use our medical expertise and health to help our patients and communities be as safe as possible when we exercise our constitutional right to vote. Lets rise to the occasion on Election Day to protect our patients and the integrity of our democracy. Rob Palmer, Isaac Freedman, and Josh Hyman are medical students. They are affiliated with Med Out the Vote. Image credit: Shutterstock.com T hree more people have died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the official death toll to 41,369. Separate figures published by the UKs statistics agencies show there have been 56,800 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate. The Government also said that as of 9am on Monday, there had been a further 713 lab-confirmed cases of the coronavirus. Overall, a total of 319,197 cases have been confirmed Earlier it was reported that two further people had died with Covid-19 in English hospitals, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland reporting no new deaths on Monday. It brings the total number of confirmed reported deaths in the country's hospitals to 29,460, according to NHS England. The patients were aged 81 and 86, and both had known underlying health conditions. No deaths were reported with no positive Covid-19 test result. 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 Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reported 26 new coronavirus infections on Monday, while Public Health Wales said 14 more people had tested positive for the virus since the last update. The figures announced by regional authorities differ from the Government numbers given later in the day, because they only include deaths in hospitals. UK hospital staff / AP It comes as travel experts warned that Croatia could become the latest popular holiday destination to be added to the coronavirus quarantine list, as cases in the country rose above the UK Government's benchmark. Croatia has passed the threshold of 20 infections per 100,000 people in a seven-day period, at 21.5, recording 162 new infections on Sunday alone. It has seen 6,571 Covid-19 cases and 166 deaths so far. The news could leave around 20,000 British tourists potentially scrambling to get home. Travel expert Paul Charles, of the PC Agency, tweeted that Croatia was "not looking too healthy'" and shared data that suggested Croatia was behind Spain and France in terms of new cases over a seven-day period. A hospital worker in the UK / AP "Many people have been asking where they can go for a late summer holiday" he tweeted. "Having crunched the data, Id recommend Italy and Turkey before the end of August. Loading.... "Greece will not be added to the quarantine list this week but Croatia is not looking too healthy." Nicolas Ransonnette (1745-1810). Dessinateur (illustrator) - Bibliotheque nationale de France In 1188 Stephen, the abbot of the monastery of St Genevieve in Paris, who would become bishop of Tournai, wrote a series of letters to members of the royal family and church leaders in Denmark. He gave news of events at his monastery and attempted to calm frazzled tempers concerning rumours about the homosexuality of Peter Sunesen, a chaplain of the archbishop of Lund, who was later to become chancellor to the Danish king. He also presented a remarkable demand. Needing money to pay for the restoration of the monastery, he demanded reparations from the Danes for the destruction of his church and the enslavement of numerous Frenchmen during Viking raids on Paris more than three centuries earlier. Both the attack on the church and the enslavement and slaughter of French subjects are attested to in the contemporary annals of St Bertin. In the letters, which were to be read out in front of their recipients by his chaplain, Geoffrey, Stephen may have been the first European legal scholar to attempt to claim reparations for enslavement and war crimes. While he did not claim that the Danish king, Canute VI, was a direct descendent of these particular Viking raiders, he noted that Canute and his family had certainly profited from the raids of their Viking forebears. Stephen was careful to praise Canutes benevolence towards the church and emphasised the efforts of the Danish king to preserve its freedoms. But he also referred to the extensive and powerful might found in the realm of the Danes by whose virtue your ancestors who until then laboured in pagan error, attacked Gaul with powerful arms and their full force. Coin showing head of Danish king Canute VI. Stephen suggested that Canute might want to make reparation for these crimes by putting pressure on the powerful White clan, who had fostered Canutes father as a teen and whose members included Absalon, the current archbishop of Lund, and the two brothers Peter and Andrew Sunesen, who later became kings chancellor and archbishop of Lund respectively. He wanted them to hand over the inheritance of one of their number who had joined the monastery of St Genevieve but had died before his inheritance had been transferred to the monastery. Story continues It is clear from the letters that Stephen was aware that he was treading on thin ice in raising the issue of reparations for Viking misdeeds. In his instruction to his chaplain Geoffrey, who delivered the letters, he suggested that the letters be read in a light manner and must not produce anger but appeal to compassion. But he didnt pull any punches when describing the horrors of the Viking raids and how the invaders had destroyed French buildings and tortured and enslaved their inhabitants. The letter to Absalon, for example, describes how the Vikings: harried landscapes, villages and fields. Some people they took away as booty and into captivity, others they pierced with the points of their swords. They razed holy foundations to the ground with fire and destruction. The impact of these actions was still felt three centuries later. As Stephen pointed out, the attack on his own monastery of St Genevieve had left the walls of our church damaged and destroyed by fire, and because of their great age and fragility threaten to collapse. They sigh to be strengthened by buttresses and be covered by a roof. Legal and moral Stephen of Tournai was a leading scholar in church law. He taught law in Paris and wrote one of the first commentaries on the groundbreaking Harmony of Discordant Canons (circa 1140) attributed to the Bolognese teacher of canon law, Gratian. Yet Stephen did not frame his argument in legal terms. Putting pressure on the Sunesens to send money to the monastery was the right and moral thing for the Danish king and church leadership to do, he argued. Since the Viking raiders were of course dead and buried, it was up to their heirs to make sure that reparation was made and that the walls of St Genevieve were repaired and strengthened to ensure that they once again provided a fitting and safe place to worship God and to venerate St Genevieves relics. Never paid The question of reparations for enslavement is of course a live one. No reparations have ever been paid to former slaves or the descendants of those involved in the Atlantic slave trade. The only reparations paid under the UKs Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 were to British slave owners to compensate for their losses. In 2006, the then UK prime minister, Tony Blair, expressed regret and deep sorrow over Britains involvement in the Atlantic slave trade although MP Oona King noted that he stopped short of a full apology mainly because it leaves the state open to claims for reparations. The recent toppling of the statue of slave owner Edward Colston in Bristol and the Black Lives Matter protests have once again raised uncomfortable questions about the UKs role in the slave trade. In July 2020 the Caribbean Community (Caricom) repeated its demands for reparations for native genocide and African enslavement from 10 European nations, including Denmark and the UK. Read more: Edward Colston statue toppled: how Bristol came to see the slave trader as a hero and philanthropist The issues relating to reparations for the Atlantic slave trade will continue to be debated in the US and Europe. As far as reparations for the crimes of the Vikings were concerned, Stephen of Tournai sent letters to, among others, Canute VI of Denmark, Bishop Valdemar of Schleswig, Absalon, archbishop of Lund, and Peter Sunesen a canon of Lund and a former student of Stephen. But he received no replies and no reparations were ever paid. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The Conversation Frederik Pedersen has received funding from Carlsbergfondet in Denmark. A judge has accused Stormonts Deputy First Minister of ignoring the rule of law by delaying a compensation scheme for Troubles victims. Mr Justice McAlinden said Michelle ONeills stance in not nominating a Stormont department to administer the scheme a requirement set out in legislation passed at Westminster is fundamentally inappropriate. He said the case involved an attempt to subvert the rule of law for political ends. The judge said anyone in a ministerial post who was not prepared to comply with the rule of law shouldnt be there. The judge said Michelle ONeill is ignoring the rule of law for political advantage (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Justice McAlinden said if a minister had a difficulty complying with legislative requirements they had an option. The option is to resign your office, he added. The payment scheme is in limbo due to a dispute between Sinn Fein and the Government over eligibility criteria that are set to exclude anyone convicted of inflicting serious harm during the Troubles from accessing the support payments. Sinn Fein claims the scheme would be discriminatory and potentially exclude thousands of people from the republican community. In a separate row, the Stormont administration and the UK Government have been at odds over who should pay for the scheme. The judge expressed his initial view at the outset of a joint legal challenge brought by Jennifer McNern, who lost both legs in a Troubles bombing, and Brian Turley, one of the hooded men who were arrested and interrogated by the British Army in 1971. They are challenging the Executive Offices failure to introduce the scheme, which would see victims paid up to 10,000 a year depending on the severity of their injury. It should have been open to applications at the end of May. The court heard that DUP First Minister Arlene Foster had confirmed she was prepared to comply with the regulations made by the Government, having initially objected over the funding issue. Story continues Having sought confirmation from Ms McNerns lawyer that Ms ONeill was now the only one refusing to comply with the legislation, Mr Justice McAlinden said: I see it as one element within the Executive Office deliberately choosing to ignore the requirement to comply with the rule of law to express a political advantage. That is a fundamentally inappropriate stance to take and it is a stance that this court will have no hesitation in describing in the bluntest terms and in requiring a remedy to be provided in the shortest time frame. Having read the arguments put forward by the applicants legal teams and the Executive Office, Mr Justice McAlinden said his initial view of the issue was unlikely to change as a result of hearing the case in full. He adjourned the judicial review hearing for a short period on Monday morning and asked the legal parties to discuss whether they wished to proceed. Jennifer McNern, centre, and a number of other Troubles victims associated with the Wave Trauma centre outside Belfast High Court on Monday morning (Liam McBurney/PA) When the court returned, a lawyer representing the Executive Office said attempts were being made to contact ministers to seek instructions on the case. The hearing then proceeded, after the judge asked court officials to prepare an audio disc of his comments to be prepared for distribution to all parties. Mr Justice McAlinden said there had been a significant and unjustifiable delay in setting up the scheme. That delay cannot be allowed to continue, he added. He said victims had suffered for long enough without their suffering being appropriately recognised by our society. Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis is a secondary respondent in the challenge case. However, the judge said he believed Mr Lewis had done all he could have been expected to do in relation to the scheme. Ms McNern suffered life-changing injuries in a bomb attack blamed on the IRA at the packed Abercorn Restaurant in Belfast on a busy weekend shopping day in 1972. The applicants barrister Danny Friedman QC told the judge that ministers should not be able to disobey the law. The Executive is duty bound to comply with the law, it cannot engage in political disobedience and, as my lord says, that is why the rule of law is so fundamentally at stake in the dispute now before you, he said. The judge said ministers did not have the right to ignore or stymie clear legislative provisions. The message by doing so is a message undermining the rule of law, he said. In a post-conflict society, one thing that every politician should be striving to do is to support the rule of law not to pick and choose which laws to accept, which laws to adhere to and which laws to ignore. Those are fundamental issues for our society and the politicians better get that message, and that message will be delivered by this court. Mr Friedman suggested there was a duty on politicians in the region to grow up. Brian Turley, one of the hooded men, is a co-applicant in the challenge (Brian Lawless/PA) Mr Turleys barrister Barry McDonald QC said a major point of constitutional importance was at stake in the case, one that affected the governance of Northern Ireland. He highlighted that the ministerial code of conduct at Stormont required ministers to respect the rule of law. What this case demonstrated is that at the very highest level of government, ministers in the devolved administration think that if the law is not to their liking in any particular respect they can choose to ignore or even defy it, said Mr McDonald. In this case, both the First Minister and Deputy First Minister refused to comply with the legal regulations. We know the First Minister on the ground initially that the scheme should be funded by Westminster. And the Deputy First Minister on that ground, as well as on the ground that she didnt agree with the terms of the scheme. We know the First Minister is now prepared to comply but the Deputy First Minister isnt. Mrs Foster did not escape criticism during the hearing, as the judge challenged a suggestion made in the Executive Offices joint submission that it was entitled not to comply with the regulations while the matter remained an issue of political dispute. He said both ministers had demonstrated a fundamental lack of awareness of the requirement to abide by the law. On the suggestion that Mrs Foster and Ms ONeill believe the issue is not a matter for court intervention, Mr McDonald added: Ministers, in our respectful submission, need to be disabused of that dangerous and wholly unconstitutional notion. Ahead of Mondays hearing, Ms McNern said: All we ever wanted was to be treated with respect and dignity and not be left as the part of the forgotten legacy of the Troubles. When the legislation was passed at Westminster, we thought we had achieved that. But the refusal by the Executive Office to implement the legislation is devastating. A sex worker charged over the death of a married businessman went missing from the NSW central coast less than a year before her dramatic arrest in north Queensland - 2,000 kilometres away. Madeleine Joan Lewin, 32, was allegedly with Brisbane businessman Anthony Brady, 52, in a room at the Sunshine Tower Hotel when he died last Wednesday, August 12. Mr Brady had been in Cairns on a business trip but failed to catch a return flight home on Thursday, leading his family to raise the alarm. Hotel staff and police discovered his body about 4pm on Friday, with Lewin arrested on Sunday morning. Lewin was on parole at the time of the arrest, a court heard on Monday. Sex worker Madeleine Joan Lewin (pictured in 2019, left, and 2020, right), 32, was on parole at the time Anthony Brady, 52, was killed in a Cairns hotel room last week. Lewin was charged with manslaughter over his death One of the final moments of Mr Brady's life came at a Caltex service station on Wednesday, 12 August. CCTV footage captured him buying multiple items before heading back to Sunshine Tower Hotel where he was found dead on Friday Lewin briefly faced Cairns Magistrates Court for the first time on Monday, where her history was mentioned The Cairns Post reported. Originally from Gladesville on Sydney's lower north shore, Lewin was known to move throughout the central coast and far north Queensland. Lewin was reported missing in mid-2019, with NSW police releasing a picture of her with long hair. Queensland police allege that Lewin and Mr Brady met on Wednesday night and that sometime between then and Friday he was killed. CCTV footage from a Caltex petrol station shows him buying items before returning to his hotel. Exactly what happened next remains unclear, however when he did not arrive home in Brisbane the next day his family raised the alarm. It led Queensland Police officers to comb through drains and shrubs close to where he was last sighted. Lewin was arrested on Sunday morning at Manoora, a suburb of Cairns, and fronted Cairns Magistrates Court on Monday. She had previously been named only as a person of interest on Saturday, with police releasing images of her as part of a public information campaign. Queensland Police released CCTV footage of Lewin on Saturday a day before they arrested her and charged her with manslaughter Mr Brady's cousin Ian said on Facebook he hopes those responsible can be 'quickly brought to justice' Police and hotel staff found Mr Brady's body in a room at the Sunshine Tower Hotel (pictured) about 4pm on Friday, August 14. His family had reported him missing after he failed to catch a flight home or attend business meetings as intended on Thursday Mr Brady had been staying at the Cairns Plaza Hotel on the city's esplanade, close to 650 metres away from the Sunshine Tower Hotel where his body was discovered. TIMELINE OF MYSTERY - THE DEATH OF TONY BRADY: Monday, August 10 - Anthony Brady, 52, arrives in Cairns from Brisbane for a series of key work meetings Wednesday, August 12 - Mr Brady attends business meetings during the day. - About 9pm that night he is seen at a service station on Sheridan Street in Cairns Thursday, August 13 - Mr Brady is due to attend a number of business meetings and then fly home to Brisbane, but he does not attend his meetings and misses his flight - Late on Thursday evening his family raise the alarm Friday, August 14 - Police and hotel staff find Mr Brady's body in a Sunshine Tower Hotel room. He was staying at a different hotel 650 metres away Saturday, August 15 - Police issue an appeal of help to find Mr Brady and identify one key woman of interest, Madeleine Joan Lewin, 32 Sunday, August 16 - Ms Lewin is arrested in Cairns and is charged with manslaughter Advertisement Cairns Police Detective Senior Sergeant Ed Kinbacher told media that Mr Brady was a 'family man' and that his death had shocked his loved ones. 'He was last seen on Wednesday night. We have managed to track his movements to about 9pm that night where he was on Sheridan Street,' Det Snr Sgt Kinbacher said. 'It appears that he was just going about his business inside the service station, he has obtained some items and then left. 'This man is a person of regular habits, he is a family man, he had flights back to south Queensland the following day and he didn't attend the flight, not did he attend the business arrangements he had the following day. 'My understanding is this is only the second time he had been in Cairns on business, and that was in the last few months. He'd attended functions in the days prior to his disappearance.' Mr Brady's cousin Ian Brady posted on Facebook that he hopes those responsible for 'taking his life away' are brought to justice. 'Unfortunately Tonys body was found yesterday,' he wrote. 'We dont have much more information yet, hopefully the investigation will quickly bring justice to those responsible for taking his life away.' Detectives from State Crime Command's Homicide Squad have travelled to Cairns to assist with the investigation. Acting Detective Inspector Jason Smith said a post-mortem examination was being carried out that would 'reveal more information to police' about the death. 'The circumstances of the death appear suspicious at this stage, however we're keeping an open mind. 'We currently have four homicide investigation officers here in Cairns assisting with the investigation,' he said. Queensland Police believe a number of people could have seen Mr Brady on the streets of Cairns on the night he was last seen. Anyone with information regarding Mr Brady's death have been urged to call Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. Arecibo Observatory data help lead to discovery of cosmic 'heartbeat' ORLANDO, Aug. 17, 2020 - An international team of researchers using data from Arecibo Observatory and the Fermi Space Telescope have discovered what they call a "gamma-ray heartbeat" coming from a cosmic gas cloud. The cloud is in the constellation Aquilla and "beats" in rhythm with a black hole 100 light years away in a microquasar system known as SS 433. The results were published today in the journal Nature Astronomy. "This result challenges obvious interpretations and is unexpected from previously published theoretical models," says Jian Li, a Humboldt Fellow with the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Zeuthen, Germany, and study co-author. "It provides us with a chance to unveil the particle transport from SS 433 and to probe the structure of the magnetic field in its vicinity." In the SS 433 system, a black hole orbits a giant star, 30 times the mass of Earth's sun. The black hole sucks matter from the giant star while orbiting it, forming a swirling accretion disc that drains into the black hole, like water into a bathtub drain. Some of the matter doesn't fall into the hole though, but rather jets out in high speed spirals from the disc's center in both directions, top and bottom, like pegs on a wheel. The researchers made the discovery by analyzing more than a decade of data from NASA's Fermi Large Area Space Telescope and from Galactic ALFA HI survey data collected with the Arecibo Observatory's 1,000-foot-wide radio telescope. The observatory was recently damaged and is currently offline, but scientists continue to have access to data previously collected. Engineers are assessing what caused a cable to break and plans for repairs. The researchers found that the precession, or wobble, of the black hole's jets matched with a gamma-ray signal emitted from a gas cloud. The researchers have labeled the position in the gas cloud Fermi J1913+0515. The position was revealed using Arecibo Observatory's telescope, and Fermi provided data about the SS 433 system. "The consistent periods indicate the gas cloud's emission is powered by the micro quasar," Li says. Scientists still do not fully know how the jets overcome the black hole's pull and are emitted from the disc, and the current study presents a new question - How does the black hole power the gas cloud's heartbeat? The study's researchers say further observations and theoretical work are needed, but one suggestion is that the cloud's gamma-ray emissions are caused by the injection of the nuclei of hydrogen atoms, known as fast protons, that are produced at the end of the jets, or near the black hole. "SS 433 continues to amaze observers at all frequencies and theoreticians alike," Li says. "And it is certain to provide a testbed for our ideas on cosmic-ray production and propagation near microquasars for years to come." Study co-authors also included Diego Torres with the Institute of Space Sciences, Barcelona, Spain, the Institucio Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avancats in Barcelona, and the Institut d'Estudis Espacials de Catalunya in Barcelona; Ruo-Yu Liu with the School of Astronomy and Space Science, at Nanjing University in China and the Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics at Nanjing University, Ministry of Education, in China; Matthew Kerr with the Space Science Division of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.; Emma de Ona Wilhelmi with Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Zeuthen, Germany, and the Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona, Spain; and Yang Su with Purple Mountain Observatory and Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy in the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Nanjing, China. UCF manages the National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory under a cooperative agreement with Universidad Ana G. Mendez and Yang Enterprises Inc. The facility, which is home to one of the most powerful telescopes on the planet, is used by scientists around the world to conduct research in the areas of atmospheric sciences, space weather research, planetary sciences, radio astronomy and radar astronomy. ### Arecibo is also home to a team that runs the Planetary Radar Project supported by NASA's Near-Earth Object Observations Program in NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office through a grant awarded to UCF. Funding for the research came from NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique/Institut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des Particules in France; the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana and the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare in Italy; the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Japan and the K. A. Wallenberg Foundation, the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish National Space Board in Sweden. Additional support for science analysis was from the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Italy and the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales in France. The work was performed in part under DOE Contract Number DE-AC02-76SF00515 and from support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the National Natural Science Foundation of China via grant numbers NSFC-11673013 and NSFC-11733009 and by grant numbers PGC2018-095512-B-I00, SGR2017-1383 and AYA2017-92402-EXP. SCIENCE CONTACT: Jian Li, DESY, +49 33762 7-7268, jian.li@desy.de CONTACT: Robert H. Wells, University of Central Florida Office of Research, robert.wells@ucf.edu This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Alnea Farahbella, left, and husband Arno Nabos, who own the small apparel factory Nana Atelier in Los Angeles, support SB 1399, a bill that would ban piece-rate compensation and make retailers jointly liable for any labor violations in the making of their clothes. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) The prices are hard to believe: $24.99 for an on-trend dress, delivered to your door; $9.99 for a silky camisole hanging from the rack at a discount chain. But someone has to pay the real cost of those cheap clothes even if it's not the American consumer, say labor advocates who point to the thousands of immigrant workers who can sometimes toil for far less than the minimum wage in small Los Angeles apparel factories. Now, those advocates are proposing the industry's biggest reforms in a generation, legislation that would turn the traditional pay structure on its head while holding online shops such as Fashion Nova and other retailers including Nordstrom responsible for any wage theft that occurs in the making of their apparel. "If your clothes are being produced in an unlawful condition, you are going to share responsibility, period," said Dana Hadl, a directing attorney at Bet Tzedek, a Los Angeles nonprofit that provides free legal counsel to workers and drafted the legislation. The bill, SB 1399, is so far-reaching that it's being labeled by critics as an existential threat to what remains of the region's once-booming apparel industry, which has shrunk to roughly 45,000 workers after decades of competition from cheap foreign labor. More than a dozen business groups have lined up against it, including the industry's trade association, the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Retailers Assn. Opposition, though, is not uniform as some high-profile L.A.-area companies are backing the bill, including Reformation , which markets eco-friendly women's wear and has a celebrity clientele, and Fashion Nova, the popular fast-fashion retailer, which has been accused of turning a blind eye to wage theft but recently announced changes to its contracting practices. Critics say SB 1399 is an existential threat to what remains of the region's once booming apparel industry, which has shrunk to roughly 45,000 workers from a peak of about 150,000. (Claire Hannah Collins / Los Angeles Times) The proposed reforms follow those enacted in 1999, four years after 72 undocumented Thai workers were found virtually enslaved in an El Monte apartment complex, stitching together clothing behind barbed wire. That legislation made garment manufacturers liable for wage violations by the contractors who cut, sew and otherwise produce their garments. Story continues But in the decades since, worker advocates say that some fashion brands and retailers that carry their own clothing lines have found ways to skirt the law by employing layers of subcontracting between them and the small factories that actually produce apparel. Random inspections of 77 garment shops conducted in 2015 and 2016 by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found wage violations at 85% of them. Advocates say the situation hasn't gotten any better, with many undocumented Latino immigrants afraid to file wage claims over fears of deportation. A 2016 state law, which applied to multiple fields, tightened up regulations on piece-rate compensation, which is traditional in the apparel industry and pays workers for every hem, seam and cuff they sew. That law mandated paid rest and recovery time and required more detailed payroll records. The piece rate can allow skilled workers to well exceed the minimum wage, but labor advocates say the rates are often set so low that apparel workers can make less than $5 an hour even though employers are supposed to make up the difference and pay the legal minimum in such instances. SB 1399, which has passed the Senate and is expected to be heard by the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week, would require employers to pay an hourly wage and only allows piece-rate compensation as an incentive bonus, unless provided for in a collective bargaining agreement. The combination of creating more stringent liability for wage theft and banning the piece rate has opponents saying the reforms will finish off much of what is left of L.A.'s apparel industry, which once employed some 150,000 workers before liberalized trade with Mexico, Central America and Asia sent clothing assembly out of the country. "This is a huge overhaul of the entire industry," said Jennifer Barrera, executive vice president of the California Chamber of Commerce, which has labeled the bill a "job killer," though she acknowledged there was "no question" labor abuses occur in the industry. "You incentivize companies to basically say, 'I am not going to contract anymore in California. I can go elsewhere and not be exposed to this type of litigation.'" The first Forever 21 store opened in 1984 on Figueroa Street in Highland Park. The company was then called Fashion 21. (Claire Hannah Collins / Los Angeles Times) Labor advocates say the rise of fast-fashion retailers such as Forever 21 has contributed to the problem. The L.A. company had been the poster child for alleged wage abuses before it faltered and filed for bankruptcy last year. The Los Angeles Times documented in 2017 how the company had been cited in nearly 300 claims since 2007 by workers demanding back pay for producing its clothing, yet Forever 21 had not paid anything because it was classified as a retailer. More recently, labor advocates have been critical of Fashion Nova, one of the local industry's rising stars and were stunned to hear it had decided to support the proposed reforms. The largely online retailer has skyrocketed to prominence on its $22.99 skin-tight jumpsuits, $19.99 tops and other affordable apparel embraced by a legion of Instagram influencers. It's also partnered with celebrities such as rapper Cardi B on clothing lines. The company's business model relies on rapidly churning out apparel that may be in style for only a short time. That favors making clothes locally even if production costs might be higher than overseas but critics charge that has led to abuses given the low price tags. An expose in the New York Times in December alleged wage theft at small subcontractors that was similar to what workers suffered making clothes for Forever 21. Opponents contend the two companies are outliers and do not represent the practices of the L.A. apparel industry, where the use of subcontractors to assemble apparel has long been standard. They are calling for better enforcement of existing laws. Garment workers rally in downtown Los Angeles in 2016 to demand an end to wage theft and unsafe working conditions. (Los Angeles Times) "This new law is all-encompassing, and it paints the whole industry as a bad apple that is my problem. We are not all Fashion Nova and Forever 21," said Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Assn. trade group, who fears big chains such as Nordstrom and other retailers will stop contracting for apparel in the state. "You are picking the worst of the worst." Fashion Nova declined to comment on Metchek's remarks but has announced reforms of its contracting practices. That includes a mandate that its contractors and subcontractors agree to random independent audits and that their workers are paid the applicable minimum wage, which in Los Angeles rises to $15 an hour for employers of all size next July. It is also establishing a toll-free hotline for workers to report abuses and has instituted an escalating system of penalties for violators of its agreements. The company said it recently suspended 10 vendors that refused to submit to third-party audits. Fashion Nova would not comment on what percentage of its clothing it continues to make in Los Angeles, but it did say it continues to work with more than 50 local vendors. "Fashion Nova continues to support the various steps taken by government agencies and factories towards improving working conditions for garment workers, including the latest legislation proposed with SB 1399," the company said in a statement to The Times. Surprised labor advocates speculate the company wants to avoid more negative publicity but applauded the decision and called on other apparel makers to join it. "We're certain both business and workers can thrive under SB 1399," the sponsors said in a statement. An office of a sewing factory in downtown Los Angeles. The owner says he cannot afford to pay workers the minimum wage. (Claire Hannah Collins / Los Angeles Times) Worker advocates maintain that wage theft goes beyond a handful of retailers and is common in the industry, and the new reforms would fix shortcomings in the original 1999 legislation that have allowed some apparel makers to evade it. "We would not have clamoring by these garment workers who say the piece rate is used to exploit them if in fact they were making much more money," said the bill's author, state Sen. Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles), who heard workers' testimony last year chairing an oversight hearing on a wage-restitution fund for apparel workers. The hearing prompted her to seek proposed reforms from worker advocates, which were distilled into the bill. SB 1399 creates a new category of companies called "brand guarantors" that would be "jointly and severally" liable for any wage theft in the production of clothing. That would make retailers that contract to have clothing made for them responsible for a wage violation even if it was committed by an apparel shop hired by its manufacturing contractor, something advocates say is very difficult to do now and relatively rare. Critics say that joint liability for third-party violations would make "any person or entity in the clothing industry" liable, including dry cleaners, personal shoppers and secondhand retailers, according to a letter of opposition by the California Chamber of Commerce signed by 18 other groups. Hadl said the criticisms are wild exaggerations intended to confuse legislators. She said the bill only creates liability for entities that contract to have clothes made in California, such as a retailer that hires apparel companies to produce clothing to its specifications for its private labels. Lil Nas X performs at Fashion Nova Presents: Party With Cardi at the Hollywood Palladium in May 2019. (Jerritt Clark / Getty Images for Fashion Nova) That provision would capture virtually all the clothing sold at a retailer such as Fashion Nova, advocates say, but only some of the apparel sold by department stores or discount chains that carry myriad merchandise, including outside brands. "Somebody who buys finished goods who has not had any input into their production is not going to be held liable. Target says, 'We want to buy 50,000 Nike T-shirts of the L.A. Rams' it doesn't meet the criteria," Hadl said. Bill advocates say joint liability is crucial in ensuring there are large entities on the hook able to pay wage claims. It would also encourage brands and retailers to pay more to have their clothes made and step up their monitoring of the region's small subcontractors, which cut, sew and finish garments and are often owned by Korean immigrants. They say monitoring has fallen off over the years. "The workers at the bottom are the ones left holding the bag because the most capitalized and the biggest companies are the ones at the top. At the bottom are the direct employers of the workers who are fly-by-night or disappear or are judgment-proof or transfer ownership to the brother or cousin or uncle or whoever," said Matthew DeCarolis, another Bet Tzedek attorney. The Garment Worker Center, a bill sponsor that provides services to apparel workers in downtown Los Angeles, has been helping Santa, a 36-year-old undocumented worker, deal with just such a situation. The woman, who asked that her surname not be disclosed because of her immigration status, said she typically worked 65 to 70 hours a week at a factory on East 60th Street in Los Angeles for $300 to $325, less than $5 an hour depending on the week. Her claim lists three employers at that address, including Chung Dress and its owner Sane Chung. She provided labels in her wage claim indicating she made clothes for Frame , a new upscale lifestyle brand in Culver City, and Good American , a "body positivity" brand co-founded by Khloe Kardashian that sells casual clothing for women of all sizes. Chung denied to The Times that the woman was the victim of wage theft and said the complaint was retaliation for being laid off when work slowed. He also said she worked not for him but for a third company a subcontractor he used when Chung Dress had more work than it could handle but that dissolved after the work ran out. It was run by a friend who sublet space. Chung said he had submitted payroll records to the state that back up his innocence. "I understand there are a lot of employers that, you know, do shady things, that don't pay well, but what happens to the people like me? I'm fair. I did everything the right way and I still get dinged," he said. Labor advocates say thousands of immigrant workers can sometimes toil for far less than the minimum wage in small Los Angeles apparel factories, such as the one above on South Hill Street. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times) Frame issued a statement that it is "committed to the highest ethical standards" and works "diligently to ensure that each factory we work with complies with these regulations through our agreements." It also said it had no knowledge of the third-party wage claim and could not comment on it. Good American did not respond to repeated emails for comment. It's also possible to try to hold retailers liable for wage violations at garment factories by proving that a purchase order was put out at a cost that could not possibly be met without shortchanging workers. David Weil, who oversaw a federal crackdown on the industry while serving as the administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division during the Obama administration, said his agency attempted to do just that toward the end of his term. "We worked the problem from the ground up. We found out how many minutes it would take to make different items, therefore the wages that would need to be paid for that given some reasonable rate of return and the cost of materials," he said. "It was a heavy lift." The division found contractors received just 73% of the price needed in order to ensure that workers could receive a bare minimum legal wage. Randy Youngblood, a prominent industry figure who operates Apparel Resources, a Yorba Linda company that monitors contractor compliance for apparel manufacturers, said he supports abolishing the piece rate. "I am not a proponent of piece rate work in 98% of the garment factories in California. As a time-study engineer, it's a real science. You need to be on the shop floor checking rates with a stopwatch," said Youngblood, whose high-end clients include jeans maker Paige and women's apparel designer Karen Kane. "If an operator has trouble making the rate, you need to be able to show her where she or he are losing time and how they can pick that time up. The bulk of the sewing contractors we deal with don't have that level of sophistication," he said. Richard Cho, president of the Korean Apparel Manufacturers Assn., which represents hundreds of companies that make clothes for brands and retailers, said an hourly minimum would wipe out the remaining manufacturers that make inexpensive clothes for big discount chains. "We are not even running small businesses. We are running micro businesses," he said. Those that could survive it are moving into the "better boutique market," where higher-quality clothes are sold at a premium. Still, he doesn't outright oppose the bill, noting that making retailers responsible for labor violations of subcontractors could help his membership. "Why is it that the [liability] doesn't go all the way up to the one that has written the bad purchase order? Why does it always have to end with the contractor or the manufacturers?" he said. "That is not fair." Nana Atelier , a small manufacturer in Boyle Heights that opened two and a half years ago, was one of the few apparel companies that has sent a letter in support of the bill to legislators. Co-owners Alnea Farahbella and her husband have their own upscale women's fashion brand and make clothes for other high-end brands, including New York designer Rachel Comey, in a brightly lit factory with a cheery, yellow floor. She candidly admits the couple's own brand, Toit Volant, is subsidizing the company, which pays its workers an hourly wage. That compensation model raises costs, but she believes the company will eventually turn a profit. Farahbella said that as the factory's reputation has grown, the couple has turned down lowball offers for work. "We get approached all the time by brands that are selling garments at retail for $400. They are like, 'We want to pay $20 for this,'" she recounted. "'You want to pay $20 for your cutting, your sewing, your fabric and you want to sell it for $200 for yourself, and then the retailer will sell it for $400? "'You can't come to us,'" is her reply. "'We are not desperate.'" TikTok video creator Bryce Hall, left, with Giovanny Valencia, at Beautycon LA last year in Los Angeles. (Getty Images for Beautycon) The phenomenon of social media stars living together in lavish Los Angeles homes and documenting their lives and parties on TikTok is quickly turning into a cautionary tale during the pandemic. TMZ reported that a popular TikTok video creator Bryce Hall held a birthday party in the Hollywood Hills over the weekend, a bash that attracted a massive crowd of people who didn't appear to be wearing masks or social distancing, according to online videos. Hall has 12.9 million followers on TikTok. The rise in influencer houses comes amid reports of house parties as revelers shrug off concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and ignore warnings from public health officials that gatherings help spread the virus throughout the community. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who had already banned large gatherings, recently authorized the city to shut off L.A. Department of Water and Power services at residences where the hosts defy public health orders. But the parties continue, including those hosted by some prominent TikTok stars: young individuals who live together in picturesque homes, document their lives and relationships to their millions of followers and make money by promoting brands. A large Hollywood Hills bash believed to have been held by social media stars was shut down by police over the weekend, marking at least the second time in several days that officers from the L.A. Police Department have been forced to visit the home. Mike Lopez, an LAPD spokesman, said he had no information about the TMZ report. He said that officers responded to complaints about noise at a home in the 8700 block of Appian Way early Saturday morning. Sources said TikTok influencers live in a house on the street. The Times couldn't determine if the home was the location of the party identified by TMZ. On Sunday morning, two young men, one shirtless and the other wearing a red sweatshirt and shorts, walked out of the house on Appian Way to briefly speak to a Times reporter. The man in the sweatshirt said about 20 people had been at the home, suggesting a large party hadn't taken place. Both men declined to identify themselves. Story continues A Notice of Violation was visible on the property Sunday. The city notice stated that police had visited the home on Aug. 14 and Aug. 8, and observed violations pertaining to hosting loud and unruly" parties and disturbing the peace." Another sign taped on the property, dated Aug. 14, was a final notice of noncompliance with the mayors guidelines prohibiting large gatherings. The warning stated that the final notice may be referred to the Los Angeles deputy mayor of public safety or his designee for review and issuance of a directive to shut off utility services. Under the mayors directive, LAPD officers who respond to a large party at a property can request the utilities be cut within 48 hours. Homes where parties regularly occur are the target, Garcetti has said. A spokesman for the mayor didn't respond to a request for comment Sunday. A woman who lives in this section of the Hollywood Hills said she's uneasy about the apparent defiance of those holding gatherings during the pandemic. It doesnt make me feel good, said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous. Allen Carpenter, a neighbor who lives on Appian Way, criticized the mayor's rules dictating gatherings and the threats to cut off utility services. He said that young people should decide whether they want to risk getting sick from the coronavirus and should be able to have parties if they want. "They're young people," Carpenter said, adding that "they're probably not going to die." As the number of coronavirus cases surged over the summer, Garcetti and other elected officials in Southern California have come under increasing pressure to find ways to persuade people to follow orders such as wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings. The recent jump in infections in the region has only made those orders more important, officials say. Separately, police union leaders have balked at the mayors call for officers to help enforce his strategy for closing down the parties, arguing that Garcetti should instead enlist civilian workers to carry out those orders. L.A. is home to nearly a dozen influencer houses that started because of TikTok, which debuted in the U.S. two years ago. The viral video streaming app, owned by China-based ByteDance, is under pressure from the U.S. government over concerns about how TikTok handles U.S. user data. President Trump has ordered ByteDance to divest its U.S. operations in TikTok by Nov. 12. TikTok said it has not and will not give U.S. user information to the Chinese government. Some digital creators, like YouTuber Michelle Khare, criticized Hall and "everyone else who went to these parties." Khare wrote on Twitter that her father works at a hospital, and she hadn't seen her family in seven months. "You're selfish to a degree I didn't know humanly possible," tweeted Khare, referring to Hall. By Akbar Mammadov Armenia seeks to threaten Azerbaijan with a military strike on Ganja city, the Foreign Ministry said on August 17. After the Armenian military-political circles statements that Azerbaijans large settlements and strategically important civil facilities such as Mingachevir HPP were viewed as military targets, Armenia is now trying to threaten with a military strike on the Azerbaijani city of Ganja through the so-called head of the illegal regime created in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the ministry noted. The ministry stressed that Armenias military-political leadership continues to make provocative steps and provocative statements in order to compensate for its recent military failure on the border in a bid to divert attention from the growing socio-economic and political crisis in the country. The ministry reminded that Armenia failed in its attack on the Azerbaijani positions on the border Tovuz region on July 12-16 that was part of Yerevans "new war for new territories" aspirations. All this is a clear demonstration of Armenia's intention not to eliminate the consequences of the conflict, but to strengthen the occupation situation created by the use of illegal force, the ministry emphasized. All these expose the terrorist nature of Armenia, which does not abandon its aggressive policy. The ministry further said that Armenia which is week both domestically and on the international arenas - seeks to create fear among the civilian population in a manner typical of terrorist organizations. Furthermore, the ministry touched upon the illegal settlement policy pursued by Armenia in Azerbaijan's occupied territories. The ministry recalled Yerevans plan to illegally settle ethnic Armenians in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan after the deadly Beirut explosion, thereby exploiting the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East for its nefarious political purposes. Armenia has also stated its intention to relocate some so-called "official bodies" to Shusha through the illegal regime created in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. This despicable intention regarding the city of Shusha, which is of exceptional importance to the people of Azerbaijan in terms of its cultural, historical and moral features, is another attempt to strengthen the policy of ethnic cleansing in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, the ministry said. Restoring the right of the Azerbaijani population expelled from their native lands to return to their permanent residences in all occupied territories, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, as well as Shusha, is a red line in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. The fact that Armenia does not abandon this intention once and for all, which we consider being a crossing of this line, poses a risk of serious complications, the ministry noted. The ministry also pointed out to Armenias illegal actions to change the infrastructure of the Sarsang water reservoir to which Azerbaijan lost access due to the Armenian occupation. Armenia's steps regarding the Sarsang reservoir are illegal, with another violation of the illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan's natural resources and state and private property rights. Since the occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Armenia has been using the Sarsang reservoir as an instrument of environmental terror, depriving Azerbaijani citizens, who live near our occupied territories, of water resources, resulting in serious damage to the ecological situation in those areas and biodiversity. Thus, these abovementioned were unequivocally enshrined in Resolution 2085 (2016) of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The ministry stressed that efforts to change the reservoir's infrastructure must be considered as the next step of Armenia's ecological terror policy. In addition, all infrastructure changes in the occupied territories, including the construction of roads connecting Armenia and Azerbaijans occupied territories, as well as steps related to the Sarsang reservoir, serve Armenia's illegal settlement policy, aims at involving more ethnic Armenians to settle in the occupied territories. The ministry stressed that Armenia must put an end to testing the patience of the international community, especially the Azerbaijani state and society, with its provocative illegal activities and statements. In its statement, the Foreign Ministry stated that Azerbaijan is determined to take all necessary steps to restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders, protect the constitutional structure, ensure the security and rights and freedoms of its citizens, using all opportunities provided by the Azerbaijani Constitution and international law. It was noted that the Foreign Ministry has informed the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs about these provocative attempts by Armenia to purposefully escalate the situation in the region and undermine the opportunities for the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. The ministry said that it is important to prevent Armenia from taking steps that could have serious consequences for the region as a whole, and return it to the negotiations process with a defined political and legal framework based on four relevant UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874, 884) and OSCE decisions, the ministry said. The ministry stated that it will continue to take the necessary steps to stop the illegal activities of Armenia and eliminate its consequences, using all political and diplomatic mechanisms. --- Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97 Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Kim Kardashian has been through the ringer recently with husband Kanye West's mental health scare and bizarre last-minute presidential bid. But the TV personality is standing by her man after reportedly considering a divorce, amid a series of marital issues. She supported him this weekend, as his popular alternative church event Sunday Service returned for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, set against a gorgeous Wyoming backdrop. He is risen: Kim Kardashian supported husband Kanye West this weekend, as his popular alternative church event Sunday Service returned for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, set against a gorgeous Wyoming backdrop Supportive wife: She's standing by her man after reportedly considering a divorce, amid a series of marital issues and mental health concerns over his bizarre last-minute presidential bid The 39-year-old posted videos to her Instagram Story, beginning with a wooden piano in a grassy field with valleys in the background, as she wrote: 'Guess what's back?!?!' 'Where is he?' their oldest daughter North, seven, asked of Kanye, 43, before yelling across the field: 'Dad!' A man walked up to the piano, sporting a red t-shirt with matching trousers, which was the color-coordinated dress code for this week's service. He was followed by the Sunday Service Choir, walking in a straight line from over a hill to gather around the piano. Gorgeous view: The 39-year-old posted videos to her Instagram Story, beginning with a wooden piano in a grassy field with valleys in the background, as she wrote: 'Guess what's back?!?!' Daddy's girl: 'Where is he?' their oldest daughter North, seven, asked of Kanye, 43, before yelling across the field: 'Dad!' Seeing red: Kanye wore a red t-shirt with matching trousers, which was the color-coordinated dress code for his Sunday Service Choir at this week's service Social distancing: The group appeared to be keeping six feet between each other, as Yeezy led them in song as conductor Virtual service: Attendance was limited to close friends and family, serving as more of a virtual service for her 184million Instagram followers Kim wrote as the group began to sing hymns: 'Sunday Service is back!!!! Starting at the ranch in Wyoming.' The group appeared to be keeping six feet between each other, as Yeezy led them in song as conductor. Attendance was limited to close friends and family, serving as more of a virtual service for her 184million Instagram followers. The KKW Beauty mogul wrote: 'For anyone wondering, Kanye's team took every precaution to ensure the choir's health and safety, which is always top priority. 'It was filmed today without an audience. The music will be shared soon for anyone who could use some uplifting.' Voice of an angel: 'Sing it, Northy,' the proud mom whispered to her daughter, who teased her vocal chops by singing along with the choir Perfect harmony: She also included video of North walking up with brother Saint, four, and cousin Reign Disick, five, to join the chorus Private plane: Reign's mom and Kim's older sister Kourtney Kardashian, 41, also posted a photo to her story of some military style cargo planes parked in a field, which might be how they got the Sunday Service Choir there 'Sing it, Northy,' the proud mom whispered to her daughter, who teased her vocal chops by singing along with the choir. She also included video of North walking up with brother Saint, four, and cousin Reign Disick, five, to join the chorus. Reign's mom and Kim's older sister Kourtney Kardashian, 41, also posted a photo to her story of some military style cargo planes parked in a field, which might be how they got the Sunday Service Choir there. It comes after Kim and Kanye got away with North, Saint, daughter Chicago, two, and son Psalm, one, to Colorado and the Dominican Republic, working on their marriage. A source told HollywoodLife: 'Kim and Kanye are getting along just fine right now. Its all for the kids so theyre not getting into anything about their relationship. Most of their conversations are about the kids. Nothing has changed between them.' Family getaway: It comes after Kim and Kanye got away with North, Saint, daughter Chicago, two, and son Psalm, one, to Colorado and the Dominican Republic, working on their marriage Getting along: A source told HollywoodLife: 'Kim and Kanye are getting along just fine right now. Its all for the kids so theyre not getting into anything about their relationship' (pictured in May, 2019) Kim flew to Wyoming last month with the intention of divorcing Kanye, following some concerning tweets and statements, including that they considered aborting their pregnancy with North. A source told People: 'Kim is very torn. The last thing she wants is to be divorced with four kids. 'She knows that she will be fine financially, but her concerns are the kids and the partnership. She is moving towards a divorce, but who knows if she will actually sign papers.' Kanye wrote on Twitter at the time: 'I would like to apologize to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter. 'I did not cover her like she has covered me. To Kim I want to say I know I hurt you. Please forgive me. Thank you for always being there for me.' Marital issues: Kim flew to Wyoming last month with the intention of divorcing Kanye, following some concerning tweets and statements, including that they considered aborting their pregnancy with North (pictured in November, 2019) Another package of bills for IT (No.3979 on measures to stimulate the development of the IT industry in Ukraine and No.3933-1 on tax changes) registered in the parliament covers only a minority part of the market, namely the IT product companies, says the European Business Association (EBA). "Despite the improved conditions and more realistic criteria for participation, this initiative covers only a minority part of the market, namely the IT product companies. There are some problems regarding the regulation of the IT service companies (which constitute 80-90% of the market) that make it impossible to support the current version of the project," it said in a press release posted on its website on August 14. The package of bills proposes the following changes for IT companies that intend to be residents of Diia.City: the SSC [single social security tax] payment rate per employee is updated to 5% but it should be not less than twice the amount of the SSC minimum (more than UAH 2,078.12) + payroll tax on a full-time employee (PIT) at 5%; the withholding tax is introduced at 18% for the IT industry instead of the income tax. Thus, when the capital is withdrawn from a company (distribution of dividends, for example), it will have to pay 18% of the withholding tax. To become a resident of Diia.City, a company must meet the following criteria: 70% of the company's total revenue should be generated from export activities; the share of labor costs must be at least 70%; the salary of IT employees should exceed EUR 1,200 euro at the rate of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) (however, another document of this package provides a different salary amount, namely EUR 1,500); the company is included in the IT register, a proposed list of IT professions and activities. "After analyzing the document, the IT Committee of the European Business Association proposes to revise the project and scale it to all participants in the IT market. It is necessary to consider the basic principles that the IT service industry has already developed and voiced," the EBA said. The business suggests preserving the third group of individual entrepreneurship as a de facto standard format of an employment relationship in the IT industry which proved to be effective during the last 15 years. "Thus, it is extremely important to provide Diia City residents with the opportunity to work with the 3rd group of individual entrepreneurs, as well as to prevent changing such relations into the labor ones," the experts said. It is also proposed to secure an employment relationship in the form of a contract, prevent an increase in the tax burden on IT business during the global economic crisis, prohibit the management of the Diia.City Digital Park from the introduction of additional regulation for residents, give priority to the interests of the residents over the tasks of state supervision (control) authorities in matters concerning economic activities, except in cases when it comes to human life and health, human rights, and legitimate interests. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed early on Monday morning that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of Agra, Barsana, Garhmukteswar, Hastinapur, Khatoli, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Bijnor, Chandpur during next two hours, the IMD said. The weather department also said that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas at isolated places of Delhi, Gurugram, Manesar, Bijnor, Chandpur during next two hours. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2020 / Ximen Mining Corp. (TSXV:XIM)(FRA:1XMA)(OTCQB:XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") is pleased to announce it has signed an agreement with Zimtu Capital Corp. (ZC; ZCT1) ("Zimtu") whereas Zimtu shall provide Ximen services under the ZimtuADVANTAGE program. ZimtuADVANTAGE is a program designed to provide opportunities, guidance, cost savings and assistance to clients covering multiple aspects of being a public company. The services may include building financial networks, building business networks, shared costs with other public companies, building a social media presence, conference opportunities, media outlets and guidance, and special group pricing provided by Zimtu's network of public company professionals. The program provides the flexibility to allow companies to customize the products and services to best support their needs. Under the terms of the agreement, Zimtu shall receive $6,250.00 per month, payable in advance, for a period of twelve months. About Zimtu Capital Corp. Zimtu Capital Corp. is a public investment issuer that invests with the objective of achieving long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders. The Company utilizes its capital base and long-term horizon to invest in unique situations; primarily micro cap, special situations, and illiquid public and private companies. Zimtu Capital companies may operate in the fields of mineral exploration, mining, technology, life sciences or investment. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ZC" and Frankfurt under symbol "ZCT1". For more information please visit http://www.zimtu.com. "Christopher R. Anderson" Christopher R. Anderson, President, CEO and Director 604 488-3900 Investor Relations: Sophy Cesar, 604-488-3900, ir@XimenMiningCorp.com About Ximen Mining Corp. Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen's two Gold projects The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under a option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has recently acquired control of the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment. Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL. This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. 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: Ximen Mining Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/602096/Ximen-Announces-Contract-with-Zimtu-Capital-Corp Innocent: Cardinal George Pell's Prison Journal to be Released High-ranking Catholic cardinal spent 404 days in jail -- here's what he wrote while there NEWS PROVIDED BY Carmel Communications Aug. 17, 2020 SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 17, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- The first volume of Cardinal George Pell's prison journal is set to be published as a book and an e-book by Ignatius Press in early 2021 and as digital installments starting on August 17, 2020. The unprecedented work, PRISON JOURNAL: THE CARDINAL MAKES HIS APPEAL, features the writings of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who was unjustly convicted of sex abuse until his appeal was unanimously overturned by the Australian High Court and encompasses his 404 days in solitary confinement. Cardinal George Pell, as prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, which had been newly created by Pope Francis to manage the finances of the Vatican, was accused of sexually assaulting choir boys in his former cathedral during the 1990s. So sure that the charges were false, the cardinal voluntarily left Rome for Australia to stand trial. The trial ended in a hung jury, but when the case was retried, Cardinal Pell was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison. "PRISON JOURNAL is going to be a spiritual classic," said Father Joseph Fessio, S.J., editor of Ignatius Press. On April 7, 2020, after fifty-nine weeks in jail, the High Court in Australia overturned his conviction and Cardinal George Pell was finally free. PRISON JOURNAL contains his reflections not only on the pain of being falsely accused and unjustly imprisoned, but also on the meaning of suffering in the life of a Christian and the divine command to forgive one's enemies. "I hold no ill will to my accused, I do not want my acquittal to add to the hurt and bitterness so many feel; there is certainly hurt and bitterness enough," Cardinal Pell said in a statement after his acquittal. Cardinal Pell was subject to immense vitriol during his trial as the State of Victoria sought to convict him with no corroborating evidence or witness testimony. He maintained his innocence throughout the trial and during his prison time. Indeed, the High Court, when it overturned his conviction, said that there is "a significant possibility that an innocent person has been convicted because the evidence did not establish guilt to the requisite standard of proof." PRISON JOURNAL "is a testament to the capacity of God's grace to inspire insight, magnanimity and goodness amidst wickedness, evil and injustice. That it was written so beautifully bears witness to the Christian character that divine grace formed in its author, George Cardinal Pell," said George Weigel, author of "The Next Pope," in his introduction. Please visit www.PellPrisonJournal.com for more information about the book. Digital installments of PRISON JOURNAL will be available starting on August 17, 2020, for $5 per month. For more information, to request a review copy or to schedule an interview with Cardinal George Pell, please contact Kevin Wandra (404-788-1276 or KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com) of Carmel Communications. SOURCE Carmel Communications CONTACT: Kevin Wandra, 404-788-1276, KWandra@CarmelCommunications.com Related Links www.PellPrisonJournal.com WASHINGTON Political conventions are billed as national election pep rallies, weeks of speeches and celebrations bringing together headliners to anoint the presidential nominees and broadcast into homes across America. But backstage, when the conventions were held in arenas with stages, was always lobbyist territory. The quadrennial gatherings may be the Super Bowl of lobbying. And this year, the absence of in-person conventions means the lobbyists have been effectively sidelined. "It's one gigantic schmooze-fest," said Democratic former Rep. Jim Moran of Virginia, who works as a lobbyist after having served 24 years in Congress and has attended party conventions for more than three decades. "Lobbyists are going to save a lot of money, but they're going to lose an opportunity to have influence and socialize and meet a lot of people that you would not otherwise." Like much of American life, Washington lobbying has been turned upside because of the coronavirus pandemic. And the conventions are no exception, leaving the influence industry to assess how it will operate when and if life returns to normal. Image: 2016 Democratic National Convention (Jessica Kourkounis / Getty Images file) Lobbying is more than just cocktail parties; it's a multibillion-dollar industry. Federal lobbyists reported spending $3.51 billion in 2019, their biggest year yet, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit that tracks the influence industry. Much of the work of lobbying generally involves making the trek up Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers and their staffs to explain a client's point of view. But with the halls of Congress closed, meetings have shifted to Zoom calls. So with this year's conventions, lobbyists will be grappling not only with the inability to secure face time with decision makers but also with corporate clients who are trying to survive the pandemic-induced recession. "Honestly, most lobbyists hate" the usual convention routine, said a Washington lobbyist who asked for anonymity to speak frankly about how the industry operates. "The idea that there is some lobbying benefit to wining and dining a bunch of delegates is just silly, especially in this day and age. Story continues "Some of the first major budget cycles since COVID hit are coming up in the fall, and most will reset on January 1," the lobbyist said. "That is what most of us are thinking about right now." 'Social hubs' Four years ago, Ron Bonjean was at the center of social activity at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, helping organize a series of concerts for hundreds of attendees complete with specialty snacks and corporate sponsors. This year, the bar his firm rented in Milwaukee for a speech after-party at the Democratic National Convention will sit empty Tuesday night. The bipartisan lobbying shop had planned to host an event next week at the Republican convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the pandemic hit before it could lock down a location. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics Conventions are like the end of summer camp for political types, the last hurrah before members of Congress and their consultants spread across the nation for the final push before the election. "The conventions are the main social hubs for everyone for lawmakers, for K Street, delegates everyone gets a chance to see each other before they go off to campaign for the final couple months before the election," said Bonjean, a Republican strategist and partner at the bipartisan firm Rokk Solutions. "Washington is based on relationships, and that's really one of the last times you can really see people." Lobbyists have largely already abandoned the type of lobbying that invokes images of smoky backrooms where lawmakers feast on expensive steaks and sip high-dollar whiskey. Disclosure rules and congressional ethics guidelines mean most lobbying events feature cocktails, food on a stick and no chairs. But political conventions are prime real estate for the kind of lobbying events that comply with the myriad rules and allow attendees to avoid detailed disclosure. Federal laws largely prohibit corporations from contributing money to political campaigns or parties. The two biggest exceptions are conventions and inaugurations, when companies are allowed to write checks or make in-kind contributions. Image: 2016 Democratic National Convention \ (Robinson Chavez / The Washington Post via Getty Images file) In 2016, Democrats raised $69.7 million for their convention and Republicans raised $65.7 million for theirs, according to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission. In exchange for the donations, the parties offered sponsors perks like suites in the arenas where the acceptance speeches were given and backstage access for executives. Conventions don't just bring together Washington types. Delegations are often composed of local and state government officials, making for prime opportunities for lobbyists to talk to decision-makers at every level of government. The gatherings also mark when corporations tend to start thinking about what the future will look like if the out-of-power party wins. Former Vice President Joe Biden's large lead over President Donald Trump is fueling such speculation this year, several lobbyists said. "The uncertainty of the election absolutely has kept a focus on contingency planning by companies and trade associations about what they need," Bonjean said. The conventions offer opportunities for candidates further down the ballot to pick up donations from lobbyists and activists in other states. "A convention is a large mass gathering where the entire political network of players gets together and members go not just to endorse the candidates but to, frankly, to meet people, to raise money, to gain further political support beyond their own congressional district and state," Moran said. "That's simply not going to happen, and I think the ramifications have yet to be figured out and obviously yet to be seen." 'Moneyball moment' Just as the pandemic has made it nearly impossible for lobbyists to arrange face-to-face interactions, the economic fallout is making face time more imperative for companies. And some lobbyists worry that if they can't do their jobs in a pandemic, companies assessing tight budgets will begin to question whether their services are needed when the crisis is over. Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak Even as Congress has struggled to agree on unemployment payments and school funding, connected companies have largely been able to secure the assistance they wanted. Even lobbying shops were able to benefit from the Paycheck Protection Program. "The need to have a strong presence in Washington right now during the pandemic is at a premium, because the major industries have been impacted and need to get to members to express different policy needs," Bonjean said. Lobbyists largely agree that the Washington culture shift to accept Zoom calls in place of in-person meetings will remain. And some see an opportunity. IMAGE: 2016 Democratic National Convention (Rick Wilking / Reuters file) "The reality is traditional lobbying has long needed its 'Moneyball' moment," said Joe Brettell, a former congressional staffer who is now a Texas-based corporate consultant. "Firms who integrate into traditional relationship-based tactics with digital, media and online analytics will be able to create more value than ever while speaking the language so many of their clients are already using." DAKAR Cameroon has backtracked on a decision to allow industrial logging in one of the regions least exploited rainforests, home to rare gorillas, tool-wielding chimpanzees and giant frogs. The latest government decree overturns one signed in July that would have permitted timber extraction across 68,385 hectares (264 sq miles), or nearly half, of southwestern Cameroons Ebo forest, following an outcry from conservation groups and local communities. Logging would have destroyed the habitat of a small population of gorillas that may be a new subspecies and threatened chimpanzees known for both cracking nuts and fishing for termites, according to Global Wildlife Conservation. Without giving a reason for the U-turn, the office of Prime Minister Joseph Ngute said in a statement on Tuesday that he had been instructed by President Paul Biya to reverse the earlier decree allowing logging. It also said Biya had ordered a delay to plans to reclassify a separate 65,000 hectares of Ebo, a move that could have opened it up to loggers. Conservationists, researchers and local groups have repeatedly urged the Cameroonian government to suspend plans for the two long-term logging concessions in Ebo, which is also the ancestral home of more than 40 local communities. On Wednesday, Greenpeace Africa greeted the authorities apparent change of heart with cautious relief. The government of Cameroon seems to have suspended logging plans," it said in an emailed statement. The fate of Ebo forest - the communities dependent on it and the wildlife that live in it - still remains unclear." Ebos mountain slopes and river valleys also host at least 12 plant species that cannot be found anywhere else on the planet as well as the endangered Goliath Frog, a shy, cat-sized amphibian that builds pools for its tadpoles out of rocks. 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 HALIFAXA Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge on Monday handed two special constables with Halifax police suspended sentences with three years probation in the June 2016 suffocation death of an inmate at the citys detention centre. A jury found booking officers Daniel Fraser and Cheryl Gardner guilty of criminal negligence last November in the jail cell death of Corey Rogers. A medical examiner determined Rogers died of suffocation while lying in a cell with a spit hood covering his mouth as he appeared to be vomiting. In an oral ruling, Justice Kevin Coady said that in this case, the goals of denunciation and general deterrence can be met without incarceration. This is not a sentence that must reflect specific deterrence, said Coady. Neither special constable Fraser or special constable Gardner need to be deterred from committing further offences. They have lived prosocial lives and will continue to do so in the future. Coady said society didnt need protection from the two defendants, adding there was nothing to suggest they are in need of rehabilitation. While he concluded that Fraser and Gardner were in positions of trust and authority in relation to prisoners in their care, Coady said that factor had limited application in this sentencing. These offences usually involve ... a higher degree of blameworthiness than is apparent in this case, the judge said. Both Fraser and Gardner will also be required to complete 200 hours of community service within 18 months of the judges decision. The Crown had asked for two-year prison sentences, while both defence lawyers had asked for suspended sentences with conditions. Neither defendant would talk with reporters outside the courtroom, but defence lawyer Joel Pink expressed satisfaction with the judges decision, saying it aligned with the facts in the case. Even though it was a terrible accident that occurred on this particular night, you can see where the (police) department in my opinion failed to train the officers properly, Pink said. As a result, it was just a terrible accident that could have happened at any time to anybody. Pink said there are plans to appeal the jurys verdict. The victims mother, Jeannette Rogers, had called for a strict sentence. She told the court during the sentencing hearing last week that living every day without her son was like a life sentence without the possibility of parole. She told reporters she was disappointed and hurt by the judges sentencing decision. I am angry that they got a suspended sentence. I dont think that was appropriate, Rogers said. Im not out to destroy someones life even though theyve destroyed mine, however, I do feel that they should have gotten some jail time. To me, it says that Coreys life was not worth anything. Rogers said she hoped there would be an appeal of the sentence by Crown attorney Chris Vanderhooft. Vanderhooft, a Manitoba prosecutor brought in for the case, appeared in court via video link. He has 30 days to appeal and said in an email he wouldnt comment until he had a chance to review the decision. During the trial, the jury was shown video of Rogers, 41, heaving in a cell while wearing the spit hood. The mask prevents prisoners from spitting on guards, but also comes with instructions warning against leaving it on a highly intoxicated person who may vomit. Rogers was arrested hours before his death outside a Halifax hospital where his wife had given birth to their child the day before. Trial evidence indicated he was extremely impaired after rapidly drinking half a bottle of whisky and that police saw him consume the liquor. The arresting officers testified they placed the hood on Rogers face after he was spitting in the police car on the way to the station. Fraser and Gardner were charged in 2017 after an investigation by the Serious Incident Response Team Nova Scotias police watchdog agency. In his ruling, Coady noted that they had lived under a cloud for more than two years, adding that absent their conviction, they have lived unblemished lives. The possibility of incarceration has, no doubt, taken its toll on both defendants, the judge said. Read more about: HEALTH Minister Stephen Donnelly said he is "very hopeful" Covid-19 restrictions put in place in Kildare, Laois and Offaly will be lifted next week. The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) are meeting today to discuss the increase in Covid-19 cases that have been reported in recent days and will decide what recommendations should be made to government to halt further transmission. Mr Donnelly said he is hopeful that the two-week restrictions in the locked down counties, which were recommended by Nphet, will be relaxed at the end of this week. Read More "Nphet is meeting today, they will meet later on this week and they will make a recommendation but so far, my hope is that, as of midnight this Sunday, that those restrictions will be relaxed. But as always, we will listen very carefully to the public health doctors," he told Newstalk Breakfast. He said that the measures put in place in Kildare, Laois and Offaly are not as restrictive as those implemented when the country went into lockdown in March but it has still had an impact on local businesses. Mr Donnelly added that further local lockdowns are restrictions that will be brought in as a "last resort". "In moving early, the restrictions that were put in place were much less onerous than what we had been through before. I hear people using the phrase lockdown. There hasn't been a lockdown in Kildare, Laois and Offaly. I don't mean to minimise the impact that it has had on people, I fully respect and appreciate that but the level has been much less," he said. "Now, even with that, people within the communities have been very worried, the business community was very worried. And inevitably, it comes with a lot of it comes with a lot of pain. And so, bringing restrictions in is not something that is done lightly, it has to be something that is done as a last resort." Mr Donnelly was speaking after the Department of Health on Saturday reported 200 new Covid-19 cases - the highest figure recorded since May. Kildare has 81 new cases of the virus while there were six more recorded in Laois. Offaly, along with Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Louth, Mayo, Offaly, Roscommon, Waterford and Wicklow account for 20 additional cases. The Minister said Covid-19 testing has been "ramped up" in direct provision, residential care homes and food factories after public health doctors became concerned over how the virus has been "moving around the country." "What is happening in Ireland is what's happening all over Europe and all over the world, which is the virus is beginning to come up again. Now, in Ireland, what's really concerning the public health doctors is that it's popping up all around the country," he said. "So in the last two weeks, for example, there's been new cases in every single county. There's been cases in a lot of different workplaces, yes there's been a lot of focus on meat plants, but there's been a mushroom farm, there's been hairdressers, there's been a GAA club, there's been restaurants. It's moving around the country in a way that is that is worrying them." Mr Donnelly said the next three weeks are "really, really important" in protecting the economy, reopening schools and hospitals, adding: "Employers have a role to play in making sure that all of the infection controls are in place and the face coverings are being used, but more important than any of that is that each of us has a responsibility. "Lets listen to the public health doctors, use the face coverings and follow the social distancing and the other rules we are being asked to follow." We were open to how ever it would be held. Its so nice for the artists to have a chance to display their artwork and for people to come out and enjoy it, she said. As a souvenir, her daughter collected the business cards of artists who had a sample of their art on their card. Bandit flyers will present aerial parade on Labor Day The Bandit Flight Team will be flying over Downtown Hendersonville on Labor Day in an aerial salute to America. On Monday, Sept. 7, six planes will fly in formation over Main Street at 12:30 p.m. Their first pass will begin at the Triangle Stop on the north end of Main and travel south toward the historic Henderson County Courthouse. A second pass will travel in the opposite direction complete with a bomb burst maneuver over the city followed by a circling of downtown. The Bandit Flight Team is excited to provide an Apple Festival Parade from the sky, said Jim Kilpatrick, Team Leader with the Bandit Flight Team. We were scheduled to fly over the parade but when it was cancelled, we offered to provide our own sky parade. My wife and I are both Hendersonville High graduates and understand and appreciate the importance of the Apple Festival. We hope everyone comes out at 12:30 to visit the merchants on Main Street and watch the fly over. Residents and visitors are reminded to follow the 3 Ws when they visit downtown wear a face covering, wash your hands, and wait 6 feet apart. The Bandit Flight Team is a nonprofit organization dedicated to recognizing and honoring military men and women. The team of highly trained and experienced formation pilots specializes in patriotic event flyovers. The Hendersonville Labor Day flyover is sponsored by Triangle Stop Food Stores. More information about the Bandit Flight Team is available at www.banditflightteam.com. Phone and email scams have doubled during the coronavirus lockdown, government figures reveal. Criminal gangs have become increasingly creative in targeting vulnerable people during the pandemic. Scams include authentic-looking emails telling the victim is due a tax rebate to more threatening claims that police will be called if they refuse to divulge personal information. At the start of this year HMRC received around 25,000 scam reports per month. This figure rocketed to around 45,000 per month when strict lockdown measures were introduced at the end of March. At the start of this year HMRC received around 25,000 scam reports per month. This figure rocketed to around 45,000 per month when strict lockdown measures were introduced at the end of March. (File photo) In a disturbing illustration of how gangs used coronavirus to their advantage, in March HMRC reported just three incidents of Covid-19 related phishing emails. In April this figure shot up to 1,809 and in May there were 5,048 cases of people being targeted by fake coronavirus emails. In July four arrests were made after a police search of five addresses in London, where 10,000 in cash was seized along with computer equipment, a stash of 'burner' mobile phones and dozens of unregistered SIM cards. Michael Salter, a retired senior banker from Lloyds: 'There are numerous different schemes I used to come across every day. 'Let's call it what it is - these aren't scams; they are simply blatant bloody daylight robbery. 'I've had business owners who have literally being crying down the phone to me because they have lost thousands of pounds because they have been tricked into releasing funds. 'These are intelligent, honest people, who were devastated to having been so foolish. It was heartbreaking.' A senior GCHQ source revealed his personal devices had been repeatedly targeted despite them being installed with top-of-the-range anti-hacking software. Scams include authentic-looking emails telling the victim is due a tax rebate to more threatening claims that police will be called if they refuse to divulge personal information (File photo) He said: 'Commonly, they make references to false tax rebates but on further investigation of the source email address are clearly not legitimate. 'Scams like this are used to fund international terrorism, modern slavery, people trafficking and the drugs trade. 'It goes way beyond the public losing face and significant sums on money; it oils the wheels of complex, international criminal activity which affects the most impoverished communities of the world - and adds to the exploitation of women and children.' Telecommunications experts have traced the gangs to Russia, China and the Middle East, and in particular Gaza. William Copley, director of telecommunications experts Armstrong Bell, said: 'Phone hacking has occurred since the first phone lines were installed. 'Originally, it was a matter of someone physically connecting a cable to somebody else's phone line to use their line. 'Technology has progressed hugely over the decades and most people will have received hoax calls regarding personal protection insurance or a fictitious car accidently. 'Scammers set auto-dialling equipment to call a list of random telephone numbers, and when answered a robot or recorded voice will try to get the recipient to say something or press a digit on the phone so that they can identify a live target has picked up the call. 'These days, you don't even need a telephone system to make calls - the whole thing can be run from a single laptop. 'Businesses without proper security on their telephone systems can be easily hacked and used to dial expensive international premium-rate numbers which generate huge amounts for criminals. 'The firm will usually only notice when they receive a huge bill. 'These fraudsters don't need to get away with it for very long, as they can easily move onto another attack at the click of a mouse. 'By this sort of phreaking, there is no originating number and the location is almost always effectively hidden. 'Law enforcement agencies are often powerless to act. 'We regularly set up dummy telephone systems to check the protection in place. 'It's amazing how quickly that hackers find it. 'When we do deep analytics into the origin, the locations are usually Russia, China and the Middle East - particularly Gaza.' A HMRC spokesperson said: 'Typically, scam calls are often threatening, with criminals hoping to pressurise people into disclosing personal information. 'Over the last year HMRC reported 1,742 phone numbers being used in tax-related phone scams to telecommunication companies for takedown, and responded to over 203,000 reports of phone scams from the public, an increase of 95 per cent on the previous year. 'Overall the most common approach scammers use is still to offer spurious tax refunds or rebates, and these account for more than half of all the scams reported to HMRC so far this year.' Strange gamma-ray heartbeat puzzles scientists Scientists have detected a mysterious gamma-ray heartbeat coming from a cosmic gas cloud. The inconspicuous cloud in the constellation Aquila is beating with the rhythm of a neighbouring precessing black hole, indicating a connection between the two objects, as the team led by DESY Humboldt Fellow Jian Li and ICREA Professor Diego F. Torres from the Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CSIC) reports in the journal Nature Astronomy. Just how the black hole powers the cloud's gamma-ray heartbeat over a distance of about 100 light years remains enigmatic. The research team, comprising scientists from Germany, Spain, China and the U.S., rigorously analysed more than ten years of data from the US space administration NASA's Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, looking at a so-called micro quasar. The system catalogued as SS 433 is located some 15 000 lightyears away in the Milky Way and consists of a giant star with about 30 times the mass of our sun and a black hole with about 10 to 20 solar masses. The two objects are orbiting each other with a period of 13 days, while the black hole sucks matter from the giant star. "This material accumulates in an accretion disc before falling into the black hole, like water in the whirl above the drain of a bath tub," explains Li. "However, a part of that matter does not fall down the drain but shoots out at high speed in two narrow jets in opposite directions above and below the rotating accretion disk." This setting is known from active galaxies called quasars with monstrous black holes with millions of solar masses at their centres that shoot jets tens of thousands of lightyears into the cosmos. As SS 433 looks like a scaled-down version of these quasars, it has been dubbed a micro quasar. The high-speed particles and the ultra-strong magnetic fields in the jet produce X-rays and gamma rays. "The accretion disc does not lie exactly in the plane of the orbit of the two objects. It precesses, or sways, like a spinning top that has been set up slanted on a table," says Torres. "As a consequence, the two jets spiral into the surrounding space, rather than just forming a straight line." The precession of the black hole's jets has a period of about 162 days. Meticulous analysis revealed a gamma-ray signal with the same period from a position located relatively far from the micro quasar's jets, which has been labelled as Fermi J1913+0515 by the scientists. It is located at the position of an unremarkable gas enhancement. The consistent periods indicate the gas cloud's emission is powered by the micro quasar. "Finding such an unambiguous connection via timing, about 100 light years away from the micro quasar, not even along the direction of the jets is as unexpected as amazing," says Li. "But how the black hole can power the gas cloud's heartbeat is unclear to us." Direct periodic illumination by the jet seems unlikely. An alternative that the team explored is based on the impact of fast protons (the nuclei of hydrogen atoms) produced at the ends of the jets or near the black hole, and injected into the cloud, where these subatomic particles hit the gas and produce gamma rays. Protons could also be part of an outflow of fast particles from the edge of the accretion disc. Whenever this outflow strikes the gas cloud, it lights up in gamma rays, which would explain its strange heartbeat. "Energetically, the outflow from the disc could be as powerful as that of the jets and is believed to precess in solidarity with the rest of the system," explains Torres. Further observations as well as theoretical work are required to fully explain the strange gamma-ray heartbeat of this unique system beyond this initial discovery. "SS 433 continues to amaze observers at all frequencies and theoreticians alike," emphasises Li. "And it is certain to provide a testbed for our ideas on cosmic-ray production and propagation near micro quasars for years to come." ### Scientists from DESY (Germany), ICE (Spain), Nanjing University (China), the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (USA) and Purple Mountain observatory (China) contributed to this research. DESY is one of the world's leading particle accelerator centres and investigates the structure and function of matter - from the interaction of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of novel nanomaterials and vital biomolecules to the great mysteries of the universe. The particle accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds at its locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen are unique research tools. They generate the most intense X-ray radiation in the world, accelerate particles to record energies and open up new windows onto the universe. DESY is a member of the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest scientific association, and receives its funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (90 per cent) and the German federal states of Hamburg and Brandenburg (10 per cent). Reference: Gamma-ray heartbeat powered by the microquasar SS 433; Jian Li, Diego Torres , Ruo-Yu Liu, Matthew Kerr, Emma de Ona Wilhelmi, Yang Su; Nature Astronomy, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1164-6 This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. WASHINGTON The 2010 elections were so disastrous for Democrats that Jessica Post, then a field director for state legislative races, curled up in despair on a cold, wet sidewalk in Harrisburg after learning the party lost Pennsylvanias statehouse along with a slew of other chambers around the country and the U.S. House. Republicans won the most state legislative seats of any party in decades, giving them wide authority to redraw state legislative and congressional district boundaries. After controlling nearly two-thirds of state legislative chambers before the 2010 election, Democrats ended up with less than one-third when the full implications of the wipeout and new maps became clear a few years later. The redistricting also helped Republicans maintain dominance in the House until the 2018 election. This November, Democrats hope it will be Republicans who wont know what hit them. Dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump has created vulnerabilities for Republicans further down the ballot, similar to 2010's midterm referendum on President Barack Obama. That has left Democrats are increasingly confident they can build on the 10 state legislative chambers theyve captured since Trump became president by flipping at least another 10. Adding to the stakes for both parties, the presidential election precedes a fresh reapportioning of districts following the census. Coronavirus is a local issue, said Post, now head of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. And the Republicans are going to be held accountable for their fall-down failure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Austin Chambers, Posts counterpart at the Republican State Leadership Committee, said its no secret that his party is navigating one of the worst environments we've ever seen. But he believes a volatile environment could move in the GOPs favor. We've got strong headwinds out there, Chambers said in July. We don't know how it's going to change. We don't know which direction it's going to go. But the one thing we know is it's going to change because that's what we've seen over the last 112 days. And that's the only thing we can be certain of over the next hundred days. Story continues The Pennsylvania Capitol building in Harrisburg, Pa. Early Maneuvering Chambers began the year sounding the alarm to make sure Democrats dont do to us what we did to them. Concerned about Democrats goal of raising a record $50 million for state races, Chambers enlisted fundraising help from such top Republicans as former House speakers Paul Ryan, John Boehner and Newt Gingrich to spread the word that while the presidential contest is important, state legislative races will determine what our party looks like for at least the next decade. He argued that the outcome of state legislative races could help either party gain as many as 68 U.S. House seats. (State legislatures draw district maps in 35 states. The rest use commissions.) Democrats, who have acknowledged being asleep at the wheel ten years ago, had already brought out their own big guns. Former President Barack Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder created the National Democratic Redistricting Committee for a multi-pronged strategy that includes winning state legislative races and raising legal challenges to legislative maps they argue are too partisan. In 2017, former Obama campaign aides and other veterans of Democratic politics launched a super PAC to help state legislative candidates. But the group warned supporters Friday that candidates in the important states of Texas and Florida are "substantially underfunded." Vicky Hausman, co-founder of Forward Majority, said the money pouring into the coffers of Democrats running for the U.S. House and Senate aren't "trickling down into the most consequential state legislative races. That's despite the fact that state legislative contests are far less expensive. "The absolute values are small, and the strategic importance cannot be overstated," Hausman said in a statement. Democrats' goal If Democrats flip the first tier of races theyre targeting, the number of state legislative chambers will be nearly evenly split between the parties next January. If they make their reach goals, Democrats will end up with 57 chambers compared with Republicans 42. Thats not as many as the 62 chambers Democrats controlled before the 2010 elections. But theres also been a national partisan realignment, largely driven by the decades-long shift in the South from Democratic control to Republican control, that cant be easily undone. The 2010 election, said Wendy Underhill, director of the National Conference of State Legislatures Elections & Redistricting program, marked the abrupt end of the transition from when legislatures were dominated by Democrats. 2010 was the year when it really tipped over into Republican control, Underhill said. Republicans paid close attention to the significance of the legislative races and just simply played a better game than Democrats did that year. An increased nationalization of elections helped Republicans take over seats Democrats had held onto in the South, said Matt Grossmann, director of Michigan State Universitys Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. Josh Zingher, an associate professor at Old Dominion University who has studied the nationalization of state races, remembers watching GOP state legislative candidates attack Obamacare in 2010 and thinking, This is not a state legislative issue, by and large. But, just as Democrats were hurt in 2010 by a midterm referendum on Obama, Zingher expects this years state legislative races to rise or fall on Trumps fortunes. There's less tools available for individual state legislative candidates to distance themselves from the national party, he said. A study by political scientist Steven Rogers shows that voters views of the president are three times as likely to affect the outcome of state legislative races than whether they think the legislature is doing a good or bad job. What my research generally finds is that state legislative elections are very little about what state legislators do themselves, said Rogers, an associate professor at St. Louis University. "Instead, they're more dominated by national politics." A governors popularity has some mitigating effect. But it may not be enough, Rogers said, if Trump's approval ratings are as low as they are, to save the Republican state legislators. Plus, the publics view of how GOP governors have handled the COVID-19 crisis took a dive in weekly Gallup surveys in July while the broadly positive ratings of Democratic governors held steady. The change coincided with the sharp increase in COVID-19 infections that was particularly reflected in red states. Signs directed primary election voters to their polling place, Tuesday, July 14, 2020 in Dallas. Targeted states Democrats are targeting House or Senate chambers in 13 states, including in several presidential battlegrounds. Theyre hoping to end up with three new trifectas controlling the governorship and both chambers of the legislature in Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. And theyre aiming to break GOP trifectas in Arizona, Iowa, Texas, Florida, Georgia and West Virginia. Democrats currently have complete control in 15 states and Republicans do in 21. The others are split. Democrats also want to flip control of the statehouses in Michigan and Montana, the state Senate in Wisconsin, and break the GOP supermajorities in both chambers in Kansas. Republicans have a slightly different set of states among the top ten priorities for their redistricting strategy. (Their targets include New York, Ohio and Nebraska, where lawmakers are not elected by party but where Republicans want to make sure strong conservatives are in charge.) President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019. Texas is top target Both parties agree on the outsized importance of Texas. The largest state that doesnt use a commission to draw its maps, Texas is expected to gain the most congressional seats after reapportionment. Republicans control the governorship and both chambers, so Democrats need to flip the House to get a seat at the redistricting table. The Democrats have a realistic chance, but the even money bet would be on Republicans retaining control, said Mark P. Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Texas who is tracking the races. The one factor that's really working in Texas Democrats favor is Donald Trumps presence at the top of the ticket and his unpopularity in many of the swing districts that will effectively determine which party controls the Texas House. Forward Majority, the Democratic super PAC, sounded he alarm Friday that Democrats in the most competitive pickup targets have raised only 30% of the amount their Republican opponents have collected. Republicans point to a January special election for a House seat the Democrats lost despite the involvement of several Democratic presidential candidates, including Beto ORourke, who had come close to carrying the suburban Houston district in his 2018 Senate race. They said they were going to win and lost it by 16 points, said Chambers, the head of the Republican State Leadership Committee. Post, the head of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said the Texas districts being targeted for the fall are easier to win and conditions have been moving in Democrats favor for months. January was a different world, Post said. She said a June special election in Kentucky in which Democrats picked up a state Senate seat that Trump had carried by more than 12 points is more instructive. The Democrat, an emergency room doctor, trounced her GOP opponent in the suburbs of Louisville. Michigan States Grossmann said Trumps unpopularity is both extending the gains Democrats have made in recent elections with college educated and suburban voters while also eroding some of his advantage with white, working class voters. That's bad news for a lot of legislative districts that Republicans control, he said. Chambers acknowledged that Republicans are struggling significantly in suburbs, an area where our majorities are built and protected. But, he said, talk on the left about defunding the police scares people. I don't think you have to be a political genius to understand that families in the suburbs don't want to have to worry about their safety and don't want to have to fear that their police is going to be defunded, he said. While the Trump campaign has leaned heavily into a law and order theme, a Monmouth University Poll conducted in late June found most people view defund the police as an expression of wanting to change the way police departments operate rather than a call to eliminate them. Former Vice President Joe Biden, who will officially become the partys nominee this month, said he opposes defund the police demands. We're delighted to have Joe Biden as the standard bearer for the Democrats, Post said. Long term effects Soon after Democrats captured the state House and Senate in Virginia last year, Democrats advanced party priorities that included gun control measures, protections for the LGBTQ community and allowing voters to cast an absentee ballot without a pre-approved excuse. After their big gains in 2010, Republicans passed voter ID laws and new abortion restrictions in many states, along with other measures. The easiest changes to see after a switch in partisan control are on social issues like guns and abortion for which the parties have clear positions and an active constituency, said Grossmann. Yet, in his book Red State Blues: How the Conservative Revolution Stalled in the States, Grossmann argued that the GOP largely failed to enact policies that advanced conservative goals or reversed prior liberal gains, despite their unprecedented gains in control over the last quarter century. Most state policy doesn't change that much from year-to-year, Grossmann said. There are a whole bunch of constraints on parties ability to move policy completely in their direction. But that doesnt mean Democrats and Republicans will fight any less hard for control this year. In many ways, the last decade has been characterized by what happened in 2010, said Old Dominion Universitys Zingher. What you're looking at in 2020 is the possibility of a swing back in the opposite direction. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Election 2020: key states could swing to Democrats from Republicans Cruise lines are hoping that new, tighter protocols will allow them to control the still-lingering threat of coronavirus aboard its ships The first major cruise ship to resume tours of the Mediterranean since the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe set sail from the Italian city of Genoa on Sunday, as the industry tries to regain ground after a bruising hiatus. The departure of the MSC Grandiosa from the northwestern port city shortly after 17:30 GMT represents a high-stakes test for the global cruise sector. The crisis forced operators to ground their ships and also led to accusations that they botched the handling of the epidemic in its early stages. Cruise lines are hoping that tighter protocols will allow them to control the still-lingering threat of coronavirus aboard its ships while still offering travellers a cruise experience that does not disappoint. Earlier in the day, arriving passengers preparing to check in before taking a required coronavirus blood test inside the terminal told AFP they were not concerned about the virus. Some said they believed cruises were now safer than other vacation options. "I couldn't miss the first cruise after COVID," cruise blogger Rosalba Scarrone, 64, told AFP. "I've taken 87 cruises, can you imagine how much I've suffered not setting off from February until now?" The Grandiosa is part of the fleet of privately owned MSC Cruises, founded in Naples but now based in Geneva. The ship will travel to the ports of Civitavecchia near Rome, Naples, Palermo and Valletta, Malta during the seven-day cruise. Competitor Costa Cruises, owned by Carnival, has opted to delay the restart of its Mediterranean tours until September, with departures from Trieste and Genoa for Italian-only clients to guarantee security. - Fewer passengers - Much is riding on the decision to restart cruises. Italy represents the bulk of Europe's cruise industry, reaping 14.5 billion euros of revenue per year ($17 billion) and supporting nearly 53,000 jobs, according to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). Story continues The group estimated a potential economic loss from suspended cruises throughout Europe could amount to about 25.5 billion euros. "The voyage ... represents a tangible sign of comeback for one of the fundamental economic industries of our city," said Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci. Over 2 million cruise passengers departed from the city last year. Last week, Italy's government, which is striving to revive the country's moribund economy after a more than two-month lockdown, gave cruise operators the green light to begin operating again as of August 15. MSC authorities said approximately 2,500 passengers were on board its debut cruise, limited to about 70 percent of normal capacity. All eyes in the industry will be on the Grandiosa after a smaller cruise operator, Norway's Hurtigruten, was forced earlier this month to suspend its newly restarted service after dozens of passengers and crew tested positive for COVID-19. Global health authorities criticised the industry's slow response to the spread of the virus at the onset of the crisis earlier this year before ships were grounded in March, from lax monitoring of crew, to continued operation of self-service buffets and gyms, to lack of personal protective equipment. - Buffet is served - As of June 11, 3,047 people were infected with coronavirus and 73 people died aboard 48 cruise ships affiliated with trade group Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), according to Johns Hopkins University data provided by CLIA. Health authorities say close living and working spaces for crew, along with partially enclosed environments, contributed to greater risk of infection on cruises than other venues. MSC has suspended the rest of its Mediterranean cruises until October save for an August 29 cruise departing from the southern Italian port of Bari. The company said its new security protocol exceeds national and industry standards and includes daily temperatures taken and escorted trips in controlled groups for excursions. Food from the buffet, a highlight of the cruise experience, will be served at passengers' tables. ams/jxb Detention of Russian businessman in embezzlement case extended until November 19 flickr.com/ quirischa 17:37 17/08/2020 MOSCOW, August 17 (RAPSI) The Moscow City Court on Monday extended detention of businessman Vasily Boiko-Veliky until November 19 in the Credit-Express bank embezzlement case as investigators requested, his attorney Igor Zuber told RAPSI. Zuber added that the decision would be appealed and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) would be notified of the rights violations. 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 reputation of Britain's High Street banks never recovered fully from the 2008-09 financial crisis, and is not helped by the savage cuts in savings rates during the current pandemic. Nevertheless, after a slow start, the banks have done a heroic job in making loans to businesses of all sizes during the Covid-19 crisis with 1.2m enterprises supported by government-backed schemes. The banks will pay a heavy price for providing support and set aside 17billion to cover potential losses in the first half of 2020. High Street banks have done a heroic job in making loans to businesses of all sizes during the Covid-19 crisis with 1.2m enterprises supported by government backed schemes That said and done, senior executives at the Big Four banks will draw little comfort from the annual Ipsos MORI survey of the services provided to current account customers. The most domestically focused banks, Natwest and Lloyds, are rated poorly for customer service compared with newcomers such as online lender Monzo and Starling Bank. HSBC's First Direct, a pioneer in telephone and online financial services, comes out well with 83 per cent customer satisfaction. Embarrassingly, Tesco, which prides itself on its retail skills, is struggling with its banking arm with just 44 per cent of customers saying they would recommend its services to families and friends. Arguably the bigger banks have struggled with customer services in recent months because of the preoccupation with business lending. But they haven't helped themselves with limited opening times and branch closures. The decision of Natwest to leave staff working from home until January 2021 does not signal the kind of 'can do' attitude required if the UK is to lift itself out of the stupor caused by the pandemic. The real reason for dissatisfaction is the struggle the legacy banks have with technology. Most of them are lumbered with pre-digital-age IT, patched together with an overlay of modern systems and software. The danger of too rapid a transition to modern, open banking technology was demonstrated by the catastrophic meltdown at TSB, which is still suffering the consequences with just 51 per cent of customers ready to recommend its overall service quality. Online systems may be working well now, but chief executive Debbie Crosbie has a great deal of catching up to do. The complexity of creating digital banking from scratch is enormous and the newer online financial groups such as Monzo, using the most up-to-date fintech software, have huge cost advantages. Nevertheless, the reputation of the newcomers will not have been enhanced by the Wirecard scandal, which might give switchers who put safety before anything else cause for pause. In almost every sphere of life, Covid has changed the way in which transactions of all kinds are handled. There is a premium for offering top-of-the-class mobile services, which is why Monzo is top-rated. The Silicon Valley giants have been reluctant to dive too deeply into the financial space because of fears of becoming entangled in regulation and capital requirements. Facebook's flirtation with its own digital currency, Amazon's provision of credit to Marketplace clients and Apple Pay all demonstrate from where the ultimate online challenge will come unless established lenders adapt speedily and well. Gin marvel The big test for acquirers of liquor brands used to be prising ownership away from family dynasties who regard the income as an annuity. Diageo chief executive Ivan Menezes has found a new route via Hollywood. After amazing success with George Clooney's Casamigos tequila (sales climbed 64 per cent in the US last year) Diageo has swooped in on Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds's Aviation American Gin, picking up some tequila, mezcal and sake brands along the way in a deal worth 481million. Aviation, priced at $27.00 a bottle in the US is light on juniper and drunk with soda water. Diageo's Tanqueray sells for $22.00 and is drunk with tonic. Reynolds and colleagues get 256million now but may have to wait a decade for a full payout depending on performance. It's still a super-hero return for a super-premium brand. Computer driven Much concern among the young about how exam algorithms could potentially affect life prospects. There is little awareness that algorithms drive so much of their lives, with 97 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds glued to the controls as gamers. Travel bookings and the cashless society are powered by similar tech. Is that rage quitting I hear? Tsepkalo announces creation of website listing personal data of members of election commissions who took part in ballot-rigging in Belarus, riot policemen who used force against protesters The National Salvation Front of the Republic of Belarus will create a website called "National Shame Board," which will publish the personal data of members of election commissions and members of the Belarusian OMON rapid response unit who took part in falsifying the election results of the Belarusian president and who used violence against protesters, said the founder of the Front, a former candidate for the post of the President of Belarus Valery Tsepkalo. "The second is the formation of the Board of National Shame. This is all organized as crowdsourcing. We will include in the Board those members of election commissions who falsified the elections. Their names, families, who they are, passport numbers if any, and we will require them to be banned from entering," said Tsepkalo in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine. He stressed that participation in falsification of election results under the laws of Belarus is a criminal offense, and the publication of their data could become an opportunity for the European Union countries not to issue visas to them. According to Tsepkalo, another project of the National Salvation Front of the Republic of Belarus is the publication of the data of the Special Police Unit's [OMON] officers who used violence against the protesters. "The third is the riot police who beat people. There will also be a website, it is probably closer to the 'Peacemaker' (Myrotvorets," said the politician. Tsepkalo noted that already now he is being sent the data of some riot policemen who were involved in dispersal of demonstrations in Belarus. When asked if such a project would become a reason for revenge on the part of the protesters, the politician replied: "Well, if they beat people in a cruel way. What are they doing? That is their business. We will publish - this is exactly the same as with those who are at war there [in the Donbas].They [OMON officers] must understand that they will undergo trough shame from the Belarusians for their actions, and over time, maybe, charges will be pressed against them - and they will pay 10-15 years to those whom they have beaten. The trial will be fair. Criminal cases will be initiated for abuse of power." The case of Stephen Nana Kamkam, the Ofankor landlord who allegedly murdered his tenant Benjamin Okyere in cold blood over rent has been adjourned to August 31 by the Abeka District Court. According to the court it was yet to receive the advice of the Attorney-General in the matter. Inspector Rita Konadu who held the brief of Chief Inspector Stephen Ahialey, also informed the court that the substantive Prosecutor was out of the jurisdiction. The court presided over Mrs. Adwoa Akyaama Ofosu however pleaded with the deceased family to be calm. She was optimistic that by the next adjourned date the AGs advice would be ready. The Police has forwarded a duplicate docket and the autopsy report on Benjamin Okyere, the musician to the Attorney-Generals office for advice. It would be recalled that Kamkam, a businessman, was arrested by the police when he allegedly shot and killed Okyere, his tenant and musician over rent on May 25, this year. Kamkam, also known as Nii Kojo Konim Obio-Cyhoera, has provisionally been charged with the murder of Benjamin Okyere, a musician but his plea has been preserved by the Court. The Prosecution, led by Chief Inspector Ahialey had earlier told the court that, the deceased was a musician who lived at Ofankor Spot-M and Kamkam, his landlord was into real estate and resides in the same vicinity. Prosecution said two years ago, the deceased rented an apartment from the accused, but the tenancy expired on May 24, this year. He said Okyere opted for renewal of the tenancy agreement, which Kamkam agreed, but later changed his mind and therefore asked Okyere to vacate the apartment and that he should leave and hand over the keys. Prosecution said on the afternoon of May 25, Kamkam took his loaded pump action gun, hired a taxi and went to the residence of Okyere. He said on reaching the venue, he alighted from the taxi, called out Okyere at the gate and requested that he hand over the keys of his apartment to him. Prosecution said the deceased, who knew the behaviour of Kamkam, had earlier called one John Bosco Kotah, a Police officer friend on phone to come to his aid. He said when Kotah arrived, he saw Kamkam in possession of the weapon so he got scared and rushed to Okyeres room and picked a phone to call another Police friend to assist them. Chief Inspector Ahialey said by then, the deceased was at the main gate with the accused and without any provocation Kamkam opened fire and shot Okyere four times at close range. He said when Kotah heard the gun shots, he came out of the room only to see the accused running away so he chased Kamkam to a distance but being scared the accused might harm him, he returned to attend to Okyere. Prosecution said Okyere was rushed to Anecja Hospital at Tantra Hills and later sent to the Achimota Mile Seven Police Station where a formal complaint was lodged. He said Okyere was subsequently rushed to the Police Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. Chief Inspector Ahialey said a team of policemen, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police, George Asare, proceeded to the crime scene and saw human blood splattered at the entrance of the main gate to the deceaseds apartment. He said four spent AA cartridges were retrieved at the scene and the accused was later arrested at his residence at Ofankor Spot-M. The prosecution said two pump action guns, loaded with seven and eight rounds of cartridges respectively, were found in his room. 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 BRECKSVILLE, Ohio -- The Ohio Department of Transportation will build 6-foot-high fences along the towering Ohio 82 bridge, which joins Brecksville and Sagamore Hills Township, after three people committed suicide off the bridge in one month. The bridge currently is lined with 42-inch-high concrete walls that allow for clear views of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park below. The walls are relatively easy to scale. We had three suicides off the bridge in June, Paul Schweikert, Sagamore Hills Township trustee, told cleveland.com. Weve never had that number before. Typically, you might have one every couple of years. Amanda McFarland, ODOT spokesperson, said a contract will be awarded for the project late this year. Construction is expected to start in early 2021. According to Sagamore Hills police reports, the three suicide victims were a Parma man, 64; a Northfield woman, 37; and a Broadview Heights boy, 15. Schweikert said Sagamore Hills asked ODOT in previous years to add adding fences to the bridge, but had no success. This view of the Ohio 82 bridge connecting Brecksville and Sagamore Hills Township was taken from Street View by Google Maps. This time, the township recruited Brecksville Mayor Jerry Hruby for assistance. Schweikert said Hruby invited Joelle Magyar, superintendent of Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools, into the discussion. Also getting involved was Craig Kenkel, superintendent of Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Hruby and the township trustees contacted ODOT, and a meeting was scheduled with ODOT officials to discuss the need for fences along the bridge. Hruby was the driving force on this, Schweikert said. Hats off to the guy. Township trustees also reached out to State Rep. Bill Roemer (R-38). Schweikert said Roemer convinced ODOT to build the fences, and in the end the meeting wasnt necessary. Its a picturesque bridge, and its shown on the township seal, Roemer told cleveland.com. I asked about that, because the seal doesnt show fencing on the bridge. Trustees said the loss of life was so egregious that putting up fencing would be better. Roemer said he also talked to several residents about the matter. Most said if we can save lives, its important, Roemer said. Some said people will find other ways to take their lives, but most were supportive. Its a good use of funds and resources. Schweikert said township trustees are always troubled by suicides off the bridge. If you hit a dark spot, go for help, Schweikert said. There is no shame in that. You have maybe hit a low spot, but things will get better. Read more from the Sun Star Courier. People walk past signage for Australian universities in Melbourne's central business district on June 10, 2020, (William West/AFP via Getty Images) World-Leading International Student Numbers Fueling Australian Universities Pursuit of Chinese Ranking Leading Australian universities have distorted their business models in the pursuit of higher rankings on a China-developed ranking system that is skewered heavily towards research and Nobel Prize winners. According to Salvatore Babones (pdf), an associate professor at the University of Sydney, domestic students are losing out as university administrators focus on enrolling world-leading international student numbers to fund and expand their research departments. The pursuit of larger research teams is driven by the potential of achieving higher positions on the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). Salvatore Babones, associate professor at the University of Sydney (Supplied). The ARWU is published by the China-based Shanghai Ranking Consultancy and is one of three globally recognised university ranking systems (the others are the UK-based QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education). The ARWU was the earliest ranking system to be established and focuses on a markedly different set of criteria. The ARWU measures the number of Nobel Prize-winning staff or alumni, while the other systems do not consider this factor. Further, it only counts prizes in the fields of chemistry, physics, medicine, and economics. It does not consider the fields of literature and peace. A woman walks past signage for Australian universities in Melbournes central business district on June 10, 2020. (William West/AFP via Getty Images) The system gives credit to scientific research, but excludes the arts and humanities. It also has little to no consideration for the student learning experience. Lastly, ARWU also counts the number of Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) at an institution. HCRs are academics recognised as being at the top of their field across a range of disciplines. As of 2019, there are 6,216 HCRs around the world. Australias Group of Eight (Go8), some of the oldest and most well-known institutions in the country, have increased the number of HCRs teaching at their institutions from 1.71 percent of the global talent pool (in 2004) to 4.36 percent (in 2019). The Australian National University in Canberra on April 11, 2014. (AAP Image/Alan Porritt) According to Clarivate, the group behind the HCR rankings: Australian research institutions appear to have recruited a significant number of Highly Cited Researchers since 2014 while also increasing their number of homegrown Highly Cited Researchers, Peter Hoj, former vice-chancellor of the University of Queensland, stated in 2016, The privilege our research activities give us is a global ranking which allows us to derive a much higher fee from international students. The Go8 has recruited over 162 HCRs with only four involved in the social sciences. None are in the humanities. Babones claims, To succeed in Chinas ARWU rankings system, Go8 universities have relied heavily on pulling one specific lever: the recruitment of star academics from a limited global list of HCRs. The five universities that have been particularly successful in doing so are the same five universities that, before the coronavirus crisis, became most reliant on Chinese student fee income: Monash, Melbourne, Sydney, Queensland, and UNSW, he added. Covered walkway at the southern edge of the Great Court at the University of Queensland. (Nick-D/CC BY-SA 4.0 [ept.ms/2j9VWgB]) Babones claims Australian universities have also inadvertently aligned themselves with the educational goals of the Chinese Communist Party in the pursuit of ARWU positions. This pursuit of rankings has been detrimental to the learning experience for both domestic and international students. The Australian media have routinely reported accounts of students who barely speak English. Teachers who have been pressured to find ways to pass students who are unable to meet academic standards, and rampant contract cheating driven by student incapacity, Babones wrote in a submission to a New South Wales parliamentary inquiry into the tertiary sector. Domestic students routinely complain of being forced to act as informal tutors for group work assignments, he continued. Pedestrians in the Chinatown district on March 04, 2020, in Sydney, Australia. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images) The Epoch Times reached out to the Group of Eight for comment but did not receive a comment by the time of publication. The latest ARWU rankings reveal seven Go8 universities in the top 100. Currently, ten universities around the world have more than 5,000 Chinese international students enrolled at their institutions. Seven of those universities are in Australia. Australia is also the second-largest destination for Chinese students (127,176) behind the United States (369,548), despite the size disparity between their sectors. In fact, three universities in Sydney (University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, and the University of Technology Sydney) have more Chinese international students than all 33 public universities in California combined. Students walk around Sydney University on April 6, 2016. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images) Babones told The Epoch Times on Aug. 17 there was no evidence to suggest Chinese parents or prospective students considered the ARWU seriously in their decision-making. However, he suspects university pay incentives could be tied to rankings success. In recent months, Go8 universities have been feeling the brunt of the pandemic lockdown as international travel is restricted and many students (including those from China, India, and Nepal) remain stranded overseas. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham announced on Aug. 16 that 300 international students would start arriving in Adelaide as part of a pilot program to restart the education sector. Andrew Peterson, executive director of the Substance Use Disorders Institute at the University of the Sciences, helped to launch the school's new medical marijuana certificates. Read more A career in the medical marijuana industry might only be a few short classes away. The University of the Sciences last week announced three new online certificate programs on weed that expand short-term education options for medical providers, business leaders, and retail associates looking to join the rapidly growing industry. Andrew Peterson, the executive director of the schools Substance Use Disorders Institute, said the certificates, which start classes in October, are an expansion of the Masters in Business Administration program in medical cannabis that the university introduced last summer. When we launched the MBA program, we had people say, I dont want a full degree yet, is there another option? To solve that problem, Peterson and his team launched two graduate-level certificates, one for healthcare professionals on the market and therapeutic potential of cannabis and another for those with a business background interested in applying it to the medical cannabis industry. While both programs require an undergraduate degree to enroll, they offer an alternative to the MBA for those who have less time or ability to afford that option. Peterson also wanted to make the medical marijuana industry more accessible to those without an undergraduate education, which is why the third of the three new certificates doesnt require a degree to enrollan option he says is the first of its kind. Tailored towards those with entry-level jobs in the industry, this undergraduate certificate focuses on enabling students to communicate health information effectively to patients who are coming into dispensaries. The courses in this program also cover introductions to sales and marketing regulations in the industry, as well as the supply chain from seed to sale, said Peterson. All three of the new certificates are comprised of four eight-week courses that can be completed over a 32-week period. Additionally, each program consists of 12 credits, which are transferable to a degree program at the university should students choose to continue their education after finishing the four required courses. The certificates are cheaper than the MBA, too. For this upcoming fall semester, those enrolled for the MBA will have to pay $1,000 per credit, whereas those in the graduate certificates pay only $750 per credit, or $9,000 total. The cost per credit for the undergraduate certificate is the same as that of an undergraduate degree, at $450 per credit, or $5,400 total. USciences also offers a four-hour certification course for pharmacists and dispensaries on clinical considerations in medical marijuana, which Peterson says has maintained enrollment of 30 to 50 students per course throughout the pandemic. Medical marijuana is one of the few industries thats booming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nate Wardle, the press secretary for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, reported that total sales for the program nufrom its 2018 inception were $700 million until February. The programs sales had doubled by August this year, increasing from to $1.32 billion. Nationwide sales spiked in mid-March during the first shutdowns of the pandemic as several states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, declared dispensaries essential businesses. There are currently 89 operational dispensaries throughout the state, with 25 of those in the Philadelphia region, Wardle wrote in an email. From March 2018 to August 2020, the number of patients registered to receive medical marijuana increased from around 21,000 to 360,000. Providers went from 800 to 2,000 during the same period. Peterson sees those trends as evidence of a growing sector that will continue to need an educated workforce. As this market continues to blossom, people are going to be looking for more and more qualified individuals, he said. Other administrators agree. Stockton University near Atlantic City offers a minor in cannabis studies while Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia offers a graduate certificate in cannabis medicine for health professionals. Mike Badey, CEO of Keystone Shops which has dispensaries in Devon, King of Prussia and South Philadelphia, agrees. I see every facet of the cannabis industry growing over the next few decades, he said, pointing to horticultural science, clinical relevance, and the retail environment as a few examples. All ships float with a rising tide. He finds the option for healthcare professionals especially exciting, as he feels that more medical research will continue to legitimize physician use of cannabis for a variety of health conditions. Currently, the Department of Health approves medical marijuana for 23 conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, and opioid use disorder. Badey also thinks that while these certificates arent necessary for someone trying to enter the medical marijuana industry, they do create an advantage. If you want to get directly into a management level or corporate position, a certification like that is definitely going to help your chances. Peterson agrees, and thinks there are real benefits to offering industry-specific education on medical marijuana. I consistently get inquiries from people all across the nation asking about educational resources, he said. More and more of the bigger providers and processors are looking to open new dispensaries, and theyre looking for qualified individuals. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko resisted calls for new elections on Monday as thousands of workers took to the streets of Minsk once again demanding his resignation while his exiled election challenger announced that she was "ready" to lead the country. Svetlana Tikhanouskaya, Belarus's exiled opposition leader, said on Monday she was ready to steer the nation towards new elections. In a video address from Lithuania, Tikhanouskaya urged security and law enforcement officers to switch sides from Lukashenko's government, saying their past behaviour would be forgiven if they did so now. Her video was released a day after Belarusians chanting "Step down!" filled the centre of the capital Minsk in the biggest protest so far against what they said was the fraudulent re-election a week ago of longtime president Lukashenko. "I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader during this period," Tikhanouskaya stated in her address, saying it was essential to make the most of the momentum generated by a week of protests. The former English teacher has become one of the leading opposition figures against Lukashenko, who is struggling to contain a wave of mass protests and strikes that pose the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule of the country. She fled abroad last week, saying she had done so for the safety of her children, but quickly began releasing new videos calling for anti-government protests to continue. The unrest has spread to sections of society normally seen as loyal to the president, as workers from large state factories staged walkouts and some police, journalists from state media, and a sitting ambassador came out in support of the protesters. Lukashenko floats constitutional reform Opponents of Lukashenko say he rigged the August 9 presidential election to secure a sixth term in power. He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80 percent of the vote. Story continues The veteran leader ruled out holding another election in remarks Monday carried by Belarusian media. "We held elections already. Until you kill me, there will be no other elections," he was quoted as saying. Lukashenko, who was visiting a tractor factory in Minsk, said he might be willing to look at constitutional reforms that would allow for a form of power-sharing, the Belta state news agency reported. But he said he was not prepared to do so under pressure from the current protests, which are the most widespread of his 26 years in power. Lukashenko said later on Monday that a new presidential election could be held after the country adopts a new constitution, the RIA news agency reported. The veteran leader, who has been in power since 1994, faced heckling from the factory workers, with people chanting "Step down!" as he tried to answer their questions. As he spoke, over 5,000 striking workers from the Minsk Tractor Works plant marched down the streets of the city, demanding that Lukashenko cede his post to Tikhanouskaya. EU mulls further sanctions Russia's Vladimir Putin told Lukashenko on Sunday that Moscow was ready to assist Belarus in accordance with a collective military pact if necessary. The Kremlin said that external pressure was being applied to the country, without saying where from. The European Union has launched a process of imposing sanctions on Belarusian officials responsible for election fraud and a crackdown on protests that followed the disputed vote. On Wednesday the 27 EU leaders will hold emergency talks to discuss what other support they can extend to Belarus. Initial ideas include starting a fund for victims of repression there, funding projects to support media pluralism, advising on police reform, enhancing student exchanges with the EU as well as granting easier access to the bloc's labour market for Belarusian workers. Poland, the Czech Republic, the three Baltic states and Denmark have also called for EU mediation between Lukashenko and the opposition. (FRANCE 24 with REUTERS) Brock University research scientists studying the COVID-19 virus are raising alarms that rushing the approval process for a vaccination could lead to terrible consequences. Considering the enormous pressure to develop a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccination, Brock professor and immunologist Adam MacNeil is concerned fast-tracking the Phase 3 approval process for the development of a vaccine could have terrible and multifactorial consequences well beyond the underlying biology. The whole world has their eyes on this attempt to create a successful COVID-19 vaccine. Its very important that were doing it properly. Its very important that were taking all the appropriate steps to make sure were not eroding all of the trust that weve developed, he said. Adding to the concern was a recent announcement that Russia has approved an early COVID-19 vaccine called Sputnik V for use in vulnerable population groups, including medical staff and the elderly despite only being tested on 76 patients. The Sputnik V vaccine one of 165 potential vaccines in development worldwide, and six that have now entered Phase 3 clinical trials wont be widely used until after the start of the new year as larger clinical trials continue. But with so little testing, MacNeil said he wouldnt take Sputnik V if given the opportunity. No, I wouldnt take that one, he said. MacNeil said researchers are more concerned about ensuring people are comfortable using any other vaccination that may become available and ensuring a vaccine is adequately tested could be a factor in that. A Phase 3 clinical trial typically includes 10,000 to 30,000 study participants and can often take years to complete. In order for a vaccine to be effective you need to establish whats called herd immunity, and that requires a critical threshold of people to actually be willing to take a vaccine. Thats what matters, he said. Youre absolutely certainly talking about thousands and tens of thousands of people in order to be able to say a vaccine is safe and effective. In addition to undermining public trust in vaccinations, there are other concerns related to fast-tracking a vaccinations development. Brock student Jeremia Coish has been researching a rare complication known as antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), as it pertains to dengue hemorrhagic fever for his doctoral thesis. Although it has yet to be determined if ADE could be a factor with COVID-19, MacNeil said they believe its a concern that the scientific community and the public at large might need to hear about. Ideally, you want the best vaccine possible, said Coish, who has recently been researching COVID-19 within the Level 3 laboratory at Brock. Despite the rarity of potential complications such as ADE, the impact would be exacerbated if the vaccine is widely used. Niagaras acting medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa said Hirji, said if Canada gives a vaccination to its population of more than 30 million people and theres any kind of side-effect, even for one in 10,000, a lot of people will be impacted. Hirji is confident the Canadian government will not cut corners when it comes to the approval of a vaccine, adding the process cannot safely be fast-tracked. He said the quickest development of a vaccine was four years for the mumps, but more typically its a decade-long process. Even with the world working together to develop a COVID-19 vaccine, theres a certain amount of study period that cant be shortened and its not likely that an effective vaccine will be available until next year. The first vaccine also wont likely be as effective as traditional vaccines, he said, because there wont be an opportunity to determine which one is the best. Maybe well get lucky and it turns out to be a really good vaccine, but I think we need to be prepared that the first vaccines that come out might not be the optimal vaccines and its going to take a while longer before we get those vaccines, he said. That being said, even a 20 to 30 per cent effective vaccine is huge. It takes us from having zero per cent immunity to 20 to 30 per cent immunity, which is a big difference. Hirji said the importance of safety cant be undermined. Coish and MacNeil warned against fast-tracking the vaccine approval process in an article in the Microbes and Infection scientific journal published in June. MacNeil said the risks of rushing vaccination development is substantial. They go beyond just the response to COVID-19. They speak directly to the contribution of vaccination as a public health platform globally. India and Nepal will hold talks on Monday under their oversight mechanism to review development projects funded by New Delhi in the Himalayan nation. This will be the first high-level contact between the two sides since ties were hit by a border row. The joint oversight mechanism was launched in 2016 and reviews progress in bilateral projects. The meeting between Indian envoy Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepals foreign secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, who jointly chair the mechanism, is being seen by some quarters in Kathmandu as a positive development after the border row took relations to a new low. The mechanism will only focus on the implementation of India-funded projects in Nepal. However, it could help break the logjam in relations, said a person aware of the developments. During its seventh meeting in July last year, the mechanism reviewed the implementation of projects such cross-border rail links, petroleum pipelines, roads, bridges, integrated border check posts, energy, irrigation, and post-earthquake reconstruction. The border row erupted late last year after Nepal objected to the inclusion of Kalapani region, which is claimed by Kathmandu, in a new map of the union territory of Ladakh that was issued by India. The row was exacerbated in May, when India opened a new road to Lipulekh region on the border with Tibet, as this area too is claimed by Nepal. In June, Nepals Parliament approved the new political map of the country that showed Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, which are all controlled by India, as the part of the Himalayan nation. India had termed as untenable the artificial enlargement of territorial claims by the neighbouring country. The foreign ministry further said that Nepals action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. In recent weeks, the two countries have also engaged in a war of words over the origins of historic figures such as Lord Ram and Gautam Buddha. AMMAN Two U.S. helicopters on Monday attacked a Syrian army checkpoint in northeastern Syria near the Kurdish-held city of Qamishli, killing one soldier and injuring two others, state media said. The incident happened shortly after a U.S. patrol was prevented from passing by an army checkpoint in the area, state media said. Northeastern Syria is mainly under the control of U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces who are spearheaded by Kurdish fighters, but Syrian army forces are deployed in certain locations under agreements with the Kurds. 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 Australia's lucrative international education is set to get a boost with the impending arrival of hundreds of students from Asia. Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said on Sunday that 300 students will arrive in South Australia (SA) as part of a pilot program to restart international education, which has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. The students will travel to Australia from Singapore in early September and then serve a mandatory two-week quarantine period with all costs to be covered by universities and the students. They will be the first international students to enter Australia since March. Birmingham said that SA, which has had only 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of July, would be used as a test case for the resumption of international education. "We want to make sure that anything that happens in relation to international arrivals coming into Australia is done with the strictest of safety standards in place," he said. "I also want to stress as well that no taxpayer dollars will be used in terms of supporting students flying into Australia or quarantining as is required." Peak body Universities Australia in June revealed that universities could lose up to 16 billion AUD (11.4 billion USD) in revenue by 2023 as a result of the pandemic. There were more than 500,000 international students in Australia at the start of the pandemic but they have not been eligible for government economic stimulus measures. Massachusetts health officials announced another four coronavirus deaths on Monday, bringing the statewide death count to 8,611 since the pandemic began. Officials also confirmed another 213 cases of COVID-19, for a total now of at least 114,611 cases. Thats based on 14,946 new molecular tests reported on Monday, according to the Department of Public Health. There are currently 367 people hospitalized with the virus, including 59 people in intensive care. As of Monday, there are at least 5,382,125 cases of COVID-19 in the United States and nearly 170,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While Massachusetts saw a slight increase in cases earlier this month, it appears new infections have begun leveling off. Massachusetts is one of roughly two dozen states where infection levels have stayed the same in recent days, according to the New York Times. Mondays statistics come as states and school districts continue to grapple with how to handle the upcoming school year, and several after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data showing that while COVID-19 impacts adults in far higher numbers than children, children remain at risk for severe illness. During March 21July 25, weekly hospitalization rates steadily increased among children, the CDC said. Latino children were eight times as likely as white children to be hospitalized, while Black children were five times as likely as white children, the CDC found. Roughly two white children per 100,000 were hospitalized for COVID-related illnesses, compared to 16.4 Latino and 10.5 per Black children per 100,000, the CDC said. Gov. Charlie Baker last week began releasing enhanced town-level data to show specific case counts in every municipality across the state. The new limits on outdoor gathering sizes also took effect last week. Any gatherings outside will be limited to 50 people, instead of 100. The limit on indoor gatherings will remain at 25 people. State health officials also said last week theyve completed contact tracing for 92% of coronavirus cases identified by local health departments. Related Content: Authorities in the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan have cut short the trial of an activist who expressed support for last year's protest movement in Hong Kong. Xu Kun, a resident of Panlong district in the provincial capital Kunming, was held under criminal detention on Aug. 30, 2019 on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge frequently leveled at peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. He was formally arrested on Sept. 30 on the same charge, and his case passed to the district prosecutor's office on Nov. 28, court documents relating to his trial showed. Xu stood trial behind closed doors at the Panlong District People's Court on Sunday. "The trial began at 2.30 p.m. on Aug. 16," Xu's wife Li Lanzhen told RFA on Monday. "They wouldn't allow anyone into the public gallery, and only two family members were allowed to be present." "His lawyer said that there was no pretrial meeting, and that the materials relating to the case weren't made available to them in advance," she said, adding that the defense attorney's request to call witnesses was turned down by court officials. After just 10 minutes, the judge ordered the trial to adjourn, with another date to be announced, Li said. "Lawyer Li Guisheng called the witnesses, but they didn't come, so they just made the defense as best they could," she said. "Then, Judge Du Bin ordered the court to adjourn, and I have no idea when it will reconvene." Around 1,000 tweets reposted Xu's indictment accuses him of retweeting around 1,000 tweets in support of the anti-extradition movement and pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong last year via his Twitter account. Twitter is not generally available to Chinese internet users, and requires circumvention tools to bypass the system of government censorship, blocks, and filters known collectively as the Great Firewall. He is accused of "reposting and publishing a large number of false and harmful items slandering China's political system and the Chinese Communist Party, insulting Chinese leaders and distorting major domestic news events." The prosecution cited cell phone screenshots and photos from Xu's cell phone as evidence for the charges, which come under Article 293 of the Criminal Law of the Peoples Republic of China. "It is clear that the evidence is credible and sufficient, and he should be held criminally responsible for the crime of picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," the indictment said. Official retaliation Xu's friend Pan Lu said the charges were a trumped-up form of official retaliation. "If this country would only allow its citizens to vote for those in power, for different political parties and leaders, and to take to the streets to give voice to dissenting opinions, nobody would be picking quarrels or stirring up trouble online," Pan said. "This is just a charge that the Chinese Communist Party likes to pin on dissidents." Xu's defense attorney Li Guisheng called for the trial to be held in open court. "The right to a public trial is one of the key principles of criminal procedure law," Li said in his argument in court, a copy of which was seen by RFA. "Xu Kun's isn't a case that merits being tried behind closed doors, and should be made public in accordance with the law." Repeated calls to Li's phone rang unanswered during office hours on Monday. Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. The Egyptian parliament's legislative and constitutional affairs committee approved on Monday a deal demarcating maritime borders with Greece. The deal was signed by the ministers of foreign affairs of Egypt and Greece in Cairo on 6 August. A report prepared by the committee said that MPs approved the deal after they had made sure that it goes in line with Egypt's constitutional and legal systems. "The deal between the two republics of Egypt and Greece also go in line with international law," said the report, adding that "it also includes establishing an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) between the two countries." The report said the deal aims at partially demarcating the maritime borders between the two parties in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. "The demarcation of these borders will be completed when necessary and once consultations between the two countries on point A and point E are finished in line with international law," said the report. The report indicates that the EEZ will be between point "A East" and "E West" and in line with attached geographical formulations and that it forms an integral part of the deal. The report said that any change of the geographical formulations between point "A to the East" and point "E to the west" will be concluded only under a bilateral agreement between the two countries. "If any of the two parties seeks to sign an EEZ with a third country sharing maritime borders with the two countries, it shall inform the other party in advance and ahead of signing the deal with the third country," said the report. The deal also states that in case that natural resources, including hydrocarbons, are found in an extension area between the EEZ of the two countries, there should be a new deal on how to utilise these resources and that any disputes in this respect shall be settled through diplomatic channels. The deal stipulates that it will not be a matter of criticism or withdrawal or postponement for any reason. "It can be modified under an agreement between the two parties and that it goes into effect once the ratification documents are exchanged between the two countries," said the report. Egypt and Greece signed a maritime demarcation deal on 6 August. Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Soukry said in a press conference that the provisions of the deal are in line with international law and the United Nations Convention On The Law Of The Sea. "The deal permits Egypt and Greece to go ahead with maximising benefits from riches available in the exclusive economic zones of both countries, particularly the promising gas and oil reserves," he stressed. Shoukry pointed out that the new agreement paves the way for more regional cooperation between the Egyptian and Greek sides in the field of energy, given the membership of the two countries in the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum. The forums members are Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Israel, Jordan, and Palestine. The forum was established in January 2019 to "create a regional gas market, optimise resource development, cut the cost of infrastructure, offer competitive prices, and improve trade ties, according to Egypt's petroleum ministry. Shoukry added that the friendly relationship between Egypt and Greece is a key pillar to preserving the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean and countering the threats stemming from irresponsible policies that support extremism and terrorism. Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias said the deal is "historical" and that it materialised following long rounds of negotiations, adding that the agreement ensures cooperation between both countries. The 6 August deal between Egypt and Greece has since caused a lot of tension in relations between Greece and Turkey. Greece has accused Turkey of violating its sovereign maritime rights in the Mediterranean Sea. Turkish media has said that the Egypt-Greece deal directs a blow to a maritime border agreement in the Mediterranean Sea between Turkey and Libya's government in Tripoli in 2019. Turkey's foreign minister claimed on the same day the Egypt-Greece deal was signed that it is baseless and that it falls in the area of Turkey's continental shelf. Reuters quoted the ministry as saying that Turkey considers the agreement null and void and that the deal also violates Libya's maritime rights. Tensions were already high between Greece and Turkey over the exploration of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece threatened that it would not hesitate using force to stop Turkey's illegal exploration works in the Mediterranean. Search Keywords: Short link: PESHAWAR, Pakistan A militant faction in Pakistan that split years ago from the Pakistani Taliban has returned and rejoined the insurgents, a Taliban spokesman said Monday. In a statement, spokesman Mohammad Khurasani, says top leaders and fighters from the splinter faction which later evolved into two separate militant groups were welcomed at a recent ceremony after they decided to merge back with the Taliban. The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, are separate from the Afghan Taliban. One of the militant groups, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, was formed in 2014 by Umar Khalid Khurasani when it split from the TTP. The other group, Hizbul Ahrar, was first established in Afghanistans eastern Nangarhar province. The merger of the two militant groups, which have been blamed for several deadly attacks in Pakistan, was seen as a boost for the Pakistani Taliban. The development comes after a recently released U.N. report suggested that more than 6,000 Pakistani insurgents were hiding in neighboring Afghanistan most of them belonging to militant groups behind attacks on Pakistani military and civilian targets. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for one of the most horrific attacks in the country the 2014 attack on a military school in the city of Peshawar when 140 people were killed, mostly students at the school some as young as 5. 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 Belagavi (Karna): Escalating his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday trashed demonetisation of high value currency notes as a Modi-made disaster and charged that he had attacked the economic system of the country to benefit the one per cent super rich. For the first time in the history of India, Prime Minister has attacked the poor people of this country. Usually the Prime Minister works for the country. They work for the economy, but Narendra Modi has attacked our economic system, Gandhi alleged at a Congress rally here in north Karnataka. As it is said a man-made disaster, in the same way demonetization is Modi-made disaster, the Congress Vice-President said as he targeted the Prime Minister squarely blaming him for the hardships post-demonetisation. More than 100 people had died, he claimed, adding, Fidel Castro (Cuban revolutionary) was remembered in the Parliament and we stood in silence for two minutes as a mark of respect to him, but BJP leaders did not have two minutes time for these hundred people. Who is responsible for their deaths? Narendra Modi is responsible....In the last two and half years Narendra Modi government has been attacking the poor, he said. Accusing the Modi government of trying to divide India, he said on the one side, there were one per cent super rich who have private aircraft, flashy vehicles and big businesses and on the other, there were 99 per cent of people who are honest like farmers, labourers, small traders and middle class who toil every day for the sake of the country and their lives. In the last two and half years, one per cent super rich in this country have amassed 70 per cent of Indias wealth and if you look deep into this one per cent, only 50 families have major portion of Indias wealth. You know their names; these are the people who travel with Narendra Modi to America, Japan, and Australia, Gandhi said. Congress wants to get rid of corruption from India and whatever step the BJP government takes whether it is big or small if it is against corruption we will give it full support, he said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. F ormer chancellor Sajid Javid has been hired as a senior adviser to JPMorgan in a move that sees him return to his former banking career, the Evening Standard has learned. Javid, who quit Number 11 after a spat with Downing Street over the influence of Number 10 in Treasury matters, is to work as one of a panel of outside experts at the bank, an internal email to JPMorgan staff said tonight. Javid will continue as an MP and operate under strict curbs on revealing internal government policy, particularly regarding any privileged information he gained while in ministerial office. However, the move will raise eyebrows among those critical of former ministers moving into private sector roles. Tony Blair is still working as a global adviser to JPMorgan, where Javid's role is on its Europe, Middle East and Africa Advisory Council. Javid worked for JPMorgan Chase in New York before entering politics, working on the bank's currencies and emerging markets business. JPMorgan did not comment on how much he would be paid, beyond saying it was a paid position and has approval of the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments at the Cabinet Office. He served as Home Secretary before taking over as Chancellor from Philip Hammond in 2019. He was succeeded in February by Rishi Sunak. He also served as business secretary after the 2015 general election under David Cameron. Contacted by the Evening Standard, a JPMorgan spokesman said: "We are delighted to welcome Sajid back to JPMorgan as a senior adviser, and we look forward to drawing upon his in-depth understanding of the business and economic environment to help shape our client strategy across Europe." JPMorgan has as advisers numerous senior business and political leaders from around Europe with knowledge of the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment. On the EMEA Advisory Council, Javid will advise co-head of investment banking Vis Raghavan and Daniel Pinto, co-president of JPMorgan and CEO of the investment bank. Blair is more of a global adviser at the group with the ear of group CEO Jamie Dimon. It is believed Javid will not be commanding the same kind of salary as Blair's reputed 2 million a year. In an email to staff, Raghavan and Pinto said Javid and his fellow council members' insights would "help us to set the strategic direction of the EMEA franchise." The panel includes senior business and political leaders from all the major EMEA countries, with Javid being the UK expert. Javid was the first British Asian to hold a great office of state in the UK. He was born in Rochdale, Lancashire, to a British Pakistani family and studied economics and politics at the University of Exeter where he joined the Conservative Party. His banking career also included time at Deutsche Bank - a factor that led to claims in 2019 by shadow chancellor John McDonnell that he was implicated in the causes of the "casino economy" banking that led to the Global Financial Crisis. McDonnell pointed to Javid's work selling collateralised debt instruments, which many accuse of having increased the amount of risk in the banking system. JPMorgan emerged from the financial crisis as the clear winner in what was the biggest disaster to hit the markets since the 1930s. It is now the biggest, most powerful bank in the world, employing thousands at its global investment banking hub in Canary Wharf. iSAT Africa, a leading data, video and internet service provider, has signed an agreement with Azercosmos, a leading satellite operator in the South Caucasus. iSAT Africa services include MPLS, SDWan, media solutions and OTT using terrestrial and satellite technologies. According to the agreement with Azercosmos, iSAT Africa will meet the growing demand for telecommunications in various parts of Africa that cant be served using terrestrial, via the resources of the Azerspace-2 satellite. iSAT Africa will use the capacity of the Azerspace-2 satellite to provide various satellite solutions, in addition to data and video services provided to 90 percent of the African region. This cooperation will allow us to use the capabilities of the Azerspace-2 satellite even in the most remote areas of Africa," said Mark Guthrie, chief commercial officer at Azercosmos. Azercosmos has been busy in Africa in recent months. Canadas Prime African Media Systems will broadcast ATN TV in the West African region using the capacity of the Azerspace-2 satellite. United Arab Emirates-based HorizonSat plans to provide data services to its customers in the Middle East and North African regions via the Azerspace-1 satellite. Meanwhile back in June Azercosmos signed a broadcast partnership agreement with Space Engineering, which provides telecommunication and internet services in the African region. Mwangaza TV and Radio will be broadcast in Kenya via the Azerspace-1 satellite. Iran signed on Monday a total of 13 oil contracts with 14 domestic firms, which will raise the Islamic Republics oil production capacity by 185,000 barrels per day, the oil ministrys news service Shana reported. According to Reza Dehghan, Deputy Director for Development and Engineering Affairs at National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), the new contracts will enhance and maintain oil production in Iran, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported. The 13 deals are worth a total of US$1.78 billion (1.527 billion euro), and were awarded by the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) and the National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) to 14 Iranian companies as contractors, Shana reported. Two of the deals are for offshore projects for the Resalat and Forouzan oilfields while the other 11 contracts are for projects in Irans southern oilfields, according to ISNA. At the signing ceremony for the contracts, Irans Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said that OPEC had done well in managing the oil market in recent months. The price of Brent crude oil has risen from about $16 per barrel in May to $45 and it is almost stabilized; this shows that OPEC has performed well in this regard, the oil ministry quoted Zangeneh as saying. Last month, Iran signed a US$1.3-billion deal with domestic companies to double the production capacity at the massive Azadegan oilfield, expecting the rise in production to boost its oil revenues by US$1 trillion, Iranian officials said at the signing ceremony. At the Iranian field, production capacity is expected to more than double in 30 months, to 320,000 bpd from 140,000 bpd currently, and from just 45,000 bpd back in 2013. According to Zanganeh, improving the Azadegan oilfields recovery factor by 10 percent would boost the total production of the field by 2.7 billion barrels, which means Iran could get US$1 trillion in additional oil revenues in the future, the Tehran Times reported in July. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads from Oilprice.com: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia Tue, August 18, 2020 05:00 519 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066ea2bc1 4 Inforial Free Oil and gas giant Pertamina, as a state-owned enterprise (SOE), continues to uphold the mandate of the Constitution to be a driver of the national economy to support the vision of creating an advanced Indonesia. National economic progress must be supported by strong and independent management of energy resources. With its vision to become a world-class energy company, Pertamina continues to contribute to building resilience, independence and national energy sovereignty. It has allocated US$90 billion in investment to increase upstream oil and gas production and refinery capacity and capabilities as well as for other oil and gas infrastructure development until 2026. In executing these investments, Pertamina emphasizes the importance of increasing the local content rate (TKDN) to support the development of the national industry. In the past three years the TKDN in Pertamina's operations has continued to increase. "According to the BPKP [Development Finance Comptroller] audit results in 2018, Pertamina's TKDN reached 38.17 percent in 2018 and rose to 43.16 percent in 2019. Meanwhile, according to the prognosis for the first quarter of 2020, Pertamina's TKDN reached 52.20 percent," said Pertamina president director Nicke Widyawati. Pertamina, added Nicke, was now more focused on utilizing domestic natural resources to further encourage national economic progress amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pertamina has sufficient competence to manage domestic resources from upstream to downstream so that it will give large multiplier effects. "Utilizing domestic resources has created significant employment opportunities in various sectors. It is recorded that as many as 1.2 million workers have been employed in the development of B30 and this number will increase with the development of green energy refined from domestic vegetable oil. "Pertamina's refinery megaproject, which has an average TKDN of above 30 percent, employs 170,000 workers and triggers multiplier effects for around 3 million workers," said Nicke. New Clean Pertamina Pertaminas implementation of the 30 percent biodiesel (B30) program is predicted to absorb 8.38 million kiloliters of domestic fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) in 2020, up from 5.5 million kilolitersin 2019. (./.) At the same time, as a state-owned company, Pertamina has affirmed its strong commitment to building a New Clean Pertamina the new Pertamina, which upholds integrity. This commitment is clearly recorded in the New Clean Pertamina Charter signed by all members of Pertamina's board of directors and its commissioners, in line with the implementation of ISO 37001: 2016 concerning the antibribery management system in the company. New Pertamina's values drive the spirit to work professionally, avoid conflicts of interests, shun bribery and uphold trust and integrity, guided by the principles of good governance. Pertamina has also collaborated with law enforcement institutions the National Police, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Attorney General's Office to ensure all business management processes follow the law and remain free from bribery and gratification. This is Pertamina's commitment to ensure Indonesia is free from collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN). Pertamina continues to provide energy throughout the country, even to the frontier, outermost and remote areas (3T) to ensure energy is distributed justly and fairly. By 2019, Pertamina had built 161 One Price Fuel stations and aims to set up 83 more stations by the end of 2020. The One Price Fuel program, which aims to provide affordable fuel and reduce distribution costs, has boosted productivity of communities in 3T areas. At the same time, Pertamina is ready to operate the already-built 500 Pertashop units in 23 provinces. The number is expected to reach 4,308 units in 2,376 sub-districts throughout Indonesia by the end of the year. "Pertamina will continue to improve services for the benefit of village communities," said Nicke. In the context of energy volume, Pertamina is completing the Refinery Development Master Plan (RDMP) and Grassroot Refinery (GRR) megaprojects to increase refinery capacity from 1 million barrels to 1.8 million barrels in the hopes that all domestic fuel needs will be supplied by domestic refineries, without dependence on imports. The development of energy distribution infrastructure has also been continuously improved, from fuel terminals (TBBM) to shipping, distribution pipes, LPG depots and gas stations as the country's energy storefront. Pertamina continues to make tangible contributions to the states revenue, especially to strengthen the state budget, which serves as a driver of national development. With a net profit of Rp 35.8 trillion ($2.53 billion), Pertamina has contributed Rp 181.5 trillion to the state. The contributions comprise 2019s taxes and dividends worth Rp136.6 trillion (an increase of 13 percent from 2018), contributions from non-taxes state revenue (PNBP) from upstream oil and gas activities and the geothermal sector worth Rp 43.7 trillion and signature bonuses amounting to Rp 1.2 trillion, in in line with the revenue from the new working areas operated by Pertaminas upstream oil and gas subsidiary. In addition, Pertamina has also managed to save Rp 109 trillion of the states foreign exchange reserves by trimming down imports of crude oil by 35 percent and imports of product by 11 percent, Nicke explained. In response to the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pertamina, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program and Small and Medium Enterprises Partnership Program (SMEPP) has distributed various aid to many areas across Indonesia, from masks, hand sanitizer, protective health gear (APD), portable wash basins and multi-vitamins to sembako (staple foods) and other foodstuffs. As a whole, Pertamina had distributed Rp 869 billion in funds to help people cope with the pandemic as of Aug. 7. The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted Pertamina to speed up innovation in the area of energy and to decide to develop new and renewable energy to support Indonesias goal of becoming a healthy, clean and environmentally friendly country. Pertamina produces 1,000 barrels of green diesel (D-100) per day at the Dumai Refinery pilot project, with Citane 78, which is higher compared to oil and gas production globally. Innovations in green energy continue to be further developed, with the Cilacap Biorefinery and Plaju Biorefinery targeting to produce 6,000 barrels per day and 20,000 barrels per day, respectively, with using 100 percent bio oil as raw material. The synergy between Pertamina and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) has led to the successful development of the innovative red and white catalyst used as the primary material for green energy processing. Apart from ITB, Pertamina has also collaborated with SOEs to build the first red and white catalyst plant in Indonesia. Under its innovation program, Pertamina has invested $2.5 billion to build a dimethyl ether (DME) plant to meet the domestic need for LPG and thus reduce reliance on imports. Germanys vice-chancellor Olaf Scholz described Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko as a dictator after thousands of people gathered at the centre of the capital Minsk protesting against the authoritarian leader. Minsk witnessed the biggest protest against Lukashenko whom the opponents have accused of rigging the elections in his favour. Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya rejected election results and demanded Lukashenko hand over the power. However, Lukashenko dismissed the concerns of protesters, calling them sheep" controlled from abroad. He claimed that the protesters received calls from Poland, Britain and the Czech Republic and were acting on their direction. He also tried to justify the violent crackdown on protesters, saying he will not Belarus to be torn apart. The crackdown on protesters and opponents forced Tikhanovskaya to flee the country and reunited with her children in Lithuania, whom she had moved earlier after receiving threats. In an emotional video, Tsikhanouskaya said that the political turmoil in Belarus was not worth anyone losing their life, calling it a very difficult decision to leave the country. But, probably, Im still the weak woman I was in the first place. I have made a very difficult decision for myself...Children are the main thing in life, said Tikhanouskaya. Read: Belarus President Lukashenko Claims Putin Agreed To Provide Security Assistance Read: Embattled Belarus President Calls For Russian Military Assistance, Says 'we Will Perish' Warns against Russian interference Scholz, also Germanys Finance Minister, told a news website in a live interview that dictator Lukashenko has lost the support of his people. He said that he is firmly convinced that the Belarus President no longer has any legitimacy, otherwise he would not rule with such unbelievable and brutal force. This is a bad dictator and therefore he needs clear statements and clear language, Scholz told the Bild. Lukashenko had also boasted about the support from Moscow and said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will help him with the security if needed. Scholz warned Moscow against military interference in Belarus, saying it is not acceptable at all and breaks all the rules we have set ourselves under international law. Read: Belarus Ambassador Expresses 'solidarity' With Anti-government Protesters Read: 'US Watching Developments In Belarus Closely', Says Mike Pompeo As Protests Rattle Country Back in April, MailOnline revealed that her mystery love interest was Demi Sims. And in a new interview, Olivia Bentley discussed how she decided that dating girls 'wasn't for her' and revealed her desire to get married and have FIVE children. The Made In Chelsea star, 24, had confessed during an episode of the E4 reality show that she'd developed feelings for a woman and the pair had shared a kiss. Life plans: In a new interview, Olivia Bentley, 24, discussed how she decided that dating girls 'wasn't for her' and revealed her desire to get married and have FIVE children Olivia told Hello! magazine: 'I met this girl while I was out with friends and she invited me for a drink. Everyone is so quick to say no [to this kind of same-sex dalliance], so I thought I'd just see. I decided it wasn't for me and that I'm not that way inclined.' The reality star confirmed she's 100% single, telling the publication: 'There's no one in my life and I'm so content. I'm better when I'm single as I feel more emotionally in control.' Liv admitted that there's 'a lot of stuff' she wants to do before settling down, but asserted: 'I definitely want marriage and children one day. 'I'd like loads of kids five of them, like in my family. Trying to find a husband who wants that too will probably be a nightmare!' Trying it out: Made In Chelsea star had confessed during an episode of the E4 reality show in April that she'd developed feelings for a woman and the pair had shared a kiss Back in April, Insiders confirmed to MailOnline that Liv's attraction was for TOWIE regular Demi, 23, after the pair met through mutual friends and had a natural connection. A source told MailOnline: 'Olivia and Demi hit it off right away they're both carefree and fun loving, it was obvious from the get-go they'd be good friends. 'But they quickly established a romantic connection, which came as a surprise to Liv who hasn't dated women before. 'They went for a date at a bar in London around three months ago and had a great time, even sharing a kiss together. Honest: 'Everyone is so quick to say no [to this kind of same-sex dalliance], so I thought I'd just see. I decided it wasn't for me and that I'm not that way inclined' Olivia told Hello! magazine 'Sadly due to the coronavirus lockdown they have no further plans to see each other romantically but who knows what could happen in the future.' Speaking on Made In Chelsea, Liv explained to co-stars Sophie Hermann, Ollie Locke and his fiance Gareth she had developed feelings for another woman, without naming Demi. New: Pick up the new issue of HELLO! magazine on Monday for the full interview and exclusive photos She said: 'I was basically out the other night and I met this girl who's gay and sort of got chatting and then I kissed her. 'It's not like a girl thing, I'm not attracted to I don't think it's a gender thing but it's a person thing. 'It's really weird, I haven't sat, been sitting like mulling over it all day or anything like that, yesterday I was a bit like, do I? Do I not? But today I was like 'yeah f*** it.'' Following their date, Olivia explained: 'For me it's not like a sexual thing, it's not like I'm gonna go have sex with a girl, it was more like I actually like her personality, we get on really well and I fancy her but at the same time I still like blokes.' MailOnline revealed in March that Olivia shared a romance with fellow Celebs Go Dating star Joshua Ritchie after they met on the show. Liv has also had relationships with ex-boyfriend Digby Edgley and Made In Chelsea co-star Fredrik Ferrier but she's currently single. Pick up the new issue of HELLO! magazine on Monday for the full interview and exclusive photos. Five members of staff at a care home were sacked after a whistle-blower reported 'systematic stealing' from vulnerable disabled residents. An investigation at Larchfield care home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, was sparked in 2017 when a whistle-blower contacted the police. Five members of staff were sacked as a result of the inquiry, including 29-year-old Benjamin Ralph, who also faced a criminal charge of theft. A court heard how one worker 'bled dry' the account of a 63-year-old man by using his bank card to withdraw cash which he then shared with his colleagues. That resident had more than 7,000 stolen. The company in charge of the care home, Anchor Hanover Group, issued an apology to the victim after Ralph was spared jail at Leeds Crown Court last week. Larchfield cares for up to 40 people who have physical disabilities, mental health conditions and may be living with dementia. An investigation at Larchfield care home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, was sparked in 2017 when a whistle-blower contacted the police The whistle-blower was unwilling to give a statement to the court but told police that employees were involved in 'systematic stealing' from residents. West Yorkshire Police launched an investigation and identified a number of victims and suspects. Prosecutor Andrew Epsley told Leeds Crown Court investigators were only able to obtain sufficient evidence to prosecute Ralph. The investigation was hampered as one of the complainants in the case died and another was unable to give evidence due to poor health. It was heard the 63-year-old victim who had 7,000 stolen suffered with depression and anxiety and spent much of his time in bed. Ralph used the victim's bank card to withdraw around 5,000 in cash from machines, Mr Epsley told the court. It was heard the defendant spent 1,869 at a Morrison's store on items for himself and his colleagues on 15 separate occasions. The total loss to the victim was 7,297. Ralph was arrested on November 9, 2017, and denied any wrongdoing when interviewed under caution. He pleaded guilty to theft on the basis that he had benefited by 6,000. Probation officer Mick Berry said Ralph felt 'shame, embarrassment and regret' for what he had done. Prosecutor Andrew Epsley told Leeds Crown Court investigators were only able to obtain sufficient evidence to prosecute Benjamin Ralph, 29 Mr Berry said the defendant said in interview he was drinking heavily and gambling at the time of the offending and was in a 'toxic relationship'. The court heard Ralph now works for a medical supply services company. Mark McKone, mitigating, said Ralph had managed to turn his life around in the three years since the offending, is in well-paid employment and has familial responsibilities. The barrister said: 'My submission would be that to pass a sentence that causes him to lose his employment would be a very significant setback in his life.' A judge sentencing Ralph told the court the only reason a custodial sentence was not handed down was because of the 'unconscionable' length of time it took for the case to get to court. The judge said: 'The offence to which you pleaded guilty is one of the meanest and wickedest to come before the Crown Court. 'It defies human understanding how someone can be so cruel to do that to another human being.' Ralph was ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work, take part in a ten-day rehabilitation program and repay 6,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. After the hearing Larchfield care home manager Mishel Ingle said: 'We take the wellbeing of our residents very seriously and were appalled when we were notified of this incident. 'As soon as we were informed, we acted immediately, launching our own investigation and worked closely with the police and other agencies. 'We apologise to the resident and their family for any distress caused. 'This was an isolated incident which undermines the hard work and dedication of our colleagues who provide our usual high standards of care.' By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader and Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology and Communications, Ravi Shankar Prasad, on Sunday attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for alleging that the BJP and RSS spread fake news and hatred using social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp to influence the electorate. Prasad said that the Congress had no locus standi to question the BJP given previous allegations of Congress having used online platforms to influence elections. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had referred to a WSJ report quoting unnamed sources to claim that the social media giant had been lenient on alleged hate speeches by BJP leaders in order to protect their business prospects in India. BJP and RSS control Facebook & Whatsapp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook, Rahuls tweeted. Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by BJP and RSS. You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook to weaponise data before the elections and now have the gall to question us?, Prasad tweeted in response to Gandhi. In 2018, UK-based Cambridge Analytica was at the centre of a controversy linked to Facebook data breach of around 50 million users in the US to benefit Donald Trumps presidential campaign in 2016. Christopher Wylie, the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower had told British lawmakers that he believed the Congress party in India was a client of the company at the regional level. Prasad also said, The fact is that today access to information and freedom of expression has been democratized. It is no longer controlled by retainers of your family and that is why it hurts. According to the WSJ cited interviews with unnamed Facebook insiders to suggest that the companys senior official and India policy executive Ankhi Das had intervened in internal content review processes to stop a ban on BJPs Telangana MLA T Raja Singh, who made communally charged posts targeting the Muslim community. Facebook has, however, denied the claims made in the WSJ report and stated that it adopts a uniform policy on hate speeches across the world irrespective of the party, position or stature of the individual or organisation involved. This report is 17 pages long and has 7 exhibits. The pre-pandemic growth trajectory was good overall in North America, as 2019 virtual card spend exceeded corporate travel card spend for the first time. The comeback in spend longer term is going to be more associated with utilization of card rails in payables as the recessionary curve unfolds. The commercial credit card market for mid-to large corporates in North America has been in a generally strong growth mode for the past several years. In North America, the most mature commercial credit card market, recent growth has been primarily boosted by non-travel spend as the industry continues its transition to B2B payables relevancy. As a result, the extended suspension of business travel, although a damaging blow to issuer bottom lines into 2021, will be somewhat offset by subsequent gains in business-to-business payments as companies accelerate digital adoption. The utilization of purchasing cards (P cards) and non-travel virtual cards is more directly tied to broader economic activity, the growing use of electronic payments methods, and replacement of checks and cash in the payables process. Mercator Advisory Groups latest research report, Commercial Credit Cards: North America Market Review and Forecast, 2018-2024, provides a detailed review of the commercial credit card markets in Canada and the United States, including an analysis of how the pandemic impacts spend during 2020-21, as well as recovery expectations through 2024. The pre-pandemic growth trajectory was quite good overall in North America, as 2019 virtual card spend exceeded corporate travel card spend for the first time, commented Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service, author of the report, so the comeback in spend longer term is going to be more associated with utilization of card rails in payables as the recessionary curve unfolds. Highlights of the report include: A review of the economic impact that COVID-19 is having in the region Correlation analysis between overall regional credit card spend and the economic downturn through 2021 Commercial credit card spending forecasts for Canada and the U.S. through 2024 Key industry trends in technology and client expectations This report is 17 pages long and has 7 exhibits. Companies and other organizations mentioned in this report include: American Express, Diners Club, Interac, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mastercard, PNC Bank, R3, SAP Concur, The Conference Board, Visa, World Health Organization Members of Mercator Advisory Groups Emerging Technology Advisory Service, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service, and Global Payments Advisory Service have access to this report as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access, and other membership benefits. For more information and media inquiries, please call Mercator Advisory Group's main line: 1-781-419-1700, send e-mail to info@mercatoradvisorygroup.com. For free industry news, opinions, research, company information and more visit us at http://www.PaymentsJournal.com. Follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/MercatorAdvisor. About Mercator Advisory Group Mercator Advisory Group is the leading independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com. India's death toll due to coronavirus infection has crossed 50,000 mark on Monday. As per the Union Health Ministry data, COVID-19 related fatalities in India have climbed to 50,931 with 941 people succumbing to the disease in a span of 24 hours. Coronavirus cases have increased to 26,47,664 with a spike of 57,982 cases on Monday. The total number of recoveries rose to 19,19,843 pushing the recovery rate to 72.51 per cent, the data updated at 8 am showed. India had been reported over 60,000 cases daily since August 7, barring August 11 when the country registered 53,601 new instances of the infection. The case fatality rate has declined to 1.92 per cent. There are 6,76,900 active cases of coronavirus in the country presently which comprise 25.56 per cent of the total caseload in the country. India had crossed 20-lakh cases on August 7. According to the ICMR, more than three crore samples have been tested up to August 16 with 7,31,697 samples being tested on Sunday. Meanwhile, the US has surpassed 1,70,000 coronavirus deaths till Sunday, making it by far the worst-hit country in the world. US' COVID-19 cases have exceeded 5.4 million. On the other hand, Brazil--the second-most worst affected country from COVID-19--registered 23,000 fresh cases in the past 24 hours. Brazil now has 33,40,197 confirmed coronavirus cases. The country's death toll stands at 1,07,852. Meanwhile, in India, coronavirus death toll in Maharashtra has breached the 20,000-mark after 288 patients succumbed to the infection. The state reported 11,111 new positive cases during the day, which pushed its overall tally to 5,95,865. The number of deaths caused by the infection now stands at 20,037. Bihar's coronavirus case tally has risen to 1.04 lakh as 2,187 more people tested positive for the infection. With 22 fresh fatalities, the state's death toll has pushed to 537 as of now. Over 7,000 fresh coronavirus cases and 124 deaths took the tally to 2.27 lakh and the toll to 3,947 in Karnataka in the past 24 hours. West Bengal reported 3,066 new cases of coronavirus infection, taking the tally to 1,16,498. Odisha saw the biggest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases with 2,924 persons testing positive pushing the tally to 60,050. The state's death toll stands at 343. Assam's COVID-19 caseload shot up to 76,875 as 1,317 more people tested positive for the infection, while seven fresh fatalities pushed its coronavirus deaths to 189. Fourteen more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Rajasthan taking the state's death toll to 876, while the highest single-day spike of 1,317 cases pushed the caseload to 61,296. The number of COVID-19 cases in Gujarat rose by 1,120 to 78,783. With 20 more patients succumbing to the infection, including eight in Surat, the cumulative toll went up to 2,787 in the state. Here is the state-wise active coronavirus case tally:- Andaman and Nicobar Islands -1,154 Andhra Pradesh- 88,138 Arunachal Pradesh -882 Assam- 22,090 Bihar-32,591 Chandigarh-863 Chhattisgarh-4,807 Dadra Nagar Haveli-457 Delhi-11,489 Goa-3,753 Gujarat- 14,241 Haryana- 6,943 Himachal Pradesh-1,342 Jammu and Kashmir-6,818 Jharkhand-8,137 Karnataka-81,284 Kerala- 14,944 Ladakh-592 Madhya Pradesh-9,986 Maharashtra-1,56,719 Manipur-1,939 Meghalaya-690 Mizoram-421 Nagaland-2,011 Odisha-16,066 Puducherry-3,024 Punjab-10,407 Rajasthan-13,863 Sikkim-486 Tamil Nadu-54,213 Telengana-22,542 Tripura-1,855 Uttar Pradesh-51,437 Uttarakhand-4,041 West Bengal-27,219 Also read: India's forex reserves climb to record $538.19 billion in week ended August 7 Also read: US set to witness worst fall as COVID-19 death toll surpasses 1,70,000 A federal appellate court on Friday affirmed a $1.2 million jury award to a woman who broke her arm after tripping over a bucket on a cruise ship. That may have been the least significant part of the ruling in Higgs v. Costa Crociere S.P.A. Co. In the same decision, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals abolished a longstanding practice by South Florida federal judges to limit medical damage awards in maritime cases to the amount paid. Whats more, the panel upheld jury instructions that told jurors they could assume the cruise line was trying to hide something because it had concealed evidence. Houston personal injury attorney Robert Chaffin said its been a long fight for his client, Michigan resident Joyce D. Higgs, who is now 73. Two juries have awarded damages of more than $1 million. He said the company that owns Costa Cruises didnt offer his client a penny for her claim until trial. Cruise lines, when dealing with injured people, kind of take a hard line, he said during a telephone interview. They make you work for your money, if you know what I mean. Higgs tripped over a bucket filled with dirty water after loading her plate at the breakfast buffet while abroad the Costa Luminosa on Christmas Eve, 2014. She said the bucket was placed behind a corner, so she did not see it as she turned. The fall broke her humerus and caused a permanent shoulder disability, Chaffin said. Chaffin sued the Italian cruise line, Costa Crociere, for negligence at its home base in South Florida and won at trial. A jury awarded about $1.1 million in damages and deducted 15 percent to account for Higgs degree of fault. The 11th Circuit overturned the award, finding that the trial judge had inappropriately excluded evidence that Higgs had fallen down several times before. The case went to trial again, this time with evidence about Higgs alleged propensity to fall presented to the jury. Chaffin said while he prepared for trial, Costa did not disclose during discovery that one of its security employees, Kavita Kamble, had investigated Higgs accident and had taken photographs of the scene. Higgs grandson, who was also on the cruise along with several other family members, tried to take photographs but cruise line staffers blocked his access. The grandson, however, was able to see Kamble taking photos. When responding to discovery requests, the cruise lines attorneys said there were no photographs taken of the scene. Incensed, Higgs attorneys filed a motion for discovery sanctions. Costa argued that Kambles photos were privileged. U.S. District Judge James I. Cohn granted Higgs sanctions motion, saying the discovery violation was egregious. He approved instructions that the jury may make an adverse inference because the cruise line did not reveal Kambles investigation or her photographs. The second jury also found in Higgs favor and awarded about $1.1 million in damages for pain and suffering, plus about $61,000 for medical costs. Costa appealed the verdict, arguing that the jurys findings were not supported by evidence and that the jury instruction had unfairly prejudiced the jury against it. The 11th Circuit disagreed. The evidence showed that a Costa employee placed a bucket more than one foot tall and filled with dirty water behind a blind corner in a highly-trafficked breakfast buffet pathway, the appellate court said. That this placement would pose a danger of tripping would have been obvious to anyone, including to any employee who knowingly placed the bucket there. The appellate panel also upheld the jury instructions, saying Costas failure to reveal the identify of Kavita Kamble, despite the district courts order to disclose all evidence, was a serious violation of discovery rules. Indeed, because Costa concealed her identity throughout the first trial and disclosed it only two weeks before the second, Higgs has never had the opportunity to depose her, and we still do not know what she might have said, the panel said. Higgs filed a cross-appeal that raised the issue of medical damages. The jury found that Higgs should be awarded the amount that doctors billed for her injury about $61,000 not the $16,000 that her health insurer, United Healthcare, paid for her treatment. Chaffin said it is the practice of judges in the South Florida District to limit medical damage awards to the amounts actually paid. He said he had appealed rulings that imposed limits a few times before, but Higgs case was the first time his argument was addressed in a ruling. The 11th Circuit said courts have long held that damage awards should not be offset by amounts paid by third parties. For example, if a womans car is destroyed by an accident, it should not matter that her rich uncle bought her a new car to replace when determining the amount of damages. The principle is known as the collateral source rule. The appellate panel said a jury award for medical damages should not be reduced because the injured party had purchased insurance that covered those costs; plaintiffs are entitled to recover the reasonable value of treatment for their injuries, regardless who pays for the expenses. On the other hand, determining the value of medical services is a tricky question because medical providers habitually bill for far more than they are paid. The panel said the amount paid for services can vary greatly depending on contracts that have been negotiated by health insurers. Some courts have found that awarding damages based on the amount billed will lead to large overstatements of value, and so have limited awards to the paid amounts. But the 11th Circuit said limiting recovery to the amount actually paid would in effect result in uneven recoveries for plaintiffs who suffered similar injuries. For example, a person who receives care through Medicare would be paid less because the federal government drives a harder bargain than private insurers. The court said it also would not oppose allowing defendants to enter into evidence the amount that a plaintiff actually pays for medical services. For these reasons, we hold that the appropriate measure of past medical expense damages in a maritime tort case is the amount determined to be reasonable by the jury upon its consideration of all relevant evidence, including the amount billed, the amount paid, and any expert testimony and other relevant evidence the parties may offer, the court concluded. Chaffin said the ruling will be important in future cases where medical damages are in question. Its a big thing, he said. The rule adopted now is that both parties can offer evidence as to the reasonable and necessary costs of the medical procedures/services involved, he explained in an email. Jury could conceivably award full amount of bills, amount of bills actually paid or something in between. Pretty much a new rule for methodology of awarding medical costs but it makes good sense. The cruise lines attorney, Richard J. McCalpin in Miami, did not respond to an email requesting comment on Friday afternoon. About the photo: The Costa Luminosa is shown. Courtesy of Costa cruise lines. The CEO of E90 Ghana Limited, Mrs. Fafape Ama Etsa Foe has commended Vodafone Ghana for its mobile app initiative, Red Trader, a product created to provide digital solutions for traders, especially during COVID-19 period. According to her, SMEs should take advantage of technology during this period for business continuity. As SMEs, we have to take advantage of technology as an enabler especially during this period when SMEs are suffering some setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the time we need Telecommunications Companies to initiate innovative ways to assist us. I am particularly thankful for the Vodafone Red Trader which is helping me to easily monitor sales and inventory, she said. Mrs. Fafape Ama Etsa Foe disclosed this at the maiden edition of the Vodafone Business Runway under the theme: After the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP), what next? The Way Forward for Ghanaian SMEs. She further noted that The Vodafone Red Trader has been very timely for me as a beneficiary. With the mobile app, I can relax in keeping records of income and expenditure and do payments as well with a few taps on my phone. It matches the current and changing needs of SMEs in these times. Pointing out the role SMEs play and the need for large businesses to assist them especially during COVID-19 to make sure they stay in business, CEO of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai said At Vodafone Ghana, we acknowledge the role played by SMEs in the growth and sustainability of the nations economy. To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the growth of SMEs, we have put in place many interventions including a tailored web presence solution, Your Business Online, Red Trader, free transfers from Vodafone Cash to all other networks, affordable data bundle packages among others to keep many SMEs going as they strive to stay relevant during this pandemic. We are proud to say that as a brand, Vodafone Ghana has initiated tailor-made packages to enable SMEs be in tune with current technological trends in running businesses, Mrs. Obo-Nai added. The Vodafone Business Runway Webinar organized by Vodafone Ghana in partnership with the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) aimed at empowering Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) with the requisite skills, insights and opportunities that would enable them to build thriving businesses. 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 Narendra Modi and KP Sharma Oli Kathmandu: Senior diplomats of India and Nepal on Monday held a virtual meeting to review the progress made on various India-aided developmental projects being implemented in the Himalayan nation. The meeting came days after Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to greet him on India's 74th Independence Day. Advertisement Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra are leading the delegations representing their respective countries during the oversight mechanism meeting. The meeting, being held virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak, will assess the progress made on various India aided development projects being implemented in Nepal, the sources said. Advertisement The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Rajnath Singh Nepal protested the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory. Days later, Nepal came out with the new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories. Advertisement In June, Nepal's Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. India said Nepal's action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. James Fang, a former president of the BART Board of Directors and the San Francisco Examiner and a member of a once-powerful San Francisco political and publishing family, died Friday. He was 58. His death was confirmed by a nephew and family spokesman, Sean Fang of San Mateo. Fang died of natural causes, according to a family statement. My uncle was an amazing man, Sean Fang said Sunday. Even through any adversity that he faced, no matter what it may be, he always managed to keep his composure and compassion. The Fang family at one time owned the San Francisco Independent, AsianWeek and the Examiner, which it received from Hearst Corp. along with a three-year, $66 million subsidy to operate it. The deal settled a complicated antitrust action that allowed Hearst to purchase The Chronicle in 2000. Fang served as president of the Examiner from 2000 until 2004, when it was sold to a publisher in Denver. Fang was described by The Chronicle as the first Asian American ever to win a Bay Area-wide post when he was elected to the BART board in 1990. He was re-elected to six four-year terms before he was defeated by Nick Josefowitz in 2014. Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle 2014 During his tenure, the transit system expanded in reach, innovation and earthquake safety. According to a biography issued by the family, Fang oversaw renovation and expansion projects totaling $12 billion. We were saddened to hear of the passing of former BART Director James Fang, BART spokesman Jim Allison told The Chronicle in a statement Saturday. We (at) BART will always remember him for his fierce dedication to public service. His term of service was clouded when it was revealed he had faked his resume during his campaign for the BART board in 1988. Fang had neither an advanced degree from UC Berkeley nor a law degree from UC Hastings College of Law, as was stated in a Chinese language campaign brochure. He had enrolled at UC Hastings but never completed his law degree. Fang later said he had never seen the resume with the false information and apologized for poor judgment. The Fangs, at that time, held considerable political power built on a small neighborhood publishing empire started by John Ta Chuan Fang, who emigrated from Taiwan along with his wife Florence, in the 1960s. Their first publication was Chinatown Handy Guide, an English language booklet providing tourist assistance. This led to a small printing business and a job as publisher of the Young China Daily, a newspaper supported by the Taiwanese government. In 1979, the Fangs founded AsianWeek, and over time accumulated eight weekly papers on the Peninsula. In 1987 they bought the San Francisco Independent, which was delivered three times a week, had a circulation of 379,000 and was said to be the largest non-daily newspaper in the United States. This brought political clout, and John Fang veered into politics, often working through political operative Jack Davis, who ran both of Willie Browns San Francisco mayoral bids. Davis said the Fangs were Republican but held such sway that James Fang was given an internship in the Congressional office of Nancy Pelosi. This was the extent of his political experience when he ran for the BART board. John Fang came to Davis and asked him to polish up his son for the campaign. I transformed him from a disheveled kid who wore sweaters and a mop top into a candidate in a tailor-made suit with his hair cut by a stylist, said Davis, who also created Fangs title of financial controller of the family business. Davis ran Fang on the strength of fiscal experience and responsibility. Davis was rewarded for this victory when he was named a groomsman at Fangs 1994 wedding to Daphne Huang, daughter of the mayor of Shanghai. They settled into a home in the Inner Richmond. 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. After John Fangs death from cancer in 1992, his widow, Florence, became the matriarch of the family, with the eldest, James, assuming more responsibility. As president and publisher of AsianWeek, he oversaw an increase in circulation from 5,000 to 38,000 during a tenure from 1995 to 2010. During that same time he served as deputy publisher of the Independent, in separate editions published for San Francisco and San Mateo County. But over time the Fang newspaper properties suffered from the same declining readership and advertising that battered the larger industry. The Independent and AsianWeek both ceased publication more than a decade ago. The Examiner has changed hands again. Fang served on the Republican County Central Committee. When he was voted off the BART board, in 2014, he was said to be the last Republican holding elective office in the city. Fang also chaired the San Francisco-Shanghai Sister City Committee and served as an Asian trade emissary under various mayors. Fang was born and raised in San Francisco, where he lived his entire life, and was a graduate of Lowell High and UC Berkeley, according to his biography. He is survived by his mother, Florence Fang of Hillsborough; wife, Daphne Huang of San Francisco; brother, Ted Fang of Hillsborough; nephew, Sean Fang of San Mateo; and niece, Allison Fang of San Mateo. Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SamWhitingSF Presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, has responded to the presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo, over the comments he made regarding the new Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020. CAMA, which was recently assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari, had introduced new regulations for religious institutions in the country. Its provisions include that religious and charity organisations would henceforth be regulated by a supervising minister and the registrar-general of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). Oyedepo had cautioned the federal government against meddling in the affairs of churches, saying dont try it when this crude prophet is alive. The fiery Preacher, during his sermon on Sunday, expressed concern that the government could someday appoint occultists into those positions to oversee church affairs. But responding in a tweet on Monday, Buharis media aide, Onochie, said its either Oyedepo lived by the laws governing the country or he should create his own country. Oyedepo will have to manufacture his own country and live by his own laws. As long as he lives and operates within the entity called Nigeria, he will live by Nigerian rules and laws. He will do as hes told by the law. Enough of lawlessness, said the presidential aide Nearly 40% of Chinas geological disasters this year occurred in the month of July as the nation struggled to contain some of the worst flooding in a generation. But despite last months uptick in disasters, which are relatively normal during the monsoon season, China still logged a sharp overall decline in geological incidents like landslides and rockfalls during the first seven months of the year compared with the same period in 2019, according to figures (link in Chinese) published last week by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Overall, nearly 1,200 geological disasters struck the country in July, including more than 800 landslides, when loose rock and soil falls down mountain slopes, and almost 300 rockfalls, when heavy rock at the top of steep inclines causes the ground beneath to buckle. The incidents, which tend to cluster in flood-hit regions like Hunan, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces, caused 40 deaths, left 10 people unaccounted for and wrought 560 million yuan ($80.6 million) of direct economic losses, according to ministry figures. China uses the term geological disasters to refer to a range of naturally occurring incidents, including landslides, rockfalls, mudflows, sinkholes, fissures and subsidence. Overall, 3,047 such incidents occurred in China between January and July, representing a year-on-year decline of 39%, the ministry said. The data show 85 people died and a further 18 went missing in geological disasters so far this year. The combined total is 36% lower than the equivalent figure last year. The incidents caused 16.1 billion yuan in direct economic losses between January and July, an 18% rise on last year, according to the figures. A seismically active nation with highly variable landscapes and climates, China is no stranger to natural disasters, especially during the summer. In the seven months to July, governments across the country sounded early warnings about 274 geological incidents that threatened the lives of nearly 10,000 people, the ministry said. The natural resources ministry warned people to be on their guard for geological disasters in August, a month that statistics show to be a peak time for such incidents, especially in the mountainous west, southwest and southeast. Contact reporter Matthew Walsh (matthewwalsh@caixin.com) Support quality journalism in China. Subscribe to Caixin Global starting at $0.99. Premier Gladys Berejiklian has apologised for NSW Health's serious mistakes after it was revealed 62 people contracted COVID-19 from the Ruby Princess cruise ship despite never being on board. Ms Berejiklian apologised "unreservedly" on Monday to the dozens of people who became sick - including some who became critically ill - even though they were not passengers or close contacts of travellers. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, pictured with Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant, apologised to the 62 people who contracted COVID-19 from the Ruby Princess - despite not setting foot on board. Credit:James Brickwood "We have learned so much since those horrible mistakes and as the Premier I want to apologise to anybody, especially those 62 individuals, who got the virus as a secondary or tertiary contact because of the way in which those passengers disembarked the ship," Ms Berejiklian said. She said her apology also extended to anyone who "continues to suffer loss and trauma and angst and health concerns as a result of those mistakes". Joe Biden recently made an effort to turn the mask hysteria up to 11, saying, Every single American should be wearing a mask when they are outside for the next three months at a minimum. Every governor should mandate mask wearing. Why should America broadly expand masking now? The proverbial curve could hardly be flatter in most places in America, and those states that experienced a summer surge, like Texas, Florida, and California, all appear to already be on the other side of their respective curves. Joe Biden, socially distanced outside, demonstrates a useless approach to masking YouTube screen grab (cropped) Here are three reasons why its time to roll back the mask mandates, rather than ramp them up to ridiculous new levels like Biden suggests. Theres still just not a lot of evidence that the masks do much to help in slowing or stopping viral spread in the real world. I know, I know. Every time it becomes clear that someone is going to argue against the supposedly obvious efficacy of the universal masking of a population, healthy and unhealthy alike, that person is invariably met with some variation of the following by a masks-for-all advocate: Oh yeah? You think you know better than all the scientists who just overturned decades of scientific consensus by saying that wearing masks stops viral spread, huh? Well, tell me this, smart guy. If you cough or sneeze into a mask, how could it not catch some of the droplets of moisture that could be carrying the virus? First of all, even in a laboratory setting, the science is hardly settled in favor of masks work. Actually, the strength of the argument that cloth masks work lies more in a lack of evidence proving that theyre ineffective than the strength of evidence suggesting that theyre effective, which is a terrible basis for setting public policy in a way that impedes upon Americans lives. But, hey, Im easy. Ill just go along with the notion that wearing a bandana or something snugly around your face, covering your nose and mouth, is an effective means to stop or slow COVID-19 spread. If thats true, and if human beings were predictable and reliable in thoughts, actions, and purpose, that mask mandate youre advocating might work outside of a laboratory. But human beings arent. As an example of how these variables tend to play out in real life, consider a story I heard recently from a friend about a child taking his SpongeBob mask to his first day of school, only to return home with a Batman mask. Hed traded with a friend because each thought the other mask was cooler, you see. The CDC also currently says that for a mask to be safe and effective, youre always supposed to wash your hands before putting it on (like you never see anyone do), youre never supposed to touch the mask or put it around your neck (like you always see people do), and the masks are supposed to be washed after each use. How often do you wash yours? This is an example of the human element in any free society -- chaotic, unpredictable, and often noncompliant -- that social engineers loathe as a pesky obstacle to progress, and scientists cant even begin to replicate in the lab. Some places without masks fared far better than places with strict mask requirements. Lockdown advocates and mask-mavens are scratching their heads about Hawaii these days. The state is a bunch of islands that are isolated in the middle of a giant ocean, and the state locked down immediately, complete with mask mandates and a shutdown of tourism. If lockdowns and masks work, few places would give the world a better example of the strategies effectiveness. And yet, coronavirus is spreading at a faster rate in Hawaii than anywhere in the US, including the 18 states run by Republicans which have not issued mask mandates. Or, how about we look further west in the Pacific. Few countries in the world have more notoriously strict or harshly enforced masking laws than the Philippines. And yet, theyre currently experiencing a spike in cases and deaths right now, despite all that strictly enforced mask-wearing. Meanwhile, in Sweden, where public masking has been all but nonexistent, cases are declining, and daily deaths are approaching zero. None of this can be explained by the logic that mask mandates work in practice. But that doesnt stop people from trying. Historian Tom Woods asked a genuine question to his audience as to how heavily masked countries like the Philippines could be experiencing such poor results today, and a friend did his best to explain it. The spread there must be happening when people had their masks off (as when eating), his friend says. This is far-fetched and kind of ridiculous, certainly, but confirmation bias is a powerful thing. For his friend, the masks absolutely work because science says so, and the only possible reason the masks arent working in the Philippines is because of irresponsible people who take the mask off to do irresponsible things like eating food. This still does nothing to explain, though, why the absence of masks isnt decimating Sweden right now. Most importantly, even if masks work, mask-wearing will not achieve the appropriate public policy goal. In the end, Tom Woods concedes, as I or any other rational person should, that these examples dont in themselves prove that masks are useless, but they absolutely do suggest that simple mask-wearing doesnt have the miraculous results that some people think they do. So sure, maybe the masks might do some good, at some level. We should still be rolling back mask mandates. Dr. Scott Atlas, who has thankfully been tapped by President Trump as an adviser, suggests that the goal of stopping COVID-19 cases is not the appropriate goal. Rather, the goal is simply twofold, to protect the people who are going to have a serious problem and die, thats the high-risk population, and to stop hospital overcrowding. There should never be and there is no goal to stop college students from getting an infection they have no problem with. Incidentally, this is the same approach that Dr. David Katz recommended in the New York Times on March 20, suggesting a pivot right now from trying to protect all people to focusing on the most vulnerable. This is the strategy that American policymakers should adopt in order to get us through this pandemic quickly and with as few deaths, and as little strain on our hospitals, as possible. It would allow most Americans to get back to their lives with a semblance of normalcy, increase their happiness, and rebuild the economy. And it seems clear that this is what President Trump wants for Americans. And while masks may be a part of that strategy in some way, more draconian mask orders for all Americans, at all times, and in all public places, as Joe Biden recommends, should certainly not be. (Bloomberg) -- JD.com Inc. unveiled better-than-expected revenue and a major investment from Hillhouse Capital, after Chinas second-biggest e-commerce firm rode a bounce-back in spending across its online malls. Shares in JD rose 7.9% in New York after it reported a 34% jump in sales to 201.05 billion yuan ($29 billion) in the June quarter, its fastest pace of revenue growth since 2017. The company also disclosed its JD Health division would get more than $830 million from Hillhouse -- the investment firm founded by Zhang Lei with money from Yale University -- through the purchase of Series B preference shares. The funds will also be used to strengthen its pharmacy supply chain. The companys out-performance provides more evidence that Chinas economy is among the worlds fastest to recover from the pandemic, aided by strict virus control measures and a rebound in industry output and consumer sentiment. Both JD and larger rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. racked up record sales during the annual 6.18 shopping extravaganza this year, as heavy discounting drew shoppers who had delayed purchases during the worst of Covid-19. Annual active customers grew 30% to 417 million, the quickest rate of expansion in more than two years. The continued shift toward e-commerce has benefited JD, which is expanding into smaller towns and tapping on strategies like live-streaming to reach new customers and fend off growing competition from the likes of ByteDance Ltd.s Douyin. Our supermarket category, including FMCG and fresh produce, became the single largest product category as revenue in the first half of 2020, surpassing mobile phone, home appliance, home computers, Chief Financial Officer Sandy Ran Xu told analysts on a post-earnings call. Read more: First Into the Virus Slump, China Is Proving the Fastest Out What Bloomberg Intelligence Says Operations in 2Q benefited from pent-up consumer demand due to Chinas 1Q lockdown, and strong sales at the companys 6.18 anniversary promotion, which wont recur in 3Q. However, the rapid gain of users from lower-tier cities could drive a sustained increase in long-term demand in categories such as consumer goods, fresh produce, household and health-care products. Story continues - Vey-Sern Ling and Tiffany Tam, analysts Click here for the research. Hillhouse had backed JD before its IPO. The transaction will close in the current quarter, and the retailer will remain the majority shareholder of JD Health, according to the statement. JD completed a second listing in Hong Kong in June, raising $3.9 billion to build its logistics and delivery network. That self-operated web of warehouses, personnel and transport links proved instrumental in controlling shipping during the worst of the pandemic, when nationwide lockdowns snarled supply lines. The shares jumped as much as 8.6% in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Chinese retail suffered a record collapse in the first three months of 2020 but has since bounced back, though concerns remain about the strength and sustainability of domestic consumption. While the YoY growth rate for electronic and home appliance products is expected to normalize in 3Q20, we expect the momentum for general merchandise to persist, as the demand for consumer goods remained strong in July even without promotion, Bocom International analysts led by Brandy Sun wrote. (Updates with shares and analysts comments from the second paragraph) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. China on Monday said it will continue to work with India to enhance political mutual trust, properly manage their differences and jointly uphold the "big picture" of bilateral relations. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi exchange the gifts with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Mamallapuram on October 12, 2019. Photograph: Press Information Bureau Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said this at a regular briefing when a Western media journalist sought China's reaction to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that the Indian armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty. Modi, in his 74th Independence Day address to the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort, said the armed forces have given a befitting reply to those challenging the country's sovereignty "from LoC to LAC", in a veiled reference to Pakistan and China. "From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand," Modi said. Modi's comments came amid India's bitter border row with China along the LAC in eastern Ladakh and rise in incidents of ceasefire violations along the LoC with Pakistan in the last few months. Responding to the question, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao said that we have noted Prime Minister Modi's remarks. As two neighbours and emerging major countries each with a population of over one billion, the growth of China-India relations will not only benefit our two countries and peoples, but also add stability and positive energy to peace and prosperity of the region and the world at large, he said. "Mutual respect and support between China and India is the right path and serves the long-term interests of both countries," Zhao said. "China will continue to work with India to enhance political mutual trust, properly manage differences, strengthen practical cooperation and jointly uphold the big picture of bilateral relations," the spokesman added. In his speech, Prime Minister Modi also said that "whether it is terrorism or expansionism, India is fighting both with determination." Referring to the Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh in June, the prime minister said respect for India's sovereignty is supreme and the world has seen in Ladakh what its brave jawans can do to maintain this resolve. "I salute all those brave soldiers from the Red Fort," Modi said, adding the whole country is united in protecting the sovereignty of the country. Twenty Indian army personnel were killed during the clashes on June 15. The Chinese side also suffered casualties but it is yet to give out the details. Defense Minister: Iran thwarts any threats by "active defense" strategy IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Aug 16, IRNA -- Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami announced here on Sunday that Iran thwarts any threats by "active diplomacy just like the campaign against terrorism. "Our strategy is active defense," Generl Hatami told reporters at a press conference held on the occasion of National Day of Defense Industry on August 21. Referring to the transition period in world and region, the minister highlighted the special role the media play in the current situation. Enemies' media try to affect and hurt the thought of the elites and decision-makers; meanwhile, the indigenous media endeavor to disclose the realities, General Hatami underlined. He added that when terrorists came to Iraq and Syria, their media backed by global arrogance tried to pretend that the terrorists were in the region to save humanity. But, their plot was disclosed gradually when the independent media leaked the reality, the minister noted. Also about the August 4 tragic incident in Lebanon, the minister said media are expected to reflect the hardship the people are suffering from under the current circumstances and not let the enemies misuse such events. Iran is "not greedy for other countries' lands and interests," the defense minister noted adding Iran follows "active defense" that is monitoring the international developments. Elaborating on the threat posed to the international peace and security, he said that security of "our nation and the regional nations" are interrelated. Turning to National Day of Defense Industry, the minister said new defense achievements are to be unveiled in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani in the National Day on August 21. Asked about Defense Ministry's plans after lifting of arms embargo on Iran in October, the minister stated that no country is interested in sanctions and does welcome restrictions. As the country moves towards the right path, the the sanctions could not create obstacles for achieving industrial goals, the defense minister underlined. The international community is filled with hatred against the US unilateralism, the minister said, referring to the US attempt to extend arms embargo on Iran through a proposed resolution which could not receive favorable vote at the UN Security Council. The minister went on to stress that Iran tried successfully to turn the threats into opportunities and will continue with this way. Iran will also make use of world capacities to meet national needs to arms equipment and technology if opportunities are created, he added noting that the country will be also ready to sell technical services and technology to the friendly states. He said that has focused on optimizing level of its tanks via technologies used for Russia's T-90 and national Karrar. Elaborating on the Defense Ministry's airspace strategy, the minister said that the Ministry focused on launch of new satellite-carriers. Touching upon agreement between UAE and Zionist regime of Israel on normalization of relations, the minister said the agreement is a treason against the Palestinian nation's right and the regional security as well. Iran helps those who stand against the Zionist regime's oppression and crimes, he stressed. At the end of his remarks, he talked of relations between Iran and Venezuela, saying that both countries are under the unjust sanctions and cooperation between the two nations is based on mutual respect and win-win policy. Translated by: Marjan Heydari Rad Edited by: Safar Sarabi 1483**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UW Employees Granted Release Time to Vote Tuesday University of Wyoming employees have a maximum of one hour of release time to vote in Tuesdays Wyoming primary election, in accordance with state law and UW policy. The 2020 primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 18, from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. To locate polling places, go here. The scheduling of release time should be a collaborative discussion between employee and supervisor to ensure the effective and efficient operation of the unit. This is public infrastructure. There is a need to address this for drainage issues, for water quality issues, Novotney said. Developers have complained about the regulations and how strict the county has been in enforcing them in recent years, Breitzke said, but he cited this issue as the reason why. We werent doing this before, and this is why were doing it. We now know the costs, said Board of Commissioners President Jeff Good, R-Center. Good said that with the county spending so much time, effort and money to bring existing subdivisions up to snuff, he wanted to let people know why were so hard to work with. This is nothing here, compared to what he sees elsewhere as his company builds hotels across the country, he said. Smaller firms employees complain, Ive never had to do this before, Good said. It took so long because you hired the wrong person, Good said. Its beyond normal, everyday knowledge that everybody has, County Attorney Scott McClure said. Paranoia may have led a 31-year-old man to stab and kill another man at a North Side home, according to an arrest affidavit. Sidney Travis Cedillo was arrested Saturday in connection with the stabbing death of 24-year-old Jonathan Sanchez last Thursday. When police arrived at the home in the 1500 block of Jackson Keller Road, they found Sanchez lying on a bedroom floor bleeding from three puncture wounds in his torso. Cedillo's mother said her son began "acting strange" while they were in the living room. Witnesses said Cedillo thought Sanchez had a gun and was going to kill him, according to the affidavit. Witness told police Sanchez never had a gun. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox According to the affidavit, Cedillo's mother then said her son left the living room and heard yelling before returning followed by Sanchez, who was holding his stomach and bleeding. Sanchez then collapsed on the floor. The woman attempted to apply pressure to help stop the bleeding but Cedillo began yelling that he had to leave, the affidavit said. The mother told police she panicked and agreed to drive him away from the scene. Police said Cedillo jumped out of the car around Loop 410 and the airport. Prior to the incident, witnesses told police that Cedillo had been questioning others if Sanchez was sleeping with his ex-girlfriend. Cedillo is facing a murder charge with a bail amount set at $100,000. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway Democrats are bringing in more stars for their virtual convention. Organizers of the Democratic National Convention on Monday announced that Eva Longoria, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus will emcee one night each of the convention beginning on Monday, CNN reports. Longoria will kick things off on Monday, while Ross will go on Tuesday, Washington is scheduled for Wednesday, and Louis-Dreyfus is up on Thursday, when former Vice President Joe Biden will officially accept the Democratic nomination for president. The stars will help "guide viewers through" each evening, Biden's national press secretary said. The convention this year has gone largely virtual as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. "This week, Americans will hear from people from all walks of life who are coming together to support Joe Biden's vision for a more just, more democratic nation," Stephanie Cutter, convention program executive, said, per CNN. "The voices we're including are the perfect messengers to lift up our theme of unity and help us engage with more Americans than ever before." Democrats previously announced a line-up of musical performances for the convention, including Billie Eilish and John Legend. The first night of the DNC is set to begin on Monday at 9:00 p.m. EDT. More stories from theweek.com John Boehner would 'rather set himself on fire' than get involved in the 2020 election Stephen Colbert recaps the 1st night of the Democratic National Convention Catholic voters' impossible choice Industry will ask UN task force to recommend nations accept negative virus test as quarantine alternative, say sources. Airlines and airports will ask a United Nations-led task force meeting on Tuesday to recommend that countries accept a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of travel as an alternative to quarantines that have decimated demand for travel, according to a document seen by Reuters news agency. The industry wants the task force to make the recommendation for passengers travelling from countries with high COVID-19 infection rates when it meets on Tuesday to review guidelines for international travel amid the pandemic. A test prior to departure could reduce the risk of importation by up to 90 percent, enabling air travel to be opened up between a large number of countries without a quarantine requirement, said the proposal from Airports Council International (ACI) and the airline trade group International Air Transport Association (IATA). The push for testing comes as the industrys hopes for a recovery were dealt a blow last week when the United Kingdom reintroduced quarantines on travellers from France and the Netherlands. Airlines are forecasting a 55 percent decline in 2020 air traffic, according to IATA, which reported 85 percent of surveyed travellers expressed concerns about quarantine. We dont support across-the-board mandatory testing, IATA medical adviser Dr David Powell told Reuters. But if there are situations where there is a higher risk in the country of origin and it can avoid the need for quarantine, then we certainly support that and advocate for that concept. The proposal calls for the use of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests conducted outside of airports. The task force did not raise testing as an alternative to quarantines in May when it recommended a uniform approach toward reviving flights, but it could do so after Tuesdays meeting. The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) was not immediately available to comment. Powell said the 48-hour period recommended by IATA and ACI was up for discussion and said it could make sense for some travellers to take a second test upon arrival at their destination. While task force recommendations are voluntary, ICAO guidelines are typically adopted by its 193 member countries. Requiring testing raises cost issues for travellers, given that airlines are unlikely to bear the approximate $200 expense. The sector faces up to $314bn in lost revenue in 2020, according to ICAO forecasts. A SERIAL thief who carried out a crime spree had one of the "darkest" backgrounds of anyone to come before the courts, a judge was told. Father-of-two Daniel Murphy (21) was identified from DNA in blood left at the scene of a restaurant break-in, stole a bike from a pub worker in the 10 seconds it was left unlocked and had 19 deals of crack cocaine in his underwear. Judge Paula Murphy jailed him for 20 months. Murphy, of Rathvilly Drive, Finglas, pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges, including burglary and theft. He was found with crack cocaine in his underwear when he was stopped on a stolen bicycle at Aston Quay on June 18 last year. It transpired he was unlawfully at large from prison. When he was stopped pushing another stolen bike across O'Connell Bridge just over a month later, he gave "three different stories" about who the owner was. He eventually said he had bought it for 50 and had had "reservations" about whether it was stolen. Last October 13, a pub worker in Smithfield was locking up when he left his bike unsecured for 10 seconds. When he came back, it was gone. resisted Murphy took it and was stopped at Arran Quay for a drug search. He resisted the garda, reached into his pocket and threw a package into the Liffey. He prised open an electricity meter box at the Maltings apartment building, Dublin 8, last December 14, causing 1,000 worth of damage and stealing around 600. On June 10, 2019 last year, a laptop was stolen from Chef Kebab Pizza in Kinnegad, Co Westmeath. Damage worth 100 was caused when the window was broken and blood was left on the cash register. A DNA test matched Murphy. The accused had 73 previous convictions and had entered a drug treatment programme for the first time at the age of 11. He went "out of control" and had suffered two overdoses by the age of 13. "It's quite possible he had one of the darkest periods of adolescence of any person to come before these courts," his lawyer said. Murphy met his partner through juvenile detention and they had two children together who they were trying to raise living in night to night accommodation. Judge Murphy said victims had been stolen from in "upsetting circumstances." Indian Medical Associations (IMA) Thane chapter has written to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday, condemning the comment made by the Shiv Senas Rajya Sabha (RS) member Sanjay Raut a day ago. They have demanded Rauts resignation, as RS MP, following his off-the-cuff remark to a Marathi news channel on Sunday that compounders are better I always take medicines from a compounder They took exception to the comment, as doctors have been front-line workers amid the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak and many have succumbed to the viral infection while treating patients. At a time, when the world is trying to battle the Covid-19 pandemic, we expect a more positive outlook and encouragement towards our work and efforts. We have drawn the CMs attention to his (Raut) comment, said Dr. Santosh Kadam, president, IMAs Thane chapter. At such a critical time, we look up to the government and politicians to stand up for front-line workers. We are working at great personal risk and also our dependents. We cannot work efficiently and sincerely because of such a negative and derogatory comment. We are demoralised and urge necessary action against him (Raut), the letter stated. OppGenetix and Inc 5000 The opportunity to be included for the second year in a row amongst the top performing companies across the country is something were very proud of at OppGenetix. Its a true testament to our culture, our service, and our many outstanding clients. Inc. magazine today revealed that OppGenetix has again been named to 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. The opportunity to be included for the second year in a row amongst the top performing companies across the country is something were very proud of at OppGenetix. Its a true testament to our culture, our service, and our many outstanding clients. - Marc Boston, President 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 OppGenetix OppGenetix is a multi-million dollar agency founded to provide strategic digital marketing strategies to companies that offer high value products and services. Our clients choose us as their agency because we focus on their goals of generating more profitable business for their company. This sets us apart from other large agencies that focus on weaker metrics like driving internet traffic. We take our clients success seriously while maintaining a start-up like culture of fun and team work. While we maintain a strong presence in Central Ohio, our success has led to the vast majority of our client base being spread across the United States. In 2015, we were awarded Googles highest level of agency partnership as recognition of our abilities and the success we generate for our clients. Learn more about our digital marketing solutions at https://www.oppgenetix.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/. Ten days ago, I had applied to Prime Minister [Nikol] Pashinyan, proposing to organize the return of RA [Republic of Armenia] citizens and their movable property to the homeland, accompanied by police, on a special convoy, via Georgia. Edmon Marukyan, chairman of the opposition Bright Armenia Party and head of its parliamentary faction, wrote about this on his Facebook page. "I inform that at this moment, 89 [such] people have self-organized with 33 cars, and expressed a wish to return to the RA by the option we offered. "I have just recently passed the data of those people to the Prime Minister, and informed that the list can surely expand if the RA government makes an announcementas a result of talksthat our citizens will be transferred to the homeland on the clearly defined day in the above-mentioned way," Marukyan added, in particular. Thousands of adoption inquires are flooding a foster care home in Oklahoma after a 9-year-old boy expressed his hopes of having a family in a heart-touching message on live TV. Jordan, who has been under the foster care for the past six years was featured on KFORs weekly series A Place To Call Home", where he said how much he wanted a permanent home and family after his biological brother go adopted too. When he was asked what was that one place he would want to go, he answered, "To an adoption party for a home." "I would just like to have a family to call mom and dad or just mom or just dad. I dont really care," said Jordan adding that a family could have him some people to talk to whenever he needed to. I hope one of yall pick me, he said. As soon as Jordan's video went viral, calls and more than 5000 adoption applications started pouring in from places as far as New Jersey, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky etc reports Fox5. Christopher Marlowe, Jordans OKDHS Permanency Planning Worker, said that he has kept going through the applications and selecting few families to move forward with. Marlowe also noted that Jordan has had a difficult time moving around countless number of time, with families initially showing interests only to dismiss them later saying that he doesn't fit right. ELMIRA Ron Harpelle says there are over 22,000 toxic sites in Canada, but the one in Elmira happens to be very dramatic. Harpelle and Kelly Saxberg are filmmakers from Thunder Bay with a production company called ShebaFilms. Their documentary, Toxic Time Bomb, is about Elmiras notorious Uniroyal debacle: the irresponsible disposal of chemical waste into Canagagigue Creek. The waste was produced from making Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide containing dioxin that was sprayed in Vietnam during the Vietnam War to clear foliage. Along with Agent Orange, the plant also made DDT, NDMA and other harmful, cancer- and deformation-causing chemicals from 1948 to 1970. The documentary received its premiere earlier this month at a livestreamed Vietnamese-French film festival within a larger arts and discussion event, bringing attention to the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The event is also focusing on the continuing suffering and negative health effects still happening today. If you ask the average Canadian, they have no idea of our role. They think the Vietnam War was someone elses war. We did participate because we manufactured Agent Orange, said Harpelle. There is a Canadian connection and Canadians should be aware of it. As a result, Elmiras aquifer, the source of its drinking water, was poisoned and rendered undrinkable. Elmiras water is now piped in from Waterloo. The Canagagigue Creek, which drains into the Grand River, was also poisoned. Toxic Time Bomb is also a documentary about the decades-long struggle of activists in the area to advocate for the cleanup of the chemicals, said Saxberg. Thirty years theyve been advocating. Its a full-time job, said Harpelle. Really its a film about those people and their dedication. Everyone should celebrate them for their work. The film took 18 months to complete. The filmmakers hope it brings attention to a past wrong that still hasnt been made right: Cleanup of Canagagigue Creek and the aquifer is still ongoing. The event at which it was premiered, called Journees des 9 et 10 aout, was livestreamed on the anniversary of the first spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam on August 10, 1961. It was hosted by Collectif Vietnam Dioxine, a French organization raising awareness about the devastating, and long-term effects of the use of Agent Orange. The event was a coming together of French and Vietnamese performances and films to raise awareness about the issue and raise money to help with legal fees in lawsuits against the multinational companies that manufactured the chemicals. Over 49 million litres of Agent Orange was dumped on the Vietnamese landscape throughout the Vietnam War. This has been linked to increased birth defects, particularly spina bifida, that continue today in Vietnam. LG Leah Gerber 's reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. The funding allows her to report on stories about the Grand River Watershed. Email lgerber@therecord.com Read more about: Radicals are not my cup of tea, but Im grateful for them. Radicals are good at opening our eyes to social problems and expanding the realm of whats sayable. But if you look at who actually leads change over the course of American history, its not the radicals. At a certain point, radicals give way to the more prudent and moderate wings of their coalitions. In the 1770s, the rabble-rousing Samuel Adams gave way to the more moderate John Adams (not to mention George Washington, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton). In the middle of the 19th century, radicals like John Brown and purists like Horace Greeley gave way to the incrementalist Abraham Lincoln. In the Progressive era, the radicals and anarchists who started the labor movement in the 1880s gave way to Theodore Roosevelt. Radicals are not good at producing change because while they are good at shaking up the culture, they dont have practical strategies to pass legislation when you have to get the support of 50 percent plus one. They also tend to divide the world into good people and bad people. They think they can bring change if they can destroy enough bad people, and so they devolve into a purist, destructive force that offends potential allies. The people who come in their wake and actually make change are conservative radicals. They believe in many of the radicals goals, but know how to work within the democratic framework to achieve them. Conservative radicals, like Hamilton, Lincoln and Roosevelt, begin with moderate dispositions. They have a reverence for the collective wisdom of the past. They have an awareness that the veneer of civilization is thin and if you simply start breaking things you get nihilism, not progress. They are acutely aware of the complexity of the world, and how limited our knowledge of it is. They are pragmatists, experimenters, liberals. But they also understand that in moments of historical transition, it is prudent to be bold. They understand that when your society is crumbling the only way to restore stability is to address the problems that are breaking it. When they are making big change the American Revolution, busting the trusts these conservative radicals channel revolutionary impulses into reformist action. Today, were in the middle of another historic transition when dramatic change is necessary if we are to preserve what we love about America. The crises tearing our society are well known: economic inequality, racial injustice, dissolving families and communities, a crisis of legitimacy. To some, this feels like a revolutionary moment. In Commentary magazine, for example, Abe Greenwald argues that the radicals have seized control. They are pushing radical agendas (No police! No rent!). Worse, they undermine the liberal fundamentals of our democracy the belief that democracy is a search for truth from a wide variety of perspectives; the belief that America is a noble experiment worth defending. Many people smell in todays radicalism the whiff of revolutions past: the destructive brutality of the French Revolution, the vicious thought police of Maos Cultural Revolution. I am not as alarmed. Im convinced that the forces that brought Joe Biden the nomination are far more powerful than a few extremists in Portland and even the leftist illiberals on campus. Im hopeful that if given power, Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will forge a new conservative radicalism. They have spent their lives within the liberal system, understand politics, understand radicalisms advantages and dangers. Theyre drawing support from an astonishingly wide swath of the ideological spectrum. Im convinced that if Donald Trump is defeated, revolutionary zealotry will fade as debates over practical change and legislation dominate. During crises like these, each of us has to take a stand, to be clear on which causes we champion and which position we occupy on the political landscape. This is hard, because were in a period of flux. If your views havent shifted over the past four tumultuous years, youre probably not doing much fresh thinking. I find I have moved left on race, left on economics and a bit right on community, family and social issues. Mostly I find myself supporting the conservative radicals, leaders who are confident that we can push for big change while defeating the illiberalism of radicals on left and right. The philosopher Isaiah Berlin once said he occupied the extreme right-wing edge of the left-wing movement. If thats good enough for Isaiah Berlin, its good enough for me. Brooks is a Canadian-born American conservative political and cultural commentator who writes for the New York Times. The Democratic Party convenes on Monday night amid the coronavirus pandemic in a virtual, made-for-television event designed to appeal to the broad centre of American politics. Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, the progressive presidential candidate, will appear in the same lineup with Republican stalwart, former Ohio Governor John Kasich and former First Lady Michelle Obama. Originally intended to take place in Milwaukee, the largest city in key swing state Wisconsin, the convention is being broadcast by satellite to delegates across the United States. Programming, much of it pre-taped, starts at 9pm EST (01:00 GMT) Monday through Thursday. Here are five things to watch for on Monday as the convention begins: Bernie Sanders opens the night Senator Bernie Sanders pulled out of the presidential race in April, providing former Vice President Joe Biden a clear path to the nomination [File: Matt Rourke/AP Photo] Sanders will strike an unqualified note of support for Biden, an establishment figure, after losing insurgent campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination twice first to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and now to Biden. The key question is whether progressive voters, disappointed by Bidens refusal to embrace Sanders push for universal healthcare, will heed his call. The odds are most will, but the fault line between the left and establishment wings of the Democratic Party remains. Four years ago, when Sanders was at the microphone to nominate Clinton on the convention floor in Philadelphia, the bitterness between their two camps was apparent, and it wounded Clinton against Trump. But Trump now is not just a hypothetical president as he was in 2016. He is the president, and Sanders, and Biden, have made clear that they see Trumps potential re-election in 2020 as an existential threat to the United States. Sanders and Biden are personally more friendly to each other than Clinton and Sanders were, and Bidens team reached out to Sanders people in an organised way to develop the Democratic platform, giving progressives a greater voice in developing policy proposals. Sanders can take credit for doing more than any other Democratic presidential contender, other than Biden, in shaping the Democratic Party today. But he will have to balance his own ideological fervour with his personal affinity for the partys nominee and their shared mission to defeat Trump. Obama. Her, not him Polls suggest former First Lady Michelle Obama is even more popular than her broadly popular husband, who will speak Wednesday night [File: Brad Barket/Invision via AP] Michelle Obama will give the headline speech of the evening. She is perhaps the most popular figure in Democratic politics today. The former first lady is uniquely positioned to talk about the Democratic ticket, including Senator Kamala Harris. She knows Biden and his wife, Jill, as genuine friends from Bidens eight years as vice president under her husband as well as overlapping time together in the US Senate. The Obamas also know Harris well, and Michelle Obama almost certainly will speak in personal terms about what it means to see a woman of colour nominated for national office. Republicans for Biden Republican former Ohio Governor John Kasich is among leading Republican voices calling for Trumps defeat in the November election [File: Tony Dejak/AP Photo] Former Ohio Governor John Kasich, who failed to win the Republican nomination in 2016, will make a pitch to Republicans who are turned off by Trump to vote for Biden. Kasich is a conservative who led a bipartisan effort in Congress to balance the budget in 1996 under President Bill Clinton. He battled with labour unions as governor of Ohio. Outside the cadre of officeholders in Congress who continue to support Trump, an increasing number of critical Republican voices are advocating for his defeat. Former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman, Quibi CEO Meg Whitman and former Representative Susan Molinari, all Republicans, are also expected to make appearances, the DNC announced. Republican voters will be crucial in winning states like Ohio, Florida and North Carolina that Bidens camp hopes to win in November. Representative Jim Clyburn, kingmaker House Majority Whip Representative Jim Clyburn threw his support to Biden over Sanders in the Democratic presidential primary fight. [File: Gerald Herbert/AP Photo] US Representative Jim Clyburn, of South Carolina in Congress, emerged as a power player in Democratic politics this year by delivering Black voters for Biden, resurrecting Bidens struggling presidential candidacy from earlier losses in Iowa and New Hampshire. The Black vote was critical in delivering Bidens win in South Carolina and will be critical again in the general election in November. Clyburn will be joined by Representatives Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, and Gwen Moore of Wisconsin. They will speak to the demands for justice and police reform that Black people have been fighting for in the protests that have swept the US. Governors Whitmer and Cuomo The coronavirus pandemic has forced state governors to the forefront in battling COVID-19 and two Democratic stars Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will speak tonight. A first-term governor, Whitmer was on Bidens shortlist to be his vice-presidential running mate, and met with him privately in Delaware, but he chose California Senator Kamala Harris instead. Whitmer moved strongly to suppress the virus in Michigan, incurring protests at the state Capitol from armed, right-wing groups. She reacted swiftly to address racism and inequality after the protests following the death of George Floyd. New York was hit hard early by the virus, and Governor Cuomos daily briefings became a national source of up-to-date information for Americans as Trump side-lined public health experts and downplayed the risks of COVID-19. At the Democratic convention in 2016, Cuomo warned the soul of America was at stake. OnePlus has announced Red Cable Day on 17th of every month to give back to its community for its sincere contributions towards the brands success in India. This date is in line with its date of inception, 17th of December, and on the day of every month it will offer special benefits offers on oneplus.in and at offline channels such as the OnePlus Experience Stores and the OnePlus Exclusive Service Centers across India to its Red Cable Club community. Red Cable Club members can avail the following offers upon the inaugural edition of Red Cable Day: 100% off on service charges for OnePlus smartphones and up to 15% discount on spare parts at OnePlus Exclusive Service Centers on the Red Cable Day 5% additional discount on purchase of any OnePlus accessories on oneplus.in and at OnePlus Experience Stores across India on the Red Cable Day Bowl of Happiness monthly lucky draw at OnePlus Exclusive Service Centers wherein customers stand a chance to win OnePlus backpacks, OnePlus Bullets Wireless Z, smartphone cases and many more. In addition to these it will also introduce an all-new cash on delivery option to its customers buying smartphones and accessories on OnePlus.in starting on Red Cable Day from Monday, 17 August 2020. To avail any of these offers you can visit oneplus.in, or the nearest OnePlus Experience Store or Exclusive Service Center on Monday, 17 August 2020. Our directory features more than 18 million business listings from across the entire US. However, if we're missing your business, add your business by clicking on Add Your Business. General Qamar Bajwas trip comes as Riyadh has threatened to pull financial support to Islamabad over Kashmir issue. Pakistans army chief has arrived in Saudi Arabia amid a disagreement between the two countries that has threatened Riyadhs financial lifeline to Islamabad. General Qamar Javed Bajwas visit on Monday was primarily military-affairs oriented, Pakistans army spokesman said. In a statement later in the day, the Pakistani military said Bajwas meetings in Saudi Arabia were focused on military to military ties including training exchanges. A traditional ally, Saudi Arabia gave Pakistan a $3bn loan and $3.2bn oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis in late 2018. Pakistan has long pressed the Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to convene a high-level meeting to highlight Indias alleged human rights violations in the disputed Kashmir region. 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 in recent weeks. Last year, Islamabad had pulled out of a Muslim nations forum at the last minute upon the insistence of Riyadh, which saw the gathering as an attempt to challenge its leadership of the OIC. Qureshis remarks revived Riyadhs anger, one of the Pakistani military officials and a government adviser said. Saudi Arabia has forced Pakistan to pay back $1bn prematurely and is demanding another $1bn of the loan. Riyadh has also not responded to Pakistani requests to extend the oil facility, military and finance ministry officials have told Reuters. The head of Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), General Faiz Hameed, was accompanying Bajwa, a Pakistani military source said. Pakistanis account for more than a quarter of the 10 million expatriates working in Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister 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. By Trend The interview with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during HARDtalk, BBC television and radio program broadcast, showed fair journalism and fair questions, Assistant to Azerbaijans President - Head of the Foreign Affairs Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend. "The opinion is widespread in Western journalism that there is no wrong question, but there is a wrong answer. During the interview with Pashinyan to the HARDtalk program, everyone eyewitnessed incorrect, distorted, unprofessional answers to correct questions," noted Hajiyev. "Pashinyan was asked very correct and valid questions. The questions were related to such issues as the occupation policy of Armenia towards Azerbaijan. Specific questions that entail 'yes' or 'no' answers were asked," said the president's assistant. He noted that Armenia is responsible at the state level for the crimes committed against the Azerbaijani people. Generally, I wouldnt like to additionally comment on the total incompetence of the person giving the interview, the silly situation he got himself into, and other related circumstances. We have witnessed how Pashinyan got into a similar situation during the debates with President Ilham Aliyev at Munich Security Conference, Hajiyev said. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Stacker looked back at 20 historic moments from the nations Democratic and Republican conventions over the years, referencing academic accounts, contemporary news reports, and anecdotes from those who were there. After a spectacular lightning show lit up the Bay Area Sunday, a second round of thunderstorms is in the forecast today as the atmosphere remains unstable and a tropical storm off Baja California continues to send surges of monsoonal moisture to the region. "We think there will be more thunderstorms firing up this morning, particularly around the North Bay and maybe in the San Francisco area," said Anna Schneider, a forecaster with the National Weather Service's Monterey office. "It should quiet down this afternoon." Before sunrise, there were reports of storm activity in the North Bay and at 7 a.m. a cell was moving across Lake Berryessa. The thunderstorms are traveling in the atmosphere at 5,000 to 15,000 feet and below this unstable layer, there's a mass of hot, stagnant air close to the ground. This so-called "dome of heat" is expected to remain parked over California through at least Wednesday as sweltering temperatures continue to grip the region. Temperatures today are forecast to be in the mid-90s to low-100s inland, 80s along the bay and 70s along the coast. An excessive heat warning remains in effect for inland areas of the Bay Area through Wednesday and "may need to be extended with widespread upper 90s to mid 100s expected inland through at least midweek," according to the NWS. There's a heat advisory in effect for coastal areas today. "It looks like things might start to cool down at the end of the week as the high pressure weakens, but it could still be hot in inland areas at the end of the week," Schneider said. Dry lightning was in the forecast Sunday, but the thunderstorms were more severe and wet than expected and, at the end of a week marked by dry heat, the weather was a surprise for many. The weather is also unusual for California, which sees little storm activity in the summer months. MORE NEWS: Rolling blackouts hit California: What you need to know The thunderstorms are the result of tropical storm Fausto off the coast of Baja California that's funneling moisture and advecting instability into Northern California. Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com. TDT | Manama The Jafferi Endowments Directorate has urged cooperation to observe annual Ashoora rituals using social media technologies, in order to protect peoples safety and ensure compliance with mandatory official directives and precautionary measures, particularly from the National Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The appeal was made yesterday during the annual meeting of community centres and Husseiynia processions, held remotely, to discuss preparations for the Ashoora season. The virtual session was attended by 250 participants from different community centres and coordinators of Husseiynia processions, in addition to representatives of official authorities, the Public Security Deputy Chief, lawmakers, and national taskforce members. Jafferi Endowments Directorate chairman Youssef bin Saleh Al Saleh commended the royal directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to care for religious rituals, particularly Ashoora season. He also paid tribute with this respect to His Royal Highness the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Prime Minister. He commended the efforts and initiatives of the government, HRH the Crown Prince, and the national taskforce, chaired by Supreme Council for Health president Lieutenant-General Dr Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa; and lauded the role of ministries and medical and health professionals in protecting citizens and residents health and safety. Al Saleh praised the efforts exerted by the Ministry of Interior to maintain security and stability, and protect national achievements and community safety. He commended the Supreme Islamic Affairs Council, chaired by Shaikh Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, and the follow-up of the Minister of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa to take care of worshipping venues and religious rituals. Tergus Pharma Receives 2020 Customer Value Leadership Award "Tergus is positioning well to provide unmatched services to specialty pharma, spanning through clinical R&D to commercial manufacturing, strengthening its leadership as an outsourcing contract services provider in dermatology. Tergus Pharma, an end-to-end service provider for topical pharmaceutical research, drug development, testing and commercial manufacturing company, has been an industry leader for several years with a state-of-the-art facility in Durham, North Carolina. The company has a long and stellar reputation for delivering quality results to clients from formulation through manufacturing and is now being recognized by Frost & Sullivan for this unfailing commitment to Client satisfaction. From the Frost & Sullivan report: With the contract research organization (CRO) dermatology segment constituting only 5% of the global market, specialty pharmaceutical (pharma) companies advancing topical drugs through research and development (R&D) must rely on multiple CROs at different stages to complete testing. Tergus Pharma (Tergus) provides full CRO services for therapeutics in dermatology. The company continually builds on technical, professional, and structural capabilities to meet customers performance needs, gaining a sterling worldwide reputation along the way. Additionally, Tergus customer-centric flexible and tailored services deliver a real partner-level engagement, regardless of project size. Always forward focused on customers goals and commercialization needs, the company invested in an over 100,000 square foot facility for its transition towards a full-fledged contract development and manufacturing organization. Tergus is positioning well to provide unmatched services to specialty pharma, spanning through clinical R&D to commercial manufacturing, strengthening its leadership as an outsourcing contract services provider in dermatology. Dr. Vijendra Nalamothu, Chairman and CEO of Tergus Pharma responded to the news by saying, We are delighted to accept this prestigious award from Frost & Sullivan. Our focus has always been on Quality, Science and Delivery. We know if we excel in these three areas and apply this excellence to every Client interaction, every project, every time, we will continue to provide outstanding value to our customers. About Tergus Pharma: Tergus Pharma is a world leading topical CDMO; FDA inspected, cGMP certified laboratory. Tergus topical experts have assisted with the advancement of 100s of topical products providing R&D, release and skin testing, and manufacturing of Toxicology, Clinical trial materials and Commercial products. With the new manufacturing facility set to open in January 2021, Tergus is set to be the largest Topical CDMO in the industry. Learn more at http://www.TergusPharma.com About Frost & Sullivan: Frost & Sullivan is a business consulting firm involved in market research and analysis, growth strategy consulting, and corporate training across multiple industries. It is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has 40 offices on six continents Reading, PA (19601) Today Turning out mostly cloudy and not as cold. There might be a rain or snow shower late.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with some rain and snow showers. Any rain will be early in the night. ~Entrepreneurs from Bahamas, St. Maarten and USVI access global experts to solve pressing problems~ PHILIPSBURG:--- MicroMentor is the worlds largest digital platform for the mentorship of entrepreneurs in the world. With more than 100 000 mentors and entrepreneurs, MicroMentor along with Bacardi has committed to supporting entrepreneurs in the Caribbean region. This was first to support islands hit hard by the hurricanes of 2017 and now has extended to supporting these same islands during the global pandemic. In 2019, MicroMentor with Bacardi has hosted the Caribbean Innovation Challenge where 15 entrepreneurs on St. Maarten got cash prizes totaling USD $37 000. Before the pandemic in February 2020, MicroMentor worked with its local partner Produce Wealth Revolution (PWR) Agency and Motorworld to host PWR 2020@ Motorworld, the islands first speed mentoring event. Since the pandemic, and with the support of its local partners in the region, MicroMentor has hosted several online mentoring events and webinars on the respective islands to support local entrepreneurs during these unpredictable times. In keeping with health protocols and maintaining physical distancing while bringing entrepreneurs in the Caribbean together, MicroMentor will be hosting its first virtual speed mentoring event, MentorFest 2020. On August 27, 2020 from 10 am 4 pm, entrepreneurs based on the Bahamas, St. Maarten, and USVI will be able to connect with fifteen (15) mentors from around the world with practical steps to overcome their pressing business challenges. Registration for this is free and made possible by MicroMentor, Bacardi and its local consultants and partners on Bahamas (J.P. Michielsen ), St. Maarten (PWR Agency) and US Virgin Islands (Economic Department Authority). Registration is required to gain access to mentors who have specific expertise in a variety of topics such as social media, marketing, taxation, sales, and more. After a completed registration, entrepreneurs will get a Zoom link and reminders leading up to the event. The event will kick-off with brief welcome and then entrepreneurs will be placed in break-out rooms with the mentor that best suited to support them in addressing their challenges. After every round, entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to network with people from around the region. Registration is now open. To register, go to undefined For more information, entrepreneurs can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or connect with MicroMentor Caribbean on Facebook for regular updates. Cyprus US Cyprus' foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides, left, and Under Secretary of the United States of America, for Political Affairs, David Hale touch elbows following their meeting at Larnaca international airport, Cyprus, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. Hale's brief stop in Cyprus comes amid heightened tensions over Turkey's hydrocarbons search in waters Greece and Cyprus claim as their own. (Christos Avraamides/Press and Information Office of Cyprus via AP) LARNACA, Cyprus (AP) The U.S. wants tighter cooperation on developing gas finds in the strategically significant eastern Mediterranean and supports Cyprus right to exploit hydrocarbon deposits discovered in its waters, a senior U.S. State Department official said Sunday. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale said hydrocarbon development would aim to provide durable energy security and economic prosperity throughout the Mediterranean, according to the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. The statement was issued after Hale met with Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides to discuss the eastern Mediterraneans growing strategic significance as well as recent developments in the region, including the devastating Aug. 4 blast in Lebanons capital of Beirut. Hales brief visit to the island nation came amid growing military tensions over Turkeys gas prospecting in waters where European Union members Greece and Cyprus say they have exclusive economic rights. On Friday, EU foreign ministers expressed full solidarity with Greece and Cyprus and urged an immediate de-escalation by Turkey as Greek and Turkish navy ships shadowed each other. Turkey had earlier dispatched a pair of warship-escorted research vessels to explore the southeastern sides of both Crete and Cyprus. But on Sunday, Turkey appeared to be upping the ante by announcing that another drill ship, the Yavuz, would be conducting a month-long hydrocarbons search off Cyprus southwestern coast. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the move which he said further fueled tensions and undermined efforts to resume talks. He called on Turkey to end these activities immediately and to engage fully in in good faith" in talks with the EU. Turkey, which doesnt recognize ethnically divided Cyprus as a state, claims 44% of the island's economic zone as its own and insists it has every right to carry out such explorations in defense of its interests and those of breakaway Turkish Cypriots. Story continues The U.S. Embassy statement said Hale reaffirmed American support for the right of the Republic of Cyprus to exploit its natural resources, including the hydrocarbons found in its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone. The U.S. official added these resources should be equitably shared between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities. The Cyprus government has bemoaned what it called the EUs appeasement of Turkey, which has so far failed to rein in the country. It also says an apparent U.S. disengagement from the eastern Mediterranean has emboldened the Turkish government to exert further control over the region. Cyprus Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said Hale assured him that the U.S. remains committed to the eastern Mediterranean region. Cyprus has licensed ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum, as well as Texas-based Noble Energy bought out last month by Chevron to drill for gas in its exclusive economic zone. Hale also lauded expanding U.S.-Cyprus security cooperation and reiterated American support for a resumption of stalled reunification talks. - Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul contributed. Theres a standard image of the Earth as seen from space that we carry in our heads: vast blue seas, green bands of forests, and frozen white caps on the top and bottom. By the summer of 2035, it may not be accurate. Scientists estimate that in just 15 years Arctic summer sea-ice could disappear for the first time since primitive humans left Africa. The point is, this is happening soon, says Maria-Vittoria Guarino, an Earth system modeler at the British Antarctic Survey and lead author of a study published earlier this month in the journal Nature Climate Change. We will have less and less time to get ready for it, or less time to act upon it if we want to do something about it. The new research is the latest in a steady stream that has moved up the predicted timeframe for the ice-free Arctic milestone. The amount of sea-ice floating atop the Arctic Ocean at summers end has fallen about 13% per decade since 1979. The 13 years with the smallest ice extents on record have all happened over the previous 13 yearsand this summer is a sure bet to be No. 14. The 2035 estimate made by Guarino and her colleagues is based on whats known about past climates. Scientists over the years have assembled evidence about previous eras from chemical traces in ice, rocks, and sediment. The new Arctic study looks specifically at a period 130,000 years ago, called the Last Interglacial. That period was 4 Celsius hotter than than the pre-industrial eraa plausible preview of conditions humans are creating for the future. Current warming on average is already around 1C, and the Arctic is warming more than twice as fast as the rest of the planet. Guarinos research joins a debate about the pace of global heating that has drawn in climate scientists this year. Some newly updated models, like the one Guarinos team used, now suggest that warming will occur much, much faster than previously thought. There remains disagreement among scientists over modeling results that show accelerated warming. But, as Guarino sees it, the fact that at least one of these models with hotter-than-expected results has successfully matched physical evidence from the Last Interglacial period makes it difficult to dismiss the findings. Earlier climate models struggled to match the geological evidence from the Last Interglacial. Estimates like these come with lots of uncertainty, which leaves open the possibility that ice may stick around longer, according to Zachary Labe, a postdoctoral researcher in Atmospheric Sciences at Colorado State University. Im also hesitant to focus on the year 2035 too much, he says. Its challenging to predict the first ice-free Arctic. Scientists from North Carolina State University and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this year used a different model to arrive at a similar 2035 target for the ice-free Arctic summer. By ice-free, scientists usually mean an extent of less than 1 million square-kilometers. The lowest it has reached is 3.4 million km in 2012. Ge Peng, research scholar on the North Carolina State University team, also noted that unexpected events could alter the timeline. The eruption of a large volcano, which spews chemicals into the atmosphere that block sunlight and lower temperatures, could push the estimates out a few years. Whichever summer is the first to lose its sea ice, Peng and her colleagues warn that businesses, governments, and people living in the Arctic need to prepare now for changes in regional geopolitics, transportation, and food availability. Once the pandemic has lifted, Peng hopes to travel to the still-frozen Arctic and find it the way we imagine it with our eyes closed. I want to do that soon, she says, because I dont want the sea ice to be gone by the time I take the cruise. The Indian economy may report a contraction of16.5 per cent in April-June quarter of FY21, as against previously expected contraction of 20 per cent, as degrowth in corporate GVA, courtesy better-than-expected results of some financial and non-financial companies, has been significantly better than revenue degrowth in Q1FY21, said economists at India's largest public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI). "In May, we had indicated that the Q1FY21 GDP growth will exhibit a sharp decline at least in excess of 30 per cent. Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor Loading In Canberra the Prime Minister (Mr Holt) said: Australia is saddened by the loss of these splendid men. My sympathy goes to those who have been bereaved and to the wounded in their suffering. The battle took place in heavy jungle in central Phuoc Tuy province, 42 miles southeast of Saigon. During the fighting: Australian armored personnel carriers, carrying reinforcements into the battle, caught a company of Viet Cong attempting an outflanking manoeuvre on the trapped company and inflicted heavy casualties. As ammunition ran low two RAAF Iroquois helicopters flew into the battle zone, under the cover of torrential rain to deliver ammunition. Australian, American and New Zealand artillery pounded the area with almost 3000 shells. United States air force F100 Super Sabres and F4 Phantoms, flying 14 missions, dropped 35 tons of high explosives and napalm on the Viet Cong. The fighting started about 4.15 pm in a tropical rainstorm when Delta company patrolling rubber plantations east of the taskforces area ran into a Viet Cong force estimated at between one and two battalions. The company was moving forward in wedge-shaped formation with the two leading platoons 300 yards apart. Loading The platoon on the right suddenly ran into Viet Cong of company size dug into a small feature. The Viet Cong allowed the Australians to within 150 yards before opening fire with heavy machine guns and mortars. Pinned Down The second platoon on the left moved to help but was quickly pinned down by a second large force. Up to 1000 Viet Cong then snapped shut the doors of the trap, pouring in concentrated fire from mortars, recoilless rifles, automatic rifles and grenade launchers. Operating in strength on an extended front of 1000 yards, the Viet Cong moved to wipe out the Australian company. Fighting continued for almost an hour and half at close range as the surrounded company fought off attack after attack. Allied artillery fire continued to pour in, but the Viet Cong kept as close as possible to the Diggers position to try to discourage them from calling fire on themselves. For more than three hours, the Australians held out, with rubber trees their only shelter. Loading The Viet Cong repeatedly charged the Australians but were flung back, suffering heavy casualties. In many cases the Viet Cong had to leap over piles of their dead as they charged the Australian positions. Air Strikes Waves of United States Air Force F100 Super Sabres F4 Phantoms were called in to deliver loads of 500 and 1000 lb. bombs as well as napalm on the area. Air strikes continued in a curtailed form during the heavy rainstorm, the pilots were bombing by radar. The Viet Cong were climbing rubber trees to get a better shot at the Australians, but the company held out. Heavy Allied artillery fire poured into the area causing numerous Viet Cong casualties. An artillery forward observation officer at one stage reported seeing a company of Viet Cong moving in attack formation towards his position. Artillery was called in to force back the guerillas. As the companys ammunition began to run dangerously low, two RAAF helicopters flew right into the battle zone under cover of the heavy rain to deliver ammunition. Loading The only avenue of escape left to the company was to the southwest, but the Viet Cong were quickly moving to close off the narrow gap and move in for the kill. As a large Viet Cong force moved in to close off the escape, heavy Australian reinforcements arrived in armored personnel carriers coming up from behind in heavy rain. The guerillas had their backs to the Australians and the torrential rain masked the sound of the Australians approach. At close range the carriers opened up with the 50-calibre heavy machine guns, smashing into the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong fought back with grenades and small arms fire but were overwhelmed. The lighting continued until about 8 pm when under cover of darkness and the rain the Viet Cong broke off contact with the quickly expanding Australian force being poured into the area. Tribute to courage of Diggers The Minister for Defence (Mr Fairhall) said last night that the Australians who took part in the South Vietnam action gave an outstanding demonstration of courage and skill. Mr Fairhall, who released the casualty figures in Canberra, said the Australian task force inflicted a sharp reversal on the Viet Cong. Calling Kamala Harris "victorious", posters of the Indian-American California senator have cropped up in Tamil Nadu. Meena Harris, the niece of the US vice-presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, on Sunday took to Twitter to share a glimpse of one such poster featuring Kamala Harris. The poster says PV Gopalans granddaughter is victorious in Tamil. The 35-year-old California-based lawyer mentioned in her tweet that the photo of the poster was sent to her from Tamil Nadu. In her tweet, Meena Harris said, I was sent this from Tamil Nadu where our Indian family is from. It says PV Gopalan's granddaughter is victorious. I knew my great grandfather from our family trips to Chennai when I was young -- he was a big figure for my grandma and I know they're together somewhere smiling now. I was sent this from Tamil Nadu where our Indian family is from. It says PV Gopalans granddaughter is victorious. I knew my great grandfather from our family trips to Chennai when I was younghe was a big figure for my grandma and I know theyre together somewhere smiling now. pic.twitter.com/WuZiKimmqj Meena Harris (@meenaharris) August 16, 2020 The poster comes days after Joe Biden named Kamala Harris as his running mate, 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. Harris, a 55-year-old first-term senator, is also one of the party's most prominent figures and quickly became a top contender for the No. 2 spot after her own White House campaign ended. Harris, who is also Indian American, joins Biden in the 2020 race at a moment of unprecedented national crisis. If elected, she would be the first woman vice president ever for the country. She was born to a Jamaican father, Donald Harris, and an Indian mother, Shyamala Gopalan, on October 20 in 1964, at Oakland in California. Her mother migrated to the US from Tamil Nadu in India, while her father, Donald J Harris, moved to the US from Jamaica. "When my mother, Shyamala stepped off the plane in California as 19 years old, she didn't have much in the way of belongings. But she carried with her lessons from back home, including ones she learned from her parents, my grandmother Rajan, and her father, my grandfather P V Gopalan. They taught her that when you see injustice in the world, you have an obligation to do something about it," Harris said. "Growing up, my mother would take my sister Maya and me back to what was then called Madras because she wanted us to understand where she had come from and where we had ancestry. And of course, she always wanted to instill in us, a love of good idli," Harris said. "In Madras I would go on long walks with my grandfather, who at that point was retired. We would take morning walks where I'd hold his hand and he would tell me about the heroes who are responsible for the birth of the world's biggest democracy. He would explain that it's on us to pick up where they left off. Those lessons are a big reason why I am who I am today, Harris said explaining the deep influence of the Indian heritage on her. Harris' record as California attorney general and district attorney in San Francisco was heavily scrutinized during the Democratic primary and turned off some liberals and younger Black voters who saw her as out of step on issues of systemic racism in the legal system and police brutality. She tried to strike a balance on these issues, declaring herself a "progressive prosecutor" who backs law enforcement reforms. At least 10 students and staff members at a summer program in Salem are expected to quarantine after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said Monday. The COVID-19 patient, an employee at the LEAP summer program at the Saltonstall School, has not worked at the program since Tuesday, according to a Facebook post from Salem Public Schools. The employee is not a Salem Public Schools staff member, the post said. Five students and another five to seven staff members were in close contact with the staff member and have been asked to quarantine per protocol, according to the post. Salem Public Schools, in partnership with LEAP, closed the program for the remainder of the week as well, officials said. This week was supposed to be the last week of the program, and LEAP was short-staffed due to staff needing to quarantined, officials noted. Residents and workers in Salem, which has been deemed a high-risk community by state officials, can get free coronavirus tests as part of the commonwealths Stop the Spread initiative. Drive-through or walk-up testing is available six days a week outside of Salem High School at 77 Willson Street. People can get tested Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. As of Aug. 12, the city had reported a total of 718 cases of the viral respiratory infection, 52 of which were identified within the prior two weeks. The communitys infection rate stood at 8.3 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. Statewide, there have been 114,398 total confirmed cases and 8,607 deaths linked to the disease, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Stop the Spread free COVID-19 testing in #SalemMA today, Monday August 17th, from 2pm-6pm at Salem High School. No proof of insurance or citizenship is necessary. You do not need to be symptomatic to receive this testing. Find more details at https://t.co/83HUeCpuKd. pic.twitter.com/gTw4zRxi5N City of Salem MA (@CityofSalemMA) August 17, 2020 Related Content: Prince Harry did not exchange strong words with the Queen over Meghan Markle's wedding tiara, sources have insisted. A source close to the Duke of Sussex, 35, has slammed claims that the royal asked the Queen 'what the hell is going on' during a phone call prior to his wedding day and called the allegations 'completely ridiculous'. It comes after Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie claimed that Prince Harry had made an exasperated call to his grandmother, 94, following an alleged tussle with Her Majesty's long-time dresser Angela Kelly. During the alleged call the prince is claimed to have inquired about whether Meghan would be given time to try on her diamond bandeau tiara during a trial with her hairdresser ahead of the big day. He reportedly said: 'I don't know what the hell is going on, but this woman needs to make this work for my future wife.' Prince Harry did not shout at the Queen over Meghan Markle's wedding tiara, a source close to the duke has said The source insisted that the Queen is probably the person he respects and values most in the world However a source has now refuted the claims over what has come to be known as 'tiaragate' and told The Telegraph: 'The Queen is probably the person he respects and values most in the world.' They added that the suggestion the Duke 'yelled' at his grandmother was 'totally untrue, and completely ridiculous'. Mr Scobie said in an interview with True Royalty TV, broadcast today, that the Prince Harry was reportedly furious with Ms Kelly, a close confidante of the Queen, after she 'deliberately dragged her feet' when Meghan asked for access to the tiara before the couple's nuptials in May 2018. There were also reportedly issues surrounding Meghan's choice of tiara. Her first choice is said to have been the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara, which was worn by Princess Eugenie at her wedding six months after the Sussexes' nuptials. Although the issue surrounding the tiara has been documented in Mr Scobie's biography, co-written with Carolyn Durand, it is the first time the alleged phone conversation with the Queen has been reported. Mr Scobie said in the interview today: 'Harry had to intervene. He called his grandmother and said, ''I don't know what the hell is going on. This woman needs to make this work for my future wife''. And of course, we can kind of see now where this 'what Meghan wants, Meghan gets' narrative came from. Meghan Markle arrives at the High Altar for the wedding at St George's Chapel on May 19, 2018 Harry and the Queen at Lady Gabriella Windsor's wedding at Windsor Castle on May 18, 2019 Queen Mary's Diamond Bandeau, which was worn by Meghan for her wedding to Prince Harry 'Harry felt that there were those within the institution that would stop at nothing at the very least to make Meghan's life difficult.' It is unclear why this phone conversation was not retold in similar fashion in the biography - which states that Harry didn't believe that Ms Kelly was 'truly unavailable' to assist with the hair trial and thought she was 'purposefully ignoring Meghan'. It states: 'What followed between the prince and Angela was a heated exchange that was far from the typical restraint expected. According to a source, Harry had no problem confronting the issue had on. ''He was fed up,'' said the aide... In the end, Harry had to speak to his grandmother about the situation. And she got her trial.' The exasperated call was made following a tussle with a key aide to Her Majesty, Angela Kelly According to the authors, a senior Buckingham Palace aide insisted the Duke of Sussex was being 'oversensitive' when he accused Ms Kelly of trying to make things difficult for Meghan, however a source close to the prince said 'nothing could convince Harry that some of the old guard at the Palace simply didn't like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult'. The 'tiara row' symbolised the frustration of the Sussexes with the so-called 'vipers' at the Palace. Harry saw it as a 'huge snub' that Ms Kelly did not organise for Meghan and her American hairdresser Serge Normant to get access to the glittering Queen Mary bandeau headpiece when they wished. Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand was released last week A friend said: 'Meg had flown her hairdresser over from Paris for a hair practice and they needed the tiara. 'Angela Kelly said she couldn't come to London [from Windsor] and Harry went ballistic. He was furious at the treatment of his then fiancee. Such a snub.' But others insist the couple misinterpreted Ms Kelly's reply. A source said: 'Meghan demanded access to the tiara. She didn't make an appointment with Angela, but said, ''We're at Buckingham Palace, we want the tiara. Can we have it now please?'' 'Angela essentially said, ''I'm very sorry, that's not how it works.'' There's protocol in place over these jewels. They're kept under very tight lock and key. You can't turn up and demand to have the tiara just because your hairdresser happens to be in town.' Scobie also claims that Prince William has not spoken to his brother properly since he revealed his plan to quit the UK for North America. In the TV interview to promote the book, Mr Scobie said: 'The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit. 'They hadn't seen each other. That's really going to take some time to heal. I think the distance between the brothers grew wider and wider. And that's partly because of things that take place - and we discuss them in the book.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's plan to step back from their royal duties made the brother's relationship difficult, said Mr Scobie. In the TV interview to promote the book, Mr Scobie says: 'The brothers had not spoken since around the time of the Sandringham summit' He continued: 'I think really where it went wrong for Harry and Meghan and the Cambridges was that decision to go public with the road map to their new working model. 'The statements weren't discussed internally. That's really what caused the most amount of hurt to William, because he wears two hats. 'He's not just the brother, he's also future king and he felt that damaged the reputation of the family.' 'That it put family business out into the public domain when it should've been discussed privately and there was a lot of hurt there that continues to this day.' The Queen appointed Ms Kelly, nicknamed AK47 because of her uncompromising manner, a member of the Royal Victorian Order in 2006 and promoted her to Lieutenant of the same Order in 2012 for 'distinguished personal service'. She is also Her Majesty's Personal Adviser and Curator (The Queen's Jewellery, Insignias and Wardrobe), a role not previously granted to a Royal servant. Protest Against Pakistan , , , , ' - () , , Plastic has surely been both a boon and a curse for humanity. While its existence allowed for products to be mass-produced for cheap, the non-biodegradable nature of plastic surely leaves a mark on our planet that isnt going away for several years. And now, research reveals that this plastic is also trickling down into our food. Representational Image: Reuters A new study (published in Environmental Science & Technology) looked at five popular seafood bought from a market in Australia -- five wild blue crabs, ten farmed tiger prawns, ten wild squids, ten farmed oysters and ten wild sardines -- where researchers found microplastics in each and every sample. They also looked at the kind of plastic that was found in their bodies and discovered that the plastics were commonly used in packaging and synthetic textiles such as polystyrene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene and poly(methyl methacrylate). Moreover, Polyvinylchloride was present in all samples, whereas polyethylene was in highest concentrations. Francisca Ribeiro, from the University of Queensland, Australia explains, "Considering an average serving, a seafood eater could be exposed to approximately 0.7 milligrams of plastic when ingesting an average serving of oysters or squid, and up to 30 mg of plastic when eating sardines, respectively. For comparison, 30 milligrams is the average weight of a grain of rice." Representational Image: Reuters Researchers also discovered that the amount of plastic consumed is different in different species, Riberio states, "Our findings show that the amount of plastics present varies greatly among species, and differs between individuals of the same species. From the seafood species tested, sardines had the highest plastic content, which was a surprising result." While we still dont know if consuming such fish with microplastics can harm humans, concerns surely loom. It is no news that the ocean is one of the places where plastic goes to die, but in this process, it manages to contaminate the marine food web and even kill several. Weve already seen various instances of dead whales and turtles on the beach. YEREVAN. Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan remains one of the most criticized politicians in Armenia; the Media Advocate initiative has noted this in a statement, which reads as follows: From 1 to 10 August, 2020, the Media Advocate initiative followed online media reports on the mayor of Yerevan, Hayk Marutyans personality and activities. 35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored. In the specified period, 307 articles were declared, 101 of which were negative, 5 were positive and 201 were neutral. Hayk Marutyan remains one of the most criticized politicians. According to the press, Iva Marutyan, the wife of Mayor Hayk Marutyan, who is currently in a bad financial and economic situation, bought 3 units of real estate in Kutna Hora, Czech Republic last year. Yekmalyan [Street] residents have been protesting for quite a long time. They appealed to the mayor with such words: Hayk Marutyan, respect us, you are not even familiar with our problem. Member of Alternative Projects Group Marine Sukiasyan, referring to Hayk Marutyans activities, noted: There is an idea of collective and individual responsibility. It happened during this governments tenure and the tragedy continues. One day, Hayk Marutyan will have to be held accountable why he ran away and hid during the days of the epidemic, why Yerevan was one of the only cities in the world that was not disinfected, why Yerevan remained without city government. Hayk Marutyan continues to be criticized for delaying his pre-election promises. In particular, Hayk Marutyan announced the opening of a new metro station. The media raises the question: what happened to that project, will that promise come to life, or was it just a pre-election promise? According to the press, Mayor Hayk Marutyan is the most inaccessible official, and his spokesperson, former journalist Hakob Karapetyan, has already turned into an answerphone who constantly utters a recorded phrase: Send a written question, we will answer. Even if the question is simple: which organization is carrying out improvement works in Saryan Park? The answer, according to the law, should have been written in black and white and in big letters in Saryan Park, in the part accessible to everyone. Mikayel Nahapetyan, a member of the Citizens Decision Social-Democratic Party, wrote the following on his Facebook page: The issue is not the trees cut down in Mashtots Park, in order to be discussed whether they were healthy or not. The issue is the attack on the symbol. Many of todays rulers, including Hayk Marutyan as a citizen, have greatly been formed due to the struggle for the Park. And even Serzh Sargsyan realized that it was impossible to go against it. But it is no longer surprising that this ruling force has a great intention to complete Serzh Sargsyans unfinished initiatives. You will not see the consequences of this now. The sound of this will come out later and it will be very loud as the grounds of the processes that brought you to power cannot be trampled in this way. By Kim Sun-ae After days of heavy rain, we went to our weekend farm. Fortunately, my father and I were able to harvest some potatoes but the chilies, eggplants, cucumbers and tomatoes had fallen to the ground due to the torrential downpours. I thought of the farmers whose farms were flooded. This summer, localized torrential downpours have damaged large areas of farmland in Korea. I also read an article that a storehouse for harvested garlic was submerged, so it became impossible to sell the garlic. The farmers must be having a very difficult time. The heavy rain left many people, including farmers, homeless. According to the National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Korea's annual precipitation and its intensity have increased over the past 100 years. This year's rainy season has been the longest on record. Jang Eun-cheol, a professor of atmospheric science at Kongju National University, said that the growing precipitation intensity is closely linked with a rise in the surface temperature of both the West Sea and the East Sea and with the increasing amount of water vapor in the atmosphere due to global warming. He also mentioned a study on climate change in East Asia which forecasted that if global warming continues, precipitation and its intensity during the rainy season could increase in the late 21st century. The climate crisis has resulted in a lot of extreme weather events, which took away many lives and led to economic losses. It is evident that we must address the issue of the climate crisis more actively. The Guardian, a British newspaper, has started using the term "climate crisis" instead of "climate change" to reflect the seriousness of this global issue. At the individual level, we can cut consumption to contribute to solving the serious problem. We can begin action by reducing consumption in one part of everyday life. For example, I decided not to buy new clothes this year. So I haven't purchased clothes for over half a year, and there has been no inconvenience. I had bought and thrown away clothes without thinking of the harmful effects of overproduction and overconsumption. Greenhouse gases are emitted in the process of producing, distributing and discarding products. Therefore, it is necessary to decrease consumption in various areas. For instance, we can cut the use of single-use products such as plastic bags or cups. Also, it will be better if we talk about the climate crisis with other people to find solutions together. I planned to discuss this issue and share ways to deal with it at my book club meeting. At the social level, the government should set and implement concrete policies and plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Citizens need to monitor related policies and to urge the government to actively carry out effective policies. Now is the time to act at both the individual and societal levels. Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/dancinglf) wrote a book of illustrated essays, "Old Potato, New Potato." Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Four people at NCP chiefs residence contract Covid-19, Pawar tests negative Four people at Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawars South Mumbai residence have tested positive for Covid-19, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said on Monday. Read more We enforce policies without regard to anyones political affiliation: Facebook Amid political slugfest involving social media giant Facebook, a company spokesperson has said that the platform prohibits hate speech and content that incites violence. Read more ShareChat in talks with Google over a potential investment Google is in talks with Bengaluru-based social media company, ShareChat over a potential investment. Read more Tata Motors debunks reports which claim it plans to sell stake in JLR Tata Motors early Monday issued a statement debunking reports that stated it plans to sell its stake in Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), underlining that it remains a crucial part of the wider Tata Group. Read more I once told Sachin Tendulkar the same: Inzamam-ul-Haq feels MS Dhoni should have announced retirement at the ground As a captain, MS Dhoni had numerous accomplishments to his name across all formats. Not only did he lead Indian team to three ICC titles, he also took Indian team to no. 1 Test ranking in 2009 as captain. Read more India to hold key Covid vaccine meet today, likely to discuss pricing & procurement Hindustan Times National Political Editor, Sunetra Choudhury brings you the top stories you need to know. Read more Ironman Milind Soman shares tips for keeping fit and feeling young Milind Soman is more super man than super model, the fitness freak has been a trailblazer from his early modelling days, and continues to break barriers and inspire everyone. Read more The Cyprus government has bemoaned what it called the EUs appeasement of Turkey, which has so far failed to rein in the country. It also says an apparent U.S. disengagement from the eastern Mediterranean has emboldened the Turkish government to exert further control over the region. Mumbai, Aug 17 : Actress Bhumi Pednekar says there are sustainable ways to celebrate the Ganpati festival and urged everyone to choose eco-friendly idols. "This is my favourite festival and we have been celebrating Ganpati for years in my family. Since I have been on this journey of climate conservation, I have realised that there are better ways of celebrating this festival, more sustainable ways. Nature is God, God is nature. We have to find better alternatives," said Bhumi, who is also an environment activist. Bhumi has joined hands with sculptor and environment activist Dattadri from Maharashtra to spread the message. Dattadri specialises in making tree Ganpati idols with seeds planted inside the idol. The idol can be immersed in clay pots once the festivities are over. She will also upload several Do-It-Yourself (DIY) ways of making Ganpati idols at home that are eco-friendly. "I really hope that concepts like these are adopted by citizens, to spread the message of ecological conservation to the next generations. I hope people are inspired to act and choose environment-friendly alternatives like this, which are revolutionary ideas to protect our country," she said. Bhumi added: "We have to work to change the mindset of people, and try and make them realise that you can celebrate festivals with gusto but in the most environmentally conscious way too." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) will be able to move on to discussing the political set of issues after the establishment of a comprehensive and unlimited ceasefire along the entire contact line in Donbas. The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG, Ukraine's first president, Leonid Kravchuk, said this in an interview with the Segodnya online news site. When the ceasefire is observed not only in certain areas where forces are concentrated, but along the entire border or the entire line of contact. There [in the Minsk agreements] it is written a comprehensive ceasefire and an indefinite truce. If this is done, then we will say that we are moving on to the next clause [of the Minsk agreements], Kravchuk said when asked when Ukraine will move on to implementing the political clauses of the Minsk agreements. He added that the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG will not wait. It will propose and use various forms so that citizens of Ukraine who live in non-government-controlled areas will see that Ukraine acts consistently and systematically, and will defend and pave the way to peace." As reported, during a meeting of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) in Minsk on July 22, the parties agreed on a complete and comprehensive ceasefire on the contact line in Donbas from July 27. ish Its going to be a great, great moment not only for me as a victim but for me as a Lebanese, as an Arab and as an international citizen looking for justice everywhere, said prominent former legislator and ex-Cabinet Minister Marwan Hamadeh, who was seriously wounded in a blast four months before Hariris assassination. Hamadeh said those who killed Hariri were behind the attempt on his life. The tribunal has indicted one of the suspects in Hariris assassination with involvement in the attempt on Hamadehs life. The Carlow Brewing Company - the maker of craft beers including O'Hara's - has appealed a decision to refuse permission to develop a brewing facility at Sandyford on Dublin's southside. The beer maker applied for permission for the project to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council earlier this year. The plans include a brewing area, as well as visitor facilities including a tasting area, a bar/restaurant and laboratory space. The company aimed to develop the project in a vacant industrial building at Sandyford Business Park. There were no third-party objections to the scheme, but in July the council asked the company to provide additional information regarding issues such as proposed bicycle stands and drainage. "The applicant has not provided an explanation of what the craft-brewing process comprises as opposed to an 'industrial' way of production," the council noted in a decision to refuse permission for the facility last month. The council insisted the project in the large, densely developed business park would "seriously injure the amenities of the area" and materially contravenes the local development plan. The unit where the beer project is planned forms part of an area where a small public park is proposed to be built by the council. "The planning authority also has serious concerns of the potential impacts of effluent discharge in the absence of an agreement and appropriate licence obtained from Irish Water," the council added. The Carlow Brewing Company has now appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanala. Last week, the company's chief executive, Seamus O'Hara, told the Irish Independent that the company has acquired a number of brands from the Boyne Brewhouse in Co Louth, which was established by the Cooney family. Production of those beers is moving from Drogheda, Co Louth, to Co Carlow. Mr O'Hara said the Carlow Brewing Company has "plenty of capacity" to brew the brands it's acquiring, which join a slate of well-known craft beers already produced by the firm. The acquisition was funded from the company's own resources. It employs about 50 people, with some of those still working part time as a result of the impact from the pandemic, according to Mr O'Hara. Finn Hall was Rani and Rene Francis lucky break. The brand-new food hall offered the siblings, who owned a food truck called Oddball Eats, a spot for their first brick-and-mortar in the heart of downtown in 2018. The two quit their full-time jobs in education and accounting and began serving fresh falafel, chicken shawarma and other Mediterranean specialties to the crowds who stopped by for coffee in the mornings, lunch in the afternoons and after-work bites and drinks in the evenings. Now those crowds are gone. Without them, Oddball Eats is lucky to make 10 percent of its prepandemic revenue on any given day. But Finn Hall owner Lionstone Investments has begun giving the entrepreneurs a different type of break. The landlord, along with the buildings major tenant, JPMorgan Chase, and other organizations have raised $54,450 to support Finn Hall tenants, providing a lifeline for restaurant workers while the office workers who once brought downtown to life stay at home. Its helping us buy some time, Rene Francis said. While Congress and the Trump administration wrestle over ways to protect residential renters from eviction, commercial tenants have largely been left to fend for themselves. Outside of one-time infusions of cash such as a federal loan program that quickly ran out of funds, restaurants and retailers have been forced to negotiate case-by-case deals with individual landlords. While some of the negotiations dissolved into acrimonious lawsuits or bankruptcies, Finn Halls model shows that some property owners recognize the value that nearby restaurants provide to their office experience and community enough to put up the funds to help them survive. A win-win When Lionstone bought the office building at 712 Main in 2013, it began thinking about how to make it a vital part of the streetscape. The result was Finn Hall: a place where people could congregate and unwind from morning until night. According to Hunain Dada, Lionstone Investments director of real estate portfolio management, Finn Halls collection of nine restaurants was not only an enviable amenity for the buildings tenants but also enlivened the entire block. So when Dada took a stroll down Main Street on a Wednesday afternoon shortly after Lina Hidalgo, Harris Countys top elected official, ordered nonessential workers to stay at home in March and saw the streets empty, he could only describe the scene as eerie. On HoustonChronicle.com: COVID fueling demand for industrial space for e-commerce Over Zoom meetings, the team overseeing 712 Main began discussing what to do to make sure that when office workers and business travelers returned, there was a streetscape worth returning to which meant trying to find a way to keep Finn Halls small businesses afloat. Within a month, the team launched a program called Feed the Frontlines, which allocated $20,000 from the propertys budget to supplement Finn Hall sales by purchasing meals to be donated to health care workers. In addition, the team set up a matching program for every $15 meal a customer bought, Lionstone Investments donated an additional $15. When the fund was exhausted, Lionstone Investments received donations from firms such as JLL, CBRE and Jackson Walker. JP MorganChase, the main tenant at 712 Main, donated $20,000. Kristen Habich, the Houston market leader for JPMorgan Chase, said the program allowed the bank to simultaneously support the health care industry, one of the industries that has been hardest hit by the pandemic, and a location its office workers frequented. Most restaurant owners and business owners in Finn Hall are entrepreneurs of color, she said. So being able to marry supporting them with showing support for health care workers who are working with they citys vulnerable populations it made a lot of sense to us. Need for a scalable solution Kyle Shelton, deputy director of Rice Universitys Kinder Institute for Urban Research, said the move by Finn Halls landlord and corporate neighbor was a testament to the value that small businesses provide. Thats an incredibly powerful story, he said. To say: We value these businesses. We want them to stay open. Street-level restaurants and stores have value for the community outside of the building as well. Every business on the street level creates more foot traffic and more business activity, and that in turn creates more foot traffic and more business activity, Shelton explained. If retailers fail, that could have consequences for their employees and landlords, but also for the amount of customers who frequent the street and the overall desirability of the location. You dont want to lose that momentum. On HoustonChronicle.com: Empty office space jumps more than 1 million square feet in second quarter But not every retailer hard-hit by social distancing measures has a landlord with the resources to launch a campaign or one of the worlds largest banks as a generous neighbor. Its clearly not scalable or sustainable, Shelton said of the solution. As Congress hammers out the next stimulus and as local and state governments continue to look for ways to support industries that have been dealt a staggering blow by the pandemic, he encouraged leaders to consider systemic ways to support small businesses and their workers. Something that Id like to see is all three levels of government work together to think about, how do we respond to future shocks, he said. The only way to respond to this uncharted territory is to prepare for future ones. rebecca.schuetz@chron.com; twitter.com/raschuetz TUNIS, Tunisia - As growing numbers of migrants cross from Tunisia to Europe, top Italian and European Union officials promised Monday to support Tunisian development efforts to create jobs and keep young people from trying to flee the North African country. During a visit to Tunisia, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said Italy was ready to provide aid, notably for youth programs, according to the Tunisian presidents office. But Di Maio insisted that migrants who make it to Italy illegally would be sent back. The Italian government has a repatriation agreement with Tunisia and is determined to slow the pace of arrivals. The number of migrants leaving Tunisia has grown as much as five-fold this year compared to last year reaching a total of about 5,700 people, according to estimates from the Tunisian Forum of Economic and Social Rights, an aid group following migration flows. More migrants landing in Italy now came from Tunisia than from neighbouring lawless Libya, according to Italian government figures released Saturday. A total of 16,347 migrants reached Italian shores over the past year, a 149% increase compared to the previous 12-month period, but still a number much lower than in several other recent years. No specific amount or source of aid was announced as Di Maio and other European officials visited Tunisias capital of Tunis on Monday, but they sent a clear message of support for the countrys young democracy as it copes with an economic decline worsened by the virus pandemic. The EU provided hundreds of millions of euros to Tunisia earlier this year to help it fight the virus. Tunisia can count on the European Commission and on all its friends, the EUs commissioner for neighbouring countries, Oliver Varhelyi, said, according to the Tunisian presidents office. Varhelyi also promised to promote job creation in Tunisia. Di Maio, Varhelyi, Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson met Monday with Tunisian President Kais Saied and other top Tunisian officials. Saied pressed for more development aid, insisting that security solutions alone are not likely to end irregular migration. Tunisian Secretary of State Selma Neifer pushed for more opportunities for Tunisians to work and cross borders legally in Europe. Lamorgese, who visited Tunisia last month for similar talks, said the trip was aimed at boosting Europe-wide solidarity with Tunisia. Tunisias unemployment rate stood at 15% before the coronavirus pandemic and has since climbed to 21%. The country has struggled to restore prosperity since protesters overthrew a longtime autocrat in 2011, unleashing Arab Spring uprisings around the world. Meanwhile in North Macedonia, a major transit point for migrants entering the EU, police said Monday a car carrying a dozen migrants from Syria crashed into a stationary police truck, killing two of the car passengers and injuring the other ten as well as a police officer. Police said the accident occurred Sunday night near the town of Radovis, about 100 kilometres (63 miles) southeast of the capital Skopje. The Greek border with North Macedonia was closed earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. But trafficking networks remain active, ferrying migrants who make their way from Turkey into Greece and then attempt to head north to more prosperous European countries. Police said that in July alone they had detained a total of 567 migrants attempting to illegally transit North Macedonia. ___ Colleen Barry in Milan and Konstantin Testorides in Skopje, North Macedonia, contributed. Today's Trump Rally-goers Welcomed by 'CNN Sucks' Song by Teen Band MAGA teen band performing outside Democratic debate in Detroit -- file photo NEWS PROVIDED BY Randall Terry Aug. 17, 2020 MILWAUKEE, Wisc., Aug. 17, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Monday, August 17, 2020, band to greet Trump supporters entering rally with "CNN Sucks." On Monday, August 17, Randall Terry and his family rock band, Insurrecta Nex, will welcome Trump rally-goers with original political parody songs including "CNN Sucks," "Trump's Gonna Thump 'Em," and "If You Vote for Joe, You Got Blood on Your Hands." After today's Trump rally appearance Randall Terry and a group of activists will embark on a ten-state tour declaring a simple message: "No Christian can vote for Joe Biden with a clear conscience, because Biden has committed to kill babies by abortion and force tax payers to pay for the killing. Activist events scheduled include: Tuesday, August 18, Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque Evening Rally Details to be announced Wednesday, August 19, Iowa Cathedral of Saint Raphael 10:00 AM 10:30 AM 231 Bluff ST, Dubuque, IA 52001 Sacred Heart Cathedral 12:30 PM 1:00 PM 422 E 10th ST, Davenport, IA 52803 Des Moines Evening Rally Details to be announced. Thursday, August 20, Iowa St. Ambrose Cathedral 10:00 AM 10:30 AM 607 High ST, Des Moines, IA 50309 Trinity Heights 2:00 PM 3:30 PM 2509 33rd St, Sioux City, IA 51108 Sioux City Evening Rally Details to be announced Friday, August 21, Minnesota Cathedral of the Epiphany 9:30 AM 10:00 AM 1000 Douglas St, Sioux City, IA 51105 Cathedral of the Holy Trinity 2:15 PM 2:45 PM 605 N State ST, New Ulm, MN 56073 Saturday, August 22, Minnesota St Cloud Evening Rally Details to be announced Saint Mary's Cathedral 10:00 AM 10:30 AM 25 8th AV S, St. Cloud, MN 56301 Minneapolis Evening Rally Details to be announced Sunday, August 23, Minnesota Cathedral of Saint Paul 7:15 AM 1:15 PM 239 Selby AV, St. Paul, MN 55102 Basilica of Saint Mary 11:00AM 12:45 PM 88 17th ST N, Minneapolis, MN 55403 This schedule will be updated regularly at www.randallterry.com/tour-dates.html "We are politely asking Archbishop Listecki to publicly state what be know to be true: It is a sin to vote for a pro-choice candidate. If you vote for someone you know is promoting child killing by abortion, you share in the guilt of the babies that will die." Mr. Terry is also currently making a documentary, "In the Shadow of the Cathedral," discussing the tragedy of the number of abortion clinics that are located near Cathedrals and major protestant Churches. Randall Terry states: "Silence equals consent. If Catholic Bishops and Evangelical Pastors do not publicly defend unborn babies in this election, their silence equals collaboration with Joe Biden and the abortionists." Mr. Terry further states: "If Joe Biden becomes President, millions more babies will die, and the blood will be on the hands of those who voted for him to be President." SOURCE Randall Terry CONTACT: Randall Terry, 904-826-9989 Related Links Original song "CNN Sucks" in Washington Post and Huffington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/08/01/todays-america-theres-cnn-sucks-band/ News Coverage from Ohio and Pennsylvania: www.randallterry.com/press.html Russias President Vladimir Putin is ready to hold dialogue with all parties interested in de-escalating the latest flare-up in tension in the Persian Gulf, Sputnik reported on Friday, quoting a statement from the Kremlin. On Thursday, reports emerged that Iran had reportedly seized a Liberian-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz and then let it go. Then the U.S. Central Command said that on Thursday in international waters, Iranian forces, including two ships and an Iranian "Sea King" helicopter, overtook and boarded a ship called the 'Wila.' Iran's use of its military forces to conduct an armed boarding of a commercial vessel in international waters constitutes a blatant violation of international law that undermines freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce, the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC) mission said. We call on Iran to articulate to the international community the legal basis for its actions. This type of reckless, aggressive behavior by Iran destabilizes the region and threatens the rules based international order, IMSC added. Russias Putin is now offering dialogue to all parties in search of de-escalation of the tension. We are calling on our partners to carefully weigh our proposal. Otherwise, further escalation of tensions and increased risk of conflict are inevitable. Such a development must be avoided, Putin said, as quoted by Sputnik. The Strait of Hormuz has been the scene of several incidents in recent months, and Iran has repeatedly threatened in recent years to close the Strait of Hormuz if it cant export its oil. The Strait of Hormuz is the most critical oil chokepoint in the world with daily oil flows averaging 21 million bpd, or the equivalent of 21 percent of global petroleum liquids consumption. According to EIA estimates, 76 percent of the crude oil and condensate that moved through the Strait of Hormuz last year went to Asian markets, with China, India, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore the top destinations. On Friday, reports also emerged that the United States had seized fuel cargo from several Iranian vessels that were bound for Venezuelaa development that Iran denied. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The Karnataka government on Monday said that it has decided to approach the state high court for appointing a Claim Commissioner for the purposes of assessment of damages caused to private and public property during last week s riots in the city, and also recover the cost from the culprits. On August 11 and August 12, in the riots following a social media post by a relative of a Congress legislator, three people were killed and more than a hundreds were injured in the DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits. At a meeting conducted by chief minister B S Yediyurappa with the home minister Basvaraj Bommai and senior police officials, it was decided that a stringent action will be taken against the culprits for violence by invoking of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The chief minister confirmed the developments in a series of tweets. We will approach Honble High Court for appointment of Claim Commissioner as per Honble Supreme Court order, Yediyurappa tweeted. Briefing media after the meeting home minister Bommai said that a team of three special public prosecutors would be appointed for perusing the case. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) that has already been formed will also invoke the Goonda Act in cases wherever the provisions so attract, he added. Bommai also said the police were investigating whether the rioters had an association with any extremist or terrorist organizations. Director general of police (DGP), Praveen Sood, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Amar Kumar Pandey and chief secretary T M Vijaya Bhasker, as well as other senior officials, were also present in the meeting on Monday. Bangalore Commissioner of Police Kamal Pant extended Sec 144 in the DJ Hall and KG Halli police station limits till 6 am of August 21. Police have detained nearly 370 people for the riots. Apart from examining CCTV footage from several places, police are also examining call records. Till now DJ Halli police have registered 49 first information reports (FIRs) against the numerous accused while KG Halli police have registered 19 FIRs. Meanwhile, Firdous Pasha who was the first to register a complaint against Naveen, the nephew of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy for an alleged blasphemous post, has registered a case against the rioters saying that his Honda Activa scooter was burnt by them. Naveen who was arrested for the alleged derogatory post was produced via video conference in the 11th ACMM (Addtional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate) court and has been remanded to 14-day judicial custody. Separately, Murthy met the CM on Monday. Speaking to reporters after meeting the CM, he said that Yediyurappa had promised him to look into his demands for a CBI probe and had assured him of full security to him and his family. Police on Monday also arrested President of Tipu Sultan Alfath trust, which claims to be an NGO working for the welfare of the poor and downtrodden amongst minorities. K Wajid Pasha in connection with the riots. Wajid, who claims to be a Janta Dal (Secular) worker, was also one of the masterminds of the riots, said people familiar with the matter requesting anonymity. Police have also arrested one more key person Samiuddin who was allegedly involved in the Bangalore riots. According to Bangalore Addtitional Commissioner of Police Sandip Patil the accused Samiuddin was associated with the killers of an RSS worker called Rudresh who was hacked to death in October 2016 and also had links with Al Hind which has been labelled as a terror group. We are continuing to investigate and there might be more arrests as we unearth new evidence, a senior police officer added. HMD Global plans to work with Indian contract manufacturers to produce its upcoming portfolio first for India, and then export to the world. HMD Global, the company that has revived the Nokia smartphone brand for the world, wants to make India a hub for exports. The Finland-based company recently secured a $230 million investment from Google and Qualcomm, and will use part of that investment to expand manufacturing in India, according to a report by The Economic Times. A top HMD Global executive reportedly said that the company will employ local contract manufacturers, along with Qualcomm and Google to make low-cost 4G and 5G smartphones in the future. And Nokia is only the second such brand to do it. Qualcomm also announced a similar partnership with Reliance Jio last month. HMD Global plans to work with Indian contract manufacturers to produce its upcoming portfolio first for India, and then export to the world. For smartphones, we are at the moment in deep discussions with local manufacturing partners, with the government, but also even with local possible component partners. So, we are very excited to see those possibilities become real in the next couple of months. And once we have that established then obviously, as a future step, we could also envision India to be an export hub for us, HMD Global CEO Florian Seiche told ET. Incidentaly, this is not the first time we are hearing about Nokia's ambition of turning India into an export hub. HMD Global's country head of India, Ajey Mehta also said the same back in February, but attached a caveat that it also has to manufacture components in India to make exports viable. It's likely that this is where Qualcomm is expected to come in play. Reap benefits of the PLI Scheme for local manufacturing Nokia is not the only one eyeing India as a manufacturing hub. Nearly every major smartphone brand including Apple, Samsung, Oppo and more have planned to expand manufacturing efforts in India, primarily to avail the benefits of the governments production-linked incentive, or PLI scheme. Under the scheme, the government plans to incentive large-scale electronics manufacturers to shift their manufacturing plants to India by giving them incentives if they meet certain goals. The government is ready to disburse up to Rs 40,951 crores as production-linked benefits over a period of 5 years. Aimed primarily at smartphone manufacturers, OEMs can be granted incentives ranging from 4% to 6% over a 5-year period. And to avail it, OEMs will have to make high-end smartphones (that has a freight on-board value of more than $200) worth Rs 4,000 crore in the first year, and ramp up manufacturing to Rs 8,000 crores, Rs 15,000 crores, and Rs 20,000 crores over a five-year period. The scheme seems to have worked, in the sense that it has attracted large investments from foreign smartphone brands. Apple has already committed to scale up production in India through its contract manufacturers, Foxconn and Wistron, while Samsung and other OEMs who have been making in India have already applied to be considered under the PLI-scheme. China Literature, China's top online publishing and bookselling platform, lost $465 million in the first six months of the year, reversing a $55 million profit from the first six months of 2019. The loss came despite a 10% hike in revenue, to $461 million. The company is owned by Tencent, which in 2018 led a $51 million funding round for Wattpad, the Canadian social writing platform. China Literature attributes a large proportion of this year's loss to mismanagement of their acquisition of New Classics Media, a film and television production company it acquired in 2018 for $2.2 billion. Last year, China Literature also encountered challenges when the Chinese government accused affiliated companies of publishing salacious material. China Literature's stock price plummeted and it's valuation was cut by nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars. It has since recovered somewhat, but shares were down on the latest earnings release. Company executives have admitted that China LIterature's business model may be broken. The firm has long relied on a model in which readers make micro-payments to read on the site, as well as rights sales for print publishing, and TV and film adaptations. The Covid-19 crisis slowed IP sales dramatically in the first six months of the year, with revenue down 41.5% and physical book sales and affiliated revenue dropped more than 50% In addition, a new free-to-read app introduced last year proved unpopular and proposed changes to the way writers are compensated sparked a backlash among the site's authors. The first half of 2020 presented tremendous challenges for China Literature," said Cheng Wu, CEO of China Literature in a statement. "The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and a complex and changing macro-environment had a negative impact on our business. The Company recorded a loss for the first time in many years. The disappointing results made us realize that the lack of resilience of our underlying business model and our structural issues that have piled up over the recent years. We will take actions to actively deal with these challenges and have already quickly responded to address some of the most urgent issues affecting the cornerstones of our business." In a rare expression of candor for a Chinese business executive, Cheng Wu, continued, "Going forward, we will focus on upgrading our content, platform and ecosystem to unlock the core values of the Company and to achieve a turnaround. In the long run, we are prepared to adopt a new culture and creative ideas from a more strategic and multi-dimensional perspective. We will also work with our strategic partners including Tencent to develop the industry together, with a more open and positive attitude, and invest in our future with greater courage and patience. One possible correction may involve putting more effort into building it's English-language presence: China Literature launched an English-language site, Webnovel, several years ago, and postings to self-publishing forums indicate the company has been actively recruiting more English-language writers to the site in recent months and the company launched a $10,000 writing contest in June. Army's Research and Referral Hospital in Delhi on Monday (August 17) said in an official statement that the condition of former President Pranab Mukherjee continues to be critical. The statement added that the former President's vital and clinical parameters are stable but he is on ventilatory support and is being closely monitored. Mukherjee, 84, was admitted to hospital on Monday (August 10) in a critical condition. Workup at the hospital revealed a large clot in Mukherjee's brain for which he underwent emergency life saving surgery. Post surgery the former President continues to remain critical on ventilatory support. It is to be noted that Mukherjee had also tested positive for coronavirus COVID-19 before surgery. On Monday (August 10), the former President had 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." Yesterday , I had visited my Father In Hospital . With God's grace & all your good wishes , He is much better & stable than D preceeding days! All his vital parameters are stable & he is responding to treatment ! We firmly believe that He will be back among us soon Thank You Abhijit Mukherjee (@ABHIJIT_LS) August 16, 2020 On Wednesday (August 16), Mukherjee's son had tweeted that his father was much better and stable than the preceeding days. "Yesterday , I had visited my Father In Hospital . With God's grace & all your good wishes , He is much better & stable than D preceeding days! All his vital parameters are stable & he is responding to treatment ! We firmly believe that He will be back among us soon. Thank You," Abhijeet said. Mukherjee was a senior Congress leader before he was elected as India's 13th President. He served as President from July 2012 to 2017. Patent affirms efficacy of vaccine developed by China Global Times By Leng Shumei and Hu Yuwei Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/16 22:28:41 IPR grant could facilitate marketing process of candidate: expert Chinese authorities have granted the first invention patent to a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which experts said demonstrates the vaccine's originality and creativity, and would enhance the international market's trust in Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines amid the US' groundless accusations of Chinese hackers trying to steal novel coronavirus data on treatments and vaccine development from them. The vaccine is a recombinant adenovirus vaccine named Ad5-nCoV co-developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc, one of the vaccine candidate's co-developers, with the other being a team led by Chinese military infectious disease expert Chen Wei. The grant of the patent further confirmed the vaccine's efficacy and safety, and convincingly demonstrated the ownership of its intellectual property rights (IPR), CanSino said in a statement sent to the Global Times on Sunday. Xu Xinming, a Beijing-based lawyer specializing in intellectual property rights, told the Global Times on Sunday that China has a comparatively strict and complete patent examination system, requiring a technology or product to be fundamentally different from existing similar technologies and products all over the world to be granted the patent. "The grant of the patent demonstrates the vaccine's originality and creativity," Xu said, noting that CanSino is also probably applying for a patent with foreign authorities to protect its IPR during international cooperation. An employee with the CanSino public relations department denied claims to the Global Times on Sunday that the grant of the patent had any relationship with the authorities' marketing process of the vaccine, noting that the two issues are under the supervision of two different systems. But Tao Lina, a Shanghai-based vaccine expert, believed that the patent grant would probably facilitate the marketing process. An officially granted patent would also enhance the market's confidence in Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines, especially that of the international market. The US has been making accusations since May that Chinese hackers were attempting to steal novel coronavirus data on treatments and vaccines without providing substantial evidence. China is leading in research and development (R&D) for COVID-19 vaccines and other therapies, and any attempt to smear or frame China without evidence is immoral, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said in May, slamming the US' groundless accusations. Tao also dismissed such accusations as groundless as the US at that time hasn't even launched experiments in some methods that China has adopted for COVID-19 vaccine development, such as the recombinant adenovirus method used by CanSino. Market confidence The patent clarified 14 claims for CanSino's IPR over the vaccine, including its nucleotide sequence, application purpose, preparation forms and methods, according to CanSino's statement. According to CanSino, they applied for a patent with the National Intellectual Property Administration on March 18, three days after they launched phase one clinical trials on the candidate and received approval on August 11. The phase III trial on the vaccine which will be conducted overseas is progressing smoothly, the company noted. Results of the phase one and two trials were revealed as of July 20, showing a good safety profile and high levels of humoral and cellular immune responses. CanSino has signed deals with Mexico to conduct late-stage clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico said last week. Saudi Arabian health officials also announced on August 9 to cooperate with phase III clinical trials on the vaccine, recruiting around 5,000 participants. CanSino has also reportedly been in talks with Russia, Brazil and Chile to launch a Phase III trial on Ad5-nCOV. Cooperation against vaccine nationalism Amid media hype, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a risk of "vaccine nationalism," however global cooperation around vaccine R&D to solve the COVID-19 conundrum has not stopped. All five types of COVID-19 vaccines in China are being developed under international cooperation with a list of countries including the UAE, Brazil, the UK, the US and Germany, media reported. China and Russia have planned to collaborate on COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials, said Chinese top respiratory scientist Zhong Nanshan, a leading figure in the fight against COVID-19, at a recent academic exchange conference on China-Russia cooperation against the coronavirus held in South China's Guangdong Province. Signs of cooperation seem to have emerged as early as January, media reported, as the Russian consulate in China's Guangzhou revealed in a statement on its website that "Russian and Chinese experts have begun developing a vaccine" and Beijing has handed over the genome of the virus to Moscow. Experts said the move is part of China's promise to pitch into the global fight against the virus, adding that China and Russia have a clear basis for vaccine cooperation in resource sharing and mass production. China and Russia can exchange data and techniques around vaccine R&D, given the second dose of Russia's newly approved world's first COVID-19 vaccine has almost the same mechanism with that of the China-developed adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine, Ad5-nCoV, according to Tao. China may also be able to help Russia with mass production for its second dose of the vaccine if needed, considering China has relatively ample capacity for mass production, Tao said. "The genetic sequence of viruses are very crucial in the development of vaccines, and sometimes can be even regarded as an intellectual property right," Yang Zhanqiu, deputy director of the pathogen biology department at Wuhan University, told the Global Times on Sunday. "The sharing and openness of gene sequences reflects China's willingness and confidence to work with others against the virus." Potential cooperation between China and Russia would be a win-win one, and it will also help China develop a vaccine that can be adapted to a wider range of viral strains, said Yang. US and Chinese medical institutions have been working together on vaccine development since the beginning of the year, a US vaccine scientist told the Xinhua News Agency on January 22. Peter Hotez, professor and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston, Texas, said his group is working with the Virology Center at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. Hotez praised China's efforts in dealing with the epidemic, saying Chinese scientists have done an amazing job so far figuring out the transmission and working out quickly the isolation and sequencing of the virus, Xinhua reported. Collaboration between US company Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Beijing Advaccine Biotechnology Co. was approved in July to work jointly on advancement of the INO-4800 vaccine against coronavirus, and late-stage clinical trials have been ongoing, media reported. It is the world's first COVID-19 vaccine to be tested simultaneously in the US and China. British multinational pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is working with China's Xiamen Innovex on a recombinant protein-based coronavirus vaccine candidate to protect people from the novel coronavirus. GSK is eyeing boosting production of the candidate to a billion doses by 2021, according to media report. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Leslie Evans, the Scottish Government's permanent secretary, with Nicola Sturgeon - Getty Images Europe Nicola Sturgeon's most senior mandarin will give evidence on Tuesday to a Holyrood inquiry into the mishandling of misconduct claims against Alex Salmond after she again refused to hand over her legal advice. Leslie Evans, the Scottish Government's permanent secretary, and Deputy First Minister John Swinney rejected an appeal from the cross-party committee conducting the inquiry to publish the key documents. In separate letters to the inquiry, Mr Swinney said that waiving the legal privilege covering the advice would be "inappropriate", while Ms Evans argued that the Scottish Government could still provide a "full account" of its actions. -@murdo_fraser The Scottish public want scrutiny, not more secrecy. Nicola Sturgeon and Leslie Evans cant pick and choose what evidence the inquiry gets to see. pic.twitter.com/RXOJCaiWHB Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) August 17, 2020 Both also objected to the committees demand for written and oral evidence from civil servants, claiming that officials giving personal reflections or private opinions about government matters, rather than representing their ministers, would be entirely contrary to civil service practice and not possible under the civil service code. The move sets up another clash over whether Ms Sturgeons chief of staff, Liz Lloyd, can give evidence. The committee is also investigating whether Ms Sturgeon broke the Scottish ministerial code by staying in contact with Mr Salmond while her officials were investigating him. Although the committee wants Ms Lloyd to appear as a witness, the Scottish Government has asserted her evidence should be part of a more general narrative. Mr Swinney, Ms Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell are also expected to be called as witnesses. Story continues A Holyrood inquiry is to examine a botched Scottish Government investigation into misconduct claims against Alex Salmond - AFP But the Scottish Tories said that Ms Sturgeon and Ms Evans "cannot pick and choose" which documents the inquiry investigates and demanded "full transparency." The committee is now considering exercising a rarely-used power to compel the production of documents or seeking to obtain them directly from the Court of Session. The letters from Ms Evans and Mr Swinney were published ahead of her appearance in front of the committee on Tuesday morning, where she is expected to give evidence under oath. Mr Salmond won a judicial review last year when Scotlands highest civil court found that the way the Scottish Government investigation was handled was unlawful. The case was abandoned on the eve of a Court of Session hearing after the government admitted it had breached its own guidelines by appointing an investigating officer who had prior involvement with two civil servants who had made complaints. The SNP administration he once led paid him 512,250 of taxpayers' money to cover his legal costs after the judge Lord Pentland ruled the inquiry was "procedurally unfair" and "tainted with apparent bias". The committees inquiry into the debacle was suspended when Mr Salmond was charged with sexual offences, but it was kickstarted after he was cleared. In March this year, he was cleared of 13 sexual offences by a jury following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. Nicola Sturgeon with her former mentor Alex Salmond in 2015 - Getty Images Europe However, the Scottish Government has refused to release any of the legal and court papers related to the judicial review, citing legal privilege. Linda Fabiani, the committee's SNP convener, wrote to the government last week urging it to cooperate with the request but Mr Swinney and Ms Evans refused. Mr Swinney told the inquiry that if the Government were to waive legal privilege in this case it would undermine the ability of ministers to receive full and frank legal advice in future. He said: This would not be in the interests of good government and the upholding of the rule of law. Successive administrations of different political complexions have reached the same conclusion in respect of other subject matter. Ms Evans said: "The Scottish Governments written statement about the judicial review already discusses its legal position for example in relation to conceding the judicial review proceedings. The Committee will be able to explore that legal position further with witnesses, including the Lord Advocate. But Murdo Fraser, a Scottish Tory committee member, said: "The committee cannot fulfil its function without full transparency. If we only receive part of the evidence, we will only be able to produce part of an inquiry report. The Scottish public want scrutiny, not more secrecy. Nicola Sturgeon and Leslie Evans cant pick and choose what evidence the inquiry gets to see. It is no exaggeration to say that there is now no guaranteed safe place in Trinidad and Tobago. We have moved from the stage of being prisoners in our homes behind metal bars to being afraid to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and even to sleep, for fear that if crime comes knocking we may have no recourse but to cower and beg for our lives. The society is being overpowered by the force of the criminal will with insufficient resources to resist and break that power. Kim Jong-un has declared that pet dogs are a symbol of capitalist 'decadence' and ordered that dogs in Pyongyang be rounded up - and owners are fearful that their beloved pets are being used to solve the nation's food shortages. Dictator Kim announced in July that owning a pet is now against the law, denouncing having a dog at home as 'a tainted trend of bourgeois ideology'. 'Authorities have identified households with pet dogs and are forcing them to give them up or forcefully confiscating them and putting them down', a source told South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper. Kim Jong-un has declared that pet dogs are a symbol of capitalist 'decadence' and ordered that dogs in Pyongyang be rounded up 'Some of the dogs are sent to state-run zoos or sold to dog meat restaurants'. A recent UN report stated that as many as 60 percent of North Korea's 25.5 million people are facing 'widespread food shortages' that have been worsened by international sanctions imposed on the regime for its nuclear missile programmes. Dog meat has long been considered a delicacy on the Korean Peninsula, although the tradition of eating dogs is gradually fading out in South Korea. Still, an estimated 1 million dogs are reared on farms to be consumed every year in the South. Man's best friend is still a staple on the menu in the North, however, with a number of dedicated dog restaurants in Pyongyang. Dog meat is most popular in the hot and humid summer months as it is believed to provide energy and stamina. Dog meat, pictured in South Korea, has long been considered a delicacy on the Korean Peninsula, although the tradition of eating dogs is gradually fading out in South Korea It has been reported that authorities are identifying houses with pet dogs and are forcing owners to give them up or are forcefully confiscating them. Pictured dogs locked in cages in South Korean meat farm Often served in a spicy soup or stew with vegetables, it is also known for raising the body temperature in the cold winter months. The Chosun Ilbo reported that pet owners are 'cursing Kim Jong-un behind his back' - but there is little they can do as to refuse to comply with the authorities could be interpreted as an act of defiance of a leader who likes to be referred to as the Supreme Dignity. The outlawing of pets will also have come as a surprise to many middle-class Pyongyang residents, who began to keep dogs after the regime attempted to spruce up its image in the run up to the 1989 World Festival of Youth and Students. Embraced as a symbol of economic development and sophistication, wealthy families would be seen walking their pets, which even made appearances on state-run television soap operas. As recently as October 2018, Kim himself presented a pair of 'pungsan' indigenous hunting dogs to Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, as a symbol of the growing detente between the two nations. The 'peace puppies' had a fortunate escape as their move to the South coincided with a demand that ordinary North Koreans pay a tax of dog fur, to be turned into coats, to mark the foundation of the Workers' Party. An estimated 1 million dogs are reared on farms to be consumed every year in the South. Pictured, a South Korean farmer eats dog meat during a counter-rally against animal rights activists against the meat trade The country is facing widespread food shortages, aggravated by the decision to close the border with China due to coronavirus. Beijing is traditionally Pyongyang's main supporter and the source of much of the food required to feed Kim's people. North Korea was also hit hard by a number of natural disasters last year, which impacted the harvest, while it has been badly affected by flooding again this month, with crops in the key agriculture regions wiped out. Kim has nevertheless declared that he and his people will brave the situation, with the young leader telling a meeting of his politburo on Thursday that while the nation has suffered serious losses in the flooding, it should not accept any outside assistance because of the possibility of the coronavirus spreading. Nearly 100,000 acres of arable land have been inundated, with nearly 17,000 homes and more than 600 public buildings destroyed. With pork and beef an almost unheard-of luxury for most ordinary people, the culling of the dogs of Pyongyang may be designed to stave off hunger in the coming months. This comes as severe flooding caused by monsoon rains have prompted the leader to feed victims with his own private grain reserves. Nearly 1,500 acres of rice fields were flooded as well as 179 housing blocks and 730 single-story homes destroyed. Kim's decision to used his reserves have gained attention from some diplomats, describing it as an 'SOS signal to China' for emergency aid. The officially announced results of the presidential elections in the Republic of Belarus do not inspire confidence in the Belarusian society, Ukraine is extremely concerned about cases of unjustified cruelty by law enforcement officers against citizens participating in the protests, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on Saturday evening. "We generally share the position expressed by the European Union regarding the elections in Belarus. Ukraine is extremely concerned over the cases of unjustified brutality of law enforcement officers against citizens participating in protests, media representatives and foreigners. We hope that the release from custody of some of the detainees will be the beginning of a dialogue between the authorities and civil society in order to find compromises," the statement says. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on the Belarusian leadership to refrain from political persecution of their political opponents. "We call on the leadership of Belarus to prevent further political persecution of its opponents and those citizens of Belarus who attended the street protests to demonstrate their position, as well as to thoroughly investigate all the facts of the illegal use of force against peaceful protesters. Ukraine considers Belarus a particularly close country and is ready to do all efforts to help it go through this difficult stage without weakening its sovereignty, to resolve the crisis while respecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens," the Foreign Ministry concluded. Family members of Deepak Shukla, who had died in police custody six months ago, are seeking that a murder case be registered against police personnel including sub-inspector Richa Rani, former station house officer at division number 5 police station, ASI Charanjit Singh and ASI Jaskaran Singh. The family has filed an application in Punjab and Haryana High court seeking CBI inquiry. Next hearing of the case is on October 6. Meanwhile, after lodging an FIR against the police personnel under Sections 188 and 342 of Indian Penal Code and Section 12 of Contempt of Court Act at division number 5 police station, police commissioner Rakesh Agrawal has transferred sub-inspector Rani. Sub-inspector Kuldeep Singh, who was an additional SHO at Sarabha Nagar police station has been given the charge of the SHO. Deepaks uncle, Rakesh Shukla, said they are running from pillar to post for justice. He added the police lodged the FIR only after intervention of the court. He said they are pursuing the registration of a murder case against the cops and have made an appeal before the court for transferring the case to CBI. He said Rani in her statement to the court said Deepak had died of natural causes, but the postmortem stated he had seven injury marks on his body. He alleged that the police kept Deepak in custody illegally, even after the court had ordered him to be sent to jail on judicial remand on February 24 after he was arrested on February 22. The police had subsequently informed the court that they were late in taking Deepak to jail due to delay in his medical examination, following which the jail staff refused to admit him. The court had asked the cops why they waited till 1pm on the next day to transfer him. Further, the jail record did not have any mention of Deepak being taken to jail on February 24. The record reflected that he was taken there at 5pm on February 25. There, Deepak had complained of severe pain in his legs and nausea and was taken to the civil hospital for treatment on February 26, where he died. Deepak Shukla, had been picked up by the police on February 22. He died on February 26 allegedly due to police torture. The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has revealed in spades the value of investment in science. Our public health response has been exemplary with an evidence-based approach to flattening the curve informed by a broad network of scientists and local scientific endeavour. Our tech companies and manufacturing capabilities have quickly pivoted and responded with the development of COVID-19 tests, genomic tracking of cases and innovation in vaccination technology. Their innovation is underpinned by the drive to join the worlds race to find a COVID-19 vaccine. The coronavirus has thrust relatively obscure companies into the spotlight and turned some into multibillion-dollar businesses. Credit:Michele Mossop The pandemic has helped the public understand the strength of science as we remain glued to televised daily press conferences educating us on complex epidemiological concepts about COVID-19. Meanwhile research being conducted at our universities continues to quietly and very fundamentally improve our everyday lives. In 2019-20, around $9.6 billion in Commonwealth funding was provided for research and development across all portfolios, $12.4 billion will be invested over the next four years through the Education portfolio alone. But the federal government is not the only source of income to fund university research. Over the last few decades Australian Universities have supplemented domestic research investment through international student fees. Its a marketing model proven to work with excellent research outcomes resulting in higher international rankings, which in turn attracts more international students and the virtuous cycle continues. But the COVID pandemic has put that funding model at great risk. The Minister for Education has established a working group of university Vice Chancellors to provide advice on sustainable approaches to research funding for universities during COVID-19 and beyond. The units of the missile troops and artillery of the Belarusian Armed Forces will be put on combat duty on the site near Ostrovets, near the Belarusian Nuclear Power Plant, Grodno region, near the Lithuanian border, on August 17-20, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said. "A number of tactical exercises involving batteries of reactive divisions, which will head to the site near Ostrovets, the firing ranges Gozhsky and Neman, will be held on the military firing ranges and some sites in accordance with the Armed Forces training plan on August 17-20. The units of the missile troops and artillery will be put on combat duty on the designated facilities," the Defense Ministry said in a report. The Covid-19 crisis has cast a shadow over many national events but this years National Heritage Week has taken an innovative approach to overcome the ongoing restrictions around public gatherings. National Heritage Week 2020 will take place from Saturday, August 15, to Sunday, August 23. In spite of the challenge of Covid-19, this years event will showcase a range of projects that delve into our shared experiences and explore our cultural and environmental inheritance. Local heritage groups, organisers, families and communities developed these projects around this years theme of Heritage and Education: Learning from our Heritage. Rather than focusing on public events, this years celebration of our local and national heritage will focus on sharing experiences and knowledge. To find out more about what you can expect from National Heritage Week 2020, we spoke to Lorcan Scott, Wildlife Officer with the Heritage Council. Why is our heritage important? This years National Heritage week will focus on the themes of heritage on our doorstep, relearning skills from our heritage and the heritage of education. So why should we care about our heritage and what can it teach us? Heritage defines us, explains Lorcan. It tells us who we are and where weve come from over millennia. As long as people have been on this island, theyve left a mark and it helps us understand who we are. It helps define who we are. Its about preserving skills or knowledge that can easily be lost and developing a better understanding of our built and natural and cultural heritage. It forces us to look at whats important to us and what we will bring forward to the next generation. This years event has had to overcome the disruption of the current Covid-19 crisis but the recent lockdown also gave many people a new found appreciation of heritage sites or the biodiversity in their own backyard. They were restricted to going to 2km and then 5km within their local area so they were exploring areas that they would possibly have taken for granted in a lot of cases, explains Lorcan. They were seeing things they hadnt seen before and that would include archaeological and built heritage. It has all culminated in a situation now with National Heritage Week where people are highlighting what they have in their local area to a much higher degree than they have in other years maybe. Getting creative for National Heritage Week Heritage projects took place throughout Ireland and the results will now be showcased as part of this years event, with many projects incorporating technology to overcome the restrictions around public gatherings. As well as online talks and webinars, some of the projects have adopted innovative approaches to allow people to live the experience. Theres lovely one I know in Limerick where theyre doing a virtual bat walk so you dont have to stay up until the witching hour to go on a guided walk. People are being really creative and pushing the boat out. There will still be some in-person events taking place, even if social distancing has placed some restrictions on numbers. We would invite everyone this year, if youre interested in an in-person event, to book early because obviously theyre limiting it to small groups and thats how theyll deal with it. One such event will be taking place in the Phoenix Park Visitor Centre, where Margaret McGuirk will be looking at the folklore surrounding different herbs and offering tips on growing your own herbs. There are countless other fascinating projects taking place throughout the country, from an online talk about urban otters living in Cork City to a look at how the conservation team at the National Gallery restore paintings. There really is something for everyone and a few gems that you wont want to miss. Lorcan advises people to check out whats happening on the National Heritage Week website. You can go searching by county or you can go searching by category, whether its natural or built heritage you want. You can dig out a few things that of particular interest to you or find a new area that you wouldnt normally look at. Passing on local knowledge, heritage and skills Many older skills are coming back into demand, whether its foraging or adopting sustainable approaches that would once have been a necessity of life in times gone by. Events like National Heritage Week help to keep this knowledge alive and this information is increasingly being digitised and preserved. This is the great thing about National Heritage Week, adds Lorcan. It takes in the older generation and the younger generation. Its a chance for the older people who have those skills to pass it down to younger generations and then the younger generation can use technology to bring it forward for the next generation. So theres a great exchange of skills there. But if you dont capture it from the people who know these local foods, areas or skills, all the technology in the world wont save it. One of the great things about investigating your local heritage is the little gems of information youll pick up along the way. Lorcan points to a project that records the individual names of farmers fields and digitally records them, capturing some interesting insights for future generations. These types of place names can often provide curious insights into your local area. It really enriches an area if there is an association with a townland name. One turned up for me the other day that translates as The Fort of the Little Men Wielding Hurleys. You cant get better than that! National Heritage Week is a fantastic opportunity to discover heritage projects in your local area, learn more about subjects that interest you or explore topics that you want to know more about. Learn about heritage on your doorstep, forgotten heritage skills and Irelands history of education by exploring completed National Heritage Week projects on the National Heritage Week website. Sponsored by The suspects were identified in court papers as Ronald Washington, 56, who is currently serving a federal prison sentence stemming from a string of robberies while on the run from police after Jays 2002 death, and Karl Jordan Jr, 36, who is also charged with engaging in a cocaine distribution conspiracy in 2017. Jason Jay Mizell, known professionally as Jam Master Jay, formed Run-DMC with Joseph Run Simmons and Darryl DMC McDaniel in the early 1980s. Together, they helped take hip-hop mainstream with hits like Its Tricky and the Aerosmith remake collaboration Walk This Way. Jays death, following the long unsolved killings of rappers Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 and Christopher Biggie Smalls Wallace in New York City in 1997, shook the hip-hop world. Chuck D of Public Enemy compared his death to that of John Lennon. More than 60,000 dollars in rewards was offered, but witnesses refused to come forward and the case languished. Advertisement This is a case about a murder that for nearly two decades had gone unanswered, acting US attorney Seth DuCharme said at a news conference announcing the charges. Today, we begin to answer that question of who killed Jason Mizell and why, and were confident that we can prove those charges beyond a reasonable doubt. Washington, who had reportedly been living on a couch at Jays home in the days before the killing, was publicly named as a possible suspect or witness as far back as 2007. Prosecutors allege he waved a handgun and ordered another person at the recording studio to lie on the ground while Jordan shot Jay in the head October 30 2002. According to prosecutors, Jay had brought in bulk amounts of cocaine to sell retail and was killed as retribution for cutting Washington out of a plan to distribute 10kg in Maryland. They walked in and murdered him in cold blood, Mr DuCharme said. Run-DMC performed anti-drug concerts, established scholarships and held voter registration drives at their live shows. In Hollis, the Queens neighbourhood where he grew up, Jay was seen as a role model. Friends were puzzled by his death, thinking him an unlikely target for violence. Advertisement If convicted, Washington and Jordan face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, or the death penalty. Prosecutors said in court papers that attorney general William Barr had not decided whether to seek the death penalty. Jordan pleaded not guilty at an arraignment by videolink because of coronavirus-related precautions. Washington, who is imprisoned in Kentucky, will be arraigned later this week, prosecutors said. Prosecutors have asked that both be jailed pending trial. Jay, 37, was shot once in the head with a .40-calibre bullet by a masked assailant at his studio in Hollis. Police identified at least four people in the studio with Jay when he was killed, including the two armed gunmen. At Jays funeral, McDaniels remembered his fellow Run-DMC star as the embodiment of hip-hop. He was also a husband and a father of three children. Jam Master Jay was not a thug, McDaniels said. Jam Master Jay was not a gangster. Jam Master Jay was a unique individual. Prosecutors now say he had been bringing cocaine into the New York area since 1996. At the time, his acquaintance with Washington a repeat offender with convictions dating to 1982 worried and upset his family. Advertisement Before ending up on Jays couch, Washington served prison time for grand larceny, assault, criminal use of a firearm, heroin possession and other charges. He was been linked to the fatal 1995 shooting of Randy Walker, a close associate of the late Tupac Shakur. Afterwards, prosecutors said, Washington hopped from motel to motel and robbed businesses including supermarkets and a Burger King while detectives pursued him in connection with Jays killing. He remained at large for nearly three months until police on Long Island caught him for robbing a motel. Last month, as prosecutors were preparing to seek a grand jury indictment against him for Jays death, Washington filed a handwritten petition asking to immediately be released to home confinement, arguing his medical history put him at risk of complications from coronavirus. Federal prosecutors responded by asking for more time to respond, delaying any decision until after Washington was charged. Jordan, who was a teenager when Jay was killed, was declared a juvenile delinquent after a 1999 robbery arrest and had a firearm case dismissed when the complaining witness refused to co-operate with law enforcement. In recent years, prosecutors said, he has been caught on audio and video surveillance six times selling cocaine to an undercover federal agent. India prepares roadmap to promote defence exports using diplomatic channels India pti-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Aug 17: The government has prepared a roadmap to promote the indigenously developed military platforms and weapons to boost their exports and will use diplomatic channels to promote them in overseas markets, a senior Defence Ministry official said on Monday. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh earlier this month had unveiled a major policy decision, announcing imposition of a phase-wise ban on import of 101 military platforms and weapons systems with an aim to promote the domestic defence industry. Raj Kumar, secretary, Department of Defence Production, said at a webinar that the domestic defence industry will hold web interactions with the representatives of friendly countries to figure out what kind of products and platforms they require. "We are preparing country-wise profiles of products, weapons and platforms which are probably needed by our friendly countries. So we are now planning to start web interaction led by the industry," Kumar said. "That country's defence attache, our DPSUs (defence public sector undertakings), industry, will then figure out what is in the store for us to promote there for exports," he said. Kumar said the government will be standing side by side with the domestic industry through its defence attaches, embassies and diplomatic channels to promote exports. Independence Day 2020: India will give befitting reply if enemy attacks us: Rajnath Singh To promote indigenous production, the Defence Ministry on August 9 announced restrictions on import of 101 weapons and military platforms including light combat helicopters, conventional submarines and cruise missiles under a staggered timeline till 2024. Kumar said a second list of import-restricted defence items will be notified soon. "This is the first list we are examining and then a second list will also come. We expect you (industry) to come forward and start investing to meet our requirements," he said at the webinar -- "Army Make Projects 2020" -- organised by FICCI. The senior official said as successful domestic bidders move to the defence equipment production stage, his department will share their details with the UP and Tamil Nadu defence corridor authorities, who "will compete in attracting your units to their respective states". He said since the three services are making efforts to push the "Make II" category of defence production projects, he will interact with project participants to understand their concerns and share best practices among the services. As secretary of the Department of Defence Production, Kumar heads the collegiate committee that approves the "Make II" category of projects. Under the Make II category, no government funding is given to the Indian company for the prototype development process. If a prototype developed by the company meets the standards set by the armed forces, an order is placed for such equipment or platforms. "Everything, whether it is defence industrial corridor, or whether it is defence production and export promotion policy, or whether it is a negative list - everything works in the same direction that we have to be among the top producers of defence items," he said. MHA's 'Utrkrishta Seva Padak' for Noida police chief Alok Singh India is one of the most lucrative markets for global defence giants. The country has figured among the top three global importers of military hardware for the last eight years. The Indian armed forces are projected to spend around USD 130 billion in capital procurement in the next five years. On August 9, Defence Minister Singh said the ministry was now ready for a "big push" to indigenous defence manufacturing in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for an "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India). The negative list of 101 items includes towed artillery guns, short range surface to air missiles, cruise missiles, offshore patrol vessels, electronic warfare systems, next generation missile vessels, floating dock, anti-submarine rocket launchers and short range maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The list also includes basic trainer aircraft, lightweight rocket launchers, multi-barrel rocket launchers, missile destroyers, sonar systems for ships, rockets, ASTRA-MK I beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, light machine guns and artillery ammunition (155 mm) and ship-borne medium range guns. Title: BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.15 Trend: The slight growth in the daily number of coronavirus infections among citizens is a matter of concern, but while easing the quarantine regime, it is necessary to be ready for this, Head of the Disease Control and Prevention Department of the Management Union of Medical Territorial Units (TABIB) of Azerbaijan Yagut Garayeva said, Trend reports. Garayeva made the remark during a briefing of the Operational Headquarters under the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers held on August 15. According to Garayeva, everyone must follow appropriate sanitary and hygienic rules to keep this growth under control. It is also very important that the number of those who have recovered exceeds the rate of those infected, she stressed. Garayeva noted that currently, the number of coronavirus-infected persons in the country is 2,024, and the occupancy rate of coronavirus hospitals in Baku is 24 percent. Local Madison County leaders called Monday a good day to report on the fight against COVID-19 with fewer people in the Huntsville metro area hospitalized or testing positive for the virus. But two things on the calendar the reopening of schools this month and the upcoming Labor Day holiday tempered an otherwise upbeat mood at a regular briefing on the pandemics effects on Madison County. We really need to be careful, Huntsville Hospital CEO David Spillers said. Every holiday has led to a spike, (but) the numbers are showing what we put in place making a substantial difference. That was a reference to a July 7 Madison County Health Department order requiring face masks in most public places. Spillers said 165 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 in north Alabama hospitals that are part of the Huntsville Hospital system. In Madison County, 92 people are hospitalized with 14 in the Intensive Care Unit and 19 on ventilators. Crestwood Hospital in Huntsville has 11 COVID-19 patients today, Spillers said. We like it when the numbers are going in this direction, Spillers said. Wed like them to continue to fall. The hospital has closed its remote testing sites as demand dropped for the fourth straight week, Spillers said. Tests are still available at the hospitals Fever and Flu Clinic on Governors Avenue. I am proud to be here today, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said of the decline. This is a good day. Battle said the city has seen the value of a public hospital in the pandemic fight, and he pointed to statewide numbers showing the Huntsville metro area below other Alabama metros. We cant let up, Battle said Responding to questions, Spillers said the people who have died in Madison County in almost every case had a co-morbidity such as diabetes, high blood pressure or cardiovascular problems. Patients with diabetes and cardiovascular issues tend to have the worst time, Spillers said. Deaths caused by COVID-19 in north Alabama have been 62 percent white. Spillers said wide availability of rapid testing would be very helpful as students go back to school and begin playing sports. In the environment we are in, it would be a good thing to have, he said. The India-Japan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled for early next month, people familiar with the development said. The two leaders are also expected to sign off on a key military logistic pact, Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA), and discuss the possibility of some Japanese manufacturing units shifting to India. According to South Block officials, the two countries were earlier looking at the possibility of holding the meeting in October. It has since then been advanced tentatively to 10 September. The summit, initially proposed to be held in Guwahati on December 15-17 2019, was postponed due to protests against the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Assam. The summit comes against the backdrop of aggressive moves by the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) in Indias East Ladakh sector and Japans Senkaku Islands, respectively. Diplomats said the two leaders will not only discuss the Chinese aggression in Ladakh and the South China Sea but also cement the concept of Quad, the quadrilateral coalition of four countries - India, Japan, Australia and the US. The four Quad countries have increasingly, focussed on countering Beijings wolf-warrior diplomacy and keeping the sea lanes of communication open for freedom of navigation. The ACSA, which is key to India and Japan extending support and logistics to each others military, is expected to be initialled by the two leaders. New Delhi already has a similar agreement with other two Quad members, Australia and the US. Indias formal decision to invite Australia to the Malabar naval exercises later this year is expected soon but officials have made it clear that it is a formality. Australias inclusion to the military drills that has in the past included the other three Quad members - India, Japan and the United States - would be the first time that the grouping will be engaged at a military level. Officials said PM Modi and PM Abe will discuss at length the Indo-Pacific region and the challenges it faces from the Middle Kingdom. According to senior government officials, the two leaders will further cement economic cooperation with India opening doors to Japanese manufacturing activity and perhaps, involve Tokyo in ramping up port infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. While India has linked peace and tranquillity on its border with China to the bilateral ties, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is also under pressure from his own Cabinet members to adopt a tough line with China. The Beijing expansionist approach is not limited to Ladakh but has created security concerns with Japan over ownership of Senkaku Islands as China claims the same as Diaoyu Islands with any eye towards extending its exclusive economic zone and strengthening the hold beyond the South China Sea. The Japanese people are not only in favour of Chinese President Xi Jinpings visit to Tokyo being cancelled but also want the Abe government to be more critical of Beijing on the new Hong Kong security law. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON MBABANE - Doing shopping in Mbabane might poses a danger to you as the Mbabane Municipal Council has found that a majority of retailers are using sanitisers with less alcohol content. It has been gathered that the municipal council has been carrying out inspections in businesses and shops in the capital city for alcohol content in the hand sanitisers used in the various businesses. Sanitisers Out of 30 shops, 20 were found to be using sanitisers containing less than the required 70 per cent alcohol content. It was mentioned that some of the businesses that did not comply with the stipulated alcohol content were those which were prominent in town. It is worth mentioning that, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), alcohol-based sanitisers and hand rubs are known means for rapidly and effectively inactivating a wide array of potentially harmful microorganisms on hands. The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommend using a hand sanitiser with at least 60 per cent alcohol. Mbabane Municipal Council Information and Public Relations Officer (IPRO) Lucky Tsabedze said following that COVID-19 positive cases were on the rise in the Hhohho Region, the council launched a programme of visiting all businesses and shops in town, to inspect the quality of sanitisers. Tsabedze said the focus was strictly on alcohol content, and the countrys COVID-19 guidelines stated clearly that sanitisers should contain 70 per cent alcohol. The findings are shocking, the sanitisers are seriously below the required 70 per cent stipulated content, Tsabedze said. Statistics Although he did not mention the names of the shops, the IPRO said these were worrying statistics because when shoppers entered shops, they believed they were safe because they had been sanitised. Tsabedze highlighted that customers and consumers automatically believed they entered shops with no virus in their hands and some touched many items. He added that this was risky because the municipality had found that the alcohol content was way below the required 70 per cent. Tsabedze said the exercise, which would go on for a while, was aimed at assisting government to ensure compliance with the COVID-19 regulations. Containment The IPRO stated that this was one of many initiatives done by government to help in the containment of the coronavirus. Tsabedze said two weeks ago, the municipal council was out in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Training, sensitizing the public on COVID-19 precautionary measures. He stated that the council would not only end with testing the quality of sanitisers, but also take action. We have written notices to the businesses that were found to be using sanitisers with low alcohol content, informing them that they should rectify their mistakes promptly, failing which we will escalate the matter, Tsabedze said. He reiterated that in the event that the business owners did not correct the anomaly, they would be reported to official enforcers of the country. Director of Health Services Dr Vusi Magagula condemned the businesspeople who did not comply with the ministrys required alcohol content in sanitisers. Magagula pointed out that this challenge stemmed from the fact that everyone was manufacturing sanitisers yet they did not have the skills and expertise. Manufacturers Sanitisers are pharmaceutical products and the Ministry of Health expects that manufacturers should have pharmacists because they know what contents are needed to produce the required sanitisers, Magagula said. He added that the ministry also expected that there should be a properly qualified person involved to be responsible for the manufacturing of sanitisers, so that in the event that they reacted badly on the skin, that person would be held accountable. He highlighted that early this year, the ministry issued guidelines on the proper manufacturing of sanitisers. He advised that individuals should use sanitisers which were made by reputable institutions to ensure that they were made according to the required standards. Shares of Indian Bank gained 3 per cent to quote at Rs 64.10 per share on the BSE on Monday on the back of heavy volumes. A spurt in volumes was witness at around 9:45 am when the stock was trading at Rs 62 per share. Since then, a combined 1.17 million shares have changed hands on the counter on the NSE and BSE till the time of writing of this report. According to reports, the lender has decided to rope in a minority partner for Ind Bank Housing to revive the now defunct housing finance subsidiary. The bank is also planning to infuse capital in the company where it holds a 51 per cent ... Ten civilians and one police officer were killed in a gun and bomb attack by Al-Shabaab fighters on an upscale beachfront hotel in Somalias capital on Sunday, an official told AFP. Security forces took four hours to regain control of the Elite Hotel in the Lido beach area of Mogadishu after five assailants stormed it early Sunday evening, said information ministry spokesman Ismael Mukhtaar Omar. Ten people were dead and five militants were also killed, plus one Somalia special police officer, Omar told AFP. It was not clear how Somali security forces managed to end the siege on the hotel and kill the assailants, who at one point were said to have taken hostages. Earlier on Sunday, while the siege was still ongoing, a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that one of the assailants had died in the car bomb explosion that kicked off the attack and two others had died in a shootout. Ambulance workers at the scene reported that at least 28 people were wounded. There is chaos Witnesses said the attack began with a heavy explosion and people ran from the area as gunfire could be heard from the hotel, which is frequented by government officials. The blast was very heavy and I could see smoke in the area. There is chaos and people are fleeing from nearby buildings, said witness Ali Sayid Adan. The dead included government official Abdirasak Abdi, who worked at the information ministry, his colleague Hussein Ali said. Al-Shabaab said they carried out the attack, according to a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement claimed its fighters took control over the hotel in the martyrdom-seeking operation. Hotels targeted Somalia plunged into chaos after the 1991 overthrow of then-President Siad Barres military regime, leading to years of clan warfare followed by the rise of Al-Shabaab which once controlled large parts of the country and Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab was driven out of the capital in 2011, but its militants continue to wage war against the government, carrying out regular attacks. Last week four Shabaab fighters held in Mogadishus central prison were killed in an intense shootout with security forces after they somehow managed to get their hands on weapons within the facility. The group has targeted hotels multiple times over the years, including in February 2019 when it killed at least 20 people in a car bomb and gun attack on a hotel in Mogadishu that lasted for nearly 24 hours. A month before that, Al-Shabaab killed 21 people in a siege on an upscale hotel in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, an assault that highlighted its ability to expand its network beyond Somalias borders. Its last major attack in Mogadishu was in December 2019, when it slaughtered 81 people by detonating a vehicle packed with explosives. It is difficult to say whether the relative lull this year reflected improved capacity on the part of Somali security forces or a change in strategy by Al-Shabaab, said Omar Mahmood, Somalia senior analyst for International Crisis Group. For the past year Somali forces have been engaged in an offensive in the nearby Lower Shabelle region designed to stymie efforts by Al-Shabaab to move weapons into the capital, Mahmood noted. But there has been an uptick in activity in Mogadishu since late June including suicide attacks targeting government and military facilities, he said. The claim of responsibility distributed Sunday stressed that the Elite Hotel is inhabited by a large number of government officials. This is kind of getting back to the attacks they used to do, Mahmood said. Al-Shabaab sees these hotels as an extension of the government more or less, so they are targeted in that way. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Altium says its financial results will continue to be buffeted by the pandemic in the near term but the electronic circuitry design group has hinted it has plans to address a far greater threat - the trade battle between its two most significant markets, the US and China. The company's software designs the electronic circuitry at the heart of a growing range of everyday goods that are being connected to the internet and it wants to become the unifying platform for the fragmented $US2 trillion ($2.8 trillion) electronics industry. But Altium and the electronics industry as a whole straddle the key geopolitical fault line between the US and China and its plan requires dominance of both markets. Altium needs to dominate both the US and China's electronics industries if it wants to become the industry's unifying platform for electronics design. Credit:Bloomberg We are very respectful of both cultures, Altium chief executive Aram Mirkazemi told analysts and investors on Monday when asked about the risks posed by the growing rift between the two countries. The United States announced that it will impose new sanctions on individuals the U.S. determines are responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged, directly or indirectly, in undermining Sudans civilian-led transitional governments efforts to implement the July 17, 2019, Political Agreement and August 17, 2019, (the) Constitutional Declaration. Sanctionable actions include obstructing civilian government ministers or delaying implementation of the Constitutional Declaration. The Americans justify the new sanctions because Bashir-era government officials are trying to undermine Sudans nascent democracy. The U.S. sanctions are an attempt to aid the transitional government. The first sanctions imposed involve refusing to issue visas to those known to be obstructing the Sudan government. This includes family members as well. While this only restricts visits to the United States it also alerts other nations to those who are well known inside Sudan as active opponents to the new government. Some of these opponents are also accused of corruption or war crimes by international organizations. August 14, 2020: In northern South Sudan (Warrap State) two soldiers were arrested and accused of killing armed civilians without justification on August 8th and triggering a series of clashes between armed civilians and soldiers. This began when soldiers confronted civilians who refused to turn in their weapons. Disarmament is part of the on-going peace agreement but in this case, soldiers opened fire when the armed civilians would not remove the red scarves they wore to identify themselves. Several days of fighting left at least 143 dead most (68 percent) civilians. By August 11, however, the UN was reporting that other violence had broken out in the Tonj region and 70 people had died in the battles. Many more were wounded. Peacekeepers showed up, persuaded everyone to stop fighting. The peacekeepers also set up a base in order to remain until the local anger diminishes. The peacekeepers had a hard time reaching some of the areas where there was fighting because heavy flooding in the area made roads impassable. August 13, 2020: In eastern Sudan (Red Sea state) 32 people were killed and 98 injured during a third round of fighting between the Beni Amer and Nuba tribes. Security forces arrested 85 people in their effort to halt the violence that began on the 9th and broke out again on the 11th. Sudan's government and its National Security and Defense Council said that Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt must reach a comprehensive and binding agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopia has begun filling the dams reservoir. All three nations agreed to begin negotiations to settle the dispute over how much water GERD would withhold from Egypt, the major downstream user. August 12, 2020: In western Sudan (Darfur) another outbreak of tribal violence sent a new wave of refugees into Chad. At least 20,000 people have been displaced by the attacks. August 11, 2020: In Sudan the trial of former Sudanese dictator Omar al-Bashir has been postponed indefinitely. Bashir faces charges related to the June 30, 1989 coup he launched which toppled the government and placed him in power. Bashir is already serving two years in prison for a corruption conviction. The International Criminal Court still intends to try Bashir for crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. August 10, 2020: Sudan asked that negotiations over operations of the GERD remain suspended at least until August 17. August 9, 2020: In eastern Sudan (Red Sea state) clashes involving the Beni Amer and Nuba tribes broke out. The fighting caused at least 25 deaths and 87 injuries despite a curfew being imposed on the region. In northern South Sudan (Abyei Region) five people were killed when 70 South Sudanese soldiers battled with men guarding a Dinka village. Three civilians and two soldiers were killed. Abyei is an oil-producing region claimed by both South Sudan and Sudan. Violence in Abyei is often between the pro-Sudan Misseriya tribe, which opposed the South Sudan government decision to declare Abyei South Sudanese territory. The Misseriya want Sudan to oppose the South Sudan decision. The semi-nomadic Misseriya tribesmen entered Abyei from Sudans South Kordofan state. South Sudan contends that Abyei is a historically Dinka enclave. A referendum held in 2013 in Abyei, over 95 percent of the voters (99 percent according to some reports) favored joining South Sudan. Sudan rejected the referendum results, but that was when Basher was still in power. The Ngok Dinka tribe are the original inhabitants of Abyei, Christian, part of one of the largest tribes in South Sudan and, not-surprisingly, eager to be part of South Sudan. August 3, 2020: In South Sudan the damage done during the civil war to the oil fields and oil production facilities is proving to be far greater than the government thought. However, the governments 2020 goal of producing 200,000 barrels a day was in reach until the Covid-19 virus pandemic hit and disrupted personnel availability. Production has now slipped to around 175,000 barrels per day. There are also new reports that an oil pipeline is linking oil into the Nile River. August 1, 2020: Despite harsh objections from Egypt and vigorous objections by Sudan, Ethiopia began filling the GERD dam reservoir in July and today indicated that its 2020 target for the reservoir has almost been reached. July 31, 2020: In western Sudan (South Darfur state) another serious attack occurred when armed men attacked a village. This involved looting. Burning homes and shooting several villagers. July 28, 2020: In eastern South Sudan (Jonglei state) a militia apparently from South Sudan (Greater Pibor Administrative Area) attacked a village and killed at least 17 people and wounded nine. July 27, 2020: Sudans transitional government swore in 18 civilian state governors. Two of the new governors are women. The government also announced that more security forces were being sent to western Sudan (Darfur region). These forces will focus on protecting civilians during the farming season. In eastern South Sudan (Jonglei state) 23 people were murdered and at least 20 more wounded when a group of unidentified gunmen attacked a cathedral church compound. The attackers then vandalized the church and burned the village. One of the individuals slain was the cathedrals dean. The cathedral belonged to the Episcopal Church of South Sudans Diocese of Athooch. The attackers also kidnapped six children. For eight years Jonglei state has been suffered ethnic violence involving the Nuer, Dinka and Murle tribes. July 25, 2020: In western Sudan (West Darfur state) an estimated 500 gunmen attacked a village and killed at least 60 people and wounded 88. The village attacked (Masteri) is an Masalit tribe area about 50 kilometers from the capital of West Darfur. The attack caused an estimated 10,000 people to flee towards the state capital (El Geneina). The attackers have not been identified. July 24, 2020: In Sudan an investigating team working for a senior prosecutors office found a mass grave that they believe contains the remains of 28 military officers former dictator Omar al-Bashir had executed in 1990 for allegedly plotting a coup against him. The officers were murdered and their bodies were burned. The forensic investigation began in early July. July 23, 2020: In western Sudan (South Darfur state), a group of unidentified gunmen raided the village and killed at least 15 people. July 22, 2020: In southern Sudan (South Kordofan state) several dozen people have been killed in tribal fighting in the state capital (Kadugli). July 21, 2020: In Sudan a court officially convened the trial of former dictator Omar al-Bashir. Citing Covid-19 virus pandemic concerns, the judges then adjourned the trial until August 11. July 18, 2020: In Sudan the army announced that it had appointed a special legal commissioner with the mandate to sue anyone who insults the army. Presumably the commissioner could bring a lawsuit against reporters and human rights activists. July 17, 2020: In Sudan (the capital Khartoum) several thousand supporters of former dictator Omar al Bashir demonstrated against the new civilian government. Meanwhile, Sudans Sovereign National Council (SNC) approved a request by the UN to establish a UN office to help Sudan transition to a democratic society that recognizes humane treatment of citizens. July 16, 2020: In South Sudan the government confirmed that First Vice President Riek Machars SPLA-IO coalition will choose the governor in Upper Nile state. In southern South Sudan (Central Equatoria state) the rebel NSF (National Salvation Front) claimed that its fighters had defeated attacks by government forces. The NSF is not part of the September 2018 peace agreement between the government and most rebel factions. July 14, 2020: In Sudan the government announced it will end its Islamic apostasy laws and allow non-Muslims to consume alcohol. It will also abolish public lashing (flogging) as a punishment. The announcement effectively ends years of contentious Islamic law. Gaafar al-Nimeiry, who led a military government in Sudan from 1969 to 1985, imposed Islamic law in 1983. The Bashir regime used these laws to punish and oppress its opponents. In Sudan security forces detained hardline Islamist leader Mohamed Ali al-Gizouli after Gizouli called on the military to topple the transitional government. Gizouli also leader the Law and Development Party. A Hong Kong policeman is shooting tear gas on Yeung Uk road of Tsuen Wan on the evening of Aug. 25, 2019. (Song Bilong/The Epoch Times) UK Halts Training for Hong Kong Police The British government has halted all training for Hong Kong personnel, according to the Ministry of Defence. Historically, the Royal College of Defence Studies has offered one place each year to the Hong Kong Police Force, but no one is attending this years course due to the CCP virus pandemic, the Ministry of Defence said. In light of coronavirus restrictions, all training with personnel from Hong Kong has been paused, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. It will be re-evaluated when restrictions are lifted, the spokesperson added. Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace leaves 10 Downing Street in London, on Feb. 13, 2020. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) The British military has previously provided limited drill instructor programs to the Hong Kong Police Force, Government Flying Service, and Sea Cadet Corps, the Ministry of Defence said. The statement also mentioned the draconian national security law Beijing recently imposed on the city, which has hastened the decline in relations between the UK and its former colony. The UK government has been clear that the enactment and imposition by China of national security legislation for Hong Kong constitutes a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, directly threatening the rights and freedoms of those in Hong Kong, the spokesperson said. The national security law, which went into effect on June 30, criminalizes individuals for any acts of subversion, secession, and collusion with foreign forces against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. A police officer raises his pepper spray handgun as he detains a man during a march against the national security law in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) In reaction to the legislation, the British government extended immigration rights for an estimated 3 million Hong Kong residents who hold British National (Overseas) status, and suspended its extradition treaty with the territory. Heavy-Handed Tactics Large-scale protests broke out in Hong Kong last year in reaction to a proposed bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China. Since then, Hong Kongs police force has been accused of using heavy-handed tactics to suppress protesters. The UK government banned sales of crowd control equipment such as tear gas to Hong Kong in June 2019. Internationally, the United States has also suspended exports of crowd control arms to Hong Kong, and the European Union has decided to limit sale of sensitive equipment to the former British colony. Protesters react as police fire tear gas while they attempt to march towards Hong Kong Polytechnic University on Nov. 18, 2019. (Dale de la Rey/AFP via Getty Images) Earlier this month, a group of British lawmakers said the Hong Kong police had breached international humanitarian law and principles, international human rights, and the Sino-British Joint Declaration. The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong urged the UK government to impose Magnitsky-style sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the Police Commissioner, and other senior officials for permitting the police to use excessive violence on protesters. The Trump administration on Aug. 7 imposed sanctions on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and 10 other officials, including the current and preceding Hong Kong police chiefs, and the citys security and justice secretaries. Riot police fire tear gas during a clearing at a demonstration in Tai Wan in Hong Kong on Aug. 10, 2019. (Anthony Kwan/Getty Images) In order to protect officers from sanctions, credit unions within the Hong Kong police force have been found to be transferring billions of Hong Kong dollars in assets from foreign banks into Chinese banks. An international coalition of activists, lawyers, and organizations is seeking to launch a private prosecution against three senior British expatriate officers in the Hong Kong Police Force, who have allegedly been involved in torture against pro-democracy protesters. Lily Zhou, Eva Fu, and Cathy He contributed to this report. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, August 18 2020 President Joko Jokowi Widodo has reiterated his commitment to eliminating overlapping regulations and developing more industrial parks across Indonesia. Regulatory reforms must be carried out. Regulations that are overlapping, complicated and misleading [for] those [who] are at risk must be put to an end, Jokowi said in a televised state of the nation address at the Peoples Consultative Assembly on Friday. Read also: What you need to know about Batang industrial zone development to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Ireland Baldwin was in good company as she let her hair down in Malibu on Monday morning, shortly after celebrating her sixth year without eating disorders. The model and actress, 24, was accompanied by uncle William Baldwin and aunt Chynna Phillips while visiting the picturesque Californian suburb, where they were seen walking through the surf. With temperatures continuing to soar across the exclusive coastal area, Ireland and William, 57, waded waist deep into the cool Pacific water while still wearing their clothes. Here we go: Ireland Baldwin was joined by her uncle William as they waded into the Pacific Ocean fully clothed during a trip to Malibu on Monday morning The pair were evidently in high spirits as they splashed around in the shallows before making their way back to the beach, where Chynna was waiting. Ireland caught the eye in a simple black vest top and high slung jeans, although both were soaked through with salt water as the family members walked close to the shoreline. Joining his niece, William was dressed for summer in a plain T-shirt and shorts that he sensibly removed before joining her in the ocean. In good company: The model and actress was accompanied by William and his wife Chynna while visiting the picturesque Californian suburb, where they were seen walking through the surf Making up the group, singer and actress Chynna looked typically glamorous in a billowing floral print dress and Panama hat. In keeping with current safety guidelines the 52-year old wore a face covering as the family members made their way across the sand. The outing comes after Ireland revealed she is celebrating more than half a decade without eating disorders. Making a splash: With temperatures continuing to soar across the exclusive coastal area, Ireland and William waded waist deep into the cool Pacific water Taking to Instagram with a short video on Saturday, she told followers: 'Hi guys. I also wanted to announce that today is the 15th of August, and today marks six years that I have been free of anorexia and bulimia and all of my other food compulsion and eating disorders that I have struggled through for many years.' 'And today marks six years. So, you can do it,' she concluded, before blowing a kiss into the camera. Ireland previously reveled her past battles with eating disorders in a lengthy social media post shared with followers in 2018. Opening up: The outing comes after Ireland revealed she is celebrating more than half a decade without eating disorders She wrote: 'I battled with many eating disorders and body issues as a younger girl and it took me a long time to find self love and acceptance! 'Trust me, all of that pain and destruction I inflicted on myself wasnt worth it. Turning down so. Many. Sides. Of. Fries. Wasnt worth it!!' The Grudge Match actress continued: 'I would eat a meal or more like a bite and have to run to the nearest bathroom or find digestive pills or run until I couldnt feel my legs right before bed. 'I used to read peoples comments when I first started modeling and anytime anyone told me I was too tall or too fat to have done a job, I would run on a treadmill for the entire duration of at least three episodes of Friday Night Lights that I had on box set.' She concluded: 'Love yourself!! You are beautiful!! Enjoy your food. Eat ice cream with your friends! Workout and eat healthy to take care of your mind and body but find your healthy balance! Life is too short.' Thousands of small businesses could potentially be owed refunds after an industry-wide error forced customers to unnecessarily pay stamp duty. Institutions across the pensions industry have been telling clients to pay stamp duty when transferring property from multiple owners into Sipps or SSAS pensions, according to advisers Cornerstone Tax. But according to HMRC stamp duty does not need to be paid in this case, meaning potentially thousands are owed back tax that they didn't need to pay. Even the top 50 pension providers, accountants and IFAs were found that to be giving out the wrong advice to customers, according to Cornerstone Tax. Growing your fund: Scroll down to find out how to send Steve Webb your own pension question As the property has to have multiple owners, this could affect business owners selling their property to their Sipps, company owned property sold or contributed to multi member pension schemes, or jointly owned properties let to businesses sold to pension schemes. The error means that not only did clients lose money from their pensions in the initial tax payment, but also lost the potential to invest that capital, thereby losing any potential growth in the ensuing years. Cornerstone Tax says it estimates over 120,000 people may be owed compensation of up to 80,000 each as a result - though these numbers are partly based on anecdotal evidence. David Hannah, principal consultant at Cornerstone Tax, said: 'We have spent the last year or so researching this issue. The scale of it and the industry reluctance to even acknowledge that there is a problem has been staggering. 'We have contacted over 50 of the top pension providers, accountants and IFAs in the country and thus far have not received a single correct response, highlighting the prevalence of ignorance to this issue in the industry.' Those impacted may be able to claim compensation from HMRC. If the transaction was more than four years ago however, those affected would have to claim against their adviser. Andrew Marr, a tax partner at Forbes Dawson Tax Specialists, said: 'The situation of transfers to and from partnerships and connected parties is well known to tax advisors across the UK and is covered by HMRC in their manuals. 'I am surprised to hear that this issue does not seem to be on the radar of pension advisers.' Michelle Obama is warning Americans to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it during her speech at the Democratic National Convention. In remarks that capped off Monday nights event, Mrs. Obama offered a sharp rebuke of the Trump presidency, telling viewers that he has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment, she said. She added that if you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can. Mrs. Obama emphasized the need for all Americans to vote, making reference to the voters who stayed home in 2016 and helped deliver Donald Trump the win that year, even as he lost the popular vote. She says, Weve all been suffering the consequences. In contrast, she described Biden as a profoundly decent man who knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country. ___ HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION: Takeaways from first night of Democratic National Convention Biden introduces breadth of political coalition to a nation in crisis Michelle Obama highlights Bidens character in DNC speech DNC Chair Tom Perez says primaries should replace caucuses by 2024 ___ Follow APs election coverage at https://apnews.com/Election2020 ___ HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING: President Donald Trump largely held his tongue during the first night of the Democratic National Convention but unleashed a flurry of retweets at its conclusion. Trumps ire was mostly directed at New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was sharply critical of the presidents handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Trump, in return, amplified attacks on Cuomos handling of the virus, which ripped through New York in March and April. The two men one a Democrat, one a Republican have had an uneasy relationship during the crisis. The Trump campaign also quickly moved to raise money off the conventions first night, sending to supporters a note that said, Tonight, Crazy Bernie, Michelle Obama, failed presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar, Fredos brother: Andrew Cuomo, and Gretchen Half Whitmer will all spout fake news against the president. It then asked for contributions. ___ Bernie Sanders has unleashed a scathing attack on President Donald Trump, suggesting that under him authoritarianism has taken root in our country. Addressing the opening night of the virtual Democratic National Convention on Monday, the Vermont senator said Trump had proved incapable of controlling the coronavirus outbreak, coping with the economic fallout and addressing institutional racism in the United States and climate change threatening the globe. Nero fiddled while Rome burned, Sanders said. Trump golfs. Sanders, who finished second in the Democratic primary behind Joe Biden, struck a more optimistic tone when he thanked supporters who voted for him in 2016 and 2020 for helping to move the country in a bold, new direction. He called on his backers, as well as those who supported other 2020 Democratic primary contenders or Trump four years ago, to unite behind Biden. Sanders says, My friends, the price of failure is just too great to imagine. ___ Joe Bidens former primary rivals are calling on rank-and-file Democrats to put aside any hard feelings and support the former vice-presidents campaign. Speaking live from St. Paul, Minnesota, Sen. Amy Klobuchar unveiled a video that also featured New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Texas Rep. Beto ORourke, businessman Tom Steyer, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, among others. Its not easy to unite the Democratic Party, said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. Joe Biden has pulled it off. Democrats started with a large, historically diverse field of candidates. But while the party is becoming increasing diverse, Biden, a 77-year-old white man, won. The former rivals said the need to defeat President Donald Trump is just too important to let hard feelings linger. There is no cavalry, ORourke said. We are the cavalry. ___ Republican John Kasich says its time to take off our partisan hats and put our nation first. The former Ohio governor appeared at the Democratic National Convention on Monday in a show of bipartisanship rarely seen in party conventions. Kasich ran for president four years ago but lost the GOP nomination to Donald Trump. Kasich told Republicans and independents wary of supporting a Democrat not to worry that Joe Biden would take a sharp left and leave them behind because Biden is a reasonable person who cant be pushed around. He admitted there are places where the two disagree. But thats OK, because thats America, he said. He crafted the election as a crossroads for the nation, saying the last four years have led to dysfunction and increasing vitriol between Americans. Kasich left the governorship in 2018. He previously served in Congress and used to have his own show on Fox News in the early 2000s. ___ New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says his state found a way to bring the coronavirus under control by following scientific guidelines and coming together -- an example that he says the Trump administration has refused to follow. Cuomo addressed the opening night of the virtual Democratic National Convention late Monday, saying New York was ground zero for the early outbreak in the U.S. He said the Trump administration watched New York suffer without learning from it. For all the suffering and tears, our way worked and it was beautiful, Cuomo said, adding, Americans eyes have been opened and weve seen the truth: That government matters and leadership matters. He said that the rest of the country will follow New Yorks lead by wearing masks and practicing social distancing to slow the spread of the virus -- despite inconsistent messaging from the White House. Cuomo also contrasted Trump with presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden, saying that Biden can be the kind of leader who can build us up, not tear us down. ___ George Floyds brothers led a moment of silence during the first night of the Democratic National Convention to honour the Black Americans who had been killed by police. Philonese Floyd, sitting next to his brother Rodney Floyd, said that George Floyd had a giving spirit that has shown up on streets around our nation as Americans have protested systemic racism and police brutality in recent months. Philonese Floyd said, George should be alive today. He then listed the names of Black Americans who were killed by law enforcement officers or in police custody. George Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed, was killed May 25 after a white police officer pressed his knee against Floyds neck for nearly eight minutes as Floyd said he couldnt breathe. Philonese Floyd implored viewers to carry on the fight for justice, adding, Our actions will be their legacies. ___ Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is harshly criticizing President Donald Trump before introducing the family of George Floyd at the Democratic National Conventions opening night. Standing on an outlook above Black Lives Matter Plaza, Bowser said it was time to elect a president who doesnt fan the flames of racism. Bowser ordered her city government to paint the words Black Lives Matter on the street leading to the White House after protests erupted in Washington and around the U.S. Trump and Bowser have had a strained relationship for much of his time in Washington. Thats especially been the case in the wake of protests that erupted over Floyds killing by Minneapolis police. During her remarks, Bowser specifically criticized the use of chemical irritants by law enforcement who cleared protesters from Lafayette Square in June. After the crowd was cleared, Trump emerged from the White House for a photo op with a Bible in front of a nearby church. Bowser said that while people were peacefully protesting, Trump was plotting. ___ The St. Louis couple who waved firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home in June will appear virtually at next weeks Republican National Convention to express their support for President Donald Trump. A Trump adviser on Monday confirmed the participation of Patricia and Mark McCloskey. The news was first reported by The Washington Post. The McCloskeys, who are white, have claimed they were protecting themselves from protesters marching on their private street, but they were each charged by a local prosecutor with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon. Trump has been critical of their treatment and has spoken out in defence of the couple. ___ The first night of the Democratic National Convention has begun. The event is being held virtually after the coronavirus pandemic shuttered plans for an in-person convention in Milwaukee. Actor Eva Longoria Baston served as master of ceremonies of Mondays event. Making early appearances in a montage of voices were labour leader Dolores Huerta, soccer player Megan Rapinoe and Parkland father Fred Guttenberg. Five of Bidens grandchildren recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Among the nights speakers were Republican John Kasich, the former governor of Ohio, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former first lady Michelle Obama. ___ Bernie Sanders will use his Democratic National Convention speech to urge those who supported his progressive presidential bid -- or who may have voted Republican four years ago -- to unite behind Joe Biden in November. According to excerpts released before Sanders Monday night speech, he plans to say that the country needs an unprecedented response because of the unprecedented set of crises we face. Many of Sanders top advisers and supporters have spent months working with Bidens campaign on joint task forces that devised common policy goals for use in the Democratic platform. The idea was to promote party unity in a way that did not happen in 2016, when many Sanders supporters remained unenthusiastic about Hillary Clinton. Sanders plans to say that Americans must come together to defeat President Donald Trump and elect Biden. He will say, The price of failure is just too great to imagine. ___ Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez says the handful of 2020 presidential caucuses should be the last the party ever holds. He didnt specifically name Iowa, which for decades has led off the nominating calendar, but his position would represent a seismic shift in the partys traditions. Perezs term as chairman will end before the 2024 nominating calendar is determined. But he told The Associated Press on opening day of the Democratic National Convention that he plans to use the bully pulpit as a former chair to make needed changes. Iowas caucuses this year were disastrous, with state and national party officials spending days trying to determine the winner. Because of the irregularities, The Associated Press decided against declaring a winner. The first two nominating states, Iowa and New Hampshire, are overwhelmingly white, while the national party is much more diverse. That gap was underscored this year when eventual nominee Joe Biden did poorly in Iowa and New Hampshire, only to dominate the nominating fight over the ensuing months once more diverse states voted. Perez wouldnt comment on whether he thinks Iowa or New Hampshire should give up their leadoff spots. But he said the demographics will undoubtedly come up in future party discussions. ___ President Donald Trump is accusing his 2020 opponent Joe Biden of being a puppet of left-wing extremists hours before the start of the Democratic National Convention. Trump was in Minnesota on Monday to press his law and order reelection rhetoric as part of counterprogramming to the DNC. At an airport hangar in Mankato, Trump called Biden a puppet of left-wing extremists trying to erase our borders, eliminate our police, indoctrinate our children, vilify our heroes, take away our energy. Trump says a Biden victory would replace American freedom with left-wing fascism. However, fascism is a form of right-wing authoritarianism. He went so far as to say Biden probably doesnt know where Minnesota is. Trump has pushed a message that the 77-year-old Biden is in cognitive decline, while critics have raised the same accusation against the 74-year-old Trump. The president recently tried to demonstrate his mental fitness by reciting five words in order in a television interview. ___ Joe Biden will accept the Democratic presidential nomination in a live speech Thursday night, but hell be seen and heard every night of the convention in some form. Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez tells The Associated Press on Monday that Biden will be part of the virtual conventions prime-time programming leading up to his Thursday address. For example, Perez said Mondays programming will include Biden talking with activists about criminal justice reform. Perez said viewers this week also will see the former vice-president talking about the COVID-19 pandemic and his health care proposals and having conversations with everyday Americans about the economy. During traditional conventions, the nominee is often mentioned from the speakers podium but is largely shielded from view as the convention builds to the acceptance speech on Thursday night. There have been rare exceptions. Al Gore greeted his then-wife, Tipper Gore, for a very public kiss after her speech in 2000. President Barack Obama emerged from backstage to greet former President Bill Clinton after his speech 2012. Networks have issued comment following the release of Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories which found more than 75% of TV news and current affairs presenters, commentators and reporters have an Anglo-Celtic background, while only 6 percent have an Indigenous or non-European background. ABC The ABC welcomes the release of the Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories? report into cultural diversity in television news. Its findings broadly reflect the results of our own tracking and show that, while were making good progress in how we reflect the diversity of the Australian community, we can certainly do better. As the national broadcaster, the ABC has a responsibility to represent all Australians in our content and services and in our workforce. Ensuring we look and sound like contemporary Australia in all we do is central to our role. A broad range of perspectives, people and content makes us stronger, more creative and better able to engage with Australias many communities. The ABCs Diversity & Inclusion Plan 2019-22, which complements the key content priorities in the Content Plan, sets out our vision for diversity and inclusion and is centred around three strategic goals: Recruiting, developing and retaining a diverse workforce Fostering an inclusive, collaborative and accountable workplace culture Reflecting and representing the diversity of the Australian community in our content and the services we provide You can read more here. SBS Were pleased the report reinforces SBSs leading role in including and representing the diversity of Australia across our news and current affairs. SBS is unique in the Australian media, not only reflecting Australias diverse communities through those presenting our news and current affairs programming, but also through the stories we cover. Our approach to local and international news, exploring stories from a multicultural and Indigenous perspective for all Australians, is unlike that of any other media organisation. National Indigenous Television (NITV) part of the SBS network was not included in the report but plays a critical role in ensuring First Nations people are front and centre of coverage exploring issues with an Indigenous lens, and bringing those stories to a wider audience. SBS has a proud tradition of developing the next generation of diverse talent, on and off screen. We remain committed to continuing our work in supporting greater diversity in the sector. Jim Carroll, SBS Director of News & Current Affairs statement is here Seven Craig McPherson, Sevens director of news and current affairs, told Media Watch, We are very aware of who our audiences are and the makeup of our workforce. Improving diversity is an ongoing challenge but this report does nothing to help the industry as a whole. Its an exhaustive deep dive into names on a two week roster with shallow outcomes. It does little in looking at the supply system of prospective employees from all walks of life. There is a scant acknowledgment in the report that Free To Air TV employers simply arent hiring culturally diverse employees because theyre not applying. It writes that reality off with the untested reasoning people arent applying because those doing the hiring have been somehow collectively diagnosed with an unconscious bias. For the past 30 years the pathway into journalism is predominantly through university courses and training. It would be far more beneficial to the industry and I wouldve thought to all those seriously wanting a career in television journalism to explore what is or isnt occurring in our high priced university system. Nine Darren Wick, Nines director of news and current affairs told Media Watch, We all acknowledge that diversity in all media/newsrooms not just television is a challenge both in Australia and globally. However, I dont think simply counting surnames on TV is an effective way of addressing the issue or helps in finding practical solutions to these challenges. This report has clear errors / ignores the significant contribution of someone like Brooke Boney on Today, where she is one of four main hosts on the desk, instead simply listing her daily and regular contribution on the program at somewhere between 0.1 and 0 percent. This is not reflective of the real changes and proactive appointments we have been making in improving diversity in our television business. The methodology of this report is flawed and it is disappointing that Media Diversity Australia chose not to involve the networks in the projects research questions, methodology or in focusing it on solutions which provide greater pathways into the media. 10 Network 10s director of news, Ross Dagan, told Media Watch, We are committed to diversity on and off-screen and have a number of initiatives in place to continue and grow diversity representation across our business. We also believe that diversity goes beyond just ethnicity but also includes a balance of gender, age, geography, economic factors and physical ability. While we acknowledge that more needs to be done when it comes to diversity, we are working to ensure better representation on and off-screen across these categories. In the last year alone, weve launched three distinct university scholarships that better enable students from diverse or disadvantaged backgrounds to embark on a pathway into our newsrooms. We will continue to look for ways to ensure diverse representation across all our platforms. All networks are signatories to The Screen Diversity & Inclusion Network: As members of The Screen Diversity Network (SDIN) we commit to a Charter of Inclusion. This commitment is made and delivered at board level by the CEO or equivalent in our respective enterprises. It is transparent, visible and known to all who come in to contact with each of our companies, be they employees, production companies, content creators or partners. We commit to providing equal opportunities for all people at all levels, irrespective of their gender, age, race, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, disability or geographic location. 110 kilometers from Tuyen Quang city, the Na Hang eco-tourism area has emerged as a tourist destination popular for its unspoiled beauty and unique ethnic culture. Na Hang lake (Photo: baobackan.org.vn) Na Hang in the Tay ethnic language means the last field. Na Hang wins points for its vast green fields, limestone mountains, primeval forest, and giant lake. The Na Hang eco-tourism area stretches over 15,000 hectares, more than half of which is water. The Na HangLam Binh reservoir, which connects with Ba Be National Park, is the biggest reservoir in Vietnams northern region. Nguyen Viet, a Tuyen Quang resident, said, My family and I often travel to Na Hang for weekends or national holidays. I sometimes bring friends from Hanoi, Hai Phong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho here. They are always impressed by the local landscape, people, and culture". Na Hang lake, the gem of the eco-tourism area, has been dubbed the Ha Long Bay of the hills. 99 mountains of exotic shape cast their shadows on the lakes calm, emerald water. Boats now take visitors on 70-kilometer discovery tours of Na Hang lake where they learn about the areas history while enjoying the spectacular landscape. The prime destination here is the Na Hang natural reserve, a habitat of thousand-year-old trees and rare fauna, including the Tonkin snub-nosed langur, a species listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Do Thu Hang, a Hanoi tourist, said, Im really enjoying my trip here. Na Hang boasts tranquility, clean air, emerald water, and strangely-shaped mountains which turn blue behind the clouds. I most love following the streams, where I enjoy foot massages by the little fish. I believe many other visitors share my interest in Na Hang. (Photo: baotuyenquang.com.vn) 12 ethnic groups live in Na Hang. Their diverse cultures add excitement to trips to Na Hang. Visitors are attracted to the local singing genres - the Then and Luon songs of the Tay, the Sli songs of the Nung, and the Soong Co songs of the San Diu. Plan your trip to coincide with one of the local traditional festivals, such as the Tay or Nung going to the field ritual, or a Dao wedding or maturity ritual. The Thuong Lam mountain market, opens every Thursday and Sunday, is another worthwhile Na Hang attraction. When it comes to food, Na Hang has a lot to offer: stream fish, ducks, special vegetables, and wine distilled from leaves. Local people have recently begun to offer homestay services. Trieu Van Doi, a homestay host, said, I upgraded my stilt house a year ago to open a homestay service. I really hope more visitors will learn about and come visit Na Hang. The once arduous road into Na Hang has been improved. Now more accessible, Na Hang is welcoming growing numbers of tourists. VOV5 Rare primate returned to nature in Tuyen Quang A rare primate was released in Phieng Bung Natural Reserve in Nang Kha Commune, Na Hang District of the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang on Tuesday. Mumbai, Aug 17 : Filmmaker Nishikant Kamat passed away in a Hyderabad hospital on Monday. He was 50. Kamat was battling liver cirrhosis for the past two years. On Monday evening, a statement issued by Hyderabad's AIG hospital, where the filmmaker was admitted, confirmed the news. The statement reads: "Mr Nishikant Kamat (50 years, Male) was admitted to AIG Hospitals on 31st July, 2020 with complains of fever and excessive fatigue. It was diagnosed that he was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past two years. Initially, we started antibiotics and supportive medications upon which Mr Kamat showed improvement, but his condition soon deteriorated with progressive liver dysfunction and drowsiness. He was immediately shifted to the ICU, where his general condition gradually declined. Since yesterday, he developed respiratory failure and hypotension. Despite maximum efforts from hepatologists, gastroenterologists, pulmonologists and intensivists, his condition deteriorated eventually leading to multiple organ failure. Today, from afternoon onwards his vital parameters started declining and at 1624 hours he succumbed to his illness. Our condolences are with his family, friends and fans." Bollywood celebrities took to their verified social media accounts to express condolences. Ajay Devgn, who starred in Kamat's 2015 release "Drishyam" tweeted: "My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant." "I will miss you my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace," tweeted Riteish Deshmukh who made his acting debut in Marathi cinema with Kamat's critically acclaimed directorial "Lai Bhaari" in 2014. "One of my favourite Director Nishikant Kamat Who made "Mumbai Meri Jaan "breathed his last today at Hyderabad hospital. Thanks Nishi for such a meaningful film and memories. AUM SHANTI," tweeted veteran actor Paresh Rawal. "Nishikant Kamat. Really sad to hear about his untimely demise," tweeted Yami Gautam. "Shocked to hear the demise of talented filmmaker Nishikant Kamat, made some memorable films like #MumbaiMerijaan #DombivaliFast, #laibhari & #Drishyam. My condolences to his family & friends . #OmShanti," posted director Madhur Bhandarkar. "Such a sad news of my friend and brilliant actor and filmmaker Nishikant Kamat's untimely death. So so sad," tweeted director Vivek Agnihotri. Kamat was known for directing Bollywood films like the Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer "Drishyam", Irrfan Khan-starrer "Madaari" and the John Abraham films "Force" and "Rocky Handsome" among others. He also directed critically acclaimed Marathi films like "Dombivali Fast" and "Lai Bhaari". He also featured as an actor in the Marathi film "Saatchya Aat Gharat" and his 2016 Bollywood film "Rocky Handsome". -- Syndicated from IANS The city of Georgetown said their entire Department of Public Works is shut down and under quarantine due to possible exposure to COVID-19. "We have potential exposure so we are taking every precaution," said city administrator Sandra Yudice. Yudice said the quarantine began Friday after they were notified an employee tested positive for the virus late that day. As such, city officials announced Monday that the residential garbage route will not be picked until Thursday. They are working with a temporal contractor, GFL Environmental, in garage and yard debris assistance throughout the week. "The city requests your patience while we go through this situation and make arrangements to provide uninterrupted services," officials said. On Monday, a death in Georgetown County was reported by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental control, bringing the county's total to 26, including seven over the past week. Letter: Postpone Pot Vote in Williamstown To the Editor: Hello friends and neighbors, Your elected Planning Board and the Agricultural Commission have displayed a remarkable amount of unity and thoughtfulness in the past few weeks as we emerge from the densest fog of the pandemic and the date of the town meeting grows near. Two conflicting, confusing, and deficient articles are posted to the town warrant this year. The two articles were drafted without proper community input in one case and technical finesse in another. Up until a few weeks ago, the Planning Board intended to ban outdoor cultivation of marijuana in Williamstown all together, pressured by NIMBYs and outside lobbying groups, during the most intense months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Agricultural Commission, on the other hand, was urgently fighting for the interests of us, your farmers, to protect our ability to develop small, micro-growing operations that could add a much needed revenue stream to historically financially insecure farms, and drafted what some perhaps accurately call a sloppy and deficient bylaw. I watched as the two sides finally came together to put forth, what I see, as a wise and prudent compromise to ask that the town, you, vote to postpone both Articles 33 and 34 at the town meeting, with the intention to immediately draft a thorough and comprehensive new bylaw to meet the needs of all in our community. Why is this the right choice? Because it's an honest acceptance of the disruption the pandemic has caused on our legislative process. Please, trust me as a good neighbor and maybe a friend, there is no grand conspiracy to develop massive outdoor marijuana growing operations in our town. In fact, there has been only one application in the three years that cultivation has been legal in Massachusetts and that application was withdrawn when the outside investors were faced with the hostile reactions of their potential neighbors. Despite circulating rumors, there are no plans to develop the land behind MGRHS (I should know, my family owns and operates that farmland), and land that is held in an APR much of Williamstown farmland thanks to the hard work of the Rural Lands Foundation and the Trustees of Reservation is restricted from ever being developed for marijuana cultivation. There are strict and extensive regulations put in place by the state that regulate the size and location of marijuana cultivation sites. Both the Agricultural Commission and the Planning Board recognize that our town needs more specific zoning bylaws to balance public interest, but not at the expense of keeping farmland green and open. It will be a top priority of the Planning Board to draft a new bylaw with input from the Agricultural Commission to add the important regulations that are needed on indoor and outdoor growing operations that don't take away economic opportunity from local farmers. Why is it harmful to our community to ban outdoor growing now (Yes on 33/No on 34)? You may have seen the flood of Instagram and Facebook ads spreading misinformation and using fear-mongering tactics to scare residents into banning outdoor cultivation. You may have also heard that voting Yes on 33 and No on 34 is an "extension of the temporary pause on outdoor growing." We, as farmers, don't believe those claims or trust their source or intentions. We don't know who is making them since they've veiled themselves behind outside funding and organizational structures and if they can't name themselves, in our close, caring community, then why should we trust what they have to say? We don't believe that the mysterious group behind the push to ban outdoor cultivation only wants a "temporary pause." No, we believe that they want a permanent ban on outdoor cultivation, which is likely if 33 is passed and 34 is not. A new bylaw will need to be brought to a future town meeting and will require a 2/3rds majority to overturn the ban. The money and effort that is currently being funneled into extending this ban is indicative of a future intention to keep the ban in place. There are years of wasted economic opportunity at stake in this vote. The trend of failing farms in Massachusetts is dire. The so-called "threat" of major growing operations in Williamstown is not. Farmers, without any other options, are selling their lands to developers, parceled out as building lots, and lost from our beautiful landscape forever. Each year a ban is in place is a year that we risk losing our rural, open lands. Sarah Lipinski Williamstown, Mass. 8th Generation Farmer of Sweet Brook Farm Around 170 villages in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh were inundated in flood water of Godavari river, following discharge of nearly 20 lakh cusecs of water from Dowleshwaram barrage at Rajahmundry on Monday. The Godavari river has been in spate for the last two days amid heavy rain that battered the districts of Andhra and Telangana. According to an official bulletin, a third level warning was sounded at Bhadrachalam in Telangana with water level in Godavari river rising up to 61.20 feet by 3 pm on Monday and has been steadily increasing with every passing hour. All the seven revenue blocks including Kunavaram, Bhadrachalam (rural), V R Puram, Chintoor, Kukunoor, Velerupadu and Burgampahad which were delinked from Telangana and merged with AP in 2014 were inundated in the backwaters of Polavaram project in West Godavari district. According to West Godavari district collector R Muthala Raju, the Polavaram village was partly submerged in flood waters due to breach of river bank and sand bags were placed to prevent further flooding of the village. In all 30 villages in seven revenue blocks were affected. Drinking water is being provided to the affected people and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are evacuating old people and pregnant women to safe places, he said. At Dowleshwaram barrage in East Godavari district, irrigation authorities discharged 19.06 lakh cusecs of water by 3 pm, which was the highest in the last seven years. At Rajahmundry, river ghats and sand ramps were completely inundated along with dredging machines and boats. At a review meeting conducted by Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, East Godavari district collector D Muralidhar Reddy said 161 villages in 13 blocks were affected in the entire district apart from 12 more villages in Amalapuram area. In all, 63 relief camps have been were set up so far. Medical camps are also being set up and nutritious food is being provided and with the possibility of communication system getting affected we are keeping satellite phones ready. We have 14 mechanized boats for ferrying essential goods. The crop loss has to be assessed after the floods water recedes, he said. A 53-year old man Mulakala Durga Rao of Ankampalem village of Jeelugumilli block in West Godavari district was washed away in the flood of Errakaluva stream as he tried to cross it on his motorbike. Meanwhile, in Telangana, too, heavy rains and floods wreaked havoc in Warangal (urban), Warangal (rural), Karimnagar, Asifabad, Mancherial, Nirmal, Peddapalli, Jayashankar Bhoopalpalli, Mulugu and Bhadradri Kothagudem districts, submerging several low-lying areas. Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao reviewed the relief operations being undertaken in the flood hit areas, the CMO said in a statement. He instructed officials to take immediate measures in shifting the people in the tribal areas of Eturu Nagaram and Mangapeta blocks to safer areas. He also asked the authorities to see that there was no heavy waterlogging in the temple town of Bhadrachalam in the wake of the forecast of more heavy rains in the next three to four days. He asked the authorities to set up control rooms in every district affected by floods and continue rescue operations round-the-clock. State IT minister K T Rama Rao said 45 relief camps had been set up in all the flood-hit and rain-battered areas for the affected people. In Warangal town alone, as many as 4,750 people had been shifted to relief camps. Disaster Relief Force teams comprising 339 personnel from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation had been rushed to Warangal to rescue people stranded in floods, he said. The Krishna river is also spate due to heavy rain and discharges from the dams in the upstream areas. Following heavy inflows into Tungabhadra river from the Tungabhadra dam in Hospet and Krishna river in Almatti and Narayanpur in Karnataka, the Krishna river has been swelling constantly. An official bulletin said Srisailam reservoir on Krishna river has been receiving an inflow of 1.57 lakh cusecs due to release of water from upstream dams and more than 58,000 cusecs of water is being let off from the dam to Nagarjunasgar. At Prakasam barrage in Vijayawada, the authorities lifted all the 70 gates discharging 1.28 lakh cusecs of water, resulting in inundation of several villages downstream in Krishna district, officials said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Scientists studying the body of a perfectly preserved Ice Age puppy have made an unexpected discovery a piece of what could be one of the last woolly rhinos inside its stomach. Russian researchers first excavated the preserved, furry body of the canine which could be a dog or a wolf from a site in Tumat, Siberia, in 2011. Inside the 14,000-year-old puppy's stomach was a hairy piece of tissue. At first, scientists assumed the fragment belonged to a cave lion, because of its fine yellow fur. But tests by experts at Stockholm's Natural History Museum told a different story. "When they got the DNA back, it didn't look like a cave lion," Love Dalen, a professor of evolutionary genetics at the Centre for Palaeogenetics, a joint venture between Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, told CNN. "We have a reference database and mitochondrial DNA from all mammals, so we checked the sequence data against that and the results that came back it was an almost perfect match for woolly rhinoceros," Dalen said. "It's completely unheard of. I'm not aware of any frozen Ice Age carnivore where they have found pieces of tissue inside," he said. After radiocarbon dating the sample, experts determined that the rhino skin was around 14,400 years old. "This puppy, we know already, has been dated to roughly 14,000 years ago. We also know that the woolly rhinoceros goes extinct 14,000 years ago. So, potentially, this puppy has eaten one of the last remaining woolly rhinos," he said. Scientists don't know how the puppy came to have a piece of rhino in its stomach. Edana Lord, a PhD student at the Centre for Palaeogenetics who co-authored a paper studying the demise of the woolly rhino, said that the creatures would have been roughly the same size as the modern-day white rhino making it unlikely that the puppy killed the beast itself. The researchers also found it curious that the puppy died shortly after eating the rhino. "This puppy must have died very shortly after eating the rhino, because it's not very digested," Dalen said. "We don't know if it was a wolf, but if it was a wolf cub, maybe it came across a baby rhino that was dead, or the (adult) wolf ate the baby rhino," he speculated. "Maybe as they were eating it, the mother rhino had her revenge." The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. NEW SCOTLAND A fire broke out at a home on Pangburn Road shortly after midnight Monday, causing extensive damage to a building that was in the middle of a renovation, officials said. Officials said there were no injuries. JAKARTA (dpa-AFX) - Japan is on Monday scheduled to release preliminary Q2 figures for gross domestic product, setting the pace for a modest day in Asia-Pacific economic activity. GDP is expected to plummet 7.6 percent on quarter and 27.2 percent on year after falling 0.6 percent on quarter and 2.2 percent on year in the three months prior. Capex is tipped to sink 4.2 percent on quarter after adding 1.7 percent in Q1. Japan also will see final June figures for industrial production; the previous reading suggested a drop of 8.9 percent on month and 26.3 percent on year. New Zealand will see July results for the Performance of Services Index from BusinessNZ; in June, the index score was 54.1. Singapore will provide July numbers for non-oil exports and trade balance. Exports are tipped to add 0.4 percent on month and 4.3 percent on year after rising 0.5 percent on month and 16.1 percent on year in June - when the trade surplus was SGD4.99 billion. Thailand will release Q2 numbers for gross domestic product, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 11.4 percent on quarter and 13.3 percent on year. That follows the 2.2 percent quarterly drop and the 1.8 percent yearly fall in the three months prior. Indonesia will see Q2 figures for current account and July trade data. In the previous three months, the current account deficit was $3.9 million. In June, imports were down 6.36 percent and exports added 2.28 percent for a trade surplus of $1.27 billion. Finally the markets in South Korea and Indonesia are off on holiday on Monday and will re-open on Tuesday. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de "We understand many customers are in a difficult financial situation because of the pandemic," said Michelle Henry, vice president of customer service at FirstEnergy. "Customers who have lost income during this crisis may be eligible for assistance that was unavailable to them before, but some of those programs might not be available later, when overdue balances must be addressed." Customer service representatives are available to assist residential customers with manageable payment arrangements and can provide customers with information on needs-based assistance programs. These programs may include forgiveness of all or part of a customer's overdue balance, helping them to avoid a large bill that would otherwise be due when the temporary suspension on shutoffs ends. Customers of FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities, Ohio Edison (OE), The Illuminating Company (CEI) and Toledo Edison (TE), may be eligible for one or more of the following programs: Percentage of Income Payment Plan : This program allows customers to pay a percentage of their income instead of their actual bill amount. To apply, contact Ohio Development Service Agency at 800-282-0880 or visit the Ohio Development Service Agency's Website. : This program allows customers to pay a percentage of their income instead of their actual bill amount. To apply, contact Ohio Development Service Agency at 800-282-0880 or visit the Ohio Development Service Agency's Website. Ohio Fuel Fund : Provides grants of up to $300 to assist qualified customers with electric bills. This program is only available to CEI customers. To schedule an appointment call 216-350-8008. : Provides grants of up to to assist qualified customers with electric bills. This program is only available to CEI customers. To schedule an appointment call 216-350-8008. Home Energy Assistance Program : Provides cash grants for home heating and cooling emergencies to qualified customers. Summer crisis assistance is available through September 30 . To apply, contact the Ohio Development Service Agency at 800-282-0880 or visit the Ohio Development Service Agency's Website. : Provides cash grants for home heating and cooling emergencies to qualified customers. Summer crisis assistance is available through . To apply, contact the Ohio Development Service Agency at 800-282-0880 or visit the Ohio Development Service Agency's Website. Emergency Hardship Funds : Helps customers who have experienced a financial hardship either to pay an overdue bill or to reconnect service. To apply: CEI customers can call 216-861-8185; TE customers can call 419-241-3549; and OE customers can visit the REACH Agencies list. : Helps customers who have experienced a financial hardship either to pay an overdue bill or to reconnect service. To apply: CEI customers can call 216-861-8185; TE customers can call 419-241-3549; and OE customers can visit the REACH Agencies list. 211: This nationwide resource and information helpline identifies locally available programs that may assist customers with utility bills or other needs. For more information dial 211, visit www.211oh.org or text your ZIP code to 898211. For additional program information, please visit www.firstenergycorp.com/billassist. FirstEnergy's Ohio utilities also have established a customer service team dedicated to assisting business and commercial customers. This team can provide helpful information on available assistance programs and offer payment arrangements if needed. To explore these programs, please contact your utility company and ask to speak with a member of the Small Business Team. Ohio utility customer service numbers are: Ohio Edison 1-800-686-3421 The Illuminating Company 1-800-686-9901 Toledo Edison 1-800-995-0095 Ohio Edison serves more than one million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on Twitter @OhioEdison, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OhioEdison, and online at www.ohioedison.com. The Illuminating Company serves 750,000 customers across Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Lorain counties. Connect with The Illuminating Company at www.illuminatingcompany.com, on Twitter @IlluminatingCo and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IlluminatingCo. Toledo Edison serves more than 300,000 customers in northwest Ohio. Follow Toledo Edison on Twitter @ToledoEdison, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ToledoEdison, and online at www.toledoedison.com. FirstEnergy is dedicated to safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,500 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com . Follow FirstEnergy on Twitter: @FirstEnergyCorp. SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. Related Links http://www.firstenergycorp.com Oleksii Liskonih/iStockBy MARY BRUCE, FREDA KAHEN-KASHI and CHEYENNE HASLETT, ABC News (WASHINGTON) -- In a state President Donald Trump won by less than a point in 2016, socially distanced French toast and eggs at Frank's Diner in downtown Kenosha, Wisconsin, come with a slate of opinions revealing how a battleground state could well determine the presidential race. There's the college student who says she's definitely going to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden, a mask-clad man who plans to vote for Trump a second time and a young first-time voter who says, plainly, "neither" on Trump or Biden because she plans to vote for a third party instead. And for many, the politics are inseparable from the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic has pushed Americans to the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, drawn structural racism into plain sight with Black and brown people dying at higher rates, and heightened concerns over national debt as the government tries to plug holes in the economy with multi-trillion-dollar stimulus efforts. In 2016, Trump took Kenosha County by a mere 238 votes -- flipping a county that voted for former President Barack Obama in both 2008 and 2012. Swing counties like Kenosha propelled Trump to take Wisconsin by a razor-thin margin of just over 22,000 votes. For many, 2020 has become a referendum on the president's handling of the pandemic. According to recent polling by Marquette Law School, only 40% of Wisconsin registered voters approve of Trump's handling of the coronavirus, while 58% disapprove. For Lori McCammon, a resident of Alma, Wisconsin, the pandemic response is another reason she regrets casting her ballot for Trump in 2016. McCammon, 65, was initially drawn to him because of his hardline stance on immigration. McCammon was living in Southern California in 2016 and said her proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border made the issue feel more relevant. "The ballot wasn't even cold in the box and I'd already regretted it," she said. On the pandemic, "he has completely failed us," McCammon said. Asked if she had a message for the president now, McCammon said, "Just please do something about this pandemic. I'm begging you. Please do something and quit making it political." Come November, McCammon said she's decided to vote for Biden. "I have voted Republican for most of my adult life," she said. "I don't know if I will ever vote Republican again." Outside of Kenosha County, in more rural areas of Wisconsin, Democrats hope to see Trump's popularity slip in places where they previously expected him to continue to gain steam. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Trump gained the most ground in small towns over former-Obama territory. Wisconsin lost 10% of its dairy farms over the last year -- over 800 farms -- because of a milk surplus driving down profits. Though the issue predates the coronavirus, farmers like Lynn Hicks want to get the message to the White House that they're still struggling every day. "I'm a small guy -- I'm just a drip in the pail," she said. Hicks has a small family farm in Gilman, Wisconsin. She supported Trump in 2016 and still values his "tough talk" over what she's seen from Biden. But she doesn't feel like Washington is listening, she said, despite Trump's promises four years ago to "drain the swamp" and focus on Americans who'd been left behind. "Yet I'm here, day in and day out, providing and doing what I need to do to help put my part into the bigger picture," she said. "And right now I don't feel that that's necessarily appreciated, or sometimes just simply taken for granted." Likely voters in the state, as polled by Marquette Law School, found Biden was leading Trump by a five-point margin, 49% to 44%. But experts still caution the state could go either way. "My sense is that Wisconsin will continue to be very, very close," said longtime conservative talk-show host Charlie Sykes, who recently wrote a book, How the Right Lost its Mind. According to Sykes, the election could largely come down to Democrats' ability to garner enthusiasm and turn out the vote -- though Republicans, too, could be up against a challenge as Trump ramps up his baseless attacks on mail-in voting. "I'm hearing that from Republicans that they're concerned that Donald Trump's attack on mail-in voting might actually suppress his own base because Republicans in Wisconsin have been using mail-in voting for many years," Sykes said. That includes Erin Decker, the Republican Party chair in Kenosha County. "I actually absentee vote all the time," Decker said. "I know that some people nationally are leery of it," Decker said. "There's just people out there that -- they want to stick that ballot in that machine and make sure that they hear a beep." Voters across the state watched during April's primary as in-person voters were met with long lines and fewer polling locations, a dangerous combination during the pandemic. In Milwaukee, where voters normally have access to around 180 polling locations, just five were open. More than 60% of votes were cast absentee, so as to avoid voting in person during the pandemic, up from 6% in a typical year, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. In November, the rate of absentee voting is expected to stay abnormally high -- and the commission intends to embark on a voter education campaign to combat the mistakes of April. Election officials recommend people request their absentee ballots in September so they can mail them back in at least a week before Election Day, which is the deadline for ballots to be returned. With 78 days left, Democrats are trying to defend Biden's lead without the ability to directly connect with voters on the ground, given public health concerns about travel -- a challenge now that the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee has gone virtual. The campaign has hired staff with extensive experience in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, Trump scheduled a visit to the state Monday, highlighting Biden's absence and painting Democrats as repeating mistakes of elections past, when 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton declined to campaign in Wisconsin. "We're disappointed, obviously, that Joe Biden is not going to be in Milwaukee next week to accept the nomination. But I've heard nobody upset or angry about it," said Hawkins, the Kenosha county Democratic Party chair. "We've got some time before the election. So we're hoping that Joe Biden and (Sen.) Kamala Harris are going to be able to come to Wisconsin. People are very enthusiastic about this election," she said. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. PHILIPSBURG:--- The Honorable Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment & Infrastructure, Mr. Egbert Doran, hereby wishes to inform the general public of the completion of the drainage project on the Billy Folly Road in Pelican. Over the years, this area has developed into a popular tourist destination with the establishment of various resorts, hotels, bars, and restaurants. During heavy rainfall, a large pool of water would settle in the area of Atrium Hotel and Bakers Suites which would force pedestrians to maneuver around the pool of settling water and risked being splashed upon by passing motorists. This situation became a major issue for residents, visitors, and business owners alike. As the Ministry is responsible for the management, maintenance, and development of the physical infrastructure of the country, the project was started with the aim to eliminate this major problem with the installing a drainage pipe in front of the Atrium Hotel and connecting this to the existing trench on The Corner Road. The project which was delayed due to the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic started on June 15, 2020. On Friday, August 14, 2020, Minister Doran, accompanied by support staff, visited the site on Billy Folly Road, where they met with staff of the Department of Infrastructure Management and the contractor. Due to the heavy rainfall that preceded the visit, the Minister and those present had a firsthand opportunity to witness that there was no longer any settling of rainwater in the rainwater in the area. Minister Doran applauded the staff at the Department of Infrastructure Management and the contractor for their diligence in ensuring the completion of this project, as our residents and visitors alike can now safely use the area. The Minister would like to thank the community at large for their patience in this matter and assures the public that he remains committed to the people of Sint Maarten and will continue to do everything in his power to remedy situations such as these. The Supreme Court (SC) on August 17 heard the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues case. Further hearing in the matter has been adjourned to August 19. Pointing out that Jio is earning revenue by sharing RComm spectrum, the court has sought the government'position on making Jio liable for RComm's AGR dues on account of the spectrum sharing. A bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer and MR Shah is hearing the case. The top court had in October 2019 upheld the expanded definition of AGR as given by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to SC: >> SC had indicated that entity using the spectrum must discharge the AGR dues. Sharing of spectrum different from spectrum trading. >> View of DoT differs from views of Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) on sale of spectrum under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). View finalised by SC is that spectrum cannot be sold under IBC. >> Assets owned by third party help by the company under insolvency, in trust, cannot be sold. People of the country are owners of spectrum, held by the government in trust, cannot be sold under IBC. >> Use of spectrum allowed to telcos under contract, ownership does not get transferred. Spectrum is not defined as an asset under the IBC. Government continues to hold spectrum, in trust. >> We issued notice in March 2019 to Reliance Communciations (RCom) to show cause why spectrum should not be revoked due to non-payment of dues. >> Spectrum can never be subject matter of IBC, which is the consistent position of DoT. >> MCA had sought to allow spectrum sale for maximization of value. Resolution plan for RCom has not yet been approved. >> Government's official position is that any decision that SC takes to help recovery of AGR dues, the govt will support. Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, RCom's resolution professional, to SC: >> Asset reconstruction company (ARC) will issue zero coupon bonds, redeemable in five years to be issued to banks. Bonds can be redeemed, realised as the ARC monetizes the assets. Bonds of Rs 15,140 crore will be issued to banks. >> 141 parties had approached for RCom, including Bharti Airtel. UVARC was the successful resolution applicant, plan was approved. >> Fair value of RCom is 10,200 crore. >> In 2018-19 Banks, RCom wanted to sell the company to evade insolvency proceedings. Sale of RCom did not materialise, IBC was the preferred route. >> Spectrum is an asset in the hands of the company, it can be subject of IBC, can be bought and sold. Current dues are being paid to the DoT, during the IBC moratorium. SC observations: >> Want to know year wise demands raised against RCom. >> (In relation to RCom) We want to know who was the successful resolution applicant. >> At the time of proposed sale to Jio, before IBC, RCom claimed assets of Rs 3,5000 crore. We want to know where the assets have gone? How has the value of assets depreciated so significantly? >> Can spectrum be bought and sold under IBC? >> Jio is earning revenue by sharing RComm spectrum, can it be held liable when they are generating revenue from shared spectrum? We want government's position on Jio sharing RComm spectrum, on Jio discharging RComm spectrum dues. Here's what else happened at the previous hearings: >> Vodafone Idea has to pay a balance of Rs 50,399 crore, while Bharti Airtel's outstanding amount is Rs 25,976 crore, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said on July 20. >> On August 10, The SC had asked the government to prepare a plan for recovery of dues from telecom companies under insolvency. >> The SC had asked the government, Reliance Jio and RCom's resolution professional to put together documents to determine who will bear RCom's AGR dues. >> Both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, which owe the maximum amounts, had on July 20 revised their demand from 20 years to 15 years for the staggered payments after SC's stringent stance on payment period. >> The SC has made it clear that it will not permit any self-assessment by the companies or re-calculation. Reliance Industries Ltd., which also owns Jio, is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd. Emergency vehicles are seen at a cordoned off area near the site of a blast at the Elite Hotel in Lido beach in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Reuters/Feisal Omar) At Least 7 Dead After Gunmen Attack Mogadishu Hotel MOGADISHUIslamic terrorists stormed a high-end seaside hotel in Mogadishu on Sunday, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 20 as they detonated a car bomb then opened fire with assault rifles in the latest attack in the Somali capital. Islamic terrorist group al Shabaab said it was behind the assault on the Elite Hotel in Lido beach, and that its gunmen battled security forces who rushed to the scene. At about midnight, state news agency SONNA said the operation was over and that 205 people had been rescued, including ministers, lawmakers and civilians, citing Farhan Qarole, a security forces commander at the hotel. All the four militants armed with AK-47 were shot dead. They were aboard the car bomb, they got off and the four militants went in the hotel to fight, SONNA said, adding that full details of casualties will be given later. Paramedics and civilians carry an injured person on a stretcher at Madina hospital after a blast at the Elite Hotel in Lido beach in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Reuters/Feisal Omar) The hotel is owned by Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, a lawmaker and former finance minister, and is frequented by many government officials and members of the Somali diaspora. There were officials of (President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajos) government inside the hotel when we attacked, said a statement broadcast on al Shabaabs Radio Andalus. The attack follows an uprising at Mogadishus central prison on Monday. SONNA said at least 15 prisoners and four guards were killed when security forces beat back the rebellion. A witness, Ahmed Ali, said on Sunday he had heard a huge blast at the hotel, gunfire followed, and then clouds of smoke. So far we confirmed seven people died, including two attackers, two junior directors and three civilians, information ministry spokesman Ismail Mukhtar Omar told Reuters. Fifteen people were injured, he added. Civilians assist an injured person at Madina hospital after a blast at the Elite Hotel in Lido beach in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Reuters/Feisal Omar) Aamin ambulance service head Abdikadir Abdirahman had earlier told Reuters the service had transported 28 injured people from the scene before exchanges of gunfire started. Hotel owner Nor posted on Facebook after escaping the building: May Allah have mercy on all those who died in the attack by the terrorists on civilians particularly on Elite Hotel in which I was in. Mohamed Nur, a government worker who lives near Lido beach, said the exchange of gunfire was terrible. Stray bullets reached us near the beach, he said. Somalia has been embroiled in violence since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew leader Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Since 2008, al Shabaab has been fighting to overthrow the internationally recognized central government and establish its rule based on its own interpretation of Islamic Sharia law. By Abdi Sheikh Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 16:54:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VIENNA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States and Russia will start the second round of nuclear disarmament talks here on Monday. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov will meet for the second time in Vienna. "Heading to Austria for #armscontrol talks," Billingslea tweeted on Friday, adding that the United States was sending "one of the highest level delegations ever." The two-day negotiations convene experts from both sides who had dealt with military doctrines, potential threats and questions of verification at the end of July. The first round of disarmament talks ended here with no tangible results in late June, as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, will expire in several months. Enditem Today, we start with a scoop about TikTok, the video-sharing app thats caught in the middle of the U.S.-China tech war. (Want this delivered to your inbox each day? Sign up here.) TikTok isnt standing still As TikTok negotiates its potential sale, which must be completed within 90 days to prevent the Chinese-owned app from being shut down in the U.S., it is signing a different sort of deal. TikTok is partnering with UnitedMasters, a music distribution company, to allow artists on the video-sharing platform to distribute their songs directly from the app to streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube. UnitedMasters also arranges music deals with brands like ESPN and the N.B.A. The deal is expected to be announced today. It may be the most significant transaction to date for Kevin Mayer, TikToks C.E.O., who joined the company in May after a long career at Disney. Much of his time has been spent reacting to geopolitics, with TikToks parent company, the Beijing-based ByteDance, ensnared in the tech cold war between the U.S. and China. Citing national security concerns, President Trump has ordered TikToks U.S. operations to be sold to an American owner Microsoft is the most likely buyer or shut down. After its 5G systems made by Huawei were rejected globally over concerns of privacy and data security, China's state-sponsored media Global Times on Monday celebrated the expansion of the 5G network domestically revealing that the total number of 5G subscribers in China had surpassed 88 million as of July. The report by GT claimed that China accounted for over 80% of 5G users worldwide quoting the Chinese telecommunications Think Tank saying, "China is the frontrunner in 5G deployment, with over 410,000 5G base stations set up across the country." As of the end of July, the total number of #5G subscribers in #China surpassed 88 million, accounting for over 80% of 5G users worldwide. China is the frontrunner in 5G deployment, with over 410,000 5G base stations set up across the country: Chinese telecommunications think tank pic.twitter.com/Y4w8ZlC6SH Global Times (@globaltimesnews) August 17, 2020 Read: Pentagon Offers Military Airwaves For 5G Wireless Networks Read: UK Asks Japan To Help Build Its 5G Wireless Networks Without Huawei Netizens react Huawei is banned in most of the countries Raghuram (@RaghuTanjavur) August 17, 2020 5G for spying on your citizens. #ExpansionistChina. Arnav aggarwal (@Arnavaggarwal9) August 17, 2020 Congratulations on achieving high speed domestic surveillance. Now, please keep this privilege to yourselves and not export it to the rest of the world. If you do, how can you be world no1? vernondesilva (@VernonMds) August 17, 2020 China has banned Twitter so whom do you tell these things on Twitter. Only Pakistanis like your tweet. Arnav aggarwal (@Arnavaggarwal9) August 17, 2020 Make it, sell it, in China only. No one is interested outside China. Live for India (@007bohra) August 17, 2020 Nations reject China's 5G capabilities China's success of expanding its 5G users seems to be limited within the communist country itself, with nations across the globe like the US and the UK rejecting Chinese 5G technologies provider Huawei over fears regarding state-directed data breach and privacy concerns. The UK in its most recent announcement has already ordered that Huawei equipment be purged from its 5G networks by the end of 2027 reaching out to Japan for help in developing 5G wireless networks without Huawei technologies. On the other hand, the US has signed a joint declaration with Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa over 5G network security that aims to keep untrusted telecommunications vendors out of the nation. Pompeo was in Slovenia last week to make the case for high-speed wireless networks that bar Chinese companies like Huawei. Last month, the United States India Business Council (USIBC) said that India and America are likely to partner on 5G networks, adding that the technology sector is a "very important" area of collaboration between the two strategic allies. Other nations are similarly looking to other avenues for 5G adoption. Read: Pompeo Comments On 5G, Energy Security And NATO Read: Huawei CFO Meng's Lawyers Call US Evidence In Extradition Case 'unreliable' AVON LAKE, Ohio -- Dozens of people attended the formal dedication Saturday (Aug. 15) of the replica of Charles A. Lindberghs Spirit of St. Louis airplane, in which he made the worlds first solo transatlantic flight in 1927. Eagle Scout candidate Nicholas Zangas of Avon Lake Troop 338 recreated the famous airplane, which was a community favorite in the 1930s, but was stolen from the old Kekic gas station at Stop 43 on Lake Road, according to local historian Sherry Spenzer. The history Zangas and Spenzer researched produced the following: The airplane is an exact (or as nearly as possible) replica of a model airplane that flew in front of the old Kekic filling station at Stop 43 on Lake Road in Avon Lake, said Spenzer. Following aviator Charles A. Lindberghs 1927 Spirit of St. Louis solo transatlantic flight, the Coca-Cola Company erected 150 model airplanes around Ohio to commemorate the event. Kekics station was fortunate enough to be graced with one of those. Initially, the plane was maintained by Coca-Cola (for 10 to 15 years, exact number unknown), then Gulf took over those duties. The Kekic model was the last of the little airplanes to survive in Ohio, she said. The story intrigued Zangas, who made recreating the historic object his Eagle Scout project. With the help of many community helpers, the project was fulfilled. As the original site of the Kekic gas station is now private property, the City of Avon Lake had the airplane installed on a pole at Miller Road Park on Lake Road. The dedication took place on Saturday. Mayor Greg Zilka and Avon Lake Historical Society President Tony Tomanek both spoke about the value of the airplane to the community. They also commended Zangas for his creativity and persistence in completing the project, which will be special to the city for many years to come. Spenzer also spoke and read the comments she wrote for the inscription on the dedication plaque that is affixed to a large rock at the base of the pole holding the airplane. The inscription reads: This airplane replicates the iconic model of aviator Charles A. Lindberghs 1927 Spirit of St. Louis that once graced Kekics -- (once) Avon Lakes only gasoline filling station. The original model plane disappeared when the station closed. The recreation of this tribute to solo transatlantic flight celebrates both local and national history and is the gift of Eagle Scout Nick Zangas. Read more from the Sun Sentinel. Overallocation of surface water for growing food crops is shifting agriculture and other industry to use groundwater - which is much more difficult to measure and monitor. Using local producer knowledge as 'soft data' to estimate groundwater use in modelling is a helpful tool in mapping sustainable use of scarce resources, Flinders University experts say. Environmental and water researchers from Flinders have described the technique in a new paper published online in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies. The heavily agricultural La Vi River Basin in Vietnam was the focus of the study, forming part of a five-year project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). "Groundwater use for food and industrial production is increasing globally, putting pressure on groundwater resources and associated ecosystems," says Flinders University Professor Okke Batelaan. "In many countries, particularly in developing regions as well as Australia's Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), this abstraction may be poorly organised and not regularly gauged for data." The researchers, including John Allwright fellow Flinders PhD candidate Manh Hai Vu, interviewed local farmers about their land use, agricultural practices and water use. The approach was very helpful in collecting base line information for future use - particularly when climate change or variable rainfall pose a threat to future water management, says Dr Margaret Shanafield, from the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training based at Flinders University. "Although often thought of as a wet, tropical climate, Vietnam's South central coast has long dry seasons, and hence suffers from surface water shortages, similar to many parts of Australia," she says. "Groundwater use provides a significant solution to local farmers for producing cash crops and improving livelihood." The system could also be used in Australia in areas such as the northern part of the MDB where groundwater is largely unmonitored. The study developed a cost-effective and computationally simple solutions for estimating groundwater abstraction in data-poor agricultural regions, researchers say. ### Mapping catchment-scale unmonitored groundwater abstractions: Approaches based on soft data (2020) by Vu MH Vu, M Shanafield, TT Nhat, D Partington, O Batelaan has been published in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2020.100695 Murasoli Maran was a dialogue writer who wrote a thriller at Doha India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, Aug 17: Paying glowing tributes to former Union Minister, Murasoli Maran, Sitaram Yechury, leader of the Communist Party of India said that they worked together for a democratic and secular India. In a webinar titled 86th Birth Anniversary of Thiru. Murasoli Maran- Kalaignar's Conscience organised by advocate J Ravindran, Yechury said that Maran was a man with an excellent heart. He also explained that Maran was extremely important for the formation of a United Front. He said that once the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government was defeated after 13 days of its formation, the government under H D Deve Gowda was formed. However after the resignation of Deve Gowda there was a need to form an alternate government. Maran played a crucial role in this. He would think on his feet about what to do next, Yechury also said. It was then decided that I K Gujral would be the Prime Minister, but then the Cabinet had to be decided, Yechury also said. Murasoli Maran and M K Karunanidhi were in one room discussing the issue, while we we were in the other rooms. It was then that Karunanidhi called and spoke in Tamil about the way forward. Everything that Karunanidhi said in Tamil was translated to us by Maran. The issue of language was always an important issue for Maran, Yechury also said. Rajya Sabha member Vaiko said that The Wall Street Journal wrote that Maran is a dialogue writer, but what he wrote in Doha was a thriller, he also said. Vaiko was referring to Maran's contributions as Union commerce minister during the Doha round of the WTO negotiation. Former Union Minister, Jaitley and said that the entire developing world would have lost the battle at Cancun. It was at Maran's insistence at Doha, despite his poor health on certain precise clauses in the Doha draft that came to the rescue of the developing countries in Mexico. Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said that he knew Maran very well. He was a strong person when it came to taking decisions. As an industries minister, he did the best for the sector and ensure that he never associated with friends while taking decisions. Maran was extremely committed, Gowda said while adding that whatever responsibilities he was given, he would fulfil it. He was mentored by M Karunanidhi, Gowda also said. Recalling the time he became the Prime Minister, Gowda said that it was the DMK and Left parties that forced him to take over the position. Maran was a great personality and served in various capacities. His contribution in every field was great which also includes in the field of journalism. Gowda also said that he is very happy to have known a great personality like Maran. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, August 17, 2020, 20:27 [IST] Shanon Demar Ryan (pictured in mugshot) was charged with kidnapping a victim with the intent of collecting a ransom, reward or other benefit An Alabama man who is a self-proclaimed 'witch' has been charged with kidnapping in the disappearance of a mother whose two-year-old son was found alone in a Florida parking lot. Shanon Demar Ryan, 38, of Muscle Shoals, was officially charged with kidnapping a victim with the intent of collecting a ransom, reward or other benefit on Monday. That charge comes after Ryan was hit with two counts of lying to federal agents on Saturday. Leila Cavett, 21, was last seen on July 26 after traveling from Georgia to Florida with her two-year-old son, Kamdyn Cavett Arnold. Arnold, was found wandering alone in a parking lot in Miramar. FBI surveillance footage showed Cavett at a RaceTrac gas station, but she has not been seen or heard from for four weeks. 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. In a criminal complaint filed in Fort Lauderdale, FBI officials argued that video evidence did not support Ryan's claim that he watched Cavett and her son get into another person's vehicle. They also said Ryan bought odor eliminator, duct tape and extra-large garbage bags around the time of Cavett's disappearance. 'Leilas separation from her son is completely out of character,' told The Associated Press. 'Her family and others in our community are very concerned about her safety and well-being.' According to the complaint, Ryan said Cavett met him at a gas station in Hollywood on July 25 before heading to the beach with the toddler in Ryan's gold Lexus. Two-year-old Kamdyn Cavett Arnold (pictured) was discovered near the 1860 block of SW 68th Avenue in Miramar on the morning of July 26. His mother, Leila Cavett (right), 21, is still missing He said that when they returned to the gas station, they parked at the pumps and she and Kamdyn then got into a vehicle with several Black males. That was around 2.30am on July 26. Her vehicle was found July 28 in Hollywood. Investigators said surveillance video from the gas station doesn't show Ryan's car at the pump. It also doesn't show Cavett or the toddler getting into a vehicle. Later that morning, the child was found in the apartment complex parking lot in nearby Miramar, police said. Surveillance video shows Ryan's car in front of the apartment complex in the minutes before a woman found the boy wandering and called police when she couldn't find his mother, the complaint said. Video from the gas station shows Ryans car leaving the gas station around 8.15am that morning and returning at 8.38am, which is about the time the child was found. Investigators said Ryan had been using a debit card to buy extra-strength odor eliminator, extra-large garbage bags and duct tape at the gas station and a Walmart store, court document show. A federal search warrant executed on Ryan's phone shows that he had made various Google searches, including 'What day does commercial garbage pickup for Hollywood, Florida?' and 'Does bleach and alcohol make chloroform?' Ryan claimed that Cavett (right), pictured with Kamdyn Cavett Arnold, drove down to Florida to sell him a truck Law enforcement also recovered shovels with small droplets of a red substance on them. The complaint also said several employees at the gas station were interviewed by investigators. One recognized Ryan, and had seen him near the trash bin. Another employee remembered seeing women's clothing and children's toys in the trash and recognized a pair of floral pants worn by Cavett, the complaint said. In video footage obtained by law enforcement, Ryan was spotted parking his vehicle near the trash bin on July 26. Previously, Ryan shared a number of recent social media that appeared to be directly or potentially about the case. On Facebook, Ryan declared that he is a spiritual adviser, CEO, a teacher and a witch. 'Stop thinking like muggles,' he wrote in one post. 'A witch putting a hex on someone does not mean that person is going to die or be killed. Why would a Witch kill anyone they want to suffer? 'There is no suffering in death, only the living suffer. You need flesh, bones and a beating heart in order to feel pain.' 'A Witch is not a spiritual assassin. We do not take death contracts. Death has already contracted us all, unless you got an extension,' he added. In a 51-minute video shared August 9, titled 'Who is Leila Cavett and What is My Connection to her Disappearance,' he directly references the case and claims to be the last person to have seen her before she vanished. In one post, Ryan explained that 'a witch is not a spiritual assassin, we do not take death contracts' In a 51-minute Facebook video, Ryan contended that he was not involved in Cavett's disappearance and that he's given 'everything' he knows to authorities 'Why is it you have a missing woman, and the last person thats seen her, which is me, who talked to the police, you aint heard nothing about me,' he said, WSVN reports. 'We have a missing woman, and I gave the police everything that I know,' he added. Ryan said he's known Cavett for around a year, and even claimed to have taken in her and her son in at one point when they did not have housing. He claimed to have been visiting a sick student in Hollywood, Florida, just 25 miles west of Miramar, and connected with Cavett. Cavett allegedly told Ryan that she purchased a truck. 'I said, "Let me buy that truck from you,"'he said in the video. 'Im not selling my truck. Im like, "Leila, come on, sell me the truck." Ryan claimed that the two came to an agreement and she would drive the truck down to Florida. The two met up on July 25 at the parking lot of a Walmart. 'She got in the car with me boom and we pulled off, just like I told the police department,' Ryan said. Ryan then claimed to have paid Cavett $3,000 for the truck and that they visited a RaceTrac gas station nearby. Surveillance footage shared by the FBI confirmed that Cavett was at the gas station that day. Ryan said they spent the rest of the day together before returning to the RaceTrac gas station. 'Its some guys in a car that she talking to. Leila got her and her son and got in the car with those guys,' Ryan claimed in the video. 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) He said he tried to stop her from leaving with the men, but she left anyway. Ryan allegedly waited in his car for Cavett, but she did not return. Then, Ryan said he was approached by police officers who searched his truck. 'Police everywhere, they jumped out Hey, what are you doing? Hey, freeze!' he said. Two photos shared on August 6 appeared to show two plainclothes officers searching a silver Lexus sedan. In one photo, a truck matching the description of Cavett's vehicle is seen in the background. On August 15, he shared a photo of him in front of the Southland Shopping Center in Fort Lauderdale and appeared to goad authorities. 'Still waiting.... Anybody else think guilty or on the run? Because obviously the FBI and the police dont. Please go play somewhere, Im busy,' he wrote. 'I got Witch s*** to do. Now back to business. I got spiritual guidance session to hold. Had to take today off, but now Im good. Point proven.' Pictured: a photo shared to Ryan's Facebook that appeared to show plainclothes officers searching his vehicle while a truck matching the descriptions of Cavett's vehicle is seen In one Facebook post, Ryan appeared to goad federal agents while still in Florida Ryan: 'Now that was weeks ago I told Mimar police department the same thing. If they were really looking for Lelia, why they just release those pictures to you all' One the same day, he added, 'I apologize class for having disrupt our lessons again, but the FBI is in some bulls***. They been had those pictures of Leila. Those the same cameras I mentioned in my video when I told them to go back and look at videos camera. 'Now that was weeks ago I told Miramar police department the same thing. If they were really looking for Lelia, why they just release those pictures to you all. 'The FBI is investigating and Im investigating them.' Authorities found Cavett's 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 FBI asked 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 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. The toddler is now in the custody of Child Protective Services as police continue their investigation. OTTAWA - For only the second time in 12 years, Marc-Andre Bernier and his underwater archaeology team at Parks Canada will not be heading north this month to explore the wrecks of the doomed Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin and his crew. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/8/2020 (521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Parks Canada archaeologist Marc-Andre Bernier shows reporters an image captured during the discovery of the HMS Erebus's ship's bell in Ottawa on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2014. or only the second time in 12 years, Bernier and his underwater archeology team at Parks Canada will not be heading north this month to explore the wrecks of the doomed Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin and his crew. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang OTTAWA - For only the second time in 12 years, Marc-Andre Bernier and his underwater archaeology team at Parks Canada will not be heading north this month to explore the wrecks of the doomed Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin and his crew. Bernier said last summer was the team's most successful visit ever, excavating cabins and a steward's pantry on Erebus, and bringing 355 artifacts to the surface for restoration and study. Robot cameras were used to probe inside the HMS Terror for the first time since it was discovered four years ago. The plan was to return again later this month, when Arctic conditions are normally best for this kind of work, and keep going. But because of COVID-19, access to the wrecks of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in waters off King William Island in Nunavut, is closed to all but local Inuit Guardians keeping watch on the sites, and those with harvesting rights in the surrounding waters. "It is quite disappointing," said Bernier, the manager of underwater archaeology. The two ships, with 129 men on board, left England in 1845 to pursue the dream of finding and mapping the Northwest Passage. They would never return. The whereabouts of the ships were a global mystery until 2014, when Parks Canada divers, helped by Inuit guides, located Erebus in 2014, and then Terror two years later, about 100 kilometres further north, in the coincidentally named Terror Bay. While missing one more year of exploration when the wrecked ships have already lain in their watery graves for more than a century and a half may seem like no big deal, every year that passes brings more risk that some of the secrets contained within may never be revealed. "We are concerned about Erebus," said Bernier. That ship, the only one divers have been inside of as yet, is close to the surface, and sometimes if the waves are high enough, the top of the ship is fully exposed. Some years, said Bernier, they return to find extensive damage already done to the ship. Others they come back and nothing has changed at all. The break, said Bernier, could give them more time to research and begin preservation and restoration work on the objects already recovered. Like a pair of epaulets left in a box under the bed of the cabin belonging to Lt. James Walter Fairholme, and a brush with hairs still in it that can be analyzed for DNA. But that work too has been delayed by COVID-19. The archaeology team was sent home in mid-March when most federal buildings were closed. The date of return to their labs is still not known, said Bernier. The team has been able to use the photos and videos taken on both ships to work on mapping them out. Terror, which is more protected than Erebus because it lies in deeper water, hasn't been mapped fully at all yet, so that work is underway this summer. Diving into the ships takes precision and the maps are needed to do it properly. Dives to Erebus can last as long as three hours but the deeper, and much colder waters around Terror will limit exploring that ship to about 30 minutes a day, said Bernier. Bernier said the information gleaned from every object, every trip below the water, helps fill in gaps in the story. Since Fairholme's epaulets were found in his cabin but none of his clothes, Bernier wonders whether he decided they were expendable when he packed to leave the ship forever. There are other questions. Why were the belongings of a Terror crew member found on Erebus? Did Terror get abandoned first and the remaining men move to Erebus before it too got trapped in the ice and sank? Bernier said on Erebus, the plates in the pantry were still neatly stacked in their racks, a coffee pot still in it place, pencils and pencil boxes remaining on their shelves. It suggests the ship was neither abandoned quickly, nor did it sink suddenly, since a sudden influx of water would have caused more damage. "That's what we have to do now, is try to make things fit," he said. "That will help us understand what happened, what's the timelines." For the archaeology team, they're just biding their time now until next year when they hope the pandemic is over and they can once again return to the North for the exploration that will make their careers. "For an archaeologist, this is a once in a lifetime," he said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2020. Ghana is likely to reopen its entry points for inbound traffic on September 1 as active cases of the new coronavirus decline, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo has hinted. In his 15th nationwide broadcast on COVID-19, Mr Akufo-Addo said the decision would be based on the outcome of preparatory work by various institutions. Under my instructions, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Co. Ltd, have been working, with the ministry of health and its agencies, to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport, the president said. I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger that arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of that exercise will show us the way, and determine when we can reopen our border by air. I am hoping that we will be ready to do so by September 1, he said. However, he said special dispensation would continue to be given for the evacuation of Ghanaians stranded abroad, and they would be required to observe the mandatory quarantine and safety protocols. (Xinhua/NAN) A three-year-old girl and her father have died after they were tragically gunned down while playing inside the girl's Frozen dollhouse in a Kentucky home late last week. Brandon Waddles, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after police arrived at the 3700 block of Kahlert Avenue in Louisville, just after 1pm on Friday. Waddles daughter, Trinity Randolph, was taken by officers to Kosair Chidrens Hospital but later died from her injuries. Both of the victims suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the suspected drive-by shooting, Louisville Police said. No further details have been released by the department about their investigation nor have police indicated whether they have identified any suspects. The shooting deaths of Waddles and little Trinity come as the 96th and 97th homicides in the city this year with Trinity now the youngest of all the victims. Brandon Waddles, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after police arrived at the 3700 block of Kahlert Avenue in Louisville, just after 1pm on Friday. Waddles daughter, Trinity Randolph, was taken by officers to Kosair Chidrens Hospital but later died from her injuries The home where the pair were shot is shown above. Police have not confirmed whether they have identified any suspects Heartbroken family members of the slain father and daughter held an emotional press conference on Sunday, close to the scene of the fatal shooting. The young girls grandfather, Tyronn Howlett said Trinity wanted to be a princess when she grew up. She would often spend hours playing inside the Disney dollhouse where she was killed, emulating the roles of Frozens main characters, Anna and Elsa. Other family members recounted how Trinity was already a technology genius, despite still being too young to attend preschool. Her aunt said she already knew how to record TikTok and YouTube videos, and even FaceTime other family members when she wasnt playing dress-up. She was just three years old, Valerie Randolph, Trinitys great-grandmother said according to The Courier Journal. It takes a mean, cold, selfish-hearted person to take a little three-year-olds life. Her other great-grandmother, Cheryl Howlett, described the adorable girl as beautiful, intelligent, joyous. Very articulate, very outgoing, to WLKY. The bereaved great grandmother said shes demanding answers, adding that all she knows it that it was a drive-by, the house was shot up. I want answers. I want to know. I just know my baby's dead, Howlett continued. Detectives have reportedly spent the hours since knocking on doors, speaking with neighbors and trying to piece together precisely what happened on Friday afternoon and why. Local Bishop Dennis V. Lyons said because of a growing frustration from the community with LMPD over the death of Breonna Taylor and ongoing protests, people arent as willing to come forward with information. The community is not being as proactive as we used to be, so it seems like there's a free-for-all, he told WLKY. The young girls grandfather, Tyronn Howlett said Trinity wanted to be a princess when she grew up. She would often spend hours playing inside the Disney dollhouse where she was killed, emulating the roles of Frozens main characters, Anna and Elsa Waddles (shown left with Trinity and right in an Instagram post) was a local musician known by the stage-name DareallilB So far, the only information available to police seems to be the first-hand accounts of neighbors such as Tony Hickman, who told WHAS he initially thought somebody was shooting firecrackers Friday before realizing it was actually gunfire. Hickman said he heard at least six shots ring out, though he didnt see what direction they came from. Waddles was a local musician known by the stage-name DareallilB. Rapper Percy Miller, or Master P, who has served as a Louisville philanthropist for nearly 15 years, said over the weekend that he would be covering the cost of Trinitys funeral. This is a 3-year-old innocent girl that's gone from her family, from her future, somebody who could have come out of the community and be the next president, doctor, lawyer, teacher, Miller told The Courier Journal Sunday. This is sad. Trinitys mom Tynekia Randoplh is asking for more help as she attempts to confront her unimaginable grief, while raising her months-old son alone. The family has set up a GoFundMe page for Tynekia. While the cost of her daughters funeral is covered, the grieving mother wont be able to return to work for a while. As her family, we can do much, but there's no timeframe on when she's going to be OK and able to fend for herself, Trinity's grandfather said. Something needs to be done, and the law needs to prevail, at least in this case, because this child is innocent. Rapper Master P, who has served as a Louisville philanthropist for nearly 15 years said over the weekend that he would be covering the cost of Trinitys funeral However, Trinitys mom Tynekia Randoplh (left, with Trinity right) is asking for more help as she attempts to confront her unimaginable grief, while raising her months-old son alone. During Sundays conference, Trinitys aunt, Tenisha Porter, described how the little girl had been a like a coping skill for her, after the death of her nephew in a 2013 shooting, which remains unsolved. When I lost my nephew, the front part of my hair went gray in less than three months, Porter said through tears. When Trinity came into my life, my depression lifted. I had Trinity to always hug and hold and kiss. Every time I saw her she was always saying, Auntie, I love you, and I knew she meant it. Trinity made a special impact on everyone she came into contact with, Porter said. I know a lot of people say the angels are in the sky and they watch over us, but sometimes we have them right here right here next to us every day, physically. And she was just that, Porter continued. She was just like a perfect angel. Another relative of Trinitys, Louisville Metro Councilman Jecorey Arthur, identified himself as her cousin on Twitter. In a Sunday tweet, Arthur pledged: I promise to change this city that has failed you. Another relative of Trinitys, Louisville Metro Councilman Jecorey Arthur, identified himself as her cousin on Twitter Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer called the deaths of Trinity and her father a 'terrible tragedy'. 'My heart breaks for the families of those impacted by the spike in violence we are seeing,' the mayor continued. 'LMPD is working every day to reduce this spike but they cannot do it alone. Public safety is something we co-produce, law enforcement and the community, and we need the communitys help to stop the shootings. If you see something say something.' Louisville is on pace to record it's deadliest year on record in 2020. Of the 97 so far killed in gun violence, the vast majority are aged 25 and under. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson and managing director of Biocon, announced in a tweet that she has tested positive for COVID-19. Taking to the social media platform, the billionaire entrepreneur said that she has developed mild symptoms. "I have added to the Covid count by testing positive. Mild symptoms n I hope it stays that way," Shaw said in a tweet. I have added to the Covid count by testing positive. Mild symptoms n I hope it stays that way. - Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (@kiranshaw) August 17, 2020 Replying to her tweet, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said, "So sorry to hear this, @KiranShaw. We need you hale & hearty soon! Be well my friend." Bengaluru-based Biocon's drug Itolizumab (ALZUMAb) has received drug regulator's approval for use in treatment of COVID-19 patients. Last month, the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) had given nod to the drug maker to market Itolizumab injection 25 mg/5 mL solution for emergency use in India for treating cytokine release syndrome (CRS) in moderate to severe ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) Covid patients. The company is reportedly conducting phase IV trials with Itolizumab and is also planning to ramp up production to meet growing demand in the country. Itolizumab is the world's first novel biologic therapy to be approved for treating patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 complications. As of August 17, Karnataka reported 2,33,283 COVID-19 positive cases, which includes 4,062 deaths and 1,48,562 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin. Bengaluru urban district tops the list of COVID-19 cases, with a total of 91,864 infections so far. Out of 6,317 fresh cases reported in the state on Monday, 2,053 cases were from Bengaluru urban alone. Also Read: Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agarwal tests positive for coronavirus Also Read: Former cricketer Chetan Chauhan passes away at 73; had tested positive for COVID-19 Experts have made differing predictions about the trend of the local stock market next week, saying it remained hard to forecast as price movements have been sensitive. The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock exchange (HoSE) lost 0.50 percent to end the August 14 session at 850.74 points. The index had gained 1.1 percent last week. An average of 278.3 million shares were traded on the southern exchange during each session last week, worth 4.6 trillion VND (199 million USD). The VN-Index is forecast to face correction pressure during early trading sessions next week. The index will receive support from 840 points, said Tran Xuan Bach, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co. Overall, we maintain our expectation that the index will soon break the upward resistance of 858-860 points and head toward the strong resistance of 878-883 points in the short term, he said. The market may fluctuate considerably next week with the maturity of August futures contracts. Besides, the review sessions of funds bench-marking MSCI Frontier Market Index will take place during the last weeks of August and possibly trigger wild fluctuations for blue-chip indices of their baskets, Bach said. According to Viet Dragon Securities Company, during August 14s trading session, indices rose at the beginning but could not keep their pace due to large profit-taking pressure. This showed that market could still correct and had yet to reach the balance. Investors should not rush to participate in the market to preserve accounts, the company said. Ngo Quoc Hung, senior analyst at MB Securities Co's market strategy department, said that from now until the end of this year, the stock market was still heavily dependent on the unpredictable developments of external elements such as the COVID-19 pandemic, US-China trade tensions and the US presidential election in November. With so many uncertain variables, it is too early to forecast a long-term recovery period for the market. Instead of making predictions, investors should prepare for different scenarios to respond in accordance with market developments, he said. Foreign traders continued their selling. On the HoSE, foreign investors net sold 208 billion VND on August 14, up 61 percent compared to the net selling value in the previous session. They have been net sellers for six consecutive sessions on HoSE with a total value of up to 832 billion VND. According to BIDV Securities Company, local investors should keep a close watch on the net selling activities of foreign investors. If this net selling trend continues with high volume while the global market experiences negative movements, the market will face significant pressure in the short run, it said. Last week, the oil and gas sector posted highest gains of 4.4 percent, with notable gainers of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (BSR), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Co (PVD) and Vietnam National Petroleum Group (PLX). Consumer service sector also outperformed with an increase of 3.2 percent. Banking sector rose by 2.4 percent. On the Hanoi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 0.54 percent to end August 14s session at 116.23 points. The northern market index had gained 3.06 percent last week. An average of 76.5 million shares were traded on the northern exchange during each session last week, worth 1.2 trillion VND./.VNS VN stock market grows rapidly in last 20 years As of the end of 2019, the capitalization value of the securities market at HCM City Stock Exchange (HOSE) had reached 3.28 million of billion of VND, or 54.3 percent of GDP with 2.3 million investors accounts. Campaigners have demanded that the UK adopts the double-test quarantine policy being adopted by Iceland from this week. Coronavirus cases in the sub-Arctic nation have been rising rapidly, and are now 50 per cent higher, relative to population, than the UK. As a result, everyone arriving in Iceland from Wednesday must quarantine for two weeks or take a two-test procedure to cut short self-isolation. Until now, most travellers have been tested for coronavirus on arrival and then been allowed to continue with their plans. But the government in Reykjavik now says all arriving passengers from 19 August should self-isolate for 14 days unless they agree to a double-testing procedure that cuts the time to five or six days, if the results are negative. Travellers are told: Those in travel-related quarantine who intend to get a second test done to shorten duration of quarantine will need to leave their base of quarantine for the second test but should return there after the test to await the result. The UK imposed blanket quarantine on all arrivals from 8 June, and relaxed it for low-risk nations from 9 July. But the requirement to self-isolate at home for two weeks has now been reimposed on arrivals from key holiday destinations including France, Spain, the Netherlands and Malta. Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, and former spokesman for the Quash Quarantine group, said: The UK quarantine policy is scarring the economy. It puts off people from travelling and booking ahead, or forces them to consider flouting the law in order to simply go back to work and earn money. Lets see fresh thinking and do what other countries, like Iceland, are doing a swab test on arrival at the airport at just 50, a mandatory five-day quarantine only, and then a second test free of charge which, if negative, means tourists and business travellers can then continue with their freedom to roam. What is the hurdle to doing that in the UK, with its far bigger infrastructure and testing capability than Iceland? Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Show all 20 1 /20 Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh Festival Fringe David Monteith Hodge Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Giant's Causeway Giant's Causeway Stuart Stevenson photography/Ge Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Stonehenge Stonehenge William Toti/500px Lonely Planet's UK Travelist British Museum British Museum Chaokai Shen/500px Lonely Planet's UK Travelist St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral Mark Chilvers/Lonely Planet Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Borough Market Borough Market Circle Creative Studio/Shutters Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall Dave Head/Shutterstock Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Lake Windermere Lake Windermere Daniel_Kay/Shutterstock Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Yorkshire Dales Yorkshire Dales ravellight/Shutterstock Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Glencoe Glencoe Helen Hotson/Shutterstock Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Punting in Cambridge Punting in Cambridge Premier Photo/Shutterstock Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Bath Bath alice-photo/Shutterstock Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Tate Modern Tate Modern chrisdorney/Shutterstock Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon Royal Shakespeare Theatre River Festival Lonely Planet's UK Travelist The Scilly Isles The Scilly Isles Julian Love/Lonely Planet Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Glastonbury Glastonbury Jason Bryant Lonely Planet's UK Travelist South Bank South Bank Tony C French/Getty Images Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Michael Roberts/Getty Images Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Pub roast Pub roast Diana Miller/Getty Images Lonely Planet's UK Travelist Arthur's Seat Arthur's Seat Martin McCarthy/Getty Images The government has said it does not believe there is a viable alternative to quarantine. It says only: You should apply for a test if you have the symptoms of coronavirus. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), which advises the government, has been considering a quarantine-and-test system that would cut the need to self-isolate to 10 days. The Sage group believes it would pick up 96 per cent of infected individuals. But many in the travel industry believe that business travellers and tourists will be uninterested in shaving a few days from quarantine, and will instead go out of their way to avoid the need to self-isolation by cutting back on journeys. Anyone keen to visit Iceland can fly there on Wednesday for 100 return on easyJet from Luton a round-trip of 2,320 miles. Facebook's handling of controversial political posts and advertisements has left the social media company facing scathing criticism from those in power and the Opposition A Wall Street Journal report that a top Facebook official turned a blind eye to hate speech by a BJP leader and three other Hindu nationalist individuals and groups to avoid damaging the social media platforms business prospects, has predictably caused a furore in India. Congress leader Rahul Gandi has alleged that the BJP and the RSS control Facebook and Whatsapp in the country and Shashi Tharoor, chairperson of the committee on Information Technology, has said that the committee "would certainly wish to hear" from Facebook. What's clear is that Facebook will, in the comings months, face increased scrutiny in India, for what it does and, more importantly, what it doesn't do. But this isn't the first time that the social media company has found itself in hot water. Be it India, United States, Sri Lanka or the Philippines, Facebook's handling of controversial political posts and advertisements has left the social media company facing scathing criticism, seen sponsors leave in droves, fomented internal revolts and increased scrutiny from regulators. United States As per this Washington Post piece, the genesis of Facebook's approach to controversial political speech came in 2015, when company executives declined to remove a post of then US presidential candidate Donald Trump calling for a ban on Muslims entering the country. Mounting outrage caused the company to call a meet in which employees slammed the post as hate speech. In the meetings that followed, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg professed to be 'disgusted' by it and wanted it removed, as the the report. The company, after considering a slew of options, ultimately decided to carve out an exception for political speech which would take into account "newsworthy political discourse" when deciding if post violated community guidelines, as per the report. But it is Zuckerberg's insistence that his company 'will not be an arbiter of truth' and its stated policy of not fact-checking political advertisements in the United States and elsewhere that has been the cause of much outrage. In October 2019, Facebook refused to take down a video advert from Trump's reelection campaign that accused former vice-president Joe Biden, without any evidence, of corruption in his role in the Obama administration's Ukraine policy. That same month, in the midst of a heated battle for the Democratic nomination for president, Senator Elizabeth Warren, to prove a point, ran ads on Facebook that falsely claimed that Zuckerburg had endorsed Trump's reelection for president. And after Green New Deal champion Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grilled Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on whether his site would allow such ads that falsely claimed Republicans had endorsed the Green New Deal, a left-leaning political group did exactly that, targetting Trump ally and staunch Republican Lindsey Graham. Facebook, after mounting pressure to avoid a repeat of the 2016 election where it is thought to have had an impact in spreading fake news and influencing voters, has recently begun pushing back, although in fits and starts. On 6 August, Facebook for the first time took down a Trump post claiming that children are "immune" to the coronavirus. After Trump supporters put out doctored videos of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Facebook declined to take them down, although it labelled one clip 'partly false'. In July, Facebook refused to take down a post which claimed to show violence in the United States but was actually from a 2014 pro-democracy protest in Ukraine. In May, when Trump warned those protesting the death of George Floyd by saying "when the looting starts, the shooting starts", a phrase from the civil rights era with racist connotations, Zuckerberg explained why Facebook would not take down his post even as top company executives dialled the White House to ask Trump to tone down his language. While this is at least a start, critics are far from satisfied. NBC's report last year that Trump and Zuckerberg had dined together at the White House caused many eyebrows to be raised. I believe they have a deal, said Roger McNamee, an early Facebook investor told The New York Times. He added that it was probably implied rather than explicit. Zuckerberg recently denied any such claim. "Ive heard this speculation, too, so let me be clear: There's no deal of any kind," Zuckerberg told Axios. "Actually, the whole idea of a deal is pretty ridiculous." But Facebook's efforts pale in comparison to Twitter which in May began fact-checking Trump's claims that mail-in voting would be "substantially fraudulent" and labelling them as unsubstantiated and even hid the Trump's Minnesota tweet for "glorifying violence." Facebook has also been in the eye of the storm elsewhere in the world for its reticence to act on controversial political posts and curb the spread of misinformation, most notably Sri Lanka and The Philippines. Sri Lanka Ahead of the 2019 presidential election in Sri Lanka, Facebook came under fire from civil society groups for refusing to, what else, fact check politicians in advertisements. The Guardian reported that an official Facebook page affiliated with Gotabaya Rajapaksa, then the candidate of the Sri Lanka Peoples Front and now prime minister, promoted a post featuring misinformation that had been deemed false by AFP Sri Lanka. As per the report, some Sinhala language posts used photographs of Buddhist statues lying on the ground to suggest that Muslim extremists had razed a Sri Lankan heritage site after which AFP confirmed with the temple's chief monk that no such attack had occurred. The post was not removed. In 2018, authorities imposed an island-wide blockout on facebook Facebook after incendiary posts by Buddhist hardliners fanned religious violence that left three dead and reduced hundreds of mosques, homes, and businesses to ashes. "We did make mistakes and we were slow," Facebook spokesperson Amrit Ahuja admitted. The dearth of staff fluent in Sinhala the language spoken by Sri Lanka's largest ethnic group compounded the issue, with government officials and activists saying the oversight allowed extremist content to flourish undetected on the platform. Ahuja said Facebook was committed to hiring more Sinhala speakers but declined to say how many were currently employed in Sri Lanka. The Philippines In The Philippines, where Facebook is ubiquitous (an estimated 97 percent of the populace with access to the internet have accounts) and smartphones outnumber people, President Rodrigo Duterte has weaponised the platform to slander his opponents and push his deadly war on drugs. Duterte's supporters have propagated several false narratives on his behalf, including a fake endorsement from the Pope, no less. His supporters also targetted a prominent senator and human rights activist who was investigating his extrajudicial killings and and claimed the country's chief justice tried to flee the country to escape the impeachment complaint. That Senator, Leila De Lima, found herself later arrested and imprisoned on drug charges after Duterte's supporters tried to falsely implicate her in a sex scandal. Until we find an effective way to counter the misinformation problem in the Philippines, Leila de Lima wrote to BuzzFeed News from Camp Crame, where she is imprisoned, we cannot hope to repair the damage [its] already caused and to ensure it can never hijack our democratic way of life again. Facebook, on its part, has chalked up an aspect of the problem in The Philippines to the country's unfamiliarity with the internet and has only deepened its ties with the Duterte regime. But with the 2020 US election drawing closer, the spotlight on the social media company is only likely to get brighter. With inputs from agencies BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 16 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Belgium amounted to $185.4 million over first five months of 2020, compared to $143.6 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee. The share of Belgium in total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover was 0.5 percent during the reporting period of 2020 which is compared to 0.4 percent during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export to Belgium amounted to $141.4 million over the period from January through May 2020, compared to $53.9 million during the same period of 2019. Belgiums share in total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to less than 0.6 percent during the reporting period of 2020 which is compared to 0.4 percent during the same period of 2019. In turn, Kazakhstans import from Belgium amounted to $43.9 million over the reporting period compared to $53.9 million during the same period of 2019. Belgiums total share in Kazakhstans import was 0.3 percent during the reporting period of 2020 which is compared to 0.4 percent during the same period of 2019. The total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover amounted to $34.9 billion over the period from Jan. through May 2020 which indicates a decrease from $37.5 billion during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export amounted to $22.3 billion during the reporting period of 2020 ($23.6 billion in the same period of 2019), whereas import amounted to $12.6 billion ($13.9 billion). --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Claire Shulman, who became the first woman to rise to Queens borough president, taking office when her predecessor and boss resigned in a corruption scandal, then won election after election over 16 years as she sought to restore the offices integrity, died on Sunday at her home in Beechhurst, Queens. She was 94. Her longtime friend Nicholas Garaufis said the cause was lung cancer. Ms. Shulman was the deputy to Donald R. Manes, the borough president for 14 years and one of New Yorks most powerful politicians, when he resigned in February 1986 in the wake of scandal and a suicide attempt. He had been found in his car bleeding heavily from self-inflicted slashes on his wrist and leg in January. When Mr. Manes resigned, he had been unmasked as a central figure in what turned out to be the biggest municipal corruption scandal in New York City in decades. The Manes ring had pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from companies doing business with the citys Parking Violations Bureau. Ms. Shulman, a fellow Democrat who had been Mr. Maness deputy since 1980, was chosen by the Queens members of the City Council as the interim president for the rest of the year. Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday (August 17) said that she doesn't want any construction to take place at Visva Bharati, asking the police to convene a meeting with the stakeholders in this regard. She said, "Visva Bharati is a central university. I don't want any construction there which will spoil nature's beauty. I request the vice-chancellor to consult the DM and SP. There should no such things in Bengal which will destroy the culture and heritage of Bengal." Mamata Banerjee made this statement in the wake of trouble that erupted at Visva-Bharati today as a large number of people ransacked the university's properties to protest the construction of a boundary wall at the Pous Mela ground. The protest broke out as the university authorities reportedly decided to build a fence around the ground, where the 'Pous Mela' (winter fair) is held every year. This year, however, the fair stands cancelled. "The governor had called me. We had a discussion over the violence that took place on the ground. I told him that Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore founded it with a vision to celebrate different festivals... I also told him that I don't want any construction to take place on that ground," she told media persons. Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar earlier expressed concern that the law and order situation at the Visva Bharati University was alarming. In a tweet, he said, "Just had a word with Chief Minister over Visva Bharati worsening law and order scenario. She has assured that the administration will take all steps to restore law and order. Am sure those enjoined with the task will rise to the occasion." Prior to this tweet, the Governor said: "The situation of law and order in Visva Bharati is alarming. I am trying to be in touch with CM to secure peace in the temple of learning. As per the VC violators of law have entered the campus and destroyed property. The Cabinet Secretary (CS), Home Secretary (HS), District Magistrate (DM) and Superintendent of Police (SP), CM Mamata Banerjee have not responded to call of Visva Bharati." Meanwhile, the university was shut down indefinitely following violent protests against the varsity's decision to construct a boundary wall around the venue of Poush Mela, a prestigious annual cultural event started more than a century ago. Earlier in the day, there was an uproar in the university over the construction of a wall near the Mela ground. Protestors had allegedly damaged some structures. By ANI NEW DELHI: A day after the BJP accused the Facebook of removing 700 pages aligned to a nationalist narrative before 2019 polls, the social media group responded by saying it does not allow speech and content inciting violence. On Sunday, the BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya had claimed that the BJP and the 'wider conservative ecosystem' was not aligned to Facebook as the latter removed 700 pages related to a nationalist narrative in the run-up to the 2019 general elections. "We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence and we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyone's political position or party affiliation. While we know there is more to do, we're making progress on enforcement and conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy," Facebook''s spokesperson said on Monday. READ| Prasad, Rahul clash on report over Facebook ignoring hate speech rules in India Accusing the US-based social media company of removing 700 pages before last year's Lok Sabha polls, Malviya had said, while speaking to ANI, "It is ludicrous to suggest that the BJP and the wider conservative ecosystem is aligned to Facebook. In fact, the reverse is true. In the run-up to the 2019 general elections, Facebook removed 700 pages. Most of them were aligned to a nationalist narrative". "The communities that they have taken down after that is also fairly large. There is no redressal whatsoever. Therefore to suggest that Facebook is aligned to BJP is absolutely untrue," he added. He went on to accuse Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi of hate speech. "As far as hate speech is concerned, Sonia Gandhi is at the forefront. Her divisive speech resulted in wide-scale rioting, death and destruction in the national capital. If Facebook has to address hate speech, they have to start with Sonia Gandhi," he had said. Earlier on Sunday, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had accused the BJP and the RSS of controlling the Facebook and Whatsapp in the country. "BJP and RSS control Facebook and Whatsapp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," Rahul Gandhi he had tweeted on Sunday citing a media report. Environmental regulators in Wisconsin has voted to table rules setting new restrictions on firefighting foam containing PFAS chemicals. The Department of Natural Resources policy board made the decision in a unanimous vote, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. The department has estimated local governments and businesses would have to spend about $2.3 million annually to comply with the regulations on containment and disposal of the chemicals amid objections from industry groups and Republican lawmakers. The department drafted the regulations in response to a law that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed in February that bans the use of firefighting foam except in emergencies and testing at facilities with DNR-approved containment and disposal protocols. The law goes into effect Sept. 1 and requires the department to enact emergency regulations by Sept. 7. With the regulations tabled, the law will go into effect without definitions of containment and disposal measures. Business groups including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and the Wisconsin Paper Council sent the board a letter claiming the DNR doesnt have the authority to limit PFAS in wastewater and departments effluent limits arent based on science. State Sen. Steve Nass and Rep. Joan Ballweg, Republicans who co-chair the Legislatures rules committee, echoed those concerns. DNR Secretary Preston Cole told the board that the department would begin discussions with industry stakeholders immediately. PFAS are human-made chemicals that research suggests can decrease female fertility, increase the risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women and lower birth weights. The chemicals have been used for decades in a range of products, including firefighting foam, nonstick cookware, fast-food wrappers and stain-resistant sprays. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Wisconsin Chemicals International No country has right to speak on behalf of Palestinians: Mahmoud Abbas RAMALLAH, AUG 17 (IANS) | Publish Date: 8/17/2020 1:20:50 PM IST Neither the United Arab Emirates (UAE) nor any other country has the right to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people, President Mahmoud Abbas said. During a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Abbas on Sunday warned that if any other Arab country takes a similar step, Palestine will take the same position that they have taken towards the UAE, reports Xinhua news agency. Abbas stressed his refusal to use the Palestinian issue as an excuse for normalization with Israel, noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explicitly confirmed the annexation plan is still on the table. The Palestinian President also reaffirmed rejection of the US Middle East peace deal. For his part, Macron expressed his deep understanding of the position of Palestinians. However, Macron said that his country welcomed the August 13 tripartite agreement between the UAE, Israel and the US because it would push the peace process forward in the region, stressing the need to reach a political solution under the two-state solution and international law. He also invited Abbas to visit Paris to complete consultations on the overall situation related to the Palestinian issue.Abbas accepted the invitation. Also on Sunday, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, presidential spokesman, told reporters that the Palestinian leadership will adopt a robust foreign policy against the accord. In the upcoming days, the Palestinian leadership will adopt an important foreign political movement to confront any step arising from the UAE-Israeli normalization agreement. The normalization between the two sides is a violation against the Palestinians rights as well as Jerusalem. It breaks the Arab Peace Initiative, he said. On August 13, Israel and the UAE reached the historic agreement to work towards a full normalization of relations. As part of the agreement, Israel will suspend the annexation of Palestinian lands in the occupied West Bank, while it focuses on expanding ties with other Arab countries with other nations in the Muslim world. The UAE and Israel will also immediately expand and accelerate cooperation regarding the treatment of and the development of a vaccine for coronavirus. The Israel-UAE deal marks the first diplomatic ties between Israel and a Gulf country in 25 years. The UAE is the third Arab country that has official relations with Israel. Widespread rain likely to increase in West Bengal, Sikkim, parts of UP for 5 days Gujarat gets 95% of long average rainfall of 30 years; Sept wetter than last 3 months combined Light to moderate rain to shower on parts of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Aug 17: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday informed that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi. In its statement, the IMD said, "Thunderstorm with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas of Agra, Barsana, Garhmukteswar, Hastinapur, Khatoli, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Bijnor, Chandpur during next two hours." Sabarimala temple reopens for five-day monthly prayer, devotees not allowed due to Covid-19 The IMD also said that thunderstorms with light to moderate intensity rain would occur over and adjoining areas at isolated places of Delhi, Gurugram, Manesar, Bijnor, Chandpur during next two hours. Meanwhile, a 19-year-old girl died and four of her family members were injured after the wall of their house collapsed due to rainfall in Bolangir district. The flood has grappled Kendrapada, Malkangiri, Dhenkanal and other districts due to an active southwest monsoon. According to reports, Deepanjali Baralendia, a 19-year-old girl of Ghunaghutipali village under Patnagarh block of Bolangir district, was sleeping with her parents and two brothers when the mud wall of their house gave in. Deepanjali, her parents and siblings were injured in the incident; she later succumbed to her injuries while being taken to hospital. Patnagarh tehsildar Puspanjali Panda said the district saw 78.3 mm in the last 24 hours. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, August 17, 2020, 10:17 [IST] Web Toolbar by Wibiya The on-going 5G Auto-Immune Disease shutdown has adversely affected everyones economic standing. Its no secret that by the time this health crisis comes to an end, the world will be left grappling with an unprecedented economic crisis. Faced with this ugly truth, Business2community maintains that businesses can choose one of two ways to deal with the present reality. For one they can curl up in fear, resign themselves to fate and wait to rebuild whatever is left of their business by the end of this health crisis. Alternatively, businesses can fight to keep their head above water by restrategizing and formulating new policies that are more suited for a period such as this. Many business owners have already adapted their business strategies by working with firms such as AgoraPublishing.com and Starpage.ca to set up their online businesses. Others are still having a hard to adapting their business strategies to suit the internet. Business2community reached out to several business owners asking for tips and advice on how businesses can emerge from this storm bigger and stronger. The following are tried and tested solutions suggested by business owners: Keep clients informed on whatever youre doing. According to serial entrepreneur, Enstine Muki, if you have taken measures to protect your employees such as working from home or closing your doors to walk-in customers, then you must let your customers know about these measures. If your business can afford it, offer free services, discounts and other special considerations to potential and existing customers who might be going through rough times at the moment. Pay attention to your emails as you can expect to get a flood of enquiries from new and existing clients who cannot leave the house. Delays in responding to customer queries might have them going to your competitors. In everything you do, ensure that your business is following the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and that Government regulations are closely followed. Use this opportunity to market your business while competition is low According to Chad Hill, CMO of Hill and Ponton law, now is the time to market, market, market. Hill says that because the competition is currently low, you must use this time to sell yourself to the customer. Dont market by shoving your products down customers throat; rather you should give your customers exactly what they need to get through these tough times which is some encouragement and ways to cope with the shutdown. Finally, he advises business owners to utilize online collaboration tools like Monday.com, Google Docs, Zoom, and the likes to keep your business running despite social distancing. Organize Events Stefan Debois, CEO and Founder of Survey Anyplace says the best way to keep your teams spirits up is by organizing digital events to spark the team spirit of the whole company. This could be an after-work drinking event thatd be held behind your computer screen rather than in the local bar or you could organize an online game, a pop quiz, a game to get to know your colleagues better, the list is endless. Of course, while organizing virtual social events, you should ensure they dont clash with business hours so thatyour teams stay on top of your business. Finally Many businesses who had earlier on stood up to the task of tackling this shutdown situation are already starting to see some success for instance, educational institutions and training centres, even gyms, all of which quickly switched to offering online classes, have started to reap the benefits of their wisdom. Theres no use waiting to see what happens tomorrow, do what you can right now, to ensure your business remains alive once this virus has been defeated for good. By AFP SYDNEY: Children will be banned from playing the recorder and singing in school choirs across Australia's most populous state in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus, authorities said Monday. With infections hitting several Sydney schools, authorities in New South Wales moved to prohibit choirs and wind ensembles from Wednesday. "All group singing and/or other chanting activities, as well as the use of wind instruments in group settings, are not permitted," the local education authority said. That includes the recorder -- a gateway to instrument playing for many small children -- while dancing will also be off-limits. "School formals, dances, graduation or other social events are not permitted," the New South Wales education department added. Although public schools in Sydney and the rest of New South Wales have reopened after initial lockdowns, authorities said the new measures would help them operate in the "safest ways possible". Australia is currently battling to contain a number of coronavirus outbreaks after months of near-zero local transmission. The country's second-largest city, Melbourne, is in lockdown and still reporting hundreds of new cases daily, although the number is decreasing. Many of Melbourne's infections have been linked to aged care homes -- where death rates are rising following a peak in cases over the last two weeks. Australia has recorded more than 23,000 cases of COVID-19 and 421 fatalities so far in the pandemic. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (August 17, 2020) -- Switching off a molecular "master regulator" may protect the brain from inflammatory damage and neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, reports a study published today in Nature Neuroscience. The study is the first of its kind and points to an entirely new avenue for developing therapies that preserve vulnerable brain cells in Parkinson's disease. Currently, there are no effective ways to prevent Parkinson's or to slow or stop its progression. "One of the biggest challenges in treating Parkinson's, other than the lack of therapies that impede disease progression, is that the disease has already laid waste to significant portions of the brain by the time it is diagnosed," said Viviane Labrie, Ph.D., an associate professor at Van Andel Institute and the study's senior author. "If we can find a way to protect critical brain cells from Parkinson's-related damage early on, we could potentially delay or even prevent symptom onset." The study centers on a "master regulator" of the epigenome called TET2, an enzyme that is responsible for managing the types of chemical marks that annotate DNA and affect gene activity. These marks -- specifically their type and the pattern in which they're applied -- determine how and when the instructions in genes are used without changing the genes themselves. Labrie and her colleagues analyzed the brains of people with Parkinson's alongside healthy controls. They found TET2 was overactive in Parkinson's disease and that epigenetic dysfunction linked to altered TET2 affected genes involved in the reactivation of the cell cycle and a heightened immune response. While restarting the cell cycle is normal for other cells types, it is fatal to neurons. At the same time, their findings in the mouse brain showed reducing Tet2 activity protects neurons from inflammatory insults and the subsequent neurodegeneration that is a hallmark of Parkinson's. Using a model of infection that results in a loss of dopamine neurons relevant to Parkinson's, the team also found that Tet2 inactivation suppressed pro-inflammatory gene activity, brain immune cell activation and the eventual death of neurons triggered by inflammation. Taken together, their findings suggest that calming TET2 activity may one day be a powerful preventative measure. In the future, such a strategy could be employed after a person experiences a major inflammatory event, such as an infection, to alleviate residual inflammation without interfering with its normal, healthy role in the body. "Parkinson's is a complex disease with a range of triggers. Temporarily reducing TET2 activity could be one way to interfere with multiple contributors to the disease, especially inflammatory events, and protect the brain from loss of dopamine-producing cells" Labrie said. "More work is needed before a TET2-based intervention can be developed, but that it is a new and a promising avenue that we already are exploring." ### Authors include Lee Marshall, Ph.D., Elizabeth Ensink, Peipei Li, Ph.D., Katie Li, Wei Cui, Ph.D., Noah Lubben, Xinhe Wang, Juozas Gordevicius, Ph.D., and Gerhard A. Coetzee, Ph.D., of VAI; Matthew Weiland and Stefan Jovinge, M.D., Ph.D., of the DeVos Cardiovascular Research Program, a joint effort between VAI and Spectrum Health; Bryan Killinger, Ph.D., of Rush Medical College; and Jiyan Ma, Ph.D., formerly of VAI. The VAI Flow Cytometry Core, Genomics Core, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, Pathology and Biorepository Core and Vivarium and Transgenics Core; and the CAHM Sequencing Facility supported this work. Brain tissue was provided by the Parkinson's UK Brain Bank, the NIH NeuroBioBank and the Michigan Brain Bank. The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014 is the awarding and administering acquisition office. This work was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs' Parkinson's Research Program under Award No. W81XWH1810512 (Labrie). Opinions, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations are those of the author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Department of Defense. In conducting research using animals, the investigators adhere to the laws of the United States and regulations of the Department of Agriculture. Animal research at VAI is conducted in accordance with the National Institutes of Health's Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. VAI also is accredited by AAALAC International. This work also was supported by a VAI Innovation Award (Labrie). Labrie also has awards from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health and Michigan State University through the Gibby & Friends vs. Parky Parkinson's Disease Research Award. ABOUT VAN ANDEL INSTITUTE Van Andel Institute (VAI) is committed to improving the health and enhancing the lives of current and future generations through cutting edge biomedical research and innovative educational offerings. Established in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1996 by the Van Andel family, VAI is now home to more than 400 scientists, educators and support staff, who work with a growing number of national and international collaborators to foster discovery. The Institute's scientists study the origins of cancer, Parkinson's and other diseases and translate their findings into breakthrough prevention and treatment strategies. Our educators develop inquiry-based approaches for K-12 education to help students and teachers prepare the next generation of problem-solvers, while our Graduate School offers a rigorous, research-intensive Ph.D. program in molecular and cellular biology. Learn more at vai.org. Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is scheduled to table a cabinet meeting today where a possible cabinet reshuffle could be discussed, according to media reports. Oli has reportedly asked all the cabinet ministers as well as the ministers of state to attend the meeting this afternoon, where he is expected to inform them about the possible reshuffle. As per reports, no list has been prepared yet regarding which Minister or how many ministers will be replaced, Prime Minister Oli would just inform his colleagues about the issue today. Read: Nepal PM KP Oli Hospitalised After Complaining Of Chest Pains; Discharged After Check-up According to ANI, an official from Oli's office informed the agency that Prime Minister has asked the Secretariat members to include the topic amongst the agendas to be discussed today so that he could inform his ministers about the issue and ask them to prepare for the reshuffle. The cabinet meeting will reportedly take place at the Prime Minister's residence in Baluwatar at around 4 pm. As per reports, Oli has been discussing the reshuffle with close aides at the party. Media reports suggest that a Secretariat meeting of Nepal Communist Party was held this morning at around 9:30 am. Read: Shiv Sena Slams KP Oli For 'Ayodhya In Nepal' Remark, Asks 'did Your Ancestor Trick Babur' Tensions within NCP As per reports, everything is not well in the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) as members, including party chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, are upset with Prime Minister Oli and his unilateral decision-making habit. Last month a meeting between Prime Minister Oli and Dahal was held at the former's residence amid speculations that the ruling Nepal Communist Party is heading towards a split. Several party members had recently called for Oli's resignation after his controversial statements involving India and Hindu deity Lord Ram. Read: Nepal PM KP Oli Dials PM Modi, Extends Greetings On 74th Independence Day Read: Nepal: Meeting Between PM KP Oli, Prachanda Ends Without Conclusion (Image/inputs: ANI) A first-of-its-kind study from the University of Surrey finds that car users from the worlds least affluent cities are exposed to a disproportionate amount of in-car air pollution because they rely heavily on opening their windows for ventilation. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution kills an estimated seven million people worldwide every year, and nine out of 10 people breathe air with high levels of pollutants. In a study published by the Science of the Total Environment journal, a global team of researchers led by Surreys Global Centre for Clean Air Research (GCARE) investigated air pollution exposure levels for commuters in 10 different global cities -- Dhaka (Bangladesh), Chennai (India), Guangzhou (China), Medellin (Colombia), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Cairo (Egypt), Sulaymaniyah (Iraq), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Blantyre (Malawi), and Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania). The research team investigated PM2.5 and PM10 exposure levels inside vehicles during peak hours in the morning and evening, as well as off-peak hours in the middle of the day. The scientists measured how exposure levels changed when drivers used recirculation systems, fans, and simply opened the windows. The study discovered that drivers in some of the worlds poorest cities experienced higher levels of in-car pollution. Irrespective of the city and car model used, a windows-open setting showed the highest exposure, followed by fan-on and recirculation. Pollution exposure for windows-open during off-peak hours was 91 per cent and 40 per cent less than morning and evening peak hours, respectively. The study also found that the windows-open setting exposed car passengers to hotspots of air pollution for up to a third of the total travel length. The study found that commuters who turn on the recirculation are exposed to around 80 per cent less harmful particles than those who open their car windows. Car cabin filters were more effective in removing pollution than fine particles, suggesting that if new cars had more efficient filters, it could reduce the overall exposure of car commuters. Professor Prashant Kumar, Director of GCARE at the University of Surrey, said: To be blunt, we need as many cars as possible off the road, or more green vehicles to reduce air pollution exposure. This is yet a distant dream in many ODA countries. Air-conditioned cars are unattainable for many poor and vulnerable commuters across the world, but our data is clear and coherent for all 10 participating cities. We must now work with our global partners to make sure they have the information needed to put in place programmes, policies and strategies to protect the most vulnerable in our communities and find realistic solutions to these serious problems. Professor Abdus Salam from the University of Dhaka said: The study has drawn important conclusions that can help commuters make decisions in their day-to-day lives to protect their health. Simple choices, like travelling during off-peak hours, can go a long way in reducing their exposure to air pollution. Professor Adamson S Muula from the University of Malawi said: Working with the GCARE team and global collaborators on this study have been an insightful experience. We were given access to affordable technology to collect novel datasets that havent been available for cities in this part of the world. We also got to see where our cities stand in comparison to other global cities in developing countries. This has allowed for the sharing of much-needed knowledge and best practices. Professor David Sampson, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Surrey, said: I commend Professor Kumar and his GCARE team for their continued global leadership in air quality challenges around the world. The collaborative research of the GCARE team represents best in class, taking evidence from quality science and turning it into a leading-edge policy for the betterment of all. The study was part of the Clean Air Engineering for Cities (CArE-Cities) project. CArE-Cities is a seed funding project, awarded by the University of Surrey under the Research Englands Global Challenge Research Funds. CArE-Cities involves 11 Development Assistance Committee (DAC) listed countries and aspires to bring cleaner air to cities by building a knowledge exchange platform. Its activities include joint workshops, researchers exchange and pilot studies to address urban development and health impact assessment agendas in ODA countries. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter LITTLETON, Colo., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ur-Energy Inc. (NYSE American: URG) (TSX: URE), announces that its Chairman, Jeffrey Klenda, will present at the LD 500 Virtual Conference hosted by LD Micro. The LD 500 will take place September 1 4, 2020. Jeffrey Klenda, Chairman and CEO of Ur-Energy, will present at the conference, providing an overview of UrEnergy's operations and business and an update on the uranium markets. He will be available to participate in one-on-one meetings with qualified investors who are registered to attend the conference. Presentation time: September 2, 2020 at 11:40 a.m. ET / 8:40 a.m. PT. Registration is required to listen to the presentation and/or to schedule a meeting with Mr. Klenda. Please register here: https://ld-micro-conference.events.issuerdirect.com/. View Ur-Energy's profile for the conference here: http://www.ldmicro.com/profile/URG. For more information on the conference or to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Mr. Klenda, please contact David Scher at [email protected] or visit https://ld-micro-conference.events.issuerdirect.com/ for additional information. About Ur-Energy Ur-Energy is a uranium mining company operating the Lost Creek in-situ recovery uranium facility in south-central Wyoming. We have produced, packaged and shipped approximately 2.6 million pounds U 3 O 8 from Lost Creek since the commencement of operations. Applications are under review by various agencies to incorporate our LC East project area into the Lost Creek permits and to construct and operate at our Shirley Basin Project. Ur-Energy is engaged in uranium mining, recovery and processing activities, including the acquisition, exploration, development and operation of uranium mineral properties in the United States. Shares of UrEnergy trade on the NYSE American under the symbol "URG" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "URE." Ur-Energy's corporate office is in Littleton, Colorado; its registered office is in Ottawa, Ontario. Ur-Energy's website is www.ur-energy.com. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Jeffrey Klenda, Chair and CEO 8669814588 [email protected]energy.com SOURCE Ur-Energy Inc. Related Links http://www.ur-energy.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 16 By Fidan Babayeva Trend: Investme - Azerbaijani online search portal on investments has been launched, the project's manager Emin Sultanov told Trend. "The mechanism of work is quite simple. Following the registration, purchase requests are made, and the Investme representative contacts the investor to confirm the purchase of shares," he said. Sultanov said that the platform doesn't allow automatic purchases at this stage, although the purchase itself is carried out online. "In the near future, well implement automatic verification of the buyer and purchase without phone confirmation," the manager said. The official launch of the portal is scheduled for the end of the week. Investme was initially set up by BTB Kapital Investment company. "For now, work is underway to select more shares, which will be exhibited at the portal in the first place," Sultanov said. Speaking about the volume of investments in this project, Sultanov stressed that over 1 million manat [$590,000] was invested in it. "We work with existing legal entities. These are companies that are engaged in construction, sale of goods and other services," he said. "I would also like to note that the demand for financing start-ups has grown, and we are taking measures to create conditions for meeting it." "We receive inquiries from foreign investors who want to invest in Azerbaijani projects and companies, so we hold negotiations and mull legal issues," Sultanov said. "The main conditions for using Investme are are business planning and transparency of accounting. These are important conditions, as investors want to know into which projects their investments are made and which shares are worth to buy," Sultanov concluded. (1 USD = 1.7 AZN on July 1) --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Fidan_Babaeva WARSAW Poland is monitoring the situation on its border with Belarus, as the Belarusian army plans to hold drills this week in the Grodno region bordering Poland and Lithuania, Deputy Defence Minister Wojciech Skurkiewicz said on Monday. Longtime Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko is struggling to contain a wave of mass protests and strikes that pose the biggest challenge to his 26-year-old rule. Belarusians chanting Step down!" in the capital Minsk on Sunday staged the biggest protest so far against what they said was Lukashenkos fraudulent re-election a week ago. Over the weekend Russias RIA news agency reported that the Belarusian army plans to hold drills over Aug. 17-20 near the countrys nuclear plant and in the Grodno region, while Lukashenko said that an air assault brigade would move to Belarus Western border. Lukashenko said earlier that he was concerned with the NATO military exercises being conducted in Poland and Lithuania, which he sees as an arms build-up. NATO dismissed the allegations by Lukashenko but said it was closely monitoring the situation following his contested re-election. Neither Poland nor other Western European countries will get caught up in the intrigue Lukashenko is trying to plot," Skurkiewicz told public radio. We are looking at what is happening in Belarus, just like all NATO countries, and we will also look at what happens at our borders. We will not be passive in this observation," Skurkiewicz also said. Polish officials have been discussing the situation in Belarus with the EU and the United States. Poland said that potential EU sanctions on Belarus should only be imposed on individuals responsible for the use of force and for organising the election, which Warsaw believes will need to be repeated. Polands Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Dziennik Gazeta Prawna daily that the EU should not impose sanctions on Belarus without presenting the country an alternative to its close ties with Russia. Of course this is not about immediately including Belarus into the orbit of EU associated countries, as it is too early for it However, Belarus needs to havethe possibility of real cooperation with the EU countries," Jablonski said in an interview published on Monday. 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 Edward Snowden is the American whistleblower who copied and leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013, when he was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee and subcontractor. He has since been in exile in Russia since escaping the United States in the same year. Trump changes his mind In the past, President Donald Trump had previously called for the execution of Edward Snowden and now he is suggesting granting a pardon for the 37-year-old: I am going to take a look at that very strongly, said Trump during a news conference in Bedminster, New Jersey. Trump told The New York Post that many people think he [Snowden] should somehow be treated differently and others think he did very bad things, with people on the left and right divided over granting a pardon as some see him as a hero while others as a traitor. Snowden downloaded 1.5 million files when he was working at the NSA contractor based in Hawaii before leaving for Hong Kong where he shared all the information with a journalist. After that interview Snowden fled to Russia where he was granted asylum. Snowden welcomes Trumps consideration "The last time we heard a White House considering a pardon was 2016, when the very same Attorney General who once charged me conceded that, on balance, my work in exposing the NSA's unconstitutional system of mass surveillance had been 'a public service, tweeted Snowden on Friday. Towards the end of 2016, then President Barack Obama said he wouldnt consider a pardon until Edward Snowden stopped running from the law and back then Donald Trump tweeted that he was a traitor and that he should be executed. In todays world, technology is an essential thing that keeps us moving forward. Instead, without technology, we would not have known the ease of life. In the modern-day sphere, technology is leading the world, and we will be small wheels. Here are the investors who are thinking about investing in technology. If you have profit in mind, then you are in the right place. But before you invest in any technology, you will have to understand whether you will be able to pull in forward. Before I share with you the list of technologies that you can think about investing in, you must understand how that technology works. Suppose you want to invest in AI you have to make sure that you are doing your research in this field. Before you start with anything, say a new bank account, you must research to find out if it suits you. Hence the research and the quest for your benefit are most important here. If you think you have enough data, you can master anything within a couple of years. Here are a few possible investments in technology that you can opt for when you invest. Top Investments in Technology Many new budding technologies will attract your attention to investing in these fields. But all of them will not be fruitful for you; this is the reason when you research. Further, you can find out where your interest truly lies. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Artificial Intelligence is everywhere you look at, from Facebook to Gmail. In Facebook, the bot that recognizes your friends in your picture, the bot that separates important mail from spam are done through AI. But when you mix machine learning with AI, you get even better results. This means that AI will be performing to automate your tasks or make it easy for you. But with machine learning the AI bot will be able record the customer data and their behaviour against the same. After this process when that AI interacts behalf of that same issue again it will have newer and better options. Hence, if you want to make profit you can consider investing in the AI and machine learning industry, say for making smart bots like Siri and Alexa. Cryptocurrencies The cryptocurrencies are gaining popularity steadily, and people are putting their faith in this technology. Well, not only cryptocurrency but also blockchain technology has also gained fame, and many industries want to incorporate blockchain into their systems. Yes, there are many cryptocurrencies that you can invest in, such as bitcoin, ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, bitcoin cash, and more. Use bitcoin-profitapp.com for getting trading and earn in millions. But remember t research before you invest, find out which option will be best for you. In case you have a company, and it deals with many connections, like a supply chain, then blockchain is your go-to technology. Industries are researching how they will use blockchain in different ways. For starters, you can use it as a ledger (what it truly is) and keep your contacts in the blocks that are easily trackable. 3D Printing Every passing day is introducing us with something new; one of them is 3D printing. Many have already invested in 3D printing and are integrating it with ai so that 3D printing could build by itself, as AI guides. Many such investors have built bridges and houses using 3D printing technology. From the outside, it might not look like a significant investment. But considering the reduced time for building elements and rapid production pace, it is an invaluable investment option. If you study further, you will understand all about it; then, you can make your investment wisely. Watching a machine build you a bridge must be very exciting. Conclusion I hope from this article that you were able to highlight the investment that will suit your investment requirements. Once you are satisfied only then, invest and proceed forward with your plan. There are other technologies, like apps, software, etc. that you can think about investing in, but this list has the top performers. Nicolae Marius Marginean was appointed Monday as director general of the "Horia Hulubei" National Research & Development Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering (IFIN-HH) in lieu of academician Nicolae Zamfir, by order of Minister of Education and Research Monica Anisie, the Ministry said in a release. "The decision stays in effect until a contest is organised to fill the position, but no longer than six months. During this period, Marginean will also serve as chairman of the Board of Directors," the Minister of Education and Research states. Prior to this appointment, Nicolae Marius Marginean was president of the IFIN-HH Scientific Council tasked with providing the strategic direction and coordinating the institute's R&D and innovation activity. The "Horia Hulubei" National Research & Development Institute for Nuclear Physics and Engineering manages the Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP) project coordinated by the Ministry of Education and Research. The Presidium of the Romanian Academy sent Monday Education Minister Monica Anisie a letter of protest against the dismissal of Nicolae Zamfir, citing concerns that this move endangers the completion of the Magurele-based high power laser project. In the protest letter, the Presidium of the Romanian Academy states that it has taken note with "deep disappointment" of the decision to dismiss Zamfir as director general of the institute, a decision they consider "unjustified". In the opinion of the Romanian Academy, Nicolae Zamfir's dismissal threatens to obstruct the ascending evolution of the Romanian scientific research worldwide and endangers the completion of the ELI-NP project. The Presidium of the Romanian Academy considers that it is the duty of the country's highest science and culture forum to publicly disapprove of such practices and to draw attention to the danger that a strategically unconsolidated administration contributes to destroying the field opened by ELI-NP. The National Bank of Kyrgyzstan has resumed operations to sell weighted bullions, numismatic values and exchange worn note, Trend reports citing Kabar. According to the Banks press service, sales have resumed since Aug. 17. On July 8, the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic temporarily suspended operations to exchange damaged money. CLEVELAND, Ohio Mayor Frank Jackson will deliver a State of the City address this fall, but it will be presented via social media and telephone to meet safe social distancing guidelines established to slow spread of COVID-19 coronavirus. The mayor intends to give the address Oct. 8. The administration said more details, such as time and access to the address, will be forthcoming. Jackson will address an array of topics, including the impact of the pandemic, public safety, various city projects and initiatives and his vision to continue to move Cleveland forward, the administration said. The address will be Jacksons 15th State of the City speech. Each of the last two years he held them in evenings at Public Auditorium, rather than presenting the traditional lunchtime speech before the City Club of Cleveland. The mayor said he wanted to make the speech more accessible to everyday Clevelanders. Last year he told a crowd of about 900 people that inequity and disparity are institutionalized in Clevelands economic models something Jackson referred to as the beast. The question for Cleveland, he said, is will its leaders in the civic, corporate and nonprofit sectors take on that system and find ways to combat inequality and disparity and slay the beast. More from Cleveland City Hall Dennis Kucinich again flirts with run for Cleveland mayor in 2021 Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson OKs $5M program for grants and loans to make houses lead safe Coronavirus impact on Cleveland budget led to spending through July outstripping revenues by $13M Lawyer labels Cleveland City Council plan to investigate efforts against CPP as intimidation against consumer advocate Cleveland City Council approves $5M to help landlords tackle lead paint problems in dwellings Investigators severe new case over drug planting on journalist Golunov twitter.com 10:53 17/08/2020 MOSCOW, August 17 (RAPSI) Russias Investigative Committee severed a case against unidentified individuals allegedly involved in the drug planting on journalist Ivan Golunov from other defendants, Golunovs attorney Sergey Badamshin told RAPSI on Monday. The lawyer did not say if those persons were instigators of the crime. Golunov has already completed reading materials of the main case. Four defendants of it, Igor Lyakhovets, Maxim Umetbayev, Akbar Sergaliyev and Roman Feofanov, are detained until September 7. In late February, Alexey Kovrizhkin, the lawyer for Lyakhovets, told RAPSI that another defendant Denis Konovalov had testified against his client, saying it was him who had ordered to plant drugs on Golunovs bag and apartment. Investigators believe Lyakhovets, who does not admit guilt, is the organizer of the crime. The defendants are charged with abuse of power, evidence tampering and illegal drug trafficking. Only Konovalov pleaded guilty. He was later released from detention and put under house arrest. Investigators believe that they planted drugs on Golunov. Thus, they falsified the results of operative search activity that later became inculpatory evidence against Golunov in a drug dealing case; however, the drugs had been earlier illegally bought and kept by the police officers, according the Investigative Committee. In late December 2019, investigators opened the case over arrest of Golunov. The journalist was recognized as an injured party. All five defendants in the case have been dismissed from police. Golunov was arrested in Moscow on June 6, 2019. On June 8, the Nikulinsky District Court of Moscow placed him under house arrest for 2 months. According to the Interior Ministrys official statement, police seized nearly 4 grams of methylmethedrone from Golunov. The journalist pleaded not guilty, insisted that the drugs were planted on him during the arrest and claimed that his prosecution is related to his journalistic investigations. According to his defense, an examination showed no drugs in his biomaterial. On June 11, 2019, charges against Golunov were dropped because of a lack of evidence that he participated in the crime, and the journalist was released. On June 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed two generals of police on the back of the arrest of Golunov. Fellow Ghanaians, good evening. Today is the fifteenth (15th) time, since the virus came to our country some five (5) months ago, that I have come to provide you with the status of our co-ordinated efforts to defeat COVID-19. I must thank you, again, for welcoming me into your homes, and I must repeat how proud I am to be your President in these difficult times. I appeal to all of us to continue in our individual and collective efforts to help contain the spread of the virus in our country. We have been through several phases of the fight against the pandemic, we have put in place restrictions to our everyday lives, indeed, of which some still remain, and we have gradually moved to restoring normalcy in some aspects of our lives. Over the last few weeks, the cap on the number of persons going to church and mosque has been lifted, albeit with strict social distancing; our final year students in university, senior and junior high schools have returned to school to write their final examinations; and the Electoral Commission has just completed the successful compilation of a voters' register ahead of the conduct of the 2020 general elections in December. On behalf of the people of Ghana, I congratulate warmly the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission, Mrs Jean Mensa, her two Deputies, Dr. Eric Asare Bossman and Mr. Samuel Tettey, and the entire Commission for the efficient, safe, transparent nature of the registration exercise, where, for the first time in our nation's history, Ghanaians were provided with daily updates of the numbers of eligible voters registered, together with specific age, gender, regional breakdowns, and breakdowns of identity documents. All eligible voters were given the unfettered opportunity to register, a process that was fully embraced by the mass of the citizenry. Of course, there were genuine and understandable concerns about conducting such a complex exercise, involving millions of citizens, at this time. But, at the end of the day, Ghanaians did their civic duty, by going out to register, having found that the process was overwhelmingly orderly, peaceful and safe. However, there were those who expressed various degrees of hysteria and negativity towards the exercise, with some, who swore heaven and earth to resist the compilation of the register at the peril of their lives, ending up registering. There were also those who offered delicate, personal sacrifices in the event of the register, again, ending up registering. And, there were those who claimed that, in the midst of a pandemic, the registration exercise should not be conducted, with some warning of an explosion in our case count and very high numbers of deaths, should the exercise go ahead. By the grace of God, the work of the Electoral Commission, and the effective measures put in place by Government, these prophecies of doom did not materialise. There were, nonetheless, deeply regrettable, isolated incidents of violence, which I condemn unreservedly, and which I expect the Police to deal with without fear or favour, but the exercise was generally peaceful. The Ghanaian people have, by the conduct of this exercise, demonstrated our commitment, once again, to consolidating our status as a beacon of democracy on the continent and in the world. The professional Jeremiahs and naysayers, who seek, cynically, to make a profitable industry out of spreading falsehoods, fear and panic, stoking divisive, ethnic sentiments, underestimate the resolve and the determination of Ghanaians to build a united, democratic, peaceful, prosperous, and happy Ghana. We will continue to work hard to prove them wrong. Fellow Ghanaians, when I delivered Update No. 14, some three (3) weeks ago, I indicated that a closer look at the data points to the fact that we are steadily on the path towards limiting and containing the virus, and, ultimately, defeating it, and requested all of us to pay particular attention to the number of active cases. As at 24th July, the number of active cases, i.e. persons with the virus, stood at three thousand, three hundred and seven (3,307). As at Saturday, 15th August, three weeks later, the number of active cases stands at one thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven (1,847). This is a clear indication that Government policies are working. Currently, there are no recorded COVID-19 cases in the North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West Regions, and I charge their residents to do everything possible to maintain that situation. Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, and Western continue to be the Regions with the highest number of active cases. Thus far, a total of forty thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven (40,567) persons have recovered from the virus. This means our recovery rate has improved from eighty-nine-point five percent (89.5%) to ninety five point one percent (95.1%) in three weeks. Our death rate continues, mercifully, to be low at zero-point five percent (0.5%). Happily, there are no backlogs of tests at any of our testing centres, meaning that situational reports are up to date. Indeed, tests results that used to take weeks are now available within forty-eight (48) hours. We have, so far, conducted four hundred and twenty-seven thousand, one hundred and twenty-one (427,121) tests. These statistics undermine, as unfounded, the claim that Ghana has lost the battle to defeat COVID-19. There can only be one simple reason for this baseless assertion, and that is political expediency. But, as I have said before, do not begrudge those who make such statements, they need to make them to continue to try to stay relevant. Our health workers will forever be in our debt, for the dedication they have put in to ensure these impressive statistics. We can help them even further by continuing to adhere to the social distancing and hygiene protocols we have instituted to stem the tide of infections. I have been encouraged by the results of a recent survey conducted by the Ghana Health Service into the use of face masks at selected locations in Accra in the month of August. It revealed that the overall intention to use face masks at the sites surveyed was very high, with eighty-two percent (82%) of persons surveyed possessing a mask. I believe we can do even more, and reach one hundred percent (100%). However, the same survey demonstrated that only forty-four-point three percent (44.3%) of those who have the mask use them correctly. I urge each and every one of us to wear our masks, and do so correctly anytime we leave our homes. It is the new normal requirement of our daily existence until the virus disappears. Our phased approach towards returning our lives to normal, through the strategic, controlled, progressive, and safe easing of restrictions, will, thus, continue. Most final year university students have already completed their examinations, and, by 18th September, SHS 3 and JHS 3 students would have finished their respective final examinations of WASSCE and BECE. As a result of reports I have recently received that some final year JHS students were going hungry, in complying with COVID-19 protocols, I have just instructed the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection to begin preparations to ensure that, as from 24th August up to 18th September, all five hundred and eighty-four thousand (584,000) final year JHS students, and one hundred and forty-six thousand (146,000) staff, both in public and private schools, be given one hot meal a day. This is to ensure full observance of the COVID-19 safety protocols. Through online learning portals, almost all continuing students in our Universities have completed their studies for the academic year. The exceptions are the University of Cape Coast, the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Technical Universities, and some other Colleges. After extensive stakeholder consultations, the decision has been taken for continuing students in these tertiary institutions to return to school, on 24th August, to finish their academic year. Just as was done for final year students who returned to school, Government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, will ensure that all these tertiary institutions are disinfected. Universities will be equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment, and those with their own hospitals and clinics will have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases. All other institutions, without their own clinics and hospitals, will be mapped to health facilities. There will be no mass gatherings and no sporting activities. Religious activities, under the new protocols, will be permitted. Social distancing and the wearing of face masks must become the norm on campus. The Ministry of Education continues to engage the Ghana Education Service (GES) and all relevant stakeholders to conclude discussions on the modalities surrounding the reopening of our pre-tertiary schools. I will communicate, in due course, the decisions that will be reached from these consultations. You can be rest assured that I will always take into prime consideration the safety and wellbeing of our children, teachers and non-teaching staff in the decisions that will be taken, because I am determined to ensure that the education of our children is not unduly disturbed by this pandemic I know many still ask when our borders, especially our international airport, Kotoka International Airport, will be open. Under my instructions, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Co. Ltd., have been working, with the Ministry of Health and its agencies, to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport. I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger that arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of that exercise will show us the way, and determine when we can reopen our border by air. I am hoping that, by God's grace, we will be ready to do so by 1st September. Until further notice, our borders, by air, land and sea, remain closed to human traffic. For Ghana residents stranded abroad, special dispensation will continue to be given for their evacuation back to Ghana, where they will be subjected to the mandatory quarantine and safety protocols. Beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs are still to remain closed until further notice. The limit on the numbers of persons who can attend conferences, workshops and award events, has now been lifted, subject to the maintenance of social distancing amongst participants, fresh air ventilation of the premises, and a two-hour limit for each session. I know that the pandemic has adversely affected many lives and livelihoods. It is for this reason that Government has implemented several measures such as free water and electricity, and funding to support small businesses, and tax reliefs, amongst others, to cushion the effect of the pandemic. We are not providing freebies, we are providing critical help to households, families and businesses, in the midst of this pandemic, because we care. It is my conviction that, in times of crises, it is the duty of a responsible and sensitive Government to protect the population, and provide relief. Fellow Ghanaians, let us remember at all times that this phased opening up of our country continues to put an obligation and responsibility on each one of us to remain vigilant, and respect the enhanced hygiene, mask wearing and social distancing protocols that have become part and parcel of our daily routine. They are proving to be effective, so let us employ them wholeheartedly. That is the way we can restore, as quickly as possible, the blessings of normalcy for which we all yearn. There is no room for complacency, we must be very much on our guard, because some countries have experienced spikes after recording major achievements in containing the spread of the virus. We should not go down that road. Social distancing, enhanced hygiene and wearing of masks are obligatory for each one of us. Anuanom, mesr mo, nhyihy aa yay fa masks noho, mondiso. S wofri efiye aa, hy mask. no ena bb yhu ban, ama yetumi apam yare efri yeman mu. Anymimi, minkpa ny fai, gbejian ni wto kha masks , ny yean. No ni baa waw, ni wny w shwie hela n kj w man n mli. Gami ni yn ye Homowo, minha ny f afi oo afi. Fellow Ghanaians, the remarkable nature of us, the Ghanaian people, the first colonised people in sub-Saharan Africa to gain their freedom and independence from foreign rule, is manifesting itself again. In the midst of the pandemic, we have been able to compile a voters' register, arguably, the most credible voter register in our history; our democratic institutions continue to function effectively; there continues to be vigorous public debate on issues of public policy; respect for the rule of law continues to be central to our governance; our economy, despite the severe shocks of the pandemic, is proving to be resilient, and is poised for rapid recovery; our agriculture is performing so that, despite the disruptions of the pandemic, food is still abundant in our markets; and the virus itself is being fought systematically. Indeed, a stronger, healthier Ghana is being built before our very eyes, and the great majority of Ghanaians can see it. Let us continue down this path, so that the dreams of freedom and prosperity that inspired the great patriots, who founded our nation, can find expression in our generation. We can do it, so let us continue to work hard towards attaining our goal. This too shall pass! For the Battle is the Lord's!! May God bless us all, and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong. I thank you for your attention. Baggage scanning equipment worth over 11 million euros will be installed at airports in Romania and its region, the developing company announced in a press statement released on Monday. UTI Facility Management, a company of the UTI Group, is an authorised partner for the Romanian market of the famous British manufacturer of X-ray detection technology, Smiths Detection. UTI specialists install and put into operation the equipment and systems developed by this renowned supplier under contracts started in 2019 and 2020.According to the quoted source, at the Cluj-Napoca International Airport this year state-of-the-art equipment will be installed for scanning hold and hand luggage using computed tomography technology with X-rays and automatic detection mechanisms for explosive substances. Detection equipment will be integrated with an automatic tray return system, which will simplify and reduce the time spent on security control.For the Iasi International Airport, the company has delivered and put in place equipment for scanning hold baggage with computer tomography technology and algorithms for automatic detection of liquid explosive substances. The same technologies will be operational for the Suceava Airport from October 2020.At the Henri Coanda Bucharest International Airport, at the end of this year, the baggage control will be performed using extremely high-performance equipment, Smiths Detection brand, which will scan the passengers' objects from two viewing angles and detect traces of explosive substances.At the same time, to ensure security at the Bucharest Aurel Vlaicu Baneasa International Airport, UTI Facility Management is implementing a security project that involves the installation of hold baggage scanning equipment according to the latest aeronautical standards, with the contract will be finalised at the end of 2020.The UTI member company also contributes to the construction and installation of state-of-the-art security systems at the Brasov-Ghimbav International Airport."We will install hold and hand luggage scanning equipment with computer tomography technology, X-ray technology and automatic explosive detection algorithms, dual angle viewing and explosive ordnance detection (EDS) systems. EDS systems are designed to detect and alert airport security personnel about the presence of such materials in baggage, regardless of the shape, position or orientation of the hazardous cargo, according to aeronautical regulations. All EDS systems for hold baggage scanning must comply with standard 3, and those for hand luggage control containing laptops, large electrical appliances, as well as liquids, aerosols and gels must comply with at least standard C3," according to the company.UTI Facility Management has been active on the services and solutions for airports market for over 15 years, and the company's client portfolio includes the largest airports in Romania and in the region. Amaravati, Aug 17 : Alleging that the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government in Andhra Pradesh was resorting to massive phone tapping of its opponents, former Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order an inquiry. In a letter to the Prime Minister, Naidu sought a probe by a competent authority of the Central government into the alleged tapping of phones. The Centre should take stringent action so as to prevent the Jagan Reddy-led YSRCP and some private persons from resorting to such illegal activities that pose a threat to national security, he wrote. Naidu said that the ruling party and private individuals were using sophisticated technology and illegal software to tap the phones belonging to the opposition leaders, advocates, journalists and social activists. He wrote that this was a violation of the Articles 19 and 21 that provide for fundamental rights of citizens. The ruling YSRCP was using illegal tactics to protect and preserve its power by intimidating and blackmailing the opponents and dissenting voices. These illegal activities were posing a serious threat to the right to privacy in the state, he added. The TDP chief alleged that even private individuals were using cutting edge technology and equipment to unlawfully tap the phones. "If these nefarious activities were not put to an end, they would proliferate and emerge as a bigger threat to national security and sovereignty of the country as a whole. "If the Governments and private persons involved in such illegal activities were not restrained, they would attack and undermine the democratic institutions that were painstakingly built over decades of hard work in the country," he added. Stating that the YSRCP was already misusing its power to destroy institutions, Naidu deplored that systematic efforts were being made to deny fundamental rights and perpetrate oppression. He pointed out that as per the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 (Sec 5 (2)) and Information Technology Act 2000 (Sec 69), phone tapping is to be strictly used only in times of a threat to national security or the country's sovereignty or to national integration or when friendly relations with foreign countries are under threat. Naidu claimed that many Constitutional institutions were under attack since the YSRCP came to power. Systematic attacks were made on the State Election Commission (SEC), AP Public Service Commission (APPSC) and other institutions. Threats were being given to opposition leaders, advocates, media, social activists and all those who raise a dissenting voice against the ruling party's excesses, he added. Pope Francis called on Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resolve their differences over Addis Abbas controversial Blue Nile dam project after the last round of talks failed to produce an agreement. I invite all parties involved to continue on the path of dialogue so that the eternal river will continue to be a source of life, which unites and does not divide, which nurtures friendship, prosperity and fraternity and not enmity, misunderstanding and conflict, the pontiff said to the worshippers gathered at St. Peters Square at the Vatican on Saturday. Pope Francis delivered his message on Assumption Day, a Catholic feast day marking the Virgin Marys assumption into heaven. The Nile is mentioned several times in the Bible. In the Book of Exodus, the Egyptian pharaoh's daughter finds the baby Moses floating down the river in a basket. In the New Testament, Mary, Joseph and Jesus flee Bethelehm to escape King Herods soldiers and are believed to have crossed the Nile while in Egypt. His comments come as Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia remain unable to reach a deal on how the latter will operate its Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without restricting Egypt and Sudans access to already scarce freshwater supplies. Ethiopia says the multi billion-dollar mega dam is crucial to its economic development and would provide much-needed electricity to Ethiopia's 110 million citizens, half of whom live without power. But Ethiopias downstream neighbors worry the ambitious project could dangerously restrict their fresh water supplies. The Blue Nile is a tributary of the Nile, on which Sudan and Egypt are heavily dependent on for their irrigation and drinking water. Egypt and Sudan suspended African Union-sponsored negotiations earlier this month after Ethiopia put forward a proposal tying the ongoing negotiations over the dams filling and operation to a broader deal on sharing the Blue Nile waters. On Saturday, the prime ministers of Sudan and Egypt said they were hopeful the tripartite talks would be constructive. The three countries are due to resume discussions Tuesday, Sudans water minister announced on Sunday. However, if Russia fails to go for any concessions, Ukraine will be looking for other settlement options, beyond the Minsk format, suggests delegation chief. Russian leadership and society have grown tired of war in Donbas, that's per head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Donbas settlement, first president of independent Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk. "I listen closely to all Russians: president [Vladimir Putin], foreign minister [Sergei Lavrov], [Deputy Head of Russia's Presidential Administration Dmitry] Kozak, and [Russia's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Boris] Gryzlov. I feel they want peace in Donbas. I do feel it. I don't guarantee that I've already understood everything in detail and took a peek inside their minds, I beg your pardon. But I think Russia is also weary of the war since Russian mothers, whose sons have been dying in Donbas, cry the same bitter tears as Ukrainian mothers do. Therefore, the war mustn't continue. The end of it must be peace," Kravchuk told the Segodnya newspaper on August 17, answering the question about whether he believes Moscow will insist on a new law on the special status of Donbas when the current legislation expires. I don't guarantee that I've already understood everything in detail and took a peek inside their minds, I beg your pardon The Russian side will no longer be focusing the issue of Donbas status, Kravchuk has suggested, while admitting that Moscow might as well not go for any concessions. Read alsoDonbas war: Will renaming "special status" for "special regime" be of any help to Ukraine"I'm convinced they'll no longer be focusing on the issues you are talking about. If we feel and I admit this could be the case that they are not into any concessions, while we show we're ready and they say 'No' well, then, at least I'll have enough courage, strength, and will to say that we've done everything we could based on the Ukrainian legal framework, the Constitution, and international law, but we've been left unheard and so, I see that the Minsk process has no prospects. We are starting to look for other options," he summed up. Donbas status: background The Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed the draft law on the special status of Donbas, to be in force for three years, which has since been extended twice. The document says the special order of local government in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Donbas shall come into force only after all illegal armed groups withdraw from Ukrainian territory. In December 2020, the Ukrainian parliament will have to endorse another extension or pass a new law. On July 3, Spiegel reported that at Berlin talks between the advisers to the Normandy leaders (Ukraine, Germany, France, and Russia), the Russian side demanded that Kyiv before July 6 submit via the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk a draft amendment to the Constitution of Ukraine on the future special status of certain regions of Donbas. Read alsoUkrainian envoy says Ukraine may initiate new Budapest Memorandum if Minsk talks failThe "special status" of Donbas, or the law on a special procedure for local government in the occupied areas, is a cause of concern for Ukrainian public, although officials reassure Ukrainians they will make no moves in this direction until Russia pulls its troops from the country's east. The Kremlin has been exerting constant pressure on Kyiv, demanding that the law be passed without Moscow fulfilling its obligations to withdraw troops, military equipment, and hand back control over the border sections in the region back to Ukraine. First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk says the issue of granting special status to Russia-occupied Donbas may be put to a referendum. Lucknow, Aug 17 : Brahmin leaders in the Congress party have passed a resolution under which they will send a proposal to the party high command that a Brahmin should be projected as the Chief Ministerial candidate for the 2022 Assembly elections. The Brahmin group, led by Acharya Pramod Krishna, who was the Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Lucknow in 2019, held a virtual meeting with leaders across the state and passed this resolution. The proposal was tabled by Congress leader Satish Sharma from Meerut. Sources said that 108 Brahmin leaders participated in the virtual meeting. Acharya Pramod Krishna said that the present form of reservation was promoting casteism and was a threat to the unity of the country. "Reservation should be given on economic basis and any person, irrespective of caste, should be allowed to avail the benefits," he said. Acharya Pramod Krishna said that the 'Brahmin Sammelan' would be held in Lucknow as soon as the corona pandemic was over. He also slammed the increasing incidents of murders of Brahmins in Uttar Pradesh and said that the targeting of one community was a matter of concern. A section of the Congress, has been raising the demand for Brahmin leadership in the state over the last few weeks and senior leaders, including former Union Minister Jitin Prasada, Swayam Prakash Goswami and Acharya Pramod Krishna have been working for Brahmin unity on different platforms. Still images from the video that shows a man standing on the counter at Berlin D2 and pouring drink into revellers mouths on a packed dancefloor There has been a furious backlash from Government, the bar trade and the public to a video that emerged over the weekend that appeared to show total disregard to public health advice in a city-centre bar. Footage circulating on social media showed a man standing on the bar and pouring alcohol into the mouths of punters on a packed dancefloor. The 'Baked Brunch' event, which took place in Berlin D2 bar and restaurant in Dublin's Dame Lane on Saturday, started at 1pm and ended at 5pm. Footage showed groups of people seated at separate tables and enjoying meals at the beginning of the event. They were asked to stay in boxes marked by tape on the floor. However, revellers were dancing together by the end of the event. One eyewitness told the Herald he and his wife attended the event but left after it got "crazy". "I went with my wife around 3pm. At the beginning it was great and quiet. Expand Close Berlin D2 is on Dame Lane in Dublin city centre / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Berlin D2 is on Dame Lane in Dublin city centre "Then the atmosphere started to be crazy and we decided to leave because we felt unsafe," he said. Restaurateur Jay Bourke, who is involved with Berlin D2, said he was "absolutely mortified" at the scenes recorded at the bar. Speaking to RTE News, Mr Bourke said he did not think it was a full reflection of what happened in the venue. He called it "20 seconds of madness", and described Berlin as a "very compliant premises". Expand Close Video footage showed a man pouring drink while standing on the bar / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Video footage showed a man pouring drink while standing on the bar But he added he was reviewing CCTV footage of the incident. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the footage showed "reckless actions". "The vast majority of Irish people have sacrificed a huge amount to help suppress this virus. They've shown huge solidarity. People are rightly sickened by these scenes. The reckless actions of a small few can have huge repercussions on everyone else," he said. Shameful Simon Harris, the former health minister and current Higher Education Minister, also criticised the scenes. He wrote on Twitter: "A right kick in the gut & middle finger to everyone in our country who has worked so hard & sacrificed so much, to everyone who has lost a loved one or been sick with #Covid19, to every frontline worker and to every responsible business owner who have suffered so much. Shameful." Former Fine Gael TD Noel Rock shared the footage on social media. "It's infuriating. I know many other pub owners are understandably livid to see this," he said. "What an utter shambles. This place should be shut down pronto." The Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) also hit out. "This is outrageous and appalling. That business should be shut down immediately," it said. According to the group, Berlin D2 is not a pub and does not hold a pub licence. It is understood the establishment holds a restaurant and a theatre licence. Adrian Cummins, CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, described the footage as "deplorable and despicable". "They are a slap in the face to every frontline worker in our country who put their lives on the line during this pandemic," he said. An Garda Siochana said social distancing and other public health guidelines are "not penal provisions". A statement said the force "continues to enforce existing legislation where appropriate to do so". Berlin did not respond to a request for comment. Speaking on RTE News, acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said it was no surprise a level of complacency in tackling Covid-19 has set in, given the country has been fighting the virus for six months. But he said a "zero tolerance" approach must be implemented. "Certainly what we saw on social media last night was reckless," he said. "It simply cannot be tolerated, and behaviour like that around the country puts the work that the majority of people in this country have done, to get us to where we are, at risk." Security guards were not told to wear masks at all times while manning Melbourne's quarantine hotels, it has emerged. The inquiry into Victoria's bungled quarantine scheme heard from a lawyer representing Unified Security, one of the firms contracted for the job. Arthur Moses SC revealed the advice the security firm was given from Victoria's health department about personal protective equipment. Security guards (left) were not told to wear masks at all times while manning Melbourne's quarantine hotels, it has emerged It said surgical masks did not need to be worn when a guard could maintain a 1.5m distance from a guest. This included when escorting guests into the hotel, when taking them for exercise breaks and taking items such as food to their doors. The government advice sheet, which was presented to the inquiry, only told guards to wear masks if a 1.5m distance was 'not feasible'. Melbourne University infectious diseases expert Professor Lindsay Grayson slammed the government by saying that advice was 'inappropriate'. He said PPE could have drastically reduced the spread of the virus. The inquiry is set to hear from government ministers at a later date. Victoria's deadly second wave of coronavirus has been traced back to failures in the hotel quarantine program. The government advice, which was presented to the inquiry, only told guards to wear masks if a 1.5m distance was 'not feasible'. Pictured: Passengers are quarantined in Melbourne VIRGIN Media is giving its hit show Livin With Lucy a Covid-style make-over in a bid to give its autumn season launch some serious star power. Instead of moving in to celebrities homes for a few days, presenter Lucy Kennedy will instead take them out for an intimate interview over a meal. Lucy was due to begin filming a new series in June and had lined up a list of stars to take part, including former glamour model Katie Price and ex-TV host Michael Barrymore. However, the pandemic put a premature end to these plans as the affable host was unable to travel to Britain to begin filming. Expand Close Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Shane MacGowan and Victoria Mary Clarke Current health guidelines make it extremely difficult for Lucy to move into someones home with a camera crew, so for now Livin With Lucy has been put on hiatus. Instead Lucy will return to screens with a variation of the format. The Nova radio host will take six top Irish celebrities out for dinner or lunch and try to get them to let their guard down in an intimate environment. Lucy is currently casting for the new show and will be focusing on big name celebrities, and according to a TV insider, Shane MacGowan is top of her list. Lucy was due to film with Michael Barrymore and Kim Woodburn and Katie Price but unfortunately those celebrities will have to wait, said the source. This is not an end to Livin With Lucy, it is just being parked until it is safe to start filing it again. Video of the Day But Lucy was keen to get back out there and start filming and this was a compromise. It will be six Irish celebrities, but really interesting ones, that you dont see every day. Lucy has always wanted to live with Shane MacGowan so that would be a perfect candidate for the show. But also names like Barry Keoghan and Niamh Algar. It will be in a restaurant setting... Lucys relationship with the celebrity has always been part of the show and that will remain the case. Hopefully people will like the new format. Lucy spent lockdown at home with her husband Richie and three children, Jack (9), Holly (7) and Jess (2). As well as presenting the breakfast show on Nova with Colm Hayes, she has also penned a follow up to her hit childrens book The Friendship Fairies. Irans defense minister says industrial companies his ministry controls have expanded their involvement with the local vehicle manufacturing sector with "over forty trillion rials" (about $950 million) in contracts. Referring to the ministry's "increasing presence" in Iran's vehicle manufacturing sector, Brigadier General Amir Hatami told a news conference on Sunday, August 16, "The Islamic Republic President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the Ministry of Defense to have an active role in Iran's vehicle industry. "The Ministry of Defense has no plan to launch car manufacturing production lines," Hatami said, but "it is active in auto parts production and is supplying forty vehicle parts." The military is deeply involved in Irans economy, and Rouhani vehemently objected in 2017 that Revolutionary Guards control a vast economic empire. But now the defense ministry seems to be also expanding its role. On June 9, Amir Ali Hahizadeh, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps' (IRGC) Aerospace Force, announced the formation of a joint IRGC-Ministry of Industry committee to let the military elite enter the local vehicle manufacturing sector. According to Brigadier General Hajizadeh, the presence of the IRGC in the Iranian car industry was based on an "order" issued by the Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. On May 6, Khamenei had issued what sounded like an order or permission to the military. "The mind that can manufacture a satellite can also produce a vehicle that needs only five liters (approximately 1.3 gallons) of gasoline to run for 100 kilometers (about 62 miles)," Khamenei said. The presence of the military in the Iranian auto-making is rapidly increasing even though Khamenei had earlier issued another "order" calling on the IRGC and other armed forces to withdraw from activities unrelated to their mission. Iran's automakers are not private companies and are directly or indirectly controlled by state entities. Based on the International Organizations of Vehicle Manufacturers' data, Iran's car production in 2019 decreased by 25% compared with the previous year, reaching 821 thousand units, of which 770 thousand were sedans. Despite the sharp decline, the local vehicle market, valued at $ 12 to $ 15 billion per year, is still one of the most essential and attractive productions and brokerage markets in the Iranian economy. In a move right out of George Orwells 1984, New Zealand has announced it would put all COVID-19 patients into mandatory quarantine camps. The Prime Minister of New Zealand has said that your each and every activity will be monitored in these camps and those that refuse to be tested would be forced to stay in the camps for a longer duration. New Zealands Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced at a press conference that the use of quarantine facilities marks a major departure from how positive cases were managed by health officials when New Zealand was last at level 3, as cases earlier in the year were told to simply self-isolate in their homes. Dr Bloomfield says the mandatory quarantine will apply to both new cases and, if necessary, close family members who might be at risk. [It] shows how serious we are about limiting any risk of ongoing transmission even in self-isolation and including to others in the household, he added. A reminder, these facilities have been set up specifically and have excellent processes and resources in place to look after people with COVID-19, including health staff on site at all times. It will help us avoid any further inadvertent spread into the community as part of our overall response. The announcement didnt say much about how the quarantine would be. However, New Zealands Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a Facebook live video explained in detail how each and every activity will be monitored in these camps and those that refuse to be tested would be forced to stay in the camps for a longer duration. We are quarantining everyone. Now we are also mandating testing. That makes us the most stringent in the world. There are countries that are requiring self-isolation; were taking it a bit further. If anyone moves into a common area or is getting some fresh air, which is all monitored no one can do that on their own. They can only leave or be in a space to get a little bit of fresh air if they are supervised, because ofcourse its a quarantine facility. We have put in millions of dollars into supporting that to happen. I have a number of questions about people refusing what do we do if someone refuses to be tested. Well they cant now. If someone refuses in our facilities to be tested, they have to keep staying. So they wont be allowed to leave after 14 days. They have to stay on for another 14 days. So, its a pretty good incentive. You either get your tests done and make sure youre cleared or we will keep you in a facility longer. So I think most people will look at it and say I will take the test. Interestingly, earlier New Zealands deputy opposition leader accused the government of stage-managing the outbreak over a week. This is the NZ Deputy opposition leader walking really close to accusing the the government of stage-managing the outbreak over a week. pic.twitter.com/9je5FAm40j Charles Croucher (@ccroucher9) August 12, 2020 The announcement come days after Canadas Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe exposed the uselessness of mandatory mass coronavirus testing warning that it takes resources away from more essential fields and does not actually achieve anything. For latest updates on the outbreak check out our Coronavirus Coverage. Send in your tips and submissions by filling out this form or write to us directly at the email provided. Join us on WhatsApp for more intel and updates. GreatGameIndia is a journal on Geopolitics and International Relations. Get to know the Geopolitical threats India is facing in our exclusive book India in Cognitive Dissonance. Past magazine issues can be accessed from the Archives section. House of Representatives member, Akin Alabi expressed his disappointment over the portrait a Nigerian artiste made of him and presented on Twitter. The Nigerian artiste with the handle @Adeyinka_art posted the photo of the portrait he drew of Alabi on his timeline with the caption I think I need to buy large number of your attention at zero cost to critically look into this work and give your opinion as a man of sincere personality. In all #WeMove Responding to the tweet, Alabi expressed his dissatisfaction about the work. More than a dozen trade groups are launching a new coalition aimed at forcing e-commerce companies such as Amazon.com Inc. to take stronger measures to fight stolen or counterfeit goods sold on their platforms. The industry associations, which represent Walmart Inc., Target Corp., and Best Buy Co. Inc. among other companies, announced on Friday they are founding The Buy Safe America Coalition to back legislation that would require digital marketplaces to verify information about third-party merchants. The lobbying push by retailers will only add to the scrutiny facing companies such as Amazon and EBay Inc. over their role in allowing counterfeit products from bicycles to jeans to be sold around the world. Lawmakers, President Donald Trump and companies have all been exploring ways to curb the deluge of fake goods online. The goal is to continue to raise awareness about counterfeit and stolen goods, among lawmakers in Washington and statehouses around the country, said Michael Hanson, senior executive vice president of public affairs for the Retail Leaders Industry Association, one of the coalitions founding members. Now, with the growth of people buying online because of this pandemic, it seems that this is getting worse. In addition to RILA, the Toy Association, American Apparel & Footwear Association, the Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association and other industry groups are also joining the coalition. Together they are backing the so-called INFORM Consumers Act, which would require digital marketplaces to collect information about some third-party sellers such as their government ID, tax ID and bank account details. The legislation also would direct companies to disclose to shoppers their high-volume sellers names, phone numbers, business addresses and emails. The bill defines high-volume sellers as firms that make 200 or more sales in a year amounting to $5,000 or more. Senators Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, and Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, introduced the bill in March. Democratic Representatives Jan Schakowsky of Illinois and Kathy Castor of Florida introduced a companion version in July. The retailers, many of them are fighting for their lives, and they want to have as even a playing field as possible, Schakowsky told Bloomberg earlier this summer, referring to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on business. I think equally, consumers are really hoping that theyre going to be able to get the same protections online as they do at brick and mortar stores, she said. An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement the company has developed many ways for sellers to share more about their business with their customers. Amazon and Apple have acknowledged that counterfeit goods can be sold on their platforms, but say they invest in tools to identify fake listings and support law enforcement in their investigations of fraudulent sellers. Amazon announced in July that it would begin displaying sellers business names and addresses on their profile pages starting Sept. 1. Hanson and Rebecca Mond, vice president of federal government affairs at the Toy Association, said Amazons new policy doesnt go far enough because the company isnt committing to verifying the contact information it receives from the sellers. An Amazon spokesperson said the company already implements some of the practices outlined in the INFORM Consumers Act, including vetting potential third-party sellers. The proliferation of pirated and counterfeit goods on the internet has also caught the attention of the White House. The Department of Homeland Security in January recommended that the Trump administration seek permission to take legal action against third-party marketplaces that sell counterfeit merchandise, better track packages mailed from other countries and launch a consumer-awareness campaign, among other measures. The Departments report also called on tech companies to more aggressively screen their vendors and create restrictions on products that are more likely to be counterfeited. The costs that companies have to invest into protecting their brand and to policing these online marketplaces. I mean these are not insignificant costs, said Mond. The time to rely on voluntary measures or enforcement is done. We need to be looking at what needs to be implemented proactively to stop these products from getting up on the marketplace in the first place. The Russian Federation will not interfere with the establishment of contacts and the establishment of relations between representatives of civil society in Ukraine and certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (ORDLO), said the first President of Ukraine and head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contract Group (TCG) Leonid Kravchuk. "Millions of people live there, there are signs of a civil society. There are people who did not take and do not take part in the war, do not go armed, live in incredibly difficult conditions. And we say that we need journalists, teachers, university workers ... We want these people to communicate with each other. And at first we are talking about communication at the level of civil society. And when we feel that we are already reaching an agreement, then we can move on to another level. Now we are not talking about communication with Russia-led forces," said Kravchuk in an interview with Sehodnia (Today) newspaper published on Monday. According to Kravchuk, communication between representatives of civil society in the Ukrainian-controlled and occupied territories can take place in the format of videoconferences. "There is world experience, there is nothing special here. There is the Internet, various forms of communication so as not to go, travel and get ready. You can create a special video conference. The main thing is to have a desire," he added. Kravchuk believes that the Russian Federation will not interfere with such communication at the level of civil society representatives: "I think Russia will not interfere. I heard that Russia accuses us precisely of the fact that there is no such communication. When we start doing this, they will say 'no' and we will respond: what's happened?" On the eve of Indias 74th Independence Day, an interesting and significant thing happened. US President Donald Trump launched an attack on Senator Kamala Harris, saying, I have more Indians than she has. Now, at the outset it would be seen as an archetypal Trump-esque attack with not-so-subtle overtones of racial and ethnic prejudice, but, for a sizable section of Indian Americans, Trump may be right. A deeper analysis of the Senators political standing presents a picture which doesnt sit well with a section of Indian Americans, who are critical and holding back their enthusiasm. While the announcement of her being Joe Biden was cheered by Indian Americans, some do not see her as a trailblazer and an inspirational figure. Rather, the biggest allegation that some groups have labelled against the Biden-Harris duo is that they have the support and backing of pro-Pakistan lobbies in the US, and therefore, are bound to work against the interest of India. Ram Sastry, president of Voice of America and president of Hindus for America, was unambiguous when he said, Biden/Harris is not a good choice for Indians. They are anti-India, Hindu phobic and pro-Pakistan. Sastry even went further to prophecies that Biden has conceded the race to Trump by opting for Harris as a running mate. Sastrys views are gaining ground among some with a right-wing leaning. Dr Romesh Jhapra, a cardiac surgeon in San Francisco, dismissed the senator with Indian lineage as a flip-flop politician. Shes moved too far to the left and supports ultra-socialist policies which are not liked by most of the American Hindus, the doctor said. Dr Jhapras organization, Americans4Hindus, has already extended their support for the incumbent president. Nisha Sharma, a Republican candidate for 11th Congressional District of California, accused Senator Harris of trying to play on people's emotions. In the past, Kamala Harris has not only taken stance which go against India's interest or poke into internal matters like CAA or Kashmir, her policies are also against basic fabric of the US and against meritocracy. Indian-Americans are a smart group and they know action speaks more than the name, Sharma said. It will be wrong to solely pin the blame on the ideological moorings of the right-wing Hindu organisations and their members as opposed to a more liberal political milieu of the democrats. On many an occasion Harris herself has taken a posture that has concretised the perception that she is against New Delhis decision to dilute Article 370 of the Constitution, and if she comes to power, she is likely to take a strong stance against it by raising the issue of human rights violations. Within weeks of Narendra Modi government ending the special status of Kashmir on August 5, 2019, Senator Harris along with other leaders of the Democratic Party met members of the Kashmiri diaspora represented by an outfit called Justice For Kashmir (JFK), an NGO. According to media reports, the aim of JFK is to raise awareness on political incursions by India in Kashmir among the leading politicians, bureaucrats and intellectuals in the US. These meetings were arranged by Asif Mahmood, a democrat of Pakistani origin, whose stance regarding Kashmir is well documented. Mahmood himself has spoken to media outlets confirming that he did facilitate those meetings so that Kashmiris could get a platform to voice their concerns A few months later, in December 2019, Harris vehemently criticised Indias foreign minister, S Jaishankars refusal to attend a meeting with Congress delegates as it included Pramila Jaypal. Jaypal had introduced a resolution on Kashmir urging India to lift restrictions. New Delhi had described the resolution as not being a fair characteristic of what the government of India is doing. During her unsuccessful presidential campaign, when Harris was asked about the lockdown in Kashmir she had responded by saying, It is about reminding people that they are not alone, that we are all watching, leaving little doubt as to her stance. And this is what has caused heartburn among some Indian-Americans. Dev Karlekar, from the Overseas Friends of BJP, didnt mince his words while describing Harris candidature, as Biden's campaign is largely influenced by Pakistani Caucus, they suggested Kamala Harris from a historically blue state California, referring to the colour associated with the Democratic Party. Karlekar predicted that the move will further derail Bidens campaign as a sizable section of Indian American voters have already moved towards the GOP. She (Kamala Harris) has zero reputation whatsoever among Indian-American voters and her record with black community is also poor, Karlekar added. Somanjana Chatterjee, a political strategist and social commentator, was even more scathing on Harris relationship with the Indian-American community in California. Living in CA for more than 10 years, I have never heard of Kamala mentioning her Indic roots up until her campaign fundraisers for Senate race. While serving as Attorney General of California, based in San Francisco, she was needlessly non-cooperative when approached for inputs in the states public school text books revision on Hinduism, she said. While Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu Congressman from Hawai, joined the Howdy Modi event, Harris was conspicuous by her absence. Though she has consistently spoken about the role her India-born mother played in bringing her up, politically she has identified with the African-American community rather than the Indian-American. No doubt, on the day of Kamala Harris announcement, Indians flooded the internet searching for her religion. But, to be fair to the senator with Indian lineage, theres considerable reason of not parading her Indian connection and seen as a community leader - whether its through her social media or during her political campaigns. In the past, Americans with ancestry in the subcontinent, have had to play down their ethnic heritage in order to be a successful politician. A case in point being Bobby Jindal, the Republican governor of the swing state of Louisiana, who, at a young age, changed his name from Piyush to Bobby and embraced Catholicism. Others like Judhajit Senmazumdar, a Silicon Valley based technologist and founder of NRIs4Bengal, a US-based group to rally Bengalis in America, claimed that Karlekar, Sharma and Sastrys sentiments are being echoed by many. According to him, many in the community are thinking of not getting swayed by Harris first name or her roots but will make an informed choice whether to vote for the Democrats or Republicans based on her past actions and records. Its not Harris alone that the Indian-American community is worried about though. A policy paper, Joe Bidens Agenda for Muslim American Community, created a furore when it was posted on his campaign website. The paper called out Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) as inconsistent with Indias secular credentials. Though it has been a long-standing characteristic of the Democrats to raise and be tough on human rights issues, Biden-Harris stance on Article 370, CAA and NRC has sown considerable doubts on the minds of some Indian-Americans, particularly supporters of PM Narendra Modi and those associated with BJP-RSS affiliated organisations. Even in WhatsApp groups of US-based Indian-born techies, particularly those from the IITs, the doubts regarding the Democrats still persist despite a majority of them being liberals and supporters of the party due to its stance on the issue of immigration. In numerous forwarded messages and personal opinions, the high-flying techies and entrepreneurs admit that Trump has been incredibly pro-India and his support is essential when the country is locked in a face-off with China. But they try to dispel the doubts by claiming that as a part of successful outreach by the Indian-American leadership, the US senate and Congress will never choose Pakistan or China over India. On Bidens Kashmir stance, during the run up to Democratic nomination, they have given a spin relating the move as a means to pacify Bernie Sanders supporters. The also cite the example of Biden being the vice-president when the civilian Nuclear deal with the US was signed but admit that the situation in Kashmir & India has considerably changed under Modi. The group is confident though that if the Democrats do occupy the Capitol Hill they will chart a new course and Kashmir wont be an irritant. So, if Biden-Harris duo defeats Trump-Pence in the November-3 election, will we see a reset in the Indo-US relation with Washington pressuring New Delhi to lift restrictions in Kashmir and questioning the secular credentials of CAA and NRC? Turkey won't back down against sanctions, threats amid Mediterranean standoff: Erdogan Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 8:49 AM President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara will never cave in to international threats and sanctions over its energy exploration in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean, which have been the subject of a territorial row between Turkey and Greece. In a televised speech on Saturday, Erdogan defended Turkey's exploration of oil and gas in the eastern Mediterranean, saying the measures are justified under both international maritime law and established conventions. Vowing to continue its energy exploration as planned, Erdogan warned that he would not tolerate "banditry" close to the Turkish mainland. "Our country is entirely in the right and we will continue to defend our rights, using all the means at our disposal," the Turkish president said in his televised address. "We will never bow to banditry on our continental shelf. We will not back down against the language of sanctions and threats," Erdogan stressed, in a veiled rebuke of Greece and France. The search for oil and gas in the contested eastern Mediterranean has pitted Turkey against its NATO ally, Greece, and, subsequently, the entire European Union bloc. The standoff deepened on Monday after Turkey launched naval drills off two Greek islands and announced the resumption of its energy exploration activity in the disputed area. Turkey has dispatched the seismic research vessel, Oruc Reis, accompanied by naval vessels, off the Greek island of Kastellorizo, where Turkey disputes Greek maritime rights. Greece has responded by sending its own military vessels to monitor the situation. Erdogan's comments followed a meeting of European Union foreign ministers of Friday, in which the top diplomats joined voices to defend Greece and slammed Ankara's actions in the disputed sea as dangerous and antagonist. A day earlier, France had announced it was "temporarily reinforcing" its presence in the eastern Mediterranean in support of Greece. Athens and Paris have also called for sanctions against Turkey. Turkey had paused the research activities after a request from Germany, but restarted them after an agreement signed between Greece and Egypt that designated an exclusive economic zone for oil and gas drilling rights in the eastern Mediterranean between the two countries. Ankara rejected the agreement as "null and void," describing as an attempt to keep it out of the region. The Turkish government has, however, said it is interested in resolving the dispute with Greece through dialog. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:10:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad discussed the country's constitutional committee with the visiting Ali Asghar Khaji, senior aide of the Iranian foreign minister on Monday, the state news agency SANA reported. During the meeting, Assad and Khaji discussed the latest development of the political track in the country as the constitutional committee will be meeting in the next few days in Geneva. Assad said he supports the work of the constitutional committee despite the attempts of some sides to divert the committee from its duties and the goals of its formation and to seek to change its working mechanisms. Both sides also discussed ways of cooperation between the two countries to face the economic siege imposed by the United States and its allies on Syria and options to deal with such sanctions with the help of friendly and allied countries, SANA said. The constitutional committee, which comprises representatives of the Syrian government, the opposition, and civil society, was officially launched in Geneva on Oct. 30, 2019. The committee has yet to agree on an agenda. Enditem Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, moved to larger office in Riyadh to better address customers needs and leverage the areas diverse high-technology talent pool. The company moved from Riyadh - Business Gate C7 to the new tower in Business Gate C2. The new office space is approximately 2500 sq ft, which makes it four times larger than the previous office and will house more than 30 employees. With its new office in KSA, Fortinet employs almost 40 sales, technical, and marketing people. Fortinet also assigned a new Country Manager for Saudi, Sami Alshwairakh to lead the business operation aligned with Saudi 2030 vision. In addition, Fortinet, aims to further advance its efforts to close the cybersecurity skills gap and address the talent shortage in the country by working with academic institutions and provide them Fortinets NSE certification curricula to prepare students for a career in cybersecurity. This move reflects our commitment in the country and our continued momentum. The new office space better accommodates our team and enables us to evolve as needed to provide industry-leading solutions, support and service to our Saudi clients. We are glad to be part of this initiative by bringing our expertise in cybersecurity to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said Alain Penel, Vice President at Fortinet in the Middle East. TradeArabia News Service Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore admitted it 'may not be responsible' for the celebrations to go ahead The fate of Sydney's famous New Year's Eve fireworks is up in the air over fears the crowded event could spark a massive new coronavirus outbreak. About one million people flock to the city's iconic foreshore every year to watch the elaborate 12-minute display where fireworks detonate from the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. The 2020 pyrotechnics show narrowly avoided cancellation due to a state-wide fire ban amid catastrophic bushfires, but now the 2021 event could be scrapped as COVID-19 continues to spread. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore admitted it 'may not be responsible' for the crowded celebrations to go ahead, but said it was too soon to call it off. She claimed the decision ultimately rests with NSW Health to determine whether the event can be held safely. 'It would be incredibly sad if Sydney New Year's Eve cannot go ahead, but that is a real possibility we're facing,' she said. About one million people flock to the city's iconic foreshore ever year to watch the elaborate 12-minute display where fireworks detonate from Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge It will the first time in 32 years if Sydney's famous fireworks display is cancelled. Pictured: revellers celebrating New Year's Eve in Sydney during the 2020 event But frustrated mayors across the city looking to Ms Moore for guidance have urged her to make the call as they attempt to plan local celebrations. Poll Should the fireworks be cancelled? Yes No Should the fireworks be cancelled? Yes 94 votes No 45 votes Now share your opinion 'The clock is ticking and the longer the City of Sydney leaves it, the harder it will be for us all to deliver a safe event,' North Sydney mayor Jilly Gibson told The Sydney Morning Herald. 'Mayor to mayor, I'm asking Clover to call this.' While North Sydney Council does not host its own fireworks, it helps control the crowds that gather to watch the harbour display. Ms Gibson acknowledged Ms Moore's reluctance to cancel the show more than four months in advance, but added the council needs time to plan a way of manage the event in a safe way. 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 Last week, NSW tourism minister Stuart Ayres said the event should go ahead 'after such a putrid 2020'. 'I would love to see fireworks on the Harbour Bridge to celebrate 2021,' Mr Ayres told reporters. 'I think everyone's just had a pretty sh***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 wouldn't be a traditional New Year's Eve celebration and will be without the one million revellers that pack the 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 c**p 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.' City of Sydney Council is working with the government to assess the impact of COVID-19 on all major events, including New Year's Eve. 'These events are subject to the NSW Government's public health orders, which are continuously amended to address the local impact of the pandemic,' a spokesman told Daily Mail Australia. 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 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. New South Wales tourism minister Stuart Ayres have given his blessing for the famous fireworks (pictured) to go ahead after a 's****y 2020' 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 season. 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 coastal NSW and Victoria. 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. Donald Trump has stepped up his relentless attacks on the United States Postal Service. His tweets and public statements are only the tip of the iceberg. Last month, Trumps choice to head the USPS took office and things have gotten much worse. Louis DeJoy is one of the richest people in North Carolina. He has donated more than $2 million to the Trump campaign and Republican causes since 2016, including $210,600 to the Trump Victory political action committee. DeJoy is the first postmaster in two decades without prior experience in the United States Postal Service. Through companies that he controls, DeJoy has contributed to the Senate campaigns of Martha McSally, John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, and (of course) Mitch McConnell. In addition, he has donated hundreds of thousands to the Republican National Committee. You can see a list of his contributions on Open Secrets. He was appointed as Postmaster General by Trump and was approved by the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service. Only one of the Boards six members is a Democrat. The chairman is Robert Michael Duncan, a Kentucky Republican who served as the chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2997 - 2009. Tennesseans may remember Duncan as CEO of TVA for one year. For a time, he ran Americas Power, a lobbying group which advocates on the behalf of coal-fueled electricity. In a story by the Washington Post, DeJoy and his wife Aldona Wos have between $30.1 million and $75.3 million in assets in Postal Service competitors or contractors. This information was available because Wos is the ambassador-nominee to Canada. Most of this wealth is in XPO Logistics, a company that is a significant contractor with the USPS. That company had acquired DeJoy's company New Breed Logistics in 2014. The couple also has holdings in UPS and J.B. Hunt, companies that would stand to gain with the elimination of the USPS. Upon his appointment, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed his concerns over DeJoy in a letter to Duncan. "His financial interests in companies that have business ties with the Postal Service, as well as his extensive campaign fundraising efforts, also raise concerns regarding whether and how legal prohibitions on his ethical conflicts of interest and partisan political activity as a federal employee will be addressed." So now Trump has yet another of his stooges at the head of a massive government agency. Democrats have the right to be concerned. If the Postal Service is further diminished, the ability for Americans to vote by mail will be seriously compromised. This is yet another effort to intimidate and confuse voters. At the same time, destroying the USPS will financially benefit the Postmaster General. Republicans will stop at nothing to keep their power. We must stop them in with our votes in November. Lawrence G. Miller Secretary, Hamilton County Democratic Party * * * So now the Tennessee Democratic party is trying to create more false narratives about the USPS. President Trump appointed by your own admission a very successful businessman to fix the clown show that is the USPS. Why the Tennessee Democratic party is trying to spew this nonsense in Tennessee is beyond me. I would be willing to bet that our Republican governor will never allow mail-in voting in our state. Tennessee also requires a photo ID to vote. Perhaps instead of worrying about defunding the police, tearing down statues, creating general lawlessness, etc., you should focus on the real issue with your party. The Democrat party has voiced not one policy stance that would make any normal person vote for their socialist/marxist agenda. The only thing the Democrats have to run on is their candidate is not Trump. I have witnessed enough elections in my time to know that people rarely turn out to vote against someone with the same enthusiasm that they turn out to vote for someone. I would suggest you kick the far left wing nut jobs and BLM/Antifa terrorists out of your party as a first step in normalizing our two party system. Mark Maynor Following news about a deal between Israel and the UAE, Bouthaina Shaaban has questioned what the UAE could hope to gain and the commitment of Israel reports Al-Watan. Bouthaina Shaaban, political and media adviser to the President of Syria, said that the establishing of relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel will not benefit the UAE. Shaaban said in an interview with Al-Mayadeen, I want to ask the countries that normalized relations with Israel: What has Israel implemented from all the agreements signed previously, from the Camp David accords, Wadi Araba and Oslo, and the agreement with the UAE? What is in it for the UAE?. She added, The enemy succeeded in planting the idea that the cost of war is very expensive and that peace is less expensive. I do not know if there is an interest for the UAE to normalize relations, because, again, what has Israel implemented? She explained that for decades, Israel has been trying to defeat Arab nationalism and the solution for us [Arabs] is to adhere to our national identity and our Arab nationalism. Shaaban pointed out that Israel is interested in spreading its influence across the Arab region, and surrendering to Israel did not make any Arab country better than it was, but rather made it worse. Shaaban asked, What is the current state of the countries that have normalized relations with Israel? She explained that Iran has proven its ability to address the blockade and Western targeting with wisdom and pride, and has managed to learn from the ordeal and use the lesson to develop itself. Therefore, the future of the Arab people and Arab countries should be by possessing the elements of strength and steadfastness. She added that Iran is an ally and a friend, as well as Russia and Hezbollah and whatever strengthens their position strengthens our position. Shaaban said, President Assads words were a direct and clear response that our relationship with the allies is strategic and distinct, and what has been talked about regarding the impact of these relations is psychological warfare. Shaaban explained that what brings Turkey and Israel together is the occupation of Syria and cooperation with terrorists against Syria. She asked, What is the difference between those who occupy the Golan and those who occupy Azaz and Afrin, and those who occupy the east of the Euphrates? For us, all of them are occupiers, and the new Ottoman is a threat to the Arab nation as is the Zionist. Shaaban considered it hypocritical for Turkey to say that it is considering severing its relationship with the UAE while it has, in fact, been normalizing relations with Israel for 40 billion dollars. 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. Shannon Silver had planned to take her family on a trip from her home in Connecticut to visit relatives in Ohio just before the start of the school year for her two children. But she and her husband reversed course when people traveling from Ohio were added to a list of those who must quarantine for 14 days upon entering Connecticut. That requirement might have meant her 10-year-old son would miss the first day of sixth grade at St. Matthew School in Bristol. We werent going to do that, especially at the beginning of the school year, Silver said. Plus, he really didnt want to miss the last two weeks of summer by having to quarantine. The family instead went to see other relatives in Colorado, which wasnt on the list. As states around the country require visitors from areas with high rates of coronavirus infections to quarantine upon arrival, children taking end-of-summer vacations to hot spots are facing the possibility of being forced to skip the start of in-person learning at their schools. More than a dozen states have such travel advisories, including many in the Northeast along with Alaska, Kentucky and Ohio. More than 30 states are on the list issued by Connecticut, New York and New Jersey in an attempt to prevent another surge of COVID-19 in the region, which was among the hardest hit early in the pandemic. As schools in the Northeast prepare to open early next month, officials are urging parents to be mindful of that guidance while planning any Labor Day getaways. In Connecticut, where infection numbers are among the lowest in the country, more than half of schools are planning to open for in-person learning. Gov. Ned Lamont made it clear this month that neither students nor teachers would be exempt from quarantine if they visit a hot spot. Dont go to South Florida; dont go to Phoenix, Arizona, and skip El Paso, Texas, and I would stay away from Southern California for a while too, said Lamont, a Democrat. I would stay close to home. I think there are some amazing places you can visit here and do it a lot safer. Bill Smith, a high school teacher at Southern Regional High School in Ocean County, New Jersey, said he canceled a research trip that was planned as part of his graduate degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. This is the first summer in years that I have not traveled outside of the state, Smith said. I have been more than happy to follow any and all guidelines that help protect the health and safety of those around me. Pat Toben-Cropper, of Herndon, Virginia, is planning to drive her daughter, Kylie Cropper, back to college this month at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College in Manchester, New Hampshire. She said because of the travel advisories in the Northeast, she was unable to get a hotel reservation north of Pennsylvania. It became this logistical nightmare, she said. But enforcing the rules can be challenging. In New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said recently he cant bar people from traveling and hoped they would heed the quarantine advice. New York has been stopping some out-of-state travelers at checkpoints to ensure they are abiding by the quarantine a move that has come under criticism. Both New York and New Jersey also are holding out hope for many school districts to offer in-person learning this fall, although Murphy recently authorized the states more than 600 school districts to implement virtual options. New Jerseys school reopening plan doesnt directly address students who are in quarantine when the year begins. Some school districts, like Willingboro, have reminded families to quarantine if theyre returning from states listed on the advisory. Others, like the states largest in Newark, dont directly mention the advisory in their return-to-school plans. Nancy Deering, the ombudsman for Newarks public schools, said the plan is fluid and guidance could be added at some point. She pointed to the fact that teachers and staff must produce a negative test and undergo a symptom screening to return to school in person. But schools will simply have to trust that students who have traveled to hot spots are coming clean and following the rules. Walter Willett, the superintendent of schools in Tolland, Connecticut, said he fears that students might lie, so they can attend in-person classes. His schools are making sure that every class has an online learning option and will try to ensure kids dont miss a beat if they need to quarantine. We have to be vigilant in protecting each other and, please, if you are in one of these situations, know that you will be supported. Its important for the families to know that we have remote learning, online learning for them and that its not a permanent thing, Willett said. Many of the travel restrictions in place are moving targets, complicating planning for families. Last week, for instance, a handful of states were removed including nearby Rhode Island and the Silvers destination of Ohio and a few more added to the tristate areas list. Erin McCall, of Avon, Connecticut, said she also was going to postpone a trip to Ohio, before it was removed from the list. She said she now plans to keep her son home this fall anyway because the safety line always seems to be moving. Everything is put on hold, vacation, going back to school, because everything is changing so rapidly, she said. If I had more confidence in the school system and its ability to sterilize everything and make everything safe, then maybe Id change my plans. But I dont. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the name of one of the writers is Mike Catalini, not Mike Catlaini. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is applauded by, from left, State Councilor Xiao Jie, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, State Councilor Wang Yong, and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe, as he arrives for the closing session of the regimes rubber stamp legislative conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 28, 2020. (NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) Top Chinese Officials Moves Suggest Factional Infighting as Beidaihe Conclave Ends Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and the Communist Partys first-ranked secretary, Wang Huning, attended different meetings on Aug. 17, suggesting that the annual Beidaihe conclave when Party elite discuss political dealings has ended. Every summer, Party factions conduct informal negotiations, discuss major national policies, and finalize decisions while meeting in the northern resort town, although details are kept secret. In a letter addressed to an Aug. 17 conference for the Communist Youth League, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who attended the conference, asked young people to follow the Party and strive to contribute, according to a copy published on state-run media Xinhua. Meanwhile, Li spoke about unemployment at a Chinese cabinet meeting. But none of the top officials mentioned Chinas current woes such as severe flooding, the pandemic, and food shortages. Xi Jinping delivered a message to youth after the Beidaihe conclave ended, showing that Xi kept his position as CCP [Chinese Communist Party] leader during the meeting. At the same time, China became softer in the U.S.China dispute, showing that Xi made compromises to the rival faction that is loyal to former Party leader Jiang Zemin, said U.S.-based China affairs commentator, Tang Jingyuan. The Jiang faction is the Xi camps chief political rivals. Since Xi took power in 2012, he has sought to purge officials loyal to Jiang in an anti-corruption campaign. Before the Beidahe meeting, Chinese officials and state media used a strong tone to criticize U.S. senior officials. On Aug. 11, as the meeting was occurring, the Hong Kong-based newspaper South China Morning Post, citing anonymous sources, said that Xi ordered Chinese troops not to fire the first shot in the event of a standoff with the United States in the South China Sea. The U.S. State Department in July formally rejected Beijings territorial claims in the waterway, citing its bullying tactics. Two Meetings According to state media, Li hosted a State Council executive meeting on Aug. 17, at which he talked about how to support the economy and allow university graduates who studied education to apply for teaching jobs without first obtaining a licenseso they can start working as soon as possible. Li said the Chinese economy needs to continue its restorative growth after being severely hit by the CCP virus pandemic, as well as events outside of China that caused export orders to dry up. He emphasized that all pandemic relief funding allocated to Chinese companies by the central government must be tracked and recorded. Furthermore, punish the officials immediately after finding any of them who falsely reports [data] or embezzles the funding, he added. Tang says Lis remarks suggest that corruption at different levels is still a serious problem for the Party. When the CCP says to avoid some issue, that means the issue is a big problem, he said. At the meeting, Li also requested that teacher training universities allow graduates to take a teachers position immediately after graduation, and take certification tests later. Another option would be for training universities to organize their own testing to see whether students are qualified, he said. China has about 143 teacher training universities, according to Chinese university ranking company CUAA. The new directive suggests the severity of Chinas unemployment problem, Tang said. Young people may protest or challenge the government if they dont have a job, he said. Similar to how Xi spoke to youth about following the Party, the regime is trying to give young people a job and persuade them to listen to the Party. Beidaihe Conclave In early August, none of the CCPs senior leaders made public appearances, suggesting the conclave had begun in Beidaihe, a resort town located in northern Hebei Province. On Aug. 14, the CCPs mouthpiece newspaper Peoples Daily posted an article to emphasize the Party as the unique leader of the Chinese military, noting that the Peoples Liberation Armys (PLA) mission is to maintain the Partys ruling internally and protecting the regimes security externally. The following day, Qiushi, a bi-monthly political theory periodical published by the Partys Central Committee and Party School, published a speech given by Xi in November 2015. In the previously unpublished speech, Xi claimed that the Marxist political economy is suitable for China, and that capitalism would cause wealth disparities. U.S.-based China affairs commentator Yang Wei said in an analysis published in the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times that Xi published his speech to send a message to the other Party factionshe doesnt want to change. Through the speech, Xi wanted to use the banner of maintaining the CCPs ruling to receive support from CCP officials, Yang wrote. It indicates that the factions infighting at the Beidaihe meeting was very intense, and the factions couldnt reach an agreement. Yang also believes the Peoples Daily article was likely a request from Xi, ordering the PLA rank-and-file to protect his position as Party leader and commander-in-chief. As chairman of the Central Military Commission, Xi is the leader of the PLA. Trading activities amongst African countries are expected to begin in January 2021 following the official commissioning and handing over of the Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Accra today. The agreement was scheduled to be operational in June 2020 but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Addressing the media during the presentation of credentials by the Secretary-General of the AfCFTA to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, assured the Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene, of Ghana's support to the Secretariat in realising an 'Africa Beyond Aid' through trade. She said Ghanas doors are widely opened to him. I wish to assure Your Excellency, Wamkele Mene, first Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat, of the support of the Government of Ghana and, in particular, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, in the operationalisation of this African project for Africa's development. She noted that as historic because of the realisation of one of the aspirations of the founding fathers of the Organisation of the African Union, to have African countries to explore their full potentials. The Minister held that the handing over ceremony of the AfCFTA Secretariat is a reflection of our strong, collective resolve to push forward this African integration agenda. The AfCFTA agreement seeks to create a single African market of over a billion consumers with a total GDP of over $3 trillion; a figure that will make Africa the largest free trade area in the world. There are currently 54 signatories to the trade agreement. Signatory countries have committed to remove tariffs on 90 percent of goods and lift non-tariff barriers, among other things. Belarus opposition supporters attend a rally in central Minsk on Aug. 16, 2020. The Belarusian strongman, who has ruled his ex-Soviet country with an iron grip since 1994, is under increasing pressure from the streets and abroad over his claim to have won re-election on Aug. 9, with 80 percent of the vote. (Sergie Gapon/AFP via Getty Images) Huge Protest in Belarus as Europes Last Dictator Rejects Repeat Election Protesters flooded onto the streets of Minsk, the capital city of Belarus, on Aug. 16 in the largest show of opposition to the validity of the results of an election held a week earlier and won by the nations authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, who rejects any possibility of a do-over. About 200,000 people attended the protest amid a surprising lack of police, who are notorious for violently suppressing dissent in a nation ruled with an iron fist by its first and only president. Thousands of protesters have been detained and two killed since the security forces cracked down on demonstrations following the election on Aug. 9. Protesters who were later released showed bruises they said were due to police beatings; some protesters carried pictures of loved ones they said had been beaten so badly that they couldnt attend. Lukashenko, the only member of the Belarusian Parliament to vote against the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, attended a much smaller rally held by supporters on Aug. 16, telling the crowd that the motherland is in danger and that Belarus would will perish as a state if the election is rerun. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko delivers a speech during a rally held to support him in central Minsk, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Siarhei Leskiec/AFP via Getty Images) Amid the daily protests, the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin promised to assist Lukashenko, if needed, in accordance with a collective military pact. Opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya claimed she won the election with 60 to 70 percent of the vote. She has since fled to Lithuania and formed a council to coordinate a peaceful transition of power. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius referred to Lukashenko as the former president in a Twitter message on Aug. 5. Lukashenko holds virtually unlimited power over the government apparatus in Belarus. The lower house of the countrys Parliament doesnt have a single seat held by an opposition party. Lukashenko appoints the members of the upper house and nearly all judges. Lukashenkos domestic, economic, and foreign policies are similar to socialist and communist dictatorships. A former director of a collective farm and member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Lukashenko has backed state ownership of key industries. Belarus has retained a vast amount of Soviet symbolism even as other former republics, including Ukraine, have actively rejected and shed it. It has no free press and no free and fair elections. Lukashenkos repression of opponents have earned him the title of Europes last dictator among European and Western officials. A Belarus opposition supporter punches the air during a demonstration in central Minsk on Aug. 16, 2020. (Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images) The protest in Minsk was peaceful and celebratory. People chanted long live Belarus and we wont forget or forgive. They waved the red-and-white flags used in Belarus after the 1991 break from the Soviet Union, which Lukashenko replaced with the communist-era banner shortly after taking power. We all want Lukashenko to step down, Alexei, a 31-year-old protester, said. For now, we are asking, but we will get sick of asking. Maria Kolesnikova, referring to Lukashenko as the former president, said he should quit, and appealed to state officials to abandon him. This is your final chance to overcome your fear, she said. We were all scared, too. Join us and we will support you. Alla Georgievna, 68, an attendee of the smaller rally of supporters where Lukashenko spoke, said she still supports the president. I dont understand why everyone has risen up against him. We get our pensions and salaries on time thanks to him, she said. Now, everybody is against Lukashenko, and the president needs our support. Everybody suddenly has forgotten the good things he has donetheres order in the country, we dont have war or hunger, said supporter Tamara Yurshevich, a 35-year-old lawyer. At the rally, Lukashenko, who has previously alleged that foreign powers are conspiring against him, said that NATO tanks and airplanes were within 15 minutes of the nations border. NATO said that while its closely monitoring the situation in Belarus, theres no military build-up at the countrys western border. People attend a rally in support of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko near the Government House in Independence Square in Minsk on Aug. 16, 2020. (Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters) The protesters say the election was rigged, while Lukashenko stands by the official figures that showed him winning, with more than 80 percent of the vote. Internet polls conducted prior to the election showed a starkly different picture, with the authoritarian leader getting less than 7 percent of the vote in five surveys. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement the election wasnt free and fair, and the European Union said the election results were falsified and that it was considering sanctions. Severe restrictions on ballot access for candidates, prohibition of local independent observers at polling stations, intimidation tactics employed against opposition candidates, and the detentions of peaceful protesters and journalists marred the process, Pompeo said. Despite Putins offer of military assistance to quell the unrest, the relationship between Russia and Belarus has become increasingly strained since the start of the year. In January, Lukashenko accused Putin of trying to make Belarus a part of Russia. In July, Belarus arrested 33 Russian military contractors and Lukashenko accused Moscow of trying to send in 200 fighters ahead of the election to destabilize Belarus. The recent developments suggest that Russia, which has already executed a successful geopolitical land grab in Ukraine, may be guided by ulterior motives in offering help. The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report. Thirty-nine new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Northern Ireland on Monday amid fresh warnings that localised lockdowns could be introduced. In total, 290 cases have been recorded in the space of a week an average of 41 a day. Health Minister Robin Swann said a new, younger profile of people testing positive was emerging. He said experts were focused on breaking the chain of transmission but warned a tipping point could be reached where decisive action was needed. He told UTV: When we get to that tipping point, and I would rather that we didnt, that is when we do have to look at the lockdown measures as well. Read More That is when we as an Executive have to look at stepping back some of the relaxations that we have made in the past number of months. That is where I think we are coming to very, very quickly. He said these included the number of people in houses, the number of people who can gather at one place, when and where people could travel. Mr Swann added: I would rather not go there, but when we start to see the increase in the figures of contamination and positive cases that we are actually seeing now, it is something that we are actively seeing. He suggested lockdowns may not be geographic, but could be by sector. He added: If we are having to look at certain industries, certain provisions, again about closing those down, it has a negative impact, it has a large impact on quality of life in Northern Ireland. Mr Swann warned that unless the virus was brought under control, the region would head into another lockdown and more restrictions. He said the next days and weeks were crucial. Earlier, the regions chief scientific adviser has warned that localised restrictions where cases have surged may soon be required. Professor Ian Young said the rising numbers were of considerable concern and represented a tenfold increase on infection rates earlier in the summer. He said two council areas - Antrim & Newtownabbey and Mid & East Antrim - were particularly affected by surges. Prof Young added: I think were getting close to the point, certainly in those areas with the high numbers of cases, that we may have to consider whether any additional local measures are required. I dont think were at the point where wed be considering measures across the whole of Northern Ireland because there are still many parts of Northern Ireland where, as a result of public behaviours and other factors, the level of virus remains at a low level. The expert adviser said a one-size-fits-all approach would not be appropriate when it came to any renewed restrictions. We are undoubtedly seeing Covid fatigue and that leads into complacency, he told BBC Radio Ulster. In the Republic of Ireland, 56 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed on Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases there to 27,313. The President of Groupe Nduom, Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom, has said the revocation of the licences of 23 financial institutions on August 16, last year has caused the health of many people, including him, to deteriorate. He said a number of businesses and families had also suffered in the process, stressing: I have felt the pain of customers caught in the engineered liquidity crisis. In an interview from his base in the United States of America exactly a year after the revocation of the licence of the GN Bank, which had downgraded to operate as a saving and loans company, Dr Nduom said he had an unshakable belief that while there is judgment here on earth, we will all have to give account to the Higher Judge above one day. What is covered by darkness, documents hidden, plans hatched behind closed doors to make others suffer will come to light. Context On August 16, last year, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the licences of 23 savings and loans companies and finance houses, citing insolvency. The affected institutions included Ideal Finance, GN Savings and Loans, First Allied Savings and Loans, ASN Financial Services, Midland Savings and Loans, IFS Financial Services, uniCredit Savings and Loans and Womens World Banking Savings and Loans. According to the BoG, GN Savings and Loans, despite its reclassification from a universal bank to a savings and loans company in January 2019, was unable to resolve its liquidity issues. A statement issued by the BoG said the revocation of the licences of the institutions had become necessary because they were insolvent, even after a reasonable period within which the bank had engaged with them in the hope that they would be recapitalised by their shareholders to return them to solvency. "These actions were taken pursuant to Section 123 (1) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930), which requires the Bank of Ghana to revoke the licence of a bank or specialised deposit-taking institution (SDI) where the Bank of Ghana determines that the institution is insolvent, it said. The BoG also appointed Eric Nipah as the Receiver for the specified institutions, in line with Section 123 (2) of Act 930. Following the collapse of GN Savings and Loans, Dr Nduom challenged the BoGs decision in court, with the case still pending. Day of pain Dr Nduom said August 16, 2019 would stay in his mind as a day of infamy, treachery and robbery of the rights and assets of indigenous Ghanaian entrepreneurship. He said for one year, he had taken numerous opportunities to state the case of GN Savings in public. I have sent numerous petitions to state and traditional authorities. I took the advice of many of them to appeal to the Human Rights Division of the High Court in Ghana to seek the restoration of the rights which were wrongfully taken away from me on that day by the BoG. While the matter is still in court, I will continue to stay away from the substantive matter, he stated. Aspersions Dr Nduom wondered why some politicians were so eager to take a matter in court, ignore the fact of the existence of due process, and go on television, radio and social media and cast aspersions on shareholders and directors of the affected companies. Why are many Ghanaians so quick to rejoice and are willing to inflict more damage when they perceive that someone is down? he asked. Deep thoughts He said nobody gifted a banking licence to him and the other shareholders, saying they worked very hard to get a licence from the BoG to establish the First National Savings and Loans Company Limited, which became GN Bank. He said GN Bank then became GN Savings & Loans Company Limited, following the approval by the BoG to reclassify the bank. Process Dr Nduom said the shareholders started the process to create a national financial institution in 1997, saying after nine years of planning, preparation and interactions with the BoG, First National was granted a licence to open for business in May 2006. A number of local companies and people were rejected as potential shareholders. Eventually, our company, Coconut Grove Hotels, became the major shareholder, later to be joined by others. The required capital was paid in and verified by the BoG, he recalled. He said the company started with Susu-like products and gave millions of cedis to micro-scale enterprises to trade and work with. There are thousands of business people today who owe their beginning to the small loans they took from First National. Included in this number are tens of local contractors who were helped to secure and execute GETFund, cocoa roads and Road Fund contracts, he said. Strategic plan Dr Nduom said the company developed a five-year strategy to be in 300 locations with one million customers. We designed Money Stores, Express buildings and constructed them. We teamed up with a George Soros company that contributed capital to make this happen, so as not to fall on depositor funds. The huge investment of funds, energy and sweat was paid for by shareholders and was completed in July 2018. At our peak, we employed over 2,000 people, mostly very young men and women. Together with security guards and other service providers, our numbers exceeded 3,000, he said. The entrepreneur and business advisory expert said the companys customer base exceeded 1.2 million and also made it possible for small businesses in places such as Widana, Djemeni, Kwame Danso, Walewale, Pusiga, Tumu, Paga, Debiso, Tuobodom, Anloga and many, many other towns where other licensed financial institutions would not go to get access to credit. He said he had not invested so much time and energy and risked so much to establish and develop any company as he did with GN Savings. I was not an absentee shareholder. My job was to lead the business strategy development, fund raising and physical expansion. My body has felt the numerous and unending travels to Wulensi, Widana, Gwollu and many other places difficult to reach to find land and supervise construction, he said. He said his faith made him to believe that soon, and very soon, justice will prevail. Then I will tell my story. The whole story about First National/GN Bank/GN Savings the why, who and how. 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 Renowned Journalist Kweku Baako Jnr has asked the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to have the courage to accept the challenge that "things are not going the right way and that things being done is insufficient in curing this corruption challenge. He has therefore asked government to 'sit up' if it wants to get rid of the corrupt perception tag. "Government should sit up . . . if nobody is seeing anything it's as if you are doing nothing at all and you have to take the blame for that situation," Kweku Baako stated. He said investigations and other issues surrounding corruption allegation take so long so 'it loses its value. Citing the Australian visa scandal, he wondered what was stopping the government from making the report public. "Peoples reputation are still at stake. There are people who dont believe anything that has been said relative to the Deputy Minister (Pius Enam Hadzide). How do you cure that; make this report transparent; give us status report. Thats what you do. BOST is still out there . . . "Make those reports public then if there are findings and recommendations seek to implement them otherwise the perception will remain a reality; indeed, its a reality virtually because nobody is seeing any action . . . PDS; people are asking questions especially relating to the revenue aspect; make it public . . . deal with it, he intimated while speaking on Joy Newsfile programme. RTI factor The RTI (Right To Information) bill was passed by Parliament on 26th March 2019. It is to ensure that Ghanaians have access to information from public offices without any struggle. However, a year down the line, nothing has been seen or heard of it. Speaking to this, Kweku Baako queried: "The RTI act what happened . . . nothing is happening. The inertia is unacceptable; we dont see anything; we dont hear anything and when that happens you are killing the spirit of the RTI act." " . . to be honest its a minus there; it doesnt matter the good intention or efforts may be underway; we arent seeing the results so its a minus and government must be courageous to accept that and that will help in curing the mischief. "Same with the office of the special prosecution . . . where is the visibility, where is the transparency where is the product in terms of outcome. The galamsey investigation by tiger eye; it's been there; what is the status of that investigation; we dont hear anything, we dont see anything and that is a minus," he added. Background Akufo-Addo's government has been criticized for its inability to fight corruption as promised. According to critics, there are a lot of allegations of corruption in the ruling administration that has received little or no attention. The opposition NDC has accused government of sweeping corrupt allegations like BOST, PDS, others under the carpet. " . . never in the history of Ghana have we seen this level of corruption and naked thievery like we are witnessing under the reign of President Akufo-Addo in the last three (3) and half years. Despite promising to protect the public purse, President Akufo Addo has supervised the biggest rape of the public pursue since he took office in 2017. This has led to a sad situation where millions of money, which should have gone into the provision of schools, hospitals, roads, potable drinking water, jobs and other critical investments in the productive sectors of the economy for the benefit of all Ghanaians, have been diverted into the pockets and bank accounts of a few selfish officials of the Akufo Addo-government, while the masses continue to suffer. "Friends from the media, these acts of naked robbery and the coverup of same by President Akufo-Addo, as pertains to the PDS scam, is what continues to entrench President Akufo-Addo as the Chief Clearing Agent of corruption, who shields his corrupt appointees from punishment. This is why we have always maintained, that President Akufo-Addo is the biggest enabler and promoter of corruption in his government. Today, the incorruptibility tag he was clothed with by his party and some elements in the media prior to the 2016 general elections, has turned out to be a ruse which was presented to Ghanaians for votes and nothing more. Ghanaians should not and will never forgive President Akufo for supervising this stinking PDS scam which has caused the nation a huge financial loss of over US$1.8 billion, and the numerous corruption scandals that has engulfed his government in the last three (3) and half years," the NDC said at a recent press conference. Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Three newborn puppies were rescued from inside a plastic bag following a failed attempt to drown them in a river. The animal welfare charity that took them in described the act as disturbing, cruel, and heartless in an age when pet owners should know better. The puppies were taken in by The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), reports The Irish Post, and an appeal has been launched to identify the negligent owner. On the evening of July 8, a walker passed a bridge near Drumkeen in County Donegal, Ireland, and noticed a plastic bag hanging precariously from a barbwire fence. Fearing that kittens were inside, the local called a veterinarian for help. Dr. Alexander Smyth responded to the call, carefully retrieving the bag from the failed attempt to dump the litter into the river, and found three weak, limp newborn collie puppies. Smyth administered immediate treatment for hypothermia, hypoglycaemia, and hunger. It is disturbing how anyone could be so cruel and heartless to put three vulnerable little puppies in a plastic bag, leaving them to dangle over a river to an inevitable death, ISPCA Senior Inspector Kevin McGinley told the ISPCAs news team, adding that he had no words to describe the heinous deed. These three puppies are lucky to be alive thanks to the kindhearted member of the public, he added, and to Smyth Veterinary Services for rescuing them. It remains unclear how long the puppies were dangling from the barbwire fence, but the three little fighters responded well to their treatment. The puppies are doing well, Smyth confirmed, but will require intensive support as they are very young and now orphans, and the ISPCA team will continue to provide this over the coming weeks. The ISPCA, releasing a statement on Facebook, revealed that the vulnerable pups were no more than 7 to 10 days old on the day of their rescue. Comments from members of the public highlighted concern for the fate of the mother dog, as well as her abandoned puppies. I hope [the owners] are found and prosecuted and the mother removed, wrote one netizen. How dare they do this. Someone knows. Poor little mites, added another, but at least now they are in with a chance of being adopted by people who will love and care for them and give them the life they deserve. In the absence of their mothers milk, the three siblingsnamed Fern, Alex, and Glenwere bottle-fed around the clock by dedicated ISPCA staffers. [I]t was touch-and-go whether any of the puppies would survive, said ISPCA Centre Manager and vet nurse Denise McCausland. During that first night, I hand-fed them milk by syringe nearly every hour, she continued. They were placed under a heat lamp to keep them warm and a ticking clock helped calm them when they cried for their mom. It was just so heartbreaking. The stoic puppies, however, pulled through. Photos of the collie siblings taken three weeks after their fortuitous rescue show three healthy, lively pups eating, playing, and thriving together after their near-tragic ordeal. Smyth, reflecting on his involvement with the litter of three, called it a tragedy in this day and age for someone to have resorted to dumping the newborn pups like trash in a public place. [W]ith so many animal charities and places that are willing to care for these animals, he told the ISPCA, the suffering of these animals could have been avoided. Courtesy of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) The abuse and needless suffering of animals is unacceptable, the veterinarian added, and we encourage if anyone has any information about any cases of abuse, neglect, or otherwise that they should make it know to authorities so it can be stopped. McGinley urged pet owners to act responsibly by spaying and neutering their animals to prevent unwanted litters and tragedies such as these from occurring. Fern, Alex, and Glen will remain with the ISPCA for a few more weeks until they are fit and strong enough to find the forever homes they deserve. We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 23:19:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TRIPOLI, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Interior of Libya's UN-backed government on Monday said it arrested 27 illegal immigrants, including women and children, as they were preparing to cross the sea towards Europe. "Members of the emergency police department of the Western Security Directorate arrested 27 illegal immigrants of different Arab nationalities, including seven women and 12 children, while they were preparing for illegal immigration through the sea," the Ministry said in a statement. Thousands of immigrants choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe, given the state of chaos and insecurity that plagued Libya following the 2011 uprising that toppled the late leader Muammar Gaddafi. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), nearly 7,000 illegal immigrants have been rescued and returned to Libya so far this year, while 9,225 illegal immigrants have been rescued and returned to Libya in 2019. Immigrant shelters in Libya are overcrowded with many immigrants who were either rescued at sea or arrested by the authorities, despite repeated international calls to close those centers. Enditem The dictators two dilemmas By Andrew J. Nathan, exclusively for the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka View(s): View(s): NEW YORK Authoritarian regimes often enjoy more public support than democratic governments do. To discover why, my colleagues and I administered the Asian Barometer Survey in four waves across 14 Asian countries between 2001 and 2016. What we found is that authoritarian regimes actually suffer from acute near- and long-term vulnerabilities. When asked how much confidence they have in six different government institutions, respondents in China and Vietnam expressed quite a lot or a great deal of trust in 4.4-5.3 institutions, on average, whereas Japanese and Taiwanese respondents trusted only 2-2.6 institutions. We then asked four questions about whether respondents thought their form of government could solve the countrys problems and thus deserved the peoples support. Japanese, Taiwanese, and South Korean citizens gave more no than yes answers, while citizens in Vietnam, China, Myanmar, Cambodia, and other authoritarian countries answered yes much more often than no. The conventional wisdom is that such results reflect the effects of nationalism and access to media. That is correct. In both democratic and authoritarian systems, citizens who express pride in their country also are more likely to express support for the regime. Likewise, greater trust in media has a positive effect on regime support. In democracies, where media options are diverse and often critical of the government, citizens who have more trust in media are more likely to feel that they understand why the government does what it does. In authoritarian systems, where the media are government-run or government-influenced, citizens who believe official sources are more likely to support the regime. Two other sets of variables are more surprising, and point to authoritarian regimes vulnerabilities. First, we found that the economic welfare of the respondents family had little effect on his or her support for the regime. People seemed to credit or blame themselves for how well or poorly their families did, even though they attributed the overall state of the economy to the regime. By contrast, in both democracies and autocracies, citizens gave more weight to the governments role in ensuring fairness, defined as providing equal treatment to rich and poor, safeguarding freedom of speech and association, and guaranteeing access to basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. And they gave even more weight to the governments effectiveness, meaning its ability to fight corruption, administer the rule of law, and solve what respondents identified as the most important problem facing the country. These findings point to a near-term threat to authoritarian legitimacy. Authoritarian regimes are more susceptible than democracies to corruption, abuses of power, and catastrophic policy mistakes due to secrecy and over-centralisation. In democracies, dissatisfied citizens can organise and vote. Under authoritarian rule, dissatisfaction tends to build up until mass demonstrations erupt, potentially jeopardising the regimes survival. A final reason for the differences in support between authoritarian and democratic regimes is culture. Here, the survey included a nine-item questionnaire to measure traditional social values like conflict avoidance, deference to authority, and group loyalty over individualism. It also included a seven-item battery designed to assess support for core liberal-democratic principles, such as the freedom of speech and association, judicial independence, and the separation of powers. In all but two of the countries surveyed, those who affirm traditional values tend to accord greater legitimacy to the regime under which they live, regardless of whether it is democratic or authoritarian. Likewise, there is also a statistically significant relationship between affirming liberal-democratic values and being critical of ones government. The combined role of performance and culture in generating regime legitimacy points to a long-term dilemma for authoritarian regimes. To achieve high marks for performance, both democratic and authoritarian regimes will pursue policies that promote modernisation. Yet, by definition, such policies run counter to traditional values, which helps to explain why those authoritarian countries that have modernised the fastest also have the fastest spread of liberal-democratic values, especially among younger, more educated, urban citizens. Moreover, while liberal-democratic values and criticism of government are baked into the politics of democracies, they pose a unique threat to authoritarian systems, because they are strongly associated with a desire for an alternative regime. In the survey, we presented three alternative forms of authoritarian rule, and asked if respondents would approve of any of them. Perhaps not surprisingly, liberal citizens in both authoritarian and democratic regimes found all three options unattractive, implying that they see no authoritarian alternative that is superior to what they already have. But when we posed four questions about the attributes respondents prefer in government, we found a preference for liberal-democratic regime characteristics among citizens who believed in liberal-democratic values. Respondents were asked, for example, whether they believe that, Government is our employee, the people should tell government what needs to be done, or whether they believe that, The government is like a parent, it should decide what is good for us. The better an authoritarian regime performs in its mission to modernise society, the more rapidly liberal-democratic values will replace traditional values, and the larger the proportion of the population dissatisfied with authoritarian rule will become. The most effective authoritarian regimes, then, are gradually digging their own graves. Andrew J. Nathan is Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2020. www.project-syndicate.org MONDAY, Aug. 17, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Scientists say they are seeing signs of lasting immunity to the coronavirus, even in those who only experience mild symptoms of COVID-19. A slew of studies show that disease-fighting antibodies, as well as B-cells and T-cells that can recognize the virus, appear to persist months after infections have run their course, The New York Times reported. "This is exactly what you would hope for. All the pieces are there to have a totally protective immune response," said Marion Pepper, an immunologist at the University of Washington and an author of one of the new studies, which is now undergoing review by the journal Nature. "This is very promising," said Smita Iyer, an immunologist at the University of California, Davis, who is studying immune responses to the coronavirus in rhesus macaques, told the Times. "This calls for some optimism about herd immunity, and potentially a vaccine." Although researchers cannot predict how long these immune responses will last, experts consider the data to be the first proof that the body has a good chance of fending off the coronavirus if exposed to it again. "Things are really working as they're supposed to," Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona, told the Times. Bhattacharya is an author on one of the new studies, which was published on medRxiv, a pre-print server for health research that has not yet been peer-reviewed. While scientists race to find a way to reach herd immunity against the coronavirus, the second largest school district in the nation has announced an ambitious COVID-19 testing program. Los Angeles Unified said it plans to periodically test nearly 700,000 students and 75,000 employees to try to determine when in-person instruction can resume safely, the Washington Post reported. The district was one of the first in the country to announce that students would not be returning to classrooms in the fall. Working with the University of California at Los Angeles, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Microsoft and major health insurers, the district will now build its own testing and contact-tracing system for a school population that is larger than many American cities, the Post reported. Teachers who are working from school buildings will be the first to take part in the program. Tests will then be given to all other staff members and students to establish a baseline, the newspaper reported. The district also plans to offer testing to any relatives of students or staff who show coronavirus symptoms. As schools reopen, COVID cases among kids on the rise With millions of American children returning to school this month, a new study shows that at least 97,000 kids were infected with COVID-19 during the last two weeks of July. According to the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association, at least 338,000 U.S. children had tested positive through July 30, the Times reported. That means that more than a quarter of those cases had come up positive in the second half of July alone. Already, some schools have tried to reopen and then had to order quarantines or close after COVID-19 cases were reported among students and staff, the Times reported. In the new report, states in the South and West accounted for more than 7 of 10 infections. The count could be higher because the report did not include complete data from Texas and parts of New York State outside of New York City. There were differences in how states classified children: Most places cited in the report considered children to be no older than 17 or 19. But in Alabama, the age limit was 24, while it was only 14 in Florida and Utah, the Times reported. Though public health officials say that most children do not get severe illness, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that a new, more dangerous COVID-19 condition known as Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children has struck children of color far more often than whites. From early March through late July, the CDC received reports of 570 young people -- ranging from infants to age 20 with the condition, the Times reported. Of those, 40 percent were Hispanic or Latino, 33 percent were Black and 13 percent were white. Ten died and nearly two-thirds were admitted to intensive care units, the report found. By Monday, the U.S. coronavirus case count surpassed 5.4 million as the death toll neared 170,000, according to a Times tally. According to the same tally, the top five states in coronavirus cases as of Monday were: California with over 628,500; Florida with more than 573,000; Texas with almost 570,000; New York with over 430,000; and Georgia with over 220,000. Nations grapple with pandemic Elsewhere in the world, the situation remains challenging. India has passed Britain to have the fourth-highest death toll in the world from the coronavirus, after the United States, Brazil and Mexico, the Post reported. By Monday, India had more than 2.6 million confirmed cases of the infection and nearly 51,000 deaths, a John Hopkins tally shows. Britain remains the worst-hit country in Europe, the Post reported. Brazil is also a hotspot in the coronavirus pandemic, with over 3.3 million confirmed infections by Monday, according to the Hopkins tally. It has the second-highest number of cases, behind only the United States. Cases are also spiking in Russia: As of Monday, that country reported the world's fourth-highest number of COVID-19 cases, at over 925,500, the Hopkins tally showed. Even New Zealand, a country that hadn't seen a new coronavirus case is 100 days, hasn't been spared. On Monday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country's general election, scheduled for Sept. 19, would be pushed back a month, the Post reported. The move comes as New Zealand grapples with a new wave of COVID-19 infections that have prompted a return to lockdown restrictions in parts of the country. Worldwide, the number of reported infections passed 21.7 million on Monday, with nearly 776,000 deaths, according to the Hopkins tally. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on the new coronavirus. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) Former Department of Information and Communications Technology undersecretary Eliseo Rio said so-called "gatekeepers" within the Inter-Agency Task Force have prevented measures to implement effective contact tracing efforts. In a lengthy post on Facebook on Sunday, Rio recounted how he had proposed a way to improve measures to help stem the spread of COVID-19 in the country, but his proposal was thumbed down. Rio said his proposal was for a system that would take in data from different sources for analysis, adding that it would have been built at no cost to the government. "We were trying to operationalize the system, at no cost to the government, before we open up the ECQ on June 1... Unfortunately the gatekeepers in IATF never considered it, and we are now suffering the consequences," he said. Rio said he brought up the issue because the same people were sill stopping contributions from "talented groups and individuals" which could help in addressing the pandemic. "As a private citizen, I represent the Covid-19 Central Advocacy Group that would like to help in coordinating the efforts of the four Covid-19 czars assigned to Testing, Tracing, Treating and Isolation. We want to help in contact tracing, which at present is the weakest link in the three Ts -- Testing, Tracing and Treating in Isolation. Unfortunately, the letter offering our proposed contribution, free and for the public good, is being ignored by the gatekeepers. Maybe this public declaration to help will be more effective in attracting the attention of the IATF," Rio said. In an interview with CNN Philippines on Monday, Rio said he saw that the government-backed contact tracing app StaySafe.ph had limitations and proposed a platform that would integrate all apps to supplement StaySafe. He said DICT Assistant Secretary Manny Caintic, the head of the sub-technical working group whom he also called a "gatekeeper," could have approved apps to be used by the IATF, but stuck with StaySafe instead even if it has not been effective. "In other words people are saying, mag-chismis [gossip] brigade na tayo for contact tracing. Imagine that. Because until now we have no effective app...Caintic must answer that. Why?" he said. <<>> Caintic has yet to respond to Rio's claim. In June, Rio said he was eased out from his position after he questioned the government-backed contact tracing app. He said he had been in talks with COVID-19 response chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. to persuade the IATF to take a look at other contact tracing applications. We actually need more players in the common interest of providing the contact tracing -- to be inclusive rather than exclusive, Rio said. He said Galvez had proposed to the IATF for the National Task Force against COVID-19 to form an Information System Task Group which would assess COVID-19 contact tracing apps, among other things. The proposed task group would have been headed by Rio. However, Rio said the IATF shelved Galvezs proposal. Rio resigned from his post as undersecretary for operations in February, due to conflicting views with other officials in the agency, including the millions of pesos in confidential funds lodged with the DICT. His resignation, however, was only accepted in May. When asked by CNN Philippines why President Rodrigo Duterte only accepted his resignation then, he laughingly replied, "I don't know nga, baka may nakabangga ako?" [Translation: I don't know why, maybe I had a run-in with someone?] Not only was this proposal of Secretary Galvez disregarded by IATF, I was eased out from the government at this crucial time with the President accepting my four-month-old resignation, Rio said. The IATF adopted StaySafe.ph as the countrys official social-distancing, health-condition-reporting, and contact-tracing system that will assist in the governments response to COVID-19. It was designed to help medical frontliners, local government units, private companies, as well as the national government, to monitor the health condition of residents and conduct more efficient contact tracing. But Rio said StaySafe.ph, developed for free by software solutions company MultiSys, has failed as a contact tracing app. Watch the interview here. The Ambassador of Belarus to Latvia Vasily Markovich was summoned to the MFA on Monday to explain the statements of the Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko that the protest actions taking place in his country are controlled from the Baltic countries, FM Edgars Rinkevics noted after a special government meeting. Lukashenko said during the rally on Sunday that the protests in Belarus are controlled from the Baltic states, including Latvia, the local agency LETA reported. According to Rinkevics, such statements are "completely unfounded." The Ambassador of Belarus will also have to give explanations in connection with the detention in this country of two citizens of Latvia, who were later released. Russia Supreme Court declares AUE extremist movement RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 14:44 17/08/2020 MOSCOW, August 17 (RAPSI) The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has banned international public movement Arestantskoye Ugulovnoye Yedinstvo / Criminal Unity of Inmates (AUE) declaring it to be an extremist organization, according to the press service of Russias Prosecutor Generals Office. The Court has granted an administrative claim of the Prosecutor General, the statement reads. The Prosecutor Generals Office stresses that the activities of the movement based on a criminal and extremist ideology presents a real threat to lives and health of citizens, the society, and the state; members of the movement have been involved in extremist crimes and mass riots. Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse on Monday made the case that Rep. Richard Neal, as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, has strived to work with the Trump administration instead of providing genuine oversight, a charge that the longtime incumbent dismissed as the battle over President Donald Trumps tax returns remains embroiled in the courts. Morse and Neal squared off Monday during a debate organized by a consortium of media organizations, including The Republican and MassLive, New England Public Media and The Berkshire Eagle. It will air at 7 p.m. on WGBY. The debate comes about two weeks before the Sept. 1 primary. Morse argued that Neal was one of only two Democratic leaders along with longtime Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, who recently lost a primary challenge to Jamaal Bowman who hadnt held a single oversight hearing against this corrupt administration. Hed rather work with [Trump] than hold him accountable, Morse claimed, arguing Neal sat on the push for Trumps federal and New York state tax returns for several months, allowing Trump to file a lawsuit to block records from being revealed. Congressman Neal dropped the ball. Neal told moderator Ray Hershel that Im not going to screw this case up. He argued that his committees hiring of an attorney and pursuit of the tax returns the way legal advisors recommended would lead to a successful case thats going to reverberate throughout American history. The congressman noted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Adam Schiff, who led Democrats impeachment efforts against Trump, and Harvard University legal scholar Lawrence Tribe say I handled it the right way. Neal added that members of Congress dont instruct federal judges when to take on cases, and cited recent 7-2 Supreme Court decisions in which Trump appointees, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, supported Neals position. Im not going to screw this up by doing this in a hurried way, he said. Morse seized on Neals mention of party leadership, saying that while those in the elite think youve done a good job ... you dont work for the Speaker. You work for the people that live here in the 1st Congressional District. He is not using his power to hold this president accountable, Morse reiterated, adding that, if elected to Congress, he wont wait for party or establishment leaders on what vote to take. Neal said that Morse raised the point that Im the only member of Congress that Donald Trump is suing. Im pursuing a case that legal scholars will look at for decades. I was never naive about how this was going to play out, Neal added, arguing he knew Trump was going to appeal this forever if he thought he could get away with it. He noted that a couple years ago he pledged to seek Trumps financial records but acknowledged that it would be a long and grinding court case. He added that one of his first oversight acts as chairman was to bring in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to question him on why he would not turn over those documents. There isnt anybody viewing tonight that thinks Im working with Donald Trump on these issues, Neal said. The Supreme Court earlier this year sent House subpoenas for the tax records back to lower courts for further rulings. But it upheld the Manhattan district attorneys demand for Trumps tax returns in a separate case. The majority rejected arguments from Trumps lawyers and the Justice Department that the president is immune from investigation while he holds office, or that a prosecutor must show a greater need to obtain the tax records than they would have to show normally. Related Content: Workers who don't get pay rises over the next five years can blame a lift in the superannuation guarantee, Assistant Minister for Superannuation Jane Hume has warned as tensions rise over the legislated increase. Compulsory super contributions are scheduled to gradually rise from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent in 2025, which would add up to $20 billion a year to super funds to assist workers in retirement. Senator Jane Hume: "[The government is] dealing with the fallout of the biggest economic crisis in history ... the super guarantee has to be looked at in that context." Credit:Alex Ellinghausen However, a growing number of backbench Coalition MPs is urging the Morrison government to delay next year's 0.5 per cent increase amid concerns it will hurt the nation's economic recovery from the coronavirus recession. The Reserve Bank and the Grattan Institute are among several groups who say increasing the rate to 12 per cent will come at the expense of wage growth when the economy is struggling. Industry superannuation funds, Labor and unions argue the benefits of higher contributions outweigh any immediate pressure on wages. Notice of Privacy Practices (NPPs) Practices must amend their NPPs to reflect the changes to privacy and security rules, including those related to breach notification, disclosures to health plans, and marketing and sale of PHI. In addition, if a practice participates in fundraising, an amendment will also need to be made to the NPP to inform patients of their right to opt-out of those communications. The new rules eliminate the requirements to include communications concerning appointment reminders, treatment alternatives, or health-related benefits or services in NPPs. However, the rules do not require this information be removed either. Amended NPPs will need to be posted in the office. Copies should be provided to all new patients and do not need to be redistributed to existing patients. Copies should be made available to anyone by request. Practices that maintain a website should post the updated NPP on their website, which is a requirement of the existing HIPAA Privacy Rule. A North Korean asylum seeker has claimed she is the victim of a campaign of abuse by her neighbour over their bins after she was told 'you're not from this country' in the latest row. Footage shows the resident arguing with the woman, named as Myungseo, and appearing to throw a bin in her direction before pushing her. The neighbour can be heard telling Myungseo: 'You're an asylum seeker. You're not from this country.' The two clips were posted to Facebook by Myungseo, who lives in Croydon, London, and claimed she has been 'assaulted several times' by the neighbour. The woman, named as Myungseo, pictured above, posted the footage to Facebook which shows the pair appearing to argue over bins outside their homes in Croydon, London She wrote: 'I really need your help as I have been assaulted several times by a neighbour and my kids are constantly anxious and scared. 'It's only me and my children, we don't have any relative or friend in the UK and this situation is affecting my mental health and my children's wellbeing.' Myungseo said she moved into the property in November last year and didn't understand how the rubbish collection worked, claiming she asked and agreed with her neighbour to share bins. She went on to say a row erupted when she moved the bins to the other side, to avoid leaves falling inside them from overhead and rotting. The North Korean asylum seeker claimed the neighbour started to 'yell' at her, throwing the bins on a vehicle parked outside her house, adding: 'She also insulted me, pushed me and made me fall backwards.' Myungseo said she initially did not contact the police because her 'English isn't very good' and she 'didn't know what to say', but told Migrant Help. The pair speak over the wall, with the neighbour heard saying in the CCTV footage: 'You're an asylum seeker. You're not from this country' The neighbour then appears to throw a bin over the wall, in Myungseo's direction. Myungseo said she initially did not contact the police because her 'English isn't very good' She wrote: 'No one is telling my neighbour off or warning her, she just continues abusing and threatening us.' Myungseo went on to claim her neighbour threw a brick at her door last December and threw trash at her family 'day by day', before throwing leftover Christmas decorations in front of the house. She said the police were contacted after a fight in May this year, which allegedly started over a blocked rain gutter, in which she claims the neighbour started pushing her before pulling her hair and punching her in the face. The mother wrote: 'I defended myself so when the police came I told them I had twisted her arm. 'My neighbour told the police we would resolve the issue ourselves and the police told me that they could not help me because I did not have evidence of the neighbour physically attacking me.' The resident is seen pushing Myungseo, who installed CCTV outside her home to help provide evidence to police, but the neighbour allegedly 'pulled the cable and cut the camera off' It is alleged she then installed CCTV outside her home to help provide evidence to the police, but the neighbour 'pulled the cable and cut the camera off'. Myungseo posted: 'She is taking advantage of a woman and two children with nobody here to protect us. 'I feel like a failure because I can't protect my children from this despicable woman. 'The pain, abuse and assault I have suffered at the hands of this woman are indescribable.' A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told MailOnline: 'On Friday, 29 May, police received two separate reports about an altercation outside an address in Bensham Lane, Croydon. 'Officers attended the scene and spoke with both parties involved in the incident who each made counter allegations that the other had assaulted them. 'Police spoke with the parties about how best to resolve the issue. Both parties agreed to a community resolution. 'No arrests were made.' LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alani Nu, premium women's wellness brand, continues to expand their retail presence across the country with the debut of five energy drinks in select QuikTrip (QT) locations. Flavors Watermelon Wave, Hawaiian Shaved Ice, Tropsicle, Cosmic Stardust, and Mimosa can now be found in the refrigerated section of 115 stores across the nation. "In 2020 alone, we've celebrated many milestones in our retail expansion, making Alani Nu more shoppable in-store than ever," said Max Clemons, co-founder of Alani Nu. "This has been a pivotal year in establishing Alani Nu as the leader in women's wellness and nutrition, despite the entry of both new and well-established brands into the market." Made in the United States, Alani Nu products are crafted from hand selected, simple ingredients with no fillers. In addition to delicious energy drinks, their unique line of supplements empower women to maximize their workouts, build muscle, and recover quickly. Original flavors such as Confetti Cake protein, Strawberry Kiwi BCAA, and Rainbow Candy pre-workout make their products as delicious as they are effective. "Partnering with QuikTrip enables us to make a healthy impact on more people's lives," added Clemons. "We look forward to future opportunities in the retail space, and feel confident in those we have already identified." Alani Nu has plans to expand their QuikTrip product offering later this year. For more information, please visit www.alaninu.com. Additionally, find us on your favorite platform: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. About Alani Nu Founded in 2018 by Katy Hearn, Alani Nu is a premium women's wellness brand that is strategically designed for women and made in the USA. Their wide range of health and fitness supplements can be found on Amazon, GNC, and in select QuikTrip and Kroger stores across the United States. Additionally, all products are available online at www.alaninu.com. For more information, please get in touch by emailing [email protected]. Media Contact: Alexandra Domecq Interdependence Public Relations (949) 777-1354 [email protected] SOURCE Alani Nu Related Links http://www.alaninu.com/ Renewed lockdown orders have come into effect in Bogota, despite protests against five months of lockdown. As the coronavirus continues to spread across Latin America, so does quarantine fatigue. Renewed restriction orders have sparked protests in the Colombian capital. After months under lockdown, shop owners and street vendors say they have had enough. Al Jazeeras Alessandro Rampietti reports from Bogota, Colombia. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE State Sen. Michael Padilla of Albuquerque said Monday that he hopes to propose legislation next year establishing a state agency to take the lead on expanding broadband internet service in New Mexico a key recommendation of legislative analysts. The new office would be empowered to coordinate efforts now scattered across at least seven state agencies. Padilla, a Democrat, said he is weighing whether the new broadband office would report directly to the governor or to the Cabinet secretary of information technology. But its clear, he said, that something must be done to expand internet service and reduce costs. We are hearing loud and clear that broadband is just as important as air for our people here in New Mexico, Padilla said in an interview Monday. The importance of high-speed internet service has come into particular focus during the coronavirus pandemic as New Mexicans turn more heavily to distance learning and telehealth programs that require online videoconferencing. Broadband, Padilla said, is also critical to economic development. New Mexico lags the nation in access to broadband, according to analysts for the Legislative Finance Committee. In a report to lawmakers Monday, the analysts said 77% of the states households had a broadband subscription in 2018, about 8 percentage points below the national average. Legislative analysts also said New Mexico lacks coordination and oversight of broadband development efforts, with responsibilities spread among the Public Regulation Commission and state departments for public education, transportation, information technology and other agencies. The state and federal governments funded about $325 million in broadband projects in New Mexico over a recent four-year period, analysts said, but without having one agency in charge to track the money and ensure accountability. Unlike New Mexico, the analysts said, model states with high rates of broadband access have a lead agency established in law with a director appointed by the governor. Members of the legislative Science, Technology and Telecommunications Committee heard a report on the issue Monday. Padilla, the chairman, said he has been working on legislation to improve coordination and accelerate the states broadband development for about a year and half. The new agency, he said, could pay for itself by reducing the cost of broadband through bulk-price agreements and working to secure federal funding and private investment. In the Nov. 3 election, Padilla faces Republican Mary Kay Ingham in Senate District 14, which covers much of the South Valley and southwestern Bernalillo County. Heres what you need to know on 17 August. This article was updated at 4pm. Deaths: The government said 41,369 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 as of 5pm on Sunday, an increase of 3 on the day before. Policy: A-level pupils in England Wales will receive their predicted grades instead of those awarded via an algorithm, after a government U-turn. Thousands of pupils were downgraded based on previous results in the school or area. Exams were cancelled this year because of the pandemic. Read more here. Local lockdown: Northern Ireland is close to needing some local lockdowns implemented after 93 new COVID-19 cases were recorded over the weekend. Antrim & Newtownabbey and Mid & East Antrim were particularly affected. Read more here. Crime: Police broke up a wedding reception attended by more than 100 guests after officers found it to be in breach of coronavirus regulations. Attendees were told to disperse at the event in Blackburn on Sunday evening, while a wedding organiser was given a fixed-penalty notice after more than 50 guests went to a separate reception in Greater Manchester. Read more here. Domestic abuse has soared during the lockdown, an investigation has found. Two-thirds of women in abusive relationships have suffered more violence from their partners during the pandemic, BBCs Panorama found. Read more here. Travel: Croatia is the next country that could be placed on the governments quarantine list. The nation passed the governments marker of more than 20 cases per 100,000 people on Sunday. Read more here. Read more about COVID-19 How to get a coronavirus test if you have symptoms What you can and cant do under lockdown rules In pictures: How UK school classrooms could look in new normal How public transport could look after lockdown How our public spaces will change in the future Rest of the world Victoria, in Australia, has recorded its highest daily death toll as 25 people died with coronavirus overnight. More than 300 people have died since its second wave began. Read more here. Story continues New Zealands general election has been delayed for a month amid fears of a spike in coronavirus cases. Opposition parties said they had been unable to campaign in Auckland because the city is in lockdown. Read more here. Thousands of churchgoers in South Korea have been asked to quarantine after more than 300 worshippers tested positive for coronavirus. The outbreak, linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, is the nations largest in almost six months. Read more here. France is planning on making face masks mandatory at work after Paris was again declared a coronavirus red zone. The government is to propose the introduction of compulsory masks in shared workspaces later this week after a spike in COVID-19 cases. Read more here. Positive news More than 100,000 people have signed up to take part in vaccine trials in the UK. Professor Chris Whitty praised the selflessness of the British public. Read more here. Coronavirus: what happened today A petition is circulating seeking Lynchburg to change its name. The core argument supporting this petition is Lynchburg contains the same base word as that of the word lynching and lynching is horribly offensive. It is indisputable lynching is an abominable and offensive act of injustice. Nevertheless, this argument and the subjective association of the two words ignore the true origin of our citys name. If this argument is uniformly applied, that logic would compel New York City to rename the borough of Manhattan if some feminists might be offended because that name suggests a sexist emphasis on man to the exclusion of woman. For a variety of reasons, Lynchburg City Council and citizens should not become embroiled in distracting discussions and efforts to change our citys name, which include current financial stresses imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A name change would inflict significant inconveniences and negative economic costs to Lynchburgs government, local businesses, private citizens, Virginias state government, the Virginia Highway Department and local marketing interests. These burdens are not justified unless very compelling reasons support them. Lynchburgs citizens expect city council to justify costly and far-reaching decisions based upon measurable facts and sound reasoning before they succumb to subjective and superficial impulses. In my opinion, a variety of reasons compel city council members to not entertain distracting efforts to change Lynchburgs name, not the least of which reasons are the previously mentioned financial stresses inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic and: 1. Whoever assigns racist or violent meanings to our citys name relies on superficial emotions, ignores history and applies simplistic analogies. If anyone condemns Lynchburgs name as being racist, he/she is grossly uninformed. 2. Lynchburgs name heralds an equitable and honorable heritage. Our citys name honors John Lynch, a remarkable, generous and virtuous man. He was progressive and innovative for his times. In 1757, at age 17, he designed and constructed a ferry system at a strategic location in Central Virginia, transforming an ordinary horseford crossing of the James River into a thriving commercial center, chartered by the Virginia General Assembly as a town in 1786 and a city in 1852. 3. John Lynch was a Quaker, who vehemently opposed slavery, embraced pacifism and advocated tolerance for all persons. 4. John Lynch generously gave his time, possessions and talents to fellow citizens. He donated a large tract of his land for the town, gave land for a courthouse, gave land for the South River Meeting House (the Quaker Meeting House), gave another tract of land for the towns cemetery and contributed toward many public concerns. 5. The current petition alleges being personally offended is an important concern. History demonstrates highly worthwhile words and actions led many to suffer personal offense. Leaders of Athens, Greece, were so offended by Socrates teachings they compelled Socrates to take a lethal drink of hemlock. Roman Governors and Herod Antipas, of Jerusalem, were offended by the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and his disciples. The 16th Century Catholic Church was offended by the words of that heretical German monk, Martin Luther, who inspired the Protestant Reformation. Englands King George III was offended by the words of Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson and all American Revolutionary Patriots. The KKK, White Supremacists and most southern governors in the 1960s were offended by the words and passive resistance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his Civil Rights followers. Being offensive historically has placed many in excellent company with those who respectfully do so, on principle, and in a worthy pursuit. I unequivocally oppose rewriting, revising and sterilizing history if the goal is to simply accommodate those who do not take the time or effort to be educated about history. I unequivocally oppose changing our citys name for the reasons offered in this petition for change. John Randolph Randy Nelson is a resident of Lynchburg. Lawmakers and consumer groups expressed outrage on Monday that the operator of Californias electricity grid had not adequately prepared for a heat wave and was resorting to rolling blackouts. The blackouts, which started on Friday and were set to continue into Monday night, were reminiscent of an energy crisis 20 years ago, when the states botched deregulation of the electricity system left millions of people in the dark and drove the wholesale price of power skyward. Gov. Gavin Newsom demanded an investigation into why state regulators had failed to prepare for high temperatures, which had been forecast for days. These blackouts, which occurred without prior warning or enough time for preparation, are unacceptable and unbefitting of the nations largest and most innovative state, Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, said in a letter Monday to the states three major energy agencies. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:17:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday stressed arrangements of the new fiscal funds to ensure that the funds would directly benefit businesses and people, so as to consolidate the foundation of the country's restorative growth. Li made the remarks while presiding over an executive meeting of the State Council. Li also urged efforts to strengthen the implementation of financial policies designed to support the real economy to help market entities relieve their strains and seek further development. Enditem RIO RANCHO, N.M. - Forty-year-old Antonio Valenzuelas death didnt spark widespread protests like George Floyds. In fact, the police killing of Valenzuela drew little attention outside the American Southwestern city just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The details about Floyds death, a 46-year-old Black man, who died in May at the hands of Minneapolis police closely resembles that of Valenzuela, a Mexican American man, who was killed in Las Cruces, New Mexico, three months before global protests and outrage. Like Floyd, Valenzuela died from a choking manoeuvr during an encounter with an officer after a struggle. As national Black Lives Matter demonstrations grow, Latino activists are joining the multiracial protests while trying to draw attention to their deadly police encounters, some of which go back decades. Latino advocates and families of those killed by police say they arent trying to pull the focus away from Black lives, but want to illustrate their own suffering from policing and systemic racism. Activists say cases from Phoenix to Springfield, Massachusetts, point to patterns of violent interactions by police against Latinos similar to those of Black people. As with the killings of Black men and women, officers rarely face punishment in the death of Latinos. However, Latino cases seldom garner national attention, even when caught on video. The lack of attention around Latinos and police highlights how little is known about Latino history in the U.S. and the racism endured in the American Southwest and the U.S.-Mexico border. It also marks the backlash some Mexican Americans face when trying to join the national conversation about race. Its like they dont care about Latinos and the racism we face, said Frank Alvarado, Sr., 76, a retired U.S. Marine whose son was shot multiple times by Salinas, California, police in 2014 while holding a cellphone that officers claimed was a gun. Alvarado has since joined Black Lives Matter protests in nearby Sacramento. According to the Washington Post, between 2015 and April 2020, Black Americans are killed at the highest rate in the U.S. (31 per million residents). Latinos are killed at the second-highest rate, 23 per million residents, according to the newspapers analysis. Both are disproportionate rates considering their percentages of the population. But Valenzuelas death embodies the lack of attention about Latinos violent encounters with police. Las Cruces, a city where nearly 60% of residents are Hispanic, recorded a rate of police killings of 26.2 for every million residents. That was the highest rate for a city in the nation, the Washington Post reported. New Mexico, a state with the largest percentage of Latino residents in the nation, also had the second-highest rate of all police killings, behind Alaska. In the Valenzuela case, police video posted by the Las Cruces Sun-News shows officers chasing him after he fled from a traffic stop in February when he was found to have a parole violation. He was tasered twice but continued to struggle with officers. Eventually, officers catch Valenzuela and Las Cruces police officer Christopher Smelser is heard saying, Im going to (expletive) choke you out, bro. Valenzuela gasps for breath before going silent. The coroner determined he died from asphyxial injuries and also had methamphetamine in his system, which contributed to his death. Smelser, who is also Hispanic, was fired and initially charged with involuntary manslaughter. Only after activists tied Valenzuelas to Floyds killing and Black Lives Matter protests hit Las Cruces did New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas file a second-degree murder charge against Smelser in July. Smelsers attorney, Amy L. Orlando, called the new charge a political move meant to grab headlines. Officer Smelser used a technique that was sanctioned by the department, she said. On Thursday, the city of Las Cruces and an attorney for Valenzuelas family announced a settlement for an undisclosed amount. The city said it would work to adopt racial bias training for officers and seek to mandate that officers interfere with excessive force episodes or face termination. Salinas, California, saw its string of police killings of Latinos get attention in the wake of Floyds death. The small city of 160,000 people and known as the birthplace of Nobel laureate John Steinbeck saw police shoot four Latinos in 2014. Then there were others. Ana Barrera, 48, an activist and middle school teacher, said the shootings awoke the normally quiet Latino farmworkers in Salinas who marched and expressed anger officers werent facing discipline. She said immigration status and fear over losing easily replaced farm working jobs might have prevented some previously from speaking out. Thats changed now, said Barrera, who has since organized meetings with Black Lives Matter organizers from Ferguson, Missouri. Other cases have galvanized Latinos. In 2016, for example, protests flared up in Los Angeles Boyle Heights neighbourhood after an officer shot and killed Jesse Romero, a 14-year-old boy police says was tagging graffiti behind an apartment complex. Los Angeles County prosecutors declined to charge the officer, Eden Medina, who said the boy fired at him claim witnesses disputed. In 2015, the city of Albuquerque agreed to pay $6 million to the family of Christopher Torres who was shot and killed by police four years before. In that case, Torres, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was killed in his backyard when plainclothes detectives confronted him while serving a warrant connected to a road rage incident. That shooting led to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that concluded that Albuquerque police had a history of excessive force. Throughout U.S. history, high-profile killings of Latinos by police have forced some departments to undergo massive reforms. In 1973, 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez died after Dallas Police Officer Darrell Cain forced him and his brother to play a game of Russian roulette over accusations they robbed $8 from a vending machine. The city erupted in riots amid demands for change. In 1978, Houston police faced calls to reforms and the citys North Side burst into mayhem a year after officers severely beat 23-year-old Mexican American and Vietnam veteran Joe Campos Torres and dumped his lifeless body in Buffalo Bayou. Monica Munoz Martinez, the author of The Injustice Never Leaves You: Anti-Mexican Violence in Texas, police killings of Latinos dont evoke the same emotion nationally because most Americans dont know about this violent history of the American West involving Latinos. This country also cant discuss race outside of a Black-white binary, Martinez said. And that does not paint the true history of white supremacy. Marisol Marquez, an organizer with Los Angeles-based advocacy group Centro CSO Community Service Organization, said Mexican American activists know this history but felt immediately after Floyds killing their needed to centre Black Lives Matter when demonstrating against police violence. On June 7, the group convened a Black Lives Matter protest outside of Mariachi Plaza in Los Angeles Boyle Heights neighbourhood. Aztec dancers, low riders, and elder pachucos gathered to remember Floyd and rally in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Black and Native American speakers addressed the crowd. But the high number of Latino speakers also drew a backlash. We got an angry message that said we really needed to have had way more speakers who were not Latino or Chicanos, Marquez said. I was so angry. Who they were referring to were people who had family members who had died at the hands of LAPD....Chicanos. ___ Russell Contreras is a member of The Associated Press Race and Ethnicity Team. Follow him on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/russcontreras New Delhi, Aug 17 : Come Tuesday, it will be another death anniversary of India's formidable freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, whose disappearance has given to many theories and conspiracy angles in the past. However, there seems to be unanimity that the ashes, which are believed to be his, in Japan are DNA tested and brought back to India with the adequate respect they deserve. From Netaji's daughter Anita Bose Pfaff's letter to his grand nephew Chandra Kumar Bose's vocal support, the demand has only got louder with time. But where exactly in Japan is that ash urn kept which has so many talking over the years? Here are 5 lesser known facts about it: * Netaji's purported ashes are kept in Renko-ji temple, according to Chandra Kumar Bose. This Buddhist temple was built in 1954 inspired by the God of Wealth and Happiness. The ashes were safe-guarded by the temple's High Priest and now by his son, according to Chandra Bose. From President Rajendra Prasad and Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru to Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, all visited the temple during their Japan visit, giving credence to the theory that these, indeed, were Netaji's ashes. * Former Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Ajai Choudhry, had said the box containing Netaji's ashes was kept in a cupboard in the premises of the temple. So what happens if a visitor wants to see it? Well, then the box is taken out and placed between two candles. * The ashes were preserved in a small tin or wood box, according to the Indian Embassy in Tokyo. Replying to an RTI application in a letter, dated March 2, 2007, on "ashes and other remains of Netaji", the MEA said: "According to the reports from the Indian Mission in Tokyo, the ashes were preserved in small box of about 9 inches by 6 inches which seem to be either made of tin or wood." * There are government communications dating back to 1954 where Netaji's ashes were discussed. A note (UO No D/S13170) was sent on December 2, 1954 by M.O. Mathai, then Secretary to Prime Minister Nehru, which stated: "A small amount of Rs 200-odd were received by Minister of External Affairs from our embassy in Tokyo along with the ashes and other remains of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose." * Then Union Minister Pranab Mukherjee had met Netaji's widow Emilie Schenk in Germany on October 21, 1995 following which he wrote to then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao about the ashes. Declassified Netaji files show how eager Schenk was that the ashes are brought back to India. "I feel that Netaji's widow and daughter are keen that an early solution be found to the issue of return of Netaji's ashes to India," wrote Mukherjee in a confidential letter that year. Decades have passed, numerous RTI pleas filed and confidential top secret documents declassed but Netaji's purported ashes continue to remain in Japan, in a small box, shrouded in mystery and away from the public acknowledgement they deserve. Advertisement Princes William and Harry cut communication for two months after Megxit and still have barely any communication, while their relationship 'will take time to heal', the author of a new biography about Harry and Meghan has today claimed. Writer Omid Scobie has revealed the extent of the their rift in a new TV interview today in which he claims Prince William was furious at his younger brother over he and wife Meghan Markle's decision to go public with their plans to take a step back from royal life. Scobie, who has recently released a biography about the Harry and Meghan's split from the royals, named 'Finding Freedom', also said tension between Meghan and Kate over the actresses' struggles during pregnancy also soured their relationship. The author's claims are set to be aired today on The Royal Beat on royal-related TV subscription service, True Royalty TV, according to the Sun. During the interview, Scobie tells the show's presenter Kate Thornton, formerly of This Morning and Loose Women, that the brothers stopped speaking around the time of the so-called Sandringham Summit in January. Writer Omid Scobie revealed the extent of the their rift in a new TV interview today where he claims Prince William was furious at his younger brother over he and wife Meghan Markle's decision to go public with plans to step back from royal life Scobie has recently released a biography about the Harry and Meghan's split from the royals, named 'Finding Freedom' The meeting, dubbed 'unprecedented' by royal watchers, saw the royal family come together to discuss Harry and Meghan's plans to step down as full-time members. The couple later released details of the plans online, which Scobie has claimed was one of the catalysts of the rift between the brothers. On the communication, he said: 'They hadnt seen each other. Thats really going to take some time to heal. 'I think the distance between the brothers grew wider and wider. On Harry and Meghan's road-map plans, he said: 'I think really where it went wrong for Harry and Meghan and the Cambridges was that decision to go public with the road map to their new working model.' Scobie claims William, a future king, was upset by the decision as he believed it had damaged the royal family's reputation. Scobie claims tension between Meghan and Kate over the actresses' struggles during pregnancy also soured the relationship Scobie also claims that Kate and Meghan don't communicate personally and the relationship between them 'never really progressed'. Other claims Scobie makes include that William and Kate 'could not support' Harry and Meghan's legal battle with the Mail on Sunday and that royal institution would 'stop at nothing' to make Meghans life difficult - including over so-called 'Tiaragate'. Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand The claim was made in Finding Freedom that the Queen did slap down Meghan over her choice of wedding day tiara, but the Duchess of Sussex blamed Her Majesty's personal dresser, Angela Kelly, for the bust up ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. At the time it was reported that Meghan wanted to wear an emerald tiara, but the Queen had instead selected a diamond tiara worn by her grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1932. However the authors of Finding Freedom, Scobie and Carolyn Durand, claim Harry felt the Queen's dresser Angela Kelly had deliberately dragged her feet while trying to help decide on what tiara to wear. Now Scobie claims in his latest interview that Harry intervened and said to the Queen: 'I dont know what the hell is going on. This woman needs to make this work for my future wife. Harry and Meghan were also furious about the coverage of the departure of their personal assistant, who was described as a 'much loved asset' by royal sources, despite being 'very unpopular' with the couple, Scobie claims. The claims come after it was revealed the couple had bought an 11million mansion in California, 90 miles from their current Beverly Hills home and near to stars including Oprah Winfrey and George Lucas. But yesterday the estranged wife of the 'Scarface' Russian oligarch who sold his 11million mansion to Harry and Meghan slammed the Duchess for alleged double-standards. Anna Fedoseeva and Russian billionaire ex-bank boss Sergey Grishin are currently involved in a bitter court battle Harry and Meghan have moved into the star-studded neighborhood in California from their previous Beverly Hills home The Duke of Sussex, 35, moved into the sprawling nine-bedroom and 16-bathroom home in upscale Montecito, Santa Barbara Meghan says she was 'devastated' by America's decline Meghan Markle has spoken of how 'devastating' her return to the US was in her most politically charged comments yet. Speaking to Emily Ramshaw, co-founder of The 19th online news site, she said it was 'so sad' to see the decline in the US during the ten years she lived in Canada and the UK. The former Suits actress said: 'To come back and to just see this state of affairs, I think at the onset, if I'm being honest, it was just devastating. It was so sad to see where our country was. 'If there's any silver lining in that, I would say that in the weeks after the murder of George Floyd, in the peaceful protests that you were seeing, in the voices that were coming out, in the way that people were actually owning their role it shifted from sadness to a feeling of absolute inspiration, because I can see that the tide is turning.' She encouraged women to vote in the upcoming US elections, adding that Prince Harry had never been able to vote because of his previous status as a senior Royal. 'I think it's often challenging for men and women alike and certainly for people to remember just how hard it was to get the right to vote. And to be really aware and not taking that for granted. 'My husband, for example, he's never been able to vote.' Meanwhile, in another video posted from the couple's new 11 million Californian mansion yesterday, Harry urged Invictus Games competitors to 'check in' on others to protect their mental health. The Prince founded the Invictus Games for wounded servicemen and women in 2014 and made his first official appearance with Meghan at the Toronto Games in 2017. Advertisement Anna Fedoseeva, who is involved in a bitter court battle with the billionaire ex-bank boss Sergey Grishin, claims he is a 'dangerous man' who destroyed her life. Court documents show he allegedly held a gun to her head and knocked her teeth out during their relationship. Speaking from Russia to the Sun on Sunday, Ms Fedoseeva said: 'Meghan struggles for women's rights. But in my case, that means just to be alive. It isn't wise for them to surround themselves with him or anyone affiliated with him.' Ms Fedoseeva, 38, married Mr Grishin in March 2017 - in the beginning her life was a 'fairy tale of Bentleys, furs, expensive hotels and resorts' - but 11 months later they split up. She claims her husband was demanding the return of an alleged loan to Ms Fedoseeva and her business partner Jennifer Sulkess. They started legal action accusing him of death threats and false imprisonment. Mr Grishin denies the allegations. Ms Fedoseeva slammed Meghan and Harry and their staff for showing a 'lack of due diligence' before making their purchase. Grishin is also fighting a legal battle against his ex-fiancee Catherine Loginova who he lived with briefly after separating from Ms Fedoseeva. A spokesman for Mr Grishin said: 'He is the unfortunate victim of a fraud perpetrated by his former wife. He has been obliged to file legal proceedings against her. 'When that fraudulent scheme failed, Ms Fedoseeva made a series of false and highly defamatory allegations.' It comes as it was revealed the man who built the Suessex's 11million Californian mansion paid such close attention to detail he emptied two bottles of 'cheap red' on the wine cellar floor to add an 'authentic aroma'. Meghan, whose own delicate sense of smell led to the use of 130 French air diffusers in the 'musty' St George's Chapel on her wedding day, has also inherited a house so technologically advanced that it can 'sense' fog rolling in from the Pacific. Speaking to the Mail on Sunday last night, multi-millionaire businessman Terry Cunningham, 61, told how he and his wife Randi bought 5.4 acres of 'spectacular' land in exclusive Montecito in 1999, and spent four years building the house of their dreams a 14,463 sq ft property called The Chateau of Riven Rock. Mr Cunningham, chief executive of software company Descartes Labs, said the estate was modelled after French houses that the couple so admired. PERTH, Australia A former Australian prime minister has joined the chorus of criticism about a cartoon depiction of Senator Kamala Harris in a Rupert Murdoch-owned national newspaper in Australia. The cartoon, published Friday in The Australian, one of the countrys largest dailies, depicts former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, standing side by side with Ms. Harris, his running mate, and saying: Its time to heal a nation divided by racism so Ill hand you over to this little brown girl while I go for a lie-down. It was met with immediate backlash from politicians and commentators on social media as a racist attack on Ms. Harris. Kevin Rudd, the prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and briefly again in 2013, called the cartoon racist and sexist in a tweet, adding that it was gross even by Murdochs gutter standards. Mattia Binotto insists that Ferrari has not "abandoned" development of its 2020 car. Ferrari chairman John Elkann admitted recently that, given the depth of the 2020 package's problems, wins and titles will have to wait until 2022. The obvious implication is that Ferrari has given up on this season. "We have not abandoned this car," team boss Binotto told Sky Italia. "We are working on several fronts and also for 2021. We will bring some updates but not in the next races. "For Belgium and Monza we have less downforce so we have specifically developed packages for there and then there will be other developments in anticipation of 2021," he added. (GMM) Director Nishikant Kamat, best known for his films Mumbai Meri Jaan, Drishyam and Madaari, is critical, according to hospital sources. Kamat, who is suffering from chronic liver disease and secondary infections, was admitted to AIG hospital in Gachibowli, Hyderabad on July 31. "He is not dead, he is on ventilator. But his condituon is very critical," his industry friend and director Milap Zaveri told PTI. Earlier, Kamat's close friend, Marathi actor Jaywant Wadkar had said that the director had passed away. Thereafter, many of his associates, including actor R Madhavan, who worked with him in Mumbai Meri Jaan (2008), had started posting their condolences. In a statement on August 12, the medical facility had said that Kamat was hospitalised for jaundice and abdominal distention, and was later diagnosed with chronic liver disease. The hospital had described his condition "critical but stable". Kamat, 50, made his directorial debut with the Marathi film Dombivali Fast in 2005. His Bollywood debut was Mumbai Meri Jaan, also starring Irrfan. Kamat also played the negative role in John Abraham-starrer Rocky Handsome in 2016, which he also directed. His biggest hit was Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer Drishyam, which was a remake of the Malayalam movie of the same name. San Franciscos first jury trial since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak ended with a jurys acquittal of the defendant on the most serious charge against him: breaking into a South of Market condominium and stealing property. After more than three weeks of proceedings in which all participants wore masks, a Superior Court jury on Thursday convicted David Brown of a misdemeanor charge of knowingly receiving stolen property. But jurors found him not guilty of felony burglary, which could have carried a lengthy prison sentence. The jury deliberated for three days. Brown, 30, was released Thursday evening. He was sentenced to a year in jail but had already spent a longer period in confinement since his arrest. Brown was accused of breaking into a condo at 400 Clementina St. last August and stealing clothing, headphones and other items while the resident was sleeping in another room with her 5-year-old daughter. Officers caught him running away, shoeless and carrying the owners bag, after the break-in. While prosecutors said Brown had been seen walking down a hallway trying to open doors, Brown said he had entered the building only briefly, looking for shoes, then was escorted out by a security guard and found a bag of belongings outside. He had been laid off from his job just before the incident and was homeless. Jurors found no proof that Brown had broken into the residence but concluded he must have known that the bag and its contents had been stolen, his lawyers said. I am grateful that the jury understood the facts and saw that he was a young man in a desperate need of help, not a burglar, said Deputy Public Defender Sierra Villaran. It was the courts first jury trial since March, when courthouses around the state were closed after Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. Prospective jurors were seated 6 feet apart in the courtroom, in a group of 20 rather than the usual 80, with another 20 waiting in a nearby courtroom watching the proceedings by Zoom. 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. Superior Court Judge Vedica Puri required all participants to wear cloth masks that were mostly transparent, allowing jurors to see witnesses facial expressions. The 6-foot separation prevented the usual mid-trial whispered conversations between the defendant and his lawyer, so Brown and Villaran chatted on laptops provided by the court. While the court was closed to nonparticipants, members of the public, including Browns mother, were able to watch the proceedings from the nearby courtroom. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: After the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5, the process for the commencement of the construction of Ram temple is likely to gain momentum in the days to come. In this connection, the members of Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust are likely to meet to discuss the temple roadmap and modalities in Delhi on August 20. As per the highly-placed sources, the trustees would take up the master plan for the development of 70 acre land of Ram Janmabhoomi premises for discussion. On this land, the temple complex has to be constructed. Besides, the Trust General Secretary and senior VHP leader Champat Rai would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries including President Ram Nath Kovind, former Deputy Prime Minister, and BJP stalwart LK Advani and other senior leaders to present them the Prasad of the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony. Notably, PM Modi accompanied by State governor Anandiben Patel, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, had attended the Bhoomi Pujan, performed the rituals and laid the foundation stone of the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya on August 5. The sources claimed that after the August 20 meeting in Delhi, the construction committee of the temple trust would apply for getting the map of the proposed temple approved by Ayodhya-Faizabad Development Authority. The construction committee of the trust is headed by a retired bureaucrat and PM Modis close aide Nripendra Mishra. The sources in Ayodhya said that to participate in the meeting, trust general secretary Champat Rai and trust member Dr. Anil Mishra had left for Delhi on Sunday evening. Moreover, along with the temple complex, plan for setting up a research foundation to study the life and times of Lord Ram has also been conceptualised by the trustees. Besides, for the recitation and rendition of Vedas, a Gurukul would also be established along with the temple on Ram Janmabhoomi complex. The complex will also have an exhibition centre to showcase the incidents taken from the life of icon Lord Ram. Besides, other facilities and features and logistics, the temple complex would have four other temples including three dedicated to Bharat, Lakshman, and Shatrughna, all three brothers of Lord Ram. On the other, during the two day national executive of Rashtriya Sewak Sangh (RSS) in Varanasi, Sarkaryavahak Bhaiyya Ji Joshi called upon the Swayam Sewaks on Sunday to make every Hindu a part of temple construction in Ayodhya. While addressing the RSS workers and during the discussions on temple construction, the sarkaryavahak said that Sangh would launch a massive campaign to make every Hindu feel connected with the endeavour. Besides, at the two-day national executive, the RSS leadership discussed a number of issues ranging from temple construction to upcoming Bihar elections, the revival of the countrys economy, and also handling of the pandemic. A heartbroken mother has broken down in tears at the possibility of being apart from her sick newborn son for up to two weeks due to coronavirus restrictions. Chantelle and Glen Northfield from Casino in northern New South Wales welcomed the arrival of their second son Harvey at nearby Lismore Base Hospital last Friday. Little Harvey had difficulty breathing and was airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Woman's Hospital for lifesaving treatment as his condition rapidly deteriorated. But his mother has since revealed she can't be at her newborn's hospital bedside, despite getting a NSW Health exemption to cross the state border. Baby Harvey was airlifted to Brisbane not long after he was born on Friday. Pictured are parents Glen and Chantelle Northfield following the birth 'Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of the Queensland border, Glen and I were refused entry to the hospital until after 14 days mandatory quarantine in a hotel,' Ms Northfield wrote in a gur-wrenching Facebook post. 'We would of been more than willing to do that if there was a guarantee that Harvey would be there for that long but no one is 100 per cent sure and the second he no longer needs such extensive treatment he will be flown back to Lismore.' Ms Northfield was willing to take a coronavirus test but still wouldn't be able to be with Harvey even if the result came back negative. 'We have tried our absolute hardest to get there, and the workers for the hospital tried as well, it was just one person from higher up that refused our entry. 'The best we get is FaceTime for now.' Chantelle Northfield (pictured) has to undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine before she can be by her newborn's bedside in Brisbane Ms Northfield, who celebrated her birthday on Monday is distressed about being separated from her sick three-day-old son. 'FaceTime just isn't the same, I can't even lay a finger on him and just say that I love him,' a distraught Ms Northfield told Seven News. 'He's just hooked up to tubes, he's sleeping, he doesn't get to hear my heartbeat and feel the comfort of that.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Royal Brisbane and Woman's Hospital for further comment. Queensland deputy premier Steven Miles told Seven News he has asked the hospital to do whatever it can to make the situation less distressing. Glen and Chantelle Northfield (pictured) are desperate to be by their baby's hospital bedside Friends have set up a Change.org petition urging Queensland authorities to reverse their decision, which has already garnered more than 3,300 signatures. As his parents continue negotiations, Harvey's condition has since improved and could be reunited with his parents and big brother back in NSW as early as Wednesday. 'All I want are both my boys with me,' Ms Northfield said. 'I just want him to know how much I love him.' The number of active Covid-19 prisoners in Keralas Thiruvananthapuram central jail rose to 477 on Monday with 114 more inmates testing positive for the coronavirus disease, said jail authorities. With the rise in cases, a special medical team has been deployed in the prison to tackle the situation, they added. There are more than 1,000 prisoners in the jail and with almost half of them reporting positive, hectic efforts are on to contain its further spread, jail superintendent P Nirmalanandan said. We have segregated the infected and a special team is monitoring their condition. Majority of them are not showing any symptoms at all, he said. Another worrying point for the state is that a large number of policemen and health workers - the frontline warriors of the pandemic - are getting infected. In Thiruvananthapuram district alone, 21 police personnel were tested positive on Monday taking the total number of infected officials to 342 across the state. As many as 31 health workers also tested positive. Meanwhile, Kerala recorded the highest single day count of 1,725 new cases, taking the total number of infected to 46,069 including the recovered cases at 30,009 and 15,890 active cases. With 13 deaths, the toll has gone up to 170. In view of the rising number of cases, the state has tweaked its health guidelines again, said health minister KK Shailaja. Now, patients with serious breathing problems and other ailments will be admitted to the hospitals and rest will be quarantined in their homes and their health position will be monitored regularly, she said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON We still have no mail delivery in Merrionette Park. Its been about two weeks since we had a routine delivery. My wife had Monday off, so she went to the Mount Greenwood post office to ask if she could pick up our mail. She was given a bundle of 46 pieces of mail, including 10 bills that are due soon, two payments due to my wife, one recall notice for her car and a license renewal for her car. HOUSTON, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apache Corporation (Nasdaq: APA) today announced that it has amended its previously announced cash tender offers (each, an Offer and, collectively, the Offers) to purchase a portion of its 3.625% notes due 2021, 2.625% notes due 2023, 3.250% notes due 2022, 4.250% notes due 2044, 4.750% notes due 2043, 5.100% notes due 2040, and 5.250% notes due 2042 (each series, a Series of Notes, and such notes, collectively, the Notes) made pursuant to Apaches Offer to Purchase, dated August 3, 2020 (the Offer to Purchase) to increase the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) from $460,000,000 to $638,198,120 and to eliminate the Maximum Tender SubCaps (as defined in the Offer to Purchase). All other terms and conditions of the Offers set forth in the Offer to Purchase remain unchanged. As a result, Apache will accept all Notes tendered as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 14, 2020 (the Early Tender Deadline). According to information received from D.F. King & Co., Inc., the Tender Agent and Information Agent for the Offers, as of the Early Tender Deadline, Apache had received valid tenders from holders of Notes that were not validly withdrawn as set forth in the table below under the heading Principal Amount Tendered. Notes CUSIP Numbers Principal Amount Outstanding Prior to the Offers Principal Amount Tendered (All Accepted) Acceptance Priority Level Total Consideration(1)(2)(3) 3.625% notes due 2021 037411AX3 $292,587,000 $109,844,000 1 $1,005.00 2.625% notes due 2023 037411BD6 $180,763,000 $57,172,000 2 $1,000.00 3.250% notes due 2022 037411AZ8 $460,057,000 $246,531,000 3 $1,020.00 4.250% notes due 2044 037411BC8 $706,417,000 $82,208,000 4 $925.00 4.750% notes due 2043 037411BA2 $1,306,622,000 $88,746,000 5 $965.00 5.100% notes due 2040 037411AW5 $1,396,531,000 $53,132,000 6 $970.00 5.250% notes due 2042 037411AY1 $421,692,000 $6,135,000 7 $970.00 (1) Per $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn and accepted for purchase. Story continues (2) Excludes accrued interest, which will be paid on Notes accepted for purchase as described herein. (3) Includes the Early Tender Premium (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) for Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Early Tender Deadline (and not validly withdrawn) and accepted for purchase. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Offers, the consideration to be paid in the Offers for each Series of Notes (such consideration, the Total Consideration) validly tendered on or before the Early Tender Deadline and accepted for purchase by Apache includes an early tender premium of $50 per $1,000 in aggregate principal amount of Notes accepted for purchase in the Offers (the Early Tender Premium). In addition to the Total Consideration, holders whose Notes are accepted for purchase will also receive accrued and unpaid interest, if any, from the last interest payment date for the applicable Series of Notes up to, but not including, the Early Settlement Date (as defined below). The settlement date for the Notes validly tendered on or before the Early Tender Deadline and accepted for purchase (the Early Settlement Date) is expected to be August 18, 2020. The deadline for Holders to validly withdraw tenders of Notes has passed. Accordingly, Notes that were tendered at or before the Early Tender Deadline may not be withdrawn or revoked, except as required by applicable law. Each Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on August 28, 2020, unless extended or earlier terminated. However, because the aggregate purchase price of the Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn as of the Early Tender Deadline equals the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price, as amended, and Apache does not intend to further increase the Aggregate Maximum Purchase Price, no Notes tendered after the Early Tender Deadline will be accepted for purchase in the Offers. Notes not accepted for purchase will be promptly credited to the account of the registered holder of such Notes with The Depository Trust Company in accordance with the Offer to Purchase. Apaches obligation to accept for purchase, and to pay for, Notes that are validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to each Offer is conditioned on the satisfaction or waiver by Apache of a number of conditions as described in the Offer to Purchase, including the receipt by Apache of the net proceeds from the issuance of not less than $1,000,000,000 in principal amount of indebtedness in one or more debt financing transactions on terms reasonably satisfactory to Apache (the Financing Condition). The Financing Condition is expected to be satisfied today by the closing of its offering of $1,250,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of 4.625% notes due 2025 and 4.875% notes due 2027. Apache may amend, extend, or, subject to certain conditions and applicable law, terminate each Offer at any time in its sole discretion. J.P. Morgan, BofA Securities, and BMO Capital Markets are acting as Dealer Managers and D.F. King & Co., Inc. is acting as the Tender Agent and Information Agent for the Offers. Requests for documents may be directed to D.F. King & Co., Inc. at (800) 549-6697 or apache@dfking.com. Questions regarding the Offers may be directed to J.P. Morgan collect at (212) 834-3424 or toll-free at (866) 834-4666, BofA Securities at (980) 388-3646 or debt_advisory@bofa.com, or BMO Capital Markets collect at (212) 702-1840, toll-free at (833) 418-0762 or at LiabilityManagement@bmo.com. This announcement is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to purchase or sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase or sell, with respect to any securities, including in connection with the Financing Condition. The Offers to purchase the Notes were made pursuant to the terms of the Offer to Purchase. About Apache Apache Corporation is an oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the United States, Egypt and the United Kingdom and exploration activities offshore Suriname. Apache posts announcements, operational updates, investor information and press releases on its website, www.apachecorp.com. Cautionary Statements and Risk Factors That May Affect Future Results Certain information contained in this release is forward-looking information based on current expectations and plans that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. Actual events or results may differ materially because of conditions in our markets or other factors. Moreover, Apache does not, nor does any other person, assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of those statements. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Apache disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this release. If Apache does update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to the factors discussed under Risk Factors in the Offer to Purchase and under Forward-Looking Statements and Risk and Risk Factors in Apaches Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods ended March 31, 2020 and June 30, 2020 (each of which is incorporated by reference in the Offer to Purchase) and similar sections in any subsequent filings, which describe risks and factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in those forward-looking statements. Those risk factors may not be exhaustive. Apache operates in a continually changing business environment, and new risk factors emerge from time to time. Apache cannot predict these new risk factors or assess the impact, if any, of these new risk factors on Apaches businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those described in any forward-looking statements. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results. Contacts Investor: (281) 302-2286 Gary Clark Media: (713) 296-7276 Castlen Kennedy Website: www.apachecorp.com APA-F Hospitals in northwest Chinas Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) were forced to abort and kill babies born in excess of family planning limits or who were in utero less than three years after the mothers previous birth, according to a Uyghur obstetrician and other sources. Hasiyet Abdulla, who currently lives in Turkey, worked in multiple hospitals in Xinjiang over the course of 15 years, including the XUAR Hospital of Traditional Uyghur Medicine. Abdulla recently told RFAs Uyghur Service how hospital maternity wards implemented family-planning policies that restrict Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities to three children in rural areas and two in urban centers. Enforcement of restrictions requiring women to space out pregnancies by at least three years included killing newborns who had been born after being carried to full term, she said. According to Abdulla, every hospital in the region has a family-planning unit where employees keep detailed archival records on all pregnancies. They oversee abortions in cases where women have not allowed the proper time gap between pregnancies and also supervise the implantation of intrauterine devices (IUDs) following pregnancies, she said. Abdullas claims follow a June 29 report about a dramatic increase in recent years in the number of forced sterilizations and abortions targeting Uyghurs in the region, which the author, German researcher Adrian Zenz, said may amount to a government-led campaign of genocide under United Nations definitions. China did not make a spokesperson available for comment on this report, but when Zenzs study on forced birth control came out in June, official media vilified him and said Beijing is considering suing him for libel, while the foreign ministry denounced him. Every hospital had a family-planning unit that was responsible for implementationwho had how many kids, when theyd given birth to themthey tracked all of this, she said. The regulations were so strict: there had to be three or four years between children. There were babies born at nine months who we killed after inducing labor. They did that in the maternity wards, because those were the orders. Abdulla told RFA that hospital family-planning units carried out the operations, including for women who were eight and nine months pregnant, adding that in some cases, medical staff would even kill the babies after theyd been born. For babies who had been born at the hospital outside of family-planning limits, she said, they would kill them and dispose of the body. They wouldnt give the baby to the parentsthey kill the babies when theyre born, she said. Its an order thats been given from above, its an order thats been printed and distributed in official documents. Hospitals get fined if they dont comply, so of course they carry this out. Population control measures In his report, Zenz, a senior fellow in China Studies at the Washington-based Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, documented population control measures in the XUAR that include fines on Uyghur women with three or more children, mandatory pregnancy tests and examinations, and the forced implantation of IUDs or sterilization surgery. The so-called allegation that millions of Uyghurs were detained was trumped up by an anti-China organization which receives significant financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy, and Adrian Zenz, a senior fellow in a research group on Xinjiang education and training centers set up by the U.S. intelligence community, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on July 15, in seeking to discredit Zenz. The uptick in forced population control policies, which the report said had led to an 84 percent birthrate reduction in two majority Uyghur prefectures between 2015 and 2018, occurred in tandem with Chinas campaign of mass incarceration of Uyghurs launched in the region in April 2017. Women who refuse to undergo the procedures are detained in a network of internment camps, believed to have held up to 1.8 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. According to a June 8 report published on the official Xinjiang Web news site, an average of 8 million extra pregnancies are aborted in China each year. The report said that nearly 10 percent of women undergo a second such operation in their lifetimes, while almost three percent of women who are unable to have a second child have had such an abortion performed on them. Urumqi News Online, another state-owned media outlet, has also reported that Chen Yanchun, the former head of family planning at the XUAR Women and Childrens Hospital in the regional capital Urumqi with more than 25 years of experience, said the hospital performs an average of 30, and maximum of around 60, forced abortions each day. He claimed that the family-planning unit at Women and Childrens Hospital performed 533 abortions in November 2019 alone. Abdullas account of the role of family-planning units at XUAR hospitals was confirmed by Shahide Yarmuhemmet, a staffer at the family-planning office of Urumqis New City district from 1996 to 2011 who now lives in the Netherlands. Yarmuhemmet said her office dealt with violations by performing forced abortions and that there were similar offices at every administrative levelincluding at the village level and even in some cases in every urban housing unitthat maintained the same mechanisms to implement family-planning policies in the region. In the countryside and on the local level, in every administrative zone down to the countryside and local levels, there are family-planning offices, she told RFA, adding that people have to apply and be approved before they can have a child. The village cadres go into every house [to check up on women]even individual apartment buildings have dedicated family-planning employees They always know clearly whos pregnant, and they report it to higher-ups. If a pregnancy happens outside the family-planning policy, they do an investigation and then performed a forced abortion. Yarmuhemmet confirmed that violations included having more children than allowed by state policy, as well as failing to wait at least three years between births. Forced procedure RFA has been documenting the use of forced abortions in the XUARand particularly how Uyghur women are rarely given any other choice by the statesince at least 2005, when a family-planning cadre in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture described the way family-planning officials would take women directly to government offices and hospitals to perform the procedures. RFA recently spoke with a Uyghur woman named Bumeryem from Toquzaq township in Kashgars Kona Sheher (Shufu) county who fled the region for Turkey in 2016 but had been forced to have an abortion in 2004 while pregnant with her fourth child. Despite her attempts to hide the pregnancy, local family-planning cadres eventually discovered Bumeryems secret and, after subjecting her to a series of threats, forced her to have an abortion at the Women and Childrens Hospital in Kashgar city, around halfway through her second trimester. [The family-planning cadres] told me I had to get an abortion because the pregnancy was my fourth, and they gave me an injection through my belly buttonI paid 200 yuan (U.S. $29) [for the procedure] myself, she said. Bumeryem said she had considered giving birth to the child on her own and giving it to her brother to raisea common practice by Uyghurs seeking to skirt family-planning restrictionsbut her sister-in-law was worried that their family would be targeted by authorities. [The cadres] took me [to the hospital] and did the abortion at five months, she said. It was a boy. We could find out [the sex] at five months If my baby who was aborted were alive today, hed be 15 years old. Bumeryem remembered recovering in a room with other women whose babies had been aborted at seven and eight months, as well as full-term. There were women there in even worse situations than mine, she said. I lay in my bed and cried. Over the past several decades, Uyghurs reports about family-planning policy implementation in the region have suggested that many instances of Uyghur discontent that were often portrayed by the state as splittism, and later as religious extremism and separatism, stemmed from frustrations with family planning. Bumeryem mentioned one such incident in Toqquzaq in the early 2000s when a number of women were forced to have abortions because they had failed to wait the required three years between births, leading their husbands to attempt a demonstration that was quickly put down by authorities. They formed groups to abort and dispose of our children as they pleased, she said. It has become a form of oppression in our homeland. A facility believed to be an internment camp located north of Kashgar, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, June 2, 2019. AFP Birth control procedures Even women who do not violate limitations on children under family-planning policies in the XUAR are routinely forced to undergo birth control procedures that include implantation of intrauterine devices (IUDs) and tubal ligation surgeries. Several have described in recent interviews painful procedures that left them both physically and emotionally scarred and suggested such measures are part of a bid by the government to eradicate their ethnic group. One womana neighborhood committee leader in Suydung (Shuiding) township, in Ili Kazakh (Yili Hasake) Autonomous Prefectures Qorghas (Huocheng) countytold RFA she had spent some 30 years going house to house and collecting fines from people who had violated family-planning policies. Now 57, the woman who declined to provide her name for fear of reprisal said that knowing she was at risk of falling victim to the same punishments she helped to enforce, she took an unknown type of birth control pill for more than 10 years, which she believes caused her to lose her hair and experience memory loss. At first there were no side effects, but then [about a year later] my hair started falling outnow I have only a tiny handful of hair left, and scarves wont even stay on my head, she said. My memory is unusually bad. I cant even memorize my childrens phone numbers. I think this might be the worst side effect of the meds It started when I was 45 and has gotten a lot worse since I turned 50. The committee leader said she knows 40 or 50 people in her neighborhood that were suffering from similar symptoms. After seeing my hair fall out, my daughter elected to have [tubal ligation] surgery after shed had her third child, she said. [Local authorities ordered her to], but my daughter and I both agreed with it after seeing what can happen after taking the pill. Other sources have told RFA of IUDs that have had to be surgically removed years after they were implanted because they experienced severe vaginal bleeding, some of whom have learned that the device punctured their uteruses and likely left them sterile. While IUDs are the most common form of birth control used by authorities to implement family-planning policies, tubal ligationin which the fallopian tubes are tied and sometimes cutis another favored method. While surgeons can untie fallopian tubes that have been blocked in most tubal ligations, Chinese government-ordered surgeries generally involve the cutting of the tubes, making it much more difficult to undo. Gross rights violations Sophie Richardson, China Director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, called Beijings family-planning policies in the XUAR gross human rights violations and suggested that doctors and other officials enforcing them should be subjected to sanctions by the U.S. under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. When people in other parts of the world carry out these kinds of horrible abuses, theyre held accountable before the law, she said. [Enforcers of family-planning policies] have to know that this can happen to them, too. Where is the justice for all the Uyghurs who are suffering under these human-rights violations? At the end of July, the Trump administration sanctioned the quasi-military Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp (XPCC) and two of its current and former officials over rights violations in the XUAR. The move followed similar sanctions last month against several top Chinese officials, including regional party secretary Chen Quanguo, marking the first time Washington targeted a member of Chinas powerful Politburo. Richardson noted that while Beijing claims family-planning policies are voluntary, this is the same government that, for a long time, denied that anybody was arbitrarily detained in the Uyghur region at all. Its not exactly the government that you go to for accountability, she said. Richardson said that as Beijing continues to promote the narrative that everything in the XUAR is under control and that Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are content, the government should allow independent observers into the region to investigate reports of abuses. Last month, sources told RFA that authorities in the XUAR are preparing local residents for visits with outside inspectors by ordering them to disavow knowledge of the family-planning policies detailed in Zenzs report. Reported by Gulchehra Hoja and Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Elise Anderson. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. The Milwaukee Police Department started a similar receipt program last year as a result of a settlement in July 2018 stemming from a class-action lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin against the City of Milwaukee in February 2017. The lawsuit accused the Milwaukee Police Department of targeting tens of thousands of people without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, which is the legal requirement for a police stop. In 2019, when the receipt policy was first implemented, the total number of documented police stops went down from 34,687 in the first half of 2019 to 28,036 in the second half. The ACLU of Wisconsin, which filed the lawsuit, declined to answer questions. But according to Fred Royal, president of the Milwaukee NAACP, the lawsuit showed there was a disparity in how many traffic stops were being conducted on people of color in the city. "We know there were way too many traffic stops issued to people of color, an excessive amount of stops for African Americans," Royal said. "It was proven ... there was not a justification for a lot of these stops. They were pretextual stops (based on) if the person looked as if they may have been a criminal element." Putin Tells Lukashenka Russia Ready 'To Provide Help' Militarily If Needed August 16, 2020 The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka that Russia is ready to assist Belarus in accordance with a collective military pact, if necessary. The Kremlin said in the same statement that external pressure was being applied to Belarus. It did not say by whom. The two spoke on August 16 for the second time in as many days. Belarus has been rocked by a week of street protests after protesters accused Lukashenka of rigging a presidential election on August 9. Some 7,000 people have been detained by police across Belarus in the postelection crackdown with hundreds injured and at least two killed as police have used rubber bullets, stun grenades, and, in at least one instance, live ammunition. Hundreds of those held and subsequently released spoke of brutal beatings they suffered in detention, much of it documented and splashed across social media. Thousands more remain in detention as international outrage mounts. Facing the most serious threat ever to his authoritarian rule, Lukashenka spoke with Putin on August 15, after saying there was "a threat not only to Belarus." He later told military chiefs that Putin had offered "comprehensive help" to "ensure the security of Belarus." The Kremlin said the leaders agreed the "problems" in Belarus would be "resolved soon" and the countries' ties strengthened. Based on reporting by Interfax, Reuters, and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-tells- lukashenka-russia-ready-to-assist-with -military-aid/30786573.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Home Affairs will meet on Wednesday to consider the "Management of Covid-19 Pandemic and related issues", said the Rajya Sabha website. The committee is headed by Congress leader Anand Sharma and is likely to discuss the initiatives taken by the Central government for the management of the pandemic, said sources. The meeting gains significance with both the Houses preparing for the Monsoon session of Parliament while adhering to social distancing norms. The country's novel coronavirus tally crossed the 26 lakh mark on Monday with 57,981 new cases in 24 hours while the death toll climbed to 50,921 with 941 more fatalities, said the Health Ministry. Of the 26,47,663 cases, recoveries have surged to 19,19,842 with a record 57,584 more people recovering in the past 24 hours, taking the recovery rate to nearly 72.51 per cent. The active cases currently stand at 6,76,900. The country had touched the two million mark on August 7 and added more than six lakh cases in 10 days. On Sunday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot congratulated Congress leader Ajay Maken on his appointment as All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in-charge of the state. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday congratulated Congress leader Ajay Maken on his appointment as All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary in-charge of the state. Gehlot wrote in a tweet that he welcomes the decision of CP Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji to have appointed Shri Ajay Maken as AICC General Secretary in-charge of Rajasthan. He added that he congratulates Shri Maken and hope that his vast organisational experience would help strengthen the party and energise the party workers in the state, eagerly looking forward to working with him. Gehlot thanked the outgoing Rajasthan Congress in-charge Avinash Pande for his role in the state in the past. He wrote in a tweet, My heartiest thanks to Shri Avinash Pande ji for his valuable support and guidance as the AICC in-charge of Rajasthan. His efforts to establish coordination between the party organisation and the govt have been highly commendable. I wish him all the best. @avinashpandeinc. Also read: As Indias Covid count increases rapidly, mortality rates comes down to 2% Also read: 4G services restored in two districts of J&K on a trial basis Two days after Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government won the trust vote, the Congress high command removed the in-charge Avinash Pande, apparently on the demand of Sachin Pilot. In his place, Ajay Maken, former Union Minister and trusted confidant of Rahul Gandhi has been given the charge of Rajasthan. After a gap of about five years, Ajay Maken has returned to the All India Congress Committee (AICC). According to sources, former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot after his return to party fold had demanded Pandes removal from the post. The Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan won vote of confidence in the state Assembly on Friday by voice vote. The two factions in the Congress-led by Gehlot and Pilot had come together ahead of the Assembly session. Pilot had the support of 18 other MLAs. Pilot was removed as Deputy Chief Minister and Rajasthan Congress chief last month after his differences with Gehlot came out in open triggering a political crisis in the state. Pilot was miffed after the SOG sent him a notice to record his statement in a case of alleged poaching of Congress MLAs in the state. Also read: Amid Rahuls BJP controls FB to BJPs Losers who crib retort, Cong demands JPC probe in charges File Photo As the world is already battling to the increasing cases of Covid-19 day by day, Malaysia has detected a strain of the new coronavirus which is 10 times more infectious. As per reports, the mutation named D614G was found in at least three of the 45 cases in a cluster that started from a restaurant owner who returned from India. The man had breached his 14-day home quarantine and currently serving his 5 months term in prison for that. Advertisement Covid-19 The existing vaccine studies can be incomplete or ineffective against this mutation, said Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah. People need to be aware and be more careful because the Covid-19 virus with D614G mutation has been detected in Malaysia," he wrote in a Facebook post. Advertisement The mutation has become the predominant variant in Europe and the US, however, the World Health Organization has already said theres no evidence the strain leads to more severe disease. Covid-19 According to the research, a variant of the novel coronavirus, named 'D614G', is more infectious in cell cultures under laboratory conditions. However, another one published that the mutation is not likely to have a major impact on the effectiveness of vaccines which are currently being developed. TTC subway riders are used to the occasional delay, but the ordeal they endured on a chilly morning early this year was enough to push even seasoned commuters to their limit. At around 6 a.m. on Jan. 22, an empty subway train slipped off the tracks as it exited the transit agencys Keele Yard, forcing a four-hour shutdown on Line 2 just in time for morning rush hour. While crews worked to get the train back on the rails, thousands of commuters in Torontos west end were left stranded in the cold. The TTC scrambled to deploy shuttle buses but, still, the crowds waiting outside inoperable stations grew so large that police had to close part of Bloor Street. The incident was among the most severe shutdowns to hit the network in recent years all over a missing piece of equipment on a single switch at one of the networks smallest yards, the TTC later said. The part is designed to keep trains wheels aligned with the track and prevent derailments. Days after the accident, a TTC executive told the Star the agency didnt know why it was missing but said the problem may have gone undetected for years. However, internal emails obtained by the Star show that more than two years before the derailment a TTC worker who inspected the Keele Yard alerted his superiors that the part was missing and the switch was unsafe. Despite knowing in June 2017 the crucial piece of equipment wasnt in place, the transit agency didnt fix it. A TTC source who has direct knowledge of the incident told the Star the agency allowed conditions it knew could cause an accident to go unaddressed for years. It was just negligence on the part of some of these people (at the TTC) that caused this, said the source, who the Star has agreed not to name because they havent been authorized by TTC management to speak to media. In an email, TTC spokesperson Stuart Green acknowledged that the agency learned in June 2017 that the piece of equipment, called a kick plate, was missing. But the employees responsible determined the part they had in stock couldnt immediately be installed because it would require design and machining work to make it fit. Unfortunately, we have no additional information as to why that work was not completed prior to January 2020, Green said, stating that the agencys ability to conduct a more thorough review is hampered by the fact that several employees with knowledge of the issue no longer work at the TTC. Safety is the TTCs top priority and we have numerous protocols and processes in place to ensure our system is safe... Unfortunately, it would appear in this case, and that despite those protocols, work to replace the missing infrastructure was not carried out, contributing to this derailment and a massive inconvenience to our customers, Green said. He said the TTC has made policy changes to prevent future derailments. The Keele Yard, located between Keele and Dundas West stations, is one of the TTCs smallest, and for years was mostly used to store work cars. Starting in June 2017, the transit agency began to park four subway trains there every night in an effort to more efficiently get the fleet into service each morning and improve on-time performance. According to the emails obtained by the Star, days before that change a TTC roadmaster, whose job includes inspecting track, noticed that the switch at Keele wasnt properly assembled. In addition to missing the kick plate, the switch wasnt secured to the track bed. Most of the braces that are supposed to anchor the track werent in place, and the ones that were hadnt been fastened properly. The switch is not in a condition that is safe, the roadmaster told his superiors in an email, dated June 15, 2017. Although the TTC didnt have a new kick plate ready, the roadmaster recommended at least fastening the braces right away. Please attend to this immediately tonight, as we cannot leave the switch in this condition. We will have to locate and install the missing (kick plate) at a later date, he wrote. A senior manager for subway operations wrote back the same day, appearing alarmed by the state of the switch given that in two days the TTC would start using Keele much more heavily for day-to-day service. This switch will be used every morning and every night by (four trains) starting this weekend!! he replied. I dont know why the switch was left like this but I want a crew to attend tonight and replace the braces. The manager asked employees to double-check whether there was a kick plate available, and said if there was, I would like that installed over the weekend as well. But no kick plate was installed that weekend, nor in the next two-and-a-half years. Days after the derailment, a TTC executive told the Star that a preliminary review determined that without the plate in place to keep the trains wheels aligned, its possible the rail on the switch wore down as four heavy subway trains rolled over it every day for more than two years. By Jan. 22, it was misshapen enough that the wheels of one car slipped off, and without the guard in place there was nothing to stop the derailment. In his email Friday, Green said an investigation into the derailment found two immediate causes: the missing kick plate and localized wear on the rail. Although a TTC executive told the Star in January it was possible the missing plate had led to the rail becoming worn down, Green said the review didnt conclusively link the two. Green said the TTC has learned from this incident and improved our processes to address its root causes. The agency has since installed a new kick plate at Keele, and inspected the switches in all other yards. It has also improved inspection, training, and quality assurance processes, hired additional staff, and modernized its asset management system. TTC riders will be hoping the changes prevent another derailment. Thousands of people were affected by Januarys accident, and not just passengers on Line 2, which before the pandemic carried more than 500,000 people per day. Bus riders were also inconvenienced because the TTC had to deploy 116 shuttle buses to cope with the derailment, pulling them off of their regular routes. Car drivers also had to detour as police temporarily shut down a 2.3-kilometre stretch of Bloor Street between Royal York Road and Jane Street. Shaun Iyer was among the subway users caught up in the disruption that day. His regular 45-minute commute to Humber Colleges Lakeshore Campus took almost three hours, and he missed his morning class. Many people might lose their wages today, miss out on an exam or even lose their job, he told the Star at the time. When major delays hit the subway someone at the TTC has to be held accountable. With files from Gilbert Ngabo and Jason Miller. As US Democrats kick off a highly unorthodox convention that will culminate in the nomination of presidential candidate Joe Biden, President Donald Trump, never one to share the spotlight, is hitting the campaign trail. The visits to several key battleground states during the Democratic Partys biggest election-year event is yet another break from tradition for a candidate-turned-president who has built a reputation on bucking norms. Historically, candidates have kept a low profile during the other partys days-long conventions, a kind of temporary laying down arms for the week, political analyst Eric Ham told Al Jazeera. But Trump is setting out on his busiest campaign travel week since the coronavirus pandemic drastically curtailed the presidents public appearances. Trump also held campaign events during the 2016 Democratic National Convention and famously grabbed headlines by calling on Russia to find missing emails from then-Democratic candidate Hillary Clintons private server. Trumps eagerness to again take to the stump during this cycles convention indicates that his campaign feels it has little choice amid slumping polls, a bump in support for Biden after his history-making running mate pick of Senator Kamala Harris, and an anticipated post-convention bump in Democratic support, Ham said. With Trump being not just down, but way down in the polls, and to basically have a week where you are losing time, while COVID-19 continues to rage, said Ham, thats a lot of ground for him to cede in this moment. On Monday, Trump told reporters at the White House that the campaign had entered the final crunch. Earlier in the day, he told the Fox and Friends programme that he was compelled to campaign this week by the medias coverage of his presidency and campaign. I have no choice because we have a fake media in this country, Trump said when asked about the break from tradition in his campaign plans. So I have to work, I dont have time not to. Trump on the trail Trump landed in Minnesota on Monday and will later in the evening deliver a speech at a private air hangar in the battleground state of Wisconsin. That event will be about 145km (90 miles) from Milwaukee, the control centre of the Democratic convention, which will be mostly digital with speeches streamed from across the country. The president is expected to criticise Bidens economic policies while seeking to draw a distinct counterpoint to Bidens coronavirus safety-first approach to campaigning. Getting ready to land in Minneapolis. Our great National Guard saved the city from further destruction. Should have been called up sooner by local government! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2020 In a previous tele-rally with Wisconsin voters, the Republican president charged that Biden is not even going to pay the respect of at least making a stopover in the state during the convention and that the Democrats are once again ignoring the incredible people of Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Biden and vice presidential pick Kamala Harris are not set to visit Wisconsin during the Democratic convention, which the campaign has said is meant to set an example for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic. They will instead deliver speeches from a convention centre in Bidens hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. On Tuesday, Trump is set to take on Bidens immigration policies during a visit to Yuma, Arizona, a state that has not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1996 but where Trump is currently slightly trailing in the polls. Then on Thursday, Trump will speak at a building supplies forge less than 16km (10 miles) from Scranton, Pennsylvania, where Biden was born. That event is scheduled for just hours before the former Democratic vice presidents much-anticipated nomination acceptance speech. Playing on Joe Bidens field Campaigning amid the coronavirus has been very much playing on Joe Bidens field, said Ham, and the most recent blitz is an attempt by Trump to get back into his element. Joe Biden does really well at retail politics speaking in intimate settings, speaking one on one, he said. The campaign has been brought down to eye level, which really helps Biden, That does not work for Donald Trump, added Ham. He needs the rallies, he needs thousands of people, he needs to put on a show. The campaigning during the convention will not be reserved to Trump, with Trump Victory, the campaigns joint field programme with the Republican National Committee, holding more than 2,500 events across the country, according to the RNC. The party plans to knock on more than one million doors and call millions of voters during the week. Were going to be all over the place during this convention, said Trump campaign spokesman Hogan Gidley, according to The Associated Press news agency. That includes online. The campaign last week announced an up to $10m digital advertisement buy during the event that will blitz sites like YouTube and Hulu, and major news websites, which will likely be streaming the Democratic convention. The Biden campaign has dismissed the digital campaigning, with spokesman Andrew Bates describing the ploy to the New York Times as a smoke and mirrors charade that attempts to distract from Trumps failed leadership. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:43:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close FUZHOU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Xu Jinbao changed his company's name from "Sanfu Souvenir" to "Sanfu Technology" a couple of weeks ago, so he could expand production from tea sets and vases to air purifiers and water filters. Xu's company is one of many factories that produce and export Western-style porcelain home decorations and tableware in Dehua County, east China's Fujian Province. Dehua porcelain began to thrive in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) when its white-glazed china was first exported to Europe. The ivory white porcelain became most sought-after among European nobility. The city has retained its fame as the world's manufacturing hub of ceramic handicrafts, but the popular exports have changed from figurines and utensils in ancient times to Halloween and Christmas decorations today. By the end of 2019, there were more than 3,000 ceramic enterprises in Dehua, employing more than 100,000 people, with a yearly output value of 36.3 billion yuan (about 5.2 billion U.S. dollars). As one of the hardest-hit sectors during the COVID-19 epidemic, the porcelain industry in Dehua is now gaining new momentum with innovation and diverse business expansion. GOING SPECIAL Xu loves to boil tea in a porcelain kettle, the latest product he developed in recent months. By mixing special minerals with clays in a proper ratio, the porcelain becomes heat resistant and can be put on a stove or hot plate. "It has become so popular that we cannot meet the soaring demand," Xu said. "Perhaps it's because few people have seen a porcelain utensil that can be put on a stove." Xu, who has already achieved some renown by making teacups, often buries himself in mixing various minerals with clays to develop advanced ceramics. He is now experimenting on air purifiers, of which the filter is made of porcelain and zeolite, a capable absorbent. "We are building a new plant, where air purifiers will be put into mass production next year," Xu said. "I am confident that the high-tech sector will help double the company's revenue in the next three years." In the showroom of Fujie Ceramics, Lin Fuwen, owner of the company, was proud to show visitors a large porcelain doorknob, which is twice as hard as steel, and is priced at over 10,000 yuan each. Lin started his porcelain business in 1991, and managed to make easy money in the 1990s and early 2000s when the export business of cheap decorations was in its heyday. He decided to add more value to his products when he found the profit margin slumped to less than 10 percent due to rising labor costs after 2009. In 2013, he succeeded in developing a porcelain lamp with good heat dissipation, and since then he has been investing about half of the company's profit into the research of new materials every year. On the shelves of the company's showroom now are various high-tech porcelain products with startling properties such as high thermal conductivity and high-temperature resistance. Widely used in electronics, medical services and machine tools, the advanced ceramics business has become a cash cow for the company. "The profit margin of special ceramics is 20 percent higher than that of traditional porcelain products," Lin said, noting that orders for the innovative products doubled year on year in March and April when there were almost no orders for traditional products from overseas. GOING DIVERSE Snow globes fill the shelves. Frogs and rabbits stare at each other across the passage. A few yards away, Mickey Mouse, Snow White, and Dumbo the Flying Elephant are packed like sardines. They are all made of porcelain. This exhibition hall, which covers an area of 6,000 square meters, is situated in the factory of the Shunmei Group, one of the largest ceramic exporters in China. Zheng Pengfei, general manager of the company, said visitors are welcome to craft their own ceramic works and color blank clay models in the DIY workshop. The factory has become an attraction for tourists visiting Dehua, receiving 1,000 visitors a day on average. It also plans to roll out a tour route inside the factory that allows visitors to explore the whole process of porcelain production. "More exposure means more potential buyers. Factory tours open the door to a new world for the company," Zheng said. While some exporters pin their hopes on brick-and-mortar factory tours, some have turned to the domestic market through e-commerce marketing. Instead of placing bulk orders as foreign clients do, domestic consumers tend to purchase customized products in small amounts. Li Junjie, who runs a ceramic flowerpot plant in Dehua County, did not sell a single pot to his overseas customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The factory used to export 30 percent of its flowerpots to the United States and Spain, but Li managed to make up for the lost deals by selling on domestic e-commerce platforms. With big data provided by e-commerce platforms, Li can tell which items will be a hit so they can increase their production of those items, and develop new products based on a thorough analysis of different consumer groups. "Our online sales almost doubled over the past year, and we have sold over 100,000 customized pots this year, thanks to the e-commerce strategy on the domestic market," Li said. Enditem Bengaluru: The COVID-19 death toll in Karnataka breached the 4,000 mark on Monday, as the state reported 6,317 new cases and 115 fatalities, taking the total number of infections to 2,33,283, the health department said. The day also saw recoveries overtaking the number of new positive cases, with 7,071 patients getting discharged. Out of the 6,317 fresh cases reported on Monday, 2,053 were from Bengaluru urban alone. As of August 17 evening, cumulatively 2,33,283 COVID-19 positive cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 4,062 deaths and 1,48,562 discharges, the health department said in its bulletin. It said that out of 80,643 active cases, 79,948 patients are in isolation at designated hospitals and are stable, while 695 are in Intensive Care Units. Thirty-nine out of 115 deaths reported on Monday were from Bengaluru urban, followed by Belagavi and Hassan (9 each), Dakshina Kannada (8), Kalaburagi (7), Ballari (6), Dharwad and Mysuru (5 each), Haveri, Koppal and Shivamogga (4 each), Raichur and Vijayapura (3 each), Chikkamagaluru and Tumakuru (2 each), and Bagalkote, Kodagu, Mandya, Udupi and Uttara Kannada (1 each). Contacts of most of the deaths reported today are still under tracing. Among the districts where the new cases were reported, Bengaluru urban accounted for 2,053, Mysuru 597, Shivamogga 397, Ballari 319, Udupi 268, Hassan 250, Dharwad 201, followed by others. Bengaluru Urban district topped the list of positive cases, with 91,864 infections, followed by Ballari 14,507 and Mysuru 11,132. Among discharges too Bengaluru urban was on top with 55,972 discharges, followed by Ballari 8,554 and Kalaburagi 6,885, the bulletin said. A total of 20,75,086 samples have been tested so far, out of which 37,700 were on Monday alone. Among the samples tested today, 14,489 were Rapid Antigen Tests. While Sushant Singh Rajput's death case is being investigated, new revelations are being made in media every day. According to new reports, Sushant Singh Rajput's old friend Kushal Zaveri had a chat with the late actor on June 1. The screenshots of their chat were recently made public and show that the actor said he was working on himself "spiritually and trying to grow". Sushant approached Kushal, director of Pavitra Rishta two weeks before he was found dead at his Mumbai home. Sushant left him a text to ask about his well being, which read, "How are you bhai? I hope you are healthy and rocking. Miss you. Jai Shiv Shambho. Sushant." Kushal, a day later replied to him saying, "Glad to hear from you bhai. Healthwise all is well but the struggle is for everyone and I am no exception. Hope all is good with you bhai." Soon after, Sushant talked about how he has been spending his time during the lockdown and opened up about his future plans. He wrote, "working on myself spiritually and trying to grow. Whenever I introspect, I really miss our golden days together. How precious they are. I just wanna say that the work we did together are something we should be proud of, find ways to continue with it and that we are always together. Please give my love to Sid too and tell him I miss him a lot. Much love." Along with family, close friends and fans, Kushal has also refused to believe that the actor was depressed. According to reports by Mumbai police, the actor was allegedly getting treated for depression for past six months before his death, and had recently stopped taking medication. 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 Sushant Singh Rajput's Sister Performs Special Puja For The Late Actor; Shares A Video Ankita Lokhande Thanks Vicky Jain For Being Her 'Strength' Amid Rumours Of SSR Paying For Her Flat For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size Industrial relations in Australia in the early 1980s, conservative commentator Gerard Henderson wrote, was a clubby place filled with the "truly reasonable and moderate" as union and business bosses negotiated deals over fine wines and song. "They alone understand industrial realities; they alone know how the system works, and it is they who can do deals and fix agreements," Henderson opined. "Within the Club there is no time for confrontation." If such a reality ever existed it was shattered in April 1998, when security guards with big dogs marched across the wharves of stevedoring company Patrick under the cover of darkness to shunt its 1400 unionised workers from the waterfront. Locked-out unionists haranguing non-union workers as they enter the Patrick terminal at Port Botany. Credit:Jonathan Marsden New workers, many ex-military, were flown in by chopper to avoid the picket line, where the furious wharfies stood outside company gates and pelted the new recruits, some wearing balaclavas to shield their identities, with verbal abuse, rocks and sometimes cups of scalding coffee. Moderate it was not. But significant it was. The dispute dominated politics at the time, with images of heavyset security guards in black balaclavas permeating the Australian consciousness and was made into an ABC TV series in 2007 called Bastard Boys. It is still talked about today as a defining industrial dispute and a marker of the changing balance between unions and business in Australia. Patrick managing director Chris Corrigan, fed up with what he saw as the sclerotic operation of Australia's wharves that made everything imported more expensive, was one architect of the fight. Australian ports were moving containers too slowly, below world standards, and Corrigan argued the company had too little control over its own workforce. He was backed by the Howard government and the National Farmers Federation. Advertisement Opposite him was the Maritime Union of Australia, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Labor. In a departure from the old industrial battles the union had won on the back of crippling strikes, its hopes rested largely on its legal appeals through the court. Josh Bornstein, then a young partner at labour law firm Maurice Blackburn, was one of the legal minds charged with running it. A worker, transported in by helicopter, taunts unionists and media at the gate. Credit:Dean Sewell The union won temporary victories in the courts and then negotiated a deal that minimised job losses. But hundreds of wharfies were still made redundant and those that remained gave up many of the work rules that gave them big overtime payments and incentives to move containers slowly. Two decades later, the Morrison government is once again looking to industrial reform to help restart economic growth and get Australians back to work once the coronavirus pandemic is over. Bornstein and Corrigan are both despairing of the state of Australia's industrial policies. Their reasons, though, are no closer than in 1998. Chris Corrigan spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age from the United Kingdom, where he was travelling from his home in Switzerland. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. Chris Corrigan faces the press. Credit:Dean Sewell "If there was ever a time for a new way of thinking about the common goal of getting the economy restarted this would be the time to do it and I guess you can always hope that some sense prevails but there is a long history of class warfare rhetoric in Australia." Advertisement "The more flexibility that you can build into the system and the less rules and regulations the more chance it suits both the employer and employee." After the battle was over, Corrigan says, Patrick workers "realised it was much more fun if you have more control of your destiny and perform and are rewarded than to be stuck in a rules-based system where you're told not to work too fast because that's not in accordance with class warfare." (The Maritime Union, now part of the CFMMEU, disputes this, pointing to the emotional and financial toll the waterfront battle took on its members and arguing productivity gains were a product of greater investment on the wharves.) "I think real industrial reform is focused on how do you grow the cake, if you can grow the cake it's much easier then to have a discussion about the relative shares of that cake." Loading "At the moment the cake is shrinking quite rapidly and if you get into bitter negotiations over how to divide a shrinking cake thats likely to be quite counterproductive and lead to further shrinkage." Asked about the Morrison government's reform process, where unions and businesses are in talks on five areas and the government has emphasised a collaborative approach, Corrigan is doubtful. "I would be shocked if there were proactive discussions along the lines that Im talking about. Having some idea of the background and mindset of the people, I think it would be broadly the same discussions weve been having for decades. Advertisement "[Real reform] is very difficult. The only way were able to do it was to bring about a conflict [between Patrick and the Maritime Union] that allowed a different way of thinking, I wouldnt recommend that at the moment. It's extremely difficult." "Unions are still running a class warfare mentality and companies [are] not [engaging in] class warfare but they dont have a very broad view for the most part about how to refocus the conflict." "If you looked at Germany youd get a totally different picture all about how they can grow the cake." In Germany, unions get seats on company boards. Corrigan, with his plain dislike for attitudes in Australia's unions, says that is not what he's talking about. "Its whether or not theyve got a mindset that is about expanding the company or the countrys broad economic welfare." For now, the government, unions and business are staying mum on the process of the negotiations, which is a good sign for their progress. Is Corrigan involved at all? "[The government] would be crazy to take a call from someone living in Switzerland." Josh Bornstein, who made his name in the Waterfront Dispute and has gone on to enjoy a successful career as head of Maurice Blackburn's employment and industrial law practice, agrees with almost nothing Corrigan says. Josh Bornstein (right) and actor Justin Smith (left) who plays him in Bastard Boys in 2007. Advertisement (Both were unhappy with parts of Bastard Boys a fictionalised drama of the dispute though. Bornstein has said he found a depiction of him reading legal texts in the nude and coming up with a genius legal scheme after vomiting into the gutter confronting while Corrigan suggested the whole show was biased. [The series] "does not explore any inconvenient truths such as the impact of the waterfront rorts on ordinary Australians" Corrigan said in 2007). Loading "Companies hire more people when they need more people to do work, they dont examine the fine print of labour market regulation in each country and then make a decision about whether they are going to hire another five people or not. Its a complete furphy" Bornstein says of Corrigan's contention more flexibility will lead to successful companies, higher wages and more employment. He is equally scathing of the prospects of a "middle ground" compromise between the unions and businesses. "The notion of a middle ground is a deeply misleading term, it's a loaded term. Employees are at their weakest in terms of bargaining power than they have been for decades, employers on the other hand enjoy immense bargaining power in the labour market." Bornstein traces the problems back past the waterfront dispute to the 1980s, when Australia started to move from setting wages across sectors to a company by company approach. Police move protesters off the picket line at Patrick. Credit:Dean Swell Advertisement Qualcomm has won a major victory against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in an antitrust and anti-competitive lawsuit. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals handed down this ruling in favor of Qualcomm. The FTC had filed a court case citing unfair patenting licensing practices against Qualcomm in 2017. The case accused Qualcomm of using unfair licensing methods to maintain its monopoly in the supply of a key semiconductor component for smartphones. This impacted both CDMA and LTE devices. The FTC argued that Qualcomm abused its position as the leading chip manufacturer to bind smartphone manufacturers in anticompetitive patent licensing clauses. This lead to the weakening of Qualcomms competitors. Advertisement The FTC argued that Qualcomm forced manufacturers, like Apple, to work exclusively with its technology. Also, the chipmaker was accused of forcing rivals to pay high license fees. Incidentally, the FTC also argued that Qualcomm threatened to stop supplies to customers of a key semiconductor component if they did not agree to the licensing terms and additional licensing fees. Originally, Qualcomm lost the case and was hit with a ruling by the District Court in May 2019. The Court ordered the chipmaker to renegotiate existing licensing terms, worth billions of dollars, with its customers. Advertisement Qualcomm appealed the ruling with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in July 2019 and received a ruling in their favor this year. FTC unable to explain how Qualcomms terms impacted rivals The Appeals Court ruled in favor of Qualcomm, citing that the FTC was unable to explain how Qualcomms terms impacted its competitors negatively. Alternately, Qualcomms argued that its licensing business is beneficial for the whole industry. The chipmaker said that Qualcomm doesnt stop its rivals from accessing its technology. Advertisement As such, this does not restrict the opportunity for Qualcomms rivals. Instead, it is the smartphone manufacturers who pay the licensing fee as a percentage of the selling price of each device. However, it must be noted that this ruling in Qualcomms favor could have been affected by another factor. The US Justice Department sided with Qualcomm in this appeal against the original ruling. Qualcomm wins appeal against the FTC Surprisingly, the US Justice Department sided with Qualcomm in this case. They argued that the original ruling against Qualcomm would negatively impact American leadership in the 5G technology space. Advertisement However, this ruling may not be the end of this saga. The FTC can ask a full panel of circuit judges to review this ruling. Also, the FTC can approach the Supreme Court for a review. Though for now, it seems that Qualcomm has much to rejoice about. 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 By Steven L. Shields I was raised in a typical 1960s U.S. schoolteacher's home and church environment. I was taught to have respect for others, but quietly we "knew" that "our" version of Christianity was superior to other Protestant churches. We "knew" that Catholicism was the church of the devil; that Eastern religions, such as Buddhism, were only pagan beliefs that needed to be wiped out. Armed with such certainty, I arrived in Korea at age 20, ready to make believers out of Buddhists, and to persuade Protestants they were wrong. I confidently "knew" all the answers. Like Catholics, Buddhists were "wrong" because they worshiped an "idol." The arguments about icons were lost on me and my coreligionists. Even the empty cross of Protestantism was considered to be like an idol. In many ways, we viewed others' use of such imagery as Islam. But as youth, we'd never heard of such a religion. At the same time, we proudly hung our overly white paintings of Jesus in our chapels and our homes. We also proudly displayed photos of the prominent denomination leaders, who we revered as God's direct and personal spokesmen. Oh, how little we understood icons! Several years of working and living in Asia cured me of the parochial ideas of my youth. At least, I hope so. I would best be described, perhaps, as a universalist with some humanism blended in. Humans try to achieve the utmost of our humanity. People of faith will be counted right by the Supreme Judge, by whatever name one's tradition calls "judgment" or that entity or power that places us in the next existence. Atheists view such matters differently, placing in the personhood of each the importance of being good. My views place a higher emphasis on being good and just in life and interaction with others. Institutional religion, while important to many, is not the principal factor for me. Over more than 40 years in Korea and engagement through the variety of Asian cultures and countries, I've visited dozens of Buddhist temples perhaps hundreds. I've been to temples in a dozen Asian countries. Yet, I know little about Buddhism, except to have regard for its practitioners and respect for its monks and nuns. I've spent many hours meditating, in my way, under the shade of courtyard trees. I've been moved by the rhythm of chanting, beating drums and ringing bells. On a trip to Beopju Temple in Songnisan National Park many years ago, I was leading a tour group for the Royal Asiatic Society Korea. After discussion and introductions to what they were seeing, I suggested the group wander around on their own and then meet later for questions. As I sat in the shade, a monk approached me and asked if I was American. We began chatting and engaged in thoughtful discussion about likenesses in our faith perspectives. An hour or so later, as the tour group began to gather near, the monk and I were still talking. To this day, that moment more than 20 years ago is still a high point in my spiritual growth. Though their births were more than 500 years apart, Jesus and the Buddha had remarkably similar world views. Their circumstances of birth and family could not be more different. Yet, they both came down on the side of the poor. They upheld human dignity. They believed in something more important in life than the mere collection of wealth, or even basic survival. Both Jesus and the Buddha knew suffering. They did not just know about it. They both imagined a place, a "kingdom" in which all would be freed from suffering not that there would never be any suffering but that compassion and love dispel the distress. Some may call this "pure land"; others "paradise," others the "kingdom of God." All of us have experienced suffering on some level; we often see others suffering. Life is full of pain. Because of that, we ought to understand what it is to love. Wisdom says there are opposing forces in the universe. The Taegeuk symbol suggests this balance of energy. Love, compassion, comes forth from suffering. We want to be happy; we want others to be happy. The Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hahn wrote, "Loving God, loving nirvana, loving the water means that we have to really be born in our spiritual life." Korea is, in some ways, at a crossroads of East and West. Eastern faith (Buddhism) and Western faith (Christianity, as interpreted through the customs and logic of Western Europe) have met face-to-face like in no other country. But I believe we can be grounded in both the Buddha and in the Christ. Of course, expressions and practices differ, vocabulary differs. But, the two ways are not incompatible. A good Buddhist should be the best Buddhist possible, following the teachings of loving their neighbors. The same goes for a good Christian. Buddhists are not nearly as noisy about so-called evangelism, so perhaps the onus is on all the pastors and parishioners of especially the Protestant traditions. Let's stop the supremacy wars, the shouting on the street corners of the city and in front of Seoul Station. I, for one, want to live in peace with my brothers and sisters and hear the streets filled with sounds of love for one another. Steven L. Shields {slshields@gmail.com} has lived in Korea for many years, beginning in the 1970s. He served as copy editor of The Korea Times in 1977. He is a retired clergyman and vice president of the Royal Asiatic Society Korea. ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2020 / According to Babson College , just over half (55 percent) of Americans believe they could successfully start a business, leaving 45% assuming that a foray into entrepreneurship would fail. Yet, the actual failure rate of all entrepreneurs show a much more positive outcome as a significant majority, 80 percent, of enterprises survive their first year-which can be considered the most pivotal window of operation. For seasoned entrepreneurs, such as Dee Agarwal, a key factor of success in business ownership is making time to acknowledge and celebrate entrepreneurial achievement and the persistent commitment to the journey. Dee Agarwal is an accomplished executive with decades of experience leading companies from the retail to BPO industries. In 2014, Dee Agarwal was named as a finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, one of most prestigious global business awards for enterprising entrepreneurs. "Entrepreneurship can be considered an industry within an industry," said Dee Agarwal. "Across each professional sector, there are entrepreneurs and small business owners working tirelessly to provide a service that can be more efficient, more innovative, or improve the lives of even just one person in one way." EY, a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services, hosts its awards program on an annual basis. The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards recognize entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary achievements in financial performance, personal commitment to their businesses and communities, and innovation, while celebrating entrepreneurs' achievements in demonstrating vision, leadership and success. As the first and only international award of its kind, these awards distinctively encourage entrepreneurial activity and recognize individuals and their companies through regional, national and global programs in over 145 cities and 60 countries. "The EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award is a very unique program that is immensely powerful in affirming to entrepreneurs that these efforts are not in vain, exposing us to the work of our peers, and most importantly, motivating us, as a community within each industry, to keep going," said Dee Agarwal. Continuing to amplify the work and companies of the entrepreneurs is critical to creating a supportive community that can drive forth innovation and efficiency in any field. And while the success rates are better than many may expect, these successes are always hard earned. "While valuable, pursuing entrepreneurship certainly has its obstacles that can be draining beyond finances, to include mental and emotional wellness," said Dee Agarwal. "Through the journey, it's important to take time to reflect and recognize wins, both big and small. Entrepreneurs know there is always work left to be done, but we can often find the motivation necessary by remembering the progress already made." For more expert business guidance from Deepak Agarwal, read Top 5 Tips from Deepak Agarwal to Master Social Media in Online Retail. Contact Information: Andrew Mitchell Email: media@cambridgeglobalmedia.com Phone: 404-955-7133 SOURCE: Deepak Agarwal View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/602027/Dee-Agarwal-Reflects-on-the-Importance-of-Recognizing-Entrepreneurs New data on telemedicine use by adults over 50 show change since previous poll in 2019, including reduced worries about privacy and virtual interaction One in four older Americans had a virtual medical visit in the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, most of them by video, a new telehealth poll finds. That's much higher than the 4% of people over 50 who said they had ever had a virtual visit with a doctor in a similar poll taken in 2019. Comfort levels with telehealth, also called telemedicine, have also increased. Back in 2019, most older adults expressed at least one serious concern about trying a telehealth visit. But by mid-2020, the percentage with such concerns had eased, especially among those who had experienced a virtual visit between March and June of this year. Yet not all older adults see virtual care as an adequate substitute for in-person care, even in a pandemic, the National Poll on Healthy Aging findings show. And 17% of people over 50 still say they have never used any sort of video conferencing tool for any reason, including medical care. While that's 11 percentage points lower than in the 2019 poll, that lack of experience or access could be a barrier to receiving care without having to leave home as the pandemic continues to surge in dozens of states. Both the 2019 and 2020 polls were done for the University of Michigan's Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation with support from AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M's academic medical center. Both involved a national sample of more than 2,000 adults aged 50 to 80. "These findings have implications for the health providers who have ramped up telehealth offerings rapidly, and for the insurance companies and government agencies that have quickly changed their policies to cover virtual visits," says Laurie Buis, Ph.D., M.S.I., a health information technology researcher at U-M who helped design the poll and interpret its results. "Tracking change over time could inform future efforts, and highlights the need for much more research on concerns, barriers and optimal use of telehealth by older adults." "This has been an extraordinary time for the telemedicine movement, and these poll results show just how powerful this 'trial by fire' has been," says Jeff Kullgren, M.D., M.P.H., M.S., associate director of the poll, health care researcher and a primary care provider who uses telehealth with his patients at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. "But our data also highlight areas of continued concern for patients that need to be addressed." COVID-19 impacts The poll finds that 30% older adults had ever participated in a telehealth visit by June 2020, perhaps reflecting changes in insurance coverage that began to take effect before the pandemic. But the figure for March through June suggests that much of the movement to telehealth visits resulted from states mandating reductions in elective and non-emergency health care during the first months of the pandemic, as part of "stay home" public health requirements aimed at reducing the spread of the virus. Nearly half of those who had had a telehealth visit said that they had had an in-person visit canceled or rescheduled by their health care provider between March and June, and 30% said that a virtual visit was the only option when they called to schedule an appointment. Awareness about the special risks of COVID-19 among older adults may have also played a role, as 45% of respondents said the pandemic made them more interested in telehealth. The percentage was higher among those who had had a telehealth visit in the past. But only 15% of the poll respondents who had a telehealth visit said that fear of the virus led them to request a telehealth visit, whether for a new concern or in place of a previously scheduled visit. Among those who had telehealth visit this past spring, 91% said it was easy to connect with their doctor. One-third had their visits via a video connection from their phone, and another third carried out the video visit on a tablet or computer. In addition, 36% had an audio-only visit by phone, which the 2019 poll did not ask about. Year-over-year change The new poll asked older adults many of the same questions as the poll conducted in 2019. This allows for comparisons between the two years, such as the percentage who said: They feel very or somewhat comfortable with video conferencing technologies: 64%, up from 53% in 2019 At least one of their health providers offer telehealth visits: 62%, up from 14% * They are interested in using telehealth to connect with a provider they had seen before: 72%, up from 58% They are interested in using telehealth for a one-time follow-up appointment after a procedure or operation: 63%, up from 55% They have concerns about privacy during a telehealth visit: 24%, down from 49% They are concerned they would have difficulty seeing or hearing the provider during a video visit: 25%, down from 39% But there was almost no change in the percentage who said they would feel comfortable seeing a provider for the first time via a virtual visit (about one in three would), and the percentage who felt that the quality of care in a telehealth visit was not as good (about two-thirds). Moving forward Physician groups, insurers, professional societies and organizations including AARP are monitoring the situation with telehealth, and in some cases advocating for the temporary changes in Medicare and Medicaid payment policy, and other relevant regulations, to become permanent. In June, AARP Research released a report about older adults' awareness of and attitudes toward telehealth. AARP has also published resources to help older adults and their caregivers use telehealth services. "It's clear from this study and AARP's research that older adults are increasingly comfortable with telehealth and are willing to use technology to interact with their health providers," says Alison Bryant, Ph.D., senior vice president of research for AARP, says. "As the coronavirus pandemic continues, telehealth has been a useful tool for older adults to access health care from the safety of their own homes, but we must be mindful that not everyone can access these services." Meanwhile, Buis is leading a new COVID-19-related telehealth research interest group as part of a broader IHPI initiative to evaluate the impacts and appropriate use of telehealth as well as barriers. Buis is an assistant professor in the U-M Department of Family Medicine, which has pivoted to virtual care for many primary care appointments along with the rest of Michigan Medicine. The National Poll on Healthy Aging results are based on responses from a nationally representative sample of 2,074 adults aged 50 to 80 who answered a wide range of questions online. Questions were written, and data interpreted and compiled, by the IHPI team. Laptops and Internet access were provided to poll respondents who did not already have them. ### A full report of the findings and methodology is available at http://www.healthyagingpoll.org, along with past National Poll on Healthy Aging reports. Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug.17 By Leman Zeynalova Trend: Its time to disband the OSCE Minsk Group as failing to cope with the goals and objectives set at the time when it was created, politician and Chairperson of the Public Chamber of Moldova Aurelia Grigoriu told Trend on August 17. "Much to one's regret, the Minsk Group has no influence on the ongoing processes. Its complete incapacity has long been obvious," Grigoriu said. "It seems that the only purpose of this group is to contribute to delay by all means of addressing the essence of the issue of withdrawing the aggressor from the occupied territories and restoring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan." "The structure, in my opinion, is obliged to follow and facilitate the implementation of a peaceful settlement of the crisis based on the principles, commitments and provisions of the OSCE. After all, the purpose of creating the group of OSCE member states was precisely to lead the search for ways of a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict," she noted. The politician further questioned: "Where is the proper reaction of the Minsk Group to the July events on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, apart from general words of regret and concern? Where are the constructive proposals and international reaction to violations committed?" According to Grigoriu, its already obvious to everyone that the OSCE Minsk Group is completely incompetent. "Why is the OSCE not using and not applying all the mechanisms of influence on the aggressor country provided for by international law? Because they dont want to understand the true reasons of the current situation and eliminate the cause instead of creating the appearance of fighting the consequences," she emphasized. The politician asked: "The appeals of the Minsk Group to come to an agreement dont stand up to scrutiny." "Its time to set up a new structure, which, in my opinion, should include reputable countries of the world, capable of providing effective assistance to reduce the tensions, restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan suffering from the actions of the aggressor, and ensure aggressors compliance with international law," she added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn 17.08.2020 LISTEN The Association of Aggrieved Teachers of 2015 has said government has not paid all legacy salary arrears contrary to speculations that it did. The association indicated that none of its batch members has received any payment. Reminding President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of his promise in a statement issued by the association and signed by its secretary Ankamah Stephen, the teachers said: We, the Association of Aggrieved Teachers of 2015, wish to notify you of our unpaid salary arrears, which the president pledged to pay us in his 2016 campaign message. According to the association, there has been information speculating that the government and the Ministry of Education have paid all legacy salary arrears which none of the 2015 batches is included. The association continued that: Knowing the abilities of the sitting president, we are hereby reminding him that none of the 2015 batches has been paid. Exuding confidence in the abilities of President Akufo-Addo, it noted that: With the trust in our president as a listening father, he will deliver his promise made to us. We are 100percent sure that our listening father will respond to our petition as soon as he gets this notice. The association further called on Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the National Chief Imam, the Christian Council of Ghana, the teacher unions, the National Peace Council, as well as the Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, to help them to remind the president of his promise. It added: All documents devoid of discrepancies related to the approval of this notice will be made available upon request without any hesitation. -----Classfmonline Barcelona are reportedly set to reignite attempts to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain as they look to drag themselves out of a crisis which could cause star man Lionel Messi to leave. The Spanish outfit have endured a horrible 2020 which has seen them lose their LaLiga title, sack manager Ernesto Valverde and recently suffer Champions League humiliation following an 8-2 loss by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals. The defeat leaves current boss Quique Setien's facing a swift exit, ready to be replaced by Ronald Koeman, but the club know they must do more to keep Messi onboard. Barcelona are set to renew attempts to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain The Argentine has told the club he wants to leave this summer, believing a lack of planning at the Nou Camp has caused him to lose faith in their sporting plans. President Josep Maria Bartomeu is pulling out all the stops to ensure he can keep the talisman at Barcelona. According to Sport, that means once again trying to land Neymar who is set to play in the Champions League semi-final with PSG this week. Lionel Messi has told Barca he has lost faith in their planning and that he wishes to leave Signing Neymar may convince Messi to stay at the Nou Camp given their previous success together at the club before the Brazilian's 2017 departure to PSG Bartomeu believes that Neymar's previous success with the club, whom he departed in 2017, make him an ideal signing to help them out of their slump having previously been targeting Inter Milan hitman Lautaro Martinez. Barca's financial troubles mean they cannot afford a flat fee for the Brazilian forward though, and it is understood they are willing to offer up to 55million plus Antoine Griezmann in an attempt to tempt the French champions into a deal. The France international has struggled in his first season at the Nou Camp and Bartomeu believes a return to his homeland would prove an attractive proposal for the 29-year-old. Barca could offload Antoine Griezmann (centre) as part of a deal that involves 55m cash President Josep Maria Bartomeu is looking to drag the club out of a huge crisis Barca though are still keen to raise funds by other means as they look to clear out an ageing squad. Veterans Luis Suarez, Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba have all been successful long servants of the club. But Bartomeu would be open to offers for the trio to help raise finances for a rebuild. Regional education leaders have no confidence in standardisation of results and fear GCSEs will mirror A-Level chaos This article is old - Published: Monday, Aug 17th, 2020 North Wales education leaders have said they have no confidence in the standardisation process which saw 42 per cent of A-level results downgraded. Learners across the region received their grades last Thursday after their education was disrupted as schools were shut and exams cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. In a late announcement just 24 hours before exam results were published, the Welsh Governments education minister revealed no students would be marked lower than their AS-level results. It followed concerns being raised after Qualifications Wales said final grades were likely to be lower than those estimated by teachers, which the exams watchdog said were too generous. Over the weekend the Welsh Government said students in Wales will be able to appeal A-level grades if there is evidence they were lower than those predicted by teachers. Education portfolio holders at all six North Wales councils have said the process hasnt been fair and robust especially to vulnerable learners. In a statement backed by chief officers, the regional school improvement body GwE and secondary headteachers, said they had no confidence in the standardisation process adopted by WJEC [exam board] and agreed by Qualifications Wales. They have also expressed deep and significant concern that GCSE results this Thursday will mirror the same process as the A- level results. The statement says: Researchers at UC San Francisco have developed a "digital biomarker" that would use a smartphone's built-in camera to detect Type 2 diabetes - one of the world's top causes of disease and death - potentially providing a low-cost, in-home alternative to blood draws and clinic-based screening tools. Type 2 diabetes affects more than 32 million Americans and more than 450 million people worldwide, and can raise the risk of diseases affecting nearly every organ system, including coronary heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and stroke. In the current pandemic, it also has been found to increase the risk of severe symptoms of COVID-19. Yet, half of the people with diabetes are unaware of their diagnosis and risks to their health. "The ability to detect a condition like diabetes that has so many severe health consequences using a painless, smartphone-based test raises so many possibilities," said co-senior author Geoffrey H. Tison, MD, MPH, assistant professor in cardiology, of the Aug. 17, 2020, study in Nature Medicine. "The vision would be for a tool like this to assist in identifying people at higher risk of having diabetes, ultimately helping to decrease the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes." Screening tools that can be deployed easily, using technology already contained in smartphones, could rapidly increase the ability to detect diabetes, the researchers said, including populations out of reach of traditional medical care. While diabetes mellitus is the seventh highest global cause of death on its own, according to the World Health Organization, it also significantly raises the risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States and worldwide. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that people with Type 2 diabetes are twice as likely to die of heart disease as those who do not have diabetes. "Diabetes can be asymptomatic for a long period of time, making it much harder to diagnose," said lead author Robert Avram, MD, MSc, clinical instructor in cardiology. "To date, noninvasive and widely-scalable tools to detect diabetes have been lacking, motivating us to develop this algorithm." In developing the biomarker, the researchers hypothesized that a smartphone camera could be used to detect vascular damage due to diabetes by measuring signals called photoplethysmography (PPG), which most mobile devices, including smartwatches and fitness trackers, are capable of acquiring. The researchers used the phone flashlight and camera to measure PPGs by capturing color changes in the fingertip corresponding with each heartbeat. In the Nature Medicine study, UCSF researchers obtained nearly 3 million PPG recordings from 53,870 patients in the Health eHeart Study who used the Azumio Instant Heart Rate app on the iPhone and reported having been diagnosed with diabetes by a health care provider. This data was used to both develop and validate a deep-learning algorithm to detect the presence of diabetes using smartphone-measured PPG signals. Overall, the algorithm correctly identified the presence of diabetes in up to 81 percent of patients in two separate datasets. When the algorithm was tested in an additional dataset of patients enrolled from in-person clinics, it correctly identified 82 percent of patients with diabetes. Among the patients that the algorithm predicted did not have diabetes, 92 to 97 percent indeed did not have the disease across the validation datasets. When this PPG-derived prediction was combined with other easily obtainable patient information, such as age, gender, body mass index and race/ethnicity, predictive performance improved further. At this level of predictive performance, the authors said the algorithm could serve a similar role to other widespread disease screening tools to reach a much broader group of people, followed by a physician's confirmation of the diabetes diagnosis and a treatment plan. "We demonstrated that the algorithm's performance is comparable to other commonly used tests, such as mammography for breast cancer or cervical cytology for cervical cancer, and its painlessness makes it attractive for repeated testing," said study author Jeffrey Olgin, MD, a UCSF Health cardiologist and professor and chief of the UCSF Division of Cardiology. "A widely accessible smartphone-based tool like this could be used to identify and encourage individuals at higher risk of having prevalent diabetes to seek medical care and obtain a low-cost confirmatory test." The authors recommend further study to determine the effectiveness of this approach for specific clinical applications, such as screening or therapeutic monitoring. ### Co-Authors: Co-senior author Kirsten Aschbacher, PhD, Gregory Marcus, MD, MAS, and Mark Pletcher, MD, MPH, of UCSF; J. Weston Hughes, of UC Berkeley; and Peter Kuhar, of Azumio, Inc. Funding: Avram received support from the Fonds de la recherche en sante du Quebec (grant 274831). Tison, Olgin, Pletcher and Marcus received support from the National Institutes of Health (NHLBI K23HL135274, U2CEB021881). Pletcher is partially supported by a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute contract supporting the Health eHeart Alliance (PPRN-1306-04709). Disclosures: Olgin has received research funding from Samsung and iBeat. Marcus has received research funding from Medtronic, Jawbone and Eight. Aschbacher received funding from Jawbone Health Hub. Tison has received research grants from Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Myokardia and is an advisor to Cardiogram, Inc. Azumio provided no financial support for this study and only provided access to data. About UCSF: The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is exclusively focused on the health sciences and is dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. UCSF Health, which serves as UCSF's primary academic medical center, includes top-ranked specialty hospitals and other clinical programs, and has affiliations throughout the Bay Area. Learn more at ucsf.edu, or see our Fact Sheet. 3-kg bomb at Delhi flower market: Police yet to zero in on any suspect Several Muslims from Shaheen Bagh join Delhi BJP India pti-Deepika S New Delhi, Aug 16: Several members of the minority Muslim community from Shaheen Bagh area, that was the centre of the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests here, joined the BJP on Sunday in the presence of its Delhi unit leaders. The induction ceremony took place in the presence of president of the BJP's Delhi unit Adesh Gupta and national vice-president and incharge of Delhi unit Shyam Jaju. "The enthusiasm with which Muslim brothers and sisters are joining BJP clearly shows that people of all religions have faith in the Modi government," Gupta said on the occassion at the Delhi BJP office. "Social worker Shahzad Ali, gynecologist Dr Mehreen, former AAP worker Tabassum Hussain along with a large number of Muslim brothers and sisters joined the Bharatiya Janata Party," said the Delhi BJP statement. Vaishno Devi shrine opens for devotees after 5 months, cap of 2,000 pilgrims per day | Oneindia News Ali, former Delhi unit secretary of Rashtriya Ulema Council, told PTI, "A narrative has been set by many parties in the past seven decades that BJP is the enemy of Muslims. I think you will have to go to BJP to find out if its your enemy or friend. We received a warm welcome from party leaders today and look up to work with them like any other party worker." Delhi BJP leader Nighat Abbas said the people who joined the party are residents of Shaheen Bagh area. There is a "myth" that Muslims are "averse" to the BJP which stands dispelled by people from the minority community joining the party, she said. Welcoming the new entrants to the party fold, Delhi BJP president said the public welfare schemes of the BJP government at the Centre do not focus on any religion or caste but give equal benefits to all. "The BJP has never done any work on the basis of caste and religion but there are some parties which have scared Muslim communities and deprived them of education, employment and development and used them for vote bank," he said. The BJP government has worked to end social evils and has also ended the practice of triple talaq to empower the Muslim woman, he added. Iran's Embassy in Spain announced the resumption of weekly flights of Iran Air between Tehran and Madrid after 17 years, Trend reports citing IRNA. Following a series of actions taken by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran through coordination with the Civil Aviation Organization, the Airlines of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran Air) as well as Spanish domestic institutions, the license of ordinary Flights of Iran Air on the Tehran-Madrid route was received and accordingly, the flights will be operated on Wednesday of each week as of September 2, 2020, under the scheduled flight program. Iran's Embassy in Madrid has been working extensively on the resumption of the flight, which had been suspended since the beginning of the 2001s, and hopes that this important step in bilateral relations can strengthen the ties between the two nations. CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Information Release I. Introduction Dan K. Webb, Special Prosecutor for Cook County, announced today that the Office of the Special Prosecutor ("OSP") has completed its investigative assignment under Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Toomin's "Second Directive" to the OSP, to determine whether any person or office involved in People of the State of Illinois v. Jussie Smollett (No. 19 CR 0310401) ("the Initial Smollett Case") engaged in wrongdoing. In connection with this Second Directive from Judge Toomin, the OSP has investigated the conduct of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office ("CCSAO") and the Chicago Police Department ("CPD"), as well as individuals working in those offices. This Information Release will set forth the OSP's major conclusions and findings from its investigation pursuant to Judge Toomin's Second Directive. The OSP's investigation, which was conducted in conjunction with a Special Grand Jury, began on August 23, 2019, when Judge Toomin appointed Mr. Webb as Special Prosecutor. Judge Toomin directed Mr. Webb to conduct an all-encompassing independent investigation to determine the following: (1) whether Jussie Smollett should be further prosecuted for the alleged false reports he made to CPD officers ("First Directive"), and (2) whether any person or office involved in the Initial Smollett Case engaged in any wrongdoing ("Second Directive"). Mr. Webb's appointment as Special Prosecutor followed a decision by Judge Toomin on June 21, 2019 that a Special Prosecutor should be appointed in connection with the Initial Smollett Case in order to "restore the public's confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system." In connection with Judge Toomin's First Directive to determine whether Jussie Smollett should be further prosecuted, the OSP ultimately requested, on February 11, 2020, that the Special Grand Jury indict Mr. Smollett, and the grand jury returned a true bill. The OSP then filed a six-count indictment charging Mr. Smollett with making four separate false reports to CPD officers related to his false claims that he was the victim of a hate crime, knowing that he was not the victim of a hate crime. The further prosecution of Mr. Smollett is ongoing, and will not be concluded until a final disposition of the indictment charges is reached as the result of a jury trial. As of the date of this Information Release, Mr. Smollett's trial date has not yet been set by the court. Accordingly, the "First Directive" will not be completed until Mr. Smollett's criminal trial has occurred. In his August 23, 2019 order, Judge Toomin directed the OSP to submit a final written report to him, and for the benefit of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that details the ultimate results of both his Directives. Because Mr. Smollett's criminal trial will not likely take place for several months because of the pandemic, it will be a substantial period of time from now until the OSP's final written report on both Directives will be submitted to the Court and for the benefit of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. The OSP has just completed a thorough and exhaustive investigation into Judge Toomin's Second Directive, which included conducting 53 interviews, issuing more than 50 subpoenas and/or document requests, and collecting more than 120,000 pages of documents (or, more than 26,000 documents), as well as text message data and audio recordings. The OSP has prepared a detailed and comprehensive report that sets forth the evidence that relates to each of the major conclusions and supporting findings from its investigation into the Second Directive. This approximately 60-page evidence Report is entitled The Office of the Special Prosecutor's Summary of its Final Conclusions, Supporting Findings and Evidence Relating to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office's and the Chicago Police Department's Involvement in the Initial Smollett Case ("Summary Report"). It is the position of the OSP that this Summary Report should be made public because the OSP has just completed its investigative assignment in connection with Judge Toomin's Second Directive, and because one of the major purposes of Mr. Webb's appointment as Special Prosecutor was, according to Judge Toomin's June 21, 2019 order, that a Special Prosecutor should be appointed in connection with the Initial Smollett Case in order to "restore the public's confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system." However, because the OSP's Summary Report contains a substantial amount of grand jury evidentiary material, under Illinois grand jury secrecy law, the Summary Report cannot be made public by the OSP without an appropriate court order authorizing the OSP to make this Summary Report public "in the interests of justice." Accordingly, today the OSP will file a motion before Judge Toomin requesting that he enter an order authorizing the public release of the OSP's Summary Report, and the grand jury materials contained therein, "in the interests of justice." Absent such an order, under Illinois law the OSP cannot release the evidentiary information in the Summary Report that is protected by grand jury secrecy, and if the OSP did so, Illinois law provides that the OSP may be held in contempt of court for the improper release of grand jury information. The OSP will seek to present its motion to Judge Toomin as quickly as possible. In the meantime, the OSP has determined that it has the authority to legally issue this Information Release that will provide the public a detailed overview of the final conclusions and findings reached by the OSP after completing its investigation of Judge Toomin's Second Directive. While the OSP's Summary Report provides the evidentiary basis for its findings and conclusions, the OSP believes this Information Release will provide the public with a detailed understanding of the actual final conclusions and findings reached by the OSP. II. Discussion of the OSP's Five Final Conclusions and Supporting Findings Related to the Conduct of the CCSAO in the Initial Smollett Case After the CCSAO dismissed the Initial Smollett Case on terms that many believed were very favorable to Mr. Smollett, there was speculation in the media regarding whether something illegal or improper had gone on behind the scenes at the CCSAO to allow Mr. Smollett to achieve the particular resolution he received. Among other things, there was public speculation that Cook County State's Attorney Kimberly M. Foxx may have been influenced in an improper manner by prominent people who reached out to her to discuss the Initial Smollett Case. Thus, as part of its investigation, the OSP thoroughly investigated and evaluated whether State's Attorney Foxx or anyone working at the CCSAO committed any crime relating to the prosecution or resolution of the Initial Smollett Case. As a result of this investigation, the OSP has concluded that it did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against State's Attorney Foxx or any individual working at the CCSAO. However, as a result of this investigation, the OSP did develop evidence that establishes substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures by the CCSAO in prosecuting and resolving the Initial Smollett Case. The OSP has reached five major final conclusions relating to the conduct of the CCSAO. Below is a summary of those conclusions and supporting findings, but without a discussion of the actual evidence that supports each of these conclusions and findings. The evidence supporting each is detailed in the OSP's 60-page Summary Report as discussed above. Conclusion #1: The OSP did develop evidence that establishes substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures by the CCSAO in prosecuting and resolving the Initial Smollett Case . The OSP developed evidence that establishes three substantial abuses of discretion and failures by the CCSAO in prosecuting and resolving the Initial Smollett Case. First Finding of Abuse of Discretion : The CCSAO's process and decision-making for resolving the Initial Smollett Case were a substantial abuse of discretion and represented a major failure of the operations of the CCSAO, including in the following ways: : The CCSAO's process and decision-making for resolving the Initial Smollett Case were a substantial abuse of discretion and represented a major failure of the operations of the CCSAO, including in the following ways: On March 26, 2019 , 19 days after filing the indictment against Mr. Smollett, the CCSAO dismissed the entire indictment against Mr. Smollett on the following terms: (1) complete dismissal of the 16-count felony indictment against Mr. Smollett; (2) no requirement that Mr. Smollett plead guilty to any criminal offense under Illinois law; (3) no requirement that Mr. Smollett admit any guilt of his wrongdoing (in fact, following the court proceedings on March 26, 2019 , Mr. Smollett publicly stated he was completely innocent); (4) the only punishment for Mr. Smollett was to perform 15 hours of community service that had no relationship to the charged conduct; (5) only requiring Mr. Smollett to forfeit his $10,000 bond as restitution to the City of Chicago (a figure amounting to less than 10% of the $130,106.15 in police overtime pay that the City alleges it paid solely due to Mr. Smollett's false statements to police); and (6) no requirement that Mr. Smollett participate in the CCSAO's Deferred Prosecution Program (Branch 9) ("DPP"), which would have required a one-year period of court oversight over Mr. Smollett. , 19 days after filing the indictment against Mr. Smollett, the CCSAO dismissed the entire indictment against Mr. Smollett on the following terms: (1) complete dismissal of the 16-count felony indictment against Mr. Smollett; (2) no requirement that Mr. Smollett plead guilty to any criminal offense under law; (3) no requirement that Mr. Smollett admit any guilt of his wrongdoing (in fact, following the court proceedings on , Mr. Smollett publicly stated he was completely innocent); (4) the only punishment for Mr. Smollett was to perform 15 hours of community service that had no relationship to the charged conduct; (5) only requiring Mr. Smollett to forfeit his bond as restitution to the (a figure amounting to less than 10% of the in police overtime pay that the City alleges it paid solely due to Mr. Smollett's false statements to police); and (6) no requirement that Mr. Smollett participate in the CCSAO's Deferred Prosecution Program (Branch 9) ("DPP"), which would have required a one-year period of court oversight over Mr. Smollett. Almost across the board, lawyers who currently work in or previously worked in the CCSAO's criminal division who were interviewed by the OSPincluding State's Attorney Foxxwere "surprised" or "shocked" by at least some facet of the dismissal terms. The CCSAO decision-makers on the Initial Smollett Case (Acting State's Attorney Joseph Magats and Lead Prosecutor Risa Lanier ) did not learn of any new evidence between when the CCSAO filed a 16-count indictment against Mr. Smollett on March 7, 2019 , when the CCSAO believed it had a strong case against Mr. Smollett, and March 26, 2019 , when the entire indictment was dismissed, as described above. and Lead Prosecutor ) did not learn of any new evidence between when the CCSAO filed a 16-count indictment against Mr. Smollett on , when the CCSAO believed it had a strong case against Mr. Smollett, and , when the entire indictment was dismissed, as described above. The CCSAO decision-makers on the Initial Smollett Case have significantly and meaningfully divergent explanations for how the resolution was reached, including who negotiated the terms, whether Mr. Smollett was offered the opportunity to participate in the DPP, and whether the terms of the resolution were modeled after the requirements of the DPP. The terms of Mr. Smollett's resolution do not track the requirements of the DPP. The CCSAO did not screen Mr. Smollett's case to determine if he was eligible for referral to the DPP. The CCSAO did not rely upon any specific similar CCSAO cases when resolving the Initial Smollett Case. The CCSAO's decision to advance the Initial Smollett Case from April 17, 2019 to March 26, 2019 to dismiss it minutes before conducting the dismissal hearing did not provide notice to the media or public, despite knowing there was significant interest in the case, including that the media had filed a petition to have cameras in the courtroom. to to dismiss it minutes before conducting the dismissal hearing did not provide notice to the media or public, despite knowing there was significant interest in the case, including that the media had filed a petition to have cameras in the courtroom. Ms. Lanier read a statement during the dismissal hearing that she drafted in conjunction with Mr. Smollett's counsel, which was atypical. The CCSAO did not consult with the CPD about the terms of the resolution and intentionally chose not to alert the CPD that the case would be dismissed until minutes before the hearing, despite all of the diligent and hard work the CPD put into investigating the case and the fact that many CCSAO interviewees would have considered the CPD a victim of Mr. Smollett's alleged crimes and/or for purposes of restitution. Second Finding of Abuse of Discretion: The CCSAO engaged in a substantial abuse of discretion and breached its obligations of honesty and transparency by making false and/or misleading statements to the public regarding the nature and reasons for the dismissal of the Initial Smollett Case. Specifically: The CCSAO engaged in a substantial abuse of discretion and breached its obligations of honesty and transparency by making false and/or misleading statements to the public regarding the nature and reasons for the dismissal of the Initial Smollett Case. Specifically: The CCSAO issued a press statement on March 26, 2019 (the day of the dismissal) that stated: "In the last two years, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office has referred more than 5,700 cases for alternative prosecution. This is not a new or unusual practice. An alternative disposition does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities with the case or the evidenceThis outcome was met under the same criteria that would occur for and is available to any defendant with similar circumstances." State's Attorney Foxx and Mr. Magats made similar statements during interviews with reporters on March 26 and 27, 2019 respectively. However, the evidence the OSP developed makes it clear that there are fundamental facts that are inconsistent with the CCSAO, Mr. Magats, and State's Attorney Foxx's messaging in at least two ways: (the day of the dismissal) that stated: "In the last two years, the State's Attorney's Office has referred more than 5,700 cases for alternative prosecution. This is not a new or unusual practice. An alternative disposition does not mean that there were any problems or infirmities with the case or the evidenceThis outcome was met under the same criteria that would occur for and is available to any defendant with similar circumstances." State's Attorney Foxx and Mr. Magats made similar statements during interviews with reporters on and 27, 2019 respectively. However, the evidence the OSP developed makes it clear that there are fundamental facts that are inconsistent with the CCSAO, Mr. Magats, and State's Attorney Foxx's messaging in at least two ways: The Initial Smollett Case did not fit the criteria the CCSAO's Chief Data Officer used to identify the cited 5,700 figure because all of those cases were referred to a diversion program, unlike Mr. Smollett's case; therefore, the resolution of the Initial Smollett Case was meaningfully different from how those 5,700 cases were resolved. There were not thousands of (or, arguably any) similar cases that the CCSAO resolved in a similar way to the Initial Smollett Case. The CCSAO could not identify any specific similar CCSAO cases it relied upon when resolving the Initial Smollett Case. The CCSAO and State's Attorney Foxx made false public statements representing that $10,000 was the most Mr. Smollett could have been ordered to pay in restitution under the law when there is no such cap under the provision of the disorderly conduct statute under which Mr. Smollett was charged, 720 ILCS 5/26-1(a)(4). was the most Mr. Smollett could have been ordered to pay in restitution under the law when there is no such cap under the provision of the disorderly conduct statute under which Mr. Smollett was charged, 720 ILCS 5/26-1(a)(4). The CCSAO and State's Attorney Foxx made false public statements representing that Mr. Smollett had no criminal background, though the CCSAO specifically stated at Mr. Smollett's bond hearing that Mr. Smollett has a prior misdemeanor conviction out of California from September 22, 2007 for DUI, driving without a license, and giving false information to the police, for which he was placed on 24 months of probation. from for DUI, driving without a license, and giving false information to the police, for which he was placed on 24 months of probation. After telling reporters on March 27, 2019 that the CCSAO had a strong case and would have prevailed at trial, State's Attorney Foxx published an op-ed in the Chicago Tribune on March 29, 2019 where she falsely represented that the "office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain." that the CCSAO had a strong case and would have prevailed at trial, State's Attorney Foxx published an op-ed in the on where she falsely represented that the "office believed the likelihood of securing a conviction was not certain." Third Finding of Abuse of Discretion: The CCSAO engaged in a substantial abuse of discretion and breached its obligations of honesty and transparency by making false and/or misleading statements to the public regarding State's Attorney Foxx's recusal. After State's Attorney Foxx made the decision to recuse herself from Initial Smollett Case, she and the CCSAO came to realize that her recusal was legally defective in a major waynamely, that she could not simply appoint Mr. Magats to be "Acting State's Attorney" on the case, but instead needed to recuse the entire CCSAO and petition the court to appoint a special prosecutor. Instead of implementing the proper legal course to carry out the recusal once this defect was brought to their attention, the CCSAO and State's Attorney Foxx made the decision to ignore this major legal defect seemingly because they did not want to admit that they had made such a major mistake of judgment regarding State's Attorney Foxx's recusal. The CCSAO and State's Attorney Foxx then compounded the problem by making false statements to the media on April 17, 2019 about State's Attorney Foxx's lack of knowledge about this major legal defect in carrying out the recusal. Fourth Finding of Abuse of Discretion : The CCSAO engaged in a substantial abuse of discretion and breached its obligations of honesty and transparency when State's Attorney Foxx made false and/or misleading statements to the public that she stopped communicating with Jurnee Smollett, Mr. Smollett's sister, after State's Attorney Foxx had become aware that Mr. Smollett had become a subject of the investigation. State's Attorney Foxx had communications with Mr. Smollett's sister, Jurnee Smollett, including text messages and phone calls, between February 1, 2019 and February 13, 2019. The initial thrust of these conversations was Ms. Smollett expressing to State's Attorney Foxx concerns her family had about information being released publicly about CPD's investigation of her brother's reported attack. State's Attorney Foxx learned by February 8, 2019 that Mr. Smollett had become a suspect in CPD's investigation, yet she continued communicating with Ms. Smollett through February 13, 2019 , including via five text messages and three phone calls. State's Attorney Foxx then made false statements to the media claiming she ceased all communications with Ms. Smollett as soon as she learned that Mr. Smollett was a suspect in CPD's investigation and no longer merely a victim. Conclusion #2: The OSP did develop evidence that may rise to the level of a violation of legal ethics by State's Attorney Foxx and CCSAO lawyers relating to false and/or misleading public statements made about the prosecution and resolution of the Initial Smollett Case. As summarized above in Conclusion #1, the OSP developed evidence that the CCSAO, State's Attorney Foxx, and/or Mr. Magats made at least six false and/or misleading public statements relating to the nature and reason for the dismissal of the Initial Smollett Case and State's Attorney Foxx's recusal. Some of these public statements were made on more than one occasion. The Illinois Supreme Court has stated that the language in Rule 8.4(c), which prohibits lawyers from engaging in "conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation," is "broadly construed to include anything calculated to deceive, including the suppression of truth and the suggestion of falsity." In re Edmonds, 2014 IL 117696, 53 (2014) (emphasis added). Furthermore, of particular relevance given State's Attorney Foxx's role as an elected official, the comments to Rule 8.4 state: "Lawyers holding public office assume legal responsibilities going beyond those of other citizens. A lawyer's abuse of public office can suggest an inability to fulfill the professional role of lawyers." As a result, the OSP has concluded that the six false and/or misleading public statements discussed above in Conclusion #1 could potentially be deemed violations of Rule 8.4(c). It is important to note that under Illinois law, the OSP has no authority to find that lawyers have violated the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct or to conduct disciplinary proceedings based on those rules. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 751, that determination rests with the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission (the "ARDC"). The Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct impose a reporting obligation on lawyers under Rule 8.3(a), stating: "A lawyer who knows that another lawyer has committed a violation of Rule 8.4(b) or Rule 8.4(c) shall inform the appropriate professional authority." Therefore, while the OSP has no authority to make findings determining ethical violations by lawyers, the OSP will comply with applicable reporting obligations as required by the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct, and once able under Illinois law, will submit its 60-page Summary Report to the ARDC so that the ARDC can conduct the appropriate ethical review to determine if any ethical violations occurred. However, beyond the false and/or misleading statements discussed above in Conclusion #1, the OSP did not develop evidence that might rise to the level of a violation of the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct by any CCSAO lawyer relating to the prosecution or resolution of the Initial Smollett Case. Conclusion #3: While the OSP did not develop evidence showing State's Attorney Foxx was involved in decision-making on the Initial Smollett Case after she was recused, the OSP did develop evidence that she was provided with frequent updates about the Initial Smollett Case after her recusal. According to Judge Toomin's June 21, 2019 ruling, State's Attorney Foxx needed to have petitioned the court to appoint a special prosecutor when she recused herself from the Initial Smollett Case, rather than appointing Mr. Magats to serve as "Acting State's Attorney" for the matter herself. There is not a clear legal standard for what she could and could not do after she improperly recused herself from the Initial Smollett Case without seeking the appointment of a special prosecutor. While the OSP has not identified evidence showing State's Attorney Foxx had any involvement in any decision-making on the Initial Smollett Case, she was provided with updates and had discussions about events in the case after her recusal on February 9, 2019. Conclusion #4: The OSP did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against State's Attorney Foxx or any individual working at the CCSAO. While the OSP evaluated any and all potentially applicable criminal statutes, the OSP focused its investigation on criminal statutes that might be implicated if anyone involved in the handling or resolution of the Initial Smollett Case had received an improper personal benefit or obstructed how the case was handled. For example, the OSP considered bribery (720 ILCS 5/33-1), failure to report a bribe (720 ILCS 5/33-2), official misconduct (720 ILCS 5/33-3), obstruction of justice (720 ILCS 5/31-4), and perjury (720 ILCS 5/32-2). Based on the voluminous documentary evidence gathered and witness interviews conducted, the OSP did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges based on bribery, failure to report a bribe, official misconduct, obstruction of justice, perjury, or any other criminal statute. It is important to note that, under the law, a person can only be convicted of a crime if the prosecution proves all the elements of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt, including, where applicable, proof of any criminal intent. Further, under applicable ethical standards, the OSP, as a prosecutor, must act in good faith and should never pursue a prosecution for criminal charges that the prosecutor cannot reasonably expect to prove beyond a reasonable doubt by legally sufficient evidence at trial. Thus, under these standards, the OSP cannot seek criminal charges against States Attorney Foxx or any CCSAO employee without developing substantial evidence of a crime. Based on these legal and ethical standards, the OSP did not develop evidence to support any criminal charges against State's Attorney Foxx or any CCSAO employee. Conclusion #5: The OSP did not develop evidence of improper influence by any outside third parties in the decision-making by the CCSAO in the Initial Smollett Case. State's Attorney Foxx is an elected public official who heads an office tasked with protecting individuals and society, and empowered with the authority to change people's lives through the prosecutions it pursues. Therefore, State's Attorney Foxxand the CCSAOmust be accountable to the public. Being accountable to the public means State's Attorney Foxx and the CCSAO must also be accessible to the public, including to answer questions and provide information when appropriate to people impacted by the criminal justice system, including victims and victims' families. State's Attorney Foxx and the CCSAO also must be receptive to criticism or concerns raised by constituents or people impacted by the criminal justice system regarding criminal cases in Cook County. Accordingly, it is wholly proper under certain circumstances for the State's Attorney or others at the CCSAO to speak with individuals concerned about how a particular case is being handled or how the CCSAO approaches or resolves cases generally. Following the dismissal of the Initial Smollett Case, including the CCSAO's public release of emails and text messages in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, there was speculation in the media that conversations State's Attorney Foxx had in the weeks following Mr. Smollett's reported attack improperly influenced or impacted how the CCSAO prosecuted or resolved the Initial Smollett Case. As a result, the OSP investigated whether any such communications resulted in any criminal conduct by State's Attorney Foxx or any other individual working for the CCSAO relating to the Initial Smollett Case, including bribery or official misconduct, and whether State's Attorney Foxx had any communications that could be construed as influencing how the CCSAO decided to prosecute or resolve the Initial Smollett Case. Based on public allegations against State's Attorney Foxx and evidence the OSP developed relating to communications she had about the Initial Smollett Case, the OSP specifically focused its investigation on communications State's Attorney Foxx had with three people: Sherrilyn Ifill , President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. , President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. Christina M. "Tina" Tchen, CEO of TIME'S UP Now (formerly Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff) Chief of Staff) Jurnee Smollett, Mr. Smollett's sister The OSP did not identify evidence indicating that State's Attorney Foxx's communications with these people influenced or impacted how the Initial Smollett Case was prosecuted or resolvedincluding the CCSAO's decision to dismiss the case or the terms of the dismissal. In fact, based on the evidence developed by the OSP, State's Attorney Foxx did not have any substantive communications about the Initial Smollett Case with any of these people after Mr. Smollett was charged. However, conversations with these three people did deepen concerns State's Attorney Foxx had regarding information being released to the public, seemingly by the CPD, about the ongoing investigation. Thus, communications with these three people spurred her to reach out to CPD Superintendent Eddie Johnson to recommend the case be referred to the FBIan action that was not improper and did not have any impact on how the case was investigated or ultimately prosecuted. Furthermore, while the OSP focused on State's Attorney Foxx's communications with the three individuals noted above, the OSP did not identify any other people that had any improper influence over the prosecution or resolution of the Initial Smollett Case. III. Discussion of the OSP's Three Final Conclusions and Supporting Findings Related to the Conduct of the CPD in the Initial Smollett Case In the course of its investigation, the OSP learned of allegations that anonymous CPD employees improperly disseminated law enforcement sensitive information concerning the original Smollett investigation to media sources while the investigation was ongoing ("leaks"). Therefore, the OSP undertook an investigation to determine whether wrongdoing occurred relating to any alleged CPD "leaks," and has reached the following three (3) major final conclusions as to the CPD: (1) The OSP did conclude that the majority of CPD media communications during CPD's Smollett investigation were authorized communications in accordance with CPD's written policies; (2) The OSP did conclude that there were media reports that contained unauthorized "leaks" of police investigative information by CPD personnel that were in violation of CPD's written policies. However, for reasons set forth below, the OSP was unable to identify the anonymous alleged CPD source(s) of such "leaks"; and (3) The OSP did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against any individual working at the CPD. Conclusion #1: The OSP did conclude that the majority of CPD media communications during CPD's Smollett investigation were authorized communications in accordance with CPD's written policies. Under CPD General Order G09-02, "it is the policy of the Chicago Police Department to cooperate impartially with the news media in providing information on crime and police-related matters while simultaneously conforming to the protections guaranteed to individuals under the US Constitution." Under the same Order, certain authorized individuals are permitted to respond to news media inquiries, provided individuals' Constitutional rights are safeguarded. Pursuant to this policy, between January 29, 2019, and June 21, 2019, CPD issued a number of official public statements (press releases) regarding the status and progress of the Smollett investigation and the case's disposition. Only authorized CPD spokespersons under the policy are permitted to issue these official public police statements. Additionally, authorized personnel frequently responded to specific media inquiries, which was also proper under CPD policy. The OSP determined that no wrongdoing was committed in issuing these official public statements because each was made pursuant to published CPD policies by authorized CPD personnel. Conclusion #2: The OSP did conclude that there were media reports that contained unauthorized "leaks" of police investigative information by CPD personnel that were in violation of CPD's written policies. However, for reasons set forth below, the OSP was unable to identify the anonymous alleged CPD source(s) of such "leaks." During its investigation, the OSP relied on three sources of information to identify alleged "leaks" that should be investigated: (1) alleged "leaks" identified by witnesses the OSP interviewed, other than Mr. Smollett; (2) media "leaks" alleged by Mr. Smollett in various forums; and (3) media reports referencing law enforcement investigative information attributed to an anonymous CPD source or other law enforcement source. The OSP focused its research on reports from established media outlets. Using this methodology, the OSP identified some examples of improper media "leaks" by CPD personnel. Thus, the OSP gathered sufficient evidence to conclude that one or more anonymous CPD sources "leaked" investigative information to the media about the Smollett investigation without authorization, in violation of CPD policy. However, after a thorough investigation, the OSP was unable to identify the source or sources of these media "leaks." Several factors rendered the OSP's task in determining the source of anonymous CPD "leaks" particularly difficult. First, in order to conclusively determine the identity of the source of a "leak" to develop evidence that could be used to prove potential charges beyond a reasonable doubt, the OSP would almost certainly have to prove the identity of the police source by obtaining sworn testimony from news reporters who wrote the articles where the "leaked" information was published. However, reporters are protected from disclosing their sources under the Illinois Reporter's Privilege Statute. 735 ILCS 5/8-901 to 8-909. Second, some of the "leaks" the OSP identified were included in CPD reports, widely disseminated across CPD divisions under standard CPD procedure, including the Original Incident Report, that hundreds of CPD personnel had access to. Third, many of the "leaks" the OSP identified in media reports were not necessarily attributed to CPD sources, but to "law enforcement sources," which could encompass sources from other law enforcement offices, such as the CCSAO or the FBI. Fourth, a large core investigative team of more than 20 CPD personnel assisted with the Smollett investigation and had access to the confidential investigative files. Fifth, information about the investigation was necessarily shared with individuals and organizations beyond the core investigative team, including State's Attorney Foxx and other members of the CCSAO, the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, Mr. Smollett and his representatives, and various witnesses connected to the investigation. The OSP notes that, pursuant to Judge Toomin's all-encompassing directive to determine whether any office engaged wrongdoing, the OSP also investigated whether CPD took proper steps in response to learning of "leaks" of law enforcement investigative information concerning the Smollett investigation to the media. The OSP developed evidence that showed CPD took several responsible and substantive actions in response to alleged "leaks" and attempted to identify the sources of any potential "leaks." Therefore, the OSP determined that no wrongdoing was committed by the CPD, or any CPD employee, in the Department's response to "leaks" of law enforcement sensitive information about the Smollett investigation. Conclusion #3: The OSP did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against any individual working at the CPD. As far as the OSP developing evidence to support any criminal charges against any CPD employee for improperly "leaking" information to a media source, the OSP through its investigation identified a single instance where an Illinois police officer was charged with a felony under Illinois criminal statutes for disseminating law enforcement information to an individual or organization not legally authorized to have access to the information. Indeed, absent exceptional circumstances, it is questionable if the criminal statutes the OSP considered could be applied to a police officer who merely "leaks" law enforcement investigative information to a media source. The OSP again notes that, under the law, a person can only be convicted of a crime if the prosecution proves all the elements of the charged offense beyond a reasonable doubt, including, where applicable, proof of any criminal intent. Further, under applicable ethical standards, the OSP, as a prosecutor, must act in good faith and should never pursue a prosecution for criminal charges that the prosecutor cannot reasonably expect to prove beyond a reasonable doubt by legally sufficient evidence at trial. Thus, under these standards, the OSP cannot seek criminal charges against any CPD employee without developing substantial evidence of a crime. Based on these legal and ethical standards, the OSP did not develop evidence to support any criminal charges regarding alleged "leaks" to the media by CPD personnel. IV. Conclusion The OSP worked diligently to complete its investigation pursuant to Judge Toomin's Second Directive in as short an amount of time as possible. However, as often happens with investigations, there were delays in the production of documents that did slow down the ability of the OSP to conduct witness interviews. Eventually, the OSP was able to obtain all relevant documents and was able to successfully interview all relevant witnesses in connection with Judge Toomin's Second Directive. In addition, it should be noted that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were logistical issues in scheduling some witness interviews through no fault of anyone. These events did delay the OSP's ability to complete the investigative work that was required as part of the Second Directive. It is important to note that all potential witnesses who had any relevant information about the issues being investigated by the OSP regarding the CCSAO and the CPD agreed to cooperate with the OSP and be interviewed in detail about all relevant information. No witness took the Fifth Amendment or refused to provide information. With public issuance of this Information Release, Judge Toomin's Second Directive to the Special Prosecutor is now closed unless new material evidence is developed in the future. Mr. Webb wants to thank Patrick Blanchard, Independent Inspector General for Cook County, and his team for serving as an investigative resource to help the OSP carry out Judge Toomin's Second Directive. Mr. Webb also commends Winston & Strawn LLP for allowing the OSP to conduct its thorough investigation on a pro bono basis, as a service to the public for no compensation. Mr. Webb also thanks the lawyers at Winston who dedicated significant time, and an enormous effort, to this investigation: Michael Claus, Matthew Durkin, DaWanna McCray, Sam Mendenhall, Shannon Murphy, and Sean Wieber. In consideration of Mr. Smollett's right to a fair trial, Mr. Webb and the OSP will not be making any additional public statements about the substance of the OSP's investigation until Mr. Smollett's criminal case has concluded. Contact: Michael Goodwin, (646) 502-3595, [email protected] SOURCE Winston & Strawn LLP HAMDEN A Naugatuck man has been charged in a head-on, hit-and-run crash that killed a 21-year-old man. Justin Thompson, 23, of Carroll Street, was arrested Sunday and charged with misconduct with a motor vehicle, evading responsibility resulting in a death, illegal operation of a motor vehicle while under suspension and third-degree larceny. On July 1, Hamden police responded to the area of 2390 State St. on the report of a motor vehicle crash with injuries. Capt. Ronald Smith said the investigation revealed that two cars were speeding south on State Street. Witnesses reported both vehicles were being operated erratically, police said. The vehicles were seen traveling south in the northbound lane, police said. One of the vehicles, a stolen Toyota Corolla, which was operated by Thompson, struck and killed Garrison Nieves, 21, of Hamden, police said. Nieves had been traveling on a scooter, north on State Street, when he was struck head-on, police said. Moments after striking Nieves, Thompson exited the stolen vehicle and entered the second vehicle, which was also reported stolen. He was last observed traveling southbound on State Street, Smith said in a statement. Smith said Officer Nicholas Lovett conducted an extensive investigation, which led to an arrest warrant for Thompson. On Sunday, members of the Trumbull Police Department located Thompson. He later was turned over to Hamden police. Thompson was held in lieu of $250,000 bail and is to appear at Superior Court in Meriden Sept. 30. He also is charged with violation of probation and held in lieu of an additional $150,000 bail. Steve Smith Like many people who work full-time jobs, Danielle knows she is lucky. Shes able to work from home, and the 37-year-old says her current employer is much more accommodating of her disability than her previous. That said, there have been hurdleslike the fact that telecommuting software like Zoom and WebEx still does not allow captioning, which can make work calls stressful when youre deaf. Its a huge step back, when the internet should be a huge step forward, Danielle told The Daily Beast in an email. It concerns me that things are going to remain even more inaccessible in [the] future since a lot of things are switching to remote video options, and using platforms that do not have captioning. Its no small irony that the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Because like so many other emergencies before it, the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated that in just about every possible situation people with disabilities are treated as an afterthought. Consider one of the most essential public health solutions to the pandemic: face masks. Theyre undeniably important to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. But the masks most of us wear every day make communication difficult for Danielle and others who lip-read. At one point, Danielle noted, a pharmacist became angry with her for not being able to communicate. And others have been less than receptive when she asked if they could consider wearing clear face masks that would allow her to communicate better. When I politely requested that if they are able to, people consider wearing a clear face mask, I was told to suck it up and that's life, and that nobody would do that, said Danielle, who requested her last name be withheld for privacy reasons. Some elements of the pandemic, however, have made Danielle feel less isolated in her job. She does not, for instance, have to watch her co-workers chat amongst themselves, which she says has been a boon to her mental health. Story continues In general, Danielle believes the U.S. response to the pandemic and the needs it presents for people with disabilities has been typical of the way it treats their concerns. That is to say, theyve been ignored. Peoples reluctance to consider clear face masks, and businesses like Zoom leaving captions out of their functionality, can add to a feeling that people with disabilities dont matter. People will spend a lot of money ordering custom designed masks, while there are clear face masks available for the same price, but the message is that our needs are too abnormal and that ultimately we dont matter because we are out of the norm from the rest of society, Danielle wrote. For another example of how our response to COVID-19 has ignored people with disabilities needs, think for a moment about restaurants outdoor set-ups. Theyve proven controversial because of the crowds they generate and the sweltering conditions they create for service staff. But urban sidewalk set-ups that narrow pedestrian spaces can be a nuisance for anyone who uses mobility equipment. And some street seating does not provide ramps or leave sufficient space for people who use wheelchairs and other equipmentrendering them unusable for some. The Hot New Far-Right Trend: Claiming a Disability to Avoid Wearing a Mask Disability rights activist Emily Ladau, who also co-hosts The Accessible Stall Podcast, will be the first to tell you that these oversights are pretty much par for the course. I think that right now we're witnessing this very interesting dynamic where disabled people are not only an afterthought, but also kind of told that if we speak up about it, we are essentially just creating trouble, Ladau told The Daily Beast. And I think weve always been told that. This is not new, but... it's much more in the public eye now. Ladau noted the rash of non-disabled people last month who began presenting cards purporting to show that they could not wear face masks due to respiratory disorders. (Some people with disabilities genuinely cannot wear masks, but they didnt seem to be the ones presenting those cards in the cases that got attention.) So any way you look at it, the ADAs actual purpose and intent is just being completely thrown out the window right now, Ladau said. Either you have people telling us that were being complainers for trying to speak up about basic rights and access, or you have people trying to exploit legislation that's not for them. It is extremely disheartening to see able-bodied people use fake medical conditions or disability as a way to get out of wearing masks, Danielle wrote. The overwhelming majority of the disabled community want everyone to be wearing masks, and wear masks themselves, because a portion of the disabled community is immunocompromised themselves. Much of the problem is an ongoing stigmathe idea that people with disabilities are isolated shut-ins, rather than members of the community with active social lives just like anyone else. As Jean Ryan, president of Disabled In Action of Metropolitan NY, told The Daily Beast government officials and businesses tend to overlook people with disabilities interests because they cant imagine a disabled person dining in a restaurant, celebrating events with family, or otherwise participating in society. The results can range from frustrating to genuinely dangerous for people with disabilities. Early on in the pandemic, COVID-19 strained a resource some people with disabilities depend on: shopping services like Instacart, which became overrun with customers who wanted to avoid shopping in person. Smell Tests for COVID-19 Are Coming to a College Near You Given concerns about crowding and the number of non-disabled people with underlying conditions that put them at risk, too, it made sense. But it was people with disabilities with no other options who wound up paying the steepest pricea dynamic Ladau said points to a larger access issue, because these things that disabled people use on a daily basis are often seen as laziness and a luxury. So all of a sudden everybody needs them and now theyre in high demand, and How dare you not have my toilet paper rolls available from Instacart? Ladau said. And although most people with disabilities do not rely on personal care attendants to live independently, the pandemic provided a challenge from the start to those who need assistance. As virologists and journalists rushed to figure out and communicate how the novel coronavirus actually spread, understandable anxiety grew among caregivers and their clients, Ryan said. Neither party could be sure how many people the other had been in contact with, putting both at risk for further exposure. Some caregivers were reluctant to continue working, either because they were elderly themselves or because they cared for grandchildren or other young dependents. If you need help with personal care, or with cooking, or getting groceries, or getting your clothes washed, your bed changed, any of those things, then youre at somebody's mercy, Ryan said. And it could be a very loving, capable person, but you, you don't know. The fact that carriers can be asymptomatic only deepened fears, and Ryan knows of at least one person whose attendant died of the virusleaving them with the difficult task of finding a new caregiver in the middle of a pandemic. Making matters worse, in the early months of the pandemic, agencies often did not supply staff with enough, or any, personal protective equipmenteffectively shifting the financial responsibility to caregivers or their clients. And even after quarantine gave way to phased reopening, problems persisted. Ryan, who normally does her own grocery shopping, has found she is not able to properly distance in stores while using her wheelchair. Even before COVID-19, it was impossible for her to reach all of the items she needs from high shelvesand now, anyone handing her an item theyve retrieved must somehow give it to her from 6 feet away. Rather than going inside, Ryan stays on the sidewalk outside the store and tries to get the attention of an employee, who then retrieves the items on her list and uses her credit card to pay for them before bringing everything to her outside. Of course, trust has to be involved in that, Ryan said. But how else are we going to get through this, if we don't trust each other? For These New Yorkers, the Coronavirus Nightmare Has Not Ended With Reopening When it became safer to walk outside with a mask, Ladauwho lives just outside New York Cityventured out to see what conditions were like. The sidewalks were cluttered with people, tables, and chairsa nuisance for the non-disabled, but a real disruption for people with disabilities who might use pre-planned accessible routes to go about their days. For people who rely on such routes to navigate their neighborhoods, due to physical, visual, or other disabilities, it can be really problematic [and even] scary when those routes are changed, Marc Fliedner, director of Disability Rights New Yorks Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights and Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness programs, told The Daily Beast. Without an alternative route planned, he said, If theres a new impediment in their way, what are they supposed to do to go around? Still, Ryan said, I think we just really have to have tolerance because the restaurants are barely surviving and without indoor patrons I think it will be temporary. It wont last forever. And if we ever want to order from a restaurant or sit in a restaurant or sit outside of a restaurant, I think we all have to work together on that. Ladau, Ryan, and Fliedner all emphasized that they understand everyone is doing the best they can. But nonetheless, these lapses illustrate the ways accessibility is almost always treated as an afterthought. As Ladau put it, Its a symptom of a larger problem. Another challenge Fliedner has noticed is that the automated interfaces many businesses usefrom cleaning services to ride-share appscan make it difficult for people with disabilities who might need certain concessions to make arrangements beforehand. (While an actual human being might be able to understand a persons needs and collaborate to find a solution, apps and automated phone lines usually cannot.) This can make it difficult for, say, someone who genuinely cannot wear a mask due to respiratory issues to access these services. I would encourage any business that has mandatory rules about these things to also somehow make some opportunity available for individuals with unique circumstances to be able to reach out to a human being, to talk to them either by chat or by phone or by email exchange, he said, to explore what accommodations might be possible. Regardless of the details, the upshot in all these situations remains the same: The disabled community always seems to fall through the cracks as everyone tries their best. And the results can be harrowing. Fliedner, for instance, still remembers the nightmare some people with disabilities faced during the emergency response to Hurricane Sandy. There were stories about people that were trapped on the 20th floor of a building, and the elevators weren't working, Fliedner said. In 2013, a federal judge ruled after extensive testimony that the city had neglected its residents with disabilities, with some trapped in high-rise buildings for days after the storm. People with disabilities are always the last to be considered, Fliedner said. And in part, frankly, it's because people with disabilities are not at the table when decisions are made about thingsparticularly under emergency circumstances. Often after such emergencies, discussions begin about how to better serve the disabled community in the futurebut those conversations tend to fade without action, leaving the community just as vulnerable for the next emergency. It's got to stop being the Part B or C conversation, Fliedner said. And the only way to do that is to make sure that these considerations are addressed in the preliminary planning stages of any changes [the government makes] going forward. And with the election looming and no end to the pandemic in sight, Ryan has her eye on another key issue: voting rights. In 2010, DIA and United Spinal Association sued the New York City Board of Elections for discriminating against voters with disabilities by failing to make polling places accessible. In 2014, in a unanimous decision, an appeals court decided in their favor. The two parties settled. But now its ironic, Ryan said. We don't want to leave the house. Now the issue has become the lack of accessible absentee ballots. In May, a coalition of advocacy organizations and several voters with disabilities filed another lawsuit against the Board of Elections on the grounds that the citys absentee ballots, in their current form, discriminate against those who cannot independently and privately fill out their forms due to blindness, paralysis, and other disabilities. The lawsuit argues that email ballots, already offered to military and overseas voters, and accessible absentee ballotsoffered in states like Maryland, New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon, Ohio, and West Virginiabe expanded nationwide. The case is ongoing. Going forward, Fliedner anticipates another problem: There is nowparticularly in New York City and New York statea large, brand new group of people with disabilities, he said. And theyre disabilities that come directly from COVID-19. Many COVID-19 survivors will have lung disorders, kidney disorders, amputations, and various mental health conditions, such as PTSD, going forward, Fliedner said. He hopes the government will take this new disabled population into account while allocating funds for social security and disability programs. They can't be putting them into a different or lesser category because the disability [results] from something that theyre just not as familiar with yet, Fliedner said. Because it's the impact on the body of COVID-19. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Former Home and Away star Kate Ritchie has shared a gushing tribute to daughter Mae on her sixth birthday. Kate celebrated the youngster with a candid photo of the mother-daughter duo, which she posted to Instagram on Monday. 'Happy 6th Birthday to the most delightful, clever, funny and inquisitive little person I know,' Kate wrote. Birthday girl! Former Home and Away star Kate Ritchie, 42, (pictured) shared a gushing tribute to adorable daughter Mae on her sixth birthday on Monday The former soap went on to call herself the 'luckiest mumma' for being 'blessed' with such a 'beautiful soul' as her daughter. 'Mae, thank you for choosing me. You bring so much joy to so many people and I can only hope you carry that joy within your heart too, always,' she wrote. She finished by writing how proud she was of Mae: 'I couldn't be more proud of the person you are growing into. Just don't grow too fast, okay?' It comes after Kate revealed she and Mae always bake a cake together from The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book for her daughter's birthday. Gorgeous: 'Mae, thank you for choosing me. You bring so much joy to so many people and I can only hope you carry that joy within your heart too, always,' Kate (pictured) wrote Kate told the publication: 'My earliest memory of [the birthday cake book] was flicking through the pages in wonderful birthday anticipation. Something I do with my own daughter now.' For Mae's first birthday, the doting mother baked a cake in the shape of the number one, which was covered in pink icing and pink chocolate drops. When Mae turned three, Kate made a Barbie princess cake, and more recently, a cake in the shape of the number five, decorated with stars and ponies. Work of art! Kate made a Barbie princess cake for Mae's third birthday Cute! Meanwhile, for Mae's fifth birthday, Kate made a number five-shaped cake decorated with stars and ponies 'Of the six birthday cakes I have baked for my daughter, three have come straight from the Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book.' Kate said that her little girl also enjoys the fun of creating something in the kitchen. 'It is just good fun with a lovely sense of achievement attached when we can stand back and marvel at our creations,' she explained. Kate shares Mae with husband Stuart Webb, 39, who she married in a lavish ceremony in Launceston, Tasmania in 2010. Bonding: The Nova radio presenter said that her little girl also enjoys the fun of creating something in the kitchen, saying: 'It is just good fun with a lovely sense of achievement attached when we can stand back and marvel at our creations' In April, New Idea magazine reported that the troubled couple had been attending 'counselling' for their issues. 'Stuart has been trying to show Kate that he's a changed man and is serious about getting his life in order,' a 'friend' allegedly told the publication at the time. Kate and Stuart were last spotted together in February to celebrate daughter Mae's first day of school. Family: Kate shares Mae with husband, former NRL star Stuart Webb, 39, who she married in a lavish ceremony in Launceston, Tasmania in 2010. Kate and Stuart are pictured in 2011 The reunion came three months after Kate reportedly moved out of their marital home after police took out an interim AVO on her behalf against the NRL star, following an incident at her house in Randwick. In December, Stuart made headlines for his five-time drink driving history. His driving history was revealed in a police fact sheet, as he faced court for blowing 0.083 when he was pulled over by highway patrolmen in the city's east in March last year. A staff member escorts members of the Canadian Armed Forces to a long-term care home, in Pickering, Ont. on April 25, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Chris Young) Improved Conditions at Ontario Nursing Homes, as Govt Thanks Armed Forces for Help Conditions have improved at nursing homes hit hard during the pandemic, thanks to the assistance provided by the Canadian Armed Forces, according to a CAF report. CAF stepped in to aid seven long-term care homes in Ontario amid the pandemic by deploying nurses, medical technicians, and additional personnel, under Operation LASER. The operation started in April and ended on July 3. In May, CAF released an initial interim report that described disturbing conditions in the homes, prompting the provincial government to launch inspections and provide emergency funding, staffing support, expanded testing, and other measures to improve the situation. CAF released its outgoing report on Aug. 14, stating that the situation had stabilized in all seven homes by July, when the military took its leave. Brigadier-General Conrad Mialkowski has informed Richard Steele, deputy minister of long-term care, that the nursing homes no longer need military support. With the improvements in prevention and other measures, the virus is under control. Remaining concerns include the training of new staff and to the supervision necessary to ensure consistent infection prevention and control measures. The Ontario government thanked the troops for their invaluable assistance during the outbreak, and CAF for the report. Ontario thanks the Canadian Armed Forces for their final report and for the invaluable assistance they provided during our time of need, Dr. Merrilee Fullerton, Minister of Long-Term Care, said in a press release. We welcome their observations, which will help us in our ongoing work to strengthen the long-term care sector. The government has launched a commission to examine how the virus infected people at the provinces long-term care homes and to provide guidance on how to protect residents and staff from any future outbreaks. Such assistance "would destroy the last traces of its independence", the Lithuanian foreign minister emphasized. Russian military assistance to the neighboring Belarus amid mounting unrest would constitute "an invasion", Lithuanian Foreign Minister has said. "There are no reasons for military support from Russia, and no legal or other grounds for it. It would constitute an invasion into the country and would destroy the last traces of its independence", Linkevicius told reporters in Vilnius on Monday, Europeiska Pravda reports citing Reuters. "Russia would risk a lot if it did it, in the face of what is going on in Belarus, in the face of the popular support. It should figure out that an invasion would not be justified, neither legally, nor morally, nor politically," he added, US News reported, also with the reference to Reuters. Russian assistance to Belarus amid protests Lukashenko over the course of the last few days spoke with his Russian counterpart over the phone at least twice, as officially reported. "[A]t our very first request, comprehensive assistance will be provided [by Russia] to ensure the security of the Republic of Belarus," said Lukashenko. In another phone call between the two on Sunday, Putin had told Alexander Lukashenko Russia was ready to offer military assistance if necessary, according to Reuters, as demonstrators gathered for the biggest protests against Lukashenko's re-election. Earlier, Lukashenko complained about external interference in his country's affairs, hinting at a western plot toward a "color revolution". An OSINT group Conflict Intelligence Team has reported that the Kremlin is deploying its RosGvardia [Russian Guard] troops and paddy wagons to the border with Belarus. The suggestion that Facebook allows its platform to carry hate speech and messages that promote violence is not new. Nor is the allegation that in India, its largest market, Facebook is actually helping the BJP to promote the partys interests. So far, at least, these allegations have been largely limited to Twitter postings or internet rumours. Last week all that changed. The Wall Street Journal, the respected and credible American newspaper, carried a detailed report that not only repeated these allegations but gave specific instances. The Journal focused on one case in particular. In March, it said, Facebooks staff had concluded that BJP politician Raja Singh had not only violated the companys hate-speech rules but qualified as dangerous. Facebooks policing staff recommended that Mr Singh should be permanently banned from the companys platforms worldwide. This is a punishment that Facebook has often doled out in the US. And Mr Singhs posts did seem to fulfill the criteria for hate speech. He had said that Rohingya immigrants should be shot and had threatened to raze mosques.The Journal said he had posted a photo of himself with a drawn sword declaring that Hindus existence depends on taking extrajudicial action against Muslims; and had called Muslims traitors. This sounds like an open-and-shut case but Facebooks policing staff were told by Facebooks top public policy executive in the country, Ankhi Das, that she opposed applying the hate speech rules to Mr. Singh and at least three other Hindus nationalist individuals and groups flagged internally for promoting and participating in violence. This might have been because of Ms Dass own views (the Journal quotes disturbing comments from her Facebook page) but she told staff members that punishing violations by politicians from Mr. Modis party would damage the companys business prospects in the country. There is more in a similar vein in the Journal article. When it asked Facebook for a comment, the company essentially confirmed the story but argued that Ms Dass objections were not the only factor in the decision not to ban Mr. Singh. It did not say what those other factors were. So why would Facebook want to help the BJP so much that it would go against the advice of its own policing department and continue to keep vicious hate speech on its platform? The short answer is: money. Facebook is banned in China, so India is its largest market by far. To continue to grow globally it desperately needs the Indian market. And as the Journal says, Facebook has not hesitated in the past to do side deals with governments to advance its commercial interests. So has it done some kind of deal with the BJP to allow hate speech to flourish on its platform in India? This is no hard evidence yet but there is a pattern of suspicious activity and an unwillingness on the part of Facebook to offer convincing rebuttals. After being evasive in its pre-publication responses to the Journal, Facebook did not forcefully rebut the very detailed allegations that the paper had made. Instead it issued a bland generalised response about how it opposes hate speech. While it is Facebook that is the subject of this controversy, there are deeper fears about WhatsApp, also owned by Facebook which is now the most used messaging service in India. Even the central government agrees that WhatsApp has been used to foment violence, spread false information and disseminate hatred. Obviously, there is a case for Facebook to answer. But because it has now become a political controversy, the exchanges between politicians may end up actually obscuring the truth. Shortly after Rahul Gandhi tweeted a link to the Journal article, the BJPs Ravi Shankar Prasad replied with a vitriolic response. Afterwards, as though to substantiate the Journals allegations about the BJP-Facebook nexus, various pro-BJP tweeters (some of whom seemed like bots) began abusing anyone who questioned Facebook. Even before the Journal article appeared, the Trinamools Derek OBrien had raised the issue in parliament. And the political battle is set to continue: the Congress Shashi Tharoor has said that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, which he heads, will ask Facebook for explanations. But given how reluctant the government seems to be to take any action against Facebook, the political protests could make a lot of noise without changing anything. The government is too strong and the Opposition is too weak. In any case, Facebook is used to such controversies. During the last American election it was accused of helping ensure a Trump victory. It fought off those allegations and weathered another storm about allowing hate speech on the platform after its founder Mark Zuckerberg apologised. The truth is that Facebook is now just too big for any international organisation or governmental agency to be able to make it significantly alter its behaviour. In July, more than 10,000 US companies pulled their advertising from Facebook while others cut back on the volume of their advertising. This should have hurt Facebook but in reality, the damage was minimal. During the first three weeks of July, Facebook said, its overall ad revenue actually grew by ten percent over the previous year. The pressure on Facebook from those concerned with its inability/refusal to act against hate speech continues. And should Donald Trump lose the next election, then Joe Biden will probably be more responsive to calls for regulation. What king of regulation would work? Breaking it up is one answer. In 1911, the Standard Oil Company, founded by John D Rockefeller, was so powerful that the US Supreme Court ruled that it had to be broken up. The original giant was broken up into over 34 companies. It was so vast that the companies that emerged out of the break-up (Chevron, Exxon and Mobil among them) are still giants and household names. One solution would be to do something similar with Facebook. After all, as they say, data is the new oil. This could take the form of a break-up of the separate entities involved (Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram etc.) or even geographical splits on the Standard Oil pattern. This solution is beginning to sound more and more realistic because Facebook is, for all practical purposes, behaving like a sovereign state, doing deals with governments and forming its own alliances. It is worth much more than the GDP of many countries and it is accountable to no one. Unless that happens, I dont see how Facebook can be reined in. It is just too rich. I doubt if its alleged links with the BJP have anything to do with ideology. It just needs to keep the government happy so it can make more money. Should the BJP lose power, it will happily to do a new deal with the next government. So, I doubt if the current uproar will achieve much. The solution to this controversy lies not here, but in Washington where the next President will have to decide whether it is good for democracy for the giant IT companies to become sovereign states that manipulate public sentiment for their own profit. To read more on The Taste With Vir, click here Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON For a better experience on our website and avoid any trouble, we strongly recommand to activate Javascript ( click here ). Hello and welcome to Journal des Palaces You are a communication or the PR manager? Click here You are an applicant? Check out our questions and answers here ! New Delhi, Aug 17 : In a display of humanitarian benevolence, India on Monday sent back a Pakistani ship master almost a month after he was rescued by the Indian Coast Guard and hospitalised in a medical emergency in Visakhapatnam. Official sources told IANS that Pakistani ship master Captain Badar Hasnain, son of Khurshid Hussian, was evacuated by the Indian Coast Guard on July 13 after he suffered a heart attack on the vessel enroute Gopalpur in Odisha. The Indian Coast Guard's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Chennai, responded to the request for emergency medical care and the ship was diverted to Visakhapatnam. He was hospitalised at the Queens NRI hospital in Vishakhpatnam for medical treatment and after almost a month of care, he recovered and expressed his intent to return. Sources said he was flown from Visakhapatnam to Bengaluru and finally to Amritsar on Monday. From Amritsar, he travelled to Attari by road. Through the entire air and road travel from Visakhapatnam to Attari, he was accompanied by an Indian attendant, Sunder Rajan Bala. Captain Hasnain reached Attari in the evening and crossed over the international border to Pakistan. The whole mission of Captain Hasnain's return to Pakistan via Wagah border was facilitated by the Ministry of External Affairs. The ministry coordinated with the ministry of interior, the Rangers, the immigration and health authorities for necessary arrangements at Wagah border. MOUNTAIN VIEW (dpa-AFX) - Google has warned its users in Australia that new government regulation would force it to provide customers with a 'dramatically worse' Google Search and YouTube. According to the search giant, the proposed law, the News Media Bargaining Code, could lead to Google users' data being handed over to big news businesses and would also put the free services availed by its users at risk in Australia. The News Media Bargaining Code was introduced in Australia as a draft bill last month. The new law would require tech giants like Google and Facebook to share their ad revenue with local media business whose content their platforms monetize. In an open letter to Australians, Google Australia Managing Director Mel Silva said that the law would force Google to give unfair advantage to one group of businesses, news media businesses, over everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business. 'News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result,' Silva said. However, Australia's consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or ACCC, responded by saying that Google's open letter contained 'misinformation' about the draft media law. The ACCC noted that Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube, or share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so. 'The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists' work that is included on Google services. This will address a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook,' the consumer watchdog added. The ACCC said it will continue to consult on the draft code with interested parties, including Google. The consultation period will close on August 28. In late July, the ACCC had filed a suit against Google for allegedly misleading Australian consumers by collecting their personal data without their consent, mainly for targeted advertising. The ACCC also alleged that Google misled consumers about a related change to its privacy policy. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de The Vietnam Young Logistics Talents 2020 contest was officially kicked off in early August and will last until December as part of the effort to deal with the difficulty and to raise peoples awareness about the importance of logistics development in economic development. According to a recent study from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), from now to 2030, the country will need about 250,000 employees for the logistics service industry to serve business demand and the sector's development. The aim of the 2020 edition of the contest was to unleash innovative ideas at the semi-final and final rounds. The four-month tournament will hold the final round in Hanoi, promising a thrilling competition among excellent teams. The Vietnam Young Logistics Talents competition has been launched in 2018 with support from the Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, attracting the interest of students nationwide. In 2019, the contest attracted 400 teams from 40 universities and colleges and education establishments nationwide. As expected, the number of participating teams will rise further this year, driven by the growth of the industry and due attention from universities and schools in logistics training. Ngo Huong, a member of Logi team from the Banking Academy, which won last year's competition, said, Despite being a newly-launched contest, its scale and professionalism has made it an attractive playground for students. Especially, the competition not only welcomes logistics students but also those with a strong interest in logistics. This was a motivation for us to win the award. As Vietnam integrates ever-deeper into the global economy, logistics has become one of the sectors with the highest growth in the past years, with 12-14 per cent according the Logistics Vietnam Report 2019 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. At present, local logistics firms are still struggling to seek skilled manpower who have good skills, professionalism, and English skills. This is a challenge for Vietnam amidst the strong development of the industry. 2019 marked an important landmark in logistics training at universities as many universities officially opened a major in logistics. As of October 2019, among the 286 universities nationwide, 28 had a logistics major. However, the improvement has yet to meet the growing demand. After days of mass protests, Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko now says a new presidential election will be held after the country adopts a new constitution. That's according to Russian media. It came only hours after he told tractor workers in Minsk that he's ready to share power - but said there wouldn't be another vote until he was killed. Lukashenko is facing the biggest challenge of his 26 years in power. The country has been beset by protests and strikes since he won a sixth term in office on August 9 in an election which his opponents say he rigged. Eyes are now on Russia - Belarus' ally going back to the Soviet era - where President Putin has offered Lukashenko military help. Lithuania's foreign affairs minister reacted by saying Russian military help in Belarus would constitute "an invasion". That intervention came as Belarus began carrying out military exercises near the border with Lithuania. But a senior parliamentary official in Lithuania said the exercise didn't pose a threat and Lithuania would not be reacting. Lithuania is also where Belarus opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya fled last week to be with her children. On Monday (August 17), she released a new video demanding a new election - and said she was ready to lead her country. "I'm prepared to take responsibility and act as the nation's leader during this period so the country settles down and gets back to normality, so that we can release all political prisoners and prepare a legal framework and conditions to hold another round of presidential elections in the shortest time possible." The EU has also waded in - launching a process of imposing sanctions on Belarussian officials it deems responsible for election fraud and a crackdown on protests that followed the disputed election result. Shortages of personal protective equipment and medical supplies could persist for years without strategic government intervention, officials from health care and manufacturing industries have predicted. Officials said logistical challenges continue seven months after the coronavirus reached the United States, as the flu season approaches and as some state emergency management agencies prepare for a fall surge in COVID-19 cases. Although the disarray is not as widespread as it was this spring, hospitals said rolling shortages of supplies range from specialized beds to disposable isolation gowns to thermometers. A few weeks ago, we were having a very difficult time getting the sanitary wipes. You just couldnt get them, said Dr. Bernard Klein, chief executive of Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, California, near Los Angeles. We actually had to manufacture our own. This same dynamic has played out across a number of critical supplies in his hospital. First masks, then isolation gowns and now a specialized bed that allows nurses to turn COVID-19 patients onto their bellies equipment that helps workers with what can otherwise be a six-person job. Weve seen whole families come to our hospital with COVID, and several members hospitalized at the same time, said Klein. Its very, very sad. Testing supplies ran short as the predominantly Latino community served by Providence Holy Cross was hit hard by COVID, and even as nearby hospitals could process 15-minute tests. If we had a more coordinated response with a partnership between the medical field, the government and the private industry, it would help improve the supply chain to the areas that need it most, Klein said. Klein said he expected to deal with equipment and supply shortages throughout 2021, especially as flu season approaches. Most people focus on those N95 respirators, said Carmela Coyle, CEO of the California Hospital Association, an industry group that represents more than 400 hospitals across one of Americas hardest-hit states. She said she believed COVID-19-related supply challenges will persist through 2022. We have been challenged with shortages of isolation gowns, face shields, which youre now starting to see in public places. Any one piece thats in shortage or not available creates risk for patients and for health care workers, said Coyle. At the same time, trade associations representing manufacturers said persuading customers to shift to American suppliers had been difficult. I also have industry thats working only at 10-20% capacity, who can make PPE in our own backyard, but have no orders, said Kim Glas, CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations, whose members make reusable cloth gowns. Manufacturers in her organization have made hundreds of millions of products, but, without long-term government contracts, many are apprehensive to invest in the equipment needed to scale up the business and eventually lower prices. If there continues to be an upward trajectory of COVID-19 cases, not just in the U.S. but globally, you can see those supply chains breaking down again, Glas said. It is a health care security issue. For the past two decades, personal protective equipment was supplied to health care institutions in lean supply chains in the same way toilet paper was to grocery stores. Chains between major manufacturers and end users were so efficient, there was no need to stockpile goods. But in March, the supply chain broke when major Asian PPE exporters embargoed materials or shut down just as demand increased exponentially. Thus, health care institutions were in much the same position as regular grocery shoppers, who were trying to buy great quantities of a product they never needed to stockpile before. I am very concerned about long-term PPE shortages for the foreseeable future, said Dr. Susan Bailey, president of the American Medical Association. Theres no question the situation is better than it was a couple of months ago, said Bailey. However, many health care organizations, including her own, have struggled to obtain PPE. Bailey practices at a 10-doctor allergy clinic and was met with a 10,000-mask minimum when they tried to order N95 respirators. We have not seen evidence of a long-term strategic plan for the manufacture, acquisition and distribution of PPE from the government, said Bailey. The supply chain needs to be strengthened dramatically, and we need less dependence on foreign goods to manufacture our own PPE in the U.S. Some products have now come back to be made in the U.S. although factories are not expected to be able to reach demand until mid-2021. A lot has been done in the last six months, said Rousse. We are largely out of the hole, and we have planted the seeds to render the United States self-sufficient, said Dave Rousse, president of the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry. In 2019, 850 tons of the material used in disposable masks was made in the U.S. Around 10,000 tons is expected to be made in 2021, satisfying perhaps 80% of demand. But PPE is a suite of items including gloves, gowns and face shields not all of which have seen the same success. Thermometers are becoming a real issue, said Cindy Juhas, chief strategy officer of CME, an American health care product distributor. Theyre expecting even a problem with needles and syringes for the amount of vaccines they have to make, she said. Federal government efforts to address the supply chain have foundered. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in charge of the COVID-19 response, told congressional interviewers in June it had no involvement in distributing PPE to hot spots. Project Airbridge, an initiative headed by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trumps son-in-law, flew PPE from international suppliers to the U.S. at taxpayer expense but was phased out. And the government has not responded to the AMAs calls for more distribution data. Arguably, Klein is among the best placed to weather such disruptions. He is part of a 51-hospital chain with purchasing power, and among the institutions that distributors prioritize when selling supplies. But tribulations continue even in hospitals, as shortages have pushed buyers to look directly for manufacturers, often through a swamp of companies that have sprung up overnight. Now distributors are being called upon not just by their traditional customers hospitals and long-term care homes but by nearly every segment of society. First responders, schools, clinics and even food businesses are all buying medical equipment now. Theres going to be lots of other shortages we havent even thought about, said Juhas. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA Montgomery County has seen a significant drop-off in an important coronavirus metric over the past week, according to data released by the county and the state. The county's percent positivity rate on all tests has dropped to 2.76 percent, the lowest in all of eastern Pennsylvania outside of Lackawanna County's 2.0 in the northeast. The number also ranks among the best statewide, with only a handful of other sparsely populated counties performing better. It's such an encouraging metric for Montgomery County, in particular, as the county's population is high and testing demand has increased significantly in recent weeks and months. The county had dropped to a 3.17 positivity rate by July 29, before steadily dropping in the days following. "This is great news," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said in a statement, while urging residents to continue social distancing and wearing masks. "Our low positivity rate is a result of so many Montco residents heeding the call to do the right thing to protect our entire community." Nearby, Bucks County is at 3.5 percent, Chester County is at 3.8 percent, Philadelphia is at 5.5 percent, and Delaware is at 5.9 percent. The statewide average has dropped to 4.0 percent. The county's 14-day positivity rate has been below 5 percent since June 18, officials said. Five percent is generally considered to be the benchmark of what is "concerning" or encouraging. Fifteen counties around Pennsylvania remain over that point. The county's average daily numbers have stayed largely steady for weeks now, with minor increases and decreases. There have been 291 positive cases in the past seven days, an increase over the 272 reported the seven days previous. All told, the county has seen 823 deaths and 10,265 cases of the virus since the pandemic began in the local area in mid-March. This article originally appeared on the Norristown Patch Learn tips for integrating STI screening into your practice work flow in order to identify and screen your patients for sexually transmitted infections. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major public health concern in the United States. STIs are frequently asymptomatic and can lead to significant morbidity if left untreated. In recent years, the prevalence of STIs has risen significantly. Screening guidelines, recommendations, and programs have been developed with the goal of identifying and treating individuals with STIs in order to limit transmission, reinfections, and complications. Though the prevalence of STIs is increasing, screening rates remain lower than desired. Family physicians are in an ideal position to help address the low-screening rates for STIs and aid in early detection of these diseases, thereby preventing transmission and future complications for patients who are affected. The AAFP has a variety of resources to help family physicians with prevention, screening, treatment, and counseling of their patients regarding sexually transmitted infections. These include clinical preventive service recommendations, policies, continuing medical education (CME) courses, journal articles, and a new practice manual. Daily food service losses of $4.2 million. Thirty-two thousand restaurant employees back on unemployment. Permanent closure of beloved eateries. And New Mexico is now meeting all but one of its self-imposed requirements for easing restrictions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Given all of the above, the New Mexico Restaurant Association is justified in asking for the data that led to our state being one of only three in the nation with a complete ban on indoor dining. As representatives told the Journal Editorial Board last week, its past time the state show us the beef. Yes, public safety has to be top of mind given this invisible health threat that has taken more than 700 New Mexicans lives. But Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Human Services Secretary Dr. David Scrase have repeatedly said their decisions are based on scientific data. So it should be relatively simple to provide the data that led them to reinstitute the ban on indoor dining July 13. Its puzzling the information has not been provided to date, considering the many weeks of pointed questions and harsh criticism from the public; the administration should welcome the opportunity to justify its actions and enlighten us all. New Mexico, California and New Jersey are the only states with a 100% ban on indoor dining. After ordering restaurants to immediately halt indoor dining in March when the virus was confirmed in New Mexico, Lujan Grisham allowed them to resume indoor dining June 1 at 50% capacity. But in mid-July, amid rising positive coronavirus tests, she reinstated the ban. Eateries are still allowed to operate patio dining at limited capacity and provide delivery and curbside takeout, but the association says without at least some indoor dining, many restaurants cannot survive. In its lawsuit, the restaurant association says at least 210 restaurants around the state have gone out of business due to the state-ordered closures. When asked for a list supporting that number, the association only provided about a dozen names. Among them are Sandiagos, Cattle Barons Barley Room, Cooperage, Rock-n-Brews, Annes, the original Garcias site, one of The Range restaurants, Freight House, Sweet Tomatoes, Le Peep and Model Pharmacy. Recently, Restaurant LOlivier in Santa Fe announced it would close at the end of August. It just has been too much of a challenge to stay open with only the patio, and all the new regulations, the co-owner of the French cuisine restaurant told patrons in an email. Lujan Grisham administration officials have said indoor dining is unsafe due to the close physical proximity of people and the fact diners cannot wear a face mask while eating. Scrase has said data suggests indoor dining in the United States has been linked to spreading COVID-19. But the restaurant association contends restaurants have accounted for only 16% of the states COVID-19 rapid responses since May, that fewer than 200 restaurant employees have contracted the coronavirus out of more than 23,000 cases, that its unclear if those individuals contracted the virus at work or in their personal lives, and that contact tracing has not shown a single case of a patron contracting the coronavirus in a New Mexico restaurant. The association has filed a public records request asking the state to produce the data justifying the indoor dining ban because none of the documentation so far supports 100% indoor closure. Nobody especially New Mexico restaurant owners wants people to get sick in their place of business. But nobody especially New Mexico restaurant owners wants eateries to close their doors forever. To give credence to the oft-repeated claim that we are all in this together, the governor and her administration need to produce the data they say shows we are all safer with indoor dining off the table. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. The trial of a West Australian police officer accused of murdering a woman in the state's Mid West region last year may be heard in Geraldton if an application by the man's lawyers is successful. The constable, whose identity is suppressed due to safety concerns for his family, pleaded not guilty to the murder of Joyce Clarke when he appeared via video in Perth's District Court on Monday morning. Joyce Clarke was shot dead by police in Geraldton. This photo has been published with the permission of Ms Clarke's family. Credit:Facebook Ms Clarke, 29, was fatally shot last September after her sister called triple-0 asking for help when she began acting erratically. She had days earlier been released from Bandyup Womens Prison after serving time for stealing a mobile phone and then setting fire to her cell because she thought spirits were inside. Keyrenter Property Management, a nationwide leader in residential property management, is growing its presence in the Southeast. The company is proud to announce the addition of a new franchise, Keyrenter Atlanta, in Georgia. Business entrepreneur Edd Stanley is excited to pursue his dream of building his own business after a successful career in information technology. Edd has called Atlanta his home for more than 20 years and is already working with satisfied clients to increase earning potential on investment properties, find qualified tenants and provide accounting services. The Keyrenter business model appealed to me because of the potential to earn residual income, says Edd. Each contract I negotiate will contribute to my bottom line for months or years to come. I also like that property management has the potential for additional revenue streams. Beyond managing properties, I oversee residential improvement projects for investors who arent able to manage the projects for themselves. In his free time, Edd can be found working on home improvement projects around his own home. So, he understands the importance of having the skills and attention to detail to do a project the right way. That understanding helped him create a team of licensed and trained professionals who complete repairs, maintenance, and larger remodeling projects for his clients. I worked behind a desk for most of my career, so I like it when I can be out working in the community and helping my clients, says Edd. Building my own business has been a goal of mine because I watched my father and grandfather build and grow their businesses. My grandfather was a cattle rancher, and my dad owned a small manufacturing business. Im really proud that Im following in their footsteps. Keyrenter Atlanta is part of an aggressive three-year national franchise growth plan. The thriving franchise system anticipates growing to 130 franchise partners through 2022, representing more than a 200% increase in franchise partners over the next three years. Keyrenter expects to achieve $50 million in systemwide revenue by 2022. Keyrenters CEO and Co-Founder, Aaron Marshall, says Edd is a great addition to the Keyrenter team. Keyrenter is excited about this opportunity to establish a presence in Georgia, said Marshall. Edd has a deep understanding of his community and can take on any challenge that comes his way. He is a great addition to the team, and I cant wait to see the growth of Keyrenter Atlanta in the coming years. To request a comprehensive analysis of your rental property call Edd at (404) 490-1111 or visit Keyrenter Atlanta Property Management at: https://keyrenteratlanta.com/. For more information about Keyrenter Property Management franchise opportunities, please visit https://keyrenter.com/franchise/. ### About Keyrenter Property Management Keyrenter Property Management, based in Midvale, Utah, is the nations leading residential property management franchise. Founded in 2007, Keyrenter began franchising in 2014 to help aspiring business owners and real estate brokers capitalize on the more than 43 million households occupied by renters throughout the United States. Keyrenter has quickly grown to 42 territories across 19 states. Thousands of client investors work with Keyrenter franchise partners from coast to coast to manage tens of thousands of properties in their portfolios. As the ratio of renters to buyers continues to rise, Keyrenter plans to expand to 68 or more locations by December 31, 2020. Defined by its core values, Keyrenter is a household name known for its outstanding reputation and ongoing community service efforts powered by Keyrenter Cares. Frequently recognized as one of the Best Places to Work, Keyrenter attracts top talent at the national and local level to make sure all customers receive elite customer service. To learn more about Keyrenter Property Management, please visit https://keyrenter.com/. To learn more about Keyrenter Franchise Opportunities, please visit https://keyrenter.com/franchise/. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug. 17 Trend: The European Azerbaijanis Congress (EAC) held a press conference in the Hague on August 13 dedicated to the attempts of the Armenian lobby to mislead the world community, the State Committee on Affairs with Diaspora of Azerbaijan told Trend. Journalists and a number of officials invited from all over Europe participated in the press conference at Nieuwspoort International Media Center. Speaking at the event, EAC President Sahil Gasimov noted the urgency of holding the press conference despite the COVID-19 pandemic and extremely hot weather in Europe. The reason is that the Armenians, who perfidiously attacked the state border in the direction of Azerbaijans Tovuz district, disseminated fictional and false information about these military provocations in the world media. However, no one has any doubts that the Armenian armed forces relying on their patrons, attacked the state border of Azerbaijan and committed a military provocation, Gasimov added. Moreover, in various cities of Europe and the US, the Azerbaijanis, who fairly protested against the occupation and aggressive policy of Armenia towards our country, were attacked by Armenian provocateurs on the basis of ethnic hatred. EAC has facts, evidence and proofs of the criminal acts committed by the Armenians against our compatriots, the speaker said. The Armenian lobby and journalists, despite the complete revelation of Armenia, are still trying to deceive the world community with false information and fictitious facts. It is unacceptable, because 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands have been occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years," he stressed. "Despite the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan by the United Nations, international organizations and the world community, and the demands for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied territories of our country, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not yet been resolved, said Gasimov. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. He helped save Barney's from liquidation last year and plucked retailers Brooks Brothers and denim apparel maker Lucky Brand out of bankruptcy this month just warmups for Jamie Salter. "I'm in the first inning," said Salter, the 57-year-old chief executive officer of the apparel licensing firm Authentic Brands Group. Salter may not be a household name, but he may be one of the industry's best chances of saving long-loved brands from joining Woolworth and Blockbuster as once-great also-rans. Plenty of retailers were already teetering on the edge of solvency before the coronavirus pandemic hit, accelerating the 44 retail bankruptcies and more than 6,000 store closures already announced this year. That creates opportunity for a company like Authentic Brands Group, which was generating $15 billion in annual retail revenue before Covid-19 emerged from Wuhan, China, eight months ago. He said he recently received a fresh capital infusion of $600 million from backers BlackRock, General Atlantic and Leonard Green & Partners for more deals. So Salter is now sitting on plenty of cash and is on the hunt for deals. "We have over $1 billion in dry powder ... and I didn't leverage the company up," he said in an interview Friday. Authentic Brands and the nation's biggest mall owner Simon Property Group have formed a joint-venture called Sparc, which is paying $140.1 million for Lucky Brand, salvaging its stores and website. And Sparc's bid of $325 million to acquire Brooks Brothers from bankruptcy and save at least 125 stores was just approved and is expected to close later this month. "People are asking me, 'Jamie. Mall-based retail? I don't get it,'" Salter said. "What I am going to say to you is, we need bricks and mortar. Retail really needs it." For an industry that was already struggling to compete with Amazon, the coronavirus pandemic has now pushed dozens of retailers over the edge with permanent store closures mounting by the thousands. And the turmoil is not expected to slow down any time soon. Salter, however, isn't looking to buy just anything. He said he's looking for crippled businesses with good real estate and international recognition. "The brands that don't have stores are harder to market and expand globally," he added. "You need a footprint and a supply chain. Those are two critical parts to running a business." Authentic Brands has a history of saving hobbled retailers. The brands under its umbrella include Barneys New York, Forever 21, Aeropostale, Nautica and Nine West many of the stores in a typical suburban shopping mall. It did its first deal with Simon in 2016 when it bought Aeropostale out of bankruptcy for $243.3 million. A few years later, it paid $81 million, along with Simon Property and Brookfield, for the teen retailer Forever 21. "The mall is still important to building brand value on a global basis," Salter said. Sparc came to fruition after the Aeropostale deal, Sparc CEO Marc Miller said. "We see ourselves becoming the world's leading brand operator," said Miller, who was chief executive officer at Aeropostale. "At a time when retail is under incredible pressure, we have the opportunity to leverage a fixed cost base," he said, explaining that Sparc is able to spread expenses across its multiple brands. "There are scale advantages ... sourcing power. You gain those kinds of economics." And where Simon Property brings expertise in retail real estate and negotiating leases, Authentic Brands Group brings its extensive background in licensing, merchandising and marketing, he said. Shoppers should expect some changes coming to their beloved brands that are acquired by Sparc. Miller and Salter have plans to mix things up at Lucky and Brooks Brothers by expanding the latter into selling men's grooming products. "You want to diversity, diversify, diversify," Salter said. "That is why category expansion is so important when you are buying these brands." Nobel laureate Peter Charles Doherty has echoed similar concerns as his fellow scientists over the safety and efficacy of Russia's COVID-19 vaccine. The Australian researcher expressed his skepticism over the vaccine that Russia rolled out recently in an email interview to news agency PTI. Doherty said that his main worry regarding Russia's vaccine is that if it turns out to be unsafe then people may reject other vaccines as well in fear of them being unsafe too. However, Doherty during the interview added that he is confident of no major safety issues emerging from the vaccine but still is concerned about the refusal of other vaccines it can cause if it fails to deliver. Read: Germany Calls Lukashenko 'dictator', Warns Russia Against Military Interference Russia's vaccine On August 11, Russia announced that it had become the first country to develop a vaccine and authorise it for public use, but experts from across the world doubt the safety of the drug as it has not yet completed advanced trials on humans. Russian President Vladimir Putin had controversially claimed that one of his daughters had been given the vaccine developed in Moscow's Gamaleya institute. Scientists in Russia on several occasions had claimed that they will be the first country to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in the world, even comparing it with the space-race between the US and USSR, when the latter sent the first satellite into space. The vaccine has been named Sputnik V, after the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union. Read: Russia To Conduct Clinical Trials Of Its Controversial Coronavirus Vaccine In Saudi Arabia The World Health Organisation (WHO) on August 14 had said that the vaccine developed by Russia is not among the nine vaccine candidates that it considers to be in the advanced stage, including Oxford and AstraZenecas ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222), which is currently undergoing the final phase of testing. The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also expressed concern about the safety of the drug developed by Russia with White House COVID-19 task force member Dr Anthony Fauci saying that he doubts the accuracy and effectiveness of the vaccine. Read: Russia To Roll Out COVID-19 Vaccine Doses By August End, Production Begins: Report Read: WHO Says Russia's COVID-19 Vaccine Sputnik V Yet To Complete Advanced Trials PITTSBURGH, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Federated Hermes, Inc. today announced that monthly fund composition and performance data for Federated Hermes Premier Municipal Income Fund (NYSE: FMN) as of July 31, 2020, is now available in the Products section of FederatedInvestors.com. To order hard copies of this data or to be placed on a mailing list, call 800-245-0242 x5587538, email [email protected] or write to Federated Hermes, 1001 Liberty Avenue, Floor 23, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. Federated Hermes, Inc. (NYSE: FHI) is a leading global investment manager with $628.8 billion in assets under management as of June 30, 2020. Guided by our conviction that responsible investing is the best way to create wealth over the long term, our investment solutions span 162 equity, fixed-income, alternative/private markets, multi-asset and liquidity management strategies and a range of separately managed account strategies. Providing world-class active investment management and engagement services to more than 11,000 institutions and intermediaries, our clients include corporations, government entities, insurance companies, foundations and endowments, banks and broker/dealers. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Federated Hermes' more than 1,900 employees include those in London, New York, Boston and several other offices worldwide. For more information, visit FederatedHermes.com. ### SOURCE Federated Hermes, Inc. Related Links http://FederatedInvestors.com Athens, GA (30605) Today Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 43F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to cloudy skies and rain overnight. Low 43F. Winds S at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Bengali filmmaker Raj Chakraborty says he has tested Covid-19 positive Singer SP Balasubrahmanyam continues to be on life support: Hospital Over 2,200 vehicles challaned for flouting Covid-19 curbs in Noida Decision on reopening gyms, hotels in Delhi likely on Tuesday 1,829 new cases, 82 deaths in Pune district in 24 hours HT photo Countries around the world raced to develop a vaccine for coronavirus (Covid-19) as the pandemic continues to rage. Worldwide there are at least 21.5 million coronavirus cases and over 765,000 confirmed deaths. The United States remained the global epicentre of the virus, with around a quarter of the cases and deaths. According to figures published on John Hopkins' website, Covid-19 fatalities surpassed 170,000 in the US while the number of cases are more than 5.4 million. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage Brazil, second worst affected nation after the US, confirmed more than 23,000 new cases of infection in the last 24 hours. While the death toll increased by over 600 fatalities. Meanwhile, India eyed global front runners including UKs Oxford-AstraZeneca and United Statess Moderna-NIAID in Covid-19 vaccine plan for possible acquisition discussions. Indias cumulative coronavirus disease cases crossed the 2.64 million mark on Monday and the death toll from the viral pandemic reached 50,921. Follow all the live updates here: KALAMAZOO, MI Following a day of unrest that included a violent clash between alt-right group the Proud Boys and a crowd of counter-protesters, city officials met Sunday, Aug. 16 with area activists and the press to address their response to the situation. City officials were unified in denouncing the Proud Boys hate-mongering message, and said it has no place in Kalamazoo, but Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas said the group achieved what it set out to. The Proud Boys came to town and completed their mission by creating a divisive situation for the community then leaving, hopefully with the chaos continuing, which is their MO, Thomas said. On social media later that night, they were joking about it, that they had created the chaos they had hoped to. The city came under sharp criticism from activists and many in the community on Saturday for what was perceived as slow response time in responding to the clash and for a lack of arrests of any of the Proud Boys, many of whom were seen on videos participating in violent assaults and pepper-spraying counter-protesters. In total, nine people were arrested in relation to the Aug. 15 events, five on lesser charges that were being handled by the City of Kalamazoo, according to Mayor David Anderson. The other four were for more serious charges, being handled by the Kalamazoo County Sheriffs Office, Anderson said. Among those arrested was MLive reporter Samuel Robinson, who was covering the event and recording Facebook Live and Twitter videos for the Kalamazoo Gazette at the time of his arrest. Robinson, who repeatedly identified himself as a journalist, was booked at the county jail for over an hour before bonding out. Related: Charge dropped against MLive reporter, chief apologizes for arrest at Kalamazoo protest He was charged with impeding traffic, a charge that was dropped Sunday. Anderson said he has already spoken with the city attorney about dropping the other four minor charges that were levied against counter-protesters. Thomas, who said she did not believe any Proud Boys were arrested Saturday, stated there were 111 officers from five jurisdictions ready to respond to the event and that an operational plan was in place. Her department began receiving intelligence in July that the Proud Boys may be coming to town, she said, and in recent days, it became apparent that they were likely going to arrive at about 2 p.m. Robinson was on scene when the Proud Boys showed up about 1:30 p.m. and began marching down East Water Street. That is when the clash began between the two groups, both of which had some members who were armed. Thomas said she had officers in an unmarked vehicle on scene and that the department was using aerial surveillance and deployed law enforcement officials immediately upon the initial clash occurring a half-hour earlier than expected. We had officers minutes away, she said, stating they were still in the process of staging many of their officers when events began to unfold. The chief said she needed to review an exact timeline of all of the days events still. It does seem like a long time when Im standing in the operation center, Thomas said. To me its never quick enough. We had a plan and we followed that plan. The Proud Boys got here earlier than anticipated. It was a factor. You watch them all over the country and none of the (responses) are ever 100% perfect. Something works this time and the next time it doesnt work at all. Based on videos footage and first-person accounts, including that of Robinson, it appears there was not a strong police presence until 20-30 minutes after the initial violence began. The rally and counter-protest moved through town with the Proud Boys eventually regrouping in the Radisson parking structure downtown. Soon afterward, as the Proud Boys began to leave most in vehicles without license plates law enforcement officials arrived in numbers and came between exiting Proud Boys and counter-protesters, some of whom were throwing rocks at the Proud Boys cars. That is when Robinson was arrested. Thomas was questioned Sunday as to why no Proud Boys were stopped on their way out of town as they exited the ramp. She said the goal was just to get them out of town and it was not realistic to do traffic enforcement at that point, despite having enough officers to seal off the exits on scene at the parking garage. Our goal was to keep the community safe during this event and that is why we had such a large-scale response and we will continue to do that and learn from that as we create future operational plans, Thomas said. We are a small city of 80,000. This is a new era for us in responding to such events and we are continually learning from them and trying to listen and make change so we can keep this community safe. Also on MLive: Rally turns violent as Proud Boys met by counter-protesters in downtown Kalamazoo MLive reporter arrested while covering violent Proud Boys rally released from police custody Sturgis police chief placed on administrative leave after weekend crash Nervous British families are reining in spending as fears grow about mass job losses, a survey shows. Households have become gloomier about their finances this month and are 'highly pessimistic' about their prospects over the next year, according to information provider IHS Markit. This coincided with people feeling less secure in their jobs and receiving lower incomes, prompting a rising number to take out credit facilities such as overdrafts and credit cards. Households have become gloomier about their finances this month and are 'highly pessimistic' about their prospects over the next year, according to information provider IHS Markit Lewis Cooper, an IHS economist, said the latest data highlighted the 'continued strain' on family finances during the coronavirus pandemic. 'Overall, the data hints at some worrying trends when put in the context of the significant recession facing the UK,' he said. 'Although lockdown measures are looser, households are spending less, earning less and unsure about their jobs, all of which has the ability to add severe friction to the pace of the economic recovery.' Figures also underlined the scale of the economic woes facing the UK, after GDP plunged by 20 per cent in the second quarter. That is the biggest drop so far experienced by any member of the G7 of developed nations. Japan which did not lock down its economy yesterday reported a decline of 7.8 per cent between April and June. France has reported a second-quarter drop in GDP of 13.8 per cent, while Italy's fell 12.4 per cent, Germany's by 10.1 per cent and the US' by 9.5 per cent. Canada is due to report its figures next week, although it is expected to post a fall of around 12 per cent. In Britain, IHS said an index measure of households' perception of their own finances dipped from 41.5 to 40.8p from July to August. Any figure below 50 indicates an expectation that conditions will get worse. The index of households' perception of their future finances also remained firmly below the 50 mark, 'signalling that UK households anticipate their finances will have worsened by August 2021'. Separate figures also revealed that visitors to high streets fell 0.5 per cent last week compared to the previous one, as sweltering temperatures deterred shoppers. However, many were instead tempted by air-conditioned shopping centres, which saw a 2.4 per cent rise in footfall, according to data firm Springboard. However, despite pessimistic predictions, the Bank Of England's chief economist, Andy Haldane, told the Daily Mail last week that Britain was on course for a 'rapid' recovery and may well have clawed back half its losses from the coronavirus crisis. Writing in the Mail, the 52-year-old economist said a recovery in jobs would take longer, but insisted the risks to jobs was receding as spending and business confidence picked up. Several banks have launched the Card-less Cash Withdrawal facility in their ATMs and encourage customers to use the option in these pandemic times. This facility enables customers to withdraw cash securely and conveniently from ATMs. State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, and ICICI Bank among others offer this service to customers. How do I withdraw cash from ATMs without using a debit card? The process of withdrawing cash from ATMs without using a debit card varies among banks. First, customers have to download the respective banks mobile application. If you are an SBI customer, it is the YONO app, Bank of Baroda has BOB MConnect plus and ICICI Bank has iMobile. To initiate the transaction, go to YONO cash option if you are an SBI customer. Tap the cash on mobile option if you are a Bank of Baroda customer or the card-less cash withdrawal section if you are an ICICI Bank customer. After choosing the designated option for cash withdrawal without using a debit card, you need to enter the amount you wish to withdraw, of course within the banks withdrawal limit. Then, to initiate the process and confirm the transaction, you need to enter the banking apps PIN (password). The bank will generate a one-time password (OTP) for the transaction, which will be messaged to you on your registered mobile number. The OTP has a limited validity; for instance an OTP from Bank of Baroda is valid for 15 minutes. You need to use the OTP received on the ATM of the same bank to withdraw cash without using a debit card. Is there a withdrawal limit for using this card-less cash withdrawal facility? Yes, this facility has a daily transaction limit, which allows withdrawal in the range of Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000. It varies among banks. For instance, you can withdraw money up to Rs 5,000 from a Bank of Baroda ATM and up to Rs 20,000 from SBI an ATM without using a debit card. Can I withdraw cash from other bank ATMs? No, this facility can be used only on the respective banks ATMs. For instance, if you are Bank of Baroda customer then you can withdraw cash only from Bank of Baroda ATMs across cities. What are the benefits of card-less cash withdrawal facility to customers? You can withdraw cash at your convenience from an ATM just by using a mobile phone with the banks app installed. Also, this card-less cash withdrawal facility from the banks reduces frauds and skimming of debit cards at ATMs while transacting. What should I do if a withdrawal fails at an ATM after using this facility? If a withdrawal fails at an ATM due to a technical glitch but the amount gets deducted from your account, inform your bank immediately. The amount will be credited back to your bank account within seven working days. Mayor Martin J. Walsh announced on Monday that the city of Boston has signed a contract with the last remaining garment manufacturer in the city, Sterlingwear of Boston, to produce much needed personal protective equipment for first responders. The third-generation family-run business in East Boston will produce up to 150,000 medical gowns for Bostons first responders and front-line workers. During these challenging times, I am pleased that the City of Boston has been able to support a long-time, locally owned business, while producing needed, high-quality PPE to support Bostons first responders, Walsh said. We will continue to support our local and small businesses that employ our residents and fuel our neighborhoods. Shortages of PPE and medical supplies could persist for years without strategic government intervention, according to officials from health care and manufacturing industries. Hospitals and first responders, including fire departments that operate ambulances, had put out calls to anyone, including construction companies, to donate any masks or other medical equipment they are not using. "As a family-owned company now in its third generation Sterlingwear of Boston is no stranger to making high-quality garments for our nation's heroes," said Frank Fredella, CEO and owner of Sterlingwear of Boston. "We're immensely proud to be putting our years of experience in the garment industry to work by manufacturing critically needed PPE for frontline workers during this pandemic. It is fitting that Bostonians will be wearing PPE made right here in their city. We hope they'll wear them with the same pride we take in making them." The company has been making military uniforms for almost every branch of the U.S. military for 55 years from their East Boston factory. Now, Sterlingwear of Boston is expected to manufacture medical gowns for small and local businesses, including community health centers and assisted living and nursing homes. The textile company was set to close after the federal government ended a 45-year contract to manufacture over 1 million traditional U.S. Navy wool peacoats earlier this year. The peacoat has been around since the 1800s where the Dutch navy used the heavy woolen jacket to keep warm at sea. The name peacoat originated from the Dutch word pije, which in Dutch, translates to a coat made from coarse wool fabric. Boston has created a platform to help businesses source the PPE and cleaning supplies they will be required to have available to ensure the safety of employees and customers as industries reopen. The work of garment workers can often go unnoticed, but were thankful to the Greater Boston Labor Council and Mayor Walsh for working with us and Sterlingwear of Boston to highlight the important work that our members do in the needle trades, said Warren Pepicelli, international executive vice president of New England Joint Board of UNITE HERE. This is an important example of why we should value manufacturing work and what is possible when we put our neighbors back to work. UNITE HERE is a labor union that represents 300,000 working people across Canada and the U.S. Related Content: Global Media Alliance (GMA), a market leader in Integrated Marketing Communications, is set to organize the third edition of the GMA Webinar Series to discuss the digital transformation practices in the retail industry in the wake of COVID-19. This comes after two successful previous editions of the webinar series. The webinar will be held on Tuesday, 25th August 2020 at 10 am GMT via Zoom video conferencing platform and will also be broadcasted live on e.TV Ghana. Mr. Martin Ankrah, Project Director for the webinar series, shared expectations ahead of the third edition; The first two webinars were very successful and we received a lot of commendable feedback from our patrons. In the wake of COVID-19, the introduction of certain protocols like social-distancing and stay at home orders have affected sectors such as the retail industry. This edition will bring on experts who will share insights and ideas on the role digital intervention has played in sustaining retail businesses, he expressed. The key resource persons for the third webinar series are Ms. Denise Asare, General Manager, Accra Mall Limited, Mr. Bennet Otoo, PR and Communications Manager, Jumia Ghana, and Mr. Joseph Paddy, Public Relations Officer, Ghana Union of Trade Association (GUTA). The series will be hosted by Fati Ali-Shaibu, a Broadcast Journalist at Global Media Alliance Broadcasting Company. All interested persons can participate in the webinar by registering at gmaworld.com/webinar-series/ The Global Media Alliance webinar series is partnered by e.tv Ghana, Happy FM, YFM, Perception Management International, and Business and Financial Times Newspaper. Global Media Alliance (GMA) is an Integrated Marketing Communications Company with over 20 years of experience and expertise in PR and Media Consultancy, Event Management and Brand Activations, Creative Designs & Production, and Digital Innovations. Source: Peacefmonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A man died after getting stuck inside a steel pipe overnight at Eldorado Park in Arizona, the Scottsdale Police Department said. On Monday morning, a police officer heard faint calls for help and after a search, found they were coming from the Aquatic Center at Eldorado Park, according to a news release. Police said the park was locked and determined a 32-year-old man snuck into the facility by climbing over a fence and got trapped inside one of the cylindrical pipes supporting the water slide. Officer Kevin Watts told AZFamily.com that he had to scale the fence and climb the slide to reach the tube. It wasnt an easy feat, Watts said. It took some work to get down in there. The pipe that the man was trapped in was acting almost like a megaphone, which made it difficult to find his location, police told AZFamily.com. Officers and fire crews were able to talk to the man but he became unresponsive and they determined he had died. It took hours to dismantle the structure and find the mans body. He has been identified but his name is being withheld. Mumbai, Aug 17 : Maharashtra doctors have criticised Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's alleged remarks against the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the medical profession, though the politician denied the charges on Monday. In a chat on a television channel, Raut had reportedly commented on the WHO and raised questions on the doctors vis-a-vis compounders. "The WHO is a useless organisation, because of which the Covid-19 pandemic came," he allegedly said. Irked by the statements, the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) protested while the Indian Medical Association-Maharashtra (IMA-M) on Sunday passed a resolution to condemn Raut's alleged statements. The representatives of all the 216 IMA-M branches also demanded Raut's apology to the entire medical community and withdrawal of his statements. The IMA-M has also written to Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu as Raut is a Rajya Sabha member, apart from Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the matter. However, Raut denied that he had hurt the sentiments of the medical fraternity and thus there was no need for him to say sorry. "I had said that doctors are such a powerful community and they have given us equally strong compounders. This is a matter of credit to them, and they should be rewarded for this," said Raut. He maintained that without understanding the context of his statements, some people from a certain political party have taken to protests though he was criticising the WHO. Raut pointed out that when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had criticised the Indian doctors in London, the medicos in the UK had protested, but none in India objected. IMA-M President Dr Avinash Bhondwe said that 300,000 doctors in the state are working incessantly during the coronavirus pandemic. "Doctors all over the state are working day and night to save the lives of the people of Maharashtra as a duty towards humanity and with the utmost social commitment. Around 50 doctors have lost their lives fighting Covid-19," he said in a statement. "Such disparaging, disrespectful and dishonouring comments by a respectable leader, a journalist, and a Rajya Sabha member have hurt the feelings of doctors in Maharashtra. These slighting and uncomplimentary remarks have damaged the morale of the doctors who are fighting Covid-19 for more than four-and-a-half months now," the IMA-M said. "Nowadays, many Ministers, politicians, social workers are abusing and cursing the doctors at large for no fault of theirs. To criticise the doctors on the social media in demeaning and humiliating language has become a trend these days," the statement read. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Universities have called on the Morrison government to retreat from key elements of its funding shake-up, including significant fee increases for students and a crackdown on academic failure rates. Following the release of draft legislation last week, university groups have for the first time detailed their concerns about the overhaul, which seeks to fund tens of thousands more university places in the coming decade in response to growing demand. Universities have for the first time outlined their objections to the government's funding overhaul. Credit:Steven Siewert The Innovative Research Universities, a grouping of seven institutions including La Trobe University and Western Sydney University, has urged the government to water down a central feature of the package: the steep fee rises for some courses alongside discounts for disciplines deemed "job-relevant". Under the overhaul, humanities courses will more than double in price, with a full year of study costing $14,500. Fees for law and commerce will increase 28 per cent to $14,500. Teaching, nursing, clinical psychology, English, languages, maths and agriculture courses will drop by 46 to 62 per cent, costing $3700. Subjects will fall into four student fee clusters, from cheapest to most expensive, based on national job priorities. World updates: COVID-19 cases surpass 21 million; France South Korea see resurgence Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 10:27 AM The new coronavirus has so far infected 21,468,279 people and claimed the lives of at least 771,181 others across the world since it first emerged late last year, according to figures released by the Johns Hopkins University. The United Kingdom has imposed a 14-day quarantine for people arriving from France as the latter grapples with a resurgence of the coronavirus cases. South Korea, which had managed to bring the outbreak under control, has also seen a jump in cases of the disease, known as COVID-19. South Africa, however, says the country's infection rate has fallen. The following is the latest on the coronavirus pandemic over the past 24 hours: France daily cases surpass 3,000 France has reported an increase in the coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours, as more than 3,000 people were diagnosed with the disease. The Health Ministry reported 3,310 new infections, marking a post-lockdown high for the fourth day in a row. It said the number of clusters being investigated increased by 17 to 252. The new cases pushed the tally to 252,965, nationwide. The country also reported a death toll of 30,410. The resurgence in the cases prompted the government to call on people to wear masks in shared workspaces. It also expanded zones in Paris where wearing a mask is mandatory outdoors. This also has led Britain to impose a 14-day quarantine for people arriving from the country. Ireland says fresh COVID-19 spike 'deeply concerning' Ireland registered 200 additional cases of coronavirus arising from multiple clusters across the country on Saturday, the highest daily amount since the beginning of May. Ireland's chief medical officer Ronan Glynn described the situation as "deeply concerning." "We now have multiple clusters with secondary spread of disease and rising numbers of cases in many parts of the country," he said. "This is deeply concerning. NPHET (Ireland's public health team) will monitor this extremely closely over the coming days." Glynn also advised everyone, especially those over the age of 70 or medically vulnerable, to limit their contacts. South Korea blames religious sect leader for rise in COVID-19 cases South Korea has accused the leader of a religious sect of violating self-isolation rules with President Moon Jae-in warning of "stern and strong measures" against "some churches." The country on Sunday reported 279 new cases, more than double the 103 reported on Friday, with most of the new infections found in and around the capital Seoul. The city posted a record 146 new cases, out of which 107 were linked to Sarang Jeil Church led by Rev. Jun Kwang-hoon, a controversial pastor and an outspoken government critic. The Health Ministry said it will file a complaint against Jun later on Sunday. He accused Jun of participating in a rally on Saturday and "obstructing" epidemiological investigation by failing to submit a full list of church members for testing and tracing. The surge in the infection cases prompted authorities on Sunday to reimpose tighter social distancing curbs. India set to mass produce coronavirus vaccine: Modi Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a speech on Saturday that his government is ready to mass produce vaccines as soon as the scientists give the go-ahead. "Not one, not two, as many as three coronavirus vaccines are being tested in India," he said in the annual celebrations on Sunday. "Along with mass-production, the roadmap for distribution of vaccine to every single Indian in the least possible time is also ready," he added. Modi said his government will also launch a National Digital Health Mission project to roll out health identities for the country's 1.3 billion population. He said every health test, disease, medication and other details will be kept under a health ID. citizen. The country has recorded 2,589,682 cases of COVID-19. South Africa lifts lockdown restrictions Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced a sweeping removal of lockdown restrictions on the economy. "All indications are that South Africa has reached the peak and moved beyond the inflection point of the curve," Ramaphosa said in a televised speech on Saturday. The president said rates of new infections had fallen to an average of 5,000 a day, from a peak of 12,000 a day. He said that the cabinet had decided to move to lower, "level two" restrictions from midnight on Monday. "The move to level two means that we can remove nearly all of the restrictions on the resumption of economic activity across most industries," he added. South Africa, with the fifth highest number of cases in the world, has recorded around 579,000 cases, of whom around 11,500 have died. Brazil registers 41,576 new cases Brazil recorded 41,576 new cases and 709 deaths on Saturday due to the coronavirus, according to the Health Ministry. The country has a total number of 107,232 fatalities and 3,317,096 confirmed cases. Bolsonaro has dismissed the severity of the pandemic, describing it a "little flu" even as his country has had the world's second highest death toll after the United States. The president has also sidelined medical experts in Brazil's handling of the pandemic, pushed back against state and city lockdowns and circulated often in public without a mask, drawing criticism from public health specialists. Mexico needs 200 million vaccine doses; shots could start in April Mexico has registered at least 6,345 new cases of coronavirus infection, bringing the total to 517,714, according to the country's health ministry. The ministry also reported an additional 635 deaths for a total of 56,543 fatalities. A senior government official in Mexico says the country will need up to 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses and inoculation of its 120 million inhabitants could start as early as April. In partnership with Mexico and Argentina, pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca Plc initially plans to produce 150 million doses in early 2021 and eventually make at least 400 million doses for distribution throughout Latin America. A Mexican deputy foreign minister Martha Delgado said AstraZeneca will be able to produce between 30 and 35 million vaccines per month. The vaccine could require two doses to be effective, Delgado said. Mexico's government also has said it is considering other options for bringing a vaccine quickly to its population, the second-largest in Latin America. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Laman Ismayilova Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum has delighted art lovers with another exhibits from its extensive collections. This time the museum provided insight into unique type of pendant. As a result of studies conducted in the country's regions, it was found out that neck decorations used to be produced with pendants of different shapes. The image of a bird pattern is considered one of the most popular patterns used in the Azerbaijani jewelry. Many centuries ago, the connection between a tribe and certain animals was reflected on bronze jewelry in the images of birds such as ducks, pigeons, and roosters. Amulets in the form of birds, most of which were hollow, with triangular slits on the base and a loop on the back, were also widely used at that times. The museum also displayed Azerbaijan's traditional bag known as chanta. This small handbag was made using pile and flat-woven techniques to carry small objects. In ancient times, it was also known as a govlug. There is a strap for hanging on the shoulder. The museums collection stores varicolored and exquisitely decorated bags from the country's regions. Beautiful Shirvan's bag attracts special attention of art lovers. The bag is decorated with male and female figures dressed in traditional costumes. The top of the male figure is decorated with bird patterns, while the bottom of the female figure is adorned with the image of the two-sided comb. There are also some elements on the bag border designed as a symbol of the family's protection. Perhaps this bag was woven for a wedding and kept as a memory of happy days. Founded in 1967, the National Carpet Museum holds more than 14,000 exhibits of the finest Azerbaijani carpets. The museum, initiated by eminent carpet artist Latif Karimov, is beautiful inside and out. The museum's new building is designed in the form of a rolled carpet. The Carpet Museum opened its doors in 2014 at Baku Seaside Park. All carpets were transferred to the museum's new location. Now, the museum hosts multiple events, including international symposiums, conferences and various exhibitions. In 2019, the museum received the national status for its significant contribution in popularization and promotion of the Azerbaijani Carpet Weaving Art. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz San Francisco schools threw open their virtual doors Monday, starting a new academic year with a distance learning game plan officials hope will offer more live instruction than the spring. Until the districts 53,000 students can return to class, they will have to log on for an education with their 3,600 teachers. The stakes are high, with parents fearing a repeat of what was largely a disastrous start to distance learning in the spring, when schools were required to switch to remote instruction overnight. There appeared to be cautious optimism among teachers, parents and administrators that it would be better and that students would not lose out on learning like they did in March, April and May. Teachers have agreed to work seven-hour days, up from four hours in the spring, and have had some training on distance learning. Many have spent the summer months preparing for remote instruction this fall. Kindergarten teacher Angela Owens was nervous Sunday night, anxious to meet her new Sunset Elementary class, but also disappointed she would see them only on a screen. She was a first-year teacher last year, when the pandemic shuttered schools in mid-March. Like all teachers, she scrambled to connect with families and students through the end of the year, mostly meeting with them individually online. Constanza Hevia H./Special to The Chronicle But this year, she and the other kindergarten teachers had a game plan ready to go. On Monday morning at 9:20 a.m., the faces of her 19 students popped up on her screen, some wearing headphones half the size of their little heads, others yawning or spinning in adult-sized office chairs. Hello! Owens said, her voice lively, her facial expressions and body language exaggerated to help bridge connections with students through bits and bytes. I see Jake. I see Riley. I see Bao. I see Shino and Janice and Grayson and Parker! She waved, and they waved back. I am going to be your teacher this year! she said. Were starting the year on the computer. Its going to be so fun! She helped guide the students through Zoom practice sessions, turning the mute button and camera on and off while taking attendance and then sharing some details about herself. I love the color green, and I love turtles and tortoises, and I love kindergartners, she said. One student wandered away for a bit, another sipped a drink, another continued to spin in his chair. Parents hovered in the background, including one mom who wore a Life is better with naps T-shirt. But for the next 4 hours, the students would be at school in this case logged on to Zoom stepping away from the computer for lunch or recess times and turning off their cameras and microphones while they worked on class assignments independently. Owens encouraged parents to get students up and dressed, pack a lunch if desired and send their children to school for the day, even if that meant the kitchen table. Constanza Hevia H. / Special to The Chronicle Many students in San Francisco and other districts across the state received little live instruction in the spring after schools closed, and parents voiced concerns that the fall would be no different. The amount of live learning expected from teachers had to be negotiated between districts and teachers unions. In San Francisco, the agreement calls for two hours of live instruction or live interaction each day, but that could mean individual meetings or small group sessions leaving some students with far less interactive time than others, said school board President Mark Sanchez. I feel like its an open question whether we will be able to engage students anywhere near in-person learning, he said. We want to make sure that ... students have the ability to be engaged two hours a day. Not all students in San Francisco Monday had a full day of learning though. Some spent an hour or two online with teachers and were done by midmorning, with no homework or activities to keep them busy. The schedule was largely dependent on individual teachers or schools. Jennifer Butterfoss said both her children, one in transitional kindergarten and one in third grade, had a pretty smooth first day at Alvarado Elementary. Her third grade daughter spent about 30 minutes online with her teacher and class and then had assignments to do later in the day while the teacher conducted one-on-one sessions with each of her students, a schedule they would likely follow the rest of the week. So far, everything was much better than in the spring, when it was all hands on deck, lets just panic, Butterfoss said. On Monday, my kids were both pretty into it, she said. I think we all sort of know what to expect. But across the district, many parents and students say they hope the pace will pick up, because its still unclear when teachers and students will be able to return to in-person learning, even for a couple of days each week. But the school day will nonetheless be shorter, with a new state law reducing the minimum instructional minutes required during distance learning, with the number varying by grade level. In the meantime, the districts grading policy will go back to the original one used before schools closed, which means middle and high school students will receive letter grades, with transitional kindergarten-5th grade students receiving feedback on their progress. COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California. It could be a month or more until any kind of in-person learning happens in schools, officials said, and depends on coronavirus case counts and hospitalization rates as well as negotiations with unions. The district has been scrambling to get computers into the hands of students and get Wi-Fi hot spots set up. Up to 10,000 students needed devices, according to a spring survey, and 5,000 need internet access. Constanza Hevia H. / Special to The Chronicle San Francisco schools have been facing a $20 million deficit, and despite a $15 million boost from city coffers, will still struggle to pay for all the additional costs associated with distance learning, officials said. One way theyve cut costs is by dropping bus services. But now, officials face a planned protest Thursday by up to 260 school bus drivers, who received layoff notices from their company, First Student, because the district will not continue to pay for the service while schools are shuttered. The district pays $30 million annually for First Student to transport 3,500 students. The layoffs are effective Aug. 31. The bus drivers are not district employees, but are contracted to drive through First Student. We have served the city of San Francisco for 50 years, said union officials, in a statement. And we do not think it is too much to ask that the city find a way to provide for us for a few months so that we are able to return to the job that we are proud to do. In general, however, it appeared that the school year kicked off relatively smoothly, with no major hiccups so far, said Susan Solomon, president of United Educators of San Francisco, which represents the district teachers. Many teachers spent the summer learning new technology and preparing for online learning, she said. With all of the challenges, and they are many and big, actually people ended up feeling good about starting, she said. The thing thats not much different than a regular school year we really do look forward to seeing our kids. During the students hour-long lunch, Owens reflected on the first day. Only one potential student was absent, and it felt a little more like normal school than it did in the spring, she said, but still not the same. She realized she has less control over distractions, making it harder to keep their young attention. Its not like she can tell them, Ignore the fun things that you have in your room and look at the screen, she said. Still, she felt it went OK. Just before 2 p.m. and a goodbye for the day, Owens asked her students to give two thumbs up if they were excited for Day Two and 38 thumbs went up, accompanied by big smiles. Wahoo! Owens said after she logged off. Cuties! Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 17 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: Turkmenistan discussed 36 documents, accepted 2 laws and 16 resolutions of the country's Mejlis (Parliament) from January through July 2020, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistans State News Agency. The statistical data were provided during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan held via videoconference. In addition, the country is currently preparing for the next session of the sixth convocation of the Mejlis, which will be held on August 22. Turkmenistan is also working on the draft constitutional law on amendments and additions to the Constitution of Turkmenistan. A series of meetings and negotiations were organized in the Turkmen Mejlis by video link, Turkmen MP's took part in 52 seminars on improving national legislation, 12 of which were held in video mode during the reporting period. Despite the coronavirus pandemic and its negative impact on the global economy, the current state of the national economy of Turkmenistan continues to develop. Thus, the GDP growth rate in Turkmenistan was 5.7 percent from January through July. Currently Turkmenistan has no registered coronavirus cases. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN An apparent uptick in coronavirus cases in Sunset Park in Brooklyn does not appear to be a "cluster situation" following a test and trace ramp-up in the neighborhood, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. The mayor said Monday that thousands of tests conducted in Sunset Park in the last few weeks reveals that specific households, rather than a neighborhood cluster, seem to be the cause of an uptick in COVID-19 cases. The city ramped up testing in Sunset Park after 228 of 3,300 tests in the last few weeks came back positive for the virus. "We do not see a cluster situation at this point in Sunset Park," de Blasio said Monday. "We do see individual households with specific problems and those households are being engaged intently to make sure they quarantine that they safely separate." The mayor said the city has tested 5,200 people since July 29 in Sunset Park, though he did not say how many total positive cases the testing blitz revealed. Health officials have knocked on more than 7,300 doors and done 77,000 robocalls and 35,000 live calls in the neighborhood since announcing they'd be looking into the spike last Wednesday. Sunset Park residents should still get tested to help health officials trace the virus, de Blasio said. "If you live in Sunset Park and you havent yet been tested, or you havent been tested recently, please take advantage of this free testing it will help us all," he said Monday. That free testing includes mobile testing sites deployed last week in Sunset Park and testing available at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. Residents can catch a shuttle to the Army Terminal from two street corners in Sunset Park. (NYC Mayor's Office). De Blasio also warned against residents in Sunset Park gathering in large groups. Over the weekend, two raves with more than 100 people were busted in the neighborhood. "Its just unacceptable," de Blasio said about the illegal parties. "You cannot organize a large gathering thats going to put peoples lives in danger or youre going to suffer the consequences." This story will be updated with more details from the health department as they become available. This article originally appeared on the Park Slope Patch Testing shortages and delays have been major sources of frustration amid the coronavirus pandemic. Now, a new saliva test could give Americans a fast and inexpensive option to learn if they have COVID-19. According to a report by CNN the SalivaDirect test, created by researchers from the Yale School of Public Health, received emergency-use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration on Saturday. The SalivaDirect test for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 [the novel coronavirus] is yet another testing innovation game changer that will reduce the demand for scarce testing resources, said Adm. Brett Giroir, the U.S. official in charge of COVID-19 testing efforts, the report quoted. The report said that the SalivaDirect test doesnt require a specific swab or collection device, unlike some other tests that require specialized supplies, and it can also be used with reagents from multiple vendors. "We simplified the test so that it only costs a couple of dollars for reagents, and we expect that labs will only charge about $10 per sample," said Nathan Grubaugh, a Yale assistant professor of epidemiology. If cheap alternatives like SalivaDirect can be implemented across the country, we may finally get a handle on this pandemic, even before a vaccine, the report quoted. How fast and accurate is the test? According to the report, researchers said the new test can produce results in less than three hours, and the accuracy is on par with results from traditional nasal swabbing. They said SalivaDirect tests could become publicly available in the coming weeks. The FDA said that Yale plans to publish its protocol as open-source, which means that designated labs could follow the protocol to perform their own tests according to Yales instructions, the report cited. Among the groups that funded research for the test was the NBA, which currently uses the method to test for nonsymptomatic carriers of the virus, the report said. The report said that some Americans still have to wait days to receive their testing results. Groups like the American Medical Association are now asking the federal government for priority guidelines to help fast-track those who need their tests and results urgently. According to the COVID Tracking Project, 17 states performed fewer tests this past week, in comparison with the previous week. So, the news of SalivaDirect comes at a critical time, the report said. While testing has gone down in 17 states, according to the Covid Tracking Project, test positivity rates have increased in 34 states, which means a higher percentage of tests being performed are turning out to be positive. Decrease in COVID-19 case counts likely due to decrease in testing. The report noted that while daily COVID-19 case counts are decreasing in parts of the U.S., Dr. Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute said that some of those decreases are likely because of decreases in testing. Testing has also fallen by about 20% to 30%, and so the picture is a little bit muddy, he said. Trending: more than 1,000 U.S. COVID-19 deaths a day. Whats clearer, the report said, is Americas disturbing trend of topping 1,000 COVID-19 deaths a day. According to data from Johns Hopkins University and the COVID Tracking Project, through Saturday, the U.S. has seen more than 1,000 new deaths a day for 16 of the past 20 days, the report cited. Jha said hes hopeful the rate of deaths will go down. But even if it comes down to 800 deaths a day, thats 24,000 Americans dying every month, the report quoted Jha. As of 12 p.m. Aug. 17, 2020, the Pa. Department of Health reports that there are 124,844 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. There are at least 7,468 reported deaths from the virus.Edward Sutelan READ MORE: Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work. NVIDIA has announced it will run a digital version of its GTC conference from October 5th-9th. Therell be a keynote from CEO and founder Jensen Huang on the first day of the event at 9AM ET. Thatll mark his second GTC keynote of the year. The conference will cover innovations in artificial intelligence, graphics, virtual reality and much more across a swathe of industries and government services. NVIDIA will host localized streams during the event for North America, Europe, Israel, India, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. Therell be four hours of live programming per day in each region, such as Q&As, as well as on-demand sessions. Therell be more than 500 sessions in total, along with 16 full-day workshops. Much of the attention will be on Huangs keynote, however. He tends to reveal a heap of news during those. Though NVIDIA will unveil its next-gen graphics cards next month, we could learn a bit more about the future of GeForce at GTC too. South Africa: International travel restrictions, curfew remain under level 2 While South Africa will move to alert level 2 of the national lockdown at midnight on 17 August 2020, current restrictions such as international travel will remain in place to minimise the spread of Coronavirus. In addition, the country will maintain its 50 people limit on gatherings, which among others, include funerals and religious events. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced Cabinets decision to move the entire country to alert level 2 on Saturday night. The Presidents announcement comes as the country marked five months since it declared a national state of disaster to combat the Coronavirus pandemic. As we look back at the past five months, all indications are that South Africa has reached the peak and moved beyond the inflection point of the curve. Most of our health facilities have proven resilient, capable and able to withstand and deal with the surge, said the President. According to the President, modelled projections of infections, hospitalisation and deaths have had to be adjusted downwards, as the country is recording better progress in the management of the disease. The move to level 2 means that we can remove nearly all of the restrictions on the resumption of economic activity across most industries, said the President. In terms of governments risk adjusted strategy in dealing with the pandemic, alert level 2 means that there is a moderate COVID-19 spread, with a relatively high level of readiness in the health system. While the country moves to increase economic activity, the President stressed that some measures will remain in place to limit transmission and protect the countrys health capacity. Restrictions In this regard, spectators will not be permitted at sporting events, and the curfew between the hours of 10pm and 4am will remain in place. In an act to balance lives and livelihoods, the President encouraged people to stay at home if they can and, if possible, to work from home, especially if they are over the age of 60 or have underlying conditions. In order to keep the remaining restrictions in place and to maintain some of the essential elements of the health response, the President extended the national state of disaster until 15 September 2020. With this new phase of our response, we need to put in place the practices and forms of behaviour that we must continue to adopt for some time to come. This virus will remain with us for many months and I must applaud the many South Africans who have changed their way of life to meet that reality, said the President. With the potential of a second wave still on the cards, President Ramaphosa urged citizens to maintain the hygiene protocols of washing and sanitising of hands, observing social distancing and wearing masks. Familiarity with each other should not allow us to forget these precautions, he said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. MONDAY'S DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION LINE UP Eva Longoria, MC Bennie Thompson, Convention chair and Miss. representative Gwen Moore, Wis. representative Muriel Bowser, Washington D.C. mayor Leon Bridges, singer Jim Clyburn, House Majority Whip and S.C. representative Andrew Cuomo, New York Governor Maggie Rogers, singer Gretchen Whitmer, Mich. governor John Kasich, former Republican Ohio governor Doug Jones, Ala. senator Catherine Cortez Mastro, Nev. senator Amy Klobuchar, Minn. senator Bernie Sanders, Vt. senator Michelle Obama, former first lady Billy Porter and Steven Stills, singers Advertisement The first-ever completely virtual Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday with former first lady Michelle Obama as the headliner and progressive Senator Bernie Sanders serving as her opening act. Despite the remote format complete with pre-recorded and live call-ins, the four-night event will still host a series of big name Democrats, musical acts and even former Republian Ohio Governor John Kaisch. Kasich will speak Monday night and plead with Republicans watching and those who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 to cast their ballot instead for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden in November. Obama is likely to be one of the most-watched speakers of the whole convention if not the most watched, ensuring the events launch with a bang Monday despite the unconventional set up this year. Sanders will speak directly before Obama and introduce one of the most famous Democrats in America, next to her husband former President Barack Obama, who will be the main event on Wednesday night. The Vermont independent a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist will exhibit the progressive wing's support for Biden, who will accept the party's nomination on Thursday, the last night of the convention. Biden's vice presidential pick, California Senator Kamala Harris, will speak Wednesday. Her candidacy has motivated more far-left individuals to support Biden's candidacy as Harris has emerged as one of the most liberal-voting members of the U.S. Senate this last year. Former first lady Michelle Obama will headline the first-ever fully virtual Democratic National Convention's kick-off on Monday night and is expected to be one of the most watched speakers Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders will speak directly before Obama to tee-up viewers for her appearance and exhibit the progressive wing's support for presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden Former Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich, who ran in the Republican presidential primary in 2000 and 2016, will urge Republicans and those who voted for Donald Trump in the last election to cast their ballot this time around for Biden Some progressives are reassured that her running with Biden will pull his more middle-of-the-line policies to the left. While a flurry of smaller meetings and speakers will take place earlier in the day throughout the convention, the main events begin live streaming at 9:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and are expected to wrap up around 11:00 p.m. Kasich ran against Trump in 2016 for the Republican primary and was among the top four candidates behind the now-president and Senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz he also ran an unsuccessful campaign for president in 2000. He is one of the lone Republicans speaking at the Democratic convention, which was initially slated to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin a state largely ignored by Democrats in 2016 and considered to be one of the states that cost Hillary Clinton the election. Notably, Kasich has a lot of pull in his home state of Ohio, a swing state that went red in 2016. He even won the Republican primary there in 2016 with 46.8 per cent of the vote to Trump's 35.6 per cent, which earned him second place. Ohio voted for Trump in the general election in the last cycle with 51.3 per cent going red and 43.2 per cent casting their ballot for Clinton who will also speak at the convention later this week. Monday's events will include live-streamed musical performances from Maggie Rogers (left) and Leon Bridges (right) before Sanders and Obama's remarks Actress Eva Longoria is on the list of those who will appear at the virtual convention, and there are rumors she will act as MC for Monday's events TRUMP RAILS AGAINST BIDEN'S 'BASEMENT CAMPAIGN' President Donald Trump is highly critical of Joe Biden maintaining a mostly virtual campaign presence from a television studio erected in the basement of his Wilmington, Delaware home. During an interview with Fox & Friends on Monday, Trump said Biden won't leave his basement because 'he can't speak any longer,' a reference to the gaffe-prone candidate often getting tongue-tied. 'You can't have a guy that shot,' Trump said of Biden. 'You can have a guy that doesn't know where he is. You can't have a guy that's afraid to leave his basement because he can't speak any longer.' He also claimed people would vote for Biden because they feel bad for him. 'Joe is shot, let's face it, Joe is shot,' he reiterated to the Fox & Friends panel. 'Now, maybe people are gonna feel sorry for him and maybe they wouldn't but our country is too important for that.' 'You can't feel sorry for him and vote for him and because of that reason the Kamala Harris's are going to take over. She's a disaster,' Trump said, speaking of Biden's running mate. Advertisement Other than big name politicians and political figures, Monday's convention events will also feature musical performances from Maggie Rogers and Leon Bridges. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, once a 2020 Democratic primary rival against Biden, will be among the first speakers to kick off the convention with remarks Monday night. Klobuchar told CNN Monday morning that her speech will focus 'the fact that we have such unity in our party and that we are unified behind Joe Biden, who is someone that's going to bring competence, his compassion to the White House.' Also speaking Monday are New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is likely to focus on Trump's short fallings in response to the coronavirus pandemic; Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who was once considered a top contender to become Biden's running mate and House Majority Whip Representative Jim Clyburn. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto; 2020 Convention Chairman and Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson; Wisconsin Representative Gwen Moore and Alabama Senator Senator Doug Jones will also make virtual remarks. While the convention kicks off, President Donald Trump is spending Monday in Minnesota and Wisconsin delivering remarks on jobs and the economy in the midst of an economic crisis due to fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Trump often rails against Biden for transforming his basement into a makeshift television studio and making almost all public appearances virtually from there since the campaign was thrown for a loop with the rise of COVID-19. Biden has made few public appearances outside of his home studio in Delaware, with the exception of a few in-person remarks with socially-distanced reporters in an open area. Notably, he and Harris made remarks in a gymnasium in his home town of Wilmington last week the day after he announced the California senator as his running mate. Trump says Biden's campaign is using a 'basement' strategy to make sure people see as little of the candidate as possible. Biden's campaign has been very cautious in the age of coronavirus, and the candidate created a makeshift studio in his basement in his Delaware home where he now makes most of his appearances for media interviews or virtual campaign events During a Monday morning call-in interview with Fox & Friends, Trump railed against his Democratic competition. 'You can't have a guy that shot,' Trump lamented when speaking of Biden. 'You can have a guy that doesn't know where he is.' 'You can't have a guy that's afraid to leave his basement because he can't speak any longer,' he added. He also suggested that people would end up voting for Biden in November because they feel bad for him. 'Joe is shot, let's face it, Joe is shot,' he reiterated. 'Now, maybe people are gonna feel sorry for him and maybe they wouldn't but our country is too important for that.' 'You can't feel sorry for him and vote for him and because of that reason the Kamala Harris's are going to take over. She's a disaster,' Trump said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 00:49:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People wheel the wounded to the ward after a blast in Mogadishu, Somalia, Aug. 16, 2020. At least eight people, including three suspected attackers, were confirmed dead, and 28 others injured in the ongoing attack at a popular hotel in Somalia capital Mogadishu on Sunday, a government official confirmed. (Photo by Hassan Bashi/Xinhua) MOGADISHU, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- At least eight people, including three suspected attackers, were confirmed dead, and 28 others injured in the ongoing attack at a popular hotel in Somalia capital Mogadishu on Sunday, a government official confirmed. Ismael Mukhtar Omar, government spokesman, said four civilians and a director in the ministry of information were among those killed by the terrorists who rammed a car bomb into the Elite Hotel in Liido Beach before storming inside the popular facility. "So far we have confirmed five people including a government official were killed in the attack. Security forces also shot dead two al-Shabab fighters. Al-Shabab driver was also killed inside the car he used to detonate the bomb," Omar told Xinhua by phone. He said the attackers entered the Elite hotel after setting off a car bomb outside the hotel entrance. The hotel is one of the newly built upscale beachside hotels frequented by young people and the city's elite. Omar said the attackers are holed up on the fifth floor of the hotel and have been restrained from the floor. "Now the situation is close and al-Shabab fighters have been restrained from crossing the floor, "said Omar. Sources said a fierce gunfight was still ongoing inside the hotel. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, but al-Qaida allied group al-Shabab had conducted such attacks in the past. Enditem NCC all set for a major expansion to cover 173 border and coastal districts India - Press Information Bureau Posted On: 16 AUG 2020 9:47AM by PIB Delhi Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved a proposal of the National Cadet Corps for a major expansion scheme to meet the aspirations of youth in all the border and coastal districts. The proposals of the scheme were announced by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on 15 Aug. A total of one lakh cadets from 173 border and coastal districts will be inducted in the NCC. One-third of the Cadets would be girl Cadets. More than 1000 schools and colleges have been identified in border and coastal districts where NCC will be introduced. As part of the expansion plan, a total of 83 NCC units will be upgraded (Army 53, Navy 20, Air Force 10), to impart NCC training to the cadets in the border and coastal areas. Army will provide training and administrative support to the NCC units located in the border areas, Navy shall provide support to NCC units in the coastal areas and similarly Air Force will provide support to the NCC units located close to the Air Force stations. This will not only provide exposure to the youth of the border and coastal areas to military training and disciplined way of life but will also motivate them to join the armed forces. The NCC expansion plan will be implemented in partnership with the States. **** ABB/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy/ADA (Release ID: 1646237) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Srinagar, Aug 17 : A terrorist was killed in an encounter with the security forces, hours after two CRPF personnel and a Special Police Officer (SPO) of the J&K Police were killed in a militant attack at Kreeri in North Kashmir's Baramulla district on Monday. The security forces had launched an operation immediately after the attack to track down the terrorists who had escaped from the spot. "Encounter has started at Kreeri area of Baramulla. So far one attacker had been killed. Police and security forces are on the job. Operation going on," J&K Police said. Inspector-General (IG) Police Vijay Kumar told reporters that three terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) were behind the attack and an operation is underway to nab them. -- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed AVON, Ohio -- Police departments are always looking for new tools to help them carry out their duties. But usually they dont depend on winning something that will do the job. Avon Police Department Capt. Larry Fischbach and patrol officer and school resource officer David Layne are responsible for the addition of a Recon Police Powered Bike to the departments inventory. Layne approached Fischbach in May about entering a contest in Police Magazine for an electric bicycle. Fischbach thought it was a great idea, but neither really thought they would win the contest. Surprisingly, they were notified of their win just a couple of weeks ago. So, what will the bike bring to the police department? Theres a lot more people in the parks and walkers walking the trails, said Public Information Officer Jim Drozdowski. The presence of the officers is a safety measure, as well as a conversation piece. Drozdowski said Layne uses his current pedal-powered bike, one of five in the department, to patrol residential and business areas The electric bike will allow for faster response to calls, and with its heavy-duty design, (the officers) can easily take it off road on the many trails in and around Avon when needed, Drozdowski said. Layne works one-half to three-fourths of his shift on a bike. He noted that he now has about 30 miles on the electric bike and it still has a good charge. The bike weighs about 75 pounds, said Drozdowski, as opposed to the other bikes coming in at about 25 pounds each. It has a range of about 50 miles per charge. But the biggest aspect for the officers is that it takes a lot less work to ride the bike. Its very quiet, said Drozdowski. It has a heavy-duty frame and the tires can go on trails. We can get into more difficult areas more quickly, and response times are quicker. The department is evaluating the electric bike for its overall efficiency and may consider a gradual replacement of the other four regular bikes. Cost for the electric bike runs about $1,500. Drozdowski indicated that the move to electric bikes may signal another partnership police officers can have with residents. Anytime residents partner with their local police agency, it is a benefit for the entire community, he said. It shows the residents have trust in their local law enforcement. Read more from the Sun Sentinel. Scotts post about Peggy Noonan, and in particular her writing about Kamala Harris, reminded me of Noonans treatment of another candidate for Vice President, Sarah Palin. Noonans utterances about Palin in 2008, which I described here, fit well within the unfortunate pattern Scott describes. Noonans first published take on Palin was basically the Republican Party line at the time that the nominee represents a real and present danger to the American left which therefore needs to kill her. Thats what she wrote in the Wall Street Journal. But it wasnt what she believed. How do we know? Because at the Republican National Convention, a few days after writing her column, Noonan was captured, on a mic she thought was dead, saying that McCain had blown it by selecting Palin as his running mate. So much for the danger to the left. In expressing this view, Noonan used a barnyard word for which she apologized profusely. This was a great way of diverting attention from the real problem with her statement that it contradicted what she had just written. Noonan, of course, did not apologize for writing a column that didnt express her actual view of the Palin nomination. As the campaign rolled on, Noonans writings about Palin started to align with what she had said at the Convention when she thought her mic was dead. Indeed, she argued that Palin epitomizes whats wrong with conservatives. Noonan also started presenting herself as a victim of the pro-Palin sentiment that continued to prevail among many conservatives. She complained that conservatives who criticize Palin were being shunned by their fellow conservatives in an attempt[] to silence critics. She confused robust criticism of her arguments with an attempt to shut her up. Reacting to the alleged attempt to silence her on the subject of Palin, Noonan began one of her columns by citing Edmund Burkes admonition that writers owe their readers their judgment, and that they betray their readers if they present what may or may not be their opinion. But this was precisely the betrayal of Noonans initial column on Palin. Noonans utterances about Sarah Palin in 2008 betray a lack of candor and, relatedly, an excessive concern over what people say about the opinions she expresses. The latter trait will tend to undermine a pundits value. The former will destroy it. It can be frustrating to watch a film that doesnt seem to understand its own strengths; its downright maddening to watch three of them. With Peninsula (stylized for its North American release as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula), director Yeon Sang-ho has now made an entire trilogy of exuberant, maximalist, and ultimately tiresome zombie movies that cannibalize their best ideas in a crazed dash towards mediocrity. This erratic and derivative new chapter is by far the most chewed up of the three, as its outsized ambition (or at least its scale) makes it that much easier to see how . At the end of a summer that weve all just been trying to survive, theres definitely some fun to be found in a go-for-broke action saga that isnt afraid to play around with the inhumanity that tends to follow a pandemic, but Peninsula is just another two hours of screaming at all the self-sabotage you see on your TV. Set in the same world as Train to Busan and Seoul Station (but sharing none of the same characters from Yeons crossover hit or its stilted animated prequel), Peninsula continues the series tradition of hitting the ground at a full sprint and ensnaring you with a strong hook. While most of the film is set four years after the fast-acting zombie outbreak seen in the previous installments, the story kicks off with a Z-day prologue that forefronts all of the things this trilogy does best. More from IndieWire A mysterious plague has just begun to sweep across Korea, and military man Jung-seok (Haunters star Gang Dong-won) is speeding his family to the ferry that will take them to the safety of Japan; hes too scared and self-concerned to stop for anything, even the desperate mother and her two young kids who plead for help on the side of the road. All seems well once Jung-seok makes it to the crowded boat, but it only takes one infected passenger for things to go south in a hurry, and just a few minutes later Jung-seok is watching his nephew feast on his sister in agonized slow-motion (echoes of the MV Sewol tragedy are even more pronounced here than they were in Train to Busan). Story continues When we reconnect with Jung-seok and his widowed brother-in-law (Kim Do-yoon) in the present, theyre scraping by in a Hong Kong thats afflicted by virulent prejudice against Korean refugees the phrase China Virus comes to mind. As we learn during an inexplicable exposition dump in which some random white guy brings us up to speed while guesting on a late night talk show, North Korea is the only part of the peninsula that hasnt been overrun by the walking dead (no logical reason is given for this strange quirk of fate, so were left to assume that zombies just have a lot of respect for the DMZ not that this tantalizing bit of world-building is ever the least bit relevant to the story). Awkwardness aside, this setup is basically the triple Yahtzee of Yeons auteurist touch: Flesh-eaters in confined spaces, Hobbesian incivility between strangers, and ultra-violence that walks the line between slapstick and tragedy. By the time a gangster hires Jung-seok and his brother-in-law to slip back into zombie-infested Incheon and steal one of the massive caches of money that was left behind in the exodus, it seems as if Yeon has successfully managed to scale his vision up to blockbuster size without letting things get away from him (and done so on a tight $16 million budget). The first big set piece back on Korean soil betrays a few of the more obvious cost-cutting measures the dreary fuzz of the computer-generated Incheon cityscapes during the nighttime heist is almost as video game-like as the car chase that follows but the films irreverent tone excuses much of its shoddiness. Its only during the third act that it really starts to feel like Yeons pockets arent deep enough for what hes trying to do. Before that, most of the movie is devoted to lame dialogue scenes between kooky characters in cramped ruins who just want to find a way out of this story altogether; Yeons take on the genre might be inspired by the horde mentality of World War Z and its rotting waves of the undead, but Peninsula itself owes more to DIY post-apocalyptic visions like Escape from New York and The Road Warrior. And for much of the first act, Peninsula is able to channel large-scale zombie spectacle through a confined setting and convey the palpable feeling of a world overrun. The heist angle isnt as strong a hook as the narrow train cars from the previous movie, but some fun characters show up to buoy the action once Jung-seoks party is ambushed by the demented remnants of a rogue militia called Unit 631. Our hero is rescued from the attack by two scrappy little girls (Lee Re and Lee Ye-won) whove grown up in the wasteland, rock a solid day-glo aesthetic, and think of the zombies and the soldiers as their play toys their six years old and already out of fucks to give attitude is a nice contrast against Jung-seoks permanent state of panic, and the girls even come with their own kooky grandpa character (Kwon Hae-hyo) to keep the focus on the family. Despite how Jung-seok and his brother-in-law are warned not to screw up trying to save each other, Peninsula is predictably keen on exploring the flaws of such self-preservation, and how the continued survival of our species is dependent upon our rejection of capitalism, racism, and the rest of the dehumanizing forces that drove us against each other even before the whole world got sick of each other. The good guys save Jung-seok because its the right thing to do; the bad guys force his brother-in-law to participate in a trite zombie fight club for their own sick amusement (yes, weve reached a point in movie history where the idea of a zombie fight club can feel trite). But Yeons script explores this stuff with the disinterest of a first draft and wastes its unique setting on a paint-by-numbers plot; the preamble might tease a politically-tinged examination of empathy and self-interest, but all of that is tossed aside in favor of internecine squabbles and limp inevitabilities. Did these people even watch 28 Days Later? Keeping zombies alive for sport never ends well! The idea of South Koreans fleeing to the zombie-free North is never unpacked, the worlds treatment of Korean refugees becomes a moot point once the movie arrives at Incheon, and Jung-seok himself is an unremarkable protagonist whose festering sense of guilt becomes the closest thing the film has to a coherent emotional arc. The redemption arc that Yeon contrives for him hinges on an unforgivably stupid narrative convenience that should have been tweaked long before anyone got to set. You can feel the air wheezing out of the bag as Peninsula tries to downshift away from a more nuanced portrait of post-apocalyptic living. Yeon eventually just throws his hands up and surrenders to the cheesy spectacle of it all with a frenzied third act that finds the entire cast in a death race to the border. Its here in an amusingly unmoored but ultimately exhausting sequence that looks like someone trying to recreate Fury Road on a Nintendo 64 that Yeon stops being able to afford his own ambition, and the films budget suddenly feels like a rubber band stretched over a hula-hoop. A trained animator who isnt afraid to abandon verisimilitude the moment it threatens to get in the way of a good time, Yeon mines a certain Speed Racer-esque delirium from the cartoonish finale, but the comicality of this mayhem doesnt square with the rest of a movie that, at one point, had more serious things on its mind. By the time Peninsula clumsily arrives at its closing statement about the possibility of forgiveness, you cant help but wonder if this entire franchise is beyond salvation. Grade: C- Well Go USA will release Peninsula in theaters and on VOD on Friday, August 21st. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. HAMILTON, Bermuda, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Government of Bermuda (the "Government") announced today the final results of its previously announced offers to purchase for cash (the "Tender Offers") up to $500,000,000 aggregate principal amount (as such amount may be increased in the sole discretion of the Government, the "Aggregate Maximum Tender Amount") of its outstanding 4.138% Senior Notes due 2023 (the "2023 Notes"), 4.854% Senior Notes due 2024 (the "2024 Notes"), 3.717% Senior Notes due 2027 (the "2027 Notes") and 4.750% Senior Notes due 2029 (the "2029 Notes" and, together with the 2023 Notes, the 2024 Notes and the 2027 Notes, the "Existing Notes"). The Tender Offers expired at 8:00 a.m., New York City time, on August 17, 2020 (the "Expiration Time"). The terms and conditions of the Tender Offers are set forth in the offer to purchase, dated August 10, 2020 (the "Offer to Purchase"). The Offer to Purchase, as well as other relevant notices and documents, are available on the website for the Tender offers, http://www.gbsc-usa.com/Bermuda, operated by the Tender and Information Agent. The table below sets forth the aggregate principal amount of each series of Existing Notes validly tendered at or prior to the Expiration Time. Description of Existing Notes Principal Amount Outstanding Principal Amount Validly Tendered at or Prior to the Expiration Time Percentage of Amount Outstanding Tendered 4.138% Senior Notes due 2023 $475,000,000 $121,095,000 25.49% 4.854% Senior Notes due 2024 $550,000,000 $147,797,000 26.87% 3.717% Senior Notes due 2027 $665,000,000 $97,914,000 14.72% 4.750% Senior Notes due 2029 $620,000,000 $170,732,000 27.54% Total $537,538,000 Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, payment for Existing Notes accepted for purchase will be made on the Settlement Date, which is expected to occur on August 20, 2020 (the "Settlement Date"). Holders whose Existing Notes are accepted for purchase in the Tender Offers will also receive any accrued and unpaid interest on their Existing Notes from, and including, the last interest payment date for such Existing Notes to, but excluding, the Settlement Date ("Accrued Interest"). Accrued Interest will be payable on the Settlement Date. Settlement of the Tender Offers is conditioned, among other things, on the closing of an offering of new notes (the "New Notes") by the Government (the "New Notes Offering"), which is intended to be consummated prior to or concurrently with the Tender Offers. The Government will announce the applicable purchase price for each series of Existing Notes, the aggregate principal amounts of tenders of each series of Existing Notes that have been accepted for purchase and whether any proration of tenders of each series of Existing Notes has occurred, in a separate press release. Allocations in the New Notes Offering will be determined by the Government and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC ("GS") and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. ("HSBC"), in their capacity as initial purchasers in the New Notes Offering, based on a number of factors, which may include an assessment of an investor's long term interest in owning debt securities issued by the Government, the size and timing of such investor's indication of interest in purchasing New Notes, and the aggregate principal amount of all tenders in the Tender Offers. However, neither the Government, GS nor HSBC is obligated to consider participation in the Tender Offers in making an allocation determination with respect to the New Notes with regard to any particular investor. The Government reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to not accept any tender for any reason or to extend, re-open, amend or terminate the Tender Offers, in its sole discretion. The Dealer Managers for the Tender Offers are: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC 200 West Street New York, New York 10282 United States Attn: Liability Management Group Collect: +1 (212) 357-1452 Toll-Free: +1 (800) 828-3182 Email: [email protected] HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. 452 Fifth Avenue New York, New York 10018 United States Attn: Global Liability Management Group Collect: +1 (212) 525-5552 Toll-Free: +1 (888) HSBC 4LM Questions regarding the Tender Offers may be directed to the Dealer Managers at the above contacts. The Tender and Information Agent for the Tender Offers is Global Bondholder Services Corporation. Global Bondholder Services Corporation 65 Broadway, Suite 404 New York, New York 10006 United States Banks and Brokers call: +1 (212) 430-3774 Toll-Free: +1 (866) 470-4200 Email: [email protected] By facsimile: (for Eligible Institutions only): +1 (212) 430-3775 Confirmation: +1 (212) 430-3774 Holders of Existing Notes are urged to read the Offer to Purchase carefully. Any questions or requests for assistance in relation to the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Dealer Managers at their respective telephone number set forth above or to the holder's broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Tender Offers. Requests for additional copies of the Offer to Purchase may be directed to the Tender and Information Agent at the address and telephone number set forth above. * * * This release shall not be construed as an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any of the Existing Notes or any other securities. The Tender Offers were not made in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. None of the Government, the Bank of New York Mellon as trustee for each series of Existing Notes, the Dealer Managers or the Tender and Information Agent makes any recommendation as to whether or not holders should tender their Existing Notes pursuant to the Tender Offers. * * * Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "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. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Government, to be materially different from any future results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses the Government has made in light of its experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. The Government cautions you that a number of important factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. The information contained in this press release identifies important factors that could cause such differences. The Government undertakes no obligation to update any of its forward-looking statements. * * * SOURCE The Government of Bermuda US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and White House advisor Jared Kushner said Monday it would be in Saudi Arabia's interest to normalise ties with Israel as the United Arab Emirates has agreed to do. It would also weaken their common foe Iran's influence in the region and ultimately help the Palestinians, Kushner told reporters during a telephone briefing. "It would be very good for Saudi business, it would very good for Saudi's defence, and, quite frankly, I think it would also help the Palestinian people," Kushner said. Saudi Arabia, the Arab world's biggest economy, has been silent on Trump's surprise announcement last Thursday that the UAE, a close US and Saudi ally, and Israel had decided to normalise relations. In return, Israel agreed to suspend the annexation of occupied West Bank territories, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the plan was not off the table in the long run. Saudi King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, had repeatedly expressed their desire for an independent Palestinian state with economic opportunities, Kushner said. "What they basically said is that they ... want to see the Palestinian people have a state and economic opportunities," said Kushner, the architect of Trump's Middle East peace plan, which was wholly rejected by the Palestinians. The landmark UAE-Israel deal is only the third such accord the Jewish state has struck with an Arab country, and raises the prospect of similar deals with other pro-Western Gulf states. Trump said leaders from the two countries would sign the agreement at the White House in the coming weeks. - Common enemy Iran - Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) Bahrain and Oman have welcomed the deal, while Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have yet to comment. Home to Islam's holiest sites, Saudi Arabia would face sensitive political calculations before a formal recognition of the Jewish state. Story continues "It is in the interest of a lot of these countries from a security point of view and from an economic point of view to have relations with Israel," Kushner said. "A lot of GCC countries want to have breakthroughs. "The more that countries come together like Israel and the UAE... the harder it will be for Iran to divide and conquer." Saudi Arabia and Israel have a common enemy in Iran, which most Gulf countries have accused of supporting militant groups in the region. "If you think about the people who don't want Saudi Arabia and Israel to make a peace agreement, the number one opponent for that is going to be Iran," said Kushner. "That shows that is probably the right thing to do." Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the UAE's decision to normalise ties with the Jewish state was a "big mistake" and warned "against opening the path of Israel to the region". On Monday, Vice Admiral Jim Malloy, commander of US Naval Forces in the Middle East, said he did not believe the recent UAE-Israel deal "heightens tension". "I think it is a tense region where partners need to operate closely together," Malloy said in a telephone briefing. mah-dm/fz U.S. Democrats are opening their national convention Monday, a four-day virtual affair with delegates and speakers scattered across the country that has one united mission: helping former Vice President Joe Biden defeat President Donald Trump in the November election. An array of Democratic luminaries, including former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton, is set to extol the virtues of the 77-year-old Biden and his vice-presidential running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris, the first Black woman and first South Asian American on a national party ticket in the U.S. Plans call for Biden to accept the Democratic Partys presidential nomination Thursday night in his third run for the White House over three decades, but the first time he will be the partys nominee for a four-year term as the U.S. leader. It will be a political event unlike any ever seen by living Americans, a convention and acceptance speech conducted online without the traditional hoopla of the quadrennial Democratic and Republican gatherings with partisans cheering their nominees pronouncements and attacks on the opposition. The Democrats had scheduled their convention in the midwestern city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but with the unchecked coronavirus pandemic all but calling off planned large crowds in the United States and the number of infections increasing by thousands a day, party officials told convention delegates and speakers to stay home. Biden will accept the Democratic presidential nomination in his home state of Delaware, absent much of anyone except aides and political advisers present. At a normal convention, a presidential candidate could interact with his political supporters, wait for the cheers from applause lines, smile at the response he was drawing. But not this year. Trump plans to accept his Republican renomination for a second term a week later, on August 27, with a speech on the South Lawn of the White House after Republicans sharply curtailed their convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Meantime, Trump and Vice President Mike Pence plan to visit several political battleground states this week to try to upstage Bidens show, including a stop Thursday by Trump near where Biden grew up in the northeastern city of Scranton, Pennsylvania. As Biden enters the pivotal week, national surveys continue to show him leading Trump, as he has for months. The aggregate compiled by the Real Clear Politics website shows Biden ahead by an average of about 8 percentage points, but less in key states that are expected to determine the overall outcome. U.S. presidential elections are not determined by the national popular vote, but rather indirectly by the winners in each of the 50 states and the national capital of Washington in the Electoral College. The biggest states, such as California with 55 electors and Texas with 38, hold the most sway in the Electoral College, with a majority of the 270 of the 538 electors needed to capture the presidency. Seven states and the city of Washington have the fewest, three electoral votes apiece. In 2016, Trump lost the national popular vote to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes but won the presidency because he narrowly captured three states Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin and their electoral votes. Polls show Biden ahead in all three of those states at the moment but by smaller margins than his overall national lead, giving Trump a plausible chance to pull ahead in the final weeks of the campaign even should he again lose the national popular vote. Biden defeated a large contingent of other Democratic officials for the nomination, including Harris, whom he tapped last week as his running mate after months ago declaring he would pick a woman. She is the fourth woman to join a major national party ticket in the U.S. and would become the highest-ranking female leader in U.S. history if the Biden-Harris pairing wins. The three previous women on national party tickets, two vice-presidential candidates and Hillary Clinton four years ago, all lost. Who Will Win in 2020? Ignoring polls, two experts offer different projections on who will be the next U.S. president based on their models Biden, if he wins, would be 78 at his inauguration next January, making him the oldest U.S. leader ever, topping Trump, who is 74. Biden has called himself a bridge to the future, and U.S. political analysts are predicting that he might serve only one term. That would instantly make Harris a leading Democratic presidential contender in 2024. Democrats are showcasing an array of speakers with each of the four nights of the convention organized around a different theme: We the People, Leadership Matters, A More Perfect Union and Americas Promise. Mondays speakers include former first lady Michelle Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont the leader of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and Bidens last challenger for the partys presidential nomination and former Republican Governor John Kasich of Ohio, who has become an outspoken Trump critic. Former President Clinton, Bidens wife, Jill, a long-time educator; 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer are among those speaking Tuesday night. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, former President Obama and Harris are speaking Wednesday. The convention winds up Thursday with speeches from more top Democratic figures and Biden family members, culminating with Bidens nomination acceptance speech. Before the pandemic, it was called "the homework gap" because of the growing number of teachers who assigned homework that required Internet access. Now, as the pandemic forces many schools to switch to remote learning, disconnected students will miss more than homework. They'll miss all of school. For all the talk of Generation Z's Internet savvy, many young people are locked out of virtual classes because they lack high-speed Internet service at home. In 2018, nearly 17 million children lived in homes without high-speed Internet access, and more than 7 million did not have computers at home, according to a report prepared by a coalition of civil rights and education groups that analyzed census data for that year. The issue affects a disproportionately high percentage of Black, Latino and Native American households - with nearly one-third of students lacking high-speed Internet at home. Students in Southern states and in rural communities also were particularly overrepresented. In Mississippi and Arkansas, about 40% of students lacked high-speed Internet access. After the closures prompted by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, school systems rushed to buy and distribute laptops and WiFi hot spots to students, and service providers offered discounts to low-income families, efforts that made a dent in the numbers. Education advocates say Congress could deliver an easy fix as part of a coronavirus relief package by expanding an existing program that helps schools and libraries get Internet service. But those hopes collapsed alongside talks between Congress and the White House on a new relief package. With talks deadlocked, President Donald Trump issued an executive order for coronavirus relief. It provides nothing for K-12 public schools. The consequences of the gap between those who have access to virtual learning and those who do not could be felt for years to come. "It's dire," said Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who has pushed to increase funding that would subsidize the cost of Internet service for schools and libraries. Her district contains parts of rural Virginia that are not served by Internet service providers. "We are generationally committing to significant divides in our communities over what kind of education our children are getting." Internet access is so central to children's education that allowing students to go without it is like sending them to classrooms without textbooks, said Jordana Barton, who studies the digital divide in Texas as a community development adviser for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. So many students being without Internet service is "a travesty," she said. "Before the pandemic, I thought that the homework gap was so serious that Internet should be provided by the schools," she said. Educators have long seen access to high-speed Internet as essential - not optional - for students. Now, the pandemic has led many schools to start classes remotely, and the problem has taken on new urgency. Because the Internet is essential to gaining access to virtual instruction, the act of not providing the service to students is akin to barring them from school altogether. "It's going back to the old days where we blocked people from going to schools to be able to learn to read," said Pedro Martinez, the superintendent of the San Antonio Independent School District in Texas. More than half of families in Martinez's district do not have high-speed Internet service at home. "It's like us saying, 'You can't come into class. You can't come to school.' " Haydee Berdejo, 18, does not have high-speed Internet access at home in Baltimore and can get online only with a smartphone. When her magnet high school, Baltimore City College, shut down in mid-March, she spent her school days hunched over the phone, where she had difficulty hearing her teachers. Berdejo, who is from Mexico and learning English, said the setup made bridging the language gap more difficult. At times, the screen was fuzzy. And although her classes are mostly taught in English, with the schools closed, she no longer has access to a translator. She said she is anxious about the coming school year because she has had little opportunity to practice English. "I'm worried I won't be able to participate in class or answer a question from the teacher, because I won't know what they're saying to me," she said in Spanish. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission have done little to help school systems provide connectivity to students. Many have given up hope that help is coming and have instead appealed to charities, philanthropists and the Internet service providers themselves, hoping for donations or discounts. Susan Enfield, the superintendent of the Highline Public Schools in Washington state, set up a program to allow more-affluent families to "sponsor" low-income households by paying their Internet bills. Although some service providers offer discounts to low-income families, service is still out of reach for those who have poor credit or unpaid bills. And even the discounted rate can be too much - especially for families struggling with job losses. In Baltimore, the school system helped set up 7,000 families with Internet Essentials, a program that provides low-cost Internet service to qualifying households. The first two months of the program were free. But last month, the school system realized that if it did not pay the $650,000 bill, many of those families would lose service. "I was not going to stand by and let 14,000 students not be able to log on because of a bill we knew needed to be paid," said Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Sonja Santelises. "It's yet one more thing that, in serving children and families, schools are being asked to do." The lack of a national strategy has left superintendents to devise solutions on their own. And that means whether students get connected often depends on the charisma of a superintendent and the generosity of the surrounding community, Santelises said. "It is the leaders who are trying to do deals, who are trying to negotiate, trying to leverage money here, leverage money there," Santelises said. "If we are relying on the individual negotiation capacity of Sonja Santelises or any other sitting superintendent to make sure families have WiFi, that is problematic, and it is a split, and it is symptomatic of a much larger issue." A long-standing program run by the Federal Communications Commission that subsidizes Internet service for schools and libraries is of little help to students during the pandemic. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai told schools they can use the funding only for Internet service at their campuses - even when schools have been shut down. Pai has said that the law does not allow the money to be used for providing domestic Internet service and that he does not have the authority to do otherwise. FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, the sole Democrat on the panel, disagrees - as do congressional Democrats and school leaders across the country. She accused the commission of failing to act to address what she called "a national crisis." "The FCC is sticking its head in the sand or looking the other way and doing everything it can to ignore this," Rosenworcel said. "This is something we can fix - and we should." Schools and students have been left to find solutions on their own. The parking lots of schools, libraries and fast-food restaurants that offer free WiFi have become de facto classrooms for many students. Other school systems equipped buses with WiFi hot spots and parked them in underserved neighborhoods. In some school systems, such as Baltimore, officials paid the bills of hundreds of families out of their own budgets to keep the households online. But none of the improvised solutions are sustainable or scalable, and they often rely on the ability of school officials to court philanthropists and negotiate with Internet service providers. Cleveland public schools CEO Eric Gordon said he hopes the pandemic will force lawmakers to rethink how they view the Internet. He said two-thirds of households in his district can connect to the Internet only by cellphone, which is inadequate for virtual classes. "It's just time we recognize that the Internet has become a utility in the same way electricity became a public utility," Gordon said. Bryan Akins, the principal of Keota High School in rural southeastern Oklahoma, said many of his families do not have a reliable cellular signal - let alone high-speed Internet access. Companies see little incentive to lay broadband lines in places where they will not get many customers, or they pass the expense to customers, charging more to those who live in far-flung communities. The school's switch to remote learning in the spring posed "a big problem," Akins said. "My teachers can teach virtually, but my students can't access it virtually," Akins said. Instead, staffers in the high-poverty district delivered homework along with weekly grocery packages. "Now you're relying on the parent to help teach, or the student to teach themselves." Although connectivity challenges are often viewed as a rural problem, many students in urban districts also lack high-speed Internet service at home. In some cases, this is because they live in neighborhoods that - like many rural communities - do not have the infrastructure. In many others, the barrier is the expense, even though many service providers offer low-income families steeply discounted Internet service. Families that are facing financial turmoil in the recession may opt to drop the service. Jaclyn Trapp, who is to start 10th grade at MC2STEM High School in Cleveland, shares a laptop with a little brother and with three stepsiblings who visit on weekends. When the pandemic hit, her mother and stepfather, both interior house painters, took a huge hit financially as work dried up. So they canceled their home Internet service, which had cost about $60 a month. Jaclyn began using her phone as a hot spot - but soon she was out of data. The family struck a deal with an upstairs neighbor who agreed to allow the family to use his WiFi if they split the bill. But the signal, which has to travel to their downstairs apartment, is slow and unreliable. "Without the Internet and not going to school, it's really hard to do schoolwork," Jaclyn said. Kingsley Gate Partners, the leader in global executive search that ensures a lasting fit between clients and placed candidates, through its proprietary framework, Synchronous Fit, today announced that Shannon Libbert has joined the firm as a partner. Shannon will be based in Pensacola, Florida. "With the addition of Shannon, we have strengthened our access to senior executives in the healthcare providers sector, to bring our clients the leadership that they need to thrive," stated Buster Houchins, Office of the CEO, Kingsley Gate Partners. Shannon will play a critical role in accelerating our growth in the healthcare market. Shannon brings more than 25 years of experience in healthcare consulting to the firm with a focus on identifying diverse talent to fill clinical and operational leadership roles in health systems, academic medical centers, medical practices, and private equity-backed healthcare services organizations. She is an expert in developing and sustaining relationships that enable leaders to achieve long term success in cultural and operational outcomes. Her extensive experience in the healthcare sector and background as a chief human resources officer, make her particularly skilled in assisting organizations with maintaining high levels of engagement during times of continuous change. Shannon has led numerous successful placements at some of the most prominent global healthcare services organizations, added Nancy Albertini, Office of the CEO, Kingsley Gate Partners. Shannons leadership experience in healthcare consulting along with her commitment to client service, further enhances our brand and expertise in this area." Prior to joining Kinsley Gate Partners, Shannon led the healthcare human resources practice at Korn Ferry. Additionally, she spent several years leading human resources and national partnerships for Studer Group, an award-winning healthcare consulting firm. Shannon earned two bachelors degrees and one master's degree in public administration from Florida State University. She holds a graduate certification in human resource management with a specialization in healthcare administration. "I am honored to join Kingsley Gate Partners at this pivotal time, said Shannon. Challenging circumstances call for innovation, requiring us to change the way we have always done things. Now more than ever, it is critical that the highest quality leaders lead healthcare organizations." About Kingsley Gate Partners Transforming the world of retained executive search, Kingsley Gate Partners leverages the scientific interviewing approach of its Synchronous Fit framework, deep industry insights of a world-class cadre of consultants, and state-of-the-art technology to deliver greater accountability, accuracy, velocity, and transparency that ensures a lasting strategic fit between executives and clients. Headquartered in Dallas, the partnership employs search consultants worldwide with expertise in private equity, life sciences, financial services, technology, manufacturing, and professional services. The firm works with best of breed organizations in over 30 countries. For more information, go to http://www.KingsleyGate.com. US demands 'credible' probe into Beirut blast, conditions help on 'reforms' Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 12:47 AM The US government has called for a "credible" probe into the massive port explosion in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, further conditioning any financial support on its version of reforms in the Arab country neighboring the US-sponsored Israeli regime. "When we see Lebanese leaders committed to real change, change in word and deed, America and its international partners will respond to systemic reforms with sustained financial support," said the US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale in an obvious meddling tone resembling similarly intrusive calls made by French President Emmanuel Macron a day after the huge blast. "The popular demand for real change could not be clearer," Hale then underlined. The August 4 explosion, which the authorities suspect was caused by over 2,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port for years, killed 178 people, injured 6,000 and left 300,000 homeless, according to latest official figures. "We can never go back to an era in which anything goes at the port or the borders of Lebanon that had to contribute to this situation," the senior US diplomat further claimed after a visit to the port, noting that American FBI agents would be arriving shortly in Beirut at the invitation of Lebanon to help investigate the cause of the blast. Lebanese President Michel Aoun has said a probe will look into whether the cause of the blast was negligence, an accident or "external interference," vowing an impartial probe into the incident and taking action against the culprits. Aoun had previously stated that the blast might have been triggered by a foreign attack, saying: "There is a possibility of external interference through a rocket or bomb or other act," he said. Following a surprise visit to Beirut by the French president, whose meddling remarks sparked a huge outrage among the Lebanese people, Aoun further underlined that no colonial power can return to the country, insisting that "Lebanese sovereignty will not be harmed under my watch." International probe aims to conceal Israeli role: Hezbollah chief This is while the Secretary General of Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has also called for an impartial investigation into the blast, insisting during a televised address that those responsible for the deadly disaster had to be held to account regardless of their affiliations. Speaking in a televised speech on Friday marking the 14th anniversary of defeating the Israeli regime's 33-day war of aggression against Lebanon, Nasrallah further noted that Hezbollah does not have any narrative on the Beirut port explosion, saying, "We're not investigating, the Lebanese state is doing the job." "If investigations proved that the explosion occurred out of negligence, those responsible must be held accountable and punished," added the Hezbollah chief, insisting that if it turned out that the Israeli regime was behind the blast, it would pay the price. Nasrallah also underlined that his movement was against an international probe because its primary objective would be to "distance Israel from any responsibility for this explosion, if it had responsibility." He then pointed out that the participation of the FBI in an investigation would serve the same purpose. Moreover, Lebanon's caretaker justice minister dismissed on Wednesday calls for an international investigation into the Beirut blast, emphasizing that the country's judiciary can handle the probe on its own. Marie-Claude Najem said the August 4 explosion is a "chance" for the judiciary to "prove they can do their jobs and win back the confidence of the people." She added, however, that the investigations have already been "internationalized" as French police officers and forensic specialists were involved in the ongoing probes, though their participation was due to the existence of French casualties. The Saturday remarks by the visiting US official came a day after a visit by Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif, who slammed interfering efforts in Lebanon by senior American and French officials. "In our view it is not humane to exploit the pain and suffering of the people for political goals," Zarif told a joint televised news conference with Lebanon's caretaker foreign minister. "We believe that the government and the people of Lebanon should decide on the future of Lebanon," he added. Iran ready to help rebuild Lebanon Zarif further stated that Tehran and private Iranian companies were ready to help Lebanon with reconstruction and rehabilitating the country's electricity sector. As Lebanon marks the anniversary of its victory against Israel in the 33-day war in 2006, Iran also vowed to continue its support for the Lebanese nation and government, stressing that the Arab country will overcome the current crisis through synergy. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Forest and Bird member Roger Williams (left) and Warkworth Lions member Les Buckton are looking for help to upgrade the rundown forest track. A four-year project to revamp walking tracks through Kowhai Park kicks off this month and volunteers are needed to see the project through. The work is a collaboration between Warkworth Lions and Forest and Bird and involves installing boardwalks, stairs and landscaping, with funding from Rodney Local Board. The first of the weekly working bees will be held on November 23, 9am to 12pm. The five-hectare park, on Warkworths northern fringe, is covered in mature native bush and features historic lime kilns, built in about 1884. Retired engineer Roger Williams has been planning the project for the past year. The walkway had fallen into disrepair and we want to encourage tourists to use it, Roger says. Theres a lack of signage and a lot of people dont realise its there, but its really a gem for the town. The four-year, $20,000 project will upgrade much of the track network in the park, which is currently eroding and can get extremely muddy. Eventually, Roger hopes the track will be extended through to the Warkworth Showgrounds via the Atlas Site. A group of volunteers lead by Tim Ellison, who lives near the park, has also been doing weed control in the park for the past two years, allowing native plants to regenerate. Info: To help upgrade the Kowhai Park track contact Roger on 425 9127 or 021 153 0052. To volunteer for the weed control project contact Tim Ellison 022 037 2900 Fearing loss of market share in China, Hollywood studios are now removing from their films any content related to Tibet or other human rights issues considered politically sensitive by Beijing, according to a U.S.-based media freedoms group. As U.S. film studios compete for the opportunity to access Chinese audiences, many are making difficult and troubling compromises on free expression, PEN America says in a recent report, Made in Hollywood, Censored by Beijing. Film content is now frequently changed even for American audiences, while studios provide censored versions of films specifically for Chinese audiences and sometimes invite Chinese censors onto film sets to advise them on how to avoid tripping the censors wires, PEN America said. Studios decisions on casting, plot, dialogue, and settings are now made based on a desire to avoid antagonizing Chinese officials who control whether their films gain access to the booming Chinese market, PEN America said, adding that these decisions are carefully made behind closed doors and out of public view. After making two films in 1997Kundun and Seven Years in Tibet--depicting Chinas conquest of Tibet, two major studios were banned from doing business in China for the next five years, and Hollywood quickly got the message, with Disney CEO Michael Eisner going to Beijing to apologize for his companys production of Kundun and its sympathetic treatment of exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. Seven Years in Tibet, starring Brad Pitt, was also supportive of Tibet and would never be made again today, Emily JashinskyCultural Editor at The Federalisttold RFAs Tibetan Service in an interview. Seven Years in Tibet is a great example of a film that would never be made in todays Hollywood, and this is because everybody in the industry is absolutely petrified of being blacklisted by the Chinese Communist Party, Jashinsky said. Hollywood would be terrified even if they made that movie just for viewing in the United States and elsewhere, and not to be shown in China, Jashinsky said, adding that movies with sympathetic treatments of Tibet are politically against what the CCP wants their narrative to be. An invisible phenomenon As an industry, Hollywood should develop a mechanism for disclosure that would reveal censorship requests made to it by foreign governments and say how studios responded, said James Tager, PEN Deputy Director of Free Expression Research and Policy. Ultimately, self-censorship flourishes in obscurity or in invisibility. So if we want to tackle this issue, we have to start discussing this more honestly and address the fact that this is largely an invisible phenomenon." Chinas influence over Hollywood reflects the countrys growing success in forcing foreign corporate compliance with Beijings propaganda goals, with international companies as diverse as Mercedes-Benz and Marriott giving in to Chinese censorship demands, PEN America said in its report. Meanwhile, the media freedoms group said, Hollywood films reach billions, and help to shape the way people think. In a statement sent to RFA, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz said that one way Beijing attempts to advance its preferred narrative about Tibet and other issues sensitive to China is by coercing Americans into self-censorshipespecially in Hollywood. Thats why I have introduced the SCRIPT Act, which would cut off Hollywood studios from assistance they receive from the U.S. Government if those studios censor their films for screening in China, Cruz said, calling the proposed legislation a wake-up call for Hollywood. I remain committed to protecting our national security and ensuring that the Chinese Communist Party is held accountable for their censorship, human rights abuses, propaganda campaigns, and espionage operations, Cruz said. Reported and translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFAs Tibetan Service. Written in English by Richard Finney. People of the lie Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The name John Cleese may be unfamiliar to many today, but any comedy lover growing up in the 1970s / 80s laughed until they cried watching Cleese and the rest of the Monty Python crew. Whether it was the Flying Circus television show or movies like Holy Grail, their influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles impact on music. Over 30 years ago, Cleese did a short comedic spot on the subject of political extremist behavior, something were seeing a lot of these days. Going over the benefits of being an extremist in tongue-in-check style, he says this: The biggest advantage of extremism is that it makes you feel good because it provides you with enemies. Let me explain: the great thing about having enemies is that you can pretend that all the badness in the whole world is in your enemies and all the goodness in the whole world is in you. Attractive isn't it? So, if you have a lot of anger and resentment in you anyway, and you therefore enjoy abusing people, then you can pretend youre only doing it because these enemies of yours are such very bad persons. And if it wasnt for them youd actually be good-natured, courteous, and rational at all the time. Once youre armed with your super list of enemies, you can be as nasty as you like and feel that your behavior is morally justified. So, you can strut around abusing people and telling them you can eat them for breakfast and still think of yourself as a champion of the truth, a fighter for the greater good and not the rather sad paranoid schizoid that you really are. Cleeses short comedy bit could have easily been written this year instead of in the previous century. Not only does it perfectly describe the current political and philosophical divisiveness we see in America, but it also highlights the false personal moral philosophy that many live out every day. Probing Human Evil The famous psychiatrist and author of the widely-read book The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck, wrote a lesser-known work in the late 1990s entitled People of the Lie. In it, Peck examined the concept of human evil along with how and why it manifests. Providing numerous psychiatric case studies throughout the book, Peck lands on several characteristics of human evil, which are not usually top-of-mind when one thinks of wicked personalities. However, the traits he identifies are on full, raging display in our current culture. Echoing the things said by Cleese in his comedy bit, but being completely serious, Peck says: It is the characteristic of those who are evil to judge others as evil. Unable to acknowledge their own imperfection, they must explain away their flaws by blaming others. And, if necessary, they will even destroy others in the name of [their own] righteousness. . . .If they do not have an enemy, they will create one in short order.[1] Those who are evil, says Peck, build their moral framework on lies, which is both a cause and manifestation of evil.[2] Their good is simply a facade, which Peck describes this way: The words image, appearance, and outwardly are crucial to understanding the morality of the evil. While they seem to lack any motivation to be good, they intensely desire to appear good. Their goodness is on a level of pretense. It is, in effect, a lie. This is why they are the people of the lie.[3] Whitewashed Tombs Pecks conclusions that describe the type of behavior we see lived out in America are also found multiple times in Scripture, perhaps most notably in the lives of the Pharisees and their dealings with Jesus. Look at how Pecks words like outwardly and appearance are used by Jesus to describe the supposed religious cream-of-the-crop of His day: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead mens bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness (Matt. 23:25-28, my emphasis). What Jesus describes manifested in the Pharisees via their constant lies about Him (e.g. Matt. 9:34), rejection of His Messianic proof that they witnessed with their own eyes (e.g. Matt.12:13), false legal charges (e.g. Matt. 26-59-61), physical brutality (e.g. Matt. 26:67-68), and ultimately, murder (e.g. John 11:53, 12:9-11). They preached one thing, and yet practiced the evil, polar opposite. Today we see the same activities lived out by our own People of the Lie, all of which are dipped in a vat of delusion that lets them as Cleese puts it believe they are a a champion of the truth, a fighter for the greater good. However, Paul tells us that they are living a hypocritical life: Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. . . .[If you] are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? (Rom. 2:1, 19-21). The only antidote for such thinking is for God to cancel the current spirit that is according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2), and transform them by the renewing of their mind (Rom. 12:2) through the Holy Spirit. As it is with most every other moral ill facing the world, nothing provides a permanent fix to human evil and People of the Lie except the gospel of Christ. [1] M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie (Touchstone, 1998), pg. 255, 225. [2] Ibid, pg. 242. [3] Ibid, pg. 75. (Natural News) Dr. Janet Napolitano says mandatory flu shots will lessen the chance of being infected with COVID. However, prevailing research suggests that flu vaccines actually raise the risk from coronavirus infection. (Article by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. republished from ChildrensHealthDefense.org) A January 2020 US Pentagon study (Wolff 2020) found that the flu shot INCREASES the risks from coronavirus by 36%. Receiving influenza vaccination may increase the risk of other respiratory viruses, a phenomenon known as virus interferencevaccine derived virus interference was significantly associated with coronavirus Many other studies suggest the increased risk of viral respiratory infections, including coronavirus, following vaccination for influenza. A 2018 CDC study (Rikin et al 2018) found that flu shots increase the risk of non-flu acute respiratory illnesses (ARIs), including coronavirus, in children. A 2011 Australian study (Kelly et al 2011) found that flu shots doubled the risk for non-flu viral lung infections. A 2012 Hong Kong study (Cowling et al 2012) found that flu shots increase the risk for non-flu respiratory infections by 4.4 times. A 2017 study (Mawson et al 2017) found vaccinated children were 5.9 times more likely to suffer pneumonia than their unvaccinated peers. Childrens Health Defense is aware of a contrary study published last month by Gunther Fink et. al. That report appears to conclude that flu vaccines may be prophylactic against coronavirus. The study, of Brazilian populations, has many dubious unexplained outcomes including a 47% death rate among study subjects, raising numerous unanswered questions about the methodology and validity of this research. UC campuses should not be encouraging flu shots until we have unambiguous science supporting efficacy against COVID. If you want to join our fight against the UC Jab visit CHD and fill out the form. Please include details about your opposition to this mandate. We would like plaintiffs representing all the UC system schools and disciplines. Read more at: ChildrensHealthDefense.org Editor, Advertiser: President Trump and several members of his administration have made the many claims about how well the Trump Administration has managed the response to the COVID pandemic. Following are a few of the most egregious claims: Trump said the following at the White House on July 4 that was published in the Washington Post July 8: We have tested over 40 million people. By so doing, we show cases, 99 percent of which are totally harmless. Results that no other country will show, because no other country has testing that we have not in terms of the numbers or in terms of the quality. Trumps aides have trouble explaining this claim. Betsy DeVos made the following claim on July 16 that was published in The Washington Post July 23: More and more studies show that kids are actually stoppers of the disease and they dont get it and transmit it themselves, so we should be in a posture of the default should be getting back to school kids in person, in the classroom. A new report Coronavirus infected scores of children and staff at Georgia sleep-away camp, written by the CDC and published in The Washington Post on July 31, details an outbreak last month in which 260 children and staffers, more than three-quarters of the 344 tested, contracted the virus less than a week after spending time together in close quarters. The children had a median age of 12. The camp had required all 597 campers and staff members to provide documentation that they had tested negative for the virus before coming. Staff was required to wear masks, but children were not. As a cabinet secretary, DeVos has a responsibility to provide accurate information to the public and its irresponsible for DeVos to mainly rely on news accounts of a report that has not yet been peer-reviewed. The Washington Post awarded DeVos four Pinocchios for this claim. The U.S. Public Interest Research Groups is the federation of state PIRGs. It is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health, safety, our financial security, or our right to fully participate in our democratic society? More than 117,000 Americans had died of COVID-19 by mid-June. If our response had been as effective as Germanys, estimates show that we would have had only 36,000 COVID-19 deaths in that period in the United States. If our response had been as effective as South Korea, Australia, or Singapores, fewer than 2,000 Americans would have died. We could have prevented 99 percent of those COVID-19 deaths, but we didnt. The best thing for the nation is not to reopen as quickly as possible, its to save as many lives as possible. And reopening before suppressing the virus isnt going to help the economy. Economists have gone on record saying that the only way to restore the economy is to address the pandemic itself, pointing out that until we find a way to boost testing and develop and distribute a vaccine, open or not, people will not be in the mood to participate. The USA has about 2.5 percent of the worlds population but has about 25 percent of the worlds coronavirus cases and the worlds deaths. The United States recorded more than 1.9 million new coronavirus infections in July, more than double any monthly total. President Trump has shown zero leadership managing the pandemic which has resulted leading the US leading the world in the number of COVID-19 cases and the number of deaths due to COVID-19. Robert Smith Eva Longoria has been enjoying some tropical isolation with her family during a quarantine getaway this summer. And the Golden Globe nominee is serving summer goals, teasing a glimpse of her luxurious setting for her 7.9million Instagram followers. She put on a stunning display Sunday in a sexy white Myra Swim one-piece, as she posed for a photo on a yacht, during a break from isolation for a day at sea. Day at sea: Eva Longoria put on a stunning display Sunday in a sexy white Myra Swim one-piece, as she posed on a yacht The 45-year-old sizzled in her zip-up swimwear, wearing her wet hair back and blocking the sun from her eyes, writing: 'All aboard.' She's previously shown off her swimwear collection, taking to Instagram with several snaps from her beachfront vacation home. Longoria has been enjoying the getaway with husband Jose Baston, and their two-year-old son Santiago 'Santi' Enrique. She's also been using her platform to encourage people to vote, when not giving her followers vacation envy. Bikini babe: The 45-year-old has previously shown off her swimwear collection, taking to Instagram with several snaps from her beachfront vacation home Family vacation: Longoria has been enjoying the getaway with husband Jose Baston, and their two-year-old son Santiago 'Santi' Enrique Speaking up: She's also been using her platform to encourage people to vote, when not giving her followers vacation envy The Desperate Housewives star recently appeared on Debra Messing and Mandana Dayani's Dear Media podcast The Dissenters. She said: 'How do we engage people? My life's philosophy is not to not to speak up for women. I'm not speaking for women. I'm not speaking for Latinos. I'm telling you, speak for yourselves, stand up and speak for yourself. 'The best way to do that is to vote! Because the only time we are equal with the richest one percent and the poorest is in the voting booth. Both our vote is equal.' Longoria also expressed her appreciation for former President of the United States, Barack Obama. She said: 'You know, the way Obama just aggregated hope, like that was an intangible thing, but yet he did it. I don't remember a time the country felt so good to be American and proud.' The Chairman of Vice-Chancellors Ghana (V-CG), Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, has entreated the government to support public universities with infrastructure and logistics to enable them to admit more students. Following the introduction of the free senior high school (SHS) policy, it is expected that a large number of the first batch of beneficiaries of the policy will qualify for tertiary education this year. Prof. Owusu said although the universities had stepped up preparations for the prospective students, they still needed the intervention of the government to accommodate as many students as possible. Citing the University of Ghana (UG), Legon, of which he is the V-C, Prof. Owusu said the university was putting up new lecture halls made of prefabricated materials that could accommodate more students. As vice-chancellors, we have sent proposals to the government, while putting in our own plans to deal with the challenge, he said. Prof. Owusu made the call in an interview with the Daily Graphic on preparations being made by the public universities to admit the free SHS students. It is expected that about 360,000 students will complete SHS in the country this year, including beneficiaries of the free SHS policy, a situation that will increase admission numbers to tertiary institutions. However, the Legon V-C said with the needed support from and collaboration of stakeholders, the institutions might surmount the challenge. Infrastructural development Prof. Owusu said since August 2016, four new buildings had been completed and inaugurated, including a $28-million advanced laboratory facility for the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR), which was sponsored by the Japanese government; the World Bank Centre of Excellence buildings for the West African Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI); the World Bank Centre of Excellence for the West African Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP) and a Credit Union building. The university had also seen the resurfacing of roads and car parks, which is about 80 per cent complete, the construction of walkways and the provision of security posts at sensitive spots, he said. It was also during his first tenure that the International Association of Universities made the U-G a world-leading institution in the UN Sustainable Development Goal 1 (SDG 1) reducing poverty, he added. Prof. Owusu said he also spearheaded the signing and execution of 55 partnership agreements with both local and international institutions. He said he also introduced an endowment fund, explaining: I do not believe people should pay huge sums of money for their Ph.D. This can only happen if there is an endowment. COVID-19 On the COVID-19, the Professor of Entomology said restrictions imposed on people had led to the introduction of online teaching. We have been faced with challenges during this period with online platforms and we will deal with the issues, going forward. One of them is to ensure that assignments given to students are handled by themselves, he added. Rankings Responding to issues on the global ranking of universities, the Legon V-C said the government could select specific public tertiary institutions for support to enable them to compete favourably in the global space. He cited Egypt where the government was supporting some specific universities which were performing well on the world rankings. The UG was recognised as the leading university in West Africa in the July 2020 Webometrics ranking of universities and still maintains its enviable position as the leading university in the country. 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 COVID-19 made Smart Nation initiative even more crucial: Balakrishnan The COVID-19 pandemic has made Singapore's Smart Nation initiative even more crucial, said Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Dr Vivian Balakrishnan. Speaking at a virtual engagement session with the 15 recipients of this year's Smart Nation Scholarship, Balakrishnan added, "Our jobs, lifestyles, social habits, business transactions have all been drastically disrupted. And technology and innovation have become even more essential for us to cope and adapt to this new normal." Minister-in-Charge of the Smart Nation Initiative Dr Vivian Balakrishnan speaking at a virtual engagement session with the 15 recipients of this year's Smart Nation Scholarship. Photo courtesy: gov.sg He noted how Singapore was possibly the first in the world to roll out a digital contact tracing app to reduce the time it takes to isolate and quarantine individuals who have come into close contact with a COVID-19 patient. "Launched in March, the TraceTogether App, which uses Bluetooth signals to log nearby users, was developed in just two months by GovTech engineers." With digital inclusion being a key priority in the Smart Nation plans, the govrenment also developed the TraceTogether Token to extend the protection provided by digital contact tracing to as many people in Singapore as possible. These include those without smartphones, and would otherwise be at risk of being digitally excluded. "These solutions show how technology can be a force for good in real life, in trying times, illuminating the quickest and safest path out of a pandemic while mitigating its negative impact." The minister explained that while the pandemic will recede at some point, the world that emerges from this crisis will be a very different and more difficult one. "The next five to ten years will determine our trajectory as a generation, and for decades beyond that." Dr Vivian Balakrishnan addressed the 15 recipients of this year's Smart Nation Scholarship individually at the virtual engagement session. Photo courtesy: gov.sg One of the key long-term initiatives is the Smart Nation Scholarship, now in its third year, which aims to to develop and nurture technology talents and leaders within the public service. Recipients will join one of the three Smart Nation agencies after they complete their studies Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), Government Technology Agency (GovTech) and Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). They will undergo technical training under the agencies respective talent programmes, and take on key roles in national projects that will shape Singapores Smart Nation journey. The Bihar government has once again decided to extend the lockdown till September 6, owing to the rising cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the state. The states home department issued an order in this regard on Monday. The lockdown was imposed from July 16 to July 31 and later extended till August 16. The orders issued on July 30 for the containment of Covid-19 would be prevalent across the state. No public transport would be allowed to ply in areas falling under lockdown norms, but there would be no bar on construction activities besides transportation of goods, state officials said. Air and rail travel have been allowed to continue and offices, banks, and other offices would function with minimal staff strength, they added. It is expected that an order for some more relaxation in the lockdown norms would be issued on Monday. At present night curfew has been imposed in the state. Bihar has seen a massive surge in Covid-19 cases as the states tally have crossed the one lakh mark. Till Sunday, the cumulative Covid-19 cases were 104,093 and 537 people have died due to the disease till now. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON On Tuesday, August 18, at 11:00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference on the subject: "Development of Federation of Public Medical Associations of Ukraine as a Base for Consolidation and Professional Unification of Public Medical and Pharmaceutical Associations of Ukraine." Participants include Associate Member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Honored Doctor of Ukraine, President of the Federation of Public Medical Associations of Ukraine Viacheslav Kaminsky, member of the Federation of Public Medical Associations of Ukraine, President of the Ukrainian Association of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation and SPA Medicine, medical lawyer, Ukrainian MP of the 8th convocation Iryna Sysoyenko, Associate Member of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Doctor of Medicine, Professor, Honored Doctor of Ukraine, Chairman of the Ukrainian Toxicology Society, member of the Federation of Public Medical Associations of Ukraine Mykola Prodanchuk (8/5a Reitarska Street). The press conference will be broadcast on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 05:21:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 70 people have tested positive for coronavirus at a dessert factory in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England, local media reported Monday night. The positive cases were reported at Bakkavor in Newark, which describes itself as "the leading provider of fresh prepared food in the UK," Sky News reported. The cases were confirmed after 701 workers were tested for the virus. All 1,600 employees will now receive coronavirus tests at a facility set up on site by the British National Health Service (NHS), according to the report. Enditem The diplomatic agencies of Armenia and Turkey have renewed their acrimonious exchange over the weekend after official Yerevan voiced support for Greece and Cyprus in their dispute with Ankara over the latters Mediterranean gas and oil search effort. We closely follow the latest developments and naval mobilization in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean caused by the Turkish illegal and provocative actions. This destabilizing posturing in the Eastern Mediterranean manifests continued aggressive and expansionist policy that Turkey has been pursuing in its neighboring regions, Armenias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released on August 15. We reiterate Armenias unequivocal support and solidarity with Greece and Cyprus and call on Turkey to de-escalate the situation, respect the International Law and cease all actions within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Greece and Cyprus, it added. The following day a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman issued a statement, claiming an insidious alliance that is being attempted to be forged against Turkey. Hami Aksoy said that Armenia is in a fallacious perception of the global geography and its place in it. The issue at hand is the Eastern Mediterranean, not Lake Sevan, he said in an acid comment. Following its provocative statement on the Treaty of Sevres, Armenias expressing an opinion regarding the Eastern Mediterranean this time is a novel instance of impertinence and irresponsibility. Coming after the examples of the United Arab Emirates and France, the fact that Armenia, a country with no coastline to any sea, presumes itself worthy of speaking about the Eastern Mediterranean, unravels the dimensions of an insidious alliance that is being attempted to be forged against Turkey, the Turkish Foreign Ministry representative said. Aksoy stressed that no matter what, Turkey will resolutely continue to protect both its and Turkish Cypriots rights in the Eastern Mediterranean stemming from international law. No alliance of malice will manage to prevent this. Those who think otherwise have not learned their lessons from history. On this occasion, Turkey would also like to remind that, with all its means and capabilities, it stands by brotherly Azerbaijan, he concluded. Earlier last week Armenia and Turkey exchanged acrimonious remarks on the centennial of the Treaty of Sevres, a post-World War I document viewed differently from Yerevan and Ankara. The 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I, a coalition led by France, Britain, the United States and others on the one side, and the Central Powers, including the Ottoman Empire, on the other was never ratified by Turkey. If implemented, it would, in particular, have given Armenia a much larger territory than it had, including access to the Black Sea. Armenia and Turkey currently have no diplomatic relations. Internationally backed efforts in 2008-2009 for rapprochement between the two neighboring states divided over historical events, including the 1915 Armenian Genocide, eventually led to no normalization, and the Turkish-Armenian border remains closed to date. Despite the decline in Mumbais Covid-19 cases, the high death rate continues to be a worry for the authorities. Mumbais death rate is around 5.4%, much higher than the states 3.4%. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has observed that currently, private hospitals are reporting a higher death rate than civic-run hospitals. In a meeting held on Monday, the civic body asked private hospitals to take more precautionary measures to ensure a decline in the deaths. BMC has instructed the representatives of private hospitals to follow the directives of the civic body under the Mission Save Lives initiative. As per an analysis by BMC, at civic-run hospitals, the death rate has declined from 5.8% in June to 4.8% in August. But in private hospitals, it has increased to over 40% during the same period. Earlier, out of 100 deaths, we used to record on an average 82 deaths from civic-run hospitals and 18 from private hospitals. But now, we are recording around 59 deaths from civic hospitals and 41 from private hospitals. The death rates in private hospitals are gradually increasing, said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner, BMC. We have asked to pay special focus on critical patients. They have been instructed to provide faster treatment to patients with pre-medical ailments, said Kakani. . The state Department of Public Health issued the first fines on Monday for violations of the states travel advisory, part of Gov. Ned Lamonts long-promised stepping up of enforcement of his executive orders to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The state also further authorized local officials to enforce the many orders. Lamont said people can expect stricter enforcement of the private gathering size restrictions, limiting groups to 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors. He also said Connecticut will fine or even shut down businesses that violate capacity requirements and other COVID-safety measures. For people who claim a medical exemption for wearing a mask, theyll now need to carry a notice from their doctor that says as much, Lamont said, noting that people have begun to abuse the medical exemption. Overwhelmingly people are doing the right thing, but for those who arent, please be on notice, Lamont said. Lamont spoke from a position of advantage, as Connecticut continues to keep the illness at bay compared with other states. The state is still trending at less than 1 percent positivity rate for coronavirus tests. Three people died with the virus over the weekend, and 247 people tested positive for the virus. That brings the states average to 0.7 percent positive tests over the last week, and it maintains an average of about two new cases per day per 100,000 people well below the national average of 15 per 100,000. Lamont said several businesses in Bridgeport were shut down in recent weeks after reports of large gatherings of young people that went late into the night. There have been more COVID cases in Bridgeport than other parts of the state but state Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe said not all cases have been linked to a specific event or venue. In Bridgeport, there are a number of bars masquerading as restaurants, and they were having big parties in there, and Bridgeport with local enforcement stepped up and shut them down and took away their license, Lamont said. So let this be a warning to people that we are taking this seriously and local regulation, local enforcement is the best and I salute what they did in Bridgeport. The travel advisory violations, though issued Monday, were incidents that occurred several weeks ago, Lamont said. One person flew to Connecticut from Louisiana, and the other from Florida. Both refused to fill out the travel advisory questionnaire, Lamont said, resulting in $1,000 fine each. One of those people did not quarantine, resulting in a second $1,000 fine for that person, Lamont said. He did not identify the people charged. The violations were issued as the result of tips sent to the Department of Public Health that resulted in an investigation, Geballe said. No COVID-19 cases have been linked to the people who violated the orders. Geballe said about 20,000 travel forms have been filled out by travelers, with 1,000 more added each day. They are used in investigating potential violations of the travel advisory. Were not taking our eye off the ball and were going to continue to be strict, Lamont said. kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt Heavy rainfall in western Maharashtra for four consecutive days have forced authorities to release water from various dams in the region including Koyana, which has led to increase in water level of Krishna river, resulting into large inflow for Almatti dam. Due to heavy rainfall in Satara district, Koyna dams water discharge was increased upto 52,146 cusecs by 5 pm on Sunday in the downstream Koyna river, a district official said on Sunday. According to officials, to prevent flooding at backwaters in border areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka, water discharge Almatti from the Almatti dam in north Karnataka has been increased by 20,000 cusecs to 2 lakh cusecs by 6 pm on Sunday. The discharge was increased upto 2 lakh after Maharashtra minister Rajendra Patil-Yadravkar spoke with Karnatakas water resources minister Ramesh Jarkiholi Last year, backwater of the Almatti dam caused flooding in Kolhapur and Sangli districts, causing large scale damage with 60 persons losing their lives. By evening Koyna dam was filled to 86 per cent of its total capacity of 105 TMC while ater is also being releasedat the rate of 14,486 cusecs from the Chandoli dam on the Warna river, which separates Sangli and Kolhapur districts. In Kolhapur district, the catchment area of the Radhanagari dam has been receiving intermitten tshowers. Four gates of the Radhanagari dam are opened and water is being currently discharged at the rate of 7,112 cusecs, a Kolhapur district official said. Catchment areas of four Dams that supply water to Pune also continued to receive good rains on Sunday as Temghar and Warasgaon received 102mm rain while Panshet and Khadakswala received 106mm and 44mm respectively. The water level storage at all four dams stands at 81.7%. Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued by the Met department for ghat areas in Pune district for Monday. Isolated heavy rainfall to very heavy rainfall in ghat areas of Pune district is likely to occur for all four days from August 17 onwards, the IMD said. An orange alert has been given in the flat areas of Pune district as there are chances of low visibility, slippery road and chances of landslide adjacent to the hilly region, a Met department official said. On Sunday till 5: 30 pm, Shivaji Nagar received 9mm while Lohegaon and Pashan received 6mm and 18.4 mm rain respectively. Low-paid workers are three times more likely than their well-off counterparts to have seen their hours halved during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study that details just how unevenly the economic pain has been shared. Researchers at the London School of Economics (LSE) found that the most vulnerable groups in society have been hit hardest financially by Covid-19. People who are young, low-paid, black, in self-employment, those who have low education levels or live in large families have been disproportionately affected by the recession, according to the analysis. The report estimates the realistic level of unemployment to be 15 per cent, far in excess of the official rate of 3.9 per cent with millions of people remaining on furlough. The authors Brian Bell, Mihai Codreanu and Stephen Machin warn that the crisis is generating the largest economic shock to the UK since at least the 1980s. Long-term scars to peoples prospects may be even deeper than in past recessions, the researchers wrote. They calculate that scarring will disproportionately impact groups that are already relatively disadvantaged. For employees who were earning less than 151 per week in February, the probability of being furloughed or having their hours cut by at least half almost three times higher than for those earning more than 600 per week (53.7 per cent compared to 18 per cent). Black workers have also suffered relatively more - around 42 per cent were estimated to have been furloughed in June compared to 27.6 per cent of the total workforce. Similarly, younger workers have seen their hours and earnings cut. Those aged 18-24 who were still employed in June were almost 18 per cent more likely than those aged 35-54 to have had their hours cut by at least half or to have been furloughed. Individuals with only GCSE qualifications or equivalent are 17.1 per cent more likely to have been furloughed or lost at least half of working hours compared with those with a degree. Part of this is due to the targeted shut down of specific sectors of the economy, a factor that was not present in previous recessions where pain has been more broadly shared. These sectors, notably hospitality, tend to employ younger workers on lower pay. Professor Machin said: Unfortunately, the Covid-19 crisis poses even harder questions than the previous recessions. The effects on those leaving full-time education could be more pronounced due to school closures and shifts to online learning in universities. Long-lasting changes to the way we shop, travel and socialise are likely to significantly affect certain sectors. Uncertainty about the course of the pandemic, means the recovery could be even slower. Consequently, the economic scars have considerable potential to cut even deeper. Professor Bell said: Some individuals will be affected harder than others. We find those most likely to become unemployed are the young, those with a lower level of qualifications, black workers and those on low pay. Similar to previous recessions, the Covid-19 crisis has the potential to scar a large number of individuals, most of them already in a precarious situation. Well-designed labour market policies need to be implemented to protect those most at risk and to prevent further damage to affected individuals, their families, communities and to the UK economy. The mother of PC Andrew Harper has joined forces with Harry Dunns mum to fight for justice for her son. Debbie Adlam, whose son died when he was dragged by a getaway car, wrote a letter to Harrys alleged killer urging her to return to the UK after becoming friends with Mr Dunns mother Charlotte Charles. The 19-year-old was killed when his motorbike crashed into a car outside a US military base in Northamptonshire on August 27 last year. Debbie Adlam (left), whose son died when he was dragged by a getaway car, wrote a letter to Harrys alleged killer urging her to return to the UK after becoming friends with Mr Dunns mother Charlotte Charles (right) Anne Sacoolas, the wife of an intelligence officer based at RAF Croughton, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash and was able to return to the US, sparking an international controversy. Mrs Adlams son was killed 12 days earlier after he tried to stop three thieves fleeing as they stole a quad bike in Sulhamstead, Berkshire. She wrote to Sacoolas on Saturday, the day after the anniversary of her own sons death, asking her to consider how both families had experienced their 'world falling apart.' In the letter to Sacoolas, who was charged in December with causing Mr Dunns death by dangerous driving, Mrs Adlam wrote: As a mother yourself, can you begin to imagine if what happened to Andrew and Harry had happened to one of your children? Charlotte and I have to live through having to face this reality every day and night. Anne Sacoolas, the wife of an intelligence officer based at RAF Croughton, claimed diplomatic immunity following the crash involving Harry Dunn (right) and was able to return to the US, sparking an international controversy. Mrs Adlams son, PC Andrew Harper (left), was killed 12 days earlier after he tried to stop three thieves fleeing as they stole a quad bike in Sulhamstead, Berkshire She added: Harrys family are languishing, left to find a way to deal with the fact that you left without any apparent concern for those left behind to pick up the pieces. Please bring an end to this current situation and give Harrys family and your own a better future. Ms Charles said she was blown away by Debbies love and support. For another mother who is suffering as intensely as she is, her unselfish act in writing this letter just shows the power of the human spirit and how kind people in this country really are, she added. At least 10 people were killed in an al-Shabaab attack on an army base in south-west Somalia, officials said on Monday. The attack on the base in Baidoa, claimed by the militant group on their Radio Andalus, comes a day after they stormed a beach hotel in capital Mogadishu. The base attack started with an attempted suicide car bombing at the entrance followed by a heavy exchange of fire between the militants and government troops, leaving at least 10 dead from both sides, Somali military commander Yonis Hassan told dpa. "Our soldiers are now in full control of the base after repelling the militants and killed seven fighters. Three Somali soldiers have also been killed in the attack," added Hassan. Several others were wounded on both sides, he said. The incident comes hours after the attack on a luxury hotel in Mogadishu where at least 17 people, among them five militants, were killed. 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 China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has issued a major revision to the regulation on the procedures for police handling criminal cases. The revision, following the revision of the Criminal Procedure Law in late 2018, introduces provisions implementing the requirement of judicial reforms and improving the standards of law enforcement of the police force. The revision covers various areas of police work related to criminal cases, including the systems of compulsory measures, case-filing, investigation and the handling of property involved in criminal cases. New articles were also brought in to implement the policy of "lenient penalties on suspects who admit their guilt and accept punishment," and specify the new requirement on obtaining evidence. The current regulation was last amended in 2012, and the revised one will enter into force as of Sept. 1. The revised regulation highlights the use of modern information technology in police work, such as electronic signatures and digital fingerprint stamping technology. In addition, it also clarifies the jurisdiction of police in criminal cases in accordance with the supervision law, which empowers supervisory commissions to handle crimes related to individuals working in public offices. The procedures for Chinese police in participating in international judicial assistance in criminal matters were also modified following the requirements of a law on such international cooperation in 2018. This revision is of great significance to improving the police work in handling criminal cases and promoting the unity of fighting crimes and protecting human rights, according to the MPS. The ministry has also pledged to introduce a series of training for police authorities across the country. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, center, leaves the Capitol after meeting with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee about his overhaul of the agency amid a growing pressure campaign to reverse his changes in the run-up to the 2020 election. Oversight Chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said in a press release she was "pleased" to report that DeJoy will appear before her committee next Monday, Aug. 24. "The American people want their mail, medicines, and mail-in ballots delivered in a timely way, and they certainly do not want drastic changes and delays in the midst of a global pandemic just months before the election," Maloney said in the release. Robert Duncan, chairman of the Postal Service's Board of Governors, which selected DeJoy in May, has also agreed to testify on the same day, according to the release from the Oversight panel. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET and will be livestreamed, the press release said. A spokesman for USPS later confirmed that DeJoy and Duncan will testify. On Monday afternoon, Trump complained on Twitter that Congress is meeting to discuss the post office next Monday, when the Republican National Convention is set to kick off, rather than during the week of the Democrats' convention. "They are always playing games," Trump tweeted. TWEET Since starting his role in mid-June, DeJoy, a major donor to Republicans and committees supporting President Donald Trump, has implemented a slew of significant cost-cutting measures, which reportedly include major reductions in overtime and crackdowns on making late trips to deliver mail. The changes have led to reports of widespread mail delays. The hearing marks the first time DeJoy will answer directly to Democratic lawmakers who have raised concerns that his actions at USPS are undermining the government agency and could impact the presidential election between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. More ballots than ever before are expected to be cast by mail as Americans continue to socially distance to try to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. DeJoy insisted earlier this month that USPS has "ample capacity" to handle the anticipated flood of mail-in ballots. But the agency has reportedly sent letters to most states warning that it cannot guarantee all mail-in ballots will arrive in time to be counted in the presidential race. Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly criticized both the postal service and the prospect of widespread voting by mail in the November election. Last week he said that negotiations on an additional coronavirus relief package were being held up in large part by Democrats' demand for $25 billion in stimulus for USPS, as well as $3.6 billion in election funding. Trump suggested he believes he can stop expanded mail-in voting plans if he refuses to agree to fund those efforts. "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," Trump said. The president has said in subsequent remarks that he is open to providing funding for the postal service. Polls show Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to vote for president by mail, according to a new Change Research/CNBC poll of likely voters in battleground states. Earlier Monday, seven leading senators sent a letter to the six-member USPS board all of whom were appointed by Trump urging them to reverse DeJoy's changes. "Should he not cooperate with these efforts, you have the authority, under the Postal Reorganization Act, 'to remove the Postmaster General,' with 'a favorable vote of an absolute majority of the Governors in office,'" said the letter, which was signed by senators including Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. After Maloney's committee announced the hearing, Schumer once again called on Sen. Ron Johnson, the Republican head of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel, to schedule his own hearing with DeJoy and Duncan. "It is disappointing that Chairman Ron Johnson would rather spend time pushing Russian propaganda instead of holding a hearing on the damaging operational changes at the Postal Service that adversely affect America's veterans, seniors, and so many other people," Schumer said in a statement. "The Senate must also hold Postmaster General DeJoy accountable for his role in undermining one of America's most important and sacred public institutions." Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday she is calling the House back from summer recess in order to vote on Maloney's bill to block DeJoy's policies until after the Covid-19 pandemic has ended. Kate Middleton has already given birth to three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. But pregnancy rumors are always following the Duchess of Cambridge, as royal fans continue to hope for baby number four. According to a body language expert, fans should not be watching Kate for clues of a 4th pregnancy. Instead, they should be keeping their eye on Prince William. Prince William and Kate Middleton | David Rowland Pool/Getty Images Kate Middleton shot down pregnancy rumors last year Just one year after William and Kate welcomed Prince Louis in April 2018, royal pregnancy rumors went into overdrive. However, Kate wasnt always the focus. According to Her, bookies in the UK were slashing the odds on Kate announcing baby number four. There was also talk about Princess Eugenie welcoming her first baby after marrying Jack Brooksbank in October 2018. There was even chatter about Meghan Markle announcing a second pregnancy after she and Prince Harry welcomed Archie Harrison in May 2019. Kate actually addressed the pregnancy rumors during the 2019 St. Patricks Day parade in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. People in the crowd were shouting to Kate number four! and she replied, I think William would be a little worried! The Kate Middleton has had difficult pregnancies Royal fans are enjoying watching George, Charlotte, and Louis grow up. But, there continues to be speculation that Willim and Kate will have another baby soon. The bookies have set the odds that baby number four will happen in the near future. We think that Prince Louis will have another baby brother or sister join his family in the future. We make it odds on that William and Kate have a fourth baby, Harry Aitkenhead of British oddsmakers Coral told Express. RELATED: How Kate Middleton Is More Prepared to Be Queen Than Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth During Kates first three pregnancies, she has suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum or extreme morning sickness. When Kate is expecting, she starts appearing at fewer and fewer royal engagements. The only clue Kate gives about being pregnant is when she vanishes off the royal circular. Prince Williams facial expressions are a giveaway Instead of watching Kate, body language expert Judi James says royal fans should watch Prince William for signs of baby number four. James told Express that the Duchess pose of standing with her hands clasped under her belly is her signature look, pregnant or not. But with William, James says his facial expressions are often a giveaway, especially when it comes to any good news. RELATED: Will Meghan Markle Have to Curtsy to Kate Middleton When Prince William Becomes King? She said fans should look for a lot of suppressed smiling. When someone attempts to suppress a smile, James says this often leads to a softened eye expression and narrowing and crinkling of the eyes. There is also a pushing together of the lips, but the smile breaking out at the corners. Prince William gives another major clue when KateMiddleton is pregnant James also claims that both William and Prince Harry tend to use subconscious mimicry rituals when their wives are in the early stages of pregnancy. Placing a hand over their own belly area in public in an act of empathy, James said. She added that William and Kates behavior at a recent event in South Wales could be a sign that they are expecting baby four, but an announcement has not been made. RELATED: Kate Middleton and Prince William Have Officially Abandoned the Most Important Royal Family Rule Never Complain, Never Explain James pointed to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge playing arcade games together. She claims, their togetherness signals might suggest a new royal baby. However, it is more likely that the lockdown just suited their relationship as a couple and as a royal team. Now, William and Kate are more relaxed and in-tune than ever before. The founder of Travelex-owner Finablr has stepped down from the board, and as chairman, after a potential fraud scandal that shook his business empire. BR Shetty, an Indian billionaire who was also behind NMC Health, stepped down from his positions with Finablr, the company said in a short statement on Monday. The Company announces that Dr BR Shetty has resigned as a director and co-chairman with immediate effect, it said. In a separate announcement the company said that the tax office in the UK, Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has suspended the business registration for Finablr subsidiary Xpress Money Services, and has proposed to suspend that of UAE Exchange UK Limited. Xpress has a network that allows customers to send or receive money at 200,000 locations in more than 170 countries. In June, the Financial Conduct Authority banned Xpress from carrying out any of the activities it regulates, such as payment services, without special dispensation from the regulator. In March, authorities in the United Arab Emirates took control over UAE Exchange. BR Shetty has been in hot water for months after hackers knocked out Travelexs systems over the New Year weekend. But questions have also been raised around his businesses, after huge hidden costs were discovered by the boards at Finablr and NMC Health. Finablr was suspended from the London Stock Exchange earlier this year, while NMC has been placed into administration. The Metro East region outside St. Louis on Tuesday becomes the first in Illinois to be put back under stricter rules meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 after surpassing a state positivity rate threshold. The step backward in reopening in the Metro East comes as the state on Monday reported 1,773 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 12 deaths of people with COVID-19. The state has now logged 207,854 cases overall, and has reported 7,756 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic Meanwhile, five Chicago restaurants and bars were closed down over the weekend after investigators from the citys Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection found them to be in violation of reopening requirements. All of the businesses were closed for one night. Heres whats happening Monday with COVID-19 in the Chicago area and Illinois: 8:55 p.m.: Schools begin a new year, many with remote learning and a different feel due to impact of coronavirus Arya Jennens was looking forward to meeting other students on her first day of high school Monday. That became impossible when Evanston Township High School canceled in-person classes in favor of remote learning due to the coronavirus. School officials tried to make the best of it by holding breakout Zoom meetings for small groups to introduce themselves. Arya described herself as a cross-country runner, with two turtles and a dog, whose favorite color is purple. Its a little awkward to try to get to know your classmates, so freshman year its going to be a lot more difficult than if we were in person, she said. People just arent very comfortable talking on camera. Thousands of school kids across Illinois have begun sharing the experience of returning to school remotely, though some are attending in person. Not all Illinois public school students were back in class by Monday. Most Chicago-area schools will be starting in the days ahead and in the case of Chicago Public Schools, on Sept. 8. Read more here. Robert McCoppin, Kelli Smith and Karen Ann Cullotta 7:25 p.m.: Bears announce they currently are not planning to have fans at games at Soldier Field this season The Chicago Bears are not planning to have fans at games at Soldier Field this season because of concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, the team announced Monday. After discussing a plan with Chicago health officials, the Bears and the city agreed that health data showed it is not safe to host fans at games as of now. The Bears will put a plan in place once it is deemed safe and appropriate, according to the statement. The Bears open their season on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 13, and their home opener is scheduled for Sept. 20 at noon. Read more here. Colleen Kane 6:48 p.m.: Multiple COVID-19 cases reported at Chicago fire academy The Chicago Fire Department has temporarily suspended training at the Quinn Fire Academy after multiple cases of coronavirus were reported, according to the department. It did not specify the number of people who tested positive. The health and safety of Chicagos firefighters, paramedics and recruits are our utmost priority, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said in a statement. The department plans to clean and disinfect the facility, including all work areas and equipment used. The current class of recruits will continue to train via remote learning, Langford added. Those who tested positive for COVID-19 will remain in isolation and close contacts of those affected will quarantine. No individuals who have tested positive have required hospitalization, according to the Fire Department. Jessica Villagomez 6 p.m.: Postal Service warns last-minute Illinois ballot requests may not be turned around fast enough to be counted The U.S. Postal Service has warned Illinois state election officials that theres a significant risk voters who make late requests for mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election wont get them in time to be counted. Election authorities said the timing issue is not new and that voters who want a mail-in ballot have always been urged not to wait until the final days before an election to make their request. But some privately expressed concerns that the Postal Service notice of delivery standards and recommendations could be an attempt by the agency to inoculate itself from criticism if ballots are late arriving and cant be counted. The Postal Services warnings to states, along with concerns about equipment changes, cuts to overtime and the speed of mail delivery, prompted U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call the chamber into session this week to consider legislation to return postal operations to the status quo. Read more here. Rick Pearson 5:50 p.m.: Wilmette boys nurture garden, and friendship, with 81-year-old neighbor during COVID-19 pandemic: Youve got to let stuff grow When Wilmette resident Barbara Offenberg gifted a few hosta plants to a neighbor earlier this summer, the conversation between the 81-year-old master gardener and the young mother who lives across the street was overheard by two curious 11-year-old boys. With the COVID-19 pandemic scuttling their summer youth baseball team, and now with plenty of free time on their hands, rising sixth graders Evan Rick and Jensen Knox wandered over to Offenbergs house later that afternoon and politely inquired, How can we start a garden? Two months later, Evan and Jensen are nurturing a flourishing perennial garden along with a growing friendship with their octogenarian neighbor, who they call Barb. I was very much surprised, because at their age, most boys are interested in video games, not starting a garden, said Offenberg, a retired church office manager. When they asked me for help in starting a garden, I thought, Oh my gosh ... these boys are so polite! There just couldnt be anything better than this, Offenberg said. Before long, Evan, Jensen, and Evans 7-year-old brother, Owen, trundled over to Offenbergs backyard, pulling a red wagon loaded with gardening tools, and anxious to start digging. Read more here. Karen Ann Cullotta 4:15 p.m.: Illinois orders stricter rules for bars in Metro East area outside St. Louis in effort to slow surge in COVID-19 positivity rate The Metro East region outside St. Louis on Tuesday becomes the first in Illinois to be put back under stricter rules meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 after surpassing a state positivity rate threshold. The step backwards in reopening in the Metro East comes as the state on Monday reported 1,773 newly confirmed coronavirus cases and 12 deaths of people with COVID-19. The statewide totals now stand at 207,854 known cases and 7,756 deaths throughout the course of the pandemic. The restrictions that take effect in the Metro East region on Tuesday include an 11 p.m. closing time for bars, capping gathering sizes at the lesser of 25 people or 25% of a rooms capacity and a requirement for no seating or congregating at a bar. Read more here. Jamie Munks 4:13 p.m.: Chicago closes 5 more restaurants and bars for COVID-19 guideline violations Five businesses were closed down over the weekend after investigators from the City of Chicagos department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection found them to be in violation of reopening requirements. Barba Yianni (4761 N. Lincoln Ave.) was closed and issued two citations for having more than 80 people inside, operating after midnight, and violating social distancing and face covering guidelines Juanitas Restaurant #2 (6539-6541 W. 63rd St.) was closed and issued two citations for having more than 70 people inside, operating after midnight, and violating social distancing and masking guidelines Retro Cafe and Restaurant (3246 N. Central Ave.) was closed and issued two citations for operating after midnight and violating social distancing and masking guidelines La Estrella Blanca Nightclub (3049 N. Cicero Ave.) was closed and issued two citations for allowing guests to drink alcohol inside without a retail food license and for violating masking guidelines Second Time Around (8303 W. Irving Park Road) was closed and issued two citations for operating after midnight All of the businesses were closed for one night. Read more here. Grace Wong 3:47 p.m.: What you need to know about heading back to school, from pre-K to college Much like everything else, back-to-school has a very different feeling in 2020. The excitement about starting a new school year has been overshadowed by changes and restrictions prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. From remote learning to gap years and everything in between, our 2020 back-to-school guide will help you navigate this unprecedented return to school. Chicago Tribune staff 1:52 p.m.: Little Beans Cafe closes Chicago location in hopes of keeping Evanston play space afloat. We need this to work. With more and more schools starting the year with virtual learning, working parent-friendly child care has never been more in demand. That should be good news for Little Beans Cafe, which Shannon Valko launched a decade ago after making the rounds of kids play spaces with her oldest child and failing to find one that didnt make parents feel like an afterthought especially working parents. But now, restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have limited their business so much that Valko said she and her brother Rob Spengler, Little Beans Cafes co-owner, have no choice but to close the North Side play space where Little Beans Cafe began in hopes of keeping their second site, in Evanston, afloat. We want to get to the other side of this because its so important for families, said Valko, who has never been more worried for kid-oriented businesses like hers even competitors. It would be a shame to see us all leave, she said. If everything fun for kids ends, why raise kids in the city? At Little Beans Cafe, kids can take classes or explore a child-size village with a grocery store and firehouse, or play with blocks, puzzles and ride-on cars. Parents can join in or get work done in the cafe. In March, when Little Beans Cafe decided to close for two weeks as a precaution, staff members cracked open Coronas and told each other it would be a well-deserved break. Valko had no idea it would be the last time she saw kids playing in the Chicago location she considers Little Beans Cafes heart and soul. Read more here. Lauren Zumbach 1:15 p.m.: Staff, instructors at City Colleges of Chicago vote no confidence An overwhelming majority of unionized instructors, clerical workers and adjunct faculty at the City Colleges of Chicago have issued a vote of no confidence in the schools administration, contending its plan to keep some facilities open during the coronavirus pandemic is misguided. Tony Johnston, president of the Cook County College Teachers Union, said Monday that 96 percent of his members and those of Local 1708, which represents clerical and technical employees, said they had no confidence in the leadership of Chancellor Juan Salgado. Though largely symbolic, the vote marked the first time since 2015 that faculty members sent this forceful of a message to leaders of the citys seven-campus community college network. Among many issues, the unions object to the need for some college advisors and support staff to work in person at campus buildings, which began Aug. 3. "We are here again today to urge the City Colleges administration to return to full remote student support immediately, and more importantly, halt the reopening of the City Colleges to our students and our communities," Johnston said. A spokeswoman for City Colleges said only a limited number of in-person services are being offered during the peak enrollment period and the schools operational plan has been approved by public health experts. Classes, about 80 percent of which are virtual, begin Aug. 24. This is an unprecedented time, and we share our unions concerns for the health and safety of our staff, faculty, students, and community, spokeswoman Katheryn Hayes said in an emailed statement. After Aug. 21, when the busiest enrollment period has ended, all student services will revert to remote delivery, though computer labs and some in-person tutoring will remain available, according to CCC. College buildings will also be open as study spaces and for technology and Internet needs. But right now, Local 1708 President Delores Withers said the networks safety precautions are inadequate. Withers said the installment of plexiglass barriers is sporadic and the administration has denied requests to purchase face shields for staff interacting with students. About 96 percent of adjunct faculty and adult education instructors also voted for no confidence in Salgado, according to their unions. Elyssa Cherney 12:50 p.m.: At virtual Democratic convention, Lightfoot says Trump is mounting full-out assault on Postal Service, election and democracy Mayor Lori Lightfoot cast President Donald Trump and Republicans as enemies of democracy who are mounting a full-out assault on the integrity of the November election by undermining the U.S. Postal Service and making it more difficult for people to vote by mail amid a pandemic. Lightfoot made the comments Monday morning during a virtual round table discussion at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee focused on protecting the right to vote this fall. Every day the importance of this falls election grows and grows, and every day unfortunately, we see increasing evidence that this administration is mounting a full out assault on every pillar of our democracy, including the integrity of our elections, Lightfoot said. This is real folks. Its not an exaggeration. Its not a conspiracy theory. The former federal prosecutor then went on to hammer the Trump administration and Republicans for draconian cuts at the Postal Service that have disrupted the delivery of mail in recent days. Read more here. Bill Ruthhart 12:45 p.m.: Why is it deemed safe to play high school football in Ohio but not in the Big Ten? The Ohio High School Athletic Associations plan for high school football calls for a modified schedule six games with every team making the playoffs. Every player has his own water bottle and they can spread out on the sidelines by watching from the 15-yard line. Practices have less physical contact. And games essentially have eight quarters because theres a two-minute mini-break built in, the idea being linemen should not breathe on each other for such extended periods. Are all the players being tested for COVID-19? Nope. That is deemed too expensive. Contrast all that with the Big Ten Conference, a financial behemoth where Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin combined to produce $427 million in football revenues in 2018-19. Wait, which is the group thats not playing in 2020? And sticking with college football, how come Iowa State has not canceled football but Iowa has? Why is Notre Dame practicing but not Purdue? Its no wonder parents are seeking answers, and many players want the Big Tens decision to be overturned. Read more here. Teddy Greenstein 9:30 a.m.: Edies Cafe opens today, bringing a new working space and cafe to River North, a rarity these days During a time when public gathering areas are at a premium, a new restaurant is trying to restore at least one such space in the Wells Street corridor. Edies All Day Cafe and Bar opens Monday in the former Limitless Coffee space on Wells Street in River North. The project comes in part from Limitless founder Matt Matros, who approached co-founder Arturo Gomez about helping Matros convert one of his existing storefront locations to something different. The result is an all-day cafe that follows COVID-19 safety protocols. Edies boasts a 55-seat outdoor patio, plus indoor seating for up to 30 socially dstanced patrons. The space boasts a flexible daytime menu featuring brunch and snacks, plus a beverage program that includes beer, wine and cocktails, plus Matros coffee. Read more here. Adam Lukach 6:40 a.m.: For Illinois delegates, a totally bizarre Democratic convention from the couch When the 2020 Democratic National Convention gets underway Monday, no delegates will be traveling to Milwaukee Wisconsin for it, with the coronavirus pandemic still coursing through the country. Neither will any of the speakers. Not even Joe Biden will accept the partys nomination in the key swing states largest city. Instead, virtually all of the convention will be held remotely four nights of solely -for-TV festivities, capped by Bidens speech on Thursday night. For the 182 Illinois delegates and 13 alternates, the social event will be attempted virtually by the state party on a nightly basis before the two-hour national prime-time festivities. There will be no raucous nightly parties, no lunches paid for by special interest groups and no morning breakfast rallies where guest speakers and surrogates from the national campaign aim to put the states delegates in a rallying mood. Read more here. Bill Ruthhart, Rick Pearson 6:30 a.m.: Coronavirus brings unlikely classroom: A 56-story apartment tower in Streeterville A 56-story apartment tower in the Streeterville neighborhood plans to convert some of its office space to small classrooms, betting that frazzled families will seek space outside the home to conduct remote learning amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 490-unit Optima Signature, a skyscraper at 220 E. Illinois St. known for its bright red lower levels, is no ordinary schoolhouse. Yet with many parents working from home since March amid COVID-19, and with many schools planning to conduct classes virtually this fall, the buildings owner believes there will be a demand for learning pods. So-called pandemic pods and micro-schools allow small groups of kids from close-knit families to study together in person with a teacher, tutor or parent. Widespread closures of schools and day cares has left Chicago-area workers and employers scrambling for solutions. Glencoe-based architecture and development firm Optima, which completed the Streeterville high-rise in 2017, last week began marketing four of its 25 office suites for educational purposes. Read more here. Ryan Ori 6:15 a.m.: Can little kids really social distance? Lessons from child care centers that have stayed open during the pandemic, and why it might not work in schools Earlier this summer, when Chicago Public Schools still planned to reopen in September, Chicagos top public health official said even elementary-age children are capable of following measures to fight the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing and wearing face masks. I have nieces and nephews this age, and when you model this behavior for children and set it as an expectation, they actually do very well with it in my experience, Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the citys Public Health Department, said at a July news conference. Some parents and teachers otherwise the biggest believers in their kids and students were less optimistic. They said social distancing goes against the very nature of very young children. Although CPS has since reverted to all remote learning at least until November, the decision will undoubtedly send more Chicago children into day care or other group settings, and many private and suburban schools still intend to open their doors. CPS leaders have also said its likely schools will reopen before a vaccine is developed and completely rolled out. So the question still remains: Even if kids sometimes slip up in following public health guidelines, how can we keep them safe? Read more here. Claire Hao Here are three stories from the weekend about COVID-19. Facing a no-visitor hospital policy due to coronavirus, a Lakeview woman begs to see her terminally ill husband. House Democrats summoned USPS leaders to testify this month about mail delays across the country. California is grappling with triple-digit temperatures, a freak lightning storm in the Bay Area, and high winds, all of which are contributing to wildfires breaking out throughout the state and, on Saturday, at least one rare fire tornado in Lassen County, north of Lake Tahoe. The National Weather Service in Reno issued a first-ever fire tornado warning on Saturday, Dawn Johnson, a meteorologist at the Reno station, said Sunday. A fire tornado is a "rare phenomenon" formed when strong winds, extreme heat, and rough terrain combine, fueled by gas from burning vegetation, Ben Gelber, a longtime meteorologist in Ohio, told The New York Times. "It's so unusual, it's a little difficult to wrap our heads around. Of course, the towering clouds created by fires, we've all seen that. But the tornadic feature or multiple fire whirls, that's just incredible." Johnson said the NWS plans to investigate the fire tornado sightings as soon as it's safe. "In this case, there's a massive wildfire burning in the same location, so the logistics are a lot more complicated." The San Francisco Bay Area experienced nonstop lightning strikes Sunday, fueled by moisture from a tropical storm offshore. The lightning ignited spot fires in remote areas of Northern California and fueled wildfires being battled outside Los Angeles. The Lake Fire in Angeles National Forest, which has burned nearly 28 square miles, was 12 percent contained by Sunday, and the smaller fire near the L.A. suburb of Azusa was just 3 percent contained. The fire in Lassen County, with the fire tornado, was just 5 percent contained as of Sunday. Much of California reached at least 100 degrees over the weekend, including Oakland for the first time in August, prompting rolling blackouts to prevent widespread power failures. Sacramento hit 112 degrees on Sunday, and the southwestern desert town of Needles recorded 123 degree heat on Saturday. Death Valley, the lowest and hottest place in the U.S., recorded a high of 130 degrees on Sunday, one of the hottest temperatures ever recorded on Earth possibly the highest, The Washington Post reports, given doubts about the accuracy of century-old measurements. More stories from theweek.com John Boehner would 'rather set himself on fire' than get involved in the 2020 election Daughter of coronavirus victim speaks at DNC: 'His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump' Kamala Harris' Secret Service code name reportedly reflects her groundbreaking nomination CINCINNATI, Ohio At least four people were killed and 17 injured in a rash of shootings early Sunday morning, according to reports. Police tell the Enquirer there were four shootings in four separate neighborhoods in the city. Robert Rogers, 34, and Jaquiez Grant, 30, were killed and several wounded in a shooting in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. Antonio Blair, 21, died and four were wounded in the Avondale neighborhood, and Myron Green, 39, was shot and killed in the West End. A fourth shooting in Walnut Hills left three wounded. The first shooting was reported at 12:34 a.m. and the final incident was at 7:45 a.m., WCPO Channel 9 reports. This amount of gun violence and the damage this has inflicted on our neighborhoods is unacceptable, Police Chief Eliot Isaac said in a news release, according to WCPO. I am calling on all citizens of this great city to say enough is enough! We must not sit by silently and say we cant do anything to end gun violence. We all have a moral obligation to stop the violence and stop the killing in our communities. Mayor John Cranley released a statement calling the shootings senseless and said the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is creating unprecedented circumstances and challenges in battling crime in the city. These issues and this surge are not unique to Cincinnati, Cranley said, according to WLWT Channel 5. Cities nationwide are experiencing spikes in crime. During COVID-19 we have seen a huge increase in shootings as large numbers of people with guns are gathering in private homes and public places like Grant park when the bars close at 10 p.m. Guns are far too prevalent at these gatherings. Please do not attend gatherings because you could end up as an innocent victim. An outbreak of deadly shootings were reported in several U.S. cities this weekend. CNN reports that three people were killed and 30 wounded in Chicago, and in New York City, more than 40 people were shot in a 48-hour period as of Sunday morning. CNN reports homicides increased 37 percent in 20 major U.S. cities from May to June 2020, led by Chicago, Philadelphia and Milwaukee. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Two arrested in East Cleveland after driver of stolen vehicle leads officers on chase, flashes submachine gun Lake County man arrested, accused of shooting housemate to death, authorities say Cleveland man charged with receiving, distributing child pornography, feds say Akron police release name of 8-year-old girl killed in shooting New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Modi government gave a major push to address the health concerns of India's tribal population, particularly at a time when a pandemic is wreaking havoc. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda launched a Tribal Health and Nutrition Portal "Swasthya" for this purpose. He also launched an e-newsletter on health and nutrition to keep these tribes informed about the health risks. Swasthya will curate innovative practices, research briefs, case studies, and best practices collected from different parts of India to facilitate the exchange of evidence, expertise and experiences. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has recognized Piramal Swasthya as the Centre of Excellence for Knowledge Management for Health and Nutrition, which will constantly engage with the Ministry and provide inputs to drive evidence-based policy and decision-making pertaining to health and nutrition of the tribal population of India. "The availability of healthcare for all has been one of the foremost priorities of our Prime Minister. Although the public health standards have improved over time, the differences between tribal and non-tribal populations remain. We, at the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, are committed to bridge this gap," said Munda. Meanwhile, the quarterly e-newsletter, which too was launched, is expected to improve the health and well being of the tribal communities, particularly during Covid time. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- In the war against the coronavirus, only one weapon has the potential to ease the conflict quickly: a vaccine. With about 164,000 Americans dead from Covid-19, the economy battered and communities forced into recurring lockdowns, the federal government has made a $10 billion wager that public funds and expertise wedded to private research and production can jump-start a vaccines arrival possibly by early next year. Operation Warp Speed, launched in April, is administered by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Biomedical Advance Research and Development Authority, and the Department of Defense, along with several other federal agencies. A handful of pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Inc., Novavax Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Sanofi SA, have received the lions share of the federal funding. The companies are spending those billions on vaccine development and clinical trials, as well as the cost of manufacturing and delivering a successful candidate to the government. Companies arent required to repay the money, and the government is getting no equity stake or profit participation in return for the taxpayer dollars. But the companies have committed to delivering hundreds of millions of doses of their vaccines directly to the government, which promises free inoculations for Americans. Theres likely to be plenty of wreckage along the way. Many companies may not be able to engineer a vaccine, much less deliver one, and billions of dollars will go down the drain. Its a calculated risk worth taking, as long as it speeds an effective vaccine to market. Drug companies normally develop drugs slowly in order to minimize pricey failures. A cushion of federal funding allows Big Pharma to begin manufacturing possibly money-losing drugs even while trials are underway, compressing years of work into months. Warp Speeds upside saving lives is well worth any money that may get lost. But the program also has been shrouded in secrecy. The government has good reasons to keep some parts of the program under wraps, particularly negotiations that could affect the stock prices of companies making bids. But the process for deciding which companies were tapped to participate in the public health equivalent of the Manhattan Project has been entirely too opaque. And that lack of transparency is also likely to make the public the folks who will have to line up for inoculations skeptical that the government has ensured that we wind up with an effective, safe vaccine. Story continues Two of the men overseeing Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui and Gary Disbrow, say they arent cutting any corners around testing or safety protocols before a vaccine is released into the wild, but time is of the essence. If we were to wait to scale up manufacturing until we had results of Phase 3 clinical trials, we would be looking at a six- to eight-month delay before we even started manufacturing, says Disbrow, who has worked for Barda since 2007 and is now the agencys acting director. The financial burden for lives lost and the financial burden to our overall economy for not allowing our people to go back to a somewhat normal routine is much greater than the financial burden that we're assuming in developing these vaccines. Slaoui is a well-regarded, Moroccan-born research scientist who spent three decades at GlaxoSmithKline, most recently as head of the drug giants vaccines department, before he retired in 2017. He also served on several corporate boards of directors, including Modernas, before President Donald Trumps administration appointed him as Warp Speeds chief adviser in May. As I took the role coming from industry, I had a few hesitations, concerns that I may get myself into some kind of a moving sand and bureaucracy, he says. And its just in the reverse. Its incredible. I think the level of focus and alignment and empowerment and lack of interference its just perfect. And I think as an executive team were running at a thousand miles an hour. Slaoui also has little patience for critics of Warp Speeds structure or goals: Many, many experts are saying, Why, this has never been done, and Why, its impossible to do. I would like to ask them: Please, can you take 10% of your time and help us try to make it work? Of course its very difficult. Of course it could fail. That doesnt address one of the most pertinent criticisms: that Warp Speeds contracts and spending arent transparent. The House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis has just called for Warp Speed officials to provide more information on its operations. In a recent Senate hearing, legislators grilled Disbrow, along with Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, about how the operation is being run. The administration still has not provided any explanation of how it is selecting vaccine candidates, what the risks are of narrowing down that shortlist or addressed concerns about potential conflicts in contracts that predate this crisis, Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state, observed during the hearing. The Warp Speed leaders declined to offer specifics to senators on which companies were candidates or how the selection process works. Disbrow noted that Barda has been making Warp Speed investments public as soon as the agency believes its appropriate to do so. (The full list can be found here.) Collins said his agency convened a panel of experts who reviewed 50 Covid-19 vaccine candidates before the list was winnowed down. All three men told the senators that they hadnt come under pressure from the White House or anyone else in government to select particular Warp Speed participants or to expedite the delivery of a vaccine to improve President Trumps re-election prospects. But political controversy has haunted every discussion of Warp Speed and its timeline for delivering a vaccine. And for good reason. Trump has frequently highlighted the possibility that a vaccine will arrive much sooner than experts and Warp Speeds own leaders predict, and he has forced agencies such as the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration both part of the Warp Speed effort to bend to his will or follow his lead on medically dubious initiatives. Slaoui says a vaccine could be available by the end of the year for some at-risk individuals, but that would require emergency approval from the FDA. Stephen Hahn, the FDA commissioner, has said his agency will maintain high standards in its approval process, but Trump has also made his preferences clear. That could put pressure on Hahn, an inexperienced commissioner who already flip-flopped on granting emergency authorization for the use of hydroxychloroquine, a controversial and ineffective drug favored by the president. Members of the medical community have also raised red flags about Warp Speeds opaque selection process. They contend that some companies appeared to have been selected because they could manufacture a vaccine quickly, not because they demonstrated the most promising scientific approaches. Its typical Operation Warp Speed, where everything is sort of cryptic and its unclear what theyre actually saying, Peter Hotez, a vaccine researcher at Baylor College of Medicine, told Science Magazine in June. What have these vaccines been chosen to do? Slaoui and Disbrow say transparency is a priority but that theyre negotiating with publicly traded companies and have to be circumspect about disclosure to avoid moving their stock prices. They say they will soon disclose extensive data from trials the companies have conducted. We intend to publish it in a way that does not interfere with the quality and outcome of the clinical trials, Slaoui says. That would be the only limitation I can think of: Would this undermine the quality of the work? We have to be transparent, he adds. We have to be accountable, of course, of course. Dont assume that something Machiavellian is happening. Something beautiful is happening, which is were getting our act together to help humanity. Because the Trump administration hired Slaoui as a consultant rather than as an employee, he isnt required to disclose his financial holdings or adhere to federal ethics guidelines. Critics say this could allow him to benefit financially from Warp Speed. Slaoui disclosed that he sold his Moderna shares, worth at least $10 million, when he joined Warp Speed and forfeited options that were worth about $4.2 million. He still holds about $10 million of GlaxoSmithKline shares; he says he relies on dividend payments to fund his retirement. He has promised to make a charitable donation based on any appreciation in the price of those shares during his time with Warp Speed. HHS says it has reviewed Slaouis finances and business relationships and doesnt believe there are financial conflicts that would prevent him from doing his job properly. Disbrow pointed out that Slaoui has no power to award Warp Speed contracts and that individual contracts are managed by other government employees. While Slaoui says he understands and respects the need for the scrutiny his finances have received, he also feels his honesty has been unfairly put into play. The question is asked in a way that assumes that Im a thief, he says. Doing this to enrich my former colleagues or myself. I disagree with that statement. Disbrow says that public service, not enrichment, is what drew him and his colleagues to Warp Speed. Ive worked in the government now for 14 years. This is an unprecedented collaboration, he says. Were doing this for the American people and for the world. I mean, I know that may sound like a cliche, but we all have friends and family members who potentially could be impacted by this, so our No. 1 goal is to develop a safe and effective vaccine. Warp Speed awarded contracts after companies applied through an open solicitation process run by Barda and the Department of Defense (Gustave Perna, a four-star U.S. Army general, is Warp Speeds chief operating officer). Disbrow says that experts across the federal government, including contracting officers, reviewed all of the proposals and financial awards. John Shiver, the head of vaccine research and development at Sanofi, a Warp Speed participant, describes the process as involved. There is a formal application process and a fairly detailed plan in the application on the technical aspects, he says. How its made, how its characterized, data that evolves, data preclinically and in development, animal immunogenicity, are all provided in great detail as well as data on manufacturing and the doses we can provide. Slaoui says speed was a priority in what he describes as a well-defined selection strategy, but it wasnt the only one. Warp Speed wanted to fund a broad array of vaccine research and manufacturing in order to avoid focusing on a single approach, ensure abundant supply and hedge against possible failures. Our first priority was, and continues to be, we must be able to have vaccines that are safe and effective, and we must have enough doses of vaccines as quickly as possible, he says. The government is funding two cutting-edge shots from Moderna and Pfizer that use messenger RNA or mRNA, molecules that carry genetic instructions, to turn cells into tiny vaccine factories that generate antiviral protection. These shots are easier to make than other options and have raced into clinical trials, but regulators havent previously approved such a vaccine. Warp Speed is also funding more proven approaches. Sanofis effort relies on chunks of factory-grown virus protein made with the same process used for one of its successful flu vaccines. This vaccine is to be paired with a booster made by GlaxoSmithKline that could make it more effective and easier to produce in large volumes. Novavax is using a similar method. In the middle of the range between brand-new and tried-and-true approaches are candidates from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. Both drugmakers are using a harmless virus to deliver material that helps the immune system recognize the novel coronavirus. There is no broadly used vaccine of this type on the market, but the approach has more human testing behind it than mRNA does. Johnson & Johnson hopes that its vaccine will work with just one shot, in contrast to the two-dose regimen required by other finalists. Having already secured 800 million potential doses of six shots, Warp Speed plans to fund at least two more unspecified vaccines that would protect against the virus in yet another way. Each Warp Speed participant has a bespoke deal with the government based on how well-developed its vaccine is, how much funding it needs to complete trials, and the scope of its manufacturing demands. Pricing is also a pivotal issue. Warp Speed companies are, for the most part, hugely profitable enterprises that charge Americans the highest drug prices in the world. With the government absorbing much of the financial risk these companies usually point to as justification for lofty prices, the expectation is that any vaccine that emerges from Warp Speed should come with a rock-bottom price. Although the vaccines will be free to the public, the ultimate cost to taxpayers is still important. AstraZeneca, which has pledged to forgo profits from any vaccines it sells during the pandemic, plans to deliver 300 million doses to the government in exchange for $1.2 billion in total funding about $4 a dose. Moderna has received nearly $1 billion and is slated to get as much as $1.525 billion more if it can deliver 100 million doses about $25 per dose. Disbrow argues that Warp Speed isnt paying only for shots. The initial $1 billion for Moderna, for example, was a one-time payment to fund clinical trials and factories. Americans will benefit if this helps speed a vaccine to market, and the spending could pay off over time if Moderna produces additional doses. (The company will get less federal money if it doesnt get an approval by Jan. 31.) Even so, Modernas proposed pricing has been especially controversial, and not only because its relatively high. Taxpayers have been helping finance Modernas vaccine research since long before Warp Speed came along. The NIH, as Axios and Public Citizen have reported, has been such a significant backer of Moderna that it may own a stake in the intellectual property undergirding the companys coronavirus vaccine. In that context, its reasonable to expect Moderna to set a lower price. Representative Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat who is a frequent critic of high drug prices and heads a powerful House subcommittee that deals with health-care funding, is not a fan of Warp Speeds Moderna deal. For Moderna, the first billion was just not enough, he wrote in a public statement about the contract. After American taxpayers gave it over $1 billion to develop, test and manufacture a vaccine, Moderna offers us the privilege of purchasing that same vaccine we already paid for with another $1.525 billion and an option to pay even more for additional doses. While not addressing Modernas deal specifically, Slaoui argues that the government is getting a solid return on its Warp Speed investments because vaccine recipients will ultimately get a low-cost treatment. Warp Speeds contracts are clearly preferable to possible alternatives, he says: research delays and dose costs closer to the $100-plus prices of some vaccines. Without Warp Speeds deals, the U.S. might have had to compete with other countries for a limited supply of vaccines boosting prices even further and delaying inoculations. Also unresolved, and potentially troubling, is the way in which vaccines will be priced after Warp Speed companies deliver their first batch of treatments. If Covid-19 flares up seasonally and initial vaccine protections fade, booster shots may become expensive. Pfizer and Moderna have both indicated that they might charge higher prices for their vaccines post-pandemic. Slaoui concedes that future prices for a vaccine are likely to go up. Warp Speed isnt perfect. A bidding process or public auction for contracts might have saved taxpayers money. Joining forces with other countries could have allowed for more substantial investments in new vaccines and helped ensure more equal distribution of vaccines worldwide. Nevertheless, creating a coronavirus vaccine is crucial. Years of underinvestment in public health and corporate preferences for pricey drugs over other medical necessities have left vaccine research in a state of neglect. Now, with a pandemic ravaging the country, the only option is to gamble on technology. In years ahead, it will be unsustainable for countries to rely on stopgap programs like Warp Speed, Slaoui says. In a world where pandemics happen again and again, he says, governments will need dedicated organizations that specialize in developing vaccines. To be sure, those organizations already exist the NIH, for example, and foundations such as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness. Unfortunately, these institutions arent funded or empowered at the level required to meet a Covid-sized crisis. All things considered, Warp Speeds progress has been impressive. Moderna and Pfizer are already enrolling patients in clinical trials. AstraZeneca will start a Phase 3 trial soon. Its possible that a viable vaccine will be ready in the first quarter of 2021. Everything that people do is fraught with challenges and problems, Sanofis Shiver says. I have to say that this has gone about as well as anything could, the collaboration that Ive seen between government groups and industry is tremendous, and theres a great amount of goodwill. Goodwill is going to be a valuable commodity for Warp Speed, even if it develops a coronavirus vaccine in record time. Millions of doses will do no good if they dont end up in peoples arms and that means Warp Speeds architects will also have to convince Americans traditionally skeptical of public-health initiatives that the governments vaccine is safe and necessary. Transparency now will help that effort down the road. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Timothy L. O'Brien is a senior columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Max Nisen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, pharma and health care. He previously wrote about management and corporate strategy for Quartz and Business Insider. 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. ALBANY Pioneer Bank says that former MyPayrollHR CEO Michael Mann bilked the bank out of $15 million by hiding the fact that the company was a payroll processing firm - despite the fact that the term payroll was in the company's name. Pioneer Bank, which loaned tens of millions of dollars to Mann, says Mann also hid the fact that two other of his companies, Cloud Payroll and Southwestern Payroll, were payroll companies - again despite the fact that the term "payroll" was in their corporate name. In a counterclaim filed against Southwestern Payroll - in response to a lawsuit that Southwestern Payroll brought against Pioneer last October - Pioneer says that Mann made it appear that the cash flow from his businesses were actually revenues from the businesses when they were not. "A significant portion of the funds in the Southwestern Payroll, MyPayrollHR, and Cloud Payroll accounts at Pioneer Bank were not revenues or receivables of those companies but were instead funds collected from those companies third-party employer-customers to be transmitted to third-party employees or third party taxing authorities," the Pioneer Bank counterclaim states. In fact, Pioneer Bank did not allow payroll processors to utilize its services at the bank. "Pioneer Bank has a strict policy against allowing its accounts to be used for processing payroll or other third-party payment processing, and Section 5 thus explained that 'Pioneer Bank is not equipped at this time to maintain accounts for non-bank or third party payment processors,'" Pioneer Bank's lawyers state. Pioneer Bank's attorney, Robert Alessi, could not be reached for comment. Mann has confessed his criminal activity to federal authorities. Two other lawsuits filed in February by Chemung Canal Trust Company and Berkshire Bank alleged Pioneer "had a unique window into the ... fraudulent scheme," and should have known that something was amiss with Mann's accounts before his company collapsed. The suits alleged that a friendship between Mann and a Pioneer Bank executive enabled the fraud. Pioneer's CEO Tom Amell disputed this claim to the Times Union in February. Amell said there is nothing unusual about close friends negotiating a loan agreement when one of those friends is an executive at the originating bank. But Amell did say Pioneer has made changes in its business practices after learning lessons from the fallout of Mann's companies. Mann, a serial entrepreneur from Great Sacandaga Lake in Edinburgh who created many different companies - some of them real, some of them not - pleaded guilty last Wednesday to 12 counts of bank fraud, wire fraud, identity theft and filing false tax records, as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. His best-known company, MyPayrollHR, collapsed in early September of 2019 after his bankers uncovered a massive, decade-long fraud to obtain tens of millions of dollars in loans from finance companies and banks using fake financial documents. As his criminal scheme was about to be exposed, Mann was able to use special check-cashing abilities that Pioneer Bank had provided him that allowed him to write checks the same day he deposited checks through a special "remote deposit capture," or RDC, program that Mann was approved for in 2018. Mann used his accounts at Pioneer Bank and Bank of America for "kitting," a scheme to deposit checks into one account and then turn around and deposit checks back into the other account to inflate both account balances. "On August 29, 2019, Mann used the RDC privileges of the Mann entities at Pioneer Bank to deposit 36 checks totaling $15,588,000 written from Mann entity accounts at Bank of America accounts into various Mann Entity accounts at Pioneer Bank," Pioneer Bank's attorneys wrote in their counterclaim suit. Mann then withdrew that amount from Pioneer Bank. When Bank of America pulled the money back, suspecting illegal activity, Pioneer was out the $15.6 million. A five-year-old girl is among 17 migrants to arrive in Dover on the 14th consecutive day of Channel crossings as smugglers offer 'gold, silver and bronze' packages to desperate passengers. Yesterday 112 migrants arrived at Kent's shores, bringing the total for this month so far up to at least 1,232 - smashing Julys record 1,118 arrivals. The arrivals come as traffickers take advantage of vulnerable asylum seekers desperately fleeing their homelands by offering the paid-for arrangement at a camp in Calais. The most expensive package, gold, costs 10,000 and means you get a larger boat with better conditions, less other people and lifejackets, as reported by The Sun. One migrant who is hoping to make the journey in the next few days told the newspaper: 'The prices vary. It depends on the size of the boat and how many people are inside. 'People come around offering the crossings. We pay and keep in touch. They tell us when and where to go and pick us up. 'I'm looking forward to it. Britain is like heaven to me!' A five-year-old girl is one of 17 migrants to arrive at Dover after being picked up off the Kent coast by Border Force today The bronze package costs 1,000 or less and refugees are often crammed onto a stolen boat The silver package costs between 3,000 and 5,000, and leaves refugees on a slightly smaller boat, as seen by migrants crossing last Tuesday, who took selfies as they neared Dover The most expensive package, gold, costs 10,000 and means you get a larger boat with better conditions, less other people and lifejackets A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, by the Border Force The silver package costs between 3,000 and 5,000, and means you get a worse boat. And the lowest package, bronze, means you pay a prize of 1,000 or less and are often crammed onto a stolen boat. It comes as more than 1,000 migrants have arrived in the past 10 days, with more than 100, including a baby, picked up along the coast of Dover, Kent, yesterday. Yesterday 112 people, including a baby, arrived on eight vessels, one of which washed up next to the town's iconic white cliffs. Dover's MP Natalie Elphicke said she saw eight people on one boat, including a woman. She tweeted on Sunday: 'This morning at about 9am, eight illegal entrants motored into Britain. This is the dinghy they arrived in. This is the reality of the small boats crossings. Migrants pictured being led off the boats in Dover, Kent. A Border Force officer at the front carries a young child 'Only when migrants and traffickers alike know that they will be stopped and returned will these journeys come to an end.' Migrant boats have been seen lying in the sea after Border Force officials picked up more refugees yesterday. Dan O'Mahoney, Clandestine Channel Threat Commander, said other countries caps' make it difficult to send refugees back, if they don't have a legitimate asylum claim to stay in the UK. He said: 'It is a fact that these crossings are illegally facilitated by criminals who are making money exploiting migrants desperate to come to our country. At least 17 migrants have arrived in Dover today after they were intercepted by Border Force officials off the Kent coast Dover's MP Natalie Elphicke stood next to a small craft eight migrants had used to cross from France on Sunday morning Migrants were taken out of their own small boat and brought on board a Border Force patrol vessel Border Force crews brought the small boat back to shore after migrants tried to use it to cross Refugees are tested for coronavirus after arriving at Dover Harbour, today is the 14th consecutive day people have tried to make the dangerous crossing from France 'It is also a fact that France is a manifestly safe country with a fully functioning asylum system and refugees there can and should claim asylum. I am working with my counterparts in France and have reaffirmed our joint commitment to stopping these crossings and making this route totally unviable. 'We are determined to return those who do not have a legitimate asylum claim. However, this is made increasingly difficult as countries can have caps on the number of returns they accept. We are working as a matter of urgency to resolve this.' The Home Office has refused to provide any of the countries or their respective limits on taking returning migrants whose asylum claims are refused in the UK. Talks are ongoing to resolve the issue and its understood the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the ongoing issue. On Saturday evening the Ministry of Defence announced that it was sending a specialist team to provide support for 'the daily running of Border Force operations' after another 90 people made the crossing on Friday. The Royal Navy has not been employed to help stop such crossings since January 2019. A baby was among 112 migrants to be intercepted while crossing the Channel to the UK yesterday A group of people thought to be migrants are brought into Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel following a number of small boat incidents in the Channel earlier yesterday The deployment comes after 10 consecutive days of landings, with refugees seen possing for selfies as they wait to be picked up in the English Channel. A task-force of around a dozen officers will help to plan and organise operations while working alongside Border Force officials, according to The Sunday Telegraph. 'Civilian authorities are not used to fast paced, large scale and constantly changing situations in the same way as the military. That's what we do,' an MoD source told the newspaper. Migrant camps have been dismantled in Calais, forcing refugees to move to more remote areas before making the crossing. Home Secretary Priti Patel has sparked a row with her French counterparts, however, after she said migrants are crossing the Channel to Britain because they believe France is a 'racist country' where they may be 'tortured'. Border Force patrols picked up 112 migrants travelling in eight small boats throughout Sunday Refugees preparing to cross the Channel are staying at a makeshift camp after French authorities carried out evictions at larger sites earlier last week A boat that took a group of Iranian migrants across the Channel on August 12 The Royal Navy is set to advise on dealing with migrant crossings as it is used to 'fast paced, large scale and constantly changing situations,' a Ministry of Defence source has said The Home Secretary's inflammatory remarks, in a private meeting with Tory MPs, infuriated French politicians. One blasted: 'Madam Patel is not a politician who does much thinking.' But the row came as Europe's top judges condemned France for 'degrading and inhumane' treatment of asylum seekers in forcing them to sleep rough for months in 'constant fear of being attacked or robbed'. Tory MPs taking part in the Zoom conference call with Ms Patel also said she claimed to have been frustrated in her efforts to crack down on the Channel migrant crisis by No 10 although both sides denied that last night. The private web chat with the Home Secretary came amid mounting anger on the Tory backbenches over how the Government was handling the migrant crisis. One MP claimed Ms Patel had told them: 'France is a racist country. They would rather come to England.' Government sources have strongly denied that, insisting that the Home Secretary had only been passing on what migrants had been saying about France. One stressed: 'Priti made clear these were migrants' views not hers', adding that the Home Secretary thought claims of possible torture if they returned to France were nonsense, pushed by activist lawyers. DOYLESTOWN >> A man and woman will face decades in state prison for the repeated sexual assault of three children under the age of 13, abuse that they also filmed in more than 40 videos of child pornography. Leonard F. Hewitt Sr. 51, and Krystyn Anne Smock, 40, both of Bristol Township, committed the acts for more than four years... The 150-odd competitors meeting on the banks of Hungary's second largest river carried somewhat unusual equipment for a boat race -- protective gloves, rubber boots and large bags. Their challenge was to collect as much rubbish as possible from the Tisza, in the northeast of the country on the Ukrainian border, navigating it on rafts, built themselves from trash, for nine days. "Every year since 2013, we start again where we left off the previous season," said competition organiser Attila Molnar. This year, more than eight tonnes of rubbish -- such as plastic bottles, tyres and cans -- were collected from the river and its surrounding floodplains during the Upper Tisza Plastic Cup from August 1 to 9. With just half as many participants because of the coronavirus pandemic, that was still almost as much as in 2019, when racers managed to clean up an 80-kilometre (50-mile) section of the water course, according to organisers. Participants collected more than eight tonnes of rubbish over the nine days of the Upper Tisza Plastic Cup event / AFP "I think that, in all, we have extracted between 50 and 60 tonnes of waste over the past eight years," calculates 52-year-old competitor Istvan Palko. While Hungary's president has become one of the competition's sponsors, the water authority has taken on the challenge of keeping the cleaned sections rubbish-free, such as by closing the waterway with locks. - 'Hell, this is hard!' - The rafts themselves are crafted out of rubbish, preferrably plastic bottles, retrieved from the water, to help them float / AFP For the race, typically about a dozen rafts start from a small pier -- itself built from rubbish recovered from this tributary of the Danube -- and row downstream between 10 and 20 km a day. The distance covered over the nine race days is "enormous", according to Laszlo Helmeczi, the mayor of Zahony, one of the small riverside towns, who enthusiastically praises competitors' "superhuman effort". Rafters prefer to use plastic bottles scooped out of the water in huge nets to make their vessels because they increase buoyancy. During stopovers in the evening, rowers participate in environmental awareness events with locals from along the river / AFP Other rubbish, including parasols, fridge doors and pipes, can then be used to constitute the hull and the cockpit. During evening stopovers, racers participate in awareness programmes on environmental protection with locals, as well as lectures on the fauna, flora, history and heritage of the region, where ferocious fifth-century ruler Attila the Hun died. Race participant Dalma Farkas described the area as a kingdom "of mosquitoes and spiders". Many of the competitors are also involved the rest of the year in environmental associations in Hungary. "We are men of the water," said Viktor Kocsis, 40, who has been participating in the Cup for years and whose makeshift boat's name is a Hungarian expression, which roughly translates as "Hell, this is hard!". NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ Did you have the coronavirus, recovered and yet still are experiencing lingering symptoms? This August, Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick announced it has created a specialized COVID-19 Recovery Program, to treat patients who recovered from COVID-19, but continue to experience long-term symptoms, such as shortness of breath, digestive problems and fatigue. Many hospitals and doctors in the U.S. are treating these issues, but Saint Peter's appears to be one of the first in New Jersey to launch a formal program. University Hospital in Newark and the Hackensack Meridian health system have also launched similar programs to treat long-term COVID symptoms. It's a growing phenomenon: The CDC released this report at the end of July found that up to a third of COVID patients who were never hospitalized are still struggling with long-term symptoms, such as a cough and lack of energy. They call themselves "long haulers." And yes, some of those "long haulers" include teens and young adults who recovered from the virus. Long-term symptoms COVID survivors are reporting include shortness of breath, lack of energy, chest pain, cough, leg swelling, stomach pain and weight loss, among others. "While some patients feel better sooner, there are others that are experiencing lasting symptoms," said Amar Bukhari, MD, chief of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine at Saint Peter's. "To complicate matters, these symptoms can vary in intensity and duration from patient to patient; what we've noticed is that no two cases present the same." Additionally, many COVID-19 patients continue to experience lung, heart and behavioral health issues, among others, during recovery. Specialists participating in Saint Peter's COVID-19 Recovery Program will include pulmonologists, cardiologists, neurologists and others. The hospital also wants to collect as much data as it can to further study the mysterious virus, about which still so much is unknown. Story continues "We want to help patients feel better by effectively managing any lasting effects of the disease," said Nilam Srivastava, MD, chief of internal medicine at Saint Peter's. "We are collecting data to gain a better understanding of the disease overall and its long-term effects. This data will support our outreach efforts to not only better serve at-risk individuals, but to educate them on warning signs." All patient information will be kept confidential. For additional information about Saint Peter's COVID-19 Recovery Program, please contact the COVID Recovery line at 732-745-8552, saintpetershcs.com or call 732-745-8600. You will be asked to set up your first telemedicine appointment. Saint Peter's doctors will work with your primary care physician to come up with a treatment plan. Patients participating in St. Peter's COVID-19 Recovery Program also have the choice to donate plasma, further promoting COVID-19 medical research, through the Mayo Clinic's Convalescent Plasma Therapy Research program. Mayo Clinic is collecting plasma therapy samples from 2,637 sites nationwide. Convalescent blood plasma donations are currently being accepted through the New York Blood Center and American Red Cross. "My advice for anyone who previously tested positive for COVID-19 is to schedule a telemedicine appointment to learn more about the program and its benefits," said Dr. Bukhari. "Don't delay in seeking immediate help. All information will be kept confidential and that we're here to help them get better and stay better." This article originally appeared on the New Brunswick Patch Chapman University law professor John Eastman, third from left, at a 2009 press conference held by opponents of a state tax increase. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The behavior of university faculty members, especially once they have achieved the nearly impregnable job security that comes with tenure, can be embarrassing when they espouse viewpoints that shouldn't be uttered in a civilized setting. That inconvenient truth is brought to mind by an op-ed penned recently by John Eastman, a tenured professor at the Fowler School of Law at Orange-based Chapman University. A Chapman faculty member since 1999 and the law school's former dean, Eastman questions the eligibility of Kamala Harris to run for vice president indeed, her eligibility to hold the Senate seat she currently occupies. The op-ed was never intended to spark or to take part in the racist lie of Birtherism, the conspiracy theory aimed at delegitimizing Barack Obama, but we should have recognized the potential, even probability, that that could happen. Newsweek apologizes for a birther op-ed Eastman's op-ed, which appeared in Newsweek on Wednesday, the day after presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden chose Harris as his vice presidential running mate, caused an immediate furor. That's because it seemed to evoke the discredited and discreditable "birther" controversy that questioned Barack Obama's eligibility as president a claim promoted forcibly by Donald Trump during the Obama administration. Few could have overlooked that doubts about the citizenship of politicians had now been sowed against two national political leaders of color. Newsweek has apologized for publishing the piece. Chapman on Monday issued a statement attributed to its president, Daniele Struppa, that "the university is not responsible for the ideas of its faculty." But Struppa declined to criticize the op-ed itself, asserting that "if anyone in a position of authority were to publicly criticize faculty work, it would create a dangerous chilling effect on the culture of academic freedom that defines a university." Story continues The Chapman faculty has been stirred. More than one-third of the faculty has signed a petition calling for enhanced diversity and inclusion on the campus. Struppa responded by expressing his "unwavering commitment to a diverse and inclusive community at Chapman." But he hasn't yet responded to the petition's demand for concrete action, including filling an open position overseeing campus diversity. Should Chapman go further to disavow Eastman's op-ed? The answer is yes. And not merely because a threadbare argument being posed by a faculty member has been taken up by President Trump, who cites Eastman as a "very highly qualified" lawyer. Trump didn't explicitly endorse Eastman's argument, but didn't disavow it either. Chapman is being associated with the vilest notions of anti-immigrant sentiment and racism, via birtherism 2.0," Lisa Leitz, Chapman's professor of peace studies and an organizer of the petition, said Monday. "This undermines the work of many Chapman faculty and students who have long worked to increase the institutions diversity and inclusion." The core of Eastman's argument is that Harris, though born in Oakland, was the daughter of two parents who were living in the U.S. on visas and therefore may not be a citizen. According to the 14th Amendment, which dates to 1868, "all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens." Eastman asks, "Were Harris' parents lawful permanent residents at the time of her birth?...Or were they instead, as seems to be the case, merely temporary visitors?" If the latter were the case, he writes, "then derivatively from her parents, Harris was not subject to the complete jurisdiction of the United States at birth, but instead owed her allegiance to a foreign power or powers Jamaica, in the case of her father, and India, in the case of her mother and was therefore not entitled to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment as originally understood." Eastman told me he's most troubled by what he calls the "false charge that I simply made this stuff up because Kamala Harris is black." He points out that he's been studying and writing about so-called birthright citizenship for nearly 20 years "in all sorts of contexts," not merely black politicians. "There is a serious scholarly debate about the meaning of the 'subject to the jurisdiction' phrase that has never been resolved by the Supreme Court," he says. "Those that claim it is long-settled law are simply lying....In fact, it's racist to say that Harris ought to be exempt from the same kind of inquiry that has been posed about others." Yet even though the Supreme Court has not, legal scholars have. The vast weight of their research appears to fall in the opposite side from Eastman and a small cadre of conservative scholars, many at the Claremont Institute in Upland, where Eastman is listed as a senior fellow and where Josh Hammer, the Newsweek opinion editor who oversaw the op-ed's publication, is a former fellow. Eastman's parsing of the 14th Amendment's language aren't even accepted by many conservative legal scholars. One of them, UCLA's Eugene Volokh, even wrote a piece for Newsweek debunking Eastman's case. The libertarian Cato Institute calls Eastman's argument, charitably, an "unorthodox view." Newsweek initially responded to the uproar over Eastman's piece with an editor's note headlined, "Eastman's Newsweek Column Has Nothing to Do With Racist Birtherism," which Shakespeare might have faulted for "protesting too much." This hints at the problem often compared to putting toothpaste back in the tube: When you have to explain why an article isn't espousing a racist viewpoint, you're already straining to drive uphill. In a second editor's note (pro tip when you have to write an editor's note apologizing for an editor's note, you're really in trouble), Newsweek tried to cast the op-ed as an attempt to explore a minority legal argument about the definition of who is a 'natural-born citizen' in the United States." That pleads that the op-ed was about something of merely academic interest, which raises the question of why it belonged in Newsweek at all instead of a law review. Newsweek implies that the conclusion that Eastman's piece might be interpreted as racist struck its editors like a bolt from the blue. "To many readers," it says, "the essay inevitably conveyed the ugly message that Senator Kamala Harris, a woman of color and the child of immigrants, was somehow not truly American." "The op-ed was never intended to spark or to take part in the racist lie of Birtherism, the conspiracy theory aimed at delegitimizing Barack Obama, but we should have recognized the potential, even probability, that that could happen.... All of us at Newsweek are horrified that this op-ed gave rise to a wave of vile Birtherism directed at Senator Harris." Eastman says he wasn't happy with the second editor's note. "It was an apology for not anticipating how white racists might misuse my argument," he says, "but nobody has pointed out to me any such white racist group misusing the argument. If there is anything like that out there, I'd be happy to refute it." Eastman's op-ed and Newsweek's apology take advantage of an old dodge identified by George Orwell in 1945 as a defense against accusations of anti-Semitism in Britain: the claim that one is just engaging in an "observation of the facts." As Orwell wrote then, "naturally the anti-Semite thinks of himself as a reasonable being." Consequently, his anti-Semitism is cloaked as a search for facts wholly independent from their anti-Semitic import. This is precisely the same phenomenon at work both in Eastman's op-ed and Newsweek's defense of its publication. It's proper to take a closer look at Eastman's argument and background, to divine whether Newsweek could have been as innocent as all that. As for questioning the breadth of "birthright citizenship," Eastman has been flogging this dead horse for years. In other words, Newsweek undoubtedly walked into the morass of the "birthright" racist trope with its eyes wide open. That leaves us with the question of how Chapman should respond to the retailing of a potentially racist trope by a faculty member. No one is suggesting that Eastman lose his job over his views, but that doesn't mean that Chapman can't take a stronger stand on its own. Its reputation, after all, is on the line whether it likes it or not. Cases in which a tenured faculty member, or even an untenured teacher, take wholly noxious stands don't occur all that often, but they're not unprecedented. Take the case of Kevin McDonald, a tenured member of the psychology department at Cal State Long Beach, whose identification with anti-Semitic conspiracy theories tied the university in knots starting in the mid-1990s. In published works, McDonald's arguments that Jewish elitism fostered anti-Semitism were labeled as anti-Semitic and neo-Nazi propaganda by the Southern Poverty Law Center. "Given the prospect that Jews will continue as an elite hostile toward White America," he wrote in 2013, "the future of Whites in America is grim indeed. Concern about his membership on the CSULB faculty intensified after he testified in 2000 on behalf of Holocaust denier David Irving in Irving's unsuccessful libel suit against American Holocaust scholar Deborah Lipstadt. CSULB's academic leadership released a series of increasingly critical statements about McDonald. These culminated in a 2008 statement from the university's Academic Senate that set forth his white supremacist associations in detail, noted the risk to CSULB's reputation, and stated that "while the Academic Senate defends Dr. Kevin MacDonald's academic freedom and freedom of speech, as it does for all faculty, it firmly and unequivocally disassociates itself from the anti-Semitic and white ethnocentric views he has expressed." McDonald finally took early retirement in 2014. The CSULB statement could be a model for Chapman and its law school faculty. Struppa's statement takes the easy way out. It upholds the principle of academic freedom without being at all clear about what the Eastman case is about. Struppa's allusion to his "unwavering commitment to a diverse and inclusive community at Chapman" is far too narrow. The issue isn't the diversity of the Chapman community, but the diversity of the American body politic, and one faculty member's years long campaign to narrow it. Chapman and its law faculty need to make a full-throated statement of its commitment to a U.S. Constitution that has been a bulwark against racist discrimination. Its own name is at stake. DEAR ABBY: Last month, I found out a friend of mine was going to be living out of his van. I couldnt let him do that, so I offered him my second bedroom and put him on the lease. He told me Uber doesnt pay much, and he couldnt afford half the $1,700-a-month rent, so we agreed he would pay what he could, roughly $200-$300 of the $1,700. I said it was OK because I didnt take him in for money purposes. I did it to help a friend in need, and I had spare space. I quickly found out that hes a hoarder. His entire bedroom is full of his boxes of stuff (manga, anime, books, etc., not furniture or a TV), so much so that hes been sleeping on my living room couch. He also spends all his time at home and Ubered only the last two days of the month to make the $200 to pay me. I guess my question is, our agreement was $200-$300 a month, which he paid, but does finding out hes working only two days a month to make it change our agreement? -- TOOK IN A LOST PUPPY IN HAWAII DEAR TOOK: May I point out that when you took this puppy in, it wasnt so hed be sleeping on your couch but in the spare room? He shouldnt be using YOUR living room or YOUR couch for sleeping. Because you put this freeloader on the lease -- for what reason, I cannot fathom -- you may need an attorney to get him out of there. Rather than working two days a month to pay that minuscule amount of rent to you, he should be driving enough hours to accumulate a down payment on a place of his own. To say that your kindness has been taken advantage of is an understatement. DEAR ABBY: I am a 21-year-old woman who hasnt been very lucky when it comes to relationships. My first real relationship wasnt until I was 20, and it didnt last too long. I have talked to quite a few guys, but they never went past the getting to know you stage. I was able to figure out things I wanted and didnt want in a relationship. My best friend for the last eight years has always been there to help me get through some pretty hard times. He has all the qualities Im looking for in someone. Hes smart, funny, honest, caring and is literally a male version of me. When we were younger, he told me he had feelings for me, but I only saw him as a friend. Everyone would tell us we should be together, but I ignored it. After years of knowing I didnt feel the same way, he gave up trying to progress our friendship into something more. I always told him I didnt want to get romantically involved because I value his friendship too much and I didnt want to lose him. He recently started a relationship with someone, and it made me realize I might have romantic feelings for him that I havent had before. I dont know what to do. Please help. -- TOO LATE IN TEXAS DEAR TOO LATE: The longer you remain silent, the greater the chances that your friends new relationship could develop into something serious. Tell him all the qualities you think are special about him (minus the one about being your clone). Then follow it up with the fact that it wasnt until he started this new romantic relationship that you realized you have those kinds of feelings for him. Better late than never. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. People on two continents gathered to say farewell to Dr. Frederick Morfaw, who is being remembered by McMaster University as a compassionate public health champion. Morfaw who died of a blood clot on June 15 at St. Josephs hospital at the age of 40 was a leader and tireless advocate for increasing programs to decrease mother-to-child transmission of HIV in his native Cameroon and around the world. He researched the effectiveness of drugs, especially misoprostol, in the prevention of postpartum hemorrhage, which is the leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide and in sub-Saharan Africa in particular. Morfaw came to Hamilton in 2017 to get a degree in health research methodology at McMaster University and joined the department of health research methods, evidence and impact (HEI). A vigil was held on Zoom on June 24 featuring colleagues from McMaster and friends in Cameroon, such as Dr. Arnelle Foutko from the Order of Cameroon doctors and two Cameroon judges Morfaws father-in-law, retired Justice Njuzy Charles, and Morfaws older brother, Magistrate Joseph Morfaw. Morfaws June 25 funeral at Canadian Martyrs Church in west Hamilton was livestreamed on YouTube and a funeral prayer and program in Limbe Isokolo, Cameroon, was broadcast on Zoom on June 27. It featured testimony from friends and family members. His death shocked family and friends, and has been extremely hard on his wife Laura. They were looking forward to setting up a new life in Canada with their three children. She was a state prosecutor and a magistrate in training in Cameroon and had sent her credentials off to the law society ruling body in Ottawa to see what she needed to do to become a lawyer in Ontario. Im still sad for what happened to Frederick, Laura told The Spectator. Its like our whole life changed in one minute. We had objectives. We had goals. In a statement from the HEI department, Dr. Lawrence Mbuagbaw, a friend of Morfaws and an HEI assistant professor, said, Frederick, who was known as Papi, brought joy and laughter with him wherever he went. He was one of my oldest friends and I will miss him dearly. He is leaving a huge gap in the heart of his friends, family and colleagues and the academic world. In the same statement, Daeria Lawson, a PhD student in the health research methodology program, said Morfaws death will be felt deeply throughout the student community. He had a very special way of connecting with people and bringing joy to those around him with his presence, said Lawson. Morfaw was born Jan. 15, 1980, to Henry and Stella Morfaw in Victoria, now called Limbe, a city of about 100,000 on the Atlantic Coast in southwest Cameroon. He was born into a prominent family that had members in the legal and medical profession. His father was a justice on the Supreme Court of Cameroon and his mother was a teacher. He attended high school in Bamenda, a city of two million in northwest Cameroon. He went into medicine and trained as a doctor in the Faculty of Medical and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Yaounde 1, in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde, from 1998-2005. He completed a Master in Public Health Research at the University of Edinburgh in 2008 and a public administration course from Florida International University in 2015. Before he came to Hamilton, he worked as a consulting gynecologist for more than three years at the Bamenda Regional Hospital. His wife said her husband went into medicine because of the issue of maternal deaths in Africa. He was just passionate about maternal health, she said. Laura described her husband as a very strong-willed and determined individual. He was very humble, she said. He was a very loving husband. There are just so many things to say about him. We miss him very much. We loved him so much. At McMaster, Morfaw completed a research fellowship in prenatal clinical epidemiology in the universitys department of obstetrics and gynecology. He was also a member of the African Caribbean Graduate Students Association. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help his family. Called In Memory of Frederick Morfaw, it had raised more than $50,000 from more than 300 donors as of Aug. 12. Laura said the family has been touched by the efforts of her husbands colleagues to help her and her children. They have helped in every possible way, she said. Morfaw is survived by his wife Laura, children Vanessa, Prince Henry and Ricka. He is also survived by his mother Stella, brother Joseph and sisters Arabella and Fanny. He was predeceased by his father Henry, who died in 2017. Port Arthur ISD is one of a handful of districts in Southeast Texas that will benefit from a two-year free subscription to Learning Management System Schoology as part of the Texas Education Agencys ongoing efforts to support schools during the pandemic. The agency announced the free access to the system at the end of July, less than a month before many districts returned to campus. We were already in the process, and had already paid for (Schoology) and were already trained or in the process of being trained, district Superintendent Mark Porterie said. So when they announced that the state was recommending Schoology, we were already there. As a result, the district will receive the year of services they paid for after the two free years. The district paid $51,726 for the initial contract, according to school board documents. Lily Laux, the deputy commissioner of school programs at the TEA, told The Enterprise that the LMS and other support came after meeting with districts across the state. The first thing that we started with was instructional continuity, Laux said. How do we help folks take what they have and finish out the year? After finishing last school year, and meeting with districts over the summer, the agency found that districts that used Learning Management Systems were more successful. Bryan ISD, for example, had 97% student engagement last spring through the use of the software, according to Superintendent Christie Whitbeck. This is something that is entirely optional, and something that is not a great fit for all districts, but something that we felt fit a need, Laux said. We know some folks dont necessarily need it and they figured these things out, but were grateful that weve been able to learn from those districts to figure out what to provide for other districts. An LMS program such as Schoology is a way for teachers and school districts to centralize all learning content and communication while easing the burden on teachers and staff. The LMS brings together teachers, students, parents and administrators to provide easy access to classes, assignments, grades and more, supporting learning in the classroom, at home, or both, the agency said in a release. The tool allows parents to track their students progress throughout the school year, which is especially useful as many families in Texas choose for their children to receive instruction remotely because of COVID-19. This Learning Management System allows teachers to seamlessly communicate with their students and helps their students stay focused on their lessons while learning from home and will go a long way toward ensuring Texas students continue making major academic gains even during the pandemic, education commissioner Mike Morath said in a statement. With the offering coming as late as it did in the summer, however, many area districts moved ahead with alternative plans. We heard about the option, but when they rolled it out it was very late, Lumberton ISD Superintendent Tony Tipton told The Enterprise on Tuesday. We were already fully trained, our teachers had been trained last year and this year on Google Classroom, so at this time that is not something we are looking at. Laux said that was understandable. I think for districts that made strategic investments, both in purchasing and in professional development, switching doesnt make sense, Laux said. If folks have something that is working for them in this, we definitely arent trying to push change. Vidor ISD will save about $15,000 dollars by using the system for their elementary students, Superintendent Jay Killgo told The Enterprise. Our attraction to the program came from the fact that it was aligned with Texas learning standards, Killgo said. We want to be careful that our students are learning exactly what is expected from Texas and not other states expectations. This one is aligned and vetted by TEA. Due to the late adoption, the district will implement it over the first several months. We have not fully implemented quite yet because the online platform was chosen late in the summer by TEA, Killgo said. As they release portions of the system, we will roll this out to our students. Nederland ISD is using Google Classroom, with the possibility of a transition later in the school year. We have spent many hours in training our teachers in Google Classroom, district spokesperson Rene Latiolas told The Enterprise. We believe that the timing is not right at this time to add another technology implementation. We may look at transitioning to Schoology after school starts and teachers have had time to review and critique it, she said. Beaumont ISD is also gathering information and could adopt the program after school starts. We are currently meeting with the Schoology vendor and attending webinars regarding the platform, district spokesperson Hannah LeTulle said in a statement. It is a huge initiative to implement a new Learning Management System, and it is important that we take the time to carefully evaluate the options before moving forward. Porterie said the district chose the system because it met the districts criteria for instructional continuity. It gave us everything we needed when we were deciding what could we use in the event we had to close schools down again, Porterie said. Our main goal was how do we close schools and keep the learning moving forward, continue with the learning of our students, and Schoology provides for all of that. The TEA is using CARES Act funds to pay for the software, and according to a news release, was able to bring prices down enough to save taxpayers as much as $22 million over two years by using the purchasing power of the state. isaac.windes@hearstnp.com twitter.com/isaacdwindes Washington: Democrats are hoping their experiment with a completely virtual political convention this week avoids embarrassing technological meltdowns and proves compelling enough to keep American viewers from changing the channel. The Democratic National Convention, which will take place from Monday to Thursday (Tuesday to Friday AEST), will be unlike any in history because of restrictions on mass gatherings caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Gone is the usually packed convention centre, cheering crowds of supporters and balloons falling from the rafters. From left: Kamala Harris and Joe Biden sign the required documents for receiving the Democratic nomination for vice-president and president of the United States in Wilmington, Delaware. Credit:AP The stakes are high for Democrats, who are determined to use their convention to project an image of competence to American voters struggling through a pandemic that has claimed 170,000 lives and put tens of millions out of work. Their top priority is to avoid a repeat of the tech problems that delayed the results of the Iowa caucus in January. French evangelical pastor, national leader, dies in climbing accident Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A French evangelical Christian pastor and evangelist who was the vice president of the National Council of Evangelicals of France has died as a result of a climbing accident. Eduoard Nelson, who was the pastor of Eglise Protestante Evangelique des Ternes (Evangelical Protestant Church of Ternes) in Paris, was vacationing with his family when he had a climbing accident and sustained a severe head injury, according to Premier News. The accident occurred at the cliffs of Gaillands, located near Chamonix in southern France, French evangelical outlet Evangeliques reported. The pastor was flown by helicopter to Annecy hospital and placed in intensive care. Doctors said his head injury was inoperable and he only had a few hours to live. The National Council of Evangelicals of France announced Friday that he had died. Nelson is survived by his wife, three sons and a daughter. "We know that Edward is now with our God. His discernment, his love of the Gospel, his sympathy and his humor will be missed at the CNEF, as well as by all those who collaborated with him," the council said in a statement. The group's former president, Lhermenault Etienne, wrote in a tribute on social media that he worked closely with Nelson for three years. "The news of his death is a real shock. Evangelical Protestantism loses a man of conviction, vision and action. I lose one of those who gave me unwavering support," he said. Matthieu Sanders, who pastors Eglise baptiste de Paris-Centre, which is linked to the deceased pastor's church, said Friday: "We still lack words to express the pain we feel." "Edward was a man who had a tireless passion for the proclamation of the Gospel. He was a man of vision who was at the centre of a new impulse, for several years, for the implementation of new churches in Paris. He was boiling with energy, zeal, [he had] a 'holy obsession' of the need to multiply the places and communities where the Gospel is proclaimed," he said. "He was a mentor and a trainer, who allow me to express myself for a moment in personal terms had a major influence on my life and ministry. He was a faithful friend. Many others, including my colleagues Paul Harrison and Paul Bourdois, can give the same testimony." His church posted a statement on Saturday, expressing deep sadness. It noted that Nelson preached on Psalm 29 the previous Sunday, proclaiming God as all powerful. Nelson lived with the conviction that God is sovereign and that everyone should give glory to Him. "Few things gave him more joy than talking about his King Jesus," the church stated. Nelson had previously served with Grupos Biblicos Unidos, a ministry that is the European version of InterVarsity that ministers to students on university campuses. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackford Capital ("Blackford"), a national private equity firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, today announced it has successfully closed on the sale of Fort Wayne, Indiana-based portfolio company Ellison Bakery to Tilia Holdings, a Chicago-based private investment firm focused on the food supply chain. Ellison Bakery is a leading manufacturer of cookie, snack bar, crunch and inclusion products for the industrial market, food service industry, and retail and private label space. The Ellis family, Promus Equity Partners, Concentric Equity Partners, and Baird Principal Group partnered in the deal, with senior debt funding provided by Comerica. "Since our initial investment, our team has been honored to partner with the Ellis family, Ellison Bakery's management team, and our esteemed group of co-investors to successfully grow and refine the company's business model," said Jeff Johnson, managing director of Blackford and former chairman of Ellison Bakery. "The investments we made to expand its capabilities should position the company to accelerate and achieve its next phase of expansion. We have high confidence in the established leadership's ability to realize their numerous growth initiatives." Blackford announced its initial investment in the industrial bakery in April 2017. The bakery was founded by Donald Ellis in 1945. "Ellison Bakery will represent Blackford's fifth successful exit amongst a total of 15 platform companies," said Martin Stein, founder and managing director of Blackford. "We are very pleased with the outcome of this investment, which yielded strong financial results for the business and our limited partners. We are confident in the shared vision for the bakery going forward and look forward to seeing their future success, as we continue our commitment to supporting unique, alternative investments through both long-term and new relationships, even amid this new economic environment." "It was a pleasure to co-invest alongside Blackford and support Ellison's management team on its growth initiatives over the past few years of transition from sole family ownership to one with institutional backing," said Andy Code, managing director of Chicago-based Promus Equity Partners. "We wish our valued partners and the entire Ellison team all the best as they continue forward." About Blackford Capital Founded in 2000, Blackford is a private equity investment firm headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Blackford makes majority control investments in founder and family-owned, lower middle-market manufacturing, distribution, and services companies. Currently, Blackford has ten portfolio companies. For more information, visit blackfordcapital.com. Contact: Tyler Deur Lambert & Co. (616) 233-0500 [email protected] SOURCE Blackford Capital Barnala In a mark of respect and tribute to martyrs of Barnala since 1947, the Barnala district administration has set up a Martyrs Gallery at the district administrative complex on Monday. Barnala deputy commissioner Tej Pratap Singh Phoolka said the gallery featured 65 martyrs. This included pictures and details of 1965 war heroes of China war, Pakistan war, Sri Lanka operation and those who laid down their lives for the motherland in combat operations. The gallery is at the main entrance hall. The martyrs gallant bravery and indomitable spirit for the country is heartening. The idea is to let the young generation know their martyrs and pay a tribute to those who loved India more than their own lives, said Phoolka, adding that it was an arduous task to collect record of every martyr from villages/cities and set up these photos in a gallery with their service records. Republicans and Democrats have hailed the Israel-UAE normalization agreement, with some observers going so far as to call it a geopolitical earthquake. But does the agreement merit the hype? One way to look at the question is to consider what genuine regional shakeups have looked like in the past. An earthquake must involve some transformational regional or even global realignment. Consider the first earthquake in Arab-Israeli diplomacy. Egyptian President Anwar Sadats dramatic visit to Jerusalem in 1977 led not only to Israels first peace treaty with an Arab state, but it also caused Egypt to exit the Soviet orbit and join an American-backed axis. It also paved the way for a return of territory (the Sinai) and ended hostilities with Israel after fighting multiple regional wars, some of which risked direct conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. Or consider the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, which led to the removal of Irans most formidable Arab adversary and a shifting balance in the sectarian leadership of the country. Iraq went from a Sunni-Arab balancer of Iran to a country whose new leadership had taken refuge in Iran. The ensuing wars provoked not only regional alarm about rising Iranian power but also, separately, civil strife that planted the seeds for the rise of the Islamic State. So yes, the Middle East has faced transformative moments. But the Israel-UAE agreement is not one of them. Of course, dialogue, economic ties and societal engagement in the Middle East should be welcomed, particularly if it can go beyond the cold peace Israel enjoys with Egypt and Jordan. But how groundbreaking might this deal be? What new avenues for change, if any, does it open up? It is too early to say how extensive the UAEs engagement with Israel will be and whether it can be sustained. But even if the Israel-UAE deal leads to robust bilateral ties, and possibly additional normalization agreements with like-minded states like Bahrain, Oman or Morocco, the hyperbole surrounding this agreement is not warranted, as it is unlikely to be the strategic game-changer its boosters promise. For starters, as many have now recognized, Israel is not and has not been at war with the UAE. Normalizing relations with the UAE does not change any basic bilateral or regional conflict dynamics. In fact, the UAE and Israel have been warming ties for years with intelligence, defense, business exchanges and, more recently, official visits from Israeli officials to Abu Dhabi. And unlike the strategic context that preceded the genuinely historic treaty with Egypt, Israel is not at war with any Arab state today. Israel has serious non-state adversaries, particularly Hezbollah in Lebanon, and non-Arab state adversaries like Iran, but it no longer has serious Arab state enemies. Even Saudi Arabia, the largest Gulf power, does not pose a threat to Israel. Israel may consider itself in an optimal strategic position, with its Arab neighbors in disarray, consumed by domestic pressures and conflict, and unwilling to pressure it to end its occupation of Palestinian territories. They simply have other priorities. Neither does the agreement reshape the regional coalition against Iran, one that has been in place for years. Israel and the Gulf Arab states have shared concern about rising Iranian power since the United States went to war against Saddam Husseins Iraq. Perceptions of rising Iranian influence have only grown in the decades since. And beyond Iran, the coalition of what American and Israeli officials often call the "moderate Sunni states" is not as unified as these officials believe; not everything in the region is about sectarianism or Iran. In fact, UAE motives in reaching the agreement likely have less to do with Iran and more to do with changing UAE priorities. Indeed, the Emiratis have been engaging Iran directly over the past year to de-escalate tensions since Irans attacks on tankers in the Gulf last summer. The UAE has been seeking to wind down its involvement in the disastrous Yemen war, shifting its focus to Libya where it is vying for influence with Turkey in an increasingly bitter rivalry. Underpinning UAE regional activism is its staunchly anti-Muslim Brotherhood stance, which also contributed to its blockade and rift with its Gulf neighbor Qatar. The Arab Spring, another genuine game-changer, was the primary catalyst for rising Gulf state interventions in regional conflicts. All Gulf states rallied to roll back the 2011 popular uprising in Bahrain that threatened the ruling monarchy, fearing challenges to their own survival. But then they split on positions toward regional reform as the uprisings continued and Muslim Brotherhood leaders came to power in Egypt. In short, the regional fissures among Sunni states are complex and extend far beyond concerns about Iran, and nothing about the UAEs normalization with Israel is likely to dramatically shift these rivalries and power balances. Nor is it likely to block Russia and Chinas increasing involvement in the region, including their good bilateral relationships with both the UAE and Israel. Israels normalization with the UAE will also not alter the biggest divide in the region the one between Arab leaders and people. Deals among leaders cut in secret without the buy-in of societies will likely only deepen the gulf between them. And finally, the agreement does not change the dismal realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It may have prevented the many negative impacts of formal Israeli annexation, at least for now. But preventing annexation is not the same as advancing peace. The Palestinians may be tired of their corrupt and ineffective leadership, but they are also in despair as the region and world turn their back on seeking just solutions, accommodating the realities of power and an Israeli government that continues to expand settlements in ways that erode the possibility of a two-state solution. The trend lines on the ground are still pushing toward Israel facing a choice between its Jewish and democratic character, and for more Palestinians to dismiss any possibility of a viable two-state outcome. Israel can normalize relations with the entire Arab world and these fundamentals will not change. If the Israel-UAE agreement leads to a genuine and wider opening for dialogue and cooperation that will help address the dire socio-economic, health and environmental challenges facing the region, that would be an agreement to celebrate. But if these ties reinforce longstanding and largely negative regional trend lines fueling conflict and unaccountable leadership, it is understandable why the enthusiasm in the region may not match the exuberant responses in Israel or Washington. Local marketing refers to strategies that target regional audiences near your business. Local marketing is especially effective for businesses tied to a physical location, such as restaurants, boutique retail operations and professional advisors. Getting your small business's local marketing strategy off the ground is quick, easy and free; these tips will help you improve your local marketing efforts immediately. This article is for small business owners looking to implement local marketing strategies to target audiences close to their business's location. Local marketing is an essential element of a larger marketing strategy for small businesses, as it can get your brand in front of a broader local audience that are likely to patronize your business in the near future. But what can you do as an entrepreneur to improve your small business's reach with a local audience? This guide includes seven quick, free tips that can immediately improve your local marketing strategy. What is local marketing? Local marketing targets an audience based in the same town or region as your business. It is geared toward people who are within a certain radius of your physical location generally based on a reasonable driving distance who might realistically purchase your product or service at any time. For example, if you run a restaurant in Red Bank, New Jersey, driving website traffic from Sacramento, California, is not going to do you much good. Instead, you need to employ local marketing tactics to ensure that the majority of your audience is indeed located near enough that they could conceivably drive to your restaurant or order delivery. "The biggest approach people should be taking is really understanding who they're trying to sell to what benefit people can get from the product or service, and then relay that information upfront," said Travis McKnight, senior content strategist at Portent Inc. That's true in all marketing, but especially when it comes to a local marketing strategy, he added. Part of the key information you should relay to your audience is where your business is located. The goal behind a local marketing strategy is to spend your marketing and advertising budget more efficiently. Digital marketing is an effective tool for businesses of all sizes. However, if you are a local business and you fail to gain traction with a local audience, your marketing expense is all for naught. Not all traffic is created equal; a local marketing strategy ensures that you are targeting an audience that might patronize your business. Key takeaway: Local marketing targets people within a certain radius of your business. It can improve conversion rates by narrowing the focus of your digital marketing efforts to potential nearby customers. What types of businesses benefit from local marketing? Many businesses can benefit from local marketing, but there are some types of businesses for which local marketing is absolutely required. Restaurants are a good example because they are physical locations that offer dine-in, takeout or delivery services. By nature, a restaurant is locked into its physical location. Another good example of a business that needs local store marketing is a retail store. While even small retail operations often have e-commerce stores these days, local marketing can increase the store's foot traffic and local brand awareness. This is especially important for small, boutique retail stores competing with large chains. Similarly, professional services like lawyers' and accountants' offices should employ a local marketing strategy. While it might be more appropriate to cast a regional net for these services, it is critical for professional advisors to connect with a largely local audience. There are some notable exceptions to this rule, such as digital marketing companies, which often operate fully digitally. However, nothing beats an in-person consultation. While there are plenty of businesses that need a local marketing strategy, other types of businesses should consider implementing local marketing as well. Just because a local strategy isn't your priority doesn't mean you can't reap the benefits of capturing a wider audience in the town or region where your business is based. Key takeaway: All businesses can benefit from local marketing, but some such as restaurants or retail stores that depend on foot traffic require a local marketing strategy. 11 local marketing strategies you can start today Local marketing starts with some easy-to-implement steps that you can get started on today. Here are a few quick and simple ideas to improve your business's local marketing. 1. Optimize your website (and localize it). Website optimization is key to driving traffic, but is your website optimized for local users? Not only should you follow search engine optimization (SEO) best practices, such as employing keyword research to inform your website content, you should also guarantee that your website offers a top-notch mobile experience, said Heather Lodge, chief marketer at Click and Mortar. "More than half of traffic coming to websites is from mobile devices," she said. "If you have a website that's nice and streamlined, with large text to read on a small screen and large buttons to easily click, you'll have an easier time attracting local business." In addition to these recommendations which are key for any digital marketing strategy your website should also be localized, Lodge said. That means determining keywords and key phrases based on local SEO ask yourself, "What is the local market searching for on Google?" A good rule of thumb is to frequently mention your community or nearby communities. If you're targeting a regional audience, consider adding language to your website like "serving the tri-state area," for example. You can improve your local SEO insights even further by leveraging free keyword research tools like Google Analytics, Google Trends and Google Search Console to inform precisely what local terms you should incorporate. The more you optimize your website for local search, the more local customers are likely to land on your webpages. 2. Update title tags and meta descriptions. Another SEO consideration to keep in mind, McKnight said, is whether your website's title tags and metadata up to date. "There are a few different parts of metadata, but the majority of people only have to worry about meta description and title tag," he said. Title tag refers to the 60 characters that search engine users see on the search engine results page (SERP). Keeping a title tag relevant to your brand and location, but shorter than 60 characters is optimal, McKnight said. The meta description is less likely to factor into search ranking, McKnight added, but it can improve click-through rates by signaling to users precisely what type of information they might find on the webpage. "Data shows that a quality meta description can help click-through rate. On the flip side, for a business like a restaurant that wants people to call, having a phone number in the meta description is huge," McKnight said. "Meta descriptions should always be 160 characters or less." The title tag and meta description can be edited in the administrator's tools of the web hosting platform you use. For many small business owners, McKnight said, WordPress offers an easy to use SEO function. 3. Set up local landing pages for all your business locations. If your business has multiple locations, you should create an individual page for each location on your website to further your localization efforts. "There will often be companies with a lot of different locations, but they don't include pages with information on those different locations on their website," Lodge said. "These pages should include each location, directions on how to get there, and what store hours are." Lodge added that these pages should include specific content about your business. For example, a real estate agent based in Nashville, Tennessee, shouldn't just list on their website that they are a "real estate agent." Instead, including the key phrase "leading real estate agent in Nashville" signals to search engines where the agent is based and helps serve results to a local audience. It also considers how people are searching for real estate agents; they don't just want anyone, they want "the best" or "leading" real estate agents. 4. Claim your Google My Business listing. One of the easiest and most effective local marketing strategies you can employ immediately is claiming your Google My Business listing. Google My Business provides search engine users with information like your location, store hours, directions, contact information, and more directly on the SERP. "Claim your Google My Business knowledge panel and make sure that it is updated," said McKnight. "Especially during COVID-19, make sure it reflects current store hours and accurately explains any restrictions, such as takeout or delivery only." Lodge added you should also claim local listings on other third-party sites, such as Yelp. The more places users can find your business (along with location information) the better off your local marketing success will be. 5. Optimize social media pages. Social media marketing is critically important when it comes to local online marketing. Much like your website, your social media pages should be optimized and localized. This means providing up-to-date information, such as your business's location, contact information, and store hours. It also means maintaining an active social media account. You can preschedule social media posts using tools like Hootsuite. "From a small business perspective, social media revolves largely around communication about deals, reopenings or promotions," McKnight said. "A lot of it is just reputation management." 6. Encourage positive user reviews and engage online. Encourage your satisfied customers to leave you positive reviews online, whether on Google Reviews, Facebook, Yelp, or elsewhere. You could even incentivize them to leave positive reviews with discounts or promotions, such as a raffle or giveaway. You should also spend time responding to the reviews your customers leave online. Always be sincere and avoid copying/pasting generic responses, McKnight said. "For the most part, respond to people with authenticity, humility and honesty whether it's a negative review or positive one," McKnight said. "Set an hour per week just to go through, respond and make sure it's not just a generic cookie-cutter response. Users are turned off by that and feel they aren't listened to." 7. Host or sponsor local community events. Digital marketing is all well and good, but building a real-world bridge between your audience and your brand is invaluable. Consider sponsoring or hosting a local event whenever possible to increase brand visibility in your local community. This is also a great way to land local press coverage, which improves your odds of being found online by a local audience. 8. Utilize localized email marketing. Email marketing strategies have some of the lowest costs among many of the marketing strategies available to you. The bulk of the cost is associated with obtaining valuable email addresses. Unfortunately, there is nothing in an email address that will tell you where the user is located; there are email-gathering techniques you can begin using that filter users by location. The easiest technique is to have a sign-up sheet in your store ideally by the register or at booths or events that you sponsor so that interested consumers see it and sign up to receive updates and promotions from you. 9. Try a direct mail campaign. Direct mail is a much cheaper method of reaching customers than it might seem. What you pay for in stamps can be recovered by not paying for mailing lists and professional targeting. You can frequently target prime demographics by looking at neighborhoods that fit the demographics of your target audience. 10. Partner with other local businesses. Partnering with other businesses can be a powerful tool. These alliances can multiply both companies' total outreach. This works best when you find businesses with similar values and goals (and that don't directly compete with your company). You and your partner businesses, for example, can co-sponsor events. You can work together with your SEO content to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship. You can link to each other, too; and when these strategies are followed, every effort you put into outreach is multiplied by the efforts of your partner businesses. 11. Localize paid ads. Advertising groups can filter ads by location and IP. Ads can be targeted for local users, and this feature is used by Google, Facebook, and other digital advertisers. Outside of digital advertising, localized paid ads are still useful. Local newspapers, radio spots, coupon books, movie theaters and local sponsorships are some of the best ways to promote your brand to local consumers. Key takeaway: Optimizing your website and social media presence with location information, and making sure your Google and Yelp listings are up to date are just a few ways you make it easier for locals to find your business. Think globally, advertise locally When it comes to optimizing your digital properties for a local audience, there is a lot you can do at little or no cost to your business. Setting up an optimized and localized website, giving your social media pages the same treatment, and claiming your Google My Business listing are the best places to start. From there, spend some time engaging your local audience both online and in the real world. Respond to reviews and organize community-based events to increase your visibility and create a stronger bond between your brand and your audience. Whether you run a business that absolutely relies on local engagement, or you simply want to improve your local marketing, these tactics are easy, affordable, and effective. See what kind of splash your business can make in your community by implementing these local marketing strategies today. Key takeaway: Many local marketing strategies are free to implement and can be easily accomplished. Get started by updating your website and online listings with your business's location. The Bihar government Monday initiated de-empanelment procedure against a private hospital in Patna after it found serious lapses in its functioning, following a complaint that a Covid-19 patient was held captive for failure to clear hospital bills. The Patna district administration had to intervene to secure the patients release later in the evening. The JDM Hospital at Kankerbagh had demanded 6.34 lakh for 20 days of treatment of a 48-year-old man from Patna. His relatives had paid 2.44 lakh, after which they wanted the patient to be discharged, saying the hospitals charges were inflated and arbitrary. The Bihar government is yet to put a cap on charges though last month it forced private hospitals to initiate treatment of Covid-19 patients. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage. The rates for treatment of Covid-19 patients at private hospitals may be ready by Wednesday, said Pratyaya Amrit, Bihars principal secretary, health. It was Amrit who came to the rescue of the patient after his attendants reached out to him on Monday. He sent a medical team to the hospital to scrutinise the bill and arbitrate the case. The team slashed down the bill to 1.90 lakh. The hospital had raised exorbitant and frivolous charges in the bill. It had even included the cost of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits. The cost of gloves alone came to 8,000 per day. I was told another 85,000 was to cover for the governments ex-gratia payment to the next of kin of those who die of Covid-19, said Amber Kaifi, the patients nephew. Bihar has announced an ex-gratia of 4 lakh to the next of kin of those who die of Covid-19. The cost of medicines, prescribed in huge quantities was repetitive in the bill. The hospital would not give proper break-up of charges, he added. The hospital administration, however, denied it. The patients relative had claimed in the media that we are charging them 50,000 per day. As per that calculation, the hospital bill should have run up to 10 lakh. We have raised 6.34 lakh only, which the attendant doesnt want to pay now, said Amit Kumar, co-director of the JDM Hospital. Twenty days of ICU treatment, with 10 days on ventilator support, you tell me what the bill should be? he asked this reporter. We are paying our hospital staff double and triple their salary and yet they are reluctant to work in Covid-19 wards. In the instant case, we are not willing to refund any money to the patients attendant. In fact, we just want the attendant to pay an additional 70,000 incurred on medicines and tests of the patient, he said. If we are forced to refund money to the attendant and not even recover our basic cost, I may have to close down our hospital or even think of committing suicide, added Kumar. We got the matter enquired and found that the hospital is not maintaining records properly and is giving provisional bills to patients. An FIR is being filed against the hospital and it is being de-empanelled for treatment of Covid-19, said Amrit. Patna civil surgeon Dr Raj Kishore Chaudhary said, This is the second such case in about a week at the hospital. Earlier, it refused to release a body of a Covid-19 patient, forcing us to intervene and sort out the issue. Later, Kaifi confirmed that he did not have to pay anything beyond 2.44 lakh, which he had already paid to the hospital, as the patient was discharged around 8.30pm I spent a few days last week augmenting my normal morning routine of espresso and soda water with some mood-altering supershrooms and gummies. Its all part of a new line of mood juice being sold at Torontos four Strange Love locations. I started with the power expression, which contains rhodiola, ashwagandha, guarana and cordyceps (two herbs, a fruit and a mushroom). It was tart, refreshing and just sweet enough, likely the result of the guarana, a delicious, caffeine-rich, berry-sized fruit considered a sacred plant by several tribes in the Amazon basin. While the guarana is probably responsible for the drinks tastiness, its the mushrooms that are driving Strange Loves supershroom initiative. The two other mood-altering drinks (called focus and relax) respectively contain lions mane and chaga: two other mushrooms that are currently trending. Why? Although theyre not the same as psilocybin (a.k.a. magic mushrooms), which have hallucinogenic properties and are currently illegal in Canada, theyre not unrelated. Some people who micro-dose psilocybin (exactly how it sounds, tiny doses every day that are too small to cause a trip) add lions mane to their regimen, since there has been speculation that both mushrooms can help create new neural pathways. Much of this follows the work of Paul Stamets, an American mycologist who claims that mushrooms are important to human health, notably our microbiome and brains. Stamets, who has caught the attention of author Michael Pollan, director Louie Schwartzberg and podcaster Joe Rogan, argues that mushrooms possess intelligence. Since we (humans and all animal life) evolved from fungi, mushrooms are our elders, according to Stamets and the architects of our environment. Reconnecting with our inner fungus might help us be healthier, happier and better humans and, although psilocybin is the mushroom that gets the most attention, we havent really begun to explore the interconnectedness of the many species that form the mycelium network. As these ideas trickle into the mainstream via podcasts, streaming services and even old-fashioned books, some from the cannabis sector think history is repeating here and that psilocybin is headed toward legalization, too. On the cultural side, mushroom supplements and tonics are chipping away at the stigma. On the more practical side, new research, which allows growers to legally cultivate psilocybin, is starting to push it by establishing legal precedents. The key word here is starting, though. We really know very little about the efficacy and safety, although theres been a wellspring of research since studies have started to get approval to do this stuff again, explains Norman Farb, associate professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, whos starting to research psilocybin after decades of studying mindfulness. And its accelerating in ways that are very similar to other fringe movements that have come into the mainstream, like mindfulness meditation, Farb continues. You could see the number of papers published on wellness just skyrocketing in the early 2000s and now the same thing has been happening with psychedelics over the past two or three years. So is psilocybin the next cannabis? Well, its important to note that there are two very different things going on: the aforementioned microdosing trend and the integration of psychedelics (administered in larger doses) into some psychotherapy treatments, particularly for post-traumatic stress disorder and terminally ill patients dealing with end-of-life acceptance. In early August, four terminally ill patients in Canada won the right to use psilocybin to combat end-of-life distress through an exemption granted by the Office of Controlled Substances. I think this really points to the fact that the federal government is recognizing the potential of psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy, says Dr. Devon Christie, medical director at Numinus Wellness Inc., a Vancouver company centred around safe, evidence-based, accessible use of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapies. And I think its definitely signalling a pathway for Canadians in need of accessing it, as well as the start of a shift toward psilocybin being administered as part of therapy in safe and controlled environments, that is. Johns Hopkins University kicked off a lot of the research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin nearly 20 years ago, when researchers started to administer psilocybin to volunteers and determined that, used as adjunct to psychotherapy in a safe environment, the drug had potential to help reframe or renegotiate the subjects feelings about past experiences and/or fears about the future. So that therapeutic context that were focused on assisting and bringing forward in regulated ways looks very different from, for example, a legalization pathway for psilocybin for the average Canadian to use on their own for their own devices, Christie says. Although this has likely inspired a lot of people to explore microdosing, theres no high quality evidence to suggest it has therapeutic properties at non trip-level doses. I think those people who are microdosing are more like yuppies who are trying to just, like, get that extra edge or maximizing performance or life quality, says Farb. Microdosing is sort of a slow burn, almost like the idea of taking a multivitamin, except they think its going to be more than a multivitamin. Leaving aside the question of whether or not microdosing works, there is also the question of how safe it is. Although psilocybin is widely considered safe to human health compared to alcohol, tobacco and many other stimulants, nobody has established safe consumption levels for driving or operating heavy machinery. Farb is hoping that the research he and his team at U of T are starting to do will clarify some of these issues, especially since microdosing is the most likely way psilocybin will be productized should it be legalized, which a lot of people are betting will happen sooner than later. Theres so much hype now you have to ask where the hype is coming from, says Farb. A certain percentage of the population has been super-interested in psychedelics in every generation so its not like thats changed. What has changed is that youve got a lot of people who just got a big bite of the cannabis pie in the private sector, and theyre looking for the next investment and the next magic pill they can sell to the public. Farb warns that we may see a lot of far-reaching health claims about psilocybins power to heal the world, and encourages caution. Although hopefulness about the promise of psilocybin is justified, it needs more research. Back to the mood juice, though, how did it all work out for me? How smart was my brain on plants? Well, to be honest, I cant say I could see a big difference, except I felt a little extra-caffeinated, which probably boosted my mood a little. No deep revelations into my psyche or wisdom from the mycelium network though, Im afraid. I guess next time Ill have to up the dose. On Sunday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward civilian targets in southern Saudi Arabia Egypt expressed its serious condemnation of repeated attacks by Iran-backed Houthi militias against Saudi Arabia, the latest being a ballistic missile attack on Sunday on the Gulf countrys southern region. In an official statement on Sunday, Egypts foreign ministry stressed its solidarity with Saudi Arabia in facing such vicious attacks and its support of measures undertaken to defend its land and regional security. The statement affirmed the importance of responding to ceasefire calls in Yemen to allow for the settling of the Yemeni crisis with the agreed upon terms of reference, especially the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and the outcomes of the Comprehensive National Dialogue and the Security Council resolution 2216. On Sunday, the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched toward civilian targets in southern Saudi Arabia, the latest in increased cross-border attacks since late May when a truce in Yemen imposed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic expired. The attack comes a few days after the coalition said it had intercepted on Thursday an armed drone and two ballistic missiles launched towards Saudi Arabias southern region. Search Keywords: Short link: The Central Bureau of India (CBI) has booked Ludhiana-based SEL Textiles (SELT) and its directors for allegedly cheating a consortium of 10 public sector banks to the tune of Rs 1,530 crore. They managed this through a diversion of funds using one of the companies whose name had reportedly cropped up in Panama papers disclosure, officials told PTI on August 17. The directors of the conglomerate Ram Sharan Saluja, Neeraj Saluja, and Dhiraj Saluja have are also named as accused in the CBI FIR along with unidentified others, officials said. After filing the case, the CBI carried out searches at the office and residences of accused directors in Ludhiana. The CBI has acted on a complaint from the Central Bank of India, which has alleged that SELT and its directors indulged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the banks and divert loan funds with an intention to misappropriate them. This was between 2009 and 2013, causing a loss of Rs 1,530 crore to 10 public sector banks of the consortium. According to the report, last year, the CBI had booked SELT's parent company SEL Manufacturing Co (SELM) for causing a loss of about Rs 113 crore to the Bank of Maharashtra. The Central Bank of India has alleged that the company was using "related companies" for diversion of funds. The bank has listed companies having huge business transactions with SELT, including the one suspected to be in Panama paper leaks, in its complaint, now part of the CBI's FIR. None of the companies referred to by the bank have been named as accused in the CBI FIR. Panama Papers disclosure refers to leaked client documents of a Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca having information about over two lakh offshore firms. The bank says that these were "not genuine trade transactions". "The transactions have been made by the company through its directors in connivance with each other not only to divert huge funds with an intention to defraud the complainant bank but also to siphon off public money out of India," it alleged. The bank had said while Ram Sharan Saluja and Neeraj Saluja are based in India, Dhiraj manages the overseas business of the company and lives abroad. However, the agency sources said all the accused directors are believed to be in India. It has requested the CBI to impound the passports of the accused to prevent them from leaving the country. The Central Bank of India had declared the account as a nonperforming asset (NPA) in 2014 and later other banks also followed, they said. The company sought corporate debt restructuring (CDR) during which a special investigative audit was conducted by the banks. The audit showed irregularities on the part of SELT but the company did not provide some critical information to auditors due to which they could not verify most of the details, they said. The complainant bank alleged that even after that, the CDR package financials of the company did not improve. After the declaration of NPA, the banks conducted a forensic audit that revealed large scale diversion of loan funds, according to the FIR. According to the FIR, in its conclusion, the audit report says that there was an opaque and recalcitrant approach towards lenders and inadequate disclosures during the forensic audit. This gives credence to wilfull default, it added. The audit report also mentions the company allegedly diverted short term funds for long term use as well as diverted funds for acquiring unproductive assets, creating an additional chain of intermediary for purchases beyond its capacity owing to weak financials The complaint also mentions that the bank has alleged that SELM contributed Rs 380 crore. The audit showed that there was no actual contribution and it was facilitated through the "round tripping" of entries of sales and purchases and adjustment of third party accounts, it alleged. The bank also underlined alleged trading in related companies, diversion of funds and misuse of funds for purposes other than loans were sanctioned, officials added. News from the Middle East is usually cast in gloom and doom. What a delight that a positive image has emerged with the information that, with the help of the United States, a peace deal to normalize relations has been agreed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The UAE is a kingdom comprising seven small entities called emirates, possessing oil and natural gas reserves. Its capital Dubai is an important economic center, the most populous city and the business hub of the area. A three-way phone call on August 13, 2020 announced an Abrahamic accord, salam aleykum vshalom aleynu, (peace unto you and peace unto us) between the two countries. This accord, involving direct flights, exchange of embassies, and sets of bilateral agreements, will advance peace in the Middle East, though it leaves the Palestinian issue unresolved. It affirms the validity of the remark by Abba Eban, History teaches us that men and women behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives. This is the third agreement reached by Israel with an Arab country: peace was achieved with Egypt on March 26, 1979, after the Camp David Accords and with Israels withdrawal from Sinai, and with Jordan on October 26, 1994 with adjustment of land and water disputes. Otherwise, the Arab states, since 1948, have remained technically at war with Israel. President Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu joins Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin as an Israeli peacemaker. The historic diplomatic breakthrough has two crucial elements: the UAE agrees to negotiate to a condition of full normalization and diplomatic relations with Israel, and to strengthen trade and technology, while Israel is committed to suspend any plans to annex the West Bank. Already, there is cooperation between the countries in the delivery of coronavirus test kits and collaboration between the two sides on technological matters. The countries face many common challenges and will mutually benefit from this historic achievement, which is intended to improve the region, spur economic growth, and introduce technological innovation. The arrangement does not transform the Middle East, which remains a setting of tribalism, religious animosities, and sectarianism, but it is an important step for new opportunities in the area and particularly understanding of two factors: the benefits of collaboration and the danger of Iran that has ambitions to disrupt and control the region. There have already been months of recent economic and social collaboration between Israel with some Arab countries, particularly in coping with COVID-19 and other medical affairs, health care and medical innovation. At least one UAE dignitary was treated in the Sheba medical center near Tel Aviv, the largest hospital in the region, even before COVID-19 struck. Much of the credit for the major diplomatic agreement goes to President Donald Trump. The Trump administration organized in February 2019 a Middle East security conference in Warsaw attended by most Arab countries. Trump argues that Israel will suspend declaring sovereignty over areas outlined in his Vision for Peace proposals of January 2020. Those proposals, though aimed at achieving peace between Israel and the Palestinian people, focused attention on Israel expanding ties with other Arabic countries. It remains to be seen whether this key foreign policy victory will give Trump, usually regarded as pro-Israeli, an electoral boost as he seeks reelection. Some factors are important in the context of the agreement. First, it is a diplomatic breakthrough and may advance peace in the Middle East but it is not a solution to the Palestinian issue. The U.S.-Israeli decision to concentrate on economic issues rather than on territorial borders was a crucial factor in obtaining agreement. This policy is the outcome of the belief that the Palestinian issue, despite lip service, is no longer the single most important issue for many Arab countries. Secondly, the agreement is likely to enhance the role of the UAE as a regional power, a diplomatic leader in the Middle East. It has already been active; intervening in the civil war in Yemen and in the regional embargo against Qatar since 2017. Thirdly, no doubt attitudes of moderate Arab and Muslim states have changed as a result of the activities of radical extremist Shiites and their proxy militias. Most important is the perception of a threat from Iran, a country with nuclear ambitions, and one that has been active in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen. Moderate countries fear and distrust Iran for both religious and military reasons. That fear has been expressed by Mohammed bin Zayed, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, as well as Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia. The relative moderates all want to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran naturally has condemned the UAE-Israel accord, arguing that Arab leaders were betraying the Palestinians. Using picturesque language, Iran asserts the accord is a dagger that was struck by UAE in the back of the Palestinian people and all Muslims. Ominously, the Iran Revolutionary Guard warned of a dangerous future for the UAE for this shameful and evil action. It is probable that more Arab countries will follow the UAE example in opening public relations with Israel: the most likely are Bahrain, Oman, Morocco, and possibly Qatar and even Saudi Arabia. Bahrain has some friendly connections with Israel. In May 2020 it closed a symposium aimed at supporting a boycott of Israel. The Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem visited the country and met with the king in the modern capital, Manama. Bahrain cyclists took part in the bike ride in Israel in 2018. Oman, which has had secret links with Israel, hosted in 2018 a meeting between Netanyahu and Sultan Qaboos bin Said, but the latter died earlier this year. Shimon Peres was there in 1996. Morocco, once the home of a quarter of a million Jews but now has only 2,000 though it has a Jewish museum, has long had secret relationships including sharing of military intelligence and has been the venue for meeting of Israeli officials and King Hassan II. In 2020, Morocco received three Israeli drones as part of an arms deal. Lebanon might have been interested in public relations if it were not for Hezballah, which has been getting stronger. Though Israel has helped Saudi Arabia in dealing with the revolutionaries in Yemen, and Saudi Arabia was the leader of an Arab initiative in 2002 to recognize Israel in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, it is unlikely that this jewel in the crown for Israel will at present reach any accord. In the past, disaster followed for the peacemakers. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981 by a member of Islamic Jihad. Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was killed by an extreme Jewish nationalist on November 4, 1995 in Tel Aviv at a rally in support of the Oslo Accords. Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi plotted to kill King Hussein of Jordan. Though Netanyahu still faces opposition from Israeli settlers disappointed by his decision to suspend annexation, he is unlikely to experience a fate similar to his predecessors. Bibi has in fact benefitted in a number of ways. His personal trial for corruption has been pushed back. He has avoided going through a fourth election in two years. He has been proved right on a crucial point. Critics in Israel and most foreign pundits have held that Arab states will not make peace with Israel before the Palestinian conflict is solved. In contrast, Bibi argues that Israel, with its strong economy, military, and technology, is best when negotiating from a position of strength not from territorial withdrawal from the West Bank. The logic is that if Israel is strong and powerful the Arabs will come. The accord is not a sham, as some political critics have suggested. It takes place as the Middle East is changing due to diminished oil revenue; growing animosity between Sunnis and Shiites; tension between majority populations and minorities; and lessening priority given to the Palestinian issue. The accord should not become a U.S. partisan affair. It is understandable that in the present electoral climate opponents do not want to applaud President Trump, but he deserves credit for this policy. Both political sides should welcome the opening on August 16, 2020 of direct telephone services and communication channels between Israel and the UAE. Image Credit: Ksamahi England's last major coal mine is set to close at the end of today after almost 200 years in operation. The Bradley open-cast mine in County Durham, which produced 150,000 tonnes of coal each year, is set to extract its last coal today and close its doors permanently. Owners Banks Group had applied for permission to keep the the coal mine open until 2021, but the application was denied earlier this summer after it was blockaded by Extinction Rebellion protesters. The firm says it has 250 employees but no coal, with only a few remaining roles for staff involved in restoring its sites. The Bradley open-cast mine in Durham is extracting its last coal today (pictured) and closing its doors after almost 200 years in operation This comes after its sister site at Shotton in Northumberland ended its coal production just two months ago. The closure leaves only the Hartington mine in Derbyshire open, which was planned to shut at the beginning of the month. It is the last surface mine operating in England and is continuing to run down its remaining coal reserves, the Guardian reported. It produces coal and aggregates from a brownfield site, but employs around 15 people, compared with the 250 who worked at Banks's three sites. A spokesman for the Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy said there is no revised date for the Hartington shutdown 'immediately available'. Britain's last deep coal mine, the Kellingley colliery in North Yorkshire, closed in 2015. Now in England, only small underground mines in Cumbria and the Forest of Dean still produce coal. Some small mines also continue to operate in Wales and Scotland, but The Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme in Merthyr Tydfil will be the last to close in October 2022. The demand for coal is now mainly satisfied by imports coming in from Russia and the US. Owners Banks Group had applied for permission to keep the the coal mine open until 2021, but the application was denied earlier this summer. Pictured, a pile of coal is ready for loading on to lorries on the final day of operations today Lewis Stokes, community relations manager for Banks, said: 'We hate having to make people redundant. 'But with the Government refusing to allow replacement surface mines, our coal miners have no coal to mine. 'What is galling to them is that they know that for many years to come, our steel and cement industries will rely on coal. 'That coal will be imported mainly from Russia.' In 2015, Banks Group submitted plans to develop Britain's largest coal mine in Highthorn, which has received heavy opposition from environmentalists. Ministers were set to deliver a verdict on the controversial project in April, but are yet to voice their decision on the plans. The proposal was initially rejected by Rishi Sunak two years ago, but Banks Group won an appeal to have it reconsidered are are awaiting Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick's decision. If the mine is approved, the pit could produce three million tonnes of coal and create 50 jobs. The Bradley mine (above) closure comes after its sister site at Shotton in Northumberland ended its coal production just two months ago The Government previously faced criticism for approving the UK's first new deep coal mine in 30 years - the same week the Treasury launched a review into how the UK can end its contribution to global heating. Lynne Tate, from campaign group Save Druridge, which opposes the Banks Mining application, was pleased coal production was ending on a large scale in England. She said: 'I'm glad for the fact I can look at my children and grandchildren and say at least the UK is trying to do something about climate change. 'If we carried on as we were, we would be no better than China and Russia and all those other places. 'It is the case that these countries have signed up to reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere, we all know it has to come down.' As the UK sets ambitious climate targets, the demand for coal has steadily fallen over the past few years, with coal-fired power making up just two per cent of the UK's electricity generation last year. This is the lowest since the electricity system was established back in 1882. The Bradley closure leaves the Hartington mine in Derbyshire as the last surface mine in England, as it remains open until running down its remaining coal reserves But miners are hoping to change their trade and provide coal to UK steelworks, which rely on coal imports, as concerns rise about loss of jobs with the mine closures. Alan Mayman, who has been a miner for over 25 years, says he faces an uncertain future. 'I'm devastated, absolutely devastated that it's coming to a close,' he told Sky News. 'The county council and the government have done nothing to support us, so this'll be the last coal mine that I'll probably ever work on. Then that's it.' Speaking of the Bradley closure on Twitter, The Green Party said: 'This is great news, but we can't abandon those whose livelihoods depend on it. 'We need a just transition to green jobs for every person employed in the coal industry.' Britain has made a commitment to bring an end to unabated coal production by 2025. CONCORD >> A prison guard was reportedly severely beaten by an inmate of the George W. Hill correctional facility Friday night, underscoring corrections officers concerns raised earlier in the week that poor training, staffing shortages and long hours are making for a dangerous situation. I just dont want anyone to get hurt, one guard said Thursday. Those fears were unfortunately confirmed Friday night. The beaten guard was putting an inmate in his cell when the inmate hit him, body-slammed him to the ground and continued throwing punches, a guard said. The officer was reportedly hospitalized with several broken bones, staples in his head, possible internal bleeding and is expected to require physical therapy just to walk again. The inmate should never have been in general (population), said one guard. He is always involved in something. But they could care less about our safety. That guard said there were two officers present at the time of the beating, but the training is so bad the one officer just watched. The second officer later said he was afraid to intervene because people have been fired for use of force, according to the guard. The GEO Group, the for-profit company managing the prison for the county, said in a statement Saturday that the assault took place about 11 p.m. in the presence of other officers who immediately secured the inmate. The officer was transported to a local hospital and is being treated for injuries sustained from the assault, the statement said. The Delaware County Criminal Investigations Unit was notified and is investigating the incident. The inmate has been charged with aggravated assault, assault by prisoner, and recklessly endangering another person. GEO additionally claimed the facility was fully staffed at the time of the incident, but one guard said earlier Friday that the prison was short 13 corrections officers that day. That number had swelled to 18 officers short and three sergeants on Saturday, he said. Theyre leaving all these people on the roster and theyre not coming to work, the guard said. They had, like, 41 no-calls, no-shows for people. Its probably five or six (absent) a shift. The attack came almost a year after a riot at the prison broke out involving dozens of inmates. Guards said at that time that staffing shortages were a contributing factor and claimed this week that things have not gotten any better since. They said the prison remains drastically understaffed and guards are still being mandated to work 16 hours straight every other day. Were 20 short almost every day, said one guard speaking on condition of anonymity. Say on a normal shift you have like 50 (corrections officers), theyre down to 30. I look at the rosters and its basically an average of 20 per day. Those figures contrast sharply with official tallies provided by GEO. The company said in an email Thursday that the facility is currently at a 96-percent staffing level with three additional staff starting next week. With the facility nearly fully staffed, and the inmate population level down 45 percent from capacity, the staff to inmate ratio has never been healthier in the history of George W. Hill, according to the statement. The staff vacancy penalty and rate is commensurate with normal turnover, and is in fact lower than historical trends. Oh my God, no, said one guard when asked if GEOs account was accurate. Thats a lie. Thats such a lie. Another guard said GEO is counting those on medical leave and in active military service in its employment figures, which does not reflect the reality of staffing in the prison itself. They say, Oh, well, technically theyre still employed, but theyre not physically there, he said. GEO did not address the mandated overtime issue in a response late Friday, but did say that any allegations alluding to staffing concerns or shortages is completely inaccurate. The staffing percentage provided includes all staff currently employed at George W. Hill, in all leave categories, according to GEO. The present staffing plan takes leave categories into account. Like any organization, the facility has individuals in many types of leave status. The facility is running at a very high staffing level, within contractual requirements, and while housing 850 fewer inmates than capacity allows. One corrections officer said there is currently only one person attending training classes, while another said there are actually two. But both agreed that shortages continue to be a huge problem. We get a staffing report every month and they have been consistently understaffed, and this month is no exception, said county Councilman Kevin Madden on Thursday. Theyre at 95 percent staffing and consequently there was a nearly $100,000 penalty that the county receives from GEO because of their understaffing. But we would much rather have a fully staffed jail than we would seeing penalties from GEO. Madden, who also serves as Jail Oversight Board chair, said it was his understanding from management at the prison that the shortages occur mostly on weekends and involve escort personnel, but the pods where prisoners are kept are always fully staffed. One guard said that was not true, however. We were short every day this week, he said. How the jail is (set up) is you have (blocks) A, B, C and D, right? Then control, then they have rovers. So A and B gets one officer, C and D gets one officer. But theres been weekends we dont have maybe anybody sometimes we have only B and C, or A, B and C, but no D, no rovers. Another said those who do come in are still being mandated to work 16-hour shifts, an issue corrections officers brought up last year. If guards leave early or do not work that shift, he said, they are written up. Two write-ups and officers can be fired, he added. They dont pay anything, and then you go in and youre getting told youre working 16 hours a day, and if you dont stay, youre getting fired, he said. Who can live like that? A lot of people have to leave, a lot of people have kids. Its out of control and it hasnt gotten any better. Officers acknowledged the prison population is down significantly due to low-level offenders being released over fears of COVID-19, but they said that actually makes the case for less mandated overtime, not more. They also said it is difficult to retain staff when they are hired because Delaware County pays less than prisons in surrounding counties, which only mandate 12-hour shifts with less regularity. Were supposed to have 36 sergeants, we have 33, said one officer. Nobody is putting in for that position because nobody wants to work for these people. If they said, Well pay you $35 an hour to be sergeant, then yeah I would do it. But they dont want to pay. They dont want to do anything to make this place better. GEO said in its statement that leadership and staff care immensely about the services provided for Delaware County, as evidenced by the facilitys ongoing procedures to mitigate and manage the COVID-19 pandemic over the last five months. There have only been two positive cases at the facility in the last 80 days, all staff and inmates have fully recovered, and educational programming has resumed all due to the hard work put forth by the men and woman employed at the facility, said GEO. We will remain vigilant throughout our entire operations as we continue our commitment to meeting the health and safety needs of the county. I think that idea that GEO doesnt really care, theyre on the way out well, Im pretty sure GEO cares about money and theyre sending pretty significant amounts back to the county because of their understaffing issues, said Madden. I would be very surprised if GEO doesnt care. I think GEO continues to pay less than neighboring counties and consequently I think they do have challenges bringing in new staff members, and turnover is certainly higher than I would want to see. But Madden said that under the current contract, the county does not have any mechanism to change the corporate culture, only to enforce staffing shortfalls with penalties. As far as staffing, the board is not involved, he said. If GEO needs to pay more or create a better working environment, thats on them. It only reinforces our reasons for wanting to deprivatize. Delaware County pays GEO more than $50 million per year under a five-year, $264 million contract signed in December 2018, according to the county website. Taking back local control of the prison was a major campaign promise when Democrats were running for county council last year. With all five seats now held by Democrats, Madden said council is still working to effectuate that plan, but has been stymied by the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic certainly pushed us back a bit, he said. I think were understandably more focused on making sure that we had things under control from that perspective, so other things we would have needed to do in terms of meeting with consultants and working with the Department of Corrections, a lot of that got pushed back while we tended to the more urgent matter. But there is no wavering in our plans to deprivatize. Madden did not have a solid timeline for when that transition might occur, but said it was probably safe to say council is aiming for sometime next year. Meanwhile, though, prison guards say they need more staff, less required overtime and more understanding from higher ups when they cant meet mandated times especially in the middle of a pandemic, as many schools in the area are gearing up to resume with online-only or hybrid in-school/online education models. If they would just not do the 16-hour mandation, I think you would have people say, Ok, alright, I can figure something out,' said one guard. All the other county jails do (12 hours), why cant we? Thats why theres a high turnover rate. Twelve hours a day you can deal with all right, Ill stay another four hours. But 16? Come on. And its a different working environment. Its not like Im in an office or doing something else painting or carpentry or whatever. Youre in a jail for 16 hours. People are just sick of it, said another officer. Theyre doing everything to drive people away. I wouldnt be surprised if people just stopped coming to work on Sunday. Internal stability of the state is crucial to security Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna for the Yevropeiska Pravda: Two months ago, Ukraine took a big step towards deepening practical cooperation with NATO: the North Atlantic Council granted Ukraine the status of Enhanced Opportunities Partner (EOP). Prior to that, only five countries were granted such a status, including Georgia and EU member states Sweden and Finland. We did not receive this status as an advance. It is recognition of Ukraine's contribution to collective security on the continent and in the world and summarizes the work we have already done. At the same time, this success has raised questions about what our future path towards the Alliance membership will be like. Let's try to analyze. The overall procedure has three elements. The first one, the most obvious but not exhaustive, is the interoperability of the armed forces. The second element is domestic reforms reflected in the Annual National Programmes. The third element is the desire to join the Alliance's major processes, such as the formation of the NATO 2030 strategic concept. 2020 Annual National Programme NATO-Ukraine annual national cooperation programmes are a tool for meeting the criteria for membership in the Alliance. The programmes are not limited to military and defense issues. They are implemented gradually and consistently from year to year and fundamentally transform the country. There is a lot of information in the media and social networks about why 2020 has become such a difficult year for the world. Like the rest of the planet, Ukraine has experienced the coronavirus pandemic, global lockdown and its economic consequences. Despite the circumstances, the strategic priorities have remained unchanged, and we have already crossed the "equator" of the 2020 Annual National Programme (ANP) under the auspices of the NATO-Ukraine Commission. The reports filed by all ANP participants (more than 70 ministries and agencies, including state-owned enterprises) for the first two quarters of this year shows that the programme has been implemented in a planned manner and in accordance with the schedule. That is why we are continuing to prepare for the autumn visit of NATO International Staff experts to Ukraine in better conditions. Strategic reforms Each annual programme is a set of strategic reforms that bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership in many areas besides the military. Here is a noteworthy fact: the GDP per capita in North Macedonia (a country that joined the Alliance this year) totals over $6,000. Its almost twice as much as in Ukraine. This means that compliance with the values of democracy, freedom, and the rule of law on which the Alliance is based requires systemic, value-based changes in the candidate countries. This process also raises the living standards of citizens. The 2020 Annual National Programme is particularly orientated towards the people. It focuses on systemic transformation without diminishing attention paid to defense and security. After all, security requires the internal stability of the state which is ensured by economic stability, the rule of law, modern infrastructure, education and medicine. In this context, the steps we need to take for Euro-Atlantic integration largely coincide and complement the steps necessary within the framework of European integration. Ukraine and NATO 2030 After NATO recognized Ukraine's contribution to global security by granting our country EOP status, the next step has become obvious. Joining the analytical process of forming NATO reflection process (NATO 2030). This concept will determine the development of the Alliance over the next ten years, not only in terms of enlargement, but also in context of creation of an effective architecture for Euro-Atlantic and global security which will reflect the challenges of previous years. I discussed the importance of involving the Ukrainian side in this process with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during my visit to Brussels. From our point of view, it is logical to form NATO 2030 strategic concept taking into account Ukraine's experience, capabilities and strategic role in maintaining security on the European continent and in the world in general, as well to provide details of the country's Euro-Atlantic movement. Our success on this path depends on our own strategic initiative, joint coordinated and consistent efforts in all areas - governmental, parliamentary, public. Military security, for which the North Atlantic Alliance was once formed, is only an element of security in the broadest sense: the security that actually equals to the quality of life and which nowadays is perceived as a norm by citizens of NATO member states. ol On the Frontline Against China, the US Coast Guard Is Taking on Missions the US Navy Can't Do Competition with China has drawn more Pentagon resources to the Pacific, but the most visible U.S. military presence there... African elephants at play at the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya. (Mladen Antonov / AFP/Getty Images) Wildlife across the globe is imperiled by habitat destruction, climate change, war, wildfires and poaching. Yet even as populations of vulnerable animals dwindle, hunting them for trophies remains legal in a number of countries. For instance, most conservation groups consider African elephants and lions to be threatened or endangered. The amount of protection afforded the animals, however, depends on the country they happen to be roaming in, and some continue to sell the rights to hunt and kill them. That's why a California man last year could legally kill an elephant in South Africa shooting it repeatedly after the animal collapsed on its knees, injured but not dead. (A video of the shooting was obtained by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.) And even though lions in southern and eastern Africa have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 2015 (after their numbers had plummeted 43% over the previous two decades), the Trump administration allowed a hunters lion trophy to be brought into the U.S. from Tanzania this year for the first time since 2016. But hunters wont be able to keep new trophies in their California homes if a bill winding its way through the state Legislature becomes law. Senate Bill 1175, authored by State Sen. Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park), would prohibit possession of trophies the taxidermist-stuffed heads or other body parts of dead animals from any of 13 iconic African species, including African lions, African elephants, leopards, black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, giraffes, two species of zebras and baboons. Most but not every species listed is considered endangered or threatened. Some are "look-alike" species that may not themselves be threatened but resemble other species that are, and thus give cover to someone either deliberately or accidentally hunting the threatened animal. But as Brendan Cummings of the Center for Biological Diversity (which co-sponsored the bill along with the animal welfare lobbying group Social Compassion in Legislation) put it, The future is not bright for any large African animal under climate change. Story continues The bill can't stop federally authorized importation of these trophies. Instead, any trophy imported in the future would have to be removed from the state within six months of its arrival. The ban would not apply to any trophies you already have on your walls. The bill would also prohibit the importation into California of live animals that "evidence suggests" could be responsible for "a readily transmissable human disease without a readily available and effective treatment." Although there are laws in effect now to regulate this traffic, Stern says, this is an attempt to tighten the regulations in light of the current pandemic. Americans are by far the largest importers of hunting trophies from vulnerable species. One justification has been that the tens of thousands of dollars hunters pay for these expeditions supposedly go into wildlife conservation. Currently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows trophy importation on those grounds on a case-by-case basis. But opponents of trophy hunting of vulnerable species contend that little of the money spent on expeditions reaches conservation programs or local communities. This issue continues to be hotly debated, but one thing not being debated is that many of these species are in trouble. Given that real danger, these animals shouldn't be hunted. One sticking point for SB 1175 is enforcement. A version of the measure passed the Legislature two years ago, but then-Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed it because he said it was unenforceable. A legislative analysis of the new bill says it would cost millions of dollars just to set up an enforcement mechanism. But both the bill's author and Cummings from the Center for Biological Diversity argue that there are less expensive ways to enforce the ban by tracking the paperwork that accompanies imported trophies. The bill has already cleared the Senate. The Assembly should approve it, and Gov. Gavin Newsom should sign it. Ideally, the federal government would ban the importation of any trophy from an imperiled species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, considering how hard it is to know how much, if any, of the money raised by hunting expeditions is being spent on conservation. Or the administration could decide that trophy hunting is simply not compatible with conservation. Because, by definition, you don't conserve animals whose population is in peril by killing them and putting their heads on a wall. They found 28-year-old Charlie Davis III of Dumfries. He was stabbed when a large fight broke out in the cafes parking lot, police said, and he was taken to a hospital, where he died. Washington: A former Central Intelligence Agency officer was arrested and charged with spying for China in a scheme that involved a relative who had also worked for the CIA, the US Justice Department said on Monday. It said in a statement that Alexander Yuk Ching Ma was arrested on Friday on a charge that he conspired with a relative, also a former CIA officer, to communicate classified information to Chinese intelligence officials. The criminal complaint was unsealed on Monday. A former Central Intelligence Agency employee has been arrested. A naturalised American citizen, Ma started working for the CIA in 1982, holding a Top Secret security clearance, according to investigators. Prosecutors said Ma left the CIA in 1989 and lived and worked in Shanghai, China, before arriving in Hawaii in 2001. Court documents allege that Ma and his relative conspired with Chinese spies to share US classified defence information over a decade. Workers heckled and jeered President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday as he visited a factory and strikes grew across Belarus, raising the pressure on the countrys leader to step down after 26 years in power. On the ninth straight day of mass protests over the official results of the August 9 presidential election that demonstrators say was rigged, Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in the capital of Minsk to rally support, but he was met by angry workers chanting, Go away! He told the workers, I will never cave in to pressure. Lukashenko said the country could have a new presidential election, but only after approving an amended version of its constitution - an apparent bid to buy some time amid the growing political crisis. He told the workers that those who intend to strike could leave if they want, but added the protests are ruining the economy and said the country would collapse if he steps down. Some of you might have got the impression that the government no longer exists, that it has tumbled down. The government will never collapse, you know me well, the 65-year-old former state farm director shouted. As he spoke, over 5,000 striking workers from the Minsk Tractor Plant marched down the streets of the city, joining an increasing number of state-controlled factories across the nation of 9.5 million in walking off the job. Miners at the huge potash factory in Soligorsk also said they were joining the strike. The giant Belaruskali factory that accounts for a fifth of the worlds potash fertilizer output is the nations top cash earner. The workers want Lukashenko to give way to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in the election.Tikhanovskaya, who fled to Lithuania after the elections, said she was willing to lead the country. Lithuania, a Nato member, said Belarus has started military drills on its western border. European Union leaders meeting over the latest developments in Belarus will send a message to the Russian government to stay out of the former Soviet republic, even as Britain said it rejected the results of the fraudulent polls. A senior US official said Russia must respect Belarus sovereignty and right of its people to freely elect their own leaders. Ahead of an expected surge in mail-in voting, recent cuts to the beleaguered U.S. Postal Service have led to months-long delays and the removal of letter sorting machines in San Antonio, according to the leaders of two postal workers unions. A lot of mail has been left on the floor, not only at the plant on Perrin Beitel but the stations as well, said Chris Rincon, president of San Antonio Alamo Area Local 195. There have been many delays in the mail. There have been many machines that have been taken out of service here. At least four letter sorting machines were removed in recent weeks, leaving 28, Rincon said. Each machine can sort about 35,000 pieces of mail an hour. Theyve been thrown in the trash, Rincon said. Theyre not coming back. He added, The removal of the machines will have an impact. The delay of the mail will have an impact. The public is complaining where is their mail, where is their medicine? David Walton, a national spokesman for the Postal Service, declined to comment Monday, but he released a lengthy statement defending the cuts. The Postal Service is flexing its available resources to match the workload created by the impacts of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the statement read in part. We appreciate the patience of our customers and apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced. Fears are mounting that the delays could effectively disenfranchise voters this fall. On ExpressNews.com: Puro Politics 109: The Post Office Has Been Stolen Wary of COVID-19, an unprecedented number of Americans are expected to vote by mail in the November election, even as the Postal Service enacts a slew of cost-cutting measures that are slowing deliveries, including the elimination of employee overtime and the removal of the mail sorting machines. The cuts have coincided with the appointment in June of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a Republican megadonor and supporter of President Donald Trump. Despite a lack of evidence of widespread fraud linked to mailed ballots, Trump has said universal mail-in voting in which states automatically send mail ballots to all registered voters would result in a fraudulent election. Trump has said he hopes to starve the postal system of funds so that you cant have universal mail-in voting because theyre not equipped to have it. Universal mail-in voting doesnt apply in Texas, one of just seven states that limit absentee voting to those who are out of the county during elections, disabled, jailed or 65 years or older. The courts have ruled that fear of COVID-19 does not count as a disability. Carlos Barrios, clerk craft director at the USPS San Antonio Processing and Distribution Center, said the new Postal Service cuts have caused substantial delays. You could go by the plant today, and youll see mail thats been sitting there for months, Barrios said. On ExpressNews.com: Voters could be disenfranchised in 46 states The delays in processing have slashed the amount of mail that letter carriers can deliver each day, said Tony Boyd, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 421. The carriers are getting a lot less mail to take out first thing in the morning, Boyd said. All of the mail that theyre supposed to receive in the morning isnt getting to the station on time. And instead of the carriers waiting as they used to, theyre instructed to leave at a certain time regardless of whether the mail is there or not. That results in a lot of customers not receiving mail. Delays can stretch from days to weeks, he said. The more mail that gets left behind, the longer it takes to get there, Boyd said. DeJoy enacted the cost-cutting rules that are causing the delays. Its directed from the new postmaster general, Boyd said. He believes that we need to streamline operations and cut the costs of overtime and late deliveries and this will get things in order, apparently. Thats his vision. The Postal Service on Monday blamed the delays on 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, the statement read. Because of this, the Postal Service has experienced over a decade of financial losses, with no end in sight, and we face an impending liquidity crisis. U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, said DeJoys actions were meant to appease the president. Hes a huge Trump supporter, Castro said. What Donald Trump has been able to do in a lot of the federal departments is find a lot of people who are his yes men, who will do things that are even illegal, and this guy appears to be one of them. Castro called Trumps actions a naked attempt to interfere with peoples right to vote. President Trump a few days ago admitted exactly what he was doing, Castro said. I think its a way for him to control who comes out to vote, a way for him to make it harder for people to vote and also a way to set up a contested election. He has said repeatedly without proof and against the facts that mail ballot voting is not reliable. Castro and Boyd trace the Postal Services ongoing financial woes to a 2006 law that required it to pre-fund retiree medical benefits. The Postal Service defaulted on those payments and owes more than $50 billion. The financial situation is caused strictly by Postal (Accountability and Enhancement) Act, Boyd said. No other company in the world is required to do that. Rincon of Local 195 blamed long lines at the citys 30 stations in part on the Postal Services failure to backfill positions emptied by COVID-19. The disease has sickened 360 employees in the Postal Services Rio Grande District since the pandemic began, and only 99 have returned, he said. The district, according to the Postal Service website, stretches from San Antonio to El Paso and Midland in West Texas, follows the Rio Grande counties down to McAllen, snakes up Interstate 35 to Austin, Waco and Temple, and goes south to Corpus Christi. Many members have been out because of COVID-19, and instead of hiring more employees, theyre trying to do with what we have, Rincon said. Theyre playing our hand so we cant do our job, he added. Were being told to leave (the mail) where its at. Do not process it until we tell you to process it. Barrios, the clerk craft director, echoed that complaint. Were told every day we are not to process mail, he said. Because we follow instructions, we do what were told. But were not very happy. Neither is Isaac Silva. The 59-year-old disabled retiree lives in an unincorporated community in eastern Bexar County. On a fixed income, he relies on the Postal Service to pay his bills. More than two weeks ago, Silva mailed his gas payment to a utility in Floresville and his water payment to another company in La Vernia. On Monday, neither had made it to its destination, he said. Now, the utility in La Vernia is threatening to shut off his water, he said. Its not around the corner for me to go drop off this bill, Silva said. Its like 18 miles from my house. I rely on our mail service to get me a bunch of my medications. Im a double lung transplant patient. Silva is now wary of mailing in a ballot as a disabled voter, unsure if his vote would even be counted. Boyd, of the letter carriers union, urged citizens such as Silva to voice their concerns. If people dont like whats going on, they need to contact their congressmen and senators, he said. The letter carriers want to do the job. We want to get all the mail to our customers. We pride ourselves on that. These new regulations are limiting our ability to do so. Hindalco Industries Ltd is quoting at Rs 188.9, up 2.14% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The stock is up 4.28% in last one year as compared to a 1.36% spurt in NIFTY and a 2.01% spurt in the Nifty Metal index. Hindalco Industries Ltd is up for a third straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 188.9, up 2.14% on the day as on 12:54 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.23% on the day, quoting at 11204. The Sensex is at 37933.32, up 0.15%. Hindalco Industries Ltd has risen around 17.4% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Metal index of which Hindalco Industries Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 15.83% in last one month and is currently quoting at 2405.8, up 1.39% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 147.95 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 177.66 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark August futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 189.5, up 2.43% on the day. Hindalco Industries Ltd is up 4.28% in last one year as compared to a 1.36% spurt in NIFTY and a 2.01% spurt in the Nifty Metal index. The PE of the stock is 62.68 based on TTM earnings ending March 20. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Wits research heads into the crowd Crowdhelix is an internet tool designed to help researchers develop partnerships and collaborations. Strategic Partnerships in the Wits Research Office purchased Crowdhelix in March as a tool for Wits academics. A helix is the focus area for European Horizon 2020 funding programmes, says Dr Robin Drennan, Director: Research Development at Wits. Crowdhelix is an Open Innovation platform connecting an international network of universities, research organisations, and companies. The platform currently hosts over 3910 active research and innovation professionals, from over 600 leading institutions and companies worldwide, including Wits University. Dr Mahomed Moolla, who leads the Strategic Partnership Office, says: In about a week 50 Wits researchers have embraced this new tool looking to continue collaborating worldwide during lockdown. There has been good uptake of the crowdhelix by Wits researchers, which bodes well for ongoing international research collaboration and potentially funding, particularly during a pandemic. Crowdhelix currently hosts 23 active 'helices', which are international communities of researchers and innovators collaborating on a particular topic. These helices include: Covid-19; health; food; climate; digital energy; materials; quantum; space; smart cities; and water, amongst others. As the General Assembly neared the end of its regular session earlier this year, Sen. Scott Surovell called the effort to enact criminal justice reform a complete and total failure. The defense attorney and Democrat from Fairfax County said the Democratic-controlled legislature settled for table scraps, like decriminalizing marijuana. Proposals such as expunging criminal records and abolishing jury sentencing which have bipartisan support didnt make it to the governors desk. Legislators departed Richmond. Two months later, George Floyd died at the hands of police in Minneapolis. Americans have turned out in big cities like Richmond and Norfolk and small towns like Galax, Rocky Mount and Wytheville to show their support for Black Lives Matter and call for an end to systemic racism. Whether these demonstrations will lead to substantive policy changes to hold police accountable and improve the criminal justice system will be put to the test beginning this week when the General Assembly reconvenes for a special session to take up various other matters. The opportunity were given right now because of this moment in our history, because of the protests, because of the awareness people have to some of these injustices, gives us the opportunity to advance this ambitious agenda in a short amount of time, said Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath. Democrats havent published most of their police and criminal justice bills for public review, but measures theyve discussed include a procedure to establish civilian review boards and eliminate certain reasons for police to stop people. They also want to increase the amount of credit prisoners can get for good conduct in custody and create a new system for mental health professionals to be the first responders to a mental health crisis, with police as backup. Im hopeful that those who are peaceful protesters do see that we have heard them, said House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, D-Alexandria. House and Senate Democrats arent entirely in sync on some issues. For instance, House Democrats are interested in peeling back qualified immunity, the legal doctrine that shields police officers from lawsuits, but Senate Democrats have said the issue is too complicated to address during a short special session. Senate Democrats unveiled a 31-page bill that calls for numerous reforms, such as banning chokeholds and shooting into moving vehicles unless the officers life or others lives are at risk. It also would prohibit law enforcement from receiving surplus military equipment under a federal program. It would make it illegal for police officers to have sex with a person in their custody. The legislation would require that all search warrants be executed during the daytime and police announce their presence unless a judge authorizes a warrant to be served at another time. The legislation also requires the Department of Criminal Justice Services to develop a uniform training curriculum for law enforcement. A basic training requirement would include learning de-escalation techniques. The bill includes proposals that law enforcement leaders have said theyd like legislators to address, such as guaranteeing certain information they can obtain about potential new hires so they are aware of any past misconduct or use of force issues. It also would call for the creation of statewide professional law enforcement standards and a process to decertify officers who seriously violate those standards. Law enforcement leaders say the threshold to meet to decertify officers to prevent them from moving to another agency is too high. Its going to enhance law enforcement civility to root out bad apples, Surovell said. Its going to improve their ability to hire officers that are good people and good officers and dont have a history with disciplinary problems or other types of problems like dishonesty. Theres one proposal in the bill that could affect law enforcement funding, and that is regarding when police conduct traffic stops or stop people on foot. The intent is to identify potential bias. If police fail to report the data to state police or dont implement a plan to correct the behavior, those agencies could put certain state funding in jeopardy. Republicans also have been warning Virginians who support the police that Democrats are on a mission to defund the police, a refrain from protesters calling for reallocating or redirecting funding away from police departments to other agencies. Several Democrats have said they have no intentions to reduce state funding for law enforcement. We do not want to take away money from the police force, said Sen. Lionell Spruill, D-Chesapeake. Del. Terry Kilgore, R-Scott, said there are some areas Republicans and Democrats have overlapping agreement on, but it will come down to the details of the legislation. Republicans have introduced bills theyve filed in the past related to expunging criminal records. The Senate has had more success over the years in passing bipartisan criminal justice legislation, only to have it defeated in the House of Delegates. Last session, the Senate passed expungement proposals, but they didnt make it out of the Democrat-controlled Courts of Justice Committee. Herring, who chairs the committee, said she wanted the Virginia Crime Commission to study expunging criminal records to do comprehensive reform rather than a piecemeal approach, which she said would build inequities into the criminal code. Herring said the commission, which she chairs, has fast-tracked that research and House Democrats plan to put forward an expungement bill. With expungement, if we can get that passed, thats going to be a huge step for Virginians, especially those who have served their time and havent been involved in any criminal activity since, Herring said. This is going to bring a sense of hope for people. Republican leaders say they plan to introduce legislation to prevent police unions from intervening in disciplinary matters. Beginning next year, localities can give public sector workers, including police officers, the right to collectively bargain. Police unions are receiving scrutiny in recent months because collective bargaining agreements for officers can stand in the way of accountability when they include disciplinary, accountability and use of force protections. Sens. Tommy Norment, R-James City, and Bryce Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, submitted legislation to increase the penalty for assaulting a law enforcement officer from a Class 6 felony to a Class 5 felony with a mandatory minimum of one year in jail, an increase from six months. If the assault happens during a state of emergency which Virginia currently is in for the coronavirus the person is guilty of a Class 3 felony with a mandatory minimum of two years in prison. Their bills are in response to a proposal from Surovell, who wants to make it a misdemeanor if the officer is not seriously injured. Hes pointed to examples of when the statute has been abused, like when a person throws a piece of food at an officer or someone with a mental illness is charged with a felony. Gov. Ralph Northam has vowed not to sign any more mandatory minimum bills for the remainder of his term. Sen. David Suetterlein, R-Roanoke County, is pitching a bill to end the vehicle inspection program as a criminal justice reform proposal. Suetterlein patroned the same legislation earlier this year, and its something that Northam wanted to eliminate. There are no definitive studies proving that vehicle inspections improve safety, and most states do not require them. Suetterlein is making the case for the bill again based on a police incident last year that garnered attention last month. A Virginia State trooper stopped a Black mans car in Fairfax County because it had an expired inspection decal. From there, the white trooper said he smelled marijuana and asked the man to get out of his car. You are going to get your a-- whooped, the trooper said on video, eventually forcefully removing the man from his car. The video of Derrick Thompson being violently apprehended by the police should make all Virginians ask, Was this necessary? Suetterlein said. And what started the chain of events that led to a Virginia citizen being violently apprehended? The fact it was an expired inspection sticker that isnt applied in the vast majority of states should disturb people. Republicans are planning to put a spotlight on the Virginia Parole Board, which is under scrutiny following a government watchdog report saying the board violated law and its own policies in releasing a man sentenced to life for killing a Richmond police officer. Del. Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, submitted a bill to require the parole board to contact the victim prior to any decision to release an inmate. Currently, the law requires the board to make an effort. There have been cases in recent months where the board didnt notify the victim. Suetterlein introduced a bill to require the individual votes of the Virginia Parole Board, which Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea sits on, be made public. The parole board has immense power over critical decisions over public safety and individuals liberties, and Virginians should know who is making those decisions and how theyre making them, Suetterlein said. I think the lack of sunshine has encouraged an even greater culture of darkness over their decisions. Republicans have been criticizing the parole board, saying the report shows it has repeatedly ignored state law and victims rights. Party leaders have said the board members should resign or Northam should fire them. Democrats have been avoiding the issue. For months, we have watched House Democrats disparage our public safety professionals, promote radical ideas such as defunding the police and making it easier to assault police officers, and remain silent as Gov. Northams parole board illegally releases convicted murderers, said House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The Braeswood Farmers Market was open on Aug. 15 just as it is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and Wednesday from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. But this day was a special occasion. It marked one year to the day since Michael Noz had founded the market, which is located at 5401 South Braeswood in the old H-E-B parking lot. The market is situated on the southwest corner of South Braeswood Boulevard and Chimney Rock Road West Houston farmers market: Westchase District Farmer Market sees growth as residents flock to outdoor shopping during coronavirus pandemic I came up with an idea. H-E-B has been vacant for years. Harvey has affected the community. We have a beautiful view into the bayou of southwest Houston, said Michael Nov, the market manager. We cant have this lot empty we have to do something with this lot. He called the first year of the Braeswood Farmers Market historic and said that everybody from the community has supported it. He mentioned the initial struggle of gaining the vendors trust with so many markets located all around Houston but said the vendors were immediately successful and have remained loyal to the market. The Meyerland shoppers know what they want, Nov said. They spend well. Theyre respectful, and theyre polite, so our vendors love coming out here. Nov, who grew up in the Meyerland area went to Fondren Middle School and Westbury High School. He also operates the Braeswood Artisan Market and the Braeswood Food Truck Park. He said word of mouth is extremely important to the Braeswood Farmers Markets success. It averages about 50 vendors per market but was busier than normal due to the special occasion of its one-year anniversary. Rise of the farmers market?: Is the farmers market the future of food shopping? Noz expressed no concerns about putting on the market or the celebration in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Masks are mandatory for everybody and social distancing is practiced. He added that the food is coming straight from the farms, all of which have to be within 150 miles of the market, so the food is not going down a conveyor belt, being packaged and then shipped over long distances over several days. The farmers market will always stay outdoor; it will never change its location. The reason for that is because of the experience. We want to keep that the way it is. We want everyone to have that experience of walking around, Nov said. Get off your iPads. Bring the kids out in strollers. Spend 10, 15, 20 minutes in the sun. Follow the Braeswood Farmers Market on its Facebook or Instagram page. elliott.lapin@hearst.com Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, is facing an unprecedented challenge to his leadership Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko addresses his supporters gathered at Independent Square of Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020. (AP) Minsk: Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters gathered for the largest protest rally in recent history in Minsk as President Alexander Lukashenko rejected calls to step down in a defiant speech. Crowds of protesters marched through the streets to the central Independence Square on Sunday, with an AFP journalist estimating the turnout at more than 100,0000, a scale of protest not seen since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Belarusian independent news site Tut.by called the rally "the largest in the history of independent Belarus". Columns of demonstrators raised victory signs and held flowers and balloons as a sea of protesters gathered in Independence Square, the focus of peaceful demonstrations in recent days. "Now we're changing history," said 26-year-old Yekaterina Gorbina, a content manager. "Blood was spilled and the people will never forget that." Darya Kukhta, 39, a mother of six, told AFP: "We believe that a new Belarus is beginning. I'm very happy to be seeing this with my own eyes." Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as "You can't wash off the blood" and "Lukashenko must answer for the torture and dead". Popular opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of protests after leaving for neighbouring Lithuania following the disputed election, which gave Lukashenko 80 percent of the vote. Other major towns and cities in the ex-Soviet country of nine million also saw large rallies, local media reported. More and more Belarusians have taken to the streets over the last week to condemn Lukashenko's disputed victory and a subsequent violent crackdown by riot police and abuse of detainees. Unusually, tightly controlled state television news aired a short item on the "alternative protest" in Minsk, while not showing anti-Lukashenko slogans. Outside Belarus, hundreds of Czechs and Belarusians, some holding the traditional red and white Belarusian flag and portraits of Tikhanovskaya, gathered in Prague's historic centre Sunday in support of the protests. There were also smaller shows of support in Romania and Poland, AFP journalists said. 'Defend your country!' Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, is facing an unprecedented challenge to his leadership. The 65-year-old strongman held a rare campaign-style rally on Independence Square before the opposition protest. He told flag-waving supporters: "I called you here not to defend me... but for the first time in a quarter-century, to defend your country and its independence." State television said 65,000 people attended the rally, though an AFP reporter put the number closer to 10,000. "The elections were valid," Lukashenko said in a sometimes emotional speech. "We won't give away the country!" he vowed. Kremlin 'ready' to help With pressure growing from the street and abroad after EU leaders agreed to draw up a list of targets for a new round of sanctions, Lukashenko has reached out to Russia, Belarus's closest ally. Moscow said Sunday it was ready to provide military help if needed. The Kremlin said that in a call with Lukashenko, President Vladimir Putin had expressed Russia's "readiness to provide the needed assistance" including "if necessary" through the CSTO military alliance between six ex-Soviet states. RT Kremlin-funded television reported that this was in the case of "outside military threats". Tens of thousands have taken to the streets over the last week to denounce the election result and support Tikhanovskaya, a 37-year-old political novice who ran after other potential candidates including her husband were jailed. A violent police crackdown on protesters saw more than 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and two people dead. From exile in Lithuania, where she fled on Tuesday, Tikhanovskaya had called for a weekend of peaceful rallies. Thousands of opposition supporters demonstrated in Minsk on Saturday at the spot where a 34-year-old protester died during unrest on Monday. Officials said the man, Alexander Taraisky, died when an explosive device he was holding blew up in his hand. Following the release of video footage contradicting this, Interior Minister Yury Karayev told Tut.by on Sunday: "Maybe they shot him with non-lethal weapons", saying only rubber bullets were used. Call for mass strikes The opposition has called for a general strike from Monday after hundreds of workers at state-run factories downed tools on Friday in a first sign that Lukashenko's traditional support base was turning against him. Tikhanovskaya has announced the creation of a Coordination Council to ensure a transfer of power, asking foreign governments to "help us in organising a dialogue with Belarusian authorities". She demanded the authorities release all detainees, remove security forces from the streets and open criminal cases against those who ordered the crackdown. She has said she will organise new elections if Lukashenko steps down. Advertisement The number of daily COVID-19 cases across the United States has now been on the downward trajectory for almost a month - but deaths appear to rising in Sunbelt states including Florida, Texas and Louisiana. Just over 42,000 coronavirus infections were reported on Sunday across the US, bringing the nationwide total to more than 5.4 million. The number of new cases are currently only rising in a handful of states, including Hawaii, South Dakota and Illinois. The average number of daily cases is currently at 51,000, which is down from the 66,000 infections being reported per day just last month after the Sunbelt states were seeing a summer surge of infections. Cases have been declining nationally for almost a month now, which has been driven in part by a drop off in cases in the Sunbelt states. Deaths in those states, however, appear to now be increasing slightly despite showing signs of a decline or at least a plateau earlier this month. Just over 42,000 coronavirus infections were reported on Sunday across the US, bringing the nationwide total to more than 5.4 million. Cases have been declining nationally for almost a month now, which has been driven in part by a drop off in cases in the Sunbelt states Just over 570 news deaths were reported on Sunday with Florida, Texas and Louisiana leading the rise in fatalities. More than 170,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19. Deaths, however, appear to be plateauing nationally but are still averaging about 1,000 fatalities per day Just over 570 news deaths were reported on Sunday with Florida, Texas and Louisiana leading the rise in fatalities. Louisiana reported a record spike of 77 new deaths on Sunday, while fatalities in Florida and Texas have shown an uptick in recent weeks. More than 170,000 Americans have now died from COVID-19. Deaths, however, appear to be plateauing nationally but are still averaging about 1,000 fatalities per day. While the average daily death toll of 1,000 is still high, it remains below levels seen in April when an average of 2,000 people a day were dying from the virus. Deaths are a lagging indicator and can continue to rise weeks after new infections drop. A coronavirus death, when it occurs, typically comes several weeks after a person is first infected. Arizona officials reported an additional 468 cases of the coronavirus and zero deaths on Monday, marking the first time in three weeks that the state hasnt reported a death from the virus. The last day when Arizona had no coronavirus deaths to report was on July 27. Totals released on Mondays typically have a lower number of deaths, when compared to other days, because of a lag in weekend reporting. COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Arizona peaked about a month ago following Gov. Doug Duceys lifting of stay-home orders in May. With Arizona then becoming a national hot spot, Ducey in late June re-imposed some restrictions and allowed local governments to impose masking requirements. The Sunbelt state of Louisiana reported a record spike of 77 new deaths on Sunday. Cases have been declining since late July following a huge uptick in infections Deaths in Florida started surging in mid-July before declining slightly in early August. Deaths appear to be increasing again after the state recorded a record 277 deaths last Tuesday Texas has also seen an uptick in death after an initial drop off in the first week of August. Cases started to decline in the hotspot state in late July The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is anticipating an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the coming months, resulting in around 300,000 total deaths by December and a nearly 75 percent increase in hospitalizations. Health experts have attributed the current decline in cases to policy and behavior changes in the hotspot states, like Arizona, where governors and local officials rolled back reopenings to curb the infection rate. They say the widespread adoption of masks, social distancing and closing down bars all helped. The decline in cases comes about a month weeks after President Donald Trump, who for months refused to publicly wear a mask, urged Americans to cover their faces in public to stop the spread. The initial surge came followed a spike in Memorial Day travel across the country at the start of the summer. Data from a travel itinerary company has shown that about six million Americans are planning to fly this upcoming Labor Day weekend and 700,000 of them are heading to COVID-19 hotspot of Florida. An analysis of flight data compiled by TripIt shows that flight reservations to Florida are up 200 percent this Labor Day weekend compared to this time last year. Flight bookings across the country, however, are still down 66 percent this year compared to the same holiday weekend in 2019. Hawaii had kept the virus at bay for most of the summer, but new cases have more than doubled and are repeatedly seeing daily triple-digit increases In South Dakota, new cases have increased for the third straight week. More than 100,000 motorcycle enthusiasts are expected to attend a 10-day annual rally in Sturgis that began on August 7 Infections have also been rising in Illinois but deaths have been on the downward trajectory since mid-June. Hospitalizations across the state have been plateauing since July TripIt says it analyzed round-trip flight reservations made in the first six months of the year for travel between Sep 4-8 and compared it to TSA figures from last year. Flight bookings to Florida, which has recorded more than 570,000 coronavirus infections, makes up 12 percent of the Labor Day weekend air travel reservations, according to the data. Last year, Florida's share of Labor Day weekend flight reservations were four percent of the total. Orlando came in third on a list of the 25 top Labor Day weekend travel destinations and the city is the most popular for hotel bookings, according to the company. DisneyWorld and Universal Orlando Resort have since reopened after initially closing amid the coronavirus pandemic. Travelers are also currently scheduled to fly into other Florida cities, including Tampa, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Key West and Panama City. Hawaii, which has seen a spike in its COVID-19 infections this month, has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of flight bookings compared to last year. Data from a travel itinerary company has shown that about six million Americans are planning to fly this upcoming Labor Day weekend and 700,000 of them are heading to COVID-19 hotspot of Florida. In comparison, planned air travel to New York City has dropped off considerably this year compared to 2019 Orlando came in third on a list of the 25 top Labor Day weekend travel destinations and the city is the most popular for hotel bookings, according to the company. DisneyWorld and Universal Orlando Resort have since reopened after initially closing amid the coronavirus pandemic The state had kept the virus at bay for most of the summer, but new cases have more than doubled and are repeatedly seeing daily triple-digit increases. The state's Governor David Ige said earlier this month that he would be reinstating inter-island travel restrictions that require people to quarantine for 14 days in a bid to curb the spread. A pre-travel testing program, which was initially slated to begin August 1, was pushed back until September 1 and will allow travelers to avoid quarantine if they have proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours. United Airlines also recently announced it would increase its flight services to Hawaii from September. The Caribbean and Mexico have also seen spikes for Labor Day weekend air travel, according to the data. In comparison, planned air travel to New York City has dropped off considerably this year compared to 2019. New York has a mandatory 14-day quarantine in place for travelers arriving from states with high rates of coronavirus infections. The TripIt data does not account for people who will travel around the US via car, train or bus. LITCHFIELD Democrat Matthew Dyer is seeking to unseat Republican state Rep. David Wilson for the 66th District state House seat. Dyer, a native of Wyoming who moved to Bristol in 1999, is an attorney with two grown children. He relocated to Litchfield in 2018. Dyer said listening to peoples concerns about taxes, education and their towns growth are some of the most important issues his constituents face and he knows, because hes asked them. We cant do door-to-door campaigning right now because of COVID-19, so weve had to find other ways to reach people, Dyer said. We texted people, using a (platform called Red to Blue). They coordinated a script based on my election platform, and the we had 200 people participate. Weve also done Zoom meetings, meet-and-greet things, and weve had all sorts of conversations about what people are concerned about. The two top issues hes encountered during those conversations are high taxes and the cost of living specifically, Eversources decision to raise its rates in July. Regulators, according to a story in CT Mirror, suspended the rate hike temporarily while it investigates. The concerns tend to rarely get more specific than that, when it comes to taxes, Dyer said. People are upset about taxes housing taxes on a municipal level. And that relates to the fact that the cost of living (in Connecticut) is just out of control. Cost of living increases is a more focused concern, because in the last 20 years, the cost of housing has taken a more significant chunk out of peoples paychecks, and 30 to 40 percent of it goes to housing. My parents used to put 15 or 20 percent away for housing, and that left them money to spend on other things. Some of the most worried residents are retirees who are afraid theyll be driven out of the state by higher taxes and unaffordable housing, he said. The cost of existing is something we have to get a hold of, Dyer said. Thats going to require the entire communitys voice, to decide what to provide, to make life better for each of us. Instead of just shouting across Facebook or Twitter, stop letting that fear drive you. What that requires is a conversation. The cost of education, specifically Education Cost Funding, or the amount of funding per student that a town receives from the state, is a concern, he said. We need to find a way to address Educational Cost Funding, he said. Its an unfair distribution of assets. The five towns I would represent, Bethlehem, Woodbury, Litchfield, Morris and Warren, have vastly different needs. I was in Bethlehem right before COVID-19 hit, and even though they have one of the largest agricultural education schools (Nonnewaug), they feel they are being overlooked. ... ECS funding seems to be too easily politically motivated, and it doesnt seem like theres a ton of advocacy coming from our state representative and senator. Hes also hoping to focus on supporting economic growth in Litchfield County. (Since COVID-19 began) something like 16,000 people have moved into Connecticut, he said. And a lot of them came to Litchfield County, where they want to stay, he said. Connecticut is a draw. Its closer to New York City. Each town has a character that attracts people, and it should be used to support that town. That, he said, would bolster economic development and build more diverse communities. We need to get more people to put their voices into the community, Dyer said. Get them involved; join agencies, boards, host meetings and events. We all need to participate. Dyer said theres a feeling of complacency among voters these days, and that it doesnt have to be that way. People throw up their hands and say, What does it matter? Nobody listens to me anyway. I say if you have complaints or you think something is working, tell someone. Make your voice heard. I dont have all the answers, but I want to make sure I speak to as many people as possible, not just the people on the fringes who are the loudest. Dyer has practiced law for 17 years in a variety of civil and criminal litigation scenarios, he said. I have advocated for small businesses ranging from local hospitals to local auto dealers to restaurants and local manufacturers, first in my own practice and then as a partner for Furey, Donovan, Tracy & Daly in Bristol. So the reason Im running is because as an attorney, Ive spent my time representing individuals; real people with real problems that need to be solved, he said. Talking about a problem doesnt solve it. Im good at representing peoples interest in a system that doesnt consider the individual. State government just wants to keep things moving. My voice is a representative voice. I speak for people. In the current political climate, there exists a deep divide between Democrats and Republicans, and those Republicans representing the state are the voice of no, Dyer said. Its about stopping legislation because its coming from the Democrats, and thats just wrong. Thats not how you solve problems. We need to be at the table now, ready to negotiate our problems and compromise. Im ready to get in there and do the work. Democrats and Republicans want the same thing, Dyer said, to make their town, their state and the country the best that it can be. They just have different ideas on how to go about it, he said. We need to focus on the target. We are bogged down in nonsense. Dyer is holding several question-and-answer sessions Aug. 22, and invites the public to attend. The first is from 9-11:30 a.m. at Topsmead State Forest in Litchfield, followed by a second from 1-3:30 p.m. on Woodbury Green North. Registration is required at info@dyerforhouse2020.com. Learn more on his Facebook page. We've all heard about or participated in the physical challenge 22 push-ups highlighting veteran suicide prevention. Now a group of military spouses is instead using that symbolic 22 count to collect exercise miles as part of their own suicide prevention project. The Million Mile Project, organized by Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year winners, kicked-off Aug. 15th and will run through Sept. 5. Their goal is simple: collaboratively log 1 million miles. To get there they are asking military spouses and others to run, hike, walk, swim, spin or row -- anything really! -- and then log their miles with the project. Why 1 million miles? "I wanted a goal that was huge and that I knew could not really be tested unless we brought our community together," said Paulette Fryar, the 2020 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year. Fryar, a Coast Guard spouse, lost her cousin to suicide this spring. Her cousin, who was also a veteran, was the inspiration for this project, and his parents have also joined the group logging miles. "I also felt that if it was a huge goal, and that it would be implied by the 'size' that those who joined in would have ownership in it as well, giving them a place to share the stories of their loved ones they have lost," she added. Related: Learn more about military suicide prevention If you or a loved one are in emotional distress, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1.800.273.8255 or the Trained counselors are available 24/7. While the "22" number has become broadly symbolic of the fight against veteran suicide, actual suicide rate estimates vary. The 2019 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, which sites the most current data available from 2017, says the average daily suicides among veterans is 17, and officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs regularly cite the rate at 20. September is recognized as Suicide Prevention Month, and the 1 Million Mile Project ends the day prior to a National Suicide Prevention Week kick-off Sept. 6. With a goal of 1 million miles moved between August 15th and September 5th, the group is encouraging everyone to participate. Join the Facebook group or simply log your miles and email your mileage tracker to 20AFIMSOY@gmail.com (subject line, "Million Mile Project 2020") between September 6th and 12th. When sharing images of you logging your miles on social media, use the hashtag #20AFIMSOYMMP to encourage others to join you, this is open to everyone, anywhere. To learn more about the Million Mile Project or to add your miles to their goal, join their Facebook group. Keep Up with the Ins and Outs of Military Life For the latest military news and tips on military family benefits and more, subscribe to Military.com and have the information you need delivered directly to your inbox. --Rebecca Alwine can be reached at rebecca.alwine@monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebecca_alwine. Though the gold price has soared recently, gold miners have mysteriously incurred losses. Lao Cai Gold JSC (GLC) has made public a resolution from its 2020 annual shareholders meeting on business results in 2019. The company reported a loss of VND15.6 billion because the revenue dropped by 90 percent to VND11 billion. GLC is the only listed gold exploitation company. It is exploiting, sorting and refining gold at Minh Luong, Van Ban, and Lao Cai mines. Gold mining is considered an attractive business field, especially when the gold price increases, but GLC has had poor business performance. The company said its revenue and profit have decreased because its gold exploitation license expired in April 2019 and the company halted exploitation. Gold mining is considered an attractive business field, especially when the gold price increases, but GLC has had poor business performance. As of the end of 2019, GLC had reported a short-term debt of VND10.7 billion and cumulative loss of VND53.4 billion. The stockholder equity fell to VND51.6 billion. Unlike most of the other shares in the market, GLC shares have not seen considerable fluctuations since they entered the bourse on January 9, 2019. The shares have always traded at VND10,000 per share. The other noteworthy feature of the company is the structure of shareholders and the companys board of management. At the end of 2018, the major shareholders of the company included Vinacomin which held 46.1 percent of charter capital; Vimico with 21.7 percent; Uong Gia Huy, an individual investor with 8.65 percent of shares; Bitexco Mineral with 6.4 percent; and Dong Duong Mineral with 6.3 percent. In late January 2019, after GLC entered the bourse, Vinacomin divested all its capital. The current shareholders include Cao Truong Son (23.29 percent), Uong Huy Giang (22.94 percent), Chu Quang Tu (22.86 percent), Pham Anh Tuan (13.48 percent) and Bitexco Mineral (6.43 percent). However, the members of the board of management and board of directors are other individuals who do not hold shares. The chair of the board of management is Doan Thi Yen Chau, while Hoang Thi Que is a member of the board of management and director of the company. Tran Dinh Dung is a member of the board of management. The managers of the company said at the shareholders meeting in late June that the company is following administrative procedures to apply for an extension of the exploitation license. Prior to that, Besra Vietnam also reported losses after many years of exploitation at Bong Mieu Gold Mine and Phuoc Son Gold Mine. Some gold miners have reported they have exploited thousands of tons of gold. However, unanswered questions remain about what the actual figures are and how the money from gold sales has been used while gold miners continue to incur big losses. V. Ha Domestic gold prices suffer huge drop to VND51 million per tael The price of gold in local and global markets continued to suffer a sharp decrease on August 12 following an announcement on Russia's progress in developing a novel coronavirus vaccine. Outraged after months of not receiving salaries, regular electricity outages and a failure to provide local business bailouts, protests erupted last week in northern Iraq against the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). The demonstrations follow months of budget disputes between Erbil and the Iraqi federal government, and a readiness by Iran to start negotiations with the Kurdistan Region for two free trade zones, the Iranian consul-general in Sulaimaniyah told Rudaw on Saturday. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Sulaimaniyah on Wednesday to voice their frustrations, storming the headquarters of political parties. Smaller protests took place in Ranya and Qaladze. Elsewhere in the region, attempts at protests were largely shut down by security forces, a source told Al-Monitor. In Dahuk, the citys main bazaar was closed. And in Erbil, police broke up gatherings and internet access was cut for about three hours during the scheduled times of the demonstration. Residents have tried organizing in the region for months but were regularly stopped by force, sources said. Now, they are growing in intensity fueled by a lack of coronavirus protections. Why it matters: Under Iraqs budget law, the Kurdistan Region is entitled to about 12% of the federal budget. In return, Erbil is required to send 250,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Baghdad. More than 90% of Iraq's budget depends on oil revenues. But in April, Iraqs Finance Ministry was urged by officials to stop making monthly payments of 453 billion Iraqi dinars (about $380 million) to the KRG because they had not shared oil production with the federal government, according to three members of parliament who saw the letter and reported by Iraq Oil Report. The Iraqi federal government grew impatient and by late April, funds were cut off. On Thursday, the KRG said the Iraqi federal governments poor response in resolving the ongoing budget dispute is to blame for the ongoing salary delays, despite some Kurdistan Region government employees claiming they had stopped receiving salaries as early as January, three months before Iraq cut off funds. The federal government must not use salaries and the financial dues of the region as a political and punitive card against the people of the region, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani told a United Nations and WHO official earlier this year. Barzani announced in May that his governments debt now stands at $27 billion. And the situation is complicated by the rapidly increasing number of coronavirus cases in the region. On Friday, the KRG Health Ministry announced nearly 700 new cases of the virus, a single-day record for the region that brings the total number of recorded cases to over 20,000. And health workers in Sulaimaniyah, many whom have also not received salaries in full or on time, have joined the protests. Dr. Sabah Hawrami, head of the citys health directorate, told reporters on Thursday that some hospitals have been closed due to a failure to pay salaries, a story first reported by Rudaw. On Thursday, the health workers went on strike for a second time. Whats next: The KRG and the Iraqi federal government have met multiple times since April's budget breakdown but have so far failed to reach an agreement, with the tension spilling onto a public stage in a war of words. To appease unrest from last week's demonstratons, the Kurdistan Regions Council of Ministers announced Thursday that they would pay salaries of government employees with any available funds. Among the priorities of new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who was approved by parliament in May, are a pledge to draft a new budget law. On Saturday, Kadhimi spoke with Barzani and agreed to pay 320 billion dinars ($270 million) monthly as partial restoration of the KRGs share of the federal budget as dialogue continuesm, according to a KRG statement. Know more: Al-Monitor reported on the record number of coronavirus cases being recorded in the Kurdistan Region, including a prominent politician contracting the virus. Cookie Preferences Cookie List Cookie List A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website when visited by a user asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. 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You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated sale of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website. Press Release August 16, 2020 Villanueva: Workers are the No. 1 victims of COVID infections; reiterate call for regular, random testing in workplace Senator Joel Villanueva has reiterated his call for the government to mandate the conduct of regular, randomized testing in the workplace as data from the Department of Health (DOH) showed that the majority of COVID-19 cases were from the working age groups. Data from the health department showed that as of August 15, 2020, the 20-29 years age group had the greatest number of infections in the tally with 39,358 cases, followed by the 30-39 years age group (37,087), the 40-49 years age group (25,687), and the 50-59 age group (19,404). "Dapat kasama po sa pagpayag ng pagbubukas ng negosyo ang pagsasagawa ng regular at random testing sa mga opisina at lugar-paggawa upang agad matunton ang mga may sakit at kaagad sila ma-isolate para hindi makahawa," said Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee. "Huwag na po natin antayin na lumala ang pagkalat ng sakit sa mga lugar-paggawa bago po tayo umaksyon." "Testing at contact tracing po ang pinaka-epektibong paraan laban sa COVID-19 sa panahon ngayon. Hinihiling po natin sa ating gobyerno na tulungan ang mga employer na isagawa ang regular, random testing sa kani-kanilang mga opisina at lugar-paggawa," Villanueva said. Villanueva expressed alarm over the cumulative COVID-19 positivity rate in the Philippines which has already breached 10%. According to the World Health Organization, a positivity rate of less than 5% is an indicator that the epidemic in the country is under control. He appealed to the government to find a way to ensure that the workplaces are safe and help the employers. One option is for PhilHealth to pay the testing since workers pay premiums every month, as well as ensure compliance with DOLE-DTI health standards, the lawmaker explained. Villanueva also implored the DOLE to resume its labor inspections to ensure that health standards are observed in workplaces. "At the end of the day, it would be more costly to the country, for the employers and to the workers and their families if businesses are shuttered due to the virus. The 16.5% drop in our GDP for the 2nd quarter showed us clearly its impact. It could be costly to do regular, random testing, and contact tracing, but with a vaccine still in the pipeline, the benefits of testing clearly outweigh the cost," he added. A Chinese fugitive gangster surnamed Zheng was brought back to China from the Dominican Republic on Sunday after 15 years on the lam, China's Ministry of Public Security said. The suspect was the first fugitive repatriated by the Caribbean country to China, the ministry said. Zheng is suspected of organizing criminal activities in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, including illegally running a gambling house and instigating a murder back in 2005, the ministry said. Zheng then fled to several countries including Argentina and the Dominican Republic with fake identities and joined a mafia-like organization in Argentina as a core member to attack overseas Chinese, it added. Zheng, wanted on the Interpol Red Notice, was arrested in March by Dominican authorities, according to the ministry, which reiterated its tough stance against organized crimes and urged those at large to surrender themselves for leniency. Boots Ireland is proud to launch this years Night Walk in aid of the Irish Cancer Society Night Nurses. Previously Night Walks have taken place in various locations across the country and participants walked together to raise funds for this important service. This year, due to Covid-19 social distancing guidelines and to ensure everyones safety, we are doing things a little differently. The Boots Night Walk will take place on Monday, September 7 - you choose the location and time of your 5km walk and well all walk together from afar! Alongside the walk, Honour Tags are now on sale in Boots stores nationwide for 2. Customers can purchase a tag in honour of someone who has survived or passed away from cancer. The front of the tag allows for the name of the individual with space on the back for a personal message. One metre will be walked in honour of that person by members of the Boots Ireland team on September 7. Boots Ireland has been a proud supporter of the Irish Cancer Society since 2012 and has raised over 1.8 million, equating to over 5,300 nights of care. All funds raised from the Boots Night Walk will go towards the Irish Cancer Society Night Nursing service which provides end of life care for cancer patients, allowing them to pass away at home surrounded by family and loved ones as well as giving much needed respite for the family caring for them. The Night Nursing service has run for over 30 years and operates in every county in Ireland. The service has made a huge contribution to cancer support, providing over 7,200 nights of care in 2019 alone, to 1,887 patients. There are 192 Night Nurses in operation around Ireland, providing up to 10 nights of care for cancer patients in their own home, during the last days of their life. The service is provided completely free of charge and has experienced significantly increased demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ambassador Sile Seoige said: Having been through cancer, I know how challenging it can be for both the patient and their loved ones. Support services like the Irish Cancer Society's Night Nurses are vital. These incredible people bring such kindness to the homes of those who need it most. They sit through the night with the patient and are a reassuring presence for all the family. I am proud to support Boots Ireland and the Irish Cancer Society for this campaign and invite everyone to fundraise and get out and walk on 7th September 2020 in aid of this wonderful service. Bernadette Lavery, Managing Director at Boots Ireland commented: Boots Ireland are proud to support this invaluable service for those who really need care. The service is funded entirely by donations, so we would invite the public to get involved by participating and fundraising via BootsNightWalk.com or by purchasing an Honour Tag in any Boots store nationwide. Last year, with thanks to over 500 people who participated, we were delighted to raise over 45,000 for this great service. Our annual Night Walk is something our entire team are extremely proud of and despite the current Covid-19 restrictions, we hope the public will join us from afar in taking part. Speaking at the launch of the Boots Night Walk campaign, Irish Cancer Society Director of Services Delivery Donal Buggy said: The Night Nursing service allows cancer patients to remain in their own home during their last days. The Night Nurses are there through the night, keeping the patient comfortable, while also supporting family members during a very difficult time. Requests for assistance from our Night Nursing service have increased considerably since the start of the current pandemic. The service is funded almost entirely through donations, which is why we are so thankful for the continued kind support of Boots staff and customers to ensure we can be there for more families than ever who are in need of this crucial care. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2020 / Casa Minerals Inc. (TSXV:CASA)(OTC PINK:CASXF)(Frankfurt:0CM) (the "Company" or "Casa") announces the passing of its Director Jim (James) Clucas on Friday, August 14. Jim joined the Board of Casa in January of this year. Farshad Shirvani, CEO and President, states: Jim was a valued member of our Board who added a welcome perspective by sharing the knowledge and experience gained from a long career in Canadian and international mining and mineral exploration. Although he was instrumental in shaping the development and operation of several important mines, he never sought credit or recognition for his accomplishments. Jim, in the 1980s, was the CFO of Inco Limited's Canadian operations and later contributed to the Snow Lake mine of High River Gold Mines, Montana Tunnels of Pegasus and Hudbay Minerals' Fenix Project. He was a co-founder of INV Metals and recently retired as Executive Chairman and President of Search Minerals Inc., both TSX companies. Jim Clucas will be remembered as a gentleman who, with good humour and sincerity, graciously shared the skills and experience gained from a lifetime in our Industry. We extend our condolences to his family. On Behalf of Board of Directors Farshad Shirvani, M.Sc. Geology President and CEO For more information, please contact: Casa Minerals Inc. Farshad Shirvani, President & CEO Phone: (604) 689-9523 Email: contact@casaminerals.com https://www.casaminerals.com Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's limited operating history and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. 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: Casa Minerals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/602117/Passing-of-Director-James-Clucas Taiwan has been a fraught issue between Washington and Beijing for seven decades, and it is re-emerging as a potential focal point of tensions, as United States national security officials press their campaign against China. The officials also see bolstering Taiwan in a more urgent light given the crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong by Xi Jinping, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party. President Trump himself admires Mr. Xi and is particularly dyspeptic about Taiwan, once comparing it to the tip of a Sharpie marker and China to the Resolute desk, John R. Bolton, the former national security adviser, wrote in his new book. And the president is willing to sacrifice U.S. support for the democratic government for trade relations with China, he added. But campaign strategists have told Mr. Trump that he needs to appear tough on China for re-election purposes, giving pro-Taiwan U.S. officials an opening. President Richard M. Nixon began a process of diplomatic opening in 1971 with Communist-ruled China to get Mao Zedongs help in countering the Soviet Union. The United States established diplomatic ties with China in 1979 and broke off formal relations with Taiwan, which had been a sanctuary for the Kuomintang, or Nationalists, since their loss in the Chinese civil war 30 years earlier. Every U.S. administration has tried to maintain an ambiguous position on Taiwan based on the One China policy. The ambiguity has helped maintain stability across the Taiwan Strait, one of the most militarized areas in the world. But as China has grown stronger and more assertive, and as Mr. Trump has begun dismantling international commitments under his America First foreign policy, some U.S. officials and Washington policy experts say the United Statess traditional approach to Taiwan helps hard-liners in Beijing and increases Chinas threat to the islands 24 million people. Those officials, as well as Republican and Democratic lawmakers, aim to do as much as possible to show explicit U.S. support for Taiwan. They want to send military signals to China and to make relations with Taiwan as close to nation-to-nation as possible, short of recognizing sovereignty. Though Mr. Bolton openly advocates full diplomatic relations, many U.S. officials, including even some China hawks, have been more reluctant, fearful that such a move would mean a complete break with Beijing. Days after an incriminating news report that alleged links between social media giant Facebook and Bharatiya Janata Party, a Facebook executive has complained to police saying there's a threat to her life. The woman has named at least five individuals in her complaint and has sought police protection. "I am under constant fear and threat, especially being a woman. The perpetrators are deliberately operating through online accounts to hide their identity and to further spread misinformation and incite violence against me to meet their agenda," the 49-year-old in her police complaint said, reported NDTV. She said her complaint is about an article dated 14 August 2020, "Facebook Hate-Speech Rules Collide with Indian Politics", which was published in Wall Street Journal and further published in a mischaracterised and distorted manner in India by various publications. The report was widely circulated on social media and people also started an online campaign to deactivate their Facebook accounts. Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation after the woman's complaint. The report, published on last Friday, alleged that Facebook ignored its hate speech policy and allowed anti-Muslim posts on its platform to avoid ruining its relationship with PM Modi-led BJP. Facebook, in its response, has said it "prohibits hate speech and content that incites violence". The company has added that it enforces policies globally "regardless of anyone's political position or party affiliation". The row has caught political colour, with opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi and Shashi Tharoor demanding clarification from the ruling party and the tech giant. Tharoor, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, said the panel would like to hear from Facebook about the report. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also accused the BJP and RSS of spreading "fake news" using Facebook and WhatsApp to influence the electorate. "BJP & RSS control Facebook & Whatsapp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," he tweeted. Also read: Facebook denies ties with BJP, says it enforces policies regardless of anyone's 'political position One of the factional presidents presently laying claim to leadership of the Association of Nigerian Authors, (ANA), Ahmed Maiwada, on Monday rejected intervention by the national advisory council of the union. Breaking his silence, via a release sent to PREMIUM TIMES, he said the association, embroiled in a leadership tussle since its botched election in November 2019, currently does not have an advisory council. PREMIUM TIMES reported earlier how the council, headed by renowned author, Femi Osofisan, on Friday waded into the crisis that has ripped the association apart in recent months. The council, in a statement, also indicated its support for one of the two factions laying claim to the presidency of the association after an acrimonious election in Enugu in November 2019. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the association was torn into at least two factions after two controversial elections held in 2020 after the botched event. The two factions, led by Mr Maiwada and Camillus Ukah, have refused to yield any ground despite interventions by prominent members of the association. Mr Maiwada has kept mum since the crisis worsened in recent months. A third group also exists, which does not recognise the two and this has further polarised the association. Mr Osofisan, on Friday, said the Camillus faction is the duly elected executive committee of the union. The council, which was reportedly set up by members of the association in 2012, was drafted to douse tension and ensure a new election was held after the Enugu fiasco. It subsequently set up a new electoral committee headed by another professor, Jerry Agada, to conduct new polls which held in July 2020. Mr Ukah was elected during the election in Makurdi, Benue State. Earlier, another election held in March in Abuja where Mr Maiwada, a former legal adviser of the union, was elected. Maiwadas reaction Mr Maiwada, who had declined comments in the earlier reports, however, reacted to the development in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday. He said the Osofisan-led committee which claimed to have initiated the process that led to the emergence of Mr Ukah as the unions president does not exist legally. He also dismissed the contents of the report. Denja Abdullahi, the immediate past president of the union, who backs the Camillus faction and Mr Osofisan, who spoke with PREMIUM TIMES earlier, insisted the council was formally set up in 2012 and was empowered to wade into the crisis rocking the association. But Mr Maiwada said although the unions constitution permits it to have an advisory council, this had not been set up yet and even if it had been, there were processes to be followed in any intervention it makes in the association. Professor Femi Osofisan opens his Report that has been making social media rounds with a big claim: I am pleased to present this report to you in my capacity as the current Chairman of the ANA National Advisory Council as authorised by the 2012 Constitution. However, it is unfortunate for the Professor that members of todays ANA are so educated on the Constitution of their dear Association that they know ANA doesnt have an Advisory Council, not to mention having him as Chairman, Mr Maiwada said. When did the Association appoint Professor Femi Osofisan as Chairman of ANA Advisory Council; when did the Association appoint the others (whoever they may be) as members of the ANA Advisory Council? To my knowledge, all legitimate requests by well-meaning members for minutes of the meeting of ANA where Professor Femi Osofisan and those claiming to be members of ANA Advisory Council have not been answered. He also said all actions taken by the Osofisan-led council since its intervention in 2019 were illegal. Going down memory lane on the crisis that has torn the association, he said his executive that was set up in March, this year is the legitimate one. Professor Femi Osofisan gave reasons for the delay by his illegally constituted an electoral committee in conducting the illegal elections in Makurdi that purportedly brought the illegal National Executive Council headed by the Denja Abdullahis anointed candidate, Mr Camilus Ukah. Notably, none of those reasons included a pending court action instituted by the lawfully constituted National Executive Council that was elected into office on 7th March 2020. He also said the action of the council was tantamount to approving a renegade group led by his rival, Mr Ukah. I know that the enlightened members of ANA of today have not fallen for this, knowing already that Professor Femi Osofisan neither had any duty assigned to him and his busy-body crew members by the members of ANA, nor any responsibility to render any report to the said ANA members. ANA members know, however, that Professor Femi Osofisan and his gang have, by this Report done nothing other than endorsing a renegade group that has so far exhibited no respect for the laws of our dear country. Advertisements I know that the members of ANA, who Professor Femi Osifisan assumed he could trick in his Report, shall not hesitate to hold accountable the Professor and all those he has used to unleash a shocking desecration of the grund norm of our dear Association, which is the ANA 2012 Constitution. Until then, I know that members of ANA, who are clearly law-abiding Nigerian citizens, will not join Professor Femi Osofisan and his gang of godfathers in their on-going illegality, so that nobody should be joined in the contempt proceeding coming on anytime from 7th September 2020, when the FCT High Court shall return from an annual vacation, Mr Abdullahi added. A Lebanese man carries his belongings as he leaves his destroyed house near the scene where an explosion hit on Tuesday the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon on Aug. 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Lebanons Aoun Calls Investigation of Beirut Blast Complex BEIRUTLebanese President Michel Aoun said the probe into this months devastating blast in Beirut is very complex and wont be finished quickly. Responding to calls that he step down, Aoun told French TV station BFMTV that would be impossible, because it would create a power vacuum. The interview, his first with foreign media since the Aug. 4 blast, aired late on Aug. 15. The cause of the fire that ignited nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at Beiruts port remains unclear. Documents have emerged showing that the countrys top leadership, including Aoun, and security officials were aware of the chemicals that had been stored there for years. The blast killed 180 people and wounded more than 6,000; at least 30 people are still missing. Aoun said the probe is divided into three parts. The first aims to determine the circumstances surrounding the cargo, the second where it came from and who shipped it, and the third to find who was responsible for handling and securing it. We had the determination to reach conclusions quickly, but we found out that the issues are very complex and require time, said Aoun. When asked about what measures he took when he learned of the explosives in July, Aoun said the information came to him very late, but his military adviser was reassured that those with direct responsibility were handling the matter. They all were informed, Aoun said, adding that he made sure those who could take measures to secure the area were in the loop. Aoun said FBI and French investigators are helping because they, more than us, have the capability and ability to find out the details of what got the ship here, what is the source and who owns it. A nine-member team of FBI investigators arrived in Beirut on Aug. 16, according to a Lebanese aviation official. Aoun, who is backed by the powerful Hezbollah militia, asked for satellite images to determine if there was an air raid, saying he hasnt ruled out the possibility of a foreign missile attack. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has denied his group had any role in the explosion and said any international probe would likely seek to clear Israel of responsibility in the port explosion, if it had a hand. Israel has denied involvement and, so far, no evidence has emerged to suggest otherwise. Many Lebanese want the probe taken out of the hands of their government, fearing that bickering among the long-entrenched political factions, notorious for corruption, wont allow any results to come to light that are damaging to their leadership. Popular anger has swelled over the ruling elites corruption, mismanagement, and political uncertainty. Under pressure, Lebanons government, also backed by Hezbollah and allies, resigned Aug. 10. For now, there are no formal consultations underway on who will replace Hassan Diab as prime minister and no likely candidate has emerged. Asked about the public anger, Aoun said he shares the rage. They call me the father of the people, he said. I am one of them. But Aoun said the moment isnt right for presidential elections. The political and popular atmosphere cant take new elections before restoring calm, he said. They would be emotional, and not a true representation of the people. Aoun was elected in 2016, breaking more than two years of deadlock in Lebanon, which remained without a president. In light of last weeks deal establishing full diplomatic relations between the Israel and United Arab Emirates, Aoun didnt rule out that Lebanon may one day make peace with Israel as well, once its unresolved issues were solved. Asked if Lebanon too would reach a peace deal, he replied: It depends. We have problems with Israel that we need to solve first, Aoun said. Lebanon and Israel are technically still at war, and Hezbollah has engaged in occasional clashes along the border. Hezbollah and Israel last engaged in a full-fledged conflict in a 50-day war in the summer of 2006. The UAE and Israel opened diplomatic ties as part of a deal brokered by the U.S. that required Israel to halt its contentious plan to annex West Bank land sought by the Palestinians for a future state. By Sarah El Deeb Ambulances take Hambleton House residents to other health care centres. Credit:Chris Hopkins "There are some very, very complex needs among those residents," Mr Andrews said. "Every effort is being made to try and bring in a sense of control and to make sure people are not only cared for appropriately, but that their behaviour does haven't a negative impact on public health." Latest data from the Victorian Department of Health revealed there were at least 87 active cases in residential disability accommodation in Victoria, with 21 residents testing positive and 66 workers. When contacted by The Age and Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, one of the managing directors of Hambleton House, Jai Abeywickrema, said the facility was regulated by the State Government. He said up to three residents shared a room with chipboard barriers installed between beds to give residents privacy. This could have been handled better but it was not," he said before declining to answer any more questions about the outbreak or infection protocols inside the facility. Chief executive of the Victorian Advocacy League for Individuals with Disability, Kevin Stone, feared the disability sector could experience escalating numbers of coronavirus cases following the surge in infections in Victorian aged care, where there had been more than 1500 cases and more than 120 deaths. Families are absolutely terrified, Mr Stone said. There is a real sense of despair that not enough is being done to protect their loved ones. Loading Mr Stone said disability workers should be limited to working at one supported housing facility to minimise the risk of spreading the virus between homes. He also called on the state government's "hotels for heroes" program, which is providing free accommodation for healthcare workers under strict self-isolation orders, to include disability workers. Mr Stone, who has a son living in a group home, said disability workers were still facing severe delays in obtaining personal protective equipment. Some workers were even being forced to buy their own face masks to protect themselves. "My real fear here is that there is an absence of well-supported, well-trained staff," he said. "We want to see state and federal governments really recognising the potential of this ticking time bomb in these places and do whatever it takes to keep people safe." Of particular concern were outbreaks in supported residential services such as Hambleton House. There are now more than a dozen COVID-19 cases connected to Hambleton House in Alfred Park. Credit:Paul Jeffers "They congregate five times as many people as other disability care services magnifying the risk, Mr Stone said. "Yet they have not been subject to the same scrutiny as that other disability facilities because they are privately run." A Melbourne psychiatrist, who had previously treated patients in Hambleton House, said residents were often crammed into small rooms. The psychiatrist, who treats residents living in support housing services across the city, said many lived in dire conditions with up to five people in a single room separated by curtains. "What has happened at Hambleton House is a tragedy in itself," said the psychiatrist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of her professional obligations. "But we are surprised it hasn't happened sooner. It could have happened at any supported housing service in Victoria. There are hygiene disasters in every corner." Another Melbourne psychiatrist, who treats patients living in supported housing, said many residents in supported housing battled underlying health conditions amplifying their risk of severe illness and death if they contracted the virus. Staffing at these facilities was also often sparse with a poor patient-to-worker ratio, he said. "These residents are often so cognitively impaired they often cant advocate for themselves and they don't understand the risk the virus poses to them, he said. By Express News Service KOCHI: India shipped 12,89,651 MT of seafood worth Rs 46,662.85 crore ($6.68 billion) during 2019-20, largely cushioning the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In quantity terms, this is a decline of 7.39 per cent from 2018-19's exports of 13,92,559 MT. Frozen shrimp remained the major export item in terms of quantity and value followed by frozen fish while the USA and China turned out to be the major importers of Indias seafood. During the FY 2019-20, the export improved in the rupee terms by 0.16%, but US dollar value declined by 0.74 per cent. In 2018-19, India had exported 13, 92,559 MT of seafood worth Rs 46,589.37 crore ($ 6,728.50 million). K S Srinivas, chairman, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), said India managed to export 12,89,651 MT of seafood, despite the sluggish demand in its major export markets caused by the pandemic, which led to cancellation of several orders, reduced and delayed payments, slowdown of cargo movements and difficulty in getting new orders. The decline in sea catch along the west coast due to reduced fishing days has also been a reason for the shortfall in quantity, he added. We missed the 7-billion-dollar target, though not by a fair distance. However, exports are now likely to witness an uptick as lockdowns have been eased globally and there is an increased sale of value-added products in retail chains. MPEDAs vision is to take Indian seafood exports to Rs one lakh crore by 2030, he said. Frozen shrimp, which earned Rs 34,152.03 crore (USD 4,889.12 million), retained its position as the most significant item in the basket of seafood exports, accounting for a share of 50.58 per cent in quantity and 73.21 per cent of the total dollar earnings. Shrimp exports during the period increased by 6.04 per cent in dollar value and 6.20 per cent in quantity. The overall export of frozen shrimps during 2019-20 was pegged at 6, 52,253 MT, which fetched foreign exchange worth USD 4,889.12 million. USA, the largest market, imported (2, 85,904 MT) of frozen shrimp, followed by China (1, 45,710 MT), European Union (74,035 MT), Japan (38,961 MT), South East Asia (34,439 MT), and the Middle East (32,645 MT). The export of Vannamei (white leg) shrimp increased from 4, 18,128 MT to 5, 12,189 MT in 2019-20. Of the total Vannamei shrimp exports in value terms, USA accounted for 51.07 per cent, followed by China (21.81 per cent), European Union (8.19 per cent), South East Asia (4.73 per cent), Japan (4.51 per cent), and the Middle East (3.66 per cent). USA also turned out to be the major market for Black Tiger shrimp with a share of 36.88 per cent in terms of value, followed by Japan (31.55 per cent) and European Union (10.40 per cent). Frozen fish, the second largest export item, fetched Rs 3,610.01 crore (USD 513.60 million), accounting for 17.32 per cent in quantity and 7.69 per cent in dollar earnings. However, the export of frozen fish declined by 34.11 per cent in quantity and 26.53 per cent in dollar value. Export of frozen cuttlefish, pegged at 70,906 MT, showed a positive growth of 17.76 per cent in quantity, 1.71 per cent in rupee value and 1.45 per cent in dollar terms, and earned Rs 2,009.79 crore (286.40 USD millions). Export of chilled items, which is considered as a promising sector, also increased by 23.22 per cent, 2.53 per cent and 1.29 per cent in terms of quantity, rupee value and USD earnings, respectively. However, exports of frozen squid and dried items declined during the period. Though live items also showed a decline of 28.41 per cent in terms of quantity, the unit value realisation increased from 5.49 to 6.37 USD this year. As for overseas markets, the USA continued to be the major importer of Indian seafood in value term with an import worth USD 2, 562.54 million, accounting for a share of 38.37 per cent in in terms of dollar value. Exports to US registered a growth of 8.25 per cent in quantity, 10.38 per cent in rupee value and 9.30 per cent in USD earnings. Frozen shrimp continued to be the principal item exported to that country and the exports of Vannamei shrimp showed a growth of 18.94 per cent in quantity and 19.02 per cent in dollar terms. China emerged as the largest seafood export destination from India in terms of quantity with an import of 3,29,479 MT worth USD 1,374.63 million, accounting for 25.55 per cent in quantity and 20.58 per cent in dollar terms. Exports to that country grew by 46.10 per cent in quantity and 69.47 per cent in USD value. Frozen shrimp, the major item of exports to China, had a share of 44.22 per cent in quantity and 62.65 per cent in dollar value while the frozen fish had a share of 40.12 per cent in terms of quantity and 23.54 per cent in terms of value out of the total exports to China. European Union continued to be the third-largest destination for Indian seafood with frozen shrimp, the major item of exports, registering an increase of 5.21 per cent and 1.63 per cent in quantity and dollar value, respectively. South East Asia is the fourth largest market. However, overall exports to the countries in this region plummeted by 50.02 per cent in quantity, 53.32 per cent in rupee value and 53.90 per cent in dollar earnings. Japan continued to be the fifth largest importer with a share of 6.09 per cent in quantity and 6.32 per cent in USD value terms, registering a growth of 0.02 % in rupee value. Frozen shrimp continued to be the major item of exports to Japan. Exports to the Middle East also showed a growth of 5.04 per cent in rupee and 3.82 per cent in dollar terms but marked a 4.72 per cent negative growth in quantity. Two of Peter Nygards sons have filed a lawsuit against their father claiming the Winnipeg fashion mogul paid a sex worker to rape them when they were teenagers. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Two of Peter Nygards sons have filed a lawsuit against their father claiming the Winnipeg fashion mogul paid a sex worker to rape them when they were teenagers. The accusations from Nygards children identified only as "John Doe No. 1" and "John Doe No. 2" in court documents come to light as their father finds himself ensnared by mounting rape allegations. Through his lawyer, Peter Nygard has denied the accusations made by his sons. (Mintaha Neslihan Eroglu/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images/TNS) The Free Press has identified both accusers in the case but is choosing not to name them to protect their privacy. When reached for comment, Nygard's lawyer, Jay Prober, denied the accusations. "My client is shocked by these allegations, which he says are completely false. He categorically denies them. And youll note the allegations are nothing more than generalities, sadly lacking in detail, and you might ask yourself why?" Prober said. "And the reason is because my client says it never happened. Thats why it consists of generalities and no detail. Peter Nygard also believes this is part of the continued publicity campaign against him." When asked why two of Nygards children would make accusations of this nature against him, Prober said he could not comment, adding you would have to ask them. One of the sons claims he was flown from California to Winnipeg in 2018 where Nygard "pre-planned and instructed that his long time girlfriend, a known sex worker," would rape him. This was done to "make a man" out of him, court documents allege. He was 14 years old at the time. But it wasn't the first time Nygard paid a sex worker to rape one of his children, according to court documents. In 2004, Nygard allegedly paid the same woman to rape a different son, then 15 years old, in the Bahamas. Nygard, 79, has at least seven children. "Nygards sons bring this case to shed the light of truth for their own justice and to help provide a voice for other innocent victims of violence and sexual abuse by their father," the lawsuit reads. "They stand now for their own truth and justice, guided by the ethos that silence cannot be countenanced; silence is complicity; now is the time to speak to speak the truth for all victims." The lawsuit, which requests a jury trial, was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Sunday. The allegations have not been proven in court. Fifty-seven women have publicly accused Nygard of raping them in a class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. court Feb. 13, 2020. The initial lawsuit is separate from the lawsuit filed by Nygard's two sons, although the same lawyers are representing the plaintiffs in both cases. Multiple women who have accused Nygard of rape say they were minors at the time of the alleged offences, and others claim they were drugged. The accusations span at least three continents, five countries and four decades. 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. Initially, 10 women were signed onto the class-action lawsuit. Since then, the number of accusers has steadily increased, and the lawyers representing the plaintiffs say more than a dozen women not included in the lawsuit have stepped forward to claim Nygard raped them. Nygard, speaking through his attorneys, has repeatedly maintained his innocence, saying hes at the centre of an elaborate conspiracy orchestrated by people with a personal vendetta against him who are intent on destroying his business and reputation. Prober has previously told the Free Press the allegations against his client are malicious and false, suggesting the accusers are lying for money. On Feb. 25, Nygards international headquarters in New York City was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York Police Department. Soon after, it was revealed Nygard was at the centre of a probe by a joint-child exploitation task force. ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe US Moves to Further Block Huawei From Chips Made With US Technology The Trump administration on Aug. 17 announced it will further tighten restrictions on Huawei, aimed at cutting off its access to chips made with U.S. technology. The commerce department said it has broadened restrictions imposed in May, which sought to prevent the Chinese telecom giant from acquiring semiconductors from global chipmakers made with U.S. technology. The administration also added 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries to its trade blacklist, barring U.S. firms from doing business with them. Adding the new set of firms raises the total number of blocked Huawei affiliates to 152. Huawei and its affiliates were first added to the blacklist in May 2019 on national security grounds. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business the restrictions introduced in May led them to do some evasive measures. They were going through third parties The new rule makes it clear that any use of American software or American fabrication equipment is banned and requires a license. State Secretary Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the new rule change will prevent Huawei from circumventing U.S. law through alternative chip production and provision of off-the-shelf chips. He added that Huawei has continuously tried to evade the U.S. restrictions imposed in Maywhich dont fully go into effect until Sept. 14. Huawei didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The move comes as the administration takes tougher action against Beijing on multiple fronts, including tech companies posing security threats. Washington has long said Huawei equipment could be exploited by the Chinese regime for espionage or to disrupt communication networks. U.S. officials point to laws in China that compel companies to cooperate with intelligence agencies when asked. The company has denied these allegations. The administration has worked to persuade allies to exclude Huawei from their 5G rollouts, an endeavor that appears to be yielding fruit as a growing number of countries choose alternative telecom suppliers. In mid-July, the State Department announced it would impose visa restrictions on employees of Huawei and other Chinese tech companies that support Chinas human rights violations around the world. Pompeo recently called on companies and countries to stop using Chinese software and hardware that pose risks to user data under the state departments clean network initiative. The administration this month took aim at Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat, banning transactions with their Chinese parent companies ByteDance and Tencent, respectively, starting in September. Officials said the ban is an effort to protect American users data from espionage by Beijing. The commerce department also announced on Aug. 17 a separate new rule that requires firms to obtain a license when a company on the trade blacklist such as Huawei acts as a purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee, or end user in a transaction. Existing U.S. restrictions have already hurt Huawei and its suppliers. On Aug. 8, Chinese financial magazine Caixin reported that Huawei will stop making its flagship Kirin chipsets next month due to U.S. pressure on suppliers. Huaweis HiSilicon division has relied on software from U.S. companies such as Cadence Design Systems and Synopsys to design its chips, and outsourced the production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), which uses equipment from U.S. companies. TSMC has said it will not ship wafers to Huawei after Sept. 15. Reuters contributed to this report. SAN PEDRO GARZA GARCIA, N.L. Mexico, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ALFA S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: ALFAA) ("ALFA") held today an Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting where a proposal to spin-off its entire ownership stake in Nemak, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV: NEMAKA) ("Nemak") was approved. On behalf of ALFA's Board of Directors, Armando Garza Sada, Chairman of the Board, and Alvaro Fernandez Garza, President, presented the proposal through which ALFA will execute the spin-off as a splitting entity. In addition, a new entity would be constituted as the spun-off company ("Controladora Nemak"), which will be listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange. ALFA will transfer its entire share ownership in Nemak to Controladora Nemak, as well as certain assets and capital. ALFA expects to complete the spin-off process within the next 60 days. ALFA shareholders will receive one share of Controladora Nemak for each of their ALFA shares, in addition to retaining their share ownership in ALFA's equity. "We greatly appreciate our Shareholders' vote of confidence in our strategy to unlock ALFA's full value potential. The spin-off approved today marks the first step in ALFA's transformational process towards fully independent business management; as compared to the legacy conglomerate structure," noted Armando Garza Sada, Chairman of ALFA's Board of Directors. "Nemak has a very successful track record operating separate from the Parent. In addition to its leading industry position and world-class capabilities, the Company has an extraordinarily talented team that will continue to drive sustainable, long-term value creation for all its stakeholders. To ensure a smooth transition, Nemak will continue to receive all our support," said Alvaro Fernandez Garza, President of ALFA. For more information, please visit https://www.alfa.com.mx/SP/press.htm [email protected] www.alfa.com.mx + (52) 81-8748-2521 SOURCE ALFA, S.A.B. de C.V. Related Links https://www.alfa.com.mx London: A British Muslim woman was forced to the ground in a busy shopping area in London and dragged along by her hijab by two teenaged men in what authorities said was a hate crime. The woman was walking alone in Chingford, east London, when she was accosted by her attackers. Scotland Yard is now appealing for information on the incident that occurred earlier this week. "The London Ambulance Service attended and treated the victim, aged in her 20s, for her injuries at the scene. It was reported that two unknown males approached the victim from the side, pulled off her headscarf and then pushed her to the floor," a Metropolitan Police statement said. "The suspects are described as two white males, aged 17 to 19. They were wearing all black clothing. No arrests have been made," it said. There has been a rise in hate crime allegations across the UK following the EU referendum. Figures released by the UK National Police Chief's Council showed reported incidents rose to 58% in the week following the vote for Brexit on June 23 and levels have remained high throughout the year. Tell MAMA?(Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks), the UK's anti-Islamophobia group, called the latest incident "horrific" and said women were being disproportionately targeted in attacks on Muslims. A Met Police spokesperson said: "The service has long since recognised the impact of hate crime on communities and the hidden nature of this crime, which remains largely under-reported. "Positive action is taken to investigate all hate crime allegations, support victims and their families and bring perpetrators to justice." For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Delhi Aug 17 (UNI) In a sharp attack on the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh on the killing of a village sarpanch in Azamgarh district last week, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday said that 'Jungle Raj' is at the peak in Uttar Pradesh and the state government has failed to provide security to people , especially women. In a tweet in Hindi, Mr Gandhi said, 'Jungle Raj of caste-based violence and rape is at its peak in UP. Now another shocking incident--a Dalit sarpanch Satyamev was killed because he said 'No'. Condolences to the family members of Satyamev Ji.' In a facebook post in Hindi, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, 'Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur - Kheri, and now Gorakhpur. Such incidents prove that the Uttar Pradesh government has completely failed in providing security to women. 'There is no fear of law in the minds of criminals. 'As a result of this, gruesome incidents of crime against women are on the rise. The police and administration are neither able to provide security nor take appropriate action. The Government of Uttar Pradesh should review law and order and take every step related to safety of women seriously,'she said. Pappu Ram, popularly known as Satyamev Jayate , was shot dead by three motorcycle-borne men last Friday in Bansgaon. Police in the state have invoked the National Security Act against four people in connection with the village heads killing, which had also triggered a mob violence. Priyanka has been constantly attacking the Yogi Adityanath government for the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh . UNI NY AR 1441 A 19-year-old from Australia who was left with a 'face like a rectangle' after undergoing a cosmetic procedure to dissolve fat in her jaw has shown off the final results eight weeks later. Sofia Marroquin went viral around the world in June after having the $500 'Kybella treatment', which uses injections to reduce fat under the chin. The treatment typically results in temporary swelling that usually dies down within eight weeks, and Sofia has been sharing regular updates on TikTok as her own swelling goes down. 'Before and after Kybella treatment,' Sofia captioned her most recent video, shared this weekend. Scroll down for video AFTER: A 19-year-old from Australia who was left with a 'face like a rectangle' after undergoing a cosmetic procedure to dissolve fat in her jaw has shown off the final results eight weeks later BEFORE: Sofia Marroquin went viral around the world in June after having the $500 'Kybella treatment', which uses injections to reduce fat under the chin (pictured before treatment) AFTER SURGERY: The treatment typically results in temporary swelling that usually dies down within eight weeks (pictured immediately after the surgery) In the short clip, the 19-year-old can be seen before she underwent the cosmetic procedure and now, where she has a slightly slimmer jaw. 'It [the treatment] is so worth it,' Sofia wrote. Thousands were quick to congratulate the teenager for having the patience to wait out the swelling dying down and praise her for her new look. 'Okay, you've convinced me,' one woman posted. 'You look awesome,' another added. AFTER SURGERY: Sofia (pictured immediately after the treatment) said many insults were levelled at her directly after the procedure, with people saying she looked 'botched' BEFORE TREATMENT: Sofia (pictured before) said she was always a bit insecure about her chin and felt there was excess fat there What is the 'Kybella treatment'? Kybella is a nonsurgical injection technique used to reduce excess fat beneath the chin (Sofia pictured immediately after the treatment) * Kybella is a nonsurgical injection technique used to reduce excess fat beneath the chin. * Each treatment takes about 15 to 20 minutes. It uses a synthetic form of deoxycholic acid. * No incisions are required, and the downtime is minimal in most cases, with some swelling to be expected. * The best candidate is an adult 18 years or older with moderate to severe fat beneath the chin. * As a nonsurgical procedure, there is little preparation required for Kybella. It's advisable to schedule the procedure well before any major events. * Though Kybella is nonsurgical, some common side effects include pain, swelling, bruising, redness, and numbness. * The recovery process associated with Kybella is minimal in most cases, and downtime varies from person to person. Minor side effects typically subside in one to two weeks. Source: Healthline Advertisement Sofia (pictured after the treatment) said sensation has returned to her chin area after the eight weeks, and it was only a week where there was 'crazy swelling' before it died down a lot' Commenting underneath her video, Sofia answered some of her followers' top questions about the treatment. She said sensation has returned to her chin area after the eight weeks, and it was only a week where there was 'crazy swelling' before it died down substantially. 'The treatment uses around 50 mini syringes or four vials,' Sofia responded to one woman asking how many shots did she get. 'I also only had to do one session because I had four vials, but you can space it out,' the 19-year-old added. Sofia said she covered up the swelling with a face mask, as she lives in Melbourne where mask use is mandatory during the coronavirus crisis. Sofia first went viral at the end of June, when she shared another clip of her 'rectangular face' and filmed her family's reactions (her father and mother's reactions pictured) Sofia first went viral at the end of June, when she shared another clip of her 'rectangular face' and filmed her family's reactions. 'So just got some lovely needles into my face and my family has no idea what I've just done and I'm about to get their reactions,' Sofia said in the video. She then proceeded to move through her home, filming her mum and dad's shocked reactions. Sofia's dad audibly gasped when he saw his daughter and said 'oh my goodness', while her mother sighed: 'Oh Sofia'. The 19-year-old's sister burst out laughing and fell to the floor, while her best friend covered her mouth as Sofia joked 'I'm scared'. Sofia even filmed her local cafe owner's nonplussed reaction, as she tried to order a coffee. SEVEN WEEKS AFTER TREATMENT: Sofia (pictured seven weeks after the treatment) said her area was 'really fatty' and covering up her jawline, which is why she wanted it done In a subsequent video, Sofia explained that her rectangular jawline was caused by temporary swelling following a 'Kybella treatment'. In this $500 treatment, injections are used to reduce fat under the chin. 'Okay, lots of people are confused as to why I made my face look like a rectangle,' Sofia said. 'I didn't purposefully make my face look like a rectangle. I got a treatment done called Kybella, which removes fat from the lower part of your face. 'Lots of people get it in the lower neck area to remove a double chin, but I got it in my jowls area.' Sofia said her area was 'really fatty' and covering up her jawline, which is why she wanted the treatment done. 'I wanted to remove that fat a little bit to make it look a little bit better,' she said. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh Amid a spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on August 17 said he was not averse to taking harsher measures to check further spread of the virus. Though Singh did not rule out a fresh lockdown, especially in areas witnessing a surge in cases, he made it clear that economic activities would not be allowed to suffer. The Punjab cabinet, in a virtual meeting chaired by the chief minister, reviewed the pandemic situation in the state. The chief minister, in response to a suggestion from Expert Health Advisory Committee chairman K K Talwar, said, if needed, the state government would consider going in for strong measures to combat the novel coronavirus. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who is heading the expert group for revival of the state's economy, also said any measures to check COVID-19 spread should not impact economic activities, according to a government release. Ahluwalia also reiterated that there had been no suggestion by his panel for withdrawal of free power to farmers, as was being projected by a section of the media. 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 He clarified this after the chief minister said that a lot of misinformation was being spread on this count. Ahluwalia said the group was in favour of diversification to reduce dependence on paddy, and wanted Punjab to spend 20 per cent more annually, for the next five years, on public health infrastructure. Warning that the state must also be ready for a second spike in COVID-19 infections, the noted economist said if lockdown had to be introduced in certain areas then strict protocols should be put in place to ensure that there is no impact on industrial and income generating avenues. The chief minister said the Ahluwalia-led group's recommendations would be circulated among all ministers and a detailed discussion will be held thereafter on the issue. In his presentation on the COVID-19 situation, health expert Talwar said the four districts -- Ludhiana, Mohali, Jalandhar and Patiala -- were witnessing the maximum surge in infections and deaths and needed stricter preventive measures to control the situation. The situation in the state, he said, was grim with over 31,000 cases and more than 800 fatalities. Deaths per million had also gone up to 27.2, and as many as 265 patients were on oxygen and 20 on ventilator support at present, he said, underlining the need for early testing and treatment for saving lives. The state had reached 20,000 tests per day, including rapid antigen testing, he said. Talwar cited various researches to point out that strict adherence to wearing masks for the next four weeks could help control the pandemic. Singh said the district and police officials had been given strict directives to enforce COVID-19 protocols such as wearing of face mamsks and maintaining social distancing. Imphal, Aug 17 : The Manipur government has withdrawn the Chief Minister's Gallantry Medal conferred on a police Sub-Inspector, suspended him, and ordered a high-level inquiry after his alleged arrest in a 2013 drug trafficking case was pointed out, officials said here on Monday. A Manipur Home Department official said that Sub-Inspector Bheishamayum Debson Singh, who received the gallantry award, and Inspector E Roshan Singh, who processed the selection of awardees, were suspended and an inquiry ordered. "A committee headed by Inspector General of Police (intelligence) K Radhashyam will inquire into the matter in depth," a Home Department release said on Sunday night. Despite attempts, Manipur Director General of Police LM Khaute was not available for comments. According to an official notification, on the occasion of Manipur's Patriot Day on August 13, Governor Najma Heptulla had announced the 13 names for the Chief Minister's Police Medal for Gallantry and seven names for Chief Minister's Police Medal for devotion to duty. These medals are given every year to police personnel for their outstanding performance to commemorate Manipuri heroes who sacrificed their lives in the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891. The entire matter was brought to light on Sunday by the influential All Manipur Students' Union (AMSU), which demanded a "high-level probe into the antecedents of all police personnel" named in the awardees' list. The Home Department thanked the AMSU for bringing the matter to notice, and issued a media release on the official inquiry into the matter. The AMSU press release issued by its Publicity and Information Secretary Lhunpao Lupheng said that accused SI Bheishamayum Debson Singh was arrested along with an 11-member team of Manipur Police commandos on the charge of trafficking drugs valued at more than Rs 3.64 crore in 2013. "The AMSU cannot understand how the Chief Minister (N Biren Singh), who eloquently elaborated on the issue of "war against drugs" during his Independence Day speech, could confer gallantry award on a police official caught red-handed for drug trafficking. The AMSU hopes and prays that the much-flaunted 'war against drugs' is not turned into a 'war for drugs'," the release added. Rose McGowan the actress whose rape allegation against Harvey Weinstein made her one of the Me Too movements most prominent figures and led to the disgraced former producers eventual imprisonment has come forward with another allegation, accusing director Alexander Payne of statutory rape. McGowan claims the Oscar-winning director played her a pornographic movie and slept with her when she was just 15. (Payne is 13 years older than McGowan and therefore would have been 28 at the time of the incident.) Alexander Payne, she tweeted on Monday. You sat me down & played a soft-core porn movie you directed for Showtime under a different name. I still remember your apartment in Silverlake. You are very well-endowed. You left me on a street corner afterwards. I was 15. She followed up the post with a photo of herself at age 15, writing, I just want an acknowledgement and an apology. I do not want to destroy. This was me at 15. Alexander Payne. You sat me down & played a soft-core porn movie you directed for Showtime under a different name. I still remember your apartment in Silverlake. You are very well-endowed. You left me on a street corner afterwards. I was 15. pic.twitter.com/mVqiN4S9NW Rose McGowan (@rosemcgowan) August 17, 2020 I just want an acknowledgement and an apology. I do not want to destroy. This was me at 15. pic.twitter.com/XeNpsrpY4s Rose McGowan (@rosemcgowan) August 17, 2020 McGowan described the incident but did not publicly name Payne at the time during an interview with investigative journalist Ronan Farrow at the 92nd Y back in February 2018, as the Daily Beast reported. You told me that, even long before the Harvey Weinstein incident, you recounted to me that there was a statutory rape by a prominent man in Hollywood, Farrow said to her during the event. Yes, and I didnt process that until well, Ill get to him, McGowan responded. Though she didnt name Payne at the time, she said a very famous director who had won Oscars took advantage of her when she was 15. (Payne has won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay twice, once for Sideways and once for The Descendants, and has been nominated for Best Director three times.) He took me home, after he met me, and showed me a soft-porn movie hed made for Showtime, under a different name, of course And then he had sex with me, she said at the time. And then he left me next to Tropical in Silver Lake, standing on a street corner. McGowan told Farrow that it took her years to realize that what allegedly transpired between her and Payne constituted statutory rape. Id been attracted to him, so I always filed it away as a sexual experience Two weeks after your [New Yorker] story came out, Id processed it, but I removed myself from it, she said. Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter. The post Rose McGowan Accuses Director Alexander Payne of Statutory Rape appeared first on InsideHook. Midland ISDs Online Academy will start with at least 3,000 students, according to the districts chief academy officer. Lisa Goodnow told the Reporter-Telegram last week that more than 10 percent of the districts student population has committed to starting the 2020-21 school year in the fully virtual learning option. The online academy is different than the entire student population learning at home for the first four weeks of the school year. Midland ISD announced its intention to start the academy after receiving feedback from the community. Those students who signed up for the academy made a commitment to learn at home regardless of the districts re-entry process. Midland ISDs school year begins Wednesday. The Online Academy will build upon the work that started last spring to provide a richer, more robust online learning experience for those families who choose this option, Superintendent Orlando Riddick said in a press release when the academy was announced. Goodnow told the Reporter-Telegram that the online academy isnt the result of MISD farming out responsibility for online learning to another source to do a turnkey, online school. She said the curriculum will be the same as students who want to participate in face-to-face learning; the district doesnt want learning gaps because they were in someone else's curricular scope and sequence and content. Those who participate in the online academy can opt to return to an on-campus instructional format at the end of six-week periods. We want our Midland students to be able to come back into a Midland ISD face-to-face classroom and not miss a beat, Goodnow said. She said online learning will be different than what students and parents experienced last spring. She also said this is a product of MISD staff and is not modeled on online programs from across the state or nation. What we relied on predominantly was guidance from (the Texas Education Agency), Goodnow said. The TEA has a wealth of resources that we were we were able to jump in and pull on. We also used our own resources here at Midland ISD that we were able to pull into the virtual settings. But the notion of going 100 percent turnkey with a different model did not fit for what Midland ISDs needs are. Midland ISD surveyed parents this summer about virtual learning options. Of the 13,690 responses from families, more than 50.6 percent saidd they were interested in full-time virtual learning option. *** Q &A with Lisa Goodnow Lisa Goodnow is Midland ISDs chief academic officer. Last week, she spent time talking education with the Reporter-Telegram. Here is some of the questions and answers about the districts online academy. MRT: How many people do have signed up for online Academy? Lisa Goodnow: As of (Thursday), when I last heard that data point, it was over 3,000. MRT: Was there an online academy somewhere else that Midland ISD will use as a model for its online academy? Lisa Goodnow: One of the things that I'm really excited and proud about Midland ISD is that, when we know we can do it better, we're not going to bring in another source to kind of do a turnkey, online school. And there (are) a lot of reasons that we chose to align the Midland ISD Online Academy to the Midland ISD comprehensive at-home or -- when we get face to face -- blended kind of curriculum. And in one of the most important reasons about that is we know some families are starting off in that virtual environment for six weeks. And when they're comfortable bringing their students back into face to face learning, we don't want to have to navigate even more learning gaps because they were in someone else's curricular scope and sequence and content. We want our Midland students to be able to come back into a Midland ISD face-to-face classroom and not miss a beat. MRT: The online academy is strictly for just those who want that online experience, correct? Lisa Goodnow: It is, but we know that we've created different models that have virtual learning. We've got the Google Classroom platform up and running. It's a much different feel than it was last spring. Consistency across every classroom was important, so, parents didn't have to learn three or four different ways to navigate that. So again, we thought it was important to have the same platform for students who are going to be either 100 percent virtual on Wednesday, or a blended-learning model when we go that schedule. So, it's the same. It's the same platform and the same content. There's just going to be, you know, more of it if you're 100 percent virtual. MRT: So Midland ISD didnt necessarily look at a DeSoto model or a model that worked elsewhere and said, these are the general ideas that we're going to use for the online-only kids? Lisa Goodnow: No, we did. MRT: Who were some of those that you followed? Lisa Goodnow: There was one district that we looked at it pretty deeply in Colorado. And then I looked at the DeSoto model, which I think they're still using a lot of their own curriculum. But what we relied on predominantly was guidance from TEA. TEA has a wealth of resources that we were we were able to jump in and pull on. We also used our own resources here at Midland ISD that we were able to pull into the virtual settings. But the notion of going 100 percent turnkey with a different model did not fit for what Midland ISDs needs are. Indian investors and traders are in for a treat. From traditional brokers to new-age wealth management startups, all are lining up features to make investment and trading simple to get a play in a space that holds promise but is getting competitive. On August 17, ICICI Securities, one of the largest broking houses, opened international trading as an option for its clients. Mumbai-based discount broker 5Paisa has an education portal for its traders and Bengaluru-based PhonePe says it has launched six new mutual funds and insurance programmes on its platform. Also Read: Indian brokerages rush to offer overseas trading facilities for investors These are not isolated events. Over the last few months, several startups have been expanding their product offerings from mutual funds to broking and insurance. The move assumes significance since falling small savings rates and fixed income returns are reducing secured investment options for consumers. As well-funded startups such as Groww, Paytm Money and PhonePe expand into stockbroking and trading, traditional players are doubling down on technology investments to ensure they can protect their share of the customer base, say industry insiders. Moneycontrol wrote on June 22 that international stocks are attracting a lot of attention among Indian consumers. As companies like Tesla, Netflix, Facebook and others become household names, more traders want to invest in these companies and become part of their growth stories. ICICI Securities joins the likes of Upstox in offering US stocks to Indian traders through its platform. It has tied up with Interactive Brokers, a US-based online brokerage firm, for the service extended to its 48 lakh users. Listen: Setting Sail | Wow Momo may cut jobs in September, business still not back to pre-Covid level: Sagar Daryani Domestic investors can now trade in US markets across stocks, ETFs, and fixed income productsthere is no minimum ticket size and US markets even allow for fractional ownership of shares, so even small retail investors can build a portfolio effectively, ICICI Securities said in a statement. Even Bengaluru-based Zerodha, the largest stockbroker in the country, is working on opening up international stocks for its traders. On the other hand, 5Paisas new education application 5Paisa School will help increase investor awareness and help them make money in trading. The company said it saw many young traders lose money. To support them, it was promoting this free app with short videos and other educational content around trading. ALSO READ: Not FAANG, but Indian investors are lapping up FAAMNG stocks 5Paisa School will be in a similar space as Varsity, another education portal run by Zerodha, the largest stockbroker in the country. Varsity today exists as a separate application and contains videos and written content on stock trading. While brokers are launching their products, the platform play is also becoming critical in attracting new investors to the digital trading and investment ecosystem. Flipkart-promoted PhonePe, too, is doubling down on such partnerships with insurance houses and mutual funds to emerge as the financial services platform of choice for millennial Indians. In a statement on August 17, Hemant Gala, vice president, financial services and payments at PhonePe, said within a short time, PhonePe had seen mutual fund investments from across 15,000 pin codes of the country and was growing its insurance distribution business rapidly as well. Moneycontrol wrote on August 5 how Paytm is upping its game in the financial services. What started with payments has expanded to basic banking, insurance, mutual funds and others. Almost disconnected from other areas for 21 days, the lives of 15,000 people residing in 20 villages in the Jauljibi sector of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district have now come on track with the reconstruction of a bailey bridge. The bridge was ravaged in a cloudburst last month. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed a 180-feet bailey bridge in Jauljibi sector of the hilly state in less than three weeks despite frequent landslides and heavy rains. The BRO began its work soon after the 50-metre span concrete bridge was completely washed out on July 27 when a cloudburst hit the area and the nallas and rivers were flooded. There were many casualties due to the landslides which caused a mud flow of tremendous force, and the road communication was broken in the area. "The BRO mobilised its bridging resources and set up to construct the bridge. The biggest challenge was to transport parts to the site from Pithoragarh amidst frequent landslides and heavy rains. The bridge was successfully completed on August 16, 2020." This has led to accessing flood affected villages and has connected Jauljibi to Munsiyari, the Ministry of Defence said. "The connectivity will bring relief to about 15,000 people in 20 villages." The constructed bridge has resumed road communication of 66 km road starting from Jauljibi to Munsiyari, it said. Local MP Ajay Tamta had expressed his concern about the worst affected isolated villages of Lumti and Mori at 25 km from Jauljibi where maximum deaths had taken place. "This bridge will provide essential support in rehabilitating the villages," the Ministry added. The BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. It maintains operations in 21 states, one Union Territory, and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) John Mahama has accused the government of using all manner of strategies to suppress a lot of eligible registrants because they want to remain in power. According to the former President, Ghanaians will not sit down for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to use any foul means to remain in power. Speaking to the Chiefs and elders of Battor during his tour of the Volta Region, he said the NPP has failed to honor their campaign promises and deserves to be kicked out of office, thus their alleged machinations to suppress voters who sympathize with the opposition. And so all other means by hook or crook must be used to suppress votes of people they perceive to support their opponent in order that they can win an election. It wont happen. The people of Ghana have lived through these four years and theyve experienced the hardship, theyve experienced the broken promises and so whatever you do, whatever voter suppression you try to undertake, whatever fraud, whatever rigging, the people of Ghana will not allow it. And we will not allow it, he said. He assured the Chiefs and people of North Tongu that all projects promised by the NDC will be carried out swiftly when the party is voted into office in the December polls. Source: myjoyonline.com Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:15:42|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Ted Chaiban, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said on Monday that 100,000 child were directly impacted by Beirut's blasts, LBCI local TV channel reported. "We will be working on helping the children go back to their schools ... and start their new academic year as 120 schools were impacted by the explosions," Chaiban said during his tour to check the children department at Karantina Hospital. Chaiban assured that the UNICEF will always stand by Lebanon. Two huge explosions rocked Port of Beirut on Aug. 4, shaking buildings all over Lebanon's capital, and killing over 177 people while wounding 6,000. The explosions caused billions of dollars in losses in the country. Enditem PORTLAND, Maine, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intersolar North America (ISNA) and Energy Storage North America (ESNA), the industrys flagship solar + storage event, today announced its newly combined conference and expo, previously set for January, has been rescheduled to July 14-16, 2021, in Long Beach CA, due to the ongoing risks of COVID-19 and the uncertainty surrounding the lifting of travel restrictions and bans on large gatherings. The event has been pushed back by six months with the goal of providing a more safe, productive, and enjoyable in-person gathering in accordance with state, city, and venue guidelines. When it became clear a live event would not be possible in January, and that a virtual event would not be as effective for our customers, we went all-in on a live, in-person event in July, said Wes Doane, Event Director of Intersolar North America and Energy Storage North America. Long Beach in July will bring much greater value to our attendees, exhibitors, and other stakeholders. By rescheduling the event to July, we can continue to focus on optimizing our conference program and in-person networking events, and be able to anticipate any emerging changes or viewpoints occurring in the renewable energy industry, Doane continued. While its disappointing that we cant all come together in January, we believe this change serves the best interests of our community and will ultimately result in a more meaningful, rewarding, and safe event in July. Stay Up-to-Date Get the latest news on Intersolar North America and Energy Storage North America by signing up for event updates . About Intersolar North America and Energy Storage North America Intersolar North America (ISNA) and Energy Storage North America (ESNA), North Americas premier solar + storage conferences and exhibitions, will Come Together for the first time in 2021 in Long Beach, California, to advance the clean energy future. The combined events will connect installers, developers, utilities, technology providers, policy makers, and key stakeholders from around the world through innovative programs, networking events, and exhibits that maximize learning and deal-making. Join 6,000+ energy leaders and 200+ exhibitors July 14-16, 2021, and help shape the next phase of our clean energy transformation. Learn more online at intersolar.us and esnaexpo.com . About Diversified Communications Diversified Communications is a leading international media company with a portfolio of face-to-face exhibitions and conferences, online communities, and digital and print publications. As producers of these market-leading products, Diversified Communications connects, educates, and strengthens business communities in over 15 industries including: renewable energy, healthcare, natural and organic, food and beverage, and technology. Established in 1949 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, USA, with divisions and offices around the world, Diversified Communications remains a privately held, third-generation, family-owned business. For more information, visit: https://www.divcom.com . Media Contact: Gene Hunt Trevi Communications, Inc. Gene@trevicomm.com 978-750-0333 x101 Nigeria will resume international flights on August 29 as it eases restrictions over the novel coronavirus pandemic, the country's aviation minister said Monday. Africa's most populous country shut its airspace in March to contain the spread of the virus that has so far infected 49,068 and claimed 975 lives. "Glad to announce the resumption of international flights from August 29, 2020, beginning with Lagos and Abuja as we did with the domestic flight resumption," Hadi Sirika said on Twitter, referring to the nation's commercial hub and its administrative capital. "Protocols and procedures will be announced in due course," he said, adding that the country's other international airports would follow suit. The decision came barely six weeks after the West African economic powerhouse resumed domestic flights. Search Keywords: Short link: ABCNews.comBY: TERRANCE SMITH, ABC NEWS (WASHINGTON) -- Jason Miller, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump's campaign, accused Democrats of trying "change the rules" on mail-in voting weeks before November's presidential election. "I think what really is going on here is they're trying to institute something that normally takes five to 10 years to put in place, and rush it through in nearly five to 10 weeks" he told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos on "This Week" in an interview following Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who slammed the Republican efforts to hold up funding for the Postal Service. "I am deeply, deeply concerned about Trump's effort to undermine American democracy by defunding the Postal Service," Sanders told Stephanopoulos. In response, Miller said, "I think it's a little disingenuous for Bernie and the rest of the Democrats to be making so much noise on this. They weren't trying to do it in February or March or April or May, and this is something that just is popping up now." But Stephanopoulos pushed back noting House Democrats passed a $25 billion emergency funding bill for the Postal Service earlier in the spring. He also pointed out that it's not just Democrats raising concerns. On Friday, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, the 2012 Republican Party presidential nominee, said, "I don't know of any evidence that voting by mail would increase voter fraud." In response, Miller said "Mitt Romney is wrong. Mitt Romney should take a look at Paterson, New Jersey, where upwards of a quarter of all the votes were thrown out." Both Attorney General William Barr and Trump have pointed to reports of alleged fraud in a special election in Paterson this past May, where several city officials have faced voter fraud charges and the county elections board rejected nearly 20% of mail-in ballots submitted. Election security experts have argued that the Paterson election, by contrast, shows that safeguards to protect against fraud actually worked effectively given the alleged fraud was quickly reported out to state officials. Miller also pointed to the tight Democratic primary race in New York between Rep. Carolyn Maloney and challenger Suraj Patel, where absentee ballots took weeks to count. Maloney eventually claimed victory earlier this month after the New York City Board of Elections certified the results, which showed her leading by 3,700 votes. "I guess Carolyn Maloney is the winner of that. We're still not sure," Miller said. Stephanopoulos challenged him and said, "But let me just stop right there, because when the votes were thrown out, that shows that the system is working. It shows that the votes that could have been fraudulent." Miller responded, "But no, but to carry on for six weeks afterwards, and we're still not sure -- I mean, did Carolyn Maloney really win that race? I mean, her opponent doesn't think so." Stephanopoulos also pressed Miller on Trump's remarks this week refusing to clearly state whether presumptive Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris is eligible to serve as president. Harris, the first woman of color on a major political party general election ticket, was born in California, to immigrant parents. The false and racist theory -- written in an op-ed by John Eastman, a conservative attorney who ran against Harris in 2010 for California attorney general -- has gained traction in some right-wing circles since Joe Biden announced her as his running mate. Law experts have said these questions about Harris' eligibility are "100% bogus" and Harris, born in Oakland in 1964, is a U.S. citizen eligible to serve as president or vice president. Asked about the theory during a press conference Saturday, the president said, "So, I have nothing to do with that. I read about it. ...The lawyer happens to be brilliant lawyer, as you probably know. He wrote an article saying there could be a problem. It's not something that I'm going to be pursuing." Stephanopoulos asked Miller on Sunday why the president couldn't unequivocally say that Harris is eligible to run. He replied, "Well, he did. He said last night at his press conference -- said it's not something that the campaign is pursuing." Stephanopoulos pushed back, "But he did not say she's eligible to run for president." "It's not something that we're pursuing, not something that we're interested in," Miller repeated. "And in our opinion, it is case closed. End of story. And the only folks who keep bringing it up are the media." But Stephanopoulos noted that Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis retweeted the article and raised the question about Harris' eligibility. "She wasn't speaking for the campaign. I am," Miller replied. Stephanopoulos also pressed Miller on the state of the Trump campaign as national polling averages show Joe Biden leads Trump by about eight points. "We're actually in a better place than we were four years ago, so I like it," Miller replied. "All the trend lines are looking very positive, particularly in the battlegrounds. We're either leading or within the margin of error of every state that we need to get to 270." Stephanopoulos pushed Miller on this point, noting that Trump trails Biden in several key states, such as Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota. "What are you seeing that we're not seeing?" Stephanopoulos challenged. "The media pollsters have not corrected their models since 2016. And the same way that they undercounted Trump voters and they missed so much, nothing fundamentally has changed," Miller replied. "So what we're looking at are models that were correct in 2016. We believe it will be correct in 2020. We feel good about where we are." Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:10:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Thailand on Monday said health authorities have taken immediate actions in investigating the case of a Malaysian visitor who had been to Thailand and later tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Malaysia on Aug. 5. Malaysian health authorities have informed Thailand that the Malaysian man tested positive for COVID-19 while he was doing his 14-day quarantine back in Malaysia, said Dr. Tanarak Plipat, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Public Health's Disease Control Department. "The man was asymptomatic and the infection was not detected by his first test," said Tanarak, adding "then a second test on Saturday proved positive." Tanarak said he does not know how the Malaysian man got infected with the virus during his stay in Bangkok. "The Malaysian visitor had spent most of his time at his condominium room in Bangkok during his stay in Thailand," said Tanarak. "We have taken immediate actions in regards to this matter and will need to find out the source of infection," said Tanarak. "We have begun to trace the people whom the Malaysian man had come in contacts with while his stay in Bangkok," he said. "What we know was that the Malaysian visitor quarantined in a condominium but his travel record is still unclear," said Tanarak. Thailand's Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) on Monday confirmed the case regarding the Malaysian visitor and also expressed bemusement as Thailand had not reported any local infections for over 80 days. Accumulative infections in Thailand to date are 3,378, with 3,194 recoveries and 58 deaths, while 126 others are still being treated in hospital. Both Tanarak and the CCSA advised the Thai people to wear face masks and keep themselves clean and practice social distancing. "With no COVID-19 vaccine available yet, COVID-19 could still spread in varying degrees in Thailand, you must always remember not to let your guards down," warned Tanarak. Enditem The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga announces plans to launch the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at UTCthe first ICA in the state will open its doors in spring 2021. The ICA at UTC will be free and open to the public. Following a multi-year renovation at the UTC Fine Arts Center, the universitys contemporary art gallery and exhibition programthe Cress Gallery of Artwill be rebranded with an updated, more public-facing mission and expanded visual identity as the ICA at UTC. Officially founded in 2000, the Cress Gallery of Art bears the name of artist and UTC Guerry Professor of Art Emeritus George Ayers Cress (American, 19212008). The Cress gained national reputation from its Diane Marek Visiting Artist Series, which operated from 2006-2018 and was a cherished program and tradition at UTC. General operating support for the ICA is provided by UTC. Rachel Reese, appointed as director and curator of Cress Gallery of Art in January 2020, will transition into the role of director and curator of the ICA at UTC and lead its future visioning and growth. The gallery provides a cultural link between the university and the community and we are excited to re-open after this hiatus under Rachel Reeses direction, said Pamela Riggs-Gelasco, UTC College of Arts and Sciences dean. Ms. Reese added that as an ICA, we will present challenging, curious, and adventurous encounters with contemporary art and artists both on campus and city-wide, with a specific responsibility towards reflecting the values and issues pertinent to our region today. It is an opportune time to rethink and reaffirm the socially-responsive connections that contemporary art and artists build not only within our campus community, but with greater Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Southeastern publics. Driven by values of openness, inclusivity, and honesty, we will always be free and open to the public and believe that art celebrates our human experience in its unique place and time. At the 40-year mark of the Fine Arts Center, and the 20-year mark of the Cress Gallery, the timing is opportune to revision its future as an ICAone that will continue to tell our institutional story while simultaneously signaling a new path forward, said Joe Wilferth, interim chair of the Department of Art and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Officials said, "The Cress Gallery has gone through significant change, evolution and growth and is looking to move into a new era. The ICA at UTC will be a major campus asset that mirrors the growth, evolution, and values of the University more broadly including embracing diversity and inclusion; creating a culture of creativity, discovery and inquiry; and prioritizing innovation and scholarship. "The ICA will provide increased opportunities for professional development pipelines and scholarship for the UTC Department of Art. Aligned with the forthcoming launch will be an updated visual identity that includes a new logo and website. The ICA will seek a bold, adventurous, curious visual identity that reflects contemporary art practice today, while simultaneously prioritizing accessibility, approachability and friendliness." ICICI Bank has completed the allotment of equity shares under its Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) and raised approximately Rs 15,000 crore (approximately US$ 2 billion) through the issuance of 418,994,413 equity shares at an issue price of Rs 358 per equity share. The equity issuance witnessed healthy participation from the global and domestic investor community, including foreign portfolio investors, domestic mutual funds and insurance companies. Lupin said that its U.S. based wholly owned subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced results from its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial to assess efficacy and safety of single-dose Solosec (secnidazole) 2g oral granules in female patients with trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral, curable sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the U.S. The trial results showed a clinically and statistically significant response rate, or microbiological cure, in patients treated with Solosec as compared to placebo (p<0.001). Telecom stocks will be in focus as the next hearing on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) case will be held today, 17 August 2020 after the no verdict was passed on the time frame for a staggered repayment of telecom companies' AGR dues. In the last hearing on August 14, the Supreme Court directed telecom companies under insolvency to submit details of spectrum sharing agreements that they have entered into. Berger Paints India reported 91.28% slump in consolidated net profit to Rs 15.42 crore on 46.01% fall in total income to Rs 938.59 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals reported 132.47% surge in consolidated net profit to Rs 254.04 crore on 4.59% rise in total income to Rs 2,431.29 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Sun TV Network reported 33.44% slump in consolidated net profit to Rs 257.41 crore on 38.15% fall in total income to Rs 723.10 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Fortis Healthcare reported consolidated net loss of Rs 178.92 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net profit of Rs 67.81 crore in Q1 June 2019. Total income dropped 47.55% to Rs 613.71 crore. Borosil reported consolidated net loss of Rs 7.53 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against net loss of Rs 10.43 crore in Q1 June 2019. Total income dropped 57.99% to Rs 59.24 crore. NLC India said it has issued and allotted 20,000 units of commercial paper of a face value of Rs 5,00,000 each aggregating to Rs 1000 crore in favour of SBI Mutual Fund SBI Liquid Fund on 14 August 2020. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) FILE PHOTO: Huawei sign is seen outside its store at a shopping complex in Beijing By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Monday announced it will further tighten restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co, aimed at cracking down on its access to commercially available chips. The U.S. Commerce Department actions expand restrictions announced in May aimed at preventing the Chinese telecommunications giant from obtaining semiconductors without a special license - including chips made by foreign firms that have been developed or produced with U.S. software or technology. The administration also added 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries to the U.S. government's economic blacklist, the sources said, raising the total to 152 affiliates since Huawei was first added in May 2019. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business the restrictions on Huawei-designed chips imposed in May "led them to do some evasive measures. They were going through third parties," Ross said. "The new rule makes it clear that any use of American software or American fabrication equipment is banned and requires a license." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a tweet that the U.S. government "dealt a direct blow to Huawei and the repressive Chinese Communist Party by further limiting Huaweis ability to acquire U.S. technology and compromise the integrity of the worlds networks and Americans private information." Huawei did not immediately comment. With U.S.-China relations at their worst in decades, Washington is pushing governments around to world to squeeze out Huawei, arguing it would hand over data to the Chinese government for spying. Huawei denies it spies for China. In an appearance on Fox on Monday, President Donald Trump accused Huawei, without evidence, of spying on Americans. "We dont want their equipment in the United States because they spy on us," Trump said. The new actions, effective immediately, should prevent Huaweis attempts to circumvent U.S. export controls, Commerce said. It "makes clear that we're covering off-the-shelf designs that Huawei may be seeking to purchase from a third-party design house," one Commerce Department official told Reuters. Story continues Commerce Department officials declined to say if they had or would approve any licenses for chipmakers to supply Huawei or if any applications were pending. The Semiconductor Industry Association, however, said that "these broad restrictions on commercial chip sales will bring significant disruption to the U.S. semiconductor industry. We are surprised and concerned by the administrations sudden shift from its prior support of a more narrow approach intended to achieve stated national security goals while limiting harm to U.S. companies." A new separate rule requires companies on the economic blacklist to obtain a license when a company on the list, like Huawei, acts "as a purchaser, intermediate consignee, ultimate consignee, or end user." The department also confirmed it will not extend a temporary general license that expired Friday for users of Huawei devices and telecommunication providers. Parties must now submit license applications for transactions previously authorized. The department said it was allowing the temporary general license to expire covering support to existing "personal consumer electronic devices." The Commerce Department also adopted a limited permanent authorization for Huawei entities to allow "ongoing security research critical to maintaining the integrity and reliability of existing" networks and equipment. Existing U.S. restrictions have had a heavy impact on Huawei and its suppliers. The restrictions announced in May do not fully take effect until Sept. 14. On Aug. 8, financial magazine Caixin reported Huawei will stop making its flagship Kirin chipsets next month due to U.S. pressure on suppliers. Huaweis HiSilicon division has relied on software from U.S. companies such as Cadence Design Systems Inc and Synopsys Inc to design its chips. It outsourced the production to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) <2330.TW>, which uses equipment from U.S. companies. TSMC has said it will not ship wafers to Huawei after Sept. 15. (Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Edwina Gibbs, Nick Zieminski and Dan Grebler) Monday, August 17th, 2020 (4:22 pm) - Score 567 Fixed wireless and fibre optic broadband ISP Voneus has moved to develop their business-to-business products by appointing two new business development managers Simon Tucker and Robin Craven-Griffiths. Simon will be responsible for growing the providers commercial offering, which includes the provision of specialist network infrastructures and managed services to large, complex businesses situated in remote locations (e.g. agribusinesses, construction, renewables, oil & gas and aerospace sectors etc.). He joins Voneus from the UK and Irish media company Wireless Group, where he headed up business development. Meanwhile Robin, who is ex-Army, will specialise in developing bespoke solutions for leisure organisations holiday parks, hospitality businesses, and other attractions based in rural UK locations to enable them to provide reliable, Superfast broadband to their many visitors. He joins the company following a 6 year stint in consultancy, both in the telecoms and the solar energy sectors. Sue Barnes, CCO Voneus, said: Many of the countrys most successful businesses are situated in what have traditionally been considered off grid locations. Where these companies are based shouldnt be a hindrance to their ability to compete but, all too often, it is simply because of a lack of decent telecoms options. Simon and Robins combined experience together with Voneus unwavering focus on building bespoke networks for hard-to-reach locations will be key as we attempt to redress this imbalance, by rolling out business-grade networking services to rural-based organisations. Were delighted to have them on the team. End. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) President Rodrigo Duterte shot down rumors that he was not in the country, saying he had been in Davao "all along." Senator Bong Go shared a video of him and the President on Monday night, showing Duterte wearing a mask and an eye shield. "Well, as you can see clearly, I have been in Davao all along. Umiiwas din ng COVID [Also avoiding COVID]. The admonition is wash your hands, wear a mask, cover your eyes, and stay home. That's what I did. Andito po ako sa Davao [I am here in Davao]," Duterte said in the video. Go said Duterte was on his way to attend a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force and "talk to the people." "Sa mga nagpapakalat ng fake news, makonsensiya po kayo. Nagtatrabaho po ang ating Presidente para sa bayan. Nagseserbisyo po kami sa inyo sa abot ng aming makakaya," said Go. [Translation: To those spreading fake news, have a conscience. The President is working for the country. We are serving you in every way we can.] Earlier, the senator shared a photo of Duterte and his family having a meal in their home in Davao. The President's partner, Honeylet Avancena, was shown holding a copy of a broadsheet bearing today's headline. In a televised address late Monday night, Duterte said he was under no obligation to report on his travel plans as he did not use public funds to finance them. "If I want to go to Singapore, I will go to Singapore. If it is a private undertaking, or if I want to attend the burial of a friend or pay a visit sa wake, if I, I will go in fly in fly out. Pero, alam mo kung gusto kong umalis, aalis ako [But you know, if I want to leave, I will leave]. I do not have to keep it a secret because I will not be using any government funds. Hindi ko ugali yan [That is not something I do]," he said. Duterte said no trip he has taken out of the country where he has used government funds, except for official trips adding he did not have the means to pay for an entourage. "I am under no obligation to travel in secret and not telling the Republic at all. I am a citizen, the right to travel is guaranteed. Kung guaranteed sa inyo, guaranteed din sa akin [If it is guaranteed to you, it is guaranteed to me as well]," he said. Duterte also made a joke about keeping his trip secret in the case of an elopement. "Pwera na lang siguro kung magtanan ko. Pero ilang anak ko ang hahabol sa akin. Inday (Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte) would lead the pack at ha-huntingin ako kung magtanan ko," he said. [Translation: Except if I were to elope. But my children would run after me. Inday would lead the pack and hunt me down if I eloped.] Over the weekend, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also tried to quell the rumors. "There is no truth that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte left the country this weekend. The Chief Executive is in the Philippines and closely monitoring the COVID-19 situation in the country," Roque said. Iran's Defense Ministry ready to unveil new Cruise missile: Gen. Hatami ISNA - Iranian Students' News Agency Sun / 16 August 2020 / 16:28 Tehran (ISNA) - Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier-General Amir Hatami stressed that the defense industry is the strategic depth of defense and security of the country and science and technology field is the support for the defense industry of the country. Speaking on Sunday in a ceremony held on the occasion of National Defense Industry Day, General Hatami said, "We are able to meet more than 90 percent of our defense requirements so that we could materialize our predefined objectives in the defense field that Iran should be the first power in the region in the field of science and technology in 2025 Defense Outlook". Any sanctions cannot dissuade Iran to strengthen its defense power and capability, he underlined. Referring to the latest achievements of the defense industry of Iran, General Hatami added, "New defense achievements in the fields of aviation, missile, drone and maritime including a new Cruise missile would be unveiled on August 21 in the presence of President Hassan Rouhani". Iranian Ministry of Defense has established very close relationships and interaction with knowledge-based companies, academic centers, universities and private sector firms, he said, adding, "Knowledge-based companies and academic centers have a great share in defense industry achievements greatly." About Defense Ministry's plans after lifting of arms embargo on Iran in October, the minister stated, "No country is interested in sanctions and does welcome restrictions. Islamic Republic of Iran will export its arms and weapons after sanctions lift. As Iran moves towards the right path, the sanctions could not create obstacles for achieving industrial goals, rather, the country attained all progresses and achievements in the defense industry in sanctions condition". He went on to stress that Iran tried successfully to turn the threats into opportunities and will continue with this way. Iran will also make use of world capacities to meet national needs to arms equipment and technology if opportunities are created, General Hatami added, noting that the country will be also ready to sell technical services and technology to the friendly states. In response to a question on the space activity of the Ministry of Defense, General Hatami stated, "The space program of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a permanent program and has gone through several stages." Elsewhere in his remarks, the defense minister pointed to the key role of media and said, "We are facing many developments in the region and in the current situation, media play a leading and key role in this field." Iranian media outlets and Armed Forces played their key role with regard to the dissemination of accurate information in regional events, he emphasized. End Item NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Inspirata authorizes Fujifilm to grant its customers the right and license to use Dynamyx Digital Pathology workflow software. London, UK, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cancer informatics and digital pathology solution provider Inspirata announced today a commercial partnership with Fujifilm. The partnership enables Fujifilm to supply and service Inspirata's powerful and flexible, scanner-agnostic, CE IVD digital pathology workflow software globally and with exclusivity in the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The complementary nature of Inspirata's and Fujifilm's respective technologies bridges a technical gap between pathology, radiology, and oncology, facilitating a more joined-up and longitudinal approach to patient care. Embracing an 'open' or 'vendor-neutral' approach to supporting their customers, the two companies view their new partnership as a shared commitment to giving healthcare providers the freedom and flexibility to use only the technologies that are right for them. Going forward, Fujifilm will bid on enterprise digital pathology tenders that present stringent procurement requirements using Inspirata's digital pathology portfolio. In addition, Inspirata's Dynamyx software will now be available on complex managed outsourcing opportunities that require other digital modalities, such as PACS and VNA, in addition to digital pathology. "We are excited to join forces with a company like Fujifilm, which has such a strong reputation in the markets targeted by this arrangement," says Oenone Duroe, General Manager - Europe at Inspirata. "From a business perspective, this partnership lets both companies focus 100% on their respective core competencies without fear of becoming overstretched by trying to be all things, to all people." Fujifilm will add the ability to license and distribute Dynamyx software to its established and growing base of healthcare customers. Using Dynamyx's remote pathology functionality, Fujifilm's customers will benefit from remote working to alleviate mounting COVID-19 pressures, as well as find more opportunities for collaboration and MDT. Fujifilm aims to serve healthcare enterprises with a broad spectrum of departmental and enterprise solutions. Inspirata's Dynamyx software now adds to Fujifilm's strengths in radiology, cardiology, endoscopy, and surgery. Additionally, the award-winning** Synapse VNA vendor-neutral archive product, is already capable and market-ready for digital pathology and seamlessly integrates with Dynamyx. Fujifilm is excited to begin offering this solution, just as digital pathology gains acceptance and practical use, worldwide. "In deciding to provide digital pathology services in Europe, our evaluation of potential partners focused on two important criteria," explains Kevin Shah, Head of Enterprise New Business, Fujifilm Europe. "First, the partner had to offer an innovative, mature, and stable technology complete with outstanding subject matter expertise. Secondly, it was imperative that they share the commitment to openness and vendor neutrality. Since Inspirata can deliver on both counts, our combined partnership enables us to offer a truly unique solution to our European market." In addition to the Fujifilm global reseller channel, Inspirata will continue to market and sell digital pathology and cancer informatics solutions through its direct sales force in other markets, including the United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. All existing Dynamyx customers will continue to be served directly by Inspirata. About Inspirata: Inspirata, Inc. helps patients fighting cancer-and the clinicians they trust-to make every moment matter. Our comprehensive cancer informatics solutions bring disparate data together throughout the entire cancer care journey to drive informed decisions that improve survivorship. Inspirata has assembled advanced and proven technologies to address the complex challenges of delivering cancer care and conducting ground-breaking research. We combine an open digital pathology solution with automated cancer registry solutions, comprehensive cancer informatics, and advanced patient engagement tools to bring users a broad, stable, and collaborative oncology informatics platform. For more information, visit www.inspirata.com. About FUJIFILM: FUJIFILM Medical Systems Europe is a pioneer at the forefront of diagnostic imaging products and medical informatics solutions that meet the evolving needs of healthcare facilities today and into the future. Medical imaging solutions span digital radiography. Inspirata Contact: Emil Mladenov, Vice President of Corporate and Digital Marketing E-mail: emladenov@inspirata.com| Tel: +1-813-467-7616 FUJIFILM Europe Contact: Luana Porfido, Head of Corporate Communication and Integration Chief FUJIFILM Europe E-mail: luana.porfido@fujifilm.com| Tel: +39-345-9529101 * The Dynamyx trademark is registered in the USA and owned by a subsidiary of Inspirata, Inc. * The Synapse trademark is registered in the EU, Japan, USA and certain other countries and is owned by FUJIFILM Corporation. ** - Fujifilm Teramedica VNA - Best in Klas VNA 2020 www.klasresearch.com Jammu: Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Saturday said that if Rahul Gandhi would have been allowed to speak in Parliament, the Prime Minister would have been exposed. Well he (Rahul Gandhi) was not given the opportunity as he wanted to say something on the floor of the House. Had he been given the opportunity to speak in the Parliament, he (Prime Minister) would have been exposed, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha told reporters in Jammu. Azad said that if there was nothing to hide, then why the government and the MPs of the ruling party did not allow Rahul Gandhi to speak. (It was) because they did not want him (Prime Minister) to be exposed (by Rahul Gandhi), Azad said. Azad, who is also the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, blamed the BJP for the five-month long unrest in the Valley, stating that BJP being part of the government did not go well with the people of the state. As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned we had warned the Prime Minister earlier that BJP government will not go well with the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The situation which prevailed in Kashmir in the past five to six months, the main reason was the BJP forming the government in the state, Azad said. On the issue of Robert Vadras Bikaner land row, Azad said that the BJP government in order to hide its own failures was befooling the people of the country by raking up non issues. Let me tell you whenever there has been an attack on the BJP or its corruption or misdoing (is exposed) they will try to divert the attention by saying this has happened and that has happened, he said. On the Augusta Westland issue, Azad said, Sometimes they raise Augusta. Same Augusta thing which was discussed for six hours in the Parliament and we had said about Augusta there was nothing and whatever deal was struck it was not concluded the government came to the conclusion that there was something fishy and it was the UPA government which initiated the CBI enquiry. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A public service union has reacted angrily to claims the Stormont Executive is pushing to bring thousands of civil servants back to the office. Politicians are reported to view the absence of civil servants from major city and town buildings as economically crippling to restaurants, coffee shops and bars losing out on trade. Economy Minister Diane Dodds has written to the head of the civil service, David Sterling, on the matter. According to Sunday Life, Mrs Dodds said "one of the greatest drivers of footfall in Belfast city centre would be if Northern Ireland Civil Service staff are back at work". Read More The NIPSA trade union said any suggestion that civil servants are to blame for the floundering high street economy is "ludicrous". Many of the buildings that house Northern Ireland's 23,500 civil service staff are currently understood to be operating at under 30% capacity. It is further reported that some senior politicians are considering moving staff out of expensive inner city offices, and that Stormont ministers are setting up a High Street Taskforce to bring shoppers back into town. NIPSA's general secretary Alison Millar said it was "deeply unfair" to assume that forcing civil servants back to the office alone would save the economy. Expand Close NIPSAs Alison Millar / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp NIPSAs Alison Millar "The facts are that many civil servants have been in work during the pandemic delivering vital public services, and thousands of other civil servants have been delivering vital public services while working from home," she said. "The reality of the situation is that where civil servants are in work, either on a permanent or rota basis, this is driven by the social distancing and other safety measures which this very government has said must be in place." The Department for the Economy was contacted for a response. However, a Department of Finance spokesperson replied: "During the pandemic civil servants have continued to work in line with the latest guidance, either attending workplaces safely or working remotely providing services and support to a wide range of people, including those members of society and businesses impacted by Covid-19. "The number of staff who can safely work within our offices has been considerably reduced to comply with social distancing, which has proven to be the most effective means of preventing the spread of the virus. "In line with the Executive's phased, strategic approach to recovery, civil servants who can work from home should continue to do so. Relevant policy, advice and guidance are reviewed on an ongoing basis in light of evolving developments." Separately, a YouGov poll has suggested that one in three British workers do not expect to be back in the office until 2021. A quarter (25%) of 4,001 workers surveyed said they expected to return to work in 2021 while 8% think they will work at home indefinitely. SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's finance minister on Monday unveiled more economic support measures worth about S$8 billion ($5.8 billion) to cushion the blow from the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and workers. "The continued support in our fight against COVID-19 will cost S$8 billion," Heng Swee Keat said in a speech. "We intend to fund these measures by reallocating monies from other areas, such as development expenditures that were delayed due to COVID-19. There are no plans to draw on past reserves for these measures." The island-state, one of the world's most open economies, has already spent nearly S$100 billion ($73 billion) over four budgets aimed at offsetting the impact of the virus this year as it faces its deepest ever recession. ($1 = 1.3697 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan and Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Editing by Toby Chopra) The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) expects to receive the second tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of 2020. NBU Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko said this in an interview with the RBC-Ukraine online news site. Our recent macro forecast is based on the assumption that there will be a second tranche this year. Together with the government, we focused on the implementation of the provisions of the memorandum. I believe that we are successfully moving towards the implementation of the provisions of the memorandum, in particular structural beacons," Shevchenko said. According to him, the National Bank is in constant dialogue with both the IMF and other international partners. "I consider that the continuation of the positive dynamics of cooperation will guarantee the receipt of the next tranches this year," Shevchenko added. As Ukrinform reported, on June 9, the IMF Executive Board approved an 18-month Stand-By Arrangement for Ukraine, with total access of $5 billion. On June 12, Ukraine received $2.1 billion as the first tranche from the IMF. ish 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. 17, 2020 A community is outraged after a protester is arrested by plain clothes police officers in an unmarked van in the midst of a Black Lives Matter protest. Meanwhile, there were at least 25 different shootings in Philadelphia, leaving seven people dead and at least 25 injured. Lebanon County gets its coronavirus aid money after pledging to spend part of it on a campaign to promote wearing face masks. Philadelphia will help craft the nations strategy for distributing a COVID-19 vaccine. 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. 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. Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. In late March, Michigan was one of the states that was hardest hit by the initial onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID cases and deaths skyrocketed while hospital ICUs overfilled, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer enacted a strict set of emergency orders designed to bring the deadly outbreak under control. The governor then carried out a slow, cautious reopening by keeping many of her stay-at-home orders in place through late May. Most recentlyover loud braying and protests from the states conservativesWhitmer put in place orders that require masks in public spaces and prohibit high-risk businesses like gyms and bars from fully reopening. Advertisement By most public health measures, Whitmers response has been a success that has saved thousands of lives, a feat thats earned her national praise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Naturally, Michigans Republican Party wants to put a stop to that. Michigan Republicans are now attempting to execute a plan to strip Whitmer of her emergency order powersand unilaterally end the protections she has put in place against the pandemicby exploiting their favorite state constitutional loophole. That mechanism had been obscure until the past couple of years, when Michigan Republicans used it to kill a popular minimum wage increase, kill the states popular prevailing wage law, and attempt to push through extreme abortion limits. The loophole allows GOP legislators to partner with conservative activists and residents to enact veto-proof legislation that only needs about 340,000 petition signatures to become provisional law. Advertisement Advertisement In short, only about 4 percent of the electorate will have a say on a life-and-death matter for the rest of the states residents. The effort rests on a popular provision in the Michigan Constitution that allows citizens to propose legislation. In past years, citizen-initiated legislation has led to popular laws that made it easier to vote, legalized marijuana, and established a bottle return program. The way it ordinarily works is that once citizen groups collect 340,000 valid signatures, a proposal is put to a vote by the entire electorate. But the loophole allows the Legislature to approve citizen-initiated proposals and make them law before they are actually put on the ballot, with any such legislation being veto-proof. Advertisement Advertisement If the current petition drive is successful, Whitmer would be required to seek the Republican-controlled Legislatures approval to extend emergency orders beyond 30 days. That would spell the end of Michigans pandemic management, and an increase in cases and suffering would undoubtedly follow. Whitmer called the pandemic power grab irresponsible, dangerous and foolish, but theres little more she can do about it. Advertisement Advertisement The veto-proof provision of the petition amendment exists to give lawmakers the power to avoid having to place popular measures on the ballot, which saves time and resources. The GOP, however, has frequently turned to it to enact radical and unpopular measures. This time, Republicans are specifically aiming to repeal a 1945 law that gives governors the authority to declare states of emergency and keep them in place without legislative approval. Advertisement Advertisement Unsurprisingly, the citizen group behind the repeal effort, Unlock Michigan, is composed of GOP consultants. Theyre coordinating with Republican legislators, and the effort is largely funded by a dark money nonprofit and contributions from wealthy GOP donors. However, Michigans unusually loose campaign finance laws make it nearly impossible to prove whos bankrolling the effort. Its worth noting that even a Republican consultant who had a hand in developing the loose campaign finance laws filed a complaint with the state that claims that the dark money group funding Unlock should reveal its donors. Advertisement Advertisement Mark Brewer, an election attorney with Keep Michigan Safe, a nonprofit thats mounting a legal challenge to Unlocks campaign, said Unlock is aiming to submit its petition by early November so the Legislature can ram through a repeal during this years lame-duck session. Advertisement The group is collecting signatures through several channels. Paid employees have hit the street while some businesses are keeping petitions in their shops. GOP legislators have also been hosting signing events. Brewer says that Unlock claims to have already collected 100,000 signatures, and it likely will need to collect at least 300,000 more by November because many signatures could be invalidated. Keep Michigan Safes counteroffensives includes a lawsuit that asks a court to invalidate the proposal because of its vague language. State law requires a petitions language to provide a summary that is accurate, truthful and discloses to voters what it would do, Brewer said. The petitions language only states that its proposal will repeal the 1945 emergency powers law and makes no mention of the governor losing her authority to manage the pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Collecting valid signatures can also be difficult. The Michigan GOP and anti-choice group Right to Life teamed up last year in an attempt to ram through extreme abortion limits via the same loophole. Though Right to Life collected about 400,000 signatures, a challenge mounted by a Brewer-led group found a high number of duplicates and signatures from residents who werent registered to vote. Those signatures were invalidated, and Right to Life was ultimately forced to abandon the effort last month. Its also possible that Democrats regain control of the Legislature in November, but Republicans have gerrymandered the states legislative boundaries into such knots that its majority is likely safe until a recently established independent redistricting commission is scheduled to redraw the map in 2022. Advertisement Some Democrats have said they arent entirely opposed to limiting a theoretical governors powerssome have questioned what an anti-democratic governor could do with unlimited emergency powers. In practice, however, the Republican Party is alone in its determination to bend the rules so it can scrap public health protections that are saving lives. Brewer noted that the emergency powers law was created in 1945 by a Republican-controlled government and left in place by the GOP when it considered changes during the 1970s. This law has enjoyed broad bipartisan support and thats the broader contextthis is clearly a partisan power grab thats only going to put public health at risk, he concluded. For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below. Washington: US President Donald Trump has indicated that he was looking to ban other Chinese-owned companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba in the United States, days after signing an executive order targetting TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, Fox News reported. The development came after Trump issued an executive order on August 14, requiring ByteDance to divest its interests in video-sharing app TikTok's operations in the US within 90 days. "There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance ... might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States," the US President said in the order. The new order came after an earlier executive order was signed by Trump. The previous order could have forced US-based app stores to stop distributing the TikTok app if ByteDance did not reach a deal to divest from it in 45 days. Under the latest order, ByteDance is expected to destroy all its copies of TikTok data attached to American users. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that the Trump administration is "working hard" to protect Americans from the threats of "untrusted vendors" such as TikTok and WeChat, which it wants to remove from US app stores like those operated by Apple and Google. US politicians have repeatedly criticised TikTok, owned by Beijing-based startup ByteDance, of being a threat to national security because of its ties to the Chinese Communist Party. China and the US are at loggerheads on a variety of issues including Hong Kong national security law, the South China Sea, coronavirus and trade. Last month, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) banned 47 apps, which were variants and cloned copies of the 59 apps banned earlier in June. These banned clones include Tiktok Lite, Helo Lite, SHAREit Lite, BIGO LIVE Lite and VFY Lite. The 59 apps, most of which were Chinese, had been banned by the Indian government in view of the information available that they are engaged in activities which are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity and defence" of the country. The ban came amid the standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Eastern Ladakh. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics I look young for my age, everybody says so. Make that, said so. I look in the mirror and someone I dont know looks back. Who is that old woman? Hairdresser phobia my salon is in the heart of a shopping centre has played its part. Thats easily fixed, the grey hairs obliterated, eventually. But its more than that. Its a state of mind, a realisation that at a time when it is the elderly in our community who are most at risk, I, who have never thought of myself as old, am one of those people. A German study found that feeling young is an indicator of wellbeing in later life. Credit:iStock Back at the beginning of this pandemic, a lifetime ago when New Zealand began implementing its tough restrictions, it started with a curfew for the over 70s. A friend posted on Facebook that she read with interest of this limitation on the elderly then she realised she was one. I laughed. Im not laughing now. The impact of COVID-19 on the elderly, particularly those in aged care, the daily litany of deaths accompanied by the ages of those who have died, the Australian governments FACT SHEET: For Older Australians on COVID-19 that refers to the increased susceptibility of older people (60+ years of age) bring home a message I had until now managed to avoid: that in the eyes of the community and the government, Im old. CHICO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 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 $199,500. The order is for a refurbished Taylor Machine XH360 forklift with a capacity of 36,000 pounds. The equipment is in inventory and will ship this week to a California-based manufacturing company. AmeraMex CEO Lee Hamre commented, " The sales team is busy providing proposals and signing orders. Currently, third quarter sales orders total approximately $3.1 million not including a one-year equipment rental of $108,000. "With the uncertainty of the effect of the COVID-19 virus on our target markets, sales for our first six months were not representative of the Company's internal projections. The team is confident that the second six months of 2020 will be outstanding." 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. Story continues 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/601953/AmeraMex-International-Receives-Forklift-Order-Totaling-199500 The health ID will contain information about medical data, prescriptions and diagnostic reports and summaries of previous discharge from hospitals for ailments Prime Minister Narendra Modis announcement of a national health ID for every Indian while addressing the nation on the occasion of 74th Independence Day, is envisioned as India's first step towards Universal Health Coverage. The ambitious National Digital Health Mission unveiled on 15 August, finds its roots in a 2018 Niti Aayog proposal to create a centralised mechanism to uniquely identify every participating user in the National Health Stack, according to The Indian Express. In his Independence Day address from the ramparts of the Red Fort, the prime minister said the health ID will store every individual's medical records and the Mission will herald a new revolution in the health sector. "From today, a major campaign is being launched in which technology will play a big role. The National Digital Health Mission is being launched today. This will bring a new revolution in India's health sector and it will help reduce problems in getting treatment with the help of technology," he said on Saturday. "Every Indian will be given a health ID, which will work as each Indian's health account," Modi said, adding that it would ease problems faced by citizens in getting healthcare access. The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), which comes under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), is expected to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of health services in the country, the government has said. What is the National Digital Health Mission? The National Digital Health Mission is a digital health ecosystem under which every Indian citizen will now have unique health IDs, digitised health records with identifiers for doctors and health facilities. The Mission is expected to bring efficiency and transparency in healthcare services in the country. What is a Health ID? As per the National Health Authority (NHA), every patient who wishes to have their health records available digitally must start by creating a unique Health ID. The health ID will contain information about medical data, prescriptions and diagnostic reports, and summaries of previous discharge from hospitals for ailments. According to The Indian Express report, each Health ID will be linked to a health data consent manager such as National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) which will be used to seek the patients consent and allow for seamless flow of health information from the Personal Health Records module. This ID is to be created by using a persons basic details and mobile number or Aadhaar number. "It will be like a digitised swasth khata (health book) for a patient and will contain details of their medical history, physicians consulted, tests done etc," the prime minister said. The health ID will reportedly be in the form of a mobile application. The Print.in reports that the health ID will not be mandatory, although the government hopes that the feature will attract more users to it since it allows a person online access to all their health records right from birth. Where will the Health ID be applicable? According to The Quint, the ID will reportedly be applicable across states, hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and pharmacies. The government has also assured that the data provided will be protected and health records will only be shared after authorisation by an individual. According to its strategy document, the NDHM will pilot the mission in Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep, Ladakh, and Puducherry. Privacy of data The NDHM's document also states that health records will be accessible and shareable by the patient with appropriate consent and complete control of the records will remain with the patient. The mission will also require doctors/hospitals to upload a digital copy of any health reports being physically shared with the patient to enable the creation of health records. An appropriate digital consent framework as per standards specified by NDHB (leveraging DigiLocker consent management framework to the extent possible) will be adopted for consent management, the document further outlines. Michigan saw its typical decline in confirmed coronavirus cases Sunday, nearly half of Saturdays new cases. The state reported 565 additional positive cases of COVID-19 on Aug. 16, down from 1,015 from the day before. There were also six more deaths, which brought Michigans fatality total from the disease to 6,324, according to the statewide database. Sunday coronavirus counts are typically lower because of fewer health professionals on duty. There have now been 92,7320 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Michigan. After hitting a record number of tests of 40,000 on Thursday, the total number of tests in Sundays total was 29,872 -- a positive testing rate under 2%. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. Michigans case fatality rate is currently 6.8 percent. Health officials recommend looking at seven-day moving averages to evaluate data trends during the pandemic. The state is now averaging just more than 700 new cases per day. Sorry, but your browser does not support frames. In addition, the Michigan Senate over the weekend set the stage for key education votes on Monday that will affect the return to school for teachers and students, the latter having recently started making sure their voices are heard. Heres the latest on the coronavirus pandemic in Michigan going into Sunday, Aug. 16. In-person learning not required for Michigan schools this fall, and other takeaways from Senate-passed education bills Michigan lawmakers are firming up a framework for schools to get kids back to the classroom this fall - whether its in-person, virtual or some mix of both. The Michigan Senate on Saturday voted through a plan leaving it to local districts to determine reopening methods and guidelines, taking local COVID-19 metrics and recommendations from individual health departments into account. In a rare weekend session, senators approved the main bill in the package, House Bill 5913, and House Bill 5912 in 23-15 votes and House Bill 5911 in a 23-14 vote. The final version of the bills reflect an agreement reached by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and leadership in the Republican-majority Legislature, announced Friday night and drafted into legislation Saturday. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, wrote on social media the bills reflect our commitment to ensuring students receive a quality education and empowers schools to make decisions that are in the best interest of students this fall. Michigan Senate OKs framework for reopening schools during coronavirus pandemic Reactions to the plan were mixed. Teachers unions announced their support of the legislation ahead of its passage, although some educators rallied on the Capitol lawn Saturday to protest in-person learning this fall. School administrators and superintendents are concerned the legislation further complicates back-to-school plans already in motion and doesnt address state funding uncertainties. On the Senate floor, most Senate Democrats were unconvinced the plan was the right approach. Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, said the current version is disconnected from the reality that we are facing while pushing for an amendment to base this years funding on previous student counts. The Michigan House is expected to take up the package during its Monday session. Heres a breakdown of what lawmakers and the administration came up with. This is what Michigan students have to say about going back to school Alexandra Felan is ready to start school and join in all of the cool extracurricular activities Bay City Western Middle School has to offer. In elementary school you didnt really get to do a lot of things and now there are so many other things that I can do, said Alexandra, who starts sixth grade on Aug. 25. " I just love school. Period. Sylvia Barrish, 8, just wants to share the stories she writes with her third grade classmates at Salines Harvest Elementary School. I like to write about animals talking, she said. For Landon Roggenbaum, whos heading into his senior year at Grand Rapids Northview High School, its a hope his credits and GPA dont take a hit under virtual learning. When youre in the comfort of your own home, you dont want to do work you dont want to do anything, he said of online learning. You become lazy I know I became lazy. And Ypsilanti Community High School junior Corey Daniels-Jones, just wants to get back to normal, which to him means being able to hug friends he hasnt seen since March. Hugs actually help me out a lot, he said. It helps me cope with how things are and how my mindset it. As the start of school approaches, students hopes and concerns about what looks to be an unpredictable year vary across Michigan. But many have one thing in common they want classes to happen in-person. I feel like Im ready to go back to school and I want to go back, so Im willing to do whatever that takes wear a mask, spread out, or have smaller class sizes, Jackson Northwest High School junior Claire Rouse said. Some of the states largest school districts will start this year fully virtual, citing the need for a decrease in new novel coronavirus cases before returning to the classroom in person. Other districts will begin the year with a hybrid model to ease back into in-person classes. Where COVID-19 is not as widespread, some districts will do as much in-person instruction as possible, while providing an online-only option to parents. Regardless of the format, students are just eager to reestablish connections with friends and teachers. Obviously I hope that it will be safe enough for us to be able to go back in person - like a hybrid model - at some point this school year, Washtenaw International High School senior Anusha Gupta said. Its my senior year and I want to see everybody one last time before we all go off to college and things like that. 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. Gov. 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/. For the first time in University of Miami history, the student body has elected three women to make up the executive board of the Student Government. Abigail Adeleke and running mate Amanda Rodriguez, treasurer, will be joined by Shirley Gelman, vice president, who won her seat in a run-off election. On April 7, the trio was virtually sworn in during their annual inauguration ceremony. I was fully prepared to lose, so when I found out I won by like 13 votes, it was a wow-moment for me, said Adeleke, a journalism and psychology double major with a minor in Spanish. It was not necessarily what anybody thought was going to happen, but it was definitely the best result. Because, we have the best of both worlds. To secure a position, candidates must receive 50 percent of the votes plus one additional vote. When one candidate does not have more than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off is called. Gelman said that during her second time around, she changed the narrative of her campaign strategy because she realized the impact an all-female executive board could have. I embraced it, said Gelman, an international finance and marketing management double major. I pushed for female empowerment and I think its really awesome how it ended up turning out. Hours of re-campaigning in the hot Miami sun paid off as Gelman received 58.1 percent of the votes. For the first time in 19 years, a split ticket makes up the Universitys executive board. The whole experience was so tiring but so rewarding and worth it, she said. Leading up to this, each e-board member took separate paths to their current roles. Adeleke started as the Senate of Stanford Residential College who had no prior student government experience. Gelman, on the other hand, has been involved since her first year when she joined the Freshman Leadership Council, an initiative she now oversees. For Rodriguez, this is her first position within Student Government. Although she has been heavily involved with various student organizations throughout her underclassman years, she didnt think about joining until May 2019, when she was approached by Adeleke and her former running mate Jason Perez. Ive always liked being a facilitator of events and operationstrying to see how I can run things as smoothly as possible, said Rodriguez, a business law major in the Miami Herbert Business School. They framed it to me as a unique position to give a unique perspective to issues on campus while also trying to bridge that gap between the people and Student Government. No matter their course, one fact that is constant among the newly elected team members is their commitment and dedication to representing all Miami Hurricanes. We are in a unique position where we talk directly with people making the decisions, said Gelman. I want to make students aware that if they are confused, if they need to ask anything, we are people that they should come to. Student Government is a resource for you. This executive board began their roles at a rare time in United States history. From the coronavirus pandemic, to remote learning, to a spark in Black Lives Matter protests around the world, Adeleke and her partners see this as a time to stand for everyones rights. I definitely want our student body to know that their student government is diversity focused, said Adeleke. We have diversity training for all of our board through our new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, which is headed by United Black Students President Landon Coles. Since June, the threesome has worked closely with University leadership and administration to give students the options and accommodations necessary to continue their education at the University of Miami. Gelman wants students to know that the University is evolving day by day, as everyone adjusts to alterations that the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated. Things are going to change, because theyre going to be making improvements, she said. If students dont understand how things are right now, its OK, because its going to be constantly evolving and improving. As the fall semester resumes, the executive board will meet weekly to continue managing policies and to work on campus-wide projects. Their goal is to continue pushing initiatives that will benefit all students. The quickest way for a concerned student to get in contact with the new board is via email. I dont mind a million people emailing me, as long as a million peoples problems are solved. I never want anyone to suffer in silence, said Adeleke. We are here to advocate for you. For more information, visit the Student Government website. The Education Minister is facing a High Court battle over the chaos being experienced by thousands of A-level students across Northern Ireland. The news comes as MLAs prepare to interrupt their summer break to return to Stormont to discuss the controversy. Read More The SDLP called for a recall last week, and Sinn Fein and Alliance have backed the move, meaning the recall petition will have the necessary 30 signatures. Meanwhile, pre action letters have been sent to the Department of Education and exams body the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) calling for officials to urgently address the debacle. Peter Weir is facing mounting pressure to act, with students planning a protest this week as anger grows about almost 11,000 grades being slashed by a computer algorithm after exams were cancelled due to Covid-19. Speaking about the legal action, solicitor Ciaran Moynagh from Phoenix Law said: "We have been contacted by many distraught students and parents since Thursday who are at a loss at what to do next. Expand Close TUVs Jim Allister / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp TUVs Jim Allister "Many students have lost conditional offers at university and are now worried appeals and other processes will take too long, meaning that they will miss out getting a university place, may not start their course on time, or have no university accommodation. "We have now issued pre action letters for two students with a view of issuing judicial proceedings. These potential cases will seek to challenge the grades awarded, the process of how they were generated and the lack of proper appeal. Proceedings will be aimed at the Department of Education and CCEA." TUV leader Jim Allister has said he is "not surprised" by the development, branding the process this year a "catastrophic failure" for young people. He said: "The fundamental principal for every citizen is the entitlement to procedural fairness and this seems to me to be a system totally lacking in procedural fairness. "Another fundamental right is the entitlement to good administration and to clarity on the system on which you are being judged, so I'm not surprised that someone is going to challenge the system. This whole algorithm seems to be covered in mystery and I'm glad that someone is challenging it." However, Mr Allister said it is tragic that young people, who have already endured the trauma of the pandemic, lockdown and missing their last days at school, are now facing High Court proceedings. "This will all take time and it's likely that students are going to miss out on places at university," he said. "Their mental wellbeing doesn't seem to have been taken into consideration at all. "For example, I am aware of one student who has been a straight A student their whole life, she got 10 A*s at GCSE and four As at AS level and CCEA gave her a B. Where is the wisdom in that? She needs three As to get into medicine and she is absolutely distraught." Meanwhile, the four UK Children's Commissioners have issued a joint call to UK universities asking them to honour the offers of a place they have already made to prospective domestic students. They said that the "rights to an education and to fair and equal treatment have been severely compromised this year". Along with her counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales, Koulla Yiasouma, Northern Ireland's Children's Commissioner, has called for "an exceptional response to exceptional times". A statement from the four commissioners continued: "University offers will have been made on the basis of individual statements, previous achievements, references, predicted grades and in some cases entrance exams and interviews. "Many students have had little chance to progress their education since those offers were made. It is unfair to now reject individuals whose results have been arrived at by a system that is likely to have produced individual anomalies. "The impact of the decisions made by universities now will have life-long consequences for this generation of young people. "We strongly urge universities to respond with generosity of spirit and to warmly welcome all students who hold conditional offers for their institution." It comes as CCEA said that it had received 701 appeal requests by 5pm on Friday. A CCEA spokeswoman said: "The appeals process is an integral part of the alternative awarding arrangements this year and we will continue to work with schools and colleges as we process each appeal, as quickly and efficiently as possible. "Due to the exceptional circumstances, we had to redesign the appeals process for this year. In any previous year reviews of marking were the first stage of the post results service. "In the absence of examinations this year, the review of marking service has been changed to a review of grade issued, and therefore it would not be possible to do a year on year comparison. However, last year we had just over 3,840 reviews requested at A and AS level overall." The Department of Education said it was unable to comment due to the legal proceedings. Russia will help Belarus at first request to ensure its security against external military threats, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Saturday. "When it comes to the military component, we have an agreement with the Russian Federation, both in the framework of the Union State and the CSTO [Collective Security Treaty Organization]. Now is precisely the moment which falls under this agreement. Which is why today I had a long, substantive conversation with the president of Russia [to discuss] the situation. I must say I was even slightly surprised: he is absolutely in the know about what is happening," Lukashenko was quoted by the BelTA state news agency as saying. "And the two of us agreed that full assistance will be provided at our first request to ensure the security of the Republic of Belarus," he said. Neste, the worlds largest producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) produced from waste and residue raw materials, is supplying Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue Airways with sustainable aviation fuel for flights from San Francisco International Airport (SFO). The low-carbon and high-quality fuel will contribute to each airlines efforts to reach their climate goals. Neste is now successfully delivering sustainable aviation fuel to SFO via pipeline, a milestone the airport has called a climate quantum leap. Once Nestes SAF enters SFOs fuel consortium storage, it is available to the commercial, cargo or business aviation entities that operate at the airport. Alaska Airlines, American Airlines and JetBlue Airways are the first major US airlines to commit to adopt Nestes SAF at SFO, building on their strong track records of sustainability. All three airlines took their first deliveries of Nestes SAF at SFO within the last few weeks. Together were moving the aviation industry toward a more sustainable future, said Thorsten Lange, Executive Vice President for Renewable Aviation at Neste. Aviation, like many industries, is looking to reduce emissions and increase sustainable practices. Ultimately to make these moves, collaboration, and partnerships like this one are essential for long-term change, and Neste is proud to be working with these major US carriers, who with us are taking a stand for sustainability. In 2018, Neste joined SFO, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, other airlines and fuel producers in a groundbreaking agreement to increase the use of sustainable aviation fuel. Today, Neste and these partner airlines are delivering on that promise. Alaska was the first North American carrier to commit to advancing and adopting the use of SAF, and one of the first airlines to demonstrate the use of SAF in passenger flying with nearly 80 flights using sustainable aviation fuel over the last 10 years, said Diana Birkett Rakow, Alaska Airlines vice president of external relations. As we return to and re-grow air travel, were thrilled to take this next step towards commercially viable supply and use of SAF. We have a long way to go. Being a responsible airline is critical to our employees, guests, communities, and our future and using SAF is a key part of our strategy to reduce carbon emissions. Even in these difficult circumstances, setting up our airline to operate more sustainably is important to us, our team members and our customers, said David Seymour, Chief Operating Officer for American Airlines. We have a vision for the future of American that includes advancing the most promising options for reducing carbon emissions from air travel, and sustainable aviation fuel is chief among them. We have been working with Neste, a leader in renewable fuels, for a number of years, and were proud to take this step to boost the market for sustainable jet fuel. Air travel connects people and cultures and supports a global economy. As an industry, were working together to limit our contributions to climate change, said Joanna Geraghty, president and chief operating officer, JetBlue Airways. Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is an important part of JetBlue Airways business plan. We remain focused on long-term environmental opportunities, particularly lessening our largest impact carbon emissions from flying. The airline industry is one of the few industries that has collectively committed to an international emissions reduction goal. Now more than ever, we must also support other industry-wide environmental improvements like sustainable aviation fuel in order to kick-start the market on these lower carbon fuels. Nestes SAF can be used as a drop-in fuel with existing aircraft engines and airport infrastructure, requiring no extra investment. In its neat form and over the lifecycle it helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 per cent compared to conventional jet fuel. It is made from sustainably sourced, 100 per cent renewable waste and residue materials. Nestes sustainable aviation fuel annual capacity is currently 100,000 tons (34 million gallons). With the Singapore refinery expansion on the way, and with possible additional investment into the Rotterdam refinery, Neste will have the capacity to produce some 1.5 million tonnes (515 million gallons) of SAF annually by 2023. Prior to use, Nestes SAF is blended with fossil jet fuel and is then verified to meet ASTM jet fuel specifications. In addition to helping customers reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions, Neste has committed to making its production operations carbon neutral by 2035. --Tradearabia News Services (Newser) If you worried that Charlie Daniels would disappear from our thoughts soon after his death last month at the age of 83, Nickelback has swooped in to keep his memory alive. The Canadian rockers have done so by putting out a cover of Daniels' most famous song, "The Devil Went Down to Georgia," taking out the fiddle, changing up some lyrics, and giving the song an overall heavier feelbut it's not going over well. "Unfortunately, [the] devil doesn't win," laments Joseph Hudak for Rolling Stone, calling the song "as engaging as listening tonay, watchingtwo dudes play Guitar Hero." story continues below Hudak also describes Chad Kroeger and gang's efforts as "excessive noodling" and "bro-y chest-thumping," in addition to eye-rolling at the extra profanity Kroeger throws into the lyrics. Alicia Eler feels similarly about the song, though she goes to bat for the band in general, noting for NBC News that "Nickelback is everything we love and hate about ourselves." Still, that's not enough for her to give a thumbs-up to this song, though she does try to find a 2020-ish silver lining: At least, she writes, "it brought the haters together during a time when we need some sense of connection more than ever." Other reviews aren't quite so harsh. (Read more Nickelback stories.) Coronavirus stay-home orders have sparked an unprecedented demand for grocery delivery around the world. Now investors are clamoring to bet on promising players in the field. That includes DST Global, the investment firm helmed by Israeli-Russian billionaire Yuri Milner. Most recently, it poured $35 million into Weee!, a California-based startup that from its own warehouses delivers to major cities across the U.S. Asian groceries like fresh kimchi and Japanese desserts. The Series C round boosted the five-year-old startup's total raise since launch to more than $100 million. Weee! declined to share its post-money valuation, but the figure likely surpassed $500 million as industry sources told TechCrunch that DST Global does not generally back companies whose valuation is less than $500 million. Online grocery is a capital-intensive business with thin profit margins, so it's unsurprising to see many contenders -- in both China and the U.S. -- operating in the red. Against the odds, Weee! turned profitable earlier this year and went cash-flow positive. That means the startup was in no rush to fundraise, probably giving it more bargaining power in negotiating terms with a storied investor like DST Global, whose portfolio spans Spotify, Twitter, Airbnb, Slack, Didi and Gojek, just to name a few. Weee! certainly matches DST Global's investment target as a high-growth startup. In June, the company recorded 700% year-over-year growth in revenue and was on course to generate revenue in the lower hundreds of millions of dollars in 2020, it told TechCrunch at the time. Since the U.S. began winding down lockdowns and people returned to supermarkets, some grocery delivery services have seen their revenue growth slow. Weee!, however, is currently growing 15-20% more than its March peak. CEO Larry Liu explained the sustained boom stems from the service's product differentiation: Asian specialties that one can't even find in Chinatowns. "People don't want to pay extra if [an online grocery] only provides convenient delivery but no product differentiation," said Han Shen, founding partner of iFly.vc, a California-based fund that backed Weee! in its Series A round. Story continues In addition, Weee! tries to streamline every step of its operations, from product procurement, warehouse management, staff allocation, through to door-to-door delivery. The result is zero food waste thanks to fast inventory turnover. "There is no secret tactic that we can't talk about, nothing more than achieving efficiency throughout the entire process," Shen observed. In the meantime, Weee! works to keep prices down by cultivating direct relationships with suppliers like local farms and opting for next-day delivery rather than the more costly 30-minute standard expected in China, where he grew up. Earlier this year, former chief operations officer of Netflix Tom Dillon joined the board to help beef up Weee!'s operational efficiency. With the new proceeds, the Asian e-grocer hopes to hire new talents and expand its delivery service from eight key regions to 13-14 cities across the U.S. by the end of this year. Updated the story with comments from DST Global. Updated the story again to remove comments from DST Global which the firm confirmed were inaccurate. A homeless man who bludgeoned Courtney Herron to death with a branch has been found not guilty of murder because he has schizophrenia. Henry Hammond, 27, was charged with murder after the 25-year-old's disfigured body was found under a pile of branches at Melbourne's Royal Park in May 2019. Hammond was transferred to a mental facility last month after a court agreed he was unfit to stand trial. But on Monday Justice Phillip Priest recorded a not guilty verdict in Victoria's Supreme Court, as horrific details of the case were revealed for the first time. Courtney Herron, 25, was beaten to death with a branch in a park in May 2019 by a homeless man Hammond picked up a tree branch and Ms Herron (left) became scared, asking 'are you going to kill me?' Hammond (pictured) told police the young woman had buried his wife alive in a past life, and that he killed her in an act of revenge Ms Herron had treated Hammond to dinner that night at a restaurant in Fitzroy before they joined a group of her friends and smoked ice together. Friends took a video of their conversation because they were 'acting strangely'. The pair then headed to the park in the early hours of the morning. Hammond picked up a tree branch and Ms Herron became scared, asking 'are you going to kill me?'. He struck her in the face and beat her repeatedly for 50 minutes. Hammond (pictured) tied Ms Herron's legs together and dragged into a clearing and covered with branches Ms Herron had treated Hammond to dinner that night at a restaurant in Fitzroy before they joined a group of her friends and smoked ice together Ms Herron's legs were then tied together and she was dragged into a clearing and covered with branches. Pictured: A map showing where Ms Herron was killed A man sleeping nearby heard screams followed by hitting sounds and described Hammond as going 'hell for leather' for almost an hour. Ms Herron's legs were then tied together and she was dragged into a clearing and covered with branches, giving her what he described to police as a 'symbolic burial'. Hammond later told police the young woman had buried his wife alive in a past life, and that he killed her in an act of revenge, the ABC reported. Two psychologists told Victoria's Supreme Court that Hammond was schizophrenic and didn't know what he was doing, or that it was wrong. Two psychologists told Victoria's Supreme Court that Hammond (right) was schizophrenic and didn't know what he was doing, or that it was wrong Mourners are seen laying flowers at a makeshift mural for Courtney Herron whose body was found in Royal Park, Melbourne, Sunday, May 26 Those close to Ms Herron believe Hammond is feigning his mental illness, but Dr Ranji Darjee said Hammond had symptoms including spiritual and religious delusions and grandiose beliefs dating back to 2017. Hammond believed Ms Herron was a spirit connected to a past life who was there to hurt him, and that she would be reincarnated. 'I think he truly felt that he was under threat and if he didn't do what he did then he was going to come to very serious or fatal harm,' Dr Darjee said, adding that it would be 'virtually impossible' for him to fake schizophrenia. He also said drugs Hammond had used that day may have worsened or exacerbated his mental state. Justice Phillip Priest ordered Hammond remain in custody until the matter returns to court in September. Hammond believed Ms Herron was a spirit connected to a past life who was there to hurt him, and that she would be reincarnated Pictured: Forensic investigators at the scene of the crime For Immediate Release Chicago, IL August 17, 2020 Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses Solar, including Enphase Energy, Inc. ENPH, SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. SEDG and First Solar, Inc. FSLR. Link: https://www.zacks.com/commentary/1041814/solar-stock-prospects-hurt-by-coronavirus-led-project-delays The Zacks Solar industry can be fundamentally segregated into two sets of companies. While one group is involved in the designing and production of high-efficiency solar modules, panels and cells, the other set is engaged in installation of grids and, in some cases, entire solar power systems. The industry also includes a handful of companies that manufacture inverters for solar power systems, which convert solar power from modules into electricity required by electric grids. Per a report by Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), solar accounted for 40% of all new electric generating capacity added to the grid in the United States in 2019. This was more than any other energy source and the highest in the industry's history. Here are the three major industry themes: No doubt, the novel coronavirus outbreak is hurting all sectors across the board, and the U.S. solar industry is no exception. Per the latest report by SEIA, the coronavirus pandemic has caused more than 72,000 solar workers to lose their jobs since February 2020. Notably, the impact of job losses and work stoppages has been acute in the U.S. distributed generation sector, which includes residential and commercial projects. This clouds the growth prospects of the U.S. solar industry. Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables forecasts that distributed solar will experience a 31% decline in 2020. Although Q1 installation data was impressive in the United States, the near-term forecasts are not so bright. SEIA projects a 25% decline in 2020 U.S. solar residential volumes from 2019, which is also down significantly from its pre-Covid-19 forecast. On the other hand, coronavirus impacts will also weigh on the non-residential solar market. Accordingly, the near-term impact of the coronavirus pandemic on non-residential solar is expected to cause significant project delays in 2020, resulting in a 38% decline from 2019 volumes. Delayed projects will spill into 2021, leading to a 49% increase over 2020 but still well below both 2019 and pre-Covid-19 forecast levels. Such an unimpressive projection might spook investors. Rapidly increasing corporate investments in solar energy have been boosting the U.S. solar market. From rooftop systems for local hardware stores to solar parking canopies supporting corporate headquarters to large solar installations powering data centers, solar installations are as diverse and varied as the companies offering them. Falling prices, and flexible financing and procurement options have led to rapid growth in off-site corporate solar adoption, which made up for more than a third of all commercial solar activity in 2018. Although the current pandemic-led crisis situation has brought solar installation activities to a temporary halt, soaring demand for carbon-free power is here to stay. So, once the COVID-19 risk subsides, we expect to see a gradual recovery in the industry trends, which will once again attract substantial corporate investments. Story continues Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Dim Prospects The Zacks Solar industry is housed within the broader Zacks Oils-Energy sector. It currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #194, which places it in the bottom 23% of more than 250 Zacks industries. The groups Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates bleak near-term prospects. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. The industrys position in the bottom 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries is due to a negative earnings outlook for the constituent companies in aggregate. Looking at the aggregate earnings estimate revisions, it appears that analysts have lost confidence in this groups earnings growth potential in recent times. Evidently, the industrys earnings estimates for the current fiscal year have gone down by a huge 70% since Mar 31. Before we present a few solar stocks that you may want to consider for your portfolio, lets take a look at the industrys recent stock-market performance and valuation picture. Industry Outperforms S&P 500 and Sector The solar industry has outperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite and its own sector over the past year. The stocks in this industry have collectively gained 89.2%, while the Oils-Energy Sector has lost 26.4%. The Zacks S&P 500 composite has moved up 18.8% in the same time frame. Industrys Current Valuation On the basis of trailing 12-month EV/EBITDA, which is commonly used for valuing solar stocks, the industry is currently trading at 32.61X compared with the S&P 500s 12.75X and the sectors 4.78X. Over the last five years, the industry has traded as high as 32.84X, as low as 3.62X, and at the median of 8.22X. Bottom Line One cannot deny the fact that the coronavirus pandemic has hit the industry hard and will continue to affect solar stocks in the near term. Nevertheless, factors like plummeting prices of solar modules and panels, increase in the number of states that have made it mandatory to adopt 100% clean energy in the next few years, and a significant spike in corporate investments are expected to keep the solar industry buoyant. Even amid such uncertainties, the U.S. solar industry has managed to outperform its sector and the broader market over the past year. Here, we are presenting three solar stocks with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) that investors may want to retain in their portfolio. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Enphase Energy: For this solar microinverter manufacturer, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for the current year indicates a solid year-over-year improvement of 42.4%. Its 2020 earnings estimate has moved up 14.5% in the past 30 days. SolarEdge Technologies: For this solar inverter developer, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 sales indicates year-over-year improvement of 5%. It came up with an average earnings surprise of 5.77% in the trailing four quarters. First Solar: For this solar panels manufacturer, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 earnings indicates a year-over-year improvement of 95.7%. It came up with an average earnings surprise of 48.8% in the trailing four quarters. Today's Best Stocks from Zacks Would you like to see the updated picks from our best market-beating strategies? From 2017 through Q2 2020, while the S&P 500 gained an impressive +44.0%, five of our strategies returned +50.9%, +93.8%, +122.2%, +153.0%, and even +156.8%. This outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon. From 2000 Q2 2020, while the S&P averaged +5.5% per year, our top strategies averaged up to +51.7% per year. See their latest picks free >> Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates. Media Contact Zacks Investment Research 800-767-3771 ext. 9339 support@zacks.com https://www.zacks.com Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report First Solar, Inc. (FSLR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) : Free Stock Analysis Report SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (SEDG) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Then-president-elect Donald Trump (R) hugs his brother Robert Trump after delivering his acceptance speech at the New York Hilton Midtown in New York City in the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2016. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Trump on Death of Brother: He Was His Best Friend, Losing Him Is Not Easy President Donald Trump on Aug. 17 spoke about his brother, Robert, who died on Aug. 15, saying it wont be an easy loss. Its not [been] a great weekend, Trump told Fox News. He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy. He was Trumps best friend, and losing him is going to be quite hard, the president said. The White House confirmed over the weekend that Robert Trump died at age 71. It isnt clear what his cause of death was. He was always there and he wasnt a jealous person, Trump said. He was a very smart guy. He would be there and hed be behind me. When I became president, he was one of the most loyal people. There was no jealousy, Trump said. You know, in a lot of familiesI hate to say itbut theres jealousy and competition. He was my biggest fan, he said, adding that people would tell him that Robert was so thrilled about what was happening for the country after Donald Trump was elected. He was so angry with China because of what happened where the plague came in, and they shouldnt have allowed it to happen. They could have stopped it. Robert Trump (L) with Donald Trump at an event in New York on Nov. 3, 1999. (Diane Bonadreff/AP Photo) President Donald Trump arrives at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center to visit his sick brother Robert Trump in New York on Aug. 14, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) Trump was referring to the pandemic caused by the CCP virus, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The president visited his brother at a Manhattan hospital on Aug. 14. Beforehand, he disclosed his brother was in bad shape but didnt say what the cause was. It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight, he said in a statement. He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace. Robert Trump had previously retired to upstate New York where he was a noted philanthropist, serving as a trustee for the Angels of Light, a nonprofit organization that provides holiday gifts to children with life-threatening illnesses. Before that, Robert Trump told the New York Post that he supported his brothers campaign 1,000 percent in 2016. Fred Trump Jr., the presidents older brother and Mary Trumps father, died in the early 1980s at the age of 43 after battling alcoholism for years. The early death had an impact on Trump, who said he never drinks because of it. He has two sisters, Elizabeth Trump Grau, who is a retired executive from Chase Manhattan Bank, and Maryanne Trump Barry, who is a retired federal judge. The Kano State Police Command says it has arrested a housewife (name withheld), for allegedly incarcerating her stepson for 15-years. The Spokesman of the Command, Abdullahi Haruna, a deputy superintendent of police, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Monday in Kano. Mr Haruna said the woman was arrested after the police rescued the 40-year-old victim, Ibrahim Lawan, confined by her husband (name withheld), who is now at large. He disclosed that the command on August16, at about 11:00 a.m. received a report that one Ibrahim Lawan of Sheka Quarters in Kumbotso Local Government Area (LGA) of the state was illegally confined for 15-years by his father. The spokesman added that the victim was confined in a dilapidated room inside the suspects house without proper feeding and healthcare. The Commands Medical Team as well as Team of Operation PUFF-ADDER led by SP Magaji Musa, immediately swung into action. The victim was rescued and referred to Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital Kano (AKTH) for treatment. Efforts are in progress to arrest the father of the victim who is currently at large He said the Commissioner of Police, Habu Ahmad, has ordered the case to be transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID) for discreet investigations. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Command had on August 13, rescued a 30-year-old man, Ahmed Aminu, confined in a car garage for seven years by his father (name withheld), at Farawa quarters in Kumbotso LGA. (NAN) (Newser) Alexander Lukashenko might have Vladimir Putin on his sidebut he has lost the support of workers at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant. The embattled president of Belarus was heckled and booed as he spoke to workers at the plant Monday, Sky News reports. Lukashenko, who is facing mass protests and the biggest challenge yet to his 26-year rule, vowed that there would be no rerun of the disputed Aug. 9 election. "We held the election. Until you kill me, there will be no other election," he told workers. He said he was willing to consider a referendum on constitutional reforms, "but not under pressure and not via street protests." Workers at the state-run plant were reportedly told they would lose their jobs if they didn't attend the Lukashenko rally. story continues below After a harsh crackdown on protests and around 7,000 arrests, the Belarusian people "are outraged by the brutality of their security forces ... so much so that even Mr. Lukashenko's traditional base, including the state factory workers, are deserting him," the BBC notes. Protesters and striking workers across the country are calling for Lukashenko to step down and be replaced by opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who fled the country days after the election. Official election results said she received just 10% of the vote, but she says the real total was as much as 70%. "We don't want any new constitutions or referendums. We want Lukashenko's resignation," says factory worker Dmitry Averkin, 45. "The faster he steps down, the sooner the country comes back to normal life. (Read more Belarus stories.) The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment on Tuesday on a plea that all contributions made to the PM CARES Fund till date should be transferred to the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), a statutory fund created under section 46 of the Disaster Management Act of 2005 (DM Act). The verdict, which will be pronounced by a three-judge bench headed by justice Ashok Bhushan, will also decide whether the PM Cares Fund violates the legal provisions contained in the DM Act. The petitioner NGO, Centre for Public Interest Litigation (CPIL) had claimed that PM CARES Fund was set up in violation of the legal mandate under the DM Act as per which any grant made by any person or institution for the purpose of disaster management should be compulsorily credited to NDRF. The PM Cares Fund was set up by the central government on March 28 as a public charitable trust with the primary objective of dealing with any kind of emergency or distress situation such as that posed by Covid-19 pandemic. Even though there is a provision for NDRF under Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, the central government has come up with a PM CARES Fund. All the contributions being made by individuals and institutions in relation to Covid-19 crisis are being credited into the PM CARES Fund and not to the NDRF, in clear violation of Section 46 of the DM Act, the petitioner submitted. The central government had rebutted this argument stating in its affidavit before the top court on July 8 that the PM CARES is a fund established to carry out relief work and there are several such funds established on similar lines in the past. Mere existence of a statutory fund (NDRF) would not prohibit creation of a different fund like PM CARES Fund which provides for voluntary donations, the affidavit said. During the hearing before the apex court, the central government through solicitor general Tushar Mehta, had defended the PM Cares fund saying that it was not intended to circumvent the NDRF as alleged by the petitioners. Whatever amount that has to go to NDRF under the law will go (to NDRF). PM Cares is a public charitable trust. If private individuals want to donate, they can do so. There are several public charitable trusts getting donations, Mehta argued. The petitioner through their counsel, senior advocate Dushyant Dave had pointed out that PM Cares was not being audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) but by private auditors. This government believes in transparency. Why should private auditors audit it (PM Cares)? NDRF under the DM Act is audited by CAG, Dave had said. The bench, which also comprised justices R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah, had reserved its judgment in the case on July 27. Another petition against the PM CARES Fund filed by Rajasthan government in June, is also pending before the Supreme Court. The Rajasthan government has challenged exclusion of contributions made towards Chief Ministers Relief Fund (CMRF) meant for Covid-19 mitigation from the purview of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities while allowing contributions made to PM CARES Fund as CSR, stating that it is irrational and violates Article 14. That petition will be heard separately. The Companies Act of 2013 mandates that corporates having net worth of at least Rs. 500 crore or turnover of Rs. 1,000 crore or more or a net profit of at least Rs. 5 crore during the immediately preceding financial year have to spend at least 2 per cent of their profits towards activities listed as CSR activities under schedule VII of the Act. To allow the PM CARES Fund for Covid-19 as CSR but to exclude the CMRF for the very same purposes is creating a distinction without a difference. This is gross infraction of Art. 14 of Constitution of India, the Rajasthan government had told the apex court. This argument was also raised by senior counsel Kapil Sibal, who was appearing for an intervener, in the CPIL petition. Sibal had pointed out that contributions made towards PM Cares come within the purview of CSR and corporates would, therefore, prefer making donations to PM Cares. There are CSR benefits attached to this fund. Why will any person contribute to NDRF when they get so much relief under PM Cares? Sibal had asked. A Level and GCSE students hold a protest at the Education AuthorityOs office buildings on Academy Street in Belfast City Centre. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye AS and A-level pupils in Northern Ireland will receive their teacher-assessed grade or CCEA-awarded grade, whichever is higher, Education Minister Peter Weir has announced. Mr Weir announced the dramatic U-turn - the second in less than 12 hours - at a Stormont press conference on Monday afternoon. The major policy shift comes amid a raging controversy about the computer-generated standardisation system used to allocate grades. More than a third of students' grades were lowered from those given by teachers. Mr Weir said CCEA is working to release the revised results to students as soon as possible. Concerns remain over the impact of changes to the qualifications system throughout the United Kingdom and any potential solution offered has its flaws," he said. However, my prime concern is to ensure that young people in Northern Ireland are in no way disadvantaged in comparison to their peers elsewhere. Portability and comparability of qualifications is critical for students, particularly in Northern Ireland. Whilst standardisation is normally an important feature of awarding qualifications, these are truly unique circumstances and this approach is now being adopted across the UK. This is why I have taken this decision today." Read More Meanwhile, there have been 39 new cases of Covid-19 in Northern Ireland confirmed by the Department of Health. No further deaths have been reported and the death toll remains at 558. In the past 24 hours 3,340 tests have been carried out on 2,425 people bringing the total number of confirmed cases in Northern Ireland to 6,430. There have been 302 new cases of the virus recorded in the last seven days, with 73 of these in the Mid and East Antrim council area and 71 in Belfast. As of Monday there are currently two Covid-19 inpatients in Northern Ireland's hospitals with none in intensive care units. A total of 1,520 people have been discharged from hospital after recovering from the virus. In Northern Ireland's care homes there are currently four active outbreaks of Covid-19. Read More Follow our live updates below: A man tried to break into an ambulance while paramedics were treating an elderly patient. Paramedics had been called to help a pensioner who had fallen after a fit in Blackpool, Lancashire. While they were tending to the elderly lady CCTV captured a man trying to break into the side of the ambulance. While paramedics are treating a pensioner who fell during a fit a man opens the driver-seat's door Paramedics notice him and burst out the back doors, running after the man they think is trying to steal something from the ambulance The footage shows him appearing to check nobody is around, and opening the driver's side door. Suddenly the back door of the ambulance bursts open and two paramedics run to apprehend the man. A struggle breaks out as the two paramedics try to wrestle him from the door. They eventually manage to pin the man to the down, restraining him as as a stunned family walks past. A spokeswoman for Lancashire Police said: 'A 51-year-old man from Blackpool was arrested on suspicion of theft and possession of a class B or C drug.' 'He was released under investigation pending further enquiries.' He struggles but the paramedics manage to get him to the floor and he is arrested on suspicion of theft and possession of a class B or C drug Adding to this a spokeswoman for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) on Friday said: 'We were called to an incident on Dickson Road, Blackpool on 12 August at 15:02 to reports of a male who had fallen ill.' 'Whilst caring for the patient in the back of the ambulance, a male attempted to gain entry into the cab.' 'With help from members of the public the male was apprehended, the police were notified and the male was arrested.' 'The patient was taken to hospital with no further injuries and we are doing everything we can to support our crew and assist the police in their investigation.' The situation could become more acute as millions of migrants who had returned to their villages during the lockdown come back to the towns for higher wages and better livelihoods. As the economy stares at a recession in 2020-21, job creation will be a big challenge in urban India where the unemployment rate in early August, though better than the previous months, is still higher than rural India. The situation could become more acute as millions of migrants who had returned to their villages during the lockdown come back to the towns for higher wages and better livelihoods. This has spurred some thinking within government on offering some sort of urban livelihood scheme to create jobs. This crisis has highlighted the issue of migrant workers in urban areas. "Something is in the works, and it is being done by the relevant ministries. economic affairs secretary Tarun Bajaj said in a recent interview to Business Standard. But this is not a new territory for the government. In 2014, the government launched the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) - to provide gainful self-employment to the urban poor and other essential services. According to a Parliament reply, between 2014-15 and October 31, 2019, over 460,000 Self-Help Groups (SHGs) have been formed under the scheme, and 461,994 beneficiaries have been assisted for setting up individual or group micro-enterprises for self-employment. Available documents stated that the mission had tied up with leading e-commerce platforms and others to provide market access to the products produced by the SHGs and other urban poor in association with states. Critics agreed that though the programme has made some progress, but it hasnt met a lot of their expectations. The urban poor is highly dynamic and enterprising. The scheme has managed to create lot of SHGs in the urban areas and they are making good products, but the question is how many of these products have found strong and viable markets in urban areas itself, said Arbind Singh, national co-coordinator, National Association of Street Vendors of India. But, one component of the scheme that has done well is in monitoring the progress of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act 2014 - and its various provisions. Earlier, NULM street vendors were not part of municipal records, but now most states have records of street vendors. "Over 500,000 have been issued proper identity cards, 2,400 cities have completed survey, Singh said. The real challenge for any new scheme, says Singh, is to protect migrant labour and the self-employed from exploitation and extortion, which most scheme have not been able to address so far. This is where an urban employment guarantee programme on the lines of the 15-year-old rural employment programme could work. Himachal Pradesh has notified such an Act, called the Mukhya Mantri Shahri Ajeevika Guarantee Yojana, that seeks to provide 120 days of guaranteed wage employment to every household in urban areas. Odishas initiative, called the Urban Wage Employment Initiative, is an employment scheme with an initial allocation of Rs 100 crore for six months starting from April 2020. In both programmes, the urban local bodies will identify projects, enrol job seekers and ensure timely payment of wages, monitoring of works etc. Jharkhand is also working on one such scheme. I feel that a programme that guarantees minimum days of job is a better option but it should be demand-driven, not supply-driven, and should have a legal backing, said Debmalya Nandy, an activist with MGNREGA Sangharsh Morcha. Another option, which some are talking about, is a Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan (GKRA) campaign for the urban poor by converging existing schemes. Since its launch in June, Rs 16,000 crore has been spent through GKRA on providing jobs of about 200 million mandays out of Rs 500 billion estimated. MINSK, Belarus In an age of ascendant strongman leaders, President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus is suddenly looking surprisingly weak. As protests against his rule have grown and intensified over the last week, the man known as Europes last dictator turned in desperation on Monday to the once reliably loyal workers at a tractor factory. But instead of being showered with their support, he was shouted down with chants of Go away! Go away! Until he claimed a landslide victory on Aug. 9 in a fraud-tainted election, few leaders appeared stronger and more secure than Mr. Lukashenko, a former state farm director who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, backed by an expansive, brutal and unwaveringly loyal security apparatus. Now, in scenes recalling the popular uprising that came out of nowhere to topple Romanias seemingly invincible dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in 1989, the Belarus capital of Minsk, long known for its cowed calm and order, has shed decades of fear and raised its voice with a simple, insistent demand: The dictator must go. Volunteers and children pose for a photo during an activity of caring for children in summer vacation in Qianjiang City, Central China's Hubei Province, on August 4. [Qianjiang Women's Federation] An activity of caring for children in summer vacation was held in a community's children's home in Qianjiang City, Central China's Hubei Province, on August 4. "Boys and girls, let's get started!" said volunteer Yang Juan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Qianjiang Association of Women Entrepreneurs, before giving instructions to more than 30 children. "Do you know how many parts our eyes have?" Yang asked, prompting many of the children to touch their eyes in response. Yang then showed the class a diagram of eyeball structure and used interactive games to make the children aware of nearsightedness and how to prevent myopia. "I was an English teacher at first, and later started my own business," said Yang. Yang and members of the association of women entrepreneurs have participated in such activities in summer vacations for six years in succession. Wu Junxia, a member of the legal lecturers' team of the Qianjiang Municipal People's Procuratorate, gave a question and answer session on legal knowledge to the children. She rewarded students who gave right answers with gifts. "Patience is required to popularize legal knowledge among children. I hope every child can get involved," said Wu. Many volunteers like Yang and Wu have been engaged in such activities for children in the summer vacation. Launched by the All-China Women's Federation, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Ministry of Education and eight other organs and people's organizations, the campaign of caring for children in summer vacation started in Beijing on July 16. Relevant organs and organizations in Hubei Province took swift action to organize nearly 100 activities, including parent-child reading events and psychological guidance sessions. As part of the campaign, Qianjiang Women's Federation, cooperating with hospitals, volunteers' association and social organizations, recruited 50 volunteers to hold activities for more than 300 left-behind children in rural areas in 12 townships and towns. "To ensure children to have a safe and happy childhood and enhance the well-being of the rural left-behind children, we have organized diversified activities for them, including safety and self-protection knowledge lessons, anti-COVID-19 story sharing sessions and schoolwork tutoring," said a cadre of the Hubei Women's Federation. Yang Juan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Qianjiang Association of Women Entrepreneurs, teaches children how to prevent myopia during the activity for children held in a community's children's home in Qianjiang City, Central China's Hubei Province, on August 4. [Qianjiang Women's Federation] Wu Junxia, a prosecutor from the Qianjiang People's Procuratorate, asks a girl a question about legal knowledge during the activity for children held in a community's children's home in Qianjiang City, Central China's Hubei Province, on August 4. [Qianjiang Women's Federation] Female volunteers guide a group of children to draw pictures during an activity for children in summer vacation in Central China's Hubei Province. [Qianjiang Women's Federation] (Source: People's Daily/Translated and edited by Women of China) Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 18:04:59|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Ibrahim Kidysh (R) takes care of his son Mazen, who suffers from hydrocephalus and acute malnutrition, in Abs District in Hajjah province, Yemen, Aug. 14, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed ALwafi/Xinhua) HAJJAH, Yemen, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- In a camp for the displaced by war in Yemen's northwestern province of Hajjah, the father of Mazen faced a painful choice. Should the use the little money from selling his small land to treat Mazen who had fallen seriously ill and save his life or to buy food and save the lives of his 10-member family? Six-year-old Mazen suffers from hydrocephalus and acute malnutrition as his stick-like legs are so wasting away that he could not walk any more. Lying on a wooden bed in his family's hut in the Bani Hassan area of Abs district, Mazen keeps staring down at the sandy floor as if his swollen eyes could dig a hole for him to escape from the severe pain. "In early 2015, just a few weeks after the war erupted, I took him to hospitals in the neighboring province of Hodeidah and then we travelled to the capital Sanaa, where a hospital charged me 13,000 U.S. dollars for treating my son," Ibrahim Kidysh, father of Mazen, told Xinhua. "I do not have this large amount of money, so I went back with my son to our village to sell my agricultural land to try to make up the money... but the price was very low," he said. Not far away from the hut of the family of Mazen, a small hospital provides some health services for the displaced and the residents of the villages. "The fluid in the skull of Mazen is increasing night and day and he urgently needs life-saving surgery, which is not available here," Mohammed Saif, a doctor, told Xinhua. Part of the northern areas of Hajjah Province, including the district of Abs, is under control of the government forces, while the Houthi rebels control much of the province. Yemen has been wrecked in civil war since late 2014, when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of much of the country's north and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. The war, which has lasted more than five years, has killed tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, and displaced more than 3 million others. The 10-member family of Mazen is merely one of the 1,200 displaced ones living in dire conditions in the northern part of Hajjah Province, according to local authorities in Abs. Conflict has caused the collapse of Yemen's health and agricultural system, triggering what the United Nations describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The UN aid agencies estimate that more than 20 million Yemeni people are just a step away from starvation and nearly 80 percent of the population completely rely on international humanitarian aid for survival. In July, UNICEF warned that the number of malnourished children in Yemen could rise to 2.4 million by the end of this year with a shortfall in humanitarian funding. "We had lived safely in our home in Haradh district, but our life changed a few months after the arrival of the violent battles ... We left everything behind and ran for our lives," the father of Mazen lamented. The mother said her son's disease emerged five years ago when he got an acute fever and they could not rush him to the hospital because of the raging battles around the village between the government forces and the Houthis. "Since then I have noticed that the size of his head is increasing abnormally and his health is deteriorating," she told Xinhua. Enditem (1) Heightened activities of insurgents and other related terrorists otherwise characterized by the Buhari Regime as bandits as well as continuous attempts at suppressing opposing views through the State Security Service is aconfirmation not only of the unworkability of a Unitarist/Centralist securityarchitecture in a Multi-National /Multi-Cultural society, but also the essence of the NigerianPost-Colonial State as the negation of the sovereignty and individuality of EthnicNationalities within the country. (2) Notwithstanding the pretentious declarations of this regime and previous ones of commitment to democracy, security and liberty of the various Peoples that make up Nigeria, the abiding reality has always been the relentless subversion of the democratic right to Self-Determination of the various Nationalities in this Prison House of Nations by the Post-Colonial State. (3) This Nigerian Post-Colonial State, Legitimizing itself by a fraudulent Constitution since 1979, wrapped around the fallacy of its being the product of the Peoples of Nigeria, having created an electoral system based on false Census figures, became the playground for Hegemonic power politics, utilizing a sustained withering away of the National Existentialism of the Peoples of Nigeria; the continuous corruption of their social values and the brazenness of enforcing a dominant Hegemony on all the Peoples of Nigeria achieved, first by military adventurism, and now through their periodic electoral cycles. (4) Their modus operandi is based on turning up the heat in the security situation in the run-up to any Presidential elections, usually engineered by the ruling political party in order to create, for itself, a conducive atmosphere for retaining power by which the various social formations and socio-cultural groups outside of the political parties are sucked in, each under the assumption of pursuing fundamental transformation of the Nigerian Post-Colonial State but always ending up as pawns in Hegemonic power politics. (5) The electoral history since 1999 bears testimony; from the disorganized retreat of the military in 1999 enabling the electoral manifestation of the country in its pre-1966 reality; with dominant political parties roughly corresponding to the Regional dominance of the AD in the West mirroring the AG and the PDP following on the footsteps of the NPC/NCNC Alliance in the rest of the country; crossing over to the post-1966 reality of creating a Supra-National State where all Ethno-National centers of power are neutralized and replaced by an emerging and dominant Hegemony, achieved partly through the creation of alternative and/or new power bases through the instrumentality of presidential patronage, based on a vision of Nigeria crafted by the colonially-inspired military and security forces. (6) Its political economy is driven by continuous centralization of political power through dependence on the center, now evidenced by making the State Houses of Assembly dependent on the center for their funding, just as the State governments are dependent on allocations from the center; the continuous attempts at centralizing control of water resources; now leading to the attempt by the north to disrupt the rotation of Hegemonic power by making its own allies the superintending political power all over the country including the utilization of its near-absolute control of the security apparatus in order to ensure its permanent political dominance. (7) Within this matrix, the socio-cultural and civil society groups were and are active participants in all previous efforts at addressing the Hegemonic power plays; evidenced by their active opposition to the malfeasance of the Post-Colonial State as we experienced with Afenifere, then led by the late Abraham Adesanya and all of the Oodua Self-Determination Organizations being the main platforms for the anti-military, anti-Abacha struggles in Yorubaland between 1994 and 1999; to the emergence of the coalition to ensure the follow-through of even the defective 1999 Constitutional order by sundry formations including the Save Nigeria Group upon the demise of President Umar Yar Adua, towards ensuring Goodluck Jonathans ascension to the Presidency all the way to interventions of various civil society organizations in the protests that eventually led to the collapse of the Jonathan Regime and the coming to power of the Buhari Regime. (8) Their involvement in all previous efforts at negotiating a new Nigeria always end at the conclusion of such negotiations. These negotiations, through public debates or public sittings - IMF debates, Political Bureau, Niki Tobi's Constitutional review, Abubakar's consultations, Obasanjos All-Parties Technical Review Committee, Jonathans Conference, various National Assembly Retreats on the Constitution, ended up in the dustbin of history. (9) In none of these instances were the aims and objectives of the civil society organizations situated within the context of the National Question, but on having high expectations of the Nigerian Post-Colonial State to exhibit a character it was not designed for, hence becoming vehicles for the sustenance of the State, normalizing the political parties route to political power thereby effectively turning Nigeria into a ping-pong game between only two rival political parties and whose apparatchiks change roles between and within the parties at will, mandating a necessary review of previous praxis, otherwise, the situation will be akin to doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. (10) It is a proven reality that the Nigerian Post-Colonial State is the anti-thesis to Peoples Sovereignty and therefore cannot and should not be expected to resolve any issues we are confronted with, security inclusive; our political and moral high ground derives from of our being excluded from the creation of the Nigerias Grundnorm, while claiming our acquiescence. We, the People did not make the Nigerian Constitution under which the Nigerian Post-Colonial State legitimizes itself. (11) It is within the above context that the Yoruba Referendum Committee is proposing a change of direction to all the Nationalities in Nigeria by reviewing our pathways towards regaining our Sovereignty, which is the antidote to any security challenges that may arise. It is therefore incumbent on all the Peoples and Nationalities in Nigeria to embark on their own Constitution making processes, preferably via their own Referendums, as the way to re-establish their Sovereignties. - Norgine will now seek to extend ANGUSTA()'s licence to a number of European countries - ANGUSTA()'s licence extension for these countries will be subject to national approvals AMSTERDAM, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Norgine B.V. (Norgine) today announced the successful completion of the Repeat Use Procedure (RUP) for ANGUSTA() in a number of European countries including Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal and the UK. The procedure has been concluded by the Danish Regulatory Authority, the Reference Member State for the assessment. ANGUSTA() was approved in a number of countries in Europe including the Nordics, France and 10 other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries in 2017. ANGUSTA() is currently the only approved oral treatment for the induction of labour in France, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Finland and Sweden.([1]) There are a number of circumstances where the considered risk to foetal or maternal health outweighs the wait for spontaneous labour and in such cases, labour may be induced. ANGUSTA() will offer an oral treatment choice for the induction of labour in addition to vaginally administered options.([1],)([2]) Alastair Benbow, Chief Development and Medical Officer of Norgine, commented: "Norgine is proud to be offering women and healthcare professionals an oral treatment when induction of labour is required. Norgine would like to make ANGUSTA() available more widely in the future." Misoprostol, the active substance in ANGUSTA(), is a synthetic analogue of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), a naturally occurring compound.([1] )Physiologically, misoprostol has been shown to increase mammalian collagenase activity, causing cervical ripening and uterine contractions.([1]) Norgine incorporated ANGUSTA()( )into its portfolio following the recent acquisition of Azanta, which has strengthened Norgine's position as a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company. Follow us @norgine. Notes to Editors: About ANGUSTA() (misoprostol) ANGUSTA() (misoprostol) is indicated for the induction of labour. It is administered after careful assessment of the uterine cervix.([1]) Misoprostol is a synthetic analogue of prostaglandin E1 (PGE1), a naturally occurring compound. Prostaglandins of the F and E series have been shown to increase mammalian collagenase activity and to cause cervical ripening and uterine contraction.([1]) ANGUSTA() is taken orally with a glass of water and the recommended dosing regimen is either 25 micrograms every two hours or 50 micrograms orally every four hours according to hospital practice. The maximum dose is 200 micrograms over a period of 24 hours.([1]) ANGUSTA() is administered by trained obstetric personnel in a hospital setting where facilities for continuous foetal and uterine monitoring are available.([1]) ANGUSTA() can cause excessive uterine stimulation and if this continues, dosing is stopped and treatment according to local guidelines commenced.([1]) ANGUSTA() is a product recently acquired by Norgine Pharmaceuticals and has been licensed in the Nordics, France and 10 other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries since 2017. About induction of labour Induction of labour is defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the process of artificially stimulating the uterus to start labour. There are a number of methods to achieve this and may include pharmacological treatment such as administering prostaglandins or oxytocin or by manually rupturing the amniotic membranes.([2]) There are a number of circumstances where the considered risk to foetal or maternal health outweigh the wait for spontaneous labour. These may include gestational age of 41 completed weeks or more, pre-labour rupture of amniotic membranes, hypertensive disorders, maternal medical complications and fetal death among others. Each case is considered on its own merit.([2]) Induction of labour, may cause discomfort due to the procedure itself and due to the woman's restricted mobility. To avoid any potential risks, the woman and her baby should be monitored closely.([2]) About Norgine Norgine is a leading European specialist pharmaceutical company that has been bringing transformative medicines to patients for over a century. Our commitment to transforming people's lives drives everything we do and our European experience, fully integrated infrastructure and exceptional partnership approach enables us to quickly apply creative solutions to bring life-changing medicines to patients that they may not otherwise be able to access. Norgine is proud to have helped 22 million patients around the world in 2019 and generated more than EUR419 million in net product sales, a growth of 6% over 2018. Norgine has a direct presence in 12 European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand. We also have a strong global network of partnerships in non-Norgine markets. We are a flexible and fully integrated pharmaceutical business, with manufacturing (Hengoed, Wales and Dreux, France), third party supply networks and significant product development capabilities, in addition to our sales and marketing infrastructure. This enables us to acquire, develop and commercialise specialist and innovative products that make a real difference to the lives of patients around the world. In 2012, Norgine established Norgine Ventures, a complementary business which supports innovative healthcare companies through the provision of debt-like financing in Europe and the US. For more information, please visit www.norgineventures.com [http://www.norgineventures.com/]. References (1.) ANGUSTA( )Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC). Available at: https://mri.cts-mrp.eu/Human/Downloads/DK_H_2584_001_FinalSP... [https://mri.cts-mrp.eu/Human/Downloads/DK_H_2584_001_FinalSP...]. Accessed August 2020.(2.) WHO Recommendations for Induction of Labour 2011, WHO Press, World Health. GL--WH-PR-2000002, Date of preparation August 2020 Logo -- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/597589/Norgine_Logo.jpg [https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/597589/Norgine_Logo.jpg] CONTACT: For further information please contact: Clara Bentham: +44(0)1895 826654, 17 Ago. (0) - 7734 367883; Eleni Fistikaki: +44 (0)1895826227, +44(0)7825 389477, contact@norgine.com. Web site: https://www.norgine.com/ vmargineanu/iStocBy IVAN PEREIRA and BILL HUTCHINSON, ABC News (DETROIT) -- A man suspected of gunning down four people, including his ex-girlfriend, in a Michigan home has surrendered to authorities, according to police. Sumpter Township police officials announced in a Facebook post that Raymond Lee Bailey, 37, was in custody after he went to the Bay County, Michigan, Sheriff's Office around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday and turned himself in. Bailey had been the subject of a massive statewide manhunt launched after two men and two women were found dead from gunshot wounds on Saturday in a house in Sumpter Township, a Wayne County suburb of Detroit. Police officers went to a house on Sunday after getting to a call about a possible homicide, officials said in a statement. The officers entered the home and discovered a grisly crime scene with four victims, all in their 30s, shot dead, according to the statement. Detectives said Bailey, 37, of Sumpter Township, was an ex-boyfriend of one of the female victims and was identified as a suspect in the quadruple homicide. Bailey, according to police, allegedly contacted several people and confessed to committing the slayings. "Detectives were made aware that he had allegedly confessed to the killings to several people via telephone and texts," police said in a statement. Bailey allegedly fled north and police initially believed he was heading to Michigan's Upper Peninsula region, where he once lived. Police issued as a statewide bulletin for law enforcement agencies and the public to be on the lookout for Bailey. Bailey's vehicle was found abandoned on Saturday near Bay City, Michigan, roughly 120 miles north of Sumpter Township and near where he surrendered on Sunday night. Authorities are expected to transfer Bailey as soon as Monday back to Wayne County, where murder charges against him are pending. Police have not released the names of the victims. But relatives identified them as two sisters and two brothers in a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $14,000 pay for their funerals. Police have yet to comment on a possible motive for the slayings. But a message on the GoFundMe page reads, "if you are the victim of domestic abuse, know you are not alone. Find support in this generous community of friends and family, or contact the National Domestic Abuse Hotline 24/7." Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. ConsumerAffairs is not a government agency. Companies displayed may pay us to be Authorized or when you click a link, call a number or fill a form on our site. Our content is intended to be used for general information purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment based on your own personal circumstances and consult with your own investment, financial, tax and legal advisers. Company NMLS Identifier #2110672 Copyright 2021 Consumers Unified LLC. All Rights Reserved. The contents of this site may not be republished, reprinted, rewritten or recirculated without written permission. The next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government will institute a four-month maternity leave system for Ghanaian workers, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Vice Presidential Candidate of the NDC has said. The next National Democratic Congress (NDC) government will institute a four-month maternity leave system for Ghanaian workers, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Vice Presidential Candidate of the NDC has said. The move, she explained, is to provide enough time for working mothers to recover fully after childbirth and have enough time to take care of their new-borns, and organise themselves before returning to work. Giving four months of maternity leave to women is in order, the running mate stated. She said this while interacting with professional bodies and unions at Bolgatanga as part of her campaign tour of the Upper East region according to a statement signed by Mawuena Trebah, Spokesperson of the running mate and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra. Providing glimpses of the policy interventions in the soon-to-be launched NDC manifesto, she said the increase in the maternity leave period was in response to research based concerns which indicated that the three months provided to mothers was insufficient. Section 57(1) of Ghanas Labour Act 2003, Act 651 stipulates that A woman worker, on production of a medical certificate issued by a medical practitioner or a midwife indicating the expected date of her confinement, is entitled to a period of maternity leave of at least twelve weeks in addition to any period of annual leave she is entitled after her period of confinement". Although the labour law does not limit the leave period to 12 weeks (three months), the three-month period has become the general practice in Ghana. But taking into consideration the need for lactating mothers to return to work in good health to perform productively, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang, said the NDC would make it a mandatory four- month maternity leave period. Our manifesto is of a different nature this time, she said, adding that there were innovative policies that would enable the NDC government to build on its enviable achievements and do more for workers. She said the new policy programmes in the manifesto, designed to enable Ghanaians to achieve their aspirations, had incorporated the views of the various worker unions and professional groups, as a measure to ensure all-inclusive governance. We need to work together by listening to each other. We need to be non-discriminatory, we need to plan together, she said. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu police arrested five persons in connection with seizure of Rs 37 lakh in 2,000 rupee notes from their car on Friday night. The seizure was made during regular vehicle check at Gobichettipalayam-Modachur main road. Notes worth Rs 36.9 lakh, were found in a cloth bag in car and all the five persons in the vehicle were arrested, police said. Arrested persons have been identified as Sakthivel, Manoj, Suresh Senthilkumar and Sabari, told police that they were carrying the money to exchange with demonetised notes to some "affluent" persons for a good margin in Gobichettipalayam. All the five persons, including their car and seized currency have been handed over to Income Tax Department officials for questioning. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. By PTI MUMBAI: Five persons at NCP chief Sharad Pawar's residence in south Mumbai have tested positive for coronavirus, a senior civic official said on Monday. Pawar's test results have come out negative, but he will be asked not to go on any state tour for next some days, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope told reporters in the morning. "Three security guards, a cook and the latter's son at Pawar's 'Silver Oak' residence here have tested positive for coronavirus," a senior official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. As a precautionary measure, tests of nearly 100 people are being conducted, including personal assistants, secretaries and other officials working daily with Pawar, who came in contact with these persons in the last couple of days, he said. "We have also informed the state health department to communicate with health and civic officials in Pune as Pawar was there on Sunday. If he has met some people, they should also be tested as a precautionary measure, he said. Pawar returned from Pune on Sunday. He recently also travelled to Karad tehsil in Satara district where he met state cooperation minister Balasaheb Patil. The minister, who is also an NCP leader, tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. In the morning, Tope said Pawar was taken to Breach Candy Hospital here on Sunday for test and the results came out negative. "He is safe and sound. . . but will ask him not to go on state tour for next some days," the minister said. As a standard procedure, efforts were on to trace those who came in contact with the cook and security guards in their residential areas, he added. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe underwent a medical examination in a Tokyo hospital Monday after a top official expressed concern he was fatigued from his workload during the pandemic, Reuters reports. The big picture: Officials told Japanese media Abe was going for a routine checkup. His visit coincided with new data showing Japan suffered its worst decline on record, with the economy shrinking at an annual rate of 27.8% from April to June and GDP falling 7.8%. Economic activity ground to "a near halt" in April and May, when Abe had declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus outbreak, per the New York Times. Abe has "worked nearly continuously" since the pandemic began, the Wall Street Journal notes. The chief executive of JB Hi-Fi says the Australian economy is in surprisingly good shape despite the coronavirus pandemic and the retail giant was well placed to deal with any uncertainty caused by Melbourne's strict stage four lockdowns. Richard Murray, who helms the $5.7 billion retailer, said the company was "planning for unpredictability" across its operations in all states and territories and was ready for anything the pandemic might throw its way. JB Hi-Fi has seen sales continue to surge through July and August. Credit:Roger Stonehouse The electronics retailer reported a record set of full-year results on Monday, which were significantly buoyed by the pandemic. Sales rose 11.6 per cent, with total revenue coming in at $7.9 billion for fiscal 2020 compared to $7.1 billion in 2019. Meanwhile, statutory net profit rose 21 per cent to $302.3 million. The numbers were well within the company's guidance, which it raised and reinstated in June, after pulling guidance earlier this year amid uncertainty about the pandemic. Mozilla and Google have extended their partnership which will see Google continue to be the default search engine in the entire range of Firefox web browsers. That is, at least till the year 2023 when this deal comes up for renewal again. It is believed that the deal is between $400 million to $450 million per year to keep Google as the default search engine on Firefox, ahead of rivals such as Microsofts Bing. The Firefox web browser is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, iPadOS as well as for the Amazon Fire TV platform. Mozilla Firefox competes against Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi and Apples Safari browsers. It hasnt been the easiest of times for Firefox in the past few months, particularly since the arrival of Microsofts chromium-based Edge web browser. Google Chrome rocks a global market share of 71.11% at the end of July, while Microsoft Edge now has 8.09% share of the browser ecosystem around the world. Mozillas Firefox clocks in with 7.36% share. Firefox had 7.58% share at the end of June. Last week, Mitchell Baker, CEO of Mozilla had written a blog post in which he said that the global pandemic has significantly impacted the companys revenue. This agreement with Google comes at just the right time, in a way, for the company. Mozilla also has similar agreements for Firefox search with Yandex in Russia and Baidu in China, for those parts of the world. The revelation that former Australian Federal Police chief Mick Keelty compromised a police investigation into war crimes by the SAS in Afghanistan points to incompetence or worse in this long-running saga. But, in the absence of a public report or inquiry, precisely who should be held responsible remains obscured. Still, the facts we do know make it clear full accountability must occur. As The Age reported on Monday, Mr Keelty, who retired from the AFP in 2009, was told by an unknown serving AFP officer in June 2018 that Ben Roberts-Smith, a war veteran who was awarded the Victoria Cross, was a figure of interest to police. Mr Keelty then disclosed this to Mr Roberts-Smith, whom he had never met before. Mr Keelty told him at two meetings in June 2018 that the AFP had received referrals about him. The referrals had come from the Inspector-General of the Armed Forces, asking the AFP to investigate allegations about Mr Roberts-Smiths conduct in Afghanistan. Ben Roberts-Smith (main) and Mick Keelty. Credit:Andrew Meares, Alex Ellinghausen The Age has subsequently reported that the referrals concerned complaints from his former SAS comrades that Mr Roberts-Smith had allegedly participated in the execution of prisoners. By alerting Mr Roberts-Smith to the police interest in him, Mr Keelty compromised the AFP's covert inquiries into the case only a few days after they started. This is an appalling scandal that is worthy of a subplot in a cheap crime movie. It is unacceptable to share information that would tip off a suspect that he is under investigation. There must be a full public accounting for how these disclosures occurred. Such an inquiry would publicly examine who provided information to Mr Keelty and why Mr Keelty then gave it to a potential criminal suspect. It could test Mr Keeltys assertions that police erred in providing him information but not telling him he should not disclose it. It would also hold Mr Keelty to account. As a former police chief, he should have known to give his old agency and Mr Roberts-Smith a wide berth, given it was known by June 2018 that serious allegations of war crimes were being investigated by the military inspector. However, Mr Roberts-Smith had not been mentioned in any of the coverage at this point. Any public inquiry may also try to shed light on what prompted Mr Keelty to provide "welfare" support to Mr Roberts-Smith. Mr Keelty said he reached out to Mr Roberts-Smith because he was asked to do so by a security adviser who previously worked for Mr Roberts-Smith's employer, billionaire Kerry Stokes. He said he called the AFP only to avoid doing what he ultimately did stumbling into a covert investigation and spilling the beans to the key suspect. Sadly, there is no integrity agency with the will to hold such a public inquiry because the Morrison government continues to delay legislation for a federal integrity commission with teeth comparable to the Independent Commission Against Corruption in NSW. Incredibly, the existing Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity can investigate only serving policing officials (and some public servants), which excludes some of the players in this scandal. This makes this body's job of holding former police officers to account much harder. The model for a federal ICAC proposed in 2019 by the Morrison government will be little better. For one thing, it would not be able to investigate the leak of information to Mr Roberts-Smith because it will not have any retrospective jurisdiction. This model was incidentally recommended by a three-person advisory panel that included none other than Mr Keelty himself. Note from the Editor The Age's acting editor, Michelle Griffin, writes a weekly newsletter exclusively for subscribers. To have it delivered to your inbox, please sign up here. M ore than 270,000 new-build homes have now been bought using the Government's Help to Buy Equity Loan across England, with 24,461 of these sales taking place in London. Under the scheme, which launched in 2013, the Government provides a loan of up to 20 per cent of the purchase price of a property to help buyers struggling to raise the full deposit. However, due to higher average house prices in the capital, the potential government contribution towards a London home was increased to 40 per cent in February 2016, since when 83 per cent of the total number of Help to Buy Equity Loan purchases in London have been made, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. The majority (77 per cent) of London buyers after February 2016 used the full 40 per cent equity loan, while only two per cent of homes were bought using a loan of less than 20 per cent. How the sums stack up for London buyers Currently, a London buyer spending the maximum 600,000 allowed would need a 30,000 deposit, their Government loan would be for 240,000 and they would require a mortgage of 330,000. While the scheme has been lauded for helping struggling first-time buyers, there are no limits on who is eligible to buy, only on what they can purchase using the loan. This is set to change next year when the scheme will be limited to first-time buyers only. The average household income of Help to Buy Equity Loan applicants in London is just over 70,000. However, 12,734 households with an income of over 100,000 have also taken advantage of the scheme. Five per cent of properties funded by Help to Buy have been for 500,000 or more, with five per cent of buyers also earning 100,000 or more. In these instances, you have to argue that the use of the scheme is unnecessary and simply fuels luxury purchases at the expense of the taxpayer, said Marc von Grundherr, director of estate agents Benham and Reeves. The government has spent 16.05 billion on the scheme since its inception. How the Help to Buy Equity Loan works The scheme can be used to buy a new-build property costing up to 600,000 with a maximum loan in London of 240,000, or 40 per cent of the sales price. The buyer must contribute a cash deposit of at least five per cent and get a mortgage on the remainder of the sale price. There are no fees or interest to pay on the government loan for the first five years. After this, the loan will start accruing interest and the buyer must start to pay the Government back. When the home is sold, the Government recoups the same equity share of the property as was originally lent so if the Government contributed 40 per cent of the value to buy a new home, the owner will repay 40 per cent of the value at the time they sell. It must be the buyers only property and cannot be rented out. It must also be advertised as Help to Buy by a developer registered under the scheme. Find out how to apply here. The current Help to Buy scheme runs to March 2021, when the replacement, restricted to first-time buyers only, will come in and run until March 2023. What are the downsides of the Help to Buy Equity Loan? A recent report from the Financial Conduct Authority warned that buyers using the Help to Buy Equity Loan are more likely to face negative equity if property prices fall. This is due to the premium buyers will have paid for a brand-new home, which is estimated at as much as 20 per cent. Unless local house price rises outpace this, new-build homeowners could end up selling their home for less than they originally paid for it. The report also said that these buyers were potentially more exposed to changes in economic conditions and could have fewer remortgage options available to them. How does Help to Buy compare with first-time buyer mortgages? Once the government loan starts charging interest after five years, the annual percentage rate is expected to be 5.2 per cent. This will be payable in addition to the mortgage. Meanwhile, first-time buyer mortgages from TSB and HSBC are currently on offer with 3.4 per cent APR, making monthly repayments significantly cheaper. Craig Hall, head of broker relationships and propositions at Legal & General Mortgages says: [The] news that the Government is drawing up plans for an extension to Help to Buy will give developers much more certainty around which planned sites will still be eligible for the current scheme. This will be particularly important as many housebuilders will be revising their timetables for completion in light of the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown. An extension will also help to support the growing demand for Help to Buy amongst homebuyers, including buyers with smaller deposits who now face a much more limited choice of high loan-to-value mortgages. These buyers are seeking out the support of independent mortgage advisers to find alternative solutions and Help to Buy is one route that a growing number of buyers are planning to use. In fact, our research shows 13% of first-time buyers now plan to use the scheme, who previously hadnt considered Help to Buy before the current crisis. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about a peace deal reached between Israel and the United Arab Emirates from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., August 13, 2020. It's no secret Washington is a mess. Polarization over the latest Covid-19 relief bill negotiations has reached new heights of irrationality, with each side claiming the other is sabotaging America's effort to get back to some semblance of normal. The reflexive howls of protest over President Trump's memorandum "deferring" payroll taxes for workers earning less than $104,000 a year are typical of this dysfunction. Originally proposed by Trump in March before the virus decimated the economy and threw millions out of work, he pushed for it again in the latest economic relief package. When talks over a relief bill stalled, the president issued his memorandum to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. It was met with the same reaction by Congress and the media: DOA. "The first shot in a class and generational war," read the headline over a column by Washington Post financial columnist Allan Sloan. "The hydroxychloroquine of economic policy," tweeted New York Times columnist Paul Krugman. "Unworkable, weak and narrow policy announcements to slash the unemployment benefits that millions desperately need and endanger seniors' Social Security and Medicare," announced House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The fact that Trump has had a payroll tax holiday on his wish list long before the current crisis means it carries the predictable baggage. Like many, we don't necessarily agree with a number of the president's current policies. But to give credit where it's due, a payroll tax cut proposal is a good idea that is workable. It pays for itself, and it can help ordinary Americans at all levels. The problem with the president's version is that it covers just a few months. One of the primary arguments against the tax break is that it only helps the still-employed, not the unemployed scrambling to pay for rent and necessities. While technically valid, the argument is shortsighted. Because the major beneficiaries of this tax holiday are lower-income wage earners who have a higher propensity to consume, this helps overall economic growth almost immediately. It also should be noted that the president's proposals would include $400 per week in additional unemployment benefits. The payroll tax withholding rate, now 6.2% on the first $137,700 of an employee's gross income (employers cover another 6.2%), could be reduced to zero for the first two years. The rate could then rise to 2% in years three and four, and 4% in years five and six, before returning to the current rate in year seven. This would increase disposable income for existing workers, which would spur further consumption. That, in turn, would encourage more hiring. Under such a program, an average worker (about 40 years old) earning an average wage ($53,756 in 2019) would receive $15,767 in increased disposable income over the next six years, free to spend on whatever. On the other side of the equation, employers would also receive the benefit of the same tax holiday. By driving down the after-tax cost of labor, businesses would receive an immediate incentive to hire and retain workers. The big winner for the employer side of the payroll tax holiday would be small- and medium-sized businesses that often employ lower wage workers. Cue the perennial scare tactic that cutting the payroll tax will make Social Security insolvent and shove grandma onto the street. If anything, the opposite is true if paired with an extension of an employee's retirement date. For those who participate, they would receive a higher net paycheck now in exchange for delaying retirement, an especially appealing tradeoff for younger workers a long way from retirement. With increasing longevity, extending the retirement age makes all the sense in the world. For instance, each year the full retirement age (currently 67 years) could be increased by half a year until reaching 78 years or retirement, whichever comes first. Using data from the Social Security Administration, this reform could eliminate $14.1 trillion of federal debt over the next 60 years if only two-thirds of American workers participate. Additionally, roughly 36 million new entrants to the workforce over the next 15 years could produce additional savings of $4 trillion. This reduction in federal debt frees up massive additional resources. Then there is the argument that a payroll tax holiday is regressive, benefiting the wealthy more than low- and middle-income earners. We would argue it's the other way around, that payroll taxes are regressive, which means the payroll tax cut is progressive. All taxpayers pay the 6.2% payroll tax. But this has a bigger impact on the total disposable income of lower-wage workers, who need the assistance now, are most likely to spend the money, and will see the largest relative increase in their paychecks. Rather than limiting new stimulus to programs designed solely to prop up consumption, a payroll tax holiday would unleash the power of labor markets to restore American prosperity. Arthur Laffer is chairman of Laffer Associates. Scott Minerd is Global Chief Investment Officer of Guggenheim Partners, and a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Investor Advisory Committee on Financial Markets. The Commerce Department announced further restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co. aimed at cutting the Chinese companys access to commercially available chips, the latest move in an increasingly tense relationship between the worlds two biggest economies. The changes, which the department announced in a written statement on Monday, build on restrictions announced in May, adding 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries to an economic blacklist as the U.S. seeks to limit adoption of the companys 5G technology. We dont want their equipment in the United States because they spy on us, President Donald Trump said Monday in an interview on Fox and Friends. The move is the latest tit-for-tat in escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing over everything from the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic to Chinas increasingly tight grip over Hong Kong. Despite the U.S. decision, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Fox Business that talks with China continue on various levels. The restrictions are likely to further hit both Huaweis 5G base stations and smartphone businesses because it relies heavily on foreign chips to make those, further denting Chinas ambition to play a key role in global rollout of 5G technology. Huaweis stockpiles of certain self-designed chips essential to telecom equipment will run out by early 2021. Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB stand to benefit from Huaweis further faltering in its 5G prowess, while domestic smartphone rivals including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are likely to get a bigger pie of the Chinese market. Ross said the action was aimed at closing loopholes the company explored after previous U.S. actions. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo praised the move as a direct blow against the Chinese Communist Party. The company has long rejected accusations that its technology can be used to spy on foreign nations or companies. All chip companies working for Huawei, no matter where they are, will be subject to licenses, a Commercial official said, adding that even foreign companies will be affected as long as they use U.S. design software and equipment. That means major Asian and European chip companies such as MediaTek Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., NXP Semiconductors NV, and STMicroelectronics NV may need a license to continue shipping to Huawei, though the official declined to name any specific company. There are few semiconductor companies in the world, including those in China, that do not rely on software from U.S.-based Synopsys Inc. and Cadence Design Systems Inc. to create blueprints for chips. Many companies that make physical chips, including Chinas own Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., use equipment from U.S.-based Applied Materials Inc. and Lam Reserach Corp. European chipmakers Among Synopsys and Cadences customers, Taiwans MediaTek has become a main chip provider to Huawei after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it will no longer ship chips to the Chinese company after Sept. 15. Thats due to the U.S.s export-control rules added in May, which forbade companies from making chips based on Huaweis design using American equipment. The latest U.S. restrictions on Huawei are negative for European chipmakers, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts said in a note, adding that a key risk for firms such as STMicroelectronics, AMS AG and Dialog Semiconductor PLC is Chinese retaliatory restrictions on major customer Apple Inc. Additionally, assemblers that incorporate Huawei or third-party chips into their devices for the benefit of Huawei will also need to apply for a license, according to the Commerce official. That means Huawei smartphones assemblers, including Hong Kong-listed Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile Ltd., may be restricted by the new rules. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly referred to as the Mormon Church, responded Tuesday to a recently filed whistleblower complaint that accuses the church of stockpiling $100 billion in accounts intended for charitable works, misleading members and avoiding taxes. Mormon Church accused of stockpiling billions, avoiding taxes Whistleblower complaint to the IRS (78pgs) Youtube video with a summary of the complaint Seems like a non profit with that much capital should be considered a business. LDS Church discloses the $37.8 billion stock portfolio of its biggest investment fund Can the IRS investigate? India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi waves as he leaves in a car after his speech to the nation during a ceremony to celebrate India's 74th Independence Day, which marks the end of British colonial rule, at the Red Fort in New Delhi on Aug. 15, 2020. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a new warning to China over deadly border tensions on August 15, using his most important speech of the year to promise to build a stronger military. (PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images) Modi Hits at Chinas Expansionism in India Independence Day Speech Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a dig at Chinas expansionist agenda and asserted his nations ability to defend its territorial integrity in his Independence Day speech on Aug. 15. Experts said Modis speech highlights Indias position of strength in dealing with Chinese hegemony and in aligning with like-minded powers such as the United States. Be it terrorism or expansionism, India is fighting against it valiantly, said Modi, while speaking to the nation from New Delhi on Indias 74th Independence Day. The Independence Day speech is, at least symbolically, the most important address given each year by the Indian prime minister. Indias army had a bloody clash with the Peoples Liberation Army on June 15 that killed 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers on the inhospitable heights of Galwan in the northern Indian territory of Ladakh. Modi mentioned that in his speech. Notwithstanding the recent adversities, there have been misadventures along the border which threw a challenge to the country. But whoever tried to threaten the sovereignty of our country right from the LoC [line of control] to the LAC [line of actual control, on the disputed border with China], the army of the country, our brave soldiers have given a befitting reply, said Modi. Modi touted the gallantry of the Indian soldiers at Ladakh. The world has seen what our brave Jawans [soldiers] can do in Ladakh, what the country can do to defend its resolve, said Modi. Since the Galwan clash, bilateral ties between India and China have deteriorated. India has started reviewing Chinas Confucius Institutes in its universities and also recently banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, WeShare, WeChat, and Helo, saying that the applications threaten the sovereignty and security of India. Indian soldiers walk at the foothills of a mountain range near Leh, the joint capital of the union territory of Ladakh, on June 25, 2020. Indian fighter jets roared over a flashpoint Himalayan region on June 24 as part of a show of strength following what military sources say has been a Chinese takeover of contested territory. (TAUSEEF MUSTAFA/AFP via Getty Images) Concessions Are Off the Table Experts said Modis speech highlights that India wont give way to the Chinese bullying, and as the bilateral ties with China are deteriorating, the IndoU.S. relationship is Modis priority. Modis comments are a clear signal that India doesnt see a normalization of ties with China anytime soon and that it will be strengthening ties with other like-minded countries, Harsh Pant, the head of the Strategic Studies Program at Observer Research Foundation, told The Epoch Times over a chat platform from New Delhi. Pant said that Modi made it clear to China in his speech that India will stand its ground, and China cant get away with its aggressiveness on the border. So clearly, SinoIndian ties are in a deep freeze, while ties with the U.S. will be a priority, Pant said. James Carafano, the vice president for national security and foreign policy at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, told The Epoch Times in an email that Modis speech shows that India wont escalate the situation or concede to Chinese aggression. I think there is more self-confidence than ever in the Indian position, that they intend to deal with China from a position of strength, demonstrating the government is willing to protect its interests and partner with like-minded nations to take a more demonstrative stance against bullying from Beijing, Carafano said. Bibhu Prasad Routray, an Indian strategic analyst and the director of Mantraya, a Goa-based think tank, told The Epoch Times over the phone that India wants to use its ties with the United States to counter Beijing. Routray said India and the United States will collaborate to counter China by growing military and intelligence cooperation, cooperation in the UN, and also in alliances like the QUAD. QUAD is the quadrilateral security dialogue between India, United States, Australia, and Japan. In the coming days, we may expect IndoU.S. military and Intel cooperation to grow. India may be willing to make cause with U.S. policies in the Indo-Pacific, and there can be greater synergy in the policies with regard to the South China Sea, Routray said, adding that Modi is making a priority of IndiaU.S. relations, which has been decided at the highest policy circles in New Delhi. The highest decision-making body, thats PMO [Prime Ministers Office] and NSC [National Security Council], he said. Indias National Security Council is a government agency that advises Modi on security and strategic matters. US Asks Afghans to Swiftly Begin Peace Talks to Deter Spoilers By Ayaz Gul August 16, 2020 The United States has called on Afghanistan's warring sides to start negotiations without further delay to deter "those who seek to disrupt the peace process." U.S. special envoy to the war-torn country Zalmay issued the call in response to Friday's attempt on the life of a prominent female member of the Afghan national team designated to negotiate peace with the Taliban insurgency. "We condemn the attempt on @FawziaKoofi77's life...; a cowardly and criminal act by those who seek to delay and disrupt the #AfghanPeaceProcess," Khalilzad said in a series of tweets. Afghan officials said Fawzia Koofi, a 45-year-old former parliamentarian and advocate of women's rights, was returning to Kabul from northern Parwan province Friday evening when unknown gunmen attacked her vehicle near the capital city. She escaped without serious injury. No one has claimed responsibility for what senior Afghan officials denounced as an assassination attempt on Koofi. The Taliban denied involvement in the attack, fueling suspicions militants linked to the Islamic State group could be behind it. "I call on all sides who seek peace to not only condemn the attack but to accelerate the peace process and start intra-Afghan negotiations ASAP [as soon as possible]," Khalilzad stressed. The negotiations, known as intra-Afghan talks, are a product of a deal the U.S. sealed with the Taliban in February to extricate American troops from the nearly 19-year Afghan war. A series of high-profile unclaimed deadly attacks in and round Kabul in recent weeks have targeted religious leaders, human rights defenders and legal experts associated with the U.S.-brokered peace process, prompting concerns anti-peace forces are trying to derail the Afghan talks. Critics say that despite its public pledges to investigate and expose perpetrators of these attacks, the Ghani government has not reported any progress so far. Khalilzad, who negotiated and signed the pact with the Taliban, has since repeatedly urged Afghan rivals to promptly launch the long-hoped-for direct talks, warning "spoilers", including Islamic State militants, could try to disrupt the peace effort. But the peace talks are linked to the completion of a controversy-marred prisoner swap between the Taliban and the Afghan government. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) after a meeting with Qatar-based Taliban leaders on Saturday indicated that peace talks may take place this week. "UNAMA officials met the Taliban Political Commission in Doha today, expressing support for direct intra-Afghan talks starting this week. Reduced violence is required to improve atmosphere for negotiations," said the mission in a post-meeting tweet. On Friday, Kabul released the first 80 of a last group of 400 "hard-core" Taliban prisoners to move a step closer towards the intra-Afghan negotiations expected to take place in Doha, Qatar, where the U.S.-Taliban deal was inked. The insurgents maintain their political office in Doha. The months-long prisoner swap has seen the release of up to 4,700 insurgents by Kabul from a Taliban list of 5,000 inmates. In return, the militants have freed 1,000 government security personnel as stipulated in the deal with the U.S. The move, however, has prompted France to ask the Afghan government not to proceed with the release of several Taliban inmates convicted of killing French soldiers and citizens in Afghanistan. "France is particularly concerned by the presence, among the individuals liable to be released, of several terrorists convicted of killing French citizens in Afghanistan," the French foreign ministry said on Saturday. "It firmly opposes the liberation of individuals convicted of crimes against French nationals, in particular soldiers and humanitarian workers," it said. Australia also has made a similar demand earlier this month. The Taliban has rejected allegations against its remaining prisoners and denounced recent public remarks by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that the detainees are a threat to both Afghanistan and international community. "Such irresponsible remarks on the verge of intra-Afghan negotiations show that the Kabul administration is still trying to create hurdles for the peace process and seeks to arouse global emotions through propaganda," the insurgent group said in a statement on Saturday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Karnataka Health minister Mr Sriramulu who was admitted to the government-run Bowring Hospital last week has tested negative for Corona. He was discharged on Sunday. Mr Sriramulu thanked people for their wishes and tweeted "Thanks to your wishes and prayers I have completely recovered from Corona." "On being diagnosed with Covid19, was admitted at the Bowring Hospital and it is due to the treatment provided at the hospital that I have been discharged today" Mr Sriramulu tweeted and said that his recovery was possible due to the dedicated service of the doctors and medical staff. Mr Sriramulu's admission and his recovery from government hospital has come as a relief to the people who had given up their faith over the quality of the government hospitals in the state. As per the health bulletin issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Karnataka registered 7,040 fresh Corona positive cases on Sunday. Since Saturday day, there were 124 deaths in the state.Bengaluru recorded 49 deaths out of 124. Bengaluru recorded more than 2,000 cases and had 2,131 fresh cases. Mysuru followed Bengaluru in the list and added 620 cases and Belagavi with 478 cases. The state which used to test more than 50,000 samples on Sunday tested only 43,626 samples. The number of recoveries is consistently crossing 5,000 every day and on Sunday 6,680 patients who were completely recovered from Corona were discharged and sent home. While the total tally stands at 2.26 lakh, the state has 81,512 active cases. Disliking face masks is not a new concept. CNN reported that many Americans were not a fan of face masks during the 1918-19 Influenza Pandemic. Hefty fines and jail time were in store for some of the people that didnt wear masks. An Anti-Mask League was established in San Francisco and they hosted a protest against them in January 1919. However, mask opposition was seen as less of a political issue. CNN spoke to historians on the important differences between opposition to masks in 1918 and 2020 in America. The Ant-Mask Leauge protest was an orderly protest compared to people fighting in Walmarts today, Dr. Howard Markel, medical historian and physician of the University of Michigan, told CNN. For instance, a man was shot dead by police after stabbing a customer over not wearing a mask in a Michigan store last month after masks were made required by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. "Today, the anti-mask sentiment has a virulence and violence of its own that we didn't see back then," Markel told CNN. Alexander Navarro, assistant director of the Center for the History of Medicine at the University of Michigan, said lots of people grumbled about wearing masks, or even refused to do so, but they werent doing so because of a political stance or partisan allegiance. He said 100 years ago, the party system was not as heavily aligned along ideological lines, as it is today. In fact, wearing a mask was seen as patriotic. The country was at war and mask slackers were shamed in public service announcements. Read the full story here. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-18 00:32:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ANKARA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and his Qatari counterpart Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah paid a visit to Tripoli of Libya on Monday, Turkey's defense ministry said. "We believe that we'll get desired results by supporting our Libyan brothers in their rightly cause," Akar said in a statement during the visit, according to a video tweeted by the Turkish defense ministry. "For the unity, integrity, comfort, and peace of Libya, we have made every effort to make a ceasefire permanent to realize its existence as a whole, and we will continue to do so. Our Qatari brothers are also with us in this regard," said Akar following the delegation's meeting with Libyan officials. Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler accompanied Akar to Libya. Last year, Ankara signed security and military cooperation agreement, as well as a maritime boundary memorandum with the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya and sent troops to the country under the deal. Libya has been locked in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, and has been divided between the powers of GNA and the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar. Enditem In a 2015 interview with the National Catholic Reporter, Robert Senkewicz, a Santa Clara University historian and biographer of Father Serra, noted that the Spanish military and missionaries introduced animals that destroyed the plants the Native Americans relied upon to sustain themselves, and quickly drove out the wild game Native peoples hunted. Thus, Mr. Senkewicz observed, the presence of the Spanish colonial enterprise very quickly rendered it almost impossible for the traditional native ways of life to be maintained. And so many Native Americans found their way to the missions, where they were offered food and, more important from the missionaries perspective, the sacrament of baptism. Once on the grounds of the missions, the Native people were not permitted to leave freely. They were made to cultivate crops considered valuable by the Spanish and were instructed, often brutally, in the ways of European Christian life. Father Serra believed very strongly that corporal punishment was an integral part of the California mission system and the discipline and control of Native peoples, the historian Steven Hackel of the University of California Riverside told me. In the matter of correcting the Indians, Father Serra wrote to the governor of California in 1780, when it appeared to us that punishment was deserved, they were flogged, or put into the stocks, according to the gravity of their offense. But Father Serra believed the clergy, not the secular Spanish authorities, should administer these punishments, in part because he felt the Spanish soldiers were too brutal. Leaving such things to the soldiers and other secular powers had led to the worst of evils, he told royal authorities in a long list of demands on behalf of his missions and their residents in 1773. It is implied in his letter that those abuses included sexual assault, which clearly horrified him. In the close quarters of missions, Native Americans were rapidly infected with lethal European diseases, and they died by the thousands. What happened in California had happened dozens of times, scores of times in other places in the Americas, Mr. Hackel said. We cant hold the California missionaries blameless for what they did. They had every reason to know what would happen when you brought Native peoples together in these small, compressed places. So in that sense, I think we can rightly point to them as culpable. Mr. Sandos disagreed. The priests thought they knew what they were doing, but they didnt. Serra wasnt a genocidal maniac, he said, They didnt know what they were unleashing. And the deaths appalled them. CHICAGO Like many cab companies, Peace Taxi Association gets most of its business taking travelers to and from Chicagos airports. Or at least it used to. Before the coronavirus pandemic decimated air travel, owner Ali Poorian would have about 70 to 80 taxis on the road. Now, hes down to seven or eight. Sometimes, drivers wait hours for a single passenger, he said. The taxi industry was already having a tough time competing with ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a whole new level of pain. Our life was already miserable, and with this situation, its become more miserable. I dont see a future, he said. In normal times, Chicagos airports are reliable, year-round economic engines for the city. More than 105 million passengers traveled through OHare International Airport and Midway Airport last year, and the city is pumping $8.5 billion into an expansion project at OHare that will help it attract even more. Those millions of travelers bring more than tourism dollars and business for airlines. They support an entire network of businesses around Chicagos airports, from catering companies that prepare in-flight meals to airport shops and restaurants where passengers kill time before boarding to airport hotels and car rental agencies. Theres an enormous group of businesses that rely on a constant flow of airline traffic and most are hurting in a big way right now, said Joseph Schwieterman, a transportation expert at DePaul University. The federal government approved billions in financial assistance for the airlines and some companies in the aviation industry this spring, meant to help keep workers on the payroll as stay-at-home orders, travel restrictions and fear of COVID-19 kept flyers home. But not every company that depends on air travel got aid, and even some that did still cut jobs. As a rise in COVID-19 cases nationwide stalls signs of growth, companies and workers alike are realizing what many assumed would be short-term pain isnt going away anytime soon. Thats the No. 1 question, is when are we going back to work? said Nakita Campbell, who was laid off from her job at a restaurant in OHares international terminal in March. Campbell, 29, of Des Plaines, said she was initially told she might be called back in late July or August but has heard nothing from her employer about when, or if, her job will return. Meanwhile, an extra $600 a week in federal unemployment benefits expired late last month. We just need to get an idea. If were not going back for the rest of the year, we need to find different jobs, Campbell said. The federal coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in March not only gave passenger airlines $25 billion to cover employee pay and benefits, it set aside $3 billion for contractors that handle services like in-flight catering, cleaning and baggage handling. Like the airlines, companies that accepted assistance agreed to avoid involuntary furloughs or layoffs through Sept. 30. But the prohibition on job cuts only applied after companies reached an agreement with the Treasury Department. United Airlines and other major carriers signed deals in late April, but some contractors agreements werent finalized for several more weeks, after workers had already been laid off. Des Plaines-based Prospect Airport Services told Illinois it laid off more than 800 workers at OHare and Midway in March and April. Last month, the company signed an agreement with the Treasury Department that is expected to provide $73.2 million to fund employee wages and benefits through the Payroll Support Program funded by coronavirus relief legislation. Prospect declined to comment. Airline catering company Gate Gourmet, which is expected to received $171.4 million in payroll funding through the same program, cut its April 1 roster of 808 employees by 44%. Lamar Banks, 31, of Portage Park, said he volunteered for what he thought would be a temporary layoff from his job at Gate Gourmet because he was worried about exposing his fiancee and newborn daughter to the virus. Banks said he self-quarantined for 14 days without pay after a co-worker tested positive in late April, shortly before his daughter was born. I was so scared thinking I would possibly put my family at risk, he said. Banks said he later got a letter notifying him his temporary layoff had become permanent. Hes started looking at other jobs but wants to find something that feels safe. Hes also hesitant to give up his seniority at Gate Gourmet. Seniority gives him more control over his schedule, which helps with child care. Youre just trying to squeeze every penny you can because you dont know what to expect, he said. No one at Gate Gourmet was laid off after the company finalized the agreement to receive federal funding, and 46 workers were brought back after the supplemental unemployment benefits ended last month, the company said. Our goal is to continue to bring people back to work as the airline industry returns to health, the company said in an emailed statement. Other companies didnt qualify for federal relief for the aviation industry, even though they rely on Chicagos airports for business. Some got other forms of assistance through the coronavirus relief legislation, including employee retention tax credits and loans for small businesses. The Chicago Department of Aviation is using about $40 million of funds it received through the legislation to assist businesses at the airport including car rental agencies, restaurants and shops. The program forgives airport restaurants and shops April and May rent and lets them pay a reduced rent until revenues recover to 75% of last years levels. Companies have until March 2023 to pay back the difference. Any business that accepts the assistance must commit to rehiring employees on pace with increases in revenue, determined by their revenues and headcount in December 2019. A similar program forgives the vast majority of car rental agencies rent for April, May and June. Almost every concession operator has applied, and the Aviation Department said it is reviewing their applications. Early in the shutdown period, car rental agencies Hertz, Avis Budget Group and Enterprise all told Illinois they expected to lay off or furlough workers. Enterprise, which laid off 18 people and furloughed 154 at OHare and Midway, said airport locations were hit harder than neighborhood rental agencies. As travel has come back, some, weve been able to recall some of our employees, including at OHare and Midway, and hope we can continue doing so as business returns, spokeswoman Lisa Martini said in an email. A loan through the Paycheck Protection Program helped keep Chicago-based Nuts on Clarks Midway store open throughout the pandemic, said Robert Kenney, who manages and directs sales at the family-owned business. According to the Treasury Department, the loan was between $350,000 and $1 million. Kenney declined to comment on the amount. Nuts on Clarks OHare and Midway stores have brought back nearly 25 of the 40 workers they employed before the pandemic, Kenney said. Still, Nuts on Clark cant bring everybody back yet, as business has plateaued at airport stores and hours remain more limited than usual, Kenney said. Nationwide, the number of people passing through airport security checkpoints is still about 70% lower than a year ago, according to the Transportation Security Administration. United Airlines executives have predicted revenues could plateau at half of last years levels until a vaccine is widely available. During the slowest period, when passenger numbers plummeted to roughly 5% of last years levels, all but six of the more than 60 restaurants HMSHost operates in OHares domestic terminals closed, and all but 50 of the companys more than 1,500 workers were furloughed, said Brad Maher, HMSHosts senior director of operations at OHare. As heartbreaking as conversations about furloughs were, Maher was initially optimistic workers would be called back quickly. When I was telling people what was happening and that they were temporarily going to be unemployed, I honestly thought this was going to be a four-, six-, eight-week deal, he said. HMSHost started reopening OHare restaurants in late May as travelers started returning and has 170 people working at 17 locations. But as new pandemic hot spots began appearing, the growth in business plateaued, forcing the company to pause reopening, Maher said. We felt like we had to be extremely cautious going forward until see we how this COVID is going to react, Maher said. We really, really want to continue to grow, but we have to do it smart. HMSHost isnt the only company slowing reopening plans. Travel convenience store chain Hudson permanently laid off 40% of its employees at the end of last month, including 311 at OHare and Midway, according to mass layoff notices filed with the state. The company blamed slow growth in travel and concerns about a potential second wave of COVID-19 infections. About 450 of the companys more than 1,000 stores are open nationwide, said Hudson, which reported a net sales decline of about 88.4% in the second quarter. Areas, a restaurant operator with locations in OHares international terminal, said the dramatic decline in travel left no choice but to close all but one restaurant and lay off about 160 people. Nine employees are working at its one open location, though the company said it is working to bring back more. Companies serving the citys airports should recover as air travel picks up, but a full return to normal could take years, especially when it comes to business travel, Schwieterman said. Companies catering to convenience-focused corporate travelers in the belt surrounding the airport, like airport hotels, convention centers and nearby restaurants, are likely to be especially hard-hit, he said. Between March and July, hotels near OHare and Midway warned the state of more than 1,000 upcoming temporary furloughs or layoffs. Occupancy rates at Chicagos airport hotels averaged 26.7% in June, down about 70% from the same month last year. Downtown hotels were even emptier, according to STR, a U.S. hotel industry research company. Average daily room rates at airport hotels are down more than 40%. If anything, the figures underestimate the total number of empty rooms because they dont include hotels that chose to close. The number of rooms available in Chicago in June was down 16.9% compared with the same month last year, according to STR. A Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Des Plaines, which usually employs 20 to 25 people, was staffed by just one person per shift during the slowest stretch, said Patrick Palmer, vice president of operations at Prominence Hospitality Group, which also owns a Hyatt in Rosemont. Prominence received a loan of between $150,000 and $350,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program, according to Treasury Department data, but the company said the funds were used at other hotels. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites, which opened in October, had just recorded its busiest-ever week in late March when the pandemic brought occupancy rates down to 15% to 20%, Palmer said. The Hyatt, which gets some business from airline crew members, was at one point only 25% to 30% full. Occupancy rates have climbed to roughly 40% at both properties still about half of typical summer rates and the company is evaluating how many employees to call back. The business traveler just has not come back, and we really need that to be successful, he said. ___ (c)2020 Chicago Tribune Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. _____ PHOTOS (for help with images, contact 312-222-4194): Description GIS 17 August 2020: 17 August 2020: The 40th SADC Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government , being hosted virtually by the Republic of Mozambique, was inaugurated this morning. This years theme is, SADC: 40 Years Building Peace and Security, and Promoting Development and Resilience in the Face of Global Challenges. Various Heads of State and Government, including those of Madagascar, Botswana, Seychelles and Zimbabwe, were able to follow the ceremony through a virtual platform. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Nandcoomar Bodha, represented the Republic of Mauritius. In a statement to the press, today, at the seat of the Ministry in Port Louis, Mr Bodha underlined that the Summit is an opportune time to take stock of the progress made by country members over the last forty years. He recalled that SADCs 39th Summit on the theme A conducive environment for inclusive and sustainable industrial development: Increase Regional Trade and Job Creation , had essentially assessed the situation with regards to commerce and trade partnerships, investment, development and job creation. The Minister pointed out that intra-regional trade has been boosted in the SADC community as well as trade relations among African countries. Speaking about Mauritius, he emphasised that the country has strengthened trade relations with South Africa and and made investments in Tanzania and Mozambique, amongst others. Mauritius, he added, has significantly benefitted from being a Member State of the SADC in terms of trade and regional partnerships, investment and political support to address challenges such as Climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. It has undeniably strengthened relations on the socio-economic, human, and political fronts, he said. According to Mr Bodha, this years summit assessment will enable Mauritius to discuss how the Africa Strategy can be further promoted. He recalled that some Rs 10 Billion has been earmarked to this end. As regards this years theme, the Minister observed that the current global challenge consists of the following: containing the propagation of the Covid-19 pandemic in the absence of an effective vaccine, along with the post-Covid-19 crisis; dealing with a second wave of coronavirus infections; and lifting of travel restrictions. Mauritius, he remarked, has indeed shared its successful management of the pandemic on its territory. The SADC community, he stated, will work together to reach a common position to address such global challenges. Furthermore, Minister Bodha indicated that his Ministry has sought the assistance of the SADC to help remove Mauritius from the European Commission blacklist and its support to avoid such unilateral decisions. Gogglebox's Lee and Keith are heartbroken they've been unable to visit their eight-month-old granddaughter, Riley, due to Melbourne's stage-four lockdown. Melburnians can only leave their homes for work, care-giving, medical reasons or on compassionate grounds. The couple told TV Week they live just 12 minutes away from Riley and her parents, but that's still too far under the current COVID-19 restrictions. Devastated: Gogglebox stars Lee and Keith (pictured) are heartbroken over being unable to see their granddaughter because of Melbourne's stage-four lockdown 'She's our son's little girl and they live 12 minutes - but more than five kilometres - [away] from us. It's just so hard. I miss her cuddles,' Lee said. Keith added: 'She was just beginning to recognise our voices, too. I hope she doesn't forget who we are.' The Gogglebox favourites welcomed their first grandchild in January. Restrictions: The couple told TV Week they live just 12 minutes away from Riley and her parents, but that's still too far under the current COVID-19 restrictions The pair, who have been married for 34 years, announced via Instagram the new addition to their family, a little girl named Riley. The Melbourne-based couple posted a series of photos of the adorable newborn, and sweetly said that she was already 'pa's girl'. 'The love is huge, Riley is Pa's girl,' they captioned one video of Keith holding Riley. Growing family: The Gogglebox favourites welcomed their first grandchild in January 'Hi there Riley, I'm your Pa, welcome to the clan!' Keith said in the clip. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews declared a State of Disaster earlier this month after 671 new COVID-19 cases emerged in one day. This means that Melbourne is under a police-enforceable curfew of 8pm until 5am until at least September 13, as the rest of Australia returns to business as usual. India's Congress Party Slams Narendra Modi Over Ladakh: 'Cowardice Allowed China to Take our Land' Sputnik News 06:55 GMT 16.08.2020 New Delhi (Sputnik): India's main opposition Congress party has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies, including the handling of recent border skirmishes with China, in which Indian 20 soldiers were killed. Congress has also been critical of the government's claim that China did not occupy or intrude into Indian territory. India's main opposition Congress party stepped up its attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the recent Chinese incursions in Ladakh. In a tweet on Sunday, former Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Modi's "cowardice allowed China to take our land". "Everybody believes in the capability and valour of the Indian army. Except the PM: Whose cowardice allowed China to take our land. Whose lies will ensure they keep it," said Gandhi's tweet. Rahul Gandhi's accusation came a day after Modi said, "...there have been misadventures along the border which threw a challenge to the country". Addressing the nation on Saturday to commemorate India's Independence Day, Modi said, "...whoever tried to threaten the sovereignty of our country right from the LoC (de facto border with Pakistan) to the LAC (border with China), the army of the country, our brave soldiers have given a befitting reply." The Congress Party had questioned Modi for not naming China in his Independence Day speech, and wanted the government to clarify how it proposed to push back Chinese forces occupying Indian Territory. On Friday, Rahul Gandhi had accused India's federal government that it was "scared to face up to Chinese intentions in Ladakh". He said the evidence on the ground indicated that Beijing was preparing and positioning itself in the region. "The PM's personal lack of courage and the media's silence will result in India paying a huge price," he had challenged. While Modi has been maintaining that "China did not enter our territory, no posts taken," a document by the Indian Defence Ministry had confirmed the intrusion. The document was however, removed from the website of the ministry later. In one of the worst face-offs with the Chinese army, on 15 June, the Indian army lost 20 soldiers, including an officer. There were reports that the People's Liberation Army of China had also suffered casualties. India and China have unresolved border disputes over Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast and in Ladakh. Both have been engaged in dialogues to resolve the issue, but so far there has been no success. The India-China border covers the 3,488 km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC), which mainly is a land border in most regions, but in Pangong Tso in Eastern Ladakh it passes through a lake. India controls the western portion of the 45-km long lake, while the rest is under Chinese control. Most of the clashes between the two countries have taken place in the Galwan Valley. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A heavy downpour in Hanoi on Monday afternoon flooded many streets in the city's center. browser not support iframe. The Hanoi Railway Station Meanwhile, torrential rains are causing human and asset losses in various northern localities, according to the Office of the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. As of 5:00 am of August 17, three people were wounded, various roads flooded, including National Road 18, and about 114 ha of crops were submerged in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, reported the Vietnam News Agency. As many as 14 houses in Dien Bien province in the northwest were destroyed and 128 households in its Nam Nhun commune isolated. Flood in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Downpours also triggered floods in Hanois urban districts, including in Hoan Kiem and Thanh Xuan. Rainfalls of between 52.7 mm and 73.8 mm were recorded in the areas. Meanwhile, torrential rains and floods occurred in Mai Son and Thuan Chau districts of the northwestern Son La province on August 15-16. One person went missing in the province after being swept away by floodwater, according to the provincial steering committee on disaster response, search and rescue. Local authorities are mobilising forces to search for the missing. In Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, many areas have been deeply submerged in water following heavy rains. After being warned about the long-lasting heavy rains, many people in vulnerable areas had already moved furniture to higher places overnight. Some people stayed up all night in case of a severe flood. Many households still suffered damage from the flood. According to the locals, if the rain continues, they will face rainfall and flooding similar to that experienced in 2015. Some people commented that the current water level is already higher than in 2015. Thanh Nam-Doan Bong Flash flood sweeps away many houses in Dien Bien A flash flood occurred in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien, isolating three local communes and causing big losses for local residents. A Long Island man and his live-in girlfriend have been arrested after their black next-door neighbor accused them of a yearslong campaign of racist intimidation that included throwing feces and a dead squirrel onto her property. John McEneaney, 57, and Mindy Canarick, 53, of Valley Stream, New York, were charged by the Nassau County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors charged McEneaney with criminal mischief and harassment while Canarick was charged with criminal tampering, a spokesperson for the DA's office told DailyMail.com. Both are due to be arraigned via remote online hearing on Monday. The couple is alleged to have routinely harassed Jennifer McLeggan, a 39-year-old black woman who moved into the neighborhood after buying a home on Sapir Street in 2017. Two white next-door neighbors have been arrested for allegedly harassing Jennifer McLeggan (above), a 39-year-old black woman who moved into the Long Island neighborhood of Valley Stream, New York, after buying a home on Sapir Street in 2017 McLeggan (seen above with her young daughter Immaculate) has alleged that she has been subjected to a yearslong campaign of racist intimidation by her two white next-door neighbors Last month, she posted a message on her front door detailing the abuse and harassment she alleges she was subjected to The sign explaining her abuse and harassment takes up the entire front door McLeggan, a registered nurse, said McEneaney, who is white, told her to 'go back to where I came from,' had his friends spit on her yard, has taken a blow torch to her house at night and has said she can be 'erased.' She posted several videos taken from her windows showing a man tossing something onto her yard and walking around with various guns. She said police told her they can't make an arrest unless she is harmed. Twitter and Instagram posts about the situation last month prompted supporters to show up and protest. McEneaney told Newsday earlier this week that he just wants to 'live in peace' and that he denies any harassment. 'I just want peace All I ever wanted was to live in peace,' he said. 'My family has lived in Valley Stream since 1964 and we've never had a problem with anyone. I wish her and her child well,' McEneaney said of McLeggan. When McLeggan moved in, she said her neighbors were giving her a hard time over a supposedly unkempt yard. Since then, however, things have escalated, she said. 'I bought the property when I was pregnant, and this is the truth, the property was in bad shape,' she told WABC-TV. 'I'm trying my best to make every effort to clean the property. I've done my best to clean the property.' The image above taken from McLeggan's security camera shows a man on the property next door to her home using a pellet gun for target practice Security camera also shows a man wearing what appears to be blackface McLeggan alleges that her next-door neighbor threw a dead squirrel onto her property as an intimidation tactic Video shows McLeggan's neighbor carrying an unidentified object She said she has tried to address her neighbors' concerns about keeping the area clean. 'I mow the lawn, when there's snow out here I'm shoveling the snow by myself,' she said. 'I'm doing what I can to keep the property clean.' But she says her neighbors have been throwing dog feces onto her property, leading to fines. 'I kept on noticing dog feces,' she said. 'I kept on noticing ticket ordinances from the Valley Stream Village town. 'I keep getting tickets. I keep seeing dog feces.' 'I installed a camera here. I caught my neighbor throwing dog feces in front of my property. I took that video to court, and I won a judgment [of more than $5,000].' Since her case made nationwide news last month, a GoFundMe page has raised nearly $50,000 to help McLeggan install a security system in her home. McEneaney denied McLeggan's allegation that he wore blackface and used a blowtorch in his home to intimidate her. He said the only time he's worn black face was to put on a ski mask when shoveling snow. Surveillance video footage shows an unidentified man spitting over the fence and onto McLeggan's property Police have been contacted some 50 times over the past three years as the dispute between the two neighbors has escalated McEneaney told Newsday that he used a blowtorch to light carburetor cleaner on fire in his yard because he was bored one night. He said that he agreed to police officers' request to stop shooting target practice with his pellet gun after McLeggan complained. McEneaney claimed that he fears for his life after getting 'a lot of death threats' on social media. In total, more than 50 calls to the police have been made by the two neighbors against each other since McLeggan moved into the area. McLeggan's lawyer, Heather Palmore, told the New York Daily News that her client's neighbors' 'aggression...went on too long.' 'For years she felt unsafe coming to a place she was supposed to feel safe at, coming home,' Palmore said. 'But it's more representative of the overall state of the poor relationship between the police and the Black community here on Long Island.' Palmore added: 'The Nassau County District Attorney has been very professional in handling this matter, they gave Jennifer a forum to bring her complaints forward. 'The police have been to Jennifer's house I can't tell you how many times over the last three years and nothing was done by the police county department.' A stalker who bombarded BBC DJ Gilles Peterson with death threats and racially abused his Japanese wife is back behind bars after allegedly being spotted lurking outside his home. Sarah Jayne Rook, 44, screamed 'You will die' at Mr Peterson, 55, as he left BBC Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London on March 21. Two days later, Rook stood outside the record label owner's north London home shouting 'c**t', 'rapist,' and 'paedophile', Stratford Magistrates' Court heard in June. Rook also repeatedly called Mr Peterson's wife Atsuko Moehrle a 'Hiroshima b***h' when she refused to open the door to her at the couple's north London home on 18 February. The stalker, who describes herself as a freelance journalist and photographer, was convicted of stalking, harassment and two counts of racially aggravated harassment. Sarah Jayne Rook, 44, screamed 'You will die' at BBC DJ Gilles Peterson, 55, as he left BBC Broadcasting House in Portland Place, London on March 21 She was jailed for 26 weeks on June 25 but released shortly afterwards due to time served on remand. Judge Louisa Cieciora had banned Rook from entering the couple's home on but, on July 29, she was allegedly spotted outside the address and arrested. Rook could not attend her latest hearing at Thames Magistrates' Court via video-link from HMP Bronzefield because she is now in the hospital wing. Magistrate Paul Judd fixed her latest trial for September 21. Rook had targeted the Radio 6 DJ at home and at work and carried on while she was on bail. She also attended his home posing as a charity worker and attacked his car with a pole. Rook pinned a torn up photograph of the DJ's face to his car windscreen before leaving a Joker playing card followed by an Ace of Clubs. Rook was jailed for 26 weeks on June 25 but released shortly afterwards due to time served on remand. Pictured: Mr Peterson outside Stratford Magistrates Court in June She returned to Mr Peterson's family home while on bail and banged on his window as he watched terrified from behind his blinds. He watched as she clambered onto scaffolding and began climbing up the outside of his house, and remained there until police told her to leave. In May, the French DJ told the court of his 'very traumatic experience' as he was bombarded with death threats. He said he was in the middle of a live set at the Radio 6 studio when he spotted a tweet branding him a 'fraud' and a 'contrived c**t' and another threatening him with death. 'I saw a tweet [during the broadcast] saying 'F***ing kill him,' he said. 'The other said: "You sound like a contrived c***t right now, literally you are a fraud." 'I knew it as a very traumatic experience for all of us. I was worried about the situation itself because it was escalating.' Rook now denies one count of harassment by breaching a restraining order imposed upon conviction. Her latest trial was fixed for September 21 at Stratford Magistrates' Court. Its been 75 years since the comrades of the once (and future) Manor Farm first took up the anthem Beasts of England and surprised themselves by routing out the tyrant farmer, Mr. Jones, from his holdings. Seventy-five years since the seemingly inalterable tenets of Animalism were scrawled in white paint on the side of the barn, and the enthusiastic dreamer Snowball strove for his short-lived utopia before running afoul of the Berkshire boar Napoleons autocratic ambitions. In the decades since the publication of George Orwells seminal work of anti-Stalinist satire, we have seen the collapse of the regime that disturbed and inspired its author; the beginning and end of the Cold War, with all its attendant horrors; and the rise and fall of any number of would-be Napoleons, both at home and abroad. Animal Farm, once a work so controversial that it seemed unlikely to find a publisher, has served for so long, and in so many school curriculums, as the predominant introduction to the concept of totalitarianism that it is in danger of being perceived as trite. With Animal Farm, Orwellthen a 42-year-old democratic socialist known primarily for essays and journalism exploring social injustice and class iniquities across Europehoped only to dissuade his countrymen from what he recognized as a dangerous infatuation with Joseph Stalin. It is indisputable that an authors intentions for his or her work usually dont survive publication, let alone the authors death. Nothing of Animal Farms success during Orwells lifetime could really augur the varied purposes it would come to serve, or the global behemoth it would quickly become. Pushing back on a critique that Orwell was too light-handed in his reproach of totalitarianism, Julian Symons wrote, In a hundred years time perhaps, Animal Farm may be simply a fairy story, today it is a political satire with a good deal of point. Story continues That was then, and this is now. Luckily, having spent the last seven and a half decades heeding its warnings and taking its lessons to heart, we have pulled ahead of the dangers Animal Farm hinted we might one day face. As a species, we have defied Orwells wildest expectations. Wouldnt he be thrilled to know that we no longer have need of a text that so explicitly decries authoritarianism, fearmongering, tribalism, historical erasure, factual manipulation and war as an engine of national pride? Reader, I jest. All evidence points to the fact that were in a great deal of very familiar trouble the whole world over. That we so dependably manage to be, despite the existence of prophetic works like Animal Farm, should worry us to the point of despair. But this is the way of our species: memory fades. We grow bored with the lessons of the past. We tell ourselves: things could never get as bad as they once were because, unlike those who came before us, we are good people who know better than to let it happen again. How, then, are we to read Animal Farm circa 2020? I was raised in the former Yugoslavia in the mid-1980s, in a household and culture gripped by the distinction between indoor and outdoor talk. Understanding this was as essential to my early upbringing as table manners or the correct protocol for crossing the street. The gist was: certain conversations were appropriate for public consumption, while others belonged only within the confines of the house. You were expected to use your common sense to distinguish between the two as you grew older, but your starting point was to assume that anything overheard at the dinner table qualified as indoor talk and was not to be discussed with people outside the home; that is, outdoors. You think Im talking about politics here, reader, but Im not. Politics was so out of bounds that I cant remember any adult ever declaring support for any candidate in my presence until we moved to America. Im talking about simple details of daily existence: a new pencil case that might be misconstrued as a sign of increased wealth, or a sandwich that might give a nosy stranger on a train some false idea about the demographic composition of our family because one of its ingredients may or may not be a certain kind of ham. People incapable of recognizing the distinction between indoor and outdoor talkpeople who might volunteer, a little too eagerly, the outcome of some private development, or some holiday plan, or, the worst of all sins, the affairs of some mutual acquaintancewere to be regarded with disdain and suspicion. For if they didnt value the sanctity of their own indoor talk, imagine the damage they could inflict if they somehow got ahold of yours! I have been living in America for 23 years and still have a hair trigger where indoor talk is concerned. This will be with me forever, I suspect, probably hardwired in some remote twist of trauma-blitzed DNA inherent in people worn down by centuries of imperialism and political volatility. Perhaps thats why, when I did eventually read Animal Farmsometime in 1997, no doubt, in a suburb of Atlanta where my mother and I eventually wound up after spending most of the Yugoslav Wars in Cyprus and Egyptthe character with whom I felt the most kinship was Benjamin the Donkey. I was heartbroken by the heavily foreshadowed death of Boxer the horse, who seemed to stand for so much of what was good and true; but all I really cared about was whether his little donkey friend would successfully dodge a similar fate. Benjamin is Boxers closest companion. A cynic of uncertain age, he is known for having outlived all his peers by keeping steadfastly silent. Animal Farm scholars have often cast him as the allegorical stand-in for Russias disillusioned older generation, as wary of the Revolution as they were of the tsarist society it dismantled. And indeed, in his keep-it-close-to-the-vest reticence, I recognized many of my grandparents tendencies: an obsession with common sense; a potent distrust of propaganda; a tendency to eye roll at naivete; and above all, a really keen sense of the difference between indoor and outdoor talk. Benjamin is a survivor. But his carefully maintained silence comes crashing down when his dear friend, Boxer, is carted off to Willingdon after succumbing to labor and age. Though Squealer persuades the other animals that Boxer is, of course, bound only for the animal hospital to receive care, Benjamin finally breaks with precedent to tell them the terrible truth he has always been literate enough to know: the van taking Boxer away bears the insignia of the dreaded knacker, and Boxer is going to his doom. With the death of what is arguably the books most beloved character, Orwell shows us the futility of Benjamins revelation. It is too late for fraternal duty to override self-preservation. The notion that Western countries are clever and strong enough to both recognize and resist the grip of totalitarianism is a dangerous myth. A fairy story, if you willone to which we are ironically susceptible, because being shaped by Animal Farm deludes us into thinking we are sufficiently armed. We already know what we need to know, we might say. We all know that individuality is a form of resistance, and that anyone who hungrily pursues power is probably unworthy of attaining it. Heres some formerly indoor talk: too many of us take our freedoms for granted. Even now, those of us who never grew up fearing the dangers of indoor talk are far too cozy in the belief that we are safe from the forces that could plunge us back into a world that demands it. Animal Farm asks us to work against that delusion. We are making great strides in this direction already. In opening up about the persistent, daily injustices that shape lifemicro- and macroaggressions, racial profiling, police brutality, exploitation of body and mind, intolerance, erasure, assault, exclusioneven the most disenfranchised among us have found themselves wielding, if even for a moment, sudden and unprecedented power to enact change that once took a lifetime. At our best, we are able to stand with and for one another like never before. We celebrate one anothers rights to individuality, expression, faith and love. We have a quarter century to test Julian Symons hopeful prediction, and usher Animal Farm into the niche of fairy stories. I am not sure even that is time enough. Its entirely possible that we will never live in a world free of Napoleons and the Squealers who prop them up; that we will always find ourselves peering through windows, unable to tell the difference between the people who claim to be serving our interests and the enemies to whom they have betrayed us. But its also possible that we will never be isolated enough to keep signs of danger to ourselves as we once did; that we will openly decry every change to our commandments and insist on reiterating the history we know to be true, however terrible its contents. It is possible that we will recognize, without the blinders of Squealers proper perspective, that danger to one is danger to all; that we will read the knackers signage aloud, for all to hear, before its too late. From ANIMAL FARM published by arrangement with Berkley/Signet Classics, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright 1946, Harcourt Inc. Copyright renewed 1977, Sonia Brownell Orwell. Introduction Copyright 2020, Tea Obreht. Washington: US President Barack Obama warns Donald Trump that any tinkering with the decades-old One-China policy could invite a "very significant" reaction from Beijing, days after the President-elect questioned the policy's relevance. "The idea of One China is at the heart of their conception as a nation and so if you are going to spend this understanding, you have to have thought through what the consequences because the Chinese will not treat that the way they will treat some other issues. "They will not even treat it the way they issue around the South China Sea, where we have had a lot of tensions. This goes to the core of how they see themselves," Obama told reporters at a White House news conference yesterday. "Their reaction on this issue could end up being very significant. That does not mean that you have to adhere to everything that has been done in the past, but you have to think it through and have planned for potential reactions that they may engage in," Obama said. He was responding to a question on the recent phone conversation between Trump and the Taiwanese President and the President-elect questioning the relevance of One China Policy. At the same time, he indicated that Trump could bring in some freshness in foreign policy. "I think all of our foreign policy should be subject to fresh eyes. I am very proud of the work I have done. I think I am a better president now than when I started. But you know, if you are here for eight years in the bubble, you start seeing things a certain way and you benefit from, the democracy benefits, America benefits from some new perspectives," he said. Obama said it should be not just the prerogative, but the obligation of a new president to examine everything that has been done and see what makes sense and what does not. Given the importance of the relationship between the US and China and how much is at stake in terms of the world economy, national security, the US presence in the Asia- Pacific, China's increasing role in global affairs, there is probably no bilateral ties that carry more significance. And where there is also the potential if that relationship breaks down or goes into full conflict mode that everybody is worse off, he said. "I think it is fine for him to take a look at it. What I have advised the President-elect is that across the board on foreign policy, you want to make sure that you are doing it in a systematic, deliberate, intentional way," Obama said. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. New Zealand has recorded nine new coronavirus cases as the battle to control a second wave of new infections continues. The nine cases recorded on Monday are all believed to be linked to the Auckland cluster that plunged the city into stage three lockdown last week. Earlier on Monday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern postponed the upcoming elections by a month due to the outbreak. The latest cases include an Avondale College student, an NZ Post worker, a Ports of Auckland employee and a patient who attended a medical centre in West Auckland. New Zealand recorded nine new cases on Monday as the Auckland cluster continues to grow. Pictured is a Auckland healthcare worker testing patients at Eden Park on Sunday Of the 78 active cases, 58 are linked to the growing Auckland cluster. The other 20 cases were returned travellers who were in quarantine. Five patients are being treated in hospital. Health officials are following up on casual contacts linked to the latest confirmed cases, who attended a shopping mall, guinea pig show and fitness class in the last week. Of the 78 active cases in New Zealand, 58 are linked to the growing Auckland cluster. Pictured is a healthcare worker receiving a test at a pop-up testing clinic set up at Eden Park, Auckland New Zealand went back into lockdown last week, sparked by the first locally transmitted cases of coronavirus in 102 days. Around 26,014 tests were processed on Sunday. The Auckland outbreak was sparked by a frozen storage facility employee who passed the virus onto three family members, which spread into the community. Surfaces at coolstore factory Americold have since been tested as Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield assured there was no evidence of transmission through food or food packaging, Few Kiwis were out and about in Auckland on Monday morning, where residents can only leave their homes for essential reasons, including daily exercise, as a man takes his dog for a walk New Zealand was set to go to the polls on September 19 but Ms Ardern chose to defer it by four weeks, responding to calls from the opposition and deputy leader Winston Peters. 'I want to ensure we have a well run election that gives voters all the information they need ... and delivers certainty for the future,' she told reporters in Wellington on Monday. 'I do need to provide certainty, a sense of fairness and a sense of comfort to voters to ensure them that this will be a safe election.' Auckland is under stage three lockdown until at least August 26, where residents can only leave their homes for essential purposes. The rest of New Zealand will remain under stage two with lockdown measures to be reviewed by the government on Friday. (FILES) In this file photo taken on August 18, 2019 shows a view of Mogadishu's Lido Beach where local residents come to spend time at the beach. At least five people were killed in a gun and bomb attack by suspected Al-Shabaab fighters on an upscale beachfront hotel in Somalia's capital on August 16, 2020, officials and witnesses said. Security forces were struggling to regain control of the Elite Hotel (not seen in the photograph) in the Lido beach area more than an hour after the assault began, and the assailants appeared to have taken hostages, government security official Ahmed Omar told AFP.(Photo: Abdirazak Hussein FARAH / AFP) Security forces took four hours to regain control of the Elite Hotel in the Lido beach area of Mogadishu after five assailants stormed it early Sunday evening, said information ministry spokesman Ismael Mukhtaar Omar. "Ten people were dead and five militants were also killed, plus one Somalia special police officer," Omar told AFP. It was not clear how Somali security forces managed to end the siege on the hotel and kill the assailants, who at one point were said to have taken hostages. Earlier on Sunday, while the siege was still ongoing, a security source told AFP on condition of anonymity that one of the assailants had died in the car bomb explosion that kicked off the attack and two others had died in a shootout. Ambulance workers at the scene reported that at least 28 people were wounded. - 'There is chaos' - Witnesses said the attack began with a heavy explosion and people ran from the area as gunfire could be heard from the hotel, which is frequented by government officials. "The blast was very heavy and I could see smoke in the area. There is chaos and people are fleeing from nearby buildings," said witness Ali Sayid Adan. The dead included government official Abdirasak Abdi, who worked at the information ministry, his colleague Hussein Ali said. Al-Shabaab said they carried out the attack, according to a statement translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement claimed its fighters "took control over the hotel" in the "martyrdom-seeking operation". - Hotels targeted - Somalia plunged into chaos after the 1991 overthrow of then-President Siad Barre's military regime, leading to years of clan warfare followed by the rise of Al-Shabaab which once controlled large parts of the country and Mogadishu. Al-Shabaab was driven out of the capital in 2011, but its militants continue to wage war against the government, carrying out regular attacks. Last week four Shabaab fighters held in Mogadishu's central prison were killed in an intense shootout with security forces after they somehow managed to get their hands on weapons within the facility. The group has targeted hotels multiple times over the years, including in February 2019 when it killed at least 20 people in a car bomb and gun attack on a hotel in Mogadishu that lasted for nearly 24 hours. A month before that, Al-Shabaab killed 21 people in a siege on an upscale hotel in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, an assault that highlighted its ability to expand its network beyond Somalia's borders. Its last major attack in Mogadishu was in December 2019, when it slaughtered 81 people by detonating a vehicle packed with explosives. It is difficult to say whether the relative lull this year reflected improved capacity on the part of Somali security forces or a change in strategy by Al-Shabaab, said Omar Mahmood, Somalia senior analyst for International Crisis Group. For the past year Somali forces have been engaged in an offensive in the nearby Lower Shabelle region designed to stymie efforts by Al-Shabaab to move weapons into the capital, Mahmood noted. But there has been "an uptick in activity" in Mogadishu since late June including suicide attacks targeting government and military facilities, he said. The claim of responsibility distributed Sunday stressed that the Elite Hotel "is inhabited by a large number of government officials". "This is kind of getting back to the attacks they used to do," Mahmood said. "Al-Shabaab sees these hotels as an extension of the government more or less, so they are targeted in that way." The USS Nimitz has been performing drills in the South China Sea - Samantha Jetzer/EPA The worlds largest naval exercise begins off the coast of Hawaii on Monday as diplomatic tensions escalate between the US and its allies and China over Beijings territorial ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. Several countries participating in the joint exercises, billed by the US navy as strengthening alliances to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific have raised concerns about Chinas attempts to assert its control over critical trade routes and waterways. They include Australia, Japan, the Philippines and India. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) event, hosted by the US Pacific Fleet, to scale down from 25 to 11 nations, about 20 ships and 5,300 personnel, and its drills, which will now only be conducted at sea, have been whittled down from the usual five weeks to two. However, the exercises have riled Beijing, which was not invited to participate, despite taking part in 2014 and 2016. China was disinvited in 2018 by the Trump administration which accused it of militarising disputed areas of the South China Sea. US navy drills in the South China Sea - Jason Tarleton/EPA Chinese state media has lashed out at the US in the run up to RIMPAC. The Global Times in particular has issued several barbed commentaries on Washingtons attempts to flex its military muscle and strongarm allies to join the exercise. The US can test its partners in the RIMPAC But when it comes to a real battlefield, will the US still be able to assemble that many allies? it asked last week. On Monday, the state-run paper chided the US for ignoring a petition by Hawaiian citizens to call off the event over coronavirus fears. China, however, in recent weeks has stepped up its own show of force in the Indo-Pacific region, carrying out drills both in the South China Sea and in waters near Taiwan, an island democracy and US ally that Beijing claims as its own and seeks to annex. On Sunday, the Peoples Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong released footage of a live-fire drill in the South China, firing cannons and torpedoes and carrying out anti-submarine training, in what military analysts said was a warning to Taiwan. Story continues The footage emerged a day after the US navy said a strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan had conducted maritime air defence operations. A Chinese J-16 performs during an aviation open day - AFP Indo-Pacific experts have warned the region is heading towards a dangerous juncture. Writing in the Lawfare Blog, Kurt Campbell, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and the Pacific and Ali Wyne of the Atlantic Council, said deteriorating ties between the US and China, in part fuelled by the pandemic, made current dynamics even more conducive to inadvertent escalation. Dr William Choong, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told The Telegraph that you cant divorce China and RIMPAC from the broader tensions in the Sino-US relationship. He added that in the bigger picture it looks like the Chinese are getting increasingly impatient, although I think that its an action reaction cycle that you see between the Americans and the Chinese you cant really ascertain who started this in a sense. Ultimately the situation was worrying, he said, as unlike during earlier regional clashes, the balance of power has quite significantly shifted towards the Chinese side, in terms of the capabilities that the Chinese are able to bring to the table, which are significantly larger. Meanwhile, the US and South Korea will also begin their annual joint military exercises this week. Despite a low key programme due to the pandemic, mainly involving computer-simulated war scenarios, the drills beginning on Tuesday may still irk North Korea, which views the allies training as invasion rehearsals. California sizzled to a triple-digit temperature so hot that meteorologists need to verify it as a planet-wide high mark. Death Valley recorded a scorching 130 degrees (54.4 degrees Celsius) Sunday, which if the sensors and other conditions check out, would be the hottest Earth has been in more than 89 years and the third-warmest ever measured. The temperature, measured at the aptly-named Furnace Creek during a blistering heat wave, would be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth in August, said Arizona State University professor Randy Cerveny, who coordinates the World Meteorological Organizations extreme temperature team, which is already investigating the mark. That 130 is only below the disputed all-time record of 134 degrees (56.67 Celsius) at nearly the same spot in 1913 and a 131-degree mark (55 degrees) in Tunisia in 1931, but both were in July, traditionally the planet's hottest month. The relentlessly hot weather conditions at the spot support such an extreme reading, so much of the verification effort will be looking at how the measurement was taken and the sensor itself, Cerveny said. Sunday's temperature would beat marks of 129 (53.9 Celsius) recorded three times in recent years, he said. The monitor is an official one that follows world guidelines, but still needs to be examined in a process that takes months, he said. We are having more extremes than we had in the past, Cerveny said. The world is creeping up on (the 134-degree record) year after year. That is something that cannot be denied, Cerveny said Monday. These extremes tell us a lot about what will happen in the future. The western heat wave is due to a massive dome of high pressure that keeps roasting the West and the normal Southwest monsoon that would provide rain and relief is missing, so there has been no cooling, Cerveny said. Phoenix has gone weeks with temperatures not dipping below 90, even at night or early in the morning, he said. The 130-mark capped a week and an ongoing summer of very strange weather, said Deke Arndt, director of the National Weather Service's Center for Weather and Climate and former chairman of the U.S. national weather extremes committee. On Saturday, a fire tornado formed during a wildfire near Chilcoot, California, worsened by the western heat wave. The fire was burning so incredibly intense, so there is just so much heat going into it" that air rose in a swirl just like what happens in some thunderstorms, said Dawn Johnson, senior meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Reno, Nevada. It almost looks like a bomb went off. And days before that, a violent straight-wind derecho devastated parts of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, killing four people and causing billions of dollars in damages. Also, the Atlantic keeps setting records for earliest hurricanes, with 11 forming before mid August and the beginning of peak season. These kinds of things are certainly consistent with everybody's expectation for what we expect to see more often with man-made global warming, said Jennifer Francis, a senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, formerly Woods Hole Research Center, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Death Valley's National Park's 130-degree temperature was recorded at 3:41 p.m. at Furnace Creek near the park's visitor center. It's the same area that holds the world record for highest temperature ever recorded 134 degrees (56.67 Celsius) set on July 10, 1913, although that record remains in dispute. Arndt said meteorologists have made good cases for and against the record's legitimacy. With this new temperature, Arndt said his former committee might look yet again at the 1913 record, which Cerveny said is based on peer reviewed research and is official. While individual one-day records shouldn't be used to make a case for or against climate change, scientists say the overall context of more extreme weather and higher temperature shows global warming at work. Death Valley, an austere landscape in the desert of southeastern California, includes Badwater Basin, which at 282 feet (85.9 meters) below sea level is the lowest point in North America. Nearby mountains also help trap heat there and the dry land helps temperatures get hotter, Cerveny said. Summer heat is so routinely extreme that tourists are warned to drink at least a gallon (4 liters) of water each day, carry additional water in their cars, stay close to their vehicles and watch themselves and others for dizziness, nausea and other symptoms of potentially deadly heat illness. Ive been in Death Valley for 122 (50 Celsius), Cerveny said. Its just like be enveloped in a thick hot blanket of air. There is just no relief to it. Chinese authorities have granted the first invention patent to a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which experts said demonstrates the vaccine's originality and creativity and would enhance the international market's trust in Chinese-developed COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine, a recombinant adenovirus vaccine named Ad5-nCoV, is co-developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics Inc., one of the vaccine candidate's co-developers, and a team led by Chinese military infectious disease expert Chen Wei. According to a document published on China's National Intellectual Property Administration website, the vaccine can be mass-produced in a short time in the event of an outbreak, CGTN reported. The grant of the patent further confirmed the vaccine's efficacy and safety and convincingly demonstrated the ownership of its intellectual property rights (IPR), CanSino said in a statement on Sunday. Russian President Vladimir Putin last week announced the development of the world's first vaccine against the novel coronavirus, adding that his daughter had already been vaccinated. White farmers in Zimbabwe whose land was taken from them and redistributed to Blacks have welcomed a $3.5 billion compensation plan, which the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa hopes will also encourage foreign investment in Zimbabwes imploding economy. During the Robert Mugabe era, thousands of commercial farms in Zimbabwe were seized from white farmers and redistributed to Black farmers. The July reparation deal is for development of the land irrigation, buildings and dams not the land itself and amounts to $3.5 billion. Even though Zimbabwe does not currently have the funds, Ben Gilpin, a director at the Zimbabwe Commercial Farmers Union, is hopeful. Given that the average age of farmers when they lost their property was 55, and its nearly 20 years on, you can see that many are no longer able to work, so they have exhausted their resources. So, it will be a relief to them that there is possibility of closure. With luck it will unlock some challenges facing the country. The union represented 4,500 white farmers forced off their land during reforms that were meant to correct colonial-era land seizures. But when the land was redistributed, production plunged, sending Zimbabwes economy into a tailspin from which it never recovered. Thats partly because of a lack of experience of the new farmers, experts say. David Donnoly is one of the few white farmers who were not affected by Zimbabwes land reform, and he is against the reparation deal. Land is one of Zimbabwes greatest assets, Donnoly said. Its an asset that cannot be externalized, but its an asset that can be collateralized and become bankable. This [reparation deal] does not allow that to happen. He continued: We have seen in the last couple of years, because the land is not bankable, government has had to come with huge subsidies. And all of them have been a failure because that money is not recoverable, because the land is dead capital. Donnoly wants the deal to allow resettled farmers to have land titles. He says that will allow them to get funding from the commercial market and help the government raise money to pay displaced farmers. He said that would be better than continual assistance, which now runs into billions of dollars, since the land reform started in 2000. Mthuli Ncube, finance minister, says the intention is that the deal will bring back foreign investment that fled the country when the properties were seized. And he is concerned about the farmers. Its very important that the issue should be resolved. Its an issue, in a sense, that triggered the kind of negative sentiments that we have received from some global partners. That needs to be resolved. Its not a normal situation. Ncube says Zimbabwe plans to raise the compensation for white farmers through international donors and a long-term bond with the aim of completing payouts in five years. He says if they cant raise the reparation money in time, the government will simply reschedule the payments. India has been extending its hands to long-time partner Nepal by supplying various medicines and equipment to fight the COVID-19 crisis. Soon after assuming office, newly appointed Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, handed over 23 tons of essential medicines to Nepal including hydroxychloroquine, paracetamol amongst others, on April 23. The Indian Ambassador handed over COVID-19 test kits to Nepal's Health Minister on May 17. The 30,000 PCR kits manufactured by India's molecular diagnostics company Mylab helped Nepal in accelerating its testing capacity against the virus. Understanding the gravity of the situation and increased requirement of ventilators in Nepal, India sent life-saving ventilators to the Himalayan nation. On August 9, Kwatra handed over 10 ventilators worth Rs 28 million to the Nepal Army. "This year has been exceptionally difficult for humanity as we grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused large-scale global economic disruption and loss of human lives. We are deeply grateful for the exemplary courage and strength displayed by healthcare workers, law enforcement officials, researchers, scientists and first responders in India and Nepal in fighting the pandemic," Kwatra said. "On its part, India has always been extending COVID-related medical assistance to over 123 countries, including Nepal. We will continue to stand by Nepal in its efforts to address the public health crisis," he said. Till August 16, Nepal has recorded a total of 26,660 COVID-19 cases, with 17,335 cases of recoveries and 104 fatalities. (ANI) Also Read: India and Nepal are set to hold a high-level meeting on Monday to take stock of the progress of the ongoing projects in Nepal. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinah Mohan Kwatra will hold talks with Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi via video conferencing on Monday. This will be the first high-level talk between the two sides since ties were hit by a border row. Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli issued a new map of Nepal, incorporating Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura. Thereafter, India said the updated map was not based on historical facts and evidence, and termed the claims by Kathmandu as artificial enlargement. Besides, the two countries have also engaged in a war of words over the origins of Lord Ram and Gautam Buddha. India has been assisting Nepal in various developmental projects in order to uplift grassroots-infrastructure in the country. New Delhi has assisted Kathmandu in various sectors like education, health, sanitisation, drinking water, medical campus, etc. According to news agency ANI, India has completed 422 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), covering 77 districts of Nepal with a financial grant of over 798.7 crore Nepali rupees, since 2003. Moreover, on India's 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli held a telephonic conversation. Oli appreciated PM Modi's "renewed priority to the neighbourhood as spelled out in Independence Day address". Also read: India to set up solar manufacturing zones; impose 15-20% duty to discourage imports from China Also read: Gold price trading flat after five sessions of fall; silver rates at Rs 68,500 A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has now killed more than 772,000 people worldwide. Over 21.7 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 5.4 million diagnosed cases and at least 170,434 deaths. Latest headlines: NYC gyms still not reopening, says mayor UNC Chapel Hill cancels in-person classes after coronavirus cases rise Virus that causes COVID-19 confirmed in mink in Utah Here's how the news is developing today. All times Eastern. Please refresh this page for updates. 7:35 p.m.: NYC gyms not reopening anytime soon, mayor says Gyms in New York City won't be opening next week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said hours after an announcement that fitness facilities in the state could reopen as early as next Monday. "There's no higher priority than making sure our schools and child care centers are safe for learning in the fall, and the city's dedicated team of inspectors will continue prioritizing that work," de Blasio said in a statement. "While indoor fitness classes and indoor pools will not be opening at this time, we'll be developing a fair and rigorous inspection system for other gym setups in the coming weeks." MORE: New York gyms can reopen at 33% capacity; masks required Earlier on Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that gyms in New York state could reopen at a 33% capacity limit with masks worn at all times as early as Aug. 24. Facilities will also have to undergo inspections to stay open. Story continues 6:55 p.m.: Kansas City Chiefs to start season with stadium at 22% capacity When the Kansas City Chiefs kick off their season next month, the Super Bowl champs could have more than 16,000 fans in attendance. Team officials announced Monday that the Chiefs' Arrowhead Stadium will have a reduced capacity of about 22% to start the season. The stadium normally can hold over 76,000 people. Local officials, including the Kansas City mayor, health director and EMS medical director, approved the plan, the team said. Among the stadium's COVID-19 protocols, masks will be required at all times except when eating or drinking, no bags will be allowed inside, hand sanitization stations have been installed throughout the stadium and high-touch areas will be cleaned before, during and after each game with hospital-grade disinfectants. The team kicks off its season on Sept. 10 against the Houston Texans. Over 60 players across the NFL have opted out of the upcoming season due to COVID-19 concerns, including three Chiefs, according to ESPN. 4:25 p.m.: UNC Chapel Hill cancels in-person classes after cases rise After coronavirus positivity rates rose from 2.8% to 13.6% at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, school officials have decided to move all undergraduate in-person classes to remote learning, they announced Monday. PHOTO: People remove belongings on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., amid the coronavirus pandemic, March 18, 2020. (Gerry Broome/AP, FILE) When students started moving into dorms two weeks ago, officials kept buildings at less than 60% capacity and classrooms at less than 30% capacity, the school said. However, 177 students are now in isolation and another 349 are quarantining, officials said. The undergraduate shift from in-person to remote will go into effect Wednesday. Classes for the graduate, professional and health affairs schools will continue as they were, officials said. 4 p.m.: US Open's top-seeded female player drops out due to COVID-19 Simona Halep, the top-seeded female tennis player at this year's U.S. Open, has dropped out of the tournament due to COVID-19 concerns. Halep tweeted Monday, "After weighing up all the factors involved and with the exceptional circumstances in which we are living, I have decided that I will not travel to New York to play the @usopen. I always said I would put my health at the heart of my decision." PHOTO: Simona Halep, of Romania, returns a shot to Taylor Townsend during the second round of the U.S. Open tennis championships in New York. (Kevin Hagen/AP, FILE) Halep, who is currently ranked No. 2 in the world, is the 12th singles player to drop out of this year's grand slam tournament. Most of those 12 players cited COVID-19 as a reason. Ashleigh Barty, who was ranked No. 1, had also previously dropped out due to COVID-19. MORE: Timeline: WHO's response to the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing controversy The U.S. Tennis Association released its Health and Safety Plan for the U.S. Open earlier on Monday. Players and members of the highest tiered bubble will be tested twice; after two negative results, they will be tested every four days. Members of the tightest bubble will receive access to the National Tennis Center following the first negative test. The U.S. Open will begin Aug. 31. 2:10 p.m.: Nearly half of adults risk more severe COVID-19 disease due to underlying medical conditions Nearly half of U.S. adults -- 45.4% -- have a greater risk of more severe coronavirus disease because they are living with one or more underlying medical conditions, according to a CDC study published in the August edition of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases. PHOTO: People line-up to take a Covid-19 test in the Sunset Park, Aug. 13, 2020, in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Researchers focused on heart disease, diabetes, lung disease (COPD and asthma), hypertension and cancer because those six conditions were associated with a higher death rate, according to early data from China. People with one or more of these medical conditions are more likely to experience more serious health problems if infected with COVID-19, according to the study. PHOTO: A nurse with the Washington, D.C. Dept. of Health, administers a COVID-19 test on F Street, Aug. 14, 2020, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP) The older the person is, the greater the risk is, according to the study. The study was based on self-reported information from telephone surveys. It does not include information from nursing homes and long-term care facilities so this is likely an underestimate of underlying health conditions. 1:30 p.m.: Virus that causes COVID-19 confirmed in mink in Utah SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans, was found among mink at two farms in Utah, according to the United States Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratories. PHOTO: American Mink is seen in this stock photo. (STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images) Some people who had contact with the mink were found to have COVID-19, the USDA said. The number of infected animals was not released. MORE: First dog to test positive for COVID-19 in North Carolina dies "After unusually large numbers of mink died at the farms, the Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory completed necropsies on several of the affected animals," the department said in a statement Monday. "Samples were forwarded and tested presumptive positive for SARS-CoV-2 at the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory. Both laboratories are members of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network. The presumptive positive samples were then sent to NVSL for confirmatory testing." These are the first confirmed cases of the virus among mink in the U.S. Mink were previously found to have the virus in the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark, the USDA said. 1:10 p.m.: Canadian Football League cancels season The Canadian Football League announced Monday that it's canceling the fall season instead of moving ahead with the planned shortened season. PHOTO: Calgary Stampeders running back KaDeem Carey is brought down by Edmonton Eskimos defensive back Don Unamba and defensive back Josh Johnson (26) during a Canadian Football League game at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, Sept. 7, 2019. (erry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters, FILE) "The league lost its number one source of venue -- fans in the stands -- when the COVID-19 pandemic prevented large gatherings," the league said in a statement. "Unlike US-based leagues that can count on television or streaming to provide the lion's share of their revenue, the CFL depends heavily on its live gate." MORE: 5 lasting changes from the COVID-19 pandemic "Despite months of discussions, the government ultimately declined the CFL's appeal for financial support," the league said. "Even with additional support, our owners and community-held teams would have had to endure significant financial losses to play in 2020," Commissioner Randy Ambrosie said in the statement. "This outcome after months of discussions with government officials is disappointing. But we're focused now on the long-term future and we will continue to work with the federal and provincial governments in that context." 12:42 p.m.: Expert stresses importance of universal flu vaccine during pandemic Emory University's infectious disease expert Dr. Rafi Ahmed said in a video briefing Monday that it's critical that the U.S. not forget about the flu as the pandemic moves forward. PHOTO: Tourists wearing ponchos and face masks walk through Times Square in the rain, Aug. 16, 2020, in New York. (Bryan R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images) In the last decade, flu infections in the U.S. have ranged from 9 million to 45 million per year and deaths have ranged from 10,000 to 60,000 per year, he said. The vaccine used for influenza changes annually because every year different strains of the virus emerge, which require the development of new vaccines adapted to fight against them, explained Ahmed. Occasionally a more dangerous strain emerges that can lead to a pandemic, like the swine flu in 2009, he said. PHOTO: A sign for Flu Shots at the CVS Pharmacy in the South End of Boston, Jan. 9, 2013. (Rick Friedman/Corbis via Getty Images, FILE) Although the current influenza vaccines are effective, there is still room for improvement, he said. In particular, Ahmed said "we would like to get away from immunizing people every year" and develop a long-term influenza vaccine that might last "five years, ten years, or maybe even longer." 11:50 a.m.: NY gyms can soon reopen at limited capacity In New York, gyms can open on Aug. 24 at 33% capacity, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday. Masks will be mandatory at all times, he said, and health guidelines will be enforced including ventilation requirements. PHOTO: Taylor Wroblewski and her Dad Frank jump rope during an outdoor Jetty Gym 'Outside The Box' fitness workout, July 20, 2020, in Oceanside, New York. (Al Bello/Getty Images, FILE) Localities must inspect the facilities before or within two weeks of reopening, Cuomo said, and localities will also make decisions on indoor fitness classes. PHOTO: Taylor Wroblewski and her Dad Frank squat during an outdoor Jetty Gym 'Outside The Box' fitness workout, July 20, 2020, in Oceanside, New York. (Al Bello/Getty Images, FILE) New York, once the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, now has one of the lowest coronavirus rates in the country, Cuomo said. PHOTO: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo removes a mask as he holds a news conference in Tarrytown, N.Y., June 15, 2020. (Mark Lennihan/AP, FILE) Of those tested in New York state on Sunday, .71% tested positive for the coronavirus -- the lowest daily number so far, Cuomo said. 11:10 a.m.: LA launches testing, tracing program at schools The Los Angeles Unified School District -- the nation's second largest school district -- is launching a coronavirus testing and contact tracing program at schools, said Superintendent Austin Beutner. The district is reopening with virtual learning starting Tuesday. PHOTO: An empty classroom is seen at Hollywood High School, Aug. 13, 2020, in Hollywood, Calif. (Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images) Staff, students and their families will get regular testing which will be used "to study the impact and effects of reopening," the district said. "While this testing and contact tracing effort is unprecedented, it is necessary and appropriate," Beutner said in a statement. "This will provide a public health benefit to the school community, as well as the greater Los Angeles area." PHOTO: A volunteer hands a child a backpack filled with school supplies at a distribution to support neighborhood families, Aug. 14, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) It also benefits students' education "by getting them back to school sooner and safer and keeping them there," he said. "We hope this effort also will provide learnings which can benefit other school systems," he added. California has more than 625,000 coronavirus cases, higher than any other state in the U.S. 8:15 a.m.: Bolivia's case count tops 100,000 amid protests More than 100,000 people in Bolivia have now been diagnosed with COVID-19. The Bolivian Ministry of Health announced the grim milestone on Sunday night, noting that 60% of the diagnosed cases remain active, including 1,198 new infections. There were also 55 additional coronavirus-related fatalities in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 4,058 nationwide. PHOTO: Those who object to the recent postponement of the presidential elections take part in a protest in El Alto, Bolivia, on Aug. 14, 2020. (Juan Karita/AP) The South American nation descended into chaos and civil unrest last month after the government decided to postpone the first round of the presidential election again, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The vote, which was initially supposed to be held in May, will now take place on Oct. 18. Thousands of people have continued to protest in the streets. 7:23 a.m.: Tulsa sees surge in teachers seeking to file wills A rising number of teachers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, are seeking to file wills amid the coronavirus pandemic and fears of returning to the classroom, according to a report from local ABC affiliate KTUL. The Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association told KTUL that the requests from teachers to file wills have increased by 200% since May. Tulsa Public Schools is set to resume classes virtually on Aug. 31. Teachers told KTUL they are thankful that the school district is starting with distance learning for the first nine weeks and they hope it will be extended if the city's COVID-19 numbers don't go down. They said they're afraid of bringing the virus home to their families. 6:18 a.m.: Arizona school district cancels classes due to staff absences A school district in Arizona was forced to cancel Monday classes after more than 100 staff members called out. The J. O. Combs Unified School District in Arizona's Pinal County was set to resume in-person classes but notified parents in a letter dated Friday that "we have received a high volume of staff absences for Monday citing health and safety concerns." "Due to these insufficient staffing levels, schools will not be able to re-open on Monday as planned," the school district said. "This means that all classes, including virtual learning, will be canceled. At this time, we do not know the duration of these staff absences, and cannot yet confirm when in-person instruction may resume." PHOTO: Cesar Chavez High School in Phoenix, Arizona, is closed to students for in-person learning on Aug. 6, 2020. (Ross D. Franklin/AP) The school district added that they "will continue to monitor the situation and will share an update no later than 5:00 p.m. on Monday." A spokesperson for the school district told Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV that at least 109 people, including teachers and office staff, have requested not to work. Last week, the head of the Arizona Health Services Department and the state's superintendent of public instruction laid out a series of guidelines that public schools were urged to use when deciding whether COVID-19 infection rates are low enough to safely reopen for full in-person learning. 5:37 a.m.: India's coronavirus death toll crosses 50,000 India's health ministry recorded 941 additional coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide death toll to 50,921. The country of 1.3 billion people has the world's fourth-highest death toll from COVID-19, behind the United States, Brazil and Mexico, according to a real-time tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. PHOTO: A health worker wearing personal protective equipment collects a swab sample from a doctor, who was on duty at a screening camp for residents, to test for COVID-19 in Mumbai, India, on Aug. 17, 2020. (Indranil Mukherjee/AFP via Getty Images) More than 2.6 million people in India have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began -- the third-highest count in the world. 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 4:29 a.m.: Another school closes its doors in Georgia amid rising cases A third school in Georgia's Cherokee County is shuttering due to a growing cluster of coronavirus cases among its students and staff. The Cherokee County School District announced Sunday that it was temporarily closing Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia, with the hope of resuming in-person classes there on Aug. 31. "Over this weekend, the number of positive cases at Creekview High School has increased to a total of 25, with 500 of its 1,800 in-person students now under precautionary quarantine, and additional tests pending that would significantly increase the quarantine total," the Cherokee County School District said in a statement. "We understand these closings create hardships and are disappointing to students who want to learn in-person as well as their families, but these are necessary measures to avoid potential spread within our schools." PHOTO: A TV news reporter films a hit in front of supporters of the Cherokee County School District's decision to reopen schools to students during the coronavirus pandemic as they rally outside the headquarters in Canton, Georgia, on Aug. 11, 2020. (Dustin Chambers/Reuters) The school district has also temporarily closed in-person learning at Woodstock High School and Etowah High School, where reopening is also tentatively scheduled for Aug. 31. Remote learning will be in effect for all students at the three schools in the meantime. Cherokee County reopened its schools on Aug. 3, welcoming back 30,000 students for in-person learning. Since then, at least 1,876 students and 45 staff members from more than a dozen schools have been placed under mandated two-week quarantines, according to data published on the school district's website. 3:45 a.m.: US reports under 1,000 new deaths for 1st time in 7 days There were 42,048 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the United States on Sunday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University. Sunday's case count is well below the record set on July 16, when more than 77,000 new cases were identified in a 24-hour reporting period. An additional 572 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded Sunday. It's the first time in seven days that the nation has reported under 1,000 new deaths. PHOTO: Health workers provide COVID-19 testing on a street in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 14, 2020. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images) A total of 5,403,361 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and at least 170,052 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. An internal memo from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, obtained by ABC News on Sunday night, shows that the nationwide number of new cases over the last week has continued to decrease in week-over-week comparisons, while the number of new deaths has reversed and gone up. ABC News' Stephanie Ebbs, Alexandra Faul, Josh Hoyos, Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin, Arielle Mitropoulos, Darren Reynolds and Sony Salzman contributed to this report. Coronavirus updates: School district cancels classes due to staff absences originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Seoul, Aug 17 : The US Forces Korea (USFK) on Monday raised the health protection level against the Covid-19 pandemic for all areas within South Korea as local infections accelerated. Effective at 5 a.m. Monday, the USFK heightened the Health Protection Condition Level to Charlie (HPCON C) for all areas in the country, Yonhap News Agency quoted the Forces as saying in a Facebook post. Under the revised rules, the number of personnel working on bases will be reduced, and the USFK will conduct health checks such as temperature screening on all people entering its military bases. The decision to raise the HPCON level to all areas within the country came after South Korea's new COVID-19 cases reached a five-month high of 279 on Sunday, spiking up from 166 on Saturday. The recent surge in cases has prompted the health authorities to place stricter social distancing guidelines on Seoul and the metropolitan areas, scaling up the national alert level by one notch to Level 2 for two weeks from Sunday. Five more American service members have tested positive for the virus, according to the USFK on Monday. The latest figure brought the total number of USFK-related cases to 157. The president of Ghana, Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, inaugurated the handing over of the building housing the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to African Union (AU) on Monday 17 August 2020. What role is AfCFTA going to play in the era of Covid 19 and beyond? Coronavirus Pandemic, popularly know as Covid 19, has created havoc in the world since the first coronavirus cluster was reported in Wuhan, China on 31 December 2019. As at August 17, 2020, the virus has killed 773,586 people worldwide and infested 21,852,241. The pandemic has affected 213 countries and territories around the world and 2 international conveyances. Many families have lost their loved ones to Covid 19, many people have lost their means of income and livelihood, the economies of the world have shrunk and there is undoubtedly an impending economic recession that is going to affect how people live. But despite all the curses of Covid 19, there are numerous blessings that would also make the people of the world have healthier lives, the economies of nations stronger, cause global businesses to adapt better standards and better improve personal lives than before the outbreak of the pandemic. Many have learnt to observe personal hygiene, such as regular washing of hands and washing of things they put into their mouths, regular cleansing of their bodies and their environments. These hygienic practices have reduced common and fatal sicknesses such as common cold, flu, watery eye, running stomach and stomach upsets, diarrhea, cholera and malaria. Apart from higher awareness and consciousness of global hygiene, awareness of people to wash their hands regularly and washing of things they put into their mouths, clean their homes and persons and environment, there has also been a global awareness of nutrition, what people eat and drink to keep their immune system strong. People are more conscious of what they eat and drink than ever before, many have adapted to nutritions which are not only boosting their immune system, but also supplying the minerals and substances vital to their lives and rejecting food and drinks that are high in unhealthy cabs, meat, sugar, fat, unhealthy oils and salt and are eating more vegetables, fiber, fruits, seafoods and fishes, lean meat and healthy oils. Many have reduced alcohol consumption and that of soda drinks and increased water drinking, reduced their body weight by cutting down calories intake, cut long distance travels and began to enjoy holidays at their backyards, locality and regions, and now have more time for themselves and their families more than ever before. These would at the end help reduce known diseases in the globe such as diabetes, hypertension, strokes, heart diseases, cancer and reduce spread of others such gastrointestinal diseases, cholera, diarrhea and malaria. Obesity is a global health problem, Many people in the world are obese. Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on the health of the individual. It may be hereditary, but it is generally caused by eating too much and moving too little. If one consumes high amounts of calories, particularly fat and sugars, and does not burn off the excess energy through exercises and physical activities such as walking for at least half an hour a day or perform energy consuming tasks such as jobbing and sport, but doing nothing, only sleeping and watching television on the sofa or playing with smart phones and computer, the one becomes obese. Apart from better global health as a result of Covid 19, the global economies would be stronger after the period of depression and recession, especially the third world countries. This is not going to come if the third world countries still maintain their sleeping state. But they stand a better chance to awaken now. Every country, region and block in the word are now caring for their people and economy, and their care for others have shrunk. Everyone is for oneself now. This has provoked the third world countries to do something for themselves, as they see the world become a place for protectionism. This protectionism approach is expected to benefit countries of Africa, but more work and economic Inteligence and regional commercial cooperation are extremely important if the continent of Africa is going to survive and come out stronger after Covid 19 era. It appeared Africa was preparing for something like that when it rectified the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) on March 22, 2018, two years before the global outbreak of Covid 19 in the first quarter of 2020. The AfCTA is the largest regional trade agreement in the world in terms of the number of participating countries since the formation of the World Trade Organization. The agreement was brokered by the African Union (AU) and was signed on by 44 of its 55 member states in Kigali, Rwanda on March 21, 2018. The agreement initially requires members to remove tariffs from 90% of goods, allowing free access to commodities, goods, and services across the continent. The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa estimates that the agreement will boost intra-African trade by 52 percent by 2022. The proposal was set to come into force 30 days after ratification by 22 of the signatory states. At 2012 submit of African Union in Addis Ababa, the leaders agreed to create a new Continental Free Trade Area by 2017. At the 2015 AU summit in Johannesburg, the summit agreed to commence negotiations. This began a series of negotiations for over three years. The first negotiation was held in February 2016 and eight more meetings until the Summit in March 2018 in Kigali. From February 2017 on the technical working groups held four meetings, where technical issues were discussed and implemented in the draft. On March 89, 2018 the African Union Ministers of Trade approved the draft. As of July 2019, 54 of the 55 African Union states had signed the agreement, with Eritrea the only country not signing the agreement. Of these member states 27 have deposited their instrument of ratification. Eritrea was not signing die to its conflict with Ethiopia. But following the 2018 EritreaEthiopia summit, the AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry now expects Eritrea to sign the agreement. The African Continental Free Trade Area did not come into effect until 22 of the signing countries ratified the agreement, which occurred in April 2019 when The Gambia became the 22nd country to ratify it. As of December 2019, 28 countries have ratified and deposited their documents, Morocco has rectified, but yet to deposit it. Nigerian, the largest economy and the most populated country in Africa, signed the AfCFTA agreement on 7 July 2019 after a long consultation with local trade unions and manufacturers associations, who rose against the nations decision to sign the agreement. At 200 million people, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and has about the population of the second and third most-populous countries, Ethiopia and Egypt, combined, each of which have a population around 98 million. With a nominal GDP of US$376 billion, or around 17% of Africa's GDP, it is just ahead of South Africa, which accounts for 16% of Africa's economy. Because Nigeria is such a significant country in terms of its population and its economy, its absence at the initial signing of the agreement was particularly disturbing. The Nigeria Labour Congress called the agreement a "renewed, extremely dangerous and radioactive neo-liberal policy initiative", suggesting increased economic pressure would pressure workers into migration under difficult and unsafe conditions. The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, which represents 3,000 Nigerian manufacturers, rallied for a decision to back out of the agreement. As 2018 drew to a close, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the delay by Nigeria to sign the agreement was "regrettable", emphasizing the lack of trade in goods amongst African countries, the difficulties in travelling from one African country to another, and the colonial legacy which these restrictions on Africa's growth represented. President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari was particularly reluctant to join if it hurt Nigerian entrepreneurship and industry. On July 7, 2019 Nigeria and Benin committed to signing the Africa free trade at the 12th extraordinary session of the assembly of the union on ACFTA; leaving Eritrea as the only nation out of the 55 African Union Member States not to sign up to the deal. At the AU Executive Council 18th Extraordinary Session in Kigali, Rwanda in 2018, the AUC was tasked to develop criteria that would ensure the setting up of an efficient AfCFTA Secretariat, which would in the interim be located within the Commission. Ghana was chosen to host the secretariat of AfCTA at the 12th AU Extraordinary Summit held in Niamey, the capital of Niger July 2019, after Ghana beat off competition from Egypt, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal. In his acceptance speech, during the close session of the Summit, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, thanked the Assembly for the decision, stating that "it is a privilege that, for the first time in our nation's history, we have the responsibility of hosting an important pan-African institution." President Akufo-Addo expressed his gratitude to President Macky Sall of Senegal for stepping down Senegal's candidature in favour of Ghana, and also showed his appreciation to the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Abiy Ahmed respectively, for similar gestures of solidarity. Whilst applauding the member states that have deposited their instruments of ratification at the AU Commission Headquarters in Addis Ababa, the President expressed his delight at the decision taken by Nigeria to sign up to the Agreement, stressing that "the adhesion of Nigeria to the Free Trade Area has enhanced considerably its prospects of success." With the AfCFTA now the world's largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organisation, it would cover a market of 1.2 billion people, with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of $2.5 trillion, across the 54 Member States of the African Union that have signed up to the Agreement. "We have, today, taken very important steps towards working with a common voice and a common purpose to exploit the abundant wealth and resources of our great continent for the benefit of all our peoples. Indeed, the 'Africa We Want' is achievable," the President said. President Akufo-Addo assured his colleague Heads of State that Ghana would put all the requisite facilities at the disposal of the Secretariat, so that it can run as a world-class organisation. In addition, and pursuant to the Statutes of the AU Commission, he indicated that the Secretariat would enjoy the privileges and immunities stipulated in the OAU General Convention on Privileges and Immunities, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Privileges and Immunities, and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the Vienna Convention between States and International Organisations or between International Organisations. The President urged Assembly to direct the AU Commission to prepare and execute a host-country agreement in accordance with the Executive Council Decision EX.CL/195 (VII) Rev.1 of July 2005 on hosting AU Organs; and hold consultations with Ghana and key stakeholders to prepare the statutes of the AfCFTA Secretariat with a view to providing a report for the consideration of the Council of Ministers of Trade. "Ghana is ready to donate US$10 million to the African Union to support the operationalisation of the Secretariat. I have set up an inter-Ministerial Committee of my government to work with the AU Commission towards this end," he indicated. President Akufo-Addo called on pan-African institutions such as the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the African Development Bank, the African Export-Import Bank and other key stakeholders, including friends of Africa, to provide such support as they can, towards the establishment of the Secretariat. "I am determined to do whatever I can to guarantee the smooth take-off of the Secretariat, and help make sure that it turns out to be a world-class institution, which will become the pride and joy of all Africans," he said. President Akufo-Addo added, "We owe it to generations unborn to ensure that the biggest trading bloc on the globe, whose outcomes will be rewarding to all, and which will assist in attaining the "Africa We Want," does not falter." IS GHANA BEYOND AID AGENDA TRANSMITTED TO AFRICA BEYOND AID AGENDA? Immediately, President Nana Akufo-Addo took over the presidency of Ghana, he declared Agenda Ghana Beyond Aid, which instantly echoed on the global village of economies. The President and his government began to embark the largest industrial policy the country had even experienced in its 63 years of post-independence life. Duped One District One Factory (1D1F) policy, the policy was to revolutionize industrialization in the country. Within three years, over 50 factories have been built or revamped across the country. Foreign companies, such as Volkswagen and Toyota Car Manufacturers established assembly plants in the country. Heavy railway development, roads networks and modern interchanges to connect the rural and urban centers and major mineral sites in the countries and the West African subregion were vigorously embarked. A transnational railway project from the Seaport of Tema through Pagadian to Ouagadougou the capital city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. Burkina Faso already has a railway line that runs from Kaya to the border with Cote d'Ivoire. As of June 2014, 'Sitarail' Railway Company operates a passenger train three times a week along the route from Ouagadougou to Abidjan., a journey of 43 to 48 hours. A trans-regional highway to connect Ivory Coast on the West and Togo on the East has been built through Tema, known as the Tema Motorway Interchange. All these were not just a national agenda, but an agenda towards West African regional trade and African Continental trade as a whole. The government inaugurated the Ghana Integrated Aluminium Development Corporation (GIADEC) and Ghana Integrated Iron and Steel Development Corporation, two minerals that form the bedrock of industrialization. The move was so significant in the effort by the government to embark on industrialization. The secretariat of AfCTA in Accra is therefore not just an honour to Ghana, it was something the country has prepared for even if it was not chosen as a host nation. PROPOSED FUNCTIONS OF THE AfCTA SECRETARIAT Among others, the secretariat will embark on the following functions: Coordinate, facilitate and support the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement, its Protocols and Annexes Strategic planning and management of the AfCFTA implementation Facilitate the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation mechanism for follow-up on the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement and submit annual reports on its implementation to the Council of Ministers Ensure that the implementation of the AfCFTA provides equal opportunities to youth and women Provide administrative and technical support for the implementation and enforcement of the AfCFTA Agreement Serve as a depository of notifications from State Parties required under the AfCFTA Agreement and transmit such notifications to State Parties Convene and service meetings of the State Parties as necessary to implement the AfCFTA agreement Provide, support and facilitate technical cooperation and capacity development programmes as provided for in the Agreement Carry out any other secretarial responsibilities that may be assigned to it by the Council of Ministers Undertake trade and investment promotion activities to enhance intra-African trade Undertake awareness and stakeholder engagement activities to promote the AfCFTA in all member states Undertake periodic trade policy reviews and present reports to the Council of Ministers Mobilisation of funds from partners to implement the AfCFTA Promotion and dissemination of information on the AfCFTA to the Stakeholders Promotion of cooperation with other organisations to promote the objectives of the AfCTA. Ghana and Africa stand to win, but it requires more work. Ghanas preparation so far under the able leadership of President Nana Addo Danquah is laudable and on course. Authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko has told citizens they will have to kill him for Belarus to have another election, after he was heckled and jeered by factory workers following 26 years of iron rule. As striking workers fed growing mass protests over the allegedly rigged results of the presidential election on 9 August, which entered their ninth straight day, Mr Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a Minsk factory in a bid to rally support. But he was met by angry workers, who booed and chanted for him to go away and step down, as exiled opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya offered to lead the nation. I will never cave in to pressure, he told workers at the large state-run plant the likes of which are the pride of his Soviet-style economic model and core support base. Some of you might have got the impression that the government no longer exists, that it has tumbled down. The government will never collapse, you know me well, the 65-year-old former state farm director shouted. There will be no new election until you kill me. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty But Mr Lukashenkos defiance appeared to dwindle somewhat, as he offered an apparent concession to hold new elections and hand over power after a constitutional referendum. Well put the changes to a referendum, and Ill hand over my constitutional powers. But not under pressure or because of the street, Lukashenko said, in remarks quoted by the official Belta news agency. Yes, Im not a saint. You know my harsh side. Im not eternal. But if you drag down the first president, youll drag down neighbouring countries and all the rest. It came as British foreign secretary Dominic Raab said that the UK government does not recognise the official result of the fraudulent election, calling for an international probe into the grisly detention of protesters by state security forces. The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent presidential election, Mr Raab said. The UK does not accept the results. We urgently need an independent investigation through the OSCE into the flaws that rendered the election unfair, as well as the grisly repression that followed. The UK will work with our international partners to sanction those responsible, and hold the Belarusian authorities to account. Election officials barred Mr Lukashenkos two main challengers from the election, leaving a former English teacher to replace her husband a jailed opposition blogger as the opposition candidate. The countrys Central Election Commission said Mr Lukashenko had won 80 per cent of the vote and Ms Tsikhanouskaya just 10 per cent but this was heavily contested, with the opposition claiming Ms Tsikhanouskaya had actually won by 60 to 70 per cent in some precincts. Despite leaving for neighbouring Lithuania two days later under alleged pressure from law enforcement, the 37-year-old has managed to unite the fragmented opposition in Belarus and has said she is ready to act as an interim leader. On Sunday, an opposition protest is believed to have drawn 200,000 people, the largest in the countrys history. The demonstrations have been joined by those taking part in mass strikes at state-controlled factories in support of Ms Tsikhanouskaya among other those in other groups previously viewed as pro-Lukashenko, such as police and journalists at state-affiliated outlets. The strikes follow peaceful post-election demonstrations met with a brutal police crackdown with rubber bullets, tear gas, clubs and stun grenades. At least 7,000 people were detained, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. Hundreds were wounded and protester Alexander Taraikovsky was killed after suffering a bullet wound to the chest, his partner said. Authorities relented on their initial claim that an explosive intended for police had detonated in his hands after it was disproved by video footage. Lukashenko calls on supporters to defend Belarus After such abuses provoked widespread anger, the government permitted large-scale protests at the weekend and reported that it had released all but 122 detainees. Lukashenko is a former president. He needs to go, said Sergei Dylevsky, the leader of a protest at the Minsk Tractor Plant, where 5,000 workers walked out. Insisting that Ms Tsikhanouskaya is our president, legitimate and elected by the people, Mr Dylevsky voiced growing concern that Russia could send in troops to prop up his Mr Lukashenkos rule. After two phone calls between Mr Lukashenko and Vladimir Putin this weekend, the Kremlin said Moscow stood ready to provide support in the face of what he described as foreign aggression. Mr Lukashenko also claimed that Nato nations are beefing up military forces on the border with Belarus a claim the alliance rejected, saying it remained vigilant, strictly defensive, and ready to deter any aggression against Nato allies. European Union leaders have also reportedly decided to warn Russia against meddling in the countrys affairs, in an emergency video conference scheduled on Wednesday. Ahead of the Brussels conference, EU leaders have agreed to impose sanctions on Belarusian officials it deems responsible for election fraud and the crackdown on protesters. The EUs top diplomat, Joseph Borrell, joined Mr Raab in calling for a thorough and transparent investigation into the violence. Additional reporting by agencies Photo credit: Drew Angerer - Getty Images From Delish Update, August 17, 2020 10:17 a.m.: Former McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook is denying the company's claims that he hid his physical relationships with employees, according to Bloomberg. In a court filing obtained by the outlet, Easterbrook's representation called the suit "meritless" and "misleading" and said that the company was aware of his relationships with subordinates at the time of his separation from the company. McDonald's previously said in its lawsuit that Easterbrook told them at the time that a sole, non-physical relationship with a staffer was the "only one of an intimate nature he had ever had with a McDonalds employee" and accused him of lying and destroying info related to three sexual relationships with other employees. "McDonaldsa sophisticated entity represented by numerous internal and external experts when it entered into the separation agreementis aware it cannot credibly allege a breach of contract claim, Easterbrooks lawyers said in the filing. "Instead, it improperly seeks to manufacture claims for a breach of fiduciary duty or fraud." Easterbrook's filing also accused the company of filing its lawsuit in the wrong court (it was filed in Delaware, where the company is incorporated, but McDonald's is based in Illinois). In response to this filing, McDonald's told Bloomberg: "McDonalds stands by its complaint, both the factual assertions and the court in which it was filed." Original, August 10, 2020 1:09 p.m.: McDonald's is suing former CEO Steve Easterbrook over allegations that he lied about employee relationships during an initial investigation into his behavior. Easterbrook "separated" from McDonald's in November 2019, and at the time said that he "violated company policy and demonstrated poor judgment involving a recent consensual relationship with an employee." In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said a previous investigation had found that it was a "non-physical, consensual relationship" with one employee and that Easterbrook told investigators the relationship was the "only one of an intimate nature he had ever had with a McDonalds employee." Story continues But a new investigation allegedly found Easterbrook "lied to the Company and the Board and destroyed information regarding inappropriate personal behavior and in fact had been involved in sexual relationships with three additional Company employees prior to his termination, all in violation of Company policy," according to the filing. In the suit, McDonald's says that its new probe allegedly found "dozens of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit photographs and videos" of women, including company employees, that he had sent as attachments from his business email account to his personal email account. McDonald's says that Easterbrook also "approved an extraordinary stock grant, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, for one of those employees in the midst of their sexual relationship." At the time of his departure last year, Easterbrook received 26 weeks severance pay, in addition to "prorated bonuses as warranted," but in light of its new investigation, McDonald's said "it would not have approved the terms of the Separation Agreement" if the board had been aware of these additional allegations and investigated them. The company is now seeking his exit compensation back, which The New York Times valued at around $40 million. McDonald's is seeking to align his exit payout with that of a "for cause" termination, according to an email that current McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski sent to the McDonald's system on August 10. In the note, Kempczinski discusses the lawsuit, as well as McDonald's commitment to upholding its values and "act as a positive force for change." "McDonalds does not tolerate behavior from any employee that does not reflect our values. These actions reflect a continued demonstration of this commitment," he wrote. You Might Also Like I knew he wanted me gone before I could tell the nation what I know about him, he wrote, apparently believing Trump wanted him dead. 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 Trump the man very, very, very few people know. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close It has been announced that Richard Boyce 'Dicky' Stansley Sr. passed away on Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at the age of 86. Its impossible to distill this larger-than-life man into a few short paragraphs. He was the patriarch of 'La Familia,' who spent a lifetime teaching his family the value of hard work, the strength of never backing down, the power of sheer stubbornness to beat all odds, and what it is like to be loved beyond measure. In the enduring words of Dick Stansley, This is BS. He was born on August 18, 1933 to Peter and Grace (Sylvester) Stansley, and grew up in Sylvania with his older brother Arnold Stansley, and younger sister Cheri Lenavitt. He graduated from Sylvania Burnham High School, and joined the U.S. Air Force in April of 1952. Dick met Darlene, the love of his life, in 1956 at Posey Lake, MI where he raced up to her in his speed boat, complete with full water-ski gear (unusual only in the fact that, as Darlene later learned, he couldnt swim a lick). Dick and Darlene were married July 6, 1957, and would go on to have five children. He was always proud to say that he started working at the age of 10 (and walked to school every day, in the winter, with three feet of snow on the ground, uphill both ways, naturally.) In 1960 he purchased his uncles trucking company along with seven other investors, including his uncles, cousins, and brother. Over the years he acquired the other owners interest and, in 1984, turned it into a successful family business that is still thriving two generations later. He was the recipient of the Northwest Ohio Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000. Dicks passion in life was expressed in two ways: family first, and then horsepower. Whether it was in the form of automobiles, trucks, tractors or Standardbreds, he was interested. He surrounded himself with great friends that shared his passions, and brought people together with his strong sense of comradeship, optimism and unfailing determination. As the head of the family, Dicky taught us all to live life on our own terms, and take guff from no one, ever. He loved having coffee at home in the mornings with his children, meals at his favourite restaurants, card games with his friends, and races whenever one of his horses was on the card. He is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years, Darlene Stansley nee Creque, his sister Cheri (Jack) Lenavitt, his five children Rick, Scott (born August 16, 1961), Jeff (Gail), Charles (Tami), and Missy (John) Hogan. His ten grandchildren, Kristin, JT, Branden (Maggie), Scott (Taylor), Ryan (Angela), Drew, Cassie, Peter, Boyce, and Annie. And three great-grandchildren, Charlie Payne, Sophia, and John Maverick. Along with countless cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. In these times we cant have a large service for all of his friends and family ("It is what it is, as Papa would say), but for those who know and loved him, in lieu of flowers we ask this: watch a horse race, play a game of cards, visit your favourite restaurant, have a black-cherry milkshake, watch the news in your favourite recliner, give someone the what-for, fuel up your riding mower (and all other equipment), and make sure everyone you love is well fed. Its what Dicky would do. Online condolences can be left below or by clicking here. Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Richard Stansley Sr. (With files from Reeb Funeral Home) LONDON - In a U-turn after days of criticism, the British government on Monday scrapped an exam-grading policy that was set to deprive thousands of graduating high school students especially more disadvantaged ones of places at universities. Roger Taylor, chairman of U.K. exam regulator Ofqual, said the use of an algorithm to predict the results of exams that were cancelled by the coronavirus pandemic had caused real anguish and damaged public confidence. It has not been an acceptable experience for young people, he said. I would like to say sorry. Universities in the U.K. offer final-year high school students places based on grades predicted by their teachers. Admission is contingent on the results of final exams, known as A Levels. This year, with schools largely shut since March and no exams, education authorities in England ran the predicted grades through an algorithm, intended to standardize results, that compared them with schools past performance. That meant high-achieving students at under-performing schools, many in deprived areas, saw their marks downgraded, while students at above-average schools kept their predicted grades. Hundreds of students have held protests, calling the results an injustice, and lawmakers were inundated with complaints from angry parents. Kay Mountfield, head teacher at a school in Marlow, west of London, said 85% of her students had received lower than predicted grades. Seventy of my students have not had their first choice of university, she said. Normally that would be about five, or 10 maybe, students. The reversal means students in England will receive the grades estimated by their teachers, unless the ones generated by the algorithm are higher. Education authorities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have made similar moves. The same policy will apply to GCSEs, the exams taken by 16-year-old students. Those results are due on Thursday. The U-turn is an embarrassment for Prime Minister Boris Johnsons government, but had come to appear inevitable as criticism of the policy spread, even within the ranks of the governing Conservative Party. This group of young people have lost out on so much already; we must ensure that bright, capable students can progress on their next step, Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt said before Mondays announcement. Defence Minister Johnny Mercer said there were clear injustices in the system. In Scotland, authorities quickly reversed course after a similar fiasco last week, saying students would get their predicted grades. That increased pressure on Johnson to do the same for England. Johnson, who is on vacation, chaired a call on the crisis Monday with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and senior officials. Williamson had previously insisted that there would be no U-turn, though he said students who had been downgraded could appeal or retake the exams. But on Monday he acknowledged that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process. I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve, he said. The announcement did not end the uncertainty for all students, however. Many are scrambling to get in touch with universities to see whether they can now get in. Ive been on hold for an hour, said Testify Anyahamiwe, who hopes to study medicine at Queen Mary University of London. Although Im happy that my grades are definitely going to be higher than what they gave me, I still dont know if Im going to get my uni place, she said. Amy Kirkham, from High Wycombe, northwest of London, missed the grades needed to secure her place studying economics at Cambridge University when the algorithm downgraded her in two subjects. Now she has the required marks, but doesnt know whether there is space for her. If not, she might wait until next year to start her university career. Its just putting my life on hold, she said. To compound the pain, Kirkhams twin sister got into the also-prestigious Oxford University despite having her marks initially downgraded, too. It was always a shared dream that Id be going to Cambridge this year and she would be going to Oxford, Kirkham said. She hasnt felt like celebrating because Ive had to go through this pain of waiting to know whether Ive got in or not. So its been really frustrating and hard on my family. Covid-19 could lead to type 1 diabetes, researchers fear after witnessing a spike in cases of the disease among infected children. Academics at Imperial College London looked at how many youngsters had been diagnosed at five paediatric units across the capital. Around 30 children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes between March 23 and June 4, the experts found. They said this was roughly double the amount that are usually diagnosed with the condition, which isn't driven by obesity like type 2 diabetes. Five of the children had either tested positive for coronavirus or were likely to have had it in the past, leading scientists to make the link. But they cautioned this figure may have been an underestimate because nine of the children were not tested. The experts suggest the coronavirus - technically called SARS-CoV-2 - could directly attacks cells in the pancreas which are vital for producing insulin. Covid-19 is feared to cause type 1 diabetes in children after data shows an increase in diagnoses during the pandemic (stock) Type 1 diabetes, which affects around 314,000 people in the UK and 1.6million in the US, occurs when the immune system destroy the insulin-producing cells. It is caused by a fault in the bodys immune response in which the immune system mistakenly targets and kills beta cells. Experts remain baffled as to what triggers this fault but some of the best evidence points towards a virus as being the most likely trigger. Viruses can lead to some autoimmune diseases by causing the immune system to go haywire. But the Imperial team called for more trials to firm up the findings, insisting that they don't yet have proof that Covid-19 can cause type 1 diabetes. The disease - often diagnosed in childhood - stops the body making enough insulin to regulate blood glucose. If levels are persistently too high, it can lead to death. Type 1 diabetes can be treated with several daily injections of insulin or using an insulin pump to keep blood glucose levels under control. CAN DIABETES BE CAUSED BY A VIRUS? Type 1 diabetes is caused by a fault in the bodys immune response in which the immune system mistakenly targets and kills beta cells, the cells in the pancreas responsible for producing insulin. It's not clear what causes this fault, but research suggests it's a combination of genetic predisposition and an environmental trigger. To date, the strongest evidence points towards a virus as being the most likely trigger, according to Diabetes.co.uk. Associations have been found between type 1 diabetes and a number of different viruses. Of these, enteroviruses have attracted the most interest from researchers. Enteroviruses, such as EV-D68, are caused by a number of strains of virus. Symptoms of enterovirus infections include fever, headache, respiratory illness, and sore throat and sometimes mouth sores or a rash. Studies have shown that enterovirus antibodies have been recorded at higher levels in pregnant mothers of children that gone on to develop type 1 diabetes. Higher frequencies of enterovirus infections have also been detected in children which develop type 1 diabetes when compared with siblings that have not developed the condition. But the evidence is mixed, and no conclusions can be drawn yet. Other potential causes of type 1 diabetes discussed in research are low levels of vitamin D and a different gut microbiome. Advertisement Medics in China and Italy have previously found more children developing type 1 diabetes during the pandemic but ruled it was unrelated to Covid-19. Clinicians at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust wanted to see whether cases of type 1 diabetes might actually be linked to the pandemic. Together with researchers at Imperial College London, the team is the first to find a possible link between Covid-19 and new-onset type 1 diabetes in children. Dr Karen Logan, study co-author, said: 'Our analysis shows during the peak of the pandemic the number of new cases of type 1 diabetes in children was unusually high in two of the hospitals in north west London compared to previous years. 'When we investigated further, some of these children had active coronavirus or had previously been exposed to the virus.' She added: 'It appears that children are at low risk of developing serious cases of Covid-19. 'However, we do need to consider potential health complications following exposure to the virus in children.' The team analysed data from children based in five paediatric inpatient units from four north-west London Trusts. These were Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, Chelsea & Westminster NHS Foundation Trust, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and London North West University Healthcare NHS trust. Between 23 March and 4 June, 30 cases were diagnosed in children aged 23 months to 16.8 years. The team found an increase of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in two of the units. They diagnosed ten cases each versus typically two and four cases respectively for April and May combined. However, rates in the other three units were similar to previous years. Of the 30 children, 21 were tested for Covid-19 if they had symptoms including fever or cough. Two tested positive. Some children were tested using antibody kits, which have not been widely available to the public. Of the 16 other children given an antibody test, three were positive, suggesting they had previously had the coronavirus. In total, five children tested positive, either for active Covid-19 infection or previous exposure to the virus. A lack of antibody tests meant the other children were not tested for Covid-19, therefore it is not clear whether the true rates of Covid-19 in the children would have been lower or higher than discovered. Rebecca Unsworth, joint first author of the study, said: 'During the peak of the pandemic widespread access to testing wasn't available so we may have missed further cases of Covid-19 in these children who have new-onset type 1 diabetes.' Children are believed to be just as likely as adults to catch the coronavirus. But they may be diagnosed less often because their symptoms are so mild. Testing for Covid-19 in the UK was limited only to adults until mid-May, several weeks after the peak of the pandemic. Children under five years old can now get a test but they would only come forward if they had symptoms. The study, published in Diabetes Care, also found that children in the study had high levels of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). DKA is a serious condition that can happen to diabetics if their body starts to run out of insulin. When this happens, harmful substances called ketones accumulate in the body. It can be life-threatening if it's not found and treated quickly. Seventy per cent of children had DKA and 52 per cent had severe DKA. Four children were treated in intensive care. The authors cautioned this was a much higher rate than they would normally expect to see, and many children were very unwell. This supports anecdotal stories from doctors in England, according to Julian Hamilton-Shield, a professor of diabetes and metabolic endocrinology at the University of Bristol, who was not involved in the research. The researchers theorised that the spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus may be able to attack and destroy insulin-making cells in the pancreas. The spike protein of the virus binds to ACE-2 receptors which coat some cells in the body. Therefore, the receptors are seen as the 'gateway' for the virus. ACE-2 is strongly expressed in pancreatic endocrine cells, the researchers said. Scientists who were not involved in the study said the link warrants further investigation. Professor Paul Zimmet, at Monash University, and Francesco Rubino, Kings College London, recently expressed their concerns about a potential diabetogenic effect of Covid-19 in the New England Journal of Medicine. They commented today: 'The findings add to our concerns on a potential link between Covid-19 and diabetes. 'Early in the course of the pandemic we had become aware of similar reports of new cases of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes as well as other atypical diabetes manifestations in people with SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) infection. 'This has a biological rationale since the new coronavirus can bind to receptors that are highly prevalent in cells of crucial metabolic organs such as the pancreas, the adipose tissue, the liver and the intestine, which may explain also the fact that both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have been reported in association with Covid-19.' But Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, said the rise in paediatric type 1 diabetes could just be random. He said: 'It is often tempting but can be wrong to assume that whatever infection is common in the community is the cause of an increase in diagnoses that could have arisen just by chance. 'During any epidemic like the current one, people will be looking out for any change in the incidence of disease in their own practice that could be related to the epidemic pathogen.' It seems impossible, but these unprecedented times have become even more unprecedented. For CEOs, there are many elements of our businesses requiring our time and energy from financials to personnel, and from brick and mortar to health and safety. With so much uncertainty, all these elements could take up all our time and more. However, for leaders, this is also an opportunity to connect with our customers, to listen to them, to reassure them and even to find ways to grow our businesses through respect and empathy. When WaFd Bank started issuing Paycheck Protection Program loans, I felt that, as a CEO of a national bank, during a pandemic, with a large portion of our teams working remotely, it would be all too easy for me to lose touch with what our employees and more than 250,000 customers were facing. In addition, as a leader, I wanted to make sure I had an in-depth understanding of PPP loans so I could be more involved and engaged. We were asking our teams to do something new, something we had never done (U.S. Small Business Administration loans) on top of their already full-time jobs. The best way I know to learn and lead is to jump in with both feet. And so, I began to serve as a PPP loan underwriter for WaFd customers in the eight states WaFd Bank serves. In New Mexico, I had the privilege of serving as the PPP loan officer for La Luz Convenience Store north of Alamogordo. Working with Ronnie Merrill and business owners like him, I learned that PPP loans were more than just loans, they were lifelines. These loans helped businesses like Ronnies stay open and continue to serve their customers and contribute to the economy. Ronnie Merrills PPP loan helped La Luz Market stay in business. He did not release any employees and was able to increase their pay with the additional risk of being a frontline employee. In addition, the loan helped pay his business bills. While Ronnie and I exchanged emails during the initial lending process, it was the amazing team at the WaFd Alamogordo branch that ensured his loan went smoothly and that he got everything he needed. As PPP guidance and regulations evolved, I realized that our customers not only needed us for the mechanical aspects of lending, but also to provide up-to-date guidance and reassurance about the PPP process and forgiveness. So, I led a webinar to which we invited all our PPP customers to hear what I had learned. In the end, I underwrote 22 loans in our eight states including four in New Mexico at an average loan size of $75,000. Of course, that is a small percentage of the 6,600 PPP loans that WaFd Bank issued. WaFds amazing employees did most of the work and I will be forever grateful to them for the nights and weekends they spent taking care of our customers. I also came away with a few insights: Find a way to connect with your customers. Do not let yourself get too distant from the people who make your business possible. Connections can be just as important as business outcomes. Another New Mexico PPP customer shared with me thank you so very, very much!! Whether we get the funding or not, THANK YOU for all your help!! Learn new aspects of your business. As leaders, we often leave the day-to-day operations of our businesses and never return. While we cannot know every detail about a business, try to find opportunities to increase your knowledge about what your employees are doing and facing. It is no small thing to help someone keep their business alive and I am grateful every day to have had the opportunity. I have been continually humbled by my conversations with our customers about what they are facing and how vital their PPP loans have been in keeping their businesses viable. At WaFd Bank, our customers are at the core of what we do, and I am so gratified to have been able to connect with Ronnie Merrill and so many others. Washington Federal Bank is a full-service bank, with branches across eight western states. The executives desk is a guest column providing advice or information about resources available to the business community in New Mexico. The Trump administration is further tightening restrictions on Chinas Huawei, seeking to starve it of crucial components by cutting off all access to U.S. technology. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this July 15, 2020 file photo, visitors wearing masks to curb the spread of the coronavirus look at the latest products at a Huawei store in Beijing. The U.S. government is imposing another round of restrictions on tech giant Huawei as President Donald Trump renews accusations the Chinese companys telecommunications equipment is used for spying. The Commerce Departments new rules which will further block Huawei from getting access to chip technology. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) The Trump administration is further tightening restrictions on Chinas Huawei, seeking to starve it of crucial components by cutting off all access to U.S. technology. We dont want their equipment in the United States because they spy on us, Trump told Fox News on Monday. And any country that uses it, were not going to do anything in terms of sharing intelligence." The Commerce Department's new rules, rolled out Monday, will further block Huawei from accessing chip technology. Washington cut off Huaweis access to U.S. components and technology, including Googles music and other smartphone services, last year. Those penalties were tightened in May when the White House barred vendors worldwide from using U.S. technology to produce components for Huawei. A Huawei executive said this month that the company has started running out of processor chips to make smartphones as a result of those sanctions, and may have to stop production of its own advanced chips. But the Commerce Department said Monday that more restrictions were needed because Huawei has continuously tried to evade the earlier sanctions by using technology supplied by third parties. The new rule is designed to block Huaweis access to commercially available chips made with tools acquired from the U.S. The new rule makes it clear than any use of American software or American fabrication equipment to produce things through Huawei is banned, and requires a license," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told Fox Business on Monday. Its really a question of closing loopholes to prevent a bad actor from access to U.S. technology, even if they try to do it in a very indirect, very tricky manner." Huawei has been at the centre of rising U.S.-Chinese tensions over technology and security. The standoff has now enveloped the popular Chinese-owned video app TikTok and China-based messaging service WeChat, both of which are under the threat of a ban in the U.S. starting in September. Huawei declined comment Monday but has repeatedly denied accusations it might facilitate Chinese spying. Chinese officials have accused Washington of using national security as an excuse to stop a competitor to U.S. tech industries. Ross said Monday that the new action is enforcement-focused and not directly related to the trade talks between the U.S. and China. Elsa Kania, a fellow at the Center for a New American Security who focuses on technology and U.S.-China relations, said while there are valid security concerns about Huawei, the Trump administration's increasingly drastic measures against it and other Chinese companies don't have a clear rationale. If the objective is to kill Huawei irregardless of the collateral damage to American companies, then this measure is one step closer to that," she said. A lot of companies caught in the crossfire of this will see real damage." The Semiconductor Industry Association, a trade group representing American chipmakers, said in a statement Monday that the rule will cause significant disruption" to the industry. The action targets Huawei but could have sweeping reach, said Kevin Wolf, who was assistant secretary of commerce for export administration under President Barack Obama. Every foreign-made semiconductor of any type anywhere in the world is now subject to U.S. license requirements if a Huawei company is in any way involved, directly or indirectly, in the transaction," said Wolf, a partner at the Washington law firm Akin Gump. Want to get a head start on your day? Get the days breaking stories, weather forecast, and more sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. The U.S. also on Monday added 38 Huawei affiliates to an existing list of companies banned from receiving some sensitive technologies. And it ended an exemption that had allowed some Huawei customers in the U.S. to keep using its equipment and software. Washington has combined its economic sanctions on Huawei with a lobbying campaign pushing allies in Europe and elsewhere to exclude the company from planned next-generation wireless networks. Trump referred to Huawei as the spy way as he spoke with Fox & Friends hosts Monday. He took credit for Britain's recent move to backtrack on plans to give the company a role in the U.K.s new high-speed mobile phone network. We said we love Scotland Yard very much but were not going to do business with you because if you use the Huawei system that means theyre spying on you," Trump said. That would mean theyre spying on us. - Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report. India and Nepal are expected to hold a review mechanism dialogue via video conferencing on Monday to take stock of the progress of ongoing projects in Nepal. Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra will hold talks with Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi. The meeting holds significance as it will be the first high-level meeting since ties between the two countries strained following the issuance of a new map by the Nepal government incorporating parts of Indian territory. New Delhi has been assisting Kathmandu in the various developmental projects under India-Nepal bilateral initiation to support and strengthen grass-root infrastructure development projects across Nepal. Projects under this initiative benefit the communities in the project area, particularly in the areas of education, health, connectivity, drinking water and sanitation, vocational training, medical campus, etc. Since 2003, India has completed 422 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), covering 77 districts of Nepal with a financial grant of over 798.7 crore Nepali rupees, according to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. On the occasion of India's 74th Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepali counterpart KP Sharma Oli held a telephonic conversation. "The Prime Minister of Nepal greeted the government and people of India on the occasion of its 74th Independence Day, and also conveyed congratulations for India's recent election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council," read a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs. According to a statement issued by Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oli appreciated Prime Minister Modi's "renewed priority to the neighbourhood as spelt out in today's Independence Day address". "The Prime Minister of Nepal looked forward to meaningful bilateral cooperation," the statement said. Tensions between India and Nepal related to boundary came to the fore in May after the Oli government issued the new map of Nepal, incorporating Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. Responding to the same, New Delhi said that the updated map is "not based on historical facts and evidence" and termed the claims by Kathmandu as artificial enlargement. (ANI) Also Read: US: Donald Trump indicates banning Alibaba, other Chinese firms after TikTok STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Lifeguards at Nickerson Beach in Long Island reported a sizable shark last week about 40 yards from shore, prompting officials to prohibit anyone from swimming in the area, according to an NBC New York report. Nassau County Executive Laura Curran told reporters the sighting Tuesday was the 17th time a shark has been spotted in the area so far this summer. Update: A shark was just spotted 40 yards off shore by lifeguards and beachgoers at Nickerson Beach.This is the 17th confirmed sighting in Nassau this summer. The beach will be closed to swimming for the rest of the day while @NassauCountyPD continues to monitor the coast. Laura Curran (@NassauExecutive) August 11, 2020 East Atlantic Beach and Atlantic Beach Estates were red-flagged last Monday after a fisherman caught a shark a day prior, according to the report. Most of the sharks recently spotted in the area were small, though a sighting last month of a bull shark between 7 and 10 feet long prompted closures at Lido West and Nickerson beaches. Launching a television network during a global pandemic was not part of Chip and Joanna Gaines plan and yet here we are. The renovation experts found fame and fortune hosting their HGTV smash hit Fixer Upper, which ended in 2018. Fans were delighted to find out Chip and Joanna were reprising the series on their brand-new Magnolia Network. But so far no one knows when thats going to happen. The network, which will take the place of DIY under the Discovery umbrella, has already faced two delays. Now, theyre hoping to premiere in 2021. In the meantime Chip and Joanna are doing their best to keep the hype alive. Earlier in 2020 they aired a special sneak peek featuring snippets from all the confirmed new shows which will debut along with Magnolia. And more recently, they offered a deeper look into the highly anticipated series, The Lost Kitchen. The Lost Kitchen is one of Magnolia Networks most exciting projects Every show on Magnolia is bound to become a hit because Chip and Joanna have impeccable taste. However, fans are especially excited to learn more about Erin French and her dreamy, romantic, highly exclusive restaurant in Freedom, Maine. The Lost Kitchen will tell her story and follow life in the restaurant by the same name. The most intriguing thing about The Lost Kitchen is how unique it is. Theyll only accept reservations via postcard and strictly limit seating to 50 patrons per night. Also, French only hires women to work in the kitchen and waitress the tables. The Lost Kitchen looks way different now than it did when the first season of the show was filmed. Currently, French is earning revenue from an online farmers market plus accepting dining patrons outdoors for lunch. Shes hoping to re-open the restaurant portion soon and will surely benefit from always having limited seating. Chip and Joanna Gaines shared a sneak peek of The Lost Kitchen RELATED: Chip and Joanna Gaines Are Being Extremely Selective Casting Fixer Upper Season 6 The Gaineses gave a short synopsis of The Lost Kitchen during the Magnolia Network preview special. But then they drummed up even more excitement by sharing a longer discussion on Instagram in August. Its all part of the plan to keep fans excited about the Magnolia network launch next year. The clip Joanna shared featured the couple speaking with French about changes shes planning and updates with the restaurant. She said shes been making the best of things amid the pandemic, such as offering the outdoor lunch option and launching the online farmers market. French is also planning to create a glamping spot within walking distance of The Lost Kitchen where patrons can spend the night stargazing after a hearty meal. The Lost Kitchen looks like a dream come true Fans fell for the fantasy of Fixer Upper, and based on the preview alone, that same inexplicable magic is present on The Lost Kitchen. With the idyllic setting, peculiar reservation protocol, and strong female entrepreneur host, its evident that Magnolia fans are going to fall in love with French just like they did with the Gaineses. Get your postcards ready, because when reservations for The Lost Kitchen open again, you may want to be on the list. Noelle Chard never envisioned herself as a stay-at-home mom, but the coronavirus pandemic made it a reality. The certified public accountant and mother of three had struggled through the spring, working from home while also helping with distance learning for her two sons, 8 and 11, and caring for her 3-year-old daughter. But when her kids San Mateo school district announced it would start virtually this fall, Chard knew something had to give. So she quit her job. It was simply too much to handle, she said. Her husband shares the workload and was open to staying home, she added, but he earns more and his job provides the family health insurance. Its just an impossible situation for both of us to work and do the schooling with the kids, said Chard, who also took a couple years off after her third child. Its just not going to work out and hopefully I can go back when this is all over. As schools start remotely across the Bay Area, working parents are under inordinate pressure. Although some dads have stepped up to care more for kids, mothers are disproportionately bearing the responsibility for child care, and their careers are more likely to suffer collateral damage in the pandemic economy, experts say. National data show more women than men lost jobs as the economy shut down, dropped out of the workforce voluntarily, and took on more child care responsibilities. Child care is a lifeline for most working parents, but costs sometimes rival rent and public college education in California. Even if cost is no object, finding care has become even more competitive, with spots cut and some providers closing due to financial stress. Those factors make it hardest for low-income and single mothers, who have no choice but to work while also struggling to find affordable child care. Working mothers are on the front lines of sacrifice here, said Danika Dellor, director of the Womens Achievement Network and Development Alliance, a nonprofit that supports low-income single mothers. Its taken long enough to get some equitable treatment and jobs and pay and yet there still is a disproportionate level of responsibility that falls on the mom, said Dellor, a married mother of two in Los Altos. Women have been hit by higher rates of unemployment than men during the pandemic and are more likely to work essential jobs, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics. Mothers with young children scaled back their work hours four to five times more than fathers between March and April, a national study reported. Moms also added extra household and child care responsibilities, now averaging 15 hours more a week than men, a survey of parents in the U.S. and four other countries revealed. Womens careers have been disproportionately hit by COVID-19, UC Berkeley economist Sydnee Caldwell said. As the COVID crisis goes on, we are likely to see problems as couples have to coordinate both work and child care responsibilities. Dads have stepped up during the pandemic, with those in heterosexual, college-educated relationships bearing a higher fraction of child care hours in April, Harvard economist Claudia Goldin calculated. But she predicted, as the economy reopens and schools return remotely, the father is more likely to go back to work full-time and mothers child care responsibilities will increase. The bottom line is that there are going to be no net gains for women, Goldin said in a July lecture. Womens careers by and large will probably be set back. Pressures have already led a parent in one in three families surveyed by benefits company Cleo in June to either leave the workforce or drop down to part-time. In 70% of those cases, it was the mother. For many, this choice might be purely economic: On average nationally, women earn 82 cents for every dollar a man makes, with the lowest rates for Black women (62 cents), Native Americans (57) and Latinas (54). Jessica Christian / The Chronicle Amourence Lee, a San Mateo councilwoman and mother of two school-age kids, said some women are facing the false choice of supporting her family and pursuing her career with schools out. You literally cant do both. Its a mission impossible, Lee said. Its exponentially worse because of the lack of child care. During the pandemic, Lee has sometimes put in 13-hour days while her husband also works full-time and the kids learn at home. She said shes often the go-to parent. Once she tried attending a virtual council meeting at home, but after her son interrupted to ask for a scrap of paper, she started going to City Hall to tune in and putting her husband on full-time duty. All of us working parents are feeling the grind, her husband, Rich Lin, said. Im also seeing the ways its always been harder on (my wife) and trying to rebalance our division of parenting responsibilities to support her work in the community. It means we eat a lot of takeout and the kids are doing more chores, too. Lin said theres a double standard when some people say his wife should put aside work for her kids, while no one asks him to sacrifice his career. Theres too much at stake and we cant allow ourselves to go backwards, he said. While some moms such as Chard acknowledged theyre grateful for financial freedom to stop work if they need to, others have no choice. Eva Orbuch, a community organizer with the nonprofit Innovate Public Schools organization, said low-income parents have been left with sparse child care options. Redwood City housekeeper Andrea Hernandez takes her daughter, 2, to day care and sends her son, 10, to stay with her sister-in-law during the week because she has to work and cant help him with distance learning since shes not fluent in English. 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. It was really hard, said Hernandez, who is involved with Innovate. I feel like were equal, my partner is working, but theres always a bit of extra pressure on a mom to take care of the kid and drop them off places and deal with everything. It can be even harder for single mothers. Jacqueline Reyes, a single mom in San Francisco also involved in Innovate, was laid off in March. Shes been looking for work, but schedules conflict with caring for her two kids, and Reyes wasnt able to keep her daughters day care spot since the center limited numbers. I feel nervous because if the kids are at home, I cant work, Reyes said. If I work, the kids dont learn. I need to work for money. Im worried about the kids not getting enough support with school. Reyes wanted to see the city provide and fund more child care. San Francisco will open up free learning hubs in the fall to support distance learning, prioritizing low-income families, children in public housing or the foster care system, and homeless youth. Other government services, nonprofits, and companies are scrambling to support working parents. Coalitions in Alameda, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa counties are helping essential workers find child care spots. San Mateo County earmarked $2 million in grants to keep early childhood child care providers afloat. The city of San Mateos Parks and Recreation Department is offering a distance learning program at a fraction of market-rate child care costs, with subsidies available for low-income families. Leslie Alfaro, a policy associate with the Bay Area Council, said employers are trying to provide flexible working hours or stipends that could be used for child care. They are seeing more women having to leave because there is no place and no one to take care of the kids during the day, she said. On the bright side, the number of stay-at-home dads has risen in recent years, easing the burden for moms. Charisse Fontes, who lives in Concord, is the founder of an inclusion consulting business, CultureCircle, works as a doula, and is the mother of five. Her husband has been a stay-at-home dad for five years. She said the pair could improve communication to make sure the kids dont interrupt her job, adding her toddler has barged in on work calls. Shes built a daily family routine and everyones doing well although shes still nervous. I feel like our system is pretty good, but we dont know how long this is going to last, she said. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mallorymoench Dutch Charge dAffaires in Moscow Dominique Kuhling-Bakker was summoned to Russias Foreign Ministry over the spy equipment found in the car of the Russian military attache in The Hague, the ministry said on Monday. "Russias Foreign Ministry lodged a resolute protest to the Dutch ambassador over the surveillance equipment found in the car of the Russian military attache in The Hague," the ministry said in a statement. "The Dutch diplomat was told about the need to take all-embracing measures immediately to prevent such incidents that run counter to the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the statement reads. Russias Foreign Ministry also stressed that such unfriendly acts "complicate the already uneasy bilateral relations." I shed tears every time I think about the motherlands sentiment for us. Im very happy. I just want to say I am very grateful, said Nguyen Quang Trieu, a worker who recently returned from Equatorial Guinea. Ms. Pham Thi Tam from Kim Bang district in Ha Nam province stood under the eaves of a checkpoint outside the large gate of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases to stay away from the rain while her eyes turned to the hospital lobby. The steady rain at the end of the summer had not ceased from the early morning, limiting Tams view. My family members haven't come out yet. I have been looking for them a while but I have not seen them yet, Tam said. Like Tam, many people stood outside the hospital gate to wait for their family members who had returned from Equatorial Guinea and were going to leave the hospital after 16 days of quarantine. Many people stood outside the hospital gate to wait for their family members The people waiting told VietNamNet that their family members had worked in Equatorial Guinea from six months to several years. Tam's family is a special case with three family members working together in Equatorial Guinea, the husband, son and brother-in-law. They have been away from home for nearly 20 months. Tam said since June, when she heard that the coronavirus situation in the host country was serious, she felt a fire in her heart every day. However, she had been trying to be tough to encourage the family to wait for the return of the three members. On July 28, reading the news of a flight to the remote Central African country to bring Vietnamese workers home, Tam burst into tears with happiness. At 11am, on August 14, the group of workers began to move to the car. People in remote provinces were picked up by their company's buses, while others were taken home by their families. From afar, Tam saw her 22-year-old son Nguyen Duc Trong. I'm very happy. Its been a long time away from home, Trong, Tams brother-in-law, said. Tam's son - Nguyen Duc Trong Trong prepared luggage to return home Tam's brother-in-law Tams husband, Nguyen Quang Trieu, could not hide his emotion during the moment of reunion. Having tested positive for Covid-19 in the host country, Trieu was desperate. He called his journey back home a "miracle". Fortunately, after returning to Vietnam, Trieu no longer showed signs of illness. Three consecutive tests were negative. He was able to leave the hospital after a two-week quarantine. Mr. Nguyen Quang Trieu Like Tam, Ms. H, 31, from My Duc District, Hanoi stood in front of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases very early to wait for her relatives. She was there at 5am, while the announcement of the quarantine ending started at 9am in the pouring rain. I rode a motorbike from home to here at dawn. Last night, I was awake with joy and anxiety. My mother-in-law and I have been waiting for my husband for so long, H. said. H. and her husband packed their luggage neatly before going home. Cars taking patients home leave the gate of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Mr. Nguyen Quang Trieu said that after returning home, he, his son and his brother-in-law would isolate themselves in a private house for 14 days to ensure the safety of the people around them. Before the car left, Trieu waved to others the last time, shouting: "Thank you Government, thank you doctors!" On August 14, a total of 183 Vietnamese citizens returning from Equatorial Guinea ended the quarantine period and returned home. The group had been quarantined immediately upon arrival in Vietnam and they all tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. Nguyen Lien - Le Anh Dung 183 people returning from Equatorial Guinea leave quarantine zone today Today, August 14, 183 Vietnamese citizens returning from Equatorial Guinea officially ended the quarantine process to go home after three times tested negative to SARS-CoV-2 virus. BAY COUNTY, MI -- The suspect in a quadruple homicide in Wayne County has been taken into custody, police said. Bay County Sheriff Troy Cunningham confirmed 37-year-old Raymond Lee Bailey surrendered himself to police at the sheriffs office around 10 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16. The homicides occurred Saturday, Aug. 15 at a home in the the 24000 block of Martinsville Road in Sumpter Township, a rural community about six miles south of Belleville, in Wayne County. Officers found two males and two females, all in their 30s, dead of apparent gunshot wounds. A Crime Scene Response Team from the Michigan State Police Forensic Division was requested to assist with the scene. Detectives identified Bailey, of Sumpter Township, the ex-boyfriend of one of the females, as a suspect and obtained information that he had fled north, possibly heading to the Upper Peninsula. A short time later, detectives were made aware that he had allegedly confessed to the killings to several people via telephone and texts, per a Sumpter Township Police Department news release. Detectives were able to begin tracking Bailey as he fled north. His vehicle was found abandoned Sunday morning near Wilder Road and North Euclid Avenue in Bangor Township, near Bay City. Sumpter Township police began working with police in the area to try and find Bailey. A statewide Be On the Lookout, or BOL, was put out by law enforcement officials. Bailey is being held at the Bay County Jail until hes transferred into the custody of Sumpter Township police. More on MLive: Police searching for Wayne County quadruple homicide suspect in Bay City area Shooting kills multiple people in Wayne County township, police say Police seek hit-and-run driver who damaged Amish buggy Two injured when plane crashes into ditch in Frankenmuth Township By Trend Its time to disband the OSCE Minsk Group as failing to cope with the goals and objectives set at the time when it was created, politician and Chairperson of the Public Chamber of Moldova Aurelia Grigoriu told Trend on August 17. Much to one's regret, the Minsk Group has no influence on the ongoing processes. Its complete incapacity has long been obvious, Grigoriu said. It seems that the only purpose of this group is to contribute to delay by all means of addressing the essence of the issue of withdrawing the aggressor from the occupied territories and restoring the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The structure, in my opinion, is obliged to follow and facilitate the implementation of a peaceful settlement of the crisis based on the principles, commitments and provisions of the OSCE. After all, the purpose of creating the group of OSCE member states was precisely to lead the search for ways of a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, she noted. The politician further questioned: Where is the proper reaction of the Minsk Group to the July events on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, apart from general words of regret and concern? Where are the constructive proposals and international reaction to violations committed?" According to Grigoriu, its already obvious to everyone that the OSCE Minsk Group is completely incompetent. "Why is the OSCE not using and not applying all the mechanisms of influence on the aggressor country provided for by international law? Because they dont want to understand the true reasons of the current situation and eliminate the cause instead of creating the appearance of fighting the consequences," she emphasized. The politician asked: "The appeals of the Minsk Group to come to an agreement dont stand up to scrutiny. How and over what the aggressor and occupier can agree?" Its time to set up a new structure, which, in my opinion, should include reputable countries of the world, capable of providing effective assistance to reduce the tensions, restore the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan suffering from the actions of the aggressor, and ensure aggressors compliance with international law," she added. The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on the withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A Jersey City priest is facing accusations that he groped and harassed a woman inside the church rectory earlier this year, authorities say. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced Monday that Rev. Donato Cabardo, a 56-year-old priest at St. Paul of the Cross Church, was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact and one count of sexual harassment. Cabardo was arrested Friday when he turned himself into authorities at the Hudson County Prosecutors Office. Suarez said between January and July, Cabardo allegedly touched the victims breast and buttocks for the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying himself. He also allegedly pressed his cheek against her cheek and kissed her cheek, hand, face and head, Suarez said. Its unclear how long he has been a priest at the Hancock Avenue parish. The alleged crimes were first reported to the Archdiocese of Newark, which notified the New Jersey Clergy Abuse Task Force and the Hudson County Prosecutors Special Victims Unit. The Clergy Abuse Task Force, which includes four members of the HCPO, was established in 2018 to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy within the states Catholic dioceses, as well as any efforts to cover up such abuse. To date, the task force has fielded over 600 calls on its hotline. Maria Margiotta, a spokesperson for the Archdiocese, said it is cooperating fully with the investigation. The Archdiocese of Newark takes seriously all credible complaints of sexual misconduct by members of the clergy, religious, lay staff and volunteers ... Anyone who wishes to report an incident of sexual misconduct committed by a member of the Archdiocese of Newark is encouraged to immediately inform their County Prosecutor and the Archdiocesan Office for the Protection of the Faithful. The HCPOs Special Victims Unit is actively investigating the case. Anyone with information is asked to contact 201-915-1234 or to leave an anonymous tip on the HCPO website. All information will be kept confidential. CHARLOTTE, MI A Michigan man is accused of hitting and killing a pedestrian with a vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Benjamin William Dunn, 23, of Charlotte was charged with operating while intoxicated causing death, a 15-year felony, and reckless driving causing death on Aug. 15, Eaton County prosecuting attorney Douglas R. Lloyd announced on Monday. The charges stem from an Aug. 8 incident in which Quentin Bartlett, also of Charlotte, was hit by a vehicle outside of CBs Bar and Zoo located at 200 State Street in Charlotte. Quentin Bartletts death is tragic and was absolutely preventable, Lloyd said. The choice to operate a vehicle after the use of drugs or alcohol puts the members of our community in unnecessary danger. Our Community should not tolerate drunk and drugged driving, and those who choose to do so must be held accountable. My office is dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners to keep Eaton County a safe place to live, work, and raise a family. Dunn was arraigned by 56A District Court Magistrate Reid Felsing and bond was set at $500,000. A restaurateur has defended controversial footage from a Dublin bar which showed a barman pouring drinks into dancing punters' mouths, saying it "looked terrible but aint that terrible." The Baked Brunch event, which took place in Berlin D2 bar and restaurant in Dublins Dame Lane Saturday , kicked off at 1pm and ended at around 5pm. Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTE Radio One, restaurateur Jay Bourke, said he was "embarrassed" but the clip but added that he is annoyed by calls for the venue to lose their alcohol licence. He also said that he "understands" coronavirus because he had it himself. Read More I was appalled at the video, very unhappy indeed. Embarrassed, actually, he said. He said that he interviewed staff and reviewed CCTV footage of the four-hour long event yesterday and has been to the gardai. Unfortunately at ten to 4 [pm] one of my barmen decided to jump on the bar, pour some whiskey into four peoples mouths and it looked absolutely horrific. It looked as if it was gone bananas. Expand Close Jay Bourke / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Jay Bourke "In fact, when you look at the CCTV footage of the whole premises in fact was pretty well controlled. That footage does not reflect what went on that day at all. "It looks terrible, but it aint that terrible." The Licensed Vintners Association also denounced the scenes. "This is outrageous and appalling. That business should be shut down immediately," it said. Mr Bourke said that it's not up to the LVA or RAI to decide the future of the premises "on the basis of a 20 second clip". Expand Close Still images from the video that shows a man standing on the counter at Berlin D2 and pouring drink into revellers mouths on a packed dancefloor / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Still images from the video that shows a man standing on the counter at Berlin D2 and pouring drink into revellers mouths on a packed dancefloor "I understand Covid because I had it and I don't want anyone to get it. So for them to throw us under the bus, to me, is something they said without any information and I'm a little bit annoyed about it frankly." He said that 51 people attended the premises and all PPE and contact tracing guidelines were adhered to and that a HSE inspection took place on Wednesday. Footage on social media shows groups of people seated at separate tables and enjoying meals at the beginning of the event. They were asked to stay in boxes which were marked by tape on the floor, however revellers were dancing together towards the end of the event. Expand Close Berlin D2 is on Dame Lane in Dublin city centre / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Berlin D2 is on Dame Lane in Dublin city centre He said that it was a very controlled environment. Im not excusing that video or what that particular barman did, but I have to be objective about my own position as an operator and say, What did we do wrong? and how were never going to let that happen again. It was just a mad moment and unfortunately were trying to pick up the pieces and get everyone back to work. He said that the barman pouring spirits into the mouths of revellers was naughty. The barman, you know, was naughty but hes young and they got excited and the customers are young and it was a moment of exuberance, I suppose. Its my job as an operator of clubs and pubs and all that kind of thing to keep the exuberance of the young under control and under normal circumstances, I do. Is it appropriate for young people to have fun? he answered when asked if the brunch was appropriate in the middle of a pandemic. We regret putting the brunch on, we wish we hadnt because we are in a maelstrom of media and people have gotten death threats through social media and were being hung out to dry. But from my own point of view, I am happy, except for that moment, that it was properly run and socially distanced and professionally run. Amid the outrage over the footage, Dr Gabriel Scally, last night told the Irish Independent the State must now act legally against any businesses aiding the spread of the virus through neglect, after the concerning "trend" of spread in every county. Dr Scally said: "The Government needs to take extremely strong action when anyone is putting others at risk, as this is verging on criminal activity because lives are at stake. "The State can alter the law, pass emergency legislation to take away people's licences, close businesses who are not protecting public health, including pubs." This comes as new restrictions will today be considered as the number of coronavirus cases here continues to spike. Our infection rate has now hit 23 per 100,000, surpassing that of the UK, with 18.6 per 100,000 and 16.3 in Germany. Spain's rate is 115.7 and France's 41.2. Taoiseach Micheal Martin has called the situation "deeply concerning". The phased reopening of the country has afforded people the opportunity to socialise with each other again. Read More The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) is today meeting to decide measures to protect the most vulnerable as our number of Covid-19 cases continues to spike. Acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said the reopening of schools will be considered as part of advice to Cabinet. "Nphet will meet to review and discuss the case figures that have been reported in recent days and will make any necessary recommendations to government which are required to protect the vulnerable, continue with the resumption of healthcare services and ensure the safe reopening of our schools," he said. Meanwhile, influential Dr Gabriel Scally told the Irish Independent he believed the State should pass emergency legislation to fight the spread of Covid-19 as "reckless" behaviour, bordering on "criminal" may have influenced 1,100 cases in just 14 days. Dr Gabriel Scally, who authored the report into the CervicalCheck controversy, last night told the Irish Independent the State must now act legally against any businesses aiding the spread of the virus through neglect, after the concerning "trend" of spread in every county. The footage from Berlin D2 on social media received angry backlash from TDs, the bar trade and the public. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the footage showed "reckless actions". "The vast majority of Irish people have sacrificed a huge amount to help suppress this virus," he said. "They've shown huge solidarity. People are rightly sickened by these scenes. The reckless actions of a small few can have huge repercussions on everyone else." Higher Education Minister Simon Harris said the footage is "a right kick in the gut". "A right kick in the gut & middle finger to everyone in our country who has worked so hard & sacrificed so much, to everyone who has lost a loved one or been sick with #Covid19, to every frontline worker and to every responsible business owner who have suffered so much. Shameful," he wrote. Notwithstanding the strains in the relations between New Delhi and Kathmandu, the senior diplomats of the two governments had a video conference to review implementation of the development projects funded by India in Nepal. The two sides underlined the need for the expeditious implementation of the projects and agreed to undertake necessary measures to timely address problems and obstacles in the course of implementation. New Delhis ambassador to Kathmandu, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, led the delegation from the Government of India in the video conference and co-chaired the meeting with Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi. The 8th meeting of the Oversight Committee set up to review the progress in implementing the development projects funded by India in Nepal took place amid souring relations between the two neighbouring nations. It was held just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a courtesy call from his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli, who greeted the people and the government of India on the 74th Independence Day. The projects reviewed during the meeting included roads in Terai region of Nepal, cross-border railways, Arun-III hydroelectric project, petroleum products pipelines, Pancheshwar multipurpose project, post-earthquake reconstruction, irrigation, power and transmission lines, construction of Nepal Police Academy, integrated check posts, Ramayana Tourism Circuit and motorable bridges over Mahakali River apart from the cooperation in the field of agriculture and protecting cultural heritage, according to a press-release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nepalese Government. Kwatra and Bairagi noted the progress made in the development projects in the last one year, including reconstruction of 46,301 earthquake affected houses (out of 50,000 houses committed by India) in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts of Nepal, the operationalisation of Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline, the Integrated Check Post at Biratnagar and the High Impact Community Development Projects, the Embassy of India in Kathmandu stated, adding that Bairagi also conveyed to Kwatra appreciation of the Nepalese Government for Covid-19 related assistance, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment to Nepal by India. The meeting took place nearly three months after the Oli Government lodged a protest over a new 80-kilometre-long road New Delhi built from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to the Lipulekh Pass an India-Nepal-China tri-junction boundary point. It alleged that the road passed through Nepal a claim dismissed by India. Kathmandu, however, went ahead, published a new map, which showed nearly 400 sq km of Indias areas in Kalapani, Lipulekh Pass and Limpiyadhura as part of Nepal. It also got the Nepalese Parliament to amend the countrys constitution to endorse the new map. New Delhi suspects that Beijing played a role in making the Oli Government ratchet up the India-Nepal territorial dispute at a time when Indian Army and the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is engaged in a military stand-off along the disputed boundary between the two nations in eastern Ladakh. The 2020 Hyundai Tucson is just one vehicle available as part of the Epic Summer Sales Event at Coastal Hyundai. Coastal Hyundai is an automotive dealership located in Melbourne, Florida, specializing in new Hyundai vehicles. Residents of the area who might be in the market for a new sedan or crossover are encouraged to visit the dealerships website, http://www.CoastalHyundai.com, to inquire about the many different new vehicles available. The dealership has created a comprehensive resource for shoppers to research new models on its website, including several informative model research pages and competitive comparisons that make it easier for potential buyers to get the information they need. Shoppers can also find a list of specials on the dealerships website, but there are two great deals currently going on due to the Hyundai Epic Summer Sales event that should be of particular interest to those residents of the area in the market for a crossover. The two deals are for the 2020 Hyundai Tucson and 2020 Hyundai Santa Fe, a compact and midsize crossover respectively. The deals in question offer 0% APR for 72 months in addition to no payments for 90 days. Each half of that deal on its own would be a great deal but, combined together, they make this an offer one cant refuse. The two deals are available from August 4 to September 8. Questions about either of these deals or the vehicles for which these offers are valid can be directed to the dealerships sales team at 321-499-2999. Coastal Hyundai is located at 915 New Haven Ave. in Melbourne. Author and politics professor D.C. Innes said in a recent WorldMag article it is becoming socially unacceptable to be Christian and especially in the workplace it is common practice for believers to be quiet about faith. He writes Accepting the new moral and cultural norms is the easy route but its apostasy: what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial?... (2 Corinthians 6:15-15, ESV). Is Jesus Becoming Public Enemy #1? With the rise of ISIS and Christian persecution around the globe one would answer this question with an emphatic yes! Christians feel the pinch of shrieking looks and sharp pivots when putting discussions of faith on the table. Its either met with defensiveness, dismissiveness, or vague agreement. What a minute, it would seem that this is the same opposition the early church faced from The Sermon on the Mount to Calvary. Therefore, we have no excuse. Jesus says, In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33). Christians have to take a stand forging ahead in the power of the Holy Spirit to navigate cultural push-back. The 21st century response is no different than that of the disciples. Heres what they did: Power From On High Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come. He would endue them with power strong enough to prevail against the oppositional societal current. The very resurrection power of Christ would reside within now. Prayer In Community They created a tight prayer network that was in constant dialogue with Heaven. When Peter was imprisoned, the saints prayed to God day and night and as a result an angel was sent to free Him. We have that same ability to partner with Heaven and influence change. Preach the Kingdom With bold courage the early church was not afraid to evangelize and step out, even in the face of imminent death. Stephen, the first martyr, died giving one of the best biblical historical orations of all time. Patience in Persecution They were beaten, spat on, laughed at, imprisoned and killed but for the joy that was set before them they endured if it meant the spreading of the Gospel. Christians its time we take our position seriously and not allow the fear of man to suffocate the sharing of faith. It does a disservice to the memories of all of those who fought so that we could have this right. We are called to go not run and not shy away. Go boldly carrying this reminder from Christ to the finish, And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). It was the infamous junk food much loved by children but much loathed by anti-obesity campaigners that was banned from school lunch halls in 2005. But 15 years on from TV chef Jamie Oliver's high-profile campaign to get them off the menu, the Turkey Twizzler is making a surprise return this week. In what manufacturer Bernard Matthews described as the 'comeback of the century', a revamped version of the product will go back on sale in Iceland from Thursday. But it did not impress the Children's Food Campaign which said the turkey content is still only 70 per cent although this is double the original figure of 34 per cent. Two new Turkey Twizzlers have been released by Bernard Matthews - the Tangy Tomato Twizzler and the Chilli Cheese Twizzler - and will hit the shelves of Iceland this Thursday Rob Thornton and his three-year-old son Reign look at a 10ft (3m) statue of a Turkey Twizzler at its Great Witchingham Hall HQ in Norwich at the weekend before revealing the comeback The original Turkey Twizzler was a childhood favourite but was discontinued by Norwich-based Bernard Matthews after significant bad publicity in 2005. With just a third of the product made up of turkey, the rest of the content was water, pork fat, rusk and coating along with additives, sweeteners and flavourings. They epitomised the junk food served up in school canteens served up with chips that Oliver fought a campaign to remove and replace with healthier options. It prompted a national debate over school food, and he said in relation to their 34 per cent turkey content: 'The prospect of what else is in them isn't particularly good.' The new version contains 67 to 70 per cent turkey meat and no E-numbers, and will go on sale in Iceland before appearing in other supermarkets next month. Reign Thornton, three, looks at the statue of a Turkey Twizzler unveiled in Norfolk on Sunday Jamie Oliver, pictured last September, fought a campaign to remove the food from schools Bernard Matthews unveiled a 10ft (3m) statue of a Turkey Twizzler at its Great Witchingham Hall headquarters at the weekend before revealing the comeback. The firm claimed it had brought back the product in response to huge consumer demand, following a Change.org petition in 2018 signed by 27,700 people. But Barbara Crowther of the Children's Food Campaign told the Guardian: 'The fact it's taken Bernard Matthews 15 years to reformulate the Turkey Twizzler shows what a truly terrible product it used to be. 'Doubling the turkey content still only takes it to 67 to 70 per cent meat content, and while it's a healthier version of its former self, it remains an ultra-processed product. 'We recommend sticking to fresh, whole, free-range and/or organic turkey, low-fat, high in protein and with no added sugars at all.' The original Turkey Twizzler was a childhood favourite but was discontinued by Norwich-based Bernard Matthews after significant bad publicity in 2005 With just a third of the original Turkey Twizzler made up of turkey, the rest of the content was water, pork fat, rusk and coating along with additives, sweeteners and flavourings In a press release issued by Bernard Matthews today, nutritionist Dr Sarah Schenker said: 'Turkey Twizzlers have listened to the public and completely transformed themselves into a much-improved product. 'They now have a nutritional profile they can be confident in. High in good quality protein and lower in fat, saturates, salt and sugar. You can create a balanced meal by teaming them with plenty of veg such as a corn on the cob and broccoli.' Oliver, who shares five children with his wife Jools Oliver and is reportedly worth more than 240million, has spent 20 years campaigning to fight obesity. He also pushed for a sugar tax on fizzy drinks, hailing it a 'tax for love', and more recently campaigned for the removal of two for one pizza deals. Oliver aims to halve childhood obesity by 2030. As higher education undergoes dramatic changes thanks to the coronavirus, reformers should aim higher than expanding online education.Now is a propitious time to end the dominance of accreditation agencies in higher ed and create a GED-like equivalency exam for a college degree.Many students want a traditional college life: living on campus for four years, attending classes, and socializing. But for the majority of students, what matters most is learning and getting a credential for a good job or ready for graduate education. These students genuinely desire knowledge but don't always need other aspects of the traditional college experience. What they need is the paper to prove they've done the hard work without the debt that two-thirds of graduates currently take on.For students who do not complete high school, there is the General Educational Development (GED) exam. Passing the GED (or a similar certificate of high school equivalency) equates to earning a high school diploma. We need something similar for a bachelor's degree.The first step to creating a bachelor's equivalency is to co-opt-or make irrelevant-the national Council for Higher Education Accreditation and regional accrediting agencies such as the Higher Learning Commission Those agencies judge whether a college, to which parents pay a king's ransom to educate their children, is legitimate. Though accreditors will approve the occasional online program, it must be connected to or owned by traditional colleges, which charge correspondingly high tuition. Why? Because the people who judge the legitimacy of educational programs are themselves from other academic institutions. The justification is that only academic experts should judge academic institutions, but the effect is to keep non-traditional competitors outside the moat. The accreditors are insiders guarding the gates to higher education. They are part of a trust or a cartel.A deep problem with a cartel is its control of a market that keeps competition out. It's time to make formal accreditation one stamp of legitimacy for education not the only one.Though accrediting agencies demand that academic programs implement program review and self-assessment, this author is unaware of any rigorous assessment of the accreditation enterprise itself. The accreditation process is focused mainly on inputs to education, such as faculty credentials, mission statements, faculty-student ratio, mechanisms in place to assess some student learning outcomes, facilities, and the like. Though this kind of evaluation does indeed promote high-quality education, it is indirect and fails to measure the attainment of each student in their field of study allowing many to "slip through" with an inadequate education.Could a motivated student study and learn on his own and then outscore a traditional college student on an exam? It would not matter if he could because employers, licensing authorities, and graduate schools demand a degree from an accredited institution. There is no path for a modern-day Abraham Lincoln to read law on his own and then sit for the bar exam.Here is where the U.S. Department of Education could flex one of the truly legitimate muscles of the state: busting trusts. A rigorous standardized exam would be a strong substitute for students to take an independent path to a college degree without accreditation's issues.The Department could develop a standardized exam that covers core knowledge expected for a traditional bachelor's degree and specialized knowledge expected in a major field of study, such as business administration, psychology, computer science, or history. Passing this assessment would equate to a bachelor's degree, regardless of whether the student enrolled at a college. The Department of Education could require universities to accept this bachelor's-by-exam (BEx) as equivalent to a traditional bachelor's degree for admission to graduate and professional programs. If not, the Department could use its power to pressure colleges or encourage employers to see the BEx as legitimate.Employers would probably be happy to accept the BEx as equivalent to a BA or BS, given the Department's stamp of approval and the use of a comprehensive exam to be granted a BEx.Where would those standardized exams come from? The Department could coordinate the development of tests (content and criteria), but private outfits like Pearson Education and Education Testing Service would be far more effective in creating the actual exams than would a federal agency. ETS offers the College Board's SAT (and other) exams and Pearson Education develops the GED. These organizations are experts at developing rigorous assessments, with the help of academic experts, and delivering them.Exams in core topics (part 1 of the BEx assessment) would test foundational knowledge of broad subjects such as world history, science, mathematics, humanities, and the arts. The candidate would demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the liberal arts that is expected of one who holds a bachelor's degree. Developing these exams will involve a good deal of jostling among various interests but would ultimately boil down to a GED-like assessment of basic educational attainment, aimed at university-level knowledge.ETS already provides exams in several disciplines. Those could be adapted to test candidates for specific knowledge in their chosen major and require candidates to demonstrate their specialized knowledge. These exams should go beyond current exams, which are intended simply to rank students' potential for graduate study or to support program review and assume that students have already taken assessments during a traditional four-year program.Testing for part 2 of the BEx in disciplines that require laboratory skills, such as chemistry, or studio skills, such as art, would include validated live demonstrations of relevant skills, possibly provided at local high schools or colleges for modest fees. Broadly speaking, creative and in-depth experiences in the student's major, including research papers, computer programs, performances, and works of art, would have to be built into any assessment of education deemed equivalent to a bachelor's degree.How would independent students acquire the knowledge and skills required to pass those exams?Tutors and mentors, whose only stamp of legitimacy is their record of success with previous students, could teach students to help them prepare for the BEx. Test preparation businesses such as Kaplan and commercial training companies such as New Horizons are already set up to support independent learners and would likely be eager to expand into this new territory. Online learning platforms such as Khan Academy would be useful. Students could also take courses at a local community college in harder subjects if they feel the need. Libraries are also useful here.The important point is that students could prepare for the BEx exams however they would like and could start at any age, even during their high school years. They may pay thousands of dollars for tutoring, lab experience, and fees, but the total cost would be a fraction of the college costs that, for too many students, can approach $100,000.Critics will point out that passing an exam is not the same as learning within a community of scholars, with its rich interaction and mutual growth. This is nonsense. To pass the BEx exams, which by their very nature would be extremely challenging, a candidate would interact with a wide community of other candidates via online or in-person discussions, tutors, and mentors as they work through various subjects. The academic "intensity" of preparing for these exams would likely surpass that of many traditional college experiences and would be a mighty stretch without rich interactions with many other souls.The non-traditional pathway to earning the equivalent of a bachelor's degree proposed here would demolish current bureaucratic and financial barriers to higher education for many students. As the song goes: we have the technology, and now we have more reasons than ever to pursue this approach. PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Early-stage investments remain the highest yielding asset class, period. Yet, some believe that the risk measured against the return is too high. Like in any investment strategy, there are techniques and tactics to optimize the return. Last week, Howard Lubert, Co-Founder of Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic, took over 70 investors on a journey to uncover some of the myths and introduce them to techniques associated with successful angel investing. The workshop took investors through how to value early stage companies, the necessity of due diligence, nuances in investment packages, negotiating a term sheet, tax advantages to an angel investor, and the role of an angel investment group. From 1980 to 2018, firms less than five years old accounted for all net job growth in the United States. In 2019, $24 Billion was invested in 71,000 early-stage companies by active angel investors. Angel investors are directly driving job growth resulting in a win-win-win for the entrepreneur-investor-job market. Of additional importance, the global pandemic has not stopped deal flow. Howard has 34+ years in the fields of early-stage investment and fund management. He reports that he has reviewed over 10,000 entrepreneur pitches and negotiated some of the most favorable term sheets. Today, Howard works collaboratively within Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic and South-East. A recording of this in-depth workshop will be made available upon request, contact [email protected] For additional information on the power of angel investment groups or the Keiretsu Forum process, visit http://keiretsuforum-midatlantic.com/ For an interview or interest in content collaboration with Howard Lubert, contact Cindi Sutera on 610-613-2773 or at [email protected] SOURCE Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic Bank of America expects oil prices to recover to $60 a barrel for Brent crude in the first half of next year thanks to shrinking global inventories and prices improving faster than previously expected. Back in June, we upped our oil price forecasts by $5 per barrel (/bbl) and argued that Brent would average $43/bbl in 2020 and $50/bbl in 2021, Bank of Americas analysts said as quoted by Trade Arabia. However, since then, oil futures have been rising faster than expected even though spot prices remained range-bound, the bank noted. Because of this and because it expects an oil market deficit of 4.9 million bpd for the second half of this year and another of 1.7 million bpd next year, BofA expects prices to shoot up. The banks analysts noted the slump in drilling rigs, notably in the U.S. shale patch, and the OPEC+ oil production cuts as some of the main factors that would push the oil market into a deficit and prop up prices. However, the demand side remains a downward pressure for prices. The IEA and OPEC were the latest to sound a cautious note in their respective monthly reports. The IEA said it expected oil demand this year to be down 8.1 million bpd from last year, while OPEC estimated a demand loss of 9.1 million bpd this year. With so much demand lost, the news that supply was on the rise in July did not sit well with oil traders. According to the IEA, supply rose 2.5 million bpd last month as Saudi Arabia relinquished its voluntary additional cuts of 1 million bpd and as the UAE fell short of its production quota. U.S. output also began to rise in July, casting a shadow over expectations of supply tightening. According to ANZ, oil demand currently stands at 88 million bpd. That is up 8 million bpd on April but still 13 million bpd below demand levels from August 2019. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The 2020 Democratic National Convention kicks off Monday night as the party prosecutes its case against a second term for President Donald Trump. The events, originally slated to take place in Milwaukee, will go on mostly remotely from around the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. Former Vice President Joe Biden plans to accept the party's presidential nomination on Thursday night. Speakers will start at 9 p.m. ET on Monday. Popular former first lady Michelle Obama will headline the group along with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the runner-up to Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary race. Also speaking is Republican former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who was one of the last GOP candidates to drop out of the 2016 race against Trump. CNBC.com will livestream the event, as will the DNC's website. C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and PBS will show the full two hours of the convention each night. Fox News, CBS, ABC and NBC will show the 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. hour. Sanders' speaking slot underscores the party's efforts to reach out to more liberal voters. Other speakers include Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the House majority whip whose endorsement helped to propel Biden to the nomination, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who leads the critical swing state of Michigan. The Euro logo is seen in front of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on Jan. 10, (Daniel Roland/AFP via Getty Images) Massive Stimulus Doesnt Prevent Eurozone Slowdown Commentary The European Central Banks (ECB) balance sheet has risen to 53.9 percent of GDP in July. That compares to a 32 percent for the Federal Reserve and 33 percent for the Bank of England. This means a 1.78 trillion euro ($2.11 trillion) increase year-to-date. Furthermore, excess liquidity has soared to 2.9 trillion euros ($3.4 trillion), a 1.2 trillion increase since January. Added to this unprecedented monetary stimulus, the eurozone has included a record-high 10 percent of GDP in various fiscal stimulus programs. None of it has prevented the economy from showing signs of slowing in August. After a strong bounce in May and June, coming from the reopening of most economies and the base effect, high-frequency data compiled by Bloomberg Economics shows an evident slowdown in July and August. All economists that follow the eurozone economy are warning about the worrying weakening of leading indicators. The Organization for Economic Co- operation and Development (OECD) has also published its July 2020 Leading Indicator Index, which shows that economies such as Spain arent just showing signs of weaker growth, but contraction. Italy continues to improve but at a slow pace, while France and Germany post declining growth levels. The reason is evident. All the eurozone monster stimulus is focused on perpetuating bloated government budgets and incentivizing non-economic return or subsidized spending. The entire European Recovery Fund is clearly aimed at promoting white elephants disguised as green projects, but what is more concerning is that the eurozone green deal includes more taxes and measures to prevent demand growth than productivity-enhancing plans. This lesson should have been learned in 2009. The European Union launched its massive Growth and Jobs Plan, which rose to more than 1.5 percent of the EU GDP, and the economy didnt improve, while more than 4.5 million jobs were lost. The problem of these massive stimuli is that they benefit the wrong parts of the economy. Current government spending on entitlements and subsidies creates massive deficits, and the corporations that take advantage of the massive private bond purchases and liquidity injections are the large multinationals and national champions that didnt have any problem accessing markets in the past. While the eurozone is raising environmental taxes to citizens and promoting subsidized spending in the new green deal, the biggest beneficiaries of the ECB corporate bond purchase program are large automotive companies, oil and gas multinationals, and big multi-utilities. The ECB has bought bonds from Shell, Eni, Repsol, OMV, Total, Siemens, Daimler AG, BMW, Volkswagen, Renault, etc. None of these companies had any difficulty accessing capital markets or issuing debt at low rates, and their bonds couldnt be categorized in any way as cheap, considering the yields and spreads. Most of these companies have established and mature businesses in sectors where overcapacity and margin challenges existed way before the previous and current crisis, so they wont increase hiring or capital spending due to the monetary stimulus. Meanwhile, thousands of start-ups and small businesses with no access to credit because they have no hard assets are collapsing every month. The monster credit support coming from the transmission mechanism of monetary policy is hoarded by governments and multinationals. Its a massive incentive to overspend and malinvest. Governments feel happy adding more current spending and entitlements with no real economic return, and traditional multinationals that were in slowdown phase years ago are zombified by low rates. The ECB and eurozone stimulus plans end up as massive subsidies to low productivity with collateral damage to high-productivity sectors in the shape of higher taxes. The reader may think that the same can be said about the United States and what the Federal Reserve does. Yes, to a certain extent. The mainand vitaldifference is that the United States monetary policy transmission mechanism doesnt depend on the commercial bank channel. Less than 15 percent of the United States real economy is financed by the banking sector, because of a diversified and flexible private credit system. In the eurozone, it is more than 80 percent, similar to Japan. This path to long-term stagnation should serve as a reminder for the United States, again, of why it isnt advisable to follow the eurozone policies. The results are invariably disastrous. Daniel Lacalle, Ph.D., is chief economist at hedge fund Tressis and author of Freedom or Equality, Escape from the Central Bank Trap, and Life in the Financial Markets. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso (PANA) - The Ministry of the Development of the Digital Economy and Posts in Burkina Faso is organizing, from September 8 to 10, 2020, the 16th edition of the Digital Week, under the theme: "Artificial intelligence: opportunities and challenges", PANA learned from an official source Micromax is planning to launch as many as 20 new smartphones by the end of next fiscal. The Indian company has also applied for benefits under the governments production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Indian handset company Micromax is eyeing a comeback to the smartphone market. The company plans to launch at least 20 new handsets by the end of next fiscal. It has also set aside 500 crore for R&D and manufacturing for the said period. One of the first smartphones will arrive by the end of next month, reports Business Today. Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma told the publication that the company was looking to regain its spot in the smartphone market through the multiple handsets it has planned to launch in the future. He also promised that the phones would look to disrupt the market. Sharma also rejected the notion that Micromax made a comeback plan in the wake of anti-China sentiments. He said that the company had been working on a return to the smartphone market for much longer. ALSO READ: How Indian phone brands can make it big as Chinese players dominate We actually sensed an opportunity on a global scale when the US-China trade war began over a year ago. This anti-China feeling in India is recent and you cannot plan on launching smartphones overnight," Sharma said. Micromax was one of the smartphone players in India before Chinese brands came in. At one point (Q4 2014), Micromax had even surpassed Samsung in terms of market share. The company and several Indian handset companies rapidly lost ground to the Chinese companies which offered superior products at a much lower price. Chinese brands also came in with big marketing and advertising budgets. Micromax and other Indian companies are now betting big on the Indian governments PLI scheme which aims to help the domestic companies. According to the industry body ICEA, Lava, Dixon, Micromax, Padget Electronics, Sojo, UTL and Optiemus have lined up for availing the benefits under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. Stormzy's charitable organisation - the #Merky Foundation - has pledged 500,000 to fund further or higher education for young people from underprivileged backgrounds. The pledge is part of the #Merky Foundation's 10 million fund to tackle racial inequality and injustice, which was announced in June. The Black Heart Foundation's Each Day. Every Day campaign will be the first UK charity to benefit from the fund. Good cause: Stormzy's charitable organisation - the #Merky Foundation - has pledged 500,000 to fund further or higher education for young people from underprivileged backgrounds (pictured February 2020) The 10million fund supports organisations, charities and movements involved in tackling racial inequality, justice reform and black empowerment in the UK, and will donate the mammoth amount over the next 10 years. The Each Day. Every Day campaign was created in July in in response to the Black Lives Matter movement and aimed to raise 500,000. It also aims to double the number of young people from under-resourced and under-represented communities it has helped so far through its Black Heart Scholarship Programme, taking it from 100 to 200. The donation from the #Merky Foundation will take the total raised to more than 1.45 million, including 500,000 of match funding from the board of the Black Heart Foundation in response to the 437,000 raised on Just Giving. Icon: The pledge is part of the #Merky Foundation's 10 million fund to tackle racial inequality and injustice, which was announced in June (pictured February 2020) A #Merky Foundation spokesman said: 'The Black Heart Foundation is an incredible charity and we are proud to make them the first beneficiary to receive funding from our 10 million pledge, announced earlier this year. 'Their Each Day. Every Day campaign is a brilliant initiative and we are elated that our 500,000 donation has played a key part in helping them achieve their target. 'We encourage others to donate whatever they can to help change a young person's life.' Stormzy has also previously funded the 'Stormzy Scholarship for Black UK Students' at the University of Cambridge, which covers tuition costs and maintenance grants for students. Speaking out: The Croydon rapper, 26, has frequently used his platform to raise awareness of racial issues (pictured December 2019) Businessman Ric Lewis founded the Black Heart Foundation in 2000 and through the Black Heart Scholarship, launched in 2013, the charity provides funding for young people who would not otherwise be able to afford higher or further education. He said: 'We are grateful to #Merky Foundation and invigorated by their generosity. 'Their contribution is an amazing testament to their vision and commitment to higher and further education for ambitious, hard-working young people from the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society. Making a difference: Stormzy's donation will support organisations, charities and movements involved in tackling racial inequality, justice reform and black empowerment in the UK (pictured February 2020) 'With their support we will reach another 50 young people, taking the total number of scholars we can help to 250. 'I want to thank everyone that has donated money so far. The response we have had has been incredible. 'I know there are others who still want to help us hit our original 500,000 crowdfunding target on Just Giving and so we are issuing one final invitation to everyone to get involved, give whatever they can, and be the change we want to see in our world.' Stormzy, 26, announced his 10million pledge in June, in a statement released through his #Merky company It said: 'The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit, is that black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life - simply due to the colour of our skin. 'I'm lucky enough to be in the position I'm in and I've heard people often dismiss the idea of racism existing in Britain by saying 'If the country's so racist how have you become a success?!' and I reject that with this: I am not the UK's shining example of what supposedly happens when a black person works hard. 'There are millions of us. We are not far and few. We have to fight against the odds of a racist system stacked against us and designed for us to fail from before we are even born. 'Black people have been playing on an uneven field for far too long and this pledge is a continuation in the fight to finally try and even it.' The Vossi Bop star has frequently spoken out about racial injustice in his career, and previously made headlines when he said Britain was a racist country. He has used his platform to criticise the Government's reaction to the Grenfell Tower fire, performing a freestyle rap at the Brits in 2018 in which he called out Theresa May. Professor Nelishia Pillay is the Head of the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at the University of Pretoria. She holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and holds the MultiChoice Joint Chair in Machine Learning and is a SARCHI Chair in Artificial Intelligence Professor Nelishia Pillay, Head of the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology at the University of Pretoria Can you tell us a bit about yourself? You're the Head of the Computer Science Department at University of Pretoria. Tell us more about your role here. This gives me a platform to impart my knowledge of Artificial Intelligence to students, researchers, postgraduate students and postdocs and make them excited by Artificial Intelligence whether this is a part of research for a particular project that they are assisting with as a research assistant or conducting their own research. Briefly tell us about your journey to where you are now. One of the reasons that I chose to major in Computer Science is that the entire area of Artificial Intelligence intrigued me It was during my PhD that I became really passionate about Artificial Intelligence and decided this is the area that I wanted to continue working in. Are South African women getting enough of a chance to shine in the technology sector? How can we encourage more women to enter STEM sector? We need to showcase women in IT and STEM to promote an awareness that this is a career that women also enjoy. Female students at school who have a passion for problem-solving and analytic skills should be encouraged and given the support to follow careers in STEM. We're living in very surreal times. With the use of technology, how do we move forward? Currently, artificial intelligence is envisaged to have a major impact on economic growth worldwide in the fourth industrial revolution. In order to cater for the skills shift that each industrial revolution brings with it, we need to promote lifelong and sustainable learning. How is the University of Pretoria empowering the future generation of female leaders in Tech? What advice do you have to share with women in STEM? As we celebrate Women's Month in South Africa. Do you have any words of encouragement for all the women out there? Her research areas include hyper-heuristics, combinatorial optimization, genetic programming, genetic algorithms and other biologically-inspired methods.Professor Nelishia Pillay, a problem solver at heart, shares more about her journey into computer science...I am from a small city in KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermarizburg. I completed my schooling and tertiary education in Pietermaritzburg. In 1998, I moved to Durban to pursue my PhD and career as a lecturer at the University of Natal. In 2004, I moved back to Pietermaritzburg as a senior lecturer at the University of Natal. I remained at the University of KwaZulu-Natal until August 2017.In September 2017 I was appointed as a Professor and Head of Department of Computer Science at the University of Pretoria.As Head of Department I mentor both staff and students and help them attain their career goals. Computer Science is a rapidly changing field, making one of the responsibilities of a Head of Department to ensure that curricula of the degrees we offer are up to date and aligned to international standards. Achieving this also involves interaction with industry to ensure that our graduates meet the needs of a dynamic field.The work I do as part of both the chairs is extremely exciting.Both these chairs gives me the opportunity to work with industry and various departments at UP to use artificial intelligence to find solutions to real-world problems which is very.At school, I loved problem solving and mathematics. I was in Grade 10 when I first heard about Computer Science from my dads business magazines. It was at this point that I decided that I wanted a career in Computer Science (instead of a Mathematics teacher which was my career choice at the time).. When I did Artificial Intelligence in my third year of my undergraduate Computer Science degree I was disappointed in its achievements, or lack thereof, at that stage. I then pursued an Honours in Applied Mathematics, which I had enjoyed the most in my third year. However, I was able to find my way back to Computer Science and completed my Masters degree in Computer Science with my PhD in Artificial Intelligence.At that time Artificial Intelligence was thought of as being something academic and there was not much interest from colleagues and friends when I rambled on about this. It is extremely exciting to see what I feel so passionate about receiving such prominence currently and making a positive impact on the quality of everyday life worldwide.While IT still remains a male-dominated field, there are a number of initiatives in the country to showcase women making a mark in this field and to encourage females to pursue a career in IT. For example, the Women in IT initiative by the Institute of Information Technology Professionals (IITPSA), provides bursaries and a mentorship programme to encourage women to pursue a career in IT. Another initiative is Women in Tech ZA which promotes public awareness of women working in IT with the aim of encouraging women to pursue careers in IT.As we move from one industrial revolution to the next, new technologies emerge which we must embrace in order to have a competitive edge internationally. Relevant stakeholders, namely, government, academia and industry, need to collaborate to achieve this.These skills shifts must be predicted timeously and mechanisms for developing the necessary skills put in place.The University of Pretoria encourages and supports women to pursue leadership roles in IT. Currently, all three head of departments in the School of Information Technology are female. Via the research chairs bursaries are made available to attract female students to study Computer Science at undergraduate and postgraduate level.Computer Science is still a male dominated field and this is usually as a result of personal choice influenced by various experiences in life including social media, friends, family and different cultures. Whatever career choices are made the main contributing factor should be that you must feel passionate about what you're doing and look forward to doing this on a daily basis irrespective of what challenges this may bring.Sometimes things may feel overwhelming and unattainable. If you just believe that you can achieve what you want to, you will. China's foreign minister Wang Yi makes rare visit to Tibet; emphasises security and stability International oi-Madhuri Adnal Beijing, Aug 17: China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has made a rare visit to Tibet and the border areas last week and emphasised that the security and stability of the region are important to the overall development of the country, the official media here reported. Wang, who is also a State Councillor of the ruling Communist Party of China, met with Tibet's Communist Party secretary Wu Yingjie and chairman of the Tibet regional government, Qizhala and other officials on Friday. Rafales will provide India major advantage in Tibet in case of aerial combat: B S Dhanoa The security and stability of the region is important to the overall development of China, the Global Times quoted Wang as saying by the local Tibet Daily. Wang also visited the border areas to learn about the situation of poverty alleviation, infrastructure building and the construction of villages, the report said. Wang goes on special "research trips" to several Chinese regions every year, the report said. Top Chinese leaders and officials visit Tibet annually but it is rare for the foreign minister to visit the remote Himalayan region. Wang said the government will work with people in Tibet to ensure regional stability, China's national security and support Tibet's opening-up and cooperation with the outside world, economic and social development. Wang also spoke about the current international situation, apparently referring to China-US diplomatic, political and trade tensions, which has led to a new low in bilateral ties in recent weeks. In clear message to China, Indian soldiers hoist Tricolour at Pangong Lake China ordered the US to close the American consulate in Chengdu, located close to Tibet, in retaliation to Washington's move to shut down the Chinese consulate in Houston. Wang spoke about China's diplomatic efforts, saying that Tibet has made great achievements regarding economic development, stabilising and developing border areas, joining external cooperation and participating in projects under the Belt and Road initiative (BRI). China is beefing up the border infrastructure in Tibet which shares a border with Nepal. Kathmandu is a signatory to the BRI under which Beijing has initiated a number of infrastructure projects, including building of the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network through Tibet. Canadian fashion tycoon Peter Nygard has been accused of hiring his sex worker girlfriend to rape two of his sons when they were teenagers in a bombshell new lawsuit. Nygard's biological sons made the stunning allegations against their father - who has been accused of sexually assaulting dozens of women in a decades-long sex trafficking scheme - in a complaint filed Sunday in Manhattan federal court. The men claim they were both statutorily raped by the same 'girlfriend' of their father, who was a 'known sex worker'. The alleged rapes took place 14 years apart at properties owned by 79-year-old Nygard, the complaint obtained by DailyMail.com states. In one case, Nygard, who has seven children in total, allegedly told the woman that he wanted her to 'make a man' out of one of the sons, who was 14 at the time. Canadian fashion tycoon Peter Nygard (center in 2014) has been accused of hiring his sex worker girlfriend to rape two of his sons when they were teenagers in a bombshell new lawsuit 'Each of the sons has experienced, first-hand, the destruction caused by Peter Nygard's sex trafficking venture and, through their truth, stand for accountability and justice,' the complaint obtained by DailyMail.com states. 'In addition to trafficking his sons, Peter Nygard lied about the sexual abuse and attempted to intimidate his sons into remaining quiet. 'But plaintiffs, in this case, refuse to be silenced and, following an investigation in the last several months, Nygard's Sons have come to realize the lies and corruption of Peter Nygard, including sex trafficking, intimidation, and destruction of countless innocent victims.' The names of both sons were withheld in the complaint for their protection, according to a press release. The elder son - referred to in the suit as 'John Doe 2' - was raped when he was 15 years old in 2004 at his father's home in the Bahamas, the complaint states. Fourteen years later, Nygard allegedly 'lured, enticed and transported' the younger son - 'John Doe 1' - from California to his residence in Winnipeg, Canada, in the summer of 2018, where the same woman raped him. He was 14 years old and a virgin at the time, the complaint states. The legal age of consent in Canada is 16. Nygard allegedly paid the woman, who was not named in the suit, using money from his fashion empire, Nygard International. Nygard has been accused of raping and sexually assaulting 57 women after he lured them to his compound in the Bahamas (pictured). One of his sons claims that Nygard's girlfriend raped him at the estate when he was 15 in 2004 Nygard's property is an adult playground where he has 'pamper parties' for young girls, blasts music and, allegedly has plied young girls with drugs and alcohol The elder son spoke about the alleged abuse in an interview with CBC News, saying: 'Hopefully my experience will help other people be able to speak the truth about what's happened to them.' He said he felt 'confusion', 'shame' and 'very little understanding' after he was assaulted - but gained some clarity after hearing similar allegations against his father from other victims. 'It's one of those things that when you look back at it I see the pattern of it that it happened with my younger brother that's when it struck me,' he said. 'That's pretty low. So after the fact and after more information has come out it's affected me a little bit more.' The sons are being represented by the same firm that launched a class action lawsuit against Nygard earlier this year in New York, DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC. The class action is made up of 57 women who Nygard lured them to his compound in the Bahamas with promises of money and modeling opportunities before they were raped, sexually assaulted and forced to engage in depraved fetishes. Several of the victims in the suit were underage, with two as young as 14. In February, federal agents and New York police officers raided Nygard's Manhattan headquarters and his Los Angeles home as part of a five-month investigation into allegations of sexual assault by a joint child exploitation task force. Nygard's elder son said that he and his brother came forward with their lawsuit to show support for other victims. 'We need to talk about this,' the son told CBC. 'It's about backing up the other people who are being called liars.' After the class action lawsuit was filed, Nygard's representatives fiercely denied the women's claims and dismissed the mounting allegations against him as part of a sinister plot by wealthy and powerful enemies who wish to harm him. And on Sunday, Nygard's lawyer Jay Prober condemned the allegations in the latest lawsuit as 'completely false'. 'My client is shocked by these allegations, which he says are completely false. He categorically denies them,' Prober told CBC. 'You'll note that the allegations are really nothing more than generalities. Details are sadly lacking. You might ask why that is. And it's clear from my client because he says it never happened.' A spokesperson for Nygard (pictured in 2016) called the allegations outlined in the sons' lawsuit 'completely false' Nygard, 79, is seen partying with scantily-clad young women at his mansion in the Bahamas in 2007 in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com But his sons remain optimistic that their father will be brought to justice for their crimes. 'I'm hopeful that whether it's this lawsuit or the other lawsuits that there will be some truth served because I don't feel like anyone should get away with this type of behavior and abuse,' the elder son said. Co-counselor Greg Gutzler said of his clients' suit: 'The bravery of these two young men, who have come forward to testify to their own father's heinous, decades-long career of shocking sexual crimes, corroborates what so many survivors have already revealed. 'They join victims and witnesses from the United States, Canada, the UK, and the Bahamas, who have courageously come forward with the truth after being intimidated into silence for decades.' The civil action seeks damages under the United States Federal sex trafficking statute from Nygard, as well as Nygard Inc, Nygard International Partnership, and Nygard Holdings Limited. It claims that Nygard's sexual predation is an 'open secret' at the Nygard companies and that the companies were 'instrumental in knowingly aiding, abetting, facilitating, conspiring, and participating in' the trafficking the plaintiffs while knowing that both were under 18, to engage in a commercial sex act. 'The plaintiffs did not come forward immediately following these incidents as they were legitimately and justifiably afraid that Nygard would harm or retaliate against them,' a press release states. The complaint alleges that Nygard uses 'his family influence and family manipulation, including psychological and financial pressure, financial resources, political power' as well as threats of force, to intimidate victims and prevent him from coming forward. Nygard has long been seen as one of Canada's biggest fashion influencers with offices around the world, including in Toronto, Los Angeles and New York. He's been linked to several high profile people, including Britain's Prince Andrew. The Duke of York, his then wife Sarah Ferguson and their two children Eugenie and Beatrice visited Nygard's exclusive Caribbean bolthole around 20 years ago in 2000. It is claimed Prince Andrew, who was holidaying at a separate house, spent less than two hours at the property after being invited by Nygard to tour the grounds. The embattled Duke quit royal duties last year following a car-crash television interview about his dead pedophile financier friend, Jeffrey Epstein. Nygard reportedly hosted several other A-listers at his Bahamas estate, dubbed Nygard Cay, including Oprah Winfrey and former president George H.W. Bush. None of the celebrities or other people who visited Nygard at the compound are being accused of knowing anything about what went on there. It was at that property that Nygard allegedly abused women at so-called 'pamper parties' where he would have bartenders spike their drinks with the date-rape drug Rohypnol. The mogul allegedly kept a database with details about each guest, which he would consult before picking a 'victim' to target at the weekly parties. Nygard is seen with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and Prince Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, when the family visited his Bahamas compound in 2000 OCEAN CITY, NJ Getting customers to return requires more than reopening, according to Rita Christensen. It also requires putting customers at ease who might feel nervous about the coronavirus. The Ocean City woman and her brother, Andrew Bakey, developed a way to show patrons that they're ready, that they "survived." That's why they developed window clings, lawn signs and wrist bands for businesses to signify that they have "conscientiously and ethically" sanitized their establishments using the Center for Disease Control's guidelines. You might notice businesses around South Jersey with signs that say "Survived," with a simple message: "Welcome back. We missed you!" A few letters are highlighted in blue to spell "virus" backwards, indicating the process of putting COVID-19 in the rearview mirror, Christensen said. (Rita Christensen) Survived, LLC products don't claim that the business is virus-free. But owners have signed a "Pledge of Integrity" that they've done what they can to keep their establishments safe. "Welcome back, we missed you, and we took the Pledge of Integrity to ethically and conscientiously sanitize," Christensen said of what the signs indicate. Christensen owns an ad agency called iColor Studio, LLC. Bakey, of Mullica Hill, works as an energy consultant. Bakey called Christensen on March 14 with a question, one that still nobody can completely answer: what's the world going to look like after the pandemic? "People are going to be scared to death to go to their dentist, to go to their family doctor, to go to their favorite bars or restaurants," Christensen said, recalling what Bakey told her. "Weve got to figure something out to help make people more comfortable." Bakey's profession faces unique challenges because of the pandemic. As an energy consultant, he makes a living through networking, shaking hands and meeting face-to-face to negotiate energy prices. Bakey and others needed a solution. Story continues New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters. By mid-June, they developed the Survived brand. They dedicated the initiative to their parents George and Patricia Bakey. Each night at dinner, they encouraged their 10 children to share their "AOK" acts of kindness for the day. They have used the brand to aid others, donating a portion of proceeds to Meals on Wheels and No Kid Hungry, which respectively help feed seniors and children. Several businesses have joined the Survived movement, including the Harrison House Diner in Mullica Hill, Unlimited Salon in Berlin, and Barnsboro 5 Point Family Barber in Sewell. Christensen's daughter dined at The Bistro at Haddonfield and asked if they'd like a sign for their front window. The restaurant was ecstatic, Christensen says. "The manager actually said, Oh my God, can I have that?" she said. "There's that kind of excitement, because there are no visual clues (of safety)." Find more information at survivedcovid19usa.com or call 856-520-3035. Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Ocean City Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com. This article originally appeared on the Ocean City Patch A 15-year-old girl has claimed she was raped on a beach by two underage boys, thought to be migrants. The girl, from Venice, was reportedly sitting alone on Lignano beach, north-east Italy, waiting for some friends when she was approached by three boys. Two of them raped her, according to local media, while the third stood by and watched. When they left she called emergency services sparking a man-hunt across the area that led to their arrest. The alleged rape took place on August 15, a major public holiday in Italy known as Ferragosto when families and friends meet for long meals. The Italian girl claimed she was raped at Lignano beach, north-east Italy. It is pictured above The girl had travelled 60 miles from her home in Venice on August 14 to spend the public holiday with some friends, it has been reported. But as she sat waiting for some friends, who had gone to bring another group to the beach, on August 15 she was approached by the three boys. The three alleged migrants had reportedly travelled to Lignano from Milan, on the other side of the country. Two of the boys are Albanian and one is Egyptian, according to Conservative Italian newspaper Il Giornale. They are reportedly aged between 16 and 17. The girl had travelled to Lignano from Venice. The alleged migrants had reportedly travelled from accommodation in Milan The Northern League Security Councillor of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, Pierpaolo Roberti, told the publication: 'More controls and stricter measures, up to chemical castration for those who commit crimes of a sexual nature (are needed).' He added: 'The worrying cultural climate in which certain phenomena occur is a sign of a total lack of any kind of values.' Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State is now struggling for survival after the governorship election tribunal upheld the petition of the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP) protesting the exclusion of its candidate by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), therefore, nullified the November 2019 election. The governor vowed that he would appeal the judgement of the tribunal nullifying his election. Governor Diri disclosed that he has instructed his lawyers to file the necessary papers of appeal. Governor Diri, immediately after the tribunal delivered its judgement that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) wrongly excluded the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP) governorship candidate in the November 2019 election, stated that he has implicit confidence in the judiciary, noting that he would survive at the end. The Bayelsa governor declared: We trust in the judiciary and we are appealing the judgement. With God on our side, we will get justice. This is a court of the first instance and I have instructed our lawyers to file an appeal. We have a right to appeal even up to the Supreme Court. Democrats have been proclaiming, for months, that Texas is the nations largest battleground state in 2020. You sure wouldnt get that impression from looking at the speaker lineup for the partys national convention, which will be broadcast Monday through Thursday from its headquarters in Milwaukee. Representation matters, and, of course, we believe theres a remarkable list of Texas leaders that should be front and center, said Gilberto Hinojosa, the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, after the Democratic National Committee released its speaker lineup this past week. Our understanding is that the speaking program is not yet final, he continued, diplomatically. We are concerned, we have made inquiries and we continue to advocate for Texas Democratic leaders. The convention will culminate Thursday with an acceptance speech by former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive presidential nominee, delivered from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del. His running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, will address the mostly virtual gathering Wednesday. The list of supporting speakers features some of the partys most popular figures. They include former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, as well as several of the Democratic heavyweights who made serious bids for the partys 2020 presidential nomination, including U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. The lineup also features former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who has emerged as one of President Donald Trumps sharpest critics within the GOP, in yet another sign that Democrats mean to extend an olive branch to moderate Republicans who have wearied of Trumps presidency. But what jumped out about the list of DNC speakers, to many Democratic voters in the Lone Star State, was the complete absence of any talented young Texas leaders in prime-time speaking slots. Julian Castro, the former San Antonio mayor and U.S. housing and urban development secretary who ended his presidential bid early this year, will not take the stage in Milwaukee. Neither will his twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, the chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who is vying to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Former U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke of El Paso, who also staged a bid for the 2020 nomination and is now hard at work turning out voters on behalf of down-ballot Democrats across the state, similarly does not have a speaking slot at the convention. ORourke threw his support behind Biden at a pivotal time, just after his South Carolina primary win and right before Super Tuesday. Also not appearing are any of the talented Texas Democrats elected to Congress in the 2018 midterm elections, including Reps. Lizzie Fletcher and Sylvia Garcia, both of whom represent parts of Harris County. Other Texas Democrats who were passed over for prime-time speaking slots include Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who lead three of Americas 10 largest cities, and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who at 29 has effectively led the nations third-largest county through the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis. In fact, if you want to see a Texas Democrat at this years convention, youll have to tune in before the prime-time addresses in order to catch an appearance from state Rep. Victoria Neave of Dallas, an early supporter of Biden. The absence of Texans is all the more notable given that the DNC lineup also features a comparative dearth of Latinos, Asian Americans (Andrew Yang was just added after some pushback) and young Democrats, as well as men and women associated with the partys progressive wing. In fact, the partys future prospects are apparently going to be represented by a 60-second speech from U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. In a tweet, she pledged poetically to make the most of things. 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. Ocasio-Cortez was quoting a verse by the minister Dr. Benjamin E. Mays that had also, she noted, been recited by the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. All of this would be more offensive, perhaps, if it werent so puzzling. Polls suggest that Texas and its 38 electoral votes! are genuinely in play, with Biden neck and neck in polls with Trump. And Houston was one of the cities in contention to host the convention, before Democrats ultimately opted for Milwaukee. The overall impression one gets, looking over the list of featured speakers, is that the partys national leaders are more concerned about placating nervous centrist voters than energizing their base. That makes sense, arguably, if you assume those priorities are mutually exclusive but should Democratic leaders assume that, really? The Biden campaign recently announced a team of Democratic campaign veterans that will lead its efforts in Texas. Representatives could not be reached for comment late Friday. Texas Democrats, for their part, are still hoping convention organizers take heed of their calls for a more inclusive shindig. The speaker lineup is a good start, and I love that AOC made the lineup, but the issues championed by Julian Castro should earn him a spot in prime time, Ed Espinoza, the executive director of Progress Texas, said Friday. Texas is the fastest-growing state in the nation and the biggest battleground state, he continued. If the DNC really wants to stick it to Republicans, they can show the world that Democrats are about to flip Texas. But what the DNC is currently showing the country, after months of touting Texas swing-state status, is that talk is cheap. Editor's note: Since publication, several Texans have been added to the Democratic National Convention lineup. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred and state Rep. Victoria Neave will be among 17 young Democrats featured in a Tuesday night "keynote" slot, and former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo will appear in video segments Monday. erica.grieder@chron.com U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Aug. 14, 2020. Kevin Dietsch | Bloomberg | Getty Images Rather than focusing on the possible outcome of the U.S. election, investors should be shoring themselves up against what President Donald Trump might do to avoid defeat, according to Cribstone Strategic Macro founder Michael Harris. Democratic nominee Joe Biden has established himself as the frontrunner to win the race for the White House on November 3, but his average polling leads have declined over the past month. While markets are cautiously pricing in a Biden victory, Harris said investors should look to "buy protection" against what Trump may do over the next couple of months to avoid "humiliation" at the polls. "So it is less about what he does after (the election) it is more about what he does before to try and make sure that doesn't happen, and that is why I think geopolitics could be especially hot over the next couple of months, and people should be buying protection on that basis, in my view," Harris told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe." Harris said one thing to watch as the election draws closer would be hostility toward Iran from the U.S. in order to get people to "rally around the flag." "A most likely 'rally around the flag' event would be (the U.S.) attacking Iran or perhaps (a) Venezuela overthrow," he said in an email to CNBC. "So something around a temporary oil spike but not a fundamental call on oil winners." He highlighted defense companies as an obvious option in this environment. "To me the message is just that a heavy act of military aggression is something investors should not be surprised by in the run up to the vote," he added. Trump last week announced that a deal had been brokered between the UAE and Israel to normalize relations, likely bolstering his campaign's foreign policy credentials. The UAE has since been denounced by both Iran and Turkey. Harris also said "protection" investments could come in the form of selling put options (contracts giving the holder the right to sell an asset at a specific price, by a particular date) or general "de-risking." "Regardless of what the mainstream media or 'political strategists' may suggest, President Trump is protecting American values and putting America First by rebuilding our economy and restoring American jobs, leveling the international economic playing field, and undoing the Obama-Biden administration's foreign policy disasters, including reversing the horrendous Iran Deal and successfully brokering the country's first major peace agreement with an Arab country in a quarter century," Trump campaign Deputy National Press Secretary Courtney Parella told CNBC via email. How will the election result affect markets? Some commentators, such as billionaire investor Jeffrey Gundlach, are backing Trump to win re-election, dismissing polling as inaccurate and suggesting that markets will react badly to a Democratic victory. Harris disagreed, however, arguing that a Trump victory could cause a "huge amount of turbulence in markets, because I think the running assumption is we are going to have a lot of hostility and dysfunction in an environment like that." Although 9 million jobs have returned in the U.S. from the pandemic lows, there are still 13 million fewer than in March, LGIM's Head of Economics Tim Drayson highlighted in a note Thursday, arguing that federal aid will be "imperative." Drayson suggested it would be "inconceivable" for Congress not to cut a deal on future aid by September 30, since this "would risk a double-dip recession just ahead of an election that would cost many members their seats." Gavin Kohn, 21, signed his lease to live in the Courtyards, an apartment on the University of Maryland's College Park campus, in February. The novel coronavirus, at that point, had arrived in the United States, but the then-junior did not know it would upend the school year. As the virus raged on, it became clear his senior year was also in jeopardy. The university scaled back on-campus housing, announced plans to conduct 80% of undergraduate courses online and imposed coronavirus testing requirements. Kohn and about 500 other students who had planned to live in the Courtyards and its sister property, South Campus Commons, started to feel wary about living in groups. But, bound by their leases, they may be forced to do it. Last week, Kohn joined a car caravan protest with about two dozen of his peers. The mechanical engineering and astronomy student stood through the sunroof of his brother's blue Hyundai Elantra and shouted through a megaphone: "U-Md., do something!" The line of cars snaked around the main administration building on the College Park campus, which houses the president's office. "They need to do the right thing and help us get out of this lease," said Kohn, who lives about a half-hour drive away in Columbia, Md. "I'm very anxious about coronavirus because I live with three other roommates and I only know one of them. And I get my own room and bathroom, but we share a kitchen and we're in the same living space. So it's fairly scary, especially now." Hundreds of students at the university have been petitioning the school, the state and a private company to let them out of their leases. South Campus Commons and the Courtyards - which house about 3,000 students - are both built on university property, but the buildings are owned by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO), a state entity. Students who entered lease agreements did so with the state agency. MEDCO can borrow money, through bonds, to finance projects such as student housing throughout the state. The apartments are managed by Capstone On-Campus Management, a private company based in Alabama. Capstone, in a statement issued on behalf of MEDCO, said they are "unable to release all students due to its obligations to bondholders, vendors and other entities, as well as not being eligible for any of the federal relief programs currently available." The management company did not respond to further requests for comment. Bob Brennan, executive director of MEDCO, said he has a "fiduciary responsibility" to operate the units and said tenants can find other students to take over their leases. He added that housing arrangements "can be done very well" if students follow public health guidelines, including wearing masks, staying physically distant and practicing good hygiene. "I think there's a lot of individual responsibility and care that needs to be taken to protect yourself," Brennan said. "I live in a condo building, which is probably just as crowded as one of our facilities. The apartment building is no different than my condo building." But students say it's a health risk and argue that they should have the option to opt out of housing arrangements, just like their peers who live in traditional dorms. However, the university has no control over the lease agreements students signed at South Campus Commons and the Courtyards, said Natifia Mullings, a campus spokeswoman. "In this case, students have signed contracts with a private management company, not the university," she said in an email. Some students, who were able to prove that they had medical conditions or sought legal help, have managed to break their leases. About 100 students, inspired by a small number of their peers who took legal action, have now retained legal assistance. Leonard Lucchi, the attorney representing the students, is arguing that the leases students signed are no longer valid because MEDCO cannot ensure that the units are habitable. Capstone, in a July email, told students that not all units are suitable for self-quarantine and that those asked to isolate themselves may be provided alternative housing. "The Additional Rules and Regulations contain new and material requirements and conditions which differ greatly from those contained in the lease agreements," Lucchi wrote in a letter to MEDCO and university officials. Many of the students cite financial concerns - the prospect of spending between $800 and $1,000 each month to spend most of their time in online classes is a waste of money, they say. But there are also health concerns. Hannah Aalemansour, who signed her lease in February for an Aug. 1 move-in, was supposed to live with three of her friends. Two months ago, the three friends found other students to take over their leases. Aalemansour knows she could have done the same but didn't think it was necessary at the time. "At that time, it didn't seem like the health risk would be as prevalent in the fall," she said. Aalemansour's current roommates are strangers, and she doesn't know what safety precautions, if any, they have been taking. The biology and French student has her own bedroom in the apartment but would share a kitchen, living room and laundry room. She has not moved in - or paid her rent of $811. Scientists are still learning about the novel coronavirus, but experts are certain it can spread through respiratory droplets that are produced when a person breathes, talks, sneezes or coughs. Those droplets can linger in the air, potentially posing a risk to people who share spaces - such as hallways and bathrooms, said Serene Al-Momen, an adjunct professor at George Mason University and chief executive of Senseware, which makes sensors that monitor indoor air quality. "In busy indoor areas like college residence halls, one infected student can produce a lot of small, lingering viral particles that create a riskier environment for everyone around," Al-Momen said. "So it's crucial that HVAC systems have adequate ventilation and filtration to remove those particles as quickly as possible, especially in common areas. But the infrastructure in these buildings varies widely, making it difficult to tell if a given environment is optimized to remove viral particles quickly." Local lawmakers and officials, including campus President Darryll Pines, recently sent a letter to College Park property owners, asking them to be lenient with student tenants. "Given the critical public health considerations and the risk to our greater community, we ask that you work with student renters and consider allowing them to terminate leases or sublet to other students who wish to remain in the community," according to the letter. "This would allow more students to live elsewhere while participating remotely in their instruction." The university said it is helping students who are trying to transfer their leases. But students said it's not enough. Simin Li, a senior and computer science major who has helped organize efforts to get students out of their leases, said MEDCO is placing its bondholders over its tenants. "Think about how many of us could get sick from covid," she said. "This is a health and safety issue, not a profits issue." Alexandra Grant, Keanu Reeves' girlfriend, is truly lovable and appealing enough to catch the actor's heart. In 2019, People magazine confirmed that Reeves and Grant have been a couple for some time already, but they wanted to keep it low-key. The press spotted the two for the first time at the LACMA Art and Film Gala in Los Angeles. A source confirmed the meeting and exclusively told ET that the two spent their time with their friends Will Ferrell and Viveca Paulin. "They were smiling and having a good time, and immediately after taking the photo, Will Ferrell spotted Keanu and rushed over to say hello, bringing with him a small group that included his wife, Viveca Paulin-Ferrell," the source said. Other than that, the couple refused to share any private information about their relationship. Despite that, there are astonishing and shocking things people should know about Grant, all of which will surely catch everyone's heart, too. Grant Is Reeves' Best Friend -- And Business Partner, Too! The award-winning visual artist also became the business partner of the "John Wick" actor. They first collaborated and built the book "Ode to Happiness" in 2011, in which Grant served as the illustrator and Reeves as the poetry writer. "The book was made as a surprise, by me, for Keanu, as a private gift," Grant said. "All our friends sitting in the room got the giggles when I gave it to him - they said, 'Please publish it!' So that's how we got into publishing." After their first collaboration caught people's attention, they released the book's sequel entitled "Shadows." Subsequently, they established their joint publishing house "X Artists' Books." Keanu Reeves' Girlfriend Loves to Help Charities Grant also uses her talent to help grassroots artists through her charity GrantLOVE. According to its website, the GrantLOVE Project "is an artist-owned and operated project that produces and sells original artworks and editions to benefit artist projects and arts non-profits." Since 2008, Grant has been using the sales from the project to raise funds for various Los Angeles-based charities or art projects. Behind Grant's "Mysterious" Gray Hair Besides her high-profile background, Keanu Reeves' girlfriend also has her own way of spreading awareness. Her natural gray hair has been turning heads; however, she did not let it look that way for fashion or anything else. Earlier this year, she posted a screen capture of a Newsweek article regarding the health risk of using permanent hair dye. As stated in the article with a headline "Breast Cancer Linked To Permanent Hair Dye And Chemical Hair Straighteners In Study Of Almost 50,000 Women," the International Journal of Cancer found out in a study that women who feed their hair with hair dyes regularly have a higher risk of breast cancer. The overwhelming number of affected hair dye users surprised her. Grant then admitted that she grew gray hair in her 20s and dyed it numerous times until she realized that the chemicals she was using only brought toxicity to her. Grant Is Multi-Lingual Keanu Reeve's girlfriend can surely make people drop their jaws. As a visual artist who uses language in her works, Grant's past educational travels helped her thrive in her chosen career. At a very young age, she had to experience a huge heartbreak after her parents divorced. Since then, she stayed in Mexico City with her mother. She attended a British school for a multi-national student body where she learned how to speak Spanish. Alexandra Grant also studied at Thomas Jefferson School in St. Louis, Missouri, for a year. Shortly after that, she moved to Paris and got the chance to learn French. READ MORE: Keanu Reeves Net Worth: Why Keanu's Financial Status Can Make People Scream By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - Aug 17, 2020 - 16:35 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Despite the historic, yet widely expected contraction in Japan's economy for the April-June period, green shoots are evident, with observers optimistic the country has already bottomed out and is shifting into recovery mode. However, continued virus-related weakness in private consumption and exports, the two main drivers of the world's third-largest economy, amid second waves in Japan and abroad have also sparked concerns that even if a quick recovery is achieved, a double-dip recession is looming. On Monday, government data showed gross domestic product shrank an annualized real 27.8 percent in the fiscal first quarter from the previous three months, the sharpest contraction on record, after economic activity was restricted under a pandemic state of emergency. Private consumption sank 8.2 percent while exports of goods and services, including spending by foreign tourists, slumped 18.5 percent, the Cabinet Office said. Many analysts think that GDP may rebound strongly -- by approximately 10 percent or more -- in the July-September quarter, mainly supported by a recovery in consumer spending. Akane Yamaguchi, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research, is among them. But she warns, "Consumption will continue to seesaw as sluggishness will be ongoing, especially in businesses involving face-to-face services, due to fear of the further spread of the virus." While the government has yet to release consumer spending data for July, Yamaguchi forecast that the result would come in slightly weaker than in June after analyzing data from across a range of companies and industries. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in late May fully lifted the state of emergency, under which authorities had requested people to refrain from nonessential outings and for some businesses to close. The unprecedented measures dealt a heavy blow to the economy, with household spending falling at a record pace in April and setting a new record the following month. Although the pace of decline slowed in June after social distancing recommendations were relaxed and economic activities resumed, the resurgence of the virus in Tokyo and other urban centers has cast a shadow over prospects for an economic recovery. If Abe again declares a state of emergency, it could "take a toll on the economy again and then lead it toward a double-dip," Yamaguchi warned. Japanese exports dropped more than 20 percent for three consecutive months from April, marking the largest falls since 2009 when the global economy was damaged by the financial crisis following the collapse of Lehman Brothers the previous year. Kazuma Maeda, an economist at Barclays Securities Japan Ltd., said government data on trade for July suggested Japan's exports bottomed out in the April-June quarter. But he also said the pace of recovery will be "very slow." "(Further) waves of infections could seriously constrain activities in major economies, and may again put downward pressure on exports," Maeda said. "Whether Japan can continue to recover depends on the domestic infection situation," he added. If the number of coronavirus cases expands more rapidly, "the possibility for Japan to see a double-dip will increase." Related coverage: Japan economy shrinks at record 27.8% in April-June amid pandemic The president of Portugal has rescued two women who were struggling in the water after their canoe capsized off a beach in the Algarve. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, 71, was filmed on Saturday swimming out to the two women after their canoe tipped over off the Praia do Alvor beach in the Algarve. The president, who was on holiday in the region in an attempt to re-energise the country's tourism sector, told reporters that the women had been caught in a current at a nearby beach before being swept into Praia do Alvor. Pictured: Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, 71, on Saturday as he reached two women who were struggling in the water after their canoe capsized on an Algarve beach The president told local journalists that the women had swallowed a lot of water and were unable to climb back into their canoe after it capsized on Saturday off a beach in the Algarve 'As there is a very large west current, they were dragged out, turned around, swallowed a lot of water and were not even able to turn [the kayak], nor to climb [on it], or swim, such is the strength of the current,' the president told local media. Footage of the incident shows the 71-year-old president, who underwent a minor heart operation last year, front-crawling out to the overturned kayak as a man on a jet ski approaches to help the rescue effort. The president called the man on the jet ski a 'patriot' when speaking to journalists after returning to the beach, the BBC reported, before advising the women to be more careful in the future. He said that the pair didn't know how to swim very well, adding that the current would've been problematic even for experienced swimmers, Publico reported. Pictured: President de Sousa returning to the water after assisting the two women off the coast of the Algarve on Saturday. He advised the two women to be more careful in the future Pictured: The president speaks to journalists on the Algarve beach on Saturday. Footage of the incident shows the 71-year-old president, who underwent a minor heart operation last year, front-crawling out to the overturned kayak as a man on a jet ski approaches to help the rescue effort According to Portuguese broadcaster 20 minutos, the president was in the Algarve for two days in a bid to boost the region's tourism industry after a sharp drop due to the coronavirus pandemic. 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'. The Pakistani Taliban have brought two splinter groups back into their fold, they announced in a statement, days after the army said anti-militant operations nationwide had brought "hard-earned success". In a statement on August 17, Mohammad Khurasani, a purported spokesman for the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), said top leaders and fighters from the splinter faction which later evolved into two separate militant groups were welcomed at a recent ceremony after they decided to merge back with the Taliban. The TTP, fighting to overthrow the government and install their own brand of Shariah, are an umbrella of Sunni militant groups, which has broken into many divisions. The organization, designated a terrorist group by the United States, has been in disarray in recent years, especially after several of its top leaders were killed by U.S. drone strikes on both sides of the border, forcing its members into shelter in Afghanistan, or fleeing to urban Pakistan. The reunion with Jamat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Hizb-ul-Ahrar (HuA) appears significant in view of the rise in militant attacks against security forces, most claimed by the TTP, including some suicide bombings. Pakistani army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said last week however that the military's operations against militants had been very successful. "The war against terrorism has yielded some hard-earned success," he told a news conference. "More than 18,000 terrorists have been killed and more than 400 tonnes of explosive material seized" in a countrywide anti-militant operation that started in 2017. The reunion comes at a time when the United States is promoting peace talks between the Afghan Taliban, also seeking to reimpose their strict form of Islamic rule, and the government in Kabul. The Pakistani Taliban said the two groups pledged allegiance to the TTP chief, Mufti Noor Wali, shown in photos at a ceremony. It was not clear what side of the border the ceremony took place. Government and military officials did not comment on the merger or the location of the ceremony. The JuA, which broke from the TTP in 2014, has been involved in major attacks, including the 2016 suicide bombing in a park in the eastern city of Lahore that the group said targeted Christians celebrating Easter. It killed more than 70 people. The HuA, a faction that further split from the JuA, has not been so active. -- With reporting by the AP Michel Natali of Halfmoon, a retired State Police investigator and an Iraq War veteran, was promoted to major general during a ceremony at the New York Army National Guard Headquarters in Latham on Friday. Major Gen. Ray Shields, state adjutant general, promoted Natali during the ceremony. Natali's wife, Barbara, and Shields pinned the soldier's stars on his uniform during the ceremony. Natali, a Watertown native, served in the 10th Mountain Division before becoming a state trooper after leaving the active Army. While with the 10th, Natali deployed to Somalia and Haiti. He currently serves as assistant state Army National Guard adjutant general. He assists Shields and oversees the training and organization of the 10,300-members of the New York Army National Guard. Natali also serves as the deputy commanding general, Army National Guard, for the United States Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon, Ga. During the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Natali has served as the dual status commander for New York, responsible for commanding both National Guard and active-duty federal forces assigned to the response in New York City. Natali retired from the New York State Police as an investigator after 20 years. He spent his first years in the State Police patrolling Jefferson County. At the time of his retirement, he was assigned to the New York State Intelligence Center. He has served as assistant adjutant general as a full-time National Guard officer since 2017. Prior to that he commanded the New York Army National Guard's 53rd Troop Command, which is based at Camp Smith Training Site in the Hudson Valley, with 4,000 soldiers located in units across the state. Natali joined the Army after earning a commission through the Reserve Officers Training Corps at Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. He became a military intelligence officer, and first served with the 5th Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division in Mainz, Germany from 1989 to 1991. In 1991, Natali was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. While with the 10th Mountain Division he served as commander of Headquarters Company of the 110th Military Intelligence Battalion and in the 10th Mountain Division Intelligence Section at Fort Drum. Natali joined the 27th Infantry Brigade of the New York Army National Guard, headquartered in Syracuse, in 1996. In 2004 he was assigned to the 42nd Infantry Division, based in Troy, and in 2005 he deployed to Tikrit, Iraq, as the deputy division intelligence officer. His other assignments have included deputy brigade commander of the 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, commander of the 106th Regional Training Institute, commander of the New York National Guard Counter-drug Task Force, and deputy commander of the 53rd Troop Command. He also served as director for intelligence and security of Joint Forces Headquarters. Natali earned a bachelor of arts degree from Norwich University, a master's in public administration from Marist College and a master of strategic studies degree from the United States Army War College. Natali is also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College. He has earned a Legion of Merit, a Bronze Star Medal, four Meritorious Service Medals, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, a Meritorious Unit Award, a Superior Unit Award, an Army Reserve Components Medal with Silver Oak Leaf Cluster, a Humanitarian Service Medal with Bronze Star, a New York State Defense of Liberty Medal, the New York State Counter-drug Service Medal, a Human Service Medal to New York State and an Army Parachutist Badge. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Dinner for veterans A Veterans Salute to Service Dinner will be held Thursday at the Paul Nigra Center at 2736 State Highway 30 in Gloversville. Because of COVID-19, the meal will be a drive-through style picnic from 6 to 7 p.m. Speakers' presentations will begin at 5:30 p.m. The free dinner is for veterans, active-duty personnel and their families. Reservations are required. Contact HFMveteranspicnic@gmail.com or call Ashley at 518 762-5382, Ext. 1017. Anyone willing to observe COVID-19 social distancing protocols may stay and listen to the guest speakers at a table under a tent. News of your troops and units can be sent to Duty Calls, Terry Brown, Times Union, Box 15000, Albany, NY 12212 or brownt@timesunion.com. While Democrats No. 1 goal this November is unseating President Donald Trump, Gov. Tony Evers urged state delegates to the Democratic National Convention Monday to devote as much effort to down-ballot races so Republicans cant secure veto-proof majorities in the state Assembly and Senate. Beating Trump is just one piece of the puzzle, Evers said during an online delegate breakfast meeting. We should be doing more to elect better city councilors, better state legislators, better members of Congress and senators. The four-day convention originally planned to draw more than 50,000 visitors to Milwaukee launched Monday, and will be carried out mostly online. We arent having the type of convention that we wanted this year and we all know why, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said. Milwaukee and Wisconsin will continue to be in the spotlight as we think about this upcoming November. U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore, D-Milwaukee, one of the few Wisconsin officials to speak Monday, offered one of the most energized speeches of the night. This is a city where blood was shed for labor rights, where a fugitive slave was freed from prison, where womens right to vote was first ratified, Moore said. But today we gather virtually. However, we gather unified in spirit, unified in our values and purpose to heal divisions, and together move the nation confidently into a prosperous, inclusive future. Moore said she was embracing the conventions online approach, which she said has the potential to allow even more access to attendees than an in-person event. For several officials, Trumps handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 1,000 Wisconsinites and infected more than 66,000 people in the state, was to blame for the conventions online format. The mismanagement and total utter failure of leadership during a pandemic is laid out starkly and its why we are responsibly holding our convention virtually, said U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison. As the four-day DNC launches a convention like no other this week, Trump and his administration have ramped up in-person campaigning efforts across the state. Trump made stops Monday in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and his son Eric Trump will be in Milwaukee on Tuesday to discuss the presidents unwavering support for our nations heroic law enforcement and recent endorsement from the International Union of Police Association, according to a statement. Vice President Mike Pence is expected to visit the state on Wednesday. Both campaigns know how crucial Wisconsins role will be in the November election. Trump secured a razor-thin victory here in 2016 over Hillary Clinton, who crucially failed to visit the state during the general election campaign and lost by about 23,000 votes. Whoever wins Wisconsin wins the White House, said Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. We know how close how many elections have been in this state. Our plan is to make this not close in November. Early dissent Some delegates already have signaled a rejection to Bidens platform for failing to include a commitment to Medicare for All, championed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Last week, more than 800 national delegates including almost 20 from Wisconsin signed a pledge to vote against any 2020 Platform that does not include a universal, single-payer, Medicare-For-All platform plank. What we were more doing was trying to draw attention to the fact that Medicare for All is not just popular, it is extremely popular and to see the party kind of blatantly give up the middle finger on that, considering the platform is nonbinding ... we found that disgusting, said William Walter, 26, a Sanders delegate from Germantown. Sanders suspended his presidential campaign in April, one day after Wisconsins presidential preference primary, but he pledged to continue gathering delegates with the hopes of gaining leverage over the party platform. A draft of the 2020 platform does not include the single-payer Medicare system backed by Sanders, but states that we are proud our party welcomes advocates who want to build on and strengthen the Affordable Care Act and those who support a Medicare for All approach; all are critical to ensuring that health care is a human right. Sending a message Sanders delegate Isabel Klemmer, 18, of Mequon, said an all-online convention has made it challenging to apply pressure to the platforms direction. While not enough votes to sway the platform, the pledge is meant to send a message, she said. Certainly the absence of actual political pressure and the absence of having the power to push for these amendments is definitely detrimental, Klemmer said. Were just hoping this symbolic pressure will help create outrage and hopefully be something that the DNC feels is necessary to respond to. Walter said its difficult to know for certain how such a platform will play out in November, but said a lack of popular progressive issues like single-payer Medicare or legalized marijuana could dampen enthusiasm among some voters. If you are expecting them to simply fall in line because you are the lesser of two evils, that is not a sustainable strategy, Walter said. If your entire campaign is based on, Well, Im not the other guy, then dont be disappointed when people who want to see good policy dont come out and vote for you. Whoever wins Wisconsin wins the White House. Ben Wikler, chairman of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin There have been 60 arrests for crimes targeting children online this year, the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office is reporting. Online solicitation of a minor, possession and promotion of child pornography and sexual performance by a child are some of the alleged offenses. Children are at a greater risk to online predators as more work from home and learning remotely takes place during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the DAs Office. One alarming trend during the COVID-19 pandemic is a rise in the number of arrests made of suspects who have been previously convicted for offenses involving the sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and who are currently registered as convicted sex offenders, read a statement from the DAs office. In late June, the District Attorneys Office announced the arrest of 22 men for these types of crimes in 2020. Of the 18 confirmed through court records by The Courier, four of the alleged offenses were committed during stay-at-home orders issued for the state earlier in the year. The arrests have been made through the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force. ICAC involves the DAs Office, the Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County constables offices, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The District Attorneys Office is asking parents closely monitor childrens internet activity, including social media, to help shield them from online predators. The DAs Office is also urging parents talk to their kids about the dangers of online predators and to find parental controls for computers and smartphones to monitor and limit access and curb usage. Concerns about online abuse of minors should be reported to local law enforcement and to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the DAs Office continued. None of us would allow a child predator to walk through our front door, but by giving a child unmonitored access to the internet, we may be unintentionally doing the same thing, read a statement from District Attorney Brett Ligon. Our office will continue to assist law enforcement in stopping these predators, and we ask that you all help us in this effort. jose.gonzalez@chron.com twitter.com/jrgzztx The State Department last month declared that IMF executive board member Hazem el-Beblawi should be immune from a lawsuit brought by Mohamed Soltan, 32, in Washington, D.C., where both now work. Soltan, a human rights advocate, has asked a U.S. court to hold Beblawi and other former Egyptian officials accountable for the bloody August 2013 crackdown on Islamist and liberal dissidents in which thousands were killed under the military government of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is facing some of the toughest challenges of his record-setting tenure, with persistent flare-ups of the coronavirus, an economy mired in recession and a public fed up with his government's handling of the crises. Yet his administration is focusing on a different threat, one that lines up with a long-running preoccupation: the prospect of ballistic missile attacks by North Korea or China. This month, Abe's political party began publicly considering whether the country should acquire weapons capable of striking missile launch sites in enemy territory if an attack appeared imminent. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe lays a flower during a memorial service marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Tokyo on Thursday. Credit:Getty Images Such a capacity would be unremarkable for most world powers. But for Japan, which on Saturday commemorated the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II and 75 years of renouncing combat the proposal is fraught. In considering loosening restrictions on the ability to attack targets in other countries, the party has revived a protracted and politically sensitive debate. Representative image India shipped 12,89,651 million tonne (MT) of seafood worth Rs 46,662.85 crore ($6.68 billion) during 2019-20, largely cushioning the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) said on Monday. Frozen shrimp remained the major export item in terms of quantity and value followed by frozen fish while the USA and China turned out to be the major importers of India's seafood. During the FY 2019-20, the export improved in rupee term by 0.16 percent, but the quantity and US dollar value declined by 7.39 percent and 0.74 percent, respectively, MPEDA said in a statement. In 2018-19, India had exported 13, 92,559MT of seafood worth Rs 46,589.37 crore (USD 6,728.50 million). K S Srinivas, Chairman, MPEDA, said India managed to export 12,89,651MT of seafood, despite the sluggish demand in its major export markets caused by the pandemic, whichled to cancellation of several orders, reduced and delayed payments, slowdown of cargo movements and difficulty in getting new orders. 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 decline in sea catch along the west coast due to reduced fishing days has also been a reason for the shortfall in quantity, he said. "We missed the 7-billion-dollar target, though not by a fair distance. However, exports are now likely to witness an uptick as lockdowns have been eased globally and there is an increased sale of value added products in retail chains. MPEDA's vision is to take Indian seafood exports to Rs one lakh crore by 2030," Srinivas said. Frozen shrimp, which earned Rs 34,152.03 crore (USD 4,889.12 million), retained its position as the most significant item in the basket of seafood exports, accounting for a share of 50.58 percent in quantity and 73.21 percent of the total dollar earnings. Shrimp exports during the period increased by 6.04 percent in dollar value and 6.20 percent in quantity. The overall export of frozen shrimps during 2019-20 was pegged at 6,52,253MT, which fetched foreign exchange worth $4,889.12 million. USA, the largest market, imported (2, 85,904MT) of frozen shrimp, followed by China (1, 45,710MT), European Union (74,035MT), Japan (38,961MT), South East Asia (34,439MT), and the Middle East (32,645MT). The export of Vannamei (white leg) shrimp increased from 4,18,128MT to 5, 12,189MT in 2019-20. Of the total Vannamei shrimp exports in value terms, USA accounted for 51.07 percent, followed by China (21.81 percent), European Union (8.19 percent), South East Asia (4.73 percent), Japan (4.51 percent), and the Middle East (3.66 percent). USA also turned out to be the major market for Black Tiger shrimp with a share of 36.88 percent in terms of value, followed by Japan (31.55 percent) and European Union (10.40 percent). Frozen fish, the second largest export item, fetched Rs 3,610.01 crore ($513.60 million), accounting for 17.32 percent in quantity and 7.69 percent in dollar earnings. However, the export of frozen fish declined by 34.11 percent in quantity and 26.53 percent in dollar value. Export of frozen cuttlefish, pegged at 70,906MT, showed a positive growth of 17.76 percent in quantity, 1.71 percent in rupee value and 1.45 percent in dollar terms, and earned Rs 2,009.79 crore ($286.40 million). Export of chilled items, which is considered as a promising sector, also increased by 23.22 percent, 2.53 percent and 1.29 percent in terms of quantity, rupee value and USD earnings, respectively. However, exports of frozen squid and dried items declined during the period. Though live items also showed a decline of 28.41 percent in terms of quantity, the unit value realisation increased from $5.49 to $6.37 this year, the statement said. As for overseas markets, the USA continued to be the major importer of Indian seafood in value terms with an import worth $2,562.54 million, accounting for a share of 38.37 percent in terms of dollar value. Exports to the US registered a growth of 8.25 percent in quantity, 10.38 percent in rupee value and 9.30 percent in USD earnings. Frozen shrimp continued to be the principal item exported to that country and the exports of Vannamei shrimp showed a growth of 18.94 percent in quantity and 19.02 percent in dollar terms, it said. China emerged as the largest seafood export destination from India in terms of quantity with an import of 3,29,479MT worth $1,374.63 million, accounting for 25.55 percent in quantity and 20.58 percent in dollar terms. Exports to that country grew by 46.10 percent in quantity and 69.47 percent in USD value. Frozen shrimp, the major item of exports to China, had a share of 44.22 percent in quantity and 62.65 percent in dollar value while the frozen fish had a share of 40.12 percent in terms of quantity and 23.54 percent in terms of value out of the total exports to China. The European Union continued to be the third largest destination for Indian seafood with frozen shrimp, the major item of exports, registering an increase of 5.21 per cent and 1.63 per cent in quantity and dollar value, respectively. South East Asia is the fourth largest market. However, overall exports to the countries in this region plummeted by 50.02 per cent in quantity, 53.32 percent in rupee value and 53.90 percent in dollar earnings. Japan continued to be the fifth largest importer with a share of 6.09 percent in quantity and 6.32 percent in USD value terms, registering a growth of 0.02 percent in rupee value. Frozen shrimp continued to be the major item of exports to Japan. Exports to the Middle East also showed a growth of 5.04 percent in rupee and 3.82 percent in dollar terms, but marked a 4.72 percent negative growth in quantity. Julia Szlakowski, the woman the alleged victim who should be at the centre of AMPs sexual harassment scandal, has seized control of the conversation about men, power and capital. For the past few weeks, AMP Capital's chief executive and alleged sexual harasser Boe Pahari has had all the running on this. All the airtime, all the self-congratulatory chat about how well the business is doing post-Hayne. Entire articles are devoted to how much money he can make for the company and how quickly, with nary a mention of Pahari's corporate behaviour. Now Pahari, doubling down, has appointed himself as chairman of the company's "Inclusion and Diversity Council". Does this man, do his colleagues, have no shame? On Monday, Szlakowski shared her despair at the way in which AMP has framed the allegations. Not serious. Lower level breaches. Nothing to worry about. But reading the detail is scary. Pahari pursued her over months. According to her account, he insisted she visit London, he messaged her repeatedly, he changed her hotel booking even though she made it clear she didn't want to stay in London. RICHMOND, Va. Virginia lawmakers plan to take up dozens of criminal justice reforms during a special legislative session this week, but one proposal in particular is expected to spark an intense battle: a push to change a law that allows police to charge people with felony assault even if the arresting officers are not seriously hurt. A bill by Senate Democrats would downgrade the charge of assault and battery on a law enforcement officer from a felony to a misdemeanor. The proposal is one of an array of reforms drafted in Virginia since the May 25 killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police prompted a nationwide protest movement. Lawmakers will also consider bills to ban the use of police chokeholds and no-knock warrants, enhance the ability of courts to expunge criminal records, and eliminate jury sentencing except when requested by defendants. Sen. Scott Surovell, the chief sponsor of the assault and battery bill, said it would eliminate the current mandatory minimum sentence of six months in jail and change the law so the charge can only be brought as a felony if an officer has a visible physical injury. Surovell said he is also considering adding provisions requiring that another officer not the arresting officer investigate the circumstances and that a prosecutor approve the charge. Critics of the current law say police overuse the charge, particularly in cases where they fear the person they arrested will claim police brutality. It is a charge that tends to arise whenever officers get into a tussle with someone, Surovell said. Virginias legislature made the charge a felony in 1997, at a time when states around the country and Congress were passing tough on crime laws. The enhanced penalty for assaulting law enforcement officers also applies to judges, magistrates, corrections officers, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel. Marie Dantio, of Alexandria, was arrested in 2013 when she went to a church in the middle of the night to try to see a priest. Dantio, who has mental health issues and was homeless at the time, said she did not immediately respond to Fairfax County police officers who responded to a trespassing call. Dantio said the officers pushed her to the ground. One officer alleged Dantio injured her hand. Dantio said she spent two months in jail and eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in exchange for dropping the felony assault charge. She said she lost her job as a nurses aide because of her arrest. I feel very sad, Dantio said. I know I didnt do it. Lt. Erica Webb, a spokeswoman for Fairfax County police, declined to comment on Dantios claims or the extent of the officers injury. While taking Ms. Dantio into custody, she assaulted an officer, causing an injury, Webb wrote in an email. States around the country have a patchwork of laws covering assaults on law enforcement officers. Some states allow the charge to be brought as both a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances, while other states dont have a separate law, but allow for enhanced penalties for assaults on police, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The proposal to downgrade the charge in Virginia is expected to face fierce opposition from police and Republican lawmakers. Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, said the nationwide protests since Floyds killing have shown unprecedented levels of anger toward police. We should be doing more to protect officers instead of sending a message that assaulting them is not a serious offense, Schrad said. Republican Minority Leader Sen. Tommy Norment said he finds it unfathomable that Democrats are calling for reduced penalties, given the repeated violent clashes between police and demonstrators during recent protests in Richmond. Very candidly, for those who are advocating it particularly in the current lawless atmosphere I wonder what they have been smoking, he said. Norment is sponsoring a bill that would increase the mandatory minimum sentence of six months to a year in jail. For assaults on police during a state of emergency, the mandatory minimum would jump to two years. Stephen Hill was charged by Alexandria police last year as he sat outside a grocery store drinking wine. Hill, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said he was intoxicated at the time and struggling with substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. Hill said he was moving slowly, intending to follow a police command to leave, when an officer grabbed his arm. He had a broken collarbone, but was not wearing his sling. He said he winced in pain and struggled as the officers handcuffed him behind his back. Hill said he briefly grabbed onto the officers duty belt to stabilize himself. The officer then smashed his face against the side of the patrol car, breaking his nose, he said. I had no intention whatsoever to do anything bad, Hill said A spokesman for the Alexandria Police Department declined to immediately comment on Hills account. Hill said he agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct because he faced a minimum of six months in jail on the felony assault charge. Once the offer was presented, I had no business risking the rest of my life with a felony on my record, he 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 Google slams Australia law forcing tech giants to pay for news Google says it already partners with Australian news media by paying them millions of dollars each year US technology giant Google went on the offensive Monday against an Australian plan forcing digital giants to pay for news content, telling users their personal data would be "at risk". Australia announced last month that firms such as Google and Facebook would have to pay news media for content, after 18 months of negotiations ended without agreement. The landmark measures would include fines worth millions of dollars for non-compliance and force transparency around the closely guarded algorithms firms use to rank content. Google is now fighting a rearguard action to prevent the measures from entering into force -- and been accused by Australia of spreading "misinformation" in the process. On Monday it told users in a new homepage pop-up that "the way Aussies use Google is at risk" and their search experience "will be hurt" by the changes. The technology titan linked to an open letter claiming it would be forced to hand over users' search data to news media companies and give them information that would "help them artificially inflate their ranking" above other websites. Google says it already partners with Australian news media by paying them millions of dollars and sending billions of clicks each year, suggesting the changes could put its free services "at risk". "But rather than encouraging these types of partnerships, the law is set up to give big media companies special treatment and to encourage them to make enormous and unreasonable demands that would put our free services at risk," the letter states. The legislation will initially focus on Facebook and Google -- two of the world's richest and most powerful companies -- but could eventually apply to any digital platform. Australia's proposals are being closely watched around the world, as regulators increasingly train their focus on the rapidly changing sector. News media worldwide have suffered in the digital economy, where big tech firms overwhelmingly capture advertising revenue. Story continues The crisis has been exacerbated by the economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with dozens of Australian newspapers closed and hundreds of journalists sacked in recent months. Unlike other countries' so-far unsuccessful efforts to force the platforms to pay for news, the Australian initiative relies on competition law rather than copyright regulations. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which is drafting the government's code of conduct, hit back at Google's open letter saying it "contains misinformation". The consumer watchdog said the digital behemoth would "not be required" to share additional user data with the news media or charge Australians to use its free services "unless it chooses to do so". "The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists' work that is included on Google services," it said in a statement. It has strong support from local media outlets and is expected to be introduced this year. hr/arb/mtp (Newser) President Trump might say a final farewell to his younger brother at the White House. The president says he is considering a Friday afternoon service for Robert Trump, who died in New York City on Saturday. "We may do just a small service right here at the White House for my brother. We're looking at doing that," Trump told reporters Monday, per CNN. "That would be, I think, a great honor to him. I think he'd be greatly honored. He loved our country, he loved our country so much, he was so proud." Trump visited his brother in the hospital on Friday. No cause of death for the 71-year-old has been disclosed. More: "Not an ounce of jealousy." In an interview Monday, Trump described his brother as "his biggest fan," with "not an ounce of jealousy." "This was not a great weekend. Its very hard. You knew it was going to happen, but still when it happens its a very tough thing, the president told Fox and Friends, per the AP. "He was a great guy. He was a tremendous guy. He was my friend. I guess they say best friend, and thats true. And losing him, not easy." story continues below White House funerals are rare . Some presidents have lain in repose at the White House, but it's rare for funerals to be held there, Politico notes. But many other presidents have used it for personal events: There have been at least 18 White House weddings, going back to the wedding of the sister of first lady Dolley Madison in 1812. . Some presidents have lain in repose at the White House, but it's rare for funerals to be held there, Politico notes. But many other presidents have used it for personal events: There have been at least 18 White House weddings, going back to the wedding of the sister of first lady Dolley Madison in 1812. "The quietest of the Trumps." Robert Trump, the youngest of the five Trump siblings, "cast himself as his brother's polar opposite" during the years he worked for the Trump Organization, where former execs describe him as dignified and quiet, according to a New York Times obituary. "You could consider him the quietest of Trumps," says Trump biographer Michael DAntonio. "He was glad to stay out of the spotlight." Robert Trump, the youngest of the five Trump siblings, "cast himself as his brother's polar opposite" during the years he worked for the Trump Organization, where former execs describe him as dignified and quiet, according to a New York Times obituary. "You could consider him the quietest of Trumps," says Trump biographer Michael DAntonio. "He was glad to stay out of the spotlight." Condolences from rivals . Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were among those offering their condolences to the president on Sunday, People reports. "Mr. President, Jill and I are sad to learn of your younger brother Roberts passing," Biden tweeted. "I know the tremendous pain of losing a loved oneand I know how important family is in moments like these. I hope you know that our prayers are with you all." . Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were among those offering their condolences to the president on Sunday, People reports. "Mr. President, Jill and I are sad to learn of your younger brother Roberts passing," Biden tweeted. "I know the tremendous pain of losing a loved oneand I know how important family is in moments like these. I hope you know that our prayers are with you all." Post slammed for "sick" headline. Conservatives including Sen. Ted Cruz were outraged by headline the Washington Post gave its obituary of Robert Trump, Fox reports. They said the headline on the Post's website"Robert Trump, younger brother of President Trump who filed lawsuit against niece, dies at 71" was too political. Cruz called the headline "sick" and said the paper "should be ashamed of itself." (Read more President Trump stories.) Backed by the US State Department, opposition politicians in the Solomon Islands are continuing their efforts to sabotage the governments diplomatic switch from Taiwan to Beijing in September last year. The parliamentary opposition in the capital, Honiara, maintains that Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavares recognition of China is illegitimate. A provincial administration in Malaitaone of nine Solomon Islands provinces and the most populousinsists that it has the right to maintain its own relations with Taiwan, and refuses to recognise Beijing. Malaitas separatist premier, Daniel Suidani, is currently suing the national government after authorities seized a shipment of medical equipment that was en route from Taiwan to Malaita on June 11. The supplies were promoted by the Malaitan provincial government as a contribution to the fight against coronavirus, and reportedly included thermal imaging cameras and medical masks. After police seized the equipment, Attorney General John Muria Junior explained that the shipment represented an act of defiance of a government decision and a possible breach of the Sedition Act. Malaitan provincial officials receiving Taiwanese aid, Daniel Suidani is seated, front-left (Credit: Daniel Suidani, Facebook) The police seizure came three days after Daniel Suidani issued a provocative statement praising Taiwan for sending an earlier shipment of food and medical aid. He repeatedly referred to coronavirus as the Wuhan virus, echoing US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeos efforts to scapegoat China for the pandemic. Suidanis statement was denounced by the Solomon Islands foreign minister, and by Chinese embassy officials in Honiara. The provincial premier responded to the police seizure by promoting a social media campaign aimed at pressuring the government to release the supplies, with the hashtag #MalaitanLivesMatter. His government is now pursuing a legal case in Honiara. The latest conflict between the national government and Malaitas provincial administration follows months of tension over the China diplomatic switch. In May, Suidani denounced two members of the national government from Malaita who visited the island alongside employees of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. The team conducted a feasibility study on a new road project. In response, Suidani declared: We are strongly opposed to PRC [Peoples Republic of China] communist ideology and investment. Without citing any relevant laws, he claimed the authority to deny any Chinese national entry to Malaita and to block any economic activity involving Chinese corporations. One national government member responded by threatening to suspend the Malaitan regional administration, using the state of emergency powers imposed in response to the coronavirus threat. The government has not done so, though it retains sweeping powers under the state of emergency. The Solomon Islands remains one of the few countries in the world yet to register a coronavirus infection. A surge in cases in neighbouring Papua New Guinea, however, now threatens to spill over into adjacent Pacific states. Widespread infection in Solomon Islands would quickly overwhelm the impoverished countrys makeshift healthcare system. The situation is an indictment of Australian imperialism, which led an aggressive military-police intervention into the country in 2003, on a spurious humanitarian pretext. The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) involved Australian expenditure of $2.6 billion, of which almost nothing went to health and other basic needs of the population. The World Health Organisation five years ago carried out a comprehensive review of the Solomon Islands health system. It found that health centres and clinics in rural areas, where the majority of the population live, had an urgent need for upgrade, repair or renovation; many facilities were operating without proper water and sanitation, electricity and basic medical equipment. The report added: There are serious shortages of clinical equipment and medical supplies at most health facilities, with hospitals often relying on old and poorly maintained medical, diagnostic and surgical equipment. In any country, a provincial administration attempting to maintain its own foreign relations in direct opposition to national government policy would be provocative and unlawful. The Malaitan administrations actions are especially reckless because they threaten to reignite the Solomon Islands low-intensity civil war that took place between 1999 and 2003. This conflict, in which the separatist Malaita Eagle Force militia was a central participant, cost around 200 lives and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes. US imperialism is playing a crucial role in encouraging Suidanis provocations. Washington viewed with outrage the Solomon Islands diplomatic switch to Beijing as it cuts across American efforts to isolate China. Determined to assert US dominance in Asia, the Trump administration is accelerating its war drive against Beijing. Shortly before Sogavare officially announced the shift from Taiwan to China, a team of US state department and defence department officials made a secretive visit to Malaita and held behind closed doors discussions with Suidani. The Malaitan premier subsequently declared he would refuse to recognise the diplomatic switch, and launched a campaign against the Chinese government on an anti-communist, evangelical Christian basis. In January, the World Socialist Web Site warned that the US and Australian governments were preparing a destabilisation campaign against the elected national government. That article highlighted the implications of Republican Senator Marco Rubios threat, issued via Twitter, to crash the Solomon Islands economy by potentially ending financial assistance & restricting access to US dollars & banking. Since this statement the coronavirus crisis hit the United States and the world, Washington has not moved to implement Rubios threat. Nor has Suidani explained whether there has been an official response to his request late last year to the US and Australian governments to be part of Malaita security. US-backed provocations in Solomon Islands will likely be stepped up in the next period. Pompeo delivered a highly-provocative speech on July 23 that effectively declared regime change as the overarching goal of the US in China. Within the framework of this aggressive policy, State Department operatives no doubt regard the people of the Solomon Islands as inconsequential and expendable pawns in their game. August is hot in Alabama, no doubt, but Death Valley will almost always have us beat in the summertime. NOAAs Weather Prediction Center, which keeps track of the nations daily highs and lows, reported that an automated climate station in Death Valley, Calif., topped out at 130 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. National High/Low temps for Sunday August 16: 130 at Death Valley, CA; 23 at Peter Sinks, UT #cawx #utwx https://t.co/b9vl7D8GXJ NWS WPC (@NWSWPC) August 17, 2020 If that reading verifies, according to the WPC, it will be the first time its been that hot there since July 1913. It would also be the hottest August temperature on record there by three degrees. Death Valley also had a daily record high temperature of 126 degrees on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Las Vegas. The region has been in the grip of a nasty heat wave for the past several days, and was under an excessive heat warning on Sunday. Looking ahead to later this week and next weekend, dangerous heat is forecast to remain locked in across the southwestern United States. Meanwhile, comfortable high temperatures in the 70s and 80s will be found from the Midwest to Northeast. Autumn is only 36 days away! pic.twitter.com/y0OYASQAsX NWS WPC (@NWSWPC) August 16, 2020 The excessive heat warning will be in effect until Wednesday, according to the weather service. Extreme heat is nothing new for Death Valley, which hit 129 degrees in 2013. Death Valley is also the record holder for Earths hottest temperature. According to the World Meteorological Organization, the hottest temperature ever recorded was in Furnace Creek, Death Valley, Calif., at 56.7 degrees Celsius (134F) on July 10, 1913. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Sydney, Australia Mon, August 17, 2020 12:28 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e84207 2 World Australia,recital,choir,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free Children will be banned from playing the recorder and singing in school choirs across Australia's most populous state in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus, authorities said Monday. With infections hitting several Sydney schools, authorities in New South Wales moved to prohibit choirs and wind ensembles from Wednesday. "All group singing and/or other chanting activities, as well as the use of wind instruments in group settings, are not permitted," the local education authority said. That includes the recorder -- a gateway to instrument playing for many small children -- while dancing will also be off-limits. "School formals, dances, graduation or other social events are not permitted," the New South Wales education department added. Although public schools in Sydney and the rest of New South Wales have reopened after initial lockdowns, authorities said the new measures would help them operate in the "safest ways possible". Australia is currently battling to contain a number of coronavirus outbreaks after months of near-zero local transmission. Read also: New Zealand's COVID-19 outbreak grows, as Australian cases ease The country's second-largest city, Melbourne, is in lockdown and still reporting hundreds of new cases daily, although the number is decreasing. Many of Melbourne's infections have been linked to aged care homes -- where death rates are rising following a peak in cases over the last two weeks. Australia has recorded more than 23,000 cases of COVID-19 and 421 fatalities so far in the pandemic. But officials provided no information about the location or circumstances of the incidents that resulted in the payments, which can be divided among multiple recipients. It was not clear how the payments were made or who authorized them. Unlike other American commands, Resolute Support, which oversees U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, does not routinely release the results of investigations it may conduct into alleged civilian casualty incidents. SANTA FE The number of new coronavirus infections in New Mexico continued to dive Monday, allowing the state to clear every standard health officials have set as necessary for reopening more of the economy. Testing detecting just 95 new cases Monday the smallest number in almost two months. The states seven-day rolling average of new cases now stands at 151 well below Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams goal of 168 or fewer cases a day, established just last week, according to a Journal analysis. The collapse in new infections comes as Lujan Grisham and state health officials weigh whether to allow public schools to hold in-person classes after Labor Day. They are also facing pressure to permit indoor dining at restaurants and breweries. The last substantial loosening of New Mexicos health restrictions in early June was followed by a surge in new virus cases. About five weeks later, Lujan Grisham tightened the states mask mandate and reimposed the ban on indoor seating at restaurants. But as of Monday, New Mexico met all the criteria established by the state Department of Health for resuming a phased reopening of the economy, according to a Journal review. The standards cover the disease transmission rate, number of new cases, supplies of medical equipment, testing capacity and other factors. Keep up the great work, New Mexico, Lujan Grisham said on Twitter. Your efforts are making a difference. Lujan Grisham and health officials said last week that they wanted to see New Mexico sustain compliance with the standards for some time before relaxing the restrictions on schools, businesses and social gatherings. They suggested theyd also like to beat the targets by enough to allow for the new cases that would arise from reopening more of the state. The public health order is set to expire Aug. 28, though the administration is free to revise it before then or extend it. The 95 cases announced Monday are the lowest total for a day since mid-June. The state also reported four coronavirus deaths, pushing the number of fatalities to 718 since the pandemic reached New Mexico in March. The victims ranged in age from their 40s to their 90s, and all had an underlying medical condition of some kind. At least one of the states criteria for testing capacity is trending in the wrong direction but still well within the state targets. New Mexico is now conducting about 6,587 tests a day on average, down from a 7,884 a little over a week ago. But the testing capacity remains well above the states goal of 5,000 a day. The percentage of tests coming back positive has fallen, suggesting New Mexicos declining case counts arent only a result of doing fewer tests. The positivity rate for the most recent week reported by the state is 2.9%, down more than a percentage point from where it stood earlier this month. While HBO's Lovecraft Country, which comes from the stable of Jordan Peele, JJ Abrams and Misha Green, gets many things right the gorgeous frames, costumes and 'look'; Jonathan Majors as Atticus; the music it seems to not have the same sense of dread and unease that ran through the source material, Matt Ruff's book. Lovecraft Country begins with a war scene, a Black soldier engaged in combat in the trenches. The frame widens and you see that this isn't an earthly battle: spaceships appear on the horizon as do suitably tentacled monsters. As our hero faces off against a large, indestructible alien, his dream (nightmare?) breaks; he comes awake in a bus that's leaving behind the Jim Crow South, but not its prejudices. When the bus breaks down in the middle of miles of rolling farmland, the idyllic setting camouflages the social dystopia of segregation. The white passengers get a ride into the nearest town by a passing truck; Atticus our protagonist and a fellow Black passenger are left to walk along the desolate road, carrying their baggage. Atticus' co-traveller quizzes him about the sci-fi book he's been reading, featuring an ex-Confederate soldier-turned-Martian overlord. "There's no 'ex' for someone who fought for slavery," she informs Atticus. "That's like saying someone's an ex-Nazi." Atticus explains his philosophy to her: "Stories are like people. Loving them doesn't make them perfect. You try and cherish them, overlook their flaws." *** Black readers have had to do a whole lot of overlooking when it came to genre fiction they cherished. This is the premise that partly spurred Matt Ruff's book, on which HBO's Lovecraft Country adaptation is based. Ruff notes that he was inspired by the essay "Shame" by Pam Noles, in which she describes the joys and sorrows of being a science fiction fan who never found people like herself in the books she read or even (later) the films she watched. Noles writes about how revelatory coming across a brown protagonist in Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea felt, and how heartbreaking it then was to have him whitewashed in a TV adaptation. Atticus' dilemma is similar: he must reconcile the fact that the writer whose stories are so important to him HP Lovecraft was a strident racist who hated Black people, just as he must reconcile the fact that the country he fought a war for, has no place for him. Atticus loves these stories, but he will never be a part of, or star, in them. Except, in Ruff's hands, in Lovecraft Country, that is just what Atticus does. *** When we meet Atticus, he is on his way home to Chicago, having received a letter from his father Montrose. This is the 1950s; Atticus and Montrose have had a falling out over him enlisting in the US Army during the Korean War. The letter is the only communication they've had in months. Montrose writes that he has traced Atticus' mother's elusive ancestors to a place called Ardham. Further, Atticus has a sacred birthright or legacy which must be claimed at Ardham. Montrose goes missing soon after dispatching the letter. When Atticus arrives in Chicago, he meets with his uncle George, the publisher of the "Safe Negro Travel Guide" modelled on the real-life Green Book, an annual guidebook that was specifically aimed at African American travellers, detailing helpful and often life-saving information on which rest stops they could use, hotels they might stay at, gas stations, diners and counties they might pass through without threat to property, life or limb. George and his agents travel through America, collating information and tips for the Safe Negro Travel Guide. We also meet George's wife Hippolyta and daughter Dee (in the book, George has a son called Horace), and a family friend called Ruby Lewis, who will all feature in their own adventures later. Ruby's sister Letitia joins George and Atticus on a road trip to Ardham, where they hope to find Montrose. *** As the coronavirus shutdowns unravelled across the world, changing pretty much every aspect of modern life as we know it, the New York Times published an essay titled "2020 Is The Summer Of The Road Trip. Unless You're Black". It was about how the American tradition of the road trip a symbol of freedom, adventure, inward journeys, and coming-of-age in so many stories on page and screen was (and is) a vastly different experience for Black travellers. The essay referenced the Green Book, but also how much concerns about their safety are part of modern-day Black Americans' lives the need to be on constant alert, the possibility that one misstep might lead to unthought-of consequences. "Travel is supposed to be a reprieve from all the hard things we are usually dealing with, but it often doesnt feel that way for us," one of the interviewees quoted in the story says. In Lovecraft Country, these concerns are magnified manifold. A scene in the book that doesn't make it to screen is when Atticus is driving down to Chicago and is stopped by a trooper. Despite having all his papers in order, the trooper decides to check Atticus' car, tossing his books and clothes about, tearing open a gift meant for George. The anxiety that scene triggers is immense, and is repeated across several others that have made it into the HBO adaptation, especially since the route to Ardham takes George, Letitia and Atticus through "sundown county" all-white places where Black individuals can be legally killed simply for being out past sundown. Apart from the real world horrors they're contending with, there are also supernatural ones: Lovecraftian creatures who haunt the woods fringing the road through the county, woods where passersby mysteriously disappear. The book prefers not to state what these creatures are in concrete terms, and their carnage is referred to only in flashes. Episode 1 of the TV series, however, devotes a fair bit of screen time to the creatures, which dilutes their terrifying nature somewhat. *** Indeed, while this HBO adaptation, which comes from the stable of Jordan Peele, JJ Abrams and Misha Green, gets many things right the gorgeous frames, costumes and 'look'; Jonathan Majors as Atticus; the music it seems to not have the same sense of dread and unease that ran through Ruff's book. Ruff wrote Lovecraft Country as a pitch for a television series, so its structure should lend itself well to further seasons, where Letitia, Ruby, Hippolyta, Dee, Montrose and George can take centrestage in turns. But the book also hums with a foreboding and tension that comes from its characters constantly being under threat that in this first episode at least, hasn't come across on screen. (The recently wrapped up Perry Mason season 1, also an HBO show, did manage to depict this nerve-stretching tension in scenes featuring the character Paul Drake.) *** In a story-within-a-story, George's daughter Dee creates a comic book heroine called Orinthia Blue, a Black woman who has adventures in outer space. In the book, Horace (replaced by Dee on screen) creates the comic for Hippolyta, who loves reading about space adventures, but like Atticus and Pam Noles, never finds characters like herself in them. One answer to conundrums like the one posed by HP Lovecraft's works is what the novelist Victor LaValle did with The Ballad of Black Tom: retelling a problematic story (in this case, The Horror at Red Hook) from the perspective of a Black protagonist, reclaiming the narrative. Another answer is what Dee/Horace do, and what Ruff has done with Lovecraft Country: write stories that centre the people who've been excluded from them unconscionably, and for far too long. Hourlong weekly episodes of Lovecraft Country season 1 are available on Disney + Hotstar every Monday at 7.30 am. Watch the trailer here Amid a hate speech row, Facebook on August 17 clarified that it prohibits hate speech and content that incites violence. In a statement, a Facebook spokesperson said the company enforces policies globally without regard to anyone's political position or affiliation. The statement is a response to the article published in Wall Street Journal claiming that Facebook ignored applying its hate speech rules to politicians of the ruling party in India to avoid damaging the social media platforms business prospects. The article had alleged that a top Facebook India official had told staffers to not punish violations by BJP members as it would damage the companys business prospects in the country." "We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence and we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyones political position/party affiliation. We are making progress on enforcement and conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy," a Facebook spokesperson was quoted as saying by ANI. Listen: Setting Sail | Wow Momo may cut jobs in September, business still not back to pre-Covid level: Sagar Daryani The report had set social media abuzz with hashtag 'Anti-India Facebook' trending on Twitter for several hours. BJP & RSS control Facebook & Whatsapp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook. pic.twitter.com/Y29uCQjSRP Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 16, 2020 In a no-holds-barred attack, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi shared the article on Twitter alleging that Facebook and WhatsApp were controlled by the ruling party and their fringe group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in India. This triggered a sharp reaction from Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad who reminded the opposition party of the Cambridge Analytica controversy. Losers who cannot influence people even in their own party keep cribbing that the entire world is controlled by BJP & RSS. You were caught red-handed in alliance with Cambridge Analytica & Facebook to weaponise data before the elections & now have the gall to question us? https://t.co/NloUF2WZVY Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) August 16, 2020 In the Cambridge Analytica controversy, a UK based whistle-blower by the name Christopher Wylie had testified before the UK court and named Congress as one of its clients and said they worked 'extensively' in India. Police last Friday gunned down two suspected armed robbers at Beeri, a suburb of Takpo, in the Nadowli-Kaleo District of the Upper West Region. The two, believed to be Fulanis, died during exchanges of fire with the police. Four other members of the gang, who sustained gunshot wounds, absconded, when the police went to arrest them for allegedly robbing a gold dealer of unspecified amount of money. According to a source close to the police, the suspected robbers allegedly hijacked their victim, Emmanuel Baduman, on his way from Takpo to Wa, and robbed him of an unspecified amount of money on Thursday. The robbers, who were wielding AK47 riffles, were said to have fired several gunshots indiscriminately after the incident, to scare pursuers away, but ended up hitting two residents with stray bullets. The stray bullets killed a 24-year-old man, Emmanuel Miilu, instantly whereas the other victim, 54-year-old Emelia Sumani is on admission at the Nadowli District Hospital under emergency care, the source stated. Confirming the incident to the media in Wa over the weekend, the Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (DCOP) Francis Aboagye Nyarko stated that the police received a distress call on the invasion of the armed robbers at Takpo at 7:30pm on Thursday, and dispatched personnel to the community. He stated that the police with assistance from the community members pursued the suspects to their hideouts in a bid to arrest them. The suspects engaged in exchanges of fire with the police, as they were wielding sophisticated arms, but the police managed to gun down two of them, whereas the others, some of whom sustained gunshot wounds, managed to escape, he said. DCOP Aboagye said the police retrieved two live and eleven spent ammunitions as well as three unregistered Apsonic motorcycles from the suspects. He added that 62-year-old, Adam Ibando, was also picked up by the police for harbouring the suspects in his house at Naribu, a surburb of Takpo. The Regional Commander called on healthcare providers in the region to alert the police when they chanced on persons with gunshot wounds at their facilities. The bodies of the deceased (suspects) have since been deposited at the mortuary. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video An Applebee's worker was arrested Sunday after allegedly breaking into the home of WWE star Sonya Deville to kidnap her. Phillip A. Thomas II, 24, drove 500 miles from his home in South Carolina to Florida after plotting the abduction for eight months, police said. He had allegedly stalked his victim on social media for many years and sat for hours outside the home watching and listening to Deville before breaking in, police said. Thomas had a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace and other items, and told deputies he was planning to take the homeowner hostage, the sheriff's office said. Although police did not identify the victim, the home where Thomas was arrested is owned by Deville, whose real name is 26-year-old Daria Berenato. Deville currently stars in the E! cable channel reality TV series Total Divas. Deville later tweeted a thank you message to the sheriff's office, writing: 'Thank you everyone for your love and concern. A very frightening experience but thankfully everyone is safe. A special thank you to Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office for their response and assistance.' Thomas faces charges of aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, attempted armed kidnapping, and criminal mischief, and is expected to make a first appearance in court on Monday. Phillip A. Thomas II, 24, left, was arrested after Florida deputies say he planned to kidnap WWE wrestler, Sonya Deville, 26, whose real name is Daria Berenato. Deville, right, stars in the E! cable channel reality TV series Total Divas Deville tweeted her thanks to to the Hillsborough County Sheriff and to all of her fans for her their love and concern According to investigators, Thomas parked his car at a nearby church, walked to the home and cut a hole in a screen to enter the home's patio, where he stayed for three to four hours watching and listening through the windows. Thomas went inside the home through a sliding glass door at 2:43 a.m., after the homeowner had gone to bed, the release said. The alarm activated. Sheriff's officials said the homeowner looked out a window and saw Thomas before she left with a guest in a car. She also called 911. Thomas was still at the home when deputies arrived. On jail records, Thomas is listed as an Applebee's crew member. He was being held without bail and records don't list a lawyer for him. 'Our deputies are unveiling the suspect's disturbing obsession with this homeowner who he had never met, but stalked on social media for years,' said Sheriff Chad Chronister. 'It's frightening to think of all the ways this incident could have played out had the home alarm not gone off and alerted the homeowner of an intruder.' Deville fled the house with a friend and called 911 as she escaped Thomas is alleged to have cut a hole in the patio screen to her home and then waited outside for up to four hours before going inside Deville's home and setting off the alarm On Thomas' account, which contains mainly retweets and messages about Deville's latest activities he can be seen responding to her recent tweets On Thomas' account, which contains mainly retweets and messages about Deville's latest activities, he can be seen responding to some of her recent tweets. 'I'm so proud of you Daria you're a inspiration to me,' her wrote in response to a tweet on July 30th wrote about her appearance at the GLAAD media awards, a nonprofit founded by LGBTQ people in the media. Just over a week later, he wrote back to a psychiatrist who had tweeted, '#BreakingNews: U R Perfect!' 'But what if others think I'm not and I have no self confidence or self worth?' Thomas answered in response. 'I'm asking for your advice because I need a second opinion on something that could determine what happens next in my life.' Thomas had allegedly stalked Deville on social media for many years In a recent tweet, he wrote to a psychiatrist who had tweeted, '#BreakingNews: U R Perfect!' It is clear that something was on Thomas's mind as he asked for advice and help with something Fellow WWE Superstar Titus O'Neil also noted that he had been in contact with Deville to confirm her wellbeing. 'I have spoken to her and I'm glad she's safe and I'm thankful and grateful that the sheriff's office took care of the situation immediately. Celebrity status aside this is sickening. 'I am a product of a sexual assault and have zero-tolerance or respect for any human being that would violate a person's privacy and or personal space,' O'Neil said. PHOENIX Republican Sen. Martha McSally expressed concern to GOP activists that some supporters of President Donald Trump may not vote for her, an indication of her struggles to avoid the defection of Republicans whose support shell need to keep her seat. Answering a question from a supporter at a campaign event last week, McSally said there are voters who like Trump but havent paid attention to other races on the ballot, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by The Associated Press. They may be convinced by ads positioning her Democratic rival, Mark Kelly, as an independent, she said, and they might not even realize hes a Democrat. So they could keep a generally positive feeling while they keep hammering me, McSally said of Kellys campaign. Then somebody actually could vote Trump-Kelly. Republicans who backed Democrat Kyrsten Sinema were pivotal in her victory over McSally in the 2018 race for Arizonas other Senate seat. McSally received 140,000 fewer votes than Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who was comfortably reelected on the same ballot. McSally cant afford to lose GOP voters again as she faces a tough battle against Kelly to hold onto John McCains former Senate seat, to which she was appointed after her 2018 loss. McSally has been endorsed by Trump, who has given her strong support during his trips to Arizona, but public polls have consistently showed her running behind the president in Arizona. She also faces a fundraising disadvantage that makes it a challenge for her to combat the barrage of ads being aired by Kelly and independent groups backing the former astronaut. Caroline Anderegg, a spokeswoman for McSallys campaign, said 2020 is a different election. She said the campaign is not worried about losing Republicans but will continue working to remind them that Kelly is a Democrat. Shes been delivering results for the last year and a half, Anderegg said of McSally. That is really going to turn people out and motivate people. The more we tell people about all the things weve done the more they respond to it. During a question-and-answer period at campaign event in Goodyear last Wednesday, a supporter asked McSally how to succinctly make the case for her when talking to neighbors about the race. Thats when she brought up the potential for Trump-Kelly voters. I know that seems weird to all of you, like you think: Of course theyre going to vote Republican,' McSally said. But were just talking about people who are focused on finding a job and the kids are out of school and all sorts of distractions going on. And theyre not activists, and they may like Trump, but theyre not thinking down ballot. She went on to suggest telling Trump supporters that voting for Kelly would undermine the presidents priorities, saying with Democrats controlling the Senate, the radical left will ram through their agenda. Thats a message McSally has turned to consistently in the closing months of the campaign, which is one of about a half-dozen races that will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate Tata Realty and Infrastructure (TRIL) is planning to list its Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) with a portfolio of 20 million sq ft of commercial assets in the next few years. This will be done after the portfolio is expanded from present 6.2 million sq ft to 20 million sq ft via new developments and acquisitions. Sanjay Dutt, managing director and chief executive officer of TRIL told The Economic Times that the existing land bank has potential of 20 million sq ft commercial development in the next three to four years. The portfolio may also include office spaces and data centre assets. He added that his team has looked at least four proposals from developers looking to monetise their portfolios including single assets and carved-out portfolios across the country. We are targeting a 45-50 million sq ft in commercial portfolio in over seven years. However, as we are developing several built-to-suit projects for clients, the pace would stand accelerated, he said. Apart from monetisation of assets and inventories (it sold properties worth Rs 2,000 crore over past two years), holding company Tata Sons will ensure sufficient capital infusion, Dutt added. TRIL achieved close to 15 percent rental growth in FY20 from leasing its existing it 6.2 million sq ft commercial portfolio, and expects similar growth this fiscal as well, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Dutt noted that the June quarter saw 8 percent increase in rentals, which is expected to be 11 percent by the end of 2020. Ongoing projects include a 1 million sq. ft development in Gurugram expected by November 2020; another 1 million sq ft in Gurugram expected by 2021; a 47-acre plot in Navi Mumbai, where 0.5 million sq ft development is expected to commence soon; and another 0.8 million sq ft is in advanced stage of pre-lease for a built-to-suit campus. One person has died after a gunman opened fire in a San Antonio flea market Sunday morning. San Antonio police said a 38-year-old man died from his injuries later at the hospital but did not specify when. Three others were injured in the shooting, including two teenagers. Police were called to the Mission Open Air Market, 700 block of Moursund Boulevard just after 11:30 a.m. for multiple calls about a shooting, with several injuries and people fleeing from the scene. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox When police arrived, they found the injured parties in separate areas of the guest parking lot. A 27-year-old man, a 19-year-old male and a 14-year-old male were all injured in the shooting. San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said there were multiple shooters involved, one of whom was taken to the hospital in critical condition. It is unknown if that is the same man who later died. A security guard also returned fire after the initial shots, McManus said. Shell casings were found throughout the parking lot and weapons were found on the ground and inside vehicles associated with the injured parties. Police did not disclose how the parties were related. READ ALSO: Barrage of bullets unleashed chaos at a crowded flea market on San Antonios South Side All four injured men were taken to the hospital. Police believe the shooting was a targeted attack and not an active shooter situation. We dont believe, at this point, that any of the people who were shot were innocent bystanders, McManus told the Express-News on Sunday. We were very lucky that this was not much, much worse. Its a shame that people will resort to firearms to settle an argument in such a crowded area. The shooting is still under investigation. Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for MySA.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway Phoenix, Arizona area teachers and support staff organized a sickout today, forcing the cancellation of the first day of in-person classes scheduled by the J.O. Combs Unified School District, about 50 miles southeast of the state capital. The job action is part of the growing resistance by educators and momentum towards a nationwide strike to stop the unsafe reopening of schools as the pandemic continues to rage across the United States. As of Friday, 109 out of the 600 teachers and other school employees in the Phoenix suburb had called in sick, defying the school boards insistence that they physically return to work, even though the area is a COVID-19 hotspot. All classes, including virtual learning, were cancelled until further notice due to insufficient staffing levels, which were the result of a high volume of staff absences, citing health and safety concerns. Officials in the adjacent Queen Creek school district, also located in the San Tan Valley, provocatively ordered teachers to come into school buildings on Monday to conduct online classes despite teachers insistence that they could conduct virtual teaching just as easily and far more safely from home. In response, dozens of Queen Creek teachers resigned. Local teacher Lisa Vaaler joins other teachers as they hold a #Return2SchoolSafely Motor March protest in Phoenix earlier this year. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) Schools are being reopened even though the two districts do not meet the criteria for a safe resumption of schooling set by the Arizona Department of Health Services. In fact, there is not a single district in the state that meets the requirements of a two-week decline in the rate of new cases below 100 per 100,000 per week, an infection rate below seven percent for two weeks and hospitalization rate that remains below 10 percent for two weeks. The state reported 800 new cases and 14 deaths on Sunday, bringing the total to 193,537 infections and 4,506 deaths. Currently, Arizona has an eight percent infection rate and 80 percent of ICU beds are still filled. Last week, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a close ally of President Trump, reiterated his demand that schools reopen by August 17, in violation of his administrations own safety requirements. In an effort to provide himself with a cover for this homicidal policy, Ducey said officials in each district should decide how to reopen. The logic of this was on display last week, when a school board member in Lake Havasu declared, At some point, we are going to have to come up with an acceptable casualty rate, and nobody wants to have that conversation. Arizona teachers, who carried out a powerful wildcat strike across the state in 2018, are once again coming to the forefront of the struggle. I would like a general strike, Laura, a Phoenix teacher told the World Socialist Web Site. Teachers have families and dont want to bring this disease home. I have diabetes and Im high risk. I dont want to get sick. Sure, education is going to suffer without in-person learning, but until we get this under control, people are going to die if the schools are reopened. They know people are going to die, but they dont care. We have to put our foot down and hold a nationwide strike. We cant put ourselves, our children and our families at risk. Would you rather live and temporarily postpone your education or go to school and die? If its a choice between going back to school or living, Ill live, thank you very much." Weve already had teachers in Arizona die, Laura continued, pointing to the case of Kimberley Chavez Lopez Byrd, a 61-year-old first grade teacher from Hayden-Winkelman Unified School District, a small rural district southeast of Phoenix, who died on June 26. Ms. Byrd and two other teachers contracted the disease while delivering online summer school lessons from the same classroom, although they social distanced and followed other safety precautions. Ducey is saying it is up to the districts, she added, but they are threatening the ones that dont reopen. If you dont take the kids, they say, well give the parents vouchers to send their kids to private schools that will open.' At the same time, they are putting pressure on single moms and parents who have to go to work and cant afford child care. They say you cant be evicted, but people are being evicted left and right here. Parents should get their full income to stay home, or older kids could be paid to help their younger siblings get online for virtual learning. We can do this if we want to save lives. Like Trump and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Arizona Governor Ducey is claiming that the sole reason for opening the schools is to address the educational and emotional needs of students. This is a fraud. Since 2009, Republicans and Democrats in Arizona have cut $4.56 billion from public schools, while handing billions in tax cuts to corporations, including the giant copper companies that dominate the state. Even deeper cuts are now on the way due to the pandemic-driven economic crisis. The deadly drive to open the schools is a bipartisan policy whose sole purpose is to get parents back to work in order to pay off the trillions handed over to Wall Street and the corporations through the bipartisan CARES Act. The decision by Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio to fully open New York City schools for 1.1 million students and 135,000 teachers and support staff by September 10 is provoking enormous outrage in that city, which has already lost more than 23,000 people to COVID-19. Both officials, working in conjunction with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City, kept schools open until protests by teachers forced their closure in mid-March, a delay that cost 50 school workers, including 21 teachers, and countless others their lives. Far from opposing the reckless reopening of the schools, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the national parent union of the UFT, and the National Education Association (NEA) are doing everything in their power to block the growing movement for a nationwide strike. Instead, the top officials of the AFT and NEA are attending the Democratic National Convention this week as delegates to promote Biden, who oversaw the attacks on teachers during the Obama administration and is now peddling the lie that schools can be reopened safely in collaboration with the unions. Democratic officials in several urban districts such as Chicago, Los Angeles and Houston have made deals with the unions to start the school year with remote learning only, but this is only to dissipate anger and prepare for full reopening. Over the last several weeks, there have been hundreds of protests by teachers, parents and students against unsafe conditions. Thousands have posted articles and comments on Facebook pages that have emerged to exchange information and organize opposition. In recent days, protests have occurred in several cities, including: * Bridgeport, Connecticut, where dozens of teachers rallied at a school board meeting last Thursday. * Boston, Massachusetts, where hundreds protested last week and the school board announced it would delay the September 10 start of the school year. * Florida, where teachers in Osseo and Santa Rosa County protested Thursday and Friday against unsafe conditions and teacher layoffs. Teachers say the hybrid model of both in-person and online learning puts them at higher risk for contracting COVID-19. Schools shouldnt be completely open until the data matches up with it being safe, said Lindsey Burdick, a teacher at Park Center Senior High. We shouldnt have to deal with safe enough conditions. The numbers arent there yet. Its not low enough. Teachers at the Florida A&M University Developmental Research School also held an online protest against the planned restart of in-person instruction on August 19, forcing a delay to August 31. * Fulton County, Georgia, where teachers protested orders that they report to classrooms to give online instruction. * Sylvania, Ohio, where teachers protested the layoff of art, music and other instructors This growing opposition to unsafe conditions and budget cuts must be united and developed into a powerful movement for a nationwide strike to halt the opening of the schools. This is why teachers, parents and students from across the US formed the Educators Rank-and-File Safety Committee to unite educators, independently of the unions, to mobilize the broadest support throughout the entire working class. In a statement issued last week, the safety committee called for a general strike to demand the immediate closure of all public, private and charter schools, full funding for public education, internet access and online instruction, and full income protection to all parents and caregivers who stay home. To pay for this, the committee calls for the redirection of the trillions handed over to Wall Street and the corporations. All educators, school workers, parents and students who support this initiative should join our Facebook page and contact us today to establish local rank-and-file committees in your school and neighborhood. Send us any pertinent information, including significant developments in your district or state, and we will share this widely with a global audience. We will be hosting a national call-in meeting at 3:00 p.m. EDT (12:00 p.m. PDT) on Saturday, August 22, to discuss developments and the way forward. We urge you to make plans today to attend this vital meeting. Evangelicals, Democrats praise Trump's Israel-UAE deal: 'A peaceful Middle East is possible' Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment The deal announced Thursday to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that would see the suspension of Israels plans for annexation in the West Bank has received bipartisan praise as some see the agreement as a sign that a peaceful Middle East is possible. The deal was facilitated by President Donald Trump, Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed. Under the terms of the agreement, Israel will suspend plans to declare sovereignty over areas outlined in Trumps Middle East peace proposal earlier this year and expand ties with other countries in the Arab and Muslim world. With UAE being the first, both Netanyahu and Trump hinted in a news conference that more Arab countries could follow suit in normalizing relations with Israel, a Jewish-majority state that has faced much hostility in the Middle East. Under the agreement, the two Middle East countries will establish full diplomatic relations. The UAE will join Egypt and Jordan to be the third Arab country to establish such ties with Israel. According to a statement released by the State Department, delegations from Israel and the UAE will convene in the coming weeks to sign bilateral agreements relating to investment, tourism, direct airline flights, the establishment of embassies and several other issues. While the deal has been condemned by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as well as Muslim countries Iran and Turkey, the agreement received support from leading establishment Democrats, including presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Today, Israel and the United Arab Emirates have taken a historic step to bridge the deep divides of the Middle East, Biden said in a statement, claiming the agreement is in part thanks to the efforts of multiple administrations, including the Obama-Biden administration. The UAEs offer to publicly recognize the State of Israel is a welcome, brave, and badly-needed act of statesmanship. And it is a critical recognition that Israel is a vibrant, integral part of the Middle East that is here to stay. The agreement was also welcomed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., who said the deal is a mutually beneficial step that will strengthen both countries. It will contribute toward stability in the region and advance the cause of peace, Engel, who is a Jewish believer, said in a statement. I hope that this new breakthrough will give courage to other countries to move forward toward normalization and motivate Palestinians to give peace a chance. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called the deal a positive and important step. It is critical that Israels right to exist is recognized by all [and] that Arab countries join in accepting Israels permanence, Hoyer wrote in a tweet. The agreement was also celebrated by prominent figures within Trumps evangelical conservative voting base. Evangelicals are elated. For years, our community has worked and prayed for peace between the United Arab Emirates, its neighbors and Israel, the Rev. Johnnie Moore, an evangelical communications executive who serves on the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom, told The Christian Post. Moore, who met with the Abu Dhabi crown prince along with other evangelical leaders in 2018, called the deal a once-in-a-generation diplomatic achievement that will likely not be the last. We understand that peace is a process that has to have a beginning. But this is far beyond just a beginning. Baked into a deal like this one are the mechanisms to make peace really possible, he said. It isn't a deal fixated on the problems to solve, but on the opportunities to be shared. Toufic Baaklini, president of In Defense of Christians, a nonprofit advocacy group devoted to the preservation and protection of Christians in the Middle East, said he is pleased to hear that Israel is suspending plans to annex new areas of the West Bank. In a statement, he noted that the historic Christian communities in the Holy Land had voiced their concerns about Israels plans to declare sovereignty. We encourage all parties to Middle East Peace Talks to continue to consult with the historic Christian communities of the Holy Land in these negotiations, Baaklini said. This is a victory for Christians, Jews, and Muslims as followers of the great Abrahamic religions. IDC hopes that this is a positive step toward establishing a fair and lasting peace among all Middle Eastern nations. Michael Youssef, the Egyptian-born founder of Leading The Way television ministry, praised the diplomatic skills of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Many, like myself, are old enough to remember Egyptian President Anwar El Sadats courageous trip to Israel in November 1977 which brought about peace between Egypt and Israel, Youssef said in a statement. Similarly, this agreement will go down in history as one of those history-altering events. Yael Eckstein, president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews who lives in Israel, described the deal as giving "much-needed hope to Israel and her people, and to the entire region." "Today, the land where I raise my children and teach them about Gods promises to protect us has seen those promises fulfilled once again," she said in a statement. "This is a leap forward for Israel, for the UAE, and for all those who have faith that peace is possible." Pastor Jentezen Franklin, senior pastor of the multi-site Free Chapel in Georgia, said in a statement shared with CP that the UAE-Israel agreement is exhibit A that a peaceful Middle East is indeed possible. This historic diplomatic agreement between the UAE and Israel is an absolutely incredible achievement, Franklin contends. My congregation and I regularly pray for the peace of Jerusalem. God is answering our prayers, and the prayers of millions of others. Reports last month had indicated that the Israeli government had already delayed its plans to begin declaring sovereignty over parts of the West Bank. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who became the first woman of Palestinian descent to be elected to Congress in 2018, said that she will not celebrate Netanyahu for not stealing land he already controls in exchange for a sweetheart business deal. The heart of the issue has never been planned, formal annexation, but ongoing, devastating apartheid, she argued on Twitter. This Trump/Netanyahu deal will not alleviate Palestinian suffering, it will further normalize it. In the last few years, the UAE has undertaken efforts to promote solidarity and religious tolerance. The UAE celebrated 2019 as a "Year of Tolerance," and hosted a regional religious freedom summit as well as the first-ever papal visit to the Arabian Peninsula. Last year, the UAE announced plans to build an interfaith complex called the Abrahamic Family House. The complex will house a church, synagogue and mosque on Saadiyat Island near Abu Dhabi. The country has also committed to helping rebuild two churches that were destroyed by the Islamic State terrorist group in Iraq. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 23:46:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIGA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- During the first half (H1) of this year, the coronavirus pandemic has been affecting virtually all sectors of the Latvian economy, including the premium real estate segment where activity dropped considerably compared with the same period a year ago, a report by Baltic Sotheby's International Realty showed. According to the report, which looks into transactions involving premium-segment apartments, private houses and land in the capital city Riga, its region and Latvia's seaside resort Jurmala, the number of transactions in premium-class private houses selling for 350,000 euros (415,000 U.S. dollars) or more, fell by 29 percent on year to just 17 transactions. The total value of these transactions declined by 4.1 million euros year-on-year to 12.4 million euros in the first half of 2020. Baltic Sotheby's International Realty CEO Vestards Rozenbergs commented that clients' cautiousness and reduced activity in the premium real estate segment was not a phenomenon characteristic only of Latvia. Worldwide uncertainty and various restrictions brought about by the pandemic have been hampering trade in real estate, Rozenbergs said. "Just like on stock markets, buyers on the property market also delayed transactions whenever they could, waiting either for the situation to get back to normal or prices to fall. I do not see a reason for big downward price corrections on the Latvian premium estate market, as prices of the top-class properties are already consistent with their quality," Rozenbergs said, adding that there are still many uncertainties ahead. Enditem The defense ministers of Turkey and Qatar were also in Libya but it wasn't immediately clear whether Maas met with them German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas made an unannounced visit to Tripoli on Monday, saying that the world must not be deceived by the ``deceptive calm'' in Libya at the moment and find a way to end the conflict. Maas said in a statement upon arrival in the North African country that he was meeting with officials in the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in the capital to ``talk about ways out of this very dangerous situation'' where both sides in the bloody civil war are being armed by international allies. Military commander Khalifa Hafter's Libyan National Army (LNA) launched an offensive in April 2019 trying to capture Tripoli. But his campaign collapsed in June when the Tripoli-allied militias, with Turkish and Syrian mercenaries' support, gained the upper hand, driving his forces from the outskirts of Tripoli and other western towns. Commander Hafter is supported by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Russia. Turkey is the main patron of the Tripoli forces, which are also backed by Syrian mercenaries and Qatar. Germany has been trying to act as an intermediary, and in January held a summit in Berlin where participants from both sides agreed to respect an arms embargo and push Libya's warring parties to reach a full cease-fire, but the agreement has been repeatedly violated. Later Monday, Maas was to travel to Abu Dhabi to meet with his counterpart there to urge him to use the U.A.E.'s influence with Hafter ``in line with the Berlin summit.'' ``Only those who take part in a political process will be part of Libya's future,'' Maas said. As Maas visited Tripoli, the defense ministers of Turkey and Qatar were also in Libya but it wasn't immediately clear whether the German foreign minister met with them, and the Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a query. Turkey signed a military accord with the GNA late last year, as well as a memorandum of understanding on maritime boundaries, that was rejected by Egypt, Greece and Cyprus. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of Staff General Yasar Guler were in Tripoli on Monday to "observe the operations" under a military cooperation deal with Libya, Turkey's defence ministry said. *This story was edited by Ahram Online Search Keywords: Short link: Editor's note: Based on information provided by the U.S. Embassy in Lima. Hoy celebramos junto a la Marina de Guerra del Peru @naval_peru el aniversario numero 100 de la primera Mision Naval de los Estados Unidos al Peru. ????????https://t.co/v3oAuAIbP9 U.S. data on crude oil storage levels and compliance among parties to OPEC+ production cut will be factors to watch this week in terms of oil prices, according to analysts. Fuel Fix surveyed analysts on their outlook for oil prices. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has been stuck around $45 per barrel for much of August. The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, has largely traded within a $1 or $2 of $40 a barrel. Oil prices, like other macroeconomic metrics, have been bruised by the quarantine economy. For Japan, the worlds third-largest economy, that bruise was an annualized economic contraction of 27.8 percent in the second quarter, its largest decline on record. At least on paper, demand may be improving in the United States, where economic activity plummeted 32.9 percent during the April-June period, also a record decline. The International Energy Agency and OPEC both lowered their latest demand forecasts, though oil prices remained resilient. For Tamas Varga, an analyst at oil brokerage PVM in London, its likely the improvement in U.S. employment thats keeping a floor under the price of oil as Americans resume commuting, traveling and spending. The unemployment rate fell to 10.2 percent last month after peaking at 14.7 percent in April, according to the Labor Department. FUTURE SHOCK: The answer is blowing in the wind (and sun) That has been followed by declines in stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum produces. Commercial crude inventories fell by 4.5 million barrels in the week ending Aug.7, according to the Energy Information Administration. US oil demand is picking up, he said. If EIA shows another stock draw and demand recovery this week, further price support is anticipated. Crude oil prices are getting some support from U.S. economic trends, but those gains are offset by weaknesses in other economies, such as Japan's. OPEC will need to consider those and similar issues when they meet Wednesday to discuss whether to further ease steep production cuts put in place after demand and prices collapsed in the spring. OPEC this year decided to trim production by 9.7 million barrels per day, but eased the output cuts to 7.7 million barrels per July, betting that demand would improve enough to allow more oil to come on the market. OPEC, however, is likely producing above the quota as members such as Iraq aren't sticking to their agreed upon cuts. STILL FALLING: Downturn has yet to hit bottom for drilling rig operators Ellen R. Wald, president at Transversal Consulting in Jacksonville, Fla, said OPEC will likely lean on the cheaters to stick to the agreed production cuts to give Saudi Arabia and Russia the room to increase production while meeting the ultimate goal: pushing prices higher through the rest of the year. Ole Hanson, the head of the commodity strategy at the Saxo Bank in Denmark, said oil hasn't been able to break above the 200-day moving average, which is around $42.65 per barrel for the US crude oil price. If crude oil prices cant break that threshold, he said, then oil prices are due for a long overdue correction and would fall back below $40 a barrel. Daniel J. Graeber is a veteran energy correspondent and founder of The GERM Report, a survey of the intersection between energy and foreign affairs. Each Monday, he'll look ahead at what to expect in oil markets and the energy industry. (Natural News) Residents of Chicagos South Side have taken it upon themselves to eject Black Lives Matter demonstrators who entered their community to stage a protest outside a police precinct. On Tuesday, August 11, Black Lives Matter demonstrators made their way to the 7th District police station in Englewood to stage a rally against the arrest of a person who shot at police officers. According to the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the 20-year-old suspect fired on officers, which forced them to return fire, wounding the criminal who was later arrested and charged with attempted murder. The arrest sparked confrontations because of a malicious rumor that the suspect was 15 years old. This led to a night of widespread looting and rioting that got over 100 Black Lives Matter rioters arrested, injured at least 13 CPD officers and caused over $60 million in property damage to local shops and businesses. Tuesdays rally, which was organized by the citys Black Lives Matter chapter, met opposition after they made their way to the 7th District station. Dozens of Englewood residents converged upon the demonstrators to show the would-be rioters what they really think of the movement. If you aint from Englewood, get the [expletive] out of here! said Darryl Smith, a resident who shouted at the demonstrators. Smith, who has lived in Englewood for the past 51 years, said that he is very angry about how Chicagos recent ordeals came about because of fake news. First time they heard something he was 15, said Smith. He got shot and a lady got shot. It goes to social media and you have to learn the facts, you have to have facts in this matter. Smith further said that a lot of people are now blaming the start of the renewed wave of chaos and civil unrest on the residents of Englewood. But Smith said he does not believe that the rioting started in Englewood. He argued that people used the name of the community for their own gain. Were not having that. It didnt spark from Englewood. These [looters] are opportunists, and were tired of Englewood getting a black eye for any and everything that happens. Charles McKenzie from Gods Gorillas, a community-based violence prevention group, agreed with Smith, stating: We refuse to let anyone come to Englewood and tear it up. Learn more about the Black Lives Matter movement by listening to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about how the Democratic Party, which rules over Chicago, does not actually care about Black lives, especially if it does nothing to support the rights of unborn African Americans. Black Lives Matter demonstrators maintain peaceful protest The demonstrators from the Black Lives Matter movement said they came to the neighborhood to hold a peaceful rally that called for defunding the CPD. One of the protest groups that organized the event, Good Kids Mad City, said that many of their participants were also Englewood residents. They also admitted that many of their members were not in favor of either defunding or abolishing the police. Good Kids Mad City is a Black Lives Matter-affiliated group that is supposedly a youth organization dedicated to fighting against gun violence. It was formed in early 2018 by teenagers from the North Lawndale neighborhood in Chicagos West Side in response to the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Pressure from the community proved to be too much for the Black Lives Matter demonstrators, however, and they dispersed after some tense moments that included shouting matches and some pushing and shoving. Englewood has long been plagued by gun violence, and this year is no different for the embattled community as the rest of Chicago also sees a spike in shootings and homicides. Many of the residents believe that the arrival of Black Lives Matter into the area will just cause even more chaos. (Related: Chicago sees 139% increase in gun-related murders, and 75% increase in shooting incidents under gun-grabbing Mayor Lightfoot.) The Black Lives Matter movement is growing rapidly, and they have been invigorated into causing even more chaos and destruction across the country. Learn about their latest attacks against life and property at Rioting.news. Sources include: News.Yahoo.com Fox32Chicago.com TheOutline.com How Books and Buckets program in Long Beach aims to keep kids away from gang violence B&M European Value Retail S.A. (LON:BME) stock is about to trade ex-dividend in 2 days. If you purchase the stock on or after the 20th of August, you won't be eligible to receive this dividend, when it is paid on the 28th of September. B&M European Value Retail's next dividend payment will be UK0.054 per share. Last year, in total, the company distributed UK0.081 to shareholders. Looking at the last 12 months of distributions, B&M European Value Retail has a trailing yield of approximately 1.6% on its current stock price of 4.917. Dividends are a major contributor to investment returns for long term holders, but only if the dividend continues to be paid. We need to see whether the dividend is covered by earnings and if it's growing. View our latest analysis for B&M European Value Retail Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Fortunately B&M European Value Retail's payout ratio is modest, at just 40% of profit. That said, even highly profitable companies sometimes might not generate enough cash to pay the dividend, which is why we should always check if the dividend is covered by cash flow. Luckily it paid out just 18% of its free cash flow last year. It's encouraging to see that the dividend is covered by both profit and cash flow. This generally suggests the dividend is sustainable, as long as earnings don't drop precipitously. Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks in companies that generate sustainable earnings growth often make the best dividend prospects, as it is easier to lift the dividend when earnings are rising. If earnings fall far enough, the company could be forced to cut its dividend. It's encouraging to see B&M European Value Retail has grown its earnings rapidly, up 39% a year for the past five years. Earnings per share have been growing very quickly, and the company is paying out a relatively low percentage of its profit and cash flow. Companies with growing earnings and low payout ratios are often the best long-term dividend stocks, as the company can both grow its earnings and increase the percentage of earnings that it pays out, essentially multiplying the dividend. Story continues Many investors will assess a company's dividend performance by evaluating how much the dividend payments have changed over time. Since the start of our data, six years ago, B&M European Value Retail has lifted its dividend by approximately 28% a year on average. Both per-share earnings and dividends have both been growing rapidly in recent times, which is great to see. The Bottom Line Should investors buy B&M European Value Retail for the upcoming dividend? B&M European Value Retail has been growing earnings at a rapid rate, and has a conservatively low payout ratio, implying that it is reinvesting heavily in its business; a sterling combination. It's a promising combination that should mark this company worthy of closer attention. So while B&M European Value Retail looks good from a dividend perspective, it's always worthwhile being up to date with the risks involved in this stock. For example, we've found 2 warning signs for B&M European Value Retail that we recommend you consider before investing in the business. A common investment mistake is buying the first interesting stock you see. Here you can find a list of promising dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. AAFP Advocacy Focus: Medical Liability Overview The Academy calls for medical liability reform that delivers prompt compensation to those truly injured in the course of medical care while preventing the needless diversion of limited health care dollars and leads family physicians to practice defensive medicine. In pursuit of this balance, the AAFP points federal lawmakers to key efforts made at the state level, particularly in California. There, highly effective tort reforms have served as a model for federal updates, having reduced attorneys' fees and placed a greater share of insurer payouts in the hands of injured patients. A growing number of states are adopting tort-reform provisions that require plaintiffs to present "clear and convincing evidence" of provider malpractice, recognizing as the AAFP does that a higher threshold of proof is an essential component of lasting reform. The AAFP has also long advocated for limits on non-economic damage awards and supported limits on attorneys contingency fees and requirements that awards be reduced by the amount of compensation derived from collateral sources. The Academy likewise calls for the replacement of joint and several liability with proportionate liability, so that each party would pay a share of a malpractice award based on the proportion for which he or she is liable, with the allowance of periodic payments of future damages at a defined award limit. The AAFP works on behalf of its members to help establish a fair and equitable medical-legal environment that protects patients and family physicians. Why We Fight Medical liability reform is a high priority for the Academy, which calls on Congress and the White House to address this critical issue in a substantive way. Today's medical liability system fails patients as well as health care providers. Far too many medical liability lawsuits are frivolous, and too few patients actually injured by medical care are justly compensated. Excessive damage awards, exorbitant attorneys fees, rising malpractice premiums, and costly defensive medicine practices have greatly contributed to rising health care costs and undermined the role of the physician. SALEM, MA It's Monday, August 17. Here's what Patch has been covering on the North Shore and across Massachusetts today. Salem is one of the Massachusetts communities that acted fast at the outset of the coronavirus pandemic in March, and for awhile, the city's efforts seemed to be paying dividends. As recently as a month ago, Salem's active case count and positive test rate was well below the state average. Still, Salem clamped down, announcing in July it would begin flinging people who were not wearing face coverings downtown, along its waterfront and in parks. So the sudden uptick in cases is perplexing. Salem joined the state's "Stop the Spread" testing program Monday after the state said it was a high-risk community for spreading COVID-19. The designation by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health last week forced Salem officials to scrap a plan to begin the school year with some in-person learning. On Monday, Salem Public Schools said it asked five students and five to seven staff members at the LEAP Saltonstall Summer program to quarantine after another staff member tested positive for the coronavirus. Last week the Salem YMCA reported that a staff member and several children at its daycare program had contracted the virus. Now, officials are asking residents to report gatherings that violate the state's order banning indoor gatherings of more than 25 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 50 people to Salem police. Officials also want help in enforcing Salem's mask order, which calls for fines of up to $300 for people caught without a face covering in certain areas of the city. The sudden change of coronavirus fortune in Salem features some concerning details, as well. About a fifth of Salem's new coronavirus cases since July 1 have been in people under the age of 19, and 40 percent have been in people under the age of 40. Since July 1, 51 percent of cases have been reported by Latino residents, event though the city's Latino population is just 19 percent of the total population. Story continues Also on the North Shore North Shore Police Departments See Increase In Crystal Meth Use Police in Beverly, Salem and other North Shore towns are reporting an increase in the use of crystal methamphetamine, a powerful, illegal stimulant that has plagued other parts of the country for several years. "It's making inroads," Jon DeLena, associate special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New England field office, told the Salem News. "I think it's solidified itself here in this region much more than anybody realizes." Danvers Family Finds 11-Year-Old Message In Bottle On Cape Beach A message put in a bottle in the United Kingdom on Jan. 3, 2009 ended up on a Cape Cod beach more than 11 years after it was thrown into the Atlantic. The Chin family of Danvers was visiting a beach in Falmouth, MA when three-year-old Lila found the bottle as she looked for shells along the shoreline. Across Massachusetts Protest Planned At Tufts President's House In Medford Our Revolution Medford says it will rally outside Tufts President Tony Monaco's house this week to protest the university's reopening. Also today: Dave Copeland covers the North Shore for Patch. He can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites). This article originally appeared on the Salem Patch Protesters from the left and right ends of Americas political divide squared off for hours Saturday in the city of Stone Mountain arguing, and at times fighting, over race, politics and the massive granite carving of Confederate leaders in the adjacent state park. The protest drew dozens of heavily armed private militia from around the state, neighboring states, and as far away as Arkansas. They were motivated by the taunting of the leader of an all-black militia who marched on Stone Mountain Park July 4, but they also expressed their rage over the removal of Confederate monuments, shared conspiracy theories, and voiced their support of President Donald Trump. The militia-backed protesters were met by hundreds of counter demonstrators eager to shout them down. That group included mainline civil rights organizations like the NAACP but also far-left anarchists and socialists, some of whom arrived with assault weapons and were as heavily armed as the militia. Though largely free of serious violence, the protest is the latest in a series of clashes since 2016 where armed groups have used Stone Mountain as a backdrop. Saturdays demonstration drew a large police presence from around the metro area and the Georgia State Patrol, but they stayed on the periphery of the protests. Unlike some prior demonstrations between extreme right and left groups where police used overwhelming numbers to separate them, such as last years protest over Super Bowl weekend, authorities allowed the two groups to approach each other. The strategy lead to several small-scale fights and regular shouting matches. There were no arrests, police said. One militia organizer, Arkansas-based Confederate States III%, had intended to protest inside the park, but the Stone Mountain Memorial Association denied their permit, as did the city. When the group continued with plans to demonstrate there anyway, the park announced Friday it would close its gates for the day. Groups of militia scrambled in the hours after the announcement to come up with a new plan, while counter demonstrators urged their people to stick with their plan to convene in the city. This June 23, 2015 file photo shows a carving depicting Confederate Civil War figures Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, in Stone Mountain, Ga. The sculpture is America's largest Confederate memorial. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)AP About 200 people in the coalition of counter demonstrators began Saturday morning at the gazebo outside the Stone Mountain Welcome Center on Main Street, listening as speakers urged the crowd to do what they could to address voting issues, lending practices and forced evictions. Others urged obliterating the Confederate monument at Stone Mountain. Richard Rose, president of the NAACPs Atlanta branch, surveyed the sea of faces of different colors, many standing several feet apart and wearing face masks because of the current pandemic. This is what America looks like, he said. It does not look like whats on that mountain. A man identified as Brandyn, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, also told the crowd assembled that the same energy used to organize a march could be used for much bigger tasks. The same way you work together to organize a march, you can get together to address racism, he said. Thats the power we need to see. Militia outnumbered As the counter demonstrators talked, Chris Hill, a militia leader from McDonough, and nine of his Georgia Security Force III%, took up a position behind a barricade about 100 yards away. From his position behind the barricade, Hill began talked into his cell phone where he was recording video. They will try their best to characterize us as white supremacists, he said. Hill said his group was there to defend the Constitution from radical leftists, while also hitting on a variety of grievances from gun control to repeating the concerns of the president that mail-in voting will result in fraud. Its straight-up terrorism. People are killing each other over ideology, Hill said, resting his arm against an assault rifle. They are going against Trump supporters and dare I say it? whites. Hills militia of 10, vastly outnumbered, was joined by other militias later in the morning, along with sympathizers who showed up in pickup trucks festooned with Confederate flags. Crowd swells before police move in Police left the groups of demonstrators largely alone for more than four hours, and over the course of the morning discipline within the two opposing groups broke down and led to chaotic scenes of small groups shouting or shoving one another. Tracy Baisden, a Black woman from Atlanta, engaged in a long discussion with a white man, who only identified himself as Zach, as the man declared his desire that races remain separate. Like many such face-to-face encounters, little was settled. I think this young man is lost, Baisden said about Zach. Militia members sprayed several counterprotesters with insect repellent or pepper spray, and several individuals on both sides were knocked to the ground. A counterprotester ripped the face mask from an Associated Press photographer as the he was attempting document the scene. The sides recorded video of one another, and the entire scene was heavily documented by news photographers, journalists and several documentary filmmakers. Many participants on either side also live streamed the protest on their phones. By midday, the crowd had swelled to a combined total of more than 500, many of whom mingled in a chaotic scrum outside the Stone Mountain Methodist Church. While counter demonstrators accused the militia members and their supporters as promoting racism, a Florida militia member who gave his call sign as Rick Rat said his participation wasnt a race thing. Everybody should come together and march on DC and get all the damn Democrats out of office, he said. What I think they are trying to do is start a race war. Rick then launched into a version of a popular internet conspiracy theory known as QAnon and accused an unnamed group of Washington elites of being pedophiles. They are killing the kids and selling their organs, he said. Around 1 p.m., following an uptick in fighting between the groups, police marched through downtown with riot shields and dispersed the crowd. Behind the police, a unit of the National Guard waited in case they were needed, but the vast majority of protesters left peacefully. By 2 p.m., downtown Stone Mountain was quiet. Stone Mountain police Chief Chancey Troutman said he told the groups they had three minutes to disperse. If they didnt disperse in those three minutes, arrests would have been made, he said. Shaddi Abusaid contributed to this report. 2020 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) Visit The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.) at www.ajc.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Going forward, how this embargo would be operationalised is the question rightly asked. PTI Photo August 9, 2020, will go down as a red-letter day in Indias history. While the world and India, too, remained largely immobilised owing to the ubiquitous Chinese virus, the defence minister, Rajnath Singh, announced what is arguably the most historic reform ever undertaken by Indias ministry of defence (MoD). It put out a list of 101 major war fighting equipment, platforms and systems whose imports are to be progressively terminated from December 2020 to December 2025. There is supposedly yet another negative import list due. This left observers hard put to count the systems/platforms left out for future import. A quick glance at the list indicates that 69 systems/platforms have the cut-off date of December 2020, 11 with December 2021, four with December 2022, eight with December 2023, eight with December 2024 and one with December 2025. A cursory look at the timelines would indicate to the astute observer that these have been drawn up keeping in mind the indigenised content already incorporated into the system. With this announcement closing the tap on imports, Indias ranking as the second largest defence importer in the world next only to Saudi Arabia will certainly drop much to the relief of its government and citizens. Besides saving precious foreign exchange, it will also indicate to the world that India is no longer punching below its weight. While all this is music to the ears of most Indians as it would boost manufacturing, employment and trade, thereby giving a fillip to the economy, how this would be operationalised is the question that needs to be addressed. There is a lot of apprehension that has been expressed in the media. Some commentators have stated that this is nothing but new wine in old bottles being as it is a reiteration of the Defence Procurement Procedure 2016 (DPP-2016). However, if one examines that document in some detail, it is seen that this is simply not the case, but a logical conclusion of that policy four years down the line. In the foreword prefacing that document, the then defence minister, late Manohar Parrikar, very presciently forecasted this conclusion. He had written, Hence, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is determined to treat DPP 2016 as a dynamic and an evolving document and is committed to making improvements based on emerging data and anecdotal evidence, to realise the vision of Make in India in the defence sector. It is evident that this import embargo list is neither a reiteration of that policy nor something completely new, but simply a consequence consistent with that policy. The other apprehension is that Indias military-industrial complex has not matured enough to be standing on its own feet and delivering the goods. This too is fallacious as a number of platforms/systems that are now being manufactured in India is a testimony to the level of expertise achieved. This has taken place either through tie-ups with firms abroad (the strategic partnership model) or through the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) route. Going forward, how this embargo would be operationalised is the question rightly asked. First, Indias defence industry complex, tightly controlled by the government, represented by 41 ordnance factories and nine defence PSUs have now to compete with the private sector and can no longer bank on the Armed Forces to bail them out with orders whose pricing in many cases is exorbitant. Second, within the private sector, there is a humongous scope for medium and small scale industries to rise to the occasion by ramping up capacities and building up a huge defence industry base to cater for ancillaries, sub-systems and components that would be required if India is going solo and not relying on government imports. This leads us to the third important factor, which is that the private sector and the corporatised Ordnance Factory Board along with the defence PSUs are free to sign MoUs with original equipment manufacturers abroad to also import critical ancillaries, sub-systems and components for manufacture within India with transfer of technology and with proportionate offsets. This single significant step frees the government from getting involved in complex negotiations with foreign firms and being compelled to adhering to stringent policies and rules laid down in the government financial regulations and the DPP (Defence Procurement Procedure 2020). All such manufacturers will also be free to export their products making India a net exporter of defence products. The requirement to drastically reduce imports has long been felt but it needed a strong political dispensation and the will to carry it out. The road ahead is not going to be smooth but this single significant step taken by the government to wean itself away from imports in this crucial domain needs to be applauded. That it was in the making since 2016 is known. However, it appears to have been pushed through now because of the combination of a slackening economy, the deleterious effect of Covid-19 and, above all, by Chinas transgressions in Eastern Ladakh. How this will play out remains to be seen. A West Orange man forced a woman to engage in prostitution, threatened to harm her and her family if she didnt get more clients and raped the woman during more than a year of abuse, authorities said Sunday. Mcquacy Goodridge, 28, was charged with four counts of human trafficking, sexual assault, promoting prostitution, terroristic threats and criminal coercion for the ordeal that continued from March of last year until his arrest Saturday, according to the Morris County Prosecutors Office. Goodridge brought the woman to locations around Morris County, where he forced her into sex work and collected the money that clients paid her, the prosecutors office said. He allegedly verbally and emotionally abused the woman while making threats toward her over the past year. Authorities said Goodridge sexually assaulted the woman and threatened her at a Parsippany-Troy Hills hotel on Saturday. Goodridge was being held at the Morris County Correctional Facility, according to officials. In a statement announcing the arrest, county Prosecutor Fredric M. Knapp credited the offices investigators, Parsippany-Troy Hills police and members of the Morris County Sheriffs Office with handling the investigation. Anyone with information was asked to call prosecutors office Detective Martyna Ruminska 973-285-6303 or the Parsippany Troy Hills Police Department at 973-263-4300. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. By AFP LONDON: The UK said Monday it did not recognise the "fraudulent" Belarus presidential vote which saw Alexander Lukashenko re-elected and denounced the "grisly repression" of unprecedented protests over the result. Foreign secretary Dominic Raab also threatened sanctions against those responsible and called for an independent international probe. Lukashenko, who has ruled Belarus for 26 years, claimed victory in the August 9 election with 80 percent of the vote, despite wide opposition to his rule. ALSO READ | Over 1,000 detained in latest Belarus election protests "The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent presidential election. The UK does not accept the results," Raab said. He said any investigation into the election should be carried out by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. "The UK will work with our international partners to sanction those responsible, and hold the Belarusian authorities to account," said Raab. London's statement follows a weekend of protests against the official election result in the Belarus capital, Minsk. Tens of thousands of opposition supporters gathered for a huge protest rally against Lukashenko on Sunday, described by one news website as the largest in the history of Belarus. Since the result was announced there has been a violent police crackdown which has seen more than 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and two people dead. There have also been widespread strikes. On Monday, the main challenger to Lukashenko, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, said she was ready to take over the country's leadership in a video posted from exile in Lithuania, where she fled in the immediate aftermath of the election. Notes from Indian Country The laws that impacted the lives of South Dakota Indians. Voting rights has never been something that the men and women of the Sioux Nations took lightly. Before there was a United States government the Lakota had a Democratic form of government in which the men and women participated. Laws were enacted, leaders chosen, decisions on where to spend the winter season, and the times when the spiritual ceremonies were to be held were things decided by the Tribal Councils. Women had an equal vote on all decisions. Everything changed when the U. S Government decided, in its infinite wisdom, that the Indian tribes needed Constitutions that were near replicas of their own. The Indian Reorganization Act became law in 1934 after it was voted into law by the tribes themselves. The traditional Lakota decided to boycott the election thinking that would prevent its passage. Wrong. The more progressive Lakota voted and the IRA became law. This marked the end of the traditional form of Lakota self-government. Tim Giago. Photo courtesy Native Sun News Today My father was born in 1895 and my mother was born in 1902. Both were born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. South Dakota joined the Union on November 2, 1889. Neither my mother or father were considered citizens of the United States or of the State of South Dakota until the Voting Rights Act for American Indians was passed in 1924. White women got the right to vote in 1921. The Voting Rights Act of 1924 also made the Lakota people citizens of the United States and of South Dakota. Not all of the states ratified the Voting Rights Act for American Indians in 1924. Indian citizens of Arizona and New Mexico did not get the right to vote until after World War II when Indian veterans that served in combat came home and wondered why they were not allowed to vote and then set about forcing the states of Arizona and New Mexico to ratify the Voting Right Act. There were no jails or prisons in Indian Country in the past. If a tribal member committed an act that would have brought him or her the death penalty under the new Constitution, under the old laws the harshest punishment they could receive was banishment from the Tribe. This was tantamount to a death penalty. One decision by the Supreme Court had a profound impact on Indian law. Ex parte Crow Dog , 109 U.S. 556 (1883), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that followed the death of one member of a Native American tribe at the hands of another on reservation land. Crow Dog was a member of the Brule band of the Lakota Sioux. On August 5, 1881 he shot and killed Spotted Tail, a Lakota chief; there are different accounts of the background to the killing. The tribal council dealt with the incident according to Sioux tradition, and Crow Dog paid restitution to the dead man's family. However, the U.S. authorities then prosecuted Crow Dog for murder in a federal court. He was found guilty and sentenced to hang. The defendant then petitioned the Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, arguing that the federal court had no jurisdiction to try cases where the offense had already been tried by the tribal council. The court found unanimously for the plaintiff and Crow Dog was therefore released. This case was the first time in history that an Indian was held on trial for the murder of another Indian. The murder of Spotted Tail, first photo, by Crow Dog was the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court case which held that the U.S. government lacked jurisdiction to prosecute crimes on an Indian nation's territory. Images: Denver Library Digital Collections and John Alvin Anderson / Library of Congress The case led to the Major Crimes Act in 1885, which placed some major crimes (initially seven, now 15) under federal jurisdiction if committed by an Indian against another Indian on a reservation or tribal land. This case was the beginning of the plenary power legal doctrine that has been used in Indian case law to limit tribal sovereignty. The Major Crimes Act nearly stripped the Tribes of their sovereign status. The Voting Rights Act was severely hindered by the ability of the state government to gerrymander the Indian reservations. The Pine Ridge Reservation with a 90 percent Indian population could not elect a Lakota man or woman because the reservation was so badly gerrymandered in favor of non-Indian candidates. When Tom Shortbull, now President of the Oglala Lakota College, ran for the state senate he saw immediately what the state had done to severely limit Indian participation in state elections. He fought this unfair system and beat it and won a seat to the state senate. The next battle the Tribes had to fight, and are still fighting, is getting polling places on the reservations so tribal members do not have to drive 100 miles just to vote. And as the population of the Indian people dramatically increases in South Dakota it is probable that the Indian people will have the majority voting population in the next 50 years. Then what? Contact Tim Giago at najournalist1@gmail.com Join the Conversation Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has announced a decision has been made to recall the Ukrainian Ambassador to Belarus for consultations in Kyiv. "I've decided to recall Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Ihor Kyzym for consultations in Kyiv to assess the prospects of Belarusian-Ukrainian relations in the new reality, to develop appropriate decisions taking into account the entire range of factors. This is solely because of Minsk's unacceptable actions," Kuleba said in a statement on the ministry's website. One hundred years ago Tuesday, the United States ratified the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, guaranteeing women citizens the right to vote. It changed the nation. San Antonio leaders had great plans to celebrate the centennial but the novel coronavirus, itself considered a once-in-a-century event, has put a damper on some of that. We wouldve loved to have had a year-long celebration for the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, originally scheduled to kick off with the Girls Empowerment Summit that didnt take place on March 13, said San Antonio City Councilwoman Adriana Rocha Garcia, who has spearheaded much of the planning. But I think we can commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime occasion while practicing social distancing and staying safe. On ExpressNews.com: Brackenridge worked for womens rights The commemoration will include recognition that while the amendment authorized female citizens to cast ballots across the country, that right wasnt fully extended to people of color until decades later, with the civil rights movement and Voting Rights acts of 1965 and 1975. As part of the celebration that began Sunday and continues through Aug. 26, the day the amendment was signed into law, white ribbons and bows will be placed on trees in Brackenridge, Elmendorf and Woodlawn Lake and other parks, as well as along the River Walk. More Information Women's Suffrage Centennial events Aug. 18: "Light the Night White!" - turn on porch lights to honor the suffragists who wore white for solidarity. Tower of the Americas, AT&T Center, other buildings to be illuminated. Aug. 21: A flyover by the Women in Aviation, Alamo City Chapter, will start at 11 a.m. from Stinson Municipal Airport and travel over the San Antonio Missions, University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine at Brooks, downtown San Antonio, Providence High School, Brackenridge Park, Our Lady of the Lake University and other locations. Aug. 26: The League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area and Can We Talk will host "Hard Won, Not Done," a free virtual celebration starting at 7 p.m. It will include Victoria M. De Francesco Soto, assistant dean for civic engagement at UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs; Erika Prosper; and San Antonio Poet Laureate Andrea "Vocab" Sanderson. Visit www.lwv.org/local-leagues/lwv-san-antonio-area. For information: 100yearsofwomenvotingsa.com. See More Collapse Bexar County residents also are invited to place white ribbons on trees, porches and mailboxes, and post photos on social media to observe the milestone for women. Sunday, men and women celebrating the event at Brackenridge Park wore white as they honored Eleanor Brackenridge, an advocate for womens rights who became the first female registered voter in Bexar County. Brackenridge and other suffragists wore white as a symbol of strength and solidarity. Women like Ms. Brackenridge and so many other women before and after her laid the groundwork for the path toward ratifying the 19th Amendment, Rocha Garcia said. Texas ratified the 19th Amendment on June 28, 1919. It was the first southern state to do so; southern Democrats in the U.S. Senate had initially tried a filibuster to kill the amendment in Congress. The nine-day celebration in the San Antonio area also will be a call to action, such as volunteering at and making donations to the San Antonio Food Bank, being shepherded through a partnership that includes Councilwoman Melissa Cabello-Havrda; a youth essay competition coordinated with the help of Councilwoman Ana Sandoval; and widespread voter and Census-registration drives across the city. Recorded recollections of prominent female leaders will become a part of the Mexican American Civil Rights Institutes oral history project. We owe it to past and future generations to honor the legacy of our countrys suffragists and also commit to working towards a greater and more equitable society, Rocha Garcia said. The journey to where we are today has not been easy and there is plenty of work ahead, but we are only getting started. On Aug. 18, 1920, Tennessee became the last of the necessary 36 ratifying states to secure adoption of the 19th Amendment. U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed a proclamation on Aug. 26, 1920, that put it into effect. On ExpressNews.com: Law of 1975 empowered todays Latino voters Madhu Sridhar, president of the League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area, which will host a virtual event to round out the celebratory week, said the organization encourages everyone, especially women, to vote responsibly by studying the issues and candidates. The league is a direct descendant of the suffrage movement, she said. It was founded in 1920 by Carrie Chapman Catt, who had served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1900 to 1904 and 1915 to 1920. Rights are not enough. Responsibility comes with that. If we have the right to vote, but we dont go out and vote, what good is that right? Sridhar said. Once women got the right to vote, the idea was how do we try to educate women so that they could make informed choices in real life. Thats why the League of Women Voters was created. Fortunately, if you look, especially at the presidential elections, the women have voted in larger numbers than men for years now, she added. Also, what is important to bring about change is to get more women elected, because then they bring that perspective, and you can have more laws passed that take care of the needs of women, whether its equal pay for equal work, or whatever it is. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA Taylor Swift delighted fans with the surprise album, Folklore, then disappointed them by canceling upcoming shows. All things considered, how much will Swift lose from lost appearances and projects due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? Taylor Swifts Folklore lands the top spot for the third week in a row Taylor Swift | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic RELATED: Taylor Swift Created folklore in Under 3 Months; What Was Her Process? According to Billboard, Swifts latest album, Folklore, landed the No. 1 spot again, for the third week. The outlet reported that Swift is the first woman to hit the Billboard 200 chart in the first three weeks of release since 2018. The streaming music sales were accompanied by physical CD copies in stores, as well as online retailers. Billboard noted that Folklore was previously only available via Swifts official webstore and digital retailers such as iTunes. Folklore was preceded by Swifts Reputation which also hit the No. 1 spot for its first three weeks. Now, things may have shifted due to COVID-19, but Swift has been rolling with the punches. Swifts response to COVID-19 through actions RELATED: Taylor Swift Fans Are Beyond Disappointed in Her: It Hurts Me So Much to Say This Swift recently made several posts about the pandemic, since mandatory lockdowns and quarantines were put into place. In mid-March, Rolling Stone shared what Swift wrote in an Instagram story. I love you so much and need to express my concern that things arent being taken seriously enough right now, she wrote. Im seeing lots of get-togethers and hangs and parties still happening. This is the time to cancel plans, actually, truly isolate as much as you can and dont assume that because you dont feel sick that you arent possibly passing something on to someone elderly or vulnerable to this. Its a really scary time, but we need to make sacrifices right now, she added. A few weeks later, Swift joined Dolly Parton and other celebrities, to donate to the fight against COVID-19. Between free concerts and charity events, many like Swift and Parton are putting their money where their mouths are. Swift gave an undisclosed amount to Nashvilles record store, Grimleys to help them through tough financial times. She also paid for three months of health insurance for employees to show her support. And, as if thats not enough, the musician wrote a song for Folklore dedicated to the frontline workers. In Epiphany, lyrics, Swift pays tribute in a meaningful way. Something med school did not cover/ Someones daughter, someones mother/ Holds your hand through plastic now, Swift sings in the second verse. Doc, I think shes crashing out/ And some things you just cant speak about. In relation to the song, Swift also thanked a Utah fan, Whitney Hilton, who works as a nurse, according to Fox News. Hilton, who recived a box filled with gifts, travelled to New York City to help with those infected with COVID-19. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I wanted to send you some presents and to let you know I am so grateful for you, Swift wrote to Hilton, according to Fox. I cant thank you enough for risking your life to help people and for spreading the message loudly that people need to hear, about taking this seriously. How much money will Swift lose? I'm so sad I won't be able to see you guys in concert this year, but I know this is the right decision. Please, please stay healthy and safe. Ill see you on stage as soon as I can but right now whats important is committing to this quarantine, for the sake of all of us. pic.twitter.com/qeiMk2Tgon Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) April 17, 2020 RELATED: How Does Taylor Swift Continue to Sell So Many Albums? Fans Point Out 1 Advantage She Has Over Other Artists With the world in a different way of being, Swift had to make the painful decision many artists are faced with these days to cancel all upcoming shows. In Swifts case, that includes Los Angeless sold-out two-day event, Lover Fest, and any other events she had scheduled. Im so sad I wont be able to see you guys in concert this year, but I know this is the right decision, Swift tweeted. Please, please stay healthy and safe. Ill see you on stage as soon as I can but right now whats important is committing to this quarantine, for the sake of all of us. Most venues had already cancelled pre-emptively. Swift intends to pick things back up in 2021 and refunds were offered to those who want them. Though Swift hadnt announced a stadium tour for Folklore yet, her previous tour for Reputation grossed $345.7 million, including $30.5 million in its final five shows, according to a 2018 report by Billboard. That said, its unclear just how many millions Swift will lose due to the pandemic, but its likely quite a bit. With the loss of her previous albums in a nasty battle with Scooter Baun, the instant success of Folklore may have saved her. Were sure shell find a way to [more than] make up for it. In other words, shes doing OK in 2020, regardless of money lost. Im sure there are Republicans and independents who couldnt imagine crossing over to support a Democrat, Mr. Kasich said. They fear Joe may turn sharp left and leave them behind. I dont believe that. Because I know the measure of the man reasonable, faithful, respectful. And you know, no one pushes Joe around. Three other disenchanted Republican political leaders joined Mr. Kasich in addressing the convention on its first night former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey, former Representative Susan Molinari of New York and Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Quibi and a former candidate for governor of California. A series of everyday Republican voters was also shown in recorded messages supporting Mr. Biden. But it was unclear whether any of them would draw other Republicans in large numbers. The featured leaders were rising stars in their day, but their day was long ago. Ms. Molinari was the keynote speaker at the Republican National Convention in 1996. Ms. Whitmans last election as governor was in 1997. Mr. Kasich has held office more recently, but won just one primary in 2016, in his home state of Ohio. But Mr. Kasich said in an interview before the speech that he could not remain silent. Four years ago, while he refused to vote for Mr. Trump, he could not bring himself to cast a ballot for the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton, either and instead wrote in Senator John McCain. This time, he said, the election was too important to throw away his vote. I just wasnt going to do it this time, he said in the interview. I did it the last time. You know, I had always been hopeful, even after the convention and after the election, that perhaps we would see a change in the president, but we just never have. I happen to think its the soul of our country that is being damaged, and thats what Im concerned about. The perfect 'fluffy' scone has nothing to do with what ingredients you choose, a Country Women's Association member has claimed. Great grandmother Dorothy Collishaw, 99, from Queensland, said her dad first taught her the trick back in the 1930s after she cooked a 'disastrous batch' during a domestic science class. 'He said "You should've stirred them with a knife",' Dorothy told Seven News. Scroll down for video The perfect 'fluffy' scone (pictured) has nothing to do with what ingredients you choose, a Country Women's Association member has claimed Great grandmother Dorothy Collishaw (pictured), 99, from Queensland, said her dad first taught her the trick back in the 1930s after she cooked a 'disastrous batch' at school 'And I said to him: "Well you never told me that!"' The reason why stirring scones with a knife rather than a spoon works so well is because you aren't stirring the scones; you are cutting butter into the flour to coat or shorten the gluten strands with fat. According to the experts including Masterchef judge Matt Preston, the one thing you don't want to do is 'overwork' the dough. Matt recommends using a flat-bladed knife or a palette knife to cut through or pull your ingredients when you add the wet ingredients so the items are barely incorporated together. Dorothy said over the years she has perfected the ideal 'fluffy' scone recipe, and now makes batches of around 100 each year for Country Women's Association events. Previously, fellow Country Women's Association member Muriel Halsted, 92, shared the secret to her perfect scone, after she was unable to sell them at the Sydney Royal Easter Show this year. The group often sells as many as 50,000 scones and tea and coffee products created by its members at the show each year, but was unable to in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic stopping the Easter Show from going ahead. 'So I've measured up five level flat cups of flour,' Muriel said in a video on her scones. 'And now, I sift it three times.' Previously, fellow Country Women's Association member Muriel Halsted, 92, shared the secret recipe to her perfect scone (Muriel pictured baking) Muriel then recommends that you add a 'good pinch' of salt to your mix and then get a knife, and make a 'well' in the middle of the mixture. 'That well is where you put your cream - your cold cream,' Muriel said. Then, mix this through with your knife, add some lemonade and stir that through, until you see the mix 'sort of come together'. Finally, tip it all out onto a floured bread board, roll it a few times and shape it into a square before you cut out little squares - which will be your scones. 'I don't make them quite as well at 92 as I did when I was younger,' Muriel said. Finally, brush the scones with milk, set your oven to 220 degrees Celsius and pop them in for 10 minutes - rotating once. How to make the iconic Country Woman's Association scones Muriel said you need a pinch of salt to really elevate your scones (pictured) INGREDIENTS * Five level flat cups of flour * Salt * Cup of Cold Cream * Milk to brush the scones * Bottle of lemonade METHOD 1. Measure up five level flat cups of flour, sift it three times and add a 'good pinch of salt' to the mix. 2. Make a well in the middle of the mixture, and pour in your cold cream to the centre. 3. Mix this through with your knife, add some lemonade and stir it through until you see the mix 'come together'. 4. Brush the scones with some milk and set your oven to 220 degrees Celsius. 5. Pop them in the oven for 10 minutes, rotating once. Source: Country Women's Association of Australia Advertisement Muriel recommends that you add a 'good pinch' of salt to your mix and then get a knife, and make a 'well' in the middle of the mixture (the mixture pictured before baking) 'These look amazing,' one commenter posted. 'This is my mother's recipe, I haven't eaten butter since I was five and she made these especially for me,' another added. 'Looking at this video, I think the secret is to be gentle with the dough and use a knife, not working it too hard. Thank you for sharing.' Queensland has not ruled out throwing money at the AFL to fend off other states hoping to host the grand final later this year. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she would wait for Victoria and the AFL to formally relinquish the MCG's rights to host the game before putting money on the table. The Lions run out during the AFL semi-final match between the Brisbane Lions and the Greater Western Sydney Giants at The Gabba in 2019. Credit:Jono Searle/Getty "We are not at that stage at the moment," she said. "We need the AFL to make their decision and this is a very tough decision because lets face it, [the grand final] has never left Victoria but Queensland does stand ready, willing and able to host if it is unable to be hosted in Victoria," she said. Sincere apology needed for wartime misdeeds Four cabinet members of the Shinzo Abe government visited the Yasukuni Shrine, which contains the remains of Japanese war criminals, on the 75th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II. They once again angered the Korean people by glorifying the deaths of the military leaders without apologizing for their misdeeds. Seiichi Eto, the minister in charge of territorial issues, said paying tribute was solely up to Japan and had nothing to do with Korea or China. Internal Affairs Minister Sanae Takaichi said, "Each nation has its own authority in deciding how to honor those who sacrificed themselves for the nation." The ministers' visit to the shrine, the first in four years, triggered public anger here, with their remarks further irritating Koreans. We regret that they failed to offer any apology for the atrocities Japan committed during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the peninsula. More worrisome, nationalist Prime Minister Abe stressed that Japan would seek a "greater role" for regional peace during a ceremony to mark Japan's surrender in the war. "We will continue to remain committed to this resolute pledge," he said. His remarks may be taken to mean a resolute determination to keep peace for Japan. But it can also be interpreted as stretching Japan's efforts toward a military buildup under the guise of protecting itself. For Korea, Abe's statement is not welcome given Japan's record of forced labor and sex slavery before and during World War II. Abe himself avoided criticism from Korea and China by not visiting the shrine. Instead, he sent ritual offerings for the war dead. Abe deserves criticism for failing to prevent cabinet members from visiting the shrine. Worse still, Abe never even made a statement of remorse. He did not even use the expression "We will humbly face history," which he has said every year since he took office in December 2012. Abe's attitude is a far cry from Emperor Naruhito, who expressed "deep remorse" over the wartime past. Naruhito also said he honestly hoped the disaster of war would never be repeated. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo are at their lowest since the two nations normalized ties in 1965. Tension flared in October 2018 when the Korean Supreme Court ordered a Japanese firm to compensate surviving forced labor victims for unpaid wages. Tokyo has refused to honor the ruling, virtually banning the firm from paying the compensation. President Moon Jae-in in a speech on the Aug. 15 National Liberation Day said he was ready to sit with Japan's top leader to discuss pending issues including the compensation. But Japan has shown a skeptical reaction, saying Moon had pressed Japan to make concession regarding the matter. The Japanese side has repeated its call for Korea to come up with a concession first. The prospects for negotiations are not bright as Moon and Abe have been using the bilateral tension for political gain. Abe is facing falling support with policy blunders in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic, while Moon has also been suffering from a nosedive in approval rating due mainly to his failure to check soaring housing prices. However, despite many difficulties, the two nations should return to the dialogue table to discuss the thorny issue and find a compromise. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:14:53|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Monday stressed that the country's youth should be mobilized to make new and greater contributions to undertakings of the Party and the country. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to a session of the All-China Youth Federation and a congress of the All-China Students' Federation, which opened in Beijing on Monday morning. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee, Xi extended congratulations on the opening of the meetings, and sincere greetings to young students and young people of all ethnic groups and all walks of life in China, as well as overseas Chinese youth. Over the past five years, under the leadership of the Party and with the help and guidance of Chinese Communist Youth League organizations, youth federations and students' federations at all levels have played an important role in the Party's work related to youth. Noting that the country is about to secure a victory in completing building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and embark on a new journey toward the second centenary goal of fully building a modern socialist country, Xi called on Chinese youth to have firm ideals and convictions, and work tirelessly with the people in the new era. Xi urged Party committees and governments at all levels to improve leadership in youth work and continue their support to youth federations and students' federations. Youth federations and students' federations were asked to deepen reform and innovation, and organize and motivate the youth and students to follow the Party and make new and greater contributions to undertakings of the Party and the country. . Many people have chosen to see novelty in the new National Education Policy (NEP) that has been recently announced by the central government, while others, understandably, have expressed their scepticism, about the lofty claims the policymakers have made about it. One point that should draw our attention in this debate is the retention of some concepts within and across disciplinary boundaries. One, however, is still left guessing about which concepts from the proposed syllabus have been retained and which have been dropped. The NEP 2020 does not seem to be categorical in stating the origin of language of these concepts. Where are these concepts coming from? Does their origin lie in English, Sanskrit or the regional languages? Moreover, the NEP 2020 does not state which concepts have the cognitive capacity to cross individual disciplinary boundaries and conceptually enrich the much broader interdisciplinary field that has been one of the stated concerns of the NEP 2020. In this regard, it is important to take note of the fact that some core concepts do originate in the public speeches that are made by activistsintellectuals in and through the sociopolitical struggle of the masses. Put differently, a network of communication that facilitates the transmission of concepts does exist beyond the textbooks and the closed-door transactions in the classrooms. The moot point would be to see whether these struggle concepts with a mass social base do travel from the regional language and enter the classroom transactions. Asuelu Pulaa and Kalani Faagata have wrestled with their marriage on the fifth season of TLCs 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever Afterespecially when it comes to their relationships with their respective in-laws. After having to cancel their trip to Asuelus home country of Samoa due to a measles outbreak, the two parents traveled from Utah to Washington on recent episodes in order to spend time with Asuelus mother, Lesina, and two half-sisters, Tammy and Rosa. Asuelus mom immediately asked the couple for $1,000 in cash after they met up in Washington. When Asuelu offered his relatives only $100, saying he needed to stick to a budget in order to take care of his wife and kids, they stormed out in a rage. On a new 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After episode, Asuelu visited his mom and sisters on his own to try to make amends. But Tammy told her brother that she thought Kalani was trying to control him now that he was in the U.S. Kalani Faagata, Asuelu Pulaa, and baby Oliver | Kalani Faagata via Instagram Asuelu asked his family not to base their relationship on finances Despite the awkward way their dinner the night before ended, Asuelus mother and sisters welcomed him to their shared home with open arms the next day. Lesina, Tammy, and Rosa were thrilled with the gifts Asuelu brought along from a local Samoan store in Utah. But things quickly turned sour when Asuelu admitted that he had purposely asked his wife not to accompany him so that he could speak to them about the sensitive issue of money. The 90 Day Fiance star explained that he wanted to follow American customs now that he lived in the U.S. Meanwhile, his mom, Lesina, told producers that she wanted her son to keep to his Samoan traditions instead. Kalanis previous accusations that Asuelu felt he had to buy his familys love with money seemed to ring true for him. The young father of two told his relatives that he wanted them to love him regardless of his ability to afford financial support. The only thing I wantI dont want my wife to see us, we only close if I give you money, Asuelu said nervously. Kalanis family, he pointed out, was still close and loved each other even when they didnt exchange money. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: What Happened After Asuelu Called Kalani a Lying B*tch? The 90 Day Fiance stars sister implied that Kalani controlled Asuelu due to their age difference Tammy was immediately annoyed by Asuelus line of questioning. She rolled her eyes and said sarcastically, Kalanis family, Kalanis family, Kalanis family. What about your family? Lesina agreed, adding, We are not asking [for] your wife Kalanis money. Your money. Asuelus sister cut her mom off to insinuate that Asuelu did whatever Kalani said, so it wasnt worth wasting her breath. Mom, its nothing gonna change here, Tammy argued. If Kalani tell Asuelu, do this, do that, Asuelu will listen. Tammy added that she believed Kalani felt she could control her husband because of their eight-year age difference. (Kalani was 32 at the time, while Asuelu was 24). Older woman control young man, Tammy asserted. Hes too young, Lesina agreed. He doesnt know what to do. But Asuelu insisted that he was acting on his own free will. The 90 Day Fiance star defended Kalani from their accusations, saying, [To] be honest, its not control of me. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: Fans Cant Get Enough of Kalani Faagatas Dad Tammy explained that her family was disappointed in Asuelus refusal to help them out financially Asuelus sister went on to accuse Kalani of thinking only about her own immediate family. But in their culture, ones extended family and family of origin were meant to come first. So thats why, when you trying to send money to Samoa, Kalani is thinking about her and the kids, Tammy snapped. But Kalanis husband defended his wife, explaining that he had to put his wife and children first now. The 90 Day Fiance star also argued that he had to take Kalanis opinions into consideration now when it came to financial decisions. Im not single anymore, Asuelu pointed out. My money, its Kalanis money. Kalanis money is my money. Tammy criticized her brother to 90 Day Fiance producers, arguing that Asuelus actions were unlike him. The culprit, she suggested, was Kalani. First, I was worried Asuelu was marrying American girl, Tammy admitted. And then we thought, Oh, maybe she will be able to send money to Samoa to help out our family. But now, I feel like she control Asuelu. Eventually, annoyed by his familys questions, Asuelu left the house alone, saying he was going to go back to his wife instead. The 90 Day Fiance star confessed sadly that he felt he was being asked to choose between his wife and his mother and sisters. Bahri, a global leader in logistics and transportation, has signed an agreement with digital solutions company Tabadul for the implementation of an electronic payment solution. Fasah Pay, one of a collection of electronic solutions offered on Tabaduls Fasah platform, enables the business sector within the logistics industry to create and raise invoices for customers that can be paid via a Sadad number. The agreement was signed during a virtual ceremony in the presence of Abdullah Aldubaikhi, CEO of Bahri, and Abdulaziz Alshamsi, CEO of Tabadul, together with senior officials from both parties. The agreement stipulates the provision of a special control panel for Bahri users to access a series of online features through the Fasah platform, including access to all previous and upcoming transactions; the ability to download detailed or combined invoices for specific customers; electronic payment of bills raised and charged to customers; flexible updating and cancellation of invoices; and retrieval of customer information or other data using approved reference details. The integration will facilitate and accelerate billing and payment processes, as well as manage and control payments to ensure the continuity of import and export activities in an efficient and effective manner. Aldubaikhi said: We are pleased to conclude this agreement with Tabadul, which will contribute to establishing fruitful business relationships based on mutual trust with all of our customers and partners. The agreement is an important step for us, especially in light of Saudi Arabias movement towards digital transformation as outlined in Saudi Vision 2030. Through this integration with the Fasah Pay service, we can replace all incoming and outgoing paper-based financial transactions with electronic versions. We also look forward to the other benefits the system will bring, including improving the transparency of transactions, accelerating procedures for beneficiaries, and reducing the risks involved with cash transactions by providing a safe payment system, he added. Alshamsi said: The use of digital tools plays a prominent role in achieving sustainability, as many digital transfer efforts aim to raise efficiency levels while providing reliability and flexibility. This is what we seek through the Fasah Pay electronic payment portal, which will accelerate and facilitate financial trade through billing and payment processes. Through this service, we look forward to bringing added value to our partner, Bahri, by improving quality, developing performance, increasing workflow efficiency, and speeding up daily work mechanisms. - TradeArabia News Service Russia begins production of COVID-19 vaccine People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 15:18, August 16, 2020 Russia has begun production of the first batch of vaccines against COVID-19, its health ministry said in a statement released Saturday. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday announced the world's first registered vaccine against the novel coronavirus, Sputnik V, which is named after the space satellite launched by Moscow in 1957. The vaccine was created by the Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, a medical institute located near Moscow. Russia will offer the vaccine to other countries once its own citizens are vaccinated, Health Minister Mikhail Murashko said Wednesday, adding that doubts over the effectiveness of the vaccine are unfounded. So far, Russia has tallied a total of 917,884 cases, with 15,617 deaths and 729,411 recoveries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Associated Press BEIRUT: More than 15 years after the truck bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, a U.N.-backed tribunal in the Netherlands is announcing verdicts this week in the trial of four members of the militant group Hezbollah allegedly involved in the killing, which deeply divided the tiny country. The verdicts on Tuesday at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, based in a village on the outskirts of the Dutch city of The Hague, are expected to further add to soaring tensions in Lebanon, two weeks after a catastrophic explosion at Beiruts port that killed nearly 180 people, injured more than 6,000 and destroyed thousands of homes in the Lebanese capital. Unlike the blast that killed Hariri and 21 others on Feb. 14, 2005, the Aug. 4 explosion was believed to be a result of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that accidentally ignited at Beirut's port. ALSO READ | Beirut explosion: India sends medical, food supplies to Lebanon While the cause of the fire that provided the trigger is still not clear, Hezbollah, which maintains huge influence over Lebanese politics, is being sucked into the public fury directed at the countrys ruling politicians. Even before the devastating Beirut port blast, the countrys leaders were concerned about violence after the verdicts. Hariri was Lebanons most prominent Sunni politician at the time, while the Iran-backed Hezbollah is a Shiite Muslim group. Tensions between Sunni and Shiites in the Middle East have fueled deadly conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen and to a smaller scale in Lebanon. Some Lebanese see the tribunal as an impartial way of uncovering the truth about Hariris slaying, while Hezbollah which denies involvement calls it an Israeli plot to tarnish the group. IN PICS | Lebanon blasts: Terror, devastation hit Beirut as explosion death toll mounts to over 100 One analyst believes the lengthy investigation and trial have rendered the result almost redundant. The defendants remain at large. Michael Young of Carnegie Middle East Center wrote recently that the verdicts will seem like little more than a postscript to an out-of-print book. The U.N. investigation was glowingly referred to once as a mechanism to end impunity. It has proven to be exactly the contrary, Young wrote, saying those believed to have carried out the assassination risk almost nothing today. But for others, especially those more closely linked to the violence that has plagued Lebanon, the verdicts still carry significance. Its going to be a great, great moment not only for me as a victim but for me as a Lebanese, as an Arab and as an international citizen looking for justice everywhere, said prominent former legislator and ex-Cabinet Minister Marwan Hamadeh, who was seriously wounded in a blast four months before Hariris assassination. Hamadeh said those who killed Hariri were behind the attempt on his life. The tribunal has indicted one of the suspects in Hariris assassination with involvement in the attempt on Hamadehs life. Hamadeh resigned as a member of parliament in protest a day after the Beirut port blast. Hariri was killed by a suicide truck bomb on a seaside boulevard in Beirut that killed him and 21 others, and wounded 226 people. The assassination was seen by many in Lebanon as the work of Syria. It stunned and deeply divided the country, which has since been split between a Western-backed coalition and another supported by Damascus and Iran. Syria has denied having a hand in Hariris killing. Following post-Hariri assassination protests, Damascus was forced to withdraw thousands of troops from Lebanon, ending a three-decade domination of its smaller neighbor. The tribunal was set up in 2007 under a U.N. Security Council resolution because deep divisions in Lebanon blocked parliamentary approval of the court that operates on a hybrid system of Lebanese and international law. The investigation and trial cost about $1 billion, of which Lebanon paid 49% while other nations paid the rest. Initially, five suspects were tried in absentia in the case, all of them Hezbollah members. One of the groups top military commanders Mustafa Badreddine was killed in Syria in 2016 and charges against him were dropped. The other suspects are Salim Ayyash, also known as Abu Salim; Assad Sabra, Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa and Hassan Habib Merhi. They are charged with offenses including conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, and face maximum sentences of life imprisonment if convicted. Sentences will not be announced Tuesday but will be determined at later hearings. The four defendants, however, are unlikely to serve any prison time they have never been detained despite international arrest warrants and Hezbollah has vowed never to hand over any suspects. Even if they are all convicted, Hezbollah as a group will not officially be blamed as the tribunal only accuses individuals, not groups or states. Prosecutors based their indictments on telecommunications data of cellular telephones that the suspects allegedly used to track Hariris movements starting weeks before the assassination until the explosion occurred. The tribunal heard evidence from 297 witnesses during the trial, which started in 2014 and spanned 415 days of hearings. Omar Nashabe, who served as a consultant for the defense team in the tribunal for about five years, said that since there was no consensus in Lebanon over the tribunal and parliament did not approve it, the trial may not be the best process to reach justice in such cases. He said that the people of Lebanon are divided between some who want the tribunal to confirm their suspicions about the perpetrators and others who continue to see the court as part of a wider conspiracy to discredit Hezbollah. Therefore this tribunal is doomed to fail because of the lack of consensus, Nashabe said, adding that if the defense appeals the case the verdict will not mark the end. Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah last week insisted on the innocence of the suspects regardless of the verdicts. For us it will be as if they were never issued, he said of the verdicts. Nasrallah warned against attempts to exploit the verdicts internally and externally in order to target the group. Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the late Hariri, has said he will make a statement regarding the verdicts after they are made public. Asked about concerns over repercussions of the verdict, he said justice must prevail regardless of the cost. Since the assassination in 2005, several top Syrian and Hezbollah security officials have been killed, in what some supporters of the tribunal say were the result of liquidations to hide evidence. Hamadeh, the legislator, called such deaths Godly justice, adding that we dont know how. Some say they were liquidated by their own teams, some say the Syrian regime got rid of them to put the suspicion and the doubts away, some said internal feuds. What are the prospects for Russias COVID-19 vaccine, approved last week despite the lack of a key trial phase? And what is the Kremlin thinking as it watches Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka face increasing pressure to quit after a disputed election and a violent crackdown on protests? Moscow correspondent Matthew Luxmoore joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss. Kandaha: Gunmen shot dead five female airport workers and their driver in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, underlining the threat to employed women in the country. The women were in a van driving to the airport in the southern Kandahar province when at least three gunmen on motorcycles opened fire at them, provincial spokesman Samim Kheplwak told AFP. All the women and their driver aboard the van were killed. The attackers fled the area and we have launched an investigation, he said. Kandahar International Airport Director Ahmadullah Faizi said the women were employees of a private company who would provide luggage and body search services for female passengers. He said the women were concerned about their security after receiving death threats from people who disapproved of their career. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Kandahar females who work outside their homes have long been at high risk of attack by Taliban militants and other insurgent groups. Afghan women have made giant strides since the Taliban regime was ousted in 2001, but they are still absent from public life and continue to suffer high levels of violence, oppression and abuse. The Afghan attorney generals office recorded more than 3,700 cases of violence against women in the first eight months of 2016, with 5,000 cases recorded in the whole of the previous year. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Bay Area residents have ridden a weird roller coaster in recent days that combined hot, sometimes stormy weather and rolling power outages that could extend through Wednesday. Scorching temperatures on Friday and Saturday were accompanied by rolling blackouts in the evening across the region. Then, rare storms brought thunder, lightning and gusty winds overnight into Sunday, as the oppressive heat continued. More rolling blackouts could occur Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Officials asked Californians conserve electricity between 3 and 10 p.m. each day through Wednesday. Why is the heat wave straining the states power grid to the breaking point? Heres what you need to know about the blackouts: whats causing them, how they work and what the future may hold. Do the recent rolling blackouts have anything to do with wildfire threats? No. In recent years, PG&E has been triggering public safety outages, intentionally cutting off power in an effort to prevent wildfires from sparking. The utility companys lines have been responsible for significant and destructive blazes. Dry and windy weather conditions can lead to broken electric equipment and downed power lines that can potentially ignite vegetation. But even though we are well into wildfire season, the blackouts this weekend were not related to wildfire prevention. Then what prompted the rolling outages this weekend? The short answer? Energy supply problems. The heat wave led to excessive power consumption as residents were trying to cool their homes. When demand exceeds supply and the system runs out of power, it threatens to destabilize the entire grid. So the states grid manager, known as ISOP, declared a Stage 3 emergency on Friday. Sarahbeth Maney / The Chronicle Rolling blackouts were subsequently initiated for the first time since 2001. In addition to the high demand for electricity, the ISO cited an unexpected loss of a 470-megawatt power plant and 1,000 megawatts of wind power as reasons to impose the blackouts. Also, the grid relies more than ever on solar energy, and cloud cover in the desert disrupted that power source. The outages have occurred between 6 and 9 p.m., when it starts to get dark. When solar goes away when the sun sets, we need other power, said Severin Borenstein, ISO board member and energy economist at UC Berkeley. We have been rightly phasing out gas plants for very good reasons, but when you combine the lack of replacement for those with the crazy weather, were just in the situation where were going to be short. Borenstein also pointed to fewer energy imports as the rest of the West Coast is also experiencing record temperatures, and the high cost of energy storage. Pacific Gas and Electric Co., along with Californias two other big investor owned utilities that participate in the ISO Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric instituted the rolling blackouts both Friday and Saturday night. The outages affected about 220,000 PG&E homes and businesses each evening, though the blackout Saturday was much briefer. Officials had warned that more rolling outages were possible Sunday and Monday evenings, but the lights stayed on both days when the energy supply proved sufficient to meet demand. What is the ISO? The ISO is a nonprofit public benefit corporation based in Folsom that manages 80% of Californias grid, providing power to tens of millions of residents and businesses. According to the company, it is the nerve center of the wholesale power market, forecasting electricity demand every five minutes and directing the lowest cost generator to serve that demand while maintaining transmission capacity systemwide. When the ISO ordered rolling blackouts in 2001, a similar heat wave had struck the state. But at that time, the California power market had been deregulated, and then-Gov. Gray Davis argued that national energy companies like Enron had manipulated the power market and contributed to the problem. What is the ISOs alert system, and how is it triggered? The ISO uses an alert system to communicate to the public and the market when the electricity supply might be tight. Notifications might be triggered by the loss of generating or transmission equipment, the forecast of peak electricity demand, and hot weather. An early notification known as a Flex Alert calls on customers to voluntarily conserve energy when its possible that demand may exceed supply. Specifically, the ISO recommends turning off all unnecessary lights, using major appliances before 3 p.m., and setting the air conditioning to 78 degrees or higher. Emergency notifications are issued in three stages: Stage 1: The first alert indicates that shortfalls in reserves will occur or are likely to occur, requiring a strong need for conservation. 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. Stage 2: The second alert indicates the ISO cannot meet its expected energy requirements, and the agency must intervene by taking steps including ordering power plants online. Stage 3: The third alert indicates that the ISO cannot meet reserve energy requirements. Utilities are notified of potential electricity interruptions. The ISO also may issue notifications called Transmission Emergencies when an event threatens transmission grid capability. Whats on the horizon? As the heat wave continued this weekend, the ISO issued a statewide Flex Alert on Sunday afternoon, in effect from 3 to 10 p.m. through Wednesday. Consumers are urged to voluntarily conserve energy during those times. According to the National Weather Service, temperatures into the middle of the week for the Bay Area will range from the high 80s to lower 90s along the coast, and exceed 100 inland. What can I do to prepare so Im not surprised by outages? Visit the ISO website and download the ISO Today app on your mobile device to check real-time power grid conditions and receive alerts. This PG&E power outage map shows real-time shut-off zones in Northern California. You can check your address to see whether and when your outage block is scheduled to shut down. The PG&E Outage Center features real-time updates, and customers can report an outage and sign up for outage alerts. PG&E offers various kinds of outage notifications. PG&E customers interested in ZIP code notifications can sign up for voice or text message alerts by calling 1-877-9000-PGE or texting ENROLL to 97633. Kellie Hwang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kellie.hwang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @KellieHwang The House of Representatives Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements and the Federal Ministry of Transport on Monday disagreed over commercial contract figures signed by the ministry. The Chairman of the committee, Nicholas Ossai (PDP-Delta), at a public hearing in Abuja, said the ministry had signed commercial contracts worth $33 billion without clear cut nancing arrangements. Mr Ossai said the essence of the probe is to get clarifications on all the agreements. He said that there were more than 500 loans and bilateral agreements between Nigeria and other governments and international organisations. We have noticed from documents available to us that commercial contracts prices signed by the Federal Ministry of Transport alone within this period is over $33 billion without any clear cut nancing arrangements. Most of these commercial contracts agreements didnt also have local content clauses and there were no witnesses and designated and authorised officials. There are observable issues relating to procurement process evidence of 15 per cent advanced payments, payment of management fees, draw down process and remittances and a whole lot of other matters. We are strongly poised to ask questions and hope to get honest answers that will ne-tune the current process, plan for possible renegotiation of some of these agreements in order to serve Nigerians better, he said. The lawmaker said the parliament cannot continue to approve loans without asking relevant questions. Mr Ossai called on all key actors and stakeholders to stop the politicisation of the investigation. For us, if you believe in the progress and sustainable development of our country, then you should naturally cooperate with the work of this committee to see to it that there is guarantee of value for money in all government expenditures and borrowing plans, as well as government policies, programmes and projects, he added. READ ALSO: Responding, the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, told the committee that there was no such loan of $33 billion in the ministry. Mr Amaechi said the ministry had only signed a loan agreement of $1.6 billion under President Muhammadu Buharis administration. The minister explained that the amount was being used in the construction of the Lagos-Ibadan rail project. He said that there were more than 20,000 Nigerians working on the project as well as 560 Chinese workers. The minister said the Chinese government provided $1.2 billion while the federal government provided the remaining $400 million. Mr Amaechi said another loan of $800 million was taken under the Goodluck Jonathan administration and that the project was 80 per cent completed before he was appointed minister. (NAN) GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- SpartanNash is looking to fill more than 375 retail and warehouse jobs in West Michigan. The hiring initiative at the grocery story chain comes during the coronavirus pandemic and at a time of high unemployment because of ensuing restrictions on various industries. Throughout its retail stores and distribution centers, Grand Rapids-based SpartanNash is hiring full-time and part-time positions in West Michigan, as announced in a news release. The jobs available are primarily under the Family Fare and D&W Fresh Market banners. Positions include flexible shifts as well as consistent hours. As we continue to serve our store guests, customers and communities during these unprecedented times, SpartanNash and our family of associates continue to remain on the frontlines ensuring our customers have access to the food, medicine and household goods they need, said Yvonne Trupiano, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, in the release. SpartanNashs Grand Rapids Warehouse Distribution Center is also hiring more than 75 full-time and part-time positions for order selectors and Class A drivers. Order selectors have a competitive starting wage and up to $1,100 in additional bonuses to be paid out after the first 30 days of employment, according to the release. Order selector hiring fairs for the Grand Rapids Warehouse Distribution Center will take place on: Tuesday, Aug. 18 from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 from 3 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 25 from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27 from 3 to 5 p.m. The hiring fairs will be held at SpartanNash headquarters, at 850 76th St. SW in Byron Center, with open interviews and on-the-spot hiring. Candidates are required to wear a face mask or face covering and practice social distancing during the hiring fair. Opportunities for long-term career growth and development within the company are available as well as leadership positions in certain markets. The grocery product distributor is a Fortune 400 company which serves customer locations in all 50 states and seven additional countries. SpartanNash has more than 1,000 job openings across its locations. Were a great place to work with numerous opportunities for anyone looking to make a career change to an essential business in a safe operating environment, Trupiano said. To apply for immediate interviews and on-the-spot hiring, candidates can visit a local SpartanNash company-owned store or go to careers.spartannash.com. More on MLive: Michigan Secretary of State, Oakland County lawmaker to deliver remarks at Democratic National Convention this week Perfect summer week on the way, but when is the next rain? 2 Grand Rapids officers hurt in crash when other driver goes through red light, police say Divisive arguments do not serve our society On the 75th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, Kim Won-woong, president of the Heritage of Korean Independence (HKI), prompted a cantankerous division. On a day when national solidarity should be touted, Kim criticized first President Syngman Rhee for collaborating with pro-Japanese groups. Kim also said Korea was the only country that has a national anthem composed by a traitor. He added that the bill to excavate 69 graves of "traitors" and "pro-Japanese soldiers" from Seoul National Cemetery should be approved. Kim may have wanted to use the significant day as platform to touch upon Korea's lingering debate on its pro-Japanese legacy during and after colonial rule. But by choosing to give a political spin in his speech made during an official ceremony and just before that of President Moon Jae-in he puts the wisdom of his intentions under glaring scrutiny. In Korea's tumultuous modern history, the merits and faults of our public figures have often been debated. In line with that, President Rhee was an independence movement leader who served as president of Korea's interim government in China during colonization. His critics point out he worked with some pro-Japanese figures in the process of building the South Korean government. Kim's seemingly sudden attack on the national anthem and its composer has prompted outrage from the main opposition United Future Party and a call for the government to clarity its stance. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea defended Kim, with former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon saying Kim made such a remark in his official capacity as HKI chief. Seventy five years after Korea's liberation from Japan's colonial rule, there is ample room for us to discuss with equanimity and balance the merits and faults of our public figures. It may well be more be in line with Kim's capacity as HKI president to come up with a constructive plan to do so. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg during a press conference in the Mural Hall at Parliament House on June 11, 2020 in Canberra, Australia (Sam Mooy/Getty Images) Red Tape Cuts Make It Easier for Tradies, Teachers, Farmers And More It will soon be easier for tradies, teachers, farmers, and other licensed occupations such as property agents to do business amid COVID-19 restrictions. A new agreement, announced on Aug. 17, between the federal, state, and territory treasurers will see occupational licenses automatically recognised across jurisdictions from January 2021. The uniform scheme aims to make it simpler and less costly for businesses, professionals, and workers to move or operate around Australia thereby creating jobs, increasing output, competition and innovation, and resulting in lower prices for consumers and businesses. It is vital to ensuring Australians, including displaced workers, can take up new job opportunities wherever they arise as the economy recovers and restrictions on movement are eased from COVID-19, the federal treasurers media release asserted. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has written to the premiers of New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and Queensland regarding free movement for border communities. The prime minister wants to enable movement of the essential economic workforce, including agricultural workers. There is also a heavy focus on issues the borders are posing for access to medical treatments. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he and his NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian were very close to striking a deal on farmers in border towns. The new framework will cut red tape, drive job creation and allow workers to move more freely around the country to where the work is, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said. This will especially assist our tradies to apply their craft around the country without having to get individual licences in each state or territory if they are working across borders. The scheme should be up and running on January 1, 2021 subject to the passage of legislation in each state and territory. The Business Council of Australia welcomed the treasurers announcements with chief executive Jennifer Westacott explaining it was a practical reform. This is a great step towards eliminating the barriers and bottlenecks holding back Australian workers, consumers and businesses at a time we need to pull out all stops to drive new, job-creating investment, Westacott said in a media release on Aug. 17. Westacott also noted that it was important that the government remove outdated and inefficient red tape that hinders the economys ability to generate the millions of jobs we will need to recover from the pandemic. As we emerge from the pandemic every decision we make should be viewed through the lens of job creation, and that should include considering whether suspended regulations need to be reinstated, said Westacott. The scheme should be operating on Jan. 1 subject to the passage of legislation in each state and territory. BNP-Jamaat sheltering militancy in Bangladesh: Info Minister Dhaka, Aug 17 ( UNI) Bangladesh Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said on Monday that 'sheltering of militants' by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party(BNP) and the Jamaat-i-Islami is a big barrier to eliminating the menace of militancy in the country. "On this day (August 17) in the year 2005, bomb attacks were carried out at more than 500 places in 63 districts across the country. Begum Khaleda Zia was leading the BNP government which was also supported by the Jamaat-i- Islami", he said at the inaugural ceremony of a Corona Cabin Unit at Imperial Hospital in Foys Lake area here this morning. Mahmud said that the militants spread wings and gathered strength during thw BNP rule, Mahmud, who is also the joint general secretary of the ruling Awami League, said thet the militants carried out series bombings in 63 districts simultaneously in a show their strength. Congratulations, umikojones.com got a very good Social Media Impact Score! Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Umikojones.com scored 64 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 3/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 20 Oct 2013, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared, liked or recommended the umikojones homepage on Facebook + the total number of page likes (if umikojones has a Facebook fan page). This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the umikojones homepage on Twitter + the total number of umikojones followers (if umikojones has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the umikojones homepage on StumbleUpon. The total number of people who shared the umikojones homepage on Google Plus by a google +1 button. The total number of people who shared the umikojones homepage on Delicious. Basic Information PAGE TITLE Victorious Faith - the ministry of Umiko D Jones Sr. DESCRIPTION the ministry of Umiko D. Jones Sr. KEYWORDS Bishop, Bishop Umiko Jones, Jones, Umiko, Victorious Faith OTHER KEYWORDS victorious faith the ministry of, faith the ministry of umiko, the ministry of umiko d, victorious faith the ministry, faith the ministry of, the ministry of umiko, victorious faith the The URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of the site. The keywords meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. The title found in the head section of the homepage. CoolSocial advanced keyword analysis tool is able to detect and analyze every keyword on each page of a site. The description meta-tag found in the head section of the homepage. Domain and Server DOCTYPE HTML 5.0 CHARSET AND LANGUAGE UTF-8 DETECTED LANGUAGE English English SERVER public.apu8.aus.wixpress.com OPERATIVE SYSTEM Represents HTML declared type (e.g.: XHTML 1.1, HTML 4.0, the new HTML 5.0) Operative System running on the server. Character set and language of the site. The language of umikojones.com as detected by CoolSocial algorithms. Type of server and offered services. Site Traffic trend during the last year. Only available for sites ranked <= 100000 in the world. Referring domains for umikojones.com by MajesticSeo. High values are a sign of site importance over the web and on web engines. Facebook link FACEBOOK PAGE LINK FOUND FACEBOOK PAGE www.facebook.com/udjones DESCRIPTION LIKES PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT PAGE TYPE TIMELINE PAGE NO TIMELINE A Facebook page link can be found in the homepage or in the robots.txt file. The total number of people who tagged or talked about website Facebook page in the last 7-10 days. The URL of the found Facebook page. Facebook Timeline is the new layout of Facebook pages. The description of the Facebook page describes website and its services to the social media users. The total number of people who like website Facebook page. The type of Facebook page. Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/UDJonesSr DESCRIPTION Founder of Victorious Faith Ministries. Worshipper ACCOUNT CREATED ON 31 May 2010 LOCATION Gallatin TWEETS 180 FOLLOWERS 99 LISTED 1 - Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla celebrated the 9th month of life of their youngest child, Gabriela Padilla - The famous celebrity couple celebrated the milestone with a fun and colorful party at home - Cocomelon, a famous YouTube channel that has animated videos for toddlers and children, is the theme of the party - Mariel also penned a heartfelt message to Gabriela, describing her as a baby who is easy to take care of PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Mariel Padilla (Photo from Flickr) Source: UGC Robin Padilla and his wife, Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla, celebrated the 9th month of life of their youngest child, Gabriela Padilla. KAMI learned that Robin and Mariel celebrated the milestone with a fun and colorful party at home. The partys theme is Cocomelon, a famous YouTube channel that has animated videos for toddlers and children featuring the cartoon character JJ and his friends and family. Based on the photos taken at the event, Gabriela and the guests at the party thoroughly enjoyed the awesome party prepared by her loving parents. Mariel also penned a heartfelt message to baby Gabriela, describing her as a baby who is easy to take care of. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback Happy 9th month my @gabrieladepadilla. time really flies... I cant believe you are 9 months already. Thank you for being such an easy baby. You are heaven sent, Mariel posted on Instagram. Swipe to the left to see all of the photos in Mariels posts: PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Mariel Padilla is a popular actress and host in the Philippines. The actress became more successful after launching her own YouTube vlog. She is married to action star Robin Padilla, who she has two children with Isabella and Gabriela. Recently, Mariel went viral for expressing her support for employees of the Kapamilya network after ABS-CBNs franchise renewal was rejected by Congress. Her husband Robin also made the news months ago after his sibling BB Gandanghari accused him of being a neglectful brother and a hypocrite. Robin Padilla responded to BB by expressing his love for his sibling. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! Source: KAMI.com.gh The city of Pasadenas efforts to get residents counted in the U.S. Census this year are getting a boost from a trio of young YouTubers. Soon, billboards around town will feature the likenesses of LaloRacer1 and The Princess Squad urging folks to fill out the Census form. The efforts are part of the Pasadena Counts campaign, which is designed to get residents to fill out the 2020 US Census. The last date to fill out the census is Sept. 30. Im honored to have the help of these talented, young entrepreneurs, Mayor Jeff Wagner said. An accurate U.S. Census count is crucial for Pasadena because it helps with federal funding of our infrastructure business growth and the Pasadena Independent School District. INTERNATIONAL STAR: Pasadena teen YouTuber is an inspiration to other immigrants worldwide Pasadenas city planning director, Deanna Schmidt, has said that federal Community Development Block Grant funding, which supports RIDES program for low-income seniors and those with disabilities, could be hurt if the city is under-represented. Pasadenas response rate so far is 56.2 percent. The Texas response rate is 58.9 percent, and the national response rate is 63.8 percent. The YouTubers are products of Pasadena. The Princess Squad are sisters Princess Thi and Princess Pham, whose subscribers number more than 700,000. Their kid-friendly videos feature toy reviews, their shopping exploits and various other tips. The duo has pitched in to help the Pasadena community before, donating 4,000 toys plus food and other items for Burnett Elementary Schools annual Winterfest in 2017 the wake of Hurricane Harveys devastation to the area. LaloRacer1 is Eduardo Verastegui, who graduated from Dr. Kirk Lewis Career & Technical High School in May. He, too, had hundreds of thousands of subscribers to his videos, which cover a variety of topics. He often touches on gaming and his experiences adjusting to life as an American teenager. DO YOUR PART: It took 2 minutes to complete the census I've put off for months He also talks about dealing with online bullying and talks about living with Goldenhar Syndrome, a rare birth defect that causes abnormal physical development. Verastegui, who emigrated to the United States from Mexico in 2013, said that he learned about the Census in high school and wanted to give something back to Pasadena. Working in the school public relations department, I learned about the importance of Census efforts to ensure that programs such as free and reduced lunch, special needs and many other school programs do not get cut or reduced by the lack of federal funds, he said. As a direct product of Pasadena ISD myself, I feel compelled to give back to a district that gave me so much throughout my six years as a student. On HoustonChronicle.com: Even after extended deadline, half of Houston households are still missing from 2020 census Pasadena spokeswoman Laura Branch Mireles suggested the bloggers be used after observing her two sons YouTube viewing habits. We had been considering using billboards to promote Census participation but wanted something that would grab viewers attention and this new generation of celebrities was the perfect fit, she said. I actually got the idea for using YouTube creators by watching how my sons and their friends followed and subscribed to certain channels. Its a new kind of celebrity but clearly one with a lot of influence. The city hopes that using the three in their advertising campaign will get the attention of younger Pasadenans. YouTube creators are extremely influential to Generation Z and even Millennials, Mireles said. Pasadena has a lot of multigenerational households, and the hope is that our younger residents will be inspired by these YouTube celebrities to respond to the census or encourage their parents to do so. Verastegui stressed that the Census is a breeze to complete. The Census is very easy to fill out and does not violate the privacy of any individual currently living in the U.S., he said. We can all benefit collectively from doing so through health, housing, educational, and many more services. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic taking hold, Pasadena had made an effort to get its residents to fill out their Census forms. The citys Complete Count Committee had been working hard and making great progress, but when the pandemic began, efforts understandably took a big hit, Mireles said. Were using these last couple of months to really make a marketing push. John DeLapp is a freelance writer. He can be contacted at texdelapp@gmail.com. Local politicians and political hopefuls have welcomed the postponement of the General Election by four weeks. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced this morning that due to the latest Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland, the new date will be October 17. She added that this date would be final there would be no further delays. Rodney-based Labour-list MP Marja Lubeck says the postponement means that everyone can be reassured on measures taken so that they can safely participate and cast their vote. That is what access to a fair election and democracy is about, Ms Lubeck says. While the decision on the election date sits with the PM, in true form she choose to collaborate on the issue, considering opinions across a broad spectrum including the leaders of all parties in Parliament, BusinessNZ and the NZ Council of Trade Unions. Ms Lubek says that with the uncertainty of Covid, it would be wise to adapt to all possible scenarios and to ensure that candidates dont just rely on face-to-face events and meetings in the weeks leading up to October 17, but to also prepare for remote and online communications. Nationals Helensville MP Chris Penk says he is also pleased with the postponement. Credit where credit is due the Prime Minister has made a good call on the election date, he says. At a time that recent failures of testing at the border have caused huge uncertainty, it became inevitable that the election would need to be delayed, he says. For me, the most important thing remains the lives and livelihoods and those living in the Kaipara ki Mahurangi electorate and across the country. Social Credit candidate Callan Neylon says the extra weeks will ensure a free and fair democratic election takes place. It is essential that voters who wish to meet candidates in person and attend events such as debates and public meetings have the opportunities to do so as these events are an important part of New Zealands democracy, he says. It is often forgotten that many New Zealanders still have little to no reliable internet connection or digital literacy, the ability for face-to-face campaigning ensures these voters are not forgotten and have the opportunity to be informed of all options on who to vote for. I believe the new election date will enable all parties enough time for traditional campaigning once the current Covid outbreak is eliminated. Pushing the election back to November or 2021, as some were advocating for, would have been too great of a delay. I am glad the Prime Minister made it clear there would be no further delays to the election date. ACT candidate Beth Houlbrooke says a postponed election is right to ensure that it is a free and fair election. Public meetings have been cancelled, there can be no door-knocking, street corner meetings, or even delivery of flyers in Auckland, she says. The current government, on the other hand, receives an extraordinary amount of air time. This is clearly unfair. Ms Houlbrooke says the public has a democratic right to hear from and question their local candidates and party policies, something that is extremely curtailed under current conditions. The delay will give us more time to question the Governments failing public health strategy, and New Zealanders more room to gain an understanding about the lack of testing, poor contact tracing and border bungles. NZ First candidate Brenda Steele says the new date allows the campaign to begin once Auckland is out of Level 3 and gives all parties time to campaign fairly. However we still need to be cautious as we step down to level two and one when engaging with locals, she says. Being part of Auckland, for the northern end of Kaipara ki Mahurangi, has been a nightmare. Locals that live in Wellsford and work in Kaiwaka have been turned around at the checkpoint, unable to go to work. People who use the services of Wellsford and Warkworth due to very little services in their coastal or rural villages, like Mangawhai or Kaiwaka, are also unable to enter Auckland presently, who would normally do all their shopping in north Rodney. Independent for Kaipara Ki Mahurangi David Ford says, the evolution, vibrancy and thrivival of our NZ and other functioning democracies depends on the maximum on going participation by the citizens (ideally 100 per cent ). New Zealand has a long proud history of a highly engaged and informed Kiwi voting public, he says. Candidates forums, group and person-to-person discussions, spirited civil debate and outreach in the one month window before the election allows electors to make wise informed personal voting choices, which in turn make better Government. This latest Novel Covid-19 spike would have shortened the traditional parties nominees, and Independent , like myself, from being able to present our ideas, points of view, aspirations as potential public servants to serve you our Ultimate Bosses when by majority vote of your combined voices, one of us in KkM is elected to serve you, and seek to benefit our brilliant wee nation. As a nation we are universally admired, and bat way above our weight on the world stage. Thus Jacindas considered choice. Freelance writer Mark Delaney tells me he took this photo Aug. 8 of a postal worker in Portland, Ore., removing mailboxes. Via Twitter In 24 hours, signs of a pre-election postal slowdown have moved from the shadows to the spotlight, with evidence emerging all over the country that this isn't a just a potential threat, but is happening before our eyes. Why it matters: If you're the Trump administration, and you're in charge of the federal government, remember that a Pew poll published in April found the Postal Service was viewed favorably by 91% of Americans. Between the lines: There's pretty high brand equity for the organization that got soldiers' letters back from the front lines, delivered care packages to your summer camp, and shoved your college acceptance through the front door. What's happening: Louis DeJoy, a top Trump donor, was sworn in as postmaster general in June. Since then: Social media exploded with reports from Oregon, Montana, Manhattan and Pennsylvania that the Postal Service was unbolting and hauling away mailboxes. "Some of the boxes scheduled to be removed from downtown Billings are nearly overflowing daily, Julie Quilliam, president of the Montana Letter Carriers Association, wrote on Facebook, per AP. The Postal Service backed off Friday, telling NBC News: "We are not going to be removing any boxes ... After the election, were going to take a look at operations." The WashPost scooped that the Postal Service sent letters July 29 to 46 states and D.C. "warning that it cannot guarantee all ballots cast by mail for the November election will arrive in time to be counted." The Post said that could mean that even if people "follow all of their states election rules, the pace of Postal Service delivery may disqualify their votes." And high-speed sorting machines are being yanked from processing plants. Of note: Joe Biden is seizing on the postal fiasco, saying on Friday at a virtual fundraiser, per a pool report: Megan Thee Stallion appears to be bouncing back from her July gunshot injuries, seen out in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday night. The rapper, 25, celebrated the success of her Cardi B collaboration WAP by taking stacks and stacks of cash to a local strip club. Hot Girl Meg - as fans call her - was still in the process of healing, seen with a bandage around her left ankle. Back to normal: Megan Thee Stallion was seen out in Atlanta on Sunday, her first public outing since being shot in both feet last month Healing: She was still in the process of healing, seen with a bandage around her left ankle Stacks: Megan happily posed with handfuls of cash Keeping the stress of her foot, she wore flat, jeweled sandals and mostly kept seated, instead of walking around and mingling with her friends. Megan - full name Megan Jovon Ruth Pete - wore a sexy and sassy mini-dress which hugged her every curve. She made the most of her night out, splashing out so much cash that the bills covered the floor while a G-string clad dancer twerked in front of her. Megan's Atlanta outing was her first public sighting since being shot in both feet while with rapper Tory Lanez back on July 12th. Taking it easy: Keeping the stress of her foot, she wore flat, jeweled sandals and mostly kept seated Making it rain: She made the most of her night out, splashing out so much cash that the bills covered the floor 'Make it rain if you wanna see some WAP': Megan shared a series of snaps from her outing Wow factor: She donned a clinging multicolored mini dress along with a teal Louis Vuitton purse Bling bling: She showed off her diamond encrusted watches Hanging out: She posed with a gal pal Lanez allegedly shot Megan during an argument after a Hollywood Hills house party. According to TMZ, Megan was attempting to get out of the SUV she was in with Tory when he opened fire inside the vehicle. Footage shows the police ordering Megan and Tory to leave the vehicle and put their hands in the air as her feet leave bloody prints on the sidewalk. Megan denied claims she was arrested alongside Tory, who was charged with carrying a concealed weapon. Silent on that: It was Megan's first public outing since she was shot in the feet last month, allegedly by fellow rapper Tory Lanez. He's seen in 2018 above Front and center: The star found herself back in the spotlight after she and Cardi B released the controversial music video for the song WAP The star found herself back in the spotlight after she and Cardi B released the controversial music video for the song WAP, which just debuted at number one on Billboard's Hot 100. After releasing the NSFW video earlier this month, Megan and her rap cohort have received a slew of backlash for the sexual nature of the video and song's lyrics. But Megan fired back by taking to Twitter to bash hypocritical male critics who trashed her latest single only to sing along to much more misogynistic songs. Double standard? Megan fired back by taking to Twitter to bash hypocritical male critics who trashed her latest single only to sing along to much more misogynistic songs Funny: She joked about the 1999 Three 6 Mafia song Slob On My K*** in her tweet 'Lol dudes will scream "slob on my k***" word for word and crying abt WAP [laughing while crying emoji] bye lil boy,' she tweeted. Slob On My K*** is a 1999 song by Three 6 Mafia about receiving oral sex from a male perspective. Despite the criticism, Megan and Cardi B have had plenty to celebrate, being that the track rose to No. 1 on the US iTunes less than 24-hours after its release and the video has amassed over 103million views on YouTube. A sore throat, runny nose, a cough. They are all symptoms of COVID-19, but for many Australians, they are also the symptoms of hay fever. As the country enters peak pollen season, people who experience asthma and hay fever are being urged to ensure their conditions are under control and to be aware of the differences between their usual reactions and any other viral symptoms. Sarah Elliot is worried about how bad her hay fever symptoms will get during spring. Credit:Dean Sewell Respiratory clinician and medical adviser to Asthma Australia Dr John Blakey said the difference in symptoms between the new coronavirus and hay fever or asthma could be difficult to untangle. However there were key differences, he said, including the way symptoms change over time. YEREVAN. The first stop within the framework of the "Hayrenik [Homeland]" Development Foundations visit to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) was Kashatagh Region; we learn about this from the Facebook page of this foundation in Armenia. "Artur Vanetsyan [chairman of the foundation's board of trustees] met with the schoolchildren to whom the Hayrenik Development Foundation had donated smartphones and computers months ago. Due to difficult social conditions, these schoolchildren were left out of school programs that have switched to remote learning due to the [COVID-19] pandemic. () the schoolchildren asked many questions to Artur Vanetsyan, who in his turn inquired how the children finished the school year, what they have learned, and what they would take with them from school. At the end of the meeting, the schoolchildren from Kashatagh received surprise gifts from the foundation," the respective post reads, in particular. New Delhi: Filmmaker Milap Zaveri on Monday tweeted to say that 'Drishyam' director Nishikant Kamat, who was battling liver cirrhosis, has died in Hyderabad. His tweet soon went viral and condolence messages started pouring in. Several news organisations also used Milap's tweet to declare Nishikant Kamat dead. However, within minutes of his wrong and insensitive tweet which was posted without any verification, Milap clarified to say that the director is, however, still in hospital and on ventilator. Zee News reporter Prasad Bhosekar also spoke to the Hyderabad hospital where Nishikant Kamat is undergoing treatment which confirmed that the director is alive but critical. Milap Zaveri's first tweet read, "Heartbreaking news that Nishikant Kamat passed away. He judged My 1st play ever in Jaihind College where he awarded me best actor and writer. He was gonna direct Sanak written by @shiekhspear and me, starring @juniorbachchan Sadly the film didnt happen. Will miss him." He then posted, "Just spoke to someone who is with Nishikant in the hospital right now. He hasnt passed away yet. Yes he is v critical and fighting life and death. But he is still alive." And, the third tweet by Milap said, "Sadly the end seems inevitable anytime soon. But as of now Nishikant is still on ventilator." He has been facing flak by Twitter users for spreading false news without verifying facts. 'Dil Bechara' director Mukesh Chhabra also shared his tribute for Nishikant Kamat. "RIP Nishikant Kamat sir," Mukesh tweeted. However, he still hasn't deleted his tweet. Nishikant Kamat was being treated for chronic liver disease at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG) Hospital in Gachchibowli, Hyderabad. The filmmaker was hospitalised on July 31. The 50-year-old filmmaker made his Bollywood debut with 'Mumbai Meri Jaan' in 2008. He was also seen in a negative role 'Rocky Handsome'. Meanwhile, he has directed movies like 'Force', 'Lai Bhaari', 'Drishyam', starring Ajay Devgn and Tabu. WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) is releasing a bipartisan, comprehensive policy agenda that outlines ideas to solve the biggest challenges of our time. The Mayors' 2020 Vision: An American Breakthrough tackles ten broad issue areas with dozens of specific solutions that would deliver the American breakthrough needed to create a better, fairer, and more equitable country in which every person is helped to realize their full potential. Importantly, the Mayors' 2020 Vision offers a roadmap for responding to three urgent crises confronting the country: racial inequality, the coronavirus, and a struggling economy. The newly-updated agenda is rooted in ensuring opportunity and justice are finally served equally in America. Upon release of the document, USCM President and Louisville (KY) Mayor Greg Fischer released the following statement: "The events of this year have laid bare the systemic inequity that has plagued our society for too long. We must not settle for going back to the way things were. We need an American breakthrough that finally delivers on this country's promise of equality and opportunity. America's mayors are demonstrating the kind of leadership needed to restore confidence and improve people's lives. The bold solutions in this agenda should serve as a roadmap in city halls, state capitals, and Washington as we collectively work to build a better America." Under the leadership of former USCM President and Rochester Hills (MI) Mayor Bryan Barnett, the USCM introduced a policy agenda late last year at an event co-hosted with the non-profit Accelerator for America with presidential candidates in Waterloo, Iowa. Since that time, the world has been turned upside down by a global pandemic, and we've witnessed a nationwide outcry for racial justice and equity. In response, new USCM President and Louisville (KY) Mayor Greg Fischer asked five Working Groups to update the agenda with recommendations to address today's urgent challenges. The document released today is the product of that work, and it was adopted by the bipartisan Executive Committee as the official policy of the US Conference of Mayors. The Ten Priorities of the Mayors' Vision for America are below, and the full plan can be found here. Fostering Economic Recovery for a Stronger America Dismantling Systemic Racism and Advancing Human and Civil Rights Achieving Public Safety and Justice for All Providing Equitable Quality Healthcare and Human Services Rewriting the Tax Code to Help Hardworking Taxpayers and Reduce Economic Inequality Making Housing More Affordable and Addressing Homelessness Building Modern, Resilient Infrastructure to Address Climate Change, Promoting Environmental Justice, and Enhancing Opportunity and Productivity: Transportation, Water, Green Energy, and Technology Systems Strengthening Education, Improve Career Pathways, and Develop the Workforce of the Future Fixing Our Broken Immigration System Promoting American Business, Goods, and Tourism to the Global Economy About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors , or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors . SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors Related Links www.usmayors.org has extended its agreement with to keep it as the default search engine within the browser for another three years, ZDNet reported. Although an official announcement on the deal is expected only in November, confirmed the report. "Mozilla's search partnership with is ongoing, with as the default search provider in the browser in many places around the world," the organisation was quoted as saying in a statement. "We've recently extended the partnership, and the relationship isn't changing," it added. The estimated worth of the deal is between $400-$450 million per year, said the report. The report came after last week announced its plans to lay off 250 people as part of its restructuring plan. "Economic conditions resulting from the global pandemic have significantly impacted our revenue. As a result, our pre-COVID plan was no longer workable," Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker said in a blog post. The announcement led many to worry about the future of the organisation. However, the ZDNet report said that the organisation is financially sound even as it plans to make crucial changes in its core businesses. "Over the longer run, our goal is to build new experiences that people love and want, that have better values and better characteristics inside those products," Baker said in the blog post, announcing the changes. --IANS gb/na (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 rolling blackouts in parts of California were ordered Saturday night as power shortages continued because of an extreme heat wave. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Saturday night it was beginning to rotate power outages affecting up to 250,000 customers in Northern and Central California. San Diego Gas & Electric said it also interrupted power to some customers but had restored all service by 7 p.m. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said that 3,800 customers were without power late Saturday in the San Fernando Valley and that it could be four to 12 hours before electricity was restored. The affected areas included West Hills, Arleta, Granada Hills and Studio City. Southern California Edison issued a warning to customers that rotating power outages might be called in its Los Angeles County service area through midnight. It said outages could last up to one hour. The Director of Health Promotion at Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Dacosta Aboagye has called on Ghanaians to strictly adhere to the COVID-19 safety protocols to help overcome the virus. He noted that the country's COVID-19 recovery rate is now encouraging and said if citizens followed the safety protocols, the infection rate would continue to fall. In an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie, he maintained that Coronavirus is still in Ghana. He advised the use of facemask at all times and the practice of social distancing in all gatherings as safety protocols to help curb the spread of the virus in our various communities. We shouldnt lose guard to have another strike, he warned. He also urged politicians to as well educate the communities whiles campaigning. Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Description GIS 17 August 2020: A meeting between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Nandcoomar Bodha, and the Regional Director for Southern Africa-International Organisation for Migration and Acting Chair of the R-UNSDG team, Mr Charles Allan Kwenin and his delegation, was held, today, in Port-Louis. The delegation consists of experts sent to Mauritius by the United Nations (UN) to help the Government address the multiple challenges following the wrecking of the bulk carrier MV Wakashio at Pointe DEsny. The Minister elaborated on the outcome of the meeting, in a statement, following his virtual participation at the inauguration of the 40th SADC Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government, hosted by the Republic of Mozambique. Minister Bodha thus expressed gratitude to the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Representative for Mauritius and Seychelles, Mrs Christine Umutoni, for her quick response in providing Mauritius with assistance and support following the oil spill. A team from Nairobi consisting of 22 experts, is currently in Mauritius to help conduct investigations, to aid initiate legal actions and to organise cleaning activities and rehabilitation programmes, he indicated. The Minister underlined that the oil spill has caused damages on various levels, including the marine environment and fisheries and tourism activities. These have to be determined before legal actions are taken against the owner of the MV Wakashio and Mauritius is fortunate to benefit from the assistance of UN experts in this matter, he added. LIMASSOL, Cyprus, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Q8 Trade had joined the ranks of multi-regulated brokers, after managing to receive authorization from South Africa's FSCA. Recently, the brand also got regulated by Seychelles' FSA, as part of a broader plan to expand services for global customers. Q8 Trade is now independent from Q8 Securities. Opening the Q8 Trade services for global customers Thanks to the Q8 Trade multi-regulated approach, retail traders from all around the world, except residents in the USA and Canada, are now able to open an account and benefit from all the trading tools and features available. Getting approval from the South Africa FSCA proves it is a trusted and honest brand, committed to the highest trading standards. Traders working with Q8 Trade had benefited during the past 6 months, considering the 70% success rate for all opened trades. This statistic is based on millions of different orders placed by clients, confirming the high-quality of the trading services provided by the broker. One of the main trading features standing out has to do with the Q8 Trade auto-trading service, thanks to the partnership with DupliTrade, a premium Automated Trading Service for high-rolling traders who either don't have enough time to trade or would like to use a trusted provider of profitable trading strategies. For the past 6 months, the top 3 DupliTrade strategies (Amber, Orion, and Legacy) had generated substantial returns, even in one of the most volatile environments. Now that it is multi-regulated, Q8 Trade provides enough trust for global customers looking for a reliable brand to work with, who are able to trade without having to worry about legal issues or regulatory compliance. About Q8 Trade Q8 Trade is an online trading brand owned and operated by MARKETFINANCIALS LIMITED. Regulated by both FSA and FSCA, Q8 Trade is a trusted brand, providing access to a multitude of trading instruments, including forex, commodities, stocks, and indices, available through a proprietary web-based platform, the popular MetaTrader 5, or the Q8 Trade mobile app, compatible with both Android and iOS devices. The Shoppes of St. Johns Parkway We have been working on a second location for a long time and believe St. Johns is the perfect next step for our growing brokerage. Engel & Volkers today announced its third location in Northeast Florida, Engel & Volkers Jacksonville will open to the public later this month. The new shop will debut at 160 Shops Blvd, in the Shoppes of St. Johns Parkway, developed by Sleiman Enterprises. A grand opening is tentatively planned for late 2020. We couldn't be more excited to finally open our St. Johns shop, said Hasting. We have been working on a second location for a long time and believe St. Johns is the perfect next step for our growing brokerage. Our advisors are so excited to have a presence in the 210 corridor, in addition to our thriving Engel & Volkers Jacksonville Beach shop, to continue to provide our clients the highest level of service we pride ourselves on. In addition to Engel & Volkers Jacksonville, several other first-class retailers will be part of the tenant lineup the Shoppes of St. Johns Parkway including 1928 Cuban Bistro, Al Dentes Restaurant, Canopy Road Cafe, Ember & Iron, Heartland Dental Care, Hot Spot Power Yoga, Omaze Nail Salon, RaceTrac and Xtreme Wings. We are excited to work with Engel and Volkers on a second location with Sleiman and welcome them to Shoppes of St. Johns Parkway, said Michael McNaughton, Chief Operating Officer of Sleiman Enterprises. This will be the perfect location to serve the St. Johns community. Hasting is the License Partner of both Engel & Volkers Jacksonville and Engel & Volkers Jacksonville Beach; the latter opened in 2018. Before he became a broker, Hasting consistently ranked among the Top 50 Residential Real Estate Agents of Northeast Florida and was awarded numerous accolades while previously with Keller Williams Realty. Hasting has grown his shops to 34 active advisors, closed over 400 transactions year-to-date and has an inventory of nearly 100 listings. We are thrilled to expand our presence in Northeast Florida to better serve clients throughout Duval County," said Timo Khammash, Managing Partner of Engel & Volkers Florida. While our focus is typically on expanding into new markets throughout Florida, we highly value the relationships we have with our License Partners and are overjoyed at their achievements - especially if it allows them to grow and expand their own business to new heights. We look forward to partnering with other talented brokers in Northeast Florida, to continue our expansion in sub-markets throughout the region. Centered on the banks of the St. Johns River in the First Coast region of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville is the most populous city in Florida, the most populous city in the south-eastern United States and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. Jacksonville home values have gone up more than 6 percent over the past year. The area is bustling with new development and business, said Hasting. This allows us to continue to attract some of the best talent in the county. The growth possibilities are endless. I believe we are on the path to becoming the premier real estate brokerage in North East Florida! ### 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 Where lions operate, grazers congregate ... provided food is great HOUSTON -- (Aug. 17, 2020) -- Meals are typically family affairs for zebras, gazelles, cape buffalo and other grazing species in the African Serengeti, but in one of the first studies of its kind, ecologists have found grazing species can be more willing to share meals in areas frequented by lions. The study, which is available online this week in the journal Ecology, was conducted by a team from Rice University, Princeton University, Wake Forest University and the University of Minnesota. They analyzed more than 115,000 camera-trap photos to see where, when and how often six of the Serengeti's most abundant grazing species -- cape buffalo, gazelle, hartebeest, topi, wildebeest and zebra -- formed mixed-species groups. "The mixed-species groups occur near places where lions like to hunt, which suggests the grazers are trying to reduce their chances of being killed by predators," said Rice lead-author Lydia Beaudrot. Mixed-species groups of grazers were found in 1.9% of the camera-trap photos, which were collected between 2010-2015 in Tanzania's Serengeti National Park and processed by volunteers for the citizen science website snapshotserengeti.org. Camera-trap findings were combined with information from long-term GPS collar monitoring by the Serengeti Lion Project and satellite imagery that showed both the location of hunting areas favored by lions and where and when food was plentiful or scarce for grazers. "Mixed-species groups were most likely in 'risky' places, like woodland habitats and near rocky outcroppings that lions use as viewsheds," said Beaudrot, an assistant professor of biosciences. But the threat from lions apparently isn't the only thing grazers have to consider. "One of the most interesting results is that grazers in mixed-species groups appear to be making a tradeoff between the risk of being eaten and the need to eat," Beaudrot said. Mixed-species groups were less likely to form when plant productivity was low, she said, which suggests there is a foraging cost associated with mixed-species grazing, said study co-author Meredith Palmer, a behavioral ecologist and postdoctoral fellow at Princeton. "These animals face a trade-off," Palmer said. "When different species group together, each individual is less likely to be eaten by a lion than it would be if it were alone or even possibly with its own species. But each individual is also foraging, and if they get further apart they don't have to compete as much for food. As forage becomes more scarce, these animals have to decide whether the extra food they would get from grazing alone is worth the increased danger from lions." The study focuses on a longstanding idea in ecology called the 'stress gradient hypothesis,' which holds that species are more likely to compete with one another when times are good and more likely to benefit each other when they're under stress, Beaudrot said. "The hypothesis is supported by the findings from more than 700 plant studies, but it's rarely been applied to animals because mixed-species behavior is rare and there typically aren't enough data about it to draw statistically significant conclusions," she said. The collaboration began when Beaudrot heard Palmer describe the Snapshot Serengeti database in a talk at the 2018 Gordon Research Conference on Predator-Prey Interactions. While mixed-species groups had previously been documented in animals, including primates, cetaceans, ungulates, fish and birds, Palmer and Beaudrot realized that the size of the Snapshot Serengeti camera-trap database would allow them a rare opportunity to not simply observe mixed-species groups but to examine the ecological context within which they occur. "Our findings partially support the hypothesis," Beaudrot said. "On the one hand, we found mixed-species groups were more likely to occur when stress was high because of predators, but we also found that mixed-species groups were less likely to form when stress from food scarcity was high, which suggests that stress can also lead to increased competition." She and Palmer said there are also plenty of questions to address with follow-up research, including how mixed-species groups better protects grazers from lions. "The larger groups could provide more warning of lions because there are more eyes for vigilance, or that individual species in the group benefit from the behavior of other species in a way that they wouldn't if they had grazed on their own," Palmer said. "Or it could simply be that the odds of any one individual being eaten go down if it's part of a larger group. Our study can't differentiate between any of those mechanisms." ### Co-authors include Michael Anderson of Wake Forest University and Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota. The research was funded by the National Science Foundation (DEB-1020479) and the National Geographic Society (WW-024R-17, WW-025R-17, NGS-52921R-18). Links and resources: The DOI of the Eology paper is: 10.1002/ecy.3163 A copy of the paper is available at: https:/ / doi. org/ 10. 1002/ ecy. 3163 High-resolution IMAGES are available for download at: https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2020/ 07/ 0727_GRAZERS-zebwil-lg. jpg CAPTION: Wildebeest and zebra graze together in this camera-trap photo from Tanzania's Serengeti National Park. The photo is one of more than 115,000 camera-trap photos from the Snapshot Serengeti project that were used in a study of mixed-species grazing. (Photo courtesy of snapshotserengeti.org) https:/ / news-network. rice. edu/ news/ files/ 2020/ 07/ 0727_GRAZERS-lb-lg. jpg CAPTION: Lydia Beaudrot (Photo by Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) This release can be found online at news.rice.edu. Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews. Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,962 undergraduates and 3,027 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 4 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Barclays has appointed Jean-Christophe Gerard as CEO, Barclays Private Bank with immediate effect, subject to regulatory approval. Gerard joined Barclays in 2017, initially heading up Investments for Barclays Private Bank and has almost 30 years of experience in private banking, asset management and investment banking.His previous roles also include Head of Private Bank Europe, Monaco and Switzerland, and CEO of Barclays Monaco. Barclays Private Bank is well-established as a quality private bank and partner to global ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNWIs) and family offices looking for a full range of specialised services across international booking platforms. Jean-Christophes appointment also follows a series of recent announcements that has seen the private bank strengthen it senior leadership team and expand its international footprint, a statement said. Last month it was announced that Effie Datson joined in the newly created role as Global Head of Family Office and Melanie Aimer as Global Head of Client Experience. While in June, Olivier Franceschelli was appointed Head of Private Banking in Monaco and Alan Werlau Head of Investments for Barclays Bank Ireland. Barclays Private Bank has also recently been granted a Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) licence by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa. As a result, Barclays Bank PLC bankers can now provide the full spectrum of advisory and discretionary products and services offered by Barclays Private Bank while also serving the wider banking needs of African clients seeking global and offshore solutions, the statement said. Ashok Vaswani, CEO, Consumer Banking & Payments, commented: With a long and successful career in private banking and financial markets Jean-Christophe is brilliantly placed to lead the Private Bank as we focus on supporting our clients and our next of phase of growth. Gerard added: I am very much looking forward to leading Barclays Private Bank as we accelerate our growth as the quality private bank and partner of choice to Global UHNWIs and Family Offices looking for a full range of specialised services across international booking platforms. With a strong track-record of investment performance alongside providing a connection to Barclays leading Investment Bank and Corporate Bank, Barclays Private Bank is perfectly placed to serve our clients with tailored banking, credit and investment solutions as they tackle the challenges of Covid-19 and beyond. - TradeArabia News Service Classes for most, but not all, grade levels in the Broken Bow School District have been canceled this week after three staff members tested positive for COVID-19 and 24 staff members were placed in quarantine. Superintendent Darren Tobey announced the decision on the districts website. Tobey said classes for pre-kindergarten and grades 6 through 12 have been canceled through Friday. Nor will there be off-campus learning during that time, he said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} All kindergarten through fifth grade students should report at their normal time Monday. The decision to cancel school for the affected grade levels was because of staffing, he said. It was made with input from the school board, local medical professionals and the Loup Basin Health Department, he said. Starting Monday through Sept. 7, the school district will require all students and staff members to wear masks, Tobey said. That includes extracurricular activities and school transportation. The requirement will be revisited before it expires, he said. TROY, N.Y. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is under attack. That according to U.S. Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who spoke out against actions being taken by new USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Joined by fellow U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden and President of NALC Branch 358/Legislative Director NYS Assn of Letter Carriers, William Bill Cook, Schumer reiterated his call for DeJoy to step down from his post, Monday morning outside the post office on Broadway in Troy. On Aug. 7, 2020, the USPS announced a significant reorganization of Postal Service leadership and functions, which could impact the Capital Region. The changes include the elimination of extra mail transportation trips, the reduction of overtime, the start of a pilot program for mail sorting and delivery policies at hundreds of post offices, and the reduction equipment at mail processing plants. They wanted to dismantle the post office from the beginning. That seems to be what Mr. DeJoy wants, Schumer remarked. But now you have the added impetus with President [Donald] Trump mixing in for electoral purposes, making it even worse. There is no reason, why in the heck would they do this during COVID, whatever they felt about the post office. So theres a view strongly held that theyre doing it now to interfere with the elections, Schumer added on whether he believed the actions taken were a form of election interference. Schumer joined the call from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, that DeJoy appear before the House of Representatives for hearings no later than this Friday. Monday afternoon, DeJoy announced that he will indeed appear and testify before the Congressional Oversight Committee on Monday, Aug. 24. Also testifying on the changes made to the USPS will be the Chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Robert M. Duncan. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. Hes a presidential appointee, but I think therell be a demand joining me from one end of the country to the other to get him to step down. He cant even defend what hes doing. He doesnt deserve to be there, as I said, stamp it, return to sender, get out, step down, get out of office, Schumer noted on what he believes should happen if DeJoy refuses to appear before Congress. In addition to electoral politics, Gillibrand spoke to the need of the USPS to be able to operate at full capacity, with so many vulnerable groups such as seniors and veterans relying on the mail for medications, Social Security checks, pensions, and the ability to pay bills on time, all during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am deeply troubled by reports of operational issues at the Post Office, such as reducing carrier hours and overtime, removing sorting machinery from post offices, and taking mail collection boxes off the street without warning, Gillibrand said. Postmaster General DeJoy claims that these operational changes will improve efficiency, but the reality is that they are creating unacceptable delays of critical deliveries of prescriptions, paychecks, Social Security checks and threaten our ability to vote by mail. With our country, state, and Capital Region in the midst of an unprecedented economic and public health crisis, Congress must fully fund the Post Office to protect jobs, health, and our democracy, Gillibrand added. Both Senators say the will demand new legislation to undo the changes slowing down the mail and ensure that mail-in ballots are treated as First Class priority mail. Tonko echoed the sentiments voiced by Schumer and Gillibrand as well. The United States postal system is under attack. It has been said traditionally over the ages, that neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night can stop or slow our letter carriers. We never thought we would have to add political corruption but thats what its about, Tonko stated on the impact dismantling the USPS could have on the electoral process. We have here an effort made to provide for the Presidents wishes to slow and suppress the vote. It is very important for us in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic, weve encouraged people to stay home, it is the smart thing to do, they should be able to vote from home, they should be able to utilize the mail system, Tonko added. Tonko noted upon recently surveying his constituents that their top three reasons for utilizing the postal service are to pay bills, stay in connection with loved ones, and vote. Madden spoke to the vital role the postal service plays in communities like the Collar City. The U.S. Postal Service serves a critical role in our communities across the United States, including small cities like Troy as well as the rural areas that surround us, Madden said. Its more than just mail, its a lifeline for seniors without internet access, its an affordable service that delivers Social Security benefits and prescriptions for veterans and individuals with disabilities, Madden continued. It helps our small businesses keep their doors open, especially important during this pandemic. It employs hundreds of thousands of Americans, including many in Troy and Rensselaer County, Madden added on the 1,500 or so postal jobs in the Capital Region. President of NALC Branch 358/Legislative Director NYS Assn of Letter Carriers, William Bill Cook, also called for the USPS to be funded. As an essential service, the USPS has spent a significant amount of money to keep their employees safe and to deliver the mail to the American people. The USPS deserves and needs the requested $25 billion reimbursement for these expenses, Cook added. Power in America starts and ends in the states. Yet Democrats suffer under the delusion that they can solve all their problems by winning at the federal level. As we at Forward Majority write in our new analysis, a rosy narrative has taken hold projecting a Democratic landslide up and down the ballot in November. But the data tell a much more urgent story for Democrats: Less than three months before Election Day, Republicans are still poised to retain complete control of the most strategically important state legislatures in the country. Which raises the question: As they celebrate at their convention this week, will Democrats ignore their strategic failures? The stakes of continued Republican monopolies on power in states like Florida and Texas could not be higher ahead of redistricting in 2021. After the Supreme Court effectively signed-off on extreme partisan gerrymandering last year, these GOP majorities could use their power to redraw congressional and state maps, take the gavel back from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in 2022, and lock in control of Congress until 2032. Democrats can still take advantage of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to win majorities in crucial state legislative chambers. The underlying electoral fundamentals are still strong. Theres just one crucial element missing in the most strategically important legislative races: money. Texas and Florida opportunities In the Texas State House, for example, Democrats seeking to flip the most pivotal districts have only raised 64% of what Republican incumbents have raised, and their cash-on-hand is only 30% of their Republican opponents. While this is an improvement over 2018, Democrats still need to invest more resources if they plan to overthrow GOP control in the 9 legislative seats that present the only path to fighting gerrymandering of nearly 40 congressional districts. An even worse fundraising disparity persists in Florida. Democrats have only raised 31% of their Republican opponents in the most competitive pickup targets in the Florida state House, with cash-on-hand roughly at the same level. Democrats have broken the $100,000 mark in only three of the 23 most competitive pickups while Republicans raised over $100,000 in all but two of them. Story continues "Fair Maps" protest on March 26, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Democratic competitiveness in states like Texas and Florida matters more than you might think: These states are among a small handful where flipping one chamber of the legislature would break a Republican stranglehold on redistricting. States like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania have Democratic governors who have veto power over any redistricting proposal crafted by the GOP state legislature. Among GOP trifectas, some of them, like Georgia and Ohio, are simply out of reach for Democrats (even if presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden were to win these states, gerrymandering keeps these legislative chambers safely under Republican control). Crushing democracy: Trump has a plan to steal the election and it's not clear Democrats have a plan to stop him But Texas and Florida along with North Carolina are the three states where flipping a chamber is both possible and would result in massive and immediate strategic gains for redistricting. We estimate there will be 92 congressional seats on the line for the next decade in these three states alone. Data show money really matters The importance of funding cannot be overstated. In the 2018 election, we found that Democratic congressional candidates in the suburban areas where Democrats gained the most ground did 3.6 points better than Democratic state legislative candidates. They were running in literally the same zip codes on the same issues against Republican incumbents cut from the same mold. Why did the state-level Democrats fare so much worse? Money. Congressional challengers were able to match the funding of the Republican incumbents they were trying to unseat, while state legislative candidates were outspent by an average of 3-to-1. Hobbling the post office: My great-grandfather faced danger as a mail carrier. He'd be shocked by Trumps war on USPS. The seats within that 3.6 point range are enough to flip both the Florida and Texas state Houses. North Carolinas 14 seats are close behind. These three states alone account for nearly 20% of Congress. Theres no do-over for a year that precedes the decennial census. Securing a single lever of power in just three Republican-controlled states would have vast and lasting consequences. Rather than celebrate the big hauls congressional Democrats have raised, Democrats would be wise to invest aggressively in these states. If they dont, they may well have to confront their failure for the next decade. Ethan Roeder is campaigns director for Forward Majority. He was National Data Director for Barack Obamas 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to letters@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Democratic convention: State legislatures are crucial to party future /* custom css */ .tdi_75_5bd.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_5bd .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_5bd.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_5bd.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_5bd.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodimma has commissioned some projects at 34 Artillery Bridge, Obinze near Owerri where he solicited support for the Armed Forces in their efforts to fight terrorism, criminality and banditry in Nigeria. The projects which the Governor facilitated their completion are Officers Mess Chalet, Soldiers Club Chalet and Warrant Sergeants Officers Mess. Addressing the audience comprising security agencies, civilians and traditional rulers, the governor enjoined all concerned to extend hands of fellowship to other Armed Forces, thanking God for the return of synergy between the Armed Forces and the Civil Society. /* custom css */ .tdi_74_fbd.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_fbd .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_fbd.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_fbd.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_fbd.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement He congratulated the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Buratai, the GOC 82 Division Enugu, Major Gen. Lasisi Adeboye and the Commander 34 Artillery Brigade Obinze Brig. General Yusuf Tukura for working assiduously to complete the projects on time. He noted that the projects are significant because they will bring back the memory of good old days in the service. Governor Uzodimma thanked the traditional rulers hosting the Military Command for making their citizen to realize the importance of peaceful co-existence through obedience of law and order, thereby guaranteeing growth and development. The Governor seized the opportunity to reiterate that Imo State is highly endowed with both human and material resources, noting that with quality leadership all the natural endowment from God will be made manifest and our people will be happy for it. To the Civil Servants, the governor said Imo needs a State that can be proud of a quality Civil Service. This can only be assured by their conduct and behaviour that must rank with the International Standard, he said adding that, Civil Servants have to grow their carrier and by growing their carrier they have to grow their conduct which will result into the development of the State. The governor assured that Government on its part is determined to leave the State better than it met it and to leave behind legacies worthy of emulation. He therefore appealed to all to help him build a State where others will come to emulate when he must have left the stage. Earlier in their various remarks, Lt. Gen. Buratai represented by Major General Adeboye, the Commander, 34 Artillery Brigade Obinze, Brig. General Tukura and Col. Muhammadu Jibu, the Garrison Commander, thanked Governor Uzodimma for making the dream of the three projects come true. They lauded his generosity and assistance towards the completion of the projects, saying that accommodation has been their major challenge. Highlight of the Ceremony was the presentation of Gift to the Governor by the Command. /* custom css */ .tdi_76_bfa.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_bfa .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_bfa.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_bfa.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_bfa.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } A history-themed amusement park in western France was at the heart of controversy yet again over the weekend when organisers of a nightime show received permission to host 9,000 visitors despite restrictions on large gatherings amid a national spike in coronavirus cases. Nearly 9,000 spectators gathered at the Puy du Fou historical theme park in the Vendee in western France for a Cinescenie multimedia show despite a nationwide ban on gatherings exceeding 5,000 people due to the Covid-19 crisis. Local officials authorised the mass gathering on Saturday, sparking allegations of favouritism since Philippe de Villiers, a far-right French politician who founded the Puy du Fou, is a friend of President Emmanuel Macron, according to French media reports. Macron denied the allegations on Sunday, with the French presidential office telling the weekly Journal du Dimanche there was no intervention by the president to allow the theme park to host spectators above the 5,000 people threshold. Saturdays event came as Frances health ministry reported 3,310 new coronavirus infections, marking a post-lockdown high for the fourth consecutive day, bringing the countrys total number of cases to 215,521. Last week, France extended a ban on gatherings over 5,000 people -- which was supposed to expire August 31 -- to October 30. Park officials insisted Saturdays event respected social distancing regulations. The authorisation was only valid for August 15 and only concerns the Cinescenie, Puy du Fous communications manager Sabine Tommy-Martin told AFP. Cinescenie, one of the attractions of the park, is a live nighttime show featuring historic battle scenes, dances and marches by actors. The shows are held after dark on Fridays and Saturdays from late June through early September, according to the Puy de Fou website. Puy du Fou officials said the stands for the event were divided into three blocks, separated by plexiglass walls, to accommodate 3,000 people each. Ticket-holders had to wear face masks and sanitary gel was available, according to officials. Story continues Critics slam intervention by a friend But the denials of favouritism and reassurances that safety measures were followed failed to placate critics, with Twitter users slamming the hypocrisy of the authorisation while France had imposed measures to control the spread of the virus. Im pro-mask and for respecting [health] barriers but how do you get the commitment of the people after what you have authorised for Puy du Fou? one user wrote. Isabelle Payen de la Garanderie, a school teacher from the Paris region, visited Puy de Fou in July, and said she felt reassured by the sanitation measures. She plans to take her 62-year-old mother to the spacious park this week, but said she would avoid the Cinescenie. That worries me, Payen de la Garanderie told FRANCE 24. I dont think thats the thing to do at this time. Opposition politicians also slammed the authorisation. Since [Emmanuel] Macron's personal intervention on behalf of his friend De Villiers, the Puy du Fou has been benefiting from a pass, said politician Bastien Lachaud from the far-left France Unbowed party. Julien Bayou, national secretary of Europe Ecology-Greens (EELV) party also castigated the contradiction between this authorisation and the general incentives for physical distancing. WHO warns European authorities It was the second time this summer that the Puy du Fou received permission to exceed Frances 5,000-spectator limit. The park created controversy when it obtained an exemption that allowed it to accommodate 12,000 people divided into stands of 4,000 for a Cinescenie on July 24. The theme park lowered the number of spectators to 5,000 following a report in France Television. Saturdays event reignited a debate about the special privileges enjoyed by Puy du Fou while most summer festivals in France, including the Avignon theatre festival, were canceled due to the pandemic. The debate came as senior WHO official Richard Peabody last week warned that lax control and implementation measures were leading to increased coronavirus case numbers across Europe. If you take ... the pressure off the virus, then it will come back, he said to AFP, calling on European governments to be mindful of the lessons learnt in the first months of the pandemic. The authorisation for the Cinescenie, which was valid only for August 15, may be reissued for shows on August 21 and 22 after a reassessment of the health situation and on condition that effective compliance with the commitments during the performance on 15 August, Vendee officials told reporters. (FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS) Islamabad is abuzz with rumours that Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi may be replaced with the human rights minister Shireen Mazari as the government tries to mend damaged relations with Saudi Arabia over the formers remarks. Qureshi had accused the Organisation of Islamic Conference of dilly-dallying on the Kashmir issue in remarks that were seen by Riyadh as an attack on its leadership of the organisation. 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 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, Qureshi had said on a local news channel. On Sunday, Pakistani army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, accompanied by the head of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Faiz left for Riyadh to meet with the Saudi leadership in an attempt to mend damaged ties. Human rights minister Shireen Mazari publicly criticised the countrys foreign affairs ministry, saying it had let down both the Kashmiris and prime minister Khan. Her statement is being seen as a first step to replace Qureshi in a bid to pacify the Saudis. The statement by Mazari suggests that the Imran Khan government is publicly distancing itself from the actions and statements of foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Earlier on Saturday, Sheikh Rasheed, a senior member of the Imran Khan cabinet, claimed in a televised statement that relations with Saudi Arabia were already on the mend and that the army chief would be visiting the Kingdom on Sunday to iron out outstanding minor differences. Handling of the Jussie Smollett case by the Cook County States Attorneys Office and Chicago Police Department was found to have had substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures but no criminal wrongdoing, special prosecutor Dan K. Webb concluded. In a statement released Monday, Webb said the investigation did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against States Attorney [Kimberly M.] Foxx or any individual working at the CCSAO, despite multiple potential violations of legal ethics and several instances of false and/or misleading statements to the public. Similarly, the investigation found some examples of CPD personnel leaking information to the press, but because the individuals could not be identified, no criminal charges were recommended. Also Read: Jussie Smollett Emerges From His Own Self-Imposed Isolation to Sing Us a Song (Video) Webb was appointed special prosecutor by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Michael P. Toomin last year, and was directed to conduct an all-encompassing independent investigation to determine whether further charges should be brought against Smollett and whether any person or office involved in the Initial Smollett Case engaged in any wrongdoing. Mondays statement, released by Webbs law firm Winston & Strawn, outlined the conclusions of the investigation with regards to the second directive. Criminal charges against Smollett recommended by the special prosecutors office were filed back in February. According to the statement, the special prosecutors investigation encompassed 53 interviews, issuing more than 50 subpoenas and/or document requests, and collecting more than 120,000 pages of documents (or, more than 26,000 documents), as well as text message data and audio recordings. Webbs full 60-page report will be submitted to the court but is being withheld from public view under Illinois law regarding grand jury procedure. However, the statement recommended a court order to make the full summary report public, citing Judge Toomins statement ordering the investigation in which he said the goal was to restore the publics confidence in the integrity of our criminal justice system. Read original story Jussie Smollett Investigation Marked by Substantial Abuses of Discretion, Special Prosecutor Says At TheWrap You are here: China China's Ministry of Water Resources on Sunday urged greater efforts in flood control as another flood in the Yangtze River will occur in its upper reaches. In the next three days, heavy rainfall and rainstorms are expected in parts of southwestern China, northwestern China, northern China and northeastern China, among other regions. Efforts should be made in flood prevention of the Three Gorges reservoir and reservoirs in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, said E Jingping, minister of water resources. Meanwhile, countermeasures for rainfalls in northeastern China and floods in the Yellow River and Weihe River basins should be implemented, E said. Staycations and the reopening of hospitality and leisure venues have spurred gas demand to near normal levels. But while overall gas demand climbed 4.1pc in July compared to June, it remains 3.7pc lower than a year ago, according to Gas Networks Ireland. Gas demand in the hospitality and leisure sector was just 1pc below where it was 12 months ago in July. But in the construction sector, gas demand last month was up 26pc compared to June - but was still 40pc lower than it was in July of last year. The figures from Gas Networks Ireland, which is part of semi-State company Ervia, also show that gas demand from large businesses was up 4.1pc last month compared to July 2019, following a significant decline during the lockdown. In the food and beverage sector, demand for gas in July was 3.2pc higher than a year earlier. Demand in the sector remained strong during the lockdown, according to Gas Networks Ireland. It also said that residential gas demand climbed last month as poor weather prompted consumers to turn on the heating. Residential demand is now ahead of 2019 levels. "Some sectors are returning to the year-on-year growth we saw in the first quarter, while others continue to see an element of the fall-out from Covid-19," said Gas Networks Ireland's head of regulatory affairs, Brian Mullins. "The increase in energy demand reflects the Irish economy beginning to reopen," he added. "Energy demand is an important indicator of economic activity and this is a positive signal for our economy." Gas Networks Ireland said that gas provided the majority of Ireland's power generation requirement last month, averaging 58pc for July and peaking at 80pc. For the first half of 2020, gas provided 50pc of all power generation, and wind provided 39pc. Year on year, gas demand for power generation in July was 6pc lower. Mr Mullins insisted that gas will play an "increasingly important role" in providing energy security as Ireland decarbonises. The Kinsale Gas Fields have been decommissioned and the Corrib field off the west coast is now the only major source of indigenous gas production. The evolution and organisation of the Indian statistical system is reviewed with particular emphasis on social sector statistics. In the light of recent experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, some evident lacunae in the system of collecting, synchronising, and disseminating data from diverse sources are discussed. The critical need for better financing of the statistical agencies, facilitating homogeneous integration between different agencies, and promoting transparency, accountability, and autonomy of the statistical system are highlighted as key priorities. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its ominous, uncertain journey worldwide, the need for accurate, regular information on its spread and containment has been felt by all. But most of us do not readily realise that uninterrupted flow of accurate, reliable information is not the default, but involves a careful, planned design. Information is power. Information that flows from a structured system is equally powerful and useful; both for those who are expected to make use of the informationthink decision-makers in government and researchers in the academiaas well as for those to whom such information pertains, like common citizens. Robust information systems are synonymous with better transparency, accountability, and effectiveness of public policy. They are also a natural characteristic of modern citizen societies and welfare states. Weak information systems either follow archaic models of collecting, compiling and disseminating data, or lack critical qualities of credibility and legitimacy in the procedures followed; in some cases, both. 88 and RingCentral have not been shy about touting their video solutions as they see collaboration as a natural, adjacent market to UCaaS. Our colleague, Maurice Nagle wrote about RingCentrals new video solution this past April in fact. Zoom, needs to defend its turf while providing a complete solution for customers. This is why the company has made some big news today. Zoom Phone now supports local phone numbers are: Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Mexico, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Slovakia, and Slovenia. This expanded geographic coverage allows Zoom customers to migrate away from their legacy phone systems and consolidate business communications into Zooms video-first unified communications platform. To help customers streamline their communication carrier portfolio, Zoom has launched the Global Select plan. With this new plan, a company can purchase domestic calling in 40 plus countries and territories where Zoom provides PSTN service, for a single price. While many companies with locations around the world are responsible for negotiating telephone service agreements with various carriers, Zoom aims to simplify that process. In addition to local service in 40 plus countries and territories, Zoom Phone provides telephone connectivity covering the world through its Bring Your Own Carrier model, including in markets where telephone service is highly regulated. Zoom will also continue to provide an easy solution for companies that do not require individual direct numbers for every employee. For these customers, the Zoom Phone Pro plan for cloud telephony service is available starting at $8 USD a user per month. Competition is good for the customer and allowing users to not have to jump in and out of disparate platforms to make calls, collaborate and chat is a win for the enterprise that wants to reduce training, tech support costs and confusion. Finally, as platforms add global collaboration and UCaaS, the ability to escalate a call to a collaboration becomes even easier. See the ONLY UCaaS, CRM, Contact Center, Tech and Communications companies that matter at the ITEXPO #TECHSUPERSHOW. This Event has been called the BEST SHOW in 5 YEARS and the Best TECHNOLOGY EVENT of 2020. 2020 participants included: Amazon, Cisco, Google, IBM, ClearlyIP, Avaya, Vonage, 88, Comcast Business, BlueJeans, CoreDial, Dell, Edify, Epygi, FreeSWITCH, Fuze, Grandstream, Granite, Intrado, Frontier Business, Fujitsu, Jenne, West, Konftel, Intelisys, Martello, NetSapiens, OOMA, Oracle, OpenVox, Peerless Network, Phone Sentry, Phone.com, Poly, QuestBlue, RingByName, Sangoma, SingTel, SkySwitch, Spracht, Spectrum, Sprint, Tallac, Tech Data, Telarus, TCG, Teledynamics, Teli, Telinta, Telispire, Telstra, TransNexus, Unified Office, Vital PBX, VoIP Supply, Voxbone, VoIP.MS, Windstream, XCALY, XORCOM, Yealink, Yubox, and ZYCOO. Full List. Join 8K others with $25B+ in IT buying power who plan 2021 budgets! Including 3,500+ resellers! A unique experience with a collocated Future of Work Expo, SD-WAN Expo, and MSP Expo June 22-25, 2021, Miami, FL. Register now. Reports Closing of Second and Final Tranche of Private Placement Uses Proceeds to Settle All Obligations with Vertex One / PenderFund Files Financial Statements for the Second Quarter DENVER, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Intermap Technologies Corporation ("Intermap" or the "Company") today announced that it closed the second and final tranche (the "Second Tranche") of its previously announced private placement (the "Private Placement"), issuing 4,317,118 Class A common shares of the Company ("Shares"). The Second Tranche included the issuance of 586,685 Shares at a price of CAD$0.56 per Share for aggregate gross proceeds of CAD$328,543.60. The proceeds of the Private Placement were used to satisfy all of the Company's obligations under the amended settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") entered into among the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Intermap Technologies Inc. ("ITI"), and PenderFund Capital Management Ltd. (the "Lender"). Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, the Company and ITI satisfied the Company's outstanding debt of US$33.9 million owed to the Lender with a payment to the Lender of US$1 million from the proceeds of the Private Placement. All liens were extinguished in conjunction with closing. Intermap also announced that the Company's consolidated financial statements for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, along with management's discussion and analysis for the corresponding period and related management certifications were filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com on August 14, 2020. "We are pleased to welcome additional new investors and further position Intermap for growth," commented Patrick A. Blott, Chairman and CEO. "By eliminating debt, combined with tax advantages in multiple jurisdictions, and greater common stock liquidity, Intermap is building the only publicly traded geospatial platform that can leverage three powerful financial currencies namely, its publicly traded stock, tax attributes, and balance sheet. Together with dedicated and talented employees, our numerous sophisticated investors, patented technology and a scalable business model, we will maximize these advantages during this unique period of industry consolidation." The Company also issued 19,718 warrants to certain finders (the "Warrants") under the Private Placement. Each Warrant is exercisable for one share at an exercise price of USD$0.423 per Share, being the U.S. dollar equivalent of CAD$0.56 as of the date of issuance, at any time until August 14, 2022. All Shares and Warrants issued in connection with the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period during which trading in the securities is restricted in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Private Placement and the listing of the Shares issued under the Private Placement and the Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the "TSX") is subject to final approval of the TSX upon satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The TSX conditionally approved the Private Placement and the listing of the Shares issued thereunder and the Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants prior to closing of the first tranche of the Private Placement. Mr. Blott subscribed for an additional 22,330 Shares under the Second Tranche. His participation constitutes a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). Such participation is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 on the basis that participation in the Private Placement by Mr. Blott does not exceed 25% of the fair market value of the Company's market capitalization. For more information about Intermap's geospatial solutions, visit intermap.com/investors to download a presentation. Intermap Reader Advisory Certain information provided in this news release, including the use of proceeds of the Private Placement, constitutes forward looking statements. The words "anticipate", "expect", "project", "estimate", "forecast", "will be", "will consider", "intends" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forwardlooking statements. Although Intermap believes that these statements are based on information and assumptions which are current, reasonable and complete, these statements are necessarily subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Intermap's forwardlooking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties pertaining to, among other things, COVID19 and its impact on both the Company's business and operations and those of its customers, cash available to fund operations, availability of capital, revenue fluctuations, nature of government contracts, economic conditions, loss of key customers, retention and availability of executive talent, competing technologies, common share price volatility, loss of proprietary information, software functionality, internet and system infrastructure functionality, information technology security, breakdown of strategic alliances, and international and political considerations, as well as those risks and uncertainties discussed Intermap's Annual Information Form and other securities filings. While the Company makes these forwardlooking statements in good faith, should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary significantly from those expected. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forwardlooking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits that the Company will derive therefrom. All subsequent forwardlooking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to Intermap or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. The forward looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the forwardlooking statements made herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities law. About Intermap Technologies Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Denver, Colorado, Intermap (TSX: IMP) (ITMSF: BB) is a global leader in geospatial intelligence solutions. The Company's proprietary NEXTMap database and value added geospatial data management, processing, analytics, fusion and orthorectification software and solutions are utilized across a range of industries that rely on accurate, highresolution elevation data, including aviation, engineering, environmental planning, government markets, hydrology, insurance, land management, law enforcement and patrol, oil and gas, renewable energy, telecommunications, transportation and utilities. Intermap's commercial applications include locationbased intelligence, risk assessment, geographic information systems, global positioning systems and 3D visualization. For more information, please visit www.intermap.com. SOURCE Intermap Technologies Corporation Related Links www.intermap.com Part of southeast Louisiana can expect a small reprieve from the dog days of summer thanks to an unusual cold front that will make its way through the area later this week, according to the National Weather Service. Robert Ricks, lead forecaster for the weather service, said the Baton Rouge area and New Orleans' north shore will get air flow from the north that is going to reduce humidity considerably from Wednesday to Friday. So although it will still be hot, it won't be as unpleasant as it has been. Ricks said to expect temperatures in the lower 70s, instead of the mid 70s to low 80s, for the mornings and in the upper 80s, instead of the mid 90s, during the day. "What we would normally have is a flow coming out of the Atlantic that keeps the humidity in place," Ricks said. "That pattern is relaxing because of the trough of low pressure in higher parts of the atmosphere over the next several days. It disrupts the flow from the Atlantic and the Gulf. It's a pattern we would normally see in the winter time." By Friday, the pattern will break and the humidity will start to return. Top stories in Baton Rouge in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up One benefit of this trough is it will deflect any tropical systems in the Atlantic Ocean and keep them there as long as it persists, Ricks said. That could be good news for the region, as two tropical waves between the Windward Islands and the African coast are being watched closely by the National Hurricane Center as they move west toward the Caribbean. The hurricane center said there's a 40% chance a tropical depression forms in the next five days. I always wonder how to judge the common sense of a person or of a decision-maker with my little common sense! Starting from Aristotle, so many brilliant social scientists tried to define common sense as sound, practical judgment concerning everyday matters, or a basic ability to perceive, understand and judge that has been shared by (common to) nearly all people. In simple words, you can call it as good sense or it can be described as folk wisdom. I once even dared to ask a teacher, who questioned my common sense, to explain the phenomenon. And the reply was an eventful episode from the life of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Indian freedom struggle. Once, Gandhi, while boarding a train in South Africa along with his wife Kasturba, lost one of his shoes in his rush to get into the compartment. When he realised that he wouldnt be able to retrieve his shoe, he immediately took off the other one and threw it towards the track. Kasturba, who never had any high regard to her husbands common sense (courtesy historians), began ridiculing her husband, as ever. Gandhi instantly served the clarification: It would be better if someone gets a pair than just one shoe. At least he can use what I have lost. I think this quick action easily constitutes an unparalleled definition for common sense. Once, when Pope Francis was addressing a crowd of nearly 150,000 people, a young boy joined him on stage. Later, the boy embraced the Pope and found his seat on the coveted chair. Instead of expressing his anger, the Pope responded by patting the tiny tot on the head and carried on with his speech. Undoubtedly, the millions who witnessed the scene through television channels might have saluted the common sense of the first shepherd. I can still recollect the smile of George Bush when an Iraqi Journalist threw shoes at him. He managed to brush aside the situation with a simple smile. In fact, the entire world felt his smile as common sense. Recently, in India, a nephew of one of the members of the legislative assembly in Bangalore posted derogative content in social media, hurting the religious sentiments of a particular community. This ended up in a clash where three persons died and injured many others. This person was later arrested by the police and sent to public prosecution. Unfortunately, later on, another party leader (also with no common sense) announced a 51 lakh reward on the head of the nephew of the MLA, which intensified the issue in the society. After realising the trouble, he tried to flee to Nepal, but the police managed to snag him. When you sit on a decision-makers seat, especially in a daily newspaper, it is important to use the wisdom and common sense not to publish or post any content which can incite religious sentiments or possibly incite dislike or hatred among communities. Yesterday, when one of our online team members asked permission to post the video of a local woman damaging a shop in Juffair and defaming a sect and its idols, my first response was a big NO and WAIT. Most of the time, those who work on online platforms think only about the reach. Online media is a very sensitive place where one can easily damage the reputation of an individual or country by posting an unwanted inciting video or post. Bahrains name is known globally for its religious harmony and tolerance. As expected, Bahrains legal system worked swiftly and arrested the woman within hours. The Diplomatic Advisor to His Majesty the King, the former Foreign Minister, condemned the incident. I still remember the day we had a power cut for a few hours; the next day, the highest authorities had apologised for the inconvenience caused to the citizens. This makes Bahrain a perfect model for other countries to follow. I think only a simpleton may allow publishing such videos and the one with no common sense may allow random people to post inciting comments. Am I making sense? Or is my common sense at stake? ALBANY The City School District of Albany relies on grants, partnerships and parents personal health care to maintain their school-based health centers in three of their middle schools but Superintendent Kaweeda Adams anticipates an increase in demand while their K-12 students cope with stress and trauma during COVID-19. For the past six or seven months, weve been living in an uncertain environment and that uncertainty is multifaceted, Adams said. For some of our students it may be, Where are we going to live? What are my health concerns other than COVID? People are living trauma every day. While the district has made a sustained effort to support their students mental health, aid from the federal government would allow them to open more school-based health centers to better anticipate students social, emotional and behavioral needs while going to school during a pandemic. Its been over two years since four members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, and former U.S. Rep. John Faso, R-Kinderhook, introduced the School-Based Health Centers Reauthorization Act, which funds programs that provide mental health care services for adolescents. The bill was originally introduced in 2018, but is now moving through Congress. In a July 29 hearing in Washington, D.C., supporters testified that the legislation is essential as students head back to school during the pandemic. Americas school-based health centers ensure that millions of our nations students have direct access to critical health services, including mental health, when they need them, Tonko said in an emailed statement. As we continue to navigate the rough waters of this pandemic, we must take steps necessary to ensure any student required to attend classes in person not only has the resources and conditions they need to stay safe, but also the health services they need to maintain resilience and endure this unique burden being placed on them. The new version of the bill amends the Public Health Service Act and would fund school-based health centers until 2024. The authorization for school-based health centers lapsed in 2014, and it is important that we strengthen these programs with additional federal funding, said Frank Pallone Jr., a Democrat from New Jersey who chairs the House's Subcommittee on Health. These health centers are a powerful tool for achieving health equity among children and adolescents who unjustly experience disparities in outcomes because of their race and family income. Robert Boyd, president of the School-Based Health Alliance, attended the hearing held by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. He testified that 3.6 million children depend on school-base health centers, which offer an array of medical and mental health services to students primarily from low-income families. We must treat this pandemic as we would a mass incident like tornados, hurricanes or school shootings that wreak multiple levels of havoc on an entire community, Boyd said. Some of the pandemics harm is visible and immediately apparent, but other damage may be less visible, such as increases in depression, anxiety, sleep problems, hunger and stress caused by childrens struggles with online learning and social isolation. Damian Zuloaga, assistant professor of psychology at the University at Albany, studies how stress affects human cognitive functions, especially in adolescent brains. He said resources such as school-based health centers are essential during a pandemic to help students manage stress, which could prevent them from developing chronic mental illness later in life. Stress has been shown to affect a lot of the brain areas that are involved in emotional regulation and general cognitive functions, like learning and memory, Zuloaga said. Further down in life, or even very soon, chronic stress could lead to depression and anxiety. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Zuloaga said adolescents prefrontal cortexes are particularly at risk, as adult brains arent fully matured until age 25. Its important to emphasize that, in some ways, the high school adolescent brain is potentially more sensitive to the effects of chronic stress than an adult in terms of how it affects their [development] and behavior, Zuloaga said. While the bill moves through Congress, the Albany school district hopes to expand their partnership with Northern Rivers, a family services agency, to open more school-based health centers in their high school and in Harriett Myers Middle School. Lori McKenna, superintendent of secondary education, said every school in the district has a student support team made up of psychologists, social workers, counselors, nurses and behavior specialists. She said they will also continue to offer wraparound support specific to students needs and schedule social and emotional teaching sessions while their students re-acclimate to class rooming learning regardless if its in person or online. Adams said mental health advocacy benefits not only the students and staff in schools, but the community as a whole. A healthy society is a progressive, prosperous society, just as an educated society is a healthy, prosperous society, Adams said. If we don't address social and emotional well-being and mental health, we are really doing a disservice because we are not able to provide for our children those wraparound services that break down those systemic barriers to their success. Megan Sauer is a reporter for the Medill News Service and journalism master's degree student at Northwestern University. The family of a farm worker who suffered 20 percent burns after a work accident have held a tractor run to raise money for the hospital which treated him. Around a hundred farmers attended the charity event in Buxton, Derbyshire, on Saturday (15 August). The event raised thousands of pounds for Wythenshawe Hospital, which treated 20-year-old Scott Goodwin back in May. The farmhand had arranged some branches and leaves in a pile ready to burn after doing some tree clearance at the farm where he works near Buxton. Unbeknown to him, someone had added a bag to the pile, which is thought to have contained a gas canister or some sort of highly flammable liquid. When he lit the pile he remembers hearing a loud bang and seeing a ball of flame shooting towards him. Instinctively, his arms went up to protect his face, causing his arm and T-shirt to catch fire. Thinking quickly on his feet, Scott dived into a nearby water trough to extinguish the fire, before managing to drive himself a mile back to the main farmhouse to get help. I remember piling all the rubbish up and lighting the fire, said Scott. Then I turned round and heard a really loud bang and the fire blasted towards me. "I dont remember feeling any pain or anything. I just remember feeling really shocked. I ran to the trough and jumped in to submerge as much of my body as I could." He added: I can remember the accident and then getting to our local hospital but after that I was given morphine, gas and air for the pain, so memory wise it was a bit of a blur after that. My local hospital showered me and wrapped me up and then sent me straight to Wythenshawe Hospital in south Manchester, because it has a specialist burns unit. Saturday tractor run event was a way for Scott and his family to thank those at Wythenshawe Hospital who cared for him. Today show host Karl Stefanovic has blasted a report claiming that Channel Nine is the 'worst offender' when it comes to lack of on-air diversity. A report published by Media Diversity Australia on Monday claims that just 11.4 per cent of the live talent on news and current affairs shows are from non-Anglo-Celtic and non-European backgrounds. This figure shrinks to three per cent for Channel Nine, according to the non-profit organisation's findings. Karl was quick to dispute the report, saying that he was proud to have 'diverse European heritage'. He also pointed out that he'd faced discrimination in the past because of his immigrant background. The 46-year-old tweeted: 'Im not sure how diverse you need to be to qualify for diverse but I'm of Yugoslav German and British heritage with a surname Stefanovic. I used to be called a wog at school.' In the Australian vernacular, 'wog' is a racial slur for a foreigner or immigrant, especially one from southern Europe. Karl claimed that his 'diversity' had long been celebrated by the network, adding: 'I'm proud of my heritage. I'm pretty sure it's diverse and Nine has always supported that.' 'I'm proud of my European heritage': Today show host Karl Stefanovic has blasted a report claiming that Channel Nine is the 'worst offender' when it comes to lack of on-air diversity 'I'm pretty sure it's diverse': Karl was quick to dispute the report by Media Diversity Australia, tweeting that he was proud to have 'diverse European heritage' and also pointing out that he'd faced discrimination in the past Karl's tweet was in response to a news article which claimed the Media Diversity Australia report was 'embarrassing' for Australian broadcasters. His viewpoint sparked backlash among the Twitterverse, with many critics saying that Karl is the beneficiary of white privilege because of his European roots. One lectured: 'Karl, giving your own Caucasian European Christian background does not address diversity.' They continued: 'Diversity means inclusivity of non-white, non-Christian people both male and female. You are a cis white male Christian and enjoy the lion share in society. Open your eyes. Make space.' 'Cis', short for 'cisgender', refers to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with the sex they were assigned at birth. Another tweeted: 'Karl, well it is and isn't about you. When I look at my friends and family, I see real Australia, a multi-coloured vibrant community. I don't see that Australia reflected in the faces on mainstream Australian TV channels. You should be pushing to change this. It's your fight too.' New report: A report published by Media Diversity Australia on Monday claims that just 11.4 per cent of the live talent on news and current affairs shows are from non-Anglo-Celtic and non-European backgrounds. This figure shrinks to three per cent for Channel Nine, according to the non-profit organisation's findings. Pictured: Karl with his Today co-host Allison Langdon 'Open your eyes': Karl's tweet was in response to a news article which claimed the Media Diversity Australia report was 'embarrassing' for Australian broadcasters. His viewpoint sparked backlash among the Twitterverse, with many critics saying that Karl is the beneficiary of white privilege because of his European roots Someone else wrote: 'Instead of taking the easy white privileged middle-aged male option and dismissing or criticising the report, why not use your voice to support the principles and outline what you'd do to change things for the better, now and in the future?' Another person joked that they were diverse too because 'one of my grandparents is half Scottish'. In response to Karl's Twitter post, Media Diversity Australia explained its findings in a follow-up tweet. His perspective: Karl claimed his 'diversity' had long been celebrated at Channel Nine The organisation wrote: 'Thanks for being interested in our research, Karl, and the issue of representation in TV news. You were counted in the data as having a European background.' Media Diversity Australia's report claimed that Channel Seven was marginally better than Nine with 4.8 per cent on-screen diversity, while Channel 10 had 8.6 per cent. SBS was found to be Australia's most representative network with 76.8 per cent of on-air talent being ethnically diverse. Dialogue: In response to Karl's tweet, Media Diversity Australia explained its findings in a follow-up tweet. The organisation wrote: 'Thanks for being interested in our research and the issue of representation in TV news. You were counted in the data as having a European background' Darren Wick, Nine's director of news and current affairs, said: 'I don't think simply counting surnames on TV is an effective way of addressing the issue or helps in finding practical solutions to these challenges. 'This report has clear errors and ignores the significant contribution of someone like Brooke Boney on Today, where is she one of four main hosts on the desk, instead simply listing her daily and regular contribution on the program at somewhere between 0.1 per cent and 0 per cent [an early copy of the report rounded Channel Nine's overall Indigenous representation to 0 per cent but was revised to 0.1 per cent in the final release]. 'This is not reflective of the real changes and proactive appointments we have been making in improving diversity in our television business.' Above, a Taiwanese soldier during drills aimed at deterring China. U.S. war-game simulations show pushing back a Chinese invasion is a grim prospect. By Richard Bernstein, RealClearInvestigations August 17, 2020 Around a large table with a map and icons representing ships, submarines, planes, missile batteries, land-based forces, space-based sensors, and other apparatuses of modern warfare, officials from the Pentagon and the Rand Corp. fight a thus far unimaginable conflict. The Red Team, composed of experts on the Chinese military, aims to use all available forces to capture Taiwan, the island 90 miles off the coast that China regards as a renegade province and that it has repeatedly vowed to retake, by force if necessary. China's strategy would be to get an invasion fleet across the Taiwan Strait before the U.S. could come to its tiny allys aid. And once that happens we'd face an Iwo Jima situation, says a defense analyst, referring to a costly campaign to dislodge occupying Japanese in World War II. The Blue Team, made up U.S. military personnel with operational experience fighter pilots, cyber warriors, space experts, missile defense specialists must try to defeat the Chinese invasion. It doesn't generally go well for the Blue Team. It's had its ass handed to it for years, David A. Ochmanek, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for force development and now a defense analyst at Rand, told RealClearInvestigations. For years the Blue Team has been in shock because they didn't realize how badly off they were in a confrontation with China. War game simulations are not the real world, of course, where an array of economic, diplomatic and cultural considerations inform a country's military decisions and actions. And few experts on China seem to think that the country will actually go to war over Taiwan anytime soon. But as the U.S. seeks a closer alliance with Taiwan illustrated by the visit of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar there last week, the highest-level official U.S. delegation to the island in 40 years the possibility of war between the two superpowers may be more than theoretical: A bill now before both houses of Congress, the Taiwan Defense Act, would end the long-held American policy of strategic ambiguity which aims to keep China guessing as to the U.S. response to any attempt to take Taiwan by force and require the U.S. to delay, degrade, and ultimately defeat an attempt by China to use military force to seize control of Taiwan. David Ochmanek, ex-Pentagon official and defense analyst: The American side in Taiwan war-game simulations has had its ass handed to it for years. The proposed legislation reflects strong bipartisan support for Taiwan in Congress. But it's hard to predict. whether public opinion, already tired of long American wars in Asia, would support the faraway island, where the U.S. maintains has no U.S. military presence now although it maintains forces in the region. Nonetheless, if passed the measure would be far more than a tough talk statement of belief it would impose serious legal obligations that would demand action. This adds an urgency to the questions officials are now asking: What would happen if China launched an all-out military effort to seize Taiwan? Does the United States possess the wherewithal to meet the obligations of the Taiwan Defense Act? These questions are hotly debated among military specialists and within the Pentagon, but at a time of national preoccupations over COVID-19 and the looming presidential election, they have received scant notice in the mainstream press. And yet, given the rise of tensions with China, they are perhaps among the most important facing the country. Taiwan became a separate entity from Mainland China in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist forces retreated to the island, 90 miles off China's southeast coast, and set up a rival government. Over the years, even as every major country has officially recognized Beijing as the rightful government of all of China, Taiwan has become a full-fledged democracy, with public opinion there overwhelmingly opposed to any formula that would reattach the island to the mainland and its authoritarian ways. Despite Chinas often warlike rhetoric and its continuous efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically not allowing it, for example, to participate in World Health Organization meetings even during the coronavirus pandemic most analysts think it does not want to use military force against Taiwan. Taiwanese amphibious troops in exercises this year to show determination to defend Taiwan from Chinese threats. In the short term China seems to be hoping that the Trump administration's hard line is more a matter of electoral politics than a permanent American position. U.S. intelligence has also concluded that Beijing hopes Trump loses in November to former Vice President Joe Biden (who faces criticism over his son Hunter's lucrative deals in China.) Still, Chinas tense relations, not just with the U.S. but many Western nations, are not rooted in electoral politics. There is a more general alarm over aggressive Chinese policies, including the mass detention of Uighurs; its claims in the South China Sea; its crackdown on Hong Kong's traditional freedoms; its cyberattacks against other governments; and fears that it is using high-tech products it exports to spy on citizens of other countries. China shows no sign of moderating its policies, especially in areas that it regards as its core interests, and no core interest is more important to it than establishing its sovereignty over Taiwan. As China faces more criticism, there's no question that achieving what Beijing calls the reunification of the motherland would be a crowning glory for the Chinese Communist Party and its authoritarian leader, Xi Jinping. Senior Chinese officials continually issue warnings that they are ready to use force if other means of achieving reunification fail, and that is the reason for China's massive military buildup, which, as the Pentagons war games show, has created a new and unprecedented challenges for the United States. China staging large-scale war games in 2016 featuring mock beach landings, helicopter assaults and tank battles along its east coast facing Taiwan. As several military analysts put it, the days of unfettered American military superiority in the Western Pacific are over. China has, the analysts say, achieved what's called anti-access area denial, or A2/AD, which would prevent American forces from being able to penetrate anywhere near Taiwan once a war there started. Given this capability, China, with its 2-million-strong military, might directly attack Taiwan, with a standing force of 220,000, hoping that the U.S. would stay out of the conflict. But the U.S. would have powerful reasons for not allowing that to happen. Aside from the destruction of a friendly democracy, a Chinese seizure of Taiwan would enormously expand China's power and position in Asia, especially if combined with its absorption of the entire South China Sea into its maritime territory. This would be a major step forward for China, now clearly a strategic revival and an enemy of democracy, in its goal of replacing the U.S. as the dominant power in all of Asia. If China felt that the U.S. would intervene, military planners from the Pentagon and Rand who have gamed out scenarios believe a war over Taiwan would most likely begin with a massive attack by advanced Chinese missiles against three American targets: its bases on Okinawa and Guam, its ships in the Western Pacific, including aircraft carrier groups, and its air force squadrons in the region. Military analysts predict the American side would initially counter with Patriot anti-missile missiles. But the sheer number of Chinese missiles would mean that hundreds of them would reach their targets. American submarines operating near Taiwan would be able to sink some Chinese ships, including amphibious landing craft bringing the Chinese invading force to Taiwan. But the number of submarines near enough to the battle zones at the time of the Chinese strike would, analysts say, be around 20 or 25, each armed with about 12 torpedoes and 10 or so Harpoon missiles, not nearly enough to overcome China's flood-the-zone strategy. Military analysts seem to agree that in the first day or two, there would likely be thousands of American deaths and the loss of billions of dollars worth of materiel. We're playing an away game against China, Rands Ochmanek said. When bases are subjected to repeated attacks, it makes it exponentially more difficult to project power far away. The casualties that the Chinese could inflict on us could be staggering, said Timothy Heath, a senior international defense researcher at Rand and formerly a China analyst at the U.S. Pacific Command headquarters in Hawaii. Anti-ship cruise missiles could knock out U.S. carriers and warships; surface-to-air missiles could destroy our fighters and bombers. Lyle Goldstein, U.S. Naval War College: My appraisal is that Taiwan would fold in a week or two. China would have its own challenges. At the same time as it worked to keep the U.S. out of the battle zone it would have to address the trickier and riskier part of the operation: getting an invasion force, consisting of tens of thousands of troops, across the 90 miles separating Taiwan from the Mainland. They are giving off a lot of signals about how this campaign would unfold, Lyle J. Goldstein, a China and Russia specialist at the Naval War College in Rhode Island, told RCI. They're talking a lot about airborne assault in two varieties, by parachute and by helicopters. It's what's called vertical envelopment. Amphibious assault is old school. It may be necessary but it's not the main military effort. The new school is to bring lead elements over by air, secure the terrain and then bring in more forces over the beach. The intensity and scale of training in the Chinese military now for airborne assault is, to me, shocking. There would be 15, maybe 20 different landings on the island, east, west, north, and south, all at once, some frogmen, some purely airborne troops, Goldstein continued, saying he was expressing his own views, not official assessments of the U.S. The Chinese high command would watch these bridgeheads to see which of them is working, while the Taiwan command is looking at this amid decapitation attempts and massive rocket and air assaults. The Chinese would seize several beachheads and airports. Their engineering prowess would come into play in deploying specialized floating dock apparatuses to ensure a steady flow of supplies and reinforcementsa key element. My appraisal is that Taiwan would fold in a week or two. In short, China's strategy would be to get an invasion fleet across the Taiwan Strait before the U.S. could come to its allys aid. And once that happens we'd face an Iwo Jima situation, Ochmanek said, referring to the small Japanese-held island in the Pacific that the U.S took in one of the most casualty-heavy battles of World War II. Once Taiwan was occupied, the option of retaking it with an amphibious assault of our own would be very unattractive. Taiwan's military fired missiles from the air and the island's shore facing China in a live-fire exercise to demonstrate its ability to defend against any Chinese invasion. Goldstein has likened an American commitment to defend Taiwan, of the sort that would be required by the proposed Taiwan Defense Act, to be a kind of Cuban Missile Crisis in reverse, a reference to the 1962 confrontation between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, which ended when the Soviets backed away from its effort to put nuclear missiles on the island just 90 miles from Florida. The overwhelming American advantage on Cuba then mirrors what Goldstein sees as an overwhelming Chinese advantage on Taiwan today vast conventional superiority in a region of the world far closer to it than to the U.S., combined with the wide recognition that the island's fate is a 'core interest' that united Chinese citizens behind the cause. China also seems aware of the comparison. A typical statement earlier this month in Global Times, the nationalist mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, put it this way: The Mainland has many cards, including military cards, and it is very important that our will to play those cards at critical moments will be far better than Washington's. Other experts, however, believe that the situation is not quite as bleak as the war games would indicate, or at least that it can be remedied. They argue: 1) that the American deterrent even now is still strong enough to make China very hesitant to use force on Taiwan, and 2) that the U.S. can and should adapt to China's capacity with new weapons and new tactics that would enable the country to prevail if it did come to an armed confrontation. According to most analysts, the key to defending Taiwan would require stopping Chinas ability to transport a large occupying force the 90 miles across the Taiwan Strait. Chinese military publications are full of pictures of what such an assault would look like hundreds of amphibious tanks landing on Taiwan's beaches, troops arriving on new landing craft called 075 units (now being built), and thousands of troops parachuting into the country at night. They have also been heralding the use of helicopters flying below Taiwan's radar to land advance troops. LRASMs, can be fired from ships as far as 600 miles away. Turning back invading Chinese in this way "comes down to sinking about 300 Chinese ships in about 48 hours, Ochmanek said. American long-range anti-ship missiles, Some analysts say that the U.S. could counter that threat by shifting from a reliance on aircraft carriers and long-range bombers to weapons such as stand-off missiles that is, missiles fired from beyond the range of any Chinese attack, especially a new generation of long-range anti-ship missiles, or LRASMs, that can be fired from ships as far as 600 miles away. A second component of a Taiwan defense would be space-based reconnaissance using artificial intelligence to locate enemy targets, which the LRASMs would hit; a third would be an American version of flooding the zone, with unmanned undersea drones that could fire torpedoes at Chinese landing craft. All of these things are doable, Ochmanek said. There's no magic here, no technological breakthroughs. He estimates that the Defense Department could make the needed changes if it diverted about 5 percent of its budget about $35 billion -- a year. Taiwan, he said, also needs to move away from the glamorous, showy weapons, like F-16 fighter planes, that it buys from the United States. The F-16s are not going to get off the ground once the war starts, Ochmanek said. They need anti-ship cruise missiles, sea mines, mobile artillery, mobile air defenses, unmanned aerial vehicles. It comes down to sinking about 300 Chinese ships in about 48 hours, he said. Analysts believe Taiwan could spend more on defense than it does currently about $13 billion a year, which is a small fraction of the estimated $225 billion to $260 billion that the mainland spends. But, they say, it already possesses sea mines and coastal missile defenses that could take a heavy toll on a Chinese invading force assuming they aren't wiped out in an initial Chinese missile attack. It could shoot down helicopters with Stinger missiles, which the U.S. has agreed to sell Taiwan. Taiwanese forces could shoot down Chinese helicopters with Stinger missiles, which the U.S. has agreed to provide. What both sides can do is turn the sea and air space around Taiwan into a no-go zone, Heath said. China could do that, but we could make it very hard for any surface ship to survive near Taiwan, including Chinese transport vessels loaded with troops. That alone might stop an invasion. And if it doesn't? China would face the risk of a larger war with the United States, which might involve nuclear weapons and an outcome Beijing could not guarantee. The biggest threat to China is that a regional anti-China coalition forms, Heath said. And so if the United States can succeed in building its alliances in Asia, that would be a powerful deterrent, because China can't afford to go to war with Asia. Others, like Goldstein, fully agree that China would be reluctant to go to war, but they argue also that if war should happen, it's unrealistic indeed, Goldstein says its dangerously self-deluding to think that the combined forces of Taiwan and the U.S. would prevail. "I don't agree that all we'd have to do is sink 300 ships, he said. Chinese war planners would expect to lose a thousand ships. They would put 10,000 boats, ferries, barges and fishing craft into the water, with thousands of decoys, far more than there would be LRASMs or submarines to sink them. Ryan Reynolds has been entertaining his fans on social media with his hilarious posts about parenting, his wife Blake Lively, and basically everything under the sun. Interestingly, the "Deadpool" star proved that he is indeed the King of Twitter with his comical take on British Columbia Premier John Horgan's request to help educate the young citizens and to observe health protocols amid the COVID-19 crisis. Ryan Reynolds' Hilarious Advice For Young Citizens Of British Columbia The Vancouver native immediately granted Horgan's request and gave his advice to the youth. Of course, being the funny guy, Reynolds made it extra special and created a fake voicemail for Horgan alongside a caption: "Called your office. Left a message." In the 90-second voice memo, the father-of-two pointed out that he might be the wrong guy to give a medical advice. "Oh, hey! John Horgan, Ryan Reynolds here. I got your message about the thing. I'm not sure it's a great idea, frankly, uh, people -- I don't think they want medical advice from guys like me, no, sir. Unless it's plastic surgery, which a lot of people don't know this, but I used to be Hugh Jackman." "Deadpool" Star Warned the Youth Not to "Kill" His Mom Reynolds then mentioned the effects of coronavirus to people, most especially to old folks who are considered vulnerable to the deadly disease. "They probably don't know that thousands of young people aren't just getting sick from coronavirus, they're also getting sick from it too. And, of course, it's terrible that it affects our most vulnerable. BC -- that's home to some of the coolest old people on earth," Reynolds continued. The "Green Lantern" star went on and even name-dropped environmental activist and Award-winning geneticist David Suzuki, as well as his mother who "doesn't want to be cooped up in her apartment all day." He claimed that his mom wants to spend her time cruising in Kitsilano Beach while "looking for some young 30-something Abercrombie burnout." Reynolds concluded his voice clip by urging the youth not to "kill" her mom or anyone by following the government-mandated safety protocols. "Here's the thing, I hope that young people in BC don't kill my mom, frankly, or David Suzuki, or each other! Let's not kill anyone. I think that's reasonable." British Columbia Facing Second Wave of Coronavirus Pandemic Currently, the British Columbia -- which is the home to Vancouver and is Canada's third most populous province -- is facing the second wave of the pandemic due to the massive growth of new cases in the past few months. According to the recent reports, the surge is being driven largely by young adults, aged between 20 to 39 years old. This has prompted the province to step up and double its effort to communicate and educate the people regarding the effects of COVID-19. The government even recruited social media influencers and celebrities to add their voices to the campaign. As of now, BC has more 4,000 active cases and nearly 200 fatalities. On the brighter side, recovered COVID-19 patients reached more than 3,500 cases. READ MORE: Kim Kardashian Heartbreak: 3 Negative Effects of Kanye West's Presidential Bid After becoming dean of the University of Illinois business school in 2015, Jeffrey Brown worried that politics or a virus would choke off a major source of revenue for his school: Chinese graduate students. So, in 2017, along with the engineering school, Brown bought insurance worth up to $61 million to protect the university against such losses, including $36 million due to a pandemic. His worst fears came true earlier this year when the coronavirus hit. But despite his foresight, things have not gone as planned. A Reuters review of emails between school officials and insurance brokers, and interviews with people familiar with the situation show the university may get a payout to cover lower tuition revenue this year, but it can no longer get pandemic, visa restriction, or sanctions coverage. How the university, which first made headlines for its pioneering insurance coverage in late 2018 as the Trump administration ramped up its anti-China policies, lost the protection just when it needed it the most is detailed here for the first time. While it is known that insurers pulled back from various types of coverage in recent months and raised prices, the account provides new insight into how quickly the market deteriorated. The university opened negotiations to renew its 2017 policy, which was scheduled to expire in May 2020, as early as the fall of last year, according to the emails, which were obtained by Reuters through a Freedom of Information Act request. The policy could have been renewed by Christmas last year, but a bureaucratic misstep necessitated a new broker, delaying the process, according to the emails and two of the sources. That meant the virus hit as brokers at a Marsh & McLennan Co. Inc. unit that took over were negotiating the renewal with lead insurer AXA XL through the Lloyds of London insurance marketplace. As weeks passed and the virus progressed, renewal options rapidly narrowed while costs increased. The university is now exploring a possible claim for the current year, according to the emails. We can hope the insurer/reinsurer outlook would be clearer in a years time, Marsh executive Tarique Nageer wrote in an April 29 email to university officials. A University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign spokeswoman declined to comment. A Marsh spokeswoman declined to comment on behalf of the company and Nageer. AXA XL, a unit of AXA SA , and Lloyds of London declined comment. NIGHTMARE SCENARIO About 1.1 million foreign students attended U.S. higher education institutions in the 2018-19 school year and contributed nearly $45 billion to the countrys economy in 2018, according to the Institute of International Education. For a graphic, click https://tmsnrt.rs/30Ywem9 That ecosystem faces an existential threat as travel restrictions look set to keep many foreign students home this fall. Brown had long worried about such a possibility. In an interview in February 2019, he told Reuters that his nightmare scenario back in 2017 was that we would have a big flu scare that caused none of the students to show up on campus. About half of the graduate students at the Gies College of Business and 27% at the engineering school were from China and Hong Kong, university officials said. Brown, who served as senior economist in the White House Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, said it took him and his colleagues more than a year to find coverage, as they got internal approvals and found insurers willing to underwrite what was then a new type of policy. The coverage cost $424,000 a year and spanned three years. Reflecting on the coverage, Brown said in a recent interview, It wasnt as if I had some kind of crystal ball. But he added, It was interesting how novel it turned out to be. The policy first proved prescient when President Donald Trumps trade war with China and anti-immigration policies raised the specter of Chinese and other foreign students looking elsewhere for higher education. Other universities, including Tufts University, Emerson College and Rhode Island School of Design, said they considered similar coverage, too. The three universities said they passed on it. Tufts and Rhode Island said the cost was one concern. ANY UPDATES? By October last year, University of Illinois officials had started exploring the possibility of renewing the policy, according to two of the sources and emails. An error in the wording of the contract, however, meant that the university could not use the original brokers without first going through a months-long procurement process mandated by the state, the sources said. So it decided to switch to Marsh, which already had a contract with the university. The move proved to be a turning point, as it pushed the renewal into 2020, according to the emails and the sources. By late January, the virus was becoming a bigger concern. In a January 28 email, Tina Harlan, a risk manager at the university, asked Marshs Nageer for renewal options by March 1. A few days later, on February 11, Brown wrote to Harlan and other officials: Any updates? I am getting questions from all over the place Provosts office, system office, faculty, media, etc. I need some answers and soon. Harlan did not respond to a request for comment. NO SUPPORT Harlan circulated the renewal terms in an email on March 10, the day before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The terms quoted as much as $1.95 million to cover up to $58 million in tuition losses for three years, about 50% more expensive than the original policy. Further, the pandemic-related coverage was capped at $20 million, down from $36 million earlier, and the coronavirus was now excluded. As university officials sought to clarify the terms, the choices narrowed. In a March 27 email, Nageer said that AXA might further need to reduce its coverage for options that included communicable disease insurance. They apologize for this but this is based on a number of factors, including the constantly evolving coronavirus environment, he wrote. A few weeks later, Harlan reported to her colleagues that 3 of the 5 carriers on the current program are no longer writing coverage for political risk or communicable disease. By April 29, that, too, was gone. There is unfortunately no tangible support in the London markets for the Sanctions, Visa Restriction nor Communicable Disease elements of the expiring policy, Nageer wrote. (Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Edward Tobin) Topics COVID-19 Profit Loss China Education Illinois Training Development AXA XL Universities London GEORGINA, Ont. - An Ontario First Nation is turning to a drone delivery company for contact-free shipments of protective equipment and testing supplies in an effort to bolster enhanced protections against the COVID-19 pandemic. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 16/8/2020 (521 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A drone operated by Drone Delivery Canada is shown in this undated handout photo. As some Ontario First Nations take extra precautions to protect themselves from COVID-19, a drone delivery company is partnering with the federal government to provide contact-free deliveries of protective equipment and testing supplies. Drone Delivery Canada, a company based in Vaughan, Ont., will initially make small shipments of 10 pounds at a time to Georgina Island First Nation in Lake Simcoe during a pilot project funded by the federal government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Drone Delivery Canada *MANDATORY CREDIT* GEORGINA, Ont. - An Ontario First Nation is turning to a drone delivery company for contact-free shipments of protective equipment and testing supplies in an effort to bolster enhanced protections against the COVID-19 pandemic. Drone Delivery Canada, a company based in Vaughan, Ont., will initially make small shipments of roughly 4.5 kilograms at a time to Georgina Island First Nation in Lake Simcoe during a pilot project funded by the federal government. The company also has the ability to send packages of about 180 kilograms in larger unmanned aircraft if needed. William McCue, a councillor with the First Nation, says their community has upheld lockdown rules for longer than the rest of the province, and the use of drones will help supplies continue to roll in while people stay isolated. "At the beginning of the pandemic we had a total lockdown of the community," said McCue. "We tend to wait maybe three weeks or more before we go into the various phases that the province implements." With the drone delivery system set to begin in the coming weeks, McCue said his community is in a better position to handle a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though Georgina Island is relatively close to multiple urban centres, McCue says the logistics of ferrying in supplies mean it can take a week for protective supplies to ship to his community. Shipments can be further delayed by rough waters or inclement weather during harsh winters. With a drone service, shipments can be delivered to a depot on the island every hour, even with rain or snow. "I think the community will feel more at ease knowing there is another avenue for us to obtain supplies without (contact)," said McCue. If successful, he said drones could eventually be used to deliver everyday items like insulin and groceries to remote communities throughout the province. Michael Zahra, CEO of Drone Delivery Canada, said his company found multiple opportunities to get involved with pandemic responses after COVID-19 first became a worldwide crisis. "First Nations communites and remote communities have always been one of the markets that we've been addresssing since day one," said Zahra. "With the pandemic, we had a significant increase in inbound inquiries from First Nations communities and in healthcare... like hospitals, labs and senior homes." The company operates out of a control centre in Vaughan where staff monitor the operations of their unmanned fleet, and are able to intervene in special circumstances like weather events or unforeseen issues around air traffic. He described the service to Georgina Island as a back-up to the community's regular supply chain, with the added benefit of less contact. Drone Delivery Canada is also setting up a similar service for the Beausoleil First Nation in the Georgian Bay, and has previously delivered health-care products for a logistics firm out of Milton, Ont. Unmanned aircraft have been used as a tool to respond to the pandemic around the world. In United States, various firms are using drones to deliver personal protective equipment to limit person-to-person contact. In Dubai, drones have been used to spray disenfectant on streets. And in multiple Asian and European nations, drones have been used to monitor whether citizens are complying with social distancing. Back in Canada, Zahra said the pilot project with the Canadian government is meant to explore whether there could be wider uses of drone technology in remote environments. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2020. On Friday, a federal judge rejected General Motors bid to reopen its racketeering case against Fiat Chrysler (FCA) in light of new information about FCAs bribery of United Auto Workers officials. In court documents submitted on August 3, GM had alleged that FCA gave UAW officials control of secret foreign bank accounts worth tens of millions of dollars, building off GMs earlier claims that the UAW had been transformed into an FCA-controlled enterprise. The scale of the new allegations was orders of magnitude larger than had previously been revealed in the suit and the parallel criminal probe by federal investigators. According to GM's lawyers, the elaborate scheme involved various accounts in foreign countries, including Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Italy, Singapore and the Cayman Islands, to control corrupt individuals by compensating and corrupting those centrally involved in the scheme to harm GM. The beneficiaries of the payoffs included, according to GM, former UAW Presidents Ron Gettelfinger (with accounts in Panama and Switzerland) and Dennis Williams (Switzerland and Liechtenstein); and former UAW Vice President for GM Joe Ashton (Cayman Islands). A number of FCA executives were also allegedly given control over foreign accounts in order to ensure their support for the scheme, including Alphons Iacobelli, FCAs former vice president of employee relations who pleaded guilty in 2018 to federal criminal charges in relation to bribery of the UAW. In this July 14, 2015, file photo, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne, left, and United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams shake hands during a ceremony to mark the opening of contract negotiations in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File) However, Borman rejected GMs motion to amend his previous judgment dismissing GMs civil suit, calling GMs new information too speculative. Borman preposterously claimed that the existence of foreign bank accounts controlled by top union officials did not make it plausible that they were being used by FCA to bribe the UAW. The existence of foreign bank accounts, and an almost-thirty-year-old scandal do not, however, move GMs claims over the line from speculative or conceivable to plausible, Borman wrote. In its amended complaint, GM had also pointed to FCAs historic culture of corruption and bribery as a business tool, citing among other episodes a scheme dubbed Kickback City, Fiats bribery of Italian government officials with billions in lire during the 1990s, the almost-thirty-year-old scandal to which Borman referred. FCA hailed the decision and again denied wrongdoing. Judge Bormans ruling this morning once again confirms what we have said from the beginning that GMs lawsuit is meritless and its attempt to submit an amended complaint under the guise of asking the court to change its mind was nothing more than a baseless attempt to smear a competitor that is winning in the marketplace. GM said that it would appeal the ruling to the US Sixth Circuit Court in Ohio. A company spokesman, David Caldwell, said, Todays decision is disappointing, as the corruption in this case is proven given the many guilty pleas from the ongoing federal investigation. GMs suit will continue we will not accept corruption. What has driven its lawsuit against FCA is not concern about corruption in the UAW. Like Chrysler and Ford, GM has long cultivated an incestuous relationship with the union. All of the Big Three automakers established joint labor-management structures with the UAW four decades ago, through which hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate cash was legally funneled into the pockets of the union bureaucracy. What has driven GMs lawsuit is an increasingly bitter and desperate struggle over dwindling markets and profits in the auto industry, with the automaker attempting to leverage the revelations of FCA bribery of the UAW to eke out whatever advantage it can over its rival. Torpedoing FCA's planned merger with French automaker Peugeot, announced shortly before the lawsuit was filed, is no doubt a major strategic objective. The UAW has by now racked up a well-documented record of criminality, exposed extensively in federal criminal proceedings over which Borman himself has presided. His attempt to dismiss out-of-hand new evidence of far more substantial bribery reflects growing nervousness within the state over the explosive implications of the UAW being discredited even further amidst a growing upsurge of opposition among autoworkers. While former UAW President Gettelfinger sought to paint GMs allegations as a malicious and utterly baseless attack against me and a supposed unnamed member of my family, the UAW itself apparently did not issue any public response to Bormans ruling, apparently determining that a denial, while convincing virtually no one of their innocence, would draw additional attention to the allegations themselves, especially from autoworkers. Ten UAW officialsalong with one UAW officials widow, Monica Morganhave already pleaded guilty to various charges related to bribery, embezzlement, kickbacks, and tax evasion, including the previous UAW president, Gary Jones. Four out of the five last UAW presidents have now been implicated or reported to have been a subject of investigation, including Ron Gettelfinger, Dennis Williams (whose house was raided by the FBI last year), Gary Jones (to be sentenced in October), and the current president, Rory Gamble. While the UAW only doled out a miserable $250-275 dollars per week in strike pay during last years walkout against General Motors, it has spent millions of dollars in legal fees defending its current and former officers. The union spent $2.3 million since the beginning of the corruption scandal in legal defense, according to the Detroit News, and $320,912 on Williams defense alone last year. In a sign that the dragnet may be closing in on Williams, the UAW executive board voted last Tuesday to stop paying his fees. In July, Williams reportedly reimbursed the UAW $55,000 recently for inappropriate travel expenses, which, if GMs allegations about foreign bank accounts are true, is pocket change. Judge Borman had previously signaled his anxiety to bring GMs case to a quiet and swift conclusion, writing in an earlier order that it was a waste of time and resources and demanding the two companies CEOs meet to settle the matter. In an extraordinarily worded order, he wrote, If this case goes forward, there will be years of contentious litigation; motion hearings, multiple-day depositions of large numbers of executives and former executives, at GM and FCA, as well as United Auto Workers (UAW) officials, other Defendants, many third parties, and a plethora of [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act], labor law, and damages experts"in plain language, the revelations from the lawsuit, especially under conditions where automakers are collaborating with the UAW to keep workers on the line during the pandemic, could incite rebellion by autoworkers. There have been earlier signs that federal prosecutors may also be seeking to wrap up the years-long criminal cases brought against top UAW executives. Current UAW President Rory Gamble met earlier this summer with Matthew Schneider, the US Attorney in Detroit, to discuss the possibility of an independent monitor or other reforms so as to reduce the possibility of a recurrence of corruption, as Schneider said at the time. Regardless of the outcome of GMs civil suit or the federal corruption investigation, the UAW has by now been extensively exposed as a criminal enterprise from top to bottom, controlled by gangsters who have conspired with the auto companies to ravage workers living standards over decades, significantly enriching itself in the process. It is up to autoworkers to settle accounts with the UAW. Workers in Detroit, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois have taken the first steps, organizing rank-and-file safety committees independent of the UAW in order to stop the spread of the pandemic and demand safe and humane working conditions. This initiative must be developed into a network of committees across the auto industry in the US and throughout North America, democratically controlled by workers themselves, setting as their aim what workers actually need, not what the companies and the criminals in the UAW claim is affordable. On Sunday, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Delhi unit announced that nearly 200 people from the Muslim community had joined it. These people were residents of Shaheen Bagh, Okhla and Nizamuddin localities in the capital. One among them, Shahzad Ali, was reported to be a Shaheen Bagh "activist". The Aam Aadmi Party did a press conference on Monday, saying now that prominent Shaheen Bagh activists have joined the BJP, its clear that the Shaheen Bagh protests were sponsored by the BJP. But is Shahzad Ali, a "prominent Shaheen Bagh activist"? Was he in any way, leading the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act that went on in the national capital for nearly 3 months? Those who were part of the movement vehemently deny this claim. Shahzad Ali was one of the many volunteers who were part of the protests. He was more of a self-appointed security volunteer, said Kehkasha, a woman protester who was part of the movement since the beginning. She used to run a makeshift school at the protest site. Ive been there since the beginning and Ive never had to even interact with him, he was not at all known to people, she said. Ritu Kaushik, another woman who had been a part of the Shaheen Bagh protests since the beginning and was in charge of the stage, said Shahzad Ali was not even a regular there. No one even knew him there. He would come on some days and keep to himself. Ive never seen him even get on the stage. And now hes being called a main guy. The protests were largely about women and by women. How does it matter that one man who used to come to the protests on some days has joined a political party? she said. Shahzad was often spotted at the site in Shaheen Bagh but was never seen leading the protest in any manner. Most women we spoke to werent even familiar with his name. He has been a former Delhi unit secretary of the Uttar Pradesh-based Rashtriya Ulama Council, a political outfit known to be pro-BJP. The BJP says that Shahzad "never protested" and was actually opposed to the protests. Shahzad is a resident of Shaheen Bagh and a social worker there. He never protested. He was opposed to the protests and in fact, always tried to convince the people of Shaheen Bagh to call off the protests, said BJP spokesperson Nighat Abbas. Abbas told News18 that she helped organise this newly formed support base for the BJP in these Muslim-dominated areas. She aided the Delhi BJP in the joining of nearly 200 Muslim volunteers, including Shahzad. Shahzad was not an anti-CAA protester himself but he did manage to convince some anti-CAA people to join us, she said. Asif Anis is one such anti-CAA protester from Nizamuddin who has joined the BJP. He is an architect and is perhaps one of the few people on the list apart from Shahzad Ali with any known links to the anti-CAA movement. I was not against the BJP, I was against the Act. But now. Nighat Abbas ji has spoken to us, at length. I am convinced that the Act is also not harmful to Indians Muslims, Asif Anis said. Mehmood Pracha, an activist and a lawyer associated with the anti-CAA movement, said, There were thousands that turned up for the Shaheen Bagh protests. Except for the women who felt they needed to fight to protect the Constitution, there were people who may have been planted by the RSS. People who used to try to instigate protesters or disrupt the protests from its core constitutional values. Shahzad is one of them. They have been unmasked now and more will be unmasked in the days to come. Apart from Shahzad Ali, two other people shared the stage with Nighat Abbas and Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta: Dr Mehreen, a gynaecologist who lives in Shaheen Bagh, and Tabassum Hussain, a former AAP worker. Both these women have no known affiliation to the Shaheen Bagh protests. Dr Mehreen is a qualified doctor and Tabassum Hussain used to be in AAP. Both these Muslim women have joined the BJP because they believe the party has done good work for Muslim women, said Abbas. When asked if these two women protested at Shaheen Bagh during the anti-CAA stir, Abbas said no. News18 also reached out to women protesters of Shaheen Bagh to ask if they knew of these two women; no one could identify them. While it is true that Muslims who live in Shaheen Bagh, Okhla and Nizamuddin joined the BJP, theres no evidence to suggest that all of them were constructively part of the Shaheen Bagh protests. In fact, except for one man, Shahzad Ali, none of the others have any known, long-time affiliation to the Shaheen Bagh protests. The protests were spontaneous and led by hundreds and hundreds of ordinary women. They had no leader, there was no structured organising team. People from different ideologies may have attended the protest at different times. If one of those hundreds of volunteers joined the BJP today, that in no way means that all of us have had a change of heart. The movement to protect the constitutional values of India will continue, said Kehkasha, a protester. A video showing the intense moment an Indian Air Force (IAF) chopper airlifted a man stranded in the water at Khutaghat Dam near Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh has been shared on Twitter. Dipanshu Kabra, Inspector General of Police, Bilaspur range has shared several videos on his Twitter handle detailing the entire incident that led to the mans rescue by the IAF. A young man jumped in the waste water weir of Khutaghat near Ratanpur district Bilaspur. The flow was very heavy and he couldnt come out, Kabra tweeted earlier today. A Young man jumped in the waste water wier of khutaghat near Ratanpur district Bilaspur . The flow was very heavy and he couldnt come out . Sharing few videos pic.twitter.com/6ip5frMkzS Dipanshu Kabra (@ipskabra) August 17, 2020 The state police made several efforts to rescue the man on Sunday night, reports ANI. However, the heavy flow of the water and weather conditions posed as a problem and he couldnt be rescued. Kabra added that the man held onto a tree while sitting on a rock until he could be rescued. Finally we requested the Indian Air Force for chopper for today morning, he added in another tweet: The man continued sitting on the stone catching a tree . Heavy water flow and bad weather made rescue nearly impossible . Finally we requested the #indianairforce for chopper for today morning . pic.twitter.com/CjEh2LXUEQ Dipanshu Kabra (@ipskabra) August 17, 2020 What seems impossible to us, #IndianAirForce makes it look so simple, he wrote in a tweet detailing the rescue. Breathtaking! What seems impossible to us, #IndianAirForce makes it look so simple... The @IAF_MCC's #SkyWarrior first himself attempted to go down & bring the man up, risking his own life. But due to fast wind it wasn't possible, later the guy was rescued with other technique. pic.twitter.com/3xfpbScTbP Dipanshu Kabra (@ipskabra) August 17, 2020 Eventually, the man was successfully rescued. Incredible rescue happened. IAFs MI 17 Chopper arrived early morning today & he was airlifted. Thanks to @IAF_MCC @PoliceBilaspur and Vigilant Police Team & locals, hes safe, Kabra tweeted. Following the rescue, the man, identified as 34-year-old Jitendra Kumar Kashyap, was taken to Ramkrishna CARE Hospitals, Raipur, reports ANI. The Bilaspur Police Twitter handle also shared pictures from the rescue. Big Salute to Indian Airforce for launching rescue operation on our request in such adverse weather condition. Applause for Bilaspur police, admn, sdrf, ntpc, secl, local public who kept on trying to rescue him thruout last night, and kept hope alive in him. Ratanpur Khutaghat. pic.twitter.com/23zZQsyrCW BilaspurPolice (@PoliceBilaspur) August 17, 2020 The tweets about the rescue have collected several reactions from people on the micro-blogging application. Lots of appreciation for Bilaspur Police team, Indian Air Force and locals for saving a life of localite, commented an individual. Many thanks to the Police, Air Force and all who were involved in the mission. We are proud of you, added another. (With inputs from ANI) REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF WOOD BUFFALO, AB, Aug. 17, 2020 /CNW/ - Sash Corporation and Skyway Canada Ltd (" Skyway ") are pleased to announce that they have signed a joint venture partnership agreement to form a new company called Mamawi-Sky. The new company was established to provide technical solutions to clients in the Wood Buffalo region. The joint venture partnership was created to grow Skyway's presence in the Wood Buffalo region while enhancing opportunities and capabilities for Sash Corporation, creating a win-win for both organizations. "Mamawi" was included in the new company name as it is the Cree word for "together". "The four Metis Associations that make up Sash Corporation are thrilled for the benefits that the new joint-venture agreement with Skyway will create for our communities and our people," said Willow Lake Metis Nation CEO and Sash Corporation Spokesperson, Justin Bourque. "Skyway's extensive experience in providing scaffolding, mechanical insulation, coatings, fireproofing, rope access and swing stage services will enhance our capabilities as a company and will provide skills development and valuable work experience opportunities for our members." Sash Corporation is an economic partnership of four Metis Associations in the Wood Buffalo region, including the Willow Lake Metis Association, Fort MacKay Metis Community Association, Fort Chipewyan Metis Association, and Metis Nation of Alberta Conklin Local #193. Under the new joint venture partnership, 51 per cent of Mamawi-Sky is owned by Sash Corporation and 49 per cent is owned by Skyway. "Skyway is very committed to working together with our Indigenous partners in Canada and this new joint venture partnership is another step towards achieving this goal," said Skyway's President and CEO, Gary Carew. "To best support our clients in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo and to provide a local base for our new partnership, Mamawi-Sky will be based in Anzac. We look forward to providing technical solutions together for clients in the Wood Buffalo region." The new joint venture partnership has already started bidding on work in the region and expects to begin executing projects within the next quarter. The partnership has secured office space, creating a local and Indigenous company well-positioned to provide industry-leading value through its core services. Our success is stronger together. Together We Will Reach the Sky! About Sash Corporation Sash Corporation is an economic partnership of four Metis Associations in the Wood Buffalo region, including the Willow Lake Metis Association, Fort MacKay Metis Community Association, Fort Chipewyan Metis Association, and Metis Nation of Alberta Conklin Local #193. About Skyway Canada Limited Skyway Canada is one of Canada's largest specialty service companies offering access scaffolding, mechanical insulation, coatings, fireproofing, rope access and swing stage services. Skyway has been in business supporting customers since 1967 with offices across Canada. Skyway Canada Limited is a Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) Progressive Aboriginal Relations Committed member and is committed to working together with Indigenous partners to achieve economic success in local partner communities. SOURCE Mamawi-Sky For further information: Media contact for Sash Corporation: Peter Pilarski, Vice President, CIPR Communications, [email protected], 403-462-1160; Media contact for Skyway: Conrad Mitchell, Indigenous Engagement Manager, Skyway Canada Limited, [email protected], 780-413-8007; Business contact for Mamawi-Sky: Adam Green, Branch Manager, [email protected], 780-413-8007 Rapper Cardi B recently talked politics, pandemic and more with Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. (Elle) What do a 27-year-old rap star and a 77-year-old presidential candidate have in common? A lot more than meets the eye, apparently. Cardi B recently talked shop with Joe Biden over Zoom, covering everything from Medicare and free college tuition to racial justice and COVID-19, in an exclusive interview for Elle magazine. "I want to know when this will be over," Cardi said of the pandemic. "I want to go back to my job. But I dont want someone to lie to me and tell me that its OK not to wear a mask, that everything is going to be OK." The multihyphenate superstar and "WAP" hitmaker was referring to President Trump, whom she recently called for her fans to vote out of office. For Elle's September cover story, however, the artist clarified that although she was originally a fervent Bernie Sanders supporter she has vowed to back Biden on behalf of all Americans. Discussing racial justice with Biden, Cardi said, "I feel like Black people, were not asking for sympathy, were not asking for charity we are just asking for equality." "I want Black people to stop getting killed and no justice for it," she continued. "Im tired of it. Im sick of it. I just want laws that are fair to Black citizens and that are fair for cops too." The former vice president responded with a nod of respect. Cardi B has a history of voicing her opinions (specifically to her 72.9 million Instagram followers) but hasn't always been taken seriously as a cultural commentator. "One of the things that I admire about you is that you keep talking about what I call equity decency, fairness and treating people with respect," Biden said. "John Lewis, one of the great civil rights leaders, used to say the vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool you have." And as Cardi B voiced the concerns of her young fans issues like Medicare, access to a college education and racial equality Biden listened intently and responded with optimism for change. Story continues "He said, 'Joe, I just came from a protest,'" Biden said of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). "'There were as many white kids marching as Black kids. This is Mississippi, Joe. Things are changing.'" "That's so powerful," Cardi replied. She learned a lot from this conversation alone, she mused. But that didn't keep her from asking the hard questions: "People want to know, can you provide college education, this [healthcare] plan, without a big chunk of taxes coming out of our checks?" she asked. "Yes, we can," Biden responded. It was with shock and disbelief that the news of the death of Thomas Mulligan, USA and formerly of Larkfield, who passed away suddenly on Sunday, July 26 was received in his native Mullinalaghta and indeed the surrounding area. Son of Rose and the late Tom, Thomas crossed the Atlantic in 2001 to seek employment in the Big Apple. A reliable worker, Thomas will always be remembered for his beaming smile and warm welcome when he met people from home. A very friendly and outgoing character he would have celebrated his 40th birthday on August 4 had the Lord not called him home. His passing at such a young age is difficult to understand, with his hearty laugh leaving a huge void among family and friends. His death is all the more poignant for the family as his brother Vincent died, aged 16, following a road accident in 1988. A regular visitor home, he made his last trip in 2019. He looked forward to meeting his family, friends and neighbours. With the modern means of communication Thomas was able to keep in touch with all happenings around home. A Mass of Christian Burial for Thomas took place at St Barnabas Church, Bronx, New York on Tuesday, August 4. A memorial Mass will be held at a later date in St Columbas Church, Mullinalaghta. Deceased is survived by his loving wife Tara, heartbroken mother Rose, brother Sean, sisters Rosaleen and Teresa, sister-in-law, nephews and nieces to whom our sympathy is extended. May he Rest in Peace. Also read: Funeral arrangements announced for Longford man who died in New York 21 Pro Video Law enforcement in San Antonio responded to multiple shootings all weekend that resulted in at least 4 deaths and other injuries. Sunday: A barrage of bullets unleashed chaos at a South Side flea market Sunday morning as hundreds of vendors and shoppers fled in panic through the parking lot after an unknown dispute left five people shot. Three police officers were injured and 18 people were arrested as a result of a riot in Seattle over the weekend that involved explosives, bottles and rocks, authorities said. A protest against the Seattle Police Officers Guild erupted into violence Sunday night, police said in a news release. Police said the march began in the International District around 7.00pm with about 100 demonstrators accompanied by vehicles following behind. Three police officers were injured and 18 people were arrested as a result of a riot in Seattle involving explosives, bottles and rocks, authorities said A protest against the Seattle Police Officers Guild erupted into violence Sunday night, police said Police said shortly after 10pm, someone in the crowd set off a large explosive and attempted to break out a police vehicle window Police said the group moved toward the Seattle Police Officer Guild building and shortly after 10pm, someone in the crowd set off a large explosive and attempted to break out a police vehicle window. The demonstration was then declared a riot and police began dispersing the crowd. But as they tried to break up the group, individuals in the crowd began throwing rocks and bottles at officers. Multiple explosives were thrown toward the officers. Several officers were struck by explosives and injured, prompting them to call additional police to respond to the scene. The Seattle Fire Department responded to treat the injured officers. Blast balls and 'OC spray' - also known as pepper spray - were used to disperse the crowd, police said. Authorities said at least three officers were injured. One of the injured officers was hospitalized. The department released photos of some of the injuries including one officer with a black eye and another with a burn mark on their neck Blast balls and 'OC spray' - also known as pepper spray - were used to disperse the crowd, police said All 18 people who were arrested were booked into the King County Jail. Authorities said at least three officers were injured. One of the injured officers was hospitalized. The department released photos of some of the injuries including one officer with a black eye and another with a burn mark on their neck. This remains an active investigation, police said, adding that they will release more information at a later date. 17.08.2020 LISTEN Chiefs in Ahafo Region have commended the Regional Executives of the New Patriotic Party(NPP) over the introduction of an initiative to enhance development in the region. The Chiefs made the commendation when the Regional Executives used almost a week to tour the six assemblies(Asunafo North, Asunafo South, Asutifi North, Asutifi South, Tano North, and Tano South) constituting the region to inspect government projects and to also thank the chiefs playing an instrumental role in the creation of the region. The President and Leader of Kenyasi No.1 Traditional Council, Nana Osei Kofi Abiri (II) stated, the initiative which is first of its kind is good because it will push Municipal District Chief Executives (MDCEs) to perform for their people as expected. According to Nana Osei Kofi Abiri (II), the party's Regional Executives must be bold to question any of the MMDCEs who is underperforming to the satisfactory of the people because by so doing the residents will know that the government and the party leaders at the regional level are not satisfied with their performances. Berima Twereko Ampem (III), Paramount Chief of Ntotroso Traditional Council on his part said, with this initiative the MDCEs will have it mind that aside residents there are external eyes monitoring their activities been rolled out to boost development for the people. He stated that Chiefs in the region have been monitoring and assessing them but for the Regional Executives of the governing party to also get involved is a plus and a step in a right direction. At Goaso the capital of the region, the Leader and President of Goaso Traditional Council, Nana Akwasi Bosomprah explained, the Chiefs in the region are in full support of the initiative designed by the executives because it is in line with the fore idea of the chiefs. Nana Akwasi Bosomprah mentioned, the main reason that led residents to vote massively for the creation of the Region is to have development and to the chiefs, the key actors to achieve it are the MDCEs who represent the country's President. He further said, the Municipal District Assemblies(MDAs) in the region to develop, MDCEs play major role therefore for them to be assessed by their own party Executives demands an applaud. " I urge you to keep this initiative because it's a developmental tool to the regional " Goaso Traditional Council President said. Nana Akwasi Bosomprah stated categorically that the initiative must be adopted by other regional political party executives to keep MDCEs in check for development to thrive. To him henceforth, MDCEs can not take residents for granted when it comes to raising of developmental projects in the Region. The Ahafo Regional Chairman for NPP, Kwabena Owusu Sekyere who led the team thanked the chiefs for the role they played in the creation of Region which is gradually yielding good fruits in terms of development kind courtesy His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo - Addo, Ghana's President. Addressing the chiefs at their respective palace, the Regional Chairman explained, they are aware of what the people are expecting from this government so a decision is made to put up measures to monitor and assess the activities of MMDCEs in the Region. According to him, politics is about development and numbers so the executives of the party at the regional level will do their best to push MDCEs to work for the residents to help the party secure victory in the December 7 general elections. He assured the chiefs to update them on the outcome of their tour subsequently. He also urged the chiefs to monitor the developmental activities of the MMDCEs to help build a better region. He however told them that the initiative has come to stay as far as the party remains in power. The Regional Chairman of the party in his conclusion explained, the initiative will also give them a fair idea of the rapport between MDCEs and the Traditional Rulers who matter as well in terms of developing the assemblies. (Photo : Sean Gallup/Getty Images) FJAERLAND, NORWAY - AUGUST 12: While the many arms of the Jostedal glacier have gone through a natural process of expansion and recession over the past centuries, global warming has accelerated their melting over recent decades so that the glaciers are losing both length and depth. Climate change may cause a comeback for several diseases in Europe. Epidemics of smallpox, zika virus, and dengue season may soon arrive further up the Northern hemisphere as conditions become suitable for the Aedes aegypti. Melting permafrost may also mean the resurgence of ancient disease-causing bacteria. Vladimir Romanovsky from the University of Alaska explained how microorganisms could survive in a frozen state for a long time. Due to carbon emitted from fossil fuels, permafrost in Alaska, Canada, and Russia have been melting and absorbing three times more carbon than before. Ignorance is a major concerning problem, and humanity's biggest enemy shared Birgitta Evengard from Sweden's Umea University. "Nature is full of microorganisms," and people continually expanding our ecological footprint may trigger harmful organisms. Recently in July, the Milne Ice Shelf collapsed, which was the last remaining ice shelf in the Canadian Arctic that was fully intact. Around 30 square miles had broken off. Melting Permafrost According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, permafrost in the northern hemisphere will have a 25 percent decrease by 2100. As the frozen ground continues to thaw as a result of global warming, microorganisms in soil particles move towards the surface and begin to thrive again in the environment. Genomics professor Jean-Michel Claverie from Aix-Marseille University explained, "When you put a seed into the soil that is then frozen for thousands of years, nothing happens." When the earth warms up, the once-frozen seed can germinate. "That is similar to what happens with a virus." In his lab, scientists have been able to revive ancient Siberian viruses from over 30,000 years ago. The microorganisms had once attacked Neanderthals, mammoths, and other ancient species, Claverie explained. "Some of the viruses that caused their sicknesses are probably still in the soil." There may be a resurgence of Anthrax, bacteria that have been frozen in permafrost for hundreds of years, said Evengard. In 2016, there was a single reported death from the disease, which was last seen in Siberia 75 years before that. Harmful pathogens might also be found in infected carcasses that have been kept in permafrost. Older strains of common illnesses such as smallpox and influenza may also be buried deep in the permafrost. These diseases had killed millions in Europe in the early 1900s. Fortunately, there are already developed vaccines for these diseases. Nevertheless, scientists continue to worry about the 'industrial exploitation of the Arctic,' said Claverie, such as nuclear power plants. READ: Tropical Soils Are Highly Sensitive to Climate Change Tropical Diseases Continuous global warming will also allow mosquito populations to survive in Europe. Jeanne Fair from the Los Alamos National Laboratory said, "mosquitoes moving their range north are now able to overwinter in some temperate regions...[with] longer breeding periods." The Aedes aegypti carries diseases such as dengue, zika, malaria, and eastern equine encephalitis. Since 2010, the Europe Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has reported 40 cases of locally transmitted dengue. Experts fear that over the next few years, Europe may report more cases of tropical diseases and have dengue seasons due to climate change. READ NEXT: Massive Chunk of Canada's Last Ice Shelf Reduced by More Than Half Creating a Manhattan-Iceberg Check out more news and information on Climate Change on Science Times. - Kofi Oppong Owusu & Grace Adwoa Owusu are a married Ghanaian couple who run their own business called Aperto Windows -The couple met when they were in the same class at the University of Ghana, and got married the same year they graduated from school - Their business, Aperto Windows, now has employees and great plans for the future Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Mr Kofi Oppong Owusu and his beautiful wife Mrs Gracy Adwoa Owusu are young graduates from the University of Ghana who now run their own business called Aperto Windows. In an exclusive interview with YEN.com.gh, Kofi who can be reached on +233 55 811 3447, revealed that his wife was his coursemate that he properly encountered when they were both in level 300. The two, who also attended the same church, drew close to each other over time and decided to settle down as a married couple soon after they finished university. READ ALSO: Lady who was childless for 20 years gives birth to three babies at once Kofi and Adwoa, a young couple run their own business Source: Apertowindows.com Source: UGC READ ALSO: 6 beautiful mansions built by top Ghanaian stars Kofi and Adwoa graduated with bachelor's degree in Business Administration in May 2019, started their business together in July 2019 and got married in September 2019. According to Kofi, the journey to starting the business was a great risk he decided to take with his partner, as he was not financially strong at the time and actually got the startup capital from his lover. Currently, Kofi and Adwoa run Aperto Windows with about five employees and are able to serve dozens of firms and individual clients every month. READ ALSO: Ghanaians who believed rumours about Joe Mettle and Berla Mundi react after his wedding When asked how they are able to manage both their home and business as a couple, the handsome young man indicated that vision drives them to focus on whatever they need to get done together. Aperto Windows is into door blinds and lights with amazing prospects for the future. Meanwhile, YEN.com.gh earlier published that George Bannerman, a popular Ghanaian master of ceremonies (MC), has finally got married to his long time girlfriend who he dated for 13 years. Photos and videos from the marriage ceremony that took place on August 1, 2020, were sighted by YEN.com.gh on the Instagram and Twitter handles of the excited groom. In one of the videos, George presented a new Honda CRV to his beloved wife for sticking with him through thick and thin for more than a decade. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Faces of Ghana: 2 brothers paving roads in Ghana with granite and cobblestones: Share your stories and news by getting interactive on our Facebook page! Source: YEN.com.gh Postponing HKSAR LegCo election ensures efforts of COVID-19 response People's Daily Online (People's Daily) 09:49, August 16, 2020 Chinese lawmakers on Tuesday, August 11, voted to adopt a decision for the sixth Legislative Council (LegCo) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to continue performing duties for no less than a year until the term of the seventh LegCo starts. The decision was passed at the 21st session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature. The decision fully demonstrates the Chinese central government's care for the safety, lives and health of Hong Kong citizens, and its support for Hong Kong's victory over the COVID-19 epidemic, economic recovery and livelihood improvement. It also eliminates the worries of the HKSAR government and the Hong Kong society in fighting the virus, injecting strong confidence. At present, COVID-19 is still rampant around the world. Facts have repeatedly proved that to control the virus is an urgent task to ensure people's health and lives, as well as a premise for the normal economic and social functioning. Hong Kong encountered a fresh COVID-19 outbreak this July, facing severe situation of epidemic control. HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced in late July to postpone the election of the seventh-term LegCo, which was originally scheduled for Sept. 6, 2020, for one year due to the epidemic. The arrangement made by the Standing Committee of the NPC concerning the vacancy of the LegCo not only conforms to the Constitution, but also contributes to Hong Kong's efforts to contain COVID-19. Based on global experiences of fight COVID-19, only by putting people's lives in the first place can the world achieve a final victory over the virus and restore economic and social orders. If the election of the seventh-term LegCo started on original schedule, there would be over 3 million citizens voting, which would pose a high risk of cross infection given the current epidemic situation in the special administrative region. This would no doubt cause unexpected troubles and pressure for Hong Kong's COVID-19 control, as well as direct threats against the lives and health of Hong Kong residents. Under such background, to postpone the seventh-term LegCo election and have the sixth LegCo continue performing its duties conforms to the need of science-based epidemic control and helps uphold justice and equity of the LegCo election. It shows the high responsibility of the government in protecting the lives and health of the Hong Kong residents. Matters must be dealt with in an order of priority. At present, Hong Kong is confronted with a complicated situation where the fresh outbreak is intertwined with economic and livelihood issues. The anti-extradition bill movement taking place in June last year has already plunged Hong Kong's economy into a recession, and the COVID-19 epidemic is making the situation even worse. According to statistics, Hong Kong's economy in the second quarter of 2020 contracted 9 percent over a year earlier, and its private consumption expenditure decreased 14.5 percent in real terms in the same period. The HKSAR will face even bigger pressure in autumn if its COVID-19 situation couldn't be well controlled, let alone economic stability. Therefore, only by concentrating on COVID-19 control can the government restore normal social order and facilitate the special administrative region's economic recovery and livelihood improvement. Hong Kong belongs to the Chinese family, and the central government and the Chinese mainland will always be the largest backer of it as they are committed to protecting the lives and health of Hong Kong compatriots. As early as the COVID-19 epidemic just broke out, the central government has timely coordinated the supply of anti-epidemic materials and daily necessities for the HKSAR, and helped evacuate Hong Kong citizens stranded in the Chinese mainland and overseas back to Hong Kong. Facing the new round of COVID-19 outbreak, the central government has dispatched a medical team from Guangdong province to Hong Kong, offered medical materials such as masks and protective suits, and provided free nucleic acid testing for Hong Kong citizens. It is trying its best to help the HKSAR contain the epidemic and protect the lives and health of Hong Kong residents. Therefore, to postpone the timely decision made by the Standing Committee of the NPC not only is the optimal solution to the vacancy of the LegCo, but also will offer strong support for Hong Kong's efforts to contain the epidemic. People's lives come first amid COVID-19. To concentrate on combating the virus and ensure the lives and health of the citizens is a priority that comes before everything in Hong Kong. All sectors in Hong Kong must work together and shelve differences to defeat the virus under the leadership of the HKSAR government, and bring the Hong Kong society back to normal. We believe that under the firm supports of the central government, as well as the generous assistance from the Chinese mainland, the HKSAR government will definitely bring an early win over the virus and usher in a brighter future of the special administrative region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Research Future added a new Report in their huge database named as Global Influenza Vaccination Market. Report include top international players success milestones, industry recent trends, demand-supply and forecast up to 2023 Experts predict that Influenza Vaccination Market will grow at an approximate CAGR of 8.2% during the forecast period. Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses that infect the respiratory tract (nose, throat, and lungs) in humans. The symptoms and complications of flu are more severe than common cold. The symptoms associated with influenza may include fever, headache, malaise, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion, and body aches. Influenza vaccine can prevent illness and death caused by the influenza virus. Influenza vaccine can be administrated to both young and old patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2017, 67.2% of all the geriatric population within the U.S. suffered from influenza in 2016. Moreover, it was estimated that the disease caused 4,605 deaths in 2014. Such trends in the prevalence of influenza are the major driver for the market growth during the forecast period. Moreover, the immune-compromised growing geriatric population, increasing per capita healthcare expenditure and rising awareness of the disease will fuel the market growth. According to the National Institutes of Health, the people who age 80 or more are expected to grow from 126.5 million in 2015 to 446.6 million by 2050. However, stringent regulatory framework along with the low accessibility of the product in the developing countries may restrain the market growth. Key Players for Global Influenza Vaccination Market Some of the key players for the global Influenza Vaccination Market trends are Abbott (U.S.), AstraZeneca (Europe), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (U.S.), Novartis AG (Europe), DAIICHI SANKYO COMPANY, LIMITED. (Asia Pacific), GlaxoSmithKline plc. (Europe). Hualan Biological Engineering Inc (Asia Pacific), Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (Asia Pacific), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Europe), Sanofi (Europe), and others. Segments for Global Influenza Vaccination Market The global influenza vaccination market is segmented on the basis of type of influenza, manufacturing technology, vaccines, and others. On the basis of the type of influenza, the market is segmented into seasonal, pandemic, zoonotic, and others., on the basis of the manufacturing technology, the market is segmented into egg based, cell culture based, recombination based technology, and others, on the basis of the vaccines, the market is segmented into fluzone, flumist, fluvax, fluvirin, and others and On the basis of the end users, the market is segmented into hospital & clinics, research organization, academic institutes, and others. Regional Analysis for Global Influenza Vaccination Market The Americas dominate the global influenza vaccination market owing to the increasing prevalence of influenza and the high per capita healthcare expenditure. Moreover, the presence of the developed economies like the U.S. and Canada within the region boosts the growth of the market. Additionally, growing geriatric population within the regional boundaries of the Americas fuels the market growth. According to the National Institutes of Health, the Americas geriatric population is expected to reach 88 million by 2050. Europe is the second largest market for influenza vaccination, which is followed by Asia Pacific. Availability of funds for research, a well-developed healthcare infrastructure, and a huge patient population drives the market growth within the region. Moreover, rising healthcare expenditure along with the government support for research & development boosts the market in Europe. Additionally, the presence of the global players like F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Novartis AG within the region fuels the regional market. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region for the market due to the presence of developing economies like India and China. Moreover, favorable government policies and growing geriatric population will boost the market growth within the region. The Middle East & Africa has the least share in the global influenza vaccination market due to the presence of poor economies, especially in the African region. Majority of the market of the Middle & Africa region is held by the Middle East owing to the presence of developed economies like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar within the region. Browse Complete Report @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/influenza-vaccination-market-1621 Related Latest Trending Reports stroke management market Dental Surgical & Diagnostic Devices Market size About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Statistical Report, Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. Commissioners Propose Tax Rate, Consider Partnership With Chamber The Hill County Commissioners Court proposed a tax rate and discussed a possible partnership with the Hillsboro Area Chamber of Commerce in a regular meeting held Tuesday, August 11. Commissioners proposed the "no-new-revenue" tax rate, which is similar to what was called the effective rate before Senate Bill 2the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Actwent 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. During recent budget hearings, County Judge Justin Lewis said that he based the proposed county budget off of the no-new-revenue rate because he felt like it was the right thing to do to help slow the rise of overall property taxes for residents during a year that has been hard for everyone. Commissioners continued discussing the working draft of the county budget as the process of adopting a budget and tax rate for the coming year continues. Hillsboro Area Chamber of Commerce Director Wendy Ellis and Charles Eaton, chair of the chamber's board of directors, made a presentation to the court about a possible partnership with the county. Discussions have been underway regarding the possibility of the Hillsboro chamber, in partnership with other area chambers, managing a portion of the county's special budgets for tourism and economic development. The two budgets are separate from the county's general fund and are designated to promote tourism and economic development in unincorporated areas of the county. The county's tourism budget, which is funded from hotel occupancy taxes, can only be used to promote tourism. The economic development fund can be used for anything commissioners deem to be an economic development activity in unincorporated areas. The tourism budget has a projected beginning balance of $80,000, with revenue estimated at $22,350 in the coming year. The economic development fund is projected to begin the fiscal year with $147,400, with $200,000 in anticipated revenue projected. The county has taken bids for projects in the past, and in recent years, has allocated some of its tourism dollars to a Lake Whitney website to attract tourism. "Right now, we have an uncoordinated program in Hill County that I think produces very little, if any, results," Lewis said. The judge added that there has also not been a major coordinated effort to use the economic development fund, and said that this could be used, especially during the pandemic, to bring business back. "I think it's incumbent upon us as the governing body of Hill County to take some positive and progressive steps and try to do something to get our community up and rolling," Lewis said. Ellis said that throughout her career in tourism and economic development in small communities, she has seen the value of partnerships and collaborations, especially in rural areas with limited resources. The director said that tourism and economic development studies are showing that people will be staying closer to home due to COVID-19 and focusing more on outdoor recreation and activities in small communities. "We have those things, and we need to let people know about opportunities that are available in Hill County," Ellis said. The director said that it is important to bring the stories of all Hill County communities together and showcase them in a variety of channels. "I think we're in a prime location with the right kinds of resources available, but we have to act now and put that partnership together." Ellis said that retail and service industry improvements bring in sales tax dollars and enhance the quality of life for residents of Hill County. She said that with the resources and experience the chamber already has in place, it could help showcase Hill County communities, act as a resource to help them reach their goals and put together a marketing and promotion effort to assist them. Some ideas listed by Ellis included a county-wide visitor's guide, a targeted retail improvement strategy, an ongoing web presence and cooperative advertising promotions. Ellis said that these efforts would take place in partnership with other chambers of commerce and with community input. The chamber has an agreement with the City of Hillsboro to manage the city's tourism dollars, and Ellis said that the chamber already has systems in place to take on the project. If the county moves forward with the agreement, Ellis said that the proposed revenue in the funds would be enough to get the project started in the coming year without tapping into the reserves in the accounts. The proposed agreement is expected to come before the court for formal action during an upcoming meeting. In other action, the court took action to propose elected officials' salaries as part of the annual budget process. The court proposed a one-percent cost of living increase for officials in keeping with the proposal for other county employees. Elected officials will also be eligible for the new longevity pay benefit offered by the county. The exception is that the pay rate for the current Precinct 1 constable will stay the same until he is out of office on December 31. When the new constable takes office in January and resumes the duties of the position, his pay will be in line with other constables. The court also approved the purchase of two free-standing temperature scanners, with one to be placed at the courthouse and another to be used at the jail. Lewis said that some courthouse visitors have been uncomfortable with the temperature scanning "guns" being used at the courthouse, and the new devices will keep a deputy from having to approach each visitor for a temperature check. The scanners do not require human interaction and can be monitored at a distance. The annual service agreement with Insurors of Texas was renewed to allow the company to continue providing consultation services regarding health, dental, vision and life insurance for the county. The company also conducts open enrollment, handles claims and manages other aspects of the county's insurance program. The agreement includes a payment of $30,000 to the company for services performed for the coming fiscal year. A memorandum of understanding was also approved with the McLennan and Hill Counties Tehuacana Creek Water Improvement District. The district is planning a baseline water quality study to determine potential impacts of the City of Waco landfill that is under consideration. Iran says US knows it has not right to invoke snapback clause of JCPOA IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, August 16, IRNA -- Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Sunday that the United States is well aware that they cannot invoke the snapback clause of the Joint Comprehensive Plane of Action against Iran. Zarif made the remarks speaking in a ceremony in Tehran where the new foreign ministry spokesman was introduced and his predecessor was honored. He said that the US has pulled out from the JCPOA and has no right to invoke snapback clause of the JCPOA. They think that if they say something loudly and repeat it again and again, it will bring them a right, the foreign minister said. Snapback is a clause in the context of the JCPOA from which the US has pulled out in 2018. Zarif said that on May 8, 2018, Mr. Bolton was excited of what he claimed to be the destruction of Iran nuclear deal which would lead to the full destruction of Iran within three months time and announced that the US is no longer a party to the JCPOA. Zarif said that the text of Bolton's speech is still available on the White House website unless they go and remove that sentence. Translated by: Ahmad Mohammadi Edited by: Safar Sarabi 9341**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Apple recently removed Fortnite from its app store, and Epic Games files a lawsuit in return. Now, Facebook joins the fight against the iPhone maker. NBC News reported that on Friday, Facebook accused Apple of hurting small businesses with its 30-percent in-app commission fee. This charge came a day after Epic Games sued Apple for anticompetitive behavior. Facebook just launched a new set of tools for small businesses. One of the tools is the "Paid Online Events," which lets businesses worldwide charge Facebook users to attend online events like exercise classes or other tutorials. The feature is free for now since Facebook is considering the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on small businesses. Facebook said Apple would not allow them to process the payments independently for Apple iOS users. This restriction means some in-app purchases would still be subject to the 30-percent fee. Meanwhile, Google said that with Android, it would allow Facebook to process payments through its own system. This permission avoids additional fees. In a blog post, Fidji Simo, Vice President and Head of Facebook App, noted that they at Facebook had asked Apple to reduce the 30% App Store tax or to let them offer Facebook Pay. With this, they could "absorb all costs for businesses struggling during COVID-19," according to Simo. However, Apple dismissed both requests, said Simo, and "SMBs will only be paid 70% of their hard-earned revenue." Simo has been quoted as saying that "Helping small businesses recover from COVID is a critical thing that all tech companies should help with." She then explained that "The reason we're calling them [Apple] out here is we hope they join us and end up waving their fees, so that's really the goal here." Apple's charges have been criticized for years. With the ongoing antitrust investigations in the U.S. and Europe, this issue has become even more sensitive for the iPhone maker. Apple has not responded to this issue. The Guggenheim Museum has approved a plan to address complaints of entrenched racism within its walls. It is one of the first major cultural organizations to provide details of an expanded diversity effort. On Monday, the museum announced to its staff a two-year initiative to create policies for reporting discrimination and developing diversity programs, according to Richard Armstrong, the museums director. New measures include paid internship opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds, a partnership with historically Black colleges and universities to promote job openings, and the creation of an industrywide professional network for people of color working at arts organizations. The road map also calls for a top management-level position to oversee diversity initiatives and the establishment of a committee to examine the institutions exhibitions and acquisitions through the lens of equity and diversity. This plan shows a greater sensitivity toward respect, Mr. Armstrong said in an interview. It means there will be a bigger front door, providing more opportunities for a variety of people to imagine working in museums as a sustainable career path. The diversity plan comes more than a month after the Guggenheim hired a lawyer to independently investigate the circumstances surrounding its 2019 exhibition of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In June, nearly 100 current and 100 former employees, under the name A Better Guggenheim, sent trustees a letter claiming that executives had created a culture of institutional racism at the museum and mistreated Chaedria LaBouvier, a guest curator of the Basquiat show. The investigation is expected to conclude in the fall. The Canadian Mortgage Awards are back, in virtual form, on August 27, so bust out the top half of your tux and pour one of those at-home manhattans youve perfected during quarantine. In an unprecedented year that has seen struggles and successes across the Canadian mortgage industry, Mortgage Broker News and Canadian Mortgage Professional feel its more important than ever to bring the industry together for a chance to connect, network and celebrate at what has consistently been the industry event of the year. Scaling up the event, well be showing the awards component in a format that will bring the glitz and glamour of the event directly to you. Well also be offering panel discussions with finalists, interview discussions, and more. The Congress on Monday refuted a claim made by its suspended leader Sanjay Jha that 100 members of the party had written to president Sonia Gandhi, seeking a change in leadership and transparency in the working committees elections. Randeep Singh Surjewala, Congress spokesperson, called it the BJPs ploy to divert attention from the issue of the ruling partys links with Facebook. Special Misinformation Group on Media-TV Debate Guidance in its whatsapp of today directed to run the story of a non existant letter of Congress leaders to divert attention from Facebook-BJP links. Of course, BJP stooges have started acting upon it, Surjewala tweeted. Jha had claimed earlier in the day that about 100 leaders of the party, including members of Parliament, had written to Gandhi. It is estimated that around 100 Congress leaders (including MPs), distressed at the state of affairs within the party, have written a letter to Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Congress President, asking for change in political leadership and transparent elections in CWC. Watch this space, Jha had tweeted. Jha was suspended for anti-party activities and breach of discipline last month after he backed former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot during the political turmoil in the state. And before that, he was sacked as the Congress spokesperson after he criticised the party leadership in an article. There is a lot more to Kota than the ubiquitous IIT-JEE assembly lines. Surrounded by three dams on a languid Chambal which flows by, Kota unlike other divisions of the desert state of Rajasthan has not had to grapple with annual water woes. Kota is too possessive of its kachauris. Unseasonal and unexplained fluctuations in the price of the popular snack have at times triggered spontaneous protests. LK Advani cut his teeth in electoral politics here as the poll agent of the Jan Sangh candidate in the first Lok Sabha elections in 1952. In the third Lok Sabha polls in 1962, Jan Sangh nominee Onkarlal Berwa snatched the Kota seat from the Congress. And since then, the Congress has won Kota only thrice. The hub of anti-Congress politics, Kota has produced some influential Bharatiya Janata Party leaders. Lalit Kishore Chaturvedi, who posed a strong challenge to Bhairon Singh Shekhawats leadership. And, of course, Om Birla, the current Lok Sabha speaker. Kota thus is a special place for BJP in Rajasthan politics. It is here that the Bharatiya Jan Sangh found its feet. And since Independence, the divisional headquarters of Hardoti (name derived from Hara dynasty of Chauhan Rajputs) has been a witness to some of the most animated political battles in the state. From the other side of the political spectrum, the mantle of leadership against the saffron front has predominantly been carried by one family: the Dhariwals of the Congress. From the first assembly polls when Rikhab Chand Dhariwal campaigned for the party candidate, and later entered the assembly to become industries and finance minister, to July 2020, when his son Shanti Dhariwal, the urban development minister in Ashok Gehlot's government, herded Congress MLAs to the safety of Jaisalmer before the trust vote in the face of Sachin Pilot's revolt. Unlike the father whose political graph rose steadily in the Congress ranks, Shanti Dhariwals career has gone through alternate crests and troughs. He won his first Lok Sabha election in the 1984 wave after Indira Gandhis assassination. The next high tide in 1998 assembly polls helped him enter the state assembly and that was the beginning of his close association with Ashok Gehlot. Gehlot became chief minister, and Dhariwal, from an influential Jain family of Haroti, a powerful minister holding key portfolios like home and later urban development. Interestingly though, Dhariwal has never won two consecutive elections. He loses when the Congress is stripped of power in the state. And he returns to the assembly five years later to become a minister in 1998, 2008 and 2018. On all three occasions, he has had work with just one chief minster- Ashok Gehlot. It was very obvious then that when 19 rebel Congress MLAs fled to Delhi in the second week of July, Dhariwal was one leader whom Gehlot could turn to for help. Having successfully held on to his MLAs in a month of tug of war, when there were signs of rapprochement, it was Dhariwal again who was fielded to send a message to the high command that loyalists and not the deserters must be rewarded. Outspoken and blunt, Dhariwal can both ignite and douse tempers in the state assembly. His retort to firing near a mosque in Bharatpur in September, 2011 quietened an opposition on its feet. During the recent trust vote, he took a dig at the state BJP leadership to warn against an ambitious leader in a hurry to become the chief minister. His interventions irked both the opposition and the Speaker as at one point CP Joshi had to ask CM Gehlot to restrain his parliamentary affairs minister. When Sachin Pilot came to the state assembly for the trust vote last week, he had been assigned a new seat right next to an independent MLA, which is on the margins of the Congresss lot in the treasury benches. In the earlier sitting arrangement, Pilot sat next to the CM on the front row. That place had instead been allocated to Dhariwal; on the right side of CM Ashok Gehlot. NORTHAMPTON - A 27-year-old Vermont man being pursued by state police on Interstate-91 Sunday evening died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Northwestern District Attorneys office. The deceaseds name was not being released pending notification of family. According to Mary Carey, communications director for Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan, the pursuit began in Holyoke when a trooper attempted to pull the vehicle over for having an unreadable license plate shortly before 9 p.m. Speeds during the pursuit reached as high as 112 mph, Carey said. The vehicle attempted to get off the highway at Exit 18 in Northampton, but went off the road and crashed on the on-ramp. By the time troopers got to the car, the drive was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Troopers found a handgun and a spent shell casing inside the car. The death is under investigation by the state police detectives assigned to Sullivans office, the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction, Crime Scene Services and Ballistic units and the Massachusetts Medical Examiners Office. Ashley said police told her that the Virginia tags on the Mercedes were stolen. She posted fliers and contacted the news media. Last week, Ashley heard from someone who had seen one of the fliers that a man in a white Mercedes was in Rock Creek Park trying to sell a dog resembling Lyric. The California Institute for Men in Chino was one of several state prisons that experienced massive outbreaks of COVID-19 among staff and inmates. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Vague testing guidelines, faulty thermometers and inadequate staff training are suspected of contributing to the COVID-19 outbreak in California prisons that has killed at least 54 inmates and sickened more than 9,500 others, the state's Office of Inspector General reported Monday. "Without properly functioning equipment and adequate training, the screening process was certainly compromised, and the risk of infected staff entering the prisons, thereby exposing others, could have increased," the report noted. The 47-page report, which focused on coronavirus screening of prison staff and "essential visitors," such as contractors and attorneys, also criticized California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials for withholding key COVID-19 tracking data for months, hampering the watchdog's review. The inspector general's office launched its examination in April, the month after the corrections system instituted screening at its 35 prisons. But the statewide directive that all staff and visitors be checked for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 was inconsistently applied, the report said. Some prisons funneled vehicles through a single screening point where occupants were questioned and had their temperatures checked. Other prisons screened staffers at pedestrian entrances, apparently after they parked their cars and walked onto the grounds. "We found that this second approach increased the risk that staff or visitors may have walked into or through other work spaces without having been screened," the report noted. The inspector general's staff experienced the flaws firsthand, during multiple visits in May and June, the report said. It cited one visit to California State Prison Sacramento, where they "walked all the way through the administration building and met with the warden" without being screened. "By that point, although our staff were eventually screened, the screening failed to accomplish its purpose: our staff could have already infected departmental staff," the report said. Story continues In addition to on-site visits, the inspector general sampled training records and surveyed 12,000 corrections staffers: The vast majority said they were always screened when entering the prisons, but an average of 5% said they were not. "Many screeners apparently received no formal training at all concerning their prisons screening processes, thus increasing the risk of allowing infected individuals to walk into prison facilities and expose others to the disease," the report noted. It went on to say that "numerous screeners also identified multiple instances of thermometers malfunctioning during screenings," registering inaccurate temperatures, sometimes because of weak batteries. It was unclear in those cases if screeners then turned away the insufficiently tested staff and visitors or allowed them to enter the prisons anyway, the report said. In a letter responding to the report, Corrections Secretary Ralph Diaz said the department had taken steps to address the issues it raised. "The department recognizes the establishment of effective screening procedures is imperative to prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19 among staff, inmates and the public," Diaz wrote. "Executive staff at the department are working closely with infectious disease control experts to ensure appropriate measures are put into place while simultaneously minimizing the impact of COVID-19 on our operations," he said. The inspector general's findings came as no surprise to Robert Davis, a correctional supervisor at California State Prison Los Angeles County and a chapter president with the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., the guards' union. "We have been saying for months their testing is a failure, the thermometers don't work," Davis said, describing the report as "pretty accurate." "Our thermometers at the beginning would either not work at all or would say our temperatures would indicate we were dead," he said. "I was about 87 degrees most times." Davis said newer thermometers now in use seem to work better. More than three-quarters of the state's prisons have reported at least one infection, and several are continuing to suffer significant outbreaks. State lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom recently criticized corrections officials for the ill-fated transfer in late May of 121 inmates from a coronavirus-ridden prison in Chino to San Quentin, triggering an outbreak there that has killed at least 25 inmates and sickened more than 2,000 others. In a letter to Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, who requested the investigation in April, Inspector General Roy W. Wesley said that corrections officials had withheld information and data used to track staff who had tested positive. Although the same information on inmates was made publicly available, corrections officials withheld it for staff, citing confidentiality concerns. The department has since relented, agreeing to provide it "as soon as possible." "Nevertheless, the decision to initially withhold the information we requested remains a concern," Wesley wrote. "The departments decision to change course at this point does not alleviate the adverse effect its initial decision had on our ability to fulfill our mission." Since May 30, nine corrections staffers have died of COVID-related illness, officials say. Inmate advocates say the numbers are alarming. "Nine is an extraordinary number of staff deaths. I cannot recall anything like that in any year," said Michael Bien, a leading attorney for prisoners with medical and mental health issues. "Right now it is very dangerous for those in custody and those working there." Don Specter of the Prison Law Office, which represents inmates in a long-running federal lawsuit related to California prison overcrowding, called the inspector general's findings disturbing. "Since staff are the main way that the virus is able to enter the prisons, the failure to properly screen and test staff to determine whether they are infected may have led to an increase in infections and illness among those incarcerated, other staff and members of the community," he said. Sixty agricultural graduates on Friday completed a three-month practical training on the use of greenhouse technology for farming, under the governments Planting for Food and Jobs (PFJ) Programme. Comprising two groups, made up of 30 students each, they were trained at special centres built in Akomadan and Bawjiase greenhouse villages in the Ashanti and Central regions respectively. The Greenhouse Practical Agricultural Course is a collaboration between the Ministry of Food and Agriculture and AGRITOP Ghana Limited, an Israeli company and operators of the greenhouse villages in the country. Started more than three years ago at Dawhenya greenhouse village in Greater Accra, the course aims to equip beneficiaries with hands-on techniques on how to use agro-technology for sustainable farming. The latest batch of beneficiaries, who started the course on May 18, constitute the second and third cohorts of the Bawjiase and Akomadan training centres respectively. Speaking at a graduation ceremony at Bawjiase which was joined virtually by the Akomadan cohort, the sector minister, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto tasked the trainees to form groups and present their business proposals for consideration and receipt of machinery, inputs and other technical support from the government and its stakeholders. Additionally, he said, about 70 of them would be selected to undergo an 11-month paid internship programme in Israel under an arrangement between the governments of Ghana and Israel. According to Dr Akoto, the second batch of 70 graduates, undergoing the internship in Israel were expected to be back in November this year for the next batch of same number to go. He said all these measures were part of the governments larger plan to train entrepreneurs in agriculture especially the high value end of production; mainly fruits and vegetables, to support the development of the sector and the transformation of the economy. Once you have acquired the basic training, we want to help you establish your own enterprises. We are not training you to go and sell your skills to companies or third parties. We want you to benefit directly and whatever it takes to help, this government will stand by you, he said. The Greenhouse idea, Dr Akoto said, was aimed at nurturing the vegetables sub sector of the country to satisfy local demand and make vegetables a major export earner of the country in the half decade or more thus advised the graduates to help realise this vision. For his part, Mr Ofer Tamir, the General Manager of AGRITOP Limited said the trainees had been well-equipped to succeed in the sector and stated the companys commitment to the partnership. The Minister and officials from the ministry and other stakeholder institutions were conducted around the greenhouse village as part of the visit. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Wits University is the lead institution in South Africa for a second Covid-19 vaccine trial and will begin screening participants for the NVX-CoV2373 trial from Monday, 17 August 2020 NVX-CoV2373 is produced by the biotech company, Novavax (Maryland, U.S.A). Novavax is a late-stage biotechnology company that develops next-generation vaccines for serious infectious diseases. Wits Professor of Vaccinology Shabir Madhi will lead the Novavax clinical trial in South Africa after having engaged personally with Novavax to motivate for clinical development of the vaccine to be undertaken in this country. Madhi, who is the Executive Director of the South African Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA) at Wits and the Faculty of Health Sciences Dean-elect, also leads the South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial launched on 23 June, in association with University of Oxford and the Jenner Institute. The Novavax vaccine in the South African trial leverages technology used successfully to develop vaccines against influenza (flu) virus and experimental vaccines against Ebola and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Madhi previously collaborated with Novavax as a lead investigator on the RSV vaccine for pregnant women which aimed to prevent the most common cause of pneumonia in babies. About the Novavax vaccine: NVX-CoV2373 The Novavax vaccine candidate is called NVX-CoV2373. This vaccine candidate is engineered from the genetic sequence of SARS?CoV?2, the virus that causes Covid-19 disease. In preclinical studies, NVX-CoV2373 demonstrated the elicitation of antibodies that block the binding of spike protein to receptors targeted by the virus - this is a critical aspect for effective vaccine protection. Studies of this Novavax vaccine in non-human primates have shown protection against SARS-Cov-2 infection in upper airways (nasal passages) as well as protection against lower airway (lung) disease. Safety and immunogenicity [the ability of a foreign substance, such as an antigen, to provoke an immune response] data from part 1 of the Novavax Phase 1/2 randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of its Covid-19 vaccine with and without Matrix-M adjuvant in healthy adults 18-59-years-old, conducted in Australia, have been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and an independent safety monitoring committee. In this Phase 1 clinical trial, NVX-CoV2373 was generally well-tolerated and elicited robust antibody responses numerically superior to that seen in human convalescent sera. The data have been submitted for peer-review to a scientific journal and are available online. Why South Africa? "The major motivation for Covid-19 vaccines being evaluated at an early stage in South Africa is to generate evidence in the African context on how well these vaccines work in settings such as our own," says Madhi. "This would enable informed decision-making when advocating for the adoption of this [NVX-CoV2373 vaccine candidate] or other Covid-19 vaccines in African countries, once they are shown to be safe and effective. Participating in the clinical development of these vaccines at the outset will assist in advocating for South Africans to be amongst the first in line to access these life-saving vaccines, once they become available." The South African NVX-CoV2373 trial The screening of volunteers for the South African Novavax Covid-19 vaccine trial begins on Monday, 17 August. The Phase 2 NVX-CoV2373 study in South Africa will enroll up to 2 904 volunteers aged 18-65-years-old. The trial will evaluate the vaccine candidate's safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy [protection against Covid-19]. The randomized, observer-blinded, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical trial in South Africa will include two cohorts: One cohort will evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373 in approximately 2,650 healthy, HIV-negative adults. The second cohort will evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373 in approximately 240 medically stable, HIV-positive adults. "This important Phase 2 clinical trial will not only provide additional data on safety and immunogenicity of NVX-CoV2373, it also has the potential to provide an early indication of efficacy, as South Africa is experiencing a surge of Covid-19," said Stanley C. Erck, President and CEO of Novavax. ### To volunteer for this trial, please visit https://vidatrack.co.za. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded Novavax a $15 million grant towards the Covid-19 vaccine effficacy trial in South Africa. The South African study is part of a larger, global clinical programme to evaluate NVX-CoV2373, including larger Phase 3 studies with approximately 30 000 participants, to be launched throughout the world. The past, present, and future of Quebec updated to 2020 (Part Eleven) By Mark Wegierski It is possible to perceive that (at least until 2006) the federal government despite occasional Conservative electoral victories was effectively owned by the Liberal Party. After 1968, this was, it must also be remembered, the Trudeau and post-Trudeau Liberal Party, and emphatically not the Liberal Party of (for example) Mackenzie King. However, in the October 2015 federal election the Conservatives decisively lost their majority. The Liberals under Justin Trudeau came roaring back to power, and they were so confident, that it almost seems like they had never lost office. In the October 2019 federal election, the Liberals managed to hang on to a strong minority government that will probably be supported by the New Democratic Party (NDP), which is even further to the left. Also, the Bloc Quebecois was able to stage a comeback in the October 2019 election, winning 32 seats in Quebec. The Conservative Party under Stephen Harper, it could be argued, had made strenuous efforts to be ultra-moderate. When Canada arrived at the stage where Stephen Harper finally won a majority government in 2011, the so-called promised land Canadians had arrived in appeared to be nothing spectacular. Because of all the massive social and cultural transformations in Canada since the 1960s many of them carried out by the federal Liberal Party -- it appears that the combined percentage of Liberal and NDP votes will always be significantly larger than the Conservative vote. However, under the first-past-the-post system (with three main parties), a very strong majority can usually be won with about 40% of the vote. The said to be enormously popular Jean Chretien, won decisive majorities with about that percentage in 1993, 1997, and 2000. In the 1990s, when Ontario elected virtually 100% Liberals federally, the province also had (after 1995) a Progressive Conservative government that was more discernibly right-leaning than the Liberal government in Ottawa. However, as the social and cultural transformations in Ontario have continued, even the ultra-moderates like John Tory have been hard pressed to make any inroads in Toronto and other highly urban areas. For example, in a by-election on September 6, 2012, the Progressive Conservatives were routed in a riding (Kitchener-Waterloo) that they had held for 22 years. (The NDP won that riding, and the Liberals were in second place.) During the 1950s and earlier, Toronto was considered so conservative and British-focussed, it was nicknamed Tory Toronto. In the June 12, 2014 provincial election, the Liberals, led by Kathleen Wynne, won 58 seats; the Progressive Conservatives, 28; and the NDP, 21. Territorially, however, the Liberals were concentrated almost entirely in the Greater Toronto Area, and Ottawa virtually all of their seats were urban or suburban. In 2018, the Progressive Conservatives under Doug Ford, were able to win a strong majority, including seats in Toronto and the GTA. However, they have lately become highly unpopular, because of the perception of severe cuts. Indeed, the inability of the federal Conservatives to win in Toronto and the GTA in the October 2019 election, is partially blamed on Doug Fords cuts. What is the essence of so-called "Canadian nationalism" today? (Actually, this term, which was once used enthusiastically by the Canadian Left, is somewhat less frequently mentioned today.) It is typically expressed through such institutions as "our vaunted social programs", free healthcare, multiculturalism, as well as the state-funded "cultural industries." It could be argued that most of these so-called cultural industries as far as the putatively Canadian element in them goes -- have virtually no authentic existence outside of a few narrow Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Ottawa arts cliques. Indeed, large sectors of the general public are either indifferent or openly hostile to most current-day products of the official Canadian culture. Having deliberately cut itself off from its traditional roots, such a culture can exist only through massive state-subsidies. The possibility of regionalization could be a clarion call towards the re-discovery of more authentic roots, and the curtailing of what could be seen as an almost entirely artificial system. This system might, indeed, be seen as giving rise to various syndromes of a failed culture. Regionalization might constitute a move towards general cultural and social renewal in this northern half of North America. Perhaps it is possible that Quebec, which has frequently been such a hugely problematic presence in Canadian Confederation, might in some circumstances give rise to a set of events, where it could point all of Canada towards a better path for the future. Mark Wegierski is a Canadian writer and historical researcher. Home Cham people in the Mekong delta province of An Giang live mostly in An Phu, Tan Chau, and Phu Tan district. Cham people in An Giang province attend a Ramadan mass. (baoangiang.com.vn) They celebrate a month of Ramadan in September of the Islamic lunar calendar, which falls in May or June of the solar calendar. Like Muslims worldwide, the Cham in Vietnamcelebrate many traditional festivals each year. The most important event is Ramadan, the month of fasting. For the entire month, they dont eat, drink, or smoke between dawn and sunset. People above the age of 5 fast and review the wrongs they have committed in the past year. They are not allowed to slaughter an animal or pick aquarrel with anybody. Playing a musical instrument or singing is also forbidden during Ramadan. Before the month of fasting, Cham people gather at a community house or mosque to prepare Halal food such as cakes and beef to eat when breaking their fast each evening. They avoid alcoholic beverages altogether. Mohamet in Vung Xoai hamlet, Chau Phong commune, talks about the forbidden things, During the month of Ramadan, people dont eat during the day. We can eat when its dark. When breaking their fast, Muslims eat only foods that are permissible under Islamic law." "On the 30th day, after a mass at the mosque, we visit relatives and friends to congratulate them, he added. Fasting is a spiritual act that allows the faithful to develop empathy for the poor. During the day they pray at mosques, abstain from food and drink, and perform charity work. When its dark they have a meal together. The main dishes for dinner are curried rice and curried beef. During Ramadan we pray at mosques, visit relatives, and have a meal together, said Chale, head of Vung Xoai hamlet. Huynh Thanh Duy, a cultural official in Chau Phong commune, said, The month of Ramadan is one of the pillars of the Cham. The local authorities have paid attention to their cultural life. We wish them a happy and joyful festival. Children cheerfully help their parents clean and decorate their houses to welcome the festival. Vietnam has more than 80,000 Islamic followers. 85% of them are Cham people who live in southern provinces. VOV Carnival Corp has been hit by hackers who stole personal data on passengers and employees, according to a form filed by the cruise giant with the US Securities and Exchange Commission Monday. The cruise line said one its brands fell victim to a ransomware attack which accessed and encrypted its IT systems on August 15. The cyber attack comes as Carnival Cruise Line unveiled its new Mardi Gras ship Sunday, complete with on-board rollercoaster, as it aims to draw back customers to the seas following a tumultuous year. The cruise giant has been forced to cancel all voyages through to at least October 31, as the CDC no-sail order rumbles on until September and the industry struggles to get back on its feet after the COVID-19 pandemic sent it screeching to a halt. Devastating outbreaks struck a number of ships in the Carnival fleet, including the Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess and Grand Princess and Holland America's Zandaam, killing several passengers and workers on board and leaving hundreds stranded at sea when ships were unable to dock. Carnival Corp has been hit by hackers who stole personal data on passengers and employees, according to a form filed by the cruise giant with the US Securities and Exchange Commission Monday In the latest blow for the company, Carnival said it detected the ransomware attack 'that accessed and encrypted a portion of one brand's information technology systems' on Saturday. The cruise giant wrote in the SEC filing that the hacker also downloaded data files. The company added that it has found no other brand's IT systems hacked but 'there can be no assurance that other information technology systems of the other Company's brands will not be adversely affected.' An investigation has been launched and law enforcement and legal teams were notified, the company said. 'While the investigation of the incident is ongoing, the Company has implemented a series of containment and remediation measures to address this situation and reinforce the security of its information technology systems,' read the filing. 'The Company is working with industry-leading cybersecurity firms to immediately respond to the threat, defend the Company's information technology systems, and conduct remediation.' Carnival said in the filing it does not believe the incident will damage the business and its financial results but admitted that the company could now be vulnerable to claims brought against it by passengers and employees whose personal information was stolen by the hackers. The cruise line said one its brands fell victim to a ransomware attack which accessed and encrypted its IT systems on August 15. The SEC filing pictured 'Based on its preliminary assessment and on the information currently known (in particular, that the incident occurred in a portion of a brand's information technology systems), the Company does not believe the incident will have a material impact on its business, operations or financial results,' the company wrote. 'Nonetheless, we expect that the security event included unauthorized access to personal data of guests and employees, which may result in potential claims from guests, employees, shareholders, or regulatory agencies.' It is not clear which cruise ship brand fell victim to the cyber attack or how many passengers and employees have been impacted. A spokesperson for Carnival Corporation told DailyMail.com the company is not planning to discuss beyond the information in the filing at present because the investigation process is in the early days. The attack took place one day before the cruise line announced it was rolling out a new ship for the 2021 season. Carnival unveiled the design for its Mardi Gras ship Sunday (above) The new ship will feature the BOLT roller coaster (pictured), six themed zones, 2,600 staterooms and restaurants from Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri and Shaquille O'Neal The attack took place one day before the cruise line - one of the big four lines alongside Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises - announced it was rolling out a new ship for the 2021 season. Carnival unveiled the design for its Mardi Gras ship Sunday, which will feature the BOLT roller coaster, six themed zones, 2,600 staterooms and restaurants from Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri and Shaquille O'Neal. The ship is expected to take to the seas from Port Canaveral, Florida, in February - an optimistic move in the face of the ongoing pandemic. The CDC has extended the no-sail order for the cruise ship industry through to the end of September, after it was first issued back on March 14. The order led Carnival to cancel all voyages through to 'at least' October 31, backtracking on its original plan to get ships back to the waters from August. In July, the company also announced it was reducing is fleet by 15 ships as it struggles to stay afloat following several months of its ships void of passengers. 'To reduce our cash burn and have a more efficient fleet we have aggressively shed less-efficient ships,' CEO Arnold Donald said. Devastating outbreaks struck a number of ships in the Carnival fleet, including the Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess (pictured) and Grand Princess and Holland America's Zandaam More than 700 people tested positive and 13 died after being on board the Diamond Princess. Pictured workers in protective gear walk near the Diamond Princess cruise ship back in February The cruise industry was rocked more than most by the pandemic as all four of the world's largest cruise lines were struck by outbreaks, as well as several smaller lines. The lines came under fire for their slow response as they continued to send ships out to sea even after a series of outbreaks on board and repeated warnings from health experts that the high numbers of people in contained spaces on the ships made them breeding grounds for the virus. It was early February when the doomed Diamond Princess - owned by parent company Carnival - was ordered to stay at sea off the coast of Japan for two weeks after a deadly outbreak struck passengers and crew. In the worst cruise ship crisis to date, more than 700 people tested positive and 13 died after being on board the ship. But despite the warning signs, companies continued to send their ships to sea for another month until more than 50 cruise lines finally announced they were suspending operations to and from US ports for 30 days on March 13. Weeks after the Diamond Princess case, another Princess ship was struck by an outbreak, when two passengers and 19 crew members on the Grand Princess cruise ship tested positive for coronavirus in early March. The ship docked in Oakland, California, on March 9 with 3,500 on board and people were repatriated and sent to army bases for quarantine. At least 100 cases have been linked to the Grand Princess and at least two deaths. Passenger Steven Smith goes through a health screening after leaving the Grand Princess cruise ship in California on March 11 Passengers and crew leave the Zandaam. The Zandaam and its sister ship the Rotterdam - which had met the infected ship and taken healthy patients on board - were finally allowed to dock in Florida on April by which time four people had died and more than 190 had flu-like symptoms The Holland America Zaandam - another Carnival-owned ship - was stuck at sea after it set sail on March 7 and people began showing symptoms of coronavirus. The ship was turned away by several ports in Latin America and Florida. The Zandaam and its sister ship the Rotterdam - which had met the infected ship and taken healthy patients on board - were finally allowed to dock in Florida on April by which time four people had died and more than 190 had flu-like symptoms. Carnival Corp. is now being investigated by Congress for its handling of COVID-19 onboard its ships and hundreds of passengers have filed lawsuits against the firm. More than five months after voyages were halted, more than 12,000 cruise ship workers are reportedly still stranded at sea in US waters, Brittany Panetta, a lieutenant commander and spokesperson for the US Coast Guard told USA TODAY. A total of 57 liners are 'moored, at anchor, or underway in vicinity of a U.S. port, or with potential to arrive in a U.S. port, with approximately 12,084 crew members,' she said. U.S. Announces New Curbs on Huawei Access to U.S. Technology (Bloomberg) -- The Commerce Department announced further restrictions on Huawei Technologies Co. aimed at cutting the Chinese companys access to commercially available chips, the latest move in an increasingly tense relationship between the worlds two biggest economies. The changes, which the department announced in a written statement on Monday, build on restrictions announced in May, adding 38 Huawei affiliates in 21 countries to an economic blacklist as the U.S. seeks to limit adoption of the companys 5G technology. We dont want their equipment in the United States because they spy on us, President Donald Trump said Monday in an interview on Fox and Friends. The move is the latest tit-for-tat in escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing over everything from the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic to Chinas increasingly tight grip over Hong Kong. Despite the U.S. decision, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Fox Business that talks with China continue on various levels. The restrictions are likely to further hit both Huaweis 5G base stations and smartphone businesses because it relies heavily on foreign chips to make those, further denting Chinas ambition to play a key role in global rollout of 5G technology. Huaweis stockpiles of certain self-designed chips essential to telecom equipment will run out by early 2021. Nokia Oyj and Ericsson AB stand to benefit from Huaweis further faltering in its 5G prowess, while domestic smartphone rivals including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo are likely to get a bigger pie of the Chinese market. Ross said the action was aimed at closing loopholes the company explored after previous U.S. actions. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo praised the move as a direct blow against the Chinese Communist Party. Shares of Huawei suppliers dropped sharply in Taiwan Tuesday morning after the U.S. announced the new curbs. A Huawei spokesperson said Tuesday that the company was still reviewing the impact internally and that it had no immediate comment. Chinas Foreign Ministry didnt immediately reply to a request for comment sent via WeChat. Story continues Huawei has long rejected accusations that its technology can be used to spy on foreign nations or companies. All chip companies working for Huawei, no matter where they are, will be subject to licenses, a Commercial official said, adding that even foreign companies will be affected as long as they use U.S. design software and equipment. That means major Asian and European chip companies such as MediaTek Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., NXP Semiconductors NV, and STMicroelectronics NV may need a license to continue shipping to Huawei, though the official declined to name any specific company. There are few semiconductor companies in the world, including those in China, that do not rely on software from U.S.-based Synopsys Inc. and Cadence Design Systems Inc. to create blueprints for chips. Many companies that make physical chips, including Chinas own Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., use equipment from U.S.-based Applied Materials Inc. and Lam Reserach Corp. Significant Disruption Among Synopsys and Cadences customers, Taiwans MediaTek has become a main chip provider to Huawei after Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. said it will no longer ship chips to the Chinese company after Sept. 15. Thats due to the U.S.s export-control rules added in May, which forbade companies from making chips based on Huaweis design using American equipment. John Neuffer, the president and chief executive officer of the U.S.s Semiconductor Industry Association, said the rule will bring significant disruption to the sector. We are surprised and concerned by the administrations sudden shift from its prior support of a more narrow approach intended to achieve stated national-security goals while limiting harm to U.S. companies, Neuffer said in a statement. We reiterate our view that sales of non-sensitive, commercial products to China drive semiconductor research and innovation here in the U.S., which is critical to Americas economic strength and national security. The latest U.S. restrictions on Huawei are negative for European chipmakers, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analysts said in a note, adding that a key risk for firms such as STMicroelectronics, AMS AG and Dialog Semiconductor PLC is Chinese retaliatory restrictions on major customer Apple Inc. Additionally, assemblers that incorporate Huawei or third-party chips into their devices for the benefit of Huawei will also need to apply for a license, according to the Commerce official. That means Huawei smartphones assemblers, including Hong Kong-listed Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile Ltd., may be restricted by the new rules. (Updates with requests for comment, market moves.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. I taly will close its nightclubs and make masks mandatory in some outdoor areas as the country reimposes restrictions following a spike in coronavirus cases. New infections have more than doubled over the past week compared to three weeks ago across Italy, which was the first European country to be hit hard by the pandemic. It is also seeing a surge in cases among younger people, with the average age of Italians contracting the virus dropping below 40, according to the latest data. The new rules will come into force on Monday evening two days after a national holiday that saw many young Italians go out dancing and will run until early September. Masks will be required between 6pm and 6am in areas close to bars and pubs and where gatherings are more likely. We cannot nullify the sacrifices made in past months. Our priority must be that of opening schools in September, in full safety, health minister Roberto Speranza said in a Facebook statement. On Saturday, Mr Speranza urged young people to be as cautious as possible, warning that if they infect their parents and their grandparents, they risk creating real damage. The countrys government had kept clubs open despite mounting criticism that they attracted large crowds, social distancing was not being respected and masks were not being worn. The industry has yearly revenues of 4 billion (around 3.6 billion), the sectors lobby group Silb said, calling on ministers for support. Industry minister Stefano Patuanelli conceded there would be economic damage, but said he saw no alternative. Italy: Shops and bars reopen after two months of Coronavirus lockdown 1 /34 Italy: Shops and bars reopen after two months of Coronavirus lockdown A woman gets her hair done at a hairdresser in Milan AP A woman wearing a protective mask holds a cup at a restaurant in Piazza Navona REUTERS Gondoliers wearing a face mask ride a gondola by the San Toma embankment on a Venice canal as they resume service AFP via Getty Images People have lunch at a table partitioned with plexiglas at the Goga Cafe AFP via Getty Images Municipal Police Officers wearing a face mask, control from the spanish Steps at Piazza di Spagna in Rome AFP via Getty Images People have drinks at a cafe terrace on Piazza del Duomo AFP via Getty Images A worker prepares a store on the reopening day at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, as Italy eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Milan Reuters Bikers pose in front of the Colosseum in Rome on the day Italy eases its coronavirus lockdown AP A woman wearing a face mask walks past a shop, as Italy eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Rome, Italy REUTERS A worker cleans on the reopening day at Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, as Italy eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Milan REUTERS People walk on the Pincio Terrace at Villa Borghese park in Rome AFP via Getty Images A sign indicates a discount on shoes at La Rinascente department store, which is due to reopen with social distancing measures applied, after it was closed due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Milan, Italy, Reuters People line up to enter a Hermes luxury shop AFP via Getty Images People sit on the shore, as the country begins a staged end to a nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Naples, Italy Reuters Italian bishop Francesco Micciche celebrates mass at the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina in Rom AFP via Getty Images Market vendors protest rules that do not allow them to restart their activity, at the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping arcade in Milan, Italy AP Customers wait in front of a luxury shop in Milan, Italy AP Clients get their hair done at a hairdresser in Milan, Italy, AP A woman serves customers in a restaurant REUTERS A shop assistant re-arrange goods at the Rinascente department store in Milan, Italy AP A woman wearing a face shield drinks coffee at a cafe as Italy eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Rome REUTERS People wearing a face mask and shield walk across the Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall in Milan AFP via Getty Images A customer has a his hair washed before a haircut at a hairdresser's saloon in Rome AFP via Getty Images A cafe reopens as Italy eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Venice, Reuters Gran Caffe Chioggia in St Mark Square prepares for its reopening REUTERS Customers check their smartphone at the Rinascente department store in Milan AFP via Getty Images On Sunday, 479 new cases were confirmed, down from 629 on Saturday. Medical experts have blamed nightlife, the return of holidaymakers, and younger generations flouting social distancing rules for the recent hike in infections. Since its outbreak came to light on February 21, Italy has recorded more than 35,000 deaths. Testing on holidaymakers landing in Romes airports began on Sunday after the government said earlier in the week that people travelling from Croatia, Greece, Malta and Spain must be screened for the virus. Sri Lankas former president Maithripala Sirisena has reportedly been summoned by a presidential probe panel on August 26 in a bid to record his statement on last years deadly Easter attacks. The recent development comes after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who pledged an independent probe in the incident during his election campaign, assumed office. As per reports, the same panel, which was appointed by Sirisena, has been ordered to continue the investigation. Last year on Easter Sunday, nine suicide bombers, belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels. The blasts reportedly killed nearly 258 people, including 11 Indians. Back then, the previous government headed by Sirisena and former PM Ranil Wickremesinghe was blamed for its inability to prevent the attacks despite prior intelligence made available on the impending attack. READ: Rajapaksa Family Dominates Sri Lanka's New Cabinet As the panel continues to investigate the case further, last week, the officials even summoned Wickremesinghe to appear before it on August 18. Apart from the former PM and President, two of the senior officials, Sagala Ratnayake and Ruwan Wijewardena, who were responsible for the police and defence in the government, have also reportedly been summoned by the panel. READ: Sri Lanka's New Parliament Session To Commence On Aug 20 With Strict COVID-19 Health Precautions Ex-PM says Sirisena excluded him from NSC deliberations As Wickremesinghe suffered a crushing defeat in the August 5 parliamentary elections, it is believed that the deadly Easter attack was one of the main reasons for his governments loss. As per reports, Wickremesinghes government was blamed for the failure to prevent the attack despite warnings from India. Back then, public outrage also mounted against the then ruling party. According to reports, the then-police chief and the top defence ministry bureaucrat were also remanded for their criminal negligence. Wickremesinghe, on the other hand, defended himself by reportedly saying that due to the political differences, Sirisena while holding the defence ministry control had excluded him from the National Security Council deliberations. (Image: @vernacurlartube/Twitter) READ: Sri Lanka's PM Rajapaksa Invited Subramanian Swamy To Swearing-in, Pandemic Foiled Visit READ: Rajapaksa Clan's Return: With Mahinda As PM, Rajapaksas Hold All 3 Top Posts In Sri Lanka The family of a suburban Chicago woman who died of complications related to COVID-19 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a meatpacking plant where her husband worked and contracted the virus. The family of Esperanza Ugalde alleges in their lawsuit that Aurora Packing Co. in North Aurora failed to take steps to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the Aurora Beacon-News reported. They also said the company failed to warn employees after it became aware that other employees at the plant were infected. The lawsuit filed in Kane County Circuit Court contends that Ricardo Ugalde, who was a butcher at the plant for 35 years, contracted the virus in late April and that his wife contracted it a short time later and died May 2 at the age of 67. The company did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press but its website notes that it has taken a proactive approach to minimize the health risk of spreading the virus. Meatpacking plants across the U.S. have been hit hard by the virus and the Kane County Health Department said it was called to investigate Aurora Packing. A health department spokeswoman declined to provide any details, including whether the plant was closed briefly after Ricardo Ugalde contracted the virus as the Ugalde familys attorney contends. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits COVID-19 Illinois As always occurs following a major storm with widespread and extended power outages, Connecticuts Public Utility Regulatory Authority (PURA) and the State Legislature will hold investigations. I will join 168 other first selectmen/women and mayors from across the state to testify. We will all tell the same story of a delayed make-safe response leaving thousands of residents stranded, of Eversource crews sitting idle for hours waiting for instructions, of the lack of access to operations, of the failure of the outage-reporting system, of the frustration with Optimum customer service and all the other issues you all experienced and shared. We will continue to advocate for change. Am I optimistic, these investigations and hearings will be sufficient to result in real change for the next storm? The answer is, no. For real change, we also need a grassroots, resident-driven effort that is active and ongoing. Think forced school regionalization and the success of Hands Off Our Schools. Why must residents also become involved? Eversource is regulated by PURA (Public Utilities Regulatory Authority). The three PURA commissioners just approved the recent large rate increase. It was only by residents taking action, raising their voices and contacting their legislators, that PURA is reconsidering the rate increases. PURA reports receiving only 481 statewide outage complaints so far in 2020, only 123 outage complaints in 2019 and only 177 outage complaints in 2018 the year of the big March storm. Eversource can justifiably point to those numbers and say there was widespread satisfaction with their outage responses. Eversource leadership is Massachusetts, not Connecticut, focused. Although the number of Connecticut and Massachusetts customers are approximately the same, Massachusetts-based board members outnumber Connecticut-based board members 4 to 1. There isnt a single board member from Fairfield County. Eversources influence in Hartford is big. According to a recent Hartford Courant article: Eversource and United Illuminating have 24 registered lobbyists, including former elected officials, their family members and advisers to past governors. Eversource spent $845,055 last year and $457,571 in the first six months of this year on lobbying. The article also details the personal and professional relationships between Eversource and current and former legislators and government employees. Optimum and other internet providers like it arent regulated by PURA. Optimum is now owned by a foreign conglomerate with no accountability to Connecticut. The Federal Communications Commission has abandoned its commitment to the concept of locality in media regulations, as demonstrated by the fact that Altice immediately moved all its operations including News 12, our local cable news source to New Jersey. Connecticuts 169 first selectmen/women and mayors need you. We need you to channel your anger into action. Organize. File a complaint with PURA about Eversource. File complaints with the FCC about internet providers. Join us in calling for the governor, the legislature and the attorney general to take action and pass legislation that will allow for increased accountability and consumer protections by Eversource and internet/cable and phone suppliers. In addition to advocacy efforts, I will be working with town employees and the Board of Selectmen to better position Wilton for weather events. We will apply the same approach to tree removal as we applied to road paving. We will survey to determine the scope of the required work, then develop and fund a long-term plan. The scope of work will be too large to accomplish in one year. I will also propose an ordinance prohibiting the planting of certain trees within a distance of the power lines. Thank you in advance for taking action. A crowd of hundreds blasted sirens outside Louis DeJoy's Washington apartment building early on Saturday morning, sliding mock blank ballots behind the iron gates. The next day in Greensboro, N.C., dozens more protesters blocked the leafy street to the postmaster general's mansion, clapping to the tune of a banjo and carrying signs that read "Stay out of our boxes." Hours later, as fears escalated that DeJoy's cost-cutting changes could delay ballots in November, Democratic lawmakers summoned him to testify at an emergency hearing. DeJoy, who was named to head the U.S. Postal Service in May, and his wife, Aldona Wos, have for decades worked behind the scenes to raise millions for candidates like President Donald Trump and former Gov. Pat McCrory, R-N.C. But over the weekend, the GOP power couple found themselves at the nexus of public anger over fears that Trump is interfering with the November election by crippling the Postal Service. "We're in the middle of a historic pandemic and as many as 40% of Americans plan on casting their ballot by mail," Patrick Young, an organizer with the group Shut Down D.C. told WUSA. "If we can't rely on those ballots getting to where they need to go, we've got a serious problem with democracy." It is unclear if DeJoy or Wos were at either residence during the demonstrations this weekend; a spokesperson for the Postal Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As The Washington Post has reported, DeJoy has upended the mail system months before it is expected to serve as the main conduit for millions of mail-in ballots, as voters seek to avoid polling places during the coronavirus pandemic. In the past week alone, he fired or reassigned several agency leaders and ordered the removal of hundreds of high-speed mail-sorting machines critical to maintain processing capacity. After he eliminated overtime hours for delivery workers and banned them from making extra trips for on-time delivery, some localities were already seeing USPS backlogs of up to a week. With medications and bills stuck in postal limbo, many officials now worry that millions of Americans could be effectively disenfranchised in November if their ballots do not arrive in time to be counted. Late Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., recalled the House back to Washington for hearings on DeJoy's changes, warning that the "lives, livelihoods and the life of our American democracy are under threat." It is, by some measures, an unlikely rise to prominence for DeJoy, a Brooklyn native and accountant by training who took over his family's struggling Long Island trucking company. By the time he sold New Breed Logistics in 2014, he had turned it into a $615 million nationwide logistics business based out of Greensboro. "He's pure New York. To the point, direct, no BS. Strictly business," McCrory told the Charlotte Observer. In a June video message, DeJoy told postal employees: "I am direct and decisive and I don't mince words." It is Wos who has taken on the most public-facing roles of the two. A native of Poland, her Catholic father smuggled a dozen Jews to safety and was sent to the Flossenburg concentration camp for one year during World War II, the News & Record reported. In Greensboro, she led local efforts to educate schoolchildren about the Holocaust and was appointed to the board U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Wos's real prowess was in raising money, though, and in 2002, she collected nearly $1 million to elect Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C., over the course of one month. Soon she was helping to lead campaign fundraising efforts in North Carolina for George W. Bush, who later appointed her the U.S. ambassador to Estonia. DeJoy proved to be similarly prolific. He co-chaired Rudy Giuliani's North Carolina fundraising campaign in 2008 but later found his primary political cause in a fellow businessman: Trump. Since 2016, he donated about $1.2 million each to the president and the Republican Party, a sum that propelled him into the upper echelons of the GOP's fundraising apparatus. After being named one of the deputy finance chairmen for the Republican National Committee - alongside Michael Cohen - DeJoy was named the local finance chairman for the party's planned convention this year in Charlotte, which has been scaled down exponentially due to the pandemic. The couple's efforts were summarily rewarded. As president, Trump made his first trip to North Carolina for a fundraiser at DeJoy's home, a gargantuan, 15,000 square-foot mansion in Greensboro's posh Irving Park neighborhood. The president later named Wos to a commission that selects White House fellows and earlier this year, as the U.S. ambassador to Canada. (Her nomination is pending before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.) Then came DeJoy's appointment as postmaster general. In May, the Postal Service's majority Republican board of directors selected him, amid concerns that DeJoy had invested between $30.1 and $75.3 million in the service's competitors, The Post's Jacob Bogage reported. Now DeJoy, who is the first person filling that job in decades without having served as a letter carrier first, is facing the same sort of intensely public pushback that is common for the president and other high-profile members of his administration. In a statement over the weekend, Shut Down D.C. said that activists hoped to provide DeJoy with "a much needed wake-up call" outside his building in the Kalorama neighborhood as they banged drums and shook noisemakers. Sunday's protest in Greensboro took on a different tenor, with the founder of a Grammy-nominated bluegrass group performed a call to action on the banjo. "Our government is doing a disservice to us all, to not deliver us the mail should be against the law," he sang. Pelosi said both DeJoy and Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan would be invited to testify before the House Oversight Committee's emergency meeting on Aug. 24., ahead of planned vote on legislation that would bar the Postal Service from pursuing operational changes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has also called for DeJoy's testimony. It's unclear whether DeJoy will cooperate. South Africa: Mthwalume murder suspect dies One of the two suspects arrested in connection with the murder of five women in Mthwalume, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, has committed suicide. The two men, aged 35 and 40, were arrested last week Friday following the recent discovery of the fifth body of an unidentified woman in a sugar cane field. The suspects, who were due to appear in court today, were found in possession of cell phones and SIM cards of the deceased women. The remaining suspect, however, did not appear due to insufficient evidence. Police Minister Bheki Cele, who addressed media outside the court where the suspects were scheduled to appear, said the death of the main suspect has posed a challenge, as prosecutors do not have a strong case against the second suspect. However, Cele said the suspect remains the subject of the investigation. The Minister said the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has taken over the investigation into the murders. Cele, KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza and Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC, Bheki Ntuli, visited the Mthwalume area on Saturday, where they engaged with a group of women. Cele also met with police officers on Monday morning to reinforce the work of the police and get an update on the investigation. The Minister said before his death, the main suspect, told the police that more bodies are buried in the sugar cane fields. Cele said the investigation into the murder of the women will continue until authorities are satisfied that they have exhausted every avenue. Weve told the police that there are more bodies buried in the area [and] we have strengthened the team investigating the case. Weve put more investigators, more skilled people, forensics and psychologists, to make sure that we leave no stone unturned, Cele said. Implementation of programmes against GBVF continues Meanwhile, Khoza said the Department of Social Development would continue to implement programmes against gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) across the province. "Gender-based violence remains a huge challenge in our communities. Our department will continue to offer psycho-social support to all those affected. We call on all members of society to play a role in ensuring that this scourge is dealt with. "For us to win this war, we require a concerted effort by all people. We need to speak out, speak up and act against gender-based violence in all its forms, Khoza said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Bogota, Aug 17 : Colombian President Ivan Duque has condemned the killing of eight young people who were gunned down by a group of armed assailants in western Narino department. "We condemn the massacre of eight people in Samaniego, Narino. As of early this morning, police and a military commander have been at the site, and I have ordered generals Eduardo Zapateiro (military) and Jorge Vargas (police) to deploy to the zone," Xinhua news agency quoted Duque as saying in a tweet on Sunday. "We will arrive at the bottom of this and capture the authors of this crime," he added. Local authorities suspect the killings arose from a turf war between rival drug-trafficking gangs. According to Samaniego Mayor Oscar Pantoja, armed men on motorcycles arrived at the scene on Saturday night and indiscriminately opened fire on a group of young people who were hanging out outside a residence. "We are saddened and concerned by the crime that is taking place," he said. Another five people were injured in the shooting. Colombian officials acknowledged the region is roiled by territorial disputes over control of drug-trafficking routes, but said the clashes are between National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas and members of a smaller armed rebel group called the Cuyes, who use drug trade to fund their movements. New Delhi: The Indian Coast Guard last week helped a Pakistani National, who suffered a heart attack on high seas. The Coast Guard immediately responded to the request of medical assistance and evacuated Captain Badar Hasnain, master of the vessel MV Haykal, to a hospital in Visakhapatnam for treatment. Initial diagnosis at Queens NRI Hospital, Visakhapatnam pointed out that he suffered from Hypoxic Ischemic Encehalopthy and was further recommended his treatment to continue in the hospital. The Pakistan national had suffered a heart stroke on July 13, 2020, while the vessel was en route Gopalpur Port, Odisha. Captain Badar Hasnain left for Pakistan on Monday via Attari Wagah Border. Captain Hasnains daughter appreciated the humanitarian gesture of the Indian government and the efforts of doctors at the hospital to provide him with medical treatment. Although Lebanon County officials have reached an agreement with Gov. Tom Wolf to release $12.8 million in federal COVID-19 relief aid there is still plenty of disagreement to go around. The chief critic of the deal is county Commissioner Bill Ames, who blasted it in a statement and said he refused to sign it. Ames was a backer of a lawsuit the county had filed against the governor in a bid to pry the federal CARES money loose. Wolf withheld that cash after Ames and fellow Commissioner Robert Phillips placed Lebanon County in the yellow reopening phase ahead of the governors schedule. The county should have kept pursuing its suit instead of striking a deal, Ames insisted. He said he especially objects to the settlement provision that requires $2.8 million of the CARES cash be spent on urging people to wear face masks. That is a lot of money that could be better spent on other needs, Ames wrote. Lebanon Countys citizens are more than capable of figuring out for themselves whether masks are useful or not. He also panned a provision that bars the county from using CARES money to reimburse its own costs of dealing with the pandemic. Karen Groh, president and CEO of the Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce, struck a more positive tone. Continuing with the lawsuit would have taken more time and narrowed the December deadline for the county to use the CARES money, Groh said. She noted that Lebanon was already two months behind the other 66 counties in accessing that cash and many of our businesses and nonprofits are feeling it. While $2.8 million for the mask promotion is a huge campaign for the size of our county, there is an upside, Groh said. This money has the potential to support so many of our Lebanon County businesses in its delivery, she said. It is not only a valid reminder to wear a mask but also (represents) a huge influx of money into our local economy. So, she said, the deal had to be struck with Wolf to help businesses endure the coming months of the pandemic. Getting these funds out as quickly as possible is the best way to offer a lifeline, Groh said. Charlie Riedel, STF / Associated Press When most Texans read about the terrible explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on Aug. 4, they probably thought it was a tragedy in a faraway place that didnt have much relevance to them. The more we learn about that immense blast, however, the more we see parallels to events that have happened in Texas and could happen again. The nightmare in Beirut occurred because 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been stored for years in the port with little or no safeguards. Putting a massive quantity of an explosive substance so close to thousands of people was incredibly irresponsible, and the inevitable finally happened. When the stockpile blew up, more than 150 people were killed, thousands were injured and the area far around the blast was devastated. THE founder of Henley Music School has been made Shiplake Colleges music administrator. Laura Reineke, of Berkshire Road, Henley, will start when the new term begins next month. She has been teaching at the college since 2017 as part of her work with the music school, which she founded in 2010 and is a charity. The school uses the John Turner Building at the college to host its Music School Sunday and the Youthful Orchestra. Mrs Reineke, an accomplished violin player, and her tutors have been delivering sessions online during the lockdown. She said: Shiplake College has always been very supportive of the music school and local events. They have a brilliant system and help out the local state schools by allowing them to use their lovely facilities. She will work with Richard Curran, the colleges director of music. Her role will involve teaching violin for three hours a week and carrying out 10 hours of administration work. Mrs Reinke said: I cant wait to start teaching people face-to-face again and seeing the kids properly. Im sure all teachers feel the same. She replaces Jonty Slade, who taught flute, and left at the end of the summer term after two years. Mr Curran said: I am delighted to welcome Laura in her new role. MONTREAL - A group of parents are moving forward with a legal challenge aimed at forcing Quebec to offer remote learning services to families who don't want their children returning to classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic this fall, the lawyer representing them said Monday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A empty hallway is seen at McGee Secondary school in Vancouver,on Sept. 5, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward MONTREAL - A group of parents are moving forward with a legal challenge aimed at forcing Quebec to offer remote learning services to families who don't want their children returning to classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic this fall, the lawyer representing them said Monday. Julius Grey said the motion he'll file in Quebec Superior Court in the coming days will argue that requiring children to attend classes in person violates their parents' charter rights to make decisions that affect their health and safety. "There are certain decisions that cannot be made by the government for people," Grey said in a phone interview. "Of course the government can make basic curriculum decisions for instance, people who wanted to protect their children from the study of science were always rebuffed but they cannot make these fundamental decisions about life, death, security." Julius Grey "Of course the government can make basic curriculum decisions for instance, people who wanted to protect their children from the study of science were always rebuffed but they cannot make these fundamental decisions about life, death, security." The province's back-to-school plan offers online learning services only if a child or someone in their household has a medical condition that puts them at risk of health complications due to COVID-19. But children without a medical exemption will have to attend classes or be homeschooled, Education Minister Jean-Francois Roberge repeated Monday. "If (they) present a risk for health, of course we will help those kids to learn at home with the help of teachers and support staff," he told a news conference in Quebec City. "But if the kids don't have some sickness related to COVID-19, the best place is to go to school, of course." "There's no reason they wouldn't provide (remote learning) for all those parents who, for better or worse, for good reason or bad reason, say they are not comfortable sending their child to school." Julius Grey On Monday, Roberge announced $20 million in funding aimed at temporarily hiring about 350 teachers and specialists who can help children who have fallen behind due to the disruptions caused by the pandemic. Politimi Karounis, a mother of two, is one of the parents involved in the lawsuit. She said Monday she believes the health measures in the government's plan are inadequate. Sending her children to school "would mean my child is in a class for five or six hours a day, with 35 students, without a mask, without social distancing, when at home I can guarantee several basic security measures," she said in a phone interview. "I believe parents, in this particular context, must have the choice to take decisions for the security of their families." Grey said parents have many reasons for wanting to keep their children out of crowded classrooms, ranging from elderly grandparents or sick siblings at home, to simple anxiety. 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. He said many parents don't have the capacity to homeschool, and don't want to pull their children from their normal classes without a guarantee they'll be able to return next year. Grey said the government is "clearly capable" of providing distance learning, since it is doing so for children who have health exemptions. "They are providing Zoom education for those children who qualify under the narrow exemptions they have," he said. "There's no reason they wouldn't provide it for all those parents who, for better or worse, for good reason or bad reason, say they are not comfortable sending their child to school." He says he'll seek an emergency hearing on the matter in the hopes of getting a decision in the next few weeks. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020. With files from Stephanie Marin (@ChaudhryMAli88) ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 17th Aug, 2020) The Emirates Mars Mission, EMM, the first interplanetary mission undertaken by an Arab nation, today announced the successful completion of TCM1 its first trajectory correction manoeuvre and a major milestone for the mission as the Mars Hope probe continues its 7-month journey to Mars. The manoeuvre marks the first firing of the Mars Hope probes six Delta-V thrusters, which were deployed for the first time in the vital course correction that will now see the probe directly targeting its Mars capture orbit. "TCM1 was a major milestone for us, not only because it is the first time we have deployed the spacecrafts Delta-V thrusters, but also because it defines our path to cruise Mars," said EMM Project Director Omran Sharaf. Following the successful launch from the Tanegashima Space Centre in southwestern Japan on the 20th July, the Mars Hope probe will make some 7 TCMs in its 493 million Km journey to Mars. The performance of the launcher and spacecraft during the Launch and Early Operations Phase, LEOPs, has achieved an outstandingly accurate trajectory. "Hope has exceeded our expectations and is now on target to reach its Mars Orbit Insertion, MOI, requiring less adjustment to its course than we had originally planned." In order to meet planetary protection protocols, Mars and other planetary missions are typically launched on an initial flight path that is intended to miss the missions planetary target until tests have confirmed the spacecraft is performing nominally, thereby mitigating the chance of an unplanned crash on the planetary surface and subsequent potential contamination with Earth-originating pathogens. For this and flight planning reasons, trajectory control manoeuvres are performed during flight. MOI is scheduled to take place early in February 2021. Hope aims to build the first full picture of Mars climate throughout the Martian year. EMM and the Hope probe are the culmination of a knowledge transfer and development effort started in 2006, which has seen Emirati engineers working with partners around the world to develop the UAEs spacecraft design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. It is part of a long-term integrated effort to create economic opportunity around leadership in space sciences, research and exploration. The missions probe was named Mars Hope as a symbol of hope for all young Arabs. The Emirates Mars Mission is part of a long-term integrated effort to create economic opportunity around leadership in space sciences, research and exploration. Mars Hope is a fully autonomous spacecraft, carrying three instruments to measure Mars atmosphere. Weighing some 1,350 kg, and approximately the size of a small SUV, the spacecraft was designed and developed by MBRSC engineers working with academic partners, including LASP at the University of Colorado, Boulder; Arizona State University and the University of California, Berkeley. Hopes mission is focused on atmospheric dynamics. It will explore the atmosphere of Mars globally while sampling both diurnal (daily) and seasonal timescales. (Never been done by any previous Mars mission). Understanding atmospheres of other planets, allows us to better understand our own planet (since there is another sample to compare with) and better understand other planets in the universe. Its unique science orbit supports the first complete picture of Mars weather. For the first time, scientists based in over 200 universities and research institutes globally will have access to a holistic view of the Martian atmosphere at different times of the day, through different seasons. The Emirates Mars Mission was developed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre working in conjunction with its knowledge transfer partners and funded by the UAE Space Agency. New Delhi, Aug 17 : The economic turbulence induced by the Covid-19 pandemic marginally pulled down India's seafood exports during 2019-20. As per data furnished by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), India managed to ship out 12,89,651 MT of seafood worth $6.68 billion (Rs 46,662.85 crore) during 2019-20, largely cushioning the adverse impact of the pandemic. In 2018-19, India had exported 13,92,559 MT of seafood worth $6.72 billion. "During the FY 2019-20, the export improved in rupee term by 0.16 per cent, but the quantity and US dollar value declined by 7.39 per cent and 0 .74 per cent, respectively," MPEDA said in a statement. "Frozen shrimp remained the major export item in terms of quantity and value followed by frozen fish while USA and China turned out to be the major importers of India's seafood." The frozen shrimp category earned Rs 34,152.03 crore ($4,889.12 million) and accounted for a share of 50.58 per cent in quantity and 73.21 per cent of the total dollar earnings. The shrimp category exports during the period increased by 6.04 per cent in dollar value and 6.20 per cent in quantity. According to K.S. Srinivas, Chairman, MPEDA: "We missed the 7-billion-dollar target, though not by a fair distance. However, exports are now likely to witness an uptick as lockdowns have been eased globally and there is an increased sale of value-added products in retail chains." "MPEDA's vision is to take Indian seafood exports to Rs one l akh crore by 2030," he noted. Google has finally announced a new version of WearOS that is based on Android 11, upgrading from the current version that is based on Android 9. With it, Google is bringing multiple improvements focused around performance and power along with simplified pairing and support for Qualcomms new Snapdragon Wear 4100 and 4100+ platforms. In a blog post, Google talks about improving the performance of WearOS devices by making it faster to access info and start/load apps, which Google claims will be 20% faster than before. The pairing process has been simplified and the SysUI will have more intuitive controls for managing different watch modes and workouts. Google also added a few new experiences like a new weather experience that will contain easier to read information and even an hourly breakdown of the days weather. In response to COVID-19, Google even added a hand-wash timer to ensure that the user spends atleast 20 seconds on the activity. Other updates include improved support for LTE. WearOS based on Android 11 will arrive to all compatible devices as an OTA update later this fall, 2020. Source 1, 2 Kerala EC V Bhaskaran said state health department will provide separate advisories for officials, political parties and voters Health experts in Kerala have given the green signal for holding the local body polls, which are now likely to be held by October end by strictly adhering to COVID-19 protocols. The new committees will have to assume office by mid-November. "Health department and health experts have given the green signal for holding of the local body polls," state election commissioner V Bhaskaran told reporters. COVID-19 protocols will have to be strictly maintained and the health department will provide separate advisories for officials,political parties and voters, he said. The commission has sought Rs 15 crore additional assistance from the government to put in place the facilities advised by the state health department. Polling will be extended by one hour and each booth will have a maximum of 800 voters. The extension of polling time would ensure that there is no overcrowding. Physical distancing should be maintained properly. The commission has held discussions with the Director of Health Services,health department officials and medical experts on holding the polls and they have given the go ahead, provided the health protocol is strictly maintained, he said. "We held discussions with medical department officials and health experts on whether polls can be held by adhering to COVID-19 protocol. They took a positive stand", he said, adding the poll schedule and election date would be decided after further consultations with all stakeholders. There will be more discussions with health experts on each aspect of conduct of the election and a final date will be announced only after that. The commission will soon call a meeting of all political parties, Bhaskaran said. For house to house campaigns, political parties should not send more than two to three people. Meanwhile, the commission has decided to go ahead with training of officials and the second round updation of voters list. Except in Mattannur Municipality, about 2.62 crore voters will select representatives to 941 village councils, 152 blocks, 14 district panchayats, 85 municipalities and six municipal corporations. The election process will have to be completed by 11 November. Ireland's multi-million euro cruise-liner industry may not recover from the fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic for three or four years. The warning came as Government sources indicated there are no plans to lift a ban on major cruise liners operating from Irish ports as part of their ongoing pandemic-control measures. Worth an estimated 70m to the Irish economy, the pandemic came as a crippling blow to the industry which had been expanding over the past 15 years following decades of decline since its 1950s heyday. Several cruise liners including the Diamond Princess and MS Zaandam found themselves the focus of international headlines earlier this year when some passengers tested positive for Covid-19 and the ships were denied normal berthing in Japan and South American. Within weeks of the pandemic, the entire global cruise-liner industry had ground to a halt. It came as a cruel blow for several Irish ports. So great was the recent expansion of the cruise-liner sector in Ireland that Cobh, Ireland's busiest liner port, was examining the development of a second cruise-liner berth at Lynch's Quay. Dublin and Belfast had also massively benefited from major liner visits. A total of 157,000 passengers and 69,000 crew visited Cork in 2018 delivering a 12m boost to the Cobh and Cork economies. Cobh had been scheduled to welcome more than 100 vessels this year. However, just a single liner visited Cork before the pandemic hit and the liner ban was imposed. Port of Cork chief executive Brendan Keating said it was a difficult situation for everyone involved. "There will be a significant impact on the local community through loss of business and we fully support Government initiatives to help those businesses trade through difficult times," he said. Marine magazine Afloat warned that many within the industry now fear it will be 2023 before the industry resumes anything like normal operations because of the fallout from the pandemic. Wilfredo Lee/AP American Airlines is making a few changes to their facial covering policy, following new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said facial coverings with one way valves or vents allow air to get through holes in the material and can actually contribute to the spread of coronavirus, so effective Aug. 19, they will no longer be allowed when flying with American, the airline said in a press release. Ukraine will provide humanitarian assistance to the Lebanese Republic. The relevant draft order was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at an extraordinary meeting on August 17, Ukrinform reports with reference to the Government portal. Pursuant to the decree of the President of Ukraine dated August 14, 2020, the Government ordered to allocate UAH 8.4 million from the reserve fund of the state budget to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of the explosion in Beirut, the statement says. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the State Emergency Service and the National Guard, must ensure the purchase, shipping, delivery and transfer of humanitarian aid, consisting of medicines, medical devices and wheat flour. As reported, on August 4, 220 people (including 1 citizen of Ukraine) were killed and over 6,000 were injured in powerful explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital. The massive blast was caused by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port for years. The explosion damaged buildings in a radius of several kilometers in Beirut, leaving more than 300,000 people homeless or living in homes with no windows or doors. ish Subscriber content preview The city's hospitality industry will experience the biggest hit with the loss of more than 5,000 jobs. ANCHORAGE (AP) The Anchorage Economic Development Corp. has predicted the city is likely to lose more than 11,000 jobs this year, largely because of the financial impact of the coronavirus. Corporation CEO Bill Popp said the losses would take the city back to employment levels last seen before 2000, The Alaska Journal of Commerce reported. . . . A doctor in Damascus has noted that the curve of infections is flattening and that most of the infections were not exhibiting serious symptoms writes Syria Scope. The General Director of the al-Mouwasat University Hospital in Damascus, Issam al-Amin, addressed important points that describe the current reality of the coronavirus, based on the number of suspected cases at the hospital. He indicated that a few days ago, a flat curve of infections was observed compared to the upward curve that had preceded during the past weeks. According to Amin, no increase in the number of infections at al-Mouwasat University Hospital was observed. Amin indicated that a large percentage of infections are of the mild and moderate type, which is usually accompanied with mild symptoms, which may not require isolation within the hospital. Those cases should rather self-quarantine, adhere to health procedures, and follow the course of treatment that is necessary to recover from the disease. Amin indicated that about 90 percent of infections at al-Mouwasat University Hospital are of the mild and medium type. He noted a greater awareness and commitment on the part of citizens nowadays. He called for adherence to health and preventive measures, and to consult a doctor and the right specialists should the patient notice any symptoms. Amin revealed that the number of beds allocated to suspected cases in the isolation and care departments increased by 14, bringing the total number of beds to 110, as part of the precautionary measures and response to the number of infections. The Ministry of Health announced, on Saturday evening, that 78 new infections had been recorded, five of which had recovered, in addition to two deaths. The ministry indicated in a statement that the total number of infections recorded in Syria until Saturday evening reached 1,593, of which 408 recovered and 60 died. 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. /* custom css */ .tdi_75_3f7.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_3f7 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_3f7.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_3f7.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_3f7.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement The Police Command in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) says trending information on the social media was not a true representation of the current security situation in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that there is information circulating on social media discouraging residents of Life Camp area and environs of Abuja from moving along the road at night. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the FCT, Mr Anjuguri Manzah, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Manzah said the information being circulated was a one-off incident recorded on a road leading to an isolated estate located in Life Camp over a week ago. /* custom css */ .tdi_74_99f.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_99f .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_99f.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_99f.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_99f.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement According to him, this does not represent the current security situation in the axis, as security has been beefed up around the affected estate. He said that the areas mentioned in the trending message was constantly under surveillance and patrol by both uniform and plainclothes police operatives. Manzah pledged the commitment of the command to continue to collaborate with residents to fight crime in the FCT. He said the command had deployed proactive measures across the FCT to fight and reduce crime to its barest minimum as part of ongoing efforts to protect lives and property. The Command wants to reassure residents of Life Camp, Godab estate, ACO Estate and other parts of FCT that proactive round the clock crime fighting measures have been deployed to guarantee their security, he said. He enjoined residents of the territory to go about their lawful daily activities. According to him, in case of distress, the FCT Police Command Control room can be reached on 08032003913, 08061581938, 07057337653 and 08028940883. /* custom css */ .tdi_76_694.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_694 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_694.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_694.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_694.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Sunday said that neither the United Arab Emirates (UAE) nor any other country has the right to speak on behalf of the Palestinian people, reported official WAFA news agency. During a phone conversation with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Abbas warned that if any other Arab country takes a similar step, Palestine will take the same position that they have taken towards the UAE. Abbas stressed his refusal to "use the Palestinian issue as an excuse for normalization with Israel," noting that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "explicitly confirmed the annexation plan is still on the table." The Palestinian president also reaffirmed rejection of the U.S. Middle East peace deal. For his part, Macron expressed his deep understanding of the position of Palestinians. However, Macron said that his country welcomed the tripartite agreement because it would push the peace process forward in the region, stressing the need to reach a political solution under the two-state solution and international law. Meanwhile, he invited Abbas to visit Paris to complete consultations on the overall situation related to the Palestinian issue. Abbas accepted the invitation while stressing the importance of France's position that supports the Palestinian people, according to WAFA. (CGTN) State Bank Of India (SBI) economists, in the latest edition of Ecowrap noted that they are revisiting its GDP growth estimation for Q1 FY21 from at lower than -20% and now peg it at much lower contraction: -16.5%, though with the relevant caveats in the current uncertain scenario. Specifically, degrowth in Corporate GVA is significantly better than revenue degrowth in Q1FY21 as far as the results of the listed companies are concerned. In principle, revenue decline of listed companies has been far outstripped by cost rationalization thereby not impacting margins. The Composite Leading Indicator and Monthly Acceleration Tracker also support the same. However, rural recovery is unlikely to support such pace in subsequent quarters as overall, the per capita monthly expenditure in urban areas is at least 1.8x of rural areas and rural wage growth in real terms might still be negative. This indicates that rural recovery will not have much impact on GDP growth. Thus, it is of utmost importance to unveil further steps to support growth. The update further noted that over the months of July and August the virus has now significantly penetrated the rural areas. The percentage of cases in rural districts to total new cases has risen to 54% in August. Also, the number of rural districts with less than 10 cases have reduced significantly. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra have been impacted more severely with increasing penetration in rural areas. These districts contribute mostly around 2-4% of GSDP of their respective States, indicating that cases are penetrating deep rural hinterlands. An analysis of positivity rate and test per million indicates that in the states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Bihar and West Bengal the positivity rate is significantly high but tests per million are quite less. This indicates that in these states the peak has not yet come and the situation will remain grave till the time number of tests increase significantly. The report stated that using the bottom-up approach, it is estimated total Gross State Domestic Product or GSDP loss due to COVID-19 is at 16.8% of GSDP. State-wise analysis indicates that top 10 states accounted for 73.8% of total GDP loss with Maharashtra contributing 14.2% of total loss followed by Tamil Nadu (9.2%) and Uttar Pradesh (8.2%). Subsequently, the per capita loss for all India is around Rs 27,000 with states like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Telangana, Delhi, Haryana, Goa, etc. exhibiting loss of more than Rs 40,000 per person in FY21. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Chinese smartphone maker ZTE will launch the world's first mass-produced 5G smartphone with an under-display camera next month. The ZTE Axon 20 5G, which is launching in China on September 1, will be the first under-display camera smartphone to be released to the market. The so-called 'under-display' camera is concealed entirely behind the phones screen, with no need for any notches or small round 'hole-punches'. The design increases the amount of space on the smartphone display, which is usually taken up by the black spot at the top that houses the camera. Although the phone's release date in the UK is yet to be announced, more details, including pricing will be available at the September 1 launch event. Scroll down for video Leaked image of the ZTE Axon 20 Pro 5G, according to Specs Tech. The device will be the world's first mass-produced 5G smartphone featuring under-display camera WHAT IS AN UNDER-SCREEN CAMERA? The design is intended to save space on the screen. Current phones rely on notches or hole-punches, seen in Samsung and Honor devices, to house selfie cameras. Oppo's tech uses an enhanced translucent panel combined with processing algorithms to take photos. Chinese handset makers Oppo and Xiaomi have launched into an early battle over the technology, tweeting videos of prototypes. Advertisement The new ZTE Axon 20 5G is rumoured to run Android 10 and come with a 6.92-inch (1,080x2,460 pixels) OLED display, according to a leak on Chinese regulatory body TENAA and detailed by Gadgets360. However, the exact configurations are currently unconfirmed and more details will be unveiled next month. 'Aiming to continuously provide consumers with unprecedented user experiences, ZTE is committed to accelerating the development of innovative technologies,' the company said in a blog post. 'By launching the world's first 5G smartphone with under-display camera, ZTE will further promote the development of display technologies in the smartphone industry, thereby bringing a revolutionised experience to all consumers.' The company calls the new device a 'milestone' in its ambition to sell a 'true full display smartphone'. All the major industry players have been working on the under-display camera smartphone, ZTE said. To accommodate the front-facing camera, smartphone designs have previously used the popular notch display a cut-out of the device's display, usually at the top. Other designs include the pop-up selfie camera smartphone, featured on the Samsung Galaxy A80, which slides up to reveal the selfie camera. The Chinese company is hosting a launch event for the smartphone to reveal more specs and pricing details The hole punch display features a small, round black hole, while the water-drop notch display, as on the OnePlus 6T and some Xiamoi models, is shaped like a drop of water falling from a window pane at the top. However, as consumers spend more time enjoying video content, smartphone makers are being driven to keep the entire screen free from any imperfections and deliver a complete full screen display. The under-display technology offers a way of doing this without dispensing of the front camera. Other Chinese companies including Oppo and Xiaomi have been working on their own under-display camera technology. In June last year, both companies teased their versions of the technology on social media, although neither have gone on to release an under-screen camera product yet. 'For those seeking the perfect, notchless smartphone screen experience - prepare to be amazed,' Oppo posted on Twitter at the time, accompanied with a short clip of an 'invisible' camera. For those seeking the perfect, notchless smartphone screen experience prepare to be amazed. You are taking a very first look at our under-display selfie camera technology. RT! pic.twitter.com/FrqB6RiJaY OPPO (@oppo) June 3, 2019 Chinese smartphone maker Oppo revealed a glimpse of its hidden selfie camera technology which resides underneath the screen (pictured) Oppo vice president Brian Shen wrote on Chinese social media site Weibo that there would be some loss of optical quality compared with normal cameras at this early stage Oppo vice president Brian Shen wrote on Chinese social media site Weibo that there would be some loss of optical quality compared with normal cameras at this early stage. Chinese firm Xiaomi then tweeted a video showcasing their device, writing: 'Do you want a sneak peek at the future? Here you go...'. Xiaomi president Lin Bin posted a Twitter video of the Xiaomi Mi 9 with a front facing camera, which is concealed entirely behind the phones screen. There was no indication when these two companies intend to make their under-display technology available to the public. In 2019, ZTE launched the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G, one of the first 5G phones available in China, featuring a compact, uniquely curved display. ZTE claims that it's achieved numerous breakthroughs in the field of smartphone displays, including the Axon 7 smartphone's pressure-sensitive display and its foldable dual-screen smartphone, the ZTE Axon M Z999. Global professional services firm Alvarez Marsal (A&M) continues to expand its Financial Restructuring capabilities in Europe with the hiring of two new Managing Directors in the Nordics. Jonas Rickardsson has joined as the Head of Financial Restructuring in the region, and Dan Andersson has been appointed to lead the Nordic Operational Restructuring and CRO Services. A&M currently offers Restructuring, Corporate Transformation and Private Equity Services, along with Transaction Advisory and Financial Institutions Advisory Services to Nordic clients from its offices in Stockholm and Oslo. Mr Rickardsson brings over 15 years of experience in restructuring advisory and financial review. His primary area of expertise is leading complex restructurings to provide clarity about the business' financial and commercial position. During his career, he has advised lenders, owners and management teams in stressed and distressed situations across a range of industries. Before joining A&M, Mr Rickardsson was responsible for Financial Restructuring at EY, where he specialised in delivering focused, situation-specific business reviews and options analyses. Mr Andersson brings more than 15 years of experience as Chief Restructuring Officer and Board Advisor. Before joining A&M, Mr Andersson spent four years with EY's Transaction Advisory Service, serving most recently as Head of Restructuring and Turnaround in Finland and CRO Services in the Nordics. There, he executed multiple turnarounds and refinancing rounds, drawing on his experience as CRO and corporate officer for large scale entities. The CRO Services offering will be supported by Senior Director Ole Sivertsen, who currently leads the Oslo office. A&M's Financial Restructuring team across Europe has already expanded its offerings in Europe this year with new leaders in France and Switzerland, and going into the end of 2020 the firm is investing in a significant growth trajectory. In September, A&M will welcome Mikel Ortega and Yago Fernandez to lead the newly established Financial Restructuring team in Spain, and in December the Nordic team will be joined by Kristoffer Stahlbrost who will lead the overall Restructuring team in the Nordics. In the near future the firm will also have Christian Ebner and James Dervin come onboard in London with a more pan-European focus. Mr Rickardsson comments "I am very excited to be joining the team at A&M to help build out the Financial Restructuring service offering in the Nordics. The firm's current restructuring offering throughout Europe is unparalleled, and I look forward to working with Dan and Kristoffer, and getting involved on-the-ground to aid Nordic companies as they face unprecedented challenges." Paul Kirkbright, Head of EMEA Financial Restructuring Advisory at A&M, said, "Following the successful launch in France and Switzerland earlier this year, bolstering our capabilities in the Nordics is the next strategic step to solidifying our market-leading Financial Restructuring offering across EMEA. A&M provides an independent, conflict-free alternative for clients. Jonas' and Dan's experience aligns with A&M's action-orientated, results driven approach and will help clients create value and drive growth. We are working towards positioning restructuring leaders across all European countries." About Alvarez Marsal Companies, investors and government entities around the world turn to Alvarez Marsal (A&M) when conventional approaches are not enough to make change and achieve results. Privately held since its founding in 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that provides advisory, business performance improvement and turnaround management services. With over 4,500 people across four continents, we deliver tangible results for corporates, boards, private equity firms, law firms and government agencies facing complex challenges. Our senior leaders, and their teams, help organisations transform operations, catapult growth and accelerate results through decisive action. Comprised of experienced operators, world-class consultants, former regulators and industry authorities, A&M leverages its restructuring heritage to turn change into a strategic business asset, manage risk and unlock value at every stage of growth. To learn more, visit: AlvarezandMarsal.com. Follow A&M on?LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.? View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200817005210/en/ Contacts: Miriam Jones Senior Marketing Manager, Alvarez Marsal +44 (0)20 7715 5202 File Photo New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a plea seeking postponement of JEE (Main) April 2020 and NEET-Undergraduate examinations, which are scheduled to be conducted in September, amid spurt in number of Covid-19 cases, saying precious year of students "cannot be wasted" and life has to go on. A three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra said career of students "cannot be put under jeopardy for long". Advertisement Supreme Court"Life has to go on. Life has to move ahead. Precious year of students cannot be wasted," the bench said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the apex court that due precautions and all safeguards would be taken while conducting these examinations. NEETThe counsel appearing for the petitioners told the bench that lakhs of students are looking towards the top court for relief and they were only seeking postponement of these exams. Advertisement As per the public notices issued by NTA, JEE (Main) April 2020 is scheduled from September 1-6, while NEET UG 2020 exam is scheduled for September 13. The plaintiffs, Roses 1, LLC and several other restaurants, were forced to shut down their operations following government mandates to stem the pandemic. The plaintiffs had attempted to claim on the resulting business losses under Erie Insurances Ultrapack Plus Commercial Property Coverage, but the insurer denied coverage. National Law Review reported that Judge Higashi granted a summary judgement for the insurer, ultimately ruling that loss has to have a direct impact on the physical property. The plaintiffs had initially argued that the shutdown orders were the direct reas A District of Columbia court in the US has ruled that a property insurance policy does not offer business interruption insurance coverage for losses related to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the case Roses 1, LLC, et al. v. Erie Insurance Exchange, Washington, D.C. Superior Court Judge Kelly A. Higashi determined that the coronavirus does not cause direct physical damage to property, which is a prerequisite for coverage. Higashi concluded that, despite the absence of a virus exclusion in Erie Insurances policy, plaintiffs would still be required to show a direct physical loss. The plaintiffs, Roses 1, LLC and several other restaurants, were forced to shut down their operations following government mandates to stem the pandemic. The plaintiffs had attempted to claim on the resulting business losses under Erie Insurances Ultrapack Plus Commercial Property Coverage, but the insurer denied coverage. National Law Review reported that Judge Higashi granted a summary judgement for the insurer, ultimately ruling that loss has to have a direct impact on the physical property. The plaintiffs had initially argued that the shutdown orders were the direct reason the restaurant closed, but the judge said that orders only directed businesses to take certain actions, but did not affect any direct change to the properties. The plaintiffs also argued that the losses were physical since the virus is material and tangible, and because the losses they suffered were caused by the shutdown orders and not some abstract mental phenomenon such as irrational fear causing diners to refrain from eating out. To this argument, Higashi said that the restaurants did not offer any evidence that the virus was present in their insured properties at the time they were ordered to close. The judge also ruled that the mayors orders did not have any effect on the material or tangible structure of the insured properties. Plaintiffs additionally claimed that by defining loss in the policy as encompassing either loss or damage, the insurer must treat the term loss separately from damage, which refers to physical damage to property. The judge stated that under a natural reading of the term direct physical loss, the words direct and physical modify the word loss. Higashi added that any loss of use must be caused, without the intervention of other persons or conditions, by something pertaining to matter in other words, a direct physical intrusion on to the insured property. The decision comes just days after another federal judge ruled in favor of policyholders in a separate case, allowing the policyholders lawsuit against their insurer to continue undismissed. In that case, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that the COVID-19 particles were a physical substance that attached to and damaged their property. on the restaurant closed, but the judge said that orders only directed businesses to take certain actions, but did not affect any direct change to the properties. The plaintiffs also argued that the losses were physical since the virus is material and tangible, and because the losses they suffered were caused by the shutdown orders and not some abstract mental phenomenon such as irrational fear causing diners to refrain from eating out. To this argument, Higashi said that the restaurants did not offer any evidence that the virus was present in their insured properties at the time they were ordered to close. The judge also ruled that the mayors orders did not have any effect on the material or tangible structure of the insured properties. Plaintiffs additionally claimed that by defining loss in the policy as encompassing either loss or damage, the insurer must treat the term loss separately from damage, which refers to physical damage to property. The judge stated that under a natural reading of the term direct physical loss, the words direct and physical modify the word loss. Higashi added that any loss of use must be caused, without the intervention of other persons or conditions, by something pertaining to matter in other words, a direct physical intrusion on to the insured property. Read more: Federal judge rules business owners can sue insurer over pandemic-related business losses The decision comes just days after another federal judge ruled in favor of policyholders in a separate case, allowing the policyholders lawsuit against their insurer to continue undismissed. In that case, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that the COVID-19 particles were a physical substance that attached to and damaged their property. A traffic stop Sunday by Cass County deputies resulted in the arrest of two men on drug-related charges. A deputy stopped the car on Illinois Route 125 at Sugar Grove Road. The sheriffs departments canine, Nitro, alerted to the presence of narcotics, according to Sheriff Devron Ohrn. Family Medicine-Specific Global Health Fellowships This unique, two-year fellowship program is a joint project of the Department of Family Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University/Kent Hospital of Rhode Island, Thundermist Community Health Center, and Blackstone Vallue Community Health Center, leading federally-funded community health centers in Rhode Island. Family physicians pursuing careers in global health are often called upon to engage in teaching, leadership, clinical care, and research in low- and middle-income countries. This fellowship is specifically designed to equip physicians with the skills necessary to meet these needs. The goal of the program is to provide fellows with a strong foundation in teaching, leadership, and clinical skills for a variety of settings and learners, curriculum design, and educational scholarship. Additional Information Daria Szkwarko, DO, MPH Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of Global Health Faculty Development Fellowship Department of Family Medicine Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University 111 Brewster Street Pawtucket, RI 02860 Szkwarkd@gmail.com TUCSON, AZ Arizona's coronavirus metrics continue to improve as Pima County reports 162 new cases and zero deaths Monday. The news comes as school districts in the state were due to open at least one facility for in-person learning. The state only reported 468 new cases Monday, along with zero deaths. That brings Arizona's total of cases and deaths to 194,005 and 4506, respectively. About 12 percent of tests are coming back positive statewide. In Pima County, the percent positive is just over nine percent. The county has still met only one of the three recommended guidelines for schools reopening: two consecutive weeks with hospital visits with COVID-like symptoms below 10 percent. All school districts were due to open at least one school for an in-person option Monday for students with nowhere else to go. The Tucson Unified School District reopened its doors to a small subset of its most vulnerable students, as reported by the Arizona Daily Star. The plan will be in place until at least Oct. 9 unless the county allows schools to open earlier. Schools are not required to follow the state's guidelines and reopening is a decision Gov. Doug Ducey supports. "We're going to leave ultimate and final decisions to superintendents and principals, and I'm confident they'll make good decisions," he said in Thursday's coronavirus briefing. For businesses like gyms, bars and movie theaters, two of the state's required benchmarks have shifted with Monday's data. Hospital visits with COVID-like symptoms are now considered minimal in Pima County and the percent of tests returning positive has become moderate. However, cases per 100,000 people is still considered substantial, meaning gyms, bars and movie theaters are going to remain closed for the time being. But the Arizona Republic reports that many businesses have submitted reopening plans to the state, with some already being approved. This article originally appeared on the Tucson Patch Radio broadcaster James Whale has revealed he considered euthanasia when he learned he had cancer of brain, spine, kidney and lung. The talkRADIO star was given the news two weeks ago and has said the thought 'might as well go and get it over with' was the first to cross his mind and considered going to Dignitas. But now the 69-year-old has vowed to fight the disease and says he wants to make it til at least 70. The Celebrity Big Brother star told the Sun: 'I came home, had a little think about things. I decided I'm just booking myself a trip to Dignitas. You might as well just go and get it over with. James Whale has revealed he is battling cancer of the brain, spine, kidney and lung twenty years after his first cancer diagnosis. The pioneering broadcaster has said he will fight it Broadcaster James Whale, seen in 2018, has revealed he is battling multiple forms of cancer 'I'd looked into it quite some time ago because Melinda died two years ago and it's been something in the back of my mind.' Whale was himself given just three months to live when he contracted kidney cancer in 2000 He continued: 'This little bastard has spread. It's in my remaining kidney. I've got a couple of small lesions in my lungs. I've got it in my spine. I've got it in my brain.' Doctors removes one of James' kidneys 20 years ago when he was first diagnosed with cancer. The pioneering broadcaster rose to prominence in the 1980s when he established himself as the host of The James Whale Radio Show in Leeds which was broadcast on Radio Aire and ITV. He now hosts between 7pm and 10pm on talkRADIO alongside long-time co-host Ash Gould. After news of his latest cancer battle broke, James took to Twitter to thank fans who had reached out to him to offer support: He said: 'I just like to thank everybody for their wishes Im going to be back on the air fairly soon at Talk Radio tomorrow night. 'Youre also amazing thank you for all your kind words. Im going to have to go to sleep now but Ill be on talkRADIO at 6-30 pm tonight x' The shocking news comes just two years after James lost wife Melinda to cancer. When she was diagnosed, he told MailOnline: 'She is not expected to live very long, it may be weeks or months. 'She is having treatment, and I can't give up that last glimmer of hope. But the doctors say I have to face facts. She is dying. The though of losing her is so painful, it is difficult to even contemplate.' Melinda went to her GP in September 2017, after feeling unwell and suffering with a cough. She said: 'I thought it was just a virus but the doctor found an infection in my lower, left lung and ear. I was prescribed antibiotics and sent home.' James and wife Melinda in 2018, when they broke the tragic news that she had just weeks to live after her own cancer diagnosis When they didn't work, Melinda went back and was prescribed another course, which also didn't work, before being sent for a chest X-ray. She said: 'I was getting more and more tired. At one point I really doubted myself. I thought, 'This is in your head, Melinda.' I thought it was the winter blues. James's wife Melinda, who died in May 2018 'But when I saw the radiographer's face I immediately knew something was wrong. The next day, I was told I needed further tests. 'By the time I was told it was cancer in December, I already knew. Don't ask me how, but I did. I have stage four lung cancer with secondary cancer scattered here, there and everywhere. 'It's in my bones, my spine and my lymph glands. It's gone ping, all over the place. 'It was such a huge shock. 'You're talking three months from perfect health to now, when I sleep almost 24 hours a day. It certainly crept up on me.' She died just months later, in May 2018. James had hoped Melinda could overcome the prognosis, like he did 18 years ago when he was told he had a tumour in his kidney the size of a football. He said: 'They weren't sure they could operate. I thought I was going to die.' After beating the odds, he set up Kidney Cancer UK, a charity that helps support those with the disease and their loved ones. The statement is in stark contrast to her earlier public address released after she fled the country to Lithuania and suggested she is still a "weak woman I was initially." Belarusian presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the rival of the long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko, has announced readiness to become a national leader so that the country "calms down and gets back to a normal rhythm." That's according to a new video address released Monday on the Strana dlya Zhizni ["Country for Life"] YouTube channel. "I have and have had no illusions about my political career. I didn't want to become a politician. But fate has brought me to the very front line of confrontation with arbitrary injustice," Tikhanovskaya said. She added she was "ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader so that the country calms down and gets back to a normal rhythm." I have and have had no illusions about my political career. I didn't want to become a politician. But fate has brought me to the very front line of confrontation with arbitrary injustice. Read alsoKremlin deploying Russian Guard troops to Belarus border media (Photo, video)The statement is in stark contrast to her earlier public address released on August 11 after she fled the country to Lithuania and suggested she is still a "weak woman I was initially." Looking visibly distressed, Tikhanovskaya said she made "a very difficult decision" and that she did it "all by herself". "Children is what's most important in life," she concluded. After her husband's arrest, Tikhanovskaya had her children taken out of the country to Lithuania. Protests in Belarus and Tikhanovskaya's departure On August 9, after presidential elections were held in Belarus, official exit polls claimed incumbent Alexander Lukashenko sealed a staggering 80.23% of the vote, while his closest rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya gained just 9.9%. On the same night, thousands of Belarusians took to the streets to contest what many believe is a rigged vote count. In a crackdown on protests, riot police fired rubber bullets, used tear gas, and detained thousands, of whom many were badly beaten and injured while in custody. Tikhanovskaya refused to take lead of the protests. According to her press secretary, the politician would not want to end up behind bars like her husband Sergei Tikhanovsky. At the same time, Tikhanovskaya said she considered herself winner of the presidential election, and called on her rival Lukashenko to negotiate. Shortly after the elections, Tikhanovskaya fled Belarus to Lithuania. The European Union has not recognized election results, while international organizations and foreign governments have condemned violence applied against peaceful protesters. Ukraine said it "generally shares" the position voiced by the EU, stopping short of direct non-recognition or recognition of election results. Afghan officials say the planned peace talks with the Taliban have hit a new impasse after some foreign governments called on Kabul not to free certain fighters in a prisoner-release deal. The negotiations were expected to begin within days after a Loya Jirga -- a traditional consultative assembly -- met in Kabul earlier this month and approved the release of 400 Taliban prisoners, a major precondition to talks. The officials didn't name the foreign governments who opposed to the release of the militants. But Australia and France have urged the Afghan government not to free several Taliban fighters accused of killing Australian and French nationals. Fereydoon Khuzoon, a spokesman for the High Council for National Reconciliation, told reporters that the prisoner release process had been slowed down by the foreign partners' objections. Khuzoon said Afghan authorities were now trying to resolve the problem in such a way that both the peace opportunity and relationships with the foreign partners remained unharmed. Azizullah Fazli, a government adviser on peace affairs, told RFE/RL that efforts were under way by the government in Kabul to remove obstacles to the start of inter-Afghan negotiations. It is not a big problem, it will be resolved," Fazli said on August 17. France's Foreign Ministry said on August 15 that Paris was "firmly opposed to the liberation of individuals sentenced for crimes against French nationals, especially soldiers and humanitarian workers." Bettina Goislard, a French employee of the UN refugee agency, was killed by two Taliban militants in 2003. In 2012, a former Afghan soldier killed five French troops and injured 13 others in Kapisa Province. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said last week he had lobbied against the release of a former Afghan National Army soldier -- identified as Hekmatullah -- who went rogue and killed three Australian soldiers. Kabul has already released 4,600 Taliban inmates out of the 5,000 pledged in a landmark agreement signed by the United States and the Taliban in February. But Afghan officials have described the remaining prisoners as dangerous. About 200 of them are accused by the Afghan government of masterminding attacks on embassies, public squares, and government offices, killing thousands of civilians in recent years. The Taliban says it has freed all 1,000 government prisoners it had pledged in the agreement with the United States. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani himself has warned that the 400 militants were a "danger to the world." But the Taliban said in a statement that the militants didn't pose any threat to anyone and that they were imprisoned for fighting for their country. The militant group has said it is willing to begin peace talks "within a week" after all 400 prisoners are released. It the Afghan government for delaying the negotiations. U.S. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he wants to end America's longest war, which began after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. With reporting by AFP Nearly two decades after the fatal shooting of Run DMCs Jam Master Jay aka Jason Mizell authorities have arrested two men in connection with his death. The breaking news brings Mizells financial dealings back into the spotlight, as prosecutors allege the death was part of a drug deal gone wrong. Heres what we know. Jam Master Jays death went unsolved for 18 years Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels and Jam Master Jay of Run DMC | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images RELATED: The 1st Rap Artist to Hit No. 1 on the Billboard Charts On Oct. 30, 2002, Mizell died inside his recording studio in Jamaica, Queens from two gunshot wounds to the chest. Jam Master Jay, who was 37 at the time of his death, was the resident DJ of the hip-hop group, Run DMC, with Run (Joseph Simmons) and DMC (Darryl McDaniels) in the early 1980s. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame recipients broke barriers with their rap/rock-styled music. Hip-hop historian, Ralph McDaniels, told the Wall Street Journal that Mizell was among the greatest DJs of all time. Along with multiple album and single successes, Run DMC became more commercialized with their partnership with legendary rock band, Aerosmith with the remix of Walk This Way. Mizells unsolved murder became the center of multiple conspiracy theories, including the 2018 Netflix documentary, Who Killed Jam Master Jay. The film explored findings in the cold case, including the six witnesses that wouldnt divulge more than necessary. No charges have been filed until now. Two arrested for the murder of Jay RELATED: 5 Must-See Movies About the World of Hip Hop On the afternoon of Aug. 17, the federal grand jury indicted two men on the unsolved murder of Mizell. CNN reported that the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York unsealed a criminal indictment alleging that Karl Jordan Jr. and Ronald Washington conspired to kill [Jam Master Jay] in retaliation for a drug dispute. Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Seth D. DuCharme, said they never stopped searching for suspects. The defendants planned and carried out the brazen ambush and execution of a renowned musician and prominent member of the community in his own music studio, prosecutors wrote. The situation explained, alleged that Mizell was involved in transporting kilogram-quantities of cocaine between 1996 and 2002. A dispute about how to distribute 10 kilograms of cocaine transpired. Mizell intended to cut Washington out of his share. In turn, Washington and Jordan planned to execute Mizell, according to the indictment. The two men have been charged with murder while engaged in narcotics trafficking and firearm-related murder, along with multiple other counts. Jordan pleaded not guilty. Washington was previously convicted for a slew of robberies and sentenced to 210 months in prison with an April 2021 release date unless this arraignment adds to his time. Jays negative net worth at the time of his death Today in 1986, @OfficialRunDMC released THE first certified platinum rap album ever, "Raising Hell" What's your fave hit off this culturally, historically, artistically significant album? Run it back now on Amazon Music : https://t.co/p2sVKCxcFh pic.twitter.com/gdEdXIt5GH Amazon Music (@amazonmusic) July 15, 2020 RELATED: What Is Angela Simmons Net Worth? Everything You Need To Know With federal documents alleging Mizells involvement with drug trafficking, his net worth at the time of his death makes slightly more sense. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Jam Master Jay had an estimated et worth of -$1 million. Prior to Mizells death, he reportedly had amassed a $500,000 debt to the Internal Revenue Service. The NY Post detailed that bill as $171,000 in federal tax liens, nearly $300,000 in state taxes dating back to 1989, including $172,000 in personal state tax and $54,339 in corporate taxes on his recording studio. Fan theories also suggest he owed a different man than the two arrested for his murder with the caveat that Mizells business partner, Randy Allen, wouldve received a $500,000 settlement in the event of Mizells death, as investigated by the Netflix documentary. He also said he believed that at the time of offending, Mr Hammond was suffering from schizophrenia and not a drug-induced psychosis, and that while the drug use may have exacerbated the offending it wasn't the cause. "He felt that [Courtney] intended harm to him. He felt she was interfering with his mind. He felt she had been involved in some way in a past life in which she had harmed him or people close to him," he said. "And I think he believed she was actually not who she was but was someone else, perhaps a spirit, that had entered her body and felt it was linked to a wider conspiracy ... because of that he had to destroy her." The court heard on May 24 last year, Ms Herron spent the afternoon with her boyfriend and his cousin in the Melbourne CBD. The trio were sitting on the steps at the old GPO building on the corner of Bourke Street and Elizabeth Street when Mr Hammond approached the group and asked for a cigarette. Ms Herron gave him one. Henry Hammond. She then asked him if he wanted to smoke ice in Fitzroy and he agreed. The group travelled to the inner-north suburb on the tram where they attempted to meet up with one of Ms Herron's friends. Ms Herron and Mr Hammond then went together to a friend's apartment where they smoked cannabis and methamphetamine. At 8.30pm, Mr Hammond and Ms Herron left the apartment and went for dinner at Vegie Bar on Brunswick Street in Fitzroy. The pair had dinner and CCTV from the venue shows they had "friendly banter and conversation". Ms Herron paid for Mr Hammond's meal, and they returned to the friend's apartment. Several people there noticed Mr Hammond behaving strangely, and saw the pair communicating with each other using hand signals and talking about magic and dragons. At 3.30am, the pair left the apartment and entered the grounds of Royal Park from Elliott Avenue at about 4.30am. While walking through the park, Mr Hammond picked up a branch. "Courtney was scared and asked Hammond, 'Are you going to kill me?'," prosecutor Melissa Mahady told the court. "Hammond then struck her to the head with the branch. She started screaming and a man sleeping in the park heard screams and a hitting sound. Hammond was repeatedly striking Courtney to the face with the branch." It was estimated Mr Hammond bludgeoned the body with the branch for 50 minutes. A man sleeping in the park who heard the attack described it as "just constant" and "intense". Mr Hammond then tied her feet together with black material and dragged the body to a clearing near a tree and some logs. He covered her with leaves, a tree branch and put a piece of concrete on her face. He sat at the scene and smoked a cigarette, leaving about 7.30am with Ms Herron's phone and wallet. Dog walkers found her body at 9.10am and called police. An autopsy found Ms Herron suffered significant injuries to her face, chest and abdomen associated with internal injuries that caused her death. Mr Hammond was arrested on May 26 at 4.45pm by police at the Salvation Army centre on Bourke Street. He initially provided a no-comment interview and denied knowing Ms Herron. In a second interview, he said he had been walking through Royal Park and had recognised "her treachery towards him and her family" and said the "trees had dropped sticks for a reason". He told police he recognised Ms Herron from a past life when he was happily married and "had everything", and admitted to hitting her with a stick and punching her. Ms Herron was raised in Melbourne's northern suburbs in a Greek-Australian family. She had a younger brother and a sister. Ms Herron was farewelled during a funeral in June at a Greek Orthodox church in Melbournes north-west. Grammy nominee Miley Cyrus announced Monday she'll perform her new song Midnight Sky for the first time live during the 37th Annual MTV Video Music Awards, which air on August 30. 'S***s about to get freaky I can feel it,' the 27-year-old pop star - who boasts 218.9M social media followers - wrote via Instagram. 'I hope you're ready. I'm performing at the 2020 #VMAs! Tune in August 30 at 8p on @MTV!' Airing August 30! Grammy nominee Miley Cyrus announced Monday she'll perform her new song Midnight Sky for the first time live during the 37th Annual MTV Video Music Awards The 27-year-old pop star wrote: 'S***s about to get freaky I can feel it. I hope you're ready. I'm performing at the 2020 #VMAs! Tune in August 30 at 8p on @MTV!' Miley (born Destiny) will also compete for two technical trophies - art direction and editing - for her 2019 music video, Mother's Daughter. Cyrus is certainly no stranger to the ceremony, having hosted the 32nd Annual MTV Video Music Awards at LA's Microsoft Theater in 2015. The mullet-rocking millennial has also graced the VMAs stage in 2013, 2017, and 2019 - but she's only taken home one Moon Man for video of the year (Wrecking Ball) in 2014. Miley's self-directed music video for Midnight Sky has amassed 26.7M views since premiering Friday on YouTube. Pictured with Mama Tish! Miley will also compete for two technical trophies - art direction and editing - for her 2019 music video, Mother's Daughter Haus of Edwards: Cyrus is certainly no stranger to the ceremony, having hosted the 32nd Annual MTV Video Music Awards at LA's Microsoft Theater in 2015 Blurred lines: The mullet-rocking millennial has also graced the VMAs stage in 2013 (pictured with Robin Thicke), 2017, and 2019 - but she's only taken home one Moon Man for video of the year (Wrecking Ball) in 2014 Just dropped! Miley's self-directed music video for Midnight Sky has amassed 26.7M views since premiering Friday on YouTube 'I don't belong to anyone': The song was clearly inspired by her splits from boyfriend Cody Simpson, girlfriend Kaitlynn Carter, and husband Liam Hemsworth in the last year Cyrus' disco-inspired anthem - which samples Stevie Nicks' 1982 classic Edge of Seventeen - is the lead single from her upcoming seventh studio album, She Is Miley Cyrus. The song was clearly inspired by her splits from two Australian men and one American woman in the last year - boyfriend Cody Simpson, girlfriend Kaitlynn Carter, and husband Liam Hemsworth. BTS, Lady Gaga, The Weeknd, Maluma, J Balvin, CNCO, Doja Cat, and Roddy Ricch are also slated to perform at 'various outdoor locations around New York City' (rather than Brooklyn's Barclays Center) for the fan-voted show. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 15:06:20|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on Dec. 28, 2018 shows the White House and a stop sign in Washington D.C., the United States. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Around 70 years ago, the United States was haunted by McCarthyism when then-Senator Joseph McCarthy incited anti-Communist hysteria in the country. It is startling to see that similar ideological bigotry is resurfacing three decades after the end of the Cold War. Spurred by the Cold War mentality and election anxieties, some U.S. politicians have spared no efforts in attacking the Communist Party of China (CPC), ranging from China's political system to the COVID-19 fight and issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Taiwan. Recently the U.S. administration was even reportedly weighing travel restrictions on all CPC members from visiting the country. Hyping up the so-called "red menace," they intend to define China-U.S. relations with ideological confrontation and cover up their real strategic agenda to contain China. These U.S. politicians seem to still live in the Cold War era, and they are planning coordinated action to gang up on the world's biggest developing country. Long gone are the times when ideological manipulation dominated interaction among states. Mankind is already in the 21st century featuring globalization and instigation of hatred and confrontation runs counter to the trend of the times. History has witnessed the achievements China has made under the leadership of the CPC. Starting with only dozens of members, today the CPC has grown into a political party with over 91 million members and has long been the ruling party in the world's most populous country. With the strong leadership of the CPC, China has contributed over 30 percent to global economic growth for years in running and over 70 percent to global poverty reduction. Advocating the principle of peaceful coexistence, China is the largest contributor of peacekeepers among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. These are all facts the whole world is fully aware of, which will never be erased by some U.S. politicians' slanderous accusations. Neglecting the success of the CPC will definitely gain no support. Recently a group of former statesmen and scholars from 48 countries initiated an online event themed "A new Cold War against China is against the interests of humanity." A joint statement named "No to the New Cold War" was issued in 14 languages, which epitomized a strong call for the U.S. side to stop forming an anti-China coalition and dividing the world. The revival of McCarthyism will drag China and the United States into conflict and confrontation, and plunge the world into chaos and division again. China has no intention to replace the United States, nor will it be intimidated by the hostile words and acts of some U.S. politicians. The Chinese people will only rally more closely around the CPC and work together with other countries for a community with a shared future for mankind. More than 40 years ago when the Cold War was at its climax, leaders of China and the United States managed to set aside ideological differences and normalized bilateral ties. The past 40-plus years have witnessed a more than 250-fold increase in bilateral trade, around 2.6 million American jobs supported by China and a total of 72,500 U.S. companies investing in China. Needless to mention the critical role of the world's two largest economies in tackling global challenges. It is imperative for the biased U.S. politicians to stop smearing the CPC and hijacking the international community onto their anti-Communism and anti-China chariot. Otherwise, they will fall into the pit they have dug themselves. Inc. magazine today revealed that VIPdesk a premium provider of outsourced customer experience solutions, specialized in utilizing a remote work-at-home model is again featured on its annual Inc. 5000 list, which has long been the most prestigious and recognized 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 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. Sally Hurley CEO of VIPdesk commented on her achievement "We are absolutely thrilled to make the Inc 5000 list for the 2nd time in 3 years. During a time of uncertainty for so many businesses, we are grateful to be celebrating our tremendous growth." Making the Inc.5000 is a testament to VIPdesks ongoing success as a premium provider of Outsourced Customer Service solutions. VIPdesk has not only been recognized for its innovative virtual service delivery model, VIPdesk is also unique in the industry as they became a registered B-Corp, complying with the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. The uncompromised focus on the well-being of their purposefully recruited team-members allows VIPdesk to consistently deliver elevated and memorable customer experiences for their family of iconic brands. 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 VIPdesk: VIPdesk, a premium provider of outsourced customer experience solutions, utilizes a select team of remote work-at-home Brand Ambassadors (customer service professionals), located throughout the U.S., to provide elevated customer experience for luxury and premium brands. As a certified B-Corp, Women-Owned-Corporation and Best Workplace winner, VIPdesk is on a fast mission to elevate the human experience with its team members and its partners. Talented team members of VIPdesk not only excel in delivering superior customer service but are passionate ambassadors of the brands they serve. VIPdesk's suite of services include Omni-Channel Customer service handling including all traditional and digital contact channels, full AI and assisted AI solutions, social media management, back office support and customer experience consulting. Visit http://www.vipdesk.com for more information or @VIPdesk on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram. About 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/. CONTACT: Othmar Mueller von Blumencron 703-348-2236 Elizabeth Debicki, who was a gold-skinned villainess in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," will play Princess Diana in the fifth and sixth season of Netflix's "The Crown." "When Peter Morgan asked me to do it I was quite overwhelmed, but I've had a little bit of time to process it now," the actress said on "Good Morning America" on Thursday. "I think that I'm actually just incredibly excited to do it, and she's such an incredibly important figure." "She was such a remarkable human being and so the idea of stepping into it is daunting but very exciting," Debicki added. Elizabeth Debicki will play Princess Diana in the final two seasons of The Crown (Seasons 5 and 6). pic.twitter.com/Z3CjHuJ56B The Crown (@TheCrownNetflix) August 16, 2020 The hit Netflix series has followed the royal family through several time periods, using different actors to play its characters as the show spans from the 1940s to the 1980s. Princess Diana will be introduced in the upcoming fourth season with actor Emma Corrin; "X-Files" veteran Gillian Anderson will play Margaret Thatcher in the fourth season as well. That season will debut on Nov. 15. With season five filming in June 2021, cameras won't begin rolling on the sixth and final season until 2022. "Princess Diana's spirit, her words and her actions live in the hearts of so many. It is my true privilege and honour to be joining this masterful series, which has had me absolutely hooked from episode one," Debicki said in an announcement when the casting news was revealed last month. PHOTO: Princess Diana attends a private viewing and reception in London, June 2, 1997. Elizabeth Debicki walks the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival, Sept. 7, 2019. (Tim Graham Photo Library and Daniele Venturelli/WireImage via Getty Images, FILE) In the meantime, here's what you need to know about Debicki: 1. She was born in France and raised in Australia: The 29-year-old actress has an international background. Born in Paris to a Polish father and Australian mother, Debicki's family moved to Australia when she was young. Story continues "We have a lot of family in Europe, and Paris still feels like home," she told The Age in 2013. However, her French isn't perfect, she added. "Last time I was in Paris, I'd been there about 10 minutes and I strolled down to the bakery and had a panic attack about ordering a quiche. I thought, 'Oh god, I can't remember how to say anything!'" she recalled. 2. Performing is in her blood: Debicki's parents are classically-trained dancers, and she was too. However, by 16, Debicki had grown to over 6 feet tall and pivoted from ballet to acting. She trained at the Victorian College of the Arts. "I love dance and I still take classes; that's really important for my sanity. I think once a dancer, you always have to move. But I was really drawn towards words," she told The Age. "It's kinda murky. I can't see a clear distinction between dance and acting. It is the same part of my brain firing. I just liked talking and words." 3. She landed a big break early: In 2013, Debicki made headlines for her head-turning role as Jordan Baker in Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby." "I flew to L.A. for about 48 hours, met Baz, did an audition with Tobey at the Chateau Marmont and then I went home," Debicki told HuffPost at the time. "A month later, Baz called me up and said, 'Would you like to be in our little show?' Very Baz." 4. She does not use social media or take selfies: "I've always been a private person. I feel like the thing I want out in the world is my work and I've always believed and it's the way I approach my work that me and the work are separate. I think that people with social media can blur it so beautifully, and I respect that, but it's not really how I am and I just want the work to speak and people to receive it the way they will without anything influencing it. I just want people to know me for my work," she told told Vogue Australia in 2018. . 5. She has other projects in the works: The actress will be seen next in Christopher Nolan's oft-delayed "Tenet" and will voice Mopsy Rabbit in "Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway." ABC News' Lesley Messer contributed to this report. Elizabeth Debicki on playing Princess Diana in 'The Crown': 'She was such a remarkable human being' originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com If you could dive down to the ocean floor nearly 540 million years ago just past the point where waves begin to break, you would find an explosion of life--scores of worm-like animals and other sea creatures tunneling complex holes and structures in the mud and sand--where before the environment had been mostly barren. Thanks to research published today in Science Advances by a University of Saskatchewan (USask)-led international research team, this rapid increase in biodiversity--one of two such major events across a 100-million-year timespan 560 to 443 million years ago--is part of a clearer picture emerging of Earth's ancient oceans and life in them. "We can see from the trace fossils--tracks, trails, borings, and burrows animals left behind--that this particular environment of the ocean floor, the offshore, served as a 'crucible' for life," said USask paleobiologist Luis Buatois, lead author of the article. "Over the next millions of years, life expanded from this area outwards into deeper waters and inwards into shallower waters." The research is the culmination of over 20 years of work from Buatois and the team which examined hundreds of rock formations in locations across every continent. "Until now, these two events--the Cambrian Explosion and the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event--have been understood mostly through the study of body fossils--the shells, carapaces and the bones of ancient sea creatures," said Buatois. "Now we can confidently say that these events are also reflected in the trace fossil record which reveals the work of those soft-bodied creatures whose fleshy tissues rot very quickly and so are only very rarely preserved." For the first time, the team has shown evidence of animals actively "engineering" their ecosystem--through the construction of abundant and diverse burrows on the sea floor of the world's oceans in this ancient time. "Never underestimate what animals are capable of doing," said USask paleobiologist Gabriela Mangano, co-author of the paper. "They can modify their physical and chemical environment, excluding other animals or allowing them to flourish by creating new resources. And they were definitely doing all these things in these ancient seas." The trace fossil-producing animals' engineering efforts may have laid the foundation for greater diversity in marine life. The researchers identified a 20-million-year time lag during the Cambrian Explosion (the time when most of the major groups of animals first appear in the fossil record) between diversification in trace fossils and in animal body fossils, suggesting the later animals exploited changes which enabled them to diversify even more. The research also helps resolve a big question from the geochemical record, which indicated much of the ancient ocean was depleted of oxygen and unsuitable for life. Like oceans today, the Cambrian ocean had certain areas that were full of life, while others lacked the necessary conditions to support it. "The fact that trace fossil distribution shows that there were spots where life flourished adjacent to others devoid of animal activity all through the early Cambrian period is a strong argument in favor of the idea that zones with enough oxygen to sustain a diversity of animals co-existed with oxygen-depleted waters in deeper areas," said Mangano. "It's a situation similar to what happens in modern oceans with oxygen minimum zones in the outer part of the continental shelf and the upper part of the continental slope, but oxygenated ones in shallower water." The research could provide new insights from an evolutionary perspective into the importance of extensive rock formations of a similar vintage found in Canada and elsewhere, and help society to prepare for coming challenges. "Understanding changes that took place early in the history of our planet may help us to face present challenges in modern oceans, particularly with respect to oxygen changes," said Buatois. ### Other members of the team are: USask PhD student Kai Zhou, University of Portsmouth researcher Nic Minter, Senckenberg am Meer institute (Hamburg) researcher Max Wisshak, College of Wooster (Ohio) paleontologist Mark Wilson, and statistician Ricardo Olea of the United States Geological Survey. The research was funded by grants from Canada's Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council awarded to Buatois and Mangano. Astrobiology Please follow Astrobiology on Twitter. NEW YORK, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Last year a jury awarded almost $60 million to Alonso Yanes, a young man who suffered catastrophic burn injuries during a botched chemistry demonstration at New York's Beacon High School. A year later, in a well-reasoned, well thought out decision, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Alexander Tisch upheld the jury's verdict of $29,585,000 for past pain and suffering and $29,585,000 for future pain and suffering for the young man. Alonso Yanes Ben Rubinowitz and Richard Steigman, both partners at the New York Personal Injury Law Firm of Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf represented Alonso Yanes during the personal injury trial. They are extremely pleased with Justice Tisch's decision: "We are grateful that Justice Tisch took the time to write such an important and carefully written decision," said Ben Rubinowitz. In his 38 page decision, Justice Tisch meticulously explained how Alonso Yanes, who was 16 year old at the time, was burned alive as his Teacher, Anna Poole, performed a "Rainbow Experiment" and negligently poured methanol, an extremely flammable fuel, from a gallon jug. That carelessness created a massive fireball that covered the student with millions of droplets of burning fuel. Alonso was engulfed in flames and continued burning until a teacher from another classroom brought in a fire blanket to extinguish the flames. The students were not provided any safety equipment or given any safety instruction. The classroom was not equipped with any safety features such as proper ventilation, showers or fire blankets. Justice Tisch described the immense pain suffered by the student during his transport to the hospital while he was in critical condition fighting for his life. The judge described the agonizing pain endured by Alonso during his extensive hospital stay, during which time he underwent more than 100 surgical procedures. Justice Tisch meticulously detailed the pain and suffering Alonso will continue to endure, on a daily basis, for the rest of his life. In his decision Justice Tisch carefully and articulately explained his decision to uphold the $59,170,000 Jury verdict. Contact: Ben Rubinowitz, [email protected], 212-943-1090 SOURCE Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf Related Links http://www.gairgair.com Aaron Epstein, MD, used to work in counterterrorism and national security. Now a third-year surgical resident at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, he leads an international medical mission group that is helping fight COVID-19 in the U.S. Residents Medical Mission Group Focusing on COVID-19 Aaron Epstein, MD, a third-year trainee in the general surgery residency program, founded the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group (GSMSG) in 2015 as a Georgetown University medical student and serves as president of the organization. I think this has given surgeons and the wider community more of an appreciation of all those in the medical profession, especially nursing. Aaron Epstein, MD Trainee in general surgery residency program The GSMSG normally sends U.S.-trained physicians to conflict zones to treat patients in places like Iraq and Syria and provide medical care and training when local health care systems are overwhelmed. But this year, the organization is also operating stateside, erecting mobile clinics to aid in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The group has previously deployed within the continental U.S. in response to hurricanes that hit Florida, but expanded domestic operations earlier this year when the COVID-19 pandemic began surging in the New York City region. Answering Call From Overwhelmed NYC System When New York Citys health care system was overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients, Epstein, who used to work in national security and counterterrorism, was contacted by retired U.S. Army Col. Robert Mabry, MD, who formerly ran elite U.S. Special Operations medical teams. The request was for help staffing the Ryan F. Larkin New York Presbyterian Field Hospital in northern Manhattan, a facility that was being directed by retired U.S. Army Col. Melissa Givens, MD, and Kate Kemplin, DNP, a former U.S. Army nurse specialist. According to Epstein, many of the physicians and other medical professionals who volunteer with GSMSG have military or defense backgrounds. Its a natural connection, he says. I put out the call to my entire LISTSERV of a few thousand, Epstein says. I think we had 150 slots to staff and we got about 800 responses. So we ended up having to turn people away for the New York City site, but there was still a nationwide need for staffing. Team members were still asking, what can we do? So we instructed them to mobilize in their communities and start staffing. The group has sent resources, physicians and nurses to international locations, including to the tiny Caribbean island of St. Martin, where GSMSG team members helped staff an improvised intensive care unit (ICU). Epstein noted that many hospitals on small island nations, as well as many countries in the developing world, lack facilities like ICUs that are standard in more industrialized nations. Mobile Triage Unit to be Shipped to Florida Now, with COVID-19 cases surging in the U.S. throughout the South and the West, the organization is mobilizing where the need is greatest. After GSMSG team members mobilized in New York City, they were contacted by HHI Corp., an engineering and construction company that is building mobile triage units during the pandemic. They saw what we did with staffing in New York and were interested in donating to us a mobile triage unit, a mini clinic that sits on seven tractor-trailers, Epstein says. My first idea was we should put it in Buffalo, but by that time in mid-May the COVID-19 patient flow was well past the peak, so we reached out to our network to see where there was still pressing need. Folks in Miami were just starting to see the propagation of this wave of the pandemic, so we decided that would be a good place to establish a clinic. Currently under construction at the HHI headquarters in Utah, the mobile clinic should be completed later this summer. At that point the unit will be shipped to Miami and integrated into the Jackson Health System for processing COVID-19 patients for triage. GSMSG volunteers will assist in setting up and managing the clinic. As a native of South Florida, that project is especially important to Epstein. Miami and the Jackson Health System serve as a major health care hub for South Florida, he says. But the region is also a major point of entry for international medical and surgical patients arriving from Central and South America as well as the Caribbean islands. The catchment area covered by this system is truly massive and will allow us to impact those far beyond the borders of this country. Schwaitzberg Influences Decision to Select UB As a native Floridian, Epstein gets the usual question from Western New Yorkers, which is some variation of why on earth did he pick Buffalo for residency? Steven D. Schwaitzberg, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Surgery and president of UBMD Surgery, is a big part of that answer. Like all fourth-year medical students, Epstein had numerous interviews, including at some of the nations top hospitals. Around that time, he attended a military surgery conference with his mentor, U.S. Army Col. Robert Lim, MD, an associate professor of surgery at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. Lim introduced him to Schwaitzberg, who had mentored Lim when he was a resident. Dr. Schwaitzberg is an incredibly inspiring guy, Epstein says. A lot of program directors and chairs I spoke to, I was more trying to sell myself to them, but with Schwaitzberg it was more like he really wanted me to come here. He himself is such a powerhouse. It was such a different approach. I realized that Id rather go where they really want me. Deeper Appreciation for Medical Professionals The liquor shops would be open from 10 am to 7 pm and only 500 tokens shall be issued per day to consumers Chennai: After a gap of nearly five months, state-run TASMAC retail liquor outlets would reopen here, and in suburbs from 18 August, the Tamil Nadu government said on Sunday. The liquor shops would be open from 10 am to 7 pm and only 500 tokens shall be issued per day to consumers, a government release quoting Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), the sole retailer of Indian made foreign liquor in the state, said. "All those visiting the liquor shops must compulsorily wear face masks and maintain social distancing," it said adding outlets located in containment zones and malls would not be opened. Barring shops in Chennai and other suburban areas falling under the jurisdiction of Greater Chennai Police, liquor outlets in the rest of Tamil Nadu were reopened on 7 May. Liquor outlets were not opened here in May in view of a relatively high number of COVID-19 cases during that period of time. The announcement comes at a time when the state capital has been witnessing a drop in coronavirus cases. TASMAC shops were closed on 24 March evening across Tamil Nadu including Chennai when the lockdown was imposed for the first time. (TNS) - A late-summer heat wave in Southern California typically sends people fleeing to movie theaters, shopping malls and crowded beaches in search of a cool respite.But the coronavirus pandemic has forced the closure of places where people once gathered, upending those routines.So as temperatures soared Friday, many people instead stayed at home with their air conditioners blasting. Even though many offices and businesses were closed due to the pandemic, that intense demand along with other factors including a dearth of power coming in from other states was enough to create the most serious statewide energy shortage in nearly 20 years, officials said. On Saturday night, another round of temporary blackouts was ordered in parts of the state.The California Independent System Operator, the body that runs the electric grid for most of California, declared a statewide Stage 3 emergency Friday evening and ordered utilities to shed about 1,000 megawatts, prompting rolling blackouts across the state. A single megawatt powers about 750 homes, spokeswoman Anne Gonzales said.It was the first time since 2001 that state electric grid operators have had to take the drastic step.The precise causes of the power shortage remained somewhat of a mystery on Saturday. The rolling blackout of two decades ago occurred after deregulation of the energy markets, which led to manipulations for profit by companies like Enron. One question going forward will be what role market forces or planning by regulators played in the shortage.At the same time, California has seen a shift in its power supply over the last two decades, relying more on solar and gradually less on fossil fuels.The blackouts, which typically lasted an hour or two, cut power to more than 130,000 Southern California Edison customers and approximately 220,000 Pacific Gas & Electric customers in Northern Californias El Dorado, Napa, Marin, San Mateo and Sonoma counties.In addition to the spike in demand, the sheer breadth of the heat wave, which covers a huge swath of the western United States, was a key culprit. The record heat caused electricity shortages in many neighboring states, preventing them from exporting excess power to California, officials said.Because were all interconnected, when theres a need in California, power will flow into the state from out-of-state generation, and that helps meet the demand, said Robert Villegas, spokesman for Southern California Edison. But when other states are also experiencing high heat conditions and extensive demand on their systems, a lot of that power would stay closer to where its produced.In some ways, the power shortage was counterintuitive given how many offices and businesses are closed due to the pandemic.But even during these conditions. overall electricity demand has followed the usual pattern: climbing during the workweek and trailing off over the weekend, according to Gonzales. Officials initially thought this would prevent further interruptions over the weekend, but Saturday night, both Pacific Gas & Electric and San Diego Gas & Electric announced more blackouts. Southern California Edison also warned of more blackouts.Utility companies across the state were urging customers to help conserve energy by doing things like setting the thermostat no lower than 78 degrees and unplugging unused appliances.I always tell people that everything your mother told you when you were little, it was in fact true, Villegas said. Dont leave the refrigerator door open while youre thinking about what to get from inside. Dont leave the back door open because it does let the heat in. Turn off lights when youre not using them. The simple things are really where its at here.The COVID-19 pandemic has also caused cities and counties across the state to rethink how they operate cooling centers, another crucial component of how the region protects its residents during heat waves. The centers often attract the elderly and people with underlying health conditions that make them particularly susceptible to heat as well as illness.A notice on Kern Countys website laying out new precautions says people seeking refuge will be screened for fevers and other COVID-19 symptoms before entering a cooling center and those displaying signs of the disease will not be allowed inside. Once inside, people will be asked to stay six feet apart and will be encouraged to wear a face covering, the website says.The city of Los Angeles, which opened cooling centers Friday, is also screening for COVID symptoms at the door and then requiring people to stay masked and separated once inside. Staff are wearing personal protective equipment, including masks and gloves.Normally our facilities can hold a lot more people, but due to COVID the capacity is diminished, said Emergency Management Coordinator Sonya Young Jimenez. As of Saturday afternoon, Jimenez said she was unaware of anyone having to be turned away because they were suspected of having COVID-19.At the same time, large brush fires burning in the Angeles National Forest above Lake Hughes and Azusa severely compromised air quality, causing public health officials Saturday to warn people to avoid unnecessary outdoor exposure and putting yet another limit on options to escape the heat.I think theres a variety of factors we all need to be concerned about, said Margie Otto, spokeswoman for Pasadena Power and Water. Theres the potential for wildfires, the high heat, energy use and all of the power generation sources.The utility received a directive from Cal ISO to shed load at about 7:30 p.m. Friday, followed by another notification a half-hour later that it was no longer necessary, she said. About 1,500 of its 65,000 electrical customers were without power for 30 minutes.Southern California Edison cut power to roughly 132,000 of its 5 million customers Friday night, each for about an hour, Villegas said. All customers had their power restored by 8 p.m., he said.Typically what happens is (the blackouts) will be done in small blocks that include portions of communities, so we dont shut down a county or something like that, he said. He said the utility is also careful to avoid cutting off power to critical facilities like hospitals and public safety buildings.The goal of the controlled shutoffs is to avoid longer and more widespread outages due to equipment failures that can result when high demand overburdens the system, he said. The utility has also deployed emergency management crews throughout its service territory to quickly respond to and repair those types of outages for the duration of the heat wave.We totally understand its a hardship when youre without power, especially in this time when options are limited, Villegas said. With students being at home now starting school online and people working from home, of course their livelihoods and their education are things that were looking at so were trying to minimize as best we can interruption to people in their homes.Cal ISO also directed San Diego Gas & Electric to implement rotating blackouts Friday night. The utility shut off power to about 58,700 customers in San Diego County and southern Orange County for roughly an hour each, it said.The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power said its customers were not affected by the statewide blackouts because the department generates, imports and transmits its own electricity and was able to meet the citys demand.In fact, the utility, which has never had to implement rolling blackouts due to excess demand, was able to sell 225 megawatts to California ISO between 5 and 9 p.m., spokesman Joe Ramallo said.Still, he said, the heat strained local power distribution networks, leading to isolated outages unrelated to the statewide rolling blackouts as some equipment became overloaded and failed. About 1,000 of the DWPs 1.5 million customers were without power as of Saturday morning, most of them in the San Fernando Valley. On Friday night, localized outages were reported in Sunland and Wilmington, Ramallo said.The problem can be particularly acute during prolonged heat waves like these, when nighttime temperatures dont drop enough for the electrical equipment to cool down, he said.Its like running your car at 100 mph nonstop and not giving it a break, Ramallo said. Youre eventually going to have some problems that pop up, and in this case there will be failed equipment and transformers.Officials expressed cautious optimism that theyd be able to get through the next couple days without additional blackouts. The California ISO does not expect to have to order rolling outages for the rest of the weekend, Gonzales said.The temperatures are expected to be a bit lower than yesterday and its the weekend, so we see a bit less demand, she said.2020 Los Angeles TimesVisit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Russian and U.S. officials have begun a third round of nuclear arms-control talks in the Austrian capital as the end of the 2010 New Strategic Arms Treaty (New START) looms. The two-day meeting in Vienna is led by U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Marshall Billingslea and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. "The U.S. is prepared for a serious dialogue," Billingslea tweeted as he arrived. The two powers are discussing their last remaining nuclear arms-control agreement, New START. The bilateral treaty, which caps the number of deployed long-range nuclear warheads each country can have, expires in February. The first two rounds of talks between the United States and Russia took place in June and July with no apparent breakthrough on a possible extension of the New START treaty. The United States has urged China to join the negotiations -- a proposal rejected by Beijing. "Open-minded professional dialogue is better than propagandistic rhetoric which prevailed in this area for a long time," Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna, tweeted. Based on reporting by dpa and TASS A resident of Sayadeen village in Alexandria governorate revealed details about the Egyptian security forces attempt to forcibly remove the inhabitants of the village despite their possession of documents proving their ownership of the land and properties. The inhabitants were beaten, and dozens were arrested and jailed after being referred for investigation to the military prosecution in Alexandria. Ahmed Abdul Menhem, who hails from Sayadeen village, told Al-Monitor, The residents were surprised with the security forces storming the village with armored vehicles on July 18, in an attempt to force them to leave. They promised to give the residents alternative housing, but they rejected the offer. The security forces then threw tear gas grenades at them. Abdul Menhem, who witnessed the incident, said, After the residents escaped, the security forces arrested dozens in an arbitrary arrest operation and raided houses to terrorize them. We were forced to leave our houses and village at once. It later turned out the alternative offered was housing with no ownership and without compensation, reneging on their previous promises. This would have made us tenants and not home owners. When we refused, we were attacked. On July 19, the Cairo-based Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms published surprising information about the 65 people that were detained, saying that they were referred to the military prosecution, which decided to imprison 42 inhabitants after releasing 13 women. The commission noted that the military prosecution accused the arrested civilians from the village of gathering, protesting and attacking army forces and police officers and wounding them. The Egyptian authorities are trying to evacuate the villagers under the pretext of not owning the properties or lands in Sayadeen village. The move also comes as part of a plan to develop the area and build residential units. Article 204 of the 2014 Egyptian Constitution criminalizes referring civilians to the military judiciary or bringing them before a military court, stating, Civilians cannot stand trial before military courts except for crimes that represent a direct assault against military facilities, military barracks or whatever falls under their authority. Manar Amer, a resident of Sayadeen village, told Al-Monitor, Two of my children were arrested. They did not even participate in any protests, so we were surprised to see the security forces raiding our houses and arresting them. We then found out that all the men arrested were imprisoned after bringing them before the military court in Alexandria. One of the lawyers who attended the investigations with those charged in the case told Al-Monitor, The arrest and incarceration of the residents constitute a clear breach of the law and constitution. The lawyer said on condition of anonymity, The constitution clearly incriminates the forced displacement of residents from their homes. Residents had to leave their houses and were deprived of their land ownership in violation of the law. They were even referred to investigation and imprisoned before the military prosecution, which is not the competent authority in this case. The lawyer referred to Article 63 of the 2014 constitution, which states that all forms of arbitrary forced migration of citizens are forbidden. Violations are considered a crime without a statute of limitations. The lawyer added, The imprisonment of the detainees is being renewed every 15 days, while residents are still outside their homes with no solution for their crisis. Associate Housing Minister Ahmed Adel Darwich defended the evacuation of Sayadeen village and moving residents to other housing units. He told Al-Monitor over the phone, The goal is to develop the area they live in and offer them alternative housing instead of a life in ghettos. All the residents are refusing to move to a better place in terms of services and facilities. The government had to do something about that. He refused to respond to claims about depriving the owners of the land of their ownership, instead giving them rented properties and apartments, or to reveal the reason they were referred to the military prosecution instead of a regular civil judge. Having lived in a neighborhood where police tensions always have been high, these residents were forced to develop their own system of dealing with the injustices they encounter regularly. That includes walking a straight and narrow line that keeps them out of the path of the police as well as the neighborhood troublemakers. NEW MILFORD The sound of cheers and applause resonated last week outside First Congregational Church as a crowd of church leaders and members gathered to watch a major construction project the installation of a new structural beam. It feels like a miracle, said Doris Papp, a member of the churchs communication committee. I feel like God is smiling on this church. It was a historic day for the more than 300-year-old church and its members, who raised over $625,000 for the project, which includes repairing the failing ceiling beam, restoring the buildings structural integrity and removing the temporary steel supports inside the historic meetinghouse. Of that total, a $100,000 grant was received from the State Historic Preservation Office. A large crane and construction crews from Lambert and Barr LLC and Erection & Welding Contractors LLC were on the ground and the partially opened roof, where workers coordinated the removal and installation of the beams. An original truss made of antique chestnut was removed, having been cut in four separate pieces, by a crane that hoisted each piece over the churchs back parking lot. The four pieces totaled about 3,000 pounds, while the new steel beam installed weighs 6,000 pounds. Jim Lambert, of Lambert and Barr LLC, said he estimates the tree used to make the original beam was 37 years old when it was cut and milled for the project. Before the new steel beam was lifted to the roof, leaders and the construction crew held a signing ceremony, penning their names and the date in Sharpie on the new beam. It was a wonderful event and it was great to see people in person, said member Barbara Ahern. After so many years, and hard work, to see it coming together is a fabulous feeling. Parishioners have been anxiously awaiting this day. Problems with the roof began in the winter of 2010-11 when repeated heavy snowfalls blanketed the region. A dip in the sanctuarys ceiling was discovered in the fall of 2012 while changing light bulbs in the chandeliers. The discovery forced the closure of the sanctuary in October of that year, and a structural engineer was hired to assess and make temporary repairs to support beams until funds could be raised to completely repair the roof. A temporary steel structure was put in place inside the sanctuary to secure the roof in 2013. The sanctuary was reopened in early spring 2013. The churchs Raise the Roof Committee began fundraising efforts that lasted years. Construction work for this phase of the project began late last month. I cant believe today actually happened, Becky Passero, Christian education director, said in the moments following the event. It was amazing to watch it all. David Eherts, a member of the churchs Raise the Roof Committee, agreed. It was so organized and documented with photos, Eherts said, adding it was a privilege to be a part of the process. The temporary structure in the sanctuary is expected to be removed soon. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:40:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close GUANGZHOU, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Customs authorities have busted four smuggling gangs across several provinces in south and east China and captured 17 suspects, with 329.96 tonnes of cowhide leather seized. The Huangpu customs in south China's Guangdong Province, assisted by its counterparts and local public security departments in Zhejiang and Fujian, mobilized 319 police and customs officers for this specialized mission on July 16 in multiple cities, including Dongguan, Guangzhou, Wenzhou, Xiamen, and Quanzhou. The value of the cowhide leather seized was estimated at 500 million yuan (about 72 million U.S. dollars), the customs said. Preliminary investigations showed that the gangs, after purchasing the goods abroad or contracting overseas purchases with domestic clients, smuggled the cowhide leather, which should have been imported through general trade, into the country through processing trade, or under-valued the goods by using false invoices. The case is under further investigation. Enditem Korea Medical Association members gather in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Aug. 14 to protest against the government's medical reform plan. / Yonhap By Bahk Eun-ji Interns and residents working at hospitals across the country will go on strike again on Friday this time for an indefinite period to protest against the government's medical workforce reform plan, the Korean Intern Resident Association (KIRA) said Monday. The KIRA, went on a 24-hour strike on Aug. 7, and Korea Medical Association members staged a strike on Aug.14, in protest against the government's plan to expand the admission quota at medical schools and to establish a public medical school. The third collective action is scheduled to be carried out sequentially from Friday to Sunday in accordance with the year of their graduation. Medical training in Korea takes five years, comprising of one year of internship and four years of residency. Starting with the suspension of work by fourth-year residents on Friday, third-year students will follow on Saturday, and first- and second-year members plan to go on strike on Sunday. As a result, all interns and resident doctors will be on strike from Sunday with no time limit. As part of their continuing education interns and resident doctors undertake various tasks including assisting in surgical procedures and administering treatment to patients. There are concerns that prolonging the strike will cause considerable disruption in hospitals. In particular, because the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has soared, especially in metropolitan areas such as Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, there is growing concern about the situation. Along with the strike, the KIRA stated some doctors are discussing resigning from their positions and medical students are considering a boycott of the medical license examination. "This decision to take collective action has come because the government has been unwilling to listen to the voices of the medical community while pushing through the medical policy," said KIRA President Park Ji-hyun. The association is urging the government to reopen talks with the medical community about the decision to expand medical school quotas and establish public medical schools, as well as the plan to include traditional oriental herbal medicine in the public health insurance system, because the association considers this field to be less scientific. In addition, the association also is demanding that the government listens to the opinion of those in the medical field when establishing medical policies. Practically overnight, a new leftist narrative emerged: Donald Trump is trying to destroy the United States Postal Service (USPS) to ensure that, in a time of Wuhan virus shutdowns, Americans will be denied their right to receive ballots by mail or send them back the same way. This is a non-story, based on old news and hysteria. Nevertheless, the Democrats, both in and out of the media, have ginned it up so much that Nancy Pelosi has insisted that representatives return to Washington to save the USPS. It's no secret that the USPS has been bleeding money for years. Part of it has been longstanding mismanagement issues. Even Obama noticed: Its the post office thats always havin problems. pic.twitter.com/3jmHPxtRAu Chris Stigall (@ChrisStigall) August 16, 2020 The real hit, though, has been technology. When the Founders wrote, in Art. I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the Constitution, that Congress would have the power to create a postal service, no one could ever have imagined the internet. While the phone and fax machine put large dents in the volume of mail flowing through the post office, it's been email and other forms of electronic communication that have reduced the USPS to trafficking almost entirely in advertisements and packages. By 2011, the San Francisco Chronicle was writing about the fact that the postal service was removing mailboxes from the streets because there wasn't enough mail to fill them: Chalk up another casualty of the digital revolution: the blue corner mailbox. Because of steeply declining use, the U.S. Postal Service has removed more than 60 percent of the blue boxes, once as common on the American streetscape as lampposts and ice cream trucks. "Nothing says you're on an American street more than the blue mailbox," said Nancy Pope, postal historian at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. "It's part of a neighborhood identity, it's reassurance, it represents our ability to communicate with one another. When you take this away, something is lost." In 1985, nearly 400,000 blue mailboxes graced American streets. Now only 160,000 remain, and more are vanishing every day. San Francisco has removed more than 800 in the past few years, dropping the total to 1,700. Dozens, if not hundreds, more are likely to meet the same sad fate, according to the post office. The chief culprit is the Internet. More people are paying bills, sending invitations and writing personal letters online. The volume of mail dropped into mailboxes has dropped 35 percent since 2006, said Sue Brennan, a U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman. If a mailbox gets fewer than 25 pieces of mail per day over a six-to-eight-week period, it gets targeted for removal. The Postal Service posts a 30-day warning notice on the box, during which time people can complain to the postmaster, then it's off to the great dead-letter office in the sky. Thieves often target the remaining post boxes, as happened in 2016 to boxes in San Bernardino. Leftists, of course, noticed this only yesterday and instantly blamed Trump: Burbank leaps from tedious to fascism. https://t.co/kdQa8eAu1c Quinn Cummings (@quinncy) August 17, 2020 The Lincoln Project, a group of failed Republican party consultants who, out of pique and evil, turned against Trump for daring to win without them, have been telling people that the USPS is trying to steal the election for Trump. That led to a funny Twitter moment when Jamie Lee Curtis appeared to take this claim seriously and then assured people she was just joking: It is a JOKE people Jamie Lee Curtis (@jamieleecurtis) August 14, 2020 What makes the Lincoln Project's claim truly ludicrous is that the USPS workers' union backs Biden. While there are many hardworking and lovely people at the USPS, there are also people who are not bringing their A-game and know that Trump is a new broom sweeping clean. Combine their worries about job security with the Democrats' insistence on having the entire election held using only the mail, and you have a perfect storm of insanity. Nancy Pelosi has chosen to ride the Democrats' crazy wave by demanding that House members return immediately to D.C. to vote on legislation banning Louis DeJoy, whom Trump named as head of the U.S. Postal service, from implementing any reforms before the election. Meanwhile, the same Democrat activists who insist that it's too dangerous to vote in person are gathering by the hundreds to protest in front of DeJoy's house: So the protestors go to the postmasters home to protest restrictions on mail in voting with a noise demonstration...IN PERSON...LIKE THEY COULD DO TO VOTE. pic.twitter.com/SOIUNsooZ9 Scott Griffin (@griffsz) August 15, 2020 Theyre ignoring the fact that even Dr. Fauci says that if people can shop, they can vote. This is a tempest in a teapot, all with an eye to creating election chaos and throwing a potential Trump victory into doubt. I have no conclusory words to end this post. This picture, I think, says it best: pic.twitter.com/L4kyheF8fT T R T B Ms (@grandoldmemes) August 16, 2020 Image: US Post Office Mail Box Still Standing by Phillip Pessar on Flickr, CC BY 2.0. Over 100 pro-life Democrat leaders urge Biden, Democratic Party to soften stance on abortion Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A group of more than 100 Democratic politicians, including a governor and members of Congress, have signed a letter urging the Democratic Party to soften its stance on abortion. Democrats for Life of America released an open letter on Friday urging the Democratic National Committee to moderate its views on abortion. The letter, which was emailed to the press earlier this week and embargoed until Friday morning, expressed concerns that the Democratic Partys position on abortion was alienating voters. Many Democratic leaders support abortion at any time, for any reason; this position is opposed by 79% of Americans, read the letter in part. The 2016 Democratic Platform endorses taxpayer funding of abortion, opposed by a supermajority of the population. The same platform endorses taxpayer funding of abortion in developing countries, opposed by three-fourths of voters. The letter went on to say that in 389 out of 435 Congressional districts, a majority of voters support a ban on abortion after 20 weeks. When Democratic leaders support late-term abortion, they push many voters into the arms of the Republican Party. Many people holding pro-life views are single-issue voters, the letter added. An extreme position on abortion rights violates our commitment to inclusivity and diversity. Polling consistently shows that one in three Democrats are pro-life. We must respect and include these 21 million Democrats. The letter called on the DNC to avoid passing a federal law codifying the United States Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade and to maintain the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer dollars from paying for elective abortions. Notable signatories of the letter include Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards; Reps. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Dan Lipinski, D-Ill.; former Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and Hawaii state Sen. Mike Gabbard, the father of Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. In a statement sent to supporters on Friday, Democrats for Life of America Executive Director Kristen Day said the letter represented an unprecedented call for change on the DNCs abortion stance. Never before in history have so many Democratic politicians challenged their own party on abortion, said Day, adding that she believes the party is at a breaking point. State legislators realize that taxpayer-funded abortion on demand is a losing issue. If we really care about defeating Donald Trump in November, we have to bring our position in line with mainstream America. Last month, around 100 faith leaders and pro-life activists released an open letter to the DNC, asking them to end their endorsement of abortion extremism. Some of us are registered Democrats and some of us are not, but we appreciate the Democratic Partys stated commitment to human rights, equality, and fairness, read the July letter. Accordingly, we urge the Democratic Party to embrace policies that protect both women and children: legal protection for pre-born children, improved prenatal care for women in need, especially women of color, alternatives to abortion, and a comprehensive culture of life free from violence, poverty and racism. As part of the effort to reelect Republican President Donald Trump, supporters have highlighted the Biden campaign's positions on abortion. When presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced that Sen. Kamala Harris was going to be his vice-presidential running mate, Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser described the campaign as the most pro-abortion presidential ticket in American history. If elected, they will immediately begin rolling back President Trumps pro-life gains, as well as longstanding policies like the Hyde Amendment, said Dannenfelser, whose organization endorsed Trump. They will stack the Supreme Court with pro-abortion ideologues, setting the pro-life cause back for generations. Together, Biden and Harris constitute the most pro-abortion presidential ticket in American history. A hard rain is coming, promised Dominic Cummings, the PMs chief adviser, in June, borrowing from Bob Dylan. He meant that inefficient parts of the civil service and complacent senior officials should watch out. Good. One early target is Public Health England, which mishandled Covid-19 testing, and told care homes not to worry about the virus when it was about to sweep through them. Let Mr Cummingss hard rain fall on them all, so that the overpaid, unaccountable and not infrequently arrogant people who run them end up thoroughly drenched. But the biggest rainstorm on record will be of little use unless some rain falls elsewhere. It needs to bucket down on government ministers and on the Prime Minister himself An announcement that this dysfunctional organisation will be chopped is expected soon. Blunder I hope Mr Cummingss revolution wont spare the educational quango Ofqual, which on Saturday withdrew the criteria necessary to challenge A-level grades hours after putting them on its website, thereby throwing already bewildered children into even greater confusion. This is the same Ofqual that came up with the wheeze of applying an unfathomable algorithm to predicting A-level results, which has particularly penalised high-achieving pupils in ordinary state schools. Please let this incompetent organisation go the same way as Public Health England and a host of other quangos and bodies that blunder around disastrously in peoples lives. People are seen arriving into St Pancras hours before quarantine restrictions were introduced. Tens of thousands of tourists drove desperately through the night, or forked out extortionate sums for air tickets, to meet the deadline Let Mr Cummingss hard rain fall on them all, so that the overpaid, unaccountable and not infrequently arrogant people who run them end up thoroughly drenched. But the biggest rainstorm on record will be of little use unless some rain falls elsewhere. It needs to bucket down on government ministers and on the Prime Minister himself. For they are ultimately responsible for a series of mishaps and fiascos. Thats the weakness of Mr Cummingss theory. It assumes that, once an efficient No 10 and its pet ministers take control, the failures of the Government will decline. Not while the likes of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson remain on the scene. Mr Cummings and the Prime Ministers private office will soon move into a new control centre in Whitehall that has been compared to Nasa. It will be like Nasa on one of its bad days, with rockets going astray, unless there is a political shake-up at the top. Lets deal with the appalling Mr Williamson a little later, and concentrate first on the mess the Government has created by imposing a 14-day quarantine on travellers returning from France. Ill accept, because Covid-19 infection rates are slightly higher in France than in Britain, that some sort of quarantining is necessary though one could certainly debate the point without fear of being thought unreasonable. What was outrageous, though, was the speed with which new rules were applied. Tens of thousands of tourists drove desperately through the night, or forked out extortionate sums for air tickets, to meet the deadline. This had been thoughtfully set at 4am on Saturday morning. Students are pictured above at a protest in London against the A-Level grading fiasco. Its a mess entirely of the Governments making, which is causing thousands of children and parents needless heartache. The pattern will almost certainly be repeated when GCSE results come out on Thursday Youd think a plague had broken out on the other side of the Channel, and the very survival of Great Britain depended on everyone returning pronto. In fact, Frances 14-day rolling average is 32 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 18.5 in the UK. Not a huge difference. Couldnt British travellers have been given a little more time? No, because Scotlands bossy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, supported by her Welsh counterpart, demanded the Saturday morning cut-off and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps caved in. Out of a UK population of 67 million, 56 million live in England. Are those of us south of the Border now required to do what Scotlands control-freakish, semi-socialist leader dictates? Evidently. The Government showed scant consideration for ordinary people enjoying a holiday. Its sweeping Covid powers seem to have gone to its head. Think of the enormous and unnecessary stress and strain it created. This was no way for the State to treat law-abiding citizens. One can say the same about Mr Williamsons mishandling of A-levels. He had months to work out the fairest system possible, but instead accepted Ofquals idiotic algorithm, which has penalised some bright state school pupils. After the Scottish government ditched a similar scheme, he panicked, and said last week that students unhappy with their results could appeal on the basis of their mock exams. Ofqual apparently qualified this on Saturday afternoon, before withdrawing its guidance for an unknown period. Its a mess entirely of the Governments making, which is causing thousands of children and parents needless heartache. The pattern will almost certainly be repeated when GCSE results come out on Thursday. The truth is that Mr Williamson isnt the sharpest knife in the drawer. During his stint as Defence Secretary, he suggested sending our new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea, saying that Britain was prepared to use lethal force to deter countries that flout international law. What, including China? Dousing In May 2019 he was sacked over an alleged leak before being reinstated as a Cabinet Minister by Boris Johnson seven weeks later. His qualification? He twisted the arms of Tory MPs to help get Mr Johnson elected party leader, just as he once plotted on behalf of David Cameron and Theresa May. Such a man shouldnt be Education Secretary. He was appointed because he is an expert in the dark arts though absolutely nothing else and is useful to the Prime Minister. But not to the children of this country. Gavin Williamson (above) had months to work out the fairest system possible, but instead accepted Ofquals idiotic algorithm, which has penalised some bright state school pupils Several gallons of hard rain should fall on Mr Williamson, and a lesser quantity on Mr Shapps. And Im afraid Health Secretary Matt Hancock could do with a good dousing. For, although he is perhaps ten times brighter than Mr Williamson, Mr Hancock cant escape responsibility for the many errors of Public Health England (PHE), which he is now rightly packing off to the knackers yard. He accepted its calamitous decision to stop testing people with Covid-19 symptoms in mid-March, and didnt counter PHEs advice, in force until March 13, that it was very unlikely that anyone receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected. He has never apologised. Boris himself shouldnt escape a soaking. He has promoted the likes of Gavin Williamson, either in return for political support or to reward them for having backed Brexit, though interestingly the slippery Mr Williamson didnt. Rejected Zac Goldsmith, who falls into both categories, was rewarded by Mr Johnson with a peerage and the post of Environment Minister, despite having been rejected by the electors of Richmond. Meanwhile, able former ministers, such as former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, languish on the backbenches either because their faces dont fit, or they voted Remain, and several talented middle-ranking ministers are not promoted. Are they considered too independent minded? The PM must, of course, take responsibility for the mistakes over which he has presided. And he has been guilty of quite a few himself, not least missing five consecutive Cobra meetings in late January and early February when plans for combatting the pandemic were discussed. So, yes, Boriss mop deserves a deluge of hard rain, and I dare say the supercilious Dominic Cummings so eager to point out the deficiencies of others does too. There is an absence of good sense at the top of this Government. Its wonderful that Public Health England is being broken up, and lets hope Ofqual follows suit. But getting rid of bungling officials isnt going to save us if those who govern us also fail. A battery replacement service special can help drivers save money on crucial car maintenance Genesis of Stockton, a dealership in Stockton that retails the Genesis brand of luxury cars, is offering a service special on battery replacement for Genesis vehicles. This service special is available now through October 16, 2020. Drivers in the Stockton area are encouraged to take advantage of this temporary deal if their vehicle batteries are nearing or at the end of their lifespan. The battery replacement service special at Genesis of Stockton gets drivers a new vehicle battery plus a replacement service for $339.95 with coupon. The battery used in this service will be a genuine Genesis brand battery, which is designed for peak performance and high quality. This offer is only valid for Genesis vehicles, as the batteries are optimized for these vehicles. Prices may vary by model, and taxes may be added on if applicable. To take advantage of this temporary service special, drivers are instructed to print off the coupon from the dealerships website, genesisofstockton.com. They can then bring the service coupon to the dealership at the time of service to receive the discount. To find this service coupon, drivers should navigate to the website and then use the Ownership drop-down menu to locate the Service Specials page, where they can view other service specials currently available at Genesis of Stockton, along with the battery replacement coupon. Interested customers are encouraged to get in contact with the dealership if they have any questions or concerns. They can find dealership contact information on the dealerships website, or they can visit the dealership in person in Stockton, California. The dealership is located conveniently at 2979 Auto Center Circle in Stockton. Business hours are also available on the dealerships website, along with a service scheduler for customers who would like to schedule an appointment online. CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute physician was the first in Illinois to use a new advanced imaging system during cryoablation, a minimally-invasive treatment for atrial fibrillation requiring precise images of the heart. Bradley Knight, MD, medical director of cardiac electrophysiology at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, was one of the first in the country to use the Phillips KODEX-EPD system, which offers 3D, high-definition images of a patient's heart, during a procedure on August 5, 2020. "I was impressed that this completely new three-dimensional mapping system, which acts much like a GPS system, can accurately and quickly re-create the anatomy of the cardiac chamber of interest and display the heart's electrical activity using any electrode pairs placed in the heart," said Dr. Knight. More than 6 million Americans may have atrial fibrillation (AFib), a heart rhythm disorder when the upper and lower chambers of the heart beat out of synch, either too slowly, too quickly or simply irregularly. Symptoms can include heart palpitations, extreme fatigue, chest pain or shortness of breath, though some with AFib experience no symptoms. A major risk of AFib is stroke; one in seven strokes is attributed to AFib. In cryoablation, physicians use a thin, flexible tube called a balloon catheter to locate, freeze and disable the heart cells that are causing the irregular heartbeat. Imaging is critical to help the physician guide the catheter, which typically enters the body through a blood vessel in the upper leg, to the heart and the tissue that they will be ablating. "As the population ages more Americans are being diagnosed with AFib," said Dr. Knight, who is also the Chester C. and Deborah M. Cooley Distinguished Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "We are always looking for the safest, most advanced treatments for our heart rhythm patients and I was pleased to partner on this new technology." Philips' KODEX-EPD system uses dielectric imaging to creates 3D, high-definition images of a patient's cardiac structures in real time. A completely new approach to imaging the heart, dielectric imaging offers many benefits in comparison to current approaches, for both cryo and radiofrequency ablation procedures. The technology provides real-time 3D imaging, reducing the need for X-ray imaging and radiation exposure. Northwestern Medicine's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute is one of the top 10 national programs for cardiology and heart surgery, according to U.S. News and World Report, and ranked the top cardiovascular program in Illinois and the surrounding states for more than 10 consecutive years. For more information about Northwestern Medicine's top ranked cardiovascular care, go to heart.nm.org or call (312) NM-HEART. For more information about Northwestern Medicine, visit news.nm.org/about-northwestern-medicine.html. SOURCE Northwestern Medicine Denver, CO, August 17, 2020 The very first Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame, held in September of last year, was deemed a resounding success by all that attended. This sold-out event was the first in the nation to celebrate and honor the breadth of work of published authors connected in some way with the state of Colorado. It was highly publicized in local outlets like Westword, on television stations like CBS 4, and featured authors both local and national. The next induction of the Hall of Fame will be held September 18, 2021, at the Renaissance Central Park in Denver, Colorado. Information about the induction, donations, events, board members and future inductees can all be found at www.ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org The first gala and induction featured 22 authors that either lived in Colorado or featured Colorado prominently in their work. The inductees included national bestsellers Stephen King, Clive Cussler, and Jerry Jenkins; award-winning science fiction writers Connie Willis and Dom Testa; national icons Madeline Albright and Marilyn Van Derbur; and local authors Margaret Coel and John Dunning. Those that were nominated but died, like national bestseller Louis L'Amour, were represented by their living family members. The event was considered a resounding success by those who attended, with everyone dining on fine food, chatting among themselves, and emotionally charged speeches were made by Marilyn Van Derbur. To the delight of attendees, mystery writer John Dunning shared his journey, and historical romance author Kris Tualla wowed the crowd. Everyone who attended also went home with a wide array of goodies, from books written by the inductees, to posters that were made exclusively for the event by photographer and fellow inductee John Fielder. Judith Briles, the founder, CEO, and President of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors, had this to say about the induction. "The 22 men and women inducted last year delivered a WOW factor to the publishing and writing community that envelopes Colorado. Some of the inductees were lifelong residents of Colorado. Others were 'drop-ins'coming to workshops or nestling into a mountain hideaway to write. Stephen King transitioned from Maine to live in Boulder for a year as he wrote The Shining, his book set in a fictional hotel in the Colorado Rockies." This was only the first of what Dr. Briles plans for the bi-annual Hall of Fame inductions in odd numbered years. Other Inductions are planned for authors in Texas and Arizona. Nominations for authors to be inducted are now open to the public on the Hall's website, www.ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org. The public is invited to visit the website, read the criteria for nominations, and nominate authors who they believe would be ideal to include in the 2021 celebration. The Hall strives to educate the people of Colorado and the country about the stories of the authors who shaped their works using their personal presence and the environment of our State with courage, leadership, intelligence, compassion, and creativity. Inductees are authors who've made a major impact on others with their words to make sure their legacies never die. Judith Briles has published 37 books and has a lifetime of experience within the publishing industry, having experienced the pitfalls and benefits of both self-publishing and traditional publishing. She is the president of AuthorYOU, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping authors navigate the publishing world and give self-published authors access to publishing resources. Her consulting company, The Book Shepherd based in Colorado, has created over 500 bestsellers for authors. Information about the induction, donations, events, board members and future inductees can all be found at www.ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org Press inquiries: Judith Briles, Judith@Briles.com or 303-885-2207. ### Top Chinese leaders and officials visit Tibet annually, but it is rare for foreign minister Wang Yi to visit the remote region Beijing: China's foreign minister Wang Yi has made a rare visit to Tibet and the border areas last week and emphasised that the security and stability of the region is important to the overall development of the country, the official media reported. Wang, who is also a State Councillor of the ruling Communist Party of China, met with Tibet's Communist Party secretary Wu Yingjie and chairman of the Tibet regional government, Qizhala and other officials on Friday. The security and stability of the region is important to the overall development of China, the Global Times quoted Wang as saying by the local Tibet Daily. Wang also visited the border areas to learn about the situation of poverty alleviation, infrastructure building and the construction of villages, the report said. Wang goes on special "research trips" to several Chinese regions every year, the report said. Top Chinese leaders and officials visit Tibet annually, but it is rare for the foreign minister to visit the remote Himalayan region. Wang said the government will work with people in Tibet to ensure regional stability, China's national security and support Tibet's opening-up and cooperation with the outside world, economic and social development. Wang also spoke about the current international situation, apparently referring to China-US diplomatic, political and trade tensions, which has led to a new low in bilateral ties in recent weeks. China ordered the US to close the American consulate in Chengdu, located close to Tibet, in retaliation to Washingtons move to shut down the Chinese consulate in Houston. Wang spoke about China's diplomatic efforts, saying that Tibet has made great achievements regarding economic development, stabilising and developing border areas, joining external cooperation and participating in projects under the Belt and Road initiative (BRI). China is beefing up the border infrastructure in Tibet which shares a border with Nepal. Kathmandu is a signatory to the BRI under which Beijing has initiated a number of infrastructure projects, including building of the Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network through Tibet. A section of Ta Hien Street, one of Hanoi's most popular drinking hot spots, April 2017. Photo by VnExpress/Lam Le. All restaurant, cafe and pub staff have to wear masks and customers must sit a meter apart starting Wednesday, Hanoi has ordered. "Starting midnight on August 19, food and beverage places must arrange seats at least a meter from each other, partitions are encouraged. Staff must wear masks and take customers temperature," Hanoi Vice Chairman Ngo Van Quy stated at a meeting on Covid-19 prevention on Monday. He said beer pubs are crowded places that pose a lot of infection risks. Quy added that there might be more cases in Hanoi than detected, but the risk of a widespread outbreak was not high. "The city's Covid-19 prevention measures are still keeping things under control." Standing Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Suu has asked local authorities to mobilize more staff to monitor restaurants and beer pubs. He said any business that violates the pandemic control measures faces the punishment of being shut down. Suu advised Hanoi residents not to go out unless it was really necessary and wear a mask in public. Deputy director of the Hanoi Center for Disease Control (CDC), Truong Quang Viet, said some people have become complacent and were ignoring disease prevention measures. Inspections by the CDC have found wearing masks and disinfection measures in offices have not been conducted thoroughly, and some offices have not devised a response plan if an infection was detected in the workplace. The CDC has proposed Covid-19 testing on the elderly living in nursing homes and patients with many underlying conditions currently being treated in hospitals. Since July 25, the onset of a new outbreak in Vietnam after 99 days of having no community transmission, the capital has recorded 33 Covid-19 cases. Of these, 10 are local infections and the remaining 23 are repatriated citizens quarantined upon arrival. As of Monday, samples of 28,000 out of over 77,000 returnees from Da Nang since July 15 have been subjected to real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing in Hanoi and the results have been negative. Test results of the remainder are expected to be finalized Friday. Vietnam has recorded 976 Covid-19 cases, including 487 active patients. There have been 24 deaths to date. Sydneysiders with flu-like symptoms have been warned that they are more likely to have COVID-19 than influenza, with the flu rate in NSW at 10 per cent of what it was at this time last year. The latest NSW surveillance data also reveals the total number of people killed by COVID-19 and influenza this year is half the death rate of influenza alone over the same period in 2019 and a fraction of the fatalities during the horror 2017 flu season. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant at Monday's coronavirus update. Credit:James Brickwood The influenza data came as NSW recorded seven new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday - six locally acquired and one a returning overseas traveller in hotel quarantine. NSW Health on Monday night issued a health warning for Sydney Market at Flemington after a worker attended the venue while infectious on Sunday, August 9. All close contacts have been identified and told to isolate for 14 days, while anyone else who was at the market on that day between 8am and 4pm is being urged to monitor for symptoms. Scientists have detected a mysterious gamma-ray heartbeat coming from a cosmic gas cloud. The inconspicuous cloud in the constellation Aquila is beating with the rhythm of a neighbouring precessing black hole, indicating a connection between the two objects, as the team led by DESY Humboldt Fellow Jian Li and ICREA Professor Diego F. Torres from the Institute of Space Sciences (IEEC-CSIC) reports in the journal Nature Astronomy. Just how the black hole powers the cloud's gamma-ray heartbeat over a distance of about 100 light years remains enigmatic. The research team, comprising scientists from Germany, Spain, China and the U.S., rigorously analysed more than ten years of data from the US space administration NASA's Fermi gamma-ray space telescope, looking at a so-called micro quasar. The system catalogued as SS 433 is located some 15 000 lightyears away in the Milky Way and consists of a giant star with about 30 times the mass of our sun and a black hole with about 10 to 20 solar masses. The two objects are orbiting each other with a period of 13 days, while the black hole sucks matter from the giant star. "This material accumulates in an accretion disc before falling into the black hole, like water in the whirl above the drain of a bath tub," explains Li. "However, a part of that matter does not fall down the drain but shoots out at high speed in two narrow jets in opposite directions above and below the rotating accretion disk." This setting is known from active galaxies called quasars with monstrous black holes with millions of solar masses at their centres that shoot jets tens of thousands of lightyears into the cosmos. As SS 433 looks like a scaled-down version of these quasars, it has been dubbed a micro quasar. The high-speed particles and the ultra-strong magnetic fields in the jet produce X-rays and gamma rays. "The accretion disc does not lie exactly in the plane of the orbit of the two objects. It precesses, or sways, like a spinning top that has been set up slanted on a table," says Torres. "As a consequence, the two jets spiral into the surrounding space, rather than just forming a straight line." The precession of the black hole's jets has a period of about 162 days. Meticulous analysis revealed a gamma-ray signal with the same period from a position located relatively far from the micro quasar's jets, which has been labelled as Fermi J1913+0515 by the scientists. It is located at the position of an unremarkable gas enhancement. The consistent periods indicate the gas cloud's emission is powered by the micro quasar. "Finding such an unambiguous connection via timing, about 100 light years away from the micro quasar, not even along the direction of the jets is as unexpected as amazing," says Li. "But how the black hole can power the gas cloud's heartbeat is unclear to us." Direct periodic illumination by the jet seems unlikely. An alternative that the team explored is based on the impact of fast protons (the nuclei of hydrogen atoms) produced at the ends of the jets or near the black hole, and injected into the cloud, where these subatomic particles hit the gas and produce gamma rays. Protons could also be part of an outflow of fast particles from the edge of the accretion disc. Whenever this outflow strikes the gas cloud, it lights up in gamma rays, which would explain its strange heartbeat. "Energetically, the outflow from the disc could be as powerful as that of the jets and is believed to precess in solidarity with the rest of the system," explains Torres. Further observations as well as theoretical work are required to fully explain the strange gamma-ray heartbeat of this unique system beyond this initial discovery. "SS 433 continues to amaze observers at all frequencies and theoreticians alike," emphasises Li. "And it is certain to provide a testbed for our ideas on cosmic-ray production and propagation near micro quasars for years to come." ### Scientists from DESY (Germany), ICE (Spain), Nanjing University (China), the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (USA) and Purple Mountain observatory (China) contributed to this research. DESY is one of the world's leading particle accelerator centres and investigates the structure and function of matter - from the interaction of tiny elementary particles and the behaviour of novel nanomaterials and vital biomolecules to the great mysteries of the universe. The particle accelerators and detectors that DESY develops and builds at its locations in Hamburg and Zeuthen are unique research tools. They generate the most intense X-ray radiation in the world, accelerate particles to record energies and open up new windows onto the universe. DESY is a member of the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest scientific association, and receives its funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) (90 per cent) and the German federal states of Hamburg and Brandenburg (10 per cent). Reference: Gamma-ray heartbeat powered by the microquasar SS 433; Jian Li, Diego Torres , Ruo-Yu Liu, Matthew Kerr, Emma de Ona Wilhelmi, Yang Su; Nature Astronomy, 2020; DOI: 10.1038/s41550-020-1164-6 File photo The United States through its Commission on International Religious Freedom has faulted the judgment of an Upper Sharia Court in Kano State sentencing a 13-year-old boy, Umar Farouq, to 10 years in prison. A report by Punch revealed that he was accused of making derogatory statements toward Allah in an argument with a friend. Farouq was convicted on August 10, 202o, by Aliyu Kanu, the same judge who sentenced a Musician, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu, to death for blaspheming Prophet Mohammed. Baba-Jibo Ibrahim, spokesman for Kano Region Justice Ministry, said the court handed down the death sentence as enshrined in Islamic laws based on irrefutable evidence and the convicts admission of guilt. Farouq is a minor by Nigerian law and should not have been tried as an adult, Islamic canons regard anyone who has begun puberty as an adult. Kano, a predominantly Muslim northern Nigerian state, has Islamic Sharia courts that function alongside civil courts and introduced Sharia law in 2000. But the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom has condemned the blasphemy laws in Nigeria. The USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan Federal Government entity established by the US Congress to monitor, analyse, and report threats to religious freedom abroad. In a statement in reaction to the judgment, the US commission condemned the death sentence handed to Sharif-Aminu for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammed. USCIRF Commissioner, Frederick Davie, stated, It is unconscionable that Sharif-Aminu is facing a death sentence merely for expressing his beliefs artistically through music. The US Senate should work swiftly to pass Resolution 458, which calls for the global repeal of heresy, blasphemy, and apostasy laws. Also, the President of the African Bar Association, Mr Hannibal Uwaifo, described the verdict on Farouq as unconstitutional, calling on the Attorney General of the Federation to stop the Sharia court from making a mockery of Nigerian on the international scene. Uwaifo said, I call on the Attorney General of the Federation to step in and to stop this kind of sectional court from making mockery of Nigeria. This is a country where people are stealing billions of naira and being given a pat on the back; then you say someone committed blasphemy, according to your own religion, and then you sentence him to death or sentence a teenager to 10 years imprisonment. I think we should stop making a laughing stock. In the same vein, two civil society groups have condemned the Sharia court verdict. The Convener, Coalition in Defence of Democracy and Constitution, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, said, What is coming out of Kano is a challenge to section 10 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended. We know that the current Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, is more or less not interested in the secularity of this country. What is going on in Kano is an attempt to restructure Nigeria through the back door to create a two-nation in one because the message they are sending to the international community is that there is a part of the country operating a different legal system. Speaking in the same vein, the National Coordinator, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the judjement did not conform with human rights conventions and treaties to which Nigeria was a signatory. He stated, Section 10 of the constitution prohibits the elevation of any religion as a state religion, so the Kano State government does not have the constitutional rights to legislate Islam as a state religion. Beyond offering reassurance, though, there are specific measures states can adopt. First, while encouraging voters to cast their ballots with plenty of time to spare, they also should allow some leeway on when votes must arrive. States should require that all ballots be in the mail by Election Day, but not that they be received by then. Instead, voters should have a grace period to account for any unforeseen mail delays or other logistical issues. Massachusetts will accept ballots received three days after Election Day. Colorado, which conducts nearly all of its balloting by mail, gives ballots eight days after Election Day to arrive. California has expanded its usual three-day grace period to 17 days for this years general election. On the other hand, states such as Connecticut and Delaware require ballots to be received by Election Day. Leeway may lead to delay in knowing who has won, which is unfortunate, but failing to count legitimate ballots would be worse. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Star/Asia News Network) Kuala Lumpur Mon, August 17, 2020 13:15 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e8748a 2 SE Asia coronavirus,health,COVID-19,Malaysia Free A mutation of the coronavirus that is far more infectious than the original Wuhan strain has been detected in Malaysia, the health authorities said on Aug. 16. The D614G mutation was discovered by the Malaysian Institute for Medical Research in four cases from two Covid-19 clusters in the country - the Sivagangga cluster and the Ulu Tiram cluster, said health chief Noor Hisham Abdullah in a Facebook post on Sunday. According to Datuk Dr Hisham, the discovery of the mutation means people need to be more careful and continue being disciplined in practising safety measures such as social distancing, personal hygiene and wearing of masks. Read also: Malaysia reopens borders partially to medical travelers "It's found to be 10 times more infectious and is easily spread by an individual 'super spreader'," he said, of the mutation. He said the strain was found in preliminary tests and that follow-up tests would be conducted on other cases including the index cases of both clusters. He added that the D614G mutation was discovered by scientists in July 2020, and could render existing vaccine research incomplete or ineffective against the new strain. Nevertheless he noted that the swift action by Malaysia's public health authorities has controlled the virus' spread from the affected clusters. Malaysia reported 26 new cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections so far to 9,175. No new fatalities were reported, keeping the death toll at 125. Topics : This article appeared on The Star newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post THE GOAL: Understand how the SARS-CoV-2 virus impacts children, define the clinical picture of COVID-19 infection in kids, identify risk factors that could lead to severe illness and determine how regional public health policies influence how the disease spreads. THE TEAM: Dr. Stephen Freedman, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at the Alberta Childrens Hospital in Calgary and clinician-scientist at the hospitals research institute, is the lead principal investigator. Anna Funk, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Calgary, is a co-principal investigator, along with two others based in the United States, one at Northwestern University and one at University of California, Davis. The project has 49 hospital sites in 13 countries, including eight hospitals in Canada. THE TIMELINE: The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, plans to recruit more than 12,000 children and is aiming to share data with policy-makers in real time. Freedman will present early findings on Aug. 26 to the World Health Organization. He anticipates the study will conclude by the end of 2020. In February, as cases of a new coronavirus exploded across the globe, Dr. Stephen Freedman knew COVID-19 would soon show up in Canadian hospitals. Like many of his colleagues in pediatric emergency medicine, Freedman had dozens of questions: What kinds of symptoms would kids have? How sick would they get? Would kids with severe cases of COVID-19 suffer lengthy illnesses? Of those who contracted the virus, who would die? Instead of waiting for other scientists to come up with answers, Freedman decided to launch an international study to find out how COVID affects children. As chair of Pediatric Emergency Research Canada, a network of researchers at 15 Canadian childrens hospitals, Freedman had already garnered support to study COVID-19 in kids in Canada during the groups annual meeting in late January. A few weeks later, after seeing how quickly the virus was spreading, Freedman took the Canadian research plan to the international Pediatric Emergency Research Network (PERN). He proposed a global COVID-19 trial using the same infrastructure PERN had established to study pneumonia at hospitals around the world. By mid-April, after receiving funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the study was well underway. We knew that COVID was going to be a pandemic, Freedman says. This was an opportunity to rapidly recruit children into a study and quickly get answers. How does the study work? Children who are tested for COVID-19 in the emergency departments at participating hospital sites can enrol in the study. So far, more than 3,000 children under the age of 18 have joined from 49 sites in 13 countries, including the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Singapore and Spain. Canada has eight hospital sites, including the Hospital for Sick Children and the Childrens Hospital of Eastern Ontario. Researchers are recruiting children who test positive and negative for COVID-19 so they can compare symptoms and outcomes of kids with the SARS-CoV-2 virus to kids with other illnesses. Freedman, who believes this study is among the few to have such a data set, says many parents are willing to have their children participate. Parents are asked to fill out a survey after they receive their childs test results, providing information on the type and severity of their childs symptoms, hospital test results, such as blood work and chest X-rays, and various behaviours and risk factors, including mask wearing, hand hygiene, travel and school attendance. Researchers follow up with another survey in 14 days to see if the illness worsened, and again after six months to see if the child has any ongoing symptoms or other health worries. Were looking for the development of chronic symptoms, Freedman says. Were just hitting six-month followups for some of these children. What are some preliminary findings? Freedman and his team were recently asked to present early analysis to the World Health Organization. Though they are still teasing out findings ahead of the Aug. 26 presentation, Freedman says the study shows Canada has a dramatically lower COVID-19 positivity rate in kids than other countries. This is a measure of the percentage of conducted COVID-19 tests that were positive for the virus. Canada has done a very good job in controlling the pandemic to date compared to other countries around the globe, he says. In our dataset, although not representative of the broader population, the COVID positive rate in Canada is about 2 per cent while in the U.S. its approximately 25 per cent. Early data also suggests children infected with COVID-19 are not more ill than children (with similar symptoms) who test negative in the emergency department, says Freedman. And similar to what other research has found, this study shows most children with COVID-19 have very mild illness in the acute phase, he says. We do see a fair amount of COVID infection in children who are quite young under a year in age. That has been one interesting thing weve seen that Im willing to say. But even they seem to do very well. What can this study tell parents who are worried about sending their children to school during a pandemic? Its important to reassure parents the vast majority of children infected with COVID-19 have a very mild illness, Freedman says. My concern is not how sick children will be even my own children because they will not be that sick, he says. Very, very, very few will get very sick. And while there are questions about the new multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) linked to COVID-19, Freedman notes that its extremely rare. Instead, his concerns centre on how children may unwittingly spread the virus to others in their family and social circles. I worry about it going to grandparents who live with school-aged children or to parents who are in their 50s and 60s those higher-risk groups, he says. The reasons to prevent illness in children is from the safety of our broader community. That to me is the big message. What is another pressing question that needs to be answered about kids and COVID-19? Freedman will soon launch a study to see whether asymptomatic children with COVID-19 transmit the virus within family units a question he says is important to answer as millions of Canadian children head back to school this fall. Research shows many children with COVID-19 have few, if any, symptoms during their illness, while others may not develop mild symptoms until two or four days after contracting the virus. Its not yet clear how these kids contribute to asymptomatic or presymptomatic spread of the virus, he says. Say your child picks the virus up from someone in school and they are initially asymptomatic. How likely are they to transmit that infection to another household member? And how likely are they to develop symptoms? The only way to know that is to identify asymptomatic children and follow the course of their illness. This study, which also received funding from CIHR, will enrol children at 20 pediatric hospital sites in Canada and the U.S. who arrive to the emergency room for non-COVID reasons, such as an injury or cut. Kids will be tested for COVID-19 and followed at various intervals, along with members of their household. To have a control group, researchers will match those who test positive but have no symptoms with children in other households who test negative. We will then track them forward with the same questions so we can figure out if the household contacts of asymptomatic children are more likely to develop COVID than the household contacts of non-COVID infected children, Freedman says. That will allow us to determine who transmitted the infection to who in their household. The team is finalizing the protocol and waiting for ethics approvals at some sites before officially launching in the coming weeks. Everyone wanted the answer by September, but thats not going to happen. We wanted to move fast. But as fast as we move, we cant move fast enough. COVID: Front-line Thinkers is part of a regular series highlighting COVID-19 research in Canada. New Delhi: India and Nepal on Monday (August 17, 2020) held the 8th round of the Oversight Mechanism (OSM) meet through video conferencing. The talks were led by the Indian Envoy to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi. During the talks, the status of implementation of the on-going projects was discussed including the Ramayana circuit. Both sides had a discussion on the development of Terai roads, cross-border railways, Arun-III hydropower project, Pancheshwar multipurpose project, irrigation, power and transmission lines, construction of Nepal Police Academy, motorable bridges over Mahakali River. They also discussed the reconstruction of 46,301 earthquake affected houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, the operationalization of Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline and the Integrated Check Post at Biratnagar. Notably, the Motihari-Amlekhgunj oil pipeline is the first cross country oil pipeline in South Asia. The Indian government readout of the meet said, "Nepal also noted with appreciation COVID-19 related assistance, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment to Nepal by India." The Nepali foreign ministry said, "Both sides underlined the need for the expeditious implementation of the bilateral projects" and "In that connection, they agreed to undertake necessary measures to timely address problems and obstacles in the course of implementation." This is the first formal meeting between the two sides amidst a strain in the relationship that soured when the Nepal government had come up with a new Nepal map showing Indian territories as Nepali territories. Border issues were not discussed in the meeting which was expected, given the mandate of the mechanism is to discuss development projects. The Oversight Mechanism was set up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Nepal visit in 2016 to oversee the implementation of bilateral projects. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has disapproved of an NGO challenging the NDA governments decision to keep away people from appointment as private secretaries, principal private secretaries and OSDs who occupied those positions during 10 years of UPA regime. Rubbishing the NGOs contention that This is an attempt to politicise the bureaucracy, the court said a minister can appoint any one they want. Now the appointments have also been made. Now nothing will happen till next election. A bench of justices B D Ahmed and Ashutosh Kumar questioned the counsel for NGO for dubbing the June 19, 2014 circular as a political move, saying it can be the other way round. We read (circular) it as giving chance to other people. You have been put in different work. It does not mean that you have been punished or branded as the party worker of the previous government. Enjoy your work at every place, the bench said. Anybody who is aggrieved should have filed the petition. You are looking at the circular from a very narrow point of view. There should be some person who is aggrieved. Let him come. Not a single person is seen aggrieved, otherwise they would have come to the court, the court said in apparent reference to the government officials and bureaucrats, likely to be affected by the circular, but not approaching the court. It said that the issue is a service matter and the CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal) would be the appropriate forum. The bench also suggested to the counsel for NGO, Society for Voice of Human Rights and Justice, to withdraw the plea challenging the Centres June 19, 2014 circular. The lawyer said he will take instructions on whether to pursue the matter by the next date of hearing on January 25. On June 19, 2014 the Narendra Modi government had issued a circular that any officer/official/private person who worked as personal staff of a UPA minister in any capacity for any duration may not be appointed in the personal staff of the ministers in the present government. The NGO has alleged there is a specific exclusion provided in the notification. This is an attempt to politicise the bureaucracy. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. WARREN, NJ Warren officials have delayed a vote to decide the fate of the former King George Inn property. The Warren Township Committee unanimously agreed on Thursday to table a vote on plans to build a childcare facility at the 1.54 acre lot located off Mountain View Road, King George Road, and Mount Bethel Road in Warren. "At this point too, I've had my own concerns," said Mayor Mick Marion at the meeting. "This applicant had started more than 5 years ago. We've spent a lot of time on the design aspect. We've changed a lot of things. I have my own concerns with respect to design." "The redevelopment plan is lacking," Warren Committee Person Jolanta Maziarz said. "I reserved judgment since this came before us. I never thought the redevelopment plan was very robust and I thought that it was lacking... I think we can do better if we are going to come up with a redevelopment plan." The property manager of the Primrose School of Warren, a daycare and childcare facility on Mt Bethel Road, was among the many residents to voice their concerns with another childcare facility being built when none of the existing ones are full. "Enrollment pre-COVID wasn't full, it wasn't at capacity and since COVID... now they are restricted from filling the school and are at limited capacity," the property manager said. He noted the school is "frankly, suffering." The lot owner and developer, Varma RE Development, had initially planned in 2018 to erect luxury condominiums at the site. The inn was demolished in May but the plan for housing has now fallen through. The developer claimed that condominium housing is "no longer economically feasible on the Study Area, despite repeated efforts to market same for such use". At its July 16 meeting, the Township Committee approved the change of plans which includes a two-story building that will be no larger than 10,000 square feet in size and hold a maximum of 180 children. There will also be an outside recreational area surrounded by decorative fencing. Story continues The second reading of the ordinance and adoption was supposed to be held last Thursday but it has since been postponed to the Sept. 17 meeting. Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com. Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Don't miss local and statewide announcements. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters. This article originally appeared on the Warren Patch Following Statement issued by Public Relations team of the CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd regarding the dispute between ex-employees attached to a contractor of Port City Colombo (Pvt) Limited It has been reported to us on August 11, 2020 that a group of people were protesting against a legal decision made by a contractor of Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd regarding the termination of their contracts and dispute on accepting new health regulations imposed by the Government. This contractual and regulatory dispute has arise n between a contractor company and its employees which CH EC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd, t he proj ect invest or company, have no direct connection with. It comes as a shock to us that the group of workers involved in this incident have resorted to such a course of action instead of resolving their issues through formal and legal means with their employer. As the only project that continued to operate in Sri Lanka during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, Port City Colombo is committed to ensuring the job security of over 1,500 local employees working at the construction site. Due to these sentiments, we are very much dismayed by a protest of this nature. As a reputed and law abiding corporate citizen of this country, we strongly deny and object to the baseless claims made by the protestors such as the lack of medical facilities, sanitation and discrimination of local workers on site . We are committed to equal and fair treatment to all workers regardless of their nationality. The Sri Lankan workforce at the site is above 80% and the expat workers are only involved with specialized work which requires experience in handling relevant machineries. We have been maintaining the highest safety standards which are regularly monitored by well reputed local and foreign standard control institutions. Moreover, the project is a Public-Private Partnership with the Government of Sri Lanka subject to constant supervision by the relevant line ministries and agencies . It is also saddening to see that prominent media organizations carried visuals of emotional placards displayed by the protesters, questioning the sovereignty of Port City Colombo. It is a widely known fact that the Port City Colombo has been declared as a part of Co lombo and Sri Lanka, which was passed through the Parl iament proceedings and vested with Urban Development Authority by late last year. Therefore, we are of the belief that these emotiona l sentiments put forward by the protesters are baseless and unnecessary. After the lockdown, when the project resumed as per the Government health regu lations, the project company took precautionary measures by performing free -of-charge PCR tests twice on returning local employees and implementing self-isolation for the stipulated time frame before being entered to the site. Returning employees are given accommodation with all the facilities provided including space fo r leisure . This is a facility provided to workers as they are required to reside and work on -site without leaving the premises for a period of time as a precaution to COVID-19. However, considering the country'ssuccessful status on containing the COVID-19, the project management has decided to allow local staff in and out movement from the site just as before . Although the company has taken all health precaution with priority given to the staff safety, it'sunfortunate to see a small group of employees trying to jeopardize the safety of all employees'by not abiding by the safety and other regu lations. However as the project company, we at CH EC Port City Colombo (Pvt) Ltd have advised the contractor to resolve this issue within the legal framework as soon as possible without prejudice to any party. The Port City Colombo Project, greatly attributed to as the largest single foreign direct investment project in Sri Lanka as well as the largest ongoing urban development project, is currently in the process of acquiring services from a large number of local subcontractors, generating over 8,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities to the local workforce. Though the project's construction has been slowed due to the prevailing COVID-19 crisis, with the country'ssteady recovery, construction too has surely resumed. As a result, more than 1,000 local employees have returned to work at the Port City Colombo site, strictly following government guidelines for health and safety. After the pandemic, the project anticipates facing difficulties such as restrictions in importation of necessary materials, local supp lies and limiting local workers due to compliance with Government health regulations. However, we continue our commitment in adhering to the timeline of the project with optimism about the future of Sri Lanka. Parliament on Friday night approved five agreements that would help government to diversify the country's capital portfolio, by obtaining long-term capital without repayment obligation through equity capital involving leveraging Ghana's future gold receivables. However, the vote was boycotted by the minority National Democratic Congress (NDC) The Ghana-Agyapa Royalties Limited and ARG Royalties Ghana Limited's Minerals Royalties Investment, Amended and Restated Minerals Royalties Investment, Relationship, Assignment and Indemnity agreements are to give effect to the monetization of gold royalties as envisaged under the Minerals Income Investment Fund Act 2018 (Act 978). They said the assignment agreement would be entered into between the fund and Agyapa, pursuant to which the fund would assign to Agyapa its right to receive the royalty value due from ARG under the Investment Agreement for the acquisition of the allotted mineral royalties from the fund, in consideration for shares to be issued by Agyapa to the fund at an agreed price of US$1 billion. The NDC minority in Parliament boycotted the vote after failing to block approval, leaving behind only members of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to ratify it. We will not be part of the process to endorse this deal which is illegal and will not serve the national interest, Deputy Minority Leader, James Klutse Avedzi, said as his side continued banging tables amidst yelling. But the majority side discounted the claims of the minority counterpart and said the transaction was only unique but also a cutting-edge transaction which was first in Africa and would reduce Ghana's borrowing requirement which helped domestic private sector borrowing. The NPP MP for Sekondi, Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, argued on the Floor that the agreements were a good deal; approximately US$500 to US$750 million of permanent non-debt capital could be raised from international and domestic investors. According to him, the transaction will also reduce the country's budgetary exposure to mineral royalty revenues due to fluctuations in minerals prices and mine output. BACKGROUND The country often obtains funding to execute its development mandate from debt capital markets, subject to terms and conditions, including the obligation to repay the principal borrowed with interest thereon. The government said it is seeking to diversify the country's capital portfolio, by obtaining long-term capital without repayment obligations, through equity capital market transactions. According to the Finance Ministry, a transaction structure has been developed for raising equity capital that involves leveraging Ghanas future gold receivables. Ghana is entitled to and receives annual royalties from gold mine operators and the country's revenues from gold mineral royalties were highly variable and controlled mainly by external factors, a memorandum accompanying the agreements indicated. It said that notwithstanding, these revenues were substantial, with the country receiving approximately US$120 million in royalties from gold mine operators in 2017. The Minerals Income Investment Fund Act, 2018 (Act 978) was passed in 2018 and had since been amended by Parliament to enable SPVs created under the Act to operate as regular commercial companies on sound corporate governance principles. Section 41 of the MIIF Act enables the fund to, subject to parliamentary ratification, enter into an allocation agreement with an SPV to assign the nation's mineral equity interests to that SPV. Section 40 of the MIIF Act also empowers the Minister of Finance to, subject to parliamentary ratification, enter into a stability agreement with the fund and an SPV to grant fiscal and legislative stability to that SPV. In accordance with the provisions of the Act 978, the President has appointed persons to the governing board of the fund and authorized them to put into operation the objectives of the MIIF Act. Pursuant to this, the fund has incorporated Agyapa Royalties Limited under the laws of the Bailiwick of Jersey. The fund is the sole shareholder of Agyapa. Chairman of the Finance Committee, Dr. Mark Assibey Yeboah, indicated that Agyapa had been registered in Ghana as an external company and had also incorporated ARG Royalties Ghana Limited as its wholly owned subsidiary in Ghana. ---Daily Guide BAKU, Azerbaijan, Aug.14 Trend: The Azerbaijani Embassy in Bulgaria gave a well-grounded decisive answer to the false fabrications of the Armenian embassy in Sofia, a source in the embassy told Trend. The Armenian embassy tried to misinform the Bulgarian public, distorting historical and legal aspects of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the source. The representative office of the Armenia published "historical" assumptions and false conjectures about the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, alleged "requirements" of international law on this issue and groundless statements in connection with the provocation committed by the Armenian side on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, the source noted. In response to this insidious and slanderous initiative, the Azerbaijani embassy in Bulgaria immediately contacted the relevant Bulgarian media and demanded featuring the position of the Azerbaijani side. For this purpose, an official letter was sent to the media, which, in contrast to the representation of the occupying country, exposed their insidious intentions in a reasoned and well-grounded manner with references to historical documents, the embassy added. The vision of the Azerbaijani embassy regarding the distortions of Armenian side was published by Actualno.com, Club.bg and Novini247.com news agencies. The embassy statement published in the Bulgarian media outlets said that on July 12, the Armenian armed forces attacked the positions of the Azerbaijani army in the direction of Azerbaijani Tovuz district with the use of large-caliber weapons and artillery. The statement reads that the deliberate attacks on civilians in Azerbaijani districts along the border with Armenia resulted in serious damage to civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, as well as a killing and injuries among civilians. The Azerbaijani side informed the international community about this incident, including the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). According to the statement, comments on the Metsamor nuclear power plant were made in response to reports spread in the media by the Armenian side that it considers the Mingachevir reservoir of Azerbaijan to be a military target. The embassy stressed that Azerbaijani army has never attacked the civilian population or infrastructure, and only responded to an armed attack by Armenia, using their right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, the statement also notes. It was pointed out that with its latest provocation, Armenia showed that, being an occupying country, it is not interested in the settlement of the conflict. The statement also highlights aggressive provocation efforts of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Shahbuz and Julfa districts [of Azerbaijani Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic]. The statement of the embassy provides a military analysis of the provocations in the direction of Tovuz district on the state border. The statement stresses that the Armenia's claim about an alleged attack by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Armenian positions using a UAZ vehicle is absurd, because Azerbaijan could use powerful and destructive weapons from its arsenal for an attack, not the UAZ vehicle, the source said. In response to fictions about "Great Armenia", it was noted that the State of Urartu, which existed in the 9th-6th centuries, was not a mono-ethnic state formed as a result of genocide and deportations against other peoples, like modern Armenia. According to the source, by drawing attention to the origin of the Karabakh toponym and the establishing of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region within the Azerbaijan SSR, the embassy proved, by solid arguments, that the region was located in a geographical area called Karabakh, and that the name of the countrys region is a combination of two Azerbaijani words. The statement stressed that historically, this integral part of Azerbaijan, which will remain so, was not given to Azerbaijan, contrary to the statements of the Armenians, but was retained in its composition. Creation of the autonomous region as part of the Azerbaijan SSR was not Stalin's personal decision, as the Armenians falsely assert. Such a decision was made by Caucasian Bureau of the Bolshevik Party, a collective body consisting of two Azerbaijanis, several Armenians and representatives of other nationalities, the statement reads. The embassy reminded that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh as an autonomous region within the Azerbaijan SSR was enshrined in the USSR Constitutions of 1936 and 1977, and the autonomy had fundamental rights that ensured the needs and aspirations of the region's inhabitants. Referring to the legal aspects of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the statement stressed that in accordance with Article 78 of the Constitution of the USSR, the borders between the Soviet republics, when the USSR was created, could be changed only by mutual agreement of the respective republics. This clause about possible change of the border was included in the constitutions of both the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR. In response to the appeal dated February 20, 1988, on the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan to Armenia, the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR considered it illegal and rejected on June 17 and 18, 1988, respectively. The statement underlined that similar approach is also manifested in the policy of European states in relation to the independent states that arose after the fall of the Soviet Union. In this regard, reference was made to the Declaration on the process of the Soviet Unions disintegration adopted by the Council of Europe on December 10, 1991. According to the declaration paragraphs stressing the importance of respecting the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, the borders of all European states are inviolable and can only be changed peacefully and by mutual agreement. In response to Armenia's speculations over the right for self-determination, the statement brings attention to the fact that self-determination claims are invalid if they are accompanied by a violation of international law, in particular, peremptory norms (jus cogens) prohibiting the use of force or a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. Since its impossible to obtain territory by unlawfully using force, states are obliged to avoid legal recognition of the jurisdiction of the authorities of the illegally occupied territory, the statement said. This position was openly declared by the UN International Court of Justice and is consistently observed in the practice of states. Its noteworthy that resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993), unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council, not only did not mention the "right for self-determination;" on the contrary, they strongly condemned the use of force against Azerbaijan and the occupation its territories, the embassy added. 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. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his wife Rashmi Thackeray during the 74th Independence Day celebrations at Varsha Bungalow in Mumbai. (Image: CMO) Iran insists that the fuel on the four tankers the United States seized in the Caribbean en route to Venezuela last week was no longer property of Iran when seized, as it had already been sold to customers. Last week, the United States Administration seized the fuel cargo of several vessels, alleging that the fuel came from Iran and was going to Venezuela. The confiscation followed a lawsuit filed by U.S. prosecutors for the seizure of the cargo carried by the four vessels for violating U.S. sanctions against Venezuela. Venezuela is in the grips of a severe gasoline shortage as refineries are unable to operate normally because of a shortage of diluents necessary for the production of fuels as well as an urgent need for repairs. Iran, as a fellow target of U.S. sanction, has declared its readiness to help Venezuela deal with the shortage and earlier this year managed to send cargoes of fuel to the Latin American country. On Monday, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying that the fuel seized by the U.S. had been "sold to customers and the payment was received" for it. "The U.S. claimed it seized Iranian petrol, but even though the cargo was sent from Iran, neither the ships nor the petrol were Iranian," The Associated Press reported, quoting the semi-official ISNA news agency as carrying Zanganeh's words. On Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif took to Twitter to express Iran's position on the U.S. seizing the tankers bound for Venezuela. Pirates of the Caribbean have their own judges and courts now. Sadly for them, stolen booty wasn't Iran's. Fuel was sold F.O.B. Persian Gulf. Ship and flag weren't ours either. Hollow, cheap propaganda doesn't deflect from miserable failure of US diplomatic malpractice at UN," Zarif tweeted. Venezuela has seen some reprieve recently in its fuel shortage problem after Iranian tankers shipped gasoline and refining components to the Latin American country in open defiance of U.S. sanctions. Despite the shipments from Iran earlier this year, Venezuelans continue to queue for gasoline. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The pressure of being on Farmer Wants A Wife finally got to Stacey Cain during Monday's episode. After a tense dinner, Stacey, 28, pulled farmer Harry Robertson aside for a one-on-one conversation to explain why she was feeling upset. 'You know, I've just had enough. I'm just exhausted. Tough today. This is just a hard situation to be in,' she told the 29-year-old. Breaking down: The pressure of being on Farmer Wants A Wife finally got to Stacey Cain during Monday's episode Affectionately stroking her hand, Harry urged Stacey to open up to him, as she broke down and cried. 'It's not a normal environment we're in, where you're dating someone and you take them home to meet your family,' she later explained. 'Like, you're not the only one there, are you.' Getting emotional: After a tense dinner, Stacey, 28, pulled farmer Harry Robertson aside for a one-on-one conversation to explain why she was feeling upset 'You know, I've just had enough. I'm just exhausted. Tough today. This is just a hard situation to be in,' she said Stacey confessed 'it always feels like a competition', and said she struggled being pitted against Madison Mackenzie while meeting Harry's family earlier on in the day. 'I'm not going to sit there and try and paint myself to be the best person in the world and make everyone love me, I'm just going to be myself,' she told Alex. Reflecting on her meeting with Harry's three sisters, Stacey said she felt like they 'didn't get an accurate gauge' on her 'connection' with the farmer. 'I'm not going to sit there and try and paint myself to be the best person in the world and make everyone love me, I'm just going to be myself,' she told Alex Despite enjoying an intimate date earlier on in the episode, during which Harry told Stacey he could see a future with her, things took a turn when they visited his family. After meeting with both Stacey and Madison, 24, Harry's three sisters told him that he seemed 'bedazzled' by Stacey and urged him to give Madison a chance, too. 'I'm definitely going to be a lot more open to Mads. I probably was being a bit blindsided and sturdy on Stacey,' Harry later admitted. Max Verstappen doesn't that the abolition of qualifying mode will suddenly bring Red Bull a lot closer to Mercedes. The Dutchman says that after the Spanish Grand Prix. Furthermore, the nine-time Grand Prix winner states that he pays a lot of attention to the statements of Mercedes. The German racing team tries to make Verstappen a favorite every weekend. "I think it is also fine. We are just going to Spa and there we will try again," Verstappen said in conversation with Motorsport.com, among others. A win in two weeks seems to be a very difficult task. "I don't expect a victory, but if we can continue like this we can at least get good points again." The fact that the FIA aaplans to abolish the qualifying mode for the Belgian Grand Prix and onwards will not suddenly help Verstappen fight with the Mercedes every GP weekend on its own. "No, it was also visible during the race, right and then you don't drive in that qualifying mode. So it was very clear", said 22-year-old driver at Ziggo Sport. Verstappen cannot do anything with Mercedes statements In Barcelona, aaMercedes did everything to try and state that Verstappen was favourite for the win. Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff, for example, said after qualifying that the RB16 would be the fastest car in the long runs. "We were clearly not in the race", Verstappen responds to those statements. "I don't pay too much attention to that either, we just have to focus on ourselves." A federal prosecutor said Wednesday that a billionaire Durham businessman should spend 14 years in prison for trying to bribe North Carolinas top insurance regulator with large political contributions. U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray laid out the prosecutions sentencing recommendation against Greg Lindberg in a filing in federal court. Murray said that instead of showing contrition or remorse, the Durham businessman is unrepentant and blames others for his decision to offer a bribe to Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey. Despite the recorded evidence of his guilt, Lindberg has repeatedly attacked Commissioner Causey most recently suing him in federal court law enforcement, and the judicial process, by leveling meritless accusations that he was vindictively targeted, Murray said in the statement. Lindberg, along with associate John Gray, was convicted by a federal court in May of two corruption charges. Prosecutors have said Lindberg conspired to funnel money to Causey in exchange for special treatment. In particular, Lindberg sought to replace or work around a senior deputy commissioner within Causeys office whose job it was to scrutinize Lindbergs Global Bankers Insurance Group, according to court documents. Causey, who wasnt accused of wrongdoing, alerted authorities and cooperated in the case against Lindberg. However, Lindbergs attorneys filed a response soon after saying that a sentence of 12 to 24 months is fair given the allegations and Lindbergs considerable charitable contributions, according to the Triangle Business Journal. Murrays recommendation called for a 10-year sentence for Gray. Sentencing is scheduled Aug. 19 before U.S. District Court Judge Max Cogburn. Prosecutors also asked a judge to give former North Carolina Rep. Robin Hayes no prison time for lying to the FBI about his role in the plan to try to bribe Causey. Hayes pleaded guilty in October to making a false statement in 2018 to FBI agents conducting an investigation while Hayes was state Republican Party chairman. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics North Carolina A total of 24, 545 exit students on Monday began their West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Kano State, amid strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 11, 400 of the 27, 454 students were from public schools while the remaining 16, 460 registered for the examination in private schools in the state. The examination was being conducted in 538 designated centres in the state. A NAN correspondent who monitored the examination at some of the centres, reports that the schools had put in place measures to facilitate compliance to the COVID-19 guidelines. Some of the schools visited include Rumfa College, Government Senior Secondary School, Sabuwar Kofa, Kano Capital Schools and Governors College, Kano. At the entrance of the visited schools, handwashing facilities such as soap, hand sanitiser, water and infrared thermometer devices were provided while students and other visitors were subjected to temperature checks. NAN reports also that students and examiners used facemasks while social distancing were observed in the examination halls. READ ALSO: A school official at Rumfa College, who pleaded anonymity, said adequate arrangements were put in place in the school to ensure total compliance with the COVID-19 guidelines. We have a total of 214 students sitting for WAEC in the school. The main examination hall accommodates 600 students in a normal examination period. But in compliance with the social distancing occasioned by the pandemic, we have 186 students in the hall. The remaining 28 were shared into two classes, he said. At GGSS, Sabuwar Kofa, an official of the school, said about 30 students would write the examination in the centre. Also speaking, Jerry Adaji, the Principal, First Grade Comprehensive School, added that 30 candidates would sit for the examination in the school. Mr Adaji said: On a normal setting; we have 55 students in a class but with the COVID -19 pandemic, the students are divided into 14 per classroom, he said. (NAN) Billie Eilish, John Legend, Common, The Chicks, More To Perform At Democratic Convention Starting Tonight Billie Eilish, John Legend, The Chicks, Billy Porter, and Common are among the artists announced to appear at this weeks Democratic National Convention. Other artists to perform include Leon Bridges, Jennifer Hudson, Maggie Rogers, Prince Royce, Stephen Stills. Their performances will range from the national anthem to classics from the American songbook. The Democratic National Convention will take place over four nights, starting tonight, August 17 with live programming airing from 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern. It will truly be a convention across America, and these incredible artists will help us tell the story of where we are as a country today under Donald Trumps failed leadership, and the promise of what we can and should be with Joe Biden as president, said Stephanie Cutter, 2020 Democratic National Convention Program Executive. These artists are committed to engaging with, registering and mobilizing voters to get us over the finish line in November. Former Vice President Joe Biden will formally accept his partys nomination on Thursday, while his running mate Kamela Harris will accept her nomination on Wednesday night. Hilary and Bill Clinton, and Barack and Michelle Obama are scheduled to make addresses as well. Share on: MOUNT PLEASANT, MI - Students are beginning to arrive at university campuses throughout Michigan for the fall term. So too are their college parties and dorm life that could spread coronavirus. Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant just celebrated its welcome weekend, and an article by the campus newspaper Central Michigan Life shows at least one large gathering without masks and with little social distancing. The reopening of Harpers Restaurant and Brewpub in East Lansing, near the campus of Michigan State University, led to more than 180 linked cases. Students on campuses across Michigan on Monday had a variety of perspectives on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on them. Tanisha Afnan, a doctoral student in the University of Michigan School of Information in Ann Arbor, said shes more worried about spreading COVID-19 to others than having it. She thinks students might follow social distancing guidelines in the short term, especially if staff enforce precautions like temperature checks properly, but everyone might get more lenient later on in the fall. And students are going to keep gathering. Thats happening right now. I dont see that stopping, Afnan said. I think people are going to do whatever they want, a lot of people dont think through who they come in contact with or who they might be impacting. I dont see that going away because its happening right now and its the dead of summer. Dennis McHugh, a computer science junior at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, is not too worried about the risks of the pandemic in returning to class. He said his mother, an emergency room doctor, has seen improvement and thinks the deadliest days are behind us. Im not too concerned compared to six months ago, McHugh said. They cant force people to stay away from each other... Im sure a few good people (will) try but (its) not realistic at all. Being young and invincible its just every persons curse. Beyond social gatherings, students will share classes together and living in dormitories during the pandemic. University officials say they are focused on the issue as students return. Western Michigan University President Edward Montgomery said the university will reinforce the message that students can socialize and engage with others in smart ways and without big crowds, and hopefully the message will resonate. These are young men and young women who are coming of adulthood, Montgomery said. We do believe that we can educate them and build a culture on the campus of mutual responsibility and safety and well continue to push that message out. And, of course, given the course of the virus, you always have to be prepared to react and change your approach as things on the ground warrant. Montgomery remains confident that students can behave responsibly. Hes also balancing his optimism with realism, he said: The university has a plan outlining its efforts to return to classrooms safely, but it only takes one spark. This is a disease that takes twists and concerns, Montgomery said. There can be places it flares up that can be hard to predict ahead of time, so I think it requires constant vigilance. It requires people to not let their guards down. But I think it is something we can control. If students wear masks and social distance correctly, there should be little to no risk of infection, UM President Mark Schlissel said in an interview with MLive on Friday. But only way to have zero cases on campus is to have a lockdown, and that has devastating consequences, he said. UM will go fully remote if necessary. People have an urge to be at least a little bit social and the more you fight that urge, the more people show bad behavior, try a rebellion against it, Schlissel said. So we just have to strike the balance but monitor things along the way and pull back if it turns out that the disease is spreading and were not living up to our standards. Saginaw Valley State University is prepared to welcome its students back to campus during an extended move-in period of Monday, Aug. 24-29, said SVSU spokesman Justin Engel. Some ambassadors for SVSUs New Expectations for a Safer Tomorrow plan, or NEST, have already moved onto campus, Engel said. Their job is help make students aware of new guidelines and changes the university has made to make classes safer, he said. Masks are required on campus in buildings and whenever its impossible to socially distance outdoors, according to university policy. We want our students to have a great college experience, responsibly, Engel said. We want that regardless of whether were in a pandemic or not, but with what we know about this virus, weve provided additional guidance for them to keep them safe. We know they want that too. Eastern Michigan student McHugh said the coronavirus issue is likely to gain more attention once school is underway. He fears losing the opportunity to attend in-person classes. I think the media is gonna push a big spike, everyones gonna freak out again. No one knows what do and theyll just close down classes early, McHugh said. I love in-person classes, I just learn better that way. The online stuff is just I dont like it at all. MLive reporters McKenna Ross, Melissa Frick, Cory Morse and Jacob May contributed to this story. Read more: UM president stresses student responsibility, social distancing for unique fall semester MichMash: Welcome Back? College Students Anxious, Excited About Return to Campus The coronavirus pandemic and the measures taken by the central and state governments to contain it over the last five months has led to widespread disruption across the country. A substantial part of this disruption is asymmetric in nature; that is, it has disproportionately affected vulnerable and marginalised people, those unable to work from home, and so on. As we have seen, migrant workers have been particularly affected: The closure of shops, establishments, and industries, in accordance with the lockdown, led to large-scale migration, as workers were left with no source of daily wages to sustain themselves in the cities where they worked. Accordingly, on March 29, the National Executive Committee, acting under the Disaster Management Act (DMA), issued an order requiring all employers to pay wages to their workers, on the due date and without any deduction, for the period that they had been under closure. The measure was an important one, as it sought to provide a source of basic financial support to workers, at a time at which they had been deprived of their source of livelihood. The order was subsequently withdrawn in May, and so effectively what it required was the payment of wages for a period of 54 days, by employers to their workers. This order, however, was challenged before the Supreme Court (SC). It was argued, among other things, that DMA did not give to the government the power to mandate payment of wages, and, that, in any event, it impinged upon the rights of the employers. The apex court was, therefore, asked to adjudicate upon whether the government had acted legally, and whether its direction for the payment of wages was valid. Unfortunately, however, SC passed a series of orders that effectively decided in favour of the employers, and against the workers, but without explicitly doing so. First, it, for all practical purposes, stayed the direction by ordering that no coercive action could be taken against employers for failing to comply with the governments directions. It then took more than a month and multiple hearings to hear the case, even as the pandemic and lockdown were in progress, and the issue involving the payment of wages to people who are compelled to live paycheck to paycheck was an urgent one. And finally, in an order on June 12, it adjourned the case to the end of July, and directed the employers and workers to negotiate with each other, even as it extended its order insulating employers from any coercive action for non-compliance with the governments directions. Needless to say, the case has not been heard after that. The apex courts orders are unfortunate, as they effectively left workers in the lurch. On the one hand, SC has not yet found the payment of wages direction to be illegal or unconstitutional. Consequently, it remains in force, and is presumptively valid. On the other hand, however, SC had prevented its enforcement, thus rendering it toothless, and a mere scrap of paper on the statute book. The consequence of this has been that the class of people directly affected by the order are precisely those for whom non-payment of wages is quite literally an existential issue: The large-scale migration (and the suffering that this has unleashed), predominantly caused by the closure of industry and the absence of livelihood options for workers who already exist in an extremely precarious economic situation, bears clear testimony to that. Crucially, the courts order to the employers and employees to negotiate is a particularly unkind one: The very reason for the payment of wages direction, in the first place, was the correct assessment that in India, employers and workers exist in a highly unequal relationship. An open negotiation between the (relatively) powerful and the powerless is no negotiation at all. Thus, staying the payment of wages and ordering a negotiation is not any kind of balance. It has completely skewed the field in favour of the employers, without any judicial finding that the payment of wages direction itself was illegal. As the end of August approaches, one hopes that the case will be taken up expeditiously by the Court, and resolved in clear terms. Gautam Bhatia is a Delhi-based advocate The views expressed are personal UPPER THUMB As the start of the new school year quickly approaches, many schools are securing their options for in-school nurses and school clinics as a way to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Many local school districts either have school clinics already in place, like Caseville Public Schools with its addition of a Scheurer Clinic with its 2012 bond project, or are actively searching for nurses interested in taking on the role, such as Ubly Schools, which has a current opening posted on its school website. Others, like Unionville-Sebewaint Area Schools, have options available through the health department. We have a nurse available to consult on health matters at all times provided by the health department, said USA Superintendent George Rierson. It is always helpful to have a nurse in the school or accessible to the students to promote health and wellness as well as immediate health concerns for our students. No matter their current school nurse status, schools across Huron County are preparing the best they can to open their doors safely and provide the best possible care to their students. This includes nursing support, health screening, and attendance exception for coronavirus-related symptoms. Laker School Superintendent Brian Keim said while Laker has had the good fortune of having school nurses in both its elementary and high school settings through a partnership with Scheurer, the district is looking for ways to make the most of its resources within the coming year. There has never been a more important time to have good nursing support in schools, Keim said. We want the best care for our students and staff. Keim went on to say that staff will be required to self-screen for symptoms of the coronavirus while students will be screened when getting onto the bus because of the extended time they will spend with other students on the bus. Keim said students may also be screened when arriving at school, either in the office or the classroom. Students who are not feeling well are urged to stay home. Passionate local teachers want to get back into the classroom, I know many of them are missing their students, Keim said. Everyone is working hard to make the best decisions for our students, staff, and families. Clarification: The article has been updated to clarify screening procedures at Laker Schools. In a tweet Saturday, Taylor Swift accused President Donald Trump of attempting to dismantle the USPS. Alex Wong, Mat Hayward/Getty Images Taylor Swift on Saturday spoke out against President Donald Trump, accusing him of a "calculated" effort to dismantle the postal service and "ineffective leadership gravely worsened" by the coronavirus pandemic. Swift faced criticism for her reluctance to speak on politics in the 2016 election, but since 2018 she has used her platform to speak out against Trump and other Republicans. The USPS has been the subject of public controversy following yearslong financial struggles exacerbated by COVID-19 and recent cost-cutting measures from new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a former Republican donor. The president, meanwhile, has attacked mail-in voting, though he and the first lady intend to vote by mail themselves. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Taylor Swift on Saturday called out President Donald Trump for his actions related to the postal service in a tweet that urged her nearly 87 million Twitter followers to request a ballot and to vote early. "Trump's calculated dismantling of USPS proves one thing clearly: He is WELL AWARE that we do not want him as our president," she tweeted on Saturday. "He's chosen to blatantly cheat and put millions of Americans' lives at risk in an effort to hold on to power." She continued: "Donald Trump's ineffective leadership gravely worsened the crisis that we are in and he is now taking advantage of it to subvert and destroy our right to vote and vote safely. Request a ballot early. Vote early." Swift's tweet comes amid ongoing struggles at the USPS, the result of yearslong financial woes that have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Further complicating the postal service are cost-cutting measures implemented by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a former Trump donor, that have caused delays in service to some parts of the US. Story continues The turbulence comes amid many state efforts to bolster their mail-in-voting programs amid the novel coronavirus pandemic to provide more opportunity to cast a ballot without showing up in person on Election day. The president, an outspoken opponent of mail-in ballots, last week said he wouldn't support a bailout to the USPS in an effort to sabotage mail-in voting. He later backtracked and said he wouldn't reject a bailout package that included funding to the postal service. As Business Insider previously reported, elections officials have encouraged voters to apply for their ballots as soon as possible to ensure every vote is counted. During the 2016 election that saw Trump ascend from reality host to the presidency, Swift faced criticism for her reluctance to speak on politics. The artist detailed her path to becoming more politically active during her documentary "Miss Americana," released on Netflix earlier this year. Swift, who last month released her eighth album "Folklore," first spoke publicly on politics during the 2018 midterms, calling on her followers to register to vote and rebuking then-candidate and now Sen. Marsha Blackburn, whom she called "Trump in a wig" in the 2020 documentary. In May, Swift similarly blasted President Donald Trump, alleging he was "stoking the flames of white supremacy" after he threatened to send the National Guard to protests in Minneapolis and tweeted, "When the looting starts, the shooting starts." Read more: Protesters gather outside of US postmaster general's home and stage a 'noise demonstration' over his cuts to USPS Trump said police officers would be 'protected' to 'fight back' against protesters in confrontations Fauci says 'there's no reason' in-person voting shouldn't be safe with masks and proper social distancing A Nevada county mailed out 1.3 million ballots for its primary election but 1 in 5 were never delivered Read the original article on Business Insider Filmmaker Nishikant Kamat has passed away in Hyderabad. He was 50. He'd been suffering from Liver Cirrhosis for the past two years. Kamat, who had been admitted to Hyderabad's AIG Hospitals since July 31, 2020, succumbed to his illness at 4:24 pm on Monday, the hospital confirmed. "Mr. Nishikant Kamat (50 years, Male) was admitted to AIG Hospitals on 31st July 2020 with complains of fever and excessive fatigue. It was diagnosed that he was suffering from Liver Cirrhosis for the past two years. Initially, we started antibiotics and supportive medications upon which Mr. Kamat showed an improvement, but his condition soon deteriorated with progressive liver dysfunction and drowsiness. He was immediately shifted to the ICU, where his general condition gradually declined. "Since yesterday, he developed respiratory failure and hypotension. Despite maximum efforts from Hepatologists, Gastroenterologists, Pulmonologists and Intensivists, his condition deteriorated eventually leading to multiple organ failure. Today, from afternoon onwards his vital parameters started declining and at 1624 hrs he succumbed to his illness. Our condolences are with his family, friends and fans," the statement from the hospital read. "I will miss you my friend Nishikant Kamat. Rest in peace," tweeted actor Riteish Deshmukh, who starred in Kamat's Marathi film Lai Bhaari. I will miss you my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace. pic.twitter.com/cqEeLbKJPM Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) August 17, 2020 Actor Ajay Devgn, who worked with Kamat in the 2015 film Drishyam, also took to Twitter to mourn the demise of the filmmaker. "My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant," Ajay wrote. My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) August 17, 2020 Nishikant Kamat was best-known for directing the Hindi remake of Malayalam hit Drishyam. The remake starred Ajay Devgn and Tabu. He also directed Irrfan Khan in Madaari and Mumbai Meri Jaan, and John Abraham in Force and Rocky Handsome. Kamat, also an actor, had roles in Rocky Handsome and some other films such as 2018's Bhavesh Joshi. Nishikant Kamat was also prominent in the Marathi film industry. He helmed films like Dombivali Fast, which was his debut as a director, Lai Bhaari and Fugay; he also acted in Fugay, Hava Aney Dey and Saatchya Aat Gharat. Dombivali Fast won the National Award for Best Marathi Film. Kamat served as Creative Producer on last year's web series The Final Call. Coronavirus has brought a ban on large gatherings and for many people, what should be a day of cheer has arrived at a time of intense hardship. There have been subdued celebrations in Indonesia as it marks the 75th anniversary of its proclamation of independence. Coronavirus has brought a ban on large gatherings. And for many people, what should be a day of cheer has arrived at a time of intense hardship. Al Jazeeras Jessica Washington reports from Jakarta, Indonesia. From the outside, it appears to be just another suburban allergy clinic, a tidy, tan brick-and-cinder-block building set back from a busy highway and across the road from an auto parts store. But inside the offices of the Clinical Research Institute of Southern Oregon, Dr. Edward Kerwin and his staff are part of the race to save the world. Kerwin, 63, was tapped this spring to lead one of the nearly 90 U.S. clinical trial sites taking part in the large-scale, phase 3 test of a vaccine produced by biotech startup Moderna to fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Starting in late July, Kerwin's clinic, set in a working-class region roughly halfway between Seattle and San Francisco, began enrolling up to 40 participants a day for the two-year study. He hopes to recruit as many as 700 volunteers by the end of August. They'll join the 30,000 test subjects needed nationwide to determine whether the Moderna vaccine can tame a disease that has infected 5.4 million Americans and claimed the lives of more than 170,000. Another vaccine, produced by Pfizer and BioNTech, a German company, is being tested in nearly 30,000 more recruits. "It's a perfect opportunity for science to come to the rescue," said Kerwin, a lanky figure in a bright-blue shirt and khaki pants. He led visitors to a conference room, took a chair well outside social-distancing range and doffed his mask, the better to explain the magnitude of this moment. He acknowledged "it may seem like a surprise" that Medford is the site of a clinical trial to halt the world's biggest medical challenge in a century. But Kerwin, who worked as a NASA scientist before heading to medical school and a career in allergy, asthma and immunology, has led more than 750 clinical trials over the past quarter-century, mostly focused on asthma, lung disease and skin disorders. He moved to southern Oregon in 1993, choosing the rural Rogue Valley because of its beauty and cultural opportunities, such as the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. As his medical expertise grew, he built a top-enrolling clinical trial site that coexists with a clinic that treats asthma and allergy patients. Along the way, he established deep roots in the valley, where he founded Bel Fiore, a $10 million winery and vineyard that features a 19,000-square-foot chateau. Even with his experience, however, testing a vaccine to halt a global pandemic is a challenge like no other, Kerwin said. When the call came from Velocity Clinical Research the North Carolina-based company that operates Kerwin's clinic, known as CRISOR, and more than a dozen other COVID trial sites across the U.S. he paused for a moment. "You take a big gasp and say, 'Do we have the resources to do this?'" Kerwin said. "You definitely do it, but you want to do your homework." So far, the testing is going well, he said. Unlike most clinical trials, for which it's difficult to recruit enough volunteers, the COVID effort has attracted intense interest. All of Velocity's sites are paying participants $1,962 for the two-year trial, but Kerwin's staff of two dozen didn't advertise widely at first. "We would worry our phone would ring off the hook," Kerwin said. The Medford clinic is the only COVID vaccine clinical trial site in Oregon, so participants have come from as far as Portland, nearly 300 miles north. It's a prime example of the gamble drugmakers and federal trial sponsors take when deciding where to host large-scale COVID clinical trials. To gauge whether the vaccine works, you need to know there's a good chance participants will be exposed to the virus in the environment. Ethically, in traditional phase 3 trials, you can't deliberately infect people with COVID, a disease with no treatment or cure, though some propose doing just that in controversial human challenge trials. Boxes containing vials of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, known as mRNA-1273, are refrigerated at the Clinical Research Institute of Southern Oregon in Medford.(Jim Craven for KHN) Southern Oregon has not been a hot spot for COVID, with fewer than 500 confirmed cases and two deaths in Jackson County, which includes Medford. But, Kerwin said, it's at risk of becoming one, offering the opportunity to vaccinate trial participants before the virus becomes widespread. "It's almost too late in New York and Arizona," he said. In the meantime, he's trying to shift the odds that trial volunteers will be exposed to COVID-19 by reaching out to people at greater risk of infection. So Kerwin's team has contacted businesses in industries such as agriculture and food production, where the disease has been known to spread with particular virulence. Locally, that includes employers such as Harry & David, the food retailer famous for its fruit-of-the-month shipments, and Amy's Kitchen, the maker of vegetarian frozen meals, which operates a production plant in the area. The Medford trial site is also emphasizing enrollment of elder volunteers, those age 65 and up, who are at higher risk of serious illness or death from the coronavirus. One of the first volunteers was Trish Malone, a 68-year-old cultural anthropologist who lives in Ashland. Like many of the other participants, she has enlisted in Kerwin's previous clinical trials of devices to treat asthma. When clinic staffers reached out to ask whether she'd participate in the COVID trial, she didn't hesitate. "I said, 'Wow, yes,'" Malone recalled. "It's because of [Kerwin] and his expertise. Little Medford gets to have this testing." Participating is a way to "give back" to her community, said Malone, who sat, calm and still, on a recent Thursday as study coordinator Audrey Kuehl sank the injection into Malone's left shoulder. Audrey Kuehl, a study coordinator at the Clinical Research Institute of Southern Oregon, inoculates Trish Malone with Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine on Aug. 6.(Jim Craven for KHN) "She was fast. It was no pain, and it was fine," Malone said. Half of the patients in the trial will receive two doses, 28 days apart, of the Moderna vaccine, called mRNA-1273. It uses a snippet of the genetic code of the coronavirus, not the virus itself, to instruct cells to produce a protein that triggers an immune response to protect against infection. The other half will receive a placebo, or saline dummy shot. Three study coordinators at the Medford clinic, Kuehl among them, know which patients receive which dose, but the information is kept from volunteers and other staff members including Kerwin, the principal investigator. Participants who receive the vaccine may experience some side effects, such as redness at the injection site, muscle soreness, fatigue or headache, Kerwin said. "It's a sign the vaccine is working with your immune system," he said. Four days after her first injection, Malone was disappointed to report no reaction at all. "I am bummed, totally bummed," she said. "I have no symptoms. I think I got the placebo." That may not be true, of course. Even if it is, Malone said, she's happy to participate in an effort that may help stop the deadly virus. "This a global pandemic," she said. "What can I do to help?" The study will run for two years so that investigators can track the longer-term effects of the vaccine. Malone will keep a diary of her temperature and symptoms, if any, and have regular blood tests to determine whether she has antibodies to the virus. Kerwin is optimistic about the chances the Moderna vaccine will work, agreeing with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, who predicted the study could demonstrate efficacy by November or December. Kerwin estimates that the vaccine could prove 90% effective, though outside infectious disease experts said it's far too soon to tell. Even if the trial shows the vaccine is successful, it would take months longer to produce and deliver enough injections for the U.S. and beyond. As he enrolls patients and awaits data, Kerwin said, he's mindful of the real-world implications of his work. His mother, in her 90s, lives in a Denver nursing home where, so far, there have been no cases of COVID-19. But the threat looms. The tragedy of the pandemic has underscored the promise of science and the interconnectedness of people far beyond this small corner of Oregon. "Immunology has never been more fascinating than it is today," he said. "This is a year that reminds us we cannot live in isolation and do not live in isolation from the world." On the eve of the 74th Independence Day, the Supreme Court of India reignited a longstanding debate by holding senior advocate Prashant Bhushan guilty of contempt for his recent comments on the state of judiciary in the country. The crux of the SCs observations is as follows: (a) the allegations were made against a judge as a judge and not as an individual and, therefore, would have an adverse effect on the administration of justice; and (b) it was part of a calculated attempt to obstruct or destroy the judicial process. Two questions arise from the order. The larger question is the relevance of an archaic law like this in a democratic set-up, because it brings into play the overriding right of freedom of expression guaranteed in the Constitution. The second question flows from the general belief that the Supreme Court is the last resort for citizens who seek to guard the values of the Constitution. Our Constitution has given us a noble institution in the form of the Supreme Court to protect citizens from the excesses of either the Executive or the Legislature. But aberrations do occur and it is more than likely that there could be flaws and shortcomings even in the functioning of the judicature. Public criticism, then, is the only option left for course correction. We would like to quote here what Justice V R Krishna Iyer said in 1977 in a case involving a publication in Indian Express: Personal protection of a libeled judge and obstruction of public justice and communitys confidence is a great process. The former is not contempt, the latter is, although overlapping spaces abound. The SC, in our view, is not an institution whose image can be lowered by a few tweets or comments by any individual, irrespective of their standing. Lord Denning recorded what Lord Shawcross said about one of his judgments: Denning is an Ass. The Times (of London) published it but Lord Denning, one of the best judges of the Commonwealth, declined to take contempt action because his view was that he should disprove it not by contempt proceedings but by means of performance. My Lords, we believe the same logic applies to Your Honour as well. Spains 82-year-old former king Juan Carlos has been staying in Abu Dhabi since leaving the country on 3 August, Spains royal house has confirmed after weeks of speculation. The ex-monarch announced to the world he was leaving Spain on 3 August, in the aftermath of a corruption probe which exposed his financial history. Until today, it was not known where he intended to reside during his self-imposed exile. Asked on Monday whether a report which speculated that Juan Carlos was in the United Arab Emirates by state broadcaster TVE was true, a spokesman for the royal household said: That is what King Juan Carlos has told us. Speculation over the whereabouts of the ex-king has been rife in recent weeks. Reports surfaced that Juan Carlos was staying in Portugal where he spent time as a child, while other newspapers speculated he was hauled up in a luxury Dominican Republican resort. After Spanish news website Niusdiario.es published what it said was a photograph of Juan Carlos getting off a plane at Abu Dhabis international airport on 3 August, the same day he was supposed to have left Spain, it was widely believed he was staying in the UAE capital. Spains pro-roaylist newspaper ABC went as far as detailing Juan Carlos journey from Spain to the UAE on 7 August. According to the paper, the ex-monarch was flown over 6,000km in a private jet from the northwestern Spanish city of Vigo to Abu Dhabi. From there he was supposedly flown by helicopter with four bodyguards to the luxurious Emirates Palace Hotel, where he was reported to be staying in the presidential suite at a cost of 10,000 a night. While neither the UAE government nor the hotel itself have commented on the news, a spokesman for Juan Carlos said the 82-year-old travelled to the UAE on 3 August and he remains there, giving no more details. The recent investigation into the former kings past left his finances under scrutiny, including a preliminary investigation into Juan Carloss involvement in a 6.7bn (6bn) high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia. Switzerlands La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported Juan Carlos had received $100m (76.3m) from the late Saudi king in 2008. In a letter Juan Carlos wrote to his son King Felipe VI, which was made public after he fled the country, the ex-monarch said he was leaving because of the public repercussions of certain episodes of my private life. The former monarch is not formally under investigation and has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations. Basel, August 17, 2020 - Novartis welcomes the decision by the US District Court for the District of Delaware to uphold the validity of the Gilenya (fingolimod) dosage regimen patent, as our intellectual property reflects the innovation and investment needed to invent and develop treatments that improve and extend people's lives. The decision also holds that the generic fingolimod product proposed by HEC Pharm Co., Ltd. and HEC Pharm USA Inc. ("HEC") in its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) will infringe the dosage regimen patent (US Patent No. 9,187,405). The decision is appealable to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. This decision continues the injunction against the marketing and sale of this and other generics that was granted to Novartis in June 2019. The dosage regimen patent with the associated pediatric exclusivity expires on December 25, 2027; however, Novartis has previously entered into settlement agreements with a number of manufacturers which had filed ANDAs to market a generic version of Gilenya and who were active in this litigation. Under the confidential terms of these settlements, these ANDA filers will be able to launch a generic version of Gilenya on an agreed-upon date that is prior to the expiration of the dosage regimen patent. In separate proceedings, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit dismissed an appeal of the Inter Partes Review (IPR) decision from the US Patent and Trademark Office upholding the validity of the dosage regimen patent. That decision is subject to further appeal. Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "may," "could," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," "remain," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding the validity of the dosage regimen patent for Gilenya, or regarding potential future revenues from Gilenya. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the court decisions described in this press release will remain in place following appeal. Nor can there be any guarantee that Gilenya will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding Gilenya could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. About Novartis Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 109,000 people of more than 140 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com (https://www.novartis.com). Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at https://twitter.com/novartisnews (https://twitter.com/novartisnews) For Novartis multimedia content, please visit https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library (https://www.novartis.com/news/media-library) For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com) # # # Novartis Media Relations E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com (mailto:media.relations@novartis.com) Antonio Ligi Novartis External Communications +41 79 723 3681 (mobile) antonio.ligi@novartis.com (mailto:antonio.ligi@novartis.com) Eric Althoff Novartis US External Communications +1 862 778 3243 +1 646 438 4335 eric.althoff@novartis.com (mailto:eric.althoff@novartis.com) Michael Amos Novartis Global Pharma Communications +41 79 123 7806 (mobile) michael.amos@novartis.com (mailto:michael.amos@novartis.com) Novartis Investor Relations Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944 E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com (mailto:investor.relations@novartis.com) An iPad screenshot taken via FaceTime of artist Chanel Miller in her New York apartment. Her mural for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco is now on view from the street. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) News media first introduced artist and writer Chanel Miller to the world as Emily Doe: the woman in sexual assault case People of the State of California v. Brock Allen Turner, discovered unconscious behind a dumpster at Stanford University. Miller read her powerful 12-page victim impact statement at Turners sentencing in June 2016, exploding with viral fame thanks to Buzzfeed, where 11 million people read her statement in just four days. Newspapers reprinted it. Eighteen members of the House joined forces to read it on the floor of Congress. Emily Doe became an anonymous hero of sexual assault survivors, and nobody knew who she was. Not until September 2019 did Miller go public, reclaiming her identity by publishing the aptly titled "Know My Name," a bestselling memoir about her experiences before, during and after the trial. That process takes another step forward this month in San Francisco, where the Asian Art Museum has opened her first art exhibition in a new wing designed by Culver City architect Kulapat Yantrasast. Miller is a lifelong illustrator. As a child, she would spend hours drawing on poster board. Millers mother, who worked at an art framing store in the '90s, would showcase young Chanel's works over the fireplace, which provided a sense of legitimacy from a very young age, Miller said from her apartment in New York, where she moved this year. On my physics tests when I didnt know the answer, I would draw a guy shrugging. It would be really intricate, shaded in with graphite. I wanted to show the teacher that I did have a skill, even if it didnt align with what they were teaching. When it came time to shed her Emily Doe pseudonym and announce publication of her book, Miller did so by posting her animation to Instagram. Over the subsequent weeks and months, she filled her feed with humanoid figures, simply drawn in black marker. It was these illustrations that eventually caught the attention of Abby Chen, head of contemporary art at the Asian Art Museum. Story continues Of course I knew about Emily Doe from a few years ago when the Stanford assault case came into the media, but nobody knew who she was," Chen said. "When I saw her animation and learned she always wanted to be a childrens book writer, that changed things. I became determined to work with her. The artist has spoken in interviews about how her mother, the writer May May Miller (pen name Ci Zhang), emigrated from China and inspired in her daughter the will to challenge oppression. Late last year, Chen invited Chanel Miller to the Asian Art Museum to view her portfolio and to brainstorm a collaboration. The project was supposed to coincide with the opening of the museum's 28,000-square-foot Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang Pavilion. When Chen walked Miller through the construction site, it soon became apparent that the artists pared-back, approachable illustrations could be suitable for a large format and not just any large format, but the entire length of a sweeping gallery with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Hyde Street. Millers resulting work, titled I was, I am, I will be, is a 70-by-13-foot vinyl mural depicting a figure in three vignettes: first, curled in the fetal position in a pool of tears; second, sitting up in meditation, the tears sublimating into an aura of energy; third, rising to its feet and walking forward. - (Asian Art Museum) - (Asian Art Museum) The three frames above show details of "I was, I am, I will be," artist Chanel Miller's mural in the new addition to the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. (Asian Art Museum) Its not meant to be read in a linear way, Miller said. I like that the character begins in a reclined position, then gets into an onward position, but just as quickly, you may find yourself returning to phase one of that narrative. When Chen commissioned the work, neither she nor Miller foresaw how COVID-19 would shake the museum, the city and the world. Even with the museum closed, the installation of Millers message of healing in a gallery visible from the street has become strangely prescient an instance of a piece transcending its moment that Chen has seen only a few times in her career. When we began, it was more about her statement as an artist, but now with COVID its really become a story about all of us, Chen said. Chanel from the beginning was adamant that the work speak to people at large. COVID-19 closed the Asian Art Museum, but Chanel Miller's mural can still be seen from the street. (Asian Art Museum) Architect Yantrasast whose design credits include the Marciano Art Foundation in L.A., the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan and the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Ky. said Millers mural expresses the precise reason he created this gallery space. Experiencing a museum work from the street creates a dialogue between exclusivity and democracy; the art speaks to the role that museums play in civic life, even when a pandemic dictates they remain closed. More and more the reason museums are not relevant is because they dont connect to their city and to everyday life like they should, Yantrasast said. Museums have a big role to play when we need human connection, understanding and empathy. Museum architecture itself should be that connector between people inside the museum and outside. We need another paradigm beyond the white cube. So while there was no splashy opening party, Millers first museum exhibition her first exhibition at all, really lands with a poignant note of emotional resonance. Her work conveys her vision of catharsis that is neither tidy nor linear, but rather nebulous and cyclical. We progress, we revert radical acceptance, as a therapist might call it. The ability to sit with uncertainty is something were all learning right now because we have to, she said. Its about how to nourish ourselves with what we have and where we are. Millers most important takeaway, however, was the scale and magnitude with which people such as Chen see her message. They gave me so much freedom to unleash my mind on this real estate, Miller said. Its half a block of the city. I would have never thought to ask for that much space to be seen. I didnt know it was possible. Moving forward, I know I can ask for even bigger walls. Lucknow, Aug 17 : The Congress, on Monday, mounted a blistering attack on the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi criticised the killing of a village head in the Azamgarh district last week and tweeted, "Jungle raj of caste-based violence and rape is at its peak in UP. Now another terrible incident - Sarpanch Satyamev, being a Dalit, said 'no' and he was killed because of that. Condolences to his family members." The sarpanch - Satyamev Jayate aka Pappu Ram, was shot dead by three motorcycle-borne men last Friday in Bansgaon. The police have invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against four people in connection with the killing, which had also triggered mob violence. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, also hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the issue of women's security. "Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and now Gorakhpur. Such repeated incidents have proven that the Uttar Pradesh government has completely failed in providing security to women," she said in a Facebook post in Hindi, referring to reports of crimes against women in these districts. She said there is no fear of law in the minds of criminals in Uttar Pradesh and as a result, gruesome incidents of crime are taking place against women. She alleged that the police and administration are neither able to provide security nor take appropriate action. "The Uttar Pradesh government should review the law and order system and take every step to ensure the safety of women," she said. -- Syndicated from IANS A police officer guards a haul of drugs that are on display at an Australian Federal Police office in Sydney, Australia on Dec. 29, 2016. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft) Cocaine, Guns, $1M Cash Seized in Sydney A man has been charged after cocaine, guns and $1 million cash were seized in Sydneys southwest. NSW Police officers attached to the Criminal Groups Squads Strike Force Raptor stopped a car on Aug 14 on the M5 at Riverwood and spoke with the male driver. Police say they seized five bags of cocaine that were hidden in the door trim of the car, while a supermarket bag containing $120,000 was found in the boot. The 33-year-man was arrested and taken to Bankstown Police Station before being transferred to Bankstown Hospital, where he was held under police guard. A short time later, a search warrant was executed at a home in Harcourt Avenue, East Hills, where police seized $1 million in cash, two semi-automatic pistols and a shotgun, as well as more cocaine. After being released from hospital, the man was taken to Bankstown Police Station where he was charged with 14 drug and firearm offences, He was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Bail Court on Aug 16 where he was remanded in custody to appear at Bankstown Local Court on Aug 19. Sydney Just days after welcoming students back to the classroom, an elementary school in the Jasper County School District has closed after three staff members tested positive for COVID-19. Teachers at Ridgeland Elementary School have been asked to get tested for the virus, quarantine and work from home until further notice, district spokesman Travis Washington said Monday. "As we continue to navigate through this time of uncertainty in our nation due to COVID-19, we encourage everyone to remain safe, adhere to the CDC guidelines, and practice compassion when dealing with others," Washington said in a statement. The decision to close the Ridgeland campus was made "out of an abundance of caution," Washington said. School administration has contacted only parents of any student who may have been in contact with a staff member who tested positive. He declined to disclose how many students were potentially exposed, citing federal privacy laws. The district's decision to close the Ridgeland campus comes as school districts across the state start bringing small groups of K-8 students back for five additional days of face-to-face learning required by the S.C. Legislature, also known as LEAP days. All school districts in the state are required to offer this extra instructional time, although student participation is voluntary. Jasper County welcomed groups of preschool through eighth grade students back to the classroom Aug. 10-14 for five LEAP days before the official first day of school on Monday. "We had the pleasure, in JCSD, of assessing our students and preparing for their virtual learning experience," the district said in a news release. Although the district was required to offer in-person LEAP days, Jasper County students officially started the school year online. Small groups of students will continue to return to schools periodically through Aug. 21 for state-mandated standardized testing, according to the district's website, but all instruction will take place virtually until district officials and the school board deem it safe to host face-to-face learning. The district's online-only reopening plan received approval from the S.C. Department of Education last month, with the condition that students would begin learning in person no later than Sept. 14. The state education agency readjusted this requirement last week, according to spokesman Ryan Brown. Now, school districts with contingent approval must reevaluate their mode of instruction every two weeks, starting with the first day of school. "Barring any major health and safety obstacles, (in-person) is what well be pushing them toward at that point," Brown said. Many school districts have opted to offer these additional days immediately leading up to the official first day of school. In Charleston County, students will return for LEAP day instruction on Aug. 31. Berkeley County launched its LEAP program for interested students Monday. Both districts will officially begin school with in-person instruction five days a week on Sept. 8. "Most schools are prioritizing those at-risk students, students with disabilities, or those who need extra supports," Brown said. If there is a confirmed COVID-19 case within a school building, the district should report the cases to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control within 24 hours, Brown said. Then, contact tracers would begin identifying people the individuals had come into close contact with and establishing who needs to quarantine. After that happens, a school district should then determine whether it's best to shut down a school, Brown said. "I hope that they are following the current protocols," he said of Jasper County's decision. "Because if its an elementary school with 500 kids and three people test positive, the DHEC protocols arent to close." According to student headcount data, Ridgeland Elementary School had more than 850 students enrolled at the end of last school year. School buildings and offices in Jasper County remain open, with the exception of the Ridgeland campus, and all teachers will continue reporting to their classrooms to teach virtually. This Independence Day, Mastercard has taken yet another step towards encouraging small merchants to be a part of Indias digital revolution. In a video released by Mastercard on Indias 73rd Independence Day, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will trace the growth of our country since independence. He also expresses his gratitude towards our freedom fighters along with those who have carried on the legacy forward by making India economically strong, self-reliant and resilient i.e., our small and medium enterprises. These are the people who have taken India from Azadi to Atamanirbharta. The storyline further touches upon several aspects of how these merchants have not only made a significant contribution towards nations economy but also been an integral part of everyones day to day lives. The new campaign led by Dhoni is an extension of Mastercards Team Cashless India initiative that aims to empower small merchants with digital payments. Under this initiative, Mastercard has launched a Pan-India educational drive for Indias merchants who often have an awareness gap about the merits of digital payments for their business. Through an on-ground outreach exercise Mastercard has contacted over 30000 merchants in 5 cities. Furthermore 13,000 nominations (and counting) have come in from people who would like their neighborhood merchant to be enabled with digital payments. In the latest video, Dhoni strengthens this message with yet another call for merchants to adopt digital payments and help realize the dream of digital India. Mastercard is also hosting a contest where merchants who accept digital payments currently can share their testimonials about how it has helped their business. Top 10 entries selected by the jury will be eligible for a Mastercard PricelessTM Surprise. Even today, during such unprecedented times, the merchants community have been at the forefront of Indias fight against COVID-19, maintaining a delicate balance between social distancing and their societal commitment. Mastercards continuous endeavor is to empower these merchants with financial literacy and digital payments acceptance capabilities. Recently, Mastercard also announced a commitment of Rs 250 crores (US$33 million) to help reboot Indian SMEs and enable business recovery amid Covid-19 outbreak. The Sumatran rhinoceros once thrived in rain forests and swamps across India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and China. Their numbers have fallen dangerously low in recent decades, though, the result of poaching, habitat loss and fragmentation - leading the creature being classified as critically endangered. Less than 80 survive, according to Save the Rhino, and all live on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Iman, the last Sumatran rhino in Malaysia, died of cancer in captivity at age 25 last November. The Sumatran rhinoceros once thrived in rain forests and swamps across India, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China. Their numbers have fallen dangerously low in recent decades, though, the result of poaching, habitat loss, and fragmentation Attempts at breeding Iman with the last remaining male, Tam, proved unsuccessful. He succumbed to organ failure six months earlier. But scientists at International Islamic University Malaysia harvested their tissue and cells before they died. Now they hope to use cloning technology to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. The cells are still alive - which is why I'm quite confident," molecular biologist Muhammad Lokman Bin Md. Isa told CNN. "If you don't have any cells, or if we just had tissue that isn't living anymore, we can't do anything with that. We can only put it in a book or museum. But now we have a living thing that we can use." The world's smallest rhinoceros, Sumatran rhinos are solitary creatures, coming together only to mate and rear offspring. They have few natural predators, but have been poached to near-extinction for their horns, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine In addition to gathering brain, heart, lung, and kidney tissue, they harvested stem cells, which can be turned into any number of specialized cells, including egg and sperm cells. Theyll create an embryo using Tam and Imans stem cells and implant it into a surrogate, either another Sumatran rhino or a female from another species. A similar in-vitro approach is being attempted with the northern white rhinoceros, the rarest rhino species. There are only two northern white rhinos alive, and both are female. To maximize their chances of success, Lokmans team is also taking the egg of a surrogate animal, removing the nucleus, and joining it with somatic, or non-reproductive, cells from the deceased rhinos. Theres always the risk the implantation wont take, or that the pregnancy will fail after the embryo is implanted. Even if the calf survived, it's lack of genetic diversity means it could face serious long-term health problems. Before Tam and Iman, the last two Sumatran rhinos in Malaysia, died last year, scientists at International Islamic University Malaysia harvested their tissue and cells. They plan to turn their stem cells into an embryo which will be implanted into a surrogate Theres always the risk the implantation wont take, or that the pregnancy will fail after the embryo is implanted. To improve their chances, scientists are also removing the nucleus from the egg of a surrogate and joining it with somatic, or non-reproductive, cells from Tam and Iman But Lokman says he feels good about his odds. If everything is functioning, works well and everybody supports us, it's not impossible," he told Reuters. The world's smallest rhinoceros, Sumatran rhinos are solitary creatures, coming together only to mate and rear offspring. Born with fine, reddish-brown hair that turns coarse and black as they age, theyre more closely related to the extinct woolly rhinos than any other species alive today. They have few natural predators, but have been poached to near-extinction for their horns, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. There are only five rhinoceros species left on Earth, all of which are endangered. The western black rhino was declared extinct in 2013. The depth and range of the market effects of the pandemic are still mostly unknown, but our commitment to our clients and to establishing and maintaining long-term relationships has been and will be the keys to our success. Proximity Commercial Advisors, a commercial real estate firm providing corporate lease representation and negotiation on behalf of property owners, investors and tenants throughout Southeast Texas, today announced that the company has closed 16 Houston-area lease agreements totaling more than 120,000 sq. ft. in retail, industrial and multi-use properties. We were as surprised as anyone when we saw an uptick in business this spring and into summer in the small to midsize business market. Both the property owners and tenants we represent are doing what it takes to keep business moving and forge ahead during this tumultuous time, said Robin Moore, Senior Director at Proximity Commercial Advisors. It is promising that these agreements were mostly expansions or new deals in a range of industries, retail, legal, insurance, manufacturing, energy and more. Its a true testament to the spirit of the small-business owner and the willingness of property owners to support their tenants. While the velocity of commercial real estate sales and lease activity has slowed, some small and midsize businesses are looking for ways to move forward and property owners are being creative in agreements to benefit both parties. Touring properties is very different these days and to a certain extent, challenging. Once that obstacle was overcome, the transactions have been completed remotely, from home offices. We cant stay paralyzed by fear. We are looking to the future and need the capacity to expand our capability to service our clients. That is the primary driver behind a 30% increase in our footprint, said David Rogers, President of Airgroup IAH. The depth and range of the market effects of the pandemic are still mostly unknown, but our commitment to our clients and to establishing and maintaining long-term relationships has been and will be the keys to our success, Moore said. Proximitys three-person team has gladly hustled on behalf of our clients to close these deals and set them up for success. About Proximity Commercial Advisors Founded in 2010, Proximity Commercial Advisors is a Houston-based commercial real estate firm providing corporate lease representation and negotiation on behalf of property owners, investors and tenants throughout Southeast Texas. The Proximity team offers small firm flexibility, local level service and expertise to clients, with the experience born from industry veterans of national and regional brokerage and ownership platforms. More information is available at http://proxcomm.net/ Research scientists from Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine and University of Maryland are working to develop a model for delivering palliative care to people living in nursing homes to improve their quality of life. While access to palliative care has become the standard of care in the hospital setting, it is not routinely available in nursing homes. Palliative care is focused on providing comfort and relief from the symptoms and stress of illness and, if desired, can be provided along with curative treatment. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and family. Nearly every nursing home resident could benefit from palliative care, but the quality and quantity of care varies widely. There are currently few examples to guide nursing homes in implementing palliative care. The research scientists received a grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging to fund a model for delivering palliative care to patients with Alzheimer's disease. The grant is expected to total nearly $3.5 million over five years. The trial, UPLIFT-AD (Utilizing Palliative Leaders In Facilities to Transform care for Alzheimer's Disease), is a clinical trial designed to enhance quality of care and support. The project will build capacity for palliative care within facilities and provide external support for that care. The research team will partner with eight nursing homes in Indiana and eight in Maryland to evaluate the impact of UPLIFT-AD. There is broad recognition that palliative care is needed in nursing homes, but there is no road map for how to provide it well. We hope this trial will provide not only a successful intervention, but also a replicable model for implementing this type of care." Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, project co-leader, Regenstrief research scientist and IU School of Medicine associate professor of medicine The research team will identify two champions to lead the intervention within each nursing home. In addition, education about the fundamentals of palliative care will be given to all staff. The instruction includes basic interventions for common symptoms, such as shortness of breath and pain, so that all staff can provide some level of palliative care. External consultants will work with the champions to identify residents who need more palliative care support. In Indiana, the team is partnering with the Eskenazi Health Palliative Care Team. In Maryland, the researchers are working with Gilchrist, a local provider of palliative care services. Experts from these community-based partners will focus on nursing home residents with medically complex conditions and difficult-to-manage symptoms. The consulting teams will meet weekly to develop care plans to provide relief to the residents. "These residents and their families deserve the comfort, dignity, and supportive services that palliative care provides," said study co-leader, John Cagle, PhD, an associate professor from the University of Maryland School of Social Work. "Palliative care is already a standard of care in many other settings, including hospitals and cancer treatment centers. This study will provide evidence and fill in gaps to help nursing homes deliver this important care to their residents." "The need for palliative care programs is especially urgent in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many patients are separated from their families and may be suffering from more symptoms," said Dr. Unroe. The study is led by a multidisciplinary team. Dr. Unroe is a geriatrician practicing in the nursing home setting. Dr. Cagle has worked extensively as a hospice social worker. The researchers are working with the Eskenazi Health Palliative Care and Gilchrist teams for consultations. The team is also prepared to adjust delivery of the intervention to comply with COVID-19 restrictions that may exist throughout the study. A feminist pro-democracy uprising is taking place in Belarus, yet the leadership that Canadas self-proclaimed feminist prime minister and foreign minster should be taking to support them, has thus far been limited to expressions of concern. Led by three women, Belarusians have braved the threat of violent repression to rally for their freedom and democracy since May. Despite credible claims of mass electoral fraud, Belaruss dictator Aleksander Lukashenka claimed yet another electoral victory last week, extending his 26-year rule, for another five years. The results in electoral precincts that refused to falsify election results, demonstrated a very different picture where opposition candidate, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, won by up to 80 per cent. Far from respecting the true outcome of the election, Lukashenka has instead engaged in a campaign of violent and often arbitrary repression aimed at suppressing thousands of Belarusians who have taken to the streets to call for new and transparent elections. Over the past week, over 6,000 demonstrators have been arrested and at least two have been killed. Reports of mass torture and human rights abuse in Belarusian prisons have been posted on social media. On the streets of Minsk, videos show police randomly stopping cars (often intentionally crashing into them), dragging passengers out onto the streets and beating them with batons. The crackdown can only be described as savage. Tikhanovskaya was forced to flee Belarus to neighbouring Lithuania, after being threatened and coerced into reading a statement calling on Belarusians to accept the grossly fabricated official outcome of the election. Last Wednesday, hundreds of women dressed in white, formed solidarity chains in a mass demonstration in support of Tikhanovskaya, and all the women who have led the Belarusian pro-democracy movement. On Sunday, nearly 200,000 Belarusians took to the streets of Minsk to demand Lukashenkas resignation. Without a firm Western response to address the violence in Belarus, Lukashenka may intensify repression while receiving encouragement to do so from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is currently facing large protests in Russias Far East. The possibility that the Kremlin may exploit the ongoing crisis to intervene directly in support of Lukashenka cannot be discounted, nor can the possibility that Putin may decide to seize all, or some part of Belarus in that process. In contrast, a free and democratic Belarus would almost certainly seek closer integration with Europe and the West, contributing to a more unified and stable Eastern European region. In either case, the outcome of this crisis will have long-term security consequences for the region, NATO and Canada. One would assume that the uniquely feminine nature of the Belarusian pro-democracy uprising would offer a perfect opportunity for Justin Trudeau and Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to put Canadas much touted feminist foreign policy into practical and bold action. So far, they have not. Backstopped by that feminine foreign policy, Canada should be co-ordinating within the G7, and with the EU, to apply Magnitsky sanctions against Lukashenka, his electoral chief Lidia Yermoshina, who has overseen mass electoral fraud in every Belarusian election since 1994, and those responsible for violent repression Belarusians have endured this past week. Canadas experience and connections supporting Ukrainian reform since 2014, would serve Belarusians and our regional allies well. Canada should work with the EU to help organize a western summit on Belarus and co-ordinate international support to ensure the transparency of any new, rerun, presidential election. Canada should also be working closely with NATO allies in Lithuania, whose foreign minister, Linus Linkevicius, has taken on much of the heaving lifting to support the Belarusian opposition, to co-ordinate support for civil society groups, and to ensure channels of communication with the western democratic world remain open, including the internet. Finally, Canada must call for an immediate investigation into the Lukashenka regimes electoral fraud, criminal abuse of human rights including in the UN and OSCE and at the International Criminal Court. Ultimately, it is in Canadas foreign policy and national security interests to support the people of Belarus in their struggle for a free and democratic future. Belarusians are currently facing mass human rights abuses from a state unwilling to recognize the true results of the election. Canada needs to stand firmly with them. She may be falling head over heels for Locky Gilbert on The Bachelor, but Bella Varelis hasn't always been so open to finding love in real life. The 25-year-old marketing professional told New Idea on Monday that she struggles to trust men after being cheated on in the past. 'I had my heart broken pretty badly. Being cheated on and yo-yo'd has made it really hard for me to trust again,' she said. Hidden heartbreak: She may be falling head over heels for Locky Gilbert on The Bachelor, but Bella Varelis (pictured) hasn't always been so open to finding love in real life 'I always manage to attract men who aren't ready for relationships,' she added. However, Bella insisted she was ready to give love another go, and wasn't going to let her past experiences get in the way of her relationship with Locky. 'Even when the cameras were off, we would have to basically be pulled away from each other,' she said of her on-screen romance with the Australian Survivor star. A second chance: The 25-year-old marketing professional told New Idea on Monday that she struggles to trust men after being cheated on in the past This isn't Bella's first brush with The Bachelor franchise, as she previously dated Sam Johnston from Georgia Love's season of The Bachelorette. The pair were romantically involved from late 2015 until the middle of 2016. 'She was living with him for a couple of months before he went on The Bachelorette,' a source told Daily Mail Australia in December 2016. New start: However, Bella insisted she was ready to give love another go, and wasn't going to let her past experiences get in the way of her relationship with Locky (left) Sam later clarified: 'Bella and I are very good mates still, but are certainly not sleeping together.' Bella has also been linked to Dean Unglert, a contestant from the American Bachelorette franchise who also happens to be one of Locky's friends. The Bachelor continues Wednesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10 Advertisement The hottest temperature on Earth ever recorded may have been reached on Sunday afternoon, as the mercury in California's Death Valley hit 130 degrees. The temperature was reached at 3.41pm Pacific time on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. If verified, the reading would break Death Valley's previous August record by three degrees, the Weather Service tweeted. In a follow up tweet the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said it will verify the temperature. 'Everything I've seen so far indicates that is a legitimate observation,' said Randy Cerveny, who leads the World Meteorological Organization's weather and climate extremes team. Scroll down for video Visitors posted the record online; the visitor center thermometer runs 3-4 degrees warmer Tourists visiting the California park posted series of photos of the barren landscape Death Valley is famed for being the hottest place on Earth, and on Sunday did not disappoint Fires raging close to houses in Salinas, California, last night - around 260 miles west of Death Valley Fires raging close to houses in Salinas, California, last night - around 260 miles west of Death Valley Trees and bushes burning in Salinas, California, last night - around 260 miles west of Death Valley In an email to The Washington Post, he wrote: 'I am recommending that the World Meteorological Organization preliminarily accept the observation. 'In the upcoming weeks, we will, of course, be examining it in detail, along with the U.S. National Climate Extremes Committee, using one of our international evaluation teams.' Death Valley currently holds the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth - a record set on July 10, 1913, of 134 degrees. Yet experts for years have believed that the reading was not accurate. An extensive analysis of that record conducted in 2016 by Christopher Burt, an expert on extreme weather data, concluded it was 'essentially not possible from a meteorological perspective.' The remains of a home in Salinas that was destroyed by wild fires last night A chimney block stands naked against the horizon after a home was destroyed by flames in Salinas, west of Death Valley, in California Experts believe that Sunday's temperature was the hottest ever accurately recorded A 131F reading from Kebili, Tunisia, set on July 7, 1931, also has 'serious credibility issues,' according to Burt. Many believe that a 129F readings recorded in Death Valley on June 30, 2013, and in Kuwait and Pakistan in 2016 and 2017, were the highest ever reliably measured on the planet. If only those readings are considered, then Sunday's 130-degree temperature would unseat them as the highest measured. Death Valley is the lowest, driest and hottest location in the United States. Furnace Creek, where its temperature is measured, sits at 190 feet below sea level in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California. In July 2018, its average temperature of 108.1F represented the hottest month ever measured on the planet. During that month, it hit at least 120 degrees on 21 days. Typically, such blazing heat records happen in July the Northern Hemisphere's hottest month which makes Sunday's 130F reading stand out. Heavy smoke near Salinas, California, blotted out the sun on Sunday as wildfires raged Wildfires swept across Contra Costa County in California on Sunday, sparked by lightning Firefighters battled to put out the blazes on Sunday, inland from San Francisco The roasting temperature came as a heat wave continues to grip much of the western United States. More than 80 million people were under heat alerts Friday from the Central and Southern Plains as well as for nearly the entire West Coast. Oakland, California, on Friday hit 100F for the first time on record in August, while Phoenix tied its highest temperature for the month: 117F. On Saturday, Needles, in California's southeastern desert, soared to 123 degrees, its highest August temperature on record. Sacramento hit 112F on Sunday, topping its previous August record of 110F. The hot weather overwhelmed the state's electrical grid, prompting the California Independent System Operator (ISO), which runs the grid, to warn of an electricity supply shortage on Sunday evening. California ISO sought to buy additional power to avert another rolling outage and issued a Flex Alert, urging utility customers to conserve energy during the late afternoon and evening hours. The heat wave across the western United States is expected to last until Wednesday Blackouts hit a large swathe of California on Friday evening from 6.30-10pm Forecasters warned of 'stifling heat' across a large part of the western United States 'It's going to be tight,' said Severin Borenstein, a board member of the ISO and energy economist at the University of California, Berkeley. 'There is a real concern that they would have to do it again tomorrow and Tuesday,' he said Sunday about the rolling outages. California ISO ordered the first rolling outages in nearly 20 years on Friday when it directed utilities around the state to shed their power loads. The state's three biggest utilities Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric turned off power to more than 410,000 homes and businesses for about an hour at a time until the emergency declaration ended 3 1/2 hours later. The ISO instituted a second, but shorter, rolling outage Saturday evening that cut power to more than 200,000 customers. The power grid is mostly stressed during the late afternoon and early evening because of higher demand and solar energy production falling after the sun sets. California increasingly relies on energy from renewable sources instead of natural gas-fired plants. During the summer months, the state imports power when demand goes up, but a heat wave sweeping Western states meant there was less available, Borenstein said. 'They are literally calling as well as emailing and saying, "Do you have any power to sell us to everyone in the West,"' he said. 'But they can't force the other areas to sell their electricity when those other areas need it for themselves.' La Jolla beach near San Diego was packed on Saturday as people sought respire from heat Baker Beach, beneath San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, was a popular destination Saturday Kayakers in La Jolla hoped to cool off on Saturday amid searing, record-breaking heat The last time the state ordered rolling outages was during an energy crisis in 2001. Blackouts occurred several times from January to May, including one that affected more than 1.5 million customers. The cause was a combination of energy shortages and market manipulation by energy wholesalers, infamously including Enron Corp, that drove up prices by withholding supplies. The heat sent Californians to outdoor spaces and waterways, even as officials worried about the risk of increased coronavirus transmission. The state reported another 77 deaths Sunday, bringing total deaths in California from the virus above 11,200. Unsettling weather also triggered an unusual warning by the weather service of a fire-induced tornado at an out-of-control forest fire that broke out north of Lake Tahoe on Saturday afternoon. A massive fire cloud known as a pyrocumulonimbus formed over the fire, which started east of the town of Loyalton, about 40 miles west of Reno, Nevada. When high winds collided with the fire and whipped it into the air, a spectacular tornado-shaped spiral of flames was formed. The fire has burned at least 45 square miles and triggered evacuation orders for sparsely populated communities along State Route 395 by the California-Nevada border, said Tahoe National Forest spokesman Joe Flannery. Firefighters aided by water-dropping helicopters and air tankers faced 'extreme fire behavior,' he said, and worked through the night to extinguish spot fires and protect threatened structures. At one point, the fast-moving fire jumped a highway and came dangerously close to a fire truck. A fire crew from Truckee tweeted a video of firefighters dragging hoses as they ran alongside a moving truck that was dodging the flames. Ryan Peel said firefighters created some defensive space around his slot machine distribution warehouse in Chilcoot, but he was worried the erratic winds could still put his business in the line of fire. 'Yesterday was extremely emotional, as we were at the mercy of the wind and the unpredictability of the fire,' Peel said. 'I was stressed and terrified at the idea of losing everything I've spent my life working for.' With zero containment and strong winds in the forecast, he said, 'we are not out of the woods yet'. On Sunday, a rare summer thunderstorm brought lightning (pictured over Healdsburg, California, on Sunday) that sparked several small blazes in Northern California and stoked a huge wildfire that has forced hundreds of people from their homes north of Los Angeles Lightning illuminates the sky over the eastern span of the Bay Bridge as a storm passed through San Francisco on Sunday morning More than 4,500 buildings remained threatened by the fire burning toward thick, dry brush in the Angeles National Forest. Firefighters already battling the blaze in steep, rugged terrain with scorching heat faced more hurdles when hundreds of lightning strikes (pictured over San Francisco) and winds up to 15mph pushed the flames uphill On Sunday, a rare summer thunderstorm brought lightning that sparked several small blazes in Northern California and stoked a huge wildfire that has forced hundreds of people from their homes north of Los Angeles. More than 4,500 buildings remained threatened by the fire burning toward thick, dry brush in the Angeles National Forest. Firefighters already battling the blaze in steep, rugged terrain with scorching heat faced more hurdles when hundreds of lightning strikes and winds up to 15mph pushed the flames uphill. 'We set up a containment line at the top of the hills so the fire doesn't spill over to the other side and cause it to spread, but it was obviously difficult given the erratic wind and some other conditions,' said fire spokesman Jake Miller. The Lake Fire was just 12 per cent contained Sunday and has burned nearly 28 square miles of brush and trees. Fire officials said 33 buildings had been destroyed, including at least a dozen homes. Temperatures reached more than 110 degrees and a pyrocumulus created erratic fire behavior, fire spokesman Tom Ewald said. Thunderstorm and excessive heat were also a concern for firefighters battling a blaze that blackened almost 4 square miles in the foothills above the Los Angeles suburb of Azusa. The fire, believed to be started Thursday by a homeless man, is only 3 per cent contained. Due to the triple-digit temperatures throughout the weekend and the combination of prolonged heat and smoke from wildfires, ozone pollution reached levels not seen in a decade in some areas. Air quality may reach unhealthy to very unhealthy levels in several regions of Southern California on Sunday and Monday afternoons, the South Coast Air Quality Management District said. In Northern California, moisture from an offshore tropical storm fueled a thunderstorm that brought nonstop lightning strikes early Sunday, some of which ignited small fires and knocked out power across the San Francisco Bay Area. Wind gusts reached 75mph according to the NWS, which said another round of lightning may develop early Monday. 'This is probably the most widespread and violent summer thunderstorm event in memory for Bay Area, & it's also one of the hottest nights in years,' tweeted Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. Scientists have found that the intensity, duration and frequency of heat waves worldwide are increasing due to human-caused climate change. A 2019 study found the planet has entered a 'new climate regime' with 'extraordinary' heat waves that global warming is worsening. Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland and Seattle are among the cities under heat alerts. For the West, an excessive heat warning is in effect until Wednesday for parts of Arizona, California and Nevada, with high temperatures expected to reach 110-125 degrees. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday postponed the nation's election to focus on fighting a coronavirus second wave, as data showed Japan's economy had endured a historic contraction. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday postponed the nation's election to focus on fighting a coronavirus second wave, as data showed Japan's economy had endured a historic contraction. With more than 21.5 million cases worldwide, a second wave of infections is also threatening further disruption in Europe where summer holiday-makers are helping fuel a resurgence of COVID-19. The disease has killed more than 766,000 people globally, and the number of deaths hit 50,000 in India, which is still battling its first wave with 2.5 million infections -- the third-highest in the world. COVID-19: Follow the Ws, avoid the Cs / AFP The postponement of New Zealand's election to October 17 came after the shock discovery of COVID-19 in Auckland last week, ending the nation's 102-day streak without community transmission. "This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead," Ardern said. She said the return of the virus -- which sent New Zealand's largest city into lockdown -- had rattled Kiwis and could have discouraged some from voting in a September election. In South Korea, another country that had brought its initial outbreak largely under control, thousands of Protestant church members were asked to quarantine as authorities battled virus clusters linked to religious groups. Government officials wearing protective clothing stand at a temporary check point to restrict access to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul / AFP The largest of those current clusters is centred on the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul, headed by controversial conservative pastor Jun Kwang-hun. South Korean have authorities have filed two separate complaints against him for deliberately hindering efforts to contain the virus. - Economic devastation - Across the Pacific, less than three months out from the American presidential election, the surging caseload in the United States -- the worst in the world at more than 5.4 million with 170,000 deaths -- has forced the convention season online. Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden (R), and vice presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, receive a briefing on COVID-19 from health experts in Wilmington, Delaware / AFP The Democrats' disparate factions are projecting a united front behind Joe Biden as their four-day virtual gathering gets under way Monday, as they seek to oust President Donald Trump -- who has been widely criticised for his handling of the pandemic. The Trump administration and Congress are under increasing pressure to ease the economic pain unleashed by the virus, with tens of millions left jobless and the global economy facing a historic downturn. Democratic presidential nominee, Joe Biden (R), and vice presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, receive a briefing on COVID-19 from health experts in Wilmington, Delaware / AFP Many countries have plunged into recession since the coronavirus first emerged in China late last year. The latest evidence of the economic destruction emerged in Japan, which saw its economy shrink a record 7.8 percent in the April-June quarter -- the worst contraction in the nation's modern history. - 'We're dancing' - Italy -- once the global epicentre of the coronavirus -- has ordered the three-week closure of all dance venues after a pick-up in infections over the weekend blamed in part on young partygoers. Health staff wearing personal protective equipment conduct morning exercises with patients suffering mild symptoms of the COVID-19 coronavirus at an emergency hospital in Surabaya / AFP Wearing a face mask is also mandatory in public areas from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. "The contagion is on the rise but we're dancing," proclaimed the Corriere Della Sera newspaper, which slammed Sardinia's clubs as being "joyful contagion machines". But government attempts to curb the spread of the virus in parts of Spain and Brussels have been met by scepticism and protests. "They are forcing us to use a mask, they want us to stay home practically locked up," said Pilar Martin, 58, at a rally in Madrid that drew a variety of people, many promoting widely debunked conspiracy theories about the coronavirus being a hoax. That came after Britain removed France, the Netherlands, Malta and three other countries from its list of places exempt from self-isolation rules because of the continent's second virus wave. Wary of a similar resurgence, authorities in Australia's most populous state of New South Wales have banned children from playing the recorder and singing in choirs to stem the spread of the virus after infections were detected at several Sydney schools. Dancing is also off-limits as Australia battles to contain a number of outbreaks after months of near-zero local transmission. burs-amj/qan Bold, energetic, uncompromising: Berlin is one of Europe's most captivating capitals. It is uncontrived, a refreshing destination that delivers an authentic, and often raw urban experience. As many cities embrace generic architecture, ubiquitous international retail and restaurant brands and mass tourism, Berlin has retained its gritty creativity. It is as if local residents actively reject the national stereotype of German conformity and efficiency, and instead have embraced an alternative way of living, creating a vibrant and complex city. Day 1 - Afternoon of diversity Immediately immerse yourself in cross-cultural Berlin by heading to Kreuzberg. Take the U-Bahn to Kottsbusser Tor (or Kotti) as locals call it, and you arrive in the centre of the Kreuzberg area. This was former West Berlin, and adjacent to Friedrichshain, on the other side of the River Spree that runs through the city. Kreuzberg With alternative culture, that goes back to the era of David Bowie's time in the city and before, Kreuzberg is home to clubs like SO36 as well as an established gay scene. This lively neighbourhood makes for a colourful start to your break. For places to eat, try Bergmannstrae, a street that encapsulates the Berlin lifestyle. Cool bars and restaurants spill out onto pavement terraces. You can't go wrong finding a place restaurant around here, from Vietnamese, Iraqi, Kurdish to plenty of Turkish. / Pierre Adenis Make sure you also reach Eisenbahnstrae and the Markthalle Neun covered marketplace, offering a traditional market three times a week, Street Food Thursday, and seasonal food festivals. If you stay in the area after dinner, then you won't be far from some of the city's best clubs. In the small hours, before heading back to your hotel, you can tuck into some of the best Turkish street food, from kofte, bullete, gozleme, or more than likely, a Berlin doner kebab. Day 2 - Sightseeing and classic culture It wouldn't be a city-break without some good old-fashioned sight-seeing. Berlin, being in reality two merged cities, can feel overwhelming when it comes to exploring. City-West, Mitte or Alexanderplatz So how you create your own tour very much depends on where you decide to stay; whether at an upscale hotel in the elegant Mitte district, like the Hotel Adlon Kempinski or the Ritz Carlton. This is the centre of the reunified Berlin. Or maybe you're in the City-West hub near the iconic Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (a bell tower that was badly damaged in a WW2 bombing raid Berlin); or a hip hotel like the MichelBerger in the former east. If you're in the east, then the centre is Alexanderplatz, where you can take in the brutal GDR architecture, and enjoy 360-degree city views from the observation deck of Berlin's landmark TV tower. Not far one also finds the Hackesch Markt, an artsy hub of galleries and vintage graffiti. USEFUL INFORMATION Berlin Travel. Berlin has a comprehensive public transport system. Just make a visit to Berlin Hauptbahnhof station, and you will be awestruck by the complexity of the interwoven systems from the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, trams, and the ICE high speed trains. Berlin Welcome Card. I chose the Berlin Welcome card. For a one-off set fee, you get to travel freely on buses, trains and trams in Berlin as well as visit attractions. Berlin Tourism. To help plan your visit, try the excellent official Visit Berlin website. For my home-from-home in the city I chose the tranquillity of a private apartment in SANA Hotel Berlin, near to the former centre of West Berlin. Close by is hip Bikini Berlin mall with its cool top floor Monkey Bar, ideal for a later afternoon cold beer. From City-West I meandered through the green heart of Berlin, the Tiergarten park. It's an hour or so to get to Potsdamer Platz, the new nexus of the capital. I was last there in 1993, a few years after the wall fell. With reunification came the energy of new construction. At that time Potsdamer Platz was a forest of construction cranes promising a new future and new urban centre. Returning almost 30 years later the developers and businesses have created a commercial hub where you can shop in the cool Sony Centre or have cocktails in the chic Ritz Carlton Hotel. Of course, Berlin's recent history envelops you, and there are some requisite sights that help tell the city's moving story. The Topography of Terror is an interpretation centre of Nazi Germany during the Third Reich. There is also a stretch of Berlin wall to be seen. Yet for me, the most powerful memorial in the centre, is the nearby Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. Nearly 3,000 blocks of grey concrete stand as columns, like headstones across an undulating plot. All the blocks look almost the same from above but as you walk in and the land drops away, you start to get lost in a dark labyrinth. The site opened in 2005, 60 years after WW2. This powerful, abstract piece of architecture (by Peter Eisenman) opened in 2005, 60 years after WW2. Adjacent to the memorial is another honouring the homosexual victims of the Nazis. Continuing a little further north after a few minutes' walk you will reach the Brandenburg Gate. Probably no other sight is more representative of Berlin. For a treat, try an elegant bistro lunch at Restaurant Quarre right on the plaza overlooking the Gate. Museum Island, a haven for art or history lovers. / VISITBERLIN Museum Island I admit that an afternoon isn't enough to give Berlin's Museum Island justice, but choose one or two galleries and prepare for hours of immersive culture. Although the Pergamon is probably the most famous of the five institutions on the island, it is closed for a few years for major remodelling. Instead I bought tickets for the Pergamon Panorama, in a new building where visitors can see masterpieces from the ancient Pergamon alter and metropolis and view and multi-storey 360-degree panorama created by Yadegar Asisi. Other museums in walking distance include Altes Museum, Neues Museum, and Bode Museum. Yet, if you don't fancy all those classical Greek, Byzantine and Egyptian treasures, then visit the Alte Nationalgalerie for Impressionist and early Modernist artworks. If you're able to plan ahead, then also pay a visit to the Reichstag Dome. In June 1991, after the fall of the wall and the subsequent reunification of Germany, the Bundestag parliament narrowly voted in favour to relocate from Bonn to Berlin, restoring the city as the country's capital. The Reichstag was remodelled by architectural firm Foster + Partners to restore damage from the war and add a new dome, a contemporary interpretation of the original cupola. The vast glass space features a light sculpture, a cascade of mirrors, in the centre. Afterwards, begin your evening in style with a visit to Fragrances cocktail bar, an extraordinary and unique concept that brings together the aromas of the perfume world with the art of cocktail mixology. The Reichstag Dome with its cascade of mirrors. / VISITBERLIN Day 3 - Alternative Berlin, and the Wall Berlin isn't easy to define. It is both elegant and sophisticated in parts and then raw and non-conformist in others. Among these extremes are a few places that although a little contrived and touristy are a requisite to visit. One is of course the East Side Gallery, an open air showcase of murals on a remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall. Most have been restored or repainted including Birgit Kinder's mural of a Trabant coming through the wall, Test the Rest; and of course Dmitri Vrubel's My God, Help Me to Survive this Deadly Love that shows Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker in their famous Fraternal Kiss. Nearby is Heissa Holzmarkt, a little corner of calm by the river that so perfectly conveys Berlin's alternative spirit. Once a makeshift community, created in 'Womble-style' from recycled materials, it has now emerged into an exciting example of people-driven urban renewal. In addition to the regular market and the indie shops, there are places to get a coffee or healthy bite to eat. See alsoThe insider guide to Berlin As I was there, I caught sight of a Trabi Safari passing by; one of the city's self-drive tours where you rent a vintage Trabant and join a group exploring. If that's not your style then try one of the Berlin Music Tours. It's fair to say that the city's Hansa Recording Studios are legendary, having hosted artists David Bowie and Iggy Pop; and more recently U2. So, take the opportunity of a studio tour as well as walking and bus tours that bring to life the musical heritage of the German capital. Then end your day with a sundowner by the river, or as the locals do, visit Tempelhofer Feld, the urban park and former airfield where you can take in the skyline with a cold craft German beer in your hand. This independence day, Cosmos-Maya, the animation studio known best for their popular kids shows like Motu Patlu, Selfie with Bajrangi and Bapu are entering a new adventurous space as they announce their latest IP, Captain Bharat. Keeping up with Cosmos-Mayas past record of providing content offerings that initiate meaningful thought processes among their young audience, Captain Bharat is a reflection and characterization of the collective Indian youths patriotic voice, professing and spreading the love for India to the younger school-going generations in a fun colorful and action-packed avatar. It is a story about an Indian soldier who is named after the country he loves and uses various gadgets, weapons and tools at his disposal to counter any threats to the country and save the day for people in need. There has always been a method to how Cosmos-Maya makes decisions regarding the subjects of their content offerings and the kind of socially relevant conversations their characters have represented. Nationalism and patriotic values have been a necessary conversation, especially these past few years, and Captain Bharat will communicate the same in a jovial energetic manner to half a billion kids across the Indian subcontinent. This is captured aptly in the shows motto: Meri aan tirangaa hai, Meri shaan tirangaa hai Bharat ke bachche bachche ki Jaan tirangaa hai "Captain Bharat will be a first-of-its-kind animated program, as no other animated show in India has had national pride and patriotic heroism at its core" Anish Mehta, CEO Cosmos-Maya said, As content producers, we must always find gaps in what our audience is viewing and what is going on in the world around them, and accordingly we strive to provide cartoons and content that is loved by kids and families alike with messaging theyll find relevant, approve of and appreciate. Captain Bharat is a celebration of our countrys democracy and unity in diversity. We want the character to be an aspirational role model for kids to become proud, responsible citizens of the future. Keeping with the nationalistic spirit of this special day, it is our absolute pleasure to unveil this newest offering that we are confident will build an immediate and strong rapport with young children and their families across the territory of India. Captain Bharat is our studio coming together to say proudly, Jai Hind! Suhas Kadav, Chief Creative Officer, Cosmos-Maya said, Captain Bharat is our action-filled ode to Indias finest, the armed forces and the security personnel that protect our country from external and internal threats. Through CB we seek to imbibe the values of patriotism and love for the country, the flag and respect for the military uniform early on in the minds of our young generation. Kids are an impressionable lot, and we always strive to provide them meaningful and relevant messaging through entertaining content that keeps them hooked and fosters socially responsible values at the same time. The flood situation in remained grim on Monday, while central authorities warned some hill districts in the north of likely flashfloods and landslides as heavy rains disrupted normal life in parts of the country. At least seven people drowned in flooded water bodies in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, and the Central Water Commission (CWC) said its 15 stations in Bihar, six in Assam, four in Uttar Pradesh, two in Telangana and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal recorded Severe Flood Situation'. Meanwhile, an IMD forecast said enhanced rainfall activity with heavy to very heavy falls is very likely over northwest India including Western Himalayan region till August 20 and decrease thereafter. It said isolated heavy to very heavy with extremely heavy falls are likely over East Rajasthan on Tuesday and Wednesday and over Uttarakhand on Tuesday. Widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls very likely over Gujarat state, Maharashtra State & Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal during next 4-5 days, it said. The CWC issued a flood advisory for several states, warning some hill districts in the north of likely flashfloods and landslides. The advisory for Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh said there is likelihood of rise in water levels in several rivers including the Ganga, Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Ghaggar and Yamuna due to the heavy to very rains forecast there. There is likelihood of flashfloods in some of the hill districts in these states in association with cloudburst. Necessary precautions have to be taken for possible landslides and blockages of river flows due to landslides in high ranges of these states, it said. The Indian Air Force (IAF) deployed its MI-17 helicopter to rescue a 43-year-old man who remained stranded on a tree for over 12 hours amid overflowing water discharged from a dam in Chhattisgarhs Bilaspur district. In Bihar, the have affected 81.56 lakh people in 16 districts. So dar, 25 people have died in flood-related incidents. The water level in Ganga continued to rise on Monday, increasing by 5-24 cm in Buxar, Munger, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon, and at Digha Ghat in Patna, as per a bulletin issued by the state Water Resources Department. The river's water level at the Gandhi Ghat in Patna was 48.62 meters, which is 2 cm above the danger mark, it said. Several other rivers, including Baghmati, Burhi Gandak, Punpun, Khiroi and Ghaghra, are flowing above the danger level at different places in the state. In Uttar Pradesh, where 15 districts are hit by floods, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to maintain social distancing in relief camps. He asked them to segregate those who have fever, cold and headache and get them tested for COVID-19, if required. The Sharda river at Palia Kalan in Lakhimpur Kheri and the Saryu and the Ghaghra at Barabanki's Elgin Bridge, Ayodhya and Ballia's Turtipar are flowing above the danger mark, relief commissioner Sanjay Goyal said. The deluge has affected 788 villages in 15 districts, he said. Among the affected villages, 454 are marooned. Meanwhile, Odisha, which witnessed a flood-like situation in several areas, is likely to get more downpour over the next few days with a fresh low-pressure area brewing over the Bay of Bengal. While many parts of the state have been battered by heavy rainfall due to three back-to-back low-pressure areas so far this month, a new one is likely over the Bay of Bengal around August 19 and bring more downpour, the Meteorological Centre in Bhubaneswar said. Heavy downpour since August 13 has created a flood-like situation in several parts of Odisha, snapping road connectivity, damaging mud houses and crops, and killing two people, officials said. In the worst-hit Malkangiri district, low-level bridges connecting various block headquarters were inundated, temporarily disrupting the road connectivity, district collector Manish Agarwal said. Normal life was affected at various places in Telangana too on Monday due to the incessant rains lashing the state for the past few days. The flood level in Godavari river at Bhadrachalam was 60.7 ft, crossing the 3rd Warning Level, at 1300 hours on Monday, official sources said. In the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, the Godavari river is swelling by the hour, inundating more villages along the course, as it inched towards a record flood level. As the water level crossed 60 feet at Bhadrachalam in neighbouring Telanagna, the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram near Rajamahendravaram received 18.27 lakh cusecs by noon on Monday. Over 55 villages in West Godavari district and about 100 in East Godavari district remain marooned or inundated. In East Godavari, close to 6,000 people were evacuated to safety from the flood-hit villages and lodged in relief camps. In West Godavari, too, about 2,000 people were shifted to relief camps. Power supply to the affected villages has been cut as a precautionary measure. In Maharashtra, water level of the Krishna, Warna and Koyna rivers in Sangli has risen due to continuous rain, following which the district administration has asked people living near the banks of these rivers to remain alert. Three districts of Assam -- Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Baksa -- are still inundated and 11,900 people are reeling under the impact of the flood. (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.) MOGADISHU, Somalia A terrorist attack on a popular hotel in the Somali capital that left at least 16 people dead, including five assailants, ended with the dramatic rescue of more than 200 people on Sunday after a raging gun battle. The attack was the latest in a series of deadly onslaughts carried out across the Horn of Africa by Al Shabab, a militant group linked to Al Qaeda, as the group seeks to stoke chaos and undermine Somalias government. The Shabab attacks have increased in recent months even as Somalia has struggled to contain the coronavirus pandemic, experienced flash floods that have displaced tens of thousands of people and been swarmed by desert locusts that threaten the food supply. The attack on the Elite Hotel in Mogadishu began Sunday afternoon after a car bomb exploded at the gates of the hotel, which is on Lido Beach, a popular destination on the Indian Ocean and a symbol of the countrys resurgence from civil war. The European Business Association (EBA) has called on relevant state agencies to take urgent measures in order to prevent the introduction of additional customs duties by Turkey on Ukrainian confectionary products. "On August 20, Presidential Decree No. 31204 of Turkish President will enter into force. This Decree introduces additional customs duties on 115 goods, including the confectionery products. Thus, the confectionery imported into Turkey will be subject to an additional duty of 15% to 20%, except for products from the EU and countries with which Turkey has signed Free Trade Agreements," the EBA said in a statement posted on its website on Monday, August 17. Ukrainian sugar and chocolate confectionery products will be subjected to an additional duty of 20%, flour confectionery of 15%, it said. "In this regard, the European Business Association calls on the responsible authorities of Ukraine to take immediate measures to prevent the Republic of Turkey from raising customs duties on Ukrainian confectionery," the association said. According to the EBA, at present, access to the Turkish market is already significantly complicated for Ukrainian confectionery producers as Turkey has applied high import duty rates and an additional tariff on the agricultural component (thus, the confectionery is subjected to the total duty of 35-45%). The introduction of additional duties by the Turkish side will make it economically impractical to export Ukrainian confectionery to Turkey and, in fact, completely block the exports of this product category. "At the same time, Turkish products enter the Ukrainian market in much better terms. The level of import duty rates for imported Turkish confectionery ranges from 5 to 15%. Therefore, the decision of the Turkish authorities to raise customs rates significantly worsens the existing unequal conditions for Ukraine to access the Turkish market and creates a non-competitive environment for Ukrainian producers," the EBA said. There is a high-decibel reaction in southern India to the choice of Kamala Harris as the running mate of Democratic candidate for the United States presidency Joe Biden. Kamalas mother Shyamala Gopalan, who passed away a few years ago, belonged to the state of Tamil Nadu. Also Kamala is an essentially, if not wholly, south Indian name, that resonates with Tamilian chauvinism. Many may remember the famous Bharatanatyam (classical south Indian dance form) artiste Kamala Lakshman, who dominated the field in the 1950s and '60s, and settled down in New Jersey after her dancing days were over. Since then Harris is the first Kamala who has made waves. Many Brahmins looking for excitement, as also some relief from Covid-19 agony and depression, may be expected to keep up the hype for a while. Harriss ancestry can be traced to a village in the agricultural district of Thanjavur, south of Chennai. Many Brahmins, the main group from which Hindu priests came, hailed from the district. Harriss maternal grandfather, the late PV Gopalan, was born in 1911 in a village in Thanjavur. Not much is known about his education. Like many traditional Tamil Brahmins of those days, he seems to have migrated to the capital city of Delhi in search of a job. There was no private sector in those days worth talking about that picked up young men for employment. In contrast, the central government in Delhi was always warm towards young graduates, especially those from the South, because Madrasis, as people from this region were generally known, were regarded as mild, obedient and loyal, with a solid knowledge of English, the official language. It was his venturesomeness that persuaded Gopalan to go to distant Delhi, a two nights train journey from Madras (now Chennai) by the fabled Grand Trunk Express. In those days almost every young man hardly any woman recruited to what was the Central Secretariat service started as an Assistant in the many departments of government. I can speak with some authority on the subject because my maternal aunt another Kamala, and no relation of Harris married an Assistant by the name Rangaswami, belonging to the same elitist group. Each Assistant, unless he was too mediocre or undisciplined, rose up the ladder, and retired as Joint Secretary, a position of some consequence who reported to the Secretary, the highest-ranked civil servant, invariably an Englishman who belonged to the Indian Civil Service (ICS), predecessor to the current Indian Administrative Service (IAS). A few promotees, as the Gopalan tribe were known, got the gift of a foreign posting towards the end of their career. This is how Gopalan went to Zambia as Director of Relief Measures and Refugees. Like all typical south Indian bureaucrats, he had no distraction but concentrated on his job, earning some money and a reputation. There is no indication as to how long he was in Zambia. But like many of his Tamil colleagues he returned to Madras to savour the joys of visits to the famous local temples and listening to Carnatic music concerts for which Madras has always been known. He bought an apartment in Besant Nagar, overlooking the Bay of Bengal, a locality which came into prominence in the early 1960s and '70s. This was a settlement which had a predominantly Brahmin population in those days. Besant Nagar was then an unpolluted residential area that became the favourite of retired civil servants. Situated in south Madras it was a haven for middle-class Brahmins. Of course, its character has now changed totally. Harris talks of her visits to Madras in the 1970s when her grandfather Gopalan was enjoying the balmy morning walks close to the beach. I can well relate to this description of Besant Nagar in the mornings. Harris refers to her grandfather as one of her major influences in her impressionable years. Her description of what the morning beach walkers did and discussed during those walks again resonates with what I used to observe elsewhere in the city. These walkers developed an unbelievable bond during their sunset years. Of course they were cynical of what was happening around them, both in government and in society. They were convinced that things had deteriorated beyond repair after they left their jobs. Madras was not the same for Harris after Gopalan passed away in 1998, when Harris was in her early 30s. Harris is sentimental not merely about her Indian upbringing, but about her stately grandfather Gopalan, who had much to offer her by way of knowledge about the country and the world. I strongly believe Harris has inherited a number of qualities from her grandfather who was not a frog in the well but was enterprising to go to a troubled continent such as Africa, and did not wilt under the local harsh conditions of living. It is possible she acquired his grit and determination to reach the heights she has now climbed. (The author is a former Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, and was until last year Indias High Commissioner to Cyprus. He was a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School and at Rutgers, after graduating in criminal justice from Temple University, Philadelphia. Views expressed are personal.) N ew Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has bowed to demands to delay the countrys upcoming election by four weeks after its new coronavirus outbreak. The election had been scheduled for September 19 but will now be held on October 17, Ms Ardern announced on Monday, as the number of confirmed cases rose to 49. Opposition parties had called for the delay because they said sticking with the original was preventing them campaigning with the countrys largest city Auckland on lockdown for two weeks. Under New Zealand law, Ms Ardern had the option of delaying the election for up to about two months. Ms Arderns Labour party is expected to win a second term with it being significantly ahead in the polls, but it has faced mounting criticism and anger over the re-emergence of the disease after 102 days of no new cases in the community. Ms Ardern said: Ultimately I want to ensure we have a well-run election that gives all voters the best chance to receive all the information they need about parties and candidates, and delivers certainty for the future. The September date had been relatively early in New Zealand's three-year election cycle, with Saturdays in November often being polling day. The only known cases when New Zealand was Covid-free had been residents or citizens returning from overseas who had quarantined at the border. Officials have still been unable to figure out the origins of the outbreak a week ago and the government has faced questions over why large numbers of staff at the border have not been tested for the disease. Authorities say they believe all 49 cases are connected, raising the hope that the virus is not spreading beyond the cluster. Associated Press contributed to this article Not everyone affiliated with the Democratic Party is thrilled that John Kasich, the Republican former governor of Ohio, was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention this week, especially when someone like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) only has 60 seconds to say her piece. But Kasich, who said he was approached by the party, made the case for why he should be up on the stage in an interview with BuzzFeed News. The former GOP presidential candidate and frequent critic of President Trump said that while members of both parties, including the progressive Ocasio-Cortez, "have new ideas" and receive "outsized publicity that tends to define their party," he ultimately believes "this country is moderate," which means people will want to hear from someone who is willing to ignore partisan barriers. New: @JohnKasich talked to me about why hes participating in the Democratic National Convention. I don't care if people agree or disagree with my speaking there. Whatever. Weve got to settle things down. https://t.co/DrEk7ZEpN7 Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) August 17, 2020 Other Democrats are backing him up, including Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), who called him "a Republican with some spine" and urged other GOP members to follow his lead. Nancy Patton Mills, the Democratic chair in Pennsylvania, said it's "important" for people in her state to hear from Kasich after 2016 when "Hillary Clinton did not perform well in red counties" in the Pittsburgh area where Kasich grew up. Read more at BuzzFeed News. More stories from theweek.com John Boehner would 'rather set himself on fire' than get involved in the 2020 election New models suggest COVID-19 herd immunity might be achieved with far fewer people infected California reports 1st plague case in 5 years Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 19:20:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian rescuers have found one of two missing miners alive and the body of the other after a mine collapsed, the country's National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) reported on Monday. "Rescuers retrieved his body at a depth of 35 meters of the mine early Monday," the NEMA said in a statement. The 19-year-old and 27-year-old miners went missing after an underground fluorspar mine collapsed. The mine was run by the Idermeg-Usukh company in Berkh village, Khentii Province in eastern Mongolia on Friday. Enditem The Rev. Al Sharpton set aside his face mask but kept on his protective black latex gloves as he gripped yet another funeral lectern. "To everything there is a time," he mused. Ecclesiastes 3:1. He dared to hope that maybe, finally, the time was now. He had almost lost track of how many occasions he had stood like this before caskets of Black men killed by police. The chain of death stretched back at least to 1999, when Amadou Diallo, an innocent, unarmed 22-year-old, was shot 19 times by officers outside his Bronx apartment in a case of mistaken identity. Sharpton had done his best to make the episode a cause celebre by leading demonstrations. But the officers were acquitted, and after numerous protests, the case faded. Others followed: Sean Bell ... Ramarley Graham ... Eric Garner ... Michael Brown ... Stephon Clark. After each death, Sharpton wondered whether a national movement might take off, only to be disappointed when it didn't. Now the sadly familiar rituals were unfolding once again, on June 4, here in a Minneapolis sanctuary, where George Floyd's metallic gold coffin glinted in the national spotlight. "Critics would say, 'All Al Sharpton wants is publicity,' " he told the audience as he eased into his eulogy for Floyd. "Well, that's exactly what I want, because nobody calls me to keep a secret. People call me to blow up issues." By then, 10 days after Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer pressing his knee to Floyd's neck, the tragedy was blowing up into an unprecedented multiracial, multigenerational, urban-rural uprising. Hundreds of thousands of people had taken to the streets in hundreds of cities to say Black lives matter. Sharpton sensed that a movement for lasting change in American policing was finally at hand, thanks to the potent combination of a grisly video, a provocative president and a pandemic revealing even greater inequities. The question was how to amplify and sustain the passion for change over the summer and past Election Day to achieve concrete goals - and how to expand the conversation beyond policing to broader failures of racial equity and American democracy. Sharpton sensed that a movement for lasting change in American policing was finally at hand, thanks to the potent combination of a grisly video, a provocative president and a pandemic revealing even greater inequities. "George Floyd's story has been the story of Black folks, because ever since 401 years ago, the reason we could never be who we wanted and dreamed of being is you kept your knee on our neck," Sharpton said, his voice detonating into a roar, as the audience leaped to its feet and people shouted, "Preach, Rev!" He saluted Martin Luther King III, who was in the audience. "I'm glad Martin the Third is here today," Sharpton said. "Because on August 28th, the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington, we're going back to Washington, Martin. That's where your father stood in the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial and said, 'I have a dream.' Well, we're going back this August 28th to restore and recommit that dream." The audience erupted with applause. Someone sitting next to King clapped him on the shoulder while King's chest heaved with deep, emotional breaths. The announcement of a big national march was a surprise. Commemorating major anniversaries of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom is commonplace - King and Sharpton led a march on the 50th in 2013 - but the 57th hardly qualifies as major. Sharpton had in mind a bigger agenda than mere commemoration. He had discussed the possibility with King and a few others. But no decision to go public had been made. There was no plan, no budget, no permit. And there was a pandemic. "I didn't know I was going to announce it until the moment," Sharpton told me a couple of weeks later. "I started thinking on that platform that people are paying attention. We got a caustic president. This is the time. If we can't get real national legislation now, I don't know what else could do it." For the first time since 1963, a civil rights march has the potential to come close to the original in leaving a lasting impact - not just by paving the way for legislative victories, but by braiding disparate moral dramas and individual stories from local communities into a teeming tapestry on America's front lawn. And since it comes in a presidential election year - unlike the original - this march will be charged by the politics of the moment, poised to channel resistance to President Trump's record of race baiting into a massive get-out-the-vote effort. Still, this will be no easy test of the relevance of a 57-year-old organizing tactic. The 1963 march pioneered the now-familiar ritual of elevating all manner of causes - from peace and women's rights to calls for an end to abortion - by massing supporters on the Mall within sight of the U.S. Capitol and the White House. Sharpton, 65, perhaps shows his age by resorting to it almost by default. With the recent flourishing of another style of protest - autonomous, local demonstrations exploding in real time on the streets and social media with no central planning - will young Black Lives Matter demonstrators turn out for what they might consider their grandfathers' march on Washington? And is a massive march on the Mall even possible in the time of covid? Within a day of Sharpton's announcement, Washington hotels began to sell out for that weekend. A half-dozen of the nation's leading civil rights organizations quickly joined as co-sponsors. Sharpton said he was overwhelmed with people promising to march. "I'm sure all of them thought it was a well-laid-out plan already," he told me. "But if you know the '60s, that's how they did. I mean, it has always been a leap of faith." - - - A. Philip Randolph called for that earlier leap of faith in the spring of 1963. At first, the civil rights leader and founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters could get only a couple of civil rights organizations to sign on to a march - notably the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, headed by future congressman John Lewis. Marching on Washington was a novel and seemingly militant tactic, and it appealed to the young activists of SNCC. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., then 34, was initially too engrossed in the desegregation campaign in Birmingham, Ala., to focus on Randolph's idea. That changed after Eugene "Bull" Connor, Birmingham's public safety commissioner, deployed police dogs and fire hoses against peaceful protesters and children. A shocked nation riveted its attention on the civil rights struggle. King saw an opportunity for the movement to capitalize on the spotlight. "We are on the threshold of a significant breakthrough, and the greatest weapon is mass demonstration," King said in a June 1, 1963, conversation wiretapped by the FBI, according to Drew D. Hansen's "The Dream," a history of King's famous speech. President John F. Kennedy invited the organizers to the White House and asked them to call off the march. Flooding the nation's capital with demonstrators could harden opposition to a major civil rights bill the administration had just sent to Congress, Kennedy argued - the bill that would become the 1964 Civil Rights Act. "It may seem ill-timed," King said to the president. "Frankly, I have never engaged in any direct-action movement which did not seem ill-timed." The date was set. Now the organizers had to pull it off. Headquarters was a four-story building in Harlem under the command of the movement's logistics maestro, Bayard Rustin. Young volunteers and low-paid staffers labored over details from arranging buses and trains to printing signs and recruiting volunteers. In the end, an estimated 250,000 people marched from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. King's words as the final speaker - "I have a dream today!" - are now inscribed on the nation's soul. The march is credited with adding popular momentum for passage of landmark civil rights legislation over the next few years. "For the very first time, America saw the movement in one time, in one place, and for the very first time the people in the movement spoke for themselves," Charles Euchner, author of "Nobody Turn Me Around: A People's History of the 1963 March on Washington," told me. "The impact of '63 was re-centering and re-proclaiming kind of like a new Declaration of Independence." As a new tide of marchers sets out in King's footsteps, Euchner continued, "The challenge now is, in many ways, very similar to the challenge that King and his group had, which is to re-center the conversation and say ... 'This is about all of us. You might think that we're just advocating for a guy who got killed when a cop kneed him in the neck, but actually it affects everybody." I asked Euchner what impact the 2020 march could have, capitalizing on today's high quotients of outrage, activism, pandemic anxiety and pre-election mobilization. "This could be a New Deal moment," he said. "It could be a Civil Rights Act of '64 moment." At the very least, the gathering will make history as the first national march organized from self-isolation via Zoom. When Sharpton announced the march on June 4, cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, had yet to spike in the Sun Belt, and many states were flattening their virus curves. But by early July, the pandemic was resurging in parts of the country. Sharpton held weekly video chats with King and the march's co-sponsors: Sharpton's National Action Network, the NAACP, the National Urban League, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation and several labor unions. Organizers needed to work out the message and mechanics of a demonstration that could be staged in two universes: physical and digital. The complexities became apparent during a Zoom meeting of a dozen staffers in mid-July that I attended. The march needed to be promoted on social media, but how to mobilize people for an event whose exact nature was still unknown? "If and when there's a decision to retreat from the live event and go all virtual ... what do we do?" asked a representative of the National Urban League. "That's an important question," said Ebonie Riley, the head of the National Action Network's Washington office and the march's closest Bayard Rustin equivalent. Her suite of offices near the White House, where she oversees a staff of four, is a slimmed-down version of Rustin's Harlem logistics hub. She'd had a call with the National Park Service that morning, she said: "We're moving forward with in-person. Nothing has been decided to scale it back." For the first time since 1963, a civil rights march has the potential to come close to the original in leaving a lasting impact. For the planners, the surreal circumstances underscored how historic the undertaking was. "It feels urgent because of what we've been seeing in the last couple months," Riley told me. "We call it a double pandemic. You have the uptick of health disparities in our community mixed in with police misconduct and racism or discrimination." Through one socially distanced brainstorm after another, the march - now being called the Commitment March: Get Your Knee Off Our Necks - began to take shape. The first line of marchers would be families of people killed by police, potentially including loved ones of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor (shot by police in her bed in Louisville, 2020), Eric Garner (placed in a fatal chokehold by an officer in New York, 2014), Michael Brown (shot by an officer in Ferguson, Mo., 2014), Botham Jean (shot in his Dallas apartment by an off-duty officer, 2018), Tamir Rice (shot by Cleveland police at age 12 while holding a toy gun, 2014), Josef Richardson (shot by a sheriff's deputy in West Baton Rouge Parish, La., 2019), Terence Crutcher (shot by an officer in Tulsa, 2016) and others. Also invited would be families of those killed by vigilantes, such as Trayvon Martin (shot at age 17 by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla., 2012) and Ahmaud Arbery (shot while jogging in Brunswick, Ga., 2020). Organizers envisioned the families forming a tragic tableau on the Mall that would capture the emotion of the day for the viral posterity of Instagram. If a physical march became impossible, how to choreograph the image virtually was yet to be decided. Iconic images of demonstrators tightly packed around the Reflecting Pool, as in 1963, could not be counted on. Virtual workarounds would have a hard time making up for the old-school visceral shiver of seeing - and being in - a thunderous tide of humanity channeled in a singular endeavor. Following a two-hour program at the Lincoln Memorial, at 1 p.m. the family members would lead the marchers to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial near the Tidal Basin. The lineup of speakers was in flux, though almost certainly it would include King's son, Sharpton, leaders of major civil rights groups, surprise celebrities and musical performers. Meanwhile, the NAACP oversaw the programming for a virtual march, for those reluctant to join a masked and socially distanced gathering. (A significant precedent took place on June 20, when the Rev. William J. Barber II held an online Mass Poor People's Assembly & Moral March on Washington; his organization claimed more than 2.5 million people watched on Facebook.) The 2020 Virtual March on Washington will accompany the physical Get Your Knee Off Our Necks march and include eight hours of programming, offered to television networks and presented on social media platforms. And so, what started as a recapitulation of the historic march that had provided the template for hundreds of crusades was turning into a reimagining of the very nature and possibilities of marching on Washington. Sharpton kept track of things through conference calls with organizers. Late one afternoon in mid-July, he wanted to know: "How many spots are in Parking Lot U?" Organizing a march means mastering countless arcane details, such as the number of buses that can fit in a parking lot of RFK Stadium, five miles east of the Lincoln Memorial. "It's 100 spots," reported the Rev. De-Ves Toon, field coordinator of the action network. Toon also was securing hundreds more bus parking spaces at Union Station, near the Lincoln Memorial and elsewhere. Sharpton continued quizzing Toon. How much would the live programming cost? The production management company was charging $84,000, said Toon. "That's just for managing it. That's not for one jumbotron, that's not the actual layout of the staging area, that's not the tents, none of that?" said Sharpton. Correct, Toon said. - - - How many people have registered to take part in the march? asked Sharpton. Exactly 40,002, Toon answered. Sharpton thought that was pretty good six weeks out. The permit application filed with the Park Service anticipated 100,000 marchers, but that was a placeholder estimate. He assumed tens of thousands of people would show up, covid or no covid, and the organizers had to make the demonstration as safe as possible. The action network would order 50 percent more buses than ordinarily needed so riders could space out in them. March marshals would require social distancing. Any marcher without a mask would be given one. A phrase was crafted for social media: "No mask, no march." "We just received this afternoon the invoice for 100,000 PPE masks," Toon reported, using the abbreviation for personal protective equipment. "That's $34,000." "Even if we got to do another 100,000 face masks, everybody that gets on a NAN bus," Sharpton said, "they got to have a mask on." By the end of July, organizers realized even those precautions might not be enough. They came up with an alternative plan: If certain states remained virus hot spots, march buses would no longer travel from there. Instead, solidarity rallies would take place outside choice targets in those states, such as the offices of GOP Republican Sens. Mitch McConnell (Kentucky), Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Marco Rubio (Florida) and John Cornyn (Texas), where giant screens would show the action in D.C. In addition, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has said marchers should abide by any quarantine regulations in effect for visitors on that day. No matter what, there would be a demonstration on the Mall, Sharpton vowed. "I don't care if we have [just] the families, Martin and me, and two people. ... Covid will dictate a lot of the crowd, but the message will be strong." By the time Martin Luther King Jr. finished his speech with the ringing invocation of the old spiritual - "Free at last, free at least, thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" - the crowd in 1963 was deliriously electrified by the determination and hope embodied in the address. Before the people dispersed, it fell to Bayard Rustin to recite the actual demands of the march. They were more prosaic than King's inspiring vision, but just as essential to the day's impact: passage of civil rights legislation, decent housing, fair employment, equal education, voting rights. Some of the demands were met in laws passed over the next five years, while some remain unfulfilled to this day. No one can say if an oration on par with King's will emerge this August, but the 2020 march organizers know they must not just touch the hearts being turned by the torturous death of George Floyd. They must transform emotion into a political program. The central demands will be for the Senate to pass a voting rights bill named after John Lewis and a police reform law named after George Floyd. The voting rights measure, passed by the House in December, would restore elements of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that Lewis had championed but that the Supreme Court weakened. The police bill would prohibit chokeholds, create a database to track police misconduct nationwide and make it easier to hold officers accountable in civil and criminal court, among other provisions. Both measures have been stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate. March organizers blasted a narrower approach to police reform proposed by Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican senator, saying it's too weak. "This is the one time that Senator Scott could stand up and ... challenge his colleagues as a Black man," King told me. "This is the one time they would have to listen if he said ... 'We need to make sure law enforcement treats everybody right.' And that doesn't seem to be something he's willing to do." "We have the responsibility to bring some level of concrete change to this moment," Sharpton says. "Otherwise people will remember it as a summer of discontent that we did not turn into legislation and affect the election." Yet the march is not likely to promote the more controversial rallying cry of many demonstrators: "Defund the police." Organizers support some form of reallocating funds from law enforcement to community investment and social programs that would reduce the need for police encounters. But they are wary of letting the meaning of the march be reduced to a mantra that critics deliberately misinterpret as "abolishing" the police. Their caution echoes 1963. Architects of the original march steered away from extremes, too. The youngest speaker that day was John Lewis, then 23. On behalf of the more militant student activists, he had been prepared to denounce Kennedy's civil rights bill as "too little and too late." At the last minute, backstage at the Lincoln Memorial, he was pressured by the elder organizers to accept some politic edits of his speech: "It is true that we support the administration's civil rights bill," he said on the podium. "We support it with great reservation, however." If the concept of defunding the police is raised at all during the march - the exact policy language was still being worked on in the final weeks - it will be shrouded with similar nuance. "While 'defund the police' is an appealing term, it should not replace the fact that many of us, myself included, have been messaging around what we call holistic approaches to public safety for years," Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League, told me. "It just wasn't called 'defund the police.' ... There's broad consensus that the public safety function needs to be reimagined, and that there needs to be greater investments in affordable housing, community development, youth, investments in jobs, in schools, in after-school programs. In other words, take the slogan, put meat on it." The demands will begin with police misconduct. But since the pandemic has helped call into question more fundamental assumptions, organizers will pivot to broader themes of systemic racism and democracy in crisis. "We are literally witnessing the birth of our nation's 21st-century civil rights movement," says Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. "This moment presents an opportunity to confront some of the ugliest aspects of our nation's history." - - - Martin Luther King III was 5 years old in 1963; he did not attend the march with his father. Now, he says, an opportunity has arisen unlike any since then. "This is the time to demand everything, to make our society a better society once and for all," he told me. "Dad wanted to eradicate what he called the triple evils of poverty, racism and he used 'militarism.' I sort of change 'militarism' to 'violence.' ... We have an opportunity in a monumental way to begin reducing all of these areas." Turning activism into action on those fronts will require people to be counted, both in the census and at the ballot box. Organizers accuse Trump and his allies of attempting to discourage participation in the census and suppress the vote. So the march will feature stations to inform people about completing the census and registering to vote. Poll watchers will be recruited, and information on "election protection" measures will be circulated. "We have the responsibility to bring some level of concrete change to this moment," Sharpton told me. "Otherwise people will remember it as a summer of discontent that we did not turn into legislation and affect the election." I met Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, in Harlem at a National Action Network rally. It was July 18, the day after the sixth anniversary of her son's death from an officer's chokehold on Staten Island. Garner's case eerily prefigured the death of George Floyd and shows what has and has not changed in six years. Both killings were caught on video, with both men gasping "I can't breathe" in their final moments. Garner's death stirred passionate protests, but they were confined to several cities and no officer was charged. Floyd's death sparked a 50-state uprising and a march on Washington, and four officers are facing trial. Carr will be in the front line of the march, she said: "It will be a stronger movement because we have everybody involved now. ... We are going to be like a force coming to Washington." What if coming to Washington is no longer necessary, though? While the first march innovated a form of protest, assembling on the Mall isn't the only way to raise a national clamor in 2020. That's especially obvious in the current moment, when Black Lives Matter protesters in hundreds of cities have revolutionized national racial politics from their own backyards - and activists like Jessica Byrd are pursuing alternative forms of organizing. Byrd helps lead the Electoral Justice Project, an arm of the Movement for Black Lives, which is a national coalition of young activists and organizations formed in 2014 after protests in Ferguson, Mo., against police in the killing of Michael Brown. Before Sharpton announced the Aug. 28 march, Byrd and the EJP were planning a gathering for the same date: a Black National Convention to be held in Detroit. The pandemic forced a switch to a virtual convention, to be streamed on the group's site, blacknovember.org. The organizers anticipate up to 4 million Black voters participating via watch parties across the country. The convention will ratify an agenda on police reform, economic justice and other issues that it will demand the next president take up in the administration's first 100 days. Participants will be given activist "tool kits" to help them work on issues in their communities. The Movement for Black Lives stakes out more radical positions than the legacy civil rights groups organizing the march, questioning capitalism and challenging the purpose of police and prisons. It supports what it calls the Breathe Act, which, among other defunding measures, would disband federal drug and immigration enforcement agencies and gradually close federal prisons. The premise of the convention is that what is required to turn protest into power at this point is not another march, but a strategic marshaling of political and electoral pressure. "The truth is that we have two specifically distinctive audiences," Byrd says of the organizations behind the march and the new wave planning the convention. "Our favorite aunt's org and our favorite org may be different. But we absolutely believe that Black people engaged in their own political destiny in a political home is the right thing for everyone." National marches are attempts to seize moments of reckoning and make them live up to their promise of real and permanent change. For their part, march organizers are relieved that the convention is set to kick off in the hours after the march concludes. Marchers can watch the convention during the bus ride home. And Sharpton, sensitive to any appearance of a generational divide, has entrusted to younger people much of the planning of what he calls an "intergenerational" demonstration. The Washington logistics hub is managed by activists in their 20s and 30s. "I feel like, you know, they'll have homecoming, and in the evening, we'll have prom," Byrd says. "And I think that the whole weekend will be really kind of a blessed and exciting time of engagement." Cliff Albright, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund, which has voter empowerment projects in at least 15 states and is co-sponsoring the convention, is not so sure. "There's a recognition of, a respect for some of the tactics that we've used in the past like doing a march on Washington," Albright told me. "But also a recognition that that's not the only way for us to have a national movement, or the only way to culminate a national movement." Albright worries that a national march could drain resources from local struggles at a time when community activism is flourishing. He pointed out that notable policy wins since George Floyd's death have come from that work, with city councils banning chokeholds, declaring racism a public health emergency and reallocating some police funds. That's "more victories on Black Lives Matter-type policy than we had seen in the previous six years since Black Lives Matter started," he says. Important decisions about policing and voting are made at the state and local levels, he adds. "It's just a matter of what's the best way to raise these issues," Albright says. "Can we reimagine what a national movement looks like, absent a march on Washington?" Albright puts his finger on a distinctive characteristic of the new movement that I first noticed in the anti-corporate-globalization protests at the turn of the millennium. These nonviolent insurgencies draw strength from their diffuse leaderlessness and spontaneity. And yet, there's something irreplaceable about a national march. Even the anarchist anti-globalists reliably returned to Washington year after year to make their case in the streets around the World Bank. And the amazing regional activism of the new civil rights movement has its precedent in the all-but-forgotten burst of local demonstrations in the run-up to the 1963 march. In the six weeks following the death of George Floyd, there were about 5,700 anti-racism, anti-police-brutality protests across the country, according to the Crowd Counting Consortium, which has been tracking the demonstrations. In comparison, at a time when marching for racial justice was less customary and more dangerous, in the 10 weeks after the Birmingham campaign of April-May 1963, there were 758 demonstrations for civil rights in 186 cities, according to Hansen in "The Dream." The purpose of the 1963 march was to draw those isolated tributaries into one mighty river. A national march has a way of revealing the universal plea within the local grievance. This march, timed as it is to the politics of the moment, almost requires a presence in Washington. "This is also about a contrast with Trump and taking on Trump," says Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, a co-sponsor of the march. "Just like in '63, it was basically sending Kennedy a message that justice can't wait. Now it's sending Trump a message that you have betrayed the people." "The national march is not the only thing you do, but it's a major thing you do because you've got to address the national government," Sharpton told me. "Donald Trump is the adversarial mayor or chief that you can build a movement around. ... He's our Bull Connor." Aug. 28 is the anniversary of another important milestone in the struggle for civil rights. Sixty-five years ago on that date, 14-year-old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi. The open casket at his funeral showing his brutalized body shocked the public who saw the photos, drawing attention to violent racism. At the time, it was seen as an inflection point, when society could take a significant turn - a moment like today. But as the years passed and the injustices piled up, it became clear that not enough would change following Till's death, just as one police killing that was supposed to end all police killings was followed by another. Bodies kept filling caskets in the presence of Sharpton's eulogies; families kept searching for ways to redeem their grief. "We've been at these moments before, of potential inflection points and potential radical change on some of these issues," Albright, of the Black Voters Matter Fund, says wistfully. "Our history shows us that these moments can sometimes be fleeting." National marches are attempts to seize moments of reckoning and make them live up to their promise of real and permanent change. They are led by charismatic crusaders hoping to catapult a movement. - - - Nearly every Saturday morning, as he has for the past 29 years, Sharpton goes to the National Action Network's storefront House of Justice in Harlem, set between a corner grocery and a fried chicken place. Through his long evolution from street activist and provocateur to civil rights eminence, network television host and regular visitor to Barack Obama's White House, Sharpton's Saturday morning rallies in Harlem, along with his 15 hours a week talking on Black radio, are how he keeps in touch with his local activist roots. On a Saturday in the second week of July, Sharpton spent a couple of hours sermonizing and talking up the march to about 80 people, plus a radio and cable TV audience. Then he handed out bags of food to folks lined up outside. Afterward, Sharpton was in a pensive mood. It was the day following the deaths of John Lewis and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, another civil rights hero. Lewis had been the last surviving speaker from the 1963 march. "Now the generation that raised me is mostly gone," Sharpton said. "And we've got young people coming behind us with a lot of energy. We've got to show we can handle what we was raised for, that they didn't waste their time." He brimmed with confidence that the 2020 march would do his elders proud and make history. Yet, of course, he couldn't know. The proof would come after, perhaps long after, when history will show whether this inflection point turns out to be decisive, or one more step in a seemingly never-ending journey. Lagos State Govt Begins Massive Demolition Of Illegal Structures In Lekki The Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit (Taskforce) has said it would begin demolition of illegal structures in Lekki area of Lagos on Wednesday. Chairman of the Lagos State Task Force, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi disclosed that all illegal structures and shanties encroaching on Idera Land Scheme, Ibeju Lekki would be demolished on Wednesday, 19th of August, 2020 after the expiration of the 7 days Removal Order served by the agency. Egbeyemi disclosed further that the government had observed with dismay the massive encroachment by individuals, private estate developers and land speculators on lands using them to defraud innocent members of public into purchasing parcels of land within government acquisition areas across the State, particularly around Ibeju-Lekki corridor. He implored Lagosians who are interested in purchasing lands in the State, to first verify the land records at the State Land Registry or Surveyor Generals Office where millions of land documents are stored in the Electronic Data Management System (EDMS) consisting details of documented lands and properties in Lagos in order not to be swindled by land speculators. All illegal structures and buildings constructed on State land by person, companies or institutions without valid titles from the Government across the State would be removed, he added. The Chairman also warned miscreants, illegal mechanics, food vendors and owners of illegal shanties within Apapa Tin Can Island Park to vacate within seven days as the entire area is set to be redeveloped and given a new look in line with the T.H.E.M.E agenda of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led in transforming the State into a functional and efficient model Mega-City. My grandfather was arrested by the French in 1956. Or was it 57? He was at home for lunch one day, as he was every day at noon. My grandmother would have cooked couscous or chorba or khalota, the smell of semolina and cinnamon hanging in steamed air. A baguette would have sat at the centre of the table, with its soft belly and hard shell. It was the Algerian War of Independence, and my grandfather, aged 30, was a member of the Front de Liberation Nationale, the FLN, the political party fighting against French colonialism. Everyone was in those days. That is how the story goes at least. The police knocked on the door, and they took my grandfather away. Four months later, he came home with a head full of lice. Cest tout. He never wanted to talk about it, my dad says. My dad likes to talk about things, to pass down stories as if they were family heirlooms. There is the family dog, a German Shepherd mutt, shot by French paratroopers. The former student who warned my great-grandfather he was on the French hit list and that my great-grandfather could no longer be protected. The wife who did not know her husband was also in the FLN and, fearing he might rat her out, threatened him with a knife. What colour was the knife, I wonder? Was it serrated or dull? Was it used to chop onions when it was not clenched in a womans fist? Noras grandfather with his children including Noras father on the far right in Miliana, Algeria in the late 1950s [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] On the way to kindergarten every morning, my dad passed the bodies of people the French had killed the night before. They were lined up at a main intersection, half-naked and pierced with bullet holes. He recounts this information in the same tone he might use to describe a work meeting. I wasnt scared, he shrugs. He recalls a demonstration where people got shot, a far-off relative, he says, trailing off mid-yawn, That was part of it. These stories are interspersed with lighter ones of community and shared effort; a country fighting for its identity and autonomy. My dad was nine when Algeria achieved independence in 1962 after eight years of revolution, and he packages these stories like he is handing off supplies for a trip. Here, youll need this, he seems to imply, ensuring I have the historical knowledge to affirm my blood. My dad immigrated to the United States in 1975. An infant Algerian government sponsored his graduate-school studies, eager to create the independent country of its dreams. After 132 years of French colonisation, Algerians were largely uneducated; their schooling had been squelched along with their language and their civil rights. Since you could get a better education abroad, the idea was that my dad would become an engineer in Atlanta then return home to help build a visionary sovereign nation. He met my mom in 1976 and never moved back permanently. Beba Nouni One day my dad sends me a video from 1946. Or was it 47? Shots pan over downtown Algiers, the black-and-white film skipping with age. The film profiles my grandfathers professor, Monsieur ben Cheneb. We see him standing outside the school with his students, and my grandfather appears for half a second, shy and half-hidden behind a fellow classmate. His brow is furrowed, and he stares directly at the camera. In the years when cameras and film were not yet widely accessible, photographers snapped portraits of people passing in the street, then charged for the print. I have come across eight or 10 such portraits of my grandfather while digging through loose photos tossed in a forgotten drawer. In every one of them, he wears a crisp suit and walks with a long stride. His hair appears a light grey that I know to be red, long, coarse and curly. Sometimes he wears it uncovered, but many times he wears his fez. He stares directly at the camera, brow still furrowed but no longer hiding. I wonder about the man who liked his portrait taken. In those years he was known as Ahmed. As I knew him, he was Beba Nouni, short for hanouni, or sweetheart. Noras grandfather walking through downtown Algiers in the 1940s [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] Double vision From appearance, no stranger would ever guess my North African background. I look like a typical white American woman, with fair skin and auburn hair passed down from my grandfather dyed blonde. Algeria sits on the Mediterranean and is in large part defined by its history of cultural and genetic exchange. Most Algerians comprise a mix of indigenous Berber blood with the countrys various Arab, Roman and Ottoman conquerors. But when someone learns my identity, their reaction ranges from mild surprise to confusion to disbelief. I would never have guessed that, they say. Or, Where is that again? Did you say Albania? Or, So, you mean youre French? At some point, I found myself saying My dad is Algerian rather than Im half-Algerian, to avoid the questions and create distance from my own identity. No one can question my dads identity, but I look like an American and talk like an American. I benefit from all the privileges and safety of being a white American. My cousins get searched at airport security while I sail by without a second glance. Yet my familys history is rendered invisible, and my imposter syndrome braces for my worst fear that I am not really from there. That language and cultural mores weigh more than blood. Noras father and grandfather at the neighbourhood fruit stand in Algiers [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] In college, I minored in Arabic to feel more connected to my roots. Beba Nouni was an Arabic teacher, and so, on a trip to Algiers one summer, I requested his help. He sat with me at the kitchen table and patiently walked through conjugations. Ana atathakr. Anta tatathakr. Huwa yatathakr. I could tell he was proud I had learned to read the script, but I struggled to reconcile the Algerian dialect with my university-taught Modern Standard Arabic. When I spoke the phrases I had learned in class, my cousins laughed at their formality. Beba Nouni did not know English, so our conversations were limited. A mix of basic French, some Arabic, and gestures, nods and smiles. Having lost a shared language and culture through time and immigration, I could not help but see him in double vision, like looking through a pair of lenses in which one eye was nearsighted and one eye was far. Despite the linguistic ocean between us, he was my blood, and I felt as connected to him as two DNA strands, wrapped in a double helix. Nora as a child with her grandfather [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] A Jenga game When my grandfather was 91, my aunt taped a red arrow onto the floor so that he would know how to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. His mind had started to go. He would ask for his youngest daughter and, reminded that she now lived 4,000 miles away, he would ask for her again five minutes later. He regressed to childhood. He had nightmares and could not leave the house without my uncle or aunt accompanying him. A man losing his memories becomes a Jenga game. Little slices slide in and out. Occasionally, they topple in a tantrum of anxiety and confusion. Beba Nouni would get anxious at dusk and fear men might take him away or threaten his family. His children would calm him, take him for a drive, assure him it is ok, you are here, everything is fine. Ca va, Beba. The four months that Beba Nouni was imprisoned were not the defining feature of his life. He was a teacher, a father, and a respected man in his community. It happened, and he never spoke of it. He went on to have a calm, routine life, with lunch served every day at noon. When I speak to my sister about it, she says my dad stopped going to school in protest during those four months. I tell her I had never heard such a thing and she hesitates, responding, I thought hed said that. Noras grandfather in his back yard in Algiers [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] What materials might those four months contain? I suspect my curiosity has less to do with that specific window, and more to do with the remainder of my grandfathers 91 years. He never shared much about himself in a generation and culture that never shared much about themselves. Algerians are notoriously private. Sometime around the Bush years, my dad finally acquiesced to my moms political lawn signs and temporary bumper stickers around Election Day, mortified at any public display of opinion even if it was one he shared. He told me that, growing up, it was considered rude to ask for someones name, and that you just had to wait until you overheard it from someone else. The one exception was formal occasions, when it was acceptable to ask: Kif semak Allah? How did God name you? Even with his children, Beba could be an enigmatic presence, living by example rather than any prescribed set of rules. You learn your father is a straight shooter, so you know that lying and cheating is bad. He doesnt have to tell you that, my dad says, adding that those values were simpler to uphold back when families were large and lived nearby. Some of it is unfortunately lost because families are less tight-knit because families move away its just the way things go. Yetnahaw gaa Post-independence, Algeria was optimistic. The future was bright and unknown and all theirs. In the 1980s, that sentiment started to give way. By the 1990s, a civil war raged. Lately, Algeria has been in the midst of another political uprising, this one promising. Since February 2019 until March of this year, when the coronavirus pandemic hit, young people gathered in the streets downtown each Friday, demanding government reform and an end to corruption. Protesters chanted Yetnahaw gaa They all need to leave. President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down last April after 20 years in office, just two months after the protests began. Because these demonstrations were peaceful, they did not garner much coverage in the West. My dad had been encouraged by the peacefulness and determination of the protesters. He was hopeful. He emailed me Powerpoint presentations and interviews with academics explaining the intricacies of politics I have not experienced and do not fully understand. I feel as though I am studying for a class. I have watched his tempered optimism with second-hand excitement and asked about the one time he joined protests while visiting in the spring. He went to downtown Algiers with my cousins. At that time what struck me was the joy, the respect, the mix of people, he says. Now it is not joyful. There is a lot of anger of not being listened to, still peaceful, but more tense. He continued to send political cartoons and clever protest signs, but when I suggest a trip, he warns, We have to wait and see how it turns out. I ask him about his own protest in the four months when my grandfather was imprisoned. Had my sisters memory been correct? He responds in an email: My strike lasted only a couple of times, not as a protest but probably more to cope after seeing my father arrested. Yema set me straight. A couple of spankings put me back on the right path. She was afraid that she would lose control of her kids now that her husband was gone. At that time, she had no clue when he would be back or if he would be back at all. A traditional afternoon coffee break in Algiers [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] In the Algerian dialect, Yema means Mom so that is what, fittingly, my dad calls his mother. It is also what I, unfittingly, call my grandmother. A mistranslation that stuck. Yema, who raised four children and has spent her life caring for, and worrying about, other people. Yema, whose warmth is so palpable it radiates. Yema, who cooked Beba Nouni lunch and served it every day at noon. Yema, who, when my grandfather died, said: Il ny avait pas de meilleur homme. There was no better man. Yema is now in her 90s and has shrunk so much that when I stand next to her, at 5 foot 5 inches, I appear giant. When we go to the hammam, I am afraid she might slip on the hot, wet tile. Fais attention, Yema. The woman next to us asks: Cest ta mere? Thats your mother? She offers to find Yema a sturdier stool, in a gesture of tenderness. While Algerians can be private about their political opinions, they have an ease of interaction with strangers, as if everyone was an extended cousin. I savour these moments of intimacy like I savour biting into a date. Nora with her cousins and grandfather [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] Is she one of us? On a visit to Algiers in 2011 or 2012, we took a day trip to Miliana, our ancestral hometown in the mountains. It used to be known for its cherry trees, but years ago, an earthquake caused nearby springs to change routes and, without a water source, there now are not as many cherry trees as there once was. The land looks like southern California in a drought, a patchwork of tawny browns and emerald greens. My grandmother went to her sisters for coffee and cookies, and my dad and I went for a walk with Beba Nouni. When Algeria was first invaded by the French in the 19th century, Miliana served as a military stronghold for resistance leader Emir Abdelkader. Rather than allow the French to overtake it, the citizens evacuated and burned their own city down. The French, of course, eventually overtook the country, and Miliana is now built in a French colonial style. The main boulevard is wide and lined with plane trees. The downtown is small, but, on that morning, the market was bustling. My grandfather and dad each strolled in the crowd with their hands clasped behind their backs. As we walked, several men approached us, one after the other. Monsieur Belblidia! Vous vous souvenez de moi? Do you remember me? He looked confused but nodded and smiled politely. He did not remember that they were former students saying hello to their former Arabic teacher, wishing well to the family. I had my film camera with me and was taking photographs, hoping to document my history. I wondered about the men who stared back at me and what they thought of the American girl with Monsieur Belblidia. I often wondered and still wonder what my grandfather thought of me. I imagine he would be perplexed by my oversharing, by my writing, by my Americanness. I wonder what memories I have lost of my family, whether due to time or distance, like a Jenga game. Noras grandfather walking through downtown Algiers in the 1940s [Photo courtesy of Nora Belblidia] While I have inherited the Algerian value of offering condolences and taking death seriously, I have to text my dad to remember the exact phrasing of Allah yrahmou, may God give him rest. I have resisted the American penchant for an Irish exit, but I always forget if, when saying goodbye to Algerians, you say bkalakhir first and then besalama or if it is besalama and then bkalakhir. I can have a simple conversation saying kif halek, how are you, la bas la bas, Im fine. I know the up-and-down intonation, the ridge of mountains to match, but the small rituals of everyday interaction have somehow slipped through the cracks. In America, I am someone who values communication. I write and construct and dissect words in a language with which I can play, a language in which I feel like myself. In Algeria, I fall mute, terrified my stumbles will betray my losses. On my last trip to Algeria before my grandfathers death, my grandparents, dad and I drove to the tomb of Cleopatra Selene, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Tipaza built when Algeria was part of the Roman Empire. It was December, warm and sunny, and families were out. Children climbed over the stone ruins shaped like a half honeycomb, and my dad commented, That would never happen in America. My dad liked to get my grandparents out of the house to change up their routine, but Beba Nouni could never stay out for too long. He would get restless and scared and ask questions and want to leave. He was impatient. We had a coffee at the restaurant nearby, and before we left, I went to use the restroom. My grandfather turned around, eyes darting, asking where I had gone and when I would be back. At that point in his life, he could not always recall my name or that I was his granddaughter, but it made him nervous that I was not there. As I returned to them, my dad pointed at me and asked Beba Nouni, Shkoun hadhi? Hadhi taana? Who is she? Is she one of us? He nodded and smiled, and we got in the car to drive home. KATHMANDU : India and Nepal on Monday held the eighth round of Oversight Mechanism (OSM) meeting, in which the two sides discussed the progress made in India-assisted development projects in the last one year. The OSM was co-chaired by Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepal's Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi through video conferencing, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said in a statement. The meeting carried out a comprehensive review of bilateral economic and development cooperation projects since its seventh meeting held on July 8 last year, it added. Both sides deliberated on the issues and agreed to expedite their implementations. "The co-chairs noted the progress made in the development projects in the last one year, including reconstruction of 46,301 earthquake affected houses (out of 50,000 houses committed by India) in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, the operationalisation of Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline, the Integrated Check Post at Biratnagar and the High Impact Community Development Projects," the statement read. Nepal also noted with appreciation COVID-19-related assistance, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment to Nepal by India. "Both sides have agreed to hold the next meeting of the OSM on a mutually convenient date to review the progress made in the implementation of the government of India assisted economic and development cooperation projects in Nepal," the statement said. The meeting mechanism, set up in 2016, to monitor the progress of various India-assisted projects, was attended by representatives of various ministries, departments and agencies of Government of Nepal, Officers of the Embassy of India, consultants and contractors engaged in the implementation of the projects. This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics In the grips of a rare summer weather pattern marked by insufferable heat and violent thunderstorms, Northern California has seen dozens of wildfires sparked by lightning strikes in the last day. In the last 24 hours, nearly 1,600 lighting strikes and 76 wildfires have been reported and all the conflagrations are presumed to have been started by these strikes, according to Cal Fire Spokesperson Robert Foxworthy. "This is as of 10 o' clock this morning," said Foxworthy. "I would 100% expect those number to change and increase over the day. The tracking is difficult because there are so many wildfires happening right now." Foxworthy said the region hasn't seen a situation like this since 2008 when rare thunderstorms led to similar extreme fire conditions. UCLA climatologist Daniel Swain shared webcam images showing fire starts around Northern California Monday, and one image captured near Lake Berryessa showed four new fires in a "single camera shot." The weather is atypical for California, which sees little storm activity in summer, and is the result of tropical storm Fausto off the coast of Baja California that's funneling moisture and advecting instability into California. "I would say its an unusual occurrence to be in a prolonged heat wave like this and then throw in the lightning with it," said Foxworthy. Dry lightning was in the forecast Sunday, but the thunderstorms were more severe and wet than expected and, at the end of a week marked by dry heat, the weather was a surprise for many. A second round of thunderstorms hit Monday morning and the threat of storms remains into the afternoon. "We think there will be more thunderstorms firing up this morning, particularly around the North Bay and maybe in the San Francisco area," said Anna Schneider, a forecaster with the National Weather Service's Monterey office. "It should quiet down this afternoon." Dozens of the wildfires started in the last day, from Santa Cruz County to the northern edge of the state, were less than an acre and put out quickly, but others have grown to hundreds of acres. The Canyon Zone Fire consists of a series of four blazes tearing through the Del Puerto Canyon in Stanislaus County and has grown to 1,851 acres. The Jones Fire along the steep slopes of the South Yuba River canyon in Nevada County triggered evacuations Monday morning as officials ordered residents in the area of Jones Bar Road north of Woolman to leave their homes. A group of four vegetation fires on the northeast slope of Mount Diablo in Contra Costa County had grown to 1,160 acres and was 0% contained Monday morning, officials said. On Sunday the Deer Creek Zone Fire was about 400 acres, and overnight it nearly tripled in size. Mandatory evacuations are in place. The Marsh Fire near the Sunol Regional Wilderness and the Calaveras Reservoir has burned more than 1,700 acres and still had zero containment Monday morning, according to Cal Fire. Burning north of Lake Tahoe and west of Reno, Nev., the Loyalton Fire has incinerated 31 square miles in less than two days and exhibited "extremely dangerous fire behavior" Saturday evening, officials said. The fire was 5% contained as of Sunday morning. Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com. Nishikant Kamat was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past two years, said AIG Hospitals in a statement Director-actor Nishikant Kamat passed away on Monday, 17 August, in Hyderabads AIG Hospital, after a battle with liver cirrhosis. He was 50. In a statement, AIG Hospital said that Kamat was admitted to AIG Hospitals on 31 July 2020 with complaints of fever and excessive fatigue. It was diagnosed that he was suffering from liver cirrhosis for the past two years. Read the statement here Press Statement from AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad. Rest in peace #NishikantKamat pic.twitter.com/D8CRex020a Vamsi Kaka (@vamsikaka) August 17, 2020 Ajay Devgn, Sharad Kelkar, Randeep Hooda, among others also tweeted their condolences. "I will miss you my friend Nishikant Kamat. Rest in peace," wrote actor Riteish Deshmukh, who starred in Mr Kamat's film Lai Bhaari. I will miss you my friend. #NishikantKamat Rest In Peace. pic.twitter.com/cqEeLbKJPM Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) August 17, 2020 More than a director, you were a mentor and a friend to me. Rest in peace #NishikantKamat sir. You will always be missed.#RIP pic.twitter.com/BYvykzCJF8 Sharad Kelkar (@SharadK7) August 17, 2020 My equation with Nishikant was not just about Drishyam, a film which he directed with Tabu and me. It was an association that I cherished. He was bright; ever-smiling. He has gone too soon. RIP Nishikant Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) August 17, 2020 Farewell Nishi!! You lived and died by what you decided you loved more than anything else .. Im sure you had no regrets about much .. thank you for all the movies, all the fun stories, warmth and smiles #NishikantKamat pic.twitter.com/b5RlUSeDBo Randeep Hooda (@RandeepHooda) August 17, 2020 Such a sad news of my friend and brilliant actor and filmmaker Nishikant Kamats untimely death. So so sad. pic.twitter.com/rWF8XKr4Rn Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) August 17, 2020 #NishikantKamat you were one of a kind.. I found a life coach in you.. I live by so much that we discussed and I live with knowing you were such an amazing soul and Im just so glad our paths crossed.. I will miss you dear Nishi .. R.i.p Genelia Deshmukh (@geneliad) August 17, 2020 Damn, this years cruelty doesnt end .. will miss your easy laughter & sharp cinematic brain. You had so many stories still to tell .. gone too soon #NishikantKamat rest in peace my friend Tisca Chopra (@tiscatime) August 17, 2020 Kamat made his directorial debut with Marathi movie Dombivali Fast (2005). The movie won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi. He also directed Deshmukh in blockbuster Marathi film Lai Bhari. Kamat made his first Bollywood film Mumbai Meri Jaan in 2008. He is also known for directing Bollywood films like the Ajay Devgn-Tabu starrer Drishyam, Irrfan Khan-starrer Madaari. He has also directed John Abraham-starrers Force and Rocky Handsome, among others. He was last seen in Vikramaditya Motwane's Bhavesh Joshi Superhero starring Harshvardhan Kapoor. The best local coverage, unlimited Sign up for a digital subscription to The Press of Atlantic City now and take advantage of a great offer. August 17, 2020 Over the years, the healthcare industry has seen an influx of technological advancement that has improved the service and care for patients and consumers. New York Citys, Josiane Peluso, has been the director of Medicare Sales and Marketing with a fortune 500 company for the past eight years, starting as a health education specialist and progressively moving into marketing. Through her experiences, she has seen what networking has done for her own career growth. Working at one of the largest insurance providers in the state of New York, community outreach and education programs have been important for Pelusos team to reach out to the communities in need like lower income seniors. She shares how the healthcare insurance industry has been impacted by technology. Improvements with Health Records When it comes to tracking and storing data, having digital copies of health records has made it a simpler and more efficient task considering the old system involved information being printed and kept in storage boxes. Josiane Peluso has seen in the Medicare industry the safeguards that have to be considered to prevent health records from being lost or stolen by hackers. In 2015, 80 million customers and employees from Anthem (the second-largest health insurance company in the U.S.) had their names and addresses stolen although medical data wasnt breached. Being able to find a patients record has never been simpler and not as time consuming, which makes insurance claims a less tedious process. Electronic health records have also increased in the demand on insurance companies. The switch has also reduced the cost for patients by 3% according to a study from the University of Michigan. Technology and Healthcare Deficiencies The Association of American Medical Colleges reported that the U.S. faces a shortage of between 40,800 and 104,900 physicians by 2030. To help combat that, healthcare officials see technology as a vital component in providing quicker and more accurate diagnosis. While Josiane Peluso has seen a heavy reliance on these tools, she notes that they do not eliminate the risk of misdiagnosis or no diagnosis of an existing condition which has become a leading cause of loss in the healthcare insurance industry. Instead of spending more time with patients, physicians are trying to be more efficient, which does not always lead to enough quality examinations. While physicians used to physically examine patients and do in-person diagnostic testing, many of these appointments are now being done over the internet, a mobile app, or even a phone call. Telemedicine potentially opens up new liabilities for physicians, as they are not face to face with their patients and they may not ask the questions that are normally asked during an in-person consultation. Final Thoughts from Josiane Peluso As technology continues to become a larger part of everyday life, the healthcare insurance industry continues to find ways to make sure it stays on top of the latest developments. At this point in time, these advancements are more important than ever before. Virtual appointments and alternate methods are more popular now due to the current pandemic. Any doctors that were not already providing these types of services now must shift their methods in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and keep their patients, staff, and themselves safe. The current pandemic aside, these services will increase in popularity as the years go on, which has both positive and negative impacts on the healthcare industry overall, concludes Josiane Peluso. Thousands of protestors hit the roads across Assam on Monday, demanding the repeal of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the draft Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020. Assembled under the aegis of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AJYCP), the agitators warned of more intense protests in the future. The AJYCP supporters also demanded the release of Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti leader Akhil Gogoi, who is in jail and is being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged role in the violent anti-CAA protests that rocked the state last year. "We will not stop till the CAA and EIA are repealed. It is also unfortunate how this government has vindictively kept Akhil Gogoi inside jail just to derail the anti-CAA movement," AJYCP's Guwahati unit president Pradip Kalita said while taking part in a human chain in the Narengi area. In Dibrugarh city, hundreds of protestors were detained by police as they assembled to form a human chain, an official said. A protestor taking part in a human chain in front of the historic Nagaon College said: "We will not accept the CAA and EIA. We have been protesting against the CAA since 2016, but this government has not listened to us." In Morigaon town, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and a few tribal student groups joined AJYCP and formed a long human chain. "The Assam government has failed to protect the people of Assam. We cannot accept the diktat of Delhi. They have to repeal these two," a protestor said. Human chains were formed across many cities and towns in various districts, including Dhemaji, Darrang, Nalbari and Biswanath. The contentious CAA seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Parsis entering India on or before December 31, 2014 from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan after five years of residence here. On the other hand, the draft EIA Notification 2020 seeks to supersede and completely replace the EIA Notification 2006 along with several amendments made since then. The new draft intends to bring in controversial amendments such as post-facto grant of approval, exemption of several large industries from public hearings and reducing the time for public consultation to 40 days from 45 days. It also proposes to permit industries to submit just one compliance report a year rather than two along with increased validity of the environment clearances for mining and river valley projects. Mason Trinca/Special to The Chronicle Loma Prieta prides itself on being the largest producer of Pinotage in North America. In fact, its one of the only Pinotage producers in North America. A genetic crossing of Pinot Noir and Cinsault, Pinotage is often considered South Africas signature grape variety:Over 15,000 acres there are dedicated to the grape.California, by comparison, cultivates only 51 acres of Pinotage. That puts Loma Prieta owner Paul Kemp in a class of his own, bottling three versions of Pinotage from three different wine regions, plus a sparkling rendition. But Pinotage wasnt always Kemps main focus. He founded Loma Prieta in 2003 with Pinot in mind, and didnt turn to Pinotage until discovering it in a Lodi vineyard. It didnt take long before he was pulling out his estates Cabernet and Merlot vines. New York postal workers march The US Postal Service, claiming that it faces annual losses that will mount to $18.2 billion by 2015, has announced that it will go ahead with the elimination of up to 264 mail processing centers around the country, reducing the postal workforce by up to 155,000 jobs, on top of the 130,000 jobs that have been cut over the past three years. President Barack Obamas budget for the 2013 fiscal year calls for the destruction of tens of thousands of postal positions, as well as the elimination of Saturday mail delivery as early as January 2013. Other attacks on the immediate agenda are the end or the weakening of the overnight delivery guarantee for first class mail, and the closure of up to 3,700 post offices around the country, devastating many neighborhoods as well as small towns and rural areas where the poor and elderly are particularly dependent upon their local post office. The congressional attack on postal workers and the population as a whole is a bipartisan one. Leading the campaign is the right-wing Republican representative from California, Darrell Issa. Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has introduced legislation that will, among other things, create a new oversight board for the postal service with the power to override union contracts and managerial decisions. Meanwhile, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has secured the signatures of 26 other Senate Democrats who object to the drastic cuts and propose various other measures and less draconian attacks. Sanders, who sometimes calls himself a socialist, in fact functions as a loyal member of the Democratic caucus and a supporter of the Obama administration. The Obama White House has itself announced its agreement with many of the cuts, including the elimination of Saturday mail delivery. Obamas proposed 2013 budget also calls for the restructuring of postal employee health benefits, which will translate into postal workers paying more for their health benefits and receiving less. The ongoing attacks on the postal service have their origin in the creation of the USPS itself 40 years ago. As a quasi-governmental agency under congressional control, the postal service has adopted the for-profit business model. Unlike other government agencies, it must balance its books and pay its own way without government subsidy. This business model was aimed from the outset at suppressing the militant postal workforce and also at the eventual privatization of the whole mail delivery system. An example of the ruthless congressional assault on this vital public service is the 2006 legislation that mandates the USPS to, over the next decade, prepay the health care benefits of current and future employees for the next 75 years. This is a mandate that no other private or public institution faces. So drastic are the implications of the end of the first-class mail guarantee that the USPS was forced earlier this month to announced a suspension of the consolidation efforts during the election mailing season to avoid any adverse effect on the November election. One out of five voters now casts ballots by mail, and delays in mail delivery could lead to confusion, chaos and even disqualification of many votes. The only response of the unions to the devastating attacks on postal jobs and services has been to organize toothless protests and ad campaigns, while solidifying their alliance with the Democratic representatives of big business. The AFL-CIO Executive Board, including representatives of the National Association of Letter Carriers and American Postal Workers Union, just voted unanimously to endorse Obamas bid for a second term. The union executives and the Democratic politicians are united in opposition to any struggle for the full funding and expansion of the postal service. A number of postal workers in the metropolitan New York area spoke to the WSWS about Obamas call for the elimination of Saturday delivery. Jason Robinson is a letter carrier with five years service at the Main Post Office in Flushing, Queens. He said, I am not for the elimination of Saturday mail service because eventually it will lead to layoffs and cutbacks. It will probably eliminate floaters and subs. A floater is someone who does my route on my day off. I work five days a week, and then the floater takes my route on the sixth day. With the elimination of Saturday delivery, then there would be no need for the floaters. All told I think this may eliminate 100,000 jobs. I thought the Democrats were supposed to help. They would make things easier and support the working class. This is not helpful. It is harmful. If you eliminate 17 percent of USPS service and lay off a lot of people, you are not helping the economy. They should find a way to encourage people to use first class mail. Give people a reason to use it. This means making sure the delivery service is better, not worse. This is like what is happening to the New York City transit system, the MTA. You cant cut the service, raise the prices and force the workers to do more work for less money. Michael Quinn Michael Quinn is a letter carrier from the Cambria Heights Post Office. I totally disagree with the elimination of Saturday service, he said. The main thing is a lot of people are going to lose their jobs. Think about what will happen to mail delivery after holidays. The holidays are celebrated on Mondays. Then there will be Saturday, Sunday and Monday with no mail delivery. Sometimes a carrier will be sick or call off after a holiday. Then we are going to have an open route where nobody delivers the mail on that route, and tons of mail piling up at the post office. These are the Democrats making this decision. We thought the Democrats were on our side. I would like a party of the working class for jobs and wage increases. The post office already makes us work for free for a half hour a day. They call it undertime. When you get a half hour overtime because you need it to do all the sorting and delivering, you just get paid for 8 hours or they will write you up because they have determined the job should only take 8 hours. They are also cutting letter carriers routes in the area. They havent gotten to our office yet. I have heard about carriers delivering mail in the dark, and that is no good. Clifford Flotte Clifford Flottee III, a technical letter carrier in Great Neck, Long Island, New York, one of the biggest post offices in the metro New York area, said: The money Congress is forcing the USPS to pay to fund 75 years of our health care and pensions up front, rather than pay as you go like every other entity in the country, is the reason for the shortfall at the post office. And what has the government done with this money? I think they used it to bail out the banks. This elimination of Saturday delivery will eliminate the floaters in the post office. I am a floater. That is what a technical letter carrier does. On the day off of the regular letter carriers, their routes become the job of floaters. Floaters have to go through a tour. Then based on seniority you will pick your route. The technical letter carrier is a carrier who holds down a number of routes in an office. There might be 10-12 technical carriers out of 100 carriers in my office. This is about the average ratio for a post office. There are also transitionals. There are no more casuals, but there are flexes who do this work as well. This is another ten people in our office. One of the reasons for this is that the post office hasnt made anyone a regular since 2004. These jobs are the number of job cuts immediately with the elimination of Saturday delivery. It could be almost as high as 25 percent of the letter carrier workforce in a post office. This would hurt the people who count on magazines on Saturday like Barrons Weekly or newspapers like the Wall Street Journal or anything else. Birthday cards and medicines couldnt get through, and when holidays fall on Monday, this is going to be horrible. I actually think they are holding back on Saturday mail deliveries as it is. In Great Neck and other stations, carriers have car contracts. It calls for you to use your car, and the post office will pay you for gas, wear and tear, and parcel delivery. I think the parcel rate is 50 cents a parcel. However, we havent gotten paid for six months for our cars. This is about $800 to $900 that the post office owes us. I didnt get paid for a year. One time I didnt have the money to make my car payment. I work two jobs and 10 hours a day. One job is the post office, and the other job is working with the mentally handicapped. I have worked at the post office for 20 years. I wont vote for Obama. Why should you vote for someone who is cutting your throat? All the people in government in both parties are millionaires and billionaires, and that is who controls them. Yolanda Grant Yolanda Grant works as a clerk at the Morgan facility in Manhattan, with 28 years experience. They are trying to privatize the postal service and union bust us, she said. They are bringing in mail from Brooklyn to our station and we already have it in the building from the Bronx. Not the people, the workers from those facilities. The people left behind are excessed and their jobs abolished. It is more volume, more work for us. To handle it, they are drafting people who are on the overtime list. And they hire part-time employees, called PSEs, who are in the union but dont have the benefits. They want to get workers to take the voluntary package and get out so they can hire temps and not pay health benefits. The union used to be different. I remember when we used to join forces and rally with other locals but we dont do that anymore. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 08/17/2020 ADVERTISEMENT ELIZABETH AND ANDREI ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ANGELA AND MICHAEL ADVERTISEMENT LARISSA ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT TANIA AND SYNGIN ADVERTISEMENT COLT AND JESS ADVERTISEMENT KALANI AND ASUELU ADVERTISEMENT PAUL AND KARINE ADVERTISEMENT Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade. : Happily Ever After? featured Colt Johnson and Jess Caroline reconciling after their huge fight, Andrei Castravet apologizing to Elizabeth Potthast 's family for lashing out at them, and Larissa Dos Santos Lima getting back together with Eric Nichols and finding herself free of Colt and her domestic-violence court case during Sunday night's Season 5 episode on TLC.: Happily Ever After?'s fifth season also features Tania Maduro Angela Deem and Michael Ilesanmi Happily Ever After? documents couples -- engaged, married or divorced -- navigating life, hardships, family, children and unexpected obstacles.The new season has already featured cultural differences, in-law arguments, scandals, confrontations and tears, and there is much more to come.Below is the latest on each couple or cast members, according to the tenth episode of : Happily Ever After?'s fifth season.The morning after Andrei's fight with her family, Elizabeth was still upset and taken aback by how her husband had behaved and the angry look he had in his eye at the restaurant.Elizabeth said her father Chuck and brother Charlie were still disappointed that morning and so Andrei needed to apologize to her family for essentially verbally attacking them and telling them to pack their bags and return to America."I'm sorry, Lib," Andrei said while the pair walked through a park.Elizabeth didn't think Andrei's apology was enough or even sincere, but Andrei admitted he had overreacted and his wife should believe him when he says he's sorry.Elizabeth explained speaking to one's parents the way he did was completely disrespectful and he would have flipped out if she ever talked to his parents that way."I get your point, Lib. That was too much, so that was my mistake," Andrei said. "But Chuck and Charlie just push my buttons."Andrei told the cameras he had crossed a line with Chuck and said mean things that he shouldn't have, but he apparently felt no regrets about Charlie since Charlie had allegedly suggested Andrei just moved to America for a Green Card.Andrei didn't like being accused of being a fraud, but Elizabeth said she wasn't even sure she wanted her mother and sister to come to Moldova because Andrei might get up in her face and cuss at her.Elizabeth told Andrei that until he fixed things with her family and things went back to normal, she wasn't going to have a second wedding.Andrei asked Elizabeth to reach out to her loved ones and he'd apologize, but Elizabeth couldn't believe Andrei wanted her to initiate the resolution instead of him calling up her loved ones himself.Andrei explained he didn't want to heighten tension or escalate the situation, and so Elizabeth agreed to get the ball rolling on resolving the conflict.That night, Elizabeth went over to her family's AirBnB to try to make sense of things and excuse her husband's behavior. Chuck told the cameras Andrei had disrespected him."Maybe this is who he really is, and I don't like it," Chuck told the cameras, adding that there was a chance Andrei just acted differently in his native country.Elizabeth, however, told Charlie that "it takes two to tango" and Charlie had also cussed at the dinner. But Chuck said Charlie wasn't going to back down when Andrei got all up in his face.Charlie observed that Andrei had tried to control his friends and prevent them from talking about his past, and Chuck told Elizabeth that Andrei's friends had "his back" and wouldn't answer questions, which suggested Andrei was lying to them about his past.Elizabeth noticed Andrei was "on edge" ever since they arrived in Moldova and reasoned that something must have been annoying her husband."If that is the real him, then there is going to be a big problem going forward -- unless we get a sincere apology, with some explanation. I am not staying for this wedding. I am not walking down the aisle or paying for a single thing... and we're leaving," Chuck told his daughter.Elizabeth said she had never received a sincere apology from Andrei and so she wasn't sure he'd be able to deliver with her brother and figure."He needs to make things right with my family or else we won't go through with a second wedding because it doesn't make any sense," Elizabeth said."I'll call his bluff. He told me to pack my things and get out of here, and I will," Chuck said in a confessional.Andrei later met with Chuck and Charlie and intended to apologize in order to make his wedding happen. Andrei explained "the alcohol happened" and he had "f-cked up" at the dinner.Chuck told Andrei that Elizabeth shouldn't have had to ask him to apologize and smooth things over, but Andrei admitted he felt embarrassed and wanted to make things better. He said, "I'm sorry," and asked Chuck and Charlie to stay in Moldova.Chuck worried Andrei was just trying to fix the situation so he'd follow through with paying for the wedding, but Andrei insisted, "We are not discussing finances; we are discussing feelings."Andrei told Charlie that they were equally at fault for the fight, and Chuck said he was disappointed Andrei was refusing to take full responsibility for the altercation. Chuck just wasn't convinced Andrei's apology was sincere, but Elizabeth's relatives decided to stay and give him one more chance.Andrei begged Chuck and Charlie to forget about the fight because it was "bullsh-t," and Chuck agreed to take things day to day.Andrei told the cameras he wanted to keep things civil and try his best to get along with Elizabeth's family.Michael and Angela were shown going to a marriage registry because the law in Nigeria requires a couple to attend counseling before getting married to ensure they're compatible.Michael revealed during the counseling session he had met Angela online and was drawn to her profile, and Angela explained she had divorced her first husband after three years because she was very young, age 17.Angela said she didn't receive love from her first husband and tolerated a lot while Michael gave her love and compassion she had never experienced before. Angela said she wasn't about to settle for anything less than true love at this point in her life.The female marriage counselor told Angela that a traditional marriage allows the man to have more than one wife under law, but Angela replied, "We're not doing that." She then explained the second type, an Islamic marriage, would allow Michael to have two, three or even four wives."No, we're not doing that," Angela noted.The third option was "statute three law" in which there is only one man and one woman in the marriage, and that's the marriage Angela wanted. Angela was also pleased to learn Michael would not be allowed "side chicks" under the third type of marriage.Angela, however, was told she must satisfy Michael sexually and always have food ready for him when he returns home. The female counselor told Angela to always have the bed "laid ready" and be prepared for "total submission."Angela smiled and nodded her head, but she told the cameras she would never behave that way.Angela told the counselors she's respectfully "not a Nigerian woman" and wouldn't put Michael above her. With that being said, the counselors predicted Angela and Michael's marriage would fail.Angela said in a confessional she would not change her ideals and independence for a man and Michael would have to accept that or else she wouldn't want to marry him.Later on, Michael and Angela met up with Michael's aunt Lydia to talk about the wedding. Angela told Lydia that her mother approved of the wedding and her family was happy about the union but she'd never be submissive to her husband.Angela said, "Thank God we're living in America," but Michael told his wife that he wanted to embrace his Nigerian culture in their everyday lives in the United States, such as Angela putting food on the table.Michael anticipated Angela being submissive, but she insisted, "I am not bowing down to you or any living man." Angela was frustrated because she didn't know whether Michael was lying to her or to his family about wanting a submissive wife.Angela told Lydia that everyone needed to respect her culture as much as she was trying to respect their culture. Michael wanted Angela to calm down, but Angela yelled at her fiance for raising his voice to her in front of his aunt.Michael was upset a member of his family was seeing this outspoken and bossy side of Angela, saying that his family could make things very difficult for his bride if they didn't like her.Angela accused Michael of trying to please her as well as his family and living two different lives. With that being said, Michael promised things would be 50/50 in his relationship -- and Lydia said she wasn't sure Angela's marriage would last with her attitude."I'm done talking. It's been fun," Angela said, before walking away from Lydia.Lydia admitted to Michael that she was worried for him and didn't appreciate how Angela had treated her.Angela was so mad that she left the gathering alone and vented to the cameras, "F-ck this sh-t!"Larissa woke up after a big fight with Eric Nichols in his house. She wanted him to realize that he had disrespected, offended and hurt her by talking badly about her behind her back to another woman he barely knew while they were broken up.Larissa said Eric, however, was angry at Larissa for reaching out to women in his past."I don't know if this will be the end of Larissa and Eric... I'm really disappointed with Eric's behavior. But at the same time, I know he is immature -- and I am immature too," Larissa explained in a confessional.Eric promised Larissa the women in his past meant "nothing" to him, and he apologized for what he had said about her while they were apart. But Eric added Larissa went looking for trouble and never should have done that, so Larissa apologized as well.Larissa said she should have forgiven Eric for everything when they agreed to get back together."And I'm sorry for the things that I said," Eric told Larissa, referencing how he had allegedly criticized her sexual performance and more.Larissa acknowledged Eric never really apologized to her before and so they were definitely taking baby steps in their relationship. With that being said, Eric asked Larissa not to move out of his house, and Larissa agreed to stay together and continue living with each other.Eric told the cameras Larissa is "a rare breed" and he never felt this way about another woman before. Eric said he wanted to make things work with Larissa because she's special and good-hearted, and Larissa believed Eric has a good heart as well.Larissa also asked Eric never to call the police on her, and Eric assured her, "The police will not be coming here.""They should come because you steal my heart," Larissa joked.Larissa's last court date was quickly approaching, so she hoped Eric would stay true to his word and not ever call the authorities on her. The pair made up, kissed and exchanged professions of love.Later on, Larissa called her attorney, Adam Heyden, who went to Larissa's court hearing alone for her third domestic violence case. Larissa said she and Eric were doing great and she worried what would happen to them if she was forced to go back to Brazil.When Larissa met with Adam, Adam said Larissa had completed the terms of her plea deal, including community service, and the prosecutor confirmed Larissa had stayed out of trouble.Larissa's domestic violence charge was therefore brought down to disorderly conduct and her case was done. Larissa no longer had any attachment to her case with Colt."Colt shoot me three times, but I dodged the bullet and I am very happy," Larissa gushed in a confessional. "So maybe I can finally start to live my life again."However, Adam advised Larissa to stay out of toxic relationships because he could only do so much and if Larissa got into another explosive fight with a man, she could still be deported. Adam told Larissa that immigration would only take so much of repeated behavior.Syngin met up with the roommates, Andrew and James, he had while living in South Africa, and he said Tania wasn't too happy with his drinking habits -- but he'd probably smash drinks with his boys until the sun came up.The guys made fun of Syngin's weight gain, and Syngin admitted fried food in the United States is great.The three guys then celebrated Syngin's return with beers, shots and more. There was cheering, banging on the table, chugging and yelling.Tania apparently lived with them for two months while Syngin was still in South Africa, and Syngin apologized to his friends for introducing a woman into their living environment when the guys clearly felt she didn't belong.James joked he was like a boyfriend with no rewards, and Andrew explained he didn't like a woman dictating how he should live. Tania staying with them was clearly a tough adjustment.But Syngin pointed out, "Good sex can make you feel in love."The guys asked what it's like to be married to Tania, and Syngin admitted he wasn't sure he was ready for such a big commitment. Syngin said he had to get married in order to stay in the United States with Tania but he had been asking himself whether he should've waited longer before tying the knot.Syngin said he and Tania argued a lot and he "could be happier" in or out of the relationship."I'm having a lot of fun right now -- so much f-cking fun I might never go home. I love this f-cking country dude," Syngin told his friends.Syngin apparently had a lot of questions and wondered whether he should return to America. Syngin just didn't have all the answers and seemed to consider the possibility of leaving Tania.After Colt and Jess' huge fight, Colt said Jess pounded at his door around 2AM or 3AM and a man was with her, a security guard. Colt said Jess was screaming and yelling at him to the point where he had to leave her alone.Colt then approached Jess the next morning and asked why she had thrown her shoes at him. Jess said she was tired of Colt lying and he was out of control, but she insisted she never slept with her ex-boyfriend after their fight because she respected Colt.Jess said Colt always thought he was "right" but he wasn't right about lying. Colt told Jess that Vanessa was "just a friend" and if he wanted a relationship with Vanessa, he would be in one.Colt told Jess that he loved her and had asked her father for permission to marry her. Jess repeated how it wasn't okay to lie to her, and so Colt asked her what she wanted and whether they should break up.Colt had to return to America and so he needed to know where they stood. Colt reiterated how he wasn't hooking up with Vanessa, and Jess replied that was because her face, body and sex is better than what Vanessa could bring to the table.Colt told Jess that when she ran away from him the night before, he had a flashback of Larissa. Jess said she's normally in control of her emotions and talks things through, and Colt promised that he loved Jess.Jess, however, asked Colt to keep their relationship between them and not involve his mother Debbie all the time. Jess asked Colt to be "a man" and a "big boy," and he said he understood."After what happened last night, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to do with Jess," Colt shared in a confessional."But I still care about her and I still love her. When I look at her, I still see that nerdy little girl who loves cats, and I hope after everything, we can just say we're even and try to move on with our lives."Jess said she regretted how Colt's last night in Brazil went and she was ready to give him another chance.Debbie didn't know Colt and Jess had a huge fight and that Jess had thrown her high heels at him, and Colt said he planned to keep it that way. But Debbie was apparently upset Jess and Colt had reconciled after the way Jess had flipped out over Vanessa watching her cats, and she said Jess had "a lot of explaining to do."On the way to the airport, Debbie told Jess that her behavior was "not okay" and she had hurt Colt. But Jess said Colt had hurt her first since he had lied to her about talking to and being friends with Vanessa.Jess said she called Vanessa "a b-tch" because she was really angry, and Colt told Jess that she could meet Vanessa the next time she comes to Las Vegas. Jess, however, replied, "No."Colt pointed out Debbie was trying to "antagonize" Jess a little bit, but Colt said he wanted to leave Brazil on a good note with his girlfriend. At the airport, Colt kissed Jess goodbye and said he had a great time, except for last night.Debbie feared her son was going to propose, but Colt just said he looked forward to seeing Jess again and maybe she could visit Las Vegas soon. The couple kissed and hugged goodbye, and Colt told the cameras he wanted to work through their issues and stay together."I don't think Jess is the right girl for Colt. I think Jess needs to move on and Colt needs to move on," Debbie vented in a confessional.Asuelu said dinner with his family didn't go well because they were disappointed that he didn't bring more money for them. Asuelu told the cameras he didn't have money for his family because he had to support his children and wanted to be an American man.Asuelu said he no longer wanted to act like a Samoan man, and he went to see his family alone, without his wife.Asuelu gifted his mother, Lesina, and his sister things he had purchased for them, and then he explained how he wanted them to still love him even if he couldn't give them money.Asuelu's sister Tammy said she sent their parents money all the time, and Lesina said they weren't asking for Kalani's money -- just Asuelu's money. Tammy accused Asuelu of letting Kalani control him, and she was disappointed an American woman didn't have more money to share with Asuelu's relatives in Samoa.Tammy suggested Asuelu was "not even" with Kalani, and Asuelu decided to leave. Asuelu felt his mother would always have his back but his sister hated Kalani and he couldn't fix the situation."I love my family. I love my wife. And I think that I can't have both," Asuelu said.The next day, Kalani, Asuelu and the kids met Lesina at a goat farm for a day of fun, but Asuelu was still reeling from how his talk with his family had gone the night before. Asuelu was afraid to tell Kalani the truth because it would make his family look really bad.Asuelu hoped Lesina would act differently without his sisters around, and he just hoped for a peaceful gathering.When Lesina and Asuelu were alone, Lesina said she couldn't work anymore and was too old, but Asuelu said he needed to take care of his kids first and Oliver and Kennedy were his priority.Asuelu told his mother that if he didn't pay the bills, his family would sleep on the street. Asuelu tried to explain life in America was expensive and different.Asuelu broke down into tears, saying he couldn't support his kids if he sent money to Samoa."They will die. I don't want that to happen. I love my family," Asuelu cried to Lesina.Lesina said she still wanted Asuelu to send money to his parents in Samoa, and Kalani was shocked and called "this b-tch crazy." Kalani told Lesina that Asuelu couldn't give what he didn't have, but Lesina demanded respect."I think they must work harder and have money for me, because this is America... We have different minds. But I just want to remind you of the love and the way we grew up in Samoa, Lesina said, suggesting love is money.Karine apparently locked herself in a bathroom while Paul was expecting his mother Mary to come over. Paul said Karine was having "a lot of mood swings lately" and tended to lock herself into a room for like five or six hours.Paul said he did everything he could for Karine but was worried about her.Mary told Karine that she brought her rice and beans, but Karine just walked away angrily, and Paul said it was embarrassing. Karine, however, told Mary, "It's not you," when it came to what was bothering her.Karine didn't want to talk to Mary, and Paul said Karine was happy one minute and angry the next. Paul feared Karine wanted to return to Brazil, and Mary said she could understand how Karine was feeling and that she probably missed her mother.Mary told the cameras Karine didn't seem happy and Paul needed to find a job and "grow up" or else his wife was going to leave him. Paul then chased Karine down and found her at a picnic table."It's heartbreaking. I don't want my wife to feel like this... I just want to find out what I can do to make things better," Paul explained, before begging his wife to talk to him. "I am emotionally exhausted. It's one thing after the next, and it's really difficult."Mary told Paul that Karine was in a brand new country and there was a language barrier, so she wanted Paul to be patient and understanding. Mary hoped to see her son step up like a man and take care of his wife and baby.Paul acknowledged this was "the worst" he had ever seen Karine and he worried she'd just hop on a plane back to Brazil without him.Want more spoilers or couples updates? Click here to visit our homepage! Chron.com is following the latest headlines on the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the Houston area 4 p.m.: A new round of rental assistance is available for Houston-area renters and landlords alike amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonprofit BakerRipley is delving out millions of dollars put forth by the city of Houston and Harris County for those whose rented homes are affected by the economic downturn from the pandemic, according to the Houston Chronicle. Those in Houston can receive upwards of $2,100 for rental assistance, while those in the county are eligible for $1,200. The program also comes with protections for renters. Landlords who apply for assistance must pledge to not file any eviction notices to tenants who make at least partial payments and also must work out an interest-free payment plan for late fees. To apply, visit the BakerRipley website. 10 a.m.: The latest Houston, Texas numbers Texas recorded more than 10,300 total COVID-19 deaths as of Sunday -- around a one percent increase, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of state data. As of Sunday evening, the statewide total had risen from 547,561 to 555,770 cases total. Part of the large increase comes from more than 5,300 new cases in Dallas County, which were reported when a data error was corrected. The Houston region's case count had risen by 691 to 132,192 cases total, and the 23 new deaths reported brought the region's death count up to 2,410. Harris County reported 555 new cases and is now at 92,253 cases total. Several more free COVID-19 testing sites were announced throughout the Houston area. To see a full list, visit the city of Houston website. NOTE: The numbers included in this report represent a one-day change in data from Saturday, August 15 through Sunday, August 16. It is still unclear how many of the state's new cases can be attributed to jail inmates from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The Houston Chronicle's analysis of COVID-19 case data now includes probable and pending cases. This change is based on interviews with multiple public health officials and epidemiologists, as well as in line with CDC guidelines on reporting. DSHS is now using death certificate data for its counts of COVID deaths, leading some Texas counties to have dramatically higher counts than others and some counties to have higher numbers than state figures. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 17:43:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close -- One of the focuses of Pompeo's journey was to form a European alliance against China and Russia. -- Pompeo's anti-China rhetoric has found little support, while his attempt to divide Europe was met with criticism. -- Pompeo had repeatedly used democracy and freedom as pretexts to promote the United States' own interests, and thus divide Europe into an old and a new bloc. BERLIN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrapped up his four-stop trip to Central and Eastern Europe after leaving Poland this weekend, probably with some disappointment. During his stops in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Austria and Poland, Pompeo spared no efforts preaching his China-bashing cliches, attempting to build an alliance against Beijing on the pretext of democracy and freedom. However, his anti-China rhetoric has found little support, while his attempt to divide Europe was met with criticism. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (2nd L) and Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak (2nd R) sign the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in Warsaw, Poland, on Aug. 15, 2020. (Polish Ministry of Defence/Handout via Xinhua) ANTI-CHINA AGENDA FAILS One of the focuses of Pompeo's journey was to form a European alliance against China and Russia. He asked the four countries to shun Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications giant considered a threat by Washington as it takes a lead in the 5G network, as well as Russia's energy supply to Western Europe. During his journey, Pompeo repeatedly claimed that China and Russia are posing a threat to "the democratic world," saying that using technologies from China and Russia would pose a "danger" to the sovereignty of those countries. However, Pompeo's rhetoric found little resonance and even rejections. At a joint press conference with Pompeo in Prague on Wednesday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis called his country "a leader in Europe" on 5G and cybersecurity, saying that the Czech Republic is "a sovereign country and I do not see any major threat here." On relations with China, Babis said that the Czech Republic "seeks lines with the European Union and there's no fundamental problem here," despite Pompeo's botched attempt to sow discord. Babis told a Czech newspaper on Thursday that as a sovereign country, the Czech Republic treats countries equally. He also refused to rule out Huawei as a potential partner in 5G building despite Pompeo's push. A similar scene played out in Vienna, Pompeo's third stop. At a joint press conference with his U.S. counterpart, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said that "our approach is not to ban in general one competitor or one provider, but to establish a clear list of criteria to avoid high-risk providers." On the issue of 5G and cybersecurity, Austria shared similar stance as the Czech Republic. Schallenberg said that Vienna has adopted a common position within the EU, which is called the "EU toolbox." Pompeo probably won some support in Slovenia, the country currently led by a populist government, and both countries signed a declaration on 5G security on Thursday which will exclude Huawei; however, it drew widespread criticism from both political and media circles. "The signing of the political declaration on 5G security between Slovenian Foreign Minister (Anze) Logar and U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo does not follow Slovenia's interests," member of the European Parliament and member of the leadership of the Slovenian Social Democratic Party Milan Brglez said. The Slovenian local newspaper Vecer carried a commentary on Friday, saying that Pompeo found a willing audience among Slovenian officials for U.S. plans to edge out Chinese competition in 5G telecommunications and contain Russia's energy expansion. "We cannot get rid of the feeling that all that search for threats to human rights, secure communications, the rule of law and democracy is not about those values of Western civilization, but about who gets a bigger slice of the pie in this future business, and consequently controls the world," said the commentary. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Jansa attend a press conference in Bled, Slovenia, Aug. 13, 2020. (Photo by Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua) MALICIOUS PLAN TO DIVIDE EUROPE As the Slovenian newspaper said, it was about business interests. Besides Huawei, Pompeo had repeatedly used democracy and freedom as pretexts to promote the United States' own interests, and thus divide Europe into an old and a new bloc. The Russia-Germany Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project is definitely one of the key issues now between Europe and the United States, as Washington is worried that the project would strengthen Western Europe's energy dependence on Russia and thus expand Moscow's influence in Western Europe. Critics of the U.S. sanctions have speculated that Washington is using the measures to enhance the sale of its own liquefied natural gas to Europe. Pompeo raised the issue during his trip. In Vienna, Pompeo told reporters that he disagreed with Austria on the security threat posed by the project. Austria is one of the investors in the pipeline through the partly state-owned energy company OMV. In response, Pompeo's Austrian counterpart and host Schallenberg told reporters that Vienna deeply regrets the "extraterritorial sanctions" imposed by the United States against the project. Austria's position is almost the same as Germany's, as Berlin is the biggest beneficiary of the project and also the fiercest accuser of U.S. sanctions. "The federal government cannot be brought to its knees by the U.S. sanctions threats against the rightly controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline," wrote the Austrian newspaper Die Presse. "In addition, it does not want to exclude Chinese companies like Huawei from setting up the 5G mobile network, even if the U.S. would like to do so," the newspaper said. Pompeo also attempted to win a construction contract at the Czech Dukovany nuclear power plant for the American firm Westinghouse. However, the Czech Republic rejected his push to force a new memorandum. U.S.-Poland defense cooperation is another thorn between Washington and Berlin, as well as between Warsaw and Berlin. On Saturday, Pompeo and Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak signed the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). It consists of the opening of a base in Poland for the U.S. army, probably in 2021. The total number of American soldiers will increase by 1,000 to around 5,500. The strengthened U.S.-Poland defense cooperation came as Washington decided to withdraw around one third of its troops from Germany as a punishment for Berlin's incompliance with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO's) 2 percent of gross domestic product defense spending standard and Nord Stream 2. Germany depends on U.S. troops in security and economic terms and is angry about Washington's one-sided decision that did not involve consulting its allies. Meanwhile, as a new EU member, Poland is at odds with Germany and France due to Warsaw's judicial reforms. The closer ties between the United States and Poland have been considered by some observers as a U.S. strategy to weaken Europe. "I believe that the U.S. move for sending some of the U.S. troops evacuated from Germany to Poland runs counter to the EU's unified foreign and security policy, and its motives are very suspicious," Sylwester Szafarz, a Polish expert on international issues, told Xinhua. Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (L) meets with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Vienna, Austria, Aug. 14, 2020. (Dragan Tatic/BKA/Handout via Xinhua) "This will not help Poland consolidate its position within the European Union, but also it is suspected that the United States is trying to divide the European Union further by pushing for a possible Polexit after Brexit," the expert said. (Video reporters: Yang Xiaohong, Dana Kesnerova, Guo Chen, Wang Yu, Peng Lijun, Chen Xu, Zhao Yuchao, Han Chong; Video editor: Zhang Yichi) WASHINGTON -- The Army has been slowly integrating women into ground combat units since the Defense Department opened all military jobs to all troops in 2015. The initiative garnered a good deal of media attention for female "firsts" throughout the force. Now, five years later, women have expanded their footprint in combat arms and are taking command of units that have been exclusively male for centuries. Capt. Candice Bowen took command of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, last month. She is one of the first black women to take command of a rifle company in the National Guard and the first female infantry commander in Virginia. The company's history traces back to Confederate general Stonewall Jackson's brigade. "I think in general people have their own perceptions of what a female officer is going to be. It's 'Maybe women shouldn't be in combat arms,' but at the end of the day, a capable soldier is a capable soldier," Bowen said. "The Army is changing, it's evolving, it's growing, we're making sure we have the best people for the job. That's it. As long as the standards don't change, let the best person compete." Gender integration into combat arms kicked off in August 2015 when captains Kristen Griest and Shaye Haver became the first women to graduate Ranger School, one of the most grueling military courses in the world. A year later, Griest became the Army's first female infantry officer. Haver took command of a rifle company in the 82nd Airborne Division in 2018, and she has since been promoted to major. Capt. Shaye Haver takes command of Co C, 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry of the 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division in 2018. (82nd Airborne Division) "Possibly going into combat arms is a daunting thing to look at; it's a dirty, thankless job and you're required to do bad things to bad people and that is not for everyone. But sometimes you're too hard on yourself thinking you cannot do those things," Haver said in a panel discussion at West Point in 2018. "When I have conversations with other females about going into combat arms and if I hear anything other than they want to get after it, it's disappointing. If you're not going into the infantry because you truly want to lead men and women to close with and destroy the enemy, which is our job, then you don't need to do that." Leaders First Bowen, 31, commissioned as a military police officer in 2012. She deployed to Qatar with 3rd Battalion in 2016 and after her return, immediately went to Afghanistan with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, where she earned her combat action badge. She made the switch to infantry in 2019 after Virginia scaled-down military police forces. Capt. Candice Bowen, center, takes command at a ceremony of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. (Terra C. Gatti/Army National Guard) Her move to infantry was amid the Army's "Leaders First" effort , which started in 2016. The goal was to place female leaders in combat units ahead of junior enlisted women joining the ranks. Critics of the policy and even the Army have said the measure slowed down gender integration. All leaders start as newly recruited privates, but privates couldn't necessarily be assigned to a combat unit without a woman in a leadership role, meaning the military had to entice female officers and NCOs to switch jobs. Gender integration has been slowed by not having enough female infantry and armor leaders available, according to a statement from the Army in June. Promising female officers have been encouraged to switch from support to infantry, armor or cavalry. But the Army found that only a tiny fraction of female officers and NCOs were interested into joining the infantry or armor fields. The policy shifted to companies only being required to have female E5 of any military job to be in a unit before junior enlisted women can join the ranks. "I understand there are very few women in combat arms, but we need more people in combat arms period. [Women enlisting] is as big of an issue as people decide it is. We want the best soldiers for the job," Bowen said. Women are still a minority in the Army, and especially in combat arms. Women make up just 14% of the Army's enlisted and 19% of its officer corps, according to 2018 data from the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. foreign policy think tank. The Marine Corps has the fewest number of women, with 8% enlisted and 9% officers. "The Army as a whole is predominantly male; it's not new to be one of the only females in a group," said Capt. Amie Kemppainen, an Iraq War veteran. Kemppainen, 46, took command of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Infantry Regiment, in March. She is the first woman in the Michigan National Guard to command an infantry company. She joined the infantry after 25 years of service in support units. "I probably wasn't what people thought would be the ideal candidate. Physically, you've got to hold your own, male or female, and lead from the front," she said. Thrust into combat The decision to open combat arms came after nearly two decades of post-9/11 wars, where women were thrust into combat for the first time on a large scale due to the nature of the conflicts. The lines blurred between combat and support units, and the traditional front line was erased by an insurgency that could take the fight to American troops anywhere. In previous wars, men in combat arms units usually held the front. The breaking point for the Defense Department came in 2012 when a lawsuit was filed by Army Reservists, Command Sgt. Maj. Jane Baldwin and Col. Ellen Haring, accusing the government of violating the constitutional rights of women by excluding them from ground combat units solely due to gender, and arguing that the ban hinders careers. "This limitation on plaintiffs' careers restricts their current and future earnings, their potential for promotion and advancement, and their future retirement benefits," the women said in the suit filed in U.S. District Court. Women have been playing a major role in ground combat for years leading up with the lawsuit. However, until recently, women have had to stick to support roles. When the ban was lifted, women could enlist and commission into roles that are exclusively combat-focused, such as special forces, infantry and cavalry scouts. "To me it wasn't so much a real change, it was the policy catching up with reality. Women becoming actual infantrymen is a change," said Kayla Williams, an Iraq War veteran and senior fellow and director of the Military, Veterans and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security, a national security think tank. "It was driven by what has been happening already." Williams served as a linguist in the 101st Airborne during the invasion of Iraq. She said it is critical to have women to talk to and search female civilians on Middle East battlefields. "It was a combination that women were needed in these positions, women were excelling in combat, and there was recognition from the public that no one freaked out that women were dying in combat. ... We've had women killed in World War II, but the type of jobs they were doing were generally not happening on the scale they are now. ... In Vietnam there was a relatively small number of women as a percent, the majority of them were nurses. It was traumatic, some of them were killed." Now, there are 680 enlisted women in the active Army serving as infantry, tankers or cavalry scouts, and 260 officers. There are 55,000 enlisted men in the infantry and 7,000 officers. On the armor and cavalry side, there are 18,000 male enlisted and 3,000 officers, according to the most recent data from the Defense Department. The numbers are much smaller in the National Guard: There are 37 enlisted infantry women (28,524 men), 11 cavalry scouts (4,842 men), eight tankers (1,619 men), and none serving in mortars, where there are 2,950 men. The Guard has 26 female infantry officers (3,560 men) and 22 armor/cavalry officers (1,124 men), according to the National Guard Bureau. However, 2020 is the first year the National Guard saw female officers leave combat arms. Last year there were 33 female infantry officers and 27 in armor. But this year could be an outlier since the Guard saw its first wave of women commission into armor and infantry in late 2016, seven in each branch, the number roughly doubled. The Marine Corps is an entirely different story. There are no female infantry officers across the entire branch, but two have graduated from the Corps' infantry officer course. The Marine Corps has the smallest number of personnel in the military and the smallest number of female officers. Of the nearly 22,000 officers in the Marine Corps, as of May, only 1,877 are women, according to the Defense Department. Initial concerns Kemppainen said there was skepticism when she showed up to her infantry company as a platoon leader, restarting her career after initially enlisting in 1994. "The real goal was that the only real way to earn command was to start from the beginning," she said. Part of integrating is making it clear things in an infantry unit will operate as they always have, Kemppainen said. But the initial concerns on her arrival to what had been a male-only regiment for nearly 200 years were mostly skepticism that any new lieutenant would face. "The biggest reward for me was guys who were skeptical became my biggest allies and supporters," she said. "It was necessary to prove I can hack it physically. But that is also the same with men." There were a few logistical and cultural speedbumps, but Kemppainen said they were mostly a nonissue. "There were conversations of where a female sleeps, whether in the barracks or field. Those were some new conversations we had to have. What we did was try to approach it as business as usual and not make it a big deal," she said. "There was one time we were in the barracks, I was reading the Ranger Handbook and some of the guys were playing cards, cutting jokes, messing with each other. One of them said something, there was a pregnant pause and they waited for my reaction. I fired something back and it was then clear it was business as usual. ... as soon as they realized that was true and not lip service, we never had a problem." Capt. Emily Lilly also made the jump to combat arms from her original support role. Lilly is a North Carolina Guard armor officer with the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, which is deployed to the Middle East. She originally branched as an ordnance officer in 2013, but quickly switched to combat arms and was in the first group of women to graduate armor officer school in December 2016. She graduated Ranger School in 2018. "I wanted to do cool stuff. My grandfather was a cavalry officer," she said. "He commissioned in 1936. ... When WWII broke out, he trained as a tanker at Fort Knox and headed to North Africa and then Sicily as an armor company commander." Lilly, 41, said being in the first group of female officers to join armor and cavalry units led to a lot of media attention. She said there are "definitely some guys behind the times," but she was fortunate to have great leaders through her career who supported her. However, her trailblazing sparked a series of crude remarks online. "We definitely got our share of negative attention on social media," Lilly said. "I remember one comment on an article on 'the first 13 women armor officers' in which someone commented, 'more like the next 13 women in the Army to get pregnant.' "Four years later, many of us have been made captain, we've done combat deployments and completed tough schools, but none of us got pregnant." No segregation Second Lt. Colleen O'Callaghan serves in 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. She recently returned from a civil disturbance mission in the White House area. She is the Ohio National Guard's first female infantry platoon leader, but she said all her issues were related to men being almost uncomfortably respectful. "I think the biggest thing women run into is people trying to do the right thing, but they do the wrong thing," O'Callaghan said. "It's more of the [junior soldiers] being afraid of doing something that'll make me uncomfortable, I think they're afraid of bringing down a ... complaint." O'Callaghan, 27, said a routine occurrence is when someone is talking to a group of officers, giving the regular courtesy of addressing the group as "gentlemen," then quickly correcting themselves by adding "and ma'am." "I don't care if people call me a gentleman, or sir," she said. "It's not necessary to call out the one woman." O'Callaghan expressed some frustration of early efforts to segregate her from her troops in barracks, saying getting her own space during training was detrimental to her ability to lead. Where the Ohio Guard often trains, at Camp Atterbury, Ind., the barracks for soldiers offer no privacy, and gender-specific bathrooms and showers are virtually nonexistent. "I don't think there should be any segregations, if you're in a platoon you're in a platoon and should not be apart," she said. "I usually say I want to use the shower at a certain time and just make sure that's cleared. It isn't much of an issue." But some women are concerned that a sizable chunk of men are not ready for female leadership in combat, saying the masculine culture prevalent in the Army has vastly outdated views on women. "The biggest issue that I don't think I would have faced as a man is the negative reactions to decisiveness," said a junior Army support officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "As a female in the military, you're either a pushover or a bitch, there's no in-between. If I were a man, I'd be the fearless leader -- the alpha. As a woman, I'm cocky, I'm the bitch. I'm the one who is a stickler. Having a voice as a female in a male-dominated field is difficult enough, but once you find your voice, you still can't win." The junior Army officer recently saw another woman take command of an infantry company, and she said most of the male feedback was "pretty standard," saying some of the soldiers are "sexist for the sake of power dynamics ... needing the boys club to remain." "Most men are like 'as long as she met the same standards' but they fail to realize that comment in and of itself is dripping in sexism," she said. "They wouldn't ask that of an incoming male commander, they just assume he has." Advertisement The woman trying to bring down 'Europe's last dictator' is a 37-year-old English teacher described as an 'accidental Joan of Arc' who ran for the presidency of Belarus after her husband was arrested and barred from the ballot in May. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's unlikely rise to political stardom has posed the most serious challenge to strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko in his 26 years in power. After entering the race and moving her two children abroad for their own safety, she told supporters that 'I don't want power... I want to get my children and husband [back] and I want to keep frying my cutlets'. But Tikhanovskaya is now gearing up for a bitter power struggle after announcing today that she is willing to take over if Lukashenko is forced out in a wave of protests. Lukashenko said today that the election will not be re-run 'until you kill me' - but said he could hand over power after a referendum in the first sign of a concession to the protesters. Vladimir Putin has offered to send military help to Lukashenko under a pact between Russia and Belarus, while Donald Trump also weighed in today to say that the US was following the 'terrible' situation 'very closely'. A brutal crackdown by Lukashenko's regime has failed to stop the wave of strikes and demonstrations in Minsk which drew as many as 200,000 people on Sunday and continued today. Tsikhanovskaya has urged security and law enforcement officers to switch sides, saying they would be forgiven if they abandoned Lukashenko now. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya casts her vote in the Belarus presidential election last week, following an unlikely rise to political stardom after her husband was arrested and jailed Workers at a vehicle manufacturing plant in Minsk protest against the election results in Belarus today as public anger at Alexander Lukashenko's election victory entered a ninth day Protesters march near an automobile plant in Minsk today amid signs of unrest in the state-owned industries which are usually loyal supporters of President Lukashenko Tikhanovskaya poses for a selfie with a supporter during a campaign rally in Baranovichi, a week before the disputed presidential election in Belarus Svetlana ran for the presidency after her husband, 41-year-old blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky (pictured at a rally in May), was arrested and barred from the ballot European leaders are due to discuss the crisis this week while Britain today said the August 9 election was 'fraudulent' and expressed its 'horror' at the crackdown. Lukashenko claims to have won 80 per cent of the vote, but the opposition say the election was rigged. As the crisis escalates, workers have turned on Lukashenko at state-owned factories where he usually enjoys strong support, with the president shouted down as he tried to give a speech at a tractor works today. Lukashenko was confronted by workers at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT) who shouted him down with chants of 'Leave!' as he tried to give a speech, before a visibly angry president walked off the stage. 'We held elections already. Until you kill me, there will be no other elections,' he told workers at the tractor plant today. Offering to change the constitution, he said: 'We'll put the changes to a referendum, and I'll hand over my constitutional powers. But not under pressure or because of the street. 'Yes, I'm not a saint. You know my harsh side. I'm not eternal. But if you drag down the first president you'll drag down neighbouring countries and all the rest.' Demonstrators also gathered outside the Minsk headquarters of state television, where some staff were reported to have joined the strikes. Lithuania's foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said today that any Russian intervention would 'constitute an invasion', while Poland said it was monitoring the situation at its border with Belarus. Tikhanovskaya has egged on the protests from Lithuania, where she fled last week after claiming to have won the election. Born in 1982, Tikhanovskaya grew up in Mikashevichi, a small town south of Minsk in what was then the Soviet Union. As a youngster she spent several summers in the Republic of Ireland under a charity scheme to help children who lived near the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The explosion took place in northern Ukraine and the contamination spread into Belarus, affecting thousands of people. After the fall of Communism, Tikhanovskaya studied to become an English and German teacher in the historic city of Mozyr in the south of Belarus. While in Mozyr, she met her future husband Sergey who owned a nightclub in the city. After working as an English teacher and translator, she stepped back from her career to look after the couple's two young children, now aged five and 10. Henry Deane, one of the volunteers who looked after Svetlana in Ireland, said she had given up work to help her son who has severe hearing problems. 'She moved the family to Minsk so that he could have the implant operation he needed,' Mr Deane told the Guardian. 'She poured her life into looking after her son and daughter. She is a devoted mother.' A woman holds a sign saying 'Lukashenko resign' during a protest at the plant of heavy vehicles manufacturer MZKT today Employees of the Minsk Tractor Works join other workers on strike during a rally in Belarus's capital today as the opposition calls for a general strike in a challenge to Lukashenko's rule Employees of Minsk Tractor Works hold a poster reading 'Not sheep! Not cattle! Not the little people! We are the workers of Minsk Tractor Works! We are not 20, we are 16,000!' as they march towards Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant today Protesters hold up flags during a rally in Minsk today as pressure increases on Alexander Lukashenko in the most serious challenge to his 26-year rule of Belarus People march in Minsk after a walkout at the capital's Tractor Works more than a week after Lukashenko claimed victory in the presidential election Sergey, now 41, is a prominent blogger in Belarus who hoped to run for president when Lukashenko sought a sixth term in this year's election. But he was arrested and jailed in May on what Tikhanovskaya says were trumped-up charges of assaulting a police officer. Amnesty International said the arrest appeared to be 'politically motivated' and said Tikhanovsky had tried to avoid a scuffle with police despite being provoked. Authorities said they had opened a criminal case against Tikhanovsky for 'obstructing elections', using what Amnesty described as 'vague language'. Police claimed they also found an unexplained $900,000 hidden in the couple's sofa, which Tikhanovskaya said she knew nothing about. The arrest prevented Sergey Tikhanovsky from submitting his candidacy in time, ruling him out of the presidential race. However, Belarus's electoral commission allowed Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to stand in his place. 'I love my husband very much so I am continuing what he started,' she said. 'I love Belarusians and I want to give them an opportunity to have a choice.' Lukashenko openly sneered at the idea of a female opponent, saying that the strains of the presidency would cause her to 'collapse, poor thing'. But despite her lack of political experience, Tikhanovskaya's campaign rallies have drawn some of the biggest crowds in Belarus since the fall of the USSR. 'Charlie's Angels': Tikhanovskaya (centre) has been flanked at rallies by Veronika Tsepkalo (left) whose husband was also barred from running, and Maria Kolesnikova (right), the campaign manager of another jailed opposition figure Tikhanovskaya (pictured at a rally in Baranovichi earlier this month) is a former English teacher who spent summers in the Republic of Ireland as a youngster Tikhanovskaya has drawn some of the biggest crowds in Belarus since the fall of the USSR despite her lack of political experience (supporters are seen here at a rally in early August) In speeches, Tikhanovskaya calls herself an 'ordinary woman, a mother and wife' and rallies her crowds with calls for change. 'I have become the embodiment of people's hope, their longing for change,' she said - adding that she and her family had received threats during the campaign. Her husband has been accused of plotting mass unrest and collaborating with Russian mercenaries, claims which Tikhanovskaya has called 'very scary.' Their two children were taken abroad for their own safety, and Tikhanovskaya herself is now in Lithuania. During the campaign she spoke of the difficulty of being separated from her children, including her hearing-impaired son. Her presidential campaign has also come under pressure from authorities, with campaign manager Maria Moroz arrested twice in the space of a week. Tikhanovskaya says that she lacks the 'massive charisma' of her husband, who has travelled around Belarus interviewing ordinary people for hard-hitting videos. She has sometimes struggled to articulate her political views, acknowledging she was not a politician but a 'symbol' of change. However, Tikhanovskaya's simple but direct speeches have prompted lengthy cheers at crowded rallies. 'Are you tired of enduring it all? Are you tired of keeping silent?' she asked supporters recently. 'Yes,' the crowd roared. Allocated live slots on state television, she listed alleged lies by Lukashenko's regime, repeating: 'They won't show you this on television'. 'Unexpectedly her first speech on television was strong, without false notes or weak points,' wrote opposition newspaper Nasha Niva. Tikhanovskaya, pictured recording a campaign video on August 6, has won huge support at rallies with her simple but direct speeches Tikhanovskaya (pictured at a rally) says she 'did not want to be a politician but 'fate decreed that I'd find myself on the frontline of a confrontation against arbitrary rule and injustice' Women hold portraits of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo and Maria Kolesnikova during a rally in Barysaw last month Tikhanovskaya has accused Lukashenko of showing blatant disregard for the people during the coronavirus epidemic, which the president has dismissed as a hoax. The Village, a Minsk-based news site, called her 'an accidental Joan of Arc,' invoking the French peasant who helped achieve a pivotal military victory against the English in the 15th century. Tikhanovskaya has also been helped by two women with more political experience: Veronika Tsepkalo, whose ex-diplomat husband Valery Tsepkalo was barred from standing, and Maria Kolesnikova, campaign chief of ex-banker Viktor Babaryko who was also dropped from the polls and is in jail. The two women have flanked Tikhanovskaya at campaign rallies, earning them the nickname of 'Charlie's Angels.' Tikhanovskaya has started wearing her hair down and swapped severe dark clothing for pastels colours. The women wear t-shirts with a design featuring their signature gestures: Tikhanovskaya's punched fist, Kolesnikova's fingers in a heart shape and Tsepkalo's victory sign. After Lukashenko claimed a disputed victory last week, Tikhanovskaya indicated she had left Belarus to be with her children. 'Children are the most important thing we have in life,' said the 37-year-old after leaving for Lithuania. However, she has continued to rally her supporters and said today she was willing to assume the presidency if Lukashenko was forced out. 'I did not want to be a politician,' she said. 'But fate decreed that I'd find myself on the frontline of a confrontation against arbitrary rule and injustice.' A driver has tested positive to coronavirus after allegedly flinging a police officer from a stolen car during a dramatic arrest. Mobile footage captured the moment the man attempted to flee in an allegedly stolen car at Simmons Street, in South Yarra, Melbourne, on Friday evening. Two officers are seen approaching the vehicle and flank either side of the car. They attempt to pull the 30-year-old driver out through the open doors before the driver quickly reverses the car. A driver has tested positive to coronavirus after he launched a police officer into the air during a dramatic getaway (pictured, the officer clings to the open door as the car reverses) The quick-thinking officer steps up onto the car and clings onto the door. The vehicle crashes into nearby parked cars and the impact sends the officer flying through the air. He slams against the side of another vehicle and escapes with only minor injuries. Police followed the vehicle as it turned into the next street before finally arresting the driver. He was charged with aggravated intentional and reckless exposure of police officer to risk by driving, assault police, resist arrest, theft of motor vehicle and numerous traffic offences. He could also be fined for potentially breaching the Chief Health Officer directions in the state. The court heard on Monday he had tested positive to coronavirus. The statement was made by Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Municipal Party Committee, Nguyen Thien Nhan, in his recent article sent to Nhan Dan Newspaper. Nhan assessed that the COVID-19 epidemic is spreading strongly globally and in different continents at different rates and in diverse stages. Since the first outbreak in China last January, the pandemic has spread to over 213 countries and territories, with an unprecedented scale and speed. On January 10, the world recorded the first person as having died of COVID-19 in Wuhan (China). On April 2, 204 countries were hit with COVID-19, with 1 million infected and around 53,100 deaths. Three months later, on July 3, the number of people infected with COVID-19 was up to 11 million and the number of deaths had risen to 532,800. In mid-August, there are over 21 million people infected with COVID-19 around the world. The new strain of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) took 92 days to spread to the first million infected people worldwide, but only needed another 13 days to spread to another 1 million, and now within every four days, 1 million people are newly infected with COVID-19 across the world. According to Nhan, after the world reached the peak of the first coronavirus wave, many countries around the globe have been hit in turn by a second wave with a higher infection rate and a rapid spread whose peak is difficult to predict. The Ho Chi Minh City senior leader said that a common feature in countries hit by the second wave of COVID-19 is that after they reached a supposed safety threshold once the first wave reached an apparent peak, they eased social distancing and reopened trading activities with the world, thereby allowing the coronavirus to peak again, leading to a second wave of infections, in countries such as Australia, Japan, Hongkong (China) and Israel. Amid its strong spread in America, Europe and Asia, there has been no indication of when the pandemic will reach its peak for a second time and when it will arrive at some sort of safety threshold, Nhan said. In Vietnam, with a population of 96.5 million people, the safety threshold is 970 patients receiving simultaneous treatment. Since the first positive case was confirmed on January 23, at the highest peak of the outbreak in Vietnam, only 178 patients were receiving treatment at once, then this number gradually decreased. That means Vietnams first infectious wave reached its peak on March 30, but the country was not in a widespread pandemic state, according to the Politburo member. On June 18, there were only 10 infected patients being treated in hospitals nationwide. However, after more than a month, from July 22, the number of new infections increased sharply. On August 7, 384 patients were undergoing treatment, 2.16 times higher than that at the peak of the first wave, marking Vietnam as having entered its second wave of infections. After 190 days with COVID-19 infection but without any deaths, within 11 days, from July 31 to 21:00 on August 10, 14 people died. Currently, it is unclear when the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Vietnam will reach its peak. With the total number of infections as of August 10 at 847, it is possible that between August 15 and 20, Vietnam is likely to reach the 1,000 infection case mark, with about 500 COVID-19 patients receiving treatment simultaneously at hospitals nationwide. That means the total number of infected people being treated is at almost three times higher than that during the peak in the first wave, with 10 people having died in just seven days. The second wave of COVID-19 infection in Vietnam may be much more serious than the first, Secretary Nhan analysed. From the developments of the 2nd COVID-19 wave in Japan, Hong Kong (China), Australia and Israel, it can be seen that at the end of the first wave, even though the number of patients receiving treatment in such countries had decreased but has not yet reached its epidemic safety threshold, Australia and Israel have loosened their social distancing measures and reopened social and service activities, leading to new outbreaks again. The infection source is mainly currently infected people living in such countries. Meanwhile, in Japan and Hong Kong (China), at the end of the first wave, although the number of infected people was small and below the safety threshold, the second wave of infections has come as the result of loosening epidemic control measures (such as not wearing face masks), allowing crowded gatherings (reopening schools, allowing demonstrations), resuming social services or being infected by foreigners entering the country (US troops stationed in Japan). Vietnam has controlled infection in the community very well, due to timely detection of infected cases returning home from abroad as well as other close contacts from within the country, combined with thorough isolation of all related cases. Other preventive measures such as wearing of face masks, practicing social distancing and disinfecting have helped in keeping the number of infections needing treatment very low. Before July 20, Vietnam had passed nearly 100 days without any infections in the community, while citizens repatriated from abroad have always been isolated immediately upon entry to keep the community safe. According to Nhan, from July 22, a series of infections detected in Da Nang, spreading to other localities from there, means that the source of infection for the Da Nang outbreak must be from abroad, through illegal road entry, as in July 2020, in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, hundreds of illegal entries from a foreign country badly hit by COVID-19 were found. This was a completely different factor from the first wave of COVID-19 infection. Uncontrolled foreign infection sources breaking into Vietnam has resulted in a series of their close contacts testing positive for the coronavirus and thus leading to a new outbreak in Vietnam from July 22 to the present, Nhan stated. The second wave of COVID-19 infections in Vietnam, with its epicentre at Da Nang, is of huge difference in size and nature compared to the first wave, he said. After only 17 days, the number of new infections requiring treatment was 384, more than twice as high as the first epidemic peak of 178 cases and still not having reached its peak just yet. There were several related deaths, while no fatality was recorded before July 22. When the first wave peaked, only 178 patients needed treatment, at the rate of 1.8 per 1 million people, while this time, in Da Nang, this rate is 150 per 1 million people, 15 times higher than the safety threshold of 10 patients needing treatment per 1 million people. However, on a national scale and in comparison with epidemic developments in other countries, Vietnam is still with a very low level of COVID-19 infection, Politburo member Nhan wrote. The infection rate among the community in Vietnam is 9 per 1 million people, less than half of that when the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic on March 11, while it is also small in comparison with other continents infection rates ranging from 550-10,000 cases per 1 million people. With the current rate of treatment at 4.5 patients per 1 million people, the infectious status in Vietnam is only about half of the world's when the epidemic was announced (10 patients need treatment per a million people). In terms of the death rate per 1 million people, Vietnam is at 0.12, very low compared to the world on March 11 (0.6 deaths per 1 million people). In general, Vietnam has a very low level of infection compared to the world and is not a country with a massive COVID-19 outbreak. However, as Vietnam entered its second wave of infection, from July 22, the situation was very different as a new epidemic epicentre has formed in the Quang Nam - Da Nang area. With 132 infected cases per 1 million people, 124 patients being treated in hospitals per million people, and the death rate is 4.16 deaths per 1 million people, Quang Nam - Da Nang has become a real epidemic centre. The rate of infected cases per a million people is 6.5 times higher than the rate when the WHO announced the epidemic, while the rate of patients being treated per 1 million people was 12 times higher and the death rate per 1 million people was nearly seven times higher. The number of COVID-19 patients being treated in Quang Nam - Da Nang accounts for 75% of the country's total (327/435), while the number of deaths accounts for 100%. While Vietnam has not had a widespread COVID-19 outbreak yet, Quang Nam - Da Nang is already an epicentre with a relatively high level of infection. This situation did not occur in the first COVID-19 wave in Vietnam, Nhan said, adding that to stamp out the outbreak in Quang Nam - Da Nang and continue to keep Vietnam as a country free of COVID-19, anti-epidemic attitudes and methods to cope with the outbreaks in Quang Nam - Da Nang and other localities must be added to those from the first wave of infection. From January, the Party and Government have given timely and drastic instructions and the local people and authorities have strongly responded. These are very valuable lessons that need to be learned, Nhan said, pointing to the results of epidemic prevention and control in Hong Kong (China), Israel and Cambodia those have had passed the peak of their second infection wave. In can be seen that the period from the peak in the first wave to that in the second infection wave is about 3.5-4 months, but in countries that have not yet reached the peak of the second wave, like Japan and Australia, the period has passed the 3.5-4 month mark since the peak of the first wave. Vietnam has passed more than four months now since the first waves peak on March 30. For that reason, if Vietnam extinguishes the outbreak in Quang Nam - Da Nang and prevents any new outbreaks in other localities, in about two to three weeks, the country could significantly avoid infection in the community, as the second wave is predicted to reach its peak in around late August to early September. Thereafter, the rate of infection will likely decrease, according to Nhan. From the lessons learned in Vietnam's successful COVID-19 fight before July 2020 and both the successes and failures of epidemic prevention and control in other countries, Nhan stated that Vietnam can completely stamp out the current outbreak in Quang Nam - Da Nang and successfully implement epidemic prevention in other localities. He also suggested some solutions to boost the COVID-19 fight in Vietnam, with the first being focusing on early epidemic prevention, timely detection of new infections, complete isolation and effective treatment. The second is making use of on-the-spot forces and resources. The third is promoting the unity and synergy of the community in unison with the direction the Party leads and State leads, directs and takes responsibility, while the whole political system takes part in bringing into play the Vietnamese tradition of solidarity, compassion and resilience in the fight against COVID-19, and each citizen is a soldier, each family is a fighting team and each district is a solid fortress for the prevention of and fight against the pandemic. Accordingly, Nhan clarified some current on-site tasks in detail, including stamping out the outbreak in Quang Nam - Da Nang, isolating Quang Nam - Da Nang from other localities for the next two to three weeks, and strictly controlling Vietnam's road border to prevent any illegal entry in the next six months. As those with a high epidemic risk, localities bordering Quang Nam - Da Nang (including Thua Thien Hue, Kon Tum and Quang Ngai) were suggested to implement appropriate solutions. Other provinces and cities, depending on their level of interaction with Quang Nam - Da Nang in the last month, should deploy appropriate measures to prevent infection according to the three aforesaid principles of epidemic prevention. The Ministry of Health should act as a focal point for providing all medical equipment, supplies and drugs for epidemic prevention nationwide and relating to outbreak control in Quang Nam - Da Nang. The National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control should make a forecast of COVID-19 spread in the country every three days, while deciding on measures to be implemented across the country, in all sectors and all localities. (Natural News) Despite advising citizens not to panic because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, several states in America have been stockpiling food for the last few months. Officials from some of these states have also urged citizens to avoid panic buying. Christian Westbrook, the host of the Ice Age Farmer YouTube channel, takes a closer look at one of these reservoir warehouses to expose a sinister plan to topple the countrys food system. The [COVID-19] Strategic Reserve and stockpiling states According to a report from the Seattle Times, Washington has been gathering supplies for a reservoir of food since March of this year. Westbrook noted that this move was due in part to early warnings about interruptions to the countrys supply chains. He added that cascading failures on the governments part are partly to blame for this shortage in food supplies, leaving average Americans scrambling to find food at the nearest store. Derek Sandison, director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), claims that their warehouse in Fife is full of hundreds of pallets of supplies will act as a reservoir for shelf-stable food that is entering the system to support hunger prevention efforts around the state. If communities require assistance, they can receive supplies from the [COVID-19] Strategic Reserve within 48 hours. Pallets will be packed into trucks that will deliver the supplies to food pantries throughout the state. The warehouse currently has canned vegetables, peanut butter and other items that have a long shelf life. In the early days of the pandemic, the same products were also hard to find at local stores. Katie Rains, the WSDAs food policy advisor, explained that about 2.2 million Washingtonians, or at least 30 percent of the states population, are dealing with food insecurity. The figure is more than double the 850,000 state residents who needed help from food assistance programs in November 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic spread across the country. Whos really panic buying? Mainstream media is pointing fingers, and this time, the supply shortage was blamed on scared Americans who were panic buying when in reality, they were only buying food to keep their families fed during the lockdowns. Does that even make sense? If food is in short supply, why are consumers being told not to buy groceries when warehouses are being filled with shelf-stable food? Stockpiling for the Fife warehouse began mid-April, but its only being reported after four months. And this is the first time the public is hearing about [COVID-19] Strategic Reserve warehouses full of food, aside from other reports about stockpiles of masks. Sandison himself admits that the items for the warehouse are in extremely high demand, and it requires competition with other states and other national organizations trying to feed America. (Related: Food prices rise to dangerous levels as a second wave of layoffs hits the U.S. economy.) While the WSDA was busy hoarding food for the states emergency reserves, it was buying out stocks that other states and large national food-assistance programs also needed. In addition, the agency was making it hard for grocery stores to replenish shelves when national supplies of staples like pasta and peanut butter were much harder to find. This large-scale panic buying also contributed to the sudden increase in food prices. Gary Newte, sourcing and product director for Northwest Harvest, one of Washingtons leading food bank distributors, said that when the pandemic was at its peak, peanut butter was a much-needed commodity. Within the last three to four months, peanut butter prices have tripled. Newte concluded that even six months into the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis, these prices havent gone down. A lot of food distributors are still waiting for food that has been ordered months ago. Why is Washington buying out food in secret? Shouldnt officials have been advising people to buy supplies to prepare for the worst as coronavirus spreads throughout the country? Instead, worried citizens were chastised for inconveniencing other shoppers wh0 were also looking for supplies. Despite spending $6.1 million on 4,000 pallets of food, only one-fourth of the order has been received so far. This suggests that Washington and other states hoarding food is the reason why you cant find food for your pantry at the local grocery. Mainstream media insists that shoppers are to blame for canned food shortages when, in fact, its because of this clandestine hoarding going on as the rest of the country is worried about where to find food for their loved ones. Totalitarian propaganda and other schemes So why are federal agencies panic buying and leaving crumbs for the rest of America? Citing data from the Rockefeller Foundation, Westbrook posits that these agencies want to dismantle the countrys food system. It seems to be step one in encouraging people to rely on neighborhood nutritional insurance programs and other schemes. If people depend on the food system, the country will be easier to control. Westbrook warns that this is why states are trying to break everything down and destroy the economy. He warns against upcoming food shortages and those trying to shut down meatpacking factories and farms via labor unions. There is no end to the many ways that these groups try to shut down the food supply and enslave Americans. How does this affect you? Think of the many problems occurring around the globe, like flooding in China and Japan. Brazil is also struggling to produce crops. Know that states and federal agencies were aware of the problem even as they told people to stop buying too much food and hoarded supplies in warehouses. Consider your own food security. Prepare for possible food shortages by learning how to grow fruits and vegetables in your backyard. Save seeds for the future, and if you have extras, share them with your neighbors. Raise animals if you have the space to do on your property. Despite agencies actively working against the average American and enforcing their totalitarian agenda, you can do your part to survive and leave behind a bountiful future for your children. Just dont count on your state and federal agencies for handouts. Read more news about the food supply at FoodSupply.news Watch: Sources include: Brighteon.com SeattleTimes.com RockefellerFoundation.org OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance for Girls, the largest alliance of girl-serving organizations, today announced its When Girls Thrive COVID-19 Response Initiative. The initiative is filling the data gap on the needs of girls during COVID-19, and bringing together advocates, educators, policymakers and agency leaders to ensure that girls' needs are met as California navigates the COVID-19 pandemic and prepares for a post-COVID reality. "In times of crisis, the needs of girls are too often ignored, to the detriment of us all," said Emma Mayerson, founding executive director of Alliance for Girls. "Even during this challenging time, girls are showing incredible resilience and leadership. To make our communities stronger, we must invest in girls by listening to their needs, including them in decision-making that directly impacts their lives, and investing in the ecosystem of champions individuals, organizations and schools they depend on." When Girls Thrive is a research and advocacy initiative, which includes an online survey of girls and gender expansive youth and girls-serving organizations and champions. The survey addresses the dire lack of data available on the needs and experiences of girls and gender expansive youth up to 24 years' old, making this group particularly vulnerable during this time of increased health risks, extended isolation, and significant disruption and barriers to education and work leading to economic hardship. And the challenges are even more extreme for Black youth and youth of color. Initial results from the survey indicate that 7 percent of girls across California don't have a safe place to live. For Black, Indigenous, youth of color, that percentage is even greater -- 9 percent for multiracial girls and 12 percent for Black/African American girls. "A community is only as strong as its girls," said Lateefah Simon, president of Akonadi Foundation. "Through this new initiative, Alliance for Girls is making it possible for us to put girls, particularly Black girls and girls of color, at the center of any COVID-19 response, make data-informed decisions and take a coordinated approach to service delivery, capacity building, and collective advocacy." Initial findings show that all girls and gender nonconforming youth surveyed need access to basic needs, safety, and support with education. Key highlights to date include: 10 percent of all respondents and 13 percent of Black or African American respondents reported not having access to a single caring adult in their lives. 12 of all respondents, 15 percent of Black or African Americans and 16 percent of multiracial respondents reported that they do not have access to a private space to communicate with a caring adult or friend. 15 percent of all respondents and 24 percent of Black or African American girls do not have access to a device with internet. Across all race and ethnicities, school work has been impacted, with over 50 percent of respondents indicating a negative impact on their school work. Black and African American respondents are experiencing more isolation and more difficulty accessing support and safety. Black, Indigenous, respondents of color report not having basic needs like food, money, toiletries, period products and contraception at a higher rate than white respondents, with Latinx respondents having the highest overall need. The pandemic has significantly reduced the number of services and spaces that girls can turn to for mental, emotional and physical support and leadership opportunities. Of the approximately 50 girls' organizations surveyed to date, 72 percent are "open" online, only 7 percent have a physical location open, and 26 percent are closed altogether due to severe financial shortfalls. In response, Alliance for Girls has convened the When Girls Thrive coalition, a statewide coalition that will work proactively with California policymakers and other important stakeholders to address girls' needs during COVID-19 and in the recovery, with the long-term vision of creating equitable communities in which every girl thrives. "In this moment, our girls and gender expansive young people are struggling like never before, and so are the organizations upon which they depend," said Elmy Bermejo, Northern California Director External Affairs, Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, and When Girls Thrive coalition member. "If girls' needs and leadership are not centered in the response to this ongoing public health and economic crisis, they will be forgotten and the organizations they rely on will disappear. We refuse to let this happen and I'm honored to join this incredible group of leaders to advance a girls policy agenda in California." Other members of the coalition include Futures Without Violence, Betti Ono Gallery, Women's Foundation of California, IGNITE California, Young Women's Freedom Center, MISSSEY, among others. The initiative also hosts regular online events for girls' champions, elected and community leaders, members of the media, and adult allies. For more information and to register, visit the Alliance for Girls' When Girls Thrive initiative webpage . The survey, conducted by Alliance For Girls' paid youth research team, began in March 2020 and includes responses from nearly 1,000 girls across Northern California, primarily in the Bay Area to date. AFG seeks to expand the survey to include girls, young women and gender expansive youth across the state by the fall. The initiative is also providing much-needed financial support to young women, girls and gender expansive youth by hiring young women to be youth researchers and providing up to $50 to a select number of respondents, totaling up to $30,000, thanks to funding by the Blue Shield Foundation of California and the Firehouse Fund: Cultivating Sparks. Alliance for Girls is actively seeking additional funding to expand the survey to reach more girls statewide. Girls and gender expansive youth can take the survey here: tiny.cc/MgniCovid19 . About Alliance for Girls Alliance for Girls is a membership-based association developing leadership in the service sector, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nationally, we are the largest regional alliance of girl-serving organizations, which now includes 200 organizations and individuals that employ 2,400 people with more than 5,100 volunteers serving more than 300,000 girls across six Bay Area counties. For more information: Alliance4Girls.org. SOURCE Alliance for Girls Related Links https://www.alliance4girls.org A 66-year-old woman has been remanded in custody for the alleged domestic violence murder of a man found dead at a home east of Brisbane last week. Officers were called to the address on Jasmine Street in Alexandra Hills about 10.30am on Friday after the body of the 64-year-old man was found. Police declared the home a crime scene and launched an ongoing investigation. The Alexandra Hills woman has since been charged with domestic violence-related murder. She was remanded in custody after appearing before the Cleveland Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where the matter was adjorned for a further mention on October 29. Advertisement They also reasoned about the fact that the Swedish cases of infection have decreased since the schools closed, and believed that the concern about an increased spread of infection before the start of school, which happens next week, is justified."Because children are contagious, can become seriously ill, and it is unclear today how a mild infection also affects their future health, we should already at the start of school take measures to keep the infection down," they wrote.The researchers suggested, among other things, that face masks should be worn in schools, that sports should be held outdoors, that meals should be eaten class by class and that group teaching avoided. They also suggested that children in families where someone belongs to a risk group should be allowed to receive home schooling and urge parents to provide their children with face masks regardless of (authority's) recommendations."It is now, when infection rates are relatively low, that we have a second chance to take control of the epidemic," they wrote.Last week, Ole Petter Ottersen, president of the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet, advocated the use of face masks on the university campus if it's difficult to maintain physical distance before the term start."We also recommend the use of face masks in situations where physical distancing may be difficult or impossible to observe. In doing so, we take the stand that the effectiveness of face masks can no longer be disputed."Sweden has so far reported 5,783 deaths and 84,294 cases. It has neither imposed a lockdown even during the peak of the pandemic nor asked people to wear face masks in public, quoting a lack of support in research.On its website, the Swedish Public Health Agency, which offers national guidance for the pandemic, writes that the current state of knowledge shows that few children and young people are infected with Covid-19 and that school activities have not been shown to be a driving force in the spread of infection.Source: IANS Pipeline 17 August 2020 Nobu Hotel London Portman Square is set to open its doors in November 2020. Thoughtfully designed, the new hotel will feature a Nobu Restaurant, bar and outdoor terrace, plus a 600-person ballroom, gym, wellness facilities and meeting spaces. Nobu Hotel London Portman Square will apply a contemporary approach to both aesthetics and hospitality, taking inspiration from Japanese architectural disciplines and minimalist design, whilst utilizing a refined color palette influenced by heritage Japanese color combinations. Award-winning David Collins Studio is responsible for the hotel's common spaces, including; the lobby, lobby lounge, Nobu Bar and Restaurant, outdoor terrace, ballroom and boardrooms. Extensive research into Japanese arts and crafts was integral to the design process, exploring traditional architecture, paneling and patterns - such as tatami mats and Buro (patchwork) as well as the ancient art of Sumi-e (mark making) - and reinterpreting these aesthetic points of reference in a modern way throughout the hotel's spaces. Natural materials and ordered architectural frameworks have been used to create a sense of flow, uniformity and rhythm, inviting guests to move through the space seamlessly. A palette mix of warm, natural tones imbues a sense of calm in the lobby, while more colorful experiences will take place in Nobu Bar, lobby lounge and Nobu Restaurant - spaces punctuated by deeper tones and elements of glamour. Central to the unique aesthetic of Nobu Hotel London Portman Square is a focus on exceptional craftsmanship, from hand-blown glass chandeliers and bespoke lighting pieces to large scale sculpture and original artworks. Upon entering the lobby, guests will immediately be struck by a dramatic high ceiling, from which hangs a kinetic sculpture created by artist Ivan Black. The 5m installation features rotating metal fins that cast a subtle effect of light and shade into the room, evoking an initial sense of theatre. Suspended above the reception console is a sculptural cloud statement pendant light by Jeremy Maxwell Wintrebert. Exemplifying the hotel's hand-crafted approach to design, Maxwell's piece employs traditional glass-blowing techniques to create a one-of-a-kind lighting sculpture. Rooms and suites by Make Architects echo a distinct character and allure seen in the rest of the hotel, primarily influenced by Japanese minimalist aesthetic and complemented by moments of bold artistic expression. Striking wall prints, bespoke lighting and intricate joinery take center stage in each room, set against the backdrop of a neutral, textural color palette. An abundance of natural light and natural materials create a sense of place that is calm, bright and warm. Guests will be able to book from a range of elegantly appointed rooms and suites across seven distinct categories - some boasting terraces with views overlooking Portman Square. Those seeking something more indulgent can choose from the One Bedroom Suite or The Nobu Penthouse. Nobu Hotel London Portman Square will see the iconic Nobu Berkeley Street restaurant move to its new home in Marylebone. Continuing a 15-year legacy of exceptional culinary experiences, the Nobu Restaurant at Nobu Hotel London Portman Square will bring the flagship's signature handcrafted approach to cuisine and service into a brand new space. Additional hotel facilities include a 600-person ballroom, five meeting spaces, a state-of-the-art gym and wellness facilities. Three people were shot in separate incidents in Chattanooga on Sunday. At approximately 3:37 p.m., Chattanooga Police responded to the 4300 block of Highway 58 on a report of a person shot. Upon arrival, officers located a 19-year-old male suffering from a gunshot wound and secured the scene. The victim was transported to a local hospital by Hamilton County EMS with a non-life threatening injury. At approximately 6:22 p.m., Chattanooga Police responded to a local hospital after being notified that a gunshot victim had arrived. Upon arrival, officers located a 49-year-old man who was suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim arrived at the hospital by private vehicle and was suffering from a non-life threatening injury. Officers were able to determine that the incident occurred in the 1900 block of Mulberry Street and subsequently responded to that location and secured the scene. At approximately 11:31 p.m., Chattanooga Police were notified that a 39-year-old man arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound. Police spoke with the victim, who arrived at the hospital via personal vehicle. His injuries are considered non-life threatening. No suspect information was provided. hattanooga Police ask anyone with information regarding these incidents to call 423-698-2525 or submit a tip via the CPD Mobile App. You can remain anonymous. By John Burton Until recently, North Korea appeared to have kept COVID-19 until control. Like other countries, such as Vietnam, that have reported few cases or fatalities, North Korea recognized early the danger that the pandemic posed and took draconian measures to contain it by closing its borders in late January. It afterwards claimed it was virus-free. But the situation has changed in the last month. Pyongyang said that a North Korean defector who decided to return after three years in South Korea had brought the virus with him when he crossed the DMZ on July 19 and created "an emergency event" in Gaeseong. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called an emergency meeting of the Worker's Party Politburo on July 25 to discuss the situation. Gaeseong was placed in immediate lockdown and the country's Minister of Public Health warned that "a dangerous crisis has occurred in which the virus may have entered our borders." It was the first official acknowledgement that what Kim Jong-un has called the country's "shining success" in containing COVID-19, with its dubious claim that there were no cases of infection in the country, had been broken. It may have been politically convenient for Pyongyang to claim that the source of the virus came from South Korea at a time of inter-Korean tensions when it's possible the disease entered the country via another route. Since then, North Korea has reintroduced tighter border controls and quarantine measures that had been eased in recent months when it appeared that the COVID-19 situation was contained. A second round of lockdowns would pose perhaps the biggest challenge to North Korea since the famine of the 1990s. The first lockdown has already damaged the North Korean economy. Stricter controls on cross-border movements in response to COVID-19 have caused North Korean exports to China to fall by nearly 75 percent in the first half of 2020 from the same period in 2019 and imports from China to decline by 67 percent, according to the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul. Analysts are forecasting the economy could contract by at least 8.5 percent this year after it showed signs of recovery in 2019 despite increased international sanctions. Disrupted raw material supply chains with China could depress construction activity, which has been the key economic driver in North Korea in the last few years. The possibility of a large-scale COVID-19 outbreak would further pressure economic activity and coincide with several other recent unfavorable developments. Heavy rains this summer, the worst since 2007, have caused flooding, raising concerns about crop damage and food supply shortages. Flood damage is reported to be severe in North Hwanghae Province, the country's main agricultural region. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently estimated that the number of North Koreans facing food insecurity, meaning they consume less than 2,100 calories a day, has risen from 57 percent to 60 percent over the past year, representing an increase of 700,000 persons, as a result of the pandemic. A malnourished population is also more vulnerable to COVID-19 if it spreads. Even if the COVID-19 outbreak turns out to be less serious than feared, the continued lockdown measures in the meantime will adversely impact the country. North Korea sees little alternative to resorting to drastic measures since its health infrastructure is underequipped and understaffed. A shutdown will nonetheless cost lives. The strict border controls mean there is a shortage of imported medicines and supplies for patients with chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. Aid groups are finding it difficult to ship COVID-19-related equipment, including thermal imaging cameras, to North Korea. Another area of concern is the future of international aid programs to fight tuberculosis and malaria in North Korea, which has high rates of both illnesses. The lockdown restrictions have also disrupted humanitarian efforts in other ways. International aid workers have limited on-the-ground access and the monitoring of most assistance is difficult. A ban on the entry of foreign persons means that the normal rotation of U.N. and NGO aid workers in and out of the country is being held up. North Korea, like other countries that claimed an early victory over COVID-19, is now finding that the virus is a persistent enemy that cannot be conquered easily. It is likely that North Korea will maintain quarantine and other restrictive conditions until COVID-19 is controlled globally or a vaccine is available. A lengthy lockdown will put North Korea's ideology of "juche," or self-sufficiency, to the test. Among several key questions are whether it will lead to internal changes as the economic knock-on effects could prove to be damaging and whether it could even weaken Kim Jong-un's hold on power. John Burton (johnburtonft@yahoo.com), a former Korea correspondent for the Financial Times, is a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and consultant. Grant and Chezzi Denyer announced last week that they were expecting their third child together. And on Sunday, Grant was smiling from ear to ear as he left Channel 10 headquarters in Pyrmont, Sydney, after an appearance on The Project. The father of two, 42, appeared to be in good spirits as he smiled for the paparazzi. Baby joy: On Sunday, TV presenter Grant Denyer was smiling from ear to ear as he left Channel 10 headquarters in Pyrmont, Sydney, after an appearance on The Project The Family Feud host dressed casually in a black sweater and ripped jeans, and opted to go clean shaven for his TV appearance. Grant accessorised his look with a designer wristwatch and black Nike sneakers. It comes after revealed the adorable name his four-year-old daughter, Scout, had suggested for her sibling. Beaming: The father of two, 42, appeared to be in good spirits as he smiled for the paparazzi When asked by Sunday Project host Lisa Wilkinson how he was feeling about having another child, Grant said his household was 'buzzing' with excitement. 'The Denyer household is really buzzing at the moment. The siblings are so excited,' said the Dancing with the Stars presenter. 'Scout, who is four, has already decided to name the newborn, and she's going to call it Watermelon Sugar,' he added, seemingly in reference to the Harry Styles song. Coming soon! Grant and Chezzi Denyer announced last week that they were expecting their third child together. The couple are pictured with their daughters, Scout, four, and Sailor, eight Grant and Chezzi, 41, announced last week they were expecting again. The couple are already proud parents to daughters Scout and Sailor, eight. 'We have some exciting news... coming 1 March 2021,' the couple wrote on respective Instagram accounts. Political tension in central Ivory Coast ahead of a looming presidential vote has stoked friction along ethnic lines, in a country still scarred by post-election turmoil nearly a decade ago. Clashes erupted in the town of Daoukro last Thursday after President Alassane Ouattara announced he would run for a third term on October 31, thanks to a controversial tweak to the constitution. The protests began in a stronghold of former president Henri Konan Bedie, who is standing again at the age of 86. But two days later, political turbulence lurched into a battle along ethnic lines. A local man, Apollinaire N'Goran Kouame, 45, was shot dead as he mounted a guard patrol with local youths in nearby Anoumabo, Bedie's birthplace. Kouame came from the Baoule ethnic group which largely supports Konan Bedie, himself a Baoule. After Kouame's death was announced, enraged youths armed with hunting rifles, machetes and clubs raced to a part of town which is home to Malinke people, held to support Ouattara. Spoiling for a fight, the Baoule found Malinke youths on a war footing and gendarmerie police had to intervene to make the two sides back off. 'All we want is peace' On Saturday, the streets were covered with stones, broken glass and the remains of burned tyres, which had been used as barricades. In Baoulekro, a district not far from Bedie's residence, several houses were set on fire and most of the inhabitants fled, saying they feared "attacks" by the Malinke. "All we want is peace," sobbed Marcelline Kouame Aya, a woman in her 30s, in the rubble of her home. Gendarmes on the edge of a Malinke district in the village of Anoumabo, facing members of the Baoule community. By SIA KAMBOU (AFP) In the predominantly Malinke district of Dioulakro, all shops and places of business were paralysed. "We didn't want to prevent them (the Bedie supporters) from demonstrating. It's once they began to smash up the trucks and the shops that we had to defend ourselves to protect our businesses," said a young Malinke on a motorbike, surrounded by his comrades. "Look at all the damage they've done," he said, pointing to a burned-out shop and the mass of broken glass underfoot. Security forces set up a buffer zone between the two districts, which they then patrolled. The violence also claimed the headquarters of Bedie's Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI) and Ouattara's Houphouetist Rally for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party. Both premises were gutted. Adama Kolia Traore, head of Daoukro council, said "at least five" people had died and 116 were injured. But he said, "We avoided the worst. It could have been a bloodbath." Scars of 2010 Ivory Coast, one of the world's biggest producers of coffee and cocoa, is still traumatised by a brief civil war that erupted after elections in 2010, when the then president, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to cede to the victor, Ouattara. More than 3,000 lives were lost in a months-long conflict which divided the country along north-south lines. Third term? Ouattara, wearing a protective mask, at ceremonies on August 7 to mark Ivory Coast's 60th anniversary of independence. By SIA KAMBOU (AFP) Ouattara, 78, was re-elected in 2015 and last March made it known that he would bow out and pass the baton to his respected prime minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly. But that scenario dramatically changed when Coulibaly died of a heart attack on July 8. With no other appropriate candidate in sight, Ouattara announced on August 8 that he would run for a third term after all. The constitution limits the number of presidential terms to two, but the authorities and the opposition hotly disagree on the interpretation of a reform passed in 2016. Ouattara's supporters assert that this amendment takes the number of mandates back to zero. His foes accuse him of seeking a third, unconstitutional term. Gbagbo was put on trial before the International Criminal Court, which cleared him last year of crimes against humanity. His Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party has yet to name a candidate. LATEST Aug. 17, 3:30 p.m. The Jones Fire had grown to 55 acres Friday afternoon. "Fire is well-established in 2 drainages with spotting," Cal Fire reported at 3 p.m. "Continued structure threat. Evacuation in place." Read the earlier entry on the fire for evacuation information. Aug. 17, 10 a.m. A Northern California wildfire tearing along the steep slopes of the South Yuba River canyon in Nevada County triggered evacuations Monday morning as officials ordered residents in the area of Jones Bar Road north of Woolman to leave their homes. The Jones Fire ignited Monday morning near the Yuba River northwest of Nevada City and had charred 40 acres. It was 0% contained as of 9:30 a.m. Cal Fire officials said the fire had the potential of growing to 400 to 500 acres of dry vegetation. Firefighters are battling flames from both the air and ground as the conflagration is hard to access. The following areas have been ordered to evacuate by the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services. Jones Bar Road Nishinam Gulch Rd Yuba Crest Drive McKitrick Ranch Road Pau Hana Way Little Bear Lane Hoot Owl Road Arctic Owl Road Willo Wisp Court Fenton Way Woolman Lane Toller Ridge Court Rush Creek Way This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com. YEREVAN -- Armenian universities closed because of the coronavirus pandemic in March will reopen their doors to students next month, Education Minister Arayik Harutiunian has said. Harutiunian made the announcement after a meeting on August 17 of senior government officials who are coordinating the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Harutiunian added that university classes for freshman students will open on September 1, while all others will start on September 15. "Universities themselves will decide on how to organize courses, including a hybrid way that will allow online learning. Universities will publish details on their websites and will provide additional information about their curricula," Harutiunian said in a Facebook post. Last week, Harutiunian announced that classes in all secondary schools in Armenia as well as in vocational training colleges, music, and art schools will begin on September 15. He stressed that all educational establishments must comply with sanitary and hygienic rules set by the government. The current state of emergency in Armenia ends on September 11. Armenia has recorded 41,701 coronavirus cases and 824 deaths since the start of the epidemic. In recent weeks, however, the countrys heath authorities have been reporting decreasing numbers of new COVID-19 cases and fatalities. Actor Sushant Singh Rajput was treated by a spiritual healer, says a new report in Times Now. The healer told the channel that it was Sushants girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty who had approached him. The report identified a person named Mohan Sadashiv Joshi as the healer. Speaking to the channel, he said how he had been approached by Rhea reportedly to help Sushant cope with depression. Joshi had met Sushant in the month of November last year. He added that Rhea had done all the talking while the couple was in touch with him, as Sushant never spoke about his troubles. Another report in Times of India said that Joshi has also revealed how Bandra Police had asked him to come to the police station to record his statement but owing to age and medical condition, he could not make it to the police station. Also read: Kangana Ranaut takes a dig at Karan Johar and Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl, calls out portrayal of patriotism Sushant died by suicide on June 14 in Mumbai. The Sushant Singh Rajput death case is since being investigated by Mumbai Police. In late July, Sushants father KK Singh had filed an FIR in Patna accusing Rhea of abetment to suicide and cheating among other charges. This led to a turf war between Maharashtra and Bihar Police. In the meanwhile, a number of people, led by Sushants family, have been demanding a full fledged Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the matter. Enforcement Directorate too is checking into financial irregularities, if any, in Sushants financial transactions. Follow @htshowbiz for more Police chief says one policeman and two paramilitary officers killed in the second attack within a week. Rebels have attacked a security checkpoint in Indian-administered Kashmir, killing at least three policemen days after two security personnel were killed in the disputed Muslim-majority regions main city, Srinagar. Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar told Reuters news agency on Monday that rebels had attacked a security checkpoint north of Srinagar and killed one local policeman and two officers from the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). We are developing leads and will neutralise the militants involved in the two attacks soon, he said. Kumar added that security forces averted a major attack on Monday morning when they recovered an improvised explosive device planted under a bridge in Pulwama district south of Srinagar. This month, Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan, marked one year since New Delhi revoked its limited autonomy, raising tensions in a region where anti-India sentiment runs high. Thousands of additional troops were deployed in one of the most militarised regions of the world [File: Nasir Kachroo/Getty Images] Since the August 5 decision, New Delhi has changed domicile law to allow Indians from other states to buy property in Kashmir something which had not been allowed earlier. Most Kashmiris see the move by Indias Hindu-nationalist government as an attempt to bring demographic change in the Muslim-majority region. New Delhi says the removal of special status will help integrate the region to the rest of the country. Right-wing leaders targeted The revocation of the special status was followed by months of repression by the Indian administration, including the detention of politicians and activists as well as restrictions on movement and communications, to prevent a local backlash. Most of these measures have been relaxed, though several politicians remain in detention. From Sunday night, authorities in Indian-administered Kashmir ordered the restoration of high-speed 4G internet services in two of the regions 20 districts on a trial basis. In recent weeks, rebels have also intensified attacks on village council members and other leaders in Kashmir many of whom belong to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the past three months, rebels have shot dead five such people, prompting police to move 1,000 village leaders to high-security zones. Kashmir has been disputed by India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both countries claim it in full but administer it in part. Barring any last-minute hitches, the country's airport will be opened to international flights on 1st September 2020. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during his 15th COVID-19 address to the nation indicated that Ghana is preparing to reopen its borders for human traffic by September 1. According to him, he has instructed the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Co Ltd. to work with the Ministry of Health and its agencies, to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport. "I know many still ask when our borders, especially our international airport, Kotoka International Airport, will be open. Under my instruction, the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Co Ltd., have been working, with the Ministry of Health and its agencies, to ascertain our readiness to reopen our airport. I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger that arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of that exercise will show us the way and determine when we can reopen our border by air. I am hoping that, by Gods grace, we will be ready to do so by 1st September," the President said in his address. Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah speaking to this said the reopening of the airport will depend on the input from the Ministry of Aviation and the other agencies assigned to ascertain the country's readiness to open its airport to international flights. He told Kwami Sefa Kayi in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' that "the September 1st date is tentative, it is his (Akufo-Addo) expectation, and his target so it is up to them (Authorities) to put everything in place for his expectation to be met." Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected] Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Saudia Cargo has expanded its cargo network with the addition of Shanghai to its flight schedules, which commenced last Saturday (August 15). Saudia Cargo now operates two flights a week, Saturdays and Tuesdays, originating from Riyadhs King Khalid International Airport and Jeddahs King Abdulaziz International Airport to the new destination using a Boeing 777 Freighter which has a 95-ton capacity. The Saudi national air freight carriers network expansion was in response to the growing demand for air cargo capacity, according to reports issued since last March. Using charter flights booked by Saudia Cargo clients, the company has so far transported over two million kilograms of medical and pharmaceutical supplies required for facing the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to other life-saving cargoes needed at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. Saudia Cargo CEO Omar Hariri said the company took proactive and practical steps to ensure the continuity of cargo operation to the kingdom through non-stop charter flights despite the challenges Covid-19 posed. The company, he added, operated 29 unscheduled all-cargo flights from Shanghai International Airport to the kingdom to meet the growing demand for cargo. Saudia Cargos high-level flexible schedules enabled it to respond swiftly to the increasing demand for cargo during the suspension of flights. We enhanced the charter flight services while our teams conducted an in-depth analysis of markets and order rates, which helped in the decision-making process for the network, said Hariri who also expressed gratitude to the dedicated Saudia Cargo teams who performed their jobs despite the virus threat. In July, Saudia Cargo operated over 1,500 flights, of which 500 were done using passenger aircraft dedicated for international cargo operations. This was part of the companys efforts to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Saudia Cargo transported 75,000 tons of life-saving cargo including medicines and medical equipment to the kingdom from March to June 2020, in support of the kingdoms health efforts towards fighting Covid-19. TradeArabia News Service On Sunday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago praised the city's police officers after they handled protesters during demonstrations on Saturday. The official said the law enforcement utilized swift and effective actions after the events became violent. The mayor stated the comments during an interview on Sunday. Protesters began their movements with a march on Saturday as separate demonstrations near downtown turned violent and led to police officers arresting two dozen people. The incidents also resulted in 17 police and at least two protesters injured. Hidden agitators According to Fox News, the Chicago mayor said that there had been several agitators who disguised themselves as peaceful protesters to try and start a fight with police officers. Lightfoot added the encounters were relatively short due to the swift response of officers. David Brown, the Chicago Police Department Superintendent, said that some people in the group hid themselves behind black umbrellas to avoid police identification and later pushed and attacked officers. One video footage from the Chicago police showed an individual swinging a skateboard at officers and striking one personnel. Several activist groups and a few elected officials have accused Chicago police officers of using violent tactics during protests, including using chemical irritants to disperse the crowd and using batons to strike people. The youth activist group, The Peace, released a statement on Sunday that claimed protesters were peacefully marching until Chicago police officers and other law enforcement agencies quickly went violent against the crowds. Last week, the shooting of a black man by police officers in Englewood neighborhood in South Chicago caused several large crowds to invade the downtown shopping area, smashing windows of business establishments and looting store merchandise, as reported by NBC Chicago. Also Read: President Trump's Younger Brother, Robert Trump Dies at 71 Police brutality? Organizers of the protests are demanding Chicago police and Mayor Lightfoot to make formal apologies for allegedly violating their rights to peaceful protests and their apparent violent attacks against demonstrators. According to ABC 7 Chicago, the group said the violent activities resulted from police officers becoming increasingly agitated towards the crowd. They also claimed that instead of agitators, police officers were the ones disguised within the movements. A member of the group, Alicia Kamil, said they were peacefully marching outside until police officers brutally attacked them. She added they retreated to a safe spot before law enforcement pepper-sprayed the crowds and proceeded to beat people up. Another activist, Ja'mal Green, demanded that if police officers arrested protesters for violence, then law enforcement should also be held responsible for their violent actions. She added the Chicago Police Department would never allow footage or images of one of their own becoming violent against protesters or holding them responsible for their actions. Many Chicago Democrats, including Senator Robert Peters, Representative Lakesia Collins, and Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, raised their concerns with Chicago police using the department's funds on the violent tactics in the city that has recorded a lower number of homicide case clearance rate than most other large cities. A statement from the activist group said they were condemning Mayor Lightfoot and Superintendent Brown for the police's use of aggressive tactics against protesters on Saturday night. It also criticized police for the use of surveillance, violence, and detaining protesters. Related Article: Israel-UAE Peace Deal Should Be Credited to Obama, Says Joe Biden @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. When large firms with close ties to national governments use unfair practices to game the system, international trade rules should be invoked to restore fairness. That was the theme of a letter in June from the American Petroleum Institute (API) to U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. The letter detailed the gambits deployed by Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), the Mexican government-owned energy giant, to keep near monopoly control by strong-arming energy markets. According API, US investors are facing increasing difficulties getting permits for a range of activities, including new or re-branded stations, third party storage facilities, imported fuels, liquids terminals, and LNG terminals. In short, PEMEX, with the help of Mexican government officials, is doing everything it can to exclude foreign firms. That includes throwing up roadblocks to American companies seeking permits for new or rebranded gas stations, energy storage facilities, and liquefied natural gas terminals. According to officials, delays are now routine for permits that are supposed to be granted within 90 days and American gas companies have even seen their pumps shut down over minor infractions, often with coercion from the Mexican National Guard. To make matters worse, on July 1st, 2020 the day the USMCA entered into force the Mexican government required American companies to keep five days worth of fuel storage, a Catch-22 rule since PEMEX owns the lions share of storage and Mexican officials block U.S. firms from building storage. PEMEX clearly has much at stake. Today, it owns roughly 30 percent of all fuel stations in Mexico. Moreover, PEMEX officials have vowed to nearly double the company's drilling activity, even as the vast majority of the oil and gas firms have pulled back on exploration and production. In fact, Mexico stands alone in Latin America as the only nation to increase its rig count during the COVID-19 crisis. American firms have much at stake, too. Mexico is the number one export market for U.S. finished motor gasoline, pipeline natural gas, and total refined products. Last year, the U.S. sent nearly two thirds of its gas exports, nearly 5 trillion cubic feet, to Mexico and Canada. Energy flows to our northern and southern neighbors support 12 million U.S. jobs and account for well over $1 trillion in trade. PEMEXs bid to maintain its monopoly is no excuse for official discrimination against US and other foreign firms. These offenses highlight why faithful implementation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is so important. Mexico is engaging in exactly the type of mistreatment that USMCA was intended to address. Under USMCA rules, American companies that entered the Mexican market after that nations 2013 Energy Reforms should receive protections from the kind of discrimination detailed by American energy industry leaders. Using the USMCA framework, American investors can seek justice using the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) system, a mechanism built to adjudicate claims of discrimination against foreign investors. While U.S. oil and gas firms certainly stand to benefit from the protections offered by the USMCA, Mexico has much to gain as well. Some 60 billion barrels of deep-water oil and 550 trillion cubic feet of shale gas lie within Mexicos control. When the pandemic recedes and energy markets recover, foreign investment can help unlock this vast potential, but only if the Mexican government treats foreign firms fairly. By insisting on faithful implementation of the USMCA, Secretary Pompeo and Ambassador Lighthizer, can ensure that U.S. energy firms are no longer victims of PEMEX maneuvers and, at the same time, do a real service for the Mexican economy. The country's worsening rate of Covid-19 is "deeply concerning", Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said, promising deep analysis of what might be done in response. A Cabinet committee due to meet tomorrow could take further measures in response to the increased infection rate, although there are no indications yet what the measures could be. The latest figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) showed there were 66 confirmed cases yesterday, with no new deaths reported. Of the new cases, 21 were in Kildare, 16 were in Dublin and six were in Limerick. Mr Martin, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly met with acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn yesterday. They discussed the "evolving" situation and examined the recent spike in cases, a Government statement said. Flippant Expand Close Taoiseach Micheal Martin / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Taoiseach Micheal Martin "They expressed deep concern at yesterday's figures," the statement added. "There will be a further analysis of the situation ahead of the Cabinet Committee on Covid, which will meet again on Tuesday." The meeting came after Ireland's rate of infection per 100,000 rose to 22.1, with 200 new cases reported on Saturday. The infection rate surpasses that of the UK, where it is 18.6 per 100,000. Labour Party spokesman on Education Aodhan O Riordain yesterday criticised the Tanaiste for his "flippant" remarks that Covid clusters in schools are inevitable. "That leads to an awful lot of uncertainty and worry among school communities. I think schools have to reopen and we've been saying this for a number of weeks now," he said. But he added: "Nothing can reopen, families can't function, if schools aren't back. "Of course they have to get back safely, and now one of the issues is that we need rapid testing for teachers." He said Education Minister Norma Foley should appear in front of the Covid committee this week "to talk through what scenarios and what sort of strategies will be in place by the Department". "We don't want to unnecessarily frighten or scare children, young people, or their parents," Mr O Riordain said. "But it doesn't help when statements are made about school transport, about face coverings, about reopenings, and there isn't a minister available either last week or this week to give that certainty to parents and students." Sinn Fein health spokesman David Cullinane agreed. "The priority has to be to get the schools reopened. I have three young boys myself. We want to see them back to school and parents want to see their children back to school," he said. "The children of the nation need to be back in school. So we have to do everything that we possibly can. "We know that with the numbers that have come out, and they're usually about 10 to 14 days behind reality, so that you're actually looking at a picture from the past," he said. Strategy "In about two weeks' time, schools are set to reopen. I think everybody will be concerned, and the acting chief medical officer has expressed a deep concern. "I think what we have to do first and foremost is have a plan and a strategy in place to wrestle back control of this virus and to get it under control. "Unfortunately the numbers are going up, the number of cases are going up, the 14-day average per 100,000 is going up, the reproduction rate is going up, and the number of cases in the community is going up." Mr Cullinane said there was also a responsibility on individuals. "Sometimes there are lapses, as we have seen with this social media clip of a Dublin restaurant, but it is also the responsibility of the Government to step up to the plate and make sure that we have the highest levels of prevention and enforcement measures in place." The US has been using national security as an excuse to bring down non-American companies, China said on Monday. TikTok has met almost all US demands, but still cannot be spared. Such bullying practice deviates from international trade rules and fair competition. It will also hurt US own interests, Chinese Foreign Ministry said. US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on August 14, requiring ByteDance to divest its interests in video-sharing app TikToks operations in the US within 90 days. There is credible evidence that leads me to believe that ByteDance ... might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States, the US President said in the order. The new order came after an earlier executive order was signed by Trump. The previous order could have forced US-based app stores to stop distributing the TikTok app if ByteDance did not reach a deal to divest from it in 45 days. Under the latest order, ByteDance is expected to destroy all its copies of TikTok data attached to American users. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said that the Trump administration is working hard to protect Americans from the threats of untrusted vendors such as TikTok and WeChat, which it wants to remove from US app stores like those operated by Apple and Google. US politicians have repeatedly criticised TikTok, owned by Beijing-based startup ByteDance, of being a threat to national security because of its ties to the Chinese Communist Party. China and the US are at loggerheads on a variety of issues including Hong Kong national security law, the South China Sea, coronavirus and trade. Last month, Indias ministry of electronics and information technology (MEITY) banned 47 apps, which were variants and cloned copies of the 59 apps banned earlier in June. These banned clones include Tiktok Lite, Helo Lite, SHAREit Lite, BIGO LIVE Lite and VFY Lite. TDT | Manama The High Criminal Court yesterday sentenced two private sector employees to five years in jail and fined them BD5,000 each after finding them guilty of money laundering. Announcing the verdict was Chief Prosecutor Ahmed Al Qurashi, who explained that the court also ordered to confiscate the embezzled amounts and any money owned by the defendants equal to the money they stole, in addition to deportation. Al Qurashi said the duo, who work together at a tourism company, were already convicted of embezzlement and the money laundering charge was discovered when the Public Prosecution traced the amounts they stole from the company. Clarifying further, Al Qurashi said the defendants have completed transactions using the stolen money with the intent of conveying that it is from legitimate sources, adding that these operations included deposits, withdrawals and remittances. When confronted in the interrogation, one of the defendants confessed to the crime and his co-defendants assisting role in the crime. The prosecution referred the case to the concerned court, which issued the aforementioned verdict, the Chief Prosecutor added. Updated at 6:40 p.m. EDT on 2020-08-17 Members of the Malaysian coast guard shot dead a Vietnamese sailor during a violent confrontation with Vietnamese-flagged fishing boats suspected of encroaching in Malaysian waters of the South China Sea, authorities said Monday. The incident occurred about 81 nautical miles (150 km) off Tok Bali, a small port in northern Kelantan state, late on Sunday when the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) was out on patrol looking for fishing boats from Vietnam and other countries poaching in Malaysian waters. MMEA Chief Mohd Zubil Mat Som said Rescue Boat 7 was approaching two Vietnamese fishing boats to conduct an inspection when it was rammed and attacked with Molotov cocktails and hard objects including metal rods, lumber blocks and wrenches. (Our crew) had no choice in their effort to defend themselves, their lives, and (the ship) but to discharge their weapons toward the fishing boat, he said, adding the ramming damaged the front starboard section of the coast guard ship and broke the glass in its windshield. He said the officers observed the rules of engagement by firing a warning shot, but claimed it was ignored. MMEA is opening an investigation into the incident. The MMEA has full authority to investigate any offense under Malaysian law in Malaysias maritime zone, he said. Shafien Mamat, Kelantan's police chief, told BenarNews that the victims body was sent to a hospital in the town of Pasir Puteh for an autopsy. The remaining 18 fishermen on the boat have been brought to shore by the MMEA for further investigation, he said. Sundays incident occurred while the MMEA ship was out on patrol as part of Operation Seahorse, an ongoing effort to clamp down on fishing boats from Vietnam and other countries poaching in Malaysian waters. In a statement, the MMEA chief defended the crews actions. Chief Mohd Zubil Mat Som said Rescue Boat 7 was rammed by the Vietnamese fishing boat and its officers were attacked with Molotov cocktails and hard objects including metal rods, lumber blocks and wrenches. (Our crew) had no choice in their effort to defend themselves, their lives, and (the ship) but to discharge their weapons toward the fishing boat, he said, adding the ramming damaged the front starboard section of the coast-guard ship and broke the glass in its windshield. Mohd Zubil noted that the officers observed the rules of engagement by firing a warning shot, but claimed it was ignored. MMEA is opening its own investigation into the incident. The MMEA has full authority to investigate any offense under Malaysian law in Malaysias maritime zone, he said. The remaining 18 fishermen ... have been brought to shore by the MMEA for further investigation, he said. In Hanoi, spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Vietnams Foreign Ministry was "deeply concerned" about the incident and wanted the Malaysian side to "strictly deal with any personnel that caused the deaths of Vietnamese fisherman." The Vietnamese embassy in Malaysia would arrange consular visits to the detained fishermen, she told reporters, according to Tuoi Tre News. At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cooperated with domestic agencies to verify the identities of the fishermen and obtain more information about the case to have a basis to fight wrong-doing, take measures to protect citizens, and protect the legal rights and interests of Vietnamese fishermen, she added. Hundreds detained Separately, the MMEA division in Sarawak, a state in Malaysian Borneo, announced on Sunday that it had detained 20 Vietnamese fishermen on two boats in its territorial waters 225 nautical miles north of Tanjong Po near Kuching under its Operation Eastern Dragon. Inspections of the first boat found 17 individuals including the captain on board, while on the second boat three individuals including the captain were engaged in illegal fishing, Robert Teh Geok Chuan, the MME commander in Sarawak said in announcing the arrests that occurred last week. The agency confiscated 40 tons of fish, 13,000 liters of diesel and the two boats. The agency estimated the total value at 2.5 million ringgit (U.S. $596,000). Operation Seahorse, which was launched on June 24, so far has resulted in the detention of 487 Vietnamese crew members from 43 boats. Operation Eastern Dragon, which started in April 2019, has resulted in the detention of 1,411 crew members from 135 foreign fishing boats. Officials did not identify the countries of origin. Ramli Dollah, a security analyst at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), said some in Vietnam see it as their right to fish throughout the South China Sea. Vietnam considers this area is theirs because it is one of the claimants of the islands in the South China Sea, Ramli told BenarNews. He said other factors including Vietnams booming fishing industry as well as the rich sea life found in the South China Sea contribute to the encroachment. The South China Sea is one of the rich fishing zones in Asia especially being home to the blue fin tuna and other marine species, he said. [D]ue to the high demand for fish in the global market, it is not surprising that Vietnam has become one of the worlds major exporters. Certain key importers of seafood including the European Union, have reprimanded countries like Thailand and Vietnam in the past for lax enforcement of illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. The European Commission slapped Vietnam with a yellow card in 2017, warning that its seafood exports to the European market would be cut off if its fisheries enforcement did not improve. Vietnam subsequently created a National Steering Committee to combat the issue in 2019, but IUU fishing remains a problem Vietnam is still considered the 4th worst offender of IUU fishing in Asia, according to the IUU Fishing Index put out by the Geneva-based Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. In January 2019, the EU cleared Thailand of a similar yellow card, four years after Brussels had warned Bangkok against illegal and unregulated fishing by Thai boats. Meanwhile Malaysian defense analyst Abdul Rahmat Omar, a retired army captain, said ramming cases were unusual. But there were instances in the past where Vietnamese boats deployed lines astern hoping that the propellers of our patrol vessels would get caught. There have been incidences where they have rammed Indonesian patrol boats because they do venture all the way to the Natuna islands, he told BenarNews. Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Social media didnt matter before in elections but since 2016, campaigns have been defined by how platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have been used to try and steer political conversations to a candidates advantage or disadvantage. In the study Tracking Digital Disinformation in the 2019 Philippine Midterm Election, authors Jonathan Corpus Ong, Ross Tapsell, and Nicole Curato presented a more detailed view of how social media has played a huge part in digital campaign strategies from digital disinformation, tapping micro-influencers, to imposter news channels. Ahead of the 2022 presidential elections, there are already rumblings of possible poll strategies using social media. This time in particular, it involves buying fan pages of well-known celebrities who are affected by the ABS-CBN shutdown. In July, Bea Alonzo posted a series of Instagram Stories that detail how she had received messages from her fans, warning her about strangers offering to buy her fan pages for unknown reasons. Other ABS-CBN stars also allegedly received offers to buy their fan pages, just as the Kapamilya network was on its last legs, as if vultures were swarming over a fresh carcass. In light of this issue, some political pages were found to be previously fan pages or non-political platforms. Representative Luis Raymond Lray Villafuertes Facebook page was once Jake Vargas page and his son Migz Villafuertes page was originally named Mcdonalds Sexret files. A screenshot of Governor Migz Villafuerte's Facebook page transparency. His page is verified by Facebook and is currently a platform for the governor to connect to his constituency. Rep. Lray Villafuerte's Facebook page was previously a Jake Vargas page. His page now, (@lrayvillafuerteofficial though unverified) is also used to connect to his constituencies and show his activities. According to cybersecurity experts, this phenomenon could be a strategy to prepare for the 2022 general elections. But this isnt a new practice, according to Lisa Garcia of Foundation of Media Alternatives. There were already reports that during the previous elections, some K-pop pages were used to help boost the popularity and the campaign of some candidates, she said. Buying established fan pages could allow any aspiring candidate to easily post any information they want and reach thousands of possible voters overnight without having to struggle to build an audience. The number of likes on the old Page could also be used as proof of the candidates popularity on social media, even if its Likers did not consent to the name change. For example, Mocha Uson stated in a BBC interview that her social media numbers attested to the popularity and support of President Rodrigo Duterte: "On my Facebook I have 4.4 million followers and the engagement is as high as 3.6 or 3.7 million." These numbers have been built up over the course of six years on her personal Facebook Page. However, if an aspiring political candidate were to buy a Page with a following as huge as Usons, the social media numbers could be used to create a perception of a big fanbase and sway voters to decide in his or her favor. After all, the current Philippine administration is no stranger to using Facebook for its political agenda. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the 2016 Philippine presidential elections were a prime example of the power of social media, where Rodrigo Duterte was hailed as the undisputed king of Facebook conversations, dominating 64 percent of election-related conversations on the social media platform. His campaign managers crafted a strong social media strategy banking on amplifying channels through the distribution of key messages scattered across the Philippines and even among OFWs. Soon, these groups and pages with thousands of followers became part of the machinery that either produced or distributed propaganda. I would say that buying a fan page and converting that into your personal page is a lazy way of growing ones online constituency, said Garcia. The followers in that page are not even your friends, you dont even know most, if not all, of them, much less know what these people want. Beyond elections, page-buying can also be a way to scam people through malicious links or phishing personal details by misrepresenting a brand. For example, if a clothing Page you regularly buy from sells its ownership without announcing it, the new page owners can pretend to conduct legitimate sales with the goal of swindling you and other customers. For owners of pages who are being propositioned for their accounts, Garcia cautions against the dangers of selling these off: Celebrities and influencers who have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers should be wary of selling their accounts because these might be used for other purposes, including hacking, trolling, and committing crime. In fact, buying a page to substantially change its purpose is against Facebooks own Page, Groups and Events Policies. Section 10 states that, Name changes and merges must not result in a misleading or unintended connection and must not substantially change the Pages subject matter. So what should you do? We usually just hit Like or Follow on a page while mindlessly checking out our invite notifications, and then leave it forever. A lot of people dont prune their Liked Pages list as carefully as their Friends list, so theres not a lot of unfollowing or unliking going on. Knowing that these things are happening in the background should make us more alert about our behavior when we interact with Pages on social media. Here are some tips on how to do that: Be wary of unfamiliar names on your news feed Ever scroll down and see a post from a page name you dont recognize? Always double check these pages and see if they were something you actually remember liking. If not, you can decide whether or not you want to keep liking them. Review your Liked Pages regularly Set aside time to go through your list of liked Pages so that you can see if theres anything amiss. It can also be a good opportunity to lessen the noise on your news feed for things you arent that interested in anymore. Check the history of your Liked Pages Facebook has implemented changes to increase the transparency of page histories so that we can always be aware of any changes at any given time. To check a pages history, head over to the pages timeline and scroll down to the Page Transparency section on the sidebar. Click See All and youll access a wealth of information such as name changes, the date the page was made, or where the admins are located. Dont share or post your personal information on Pages Be careful of the information you share when messaging Facebook Pages. We can often be nonchalant in giving out details such as our address, mobile numbers, and IDs, especially when interacting with buy and sell Pages or customer support accounts. But who knows who can see this information in the future if the Page is sold off or the administrators change? Try using a different channel, such as email or phone call, to contact the Page owner instead. Be more discerning of who you follow To avoid having to go through so many accounts, be more intentional in choosing the Pages that you like and how you interact with them. If youre on the fence about liking a Page or have doubts about the integrity of the Page owners, its better not to like it. After all, your Facebook Likes are not necessarily representative of your preferences in real life. So youve been going through your Likes and discovered a huge identity change. What should you do? You may opt to report a changed Page to Facebook for takedown. To do so, visit the Pages timeline then click the button that looks like an ellipsis. Select Find support or report Page, Fake Page, and Misleading Page Name Change as the reason for takedown if you believe this is the case. If you have a lot of friends who also like the Page, you can alert them to the shift through a wall post so that they can make an informed decision whether to keep liking the Page. Ultimately, however, the responsibility for policing these name changes should be on the social media platforms shoulders. Facebook and other social sites should create and implement more stringent rules to monitor the buying and selling Pages, as well as immediately respond to any reports of fake pages. There should also be an option to report individuals trying to engineer Page sales, not just reporting fake Pages when their names have already been changed. If a politician has been found to mislead netizens by buying an unrelated fan page, they should be removed as admins of the Page and the Page itself should be shut down. In a time when fake news and disinformation are rampant, it is important to protect the way we engage with social media, so that everyone feels safe in the online communities they create. Spain's scandal-plagued former King Juan Carlos has fled to the UAE, the royal palace today confirmed, following reports he was staying in Abu Dhabi with his mistress. The 82-year-old 'travelled to the United Arab Emirates on August 3 and he remains there,' a royal spokesman said without giving further details. Juan Carlos is believed to be staying with his 'most faithful friend for the past 40 years', 70-year-old Mallorcan interior designer Marta Gaya, in a 10,000-a-night presidential suite at the Emirates Palace Hotel. In a surprise move, Juan Carlos announced on August 3 that he was leaving Spain to prevent his personal affairs from undermining his son King Felipe VI's reign, but did not say where he would be going. Scroll down for video. Juan Carlos (pictured at a bullfight in 2018) is believed to be staying with his 'most faithful friend for the past 40 years', 70-year-old Majorcan interior designer Marta Gaya (pictured at a funeral four a countess in 2013) Juan Carlos is stayiing in a 10,000-a-night presidential suite in the Emirates Palace Hotel (air view pictured) in Abu Dhabi, Spanish daily ABC reported The royal palace had up until now refused to reveal where Juan Carlos is living, saying he would announce it himself if necessary. While pro-monarchy Spanish daily ABC had reported that the former king had travelled to Abu Dhabi, other media singled out Portugal, where Juan Carlos spent part of his youth, or the Dominican Republic as possible destinations. While Juan Carlos is not under formal investigation, revelations by a former mistress, German businesswoman Corinna Larsen, raise legal questions about his financial affairs which officials are looking into in Spain and Switzerland (pictured: Ms Larsen at a luncheon at Claridge's Hotel, London, June 2017) While Juan Carlos is not under formal investigation, revelations by a former mistress, German businesswoman Corinna Larsen, raise legal questions about his financial affairs which officials are looking into in Spain and Switzerland. The suspicions centre on 77 million (85 million euros) which that late Saudi king Abdullah allegedly deposited into a Swiss bank account in 2008 to which Juan Carlos had access. Prosecutors at Spain's Supreme Court are looking into claims made by Larsen that Juan Carlos received kickbacks for a Saudi high-speed rail contract, which was awarded in 2011 to a consortium of Spanish companies. The 280 mile link between Mecca and Medina was inaugurated in 2018. Royal expert and author Pilar Eyre said last week that the former king and his wife Sofia have not shared a bedroom since she caught him with another woman on a 1976 hunting trip and she is thought to be with family in Mallorca. She wrote in glossy Spanish magazine Lecturas: 'The king is not alone. His faithful friend for the past 40 years is with him, the person who forgives everything, never fails him, accompanies him, comforts him.' She added: 'They have experienced a wonderful love affair and face their future together hand in hand. 'Juan Carlos, who has been so courageous on other occasions, should show himself publicly with her. He owes it to her, and also to us.' The mistress of the former king, who according to Spanish historian Amadeo Martinez Ingles has had an astonishing 5,000 lovers in his lifetime, was not named. Pilar Eyre also claimed in her article that Juan Carlos had left Spain with just two suitcases containing only the 'essentials.' King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain are seen making a royal visit to Ibiza, Spain today Pictured left to right: Then-Princess Letizia , Prince Felipe, Queen Sofia and King Juan Carlos pose for a photo in 2009 The ex-king and his wife Sofia (pictured) have reportedly not shared a bedroom since she caught him with another woman on a 1976 hunting trip and she is thought to be with family in Mallorca Several Spanish news websites have named Ms Gaya as the 'friend' and the 'love of his life.' The Lothario was pictured with his rumoured lover visiting a church in Ireland in 2017 Juan Carlos, who has long had warm relations with the Gulf monarchies, ascended the throne in 1975 on the death of the fascist dictator Francisco Franco and ruled for 38 years before abdicating in favour of his son Felipe VI in June 2014. He was a popular figure for decades, playing a key role in the democratic transition from the Franco dictatorship which ruled Spain from 1939-1975. A majority of Spaniards, 56.2 percent, feel his decision to move abroad is 'misguided', according to a poll of 802 people published Sunday in the daily ABC, with only 25.4 percent saying it was the right step. An even greater number of Spaniards, 60.9 percent, believe his self-imposed exile is harmful for his son, the current King Felipe VI, according to the poll of 802 people carried out August 10-14. Since ascending to the throne in 2014, King Felipe VI has since taken steps to improve the monarchy's image, such as imposing a 'code of conduct' on royals. Earlier this year he stripped his father of his annual allowance of nearly 200,000 euros after new details of allegedly shady financial dealings emerged. Juan Carlos is welcomed by State Minister and chief executive officer of the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar), Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber upon his arrival for a session of the first UAE-Spain Economic Forum at the Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in April 2014 A special prosecutor has concluded there were "substantial abuses of discretion" in the Jussie Smollett case and that officials involved made false or misleading statements to the public. Special prosecutor Dan Webb on Monday detailed the findings of his investigation into how the Cook County state's attorney's office handled the case against the Empire actor, and the probe did not conclude that officials broke the law, The New York Times reports. However, Webb's investigation established "abuses of discretion and operational failures" in the case. Smollett in 2019 said he had been the victim of a hate crime and that two men attacked him in Chicago while yelling racist and homophobic slurs, only for police to charge Smollett and accuse him of orchestrating the attack. Later, all of the charges against Smollett were unexpectedly dropped, and amid questions about what led to this outcome, a special prosecutor was appointed to look into the case. Webb says that he spoke with many Cook County officials who were "shocked" by the decision to drop the charges, BuzzFeed News reports. Additionally, the report says that the state's attorney's office "breached its obligations of honesty and transparency" by making false or misleading public statements. For example, the report says that even though Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx claimed that she stopped communicating with Smollet's sister, actress Jurnee Smollett, after being made aware that Smollett was the subject of an investigation, she actually "continued communicating" with her for several more days. Webb also said that a statement from the office about other cases having similar outcomes as Smollett's was misleading. In February, Smollett was once again indicted by a grand jury for allegedly lying to the police. He continues to maintain his innocence. The Cook County state's attorney's office in a statement said that it "categorically rejects" the allegation that it made false statements about the case. More stories from theweek.com Bill Clinton is getting sidelined at the DNC Andrew Cuomo criticized for writing mid-pandemic book about his response to the pandemic John Boehner would 'rather set himself on fire' than get involved in the 2020 election Dear Editor, The Emperor is truly without clothes; Donald Trump is at his lowest. Attention: Those who oppose Trump should remain silent and let him continue to self-destruct. When Joe Biden announced that he chose Kamala Harris to be his VP, America cheered, then all hell broke loose. Churches and evangelicals called her evil, laying bare her view on a womens right to abortion. Trump, in his inimitable way, said she was radical left and unfit to serve. And now he is struggling to call her the new birther and ineligible to take high office, saying She may not have been born here. What a way to bring us together! Well, the beat goes on. My former GOP, now the DJT party, continues to enable Trump with its silence to his atrocities. Its silence is not only complicit and deafening, it is ear-shattering. After the Harris debacle and the unbelievable Trump political involvement into mail-in ballots by withholding funds from the U.S. Postal Service, our democracy is surely on a downward spiral. If Trump departs in handcuffs and does not complete the Mexican Wall by the time he leaves office in November, I want my money back! Jack Bechtold Kingston, N.Y. Meanwhile, MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali also said he had tested positive for COVID-19 after developing 'mild' symptoms Punjab MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali said on Monday that he had tested positive for COVID-19, while Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal announced he was going into self-quarantine after he came into contact with the Bathinda district police chief who has been infected with the virus. Ayali, the Shiromani Akali Dal legislator from Dakha constituency, made the announcement on Facebook. He said he had undergone a test after developing mild symptoms of the disease and his report came positive. Meanwhile, Badal shared on social media that he had come in contact with the Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police who tested positive for the virus. "Our SSP from Bathinda has been tested coronavirus positive and I met him on 15 August for the Independence Day function. On medical advice and for the safety of my family and workers, I am going into self-quarantine and as such no public meetings will be held by me during this period," Badal wrote on his Facebook page. On Sunday, Punjab revenue minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar had tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Punjab has been witnessing a surge in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths for the past several days. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday said he was not averse to imposing harsher measures to check further spread of COVID-19 in the state. The chief minister said the pandemic situation in the state was grim with over 31,000 cases and more than 800 fatalities. Russia Scrambles Su-27 Jet Over Black Sea to Identify Italian Plane, Defence Ministry Says Sputnik News 10:32 GMT 16.08.2020(updated 10:53 GMT 16.08.2020) MOSCOW, August 16 (Sputnik) - Russia's Su-27SM fighter scrambled over the Black Sea to identify an Italian Navy aircraft approaching the country's border, the Russian Defence Ministry's National Defence Control Center said on Sunday. "To identify the target, a Su-27SM fighter of the air defence forces of the Southern Military District was scrambled. The Russian fighter jet approached a safe distance to the aerial object and identified it as an aircraft of the Italian Navy Atlantic patrol aircraft," the centre said. The authority added that after the U-turn of the Italian Navy aircraft from the Russian state border, the Russian fighter safely returned to the airfield. "The entire flight of the Russian Su-27SM fighter took place strictly in accordance with international rules for the airspace use. Violations of the state border of the Russian Federation by the Italian plane were not allowed," it added. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Southeast Asia potentially will face more severe consequences of climate change than other parts of the world, according to the business and economic research arm of consulting firm McKinsey. Climate change is a critical challenge that Southeast Asia must confront as the region seeks to expand its economy and remain a key engine of growth for the world, McKinsey Global Institute said in a report. Asia as a region faces hazards including flooding, drought, severe typhoons as well as conditions of rising heat and humidity. The coronavirus pandemic is "highlighting the importance of risk and resilience to lives and livelihoods, and as the world focuses on recovery, it is important to not lose sight of the role that climate plays," Jonathan Woetzel, a director at McKinsey Global Institute who is leading the research, said in a statement. "Asia faces climate hazards with potentially severe socioeconomic impacts, and thus has a keen interest in playing a front-line role in addressing the challenges," Woetzel said. In addition to the impact on Southeast Asia, the research also outlines the potential impact of extreme weather on countries like Bangladesh, India and Pakistan a region they termed "Frontier Asia." "We estimate that by 2050, between 500 million and 700 million people in Frontier Asia could live in regions that have an annual probability of a lethal heat wave of about 20 percent," said the report. Coastal flooding made worse by rising sea levels is a severe risk around the world and reports have estimated trillions of dollars could be on the line from damaged assets in the future. Flooding not only damages infrastructure but sometimes contaminates sources of drinking water. Tunis, Tunisia (PANA) - On a working visit to Tunis, senior Italian and European officials on Monday reiterated their determination to support Tunisia in its development efforts, by encouraging investment and the creation of employment opportunities, particularly in the interior regions of the country, from where most of the migrants to Italy leave The Washington Post "Post Reports" is the daily podcast from The Washington Post. Unparalleled reporting. Expert insight. Clear analysis. Everything you've come to expect from the newsroom of The Post - for your ears. - - - Members of the House will return to Washington this week, earlier than scheduled, to work on urgent legislation aimed at shoring up the US Postal Service ahead of Novembers elections. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the move in a Dear Colleague letter on Sunday evening. Ahead of lawmakers return, Pelosi called on Democrats to appear at post offices in their districts on Tuesday in a show of support. In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central. Americans should not have to choose between their health and their vote, Pelosi said. Trumps appointee to run the Postal Service has enacted sweeping new operational changes that degrade postal service, she said. Also read: Postal service warns states of delays to mail-in ballots for US election 2020 Alarm bells went off in recent days after the Postal Service warned 46 states last week that it may not be able to deliver their ballots on time for the November election. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly, without evidence, that voting by mail is subject to widespread fraud. A vote on the measure described by Pelosi, the Delivering forAmerica Act, is likely to take place on Saturday, said a senior Democratic aide. The bill prohibits the Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service it had in place on January 1, 2020, Pelosi said in the letter. The move cames amid a nationwide uproar over funding cuts and operational changes to the Postal Service that Democrats say threaten to impede voting in Novembers election and also slowing down critical mail services across the country. Pelosi, in her letter, said that 1.2 billion prescriptions weredelivered through the Postal Services, including almost 100% from the VA to veterans. Many seniors also get their medication through the mail. Attorneys general Democrats are also pressing for the Senate to return early from a recess scheduled to last into September, while state officials -- who actually run the elections -- are looking to take action of their own. The Washington Post reported Sunday that attorneys general from at least six states are discussing potential lawsuits against the administration over cuts to mail service, which have become front page news around the country. Also read: Trump proposes to hold G-7 summit post US presidential elections Representative Carolyn Maloney, chair of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, earlier invited Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to testify at an urgent hearing on Aug. 24 about the changes hes made to postal services, months before whats expected to be a surge in voting by mail. DeJoy, a controversial Trump appointee and large Republican donor whos run the Postal Service since May, also faces an Aug. 21 deadline to produce a variety of documents and information relating to reforms hes ordered. Over the past several weeks, there have been startling new revelations about the scope and gravity of operational changes you are implementing at hundreds of postal facilities without consulting adequately with Congress, the Postal Regulatory Commission, or the Board of Governors, Maloney wrote to DeJoy. Coronavirus anxiety The number of Americans voting by mail is expected to jump this year because the coronavirus pandemic is still raging in many states. Recent media reports have pointed to the removal of mail sorting machines in various cities, as well as taking mailboxes off the streets. Post office operating hours have been reduced and overtime work cut. The agencys inspector general is investigating those moves. CNN reported Thursday that postal management had taken out four sorting machines in Kansas City, two in Springfield, Missouri, and one in Wichita, Kansas, according to union officials in the region. Postal Service Warns Most States of Mail-In Ballot Delays Former President Barack Obama said Friday that Trump was actively kneecap the Postal Service to suppress the vote. Jeh Johnson, Obamas Homeland Security secretary, said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press that given the pandemic and the confusion over mail-in ballots, the message to the American public has to be, Plan your vote. Think early about how youre going to vote. As soon as you get a ballot, return it in the mail, Johnson said. Also on Meet the Press, Senator Bernie Sanders said Congress must absolutely return to Washington to deal with the Postal Service situation. Trumps move to undermine mail deliveries is part of a broader goal of voter suppression, he said. The Senate isnt scheduled to return until September. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said at a press briefing in New York that Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must return the chamber to regular sessions. Schumer also said he plans legislation to reverse some of the recent Postal Service changes, including cutbacks to a ban on overtime. Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security panel, called for a hearing on Aug. 21 or as soon as possible. The president has explicitly stated his intention to manipulate the Postal Service to deny eligible voters access to the ballot in pursuit of his own re-election, Peters and other top Democrats said in a statement on Sunday. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows termed it NONSENSE that Trump is attempting to undercut the Postal Service. I oversaw USPS in Congress on the Oversight Committee. It was a mismanaged wreck during the Obama administrationtheyve lost billions for a decade had issues long before this President, Meadows said Sunday on Twitter. Earlier, on CNNs State of the Union, Meadows said no more mail sorting machines would be disabled before Election Day. Dubai Municipality has developed 70 new parks and playgrounds in various residential areas of the emirate this year. This takes the total number of parks and playgrounds developed by Dubai Municipality since its establishment to 185. It has till date built five major parks in various areas of the emirate, including Mamzar Beach Park, Creek Park, Mushrif Park, Zabeel Park and Safa Park, in addition to five pond parks in Al Barsha, Al Quoz, Al Nahda, Al Qusais and Al Khawaneej. "We are inspired by our leaderships keenness to ensure the happiness and welfare of all segments of society," remarked its Director-General Dawoud Al Hajri. Developing parks and playgrounds in residential neighborhoods is part of the Municipalitys vision of building a happy and sustainable city, and its mission to plan, develop and manage an exceptional city that represents the essence of sustainable living, he stated. "Our operations and initiatives are guided by our values of accountability, competitiveness, collaboration, creativity, transparency and happiness," he added. According to him, the concepts behind residential neighborhood parks and playgrounds demonstrate the Municipalitys commitment to creating recreational facilities and services according to the needs of the residents of each area. "By building parks and playgrounds, we also seek to provide meeting places for children and residents of the neighborhood from all segments of society. We maintain a strong feedback loop with the community and welcome the recommendations of neighborhood residents," he explained. The efficient management of the parks is driven by a set of lifestyle, environmental, sports, health and social goals, he added.-TradeArabia News Service The Centre on Monday appointed Gujarat cadre IPS officer - Rakesh Asthana as the new director general of the Border Security Force (BSF), according to an official order. The 1984 batch IPS officer, currently heading the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) with additional charge of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), will assume full time charge of the border guarding force deployed at the approximately 2,280 km long border with Pakistan. Currently, DG Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal, a batchmate of Asthana, was holding the additional charge of BSF since March this year. However, the government felt that keeping in view developments at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) or de-facto border with China and Pakistans mischievous activities, there was a need to appoint a full time chief in BSF, said a government official. Asthana, known for his acumen in investigations and strong leadership skills, will hold the post of DG BSF till July 31, 2021, time of his retirement. As a young SP in the CBI in 1997, he had arrested RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav in the fodder scam. He has investigated several high profile cases including the VVIP chopper scam and bank fraud by Vijay Mallya. He will also continue to hold the additional charge of NCB. Asthana - a former Special Director of CBI and his then boss Alok Verma were embroiled in a bitter fight in 2018 during which both levelled corruption allegations against each other. Verma, then CBI Director, had even filed a case naming Asthana in October 2018 but the Gujarat cadre IPS officer was exonerated of all charges by a court on March 7 this year. In fact, after the allegations came out in October 2018, the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) conducted an enquiry against Verma and found him guilty of irregularities and impropriety. Verma was removed from the coveted post of CBI Director on January 10, 2019 by a high powered committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) order issued on Monday also stated that 1986 batch IPS officer - V S K Kaumudi, who is currently the director general of BPRD (Bureau of police research and development) has been appointed as special secretary (internal security) or SS(IS) in the ministry of home affairs. Another 1986 batch IPS officer - Jawed Akhtar has been appointed as DG Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard. Senior diplomats of India and Nepal on Monday held a virtual meeting to review the progress made on various India-aided developmental projects being implemented in the Himalayan nation. The meeting came days after Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to greet him on India's 74th Independence Day, in the first high-level contact after bilateral ties came under severe strain following issuance of a new political map by Nepal in May. Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra are leading the delegations representing their respective countries during the oversight mechanism meeting, according to Nepal Foreign Ministry sources here. The meeting, being held virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak, will assess the progress made on various India aided development projects being implemented in Nepal, the sources said. Listen: Setting Sail | Wow Momo may cut jobs in September, business still not back to pre-Covid level: Sagar Daryani No further details of the meeting were available. The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal protested the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory. Days later, Nepal came out with the new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories. In June, Nepal's Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. In its reaction, after Nepal's lower house of parliament approved the bill, India termed as untenable the "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims by the neighbouring country. India said Nepal's action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. Prime Minister Oli has been asserting that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India. A major tragedy was averted after security forces recovered an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) near Tujan village in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (August 16) night. The IED was planted beneath a bridge. IGP Kashmir Vijay kumar said, An IED planted by terrorists under a bridge near Tujan village recovered. This is a road between Tujan and Dalwan. The timely action by the alert security forces has helped in averting a major tragedy as the road connects Pulwama district with Budgam and the road is often used by security forces to move from one place to another. In a separate development, high-speed 4G mobile data services were restored in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir on trial basis for postpaid services from Sunday (August 16, 2020) till September 8. While in rest of the districts, the internet speed shall continue to be restricted to 2G. The order would be effective from 9 pm Sunday and will remain in force till September 8, unless modified earlier, as reported by PTI. Internet services were snapped in Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, hours before the Centre abrogated Article 370 which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated it into union territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The 2G mobile internet facility was restored on January 25. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had asked the Jammu and Kashmir administration to explore the possibility of restoring 4G services in certain areas. U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he approved federal disaster aid for Iowa after a hurricane-force storm hit last week, causing widespread damage in towns and farms and leaving thousands without power. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said on Sunday she requested about $4 billion in emergency funds following the Aug. 10 storm. The destruction compounded troubles for a U.S. agricultural economy already battered by extreme weather, the U.S.-China trade war and disruptions to labor and food consumption from the COVID-19 pandemic. I just approved an emergency declaration for Iowa, Trump told reporters at the White House before departing on a trip to the Midwest. It really did a lot of damage, he said of the storm. Trump, who is scheduled to speak on Monday in Minnesota and Wisconsin, said he aimed to visit Iowa. Ill be going very soon and maybe today, he said. Media reports said the storm caused at least three deaths in Iowa. Winds as high as 100 miles per hour (160 kph) hit eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and parts of Illinois. The storm impacted 37.7 million acres of farmland across the Midwest, including 14 million in Iowa, the Iowa Soybean Association said on Friday, citing estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ive never seen the corn flattened as much as it has from this terrific windstorm, U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa told reporters on Monday. The number of grain bins flattened is humongous. The storm affected 58,000 holders of crop-insurance policies with a liability of around $6 billion in Iowa, according to the Iowa Soybean Association. Grassley said crop insurance covers about 90% of Iowa farmland. It is too early to determine whether there will be enough storage space for the autumn harvest, he said. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Steve Holland in Washington; and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Nick Macfie and Dan Grebler) Related: Topics USA Windstorm Agribusiness Iowa An 'Instagram famous' baker who built a following of 642,000 during lockdown has shared her simple recipe for Mars bar cheesecake - no baking required. Eloise Head, 26, is the founder of FitWaffle Kitchen, an Instagram recipe page where she posts videos of decadent desserts that take just a few minutes to prepare. The amateur chef from London posted a tutorial showing viewers how to make an indulgent caramel cheesecake flavoured with the iconic soft nougat-filled chocolate using seven basic ingredients. Ms Head makes the dessert with 230 grams of Mars ($5), 300 grams of plain biscuits ($3.95), 150 grams of unsalted butter ($5), 480ml of double cream ($3), 500 grams of cream cheese ($5.50) and 200ml of caramel sauce ($4.50), all available from leading supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths. Scroll down for video London baker Eloise Head's mouthwatering Mars bar cheesecake made from seven simple ingredients The base is made by crushing biscuits into melted butter while the filling is an indulgent blend of cream cheese, icing sugar, double cream and chunks of Mars chocolate Eloise Head, who amassed a huge following on Instagram by sharing simple recipes for decadent desserts during lockdown To make the base, Ms Head crushes the biscuits and stirs them into a saucepan of melted butter, then presses the buttery crumbs into the base of a 9 centimetre tin. For the filling, she whisks the cream with icing sugar and cream cheese before adding chunks of Mars into the mixture. She spoons the filling over the biscuit base and leaves to set in the fridge for six hours, minimum. Once set, she drizzles ready-made caramel sauce over the top, allowing it to flow down over the edges to coat every inch of the cake. She decorates with leftover chunks of Mars bar and sprinkles grated chocolate over the top to finish. Recipe for Mars cheesecake Ingredients 300g plain biscuits 150g Unsalted Butter 480ml Double Cream 500g Cream Cheese 120g Icing Sugar 150g Mars Bar, chopped 200ml Caramel sauce, melted 80g Mars Bar, chopped Method 1. Melt butter, crush biscuits and combine in a saucepan. Press into the base of a cake tin and set aside. 2. Whisk cream with icing sugar and cream cheese, then add chunks of Mars into the mixture. 3. Spoon over the biscuit base and refrigerate for a minimum of six hours. 4. Once set, drizzle caramel sauce over the cake and decorate with leftover chunks of Mars and chocolate shavings. Source: FitWaffle Kitchen Advertisement A video of the cheesecake has racked up 8,250 likes since it was posted Saturday, with impressed viewer simply writing: 'Good god.' Another said: 'This is awesome, best one yet.' Others asked Ms Head to share more recipes for unique flavours of cheesecake, with one suggesting a white chocolate and pistachio creation. In April, the baker told Daily Mail Australia she was 'very proud to help people keep occupied' at a time when strict social distancing laws forced billions to stay home worldwide. Is there still a need for traditional office space? And the answer is - It depends. Where is your company located? Had you adopted the Open Space design concept? Were you working at a sit-stand desk, in a benching environment? Does your job require team collaboration? Is your personal situation conducive to working from home? Chattanooga is no Chicago. Or New York. Or Nashville. And, thank goodness, were not Atlanta. A commonality among these other cities is the density of their urban centers and their reliance on mass transit. Crowded subways and commuter rail lines. Packed sidewalks and elevators. Ingredients in the recipe for concern in this age of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, Chattanooga is still a 20-minute commute for most; travel to and from downtown is a piece of cake compared to those big cities. Our office environment is better suited to engage in the recommended social distancing protocols prescribed by the CDC mostly because we dont have companies like Barclays who had upwards of 7,000 employees working in one building in New York City. In a recent article from the Nashville Business Journal, an architect was quoted (and I paraphrase) Gone are the days that you will be working 3 feet from your co-worker. I thought, who works 3 feet from a co-worker? Well, thats the benching environment rows of sit-stand desks not only side-by-side, but also facing each other. The primary function of this environment was to create energy and excitement for freight brokers or insurance brokers and other sales people. To foster competition among co-workers for the benefit of the bottom line. I get it. And isnt that still essential? How do you do that on Zoom? What about human interaction? Who won last nights game? Hows your mom? This workplace phenomenon of benching also created the concern for the densification of the office space and the strain it places on parking facilities and other infrastructure (typical restroom facilities, as designed pursuant to applicable building codes, may no longer be adequate). Something had to give. In Back to the Office Briefing #1, Gensler published the results of its U.S. Work From Home Survey 2020 with a headline that states Only 12% of U.S. workers want to work from home full-time. Most want to return to the workplace, but with critical changes. When answering their question Do you prefer to go back to the office or continue to work from home?, 70 percent of people want to work in the office the majority of their week. It went on to say, They want more space (less density) for social distancing and an assigned workspace. These measures can also improve the performance of the workplace, addressing issues of noise and distraction that were already diminishing effectiveness. The report continues, The preference for working in the office is consistent with Genslers workplace research data collected regularly since 2005. Working From Home has also been referred to as Living At Work. Without stringent guidelines for employees, team leaders are getting pinged with text messages and emails at all hours. Many small businesses cannot afford the technology that allows an employer to check on employees. And on the flip side, many folks report putting in more time working from home but getting less accomplished. Even with our citys GIG-speed internet (thank you EPB), who pays for all of the individual gig-speed connections? Lets keep this in perspective. One size does not fit all. Just like comparing COVID-19 metrics on a per capita basis paints a clearer picture of whats happening in a particular county, so does understanding Chattanoogas center city is not nor has ever been shoulder-to-shoulder on our sidewalks and in our buildings (save for the aforementioned benching workplace). Referring back to Genslers report, People expect to return to a different workplace: more space, less desk sharing, and increased support for mobile and virtual work. https://www.gensler.com/research-insight/workplace-surveys/us-work-from-home-survey/2020 Its a really good read. And since confession is good for the soul, our company leases and manages numerous downtown Chattanooga office buildings. R. Steve Hunt Managing Partner Berry & Hunt Announced as a policy to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further in the United States, the border directive adopted in March, which relies on the authority available to the surgeon general during public health emergencies, was intended to block the flow of most nonessential travel across the northern and southern borders. Seeking asylum from violence or persecution is not considered essential under the policy. But even with the restrictions in place, millions of people continue to cross the border each month, calling into question whether the expulsion policy can truly mitigate the spread of the virus. And the Trump administration has been testing migrant children to confirm that they have not contracted the coronavirus before expelling them, as was first reported by ProPublica. If the children have been confirmed to be virus-free, they are then being expelled. Some children who test positive have remained in the hotels to quarantine, while other have been placed in government shelters for migrant children, as was the practice before the pandemic. Unlike children, many adults have been deported and expelled despite having tested positive for the coronavirus. While the practice of detaining migrant children and families in hotels has been previously reported, the fact that so many well-known hotels are part of the program only became apparent with the release of the list. Some of the hotels listed appeared to be unaware of the program. After facing scrutiny for detaining dozens of migrant children and parents in its hotels in McAllen, Phoenix and El Paso, Hilton, whose participation was previously reported by The Associated Press, said that the decision to do so had been made by franchisees. The corporation released a statement saying that it was against company policy for its hotels to be used for detention and that all franchise locations had been notified they should reject future requests for reservations for that purpose. A legal challenge on behalf of the children detained at the hotel in McAllen was settled earlier this month when the government agreed to release them. One unaccompanied child and the few families that remained were transported to a family detention center in Karnes City, Texas. Security forces shot dead two terrorists, hours after they killed three security personnel in an attack in Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district on Monday, the police said. According to the police, the terrorists opened fire on a joint checkpoint of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the J&K police in the Watergam Kreeri area of Baramulla. In the firing, two CRPF jawans and one SPO [Special Police Officer] of J&K police were killed. Soon after the attack, forces launched a search operation. The attackers were chased and killed, Kashmirs inspector general of police (IGP) Vijay Kumar said. He added that the gunmen were suspected to be the members of Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba. Officials familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that after the attack, the terrorists fled with the security personnels weapons, which were recovered from their possession. Kumar said it seemed that the terrorists had changed their strategy in the Valley and are now attacking security checkpoints. It is a matter of concern. The number of forces on a naka point [checkpoint] is less and is normally in a remote area where they [the gunmen] conceal themselves by coming along with civilians and then fire on the forces. We have faced losses and they have managed to flee a few times, but, we will soon find a response to this tactic and end this problem, he said. This was the third attack on security forces in Kashmir in less than a week. On Friday, two policemen were killed and another injured after suspected Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists opened fire on a police team in Srinagars Nowgam area. On August 12, a soldier was injured in an attack in Sopores Hygam area. (with agency inputs) A former CIA officer has been charged with providing secrets to China over the course of a decade in a case that a top Justice Department official describes as coming straight from a "spy novel." Alexander Yuk Chung Ma, who was also an FBI linguist and a 67-year-old resident of Hawaii, was arrested Friday in Hawaii and charged with conspiring to communicate national defense information to aid a foreign government, the Justice Department said. He faces up to life in prison if convicted. An FBI affidavit alleges an 85-year-old Los Angeles man, a relative of Ma's and also a former CIA officer, acted as a conspirator but was not charged because he suffers from a debilitating cognitive disease. This case demonstrates the persistence of Chinese espionage efforts, said John Demers, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's national security division. It shows the willingness to betray ones adopted country and colleagues. And it reads like a spy novel. Ma, who was being held pending a hearing in federal court, could not be reached for comment. The arrest is the latest in a series of criminal cases brought by the Justice Department against current and former U.S. government officials accused of supplying secrets to the Chinese government. At least four U.S. government officials have been sentenced to prison in the last two years for providing sensitive information to the Chinese government. Court papers describe a years-long effort by Ma to provide secrets to China's government. Born in Hong Kong in 1952, the affidavit says, Ma came to the U.S. in 1968 and eventually became a naturalized citizen. He joined the CIA in 1982 and became a case officer stationed overseas. He left the agency in 1989. Ma's spying started in 2001, the FBI affidavit says, when he and his Los Angeles-based relative met in a Hong Kong hotel room with Chinese operatives and handed over a substantial amount of highly classified national defense information," including details about CIA operations and sources. Story continues The FBI affidavit said the bureau possessed a videotape of the meeting. The video captured Ma counting $50,000 in payment from the Chinese operatives while his relative continued to provide classified information, the affidavit said. The FBI did not disclose how it obtained the video. Ma kept in touch with his Chinese handlers and applied to be an FBI agent in the hopes of handing over more information, the affidavit alleges. But he was told he was too old to be an agent, so Ma changed plans and applied to become a contract linguist for the bureau in Hawaii. A day before starting the FBI job in 2004, he called a suspected accomplice and said he would be working for the other side, the affidavit alleges. Over the next six years, he downloaded, swiped and photographed sensitive information, the affidavit alleges. The handlers also sent him a photograph of five sources it wanted to identify. Ma forwarded the photo to his relative, who identified two of the sources, the FBI alleged. Ma left the FBI in 2010. It is not clear why the FBI waited until January 2019 to conduct its sting operation. But the affidavit suggested the FBI had been tracking Mas activities for years, likely while he was still at the bureau. In January of last year, an undercover FBI agent met with Ma. The agent was posing as a Chinese operative conducting an audit of how his government treated the former CIA officer and how he had been compensated. To prove his bonafides, the affidavit said, the agent played a videotape of the 2001 Hong Kong meeting. Ma bought the ruse, the affidavit said, and confirmed he had handed over classified information to the Chinese operatives in 2001 and had continued to work for them. They met again two months later, with the undercover agent giving Ma $2,000 to acknowledge his work on behalf of China. Ma confirmed "he had provided multiple items of valuable U.S. government information" to Chinese operatives when he worked for the bureau, the affidavit says. At a meeting Aug. 12, the affidavit alleges, the undercover agent gave Ma another $2,000. Ma counted the cash before putting it in his pants pocket. He told the undercover agent that he wanted the motherland to succeed," the affidavit said, and would be willing to continue to work for the Chinese government, perhaps as a consultant." Minsk, Aug 17 : State TV staff in Belarus have staged a walk out as part of the ongoing protests against the results of last week's disputed election, which were in favour of President Alexander Lukashenko, it was reported on Monday. A state TV broadcast on Monday morning showed empty news desks, the BBC reported. Current and former staff have been reportedly holding a rally outside the TV and radio building in Minsk in protest against censorship and the election results. Due to the walk-out, TV channels had to run repeat telecast of programmes. Last week, workers at state-run factories walked out in solidarity with the protesters, and more strikes are planned for this week, increasing the pressure on the President, said the BBC report. A wave of anger has been rising since the Central Election Commission said Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, won 80.1 per cent of the August 9 vote, while the main opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya garnered only 10.12 per cent. Tikhanovskaya, who left for Lithuania after publicly denouncing the results, insists that where votes were properly counted, she won support ranging from 60-70 per cent. In a video message released on Monday, Tikhanovskaya said she was ready to become a "national leader" in order to restore calm and normality, freeing political prisoners and preparing for new elections. According to local, independent news site Tut.by, Sunday's opposition rally in Minsk was "the largest in the history of independent Belarus". Pro-Lukashenko rallies were also held in the capital, with the opposition event appearing to attract much higher numbers, the BBC reported. An official report said 65,000 people had attended the presidential rally but unofficial estimates were as low as 10,000. Unofficial estimates for the opposition gathering ranged between 100,000 and 220,000. Meanwhile, Lukashenko has sought Russian help, saying President Vladimir Putin has promised to provide comprehensive assistance in the event of any external military threat. In a conversation on Sunday, the two leaders discussed "the situation in Belarus, taking into consideration the pressure the republic was being put under from outside", the Kremlin said. Gavin Williamson today apologised to students for the 'distress' caused by the Government's A-level results debacle as he announced a U-turn amid calls for him to quit. Tens of thousands of A-level students in England are now set to see their grades increased after the Education Secretary announced a humiliating change in tack. Grades will now be based on teachers' assessments rather than a controversial algorithm devised by regulator Ofqual. Mr Williamson and Boris Johnson had previously defended the 'robust' algorithm system, which saw almost 40 per cent of grades reduced from teachers' predictions. But the Education Secretary this afternoon apologised to students and parents affected by what he described as 'significant inconsistencies' with the grading process. He said in a statement: 'This has been an extraordinarily difficult year for young people who were unable to take their exams. 'We worked with Ofqual to construct the fairest possible model, but it is clear that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process.' He added: 'We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher assessed grades for both A and AS level and GCSE results. 'I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve.' The A-level results fiasco is the latest in a series of Cabinet missteps for Mr Williamson. Today's U-turn is likely to prompt further speculation over whether the minister, known by some in Westminster as Private Pike after the hapless character in the Dad's Army TV show, will be able to remain in post as MPs called for him to resign. Former minister George Freeman said the exam handling was a 'total shambles' and told Times Radio: 'Ultimately, the Prime Minister is in charge. And I think he will want to take firm control of this and get a grip and show that his government is taking the life chances of a generation of children seriously... 'I'm told the Prime Minister's you know, planning to reshuffle in the autumn, and I dare say he wants to take everything into account.' Gavin Williamson is under pressure over his handling of the A-level results chaos as opposition MPs called for him to quit Students took part in protests in Whitehall and outside Mr Williamson's constituency offices in South Staffordshire (pictured today) Gavin Williamson: The tarantula-owning ex-chief whip who is no stranger to controversy Gavin Williamson first rose to political prominence in July 2016 when he was appointed as Theresa May's chief whip. He initially hit the headlines because of his tarantula Cronus which he kept in a box on his House of Commons desk as he tried to enforce Conservative Party discipline. But his promotion to the role of Defence Secretary in November 2017 resulted in many more headlines as he landed the senior Cabinet role much to the surprise of many in Westminster. But the 44-year-old's inexperience and proneness to gaffs saw the newcomer quickly labelled Private Pike - after the hapless teenage Dad's Army character. The MP for South Staffordshire - Mrs May's campaign manager in her successful 2016 leadership bid - quickly became known for a tendency to put his foot in his mouth. At the height of the furore over the Salisbury novichok attack in March 2018, Mr Williamson infamously told Russia to 'go away and shut up' - prompting derision from critics. In December the previous year, he was accused of pursuing a policy that 'belongs in a Netflix series' after saying Islamist fighters should be hunted down and killed. During his time as Defence Secretary he was also at the centre of a cabinet row after he was blamed for offending the Chinese and causing the cancellation of a crucial trade visit to Beijing by Chancellor Philip Hammond. On that occasion, the then Defence Secretary had made a speech days before the mission in which he talked about sending a Royal Navy warship to the sensitive waters of the Indo Pacific, words that did not go down well in Beijing. Mr Williamson was sacked by Mrs May in May 2019 after he was accused of leaking information from a National Security Council relating to whether Huawei would be handed a role in building the UK's 5G network. Mr Williamson, who is married and has two children, strenuously denied any involvement in the leak. He returned to the backbenches and then backed Boris Johnson during the subsequent Tory leadership battle, playing a key role in the future PM's campaign team. Mr Williamson was rewarded with a Cabinet return as Mr Johnson appointed him Education Secretary. But the coronavirus crisis has seen Mr Williamson in hot water on a number of occasions. He had promised primary schools would fully reopen before the summer holidays in England but had to abandon the plans after head teachers said social distancing rules made the move impossible. Meanwhile, he was accused of botching the roll out of a free school meals voucher scheme while his Department for Education failed to hit a target for handing out laptops for disadvantaged pupils. Advertisement And former Tory MP Nicholas Soames, tweeted: 'What could have been in the Prime Ministers mind that led him to appoint so mere, so unreliable, so wholly unsuitable a man to one of the most important jobs in Government?' The results row was sparked last week after a controversial algorithm was used to calculate A-level grades. The method meant many pupils saw their predicted grades downgraded with critics calling for the algorithm to be ditched and for results to be determined based on teacher assessments instead. Mr Johnson, who is on holiday in Scotland, held a conference call with Mr Williamson and officials this morning in order to figure out how to assuage teacher and student anger after protests in Whitehall and in the Education Secretary's constituency. Downing Street said at lunchtime that Mr Johnson had confidence in Mr Williamson. Mr Johnson's deputy official spokesman said: 'Yes. The whole Government has been working hard to come up with the fairest system for pupils.' Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer responded to Mr Williamson's statement by tweeting: 'The Government has had months to sort out exams and has now been forced into a screeching U-turn after days of confusion. 'This is a victory for the thousands of young people who have powerfully made their voices heard this past week. 'However, the Tories' handling of this situation has been a complete fiasco. 'Incompetence has become this Government's watchword, whether that is on schools, testing or care homes. 'Boris Johnson's failure to lead is holding Britain back.' Lib Dem leadership candidate and education spokeswoman Layla Moran called for Mr Williamson to quit or be sacked. She tweeted: 'This U-turn is victory for common sense and rightly answers calls from Liberal Democrats and others, but it should never have gotten this far. 'Despite the warnings, the Education Secretary's botched handling of grade awards has left countless young people stressed and anxious. The Prime Minister must show leadership and personally apologise for his Government's shambles. 'While it is embarrassing for the Government, it has been excruciating for students. It is clear the Education Secretary is out of his depth. If he doesn't walk, he must be pushed.' The U-turn by Mr Williamson is just the latest example of the 44-year-old hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons. In March 2018 when he was Defence Secretary he told Russia to 'go away and shut up' in the wake of the Salisbury spy poisoning - a comment which sparked widespread derision from Mr Williamson's critics. He was sacked from the role in May 2019 by Theresa May after he was accused of leaking information from a National Security Council meeting - an accusation he has always strenuously denied. He has faced difficulties during the coronavirus crisis as Education Secretary after he had to abandon a promise to get all primary school pupils back into classrooms before the summer holidays. Earlier today, Sir Michael Wilshaw, the former Ofsted chief, had said that ultimately responsibility for the 'terrible farce' around A-level results rested with Mr Williamson. Sir Michael told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There has to be political responsibility. Like all things, at the end of the day somebody has to carry the can and the politicians, the political leaders have to carry the can. 'The great danger for Gavin Williamson at the moment is he is losing confidence - he is losing the confidence of head teachers around the country who have seen this happen. 'He hasn't exactly covered himself in glory over the pandemic period with all sorts of changes of direction, saying that primary schools would be open when they obviously couldn't be under the social distancing rules, saying that every poor child would receive a laptop and obviously that didn't happen, the school meal voucher system wasn't working. He is losing the dressing room, if you like.' The decision to ditch the algorithm came amid growing fury among Tory MPs about the Government's handling of the row. Sir Robert Syms, a Tory MP, told The Times overnight: 'What's happening was avoidable. We saw what happened in Scotland, they got themselves in a hole then got themselves out. We seem to have gone headfirst in and are still digging. There is real risk of Tory MPs going on the warpath.' Another Conservative backbencher had told the newspaper: 'The problem with Gavin is he's ineffectual. If you had someone strong they would have challenged this sooner.' Tory former minister Stephen Hammond today called the A-level results grading system and appeals process 'a shambles'. Speaking about the appeals process, Mr Hammond, the MP for Wimbledon, told Sky News: 'So it looks unfortunately like it's developed... gone very rapidly from some clarity into a shambles. 'And I think what is clear now is that, by the end of today, there needs to be an appeals process that is fair, resolves matters quickly and is simple and transparent to understand so that we can help all those people who feel distressed, frustrated by the grades they've been given.' He added: 'A number of these students have been working since March very hard, not only in preparation for if exams had happened but still doing coursework, and a lot of that would be a very good indication of their true ability. 'And what the appeal process should do is take into every account these young people are not an exam board number, they are real people who deserve fairness and a chance to have their futures put in a solid position very quickly.' The Republic of Korea has supported the national COVID-19 response efforts with essential medical supplies worth about GH2.26 million ($393,000). The items include Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing machines and personal protective equipment (PPE). The support is in the form of $200,000 from the government of South Korea, through the Korea International Development Agency (KOICA), while the remaining $193,000 is a contribution by the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH) and SD Biosensor and Good Neighbours, both Korean non-governmental organisations. Presentation The Korean Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Sungsoo Kim, who presented the items to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration in Accra last Friday, said a cure was yet to be found for the virus that struck the world late last year. He said the nature of the pandemic required the collective effort of the international community to facilitate the fight efficiently. Mr Kim said although no country had been able to eradicate the disease, some were ahead of others in terms of response, saying such countries needed to support those lagging behind for the successful containment of the virus globally. Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, KOICA had begun a $9-million project with the Ministry of Health to strengthen primary healthcare in all 15 districts in the Upper East Region. According to the Korean Envoy, the project was aimed at improving community-based primary healthcare through the Community Health-based Planning Services (CHPS) system. He pledged his governments continued support to Ghana. Gratitude A Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr Charles Owiredu, who received the items, expressed gratitude to the South Korean government and other donors for their timely intervention. He said since the outbreak of the COVID-19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been at the forefront of coordinating international support for Ghana's fight against the pandemic. The ministry, together with its missions abroad, has been working tirelessly not only to guarantee the interest and welfare of the country and Ghanaians abroad but also mobilise resources and goodwill to support Ghanas fight against the deadly virus, he added. He said South Koreas response attested to the long-standing and exemplary relations between the two countries, spanning over four decades. Mr Owiredu expressed the hope that the combined efforts of all institutions, both public and private, would yield the right results and eventually bring businesses back to normal in the country. He bid farewell to two councilors at the Korean Embassy in Ghana Mr Joeng Dongik and Mrs Kim Jeeyoung who ended their duty tours in Ghana last Friday and are due to return to Korea tomorrow. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Luchita Hurtado, an artist who labored for decades in near-anonymity until her collection of works - vibrant, sensual paintings that invite viewers to gaze anew at the female body and to contemplate the nexus of human life and all earthly life - received sudden international attention when she was in her 90s, died Aug. 13 at her home in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 99. Her death was confirmed by her gallery, Hauser & Wirth, which did not cite a specific cause. Hurtado was the unusual artist, a writer for the Los Angeles Times once observed, who "lived at the center of the art world - yet also at its margins." Through her marriages, including to the surrealist painter Wolfgang Paalen and to Lee Mullican, a member of a surrealist movement known as Dynaton, she met and befriended such figures as the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, her husband, the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, and Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. She said that Marcel Duchamp, the conceptualist who reimagined a urinal as a work of art, once gave her a foot massage. Unbeknown to many of her acquaintances, Hurtado was also a committed artist, working at the kitchen table after her children had gone to sleep in a style that evolved to include elements of surrealism, abstract art, Indigenous motifs and portraiture. For many years, she would turn her works in progress to face the wall when anyone visited her workspace. "I always felt shy of it. I didn't feel comfortable with people looking at my work," she told the New York Times last year. "There was a time when women really didn't show their work." Hurtado had one solo exhibit, in Los Angeles in 1974, and presented her works in occasional group shows. But she remained largely undiscovered until 2015, when Ryan Good, a curator organizing Mullican's estate, happened upon painting after painting signed with the initials "L.H." Knowing Hurtado only as Luchita Mullican, he inquired who the artist might be. "That's me!" she replied. The next year, Park View Gallery in Los Angeles mounted an exhibition of her works from the 1940s and 1950s. In 2018, she was among the artists featured in the "Made in L.A." biennial at the Hammer Museum. In 2019, the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London presented what it described as her first solo exhibition in a public institution, titled "Luchita Hurtado: I Live I Die I Will Be Reborn." It later opened at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Time magazine ranked her among the 100 most influential people in 2019. "I still don't believe it, to tell you the truth," Hurtado said on NBC's "Today" show last year, reflecting on the fame that she never had imagined might come. Her works ranged widely in their styles and themes, from modernist abstraction to paeans to the Earth amid the threat of climate change. But she received particular acclaim for her "I Am" series dating to the 1960s, which depicted female nudes from an orientation that some curators at first failed to understand. They showed "the female form . . . in unusually foreshortened perspective, breasts, belly, legs and feet almost abstracted into a dune-like landscape," a writer for the London Daily Telegraph observed. "The bodies were assumed to belong at the top of the frame, opposite the viewer, as if they were the object of another person's gaze," when in fact "the body goes at the bottom of the frame. You're seeing it closest to you because it's a self-portrait, the artist looking down at herself." Luisa Amelia Garcia Rodriguez Hurtado was born Nov. 28, 1920, in Maiquetia, Venezuela, a coastal city near Caracas. She moved when she was 8 to New York City, where her mother worked as a seamstress. (Her father stayed in Venezuela.) Hurtado, too, was supposed to be a seamstress but clandestinely studied painting rather than dressmaking when she was in high school. At 18, she married Daniel del Solar, a Chilean journalist who began introducing her to the artists and thinkers who in turn drew her further into the art world. But it would be years before she could devote herself fully to her creative work. After she and del Solar divorced, Hurtado supported their two young sons in part by designing window displays at the Lord and Taylor department store. She enrolled in the Art Students League and, through Noguchi, met Paalen, with whom she lived for a period in Mexico. Their marriage ended after the death of one of her sons, Pablo, who had contracted polio. "Paalen told me that he couldn't have children because everyone in his family committed suicide, and he didn't want to pass that on," she recalled years later in an interview with the online publication Artnet. "I needed a child, and he understood." Hurtado moved to California, where she became reacquainted with Mullican. They were married for 40 years before his death in 1998. Survivors include their two sons, Matt Mullican of New York and Berlin and John Mullican of Los Angeles; and two grandchildren. Another son from her first marriage, Daniel del Solar Jr., died in 2012. Pursuing her artwork while raising her children was a struggle, Hurtado said years later. But "it was like breathing," she said - "you know, it's hard not to." By the end of her life, her works were housed in institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. "Her vision of the human body as a part of the world, not separate from nature, is more urgent today than ever," Hans Ulrich Obrist, artistic director of the Serpentine Galleries in London, wrote in Time in 2019. "Luchita's masterly oeuvre offers an extraordinary perspective that focuses attention on the edges of our bodies and the language that we use to bridge the gap between ourselves and others. By coupling intimate gestures of the body with expansive views of the sky and the earth, Luchita maps a visceral connective tissue between us all." Hurtado met Kahlo and Rivera in Mexico, in an era when Kahlo - now one of the most famous artists in the world - was less recognized than her husband. It was a matter that Hurtado said the two women never discussed. "We never talked about those things!" she told Artnet. "We talked about dinner, and ordinary things. . . . Frida would be amazed by how famous she has become for the paintings she did. I think it would have amused her to no end." BEIRUT - Lebanon is facing a surge in coronavirus cases after a devastating blast at the Beirut port earlier this month killed scores and wounded thousands, prompting medical officials on Monday to call for a two-week lockdown to try to contain the pandemic. Virus numbers were expected to rise following the Aug. 4, explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port. Around 180 people were killed, more than 6,000 wounded and a quarter of a million left with homes unfit to live in. The blast overwhelmed the citys hospitals and also badly damaged two that had a key role in handling virus cases. Medical officials had warned of the dangers of crowding at hospitals in the aftermath of the explosion, at funerals, or as people searched through the rubble. Protests and demonstrations also broke out after the blast as Lebanese vented their anger at authorities. On Monday, the Health Ministry registered 456 new cases and two deaths, a new daily record after Sundays 439 virus cases and six fatalities. The new infections bring to 9,337 the total number of cases in the small country of just over 5 million. Lebanon has reported a total of 105 fatalities. The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms in most people, who recover within a few weeks. But it is highly contagious and can cause severe illness or death, particularly in older patients or those with underlying health problems. The U.N. force deployed in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel reported 22 of its peacekeepers have tested positive. UNIFIL said it has been tracing and testing personnel who had potentially been in direct contact with an individual who tested positive last week. It says none of the peacekeepers have experienced symptoms. Separately, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said four Palestinians died of the virus over the weekend doubling to eight the number of fatalities in Palestinian refugee camps. Strict measures imposed last spring had kept the number of cases under control in Lebanon, but they surged after a lockdown and nighttime curfew were lifted and the countrys only international airport reopened in early July. Health Minister Hamad Hassan warned the true number could be far higher. Following a meeting Monday with medical officials who demanded another two-week lockdown, he urged everyone to wear masks, saying the virus has now spread in every city and almost every village in Lebanon. It is a matter of life and death, Hassan said, adding that soon private and public hospitals might not be able to accept more patients. Lebanons health sector has been challenged by the pandemic that hit amid an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. The explosion in Beiruts port only increased the pressure on Beiruts hospitals, knocking out at least three of them. Dr. Firas Abiad, director general of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which is leading the fight against coronavirus, described the situation as extremely worrisome, warning that without a lockdown, the numbers will continue to rise overwhelming the hospital capacity. Hassan urged every expatriate or foreigner returning to Lebanon not to leave their hotels until they are tested and cleared. People travelling to Lebanon will be required to be tested both before and upon arrival. He also called for field hospitals and said some public hospitals will exclusively handle virus patients. Petra Khoury, medical adviser to outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab, tweeted that the COVID-19 positive rate has increased from 2.1% to 5.6% in just four weeks. The virus doesnt differentiate between us, she said, warning that a 5% rate is a real threat. Iran, which has the regions largest and deadliest coronavirus outbreak, meanwhile reported 165 more deaths, bringing its overall death toll to 19,804. The Health Ministry has reported a total of 345,450 cases. The government took the first steps on Monday to potentially secure a procurement deal for a Covid-19 vaccine, asking officials of five pharma firms, including three that have candidates in clinical trials, to present a road map within three days of how soon they can produce large quantities and what pricing they expect if their shot is approved. India is yet to strike a pre-production deal with any of the vaccine developers that are in the race for a successful candidate, a strategy several advanced economies such as United States, United Kingdom and some European Union nations have adopted in order to jump what might be a long waiting line. Even as scientists are working to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, we are simultaneously working on procuring the final product to ensure availability and access to our population. As part of Indias proactive, pre-emptive and graded response to Covid-19 since January, the expert group is holding consultations with vaccine manufacturers to plan ahead for the production, pricing and distribution of the vaccine, whenever it is ready, Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said following Mondays meeting. Also read| Covid-19: What you need to know today The meeting was held between an expert group spearheading Indias vaccine strategy and involved Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Zydus Cadila all three have vaccine candidates in human trials. Serum Institute is licensed to produce up to some quantities the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is largely considered the front runner globally. The two others were Biological E and Gennova, both of which have candidates in preclinical phases. All five are Indian companies. Trial data of none of the India-made vaccines is yet to be made available. The expert group asked the representatives of these companies to prepare and a present a comprehensive note on the way forward to the government by Thursday. Click here for complete coronavirus coverage We first need to get a sense of how prepared vaccine manufacturers are. There is no final number at the moment that the government is looking to pre-order, even though initial projections made a few months ago among the various departments involved talked about roughly 680 million vaccines being required, including primary and booster shots, said a person aware of the discussions in the vaccine strategy-making process, asking not to be named. The target group is likely to be between 18 and 65 years. However, there is no final number decided as yet, this person added. The expert panel is headed by Niti Aayog member (health) VK Paul and Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan. The other members of the panel are department of biotechnology secretary Renu Swarup, Indian Council of Medical Research director general Dr Balram Bhargava, and department of pharmaceuticals secretary PD Vaghela. Also read| Very worrying: Few UK Asian volunteers in Covid-19 vaccine trials In its official release, the health ministry confirmed representatives of the five manufacturers attended the meeting with the expert group. The National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration today met leading domestic vaccine manufactures Serum Institute of India, Pune; Bharat Biotech, Hyderabad; Zydus Cadila, Ahmedabad; Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, Pune; and Biological E, Hyderabad. The meeting was mutually beneficial and productive. It provided the National Expert Group with inputs about the present stage of various candidate vaccines being developed by the indigenous manufacturers as well as their expectations from the Union Government, said a statement. UKs Oxford-AstraZeneca and United Statess Moderna-NIAID are the global front runners for a coronavirus vaccine and are undergoing tests in the largest of the trials yet. India too is looking at these options, top government officials told HT earlier. The national vaccine expert group has referred the matter of selection of the right vaccine candidate for use in the country to the Standing Technical Sub-Committee of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI). NTAGI is an advisory committee consisting of multidisciplinary groups of experts advising the government on vaccine and immunisation policy based on available evidence. The government will also closely track the progress of candidates being tested by the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech and Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila. Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) has struck a production and clinical trials deal with AstraZeneca for the AZD1222 vaccine. The centre has already decided to take charge of procurement of the vaccine as and when it is ready. The states have been told not to approach companies directly for procurement related requests, confirmed a second official in the government in the know of things, who did not wish to be identified. The first meeting of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 was held on August 12 with all states. India has decided to support its key neighbours and development partner countries for Covid-19 vaccines. India has some of the biggest vaccine makers by volume and is also likely to receive some doses as part of multilateral mechanisms such as the World Health organization-led Covax Facility that is meant to ensure equitable distribution of doses between rich and emerging economies. This is just the right time to start planning as the competition for Covid-19 vaccine is going to be steep globally. It makes sense to plan for the logistics now to avoid last minute procurement rush, especially when you do not know which one of these vaccines is going to finally materialise, said Dr K Srinath Reddy, founder, Public Health Foundation of India. The health ministry announced earlier that the delivery mechanism will go digital to check last mile delivery on a real-time basis. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Senior diplomats of India and Nepal on Monday held a virtual meeting to review the progress made on various India-aided developmental projects being implemented in the Himalayan nation. The meeting came days after Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to greet him on India's 74th Independence Day, in the first high-level contact after bilateral ties came under severe strain following issuance of a new political map by Nepal in May. Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra are leading the delegations representing their respective countries during the oversight mechanism meeting, according to Nepal Foreign Ministry sources. The meeting, being held virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak, will assess the progress made on various India aided development projects being implemented in Nepal, the sources said. No further details of the meeting were available. The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal protested the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory. Days later, Nepal came out with the new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories. In June, Nepal's Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. In its reaction, after Nepal's lower house of parliament approved the bill, India termed as untenable the "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims by the neighbouring country. India said Nepal's action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. Prime Minister Oli has been asserting that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to "reclaim" them from India. Kazakh police have blocked all entrances to the village of Baydibek-biy after an alleged interethnic incident, local media reported, citing eyewitnesses and local residents. Authorities are also urging villagers not to leave their homes following the clash on August 16, the Vlast news website reported from Baydibek-biy, home to both ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Chechens. Local officials, however, denied reports of the incident in Baydibek-biy, where the two groups have previously clashed, most notably in 2007 when three people died in the violence. There is no interethnic clash in [Baydibek-biy]. No police are deployed there and the village remains open, the regional police office told local media. Some 50 people were detained in the 2007 violence that began with an argument between two young men an ethnic Chechen and a Kazakh -- in a local billiard hall. The dispute quickly turned into a clash involving at least 180 people. Baydibek-biy, previously known as Malovodnoye, is located some 70 kilometers northeast of Almaty, the former capital of Kazakhstan. The Central Asian nation, which has more than 100 ethnic groups, has seen a rise in interethnic conflicts in recent years. In February, clashes between ethnic Dungans and Kazakhs left 11 people dead near the town of Kordai in the southern Zhambyl Province. Thousands of ethnic Dungans fled across the border to Kyrgyzstan during that conflict. Previous ethnic tensions in Kazakhstan include a clash between ethnic Kazakhs and Tajiks in the Turkistan provincial village of Bostandyk in February 2015. Authorities often try to downplay the ethnic element in such conflicts and seek to attribute them to social issues. "We wanted to make sure that everyone could access the same level of insights as the market leaders," said Eric Ryles, Vice President of Customer Solutions at ALM. Judy Diamond Associates, a division of ALM Intelligence, has announced a new low-cost subscription option for its industry-leading prospecting tool, The American Directory of Group Insurance. The American Directory of Group Insurance is the premier market intelligence tool for brokers, carriers, and third-party administrators. With over 100 searchable fields and 90,000 employee benefit plans, the Group Insurance platform contains detailed information from the Form 5500 on the companys benefits package, including Health, Life, Dental and more. Judy Diamond has been providing critical sales and marketing data to the industry giants for over 30 years... said Eric Ryles, Vice President of Customer Solutions at ALM. but we wanted to make sure that everyone could access the same level of insights as the market leaders. Thats why were thrilled to announce a new suite of subscription options, starting as low as $25 a month. These new subscription options, which represent an annual commitment billed monthly, provide every user with access to the full features of The American Directory of Group Insurance, including: JDAs exclusive Modeled Premiums, which now include calculations for the monthly premiums paid per participant The ability to identify Self-Funded employer groups Detailed information on the carriers and brokers who service the plan Contact names and email addresses for key plan decision-makers Each account comes with two complimentary user IDs. For a complete listing of states, prices, and number of records visit https://www.judydiamond.com/products/group-insurance-directory/ To view the American Directory of Group Insurance tool and receive a demo, visit: https://www.judydiamond.com/products/group-insurance-directory/#trial About Judy Diamond Associates ALMs Judy Diamond Associates is the premier provider of sales, prospecting, and plan analysis tools for the benefits brokers, financial advisors, plan providers, and carriers serving the employee benefits and retirement markets. With a promise for comprehensive and current data, Judy Diamond Associates offers instant access to 5500 plan data and a broad suite of analytical tools to support lead generation, relationship building, market research and plan analysis needs. Judy Diamond Associates business is built on a commitment to superb customer service and data integrity. About ALM ALM, an information and intelligence company, provides customers with critical news, data, analysis, marketing solutions and events to successfully manage the business of business. ALM serves a community of over 6 million business professionals seeking to discover, connect and compete in highly complex industries. Please visit http://www.alm.com for more information, and visit http://www.alm.com/events/ to learn about our upcoming events. Please follow us on Twitter @ALMMedia. Customers dine at a vegetarian restaurant in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, June 14, 2020. [Photo/Xinhua] "Big stomach" mukbang (also known as eating broadcasts) was recently under fire among Chinese internet users for its encouragement of a serious waste of food. The relevant newswent viral on Sina Weibo. Many netizens called for permanent ban on the videos of binge eating. According to a poll by Zhong Xin Cai Jing, a financial and economic media outlet, concerning opinions on "big stomach" mukbang among the 351,000 respondents, 53.8% of them said they could accept the idea of mukbang but not the waste of food. A total of 34.2% of them wondered at the deeper social meaning of mukbang. "What a waste of food! Food deserves respect!" said a netizen nicknamed "Bobo tree." Mukbang, or Meokbang, a mash-up of the South Korean words "meokneun" (eating) and "bangsong" (broadcast), is an online audiovisual streaming where a host shovels down a gigantic amount of food in front of a camera while interacting with the audience. Such eating shows originated in South Korea around 2010 and have since taken off globally. Chongqing native Zhang Yumi, better known as Mi Zi Jun on the internet, is one of the most successful hosts of eating broadcasts in China with over 17 million followers on Weibo. She was among the first Chinese people to live-stream themselves eating, and her single-meal records include four kilograms of rice, eight bowls of rice noodles and 80 steamed stuffed buns. Mini, also a Chinese Mukbang star, has once eaten 800 crayfish in one hour. Despite a huge appetite, most of the eating broadcasters seem to stay slim and even get thinner, which is triggering some curiosity and doubt among the audience. It's said that many mukbang participants will resort to "fake eating." The hosts take a bite of the food, chew and then spit it out without swallowing. When editing the video, they just cut out the spitting section out and pretend to have devoured everything. Additionally, emetics are also popular among the hosts to help them avoid gaining weight, despite the potential for harm to the esophagus and erosion of the teeth. Consuming a large quantity of food ostensibly is a terrible waste of food. One-third of all the food produced on Earth, totaling 1.3 billion tons, is lost or wasted every year. At least 820 million of the world's 7.633 billion people one in nine suffer from hunger in the world, according to the statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). "I think this is a very bad and worrisome trend. Such squandering completely runs counter to our efforts to develop the social awareness of thrift and reducing food waste," said Cheng Shengkui, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The health of the broadcasters may also collapse due to their indulgence in prolonged binge eating. In June, this year, a "big stomach" live-streamer named Wang, living in Shenyang city, Liaoning province, suddenly suffered from numbness, dizziness and other symptoms just before he began his broadcast. After seven days in hospital, he died of brainstem hemorrhage. Zhang Yi, CEO of iiMedia Research, noted, "The eating broadcasters should combine the food culture with food consumption. Otherwise, the "big stomach" mukbang has no long-term future." CALGARY - Village Brewery, which describes its blond ale as crisp, dry and slightly fruity, is looking to persuade beer lovers that a new batch made from reused wastewater tastes just as good. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Alberta's first beer made with treated wastewater named "Village Blonde" and brewed as a collaboration between UCalgary's Advancing Canadian Water Assets (ACWA), Village Brewery and Xylem Inc. is shown in this undated handout photo. Village Brewery, which describes its blonde ale as crisp, dry and slightly fruity, is looking to convince beer lovers that a new batch made from reused Calgary wastewater tastes just as good. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, UCalgary Riley Brandt *MANDATORY CREDIT* CALGARY - Village Brewery, which describes its blond ale as crisp, dry and slightly fruity, is looking to persuade beer lovers that a new batch made from reused wastewater tastes just as good. The Calgary beer-maker has teamed up with University of Calgary researchers and U.S. water technology company Xylem Inc. to brew up a limited 1,600-can batch. The goal was to show that dirty water even that flushed from toilets in a major city can be made safe to drink while helping conserve the globe's dwindling potable water supply. "Certainly we do expect some eyebrows raised and the yuck factor is real," said Christine O'Grady, project co-ordinator at Advancing Canadian Wastewater Assets, or ACWA. "Part of this project ... is to start the conversation about how this can be done, why it should be done and that water is a resource that we need to protect." ACWA is a research partnership between the University of Calgary and the City of Calgary that involves the Pine Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility by the Bow River in the city's southeast. Municipal wastewater normally runs through a complex system involving screens, filters, microbes and ultraviolet light to make it clean enough to return to the river. The ACWA team took partially treated water from the plant and ran it through more advanced purifying to make it drinkable. That involved ultrafiltration, ozone, ultraviolet light and reverse osmosis. The idea of making beer from wastewater started out as a joke around the boardroom table while Xylem and ACWA were discussing ways to collaborate. "Then we said, 'Well, we can make beer,'" O'Grady said. "We have all the technology. We have the capacity on all sides." ACWA approached Village Brewery. "They're so progressive and cool. They were all in," said O'Grady. Jackson Stuart, the brewery's marketing manager, said Village was excited to take part in a project that put sustainability front and centre. He said he'll be interested to see how keen customers are to sip suds brewed from repurposed wastewater. "The big thing for us was to try to make sure that the beer tasted the exact same as our other normal Village Blonde and we achieved that," he said. "We're confident." The only difference in making the beer is that the water didn't come from the tap, but arrived in tanks. Alberta Health Services helped the partners develop a safety plan and tested the treated water to make sure it met drinking-water standards. "With the right measures in place, alternative water sources such as wastewater, grey water, rooftop-collected rainwater and stormwater can be made safe for many potable and non-potable end uses," said public health inspector Jessica Popadynetz. Bob Sandford, Global Water Futures Chair at the United Nations University's Institute for Water, Environment and Health, said he believes the "yuck factor" can be overcome. Try our Dish The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Dish arrives in your inbox every other Friday. See sample. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. "The science is absolutely sound and is very convincing. The brewery, too, has done a really good job of explaining this," he said. Natural systems have been purifying water to a drinkable standard for hundreds of millions of years, Sandford said. "We're drinking water that's passed through dinosaurs." In a changing climate and an increasingly populated world, high-level tertiary treatment technologies such as those used by ACWA will be crucial, he suggested. "Because of the numbers of emerging contaminants of concern, we need to have evermore sophisticated water-treatment systems and this is what it's pointing to." This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 17, 2020 System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28:
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The outbreak linked to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul is the country's biggest in nearly six months and led to a tightening of social distancing rules on Sunday. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) reported 197 new cases as of midnight on Saturday, mostly in the Seoul metropolitan area, marking the fourth day of a three-digit tally. South Korea has been one of the world's coronavirus mitigation success stories but it has nevertheless battled persistent spikes in infections. The latest cases brought its total infections to 15,515 including 305 deaths. "We're seeing the current situation as an initial stage of a large-scale transmission," KCDC director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing. "We're facing a crisis where if the current spread isn't controlled, it would bring an exponential rise in cases, which could in turn lead to the collapse of our medical system and enormous economic damage." The outbreak at the Seoul church has revived fears seen in February when authorities struggled to contain an outbreak that emerged in a secretive Christian sect in the city of Daegu and became the country's deadliest cluster. As in the earlier case, authorities are facing some reluctance to cooperate and difficulty in tracking some of the members of the congregation. Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip told reporters earlier the Presbyterian church had provided inaccurate lists of its 4,000 members. While nearly 320 of them had tested positive, including Reverend Jun Kwang-hoon, more than 600 who authorities want to see in isolation were unaccounted for. "We're very concerned," Kim said, dismissing rumours that authorities wanted to round up church members and would record every test as positive regardless of the truth. Story continues "That's impossible. We can't fabricate test results," he said. Jun, leader of the church, is a conservative activist who has also been organising anti-government rallies calling for the ouster of liberal President Moon Jae-in, raising concern that the virus has been spreading at his protests too. 'OBSTRUCTING TRACING' Jun, 64, took part in a protest on Saturday in defiance of a government order that all church members self-isolate and get tested. His lawyers said at a news conference on Monday that Jun did not violate quarantine rules nor intentionally offer incomplete lists. Jun said in an interview with a Christian media outlet that his church was a victim of "virus terror". A ban on church services was lifted in April though attendees are required to register and sit apart. Kim said if the rate of new infections did not stabilise this week the government would tighten distancing, shut high-risk facilities and ban indoor meetings of 50 people or more and outdoor gatherings of 100 or more. The health ministry has filed a complaint against Jun for violating quarantine rules and "obstructing" contact tracing by holding the Saturday rally and failing to provide a full list of members. Jun faces earlier charges of violating election laws and had been banned from joining protests as a bail condition. A prosecutors' office said on Sunday it wanted his bail revoked. Among smaller clusters of cases, 131 infections have been traced to a Christian church in the city of Yongin and about 42 linked to a coffee outlet in the city of Paju. (Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Robert Birsel) AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sellers Shield, an online disclosure platform protecting home sellers, agents, and brokers from lawsuits, announced today a new partnership with Lone Wolf Technologies. This partnership enables Lone Wolf users to access Sellers Shield's online disclosure forms within Transactions (zipForm Edition) and provide their clients with a safer and easier option when filling out their state's specific disclosure forms. This new integration will allow Lone Wolf Marketplace users to access Sellers Shield's Smart Seller Tools through Lone Wolf's platform in order to streamline the disclosure process. Agents will be able to provide their home sellers with help from the Smarty Family; Sellers Shield's digital assistants. They provide helpful insights, legal definitions, and videos for a safer and easier sellers disclosure process. "Lone Wolf Marketplace is the key to unlocking free access to dozens of essential tools and resources agents need to grow and manage their business online, and in one central location. We are proud to offer agents a seamless solution for managing the sellers disclosure process while helping to protect their sellers from lawsuits after the sale. Our integration with Lone Wolf Marketplace is another link in their strong chain of real estate solution providers." Jeff Daily, CEO Sellers Shield Lone Wolf Marketplace offers a variety of tools to better your real estate experience. Lone Wolf has partnered with many other companies to create a platform that organizes your agent toolbox, allowing agents to utilize a variety of programs, including Seller's Shield's easy-to-use online disclosure forms. "We are thrilled to have another efficiency tool in our Marketplace, through our partnership with Sellers Shield. This partnership holds true to our goal of creating a completely digitized workflow for our customers, and their clients, by leveraging technology to remove the friction that exists in the transaction process today. With one click access within Transactions (zipForm Edition), customers can use Sellers Shield's free disclosure wizard to greatly simplify this process for their clients." Jason Cheverton, VP Strategic Channels Lone Wolf Technologies Lone Wolf users will also have the opportunity to provide their sellers Sellers Shield's Home Sale Legal Protection, providing them with up to $20,000 paid legal protection in the event of a dispute after closing. This partnership will make real estate even faster, safer, and easier for all. About Sellers Shield Austin-based Sellers Shield provides software and solutions that protect real estate brokers, agents, and home sellers from lawsuits. Sellers Shield's state-of-the-art protection is designed by industry experts to help prevent lawsuits and provide security to sellers if one occurs. Visit sellersshield.com to learn more. SOURCE Sellers Shield Related Links http://www.sellersshield.com Google has launched a communications system that uses the companys Android phones to detect earthquakes. It aims to provide timely information about earthquakes to phones that run the mobile operating system. The new warning system has already been tested in California, which has more damaging quakes than any other part of the United States. To develop the system, the company worked with the U.S. Geological Survey - USGS - a federal agency that uses seismographic equipment to measure earthquake activity. Technology for predicting earthquakes does not yet exist. But the USGS says it does have equipment to predict seismic activity near a quake. This means it is possible to warn people in areas where such activity is expected. People could then get several seconds or perhaps up to a minute of warning before a quake strikes. The USGS joined several university partners in developing the new warning system, called ShakeAlert. Scientists say the Earths outermost surface is made up of large tectonic plates. As many as 20 tectonic plates cover the planet. They move slowly, sometimes sliding under one another. When that happens, earthquakes can take place. This sudden release of energy creates different kinds of waves that cause the ground to move. The USGS says the purpose of ShakeAlert is to identify the first energy to be released in an earthquake. This first sign of a quake is known as primary wave energy. When sensors identify this primary wave, Android phones immediately report the movement to a processing center, which then estimates the quakes size and intensity. The center uses this data to create a message to warn people using the phones to take action, such as dropping to the ground or taking cover. The USGS says studies in California and two other states have shown that the system could provide warning times from a few seconds to tens of seconds. In addition to warning individuals, such alerts could be used to slow trains, airplanes moving on the ground or prevent cars from entering bridges or tunnels. These messages could also be sent to businesses so their workers can close down gas lines, elevators or other equipment before the shaking begins. The USGS system in California has more than 700 sensors, called seismometers, to measure earthquakes. But creating equipment-based systems around the world would be difficult. As a possible solution, Google launched its own earthquake alert system for Android users worldwide. Google says the system turns its phones into small seismometers. Millions of devices with the technology form the worlds largest earthquake detection network, the company said on its website. More than 2 billion devices use the Android operating system. Google says all smartphones have built-in accelerometers to measure direction and force of motion. These sensors are mainly used to show how the phone is being held. If the phone identifies something that might be an earthquake, it sends a signal with data about where the shaking happened to a central computer server. The server then combines the data with information from other devices to decide whether an earthquake is, in fact, happening. Google says the process is racing the speed of light against the speed of an earthquake. It adds: Lucky for us, the speed of light is much faster! No extra computer software is needed to run the system on Android devices. Alerts will be sent for earthquakes with a strength of 4.5 or greater. Users will receive a sound alert and warning on the screen telling them to immediately drop to the floor and seek cover. Google says the data will also be used to provide fast and accurate information on earthquakes through its search engine. When a user searches earthquake or earthquake near me on Google, the latest information will be shown, along with helpful resources on what to do after an earthquake, the company said. Google said it plans to add the service to Android users in other states and countries over the next year. Im Bryan Lynn. Bryan Lynn wrote this for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and Google. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. Quiz - Google Uses Android Phones to Measure, Follow Earthquakes Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story detect v. discover or notice something mobile adj. able to be moved freely or easily seismographic adj. relating to equipment used to detect and measure earthquakes tectonic plate n. one of the parts of the earth's surface that move in relation to each other primary adj. earliest in time or order tunnel n. long passage that runs underground or through a mountain elevator n. a device that moves people and things up and down inside a building screen n. the flat panel area on an electronic device accurate adj. correct or exact "Housing demand has roared back during the coronavirus pandemic due to record-low mortgage rates, but open houses haven't recovered to the same extent because it's still risky to allow groups of strangers into your home," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "As a result, more homebuyers have been exploring the world of virtual tours and 3D walkthroughs. I predict that even after the pandemic is behind us, many buyers will continue to do the initial part of their home searches online instead of opting for open houses." The West has seen the slowest recovery, with just 4% of homes listed in July holding open houses during their first week on the market, compared with 29% a year earlier. The Midwest clocked in at 9%, compared with 16% in July 2019, while the rate in the Northeast was 12%, versus 20% a year earlier. In the South, 7% of homes listed last month hosted open houses in their first week on the market, just shy of 12% a year prior. Florida Redfin agent Brian Walsh has attended several open houses since they started popping back up across the Tampa area in June. "Open houses are back in Tampa, but they're not quite what they used to be," Walsh said. "Today, you walk in the door and you immediately have to sanitize your hands and sign a piece of paper saying you have no coronavirus symptoms and haven't traveled out of the country in the past two weeks. Only three parties are allowed in at a time, and there can't be more than two people in a party. There's usually an extra listing agent there to control the flow of people. Some sellers leave drawers, closets and cabinets half open so you can peek inside without touching." One reason sellers in Tampa have started to host open houses again is they can't keep up with all of the requests they're getting for individual tours, Walsh added. "Before the pandemic, I was advising sellers against doing open houses because it was a waste of timewe were just getting looky-loos who weren't serious about buying," he said. "But now, demand for showings is through the roof, so open houses can alleviate a lot of stress for sellers. Why do 15 back-to-back showings with individual buyers when you can just host one open house?" At the same time, the market in Tampa is so hot that some sellers may not even need to hold open houses, Walsh explained. If your home is in decent shape and you list it for a reasonable price, it's possible to find a buyer within a matter of days, he said. Demand for homes has been rising across the country as a result of record-low mortgage rates and an intensifying housing shortage, both of which are fueling competition. In July, more than half of Redfin offers faced bidding wars for the third month in a row. In some areas of the country, including parts of Washington and California, open houses still aren't allowed, Redfin agents said. In Seattle, showings are by appointment only, and are commonly booked through an app called ShowingTime, according to local agent Jessie Culbert Boucher. "It's kind of like making an online reservation for a restaurant, except you only get 15 minutes to see the home, and then the next party comes through," she said. "We're seeing lines out to the sidewalk for the really popular listings." While the rate at which sellers are hosting open houses has begun to recover in some parts of the country, it may never return to pre-pandemic levels nationwide, as many house hunters have grown accustomed to viewing homes and making offers from the comfort of their couch, according to Fairweather. A July Redfin survey found that nearly half (45%) of people who bought a home in the past year made an offer on a property that they hadn't seen in person, the highest share on record. Redfin has taken numerous precautions to keep homebuyers and sellers safe during the pandemic. In places where open houses are legally allowed, Redfin is using a queue system to allow only one group from the same household into the home at a time. The company is also requiring all attendees to observe social distancing rules and wear masks. In addition, Redfin is offering private video-chat tours led by Redfin agents, as well as live video open houses. For more information and complete methodology visit: https://www.redfin.com/blog/real-estate-open-houses-decline-coronavirus . About Redfin Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered residential real estate company, redefining real estate in the consumer's favor in a commission-driven industry. We do this by integrating every step of the home buying and selling process and pairing our own agents with our own technology, creating a service that is faster, better and costs less. We offer brokerage, iBuying, mortgage, and title services, and we also run the country's #1 real estate brokerage search site, offering a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate . We represent people buying and selling homes in over 90 markets in the United States and Canada. Since our launch in 2006, we have saved our customers over $800 million and we've helped them buy or sell more than 235,000 homes worth more than $115 billion. For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com . To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center . To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email [email protected] . To view Redfin's press center, click here . SOURCE Redfin Related Links www.redfin.com The TTC and other transit agencies in the province will have to consider replacing some of their least-used bus routes with private microtransit services potentially through partnerships with companies like Uber in order to be eligible for a second round of emergency COVID-19 relief, according to conditions imposed by the Ontario PC government. Last week, Queens Park announced the provincial and federal governments would provide $666 million to bail out Ontario transit agencies whose bottom lines have been hit hard by the pandemic. The funding is expected to flow this fall through the first phase of the Safe Restart Agreement. A second, more lucrative round of funding is scheduled for 2021, with the two levels of government pledging up to $1.33 billion to offset transit agencies losses. In a letter dated Aug. 12, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney advised Mayor John Tory that in order to access the Phase 2 funding, municipalities will be required to review the lowest performing bus routes and consider whether they may be better serviced by microtransit. The term is used to describe partnerships with private transportation providers like Uber that use internet-based technology to offer on-demand service. Municipalities in the GTHA will also be required to engage in discussions with provincial transit agency Metrolinx about new possible governance structures and greater integration of transit fares and services. In a statement, Ontario Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca blasted the conditions, and accused Premier Doug Ford of exploiting the pandemic by trying to force local communities to potentially privatize transit. Toronto City Council and the TTC are best-positioned to figure out bus routes. They need a supportive partner who respects local decision-making not an overbearing premier who is pursuing his own reckless agenda, he said. Jessica Bell, transit critic for the Ontario NDP, said the provinces transit agencies should not be bullied into saying yes to any of Fords conditions and warned they could hurt riders. She claimed the province was trying to impose governance structures that would force the Toronto and the TTC to cede control over municipal transit to Metrolinx and the Ontario Government. Decisions about the level of service on the Dufferin bus route should not be made by an MPP from Barrie, said Bell (University-Rosedale). Ford should leave the TTCs governance system alone. In an email, Christina Salituro, a spokesperson for Minister Mulroney, defended the conditions, and said the province is imposing them because the financial impacts of the crisis could last longer than the emergency funding, which cities can access for costs incurred until March 31, 2021. She said the province needs to work with cities to explore options to ensure the sustainability of local transit, both during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Salituro said the province sees microtransit as a potential way to provide right-sized service to unserved and underserved areas, and new governance structures for GTHA transit agencies could be used to address service duplication in areas where more than one system operates. The idea of supplementing traditional transit networks with microtransit has gained traction in transportation circles in recent years, with proponents arguing it would be more efficient for governments to subsidize ride-sharing services in low-density urban areas than to continue to operate under-utilized bus routes. The TTC is studying the issue, and a pilot project in Innisfil, Ont., under which the city agreed to subsidize Uber trips gained international attention and proved popular with residents. But the Innisfil project has been criticized for actually costing more than traditional bus service would have and for increasing traffic congestion. Don Peat, a spokesperson for the mayor, didnt directly answer when asked whether Tory believes the provinces conditions are reasonable, or whether he would support replacing some TTC routes with microtransit. Peat said the mayor is confident the federal and provincial governments fully understand the need to provide financial assistance to the TTC to ensure Toronto has a strong recovery, and we look forward to continuing to work with them. Toronto is set to receive at least $404 million through the first round of funding, which is less than the $700-million shortfall the city anticipates the TTC will be facing by the end of 2020 as a result of dramatically lower ridership during the pandemic. However, Mulroneys letter states cities can request additional funding before the end of the year if the initial aid isnt enough. Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation for the Star. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr The Tennessee NAACP is asking Governor Bill Lee to veto the bill passed during the recent special legislative session that "criminalizes peaceful protest." The group said, "On Wednesday, August 12, 2020, the Republican majority General Assembly passed legislation that increases penalties aimed at protesters. The most damaging one of all to Tennessee citizens makes it a felony punishable from one to six years in prison for setting up a tent and camping between 10 p.m.-7 a.m. "Presently, camping outside the Capitol is a misdemeanor. If Governor Lee signs into law the legislation that the Tennessee General Assembly passed, this nonviolent offense will carry a felony if convicted. A felony will cause those convicted to lose their right to vote, forfeit or prevent the convicted resident from obtaining a professional license. "The legislation also mandates that vandalism of state property, such as writing with chalk on buildings and disrupting meetings, will result in protestors being held for a mandatory of 12 hours without bond. Not only will this bill have a 'chilling effect' on peaceful protesters, it will cost Tennessee taxpayers approximately $1.3 million to enforce at the state and local level. "The bill is a direct contradictory of Governor Lees promise to reform the Tennessee criminal justice system. It is exceedingly difficult for a person to have a felony removed from their record in Tennessee. In addition, a felony conviction in Tennessee will hinder a resident from getting into colleges and universities, holding meaningful employment, obtaining housing and prevent families from being together. Already, Tennessees incarceration rate is above the national average." In pre-pandemic times, this would be a very busy time of year for Daniel Menzies. Menzies is a DJ and he typically does a lot of weddings, making the summer a pretty lucrative time of year. When he wanted to make a little extra money, especially in slower DJing months, hed work for a couple of hours for DoorDash, delivering food to downtown San Franciscans. Now, thats all he does. The pandemic has changed the landscape of gig work Uber had an 80% drop in the companys ridesharing business in April compared with the previous year, according to the companys earnings report, while food delivery apps are reporting a surge in demand. As the pandemic wiped out almost all of Menzies' DJ gigs, he said he felt lucky to be able to fall back on the work hed done on the side for Doordash and UberEats. Now that DJing is gone, I was blessed to have a good standing with two delivery companies and know what the hell I was doing, Menzies said. At first it was scary. You felt like you should be wearing a bubble around, but now I think its one of the safer essential jobs. He said most of his deliveries are contact-less on the customer end, and hes only in restaurants for a minute at most, especially since hes no longer fighting through hoards of customers dining in or waiting for a table. Menzies delivers exclusively on his bicycle, so he said its also great exercise, which he thinks is good for his overall immune system and even his mental health. He does think he has an advantage over drivers that are just now signing up to deliver food because he knows the strategy. He said it helps to have some experience on the app so you can maximize your efficiency and pay, by knowing which are better orders to accept and which will likely give you better tips. Matt King said the experience he had working in the gig economy was definitely helpful when he picked up more work as the pandemic began and his fiances job cut her hours drastically. He works for DoorDash, UberEats, GrubHub and Instacart on top of his full-time job in tech and has worked on and off in the gig economy since 2013. He said, for example, if he wants to do a few Instacart runs hell drive to Walnut Creek, where the orders and tips are better than in his native Antioch. Hell avoid delivering fast food orders if he can, since the order total is generally lower and thus customers tip less. King said the beginning of the pandemic was so busy that in March and April he could work just nine or ten hours in a weekend and make almost $400. Now, he said hes lucky to make $150 in the same amount of time. He said he thinks more drivers have joined the apps since many lost other jobs. But even with the decrease in pay, King said hes thankful the option to work for these apps is available since he has kids, and its easier for him and his fiance to have a more flexible schedule. Ten or 15 years ago, what would I have done? Would I have gone to mow lawns? Become a pizza delivery driver? King said. Its a lot nicer. All the apps have a cash out option and you can cash out almost immediately. The flexibility is really nice. Melanie Still started doing gig work four years ago after nearly 10 years as a paralegal because she had debilitating sciatica. She lives in San Francisco and normally drives for Uber and Lyft, but stopped working for them in late March once she could file for unemployment. "I bowed out because other people needed that work," she said. "I didn't need to create other competition." Those unemployment benefits will end in September or October, she said, and she'll start driving again then. Four years ago Logan Estrella-Hooten was working in wine production in Napa and started driving for Uber and Lyft on the side. After a few months, he did some math and realized that if he exclusively drove for the ride-share companies he could make the same amount of money as he was making at his wine production job in about half the time. While the switch has been lucrative, he said, when COVID-19 cases were increasing in early March he didnt feel safe driving people around anymore. Once the pandemic hit I turned off Uber and Lyft, Estrella-Hooten said. It felt uneasy having someone in the car while were trying to stop the disease. It boggles my mind people are still doing that. Estrella-Hooten switched to delivering mostly for Doordash in March, though he also works for Shipt, Grubhub, and Instacart as well. So many people have said, Why don't you go on unemployment? But I'm making more than I would on unemployment, Estrella-Hooten said. Not only am I making more money, people are tipping extremely well and sometimes in cash. All the drivers we spoke with said tipping has been better than before the pandemic. Menzies said hes not sure that will last though, as more people are still unemployed and some people are starting to get more comfortable with outdoor dining options. One of the problems with gig work is the money is not consistent. You might make $40 an hour for a couple weeks and then one week its cut in half. Menzies said. It's not save-up-for-a-house money, but it is survival money. Tessa McLean is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her at tessa.mclean@sfgate.com or follow her on Twitter @mcleantessa. Melchizedek only appears briefly in Genesis 14, and yet this priest earns a role in the hall of faith in the New Testament. In fact, the New Testament often compares Melchizedek, the king of Salem (in some translations, Sodom) and priest of God Most High, with Jesus. Melchizedek appears on the scene after Abraham has defeated five kings. He declares a blessing on Abraham, and then Abraham gives him 1/10th of everything he owns. As is the case with many seemingly minor details or characters in the Bible, each plays an important role in Gods redemptive story. In this article, well discover more about this priest-king that Abraham (Abram at the time) encounters in Genesis 14. Then well discuss the meaning of Melchizedeks name, what he did as a priest, and why the New Testament compares him with Jesus. Lets dive in! Who Was Melchizedek? As mentioned previously, Melchizedek is the king of Salem and a priest of God. Lets break down those roles first before we dive further into the personhood of Melchizedek. King of Salem, a place later supposedly known as Jerusalem, meant that he hailed from a land that would have significance in Israels later history. As for his priestly role, well dive into that more in the section below. We should make a careful note that he serves bread and wine. For those of us familiar with the act of communion, this should sound familiar. We also have no idea about Melchizedeks lineage (Hebrews 7). The Bible makes no mention of whose family he belongs, only because he appears for a few verses. Some rabbinic teachings say Melchizedek was Noahs son Shem. Others have said Melchizedek appeared to Abram in a Christophany, or as the Son of God mentioned throughout the Old and New Testament. Although scholars have highly debated his true personhood, most, like Matthew Henry in his commentary, have concluded that he was, in fact, a man and not the Son of God. What Does the Name "Melchizedek" Mean? Melchizedek, or in some translations Malki-Tzedek, literally means my king. Because the tzedek means righteous or just, many scholars have wrongly translated his name to mean just king or righteous king, writes John J. Parsons. Salem also derives from the term Shalom, which means peace. Perhaps his name had also meant King of Peace. Hebrews 7 confirms both of these names. No wonder so many scholars have debated about the possible divine status of Melchizedek as the Son of God because it seems odd that a mere human would ever have a name that means king of righteousness, as indicated in Hebrews 7. In either case, Melchizedeks name points to his kinghood. What Did Melchizedek Do? We dont get a lot of hints in Scripture about the specifics of what Melchizedek does in his role as a priestly king. He does break out the bread and wine sacrament and offers a blessing to Abraham in the name of God. To answer this question, well have to look to the role of priests in the Old Testament and know that the roles may slightly differ. After all, the priesthood doesnt really come until the time of Aaron, Moses brother, in Exodus. Priests in the Bible would serve as mediators between the people and God (well discuss this more in the high priest section below). They administered sacrifices, especially during important holidays throughout the year, such as Passover, and were divided in twenty-four different sub-types (1 Chronicles 24:7-18). They ministered in both the temple and in the cities in which they were assigned. They also specifically came from the tribe of Levi. We should make note that Melchizedek appears again in Psalm 110:4. This verse makes it clear that the order of the priesthood of Melchizedek has an eternal value. Unlike the priesthood of Aaron which ran into many roadblocks and happened on and off, Melchizedeks priesthood lasts forever. Photo credit: Getty Images/mbolina What Is a "High Priest"? In the Bible, we do have a distinction between the priests and the high priest. The priests may range in their duties from taking care of the sacrificial lambs and maintaining the temple, but the high priest had the enormous task as serving as a mediator between the people and God once during the year. On the Day of Atonement (Exodus 28), the high priest would enter the most sacred spot in the Temple (or Tabernacle, depending on the Old Testament timeline). He had a rope with bells attached to him, so those outside the holy of holies would know that God had not struck him dead from the sound. He would sprinkle the sacrifice for the people and himself on the holy seat (the ark of the covenant). Scripture doesnt offer any evidence that Melchizedek does this particular priestly duty. After all, the priesthood of Aaron existed long after his time. But we should make note that he does serve as a mediator between Abraham and God, as other priests do in Scripture. And if Jesus does hail from the order of Melchizedek, we do know that a certain sacrifice Jesus did on earth (his crucifixion) tore the curtain to the holy of holies in half and atoned for our sins. Why Is Jesus "of the Order of Melchizedek"? As mentioned previously, in Hebrews 7, we see that Jesus hails from the priesthood of Melchizedek. In fact, a good portion of Hebrews 7 compares Jesus with Melchizedek. Throughout the Old Testament, we do see certain archetypes to Jesus (Adam, David, etc.), but often they dont receive half a chapter in the Bible dedicated to them. So why does this matter? First, this shows that Jesus takes part in a greater priesthood than Aaron. The priesthood of the Levites was fraught with idolatry, abuse, and didnt last forever. But the priesthood of Melchizedek has an eternal value it lasts no matter what happens. Second, the Bible highlights the importance of Jesus role as priest. We dont often discuss this role as much in churches because most of us dont have a familiarity with priests, as opposed to kings or even shepherds, other titles given to Jesus. But Jesus priestly role plays a huge part in the biblical narrative. Like priests, Jesus mediates for us. He completed the ultimate sacrifice to atone for our sins. Pointing to a Greater Priesthood A great deal of debate has happened over a handful of verses about a man who lived thousands of years ago. The enigmatic figure of Melchizedek seems to last longer than Aarons priesthood, which spans entire books of the Bible. We should care about this as Christians because no detail is too small in Scripture, and Melchizedek proves this. As an archetype of Jesus, he points us to a greater priesthood that will last eternally. He also exemplifies kingly humility by declaring a blessing over Abraham and acknowledging Gods almighty power. Like the Levitical priests and the high priest, Melchizedek acts as a mediator between the people and God. And we later see this same role played out in the New Testament in a different way through Jesus. Jesus, who hails from the order of Melchizedek, plays the ultimate high priestly role and atones for our sins, allowing the people to come face to face with God, as opposed to via one man, once a year. Photo credit: Getty Images/fizkes Hope Bolinger is a multi-published novelist and a graduate of Taylor University's professional writing program. More than 1,200 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer's Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her modern-day Daniel trilogy is out with IlluminateYA. She is also the co-author of the Dear Hero duology, which was published by INtense Publications. And her inspirational adult romance Picture Imperfect releases in November of 2021. Find out more about her at her website. Donald Trump thrives in chaos. He likes creating this, this atmosphere of uncertainty, of danger is something right, is it not right? What we need to do is make sure that we block out the noise and let people know that their vote is safe, that theres many ways in which they can do it, and that theyre not going to be prevented from voting, Lightfoot said. That is one of the most important things is to break through the noise and the chaos that this administration and his campaign are trying to create that somehow their vote wont matter, somehow, they wont be able to vote. Not true. German police have opened an internal investigation of a weekend incident caught on video in which two Duesseldorf police officers pin a young man to the ground, one holding his arms behind him and the other holding his head with his knee, authorities said Monday. In the video of the Saturday evening incident, widely shared on Twitter, a bystander can be heard saying move your knee, brother and thats not funny. Duesseldorf police said in a statement the officers had been called to a restaurant at about 7:30 p.m. Saturday in a central part of the city on reports that about 10 people were rioting. Dusseldorfer cops lernen aus Amerika btw er hat sich am Boden null gewahrt pic.twitter.com/8KS9vK93VD Wer Bild liest ist ein H0rensohn (@binwiederdabro) August 15, 2020 The youth who was pinned was apparently not involved in the fracas, but disrupted police measures when they arrived on the scene, then assaulted officers when they were trying to identify him, police said. After the incident, the youth, whose name and age werent given, was taken to the police station for identification and then handed over to his legal guardians. The video in question is being intensively analyzed and evaluated with regard to how the police intervened, Duesseldorf police said in their statement. The investigation is being conducted by police in nearby Duisburg for reasons of neutrality, police said. Germany has seen many Black Lives Matter protests since George Floyd was killed May 25 in Minneapolis by police officers, with one officer holding his knee against Floyds neck for nearly eight minutes. In the Duesseldorf case, both officers involved are white and the youth who was pinned appears to be white as well, and was apparently unharmed. The North Rhine-Westphalia state Interior Ministry told the dpa news agency that the video is being taken very seriously and that if any wrongdoing by the police is found there will naturally be consequences. Rescued: a delightfully warm and sweet tale about one little puppys journey towards a loving home and family. Rescued is the creation of published author, Katherine Dalziel, a mother, grandmother, author, and long-time resident of Los Gatos. Dalziel writes: I never thought I needed to be rescued. I always thought I could take care of myself. But wait, Im getting ahead of myself. Here is my story, the story of Rosita Buttercup Dalziel. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Katherine Dalziels new book is the sweet, riveting story of a little puppys search for a true home. Told from the viewpoint of the puppy, it recounts this feisty little poochs journey from a small town near Tijuana, Mexico, up the California coast, and finally to Los Gatos, California. Along the way, Rosita discovers the kindness of strangers and realizes the value of family and a loving and secure home. View a synopsis of Rescued on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Rescued at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Rescued, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. Nevada cannabis pioneer and NLV Organics founder joins Board as an inside director TORONTO and LAS VEGAS, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Flower One Holdings Inc. ("Flower One" or the "Company") (CSE: FONE) (OTCQX: FLOOF) (FSE: F11), a leading cannabis cultivator, producer and innovator in Nevada, today announced the appointment of Ms. Salpy Boyajian to its Board of Directors. "We are very excited to welcome Salpy to our Board of Directors," said Ken Villazor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Flower One. "Since the formation of Flower One, Salpy has provided executive oversight of our Nevada operations team including, most recently, guiding our business successfully through the partial re-opening of Nevada's economy since early June subsequent to earlier COVID-19 restrictions instituted by the State. As mentioned in recent updates, our sales have continued to improve and have returned to pre-COVID-19 levels. Salpy's leadership, relationships throughout Nevada and the cannabis industry, and deep cannabis-specific product knowledge will be critically important perspectives for the Board as it supports the Company's longer-term growth strategy and leadership position in Nevada." "As the founder of NLV Organics and part of Flower One's Nevada operations from the beginning, it has been an incredible journey bringing our facilities to life and building what I believe is among the best teams in cannabis at Flower One," said Ms. Boyajian. "I am honored to join the Board and look forward to working with my fellow Board members as we continue to grow in Nevada and deliver on our long term goals for the Company." Ms. Boyajian officially joined Flower One in October of 2018 following the acquisition of NLV Organics, which she co-founded in 2014. She currently serves as Flower One's Chief Operating Officer, Nevada Operations and was one of the original winning applicants granted cannabis licenses by the State of Nevada. Ms. Boyajian is an established member of the Nevada cannabis industry and well respected as one of the top female founders in cannabis with extensive relationships across the industry. A serial entrepreneur and business operator, Ms. Boyajian has a background in the field of psychotherapy and is a licensed clinician and psychotherapist. About Flower One Holdings Inc. Flower One is the largest cannabis cultivator, producer, and full-service brand fulfillment partner in the state of Nevada. By combining more than 20 years of greenhouse operational excellence with best-in-class cannabis operators, Flower One offers consistent, reliable, and scalable fulfillment to a growing number of industry-leading cannabis brands. Flower One's flagship 400,000 square-foot greenhouse and 55,000 square-foot production facility is used for large scale cannabis cultivation, processing, and manufacturing. Flower One also owns and operates a second production facility in Las Vegas, with 25,000 square-feet of indoor cultivation and a commercial kitchen that will produce several of the nation's top-performing edible brands. Flower One produces a wide range of products ranging from wholesale flower, full-spectrum oils, and distillates to finished consumer packaged goods including flower, pre-rolls, concentrates, edibles, and topicals for the top-performing brands in cannabis. The Company's common shares are traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the Company's symbol "FONE", in the United States on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol "FLOOF" and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol "F11". For more information, visit: https://flowerone.com. Forward Looking Statements Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of United States securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other unknown factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from historical results or from any future actual results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements which explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "potential," "should," "may," "will," "plans," "continue" or other similar expressions to be uncertain and forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to the Company's potential growth; the Company's leadership as a cannabis cultivator, producer, innovator and full-service brand fulfillment partner; the Company's ability to offer consistent, reliable and scalable fulfilment to a growing number of industry-leading brand partners; and the production of a wide range of products for the nation's top-performing brands. The Company is indirectly involved in the manufacture, possession, use, sale and distribution of cannabis in the recreational and medicinal cannabis marketplaces in the United States through its subsidiary Cana Nevada Corp. Local state laws where Cana Nevada Corp. operates permit such activities; however, these activities are currently illegal under United States federal law. Additional information regarding this and other risks and uncertainties relating to the Company's business are contained under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated June 23, 2020 (the "Annual Information Form") filed on its issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, the "Cautionary Statement regarding Forward-Looking Information" section contained in the Annual Information Form. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's public securities filings with the Canadian securities commissions, including the Company's Annual Information Form. Although Flower One has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, there can be other factors that cause results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, including, but not limited to: dependence on obtaining regulatory approvals; investing in target companies or projects that are engaged in activities currently considered illegal under United States federal law; changes in laws; limited operating history; reliance on management; requirements for additional financing; competition; hindering market growth and state adoption due to inconsistent public opinion and perception of the medical-use and adult-use marijuana industry and; regulatory or political change. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date of this release. Flower One Holdings disclaims and does not undertake any intention or obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR THEIR REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. SOURCE Flower One Holdings Inc. FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Jesus Seade reacts during the delivery of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) deal at the Senate building in Mexico City By Frank Jack Daniel MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization needs a strong personality at its helm to restart long-delayed negotiations urgently and drag the rule book for global commerce into the 21st century, Mexico's pick to lead the body said. Jesus Seade said he would apply decades of experience as a trade negotiator to attack years-old deadlocks on issues such as electronic trade and the depletion of oceans by over-fishing if he is chosen as director general of the WTO. "I think people agree that we need a forceful personality" to address bottlenecks, Seade told Reuters in an interview last week in which he outlined his ideas to repair the WTO's dispute resolution body, which has been stymied by the United States. Seade said that at the same time, he would be respectful of the trade group's nature as a member-driven organization. However, he said he would push countries to resolve differences, in contrast to the restraint that at an extreme he said risked reducing the director general to "dignified butler, making sure meeting rooms are available." The group will be left leaderless on Aug. 31, after current Director General Roberto Acevedo of Brazil announced he would step down a year early. In a sign of the WTO's impasse, members have failed to agree on an interim replacement. The body aims to choose a new head by November. Seade, currently Mexico's deputy foreign minister for North America, is among eight candidates who will be eliminated in batches in coming weeks, starting with those unlikely to win consensus from 164 members. The WTO is in perhaps the worst crisis of its 25-year existence, pummeled by the Trump administration's mistrust of multilateral bodies, friction between the United States and China and the collapse of its dispute resolution system. Seade, a founder WTO deputy director general who has also worked at the International Monetary Fund, said the crisis was so severe that it presents an opportunity to jolt the organization into action. Story continues "There are favorable winds which come from the awareness among countries that we are perilously close to a situation that will create danger for everyone," he said. Seade said a quick decision on the leadership would help wrap up negotiations on fisheries and other matters with a view to launching new talks next year on issues such as agriculture and give time to organize a long-delayed ministerial conference in 2021. To restore U.S. faith in the dispute resolution body that Washington accuses of overreach, he said members could consider a stronger supervisory mechanism to make sure the powerful appellate body did not stray beyond its mandate. Seade must overcome a view in some quarters that another Latin American should not be the WTO chief straight after Acevedo, and that it is time for an African leader. Africa has put forward three candidates, including two women, Amina Mohamed of Kenya and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria. Mohamed has supported reform and expressed sympathy with U.S. criticism of the appellate body. The WTO has never been led by a woman or an African. Seade described himself as an "Africanist" who had focused much of his career at the WTO, IMF and World Bank on the region, including debt relief. "I would be a director general who is very knowledgeable to Africa, very loyal and committed to Africa," he said. However, Seade said members should prioritize trade credentials over other considerations. "The WTO is in really dire straits, a difficult situation; you need the best, most suitable person to dig it out," he said. "We are not in a situation where we can have any kind of learning curve." (Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Dan Grebler) The combined profit before tax of 748 companies, which have declared their results for Q1FY21, is down 46 per cent YoY. Their net sales went down by a quarter as the Covid-19 lockdown led to a sharp fall in economic activity. The exuberance of early bird results has given way to a sense of worry as more companies have declared their results for the April-June quarter (Q1FY21). The combined profit before tax (PBT) of 748 companies, which have declared their results for Q1FY21, is down 46 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Their net sales went down by a quarter as the Covid-19 lockdown led to a sharp fall in economic activity. The numbers are, however, far worse for manufacturers, who bore the brunt of the lockdown. The combined PBT of 632 companies, excluding banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), insurance and oil & gas, were down 91.4 per cent YoY while their net sales was down 25.2 per cent YoY during the quarter. In comparison, the PBT of the first lot of 95 companies were down a modest 8.6 per cent YoY during Q1FY21 while their net sales was down just 3.4 per cent only during Q1. Corporate earnings also look a tad better if numbers for loss-making mobile operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are excluded. Excluding telecom, the combined PBT of manufacturing & IT companies was down 46.2 per cent YoY during Q1FY21 against 25.6 per cent decline in the March 2020 quarter. Analysts, however, say that the results are much better than expected. The Street was expecting a complete washout in corporate earnings but the actual profits and margins in most key sectors are ahead of consensus estimates despite a sharp fall in revenues," says Dhananjay Sinha, head of research at Systematic Institutional Equities. Sinha attributed this to a sharp cut in discretionary spending by companies coupled with a collapse in global commodity and energy prices during the quarter. The combined raw material cost for manufacturers nearly halved during the quarter, declining at double the pace of fall in revenues, while their energy or power & fuel cost was down 40 per cent during the quarter. This allowed companies to maintain operating profit margins at last year's level despite a sharp fall in sales volumes. Lenders and insurance companies, however, reported an uptick in overheads and had minimal impact on their operations during the quarter. Sectorally, it was a good quarter for lenders and IT firms such as Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro. The combined PBT of bank & finance companies was up 17.5 per cent during the quarter against 20.1 per cent decline in Q4FY20. Their combined revenues were up 13.6 per cent against 7.6 per cent decline in the March 2020 quarter. Only when moratorium ends, will the true picture in the banking and NBFC space get clear, says G Chokkalingam, founder & managing director, Equinomics Research & Advisory Services. In comparison, IT firms reported 3 per cent growth in their PBT during the quarter while their combined net sales was up 4.1 per cent. Financial & IT companies together account for nearly 45 per cent of India Incs combined earnings and better show by them aided the bull-run on the bourses. Going ahead, some analysts expect a further improvement in corporate earnings in the second quarter and beyond. However, others caution investors about getting too excited. Although Q1FY21 earnings are better than expectations, it should be viewed in the context of the extremely muted outlook, write analysts at Motilal Oswal Securities. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters Turkey and Qatar have reiterated their support for Libyas internationally recognised government during a trip by their defence chiefs to the capital, Tripoli, where Germanys foreign minister also paid an unexpected visit. Ankara has provided crucial military support to the United Nations-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA) to help it stave off a 14-month assault from rival forces based in eastern Libya. The country has been split since 2014 between factions based in the east and west, and regional powers have aligned themselves with the competing sides. While Turkey and its regional ally Qatar support the GNA, forces in the east led by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar have received backing from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia. We believe that we will achieve the wanted results by supporting our Libyan brothers in their just cause, Hulusi Akar, Turkish defence minister, said in Tripoli on Monday. Turkey signed a military accord with the GNA late last year, as well as a memorandum of understanding on maritime boundaries, that rattled its rivals in the eastern Mediterranean. Akar and Chief of Staff General Yasar Guler were in Tripoli to observe the operations under the military cooperation deal with Libya, according to Turkeys defence ministry. Turkey and Russia have emerged as the main power brokers in Libyas conflict, with military front lines settling in recent weeks around the central coastal town of Sirte. The two countries leaders spoke by phone about Libya on Monday. Previous attempts to secure a ceasefire and a political deal in Libya including at an international conference in Germanys capital, Berlin, in January have stalled. An oil blockade imposed by Haftars forces has cost the country billions of dollars in lost revenue. Deceptive calm German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who met his Libyan counterpart but not the Turkish or Qatari delegations, said the process started in Berlin remained the framework for resolving the conflict, and backed calls for a demilitarised zone around Sirte. We see a deceptive calm in Libya right now. Both sides and their international allies are continuing to arm the country on a massive scale and are sticking to preconditions for a ceasefire, he said. Maas stressed the need to begin direct talks between the two parties and stop the escalation near Sirte, the site of recent military confrontations. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of Staff General Yasar Guler were in Tripoli on Monday to observe the operations under the military cooperation deal with Libya [Anadolu] He also called for the lifting of the oil blockade and the equitable distribution of the war-wracked countrys vast oil wealth. For his part, Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Taher Siala said his country does not need more initiatives to resolve the conflict but a constitution that paves the way for democratic elections. Siala added that the GNA strongly rejected Operation Irini, a European Union mission aimed at enforcing a toothless 2011 UN arms embargo, saying it does not monitor the transfer of weapons and mercenaries to the aggressor. Maas is due to travel to Abu Dhabi later in the day to meet his counterpart there to urge him to use the UAEs influence with Haftar in line with the Berlin summit. But where is the evidence that its protective? asked Natalie Dean, a biostatistician at the University of Florida. These cities have not returned to pre-pandemic levels of activity, other experts noted. We are still nowhere near back to normal in our daily behavior, said Virginia Pitzer, a mathematical epidemiologist at the Yale School of Public Health. To think that we can just stop doing all that and go back to normal and not see a rise in cases I think is wrong, is incorrect. A second wave might also hit groups or neighborhoods that were spared by the first, and still wreak havoc, she said. Immunity is a patchwork quilt in New York, for instance: Antibodies were present in 68 percent of people visiting a clinic in the Corona neighborhood of Queens, for instance, but in just 13 percent of those tested at a clinic in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. But another group, led by the mathematician Gabriela Gomes of the University of Strathclyde in Britain, accounted for variations within a society in its model and found that Belgium, England, Portugal and Spain have herd immunity thresholds in the range of 10 to 20 percent. At least in countries we applied it to, we could never get any signal that herd immunity thresholds are higher, Dr. Gomes said. I think its good to have this horizon that it may be just a few more months of pandemic. Other experts urged caution, saying these models are flawed, as all models are, and that they oversimplify conditions on the ground. Jeffrey Shaman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University, said it wasnt clear to him that Dr. Gomess model offered only one possible solution. And he was suspicious of the big ranges among the four countries. KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian court on Monday jailed a teenager for killing 23 people in a fire that he started at a religious boarding school in 2017, national news agency Bernama reported, in what was one of the worst such tragedies in two decades. The defendant was 16 at the time of the fire https://bit.ly/3iOnqoV, which killed 21 teenage boys and two teachers in the capital Kuala Lumpur and sparked calls for tougher regulation over safety in privately-run schools. He was found guilty of a conspiracy to commit murder but would not be subject to the death penalty because he was a minor when he committed the crime, high court judge Azman Abdullah said. The defendant's identity was withheld for the same reason. He would instead be sent to jail for as long as the King sees fit, the judge said, according to the Bernama report. Media reports at the time said the only door to the school's dormitory had caught fire and metal bars on the windows had trapped the boys. It took place at a "tahfiz" school, where students learnt to memorise the Koran. The defenent's lawyer, Haijan Omar, said his client was sorry for what had happened and would appeal the decision. (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Martin Petty) (Bloomberg Opinion) -- Examples abound of how reprehensible leadership has worsened Latin Americas plight during the coronavirus pandemic. After consistently flouting public health safeguards, right-wing populist Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his left-wing coeval, Mexicos Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, turned their countries into Covid-19 killing fields, with a fifth of reported global fatalities between them. Nicaraguan strongman Daniel Ortega went AWOL, failing to show up in public for more than a month as infections spiked. And what to say of Venezuelan autocrat Nicolas Maduro, who used the quarantine to stifle dissent instead of tending to the countrys decrepit health system, ranked 176 of 195 countries by the Global Health Security Initiative? Of all the co-morbidities the pandemic has laid bare in Latin American democracies, populism and polarization are among the deadliest, Amherst College political scientist Javier Corrales told me. Whats harder to explain is the debacle elsewhere in the Americas, where more demonstrably temperate leaders have committed to heeding democratic institutions and global public health directives. One of the preferred tropes among Latin Americanists has it that the regions miseries are due to crowd-surfing politicians. Leaders who play to the gallery too often disparage consensus, trample institutional checks and balances, and make enemies of adversaries while promising deliverance on empty coffers. Get rid of the barker on the balcony, the argument goes, and progress will follow. Yet last years wave of public turmoil and street protests was a clear caveat that even the best performing nations look no further than Chile - run by reform minded rationalists, in Corrales words, are prey to dysfunction and historical inequities. Coronavirus has only added to that social debt. Start with Colombia and Peru, whose governments acted early and swiftly to implement strict social distancing, followed expert medical advice and rolled out robust assistance to those most vulnerable to economic shutdowns. After the initial success in flattening the epidemiological curve, both countries have since been clobbered. Despite President Martin Vizcarras bold reform agenda, Peru has almost as many active cases as Mexico with one-fourth the population, and as of Thursday had buried more than 21,500 victims to Mexicos 54,666. Colombia has logged 43.1 deaths for every million people, the worlds highest fatality rate. Story continues Along with public health, the hopes of both governments that a quick response to the outbreak would convert into popular indulgence if not outright political capital quickly imploded. Instead, a steep drop in new cases lulled authorities into easing the lockdown by early July, which promptly sent the infection rate soaring again. Now Vizcarra faces increased public scrutiny, a renewed epidemic and one of the worst economic contractions on record. Its much the same in Colombia, where Ivan Duque, a mostly dispassionate technocrat who cut his teeth at the Inter American Development Bank, is struggling. A spiking caseload Latin Americas fourth highest forced authorities to reinstate lockdowns in the countrys main cities, Bogota and Medellin. Compounding Duques woes is the predicament of hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who fled the collapsing economy at home only to be thrown out of work as Colombia locked down. Now he must manage a refugee crisis on top of a racing contagion in an economy forecast to shrink 7.8% this year. What binds all these countries is a legacy of disabilities, from paltry social welfare backstops to a vast informal economy, where up to half of Latin Americas work-age population toils without perks, unemployment compensation or safety nets. For the one in five Latin Americans living in densely inhabited slums, like the ones ringing Buenos Aires, sheltering at home also means social compacting, exposing millions of poor in cramped airless quarters where infection flourishes. And while most nations have managed to reach the poorest households with targeted cash transfers, millions more in the gray economy have slipped through the cracks. Consider that six in 10 Peruvians have no bank account. That invisible demographic is a major reason why as the region ramped up spending and blew up debt to offset the outbreak, even those extraordinary outlays have fallen short and done little to correct longstanding inequities. Although virtually all countries ascribe to universal health care, coverage is at best patchy. Most Latin American and Caribbean nations fell short of the Pan American Health Organizations benchmark of investing 6% of gross domestic product on health well before the virus began to spread. Simply pouring money into the system will not help. In 2017, Mexico spent 10% of its health budget on the health bureaucracy, more than any other country in the OECD. Despite this largesse, the coronavirus has overwhelmed Mexicos hospitals. Bulking up spending without addressing the challenges of inefficiency and poor performance would be a fundamental omission of local competent authorities and decision makers, a London School of Economics reported last year. Health spending is bled away by corruption, obfuscated by opaque governance. Instead of opening its books to account for inflows of international aid to fight the pandemic, El Salvador neutered its Transparency and Anti-Corruption secretariat and shut down the finance ministry s Anti-Corruption Unit. One exception to the dismal Latin American tableau is Uruguay, which stanched the spread of the disease without locking down, and is now preparing for an economic restart even as its stricken neighbors reel. But Uruguays good fortunes low urban density, near universal health care, falling poverty and a culture of fiscal sobriety unburdened by partisan caviling - are mostly self made. Thanks to decades of reform and social consensus, the nation of 3.5 million is the hemispheric outlier. No doubt, toxic politics has put Latin Americans at greater risk during the pandemic, even to the point of squandering vital public goods. Look no further than Brazil, where 286,000 community health workers trained to contain contagion have been repeatedly thwarted and second-guessed by the Bolsonaro governments conflicting directives on health protocols. Yet in nations where underlying conditions and a "manana approach to reforms impede deficient states from effectively tending to the sick, delivering emergency assistance and ventilating failing businesses, even the most committed rationalists will stumble. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Mac Margolis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Latin and South America. He was a reporter for Newsweek and is the author of The Last New World: The Conquest of the Amazon Frontier. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The price of gold fell for the second consecutive day on Monday. On Multi Commodity Exchange or MCX, gold price fell 0.4 per cent to 52,207 per 10 gram. The price of silver, meanwhile, edged higher reaching 67,403 per kg. Gold price fell 4.5 per cent last week, its biggest weekly decline since March. In the last 10 days, gold is down about 4,000 per 10 gram. Situation across the world Gold price further tumbled in the global markets after capping worst last week in five months. Spot gold was down 0.2 per cent at $1,941.90 an ounce. After hitting a record peak of $2,072.50 on August 7 and rising over the previous nine weeks, bullion declined 4.5 per cent this week. The gold market had been in a parabolic state, so when you throw a little pickup in yields along with the impasse on the stimulus bill, it was going to see a bit of a retracement, said David Meger, director of metals trading at High Ridge Futures. We might have gone a little too far, too fast, and we believe the market is in need of a pause, a consolidation. And thats exactly what we are seeing. Why the fall? An uptick in US Treasury yields and a logjam over a stimulus bill in the United States to help the coronavirus-hit economy dented the metals allure on the global platform. Poor economic data from far and wide, including disappointing US retail sales, also did not help safe-haven gold. The benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield hovered near seven-week highs, while hopes for a fresh round of US coronavirus relief faded as Congress went into recess. Higher yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as bullion, which has climbed over 28 per cent so far this year. Also under the scanner is the relationship between United States and China as presidential elections draw closer. President Trump, who is seeking a re-election bid, has stepped up his attacks on China, the latest being asking the Chinese owner of popular video-sharing app TikTok to sell its US assets. Further, the four-day Democratic national convention is beginning in the United States from today where the presumptive presidential candidate Joe Biden is expected to spell out his strategy. That should also have some impact on the economic front. Another record-high possible? Some precious commodity watchers believe the rebound is expected to happen. Were going to hit the all-time highs again on the likelihood of a substantial stimulus package and the possibility of chaos around the election is going to drive people into a flight to safety, said Jeffrey Sica, founder of Circle Squared Alternative Investments. The gold traders are also waiting for updates on the Federal Reserves recent meeting, which is expected to shed some light on the policy stance of UC central bank. The details of the meeting are expected to be released later this week. Peace FM's radio morning show host, Mr. Kwami Sefa Kayi, has signed a memorandum of udnrstanding (MoU) with the SOS Childrens village Ghana, in Asiakwa in the Eastern Region to adopt a house at the Village. Under the MoU, Mr. Sefa Kayi, who is the 'Kokrokoo' morning show host for five years, starting from March 2020 to March 2025, during which period he is expected to make available GH20, 000 annually. Though not a legally binding document, the MoU indicates a voluntary agreement towards the sustainable care of the less privileged children in the SOS childrens village at Asiakwa. Dedication of house Mr. Sefa Kayi dedicated the house (MAMA SAFOA HOUSE) to his mother, Akosua Safoa, and donated a 49-inch television set, a Samsung fridge, cooking sets, among other provisions, to the house as well as the village. In dedicating the house to his mother, Mr. Sefa Kayi expressed his deepest gratitude to Mama Akosua Safoa for taking good care of him throughout his life. Talking about why he decided on SOS childrens Village Asiakwa, he said his intention was to give back after he was introduced to SOS Children Village by a friend. The Kokrokoo morning show host, in his presentation, also thanked his family and his friends for the love and support they had shown him throughout the years. SOS Childrens Villages The Country Director of the SOS childrens villages Ghana, Mr. Alexander Mar Kekula, in his address explained that there were four SOS Childrens villages in Ghana and named their locations as Tema, Asiakwa, Kumasi and Tamale. He added that the SOS Childrens Village Asiakwa had been able to raise doctors and nurses, who came from difficult backgrounds, adding that the village had made it that far Thanks to friends, donors and other people who work with the children to help them grow well. Source: Graphic.com.gh Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Anti-amendment forces were outraged. They called Burn a traitor to men and accused him of taking a bribe to switch sides. He denied it. He said he had planned to vote no but had just received a letter from his mother, Febb Burn, urging him to vote for suffrage. Dont forget to be a good boy, she ended her letter, which her son had in his pocket when he voted. The blaze broke out at 11.06 am in a shop at Mohammed Ali Road, according to reports, and has been classified as a Level 2 fire by the fire brigade A fire broke out at Mumbai's Crawford Market on Monday, and eight fire tenders were rushed to the spot as efforts to douse the blaze got underway. The blaze broke out at 11.06 am in a shop at Mohammed Ali Road, according to reports, and was classified as a Level 2 fire by the fire brigade around 11.40 am. The fire broke out at a shop located in Mohammed Ali Road, near Jumma Masjid, Bhendi Bazar, Mumbai Mirror reported. According to the report, there have been no injuries. Earlier on Monday, a fire also broke out on the sixth floor of the Parliament Annexe building in Delhi. Seven fire tenders were rushed to the spot to bring the blaze under control. According to PTI, a Delhi Fire Service (DFS) official stated that a call was received at 7.30 am and it is suspected the fire started following a short circuit. Last week, a major fire broke out at a multi-storeyed building in Kolkata's Pollock Street as well. At least 15 fire tenders were rushed to the spot. However, there were no reports of any casualties or injuries. Monday's fire is not the first time a blaze has broken out in the British-era market which is at a walking distance from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) railway station. In June, a level 2 fire had broken out in the market following which six fire engines and three jumbo tankers had to be rushed to the spot to bring it under control. Kabul, Aug 17 : At least 32 Taliban militants were killed and 20 others injured during a clash which erupted after security forces struck the terror group's hideouts in Badghis province, a top official said on Monday. According to member of the Provincial Council, Mohammad Nasir Nazari, the clash took place in Sanjadak area of Muqar district on Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported. According to Nazari, one security member was killed and seven others were injured. Confirming the clash, an army spokesman in the restive province asserted that more than two dozen militants had been killed and over a dozen others injured during the operations. The security forces will continue to chase the insurgents elsewhere in the troubled province and its vicinity to ensure peace and security there. Shir Aqa Alkozay, the deputy for provincial police chief, has also confirmed the fighting, saying the Taliban militants had suffered huge casualties. The Taliban outfit which is operational in parts of Badghis province with Qala-e-Naw as its capital, is yet to comment. The chairman of tourism promotion body Failte Ireland has resigned after holidaying in Italy, despite government advice for citizens to take a staycation. Michael Cawley quit within hours of his trip being reported in the media on Saturday. The news came as the Republic yesterday reported 200 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, the highest daily rise since the start of May. Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said: "This is the largest number of cases in a single day since the beginning of May. We now have multiple clusters with secondary spread of disease and rising numbers of cases in many parts of the country. "This is deeply concerning." While Italy is on the Republic's official green list for safe travel, the Irish Government continues to urge people to holiday at home this summer. Mr Cawley said he had tendered his resignation to Tourism Minister Catherine Martin with "great regret". "As has been reported in the media this morning, I am on a pre-arranged family holiday in Italy, which is on the government green list," he said. "As I have no wish to allow this issue to become a distraction from the important work of Failte Ireland in rebuilding the Irish tourism industry, I have decided after six years in the position to step down." Ms Martin said she was disappointed to learn of Mr Cawley's holiday destination. She said: "While Italy is on the green list, meaning that people who return from there do not have to restrict their movements, the government has called on people to avoid all non-essential travel. "Many of our citizens and residents have followed this guidance at some personal and financial cost to themselves. I was disappointed to learn that the chair of Failte Ireland was holidaying in Italy. "I rang Mr Cawley this morning and he has offered his resignation, which I have accepted." Being the future King of England is one of the most high-profile jobs in the entire world. There is no doubt that Prince William, who is currently second in line to the British throne, is one of the most famous people in the entire world. His position, not to mention good looks and charismatic personality, definitely makes him a fan favorite and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is just as popular as her husband. Fans know that Prince Williams younger brother, Prince Harry, was once third in line to be king. When Prince William and Kate got married and began having children, it pushed him further back. As of now, he is sixth in line. For years, it almost seemed as if Prince William was the star of the family, and the things that Prince Harry did werent nearly as focused on. In fact, whenever Kate and Prince William made an appearance, PrinceHarry was known to tag along, and there was no doubt that it must have been a bit awkward for him. As the worlds most famous third wheel, he seemed to enjoy his time with his brother and sister-in-law. But a new report says Prince Harry didnt like being the third wheel to Prince William and Kate. An heir and a spare Prince Harry | Chris Jackson Pool/Getty Images The British line of succession can change in an instant. Only those who are in the direct line such as Prince Charles, William, and Prince George are pretty much guaranteed to one day become the ruling monarch. Whenever a new baby is born, most peoples positions shift around. Before Prince William had kids, Prince Harry was pretty close to being king. But now that the three Cambridge kids are ahead of him, it is unlikely that he will ever be able to do so. For years, Prince William and Prince Harry were affectionately known as an heir and a spare, and while this was certainly never meant as an insult, it could have been a little annoying for Prince Harry to hear after a while. According to The Conversation, Prince William and Prince Harry spent their entire lives being compared to one another. And it was only recently that Prince Harry began slightly emerging from his brothers shadow and making headlines on a regular basis. Prince Harrys royal exit Although Prince Harry wasnt in the direct line of succession, he was still considered to be a working royal. When he married American actress Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, his popularity soared, and the Cambridges and Sussexes instantly became known as the fab four. It was great to see Prince Harry so happy and finally settled down, but behind the scenes, things werent running as smoothly as they should. Prince Harry and Meghan were disappointed in the lack of privacy that they had as royals, and early in 2020, they made the shocking announcement that they would be stepping down and becoming independent. Prince Harry reportedly didnt like being the third wheel RELATED: Meghan Markle Empowers Prince Harry To Live His Best and True Life For such a long time, it is pretty safe to say that Prince Harry was always the third wheel to Prince William and Kate and he didnt like it one bit. In fact, according to Us Weekly, a source says he felt like a spare part, felt as if he was living in Prince Williams shadow, and that there were blatant jealousy issues and a huge power struggle from Harrys side. As Prince William and Kates popularity quickly increased, Prince Harry began to feel more and more defeated, and things became more difficult for him. All eyes were on the future king of England and his wife, the source told Us Weekly. The queen and her aides put a huge amount of their time and energy into preparing Kate for her future role. Harry felt totally sidelined. With Kate becoming a prominent figure in the royal family and successfully working her way up the royal ladder, Harry was overwhelmed with anger and resentment, like it was two against one. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has commented on the special government flight from Tbilisi to Minsk yesterday that sparked journalists attention, Georgia News reports. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to Belarus Valeri Kvaratskhelia, who had been in Georgia since August 6, flew from Tbilisi to Minsk. It is worth mentioning that Kvaratskhelia is a relative of Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs David Zalkaliani. Kvaratskhelia had to return to Minsk immediately due to the events that have been unfolding in Belarus recently. Since air communication with Belarus is restricted, and the Ambassador had to leave for Minsk soon, it was decided to transport him to Minsk on a government plane, the Georgian Foreign Ministrys press release reads. The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also given an evaluation of the events in Belarus for the first time, stating the following: Belarus is Georgias friendly country with which Georgia works closely in the bilateral format and within the scope of the Eastern Partnership initiative. We are closely following the development of the event. We are closely working with our colleagues. In our opinion, the problems in Belarus need to be solved peacefully. We hope the Belarusian people solve the important issues for their future peacefully. We believe in continuous learning, and with every project accomplished, our team learns a new things. Websrefresh, a Phoenix-based web designing and marketing company, won the award of Best Hospitality Web Development Company and Game-changing Web Developer for 2020. The companys ability to understand the needs of end users, transform business processes, and offering best of customer service enable it to stand out in the competition and achieve this admiration. The Media Innovator Awards program is for the extraordinary companies that stand ahead in market competition, managed by Corporate Vision Magazine. The magazine studies the behind the scenes of corporate trends. The authority selects innovative and constantly transforming industries. It makes the magazine choose Websrefresh as the Best Hospitality Web Development Company in Southwest USA. It also recognizes Nimesh Dinubhai as the Game-changing Web Developer of the Year (Southwest USA). Websrefresh works for the upheaval of the clients brand by utilizing advanced techniques and frameworks. The unmatched experience of the firm in the hotel industry makes it stand in a crowd. Quick turnaround time, competitive price, and maximum ROI, are a few unbeatable features of the firm. In the words of Nimesh Dinubhai, owner of Websrefresh, We are always on our toes to provide top-notch services to the hospitality industry. We understand that in todays competitive scenario, it is necessary to gain an online presence. Receiving these awards is an honor for us. We believe in continuous learning, and with every project accomplished, our team learns a new thing. About the company Websrefresh is a boutique web designing, development, and marketing company contributing to the growth of the hotel industry. Founded in 2003 by Nimesh Dinubhai, Websrefresh renders a full spectrum of web designing, development, branding, and digital marketing services. The accredited hospitality group commits to provide result-oriented services to its clients. For more details, please visit https://www.websrefresh.com/ Founder's Contact Email: HelpMeWithMoreBookings@websrefresh.com Call: (602) 647-9777 Sudanese protestors in the capital Khartoum on Monday called for "justice" and "peace" as they marked the one-year anniversary of a transitional government following the ouster of long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. Large crowds marched through the government district of the capital Khartoum, some burning tyres, before police fired tear gas to break them up, an AFP journalist said. Clashes erupted at the end of the rally when an adviser to Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok came out to collect a letter written by the demonstrators, who demanded that the head of the government receive it personally. "We came to demonstrate to put pressure on the government to speed up the reforms, because after a year, we're not satisfied," said Mohammad Omar, a 20-year-old student. "The police use tear gas against us when it's our right to demonstrate. It's unacceptable." Bashir, currently on trial over the military coup that brought him to power, was overthrown by the army on April 11, 2019 after a wave of mass protests against his three-decade, iron-fisted rule. On August 17, 2019, after weeks of intense negotiations, the military rulers and protest leaders signed a "constitutional declaration" under which a sovereign council of six civilians and five military figures will govern for a transitional period. However, demonstrators said the government had not fulfilled its promises. "I am here to protest because we want to see the goals of our revolution achieved," said 22-year-old Sawsan Mohammad. Protesters called for justice for those killed during the demonstrations against Bashir and military rule, and several carried flags and banners bearings slogans including "Justice", "Peace", "Reform the security sector" and "The people are still suffering". Sudan's transitional government has been pursuing a string of reforms, seeking to rebuild ties with the US, boost its international standing and rescue its ailing economy. But demonstrators say action has been too slow. Prime Minister Hamdok outlined in a statement on Monday his transitional government's achievements over the past year, including negotiations with multiple rebel forces. However, he also acknowledged the challenges. "Issues of justice... remain one of the most important tasks we face," Hamdok said in the statement. "The state apparatus must be rebuilt, and civil service must... be modernised to be in the service of citizens". Hamdok has made finding a peace deal with rebel groups a priority, in order to bring stability to the restive regions of Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan. Uprising: Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered yesterday to demand the resignation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the capital Minsk. Photo: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters The first leader of independent Belarus who helped oversee the Soviet breakup said on Sunday President Alexander Lukashenko had been badly shaken by the biggest push to oust him in 26 years, but that he could still hang onto power with Kremlin backing. Stanislav Shushkevich, 85, an old opponent of Lukashenko, said powerful neighbour Russia had made clear it still supported the Belarusian leader, who faces a groundswell of anger over allegations of election rigging and police brutality. Lukashenko, apparently emboldened after speaking twice by telephone with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the weekend, began a political counter-offensive on Sunday with his own public rally in Minsk rejecting calls to hold a new election. Read More Across town and elsewhere, the biggest opposition rallies yet dwarfed the Lukashenko event. They renewed calls for him to resign, but despite their carnival atmosphere, Shushkevich said "You can't say that the Lukashenko era is ending". "I don't think you can say that for one simple reason. Lukashenko serves the Kremlin because otherwise he wouldn't be able to hold on. The Kremlin ... supports him," he told Reuters by phone from his dacha in Belarus. Expand Close Opposition supporters rally in the centre of Minsk (Mstyslav Chernov/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Opposition supporters rally in the centre of Minsk (Mstyslav Chernov/AP) He pointed to Putin's prompt congratulatory telegram to Lukashenko amid the unrest and two phone calls between the leaders. The Kremlin said Moscow would be ready to offer military help if necessary. Moscow sees Belarus as a vital transit corridor for its oil and a buffer protecting its western flank. Ties had come under strain as Lukashenko appeared to drag his feet amid a Kremlin push for deeper integration between the two nations. But Shushkevich cast that resistance as a smokescreen that disguised how pro-Russian Lukashenko's policies really were. Shushkevich dismissed the idea of Russia sending in troops to prop up Lukashenko, saying "Belarus has many more soldiers per capita than other countries.... They are not needed." Expand Close Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko addresses his supporters gathered at Independent Square in Minsk (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko addresses his supporters gathered at Independent Square in Minsk (Dmitri Lovetsky/AP) "In such conditions, it's difficult for the beaten and tortured Belarusian opposition to struggle with Russia," he said, referring to local media reports, which have not been confirmed by the authorities, that 60 people were missing. Moscow had other tools to help Lukashenko, a former Soviet state farm boss, such as credit lines to support the creaking Soviet-style command economy, he said. Shushkevich played a historic role in talks in 1991 with Russia's Boris Yeltsin in which they agreed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Shushkevich ruled out a palace coup in which Lukashenko's inner circle turns on him. "Over 26 years, Lukashenko has chosen very obedient deputies and very obedient military ... They are handsomely paid." By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/08/16 Jun Hyo-seong's Instagram Jun Hyo-seong has made a target of herself on social media for speaking out in favor of comfort women. The entertainer made multiple posts on August 14th and August 15th calling these days of remembrance for what happened to the comfort women under Japanese rule. Jun Hyo-seong expressed hope that an apology would come soon. Advertisement The comments were made in response to the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Japanese surrender in World War II, which has been treated as a tragic event both at home in Japan and abroad due to the way it concluded with use of nuclear weapons on the civilian locations of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But Jun Hyo-seong among others have described the end of the war as the beginning of independence for the Korean people. She described such an anniversary as warranting a sincere thanks. In response to these posts presumably Japanese commenters responded by saying that Koreans are jerks and that they smell bad, among other dismissive comments. Jun Hyo-seong did not respond to these comments herself although other commenters were upset by the posts. These replies described the original comments as callous toward the pain experienced by Koreans at the behest of the Japanese Empire. This is not the first time Jun Hyo-seong has used her platform to speak out for the sake of comfort women. She made similar comments last year, praising the fortitude of the comfort women. There was also a similar reaction at that time, with comments of support from Korean commenters while presumably Japanese commenters told her not to forget that she has Japanese fans and also to not come to Japan. On television, Jun Hyo-seong has been unapologetic when asked about these opinions. Written by William Schwartz BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 17 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: Turkmenistan has signed a total of 69 documents in order to strengthen the legal framework of Turkmenistan's international relations from January through July, Trend reports with reference to Turkmenistans State News Agency. The statistical data was provided during a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Turkmenistan held via videoconference. During the same period, 393 meetings of various levels were held in the country via video link. Thus, a number of regular meetings of bilateral Intergovernmental commissions and other relevant structures, as well as joint business forums were held. Turkmenistan pays special attention to international cooperation. In particular, the development of international cooperation in the oil and gas sector. As earlier the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine told Trend, Ukrainian investments in the oil and gas, oil refining and chemical industries, as well as in infrastructure projects in Turkmenistan have potential for growth. Many foreign companies work in the oil and gas sector of Turkmenistan, including China national oil and gas Corporation (CNPC), Dragon oil (UAE), Petronas (Malaysia), Eni (Italy), Mitro International (Austria), others are working in the country in the field of exploration and development of deposits. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva A homeless person lies in the sun outside Stratford station in London in May. MPs have warned of a new wave of homelessness. (PA) MPs fear a rise in homelessness in Britain when a ban on evictions ends next week. In March the government suspended section 21 of the Housing Act which allows landlords to evict tenants from their home with very little notice as part of emergency legislation to protect those hit financially by the pandemic. The end of the ban could see a surge in people being evicted from their home ahead of a potential second wave of coronavirus as we approach winter, an already hellish time for people who live on the streets. The spread of COVID-19 has meant communal homeless shelters have been forced to close. Vacant hotels and B&Bs were repurposed into homes as a solution for rough sleepers because they have separate cleaning facilities and rooms, and can be leased by the government. A homeless man and his dog in central London.. (PA) But as restrictions ease and with hotel contracts coming to an end in certain areas, charities warn we could face a desperate situation. Twenty-one MPs have urged the government to guarantee council funds to house rough sleepers for a year amid fears that evictions may lead to "a new wave of homelessness". In a letter to rough-sleeping minister Luke Hall, the MPs called on him to guarantee all local authorities in England can fund accommodation for the homeless for at least a year, according to the BBC. The letter said: "Some local authorities are in the process of confirming and funding accommodation for rough sleepers for another year, however it is so important that all councils are able to provide this. "We cannot put a cut-off on showing all those in need compassion at this time. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter told Yahoo News that thousands more could be left homeless once the eviction ban lifts and have received calls from tenants who are terrified they will lose their homes. "The eviction ban lifts in England in under a weeks time, and with the country plunged into an unprecedented recession, thousands could face the horror of losing their homes later this year, Neate said. Story continues "By June almost 230,000 private renters had fallen behind with their rent because of this pandemic - a figure we fear is only likely to grow as more jobs are cut. And as the law currently stands, any renter who builds up eight weeks-worth of arrears or more can be automatically evicted, with judges powerless to help. "Every day our emergency helpline picks up calls from renters terrified of being turfed out. Thats why we are urging the government not to abandon them at the eleventh hour. The letter, which was signed by nine Labour MPs, one DUP MP and 10 Lib Dem MPs, including leadership candidates Sir Ed Davey and Layla Moran, also urged Hall to scrap the Vagrancy Act, a 195-year-old law that criminalises homeless people for rough sleeping and begging in England and Wales. The act allows police to arrest and fine people caught begging in public. Read more: What does shelter in place mean for those without a home? In March, as the lockdown began, councils were told to move homeless people off the streets and out of communal shelters. The government says around 15,000 people have been found emergency accommodation across England. People shelter under a walkway in Westminster in London. (AP) The Labour Party has called for emergency legislation to strengthen protection for renters. The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) has asked the government not to extend the eviction ban. Independent polling for the NRLA found that 87% of private tenants have paid their rent as normal throughout the pandemic. Read more: Homeless advocates to San Francisco mayor: Find your heart An additional 8% said that they had agreed a reduced rent or rent-free period, or made some other agreement with their landlord or letting agent. Recent statistics from the Greater London Authority show a 33% increase in the numbers of people rough sleeping in London between April and June this year, compared with the same period last year. Almost 230,000 adult private renters in England (3%) have fallen into arrears since the start of the pandemic, according to data from Shelter. 174,000 private renters in England (2%) have already been threatened with eviction by their landlord or letting agent. Since lockdown began, one in four (25%) calls from private renters to - Shelters emergency helpline and webchat service have been from people scared of losing their home. Sam Malt, a 36-year-old homeless man, with his pet cat Buffy and dog Hooch in London. Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive at Crisis, told Yahoo News: As time goes on, we are seeing more and more people becoming homeless as the financial strain of the pandemic takes its toll. With hotel contracts coming to an end in certain areas and no certainty about what will follow, we could face a desperate situation with more people forced to stay in overcrowded and unsafe accommodation, left exposed to coronavirus and increased health risks as the weather turns cold. The Westminster government must introduce emergency homelessness legislation to guarantee that everyone has a safe place to stay during this ongoing public health crisis. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: The government has taken unprecedented action to support the most vulnerable people in our society during the pandemic. Weve also ensured no tenants have been evicted at the height of COVID. We will continue to provide appropriate support to those who have been particularly affected by coronavirus when court proceedings start again including the requirement for landlords to provide more information about their tenants' situation when seeking an eviction, with judges able to adjourn a case if this information isnt provided. Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter CARACAS, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Venezuela's gold reserves fell by seven tonnes in the first half of the year to reach just 98 tonnes, their lowest level in 50 years, according to data published on Monday by the South American country's central bank. The drop comes as Venezuela, whose key oil industry is under U.S. sanctions, sells its gold abroad to obtain foreign currency amid an economic crisis. The central bank maintained reserves above 350 tonnes until 2015, when the increasingly cash-strapped government began to use gold as a collateral for loans. U.S. officials, who are seeking to oust socialist President Nicolas Maduro, have said that Venezuela has used gold to pay for gasoline imports from ally Iran this year as a near-complete breakdown in state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela's refining network led to widespread fuel shortages. The reserves were valued at some $4.99 billion at the end of June, up from $4.79 billion as of December 2019 due to rising global gold prices, the data show. It is not clear if those levels include the 33 tonnes of gold held in the Bank of England's vaults which the central bank is unable to access, given that Britain - along with dozens of other countries - recognizes Juan Guaido, speaker of the opposition-held congress, as Venezuela's rightful president. The central bank has unsuccessfully sought a deal to use that gold toward the purchase of food and medicine during the coronavirus pandemic under the supervision of the U.N. Development Programme. Guaido and his allies accuse Maduro of rigging his 2018 re-election. Maduro, who remains in power 18 months after Guaido asserted he was the legitimate leader, calls Guaido a U.S. puppet seeking to steal Venezuela's assets. (Reporting by Mayela Armas and Corina Pons Writing by Luc Cohen Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) At a special school board meeting called after the new guidance was issued, officials painted a scenario of perhaps several students needing to be temporary quarantined in the school until someone could come to pick them up, or staff needing to be sent home. Ed Ryan has been the CEO of The Descartes Systems Group Inc (TSE:DSG) since 2013, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also assess whether Descartes Systems Group pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns. Check out our latest analysis for Descartes Systems Group Comparing The Descartes Systems Group Inc's CEO Compensation With the industry Our data indicates that The Descartes Systems Group Inc has a market capitalization of CA$6.1b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$3.3m for the year to January 2020. Notably, that's an increase of 25% over the year before. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$440k. On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between CA$2.7b and CA$8.5b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$3.0m. So it looks like Descartes Systems Group compensates Ed Ryan in line with the median for the industry. Component 2020 2019 Proportion (2020) Salary US$440k US$435k 13% Other US$2.9m US$2.2m 87% Total Compensation US$3.3m US$2.7m 100% On an industry level, around 86% of total compensation represents salary and 14% is other remuneration. Descartes Systems Group pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If total compensation is slanted towards non-salary benefits, it indicates that CEO pay is linked to company performance. The Descartes Systems Group Inc's Growth The Descartes Systems Group Inc's earnings per share (EPS) grew 14% per year over the last three years. Its revenue is up 16% over the last year. Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's also good to see decent revenue growth in the last year, suggesting the business is healthy and growing. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings.. Story continues Has The Descartes Systems Group Inc Been A Good Investment? We think that the total shareholder return of 115%, over three years, would leave most The Descartes Systems Group Inc shareholders smiling. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size. In Summary... As we touched on above, The Descartes Systems Group Inc is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. Investors would surely be happy to see that returns have been great, and that EPS is up. So one could argue that CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! Stockholders might even be okay with a bump in pay, seeing as how investor returns have been so strong. CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. We did our research and spotted 1 warning sign for Descartes Systems Group that investors should look into moving forward. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This is the last in a six-part series of essays from a cross section of leading scholars revisiting the place of the First Testament in contemporary Christian faith. The editors I was 11 when I watched a documentary about Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement called Eyes on the Prize. Images of black women knocked to the ground by fire hoses in Birmingham flashed before my eyes. Police dogs charged after people. Angry white faces screamed racial slurs at black children seeking to enter a desegregated school. Growing up in the Hatchie Street Church of Christ, a small black church in southwest Tennessee, I heard sermons and studied Sunday school lessons about Israelite slavery in Egypt. After watching Eyes on the Prize, it became clear to me that black peoples lot in America was the same as that of the Israelites in Egypt. This realization inspired me to follow in the tradition of Moses, the Old Testament prophets, and the judges (whom we might call freedom fighters), as well as in the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. The Old Testament speaks against the suffering and oppression black people in America experience today, and the black churchincreasingly tempted toward a gospel of prosperity and middle-class comfortsneeds to remain rooted in this legacy. The Power of Exodus The story of the exodus has had staying power in the African American church because the narrative speaks so readily to the troubles faced by its congregants. African Americans through the generations found in Exodus a God who attends to the oppressed who cry out to him: I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am ... 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (August 17) dismissed a plea seeking postponement of JEE (Main) April 2020 and NEET-Undergraduate examinations amid COVID-19 pandemic situation, saying that the career of students "cannot be put under jeopardy for long". As many as 28 lakh students preparing for these competitive exams felt a sigh of relief as the three-member bench of the top court noted that precious year of students cannot be wasted. The DNA report will tell you about other key observations of the apex court. Declining to entertain the plea, the court told the petitioners` counsel that education should be opened up, as COVID-19 may continue for a year more, adding "Are you going to wait another year?". The Supreme Court said, "Life has to go on. Life has to move ahead. Precious year of students cannot be wasted," during the hearing conducted through video conferencing. The top court thus paved the way for the commencement of the exams as scheduled, besides giving relief to lakhs of students as well as their families. The three-member bench of the Supreme Court told the petitioners` counsel, "Are you not demanding that the court should be opened up amid COVID? Do you see this glass partition here? When we are getting ready to open up, you say exams should not be held?" Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, contended before the bench that exams should be conducted, and all the necessary precautions will be taken. Mehta told the apex court that due precautions and all safeguards would be taken while conducting these examinations. The counsel appearing for the petitioners, however, told the bench that lakhs of students are looking towards the top court for relief and they were only seeking postponement of these exams. The plea was filed by 11 students belonging to 11 states. They sought to quash the July 3 notices issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA), by which it was decided to conduct the Joint Entrance Examination (Main) April 2020 and National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-Undergraduate exams in September. JEE (Main) April 2020 is scheduled from September 1-6, while NEET-UG 2020 exam is scheduled for September 13, according to the NTA's public notices. This year around 11 lakh students will appear for the JEE Mains Entrance Examination while as many as 17 lakh students have registered them to take the NEET Examination. The plea, filed through advocate Alakh Alok Srivastava, referred to COVID-19 pandemic stating that authorities be directed to conduct these exams only after normalcy is restored. The plea also sought the court direction to the authorities to increase the number of examination centers. The petition said, "Conducting the aforesaid examination across India at such perilous time, is nothing else but putting lives of lakhs of young students (including petitioners herein) at utmost risk and danger of disease and death. The best recourse at this stage can be to wait for some more time, let the COVID-19 crisis subside, and then only conduct these exams, in order to save lives of the students and their parents." It had alleged that NTA has indefinitely postponed the National Council of Hotel Management Joint Entrance Examination-2020, which was scheduled to be conducted on June 22, in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It further said that authorities have ignored the plight of lakhs of students from Bihar, Assam and northeastern states, which are presently reeling under flood, and added that conducting either online or offline exams in such places may not be possible. Hearing the arguments of both the parties, the Supreme Court observed that the future of the students cannot be put at stake, therefore, the examinations should be held on time. Students can now expect that their admit cards for both the exams would be issued soon. The top court, however, has given an observation that coronavirus will remain for a long time and we should get used to living with it while taking all the necessary precautions. Israel totally closes Gaza fishing zone, steps up aerial, land attacks Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 4:18 PM Israel has tightened its naval blockade of the Gaza Strip, entirely closing its offshore fishing zone following a night of Israeli land and aerial attacks on the besieged Palestinian enclave. Israeli minister of military affairs Benny Gantz in a statement on Sunday ordered the fishing zone off the coast of Gaza closed until further notice, the Palestinian Information Center reported. The closure came hours after Israeli military launched aerial and ground attacks against targets across the Gaza overnight. The Tel Aviv regime's fighter jets and tanks attacked a Palestinian military compound and underground infrastructure late Saturday. Israel had already slashed Gaza's permitted fishing zone. COGAT, an Israeli military body, earlier this week said the fishing zone would be halved from 15 nautical miles to eight. Under the Oslo Accords signed in 1993, Israel is obligated to permit fishing up to 20 nautical miles, but this has never been implemented. Israel maintains a heavy naval presence off the coast of the impoverished Palestinian enclave, severely affecting the livelihood of some 4,000 fishermen and at least 1,500 more people involved in the fishing industry. Over the past few years, Israeli forces have carried out more than a hundred attacks on Palestinian boats, arresting fishermen and confiscating boats. The Palestinian movement Hamas had vowed to step up its resistance against on the Israeli military after two children were injured during nighttime Israeli strikes on Gaza on Friday. The Israeli military has said that the raids were carried out in response to a number of alleged incendiary balloons sent from Gaza to the occupied territories. Tel Aviv said it targeted "naval force compound, underground infrastructure and observation posts" belonging to Hamas. Flying fiery kites and balloons has become a new mode of protests by Gazans since March 2018, when the Tel Aviv regime began a crackdown against anti-occupation demonstrations near the fence separating Gaza from the Israeli-occupied land, killing and injuring many people. The Israeli regime every so often launches strikes against positions in the blockaded enclave, accusing the resistance groups there of launching attacks. Israel this week also banned fuel from entering the Kerem Shalom crossing between the southern Gaza Strip and the occupied territories until further notice. Gaza's economy has suffered from years of Israeli and Egyptian blockades. The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since June 2007, which has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty. Israel has launched three major wars against the enclave, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory's already poor infrastructure. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mutua Matheka is an internationally recognised Kenyan photographer whose work has been showcased all over the world, including, most recently, on Beyonces website. He spoke to Life&Style. Do you think school actually prepares you for a career as a creative, or in art? Absolutely not. As a photographer, I dont think photography school will make you a better photographer. Not in the way I think school is supposed to, anyway. Now that I am a photographer, I would go back to school because I know I am not going to go back to learn how to take pictures. I am going back to learn about the history of photography, movement in photography yes, based on white systems and white history, but that would be interesting to me now as well, in theory. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I am really anti being told what to do and when to do it. Have you always been anti being told what to do and when to do it? I cant remember the first instance of when I started being like this, but growing up, Id always been against being told what to do. Not because I wont do it. I will do the thing you want me to do. But more because it is not what I want to do right now. You understand? I understand that you (i.e. my mother, for example) want me to do it now because you require obedience from me, but know that I love and respect you. Still, I dont want to do this thing right now. In a half-hour, I will do it. And then you went to campus, being this guy, and did architecture. What is it with architects who dont become architects? You, Nameless, Dela, Osborne Macharia Creatively, there is no academic discipline that makes you an overall excellent creative, like architecture. When you study it, you discover that it is a good segue into many things. The first year is basically a fine art class. We drew so much and people had to learn to draw things without using rulers. You would think architecture is about using rulers, right? Not first year. We would be taken to town and told, draw the old parliament building. Left there for the whole lesson. You would be learning how to translate what you see, then draw it, to scale, and basically translate what you see into something that makes sense, or was communicating without having yet touched a single tool. Your tools were your hands and your brain. And isnt that what art is? Then, also, the degree takes six years. That teaches you long-suffering, which is essential in business. Then, we had hours of critique sessions also crucial for an artist. Was there something that you finished school and said you would never do? Like, I dont know, wake up early or something? Wash my own clothes. My mother made me wash my own clothes from when I was in Class Five because thats a lesson she wanted to teach me at the time. We had a househelp, but the househelp was for her. So the help would wash moms clothes, and I would be there next to her, washing mine. I went to boarding school in Class Seven. We were not rich, so I didnt have ati seven shirts I had two, which meant I was washing shirts every day. The first day I found out what a mama fua was, on the first day of campus, I said never again. And I never looked back. When I met my wife, she initially wanted to wash clothes, even though I had clearly said that it would not make me like her more or less or make her more wife material or anything like that. She didnt listen and tried one time. She too said never again after that one time. And these experiences brought you here, from being in architecture school to being featured on Beyonces website. How do you even explain that? Its inexplicable. Some of what is my life now is not what I imagined, not even what I could have imagined. Even when I imagined being a really dope architect when I was employed, 10 years ago, I would have never imagined that I would go to the places I go to now, ati because of taking pictures. Even now, I get shocked. Mainly because I dont consider myself the best photographer or anything, I do think my work is good. I dont think you can be the best artist, you know, because thats like saying you can compare two artists, and what can that honestly even be based on? Till now, Im like, ok this is nice. Still, when I think about it, really, this is what it means: it means that there was someone in this world somewhere who said, we need to feature a Kenyan photographer on the website, for the curation section, and then someone else said, yes, I know someone. And then they sat down, I assume, and looked at my work, and they said, I hope, that yes, this is the one, we definitely have to have this person on here. Thats so wild to me! And yet even though you operate outside the system of the norm, there is a lot that you do that is very much still operating within the system of the industry, or whatever you want to call it, right? Do you think as a person, as an artist, it is possible to operate out of the system, of capitalism, or systems like it? I think its possible, but you have to be one of those people who are down for whatever. You can choose to operate outside the system of things but that also comes with its disadvantages here and there which you have to be ready for. Like having to farm, for example? Yeah. Dealing with things not going the way you want them to. If you dont know how to deal with those things, you might get shocked. Just to briefly return to the Beyonce question, and how you kind of would never have even thought to work with her I have never even thought of Beyonce to work with, and not because I wouldnt. Still, because I would love to create some really cool stuff but Ive never even thought about that as a possibility. It seems like something so far away; you know? Like sometimes my mind thinks about things like I will get this grand idea, and then I start thinking about how it would be possibleand then I get tired. I am very good at thinking up big thoughts. And stopping there. If that was my job, I would be so successful! But the minute I have to find the small pieces to move and manage for the big ideas to happen, I stop immediately. But somehow you managed to make the big idea of your career happen. How it happened was that I started out as an interior architect after I graduated. I actually picked up employment and picked up a camera at the same time. But one won. And it wasnt even that I hated my job or my boss. I had an excellent job. I did work that was meaningful to me. I had a huge responsibility to design things and see them built. I did things that I loved to do. I quit because, the job did not have space for my photography. And ironically, I still ended up having a job [that goes against what I said earlier about hating to be told] being told where to be, and at what time. I remember when I was leaving, I tried to tell my boss that they actually only needed me for two days a week, total. If she had allowed me to do this, I might still be employed! How exactly did you quit? And when? Many things happened in 2010. I wasnt using my camera much. Then I got married. Then I was like, I bought this camera. It cost money. Let me use it. I started shooting every day. I was just working and shooting and working and shooting. I would sleep three hours a day: Wake up at 6 am, leave the house at 6:30 am, be in the office by 7:15, then I would be online, posting the pic of the day that I took the day before. I would have coffee at my desk at 8:30. During lunch, I would take my camera, walk around and try to find pictures for that days assignment. If I didnt find a picture, I would come back and eat lunch at my desk. Id head home at 5 pm and have a portrait session from 6:30 pm form people who used to see my work from the pic of the day segments. At 8, wed eat, Id hang out with my wife, we watch some TV, she would go to bed at 10 pm. Id tuck her in, get back on my computer and work till 2 am. So picking one job was about survival. I was either going to quit my job or quit photography. Or do photography over the weekend like an average person! So I went to my job and asked my boss for a compromise I work for half a month for half the pay, and then decide in three months whether I was going to stay or not. My wife has never been the type of person to stand in the way of anything I want to do. Up to today, shes the, well figure it out, kind of person. And I think thats because we would like our marriage to be the type where people are free to do what they want. For instance shes a sign language interpreter, and she really loves working with deaf people, and with children. And we all know in Kenya those jobs dont pay well because people dont consider them essential. So I said, since this is what you really like to do, Ill try to work to make sure that I can support your lifestyle, of giving back to people. The jobs kept coming somehow. That first year was outstanding. I was even like, I thought people said that this would be really rough? The roughness came, by the way. Just later. When was it rough? 2019 was the roughest year. I did one job. How did you survive? Are you like, a mad saver? I dont believe in saving; actually, I cant save for a future I dont know about. I did a huge job with Hennessy, and I was on a billboard. That contract was around the end of 2018, so literally, that money paid for life through to 2019. And I opened my print shop and started selling prints and doing my prints on tees, out of necessity. If I wasnt broke, I wouldnt have done it. What is broke to you? When I have less than Sh5,000. 5k? He ok, but brokeness is different when youre a parent. Funny enough, Ive never been worried about the children and what they will eat. Its somehow never gotten there. Therell always be a ka-rice. Ive had a friend give me 5kgs of rice after asking if we have food. You eat rice with beans somewhere. You cant miss beans if you look inside in the corner somewhere! My broke, at least, has people around me who can hold me when the line is slacking. And sometimes I can do the same. The kind of people who you can tell each other, listen, I need 10k, and I dont know when Ill pay you back. How are you feeling about Covid-19? Its just freelancing every day. The whole world is living the way creatives usually live. It makes me feel like maybe if people paid us better and faster, wed be ok [through Corona]. Because usually it takes people sijui eight years to pay What are you most grateful for, in this moment? Honestly I think Im really grateful for this talent. Its never lost on me how I feel my life would be so different if I didnt have what I do. And it isnt the doing in itself, its just what it makes me feel, to do the work that I do, when people receive it when I access doors that I would never have thought would open for me. Photos: Instagram/Mutua Matheka The calculated grading system being used for this year's Leaving Certificate has been designed to ensure that overall girls will do better than boys. The exams system is supposed to be blind and anonymised, but the gender of students will be taken into account, the Irish Independent has learned. It could yet become a battleground over the estimated results, which are due to be issued on September 7. In England, the issue of predicted grades is now a major controversy. Students vented frustration at a system that has already seen 40pc of final-year A-level students receive lower grades than those predicted by their teachers. In Irish schools, girls consistently perform better than boys on average during the end-of-school examinations. Read More Education Minister Norma Foley's admission that the gender trend would be factored into the calculated grades system came in a little-noted parliamentary reply just before the Dail rose. "The use of demographic characteristics, including gender and socio-economic status of the school, was inherent in the Technical Working Group's design of the calculated grades model," Ms Foley admitted. Separately, the challenges facing schools preparing to reopen under Covid-19 restrictions are laid bare in figures that show Ireland has the most overcrowded classrooms in Europe. Expand Close Education Minister Norma Foley issued written reply. Photo: Frank McGrath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Education Minister Norma Foley issued written reply. Photo: Frank McGrath There are 335,649 pupils in classes of 25 or more, and almost 100,000 in super-sized classes of more than 30. Ms Foley said in her written reply to Sinn Fein TD Donnchadh O Laoghaire: "The purpose of the calculated grades system is to arrive at the grade each student would have achieved if the Leaving Certificate examinations had taken place as normal. "Students' expected performance in a subject and level is combined with information about how students in the school have fared in this subject in recent years, and with their performance at Junior Cycle." The outcome would be "as reasonable, fair and accurate to students as possible". In order to make sure that the standardisation process works, there will be validation - including any necessary re-balancing to preserve girls' advantage on higher grades, as seen in previous years. "Validation serves to ensure that the statistical standardisation process is presenting results that are as fair and equitable and in line with previous outcomes as much as possible," Ms Foley said. But Mr O Laoghaire said: "While this may seem academic to some, the reality is that this will affect whether countless students get the course of their dreams or not. "It will affect whether they fail a subject or not. This matters enormously, and students from disadvantaged backgrounds should not suffer because of past results. "The minister needs to publish the model, and outline what weighting is attached to social background, school results and gender. We also need to be now considering options as to how the problems that existed in Scotland and elsewhere can be eliminated." He added: "We've been raising significant concerns regarding school profiling or 'standardisation' for months now. "Unfortunately the experience elsewhere has increased our concerns, as students have been held back by the past results of their school, rather than being evaluated on their own merits. "Neither class nor gender should define whether a student gets an A or not, nor whether a student fails or not." Labour's spokesman on Education, Aodhan O Riordain, said his party had always resisted cancelling the exams because "we didn't feel that it could be replaced by a fairer system". According to Mr O Riordain, one of the only strengths of a rather unfair and unequal system was that "somebody can be absolutely anonymous when they walk into a into an exam hall". He added: "They put down their exam number and we don't know who they are, don't know where they're from." A document called 'Data Collection National Standardisation and Quality Assurance' on the Department of Education website confirms the pro-female bias. It specifically declares: "In the case of gender, if the performance of female students relative to male students in various subjects turns out to be similar under the calculated grades model, as was normally the case in previous examination years, then this can be taken as an indicator that the model is in line." But the Department of Eduction defended the gender and socio-economic 'validation' measures, saying: "Not to run these checks would run the risk of not being able to tell whether or not the standardisation process was working to ensure that the Leaving Certificate results of 2020 are properly comparable with Leaving Certificate results in any other year." Some 200,000 protesters came to take part in the mass event in the capital city. Belarusian law enforcement agencies have reportedly started detaining participants in the March of Freedom in different districts of Minsk on August 16. Around 15 police vans, several buses and minibuses, as well as other vehicles drove along Independence Avenue towards the city's Uruchcha microdistrict, according to the Telegram channels NEXTA Live, Euroradio, Tut.by. Read alsoNationwide strike to begin in Belarus on Aug 17 Other sources report several people near the capital city's GUM shopping mall were seized,dragged into a minibus and driven away in an unknown direction. Euroradio wrote "the information has been confirmed that people leaving the mass rally in the center of Minsk are being detained. Detentions take place both in the city center and on the outskirts, in the yards of residential buildings." Belarus protests in brief In her decades as an award-winning reporter covering energy, the White House and foreign affairs, longtime NBC News and MSNBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell has gone head to head with world leaders and doggedly chased down U.S. politicians for answers. Her husband Alan Greenspan was chair of the Federal Reserve for nearly two decades, overseeing the worlds largest economy. But at home during the pandemic, it turns out theyre just like the rest of us, shushing each other during work calls or in Mitchells case live on air in front of 1 million-plus viewers across the country; scheduling clashing Zoom meetings and turning their living room into a makeshift office. I have a small house. My husband is working from home also. Were filming over each other. He has to shush up when Im on the air, and sometimes were both doing Zooms at the same time, she said. The house is getting worn out from all of this because were not used to being home and were not used to all the traffic. The pandemic hasnt slowed her down, though, even though Mitchell, 73, and Greenspan, 94, are spending much of their time at home. Speaking to WWD a week ago in the run-up to Senator Kamala Harris being unveiled as Joe Bidens vice presidential running mate, she had been up since 4.30 a.m., preparing to appear on The Today Show. That included last-minute fact checking for her story, which she finished at 11 the previous night, and doing her own hair and makeup for safety reasons. In between The Today Show and her weekday MSNBC show Andrea Mitchell Reports at noon, she squeezed in no fewer than five conference calls. Then it was time to grab some cheese and crackers and water for lunch while on a vice presidential planning call, before sketching out a Nightly News piece on the latest on Bidens VP pick in between calling sources. The rest of the day was taken up by refining her script for Nightly News and recording her voiceover on her iPhone and sending it to her producer, who packaged it all together from their home. Story continues That all took place in her living room, although she has gone out to report a few times. She traveled to Delaware for the VP announcement and will be in the Washington, D.C., studio Monday for the Democratic National Convention the first time she wont be hosting her show live on the floor, with it being transformed into an a mostly virtual event. Originally, 50,000 delegates, journalists and party officials were set to descend on Milwaukee for the four day event. Here, Mitchell describes how reporting on this election will be like nothing shes ever seen before, and how her work life has changed during the coronavirus crisis. WWD: Youve been in this business for a long time. Is this your wildest election year yet as a reporter? Andrea Mitchell: There are some wild elections, but this one is the most unusual because of the pandemic and thats what makes it so challenging. You dont have as much access to the candidates. You cant interview voters. Theyre not in the field. Even the president has stopped doing the rallies and Joe Biden is not able to campaign as he would like to do because he knows keeping people safe.is much more important than holding a political rally. So this virtual campaign, its hard to figure out how to approach this and how to get the best information to the viewers, to our audiences on all of our platforms. Thats the challenge that we have to meet, especially as we cover the conventions. WWD: What impact will the lack of a campaign trail have on reporting? A.M.: It has a profound impact, limiting our ability to understand how these candidates are going to interact with voters and how voters are responding to them. In a virtual campaign you are left calling sources, and also doing fact checking, and thats becoming more and more important to test the policies to see how they add up, to see whether theyre practical. In the case of some of the recent executive actions the president took to talk to lawyers and find out whether theyre constitutional. So all of these things that are being debated. We also have to cover whether or not the election can be held fairly and clearly, whether there is suppression of voters and we are out covering that, especially with communities of color and other minorities being discriminated against in the past in states that still try to keep minority votes down. And most importantly, the challenge we now face with mail ballots because of the pandemic and because of efforts by the administration to cut the budget to our postal service and make it extremely difficult for people to safely vote. These are very big issues. [After this interview was conducted, it emerged that the Postal Service informed 46 states in July that it could not guarantee that all mail ballots would arrive in time to be counted.] Also, I cover foreign policy and the intelligence communities and Im working very hard on what credible information the intelligence agencies are collecting about Russias chance to already interfere with the election. So there are a lot of different aspects to this, but I think investigative reporting becomes even more important when youre not out in the field talking to the voters and covering a rally every day. WWD: How will you cover both conventions this year? A.M.: I will be with Chuck Todd, our political director, in our Washington studio, broadcasting with Lester Holt anchoring in New York with Savannah Guthrie. I always did my MSNBC show from all the conventions and was on Nightly News, The Today Show and on the floor of the convention, so that is something Ill really miss because I loved interviewing the governors and the senators and the mayors and the delegates and getting a real feel of the cross section of the party from being on the floor. That was always the real fun of being at the conventions. WWD: Youre known for asking the tough questions throughout your career. A few broadcast journalists have faced criticism from some quarters for not being tough enough during one-on-one interviews with President Trump. In contrast, Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, a print journalist, was praised for his recent interview with Trump. Whats your take on this? A.M.: Well, I think its very hard to interview President Trump. Ive never had the opportunity, but I know that he does not answer questions directly. He has his own very different grasps of fact, especially on scientific subjects. I think Jonathan Swan did a really good job, I think Chris Wallace on Fox News did a really good job because I think its very important with any president not just Donald Trump to hold them to the facts and to not accept statements that are clearly wrong. And so thats what we wouldve done with any of the presidents President Bush, President Reagan who I covered, President Clinton. You always have to know your own facts, ask questions very clearly and when you have the opportunity to follow up as you do in a one-on-one interview, make sure you do follow up. Its not always possible during a news conference because right now the White House tends to limit you to one question and no follow ups. There have been different practices I should say over the years. Its hard to second guess someone in the middle of an interview, especially a live interview. Its very, very tough and I think those recent examples of Jonathan Swan and Chris Wallace really led the challenge. WWD: Trump appeared to struggle in this particular interview with Axios. Is this a sign of what could come, especially at debates? A.M.: Debates can be performance as much as knowing the intricacies of policy. This is political theater. And while they would, you hope, be a direct examination of policy and of someones qualifications to be president, thats not always the case. So I wouldnt predict anything about the debates. Its a long way off, and a day or a week is a long way off in the politics of today. I think we really have to see how this campaign shapes up. WWD: Mail-in ballots are expected to surge due to the pandemic and there are serious concerns about delays and how they will be processed. Do you think its possible that election night could become election week or even election month? A.M.: I think if it is a close election it is probable the count will take days, even weeks, and will be litigated. The battle over mail-in balloting is probably the most important story we are covering between now and the election. Voting by mail is essential during the pandemic and is widely used across the country, but President Trump has escalated his opposition to it despite little to no evidence of fraud. His appointment of a major donor with no experience to be Postmaster General who then fired top management and cut back deliveries, and the Presidents own acknowledgement, make it clear this is likely an attempt to suppress the anti-Trump vote. WWD: How do media organizations avoid premature claims of victory? A.M.: We are very, very careful. We have a standards operation, a decision desk, and nothing gets reported until everyone signs off on it and all of our election experts tell us that there is no way that one of the candidates could overtake the other. So a declaration of victory is not victory. And we dont decide races at the state or local level, Congressional races, Senate races until everyone signs off on it. We dont declare a state in one candidates corner or the other until the decision desk decides if that state has in fact been carried by that candidate. WWD: How has the pandemic impacted you personally in terms of on-the-ground reporting? Was there a long time where you were only able to report from your home? A.M.: I have been, since the second week in March, doing my program from home. We have a TV camera and equipment set up in the living room. The living room is basically turned over. Its a small Victorian house and the living room is now a TV studio and weve been doing that since right after Super Tuesday. Ive gone out during the protests, for a report on a statehood vote for Washington, D.C., but for the most part I have been at home. I have not been in the studio. I was in the studio once when the home camera didnt work and I was anchoring Meet the Press on the July 4 weekend, and at 5.30 in the morning we had problems with the home camera. And so at 6 I was told it couldnt be repaired in time. So I went into the studio. Thats the only time Ive been in the studio since March. WWD: Youre obviously used to being very active. Has it been difficult for you to stay at home and do everything from there? A.M.: Yes. I should preface this and say that everyone in the industry really admires what the amazing technical wizards at NBC have managed to do for all of us at our home studio because its really been extraordinary that they could design and install all this so quickly and in so many places. That said, I have been straining at the bit to get out. We dont have the creativity of the newsroom. I dont see as many video inputs. Producers do have screens that can show them a lot of different feeds, but its just a lot harder to make sure youre not missing something. When were all in the newsroom or in the same corridor, getting our show on the air is frankly a lot more fun. I miss my colleagues, I miss my friends. And one of the other things I should add is, I used to travel with the secretary of state for decades and do my show all over the world. But that has been limited, not by the pandemic, but initially by this administrations secretaries of state, they dont have traveling press corps in numbers large enough where we could do a show and bring a camera crew. So thats been a real problem. They take two or three people or at most six people rather than as many as in the past. So thats been another big loss. I really miss traveling around the world with our diplomats and covering foreign policy. WWD: How do you still have the stamina and passion to continue covering politics? A.M.: Oh, I love it. I would jump at the chance to go and cover a story tomorrow. I like to say its our Olympics. NBC has the Olympics every four years, but this is it for a political reporter. This is the most fun, and the most challenging time that we have every four years. I love it because everything changes. Politics is important because it is deadly serious. Youre deciding who is going to be the president of the United States. And we have to make sure we really dig down and find out, is this person qualified, competent, what is this persons character, are they fit for the job? Campaigns are becoming more and more sophisticated, through social media to manipulate the voters and to even fabricate fake rallies. And do the things that were described, not only in the Mueller report, but in many academic studies and intelligence studies in the aftermath of the 2016 campaign, where there were protest groups that were not really protest groups imitating Black Lives Matter to try to frighten people in areas that were resisting any talk of the Black Lives Matter movement. There were so many things that happened that we were unaware of, where the voters were manipulated and where reporters did not discover what was happening until long afterward. In past campaigns, there have been other issues that have exposed how much the clever political campaigns can manipulate both the media and the public. Thats our constant challenge. There has always been an adversarial relationship between reporter, between the press, and the people we cover, to try to keep them honest and try to communicate as best we can what is really going on so the election can be fair and the voters can be educated. For more, see: NBCU Goes for Early Launch of First Online Shopping Cart NBCU Gives Staffers Open-ended Guidance on Return to Offices Media People: NBC White House Crew Talk Highs and Lows of Covering Trump Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. In her role as the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) 2020 Distinguished Research Lecturer, Karen Giuliano, a University of Massachusetts Amherst associate professor, has examined her "unconventional journey" from caring for patients at the bedside to challenging precedent in critical care to medical device design and innovation. Giuliano's paper, published in the American Journal of Critical Care, describes her 35-year nursing career, leading to her current joint position with the College of Nursing and the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS), where she heads up a product development laboratory. "My goal is to share lessons learned and to help participants to see the many different ways that critical care nursing knowledge can be used to improve patient care," Giuliano writes. In addition to publishing her paper, the journal posted a video interview with Giuliano discussing her experiences and perspective in critical-care nursing. She writes, "My nursing practice has always included a propensity to play with ideas and do things differently, and my practice and clinical research interests are largely driven by a passionate desire to improve the delivery of care for nurses and the experience of care for patients and their families." Giuliano emphasizes the importance of developing medical products in cooperation with bedside caregivers. "Nurses, especially critical care nurses, are in a unique position to identify and address everyday health care issues, challenge assumptions and the status quo, address unrecognized and unarticulated needs, and ensure that clinical outcomes research serves as the foundation for validating the effectiveness of medical product innovation," she writes. After 15 years as a critical care nurse, Giuliano spent 13 years with Philips Healthcare, focusing on developing multiparameter patient monitors. In her academic role at UMass Amherst, "My hope is to cultivate productive and fun interdisciplinary collaborations, especially with business and engineering colleagues, deepen and share my passion and ability to contribute to person-centered, humanistic patient care, and expand my capacity to develop and mentor the next generation of nurses." Giuliano is also collaborating with an Indiana-based startup, Recovery Force, to lead the clinical testing of a portable active-compression system designed to improve patient mobility and prevent deep vein thrombosis. The research is funded by a $1.8 million National Institutes of Health Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research grant. ### While the second generation Xperia 10 improved significantly, its still not a replacement for a proper Xperia 5 II flagship. Unfortunately, Sony has made no mention of such a phone - however, a few cases have surfaced on Alibaba, revealing a possible design. Alleged Sony Xperia 5 II renders The images show what is essentially a smaller Xperia 1 II with the recognizable 21:9 aspect ratio of the display with classic bezels. Theres a fingerprint reader on the side plus a 3.5 mm headphone jack on top. Around the back we find a triple camera that seems lifted strait off the Sony flagship including the ZEISS T* branding for the lenses. However, theres a problem. If the Sony Xperia 5 II is as depicted here, it wont have an LED flash. Thats the 3D ToF sensor in between the cameras, the actual flash (and RGB ambient light sensor) is supposed to go above them. Thats the layout of the Xperia 1 II, anyway, as you can see below. We dont put too much stock in these renderings, but seeing multiple sellers putting up listings for cases for the petite flagship gives us hope that the Sony team is getting close to making an announcement. Source | Via (in Japanese) (Global Times) Following a series of crackdowns on Chinese technology firms, US President Donald Trump on Saturday indicated that he might target one of the largest e-commerce companies in the world - China-based Alibaba Group. Chinese analysts say it's another move motivated by US domestic politics that will deal a short-term blow to Chinese companies but have limited impact in the long run. The Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang-based company generates the vast majority of its revenue from the burgeoning domestic e-commerce sector, while its presence in the US is relatively small, experts noted. Motivated by election politics, Trump will likely aim to restrict Alibaba's development in the cloud computing and chip fields, the experts warned. Asked whether he was considering exerting pressure on more Chinese companies such as Alibaba at a news conferences on Saturday (US time), Trump said that "we're looking at other things, yes." It was unclear whether the US president, known for making erratic statements, was speaking of concrete plans to assault Alibaba or was responding to a seemingly leading question from a Bloomberg reporter. Still, Chinese experts said that as Trump has put his bid to win re-election above everything else, a crackdown on Alibaba is possible. In line with the US' long-term strategy to contain China's technological rise, Trump might take action in two areas where Alibaba is moving rapidly ahead - cloud computing and chips, experts said. "For Trump, nothing matters more than [his reelection], therefore, he will do whatever he feels will be conducive to his campaign so I think it is possible [he will target Alibaba]," Liu Gang, director of the Nankai Institute of Economics and chief economist at the Chinese Institute of New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Strategies, told the Global Times on Sunday. Tesla CEO Elon Musk's Wikipedia page has been blocked after the multi-billionaire encouraged his fans to "trash" him on the website. Musk on Sunday tweeted, "History is written by the victors...except on Wikipedia". In a follow-up tweet, he requested his followers "Please trash me on Wikipedia, I'm begging you". History is written by the victors except on Wikipedia haha Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 16, 2020 Please trash me on Wikipedia, Im begging you Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 16, 2020 Thereafter, innumerable followers responded to the SpaceX CEO and shared their edits. A user wrote, "Elon Musk, an Alien from the future has come back in time to possess the human body we recognize as Elon. Knowing humans will destroy themselves, he's set it upon himself to build rockets and establish an off world colony to help preserve the human race". @elonmusk, an Alien from the future has come back in time to possess the human body we recognize as Elon. Knowing humans will destroy themselves, he's set it upon himself to build rockets and establish an off world colony to help preserve the human race. - A.K.A. RandyVegetables (@RandyVegetables) August 16, 2020 Another wrote, "I'm gonna put: Elon Musk is so desperate to get to planet Mars, be organized a coup to topple Bolivian populist dictator Evo Morales in order to get his hands on 50% of the world's reserves of Lithium. Anything else to add?" I'm gonna put: Elon Musk is so desperate to get to planet Mars, be organized a coup to topple Bolivian populist dictator Evo Morales in order to get his hands on 50% of the world's reserves of Lithium. Anything else to add? Rene Fernandez (@idearium) August 16, 2020 "All major wars, diseases and financial disasters of the last century can be directly attributed to Mr Musk or one of his companies," one user tweeted to seek Musk's approval. Musk also approved of a suggestion to edit his page to describe him as a "business magnet" instead of a "business magnate". Musk's bizarre request on Twitter has gone viral with over 201.3K likes, 12.8K retweets and 5.8K comments. Due to the overwhelming traffic on Musk's Wikipedia page, it was quickly locked by the company so that no one can edit it anymore. Sinduja Jane By Express News Service CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu on Monday reported 5,890 COVID-19 positive cases and 120 deaths, taking the tally to 3,43, 945, and toll to 5,886. Meanwhile, Congress leader KS Alagiri said that Kanniyakumari Lok Sabha member H Vasanthakumar is on ventilator support after he tested positive for COVID-19. Chennai recorded 1,185 cases. Its neighbouring districts Chengalpattu recorded 224 cases, Kancheepuram 174 cases, and Tiruvallur 308 cases. On the day, 5,667 people were discharged after treatment. The number of people discharged has now increased to 2,83,937. The State also tested 67,532 samples and 65,643 people on the day. According to the media bulletin issued by the Directorate of Public Health, one private lab -- Aarthi scans & Labs, Thanjavur -- has been recently approved for COVID-19 testing. Cases continued to surge in other districts too. Coimbatore reported 393 cases, Cuddalore 389, Kanyakumari 209, Salem 266, Theni 279, and Virudhunagar 212 cases. Among the deceased, 10 did not have comorbidities. A 33-year-old man died without comorbidity. The patient from Tirupattur was admitted on August 7 in a private hospital, Salem with complaints of fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing for 10 days. He died on August 16 due to Covid-19 pneumonia, and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, as per the bulletin. Among the deaths, 84 were reported from government hospitals and 36 from private hospitals. Royal photographer Arthur Edwards has claimed it's a 'tragedy' that Prince William and Prince Harry are no longer talking and argued the fall-out 'must be over' Meghan Markle. The British snapper, 80, from East London, who first photographed the royals in 1977, appeared on This Morning today and told how the Duke of Sussex, 35, used to go 'out of his way' to help him take pictures while on tour. He explained that before stepping down as a senior royal, Harry was 'so exciting' to work with, producing 'great pictures' and even making cups of tea and having drinks on the beach with photographers. Arthur said while he originally felt the Duchess of Sussex, 39, was 'sensational', he thinks she influenced the brothers' fall out - adding that Harry, William, 38, and the Duchess of Cambridge, 38, were doing 'wonderful things' before the feud. Scroll down for video Arthur Edwards has revealed Prince Harry would 'go out of his way' to help him take pictures while on tour - and thinks his feud with Prince William 'must be over' Meghan Markle. Pictured together: the 'fab four' in November 2018 Arthur, 80, appeared on This Morning today where he branded the rift between Harry, 35, and William, 38, a 'tragedy' 'Since they were born I watched them grow up together and they were very close,' said Arthur. 'The tragedy is they are no longer talking to each other and it must be over Meghan, because before that Harry, Catherine and William were doing wonderful things together, Heads Up the mental health charity, they were inspired. 'Harry is no longer in the country which is sad not only for them, but for the people who loved this man.' The photographer admitted he 'can't believe' Harry has left the country and is no longer 'supporting his brother', as he thought he would do so 'for the rest of his life'. Prince Harry was 'so exciting' to work with, producing 'great pictures' and even making cups of tea and having drinks on the beach with photographers, Arthur claimed. Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Morocco last year Arthur added: 'He was the most popular member of the royal family and he was so exciting to work with. We would go on tour with him and there would be great pictures. 'He would go out of his way to help you, he would chat to you, make you a cup of tea, have a drink with you on the beach. He was an exciting young man and supporting his brother; we thought he would do it for the rest of his life, I can't believe this has happened.' He went on to explain that 'things would have been different' if he and the rest of the media group were allowed to meet Meghan. 'The first year I thought she was sensational, I went on lots of trips with her, I went to Morocco and she was great', said Arthur. Arthur said Harry, William and the Duchess of Cambridge were doing 'wonderful things' and were 'inspired' before their feud. Pictured: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Duke and Duchess of Sussex arriving to attend the Christmas Day morning church service in 2018 Arthur went on to explain that 'things would have been different' if he and the rest of the press pack were allowed to meet Meghan Markle, because she would have seen they're 'human'. Harry and Meghan are pictured at Canada House in 2020 'Four times I asked the palace if we as a media group could meet Meghan, and it didn't happen. 'I think if she had met us things would have been different; she would have seen we're human and she's human and she did get some bad press, we made mistakes and we ask forgiveness.' Arthur went on to urge the Duke of Sussex to 'come back' to the UK, insisting that his brother 'needs his support'. He said: 'This is a great country and the Queen needs your support Harry, William can't do it all, Kate can't do it all, Harry is badly needed. 'The royals are important to us all and they can't do it alone. I hope in March - he has until March to re-think it - he comes back.' Arthur added: 'One thing about the royals is duty duty duty; we have to get Harry back.' Network engineer Jose Arellano concedes that the hardest part of my day is keeping the network safe for 12,700 students, 1,900 staff and more than 10,000 connected devices at West Aurora School District 129 in Illinois. The two-person security team once focused primarily on getting the network running as securely and efficiently as possible for teachers and students. We always focused on what was inside, with the schools limited resources and budget, Arellano says. When a DDoS attack took down the districts network for more than six weeks, however, they struggled to identify the problem. Now hes had to shift his focus from prevention-only approaches to detection and response. It is an incredibly difficult job, he says. Arellanos frustration is shared by a growing number of security professionals, and that's partly due to the number of reported vulnerabilities each year. Threat intelligence firm Risk Based Security logged nearly 5,000 new vulnerability disclosures in the first quarter of 2020 alone. It's hard for stretched security teams to evaluate the risk those vulnerabilities pose. Nearly all the respondents to the Dimensional Research 2020 State of SecOps and Automation survey reported that high alert volumes created problems for security teams; 83% said their teams experienced alert fatique. Most companies with more than 10,000 employees receive more than 1,000 alerts per day. The WannaCry ransomware attack marked a rise in global assaults involving malware, ransomware, phishing schemes and various strikes by bad actors and most are indiscriminate about their targets. Many organizations, regardless of size, receive tens of thousands of security alerts from their monitoring systems every day. Some 37% of banks, for example, receive more than 200,000 security alerts a day about possible attacks, according to research firm Ovum. The onslaught of attacks only adds to the pain points for security teams. Not only do organizations have to sift through data and prioritize responses to thousands of alerts, but taking action requires hands-on investigating by cyber professionals who are already in short supply. Eighty-one percent of respondents to a survey conducted by Oxford Economics on behalf of ServiceNow said they were concerned about detected security breaches going unaddressed. A slew of new automated detection and incident response technologies are popping up to provide some relief, but many companies are still averse to security automation, says Joseph Blankenship, senior analyst serving security and risk professionals at Forrester Research. In the past, [automation] has caused us problems, Blankenship says. Weve stopped legitimate traffic, caused outages. Theres a lot of issues with taking automated action without necessarily having somebody look at the action and verify it. Now there might be some renewed optimism. Not until recently have we opened up APIs where weve got the ability to not only pull data out beyond just plain and simple log data, or to push an action back. Theres more sharing between platforms, and weve created this automation and orchestration layer thanks to APIs that allow a little more free-exchange of data, says Blankenship. Orchestration and automation are potential solutions, says Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst at ESG and founder of the firms cybersecurity service, but you really can only toe-dip into that. It wont solve all of your problems. Sometimes it means changing your processes, as well. Companies that have used automation to deal with alert overload are seeing results, according to the Dimensional Research survey. While 34% of security teams with low levels of automation deal with most security alerts in a day, 65% report they resolve alerts in a day with automation. The majority of respondents (92%) said that automation was the best solution to deal with large volumes of alerts. Organizations have a host of automated incident response solutions to choose from, and one size certainly does not fit all. Three organizations share their own cybersecurity challenges and response strategies. Managing the deluge of security data At managed care services provider CareWorks, the security data being gathered by its security tools at 88 U.S. and six international locations was proving to be too voluminous to handle, even if we had the right staffing level in IT, says Bart Murphy, CIO and CTO. You have to do more with less. Murphy started looking for ways to gather all the data from its vulnerability scanner, security analytics software and endpoint solutions, and then automate at least some of the workflow. CareWorks already used ServiceNows platform-as-a-service to automate enterprise IT operations. So in March 2017, the company added the vendors security operations module. While still in the early days of adoption, the company has already integrated tools like Symantec, Nessus, LogRythm and Tanium to identify workflows that we can automate. Well eventually leverage orchestration to actually [respond to threats] by itself and report back, Murphy says. Today, the SecOps module tracks all the activity associated with a potential or real security incidents without having to manually go through myriad logs. Its too early to tell how much time and manpower will be saved down the road. Right now, Murphys goal is to ensure that were as protected and preventative as possible for things that we know, but it will take time to build confidence in security automation, he says. There is a level of validation that has to occur over time to get comfortable with that automation, he says. I dont have unrealistic expectations about how much should be automated over a six to 12-month period. Id rather have 10 really thought-out and tested automated [processes] than have 100 that werent. Make sure the team understands the goal and doesnt automate for automations sake. Fewer security tools are better than more When it comes to cybersecurity, Finning International CISO Suzie Smibert is all about simplification. In terms of cyber response technology, there are too many vendors today, says Smibert, who is also global director enterprise architecture at the Vancouver-based firm, the worlds largest supplier of Caterpillar products and support services. Finning receives tens of thousands of security alerts daily, made even more complicated with servers and a network covering three geographies and more than 13,000 employees across the globe who each carry more than one connected device. Adding more security tools doesnt increase your security. It might make it worse because managing that complex environment where you have 100 different security widgets could introduce a false sense of security, Smibert says. Whats more, If you have 10 devices doing only one function in cybersecurity, then you have 10 times the training and expense. Smibert chose only a handful of multi-function security tools to detect and respond to cyberattacks a combined network, cloud and endpoint security platform that automates prevention against attacks, a cloud-delivered endpoint protection solution, and an analytics-driven SIEM. (She declined to identify these tools by name for fear of that shell receive a deluge of calls from competitors, she says.) Her team can now decipher thousands of alerts daily and pull only those that require investigation about 20 to 40 per day. Smibert says shes fortunate to have enough skilled security professionals to do the manual legwork, so she not rushing into more orchestration and automation. Im not comfortable yet to automate the security of the data or the function of a system that is so critical to the organization, particularly legacy applications, she says, but that doesnt mean it wont happen. Some of these systems have not been designed for automation. If youve automated a false positive or created a chain reaction, that has a much more negative impact than a small and contained security incident. Network traffic analytics make two feel like 200 K-12 schools are typically not as well staffed or budgeted for cybersecurity as private organizations. West Aurora School District 129 turned to incident response software to help fill the gaps. A two-person IT team manages infrastructure at 18 schools in the district. At the start of the school year in August 2016, the districts wireless network crashed, and nobody not even the districts ISP could locate the source of the problem. We were a Cisco shop, [but] we lacked a lot of the features that would have been available through firmware updates (through Ciscos Smartnet service), so our network visibility was very minimal, Arellano recalls. The ISP suggested that the school district might be a test bed for a major attack, and it scared us, he says. The problem lingered for six more weeks until Arellano installed incident response software that analyzes traffic and forensic data to find the root cause of disruptions. Using Plixers network traffic analytics system, Scrutinizer, Arellano immediately saw the flood of DDoS alerts. Through packet captures, he noticed a lot of DNS responses were coming out of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. This is how we identified what kind of attack it even was, he recalls. A DNS reflection attack allowed the hacker to spoof the schools address and request massive amounts of records from CPSC that were being sent. The next step was to stop it. Arellano was able to narrow down incidents by now-visible time stamps and IP addresses, and pulled only the data that related to the incident. He zeroed in on a wired classroom on the second floor of one school. We noticed a student deleting old records. After we got the students ID, we dug up records and found he was using a web-stressing website, available online for about $10 a month, to launch the attacks. Since then, two other similar attacks have been prevented. The 21st Century version of pulling a fire alarm is launching a DDoS attack, says Don Ringelestein, director of technology. We used to be a reactive environment, but now were more proactive. There are many occasions where I see problems coming up and am able to stop it before it becomes disruptive with incident response tools, he says. Outside security service providers can help Many organizations that feel outgunned and understaffed by cybersecurity threats are seeking help from service providers to do the automation and orchestration for them. By 2020, Gartner predicts that 15%t of midsize and enterprise organizations will be using services like managed detection and response, up from less than 1% in 2016. Im a big believer in using service providers because these are once or twice a year incidents for many companies, says Pete Lindstrom, vice president of security strategies at IDC. The only way to get a sense for the nature of the risk is through service providers. We see this in Trustwave, FireEye and about two dozen other providers, he says. 5 machine learning technologies that help with security automation According to a survey ESG conducted last fall, two thirds of organizations consider automation of security analytics and operations to be a priority, and 39 percent have already deployed machine learning technologies to help meet that challenge. Just what are these machine learning technologies? 1. Anomaly detection One common use of machine learning technologies is for anomaly detection. If a company has a baseline set of data about network traffic or user behaviors, then machine learning can be used to spot incidents that fall outside the norms. For example, if an employee normally works during regular business hours and logs in from their work computer, then an after-hours login from a foreign country would be unusual and potentially malicious. Machine learning systems are typically trained on a historical data set, then look for anything new or unusual. The training needs to be refreshed regularly, since employees, networks, and other systems change over time. However, while an anomaly detection system might report unusual events, it won't tell you whether those events are signs of malicious activity. 2. Cluster analysis Another common machine learning algorithm is cluster analysis. With a large set of user behavior data, for example, cluster analysis can determine that there's a group of employees who travel a lot and have certain other behaviors in common, and another group of employees who tend to work in one location. The clustering algorithms can look at a much larger variety of factors and behaviors than a human can and update the clusters in real time. It still usually takes a human to look at the clusters or anomalies and determine what they mean: Is there a cluster of weird behaviors because the company going in a new direction, or is there something suspicious going on? 3. Classification Given a big enough set of data that comes pre-divided into categories, machine learning can identify which category a new piece of data belongs to. For example, if there's a large collection of software that's already been divided into malware and legitimate applications, a machine learning system can tell whether a previously unseen app is malicious. By Tazeen Junaid On 13 August 1980, Moradabad police indiscriminately opened fire on thousands of namazis (worshippers) in the Eidgah, killing hundreds of them, many of them children. A straight comparison can be drawn with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre when a British officer, named General Dyer fired on unarmed civilians who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh to celebrate Vaisakhi. However, unlike the Jallianwala Bagh, the persecution of Muslims didnt stop there. Support TwoCircles Soon afterwards, Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), renowned for its anti-Muslim bias was stationed at Moradabad. A teenage witness, staying at the camp of Central Police Forces, adjacent to the PAC camp testifies that the police opened fire at Muslims. Hundreds accused of rioting, who included only Muslims, were rounded up by PAC, brought to the PAC campus and beaten as soon as they got down from buses. In some cases, the beatings had already begun in the buses. They were beaten so severely that most of them were drenched in blood after walking just a few meters from the buses. Many people lost consciousness in the PAC camp and many might have died too. There was not any way then and there is no way now of knowing the truth. During the three months of continuing curfew, nearly 2500 people died in Moradabad. Official figures only list 400 as dead. But many went missing also. There is no record of the missing with either the police or the PAC. Naseem lost his father, a wealthy brassware manufacturer, to PAC. PAC entered their house, beat his father and took him away in a jeep. The family searched for him, met officials and visited jails. Even today, Naseem doesnt know whether he should pray for his fathers afterlife or his safe return. Whats worse? The fact that so many died and went missing? Or those who are left behind do not know what to do. The most troubling incident is that of the missing dead bodies. Alams mother died because a tear gas shell landed inside their house. They kept the body in the house for three days. District administration took the body and never returned it, perhaps because it documented unjust persecution of Muslim neighbourhoods. Moradabads world-famous brass manufacturers, mostly Muslims, lost their market share during these months. Riots and curfews ruined the thriving economy of Moradabad. Later on, many newspapers tried to shift the blame on communal tendencies of Muslims by claiming that Muslims were armed and also published fake pieces on Border Security Forces (BSF) personnel who were killed or went missing. If it was not for MP Syed Shahabuddin or ironically enough a BJP member, MJ Akbar, we would not have even known this. As we finish 40 years from that deadly day, there exists little to no institutional memory of that one-sided police attack on Muslims, and the cover-up dealt by leading newspapers and weeklies then, including Economic and Political Weekly. My house is in Moradabad. I have seen my neighbours, both Muslims and non-Muslims grieving in the ghettoized Muslim neighbourhoods. Many might be grieving today too, waiting for justice, waiting for dead bodies, waiting for their fathers and brothers. Many are just waiting for news, for some piece of information. They are just waiting to end their wait. They are still waiting for justice but will justice come to Muslims today, in this India which has strayed far away from secularism? Will their wait end? Tazeen Junaid is a Bachelors student at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). CAMBRIDGE E-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. has announced plans to open a delivery station at the north end of Cambridge. The 136,000-square-foot facility will repurpose an existing industrial building at 125 Maple Grove Rd. Its expected to open in late 2020 and to create hundreds of jobs, according to a news release from the City of Cambridge. Mayor Kathryn McGarry said she was delighted by Amazons decision to open the facility. Cambridge has a skilled workforce and is centrally located with easy access to Highway 401, so its not surprising that Amazon has selected Cambridge as the location for its next project, she said in the release. A city spokesperson said Cambridge did not provide any financial incentives to bring Amazon to the region. Amazon did not have anyone available for comment Monday afternoon. The warehouse is close to the intersection of Maple Grove Road and Cherry Blossom Road, across from the Region of Waterloo Operations Centre and near the Waterloo Regional Police Service headquarters. According to the City of Cambridge online business directory, the site is the former home of transportation company Transfreight Inc. Delivery stations are an important part of Amazons distribution chain. Packages are transported from Amazon fulfilment and sorting centres to the delivery stations, and loaded into vehicles for final delivery. The company also partners with independent contractors to deliver packages. We look forward to welcoming Amazon to Cambridge and are confident that the community impact of this new facility will be positive and timely for many residents, said James Goodram, the citys director of economic development. Waterloo Region Economic Development Corporation president and chief executive officer Tony LaMantia said Amazon has shown increased interest in Waterloo Region ever since this community was part of an unsuccessful bid to bring Amazons next corporate headquarters to Ontario in 2018. He said the site has good access to major highways in the region and a skilled, talented workforce. Cambridge makes a lot of sense, he said. The jobs will also provide residents of this region with more employment options during the pandemic, LaMantia added, and logistical services such as delivery trucks and transportation hubs are critical for any growing city or region. Amazon coming into the region to be part of that last mile logistics cluster is welcome, he said. Job postings for the Cambridge site have already popped up on Amazons website. A delivery station liaison position pays $18.25 per hour and requires a high school diploma (or equivalent). The job provides 40 hours per week for full-time positions, and 20 to 29 hours per week for part-time positions. While the pandemic has been tough on many small and independent businesses by forcing many of them to close forever, Amazon has thrived in recent months. The companys stock jumped from about $1,700 per share in mid-March to more than $3,100 by mid-August; company founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has also seen his personal net worth surge to about $180 billion, up from about $115 billion at the end of 2019. James Jackson is a Waterloo Region-based reporter focusing on business and technology for The Record. Reach him via email: jjackson@therecord.com Read more about: HOUSTON, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- C-Bond Systems , Inc. (the Company or C-Bond) (OTC: CBNT), a nanotechnology solutions company, has reported an operational update and financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020. Second Quarter 2020 and Subsequent Operational Highlights Signed C-Bond NanoShield private label supply agreement with a premier provider of vehicle protection solutions to thousands of automotive dealerships nationwide. Entered into an exclusive supply agreement with a large overseas conglomerate to sell a version of C-Bond NanoShield with annual minimum purchase requirements in excess of $1 million to maintain exclusivity. Announced an exclusive, nationwide distribution agreement with Quip Laboratories, Inc. for MB-10 Tablets, an EPA-registered disinfectant to help in the fight against COVID-19. The Company received an initial purchase order for MB-10 Tablets in excess of $80,000 from a Southeast Asian distributor. Expanded installation of the C-Bond Ballistic-Resistant System (BRS) into the Austin Independent School District; a law enforcement office in Hawaii; at several San Antonio, Texas area schools; and at a U.S. General Services Administration complex in Texas. Increased distribution of the recently launched C-Bond Secure through a distribution agreement with 44Tools, an industry leading online retail outlet with a comprehensive line of tools and equipment for the professional application of window film, reaching a robust potential customer base of window film installers globally. Successfully registered the Companys manufacturing facility with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an important step as the Company continues to grow its ability to expand and manufacture new nanoproducts to complement its core product suite. Management Commentary The second quarter of 2020 was highlighted by the rising importance of our disinfection products, particularly MB-10, in the fight against the global COVID-19 pandemic, said Scott R. Silverman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of C-Bond Systems. We continue to seek out exciting new ways to expand our capabilities through new strategic partnerships with the goal of both boosting our sales footprint globally and expanding our increasingly robust product line. I am encouraged by the strong reception to our new EPA registered MB-10 Tablets, which are a broad spectrum disinfectant effective against a wide range of bacteria and viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. We are shipping these tablets both nationwide and internationally, seeing particular interest in the Southeast Asian market. As the pandemic continues to unfold, we expect continued interest in this innovative new product for transportation markets worldwide. Taken together, we are positioning C-Bond as the market leader in Safety and Transportation verticals around the world. 2020s challenges to both safety and public health are driving heavy demand for our products and we are expanding quickly to meet those market needs. We are proud to offer solutions that consumers and clients can count on, and which position us to create value for our shareholders over the long-term, concluded Silverman. Second Quarter 2020 Financial Summary Total revenue for the second quarter of 2020 was $43 thousand, compared to revenue of $158 thousand in the same year-ago quarter. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in sales of C-Bond BRS, mainly due to a decrease in international sales resulting from the shutdown of economies caused by COVID-19, offset by an increase in the sale of sanitizer products. Operating expenses in the second quarter of 2020 were $0.9 million, compared to $1.3 million in the same year-ago quarter. The reduction in operating expenses was primarily attributable to decreases in stock-based compensation, research and development, professional fees, and general and administrative expenses. Operating loss in the second quarter of 2020 decreased to $1.1 million, compared to an operating loss of $1.6 million in the same year-ago quarter. Net loss in the second quarter of 2020 was $1.6 million, compared to $1.7 million in the same year-ago quarter. Cash used in operations in the second quarter of 2020 was $0.7 million, compared with $0.6 million in the same year-ago quarter. About C-Bond C-Bond Systems, Inc. (OTC: CBNT) is a Houston-based advanced nanotechnology company and marketer of the patented C-Bond technology, developed in conjunction with Rice University and independently proven to significantly strengthen glass in key automotive and structural applications. The Companys Transportation Solutions Group sells C-Bond NanoShield, a liquid solution applied directly to automotive windshields, sold through distributors. The Companys Safety Solutions Group sells ballistic-resistant glass solutions and FN NANO Coating directly to private enterprises, schools, hospitals and government agencies. For more information, please visit our website: www.cbondsystems.com , Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cbondsys/ and Twitter: https://twitter.com/CBond_Systems . Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release about our future expectations, including the likelihood that registering our manufaturing facility with the EPA is an important step as we continue to grow our ability to expand and manufacture new nanoproducts to complement our core product suite; the likelihood that we continue to seek out exciting new ways to expand our capabilities through new strategic partnerships with the goal of both boosting our sales footprint globally and expanding our increasingly robust product line; the likelihood that as the pandemic continues to unfold, we expect continued interest in MB-10 tablets for transportation markets worldwide; the likelihood that we are positioning C-Bond as the market leader in Safety and Transportation verticals around the world; the likelihood that 2020s challenges to both safety and public health are driving heavy demand for our products and we are expanding quickly to meet those market needs; the likelihood that our solutions position us to create value for our shareholders over the long-term; constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and as that term is defined in the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, and our actual results could differ materially from expected results. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, C-Bonds ability to raise capital; the Companys ability to successfully commercialize its products; the effect of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the Companys business and ability to operate; as well as other risks. Additional information about these and other factors may be described in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) including its Form 10-K filed on March 25, 2020, its Forms 10-Q filed on August 14, 2020, May 15, 2020, and November 14, 2019, and in future filings with the SEC. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this statement or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Europe's largest trade union has said that a four-day week could save thousands of jobs that have been lost because of the coronavirus pandemic. The German IG Metall union has proposed the four-day week ahead of next year's round of collective bargaining talks. Union chair Jorg Hofmann told German national newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung that the shorter week would be 'the answer to structural changes in sectors such as the automotive industry. 'With this, jobs in the industry can be kept instead of being written off,' he added. Germany's car industry, which makes up around 5 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is currently experiencing major transformations. Concerns over climate change are shifting the industry towards electric vehicles, and an increase in automation and digitisation of the production line is also changing the skill sets required by employees in the industry. The chief of Germany's IG Metall - Europe's largest union representing 2.3 million people - has said that a four-day week in Germany could save thousands of jobs in the automotive industry that are at risk due to industry changes and the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured: Workers assemble a car at a production line in Sindelfingen, Germany The car manufacturing industry was also hit hard by the pandemic-induced financial downturn, although it is beginning to show signs of recovery, according to DW. IG Metall, which represents 2.3 million employees in the metal working and electrical sectors and Europe's largest industrial union, including workers from major German car makers such as Porsche, BMW and Audi, is considered a major trendsetter in bargaining, and the German world of work. The union often makes demands that set benchmarks for wage negotiations in those industries and beyond. Some companies in Germany are already trailing shorter working hours. This summer, firms such as Daimler, ZF and Bosch all agreed to reduce working hours. Hofmann said that these companies are setting the example for all businesses in both the metalwork and electronics industries. The IG Metall head has proposed compensatory adjustments for employees, saying it is in the interest of companies to opt for shorter working hours rather than cutting staff numbers, as it ensures specialists are retained and redundancy costs are saved. Concerns over climate change are shifting the industry towards electric vehicles, and an increase in automation and digitisation of the production line is also changing the skill sets required by employees in the industry. Pictured: A factory employee in Buende, Germany operates a control panel 'The four-day week... could make it possible to keep industrial jobs instead of scrapping them,' he said. While Germany's car industry employs around 830,000 people and contributes to around 5 per cent of the country's GDP, a recent study found that in a worst-case scenario, 400,000 jobs in the industry could be gone by 2030. In response, it is expected that Hofmann will also call for an increase in worker's wages, despite the on-going recession. Hofman also called on the government to extend short-time working benefits that have helped cushion the blow of the pandemic to 24 months from a current maximum of 21 months. Jorg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall (pictured) is also expected to call for a pay rise for workers, and has called on the German government to extend the short-time working benefits that have helped cushion the blow of the pandemic Short-time work is a form of state aid that allows employers to switch employees to shorter working hours during an economic downturn to keep them on the payroll. About 5.6 million Germans currently benefit from the scheme, according to the Ifo research institute. After a series of strikes, the IG Metall union agreed a deal in 2018 to allow staff to cut their working week to 28 hours for up to two years to care for children or other relatives. Positive signals Since the beginning of 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak in China has disrupted many trade activities between Vietnam and its biggest export market, especially in regards to agricultural and aquatic products, as well as the import of raw materials for domestic production. However, export activities have only really been affected since the second quarter after the epidemic had spread globally, including in Vietnams major trading partners such as the US, the EU, Japan, ASEAN, etc. The fact that many countries have simultaneously taken strict measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic such as travel restrictions and the closing of restaurants, borders and airports have all disrupted the global trade chain. According to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the countrys export revenue in the second quarter was estimated at US$57.98 billion, down 8.3% compared to the first quarter and 9% lower than the same period in 2019. In the first six months, total export revenue was estimated at US$121.2 billion, down 1.1% over the same period last year. One good sign is that Vietnam has been able to control the epidemic in the country, whilst European countries and the US have gradually reopened since the end of April, helping production and export activities recover quite quickly. Specifically, total export revenue, after plummeting to US$17.58 billion in April, increased by 9.1% in May and continued to increase by 9.5% in June. Export revenue also gradually narrowed the gap compared to figures from before the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic (in May revenue decreased by 12.3% over the same period but in June only decreased by 2%). In particular, export results of domestic enterprises have shown better resilience to the impacts of the epidemic. Specifically, in the past six months, the export revenue of these enterprises increased by 11.7%. This result shows that the growth motivation of domestic enterprises no longer depends on the export growth of agricultural and aquatic products as in previous years. This trend started over the last few years, especially since 2019 as the export of agricultural and aquatic products was in trouble, the export of the domestic sector remained high and even higher than the country's overall growth. On June 8, the National Assembly of Vietnam officially approved the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the EU - Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA). The EVFTA is scheduled to take effect in August, opening great opportunities for Vietnam to access the world's second largest import market with a population of more than 508 million and a GDP of about US$18 trillion. When the EVFTA is put into effect, Vietnamese enterprises will see great advantages from the reduction/elimination of tariff barriers and the potential to seize export opportunities in the EU market. Proactively facing challenges The COVID-19 epidemic is still complicated in many countries, with great potential risks. Even more concerns have started to reappear in Asia as some countries are facing the risk of a large second wave. In China, as the epidemic showed signs of rebound, the country immediately applied many measures to limit the spread of the COVID-19. Specifically, the government and a number of localities in China have intensified checking the origin and quality of food products. At the same time, the government of Guangxi province, which shares a border line with Mong Cai city, Quang Ninh province, is also strictly managing goods at markets and supermarkets; strengthening the inspection of documents such as certifications of quality standards, certificates of origin and purchase vouchers for agricultural products, etc. This will inevitably cause additional barriers to goods from Vietnam, especially agricultural and aquatic products. The MoIT has recommended that enterprises and households producing agricultural and aquatic products for export to China should strengthen quality supervision, proactively coordinate with importers to strictly comply with regulations on quality standards, food safety, and origin. At the same time, enterprises need to actively monitor and update market information in order to actively bring goods to border gates, thereby reducing risk and time needed for goods clearance at border gates. The MoIT will actively coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies to continue to ensure customs clearance, promptly remove difficulties and problems in goods export activities and coordinate and support border provinces to facilitate the goods clearance process. On the other hand, in order to support export activities in the last months of the year, the MoIT will continue to focus on improving the efficiency of trade promotion, especially in the application of online trade promotion to maintaining markets, connecting trade between Vietnamese businesses and partners wishing to import in markets capable of early recovery and then gradually expanding to other markets according to their epidemic developments. More attention should also be paid to actively exploit the opportunities presented by the Free Trade Agreements, diversifying export markets and finding new markets, being especially ready to carefully prepare the necessary conditions, proactively implement plans and solutions to export goods to the EU market after the EVFTA takes effect. Clarke also rebuffed Hamletts request for details on his plans to satisfy the bill that will become due in November. VCLF is always willing to provide information, he wrote. At this time, we have no information to offer ... We just dont see how it would help for VCLF to guess the amount of funds which may be available in November. The two-page letter, which went on at some length about the nonprofits role in saving Natural Bridge, did not respond in detail to questions raised by Hamlett about the missing $500,000 reserve fund. Clarke, a health care executive behind other philanthropic ventures, was out of town last week. He sent word Friday through an official with his investment group that this particular reserve has not been funded. He did not elaborate. If authority officials were frustrated by the scant details from Clarke, it would not have been the first time. When the nonprofits financial problems became public in 2015, board members of the authority established by the General Assembly to help localities get favorable terms to finance infrastructure projects bristled at what was the first borrower vetted by the agency to default in 30 years. WASHINGTON Seeking to preempt the Democratic National Convention's opening day, President Donald Trump attacked rival Joe Biden on Monday as a Trojan horse for socialism" and said his agenda would unleash crime, chaos and corruption on the nations suburbs. Trump's remarks came as Democrats unveiled their lineup for Monday's virtual speeches, showcasing the president's effort to steal some political attention away from Biden as he prepares to accept his party's presidential nomination. During the first stops of a weeklong tour to counter the Democrats' events, Trump accused the former vice president and other Democrats of waging a left-wing war on cops and suggested their sympathies lie with lawbreakers and criminals. "Mine lie with law-abiding, hardworking Americans," he said during brief remarks at the airport in Minneapolis. Trump poked fun at former first lady Michelle Obama for taping a speech that will be played at the Democratic convention and mocked California Sen. Kamala Harris, Biden's running mate, for ending her own presidential bid before the first votes were cast. "She finished so badly. ... She went down like a rock in water," he said. At a separate airport event in Mankato, Minnesota, Trump accused Biden of supporting every globalist attack on the American worker." If Biden is elected president, well end up with one boring socialist country that'll go to hell," Trump said. Biden spokesman Andrew Bates countered that Trump's failed leadership has cost thousands of American lives from COVID-19 and plunged the USA into one of the worst recessions on record. His presidency stands for crisis, lies and toxic attempts to drive Americans apart the opposite of what voters are hungry for and what Joe Biden and Kamala Harris represent, Bates said. While these fly-in, fly-out airport sideshows might protect Trump from seeing the damage that he has done to communities throughout this country, they will only underscore why we have to win this battle for the soul of our nation." Story continues Democrats ally themselves with "lawbreakers," President Donald Trump says at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Aug. 17. Later this week, Trump will travel to Yuma, Arizona, for remarks on immigration, and the Scranton area in Pennsylvania, where Biden was born. Earlier Monday, Trump said he wanted to pay a "surprise visit" soon to a fifth battleground state: Iowa. Trump said at the White House that he signed an emergency declaration for Iowa, which was battered last week by devastating storms. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds requested $4 billion in federal aid. Trump said he may hold a small memorial service at the White House on Friday for his brother, Robert, who died late Saturday of an undisclosed illness. "He loved our country so much," Trump said Monday. "He was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country, so I think it would be appropriate." In Mankato, Trump spent little time discussing his response to the coronavirus pandemic, except to blame the health crisis for the nation's economic problems. Claiming he would have to rebuild the economy a second time, Trump joked, "That's God testing me." As in other campaign speeches, Trump mixed discussion of national issues the economy, foreign policy with local concerns such as the protests against racism and iron ore mining in Minnesota. He slammed the Green New Deal, a package of proposals pushed by liberal Democrats to address climate change and economic inequality, as another social program that won't work. "It's like written by a child," he said. "It's written by a child a foolish child." At times, Trump struggled to read his prepared remarks because his teleprompter kept swaying in strong winds. "I'm sort of making it up as I go along," he said. In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Trump told supporters that Democrats would abolish the suburbs by allowing far-left Washington bureaucrats to force the construction of low-income housing projects in every neighborhood in America. Democrats say Trump is trying to scare suburbanites by equating low-income housing with people of color. Dismissing polls that showed him trailing Biden, Trump insisted his campaign is generating more enthusiasm than even four years ago. We have never had the enthusiasm that we have right now, he said. President Donald Trump says he'll have to rebuild the U.S. economy a second time at Mankato Regional Airport on Aug. 17 in Minnesota. Before he departed for Minnesota, the Trump administration announced plans to possibly allow oil drilling in the Alaskan wilderness, a move environmentalists have fiercely opposed. "We're looking at different things," Trump said when asked about Arctic Wildlife Refuge drilling during an hourlong interview on "Fox & Friends." "We may or may not do it." During his Fox interview, Trump previewed the week full of speeches by again hitting Biden over his age and energy "Joe is shot, let's face it" attacking mail-in voting and accusing the media of being soft on the Democrats. Trump, 74, has faced questions about his own physical and mental fitness for the job. Trump declined, again, to say whether he would honor the election results should he lose to Biden. He cited the prospect of massive mail-in voting: "You're never going to have a fair election" if that is put in place. Trumpeting his foreign policy, Trump highlighted new penalties on China's Huawei Technologies, designed to restrict the telecommunication giant from access to commercially available computer chips. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the Commerce Department added 38 Huawei affiliates to the U.S. governments blacklist, increasing the total to 152. "We don't want their equipment in the United States, because they're spying on us," Trump told Fox. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump tours battleground states to counter Democratic convention Classic television sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond ran for nine seasons on CBS. During that time, the cast and crew grew as close as a family, celebrated one anothers marriages, births of their children and grandchildren, and more. They became so close, in fact, that one member of the hit comedys cast had a heart attack, and it was thanks to a quick-thinking crew member that the actor received medical care just in time. Everybody Loves Raymond | Robert Voets/CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images Peter Boyle had a heart attack on the set of Everybody Loves Raymond In 1999, Peter Boyle suffered a heart attack while on the set of the CBS comedy. The actor, who died in 2006, spoke with CNN in 2003 about the symptoms he recalled having and his shock at the normal day that turned into anything but. On my way into work, I had this chest pain and I kept coughing, he told CNN. I felt kind of pale and clammy and it just wouldnt stop. I didnt lose consciousness, and I didnt have any enormous pain. [It was] just this feeling that something was going on and I thought it would just pass. Peter Boyle | Kevin Winter/Getty Images One of the assistant directors on the set noticed Boyles countenance and knew his condition was serious. They insisted on calling for help, which the veteran actor fought at first. The A.D., assistant director, said you better sit down, Im calling the medics, you are having a heart attack. I was going, No, no, no, not me. Ill be strong. But I got help right away. I was in the hospital for about four or five days, he said. Within a week I was back on the set and did a little bit in the last episode of Raymond, and it meant a lot to me to be able to get up and go back. Doris Roberts on working with Peter Boyle and how arguing was their characters foreplay In a 2005 conversation with the Television Academy Foundation, Roberts, who died in 2016, opened up about her working relationship with her counterpart on the show, Peter Boyle. The Young Frankenstein star played her husband, Frank Barone, for the full run of the comedy. They love each other, but they just fight, the actor said of Marie and Frank Barone. Thats their foreplayThat constant arguing, it is their way of life. Peter Boyle and Doris Roberts from Everybody Loves Raymond | Robin Platzer/FilmMagic RELATED: The Unlikely Connection Between John Lennon and Everybody Loves Raymond Towards the end, when [Marie and Frank] went off to their retirement home, I thought that was hysterical. And sweet, the way I kept patting his bald head, and how much fun we had together. They got sort of personal and intimate. I thought that was lovely, she shared. The Mrs. Miracle star emphasized that, while the writing on the show was stellar, it was the acting that made the show what it was. That, again, is partly in the writing but it really is in the acting, Roberts noted. Because we get more said by not speaking any words, those two characters, Peter and myself. The way he can look at me, the way I look at him. I mean thats a paragraph of dialogue that we dont say, just by looking. RELATED: What is Everybody Loves Raymond Star Ray Romanos Net Worth? Experts are voicing optimism that the body provides lasting COVID-19 immunity in those who have recovered from even a mild case following a series of new studies. Scientists have recently been seeing "encouraging signs of strong, lasting immunity" to COVID-19, including in those who only had mild symptoms of the coronavirus, as antibodies that fight against the virus, and B cells and T cells that recognize it, "appear to persist months after infections have resolved," The New York Times reports. "This is exactly what you would hope for," University of Washington immunologist Marion Pepper, who authored one of the recent studies, told the Times. "All the pieces are there to have a totally protective immune response." Especially encouraging, the Times explains, is evidence of immunity in patients who just had mild symptoms, which suggests, as University of California immunologist Smita Iyer explained, that "you can still get durable immunity without suffering the consequences of infection." Emory University immunologist Eun-Hyung Lee also told the Times, "Yes, you do develop immunity to this virus, and good immunity to this virus. That's the message we want to get out there." At the same time, the Times notes that it's still not clear how long the immune responses might last, and the recent studies "do not demonstrate protection in action." Read more at The New York Times. More stories from theweek.com John Boehner would 'rather set himself on fire' than get involved in the 2020 election Stephen Colbert recaps the 1st night of the Democratic National Convention Kamala Harris' Secret Service code name reportedly reflects her groundbreaking nomination A music event attended by more than 200 people at one of Sydney's most popular beaches was shut down by police before a man was fined $1,000 for breaching COVID-19 restrictions. The gathering, organised by Sydney Drummers, saw 200 people pack onto Mistral Point in Maroubra, south east of Sydney, on Sunday. The event organiser Curt Hannagan said the gathering was designed to 'celebrate life' during the pandemic. A social media post advertising the event read: 'Despite the strict totalitarian rule in Victoria we chose to celebrate our lives here in Sydney, as the way God intended,' A mass musical gathering (pictured) at a beach in Maroubra, south east of Sydney had to be broken up by police after it breached COVID-19 restrictions after attracting almost 200 people Nearby residents called police after seeing the party grow before officers arrived at about 6pm. 'Officers spoke with a 33-year-old man who was one of the organisers of the event,' a NSW Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. 'Police were able to disperse the crowd without incident. NSW Police issued the 33-year-old man with a $1000 fine on Monday for failing to comply with COVID-19 regulations. Daily Mail Australia has contacted the event organisers for comment. According to NSW Health regulations no more than 20 people are allowed to gather outside in a public place. The beach party came as NSW recorded five new coronavirus cases and one death since the last reporting date on August 15. The latest figures bring the NSW death toll to 54 and the total number of cases to 3,761. Three of the five are connected to the Tangara School for Girls cluster, which has so far been linked to 25 cases in total, in Cherrybrook in Sydney's northwest. Investigations are ongoing into the two other cases, including a man in his 40s, from western Sydney, and a close contact of the man. The source of infection is currently unknown. After long-running drought slashed their harvests, small-scale farmers in Lupane, western Zimbabwe, decided to switch away from irrigating their fields by flooding them, which wastes huge amounts of water. They tested out more precise drip irrigation that saves water by delivering it to plants efficiently while monitoring soil moisture and temperature with pressure sensors. Those practices have enabled farmers in the Tshongokwe Irrigation Scheme in Matabeleland North province to grow vegetables and adapt to more challenging climate conditions. "We started growing cabbages at a larger scale last May," said Soneni Dube, chairperson of the scheme's committee. "We had lost hope in farming as the drought had dried our main source of water which is Tshongokwe Dam," she added by phone. With support from local groups and international agencies, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), yields on the scheme's 24 hectares have improved and most of its 63 member farmers have seen their incomes rise, Dube said. We produced meaningful profits from the two hectares of irrigated cabbage, she said. We paid school fees for our children (and) bought food, seed and fertilisers for our next crops. READ: Namibia's worst drought in a century bites In March, the international Green Climate Fund (GCF), which helps developing countries adapt to climate shifts and adopt clean energy, approved a $26.6 million grant for a programme to scale up this kind of climate-resilient agriculture in Zimbabwe. Due to start in September and run through to 2027, the GCF-backed programme aims to fund about 20 climate-smart irrigation schemes in southern Zimbabwe, similar to Tshongokwe, as well as setting up weather stations and 250 field schools for farmers. It will also equip three of the countrys main agricultural training colleges with upgraded technology to boost research. It will be co-financed by Zimbabwe's government with just over $20 million, while UNDP has committed $1.2 million. Shrinking rainfall The programme plans to benefit 2.3 million people, especially women, in a country where climate change impacts have helped to drive more than 7.7 million Zimbabweans into hunger, UNDP said. The work will focus on three semi-arid provinces of southern Zimbabwe - Manicaland, Masvingo and Matabeleland South which are particularly vulnerable to global warming. Here, rainfall is predicted to decrease by 15 per cent and runoff by 20 per cent, leading to higher food shortages, food prices and drought-related livestock deaths, according to the project document. The region has experienced increasing temperatures since the 1950s, with a decline in annual precipitation and an increase in mid-season dry spells, coupled with droughts and floods. These changes in climate have reduced water availability and increased soil aridity, the document said, denting crop yields and making it harder for smallholder farmers to earn a living. UNDP cited the Tshongokwe Irrigation Scheme as an example of the kind of projects that will receive money from the GCF grant to advance climate-smart agriculture in Zimbabwe. A consortium of 10 development and research organisations, led by Danish humanitarian agency DanChurchAid, has drilled two solar-powered boreholes for the Tshongokwe scheme that together store 20,000 litres of water. In Lupane and two other districts, the project called "Sizimele Action for Building Resilience in Zimbabwe" has also established early warning systems and put in automatic weather stations linked to the Meteorological Services Department. Thandanani Ndlovu of the governments Department of Agricultural, Technical and Extension Services (AGRITEX), who trains and advises Tshongokwes farmers, said the solar-powered boreholes had offset some of the negative impacts of the drying dam and allowed villagers to continue growing crops. Drip irrigation pipes draw water from the storage tanks and cover nearly 10 per cent of the schemes fields, he added. To improve harvests in future, farmers will need more such boreholes, greenhouses and moisture monitoring equipment, he noted. Jobs and food Started back in 1966, the Tshongokwe Irrigation Scheme has grown from 16 farmers to more than 60 today as they struggle with worsening drought due to a warming climate. (The scheme) provides employment, as it hires labour and results in improved food security, said Ndlovu. The project is backed by the Zimbabwe Resilience Building Fund, which aims to help 840,000 people in 18 rural districts overcome poverty and hunger by 2021, with $80 million in funding from the European Union, Sweden, Britain, Denmark and the UNDP. Washington Zhakata, director of Zimbabwes Climate Change Management Department, said the separate GCF programme was now hiring staff and was due to start work in the coming weeks depending on the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic. READ: UN warns that 60% of Zimbabweans threatened by hunger Charities like Practical Action, which uses technology to tackle poverty and build climate resilience, are getting ready to partner with the government and UNDP to roll out GCF-backed projects on the ground, which will likely begin in early 2021. We have the experience and have mastered lessons on how to build better resilience in vulnerable communities, said Innocent Katsande, who coordinates knowledge management for Practical Action in Southern Africa. The focus should be on building a farming model that manages ecosystems well and uses natural resources sustainably, alongside strengthening early warning systems for weather-related threats, including floods and droughts, he added. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 19:41:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MOSCOW, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the situation in Libya and Syria on Monday in a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Kremlin said in a statement. As for the Libyan crisis, the need for real steps by the warring parties towards a sustainable ceasefire and the launch of direct negotiations in accordance with the decisions of the January 2020 Berlin Conference and United Nations Security Council Resolution 2510 were reiterated, it said. Putin and Erdogan agreed on a further coordination of efforts in the fight against terrorism in Syria to fulfil the Russian-Turkish agreements on the Idlib de-escalation zone, it added. The leaders also touched upon other international issues, particularly the Middle East settlement, the Kremlin said, without providing details. Enditem WMG Acquires Social Content Publisher IMGN Warner Music Group has acquired social media content publisher IMGN for close to $100 million. IMGN is best known for creating viral TikTok, Snap and Instagram content that helps major brands reach an audience that is 85% Gen Z and young millennials. It now will presumably do the same for artists signed to Warner Music Group. IMGN also has a portfolio of 10 channels on Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. One, Daquan, has over 6.5 million followers on TikTok and over 15 million on Instagram. Why IMGN? Like WMGs acquisition of UPROXX and to a lesser degree Songkick, the IMGN deal is partially about finding new ways to reach fans particularly younger fans directly. Its also about data. What are young fans reacting to and how can WMG use it to sign new talent and market its existing artist roster. WMG not only offers us greater investment and support, but an entrepreneurial environment to continue growing our business, with the people running our accounts having editorial independence, states IMGN chief Barak Shragai. Were excited to partner with them as we take our company into the future. Share on: The United Arab Emirates minister of state for foreign affairs on August 17 said that the countrys agreement to normalise ties with Israel was a sovereign decision and it was not directed at Iran. While taking to Twitter, Anwar Gargash condemned threats by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who, a day earlier, had called the peace treaty a betrayal and said that UAE made a huge mistake. However, Gargash said that UAE will not accept interference in our decision. READ: Israel, UAE Strengthen Diplomatic Ties With First Strategic Commercial Agreement Speaking on August 15, Rouhani had said that UAE made a huge mistake by reaching an agreement with Israel to normalise their relationship. During a televised address, Rouhani termed the Abu Dhabis action as a treacherous act and warned them against allowing Israel a "foothold in the region. Iran strongly condemned the US-brokered agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and termed the agreement as an act of strategic stupidity. Irans Foreign Ministry said that it will further strengthen the Iran-backed axis of resistance which includes Syria, and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. READ: Reaction As Ties Open Between UAE And Israel Israel-UAE peace treaty On August 13, Israel and the United Arab Emirates along with the US released a joint statement that US President Donald Trump, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed agreed to the full normalisation of relations between UAE and Israel. While most nations welcomed the normalisation of relations between UAE and Israel, Iran, Turkey, Hamas, the de facto governing authority of the Gaza Strip, denounced the agreement raising concerns about the Palestinian cause. READ: Israeli Town Flies UAE Flags To Celebrate New Ties READ: Netanyahu Says UAE Deal Signals End To 'land For Peace' Georgian Ambassador to Korea Otar Berdzenishvili speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the embassy in Seoul, Aug. 3. He said the situation has been destabilizing in the Russian-occupied Georgian regions Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia during the COVID-19 crisis. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Yi Whan-woo Every August, Georgian Ambassador to Korea Otar Berdzenishvili addresses media on how the situation has been deteriorating in Russian-occupied Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia since a war between the two countries in the same month of 2008. This yearly routine since Ambassador Berdzenishvili began his tenure in 2017 has made topics he covers on security and humanitarian challenges in the regions repetitive and therefore quite predictable. Nevertheless, Berdzenishvili says they can't be stressed enough especially 12 years after the war as the Russian Federation is using the COVID-19 pandemic to ratchet up hybrid tactics and expand control over Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia in violation of the 2008 EU-mediated Ceasefire Agreement. "Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everything on the international agenda moved to the secondary position to concentrate attention and effort solely on fighting the spread of coronavirus," he told The Korea Times during a recent interview. "However, the Russian Federation not only did reverse its illegal actions against Georgia, but on the contrary, seized the opportunity to further intensify the provocations." He argued such military aggression should be interpreted "in a wider definition" of hybrid tactics a mixture of conventional and unconventional warfare. More than 500,000 refugees and internationally displaced people still cannot return home 12 years after the Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. / Courtesy of Embassy of Georgia YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has dismissed from office his ambassador to Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina Eldar Hasanov, who was detained by security services on August 13th in Baku on suspicion of embezzlement. According to Azerbaijani news reports the investigation into the financial affairs of the envoy produced substantial evidence that he has embezzled large sums of state funds and has committed other violations. Hasanov arrived in Baku the day before his arrest, and participated in talks between the heads of the security councils of Azerbaijan and Serbia, according to local news reports. Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan Netflix hit series Tiger King is set to return for a second series after the streaming service secured the rights for new episodes following its success in lockdown. US former zookeeper Joe Exotic, 57, has reportedly agreed to take part in the series along with his husband Dillon Passage, 24, and businessman Jeff Lowe who took over the establishment in 2016. Joe is currently serving 22 years behind bars for plotting to kill activist Carole Baskin who has reportedly asked for a sum of 'around the 1million mark' to take part in the series, according to The Sun. Back again: Netflix hit series Tiger King starring Joe Exotic, 57, (pictured) is set to return for a second series after the streaming service has secured the rights following its success in lockdown The series, which was watched by 64million households, follows the Oklahoma zookeeper and his battle with Carole, 59, who accuses him of mistreating animals. An insider revealed that Carole has requested a 'seven-figure sum' which she plans to invest in her Big Cat Rescue sanctuary in Florida but her team did not secure a deal. They added: 'Taking part in Tiger King opened up her private life and she wants to make sure its worth her while.' Pay cheque: Activist Carole Baskin has asked for a sum 'around the 1million mark' to take part in the series, according to The Sun Joe, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence after being convicted of two counts of murder-for-hire. He was found guilty of plotting to kill his rival Carole. The 'Tiger King' was convinced she wanted to destroy his zoo, Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. Convicted: Joe, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving a 22-year jail sentence after being convicted of two counts of murder-for-hire Joe was also found guilty of 17 counts of animal abuse and was convicted in April 2019. A court ruling handed the zoo to the animal rights activist in June and his businessman Jeff was forced to leave. However the Tiger King star maintains his innocence and is hoping the second series can help to clear his name. Tiger King, which documented the on-goings of the big cat zoo keeper, was directed by Eric Goode and Rebecca Chaiklin. Following its March 20 debut on the streaming service, Nielsen reported that it became Netflix's most-watched series, racking up 34 million viewers in its first 10 days, THR reported. An average of 19 million viewers took in the documentary, stats that place it up with the streaming service's hit show, Stranger Things. Papua police chief Paulus Waterpauw (center) announces the killing of Hengki Wanmang, a commander of a Papuan rebel group, at a press conference in Jayapura, Indonesia, August 17, 20 Government security forces in Indonesias easternmost Papua province have killed a separatist commander whose group carried out deadly shootings at the Grasberg mine, police said Monday. Hengki Wanmang (alias Hendrik Wanmang) was a regional commander of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) who claimed responsibility for the March 30th killing of Graeme Thomas Wall, 57, a New Zealand national working at the Grasberg gold and copper mine operated by U.S.-based Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Hengki was killed Sunday during a raid by 196 police and 92 soldiers on a separatist base in Mimika Regency, Papua police chief Paulus Waterpauw told a press conference in the provincial capital of Jayapura on Monday. Confirmed dead. The profile and the attributes he used match with the photo provided by another member of the separatist group we caught earlier, the police chief said. Security forces also injured three other members of the separatist group, but could not confirm their identities because they escaped into the surrounding forest. "The team saw three KKB members being shot, but we could not confirm their identities," said Paulus, using an acronym that stands for armed criminal group in Indonesian. The slain man had been operating in the area for some time although he became a commander only in 2018, Paulus said. In 2009, Hengki was involved in a series of attacks and hostage-takings around the Grasberg mining area that killed three people and injured 11, including police, the police chief said. "Hengki was the person who invited KKB members in the Central Mountains region to enter Tembagapura district and carried out attacks in the Freeport area," he said. Police confiscated homemade weapons, 381 bullets, 22 million Rupiah (US$1,484) in cash, mobile phones, and three separatist flags in Sunday's raid, he said. "We will keep hunting them down, in life or death," Paulus said. We will counterattack A TPNPB spokesman, Sebby Sambom, said the killing of one of the group's commanders was a call to war against Indonesian authorities. He claimed that the group has 33 regional commanders, each leading 2,500 personnel. "We will counterattack. This is war. War needs retaliatory action," Sebby told BenarNews via text message on Monday. "TPNPB will not back down and will not surrender even if one of our leaders was shot dead by the enemy forces," he added. "We also have non-permanent members, they are the Papuan people. So we believe that one day, when TPNPB-OPM announces war, all fighters and the people will definitely join in, said Sebby. The provinces of Papua and West Papua make up one-fifth of Indonesias landmass but only 5.9 million of Indonesias 250 million people live there. Tensions rose in Papua in December 2018 after separatist rebels allegedly killed 19 members of a crew building a highway in Nduga Regency. Authorities immediately sent more than 750 soldiers and police to the region. According to the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta think-tank, Paniai Regency is the main stronghold of Papuan separatist groups, followed by Puncak Jaya and Mimika regencies. A low-level separatist conflict has simmered since the 1960s in Papua and West Papua, a region at the far eastern end of the Indonesian archipelago that declared independence from Dutch colonial rule on Dec. 1, 1961. In 1963, Indonesian forces invaded the region and annexed it. Six years later, the region held a referendum in which security forces selected slightly more than 1,000 people to agree to Papuas formal absorption into the nation, according to human rights advocacy groups. Papua was rocked by weeks of violence in August and September last year after news about allegations that security forces on Java Island had mistreated Papuan students ignited mass protests. The unrest left more than 40 people dead. Dear Carolyn: My husband and I have a whole host of problems, but the one that has taken over recently is my sneezing. I have allergies and I usually sneeze a few times in the morning before my medicine kicks in. It makes my husband so angry that he curses and yells at me to stop, every morning. He'll go on with these speeches about how annoying it is and how if I would stop, then he wouldn't be so angry. I was appalled to see my old colleague, Portland City Commissioner Amanda Fritz, say that increasing density is antithetical to our climate goals. (Portland changes zoning rules to allow duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes in areas previously reserved for single-family homes, Aug.13.) Its exactly the opposite. Density promotes walking and biking: If a lot of people live within walking distance of each other, grocery stores and shops will spring up that those people can walk to. Density promotes transit: Transit is economically viable only if there are enough people per stop. And apartments with shared walls are more energy-efficient than stand-alone houses. Those are the reasons why New York City is just about the most carbon-efficient, climate-friendly place in America, using far less carbon per person than average. Those are among the main reasons that Mayor Charlie Hales and I originally launched the Residential Infill Project, which the Portland City Council has just adopted. And one more thing: People who live in moderate climates such as Oregons use less energy for heat and air conditioning than people in most of the country, where summers are hotter and winters are colder. So one way Oregon can help fight climate change is to simply make it easier for more people to live here. Allowing greater density does just that - without promoting sprawl. Steve Novick, Portland Novick was a Portland city commissioner from January 2013 to January 2017 Donald Trump criticised Congresswoman Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez, without naming her, saying her Green New Deal environmental and economic reform plan "was written by a ... foolish child." During his latest official event this one in Mankato, Minnesota that turned into a campaign rally, the president also said absentee ballots are superior to the by-mail ballots many states are planning to distribute due to the coronavirus because "you have to work for it a little bit." The president vowed to win the state in 75 days, one he lost narrowly in 2016. Repeatedly during the airport mini-rally, Mr Trump attacked his general election foe as his Democratic National convention kicks off in just hours, former Vice President Joe Biden. "Nobody treated Joe Biden worse than Kamala Harris," Mr Trump said of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and his running mate, the junior senator from California and their party's sometimes-contentious nominating process. RealClearPolitics' average of several polls puts the former VP seven percentage points ahead of Mr Trump. The outlets also show Mr Biden leading in several key swing states by statistically significant margins, and competitive in a small handful of formerly safe states for Republican presidential hopefuls. The president and his team have targeted mass mail-in ballots, saying they automatically breed fraud. No credible study has ever found widespread fraud from ballots that were sent by mail to election officials. Mr Trump used his one-hour stop in Mankato to warn of "rigged ballots." "I got to talk about it. Absentee ballots are good. You send for it. ... You have to work for it a little bit," he said. "They want to send them out. And they want to have millions of ballots." The Trump team contends the United States Post Office cannot handle millions and millions of ballots being sent out in case voters are unsure about in-person voting and catching Covid-19. Democrats are accusing him of leading a plot to hinder the post office and block Democrats' proposal for new USPS monies to help handle the increased load. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose first term in office ended in part for health reasons, sparked fresh speculation Monday about his well-being with an unexpected, hours-long hospital visit. Abe emerged from the Tokyo hospital where he was previously treated for ulcerative colitis more than seven hours after he entered, and left by car without saying anything, according to TV footage of local media. His previously unannounced arrival on Monday morning prompted a local media frenzy and comes after weeks of speculation about his health. A weekly magazine report in July claimed Abe had been vomiting blood, but government spokesman Yoshihide Suga insisted the prime minister was healthy. More recently, questions have been raised about the prime minister's decision to avoid holding any press conferences, despite rising criticism over the government's handling of the coronavirus outbreak domestically, where infections are increasing. Analysts have suggested the prime minister has struggled to answer questions in public appearances, and one television even analysed the speed with which Abe walked a route in the prime minister's office, concluding he was moving slower of late. Local media said Monday that Abe completed his regular annual health check-up in June but cited an aide as saying he was now undergoing an additional "one-day regular health check-up". Over the weekend, a senior member of Abe's Liberal Democratic Party appeared to suggest the prime minister needed to take a break. "We need to force him to get rest, even just for a few days," Akira Amari told a local television station. Abe is now Japan's longest-serving prime minister, but his first term ended abruptly with his resignation just one year into office in 2007, when he cited his health among other factors. His illness came after a series of scandals surrounding his government that drove down his approval ratings and resulted in a massive election loss. Story continues Abe was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, but upon returning to power in 2012 said he had overcome the condition with new medication. While Japan has seen a comparatively small coronavirus outbreak compared to the world's worst-hit countries, Abe has been criticised for several policy flubs in handling the crisis. His programme to distribute cloth masks to each household was widely mocked, and he was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on distribution of stimulus funds. His approval ratings have sunk during the crisis, though the country's divided opposition have regularly failed to capitalise on falls in Abe's ratings. bur-sah/je It is typical of Nitish Kumar to become indifferent towards any person or organisation when he is annoyed with them. He will see through the person in public appearances or ignore comments on the organisation he grudges. Recently, he had shown his indifference towards the BJP by not welcoming the Bhumi Pujan of the Ram temple at Ayodhya performed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking the beginning of construction of the Ram temple. His studied silence over the Bhumi Pujan has been noticed and has fuelled speculations in political circles but not to the extent of him severing ties with the BJP or NDA. The stage has not reached when the Janata Dal (U) can think of severing ties with the BJP at this juncture but it is certainly sore over the manner in which another NDA ally the LJP is mounting attacks on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It might be the silence of the BJP leadership over the belligerent attitude and continued attacks of LJP leader Chirag Paswan on the Bihar government over the coronavirus pandemic that have irked Kumar no end. Chirag Paswan has also ruffled the feelings of the JD(U) leadership by vehemently opposing holding of the state assembly elections in October-November due to the grave situation in Bihar due to the coronavirus pandemic. Not only Chirag Paswan, but his father Ram Vilas Paswan has also irked Kumar by saying that party affairs are handled by Chirag Paswan and he has no say. But why is the BJP maintaining a silence over Chirag Paswans outbursts or is he acting at the behest of BJP itself is the question doing the rounds in the political circles of Bihar. Senior JD(U) leaders have already said that they are watching the situation closely and trying to find out whether it is BJP-sponsored or Chirag Paswans bargaining bait to get more seats in the legislative council nomination under governors quota or the seat-sharing for the assembly elections. While confusion over NDAs future persists, BJP president JP Nadda met Chirag Paswan on Thursday. It is presumed that the LJP has been assured that its apprehensions would be taken care of in course of seat negotiations. The LJP, however, is not happy with the assurances of Nadda and is mulling over withdrawing support to the Nitish Kumar government. The LJP has two MLAs and one MLC in the Bihar legislature. Even if the LJP withdraws support, it will have no impact on the government. The differences between the JD(U) and LJP have widened to the extent that leader of the JD(U) parliamentary party in the Lok Sabha, Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lallan Singh, called Chirag Kalidas, who is known for cutting the branch on which he was sitting. Retorting to the jibe, LJP leader Ashraf Ansari said Lallan is Surdas who has turned a blind eye towards all the ills plaguing Bihar. The LJP has cited the observation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had stressed on the need to increase testing in coronavirus-hit states including Bihar, as an indictment of the Nitish Kumar government over alleged mishandling of the pandemic. On its part, the BJP has been pursuing its policy of standing on its own throughout the country and in Bihar, it wants to emerge as the biggest party and to ensure win in all the seats it will contest as part of the NDA. To achieve it, the BJP has recently appointed former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, a hard bargainer, as Bihar in-charge for the assembly elections in addition to Bhupendra Yadav. For the BJP, 2020 is very different from 2015. It wants to fully exploit the political situation in Bihar as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) is in tatters, state Congress is rudderless and handled by hopeless leaders and other Grand Alliance partners are in smithereens. Moreover, the brand Sushasan Babu of Nitish Kumar has considerably eroded of late, especially due to alleged inept handling of the present coronavirus crisis. The opposition, which dubs 'Sushasan' as a golden myth, is trying to paint a negative picture that the Nitish Kumar government has caused this explosive situation of coronavirus due to mishandling of the situation right since the very beginning. The Nitish government first opposed the entry of migrants and students into Bihar and then allowed them, forcing hundreds and thousands to walk on foot back home. The opposition also blames the government for not creating adequate medical infrastructure to handle the medical emergency. The recent case of the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who hailed from Bihar, has come as handy for the BJP to exploit the Bihari pride sentiment in its favour. Fadnavis, who has been tipped as the party's Bihar in-charge, has questioned why the incumbent Maharashtra government did not allow the Bihar police to conduct an inquiry into the case. He had cited the example of UP police which had come to Mumbai to investigate the Vikas Dubey case. While the senior BJP leaders have announced that the assembly polls would be fought with Nitish Kumar as the leader and the chief ministerial face, the middle-level leaders want the party to look beyond him and work to make the party independent of allies or at least play an equal partner. With Fadnavis as Bihar in-charge, the state BJP hardliners like Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai, former Union minister Sanjay Paswan, Union minister Giriraj Singh and state BJP president Dr Sanjay Jaiswal may get an opportunity to lobby for an independent line in the party post poll results. The new breed of hardliners still believe in the dictum of Bihar is not Nitish and Nitish is not Bihar as observed in an open letter to the people during the 2015 assembly elections which the JD(U) had contested as partner of the RJD. Party insiders said that Fadnaviss choice will prevail in the selection of candidates and also when it comes to deciding the vexed seat-sharing negotiations with the Janata Dal(U) or mediating between the JD(U) and LJP. The BJP has started its election campaign by identifying key voters in every constituency to spread the party's message at the grassroots level. The party has distributed 28-page Mandal Pustikas in all the 1,000 Mandals to be filled up with details of the key voters, who can influence the minds of the general voters. There are at least 5 Mandals in one assembly seat and one Mandal as at least 60 booths. Press Release August 17, 2020 Stop micro-managing COVID response in 'Big brother' of LGUs: Pangilinan HAVING Cabinet members play "Big Brother" to local government units is a form of micromanagement that may further slow overall government response to the still rising cases of COVID-positive patients, said Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan Monday. "Sa isang emergency situation tulad ng COVID pandemic, kritikal ang maliksi at angkop na pagkilos, hindi micromanagement. Nagpapabagal ito sa pagtugon sa krisis," he said. Pangilinan said LGUs have been at the forefront in combating the pandemic, especially in addressing the needs of their constituents, using their own resources such as calamity funds and internal revenue allocations. "Lumabas sa pandemyang ito ang pagtutulungan ng mga nasa komunidad. Mas alam ng mga tao sa lokal ang kanilang komunidad kaya mas angkop ang pagtugon nila. Syempre, sila ang mga kapitbahay natin," he said. "Kung hindi rin lang magbibigay ng dagdag na resources, huwag na sanang manghimasok pa ang mga opisyal ng national government," he added. Through a resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Cabinet members have been tasked to strictly monitor the health system performance, critical care capacity, and stringent compliance to surveillance, isolation, and treatment protocols of their cities and towns assigned to each of them. "I don't see how giving the national government more powers over the LGUs will help. It will be another layer in the already highly-centralized yet ineffective COVID-19 response," Pangilinan said. "Why give more powers to those whose performance leaves much to be desired?" he asked. The senator stressed that the national government officials had all the powers and resources at their disposal, yet still failed to reach their targets in the fight against COVID-19. "Pagkatapos pabayaan ang mga LGU na tumayo sa sarili nilang paa sa pagharap sa pandemya sa nakaraang limang buwan, sasabihin ngayon na kailangan ng big brother ang mga LGUs?" he said. Pangilinan stressed that local executives must be given leeway in implementing national policies on COVID-19 response. He said the one-size fits-all approach in the IATF's big brother scheme to gain control of the virus could actually have a detrimental effect in helping constituents survive the crisis. "What the national government should focus on is closely monitor over national agencies and institutions such as PhilHealth," he said. "The national government has to ensure that these agencies are performing their mandate. It should be crafting and implementing effective plans so that every peso of people's money is spent wisely, goes to the benefit of the people, and is accounted for," he added. The Philippines posts the biggest number of COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia with over 150,000 infections. Financial workers union members in their 50s raise their fists during a launch ceremony for the new union at the National Assembly in Seoul, Aug. 4. / Courtesy of the union By Park Jae-hyuk KB Kookmin Bank and Citibank Korea are facing lawsuits from dozens of employees in their 50s, who are urging the banks to end their "peak wage system" and compensate them for lost earnings after their salaries were reduced when the system was introduced, industry officials said Monday. The legal action follows the ongoing lawsuits filed by older workers at two state-run banks the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and the Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK). The Korea Exchange (KRX), Seoul Guarantee Insurance (SGI), the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund (KODIT) and the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (KOTEC) are expected to face similar litigation from workers in their 50s within the year. Industry officials said other public and private financial firm workers are considering similar action. Given that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a state-run company worker in December last year, ordering the company to compensate him for the reduction in salary after the introduction of the peak wage system, the financial firm workers are seen as likely to win their lawsuits. The Moon Jae-in administration's labor-friendly policies are also weighing on the financial firms. If the companies lose the lawsuits, this will cost them billions of won. The peak wage system gradually reduced the salaries of workers aged between 55 and 57 until their retirement at the age of 60. This system was introduced as a way to get private and public enterprises to hire a larger number of new younger employees with their reduced payroll costs. Some elderly workers at state-owned companies, however, have complained of the system, saying their salaries were reduced more than expected. In April last year, 169 senior workers at KDB filed a lawsuit against the state-run lender to collectively get 600 million won ($506,000) back. IBK's 19 employees also sued their company in April this year for 137 million won. In contrast, commercial banks have carried out voluntary retirements every year, so their employees had not taken similar actions until recently. Most of them left their companies, after receiving a huge amount in severance pay which included two to three years of salaries, their children's tuition fees and medical expenses. Following the launch of the new union for financial workers in their 50s, however, calls to abolish the peak wage system have grown at commercial banks. The new organization is comprised of 2,000 older workers from the KDB, IBK, KB Kookmin Bank, Citibank Korea, the KRX, SGI, KODIT and the KOTEC. KB Kookmin Bank union leader Shim Sang-kyun, who was appointed the first leader of the new organization, said its members will guarantee the job stability of those in their 50s and 60s through the establishment of a financial foundation. "The retirement age is guaranteed at 60 by law, but financial workers in their 50s are forced to receive halved salaries due to the illegal peak wage system," he said. The KB Kookmin Bank union is gathering workers who are willing to take part in the lawsuit against the system, which will be filed within this month at the earliest. The union expects more than 200 former and incumbent employees will participate in the litigation. Citibank Korea's 24 workers will reportedly sue their company in September. The IBK union, which has already taken a legal action, said it is considering filing a constitutional appeal against the peak wage system. Five members of an illegal armed group, which plotted attacks on policemen, have been detained in Makhachkala, a spokesman for the Federal Security Services department for the Republic of Dagestan said on Sunday. "On August 16, officers of the republican departments of the Federal Security Service, Interior Ministry, and the National Guard, who conducted a joint operation, identified five members of an armed group from among local residents. The five men were taken to a police office. According to police data, these men plotted a series of armed attacks on law enforcers in Makhachkala, Khasavyurt, and Derbent," the spokesman said, adding that the young people are aged from 15 to 17. "The pat-down search yielded bladed weapons and fatigues. Materials on the case have been referred to investigative ages sayingncies," TASS cited the spokesman added. The City of Sydney has been declared a coronavirus hotspot as an outbreak in the east of the city continues to grow. The local government area has more than 240,000 residents and covers about 25 square kilometers of the city's CBD and surrounding suburbs. It stretches from Circular Quay past Central Station to Camperdown, Glebe and Chippendale in the inner-west, and to Eastlakes and Rosebery in the south. Sydney's CBD streets were eerily quiet on Saturday. The entire CBD area was declared a coronavirus hotspot on Monday after a slew of new cases linked to the CBD and the city's east To the east, where the outbreak is spreading, it encompasses Elizabeth Bay, Potts Point, Darlinghurst and Kings Cross. NSW Health declared the City of Sydney a coronavirus hotspot on Monday following recent confirmed cases in the east including at Cafe Peron in Double Bay and the Den Sushi restaurant in Rose Bay. The move comes after the Thai Rock restaurant in Potts Point sparked an outbreak of 37 cases and a number of new infections linked to CBD venues surfaced over the past two weeks. An airline passenger from Melbourne is checked off by NSW Police at Sydney Airport on August 8. All passengers from Melbourne must go into hotel quarantine Sydney Girls High School in Surry Hills, Sydney was shut after a student tested positive after attending for four days. The academically selective school has students from 143 different Sydney postcodes raising fears about its spreading potential A further case was found in a student at Sydney Girls High School, Surry Hills, forcing the school to close on Monday and trial HSC exams to be postponed. The student attended while infectious on August 6, 7, 10 and 11, and it is not yet known if it has spread or if it was linked to an existing cluster, the Daily Telegraph reported. Sydney Girls High School is an academically selective state school that has about 940 high school students drawn from 143 different postcodes around Sydney, escalating its potential to spread the coronavirus city-wide. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement New South Wales residents are on high alert as case numbers climbed by seven in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday, bringing the state's total to 3768 of which 117 are now active and 54 dead, NSW Health said on Monday night. The virus is steadily burning through the state having jumped the border from Victoria, as increasing numbers of outbreaks and clusters infect suburb after suburb. The majority of outbreaks have come from pubs, restaurants and schools. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned 'that the 'mystery' community transmission cases where no known cause is found are the biggest risk. 'Whilst the case numbers have pleasingly been declining, my anxiety remains the same if not higher because every week we have an accumulation of undetected, unsourced cases,' she said. NSW Education Department has moved to ban anyone with flu-like symptoms from attending school. 'Students and staff with flu-like symptoms will need to provide a copy of a negative COVID-19 test result before being permitted to return to school,' the guidelines say. School formals, dances, social events, and graduation ceremonies have also been put on hold under the new rules that come into force on Wednesday. Group singing and the use of wind instruments in group settings is also now banned. Epidemiologists have warned that some people who carry the coronavirus show no symptoms at all, so this will not prevent the virus from spreading through asymptomatic carriers. NSW Health has also issued an urgent alert after a worker at Sydney Markets in the inner-west suburb of Flemington tested positive. New South Wales health authorities have issued an urgent alert after a person worked at a market in Sydneys inner-west while infectious with COVID-19. A health worker tests drivers for coronavirus in Castle Hill Showgrounds in Sydney's north-west The virus is also continuing to spread in Sydney's south-west and western suburbs. While most other states and territories in Australia are largely virus-free, Victoria continues to struggle to subdue its outbreak. Victoria recorded 282 new coroanvirus cases to bring their total to 17,027 on Monday. It was the state's deadliest day with 25 new deaths, including 22 linked to outbreaks in aged care facilities. The new infection numbers show a welcome decrease on previous days, however. The number of daily infections has been steadily dropping since the state entered strict Stage Four lockdown. A Victorian man was caught trying to cross into NSW without a permit by flying a light aircraft over the border on Monday. Police were called about 12.30pm on Saturday after a light aircraft flown by the 61-year-old Victorian landed at Deniliquin Airport. The pilot was directed to return to Victoria immediately and fined $1000. Worldwide coronavirus cases have topped 21.9 million with 774,394 deaths according to Worldometers statistics late on Monday night. The US continues to have the largest number of infections with 5.6 million cases and 173,186 deaths. BEND, Ore., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As individuals and families across the country make decisions about safely educating their children during the COVID-19 pandemic, professional educator, author, and homeschool expert Anne Crossman has launched a new platform, HomeschoolExpert.com , designed to equip and encourage parents and teachers to embrace high quality homeschooling as a viable and effective option. Simply said, Homeschool Expert is here to teach parents how to teach. Based on decades of extensive research and work with psychologists, behavioral specialists, educators, and expert homeschool parents, this platform offers practical tools to help parents teach with excellence. There are currently 54 million students enrolled in school in the United States, 2.5 million of which were homeschooled prior to Covid. The latest numbers in some states show that 80% of traditional school parents are now considering homeschooling their children, which opens a significant need in the market for parents to get resources, curriculum, and training to help them quickly create an excellent education for their children during the pandemic. "Homeschooling creates a customized learning experience where your children can thrive at their own pace," Crossman said. "Whether you are homeschooling out of passion or need, Homeschool Expert makes teaching the ones you love affordable and achievable for anyone from any background. Homeschooling can be amazing, and I realize that often the hardest part is getting started. While there are a lot of great curricula for students, there are very few resources teaching parents how to teach. Our essential video series, books, and resources equip parents to teach with excellence, bringing the advice of experts to their kitchen table." HomeschoolExpert.com features a variety of resources for both beginner and seasoned homeschool educators, including a nine-video series that equips viewers to homeschool confidently through concentrated, fast-paced lessons that are filled with practical and customizable tips and resources. The online platform is also home to a new podcast hosted by Crossman and featuring interviews with homeschool parents as well as leading voices in education scholarship and practice, including Duke University's Sue Wasiolek, Math-U-See founder Steve Demme, UC Davis professor Patricia Schetter, AIM Academy Director Dr. Debra Bell, CEO of Primer Ryan Delk, and many others. HomeschoolExpert.com also offers informative articles for parents trying to answer tough topics, like how to homeschool legally, how to homeschool a child with special needs, and how to find a curriculum to best meet their needs. Crossman is the author of multiple books on education, including "Getting the Best Out of College," "Study Smart, Study Less," and "Trying to Remember," which share expertise from her extensive work with psychologists, educators, behavioral scientists and her decades of experience as an educator. A homeschool student herself, Crossman began college at Stanford University with a focus in psychology, completing her degrees in English and Education at Duke University. She went on to teach in public high schools and military barracks, authored three books on education, and has been homeschooling her four children since 2006. Crossman offers a perspective of education that is well-informed, rare, and timely. In addition to launching the HomeschoolExpert.com platform, Crossman has authored a new book "Homeschool Like An Expert" (available September 2020). In the book, Crossman shares much-needed insights on effective homeschool practices, supplementing the "Homeschool Like an Expert: Video Series" with additional tools and resources to help all parents educate at home. For more information on Anne Crossman and homeschooling resources, visit HomeschoolExpert.com . About Homeschool Expert Based on decades of extensive research and work with psychologists, behavioral specialists, educators, and expert homeschool parents, Homeschool Expert is a multi-channel online platform to equip both beginning and experienced homeschool parents to teach their children with excellence. For resources and more information, visit HomeschoolExpert.com. Praise for Anne Crossman Overwhelmed parents rejoicethis is the resource you have been hoping to find. Whether you are emergency schooling or want to know how to homeschool better, there is no better guide than "Homeschool Like an Expert." If parents want to take their child's home educationand their college readinessseriously, this resource is where they should start. It is a practical, smart, much-needed resource that should be read by homeschooling families everywhere. "Dean Sue" Wasiolek, Senior Advisor in Student Affairs, Duke University Homeschool Expert gives timely, relevant insights derived from personal experience and extensive research. As Director of Admissions at OSU helping students from all backgrounds transition to college, I highly recommend Homeschool Like an Expert as a guide. You'll get an engaging, thought-provoking honesty designed to help you make the right decision for you and your family. Noah Buckley, Director of Admissions, Oregon State University "A refreshing, smart, and useful guide to college that should be basic required reading for incoming freshmen everywhere." Bob Woodward, Pulitzer Prizewinning Journalist on "Getting the Best Out of College" "Anne Crossman demystifies studying, proving that academic success isn't magic . . . her book is accessible and helpful for ALL students, particularly those transitioning to high school. Parents, teachers, and counselors who want to help their kids succeed would also do well to read it." Brian Cooper, Director of Educational Programs, Duke University Talent Identification Program on "Study Smart, Study Less" SOURCE Homeschool Expert Related Links https://homeschoolexpert.com New Delhi: Sushant Singh Rajput's niece Mallika Singh has enrolled herself in astronomy classes in the actor's memory. Sushant had a deep interest in the subject and his love for the stars, sky and the universe is well known to everyone. Hence, Mallika decided to take up the course and also shared her university's Fall 2020 Schedule for - Stars, Galaxies and the Universe. Mallika is Sushant's eldest sister's daughter. Sushant was 14 when she was born. The duo shared a great rapport. - They bonded over a shared love for books, dogs and making trouble. - Sushant was a blend of a reliable mentor and a playful mamu. - Called her often to sets to hang out - Found Snapchat filters fun and took many - Encouraged Mallika to dream big and pursue a creative writing degree program at the University of Lowa, US. - Spoke of acting as a brilliant art form, not a means for glamour. - Promised to go to Norway together after she graduates from university. Sushant shared a great bond with his family and friends and there's enough proof of it on social media. He was close to all his fours sisters and their families. His US-based sister Shweta Singh Kirti often shares Sushant's memory and the time he spent with the family on social media. Sushant died on June 14 in Mumbai. He was found hanging at his apartment. The Mumbai Police said he died by suicide. However, the actor's family has filed an FIR in Patna accusing his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty of abetment to suicide among other charges. Sushant's family, friends, fans and a few Bollywood celebs have also requested for a CBI inquiry into his death case. CHEYENNE In a step expected to generate more than 1,000 jobs in Cheyenne over the next two decades, the U.S. Air Force announced Friday morning that F.E. Warren Air Force Base will be the first of three locations to have its land-based nuclear missiles replaced. The large-scale project to replace the Cold War-era Minuteman III missiles, which is expected to take 15 years to complete, will now begin at F.E. Warren between 2023 and 2025. The other two bases included in the project Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota wont begin replacing theirs until 2026 and 2029, respectively. According to a news release from Air Force Global Strike Command at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, the construction start dates will be based on the completion of Environmental Impact Statements for each base. Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce CEO Dale Steenbergen said this is a once-in-a-lifetime project for the community. It has the potential to be the largest economic project in Wyomings history, Steenbergen said. In 2015, Congress designated $90 billion to bring Ground Based Strategic Deterrent weapon systems online at three Air Force bases in an effort to deter the use of nuclear weapons globally and prevent the use of those weapons on the United States. After years of conversations, F.E. Warren will be the first to see those upgrades. Ensuring missile bases remain missile bases makes the most sense for the taxpayer and the mission, Gen. Tim Ray, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in the news release. The Minuteman III is 50 years old; its past time to upgrade the missile systems. Our goal is ensure our systems remain fully safe, secure and effective in the defense of our nation and allies. And while the project will come along with a significant economic impact to Laramie County, Steenbergen made sure to note the importance of these upgrades for national security. We understand that strategic deterrence is extremely important to the future of this nation, and we support this project being completed at all three bases and will continue to support it until it is absolutely finished, Steenbergen said Friday. We are extremely proud of the fact that the Air Force has confidence in our community to carry this mission forward. The news was quickly cheered by local and state leaders. Cheyenne Mayor Marian Orr said the project was an exceptional opportunity that was born out of years of work by the city, the chamber and Wyomings congressional delegation, noting the strong support the community shows the service members at F.E. Warren. This could not have come at a better time when it comes to our local economy, Orr said. Its going to spur new housing; its going to create high-level, high-paying jobs that just filter back into the economy tenfold. Its going to really boost our revenues, and certainly our quality of life within Cheyenne. Gov. Mark Gordon also chimed in about what this project means for the state of Wyoming, voicing his appreciation for the Air Forces decision. I am extremely excited about this announcement. This is a multi-billion dollar project that will benefit the entire states economy, while fortifying the nations defense, Gordon said in a news release. I want to pass on our gratitude to all of the men and women who serve at F.E. Warren, across the Air Force and the entire military. The projects acceleration will also bring benefits to the wider community. Steenbergen said its uncertain what the total economic impact of the multi-billion project will be, but it offers a solid path forward in strengthening the local economy and providing jobs to Wyoming residents. With what weve gone through right now, its certainly an opportunity to help us rebuild the economy as weve gone through this COVID world. So as Wyoming looks to diversify, heres an example of diversification right here in Cheyenne, Steenbergen said. Though the exact number of jobs that will be created is still unclear, Steenbergen said the project will bring at least 1,000 new positions that range from highly skilled engineering jobs to construction work. This is not just going to be a bunch of low-paying jobs coming into the community that we have to pay for; it is kind of a diverse mix of education and technical skills that we always try to encourage, Steenbergen said. The missile replacements wont be the only new development coming to F.E. Warren. A plan to create additional housing for airmen on land south of the Air Force base is currently in the works, with the city of Cheyenne in the design phase. Steenbergen said the lack of affordable housing always comes up in conversations with the military, but he said the chambers main focus is making sure Laramie Countys infrastructure and workforce are ready to meet the needs of the developer, Northrop Grumman. Previously, two companies Northrop Grumman and Boeing were competing to carry out the project, with both developing designs for consideration. However, Boeing dropped out of the bidding last summer, leaving Northrop Grumman as the only entity prepping a bid. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 MINSK, Belarus Workers heckled and jeered President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday as he visited a factory and strikes grew across Belarus, raising the pressure on the authoritarian leader to step down after 26 years in power. On the ninth straight day of mass protests over the official results of the Aug. 9 presidential election that demonstrators say was rigged, Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in the capital of Minsk to rally support, but he was met by angry workers chanting, Go away! He told the workers: I will never cave in to pressure. Lukashenko said the country could have a new presidential election, but only after approving an amended version of its constitution in a nationwide referendum an apparent bid to buy some time amid the growing political crisis. The proposal didnt assuage thousands of protesters who again converged on the capitals main Independence Square in the evening to continue pushing for Lukashenko to step down. We dont want any new constitutions or referendums. We want Lukashenkos resignation, said 45-year-old factory worker Dmitry Averkin. The faster he steps down, the sooner the country comes back to normal life. Lukashenko told the factory workers that those who intend to strike could leave if they want, but he added that the protests are ruining the economy and said the country would collapse if he steps down. Some of you might have got the impression that the government no longer exists, that it has tumbled down. The government will never collapse, you know me well, the 65-year-old former state farm director shouted. As he spoke, over 5,000 striking workers from the Minsk Tractor Plant marched down the streets of the city, joining an increasing number of state-controlled factories across the nation of 9.5 million in walking off the job. Miners at the huge potash factory in Soligorsk also said they were joining the strike. The giant Belaruskali factory that accounts for a fifth of the worlds potash fertilizer output is the nations top cash earner. The strikes follow a brutal dispersal of peaceful, post-election demonstrations last week with rubber bullets, tear gas, clubs and stun grenades. At least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. One protester was killed and hundreds were wounded. The workers want Lukashenko to give way to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in the election. Lukashenko is a former president. He needs to go, said Sergei Dylevsky, the leader of the protest at the Minsk Tractor Plant, adding that Tsikhanouskaya is our president, legitimate and elected by the people. Dylevsky voiced concern that the iron-fisted leaders weekend telephone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin could herald an attempt by the countrys giant eastern neighbor to send in troops to prop up Lukashenko. We dont want that, and we wont let that happen, he said. Many protesters shared fears of a Russian invasion. If Lukashenko indeed cherishes our independence and sovereignty as he said, he needs to step down not to give Russia a pretext for invading the country, said 52-year-old protester Alexander Lobkovich. Im afraid that the Kremlin has such plans ready. Lukashenko spoke twice with Putin over the weekend and reported the Russian leader told him Moscow stands ready to provide support in the face of what he described as foreign aggression. He claimed that NATO nations are beefing up military forces on the border with Belarus a claim the alliance rejected. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed Monday that the alliance has no military buildup in the region. We remain vigilant, strictly defensive, and ready to deter any aggression against NATO allies, he said. Lithuanian officials pointed at a military exercise Belarus abruptly launched near the borders of Lithuania and Poland on Monday and warned about worrying signs that Russia might be planning to use the situation to take over Belarus. If they consider just incorporating the country in a simple way, the consequences would be unpredictable, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said. Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent Minsk-based political analyst, said the conversations with Putin may reflect the Kremlin mulling support for Lukashenko in exchange for his consent for a closer union between the two nations, which the Belarusian leader has resisted in the past. Russia understands Lukashenkos weakness and is preparing its own scenario, which could envisage a deep integration in exchange for military assistance, Klaskovsky said. Asked about the situation in Belarus as he left the White House, President Donald Trump called it terrible. Well be following it very closely, he said. The official results of the election gave Lukashenko 80% of the votes and Tsikhanouskaya only 10%, but the opposition claimed the outcome was falsified. Tsikhanouskaya has cited reports from precincts around the country showed her winning 60%-70% of the vote. The 37-year-old former teacher left for neighboring Lithuania on Aug. 11 under what her associates described as pressure from law enforcement officials. Her husband, an opposition blogger, has been jailed since May, and she had replaced him on the ballot. In a video statement on Monday, Tsikhanouskaya said she was prepared to step in. Im ready to take on the responsibility and act as a national leader in order for the country to calm down, return to its normal rhythm, in order for us to free all the political prisoners and prepare legislation and conditions for organizing new presidential elections, she said. After the police crackdown and reports of abuse provoked widespread anger, the authorities backed off, allowing big weekend protests and releasing many of the detainees. The Interior Ministry said that just 122 detainees were still in custody as of Monday, and crowds rallied outside a prison in Minsk to press for their release. The Health Ministry said 158 people remain hospitalized with injuries after the crackdown. Huge crowds turned out Saturday to pay their respects to Alexander Taraikovsky, a protester who died Aug. 10. The authorities initially claimed he died when an explosive device he intended to throw at police blew up in his hands, but Associated Press video showed that he had no explosive when he fell on the ground, his shirt bloodied. His partner, Elena German, said his body had a perforation in his chest that she believes was a bullet wound. Interior Minister Yuri Karayev stepped back from the official version Sunday, acknowledging that Taraikovsky might have been killed by a rubber bullet. German told The Associated Press on Monday that she will push for an independent investigation into what she described as his killing at point-blank range. On Sunday, an estimated 200,000 people filled the central Independence Square and nearby avenues in the largest protest the country has ever seen. In Brussels, European Council President Charles Michel said an emergency summit of EU leaders would convene Wednesday to discuss the election and crackdown. The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader, Michel tweeted. Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed. On Friday, the 27 EU foreign ministers underlined that the elections were neither free nor fair and decided to start drawing up a list of people who could face sanctions from the violence. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on all Belarusians to address the post-election grievances through dialogue and to preserve peace in the country, and stressed that repression is not the answer, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Lukashenko to follow the path of talks, not to rely on violence but on dialogue. Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted that he had a teleconference with his counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and that all four remain ready to support the political process that will implement the free will of the Belarusian people. Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow; Jill Colvin in Washington; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania; Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report. Mr Wamkele Mene, first Secretary-General, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), has expressed gratitude to Ghana for hosting the Secretariat of the continental body. On behalf of all Africans, I thank the Government and the People of Ghana, for hosting the AfCFTA Secretariat and for providing world class facilities that will enable Africa to progress on the historic vision of achieving an integrated Africa, Mr Mene stated on Monday the official commissioning and handing over of the AfCFTA Secretariat Building to the African Union Commission (AUC) in Accra. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo officially commissioned and handed over the AfCFTA Secretariat Building to Mr Moussa Faki, AUC Chairperson. Mr Mene said, he was grateful to the Government and the People of Ghana, for the great sacrifice made an unprecedented contribution to the fight to end colonialism in Africa and the defeat of Apartheid in South Africa. He said, he was born and raised during a period when the depraved Apartheid regime was at its brutality; adding that through the Organisation of African Unity, which was inspired by the leadership of Ghana, the continent declared that Africa shall not be free until the people of South Africa are free from the shackles and bondage of Apartheid. He said the fact that a South African who was born and raised under Apartheid, was able to stand before the continental community, mandated by the Assembly of Heads of States of the African Union (AU) to advance the imperatives of Pan-Africanism, truly was a remarkable testament to Ghanas long held principle that Africa shall not be free until the people of South Africa were free from the shackles and bondage of Apartheid. He said since the negotiations were launched in Johannesburg in 2015, remarkable progress had been achieved largely because of the political will and commitment of the Assembly of Heads of States and Government of the AU, to ensure that Africa takes concrete steps towards the creation of an integrated market. In this regard, Mr Mene paid tribute to President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger, the Champion and Leader of the AfCFTA, for his unwavering and dedicated leadership of the AfCFTA. He said under President Issoufous guidance and leadership as the Champion of the AfCFTA, Africa confounded critiques: 54 countries had signed the agreement and 28 countries had ratified it, making this the fastest ratification in the history of the African Union. He noted that since his election in February 2020, Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat and his team, provided him with all the resources and support that he needed during the period that he was in Addis Ababa, waiting to transition to Accra. I thank him for his leadership and political support during this difficult time when it appeared that Covid-19 would obstruct our efforts. He said through the leadership of the Chairperson of the Assembly - President Ramaphosa of South Africa Africa was able to coordinate an effective public health, trade and debt relief response to the Covid-19 crisis, thereby enabling the mitigation of the impact of the crisis. He lauded Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry for his pivotal role in getting the AfCFTA Secretariat established in Accra. Minister Kyerematen has been a tireless contributor to regional integration and trade multilateralism in Africa, he said. We should all appreciate the efforts that he made on behalf of Ghana, for the whole of Africa. He said the AfCFTA offers Africa an opportunity to confront the significant trade and economic development challenges of their time with regards to market fragmentation, smallness of national economies, over reliance on the export of primary commodities and narrow export base, caused by shallow manufacturing capacity. Madam Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, assured Mr Mene of Ghanas support in the projects operationalisation for Africas development. Our doors are widely opened to you, Madam Ayorkor Botchwey stated. On his part, Mr Kyerematen said the successful implementation of the AfCFTA would bring many benefits to the African continent. 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 woman has been charged with the murder of a 10-year-old boy in west London. Olga Freeman, 40, will appear in custody before Uxbridge Magistrates Court today, after the child was found dead in Acton. She walked into a police station in the early hours of Sunday to speak to officers and a short while later the boy's body was found at a home in Cumberland Park. Police believe they know the identity of the 10-year-old, who was known to the woman, Scotland Yard said. His next of kin have been informed. No one else is being sought in connection with the death. Reverend Nick Jones, 61, the rector of Acton, who lives in Cumberland Park, said on Sunday that news of the boys death was shattering. He said: Im still shaking a bit, its hugely upsetting. Another neighbour said he was in shock. A new, scheduled air cargo route linking Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province and U.S. cities of Dallas and Los Angeles, was launched on Sunday. An all-cargo flight carrying 110 tonnes of exported auto parts and electronic products took off at Wuhan Tianhe International Airport at 12:05 p.m. Sunday for Dallas. It is the third regular, intercontinental air cargo route opened by the airport, and the only all-cargo flight to Dallas in China. After arriving in Dallas, the aircraft will continue to fly to Los Angeles. Using a Boeing 747 freighter, three flights are scheduled to operate every week. The exported cargos, mainly consisting of electronic products, mechanical components and cross-border e-commerce commodities, are expected to be transported to major U.S. cities. The opening of the route will further enhance the airport's port functions, support Wuhan in building an air logistics hub as well as attract the global electronics industry to the city, according to the Hubei Airports Group. By the end of July, the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport had operated international air freight lines linking 30 destinations overseas, including Liege, Chicago, Manila and Singapore. Russia says ready for military help as violent anti-Lukashenko protests rage in Belarus Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 2:26 PM Russia says it has told Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko it is ready to offer military assistance as violent protests continue against Lukashenko and his contested re-election in the ex-Soviet republic. The Kremlin said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has told Lukashenko that his country is ready to offer "comprehensive help" to Belarus if necessary, in accordance with a Russia-led collective military alliance that covers such incidents. During a phone call on Saturday, the Belarusian and Russian presidents also said the turmoil that has followed the recent presidential election will be remedied soon and not left out for exploitation by the parties that seek to poison the two countries' relations. Earlier this month, Lukashenko won Belarus' presidential polls by a landslide, securing a sixth term in office. Large-scale rioting ensued by, what he has called people with criminal pasts and the unemployed. The European Union has threatened to re-impose sanctions against Minsk although Belarus is a non-member. The United States has wasted no opportunity, in the meantime, to take Minsk to task too, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying during recent interventionist remarks that Belarusians should be given "the freedoms that they are demanding." Lukashenko denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80% of the vote. On Sunday, Lukashenko's supporters gathered in central Minsk for the first time since the election to voice their support for him and watch his speech. Lukashenko expressed concern about the US-led NATO military drills taking place in neighboring Poland and Lithuania, describing them as a military build-up. He said NATO tanks and planes had been deployed 15 minutes from the Belarusian border. "NATO troops are at our gates. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and our native Ukraine are ordering us to hold new elections," he said, adding that Belarus would "die as a state" if new polls were held. "I have never betrayed you and will never do so," he said. Lukashenko has previously urged against continued violence, calling preservation of nationwide security his top priority. On Thursday, Russia said outside forces are clearly attempting to destabilize neighboring Belarus. "Clear attempts at outside interference are observed, aimed at causing a split in society and destabilizing the situation," Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press conference on Thursday, adding the Kremlin is following the situation closely. "We note unprecedented pressure that is being exerted by individual foreign partners on the Belarusian authorities," Zakharova added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #33 Posted on 16 August 2020 by John Hartz Story of the Week... El Nino/La Nina Update... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... Going, Going ... Gone: Greenlands Melting Ice Sheet Passed a Point of No Return in the Early 2000s A new study finds that the accelerating retreat and thinning of Greenlands glaciers that began 20 year ago is speeding the ice sheet toward total meltdown. Water from the Greenland ice sheet flows through heather and peat during unseasonably warm weather on Aug. 1, 2019. Credit: Sean Gallup/Getty Images The Greenland Ice Sheet managed to withstand the warming brought by the first 150 years of the industrial age, with enough snow piling up each winter to balance the ice lost to spring and summer melting. But, according to a new study, that all changed 20 years ago. Starting in 2000, Greenland's glaciers suddenly began moving faster, their snouts rapidly retreating and thinning where they flow into the sea. Between 2000 and 2005, that acceleration led to an all-but irreversible "step-increase" of ice loss, scientists concluded in the new research, published this week in the journal Nature Communications Earth & Environment. If the climate were to stop warming today, or even cool a little, Greenland's ice will continue to melt, said Ohio State University Earth scientist Ian Howat, co-author of the research paper. "Glacier retreat has knocked the dynamics of the whole ice sheet into a constant state of loss," he said. "Even if we were to stabilize at current temperatures, the ice will continue to disintegrate more quickly than if we hadn't messed with the climate to begin with." Click here to acces the entire article originally posted on the InsideClimate New website. Going, Going ... Gone: Greenlands Melting Ice Sheet Passed a Point of No Return in the Early 2000s by Bob Berwyn, InsideClimate News, Aug 15, 2020 El Nino/La Nina Update... La Nina Watch increases one month before peak hurricane season Typical conditions for La Nina in summer Forecasters are now calling for an increased chance of La Nina this autumn, which could enhance an already overly active hurricane season. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), issued a La Nina Watch in July. Now, the agency has issued an update further showing their confidence that La Nina could form this autumn. "The La Nina Watch that was issued back in July has now increased to 60% for this fall," says Haley Brink, CNN meteorologist. "When a La Nina Watch is issued that means that conditions are favorable for development within the next six months. An advisory can then be issued once La Nina conditions are observed." Click here to access the entire article originally posted on CNN. La Nina Watch increases one month before peak hurricane season by Allison Chinchar, CNN, Aug 16, 2020 Toon of the Week... Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page. Coming Soon on SkS... Scientists remember 'Koni' Steffen, glaciologist who died after fall into crevasse in Greenland (Bud Ward) (Bud Ward) Scientists seek to collect ice core samples before glaciers and ice sheets melt (Kristen Pope) (Kristen Pope) SkS New Research for Week #33 (Doug Bostrom) (Doug Bostrom) Siberias 2020 heatwave made 600 times more likely by climate change (Daisy Dunne) (Daisy Dunne) Will Fusion Power solve Climate Change? (Climate Adam) (Climate Adam) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #34 (John Hartz) (John Hartz) 2020 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #34 (John Hartz) Climate Feedback Claim Review... The long-term survival of polar bears is threatened by loss of sea-ice due to global warming, new study confirms CLAIM: "Global warming is driving polar bears toward extinction" VERDICT: SOURCE: Global Warming Is Driving Polar Bears Toward Extinction, Researchers Say by Henry Fountain, Climate, New York Times, July 20, 2020 KEY TAKE AWAY: Sea-ice loss due to global warming is the most important threat to long-term survival and reproduction of polar bears. Under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, all but a few polar bear subpopulations are at risk of extinction by 2100. In the moderate greenhouse gas emissions scenario, some polar bear subpopulations could persist through the century. Click here to access the entire article originally posted on the Climate Feedback website. The long-term survival of polar bears is threatened by loss of sea-ice due to global warming, new study confirms, Edited by Nikki Forrester, Climate Feedback, July 27, 2020 SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Gujarat cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana has been appointed the chief of the Border Security Force and V S K Kaumudi the Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry, according to a Personnel Ministry order issued on Monday. At present, Asthana is working as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security. The BSF is working without a regular chief since March after incumbent V K Johri was repatriated to Madhya Pradesh. He later took over as the Director General of the state police. S S Deswal, the chief of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, has been holding the additional charge as DG BSF since March 11. Asthana's tenure as the BSF DG would be up to July 31, 2021, i.e. the date of his superannuation, the order said. The BSF is entrusted with the responsibilities of guarding the country's frontiers with Pakistan and Bangladesh. The force is also deployed in tackling Naxalism in Chattisgarh and Odisha. Asthana, a 1984-batch officer of Indian Police Service, is also holding additional charge of DG of the Narcotics Control Bureau. Kaumudi has been appointed the Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, up to November 30, 2022 i.e. the date of his superannuation, the order said. Kaumudi, a 1986-batch IPS officer of the Andhra Pradesh cadre, is presently working as DG, Bureau of Police Research and Development. His batchmate from Uttar Pradesh cadre, Md Jawed Akhtar has been appointed the DG, Fire Services, Civil Defence & Home Guard. Akhtar will hold the charge of the post till July 31, 2021 i.e. the date of his superannuation, it added. He is presently working as the Special DG of the Central Reserve Police Force. Fort Bend ISD Superintendent Charles Dupre is disputing a recent report that the district is ignoring medical advice with regard to starting the school year. In a statement critical of the Sugar Land Suns recent coverage of a staffing shortage announced last week after a group of Fort Bend ISD teachers and employees declined to report for campus duty out of fear of exposure to COVID-19, Dupre responded to claims trustees and administrators ignored warnings from medical experts of potential widespread outbreaks and told trustees it was not safe for students and teachers to return to in-person learning due to Fort Bend Countys high rate of infection, which was described as uncontrolled. Related: COVID-19 testing sites expand in Fort Bend County I am disappointed to see that once again the Houston Chronicle has misrepresented our actions regarding the start of school. The reopening of school is a complex process that requires careful review of data, information, expert opinion, and every detail is vital in the decision-making process. For the media to misrepresent the nuance of what was said by one expert and to claim that it was completely disregarded is irresponsible, Dupre wrote in a statement posted to the district website Wednesday, Aug. 12. To clarify, Fort Bend ISD is starting school virtually on Monday for the vast majority of our students. We do have a very small number of students in our special education program who, with permission from their parents, will have their personalized special services delivered to them in a face-to-face environment, with strict CDC-recommended safety protocols in place. In addition, we have a limited number of students who will receive their virtual instruction in one of our Learning Centers, again with permission from their parents and with safety protocols in place. Related: Oakbend Medical Center in Richmond expands services, surgical procedures During the July 20 school board meeting, members of the districts medical advisory committee answered questions from trustees as plans were being finalized for the start of the new school year. When Trustee Kristin Tassin asked if it was safe for special education students and teachers to return to the classroom, Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Director Dr. Jacqueline Minter said it wasnt recommended as the countys COVID-19 infection rate had advanced to high level and urged caution as many special needs students are also often medically fragile, she said. When asked if the districts proposed safety protocols were adequate, Dr. Sapna Singh, a pediatrician representing the Fort Bend Medical Society, shared her concerns. At this time with this amount of uncontrolled community spread, theres no amount of hand sanitizer, masking up, isolating, social distancing, temperature checks, screening at the front door that can prevent a teacher who is asymptomatic, who does not know theyve been exposed, from coming into a classroom and potentially developing symptoms two or three days from now, she said and questioned the protocols for contact tracing and if a testing program would be implemented at each school with immediate results allowing school officials to identify which classrooms would need to be sent home to self-quarantine. When contacted to ask if the district had implemented campus testing and other details related to safety protocols, Fort Bend ISD Director of External Communications and Media Relations Amanda Bubela shared details of the districts guidelines. We have protocols in place regarding exposure and contact tracing. Any staff members or students who exhibit symptoms, or may have been exposed to a positive case of COVID 19 Fort Bend ISD should not report to work or campus. In the event of a positive case or a possibility of exposure, a district and campus COVID response team will be notified to assist in contact tracing to notify anyone who may have been in close contact and requires self-isolation or quarantine, in accordance with the CDC guidelines. Human Resources and this COVID Response team will also provide direct guidance on when it is safe for the individual to return to work or school, Bubela said via email. These protocols are aligned with the CDCs guidelines that define close contact so based on the students and/or staff members interactions with individuals, the team would work identify other individuals, groups or classrooms that would need to isolate or self-quarantine. In the statement posted online, Dupre voiced his appreciation for district employees. I could not be more proud of what our thousands of teachers and staff have done to prepare for the new school year. But it is important to recognize that we are also dealing with unprecedented challenges, Dupre said. It is unfortunate and harmful when the media does not tell the whole story. Safety is our top priority and we will continue to do everything we can and we will use every bit of information to make decisions that protect our students, staff and community. Students logged on for the first day of virtual school Monday, Aug. 17. A group of approximately 440 special education students are scheduled to return to the classroom on Monday, Aug. 24. A group of 1,100 students are scheduled to begin online learning at Elementary Learning Centers on Wednesday, Aug. 19, and Secondary Learning Centers on Monday, Aug. 24. knix@hcnonline.com Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, confirmed plans to merge the body with the NHS Test and Trace programme Public Health England's boss has revealed he is 'sorry beyond words' for staff finding out the beleaguered agency was getting broken-up through media reports. Duncan Selbie, chief executive of PHE, confirmed Number 10's controversial plans to merge the body with the NHS Test and Trace programme to create a new task-force designed to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic. In a leaked message to staff addressing the rumours, Mr Selbie revealed the decision to scrap the agency was briefed to journalists before he even had chance to tell the 5,500-strong workforce himself. PHE an agency underneath the Department of Health was accused of being resistant to using private labs to ramp up testing, causing crucial delays at the start of the pandemic. It was also blamed for the decision to abandon mass testing and tracing because of a lack of capacity, as well as being too slow to share in-depth coronavirus data with local authorities trying to fight outbreaks. But Mr Selbie has already denied PHE was responsible for Britain's mass coronavirus testing shambles. He said a national diagnostic testing scheme was 'never our role' and pointed the finger at the Department of Health. In his message to staff, he added: 'Any organisation that says it got everything right is wrong and no public health body enters a pandemic expecting to look the same as a consequence.' Matt Hancock is expected to confirm plans to break-up PHE later this week to create the National Institute for Health Protection, which is likely to become effective within weeks in time for any potential second wave this winter. It is set to be modelled on Germanys Robert Koch Institute, renowned for its strong reputation for the quality of its research on infectious diseases. A Downing Street spokesperson today said ministers will 'continue to work closely' with PHE, saying it had an 'important role' in response to the pandemic but adding that the government must ensure it is 'fit to cope'. Critics have accused ministers of making PHE a scapegoat for No 10's failures, saying PHE is under the direct control of the Department of Health and 'responsibility lies firmly with the current government'. Matt Hancock is expected to confirm plans to break-up PHE later this week to create the National Institute for Health Protection, which is likely to become effective within weeks in time for any potential second wave this winter DUNCAN SELBIE'S LETTER TO STAFF IN FULL I am sorry beyond words at the way that decisions about our future have been briefed to the media before I have had the chance to explain them. The Prime Minister and Secretary of State wish to recreate an organisation with a sole focus on health protection and to bring together our health protection services with the budgets and people of the NHS test-and-trace programme to create a new national institute for health protection. The aim is to boost our unique scientific capability and world leading health protection expertise with much needed new investment. The future arrangements for delivering everything else we do for the country including on health improvement and our corporate services will be worked through over the coming weeks and months and will, of course, include formal consultation and the proper HR processes to ensure this is handled transparently and fairly. Any organisation that says it got everything right is wrong and no public health body enters a pandemic expecting to look the same as a consequence. However, no one remotely close to our work of the past eight years, and since January on the pandemic would agree with the headlines that this change reflects pandemic failure on our part. Certainly this is not what the Secretary of State believes or says in public or private. No public body has done more to protect the health of the people than PHE nor has more reason to be proud of its contribution. Equally on health improvement over the years on cancer, tobacco, obesity and air quality amongst much more, and crucially in support of our colleagues in local government, the NHS and our work internationally on behalf of the UK. Advertisement PHE was made in 2013 under the Conservatives' NHS reorganisation. It replaced the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The agency says on its website it is 'operationally autonomous'. Government papers show it was 'responsible for ensuring that there are effective arrangements in place for preparing, planning and responding to emergencies'. The same documents, published before it was created in 2012, make clear the Department of Health will hold it to account for its performance. Under the plans to break-up PHE, its anti-obesity strategy will also be handed over to local councils and GPs, who are being encouraged to intervene to encourage people to lose weight. Meanwhile the Health and Safety Executive, run by Tory MP Sarah Newton, will assist companies in getting more staff back to work. Tory peer Baroness Harding, the ex-TalkTalk boss and current head of NHS Test and Trace, is being tipped to lead the new health protection organisation. Mr Selbie discussed the rumours, first reported by the Sunday Telegraph, in his note to staff. The message, seen by the Health Service Journal , says: 'I am sorry beyond words at the way that decisions about our future have been briefed to the media before I have had the chance to explain them. 'The Prime Minister and Secretary of State wish to recreate an organisation with a sole focus on health protection and to bring together our health protection services with the budgets and people of the NHS test-and-trace programme to create a new national institute for health protection. 'The aim is to boost our unique scientific capability and world leading health protection expertise with much needed new investment. 'The future arrangements for delivering everything else we do for the country including on health improvement and our corporate services will be worked through over the coming weeks and months and will, of course, include formal consultation and the proper HR processes to ensure this is handled transparently and fairly.' It adds: 'Any organisation that says it got everything right is wrong and no public health body enters a pandemic expecting to look the same as a consequence. 'However, no one remotely close to our work of the past eight years, and since January on the pandemic would agree with the headlines that this change reflects 'pandemic failure' on our part. 'Certainly this is not what the Secretary of State believes or says in public or private. 'No public body has done more to protect the health of the people than PHE nor has more reason to be proud of its contribution. Public Health England (PHE) has denied it was responsible for mass Covid-19 testing shambles and says the Department of Health was to blame. Pictured: A swab test in Stone, England, July 29 WHAT HAS PUBLIC HEALTH ENGLAND COME UNDER FIRE FOR? Public Health England has come under fire for the way it has handled the UK's coronavirus testing system, for which it was responsible at the start of the Covid-19 crisis. Its directors have tried to divert blame, explaining that major decisions are taken by Government ministers in the Department of Health, but the body has been accused of being controlling. These are some of the mis-steps for which PHE has been blamed: Stopping mass testing and tracing On March 12 the Government announced it would no longer test everybody who was thought to have coronavirus, and it would stop tracking the contacts of the majority of cases to try and stop the spread of the disease. As a result, Britain effectively stopped tracking the virus and it was allowed to spiral out of control. Conservative MP David Davis said that was 'precisely the wrong thing to do'. Professor Yvonne Doyle, PHE's medical director, told MPs in May: 'It was a decision that was come to because of the sheer scale of cases in the UK.' She added: 'We knew that if this epidemic continued to increase we would certainly need more capacity.' PHE said: 'Widespread contact tracing was stopped because increased community transmission meant it was no longer the most useful strategy.' Lack of contact tracing capacity Papers published by Government scientists on SAGE revealed that PHE only had the capacity to cope with five new cases a week on February 18. Only nine cases had been diagnosed at the time. PHE experts said modelling suggested capacity could increased ten-fold to 50 new cases a week allowing them to contact 8,000 people a day. SAGE said: 'When there is sustained transmission in the UK, contact tracing will no longer be useful.' Britain's cases jumped started to jump by 50 each day at the beginning of March. Pledged antibody tests in March PHE's Professor Sharon Peacock said on March 25 that the UK was on course to have antibody tests available to the public that month. She confirmed the Government had bought 3.5million of the tests and was evaluating their quality. They could be available to the public 'within days', she said at a Downing Street briefing. Three months later, however, and they are still not a reality. Officials have since decided there are no tests good enough available, and there is no proof that the results will be of any use to the public. Testing efforts slowed by 'centralised' lab approach Scientists in private labs, universities and research institutes across the country said in April that their offers to help with coronavirus testing had fallen on deaf ears. Only eight PHE laboratories and some in NHS hospitals were being used to analyse tests during the start of the crisis. 'Little ship' labs had tools to process tests and could have increased testing capacity rapidly if officials had agreed to work with them, they said. But it took Britain until the end of April to manage more than 100,000 tests in a day. Germany had been managing the feat for weeks by utilising private laboratories. Number 10 was eventually pressured into abandoning the centralised approach and urged the wider science industry to help boost capacity. One top scientist said NHS hospitals could have devised their own coronavirus tests but were 'fearful of upsetting Public Health England'. But PHE says it did not 'constrain or seek to control any laboratory either public, university or commercial from conducting testing for Covid-19'. It claimed that it requested officials changed testing methods in January to allow for any testing facility to conduct diagnostic tests. Advertisement 'Equally on health improvement over the years on cancer, tobacco, obesity and air quality amongst much more, and crucially in support of our colleagues in local government, the NHS and our work internationally on behalf of the UK.' Responding to reports that Public Health England is to be replaced, a No 10 spokesman said: 'We have always said we must learn the right lessons from the crisis and act to ensure Government structures are fit to cope. 'But I would make the point that PHE have played an integral role in our response to this unprecedented pandemic, working on important issues such as detection, surveillance, contact tracing and testing.' The axing of PHE follows reports that the government has been frustrated with the agency during the coronavirus crisis. Speculation about the bodys future began last month after Boris Johnson complained that some parts of the Government responded sluggishly to the outbreak. The Prime Minister did not name PHE in his speech but sources told The Daily Telegraph that they believed he was referring to the beleaguered agency. On March 12 the Government announced it would no longer test everybody who was thought to have coronavirus. It was also revealed that it did not have the capacity to track contacts of the majority of cases to try and stop the spread of the disease. PHE has since said both were scrapped because they were no longer the most useful strategies, as opposed to a lack of capacity. The decision was branded disastrous and a major factor to Britain's outbreak, which has killed 40,000 people. Among PHE's alleged failures are that - according to another source - it has been 'too slow' and forced the Government to intervene to take over some of its functions. And the Joint Biosecurity Centre, which was set up at the beginning of June and determines the UK's COVID-19 alert level, was reportedly established to do the job PHE should have been doing. Ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said on Sunday: 'The one thing consistent about Public Health England is that almost everything it has touched has failed.' Chair of the Commons science and technology committee Greg Clark said that PHE members were 'very opaque' about their role. When testing was finally ramped up to reach all people with symptoms on May 18, it involved private companies Deloitte and Serco. Scientists in private labs, universities and research institutes across the country said in April that their offers to help with coronavirus testing had fallen on deaf ears. Only eight PHE laboratories and some in NHS hospitals were being used to analyse tests during the start of the crisis. 'Little ship' labs had tools to process tests and could have increased testing capacity rapidly if officials had agreed to work with them, they said. But it took Britain until the end of April to manage more than 100,000 tests in a day. Germany had been managing the feat for weeks by utilising private laboratories. Number 10 was eventually pressured into abandoning the centralised approach and urged the wider science industry to help boost capacity. One top scientist said NHS hospitals could have devised their own coronavirus tests but were 'fearful of upsetting Public Health England'. But PHE claimed it did not 'constrain or seek to control any laboratory either public, university or commercial from conducting testing for Covid-19'. It claimed that it requested officials changed testing methods in January to allow for any testing facility to conduct diagnostic tests. Ministers are also furious with PHE for counting all deaths from Covid, rather than just those within the first 28 days of contracting the virus. The counting method has now been switched to the 28-day method, in line with the rest of the UK. Around 5,000 deaths were knocked off the total. But scientists and NHS leaders said yesterday if ministers are unhappy with PHE's performance they have only themselves blame. Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, representing NHS trusts, said it is under 'direct control' from DHSC. He said: 'Whilst it might be convenient to seek to blame PHE's leadership team, it is important that the Government reflect on its responsibilities as well.' Dr Amitava Banerjee, from University College London, added: 'If PHE has fallen short, responsibility lies firmly with the current Government and health ministers.' Dr Michael Head, senior research fellow in global health at Southampton University, poured scorn on suggestions Baroness Harding could head up the new body. He said the idea 'makes about as much sense as (chief medical officer) Chris Whitty being appointed the Vodafone head of branding and corporate image'. The union Unite said PHE is being used as a 'fall guy' for the Government's Covid-19 failings, while the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) said that 'scapegoating PHE is unfair and potentially dangerous'. STEPHEN GLOVER: Yes, axe hopeless health and exams quangos. But are bungling ministers really any better? A hard rain is coming, promised Dominic Cummings, the PMs chief adviser, in June, borrowing from Bob Dylan. He meant that inefficient parts of the civil service and complacent senior officials should watch out. Good. One early target is Public Health England, which mishandled Covid-19 testing, and told care homes not to worry about the virus when it was about to sweep through them. Let Mr Cummingss hard rain fall on them all, so that the overpaid, unaccountable and not infrequently arrogant people who run them end up thoroughly drenched. But the biggest rainstorm on record will be of little use unless some rain falls elsewhere. It needs to bucket down on government ministers and on the Prime Minister himself An announcement that this dysfunctional organisation will be chopped is expected soon. Blunder I hope Mr Cummingss revolution wont spare the educational quango Ofqual, which on Saturday withdrew the criteria necessary to challenge A-level grades hours after putting them on its website, thereby throwing already bewildered children into even greater confusion. This is the same Ofqual that came up with the wheeze of applying an unfathomable algorithm to predicting A-level results, which has particularly penalised high-achieving pupils in ordinary state schools. Please let this incompetent organisation go the same way as Public Health England and a host of other quangos and bodies that blunder around disastrously in peoples lives. People are seen arriving into St Pancras hours before quarantine restrictions were introduced. Tens of thousands of tourists drove desperately through the night, or forked out extortionate sums for air tickets, to meet the deadline Let Mr Cummingss hard rain fall on them all, so that the overpaid, unaccountable and not infrequently arrogant people who run them end up thoroughly drenched. But the biggest rainstorm on record will be of little use unless some rain falls elsewhere. It needs to bucket down on government ministers and on the Prime Minister himself. For they are ultimately responsible for a series of mishaps and fiascos. Thats the weakness of Mr Cummingss theory. It assumes that, once an efficient No 10 and its pet ministers take control, the failures of the Government will decline. Not while the likes of Education Secretary Gavin Williamson remain on the scene. Mr Cummings and the Prime Ministers private office will soon move into a new control centre in Whitehall that has been compared to Nasa. It will be like Nasa on one of its bad days, with rockets going astray, unless there is a political shake-up at the top. Lets deal with the appalling Mr Williamson a little later, and concentrate first on the mess the Government has created by imposing a 14-day quarantine on travellers returning from France. Ill accept, because Covid-19 infection rates are slightly higher in France than in Britain, that some sort of quarantining is necessary though one could certainly debate the point without fear of being thought unreasonable. What was outrageous, though, was the speed with which new rules were applied. Tens of thousands of tourists drove desperately through the night, or forked out extortionate sums for air tickets, to meet the deadline. This had been thoughtfully set at 4am on Saturday morning. Students are pictured above at a protest in London against the A-Level grading fiasco. Its a mess entirely of the Governments making, which is causing thousands of children and parents needless heartache. The pattern will almost certainly be repeated when GCSE results come out on Thursday Youd think a plague had broken out on the other side of the Channel, and the very survival of Great Britain depended on everyone returning pronto. In fact, Frances 14-day rolling average is 32 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 18.5 in the UK. Not a huge difference. Couldnt British travellers have been given a little more time? No, because Scotlands bossy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, supported by her Welsh counterpart, demanded the Saturday morning cut-off and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps caved in. Out of a UK population of 67 million, 56 million live in England. Are those of us south of the Border now required to do what Scotlands control-freakish, semi-socialist leader dictates? Evidently. The Government showed scant consideration for ordinary people enjoying a holiday. Its sweeping Covid powers seem to have gone to its head. Think of the enormous and unnecessary stress and strain it created. This was no way for the State to treat law-abiding citizens. One can say the same about Mr Williamsons mishandling of A-levels. He had months to work out the fairest system possible, but instead accepted Ofquals idiotic algorithm, which has penalised some bright state school pupils. After the Scottish government ditched a similar scheme, he panicked, and said last week that students unhappy with their results could appeal on the basis of their mock exams. Ofqual apparently qualified this on Saturday afternoon, before withdrawing its guidance for an unknown period. Its a mess entirely of the Governments making, which is causing thousands of children and parents needless heartache. The pattern will almost certainly be repeated when GCSE results come out on Thursday. The truth is that Mr Williamson isnt the sharpest knife in the drawer. During his stint as Defence Secretary, he suggested sending our new aircraft carrier to the South China Sea, saying that Britain was prepared to use lethal force to deter countries that flout international law. What, including China? Dousing In May 2019 he was sacked over an alleged leak before being reinstated as a Cabinet Minister by Boris Johnson seven weeks later. His qualification? He twisted the arms of Tory MPs to help get Mr Johnson elected party leader, just as he once plotted on behalf of David Cameron and Theresa May. Such a man shouldnt be Education Secretary. He was appointed because he is an expert in the dark arts though absolutely nothing else and is useful to the Prime Minister. But not to the children of this country. Gavin Williamson (above) had months to work out the fairest system possible, but instead accepted Ofquals idiotic algorithm, which has penalised some bright state school pupils Several gallons of hard rain should fall on Mr Williamson, and a lesser quantity on Mr Shapps. And Im afraid Health Secretary Matt Hancock could do with a good dousing. For, although he is perhaps ten times brighter than Mr Williamson, Mr Hancock cant escape responsibility for the many errors of Public Health England (PHE), which he is now rightly packing off to the knackers yard. He accepted its calamitous decision to stop testing people with Covid-19 symptoms in mid-March, and didnt counter PHEs advice, in force until March 13, that it was very unlikely that anyone receiving care in a care home or the community will become infected. He has never apologised. Boris himself shouldnt escape a soaking. He has promoted the likes of Gavin Williamson, either in return for political support or to reward them for having backed Brexit, though interestingly the slippery Mr Williamson didnt. Rejected Zac Goldsmith, who falls into both categories, was rewarded by Mr Johnson with a peerage and the post of Environment Minister, despite having been rejected by the electors of Richmond. Meanwhile, able former ministers, such as former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, languish on the backbenches either because their faces dont fit, or they voted Remain, and several talented middle-ranking ministers are not promoted. Are they considered too independent minded? The PM must, of course, take responsibility for the mistakes over which he has presided. And he has been guilty of quite a few himself, not least missing five consecutive Cobra meetings in late January and early February when plans for combatting the pandemic were discussed. So, yes, Boriss mop deserves a deluge of hard rain, and I dare say the supercilious Dominic Cummings so eager to point out the deficiencies of others does too. There is an absence of good sense at the top of this Government. Its wonderful that Public Health England is being broken up, and lets hope Ofqual follows suit. But getting rid of bungling officials isnt going to save us if those who govern us also fail. Ben Caspit speaks this week with former National Security Adviser Maj. Gen. (ret.) Giora Eilad, who provides behind-the-scenes details on the historic agreement signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. In Eiland's view, by signing an agreement with Israel, the United Arab Emirates turned its back on the 2002 Arab Initiative, which conditions advancement of ties with Israel on advancing on the Palestinian file. He also claims the UAE might be expecting now to purchase sophisticated, Israeli-made weapons. A former couple have exploded at the media after they were sentenced for filming sexual encounters with their pet dog. Kevin and Rebecca Thredgold lashed out at reporters outside the South Australian District Court in Adelaide on Monday. Police in 2017 found 16 videos of the two performing sex acts on their dog on three separate occasions under a file on their computer titled: 'Do not view - delete if we die'. The pair left the court room separately, with Ms Thredgold yelling 'you're ruining my life' at the media pack on her exit, while Mr Thredgold swore at reporters. Kevin and Rebecca Thredgold filmed sex acts with their pet dog in March 2017 (stock image) Both copped a four-month prison sentence for their bestiality charges, which was wholly suspended on a two-year $2,000 good behaviour bond. They must also complete 300 hours of community service within the next 18 months. NCA NewsWire reported judge Simon Stretton labelled their actions with their pet 'gross and inappropriate conduct'. 'Each of you had an active sex life and would explore new and different sexual behaviour with each other,' he said. 'Each of you say that you undertook the activity primarily because you thought that the other was interested in doing so.' Judge Stretton said police who viewed the couple's footage noted the pet dog, who has since died, was not harmed in the making of their videos. The couple lived together in South Australia for several years but have since separated. Ms Thedgold's lawyer James Marcus previously told the court the mother of six was 'disgusted with herself' over her behaviour. ShareChat last raised $100 million from Twitter, following which the company was evaluated to be worth $650 million. Google is in talks with Bengaluru-based social media company, ShareChat over a potential investment. As per a report by The Economic Times, ShareChat is planning to raise $150 - $200 and it is talks with investors from all over the world, including Google, over a potential investment. The company is being advised by JP Morgan for the same. Sources told the publication that the company was gearing to raise funds and that talks with Google were still at a preliminary stage. Apart from Google, the company is also in talks with Microsoft for raising funds. As per a report by Mint, the two companies are in talks to raise roughly $100 million, which a third of the sum that ShareChat is planning to raise. In addition to the tech companies, ShareChat is also in talks with its existing partners, which includes Lightspeed Venture Partners and SAIF Partners over a further investment. ShareChat last raised $100 million from Twitter, following which the company was evaluated to be worth $650 million. Notably, ShareChat has witnessed a staggering growth ever since the Indian government banned China-based apps, including TikTok, in the country over a potential threat to national safety and defence. The company released Moj, which is a social media app that features support for 15 Indian languages, a day after TikTok ban came into place. It grabbed over one million downloads in less than a week after its launch. Victorian tea room moves into Piazza di Spagna in the heart of Rome. Babingtons, the Victorian Tea Rooms at the foot of Rome's Spanish Steps, has opened a temporary outdoor space in Piazza di Spagna this summer. The new space will be open for breakfast, brunch and high tea every day, except Tuesday, throughout August. The opening times on weekdays are from midday to 22.30, while on Saturday and Sunday it is open from 10.00 to 22.30, with breakfast and brunch served until 14.00. The traditional English tea shop and restaurant was established in 1893 by two English women, Isabel Cargill and Anne Marie Babington. The current owners of the family-run tea rooms are cousins Chiara Bedini and Rory Bruce, the great-grandchildren of Isabel Cargill. Babingtons celebrated its 125th anniversary in Rome earlier this year. The statement came as Lukashenko addressed the crowd of MKZT workers. Alexander Lukashenko, the long-time Belarusian leader, whose recent reelection has been widely contested across the country, on Monday spoke at the MKZT plant in front of the workers. Having eventually come out to confront the rally after the crowd at the site complained that Lukashenko had been addressing a narrow circle of staffers in one of the workshops, Lukashenko has defied the idea of holding another election, TUT.by reports. Read alsoKremlin deploying Russian Guard troops to Belarus border media (Photo, video)"Are you talking about unfair elections, seeking to hold fair ones?" he asked the crowd before hearing a resolute "Yes!" from protesting workers. "I am answering this question. We have already held elections. Unless you kill me, there will be no other elections," Lukashenko stressed. Unless you kill me, there will be no other elections Belarus protests: developments By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/08/16 Kim Hee-won is about to get a lot of exposure. The 49 year old actor will be appearing in "The Golden Holiday" on August 19th and is also set to star in "Pawn" which will be released sometime in September. For the former release, he recently had an interview on the MBC radio program 'Good Morning FM'. Advertisement In the interview Kim Hee-won explained the source of his distinctive lip scar. According to Kim Hee-won, the scar was sustained from a fight with a friend back in elementary school. Additionally, Kim Hee-won had told this story before. Actor Sung Dong-il asked him about the scar on a variety show awhile back and he gave the same answer. Apparently the childhood friend himself saw this appearance, and reached out to Kim Hee-won to talk about the matter. Over the course of the conversation they realized that they lived in the same apartment building. Kim Hee-won also said that while the injury used to bother him as a child it no longer does. Kim Hee-won also said that he has no tolerance for alcohol. This was due to a bad experience the actor had when he was younger. Kim Hee-won said that even as the other actors drank together at post-shooting dinners, he would only drink cola and water. Written by William Schwartz (L) President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in Bedminster, N.J., on Aug. 15, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) (R) Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a video press conference at the NYC City Hall on March 19, 2020. (William Farrington-Pool/Getty Images) Trump Issues Warning to De Blasio After Weekend of Gun Violence in New York President Donald Trump on Aug. 16 issued a warning to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio following a wave of gun violence in the city over the weekend that left at least seven people dead. The president appeared to suggest that unless the mayors office is able to tackle the recent surge in violent crime in the city, the federal government would step in. Law and Order. If @NYCMayor cant do it, we will! Trump wrote. It came as at least 52 people were shot in the nations most populous metropolis in the space of 72 hours since Aug. 13, according to ABC 7. The city has seen a spike in violent crime in recent months. According to figures from the New York Police Department, shootings in the city logged a staggering 220 percent increase in the week ending July 19 compared to the same week a year ago, while monthly shootings have surged by 194 percent compared to the same 28-day period in 2019. According to a report by the New York Police Departments CompStat Unit (pdf), which covers the week of July 1319 and provides percentage change statistics across a range of time frames, both the number of shooting incidents and the number of shooting victims have spiked. The most pronounced surge is visible in the week-to-date figures for the week ending July 19, with 77 shooting victims and 64 shooting incidents this year, compared to 25 shooting victims and 20 shooting incidents last year. Thats a 208 percent increase in shooting incidents and a 220 percent increase in victims, relative to the comparable week in 2019. NYPD officers listen as Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch holds a news conference to address the current anti-law enforcement environment at the Icahn Stadium parking lot in New York, on June 9, 2020. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images) On the morning of Aug. 15 in Queens, a gunman killed off-duty corrections officer John Jeff with his own department-issued service weapon as he was walking with a colleague. He later died in the hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Police are still searching for the suspect. In Brooklyn, a 47-year-old died in Prospect Lefferts on Parkside Avenue and Ocean Avenue on Aug. 15. The victim was discovered with two gunshot wounds to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. The NYPD has repeatedly complained that last years bail reforms let criminals stay out of jail even after repeated arrests. Another contributing factor to the recent surge in violence could be that as the city was hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, many city services were curtailed or shut down, with courts adjudicating only the most pressing cases. Others, such as those involving gun possession, have piled up. We have over 1,000 people that have been indicted on a gun possession charge, where the cases are open, and they are walking around the streets of New York today, Michael LiPetri, NYPD chief of crime control strategies, told the NY Post in June. An NYPD police officer wears a Blue Line mask indicating support for law enforcement in Brooklyn, N.Y., on June 25, 2020. (Lloyd Mitchell/Reuters) A monthly comparison, which looks at the number of shooting victims and incidents in a 28-day period in 2020 relative to a comparable period in 2019, shows a 199 percent rise in shooting victims and a 194 percent increase in shooting incidents. The yearly comparison, which looks at year-to-date numbers of shooting victims and incidents between 2020 and 2019, shows a 78 percent and 69 percent rise, respectively. Meanwhile, the city council, at Mayor Bill de Blasios recommendation, recently slashed the NYPD budget by $1 billion amid a massive budget shortfall caused by the pandemic lockdown, as well as calls from some politicians to defund the police completely. Responding to Trumps remarks, the mayor said during a press briefing Monday that the city will continue to rely on the NYPD in addressing the surge in violent crime. We are dealing with a perfect storm We have been put through hell on the city, de Blasio told reporters. Everything fell apart simultaneously because of the coronavirus. Were now building it back up and the NYPD is moving officers where theyre needed, engaging with the community more deeply to fight crime, increasing gun arrests, but it will take time, and we need the whole picture to come back into focus. The bottom line is, the NYPD is, obviously, as they have done for decades upon decades, they are the people who can help us address this issue and end this violence and thats who Im relying on, the mayor added. The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times. Tom Ozimek contributed to this report. California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a Feb. 27 news conference in Sacramento. With him are state Emergency Services Director Mark Ghilarducci and Sonia Angell, former director of the Public Health Department. (Randall Benton / Associated Press) Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that four new counties would be required to close hair salons, gyms and other businesses, marking the first time the state has updated its list of areas experiencing high transmission of COVID-19 in more than two weeks since a massive data flub skewed the count of positive cases. The state uses the list to monitor surges in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and community transmissions and to guide decisions on allowing counties to open certain sectors, including schools and in-person services at places of worship. Officials paused the list at 38 counties on July 31 as the state worked to correct problems with its electronic disease reporting and surveillance system, known as CalREDIE. The data issues caused a backlog of 295,000 coronavirus test results and preceded the sudden departure of the state's public health officer, Dr. Sonia Angell, who oversaw the reporting system. Santa Cruz County is now off the list, while Amador, Mendocino, Inyo and Calaveras were added and must close businesses by Thursday. Sierra County was added two days ago and could also be subject to closures if it failed to meet state thresholds for a third day. The governor said he expected San Diego would come off the list this week. "This is a dynamic list," Newsom said Monday. "People come on, people come off. The numbers shift every single week. I anticipate this week, the numbers to shift again." The state's watchlist continues to cause confusion. A county's removal from the list does not immediately allow sectors there to operate without restrictions, and state officials have not yet presented further guidance to counties for moving forward. If a county remains off the list for 14 days, local officials would be allowed to open schools for kindergarten through 12th grade. But indoor operations at shuttered businesses and other affected places would not be allowed to reopen until the state health officer issued a new mandate. Story continues The state informed Santa Cruz County's health officer Sunday night that it would be removed from the list Monday, an action that has little immediate effect.. "It doesnt change anything you have to be off the watch list for 14 days," county communication officer Jason Hoppin said. Officials in San Diego County, which is expected to be removed from the watchlist Tuesday, noted that California Health and Humans Services Director Dr. Mark Ghaly said Monday that the state is still updating its guidance and planned to release further information to the counties this week. "The state is looking at what they're going to do, but there are no guidelines at this time," San Diego County Health Officer Dr. Wilma Wooten said during a news briefing. "We need to be patient and wait for guidance to come from the state." Inyo County was placed on the list for the first time Monday after cases there spiked following an outbreak at a care center, Assistant County Administrative Officer Leslie Chapman said. Businesses have until midnight Wednesday to make adjustments to their operations. "Were just shutting down and trying to help people by expediting permits so people can move their businesses outside," Chapman said. Meanwhile, case numbers lost during the CalREDIE glitch were still trickling in to the county. Newsom said that 14,861 backlogged COVID-19 cases have been retrieved, but that counties are still waiting to receive their individual totals. In Los Angeles County, where health officials announced 19 new coronavirus-related deaths and 1,185 new cases on Monday, officials said they believe that the data would mirror the overall trend in declining cases and hospitalizations. We still think were missing cases, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday during a news briefing, adding that local officials are still working with the state to gain an accurate count. That will obviously affect the rolling averages and our testing positivity rate. The breakdown of CalREDIE, which state officials blamed on a mix of technical and human errors, raised concerns about the Newsom administration's response to the pandemic as California topped more than 625,000 cases of the virus. The problem also magnified the state's communication issues with county officials, who were left in the dark as to when they might be taken off the list. We do not feel we should have been put on the watchlist, that these numbers dont necessitate that type of extreme action by the state in this case and especially because these numbers are in dispute and remain in dispute at this point in time, San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy said during a news briefing last Wednesday. We dont know a clear path off this list. The decision to freeze the monitoring list frustrated counties across the state that had seen drops in cases and in the rates of positive test results. They believed they were eligible to reopen businesses again but were forced to wait for the state to fix the system. Officials in Orange and San Diego counties thought they had reached the threshold to be removed from the watchlist last week but said they did not know if or when that might occur. In Orange County, Supervisor Michelle Steel said Thursday that although the local outlook was promising, the data problems and their consequences had been of concern. For months now, [the Board of Supervisors] has asked questions and raised concerns about the data, Steel said of Orange Countys request for information on how the data were recorded. Our cities rely on this data to best determine how to respond to the change in case count and COVID-19-related deaths. The California Department of Public Health said counties were removed from the monitoring list and allowed to reopen businesses once they met the state's thresholds for three consecutive days. Although the state's COVID-19 website has no description of how counties are removed from the list, a spokeswoman for the agency said the state communicated changes daily in phone calls or emails to local health departments. "While we were poised to launch this new industry earlier this year, we were unwilling to sacrifice the high standards we have set for this program by launching during an emerging public health pandemic and in the absence of a testing facility," he said Friday. T he sister of a school worker killed by a delivery driver who jumped a red light today called for automatic jail terms for killer drivers. Paul Austin avoided a jail sentence for causing the death of Tracey Wilson in December 2018 in Hornsey. Last week a court refused his appeal to reduce his 10-year driving ban. Austins lawyers claimed the length of the disqualification was excessive but the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against sentence. Lorraine Wilson said the ruling helped to deliver justice for her late sister, 55, who had an adult son Courtney and grandson, now three. But she added that any driver who caused a road death should face a jail term. Austin pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving and got a six-month suspended sentence. Ms Wilson said: The law needs to change that is the most important thing. People need to go to prison if they have killed someone. A senior Armenian official says Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians congratulatory message to Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka on his disputed reelection was in line with the agenda of Armenias peaceful 2018 revolution. Armen Grigorian, the secretary of Armenias Security Council, said in an interview with RFE/RLs Armenian Service on August 16 that decisions like the one to congratulate Lukashenka are taken on the basis of a comprehensive risk assessment. Pashinian immediately came under criticism from his political opponents and human rights activists in Armenia for sending quick congratulations to Lukashenka on August 10, hours after Belaruss Central Election Commission published the preliminary results of the vote, triggering large-scale opposition protests against rigged elections. Only a handful of world leaders have congratulated Lukashenka on his disputed election win. Among them are Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinas leader Xi Jinping. The European Union has said it does not recognize the results, and the United States has expressed deep concern over the election results and the unrest. Security-related and other major decisions have grounds, they are not born out of thin air, Grigorian said, speaking on the Sunday Analytical Show by RFE/RL's Armenian Service. In general, a complete risk assessment is made, and a decision is taken in the interests of the Republic of Armenia. Pashinian, who came to power as a result of widespread anti-government protests in May 2018 and earlier spent nearly two years in prison after being convicted of organizing mass disturbances during 2008 postelection protests, has refused to comment on criticism of his congratulations to Lukashenka, who has ruled Belarus since 1994. Grigorian, who was one of the leaders of the 2018 street protests that brought down the government, said that the protest movements leaders had announced that there would be no changes in Armenias foreign policy agenda. In other words, [Pashinians] message is completely in line with the agenda of the revolution. It ensures the continuity of the agenda of the revolution, he said. Armenia is a member of the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union and Collective Security Treaty Organization, both of which include Belarus. Lukashenkas main challenger, Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has fled Belarus for neighboring Lithuania, refused to recognize Lukashenkas victory, calling on her supporters to stage protests to seek an election rerun. At least two people have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and thousands arrested in the government crackdown against protesters in Belarus. SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- Commemorating a loved one is an important activity. There are many ways to do this -- an original poem, a dedication of a project, a donation. Many of our loved ones live on in our hearts, but we crave a way to express the impact they had on the world. Ive been intrigued by the patio brick project in South Euclid for some time, and I had the chance to chat with South Euclid-Lyndhurst Historical Society President Bob McKimm about whats new after he sent an email announcement with a bit of humor. Right now, were literally a few bricks short of a full load, he wrote. Humor aside, if brick buyers get an order in now, his costs can be reduced. Moreover, it may be some time until we place our next order, so if youd like a brick in our patio before next year, please order it now, he shared. If you want in, fill out the form at http://se-lhistory.org/brick.pdf and we hope to have ... (the names) sandblasted into bricks! he urged. Being committed to local history, McKimm knows that COVID-19 has required flexibility. We had reopened (the museum) for one day last month, he recalled, but, when the city closed things down, so did we. We will re-evaluate after Labor Day. I hope we can resume (our hours) then. Until then, we can take very small groups in by appointment. Call to arrange a date. The South Euclid-Lyndhurst Historical Society, a gem in our midst, is at 4629 Mayfield Road, South Euclid, OH 44121-4018 A standard 4-inch-by-8-inch brick costs $75, with the name of your loved one in all capital letters and up to three lines, 18 characters per line. Lines will be centered. Double-sized 8-inch-by-8-inch bricks with six lines are available for $200 each. Questions? Write to Bob@SE-Lhistory.org Caring for those who care. The Alzheimers Association Cleveland Area Chapter is offering a series of free virtual education programs in August to help caregivers and family members learn more about Alzheimers disease and dementia. Alzheimers is a fatal brain disease. It cannot be prevented, cured or slowed. Many readers may have experienced the devastation of this disease. Caregivers, filled with love and desire to help, need to find ways to keep themselves strong. Caregiving can be emotionally and physically strenuous, and caregivers roles are not to be underestimated. These webinars, which last one hour each, are open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Call 800-272-3900. This months programs include: Monday, Aug. 17: 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Topic: Self-Care for Caregivers Tuesday, Aug. 18: 3 to 4 p.m. Topic: COVID-19 and Caregiving Thursday, Aug. 20: 11 a.m. to noon. Topic: Effective Communication Strategies Tuesday, Aug. 25: 11 a.m. to noon. Topic: 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimers Thursday, Aug. 27: 4 to 5 p.m. Topic: Understanding and Responding to Dementia-Related Behaviors The Cleveland-area chapter serves five counties, with an outreach to 50,000 people with Alzheimers disease in our chapter area and an additional 160,000 people affected as caregivers. For immediate support, call the 24/7 Helpline at 800-272-3900 and visit alz.org Applause: Academic accomplishment is no small task during a pandemic -- and at other times, of course. Elizabeth Mae Schultz of Lyndhurst was named to the deans list at Edinboro University for the spring 2020 semester. In order to attain this status, students must maintain a grade point average of 3.4 or higher, complete a minimum of 12 semester hours of credit and receive no grade lower than a C in any course. Schultz was among nearly 1,200 students named to the spring 2020 deans list. Edinboro University is in Pennsylvania and offers a wide range of majors. Learn more at www.edinboro.edu. Julia Beaven of Gates Mills has been named to Alvernia Universitys deans list for the spring 2020 semester. Beaven is one of over 850 Alvernia students to earn the honors despite the disruption of the semester by the COVID-19 pandemic and the universitys quick transition to an online-learning format. Julia and all our students and faculty showed incredible resilience during the spring 2020 semester, said Alvernia University President John R. Loyack. The facultys quick transition to the virtual learning environment and the students ability to adapt to the changing instruction conditions is truly admirable and provides us with incredible faith as we prepare for the fall 2020 semester. To be eligible for the deans list, students must carry a minimum semester grade point average of 3.5 and take a minimum of 12 credits. Alvernia University is a on a scenic 191-acre suburban campus in historic Berks County, Pa. The Franciscan university of nearly 3,000 students is located near Philadelphia (60 miles) and within an easy drive of New York City, Baltimore and Washington, DC. Write to me. I will enjoy learning of your achievements and events -- and so will our readers! Contact mariashinestewart@gmail.com Put Sun Messages in the subject line for quickest response. Read more from the Sun Messenger. Chennai : DMK on Saturday deferred its December 20 general council meeting where party treasurer M K Stalin was expected to be elevated as working president. Stalins elevation is on the cards as both party chief M Karunanidhi and veteran leader K Anbazhagan, who is also the party General Secretary, have not been keeping well lately. The general council meeting was postponed in view of the hospitalisation of Karunanidhi, Anbazhagan said. In a release, he said a new date for the general council meeting will be announced later. Another DMK headquarters release said Karunanidhi will be in the hospital for some more days to undergo treatment. The party asked party cadres and friends to avoid visiting him and cooperate. The party had made a similar appeal when Karunanidhi was admitted to the hospital for drug-induced allergy in October. The party also quoted Kauvery Hospitals health bulletin yesterday which said Karunanidhi was stable having undergone the tracheostomy procedure. Although generally active, 92-year-old Karunanidhi was not keeping well in the recent past and he did not campaign in the November bypolls in Tamil Nadu though he hit the campaign trail for the May 2016 Assembly election. In the run up to the Assembly polls this year, the nonagenarian leader had said that he would be the chief minister if his party won the May 16 assembly election and his son M K Stalin has to wait till nature does something to me. In October, he however gave ample indication that Stalin was on his way to become the party chief. From his prison days (during emergency, 1975-77) where he faced a lot of hardships, he has worked very hard and elevated himself systematically to the position of future president of DMK, he had said. Also, Stalins supporters, for the past few years, have been impressing upon the party leadership to pass on the baton to their leader. Stalin is the leader of opposition in the Assembly and party Treasurer. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. 17 Aug Though he is signed with VIVA Artists Agency, Santino Rosales recently dismissed the idea that he is following his dad Jericho Rosales' path in becoming an actor. As reported on Push, the teen model who spoke to the media recently, stated that his focus in joining VAA was to focus on modelling, hosting and endorsements, not acting. "I don't have the passion for it and I was always taught growing up that for everything I do I have to have a passion for it. And I think I cannot give the best of my ability on that path so that's why I don't want to join showbiz," he said. Asked how he developed a passion in modelling, the son of model Kai Palomares said, "I grew up doing ramp so I learned to love it." "What I love about fashion is that it's living art and everyone around you, you tend to find inspiration from. And when you're exposed to this, it's just a beautiful culture to be in. That's why I fell in love with it and I continue to be passionate," he said, adding that his goal is to be one of the top models in the Philippines. (Photo Source: Santino Rosales Instagram) The Fauquier Times is honored to serve as your community companion. To say thank you, we are excited to offer 4 weeks FREE Digital & Print access to all subscribers new and returning alike. We are dedicated to continuing providing reliable, high quality journalism. This is possible with the trust and support of our subscribers in the community we are proud to serve. The Blue Star Preparatory School at Akrofufu in the Atiwa West District of the Eastern Region, has organized a School Management Committee (SMC) meeting with a call on parents to set good examples for the youth to emulate. Mr. Edward Kwadwo Fordwour, proprietor of the school who was addressing the meeting at Akrofufu near Kwabeng stated that the youth must be given moral training that will imbue them with the right values that will teach them the fear of the Lord, and help them to distinguish between good and bad. The SMC, which initiates the managerial policies of the school deliberated on future enrollment, additional infrastructure, and school measures to contain COVID-19. The proprietor told the meeting that failure for parents to invest appropriately in their children would lead to a very bleak future, adding: Our youth require holistic investment to ensure the transformation that will, in turn, ensure a better future. The youth are the future of our nation, hence, investing in them would mean investing in the future of the nation, he said. He noted that school fees were the main source of income for private schools in the country and urged parents to promptly pay their childrens fees. If parents refuse to settle for their childrens fees it becomes difficult for the school to employ qualified teachers, construct decent structures and provide school buses for the children, the proprietor stressed. He appealed to the government to extend the School Feeding Programme to private learning institutions to enable them to contribute their quota to educate Ghanaians. Mr Fordwour was optimistic that the Directorate of the Ghana Education Service would assist private schools in their fields of operations, to enable their schools to keep abreast with the latest guidelines. He also appealed to the Big Establishments including VALCO, GACEM, Financial Institutions and others, to endeavour to consider approving their applications for assistance in respect of school buses, cement, loans and others. 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 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Amelie Bottollier-Depois (Agence France-Presse) Paris Mon, August 17, 2020 22:09 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e9ae30 2 Environment climate-change,epidemic,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free Long-dormant viruses brought back to life; the resurgence of deadly and disfiguring smallpox; a dengue or zika "season" in Europe. These could be disaster movie storylines, but they are also serious and increasingly plausible scenarios of epidemics unleashed by global warming, scientists say. The COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the globe and claimed over 760,000 lives so far almost certainly came from a wild bat, highlighting the danger of humanity's constant encroachment on the planet's dwindling wild spaces. But the expanding ecological footprint of our species could trigger epidemics in other ways too. Climate change -- already wreaking havoc with one degree Celsius of warming -- is also emerging as a driver of infectious disease, whether by expanding the footprint of malaria- and dengue-carrying mosquitos, or defrosting prehistoric pathogens from the Siberian permafrost. 'Ignorance is our enemy' "In my darkest moments, I see a really horrible future for Homo sapiens because we are an animal, and when we extend our borders things will happen to us," said Birgitta Evengard, a researcher in clinical microbiology at Umea University in Sweden. "Our biggest enemy is our own ignorance," she added. "Nature is full of microorganisms." Think of permafrost, a climate change time bomb spread across Russia, Canada and Alaska that contains three times the carbon that has been emitted since the start of industrialization. Even if humanity manages to cap global warming at under two degrees Celsius, the cornerstone goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement, the permafrost area will decrease by a quarter by 2100, according to the UN's climate science panel, the IPCC. And then there are the permafrost's hidden treasures. "Microorganisms can survive in frozen space for a long, long time," said Vladimir Romanovsky, a professor of geophysics at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. An Anthrax comeback? As ground thaws, once-frozen soil particles, organic material and microorganisms that had been locked away for millennia are carried toward the surface by water flows, he explained. "That's how thawing can spread these microorganisms into present day environments." There are already examples of ancient, long-frozen bugs coming to life. "When you put a seed into soil that is then frozen for thousands of years, nothing happens," said Jean-Michel Claverie, an emeritus professor of genomics at the School of Medicine of Aix-Marseille University in France. "But when you warm the earth, the seed will be able to germinate," he added. "That is similar to what happens with a virus." Claverie's lab has successfully revived Siberian viruses that are at least 30,000 years old. These reanimated bugs only attack amoebas, but tens of thousands of years ago there were certainly others that aimed higher up the food chain. "Neanderthals, mammoths, woolly rhinos all got sick, and many died," said Claverie. "Some of the viruses that caused their sicknesses are probably still in the soil." The number of bacteria and viruses lurking in the permafrost is incalculable, but the more important question is how dangerous they are. And here, scientists disagree. "Anthrax shows that bacteria can be resting in permafrost for hundreds of years and be revived," said Evengard. In 2016, a child in Siberia died from the disease, which had disappeared from the region at least 75 years earlier. Read also: Fight climate change like coronavirus: UN Two-million-year-old pathogens This case has been attributed to the thawing of a long-buried carcass, but some experts counter that the animal remains in question may have been in shallow dirt and thus subject to periodic thawing. Other pathogens -- such as smallpox or the influenza strain that killed tens of millions in 1917 and 1918 -- may also be present in the sub-Arctic region. But they "have probably been inactivated", Romanovsky concluded in a study published earlier this year. For Claverie, however, the return of smallpox -- officially declared eradicated 50 years ago -- cannot be excluded. 18th- and 19th-century victims of the disease "buried in cemeteries in Siberia are totally preserved by the cold," he noted. In the unlikely event of a local epidemic, a vaccine is available. The real danger, he added, lies in deeper strata where unknown pathogens that have not seen daylight for two million years or more may be exposed by global warming. If there were no hosts for the bugs to infect there would not be a problem, but climate change -- indirectly -- has intervened here as well. "With the industrial exploitation of the Arctic, all the risk factors are there -- pathogens and the people to carry them," Claverie said. The revival of ancient bacteria or viruses remains speculative, but climate change has already boosted the spread of diseases that kill about half a million people every year: malaria, dengue, chikungunya, zika. "Mosquitoes moving their range north are now able to overwinter in some temperate regions," said Jeanne Fair, deputy group leader for biosecurity and public health at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. "They also have longer breeding periods." 'Climate change aperitif' Native to southeast Asia, the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) -- which carries dengue and chikungunya -- arrived in southern Europe in the first decade of this century and has been moving rapidly north ever since, to Paris and beyond. Meanwhile, another dengue-bearing mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has also appeared in Europe. Whichever species may be the culprit, the Europe Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has registered 40 cases of local transmission of dengue between 2010 and 2019. "An increase in mean temperature could result in seasonal dengue transmission in southern Europe if A. aegypti infected with virus were to be established," according to the Europe Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. As for malaria -- a disease that once blighted southern Europe and the southern United States and for which an effective treatment exists -- the risk of exposure depends in large part on social-economic conditions. More than five billion people could be living in malaria-affected regions by 2050 if climate change continues unabated, but strong economic growth and social development could reduce that number to less than two billion, according to a study cited by the IPCC. "Recent experience in southern Europe demonstrates how rapidly the disease may reappear if health services falter," the IPCC said in 2013, alluding to a resurgence of cases in Greece in 2008. In Africa -- which saw 228 million cases of malaria in 2018, 94 percent of the world's total -- the disease vector is moving into new regions, notably the high-altitude plains of Ethiopia and Kenya. For the moment, the signals for communicable tropical diseases "are worrying in terms of expanding vectors, not necessarily transmission," said Cyril Caminade, an epidemiologist working on climate change at the Institute of Infection and Global Health at the University of Liverpool. "That said, we're only tasting the aperitif of climate change so far," he added. Every Tory MP, councillor and member has been urged to sign up to the Great British September Clean. The partys co-chairman, Amanda Milling, has written to her 363 fellow MPs, more than 8,000 councillors and 180,000 members asking them to join the fight. The party has also created a pledge card that those who back the scheme can share online. The Mail and Keep Britain Tidy are encouraging businesses and the public to help pick up litter between September 11 and September 27. Amanda Milling, co-chairman of the Conservatives, has backed the campaign (pictured centre with MP Scott Benton, far left, and other Blackpool council staff and volunteers) So far, the Prime Minister, leaders of the main parties in Westminster, big companies, and conservation groups have thrown their weight behind the campaign. Yesterday, Miss Milling pledged her own support and vowed to take part in a socially-distanced litter pick in September. She said: The Great British September Clean is a brilliant initiative that will improve the environment and our local communities. Today Im calling on the Conservative family to sign up to this fantastic campaign and get out in their communities and pick up litter. We all have a responsibility to clean up our country. The Conservative Party has a strong track record in tackling waste and protecting our environment for future generations. Miss Milling made the pledge as she took part in a litter pick on Blackpool beach, which saw a build-up of rubbish over lockdown. The MP for Cannock Chase was joined by local MP Scott Benton and activists who regularly hold litter picks in the area. Her letter will say: The greatest part of my job is getting to represent my communities in Cannock Chase, and as a Conservative member I know that, like me, you will also take pride in supporting and improving where you live. In government, we have a proud history of tackling waste and protecting our environment for future generations, and this is your opportunity to directly support our work. We all have a responsibility to play our part, so I hope you will join me in supporting this campaign and keeping our beautiful country clean. Amanda, pictured preparing to litterpick on Blackpool beach, said she would write to her 363 fellow Conservative MPs to ask them to back the scheme The pledge card will say: I pledge to do a litter pick so we can all enjoy our local spaces. It will also have the supporters name on it. Miss Milling is co-chairman of the party with Ben Elliot, the nephew of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and the Governments food waste tsar. The Great British September Clean is encouraging everyone to hit the streets, parks and beaches to pick up litter. It is already backed by the National Trust the Woodland Trust and The Post Office. Carers and thousands of furloughed workers have also signed up, as well as some of Britains top companies. Princess Anne has also backed the cause, speaking of her irritation with fly tippers and urging people to take responsibility for their waste. The project leader earlier this month reported suspected wiretapping after a tip from a source and three holes he discovered, drilled into his apartment's ceiling. RFE/RL's Skhemy [Schemes] investigative project chief Mykhailo Tkach says the car journalists have been using to film reports was burned down in Kyiv overnight Monday. "More bad news. The car which we had been driving to shoot our reports you have all seen has been burned down. The latest piece we worked on with an important member of our crew, driver Borys Mazur on a Kia Cerato, was "Kings of the Roads:". It has already gathered almost 700,000 views on YouTube. During the filming and in the report itself, I repeatedly emphasized the fact that our car and we were monitored by the President's security UDO. The car had been parked overnight by the driver's house," Tkach wrote on Facebook. Another journalist with the project, Natalia Sedletska, recalled that about a year ago, ex-deputy head of the disgraced ex-president Viktor Yanukovych's Administration, Andriy Portnov, made public personal data of all Skhemy drivers -- their passports, car plates, and addresses, as well as threatened the team. "The National Police even have a criminal case into this matter, which, however, never developed anywhere. And last Friday, Portnov once again posted this: 'Marginal Radio Liberty, I continue the package of educational measures.' But we shouldn't limit ourselves to this version only. This car is very well known among a wide circle of persons targeted in our reports. This car was essentially our working tool. We used it to film a large number of journalistic investigations. Therefore, one thing is clear to me: the arson is precisely due to our professional journalistic activity, which some don't like a lot," the journalist noted. "Wiretapping, car arson, what's next?" Mykhailo Tkach wrote on Facebook. Earlier this month, Mykhailo Tkach had been tipped by a source about law enforcers' plans to wiretap the journalist's home in Kyiv that he shares with a colleague from another media outlet. On August 7, Tkach discovered a tiny hole drilled through his apartment ceiling and called the police. The CIS team found a total of three openings freshly drilled from the attic above the apartment. No surveillance equipment has been found. Read alsoZelensky "concerned and upset" over torching of anti-graft activist's home (Photo)Skhemy investigations In their recent report, journalists showed how President Volodymyr Zelensky's motorcade violated traffic rules. Besides speeding, the vehicles crossed double solid lines and made prohibited turns, endangering other motorists. Reporters claimed violations had been recorded as the president was being driven in private matters or heading home. The President's Office has commented on the report: "Undoubtedly, there are no systematic violations of traffic rules. This is an exclusively speculative interpretation of events." CAMBRIDGE For the first time in six months, Ying Jiang was back in the halls of Cambridge Memorial Hospital on Monday. Hes not a patient, and he isnt a staff member either. Jiang is one of 450 volunteers that, in a pre-pandemic world, played a crucial role in helping the hospital run as smoothly as possible. When the pandemic hit in March, the hospital asked them all to stay home. He was Cambridge Memorials first volunteer to come back to the hospital on Monday, with close to 40 scheduled to return for a shift over the next two weeks. It was exciting to be back, said Jiang, who regularly works as a music volunteer, playing classical guitar for staff and patients. He is currently helping with patient registration but has been given the green light to bring his guitar to his next shift on Wednesday. With music, Ive always thought its a great tool to make peoples lives better, he said. And I just thought, Wait a minute, a hospital can use this service. Hospital volunteers carry out many roles, working as ambassadors to help direct patients and visitors, or lending a hand to staff in a variety of departments. Volunteers offer that friendly face to the patients when they arrive. Quite often, its the first face that they see, said volunteer services manager Linda Rodrigues. Its a person that has nothing at stake except to be helpful and friendly, and they just bring an ease to the hospital. In the emergency room, for example, volunteers would regularly walk the room, ensuring patients are comfortable and know they are not forgotten. In the absence of volunteers, those roles have been filled by staff, who already have their hands full with a long list of new COVID-19 protocols. Losing the volunteers in March was devastating for staff, it was devastating for the volunteers, and of course it impacts our patient experience, Rodrigues said. The hospital has gradually been increasing the roles for volunteers. They have been working in The Recovery Room, a small thrift shop in downtown Galt, since June. Volunteers have also been helping with the Breastfeeding Buddies initiative, providing virtual support to new moms as they learn how to breastfeed their babies. Meanwhile, Rodrigues has been developing a three-phase system to allow volunteers to return to the hospital. In Phase 1, which started Monday, all interactions between volunteers and visitors happen behind Plexiglas or by phone call. About 40 volunteers will help out, mainly with patient registration and visitor guidance. Phase 2 will see a move away from the Plexiglas barriers, allowing volunteers to interact with visitors and patients while wearing a mask and keeping two metres apart. In Phase 3, volunteers will still wear masks but wont have to maintain the physical distancing. Theres no set timeline for those phases. These safety standards are higher than those being followed by staff, Rodrigues said, ensuring volunteers can feel as safe as possible when they return. Before they can return in hospital, volunteers must have training on safety standards, learn infectious control best practices and understand how to wear personal protective equipment properly. Their first shift also includes a revamped tutorial on all COVID-19 protocols. I was very comfortable being back, said Jiang. Once I found out the service was resuming, I took the first opportunity. Theres a lot of information they provide, and we go through the same screening staff go through to ensure we are safe to enter. Volunteer recruiting now includes questions about the health of the applicant, as well as any anxieties their family members might have about them spending time in a hospital. Before the pandemic, about half of volunteers were recent retirees, with students and active seniors making up the rest. Some volunteers balance their shifts with work a situation Rodrigues hopes will become easier with more businesses allowing their employees to work from home. Recruitment is a priority right now. Some former volunteers have already indicated they arent comfortable or ready to return, Rodrigues said. She is interviewing for a variety of positions and interested candidates can learn more on the Cambridge Memorial website. If your heart is in sharing and caring for your community, then volunteering is a great way to do it, said Jiang. Stoke City have signed former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi. The former Nigeria captain, 33, was a free agent having left Turkish side Trabzonspor by mutual consent in March. Mikel made 249 Premier League appearances for Chelsea in an 11-year spell, which ended when he left Stamford Bridge in 2017. He won the Champions League and Europa League, two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and the League Cup during his time with the London club. After leaving Chelsea he joined Chinese side Tianjin TEDA and had a brief spell at Middlesbrough in 2019. Stoke boss Michael ONeill said: I was really impressed with him when we met for the first time and he outlined what he wants from the next phase of his career. We spent four hours talking and he made it clear he wants to get back into the Premier League and finish his career there and hopefully he can do that with Stoke City. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Kabul, Aug 17 : Three Afghan officials were sacked for negligence over an assassination of a policewoman in Kunduz province, it was reported. On August 13, police officer Chini Gul was shot dead by Taliban militants in front of her residence in Kunduz city's Police District 3 area, reports Xinhua news agency. "Under the instruction of the Kunduz Governor, two police officers, Abdul Sattar and Sayed Mansour Hashemi were fired, as well as a district intelligence chief who remained incompetent, despite being informed by the slain female policewoman about the militants' threat," provincial spokesman Usmatullah Muradi told Xinhua. The former officials were also referred to the justice office for more investigation, the spokesman added. The provincial officials regarded the killing as a targeted attack by the Taliban. Civilians considered to be supporting the government, civilian government employees, religious leaders, tribal elders and persons involved in peace and reconciliation efforts have come under attacks in targeted killings over the past years. On August 14, Fawzia Koofi, a female member of a 21-member peace negotiating team and a former parliamentarian, received a gunshot wound on her arm her vehicle came under attack in Shamali, a locality on the outskirts of Kabul. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday halted nursing home visits as both confirmed cases and deaths from the new coronavirus continue to surge. Justice said at a news conference that there are virus outbreaks currently at 28 nursing homes statewide. Our nursing home situation is bad, Justice said at a news conference. Thats why weve got to do something with our nursing homes today. Justice stopped nursing home visits in March and let them resume in mid-June. But the number of virus-related deaths in West Virginia has jumped 23% since Friday, pushing the total for the pandemic to at least 153. Multiple deaths have been reported this month at the Princeton Health Care Center nursing home in Mercer County. Statistics show 26 of the 29 deaths reported statewide since Friday have involved people over age 70. Justice has said repeatedly the virus could be especially damaging in West Virginia because of the states high elderly population and high percentage of people with existing health problems. Justice said earlier this week he plans to have all residents and staff at nursing homes retested for the virus. The state of 1.8 million residents has seen a smaller amount of cases and deaths compared to other places since the outbreak began. States across this nation would give anything to have these numbers, Justice said. However, weve lost 153 great people. And if we can prevent the 154th one, we should try with all in us to do just that. Confirmed cases in West Virginia have tripled in the past seven weeks, surpassing the 8,000 mark total on Wednesday, while the numbers of deaths over that period have shot up 66%. But to put things in a national perspective: Florida reported more than 8,109 new cases for Wednesday alone. West Virginia health officials have blamed the recent surge in part on out-of-state vacation trips, in particular to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a popular destination for West Virginians. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up within weeks. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal. The vast majority of people recover. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics COVID-19 Virginia Delhi Assemblys Peace and Harmony Committee will send summons to Facebook officials including its India executive Ankhi Das following complaints of not acting against hateful content. Summons set to be sent for the appearance of the concerned officials of Facebook including Ankhi Das. The Committee will convene its meeting this week to initiate the proceedings, the committee said according to ANI. The committee has received multiple complaints addressed to its chairman Raghav Chadha against the officials of Facebook for their alleged deliberate and intentional inaction to contain hateful content in India, it said. Meanwhile, Facebooks Director, Public Policy, India, South and Central Asia, Ankhi Das has filed a complaint with Delhi Police, alleging that she has been receiving violent threats to her life, officials said on Monday. In her complaint on Sunday, Das alleged that several people were issuing threats, making sexually coloured remarks and defaming her through online posts. Over the weekend, Facebook has come under attack from the BJP and the Congress. While BJP accused the social media platform of censoring nationalist voices, opposition Congress cited a Wall Street Journal report that alleged that Facebooks content policies favour the BJP. Description GIS 17 August 2020: All Southern African Development Community (SADC) members are to continue to work together not only in addressing the Covid-19 impacts but also in preparing the post-pandemic situation of our community, which would be a nobler way to celebrate SADC Day. This was the gist of the message of the President of the United Republic of Tanzania and SADC Chairperson, Dr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, on the occasion of the SADC Day 2020, celebrated on 17 August. In his message to all Member States, he recalled that SADC has come a long way since its inception in 1980. Over the past four decades, he added, the organisation has recorded some important milestones in different areas of cooperation, namely peace and security, infrastructure and development, trade and industry, agriculture and food security, health, education, gender and youth empowerment. The new 30-year vision adopted by SADC, he stated, will provide a strategic direction for the region until 2050 and outline a phased approach to the implementation of regional programmes and activities, thereby facilitating its integration agenda. The Chairperson also paid tribute to all SADC Member States for taking appropriate measures to combat this disease. The combined efforts of all Members, he said, has been instrumental in reducing the impact caused by the pandemic. A row has broken out over plans to build a massive Asda superstore and petrol station in Newtownabbey. (Rui Vieira/PA) A row has broken out over plans to build a massive Asda superstore and petrol station in Newtownabbey. The supermarket chain is planning a 40,000 sq ft store at Monkstown industrial estate on the Doagh Road in the borough. Antrim and Newtownabbey council's planning committee is due to make a decision on the application at a meeting today. Asda said the project will benefit the community. But yesterday Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts said the Asda plan should be ditched. He said: "Retail NI is of the view that this out-of-town superstore application is in clear breach of the current Town Centre First Retail Planning Policy and we are concerned it may be granted for short-term reasons to bring Asda to Newtownabbey. "Planning policy must be the only criteria." Calling on the council to bin the Asda plan, Mr Roberts said superstores "destroy" small local retail businesses, and do little to benefit the local communities in which they are sited. "Retail NI would urge Antrim and Newtownabbey Council to adhere to planning policy and not undermine and prejudice their Local Development Plan, by refusing this application," he added. "As we have seen before with countless other out-of-town superstores, applications like these always destroy and displace existing town centre retail jobs. "Newtownabbey has a distinctive retail environment with a significant number of local neighbourhood retailers who are the lifeblood of the community. "These facilities will be jeopardised, and job losses will occur if permission is granted." An Asda spokeswoman said yesterday the superstore plan would bring new jobs and better shopping value to the area. She added: "We are currently at an advanced stage with our planning application for a new 40,000 sq ft Asda store at the Monkstown Industrial Estate in Newtownabbey. "Our long-running engagement with the local community has been extremely positive and we hope to bring this major investment to the area, creating new jobs and bringing Asda value to consumers in the local area. "We will continue to engage fully in the planning process and look forward to this reaching a conclusion in due course." The pandemic has disrupted businesses across India, with a widespread impact on lives and livelihoods. Consumers have cut down on spending in many areas, and the collateral damage can be seen everywhere- in stores that are going out of business, or the disappearing of trades that relied entirely on "normal" life. Street food vendors, tea shops, local florists, cobblers and others who were so integral to our daily lives are now scarce and missing from our daily routine. While organized corporate entities have felt the impact of this disruption, the effect on the common retailer is far more devastating. The cascading effects of reduced commerce on small businesses and stores can only be imagined. In this context, is there another way, a deeply emotional way, that we can connect with everyone in the country, not just as consumers but as people, and get them to move the wheels of commerce, and through that action, help millions of people whose lives depend on that commerce? Titan Company Limited has launched a novel industry collective, #LetsGetIndiaTicking, a movement urging individuals to kick-start the wheel of the economy. The campaign launches with a film that is symbolic of the interconnectedness of the economy, and how every cog needs to be set in motion to get the economy back on track. The film is a nudge to get people to continue some of their past behaviours in the new normal, within the ambit of safety. The film opens with a little girl and her mother entering a showroom, perhaps for the first time after the lockdown, where she chooses a watch for herself as her birthday gift. The film goes on to show how this one purchase has a cascading effect on the lives of others. The film unfolds the symphony of the economy, the sights and sounds of an economy getting back in motion. Commenting on the campaign, Ms. Suparna Mitra, Chief Executive Officer, Watches and Wearables Division, at Titan Company Limited said, Many economists have spoken of the need to revive the demand side of the economy. This is where we felt our vast repertoire of experience in brand communications can serve a larger purpose. The thought that struck us was - can we do something to encourage each and every individual to do their bit to get the economy out of its slumber. #LetsGetIndiaTicking is the germination of that seed of an idea, which we hope transpires into a movement and a clarion call to revive livelihoods and the economy. Lowe Lintas Bangalore has orchestrated this film, a heartfelt message that speaks directly to consumers whose regular economic transactions have come to a near-standstill in the current environment. Commenting on the campaign, Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group, said: The intricate connections between moving parts make for an extremely evocative symbolism between the countrys top watch brand and the economy. Our Bangalore team was quick to both discover this link and weave it delightfully in with Titans iconic signature music, to create what can only be described as a symphony of idea and inspiration. As the nationwide #Unlockdown initiated by the government rekindles economic activity, the campaign comes as a beacon of hope and positivity for all. The film itself is category agnostic, allowing for partnerships with multiple like-minded individuals and organizations. Titan Company has reached out to multiple industry partners to get this movement to an inflection point. Titan also welcomes other like-minded individuals and organisations to join the #LetsGetIndiaTicking movement on www.letsgetindiaticking.com or write to letsgetindiaticking@titan.co.in to take the pledge to get India ticking. This pledge asks people restart any economic transaction and also carry the movement forward by nominating others to do their bit by making any purchase, however small. The present situation has been challenging, and #LetsGetIndiaTicking is a movement to build on the resilience that arises from facing challenging situations. The #LetsGetIndiaTicking movement will run on Titan Companys offline and online channels. WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump has retweeted an audio recording that U.S. intelligence officials have described as being part of a Russian campaign to denigrate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The leaked conversation, purportedly between Biden and former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, dates from Feb. 18, 2016. The excerpt of it retweeted by Trump centers on the ouster of Ukraine's chief prosecutor, who had previously investigated the owner of a Ukraine energy company where Biden's son, Hunter, once held a board seat. By amplifying the recording to his more than 85 million Twitter followers, Trump underscored the ease with which pro-Russian narratives can seep into American public discourse ahead of the 2020 election even after being flagged by intelligence officials as the product of a concerted Russian effort. Russia has also published disinformation under the guise of legitimate news stories, U.S. officials say, reflecting something of a shift in tactics from 2016, when Russia relied on a social media campaign to sow discord and orchestrated the release of stolen Democratic emails to boost Trump's candidacy. The White House did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Monday. But the Biden campaign accused Trump of having "habitually attacked the sovereignty of American elections," including by "attempting to coerce his Ukrainian counterpart into spreading conclusively-disproved lies." That is a reference to a July 2019 phone call in which Trump encouraged his Ukraine counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to investigate unsubstantiated corruption allegations against Biden and his son. The call was at the center of the impeachment case against Trump that ended with his acquittal by the Senate in February. "Donald Trump is the most hostile president to American democracy in our history," Biden campaign spokesman Andrew Bates said in the statement. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, in Washington. Trump is en route to Minnesota and Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Andrii Derkach, a member of Ukraine's parliament and a 1993 graduate of a Russian spy academy who long has aired corruption allegations against Biden and his son, released this year what he says are recordings of conversation between Poroshenko and Biden when Biden was vice president during the Obama administration. That effort was flagged in a U.S. intelligence assessment earlier this month that warned of Russian interference in the upcoming election, and specifically efforts to denigrate Biden. "For example, pro-Russia Ukrainian parliamentarian Andriy Derkach is spreading claims about corruption - including through publicizing leaked phone calls - to undermine former Vice President Bidens candidacy and the Democratic Party," said the statement from William Evanina, the U.S. government's chief counterintelligence official. In the conversation retweeted Sunday night by Trump, Poroshenko can be heard telling Biden that he had accepted the resignation of prosecutor Viktor Shokin "despite of the fact that we didn't have any corruption charges, we don't have any information about him doing something wrong." The Twitter user whom Trump retweeted posted that the leaked conversation revealed that "Shokin was not corrupt" and that there was no information to suggest he had done anything wrong, or that he had lost the support of powerful figures in Ukraine. An anti-Biden narrative pushed by Trump and his supporters alleges that Biden, as vice president, pressured Ukraine's government to fire Shokin because Shokin had led an investigation into Burisma, where Hunter Biden had a paid board seat. But Biden's position on Shokin, who was seen by critics as soft on corruption, reflected the broader position of the U.S. government and was also supported by other Western governments and many in Ukraine. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by the Bidens, and Hunter Biden has denied using his influence with his father to aid Burisma. A White House summary of the conversation available online does show that Biden and Poroshenko spoke on Feb. 18, 2016. But Poroshenko has generally rejected the tapes disclosed by Derkach as a fabrication by pro-Russian forces in Ukraine. ___ Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Eric Tucker on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/etuckerAP New Delhi, Aug 17 : The UK government on Monday launched a 3 million pounds (approximately Rs 29.4 crore) innovation challenge fund to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle Covid-19 and the threat to our environment. The initiative builds on the Indian and British Prime Ministers' commitment to bring together the best minds from both countries under the UK-India Tech Partnership, to deliver high-skilled jobs and economic growth as well as to collaborate on some of the world's biggest challenges. The Indian and British Prime Ministers announced the formal creation of the UK-India Tech Partnership in April 2018. "This fund aims to get behind the innovation heroes, whether they are working to battle the virus or the even greater looming global threat: climate change," Karen McLuskie, Head, UK-India Tech Partnership, British High Commission, said in a statement. "We are proud to work with India, as twin world leaders in the development and adoption of emerging tech for the benefit of all." These grants are part of a wider initiative under the Tech Partnership known as "Tech Clusters" The 3-million pounds fund invites tech innovators with connections to the Artificial Intelligence-Data cluster in Karnataka and the Future Mobility cluster in Maharashtra to submit research and development proposals for tackling Covid-19 or which promote a greener planet. At least 12 grants up to 250,000 pounds are expected to be awarded, said the British High Commission, New Delhi. Applicants are required to submit bids as an academia-industry consortium, ideally with an international member. The deadline for submitting two-page concept notes is August 31. "The UK and India have a strong history of research and innovation. Both Covid-19 and climate change demonstrate that the most urgent challenges are global," said Philip Barton, High Commissioner to India. "Never has there been a greater need for academia, business and government to accelerate innovation, and for nations to collaborate to save lives and build a better future," Barton added. A South Texas woman warned others not to take COVID-19 lightly after losing four family members to the deadly virus. Kassandra Falcon told KIII, a television station in Corpus Christi, that her uncle, great-grandmother, and two aunts died of the coronavirus in a two-week span. The family buried Falcon's two aunts and great-grandmother on the same day. Her uncle died on Thursday. Falcon told the station that relatives returning from a Las Vegas vacation didn't think social distancing from her grandmother was necessary. She later contracted the disease and was hospitalized. According to the report, Falcon's two aunts and uncle eventually contracted the disease again through a lack of concern for the virus. "I do see a lot of people not wearing their masks because they're not taking it seriously," Falcon said. "They don't understand. It hasn't affected them, yet, but it can affect them pretty soon. So I encourage you all to please wear your masks and please wash y'alls hands." Nueces County has been hit hard by the pandemic. Officials reported 166 new cases and eight new deaths Sunday, bringing the totals to 16,625 cases and 287 deaths. Parliament has by a resolution approved a request by government for tax waiver amounting to GH174,696,712 for health workers as part of measures in the fight against Coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The amount include GH168,982,295 on personal emoluments for all health workers and GH5,713,787 as additional allowances for frontline health workers in the COVID-19 fight. The package for frontline health workers covers the months of April, May and June 2020. According to government, the tax incentive is designed as a token compensation to encourage healthcare workers, especially frontline health personnel to continue to make sacrifices in caring for those infected with the virus and the sick in general. The tax incentives cover health workers in government health facilities, quasi-government and private health facilities across the country. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in one of his national addresses on the COVID-19 situation in the country and steps taken by government to address same, announced the package for persons in the health care delivery chain. After months of dilemma of who qualifies to be called a frontline health worker, the Deputy Health Minister, Dr Bernard Oko Boye told Parliament on July 20, 2020 that the frontliners have been identified. The definition for frontline workers, as agreed on with all relevant stakeholders, is any health worker who has been involved in the management of a confirmed case of COVID-19, Dr Boye told the House. These category of workers, the report said face considerable mental stress in line of duty hence the need for the package. It is often forgotten that as humans, they feel sorrow of loss when their patients succumb to the virus. They too have families, and will naturally be fearful that the virus might reach those they love most, the report, signed by Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, Chairman of the Finance Committee and MP, New Juaben said. Supporting the motion, Ho Central MP, Benjamin Kpodo, called for the bringing of more health workers into the bracket. He cited an example where health workers at a facility, who may not qualify as frontline health worker, all had to come together to attend to a confirmed COVID-19 patient. Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, Effiduase/Asokore MP, described the package as a good motivation for health workers and added that such incentive would spur health workers on to give off their best. He commended government for the initiative and urged all health workers to give off their best in appreciation of governments response to their plight. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Zelda Williams, actor and daughter of the late comedian and actor Robin Williams, rebuked Donald Trump's son Eric on Twitter Friday after he shared a video clip of the late comedian cracking jokes about Joe Biden. The tweet features a clip of Williams dubbing the Democratic candidate "rambling Joe Biden" with added accompanying text reading "Robin Williams just savages Joe Biden." In the video, from the 2009 special "Weapons of Self-Destruction," Williams fires away at the politician, saying, "Joe is like your uncle who is on a new drug and hasn't got the dosage right." Zelda Williams responded later that day, quoting the tweet and writing, "While were 'reminiscing' (to further your political agenda), you should look up what he said about your Dad. I did. Promise you, its much more savage. Gentle reminder that the dead cant vote, but the living can." In 2012, the comedy great likened now-President Donald Trump to "a scary man" and "the Wizard of Oz" because of his work as a real estate businessman. Robin Williams also jabbed at Trump over well-publicized comments he made about his daughter Ivanka's appearance. "This is a man who said 'my daughter is hot,'" Williams said. "Even people in Arkansas went 'that's fing wrong. That's just way out of place.'" The exchange comes just days before Zelda Williams announced she'd be taking a break from social media Tuesday on the sixth anniversary of her father's death by suicide, as she has in years past. "It's hard for me on regular, good days to remain the person expected to graciously accept the world's need to share their memories of him and express their condolences for this loss," she wrote. She added that while she understands fans like to express their "boundless continued love for him," at times it "leaves me emotionally buried under a pile of other's memories instead of my own." She followed up the tweet with a number of resources for those who may be suffering from depression. Alyssa Pereira is a culture editor at SFGate. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira All trainings are of a defensive nature. As of today, more than 18,100 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and nearly 4,000 military instructors have been trained by the UK-established Operation ORBITAL mission since 2015. "To date, more than 18,100 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and nearly 4,000 military instructors have been trained by the our mission," the British Embassy in Ukraine said on Facebook on August 17. "Op ORBITAL has deployed over 2,500 British military personnel and 400 courses." Read alsoDef. Ministry reveals opportunities for Ukraine as NATO's Enhanced Opportunities Partner The Embassy says the process has been mutually beneficial with the UK's military learning from the experience of our Ukrainian counterparts. All trainings are of a defensive nature and take place away from the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, it said. Operation ORBITAL in brief "This year marks the third in a row that Frost & Sullivan has honored Radware for its contributions to the Indian WAF and DDoS mitigation market," said Nikhil Taneja, Managing Director India, SAARC & Middle East. "This tremendous achievement comes from the continued faith of our customers in Radware's excellence in innovation, technology, and people." As a cybersecurity leader, Radware has earned customer confidence for its WAF, Bot Management, and DDoS mitigation product lines. Radware's cloud-based or on-premise WAF provides enterprise-grade, uniform protection for any asset, anywhere, with centralized security policies, management, and reporting. The company's Cloud WAF, Bot Manager, Cloud Workload Protection, and Kubernetes WAF solutions offer extensive security capabilities based on behavioral analytics and advanced machine learning algorithms. These enable full protection of every asset and assist organizations as they go through the process of cloud migration. Radware's Bot Manager provides bot management and protection from sophisticated 4th-generation bots across web, mobile, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Additionally, Radware's DefensePro DDoS mitigation solution is a real-time mitigation device that protects organizations against emerging network and application threats. "Frost & Sullivan considers Radware's fully integrated DDoS protection and web application firewalls to be the superior choice for enterprise-grade network security in India," said Rajarshi Dhar, senior industry analyst, ICT. "The company integrates on-premise detection and DDoS mitigation solutions with cloud-based scrubbing services to provide end-to-end protection against multi-vector network and application attacks while reducing the total cost of ownership. Its WAF solutions offer the advanced analytics and security features that enterprises need to fine-tune their security policies and deploy applications at the speed of business." Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents a Company of the Year Award to the organization that demonstrates excellence in terms of growth strategy and implementation in its field. The award recognizes a high degree of innovation with products and technologies, and the resulting leadership in terms of customer value and market penetration. Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry. About Frost & Sullivan For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion. About Radware Radware, is a global leader of cybersecurity and application delivery solutions for physical, cloud, and software-defined data centers. Its award-winning solutions portfolio secures the digital experience by providing infrastructure, application, and corporate IT protection and availability services to enterprises globally. Radware's solutions empower more than 12,500 enterprise and carrier customers worldwide to adapt to market challenges quickly, maintain business continuity, and achieve maximum productivity while keeping costs down. For more information, please visit www.radware.com. Radware encourages you to join our community and follow us on: Facebook, LinkedIn, Radware Blog, Twitter, YouTube, Radware Connect app for iPhone and our security center DDoSWarriors.com that provides a comprehensive analysis on DDoS attack tools, trends and threats. 2020 Radware Ltd. All rights reserved. Any Radware products and solutions mentioned in this press release are protected by trademarks, patents and pending patent applications of Radware in the U.S. and other countries. For more details please see: https://www.radware.com/LegalNotice/. All other trademarks and names are property of their respective owners. Contact: Tarini Singh P: +91-20 6718 9725 E: [email protected] Deborah Szajngarten Radware 201-785-3206 [email protected] Investor Relations: Radware Anat Earon-Heilborn +972 723917548 [email protected] SOURCE Frost & Sullivan Related Links www.frost.com Did anyone notice, in all the tributes to John Hume, how rarely David Trimble was mentioned? Had you known nothing about the period, you could have read many articles without learning that they shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. Indeed much of the coverage in the Irish and foreign press might have made you wonder why Hume had not shared the prize with Gerry Adams. The Irish pan-nationalist tribe from which I come has an inferiority complex that makes many of its members dislike, and some others hate, unionists, who offend them by refusing to embrace Irish culture and welcome a united Ireland. Yet very few of them made or make any effort to get to know and understand unionists. Those of us who have bothered to are denounced as traitors. Becoming a friend of Trimble - whom I came to like and admire for many qualities, including his courage, honesty and decency - put me well beyond the pale. The differences are a lot about style and substance. Irish Catholics want to be liked and so are culturally virtue signallers: Ulster Protestants are not. Hence, all the impertinent guff from IRA killers and their eulogisers about peace, love, respect and all the rest of it. Ulster Protestants, on the other hand, say what they mean and their straight-talking is a quality disliked by my tribe that I came to appreciate and indeed indulge in. John Hume was a virtue-signaller. Paisley, after he had become First Minister, wanted and got adulation by producing the right rhetoric to charm southerners and became popular. Trimble did not. I just revisited some of the press coverage around the time of the Nobel ceremony to remind myself how Trimble was viewed in the Republic in 1998 after he and Hume made their speeches in Oslo. Hume gave his single-transferable lecture about peace, human rights, the EU and Martin Luther King, which went down fine. David Trimble, who in addition to having a passionate interest in European art and music is exceptionally well read in history, politics and philosophy, spoke thoughtfully and intelligently - his argument laced with quotes from, for instance, Edmund Burke, the Israeli writer Amos Oz and the American diplomat and historian George Kennan - of tribal differences, of evil, of the dangers of fanaticism, and the duty of both political traditions to take on their fanatics. Among the memorable passages were: "Ulster Unionists, fearful of being isolated on the island, built a solid house, but it was a cold house for Catholics. "And Northern nationalists, although they had a roof over their heads, seems to us as if they meant to burn the house down." Unlike Hume, who had most of nationalism on his side, David Trimble had a phalanx of unionist enemies and this speech made Paisleyites, Orange hardliners and loyalist extremists who had bitterly opposed the agreement, uneasy and angry. It simultaneously offended many nationalists and drove republican commentators crazy. "What a sad little man David Trimble is," said Tom McGurk, suggesting the speech sounded like "prize day at Portadown Tech." Trimble, who was often accused by the ignorant of bigotry, had taken his main inspiration on the speech from the southern commentator Eoghan Harris. His allies included Sean O'Callaghan, the IRA terrorist turned informer, and he had chosen as his official biographer Dean Godson, an American/British/Israeli intellectual who disapproved of the Agreement and wrote it warts and all. It is probably too much to expect Irish nationalists to rethink their view of Trimble, but a little graciousness would not go amiss. They might, for instance, pay attention to the judgment of US Senator George Mitchell - who presided over the talks that led to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement - at the time the prize was announced: "Without John Hume there would not have been a peace process. Without David Trimble there would not have been a peace agreement." The Ministry for Gender and Social Protection says it is ready to act upon President Akufo-Addo's directive for final year Junior High School students and their teachers currently in school to be served with one hot meal each day until the end of their exit exams in September 2020. The Minister, Cynthia Morrison in a Citi News interview said the exercise will be much easier to undertake because they already have data on all pupils and teachers who are expected to benefit from the intervention. She said the Ministry will engage caterers of the School Feeding Programme to prepare the meals. We have the register of the students and so we have the accurate number of students that we are going to cater for. We also have the accurate number of teachers that we are going to cater for so it makes it easier than the first time we did the food allocationBoth private and public school children writing the BECE are going to benefit and it is the same school feeding caterers who are going to cater for the pupils, she said. She added that teachers in the various schools are going to be integrated to ensure the success of the programme through a feedback form they will be provided with to report to the Ministry on the quality and quantity of food received each day. The headmasters and the teachers will be the first complainants. So we are giving them a form, every food that comes, the will give us the quantity that came and the quality also is stated. President Akufo-Addo announced the directive on Sunday, August 16, 2020, while delivering his 15th national address on Ghanas fight against COVID-19. Hot meal intervention not necessary Meanwhile the Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare believes the intervention is not necessary. He suggests that the decision may only be a token from the president to win electoral votes especially as there has barely been any complaint of hunger from students. The Presidents decision to provide one hot meal a day for JHS 3 students is a good token. We haven't heard of any student complain of hunger, maybe he wants to make a Father-Christmas move. I think that we may have saved a lot of money between March when the schools closed and now from the school feeding program because no one is cooking for anyone. There should be a much better way of using that [saved] funds than cooking for everybody including those who don't need the food, he said. I think it is more of a political issue than an education issueWe are are in a campaign season so Mr. President will like to look good before parents, he added. ---citinewsroom A group who have "illegally set up camp" on lands in north Co Dublin which are being developed into hundreds of new houses have until Wednesday morning to vacate the site. Monobrio DAC, which is developing lands at Baldoyle, Co Dublin and Arkmount Construction Ltd, which is building the housing, brought High Court proceedings after between 10 to 20 caravans illegally entered the site almost a week ago. The two plaintiffs claim the defendants, who the court was told are believed to be members of the Irish Travelling Community, are trespassing on the lands. Late last week the companies secured a temporary injunction requiring the defendants to vacate the lands. However, the defendants have failed to comply with that order. A continued failure could result in contempt of court proceedings being brought against the occupants that could result in their possible committal to prison. The firms, represented by Ross Gorman Bl. claim the defendants and their caravans entered the lands, and had illegally "set up a camp", resulting in rubbish and waste accumulating. The company's security personnel approached the camp site, and asked them to leave. However, the defendants refused to go unless they were paid money, it is alleged. The companies also claim the security staff were verbally threatened when they tried to reinstate fencing allegedly damaged by the defendants when they gained access to the lands. The Gardai were also called, and had twice visited the camp. The occupants, however, remain on the lands. The two companies claim the trespass is interfering with construction work. Permission has been granted to build 550 units on the lands. Arkmount is currently building some 100 houses, which is the first phase of the scheme, which are valued between 18m to 20m. While the section of land they are located on is not in an area where active building is taking place, it is intended to be used as attenuation ponds where storm water and surface water will drain. Three show units are due to be completed by the end of August. The continuation of the trespass has also delayed a planned sales launch where potential buyers were due to look at the completed show houses. When the matter returned before the court on Monday Mr Justice Richard Humphreys was informed by Mr Gorman that despite the order the defendants and their caravans remain on the site. Counsel said the defendants had been made aware of the injunction proceedings. They had been served with the summons, but did not appear in court when the case was called. The judge said he was prepared to continue the orders previously granted by the court and ruled that the defendants must vacate the lands by 11am on Wednesday, August 19 next. The judge also said that allegations of criminality had been made, in sworn statements furnished by the plaintiff, against the defendants. He said that arising out of those allegations the plaintiffs should make formal complaints to the Gardai. The matter will be re-mentioned before the court on Wednesday afternoon. The Supreme Court of India is perfectly justified when it says the judiciary is considered the last hope when a citizen fails to get justice anywhere but its decision to punish one who doubted its ability to deliver justice is problematic. The courts observation on its own role in the democratic scheme of things came on Friday along with its finding that lawyer and activist Prashant Bhushan is guilty of criminal contempt of the court for his two tweets that were critical of it. One of Bhushans tweets suggested that access to justice was denied during lockdown, and he seemingly attributed the reason to the Chief Justice of India (CJI). In another tweet, he held the Supreme Court, and the last four CJIs in particular, responsible for the weakening of democracy in India in the last six years. Those who wonder why a lawyer should hold the judiciary responsible for the denial of access to justice and weakening of democracy may find their answers in the 108-page judgment itself. The Indian judiciary is not only one of pillars on which the Indian democracy stands but is the central pillar, insists the judgment. Is it not then fair that a citizen, who feels the structure of democracy is weakened, holds the institution which arrogates to itself the role of the central pillar, responsible? Isnt he entitled to hold the view that the CJIs, as masters of the roster, have a role in it? The court does not share the view, obviously. One must stand with the court when it says the Supreme Court is a protector of the fundamental rights of the citizens, as also is endowed with a duty to keep the other pillars of democracy i.e. the executive and the legislature, within the constitutional bounds. But has it come to the aid of the people and protected their fundamental rights when it was warranted the most is the moot question. Some of the recent events are not particularly encouraging. We have the SC putting off for months together the hearing on the habeas corpus petitions, a constitutional guarantee against the States unauthorised usurpation of peoples liberties, moved by the people of Jammu and Kashmir. It initially refused to act when its intervention was sought to bring relief to the millions of guest workers who were forced to trek home following a government missive. It is yet to hear petitions against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, which many fear undermined the very idea of India. The highest court shocked many when it put pre-conditions to hear the students of a university who sought protection from governmental action. It will be a far-fetched claim if someone says such acts added to the dignity of the court and strengthened the peoples belief in the system; the contrary could very well be the truth. Believers in democracy could air their desperation publicly; little purpose will be served by shooting the messengers who would scream, the boot is on the other foot, my lords. A Turkish military vehicle was damaged by an explosion during a joint patrol with Russian troops in northwest Syria's Idlib region, but there were no casualties. The RIA Novosti news agency cited Russia's Defense Ministry as saying on August 17 that no Russian soldiers were wounded in the incident, which occurred during a patrol along the strategic M4 highway connecting Syrias east and west. Turkish security officials said there had been an attack that caused material damage but no deaths. The incident came as the Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the conflicts in Syria and Libya with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a telephone call on August 17. Russia and Turkey brokered a cease-fire in Idlib on March 5, following a months-long Russia-backed offensive by Syrian forces that displaced nearly 1 million people and threatened to send a flood of refugees into Turkey. As part of the cease-fire deal, Turkish and Russian troops conduct joint patrols in a buffer zone between rebel fighters and Syrian government forces along a section of the M4 highway. On August 13, Russia said the joint military patrols in Idlib had been suspended over increasing militant attacks in the area. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the attacks by radicals and terrorists prompted the decision to temporarily halt the joint patrol. Based on reporting by Reuters, Interfax, and RIA Novosti Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went to a hospital on Monday for what Japanese media said was a regular health checkup, although the visit generated renewed concerns about his health. Videos of Abe being driven in a car to Keio University Hospital in Tokyo on Monday morning were widely shown on Japanese TV news reports. Public broadcaster NHK TV later showed him leaving the hospital at about 6 p.m. The Prime Ministers Office declined to comment on the hospital visit, saying it was not on his official schedule. Abe has been on a summer break recently, as has much of Japan. A governing party lawmaker, Akira Amari, remarked on television over the weekend that Abe feels guilty about taking time off but needs rest. Abe, 65, has had health concerns before. He stepped down in 2007 during an earlier stint as prime minister, citing health problems. Kyodo News said the visit was part of a regular checkup Abe gets about twice a year. Although Abe sometimes goes to his summer home in the countryside about this time of year, he has stayed in Tokyo amid widespread concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, according to Kyodo. Abe is the longest-serving prime minister in Japanese history. A saying goes, "every inch of the Chinese territory is covered by blood," for the millions of Chinese who died during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. "I decided to join the army and to avenge the Japanese invaders. I was determined to wipe out those Japanese soldiers," said Li Xiuhui, a veteran of the War Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Another veteran Yang Liangping described the battlefield: "The scenes on the battlefield were too horrific to look at...as far as one could see, it was all covered by dead bodies." It all started on September 18, 1931. Japanese troops destroyed a section of a railway in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang. And they blamed China for the move. Then they used it as a pretext to invade and occupy China over the next 14 years. "The anti-Japanese forces, such as the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army, which was led by the Communist Party of China, overcame tremendous hardships. Some battles were fought in the most horrendous conditions," said Fan Lihong, the curator at "9.18" Historical Museum in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. Six years later, gunshots in Beijing at the Lugou Bridge, or the Marco Polo Bridge, marked Japan's full-scale invasion. This made China the first country to be invaded by a fascist state in World War II. And China was the first to fight back. "China managed to tie down hundreds of thousands of Japanese soldiers in Asia while America was invaded at the Pacific, so the most important is China didn't surrender to the Japanese invaders - that's one of the most important contributions to the victory," said Aaron Moore, a Ph.D. lecturer at Manchester University. The first major clash between the two forces was recorded in the Battle of Shanghai. China was battling a stronger enemy. At that time, Japan was far more superior in air power. Although China tried its best to counter Japan's air force, its planes were of inferior quality. The battle lasted three months, and China was at the losing end, with nearly 300,000 soldiers dead. But China's resistance efforts dashed the Japanese plan to take all of China in three months. "Before my grandfather departed for the battle, he told my grandmother that this time, his body might not be seen ever again. He was ready to sacrifice his life," said Qin Qiangmin, grandson of Chinese General Qin Lin, who died during the war. After taking Shanghai, the Japanese soldiers continued to move inland. They captured the Chinese capital of Nanjing under the Nationalist Party in December 1937. The subsequent six weeks of the Nanjing Massacre saw mass murder and rape, killing more than 300,000 Chinese. Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, told us that "The Japanese troops killed my seven relatives. Only my 4-year-old sister and I escaped alive. I shook everyone, but none of them survived." A turning point appeared in the Battle of Wuhan. Around 300,000 Japanese soldiers and over 1 million Chinese forces faced off. After the Battle of Wuhan, the war came into a stage of strategic stalemate. But the cost was huge: about 400,000 Chinese forces died. In December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. The Pacific War broke out. Two years later, China signed the Cairo Declaration with the U.S. and Britain. The document cemented China's status as one of the four Allied Great Powers in the World Anti-Fascist War. On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. The move also marked the end of World War II. When China began its war of resistance, it was up against two-thirds of Japan's land forces and much of its naval and air forces. Over 35 million Chinese soldiers and civilians made the ultimate sacrifice. China has designated September 3 as the country's Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The government says the aim is to commemorate the sacrifices made in the war while avoiding a replay of the catastrophes. Amazon warehouse in Kobern-Gondorf near Koblenz, Germany. Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images Germanys federal cartel office (BKA) has started an investigation into whether Amazon (AMZN) is abusing its market dominance to harm third-party sellers on its platform in Germany. "We are currently investigating whether and how Amazon influences the price-setting of third-party traders on the marketplace," Andreas Mundt, president of the cartel office, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. He told the newspaper that his office had received complaints that Amazon had blocked some sellers at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, alleging that their prices were too high. Amazon must not be a controller of prices, Mundt said. An Amazon spokeswoman said that the companys policies were geared towards ensuring that traders on its site set competitive prices. Amazon selling partners set their own product prices in our store, the spokesperson said. Our systems are designed to take action against price gouging, she said, adding that those who had concerns should contact its support team for its merchants. Germany is Amazons second-biggest global market, after the US, employing some 13,000 permanent staff at its logistics centres. After a separate, seven-month investigation, the German watchdog and Amazon reached an agreement last July that the e-commerce giant would amend its terms of service for third-party sellers. Several thousand workers across six Amazon fulfilment centres in Germany went on strike on 29 June, demanding safer working conditions during the coronavirus pandemic, after some 40 workers had tested positive for the virus. The workers union Verdi demanded that Amazon agree to stronger health protection measures, and said Amazon should have slowed down production targets for workers wearing face masks. With just hours until the deadline Monday to place an issue on the Nov. 3 ballot, The Woodlands Township Board of Directors voted to amend a law enforcement agreement with Montgomery County and decided again not to include incorporation on the ballot for Nov. 3. The turn of events comes nearly four months after the board had voted to not place the question of incorporation on the ballot for voters due to too many financial uncertainties caused by the then nascent COVID-19 pandemic. Because of disagreements about policing services contracts with the county and township, the directors had to meet in an emergency, last minute session to hammer out the new amended law enforcement contract that will now be sent to the county for possible approval. The changes provide stability to the sheriffs deputies who patrol the community, many of whom feared losing their jobs in the event the township residents did decide to become a city. Related: Coronavirus scuttles incorporation plans for The Woodlands On Monday, the board went into a nearly four-hour executive closed session before voting to a revised law enforcement transition contract with Montgomery County as well as tabling and tasking no action on placing the question of incorporation on the Nov. 3 ballot as they had promised in March. According to board Chairman Gordy Bunch, if no action was taken by 5 p.m. Monday, technically the township would have seen its law enforcement services contract would have been nullified. If no agreement had been reached on changes sought by the county, the township board may have needed to put incorporation on the ballot to ensure the community did have policing services after Dec. 31. With the tabling of the agenda item to place incorporation on the ballot, the issue will now likely not be revisited again until the 2022 election. This is absolutely the last thing this board wanted to contemplate today. We are trying to do the best we can, Bunch admitted. It was everyones expectation that we would have had a transition agreement in place by today. That did not occur. The board had their hand forced by the Montgomery County Commissioners Court, which last week voted to rescind the third amendment of law enforcement services transition agreement after disputes between commissioners and Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson and township officials over several details. One was the fate of 84 sheriffs deputies who now patrol the township but were concerned about their job safety if the township did incorporate. Related: Montgomery County rescinds law enforcement transition agreement amendment with Woodlands In January, the township opted to choose a hybrid policing model if citizens did vote to approve becoming a city. That model would see a small, independent police force for the possible new city of The Woodlands as well as some patrolling done by county deputies. As part of Mondays deliberations, township directors made several changes to the proposed third amendment that would provide more reassurances to sheriffs officials in regard to job security if the township incorporates. Related: Woodlands hybrid policing model choice a mix of approaches The new proposal would see 100 percent retention of all current 84 deputies in year one after possible incorporation; a reduction of a maximum of 20 percent of those deputies in year two, or 16 deputies; then a maximum of 30 percent reduction in years three and four. The new proposed deal also gives the county 365 advance notice of reductions so any deputies that may not be retained can seek new positions while still having a job for a year. Bunch said, as he did several times during the hastily called meeting, that there was confusion in the community over the issue and stressed that The Woodlands was going to continue to be policed as it is currently. The new provisions will need to be approved by the Montgomery County Commissioners Court at a future meeting. This will extend law enforcement (services) without incorporation and provides the community four more years to look at what long-term governance they want. This board is committed to not ever reducing our law enforcement services, Bunch said. We will send this to the county and see if it gets approved. jeff.forward@chron.com Saying the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce is different than other chambers, Laura Budd reflected on the role of the organization and meeting the challenges of COVID-19 as she prepares to assume the helm as new executive director starting September 8. Our motto at the chamber is connecting the community with commerce, she said as she discussed her tenure as marketing associate and the future at the chamber, sporting a mask sitting at a picnic table in the back of New Canaan Town Hall on Friday, August 14. I think that makes us unique from other chambers of commerce, that are business to business networking organizations, she said. Budd has worked alongside Tucker Murphy, present executive director , who she called a fabulous partner for eight years. Murphy will be transitioning to the administrative officer for the Town of New Canaan in early September. We feel we are a conduit of information as part of our goal as a liaison and so even though a business may not want to join the chamber, we dont withhold information, because we feel it is important that all of these businesses get all of the information available to them, she added. Budd grew up in Bronxville, N.Y., and graduated from Skidmore College, in Saratoga, N.Y., in 1984, where she majored in American studies. The 18-year resident of New Canaan, came to the chamber with extensive media and marketing experience, Meredith Bach, president of the Board of Directors of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce, said. Budd worked at consumer advertising and media agencies such as, Grey Advertising and in sales and marketing for a business-to-business company. Budd represents New Canaan on the Western Connecticut Tourism Bureau and serves on the Town of New Canaan Parking Commission. We are truly lucky to have Laura continue at the chamber in her new role as Executive Director. It will be a seamless transition and I look forward to supporting her and the chamber as she leads the town and the businesses to success, Bach said. Our number one role has always been to support our member business and help them succeed and we really feel it is our job to clear as many obstacles out for them and advocating on their behalf, Budd said. Covid challenges Closures resulting from the coronavirus pandemic presented challenges, forcing the businesses and the chamber to pivot. In the past five months, we had sit down and re-evaluate what our role was going to be during the COVID crisis, to see what we could do when we had member businesses who literally had to be shut down, she said. How could we help them survive? Murphy and Budd helped the businesses navigate getting money from the Paycheck Protection Program, PPP, established by the Federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act. One of our most vital roles during the pandemic was that we held multiple webinars for our local business community to hear the information that was available to them, and what they needed to do to qualify, and how to apply, and how to get the money that they desperately needed, she said. The webinars were held by Small Business Administration representative Christine Sullivan of Darien. People could learn directly from her, Budd said. The chamber also helped provide Personal Protective Equipment, such as masks, to businesses; updated the status of businesses on the chamber website; and created a new way to sell their goods with Zoom Downtown, where business owners virtually brought residents into the shops to sell their products. Future Budd has plans for the future. The chamber is gearing up for the Sidewalk Sale, which is now planned for Aug. 21-22. She is also hopeful after hearing from New Canaan landlords that some New York City retail stores are considering opening a business in New Canaan. They realized a lot of their customers have moved here, she said. Three police officers, who responded to a 911 call, in Austin Texas got wounded after the suspect who held three family members as hostages including his mother fired back. Police officers responded to a 911 call about a domestic disturbance in Austin, Texas. However, the three police officers who tried to settle the violence peacefully were wounded after the suspect fired back and held three members of his family as hostages. The three people who were held as hostages inside the house include the suspect's mother. Interim Police Chief for the Cedar Park Police Department Mike Harmon confirmed this during a press briefing on Sunday night. According to the officials, the said incident occurred at around 3:00 pm when a man in his 20's kicked down the door of his mother's home. The officials added that the man was acting very angry. When the police officers responded, they were met by gunshots. Police officers tried to return gunfire, but it is no known if they hit the suspect. Harmon said that the suspect barricaded himself using his three relatives that include his mother, a juvenile, and a third member in the family whose age remains unknown. The Interim Police Chief also said that negotiators were in talks with the suspect to come up with a peaceful resolution. Mike Harmon said, "We do have a message for the suspect inside, and please take this to heart. We want to end this peacefully for everybody involved. For the suspect inside, for the hostages that are inside, for the officers that are on the scene, for everybody." He also added that they asked the suspect to listen, come out, and surrender peacefully so the situation can be resolved. It was found that the police officers had responded in the same residence before and said that the suspect has some mental issues, but did not elaborate beyond it. According to a published report in ABC News, the three officers who got wounded were rushed to the nearest hospital in a stable condition. Meanwhile, the suspect remained barricaded. Residents of the town were urged to stay inside their homes as the suspect remained inside the house. Check these out! The Ministry of Public Security was awarded a first-class Military Exploit Order at a ceremony held in Hanoi on August 16. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) Chaired by Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam, the event saw the presence of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, former Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, former President Tran Duc Luong, former PM Nguyen Tan Dung, former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An, permanent member of the Party Central Committees Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong, among others. Speaking at the event, PM Phuc hailed the public security force for fulfilling assigned tasks, making great contributions to the countrys achievements. He expressed profound gratitude to generations of public security officers and soldiers in the process of protecting national independence and freedom, and ensuring social security and order. In any circumstances, the public security force must well protect the Party and State, socialism, national security, social safety and order, helping to safeguard territorial sovereignty, maintaining socio-political stability and creating an environment of peace, security and order for national development. He emphasised the need to ensure the absolute, comprehensive and direct leadership of the Party, the command of the State President and the unified management of the Government on the public secuirty force in any situation. In the immediate future, they must thoroughly prepare for the 7th Party Congress of the Central Public Security Organisation, contributing to the success of the 13th National Party Congress, PM Phuc said, adding that the force has to listen to public opinions and serve as a solid mainstay for people in hard times. It is a must to fight red tape behaviours, create favourable conditions for the public to join the movement All people protect national security, and strengthen peoples security posture in the cause of national construction and defence in the new situation, he said. The Central Public Security Committee, the Ministry of Public Security and public security forces of localities were required to continue improving the efficiency of strategic consultations to the Party and State, Party committees and authorities as well as State management on national interests and security, and social order, he said. The PM tasked the force with defeating all sabotage plots, peaceful evolution and riots by hostile forces, ensuring cyber and socio-economic security and security in strategic areas, protect the absolute safety of key targets and important political events, firstly the Party Congresses at all levels and the 13th National Party Congress. At the same time, the force must crack down on and push back crimes, and promptly deal with cases under the direction of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control, he said. Party units at all levels in the public security force were asked to continue effectively following the Resolution adopted by the fourth plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee in combination with the campaign on studying and following President Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality and lifestyle, so as to drive back degradation in political thought and signs of self-evolution and self-transformation. Each public security officer and soldier must continually improve political mettle and professional expertise, and fully grasp Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, and Party and State policies and guidelines regarding their work, he said. Earlier the same day, a delegation from the Central Public Security Committee and the Ministry of Public Security paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and war heroes and martyrs at the monument dedicated to them on Bac Son street in Hanoi. They pledged to raise their sense of responsibility, accomplish tasks assigned by the Party, State and people, thus contributing to the cause of national construction and defence./.VNA Mumbai, Aug 17 : Actor Pankaj Tripathi says he wants to take up farming after retiring from the world of acting. Till then, the actor wants to spread love and joy through his work. "My dream is to bring love in the lives of others as well as mine. (I plan) To do farming after I retire," Pankaj said. At the moment, the actor is getting lauded for her supporting act in "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl". "In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when patriarchy was so strong, to think a father could be so progressive is amazing. It is something we still wish for in 2000s. The takeaway (for me) is that even today, our nation has girls like Gunjan Saxena who wish for wings so they can also fly," said Pankaj while applauding the progressive nature of his character, Anup Saxena. "Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl" documents the life of Gunjan Saxena and her journey towards becoming the first Indian Air Force woman pilot, who was part of the 1999 Kargil conflict. Directed by Sharan Sharma, the film features Janhvi Kapoor in the titular role. For Janhvi, working with Pankaj was intimidating initially. "It is so intimidating when you're working with someone who is so prolific and a veteran. I eventually got really comfortable when I knew that I could make mistakes in front of him. He created a very secure environment for every actor on the set," she said during a conversation with IMDb. New York: Two men have been indicted in the 2002 killing of hip hop artist Jam Master Jay, which until now had been one of New York City's most notorious unsolved killings, two law enforcement officials said. The officials were not authorised to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity. One of them identified the suspects as Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan. Federal prosecutors were expected to announce the charges at a news conference on Monday afternoon, local time. Jam Master was shot and killed in a recording studio in the New York borough of Queens on October 30, 2002. Credit:Reuters Washington, who had reportedly been living on a couch at Jay's home in the days before his death, was publicly named as a possible suspect or witness as far back as 2007. He is currently serving a federal prison sentence stemming from a string of robberies he committed while on the run from police after Jay's death. In court papers filed at the time, prosecutors alleged that Washington waved a handgun around and ordered people in Jay's Queens recording studio to lie on the ground while another man killed him on October 30, 2002. MTVs Jersey Shore was one of the most iconic reality shows to ever grace our television screens. More than a decade later, the cast is still relevant, continuing the saga with Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. And producers recently revealed the first star to ever be accepted into the shows cast. The Jersey Shore cast | Desiree Navarro/WireImage Jersey Shore was originally supposed to be Americas Biggest Guido When Jersey Shore was first born into an idea, its premise was drastically different from what it became. The show was originally supposed to be a competition to find the biggest guido in the United States, appropriately called Americas Biggest Guido. Jersey Shore producer SallyAnn Salsano told Vulture that she received stock footage of the guido show and loved the idea. The production company opted to shoot in Seaside Heights, which was a shore town in New Jersey well-known for its guido nature. From there, the show was dropped from VH1 and picked up by MTV; it became Jersey Shore the next big reality show. Mike The Situation Sorrentino was the first one to be cast When it came to choosing cast members, there were a few ways of discovering people. Some applied, while others were found at night clubs and even messaged on social media. But Mike The Situation Sorrentino was the first to fully win over producers. Sorrentino heard about the show through a friend, and he immediately wanted to be involved. In 2008, I was trying to do fitness and underwear modeling and it wasnt really working out, Sorrentino told Vulture. Someone told me that VH1 was trying to do a show about guidos from the East Coast. He went on to audition and was immediately selected. RELATED: Jersey Shore Fans Defend Nicole Snooki Polizzi Shame on Seaside Heights! Sorrentino took his shirt off at the audition Sorrentinos not-so-charming personality wasnt what won over producers. Rather, he opted to take off his shirt the moment he auditioned, and the bizarre action instantly set him apart from others. Situation walked in and was like, Okay, let me just take my shirt off first, producer Salsano revealed. I have never in my life met someone that felt more comfortable upon not knowing you We had never really seen anyone do that before. Ultimately, the move landed Sorrentino a spot on the show. Salsano later said she wanted to add women to the mix because the girls fight, suggesting it would make for more interesting television. RELATED: Jersey Shores Mike The Situation Sorrentino and Angelina Pivarnick Are Reportedly on Good Terms Other cast members were discovered in bizarre ways Sorrentino might have auditioned, as did Nicole Snooki Polizzi, but not everyone was cast in that way. Paul Pauly D DelVecchio told Vulture that he had actually been DJing at a club in Rhode Island when he received a message via MySpace; camera crews wanted to see what his life was like, and the tanning bed in his home sealed the deal. Angelina Pivarnick, who appeared in the shows first two seasons, said she was also out at a club when I feel some girl tapping me on the shoulder who then asked her to interview for the show. Jenni JWoww Farley actually auditioned for a different reality show, but producers thought she was a perfect fit for Jersey Shore. Aerial photo taken on June 2, 2020 shows agricultural technicians conducting yield monitoring at a wheat field in Xidiqiu village of Linzhang county, Handan, North China's Hebei Province. Photo: Xinhua China has abundant supplies to ensure the country's food security, an expert said Saturday after media reports conflated a campaign to end food waste, the coronavirus pandemic, international conflict and extreme weather with the potential for a food crisis. Huang Jikun, Director of the China Center for Agricultural Policy at Peking University, was quoted by China Science Daily as saying that China's food security can be fully guaranteed in the short term. In 2019, the country's total grain production reached a record high of 664 million tons. The harvest provides 474 kilograms per person, significantly higher than the internationally recognized safety line of 400 kilograms per capita, data shows. Some Western media have falsely reported that China is facing a looming food crisis due to the severe flooding in southern China, and the growing tensions between China and the US. "Tense relations between China and much of the Western world, and the coronavirus pandemic, may make importing a lot of food trickier in the future," CNN reported on August 9, adding that heavy rains expected throughout the month would pose a serious threat to the country's wheat and corn harvests. "The more urgent task for China in the next 2-3 years is the destocking of wheat and rice," Huang stressed. Current grain stores far exceed demand, and stocks of wheat and rice are greater than last year's annual production. Spring-sown areas stabilized as COVID-19 was brought under control and this year's summer grain output surpassed last year's by 0.9%. "However, we must stay alert as the pandemic is still rampant in many parts of the world, and uncertainty is growing on the global market," Huang said. The recent decline in government wheat purchases has also stirred speculation, but Huang says the decline is because the current market price is higher than what the government pays, and allows farmers can make more money. Huang stressed the "Clean Plate Campaign 2.0" on reducing food waste, could reduce overall food demand, but people's habits will take time to change, he added. The real-life Gunjan Saxena has responded to the row around her biopic, Sharan Sharmas Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, saying that she is trying to clear the dust after some people have tried to distort the basic founding values of my existence and identity. The Janhvi Kapoor film has been in the eye of storm with the Indian Air Force (IAF) writing a letter to the Censor Board objecting to its undue negative portrayal. A number of IAF officers, including Gunjans coursemate, Flight Lieutenant Sreevidya Rajan (retd), have claimed that facts are being twisted by the filmmakers. Also read: IAF pilot who served with Gunjan Saxena slams film for peddling lies, gives stern advice to Janhvi Kapoor Retired Wing Commander Namrita Chandi, in an open letter, had also accused the filmmakers of peddling lies. She wrote, Srividya Rajan was the first lady pilot who flew to Kargil not Gunjan. Though, I am certain that Srividya has no complaints about this credit being taken away from her. In her reply, Gunjan wrote on NDTV, Let me inform readers with utmost conviction and honesty that even though cinematic liberties were exercised in my biopic by the filmmakers, what they did not miss or exaggerate was me, the real Gunjan Saxena. I admit without hesitation that I have even more of an iron will and resoluteness than was portrayed in the movie. The retired flight lieutenant went on to write that it was absolutely disheartening to see a small group of people trying to dent this hard-earned reputation with nonsensical rants, as she mentioned the many firsts to her name. The list included first in the order of merit during basic and helicopter training, the first woman to fly in a combat zone, the first BG among women helicopter pilots and the first woman officer to undergo the jungle and snow survival course. She also took a dig at an article that claimed that she was not the first woman pilot in the Kargil War and that the film is peddling lies. Now, for all of you reading this absurd propaganda and ranting over the peddling of lies, there is a humble submission. The author, claiming to protect the image of the IAF for whatever vested interests or hidden agenda, is questioning the very authenticity of the Air Forces stand in 1999 after the Kargil war. Talking about the way gender bias has been portrayed in the film, Gunjan wrote, When I joined there was no discrimination at the organizational level. But yes, individually, no two people are the same and some individuals adapt to change better than others. Since the bias is not at an organizational level, the experiences of different woman officers would be different. To deny it completely speaks of a feudal mindset and undermines the grit of women Officers. I also combated the difficulties of prejudice and discrimination at the hands of a few individuals for being a woman. But since it was never at the organisational level, I got equal opportunities all the time. She also responded to a senior journalists critique of the film. It is creative license, which is certainly not with me but with the makers of the movie. But the intention of the movie was to inspire people to chase their dreams with hope and positivity, the way I chased mine. The entire storyline was based on the theme of my journey, how my dreams became reality. As I understand, the film was never intended to be a documentary on the Kargil war. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Ireland on Friday boosted grants available to COVID-19-hit firms for those operating in areas where restrictions were reimposed last week, offering a potential template for future local lockdowns or continued sectoral closures. Ireland, which reopened its economy at a slower pace than most European Union countries and until recently had one of the lowest infection rates in the bloc, has closed or limited business in three of the country's 26 counties for two weeks. Firms in the adjoining counties of Kildare, Laois and Offaly will be eligible for a 20% increase in the grants to a maximum total of 30,000 euros and the country's tourism authority will undertake a 1 million euro promotional campaign to drive domestic tourism once the restrictions are lifted. The package is worth at least 5.5 million euros, Business Minister Leo Varadkar said. The government has committed around 17 billion euros or close to 8% of gross national income in direct spending to date, an unprecedented amount of stimulus. Ireland intends to deal with future outbreaks through such local lockdowns. Pubs that do not serve food and nightclubs also remain closed throughout the country after the government twice postponed a move to the final phase of its reopening plan. Varadkar has said that if all pubs cannot reopen by the end of the month, he hopes to agree an additional financial package for them. New COVID-19 cases have fallen back from the three-month daily high recorded last week and businesses in the impacted areas are confident restrictions will be lifted next week. "I had a conversation with the Taoiseach the other day and he said what's in front of him does not alert him to any potential extension to the lockdown," County Kildare Chamber Chief Executive Allan Shine told RTE radio. (Reuters) Source: www.businessworld.ie The Social Democratic Party (PSD) would table with Parliament today a motion of censure against the Orban Cabinet. Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu, interim national leader of PSD, announced on Wednesday that the Social Democrats will submit the motion of censure against the Government on August 17, claiming that Romania is a "drifting country" and with a government of "zero credibility."Ciolacu claimed that, after nine months of liberal rule, Romania is "a drifting country"."A huge chaos, with a downgraded economy and rampant unemployment, that is Romania after nine months of liberal government, a country adrift, with a government of zero credibility, a government in which the ministers contradict each other to the despair of Romanians who no longer understand anything," Ciolacu said.On Sunday evening, at the unveiling of the PSD Bucharest candidates in this September's local elections, Ciolacu claimed that during this week the motion of censure would be read and a debate and vote would be scheduled."Tonight, the party team will round it up. Tomorrow, as we have promised, we will table it. It is called ?PNL Government - from pandemic to generalised pandemic. Wealth in the pockets of the PNL cronies, poverty in the pockets of Romanians.' It is signed by 202 lawmakers, the whole PSD floor group," said Ciolacu.He specified that there are discussions with all the political parties represented in Parliament to endorse the censure motion.Ciolacu reiterated that "the incumbent government must leave immediately" and, after the adoption of the censure motion, PSD will go to the President of Romania with a proposal for prime minister. Jagan Reddy govt illegally tapping phones: Chandrababu Naidu urges PM Modi to order enquiry India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, Aug 17: Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief Chandrababu Naidu on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging telephone tapping by the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in the state. In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chandrababu Naidu has claimed that the YSR Congress government in the state had been indulging in tapping phones of the opposition leaders, advocates, journalists and social activists. He accused Jagan of perpetrating a "jungle raj" on all sections of people in the state. Chandrababu Naidu must be quarantined: YSR Congress The TDP chief alleged that the Jagan Mohan Reddy government was using an "illegal software" which, he said, in the future, can become a threat to national security. The TDP chief said that the ruling party in Andhra and some private individuals were using sophisticated technology and illegal software to tap the phones belonging to the opposition leaders, advocates, journalists and social activists. "This is in violation of the Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India that protect the fundamental rights of citizens. The ruling YSRCP is using illegal tactics to safeguard its power by intimidating and blackmailing the opponents and dissenting voices. These illegal activities are posing a serious threat to the right to privacy in the State," he said. "It appears that the ruling YSRCP has now even targeted the judiciary, the third pillar of the democracy, as it is facing hurdles from the judiciary," Naidu said. He brought to the notice of the PM that even private individuals were using cutting edge technology and equipment to unlawfully tap the phones. "If these nefarious activities were not put to an end, they would emerge as a bigger threat to national security and sovereignty of the country as a whole," he said. Photographs have emerged purporting to show an armed republican on the streets of Londonderry last week. Captured by French politics PhD student Hadrien Holstein, the grainy pictures show a masked man posing with what appears to be a rifle close to the controversial Bogside bonfire. Scrawled on a gable wall behind the shadowy figure was the one-word slogan 'INLA'. The pictures were taken late on Thursday night, as the bonfire was under construction. Mr Holstein (26), a doctoral student at the University of Paris-Nanterre, has been researching Irish republicanism for the past five years, and has published several academic papers on the subject. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last night, the student said the gunman had emerged from the shadows close to the bonfire and had issued a chilling threat to the security forces. "I was covering for my own work the bonfire on the Bogside. Expand Close A giant bonfire in the Bogside area of Londonderry to mark the Feast of the Assumption PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A giant bonfire in the Bogside area of Londonderry to mark the Feast of the Assumption "I decided to spend some moments during the night at the bonfire," the student said. "And at one moment, someone made me a sign, called me to come over - and there was the gunman." The PhD student asked the gunman if he could take a photograph. "He said OK, and made a short statement," he said. "He said he was from the Republican Movement, Derry Brigade. "I asked for a precise group, but he didn't reply. "He said he was looking for RUC child abusers, and said all Crown Forces are legitimate targets. "Then he turned away and went back to where he had come from." The incident took place around midnight on Thursday, according to Mr Holstein's account of the incident. The student said he had not spoken to police about the incident, and nor did he plan to. "My PhD is mainly about the republicans," he said. "If I contact the police, you know, it is the end of my work, my PhD. "Nobody would speak to me again, so I decided not to do it." Asked if he had been frightened by what he saw, the student said: "At the beginning, yes, because it was the first time I saw a gun. "But in the end I was more stressed than frightened. "When I understood it was OK in a way, that I could be safe and just taking a picture, I was more stressed." He accepted that the terrorists may have been using him as a channel to send a message to the outside world. "I think they knew I was a Frenchman," the PhD student said. "I'm not 100% sure but I suppose they were expecting that I contact media to make coverage, it was accepted I'd make publicity. "I'm French, I'm not part of the community, so they saw me as an external person." Last night, Foyle DUP MLA Gary Middleton said the emergence of the terrorist image was "disturbing". "It's clearly very sinister," the MLA told the Belfast Telegraph. "We know that over the weekend, and with the burning of images of the Queen and poppy wreaths, it has caused a lot of upset and hurt right across the community. "And the appearance of what appears to be a gunman will no doubt strike fear into that particular community." He said the incident had echoes of the scenes leading up to the murder in the city of journalist Lyra McKee a year ago. "It's worrying, given the fact a young journalist lost their life on the city's streets due to a gunman. That image represents a huge step backwards in terms of community relations and the development of the peaceful society that we all want." Mr Middleton called on those involved to "get off the backs" of the community because "it's clear that they are not wanted", and said that anyone with any information on who the gunman was should contact the PSNI as soon as possible. This year's Derry bonfires have come in for heavy criticism from senior Sinn Fein figures, with deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill describing them as "displays of hate". The PSNI said last night they had no reports of the Bogside gunman incident. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his U.S. counterpart Mike Pompeo discussed reducing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the current situation in Libya at a meeting Sunday in the capital of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. A written statement by the U.S. Department of State said Cavusoglu and Pompeo discussed issues of common concern, including reducing tensions between regional actors in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is carrying out energy exploration. Cavusoglu said following the meeting that they also evaluated the situation in Libya, agreeing to continue consultations with experts, Daily Sabah reported. When the coronavirus began spreading around China, I was living in a hotel in Nanjing with no kitchen. I had no idea what the extent of the infection would be, and when restaurants started shutting down, I didn't know what I would do for food. Luckily, Chinese food delivery services were still operating, and American fast food chains remained open. I am not a big consumer of Big Macs in ordinary times, but with limited selection at times, McDonalds and KFC filled a need. In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the fast food restaurants kept customers from entering the stores. Instead, they were asked to scan the QR code outside and pay by app, often using WeChat Wallet, and then the food would be delivered at the door. WeChat was very useful at the height of the coronavirus spread. It facilitated communication, sharing information, ordering food, and providing a mobile payment facility limiting the touching of contaminated paper money, in addition to its many everyday functions like hailing a taxi, sharing photos and much more. WeChat is the "Swiss Army knife of apps." It can do anything. So why does U.S. President Donald Trump want to ban it? Trump signed an executive order, despite lacking congressional support, with the aim of banning WeChat and any transactions with Tencent, its owner. This is due to kick in one and a half months from now. Trump also announced his intention to ban TikTok, the short video app. The scope of the bans and how they are to be enforced were not defined. It is not even known whether the bans are legal or not. Still, they will have a serious impact on the ability of Americans to communicate and engage in commerce. They will also harm American businesses competing internationally. First, consider how WeChat is by far the leading messaging app in China. If WeChat is inaccessible by Americans, it will be difficult for them to communicate with their friends, family, and business partners in China. About 16 million Americans use WeChat on a daily basis. Second, WeChat is so important to commerce that if American companies were prevented from using it, their sales would be decimated. How, for example, would McDonalds and KFC have been able to take orders during the pandemic if they could not accept transactions via WeChat Wallet? China has another major mobile payment platform, Alipay, which is run by Alibaba, but WeChat Wallet is more popular. Consider: Starbucks has 3,000 stores in China and increased its presence at a rate of 17% in 2019. Yum China, an American company that includes KFC and Pizza Hut's China operations, makes more money on chicken dishes in China than its American counterpart does in the U.S. Thirty percent of Walmart's transactions in China take place on the WeChat platform. Would these companies still be able to use the app to process transactions? The answer is unclear, because Trump's executive order is brief and bland, and his administration has made no subsequent comments to clarify. Another question is whether Apple will still be allowed to offer WeChat in its app store. If it doesn't, that would "tank iPhone shipments in the Chinese market," according to research analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, and lead to perhaps a 30% decline in global iPhone shipments, while also cutting into iPad, AirPod, and Apple Watch sales. The irony is, the Trump administration has also been attacking Huawei and trying to cut Huawei sales; however, if they go through with a planned all-encompassing ban on Western companies interfacing with Chinese technology and apps, then the result would be to expand Huawei's and Xiaomi's market share. One supposes there must be a good reason for the U.S. taking such drastic action. If there is, as with Washington's haphazard decision to close China's consulate in Houston, the Trump administration isn't telling us. The Trump administration and long-time anti-China activists in security positions say it's because of the need for high tech security. They allege, although provide no concrete evidence, that China is using channels like TikTok and WeChat to spy in ways that would harm America's national security. Never mind that TikTok is a video-sharing website that doesn't have access to classified information or intelligence. Mostly, it has access to videos of teens dancing and, increasingly, videos critiquing Donald Trump. WeChat is an ordinary chat application with many useful features combined into one. Users are responsible about what they express in conversation and comments. Of course, all social media apps have algorithms about users' likes and dislikes, certain personal information that can be derived from their email addresses and profile information. That information is used to serve the targeting of ads and recommendations. Facebook also draws on its user data, which is harvested through third-party apps with no data protections, to create detailed personality profiles and send manipulative, highly segmented advertising to its users. There has been no evidence presented, however, that TikTok does anything above and beyond normal operating procedure for social media apps. Apps like WeChat and TikTok are useful to hundreds of millions of people. During the pandemic, WeChat helped keep me fed. Other times, it helps keep our hearts nourished by providing us with connection to friends and family. Trying to limit WeChat will push people further apart at a time when we need human connection more than ever. Mitchell Blatt is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/MitchellBlatt.htm Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn. KITCHENER The man who died in a fiery car explosion in downtown Kitchener last week did not have a bomb in the car, but rather used some sort of accelerant to spark the fire which led to his own death. Further investigation revealed that an incendiary device was ignited within the vehicle, which caused the explosion, Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson Cherri Greeno said Monday. Police would not say what the accelerant was to spark the deadly blaze. Police initially said a suspected improvised explosive device was the cause of the explosion which occurred Friday morning in front the Kitchener courthouse. Police said the man, who was dead in the car, was responsible for the explosion. Investigators still believe the man intentionally set the fire in the parked car, which went up in flames shortly after 10:30 a.m. on Duke Street near Frederick Street. The area, adjacent to the regions provincial courthouse, is usually a busy place. For some passersby, the fiery scene led to a frantic attempt to help the man still buckled in the car. But the fire was so intense and flames so hot that they seeped through the roof of the vehicle, barring the passersby from trying to get the man out, said Aaron McComb. Greeno said the man is not being identified at the request of his family. Police responded to the area after reports of a car on fire and witnesses saying they heard a loud noise like a gunshot and believed the car was exploding. The area was blocked off for hours as officers with the explosive disposal unit used a robot to search the car. Officers with the Peel Regional Police explosives disposal unit also helped. Officers also searched two Kitchener homes on Hearthwood Drive in the Doon area and Grand Flats Trail in the Chicopee area of Kitchener. Both houses were cleared by police. Houses near the two homes were also evacuated during the search. Kitchener Fire, the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario also investigated. Office of the Fire Marshal spokesperson Ryan Betts said there was evidence to suggest that something flammable was used to set the car on fire. Betts said the fire marshals office concluded its investigation once it was determined that the fire was intentional. Greeno said the investigation is no longer criminal and police are not seeking suspects in the blaze. Major tourist sites in Rio de Janeiro including the Christ the Redeemer statue (locally known as the Cristo Redentor) overlooking the Brazilian city and Sugarloaf Mountain, have reopened to public after being shut for five months due to the coronavirus pandemic. The reopening of the popular attractions comes with safety guidelines on the number of visitors permitted at the landmarks in Rio de Janeiro. The Christ the Redeemer started welcoming visitors Saturday afternoon onwards, according to the official Paineiras Corcovado website. Precautions including temperature checks, and allowing fewer people is being taken at other tourist attractions that opened over the weekend. SEE PHOTOS: The Christ the Redeemer reopened after deep cleaning amid Covid-19 The reopening of the Christ (monument) symbolizes the reopening of Brazil to tourism, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said at a ceremony at the base of the statue as per an AFP report. Visitors to these sites will also be required to mandatorily wear masks and maintain social distancing. Some visitors also lie on the ground for the perfect angle of a photo at the feet of the huge Art Deco statue with its arms outstretched, which has been prohibited. Social distancing measures enforced the closure of these tourist sites since March, however, Christ the Redeemer has continued to function as a religious sanctuary in these months, offering public masses and holding vigils to honour healthcare workers and victims of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Christ the Redeemer statue, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, built by Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot was constructed between 1922 and 1931. Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida fashioned Christs face on the statue. Its located atop 710-meter-high (2,300-feet) Corcovado hill in the center of Rio in Tijuca national park, offering a spectacular panoramic view of the city and its environs. The statue is counted among the New 7 Wonders of the World list. Members of the military were engaged in the statues disinfection exercise ahead of its reopening over the weekend. Brazils National Confederation of Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC) estimates that the countrys tourism sector has lost 154 billion reales ($28.4 billion) over the last five months, operating at only 14 percent of its capacity amid the pandemic. Rio de Janeiro that is home to 17 million inhabitants, has registered more than 14,500 deaths and nearly 190,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, according to official statistics. Brazil, with 106,500 deaths and 3.2 million cases to date, is the second hardest-hit country in the world, after the US. People marked this grim milestone by posting on social media assets using the hashtag #100thousanddeaths in solidarity with the families of Covid-19 victims. Rio of Peace, the NGO, also displayed a hundred crosses in the sand along with a poster asking: Why are we the second in number of deaths? While it might be a while for a vaccine to be available, authorities in Rio have announced a new format, including urging people to watch events online, for the year-end celebrations that traditionally bring millions of people to Copacabana beach for a huge fireworks display. Rios world-famous carnival, with its huge street parties, also risks being cancelled by the pandemic. Other tourist attractions that opened over this weekend were the Pao de Acucar cable car, which offers its own panoramic view of the city, the AquaRio aquarium and the gigantic Rio Star, Latin Americas largest Ferris wheel, inaugurated only last year in the port area. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON 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 As record high temperatures for this time of year crossed the state of California, utility companies conducted rolling blackouts affecting more than 410,000 homes and businesses over the weekend. A total of 20 record highs for August 14 and 15 were set or tied in 15 cities across the state, with the most remarkable being 105 degrees Fahrenheit in the coastal city of Santa Cruz, breaking the last record of 96 set 114 years ago. In a troubling indicator of climate change, 13 of the previous records were set last year. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), highs in inland areas will continue to reach 100 to 110 F through the middle of next week. The NWS has issued excessive heat warnings for much of the country west of the Rocky Mountains. Maximum temperatures have been 5 to 15 degrees above normal in interior areas, and could rival conditions last seen during the deadly July 2006 North American heat wave, which killed at least 147 people in California, according to coroner reports. A 2009 study in the journal Environmental Research estimated that the number of deaths due to that heat wave was in fact two to three times higher. As National Weather Service meteorologist Bruno Rodriguez noted in a video briefing, the cumulative effect from so many days of above-average temperatures is definitely going to act to increase the overall heat risk. A study this year in the journal Environmental Epidemiology estimated that, nationally, about 5,600 deaths are attributable to heat annually, more than from any other weather-related cause. Extreme heat disproportionately affects children and the elderly, and the vast majority of deaths occur in poor and working class neighborhoods. In this file photo, Air Force Civil Engineers working with high voltage power lines during a power outage. (U.S. Air Force photo/Jimmie Denton) A 2019 study from USC, published in Environmental Research Letters, found that 31 percent of residential homes in the Greater Los Angeles area did not have access to air conditioning. Cooling stations have been opened in some districts, but with limited capacity due to social-distancing measures. The elderly and people with preexisting medical conditions, among the most vulnerable to both overheating and COVID-19, will now have to choose between extreme heat and exposing themselves to infection. And as sociology professor Eric Klinenberg recently commented to the LA Times, social isolation combined with extreme heat is a proven killer. The heat wave comes during a pandemic which has intensified an already intense crisis for working families. Unemployment was 19.4 percent in LA county as of August 3, almost 1 million people. A 2020 study by UCLAs Institute on Inequality and Democracy estimated that there are 449,000 individuals who are unemployed, with no income, living in rental housing in Los Angeles county, putting them at high risk for homelessness. For the millions of people who will be affected by extreme heat in the coming week, not to mention the tens of thousands of homeless, the health risks will be compounded by the negligence of profit-driven utility companies and utter inadequacy of infrastructure. Rolling blackouts affected over 130,000 people in Southern California Friday, after the state ordered utilities to decrease power output by 1,000 megawatts due to the increased demand. Blackouts continued Saturday evening after a 470-megawatt power plant unexpectedly went offline, with utility companies cutting power to 130,000 people in southern California and 220,000 people in the Central Coast and Central Valley areas. This was the first time that state officials were forced to institute rolling blackouts due to an energy shortfall since the 2001 California electricity crisis. The 2001 crisis occurred after market manipulation by energy companies, chiefly Enron, caused energy prices to increase by 800 percent, leading to a series of blackouts that affected millions of people and cost the state over $40 billion. Of course, for many in California, blackouts have become commonplace, as the states wildfire seasons have become ever more severe. In October and November of 2019, Pacific Gas and Electric, Californias utility monopoly, cut power to over 3 million people to reduce the risk of electric ignitions and avoid legal liability for wildfires. Many were without power for nearly a week. Lisa Murkowski, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, told a December 2019 hearing that, Wildfire blackouts could be Californias new normal for the next 10 to 30 years, or even longer. In other words, working people should accept decades of regular blackouts as an inevitability, even as the states billionaires amass vast wealth. While ample resources exist to update Californias aging energy infrastructure and prevent wildfires, state lawmakers have no such intensions. The state has systematically cut funding for social infrastructure, and private utilities have intransigently refused to take basic steps to mitigate the wildfire danger. During the first three months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 154 billionaires in the state collectively amassed an additional $174.4 billion, only slightly less than Californias entire $202.1 billion budget for the current fiscal year. Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting $681 million from the state budget for environmental protection. Extreme temperatures and drought conditions, which lengthen the fire season and increase the risk of wildfires, will continue to intensify as the effects of climate change become increasingly severe. The Lake Fire, which started in Los Angeles County last Wednesday, grew over the weekend to more than 17,000 acres. By Sunday evening it was only 12 percent contained and hundreds were ordered to evacuate. Across northern California, the heat contributed to high wind thunderstorms, sparking several wildfires and minor evacuations in Monterey County. So far, firefighters have successfully prevented the fires from growing out of control, but these events will be far more likely in the future. A 2019 USC study in Environmental Research Letters found that the number of extreme heat daysthose with temperatures above 95 degrees Fahrenheitwill more than double by 2070 in urban South Los Angeles. The United States is watching the 'terrible situation' in Belarus 'very closely', Donald Trump said today amid a wave of protests against the country's strongman leader. Trump weighed in after Vladimir Putin offered Russian military help to 'Europe's last dictator' Alexander Lukashenko, who claimed victory in a disputed election which the opposition say was rigged. Lukashenko said today that the election would not be re-run 'until you kill me' - but admitted that 'I'm not a saint' and said he was willing to hand over power after a vote on changing the constitution. A brutal crackdown by Lukashenko's regime has failed to stop a wave of strikes and demonstrations in Minsk which drew as many as 200,000 people on Sunday and continued today. As the crisis escalates, workers have turned on Lukashenko at state-owned factories where he usually enjoys strong support, with the president shouted down as he tried to give a speech at a tractor works today. The country's opposition leader said today that she is ready to take over if Lukashenko is toppled by the protests, while the Kremlin warned last night that Russia is willing to intervene under a military pact between the two countries. Alexander Lukashenko (pictured in Minsk on Sunday) has launched a brutal crackdown to stay in power after claiming victory in an election on August 9 that was widely seen as rigged Belarus opposition leader Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya (pictured in a video message today) says she is ready to take power if president Alexander Lukashenko is toppled by mass protests Hundreds of people poured onto the streets in Belarus on Sunday to call for the country's leader to resign Protests continued today with workers at the Minsk Tractor Works joining in a strike in the Belarusian capital on Monday People protest against the election results during an opposition demonstration near a plant of the heavy off-road vehicles manufacturer MZKT in Minsk today Donald Trump (pictured walking to his helicopter at the White House today) said the United States is watching the 'terrible situation' in Belarus 'very closely' Opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has taken refuge in Lithuania amid fears for her safety, demanded new elections in a video message today and said she was 'ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader during this period'. Tsikhanouskaya urged security and law enforcement officers to switch sides - saying they would be forgiven if they abandoned Lukashenko now. 'I did not want to be a politician. But fate decreed that I'd find myself on the frontline of a confrontation against arbitrary rule and injustice,' she said, having joined the presidential race after her other candidates including her husband were jailed. Lukashenko claims to have won 80 per cent of the vote in the election earlier this month but the opposition have said the poll was fixed. The 65-year-old has rejected any possibility of repeating the vote that gave him a sixth term, lashing out at the West and declaring his country will 'perish as a state' if the vote is rerun. 'We held elections already. Until you kill me, there will be no other elections,' he told workers at the tractor plant today. Offering to change the constitution, he said: 'We'll put the changes to a referendum, and I'll hand over my constitutional powers. But not under pressure or because of the street. 'Yes, I'm not a saint. You know my harsh side. I'm not eternal. But if you drag down the first president you'll drag down neighbouring countries and all the rest.' Workers at the Minsk Wheel Tractor Plant (MZKT) shouted the president down with chants of 'Leave!' as he tried to give his speech, before a visibly angry president walked off the stage. Britain today said the election was 'fraudulent' and said that 'the UK does not accept the results', calling for sanctions and a probe into the alleged poll-rigging. 'The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarussian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent presidential election,' foreign secretary Dominic Raab said. EU leaders are set to hold emergency talks by video conference on Wednesday after European Council chief Charles Michel said violence against protesters was 'unacceptable and cannot be allowed'. Lithuania's foreign minister Linas Linkevicius said today that any Russian intervention would 'constitute an invasion'. 'Russia would risk a lot if it did it, in the face of what is going on in Belarus, in the face of the popular support. It should figure out that an invasion would not be justified, neither legally, nor morally, nor politically', he said. Poland said today it was monitoring the situation at its border with Belarus after Lukashenko claimed NATO was conducting a military build-up. Belarus's former leader Stanislav Shushkevich, 85, said Lukashenko was facing the biggest challenge to his rule during his 26 years in power. However, Shushkevich - an old political foe of Lukashenko - said the president was likely to survive with Russian backing. 'You can't say that the Lukashenko era is ending. I don't think you can say that for one simple reason. Lukashenko serves the Kremlin because otherwise he wouldn't be able to hold on,' he said. Moscow sees Belarus as a vital transit corridor for its oil and a buffer zone protecting Russia against the assembled NATO forces in Europe. While military support may not be needed because of the size of Belarus's own army, the Kremlin could also prop up the economy with financial help, Shushkevich said. 'In such conditions, it's difficult for the beaten and tortured Belarusian opposition to struggle with Russia,' he said. He also ruled out a palace coup, saying: 'Over 26 years, Lukashenko has chosen very obedient deputies and very obedient military... they are handsomely paid.' A group of protesters march on the streets of Belarus after President Alexander Lukashenko launched a brutal crackdown after claiming victory in an election Protesters demonstrate in the capital of Belarus after the president claimed victory In the days after the election, police and security forces used extreme violence in an attempt to stop demonstrations, using mass arrests and beatings. A violent police crackdown saw more than 6,700 people arrested, hundreds wounded and two people dead. Nonetheless, protests continued for an eighth day on Sunday with up to 200,000 people gathering in Minsk to demand Lukashenko's resignation. Demonstrators held placards with slogans such as 'You can't wash off the blood' and 'Lukashenko must answer for the torture and dead'. The unrest has also spread to factories and official media which are usually loyal to the president. Workers at state-owned factories that make cars and tractors went on strike on Friday, despite the president usually enjoying strong support among state employees. Other major towns and cities in the ex-Soviet country also saw large rallies, while there were also shows of support in the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland. Unusually, tightly-controlled state television aired a short item on the 'alternative protest' in Minsk, while not showing anti-Lukashenko slogans. The protests have been described as the largest in the country's post-Soviet independence. The demonstrations were called by Tikhanovskaya, 37, the leading opposition candidate who claims to have won the election but has now fled to Lithuania. The former English teacher has called for anti-government demonstrations to continue to keep the pressure on Lukashenko. A woman holds up a poster after the Belarusian president claimed to have won 80 per cent of the vote in an election earlier this month Hundreds of people march along the streets and call for the president's resignation A crowd of people raise their hands and lift up the Belarusian flag during a rally in Minsk, Belarus Hundreds of protesters flood onto the street in protests against the 2020 Belarusian presidential election Lukashenko has claimed that Poland, Latvia and Lithuania are involved in a 'build up of military might' on the country's borders and in response his regime has announced military exercises close to the Lithuanian frontier. Yesterday he said: 'NATO troops are at our gates. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and our native Ukraine are ordering us to hold new elections.' Lukashenko added that Belarus would 'die as a state' if new polls were held. He said: 'I have never betrayed you and will never do so.' Putin has told Lukashenko that Russia is prepared to assist and 'solve the problems that have arisen' from 'external pressure', the Kremlin said, backing Lukashenko's claims that the protests are part of a Western plot to oust him. There was also a pro-Lukashenko rally yesterday although opposition media claimed the crowd had been coerced into attending. The Belarus Interior Ministry said there were no arrests at Sunday's rallies, although local media reported a few people had been detained. A series of state employees, including some police officers and state TV staff, have come out in support of the protests. The opposition also published footage of Belarus's ambassador to Slovakia, Igor Leschchenya, expressing his solidarity with protesters and saying he was 'shocked by stories of torture and beatings. The EU is gearing up to impose new sanctions on Belarus in response to the violent crackdown. The UK government warns that the authorities 'show little tolerance for their opposition counterparts'. Lukashenko has ruled Belarus with an iron fist since 1994. Belarus is the only European country that carries out the death penalty. Demonstrators raise their hands as they take part in a rally in front of the government building of Minsk Hundreds of protesters march through the capital of Belarus following the presidential election The stay-at-home mother standing up to Belarus's strongman leader: How an English teacher became protest movement's 'accidental Joan of Arc' battling for country's freedom The woman trying to bring down 'Europe's last dictator' is a 37-year-old English teacher described as an 'accidental Joan of Arc' who ran for the presidency of Belarus after her husband was arrested and barred from the ballot in May. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya's unlikely rise to political stardom has posed the most serious challenge to strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko in his 26 years in power. After entering the race and moving her two children abroad for their own safety, she told supporters that 'I don't want power... I want to get my children and husband [back] and I want to keep frying my cutlets.' But she now says she is willing to take power if Lukashenko is toppled by the mass protests which have engulfed the ex-Soviet nation since both candidates claimed victory in the disputed August 9 election. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya casts her vote in the Belarus presidential election last week, following an unlikely rise to political stardom after her husband was arrested and jailed Tikhanovskaya poses for a selfie with a supporter during a campaign rally in Baranovichi, a week before the disputed presidential election in Belarus Svetlana ran for the presidency after her husband, 41-year-old blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky (pictured at a rally in May), was arrested and barred from the ballot Tikhanovskaya was born in 1982 in Mikashevichi, a small town south of Minsk in what was then the Soviet Union. As a youngster she spent several summers in the Republic of Ireland under a charity scheme to help children who lived near the site of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The explosion took place in northern Ukraine and the contamination spread into Belarus, affecting thousands of people. After the fall of Communism, Tikhanovskaya studied to become an English and German teacher in the historic city of Mozyr in the south of Belarus. While in Mozyr, she met her future husband Sergey who owned a nightclub in the city. After working as an English teacher and translator, she stepped back from her career to look after the couple's two young children, now aged five and 10. Henry Deane, one of the volunteers who looked after Svetlana in Ireland, said she had given up work to help her son who has severe hearing problems. 'She moved the family to Minsk so that he could have the implant operation he needed,' Mr Deane told the Guardian. 'She poured her life into looking after her son and daughter. She is a devoted mother.' Sergey, now 41, is a prominent blogger in Belarus who hoped to run for president when Lukashenko sought a sixth term in this year's election. But he was arrested and jailed in May on what Tikhanovskaya says were trumped-up charges of assaulting a police officer. Amnesty International said the arrest appeared to be 'politically motivated' and said Tikhanovsky had tried to avoid a scuffle with police despite being provoked. Authorities said they had opened a criminal case against Tikhanovsky for 'obstructing elections', using what Amnesty described as 'vague language'. Police claimed they also found an unexplained $900,000 hidden in the couple's sofa, which Tikhanovskaya said she knew nothing about. 'Charlie's Angels': Tikhanovskaya (centre) has been flanked at rallies by Veronika Tsepkalo (left) whose husband was also barred from running, and Maria Kolesnikova (right), the campaign manager of another jailed opposition figure Tikhanovskaya (pictured at a rally in Baranovichi earlier this month) is a former English teacher who spent summers in the Republic of Ireland as a youngster Tikhanovskaya has drawn some of the biggest crowds in Belarus since the fall of the USSR despite her lack of political experience (supporters are seen here at a rally in early August) The arrest prevented Sergey Tikhanovsky from submitting his candidacy in time, ruling him out of the presidential race. However, Belarus's electoral commission allowed Svetlana Tikhanovskaya to stand in his place. 'I love my husband very much so I am continuing what he started,' she said. 'I love Belarusians and I want to give them an opportunity to have a choice.' Lukashenko openly sneered at the idea of a female opponent, saying that the strains of the presidency would cause her to 'collapse, poor thing'. But despite her lack of political experience, Tikhanovskaya's campaign rallies have drawn some of the biggest crowds in Belarus since the fall of the USSR. In speeches, Tikhanovskaya calls herself an 'ordinary woman, a mother and wife' and rallies her crowds with calls for change. 'I have become the embodiment of people's hope, their longing for change,' she said - adding that she and her family had received threats during the campaign. Her husband has been accused of plotting mass unrest and collaborating with Russian mercenaries, claims which Tikhanovskaya has called 'very scary.' Their two children were taken abroad for their own safety, and Tikhanovskaya herself is now in Lithuania. During the campaign she spoke of the difficulty of being separated from her children, including her hearing-impaired son. Her presidential campaign has also come under pressure from authorities, with campaign manager Maria Moroz arrested twice in the space of a week. Tikhanovskaya says that she lacks the 'massive charisma' of her husband, who has travelled around Belarus interviewing ordinary people for hard-hitting videos. She has sometimes struggled to articulate her political views, acknowledging she was not a politician but a 'symbol' of change. However, Tikhanovskaya's simple but direct speeches have prompted lengthy cheers at crowded rallies. 'Are you tired of enduring it all? Are you tired of keeping silent?' she asked supporters recently. 'Yes,' the crowd roared. Tikhanovskaya, pictured recording a campaign video on August 6, has won huge support at rallies with her simple but direct speeches Tikhanovskaya (pictured at a rally) says she 'did not want to be a politician but 'fate decreed that I'd find myself on the frontline of a confrontation against arbitrary rule and injustice' Women hold portraits of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, Veronika Tsepkalo and Maria Kolesnikova during a rally in Barysaw last month Allocated live slots on state television, she listed alleged lies by Lukashenko's regime, repeating: 'They won't show you this on television'. 'Unexpectedly her first speech on television was strong, without false notes or weak points,' wrote opposition newspaper Nasha Niva. She has accused Lukashenko of showing blatant disregard for the people during the coronavirus epidemic, which the president has dismissed as a hoax. The Village, a Minsk-based news site, called her 'an accidental Joan of Arc,' invoking the French peasant who helped achieve a pivotal military victory against the English in the 15th century. Tikhanovskaya has also been helped by two women with more political experience: Veronika Tsepkalo, whose ex-diplomat husband Valery Tsepkalo was barred from standing, and Maria Kolesnikova, campaign chief of ex-banker Viktor Babaryko who was also dropped from the polls and is in jail. The two women have flanked Tikhanovskaya at campaign rallies, earning them the nickname of 'Charlie's Angels.' Tikhanovskaya has started wearing her hair down and swapped severe dark clothing for pastels colours. The women wear t-shirts with a design featuring their signature gestures: Tikhanovskaya's punched fist, Kolesnikova's fingers in a heart shape and Tsepkalo's victory sign. After Lukashenko claimed a disputed victory last week, Tikhanovskaya indicated she had left Belarus to be with her children. 'Children are the most important thing we have in life,' said the 37-year-old after leaving for Lithuania. However, she has continued to rally her supporters and said today she was willing to assume the presidency if Lukashenko was forced out. Tikhanovskaya urged security and law enforcement officers to switch sides - saying they would be forgiven if they abandoned Lukashenko now. 'I did not want to be a politician,' she said. But fate decreed that I'd find myself on the frontline of a confrontation against arbitrary rule and injustice.' WASHINGTON The Trump administration announced on Monday that it was restricting Huaweis ability to buy a wider array of chips made or designed with American equipment and software, tightening the limits it has placed on the Chinese telecom giant as it looks to cripple its ability to sell smartphones and telecom gear around the world. The rule expands restrictions the United States enacted in May, which prohibited companies around the world from using American software or machines to make chips designed by Huawei. The new changes apply that rule to more semiconductors, covering any chips made abroad with American equipment. The Commerce Department also said it was adding 38 affiliates of Huawei to a list of firms restricted from working with American companies. We continue to monitor the situation as we assess the potential impact, said Rob Manfredo, a Huawei spokesman, in an email. PORTLAND, Ore., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Cancer Vaccines Market by Technology (Dendritic Cells (DC) Cancer Vaccines, Recombinant Cancer Vaccines, Antigen/Adjuvant Cancer Vaccines, and Viral Vector & DNA Cancer Vaccines), Type (Preventive Cancer Vaccines and Therapeutic Cancer Vaccines), Indication (Cervical Cancer, Prostate Cancer, and Others), and End User (Pediatrics and Adults): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202027." According to the report published by Allied Market Research, the global cancer vaccines market industry was pegged at $ 4.18 billion in 2019 and is expected to reach $7.30 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 12.6% from 2020 to 2027. Download Sample Report with Detailed COVID-19 Impact Analysis at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/1453?reqfor=covid Key determinants of the market- Rise in prevalence of human papilloma virus (HPV) cancer, increase in administration of prophylactic cancer vaccines, surge in development of new cancer vaccines, and launch and approval of new cancer vaccines propel the global cancer vaccines market. However, high cost and longer timelines required for development of cancer vaccines impede the market growth. On the other hand, high growth prospects in emerging markets are expected to offer innumerable opportunities to the market. COVID-19 Scenario- The COVID-19 outbreak has affected the manufacturing of cancer vaccines owing to global shutdown. The rise in number of healthcare workers falling ill in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulted in shortage of supply. Furthermore, the supply chain disruptions have equally disturbed the production cycle, causing shortage of raw materials. Moreover, productions facilities have increased in the past few months, with the relaxations issued by several government bodies. The recombinant cancer segment to dominate the market- Based on technology, the recombinant cancer vaccines segment held the largest share in 2019, contributing to more than four-fifths of the global cancer vaccines market. This is due to increase in utilization of recombinant vaccines, and recombinant cancer vaccine as most efficient alternative to traditional vaccines in the prevention of various human diseases. Furthermore, rise in adoption of these medicines due to rapid elimination of risk of active infection fuels the growth. However, the dendritic cells cancer vaccines segment is projected to register the fastest CAGR of 15.4% during the forecast period. This is owing to easy availability of DC cells for the development of cancer vaccines, as human DCs easily can be produced from monocytes isolated from peripheral blood. The preventative cancer vaccines segment to lead the trail throughout 2027- Based on type, the preventative cancer vaccines segment dominated the global cancer vaccines market in 2019, contributing to 89% of the market. This is due to increase in research activities on the potential of preventive cancer vaccines and rise in awareness among people regarding the benefits of the preventive cancer vaccinations. However, the therapeutic cancer vaccines segment is anticipated to portray the fastest CAGR of 14.7% during the forecast period. The therapeutic cancer vaccines represent a viable option for active immunotherapy of cancers that aim to cure late stage disease by strengthening the patient's immune system, which drives the segment growth. For Purchase Enquiry at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/1453 North America to held lion's share- Based on region, North America held the largest share in 2019, contributing to more than two-fifths of the global cancer vaccines market. This is owing to increase in prevalence of cancer patients, technological advancements in cancer vaccines products, and surge in conduction of clinical trials of new cancer vaccines to eradicate various types of cancers, in this province. On the other hand, the market across Asia-Pacific is projected to register a CAGR of 15.0 during the study period. This is owing to rise in adoption of cancer vaccines treatment medication, increase in number of cancer patients, and rise in demand for cancer vaccines in Asia-Pacific region. The key players: Advaxis Inc. Amgen Inc. Dynavax Technologies Corporation Generex Biotechnology Corporation GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) Immunocellular Therapeutics, Ltd Merck & Co., Inc. Sanpower Group Co. Ltd. (Dendereon Corporation) UbiVac Vaccinogen, Inc. Access AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) at: Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Get more information: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Similar Reports: Oncology/Cancer Drugs Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20202026 Cardiac Biomarkers Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Cancer Biomarkers Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Cancer Vaccines Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 Cancer Immunotherapy Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Gynecological Cancer Drugs Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation, ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): 1-800-792-5285, 1-503-894-6022, 1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-market-research SOURCE Allied Market Research The coronavirus pandemic does not appear to have reduced drug supply around Kensington and East Allegheny Avenues, where open opioid use is common. Read more The COVID-19 pandemic has upended supply chains around the globe, as corporations, governments, and consumers search for everything from surgical masks and hand sanitizer to boats and bicycles. Yet for one pocket of commerce in Philadelphia, supplies appear as plentiful as ever. In Philadelphias Kensington district, home to one of the largest open-air drug markets in the United States, crowds of sellers and buyers flock to corners as if there never were a pandemic. The blocks [where drug dealing takes place] never closed, said Christine Russo, 38, whos been using heroin for seven years. She waited Friday near Kensington and Allegheny Avenues, at the heart of the citys opioid market, while a friend prepared to inject a dose of heroin. Business reigns. The sun shines. Yet plentiful supply does not mean that what is on offer isnt dangerously unpredictable. Over the last few years, Philadelphias drug supply has been contaminated with fentanyl and other adulterants. Now, that danger has been compounded by the financial, social, and emotional upheavals of the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, as countries closed borders and restricted travel in efforts to contain the pandemic, some officials predicted major disruptions in the global supply chains of illicit drugs. Far from a silver lining, such a disruption could push prices up, leading to lacings in drugs that can cause dangerous side effects in desperate, unsuspecting users including death. The United Nations noted in a May report that there were opioid shortages around the world, including in North America, and cautioned that the resulting price hikes and losses in purity could lead to riskier drug use. In underground economies like the drug market, disruptions in the global supply chain can wreak havoc for people in addiction, said Leo Beletsky, the director of the Health in Justice Action Lab at Northeastern University. A shortage in heroin, for example, can prompt dealers to turn to cheaper but deadlier synthetic alternatives like fentanyl. As supply chains get disrupted, theres going to be more unpredictability, more synthetics, more violence, because thats what happens when drug markets get disrupted, he said. The more constraints there are on the market, the more its going to mutate toward synthetic, cheaper, lab-produced drugs, where a few people can produce a lot of product. And because drug markets are unregulated and difficult to monitor outside of hard-to-access law enforcement channels, its tough for researchers to glean a full picture of the effects of the pandemic, Beletsky said. Its not enough to rely on the word of law enforcement about conditions on the street, he said. After shortages early in the pandemic, Philadelphias drug supply appears to have stabilized, said advocates for those in addiction and law enforcement officials alike. We did hear internationally that overseas there were some supply-chain disruptions for precursor chemicals for drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine, but as far as Philadelphia proper, we havent noticed significant disruptions in supply or price, said Patrick Trainor, a spokesperson for the local branch of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It would indicate that the current drug supply, before the pandemic, was, quite frankly, pretty plentiful. At the onset of the pandemic, advocates in Philadelphia had braced for changes in the drug supply, said Silvana Mazzella, the associate executive director of Prevention Point, the public health organization based in Kensington. What we were seeing is, in fact, it looks like there still appears to be the same drug supply as before, she said. But even if the drug supply in Philadelphia is stable, the drugs themselves remain unpredictable. Philadelphia long was known for some of the purest and cheapest heroin in the country, but in recent years, much of the heroin supply was replaced by fentanyl, sometimes without users knowledge. The synthetic opioid is both cheaper to produce and much stronger than heroin. Fentanyl is behind most of the citys fatal overdoses, and over the last few years has been added into drugs that arent even opioids, with entirely different effects on users. Stimulant drugs like cocaine are being cut with depressant fentanyl. So are synthetic cannabinoids like K-2. Mazzella said she was concerned that contamination had only accelerated during the pandemic. On the street in Kensington, some people said the quality of drugs has diminished since the lockdown, though it was unclear whether the pandemic was driving that. Several people gathered near McPherson Square Park said there do appear to be more people using drugs on the street. The purity of the drugs on offer in Kensington is a running concern for people in addiction there, and not necessarily because unadulterated drugs allow for a more pleasurable high. Heroin cut with fentanyl can be deadly to an inexperienced opioid user, and other cutting agents used in Kensington, like the animal tranquilizer xylazine, can produce dangerous side effects in people who arent expecting them. Drug users do their best to keep themselves safe: Russo specifically seeks out the few dealers in the neighborhood that still sell pure heroin. Globally, the pandemic has spurred worries about an increase in drug deaths. Fatal overdoses have gone up since the beginning of the year in Philadelphia, health officials here said, but are currently about level with last summer. But other communities in Pennsylvania and other states have been reporting increases in overdoses during the pandemic so much so that the American Medical Association issued a memo earlier this summer saying it was greatly concerned. Overdoses are spiking in a bunch of places, and we dont even know how much its spiking, Beletsky said. Health systems that would, in normal times, be able to sound alarms about overdose spikes may be overwhelmed with responding to the pandemic instead. While fentanyl already had largely overtaken Philadelphias drug market, markets on the West Coast, which are not as accustomed to its lethal effects, could see more fentanyl sales as a result of the pandemic. I think itll just catalyze that transition that was already occurring, Beletsky said. Business closures and the economic downturn related to the pandemic make life harder in Kensington, like everywhere else though many here were living hand to mouth long before March. Some treatment programs refused to take new clients or otherwise cut back on services as money grew tighter, staffers feared contagion, and some contracted the virus. The isolation, fear, and loneliness so many have experienced with the pandemic can be especially acute for people with substance use disorders, especially those with underlying mental health problems. People in recovery may relapse. All of those pressures, plus economic shock and deprivation, may push more people including those who have not experienced addiction before to use drugs problematically, Beletsky said. All those issues are very much on display right now. How to handle the nanomaterials requirements of EU Medical Device Regulation. OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - On August 26 2020, Claigan Environmental Inc. (www.claigan.com) will present a webinar on common practices to manage the nanomaterials requirements of the EU Medical Device Regulation (MDR). Unbeknownst to most medical device manufacturers, their product normally contains ingredients that meet the definition of a nanomaterial. This webinar will focus on the definition of nanomaterials, the requirements under EU MDR, common nanomaterials in medical devices, and common practices for EU MDR compliance for nanomaterials in medical devices. As nanomaterials become more regulated, this webinar should also serve as an excellent basis for non-medical device manufacturers in understanding how to handle nanomaterials as they become more regulated in other products. Most inorganic additives (colourants, stabilizers, fillers, and flame retardants) embedded in plastics meet the EU definition of a nanomaterial in their original powder form. For many medical device manufacturers, the question is how to handle the presence of those nanomaterials in their plastics. Claigan's webinar will discuss the EU definition of nanomaterials, the broad requirements for nanomaterials under EU MDR, and practical options that are being adopted by medical device manufacturers. The webinar will also touch on the overlap with other EU MDR restricted materials requirements such carcinnogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxins (CMRs) and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). The main topics to be covered in this webinar are - EU definition of a nanomaterial Definitions of nanomaterials, aggregates, and agglomerates EU Medical Device Regulation requirements for nanomaterials Standard nanomaterials embedded in plastics Practical approaches for medical devices and embedded nanomaterials. Overlap with compliance processes for CMRs and EDCs. Due to the interest in these topics, two (2) webinars will be held on August 26 to accommodate a larger audience. Webinars - Nanomaterials and EU MDR Date: 26 August 2020 Time: 10am and 2pm EST Duration: 1 hour plus Q&A To Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/rt/4365352941708092944 or on Claigan Website at www.claigan.com/webinars Register now or send an e-mail to [email protected]. For more information on Claigan Environmental's restricted materials services - see Claigan's services at www.claigan.com About Claigan Environmental (www.claigan.com) Claigan is a leading provider of regulatory consulting and ISO 17025 accredited laboratory testing for restricted materials legislation. Claigan analyzes and tests hundreds of products a year for restricted materials compliance. Claigan is dedicated to providing practical solutions for supply chain due diligence and social responsibility. At Claigan, we believe in 'More Results. Less Journey.' SOURCE Claigan Environmental Inc. " " Gay marriage and parenting are still socially contentious issues. Craig Mitchelldyer/ Getty Images Opponents of gay marriage and adoption often frame their criticisms in terms of what's best for children. Allowing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) couples to raise boys and girls, they may attest, endangers healthy child development in myriad ways. In 1998, for instance, the Alabama Supreme Court transferred child custody from a lesbian mother to the child's heterosexual father, on the grounds that her sexual orientation morally jeopardized her ability to parent [source: Doe v. Pryor]. In that way, negative views on same-sex parenting tend to liken a couple's sexual orientation to a bacterial contagion that's passed along from adults to kids, thus altering the younger generation's self-perceptions of gender and setting them up for social and psychological problems along the way. Certainly, since that 1998 decision, homosexuality has become increasingly accepted, and courts are less likely to rule against plaintiffs solely on the basis of their sexual orientations [source: Stacey and Biblarz]. Nonetheless, social resistance to gay parenting still simmers, often hinging on bygone stereotypes. In August 2010, for instance, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council that promotes heterosexual marriage, told CBS' "Face the Nation" that "no evidence" existed that children raised by gay parents fare as well as those raised by straight ones [source: Media Matters]. But when it comes to the following five myths about same-sex parents and their families, scientific evidence actually has told a different story. To kick things off, let's go ahead and fact-check Perkins' televised claims. The construction sector here has been dealt a much-needed boon with a major new 455m public sector work contract, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. (stock photo) The construction sector here has been dealt a much-needed boon with a major new 455m public sector work contract, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal. The huge Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) contract, which could run over the course of seven years, would see a host of tenders being issued for a range of fit-out and maintenance roles across the public sector body. Early pre-tender plans for work were put on hold earlier this year as Covid-19 effectively shut down all non-essential work amid the outbreak of the pandemic across Northern Ireland and beyond. But it is now undertaking a market consultation before posting a range of tenders for the work. A spokesman for the NIHE said the contracts will both allow it to "undertake essential improvements to our housing stock" as well as "provide a much needed boost to the sector, which will secure employment, apprenticeships and training opportunities". It is understood at this early stage the tenders will be broken down into 13 regions, with a firm being able to successfully win one of them. The tenders includes bathroom and kitchen replacements, door\window replacement and rewiring. "Due to Covid-19, we suspended all tendering activity at the end of March," a spokesman told the Belfast Telegraph. "This included our major planned maintenance procurement. "With the easing of some of the Covid-19 restrictions, which allows maintenance work to recommence, we have reviewed our requirements and are now in a position to proceed with procurement for our major planned maintenance works. "The value of these works are approximately 455m over seven years. We are currently engaging with the construction sector on our proposals. "We have asked them to provide relevant feedback before the end of August. As can be appreciated, due to the current uncertainty, everything is subject to change. We are proposing to bring these contracts to market by the end of September, in the hope of awarding them by the end of January 2021. As a major contributor to the NI construction industry, we understand it is essential to ensure there are sufficient work streams to support this sector through these challenging times." Meanwhile, the NIHE has also now awarded a series of "interim response maintenance contracts", due to the impact of Covid-19, worth around 16m a year. Firms Greenview Gas, Combined Facilities Management, CTS Projects Ltd, PK Murphy Construction and JMC Mechanical and Construction Ltd have been awarded the contracts. "We congratulate our new partners and look forward to working with them to improve our homes and local areas from September," Colm McQuillan, director of housing services at the Housing Executive, said. "Before the onset of Covid-19, we were preparing to arrange procurement for new, long-term response maintenance contracts. "However, as a consequence, due to current contracts expiring, we have implemented this interim arrangement. These interim contracts give us the flexibility to continue to review our position and provide continuity in this tenant orientated area." It comes as industry body the Construction Employers Federation (CEF) said its latest survey points towards the greatest single risk to jobs and the survival of local businesses is the "slow pace of government's return to business and the procurement of much needed construction work, exacerbated by a nervous commercial sector considering its options in retail, hospitality and office accommodation". "In the eye of a storm such as this pandemic, no-one expects perfect decision-making; these are unprecedented times," Mark Spence, incoming CEF managing director, said. "We do need the wheels of government to start turning with more urgency and we look across the Irish Sea with some envy at the political impetus behind the English construction sector which is being primed to build the economy out of recession." Press Release August 17, 2020 Hazard pay urged for private janitors, guards, maintenance men in public hospitals They stand shoulder to shoulder with medical staff in public hospitals, but because of their status as private service providers, janitors and security guards are not entitled to hazard and hardship pay despite facing the same health risks. Taking up the cudgels for them, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said these essential personnel should get extra pay from the national government. "They are unheralded, but they're important cogs that keep hospitals running," Recto said. "Sanitation workers, housekeepers, janitors, security guards, equipment and building maintenance staff who work for private companies under contract with public hospitals are frontliners, too. Without them, a hospital will collapse," he said. Despite their vital role, Recto said most of these workers "quietly toil on minimum pay." "In the war against COVID-19, they report to their battle stations everyday with the smallest of compensations," he said. He urged the DOH, the DBM and both houses of Congress to come up with a package on how to augment their salary "for the high-risk work they do." But the "fast track route", Recto said, is for the President to issue an order granting them benefits. "A cross subsidy is allowed under the law." "And why should we not, when we've given tens of billions of ayuda to people who are just staying in their homes. Government is readying billions to bail out companies. Habang itong mga hospital workers na ito, na nagbubuwis ng buhay, wala man lang tayong maiabot," he said. Recto said workers deployed by private contractors in public hospitals are caught in a limbo. "They are low paid but are still classified as employed--thus disqualifying them for emergency government aid for the jobless. And because they're private employees, they're not entitled to hazard pay given to state workers." Recto said contracted janitors and sanitation workers are "virus killers" who keep hospitals clean, "one scrub, one mop, one wipe at a time." Because these jobs have been privatized by government to contractors who tendered the lowest bid, "the thin margins cascade down to workers in the form of lower wages." He said the government spent P16.63 billion on contracted "general services" which include janitorial, security, sanitation and other non-professional services in 2018. Of this amount, P1.53 billion was spent by the DOH on 60 hospitals it directly operates. This does not include expenses by 10 specialty hospitals like the Philippine Heart Center and 363 local government-run hospitals. A man wearing a facemask, amid concerns over the spread of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, pays for groceries in a local market in New Delhi on March 14, 2020. Amazon announced last week it's launching its online drugstore in India, starting with a trial in Bangalore. The Amazon Pharmacy service offers prescription medicines, over-the-counter drugs for common ailments like cough and colds, and some traditional medicine. There are also healthcare devices available for sale online, including glucometers and blood pressure monitors. Amazon's pilot in India follows its recent efforts to penetrate the U.S. market, after it acquired an online pharmacy start-up called PillPack. PillPack, which Amazon bought in the summer of 2018, makes it easy for consumers to get their medications delivered. The push into India comes when the pandemic is driving more people around the world to order their medications and seek care online, rather than in-person. The market is one of the largest in the world and is continuing to grow. A 2019 report from the research firm Frost & Sullivan estimated that the Indian pharmaceutical industry would increase from more than $29 billion in estimated revenues in 2019 to $55 billion in 2020. "This is particularly relevant in present times as it will help customers meet their essential needs while staying safe at home," an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement to the media. Local insiders say it won't be easy to scale the service without resistance, even for a company with Amazon's resources. Within a few days of Amazon's announcement to pilot in India, The All India Organization of Chemists & Druggists, an industry group that claims to represent hundreds of thousands of retail pharmacies and distributors, drafted a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Amit Agarwal, an Amazon executive based in India. "We are writing to you as we came to know that www.amazon.com has decided to enter 'Online Pharmacy' space, probably oblivious to the fact that the E-Pharmacies are illegal and not recognized by the laws under Drug & Cosmetic Act & Rules there under," the letter dated August 14 reads. "This space has been marred by extreme controversies, court cases and legal issues in the last few years." A slew of online pharmacies in India have emerged in recent years, but many have struggled given the lack of clear regulations. Laws for e-commerce have been ill-defined and are subject to interpretation in India, research reports have found, as they were written at a time when computers were less prevalent. Amazon is also dabbling in food delivery in India with a trial this summer, which is likewise starting in Bangalore. In the past few years, retail pharmacies have organized strikes to protest online pharmacies, claiming that these businesses could put their livelihoods at stake. In response, local online pharmacy companies like 1mg have argued there's a growing need for these businesses and there's a strong code of conduct to protect patients. But groups like The All India Organization of Chemists & Druggists have argued that allowing pharmacies to sell medicines online will result in misuse and overuse of medications. Some studies have uncovered sales of counterfeit medicines for sale on online pharmacies in India. Because of these challenges, making a successful play into the online pharmacy space requires "deep pockets" and a "long-term commitment," said Vinod Melvani, president at Pharma Channel Consulting, a research and consulting firm. Despite these challenges, the pandemic may have moved the needle for a player like Amazon. "There are macro trends that would suggest there's a growing need for online pharmacy in India," he added. In light of its concerns about online pharmacies, the All India Organization of Chemists & Druggists' Yash Aggarwal told CNBC that his group will do everything in its power to resist Amazon. The organization has said it will talk with government officials to make its case that Amazon's move is illegal. "We will not give up," he said. "We will fight (Amazon) tooth and nail, and we'll even go to the Supreme Court." "This is about the bread and butter of 800,000 people," Aggarwal said, referring to its network of community pharmacists and distributors. "And we will not hand over that bread and butter to corporations." 1mg, which could also find itself competing with Amazon, said it doesn't expect the company to quickly dominate the space. "We will have to wait and see," said Prashant Tandon, co-founder and CEO of the venture-backed digital health start-up 1mg. Tandon has said his company is working with the government to move towards a "good regulatory mechanism" for the space, which could open up investment. "This is a tough market and Amazon will be under scrutiny," he said. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment. By Shlomo Ben-Ami TEL AVIV On Aug. 4, a warehouse stocked with nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate blew up, laying waste to the port of Beirut and ripping through much of the rest of the Lebanese capital. At least 137 people were killed, thousands were wounded, and hundreds of thousands were rendered homeless. For a country that was already roiled by political and economic crisis, the challenges ahead just became more profound. The only chance of overcoming them lies in root-and-branch reform of Lebanon's political system and regional alliances. According to Beirut's governor, total economic losses from the blast may reach $10-15 billion. Yet the Lebanese state is already on the brink of bankruptcy. And, with an incompetent kleptocratic regime running the country, no international lender, including the International Monetary Fund, is willing to offer it loans. To be sure, in the wake of the latest crisis, Lebanon will receive considerable international aid. Already, donors have pledged nearly $300 million in humanitarian assistance at a virtual summit, in order to support health care, food security, education, and housing. That money doesn't come for free. To keep it from falling into "corrupt hands," as French President Emmanuel Macron has put it, the aid will be routed through the United Nations, international organizations and NGOs, rather than the Lebanese government. They know that, if the country's current rulers are in control of the finances, their contributions will only perpetuate corruption and crisis. Alas, this is just a temporary financial palliative that cannot address the root causes of Lebanon's maladies, and could, moreover, relieve internal pressure on the country's political class. Yes, international donors are calling for political and economic reform. But the sad truth is that overcoming Lebanon's powerful vested interests including both its domestic ruling class and the external powers, such as Iran and Syria that wield considerable domestic influence will be next to impossible. Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah puppet, would not even agree to the call for an international inquiry into the port blast, claiming that this could "dilute the truth." Lebanon's polity reflects the country's permanent sectarian strife. All that stands between relative calm and violent chaos is a fragile power-sharing system encompassing competing ethnic and religious groups, including Maronite Christians, Druze, and Sunni and Shia Muslims. But that system has long depended on massive capital inflows, which allowed the sectarian elite to entrench itself through patronage. A sudden stop to inflows last year shattered the system's foundations, spurring widespread protests and shaking Lebanon's delicate peace. Yet Lebanon's internal dynamics can hardly be separated from regional developments. Lebanon's sectarian politics have enabled foreign powers to gain a strong foothold in the country, turning it into an integral part of the Iran-led Axis of Resistance against Israel and America's regional designs. Iran's lavish support for Hezbollah has enabled the Shia political party and militia to become what is probably the world's most powerful non-state actor, with military capabilities that dwarf those of Lebanon's army. It is telling that when Macron visited Beirut after the port explosion, crowds chanted, "free us from Hezbollah." But Hezbollah enjoys broad-based support among Lebanon's Shia, who comprise almost one-third of the country's population and form the most powerful sect, politically and militarily. Perhaps more important, Lebanon's sovereignty continues to be subverted by Iran, which is committed to using Hezbollah to advance its own strategic priorities. When the Beirut blast occurred, a United Nations-backed special tribunal was days away from issuing its verdict in the trial of four alleged members of Hezbollah for the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister (and Saudi Arabia's man in Beirut) Rafik Hariri. Of course, Iran's regional designs have spurred resistance: The specter of an Israel-Hezbollah war has lately been growing. The Beirut blast's silver lining may be that it averts or at least forestalls such a conflict, in which Israel would destroy Lebanon's infrastructure to neutralize the 150,000 missiles that Hezbollah has concealed among the civilian population before they devastate Israel's vulnerable home front. Lebanon's distress makes it more difficult for Israel to conduct such a pre-emptive attack on Hezbollah's military capabilities, and discourages Hezbollah from antagonizing Israel. But whatever mutual deterrent exists is fragile, at best. If Hezbollah (with Iran's help) develops precision-guided missiles, all bets will be off. Even without such weaponry, the international community's hope of using aid as leverage to bring about change a hope shared not only by Western powers like France, but also potentially by Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf states is unlikely to bear fruit. As Macron himself reportedly told U.S. President Donald Trump, sanctions against Hezbollah play into the hands of those they are meant to weaken, including Iran. That said, Lebanon's vibrant and well-developed civil society has forced change before. After Hariri's assassination, the Cedar Revolution a series of demonstrations under the motto of "freedom, sovereignty, and independence" forced the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. But Lebanese civil society faces far stiffer opposition today than anything the embattled Syrians could mount in 2005. Over the last 15 years, Iran has spent lavishly to turn Lebanon into its strategic playground. As a result, Hezbollah is more powerful, and Lebanon more subservient to external powers including Iran, Syria, and Russia than ever. These powers will not sit back and allow a reform of the political system that has made Lebanon such a crucial link in their regional strategy, even at the price of turning the country into another Libya. Far from a new Cedar Revolution, efforts to push reform could lead to a conflict much like the civil war of 1975-90, in which foreign powers and rival local militias join forces and tear Lebanon apart. Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister, is vice president of the Toledo International Center for Peace. He is the author of "Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy." His article was distributed by Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). Beijing China is ready to work with India to enhance mutual trust and properly manage differences, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that the right path ahead for the two sides is to respect each other. The foreign ministry was reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Independence Day speech, wherein he talked of strengthening the Indian armed forces and said the countrys territorial integrity was supreme. Modi had referred to the June 15 clash between Indian and Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) without naming China and said that whoever tried to threaten the sovereignty of our country right from the LOC {Line of Control with Pakistan} to the LAC, the army [and] our brave soldiers have given a befitting reply. Noting that the whole country is devoted to protecting Indias sovereignty, Modi had said: The world has seen what our brave soldiers can do in Ladakh, what the country can do to defend its resolve. Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in the clash and China has acknowledged it suffered casualties, but without specifying numbers. Asked to comment on Modis speech, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said: We have noted Prime Minister Modis speech. We are close neighbours, we are all emerging countries with over one billion people. So the sound development of bilateral ties not only serves the interest of the two peoples but also stability, peace, prosperity of the region and the whole world. The right path for the two sides is to respect and support each other as this serves our long-term interests, Zhao told a regular news briefing. He added, So, China stands ready to work with India to enhance our political mutual trust, properly manage our differences, step up practical cooperation and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties. There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the Chinese spokespersons remarks. Modis speech was also analysed by Chinese state-run media, which said it was important, in Chinas context, to follow what he does next. After the latest round of senior military-level talks between Beijing and New Delhi on August 8, India hasnt shown any sign of changing its stance. At the same time, China has also held its ground, Zhao Gancheng, a research fellow at Shanghai Institute for International Studies, told the tabloid Global Times. As the two countries are still at a stalemate over key issues, Modis real intentions will likely be revealed in his next moves, Zhao said. Referring to Modis speech, Zhao said it could be explained from two perspectives: One is that Modi has become tougher and put on a combative look. The other explanation is that the Indian government thought it had done enough by demonstrating its attitude toward China. Therefore, what Modi said in his Independence Day speech is not very important but what he will do next is. Meghan Markle's former hairdresser has revealed how the Duchess of Sussex is 'very detail orientated' and that her 'effortless' looks are often 'very well thought out'. London-based stylist George Northwood, whose clients also include the likes of Daisy Edgar Jones, Claudia Winkleman and Florence Pugh, spoke to Grazia magazine about working with the royal adding that she has a 'great sense of humour' and once 'frightened him half to death' by jumping out at him to scare him. Meghan, 39, and Harry, 35, are currently residing in Santa Barbara, California with son Archie, one, after previously spending time in Los Angeles and Vancouver Island after stepping down from royal duty in March. Meghan Markle's former hairdresser has revealed how the Duchess of Sussex is 'very detail orientated' and that her 'effortless' looks are often 'very well thought out'. He said his favourite look was at the British Fashion Awards in 2018 (pictured) Speaking to the magazine, the hairdresser explained: 'Her hair often looks so effortless but she's actually the most thoughtful person, even down to the smallest detail like her jewellery,' he added. 'We worked together for two years and I hope to continue whenever she's back in the UK collaborating to create the effortlessly cool buns that she wears as well as the sleek, polished hair, such as her style at the British Fashion Awards in 2018 my favourite look we've ever done. George also explained that he learned 'so much about himself' by working with Harry and Meghan, including 'what true love really is'. The stylist, who has his own salon in London's Fitzrovia where he also styles Rosie Huntington-Wiley and Alexa Chung, joined Meghan and Harry on their tour of Australia in 2019, and said he was overwhelmed by the Duchess' support for small business and local designers. London-based stylist George Northwood, whose clients also include the likes of Daisy Edgar Jones, Claudia Winkleman and Florence Pugh, spoke to Grazia magazine about working with the royal adding that she has a 'great sense of humour' and once 'frightened him half to death' by jumping out at him to scare him. George is pictured at Browns east launch party in 2017 'I always thought, "God, would I ever put so much thought and care into that?"' The hairdresser to the stars said his 'favourite fun memory' of the pair is when they 'frightened him half to death jumping out at him' on his birthday. 'It was such a silly moment but so sweet that they wanted to surprise me. Meghan has a great sense of humour so we would always be in fits of giggles'. He added that he would have surreal moments with the former US actress, as she was 'so grounded', 'fun' and 'one of the most caring, genuine and warm people'. It comes as writer Omid Scobie revealed Princes William (left with Kate Middleton) and Harry (right with Meghan Markle) cut communication for two months after Megxit and still have barely any communication Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand It comes as writer Omid Scobie revealed Princes William and Harry cut communication for two months after Megxit and still have barely any communication. Scobie, who last week released a biography about the Harry and Meghan's split from the royals, named 'Finding Freedom', also said tension between Meghan and Kate over the actresses' struggles during pregnancy also soured their relationship. The author's claims are set to be aired today on The Royal Beat on royal-related TV subscription service, True Royalty TV. During the interview, Scobie tells the show's presenter Kate Thornton, formerly of This Morning and Loose Women, that the brothers stopped speaking around the time of the so-called Sandringham Summit in January. Kochi, August 17 : Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has filed a public interest plea before the Kerala high court against the CPI(M)-led LDF governments decision to collect call data records of covid-19 patients. The plea alleges that the governments move impinges on the right to privacy of individuals. Collecting call details of covid-19 patients without their consent violated the provisions of the constitution, the plea reportedly says. The police needed only to check mobile tower locations to find out whether covid-19 patients or those under monitoring violated quarantine, the petition argues. Taking exception to collection of call details of those undergoing home quarantine in connection with covid-19, the opposition leader says that the police could ordinarily collect call data records of only those individuals arraigned as accused in highly sensitive cases or cases pertaining to national security. A health emergency is no excuse to violate an individuals right to privacy guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution, the plea says. Chennithala also expresses concern over the confidentiality of the information collected by the police. He alleges that a private agency has been tasked with storing the call data records so collected by the police without anonymizing them. The data thus collected is vulnerable to be misused for commercial purposes in flagrant violation of the right to privacy, the plea states. The plea seeks a direction from the high court to bar the police from collecting call data records in the name of covid-19 containment and to rescind the circular issued by the government empowering the police to collect call details. The opposition congress-led UDF had previously hit out at the state government over the move, terming it a human rights violation. A circular issued by the LDF government on August 11 empowers the police to collect call data records of individuals who tested positive for covid-19 with the objective of tracing their primary and secondary contacts. Olaf Scholz is Germany's vice-chancellor and finance minister. Photo: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters The coronavirus pandemic is going to threaten companies for the foreseeable future, making it imperative for the government to keep up its financial support for employees, according to Germanys finance minister Olaf Scholz. Scholz, who is also Angela Merkels vice-chancellor, told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he wanted to extend the short-time work programme from 12 to 24 months, noting that the corona crisis won't suddenly go away in the next few weeks. This is Germanys greatest economic and socio-political act, Scholz told the newspaper. This is a masterpiece of the German state. Called Kurzarbeit (short work), the government programme was introduced during the financial crisis in 2008 to avoid mass layoffs. The government pays about 60% of a workers salary more if they have children and their employer either puts the worker on reduced hours or send them home if there is no work for them. That amount goes up to 70% of lost wages if people are on short-hours for more than four months, and after seven months, to around 80%. READ MORE: German finance minister to run as chancellor candidate in 2021 The advantages of the scheme are not just ensuring people are not suddenly forced onto unemployment allowance, but also that employers can avoid a costly and time-consuming hiring push when the economy ramps up and they re-start operations. Scholz added that companies and employees need a clear signal from the government that we are going with you all the way through the crisis. Extending the Kurzarbeit duration would cost billions of euros, he noted. Merkels spokesman Steffen Seibert said at the Monday press conference that a possible extension to the Kurzarbeit program would need to be discussed at the next meeting of the coalition government, but that the chancellor was in principle open to an extension. Millions of staff have been put on Kurzarbeit in Germany after government lockdowns, as well as the collapse of supply chains and consumer demand, forced companies to a standstill from March. Story continues By May, 7.3 million people in Germany were on short-time hours, according to the Ifo Institute, which noted that the number had never been that high, even during the global financial crisis, when short-time working peaked in 2009 at just under 1.5 million. The Ifo Institute estimated that about 5.6 million workers were on short-hours in July. Scholz, a Social Democrat, last week threw his hat in the ring as a chancellor candidate in the race to replace Merkel next year. Merkel, whose popularity has soared during the pandemic, has insisted this is her final term. Scholz, the former mayor of Hamburg, is a popular politician in Germany, however, his Social Democrat party is trailing far behind Merkels Christian Democratic Union in the polls. Listen to the latest podcast from Yahoo Finance UK The bodies of two missing 21-year-olds have been pulled from an SUV submerged in 40 feet of water in Boston. The bodies of Tatianna Morales, 21, and Djovany Pierre, 21, were found on Friday inside Morales' SUV near the Black Falcon Terminal in Boston's Seaport District. They had been missing since last Tuesday. Morales' family reported her missing to police last Wednesday. State police responded to the site around 12.30pm on Friday after learning that a vehicle had gone into the water earlier in the week, officials said. Divers went underwater and located the white SUV in about 40 feet of water, around 15 feet out from the pier. The bodies of Tatianna Morales, 21, (left) and Djovany Pierre, 21, (right) were found on Friday inside Morales' SUV submerged in 40 feet water near the Black Falcon Terminal in Boston's Seaport District. The two were friends who met up on Tuesday State police responded to the site around 12.30pm on Friday after learning that a vehicle had gone into the water earlier in the week, officials said Divers went underwater and located the white SUV in about 40 feet of water, around 15 feet out from the pier Morales body was extricated from the wreck and brought to shore. Pierres body was not able to be immediately removed so divers hooked tow cables to the entire vehicle to lift it out and recovered Pierre once the vehicle was on land. It's not yet clear how the SUV careened into the water. Detectives are looking through surveillance cameras to determine when and how the pair ended up in the water. The Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Unit, the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County, Boston Police, Boston Fire, and Massport Police also responded to the scene. Morales had planned to meet with Pierre then pick up her one-year-old son Matthew before returning home, but she never did 'Its not like her to leave our son behind and just disappear. She loves our son and would never do that,' Yeison Giron, her high school sweetheart and father to her one-year-old son, said Pierre was also the father to a nine-month-old daughter. 'It's scary. Hes such a good person, his soul is so good, hes never the type to do anything bad, he doesnt have the heart to,' a friend said on Pierre Friends and family of Morales said she was found with stab wounds on her body. It's not clear if Pierre sustained stab wounds as well as investigators haven't commented on how Morales or Pierre died. Friends of Morales, a young mother from New Bedford, said they last saw her Tuesday night. She was going to visit Pierre, then pick up her young son, who turns two next week. Her family says she met Pierre via Facebook through mutual friends three weeks ago, but they were nothing more than friends. Yeison Giron, her high school sweetheart and father to her one-year-old son, said he knew something was wrong when she didnt return home. 'Its not like her to leave our son behind and just disappear. She loves our son and would never do that,' he said to CBS News. Her family was able to track her last whereabouts through a Snapchat video she posted. Morales body was extricated from the wreck underwater and brought to shore. Pierres body was not able to be immediately removed so divers hooked tow cables to the entire vehicle to lift it out and recovered Pierre once the vehicle was on land A diver pictured searching the water for the submerged SUV on Friday A view of the search and rescue effort above Onlookers wiped away tears as rescue crews recovered the bodies 'I dont know what couldve been happening but for her to be stabbed that is very brutal,' her cousin Vicki Castro said to Boston25. 'She was stabbed. I have no clue I dont want to make speculations.' 'It doesnt make any sense for them to just drive into the water. She was not depressed, she was not suicidal, she was very, very happy,' he added. A GoFundMe page has already raised over $12,000 towards her funeral expenses. The Suffolk County DAs office is investigating the cause and manner of deaths. Pierre was also the father to a nine-month-old daughter. Ashley Pierre wrote in his GoFundMe page for his funeral expenses that he was an 'honest, hardworking and very loving young man and father.' 'He would always put a smile on your face and cheer you up if you were down.' Brendon Hilaire, Pierre's friend, said: 'It's scary. Hes such a good person, his soul is so good, hes never the type to do anything bad, he doesnt have the heart to.' A man knocked out another with a violent kick in the face during an argument over who had right of way. The 43-year-old victim hit the pavement on Stubbington Avenue in Portsmouth, Hampshire, and is still being treated in hospital for head injuries. The shirtless man, a 30-year-old from Havant, was arrested on suspicion of assault and has since been released under investigation. The fight turned violent when the shirtless man punched the other in the face during an argument over who had right of way in Portsmouth, Hampshire A woman tried to interfere and stop the fighting but she could not get in between them safely. The same woman later apprehended the man so he could not drive away The fight between the two in cars was filmed by a bystander from a window in a building overlooking the street. The clip starts with the two men shouting at each other over who has right of way when suddenly one of the men, wearing no shirt, begins to punch and taunt the victim. A woman tries to get between them to stop the fighting but cannot safely interfere. The topless man then launches a kick at the other man, who grabs his foot and twists him away. The shirtless man regains his balance however and draws back to deliver a brutal kick to the man's face. The below forces the man backwards and he smashes his head on the ground with a chilling thud. The man was knocked out after he was violently kicked in the face and hit the ground hard. He was taken to hospital where is is still receiving treatment for head injuries The topless man then tries to exit the scene but is stopped by the same woman from before. He tussles with the woman as other bystanders rush to the man on the street and shout 'He needs help'. As the clip ends, there are calls for the emergency services with one voice bizarrely yelling: 'Call 911.' The violence has shocked many social media users. @BaxtersDad90 wrote under the post: 'Call 911. It just goes to show how much American culture is ingrained into the psyche of the UK.' @Fionak09790302 said: 'Some humans are absolute animals. This is horrendous.' @brownybiglip added: 'Both lives just changed forever in 10 seconds there not worth it, praying he survives this.' @PompeyPleb commented: 'He was released for hospital yesterday. He had a small bleed on the brain and a fractured skull I was told.' Anyone with information or who saw what happened should call 101 quoting 44200306979. China's output of storage batteries to power new energy vehicles (NEV) edged up by 6.4 percent year on year in July, rebounding from a 16.2-percent decrease in June, industry data showed. The output stood at 6.1 gigawatt-hours last month, and the sector's total output in the first seven months of the year plummeted by 39.8 percent to 29.6 gigawatt-hours, according to the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance. In July, the installed capacity of the batteries came in at 5 gigawatt-hours, up 6.8 percent both from the previous month and the same period last year, showed the data. A total of 45 storage battery companies in the NEV market reported their batteries installed last month, three companies less than in June. Sales of NEVs in China posted robust growth in July, with a total of 98,000 NEVs were sold last month, up 19.3 percent year on year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. A San Antonio man has been charged with murder after a four-vehicle crash Friday on the Southeast Side, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Phillip R. Lopez, 30, allegedly drove a stolen vehicle through a red light and struck three cars around 5:45 p.m. on the 2800 block of Goliad Road. The driver of one of the other cars, a 53-year-old woman named Olga Balderas De Anda, was transported to the hospital after the collision. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox Balderas De Anda was pronounced dead Friday at the hospital. Next of kin have been notified, police said. San Antonio police said Balderas De Anda was turning southbound, with a green light, onto Goliad Road from a parking lot. Lopez, driving a stolen Toyota Rav4, disregarded a red light and entered the intersection at a "very high rate of speed," police said. He struck a Ford Focus, Balderas De Anda's Toyota Rav4 and a Ford Mustang that was stopped at the red light, according to police. One witness detained Lopez while others tried to help the victim. Lopez was arrested and charged with murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and theft of a vehicle. The case remains under investigation. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Barbara Anthony, a 19-year-old Port Richmond resident, is still considered missing, the NYPD said on Sunday. The womans family was not present at her home on Sunday; however, a man at the residence confirmed Anthony was still missing after returning home for a brief stint. Anthony, a resident of Avenue B, was initially deemed missing on Aug. 2. Police described Anthony as 5 feet 6 inches tall and approximately 185 pounds. She was last seen wearing all blue clothing. The NYPD provided a photo of Anthony. Anyone with information in regard to this missing person is asked to call the NYPDs Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential. Police reported an unconscious person at a location on Jersey Pike. When police arrived EMS (Medic 3) was on scene and had woken up the unconscious person. Police spoke to the man, who said he did not need any medical attention. He had broken up with his girlfriend and was walking to his mother's house on Irvin Road. He had taken a nap while walking. Police transported him to the Irvin Road address.* * *Officers checked out another sleeping man on Brainerd Road. An unknown caller said there was a man asleep in his white Toyota Tundra in the Applebee's parking lot.Upon arrival, police made contact with the man. The truck was not running and the keys were nowhere to be found. He said he had a few drinks at Applebee's and he did not wish to drive home, so he decided to sleep it off inside his vehicle. He said he was going to walk across the street and get some breakfast and then sleep for a few more hours prior to leaving.* * *In an incident on Greenway View Drive, police spoke with a woman who said she believed she had won $75,000 on a lottery ticket and the clerk at Murphy Gas Station only gave her $5. Police checked the lottery ticket and the clerk was correct - the disappointed lady did not win the $75,000 she believed she had.* * *Police responded to 5479 Hwy. 58 at Baptist Cornerstone Church. They spoke with a man who said he was there to walk his dog. He saw someone lying underneath the church van. The unknown person suddenly jumped up and ran off. The walker believes they were trying to steal a catalytic converter. The suspect was described as a large older white male with a bald head. No other suspect information is known at this time.* * *Police conducted a field interview at 2884 Crest Terrace Dr. A man said he has been delivering papers for eight years. A box of the Times sits on his front passenger seat. His rear view mirror supports his plastic bags. His beard has gray on the sides. He said he announced his occupation, saying, "newspaper" as he passed by. He drove a different vehicle - an S10 - then. Neighbors must have begun noticing him and became concerned. Photo: BC Cancer Foundation A new study suggests that cervical cancer tumours correlate to HPV types. According to an analysis of Ugandan women with cervical cancers, there are significant genomic differences between tumours that are caused by HPV, indicating HPV could impact the characteristics and prognosis of cervical cancer. The leading cause of cervical cancer is HPV. The study published in Nature Genetics by a team of scientists from the University of British Columbia and Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer takes a look at different cervical cancer samples which are infected by different HPV types. These HPV types are also known as clades. The most common causes of cervical cancer can be linked to HPV-16 and HPV-18 which belong to clades A9 and A7, which have been detected in approximately 70 per cent of cases. HPV-18 is associated with more aggressive types of cancer. We are very grateful to have had the opportunity to engage in a wonderful collaboration, involving teams of researchers from different countries and continents, to use genome science to analyze these very precious samples from Ugandan patients, says Dr. Marco Marra, director of the GSC and head of UBCs department of medical genetics in the faculty of medicine. This opportunity speaks to the foresight of those who collaborated with the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala to perform sample collection, and the study funders that made it possible. We are especially grateful to the support of the patients, without whom this work could not have happened. With HPV vaccinations and regular screenings, cervical cancer is decreasing in B.C., but it is the fourth most common worldwide cancer and is the most common form of cancer-related deaths in sub-Saharan African females. By 2040, researches predict a 50 per cent increase in cervical cancer related mortalities. In B.C. alone this year, approximately 200 people are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 50 will die. Shweta Singh Kirti, the sister of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has thanked fans and well-wishers around the globe for joining the prayer meet for him. She said that more than a million people joined the 24-hour spiritual meet and prayed for him. More than a million joining from all over the world to pray for Sushant. Its a spiritual revolution and it is gaining momentum around the world, our prayers will not go unanswered. #GlobalPrayers4SSR #CBIForSSR #Godiswithus #JusticeForSushant, Shweta wrote, sharing a collage of pictures of the attendees. Ankita Lokhande, Sushants ex-girlfriend, who also offered prayers for him, commented on the post and said, Prayers can change anything. Sushant was found dead at his Mumbai home on June 14 and the Mumbai Police have said that it is a case of suicide. On the two-month anniversary of his death, Shweta took to social media to urge fans and well-wishers to participate in a global 24-hour spiritual and prayer observation. It has been 2 months you left us Bhai and we are still fighting to know the truth, to know what actually happened that day. I request you all to please join us for Global 24-hour spiritual and prayer observation for Sushant Singh Rajput, so that the truth prevails and we find justice for our beloved Sushant #GlobalPrayers4SSR #CBIForSSR #Warriors4SSR #justiceforSushantSinghRajput #godiswithus, she wrote on Instagram. Also read | Kareena Kapoor on one quality of hers that has rubbed off on Saif Ali Khan: His emotional quotient has increased by 50% Shweta has been pushing for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into Sushants death. In an emotional video appeal shared on social media, 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. Last month, Sushants father KK Singh had filed an FIR against Rhea Chakraborty and others in Patna, accusing them of abetment to suicide. With FIR being in Patna, the Bihar Police began their own investigation, and there was a turf war between the Bihar and Maharashtra police forces. Earlier this month, the Centre approved the involvement of the CBI in the case, on the recommendation of the Bihar government. 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 Oil transmission pipes at the PV Oil Corporation. Last week, the oil and gas sector posted highest gains of 4.4 per cent. - VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung The VN-Index on the Ho Chi Minh Stock exchange (HoSE) lost 0.50 per cent to end the Friday session at 850.74 points. The index had gained 1.1 per cent last week. An average of 278.3 million shares were traded on the southern exchange during each session last week, worth VND4.6 trillion (US$199 million). The VN-Index is forecast to face correction pressure during early trading sessions next week. The index will receive support from 840 points, said Tran Xuan Bach, a stock analyst at Bao Viet Securities Co. Overall, we maintain our expectation that the index will soon break the upward resistance of 858-860 points and head toward the strong resistance of 878-883 points in the short term, he said. The market may fluctuate considerably next week with the maturity of August futures contracts. Besides, the review sessions of funds bench-marking MSCI Frontier Market Index will take place during the last weeks of August and possibly trigger wild fluctuations for blue-chip indices of their baskets, Bach said. According to Viet Dragon Securities Company, during last Fridays trading session, indices rose at the beginning but could not keep their pace due to large profit-taking pressure. This showed that market could still correct and had yet to reach the balance. Investors should not rush to participate in the market to preserve accounts, the company said. Ngo Quoc Hung, senior analyst at MB Securities Co's market strategy department, said that from now until the end of this year, the stock market was still heavily dependent on the unpredictable developments of external elements such as the COVID-19 pandemic, US-China trade tensions and the US presidential election in November. With so many uncertain variables, it is too early to forecast a long-term recovery period for the market. Instead of making predictions, investors should prepare for different scenarios to respond in accordance with market developments, he said. Foreign traders continued their selling. On the HoSE, foreign investors net sold VND208 billion on Friday, up 61 per cent compared to the net selling value in the previous session. They have been net sellers for six consecutive sessions on HoSE with a total value of up to VND832 billion. According to BIDV Securities Company, local investors should keep a close watch on the net selling activities of foreign investors. If this net selling trend continues with high volume while the global market experiences negative movements, the market will face significant pressure in the short run, it said. Last week, the oil and gas sector posted highest gains of 4.4 per cent, with notable gainers of PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation (PVS), PetroVietnam Oil Corporation (PV Oil), Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (BSR), PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Co (PVD) and Viet Nam National Petroleum Group (PLX). Consumer service sector also outperformed with an increase of 3.2 per cent. Banking sector rose by 2.4 per cent. On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index lost 0.54 per cent to end Friday's session at 116.23 points. The northern market index had gained 3.06 per cent last week. An average of 76.5 million shares were traded on the northern exchange during each session last week, worth VND1.2 trillion. Hey Clockface, a new recording from Elvis Costello, is due out in October. The 14-song release was recorded in Paris, New York, and Helsinki. Costello recently delivered a single, We Are All Cowards Now from the record, the third single to be released from the project. It is the rockers first recording since 2018s Look Now, which included collaborations with Carole King and Burt Bacharach. The LP took home a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. Costello was part of London pub-rock scene in the early 70s and helped usher in New Wave with his band The Attractions. Shop for concert tickets here: StubHub, SeatGeek, Ticketmaster Photo for illustration (Source: moh.gov.vn) Passengers on board were pregnant women, children aged below 18, the elderly, workers whose labour contracts expired, students without accommodations, stranded tourists and other especially disadvantaged cases. The Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines dispatched staff to support the citizens at the airport with all necessary procedures. To prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, pandemic prevention measures were put in place during the journey. After touching down at Can Tho International Airport in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, crewmembers and passengers were given health checks and placed into isolation in line with regulations. In the time ahead, similar flights will be conducted to carry disadvantaged citizens home, based on their needs and the countrys current quarantine capacity./. Belarus may be moving to the verge of political change. Mass demonstrations and labor strikes protesting President Alexander Lukashenkos re-election, which is widely seen as fraudulent, along with police brutality are powering the shift. Whether any transition is peaceful and improves governance may depend in part on the West. If allowed to help, the West might facilitate dialogue and a stable power transfer while defusing geopolitical risks. Despite belonging to the European Unions Eastern Partnership, Belarus has had strained ties with the EU, although the relationship improved some in 2016 when Brussels lifted most sanctions following the release of some political prisoners. Relations with the United States have similarly been troubled. Last February, however, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo visited Belarus, and the first U.S. ambassador to Belarus in over a decade has been nominated. Brussels and Washington have reacted cautiously to the Aug. 9 election and the street protests that followed. Pompeo and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the election was not free and fair, and the European Union has called on the regime to begin a dialogue with civil society. The European Union has announced plans for renewed sanctions. This is understandable. Perhaps more helpful will be offers such as the one made by neighboring Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland to mediate a reduction of tensions. Past governance crises in Central and Eastern Europe offer possible insights into how the West might facilitate a peaceful solution in Belarus. In 2003 in Georgia, after a flawed parliamentary vote, tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets. President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned. The European Union, United States, and United Nations provided technical aid, such as to rectify voter lists and train exit pollsters. These contributions and international monitoring helped ensure the integrity of a presidential election. In Ukraine in 2004, a fraudulent run-off presidential vote sparked massive protests. The European Union helped to steward an improved election law, and the West sought a second vote. International monitors helped ensure a free and fair vote. The opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, won. A decade later, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovychs refusal to sign a promised EU Association Agreement led thousands to occupy Maidan Square during the cold winter of 2013-2014. When police killed about a hundred protesters, EU leaders rushed to Kyiv and mediated a settlement. The next day, Yanukovych fled Kyiv. Another successful EU mediation this time in strong partnership with the United States occurred in 2001 in Macedonia (now North Macedonia). An ethnic Albanian insurgency stopped short of exploding into a full-scale civil war thanks to the U.S. and EU-brokered Ohrid Framework Agreement. It expanded the linguistic and cultural rights of ethnic Albanian citizens. In Belarus, it is uncertain whether the authorities would allow the West to play such roles. To lessen Moscows concerns, the West could emphasize that its only aim is a peaceful power transition, not a geopolitical realignment. Whereas in Georgia and Ukraine the opposition sought pro-Western affiliations, such as EU Association Agreements or NATO membership, this seems not to be the case in Belarus. An end to autocratic corruption need not bring about a geopolitical shift. A more democratic, Eastern Slavic state on Russias border might be difficult for the Kremlin to accept, but the European Union and the United States could make clear that any improvement in relations with Moscow would depend on its not intervening coercively in Belarus. This risk became evident on August 15 when Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced confidence that the crisis would "be resolved soon." How could the West support peaceful change in Belarus? The West might consider calling for a new presidential election in Belarus with credible monitoring. The West and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe could provide technical assistance to help ensure fair campaigning and honest balloting. After an election, the Belarusian authorities and opposition might ask for further help, avoiding Yanukovychs mistake in waiting too long to request mediation support. For now, police repression may clear the streets. But longer-term political stability and Lukashenkos personal future may require a government that enjoys more popular support. Lukashenko may not welcome Western mediation unless he fears being overthrown, a greater risk if security forces begin to defect. If and when asked, the West could be ready immediately to assist with free and fair elections and the formation of a legitimate government. William Courtney is an adjunct senior fellow at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation and was U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan, Georgia, and a U.S.-Soviet commission to implement the Threshold Test Ban Treaty. Michael Haltzel, Chairman of the Transatlantic Leadership Network and Senior Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University, is former European Policy Advisor to then-Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. The views expressed are the authors' own. First, the good news: Symvivo Corp., a Canadian company, has a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate in phase one trials. The bad news is that the federal government is dismantling the incentives to find a vaccine. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion First, the good news: Symvivo Corp., a Canadian company, has a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate in phase one trials . The bad news is that the federal government is dismantling the incentives to find a vaccine. In the battle against the global pandemic, public- and private-sector actors both have essential roles to play. Governments are collecting data, sharing information, removing regulatory roadblocks and identifying where resources are most desperately needed. Meanwhile, the private sector is ramping up research and development of treatments and vaccines, speeding up clinical trials, and arranging for large-scale manufacture and distribution. The result, we hope, will be a vaccine developed in record time. But the federal government is undermining these efforts. In March, the government amended Canadas Patent Act, providing for a new compulsory licensing regime. The government caved to calls for new legislation to pre-emptively confiscate the intellectual property (IP) of any yet-to-be-discovered COVID-19 treatment. Canada is among several countries with national legislation that allows for flexibilities to apply to patent protection. As described by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) , this includes "compulsory licensing, especially in cases where (voluntary licences) are refused or too slow to respond to an urgent situation." Federal Bill C13 facilitates Canadas grant of government use licences. Canada is not the only country to exhibit such short-sightedness Chile, Ecuador, Germany and Israel have also moved to suspend IP rights, including patents for new COVID-19 treatments. But Canadas amended Patent Act additionally weakens protections for intellectual property in the life sciences, which already lag behind other industrialized countries. A new study by the Fraser Institute describes how Canadian patient access to potentially life-saving biologic medicines is comparatively limited. Although cutting-edge biologic drugs are treating previously untreatable conditions, often with fewer adverse effects, improving the health of patients and saving lives worldwide, Canadian patients are missing out. As of December 2018, the latest month of comparable available data, Canada has approved only 10 biosimilars, which are the biologic drug equivalent of a generic "small molecule" drug, compared to 15 in the United States, 20 in Australia and 62 in the European Union. Biologic drugs are produced from or contain elements of living organisms. They are therefore more complicated and more expensive to develop, produce, distribute and dispense than other medicines. They are also at the forefront of treatment and vaccine technologies for COVID-19. Strong intellectual property rights for biologics are crucial for expediting clinical trials for preventive vaccines and therapeutic biological medicines, for scaling up manufacture and distribution capacity, and investigating the use of convalescent plasma in the treatment of COVID-19. 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. Clearly, these protections are crucial in the fight against COVID-19, and in the development of the biologics that will treat a host of other diseases. The ability of drug companies to protect their intellectual property for example, by using data exclusivity to prevent competing firms from using proprietary testing data to produce generic versions of the drugs is essential for incentivizing the development of biologics. These protections are particularly critical because biopharmaceutical innovations are easily copied and sold by competitors, eliminating the financial incentives that drive innovation. Unfortunately, Canadas intellectual property laws are weak compared to laws in other jurisdictions, including the U.S. and EU. For example, Canada has one of the shortest terms of data exclusivity for pre-clinical and clinical trials. In the face of the global pandemic, intellectual property rights are vital for mobilizing a rapid response and drawing on the greatest banks of knowledge. If Canadian policy-makers want to improve access to state-of-the-art drugs in Canada, and ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are available, they must incentivize it and strengthen protections for intellectual property. Kristina M.L. Acri is an associate professor of economics at Colorado College and a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute. Troy Media MILWAUKEE Is it really a convention if nobody convenes? The streets were lifeless by the Wisconsin Center on Monday for the kickoff of the Democrats' quadrennial meeting to crown their presidential nominee. A handful of police officers, including Secret Service agents, were guarding a fenced-off arena in which almost nobody was allowed. Nearby storefronts and bars that expected to be bustling when this city was announced as the convention site were desolate or closed. The historic Riverside concert hall next door was shuttered. Mask-wearing pedestrians were jaywalking across major streets with few cars around. Hotels that initially sold out were operating under capacity and furloughing staffers. "We were set up to have the best year we've ever had," said Kerri Huelsbeck, the general manager of the Courtyard by Marriott downtown, just one block from the arena. "Back in February, I would never have imagined this is where we'd be." The hotel was just 40 percent full, the sales manager said. In the mostly empty lobby was a wall of heart-shaped stickers with names on them. On the left were 20 stickers of working employees. On the right were 24 stickers of employees still on furlough. Huelsbeck was working double duty as the barista. The elimination of the in-person convention was the latest body blow to a city that had been overhauling its infrastructure in preparation for a huge year set to bring in billions in revenue. Music festivals and sporting events here have been canceled. The hometown Bucks, a contender for the NBA championship this year for the first time since 1971, cannot play in front of their fans. "This could've been a moment for Milwaukee to really shine. And now it's associated with all the negative things," Huelsbeck said with a sigh. "It just kind of sucks." As many as 50,000 people were expected here this week, before the coronavirus pandemic struck and turned the convention into an all-virtual event. Joe Biden is slated to accept the nomination on Thursday in live-streamed remarks from his home city of Wilmington, Delaware, along with every speaker starting Monday who was asked by the Democratic National Committee not to come. Story continues Even most of the DNC staff stayed away. Chairman Tom Perez flew here to sign some paperwork. Along the perimeter of the would-be convention hall were some dedicated activists, numbering in the single digits, who made the trip to make a point. Stephen Parlato of Boulder, Colorado, was standing in front of the black fence wearing an N95 mask and holding a piece of art that read, "BROKEN GOVERNMENT, SHATTERED LIVES." He said he had been planning to protest President Donald Trump at the convention since the 2018 midterm election and wasn't going to let the pandemic deter him. Stephen Parlato of Boulder, Colo., holds an original painting framed by the words "I'm here to express my dire concern for the welfare of our country if this president is re-elected," he said. "You've got to do what you can do if you're going to live with yourself, and if you realize the moment is as dire as this one is for our democracy." The weather was sunny and 80 degrees around mid-day Monday. At a park across the street was a handful of people waving a "Democrats for life of America" banner. It was organized by Terrisa Bukovinac of San Francisco, who said she supports many progressive causes but said she could not vote for Biden because he supports abortion rights. "We're all kind of left-leaning pro-lifers," she said. "And the only way that we're going to get any kind of visibility is to show up." As she spoke one man, driving by, rolled down his window and said "go Trump" in a monotone voice. Bukovinac said she would not vote for President Donald Trump either. The cancellation of the in-person convention was a blow to Democrats, who picked Milwaukee to right a past wrong: 2016 nominee Hillary Clinton famously ignored the state and ended up losing it by less than 1 point. Election analysts say it could tip the 2020 result, too, as Biden leads in recent polls. On Sunday evening, Trump's re-election campaign hosted a "women for Trump" event in the nearby village of Pleasant Prairie, featuring senior staffers Mercedes Schlapp and Erin Perrine. Before the event, Perrine said Biden's decision not to appear in person to accept the nomination shows that Democrats "think they can take the Badger State for granted." "We're here," she said, moments before walking out into a room of several-dozen attendees, many of whom were sitting in close quarters and not wearing masks. Democrats say their decision to make the convention virtual was designed to save lives in a pandemic that they blame Trump for mishandling by ignoring the policy counsel and best practices offered by public health experts. Around the city on Monday some businesses were wondering whether things would pick up even just a bit. "I just keep wondering if we're actually going to get busy," said Mel Wolfe, the general manager of a Potbelly Sandwich Shop. "We were expecting to be very, very crazy busy non-stop every day." Even after it went virtual, she said, "I was still hoping for at least a little bit of something." In front of the arena, just behind the fence, five officers were standing guard. A Secret Service agent in sunglasses said the convention was designated a National Special Security Event, which meant the agency was tasked with helping protect it. But wasn't it odd to be deployed to essentially guard nobody? "It's unusual," the officer said with a shrug. Jin Tang Shen, 56, of Philadelphia, the cheery, energetic owner of the Yakitori Boy lounge in Chinatown, died Sunday, Aug. 9. He suffered a sudden cardiac episode, said daughter Joanna. She remembered her father, known as Jimmy, as a risk-taker and entrepreneur who would never give up. Whenever he got knocked down, he would continuously get back up with a smile, she said. He was never too busy to stop and share some wisdom and inspiration. In 2007, Chinatown was a more homogeneous place than it is now: blocks of restaurants, groceries, and bakeries operated by people from all over China, with a smattering of Vietnamese restaurants, a Malaysian place, and a Burmese restaurant. But Mr. Shen, who bused tables after he first immigrated to the United States from Guangzhou, had a different idea for a former supermarket on 11th Street between Race and Vine Streets. During a trip to New York City, Mr. Shen and his partners ate yakitori at one place and sushi at another, and sang karaoke at a third. They decided that Yakitori Boy would offer skewers, sushi, and what his partners called japas Japanese tapas, small dishes such as bacon-wrapped quail eggs. Karaoke at the time was relegated to corner bars. Yakitori Boy has a collection of private rooms off the second-floor bar to allow groups of friends to sing their hearts out in private. Business initially was slow, Mr. Shen said in 2017. Asian customers from different countries started coming here at first, he said. Especially after the first couple of years, we have many more American customers. Now, 70% are American, and I think 80% of them are locals the rest are tourists. Mr. Shen, a gregarious host, could even be persuaded to grab a karaoke mic when the mood struck. His favorite song was John Legends All of Me. Mr. Shen also owned Terakawa Ramen in Chinatown, Teriyaki Boy in Princeton, and Ramen Kumamoto in Newark, Del. In addition to his daughter, Mr. Shen is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and a son, Edward. A viewing will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, at Choi Funeral Home, 247 N. 12th St. A funeral will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, at the funeral home. Burial will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery, Huntingdon Valley. Police at the scene in the Windermere Road area of south Belfast The death of a 60-year-old woman at her home in Belfast is being treated as murder, police have said. The body of the woman was found in the Windermere Road area of the city on Sunday. A man (61) remains in police custody on suspicion of murder. It's believed the PSNI made the arrest as the man walked down Cairnshill Road in the area on Sunday. Residents said four police cars and two ambulances were at the scene in what one described as a "quiet residential street". Castlereagh South Alliance councillor Michelle Guy, who lives in the area, said local people were stunned by the news. The name of the woman who died has not yet been made public. Detective Inspector Jennifer Rea said: "I want to offer my condolences to the family and loved ones of the victim at this tragic time. I would appeal to anyone who has information they believe may assist our investigation to contact detectives on 101, quoting reference number 1566 of 16/08/20. Guernsey, Channel Islands, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In connection with AP Alternative Assets, L.P.s (AAA; Euronext Amsterdam: AAA) equity investment in Athene Holding Ltd. (Athene; NYSE: ATH), AAA informs its investors that Athene has released its unaudited statutory financial statements for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 for its main operating entities in Iowa, Delaware and Bermuda on its website at ir.athene.com . For additional information regarding Athene, please visit www.athene.com. About AP Alternative Assets AP Alternative Assets was established by Apollo Global Management, Inc. and its subsidiaries (Apollo) and is a closed-end limited partnership established under the laws of Guernsey. Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with 30 years of experience investing across the capital structure of leveraged companies. AAA is managed by Apollo Alternative Assets, L.P. For more information about AP Alternative Assets, please visit www.apolloalternativeassets.com. Contact Ann Dai (New York) +1 (212) 822 0678 This announcement does not constitute or form part of an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to future events and circumstances. Such statements are based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from the historical experience and expressed or implied expectations of AAA. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and AAA does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements unless required by law. Attachment At this point it appears sending kids back to school in September would be very reasonable, says Dr. Mustafa Hirji, acknowledging its still a personal decision parents will have to make on their own. Given the situation right now, given the very sensible measures the province has recommended be put in place, I certainly think going back for in-person learning is very reasonable for children to be doing at this time, said Hirji, acting medical officer of health for Niagara. Parents ultimately need to make the decision for whats right for them, given that. Hirji said its a difficult decision for parents concerned about possibly exposing their child to COVID-19. District School Board of Niagara has asked parents to let it know by Monday whether their children will return for in-school teaching or stay home to learn online. Niagara Catholic District School Board wants to know by Friday. Hirji suggested weighing the risks and benefits of a number of factors. I think it is important to remember there is never any situation where there is zero risk right now from COVID-19, he said. Any time you are venturing out of the home, or anybody else is there is some small risk of being exposed. We need to accept that were not trying to find zero risk, were trying to find low enough risk that we can feel comfortable with. Across Niagara three new cases were reported Saturday and four more on Sunday. Currently there are 38 active cases, including one in hospital. There are five outbreaks, including two in long-term care homes. This year, there have been 916 cases across the region and at least 64 people have died. Hirji said Niagaras public health department has been working with both boards to plan safe conditions in schools and with three weeks to go, it is still evolving. Information is posted on both boards websites: DSBN.org and NiagaraCatholic.ca. Lots of things are being put in place, which I think is going to help lower the risk such as spacing of desks, staggering break times to keep students apart, screening children before they enter the school and providing lots of hand sanitizer. Families need to think about, do they feel that that is reassuring enough or not, said Hirji. In deciding, he said, parents should consider whether their child responds well to online learning at home, or if they do better with in-person teaching in a school setting. Also, is there adequate supervision at home to keep the child safe and focused. Its also important, he said, to be aware of how much infection there is in the community and to measure the risk. Currently, incidence in the community is low but that depends on people continuing to be vigilant about social distancing, hand washing and wearing masks, Hirji said. The amount of infection there is outside the school will affect teachers, affect children who will then bring it into the school, he said. So if there are very few infections outside of the school, we can expect there will be very few in the school as well. He added, If there are people in the home who are quite elderly or have medical conditions or who are vulnerable, that might be an issue where parents need to take a little more concern and be a bit more cautious. He said even for parents who opt to keep their children at home, there are points throughout the school year where they can be sent back to class. Many of these issues are very personal, and I think parents need to sit down and talk about it and think it through, Hirji said. Philadelphia, August 17, 2020 - The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) today released a new clinical guideline recommending that physicians treat acute pain from non-low back musculoskeletal injuries with topical NSAIDs, with or without menthol gel, as first-line therapy. The new, evidence-based, joint guideline was published today in Annals of Internal Medicine. The guideline also suggests that oral NSAIDS, acetaminophen, specific acupressure, or transcutaneous nerve stimulation are effective treatments and suggests against using opioids, including tramadol, except in cases of severe injury or intolerance of first-line therapies. Non-Pharmacological and Pharmacological Management of Acute Pain from Non-Low Back, Musculoskeletal Injuries in Adults: A Clinical Guideline from the American College of Physicians and American Academy of Family Physicians was developed based on the best available evidence of the benefits and harms of managing this condition in the outpatient setting. This guideline focused on non-low back pain since low back pain has been specifically addressed in other guidelines. Musculoskeletal injuries, including ankle, neck and knee injuries, are common and most frequently treated in outpatient settings. In 2010, they accounted for more than 65 million health care visits in the United States, and, of injuries that were treated in a physician's office, four out of five were musculoskeletal. The estimated annual cost of treating musculoskeletal injuries was $176.1 billion in 2010. The ACP and AAFP are two of the largest physician organizations in the United States representing primary care doctors. Their combined membership - nearly 300,000 - including internal medicine physicians (internists) and family physicians, treat a large majority of patients in the United States who experience pain. "As a physician, these types of injuries and associated pain are common, and we need to address them with the best treatments available for the patient. The evidence shows that there are quality treatments available for pain caused by acute musculoskeletal injuries that do not include the use of opioids," said Jacqueline W. Fincher, MD, president, ACP. "There are a number of recommended interventions that are not opioids to choose from, and topical NSAIDs should be the first line of treatment." In the guideline, the ACP and AAFP suggest against prescribing opioids for patients with acute pain from non-low back, musculoskeletal injuries. This includes tramadol, except in cases of severe injury or intolerance of first-line therapies. Opioids are associated with the risk of long-term addiction and overdose. Rather, the guideline recommends topical NSAIDs, with or without menthol gel, as the first-line therapy in patients with acute pain from non-low back, musculoskeletal injuries. Evidence has shown that topical NSAIDs were among the most effective for pain reduction, physical function, treatment satisfaction, and symptom relief and were not associated with any significant harms. The guideline suggests several other treatment options, including oral NSAIDs to reduce or relieve symptoms including pain or acetaminophen to reduce pain, in addition to specific acupressure and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation to reduce pain. "This guideline is not intended to provide a one-size-fits-all approach to managing non-low back pain," said Gary LeRoy, MD, president of the AAFP. "Our main objective was to provide a sound and transparent framework to guide family physicians in shared decision making with patients." The joint guideline is based on a systematic evidence review of the comparative efficacy and safety of non-pharmacological and pharmacological management of acute pain from non-low back, musculoskeletal injuries in adults in the outpatient setting and a systematic review of the predictors of prolonged opioid use. The evidence reviews were conducted by McMaster University and funded by the National Safety Council (NSC). ### About the American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States. ACP members include 163,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook. About the American Academy of Family Physicians Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 136,700 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits -- that's 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America's underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit http://www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP's award-winning consumer website, http://www.familydoctor.org. ACP Media Contact: Andrew Hachadorian (ahachadorian@acponline.org) or 215-351-2514) AAFP Media Contact: Janelle Davis (jdavis@aafp.org) or 913- 912-0377) (Newser) The former CEO of McDonald's is hitting back at the fast food chain, filing court documents Friday seeking to have the company's lawsuit against him tossed. Steve Easterbrook was ousted last year due to an inappropriate relationship with an employee, and now McDonald's is seeking to recoup some of the millions paid to Easterbrook upon his departure, claiming it just discovered that he also covered up relationships with other employees. In his filing, Easterbrook says that's not true, and that the company had all the relevant information about his relationships with subordinates when it negotiated his separation agreement, Bloomberg reports. McDonald's says it stands by its complaint. story continues below "McDonaldsa sophisticated entity represented by numerous internal and external experts when it entered into the separation agreementis aware it cannot credibly allege a breach of contract claim," Easterbrooks lawyers say in the filing. "Instead, it improperly seeks to manufacture claims for a breach of fiduciary duty or fraud." At Crain's Chicago Business, Joe Cahill argues that McDonald's completely mishandled Easterbrooks ouster. "Directors last fall missed a chance to take an unequivocal stance on behalf of shareholders and employees," he writes. (Read more McDonald's stories.) Despite a global consensus that the coronavirus pandemic originated from Wuhan, China, experts believe the deadly virus was first seen in 2012 inside a deep Chinese mineshaft where miners came down with a mysterious but similar illness to COVID-19 after they were exposed to bats. Jonathan Latham, a virologist, and Allison Wilson, a molecular biologist, from Bioscience Resource Project, a non-profit organization in Ithaca, theorized the claim after they successfully translated a 66-page master's thesis that was written by the Chinese medical doctor who treated the mineshaft workers and gathered their tissue samples for testing. The true origin of the coronavirus? According to the New York Post, in an article Latham and Wilson wrote and published on July 15, the researchers said the evidence of the incident led them to the conclusion that had them reconsider the origin of the coronavirus pandemic that the world believed. Latham told reporters that COVID-19 "almost certainly escaped" from the Wuhan Lab. In April 2012, six miners working in the Mojiang mine located in Yunnan province in the southwestern region of China fell ill after trying to remove bat feces for more than 14 days. Later, three of the men succumbed to their conditions and died. The man who treated the workers, Physician Li Xu, wrote in his thesis that the men suffered similar symptoms to the coronavirus including high fever, dry cough, sore limbs, and in some of them, headache. The researchers also said that the treatment conducted on the miners were those associated with treatments being given to patients of COVID-19 today, including ventilation and various drugs such as steroids and antibiotics. Also Read: Kim Jong Un Orders Distribution of Grains from Private Reserve, Sparking Theories of Emergency in North Korea The thesis also described how Li conducted multiple tests for hepatitis, dengue fever, and HIV but later discussed with other specialists in China about the symptoms of the men, including Virologist Zhong Nanshan, the man famous for managing the 2003 SARS outbreak who some call the world's greatest scientist. Li sent multiple samples of the miners' tissues to the Wuhan Lab, where the majority of the world believes that coronavirus originated from. Scientists at the institution discovered the infection was a SARS-like coronavirus found on a Chinese rufous horseshoe bat, as reported by The Sun. Evolved to infect humans Latham and Wilson, urged by the findings in the study, theorized that the virus evolved inside the infected miners and adapted to spreading among humans. However, Chinese officials still believe that the Wuhan wet market is the origin of the global health crisis, where it started to spread in December 2019. Several experts doubt the origins after officials immediately cleaned up and shut down the region just as the coronavirus began spreading and gaining international attention. The news also comes as cases of Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, began surfacing in China where recently, the second victim has died. The casualty was a man from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China and suffered multiple organ failures earlier this month. The announcement was made on the website of the Bayannao'er city health commission. Related Article: Fauci Says There's 'No Reason' America Can't Do In-Person Voting @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Photo: (Photo : unsplash/Avrielle Suleiman) Yoga could help relieve symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). A study found that patients who did yoga had improved mental health. Patients with GAD usually seek varied methods to treat their health. CBT is the main treatment One of the methods they use for treatment is yoga. However, there is not much data that supports how effective yoga is compared to first-line treatments that doctors use. The most famous treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It is a therapeutic approach that helps them know and re-frame the negative thinking of patients. Yoga benefits Yoga has been a cure since ancient times. Many studies show that apart from controlling blood glucose levels, it also helps improve muscle-skeletal ailments. Yoga could also maintain heart health and moderate the nervous system. See also: Youth depression: likely caused by early life stress exposure, study proves One great way to improve your strength and flexibility is by doing yoga. Almost anyone could do yoga besides those who want to meditate. Many types of yoga let you relax, while others let you move more. Many focus on learning poses and include focused breathing. Yoga vs CBT and stress education The new study had 226 adults with GAD as subjects. Ninety-three of them did Kundalini yoga, 90 had CBT, and 43 had stress education (control group). The research team's main goal is to see if yoga performs like the CBT. See also: Could Cord Blood Infusion Help Children With Autism and Intellectual Disability? After three months, both those who did Kundalini yoga and CBT had improved more in GAD symptoms than the control group. However, the team found that CBT was more effective than Kundalini yoga. More than half (54 percent) of the yoga group had improved symptoms while only 33 percent in the control group. Seventy-one percent of those that had CBT have improved symptoms. The research team then found that while yoga could help with GAD, CBT is still the "gold standard treatment." Many people are affected The Anxiety and Depression Association of America said that every year, 6.8 million adults are being affected by GAD. The number makes up 3.1 percent of the US population. People with this condition could be too concerned about career, money, or other issues. They might also be too focused on possible disasters. The disorder lets people be concerned about things that they do not have to worry about. Sadly, many people with GAD are not willing to take treatments for the ailment. Most of them also have no access to evidence-based treatments. See also: Clingy Children with Teachers Cause: Difficult Relationship with Mother This new study proves that an available, famous, and inexpensive practice of yoga could be helpful to treat people with a generalized anxiety disorder. A New York University's Langone Health professor in the Department of Psychiatry and lead researcher, Dr. Naomi Simon, explained their research. She said that they found that yoga could improve symptoms for some people with GAD. She also added that the safe and widely available practice could be a useful tool in an overall treatment plan. SASSNITZ, Germany Israeli fighter jets on Monday landed in Germany for the first time, in a display of the two countries strong ties more than 75 years after the end of the Nazi Holocaust and as the German military is struggling with signs of rising far-right sentiment in its ranks. Beyond the symbolism, the cooperation is a chance for Germanys outdated armed forces, which are considered a critical component of NATO, to learn from Israels highly trained fighter pilots. For Israels military, it is an opportunity to learn about NATO techniques and train in new airspaces, expanding its ability to carry out operations on different types of terrain. After the crime against humanity that was the Shoah, it is a moving sign of our friendship today that we are flying side by side with the Israeli Air Force for the first time in our history, Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz, the head of Germanys Air Force, said in a statement, using the Hebrew word that refers to the Holocaust. German pilots have twice traveled to Israel for joint maneuvers in recent years, but this is the first time the Israelis are taking part in such exercises on German soil and over German air space. The first of six Israeli air force F-16 fighter jets touched down on Monday at the Norvenich air base in western Germany, where they will hold joint training exercises over the next two weeks. Click the photo to write a caption and have a chance to win a free subscription to the Norfolk Daily News. A wide-ranging framework for how schools are expected to reopen during the COVID-19 was given the green light in the Michigan House Monday. The legislation House Bills 5911, 5912 and 5913 finalized a deal reached between legislative leaders and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that lets local districts decide whether to offer in-person education, but requires districts to maintain minimum levels of teacher-student interaction in virtual settings. The main bill in the package, 5913, cleared the House in a 73-33 vote Monday after Senate approval over the weekend. The legislation now heads to Whitmer, who is expected to sign the bills into law. Related: Michigan Senate OKs framework for reopening schools during coronavirus pandemic Teachers unions announced their support of the legislation over the weekend, but school administrators and superintendents are concerned the legislation further complicates back-to-school plans already in motion and doesnt address state funding uncertainties. Rep. Pamela Hornberger, chair of the House Education Committee and a lead sponsor on the bills, hit back at that criticism, noting on the House floor she is done playing nice with adults in the education world that dont put students and families first. You need to do your job, she said. You were elected and hired to serve your students and families. These bills hold you accountable to them. Related: In-person learning not required for Michigan schools this fall, and other takeaways from Senate-passed education bills As in the Senate, several Democrats unsuccessfully sought to amend the package and expressed concerns about requirements tying state funding to student attendance and benchmark assessments. But other Democrats said that while they still have some concerns with the plan, it was the best lawmakers could offer ahead of the new school year. We needed to set some rules to the road, said state Rep. Sheryl Kennedy, D-Davison. The plan leaves it to local districts to determine reopening methods and guidelines, taking local COVID-19 metrics and recommendations from the local health department into account. There are no mandates tying state education funding to in-person instruction included in the legislation, although the plan asks districts to prioritize in-person instruction for K-5 students when possible to do safely. The legislation weights per-pupil funding for districts based on 75 percent of last years enrollment numbers and 25 percent of the 2020-2021 school year. Districts will have to provide at least two two-way interactions a week between at least 75 percent of enrolled students and their teachers. Under the plan, school boards will be required to review their districts instruction plans on a monthly basis in public meetings. Schools will be required to provide benchmark assessments to determine where students are at academically. In-person schooling was abruptly stopped in March, shortly after the coronavirus was first detected in Michigan. Many school districts are opting to continue virtual learning for the time being or test out hybrid combinations of virtual and in-person learning. 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. Read more on MLive: Coronavirus school reopenings to take center stage in weekend legislative session: Heres what lawmakers might do More virtual classrooms? House OKs Return to Learn bills in late-night session Michigan Democrats suggest skipping state standardized testing next school year over coronavirus concerns Michigan Republicans propose $1.3 billion plan for reopening K-12 schools this fall Reopening schools depends on how people behave, Michigans Dr. Khaldun says Ann Arbor Public Schools holding firm on plan to start year remotely What do Michigan teachers fear most about in-person learning? The students sitting in their classrooms Are Michigan students really going back to school? Teachers, health officials say reopening is a minefield 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 . Boots Ireland has stopped paying rent on some of its shops in Ireland. The company is now in a legal dispute with MNK Investments, the owner of the Omni Shopping Centre in Santry. In addition, the UK-listed company is facing a law suit from Balrath Investments over rent at the Charlestown Shopping Centre in Finglas. The story was first reported in the Irish Times. A spokesperson for the pharmacy chain said that since March it has remained committed to keeping stores open. This is despite the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on our business. Boots Ireland said it has contacted a number of its larger commercial landlords to discuss options for rental and service charge payments in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the business. At this time we paused some payments whilst discussions were ongoing. We wish to work together with our landlords to reach fair agreements that support Boots as one of Ireland's essential businesses at this time, the spokesperson said. This will help ensure a long-term and healthy future for the business allowing Boots to continue its role in providing vital pharmacy and healthcare services to communities across Ireland. The Irish arm of pharmaceutical chain Boots saw an 11pc rise in its operating profit last year to 26.5m thanks to the opening of new stores and strong pharmacy sales. Revenues rose 3.5pc to 339.6m in the 12 months to August 31, according to accounts for the company. However, as the results are for the 12 months to August 31 last year, it does not cover the period since Covid-19 first arrived in Ireland. MNK earlier this year also initiative legal action against Tesco which has yet to proceed. Amitabh Bachchan reminded his fans of his famous dialogue English is a funny language from the film Namak Haram as he shared a post on Instagram about how several English words hold different meanings, depending on their usage. He shared a collage of his own pictures to go with the post and wrote, You think English is easy?? 1) The bandage was *wound* around the *wound*. 2) The farm was used to *produce produce*. 3) The dump was so full that it had to *refuse* more *refuse*. 4) We must *polish* the *Polish* furniture..He could *lead* if he would get the *lead* out. ef JJ. Amitabhs Brahmastra co-star Mouni Roy shared a laughing emoji in reaction to the post. A fan commented, You made it easy in the movie Namak Haram for atleast for laymans of that era!!! Another wrote, English is very funny language as you have said it earlier. Amitabh is currently at home after he tested negative for the novel coronavirus and was discharged from the hospital earlier this month. The actor has been regularly thanking his fans for praying for him and his other family members including son Abhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai and granddaughter Aaradhya, who had also tested positive for Covid-19 but have recovered since. He recently shared one of his concerns with his fans in his latest blog post. Talking about the thousands of messages hes been receiving every day, he wrote, The sms jams the mobile ..the WhatsApp gets filled up not leaving any space for the other unconnected , or the Ef to connect with me .. the emails fill up the inbox .. its around 9800 plus at this time .. and since I must respond personally , which is something that I do not compromise with, it is becoming very time consuming for me .. Also read: Amitabh Bachchan sends hand-written note to Kunal Kemmu for his exceptional performance in Lootcase He continued, NOW .. during the period of the CoVid , there has been an excess of available time, so I am able to with due regard able to connect with each .. well almost .. but soon when the work begins and hopefully I shall have time being occupied by work schedules, the response shall be drying up .. and the complaints start .. . are you upset with me , why do you not reply to me , you keep doing that for others, are we not liked, why is there a favour attitude with some and not with us .. etc., etc., etc., .. Look to me all are favourites .. and I try to be democratically correct .. but designated time and other urgent work conditions give rise to the supposed overlooked attitude .. this needs to be understood .. there are time constraints .. and other commitments to be undertaken and there can be an overlooking. Asking his fans to refrain from this blame attitude, he said, can we reduce the number of messages at all the possible 200 thousand sites that come to me .. particularly because they all carry the same message. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Michael Dorie considers it a real compliment when someone tells him that theyve lived in Mobile for 30 years, but his two-hour boat tour taught them more about the area than theyd learned in three decades. A master boat captain, Dorie has led eco-tours all over the country. He and his business partner, Kristian Aboud, a native of Australia who was captivated by the beauty of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta and saw its potential, operate WildNative Tours, the company Aboud started in 2007 as Five Rivers Delta Safaris. In the years since, their popular Secretly Awesome Tour aboard a 40-passenger power catamaran, now docked at Cooper Riverside Park in downtown Mobile, have provided a rare opportunity to view the Mobile waterfront, from the Port of Mobile into Mobile Bay near the Battleship USS Alabama and up into the delta, from the water. It doesnt matter who you are, says Dorie, theres something for you on that tour. Next, WildNative expanded into canoe and kayak tours, offering a way to more closely see the sights at a slower pace, the gentle splash of the paddle and the song of birds sometimes the only sounds youll hear. Want to read more good news about Alabama? Sign up for the This is Alabama newsletter here. The company offers three rental locations in Baldwin County: on the Bon Secour River in Gulf Shores, where you might encounter dolphins, osprey and bald eagles; at Live Oak Landing in Stockton, in the central delta, where youll see live oaks and cypress trees; and at 5 Rivers Delta Resource Center on the Causeway in Spanish Fort, where the diverse wildlife includes alligators, birds, turtles and snakes all kinds of cool stuff, says Dorie. All three locations are very drivable, Dorie says. You could spend a few days seeing the waterways. In addition to the locations mentioned above, WildNative is happy to bring all the gear you need to you at any public boat launch. In March, the company started offering its first landlubber tours of downtown Mobile on its new fleet of Gotcha scooters. The one-hour Iconic Mobile Scooter Tour, originating at Mardi Gras Park, is an introductory tour to downtown, designed to help you learn the lay of the land, says Dorie. Unfortunately, right after these tours started, WildNative was forced to shut down for a month because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Things still arent quite back to normal theyre operating with their smallest staff in eight years but Dorie remains optimistic that the tour boat will be filled once again by next spring. Compared to past years, where in July the boat would do two to three tours a day with an average of 30 passengers on board, during July of 2020 there were only six tours total, with 12 to 15 passengers on each. No private groups have been booked in the past five months, either. A huge uptick in canoe and kayak tours has helped WildNative stay afloat this summer. Kayaks provide the perfect amount of social distancing, allowing people to spread out as they paddle along. We ask people to be patient and flexible, says Dorie. Call us and tell us what theyre interested in doing. For more information about WildNative Tours, visit wildnativetours.com, or call (251) 272-4088. GAZA / TEL AVIV - The Israeli Army started once again hitting Hamas targets on Sunday night, following the launch of incendiary balloons by Gaza on Sunday on Israeli farming fields in Neghev, an Israeli Army spokesperson said. The spokesperson said the Hamas targets included watchtowers that Hamas had placed along the demarcation line. According to Israel, in the past ten days incendiary (and sometimes explosive) balloons launched by Gaza have caused extensive damage and dozens of fires each day. In retaliation, Israel closed the marine area to Gaza fishermen and closed commercial crossings. Sources in Gaza said that as a result, the local electrical plant is at risk of shutting down on Tuesday because its reserves are nearly spent. Therefore apparently, electricity for Gaza Strip residents will be strictly rationed starting on Tuesday. Meanwhile in Gaza, an Egyptian intelligence delegation currently in Ramallah is expected to arrive in order to mediate between Israel and Hamas. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines Life) Celebrate National History Month with educational talks, an all-Filipino book fair, and some local music activations. The Itchyworms Waiting for the End to Start virtual album launch Local pop rock band The Itchyworms will be launching their fifth LP Waiting for the End to Start on Monday, August 17 through a virtual party. The band will be debuting songs from their album in this listening and live commentary event so fans will get to preview the songs before it hits online streaming platforms worldwide. They will also perform a few tracks from the album. There is no door charge to the album launch but everyone is encouraged to bring their own drinks. The event will be streamed at 7:30 p.m. via The Itchyworms Facebook account. Aklatan: All-Filipino Book Fair In 2019, the Aklatan Book Fair took off as the countrys largest local publication sale, led by the Book Development Association of the Philippines (BDAP). Over thirty publication houses from Metro Manila and beyond participated, including Adarna House, University of the Philippines Press, and Ateneo de Naga University Press. This year, Aklatan teams up with e-commerce website Shoppee to bring their selections straight to your home. Offering deals up to 50% off, theres no better time to stock up on local books and quarantine readings. The sale runs from August 16-18, 2020 on the Shoppee website. Pamana Talks: History of Manila from Down Under Pamana Talks is a lecture series focused on Philippine history from the perspectives of different specialists. This week, Grupo Kalinangan offers a view of pre-colonial Manila, dissected through different archaeological discoveries made in Intramuros, Tondo, and Santa Ana. The talk will be led by museum researcher and archaeologist Taj Vitales on August 21, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. via Facebook Live. You can register here. Parkonversations with Halo-Halo Histories The National Parks Development Committee pairs up with childrens book franchise, Halo-Halo Histories, to hold a dialogue on Teaching Philipping History to a New Generation of Heroes. The webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 8 p.m. and will also be streamed on Facebook Live. Pre-register for the Zoom session here. Evening Breeze Evening Breeze is a club night started by Manila-based internet label Transit Records in 2020. The nights are centered around auditory exploration and spiritual healing, bringing forth a unique context for dance music. In this online iteration, Resident DJ and curator Local Sun will be playing a selection of house, jazz, disco, exotica, soul, and techno alongside fellow resident DJ Saint Guel. The party will be streamed on the Transit website via Twitch on Friday, August 21, 2020 starting at 9 p.m. In a bizarre turn of events that has rocked the science community on Twitter as well as off it, a bisexual anthropology professor who had allegedly died of COVID-19 after she was allegedly forced to teach during the pandemic turns out to be a lie. In fact, it seems there was no such professor to begin with. A tragic tale For some years now, a Twitter handle by the name of @Sciencing_Bi had been tweeting about injustices and oppression faced by minorities, LGBTQIA and women of colour in the science world. Claiming to be a Hopi, a Native American tribe, @Sciencing_Bi claimed that she was bisexual. She also claimed that she was an anthropology professor at the Arizona State University. In June, the professor claimed that she was being forced to teach classes at Arizona State University despite the coronavirus pandemic. In July, BethAnn McLaughlin, a neuroscientist and head of a group called MeTooSTEM, claimed that @Sciencing_Bi had died after testing positive for COVID-19. The news caused massive outrage in the science community with many on Twitter calling out the university for causing the professor's death. A large number of academics on Twitter who had over the years become "friends" with @Sciencing_Bi (without actually ever having met or seen her) mourned the death of the beloved professor. The truth, however, seems to be stranger than fiction. Turns out, they had all been catfished. Did @Sciencing_Bi really die of COVID-19? The straight answer is - No. That's because she never existed. Following news of the professor's death, ASU responded stating no professor working with them had died of coronavirus. It also refuted claims of ever employing a professor that matched her description. As per a report in Gizmodo, the university claimed that the account was a hoax. Online sleuths further found inconsistencies in the posts made by the account including fake photos. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the account of @Sciencing_Bi had actually been created by BethAnn McLaughlin herself - the woman who had shared the news of @Sciencing_Bi's death. Incredibly sorry to say that I am no longer confident - honestly no longer believe - that @Sciencing_Bi was real. I interacted with her Twitter account frequently. She seemed very real to me and many others. Don't know what's going on, but given implications, had to say something https://t.co/VH2BiBYO21 Michael Eisen (@mbeisen) August 2, 2020 Who is BethAnn McLaughlin? McLaughlin formerly worked with Vanderbilt University and is a known voice in the Me Too movement in STEM and the science world. She has been a vocal proponent against sexual harassment of women in STEM and founded the non-profit ME Too STEM group to support and protect survivors of sexual harassment in science circles. In 2018, McLaughlin jointly won the MIT Media Lab Disobedience Award along with two others. She regularly shared @Sciencing_Bi's posts regarding sexual harassment and discrimination and claimed to have personally met the professor. Some of her posts even indicated an intimate relationship between the two. In June, before her alleged "death", @Sciencing_Bi claimed that she was being forced to appear for a DNA test by university authorities to prove her Hopi ancestry. She asked her friends and followers on Twitter to send in donations to support her. When confronted with the truth, McLaughlin initially denied being the allegations and also refused to disclose the identity of the professor. In later interviews, however, McLaughlin agreed that she had indeed created the fake account. McLaughlin told The New York Post that she was sorry for her actions and that she did not intend to cause any hurt to anyone. The incident has shocked science Twitter and caused a fresh round of outrage, this time against McLaughlin. Incredibly sorry to say that I am no longer confident - honestly no longer believe - that @Sciencing_Bi was real. I interacted with her Twitter account frequently. She seemed very real to me and many others. Don't know what's going on, but given implications, had to say something https://t.co/VH2BiBYO21 Michael Eisen (@mbeisen) August 2, 2020 this arc culminated in a (retrospectively) hilarious eulogy thread by bethann, in which she really wants to hammer home that she had a cool Hopi friend pic.twitter.com/PRz4Mhcysf aspiring leftist academic (@endlesswario) August 2, 2020 Now that BethAnn has admitted to faking Sciencing_Bi, and I'm already seeing people trying to excuse her actions as mental illness, please remember: Everyone, including people with mental illness, deserves the dignity of moral culpability. Mental illness does not excuse abuse. Dr. Jacquelyn Gill (@JacquelynGill) August 4, 2020 So the next time you follow an anonymous influencer on social media, make sure to verify who it is that you are following. As it turns out, fooling Twitter and Twitterati may not be as difficult as one might think. As a fallout of the Rajasthan turmoil, Congress General Secretary in-charge of the state Avinash Pande has been replaced by former Union minister Ajay Maken who was special observer for the state during the crisis. Close Sonia Gandhi aide Ahmed Patel will be the senior most member on the committee to oversee the "smooth resolution" of Rajasthan affairs, said a party release Avinash Pande has been removed after a complaint by former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot who has made a truce with the party. The Rajasthan political crisis had a happy ending with the rival camps of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot coming together. Ainash Pande who was alleged to be siding with the Chief Minister, has become the first casualty of the crisis. Patel who has been the main troubleshooter, will be in the committee along with Maken and K.C. Venugopal. Pilot had revolted against the Gehlot government and had returned to Jaipur only last Monday as he buried his differences with the Chief Minister, thus marking an end to the over month-long political uncertainty in the state. Meanwhile, the Gehlot government on Friday won the motion of confidence moved by the Congress by a voice vote on the opening day of the special Assembly session, which has now been adjourned till August 21. The Gehlot government is now safe for at least six months, as the opposition can't move a no-confidence motion within the next six months. 17.08.2020 LISTEN The Savannah Regional Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Iddrisu Sulemana alias Professor Kalamonia, is calling on the Regional Police Commander to immediately arrest the National Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sofo Azorka for threatening members of the NPP in the region. The Savannah Regional Chairman of the NPP accused the NDC of inciting their youth in the region during the voters registration exercise to cause mayhem. This is what they have been telling their people to do, they have done it before but they could not succeed during the voters respiration exercise, he said. The NDC Vice Chairman, Chief Sofo Azorka, at afunction in Sawla, had instructed members of his party in the Savannah region to deal mercilessly with any NPP member spotted in any community in the region taking data from residents. The main opposition National Democratic Congress is accusing the NPP of gathering data from residents in the Savannah region ahead of the EC's exhibiting exercise. If you see anybody in your community holding this book (showing a book to the gathering) going round writing our people's names, masa don't let him go free, finish him. According to the NDC National Vice Chairman, of the notorious Azorka boys fame, the NPP Nasara Wing is roaming around communities in the region collecting data from residents when they are not the Electoral Commission staff. They are of the view that the NPP has plans to use the data to delete names of targeted members of the NDC from the new voters register in the region. But the NPP regional chairman warned the NDC National Vice Chairman and his party members in the region not to try else they will also react. I respect the rule of law and you can't take the law into your own hands, the regional commander must act on this immediately otherwise should anything happen then we can't be blamed because we won't sit down for someone to come into our region and say their members should finish somebody just to intimidate us. The Sawla Tuna Kalba NDC Communication Director, Kipo Elijah Baker told DGN Online that the NPP Nasara Wing members lied to residents that they were an advance team from the EC ahead of the commission's voters register exhibition exercise and for that matter they should feel comfortable giving out their voters ID card details to them. He indicated that the NDC constituency executives contacted the EC to verify the claim but they were told that no EC official had been sent to the district to gather data. Mr. Baker called on members of the NDC in the Savannah region to decline giving out any information regarding their voters ID card to anybody who comes to them in the name of the Electoral Commission. ---Daily Guide In the midst of the media attention and relief aid rushing to Beirut since this months catastrophic explosion, the Lebanese capitals most vulnerable are yet again being forgotten. Most news images featured the decimated port around the blast point, or trendy residential areas such as Gemayzeh, Mar Mikhael, and Geitawi. Yet the neighbourhood most severely damaged, home to many of the 220 dead and 7,000 injured in the devastating blast, is Karantina also spelled Quarantina. Located right next to the port, the neighbourhood takes its name from its historic landmark, a quarantine facility built in the 1830s. Travellers, particularly pilgrims on their way to Mecca, would spend 40 days quarantined in the lazaretto to prevent the spread of epidemics to the city. Karantina which I study in my doctoral research is a neighbourhood with a long history of marginalization. Between the First World War and the Palestinian Nakba of 1948, this neighbourhood hosted several waves of refugees, especially Armenians, Kurds and Palestinians. These displaced populations settled among the local population and rural-urban migrants from within Lebanon and nearby countries. By the 1960s, Karantina had become a low-income working-class neighbourhood providing cheap labour to local industry. It was a stigmatized area within a larger poverty belt that wrapped the north-eastern end of the Lebanese capital. Since then, multiple fires damaged the informal settlements of Karantina, floods from the Beirut River left people homeless, while poverty and malnutrition disproportionately affected children. Faced with an absent Lebanese government, the multi-ethnic Karantina community was practically abandoned to deal with these adversities on their own. In 1976, Karantina became the site of the first massacre of the Lebanese Civil War, which led to hundreds of deaths and the forcible displacement of the survivors. The neighbourhood was then transformed into the headquarters of the Phalange Christian Militia and large sections of it were destroyed to make way for paramilitary bases. In the post-Civil War era, the systematic politics of marginalization continued, as the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) took over the military bases setup by the militias. Today, 30 years later, large sections of private and municipal property owned by the local population still serve as LAF settlements, effectively dispossessing people of their homes and their livelihoods. The only urban infrastructural development the neighbourhood has seen is a garbage processing plant, firmly associating Karantina with the smell of dumpsters. Yet, Karantina had not seen the worst. Lying next to the epicentre of the Aug. 4 blast, the entire neighbourhood was devastated. I heard, from local contacts, of corpses hanging from balconies, limbs on the streets, and screaming children buried under collapsed buildings. Most horrifying was how abandoned the community felt. In the first hours after the blast, not a single ambulance or emergency response team was deployed to this residential area. Left to fend for themselves, neighbours transported the wounded to seek medical attention, providing any relief they could. The Karantina community had to improvise, yet again. In the days that followed, very little has changed when it came to local and international aid. Aside from a few local NGOs and civilian volunteer groups, the community was left to pick up the pieces of their destroyed lives by themselves. In the trendy areas of Mar Mikhael and Gemayzeh, largely middle class neighbourhoods, many residents effectively evacuated their quarters into second homes or with relatives who could host them. The lower income populations of Karantina have nowhere else to go. Many spent that first night sleeping amidst broken shards of glass, in homes with no windows or doors. A week later, some still sleep on the street. The past few days have seen a revival of the Lebanese October Revolution, as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets demanding real political change. The explosion has made even more apparent the endemic corruption and criminal negligence of the ruling class, a class unfit to govern. All governments, organizations and individuals mobilizing to help Lebanon through this humanitarian crisis should bear in mind how international aid reinforces actually existing inequities. Funds and donations intended for the communities in need should not reproduce the discriminatory politics imposed by an oppressive elite. Aid should be aimed instead at communities such as Karantina, where people have long been denied a dignified life. It is their voice that is now echoing in the streets of Beirut: the people want to topple the regime. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Interior Minister of the Government of National Accord, Fathi Bachagha, said the results of the Berlin Conference represented the start of a political solution in Libya, calling on European governments, especially Germany, to "put pressure on the countries supporting Haftar in order to stop creating discord and widening the gap between the sons of the same nation" Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 16:24:16|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close QALA-E-NAW, Afghanistan, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 Taliban militants were killed and over 20 others injured after the government forces struck the armed group's hideouts in the western Badghis province, a member of the Provincial Council, Mohammad Nasir Nazari, said Monday. The clash flared up in Sanjadak area of Muqar district and parts of the neighboring Qadis district on Sunday after the militants gathered in their hideouts to storm security checkpoints, but the government forces from ground and air retaliated, leaving 32 militants dead and 20 others injured so far. According to Nazari, one security member was killed and seven others were injured. Confirming the clash, an army spokesman in the restive province, captain Abdul Latif, asserted that more than two dozen militants had been killed and over a dozen others injured during the operations. The security forces will continue to chase the insurgents elsewhere in the troubled province and its vicinity to ensure peace and security there. Shir Aqa Alkozay, the deputy for provincial police chief, has also confirmed the fighting, saying the Taliban militants had suffered huge casualties in the troubled Muqar and Qadis districts over the past 24 hours. The Taliban outfit which is operational in parts of Badghis province with Qala-e-Naw as its capital, has yet to make comments on the situation there. Enditem Iraq's prime minister said Monday ahead of a much anticipated trip to Washington that his country still needs US assistance to counter the threat posed by the group and that his administration is committed to introducing security sector reforms as rogue militia groups stage near-daily attacks against the seat of his government. In the end, we will still need cooperation and assistance at levels that might require direct and military support, and support on the ground, Mustafa al-Kadhimi said, but the levels depend on the changing nature of the threats posed by terrorist groups. Al-Kadhimi is slated to meet with President Donald Trump in Washington this week to conclude a strategic dialogue launched in June to reconfigure US- ties. In an exclusive interview Monday with the Associated Press, he said Iraqi forces are capable of fighting IS without the need for foreign combat troops on the ground. But, he said, the next stage of cooperation with the US would require continued training and weapons support. Sworn in as premier in May in the wake of historic mass anti-government protests, al-Kadhimi's administration inherited a myriad of crises. State coffers in the crude-dependent country were slashed following a severe drop in oil prices, adding to the woes of an economy already struggling with the aftershocks of the global coronavirus pandemic. Despite this, his administration set a lofty agenda including economic reform, battling corruption, avenging protesters and bringing arms under the authority of the state. The latter has pitted his government against rogue Iran-backed militia groups. The recent assassination of prominent Iraqi commentator Hisham al-Hashimi and the kidnapping of German art curator Hella Mewis have lead many to question the limits of his leadership. But al-Kadhimi said these were perpetrated by those with an interest in profiting from chaos. These criminal acts are the result of many years of conflict, he said, blaming the poor policies and improper management of his predecessors which has undermined the authority of the state. It is not surprising then that criminals work here and there to destabilize security. We are committed to reforming the security establishment and enhancing its ability to deal with these kinds of challenges and holding accountable those who fail to protect civilians and put an end to these outlawed groups, 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.) While still in isolation at the Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth II received devastating news about the passing of a special someone close to her heart. On Sunday, the 94-year-old monarch received the upsetting news that her four-year-old horse named "Space Walk" had to be put down to his final rest. It is after Her Majesty's favorite pet suffered from a major injury while in the middle of a race. According to reports, the male horse competed in the Newbury race in Berkshire over the weekend. Space Walk was being ridden by jockey Tom Marquand when it was shortly pulled out during mid-race. The vest of the poor animal was removed as veterinarians rushed to his rescue. Howver, the gelding suffered a severe injury and had to be put to sleep to avoid further health complications. In a Twitter post, the ITV Racing confirmed the sad news. "Sadly news has come through that Space Walk had to be put down after suffering an injury in the race," the news outlet reported. "Our thoughts are with all involved with the horse," the statement added. Sadly news has come through that Space Walk had to be put down after suffering an injury in the race. Our thoughts are with all involved with the horse. ITV Racing (@itvracing) August 16, 2020 Based on the "Racing and Sports" website, Queen Elizabeth II's four-year-old horse has been a successful racer, earning her $42,000 prize throughout its racing career. It is not the first time that the British monarchy's racehorse sustained a fatal injury while racing. During the 2016's Royal Ascot, Queen Elizabeth II's best player, Guy Fawkes, broke his foot during the King George V Stakes. The horse was also put down to sleep after the race. As of writing, it is still unknown how the Queen took the bad news about her beloved horse. Queen Elizabeth's Equestrian Heart The Queen is known for her lifelong love for horses. At the young age of three, she received her first pony and had her first riding lessons. When she turned four, her grandfather, King George V, gifted her the Shetland mare. For more than nine decades, Queen Elizabeth II has been riding horses. In 2014, the monarch received an International Equestrian Federation (FEI) Lifetime Achievement Award for her dedication to the horseriding sports. In general, all fo Queen Elizabeth's horses had lived a remarkable life and racing career. In 2016 alone, her horses earner more than $1 million for racing. Horseriding on Hold These past few months, the Queen's love for horse riding was temporarily put on hold due to the coronavirus global pandemic. Most of her usual scheduled racing events were also canceled, including her favorite Royal Ascot, which was closed to the public for the first time in her 68 years of reign. But last June, the United Kingdom allowed conducting a horseracing competition. During the race, Queen Elizabeth's three-year-old horse named "First Receiver," won 1st place at Kempton course in Surrey, southwest of London. It was the perfect gift for Queen Elizabeth II, who was also celebrating her coronation anniversary that month. READ MORE: Meghan Markle Pride: Prince Harry Follows Footsteps, Makes Netflix Debut! The UK government has launched a 3-million pound innovation challenge fund in India to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the most acute global challenges like Covid-19 and the threat to the environment. In a statement, the British High Commission said the initiative builds on the Indian and British prime ministers' commitment to bring together the best minds from both countries under the UK-India Tech Partnership to deliver high-skilled jobs and economic growth as well as to collaborate on some of the world's biggest challenges. The UK government has launched a 3-million pound innovation challenge fund in India to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the most acute global challenges like Covid-19 and the threat to the environment, it said. The fund invites tech innovators with connections to the AI-Data cluster in Karnataka and the Future Mobility cluster in Maharashtra to submit research and development proposals for tackling Covid-19 or which promote a greener planet. At least 12 grants up to 2,50,000 pounds are expected to be awarded. Applicants are required to submit bids as an academia-industry consortium, ideally with an international member. The deadline for submitting two-page concept notes is August 31 and further details are available on the website, the statement said. "The UK and India have a strong history of research and innovation. Both Covid-19 and climate change demonstrate that the most urgent challenges are global. Never has there been a greater need for academia, business and government to accelerate innovation, and for nations to collaborate to save lives and build a better future," said High Commissioner to India Sir Philip Barton. Karen McLuskie, the head of UK-India Tech Partnership, British High Commission, said this fund aims to get behind the innovation heroes, whether they are working to battle the virus or the even greater looming global threat: climate change. "We are proud to work with India, as twin world leaders in the development and adoption of emerging tech for the benefit of all," McLuskie said. Thirteen Michigan residents were randomly selected Monday to serve on the states first redistricting commission, charged with drawing new district lines for members of the state House and Senate. The Secretary of State hired Saginaw-based accounting firm Rehmann LLC to randomly select four Democrats, four Republicans and five people without party affiliation from 180 finalists to serve on the commission. Heaster Wheeler, assistant secretary of state, hosted the random draw, which was documented in a live video. This is truly a historic day for Michigans democracy, Wheeler said. This commission of randomly selected citizens will fairly and transparently redraw our election districts. Related: Michigan redistricting commission could be model for other states, SOS says Beginning with the 2022 election, the commission will decide how the state House, Senate and congressional districts will be drawn. The commission is being assembled as a result of a November 2018 ballot proposal, Proposal 2 which passed with support from 61% of voters. Redistricting was previously handled by the Michigan legislature and approved by the governor, which, Proposal 2 supporters pointed out, allowed politicians to set their own district lines. The redistricting commissioners are M. Carlo Rothhorn, a Democrat from Lansing, Juanita Curry, a Democrat from Detroit, Brittni Kellom, a Democrat from Detroit, Dustin Witjes, a Democrat from Ypsilanti, Erin Wagner, a Republican from Charlotte, Cynthia Orton, a Republican from Battle Creek, Douglas Clark, a Republican from Rochester Hills, Rhonda Lange, a Republican from Reed City, James Decker, of Fowlerville, Janice Vallette, of Highland, Richard Weiss, of Saginaw, Steven Lett, of Interlochen, and Anthony Eid, of Orchard Lake. Voters Not Politicians, the grassroots, nonpartisan group that headed Proposal 2, said its members are ecstatic to see years of work culminate in Michigans first Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. Hundreds of voters were involved in drafting the redistricting reform amendment in a process that started with 33 town halls in 33 days, said Nancy Wang, Executive Director of Voters Not Politicians. Its exciting to see that the fair, impartial, and transparent process voters envisioned is working as it was intended. Related: Michigan to live-stream selection of 200 redistricting commission finalists Wednesday As a result of the proposal passing, elected officials, candidates, lobbyists and political consultants or staffers as well as family members of politicians or other insiders are barred from participating within six years of serving in a political position. Wheeler said the Secretary of States office will work with the commissioners in the upcoming weeks to determine availability and meet with Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. The commission must have its first meeting by Oct. 15. All meetings held by the commission must be posted, livestreamed and open to the public. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the state Legislature are required to approve a budget for the commission for Fiscal Year 2021 by Dec. 1, and the commission must hold at least 15 public meetings to gather public input before Nov. 1, 2021. A major factor in the commissions work will be the federal governments release of 2020 U.S. Census data, which is expected in July 2021. A full timeline of the redistricting process as laid out in the constitution can be found here. Wang said her group is now focused on ensuring that Michiganders across the state are empowered to participate in the public hearing process. Were developing a tool to help the public map their communities of interest and submit their maps, along with effective testimony, to the commission to inform Michigans next set of legislative and Congressional district maps, said Wang. Thats what voter-led redistricting is about for the people to have a say in how our maps are drawn through a transparent, accountable process. Related: Michigan Republican Party loses appeal in attempt to stop redistricting commission More than 9,400 Michigan citizens applied to be apart of the commission. That list of applicants was narrowed down randomly by Rehmann to 200 semi-finalists. There were applicants from each of Michigans 83 counties with nearly a third coming from Oakland or Wayne counties. Applications were posted publicly and sent to the state legislature. Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate each struck five applicants, for a total of 20, from the selection pool. A list of all the finalists and their applications can be found here. Read more on MLive: 6,000-plus applied for redistricting commission as of June 1 250,000 voters mailed redistricting commission applications Application window opens for redistricting commission Want to draw Michigans next political district map ANN ARBOR, MI The leader of Ann Arbors citizen-led police oversight commission is among the new members of a state law enforcement commission. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has appointed Lisa Jackson, chairwoman of the citys Independent Community Police Oversight Commission, to the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards. Also known as MCOLES, the commission works to develop training and ethical standards for law enforcement officers in Michigan, setting professional standards for education, selection, employment, licensing, license revocation and funding in law enforcement and criminal justice. Most of the commissioners are directly involved in law enforcement and criminal justice work. Whitmer recently expanded the commission to bring a few citizen voices to the table to improve police-community relations. I am happy to be among the three inaugural community members to join MCOLES, bringing civilian oversight expertise and adding community representation to the policy-making table, Jackson said in a statement. My expectation is that my work chairing the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission in Ann Arbor will contribute to the diversity of thinking on MCOLES that will influence police procedures and increase transparency and equity in policing across Michigan. Ann Arbor police oversight commission seeks stronger role in overseeing AAPD Whitmer signed an executive order in June to add four seats to the commission: the Michigan Department of Civil Rights director and three community members. Expanding the commission to bring diverse, community voices to the table during this national conversation and movement to improve community-police relations is a proactive step toward strengthening and healing our communities together, Whitmer said in a statement. While there is more to do, this is a pivotal time. I look forward to working with law enforcement, the community and with everyone else who wants to build a more just, equitable state for all Michiganders. Jackson is a psychology professor and department chair at Schoolcraft College. She holds a doctorate degree in psychology from the University of Michigan. She is appointed to represent Michigan residents on the commission through Dec. 31, 2021. The two other community voices added to the commission include Tellis Chapman, a Baptist church pastor in Detroit, and Jeffery Hawkins Sr., a Baptist church pastor in Flint. Grand Rapids Police Chief Eric Payne also was appointed to fill a vacancy on the commission. MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS: Ann Arbor council prepares for possible battle with union over police reform Ann Arbor officials want to radically rethink policing, consider alternatives to armed officers Being armed is just really a part of our job. Ann Arbor police chief weighs in on disarming officers GBP/NZD Exchange Rate Edges Higher as US-China Trade Tensions Weigh on Kiwi The Pound to New Zealand Dollar (GBP/NZD) exchange rate rose from lows of NZ$1.96 to highs of NZ$2.00 last week. Sterling struggled at the beginning of the week following the release of the UK BRC like-for-like retail sales report for July, which fell below forecasts from 10.9% to 4.3%. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson commented that the UK retail sector, particularly fashion, jewellery, and beauty, were still struggling to survive. Mrs Dickinson also added: The fragile economic situation continues to bear down on consumer confidence, with some retailers hanging by only a thread in the face of rising costs and lower sales. Monday also saw the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) struggle following the release of the flash ANZ business confidence figure for August, which plummeted to -42.4. ANZ said in its statement: With temporary fiscal support measures poised to roll off in coming months, and the impacts of a closed border to be fully felt only when the peak-tourism summer season arrives, there are plenty of economic hurdles to clear yet. However, Tuesday saw the Pound (GBP) begin to edge higher after the release of the latest ILO unemployment rate for June performed better-than-expected, with the figure remaining at 3.9% instead of rising by 4.2% as forecast. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) suffered on Wednesday following the Reserve Bank of New Zealands (RBNZ) holding of its official cash rate at 0.25%. However, the RBNZ was also notably dovish in its statement raising the possibility of taking rates into negative territory. The RBNZ said in its statement on Wednesday: The severe global economic disruption caused by the pandemic is persisting. Any significant change in the global and domestic economic outlook remains dependent on the containment of the virus, which is highly uncertain as evidenced today by the return to social restrictions in New Zealand. Wednesday also saw the release of the flash UK GDP figure for the second quarter, which plummeted to -20.4%, its lowest level since records began. However, the month-on-month figure beat forecasts, rising from 1.8% to 8.7%. British Chancellor Rishi Sunak commented on the report: Ive said before that hard times were ahead and todays figures confirm that hard times are here. Meanwhile, the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) benefited from Thursdays release of the latest New Zealand business PMI for July, which rose from 56.3 to 58.8. However, this was not enough to temper fears that US-China trade tensions could jeopardise New Zealands economy. As a result, towards the end of last week we saw Sterling edge higher against the New Zealand Dollar. Fears of escalating tensions between the US and China, the worlds two largest economies, held back market appetite for the risk-averse Kiwi. GBP/NZD Forecast: Could an Improving UK Services Sector Buoy Sterling This Week? New Zealand Dollar (NZD) traders will be looking ahead to Tuesdays release of the latest NZ PPI figure for output and input for the second quarter. Any improvement would boost the Kiwi. Meanwhile, Sterling traders will be keeping a close eye on Sundays publication of the UK Rightmove house prices index for August. If these improve, then we could see the GBP/NZD exchange rate continue to edge higher. Looking ahead to Wednesday, we will see the release of the UK CPI data for July. If the year-on-year figure confirms forecasts and rises from 0.6% to 0.7%, then we could see the Pound continue to climb. Thursday will see the release of the UK GfK consumer confidence report for August. Any improvement in consumer morale would buoy the GBP/NZD exchange rate. Meanwhile, Friday will see the release of the flash UK Markit services PMI for August. If this confirms forecasts and rises from 56.5 to 57, then we could see GBP continue to edge higher. The New Zealand Dollar (NZD) will mainly be driven by risk sentiment next week. As a result, we could see the Kiwis gains compromised over growing fears for the global economy. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called for an investigation into why officials failed to anticipate the need for rolling blackouts that have plunged millions of people into darkness. In the past 72 hours, the state has instituted the first targeted outages since the 2001 energy crisis to protect a system strained by a crush of demand for air conditioning during a heat wave. The region's electricity system operator has warned of more rotating outages through Wednesday with temperatures forecast to reach as high as 112 degrees Fahrenheit (44 degrees Celsius) in some parts of the state. "These blackouts, which occurred without prior warning or enough time for preparation, are unacceptable and unbefitting of the nation's largest and most innovative state," Newsom said in a statement. Part of the problem is California's rapid shift away from natural gas. About 9 gigawatts of gas generation, enough to power 6.8 million homes, have been retired over the past five years as the state turns increasingly to renewables, according to BloombergNEF. That leaves fewer options when the sun sets and solar production wanes. Normally, California can import enough power from neighboring states when supplies are tight. But the sprawling heat wave blanketing the U.S. West is pushing power plants to the hilt across the region. "California is in a tight spot," BNEF analyst Brian Bartholomew said. "It's retired a lot of gas. And the storage that's supposed to help hasn't yet come online." Newsom, a Democrat, also signed an order that will temporarily allow users and utilities to use backup generators to ease the need for blackouts. By 10 a.m. local time it was already 93 degrees in Sacramento. With temperatures climbing, demand for power in the state is expected to reach more than 49,700 megawatts Monday afternoon, just shy of the all-time record set in 2006. Power prices more than doubled in the highest in five months. Since Friday, millions of Californians have been abruptly plunged into darkness with little notice as utilities work to keep the state's grid from collapsing. With covid-19 still spreading, the powerless have faced a difficult choice between enduring the heat at home and seeking relief elsewhere in a state that's reported more infections than any other. These blackouts are hitting less than a year after California's utilities deliberately cut power to millions to keep their electrical lines from sparking fires during unusually strong windstorms -- all extreme weather events made more frequent by climate change. The relentless heat is starting to take a physical toll on California's power system. Transformers -- the metal cylinders sitting atop power poles -- can malfunction and catch fire if they don't cool off at night. And temperatures in some parts of Southern California are expected to remain in the low 80's overnight. During a deadly, 10-day heatwave in 2006, the state's utilities lost more than 1,500 of these devices, with each knocking out service to one neighborhood in the process. The heat wave gripping the West Coast stems from a stubborn, high-pressure system that has parked itself across the Great Basin spanning Nevada and other western states. It essentially acts as a lid trapping hot air, and there aren't any indications it's going to budge soon. Such phenomenons, sometimes called heat domes, are getting worse because the Earth's climate is changing. As the planet warms, the contrast between the heat at the equator and the cold at the pole decreases. That saps the strength of the jet stream, which otherwise would be able to shove the ridges out of the way. It explains in part why extreme heat has blanketed regions around the world in recent weeks. Extreme weather has taken a profound toll on electrical grids in recent weeks. Earlier this month, millions of people lost power across the U.S. Midwest after a wall of lightning, hail and deadly winds tore a path of ruin from central Iowa to Chicago. Days earlier, Tropical Storm Isaias darkened millions of homes from the Carolinas to Connecticut. Soaring temperatures have already shattered records across California. According to the National Weather Service, Los Angeles International Airport hit a daily record of 93 degrees, breaking a previous high of 85 set in 1994. Death Valley reached 130 degrees for the first time since 1913. If validated, the weather service said, it will go down as the hottest August temperature there ever. California's outages began on Friday, when a power plant malfunctioned just as the heat sent electricity demand surging to a peak. Grid operators ordered utilities to cut back and about 2 million people lost service over the course of four hours. A similar episode played out Saturday, when an estimated 352,500 homes and businesses briefly went dark. "I'm pretty shocked by this -- I think everybody is," said Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University. "This has to be addressed with a lot of attention, and fast." Cypress-Fairbanks ISD can require teachers to report to their classrooms before the start of classes following a Texas Supreme Court ruling suspending a temporary restraining order against the large suburban district. The high courts decision Sunday came days after a Harris County District court told the states third-largest school district that educators could not be compelled to return until Sept. 8. While most of the case is still pending, the decision represents a setback for the Cypress-Fairbanks chapter of the American Federation of Teachers, which filed a lawsuit on Friday. The teachers association had asked a judge to prevent the district from mandating that teachers return to their campuses for several weeks of professional development. The districts first day of school is Sept. 8, and all students who opted to take classes in person will return to their physical schools that day. The judge had issued the temporary restraining order Friday, siding with the Cy-Fair AFT. However, teachers received an email Sunday evening telling them that while they could undertake professional development remotely on Monday, they had to come back to their schools on Tuesday. The debate over how and when to bring teachers and students back to schools this fall has grown increasingly tense in the northwest Houston suburb, as it has across the country. On Aug. 10, more than 50 teachers and supporters protested the districts reopening plans outside Cy-Fair ISDs regular board meeting. Twenty spoke during public comments, asking board trustees and administrators to allow teachers to complete professional development at home and to delay the start of in-person instruction. However, Superintendent Mark Henry has said repeatedly that virtual instruction pales in comparison to what can be offered in person. We can provide a schooling online, but we cant provide an education online, Henry said at a July board meeting. shelby.webb@chron.com This is the moment a kindhearted father and daughter rescued a dog trapped in a dirty canal during a storm in the Philippines. Wilmar Binos was on his way home from work when he heard the dog crying for help in Cavite on July 29th. He rushed home to ask his daughter Marie Cloie Binos to assist him in rescuing the stricken animal. The pair. used a ladder and food to lure to dog over to them and then hauled it to safety. The dog was soon after named "Kiko" and was taken to live with the family. CHICAGO (AP) Chicago's police superintendent defended his officers' actions during weekend clashes with protesters, saying Monday that they acted professionally in the face of a concerted effort by those in the crowd trying to provoke a violent confrontation with them. Video footage shows some in the crowd donning gas masks, changing clothes to hide their identities and putting up umbrellas, a tactic seen at recent protests that is meant to shield from view people throwing projectiles at officers, Superintendent David Brown told reporters. From what I saw, they only took appropriate action when confronted with violence," he said. Mayor Lori Lightfoot praised the department's response to Saturday evening's protest that turned into a violent clash between demonstrators and police officers, saying officers quelled the violence quickly to protect peaceful protesters. But a number of activists and lawmakers have condemned the officers' actions, saying the officers were the aggressors. CPD pepper sprayed and beat up protesters, youth, and members of the press," Berto Aguayo, executive director for Increase the Peace, said in a statement released to news organizations. We demand an apology from the Chicago Police Department and the Mayors Office for violating our rights to peacefully assemble and for their abhorrent attacks on peaceful protesters. Brown said police made 24 arrests and that four of those arrested were charged with felonies. Among the four were a 24-year-old man who was charged after he allegedly struck a uniformed officer with a bullhorn and a 25-year-old man who allegedly struck an officer with a skateboard. The other two were a 24-year-old woman who allegedly tried to steal a camera that had been pulled off an officer's uniform during the protest and an 18-year-old college student who was charged with aggravated battery after she allegedly twice tried to grab the arm of a high-ranking member of the department. Story continues Prior to Monday's news conference, the department released a video that showed a man striking an officer with a skateboard on Saturday. The move was part of a broader effort to get as many as people as possible to see what happened during the protest and during Aug. 10 looting in downtown Chicago. The department, which created what it called a Looting Task Force, announced last week that it was posting videos in the hopes that people would recognize those who smashed store windows or made off with merchandise and other items. One of the first videos posted was of two men breaking into an ATM with a hammer. That video led to the arrest of a local man who police say livestreamed the crime. Arron Neal, 20, has been charged with felony counts of criminal damage to property and burglary. Police have been releasing a flurry of news releases that include photographs of people who took part in last week's looting and mug shots of people who were arrested for allegedly doing so a signal that the department is trying to make good on the mayor's vow to track down and arrest those who take part in street violence. In all, Brown said tips from the public after those videos were posted have resulted in 11 arrests related to last week's street violence and looting. Brown said that between 6 p.m. Friday and midnight Sunday, 51 people were shot, including five fatally, in 38 shooting incidents. He said four juveniles were shot but none of them were killed. Meanwhile, the overall weekend violence in Chicago wasnt nearly as widespread as it had been during recent weekends. Even so, Brown said that between 6 p.m. Friday and midnight Sunday, 51 people were shot, including five fatally, in 38 shooting incidents. He said four juveniles were shot but none of them were killed. Amidst the deteriorating relations between the United States and China, the Peoples Liberation Army garrison in Hong Kong has released new footage of live-fire drills being conducted in the South China Sea. According to South China Morning Post reports, the footage shows the Hong Kong-based warship called Huizhou firing cannons and torpedoes. Read: Hong Kong's Carrie Lam Resigns From Honorary Fellowship At UK's Cambridge University Defensive drills carried out by PLA The footage released by the Peoples Liberation Army is also reported to show military personnel carrying out anti-piracy and anti-terrorism operations. The garrison is reported to have said that the anti-submarine training was the main element of the drill. Hong Kong has two warships based in the city, with the Huizhou being primarily used for coastal defence purposes. In addition to being armed with torpedoes, the warship is also armed with surface-to-air missiles. Read: Hong Kong Media Mogul Detained Under China's NSL Says 'press Has To Go On' According to reports, experts believe that the live-fire drills were mainly carried out as a show of force in order to intimidate independence-leaning forces in Taiwan as the island continues to improve its relationship with the US. While Taiwan considers itself an independent nation, China considers it to be a part of the mainland and has vowed to reign in the island's control and bring it back under the influence of the mainland. Meanwhile, relations between the United States and Taiwan are at a historic high. Last week saw a visit by US Health Secretary Alex Azar to the island. The event symbolised the highest-level visit to Taiwan by an American official since 1979. Moreover, the Peoples Liberation Army drill in the South China Sea took place just a day after a US strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan carried out maritime exercises in the region. Read: Donald Trump Criticizes Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai's Arrest, Says "It Is Terrible" Read: US Navy Conducts Maritime Exercise In South China Sea Amid Growing US-China Tension A bar in London has unveiled its new safety measures for drinkers which will see them having their temperature taken and walking through a disinfectant tunnel before they enter. The Piano Works in Farringdon, London, installed the measures after the pub and bar industry took an enormous hit when forced to close as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. With Britons flocking to pubs and restaurants to take advantage of the Government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme, companies have been ramping up safety measures to ensure customers feel confident when visiting. Customers at The Piano Works in Farringdon, London, will have their temperature taken and be asked to walk through a disinfectant tunnel before they enter the bar The latest safety measure was installed as the company hopes to open its doors in September for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown Customers who walk through the gate are sprayed with hypochlorous acid which coats the outer layers of clothes and skin At the bar in Farringdon for example, those wishing to enter must have their temperature taken by a thermal imaging camera. Following this, they must walk through the disinfectant gate which sprays hypochlorous acid and coats the outer layers of clothes and skin. The Piano Works, which is hoping to reopen its doors for the first time in September, is the first hospitality venue in the UK to use the Gateway spray tunnel. Tristan Moffat, operations director for The Piano Works in London said: 'The most important thing is that we give customers the confidence to return to our venues. As well as walking through the tunnel, customers will also have their temperatures checked using a thermal imaging camera before they enter The Piano Works is the first hospitality venue in the UK to use the Gateway spray tunnel Tristan Moffat, operations director for The Piano Works in London said the bar hopes the new measures will help customers feel more confident when visiting 'Anyone who says having more safety measures is a bad thing, I would strongly argue against. I think having safety measures in place instills confidence in customers.' It is hoped an increase in safety measures will encourage customers to continue visiting after it was revealed last week that sales at UK pub, restaurant and bar chains were halved in July compared to the previous year. 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 '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.' Earlier this month bacteria expert Professor Hugh Pennington said there has been a Covid-19 'outbreak associated with pubs' and for '90 per cent of cases, that was how they caught it.' The Aberdeen University professor also told BBC Radio 5 that being indoors in a pub can increase the risk of infection as 'hot and steamy' environments helps the virus 'get about'. 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 Bacteria expert Professor Hugh Pennington said there has been a Covid-19 'outbreak associated with pubs' and for '90 per cent of cases, that was how they caught it.' His words came the day after Aberdeen was put back into lockdown after more than 20 pubs and restaurants were involved in a cluster of coronavirus cases in the city. Speaking about the prospect of a second lockdown, The Piano Works manager Mr Moffat said: 'If we reopened and we had another lockdown obviously it would be disastrous for our business and I really felt for the businesses in Manchester who had to close with a few hours notice. 'But like with everything through this pandemic you have to stay positive, you have to think outside the box, you have to think how you can protect your staff, customers and your business as best as possible.' Fears for the survival of the industry have been somewhat quashed as it was confirmed 10.5million diners used Rishi Sunak's scheme in the first week, with some people who work in the industry claiming they have 'never felt so overworked in their life'. Despite these criticisms, Mr Moffat said the government has been 'hugely supportive' and urged people to 'remember they're dealing with an impossible situation'. A federal judge has declined a request for a temporary restraining order to stop the state from requiring all farm and food processing workers be tested for COVID-19. U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney on Aug. 14 denied the motion sought in a lawsuit filed by two Michigan farms and some employees against state officials. The plaintiffs, True Blue Berry Management, LLC, Smeltzer Orchards Co., LLC and six farm workers allege civil rights violations in the lawsuit, accusing the Michigans Department of Health and Human Resources of targeting the Latino community in its Aug. 3 order setting new requirements for coronavirus testing and other precautionary measures involving migrant and agricultural laborers. Related: Emergency order mandates employers test migrant, agricultural workers for coronavirus MDHHS Director Robert Gordon applauded the courts denial, saying the required testing is meant to protect farm and food processing workers from COVID-19. The departments goal is to save lives during a pandemic that has killed more than 6,300 people in Michigan, said Gordon. At a time when farms, food processing plants and migrant worker camps face 21 outbreaks, the best way to save lives is to support and test these hard-working employees. The states Aug. 3 emergency order requires employers of migrant or seasonal workers with more than 20 employees on site at a time to test all workers. Employers must conduct a one-time baseline testing on all workers, then test all new employees prior to any in-person work, and finally test any worker with symptoms or exposure. Migrant housing camps must also conduct 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. Related: Michigan farmers challenge emergency order requiring COVID-19 testing The lawsuit opposing Gordons emergency order points out 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. The groups United Farm Workers, Farmworker Legal Service and Michigan Immigrant Right Center said the lawsuit is meritless, dishonest, and disturbing in its misuse of civil rights protections and false racial justice rhetoric. The Michigan Immigrant Rights Center is a statewide legal resource organization for Michigans immigrant communities. United Farm Workers is the nations largest farm workers union. And Farmworker Legal Service of Michigan offers workers assistance through the statewide Farmworker and Immigrant Worker Hotline. In a joint statement, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, Farmworker Legal Serice Managing Attorney Kara Mober and Michigan Immigrant Rights Center Managing Attorney Susan Reed said requiring migrant/seasonal workers to be tested is imperative to the health of these essential workers. Many of us can safely stay home during a global pandemic. Farm workers cannot, they said in the statement issued Aug. 17. They face disproportionate risks of being infected with the novel coronavirus and have not enjoyed the protections other essential workers have received. Farm workers are essential. We need more protections for farm workers, not less. Farm workers who have questions about how the emergency order may impact them can call the Michigan Immigrants Rights Centers confidential farm worker and immigrant worker hotline at 800-968-4046. Employers of migrant or seasonal workers, meat, poultry and egg processing facilities have until Aug. 24 to comply with the emergency order. Anyone who needs help with compliance can email MDHHS-Migrant-Affairs@michigan.gov. More information about the emergency order can be found here. 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 on MLive: Northern Michigan orchard sues Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to prevent shutdown of business Penalty for violating Gov. Whitmers coronavirus safety guidelines isnt legal, court rules States handling of COVID in nursing homes worthy of critique, but GOP lawmakers miss mark, experts say A confession: I am a descendant of slave owners. According to a few ultraconservative commentators with an embarrassingly scant knowledge of history, that rather pedestrian bit of genealogical data would constitute a "deep, dark secret." Indeed, some of them have hurled it as a damning indictment against Kamala Harris, Democratic vice-presidential nominee-in-waiting. Harris' father, a Black immigrant from Jamaica, once noted that at least one slave owner counted among his ancestors. As the discredited right-wing provocateur Dinesh D'Souza put it on Twitter, "This means Kamala is descended not from slaves but from slaveowners." Is he really that ignorant of the history of the Americas? Like many, many others with Black ancestry, Harris and I are descendants of both slavers and the enslaved, as are the Black descendants of Thomas Jefferson. Enslaved women were frequently forced into sexual liaisons with their oppressors a commonplace of that wicked institution. That is hardly a secret. Joe Biden's choice of Harris as his running mate has driven the right wing down a rabbit hole of conspiracies, lies, confusion and ahistorical nonsense. Her detractors can't find a logical line of attack. Her record as a prosecutor makes it difficult for them to smear her as a "socialist" who would let criminals loose to pillage the suburbs (though they have trotted out that outlandish claim anyway). That leaves them to turn to race, a cultural arena where they are comfortable showcasing their ignorance and resentments, their bigotry and rage. The presidency of Donald J. Trump has stripped away Republicans' pretense that their party is not a bastion of racism and xenophobia. Having abandoned every principle of conservatism, bigotry is all they have left. Bigotry and an appalling ignorance of history. Harris is the daughter of immigrants, her father an economics professor from the Caribbean and her mother a medical researcher from India making her the embodiment of American diversity and renewal. She self-identifies as Black because, as should be clear to anyone with eyesight, that is how she is seen. This has less to do with the history of the "one-drop" rule laws and traditions of the antebellum South dictating that even a drop of Black blood rendered a person "Black" than with everyday perceptions and prejudices. A girl growing up in the 1960s and '70s with Harris' coloring would have been perceived as Black and treated as such. Her experiences with racism are typical of Black women who grew up when she did. Yet, some ultraconservative provocateurs have decided she does not qualify as a Black American. On his TV talk show, Mark Levin asserted that "Kamala Harris is not an African American. ... Her ancestry does not go back to American slavery." No, it doesn't. But slavery was widespread throughout the Caribbean, where sugar cane produced the miraculous energy-giving substance, sugar, that wealthy manufacturers lavished on their tired, half-fed workers. I should note that there is some grumbling about whether Harris is appropriately "Black enough" among a few Black commentators on the left, too, as there was about President Barack Obama (who is biracial) when he ran his first campaign. I suspect that will all but disappear if the Biden-Harris ticket wins, as it did when virtually all Black Americans proudly embraced Obama as the first Black president. The outlandish assaults of conservatives come atop the usual misogyny and racist stereotypes, including an insistence that Harris is an affirmative action choice. Never mind that she is a U.S. senator and former attorney general of California. She couldn't possibly be qualified in the minds of many conservatives. Let the wacky right wing keep going. It must make for brain-busting cognitive dissonance to claim that Harris is an affirmative action choice but she's not really Black. Black American voters are embracing her, as are Indian-American voters. Sooner or later, Trump's strategists might settle on an attack against Harris that resonates, perhaps a policy proposal that they believe tacks too far left or a misstatement or two over her long career. The problem they have, of course, is that the president's misstatements are legion, and the one policy that might have salvaged his presidency is one he has not been able to create: a strategy to curb the coronavirus. That helps explain why their attacks on Harris are crazed and contradictory. They have no reasonable arguments to make. SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Old Guys and Their Airplanes announces that American hero, United States Air Force General and "Tuskegee Airman" Brigadier General Charles McGee is scheduled to participate in a live broadcast interview, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020, at 1100 a.m., Central Daylight Time. General McGee is one of the few surviving members of WWII's 332nd Fighter Group, a unit of African-American military airmen formed during the era's culture of unit-segregation by race. Old Guys and Their Airplanes General McGee served in WWII, The Korean War and Vietnam War, accumulating an astounding 409 combat missions. His civilian service is marked by extensive honors including the nation's highest civilian award, The Congressional Gold Medal. Today, at age 100, he remains an active role model to youth, promoting his mantra of personal success, "Perceive, Prepare, Perform and Persevere." The interview will be conducted by aviation artist, writer and filmmaker, John Mollison as part of the award-winning history brand, Old Guys and Their Airplanes (OGTA). The Distinguished Flying Cross Society (DFCS) is sponsoring OGTA's online, live "Debrief" interviews as part of their commitment to ensuring that the stories of its members' heroic actions are made available to the general public. South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) is providing broadcast support, making the interview available at no cost to the public with emphasis on educators and group leaders. Fritz Miller, Director of Marketing for SDPB explains, "Our mission is to provide community outreach projects that educate, enlighten and entertain. When we learned how the DFCS and OGTA were working to continue their own missions of promoting American history, especially in this COVID-19 environment, we wanted to support their work." Bruce Huffman, Chairman of the Board for the DFCS, stated, "We have over 3,500 members and each one has a story that proves ordinary people can rise to meet extraordinary challenges. General McGee's example personifies the achievements within our group and the values we hope to inspire in others." Mollison added, "There's an old saying, 'When an old man dies, a library burns.' General McGee's life is a huge library that all Americans can check out, learn from, and leverage for positive impact in our lives and communities." To watch the live Sept. 2 interview and learn how to participate in the Q&A opportunity, go to: https://www.sdpb.org/OGTADebrief For additional information on the DFC Society and previously archived Debriefs: https://www.dfcsociety.org/pages/ogta-debriefs For information on OGTA: https://www.OldGuysAndTheirAirplanes.com For more information on the event, please contact: John Mollison, 605.261.6070 or [email protected] For more information on the DFCS, please contact: Bruce Huffman, 518.578.7089 or [email protected] Related Images brigadier-general-charles-mcgee-ret.jpg Brigadier General Charles McGee (ret) Related Links Old Guys and Their Airplanes DFC Society SOURCE Old Guys and Their Airplanes Related Links https://www.OldGuysAndTheirAirplanes.com GoFundMe for Slain 5-Year-Old Cannon Hinnant Reaches More Than $500,000 A GoFundMe for 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant has raised more than $729,000 in several days after the boy was shot and killed outside his home by a neighbor in what appears to be an unprovoked attack. On Sunday, August 9th, this precious angel was playing outside with his siblings when he was murdered, according to the page. He was merely doing what he would do any other day and thats playing with his sisters, riding his bike, doing what kids do and all of the innocence that comes with being a child. It adds: This family has faced unimaginable pain because of this senseless act of violence. We are asking for your donations to assist with anything that may be needed for expenses related to his services. We offer our sincerest appreciation in this extremely difficult time. Darius Nathaniel Sessoms, 25, was arrested Monday and is in the custody of Wilson Police in North Carolina and members of the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Task Force, The Wilson Times reported. Sessoms, who was found in a home in Goldsboro, is charged with first-degree murder. Wilson County District Court Judge John Britt told Sessoms during a virtual hearing on Tuesday that he has a right to represent himself, hire a lawyer or he could ask for a court-appointed lawyer. Sessoms, who is being held in the Wilson County jail without bond, said he wanted to try to hire a lawyer. Doris Lybrand, who saw the shooting, told WRAL that the suspect ran up to the child and fired a shot before running back to his house. My first reaction was hes playing with the kids, Lybrand said. For a second, I thought, That couldnt happen. People dont run across the street and kill kids. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Usually veteran rapper Slim Thug treats his million-plus Instagram followers to scenes from #BossLife. Glossy, tricked-out cars from his collection. His white-brick Pearland mansion. Curvy women. His sons. His branded merch. Blunts smoked in beautiful places. But in the video he posted March 25, the 39-year-old a 66 weight lifter looked strangely small and tired, and his tone was somber. So check this out, he said. No games being played. The other day I got tested for the coronavirus. And yesterday it came back positive. This deep into the pandemic, its hard to remember March, a more innocent time back when few people knew anyone whod been infected, and when nobody yet realized that COVID-19 was disproportionately hitting Black people. Slim was the first Houston celebrity to announce testing positive for COVID. Yall gotta take this serious, he told the world. Its real. Now Playing: "No matter what kind of house you live in, you still get bored," Slim Thug said, during an interview with Lisa Gray. He was the first Houston celebrity to announce he had COVID. Now he warns people to mask up. Video: Lisa Gray So much love Slim first heard of the novel coronavirus in January, when a financial advisor mentioned that it could affect the stock market. After a spring break trip to Mexico, he read about how it was racing through China and Italy. He told people to take the lockdown seriously and stay home. When he picked up food at the drive-thru, he wore a mask and gloves. Then, over a weekend, he began running a fever. He knew his family would tease him they think hes a hypochondriac, always running to doctors but he called his sister anyway: I think Ive got coronavirus. No, you dont, she told him. That Monday, March 23, his doctor gave him a quick-turnaround test. Twenty-four hours later he knew. The fever passed, no big thing. The doctor told him to stop smoking and to quarantine. So he holed up in the mansion, alone hes single and friends and family left food and home remedies, like turmeric tea, outside his door. I had so much love from everybody, he said. On March 26, he posted a video of himself, outside by the pool, soaking up sun, recovering like a boss. But the home-alone routine got old fast. He dropped his first album in ages Thug Life, in part a salute to Tupac Shakur but there were no tours, no club dates. He shopped online. He smoked a lot. He ate. By mid-April he was posting video of cars from his collection. There was the 75 El Dorado, a classic Houston slab, with a green candy paint job and wire rims poking out. And there was his prize, The Mack, a swoopy 59 Cadillac convertible that looks a little like the Batmobile. They all sparkled. A hose lay in the driveway. Look at everything, quarantine-clean! he said. Were ready to go somewhere. But we aint going nowhere. No matter what kind of house you live in, he says now, you still get bored. One small time Hes been out of quarantine for months now, and the COVID infection left no long-term after-effects. His voice is the same. Hes back at the gym now, wearing his mask and gloves; and back to running 3 miles a day. But he still doesnt feel its safe to visit his mom and sons. He misses them. He knows he was lucky. COVID killed a guy he used to see every day at the gym. And it walloped his friend Scarface, who rapped with the Geto Boys: Scarface had pneumonia in both lungs, and his kidneys failed. Now hes on dialysis four days a week. So sometimes Slim speaks out. Hes become an official city spokesman for COVID prevention, part of Mayor Sylvester Turners #MaskUp campaign. (He also appeared alongside the mayor at Houstons George Floyd rally.) A couple of weeks ago, Slim announced that his BossLife line will bring out reasonably priced masks and hand sanitizer. City of Houston video screen grab This is one small time in our lifetime, he says. I just say, take the precautions until we get over this hump. A few days ago, he posted a video of a crowded party, one with more cleavage than face masks. I saw it after Id interviewed Slim, and asked his publicist, LaTorria Lemon, what was up with that photo was it a throwback, taken last year? Or was he reposting someone elses video? Im pretty certain he had his mask on if he was present, she replied, as he ALWAYS wears his mask. Marcy de Luna contributed to this story. lisa.gray@chron.com, twitter.com/LisaGray_HouTX A Belfast father whose daughter died aged 25 after complications from a bone marrow transplant has come up with a poignant way to toast her memory. Eimear Gooderham died in June 2019 and dad Sean is hoping people will donate 30 to the Anthony Nolan Trust in return for a gift of a 70cl bottle of Eimear's Wish Gin. They are now available, complete with a unique small dragonfly motif, which has been a symbol of his campaign. In September 2016, Eimear was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. After finding a stem cell donor match, Eimear underwent a transplant in November 2018, but passed away following complications.Throughout her illness, the Coolnasilla woman fought to raise awareness of stem cell donation alongside her family, who established the Eimear's Wish campaign to continue her work. As part of that, Eimear's family teamed up with the locally-based Echinville Distillery to produce a new premium Irish gin, aimed at raising awareness of stem cell donation. The distillery, which is behind the hugely popular Jawbox brand, has created 300 bottles of Eimear's Wish gin, with money from donations going to the Action Cancer, the Cancer Fund for Children and Anthony Nolan charities. "Eimear wasn't a big drinker, but she did like a little gin," said Sean. It is not the first time Sean has come up with an innovative fundraising idea. In January he teamed up with Lurgan-based doughnut company Taboo to create a selection of Eimear's favourite sweet treat for a series of Doughnuts for Donors days. "We don't like just asking people for money for charity," he explained. "We always try to give people something unique and to give people alternatives rather just asking them to put their hands in their pockets, especially at the minute when money is a bit tight for people. "The gin costs 18 to produce per bottle and we can't sell it, but the idea is that if anybody would like a bottle of this limited edition gin, we're asking them to make a minimum donation of 30 to Eimear's Wish. "The money will go to Action Cancer, the Cancer Fund for Children and the Anthony Nolan Trust. "It's another way of us promoting stem cell awareness in Northern Ireland. It's just a unique way of trying to get people thinking about stem cells." Expand Close Sean's daughter Eimear who died after a bone marrow transplant / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Sean's daughter Eimear who died after a bone marrow transplant Eimear's family are also asking local bars to get on board to help raise money and awareness for a worthy cause. "We're hoping that some local bars will get involved and maybe make a cocktail out of it," Sean added. "They could maybe have an Eimear's Wish cocktail for the month of August with all profits going to the three charities. "You can probably buy an equivalent bottle of gin for about 28, and what we're saying is that if you're going to buy that gin why don't you make a donation and take this gin instead, knowing that each charity is getting around 4 per bottle." Aubrey Plaza treated her beloved dogs to a walk Sunday in Los Angeles amid a heatwave. The 36-year-old actress wore a light blue tie-dye T-shirt and a matching sky blue cap for her stroll with dogs Frankie and Stevie. Aubrey completed her sporty outfit with black biker shorts and dark trainers while exercising her dogs amid 95-degree weather. Hot dog: Aubrey Plaza was feeling blue Sunday while taking her beloved dogs for a walk in Los Angeles amid a heatwave The actress also wore a pink face mask that covered her nose and mouth amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Aubrey has been spending quarantine with her longtime partner Jeff Baena, 43. The filmmaker and actress have been in a relationship since 2011 and live together in the Los Feliz neighborhood. Aubrey starred in the drama thriller Black Bear that premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival. Feeling blue: The 36-year-old actress wore a light blue tie-dye T-shirt and a matching sky blue cap for her stroll with dogs Frankie and Stevie She also has a starring role in the upcoming romantic comedy Happiest Season that was co-written and directed by Clea DuVall, 42. Happiest Season also stars Kristen Stewart, 30, as well as Mackenzie Davis, 33, and is scheduled for release on November 25, 2020 by Sony Pictures Releasing. Aubrey also has the comedy-drama Best Sellers in post-production. Busy star: Aubrey, shown in February 2019 in Los Angeles, starred in the drama thriller Black Bear that premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival The film about a cranky author who must participate in a book tour to save his publishing boutique stars Sir Michael Caine, 87, and also features Cary Elwes, 57. Aubrey last month appeared via Zoom with her Scott Pilgrim Vs The World co-stars, including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, and the film's director Edgar Wright for a table read to benefit Water For People. The Delaware native also joined her Parks And Recreation co-stars in April for a virtual reunion episode to benefit Feeding America. International passengers arriving in Delhi may soon get themselves tested for the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) at the airport and will not be required to go into institutional quarantine if the result is negative. The proposal by the airport operator is yet to be approved by the ministry of health, but staff at the Indira Gandhi International Airport is ready to facilitate the tests if it gets the go-ahead, officials said. At present, passengers arriving from overseas are only screened for symptoms at the Delhi airport and are required to undergo a compulsory seven days institutional quarantine followed by seven days of home quarantine. Some passengers such as pregnant women, those travelling with a child below 10 years of age, those who have suffered a death in the family or have a critical illness, or those with a recent negative Covid-19 report, may be granted conditional exemption from mandatory institutional quarantine. Click here for complete coronavirus coverage The proposal to conduct Covid-19 tests at the airport, officials said, will be useful to passengers who are not carrying a recent test report. It will help them go home straight away if the reports of tests conducted at the airport show negative results. However, the results will take at least eight hours, and therefore a special waiting area will be set up for these passengers at Terminal 3, said an airport official, asking not to be named. Authorities at the Delhi airport are prepared to arrange for the required space and other things as needed, he added. An official at the ministry of health said the idea has just been put forward and the ministry of civil aviation is yet to respond to it. Also read| Covid-19: What you need to know today A second Delhi airport official said it is expected that once the ministry of health approves the proposal, it will be applicable to all airports across the country. The decision on which airports will have the facility and which do not need it is to be decided by the ministry of civil aviation, he said on condition of anonymity. On August 8, the Delhi airport operator introduced an e-portal named Air Suvidha under which international passengers can seek exemption from institutional quarantine under five categories pregnancy, death in the family, serious illness, accompanied by children below 10 years and tested negative for Covid-19 via a recent reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction ( RT-PCR) test. Also read: Govt kick-starts talks to explore Covid-19 vaccine deal For those granted the exemption, a dedicated channel was also set up at Terminal 3 to speed up their exit from the airport. Currently, India is only operating international flights under the Vande Bharat Mission. Flights from France, the US and Germany, among others, are also operating in India under a bilateral air bubble arrangements that have been signed with these countries. Trustees of the Alamo Colleges District voted Monday to call a board election for November, a decision they had previously postponed twice. Several board members said theyd made a mistake in failing to do it earlier. The election for three trustee positions was supposed to have been held in May, but an order by Gov. Greg Abbott allowed the board to vote last April to cancel it. The governors order let political subdivisions unable to hold May elections because of the spread of the coronavirus reschedule the balloting to Nov. 3, but in the April vote, Alamo Colleges trustees left the new date of the election unspecified. Last week, the board voted 6-2, with one abstention, to delay its election to an undetermined date. Required Reading: Get San Antonio education news sent directly to your inbox On Monday, trustee Joe Jesse Sanchez, who is up for re-election and had voted for the delay, made the motion to call for a November election. I wanted to be very clear that the main concern in this election process was with the health and safety of the voters,Sanchez said. This election is not about me or my election. It is about the path of student success and performance excellence that the Alamo Colleges has undertaken in the last few years. Trustee Yvonne Katz apologized for her vote last week and said it was based on misinformation shared in several executive sessions. Sanchez pointed to two things that had not yet happened when the board voted Aug. 11 to delay the election, including a Bexar County measure that would make voting safer . On Aug. 13, he noted, the City Council approved placing before voters Nov. 3 a proposal to use a 1/8-cent city sales tax to provide $154 million for San Antonios post-pandemic economic recovery through job training and college assistance. On ExpressNews.com: 'We need action now': Sales tax proposal for San Antonio economic recovery now in voters' hands After four years, the sales tax would go to VIA Metropolitan Transit to improve bus service, if voters approve a separate proposition on the ballot. Then on Aug. 14, county commissioners passed a resolution to create four voting centers, including at the AT&T Center, and at least one polling site that would be open 24 hours, and to provide machines for curbside voting and drop-off locations for mailed ballots. But trustee Gene Sprague said the Alamo Colleges board and its attorneys should have known they did not have the authority to delay the election past Nov. 3. He said the Texas Secretary of State responded to trustees questions to clarify that, he said. Sprague said he also spoke with an assistant attorney general who told him the governors order was understood to only allow for May elections to be delayed to Nov. 3. Sprague said it was after that phone call that trustees scheduled Mondays special meeting. I think the board has not received sound legal advice, Sprague said. So, if I hadnt done it, this meeting would not have happened. On ExpressNews.com: Bexar elections chief gets virtual blank check to expand access, ensure voting safety in November elections The city of Round Rock recently opted to schedule its elections for November, after having moved them first from May to November and then from November to May 2021. Attorney General Ken Paxton on July 30 sent Round Rocks mayor and city council a letter explaining that Abbotts order only allows changing a local election date from the May uniform election date to the November uniform election date; it does not permit a change from November to May. Holding an improper election can result in severe consequences, Paxton wrote in the letter, including having the election voided. The Alamo Colleges board reconsidered its decision last week to postpone the election indefinitely in light of Abbotts proclamation and in response to concerns expressed by the community, according to a statement from the college district. Trustees were up against a deadline. If the board had not called for a November election by 5 p.m. Monday, three trustees, Sanchez in District 9, Marcelo Casillas in District 4, and Jose Macias Jr. in District 2 would have remained on the board past the expiration of their terms. Casillas, the board chair, did not apply for re-election. He abstained from the vote last week and on Monday. Multiple candidates have filed for election to his seat or to challenge incumbents Sanchez and Macias. Macias was appointed to fill a vacancy left by former trustee Denver McClendon, whose term expires in May 2022. The winner of the election is to finish that term. The board oversees the district's five community colleges, which serve more than 60,000 students, and a $385 million operating budget. Krista Torralva covers several school districts and public universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Krista, become a subscriber. Krista.Torralva@express-news.net | Twitter: @KMTorralva (Newser) Puerto Rican Gov. Wanda Vazquez on Sunday acknowledged losing the primary of her pro-statehood party to Pedro Pierluisi, who briefly served as the US territory's governor last year amid political turmoil. With more than 78% of electoral colleges reporting late Sunday, Pierluisi received more than 57% of the vote compared with more than 42% for Vazquez, the AP reports. We have to abide by the decision of the majority, Vazquez said in a brief speech where she warned Pierluisi that he should aspire to have the support of those who voted for her. She will remain as governor until the winner of Puerto Rico's Nov. 3 general elections takes office. Pierluisi spoke shortly after Vazquez and said the governor can count on him: We all have to be united to push Puerto Rico forward. Puerto Rico's general elections will see a record six candidates running for governor. story continues below The results come one week after delayed and missing ballots led to a chaotic primary that forced a second round of voting on Sunday in which thousands of Puerto Ricans got a second chance to vote for the first time. Voting centers in nearly 50 of the island's 78 municipalities opened following a recent US Supreme Court decision that stated a second round of voting would take place at centers that never opened on Aug. 9 or did not remain open the required eight hours. But the Supreme Court's ruling permanently left out voters like Eldy Correa, a 67-year-old retiree who went to her voting center in the southwest town of Cabo Rojo three times last Sunday and desisted only to find out later that it opened late. They took away our right to vote, she said. Many Puerto Ricans remained angry and embarrassed over a botched primary that many say was a blow to the US territory's democracy. (Read more Puerto Rico stories.) Google has hit back at a proposed new code that will force tech giants to pay media companies for their news, claiming it could lead to users' data being handed over to big news publishers and impact search results on Google and YouTube. The code drafted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission would give Google and Facebook three months to negotiate revenue-sharing deals with media companies before independent arbitrators are called in to impose a compulsory arrangement. However, the tech giant has slammed the proposed code with Google Australia's managing director Melanie Silva claiming its implementation would mean Google search and YouTube could no longer be guaranteed to show what was most relevant and helpful to users. Google Australia managing director Melanie Silva has hit back at the proposed code. Credit:Louie Douvis In an "open letter to Australians" published on Monday online, Ms Silva said: "The News Media Bargaining Code would force us to provide you with a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube, could lead to your data being handed over to big news businesses, and would put the free services you use at risk in Australia. WASHINGTON, Aug. 17, 2020 -- Oral bacteria are ready to spring into action the moment a dental hygienist finishes scraping plaque off a patient's teeth. Eating sugar or other carbohydrates causes the bacteria to quickly rebuild this tough and sticky biofilm and to produce acids that corrode tooth enamel, leading to cavities. Scientists now report a treatment that could someday stop plaque and cavities from forming in the first place, using a new type of cerium nanoparticle formulation that would be applied to teeth at the dentist's office. The researchers will present their progress toward this goal today at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting & Expo. ACS is holding the meeting through Thursday. It features more than 6,000 presentations on a wide range of science topics. The mouth contains more than 700 species of bacteria, says Russell Pesavento, D.D.S., Ph.D., the project's principal investigator. They include beneficial bacteria that help digest food or keep other microbes in check. They also include harmful streptococcal species, including Streptococcus mutans. Soon after a cleaning, these bacteria stick to teeth and begin multiplying. With sugar as an energy source and building block, the microbes gradually form a tough film that can't easily be removed by brushing. As the bacteria continue metabolizing sugar, they make acid byproducts that dissolve tooth enamel, paving the way for cavities. Dentists and consumers can fight back with products including stannous fluoride to inhibit plaque, and silver nitrate or silver diamine fluoride to stop existing tooth decay. Researchers have also studied nanoparticles made of zinc oxide, copper oxide or silver to treat dental infections. Although bactericidal agents such as these have their place in dentistry, repeated applications could lead to both stained teeth and bacterial resistance, according to Pesavento, who is at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Also, these agents are not selective, so they kill many types of bacteria in your mouth, even good ones," he explains. So, Pesavento wanted to find an alternative that wouldn't indiscriminately kill bacteria in the mouth and that would help prevent tooth decay, rather than treat cavities after the fact. He and his research group turned to cerium oxide nanoparticles. Other teams had examined the effects of various types of cerium oxide nanoparticles on microbes, though only a few had looked at their effects on clinically relevant bacteria under initial biofilm formation conditions. Those that did so prepared their nanoparticles via oxidation-reduction reactions or pH-driven precipitation reactions, or bought nanoparticles from commercial sources. Those prior formulations either had no effect or even promoted biofilm growth in lab tests, he says. But Pesavento persevered because the properties and behavior of nanoparticles depend, at least partially, on how they're prepared. His team produced their nanoparticles by dissolving ceric ammonium nitrate or sulfate salts in water. Other researchers had previously made the particles this way but hadn't tested their effects on biofilms. When the researchers seeded polystyrene plates with S. mutans in growth media and fed the bacteria sugar in the presence of the cerium oxide nanoparticle solution, they found that the formulation reduced biofilm growth by 40% compared to plates without the nanoparticles, though they weren't able to dislodge existing biofilms. Under similar conditions, silver nitrate -- a known anti-cavity agent used by dentists -- showed no effect on biofilm growth. "The advantage of our treatment is that it looks to be less harmful to oral bacteria, in many cases not killing them," Pesavento says. Instead, the nanoparticles merely prevented microbes from sticking to polystyrene surfaces and forming adherent biofilms. In addition, the nanoparticles' toxicity and metabolic effects in human oral cells in petri dishes were less than those of silver nitrate. Pesavento, who was awarded a patent in July, would like to combine the nanoparticles with enamel-strengthening fluoride in a formulation that dentists could paint on a patient's teeth. But, he notes, much work must be done before that concept can be realized. For now, the team is experimenting with coatings to stabilize the nanoparticles at a neutral or slightly basic pH -- closer to the pH of saliva and healthier for teeth than the present acidic solution. His team has also begun working with bacteria linked to the development of gingivitis and has found one particular coated nanoparticle that outcompeted stannous fluoride in limiting the formation of adherent biofilms under similar conditions. Pesavento and his team will continue to test the treatment in the presence of other bacterial strains typically present in the mouth, as well as test its effects on human cells of the lower digestive tract to gain a better sense of overall safety for patients. ### A press conference on this topic will be held Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 1 p.m. Eastern time online at http://www.acs.org/fall2020pressconferences. Pesavento acknowledges funding from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. ACS' mission is to advance the broader chemistry enterprise and its practitioners for the benefit of Earth and its people. The Society is a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related information and research through its multiple research solutions, peer-reviewed journals, scientific conferences, eBooks and weekly news periodical Chemical & Engineering News. ACS journals are among the most cited, most trusted and most read within the scientific literature; however, ACS itself does not conduct chemical research. As a specialist in scientific information solutions (including SciFinder and STN), its CAS division powers global research, discovery and innovation. ACS' main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. To automatically receive press releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org. Note to journalists: Please report that this research was presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Follow us: Twitter | Facebook Title Nanoceria reduce in vitro Streptococcus mutans biofilm adherence: Applications in oral medicine Abstract The easiest way for them to sell more American made products is by giving the sales teams the tools that they need to get the job done. Brimar Packaging, a US based box manufacturer, is creating new ways to make it easier for packaging brokers to better serve their clients. Brimar Packaging currently serves US manufacturers and packaging brokers with custom box needs, and they are challenging the broker process with innovative ways of doing business. Brimar Packaging is previewing a comprehensive Brokers Resource Center where packaging brokers can gain access to custom and interactive tools to help them sell more boxes with a focus on American made. Brimar has been a leader in American box manufacturing for over 25 years, and their goal is to get more American made boxes in the hands of US manufacturers. 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Hope Hicks' bouncy curls met their match as she battled strong winds while traveling to Minnesota and Wisconsin with President Donald Trump on Monday, the first day of the Democratic National Convention. The 31-year-old counselor to the president was unable to keep her long locks in place as she boarded Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House ahead of their departure. Aside from her wind-blown hair, she looked sleek in a $695 bright blue blazer by Veronica Beard, which she wore over an all-black outfit that included plenty of layers. Back on the campaign trail: Hope Hicks, 31, traveled to Minnesota and Wisconsin with the President Donald Trump on Monday, the first day of the Democratic National Convention Hard to handle: The wind ripped through Hope's bouncy curls as she boarded Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House ahead of the trip Even though the temperature was in the mid-80s when she left the White House, she doned a $250 black cashmere zip-up sweater underneath her blazer to keep warm on the flight. She wore the two jackets over a form-fitting tank and cropped dress pants. Hope completed the look with a pair of classic black stiletto heels and timeless accessories, including pearl stud earrings, a dainty chain necklace with a diamond pendant, and black cat-eye sunglasses to shield her eyes from the sun. The counselor carried nothing onboard aside from a black leather handbag that she clutched in her left hand as she stepped onto Marine One. Outfit of the day: The counselor to the president was dressed in a $695 bright blue blazer by Veronica Beard, which she wore over an all-black outfit Team Trump: Hope was later seen walking across the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland with White House senior adviser Stephen Miller before they boarded Air Force One After a short helicopter ride to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, she was seen walking across the tarmac to board Air Force One with White House senior adviser Stephen Miller. Neither of them wore protective face masks for the flight, taking a cue from their boss, President Trump, who rarely wears a mask in public amid the coronavirus pandemic. Trump zeroed in on Midwest battleground states on Monday with a tough, law and order message to counterprogram former Vice President Joe Biden's show at the Democrats' national convention. The first stop on their trip was Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Trump spoke on the tarmac to about 150 supporters, about half of whom had on masks. Addressing his fans: Trump spoke to a crowd of supporters at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport on Monday Game plan: Trump zeroed in on Midwest battleground states on Monday to counterprogram former Vice President Joe Biden's show at the Democratic national convention Drawing crowds: The president also addressed supporters at the Mankato Regional Airport in Minnesota He also held an event with small business owners whose stores were damaged after violent protests and riots following George Floyd's death in police custody. In Mankato, Minnesota, the president addressed a crowd of several hundred supporters outside an aircraft hangar. He alleged that Biden a victory would 'replace American freedom with left-wing fascism.' Fascism, though, is form of far-right nationalism. The events this week come as Trump's campaign is looking to redefine what the president's political events look like in the age of the coronavirus. Back to work: Hope, pictured in June, is back at the president's side after officially returning to White House in March Throwback: Hope officially resigned as White House communications director in March 2018. She is pictured with President Trump a few weeks after she resigned Trump was set to address hundreds of supporters at airports in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and Mankato, Minnesota, two months after he was forced to abandon plans to resume holding rallies amid a resurgence in cases. 'We'd love to have those rallies, but I guess you just can't do that, you're not allowed to do that now," Trump explained in Mankato, saying he has embraced 'airport hops' as an alternative. Hope, who worked on Trump's first campaign, is back at the president's side after resigning as the White House communications director in March 2018. She relocated to take a top job with Fox, but a little over a year later, she announced she was quitting to return to Washington D.C. to serve as a counselor to Trump and an aide to the president's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner. Hope officially started back at the White House in early March, just a few weeks before the country went in lockdown amid the coronavirus pandemic. 'Every disease has traits and we have found out that actually 99 per cent of people who have got COVID-19, should recover.' IMAGE: A health worker collects a swab sample at a mobile COVID-19 testing van in New Delhi, August08, 2020. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo Heart surgeon Dr Sanjeeth Peter, who has been operating for 25 years, is the director and chief cardiac surgeon at the DDMM Heart Institute, a super specialty hospital, in the small town of Nadiad, southeast Gujarat, about 60 km from Ahmedabad. Dr Peter, as a critical care team member for COVID-19 patient care in Gujarat, offers his logical analysis and perspective on India's COVID-19 situation. In Part 2 of this interview to Vaihayasi Pande Daniel/Rediff.com, Dr Peter talks about the prevalence of the virus and the gold standard of testing. Why the spread of COVID-19 will differ from region to region: The prevalence will differ in a specific geographical area from another geographical area. If you look at the prevalence in the area of a person who has been infected with COVID-19, let's say in Mumbai, it will be, I'm sure, be very, very different from the prevalence in the area of a person, who has been infected in Tezpur, in Assam, or maybe Arunachal Pradesh. It would be very different. I think we need to look at geographical areas, rather than looking at India as a whole, when we talk about the numbers. IMAGE: People queue near a COVID-19 mobile testing facility at Jafarguda near Karwan in the old city of Hyderabad. Intelligent Monitoring Analysis Services Quarantine (iMASQ), the testing facilities, are housed in specially designed buses, developed by Hyderabad-based Vera Smart Healthcare. August 9, 2020. Photograph: PTI Photo You say this in reference to the COVID-19 cases peaking situation. Are you talking about the actual case numbers? Even the actual cases. Remember it will go there (another geographical area) and start replicating in that community. The numbers will increase in that community slightly differently from the way it would (elsewhere), because of the local geographical patterns. Like for example, in a crowded place: If people are not following the three (COVID-19 rules) of physical distancing (I'd like to call it physical, not social), second, wearing a mask and the third if they don't follow simple hand etiquette, the chances of replication or the chances of the spread is going to be much higher. Much higher than say a village, or a predominantly rural area, where anyway the distance between the huts will be quite far. They're not spending a lot of time with each other, things like that. It's bound to be different. It is best to look at geographical area, and then understand what the situation is in that particular area, according to the local conditions. IMAGE: COVID-19 patients being welcomed by family members and locals as they return home after recovering from COVID-19 in Lucknow, July 14 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo More about how many infected versus how many recovered and recovery rate: (About) your question on how many infected therefore how many healed, you must count every one of these people - both infected currently, and who have ever been infected as cases. That is the total cases. You are hundred percent correct when you say we will never know the actual cases unless we test. Any statistic which is trying to tell you the rate -- whether it is recovery rate or whether it is mortality rate or whether it is infection rate -- it all has a numerator and denominator, because it is a rate after all. And only if both the numerator and denominator are accurate will you be able to get an accurate rate. Now let's look at recovery rate: As I said, we expect that 99 per cent are going to recover and at the end of the pandemic we had better have that 99 per cent recovery rate, because that's the way this virus is behaving. This virus has some traits, which, I keep emphasising, are traits peculiar to it. Every disease has traits peculiar to it. We all have traits which are peculiar to ourselves. I will give an example of a leopard: A leopard has a trait of taking its prey - whatever it has killed -- up a tree to eat it. It doesn't sit on the side of the road and eat. Whereas a dog will sit on the side of the road and eat it. If you are looking for a leopard and you start going to the side of the road, you're not gonna find it. It is still going to be on the top of a tree. Every disease has traits and we have found that actually 99 per cent of people who get COVID-19, recover. So, if you're telling me that our recovery rate is 60 per cent, that's not the entire picture. We have to have a 99 per cent recovery. I do understand that the authorities want to instill confidence among people. But let's realise that it is still going to be 99 per cent (recovery rate) at the end of this pandemic. Also, if you're looking at recovery rate again, it is the number of persons who have recovered, over (divided by) the number of persons who have got the illness. IMAGE: Patients being shifted from the Osmania General hospital in Hyderabad, July 22 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo And we don't know the denominator. Yes! We don't know the denominator. Secondly, it should be at a point in time and taking the average number of days that the person has taken to recover. So, let's say -- I'm just giving you an example - till the 5th of July, we had 100 cases, who have been infected. If you want to see the (actual and correct) recovery rate of those same 100, you should check on the 26th of July, which is three weeks later, to see how many of those same 100 have recovered. And you will find that it is 99 per cent. What we're doing instead is we are taking the total number of those infected today and the total number of people who have been declared as cured today (and doing the math for a recovery rate). You can't do that. You should follow up the same set of people, who have been infected, and then see when they recovered and how many of those recovered. That would be the correct recovery rate. Therefore, you get the recovery rate only after this (period of) time. IMAGE: A health worker collects a sample at a school which was turned into a centre to conduct tests for the coronavirus disease in New Delhi, August 6, 2020. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters But why is this correct kind of calculation - as you have just explained -- not happening? Is it not happening because the ICMR is not suggesting that it be done this way. Or the government is not suggesting? Why? No, no, it's happening because you can't follow up those exact patients, because it is a huge data. I mean you are looking at 7 lakhs or 7.5 lakhs (the total number of cases in India today). And then you have to see how many of those 7.5 lakhs were actually infected before, for example July 5. We then need to check on those same set of patients, and find out how many are now healed. That's the way you should look at it. But they are looking at the overall picture and trying to instil confidence in the public. IMAGE: A health worker collects a swab sample for the COVID-19 Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test at an urban Primary Health Centre in Gurugram, August 1, 2020. Photograph: Yogendra Kumar/ANI Photo Is this basically happening because this is a chaotic situation? And everyone's trying to make the best of a chaotic situation by posting this kind of data to assure people? Yes. I think in a way people are getting assured, so that's a good thing. But if they do it in this way (ie the right) way, they would be even more assured. The public would be even more assured that: 'Yes, oh well 99 per cent are recovering'. That's the way to look at it. That, I think, answers your question on recovery rate and what those statistics are all about. IMAGE: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan launches India's first mobile lab for COVID-19 tests in New Delhi. Deployed in interior, inaccessible, parts of the country it has the capability to perform 25 RT-PCR tests/day, 300 ELISA tests/day and additional testts for TB, HIV , June 18, 2020. Photograph: ANI Photo What about the numbers we are issuing about how many in India had COVID-19, when widespread testing and tracking is not possible it seems? On how many really have it and what is our number -- you're right. How will we know those numbers? Only if we test. And we know that they aren't. The gold standard test that we're using currently today is called the RT- PCR test**. If you look at the RT-PCR itself, a single RT-PCR test has a sensitivity of a maximum of 70 per cent. That means 30 per cent of those RT-PCRs will also cover false negatives. We need to test, we need to do more of testing, we need to do double and triple the amount of testing (than we are currently doing). But I think we are spending a lot of money on that, with very little returns. Why are we doing that? Why do we want to do RT-PCR testing? Fine, you do RT-PCR testing in select areas. But don't think that's going to really give you a clear or true picture of the number of cases that we have in India. It's much more than that. It is obviously spreading in India and to several geographical areas as well. Therefore, just looking at those numbers, and the RT-PCR positives and saying that that's all the numbers that we have -- is not correct. We obviously have many more cases than that. Why are we doing this. We are doing this to identify and then probably isolate that particular area. But remember that even if you isolate that particular family or that area or the repeated contacts, there are several others who have missed the RT- PCR testing because of a false negative or we have not really checked that entire area. So therefore, you can't net in everybody. There will be people who will slip out of that net. So RT-PCRs, per se, give you a rough idea as to how many people are infected. And it's a good thing, because at least now people have realised that it is much more widespread than what it was thought to be and that it is spreading in areas (they had not known about). People also know, that because of our large population, we probably will, at the end of the pandemic, have the highest number of cases in the world. Again, when I say cases, people who have ever had COVID-19. It could be active cases. It could be healed cases. But cases nonetheless, and they ought to be counted in that. IMAGE: A health worker collects a swab sample in Gurugram, June 18, 2020. Photograph: Yogendra Kumar/ANI Photo But when you're talking about this test, which has a 30 per cent chance of being false, are you suggesting that they use some other test as well? Or that's just how it is? There is no other test. This is the gold standard. There is another test called NAT***. There also there is only 60 per cent accuracy. You still will have 30 to 40 per cent people slipping out of the net. Unfortunately, that's (RT-PCR) the best test that we have. IMAGE: A health worker collects a swab sample at a school in Mumbai, August 8, 2020. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters On the reasons for the low sensitivity of the RT-PCR test: The reason why I give this sensitivity of 30 to 70 per cent is because it depends on five things. Number one, it depends on where the swab was taken from. If the swab has been taken from the back of the throat, whether it was taken from the saliva, or whether it was taken from the back of the nose (etc). Secondly, it will depend on what time in the illness it was taken. (Probability of the test being positive) is highest on Day 3 or Day 4, whereas if you take it on Day 1 or maybe Day 10, it may not be positive. Third, it depends on who has taken it. There are trained people. Or you might have a person for whom, maybe, it is the third time he's taking a test -- compared to someone who has done it a thousand times -- obviously the experience matters there. Fourth, it depends on the transport. And, for example, how has the sample been transported from the point where it was taken to the point where the test is actually going to be done. Fifth, it will also depend on the time difference between the when the sample is collected and when the test was actually done. So, all of these variables put together give us a sensitivity of between 40 and 70 per cent. But we must remember people will still slip out of that net or will still get false negatives, because of the inherent nature of that test. There's a reason to test even more, because of that? Yes. Absolutely. That is if you want to follow the identify and isolate the people who are the contacts (route). But yes, that's the way to go. **an expensive test that uses a lab technology called real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction that amplifies the genetic fragments of the virus so there is enough to test. ***Nucleic Acid Test which detects the SARS-CoV-2 E-gene and results can be made available in half an hour. Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com At 18, she married Daniel del Solar, a Chilean journalist who began introducing her to the artists and thinkers who in turn drew her further into the art world. But it would be years before she could devote herself fully to her creative work. After she and del Solar divorced, Ms. Hurtado supported their two young sons in part by designing window displays at the Lord & Taylor department store. Kallman Worldwide, a global leader in organising US participation at the most influential international trade events, has signed a partnership with Saudi International Airshow (SIAS) 2021 to strengthen the shows American industry presence through their USA Partnership Pavilion. The inaugural SIAS held in Riyadh in 2019 received great acclaim, hosting some 450 international exhibitors, 15,000 trade visitors and a number of high Delegations. The second edition will be held from February 16 18, 2021 under the patronage of Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Chairman of Saudi Space Commission and Founder and Chairman of Saudi Aviation Club. In addition to the introduction of the USA Partnership Pavilion, new focus areas for the 2021 show will include UAV and Drone displays showcasing future technology and innovation; an Aviation Training Zone promoting the latest industry trends, training and recruitment and a Space and Satellite feature area and Conference, where Prince Sultan Bin Salman Al Saud, the first Arab astronaut in space in 1985, will receive international space agencies. The USA Partnership Pavilion will form the largest international contingent at the show, presenting a broad range of products, capabilities and innovative solutions for aerospace manufacturing, assembly, operations, and maintenance. American manufacturers and suppliers participating in SIAS 2021 can expect to build strong ties throughout the region and develop relationships for future international business partnerships in Saudi Arabia. The success of SIAS 2019 and obvious regional business opportunities inspired Kallman Worldwide to partner with show organiser. We are very much looking forward to working with our new partner and are confident that the USA Partnership Pavilion will be the largest international group in the show, said Tom Kallman, CEO of Kallman Worldwide. Saudi Arabia offers a plethora of business opportunities to our clients, with the largest market for aircraft parts in the Middle East naming just one example. We expect SIAS 2021 to deliver high-ranking decision makers and influencers from around the entire region. The introduction of the new feature areas is sure to further enhance SIAS, presenting the perfect platform to discuss, meet and encourage business, and we look forward to receiving high ranking government officials, delegations and industry partners to the USA Partnership Pavilion. We are delighted to welcome Kallman Worldwide Inc as the sole representative for US participants for the second edition of Saudi International Airshow in February 2021. We believe this partnership will help the US aerospace industry to develop business in Saudi Arabia and create a unique atmosphere at the largest international exhibition area at the show, said Didier Mary, CEO of Saudi International Airshow. - TradeArabia News Service Tamil Nadu has cornered around 18.63 per cent of the fresh investments in Q1FY21 and topped the list of state-wise investments. These investments should help create over 67,212 jobs. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic posing several challenges, including an economic slowdown, Tamil Nadu has managed to sign 41 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 30,664 crore since the outbreak. These investments should help create over 67,212 jobs. Tamil Nadu has cornered around 18.63 per cent of the fresh investments in Q1FY21 and topped the list of state-wise investments - because of the 17 MoUs signed by the state government in May 2020. The inflow in Tamil Nadu stood at Rs 18,236 crore. In June and July, the state signed the rest of the MoUs. Tamil Nadu has been selected by companies investing in data centres (Hiranandani Group's Yotta Infrastructure and Adani), the auto sector (Daimler, Ather Energy, Srivaru Motors, Visteon, ATC Tires, Super Auto Forge), FMCG (ITC, Top Anil Marketing), telecom (Salcomp). Projects related to footwear, green energy, and industrial parks also attracted investments. Chief Minister E K Palaniswami said quality roads, harbours, uninterrupted power, human resources pool, market opportunities, increased consumption, and good infrastructure have made Tamil Nadu a much sought-after investment destination. This was not always the case. Former CM J Jayalalithaa was not accessible for several years of her last regime because of poor health, and decisions on proposals remained pending. But things have changed in the Palaniswami government, which has empowered officials. The industries department, led by principal secretary N Muruganandam, and the guidance bureau are addressing industries issues proactively. The guidance bureau - which earlier had only five people - now has 77. And these people are monitoring different countries and sectors constantly. Several companies from Singapore, South Korea, and the US have signed MoUs with Tamil Nadu over the last two weeks. Sunil Gupta, managing partner and CEO, Yotta Infrastructure, said his firm decided to invest in Tamil Nadu not only because Chennai has major tech companies and is a significant international fiber landing station, but also because the state administration is pro-active. His project will require between 30 and 40 approvals. Yotta has decided to invest Rs 3,000-4,000 crore over 10 years. Hari K Thiagarajan, chairman, CII Tamil Nadu State Council, said an investor doesnt only look for subsidy and incentives but also seeks a talent pool, physical and social infrastructure, supply chain base, and other factors. He, however, noted despite incentives like a capital subsidy, payroll subsidy, and stamp duty and registration concessions, southern districts are lagging. The government should study what should be done to attract investments in southern districts. According to state officials, companies like Britannia, ATC Tyres, and ITC are going for green and brownfield expansions. R Ganapathi, president, Southern India Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said Tamil Nadu has competitive neighbours and therefore, needs to push itself a lot more. Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh are extremely aggressive states when it comes to encouraging investments - offering lots of sops, including land availability, although much of the labour comes from Tamil Nadu, said Ganapathi. According to Satyakam Arya, MD & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, there is still room for improvement in the ease of doing business. The state should look at incentives based on investment, revenue, and employment opportunities created by the investor. It should also look at developing skills and the R&D ecosystem. Neeraj Mittal, MD and CEO, guidance bureau, said the government is working towards paperless and contactless G2B. Currently, 36 services are being offered via a single window. This should increase to 200 by May next year. The state is also developing a land information portal to connect buyers and sellers directly; clearances will be automated. Recently, the department launched Bizbuddy portal for transparency, accountability, and easability. If the state keeps up this momentum, it can truly claim its place as the magnet for the highest investment - pandemic notwithstanding. Four NSW councils that hold the largest amounts of money from developer levies have gaps in their governance and controls over the contributions, an Audit Office report has found. The audit, which was released on Monday, also found that Central Coast Council was in breach of legislation by using local infrastructure contributions to cover administration costs. Money collected from property developers is meant to be spent on local infrastructure. Credit:Wolter Peeters The breaches were made by the former Gosford City Council, which was merged into Central Coast four years ago, between 2001 and 2016, and continued under the enlarged council until 2019. The funds were repaid late last year when Central Coast Council reimbursed $13.2 million to its local infrastructure fund. Councils collect contributions from property developers to pay for local infrastructure such as drainage, local roads, open space and community facilities. Under the law, the money can be spent only on what it was collected for. The Defence Headquarters says the troops of Operation Whirl Punch have eliminated an unspecified number of armed bandits in an encounter at Tashan Kare in Niger State. The Coordinator of Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, a major general, in a statement on Monday, said the success was in continuation of aggressive clearance operation to rid the North Central of criminal elements. Mr Enenche said the troops acted based on credible intelligence on the attack by bandits. He said troops swiftly mobilised to the scene and made contact with the bandits. READ ALSO: R The gallant troops engaged the armed bandits with superior fire power killing unspecified numbers while others fled in disarray into the bushes. Sadly troops suffered three casualties while two others were wounded in action. The Military High Command congratulates the gallant troops for their professionalism and encourages them to intensify the onslaught against the enemies of our country, he said. (NAN) In a career spanning eight decades, Pandit Jasraj has been awarded numerous accolades and titles. He is credited to bring to the fore the unique and distinct style of the Mewati gharana to the world of Hindustani classical music. Legendary Hindustani classical vocalist and Padma Vibhushan awardee Pandit Jasraj passed away on Monday in New Jersey, reports Press Trust of India after receiving a confirmation from his daughter Durga Jasraj. Bapuji is no more, Durga, also a musician, told the Press Trust of India over the phone from Mumbai. Jasraj, one of the most illustrious doyens of the Mewati Gharana, was in the US when the coronavirus-led lockdown happened and decided to stay back in that country. With profound grief, we inform that Sangeet Martand Pandit Jasraj ji breathed his last this morning at 5.15 EST due to a cardiac arrest at his home in New Jersey, USA, a statement issued by his family said. May Lord Krishna welcome him lovingly through the doors of heaven, where Pandit ji will now sing Om Namo Bhagwate Vasudevaya exclusively just for his beloved Lord. We pray that his soul rests in eternal musical peace. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers, Pandit Jasraj jis family, and the students of Mewati Gharana," it said. In a career spanning eight decades, Pt Jasraj has been awarded numerous accolades and titles. He is credited to bring to the fore the unique distinct style of the Mewati gharana to the world of Hindustani classical music. Apart from being a legend in his own right, Jasraj also mentored several other exponents of the Mewati gharana, including cultural historian Mukund Lath, who passed away earlier this month. It is due to Jasraj's efforts, along with his apprentices such as Lath, that the Mewati gharana has become one of the most recognisable genres of Hindustani classical music. Jasraj's other renowned students include Saptarshi Chakraborty, Sanjeev Abhyankar, violinist Kala Ramnath, flautist Shashank Subramanyam, and Bollywood playback singers Anuradha Paudwal and Sadhana Sargam among many others. Earlier in January, when Jasraj turned 90, he told the Press Trust of India that his first-ever concert was in front of Nepal King Tribhuwan Bir Bikram Shah in 1952. "The king told his men to announce that he has awarded me 5,000 gold coins. I was shocked, I couldn't believe it. I was sweating and I almost fainted, I was maybe 22-year-old then," he said. (With inputs from Press Trust of India) Lebanon's former prime minister Saad Al-Hariri travelled to The Hague on Monday to attend the UN-backed court ruling on the assassination of his father Rafik Al-Hariri in 2005. According to Sky News Arabia, Saad will hold a press conference on Tuesday after hearing the court judgement in the case in which its four defendants are linked to Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah group. The defendants, tried in absentia, are charged with masterminding and executing the bombing that led to the death of 22 people, including Rafik Al-Hariri, by a suicide bomber in a van that carried explosives. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon postponed its ruling from 7 August to 18 August following the Lebanese capital's port explosion earlier this month out of respect for the countless victims of the devastating explosion that shook Beirut on 4 August, and the three-days of public mourning in Lebanon. The explosion left 200 dead, 6,000 injured, and 300,000 homeless. In the aftermath of the blast, several Lebanese parliamentarians and the ministers of justice, information and environment resigned. Top diplomat Nassif Hitti resigned ahead of the tragedy, citing the absence of an effective will to achieve comprehensive structural reform which our society and the international community have urged us to do. Hezbollah-backed Prime Minister Hassan Diab also resigned, becoming a caretaker head of a coalition government until a new one is formed. Lebanese political sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, an ally of Hezbollah, has nominated Al-Hariri to lead the new cabinet. The sources added that President Michel Aoun, another ally of Hezbollah, seemingly doesn't mind the nomination. Al-Hariri, a Sunni leader, resigned as prime minister in October 2019 amid protests against all political forces due to the severe deterioration of social and economic conditions in Lebanon. Al-Hariri, who enjoys good relations with Western and Arab states, had then refused to lead a new cabinet following disagreements with Hezbollah. Hezbollah and Aoun, in December 2019, backed Diab for forming a new coalition government, a process that was successfully finalised a month later. But Al-Hariri's Future Movement, the strongly anti-Hezbollah Christian Lebanese Forces Party, and Druze leader Walid Jumblatts Progressive Socialist Party did not join this government. Diab's coalition faced strong opposition from Gulf countries and the United States, mainly because it enjoyed the support of Hezbollah. However, following the Beirut explosion, all countries offered financial backing to Lebanon. Search Keywords: Short link: In Tamil cinema, the words such as visionary, larger-than-life and path-breaking are most commonly used to describe the work of filmmaker S Shankar, who has always strived to push the envelope when it comes to his films. Dubbed Steven Spielberg of Tamil cinema thanks to his big-budget mega projects and out-of-the-box story ideas, Shankar is regarded as the showman of south Indian cinema. Over the years, Shankar cinema has become a genre by itself. On the occasion of his 56th birthday, we take a look at five of his films that were truly ahead of time. Indian In his maiden collaboration with Kamal Haasan in Indian, Shankar imagined a world free of corruption. The story was centred on an ex-freedom fighter turned vigilante bent on rooting out corruption. Haasan plays both the father and son in this vigilante action-drama which also starred Manisha Koirala and Urmila Matondkar. When the father finds out that his own son has been facilitating corrupt practices, he doesnt even think twice before taking his life. What truly stood out in the film were the series of murders, the action choreography, especially the part where Kamal Haasan uses varma kalai to paralyze his victims before killing and the British era flashback. To see all of this in a Tamil film in 1996 made Indian ahead of its time. The work on the sequel has already begun and it can be expected to hit the screens next year. Anniyan By now, it was quite evident that Shankar had a penchant for making films about vigilantism, and he didnt bat an eyelid to make these stories with some of the biggest stars of Tamil cinema. In Anniyan, another vigilante action-drama, Shankar explored the subject of multiple personality disorder for the first time in Tamil cinema. If it was about corruption in Indian, Anniyan was about public negligence and social apathy. The story is centred on Ramanujam Iyengar aka Ambi, a consumer protection advocate. When he cant bring about a change in the society by raising civic awareness, Ambis anger manifests into his alter ego named Anniyan, who goes on a killing spree to teach the wrongdoers a lesson. The film continues to remain as the biggest blockbuster in Vikrams career even after so many years since its release. Sivaji Sivaji marked Shankars maiden collaboration with actor Rajinikanth. Cut from the same cloth as his other vigilante action-dramas, Sivaji was centered on an NRI-returned (played by Rajinikanth) and how his ambition to do good for his people and give back to the society is faced with challenges due to corrupt people in power. When Sivaji cant fight the system the right way, he opts for his own way. Mounted on a massive budget, the film stood out for its overall production values and grandeur it brought to the screen in 2007. The film was another opportunity for Shankar his flex his larger-than-life ambition and with the help of Rajinikanth, one of the biggest stars of Indian cinema, he doesnt disappoint. Enthiran With Rajinikanths science-fiction action drama Enthiran, Shankar took the giant leap towards Hollywood in terms of production value. Borrowing concepts from films such as I, Robot and Bicentennial Man; Enthiran was the story of a humanoid robot called Chitti (played by Rajinikanth) developing emotions and going rogue. One of the biggest highlights of the film are the scenes featuring Rajinikanth as the robot which the actor made it so much fun to watch with his histrionics. The film went on to rake in the moolah big time at the box-office, emerging as one of the biggest grossers of Indian cinema. In terms of production, the film set a big benchmark for Indian cinema and it was not until SS Rajamoulis Baahubali series did audiences get to see something more path-breaking. Also read: IAF pilot who served with Gunjan Saxena slams film for peddling lies, gives stern advice to Janhvi Kapoor 2.0 The much anticipated sequel to Enthiran, 2.0 takes a socially relevant environment related problem and gives it a science-fiction twist, which results in an insanely and illogically fun film that gets powered by breathtaking visuals and Rajinikanth in his effervescent self. Set in a world where birds are facing extinction due to high emission of radiation from mobile towers, an ornithologist (Pakshi Rajan), played by Akshay Kumar, takes it upon himself to fight for the cause as he tries to make everyone understand that the world is not just a place for humans. Given the scale on which it is mounted, 2.0 works magnificently and even the minor flaws are negligible. The climax action sequence that unfolds in a stadium was truly an out of the world experience. Follow @htshowbiz for more ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Google Hits Back at New Australian Law, Mobilises Search Platform in Public Awareness Campaign Google Australia has unleashed a public awareness campaign, warning web users they risk dramatically worse services under proposed new laws that will compel the search giant to negotiate pay deals with media publishers and provide access to data. The Australian consumer watchdog hit back on the same day claiming Googles campaign contained misinformation. On Aug. 17, Google users in Australia were greeted with pop-up windows, social media posts, and a message on the main Google search page, encouraging them to click through to a statement titled: Open letter to Australians. The Open letter to Australian users published by Google Australia on Aug. 17 (Screenshot). The letter claimed the new mandatory code introduced by the federal government on July 31 would give users a dramatically worse Google Search and YouTube experience. The code, announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, will compel Google and Facebook to enter negotiations with media companies to pay for their content. The code goes a step further, however, and compels the tech giants to be more transparent with their data and algorithms. For example, Google and Facebook must notify publishers of changes to their algorithm which may affect web traffic to news, the ranking of news behind paywalls, and any changes to how news and advertising are presented. The law would force us to give an unfair advantage to one group of businessesnews media businessesover everyone else who has a website, YouTube channel or small business, according to Google Australias Managing Director Mel Silva. The Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) however found in its 2019 Digital Inquiry Platforms report that despite the benefits Google offered, small businesses were still at a significant disadvantage in terms of bargaining power and were unlikely to find alternative services. A pop-up window featuring Google Australias warning to users about upcoming legislation that will compel it to pay media publishers for content and provide access to data (Screenshot). News media businesses alone would be given information that would help them artificially inflate their ranking over everyone else, even when someone else provides a better result, Silva continued. Google Australia said it currently treats all website owners fairly when it comes to their search ranking. It also said it was hard to know whether data provided to media companies would be protected and whether Google could continue to offer free services in future. A disclaimer on the Google search page directing Australian users to an open letter regarding the Australian governments upcoming legislation on Aug. 17 (Screenshot). On the same day, the ACCC issued a statement in response saying Googles letter contained misinformation about the code. Google will not be required to charge Australians for the use of its free services such as Google Search and YouTube unless it chooses to do so, the ACCC stated. Google will not be required to share any additional user data with Australian news businesses unless it chooses to do so. The draft code will allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists work that is included on Google services, it added. This will address a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook. A healthy news media sector is essential to a well-functioning democracy. The new code is subject to a consultation period until Aug. 28. Rob Nicholls, associate professor at the University of New South Wales, told The Epoch Times on Aug. 17, that the timing of Googles letter was designed to encourage individuals to make submissions to the ACCC. An image of the Google logo is reflected on the eye of a man in London on Aug. 9, 2017. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) Nicholls said that while Googles letter didnt address the actual content of the code, it was part of the cut and thrust of lobbying. There is a potential that the Senate might amend the code in order to meet demands from constituents. In my view, this is relatively unlikely, he said. If the code becomes law, then Google will need to make the choice between abiding by the code or exiting Australia, Nicholls added. The mandatory code was announced following an 18-month long process beginning with the federal government tasking the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into the market influence of the digital giants. An initial report found a fundamental bargaining power imbalance between the digital platforms and other media. In December 2019, the federal government tasked the ACCC to work with Google, Facebook, and media companies on creating a voluntary code. However in April this year, the ACCC reported to the government that negotiations were fruitless. On April 20, the treasurer along with the communications minister announced that the ACCC would be developing a mandatory code, which was released on July 31. Dozens of Joseph DeAngelos surviving victims will share their stories in a California courtroom this week to highlight the impact that his brutal crimes had on their lives. DeAngelo, known as the Golden State Killer, pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders and more than 50 rapes between 1973 and 1986. Some survivors of the 74-year-olds crimes, along with family members of his victims, are scheduled to give statements over three days prior to his sentencing. As part of a plea deal to spare him the death penalty, DeAngelo, a former police officer, admitted to dozens of uncharged crimes while in custody. However the victims of these crimes, many of which are sexual assaults, will not see justice as the statute of limitations has expired, according to the Ventura County Star. Cheryl Temple, Ventura County chief assistant district attorney, said that the decision to let the victims tell their stories was made in order to highlight the long-lasting damage DeAngelos crimes have had. The statements from all victims are designed to enlighten all parties and the public to the swath of damage that violent predators leave in their wake, Ms Temple said. They can be cathartic for victims to write and deliver, and they truly shift the focus from the defendant to the societal impact of crime. The case, which remained unsolved for 32 years, was thrust back into the spotlight by the late true crime writer Michelle McNamaras posthumous book, Ill Be Gone in the Dark: One Womans Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer, in 2018. McNamara, who was married to actor and comedian Patton Oswalt, and the case were the subject of HBO series, Ill Be Gone in the Dark, that aired on HBO in June. One of the survivors, Jane Carson-Sandler, told the Associated Press that she has served an effective life sentence in the four decades since she was raped by DeAngelo. She said that for the victims, our wounds heal and our scars remain. Kris Pedretti, who was just 15 years old when she was attacked by DeAngelo, added that after she was sexually assaulted, this kid who liked to go shopping and do cartwheels on the lawn that girl was gone. Ms Pedretti said that she struggled for decades after the attack and did a lot of self-medicating, a lot of poor coping mechanisms, as she lost friends and got divorced twice. However, she said that after DeAngelo was arrested in 2018 she started to go to therapy and became a den mother to multiple other sexual assault survivors. He didnt win. Im not a lost girl. I want to make that clear, Ms Pedretti said. I just got so much love and support in the last two years that Im in a really good place and I want to pay it forward. Survivors Gay and Bob Hardwick told the AP that they would have liked DeAngelo to be given the death penalty, but always knew it was unrealistic as California has a moratorium on such punishment. Thats been with me for 42 years now, and in my view thats a long life sentence for someone to serve who didnt deserve to serve it, Ms Hardwick said. Not one of us, the survivors, deserved to have this kind of violence and hatred and desecration put upon them. She added: He certainly does deserve to die, in my view, so I am seeing that he is trading the death penalty for death in prison. The survivors are scheduled to speak on Tuesday and Wednesday. Family members of DeAngelos victims will deliver statements on Thursday. DeAngelo will be sentenced on Friday and the proceedings will be live-streamed on the Sacramento County Superior Courts YouTube channel. Okyenhene Asagyeguo Amoatia Ofori Panin II has responded to a letter written to the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs by the Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Prof Emeritus Oti Boateng, in which the latter accused the former of playing a highly risky and needless game in restructuring Eastern Regional House of Chiefs. The letter copied the Speaker of Parliament, Parliament House; Chairman, Council of State; Chairman, Subsidiary Legislation Committee; Majority Leader of Parliament, Minority Leader of Parliament, all Paramount Chiefs of the Eastern Region, Acting President of the New Juaben Traditional Council, Koforidua MP, New Juaben North MP and New Juaben South. Daasebre Prof Oti Boateng said Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II has a duty to explain to Ghanaians why, at the tail end of his eight-year Presidency of the ERHC and in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic afflicting the world and the nation, he should find it necessary to saturate the membership with Divisional chiefs, which heavily tilts in his favour under the pretext of a restructuring. This is an unnecessary reconstitution since no triggers have emerged within the ERHC to merit this step. Read Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Oti Boatengs full statement: The President National House of Chiefs Kumasi OKYENHENES DANGEROUS BRINKMANSHIP TO RECONSTITUTE EASTERN REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS (ERHC). The Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, is playing a highly risky game in a unilateral and needless restructuring of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs (ERHC). So far, he has failed to present any tangible reason why the ERHC must be restructured. The ERHC has maintained the same membership of eleven (11) Paramount Chiefs for over half-a-century and has worked well under various Presidents of the House including his predecessor, Osagyefuo Kuntunkununku II. The Okyenhene, as President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, is a public officer subject to public scrutiny and is expected to operate within the provisions of the Chieftaincy Act. He has a duty to explain to Ghanaians why at the tail end of his eight-year Presidency of the ERHC and in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic afflicting the world and the nation, he should find it necessary to saturate the membership with Divisional Chiefs which heavily tilts in his favour under the pretext of a restructuring. This is an unnecessary reconstitution since no triggers have emerged within the ERHC to merit this step. Moreover, the steps taken by Okyenhene offends against the salient provisions of the Chieftaincy Act which does not discriminate among Paramount Chiefs but rather accords them the same privileges. Yet the Okyenhene has side-stepped the Chieftaincy Act by allocating sixteen (16) Divisional Chiefs from his Paramountcy as new members in the proposed restructured House while allocating only between three (3) and seven (7) members to other paramountcies. This is a complete nonstarter; nothing calls for it. Curiously, the New Juaben Traditional Area, which includes the capital of the Eastern Region, Koforidua, was completely ignored with no allocation at all to the Paramountcy. Here again, we expect Okyenhene to provide the rationale for this unpardonable omission. The main contentions of the Omanhene of New Juaben, Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Oti Boateng, which are solidly supported by the Chiefs and people of the Traditional Area are as follows: 1. That the Okyenhene, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin, completely excluded New Juaben from the list of Divisional Chiefs he submitted to the National House of Chiefs for inclusion as new members of the House without any justification whatsoever. 2. That the Okyenhene has to date failed to provide a full justification on the need to restructure the House at the tail end of his Presidency and in the midst of COVID-19 pandemic afflicting the world and the nation. 3. That the Okyenhene broke protocol by failing to bring this crucial matter for discussion by the whole House but rather bypassed the full House in sending the memorandum to the National House of Chiefs. The said memorandum, therefore, does not reflect the view of the whole House. 4. That the Okyenhene does not have any mandate under the Chieftaincy Act to allocate sixteen Divisional Chiefs to himself whilst giving other Paramountcies a paltry three to seven slots in a deliberate attempt to tilt the balance of power in his favour with such skewed and asymmetrical allocation. This would seriously restrict and cripple the incoming President. This new unilateral allocation of disproportional number of Divisional Chiefs from the Okyenhenes Paramountcy to the ERHC is a mere subterfuge to consolidate his position and power-base within the House and elevate himself above his contemporaries. It is extremely important to refute the wrong notion being bandied around that increasing the membership of the House will improve the quorum and the working of the House. The quorum is fixed by law and does not change under the invariance principle. For example, with a 50 per cent quorum, a House with 10 members will require only 5 members to form a quorum whereas doubling the membership to 20 will automatically double the required quorum to 10 members. Thus, the burden of a quorum increases proportionately with increasing membership due to the ratio of proportionality. It is therefore completely fallacious to assume that increasing the membership of ERHC will improve the quorum and the working of the House. There are many innovative techniques which could be used to improve the working of the ERHC without necessarily tampering with the membership. The hint of an alleged desperate last-minute attempt to include New Juaben in the restructured House is inconsequential. The whole restructuring exercise is, prima facie, uncalled for, unjustified and unnecessary. The entire action of the OKYENHENE is bad and incurably bad for all times and VOID ab initio. It will set a dangerous precedent for other chiefs with inordinate ambition to follow. We have written to the Speaker of Parliament with copies to the Council of State, National House of Chiefs and ERHC to register our objection to the Legislative Instrument emanating thereof and urge Parliament to refer the matter back to the ERHC for in-depth discussion and an amicable resolution. Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Oti Boateng Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area Cc: Speaker of Parliament, Parliament House, Accra Chairman, Council of State, Accra Chairman, Subsidiary Legislation Committee, Parliament House, Accra Majority Leader of Parliament, Parliament House, Accra Minority Leader of Parliament, Parliament House, Accra All Paramount Chiefs, Eastern Region Acting President, New Juaben Traditional Council, Koforidua MP, New Juaben North MP, New Juaben South In a reply, however, Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin II said: Firstly, our client take note of the generally acerbic and vitriolic tone of language as well as the contemptuous imputations contained in your letters which are directed at him although addressed to the President of National House of Chief (NHC). Whilst observing that such language is inappropriate and unbefitting of communication between esteemed members of the august House of Chiefs, in the spirit of fostering harmony, accord and unity among noble brothers, we have been instructed to refrain from replying in similar tone. Read the Okyenhenes full statement below: Dear Nana, RE: PROTESTATION AGAINST THE COMPOSITION OF THE RE-STRUCTURED EASTERN REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS We communicate as the Solicitors for HM Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin with instructions to respond to your letters dated 25th June 2020 and 14th July 2020 on the above subject, addressed to the President of the National House of Chiefs and copied to our client and other prominent persons in Ghana. Firstly, our client take note of the generally acerbic and vitriolic tone of language as well as the contemptuous imputations contained in your letters which are directed at him although addressed to the President of National House of Chief (NHC). Whilst observing that such language is inappropriate and unbefitting of communication between esteemed members of the august House of Chiefs, in the spirit of fostering harmony, accord and unity among noble brothers, we have been instructed to refrain from replying in similar tone. The purpose of this rejoinder is to place on record a response to the unfortunate and, perhaps, deliberate misrepresentation by you of the circumstances culminating in the amendment to the composition of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs (ERHC) in your letter, contents of which have been published widely in both print and electronic media. Your letter makes three broad allegations relating to: i. Breach of protocol by failing to consult or secure agreement on the modalities of admission of some Divisional Chiefs into the ERHC; ii. Skewed asymmetrical allocation inuring to Akyem Abuakwas domination in the ERHC; iii. Alleged exclusion of New Juaben from the Divisional allocation allotted to the Paramountcies into the ERHC. Before proceeding to address these allegations, it is pertinent to indicate that your letter was clearly written in ignorance of relevant facts affecting the subject you purported to write about. The composition of all Regional Houses of Chiefs, including the ERHC, have duly been effected in accordance with the procedure prescribed by article 274(2) of the Constitution and section 6 of the Chieftaincy Act, 2008 (Act 759). Article 274(2) of the Constitution stipulates that a Regional House of Chief shall consist of such members as Parliament may, by law, determine. Further to this provision, section 6 of Act 759 provides thus: 6. (1) In accordance with article 274 of the Constitution, the Regional House of Chiefs consists of members specified by legislative instrument made by the National House of Chiefs and issued under the signature of the President of the National House of Chiefs. It is worthy to note that at the time of writing your first letter dated 25th June 2020, a legislative instrument made by the National House of Chiefs and issued under the hand of the President of the National House of Chiefs was ready to be laid before Parliament in accordance with article 11(7) of the Constitution. The said legislative instrument was indeed laid in Parliament on 30th June 2020. Following the lapse of twenty-one sitting days of Parliament required by article 11(7), the legislative instrument, the Chieftaincy (Membership of Regional Houses of Chiefs) Instrument 2020, came into force as L. I. 227. Further, it is apparent that at the time you wrote your second letter in which more vitriol was unleashed on our Client and the august House (14th July 2020) the legislative instrument regulating the membership of all Regional Houses of Chiefs issued under the signature of the President of the National House of Chiefs had long been laid in Parliament and going through processes required under article 11(7) of the Constitution. We are not surprised by your lack of knowledge of these important matters of fact, because, indeed, you have failed or refused to attend meetings of the Regional House of Chiefs for the past seven (7) years (although your allowances for attendance is unfailingly paid and received). Your failure to either attend meetings of the ERHC for the past 7 years or conduct an enquiry on the issues raised in your letters explains the wild but unfounded allegations contained in your letters. (i) BREACH OF PROTOCOL BY FAILING TO CONSULT OR SECURE AGREEMENT ON THE MODALITIES OF ADMISSION OF SOME DIVISIONAL CHIEFS INTO THE ERHC. A brief background to the decision by the ERHC to admit some divisional chiefs to the ERHC is necessary to clarify the procedure adopted. Prior to the entry into force of the new legislative instrument, the ERHC was composed of only eleven paramountcies Akyem Abuakwa, Akyem Bosome, Akyem Kotoku, Akwamu, Akwapim, Kwahu, New Juaben, Yilo Krobo, Manya Krobo, Boso and Anum. Only eight (8) of these paramountcies presently have paramount chiefs. Out of the 8 paramount chiefs, chieftaincy disputes and other factors have effectively ensured that only five (5) paramount chiefs have been active in the ERHC for the past 7 to 8 years i.e. i. The Okyenhene; ii. Akyem Bosomehene; iii. Kwahumanhene; iv. Konor of Manya Krobo; and v. Bosomanhene. In fact, attendance records will show that you have not attended any meeting of the ERHC for over 7 years. This ERHC situation was in sharp contrast with what pertained in the case of other Regional House of Chiefs who were constituted and populated in big numbers by both Paramountcies and Divisional chiefs Indeed, the ERHC, even though representing a region by no means the smallest, had, by far, the lowest number of chiefs. In a variety of ways, this situation severely impacted on the constitutional and statutory functions of the House, as well as, its prominence in chieftaincy affairs at the national level. Foremost, the ability to meet as a House and the discharge of one of its most important fundamental tasks, the resolution of chieftaincy disputes, suffered enormous strain. The 5 active members of the House listed above (which excludes your good self), became the de facto members of almost every committee, particularly, the Judicial Committee. The absence or unwellness of some of the members rendered a sitting virtually impossible for lack of quorum. A chieftaincy dispute emanating from any of the active Paramountcies became near impossible to resolve as the Paramount Chief concerned had to recuse himself from the Judicial Committee, with its attendant challenge of forming a quorum. Further, at the national level, the representation of the ERHC at the National House of Chiefs was affected with other regions having the flexibility to choose from a greater pool of chiefs to represent their Regions. In light of the foregoing, discussions were opened among stakeholder institutions - the National House of Chiefs, ERHC and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs on the mechanism to address the problems identified above. Series of meetings commencing from May, 2019 and culminating in the one of 25th May, 2020 alluded to in your letter (which was attended by the full complement of active members), were held by the ERHC to deliberate on the issue. We are not surprised about your seeming obliviousness of these meetings since, as indicated, you have not been attending meetings for over 7 years, in spite of due service of notice on you. Your failure or refusal to attend meetings notwithstanding, the Hon. Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr. Kofi Dzamesi requested to pay homage to you and explain the all-encompassing need to reform the composition of the ERHC, and request you to nominate divisional chiefs from the New Juaben Traditional Area to the ERHC. Your response to the Hon. Minister on the subject matter of discussions was reported to the House. In the spirit of preservation of amity and cordiality of relations among chiefs in the Eastern Region, we would keep most of the points made by you confidential, save to say that you stiffly opposed the idea of Divisional Chiefs sitting in the ERHC. Be that as it may, the National House of Chiefs proceeded to make suggestions on the proposed reform resulting in the inequitable decision to grant unto you the right to nominate as many as six (6) divisional chiefs from the New Juaben Traditional Area for representation at the ERHC and same found its way into the new L.I. 227, thereby becoming law. It is quite apparent that your allegation of an exclusion of New Juaben from the paramountcies from which Divisional Chiefs will be nominated to the ERHC is hugely false and mischievous. No Traditional Area in Eastern Region has been excluded. On the contrary, every Traditional Area in Eastern Region has been accorded the right to nominate Divisional Chiefs for the purpose of representation in the ERHC. Page 2 (paragraph D) of your letter of 14th July, 2020 cautions about the seriousness of lying to the National House of Chiefs. I hope you apply this caution to yourself in the matter of the clearly proven false allegations contained in the 2 letters authored by you and do the needful by rendering an unqualified apology to both the ERHC and the NHC for peddling such falsehood in the public domain since July 2020. "SKEWED ASYMMETRICAL ALLOCATION INURING TO AKYEM ABUAKWA DOMINATION OF THE ERHC. Of the deepest dye of mischief is the allegation by your good self that the inclusion of Divisional Chiefs is intended by some Paramount Chiefs to be prominent and promote their QUEST to be SUPREME. You single out Akyem Abuakwa for attack and allege that Akyem Abuakwa has submitted as many as Sixteen (16) Divisional Chiefs to be included in the New Structure. This allegation is also laden with falsehood. Quite clearly, from L. I. 227, Akyem Abuakwa has the right to nominate only eight (8) Divisional Chiefs, and not 16. The record of proceedings at the ERHC will show that the allocation of number of Divisional Chiefs to a Traditional Area was done based on a number of factors including, area or land size, number of towns and size occupied by the Paramountcies in the Eastern Region. It is a matter of public record that Akyem Abuakwa constitutes 5/8th of the total area of the Eastern Region and has 950 towns and villages. Of the 31 districts and 31 constituencies, Akyem Abuakwa has 13 districts and 13 constituencies (42%), Kwahuman has 5 districts and 5 constituencies (16%). New Juaben on the other hand, has only 2 districts and 2 constituencies (6%). (Not forgetting the fact that Akyem Abuakwa was originally the allodial owner of all the lands occupied by New Juaben and continue to enjoy a very cordial relationship with the Chiefs and people of the New Juaben Traditional area) It would appear, therefore, that, contrary to your assertion, the allocation of 6 Divisional Chiefs to New Juaben in comparison to Akyem Abuakwas 8 and Kwahus 2 is very unequitable and far too generous. However, neither the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council nor our client is complaining. We will, therefore, entreat you to eschew sowing seeds of conflict and discord amongst Nananom. ALLEGED EXCLUSION OF NEW JUABEN FROM THE DIVISIONAL ALLOCATION INTO THE ERHC. We have sufficiently demonstrated above that this allegation is utterly false and malicious as, from L. I. 227 (2020), the Paramount Chief of New Juaben Traditional Area has the prerogative to nominate as many as 6 Divisional Chiefs unto the ERHC. In general response to your complaints, we cannot fail to recognise the undercurrents of your fear about the possible take-over by newcomers in the ERHC. This clearly seems to be the inspiration for the spirited assault you mount on our clients hard-earned reputation, all arising out of the well-intentioned effort to include some Divisional Chiefs in the ERHC. On page 1 of your letter dated 25th June 2020, you allege: The composition as it stands or as it is being proposed is a steamy reactive delivery and unpleasantly obtrusive. It is a take-over by the new-comers who have come in their huge numbers. Eventually, all the Paramount Chiefs will lose their say at the House and be voted out on all issues during deliberations. On page 3 (paragraph F) of your letter dated 14th July, 2020, you state that: Another critical issue to resolve is the role that the Divisional Chiefs will be playing in the ERHC. This has to be debated and accepted by all constituents BEFORE inserting an inclusion clause with an appropriate cap. You did not sufficiently conceal your fears about the admission of Divisional Chiefs into the ERHC. I would urge you to look at the bigger picture, rise above those fears and support this move which will rather promote inclusion and development in the ERHC, as the purpose for which it was established by the laws of Ghana, has for far too long been adversely impacted by how it is presently constituted. We can take a cue from other Regional Houses of Chiefs which have long reformed their composition to include Divisional Chiefs. There has been no chaos or disruption of the roles and privileges of Paramount Chiefs as a result of the admission of Divisional Chiefs. It is to be noted that certain privileges of a Paramount Chief at the Regional House of Chiefs, like occupying the Presidency of a Regional House of Chiefs, are not extended to Divisional Chiefs. We hope the foregoing will assuage you apprehension and tone down your resentment on this matter Thank you. Yours faithfully, Kwame A Boateng Esq. Head of The Ofori Panin Fie Legal Team cc. The President, National House of Chiefs The Speaker of Parliament The Chief Justice In a gesture of gratitude for saving his life, a Spanish mountaineer has now started the process of naming an unnamed peak in Spain after former district magistrate of Uttarkashi, Ashish Chauhan. Chauhan said that a group of Spanish mountaineers got stranded near Vasuki Tal in December 2018 due to inclement weather and the district administration had made contact with them after much difficulty and rescued them. In December 2018, when I was the district magistrate of Uttarkashi, a Spanish mountaineer named Juan Antonio Padilla had got stranded along with his group due to inclement weather while they had gone on a trek near Vasuki Tal trek (approximate height 14,200 feet above sea level) via Tapovan. Another group of trekkers passing through that area had found them and contact was made to Antonios group through them after which they were rescued, said Chauhan. Also read: Uttarakhand woman accused of blackmailing BJP MLA says he raped her He added that by the time the Spanish mountaineer was rescued his health condition had deteriorated and due to uncertainty, his confidence was also shaken. We had taken care of him after the rescue and made sure he was healthy before he was sent back to his country On Independence Day, I got a message from him asking how I spell my name and what is the correct pronunciation, He shared that as a token of gratitude for saving his life and helping him in the Indian Himalayas, he is starting the process of naming the path to a virgin (unclimbed before) peak in Spain after my name, added Chauhan. The Indian Administrative Service officer further shared that the peak will be named Magistrate Point/Tip and the path leading to the peak will be named Via Ashish. The name is being registered with the Spanish mountaineering body. The senior IAS official posted screenshots of his conversation with Antonio on his Facebook profile, wherein the Spanish mountaineer wrote, Today we have climbed a virgin area (never climbed) and I have given a name to the summit, but also to the route where we have climbed. I need to know your name in order to complete the registration in the climbing books In honour of everything lived there and in gratitude to you we just decided that the top will be called Magistrates Point and the road will be called Via Ashish. It is a virgin peak so that everything makes more sense, the top will be called Magistrates Tip and the access to it will bear your name. It will be registered in the climbing books of Gredos (central mountain system) Spain. Your tax-deductible gift today powers our reporters and keeps us independent. We rely on you, our reader, not paywalls to stay funded because we believe important news and information should be freely accessible to all. Start your day with LAist Sign up for the Morning Brief, delivered weekdays. Subscribe Coronavirus is wreaking havoc on schools, stores, businesses and events. With in-person concerts, talks, comedy shows, food festivals and other gatherings cancelled, we have turned our events column into a "nonevents" column. It will remain this way as long as social distancing and stay-at-home orders are in effect. During this difficult time, please consider contributing to your local arts organizations or to individual artists and performers. Mystery Science Theater riffs on a Vincent Price camp classic. Outfest 2020 launches streaming and drive-in screenings. Various events celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. A documentary examines how a coup in Iran changed history. The cast of The Little Hours does a Q&A after a drive-in screening. Tuesday, Aug. 18 (opening) Rise Up LA: A Century of Votes for Women The Natural History Museum launches its digital exhibition that celebrates the centenary of the 19th Amendment, which gave the women the right to vote in 1920. The online component features photos, protest ephemera, narratives and video interviews for an oral stories compendium. The digital assets are part of a larger physical exhibition that will hopefully be mounted in its entirety at NHM in the fall. COST: FREE; MORE INFO Tuesday, Aug. 18; 4 p.m. Learn at Home (Grown-Up Edition) The L.A. Opera continues its LAO at Home series with a "vacation edition" of opera happy hour. Music lovers can join vocalist and pianist Jeremy Frank as he leads a virtual journey to some of opera's most gorgeous locations. COST: FREE; MORE INFO Tuesday, Aug. 18; 5 p.m. PDT The Mads: The Tingler Join Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff ("The Mads" from Mystery Science Theater 3000) for a live-riff screening of The Tingler. The 1959 film was directed by William Castle and stars Vincent Price as a doctor who discovers a parasite that grows on people's features. COST: $10; MORE INFO Tuesday, Aug. 18; 7 p.m. PDT The World According to Jeff Goldblum Watch a virtual Q&A with actor and musician Jeff Goldblum moderated by actor, director and writer Illeana Douglas. Goldblum will chat about his National Geographic show of the same name, streaming on Disney+. The conversation premieres exclusively on the American Cinematheque's YouTube Channel. COST: FREE; MORE INFO Wednesday, Aug. 19; 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Your Girl and Mine: The Women's Right to Vote In 1914, after more than 65 years of protest, American women still lacked the complete right to vote. Ruth Hanna McCormick and the National American Woman Suffrage Association produced the now lost feature Your Girl and Mine to convince Congress to pass full voting rights for women. While the film didn't win the hearts and minds of American politicians, it helped build momentum for the cause. At this Hollywood Heritage Museum online event, archivist Mary Mallory explores the importance of this work. COST: $7.50 - $15; MORE INFO Wednesday, Aug. 19; 12 p.m. PDT Art Past Present with Enrique Martinez Celaya The Wende Museum presents a Zoom discussion with Martinez Celaya, a professor of humanities and art at USC, shares ideas about how we confront the past in order to give meaning to the present. He'll be joined online by artist and writer Farrah Karapetian as well as the museum's chief curator, Joes Segal. COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO Wednesday, Aug. 19; 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. A Celebration of The New Homemade Kitchen Nonprofit organization Food Forward partners with the Institute of Domestic Technology for a special event celebrating the posthumous release of Joseph Shuldiner's book, The New Homemade Kitchen: 250 Recipes and Ideas for Reinventing the Art of Preserving, Canning, Fermenting, Dehydrating, and More. Shuldiner was a culinary innovator and the IDT's founding director. The lunchtime discussion features Institute faculty members Kevin West, Daniel Kent, Hana van der Steur and Yoko Maeda Lamn in conversation with Food Forward's founder, Rick Nahmias. COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO Wednesday, Aug. 19; 6 p.m. PDT Coup 53 UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Farhang Foundation present a special screening of Taghi Amirani's groundbreaking 2019 documentary, which focuses on the event of August 1953, when Iran's democratically elected prime minister, Mohammad Mosaddegh, was overthrown in a coup and replaced by the shah. Ticket purchase includes an exclusive Q&A with actor Ralph Fiennes and filmmakers Taghi Amirani and Walter Murch. The film streams online and viewers have 24 hours to watch it. COST: $12; MORE INFO Wednesday, Aug. 19; 6:45 p.m. (Doors) ArcLight at the Drive-In: The Little Hours Vineland Drive-In 443 Vineland Ave., City of Industry Hit the road for a screening of Jeff Baena's comedy about medieval nuns, priests and the temptations of the flesh. There will be a live Q&A with director Baena and stars Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza and Fred Armisen. All attendees will get free water, free kombucha and a free caramel corn. Advance tickets only. COST: $55 per car; MORE INFO Thursday, Aug. 20; 5 p.m. Unsettling Ramona Salon Series Heidi Duckler Dance continues its series of virtual programs spotlighting the histories and experiences of Native Americans in California. Based on Ramona, an 1884 novel about a Scottish-Native American orphan, these salons focus on Native perspectives to "unsettle" a story that helped the visibility for Native rights campaign but also romanticized California's colonial history. This week, the salon presents Unsettling Self with filmmaker Robert I. Mesa, actor Duane Minard and artistic director of The Autry's Native Voices program, DeLanna Studi. The final salon takes place on Aug. 27 at 5 p.m. PDT. COST: FREE with RSVP; MORE INFO Hong Khaou's 'Monsoon,' starring Henry Golding and Parker Sawyers, is one of Outfest 2020's Centerpiece films. (Courtesy of Outfest) Thursday, Aug. 20 - Sunday, Aug. 30 2020 Outfest For the first time, L.A.'s LGBTQ film festival screens more than 160 films from around the world via streaming and drive-in options. The digital portion of the festival will be powered by Vimeo while the drive-in experience takes place at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu. Centerpiece films include The Obituary Of Tunde Johnson (dir. Ali LeRoi), Shiva Baby (dir. Emma Seligman), Monsoon (dir. Hong Khaou) and Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story (dir. Posy Dixon). COST: Varies; MORE INFO Thursday, Aug. 20; 5 - 6 p.m. The Shout Out Show Aisha Alfa, Sophia Zolan and Wynter Spears lead an hour of positive vibes, giving props to people, places and things they are loving right now. The show happens every Thursday on YouTube and on Dynasty Typewriter's website. COST: FREE; MORE INFO Slater's 50/50 offers its signature Pork-a-Palooza bacon flight, along with a number of specials for Bacon Lover's Day. (Courtesy of Slater's 50/50) Dine & Drink Deals Who doesn't miss going out to eat or stopping by a bar for a drink? Here are a few options from restaurants and bars as we work our way back toward normal. By Express News Service CHENNAI: From Monday, e-passes for inter-district travel within the state will be auto-generated and be a hassle free system, Chennai Corporation Commissioner G Prakash told reporters. As the economy is carefully being opened up, this will come as a great comfort to residents, he said. However, Prakash asked residents to use them only for genuine purposes. The system starts right away for all those coming from other districts to Chennai, he said. ALSO READ: TN reboots with easier E-pass norms This is based on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswamis announcement on August 14 that e-passes will be issued instantly for all those who are looking to travel within the state. Residents will have to apply with Aadhaar or ration card details. Earlier, e-passes were issued only after heavy scrutiny by district administration or Chennai Corporation Corporation officials. In Chennai, for instance, data available until July 21 showed that out of total 4,92,149 passes that were applied for, only 1,61,754 were approved by the corporation. Passes were issued earlier only for three reasons -- marriages, funerals and medical emergencies. The Ulster Unionists have said they will not support the Police Ombudsman's plans for new legislation which would see retired officers compelled to co-operate with her office. Marie Anderson told the Irish News last week she had drafted proposals to widen her powers and introduce a dedicated Police Ombudsman Act which will be presented to Justice Minister Naomi Long next month. Former RUC and PSNI officers are currently not obliged to take part in Ombudsman investigations. In a number of high profile probes, investigators were unable to interview officers involved at the time as they had since retired. However, MLA Doug Beattie said that the UUP will not be supporting the proposals, saying they would effectively single out retired police officers. The UUP justice spokesman said that during the Troubles, the RUC "stood between the terrorists and the terrorised". "Now, in their retirement, the Police Ombudsman wants to create legislation that will single out RUC GC (George Cross) officers and compel them to cooperate with her office," he said. "She wishes to do this while no such compulsion is in place for former terrorists, even those now dressed as politicians. "If the Ombudsman intends to go down this road then it should be through legislation - via the Department of Justice - that should compel any member of the public, as private citizens, to cooperate with her office and not just former police officers. "The Ulster Unionist Party will not support the singling out of former retired police officers in this way. "We would expect both the Chief Constable and the Justice Minister to ensure that former police officers will not be treated in any way less favourable than other private citizens." Last week, the PSNI reached agreement on sharing information with the Ombudsman after shortcomings in a probe linked to the Sean Graham Bookmakers killings in Belfast after it failed to produce all its files on the 1992 atrocity to the watchdog. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:51:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- China urges Canada to immediately release Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou and let her return to China safely, according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Monday. "We once again urge Canada to take seriously China's solemn position and concern, immediately release Meng Wanzhou and let her return to China safely," spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a daily press briefing. Zhao made the comments when answering a reporter's question that the Supreme Court of British Columbia will hold a hearing on the Meng Wanzhou case on Aug. 17 local time to discuss the disclosure of evidence and information. "China's position on the Meng Wanzhou case is consistent and clear," Zhao said. "The evidence that has been made public reveals clearly that the United States and Canada have abused their bilateral extradition treaty and arbitrarily took compulsory measures against a Chinese citizen, which severely violates the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese citizen," Zhao said. He said that the intention of the United States is to oppress Huawei and other Chinese high-tech firms, and Canada is its accomplice. "This is a serious political incident. This is not only China's view, but also a conclusion shared by the rest of the international community including insightful people in the U.S. and Canada." The Chinese government is firmly determined to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of its citizens and enterprises, and support Chinese enterprises and individuals in safeguarding their rights and interests through legal means, Zhao said. Enditem New research will improve early warning of devastating megastorms Ground-breaking scientific research will make it easier to predict the path of some of the world's most powerful storms, enabling communities to better protect themselves from severe flooding. Mesoscale convective systems (MCSs) are 'megastorms' that affect large parts of the world, including Africa, Australia, Asia and the Americas, causing human and livestock deaths plus major damage to infrastructure. They can potentially: last from several hours up to two days release energy equivalent to the UK consumption for an entire year be bigger than the size of England and travel 1,000kms in distance unleash over 100mm of rainfall in just an hour In Sahelian Africa, these extreme storms have tripled in frequency since the 1980s due to global warming. Until now, it was thought that the path of these complex weather systems was largely unpredictable. However, a new study by the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) has found that land surface conditions frequently affect the direction and intensity of megastorms after they have formed. The research is now helping scientists to develop online tools to better forecast the path and strength of an approaching storm, which will inform alert systems for communities across Africa, providing them with up to six hours' warning. This includes Senegal, where UKCEH is working with the national meteorological service, ANACIM, to see how useful very short-term forecasts are for local emergency responses. The new study, published in the journal PNAS, was funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) as part of the UK aid Future Climate for Africa research programme. The researchers looked at satellite data on the activity of thousands of storms, plus land temperatures, in the Sahel for the period 2006 to 2010. Lead author Dr Cornelia Klein of UKCEH explains: "It is well known that heat provides thunderstorms with great energy, but it was commonly thought that once they are moving, they were not affected by the state of the ground over which they travelled. "However, we found that drier soils increased the intensity of an MCS mid-storm, affecting the amount of rainfall they release and also where they travel. Conversely, we found storms were often weakened over moister soils." "Our finding means that, for the first time, we can predict, from satellite-observed surface conditions, how these extremely large West African storms may behave when, for example, they approach a city. A more effective alert system will enable local people to take action to protect themselves as well as their homes, livestock and possessions, plus plan emergency responses." Flash flooding frequently occurs during the storm season in the Sahel, peaking between June and September, and can have a serious impact, with water entering homes and people losing property and a safe, dry space to live. Flooding can also cause sewage overflow from inadequate drainage systems, posing a health risk to humans and animals. The study's authors say the results have important implications for 'nowcasting' (forecasting for several hours ahead) of severe weather not just in the Sahel, but potentially other MCS hotspot regions of the world. Professor Chris Taylor of UKCEH, co-author of the new paper, adds: "The pattern of these megastorms is supposed to be difficult to forecast but we found a surprising level of predictability. Very dry soils influenced around half of storms in late afternoon or early evening, when they are at their peak. "Further research and advances in satellite technology will increase our certainties about their movement. In decades to come, scientists will look back at this latest study as a gamechanger in the reliable forecasting of these devastating storms." The research is part of the UKCEH-led AMMA-2050 project, which is carrying out multidisciplinary climate research to support improved forecasting, in order to enable better decision making by town planners, farmers and communities. Comprising partners from Europe and West Africa, it is funded by DFID and NERC. A DFID spokesperson said: "Highly destructive megastorms are becoming much more common because of climate change. They can devastate entire communities and it is the world's poorest people who are most at risk. "UK aid is supporting ground-breaking research, led by British experts, to better anticipate storms so vulnerable African communities can better prepare for their impact, protecting themselves and their families, and making their economies more resilient to climate shocks." NOTES TO EDITORS Paper information Cornelia Klein and Christopher M Taylor. 2020. Dry soils can intensify mesoscale convective systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2007998117 Recent flooding events in West Africa Due to heavy flooding in the countries of Niger and Mali since June 2020, 19 people are reported to have died and 35 injured, with 2,244 houses destroyed. An estimated 112,452 people are at risk of being affected by floods in Mali this year, compared to 95,000 people last year. During the rainy season in Niger in 2017, estimated 200,000 people were affected by flooding in the country, with 56 deaths. About 12,000 houses were damaged and 16,000 heads of cattle died and 9,800 hectares of cultivated land lost. In late July 2020, it was reported at least seven people died in flooding in the Niger state in central Nigeria, while 15,000 people were displaced in northern Nigeria in the first week of August after flooding damaged homes. Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, has been regularly hit by flash flooding in recent years. In July 2020, crocodiles were seen in the streets after torrential rain forced them from their habitat at a nearby city park. Thousands of people were displaced in northern Burkina Faso in mid-June 2020 after shelters were damaged there. Ouagadougou, the country's capital, has been regularly hit by flash flooding in recent years. In 2009, a downpour of 263mm over several hours forced 150,000 residents to leave their homes and eight people were killed. Within a few weeks in mid-2016, heavy rain and strong winds caused flash floods, leaving 15 dead and severely affecting healthcare facilities. In 2012, there was over 140mm of rainfall within a single hour in Dakar area of Senegal, producing floods which affected more than 250,000 people, with 26 deaths. Similar flooding in the Dakar region in 2009 affected an estimated 30,000 houses, with losses of US $82m. ### About multidisciplinary climate research in Africa Future Climate For Africa (FCFA) is a 20m programme funded by the UK Department for International Development and the Natural Environment Research Council. It is carrying out research into how the climate will change in Africa in the coming decades, and aims to ensure this information is effectively used to support climate-resilient development. The programme comprises five region-based projects, including AMMA-2050 (African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis), a partnership led by UKCEH. Research as part of AMMA-2050 has included a UKCEH-led study (Taylor et al, 2017) which found extreme storms in the Sahel have tripled in frequency between 1982 and 2016 due to global warming. Meanwhile, a separate 9m programme, GCRF African-SWIFT, is using the latest scientific research to develop accurate forecasting tools, in order to better protect communities in Africa from the impacts of extreme weather. This programme - involving partners in UK, Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya - is led by the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), and funded by the UK Research and Innovation Global Challenges Research Fund. About the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH) The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is a centre for excellence in environmental science across water, land and air. Our 500 scientists work to understand the environment, how it sustains life and the human impact on it - so that together, people and nature can prosper. We have a long history of investigating, monitoring and modelling environmental change, and our science makes a positive difference in the world. The issues our science addresses include: air pollution, biodiversity, biosecurity, chemical risks, extreme weather events, droughts, floods, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, soil health, sustainable agriculture, sustainable ecosystems, sustainable macronutrient use, and water resources management. The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology is a strategic delivery partner for the Natural Environment Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation. http://www. ceh. ac. uk / @UK_CEH For media enquiries For interviews, images and further information, please contact Simon Williams, Media Relations Officer at UKCEH, via simwil@ceh.ac.uk or +44 (0)7920 295384. This story has been published on: 2020-08-17. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Centre needs to intervene at the policy level not to censor, but to make these platforms adopt transparency. The Narendra Modi government has long shied from acting on this. A couple of years ago, I created a digital media platform which captured Indias growing nationalistic voice. It started off with a lot of promise, one of the main sources of online traffic being Facebook users. Then suddenly one day, that tap sputtered and went totally dry, traffic from it dropped by 94%. We were told our site was in violation of Facebooks policy, but no specific reason was given in spite of repeated mails and calls. At least two other sites with nationalistic leaning faced the same problem. The editor of the biggest nationalistic TV channel called me one day to say his digital platform had been censored by FB and traffic saw a 90 percent fall. Around that time, Facebook approached Boom Live and Alt News, two fact-checking platforms widely perceived as anti-Rightwing and as mainly targeting nationalistic politics led by Narendra Modi. Facebook finally ended up with Boom Live as its fact-check partner. It was hard to not notice the pattern. So, when the Left and so-called liberal ecosystem starts screaming about Facebooks supposed pro-Modi bias after an anonymous source-based report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), one feels amused. The Left, having proved itself unelectable worldwide, desperately seeks power from the backdoor controlling academia, media, and now the increasingly powerful social media. Raising such bogeys is part of its efforts to stifle any strong contrary opinion or worldview. The failed mascot of Indias neo-Left, Congress dynast Rahul Gandhi, immediately latches on the WSJ report. But he never made a noise when the nationalistic handles repeatedly complained about political bias and shadow-banning by Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia and Google. Shashi Tharoor did not seek a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe. Why should we take WSJ on face value? It was caught reporting during the Delhi riots that IB man Ankit Sharma was killed by a mob chanting Jai Shri Ram when he was actually murdered by a Muslim mob. Should we not question WSJs agenda in carrying this anonymously sourced item? The rot lies much deeper. Transnational social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter have become immensely large and powerful and now hold themselves above laws of host nations. They are power players in global politics; almost unfailingly, anti-conservative and anti-nationalistic politics. Also, instead of simply providing people an unjudgmental, neutral, apolitical platform, these have moved on to intervening, curating, editorialising. All the more reason laws of a land should apply on them. And finally, they have stubbornly refused to be transparent about their algorithm and how they apply it on individuals. With such widescale allegations of shadow-banning, they cannot be allowed to continue with such opaqueness. The government needs to intervene at the policy level not to censor, but to make these platforms adopt transparency. The Modi government has long shied from acting on this. That vacuum of policy-making and implementation only provides room for the Left to deflect, disrupt, mislead and press for further gagging of independent and rival voices on the false pretext of fighting hate-speech. Views are personal. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has held a closed meeting with heads of intelligence agencies, heads of law enforcement agencies, as well as heads of a number of regional state administrations in connection with a sharp aggravation of the situation in Belarus, at which he noted that events in this country could significantly affect Ukraine. "An assessment of all possible scenarios for the further development of today's internal political aggravation in a neighboring country was made, including various types of escalation, taking into account the so-called hybrid types of world conflicts. In addition, an analysis of the risks directly for Ukraine arising in connection with one or another development of the situation was carried out," the presidential website reported on Monday. During the meeting, both the internal political situation in Belarus and numerous external factors that could have impact on the development of events after the presidential elections in this country were analyzed in detail. As reported, the presidential elections in Belarus were held on August 9. According to the official election results, some 80.1% of voters voted for incumbent President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, some 10.12% for his main opponent Svetlana Tikhanovskaya. On the same day, mass protests started in Belarus, which continue to this day. According to official information, at least one person was killed during the protests, hundreds were injured, and about 7,000 people were detained. Since Thursday, August 13, peaceful protests started at Belarusian industrial enterprises. On Sunday, August 16, Lukashenko, speaking in front of his supporters at a protest on Independence Square in Minsk said that the Baltic countries and Ukraine are "ordering" new presidential elections in the country and categorically rejected this possibility, stating that in this case "we will die as a state as a nation." The President's Office of Ukraine denied the following statement of the Belarusian leadership: "This is not just an outright lie. This is a deliberate whipping up of the situation. This is a deliberate provocative behavior. For what purpose? What does Ukraine have to do with it if events concern exclusively Belarus and internal mistrust?" At the same time, the office called on the leadership of Belarus to respect the right of their fellow citizens to life, health and freedom, stressing that the future of not only the state, but also politicians depends on this. The UK government has launched a GBP 3 million Innovation Challenge Fund in India, with the intention of helping scientists tackle the COVID-19 outbreak and climate change. The fund will issue at least 12 grants up to GBP 250,000, the British High Commission New Delhi said in a statement on August 17. "The Fund invites tech innovators with connections to the AI-Data cluster in Karnataka and the Future Mobility cluster in Maharashtra to submit research and development proposals for tackling COVID-19 or which promote a greener planet," the statement said. The British High Commission said the deadline to submit two-page concept notes for research proposals is August 31. "The UK and India have a strong history of research and innovation. Both COVID-19 and climate change demonstrate that the most urgent challenges are global. Never has there been a greater need for academia, business and government to accelerate innovation, and for nations to collaborate to save lives and build a better future," said Sir Philip Barton, High Commissioner to India. The then British Prime Minister Theresa May and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the formal creation of the UK-India Tech Partnership in April 2018. Gov. Phil Murphy and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker will help rally Pennsylvania Democrats during a political convention nominally taking place in Wisconsin. Murphy, a convention co-chair, and Booker, who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination earlier this year, will headline virtual watch parties targeted to Pennsylvania voters during this weeks Democratic National Convention. Pennsylvania is one of the swing states in this falls election between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. The commonwealth went for Trump in 2016 after supporting the Democratic presidential nominee in every election since 1992. Biden, a native of Scranton, is trying to win the state back. Biden leads Trump by 6.4 percentage points in the Real Clear Politics polling average. Murphy will share Wednesdays platform with Kal Penn, an actor and former White House aide to President Barack Obama. Booker will join Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester from Bidens home state of Delaware on Thursday, the same night he is scheduled to address the convention remotely. The two New Jersey politicians also will be among the guest speakers when the states Democratic delegation gets together remotely all week rather than in Milwaukee due to the coronavirus. And they have other roles as well. On Tuesday, Murphy, as chair of the Democratic Governors Association, and his wife Tammy will kick off a panel of female governors to mark the 100th anniversary of womens suffrage. And on Wednesday, Booker will host a virtual rally featuring Senate Democratic candidates running for Republican-held seats. The Democrats need to win four GOP seats, or three if Biden is elected president, to win control of the U.S. Senate. Rather than a hotel breakfast, the New Jersey delegates are scheduled to gather via Zoom beginning at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday. Heres the schedule: Monday Scheduled speakers are state Democratic Chairman John Currie, Murphy, Booker, 1st District Rep. Donald Norcross, 10th District Rep. Donald Payne Jr., 8th District Rep. Albio Sires. Tuesday Scheduled speakers are state Democratic Vice Chair Peg Schaffer, first lady Tammy Murphy, Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, congressional nominees Amy Kennedy in the 2nd District and Stephanie Schmid in the 4th District, 12th District Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman and 11th District Rep. Mikie Sherrill. Wednesday Scheduled speakers are Currie, 5th District Rep. Josh Gottheimer, 7th District Rep. Tom Malinowski, 3rd District Rep. Andy Kim and Biden delegate Shannon Cuttle. Thursday Speakers include Currie, Murphy, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, 6th District Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., and 9th District Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. There also will be two in-person receptions while the convention proceedings are going on, Monday night in Jersey City and Thursday night in Asbury Park. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Thomas Jefferson University received $320 million in government grants to help it withstand the financial devastation of COVID-19, but the Philadelphia regions largest hospital system still logged an operating loss of $298.71 million in the year ended June 30. The loss means that Jefferson, which expanded through acquisitions from three to 14 hospitals from 2015 to 2018, missed a cash earnings target required by its lenders and has had to hire a consultant to help it work on financial recovery plans. Jefferson promised to provide details on those plans by the end of this month. The coronavirus pandemic has dealt financial blows to all hospitals, but Jefferson was more vulnerable financially when COVID-19 hit because it has struggled to boost the profitability of the 11 hospitals it has acquired in the last five years. Jefferson said in a statement: We are completely confident that Jefferson will move steadily toward financial recovery while achieving our mission of improving lives and living our values of putting people first, being bold and thinking differently, and doing the right thing. The nonprofit is among the first health systems to report financial results for the period that ended June 30 and includes the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in the Northeast. And its results appear to be in line with what we are hearing from other health systems across the region and the country, the statement said. Its true that significant losses are expected throughout health care, as are many failures to meet profitability requirements in lending agreements. But because of its extraordinarily speedy acquisition tear, Jefferson is in a different position. A deal for Einstein Healthcare Network is facing a regulatory challenge. Jefferson canceled its agreement to acquire Fox Chase Cancer Center from Temple University, calling the deal a casualty of COVID-19. They have not yet been able to fully integrate and optimize all of the hospitals that theyve aggregated, said Daniel G. Grauman, chief executive of Veralon, a national health-care consulting firm based in Philadelphia. I think theyve been working on it, but theyve havent gotten there yet. Then you get slammed with a huge surprise. Grauman said that, under normal circumstances, a system such as Jefferson should have a 3% to 5% operating profit margin. The best it has done in recent years is 3%, in 2016, after acquiring Abington Health but before adding Aria and Kennedy. COVID-19 presented extraordinarily difficult financial circumstances for health-care providers and the worst of it was felt from Maryland to Massachusetts, said Kenneth Kaufman, managing director and chair of Kaufman, Hall & Associates, a Chicago health-care consulting firm. That was the area that got hit the hardest when the country was least prepared. All of those hospitals that really got hit, they had to figure out what to do and how to get ahold of all of the equipment and services they needed to take care of the disease that no one really understood at all, Kaufman said. Expenses soared. Jeffersons supply costs jumped 38%, as patient revenue fell 6%, to $4.2 billion. On top of that, health systems lost a big hunk of their most profitable services: high-end radiology services such as MRIs and CAT-scans, outpatient surgeries, and elective surgeries, he said. In the Jefferson system, for example, outpatient surgeries from April through June fell 54% compared with the same period a year ago. Kaufman said it is too soon to know what the pandemics long-term financial impact on hospitals will be. I think theres a pretty big difference between weakened and unable to recover. I would say a fair number of hospitals are going to wind up in the weakened state. Whether they all end up in the unable-to-recover position, it really is too early to tell, he said. Jefferson is in the weakened category, according to Grauman. I dont think they are in jeopardy of abysmal failure, he said, but Jefferson management needs to focus on execution and integration. They shouldnt be doing anything else until they get that right, he said. Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 17 : Lashing out at M. Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and also the State IT secretary, a senior CPI-M state minister described him as a traitor. Speaking to the media here on Monday, PWD Minister G. Sudhakaran said that he deserves no sympathy. "Sivasankar is a traitor and would get the appropriate punishment. The buck stops with Sivasankar and only he is responsible for it and there is no reason to blame Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, even though the opposition is trying to throw stones at him, it's going to rebound on them very strongly," said an angry Sudhakaran, who is known for his razor sharp tongue. The gold smuggling case in the state was unearthed when P.S. Sarith, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here, was arrested by the customs department on July 5 when he was facilitating the smuggling of 30 kg gold in diplomatic baggage to Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai. It turned murkier when the name of Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the Consulate, and employed with the IT Department, surfaced and more so when her links with Sivasankar, the state's most powerful official, were exposed. The IAS officer was subsequently removed from both posts and then suspended by Vijayan. Ina related development the Enforcement Directorate which questioned Sivasankar last week for over five hours has now pointed out that he and Swapna had gone on three foreign trips starting in 2017 with two trips in 2018. In the October 2018 trip the two reached the UAE a few days before Vijayan reached there. The ED has also asked for the details of the Life Mission project- the flagship scheme of Vijayan, which provides homes for the downtrodden and the weaker sections of the society. As school districts prepare for the fall, more than half plan to reopen fully in-person for students who want to come and most of the rest will start with a hybrid model. According to preliminary reopen plans submitted to the state in early August, only New Haven Public Schools, Highville Charter School in New Haven, and The Woodstock Academy are set to start fully remote on the first day of school. The plan for Bloomfield Public Schools was to start remote but the district has since switched to a hybrid model, state Department of Education officials said on Monday, and Bloomfield is likely not the only district whose plans may shift this month. Many districts are still in the process of making a final determination of their reopen models as they are in the midst of surveying students, parents and educators and giving school boards a chance to weigh in on the decisions. As such, they could be subject to change, according to the state. Schools have been closed for in-person learning since mid-March when the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the state. Infection rates are now said to be low enough to allow in-person learning with extensive social distancing protocols. Regardless which model districts choose, parents have been given the option to keep their children home fully for remote learning for the time being. As of Aug. 11, some 113 of 199 school districts and state charter schools told the state they planned to reopen fully in-person from the first day or within four weeks of school reopening. Many school districts are waiting until after Labor Day to start school for students. At least 82 districts 41.2 percent said they planned to reopen with a hybrid model, meaning students will rotate between in-person and at-home learning throughout the week. In some districts, there will be both a hybrid model at the high school level, and in-person at the elementary and middle school levels. If even part of a districts plan is hybrid, the state lists them as such. Of 527,829 public school students in the state, 96 percent are expected to return to full in-person or hybrid models of instruction this fall, according to the state. On Monday, the Connecticut Education Association, the states largest teachers union, issued their own revised school reopening plan calling for a delay in reopening school until mid-September so that remote learning efforts can be improved and expanded. Earlier this month, the state Board of Education agreed to allow districts to shorten the school year by three days for students at the start of the school year to give teachers more time to prepare. The teachers union also wants districts to move to all-remote learning if infection rates rise to a moderate level or if schools cannot achieve 6 feet of social distancing between students. In many cases, districts are spacing desks 3 feet apart. The union also wants schools to upgrade air handling systems to improve air quality, a comprehensive, school-centered contact tracing program to help mitigate any exposures to the virus, and COVID-19 testing for all students and adults for in-person learning. The primary consideration to any school reopening plan must be the safety, health, and well-being of students, teachers, and their families, said CEA President Jeff Leake. The state must revise school reopening plans to protect our school communities, especially in light of new reports confirming that children can readily transmit COVID-19 and may be drivers of the pandemic. Leake maintains remote learning is still the safest option. The state, however, has continued to advocate for in-person classes come fall. After schools closed last spring, 176,000 Connecticut students did not log on for a single day of distanced learning. Although weve since taken significant steps to equip students to learn from home, we also know that nothing compares to safe, high-quality, in-person education with the nations best teachers and other education professionals, said Rob Blanchard, a spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont. Ensuring we do not have a lost year of education, the Lamont administration collaborated with public health and medical experts, educators and local school administration leaders to protect the health and safety of everyone who makes contact with our school system. Connecticut is among only a handful of states with low COVID-19 transmission rates, but the risk is still rated as moderate in the majority of Connecticuts counties. Connecticut continues to lead the nation in our efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and keep cases drastically low, Blanchard said. While the virus hasnt gone away, we have put in place plans and guidelines that keep students and staff safe, while also doing our best to provide our young people with access to an education that prepares them for the future. lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck CLEVELAND, Ohio Northeast Ohio residents should be able to give the air-conditioner a break this week. Highs on Monday will be around 80 degrees in Cleveland and 81 in Akron. The morning could start with some patchy fog throughout the region, and there are chances of showers and thunderstorms. Otherwise, expect mostly sunny skies. The good news is overnight temps will drop to the low 60s, leading to comfortable sleeping conditions. Tuesday is looking ideal: It will be mostly sunny and highs will stay in the mid-70s in Cleveland and the upper 70s in Akron. Overnight lows will drop into the 50s. When it comes to sunshine, the forecast brings little change through Sunday in both Akron and Cleveland. High temps will begin a slow climb Wednesday, reaching the upper 70s in Cleveland and the low 80s in Akron. Cleveland will reach 80 on Thursday, while Akron could see highs around 86. Overnight lows will be in the low to mid-60s. Friday will bring highs in the low 80s in Cleveland and mid-80s in Akron. Chances of showers and thunderstorms return during the weekend. Highs will be around 80 degrees in Cleveland and in the low 80s in Akron. Mondays sunrise: 6:38 a.m. Sunset: 8:22 p.m. Pollen count: 9.1 (medium-high) Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue to normalize ties after announcing last week that they would establish formal diplomatic relations. Israel and the UAE reached the historic deal brokered by the United States on Aug. 13. The UAE will recognize Israel, and Israel will stop plans to annex parts of the Palestinian West Bank, per the agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has since said annexation could still come, although he has said this for months without delivering and may be appeasing the Israeli right. This is the first time a Gulf nation has established official relations with Israel. Israel and Saudi Arabia have also deepened cooperation on Iran in recent years without formalizing ties. The Emirates and Israel are now moving toward normal relations. On Sunday, phone lines opened between the two states. Previously blocked Israeli websites can also now be accessed from within the UAE. On Monday, the Abu Dhabi Stem Cells Center and the Israeli stem cell research firm Pluristem Therapeutics agreed to collaborate on research to fight COVID-19, according to the state-run Emirates News Agency. The joint statement from Israel, the UAE and the United States on the agreement also said the countries would cooperate on the coronavirus. Regarding flights, Emirati businessman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor told Israeli media he was in talks with Israir Airlines to establish direct flights between Israel and the UAE. On Monday, Netanyahu said the flights would go over Saudi Arabia. The deal has sparked speculation that other Gulf countries could now establish relations with Israel. Israeli officials told local media that they are currently in talks with Oman. Table 1 Dissolution Testwork Results Dissolution Testwork Results Leach testwork concludes that samples were amenable to standard cyanide leaching Indicated recoveries of up to 94.6% with average dissolution at 89.3% considered to be promising for unoptimized testwork of this nature Results suggest small gold grain size and no nugget effect, with no evidence of preg-robbing or other deleterious characteristics having been observed A weak inverse relationship between arsenopyrite content and gold dissolution was detected Lycopodium has been appointed to oversee the next phase of detailed metallurgical testing to be concluded before the end of 2020 VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Osino Resources Corp. (TSXV: OSI) (FSE: RSR1) ("Osino or the Company), is pleased to announce the completion of preliminary metallurgical testwork on samples from the Twin Hills Central portion of the Twin Hills Gold Project in the Karibib district of Namibia. A total of 10 composite samples from various locations across the deposit were submitted to SGS in Johannesburg, South Africa for basic cyanide gold dissolution leach testwork as Phase 1 of a metallurgical testwork program. The objective was to evaluate how the material responded to a simple gold cyanide leach to gain a preliminary understanding of the ore response and to inform the design of subsequent testwork phases. Heye Daun, Osinos Co-Founder & CEO commented: We are very pleased with these positive preliminary leach test results which demonstrates that the Twin Hills Central mineralized material is amenable to standard leaching with encouraging leach recovery rates even at this early, pre-optimization stage. This is a very important initial milestones which indicates that the Twin Hills mineralized material should be easily recoverable using a standard process route with no expected fatal flaws. The next step will be to complete the other testwork phases, incl. comminution, cyanidation, grinding, gravity gold concentration etc. to enable us to optimize the gold recovery and come up with a processing route. We are excited to have appointed Lycopodium Minerals Africa to help us with this process which we expect to complete by the end of 2020. Story continues Phase 1 Metallurgical Testwork Description Sample material (pulp reject) was sourced from 10 drill holes over approximately 20m intervals at depths ranging from 30m to 200m. The samples were combined to provide one composite per hole, were checked for size distribution (>80% passing 75m) and triplicate sampled for head grade determination. After preparation, the samples were subjected to 24-hour bottle roll leaching at excess cyanide conditions with standard pH, density and dissolved oxygen levels being maintained. No attempt was made to optimize the leaching conditions at this stage. The head grade of the material was obtained by assaying splits from the samples submitted and averaged 1.43 g/t with a range from 0.75g/t to 2.36g/t. The assayed head grade agreed closely with the weighted average Osino assay results for the selected material which was 1.55g/t. The sample material was found to be somewhat finer than expected. Testwork Results The testwork results are shown in Table 1 below, indicating that the dissolution ranges from a high of 94.6% to a low of 82.6% with an average of 89.3%. The testwork concluded that the samples were amenable to standard cyanide leaching and the average dissolution achieved at just below 90% is considered promising for unoptimized testwork of this nature. With a small sample population of only 10 samples, statistical evaluation is of limited accuracy however a weak inverse relationship between arsenopyrite content and gold dissolution was detected. No relationship could be established between head grade and dissolution. Results also suggest that the gold grain size was small and no nugget effect was noted, which is in agreement with geological logging reports. No evidence of preg-robbing or other deleterious characteristics were observed. Table 1: Dissolution Testwork Results accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/30d55fe3-195a-4f0f-84bd-e176c276781b The fine size distribution of the samples may have enhanced the dissolution to a small degree, and this will be investigated in follow-up testwork which is currently being arranged. Future testwork will also focus on investigating the magnitude of the refractory gold component, evaluating how the mineralized material responds to alternative treatment processes such as gravity gold recovery and establishing variability of recovery over a wider area of the orebody. The Twin Hills Central mineralized material is therefore generally amenable to cyanide leaching although the lower dissolution of a few samples indicates the presence of a limited refractory component. This is not surprising considering the presence of arsenopyrite as part of the suite of mineralized sulphides present at Twin Hills. Phase 2 Metallurgical Testwork Program Osino has appointed Lycopodium Minerals Africa (Lycopodium) to assist in defining and overseeing the next, detailed phase of the metallurgical testwork program to precede the compilation of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in respect of the Twin Hills Gold Project. Lycopodium is an engineering and project management consultancy which provides a complete range of services for the evaluation, development, implementation and optimization of projects within the mining and minerals processing industries worldwide. Lycopodium has been active in the resources industry for over 25 years and has designed and/or built numerous mineral processing plants across Africa and the rest of the world. Lycopodium also has highly relevant local gold expertise having been involved in feasibility and EPCM work for both Otjikoto and Navachab gold mines in Namibia. This detailed metallurgical testwork program will comprise the following key elements: Characterization of mineralized material Comminution testwork Cyanidation testwork Gravity gold concentration testing Grind vs recovery testwork Heap leach testing Thickening, rheology and filtration testwork Ore sorting and dense medium separation (DMS) testwork In support of the PEA, one of the deliverables of the test work program will be a metallurgical process flow diagram and this metallurgical process route will be further developed during subsequent studies. It is estimated that this detailed Phase 2 testwork program will require approximately four months to complete with final results expected at the end of 2020. Qualified Person Heye Daun, BSc (Hons) is Chief Executive Officer of Osino Resources Corp. and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information related to metallurgy in this news release. Mr. Daun is a mining engineer registered with the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101. David Underwood, BSc (Hons) is Vice President Exploration of Osino Resources Corp. and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information related to geology and exploration in this news release. Mr. Underwood is a registered Professional Natural Scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (Pr. Sci. Nat. No.400323/11) and a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI 43-101. Share Issuance Osino also hereby announces that under the terms of the previously announced Alston and Logan agreements (refer to the Company's most recent Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2019 and filed on June 26, 2020), Osino, through its' subsidiary, Osino Namibia Minerals Exploration (Pty) Ltd. ("Osino Minerals") previously agreed to issue to each of two vendors of the exclusive prospecting licenses in those agreements 31,250 common shares (the "Payment Shares") of the Company, which will be issued at the applicable market price of $1.58 per share being the closing price on August 14, 2020. The issuance of the Payment Shares are subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and will have the customary four-month hold period from the date of issuance and will be subject to a voluntary escrow agreement to be entered into between Osino, Osino's transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada and the Vendors wherein one-third of the Payment Shares will not be subject to escrow, one-third of the Payment Shares will be released on January 31, 2021 and the remaining one-third of the Payment Shares will be released on January 31, 2022. About Osino Resources Osino Resources Corp. (TSXV: OSI) is a well-financed Canadian gold exploration company with an active exploration program across our large Namibian ground position. Osinos focus in 2020 is on defining and expanding our exciting new Twin Hills gold discovery within the developing Karibib Gold District and making new discoveries elsewhere. Twin Hills is a large, sediment-hosted, structurally controlled orogenic gold system, buried under approximately 20m of calcrete and windblown Kalahari sand and was discovered by Osino in 2019 following a systematic and innovative exploration campaign and the application of solid geological science. Osino is also advancing a range of other gold prospects and targets across our approximately 7,000 km2 ground position by utilizing a portfolio approach geared towards discovery. Our core projects are favorably located north and north-west of Namibias capital city Windhoek. By virtue of their location, the projects benefit significantly from Namibias well-established infrastructure with paved highways, railway, power and water in close proximity. Namibia is mining-friendly and lauded as one of the continents most politically and socially stable jurisdictions. Osino continues to evaluate new ground with a view to expanding its Namibian portfolio. Further details are available on the Company's website at https://osinoresources.com/ CONTACT INFORMATION Osino Resources Corp. Heye Daun: CEO Tel: +27 (21) 418 2525 hdaun@osinoresources.com Julia Becker: Investor Relations Manager Tel: +1 (604) 785 0850 jbecker@osinoresources.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 press release. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) Filipinos abroad sent home $2.737 billion in June a 7.6% growth from personal remittances recorded in the same month last year, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday. The figures broke the three-month decline in remittances seen from March to May, which came amid a global economic slump and the displacement of thousands of overseas Filipino workers due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The growth also reduced the cumulative contraction in cash remittances for the first half of 2020 to 4.2%, previously from a 6.4% logged in May, the BSP said. The central bank attributed the June recovery to the 14.2% rise in remittances from land-based workers, which grew to $2.164 billion from last year's $1.896 billion. According to the BSP, this also counteracted the continued drop in the money sent home by sea-based workers, which fell by 13.1% to $515 million in June, after several were forced to return to the Philippines as a result of the health crisis. The BSP said the United States, Japan, Singapore, Oman and Taiwan were among the countries that registered continued growth in remittances from January to June 2020, while declines were reported in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Germany and the United Kingdom. For the first half of the year, the central bank also noted that the United States surpassed other nations worldwide in terms of sources of OFW remittances with a 39.7% share. This is followed by the countries of Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Canada, Hong Kong, Qatar, and Taiwan which cumulatively accounted for 78.9% of total cash remittances. If youre storing more than sealed containers in the pantry, research how the foods interact. Storing some fruits and vegetables together may cause them to ripen or go bad more quickly. Murthy doesnt recommend storing fresh fruits and vegetables in the pantry, because they could rot if you forget about them; store them in the refrigerator, and keep a small amount, if youll eat them, out on a counter in a bowl. More hardy vegetables, such as sweet potatoes, onions or garlic, can be stored in the pantry, though storing potatoes and onions next to one another could cause potatoes to develop sprouts more quickly. Kaitlyn Hoppe looked very glamorous indeed when she crashed The Bachelor's first group date in a wedding dress. But the 26-year-old intruder appears to have a hidden wild side. In resurfaced photos from two years ago, the blonde bombshell is shown partying in lingerie at the infamous Candyshop Mansion on the Gold Coast. Scroll down for video Look away now, Locky! Bachelor star Kaitlyn Hoppe partied at the infamous Candyshop Mansion in 2018 wearing lacy lingerie. Pictured left: Kaitlyn with Locky Gilbert on The Bachelor, and right: Kaitlyn (centre) with two friends at the Candyshop Mansion She attended the annual Christmas party in 2018 at millionaire playboy Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon's $3.7million waterfront mansion. The Candyman's parties are infamous for their wild theatrics and eyebrow-raising antics, and the racy soirees often attract reality stars and scantily-clad models. At the time, Kaitlyn captioned a photo of herself with friends: 'I made it out alive @candyshopmansion 2018 party! RIP phone, but it was worth it.' In the old photos, she leaves little to the imagination in a lace teddy and matching shorts, which she teams with a gold choker body chain. 'I made it out alive': Kaitlyn attended the annual Christmas party in 2018 at millionaire playboy Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon's $3.7million waterfront mansion Racy! Kaitlyn also ate macaroons off a half-naked woman at the entrance to the mansion She's not shy! In the old photos, Kaitlyn (left) leaves little to the imagination in a lace teddy and matching shorts, which she teams with a gold choker body chain Kaitlyn wore revealing lingerie from Honey Birdette, where she once worked as a retail assistant. In footage from the party, Kaitlyn was also spotted eating macaroons off a half-naked woman at the entrance to the mansion. The year Kaitlyn attended, Bachelor star Elora Murger, Love Island's Eden Dally and MAFS grooms Dean Wells and Telv Williams were among the guests. Clearly not shy about her past, Kaitlyn's IMDB account has also recently resurfaced. The actress credits The Bachelor in her filmography, as well as a 2016 short film titled The Veiled. Not-so-secret actress! Clearly not shy about her past, Kaitlyn's IMDB account has also recently resurfaced. The actress credits The Bachelor in her filmography, as well as a 2016 short film Will they hit it off? Kaitlyn was awarded a one-on-one date with Locky on episode two Kaitlyn was awarded a one-on-one date with Locky on episode two of The Bachelor. Locky got cosy with the intruder during a photo shoot-themed group date as the other ladies watched on, seething with jealousy. The Bachelor continues Wednesday from 7:30pm on Channel 10 Sunday's toll includes 11 victims and five assailants, Ismail Mukhtar Omar said in a tweet late on Sunday, adding: 'Security forces lost one, 18 people were injured' At least 16 people were killed in an attack on Sunday by al Shabaab on a seaside hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, a government spokesman said, as the Islamist group launched a similar assault on a Somali military base. Sunday's toll includes 11 victims and five assailants, Ismail Mukhtar Omar said in a tweet late on Sunday, adding: "Security forces lost one, 18 people were injured." Militants stormed the high-end Elite Hotel in Lido beach, detonated a car bomb and then opened fire with assault rifles, the latest attack by al Shabaab, which has been battling the country's central government since 2008. Aamin ambulance services transported to hospitals at least 43 people injured in the attack, its head Abdikadir Abdirahman told Reuters on Monday. The hotel is owned by Abdullahi Mohamed Nor, a lawmaker and former finance minister, and is popular with government officials and members of the Somali diaspora. Al Shabaab wants to topple the central government and establish its own rule based on its own strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. On Monday, five soldiers were killed after fighters from the group launched a car bomb and gun assault on a Somali military base in the Goofgaduud area, about 30 kilometres from the town of Baidoa in Somalia's southwest. Three soldiers were killed when a suicide car bomber rammed the gate to the base, Major Mohamed Aden, a military officer in Baidoa told Reuters. Soldiers abandoned the base and al Shabaab fighters entered it, planting a booby-trap bomb on the body of one of the dead men, he said. "When soldiers came back to carry the dead, (a) bomb went off from the body of the dead soldier, killing two more soldiers," Aden added. Al Shabaab's military operations spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab told Reuters the attackers had killed eight soldiers, including the base commander. Over the years al Shabaab has waged its war through bombings and gun assaults on military and civilian targets like hotels and busy intersections in Mogadishu and across Somalia. Al Shabaab has also carried out attacks in neighbouring Kenya and Uganda as revenge for their military deployments in Somalia as part of a regional peace keeping mission. Somalia has been embroiled in violence since 1991, when clan warlords overthrew leader Mohamed Siad Barre and then turned on each other. Search Keywords: Short link: For many people with preexisting medical issues, staying at home isn't an option amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients in the middle of chemotherapy or need a liver transplant, or heart patients can't postpone their checkups indefinitely. Their medical requirements will bring them straight to the hospital, where they are more likely to encounter an infected person. Understandably, people are worried about visiting hospitals, but hospitals and doctors are doing their best to alleviate these fears and are taking measures during the coronavirus pandemic to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Major hospitals have enforced enhanced protocols for the safety of patients and health personnel while facing the unprecedented challenge of COVID-19. Despite hospital measures, there are a few ways patients can safeguard themselves while visiting the hospital, read on to find out how. Precautions Patients should take during hospitalization against COVID-19 Before booking an appointment for a procedure, it's important to inform the doctor or hospital staff about your health and ensure you opt for a COVID-19 test. It's important for all patients to wear a mask before entering the hospital. Please ask the hospital to provide one in case you forget. Contact the hospital before visiting and ask them about their safety procedures before making an appointment. Ensure that the hospital has increased the cleaning frequency for all high traffic surface areas with certified coronavirus killing disinfectants and thorough cleansing is done after each patient is checked to ensure the safety of the next patient. Check if all patient care equipment is thoroughly disinfected after use on each patient. Importantly, make sure that patients suffering from COVID-19 are isolated in a separate part of the hospital so non-infected people have less chance of coming into contact with them. Tele-Consultation If it is not a medical emergency, but there is a need to consult a doctor, there are numerous teleconsultation facilities like DocsApp, Practo and 1mg. However, it would be better to book a teleconsultation appointment with a reputed multi-specialty hospital. Sri Ramakrishna Hospital, which has over 45 years of experience and a team of over 200 experienced doctors offers tele consultation from anywhere in India. Consulting an experienced doctor from a renowned multi-specialty hospital is better and safer than consulting a random doctor through an online platform. Patients can visit the hospital's website (www.sriramakrishnahospital.com) to book appointments if they are located in containment zones or are worried about stepping out of their homes. Note: Patients with Chronic Illnesses People with illnesses like liver disease, heart disease, and high blood pressure are at risk of developing complications if they are infected by COVID-19. People with such illnesses can take the following measures in addition to frequent handwashing and social distancing. Patients taking hepatitis B or hepatitis C, or other medications should make sure they have plenty of medications stocked at home to avoid unnecessary trips to health care or pharmacies. While we recommend such precautions, keep in mind that the disease and its impact varies from patient to patient. It's important to consult a doctor if you notice any abnormal symptoms. Doctors Advice: The Pandemic Shouldn't Hinder Treatment "Individuals should not allow the fear of coronavirus to discourage them from accessing the healthcare they need. Especially, if they have serious health conditions, chronic ongoing pain, or life-threatening symptoms. We are 24/7 ready to help you. If people need a procedure, it's perfectly safe to come in and have that procedure done now," said Dr. Sukumaran Dean of Sri Ramakrishna Hospitals. He also added that experts in infectious disease prevention are working closely with care teams across hospitals to make sure they are safe for patients. Remember that there is no reason to panic or get stressed out. Healthcare providers are already making sure to get you the best treatment possible at minimum risk of COVID-19 exposure. Hospitals continue to adapt to this challenging scenario, with the primary objective of keeping patients and staff safe. This story is provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/BusinessWire India) Also Read: Coronavirus: India's recovery rate has surpassed the mark of 72 per cent Gloucestershire will be hosting online events as well as other outdoor activities It comes as universities have changed freshers events due to Covid concerns The students' union president said the term has 'negative connotations' for some A university has abandoned using the word freshers due to its 'negative connotations' and will instead rebrand the week new students move to the university. This year's incoming students at the University of Gloucestershire will instead be invited to attend events as part of 'Welcome 2020' during their first week on campus, rather than the classically-known freshers events. The university has stopped using the term freshers as it wants to focus on 'welcoming our new students' and say the term has 'negative connotations' for some newcomers. Students' union president Luc Brown said: 'We know that for some people the term 'freshers' has particular, negative connotations. The University of Gloucestershire will rebrand freshers as 'welcomes' due to the 'negative connotations' of the word for some students (stock photo) 'We wanted to move away from that and towards what the first few weeks of the year should be about - welcoming our new students to the University and to Gloucestershire, so that's why we've gone for 'Welcome 2020'. 'The safety, health and wellbeing of our students and the wider community is of course the most important thing to us when we're thinking about events for the start of next year.' Gloucestershire university will also host some outdoor activities, such as cinema and comedy nights, to allow new students to mingle while still adhering to coronavirus regulations. Students will also be offered online events so they can 'keep one-another safe' amid coronavirus concerns. Bristol have also seen similar changes to freshers week after announcing a ban on one-night-stands for freshers, as first years are prohibited from having people to stay overnight in halls. The University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol announced that 'unacceptable behaviour' could lead to students being issued with fines. A spokesperson for the university told The Sunday Times: 'Given the seriousness of the threat posed by Covid-19, we are committed to taking disciplinary action against any student found to be in breach of the rules, or behaving in ways that [are not] mindful of our university and city communities. Unacceptable behaviour may lead to fines being issued.' New undergraduates will be restricted to a bubble of 12 to 15 students in their accommodation and will have to follow social distancing regulations. This year's incoming students at the University of Gloucestershire (above) will instead be invited to attend events as part of 'Welcome 2020' during their first week on campus The University of East Anglia also confirmed it had taken the decision to ban 'overnight guests' from outside the student household. Students at University College London and Cambridge have also been banned from having parties or inviting people to stay overnight. Following the announcements, Nick Hillman, director of the think tank, the Higher Education Policy Institute, said the move would pose a challenge for students looking to meet new people but universities were doing the 'right thing'. He told The Sunday Times: 'This will clearly make having close student friendships and intimate relationships difficult. 'Universities are doing the right thing [but] I do hope it will be temporary. Certainly the experience of freshers' week will be very different.' Other universities, including Oxford, have made it compulsory for students to wear face coverings in shared indoor spaces, amongst other measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. In June, the University of Cambridge confirmed all 'face-to-face lectures' would be moved online during the 2020-21 academic year to ensure social distancing can continue amid the pandemic. A number of universities across the UK are also planning to offer a blended learning approach - with a mix of online lessons and face-to-face teaching - when they reopen campuses to students in the autumn. We are just a few weeks away and we know nothing, said Landwehr, 33. I just dont understand how were so close to schools being opened up and we still dont have any idea what our kids are going to be doing. Landwehr, Howze, Bandinelli and Gil-Rodriguez were among the parents who tuned in last Monday to the first in a series of virtual public meetings on the districts plan for reopening. Howze, for example, wanted to learn more about the districts protocol for social distancing and wearing a mask. Gil-Rodriguez hoped to get more clarification on how the district plans to transport students safely and what happens once theyre in the building and classroom. Neither heard any of those details from district officials. No one has fully explained everything, said Howze, 29. Ive been reaching out to our principal saying, Whats going on? Theres been zero communication. I just felt as a parent, we were pretty much getting the runaround, said Gil-Rodriguez, 42. I just would have liked to see this rolling out earlier instead of later. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 21:40:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Tanzanian President John Magufuli (Front) speaks during the 40th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) virtual meeting in Dodoma, capital of Tanzania, on Aug. 17, 2020. Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Monday handed over the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi and commended the regional bloc for its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. (Tanzanian State House/Handout via Xinhua) DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Monday handed over the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to his Mozambican counterpart Filipe Nyusi and commended the regional bloc for its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Magufuli commended the SADC member states when he handed over the chair during the 40th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of SADC in a virtual meeting hosted by Tanzania from Chamwino State House in the capital Dodoma. In his address to the summit, President Magufuli said SADC member states' combined efforts in fighting COVID-19 reduced the impact caused by the pandemic. "Despite of the outbreak of COVID-19, SADC member states have been able not only to reduce the impact caused by this pandemic but also have been able to continue implementing our regional programs and projects," he said. He urged the SADC member states to continue working together not only in addressing the COVID-19 impacts but also in preparing for the post-pandemic situation. According to the SADC secretariat, the regional bloc's economic growth is expected to shrink by an average of about 3.8 percent in 2020, mainly due to the adverse impacts of COVID-19. The head of state said during the past year as chair of the regional bloc, Tanzania ensured that SADC with a combined population of about 350 million continued to strengthen peace and stability, as well as democracy and good governance. In her remarks, SADC executive secretary Stergomena Lawrence Tax, said a number of milestones were recorded during the past year, including timely development of SADC guidelines on the movement of goods and services across the region amid COVID-19. "The guidelines greatly contributed to containment of the spread of COVID-19 and facilitated movement of goods, and thus minimizing disruptions to economic activities, and mitigating socio-economic hardships to SADC citizens," said Tax. On Aug. 17, 2019, Tanzania assumed the chair of SADC from Namibia. SADC is an inter-governmental organization established in 1992 to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among its 16 member states. Enditem There are very few hit songs that stay truly local to the Canadian public. Hits that we, as children, believed that the entirety of North America celebrated, but its so often not the case. So, so often. Can you believe it? I can, but like, I still dont. Maybe a little. Regardless, Ive compiled a list of just a few songs that make me (and hopefully other Canadian ONTD-ers) feel truly patriotic at first listen. Its the musical red, white, and Nanaimo bars I spent my entire pre-university life standing to the national anthem at school, but I spent years mumbling, and/or pretending to, perform the lyrics to O, Canada. After we stand on guard for thee [something, something] our home and stolen land?? Im outtie. But these Canadian hitsunlike our anthemstood on guard for Me "Black Sheep (Brie Larson Cover)" by Metric (2010) The film, the comics, the aesthetic it's all just so purely 2000s Toronto. It physically hurts me that space where my heart should be to think about. My body built a condo over that are, just like those bastards who tore down Honest Ed's. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) recently celebrated the film adaption's 10th anniversary, and boy did it hit me hard. The film, the comics, the aesthetic it's all just so purely 2000s Toronto. It physically hurts me that space where my heart should be to think about. My body built a condo over that are, just like those bastards who tore down Honest Ed's. This is one of my favourites from the film, but the OST is filled with Canadian gems. Do yourself a favour, and take a listen "Bye Bye Boyfriend" by Fefe Dobson (2003) "Don't Call Me Baby" by Kreesha Turner (2008) HEY, HEY, HEEEEY Walking away now, walking away now baby oh bb HEY, HEY, HEEEEY Walking away now, walking away now baby oh bb () "Let's Go" by Shawn Desman (2005) "Too Hot" by Alanis Morissette-Abdul-Jackson (1991) "Bad Boy" by Keshia Chante (2003) "Brand New Bitch" by Anjulie (2011) "Drive My Soul" by Lights (2011) "Real Suga BayBee" by Sugar Lyn Beard (2000) "Operator (A Girl Like Me)" by Shiloh (2008) I used to screech the lyrics to this song, and if you take Fefe's word for it, Rihanna circa 2009 probably did tooYou really can't get any more local thanI remember that my student union hired him to perform at frosh week once, and I had to seriously consider if he was being paid (in money or subway sandwiches) or was doing it for the exposure. Probably a mix of both. This song was a great ringtone though!Robin Sparkles who? Miss Alanis was serving us Canadians some 1988 new jack swing flavor before she got mixed up with Uncle Joey fromnd those jmost of us now take at 20mg or more to prevent ourselves from feeling too hot or too cold.Y'all remember Keshia? She was going to play Aaliyah in the "biopic" for years before she saw the mess and noped outta there. I like to believe that she's singing this bop at Drake circa his Degrassi days just before his obsession with Aaliyah fully bloomedIn my headcannon, this song was inspired by Manuella "Manny" Santos complete transformation into bad b status. Her glorious stomping of every other character, including and especially, Emma "Prude Princess" Nelson inWhat do you get what you combine Hot Topic, Claire's, Stitches (now Urban Planet), and Picnik (now PicMonkey)? You get a fire profile picture for Facebook, and a slapperI don't care. Sugar is going on this list simply becauseon YTV wasHearing this song literally triggers me into a spasm, and it's not even that I particularly enjoy it. It's because it got played so goddamn much on the Family Channel and YTV that it's actually permanently etched into the part of my brain where the lyrics of "O, Canada" should be. If you are a Canadian '90s bb, clicking play on this song will have you feeling all the symptoms of a stroke While the Black Lives Matter movement is a fraud whose principal agendas include "revolution" and an anti-Trump campaign on 501(c)(3) tax-exempt money, the overwhelming majority of Americans support the ostensible causes behind which it hides. These include opposition to police misconduct, which includes not just excessive force, but also imprisonment of innocent people, many of whom are black. This makes Kamala Harris exactly what everybody is protesting. Over-Aggressive Prosecutors Are More Dangerous than Most Criminals An over-aggressive prosecutor is far more dangerous to society than any but the most violent criminals. If a thug invades your home to rob, rape, or murder you, you can shoot him, and the law will be on your side when you do it. A prosecutor can, on the other hand, force you to spend your life savings to defend your freedom and good name and maybe even send you to prison for something you didn't do. Consequences for the prosecutor are rare, although disgraced Duke Lacrosse prosecutor Mike Nifong (D-N.C.) is an exception. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has been involved in similarly questionable prosecutions, although in a position of supervisory responsibility rather than direct participation. People believe that a jury trial is similar to the one in Twelve Angry Men, in which one juror convinced the others to examine the evidence thoroughly and discover reasonable doubts. What aggressive prosecutors really want are twelve people who are too stupid to get out of jury duty, will believe and do whatever they are told, and will rubber-stamp the prosecutor's decision to send somebody to prison or even the death chamber. George Stinney was, for example, a black teenager who was executed at age 14 on the basis of evidence that would not convince any intelligent person. The Amiraults were convicted, and far more recently, on the basis of evidence such as a magic room, a secret room, and an evil robot, none of which was ever found but for which the jury took the prosecution's word. There were also allegations of sexual abuse with a butcher knife that somehow left no injuries whatsoever. Superior Court judge Isaac Borenstein, who presided over the trial, opined, "Every trick in the book had been used to get the children to say what the investigators wanted" and, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, added that "[t]he children's accounts were tainted by suggestive interviewing techniques and were coerced by investigators who refused to take a denial of abuse as an answer." Scott Harshbarger (D-Mass.) and Martha Coakley (D-Mass.) then ran for higher offices, as Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is doing today. Trying to railroad an innocent person to prison is professional misconduct for which a prosecutor can be censured, suspended, or even disbarred. "The prosecutor in a criminal case shall refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause." The prosecutor is also obliged to disclose exculpatory evidence. Enforcement of these rules is rare, noting the junk cases now being brought against motorists who defend themselves against carjackers while the carjackers go free and against police officers who shoot violent assailants. Mike Nifong was among the rare exceptions because "Nifong kept from the defense DNA test results that found genetic material from several men in the accuser's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player." The Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate and Joe Biden's age means she could easily become president comes across as just more of the same. "Comes across" is emphatically an opinion based on the references shown below as opposed to any kind of proven fact, but voters have the right to choose based on informed opinions. Mike Nifong in a Dress "Kamala Harris Was Not a 'Progressive Prosecutor'" by Lara Bazelon, former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent, is highly instructive. It appeared in the leftist New York Times, so the Democrats cannot denounce it as a right-wing smear job. The article alleges, "Ms. Harris fought tooth and nail to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct that included evidence tampering, false testimony and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors." "Judge rips Harris' office for hiding problems" provides additional detail. These articles do not even hint that Harris did these things herself, but, as the person in charge, the buck stops with her. Harris also "refused to allow newly available DNA testing for a black man [Kevin Cooper] convicted of hacking to death a beautiful white family and young neighbor," although she later changed her mind. The Innocence Project stipulates that Harris eventually went along with the DNA testing for Cooper but also implicates Jerry Brown (D-Calif.) in refusing to allow a form of DNA testing that might exculpate Cooper. The last thing any decent person in this country will tolerate should be, "I'm frameable because I'm an uneducated black man in America." "Jim Crow Joe [Biden] and Kamala the Cop" from Left Voice a socialist website, so the Democrats can't write this one off as a Republican smear, either cites the case of Daniel Larsen, who was sentenced to 27 years under California's three strikes law but exonerated after he served 13 years. Kamala Harris, however, challenged his release because "he hadn't presented proof that he was innocent quickly enough." If I read this correctly, Kamala Harris thinks it is OK to imprison an innocent person over a technicality. None of us would want to entrust our lives to an engineer who let stand rather than correct a mistake in a structural design, or our finances to a CPA who let stand rather than correct a potential accounting error. Nobody would tolerate a doctor who, upon discovering a medication error, allowed the patient to get the overdose anyway and then buried his mistake. Why, then, does our society tolerate prosecutors who continue to stand behind cases or convictions after they discover serious problems with their evidence? Why do we tolerate the "finality" (the word used by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court when it reinstated the Amiraults' conviction) of leaving defendants in prison despite evidence of questionable convictions? There is also the issue of Harris's failure to support universal use of police body cameras. (She did require their use by officers who reported to her own agency.) Body cameras usually, but admittedly not always, keep police and suspects alike on their best behavior. The Republicans' JUSTICE Act says states that receive federal grants for body cameras "shall have a policy in place to apply discipline to any law enforcement officer who intentionally fails to ensure that a body-worn camera purchased using those funds is engaged, functional, and properly secured at all times during which the camera is required to be worn[.]" Harris also dragged her heels in terms of following a recommendation to institute a policy for disclosure of police misconduct to defendants. The Bazelon article cites other equally controversial cases in which Harris has been involved in a position of ultimate responsibility. This raises serious doubts about her fitness to be only one heartbeat away from the presidency itself. 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. The author is remaining anonymous due to the likely prospect of being subjected to "cancel culture" for exposing the Big Lie behind Black Lives Matter. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. The buzz in aviation circles is getting louder that the Tata group could be in the Air India's cockpit as early as the New Year, if it is the sole eligible bidder for India's national carrier. If the Tata bid is put in on or before the final submission date of August 31 and as it looks at the moment, Tata will likely be the sole eligible bidder. Thereafter, if the Tata bid is deemed accepted, the 90 day period for handover shall commence and end by November 30 or at the most, by December 31. So, one possible scenario is for Tata to take control of Air India by January 1, 2021. The Tata group, which already has a footprint in the airlines business, has shown interest in acquiring Air India, which at one point of time was under the Tata umbrella. While the other bidders are not known yet, globally, airlines are under severe stress due to the Covid-19 pandemic and resultant disruption on air travel and tourism. Tata is widely believed to emerge as the sole bidder for Air India and the salt to software conglomerate is likely to place a bid before August 31, the last date for bids for Air India, which the government has repeatedly said it will not be extended. The group already has an airline venture in Vistara and it is not yet clear as to how or if it will consolidate the airline ventures including Vistara, Air Asia and the possible acquisition of Air India. According to reports, the Tata group has already begun due diligence and is likely to put in a formal bid soon. On the ensuing structure for the airline business, there is speculation that Tata is planning to merge its existing stake in AirAsia with Air India into a single entity. Air India has been passing through a critical financial condition from much before the Covid-19 onslaught. The crippling effect of the pandemic, especially in the aviation sector, has further brought its finances to a precarious position. Recently, its pilots and other employees are on the warpath as Air India has laid off employees and started a Leave Without Pay (LWP) scheme. From Tata Airlines and Air India to Vistara and AirAsia India, the Tata group has been an important part of the growing aviation sector in India. From Tata Air Lines and the long-since nationalised Air India to strategic joint ventures with AirAsia Berhad and Singapore Airlines (SIA) for AirAsia India and Vistara, respectively, Tata has been present in the aviation sector. The two joint venture airlines operate independently with their respective business models - low-cost (AirAsia) and full-service (Vistara). We shared the experience of Mrs. Obamas words resonating with us, both as psychiatrists and as Black women, Stewart told me during an interview with all four physicians. We know from our personal and professional experience that these are the same feelings that many Black women no matter their socioeconomic status, no matter where they are regionally in the country, no matter where they work or how much education they have or whether they have kids or not that today, between the coronavirus anxiety and fear and the ongoing new awareness on the part of America that racial injustice has been a part of our lives since the beginning of our existence in this country, Mrs. Obama articulated something that needs to be amplified. Woodrow Wilson is back in the news, nearly a century after he left office. While back in the news, hes not back on the side of buildings at Princeton University. Wilson has fallen into disfavor elsewhere. In 2015, the University of Texas removed his statue along with one of Jefferson Davis. Wilson, though, had no connection with the University of Texas. By contrast, Wilson had once been president of Princeton, and it was his college presidency there that helped launch his political career that took him to the governorship of New Jersey and, eventually, the presidency. For Princeton to disown Wilson is a far more significant act than for Texas to take down his statue. Whats gotten less attention in the weeks since Princetons decision: Monmouth University in New Jersey has dropped the Wilson name from a building on that campus that he used as his summer White House. Camden, New Jersey is changing the name of Woodrow Wilson High School; theres a move in Dallas to do the same with a school in that Texas city. All this raises questions for Roanoke, which has a Woodrow Wilson Middle School; for Augusta County, which has a Wilson Memorial High School and a Wilson Middle School; and for the entire state of Virginia, which runs the Wilson Workforce and Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville. Confederate statues are one thing: Those men rebelled against the United States to fight for a secessionist government that sought to preserve human slavery. But was Wilson that bad? Many of the nations founders owned slaves, so supporters have to argue that their contributions writing the Declaration of Independence for Thomas Jefferson, winning American independence for George Washington, masterminding the Constitution for James Madison outweigh their personal failings. Wilson never owned slaves, so how does he find himself suffering a more severe reappraisal than slave-owning founders? Lets take a look. First, lets adopt a framework thats favorable to the defense namely, that its hard to judge historical figures by contemporary standards. Otherwise, virtually everyone from the past would fall short in some way. However, those arguing against Wilson shouldnt object to this standard. Thats because their argument is that Wilsons racism was noteworthy even in its day. Wilson did not merely accept discrimination and segregation as the way things were he actively rolled backed the civil rights progress that had been made and re-segregated the federal workforce. The political constellation in the early 1900s was not what it is now. Then Republicans were the party most identified with civil rights (and, on another matter, support for immigrants). Democrats were split between their northern and southern branches but Southern Democrats were most assuredly not favor of any of those things. Thus the great paradox: Wilson was perhaps the most liberal president the United States had ever had at that point, but also one of the most racist. Republican William McKinley doesnt get his due from history. Hes remembered for being a friend of big business which was true but he also appointed a record number of Blacks to federal office. The New York Times reported in October 1897 that in his first seven months in office, McKinley had already nearly doubled the number of Blacks appointed by the last Republican president Benjamin Harrison. His successor, Theodore Roosevelt, famously dined with civil rights leader Booker T. Washington. What gets lost is that one of the most frequent visitors to the White House during McKinleys first months as president was a freshman congressman from North Carolina George White, the last Black congressman from the South until 1972. He was the one advising the new president about many of those Black appointees. Wilsons racial sensibilities were quite different from his Republican predecessors. Wilsons father had been a minister who preached that slavery was ordained by the Bible. Born in Staunton, the future president grew up in Georgia. Wilson may have been a Northern liberal in all his other policies, but he was a Southern segregationist when it came to race. Under Wilson, federal offices in D.C. were segregated. He appointed only nine Blacks to office; eight of them were Republican holdovers. Instead, the Wilson administration actively purged Blacks from the federal payroll. Post offices then were patronage positions; Wilsons appointees in the South made a clean sweep, according to biographer Arthur Link. Black workers were fired or demoted. Since the Civil War, the U.S. ambassadors to Haiti and Liberia had traditionally been Blacks. Wilson appointed whites. After two years in office, Wilson finally agreed to meet with a delegation of Black leaders. It did not go well. He curtly told them: Segregation is not humiliating, but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you gentlemen. Afterwards, Wilson vowed never to meet with them again. If Wilson had done nothing but perpetuate the status quo, he could be excused as simply a man of his time. Instead, he created a new status quo one that deliberately rolled back some of the racial progress that had been made. Its odd today to see conservatives condemn Princetons move. Conservatives despised Wilson in his day and some still do. Wilson gave us the income tax and the estate tax. He accelerated the growth of what today we call big government. He pursued a foreign policy driven by idealism, not realpolitick. In some ways, conservatives today are still trying to undo Wilsons legacy; they should welcome a name change. Liberals have the harder time. Wilsons racism was odious even for its day, but a good defense attorney would find plenty of attributes to put on the plus side of his scale. He vetoed a bill that tried to restrict immigration from Asia (Congress overrode his veto). He advocated womens suffrage (after initially opposing it). He nominated Louis Brandeis for the U.S. Supreme Court, the first Jewish nominee to the high court. He was an anti-colonialist who advocated independence for The Philippines. He just couldnt abide Black Americans. Wilson said there was a great prejudice in the land and it will take one hundred years to eradicate this prejudice, and we must deal with it as practical men, by which he meant systemic racism. Wilson said that in 1914. Those hundred years have now passed. The email that Leandro A. sent to an employee on December 15, 2009 is surprising for its clarity: no slang and no attempt to hide what he wants done. Leandro, a director from the consultancy firm 97S&F, is asking for help to win a contract with the City Hall in Bilbao, northern Spain. We need to do three different proposals so that they give it to us, he writes. We have to do our one nicely and well And another two to cover us. Well use [consultancy firm] Deloitte and another company. First do the hours document in a proposal format. Then you have to come up with two losing proposals, I think Im being clear. Leandro couldnt have been clearer. The employee, who complies with the instructions with similar diligence, later writes to a colleague from Regio, another consultancy firm. We will send the proposals with the minimal content to protect the corporate reputation, because for the negotiated contracts we have to present proposals that are a bit of a joke. The CNMC watchdog has proposed sanctions totaling 47 million for a total of 22 consultancies for very serious infractions These and thousands of other emails form part of an investigation by Spains National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) watchdog, which has discovered that for at least a decade, a group of consultancy firms has been working like a cartel to share out the allocation of public contracts, leaving other competitors in the cold. Although they were active in the scheme, 97S&F is at the back of the line in the sector, and as such is facing small fines for its actions. Three of the big firms, however, are a step from having to pay multi-million sums for anti-competitive practices: Deloitte (17.2 million), PwC (10.4 million) and KPMG (10.2 million). The CNMC has proposed sanctions totaling 47 million to 22 consultancies for very serious infractions. The proposals by the watchdog, which can be appealed by the firms in question, also include their being banned from working for Spains public administrations, but does not specify for how long this would be. The companies were doing each other mutual favors by presenting simulated offers that allowed them to secure public contracts without having to worry about their rivals. As well as manipulating bids on a regular basis over an extended period of time, they managed to maintain prices high in an anti-competitive way. The expression a covering offer, an open secret in the consultancy world, is the most repeated in the emails, and holds the key to the way the fraudulent scheme worked. The companies offered or requested false proposals from friendly competitors in order to win smaller public contracts or those negotiated without publicity, and where more than one offer was necessary. The company that was vying for the tender offered to prepare its competitors offer, with the other firm merely having to stamp it and add their letterhead before sending it to the council or government in question, according to the report produced by the CNMC and to which EL PAIS has had access. The fictitious offers were, in general, more simple than the winning ones, and had to come with a higher price. This chain of favors began at least in 2008 and did not end until 2018, when the first inspections were carried out. Company directors had begun to notice that someone was breathing down their necks and took measures accordingly: they changed the names of files, they used Gmail accounts rather than their corporate emails, and so on. Once again, Leandro A. put it better than anyone in another email, sent in 2014: Ive been looking at the proposal, and as it stands, Im not going to send it, he wrote. It needs to look like we are really going for the tender. From now on, the covers have to be done very well, as if we were out to win. For now, prison does not await, but the directors will be facing the payment of significant fines when the ruling is finalized The report states that the directors were conscious of the illegality of their practices. Among the evidence for this are explicit mails such as one sent from a partner from Hidra to Regio in October 2016, about a contract with the Balearic Islands government. In this case, Hidra was taking the role of unwanted guest. Hey, tell me about this, theyve invited me to the Balearics and this looks like it could be something to do with you. Illuminate me, master and commander! Youll have to come and find me in the clink later on. For now, prison does not await, but the directors will be facing the payment of significant fines when the ruling is finalized. The CNMC detected two schemes that were operating parallel to one another. One, in the north of Spain, which included tenders in the Basque Country, Cantabria, Navarra, La Rioja, Asturias, Galicia and Castilla y Leon. The investigation of this branch includes PwC and Deloitte. Another of the companies, Red2Red, boasted of its authority in an email. Respect the small domain of Cantabria, which is ours, the message stated. The heads of PA Consulting broke their silence in order to reduce the size of the fines they are facing and admitted that the cover offers were a well-known and habitual practice in the sector. The second network operated throughout Spain. Other companies, which have also been sanctioned, took part in both schemes on a sporadic basis. The system was permeable and the choice of one company or another depended sometimes on the personal relationships of the directors, or the strategic (and physical) proximity of the companies. The manipulation of the tenders got to the point where one company, Uliker, requested support for a contract that it had already won ahead of time. Good day Xavier, how are you? [...] I was calling you because I wanted to request a cover offer from you. Its for a negotiated procedure that were already working on, wrote a director from PA Consulting, which had already offered itself as support for KPMG in Asturias. The reciprocal favors were working, and PA called on KPMG for its assistance in March 2018 for a tender in Bizkaia. For its part, PwC requested help from the cartel to access tenders from the Justice Ministry and the CGPJ legal watchdog. The companies respond The facts to which the CNMC file refer to took place before 2018 and were isolated episodes of malpractice in some minor offers (60,000) with the administration in the Basque Country on the part of a small group of consultants, said a Deloitte spokesperson in response to the revelations above published by EL PAIS last week. The employees, the spokesperson continued, immediately ceased working in the firm once their conduct became known. KMPG, another consultancy that is in the CNMCs sights, denies involvement. In relation to the proposal for sanctions by CNMC that affects KPMG Asesores S.L. we understand that it does not include elements that prove the involvement of the firm in the anticompetitive networks that were investigated, the firm told EL PAIS. KPMG stands by its unwavering commitment to legality and free competition, which is why it has scrupulously observed and continues to observe all of the rules that must be applied. English version by Simon Hunter. (President Donald Trump): "I've just approved an emergency declaration for Iowa who had an incredible wind storm probably like they've never seen before." U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he approved federal disaster aid for Iowa after a storm packing hurricane-force winds tore across the Midwest last week, destroying homes and millions of acres of farmland. (Iowa resident): It was just a total disaster. I never thought I would see that in my lifetime." (Another Iowa resident): "A lot of us came outside and just went 'oh my God we can't believe it's as bad as it was'." At least three people were killed from the storm, according to media reports.The storm also caused widespread property damage in cities and rural towns, and left more than half a million homes and businesses without power. Winds as high as 100 miles per hour hit eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and parts of Illinois, in the storm classified as a "derecho" by the National Weather Service. The weather compounded troubles for the farm industry, already battered by the U.S.-China trade war and labor disruptions caused by the pandemic. Iowa governor Kim Reynolds on Sunday said she had requested four billion dollars in emergency funds. Google has introduced some new features to its search results that would help users travel better. As restrictions begin to lift and people start travelling, these features will help them stay up-to-date with the latest guidelines and restrictions, if any. Google has listed all the new travel-related features it is bringing to Search in its blog post. Starting this week, Google will add information about travel resuming in a specific destination on Google Search. Users will be able to see the percentage of open hotels with availability and flights operating at the city or county level based on Google Flights and Hotels data from the previous week. How to check for open hotels and operating flights? Visit google.com/travel and tap on a trip you are planning, or search for hotels and things to do. You will see trendlines for hotel and flight availability. Links to additional local resources, including the number of COVID-19 cases, are provided as well. Further, Google will also add details of hotels offering a free cancellation option for bookings. Search for a hotel or a vacation rental on google.com/travel and filter to see only rooms or properties with free cancellation policies. You can tap on a specific listing to see more details. 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 Google has already rolled out the COVID-19 checkpoints and restrictions in Google Maps . The feature will provide relevant alerts from local transit agencies when users look up transit direction for a trip that is likely to be affected by COVID-19 restrictions. EU Says US Is Not Entitled To Use JCPOA 'Snapback' Option Radio Farda August 16, 2020 The European Union announced Sunday that the United States is not entitled to force the reinstatement of international sanctions on Iran via the so-called "snapback" mechanism stipulated in the 2015 nuclear deal. A day earlier, President Donald Trump told reporters that Washington will pursue the "snapback" option in the coming week, after the U.S. lost a bid at the UN Security Council to extend the arms embargo on Iran. Washington and its allies in the region are concerned that if the UN arms embargo ends in October according to a 2015 resolution, Iran will be free to buy and sell weapons. They insist this will be "destabilizing" for the region and harmful to peace. Tehran says the 2015 deadline must be respected and the U.S. has no right to interfere since it has withdrawn from the 2015 agreement. China and Russia back Iran, while the EU refused to back the extension of the arms embargo this week. The spokesperson of the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says given that the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and has not participated in any JCPOA structures or activities subsequently, the U.S. cannot be considered as a JCPOA participant. "We therefore consider that the U.S. is not in a position to resort to mechanisms reserved for JCPOA participants (such as the so-called snapback)," according to German news agency DPA. Observers were expecting some backing by the EU for the U.S. position, but it appears Western allies are not backing president Trump less than three months before elections. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/eu-says-us- is-not-entitled-to-use-snapback- option-of-jcpoa/30786505.html Copyright (c) 2020. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sudan has suffered a lot of human rights abuses over the years, but with a government that is keen on reform, Morning Star News reports there is great hope for the future. Quick background on Sudan Sudanese Christians live mainly in Khartoum and in the Nuba mountains near the South Sudan border. Some Sudanese also follow traditional African beliefs. A little background to the situation in Sudan at the moment: former president Jaafar Nimeiri introduced Islamic law in 1983. This was the catalyst for a 22-year-long war between Sudan's Muslim north and the mainly Christian south that led in 2011 to South Sudan's secession. When Al-Bashir took power in 1989, he extended Islamic law. Currently, the transition government led by Abdalla Hamdok runs the country in an uneasy coalition with the military, which helped remove Al-Bashir after months of mass protests. Reforms On July 9, Minister of Justice Nasredeen Abdulbari declared on Twitter that four new laws were approved by the president of the sovereign council. These reforms restore fundamental rights and freedoms long repressed by the former regime under dictator Al-Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years. The commission established under the law passed will lead a comprehensive and profound process of reforming the human rights and justice system. The package of laws aim at ending discrimination and human rights abuses. Numerous discriminatory and repressive Sharia provisions have been removed. Some of these reforms include: A guarantee of freedom of travel for women with their children (previously women needed a male relatives permission to go anywhere) Banning of female genital mutilation, with a sentence of 3 years for perpetrators Abolishment of public flogging Permission for non-Muslims to consume alcohol (although not in public) Lifting of the punishment for apostasy (anyone who denounced Islam had a period of three days to retract their decision or face death) The repeal of criminal law provisions that prevented cooperation with the International Criminal Court The changes in the law have ensured religious freedom and the equality in citizenship and before the law in Sudan. They show the governments willingness to build a new Sudan where freedom, peace and justice thrive. The Justice Minister said that 'We have dropped all the articles that had led to any kind of discrimination. We assure our people that the legal reformation will continue until we drop all the laws violating the human rights in Sudan.' These are welcome first steps towards freedom and equality, but they are only the beginning of change. Much more needs to be done. Resistance As expected, there is a serious backlash against the reforms, led by Abdulhai Yousef, a hard-line cleric, the Islamic Popular Congress Party and the former ruling National Congress Party of ousted president Al-Bashir. These groups reject the law changes and are calling for demonstrations and in fact jihad to defend Islam. While Sudan has been removed from the US State Department list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) that engage in or tolerate systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom and was upgraded to a watch list, the situation is volatile with the radical Muslim protests. The Islamic Popular Congress Party (PCP) called for protests after Friday prayers. Likewise, the former ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of ousted president Omar al-Bashir urged Muslims to take to the streets after prayers to bring down the transitional government, warning that the 'battle now is between the secularists and Islam'. How should we pray? In the first place, we should worship our Almighty God and praise Him for the reforms that have been passed. Worship is a weapon that is powerful in breaking down strongholds and we should apply it to this situation in Sudan. Other prayer points come from the Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin: We need to pray for the Prime Minister, Abdallah Hamdok and the Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari, to not lose heart about the reforms they have instituted and the resistance they are experiencing. They need Gods sovereign protection and courage to stand. We should pray this verse from Psalm chapter 32, verse 8 'I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you' over all Sudan's Christian leaders - both civic and religious. They need an abundance of divine wisdom, patience and grace. May the Holy Spirit guide them as they lead God's people and engage with the government in these pivotal days. Remembering that we are in a spiritual battle, we should stand upon our authority as believers and pray that God would frustrate every evil plot aimed at destabilising the government and derailing reform, that Satan's powerful grip be broken and that the will of the sovereign Lord prevail. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Signaling a slower pace of growth, the New York Federal Reserve released a report on Monday showing a much bigger than expected decrease by its index of regional manufacturing activity in the month of August. The New York Fed said its general business conditions index tumbled to 3.7 in August from 17.2 in July, although a positive reading still indicates growth in regional manufacturing activity. Economists had expected the index to dip to 15.0. Looking ahead, firms remained optimistic that conditions would improve over the next six months, though optimism fell for a second consecutive 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. CHICAGO - A special prosecutor in Chicago accused Cook County States Attorney Kim Foxx and her office on Monday of repeatedly abusing their discretion and making false public statements in the case against actor Jussie Smollett last year, but he concluded they did nothing criminal. In his 12-page outline of his conclusion released Monday, Dan Webb criticized Foxx and her staff for how they decided on March 26 last year to toss charges that the former Empire actor staged a racist, homophobic attack against himself and how they explained the move as public outrage grew. Webbs statement said his investigation did not develop evidence that would support any criminal charges against States Attorney Foxx or any individual working at (her office) but did develop evidence that establishes substantial abuses of discretion and operational failures in the case. Among the false public statements by Foxxs office amid intensifying scrutiny last year, Webb said, was the assertion that the dropping of charges against Smollett was the kind of thing that state prosecutors had done thousands of times before. There were not thousands of (or, arguably any) similar cases resolved by Foxxs office the way they resolved Smolletts case, Webb said. Webb said the terms of the deal dismissing the case were exceptionally lenient, including the requirement that Smollett forfeit only his $10,000 bond as restitution. Webb said that was a fraction of the $130,000 in overtime paid to officers investigating Smolletts claims. And Smollett, Webb noted, was able to walk away without admitting any wrongdoing. A brief statement from Foxxs office later Monday said it welcomed Webbs findings that no one on the staff committed a crime and that no undue outside influences affected prosecutors decisions. But it added it categorically rejects characterizations of its exercises of prosecutorial discretion and private or public statements as abuses of discretion or false statements to the public. Smolletts attorney, Mark Geragos, contended in a statement that the report reveals the real political and electoral motivation of Dan Webb and his cohorts. Its a blatant attempt to take down a black, progressive, female prosecutor who does not fit within the white power structure, Geragos said. Webb in February restored charges against Smollett, saying the tossing of charges was unjustified, including because the evidence against the 38-year-old was overwhelming. The revived criminal case has stalled as Illinois courts have scaled back operations amid the pandemic. The black, openly gay actor has continued to stand by his claim that two men attacked him early on Jan. 29, 2019, in downtown Chicago, shouting slurs and looping a rope around his neck. Webb said Monday he is seeking permission from the judge who appointed him, Michael Toomin, to release a fuller, 60-page summary report. Among the focuses of Webbs inquiry was whether Foxx acted improperly by speaking to a Smollett relative and a onetime aide of former first lady Michelle Obama, Tina Tchen, before the charges were dropped, and in how she recused herself early in the investigation after news broke about those communications. Webb, a former U.S. attorney, portrayed a states attorneys office often in disarray and unduly worried about perceptions of the office as the Smollett case quickly became headline news nationwide. He offered Foxxs recusal a month after Smollett reported an attack as a prime example. Once Foxx understood she may have had a conflict of interest or a perception of one because of her communications, Webb said Foxx and her entire staff should have been pulled off the case and replaced by a special prosecutor. Instead, Foxx simply told a top deputy, Joseph Magats, to take over the investigation. Her office quickly realized the procedural error, Webb said, but Foxx made the decision to ignore this major legal defect seemingly because they did not want to admit that they had made such a major mistake of judgment. Webb Monday disclosed for the first time the identity of the relative Foxx spoke with: Jurnee Smollett, Jussie Smolletts sister. Webb said Foxx began speaking to her before suspicions were raised that Jussie Smollett may have staged the attack on himself. But Webb said Foxx continued the communications even as it became clear Smollett could be charged with allegedly filing a false police report. States Attorney Foxx then made false statements to the media claiming she ceased all communications with Ms. Smollett, Webb concluded. The alleged false statements started to pile up. Webb said Foxx and Magats made at least six false or misleading statements regarding the dismissal of charges in possible violation of professional-conduct rules. He said Monday that his findings would be forwarded to the Illinois Attorney Registration & Disciplinary Commission, saying only it can decide if the alleged false statements amounted to serious ethical violations. Despite alleging Foxx misled the public, Webb said his investigation found no evidence Foxxs conversations with Jurnee Smollett or others outside her office influenced the decision to drop the charges. And he said while Foxx was updated on the investigation, he found no evidence she was directly involved in key decisions after she recused herself. Webb also criticized Foxxs office for trying to keep the decision to drop the charges from the public for as long as possible. He said the office didnt even give the Chicago Police Department a heads-up about the decision until minutes before a March, 26, 2019, hearing formalizing the dismissal. Foxx, the first black woman to hold Chicagos top law enforcement job, defeated her Democratic primary opponents earlier this year even as they made her handling of the Smollett case central to their campaigns. In overwhelmingly Democratic Chicago, the primary invariably determines who wins the general election. ____ Follow Michael Tarm on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mtarm (Natural News) Many cities in the U.S. are reeling from the economic impact caused by the coronavirus, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. In particular, major cities are reporting record losses in combined wealth, with residents of New York City reporting a loss of over $336 billion, or 13 percent, following the fallout from the coronavirus. According to the report, which was released on August 5 by research firms Webster Pacific and New World Health, New Yorkers lost the most wealth in dollar terms, compared to other major cities in that period. Residents of San Francisco, in comparison, fared better, losing $105 billion, or around five percent, of their wealth. The number of billionaires in the two cities fell during this period: New York now has only 60 billionaires down from 65 while San Francisco has 43, from 45 billionaires last year. The research firms identified massive job losses, declining income levels, stock market slumps and weaker high-end property values as main drivers for the decline. Overall, total wealth in the U.S. dropped by nine percent during the first half of 2020. Despite the decline, the U.S. is still better off than other hard-hit countries. Total wealth in Russia and Brazil the fourth- and second-highest coronavirus caseload, respectively declined by as much as 20 percent. In fact, the U.S. performed better than the rest of the world, which reported a 14 percent drop. This also means that the U.S. maintains its standing as the wealthiest nation on Earth, holding around $58 trillion in total or a third of the worlds wealth. The U.S. also ranks high in terms of per capita wealth, or a countrys average wealth per person, at $178,000 per person, just behind Monaco, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Australia. The report also showed a similar trend in New York City, as it remained to be the nations wealthiest city, even after the loss in combined wealth, with $2.7 trillion in total wealth held by residents. The San Francisco Bay Area also reported a total wealth of $2.3 trillion, followed by Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston. New York City, abandoned The streets of New York City, however, is a different story. Five months into the pandemic, the tourists are gone and the offices are largely empty. Restaurants, once the main draw of the city, serve food on the patio. No one knows just how many restaurants have closed in the city at the height of the pandemic. The coronavirus has ravaged New York Citys economy, leaving it in a far worse state than elsewhere in the country. Brands have started to move out of the city, with J.C. Penney, Kate Spade, Subway and Le Pain Quotidien closing branches in the city for good. Other brands, like the Gap and Victorias Secret, have started to open in other states but remain closed in the city. (Related: Most New York City restaurants wont be able to pay their July rent, survey finds.) Theres no reason to do business in New York, Michael Weinstein, CEO of Ark Restaurants, told the New York Times. I can do the same volume in Florida in the same square feet as I would have in New York, with my expenses being much less. The idea was that branding and locations were important, but the expense of being in this city has overtaken the marketing group that says you have to be there. In fact, the citys major retail corridors from SoHo to Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue are nearly empty. Many stores are still shuttered, some even permanently. Those that are open have very little foot traffic. Thiago Hueb, the founder of a jewelry company sold nationwide, decided to close his flagship store on Madison Avenue. The lack of people coming into his store making it impractical to continue running the store. The avenue is no longer what it used to be, he added. The U.S. still leads the world in coronavirus caseload at 5,191,689, with 165,909 heaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Sources include: Bloomberg.com NYTimes.com New Delhi, Aug 17 : Fast-growing lifestyle community commerce platform Trell on Monday announced a $11.4 million (nearly Rs 86 crore) Series A round funding led by KTB Network and Samsung Ventures, among others. With over 75 million downloads and 25 million monthly active users (AMUs), Trell has grown 27 times in the last 12 months and emerged as one of the biggest lifestyle social platforms in India. Since the ban on Chinese apps, Trell has witnessed 500 per cent growth with over 15 million creators joining its platform, receiving more than 5 billion monthly views. "We are thrilled to onboard KTB Network and Samsung Ventures as partners in the journey and look forward to building towards our vision of empowering millions of Indians to have better lifestyle choices," said Pulkit Agrawal, Co-Founder, Trell. Ankur Nagpal, CEO of Teachable, Gokul Rajaram (board member, Pinterest, Square, DoorDash) and Vineet Buch (Ex-Head of Google Play Store Development) also participated via Firebolt Ventures in the latest funding round, along with existing investors Sequoia's Surge, Fosun RZ Capital, and WEH Ventures. With this new round of funding, Trell has raised $16.95 million to date. Launched in August 2017 by IIT-Bombay alumni Arun Lodhi, Prashant Sachan, Pulkit Agrawal and NITIE alumnus Bimal Kartheek Rebba, Trell allows to share three-minute vertical videos in categories like beauty, recipes, fashion, personal care, technology and gadgets, movies and TV reviews, and more. The app is currently available in eight Indian languages. "Trell has shown incredible growth over the last few months and we believe it's only the beginning of what will come in the future," said Hyesung Kim, KTB Network. The company will use new investment to further expand and grow the fostering community and enhance the platform's personalisation and recommendation engine with advanced machine learning Algorithms and AI. AGNITY Healthcare, a leading provider of mobile solutions for healthcare delivery systems and providers, announced today the release of MobileCare Monitor that includes Bluetooth-enabled remote monitoring devices to continuously monitor the vitals of COVID-19 patients. Patient care during this pandemic requires fundamental changes to reduce staff exposure to ill persons, preserve personal protective equipment (PPE), and minimize the impact of patient surges on facilities. Health Services will have to evolve in the way they triage, evaluate, and care for COVID-19 patients using methods that do not rely on in-person services. AGNITY MobileCare is a foundation for providing necessary and vital care to patients while minimizing the transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to Health Care Personnel and patients. MobileCare Monitor automates the process of remote patient monitoring. Patients use a wearable device that sends out vital signs such as heart rate, oxygen saturation levels, respiratory rates, and temperature levels. Clinicians are notified through alerts if any vital measurements are out of range. The patient also completes a daily questionnaire about their symptoms, such as fatigue, cough, and shortness of breath, using built in capabilities of the app. Clinicians can then engage the patient remotely via MobileCare TeleConsult on any iOS or Android device. The care team can collaborate efficiently through MobileCare Enterprise for quicker response to critical events. The combination of MobileCare Enterprise, TeleConsult and Monitor solutions from AGNITY supports most comprehensive integrated care for COVID-19 patients. The value of MobileCare in a pandemic situation like COVID-19 is exponential because it enables on-demand and continuous remote monitoring of the patient that is fully integrated into the clinician workflows. Key impacts are: Significantly reducing the overwhelming load of COVID-19 patients on the hospitals Enhancing the safety of frontline care teams, minimizing the exposure to infected patients Improving the quality of care to the quarantine patients in makeshift hospitals and homes Enabling real-time attention to patient issues with criticality prioritized alerts Lessening PPE shortages through improved clinician productivity Reducing the cost of care by only admitting patients who need it AGNITY MobileCare offers breakthrough innovations to improve the quality of patient care and clinician efficiency, said Dr Tina Miranda, a leading ER physician and President of Tel-America specializing in telemedicine. This recent product expansion to support remote monitoring of COVID patient care demonstrates AGNITYs commitment to addressing critical issues faced by the healthcare industry today. AGNITY MobileCare is designed to be the healthcare fields most advanced clinical communication and collaboration. Running on a common platform, MobileCare provides rich clinical contextual communications through deep integration with leading health IT systems, electronic medical records (EMR), and monitoring devices. In doing so, it enables quick responses to critical events, improved patient care, and clinician productivity from a single device. MobileCare is highly customizable and can support diverse workflows required by different care providers ensuring support of the full continuum of care, anytime, anywhere. The world faces unprecedented healthcare challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, said Sanjeev Chawla, CEO of AGNITY. We are immensely proud to offer integrated patient monitoring capabilities with our award-winning MobileCare solution and for the contribution it makes to frontline healthcare workers as well as patients battling this deadly virus. About AGNITY Healthcare, Inc. AGNITY Healthcare is fully owned subsidiary of AGNITY Global and offers comprehensive mobile contextual communication and collaboration solutions for Healthcare delivery systems and providers. AGNITY Global is a leading global provider of intelligent business communication applications and infrastructure to organizations in the telecommunications and healthcare industry verticals. It is headquartered in the Silicon Valley, with Development and Support Operations in Richardson (Texas), and Noida (India). The Communications business of AGNITY Global is branded as AGNITY Communications and powers the networks of global Tier 1 service providers. The Healthcare business of AGNITY Global is branded as AGNITY Healthcare. For more information, visit http://www.agnityglobal.com or http://www.agnityhealthcare.com. AGNITY HealthCare Contact: Media Relations Team media_relations@agnity.com (510) 270-5412 833-443-4200 (Sales) http://www.agnityhealthcare.com /* custom css */ .tdi_75_ff9.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_75_ff9 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_75_ff9.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_75_ff9.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_75_ff9.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement PRESS RELEASE The Government In Imo Is APC In Name, But PDP Faction In Structure & In Actions The Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma was reported to have made the following claims against Senator Rochas Okorocha, /* custom css */ .tdi_74_90b.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_74_90b .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_74_90b.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_74_90b.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_74_90b.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } Advertisement a. That, Okorocha asked him to dissolve the probe panels set up against him by Chief Emeka Ihedioha. b. That, Okorocha asked him to retain Mr. Daniel Nwafor as the State Chairman of APC, because of his 2023 presidential ambition. c. That, Okorocha asked him to recall the sacked elected Local Government Chairmen. d. The governor was said to have made these claims at a meeting of APC stakeholders at the Government House, where another vote of confidence was passed on him, one week, after those who branded themselves stakeholders had also passed vote of confidence on him in Abuja. OUR FEW REMARKS BEFORE REACTING TO THE ISSUES THE GOVERNOR HAD RAISED: 1. Senator Rochas Okorocha has no problem with Gov. Hope Uzodinma. The Governor is the one creating problems for himself and also inventing problems where they do not exist. His latest media attack on Okorocha is one example of such ugly developments. 2. The government in Imo as we speak or as we write, is APC in name, but totally PDP faction in structure and in actions. The governor has not done anything to show that he is of APC and that his government, is that of APC. The government is Camphope government made up of those who were with him in his own faction of the PDP. 3. He was inaugurated in January 2020 as governor. The key or the main stakeholders of APC in the state and their supporters were all at the inauguration, including Rochas Okorocha, Ifeanyi Araraume, Uche Nwosu, etal. But few weeks after the inauguration, the governor made his appointments of about One Hundred and Six (106) people, including Commissioners. He never deemed it necessary to bring in at least one known APC member in the state to make the list. 4. The man he appointed secretary to the state Government, Chief Cosmos Iwu, Junior brother of the former INEC Chairman, Prof. Maurice Iwu is a PDP member and was also in the same position during the previous PDP government in the State. His Chief of Staff, Chief Nnamdi Anyaehie was the State Chairman of his own faction of the PDP in the state. The man he gave Adams Oshiomhole to be made the Chairman of the caretaker committee of APC, Chief Marcillinus Nlemigbo, was one time Chairman of PDP in the state. We can go on and on, to name them. 5. Okorocha also asked the 8 APC core members in the state who Adams Oshiomahole had forced to move to Action Alliance, AA, for the House of Assembly election, who also won, to go back to APC. Which they did. Senator Ifeanyi Araraume asked the 6 members on the ticket of APGA to also move to APC. They did. Which made the APC to have the majority in the State House of Assembly with few other PDP members, who moved to APC. But what has the governor done in appreciation of all these gestures? 6. Those who used him to fight Okorocha and put a deep cut in APC in Imo have not relented for reasons Imo people and Nigerians in general, know. Those people are not from Imo. They think they have annexed the state through the governor. But time will tell. DANIEL NWAFORS CHAIRMANSHIP OF APC: On the issue of Daniel Nwafor and the state chairmanship of the APC, it has gone beyond the governor allowing him to remain as Chairman or not. Nwafor was elected during the last congress of the party as the state chairman of the party. When Adams Oshiomhole came up with the issue of Caretaker Committee in Imo, Nwafor went to court and got judgement in his favour. All these were before the emergence of Senator Uzodinma as governor. In the circumstance, he was expected to take steps to resolve all these issues but he has not cared to do so. And claiming that Okorocha wanted him to retain Daniel Nwafor as the State Chairman of APC, because of his presidential ambition has explained all that Governor Uzodinma wanted to achieve. What would the State Chairman of a party do for a Presidential aspirant, which Okorocha has not even talked about? Governor Uzodinma has only officially unveiled why those who recruited him against Okorocha did so. And he has continued to act that script, but without caution. ON THE PROBE PANELS: This is the first time we are hearing from Gov. Uzodinma that Okorocha had demanded for the dissolution of the probe panels. Okorocha had gone to court to ask that the EFCC cannot be probing him on issues contained in the avalanche of petitions written against him by the state Government and the same government, would also have about twelve panels probing him on the same items or issues. The fact remains that the real APC members in the state have wondered why an APC governor would retain panels set up by the PDP government to probe APC government, in party politics. And they have suggested that the governor should set up his own panels, instead of continuing with the PDP panels. But we know that certain forces behind the governor wont allow him to do that. THE ELECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT CHAIRMEN: Again, it was not Governor Uzodinma that sacked the elected Local Government Chairmen, but Chief Emeka Ihediohas government. The chairmen went to court and got judgement in their favour. The chairmen even went as far as pledging loyalty in their media publications to Governor Uzodinma. Yet, Governor Uzodinma has never deemed it necessary to meet with them since it is believed that they are all APC. He has never called them for a meeting, either to ask them to stay or to go. And if they are to go, on what condition? But he has never met with them. Finally, It is too early in the life of the government in Imo, for the governor to be fighting or having issues with almost every sector in the state. Very very early to do so. And why is he bringing the issue of Okorocha at this time? The governor should search his conscience and see whether he has left any stone or stones unturned. Sam Onwuemeodo Special Adviser (Media) to the former Governor, Senator Rochas Okorocha /* custom css */ .tdi_76_9d9.td-a-rec{ text-align: center; }.tdi_76_9d9 .td-element-style{ z-index: -1; }.tdi_76_9d9.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_76_9d9.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; }@media (max-width: 767px) { .tdi_76_9d9.td-a-rec-img { text-align: center; } } China has deployed high altitude artillery guns in Tibet amid the ongoing border tension with India in eastern Ladakh. "The artillery guns, at an altitude of 4,600 meters, are deployed in Tibet general areas since last week of July," sources said. It was also revealed that China has deployed its '150 Light Combined Arms Brigade of 77 Combat Command' in Tibet Military District. The combined arms brigade is an adaptation of the American brigade combat team concept of efficient control and integration of various arms, rather than simple convergence. China has increased deployment of forces manifold in the Tibet region and has positioned the Combined Arms Brigade in deep areas near the Line of Actual Control with India. China has positioned troops, artillery and armour in three sectors of Line of Actual Control - western (Ladakh), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal). China has also mobilised soldiers near Uttarakhand's Lipulekh Pass, a tri-junction between India, Nepal and China situated atop the Kalapani Valley. The border tension between India and China has not been resolved despite several rounds of military and diplomatic talks. China's commitment for disengagement at the border in eastern Ladakh remains unsatisfactory and India has directed its armed forces to prepare for a long haul. China has also set up permanent structures near the border areas going against its commitment to India of disengagement. The dispute started at the borders in eastern Ladakh after China changed the status quo on the Line of Actual Control at various places, moving inside Indian territory. India has objected to it and is taking up the matter with China at all levels. On June 15, as many as 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in a violent clash in the Galwan Valley. (Sumit Kumar Singh can be reached at sumit.k@ians.in) He recently split from Anne-Sophie Flury after three years. But Roman Kemp looked carefree as he flaunted his physique in a captivating snapshot uploaded to Instagram on Sunday. The former I'm A Celeb star, 27, showcased his toned abs and muscular arms as he posed in nothing but a pair of rolled-up burgundy swimming trunks. Wow! Roman Kemp looked carefree as he flaunted his physique in a captivating snapshot uploaded to Instagram on Sunday He teased fans with a glimpse of his tan lines with his eclectic array of tattoos proudly on display. Roman was midway through sipping a bottle of water in the action shot as he stood against the backdrop of glorious blue water. But just one hour before his ex Anne-Sophie showed the hunk what he was missing in a slew of sizzling snaps. Strike a pose: But just one hour before his ex Anne-Sophie showed the hunk what he was missing in a slew of sizzling snaps as she slipped into a skimpy newspaper-inspired swimsuit Beaming: In another snap, Anne-Sophie wore a pair of white denim shorts over the top of the one-piece as she clutched a glass of wine and posed playfully for the camera The brunette beauty slipped into a skimpy newspaper-inspired swimsuit which boasted a dangerously low neckline and tie-up detailing in an alarming shade of red. In another snap, Anne-Sophie wore a pair of white denim shorts over the top of the one-piece as she clutched a glass of wine and posed playfully for the camera. She uploaded the snaps alongside a caption that read: 'Sustainable fashion tip: Wear the bathing suit you bought when you were two sizes smaller just 8 months ago.' The battle of the exes comes after Roman revealed he had joined Bumble following the couple's split. Looking for love: The battle of the exes comes after Roman revealed he had joined Bumble following the couple's split Taking to Twitter on Thursday evening, he admitted that joining the app which 'sets you up' has been 'helping him out massively.' Speaking to camera, Roman said: 'I basically wanna to talk to you today about something that's been helping me out massively. 'Bumble have actually created a date generator - I know, I've actually been waiting for this: a dates generator. 'It's super simple. You enter in a couple of details about what types of dates you love. It randomly selects a few of them, and then it sets you up. 'So you don't have to think about what to do in 2020 on a date, because, it's pretty weird at the moment, isn't it? Former flames: The couple had seemed inseparable - even co-owning a pet dog together, called Luna 'Some of my favourites include a virtual cookoff, kayaking and a dance class. I would actually do all of those!' Roman's admission comes just a week after it was reported that the radio star and Lottie Moss, 22, enjoyed a successful and 'tipsy' date at London's Soho House, according to The Sun on Sunday. A mutual friend told the publication: 'They have known each other through the party circuit for a few years, but nothing has ever happened before. 'Roman's always thought she was beautiful, and decided to pluck up the courage to ask her out.' Speaking about their successful date, the source claimed they kissed and said: 'They had a really fun, very tipsy date and have been in touch every day since.' New romance? Roman's admission comes just a week after it was reported that the radio star and Lottie Moss, 22, enjoyed a successful and 'tipsy' date at London's Soho House MailOnline contacted Lottie and Roman's representatives for comment at the time. Roman and his Swiss neuroscientist girlfriend Anne-Sophie split up in July after three years together. The couple only moved in together in January but things went downhill during lockdown and they 'weren't able to make things work'. A source told The Sun: 'Roman loved Sophie and things had been going really well for them. 'But being in lockdown is tough for any couple and they just werent able to make things work, which has been upsetting and tough for them both. 'His pals have encouraged him to move on and have got him on [dating app] Raya, which is packed with attractive and creative women.' The couple had seemed inseparable - even co-owning a pet dog together, called Luna. Reports believe Anne-Sophie has kept the pooch - who would occasionally appear alongside Roman on Celebrity Gogglebox but who has been absent of late. Roman took part in I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! 2019, and it was Anne-Sophie who flew to Australia to wait for him to come out of the jungle. Foxxs recusal was at the center of Webbs appointment as special prosecutor. Judge Toomin wrote last year that Foxx botched the decision by handing the reins to her top deputy. Because the recusal was invalid, the entire process played out without a real prosecutor at the helm, he wrote. The decision opened the door for a special prosecutor to investigate the conduct of officials who handled the case the first time around, and determine whether Smollett should be prosecuted a second time. King Mohammed VI of Morocco hosts a ceremony, July 29, to mark the 21st anniversary of His accession to the throne. / Captured from Embassy of Morocco in Korea's Facebook By Chafik Rachadi On July 30, the Kingdom of Morocco celebrated the 21st anniversary of the accession of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the throne. This celebration always serves as a reminder and reaffirmation of the strong bonds between the King and the people of Morocco. It is a regular opportunity to reflect on the past, present, and the future of our country. We can recall our ancestors and the deep traditions that still nourish our values and keep us relying on our unique mix of cultures. Chafik Rachadi Last week, it was reported that traces of coronavirus were found in cargoes of imported frozen food in three cities in China. Samples taken from the surface of a batch of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil to Shenzhen, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in Xian, tested positive for coronavirus, Chinese authorities said. Its not the first time that China has discovered traces of the virus on imported food products. In June, 40 samples taken from Xinfadi market in Beijing were discovered to contain small traces of the virus including one on a chopping board used for slicing salmon imported from Europe. That prompted the Chinese government to temporarily halt shipments of fresh salmon from the EU. Coronavirus is inactivated by using hand sanitiser Scientists have argued that there is no evidence to back up claims that coronavirus can be transmitted by frozen food, food packaging or the distribution of food products. Those claims were backed up on Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO) who underlined that transmission of Covid-19 is through person-to-person contact or by direct contact with respiratory droplets from an infected person. Speaking during Thursdays press briefing in Geneva, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove explained, We know that the virus can remain on surfaces for some time but the virus can be inactivated on our hands if you wash your hands or use alcohol-based rub and if the virus is actually in food - and we have no examples where this virus has been transmitted as foodborne, where someone has consumed a food product - the viruses can be killed. Other viruses as well can be killed if the meat is cooked. "People should not fear food" Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHOs Emergencies Program added, People should not fear food or food packaging or the 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 chains. They're under enough pressure as it is already. We will continue to track findings like this but, as Maria said, there is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus and people should feel comfortable and feel safe. There are many other reasons why we need to protect and we need to cook our food properly and there are many other contaminants of food that occur but I think we should not be placing COVID as a risk in this area. I just think it's important that we don't conflate observations like this into a major concern around food. Our food from a COVID perspective is safe but there are many other reasons that we need to keep our food chain safe and many, many people work very, very hard across the world to ensure that our food is safe and of the highest quality, he concluded. See also WHO sends experts to help South Africa in its battle with Covid-19 Pfizer and Moderna announce Covid-19 vaccine trials "Covid is not of natural origin and did not emerge in Wuhan" Source: Internet Collaboration with ICRC is very timely for us to provide more tailored support for our developing member countries in fragile and conflict-affected situations and the small Pacific island states, said Mr. Asakawa. Intersections between the humanitarian-peace-development nexus are increasing, and this new collaboration with the ICRC will provide an excellent opportunity to combine our strengths. Mr. Asakawa and Mr. Maurer discussed potential areas where ADB and ICRC could work together to share expertise and knowledge, including health and health systems, social cohesion, food security, access to clean water, and building the resilience of vulnerable people. They also discussed the need to address widening inequality and increasing public debt. ADB has a long history of providing support to countries in fragile and conflict-affected situations. Recent examples include special grant support to Bangladesh for displaced people from Myanmar and fast-track emergency grant support to victims of natural disasters in areas such as Central Sulawesi, Indonesia (October 2018) and Tacloban, Philippines (November 2013). This year, ADB provided grants to Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu to help them recover from Cyclone Harold in April. ADB has also provided long-standing support for Afghanistan. ADBs strong commitment and increasing agility is further demonstrated by the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic response option focusing on serving the most vulnerable population, reaching USD9.3 billion committed within last six months./. CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global 3D printing market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 18% during the period 20192025. Key Highlights Offered in the Report: 1. The global 3D printing market will contribute over $150 absolute growth during 2019-2025. 2. Registering a growth CAGR of over 18%, the global 3D printing market will contribute around $18 billion incremental growth during 2019-2025. 3. Buoyed by the growing demand for prototyping segment, the market revenue will reach over $10 billion in 2020. 4. Services component type dominated the market in 2019 with revenue of around $4 trillion. 5. North America will continue its market dominance during the forecast period. 6. Europe and countries in APAC are expected to witness strong traction in demand for 3D printing during the forecast period. 7. APAC is expected to witness the second-highest incremental growth of over $5 billion after North America during the forecast period. Key Offerings: Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20192025 Market Dynamics Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities Market Segmentation A detailed analysis by component, end-user, application, process, and geography Competitive Landscape 13 key vendors and 37 other vendors Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/3d-printing-market 3D Printing Market Segmentation 3D printers have grown exponentially in recent years as they become cheaper, more efficient, and more capable. The demand for faster speed and higher printing reliability has driven manufacturers to shift their focus on metal 3D printing to production applications. The aerospace and defense industry has been an early adopter of this technology and continues as a contributor to market growth. The demand for this technology in the aerospace industry is expected to increase during the forecast period owing to the high standard of parts performance and accuracy. 3D printing can be particularly useful for prototyping of jewelry design, architecture, or electronics in the manufacturing of mechanical components, cases, architectural templates, props, and practical consumer goods. Rapid prototyping is a cost-effective option for almost any 3D concept, from small pieces to massive outputs. 3D Printing Market by Component Printers By Sub-products Personal/Desktop Professional Design Industrial BY Machine Type Metal Polymer Ceramic and Others Software Materials Services 3D Printing Market by End-user Industrial Machinery Aerospace & Defense Healthcare Automotive Consumer Products Others 3D Printing Market by Application Prototyping Tooling Functional Part Manufacturing 3D Printing Market by Operation Extrusion VAT Polymerization Powder Bed Fusion Material Jetting Others 3D Printing Market Dynamics Sustainable development is growth that satisfies current needs without undermining future generations' capacity to fulfill their needs. Businesses are searching for ways to automate their production practices in a strategy known as circular manufacturing to reduce energy use and waste. Considering all 3D printing elements, from the use of raw materials to waste reduction, it is stronger than traditional production methods. Two key factors that have made 3D printing popular for its green technology are its ability to minimize waste using subtractive manufacturing, where content is applied layer by layer and its ability to manufacture directly at the client's place, thus eliminating logistics and travel problems. Key Drivers and Trends fueling Market Growth: Scalability from Rapid Prototyping to Production Accelerated Growth due to Evolution of 3D Printing Software Initiatives and Spending by the Government Flexibility and Ease of Developing Customized Products 3D Printing Market Geography The 3D printing industry continues to dominate North America. Most of this share comes from the US, which remains the global leader in 3D printing due to its early technical advancement and historical success in conventional manufacturing. The advancement of technology in the area is also driven by the number of major players in the industry and the number of patents in the lead. More than 30% of 3D printing companies are headquartered in the US, the largest in the world. These include established players, such as 3D Systems and Stratasys, the trifecta of unicorns and many traditional manufacturing companies that have made a leap into 3D printing, such as GE & HP. Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/3d-printing-market 3D Printing Market by Geography North America US Canada Europe UK Germany France Spain Italy Sweden APAC China Japan South Korea Australia India Singapore Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Saudi Arabia Prominent Vendors 3D Systems ARC Group EOS GmbH HP Materialise Proto Labs Stratasys SLM Solutions Group AG EnvisionTEC GE Additive XYZprinting Desktop Metal Other Prominent Vendors 3D Hubs Aleph Objects Carbon Cookson Precious Metals (Cooksongold) ExOne Kraftwurx Autodesk Voxeljet New Kinpo Group Beijing Tiertime Technology Formlabs Groupe Gorge Ultimaker Hoganas Koninklijke DSM M3D Makexyz Markforged Mcor Industries Monoprice Optomec Ponoko Renishaw Nano Dimension Organovo Prototype Projects SGD Simplify3D Sculpteo Shapeways Denford Ricoh Company Trinckle BigRep ReaLizer Taulman3D Explore our industrial machinery profile to know more about the industry. Read some of the top-selling reports: About Arizton: Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services. We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts. Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports. Mail: [email protected] Call: +1-312-235-2040; +1 302 469 0707 SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence New Delhi, Aug 17 : The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has issued guidelines, which seek to soften the impact of investigations and ensure that no excesses are committed that include minimal personal summons, no repeated summons and generally not issuing summons to CEOs and CFOs of large companies in the first instance for GST evasion. In a circular issued last week, the Directorate said, "As an enforcement agency, it is imperative for the DGGI to maintain a balance wherein investigations should proceed strictly, as per law, while simultaneously ensuring that no excesses are meted out to the taxpayers and their sensibilities are respected." The officers have been asked to ensure that a summon for personal appearance is issued only when specifically required. This would imply that the personal presence of an individual is minimised. In addition, summons should not be issued repeatedly and as far as practicable, a comprehensive statement should be recorded in the first instance itself. The implication of this measure is that any harassment is avoided with repeated summons, personal appearances and whatever needs to be recorded is done at the first instance. The DGGI has also prescribed that summons for calling for information should also not be issued in piecemeal manner and as far as possible all relevant information should be gathered in one go. In an important intervention, the DGGI prescribed, "Senior management officials such as CEO, CFO, General Manager of a large company or a PSU should not generally be issued summons at the first instance unless the evidence suggests otherwise." The DGGI further said that while conducting a search, the officers should be sensitive towards the assessee or party. Special attention should be given to elderly, women and children present in the premises under search. "Children should be allowed to go to school, after examining their bags. A woman occupying any premises, to be searched, has the right to withdraw before the search party enters, if according to the customs she does not appear in public. If a person in the premises is not well, a medical practitioner may be called. Religious sentiments of the person under search should not hurt in any way," the DGGI said. Further, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, proper social distancing norms should be followed and the search team should take all precautionary measures as contained in the guidelines. For some who worked at Anchor Steam in the early days of its move to Potrero Hill, it was just a job. Fritz Maytag, new owner of the steam beer company in 1965, made the shift to brewing in the Potrero neighborhood by hiring locals to help fill roles in the brewery. Thomas Riley was among them, taking a summer job on the packaging line in 1984. Little did he know then but Riley, a Potrero Hill native, would make a career out of his time at Anchor. From packaging line to tour guide to assistant brewer, he is now taking over the brewmaster role for the company he started at 36 years ago. "Working in the packaging line, it was a fun job, but it was also something that I kind of took a serious look at as being a future," Riley recalled. "And so while it was a lot of fun, I also looked for my opportunities to move through the brewery. "Given the length of my tenure, I really feel responsible for carrying the story on." Riley is taking over the reigns from Scott Ungermann in what has been an extremely short line of brewmasters at the company since Maytag took over more than 40 years ago. Maytag, Mark Carpenter and Ungermann are the only brewmasters to precede Riley since the 70s. Ungermann joined Anchor as brewmaster in 2014, with Riley working as his assistant. Now, Ungermann is leaving the brewery and the industry to pursue other interests, representatives with Anchor said, and he chose Riley to take over. The brewery has undergone changes since the changeover from the era of Maytag, when he sold the company to the Griffin Group, run by Keith Greggor and Tony Foglio, in 2010. Under Greggor and Foglio, the company began modernizing the brewery, strengthening the brand in San Francisco and purchasing new equipment before selling it in a landmark deal to Japans Sapporo Holdings Ltd. in 2017. The company began moving in newer, modern directions, including opening Anchor's taproom, Public Taps, canning its flagship beer for the first time in 19.2-ounce cans (and later in 12-ounce cans) and trying new styles. Those include fruited beers and further beer collaborations with local teams, such as the Giants and the Golden State Warriors. Another change: In 2019, brewery workers decided to unionize, organizing with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Courtesy Anchor Brewing Company As Riley takes over, he has a knowledge of the history of Anchor which one could partially chalk up to his time as a tour guide down to the know-how of brewing all of Anchor's key recipes. He knows he has competition from other craft breweries, but his plan is to preserve the past while continuing to innovate forward, alongside Anchor's development team. "I think it's really important to preserve our core beers," Riley said. "They, not only Anchor Steam which has a story going back to the Gold Rush days but Liberty Ale, which was the first American pale ale, dry hopped, a pale ale that Fritz brought that style back in the mid-seventies. It's really important to preserve that beer and the Porter and the Fog Horn, as well. "Now I do think our portfolio needs more modern beers and, you know, we have brought in more modern techniques to keep up with the craft brewers that we're competing against. So we want to play in other areas of IPA and whatever style is really popular. And I don't mean to say popular, like we're chasing the trends, but that's what people are into and we want to be able to have offerings in those areas. So we definitely have areas to develop in as well as stay true to our core four or five beers, [including the] Christmas ale." When pressed on new directions he's looking to take the company's beer, Riley said it'll come down to what he and his team agree upon. "I do value everybody that's in the beer development team and we have for years since I've been on that team four or five years really collaboratively decided which direction we want to go within a style like, 'Hey, do we all like this? Are we all comfortable with this? How can we make it better?'" Riley said. "It's really a group effort and I plan on continuing to do that." Riley's takeover as brewmaster comes at the start of Anchor Steam Week, which takes place the third week of August. But he's also taking over the role in the midst of a global pandemic, which is affecting how Anchor operates. Festivities for Anchor Steam Week have been relegated to events taking place online, from a live cooking demo with Top Chef champion Melissa King to live virtual concerts. It's still a time of turmoil for breweries including Anchor, which has continued to brew beer throughout the past months. In March, the Brewers Association reported that small craft breweries on average expected a 59.5% decrease in sales. By the next month, the California Craft Brewers Association polled Northern California brewery owners, who reported a 42% decrease in sales. "It's affected everybody in a dramatic way, and food and beer even more so; it's been a tough time for us," Riley said. "Breweries were deemed essential so we can operate, and I think certain people understood that if you shut a brewery down, you're going to kill it: All the yeast will die, all the inventory will be ruined and you just can't do that. But, you know, it has been tough for us. Like everyone, worker safety is a top priority and the union's been a great partner. We've been working closely with them to make sure that we can keep brewing beer safely." Riley acknowledged that a large portion of its draft business has diminished "Every brewery has a large amount of draft business. That percentage ranges 20 to 60% and all of that is gone," he said but the brewery has managed to stay afloat through retail. "We're fortunate enough to be able to keep brewing and selling beer at our retail partners and we also offer beer to go at Public Taps ... but it's been tough," Riley said. "We look forward to a time where we can all get back to normal and share a beer at our neighborhood restaurant or pub with our fans." Anchor Steam Week begins today with virtual events scheduled for the next seven days. The schedule can be found via the brewery's Instagram page, @AnchorBrewing, or anchorinside.com/steamweek. SFGATE Culture Editor Alyssa Pereira contributed to this article. Dianne de Guzman is the Food + Drink Editor at SFGATE. Email: dianne.deguzman@sfgate.com Former U.S. Attorney Dan Webb released a detailed statement Monday outlining his teams investigation into the celebrity case that has stuck to Chicagos shoe like gum since late January 2019. We already knew Webbs work wasnt good for Smollett. The actor best known for his role on Empire was charged (again) in February with six counts of disorderly conduct alleging he staged a fake hate crime against himself. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said there's more reason to be happy than shocked that a recent poll showed 45.5 percent or about 27.3 million were jobless in July. "Ako po ay nagagalak na hindi tayo 100 percent nawalan ng trabaho kasi sa tagal po na naka-lockdown tayo, talagang I'm still surprised at our resilience at 45 percent pa lang po ang nawawalan ng trabaho," Roque said in a Monday press briefing. "It could have been worse, kasi nga po complete lockdown ang nangyayari sa atin." [Translation: I am glad to hear that we didn't hit 100 percent in terms of unemployment because we've been under lockdown for so long. I'm still surprised at our resilience that only 45 percent lost their jobs. It could have been worse since we're experiencing complete lockdowns.] The Social Weather Stations published Sunday survey results which showed that an all-time high number of Filipino adults had no jobs as of July, more than double the number of unemployed individuals in December which was at 17.7 percent. The entire Luzon was under the strictest form of quarantine for roughly two and a half months before restrictions were gradually eased. This August, Metro Manila and nearby provinces Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite returned to strict stay-at-home rules to prevent further infections for two weeks. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the spike in joblessness is "no surprise," but said that there's a difference between the SWS and official government data. He pointed out that SWS counts the type of work a person does, while the state tracks the number of persons with a job. Labor Assistant Secretary Nikki Tutay earlier told CNN Philippines' Balitaan that the survey trend of a "super high" joblessness rate was in line with expectations. "We hope that a vaccine can be made available soonest so that we can bring back the confidence of our people," Bello said in a statement, adding that the surge in the number of jobless "seriously concerns" the agency. In a statement, Kilusang Mayo Uno slammed the spike in unemployment, saying the Duterte administration was inutile and lacked a sense of urgency in addressing the economic crisis and its impact to the lives of laborers. The labor group has been demanding an outright 10,000 financial aid for all who lost their jobs due during the pandemic. Former Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President George Barcelon slammed Roque for his insensitive remark on jobless Filipinos, saying the figures should be taken seriously because of its implications in the countrys economy. It is very uncaring, it is not very appropriate to have such sentiment this time. The people on the streets are hurting to survive, Barcelon told CNN Philippines Rico Hizon. Barcelon instead called for more funds from the national government in supporting displaced workers and micro and small businesses, who are one of the most affected sectors during the pandemic. Adults who are jobless consist of those who voluntarily left their old jobs, are seeking jobs for the first time, or lost their jobs due to economic circumstances beyond their control. Half of those who lost their jobs said it was due to the COVID-19 crisis. "I personally belong to the school of thought na we need to learn how to live our lives with COVID-19," Roque added, citing "intense" discussions within the Cabinet whether to maintain the lockdowns to slow down virus transmissions or reopen businesses so people can earn money. "Ang solusyon, kinakailangang buksan ang ekonomiya dahil talaga naman pong wala pa ring trabaho ang karamihan kung mananatili ang mga lockdowns [The solution is we really need to reopen the economy since most Filipinos will still have no jobs if we maintain the lockdowns]," he added. RELATED: Physicians' group: Metro Manila hospitals not yet ready for GCQ shift Official labor statistics for July will be released by the Philippine Statistics Authority on September 4. Latest data showed a record-high 7.3 million adults, equivalent to 17.7 percent, were rendered jobless as of April the first month of lockdowns meant to contain infections. An urban poor group called Roque's enthusiasm towards the survey figures insensitive. Iyong dating nagugutom, nabubutas na ang tiyan. Iyong dating kulang ang kinikita, walang nang inuuwi sa pamilya. Dapat bang maging magaan ang sitwasyong ito? Bakit hindi nagkukumahog ang pamahalaan para resolbahin ang usaping ito?," Kadamay spokesperson Mimi Doringo said in a statement. [Translation: Those who were hungry before now have holes in their stomach. Those who had little to earn before could no longer bring home any money. Should we still take the situation lightly? Why isn't government scrambling to resolve these issues?] Doringo said the supposedly lopsided government priorities towards bills reviving death penalty and the controversial Anti-Terrorism law, instead of focusing on worsening poverty and hunger. The Malacanang official earlier said that the country can no longer afford to extend strict lockdowns as it had no funds for a third round of cash aid for the poorest families who are left without a source of livelihood. RELATED: UP projects over 200,000 COVID-19 cases by end-August despite MECQ's help For now, Roque said the government is offering cash-for-work programs under the Labor Department to provide short-term employment for displaced workers. The Bayanihan to Recover as One Act pending before Congress will also extend loans and credit guarantees to small-scale firms and fishermen to help them reopen and resume their livelihood. Amid new coronavirus cases, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the country's elections would be postponed by one month. The nation's general elections were scheduled for September 19 but were delayed to October 17 after several cases of COVID-19 infections surfaced. Delayed elections On Monday, the prime minister said that the new scheduled date would allow politicians to prepare their plans around new circumstances they will be campaigning under. According to BBC, after more than 100 days of being coronavirus free, New Zealand went back into lockdown after recording new coronavirus cases. Ardern said that additional time gives all parties the time they need to campaign and gives the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure that the elections go smoothly. The official added she had no intention of allowing more delays to affect the country's elections. The opposition National Party has recommended that the elections be delayed, arguing that Ardern had an unfair advantage due to campaigning restrictions. Officials implemented restrictions on Auckland on Wednesday after several new infections were discovered within the area. On Monday, New Zealand recorded nine new coronavirus cases and brought the total number of active infections in Auckland's region to 58. One family was believed to have been the original source of the disease. Still, Ardern revealed that an investigation found an earlier incident that involved a sick shop worker on July 31 could have been the cause. One health official who was acquainted with the family said they were in shock of the situation and were quite embarrassed it happened to them. Also Read: Kim Jong Un Orders Distribution of Grains from Private Reserve, Sparking Theories of Emergency in North Korea The announcement of new coronavirus cases within the country took its citizens by surprise after the nation continued to be COVID-19 free for more than three months and began reopening its economy and returning to normal lifestyles. In a statement, Ardern said the delay of the elections was an inevitable outcome. The prime minister said the coronavirus is the world's new normal and that New Zealand is working as one to ensure that the health crisis affects citizens' daily lives as little as possible, as reported by CNN. Prepared for the worst In a statement, Chief Electoral Officer Alicia Wright said the confirmation of the date reassures citizens of when the elections will be held and that they will, indeed, continue to be held. She added authorities have been discussing alternative dates and are confident the change would be made accordingly and adequately. The commission revealed it had already planned for the elections to be held under Alert Level 2 restrictions and includes proposed measures such as contact tracing, provision of sanitary equipment, and social distancing guidelines and protocols. According to The New York Times, Prime Minister Ardern's approval ratings shot up after her swift and effective response to the coronavirus pandemic in its early stages. Health officials considered the country's first lockdown in late March to eliminate the virus and prompted the reopening of the country's economy and establishments. However, the official now faces criticism over the surge of new cases and the possibility of extended lockdown restrictions. A politics professor, Richard Shaw, of Massey University, said that if there was significant oversight in the processes, it could have substantial impacts on the nation's perspective of Ardern. Related Article: True Origins of COVID-19: Chinese Miners First Infected With Virus in 2012 @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Hubballi: In a heart-wrenching incident, the family members of a 70-year-old deceased Corona suspected person carried his mortal remains on a bicycle amidst heavy rain to conduct cremation. The incident took place at M K Hubballi village of Kittur taluk in Belagavi district on Sunday. The incident has evoked widespread criticism from the general public after a video went viral. Fingers are being pointed at health officials for having failed to respond to the pleas made by the family members for an ambulance to carry the dead body. The family members were forced to carry the body on the bicycle by wrapping it up in a plastic bag. The villagers didn't accompany them fearing infection as the deceased was suffering from COVID symptoms like fever and cold. The deceased person was admitted to the private hospital as he was suffering from fever. The doctor has referred him to the Belagavi district hospital due to the symptoms of Corona virus. But, he died on Monday morning. It is learnt that the villagers didn't even go anywhere close to his house for the fear of contracting an infection. His family members took his body on a bicycle up to the graveyard and performed final rites on their own. Meanwhile, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar shared the viral video of the incident and condemned the apathy of the government. In a tweet posted made by him on Monday, he criticized the State government for failure to take any action in this regard. "The incapable government has no humanity. It has failed to handle the rising Corona cases in the State," Shivakumar stated in his tweet. He also questioned Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa as to why ambulance was not provided despite appeals made by the members of the deceased person. Have a look at the video shared by him... Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast/Handout Citing health concerns, the president of the National Organization for Women stepped down Sunday, amid a flurry of allegations of racism at the nations oldest and largest feminist organization. In an email to the NOW board, state presidents, and staff on Sunday night, President Toni Van Pelt announced she would be stepping down with two weeks' notice effective Aug. 28. Vice President Christian Nunes will take her place, and the board will begin the process of appointing a new vice president. In her email, Van Pelt said she had been struggling with a very painful health issue over the last year and that her doctor had implored me for months to stop working. I have been ignoring my doctors advice and my health for too long, so I have made the very hard decision to retire and step down as President of NOW, she wrote. Van Pelts resignation comes on the heels of an internal investigation into allegations of racism and a toxic work environment at the storied feminist group. Ten minutes after Van Pelts resignation email, the same group of NOW leaders received an email saying the internal investigation had uncovered governance issues and evidence of a toxic work environment. Allegations of racial discrimination and retaliation, the email said, were not substantiated. NOW is committed to addressing these issues and to working together to move forward and to fight for the equality of all women, the email said. Florida President Kim Porteous, one of 26 chapter leaders who have called on Van Pelt to step down, said she was thrilled with the news of the presidents resignation but concerned by her explanation. To hear that Toni is stepping down for health issues is offensive, she said. We cannot move forward with restorative justice by covering up racism or making excuses for people to leave. NOW and Van Pelt did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NOW Board Member Accused of Claiming to Be Woman of Color to Boost Re-Election Chances Story continues A Daily Beast investigation published in June revealed allegations of racism reaching the highest levels of the organization. Interviews and internal documents showed that Van Pelt was accused of racist behavior by more than 15 former NOW staffers and interns and that her former vice president, Gilda Yazzie, had filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the organization. Among other things, Van Pelt was accused of telling staffers that she only chose Yazzie, who is Native American, as her running mate because she needed a woman of color to win. In the wake of that investigation, Van Pelt sent an email to NOW board members, state presidents, staff, and PAC members apologizing for any hurt she had caused and committing to five action items to improve racial justice within the organization. All Black Lives matter, she wrote. As a White woman, Ill never understand the experiences of women of color. I challenge myself to address structural racism and recognize that this is a lifelong, ongoing process. Dont Forget the White Women!: Members Say Racism Ran Rampant at NOW But in the weeks following, six more former board members and employeesincluding Van Pelts current vice president, Christian Nunescame forward to accuse Van Pelt of disrespecting and ignoring women of color, and making racially insensitive statements. Two of the three staff members who left NOW this year told The Daily Beast their exits were due in part to how Van Pelt treated staffers of color. (In one instance, a former staffer said, Van Pelt brought employees of color to tears during a diversity training session.) Twenty-six of the 35 NOW state chapters had signed on to a letter asking Van Pelt to resign, and several had submitted their own. The entire Washington, D.C., and Twin Cities boards also quit in protest. The organizations head of college students resigned last month, saying in an email to The Daily Beast that the organizations actions have completely tarnished my work among many others. Nine of the 15 national board members had also called for Van Pelts resignation, setting off a tense showdown between the self-titled Radical Nine and Van Pelts supporters. The group needed three more votes in order to force Van Pelt out of her positiona feat they were not able to achieve despite continued pressure from state chapters. The same nine members were recently subjected to an internal grievance process that they claimed was intended to silence them. There is a real strong push to keep us from speaking up, and we cannot be silent anymore, board member and Arizona state Sen. Victoria Steele said at the time. If we allow this to be silent then were complicit in racism. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Lake Erie is part of Brad Petruss everyday life. If Im not on, in or around it, I am planning to be, said the Port Colborne man. Saturday, Petrus will paddle 50 kilometres on the lake and Niagara River as part of the #lakeeriechallenge to raise awareness for the Canadian Fresh Water Alliance, which champions cleaner water initiatives across Canada. As a surfer, paddler, Lake Erie resident and a father raising his son in and around Lake Erie, I felt compelled to contribute. I want children to be able to enjoy all the lakes have to offer for decades to come. Without our awareness and help, the Great Lakes sustainability is in jeopardy. Petrus, a standup paddleboarder for the past 14 years, has been following various Fresh Water Alliance campaigns for some time and found its initiatives were similar to some of his beliefs. Last year, I was able to raise some money for similar initiatives standup paddling across Lake Erie. I felt if I could contribute each year to help raise awareness and support the non-profits that try to clean up our lakes, Ive done a little something to help. This years #lakeeriechallenge will see teams of standup paddleboarders, swimmers and kayakers share a total of 50 kilometres of western Lake Erie coastline between the mouth of the Detroit River and Point Pelee. I was unable to make the trip to complete this with the other participants, so I decided to do the 50 kilometres solo, standup paddling. Petrus is no stranger to paddling solo, taking on 32- to 40-kilometre-long solo trips in the past. Earlier this year he and fellow Niagara SUPers Marty Parr and Dan Dakin took up a 26-kilometre-long race on the Niagara River. It was a virtual stand-in for the annual Molokai 2 Oahu professional race held in Hawaii, cancelled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His father will act as his support Saturday, following along in his boat. I intend to start from Crystal Beach, paddle out to Point Abino Lighthouse and then to the Niagara River entrance in Fort Erie, down the Niagara River, ending in Chippawa. Its approximately 25 kilometres on the lake and 25 kilometres on the river. Im leaving early Saturday morning, hoping to complete this paddle in the 5.5- to six-hour range. Petrus said more on the Canadian Fresh Water Alliance and the Lake Erie Challenge can be found at www.lakeeriechallenge.ca. Donations can be made through the alliance website or can be arranged directly through him at bradmpetrus@gmail.com. Two events last week underscore just how isolated Donald Trumps America is in the world. The first was an Aug. 12 speech in Prague by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who managed to sidestep every pressing issue on European security and democracy. The second, two days later, was a U.N. Security Council vote, on extending an arms embargo against Iran, that the United States lost by the most thumping margin in the councils history. Pompeos speech was very odd. Delivered in the senate chamber of the Czech Republic, one of the few remaining bastions of democracy in post-communist central Europe, it contained just one sentence about Russia, nothing about threats to Ukraine or the rigged election in Belarus or the rise of illiberalism in Hungary and Poland or the dangers of a splintered European Union. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, he focused almost entirely on Chinaor, rather, the Chinese Communist Party, which he claimed is totally separate from the Chinese people, a regime with a Marxist-Leninist core. He went further and declared, Whats happening now isnt Cold War 2.0. The challenge of resisting the CCP threat is in some ways much more difficultthis, to an audience that viscerally remembers the 1968 Soviet coup that left their country occupied by five Red Army tank divisions and a harsh dictatorship for the next 22 years. Pompeos theme wasnt entirely out of place. China is a highly contentious issue in Czech politics. Czech President Milos Zeman, who is closely tied to businessmen with major interests in China, has said he wants his country to be an unsinkable aircraft carrier of Chinese investment expansion in Europe. By contrast, Prague Mayor Zdenek Hrib has roused Beijings ire by touting Tibetan independence (even flying the Tibetan flag over city hall) and scheduling an official visit, with a large delegation, to Taiwana move that compelled Beijing to cancel a Chinese tour of the Czech Philharmonic. Advertisement Advertisement Ivo Daalder, president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and a former U.S. ambassador to NATO, said in an email that many Czechs see Chinas domination of Tibet and Taiwan from their own national experience, and Pompeo was playing to that. However, Daalder went on, his speech came during the very week when Belarus exploded and when Turkey and Greece (with French help) threatened to come to blowsyet he spent none of his time dealing with the crises on Europes doorsteps. Remarkable! Advertisement Just last month, Pompeo delivered a similar, though more impassioned speech at the Richard Nixon Library, essentially calling for regime change in China, even suggesting that Russiawhich he didnt criticize in the slightestmight be a worthy ally in this crusade, a notion that Russian specialists on Moscow-Beijing relations dismiss as fantasy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pompeos obsession with China might even be deemed single-minded, except that he does harbor another obsessionregime change against Iran. And it was this obsession that led to the most embarrassing defeat that Washington has ever experienced at the United Nations. The humbling came when the U.S., at Pompeos initiative, put forth a resolution to extend an embargo on buying and selling conventional weapons to and from Iran. Of the 15 members on the Security Council, just two voted in favor of the motionthe United States and the Dominican Republic. Two othersRussia and Chinaopposed. The other 11, most of them longtime U.S. allies, abstained. Under the Iran nuclear deal, as part of a broader lifting of economic sanctions, the embargowhich has been in effect for 10 yearswas to be canceled on Oct. 18, 2020, five years after the U.N. adopted the deal. Pompeo argued that the Security Council should extend the embargo because Iran has recently exceeded the deals limits on enriching uranium and on stockpiling nuclear fuel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, other members of the council argued that Iran took this step only after the United States withdrew from the deal, reimposed its own sanctions against Iran, then demanded that other signatories do the same, threatening to impose sanctions against them if they didnt. In fact, Iran was well within Paragraph 36 of the nuclear deal, which states that if one signatory believes that the others were not meeting their commitments, then, after several meetings and consultations, it would have grounds to cease performing its commitments. (Iranian diplomats tried to dissuade the European signatories from restoring sanctions for a full year before resuming its nuclear program.) European members also argued that, because the United States withdrew from the deal, it no longer has standing to comment or impose penalties on Irans actions. Finally, these members still hope to bring Iran back to the tableto restore compliance on all sidesperhaps after Trump leaves office. Advertisement Advertisement Trump officials have made the novel argument that the United States remains a participant in the accord, even though Trump withdrew from it. This has prompted sighs and giggles all-round. As many have noted, a country cant cherry-pick compliance with international agreements: It cant declare itself a participant in some clauses but not in others. In short, Trump and Pompeo are turning the United States into a feckless world powerso narrow in its obsessions, so transparent in its hypocrisies, that it is neither credible as an ally nor effective at expressing or pursuing its own national interests. More than ever, Trumps slogan of America First is coming to mean America Alone. The final 15 seconds of a new documentary about Rupert Murdoch pretty much sums up why the whole endeavour fails to launch: "The Murdoch family were asked to take part in this series," the producers noted in capital letters. "They declined." Talk about stating the obvious. By the time the viewer arrives at this disclaimer, they are three hours into the program and well aware that the main players are nowhere to be seen. It means The Rise of the Murdoch Dynasty turns to old ground and the usual critics. Rupert Murdoch is a polarising figure in public life in Australia, the United Kingdom and United States. Credit:AP The three-part series aired on the BBC towards the end of July and its absence from Australian screens prompted some speculation that the program may have been blocked in Murdoch's country of birth. One niche website even ran a story with the headline, 'Are Australians being censored from seeing new BBC documentary on Murdoch empire?' It was all a baseless conspiracy theory because there has been plenty of interest in running it locally. Nine, the owner of this masthead, wanted to buy it but the ABC got first crack and will air it later this year. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says the wearing of face mask, social distancing, and enhanced hygiene protocols are still obligatory. He said the phased opening up of the country put an obligation and responsibility on each person to remain vigilant and respect the COVID-19 protocols that have become part and parcel of our daily routine. They are proving to be effective, so let us employ them wholeheartedly, President Akufo-Addo said on Sunday night in his 15th address on measures taken against the spread of Coronavirus However, the President asked Ghanaians to wear the facemasks correctly, since it had become the new normal requirement of daily existence until the virus disappeared. He said abiding strictly by the COVID-19 protocols was also the best way that the country could restore, as quickly as possible, the blessings of normalcy for which we all yearn. He stated that there should not be any room for complacency, but rather, we must be very much on our guard, because some countries have experienced spikes after recording major achievements in containing the spread of the virus. We should not go down that road, he emphasized. Meanwhile, as at July 24, the number of active cases that stood at 3,307, had as at August 15, reduced to 1,847, the President announced. This is a clear indication that Government policies are working, he said. He said currently, there were no recorded COVID-19 cases in the North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West Regions. However, the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern, and Western Regions continue to be the areas with the highest number of active cases. So far, 40,567 persons have recovered from the virus, taking Ghanas recovery rate from 89.5 per cent to 95.1 per cent in three weeks. The countrys death rate continues to be low at zero-point five percent (0.5%). Backlogs of tests had been cleared in all the testing centres, the President said, explaining that the situational reports were up to date. Test results that used to take weeks were now available within 48 hours with 427,121 tests conducted so far. 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. Featured Video Education is a hot topic this Legislative session. Here's what bills we're watching. Here are some of the hot-button education bills were tracking at the Argus Leader. Check back each day to see where they stand as we update. By Gabriella Borter and Nathan Layne (Reuters) - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill canceled in-class instruction just one week into the new term on Monday after positive cases of COVID-19 shot up dramatically, becoming the latest U.S. school to reverse course on reopening. The university's chancellor said in a letter to students posted on the campus website that classes would be held online going forward, along with academic support services. Aug. 11 was the first day of the new academic year. The decision came after the COVID-19 positivity rate - the percentage of those tested who had infections - went from 2.8% to 13.6% at the campus clinic, Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said in the message. "So far, we have been fortunate that most students who have tested positive have demonstrated mild symptoms," Guskiewicz said. Other colleges, including the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, began the fall semester on Monday with all classes conducted online. Nationwide, new cases of COVID-19 fell for a fourth week in a row but infections remain at high levels in many states and deaths continue to average 1,000 per day. More than 30 states have test positivity rates over 5% and Mississippi, Nevada, Florida and Idaho are over 16%. New York, once the epicenter of the coronavirus in the country, has an infection rate below 1%, along with Connecticut, Maine and Vermont. New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday that gyms could reopen from next week. In total, over 170,000 have died in the United States from the disease, according to a Reuters tally. (Graphic: Tracking the novel coronavirus in the U.S. - https://tmsnrt.rs/2w7hX9T) 'NOT HESITATE TO QUARANTINE' Nationwide, many elementary, secondary, high schools and colleges scheduled to begin the new term in August or September have imposed "remote learning," as teachers unions opposed in-class instruction. A school district in Arizona canceled its plans to reopen schools Monday after a number of teachers called in sick. Story continues "Every single one of us wants to go back to work," said Marisol Garcia, vice president of the Arizona Education Association. "We want to be in a classroom, we want to be in front of our kids, we want things to go back to normal. But that school that parents want to send their children to does not exist yet," she told Reuters. (Graphic: Where coronavirus cases are rising in the United States - https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR) In Georgia, a third high school in Cherokee County has closed for in-person classes, the county's school district said, citing an increase in the number of positive cases and nearly a third of students under quarantine. The district said in a statement on Sunday it was postponing the planned start to in-person classes from Monday to Aug. 31. Cherokee County schools were featured in the national media this month after students posted images on social media showing pupils massed together in hallways, many of them not wearing masks. Georgia's new cases are down slightly from their peak but the state reported over 20,000 new infections last week and a 12% positivity rate, which suggests more undetected cases in the community. A Nebraska school district said on Saturday it had canceled classes after three staff members tested positive and 24 more were in quarantine for exposure. Officials at a school district in Oklahoma learned that one high school student attended the first day of classes on Thursday, even though the student had tested positive and had not completed the 10-day quarantine. "Upon speaking with the student, they said since they were asymptomatic then they believed their quarantine period was five days," Dawn Jones, public information officer for Moore Public Schools, told Reuters. The parents apologized for the misunderstanding. (This story corrects title of Arizona teachers' union official in 11th paragraph) (Reporting by Gabriella Borter in New York and Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; Writing by Lisa Shumaker and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien, Bill Tarrant and Sonya Hepinstall) UPDATE: Suspect Marquise Love has turned himself in. UPDATE: Police on Tuesday identified a suspect in the beating. A group of protesters beat a man bloody and unconscious in the street after he crashed a truck during a confrontation that unfolded near a Black Lives Matter demonstration in downtown Portland late Sunday night, according to police, witnesses and multiple videos. Several people kicked, punched and pushed the man to the ground after his white Ford slammed into a light pole about 10:30 p.m. near Southwest Broadway and Taylor Street, just blocks from a rally outside the Multnomah County Justice Center, videos show. Jorge Ventura, a reporter with The Daily Caller, a conservative news site based in Washington, D.C., said the driver appeared intoxicated when he first got out of the pickup. He kind of seemed like he may have been drinking earlier in the evening, said Ventura, who posted multiple videos of the scene on Twitter. He was really discombobulated. Some among the crowd tried to hold the assailants back during the clash, while others began to rifle through the mans truck, video shows. As the driver sat on the ground, a person wearing a vest with SECURITY written on the front and back ran from behind and kicked the driver in the face, apparently knocking him unconscious, according to witnesses and multiple videos. The driver remained still on the ground with his eyes closed. It was just totally brutal, Ventura said. Portland police said in news releases Monday that they received a report of protesters chasing the truck before its driver crashed and that the group attacked the driver afterward. It wasnt immediately clear what spurred the violent confrontation. Multiple social media posts allege that someone had been driving erratically downtown and had tried to run over protesters several times, though those accounts could not be independently verified. Shortly before the attack, protesters had surrounded the mans truck near a 7-Eleven a few blocks away at Southwest Fourth Avenue and Taylor Street, video shows. Police said the driver may have been trying to help someone who had their things stolen outside the convenience store. Another video, published by Drew Hernandez, a videographer who runs the YouTube channel Lives Matter, showed a woman in a blue tank top being tackled to the ground near the 7-Eleven. Some in the crowd came to the womans aid. And the truck surrounded by people, some kicking it or pulling on its doors pulled into the intersection against the light and sped away west along Taylor Street toward the intersection where it crashed. People from the crowd followed after the truck, video shows. Before being kicked unconscious, the man can be heard in one video saying: I aint trying to hurt no one. Another video shows the man immobile and bleeding from the back of the head after the attack. Some street medics tried to help him as they urged others to call 911. The woman in the blue tank top later arrived at the crash scene. A handful of officers arrived later and encountered a hostile crowd, Portland police said. The driver, who was still unconscious, was taken to a hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to the police news releases. The connection between the driver of the truck and the woman who was tackled remains unclear. But Sam Pape, 28, said they saw them both outside the bar Church on Northeast Sandy Boulevard and 26th Avenue several hours before the downtown confrontation. The pair had been loudly arguing with each other about 7 p.m. when the woman grabbed a gas canister from the man and took off in a separate car, said Pape, who works at Church. The man went back to his white Ford truck, which was parked nearby, and proceeded to drink several bottles of Miller High Life he had stashed away over the next half hour. At one point, the man got into a verbal altercation with another person on Northeast Sandy and pulled out a hatchet from his truck, Pape said. He also yelled several racist slurs at the person, according to Pape. The woman eventually returned with the gas canister and they both left in their separate vehicles. I am absolutely certain that it was them, said Pape, who saw the videos of the confrontations the next morning. Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt on Monday night condemned the attacks on the truck driver. The actions depicted in these videos are universally rejected as wrong and the actions are illegal, Schmidt said in a statement. Assaults will not be tolerated in our community. The attack remains under investigation, and no arrests have been made, police said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Det. Brent Christensen at 503-823-2087 or at Brent.Christensen@portlandoregon.gov. The Oregonian/OregonLives Lizzy Acker and Jim Ryan contributed to this report. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 08:11:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends a press conference held in the parliament building Beehive in Wellington, New Zealand, on Aug. 17, 2020. Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Monday that the general election will be held on Oct. 17, four weeks after Sept. 19 when the poll was originally scheduled for. (Xinhua/Guo Lei) WELLINGTON, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Monday that the general election will be held on Oct. 17, four weeks after Sept. 19 when the poll was originally scheduled for. "The Electoral Commission, via the Ministry of Justice, has advised me that a safe and accessible election is achievable on this date," Ardern told a press conference. This short delay gives the commission more time to prepare including freeing up facilities for early voting during school holidays, she said. Moving the date by four weeks also gives all parties a fair shot to campaign and delivers New Zealanders certainty without unnecessarily long delays, Ardern said. "With the re-emergence of COVID-19 in our community these are not ordinary times and so while the decision as to the election date sits with me, I spoke with all party leaders to seek their views," she said. "COVID-19 will be with us for some time to come. Continuously pushing out an election does not lessen the risk of disruption," the prime minster said, adding she would not change the election date again. This decision gives all parties time over the next nine weeks to campaign and the Electoral Commission enough time to ensure an election can go ahead, Ardern said. Advance voting begins on Oct. 3, she added. Enditem Close George Floyd family lead powerful tribute and moment of silence at DNC The Democratic National Convention kicked off with some last-minute guests as the family of George Floyd led a moment of silence to mark the start of the first day, titled "We the People". Michelle Obama headlined the evening's proceedings, ripping into the president's record saying "you simply cannot fake your way through this job" as she pleaded with Democrat voters not to stay at home or cast a protest vote in 2020. "Joe is not perfect, and he'd be the first to tell you that," Ms Obama says. "But there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president, and his ability to learn and grow, we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for now." Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, said Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but Trump golfs while his actions fanned the coronavirus pandemic to kill more than 170,000 Americans in a nation unprepared to protect its people. Mr Sanders made a direct appeal to his supporters to unify around Joe Biden, highlighting the candidate's progressive credentials on issues that only a few years ago would have been considered radical. A running theme through the first night was on restoring the "Soul of America", as Democrats and Republicans alike devoted the majority of the virtual real estate to the current president. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser accused Donald Trump of 'plotting' with his bible photo at St John's Church as the daughter of a Covid-19 victim said her father's only pre-existing condition was a Trump presidency. Republican leaders including former Ohio governor John Kasich, former New Jersey governor Christine Whitman, and former New York City congresswoman Susan Molinari lent their voices to their one-time rivals. Democrat establishment figures like Andrew Cuomo, Jim Clyburn, and Amy Klobuchar all gave strong endorsements of their party's presidential nominee, even if some of their jokes and one-liners, aiming for inspirational resonance, seemed to linger without reaction in the virtual void of a Zoom meeting. Mr Biden, meanwhile, appeared briefly during a round table on racism with Gwen Garner, mother of Eric Garner, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, and other social justice activists. LONDON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a division of Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), today announced the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for Voraxaze (glucarpidase). BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals is seeking marketing authorization of Voraxaze for the treatment of adults and children (from 28 days of age) at risk of methotrexate toxicity due to delayed methotrexate elimination. The MAA for Voraxaze is based on clinical data as well as real world experience in the US, where glucarpidase was approved by the FDA in 2012. Since its launch in the US, an estimated 2,867 patients have been treated with Voraxaze. The efficacy of Voraxaze has been evaluated in four open-label multi-center studies in patients with delayed methotrexate elimination due to renal dysfunction. In 169 patients with methotrexate concentrations measured by chromatographic methods, a median reduction of > 98% in methotrexate concentration occurred within 15 minutes following Voraxaze administration. The EMA will review the application under the centralized marketing authorization procedure. If approved Voraxaze would receive marketing authorization in all member states of the European Union (EU), as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. "While Voraxaze has been available in Europe on a named patient basis for eight years, we're eager to do more to educate physicians about the potential for Voraxaze to help cancer patients around the world suffering the toxic effects of methotrexate," said Anthony Higham, President of BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals. "This filing is a first step toward a marketing authorisation that would allow us to speak with European clinicians about treating this condition." Voraxaze is also being independently studied to explore whether routinely giving Voraxaze in combination with high-dose methotrexate might alleviate toxicity, manage the risk to patients and help them to complete therapy. Enrollment in these studies is ongoing. For more information about these studies, or to contact an investigator about participation, please visit https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03684980 or https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03960177. About BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a division of Boston Scientific, provides rescue medicines that counteract the potentially life-threatening effects associated with exposure or overexposure to certain toxins. These acute care products are typically used in emergency rooms and intensive care units to treat patients for whom there are limited or no existing treatment options. We are dedicated to delivering quality medicines that make a real difference to patients and their families through the development, manufacture, and commercialization of pharmaceutical products. To learn more about BTG Pharmaceuticals, please visit: btgsp.com. For further information contact: Chris Sampson, Corporate Communications Director [email protected]; Mobile: +44 (0)7773 251 178 Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 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 Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "anticipate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding our business plans and product performance and impact. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and future business decisions made by us and our competitors. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file hereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document. US INDICATION AND LIMITATIONS OF USE Voraxaze is a carboxypeptidase indicated to reduce toxic plasma methotrexate concentration (greater than 1 micromole per liter) in adult and pediatric patients with delayed methotrexate clearance (plasma methotrexate concentrations greater than 2 standard deviations of the mean methotrexate excretion curve specific for the dose of methotrexate administered) due to impaired renal function is a carboxypeptidase indicated to reduce toxic plasma methotrexate concentration (greater than 1 micromole per liter) in adult and pediatric patients with delayed methotrexate clearance (plasma methotrexate concentrations greater than 2 standard deviations of the mean methotrexate excretion curve specific for the dose of methotrexate administered) due to impaired renal function Limitations of Use: Voraxaze is not recommended for use in patients who exhibit the expected clearance and expected plasma methotrexate concentration. Reducing plasma methotrexate concentration in these patients may result in subtherapeutic exposure to methotrexate IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS Serious Hypersensitivity Reactions Serious hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylactic reactions, may occur. Serious hypersensitivity reactions occurred in less than 1% of patients Monitoring Methotrexate Concentration/Interference with Assay Methotrexate concentrations within 48 hours following Voraxaze administration can only be reliably measured by a chromatographic method due to interference from metabolites. Measurement of methotrexate concentrations within 48 hours of Voraxaze administration using immunoassays results in an overestimation of the methotrexate concentration ADVERSE REACTIONS In clinical trials, the most common related adverse events (occurring in >1% of patients) were paresthesia, flushing, nausea and/or vomiting, hypotension and headache DRUG INTERACTIONS Voraxaze can decrease leucovorin concentration, which may decrease the effect of leucovorin rescue unless leucovorin is dosed as recommended, and may also reduce the concentrations other folate analogs or folate analog metabolic inhibitors Please see full Prescribing Information. SOURCE BTG Specialty Pharmaceuticals Related Links https://btgplc.com A man was fined $3,000 for drinking and driving last week after pleading guilty to an incident where he chugged a beer in front of a police officer. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us A man was fined $3,000 for drinking and driving last week after pleading guilty to an incident where he chugged a beer in front of a police officer. Travis Anderson, 35, pleaded guilty on Thursday to operating a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit. Crown attorney Caroline Lacey said the charges stem from May 5, 2020. Police got a call from a woman who said a black truck with a Winnipeg Jets licence plate had narrowly missed her and her children as they were walking on the shoulder of the highway near Rivers. She said they had to jump out of the way as it drove by. The complainant said she could hear the man in the vehicle screaming that someone was after him, Lacey told the court. Police arrived in the area and the officer saw the truck travelling south on Highway 250 near Rivers. The truck was drifting in the lane, driving on the centre line and on the shoulder. The officer turned the police car around and switched on emergency lights. The vehicle didnt slow down and police followed the truck down the highway. The truck eventually stopped and Anderson opened the door and left the vehicle, but the officer told him to get back inside. Anderson stumbled, but did get back in, Lacey said. The officer walked up to the truck and saw beer cans in the cup holder next to the drivers seat. When the officer asked Anderson what the cans were, he admitted they were beer cans. Anderson told the officer he didnt have his licence on him, but provided his vehicle registration. At that point, Lacey said he was arrested for having open liquor in the vehicle, but Anderson grabbed the open beer can out of the cup holder and started "chugging it." The officer grabbed the can and threw it on the ground and again told him he was under arrest. Lacey said Anderson was stumbling and mumbling his words when he got out of the truck. When police searched the vehicle, they found a box of beer in the back seat missing a few cans. There were two empty beer cans in the box of the truck, Lacey said. Police arrested Anderson, who then asked the officer "what did I blow?" and "what was it?" Lacey told the court, but officers hadnt given him a breathalyzer test yet. Anderson did eventually provide a breath sample at Brandon police headquarters, where he blew 0.170 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood and 0.180 milligrams. The legal limit in Manitoba is 0.08. Lacey asked the judge to sentence him to a $3,000 fine and a one-year ban from driving. She said his high readings, dangerous driving and drinking a beer in front of police make the case more serious. The minimum fine for the charge is $2,000. Anderson has no other criminal record, Lacey said, and the incident was the first time he had been charged with anything similar. She also said he should be given credit for an early guilty plea. Defence lawyer Ryan Fawcett agreed with the Crowns recommended sentence and admitted the incident was "seriously concerning." "Mr. Anderson says this was a terrible decision," Fawcett said. Anderson admitted to Judge Donovan Dvorak he made a serious mistake. "I made a bad mistake and what I did was wrong," he said. Dvorak went along with the jointly recommended sentence, fining Anderson $3,000 and banning him from driving for one year. "A lot of things stand out to me as far as the circumstances of this," Dvorak told Anderson. "When somebody is stopped by the police and they start guzzling a beer in front of the police, youve got to wonder if they have a problem with alcohol. I really want you to think about your relationship with alcohol before you get yourself back here because a repeat of this will see you going to jail." dmay@brandonsun.com Twitter: @DrewMay_ Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday reached Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral relations, amidst the recent strain in the ties over Riyadh's reluctance to toe Islamabad's line on the Kashmir issue. Despite repeated requests from Pakistan to hold a foreign ministers' meeting on Kashmir, the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has shown reluctance to convene such a conference, prompting an upset Islamabad to threaten that it may call a separate gathering on the issue. Diplomatic sources here said that Gen Bajwa was accompanied by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed. The details of their engagements in Saudi Arabia have not been released, but the two are expected to hold high-level meetings to iron out misgivings. Pakistan has been pushing the 57-member organisation, which is the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, for the foreign ministers' meeting since India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year. However, there has not been any positive response from the OIC, the biggest bloc of Islamic countries in the world, to Pakistan's request so far. A major reason behind the OIC's inaction has been Saudi Arabia's reluctance to accept Pakistan's request for holding a meeting specifically on Kashmir. Riyadh's support is crucial for any move at the OIC, which is dominated by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution was its internal matter. It also advised Pakistan to accept reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, for the first time, criticised the Saudi government in a recent TV interview and threatened to call an OIC meeting by sidestepping the Gulf country. Saudis avoided directly responding to Qureshi's remarks, but reportedly stopped renewing a $3.2 billion oil credit facility to Pakistan despite requests from Islamabad. Pakistan has also paid back $1 billion loan to Riyadh which, according to some reports, the Saudis had demanded. In 2018, Saudi Arabia granted Pakistan a $3 billion loan and $3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis after Prime Minister Khan visited the country to seek financial support. ALANSON, MI A Northern Michigan man was sentenced to one-year imprisonment after threatening to shoot children running across his yard and then injuring a police officer while resisting arresting. Steven Muller, 59, of Alanson, was also sentenced to two years of probation after he pleaded no contest to felonious assault, 9&10 News reports. Muller called Emmet County Central Dispatch in November and told the dispatcher that children were running through his yard and he would shoot anyone who came to his house, police said. When Emmet County Sheriffs Office deputies arrived on the scene, they found Muller outside, armed with a 50-caliber rifle and a crossbow, police said. He was taken into custody. RELATED: Northern Michigan man tells police he will shoot children running in his yard Muller was initially charged with nine felony counts and one misdemeanor related to the incident, police said. The charges included assault with a dangerous weapon, felony firearm, possession of firearms under the influence, and five felony counts related to resisting and assaulting police officers. READ MORE: Man accused of dragging state police sergeant on Mackinac Bridge is identified, charged 12-year-old boy dies after trying to save sister swept away by strong current on Lake Superior DNR search and rescue: Man sawing off his leg at Pictured Rocks beach among recent calls for help Teenage jogger hit by truck, killed near Traverse City Monday, August 17: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan Sharon Stone has condemned non-mask wearers, stating that her sister Kelly is currently fighting for her life with coronavirus in hospital. On Sunday 16 August, Stone shared several photographs on Instagram of her sisters hospital room. One of the pictures shows a large yellow tube, which is pumping air in and out of the room, and a medical worker in the room dressed in full PPE. In the caption, the actor explained that her sister has lupus, an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation to the joints, skins and other organs. My sister Kelly, who already has lupus, now has Covid-19. This is her hospital room. One of the Non-Mask wearers did this, Stone wrote. Recommended Alyssa Milano says coronavirus has caused her hair to fall out She does not have an immune system. The only place she went was the pharmacy. The Basic Instinct star explained that in the US county in Montana where Kelly lives, members of the public cannot get tested unless they are symptomatic. Once they have a test, it takes five days for them to receive their results, Stone said. Can YOU FACE THIS ROOM ALONE? Wear a mask! For yourself and others. Please, she added. In another Instagram post, Stone shared a video in which provided further details about her sisters condition and how Covid-19 has impacted her family. Stone revealed that Kellys husband Bruce is also in a Covid room in the same war fighting for his life, stating that the couple stayed at home as long as they could. The actor said that her mother, whos had two heart attacks, five stents and a pacemaker within the last five months, was unable to get tested, nor were the nurses who have been taking care of her sister and brother-in-law. Those nurses are risking their lives and cannot get tested, she said, adding that she has been trying to get in contact with the governor of Montana and the health department, but has not been successful. They keep saying that the risks are so small and that you might not die and itll be fine, but Im telling you whats going on with my family, the 62-year-old said. My grandmother died of Covid and my godmother died of Covid. My sister and her husband are fighting for their lives and my sister is not doing well. Stone ended her video by urging her followers to vote, expressing her support for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. A large crowd of local people headed by some Trinammol Congress (TMC) leaders, demolished two gates of the campus of Visva Bharati, in Bolpur in Bengals Birbhum district, on Monday morning and vandalised construction material stocked by the authorities to build a wall around the ground where an annual fair is held. Held around Christmas, the fair, popularly known as Poush Mela, draws thousands of people and even foreign tourists. The Visva Bharati is Bengals only central university A TMC lawmaker said local people will never allow the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore which is largely an open air institution to be caged behind walls. The local people and traders, for whom the fair is a major source of income are opposed to the wall and have been staging demonstrations since Saturday. However, Bidyut Chakrabarty, the vice-chancellor, did not budge from his decision to build the wall to stop entry of outsiders. Last year, Chakrabarty removed some temporary shops that continued to do business even after the fair was over. He also deployed private security agencies to guard the campus. On Monday, a large crowd went to the fairground and vandalized a temporary office set up for the construction and destroyed two gates and construction material such as bricks and cement, using a small earth moving vehicle. Naresh Bauri, a resident of Bolpur and TMC lawmaker from the districts Dubrajpur constituency, headed the agitators on Monday. I was not there as a TMC leader but as a local resident. How can Tagores university, which was supposed to be a part of nature, be caged behind walls. Local people will never tolerate this, said Bauri. The vice-chancellor did not make any comment on the incident till 3. 30 pm. Anirban Sarkar, the only designated spokesperson of Visva Bharati did not take calls. Speaking on condition of anonymity, an officer at Shantiniketan police station said the situation became normal after 2 pm. A teacher from Visva Bharati told HT that Chakrabarty held a meeting with the departmental heads and principals of different institutes where he expressed his concern and talked of closing the campus temporarily to stop entry of outsiders. Susovan Banerjee, a member of the Visva Bharati executive committee told a local television channel that there is nothing wrong in the university trying to stop encroachment on its property. The Visva Bharti is a centrally-funded autonomous university with 10 sub- institutes. The institutes of higher education are renowned for excellence in their respective fields. Since Tagore wanted a campus where students would study in the midst of nature, many classes are held in the open. The Prime Minister is the chancellor of Visva Bharati. Expressing his concern, governor Jagdeep Dhankhar contacted chief minister Mamata Banerjee and sought intervention by the police. Situation of law and order in Visva Bharati is alarming. Am trying to be in touch with CM to secure peace in temple of learning. As per VC violators of law have entered campus and destroyed property. CS, HS, DM and SP @MamataOfficial have not responded to call of Visva Bharati, Dhankhar tweeted at 12.42 pm After talking to Banerjee over phone, he tweeted, Just had word with Chief Minister over Visva Bharati worsening law and order scenario. She has assured that administration @MamataOfficial will take all steps to restore law and order. Am sure those enjoined with task will rise to the occasion. Reacting to the governors intervention, education minister and TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said, The governor house has become the party office of the Bharatiya Janata Party. A marketing consultant who administered multiple fist blows to his 11-year old son's cheek resulting in the loss of his tooth has been sentenced to a fine of GH 3,600.00 by an Accra Circuit court. Christopher Ayittey, 30, in default would serve a six-month jail term. Charged with physical abuse, Ayittey pleaded not guilty but the court presided over by Mrs Christina Cann, found him guilty at the end of the trial. Prosecuting, Chief Inspector Kofi Atimbire said the complainant is an actress residing at Adabraka, Accra. Prosecution said the accused also resides at Spintex in Accra with the victim. The victim is the son of the accused but the victim often spend the weekends with the complainant. He said on October 27, last year, the victim accompanied her grandmother to sell soap in a vehicle, whiles there, the victim alleged that his grandmother was not feeling well so he asked the grandmother to sleep so that he could sell her wares for her because he was now a big boy. Prosecution said the grandmother rebuked the victim for saying that. According to prosecution, the grandmother, who is witness in the trial on reaching home also informed the victim's father who got infuriated and punched him on the cheek with several blows. Prosecution said the victim began bleeding in his mouth but not satisfied, Ayittey administered further punches and this resulted in the victim losing a tooth. Mr Atimbire said on November 2, last year, the victim visited the complainant and narrated his ordeal to which the complainant reported the incident to the Police and Ayittey was arrested. 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 Greenland's ice sheet has melted beyond the point of no return, contributing to rising ocean levels, a new study published in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment finds. Why it matters: Even if global warming were to stop imminently, annual snowfall that replenishes the ice sheet cannot keep pace with the ice that is flowing into the ocean from glaciers. What they found: Scientists analyzed the satellite data of more than 200 glaciers across the Arctic territory spanning nearly 40 years through 2018, finding that the ice sheet shrank so quickly that snowfall could not keep up with the rate of melting from parts of the glacier exposed to warming ocean water. The study also found that the ice sheet is retreating in bursts, resulting in a swift and unpredictable rise in sea levels. Greenland contributes 280 billion metric tons of melting ice into the ocean each year, making it the largest physical source of rising ocean levels. What they're saying: "The ice sheet is now in this new dynamic state, where even if we went back to a climate that was more like what we had 20 or 30 years ago, we would still be pretty quickly losing mass," Ian Howat, co-author of the study and a professor at Ohio State University, said, per CNN. "We've passed the point of no return but there's obviously more to come," Howat said. "Rather than being a single tipping point in which we've gone from a happy ice sheet to a rapidly collapsing ice sheet, it's more of a staircase where we've fallen off the first step but there's many more steps to go down into the pit." Villa Victoria, also known by their legal name Nizza, Inc., is a full-service pizzeria located at 11 Park Avenue in Montclair, New Jersey. It is the quintessential New Jersey pizzeria. Prior to the mandated COVID-19 restrictions, Villa Victoria provided on-premises dining, pick-up and delivery services, and event catering. It has since adapted to the changing times with delivery, curbside pick-up, and outdoor dining. Nizza, Inc's current management stepped in after the prior managerial team failed to remit tax payments to the State of New Jersey and thus started to fall behind with vendors. The business always had a loyal clientele thanks to its great food and prime location in downtown Montclair. However, it struggled to bring its delinquent tax debt current and began falling behind on payments to its landlord. The business was close to losing everything until they contacted their legal team at Scura to help them with keeping the wolves at bay. They needed relief that only bankruptcy protection can provide. The day they filed for bankruptcy, March 10th, the New Jersey Division of Taxation had revenue agents inside the building trying to lock the doors forever. They had come to shut this local landmark down. Filing for bankruptcy saved the company at the literal last second. The Scura team informed the agents that the bankruptcy stay was in effect and the agents picked up their files and sent the locksmith away. Now Villa Victoria and its attorneys had to form a plan for how it would emerge from bankruptcy. Nizza, Inc. is one of the first small businesses to file the Small Business Reorganization Act (SBRA), first approved in February 2020. As the name suggests, this simplified process for bankruptcy is designed for small businesses to reorganize following financial hardships. The SBRA is codified at 11 U.S.C. 1181 11 U.S.C. 1195, otherwise known as Subchapter V. The SBRA is a voluntary option for small businesses, with many advantages over pre-existing options available to small businesses, including "small business debtors" under the Bankruptcy Code pre-SBRA. Villa Victoria was one of the first small businesses to use the new law but since then Scura has been very busy helping numerous other businesses get the help they need. On August 11th , Villa Victoria became the first Subchapter V case approved by the Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey and one of the first in the nation. The approved bankruptcy plan promises to pay all creditors in full and allows outstanding tax obligations to be repaid over years. The landlord will also be repaid the delinquent rent but will have to except monthly payments over the next year. Villa Victoria has made it through the most difficult of times and now has taken the right steps to progress to a brighter, more financially sound future. That news is fortunate for Villa Victoria and the family that held it together, as well as for those in Montclair able to drop by for a slice of pie. Scura, Wigfield, Heyer, Stevens & Cammarota LLP is a Bankruptcy and Personal Injury Law Firm working in New Jersey. Our team handles all types of bankruptcy, personal injury, estate planning, real estate law and litigation cases. We are ready to journey with you towards resolution and ensure that you get the best legal representation available in New Jersey. This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. SOURCE Scura, Wigfield, Heyer, Stevens & Cammarota LLP He made the offer, which he insisted would not be delivered on while he was under pressure from protesters, after exiled opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was willing to lead the country Alexander Lukashenko, the leader of Belarus, said on Monday he would be willing to hand over power after a referendum, in an apparent bid to pacify mass protests and strikes that pose the biggest challenge to his 26 years in office. He made the offer, which he insisted would not be delivered on while he was under pressure from protesters, after exiled opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said she was willing to lead the country. In a sign of Lukashenko's growing vulnerability, he faced heckling and chants of "step down" during a speech to workers at one of the large state-run industrial plants that are the pride of his Soviet-style economic model and core support base. Russia has told Lukashenko it is ready to provide military help to Belarus in the event of an external threat. Lukashenko faces the threat of European Union sanctions after a bloody crackdown on protests following what demonstrators say was his rigged re-election victory last week. He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80% of the vote. Lukashenko told workers there would be no new presidential election, something the opposition wants, until he was killed. He also offered to change the constitution, an apparent concession that seems unlikely to satisfy protesters. "We'll put the changes to a referendum, and I'll hand over my constitutional powers. But not under pressure or because of the street," Lukashenko said, in remarks quoted by the official Belta news agency. "Yes, I'm not a saint. You know my harsh side. I'm not eternal. But if you drag down the first president you'll drag down neighbouring countries and all the rest." Speaking in a video address from Lithuania, opposition politician Tsikhanouskaya urged security and law enforcement officers to switch sides, saying they would be forgiven if they did so now. "I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader during this period," Tsikhanouskaya said. She called for the creation of a legal mechanism to ensure that a new fair presidential election could be held. Her video was released as Interfax reported that employees from the state broadcaster BT has gone on strike, after several presenters and staff publicly resigned last week in solidarity with the protesters. The broadcaster was showing re-runs on Monday morning before issuing a fresh news bulletin. Videos on social media suggested BT had at one point aired footage of an empty studio with white sofas, and music playing. Reuters could not independently confirm that and the broadcaster could not immediately be reached for comment. Thousands of protesters marched in Minsk to a factory where Lukashenko flew by helicopter to speak to striking workers. He got a rough reception. "Thanks, I've said everything. You can (continue to) shout 'step down,'" he said, after struggling to be heard above demands that he be quit. He then walked away as the crowd chanted "Step down". The media outlet Tut.By reported that workers at Belaruskali, one of the world's largest potash producers, had also threatened to stop production. The state-owned firm, which is a key source of dollar revenue for Belarus, said its plant was still working. Tsikhanouskaya is a former English teacher who has become one of the leading opposition figures. She fled abroad last week, saying it was for the safety of her children, but quickly began releasing videos calling for anti-government protests to continue. The unrest has spread to those normally seen as loyal to the president, as workers from large state factories staged walkouts and some police, journalists from state media, and an ambassador also came out. The Kremlin said on Sunday that President Vladimir Putin had told Lukashenko Moscow was ready to assist Belarus in accordance with a collective military pact if necessary and that external pressure was being applied to the country. European Union leaders will send a message of solidarity to Belarusian protesters during an emergency video conference on Wednesday, and Britain joined a chorus of Western condemnation. "The world has watched with horror at the violence used by the Belarusian authorities to suppress the peaceful protests that followed this fraudulent Presidential election," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said. Search Keywords: Short link: The Hope Project of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ho Central Constituency has so far disbursed a total of GH 18, 000 among six electoral areas to support various agro-business activities of the partys members. The project, a brainchild of the partys constituency chairman, Mr Richard Zola Kwadekpo is to strengthen the support base of the NPP in those areas. The beneficiary electoral areas are Matse, Ziavi, Klefe, Tanyigbe, Avee and Hodzo which are all undertaking piggery, snail rearing as well as maize and rice cultivation on commercial scales. Mr Kwadekpo disclosed that each of the six constituencies received GH3,000. He said in an interview in Ho at the weekend that the support was based on the business proposals submitted to the Hope Project of the electoral areas. Mr Kwadekpo who is also the financier of the project, stated that the scheme would be expanded and extended to the remaining 23 electoral areas in the constituency, based on the performances of the beneficiaries. We intend to disburse the money in four phases to the other electoral areas as we monitor the output of the beneficiaries, he told the Ghanaian Times. Mr Kwadekpo said that a team had been appointed to supervise the agro-business activities in the recipient electoral areas to keep them on course and ensure that they turned out lucrative. He re-affirmed the NPPs firm stance in the Ho Central Constituency to support the grassroots in various ways and build their capacity to make them financially independent. We will always strive to give hope to the people, Mr Kwadekpo assured. Source: The Ghanaian Times Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A 54-year-old Roxbury man is accused of breaking into a Boston church Monday morning while trying to steal a flat screen television, police said. When the man, identified by police as Trevor Walthall, was arrested he had a screwdriver and television remote control in his pocket, according to Boston police. Officers were called to the St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Roxbury around 2:20 a.m. Monday for a report of a break-in. When officers arrived, they spotted Walthall leaving the church with the TV under his arm, Boston police said. When the police told Walthall to stop, he ran back into the church located on 230 Warren St. He was then found hiding in the basement, police said. Walthall apparently used a screwdriver to break inside. Officers noticed markings on wooden doors and damage to several storage unit doors. Walthall was charged with breaking and entering, malicious destruction of property and possession of burglarious tools. He is expected to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court. 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. By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijans and South Caucasus only satellite operator Azercosmos OJSC has signed a cooperation agreement with iSAT Africa company. Under the cooperation agreement, iSAT Africa will meet the growing demand for telecommunications in various parts of Africa with resources from the Azerscpace-2 satellite. Thus, using the capabilities of the Azerspace-2 satellite, iSAT Africa will provide data transmission services for 90 percent of the African region as well as various ground-based satellite solutions. Azercosmos Commercial Director Mark Guthrie noted that this cooperation will allow to use the capabilities of Azerspace-2 satellite in the most remote geographic locations in the African region. iSAT Africas Business Development Director Stanley Ayittah stated that this partnership status guarantees successful implementation of the companys integrated satellite service project during the current pandemic, giving the ability to provide flexible and efficient services to customers from all over the African region. It should be noted that iSAT Africa provides corporate broadcasting, video and data services in Africa and the Middle East. Earlier Azercosmos OJSC signed a cooperation agreement with Prime African Media Systems company that works in telecommunications and provides satellite solutions and teleport services. Under the cooperation agreement, Prime African Media Systems will broadcast ATN in the West African region, using the bandwidth of the Azerspace-2 satellite, and in the African region, especially in populated areas without a cable network. Formerly, Azercosmos OJSC signed a cooperation agreement with Space Engineering, a provider of telecommunications and Internet services in the African region. As part of this partnership, Mwangaza TV and radio channels will be broadcast via Azerspace-1 satellite by means of Space Engineering provider. Azercosmos OJSC also signed a cooperation agreement with TheAngle, a company providing satellite network service in the United Arab Emirates. According to the agreement, the parties will jointly provide reliable communication services in the regions of the Middle East and Europe. Azercosmos reported that it ended 2019 with a net profit of $2.13 million. In addition, the company exported services (satellite telecommunications and optical satellite services) worth $19.1 million to 26 countries in the period between January and May in 2020. According 2019 results, Azercosmos ranks first among state and non-state exporters in terms of exports in the service sector. Established in 2010, Azercosmos OJSC is the first and only satellite operator in the South Caucasus, which provides high-quality satellite services for telecommunications and geographic intelligence. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz FILE PHOTO: A Google logo is shown at one of the company's office complexes in Irvine, California By Renju Jose SYDNEY (Reuters) - Internet giant Google on Monday criticised proposed Australian antitrust laws, saying its free search service would be "at risk" and users' personal data could be shared if it is made to pay news organisations for their content. The Alphabet-owned company said the proposed laws would also help big media companies artificially inflate their search rankings, luring more viewers to their platforms and giving them an unfair advantage over small publishers and users of Google's YouTube streaming website. The statement, advertised on Google's main search page, marks an escalation of tensions between big tech companies and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which has called for sweeping changes to rein in how Google and social media titan Facebook Inc use local content and consumer data. "You've always relied on Google Search and YouTube to show you what's most relevant and helpful to you," Google Australia Managing Director Mel Silva wrote in the open letter. "We could no longer guarantee that under this law." The proposed law "wouldn't just impact the way Google and YouTube work with news media businesses - it would impact all of our Australian users" she wrote. The ACCC accused Google of publishing "misinformation" and said the laws would not require the U.S. company to charge Australians for its services or share any personal data. The proposed law would "allow Australian news businesses to negotiate for fair payment for their journalists' work that is included on Google services", ACCC chair Rod Sims said in a statement. "This will address a significant bargaining power imbalance between Australian news media businesses and Google and Facebook," he added. ($1 = 1.3902 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Renju Jose; Additional reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Lincoln Feast.) The late Rita (Margaret) Castles (nee Stanley) The death has occurred of Rita (Margaret) Castles, nee Stanley, Coolagh, Callan, Co. Kilkenny and formerly of Parkmore, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary and Ballinaclash, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow. Peacefully at her home on Saturday, 15th August 2020, surrounded by her loving family. Predeceased by her husband Jack. Deeply loved by her sorrowing family, sons John, Ian and Andrew, daughter Audrey, daughters-in-law, grandchildren, great grandchildren, brother Wilfred, sister Adelaide, sisters-in-law, brother-in-law, nieces, nephews, relatives, neighbours and friends. Funeral Service will take place on Tuesday, August 18, at 2pm in St. Saviours Church, Rathdrum, Wicklow. Burial will take place afterwards in Ballinatone Churchyard. Family flowers only, donations if desired to the Carlow/Kilkenny Home Care team. Donations can be made through Molloys Funeral Directors. House strictly private please. The late Joe Donnelly The death has occurred of Joe Donnelly, Ossory Park, Kilkenny City, Kilkenny, August 16. Beloved husband of Atieh and loving father of Neyfan and Melody. He will be sadly missed by his brothers Jack and Martin, sister Marie, extended family and friends. A private family service will take place on Tuesday (August 18th) and will be followed by burial afterwards in St Kieran's Cemetery, Hebron Road, Kilkenny at noon approx. Please feel free to leave a message of condolence in the condolence book at RIP.ie. "To consider that after the death of the body the spirit perishes is like imagining that a bird in a cage will be destroyed if the cage is broken......feelings will be even more powerful, its perceptions greater, and its happiness increased " 'Abdu'l -Baha' O SON OF THE SUPREME! I have made death a messenger of joy to thee. Wherefore dost thou grieve? I have made the light to shed on thee its splendor. Why dost thou veil thyself therefrom? Baha'u' llah The late Peter John Marshall The death has occurred of Peter John Marshall, Hollybank Drive, Clongowen, Waterford Road, Kilkenny, August 16, peacefully, at home in the loving care of his family, Peter John, beloved husband of Maria and much loved father of Tessa, Noreen and Mairead. Sadly missed by his wife and daughters, sister Sandra and her husband Dave, sons-in-law Bob, Martin and Jimmy, grandchildren Adrian, Dylan, Peter, Alicia, Michael, Liam, Ruairi and Angelina, great-grandchildren Freya and Quentin, extended family, neighbours and friends. In keeping with current government/HSE guidelines regarding public gatherings, Requiem Mass for Peter takes place on Tuesday, August 18, at 10.30am in St Fiacre's Church, Loughboy, for family and close friends. Funeral afterwards to Foulkstown Cemetery. Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to the St Vincent de Paul Society. House private please. Those wishing to leave a message of condolence to Peter's family may do so on RIP.ie. The late Sr Assumpta (Bridie) Mahon The death has occurred of Sr Assumpta (Bridie) Mahon, Religious Sister of the Poor Servants of the Mother of God (SMG) and formerly of Kilconly, The Rower, Co. Kilkenny, August 14 (peacefully) in the loving care of the staff of Maryfield Nursing Home, Old Lucan Road, Chapelizod, Dublin D20 WC89. Predeceased by her loving parents Jim and Maggie, sisters Maggie, Mary, Kitty and Babsie and brother Jimmy. Sadly missed by her community and the sisters of the Congregation, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews, great grandnieces and great grandnephews, relatives and friends. Returning to Maryfield Nursing Home Chapel, on Sunday, August 16 at 4pm. Due to Covid-19 a private funeral will take place at Maryfield Nursing Home on Monday, August 17 at 11am, mass can be viewed on the following link https://www.facebook.com/MaryfieldChapelizod Funeral will arrive at The Rower Cemetery, Kilkenny, for funeral prayers and burial at 2pm on Monday, August 17. Those who would have liked to attend the funeral but due to current restrictions cannot, may leave a personal message on the condolences link on RIP.ie. The late Thomas (Tom) O'Mahoney The death has occurred of Thomas (Tom) O'Mahoney, Kylemore, The Rower, Kilkenny. Tom passed away suddenly on Friday, August 14 in his 90th year. Predeceased by his late wife Ciss, his son Michael and grand-daughter Sarah. Deeply regretted by his children John, Thomas, Pat, Mary and Ann, his much loved 13 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren, daughters-in-law, son-in-law, his brother Joseph, sisters Ann (New York) and Sr Mary Bernadette, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and a large circle of friends. Toms Funeral Mass for family and close friends will take place on Tuesday, August 18, at 11am in The Church of the Assumption, The Rower, burial afterwards in The Rower Cemetery. (max 50 in The Church) To view Tom's Mass at 11am on Tuesday, August 18, please click on the following link https://youtu.be/Xc6Aj0zW4aE Those who would have liked to attend the funeral but due to current restrictions cannot, may leave a personal message on the condolences link at RIP.ie. The United States surpassed 170,000 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University as health officials express concerns over COVID-19 complicating the fall flu season. Deaths rose by 483 on Sunday, with Florida, Texas and Louisiana, leading the rise in fatalities. The United States has at least 5.4 million confirmed cases in total of the novel coronavirus, the highest in the world and likely an undercount as the country still has not ramped up testing to the recommended levels. The coronavirus death toll just passed 170,000 on Sunday with a further 50,000 new cases of infection on Saturday. Pictured, a COVID-19 vaccine is ready to be given to a volunteer at the Research Centers of America in Hollywood, Florida as part of a clinical trial Cases are falling in most states except for Hawaii, South Dakota and Illinois. Public health officials and authorities are concerned about a possible fall resurgence in cases amid the start of the flu season, which will likely exacerbate efforts to treat the coronavirus. The US is the hardest-hit country in the world by the COVID-19 pandemic and just surpassed 170,000 deaths on Sunday Centers for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield warned the United States may be in for its 'worst fall' if the public does not follow health guidelines in an interview with Web MD. Months into the pandemic, the U.S. economic recovery from the recession triggered by the outbreak is still staggered, with some hot spots slowing their reopenings and others shutting down businesses. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is anticipating an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the coming months Globally, there have been 772,000 deaths with around a fifth occurring in the US. Pictured, a woman has her swab sample collected by a laboratories team member for COVID-19 testing at the Mexican Consulate's parking lot in Miami, Florida on Saturday There have been 5.4 million cases of coronavirus resulting in just over 170,000 deaths The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is anticipating an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the coming months, resulting in around 300,000 total deaths by December, and a nearly 75% increase in hospitalizations. The model predicts the death toll could hit 185,000 by September. Worldwide there are at least 21.5 million coronavirus cases and over 765,000 confirmed deaths. The United States remains the global epicenter of the virus, with around a quarter of the cases and deaths. The U.S. added nearly 50,000 new cases of infection on Saturday, bringing its overall tally to 5.38 million, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Out of more than 772,000 deaths associated with the virus worldwide, about a fifth of them occurred in the U.S., the data showed. Deaths rose by 483 on Sunday, with Florida, Texas and Louisiana, leading the rise in fatalities. Pictured, a woman embraces her husband with possible Covid-9 symptoms before medics with the Houston Fire Department paramedics transport him to a hospital on August 13 The CDC also notes that that the number and rate of cases in children in the U.S. has been steadily increasing from March to July. In Arizona, new cases have declined considerably since July. It's a similar picture in Georgia with hospitalizations and positive test having declined over the past week. The state was among the first to reopen schools recently. New York, which was the epicenter of the virus at the start of the pandemic has seen the state's count surpass 425,500. On Saturday, the state reported its lowest level of hospitalizations in five months, with 523 patients infected with coronavirus. UP RERA also asked erring developers to give details of properties that can be auctioned UP RERA has identified 25 defaulting real estate developers in the state, issued recovery certificates against them and now plans to auction their properties to recover the homebuyers money amounting to over Rs 500 crore. We would start auctioning these properties in the next 15 days, UP RERA member Balwinder Kumar told Moneycontrol. We have identified 25 builders who have defaulted in complying with our orders. Most of these orders have been issued over the last two years. We had received several complaints against these developers. Most of these complaints had to do with delay penalties and non-payment of amount due to buyers against the recovery certificates issued by the UP RERA, he said. The defaulting developers have been asked to provide information on the unsold inventory in their projects, both ongoing and completed, with details of the units tower/block/pocket-wise; area of the vacant land (unutilised land) in each of the projects along with the location on the map; unused FAR in each of the projects; details of the re-sale of the complainants unit along with the date and value of the resale. Details of the assets and properties of the real estate company, including the land/plots owned by the company on which a project has yet to be launched, has also been sought. 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 A recovery certificate is issued against a real estate firm if it refuses to repay the amount for which it has defaulted as ordered by the court or a quasi-judicial body. The recovery amount is collected by the district administration. When builders do not repay to the buyers, we issue a recovery certificate and send it to the district magistrate for recovery but since district magistrates are busy with Covid-19 they could not recover the amounts against those RCs. We have, therefore, prepared a list of 25 developers who are major defaulters and have not complied with our orders, he said. UP RERA is planning to hold online meetings with all the developers starting August 18. We will be asking them to give us a plan on how they are going to comply with the orders which we have issued, he said. UP RERA has also prepared a list of vacant, unencumbered properties lying with the developers. We will also be asking these developers to send us their list of vacant properties and then we will auction them with the help of the district magistrate and recover the amount due to homebuyers. We hope to recover over Rs 500 crore from these properties, he said. It has requested the development authorities under whose jurisdiction the projects or the properties of the defaulting promoters are located to make available the list of unsold inventories, vacant land, unsold FAR (floor area ratio) in all projects of these defaulting promoters. Officials from development authorities including that of Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna expressway, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Moradabad, Agra, Bareilly, Kanpur, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Jhansi and Hapur were present in the meeting held on August 14. The authority has also looked into projects where the date of completion has lapsed and the developers have not uploaded their completion certificates or the occupancy certificates on the UP RERA website. We would be holding online meetings with these developers on this issue and give them a months time to upload the details, he said. UP RERA has so far issued about 2,000 recovery certificates and the value of the amount in these recovery certificates is over Rs. 600 crore. About 15 percent of the amount against the recovery certificates has been realized and transferred to the homebuyers. A Virginia man was arrested Sunday on two counts of aggravated battery against a peace officer and other charges after Cass County deputies responded to a 911 hangup call and then a call from a woman screaming for help. Dispatchers were able to plot the call to a Virginia address and upon arrival (the) suspect tried to flee into an apartment building, Sheriff Devron Ohrn said. UPDATE: The show has been postponed because of concerns over EEE. The Theatre Guild of Hampden will stage an outdoor production of Steel Magnolias this weekend with blocking and location mindful of social distancing guidelines set forth by the state during the ongoing pandemic. I didnt want to cancel because the cast is brilliant, said director Mark H. Giza. Giza said the show which began rehearsals outside in June is coming together quite nicely. It will take place outdoors Friday through Sunday, Aug. 21-23, on the grounds of Fountain Park, 883 Tinkham Road, Wilbraham, at 6 p.m. Admission is free, though donations are accepted. The title, Steel Magnolias, suggests the female characters in the production set in a small town in the South can be as delicate as a magnolia and as tough as steel. Diane Flynn, an esthetician from Hampden, plays Truvy, a salon owner she describes as bubbly, looks for the good in everybody, is a really big gossip and loves her town, loves her family and loves her friends and tries to keep the peace. She is flashy and loves baubles and make-up and big hair. Flynn, a veteran actor with The Theatre Guild of Hampden who began as Annie, a cellblock Tango girl in Chicago, has done outdoor theater before. It was really fun, she said. The challenge here is not being outside; its not being close with my cast-mates. But the way Giza deals with the social-distancing requirements is brilliant, she said. You have to see it for yourself. The challenge for Giza was to re-block the show so actors would not be within six feet of one another on the stage. The performers will be under a 10-foot-by-30-foot tent. God forbid it rains and we have to cancel, Giza said. Its really a show about how when the going gets tough the tough get going, said Giza, and award-winning theater director. Its about friendship and connection. There is no charge for the performances, though donations will be accepted. This is our gift to the community during a time when people need to get out. So much theater has been canceled, Giza said. Everybody is so down now (because of the pandemic). Hopefully this will be a gift that will give everybody a little lift. Attendees are invited to bring their own chairs or blankets. Refreshments will be available for purchase, but audience members may bring a picnic. Social distancing requirements will be observed: maximum of 100 patrons per show, groups limited to six people, 6-foot spacing between groups, no children under the age of 12 and masks must be worn when buying refreshments. For more information go online to theatreguildofhampden.org. If you go Event: Steel Magnolias When: Friday through Sunday, Aug. 21-23, 6 p.m. Where: Fountain Park, 883 Tinkham Road, Wilbraham Cost: Free, donations accepted For more info: Visit theatreguildofhampden.org For the better part of three months, Indian public attention has remained rooted to the situation on the LAC in Ladakh. It shifted marginally to J&K on the first anniversary of the dilution of Articles 370 and 35A but remained fixated on analysis of governance, politics and the neutralisation of terrorists, with too little focus towards the actual threats from across the borders that remain persistent, though as yet low-key. The Indian decision of 5 August 2019 put Pakistan in a quandary. The separatist networks started drying up, propaganda through social media got largely neutered with deactivation of 4G mobile connectivity and internationally, there were few takers for the Pakistani narrative. Even the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) expressed no reservations over Indias actions. For Pakistan, J&K remains an obsession; the psychological make-up of its polity, leadership and even its people is based upon the pursuit of somehow taking J&K into its fold. Expression of national frustration is rife, putting even the deep state under pressure to do something. A bounce back is what Pakistan is working upon in the hope of creating severe challenges for India in the domains of internal security, LoC management, information and psychological warfare, internationalisation and dual front threats. So where does it stand in actualisation of these threats? Nothing seems to have worked in its favour, so it is in the field of international relations that Pakistans deep state reckons it has scope to show its people that it is making some efforts. It probably hopes that the internal situation in J&K will take a turn with time for which it must remain prepared internationally. This perception springs from the rapidly changing international environment where its strategic partner and closest ally China is seeking to upset the US dominance of the world and pursue a new balance of power equations. Pakistan has already demonstrated strategic loyalty by moving troops to Gilgit Baltistan (GB) to posture and prevent India from focusing all its effort towards meeting the Chinese threat. Pakistan is aware that in the emerging dispensation, China aims at diluting Indias strategic confidence to prevent it from playing any effective role in the joint US strategy to contain Beijing. A subsidiary intent is probably assessed by Pakistan as the safeguarding of Chinese interests in GB through which its flagship project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), runs from Kashgar to Gwadar. Here arises the fond Pakistani hope that China will coerce India militarily for which it will need Pakistans assistance to keep J&K on the boil both internally and at the LoC. Pakistans frustration also stems from the refusal of the Saudi Arabia-led OIC to endorse its bidding on J&K. Pakistan was hopeful of taking the Islamic world along to back its efforts at the UN to raise J&K as an agenda, which would have put India under pressure. The Saudis have long considered Pakistan an asset in terms of its balancing presence as it shares a long border with Iran, Saudi Arabias chief rival within the Islamic world. The relationship has even seen Pakistani military presence in Saudi Arabia for protection of the Royal Family and former Army Chief General Raheel Sharif as head of the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition set up by the Saudis. In the last two years, Saudi Arabia has bailed Pakistan out of a deep financial crisis with a $3 billion aid-cum-loan and $3.5 billion energy credits on deferred payments. In December 2019, the seeds of a cleavage in the relationship appeared sown when Pakistan initially joined Malaysia and Turkey for an anti-Islamophobia conference at Kuala Lumpur outside the aegis of the Saudi-led OIC. It withdrew when the Saudis frowned but claimed that a special J&K-focused OIC meeting would be held at Islamabad in April 2020, which never happened. Strangely, Pakistan is now displaying even more frustration with its maverick foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, stating to Saudi Arabia: If you cannot convene it, then Ill be compelled to ask PM Imran Khan to call a meeting of Islamic countries that are ready to stand with us on the Kashmir issue. Probably backed by China, Pakistan was willing to go against its most important partner in West Asia, returning $1 billion of the Saudi loan due for repayment and accepting a promised equivalent from China. Internationalisation, currently the main component of its strategy, has led to the visit of Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkir, due to take over as the President of the UN General Assembly, to Islamabad. Turkey was one of the few countries that supported Pakistan over J&K but Bozkirs ability to swing anything for Pakistan is challenged by the relative international lack of will and intent to look at the worlds conflicts while the pandemic rages. Chinas recent attempt at discussing J&K in the UN Security Council also failed. While none of the above diplomatic efforts seem to have succeeded, Pakistan has also resorted to its age-old ploy of cartographic aggression. It has published new maps showing J&K as part of Pakistan. The new map, in which the complete J&K is shown integrated with Pakistan, also has annotations of India illegally occupied J&Kdisputed territoryfinal status to be decided in line with relevant UNSC resolutions. It hopes to project the map at the UN too. Pakistans diplomatic efforts appear to be an attempt at psychological warfare against its own population to keep reminding it of the intense efforts by the Imran Khan-led PTI government with reference to J&K. Paradoxically, the five-month reprieve given by the Financial Action Task Force is also drawing to a close and there are half the demanded legislative actions yet to be completed. Energetic moves towards support to terrorists have taken a temporary break but the effect of that on the internal security situation in J&K will only go in favour of Indian security forces. With infiltration having been reduced due to effective Indian operations at the LoC and recruitment of local Kashmiris having gone down by 40%, the deep state is looking into an abyss in which it may effectively run out of resources by the end of this year. It would have to ramp up infiltration from different directions (the Jammu routes) and attempt one big Pulwama-type terror act, which is not easy under the given circumstances. Failing these, the LoC would be activated. That translates into actions by BATs or hits against shallow objectives, Uri style. Thus, while India can temporarily remain satisfied with the situation relating to J&K, there is every need to remain wary of some old and perhaps some new ways that could be attempted to turn the situation around. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd). Former Commander, Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Now Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir (atahasnain@gmail.com) U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp (NYSE:CVX) is on the hunt for a new oil investment, and it is looking in the potentially lucrative and unstable area of Iraq. Chevron is mulling over a memorandum of understanding with the Iraqi government to further explore and develop one of Iraqs Nassiriya oilfield in the south, according to sources who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. The size and scope of the potential agreement has not yet been defined, but will likely be a smaller deal defined in terms of hundreds of millions. The oilfield is a tricky one to explore, according to the WSJ, but estimates peg its holdings at around 4.4 billion barrels of crude. Currently, the Nassiriya oilfield produces about 90,000 bpdbut the oilfieldand the country in general--has been rocked with protests, adding another layer of risk for the U.S. major to any project undertaken in Iraq. The investment comes after Chevrons $5 billion Noble Acquisition, which helped the U.S. major to get its hands on the giant offshore Leviathan gas field at a time when most oil and gas companies are too busy writing down their assets rather than making new investments. Despite its search for additional investments, Chevron reported a net loss of $8.3 billion for Q2 on the back of impairment charges as oil prices fell and as it pulled entirely out of Venezuelathe latter which resulted in $2.6 billion in writedowns. The $8.3 billion loss for Q2 compares to earnings of $4.3 billion for Q2 2019. Chevron also warned in its Q2 report that Q3s financial results may continue to be depressed. Chevron did not comment on the potential deal, according to the WSJ. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Founded in 2006, redBus is a strong example of Make in India, which has today become the worlds largest online bus ticketing platform. After having solved complex problems of bus customers in India, redBus also launched operations in Singapore and Malaysia in 2015 and acquired a majority stake in Peru-based bus ticketing platform Busportal (now redBus.Pe) in the subsequent year. With this acquisition, redBus successfully launched operations in Latin America markets, Peru and shortly thereafter, Colombia. Also read: RedBus raises funds to support bus drivers, conductors, helpers According to the company, redBus has globally sold more than 180 million bus tickets till date and has a customer base of around 20 million users. redBus is now part of the MakeMyTrip group, which is the largest travel aggregator in India with offerings across categories such as Flights, Hotels, Holiday Packages, etc. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the operations and there has been a deep fear among passengers to travel in public transport. However, with gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions, people have now slowly started to travel by both air and road. To make travelling safe and reassuring, redBus has implemented some strict safety measures with their operators to ensure complete safety of the passengers. The company wanted to reassure bus travellers that they can still move forward towards fulfilling their dreams during these tough times, as redBus strives to ensure their safety during the journey with its Safety+ programme campaign. To generate awareness about and to educate the travellers about the safety measures that the company has taken, a new television commercial explaining the safety measures has been rolled out. In conversation with Adgully, Pallavi Chopra, Head of Marketing and Brand communication, redBus, shares details about the latest campaign, operating amid COVID-19 conditions and more. What was your purpose for the safety film? What triggered you to create this communication and how it is going to benefit redBus when the fear of travelling is still there in peoples mind? In the ad film, we are urging or inspiring people to follow their dreams and undertake the necessary travel required to pursue those, while we take care of the safety aspect. We realised that there are millions of people out there waiting to travel in order to pursue various life goals, including career, but were sceptical owing to the safety of travel in the present scenario. As a brand thats all about enabling journeys and connections, we wanted to reassure bus travellers that they can still move forward towards fulfilling their dreams during these tough times, as redBus strives to ensure their safety during the journey with its Safety+ programme. Our intention is to express solidarity with bus travellers on safety, inspire people to persevere in their endeavours and restore the optimism for bus travel as the nation traverses its path to normalcy. What was the brief given to the agency for this TV campaign? How did you arrive on the core insight and how did your agency go about expressing it creatively? And how was the film executed during the lockdown? The nationwide lockdown has not only brought lives, but also dreams and aspirations for the future to a grinding halt. Being the custodian of the online bus ticketing category, we felt it imperative to comfort customers by making travel safe in these uncertain times. Hence, we had briefed the agency to envisage a subject or scenario that resonated with households across the country in order to shape the campaign, which would connect at a deeper emotional level. To express this creatively, we, along with our agency decided to use a strong and emotional dynamic between a protective father and his ambitious young daughter, to tell a story that we felt every Indian family contemplating travel during these times could connect to. Executing a film remotely during the pandemic comes with its fair share of challenges. However, with the help of technology and a highly collaborative process involving client, agency and production house, we were able to ensure that the execution of the film was just as effective as it would have been prior to the pandemic. All pre-production communication between key stakeholders took place on video call. Once the cast and crew was selected, all necessary precautions like thermal screening of crew, wearing of masks, sanitisation of surfaces at the shoot location and social distancing were taken to ensure safety on the set. All stakeholders were also together on video call during the shoot to ensure swift feedback between takes. Keeping this safety program in mind, on which routes are the buses plying? Are you planning a phased approach for the moment or will you extend it to more routes by following all safety procedures? States in India are at varying phases of the pandemic and have implemented restrictions on intercity transport depending on the situation on the ground. The Safety+ program covers most of the current operational routes and the routes which will open up in the future. For the campaign execution, we are planning a phased approach for our digital campaign, targeting those regions that have permitted bus operations first, followed by the rest. Are you planning to use some of the traditional medium apart from the TV campaign as you need to be visible locally? Given the present scenario, we concluded that digital is the best medium to reach our audience in the remotest parts of the country, hence we are undertaking a digital-led approach, with a focus on social media with platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, apart from e-mailers and push notifications to our customer base. As and when various states open up for intercity transport, we will evaluate TV and other media. With digital acceleration happening at a rapid pace, are you going to focus a lot on digital? Have you planned any overall media strategy? Certainly, as stated earlier, digital will be the way forward given the present scenario as it offers us enough flexibility in terms of targeting the right audience at the right time. With the states opening up in a staggered manner, we will take a planned approach to marketing. How has the initial response for the campaign been? Have you seen any traction and have the bookings gone up? It would be too early to comment on the results as it has just been a few days since the launch. However, we have already seen the film being received well across the board. A former senior Trump administration official has endorsed Joe Biden in a damning video produced by a Republican group against the president. "What we saw week in and week out, and for me, after two and a half years in that administration, was terrifying," Miles Taylor said in a video from Republican Voters Against Trump. "We would go in to try to talk to him about a pressing national security issue cyberattack, terrorism threat he wasn't interested in those things. To him, they weren't priorities." Mr Taylor, who had served as Department of Homeland Security chief of staff under former secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, is one of the highest-ranking former administration officials to endorse the president's rival. "Given what I have experienced in the administration, I have to support Joe Biden for president, and even though I am not a Democrat, even though I disagree on key issues, I'm confident that Joe Biden will protect the country and I'm confident that he won't make the same mistakes as this president," he said in the video. The president wanted to "restart" a practice of separating children from their families at the US-Mexico border following its termination in 2018, despite a growing humanitarian crisis forcing thousands of children into federal custody while their migrant families were prosecuted, Mr Taylor has claimed. "He wanted to go further and have a deliberate policy of ripping children away from their parents to show those parents they shouldn't come to the border in the first place," Mr Taylor said in the video. "He didn't want us to tell him it was illegal anymore because he knew that there were, and these were his words, he knew he had 'magical authorities'." Mr Taylor also authored an op-ed for The Washington Post, published on Monday, that echoes the allegations and illustrates a president who has "governed by whim, political calculation and self-interest". Agencies involved with the initial "zero tolerance" border decision "were unprepared to implement the policy, causing a disastrous backlog of detentions that ultimately left migrant parents and their children separated," Mr Taylor wrote. In the column, he claims that the president sought to "dump" people entering the US without legal permission into "Democratic-leaning sanctuary cities and states to overload their authorities, as he insisted several times". The president's "indiscipline was also a constant source of frustration," he claimed, pointing to a February 2019 meeting to avoid a possible government shutdown in which Mr Trump held a phone briefing with DHS to "discuss the colour of the wall". "He was particularly interested in the merits of using spray paint and how the steel structure should be coated," Mr Taylor said. "Episodes like this occurred almost weekly." The president's campaign did not immediately return The Independent's request for comment. Mr Taylor also claimed that the president had directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to "cut off the money and no longer give individual assistance" to people in California following deadly wildfires in the state. "He told us to stop giving money to people whose houses have burned down in a wildfire because he was so rageful that people in the state of California didn't support him and that politically it wasn't a base for him," Mr Taylor said. The president wanted to "exploit" the DHS "for his own political purposes to fuel his own agenda", said Mr Taylor, alleging that officials who continue to serve in the administration have warned him that a second term if the president is re-elected would be "no-holds-barred" and "shock-and-awe". Mr Taylor is among several high-profile former administration officials who have publicly denounced the president, including former national security chief John Bolton. Anthony Scaramucci, who briefly served as White House communications director, has also endorsed Mr Biden for president. In the kick-off to an unconventional Democratic National Convention, Gov. Ned Lamont and Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez fired up Connecticut delegates Monday to nominate former Vice President Joe Biden to be Democrats presidential pick. Were not going to leave anything on the battlefield this time, Lamont told Connecticuts delegates in a Monday morning breakfast call. The Democratic National Convention, a largely virtual event this year, will take place from Monday to Thursday, with speeches from leading Democrats each night from 9 to 11 p.m. As the week started, party leaders naturally made note of that in the hope that delegates not let the unusual arrangement slow their efforts. I know this is indeed unconventional this week, but I think youre going to find its going to be exciting, Perez said. Its inspiring. In addition to national programming, Connecticut delegates will spend the week getting to know elected officials from Connecticut and across the country over Zoom. Former U.S. Rep. and Democratic presidential candidate Beto ORourke of Texas urged Connecticut Democrats to get involved by making calls to voters in his state Monday night. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., discussed gun violence prevention campaigns and his fundraising to flip the Senate. Connecticut delegates learned about the push for Washington, D.C. statehood and later, tuned into a virtual happy hour with the Vermont Democratic Party and former Governor and chair of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, on Monday. Delegates will not travel to Milwaukee the conventions host city this year, but instead will take in the convention from their states, participating in virtual caucus meetings and voting to nominate Biden on Tuesday. Biden is also not heading to Milwaukee; he will participate in convention activities from his home state of Delaware. Even without the normal pomp and fanfare, Connecticut delegates were eager for the conventions four-days of Zoom and livestreamed events. Steven Sheinberg, chair of the Fairfield Democratic Town Committee and a Connecticut delegate, said he was excited to kick off the convention with Lamont and Perez. A first-time delegate, Sheinberg has been busy informing Fairfield Democrats how to watch the conventions from home and placing orders for Biden-Harris lawn signs, he said. I am thrilled with the Democratic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Sheinberg said. He said believes Biden will control the pandemic and tackle unemployment and economic and racial injustice. A self-described pragmatic progressive, Sheinberg said he appreciated Bidens strength of character. All of Connecticuts delegates are Biden supporters because no other Democratic candidate won enough support in the state to receive delegates in the states Aug. 11 primary. Lamont urged the delegates to get ready now for the November election by making plans to vote, encouraging friends to vote and volunteering for the Biden campaign. The stakes are even bigger and we need everybodys commitment as we turn this around, Lamont said. I think weve realized over the years, especially just in this century what a difference elections can make. Al Gore could have millions more votes or at least a few hanging chads here there and imagine what a difference that would have made. Instead of invading Iraq, we would have had trillions to invest in our own country, in education and health care. Hillary Clinton got millions more votes but that didnt seem to be quite enough and we ended up with Donald Trump. An early supporter of Biden, Lamont recalled Bidens personability at a fundraiser that Biden attended at Lamonts home in Greenwich six months ago. He spoke from the heart and then he just walked into the room, said Lamont Monday. It was a group of independents and Republicans, incredibly diverse, obviously all our Democrats there. And just one-on-one and those personal relationships that make a difference. Thats part of what makes Joe Biden special. Lamont has given $3,000 to Bidens campaign. His wife, Annie Lamont, a venture capital executive, has given over $5,000 to Biden. In July, Biden held a virtual fundraiser with the Lamonts, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Jim Himes, D-4. In 2018, the former vice president campaigned on behalf of Connecticut Democrats ahead of the mid-term election. Unlike in past conventions, Biden will participate in the convention on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. In the past, presidential nominees have remained out of the convention spotlight until their acceptance speech on the last night of the convention, which this year is on Thursday. Youre going to hear from Joe Biden in different ways, shapes and forms every night because we want people to see Joe Biden in action, Perez said on the call. No Connecticut elected officials are expected to give national speeches. Tony Blair today warned it will not be possible to impose another UK-wide coronavirus lockdown as he claimed ministers had got the Government's travel quarantine policy 'wrong'. The former prime minister said it was 'not credible' for the Government to repeat the sweeping draconian measures put in place back in March because of the economic damage another shut down would cause. He said Britons must learn to 'live with' the deadly disease until there is a vaccine and that a mass testing programme is the only way to keep the country moving. He took aim at the Government's 14 day quarantine rules for people returning to the UK from countries where coronavirus is on the rise as he said the self-isolation period could be cut 'substantially'. He called for ministers to take a more 'sensible' approach to calculating risk amid rising speculation that Croatia and Greece could soon join Spain and France on the UK's 'red list'. Meanwhile, Mr Blair also suggested ministers had been over reliant on officials during the crisis and that they needed to recognise 'where the science ends and judgements begin'. Tony Blair, pictured at an event in London in November 2019, said another national lockdown was 'not possible' because of the economic damage it would cause Boris Johnson has not ruled out imposing a second national lockdown should there be a major spike in coronavirus cases. But Mr Blair told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that another lockdown was 'not possible'. He said: I just dont think you are going to be able to do that and I think it was hard enough to do the first lockdown. The economic consequences of that are obviously devastating but if you think about doing that in the winter months I just think it is not credible, it is not possible to do. If you track what is happening around the world today I think countries are moving in the direction of this mass testing.' Mr Blair has long advocated the introduction of a mass routine testing programme in order to stop the spread of coronavirus in the community. He said that such a programme is necessary because as many as 70 per cent of cases are asymptomatic. He said the Government 'has got to change the way it calculates risk' as he called for quarantine rules to be relaxed. Ministers announced last week that travellers returning from France must now self-isolate for two weeks. The Government has faced sustained pressure from the travel sector and Tory MPs to ease the rules. Mr Blair said: 'In every single aspect of this, once you realise you are not going to eradicate the disease, you are going to have to contain it and live with it at least until a vaccine comes, then you have just got to have a sensible risk calculus in every area. So for example now we are telling people to go back into pubs, we are incentivising them, quite rightly for the purposes of getting the economy moving, to go and eat out. All of those things are risk. I think the way we are doing the quarantine rules is wrong actually, I think you could cut that 14 day quarantine substantially. If you recognise that whatever you do there is going to be a risk, you just have to minimise it. Mr Blair also called for more political leadership during the crisis as he suggested ministers had tried to shift responsibility for key decisions to the Government's science and health experts. Ministers have said throughout the pandemic that all of their decisions have been based on the latest official advice. Mr Blair said: In the end the important thing when you are in government and officials are giving you advice, is the hard thing is sometimes not finding the answers but finding the right questions. You have just got to interrogate the officials properly and I think what has happened is that too much of this has just been, as it were, accepted without really trying to get underneath and into the detail of what people are suggesting so you understand where the science ends and judgements begin. The Rev. Carl Day knows he's taking a risk every day he walks the streets of Philadelphia, where at least one person has died violently every day this year, mostly from guns. Known as the "Pastor in the Hood," Day, who leads the Culture Changing Christians church, talks to young drug dealers and gang members, asks them "why are you out here? Who will look after your kids if you die? What needs to change?" And something needs to change: As of Aug. 14, Philadelphia has seen at least 262 homicides this year, 30% more than this time last year. "People are scared. Legitimately. My wife is scared," says Day, 35. "There's a lot of wars going on in Philadelphia now. But we don't allow those things to deter us. You have to either hide or try to engage. And we have to engage." The Rev. Carl Day of the Culture Changing Christians Church is pictured in Philadelphia, where he conducts violence-reduction programs. Philadelphia is just one of dozens of major U.S. cities plagued by a horrifying increase in gun violence this year, from New York and Milwaukee to Los Angeles and Denver. Experts say systemic reforms are needed to reduce the violence, not just more police officers on the streets. The violence from nine people shot at a family picnic in Denver last weekend to three fatal shootings Wednesday in Indianapolis comes amid a backdrop of nightly protests against police brutality, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic devastation caused by widespread unemployment. Related: Why police are protected from civil lawsuits, trials Chicago alone has seen at least 432 people shot to death as of July 29, a 40% increase over this time last year, according to the Chicago Tribune's shooting tracker. Nationally, at least 11,047 people have died in gun violence so far this year, excluding suicide, compared to 15,208 in all of 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive. At that rate, it will easily be the deadliest year for gun-related homicides since at least 1999, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Experts say other major crimes are flat or even down. Story continues A man overcome with emotion tries to get past police as an investigation takes place at a reported homicide in an alley on North 65th Street just north of West Silver Spring Drive in Milwaukee on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. Trump sends in federal agents President Donald Trump has repeatedly singled out many of those cities, criticizing their Democratic leadership, including Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, for failing to control their streets. In July, the president announced he was dispatching hundreds of federal agents and investigators into Chicago, Kansas City and Albuquerque, among other cities, to assist local police departments as part of Operation LeGend, named for a four-year-old boy who was shot and killed while sleeping at his Kansas City home in June. "This rampage of violence shocks the conscience of our nation, and we will not stand by and watch it happen. Cant do that," Trump said last month. But violence-prevention experts say the president's comments reflect a simplistic approach to a historically complicated problem of violence within Black communities. They say a heavy-handed approach, while politically popular with the president's largely white, suburban base, will likely exacerbate existing conditions as communities recoil against what could be seen as an occupying force. On Friday, the Justice Department announced the operation was being expanded to Indianapolis, where homicide investigations are up more than 32% in 2020 compared to last year. Kansas City police announced Thursday they had arrested a 22-year-old man for the death of LeGend Taliferro, the boy whose name has been adopted by Trump's anti-violence task force. The specific role the federal officials played was not disclosed. Homicides in Kansas City are up 40% compared to this time last year, according to data compiled by the Kansas City Star, with at least 127 reported so far. Bystanders comfort each other in Milwaukee in the aftermath of a shooting where five died. "The arrest and state charges resulted from cooperation among Kansas City police officers, the FBI and U.S. Marshals," Barr said in a statement. "This development is a model for joint efforts to solve crimes and reduce violence in other cities.'' Black leaders oppose heavy-handed policing Many Black community advocates say sending more law enforcement officers to violence-plagued cities fails to address the underlying drivers of that violence: generations of institutional racism, systemic poverty and the unaddressed consequences of slavery. They argue those factors have created a cauldron of violence that can only be addressed by major, sustained campaigns aimed at changing the way people are educated and how they value the lives of those around them, while also providing alternatives through good jobs and stable housing. "There's a perfect storm of economic, psychological and health crises in our country, and that's impacting communities that have always borne the brunt of these disparities," says Reggie Moore, the injury and violence prevention director for the Office of Violence Prevention in Milwaukee, where homicides have doubled to 106 as of Friday afternoon, compared to the same time last year. Non-fatal shootings in the same period have risen from 235 to 408 this year, Moore said, citing city statistics. Reggie Moore, director of violence prevention for the City of Milwaukee Health Department, walks Thursday with protestors to monitor the situation on North Avenue. The protesters were demonstrating against racial injustice and in response to George Floyd ,who died at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. "There's been generations of pain and trauma," Moore says. "When you feel that either everybody in your community has been shot or is shooting, that normalizes violence." The homicide death of Floyd, 46, a father, security guard and anti-violence activist, prompted an unprecedented national conversation about police reform, particularly the physically aggressive way that some police officers detain Black men suspected of minor crimes. In Floyd's case, a police officer kneeled on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes after saying Floyd was uncooperative as they investigated a report that he'd passed a counterfeit $20 bill. Since his death, some cities have adopted plans to "defund the police," which has become a shorthand phrase for redirecting some of the money spent on armed officers into social workers, mental health counseling and other community-focused efforts aimed at social justice. While Trump has connected the protests and the defund movements to the increase in violence, experts say the trends were already on the upswing before Floyd's death. Public health experts say it's too early to tell if the violence on the streets so far this year reflects a national trend or just an aberration driven in part by the pandemic. Community activists say the underlying causes of street violence will continue to fester unless properly addressed, and not simply suppressed by an "occupying force of warrior-cops," says longtime police reform activist Nkechi Taifa. She argues that sending armed police officers into Black communities suffering gun violence, while likely to reduce shootings in the short term, causes collateral community damage perpetuating a cycle of mistrust. Excluding suicides, all gun-related deaths in the country rose from 13,537 in 2015 to 15,112 in 2016 and then 15,679 in 2017 before falling to 14,789 in 2018 and then rising again to 15,208 last year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Longtime police reform activist, lawyer and author Nkechi Taifa. "There's this hopelessness: if you think you're going to die tomorrow, why does it matter what you do today?," says Taifa, 65, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist, activist and author of the book "Black Power, Black Lawyer: My Audacious Quest for Justice. "Many people don't acknowledge the root causes of the crime that's going on in these communities. When there is lack, and there is so much lack in Black communities, it's predictable you will have crime." Like other activists, Taifa argues that violence-prevention strategies have never been properly funded or given a chance to take root. Although many cities have anti-violence programs, like New York's Save Our Streets or Chicago's Cure Violence, they can be short-lived, poorly funded efforts when compared to the amount of money spent on policing. Taifa's hopeful the "defund the police" movement may finally mean more-than-shoestring funding for these programs. "We know what has been happening, and we know that it has not worked. We stand at the epicenter of countless systemic failures," she says. Pandemic halted some violence-prevention work In Chicago, "violence interrupters" from city staff to nonprofit workers and neighborhood volunteers have long been part of the city's strategy to strengthen communities and reduce risk, says Walter Katz, a former public defender and deputy chief of staff for public safety under former Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Katz worked for the city while it was under a 2017 federal consent decree to reduce civil rights abuses by police officers Katz, who now works for the nonprofit Arnold Ventures foundation on justice issues, says the pandemic has altered how those interrupters work in the community, and he suspects that may be playing a role in Chicago's surge of violence. In the absence of that street-level work, Katz says every part of a community must speak with a united voice to reject violence, and that applies to each individual police officer's actions. "Each part of the system has to take responsibility," he says. "Policing has to understand that behavior down to the officer level." Police union leader Joe Gamaldi says police officers on the streets are already struggling with conflicting messages: Many communities want violence reduction but are simultaneously cutting law enforcement budgets. In Seattle, for instance, police chief Carmen Best announced she's retiring after the City Council cut her department's budget by 14%, including money it had just received to hire a diverse, highly educated corps of new officers. Like Trump, Gamaldi draws a connection between the Black Lives Matter protests and the increasing violence nationally. "I believe that these protests and these riots are just turning up the volume on the idea that there are no consequences anymore," says Gamaldi, the national vice president for the Fraternal Order of Police and the president of the police union in Houston, where he's also an officer. Gamaldi, 37, argues that "activist" prosecutors and judges are being too lenient on people caught committing violent crimes. These aren't children making a first mistake, he says, but repeat offenders who know some cities or counties will go easy on them despite what the community actually wants. Compounding the problem, he says: Many police officers who know they'll be second-guessed for every split-second decision they make are dialing back their efforts so they won't get in trouble. "You have politicians and police chiefs telling them to back off," he adds. "This increase in crime that we are seeing, you know who are most impacted by this? Black and brown communities. These numbers are people. These are murders. There are thousands and thousands more people who have been killed. And we need to be talking about that. People at some point are going to have to decide what kind of police officers and policing they want." In an acknowledgment of the racial disparities in policing and prosecution, the Trump administration had taken steps to reduce harsh punishments for federal convicts, and in July 2019released 2,200 inmates under the First Step Act, a 2018 law aimed at softening the longstanding punishments for mostly Black non-violent drug offenders swept up in aggressive prosecutions during the crack epidemic of the 1980s and early 1990s. More targeting policing could be the solution Former New York City police deputy inspector and police-reform expert Brandon del Pozo says it's clear most communities want targeted, effective policing. The problem, he says, is that effective community policing takes a lot of resources, even if sending foot patrols through commercial and shopping areas is one way to better connect officers with the communities they serve. He says increasing the number of detectives assigned to solve crimes is another way to show communities that departments are focused more on specific offenders, rather than stopping and frisking thousands of young men a day in a scattershot approach, a controversial approach long used in New York City. He compared such policies to how medical researchers examine the benefits and drawbacks to treatments, like a potential coronavirus vaccine: Is the cure worse than the disease? Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo answers questions during a news conference on Friday, May 3, 2019, about two federal lawsuits that accuse police officers of excessive force and brutality in separate episodes outside bars in September 2018. "Police are being given the very clear signal there's little to no room for error in their work, and that their interventions are not what people want," says Del Pozo, 45, whose PhD dissertation focused on the relationship between police and the public in democracies. "The problem is there is no ready substitute." In Milwaukee, Moore, the 43-year-old activist who spends his days on the streets talking to people in communities with a history of violence,argues targeted enforcement combined with public health-focused outreach can truly make a difference. Milwaukee has developed several anti-violence campaigns, including the "You Matter" program, which aims to help residents feel they have a future worth protecting. "It's not about the absence of violence. This work has to be about the presence of justice and opportunity. There has to be a paradigm shift toward care," he says. "If the only thing the federal government is deploying is cops or investigators, you're simply banking on having more problems instead of investing in prevention." Albuquerque anti-violence effort could provide new model One of the cities singled out by Trump for additional federal officers is Albuquerque. There, city leaders were mystified by his comments about a wave of crime, since statistics show the city is one of the few big American cities not currently suffering a wave of violence. The city is widely seen as a national leader in its efforts to address longstanding inequities in Black and Hispanic communities, and has launched a new cabinet-level department on par with the police or fire services and intended to address the mental and community health issues activists say must be a key component of any systemic reforms. Social worker Mariela Ruiz-Angel serves as the coordinator of Albuquerque's new Community Safety Department, which aims to be fully operational within a year. Under the program, which is an expansion and extension of existing efforts, social workers and other trained workers will be dispatched by the same 911 dispatchers who normally decide whether to send police officers or firefighters to a call. Over time, Ruiz-Angel says, that will help build trust within communities plagued by violence, so that people who call 911 when a family member is having a mental health crisis will come to trust they'll be treated respectfully, setting the groundwork for better relationships with police responding to violent crime. "Starting something new allows us to start a new culture, to create a system within a system. We have big problems and we need to think big to find solutions," she said. Albuquerque police in 2014 agreed to change how they train and deploy officers following several high-profile shootings of people undergoing mental health crises. That agreement came after the federal Department of Justice concluded the department was using an "excessive" amount of force that posed an ongoing risk to city residents. Back in Philadelphia, Day echoes a similar sentiment: While piecemeal efforts make a difference, real change will only happen when everyone commits. In some cases, that's as simple as neighbors checking in on each other, or hosting virtual hangouts so kids feel someone cares about them. He urges people to bear in mind that homicide statistics aren't just numbers -- they are mothers and fathers, daughters and sons. Day, who served prison time for armed robbery and spent his youth selling drugs on street corners, says it's possible to push back against the grinding poverty and hopelessness he sees every day. "We have to teach these brothers and sisters to actually value life," he says. "We can't place it all in the lap of the president or politicians. That has to stir up from within, from our homes. The village has to become a village again. If we all do a little, we can accomplish a lot." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shootings in Chicago, Denver and across US bring new wave of violence But President Ashraf Ghani set a precedent when he reached a peace deal with U.S.-declared terrorist Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in 2016. Hekmatyars group was blamed for an attack on a supermarket in the capital that killed civilians as well as an attack in 2014 that killed two U.S. contractors. The French also argued against his delisting as a terrorist because of an attack his group staged against French forces in Afghanistan in 2008 that killed 10 French soldiers. Security forces have launched a search operation to nab the militants who had attacked a naka in the districts Kreeri area Srinagar: Two CRPF jawans and a policeman were killed in a militant attack in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, police said. Militants attacked a security forces party at a 'naka' in Kreeri area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir this morning, a police official said. He said two CRPF personnel and a special police officer (SPO) of Jammu and Kashmir police were killed in the firing. Security forces have cordoned off the area and a hunt has been launched to nab the militants. New York City and San Francisco have seen housing prices fall and homes linger on the market for longer amid the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for rental properties in US cities has dropped nationally. Despite initial reports that city-dwellers were snatching up homes in the suburbs amid the pandemic, housing prices in urban areas have actually been keeping pace with suburban regions across the country, according to a data analysis by Zillow. The exception to that trend, however, is being seen in NYC and San Francisco - the nation's two most expensive housing markets. The number of houses on the market in NYC has surged but buyer demand has not kept pace, according to StreetEasy's July Market Report. Homes for sale in the city's five boroughs was up 6.1 percent in early August compared to last year and the number of rental properties across the city is up 63 percent. The Zillow report says many sellers have accepted offers well below their asking price and homes are typically lingering on the market longer than usual - almost twice as long as last year in Manhattan alone. Despite initial reports that city-dwellers were snatching up homes in the suburbs amid the pandemic, housing prices in urban areas have actually been keeping pace with suburban regions across the country, according to a data analysis by Zillow San Francisco has seen an even bigger flood of new listings. Homes for sale is now up 97 percent this month compared to last year, according to the report. Listing prices have also fallen 4.9 percent in the city. This divergence of active sale listings is not evident in cities like Miami, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Seattle, according to the report. States in the Northeast show new pending listings volume in urban ZIP codes re-accelerating more slowly than in the suburbs, the report shows. It likely comes from larger declines in overall inventory. The Northeast added much less urban inventory early into the pandemic, leading to fewer possible sales later Meanwhile, San Francisco has seen an even bigger flood of new listings during the COVID-19 pandemic. Homes for sale is now up 97 percent this month in the city compared to last year and listing prices have fallen 4.9 percent, the Zillow report shows. This divergence of active sale listings is not evident in cities like Miami, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Seattle, according to the report. Both urban and suburban areas have also seen properties sell more quickly than they were back in February prior to the pandemic. The Zillow analysis looked into whether the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent explosion in people working from home had kicked off a boom in typically less-expensive suburban areas. It found that the rate of newly pending sales, which is a leading indicator of completed sales, has picked up since February in both urban and suburban areas. Zillow economist Jeff Tucker said this trend showed there was no widespread evidence that Americans were buying up properties in the suburbs in a bid to flee cities. 'When you step back and look at the bigger picture, it seems that those writing off urban real estate have done so prematurely,' Tucker said. 'There is some localized evidence of a softer urban market, particularly in the highest-priced markets, San Francisco and Manhattan, and an eye-catching divergence in sale prices, but no evidence of a widespread flight to suburban pastures. 'The primary issue in much of the country is the inventory drought, both urban and suburban, that's failing to meet the surprisingly robust demand from buyers eager to lock in record-low mortgage rates.' Price cuts have moved evenly through the crisis with most areas having seen price cuts decelerate relative to February and slightly more so in the suburbs Suburban home listings on Zillow are not getting any more attention compared to last year, according to the report. Homes in the suburbs attract about three times the number of views that urban homes do but that is no different from last year. Total page views on Zillow were up about 42 percent year over year in June, which was spread across suburban, urban and rural markets. It shows that housing demand is high generally but not that buyers are flocking to homes in the suburbs in greater numbers than in previous years. The rental market, however, has taken a hit nationally with rent prices in cities slowing more than in the suburbs compared to this time last year, according to the report. While rent prices were stable earlier this year, rental demand has been hit by the spike in unemployment and the millions of young people that have moved in with parents or grandparents, the report says. The typical urban ZIP code saw a decrease in rental demand of 2 percent from February to June, while the typical suburban ZIP code fell 1.4 percent in the same time frame. While rent prices were stable earlier this year, rental demand has been hit by the spike in unemployment and the millions of young people that have moved in with parents or grandparents, the report says. Pictured: People leaving their apartment in New York City in May San Francisco has seen an even bigger flood of new listings. Homes for sale is now up 97 percent this month compared to last year and listing prices have fallen 4.9 percent, the Zillow report shows Before the pandemic, demand was moving upward but both urban and suburban rentals have fallen below their pre-crisis trends. Of the 43 major metros analyzed by Zillow, 24 saw higher rent growth in suburban ZIP codes compared to urban ZIPs. Urban areas in New York saw a 3.8 percent drop in rental demand and a 1.3 percent decline in suburban areas. Dallas saw rental demand drop 3.7 percent in urban areas but only 0.5 percent in the suburbs. Rental demand dropped 3.9 percent in San Francisco's urban areas but only declined by 1.3 percent in the suburbs. Phoenix saw rental demand drop 3.2 percent in urban areas compared to the 2.8 percent drop in suburbia. Pittsburgh's urban areas saw a decline of 3.8 percent but only a 2.4 percent drop in suburban areas. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. The 'Global 2-Phosphonobutane-1,2,4-Tricarboxylic Acid (PBTCA, CAS 37971-36-1) Market Outlook 2019-2024' offers detailed coverage of 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid industry and presents main market trends. The market research gives historical and forecast market size, demand, end-use details, price trends, and company shares of the leading 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid producers to provide exhaustive coverage of the market for 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid. The report segments the market and forecasts its size, by volume and value, on the basis of application, by products, and by geography. The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from key industry participants. The global 2-phosphonobutane-1,2,4-tricarboxylic acid market has been segmented into five major regions, namely, North America (U.S., Canada, and others), Europe (U.K., France, Germany, Russia, and others), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Australia, and others), South America (Brazil, Argentina, and others), and Middle East & Africa (South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and others). 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More Info of Impact Covid19@ https://www.trendsmarketresearch.com/report/covid-19-analysis/3769 In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Aug. 17. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 17/8/2020 (520 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The Canadian flag is seen as a veteran salutes during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of V-J Day and the end of the Second World War, in Ottawa, on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what's on the radar of our editors for the morning of Aug. 17. What we are watching in Canada ... OTTAWA A new report commissioned by Canada's veterans' ombudsman's office says the watchdog's current limited authority and lack of independence from the government is hindering its ability to help those who have served in uniform. The independent analysis represents the first real assessment of the ombudsman's office since it was created in 2007, at which point it was billed as a place that disabled veterans could turn if they felt the federal government was treating them unfairly. The analysis by Ottawa-based management firm Goss Gilroy Inc. found the watchdog's office has made a difference when it comes to some systemic issues affecting Canada's veterans such as inadequate financial support for some segments of the community. However, it also found that federally mandated limits on the ombudsman's ability to investigate individual complaints posed a significant barrier to its ability to help many veterans in need. And it noted widespread questions and concerns about the office's independence given that the office reports to the minister of veterans affairs rather than Parliament. Veterans Affairs Canada says it will conduct its own assessment over the coming months to determine how the office can be improved. --- Also this ... HALIFAX More than a year after a federal report became public revealing that police erased and suppressed evidence that might have freed him, Glen Assoun is wondering whether anyone will be held accountable for his wrongful imprisonment. "It affects me in that the governments just don't care," he said last week in a phone interview from his Halifax apartment. "They have no feelings about what happened to me." Assoun, now 64, spent almost 17 years in prison on a murder charge and five more years under strict parole conditions before a court declared his innocence in March 2019. He says he's suffering from mental illness and heart disease as a result of his years in prison. And he is not alone in questioning who will answer for the actions that upended his life. Ian Scott, the former head of the unit that investigates police misconduct in Ontario, backs Assoun's view that both a criminal investigation and public inquiry are warranted, saying his case fits a pattern of poor Canadian police accountability for wrongful convictions. --- ICYMI (in case you missed it) ... OTTAWA The Canada Revenue Agency has temporarily suspended its online services after two cyberattacks in which hackers used thousands of stolen usernames and passwords to fraudulently obtain government services and compromise Canadians' personal information. A total of 5,500 CRA accounts were targeted in what the federal government described as two "credential stuffing" schemes, in which hackers use passwords and usernames from other websites to access Canadians' accounts with the revenue agency. The decision to suspend CRA's online services comes at a time when many Canadians and businesses have been using the revenue agency's website to apply for and access financial support related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The government is hoping to reinstate online access for businesses today, according to a senior government official. That is when companies struggling due to the pandemic can start to apply for the latest round of federal wage subsidies. It wasn't immediately clear what impact the suspension of services will have in terms of other federal benefits, however, including the Canada Child Benefit and Canada Emergency Response Benefit for those affected by COVID-19. --- What we are watching in the U.S. ... WASHINGTON Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she is calling the House back into session this week to vote on a bill prohibiting the U.S. Postal Service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service. The action comes amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency during the coronavirus pandemic while states expand mail-in voting options. A senior Democratic aide tells The Associated Press that House Democrats are likely to discuss the schedule on a conference call today and are expected to be in session next Saturday. --- What we are watching in the rest of the world ... TOKYO Government data show that Japans economy contracted at a annual rate of 27.8 per ent in April-June, the worst downturn on record, as the coronavirus pandemic slammed consumption and trade. The Cabinet Office reported today that Japans preliminary seasonally adjusted real GDP, the sum of a nations goods and services, fell 7.8 per cent quarter on quarter. The annual rate shows what the number would have been if continued for a year. Japanese media reported the drop was the worst for the nation since the Second World War. --- Also this... ROME Cruise ship passengers had temperatures checked and took COVID-19 tests Sunday so they could set sail on what is being billed as the first Mediterranean cruise after Italy's pandemic lockdown. The cruise ship company MSC has made the procedures, for crew as well as passengers, part of its new health and safety protocols. The MSC Grandiosa departed from the port of Genoa on Sunday evening for a seven-night cruise. Earlier this month, the Italian government gave its approval for cruise ships to depart from Italian ports. The cruise around the western Mediterranean was limited to 70 per cent capacity but MSC declined to say how many passengers were on board. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 17, 2020. Hanoi leaders congratulate the congress on its success. (Photo: hanoi.gov.vn) Speaking at the congress, Nguyen Hoang Hai, Deputy Secretary of the VNU Party Committee and VNU Deputy Rector, said that over the past 5 years, making an important contribution to the training and development of high quality human resources for the country and the capital, VNU had affirmed its superior position in the Vietnamese higher education system. For the past 3 consecutive years, it has always been listed in the group of 801-1,000 leading universities in the world; with some scientific fields in the top 500 of universities in the world. Especially, recently, on June 24, according to QS organization's ranking for universities with a period of less than 50 years since establishment, VNU was for the first time in the group of 101-150 universities having the top quality education in the world. VNUs scale and stature has grown an important step over the past 5 years, both in terms of the total number of member units, training professions, number of staff and students, financial resources, facilities and materials, and influences domestically and internationally have strongly increased, said Mr. Hai. It has become an institution of high prestige for domestic and international training and scientific research. Notably, VNU has focused on developing the key staff of professors, associate professors, and doctors of high qualifications. Up to now, 58% of VNU staff are doctors and the figure reaches over 70% in natural sciences, technology and economics. Meanwhile, staff with professor and associate professor titles reach 19% of the total number of scientific staff. This is a decisive factor for the development of VNU, contributing effectively to the cause of building and defending the country and the capital, Mr. Hai added. He also noted the right leadership of the VNU Party Committee in the achievements. Praising VNU achievements, Vuong Dinh Hue, Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, asked VNU to realize well the key position of the countrys higher education system, scientific and technological research and development. In training, it is necessary to focus on training and improving the quality of high-quality human resources to meet the requirements of national digital transformation, international integration and the industrial revolution 4.0, especially industries based on application of modern science and technology achievements such as electronics, telecommunications, information technology, cyber security, smart manufacturing industry, e-commerce, digital agriculture, digital society, digital cultural industry, transportation, logistics, technical services, legal consulting services, he said. In science and technology activities, VNU must truly be the countrys major center for innovation and technological application, which is prestigious regionally and internationally. Appreciating the universitys goal to be listed in the top 500 leading universities of the world, Secretary Hue confirmed that Hanoi would create all favourable conditions for VNU to develop in all areas, becoming an advanced research university, a center of higher education and transfer of intellectuals of regional and international standard. The congress elected a 22-member Party Executive Committee for the new term. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Kim Son, VNU Party Committee Secretary and Rector, was re-elected as VNU Party Committee Secretary term 2020-2025./. San Francisco, Aug 17 : The US ban on WeChat, a messaging, social media, and electronic payment application owned by the Chinese company Tencent Holdings Ltd can impact Apple business up to worth $28 billion, a report said on Monday. Apart from the ban order on Chinese short-video-making app TikTok, US President Donald Trump also issued another similarly-worded executive order against WeChat. "The WeChat ban could impact up to $28 billion in iPhone/iPad sales in China as well as related impacts to Service revenue," reports Seeking Alpha. China is Apple's third largest market where it amassed about $44 billion in net sales in 2019. The ban puts the Chinese market for Apple devices, primarily iPhones and iPads, at high risk if a full crackdown occurs. Apple, along with Ford, Walmart and Disney have called on the Trump administration to end the executive order seeking the ban of WeChat. China is still a very important market for Apple products, as the third largest revenue driver and the second largest contributor to net income on an operating margin basis. "If 75 per cent of iPhone/iPad sales in China vanish because of this (ban), that estimates a decline of $21 billion in net revenues aside from a related drawdown in services, which could add $4-5 billion to that decline estimate," said the report. If 50 per cent of iPhone/iPad sales vanish, that would estimate a decline of $14 billion in net revenues, and services associated could add another $2-3 billion to that decline. According to famed analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the executive order to ban WeChat from the Apple App Store could lead to 25-30 per cent drop in iPhone shipments in the Chinese market. At least 95 per cent of the 1.2 million Chinese Apple users said that they would rather switch to an Android device than use an iPhone without WeChat. China, with its population of 1.44 billion people, accounted for about 15 per cent of Apple's total June quarter revenue. WeChat is a popular Chinese messaging application that is especially successful in China. The leader of Australias New South Wales state has apologised for failing to stop people carrying the novel coronavirus from disembarking from a cruise ship in Sydney in March, triggering what was at the time Australias worst outbreak. The apology from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian for her governments poor handling of the outbreak on board the Ruby Princess came as the number of deaths from a second wave of infection in Victoria state hit a record 25 on Monday. Australia has reported 23,500 COVID-19 cases and 421 deaths, far fewer than many other developed nations, but missteps in the handling of the Ruby Princess and possibly also with hotel quarantine in Victoria have proven costly. The lessons werent learned soon enough, and again I apologise unreservedly on behalf all of those individuals and agencies who made those mistakes, Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney. A public inquiry into the Ruby Princess outbreak concluded last week that NSW health officials made inexcusable mistakes when they allowed about 2,700 passengers, 120 of whom were feeling unwell, to leave the ship on March 19. Berejiklian apologised particularly to the 62 people who contracted the virus from a passenger. I cant imagine what it would be like having a loved one or being someone yourself who continues to suffer and experience trauma as a result, she said. Silent spread The inquiry, commissioned by Berejiklians government, found that NSW health officials failed to ensure that the ship knew of heightened screening for the virus, or that sick passengers were isolated in their cabins. They also failed to get quick test results for unwell passengers before they disembarked. 200611103451748 An investigation by Al Jazeeras 101 East programme, Australias Cruise Ship Nightmare, found that the management was aware of the risks but as the virus silently spread, passengers were reassured there was nothing to fear and the party continued. They just kept reassuring you all the time this ship is virus-free, Tracey Temple, a passenger on the cruise ship, told Al Jazeera. Australia saw its deadliest day from the pandemic on Monday, with 25 new deaths in the southeastern state of Victoria. Authorities also reported 282 new confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, about the same as the 279 infections reported on Sunday. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Bharti Airtel has decided that it will stop its "priority 4G network" service for premium customers, if the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) asks the company to do so. The decision comes after the TRAI repeatedly asked the telecom major for clarifications and does not want the service to be offered to customers, according to a Financial Express report. Bharti Airtel is of the view that it has not violated any regulatory tariff guidelines, the report said. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report. In a presentation to the TRAI last week, Bhart Airtel explained the technical and other details about its offering for Platinum customers on Rs 499 and above plans as per the report. "During the pilots also, it emerged that the quality of service of the non-premium users was not impacted the Airtel network has been ranked best by many global analytic firms," Airtel executives told TRAI, as quoted by the paper. Bharti Airtel told the regulator that it had launched the premium offering along the lines of Vodafone Idea's RedX plan, which was introduced in the market around nine months ago. TRAI was also not satisfied with replies from Vodafone Idea about its RedX offering, the report said. Airtel had launched its Platinum plan on July 3, 2020 while Vodafone Idea had rolled out its RedX offering in November 2019. North Carolinas COVID-19 Numbers Continue to Stabilize COVID-19 Updates: Staying Informed & Prepared Child Care Hotline Extended to Families Seeking Child Care for School-Age Children Free Community Testing Events Around NC Governor Cooper Directs Emergency Funds to Support North Carolina Students Affected by COVID-19 Complete the 2020 Census Get All of the Latest Information in Spanish Tweet of the Week Closing the coverage gap would help more than 500,000 North Carolinians get the health care they need. COVID-19 has made this even more urgent. Its time to do the right thing and expand Medicaid. https://t.co/IgLicn9t58 Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) August 10, 2020 Thursday, Governor Cooper and NC DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D. updated the public that North Carolina's COVID-19 trends remain stable.said Governor Cooper.The number of cases in the state has stabilized, but is still too high. Hospitalizations numbers remain stable as well with NC hospitals maintaining bed availability across the state. North Carolina is equipped with the PPE and supplies to continue fighting the pandemic as supplies continue to distributed where needed. Testing turn around has gotten faster meaning people are getting their results back quicker, and efforts continue to increase the number of tests performed.Governor Cooper encourages all North Carolinas to practice the 3 W's: Wear a cloth mask over your nose and mouth, Wait 6 feet apart. Wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer.It's important to rely on trusted sources of information about COVID-19. Keep up with the latest information on Coronavirus in North Carolina HERE Texttoto receive general information and updates about COVID-19 and North Carolina's response. Dial 2-1-1 provides free, confidential information and is available 24 hours a day to help you find resources within your community. They can connect you with people and groups that can help with questions about access to food, shelter, health care, employment and child care.Families who need food assistance for their children can texttoto find free meal sites in their communities.Make sure to prioritize your overall wellness and don't hesitate to seek additional help. Optum has a toll-free 24-hour Emotional Support Help Line atfor people who may be experiencing anxiety or stress due to Coronavirus.You can track the disease in real time through the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' COVID-19 NC Dashboard . It includes detailed information about the state's COVID-19 confirmed cases, hospital capacity and more.North Carolina families in need of childcare can call the child care hotlineto be connected with child care options in their communities for school-age children up to age 12.said Governor Cooper.The hotline is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Licensed child care professionals meeting the NCDHHS health and safety guidelines are available to provide care through this service. For more information about child care during COVID-19, visit covid19.ncdhhs.gov/information/child-care/child-care-information-families The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has announced community free testing events in Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Johnston, Northampton, Sampson and Wake counties. For an up-to-date list of events, visit the Community Testing Events page. People who may not currently have symptoms but may have been exposed to COVID-19 should get tested, especially people from historically marginalized communities.If someone tests positive for COVID-19, the COVID-19 Community Team will reach out to connect them with needed resources. People should answer when the Community Team reaches out, via phone, text from 45394, or email from NC-ARIAS-NoReply@dhhs.nc.gov with further instructions.Find a nearby testing site Find My Testing Place For more information visit the NCDHHS FAQs about Testing and FAQs about Contact Tracing Governor Cooper directed North Carolina's share of the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund from the CARES Act to support K-12 public and post secondary students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic for this upcoming school year.said Governor Cooper.GEER funds provide emergency support to school districts, post secondary institutions, or other education-related entities for addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This investment in K-12 education will help keep students learning despite the limitations on in-person schooling during the pandemic. The funds also help North Carolina begin to meet its constitutional obligation to provide all students with access to a sound, basic education and resolve the Leandro case.Funds include $60 million to the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Instruction to hire additional school personnel, support the academic needs of at-risk students and students with disabilities. Additionally, $25.5 million was allocated to the Community College system, UNC system, School of Math and Science, School of the Arts, and independent colleges and universities to address the needs of students and programs during the higher education academic year.Read the Press Release Completing the census will help us count the number of people in our state, which is how the federal government divides tax dollars to states and communities. As of July, more than 40% of North Carolinians, over 4 million people, had not been counted, which could mean a loss of $7.4 billion dollars per year for North Carolina for health care, education, highways, and community and economic development is at risk.An incomplete count puts representation in Congress and and federal funding our state needs in jeopardy.The count is lagging behind in Eastern North Carolina where many of our military families live and where so many have been hit hard by recent storms. Encourage your friends, family, and neighbors to participate in the count. Census workers will begin knocking on doors on August 11th to ensure we all are counted.You can complete the 2020 Census safely at home online at my2020census.gov and by phone (8443302020 in English, 8444682020 in Spanish), or submit by mail.During this time it is imperative that everyone is informed about what is going on in our state. Governor Cooper's administration has been working to get information and resources translated for the Spanish speaking population in our state. Many of the Governor's press conferences press releases , and executive orders are available in Spanish. Resources are also available in Spanish on the DHHS website. HOUSTON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center at the University of Houston Law Center will host a special virtual webinar at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18 called "The New Energy Landscape: COVID-19, Climate Change and Diversification." The event kicks off the 4th Annual North American Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Conference. "So much change has happened in the world in the last six months," said Victor Flatt, Dwight Olds Chair in Law and faculty director of the EENR Center. "We have excellent speakers who can give context to the impact of the COVID pandemic, energy demand, and increasing climate change policy changes in companies." Among topics to be discussed are technological innovation and energy, energy investment in direct air capture, innovations in low carbon emissions and IP innovation, carbon neutrality, COVID-19, Black Lives Matter and the 2020 election. A roundtable will feature commentary on the business and policy future for North American Energy - lessons from COVID. The conference has registrants from more than 35 countries, including high-level government officials and executives from some of the world's largest companies. Sponsors for the event are Blank Rome, UH Energy, the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, The National Autonomous University of Mexico Faculty of Law and the TGL Energy Transition Governance & Law. Click here to register. Click here for the agenda and more information. Media contacts: Carrie Anna Criado, UH Law Center Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-2184, [email protected]; Elena Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-1125, [email protected]; and John Brannen, Media Relations Rep, 713-743-3055, [email protected]. About the University of Houston The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic- and Asian-American-Serving institution with enrollment of more than 46,000 students. About the University of Houston Law Center The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) is a dynamic, top tier law school located in the nation's 4th largest city. UHLC's Health Law, and Intellectual Property Law programs rank in the U.S. News Top 10. It awards Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, through its academic branch, the College of Law. The Law Center is more than just a law school. It is a powerful hub of intellectual activity with more than 11 centers and institutes which fuel its educational mission and national reputation. UHLC is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools. SOURCE University of Houston Law Center Related Links http://www.law.uh.edu Kumar Vikram By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The urban population in the country, which was 31.8% in 2011, is expected to increase to 38.2% by 2036. Likewise, the urban growth would account for about three-fourth (73%) of total population increase by the next sixteen years. In the population projection of India, it is observed that by 2036, 100% population of NCT of Delhi, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep would be living in urban areas, which is highest among the states. In contrast, 10.5% of the population of Himachal Pradesh would be expected to live in urban areas by the same year (2036), which is lowest among all states. The facts have come out in population projections of India and States (2011-2036), a report prepared by Technical Group on Population Projection. It said that out of the total population increase of 31.1 crore during 2011-2036 in the country, the share of increase in urban population is expected to be 21.8 crore. Southern states Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana will record more people living in urban areas. Share of urban population will grow substantially in Kerala from 52.5% to 92.8%. Similarly, Tamil Nadu and Telangana will record rise from 49.3% to 58.2% and 40.3% to 55% respectively. Gujarat and Maharashtra are also expected to have a large share of population living in urban areas. The share is expected to rise from 43.6% to 53.6% in Gujarat and from 45.8% to 51.3% in Maharashtra. While the Ministry of Urban Affairs have many urban transformation schemes including Smart City Mission, AMRUT and others, large urban concentration in these states call for proper implementation of such schemes. Many of the urban schemes have recorded slow pace so far as completion of projects are concerned. On the contrary, there are states like Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha which have recorded only marginal rise in urban population between 2011 and 2036. Moreover, only nearly 25% of the total population in these states is expected to stay in urban areas. Like, in Bihar the share of urban population in the year 2011 was nearly 11.5% and is expected to rise by 13.1% by 2036. Similarly, Himachal Pradesh had lowest share of urban population at 10.1% in the year 2011 and is expected to go up to 10.5% by 2036. The Peoples Committee of Da Nang on Sunday forwarded a proposal to the prime minister on allowing citizens of other localities, who have been stranded in the central city due to its implementation of travel restrictions and enhanced social distancing since late July, to return to their hometowns. According to the proposal, a large number of people who came to Da Nang for work, study or visiting relatives now wish to return to their hometowns. Da Nang suggested the prime minister direct the provincial and municipal Peoples Committees of these localities to collaborate with the central city in organizing the return of the stranded citizens while ensuring COVID-19 prevention and control. The city also requested the Ministry of Transport to arrange special trains to bring these citizens home. In a move to assist the homecoming, the Da Nang Department of Construction has requested investors, contractors, and managers at construction sites that have been temporarily suspended to create favorable conditions for their out-of-city workers to return home. Letting the workers remain at the construction sites is not allowed, the department added. Da Nang started enforcing enhanced social distancing across the city on July 28, after it recorded the countrys first community transmission after 99 days on July 25. The implementation of the safety measures has been extended indefinitely from August 12 due to continued community transmission. Officials have banned public gatherings of more than two people, shut down non-essential services, required citizens to wear face masks whenever outdoors, and asked them to stay at home unless it is an essential trip while maintaining a two-meter distance in all social interactions. All means of transportation to and from the beach city have also been suspended, except for deliveries of supplies such as food, necessities, and raw materials and goods to serve production. The requirements also make an exception for special cases of official duty; vehicles carrying patients or people who have finished the mandatory quarantine, or workers and experts of enterprises; and vehicles that serve the pandemic prevention and control works. Between August 12 and 14, six flights were operated by national carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget airline Vietjet Air to evacuate nearly 1,700 tourists stranded in Da Nang. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The research report on global genome editing/genome engineering market consists of statistical information concerning various growth factors alongside the historical and predicted valuation of the market during the study period of 2020-2027. Selbyville, Delaware, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to credible estimates, global genome editing /genome engineering market generated revenues worth USD 4.4 billion in the year 2019 and to reach USD 15.30 billion at a growth rate of 17% between 2020 and 2027. The growth is majorly attributed to easy availability of federal funding and increasing number of genomics projects. The research document also evaluates different segments and their individual impact on the overall industry remuneration. Apart from this, the study measures the regional and the competitive scope of the market, which further allows for improved decision-making during investment assessment. Citing an instance, University of Genome Canada Bioinformatics & Computational Biology, University of Guelph and other eligible sources allotted around USD 12 million funding for various genome-centric research projects in the year 2017. For those uninitiated, genome engineering procedure involves insertion, deletion and modification of genome of a microorganism. The technique is widely adopted in biotechnology and biopharmaceutical industries to change the genome of microorganism in order to conduct processes including fermentation to achieve desired product. Genome editing is also used for analyzing DNA cells of organisms in an effort to understand their respective biology as well as to treat autoimmune and infectious diseases. Request Sample copy of this Report @ https://www.marketstudyreport.com/request-a-sample/2815889/ Favorable government initiatives have augmented the demand for genome engineering, which in turn is stimulating the industry outlook. In fact, Japan Agency of Medical Research & Development Organization stated that the Japanese government launched numerous initiatives including Tohoku Medical Megabank Project in 2017 to offer adequate genome research infrastructure. Story continues The major companies operating in this industry vertical are focusing on various business-centric strategies such as innovative product launches, technological investments & advancements, and others in order to gain a competitive edge. However, high equipment cost may act as a restraining factor to the growth of global genome engineering/genome editing market. Summarizing the market segmentations The technology landscape of global genome editing/ genome engineering market comprises of ANTISENSE, ZFN, TALEN, CRISPR. and others. Moving on to product & services type, the industry is bifurcated into services, software & systems, and reagents & consumables. The application scope of the market consists of drug discovery & development, diagnostics applications, genetic engineering, cell line engineering, and others. Citing the end-user spectrum, worldwide genome engineering/genome editing market is segmented into academic & government research institute, biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical companies. Highlighting the regional scope The report divides global genome engineering/genome editing market into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and rest of the world, while focusing on U.S., Canada, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, U.K., India, China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Brazil, and Mexico among others. Estimates cite that North America accounted for a significant market share in the recent past and is anticipated to witness consistent growth during the forecast period. Increasing development of gene therapy technologies in the U.S. coupled with high occurrence of cancer and other infectious diseases are augmenting the regional demand. Additionally, inflowing research funding & grants and rising adoption of genetically modified crops are facilitating the business scenario in North America. To access a sample copy or view this report in detail along with the table of contents, please click the link below: https://www.marketstudyreport.com/reports/global-genome-editing-genome-engineering-market-size-research Elaborating on the competitive scenario Precision Biosciences Inc., Eurofins Scientific, CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, Lonza Group AG, Sangamo Therapeutics Inc., Genscript Corp., Horizon Discovery Group plc, Merck & Co. Inc., and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. are the major contenders in worldwide genome engineering/genome editing market. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Technology Type (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017-2027) ANTISENSE ZFN TALEN CRISPR Other Technologies Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Product & Services Analysis (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017-2027) Services Software & Systems Reagents and Consumables Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Application Landscape (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017-2027) Drug Discovery & Development Diagnostics Applications Genetic Engineering Cell Line Engineering Others Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by End-user Scope (Revenue, USD Billion, 2017-2027) Academic & Government Research Institute Biotechnology Companies Pharmaceutical Companies Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Regional Reference (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018-2027) North America Canada U.S. Europe Italy Spain France Germany U.K. Rest of Europe Asia-Pacific Australia South Korea Japan India China Rest of Asia-Pacific Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of the World Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Competitive Hierarchy (Revenue, USD Billion, 2018-2027) Precision Biosciences Inc. Eurofins Scientific CRISPR Therapeutics Editas Medicine Lonza Group AG Sangamo Therapeutics Inc. Genscript Corp. Horizon Discovery Group plc Merck & Co. Inc. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Table of Content: Chapter 1. Executive Summary 1.1. Market Snapshot 1.2. Global & Segmental Market Estimates & Forecasts, 2018-2027 (USD Billion) 1.3. Key Trends 1.4. Estimation Methodology 1.5. Research Assumption Chapter 2. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Definition and Scope 2.1. Objective of the Study 2.2. Market Definition & Scope 2.3. Years Considered for the Study 2.4. Currency Conversion Rates Chapter 3. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Dynamics 3.1. Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Impact Analysis (2018-2027) 3.1.1. Market Drivers 3.1.2. Market Challenges 3.1.3. Market Opportunities Chapter 4. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Industry Analysis 4.1. Porters 5 Force Model 4.2. PEST Analysis 4.3. Investment Adoption Model 4.4. Analyst Recommendation & Conclusion Chapter 5. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, by Technology 5.1. Market Snapshot 5.2. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Technology, Performance - Potential Analysis 5.3. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Estimates & Forecasts by Technology 2017-2027 (USD Billion) 5.4. Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, Sub Segment Analysis 5.4.1. CRISPR 5.4.2. TALEN 5.4.3. ZFN 5.4.4. ANTISENSE 5.4.5. Other technologies Chapter 6. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, by Application 6.1. Market Snapshot 6.2. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Application, Performance - Potential Analysis 6.3. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Estimates & Forecasts by Application 2017-2027 (USD Billion) 6.4. Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, Sub Segment Analysis 6.4.1. Cell line Engineering 6.4.2. Genetic Engineering 6.4.3. Diagnostics Applications 6.4.4. Drug discovery and development 6.4.5. Others Chapter 7. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, by Product and Services 7.1. Market Snapshot 7.2. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by Product and Services, Performance - Potential Analysis 7.3. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Estimates & Forecasts by Product & services 2017-2027 (USD Billion) 7.4. Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, Sub Segment Analysis Chapter 8. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, by End-user 8.1. Market Snapshot 8.2. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market by End-user, Performance - Potential Analysis 8.3. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market Estimates & Forecasts by End-Users 2017-2027 (USD Billion) 8.4. Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, Sub Segment Analysis Chapter 9. Global Genome Editing/Genome Engineering Market, Regional Analysis Related Report: Digital Genome Market Size, Regional Outlook, Application Potential, Price Trends, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2019 2025 Digital Genome Market is expected to exceed USD 50.4 billion by 2025, as per new research report. The rising prevalence of chronic disorders across the globe is leading toward adoption of digitalized genomic solutions. Technological advancements in the field of genomics and biotechnology resulting in rapid DNA sequencing at comparatively low costs would prove to be a high impact rendering factor. Rising incidence of chronic diseases due to unhealthy lifestyle, lack of physical activity and consumption of harmful substances will drive the market growth. The escalating use of personalized medicines for clinical diagnosis would fuel growth of digital genome market. About US: Market Study Report, LLC. is a hub for market intelligence products and services. We streamline the purchase of your market research reports and services through a single integrated platform by bringing all the major publishers and their services at one place. Our customers partner with Market Study Report, LLC. to ease their search and evaluation of market intelligence products and services and in turn focus on their company's core activities. If you are looking for research reports on global or regional markets, competitive information, emerging markets and trends or just looking to stay on top of the curve then Market Study Report, LLC. is the platform that can help you in achieving any of these objectives. CONTACT: Contact Us: Corporate Sales, Market Study Report LLC Phone: 1-302-273-0910 Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150 Email: sales@marketstudyreport.com Aug 17 (Reuters) - U.S. oil major Chevron Corp tentatively plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with Iraq to develop one of the country's large oil fields, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. Chevron and the Iraqi government are discussing the potential execution of exploration work in Iraq's southern Nassiriya oilfield, which is estimated to hold about 4.4 billion barrels of crude, the report https://on.wsj.com/3iQ2IVK said. The WSJ report said the preliminary deal, if consummated, could be announced later this week during a planned visit to Washington by Iraq's new prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Chevron did not immediately respond to a request for a comment. (Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath) Zambia's President Edgar Lungu has accused the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of having designs to dislodge him from power, according to a state-owned newspaper. "I have told you that the fight against corruption is anchored on politics. Those fighting corruption are only trying to get rid of government and those doing well," the state-owned Times of Zambia newspaper quotes him as saying. "They know where corruption is and where it is rampant but they do not want to go there. All they want is to get rid of me and my government." Mr Lungu's government has been accused of corruption, with some of his ministers summoned by the anti-corruption commission for questioning. Health Minister Chitalu Chilufya was last month charged with four counts of possession of property suspected to be proceeds of crime. He pleaded not guilty. Mr Lungu's sentiments are unlikely to sit well with anti-corruption campaigners. The UK in 2018 froze aid to Zambia after $4.3m (3.3m) meant for poor families went missing. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning that a coronavirus test kit may return 'inaccurate results.' Health officials said on Monday there are two issues with the TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit produced by laboratory equipment company Thermo Fisher Scientific. Firstly, the test, which detects the virus in respiratory samples, has had numerous complaints of false positive results due to not mixing specimen well enough. Secondly, the software that clinicians use to the run the test is out-of-date causing results to come back as either false or inconclusive. It comes on the heels of reports of more than 100 tests used in Connecticut and Kentucky revealed to be false positives. The FDA has warned there are two issue with Thermo Fisher Scientific's TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit (above) Officials say the test has been improperly mixing samples, returning false positives, and has out-of-date software, returning false negatives. Pictured: A member of the clinical staff at Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, England, cares for a patient in the ICU on May 5 On March 13, the FDA issued an emergency use authorization for the kit by Thermo Fisher, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, only to be used in laboratories. The test is designed to detect nucleic acid from the virus, SARS-CoV-2, in upper respiratory specimens, such as nasal swabs. According to Thermo Fisher Scientific, one kit can test up to 94 specimens and return results in under four hours. However, officials received several consumer complaints related to 'inadequate vortexing and centrifugation' of the test. The vortex mixes various samples of liquids rapidly and the centrifuge then separate the particles from a solution. The FDA says that not mixing the swab with the solution well enough can lead to false positive results. Last month, Connecticut's Department of Public Health announced that between June 15 and July 17, Thermo Fisher's test returned least 90 false positives. Dr Deidre Gifford, acting DPH commissioner, said almost all of the affected tests were taken from nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Officials say Thermo Fisher Scientific has updated instructions on how to use their kit to reduce the risk of inaccurate results. 'The updated instructions related to vortexing and centrifugation are important for both laboratories performing testing according to the authorized instructions for use and laboratories who are performing validated modifications outside of the authorization,' the FDA wrote. When tests return positive results, users are told to review to determine whether the plate should be retested due to inadequate vortexing and centrifugation. The second issue is that the software for the test is out-of-date and needs to be upgraded to reduce the risk of false or inconclusive tests. Officials recommends laboratory staff stop using Applied Biosystems COVID-19 Interpretive Software version 1.2, v2.0 and v2.2. and upgrade to version 1.3 or 2.3. In mid-July, University of Kentucky Healthcare revealed it identified 26 false positive tests from the company due to a software issue. 'The FDA is working with Thermo Fisher Scientific and our public health partners to resolve these issues,' the agency wrote on its website. 'The FDA will continue to keep clinical laboratory staff, health care providers, manufacturers, and the public informed of new or additional information.' In the US, there are more than 5.4 million confirmed cases of the virus and more than 170,000 deaths. Google may have shared identifying information of certain users with law enforcement, according to a report from The Guardian. Leaked documents indicate that the companys CyberCrime Investigation Group (CIG) has been forwarding data like real names, street addresses, credit card numbers, Gmail and recovery emails, as well as IP addresses from recent logins. In some cases, the CIG reportedly also included copies of comments made on Googles platforms like YouTube, which include threats of racist and terrorist violence. While working with law enforcement to tackle dangerous individuals is part of the process of reducing risk to the general public, privacy advocates that The Guardian spoke to are concerned that Google is simply handing off responsibility. In a few cases, it seems the company passed along information about individuals displaying concerning behavior, but did not take down the comments that threw up red flags. A Google spokesperson told Engadget, If we reasonably believe that we can prevent someone from dying or from suffering serious physical harm, we may provide relevant information to a government agency. We consider these data disclosures in light of applicable laws and our policies. According to The Guardian, a user whose YouTube channel is now banned had left comments on a video about the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton saying, Hi guys, I need your help, I cant (sic) help but look at those shooters and think, that could be me... I think I should do the same thing they are doing. This person went on to discuss methods of making explosive devices. While the video itself has since been deleted, The Guardian noted that the same users other comments elsewhere, also discussing making explosives, were still up on YouTube. The company did appear to have removed this individuals comments that included racial slurs, though. For at least two other individuals that The Guardian highlighted, Googles approach appears to have been the same: report the user to law enforcement and provide identifying information, remove some of the offending content but leave some others behind. In one case, The Guardian pointed out that the user still had two Gmail accounts despite making anti-Jewish comments, praising white supremacist terrorists, including mass killers, and suggesting he may emulate them. Its not clear if Google did not see the remaining comments as breaking community guidelines, or if there are other reasons for leaving them on the platform. But it does publicly share details on how it handles government requests for information. The documents that The Guardian referred to were part of a Blueleaks leak and were associated with the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center (NCRIC), according to The Guardian. The NCRIC is part of a national network of fusion centers that share information across state, federal and local law agencies. Executive director of the NCRIC Mike Sena told The Guardian that Googles reports came through a common reporting facility on the sites front page that the public, law enforcement, and any other organization can use to pass information to the fusion center. On its website, the NCRIC describes the purpose of its Building Communities of Trust initiative as focusing on developing relationships of trust between law enforcement, fusion centers, and the communities they serve, particularly immigrant and minority communities, so that the challenges of crime control and prevention of terrorism can be addressed. It also states, To engage in effective and meaningful information sharing, it is fully recognized that it must be done in a manner that protects individuals privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. It adds that We have developed, implemented and enforce various policies and procedures which are fundamental to safeguarding constitutional rights and ensuring that its addressing ethical and legal obligations. Not all the material Google shared with the NCRIC was related to racist or terrorist threats, according to The Guardian. Some of it was also related to thoughts of suicide, self-harm or mental distress. While the majority of users dont appear to have to worry about Google sending their information to law enforcement agencies, it would be helpful to get clarity on when and why the company might do so. For better transparency, Google should also explain what its standards are for removing content and accounts of the people it identifies to law enforcement, or explain its actions. Some of its rationale is detailed on its page explaining how it handles government requests for information, but its still unclear where the lines are when it comes to removing users content or access. Update (at 4:01pm ET Aug 17th 2020): This article was edited to add Googles statement, which was provided after the story was published, as well as information on how the company handles government requests. To the Times: Alive Evans died today (Aug. 16) of COVID-19. She was 86 years old and spent the last 41 years waiting for her sons feet to touch her floor one last time. When she came to me five years ago to plead her sons case, she wanted to know how her son, married , out of the Navy with one child could be found guilty when there no evidence that he was the person who committed the murder. She wanted to know how come there was no blood at the crime scene, how come there was no murder weapon in evidence. So many questions with no answers. The answers came when the actual murderer, Anthony Jones in 2016 gave a 73-page sworn statement as to how he alone committed the murder. All of the evidence in the possession of the police matched his 2016 statement. So her questions for next four years were, How is it my son is still in prison? Yet she died today and her son remains in prison for a crime he did not commit. When I heard the news i was sad and angry. Sad because this woman inspired me with her faith and smile. Angry because her faith was not enough to allow the people that matter hear her cry for justice. Regardless of the lack of faith in justice we will carry on for Alice and continue to fight and raise our voices so that one day she will look down and see her sons feet touch her floor. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream, said Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I didnt have an answer then and I dont have one now. No police or prosecutor can answer the simple questions, of why there was no blood at the crime scene, why there was no murder weapon at trial, why the police lab report about the rope doesnt match the prosecutions theory of the murder. Michael J. Malloy, Esq., Media Amaala, the ultra-luxury integrated wellness project situated along Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast, has awarded the contract for excavation, backfilling, and earthworks to a local startup, Hasco (Hasan Al-Harbi Corporation) Based in Duba, a small city on the northern Red Sea coast, Hasco specialises in providing marine and logistics services.. Set in the Prince Mohammad bin Salman Natural Reserve across three unique communities, the 4,155-sq-km year-round destination Amaala will include 2,500 hotel keys and more than 800 residential villas, apartments and estate homes, alongside 200 high-end retail establishments, fine dining, wellness and recreational facilities. Its trio of communities Triple Bay, Coastal Development and The Island will represent three different sets of experiences for visitors. As part of the contract, Hasco has deployed a team of 90 across Triple Bay Marina to manage the excavation of the Amaalas marina basin. The Saudi startup has also overseen the installation of critical infrastructure, including access roads, and the construction of on-site offices, following the initial preparation works across the Amaala site. CEO Nicholas Naples said: "Amaala is pleased to be continuing our work with Hasco. Their contribution has been intrinsic to the progress of Amaala to date and will continue to do so. As a Duba-based contractor, Hascos knowledge and expertise of the local market has been invaluable in ensuring the high standards of quality we want to instill in every aspect of Amaala." "Their appointment for the earthworks of Triple Bays marina also furthers our commitment to support Saudi companies and contribution to employment within the kingdom," stated Naples. "Overseeing all stages of development, Amaalas environmental team will continue to ensure work is being carried out is in line with the destinations sustainability and environmental guidelines," he added. Hasco Managing Director Hassan Al Harbi said: "It is worth noting that Amaala has participated with the local community in the region in the initial establishment stages through providing our marine, logistics, and hospitality services, and later signed us to implement Amaala first project (Triple Bay (Marina) - Early Earth Works)." Once developed, Triple Bays marina basin will overlook the Red Sea, one of the worlds most ancient and unchartered bodies of water. The marina basin will form part of Amaalas yachting portfolio, offering a natural combination of clear waters, and year-round breeze. Already traversed by hundreds of luxury yachts migrating from Asia to the Mediterranean every year, a lack of infrastructure in the area has prevented the growth of luxury yachting for domestic and international visitors alike. With this comprehensive development, Amaala aims to cultivate and lead the yachting culture in the Middle East. With uniquely crafted yachting havens, inspired by the most iconic harbours in the world, Triple Bays marina basin will provide secure berthing for more than 300 yachts, said the Saudi luxury wellness project developer. It will feature dedicated facilities for vessels of up to 140 m, with floating docks embracing natural flora and creating shelter for marine life, it stated. Covered onshore storage will allow residents to give yachts year-round protection, while the event docks in the regatta marina offer unparalleled facilities for international races and regattas, it added.-TradeArabia News Service TDT | Manama A Bahraini woman might be facing a punishment of at least six months in jail if found guilty of disrespecting a religionan act that is criminalised by the Kingdoms Penal Code. This comes as the woman recently smashed religious statues inside of a shop in Juffair. The 54-year-old was seen in video footage, along with another woman, yelling at the shopkeeper and breaking several religious idols by throwing them on the floor. Hey you. Come here. What is this? one of the veiled women was heard saying in the video while questioning the shopkeeper. The other woman can be also heard saying: This is a Muslim country, right? Why are you selling this here? Both women continued yelling at the shopkeeper, who replied to them saying: I am Muslim too, before he walked away. The footage also showed one of the women emptying the shelves by throwing all of the statues on the floor. Let us see who worships idols here? I want the police, the woman said. Yesterday, a few hours after the video was widely circulated online, the Interior Ministry commented in a tweet: Capital Police took legal steps against a woman, 54, for damaging a shop in Juffair and defaming a sect and its rituals, in order to refer her to the Public Prosecution. The video sparked public outrage online, as it is against the Kingdoms approach of respecting faiths, tolerance, and promoting peace and co-existence. Thousands of netizens in Bahrain and abroad condemned the womans radical behaviour and commended security authorities for swiftly responding to the matter and taking legal action against the woman. Not one of us! His Majesty the Kings Diplomatic Affairs Advisor Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa condemned the womens behaviour and commented that whoever commits such acts isnt a Bahraini. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs tweeted: Smashing religious symbols is not the behaviour of the people of Bahrain. It is a crime that expresses an alien and rejected hatred. Here, all religions, sects and people coexisted and whoever did this is a stranger and is not one of us. Interrogated Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution confirmed in a statement posted on its official social media channels that it has interrogated the woman and is completing the necessary procedures to refer the case to the concerned court. Quoting Capital Governorate Chief Prosecutor Mohammed Salah, the statement read: The Public Prosecution has received a report from Nabih Saleh Police Station, informing that a woman has broken statues at a shop in Juffair area. The Public Prosecution immediately began interrogating the accused and confronted her with the testimonies of witnesses and the footage. She admitted that she had smashed these figures, so she was charged with intentional destruction and publicly insulting a sect and a symbol that is glorified by the people of a religion. Preparations are being taken to refer the case to the concerned court, Salah added. Kamala Harris, presumptive democratic nominee for vice-president, rejected false and racist theory promoted by President Donald Trump questioning her eligibility, terming them as lies and dirty tactics to distract attention from the administrations failures. They are going to engage in lies. They are going to engage in deception. They are going to engage in an attempt to distract form the real issue that is impacting the American people, Harris told TheGrio , a news focussed on covering Black Americans, on Sunday, addressing the issue for the first time. I expect they will engage in dirty tactics and this is going to be a knock-down, drag-out and we are ready, said Oakland, California-born Harris. President Trump has refused to reject a theory floated on the right, falsely arguing that Harris was not qualified to run for vice-presidential seat, because she was not a natural-born citizen as required constitutionally. As the theory went, her immigrant parents mother from India and father from Jamaica were probably not naturalised citizens at the time, 1964. And that she was an anchor baby, a term used for children born in the US for the express purpose of facilitating the immigration of the rest of the family. Harris, 55, was born in Oakland, California. And that makes her a natural-born US citizen and eligible to be president if she needed to step in. Trump has praised the writer of a Newsweek column, who first put out the falsehood in print, as a brilliant lawyer, but said Saturday, Its not something that Im going to be pursuing. And that it does not bother me at all. But he refused to say, when pressed by a reporter, if he believed Harris was eligible to run. Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, was clearer in an interview on CNN Sunday. Sure, he said when asked if he believed Harris was eligible to run, adding that, And I think the president spoke to this yesterday. This is not something that were going to pursue. On Thursday, the president had said, when asked about the conspiracy theory for the first time, I have no idea if thats right. I would have assumed the Democrats would have checked that out before she gets chosen for vice president. Instead of dismissing the starkly false argument, Trump said. Thats a very serious... theyre saying she doesnt qualify because she wasnt born in this country? he had asked. President Trump claimed for years birthing what came to be called the birther theory that President Barack Obama was not eligible to be president because he was not born in the US. Obama, who was born in Hawaii, was forced to release his birth records to squash this theory. Trump, however, gave up in 2016, when he was running for president. The same year, however, Trump had launched another birther theory. This time about Ted Cruz, the Republican senator who raced Trump to the finish line for the Republican nomination for president before quitting. Cruz was born in Calgary, Canada to a father from Cuba and mother who was American. The president has reacted viciously to Harris. He has called her nasty, and claimed that though she is of Indian heritage, I have more Indians than she has. Harriss mother Shyamala Gopalan was from Chennai though she had also lived with her family in Delhi for years. She came to the United States in 1958, became a breast cancer researcher. She met and married Donald J Harris in 1963. Kamala Harris was born to them in 1964. Younger sister Maya Harris, was born in 1967. Harris has named Sabrina Singh, an Indian American, as her press secretary. Im so excited to join the #BidenHarris ticket as Press Secretary for @KamalaHarris! Cant wait to get to work and win in November!, Singh wrote in a tweet Sunday. He was formerly the spokeswoman for Michael Bloombergs primary campaign and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, who is a close friend of Harris. Harris has also brought on to her team Rohini Kosoglu, her Sri Lankan-born chief of staff from her own presidential campaign that she discontinued last December, as a senior advisor. Uprising: Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered yesterday to demand the resignation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the capital Minsk. Photo: Vasily Fedosenko/Reuters Hundreds of thousands of people filled the city centre of the Belarusian capital of Minsk yesterday, demanding an end to the reign of Alexander Lukashenko in the largest political rally the country has ever seen. Dressed in white and chanting "Go away!", crowds poured into the streets despite an earlier public appearance by the president warning of a still more ferocious crackdown on protesters. "The dam has burst," protester Andrei Grinberg said. "People were unhappy before, but it's only now that they've had the courage to come out and see that everyone is against him," he said, referring to Mr Lukashenko, who has empowered the secret services, sidelined the opposition and censored the media in a 26-year reign made possible by removing constitutional checks on power. Outside the headquarters of the KGB, hundreds of demonstrators held up the opposition's red and white flag in a rare show of defiance. None of the scenes in the capital were relayed on state television news broadcasts, which last night did not mention the protests. Mr Lukashenko's landslide victory on August 9 was widely condemned as fraudulent, with reports of election officials disposing of bags of votes for the opposition. The position of the 65-year-old former collective farm boss came under further pressure in the following days as blue-collar workers, who form the core of his support, staged walk-outs and threatened industrial action unless a new election was called. In apparent desperation, Mr Lukashenko called a rally for supporters, mostly consisting of state-paid workers who were bussed in from all over the country, and vowed to fight on. "Someone wants me to give away our country," a visibly distressed Mr Lukashenko shouted out to the crowd of about 20,000 people yesterday. "Even when I'm dead, I'm not going to give the country away." He warned of a foreign invasion and sought to portray the opposition movement as in hock to Western powers. "Look out of the window: tanks and jets are at the ready 15 minutes away from our border. Nato troops are clanking by our gate," Mr Lukashenko said to the crowd. While some Belarusian senior officials have sought to ease tensions, Mr Lukashenko called the opposition "scum" and "rats". When tens of thousands of peaceful demonstrators took to the streets of Minsk in the immediate aftermath of the election, riot police responded with shocking violence, throwing stun grenades at passers-by and firing rubber bullets at protesters. Horrifying stories of torture among the 7,000 detained protesters in Belarusian jails triggered even larger protests. The violence has wiped out what little support Mr Lukashenko did have, Yelena Seliverstova said. "With his actions he showed that he stands against the entire nation," said Ms Seliverstova (49). "We do not recognise this government. He won't leave. The only thing we can do is to come out in protest and not go to work tomorrow." Mr Lukashenko's rally revealed cracks even among his traditional base. An army veteran invited onstage stunned the crowd by accusing officials of rigging the results, and lashing out at police for their treatment of detainees and violence on the streets. "You cannot turn your back on people," he said to a mix of jeers and applause. The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Mr Lukashenko Moscow was ready to assist Belarus in accordance with a collective military pact. Russia is watching closely because Belarus hosts pipelines that carry Russian energy exports to the West and is viewed by Moscow as a buffer zone against Nato. Russian state media is promoting the idea that foreign forces are seeking to destabilise Belarus. "Everyone is thinking about what happens next," Mr Grinberg, the 23-year old protester said. "When workers go on strike on Monday, we will know for sure." ( Daily Telegraph) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE: LCI) today announced that it has entered into an exclusive U.S. distribution agreement for the therapeutically equivalent generic of Flovent Diskus (Fluticasone Propionate Powder Inhaler) of Respirent Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. According to the Orange Book, all patents covering Flovent Diskus have expired. U.S. sales of Flovent Diskus, which have been increasing in recent years, were $94 million for the 12 months ending June, 2020 according to IQVIA, although actual generic market values are expected to be lower. The company also said its previously announced exclusive U.S. distribution agreement with Respirent for the therapeutically equivalent generic of ADVAIR DISKUS (Fluticasone Propionate Salmeterol Xinafoate Powder Inhaler) has been extended from 10 years to 12 years. The term of the agreement commences upon distribution of the product. The company further noted that the earlier trademark lawsuit between Respirent and the innovator company was recently dismissed, thereby clearing a potential impediment to commercialization. "Expanding our relationship with Respirent for a second powder inhaler product for asthma speaks to the mutual respect we have for each other's expertise. Generic Flovent Diskus is a large market opportunity product that complements our increasingly important portfolio of inhalation medications," said Tim Crew, chief executive officer of Lannett. "Extending the distribution period for generic ADVAIR DISKUS reflects our growing optimism for the product. We remain on track to submit late this calendar year an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for this product." Crew added that early development is underway for the generic Flovent Diskus product and the company will provide updates as clinical milestones are achieved. ADVAIR DISKUS and Flovent Diskus are registered trademarks of GlaxoSmithKline. About Respirent Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd.: Respirent's commitment is to provide Affordable Respiratory Medicines. Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic diseases that require daily medications. We recognize the cost burden to patients and health authorities around the world, especially as prevalence and incidence have been increasing world-wide - particularly in underprivileged populations. At Respirent, we are dedicated to addressing a significant unmet need to tackle this growing global public health problem and to create value for healthcare providers and patients. Respirent's generic products are developed and manufactured in new state-of-the-art facilities that meet the most stringent regulatory and quality standards of the United States and Europe. Our upstream supply partners are also global leaders in their field of expertise which ensures our delivery and service to our commercial partners and patients is world-class. About Lannett Company, Inc.: Lannett Company, founded in 1942, develops, manufactures, packages, markets and distributes generic pharmaceutical products for a wide range of medical indications. For more information, visit the company's website at www.lannett.com. This news release contains certain statements of a forward-looking nature relating to future events or future business performance. Any such statement, including, but not limited to, the company successfully commercializing Fluticasone Propionate Salmeterol Xinafoate Powder Inhaler or Fluticasone Propionate Powder Inhaler, whether expressed or implied, is subject to market and other conditions, and subject to risks and uncertainties which can cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors which include, but are not limited to, the risk factors discussed in the Company's Form 10-K and other documents filed with the SEC from time to time, including the prospectus supplement related to the proposed offering to be filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's judgment as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements. Contact: Robert Jaffe Robert Jaffe Co., LLC (424) 288-4098 SOURCE Lannett Company, Inc. Related Links www.lannett.com Plans to build a controversial floating gas hub at Western Port have hit a hurdle, with the Mornington Peninsula Shire opposing the project due to concerns about its proposed environmental and community benefits. Energy giant AGL wants to build a liquefied natural gas storage unit at Crib Point, which would also require construction of a 55-kilometre pipeline to Pakenham. The company says the $250 million project will be crucial to securing gas supplies in future and will help keep a lid on prices. LNG tankers would dock alongside the floating terminal to unload their cargo. But the report prepared by Mornington Peninsula Shire Council officers recommended that councillors oppose the project due to a range of concerns, including greenhouse emissions, impact on marine life and increased traffic. Baghdad, Aug 17 : The US-led international coalition forces in Iraq, tasked with fighting the Islamic State (IS) terror group, handed over the largest site of ammunition depots in the north of Baghdad to the country's domestic forces. During a handover ceremony in al-Taji Camp, some 20 km north of Baghdad, up to 50 ammunition depots and related facilities were handed over to the Iraqi side on Sunday, the Iraqi News Agency (INA) said in a report. The handover of "the primary ammunition depots site, that supports the operations of the Iraqi security forces and the international coalition against IS, was planned for a long time in coordination with the Iraqi government", a coalition document said. The international coalition will continue to keep a smaller presence in al-Taji Camp to coordinate the logistical and security operations with the Iraqi forces, the INA said. Al-Taji Camp is a huge military base containing an air base where some US troops are stationed, reports Xinhua news agency. Earlier, the international coalition forces handed over several military sites to the Iraqi security forces in central and northern the country. The relations between Baghdad and Washington have taken a toll since the January 3 US drone attack near the Baghdad airport that killed Qasem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy chief of Iraq's paramilitary Hashd Shaabi forces. The tension pushed the two sides to hold a round of strategic dialogues on June 12, during which the US confirmed that it does not seek permanent military presence in the country and that over the coming months, Washington would continue reducing forces from Iraq and discuss with the government in Baghdad the status of remaining forces. Over 5,000 US troops have been deployed in Iraq to support Iraqi forces in battles against the IS, mainly for training and advisory purposes. The troops were part of the US-led international coalition that has also been conducting air raids against IS targets in both Iraq and Syria. Demonstrators with Shut Down DC protest prepare to march to the home of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. Leading Democratic senators called for the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors on Monday to reverse sweeping operational changes implemented by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and remove him if he doesn't comply. The cost-cutting measures put in place by DeJoy, a major donor to Republicans and committees supporting President Donald Trump's reelection, have been blamed for reports of widespread mail delays. They are also raising fears about the Post Office's ability to handle an expected flood of mail-in ballots in the November election. Democrats have wondered aloud whether the changes are a political tactic to undermine USPS, a federal agency, in ways that could impact ballot-counting in the November race between Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden. "Mr. DeJoy appears to be engaged in a partisan effort, with the support of President Trump, to delay and degrade mail service and undermine the mission of the United States Postal Service," said seven senators, led by Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, in a letter to the USPS Board of Governors. The request is hardly the first entreaty from Congress to reverse DeJoy's overhaul of the Post Office. Members of both parties have called on the postmaster general to reel in his new policies, which reportedly include major cuts in overtime and crackdowns on making late trips to deliver mail. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Sunday she is calling the House back from summer recess in order to vote on House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney's bill to block DeJoy's changes from taking effect until the coronavirus pandemic has ended. Trump, an aggressive critic of mail-in voting, denied that he is encouraging DeJoy to slow down the mail. "I have encouraged everybody, 'speed up the mail,'" he told reporters outside the White House on Monday morning. DeJoy said this month the USPS has "ample capacity" to handle election mail. But the senators wrote that DeJoy "has rapidly taken numerous actions that threaten the service and integrity of the Postal Service." "Mr. DeJoy's short tenure has endangered millions of Americans who rely on the Postal Service to keep in touch with their friends and family, obtain prescription drugs and other daily needs, and access their Social Security, Veterans Affairs, and other benefits," they wrote. "And his efforts threaten the ability of Americans to vote in the 2020 elections." A spokesman for the USPS did not respond to CNBC's request for comment. The group of senators, which also includes Vermont's Bernie Sanders, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Gary Peters of Michigan, and Minnesota's Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, told the board they "have the authority and responsibility to act." "Should he not cooperate with these efforts, you have the authority, under the Postal Reorganization Act, 'to remove the Postmaster General,' with 'a favorable vote of an absolute majority of the Governors in office,'" the letter said. Warren doubled down on that point in a tweet later Monday. "The Postal Service Board of Governors should use their authority to reverse DeJoy's changes that sabotage USPS operations and remove DeJoy as Postmaster General if he doesn't cooperate," she wrote. TWEET The letter was sent to six members of the board, all of whom were appointed by Trump. Ankara, Aug 17 : The Turkish government will establish "neighborhood inspection teams" to enforce the measures against the coronavirus pandemic, according to a circular issued by the Interior Ministry. The members of state institutions, local administrations, law enforcements and school officials will be responsible for these teams, Xinhua news agency quoted the circular as saying on Sunday. Turkey confirmed 1,192 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising the total tally to 249,309, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted. Meanwhile, 19 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,974, he noted. Turkish health professionals conducted 65,956 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 5,725,242, he said. A total of 997 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 230,969 in Turkey since the outbreak, Koca added. The rate of pneumonia in Covid-19 patients is 7.6 per cent and the number of seriously ill patients is 679, he stated. Turkey reported the first coronavirus case on March 11. The Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Petition Tribunal has nullified the election of Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State. The election was nullified based on a petition by the Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP), which argued that it was unlawfully excluded from participating in the election. The tribunal ruling can, however, still be challenged at the appeal court. More details on the tribunals Monday ruling will be provided in subsequent updates. The ANDP had through its governorship candidate, King Lucky George, and National Chairman, Charles Ogboli, approached the tribunal seeking the nullification of the November 19, 2019 governorship election. The party demanded an order for fresh election on the grounds that its name and logo were excluded from the ballot papers used for the election. The counsel to the party, Kehinde Ogunwumiju (SAN), told the tribunal that INEC witnessed and monitored its governorship primary and that it was curious and unacceptable that the electoral body later excluded it from the election. The counsel to INEC, Ibrahim Bawa (SAN), told the tribunal that after examining the evidence tabled by the petitioners, the commission preferred not to call any witness. The lawyers for the PDP, Emmanuel Enoidem, and Governor Diri of Bayelsa, Gordy Uche (SAN), spoke along the same line, saying instead of calling witnesses, they would submit documents to the tribunal. The ANDP was registered as a political party on August 14, 2018, along with 23 other parties. However, it was deregistered in on February 6, 2020, for failing to meet the guidelines stipulated by the constitution which expect parties to at least win a seat any of the elections conducted -presidential, governorship, chairmanship or councillorship. The affected parties, including ANDP, are now in court challenging their deregistration. Mondays ruling comes two days after the tribunal dismissed three other petitions against the election of Mr Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the three-member tribunal dismissed the three petitions filed by separate parties on Saturday. Read our story on Saturday rulings below. The Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abuja, on Saturday, dismissed three petitions against Duoye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and affirmed him the duly elected governor of the state. The petitions dismissed by the tribunal were filed by the Alliance for Democracy (AD), the United Peoples Congress (UPC) and the Liberation Movement (LM). PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Supreme Court, on February 13, sacked David Lyon of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the governor-elect barely 24 hours to his inauguration. The apex court based its rulings on the premise that his deputy, Biobarakuma Degi-Eremienyo, presented false information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in aid of his qualification for the November 16 governorship election in the state. The apex court then ordered INEC to declare the party with the highest number of lawful votes and geographical spread the winner of the election. Mr Diri was later sworn in as governor Tribunal Ruling In a unanimous decision on Saturday, a three-member panel of the Bayelsa Election Tribunal dismissed three petitions challenging Mr Diris victory. The judge, S.M. Owoduni, who read the lead judgment of the tribunal held that the petition filed by AD and its candidate, Owei Woniwei, is incompetent and lacks merit. Justice Owoduni held that the petitioners failed to prove the allegation that Mr Diris deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, forged his declaration of age and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharged certificate. The second petition filed by Ibiene Stephen and his party, UPC and the one filed by the candidate of the Liberation Movement (LM), Vijah Opuama, were also dismissed. Mr Opuama had filed his petition to challenge the declaration Messrs Diri and Ewhrudjakpo as governor and deputy. Advertisements He also alleged that Mr Ewhrudjakpo submitted forged exemption certificate and documents that contain false information to INEC. He is asking the tribunal to cancel the election and order a fresh poll. A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind. "For several years, American Express has been expanding beyond our industry-leading commercial card products to offer our business customers a growing set of payment and working capital solutions," said Anna Marrs, president of Global Commercial Services at American Express, in a statement. "This acquisition accelerates our plans to offer U.S. small businesses an easy and efficient way to manage their payments and cash flow digitally in one place, which is more critical than ever in today's environment." Kabbage, headquartered in Atlanta, is a data and technology company providing small businesses with a suite of financial products including Kabbage Payments, which helps small businesses get paid and access the money they earn faster. Kabbage Funding provides access to flexible lines of credit in minutes . To date, Kabbage has provided more than 220,000 U.S. small businesses access to over $9 billion in working capital. As small businesses continue to feel the pressure from Covid-19-related restrictions, American Express announced Monday that it has agreed to acquire small business lender Kabbage, ranked No. 24 on this year's CNBC Disruptor 50 list. Kabbage says that a small business can apply and be approved for a credit line of up to $250,000 in three steps and in under 10 minutes using its machine learning algorithms. Speed of access to capital has never been more critical for small businesses than during the lockdowns caused by coronavirus. In April, the Treasury Department approved nonbank fintech companies like Kabbage to participate directly in the $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which allowed companies to apply for 10 weeks worth of funding to pay their employees and soften the initial blow caused by the pandemic. Last week, the Small Business Administration opened the forgiveness portal for those PPP loans as congressional leaders continued to negotiate a new stimulus deal. "This is an excellent deal, pairing one of the premier fintech entities, Kabbage, with a large player who has had a long commitment to helping small businesses get capital," Karen Mills, Senior Fellow at Harvard Business School and former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, told CNBC. "Kabbage will be able to access Amex's customers and low-cost funds while Amex will benefit from a tech-savvy team that knows how to give small businesses a seamless experience." Because of its involvement in the PPP program, Kabbage has doled out significantly more money than in the past, despite having done so in much smaller increments. By the end of the program's extension in early August, Kabbage became the second-largest PPP lender in the country with nearly 300,000 approved applications that amounted to over $7 billion in small business funding, according to the company. In more normal times, Kabbage would underwrite a loan, charging a rate that accounts for the risk associated with a particular small business and its industry. The PPP loans, by contrast, are virtually risk-free for Kabbage, since they're backed by the government. Each brings with it a low fee paid to the lender. "We are thrilled with this outcome," Kabbage CEO and co-founder Rob Frohwein told CNBC, adding that the deal is "great for investors and employees, but also amazing for the small businesses for which Kabbage and American Express share a passion and purpose." Frohwein tweet "Together, we will endeavor to revive a sector integral to our economy and its recovery," Frohwein said. The acquisition is expected to close later this year, subject to customary closing conditions. Kabbage's pre-existing loan portfolio is not included in the purchase agreement. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against Chinese national Luo Sang, who was living in India using a pseudonym Charlie Peng and is involved in alleged cross-border money laundering worth more than Rs 1,000 crore using shell companies and hawala, officials familiar with the development said on Monday. Officials said the case has been registered against Peng under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on the basis of the Income Tax departments action and a Delhi Police probe after the prime facie offence was established. The agency will soon summon Peng and his associates for questioning, including hawala dealers, chartered accountants and bank officials who connived with him. The investigations by multiple agencies including the I-T department, Delhi Police and central intelligence agencies, have so far revealed that Pengs alleged money laundering activities are linked to gathering information in India, an official who didnt wish to be named said. We have information that Peng was sending packets carrying Rs 2 to 3 lakh to certain individuals in Tibetan settlements in Delhi including Majnu Ka Tilla. The packets were dropped off by the office boys of Peng. The accused persons involved were interacting on a Chinese app, the officer said. Investigations by Income Tax department has revealed that certain Chinese companies under scanner were issuing fake purchase orders for which bogus bills were raised by smaller Chinese companies having business in India. The I-T department had acted against Peng (42) on August 11 and 12 on specific intelligence inputs during which it was found that he was handling finances several companies and made several trips to various states across India in the last few years. He was even carrying an Aadhar card, the second officer said. Peng had allegedly created a web of sham companies to launder hawala funds to and from China in the past two-three years. He used import and export of medical and electronic goods and some other items as his front to mislead Indian authorities, the second officer said. The Central Board of Direct Taxes in its statement on August 11 said, without naming a company, the subsidiary of Chinese company (linked to Peng) 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. The controversial algorithm that has led to misery for thousands of A-level pupils could be ditched, No 10 has hinted. Boris Johnson has broken off from his holiday in a bid to try to stem the growing crisis over this years exam results. He held a meeting with Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and senior government officials this morning, phoning in from the start of his week-long break in Scotland. As Mr Johnson comes under increasing pressure from Conservative MPs over the issue, Downing Street appeared to concede this year's exam marks were not fair. The prime ministers official spokesman said the government continued to work to come up with the fairest system possible. No 10 also refused to rule out a Scottish-style u-turn to a system based on teachers' predicted grades, dropping the algorithm designed to standardise results. Earlier senior ministers went public with their criticism of the system, put in place after A-level exams were cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Paymaster General Penny Mordaunt said she was seeking a meeting with ministers at the Department for Education (DfE) about the issue. "This group of young people have lost out on so much already; we must ensure that bright, capable students can progress on their next step," she said. The minister added that she had also "made my views on GCSE results known to DfE". Defence Minister Johnny Mercer said he was "acutely aware of the issues around A-level results and am equally concerned for the GCSE results on Thursday". In what appeared to be a hint of an imminent U-turn he said: "I do not believe this is the end of the story - there are too many clear injustices. "At this time we must not panic, and await developments. I am limited in what I can say publicly - I have had many private conversations." Conservative former education secretary Lord Baker of Dorking has urged ministers to delay the publication of Thursday's GCSE results until the controversy over A-levels has been resolved. But Downing Street said there would be no delay in the publication of GCSE results. In Northern Ireland, ministers announced this morning that GCSE students will be awarded the grades predicted by their teachers. The government on Wednesday rejected a demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe the reports that Facebook did nothing to censor hate posts by some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi told CNN-News18 that there was no logic to the Congress demand for a probe into the allegations of a Facebook-BJP nexus, and said it was only a manifestation of the partys frustration after losing the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Joshi said that perhaps Congress leaders like former party chief Rahul Gandhi believed that FB stood for Frustration Book. He said that the Congress had earlier doubted the Election Commission, Supreme Court and the CAG, and now that all democratic institutions are over, they are going after Facebook. The Congress demand came after a report in US newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, stated that Facebook had bent over backwards to favour the BJP even going to the extent of ignoring hate speech by party leaders. In the article titled "Facebook Hate-Speech Rules Collide With Indian Politics -- Company executive opposed move to ban controversial politician", the WSJ also reported that an executive of the social media giant had said punishing violations by BJP workers "would damage the company's business prospects in the country". Quoting current and former employees, the article said Facebook has a "broader pattern of favouritism" towards the BJP. The issue has become the latest flash point between the Congress and the BJP, with the former on Sunday saying that the matter is so serious that it should not be investigated by anything less than the JPC. The party also demanded that Facebook conduct its own probe into the allegations. Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP and its ideological parent, the RSS control Facebook and WhatsApp in India. They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook, Gandhi tweeted. In response, union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad called Gandhi a loser, and said he cannot influence people in his own party, but complains about the BJP and RSS. Congress MP and Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology Chairperson Shashi Tharoor also said that the panel would look into report, and will seek the views of Facebook on the issue. I will certainly look into the issue and the committee will seek the views of Facebook, Tharoor told a newspaper. Statement by Minister Simon Coveney, T.D., on the Belarus Presidential Elections Press release I remain deeply concerned by the ongoing developments in Belarus and totally condemn the human rights abuses which we have seen take place since the flawed Presidential election. This result was not legitimate as evidenced by the intimidation and detentions which took place both before and after the election and the response of the state authorities to the large-scale and overwhelmingly peaceful protests which are now taking place across the country. Ireland does not accept the election result as a true reflection of the democratic will of the Belarusian people. I commend the many thousands of people who have made their voices heard, including through the mass demonstrations we have seen over the weekend, and notwithstanding the very real threat that they have faced to their personal liberty and safety. Belarus is a country on the doorstep of the European Union and the people of this country are following events taking place in Belarus closely. The people of Ireland and the people of Belarus share strong connections. It is of vital importance that we work with the international community to ensure that the rights and democratic will of the people are respected. It is for Belarus and its people alone to determine their future. I welcome the decision to convene a special European Council on Wednesday and I will be discussing the issue with my EU foreign minister colleagues over the next week. We will continue to press the Belarusian authorities to release all civilians who were unjustly detained and we fully support the initiation of a process of targeted sanctions. ENDS Press Office 17 August 2020 Previous Item | Next Item HONGKONG, Aug 17 -- The guided-missile frigate Huizhou (Hull 596) attached to a naval group under the Hong Kong Garrison of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently conducted multi-subject maritime military training in the waters of South China Sea. The training this time focused on more than ten subjects including jamming bomb launching, main-gun firing, light weapons shooting, helicopter deck-landing, rescue drill, etc., making a comprehensive inspect on the coordinated commanding and combat capabilities of the garrison. GUANGZHOU, China, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CNFinance Holdings Limited (NYSE: CNF) ("CNFinance" or the "Company"), a leading home equity loan service provider in China, today announced that it will report its unaudited financial results for the second quarter and first half ended June 30, 2020, before U.S. markets open on Monday, August 24, 2020. CNFinance's management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on Monday, August 24, 2020 (8:00 PM Beijing/ Hong Kong Time on the same day). Dial-in numbers for the live conference call are as follows: International: +1-412-902-4272 Mainland China +86-4001-201203 United States: +1-888-346-8982 Hong Kong: +852-3018-4992 Passcode: CNFinance A telephone replay of the call will be available after the conclusion of the conference call until 11:59 PM ET on August 31, 2020. Dial-in numbers for the replay are as follows: International: +1-412-317-0088 United States: +1-877-344-7529 Passcode: 10147085 A live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of CNFinance's website at http://ir.cashchina.cn/. About CNFinance Holdings Limited CNFinance Holdings Limited (NYSE: CNF) ("CNFinance" or the "Company) is a leading home equity loan service provider in China. CNFinance conducts business by collaborating with sales partners and trust company partners. Sales partners are responsible for recommending micro-and small enterprise ("MSE") owners with financing needs to the Company and CNFinance introduces eligible borrowers to its trust company partners who will then conduct their own risk assessments and make credit decisions. The Company's primary target borrower segment is MSE owners who own real properties in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in China. The loans CNFinance facilitates are primarily funded through a trust lending model with its trust company partners who are well-established with sufficient funding sources and have licenses to engage in lending business nationwide. The Company's risk mitigation mechanism is embedded in the design of its loan products, supported by an integrated online and offline process focusing on risks of both borrowers and collateral and further enhanced by effective post-loan management procedures. SOURCE CNFinance Holdings Limited Related Links www.cashchina.cn The lead single Kotare is available for streaming and download on all platforms from August 13, including on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp. The five track EP He Manu Ano, will be released on August 27 and is an extension of their bilingual debut album Manu, which told the tales of ten native manu, playing on the birds characteristics and some of their significance for Maori through a mixture of vocals, Maori rhythms, chants and instrumentation. The EP will consist of songs of the most requested birds that did not appear on their first album, and will be entirely in te reo Maori. The duo have spent time researching the stories and sounds of each bird, and understanding their character to create upbeat waiata inspired by nature, and wholly original to Aotearoa. The kaupapa behind this project is to address identity, and to encourage people to be proud of who they are as Maori and as New Zealanders. Using the birds characteristics and Maori legends about the birds, the waiata tell a story of trying to find ones place in the world. The first single Kotare is a showcase of the distinctive sound that Aro has become known for; a warm blend of pop, R&B, jazz, and taonga puoro. The track is a jubilant guitar driven melody, inspired by the kotare (kingfisher). The gorgeously harmonious dual vocals carry the song, Emily's honey-voiced jazz blending with Charles' full throated haka sound, allowing the poetic te reo Maori lyrics to truly shine. Punctuated with percussive clicks and joyful whistles, Kotare is an uplifting and beautiful example of the energy of the manu. Aro consists of husband and wife Charles (Ngapuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngati Te Ata, Te Ati Awa) and Emily Looker. The pair share a passion for the power of language and music to tell stories and remind us of our cultural identity. The duo were finalists for the Maioha Award at the Silver Scrolls (2019) and the APRA Best Childrens Song Award for their song Korimako (2020). Aro will celebrate the release of their forthcoming EP with a show in Auckland at the 13th Floor Studio on August 29, followed by a three centre tour in September to New Plymouth, Tauranga and Onewhero. The musicianship throughout haunting and interlocking vocals, stick percussion, evocations of taonga puoro, touches of Latin rhythms is clever and diverse, says Elsewhere Manu album reviewer Graham Reid. Tour Dates: Auckland 13th Floor Studio August 29 Tickets available through Under the Radar New Plymouth 4th Wall Theatre September 5 Tickets available through Under the Radar Tauranga The Jam Factory September 11 Tickets available through The Incubator Onewhero Onewhero Society of Performing Arts September 26 Tickets available here https://aromusic.co.nz/ He walks hurriedly down the sidewalk, his tattered navy bag swaying back and forth, stuffed with letters, magazines, and small packages. Youre still the mailman! says a man in his 60s, nursing a cup of coffee by the bustling Upper Darby street. Yessir! he replies. Its Monday, the carriers first day back on the job after a week off, and the neighborhood has missed him. Hes proud to be a mail carrier a position hes held for two decades but now that his job has been put at the center of a national debate, hes been told by his bosses not to talk to reporters. He wants people to understand the pressures of being a mail carrier right now, but out of fear that he could be fired, he doesnt feel comfortable sharing his name. Though residents have their own names for him. Hey, boss! one man yells out his car window. The kids on the block call him OG original gangster. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, reads the Postal Services motto. Its a creed embedded in his system, visible in the exhaustive breaths of walking 10 miles a day in the summer heat. But he never falters or stops. People need their mail. He pats the man with the coffee on the shoulder and keeps moving. Talking with residents has always been his favorite part of the job, but now, with twice as much mail to deliver, theres little time to spare. READ MORE: Mail delays are frustrating Philly residents, and a short-staffed Postal Service is struggling to keep up How come youve not been promoted yet? the man asks as the carrier passes. Im here to stay, he nods back, continuing to the next house. I like being with the people. But, as funding necessary for the Postal Services survival stalls in Congress, he wonders how much longer he will be out here. **** Its only 10 a.m. and its already 93 degrees in the area filled with immigrant-owned businesses, cramped rowhouses, and few trees. After 15 years on this route, he knows it backward and forward the hidden alleyways, the calico cat perched on the wooden steps, which elderly residents expect a package every Monday. He scans the bins and boxes neatly stacked throughout his truck, stamped with the U.S. Postal Service logo. He sighs. Just a year ago, this would be his days work. But with twice as many packages and half as many carriers on duty, he has more items to deliver than ever before. Like many post offices, his has been short-staffed for a while. Then came the coronavirus, and with it, a surge in packages. Then the new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, was appointed in June. For the first time, he was being told to leave mail behind. Theyre just physically and mentally exhausted, said Joe Rodgers, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers Keystone 157. These carriers are working so hard just to try and keep up, and they just simply cant do it. READ MORE: Philly lawmakers are warning of an unmitigated disaster as post office problems lead to big mail delays Last week, President Donald Trump openly admitted that by withholding funding for the Postal Service, the agency would not be able to handle an anticipated surge of mail voting in November. The USPS has warned Pennsylvania that some mail ballots might not be delivered on time based on its current deadlines. But Sunday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she was calling the House back into session to vote on a bill prohibiting the postal service from implementing any changes to operations or level of service. We are being politicized, the carrier says as he hops over a railing between homes to save time. I dont think [DeJoy] actually has a clue what we actually do. READ MORE: USPS says Pa. mail ballots may not be delivered on time, and state warns of overwhelming risk to voters The politicians dont understand, he says, the mental and emotional toll these changes office hours slashed, overtime eliminated are taking on the postal workers and residents to whom they deliver. He cant even turn on the news anymore. After working 70 hours a week, the last thing he wants to hear from the president is that hes not good enough. Some days he calls in sick. He wipes down his face and pours cold water into his floppy brown hat. Then he grabs what he needs from his truck and locks it. Four hours down, eight to go. **** When people see him coming, excitement flickers in their eyes. Faces peek from behind blinds and hands jut outside the door as soon as the letters clink into their metal box. What did he deliver? A paycheck? A bill? A birthday card? For some people, this is about life, about existing, he says. In this zip code, where 75% of residents are nonwhite and 19% live in poverty, he understands the importance of his service to people who might not consistently have an internet connection or computer. He stops in the shade and breathes. They dont understand how just holding one piece of mail can affect someones life, he says, speaking of DeJoy and Trump. His residents know hes trying. They wave out their windows and offer him water. Amid the coronavirus, he worries his residents may feel more isolated. Visitors cant come, but their mailman does. He thinks about the lonely senior across the way whose wife just died. We may be the only person they come in contact with for days at a time, he says. **** His calves are strong, seasoned by the work. Sweat rolls down his head as he squints at the house number on the letter to confirm that hes dropping it at the right place. Have a blessed day, my brother! he shouts as he trots down the steps. As he delivers each piece of mail, the bag on his shoulder grows lighter. But the pressures of the job are heavy. It wasnt always this way. Sometimes he would finish his route early. But now thats never the case. Today, one of his coworkers took a personal day, so he has to make up for the absence. If he doesnt, the mail for those homes will go undelivered. Once he empties his truck, hell return to the office, fill it up again, and head back out. He grabs the last bunch of letters in his bag and walks into the corner store. The door jingles and the woman at the counter claps with joy. Need anything today, honey? she asks. Im OK, but thank you, he says. See ya tomorrow, baby! And he will. Because the mail never stops coming. The economy has been particularly vulnerable not due to the high dependence on Intensive Care Beds, but due to the high dependence on consumer spending. by Victor Cherubim Do not get me wrong, Britain was sizzling hot last week, with temperatures well ahead of Sri Lanka. Some said it was sunshine and roses, many thronged the coastal beaches. We were told that Britain was much the worse than other European countries, not for the spike in humidity, or the Coronavirus, but for the recession. Of course, we did not learn anything new on that front. Do not get me wrong, Britain was sizzling hot last week, with temperatures well ahead of Sri Lanka. Some said it was sunshine and roses, many thronged the coastal beaches. We were told that Britain was much the worse than other European countries, not for the spike in humidity, or the Coronavirus, but for the recession. Of course, we did not learn anything new on that front. The economy has been particularly vulnerable not due to the high dependence on Intensive Care Beds, but due to the high dependence on consumer spending. With jobs at risk, the high streets of Britain are deserted, people not wanting to spend and banks not wanting to lend. Amazon vehicles and Deliveroo cycles were seen catering for more people homebound. While Boris Johnson is desperate for office workers to return to the city centre work places, as revenues of public transport companies, underground, bus and train have plummeted with fewer people commuting, it has also impact service industries such as cafes, bars, restaurants and sandwich shops. In desperation from today (15 August) more outlets like parks, and museums and other closed public places are open. Panic stations Many firms in UK are struggling financially, with Department Store Debenhams, perhaps going into liquidation and John Lewis cutting staff. Investment Management firm, Schroders in the City has told staff, they no longer need to come into their London office but all 1000s of staff can permanently work from home. At the same time, there was panic in Britain closing the border with France due to the new 14-day quarantine restriction imposed and tourists rushed to return to UK by 0400 hrs 15 August 2020. Many who were forced to return by the Eurostar train from Paris which arrived at Euston station, London before the deadline, stated it was a harrowing experience. One family who travelled back complained they received an SMS notice at Paris, stating: youre 2990 in the queue. After a week of relentlessly grim forecasts about many things including about the economic calamity, with every job lost meaning a life thrown into chaos and how to survive to pay the bills, we now are told by the Bank of England Chief Economist, Andy Haldane that Britain will bounce back, with recovery in the second half of 2020, a healthy dose of optimism can save jobs. How is Britain then bouncing back? But for all the anxiety there is a note of cautious optimism, with foundations for recovery hiding in plain sight. COVID -19 Testing could end the quarantine roulette? There is a sudden boom in local tourism with staycation bookings rocketing. People are getting adjusted to staying in UK at a holiday destination. Boris Johnson has stated he is prepared to shut pubs and other public places to keep classrooms open. He is of the view that children suffer more by staying home, of missing school, which is worse than the virus risk, if all the rules are adhered. Boris Johnson has further pledged to secure a vaccine to wipe out the disease. He has promised to do everything in his power to have a vaccine in place soon. The Office of National Statistics now maintains that over the last month economic activity in UK has been steadily rising. GDP has fallen to 23% working solely from home, from a peak of 38% in mid-June 2020, a sign of recovery. Everything now depends on Britain to contain a relapse, perhaps, a replication of a weaker or stronger strain of the virus in the weeks and months ahead. The fine imposed for not wearing a face mask protection during travel and shopping has gone up from 1000 to up to 3000, on prosecution. People are taking it seriously. michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today: To end the pandemic in the U.S., the White House is trying to defy the timelines that have governed the development of a vaccine for decades. Is it working? My colleague, Katie Thomas, on Operation Warp Speed. Its Monday, August 17. So, Katie, when does the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine begin in the United States? katie thomas Well, the vaccine companies started working on something back in January when the genetic sequence for the virus was first published. But it wasnt until later in February, as it was spreading around the world and as cases were growing in the United States, that the broader conversation about when can we have a vaccine really began. archived recording (president donald trump) Well, thank you very much. Today we are meeting with the pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the biggest in the world katie thomas So then an early March archived recording (president donald trump) to discuss how the federal government can accelerate the development of vaccines and therapeutic treatments for the coronavirus. katie thomas President Trump met with several executives from drug companies, big vaccine manufacturers archived recording (president donald trump) When do you think you could have the vaccine? When do you think youd be able to have it start producing it? archived recording Were producing it now, an experimental lot. katie thomas And so these executives told him that they were moving on it at a really accelerated timetable. archived recording So were hoping to get the phase one stuff very soon now. And then its going to be a few months to get the human data that would allow us to pick a corrective dose to start a phase two [INAUDIBLE]. katie thomas But even with that timetable, it would take a couple of months to get into clinical trials. archived recording (president donald trump) And how long would that take? archived recording Phase two would take a few months before then going to phase three. archived recording (president donald trump) All right, so youre talking within a year. archarchived recording (dr. anthony fauci) Like Ive been telling you, a year to a year in a half. archived recording (president donald trump) But Lenny is talking about two months. katie thomas And then it could be a year to a year and a half before we would have a vaccine. michael barbaro Hm, and by my count, a year to a year and a half from then would mean we would have a vaccine maybe next summer. katie thomas Right, at some point in 2021. archived recording (president donald trump) I mean, I like the sound of a couple of months better. katie thomas And it was clear that President Trump wanted to see it move more quickly. archived recording We have to be very careful here if you vaccinate several hundred million archived recording (president donald trump) You got to make sure it works. archived recording Works and safe. archived recording (president donald trump) Doesnt hurt you right. I agree, I agree. Thank you very much. archived recording Thank you. archived recording (president donald trump) Great company, thank you. katie thomas Its worth noting that that year to a year-and-a-half timeline is already extremely fast. The current record for developing a vaccine is actually four years for the mumps vaccine. michael barbaro And, Katie, can you walk me through why exactly it takes so long? katie thomas Well, its a huge process. I mean, first it starts out in the lab. And you have scientists who are basically testing out different candidates for a vaccine. And that in and of itself can take years. michael barbaro Right. katie thomas And if they do get lucky and they do come out with something that could work, then they need to start testing it on animals. And we see if they survive and if theres any big problems. That can take months. If it passes that test, then we start human clinical trials. So theres three phases of that. Theres phase one, which is the early safety trial. And that can take months. And then they have to evaluate the data. And then only if they feel like its safe can they move on to the next phase, which is phase two you know, with a larger group of people to test mainly safety. And they have to analyze those results again. michael barbaro Which Im guessing could take months. katie thomas Thats right. And then, only then, do they start the biggest, riskiest phase, which is phase three, the large-scale trials to really test out whether a vaccine works. And in order to do this, they have to test it out in tens of thousands of people. And then they wait months, sometimes years. michael barbaro Wow. katie thomas And so if a vaccine makes it through all of these phases and goes through lengthy analysis of the results to make sure that they didnt miss anything, then they submit their application to the Food and Drug Administration, which itself goes through a very long review process. And then the agency decides whether it will get approved. So youre looking at a process that can really take a decade. michael barbaro I mean, just listening to you, this is an exhausting process. You have to follow each and every one of these steps in order, no matter how long it takes. katie thomas Thats right. And one thing that stops a lot of companies from bringing their products to the finish line is something that people call the valley of death. michael barbaro Hm, whats that? katie thomas So the valley of death is the period between when a company has figured out a good candidate for a vaccine or even a drug, and then they have to put it through clinical trials. And clinical trials michael barbaro Those three phases you just described? katie thomas Yeah, three phases. And those trials theyre expensive, theyre risky, they take a lot of coordination with hospitals and doctors around the world. And if you fail at any step in the process, you kind of had to go back to the drawing board. So thats a lot of times where products that were very promising basically die. michael barbaro And none of this timeline that youre describing would seem ideal for developing a vaccine in the middle of an urgent deadly pandemic? katie thomas No. So after that March meeting when Trump was pushing for the companies to go even faster than what would have already been a record timeline, a top regulator at the F.D.A. was also thinking about how to make this process go faster. And what emerges becomes known as Operation Warp Speed. archived recording ("star trek" clip 1) Warp drive, Mr. Scott. archived recording ("star trek" clip 2) Accelerating to warp one, sir. katie thomas Which is a reference to Star Trek, because the regulator was a fan of the show. michael barbaro Right, because as everyone who is at least 40 years old knows, the ship at the center of Star Trek travels at warp speed. katie thomas Yeah, thats right. I was really skeptical when Operation Warp Speed first came out, because I thought it was Trump just repackaging stuff that was already being done. michael barbaro What do you mean? katie thomas Well, theres already a unit within the Department of Health and Human Services whose whole job is to give money to companies that are developing vaccines or other treatments and to help them get through that valley of death. But what Operation Warp Speed did was they took that idea and they just ran with it. The idea was to get more companies involved at a much bigger scale. So Congress at that point had appropriated almost $10 billion in funding for both vaccines and for treatments. And the hope was that that would allow the companies to shift their resources to these clinical trials and to data analysis and development. That they would give them a lot of cash and that could basically speed up the whole process. But what was really new under the Operation Warp Speed plan was how they were approaching manufacturing. Because normally, a drug company isnt going to start mass producing their vaccine until they know that their vaccine works, until its gone through all of these clinical trials and they have a pretty good idea that its actually going to come onto the market. And so the federal government had the idea to pay these companies a lot of money to start making millions of doses of their vaccine before they even knew that it would work. But if one of them does, then you know, as soon as we know that its safe and effective we will have millions of doses that are ready to go. michael barbaro But of course, on the flip side of that is the reality that the government will be paying companies to make millions of doses of vaccines that will very likely many of them never get used and probably have to get tossed into the garbage. katie thomas Yeah, so theyre basically taking on a financial risk that the companies would never want to do on their own. And the final piece of Operation Warp Speed is they brought in the military. Operation Warp Speed is actually being led by two agencies, the Department of Health and Human Services, which is overseeing the science and the development of the vaccines, and then the Department of Defense, which has a lot of experience in logistics. And the thought here was that the military can supply a vast amount of materials quickly to different locations, whether thats for clinical trials or for manufacturing, or ultimately, to distribute it to millions of Americans. michael barbaro So, Katie, just to summarize this, under Operation Warp Speed, the government is incentivizing companies to try to make vaccines by giving them billions of dollars. On top of that, it is paying for these companies to manufacture those vaccines even before we know whether theyre safe and effective so that they will be ready at a moments notice. And finally, behind the scenes and surrounding all of this, the United States military is basically on call to keep this process moving. katie thomas Yeah, thats right. michael barbaro OK, so how does it all go? I mean, what happens once all this stuff is in place and Operation Warp Speed is unleashed? katie thomas They start giving just vast sums of money to a lot of different companies. archived recording 1 Well, U.S. government is pledging about $1.2 billion to AstraZeneca in its fight archived recording 2 And Moderna, they got a lot of money, about a half a billion dollars in federal funding archived recording 3 Johnson & Johnson has been given a boost, nearly half a billion dollars to develop a Covid vaccine and treatments. katie thomas And then in July, the government gave the biggest amount it had given out to date. archived recording This is a $1.6 billion thats billion with a B contract to Novavax vaccines. Its the largest katie thomas Up to $1.6 billion to a company called Novavax. archived recording This is a huge award for Novavax, which is a smaller company katie thomas Which was notable, because this is a company that had been around for more than 30 years. And yet, it had never in that history successfully brought a vaccine to market. archived recording Yeah, Novavax is unproven. They have been trying for decades. And so far, have not succeeded. michael barbaro Well be right back. So, Katie, why would Operation Warp Speed give up to $1.6 billion to Novavax, this company that has never brought a vaccine to market? katie thomas Well, it was surprising because you know, only a year ago they were basically on the brink of collapse. Their stock was trading so low that it risked getting delisted from the NASDAQ. They had to sell their manufacturing facility to try and raise cash. And they had to lay off a number of their employees. And so you know, they were really struggling heading into 2020. But thats kind of the way things work in the pharmaceutical industry. Failures are a part of the business. And so when 2020 came around and the coronavirus arrived, they got started working on a vaccine. And they ultimately came up with something that they felt was pretty promising. And so thats when the government decided to give Novavax this $1.6 billion award. michael barbaro So this seems to be working exactly as Operation Warp Speed was designed to do, which is to give companies a big government assist so that we have as many potential vaccines arriving when we need them. katie thomas Yeah, thats right. But it also is potentially problematic. Anytime you have billions of dollars just kind of sloshing around, theres going to be questions and scrutiny and people who want to know, you know, how are these decisions being made and why. And the contracts that have come out have been heavily redacted. There hasnt been a lot of transparency around the process. And that always raises fears about whether there are conflicts of interest. So in the case of Novavax that question immediately came up, because two of their former executives used to be the directors of the unit at the Department of Health and Human Services that gives money to companies. Before Operation Warp Speed, Novavax had applied to that unit for vaccine funding and had actually reached out to one of those directors about the application in a way that director said crossed ethical lines. He felt discussing the application while the companys vaccine was being considered could violate federal law, given that it could influence what was supposed to be a purely scientific review. The company has said that it did nothing wrong and it had gone through the proper channels. And when things werent moving quickly enough, they reached out to see how they could be moved more quickly. And questions like this around conflicts of interest have come up more broadly with Operation Warp Speed, because the person overseeing the program is a pharmaceutical industry veteran. archived recording (president donald trump) Operation Warp Speeds chief scientist will be Dr. Moncef Slaoui, a world katie thomas His name is Dr. Moncef Slaoui, and he was a former board number of one of the companies that received funding, Moderna. And he also holds millions of dollars in stock in another company that got government funding, GlaxoSmithKline, where he worked for 30 years. archived recording (dr. moncef slaoui) I have never been about the money, ever. katie thomas He has said that he wont allow his ties to interfere with his work on Operation Warp Speed. archived recording (dr. moncef slaoui) Its been extremely painful for me that anybody would even think that I took this job to enrich myself or my former colleagues katie thomas And a government agency has reviewed the information and said that he can continue in his position. archived recording (dr. moncef slaoui) Thats all I have to say. I have a personal compass in ethics. And people who know me personally know that. katie thomas But another reason why theres so much scrutiny around these billion dollar deals is because once companies get that label of being Operation Warp Speed, it can be very financially lucrative for them and their investors. In fact, in the case of Novavax, their stock since May has jumped nearly 800 percent. michael barbaro Wow. katie thomas Yeah, and thats true of many of the companies that have gotten this label. They have seen their stocks surge on this vaccine news. michael barbaro Katie, listening to you tell the story of Novavax and its experience with Operation Warp Speed, I feel like Im struck by two competing impulses. The first is that it feels admirable that the government is trying to throw caution to the wind, toss aside those old timelines when it comes to a vaccine, and just spend billions of dollars to save lives in the middle of this pandemic. But on the other hand, the idea of giving billions of dollars of our money taxpayer money to a bunch of private companies, some without much of a track record, some with complicated connections to the people granting them the money that also feels kind of hairy. katie thomas Yeah, I mean, its very much being sorted out as we speak. You know, everyone wants a vaccine. People are desperate for it, and the federal government has kind of wagered in a way that this is really what it takes in order to get that. michael barbaro So, Katie, at this point, companies are getting all this money to cross that valley of death you described. So tell me how warp speedy is all this? I mean, how fast is it moving? katie thomas Well, things are moving pretty quickly. You know, with the help of Operation Warp Speed, the federal government has given money to seven different vaccine companies. And thats a promise of nearly $11 billion. michael barbaro Wow. katie thomas And three of those companies Moderna, AstraZeneca and Pfizer are in those late-stage trials to test whether the vaccine works. michael barbaro So thats pretty impressive in a way? katie thomas Yeah, I mean, so far, things have gone more or less according to the most aggressive schedules that have been laid out. And one thing that federal officials have said repeatedly is that when they talk about warp speed, the speed that theyre talking about is not the clinical trials themselves. They say the clinical trials themselves are not being rushed. What is being rushed is kind of everything on the outside you know, these manufacturing deals, and analyzing the data, and kind of moving those gears of bureaucracy and making them go as quickly as they possibly can. That being said, theres fears among scientists that theres this X factor of President Trump archived recording (president donald trump) We have a lot of vaccines under study, by the way katie thomas and his urgency to approve a vaccine. archived recording So whats the earliest we could see that a vaccine? archived recording (president donald trump) Sooner than the end of the year, could be much sooner. archived recording Soon than November 3? archived recording (president donald trump) Oh, I think in some cases, yeah, its possible before, but right around that time. katie thomas Their fear is that he wants to approve one before his election, and that he could push his F.D.A. to approve a vaccine before its truly ready. archived recording Will that help you in the election? archived recording (president donald trump) It wouldnt hurt. It wouldnt hurt. But Im not doing it Im doing it not for the election. I want it fast, because I want to save a lot of lives. michael barbaro And, Katie, is that a legitimate fear? My sense is that the Food and Drug Administration, which approves drugs in the U.S. does answer to the health and human services secretary who does answer to the president. But is it reasonable to think that the president can actually stick his finger into the approval process for a vaccine? katie thomas Well, everyone from the F.D.A. commissioner to others in the federal government have publicly said archived recording (dr. anthony fauci) The F.D.A. will look at that data. And on a science-based decision will make a determination as to the safety and efficacy and whether or not it will be approved. katie thomas they will be guided by the science, and they will follow the guidelines that theyve set out for whether they will approve a vaccine or not. archived recording (dr. anthony fauci) Historically, the F.D.A. has based their decisions on science. They will do it this time also, Im certain. archived recording I appreciate it. Thanks for your assurances that well have a safe katie thomas But the concern is whether there could be a little bit of a middle ground. Rather than a full-blown approval, could there be an emergency use authorization where a vaccine could be approved, maybe for a limited group of people say frontline health care workers prematurely or early, before its made widely available to the public. michael barbaro And of course, that has already happened in the case of hydroxychloroquine. Because just a few months ago the F.D.A. authorized the emergency use of that as a treatment for the coronavirus, and it was a drug that President Trump himself constantly promoted and talked about and said we should all be using. And it turned out it didnt work well correct me if Im wrong, Katie. It even presented safety risks and the F.D.A. ended up rescinding that emergency authorization. katie thomas Thats right. And so there are fears that could happen again that the F.D.A. could be influenced by politics. You can also see the flip side though too, which is that perhaps the agency could see how it didnt go so well, and could be newly determined to not make that mistake again. michael barbaro So, Katie, a quick gut check here. Just how close are we to getting a vaccine from Operation Warp Speed, something that we could start distributing across the United States? katie thomas Well, first of all, its important to remember that a vaccine is a crucial step. But it wont mean the immediate end of the epidemic. It takes time to get the vaccine to people. Not everyone will want to get vaccinated. And it could be more effective for some people than for others. That being said, the best estimates that people inside the federal government have given is that something could be available, if all goes as planned, by the end of the year or the beginning of next year. You know, already there are some promising candidates. And one of the companies that has released some of the most promising results is actually Novavax. michael barbaro Huh, this company that had never really developed a vaccine before? katie thomas Thats right. They recently released some results from their early trials. And they tested the blood of the people who had been given their vaccine. And they found pretty high levels of antibodies against the coronavirus. That doesnt really prove yet whether it works. Well need those late-stage clinical trials to really know for sure. But its a really promising hint that it could work. And thats gotten the scientists that we spoke to fairly optimistic about it. michael barbaro Katie, thank you very much. We appreciate it. katie thomas Thanks for having me. michael barbaro On Sunday, The Times reported that the Trump administration is working with four states California, Florida, Minnesota and North Dakota as well as the city of Philadelphia to develop plans for distributing an eventual coronavirus vaccine. The government is not prioritizing those communities to receive the vaccine. But instead, chose them because they represent different population densities and infection rates. Among the questions that the government is trying to answer is where to store the vaccine, and what kinds of clinics should distribute it. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. archived recording (bernie sanders) What you are witnessing is a president of the United States who is doing everything he can to suppress the vote, make it harder for people to engage in mail-in balloting at a time when people will be putting their lives on the line by having to go out to a polling station and vote. michael barbaro On Sunday, congressional Democrats acted to block President Trump from trying to undermine the United States Postal Service and mail-in voting, something that the president has suggested in interviews that he may seek to do. archived recording (bernie sanders) So what Trump is saying is were going to do everything we can and this is not me talking. This is what Trump himself said. Look michael barbaro Post-blast Lebanon says hospitals nearly at COVID-19 capacity Beirut's port was levelled in the August 4 explosion Lebanon's health minister warned Monday that hospitals are reaching maximum capacity to treat novel coronavirus patients after the deadly Beirut blast overwhelmed clinics and triggered a spike in COVID-19 cases. "Public and private hospitals in the capital in particular have a very limited capacity, whether in terms of beds in intensive care units or respirators," the minister, Hamad Hassan, told a press conference. "We are on the brink, we don't have the luxury to take our time," he warned, urging authorities to take the "hard decision" to impose a new two-week lockdown to stem the spread of the virus. Lebanon has seen a spike in coronavirus-related cases and deaths in recent weeks, and they have hit new records in the aftermath of the massive explosion that ripped through large parts of Beirut on August 4. The disaster killed 177 people and wounded more than 6,500, many hit by falling debris and flying glass as windows shattered. That sparked pandemonium in the capital's already pandemic-stricken hospitals. Lebanon reported a one-day record of 456 new infections on Monday, bringing the total number of infections to 9,337, including 105 deaths since the start of the outbreak in February. A previously planned lockdown was scrapped in the wake of the explosion, which flattened neighbourhoods near the port and left thousands homeless. "In the capital, the intensive care units and the departments set up for the coronavirus in public hospitals are full," the minister told Voice of Lebanon radio. "In most private hospitals that receive coronavirus patients, intensive care unit beds are (already) occupied" by COVID-19 patients, he added. - 'Out of service' - The minister said the situation was exacerbated after several Beirut hospitals were hit by the colossal port explosion and left "out of service". The World Health Organization on August 12 said more than half of 55 healthcare facilities evaluated by the agency were "non-functional", three major hospitals were out of operation and another three were running at well below normal capacity. Story continues The minister said chaos in Beirut after the blast, Lebanon's worst peacetime disaster, made it difficult to enforce compliance with pandemic precautionary and preventive measures. "Our ability to control behaviour in the face of the virus is more limited," the minister said. He cited "families going to hospitals to look for the wounded or missing," but also the mobilisation of healthcare workers and citizens to seek or provide aid after the blast. The explosion was caused by a fire in a warehouse where, according to authorities, a huge amount of ammonium nitrate had been stored for years. A judge leading investigations into the blast issued a preliminary arrest warrant Monday against customs director-general Badri Daher, a judicial source told AFP. Since the explosion, thousands of volunteers have helped clean up rubble-strewn streets and distribute aid, while protesters have taken to the streets against a government widely blamed for the negligence that led to the disaster. Health officials have warned that the chaos following the blast risked creating a further spike in infections. The head of a major public hospital, Firass Abiad, has cautioned that, as attention has shifted away from the pandemic after the explosion disaster, "we cannot afford to allow the virus to go unchecked". rh-tgg/sw/jmm/fz/lg/par Mumbai: Six personnel, who is deployed as part of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawars security detail, has tested coronavirus disease (Covid-19) positive. However, Pawar himself has tested Covid-19 negative in the rapid antigen detection (RAD) test that was conducted at Mumbais Breach Candy Hospital, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope told media persons in Ahmednagar on Monday morning. The test reports of all the members and staff at Silver Oak, Pawars south Mumbai residence, and the rest of the security personnel, except for the six, have come Covid-19 negative. The veteran leader has decided not to meet the public for the next four days, as a precautionary measure. Tope said he would request the NCP chief to put off his visits for the next few days. Pawar saheb is taking all the necessary precautions. There is no reason to worry, he said. The security personnel, who is assigned to maintain social distancing norms between the public and the NCP leader, is likely to have come in contact with a person, who had contracted SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, Tope added. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Regular readers will know that we love our dividends at Simply Wall St, which is why it's exciting to see Magna International Inc. (TSE:MG) is about to trade ex-dividend in the next 2 days. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 20th of August will not receive the dividend, which will be paid on the 4th of September. Magna International's next dividend payment will be CA$0.40 per share, and in the last 12 months, the company paid a total of CA$1.60 per share. Calculating the last year's worth of payments shows that Magna International has a trailing yield of 3.0% on the current share price of CA$69.72. We love seeing companies pay a dividend, but it's also important to be sure that laying the golden eggs isn't going to kill our golden goose! That's why we should always check whether the dividend payments appear sustainable, and if the company is growing. View our latest analysis for Magna International Dividends are usually paid out of company profits, so if a company pays out more than it earned then its dividend is usually at greater risk of being cut. Magna International paid a dividend last year despite being unprofitable. This might be a one-off event, but it's not a sustainable state of affairs in the long run. With the recent loss, it's important to check if the business generated enough cash to pay its dividend. If cash earnings don't cover the dividend, the company would have to pay dividends out of cash in the bank, or by borrowing money, neither of which is long-term sustainable. It paid out 80% of its free cash flow as dividends, which is within usual limits but will limit the company's ability to lift the dividend if there's no growth. Click here to see the company's payout ratio, plus analyst estimates of its future dividends. Have Earnings And Dividends Been Growing? Stocks with flat earnings can still be attractive dividend payers, but it is important to be more conservative with your approach and demand a greater margin for safety when it comes to dividend sustainability. If business enters a downturn and the dividend is cut, the company could see its value fall precipitously. Magna International reported a loss last year, and the general trend suggests its earnings have also been declining in recent years, making us wonder if the dividend is at risk. Story continues Another key way to measure a company's dividend prospects is by measuring its historical rate of dividend growth. In the past 10 years, Magna International has increased its dividend at approximately 24% a year on average. Remember, you can always get a snapshot of Magna International's financial health, by checking our visualisation of its financial health, here. To Sum It Up Is Magna International an attractive dividend stock, or better left on the shelf? It's hard to get used to Magna International paying a dividend despite reporting a loss over the past year. At least the dividend was covered by free cash flow, however. Overall it doesn't look like the most suitable dividend stock for a long-term buy and hold investor. So if you're still interested in Magna International despite it's poor dividend qualities, you should be well informed on some of the risks facing this stock. Our analysis shows 4 warning signs for Magna International that we strongly recommend you have a look at before investing in the company. We wouldn't recommend just buying the first dividend stock you see, though. Here's a list of interesting dividend stocks with a greater than 2% yield and an upcoming dividend. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. Stocks to watch today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Monday'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 Can Fin Homes, Petronet LNG, Lux Industries, HFCL, Scooters India, Suven Pharma, Sical Logistics among others. Share Market News Live: Sensex rises 180 points, Nifty at 11,250; Sun Pharma, NTPC, Cipla top gainers ICICI Bank: The lender has raised Rs 15,000 crore equity capital by issuing shares to qualified investors. ICICI Bank said it has issued 418,994,413 equity shares at an issue price of Rs 358 per equity share. PNB Housing Finance: The company's board plans to meet on August 19 to consider fund raising. Glenmark Pharma: The company reported its net profit at Rs 254 cror in Q1 FY21 as against Rs 109.8 crore in the same quarter last year. The revenue stood at Rs 2,344.8 crore as compared to Rs 2,323 crore in Q1 last year. Berger Paints: The company reported its net profit at Rs 15.1 crore in Q1 FY21 as against Rs 176.4 crore in the same quarter last year. The revenue stood at Rs 931 crore as compared to Rs 1,716 crore in Q1 last year. United Breweries: The company reported loss at Rs 114.3 crore in Q1 FY21 as against profit of Rs 164.7 crore in the same quarter last year. The revenue stood at Rs 506.8 crore as compared to Rs 2,049.7 crore in Q1 last year. Fortis Healthcare: Company reported a loss of Rs 188 crore in Q1 FY21 as compared to the profit of Rs 78 crore in Q1FY20. The revenue stood at Rs 606 crore as compared to Rs 1,138 crore the previous year. PI Industries: Subhash Anand, Chief Financial Officer decided to step down due to personal reasons. Bharat Electronics: BEL has completed manufacturing the milestone of 30,000 ventilators. GVK Power & Infrastructure: Statutory auditors of GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd, Price Waterhouse Chartered Accountants LLP have submitted their proposed resignation letter as the beleaguered group is not providing them with the necessary information for audit of the financial statements for FY20. Telecom stocks: Shares of telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Communications will be in focus as the next Supreme Court hearing of the adjusted gross revenues (AGR) case for telcos is scheduled today. Reliance Industries (RIL): AS per media reports, RIL is in talks to acquire online furniture brand Urban Ladder and milk delivery platform Milkbasket. Wipro: The IT company said it has completed the acquisition of Brazilian IT firm IVA Servicios de informatica Ltda. Earnings Today: Can Fin Homes, Petronet LNG, Lux Industries, HFCL, Scooters India, Suven Pharma, Sical Logistics and Orient Paper are among companies which are scheduled to report their April-June quarter results today. TUNIS - Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese are on an official visit to Tunis on Monday together with European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and European Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi, as migrant arrivals from Tunisia to Europe continue and more boats reached the Italian island of Lampedusa on Monday. The ministers and commissioners will meet with Tunisian President Kais Saied, Prime Minister-designate and Interior Minister Hichem Mechichi, and Interim Foreign Minister Selma Ennaifer. Following the meetings, the leaders will travel to the Bardo Museum to place a flower wreath in memory of the victims of the March 18, 2015 attack. The presence of the two European commissioners is significant, because Italy called on Europe for concrete support in its negotiations with Tunisia. The flow of migrants out of Tunisia, especially young people, reflects the serious economic crisis the country is currently facing, with the Covid-19 emergency having shut down its main economic resource of tourism. However, Tunisia is also facing an institutional crisis, with a new government still not in place. In the past year, between August 1, 2019, and July 31, 2020, a total of 21,618 migrants arrived in Italy by sea, an increase of 148.7% compared to 8,691 migrants in the same period one year before, between August 1, 2018 and July 31, 2019. The majority of arrivals came by autonomous landings (16,347), but a total of 5,271 people were rescued in the Italian search-and-rescue (SAR) area, 4,066 of whom were rescued by NGO ships. Students from the Ghana School of Hygiene from Korle Bu, Ho and Tamale Monday picketed at the premises of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources demanding for their unpaid training allowances accumulated over a period of 30 months. Clad in red arm bands, the students held placards with inscriptions such as Allawa is our right as health students, Mr President where is our Allawa, and We need our Allawa. They also chanted We need our allawa, vowing not to leave the premises until they received their accumulated allowance. To demonstrate their eagerness, they brought in their mattresses, clothing and some food, to indicate their preparedness for an enduring campaign. The police were also present at the premises to ensure a peaceful demonstration. Hygiene training allowances According to the protesting students, each student was supposed to receive an amount of GH12,000 as the accumulated monthly allowance of GH400 for 30 months. The leadership of the group from Korle Bu put the affected students at 1,348 from all three schools. The Director in Charge of Finance and Administration at the Ministry, Mr Joseph Amoah, who addressed the students at the Ministry informed them that the Ministry was still in the process of facilitating the payment of their allowances. The students who were obviously not pleased with the response maintained that they would not leave the premises without the allowance. The National Chairman of the Coalition of Hygiene Students, Mr Raymond Anokye told Graphic Online that they had engaged the Ministry on a number of occasions and had been told that a committee was to be set up to fast-track the processing of their allowances. It is disheartening knowing what is going on. When we got here on August 6, we were told by the Ministry that a letter had been dispatched from the Sanitation Ministry to the Ministry of Finance. We were later told that the document had no budget allocated for the payment of the allowances. "This shows that both ministries were not sincere to us, because they are reinventing the same story told since 2017. We do not agree to that this time around, we are staying here till we receive the money, he said. Students President of the Students Representative Council (SRC) of the Ghana School of Hygiene, Korle Bu, Mr. Freeheart Owusu Ampomah also reiterated efforts made over the three-year period to get the allowance paid but all of which have been futile. We are back to the Ministry of Sanitation, we have still not received any positive response. We are here for our financial clearance, we are not leaving, we are serious this time around, we will sleep here until we get the money, he said. Another student, Ms Rachel Elorm, said Right now we need our money, they should find a way and give us our money. We came here two weeks ago and we were told to go to the Ministry of Finance for the clearance. On Monday we were told there was no budget. Today we have come, and we have been told the same story, so we are not leaving, she said. Background The Ghana School of Hygiene provides technical assistance and guidelines for basic training including training needs assessment and curriculum development of Environmental Health and Sanitation officers at the various educational institutions. Final year students of the school boycotted their final examination which took place on Monday, July 20 to register their displeasure over the years of unpaid allowances. The GSH wings in Tamale and Ho joined colleagues at Korle Bu, Accra to demonstrate. The students alleged that allowances had been completely scrapped without any explanation, despite restoring allowances for other nursing students. They lamented that though they are the highest fee-paying nursing school, they receive no money from the government and still get sacked from examination halls over unpaid fees. They accused both the Finance and Sanitation ministries of not being open with them on when they will receive their allowances. The students have been pointing to the fact that the government has restored the allowances of their colleague nursing trainees and bemoaned their current situation, quipping as to why they have been left out. 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 (Natural News) It cant be stressed enough: Democrats hate the Second Amendment because armed Americans prevent them from fully implementing their liberty-stealing, Marxist, counter-cultural revolution. In fact, Democrats hate the Constitution, period, because it empowers American citizens with rights not bestowed by government but endowed by the divine providence of human existence. However, they will use portions of it to eliminate all of it, including the First Amendment to justify riots and looting as speech and expression, and presidential authorities under Article II to implement executive actions that bypass the rule of law and other branches of government. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is no different. As president and that is what she will become if Joe Biden wins because he is obviously mentally incapable of running America (or a lemonade stand, for that matter) she will work tirelessly to take away our gun rights and our guns, and make it look like its just sound public policy that most Americans agree with. But dont take our word for it. Harris has said as much. In fact, Fox News host Tucker Carlson documented as much on his program last week. Kamala Harris has plans for your guns, but more than that, shes willing to threaten Congress if they dont make a law that matches her desires immediately, he said. Carlson then played a couple of video clips in which Harris laid out her plans. In response to an audience members question during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon about whether she supports gun buybacks, Harris said: I do believe that we need to do buybacks and Ill tell you why. They are weapons of war with no place on the streets for the civil society. Meanwhile, Harris hasnt said squat about what Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and other Left-wing anarchists are doing to the civil society in large cities around the country without using assault weapons. In April 2019 during a Democratic debate on CNN, Harris said in response to a question about keeping schools safe and guns out of the hands of people who should not have them: I will give the United States Congress 100 days to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws, and if they fail to do it then I will take executive action. First off, there are already laws on the books to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. Secondly, its already against the law to bring guns to schools and murder students and staff. (Related: Kamala Harris panned as uninspiring and radical Leftist who couldnt even convince blacks to supporter her presidential bid.) Mandatory buyback, Carlson responded. That may be the greatest formulation ever. Thats like mandatory donation. Its not a donation, its theft. A mandatory buyback isnt a buyback, its seizure, obviously. In another clip Carlson played, Harris justified her gun-grabbing the way Democrats have tried to do for years for the babies. We cannot tolerate a society and live in a country with any level of pride when our babies are being slaughtered, she said. Oh, really? Likein Chicago? Every single day? Or in abortion clinics around the country? Harris is, of course, an abortion super-supporter. And like other black Democratic politicians, she wont dare mention the escalating gun violence in Chicago or any other major American city because theyre all run by Democrats. Clearly, weve mislabeled Kamala Harris. Turns out shes one of the few pro-life Democrats in Congress, he said mockingly. It should be noted, as Breitbart News reported, Harris never really has discussed the details about how she would use executive authority as president to get assault weapons off the streets and out of our hands. But based on the Constitution, which plainly states the right to be armed shall not be infringed, it seems pretty clear whatever she would try to do wouldnt be legal. Still, she will try. She has said so. Sources include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com Sushant Singh Rajput's death case is still being investigated by the ED and Mumbai Police while the Supreme Court's ruling is still awaited on the CBI probe. The late actor's father had filed a case against actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family, which has been transferred to CBI. Fans are still waiting for the investigation to begin, as many believe the actor was not depressed. Now, a new revelation by a spiritual guru has revealed that Rhea Chakraborty had reached out to him asking him to heal Sushant. Spiritual guru Mahesh Sadashiv Joshi recently told Time Now that he was contacted by Rhea asking him to help Sushant get out of depression. He said, "I met the actor on 22 November. I blessed him. I met him again on 23 November and Sushant looked better at that time. Rhea Chakraborty searched me on Google." He went on to share that he was also summoned for questioning by the Bandra police. "In this case, I was also called to Bandra Police Station, but I did not go due to COVID-19 epidemic. I am 70 years old, and I did not go to the police station due to fear of COVID-19 virus. I told him that I can record my statement from home and send it." Meanwhile, Sushant's sister had urged fans to unite for a global prayer held on August 15. She also performed a special pooja for the late actor. Sharing a video on Instagram she wrote, "Prayed to Kaal Bhairav today and asked him to guide and lead us to the truth #GlobalPrayersForSSR #CBIForSSR #Warrior4SSR #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput #Godiswithus." In the clip, she can be seen performing aarti while the pandit chants mantras. 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 Sushant Singh Rajput's Sister Performs Special Puja For The Late Actor; Shares A Video Sushant's Chat With Friend Revealed: Said 'Working On Myself Spiritually And Trying To Grow' , , , 2007 -20 , 2011 2013 , , , , 2014 , , , 2007 2018 By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijan has purchased 5,130 boxes of medicines for treatment of people infected with tuberculosis, the Health Ministry has reported. New medicines for the treatment of people infected with tuberculosis have been purchased through the United Nations international supply chain and transferred to the countrys Innovation and Supply Center. The medicines were purchased under the project Support to the Health Ministry in strengthening the health care system in the country. The aim of the project is to contribute to the development of the process of purchasing vital medicines in the country. It should be noted that the project was established with support from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. So far, the project has supported purchase of medicines in Azerbaijan for treatment of about 7,300 TB patients. The Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) continue to cooperate in further strengthening the medical support system of Azerbaijan even during the coronavirus pandemic. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Two people tested positive for COVID-19 in Taiwan Sunday, raising the island's total number of COVID-19 cases to 484, the local epidemic monitoring agency said. One of the new patients has developed symptoms of running noses and cough since Aug. 6 during her stay in Australia and returned to Taiwan on Aug. 14, the agency said in a press release. The other male patient has developed symptoms of cough, fever and headache since Aug. 8 in the Philippines and returned to Taiwan on Aug. 14. Meanwhile, Malaysia had reported one COVID-19 patient having contracted the virus during his stay in Taiwan. The agency said that five people have been identified as close contacts with the man in Taiwan and the man's wife tested negative for the virus with the rest four waiting to have tests. The case has been the latest of several COVID-19 patients who have tested positive elsewhere but might be infected in Taiwan since June. TARPON SPRINGS, Fla., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Speakers Association (NSA) inducted its current National Chair Barry Banther, CMC, CSP into the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame during a virtual award ceremony in August 2020. Based in Tarpon Springs, Florida, Banther is among an elite group of only 255 professional speakers throughout the world to ever receive this honor. Well known past recipients of the CPAE designation include: President Ronald Reagan; Norman Vincent Peale; General Colin Powell; Art Linkletter; Jim Rohn; and Zig Ziglar. Barry Banther Courtesy of the National Speakers Association. Barry Banther accepts the CPAE Award. Photo courtesy of Julie Ambrose. Upon accepting the award Banther said, "It has been said that a person is a reflection of the people they spend time with. I am a reflection of the many friends, teachers, colleagues, and clients who have invested so much in me." Banther continues, "Receiving the CPAE designation from my peers is one of my proudest professional accomplishments. I thank my wife, family and everyone who has enriched and blessed my life. I am forever grateful and humbled by this honor." "Barry Banther is the master of inspirational storytelling. Pulling from a Wikipedia-level trove of true stories, he has the ability to instantly recall, sequence, and deliver precisely the right anecdote from his own life and learnings to motivate anyone to be a better leader, contributor or person," said Past President of the National Speakers Association, Brian Walter, CSP, CPAE who presented the award. "He was inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame in recognition of what audiences perceive as his speaking gift, but what his speaker peers know is a half century's dedication to his craft." ABOUT BANTHER A highly sought after business consultant and inspirational speaker, Banther has created over 50 leadership training programs used by Fortune 500 companies around the world and smaller regional businesses throughout America. He combines four decades of experience as a business leader, corporate executive, and educator. Banther served in the administration of three Florida Governors as the appointee to oversee private higher education. He was elected to an unprecedented four terms as Chairman of the Florida State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities. This body of work has earned him the highest accreditation from the Institute of Management Consultants as a Certified Management Consultant and from the National Speakers Association as a Certified Speaking Professional. He is one of fewer than 50 professionals world-wide to hold both designations. His latest book, "A Leader's Gift: How to Earn the Right to be Followed," achieved #1 Best Seller status on Amazon. ABOUT NSA The National Speakers Association (NSA) is part of a global network of more than 3,000 members whose skills, expertise and experience represent the most recognized and respected community of thought leaders in the industry. Founded in 1973 by Cavett Robert, CSP, CPAE, NSA has comprehensive resources, cutting-edge tools, insightful education and productive events that speakers need to develop their brands and grow their businesses. NSA members include experts in a variety of industries and disciplines, who reach audiences as speakers, trainers, educators, humorists, motivators, consultants, and authors. In February 1977, the National Speakers Association established the Council of Peers Award for Excellence Speaker Hall of Fame to honor professional speakers who have reached the top echelon of platform distinction. Inductees are evaluated by their peers through a rigorous and demanding process, and must excel in seven categories of speaking excellence and professionalism. MEDIA CONTACT FOR BANTHER Robert Stack 561-601-9991 [email protected] SOURCE Barry Banther The episode began around 3 p.m. Sunday, when the police received a phone call from a woman who said her son, in his mid-20s, had kicked in the door of their home on Natalie Cove and was acting aggressively, Chief Harmon said. When officers arrived and entered the home, he said, they were met with gunfire. Officers fired back and struck the man, he said. Mr. Harmon said more than 50 rounds were fired in the confrontation. Neighbors said they had heard numerous rounds fired in several bursts. After the shooting, the injured officers retreated and the man barricaded himself inside the home, where he remained as Chief Harmon spoke at about 9 p.m. to reporters who had assembled down the street. Mr. Harmon said the police had been called to the residence previously to respond to calls related to assault and mental health issues. Neighbors near the house described a burst of gunfire erupting on a quiet afternoon in the residential community near Heritage Park. About seven houses away from where the shooting took place, Andrew Thompson, 30, said he went to his front yard when he heard sirens approaching a nearby cul-de-sac and saw at least three police cars. About five minutes after going outside, Mr. Thompson said, he heard about 20 rounds of gunfire. He said he saw officers running down the road asking other officers for help and noticed several were injured. He said that a female officer rendered aid and that he saw two male officers bleeding, one from the head and one from the arm. Even teleprompter could not take so many lies: Rahul's dig at PM Modis Davos speech Congress leaders slam Yogi Adityanath govt over caste violence, crimes against women India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, Aug 17: Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's government on Monday, alleging that incidents of caste violence and crimes against women are rampant in the state. Slamming the state government over the killing of a Dalit village head in Azamgarh's Basgaon, Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi alleged that in Uttar Pradesh, the "jungle raj" of caste violence and rape is "peaking". Fearing COVID-19 spread, DMK opposes reopening of retail liquor outlets in Chennai "Now another terrible incident -- Sarpanch Satyamev, being a Dalit, said 'no' due to which he was killed. Condolences to the family of Satyamev Ji," he said in a tweet. The Uttar Pradesh police has invoked the stringent National Security Act against four persons in connection with the village head's killing, which had triggered a mob violence. Satyamev, a Dalit and the head of Basgaon village in the Tarwan area of Azamgarh district, was shot dead last week. In a Facebook post in Hindi, Priyanka Gandhi also hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the issue of security of women. "Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and now Gorakhpur. Such repeated incidents have proven that the Uttar Pradesh government has completely failed in providing security to women," the Congress general secretary said, referring to reports of crimes against women in these areas. "The police and administration are neither able to provide security nor take appropriate action," Priyanka Gandhi alleged. "The Uttar Pradesh government should review the law-and-order system and take every step to ensure the safety of women," she said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Monday, August 17, 2020, 15:12 [IST] Lockdown did some funny things to people's eating habits. Take Glanbia's first-half results, for example. Lots of people took up baking bread, others did a major weekly shop with a view to home cooking - for the first time in years. Yet while Glanbia's global performance nutrition division took a bit of a hammering with consumer brands, its US cheese division had a stand-out performance. It seems instead of munching protein bars or healthy drinks from convenience stores near the office, people were getting stuck into US-style cheddar cheese and pizzas. Once the poster boy performer in the Glanbia's portfolio, the performance nutrition business is stuttering somewhat and it isn't just about the impact of the pandemic. Like many other major corporations, first-half results are difficult to read because the virus surge blindsided everybody. Unless you were in the supermarket business or Netflix, it was a pretty tough time all round. Having said that, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) in the performance nutrition business fell by 58pc to 19.6m in the first six months of the year. This was largely driven by a 15.6pc fall in constant currency revenues which came in at 532m - compared to Davy Stockbrokers' expected figure of 576m. Margins within what should be a high- margin consumer business continued to fall from 5pc to 3.7pc. To put it in perspective, back in 2016 this division turned in first-half ebitda of 81.7m on revenues of 505m. Scroll on to 2019 and ebitda was just 46.9m on the back of higher revenues of 620m in the first half. Increased competition, exchange rates and a greater shift to online sales, have all posed problems for the business, in what is otherwise a massive growth category. Covid-19 came along at a time when management were working hard to address these issues. It has become another problem to deal with in what, just a few years ago, looked like the main driver of future growth within the group. There had even been speculation that Glanbia plc might consider hiving off this unit into a separate listed company at one stage. It doesn't look like it now. Glanbia correctly identified performance nutrition as a key growth area and got in relatively early and very bravely by taking on the US market. It was such a good idea, that lots of others have jumped in - which impacts on pricing. Most of these challenges were priced into a massive fall in Glanbia's share price between March 2019 (18.60) and April 2020 (7.77). Since then, it has had a reasonably good run under the circumstances and is trading around 9.36. Covid challenges aside, there are still some real issues to fix when it comes to the performance of its performance nutrition. Take-up of rural broadband will be key to the end cost The Government is finally going to publish the National Broadband Plan it has signed with the company entrusted with the roll-out of the scheme. But alas, only a redacted version of the 3,000-page contract will be set free for public consumption. It is all rather sensitive at the Department of Communications, where publishing the document is akin to disclosing the Secrets of Fatima. Despite delays, cost, ups and downs - and that's just the contract negotiations - the broadband plan is set to go ahead and it will be most welcome in those rural households currently in the broadband equivalent of the Gobi Desert. Many suffer poor mobile signal to begin with, never mind fibre broadband. The big issue will be how many of those households will welcome the scheme by actually taking up the contract for broadband. The plan is to have broadband available to 540,000 households. Eir decided to pull out of the project and instead went ahead with providing fibre to several hundred thousand premises in less remote locations. Eir and Siro now say they have passed 700,000-800,000 premises between them, although there are some overlaps in the numbers. Eir declined to say publicly what percentage of rural households where fibre was available had taken up a contract. But there was speculation the figure was as low as 25pc. In recent weeks, Eir chief executive Carolan Lennon confirmed that the take-up had increased on the back of remote working triggered by lockdown. Added to that there is an expectation of a 'mini-exodus' of people from cities like Dublin to rural areas as part of a drive for a change of lifestyle. These factors should be good news for Granahan McCourt, the company charged with rolling out the network and then selling the broadband afterwards. The greater the take-up, the better it will be for Granahan McCourt. Given that the unpublished contract includes some financial claw backs for the state if things go particularly well, this could also spell good news for the Exchequer. Either way, the cost to the state will be significant. The precise criteria for triggering a claw-back will be eagerly awaited in the 'redacted' contract due to be published in the coming weeks. Apple case was not quite a moral victory for tax experts One of the arguments in the contentious Apple Inc Vs European Commission 13bn state aide case, was that the money was never really owed to Ireland. Tax experts here, who drummed up structures like those used by Apple, always maintained we weren't gaming the system by depriving other countries of tax. They said the problem lay with the US corporate tax system which allowed American companies to avoid paying tax on all foreign earnings until such time as they brought the money home. When they did, they faced a corporate tax bill of 35pc. US president Donald Trump reformed the tax system there and provided an incentive for companies like Apple to repatriate profits by allowing a 15pc rate followed by a subsequent reduction in the ongoing rate from 35pc to 21pc. Sure enough an Irish-registered subsidiary of Apple, paid dividends of $250bn (211bn) up the corporate chain last year, which was all subject to US tax. It would have paid around $37.5bn in tax on the repatriation and says it plans to use the rest for investment in the US. The massive repatriation from Apple won't necessarily undermine its investment rationale in Ireland, but does bolster the argument from tax experts that Ireland merely exploited clear gaps in the American system. A Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground on a reef in Mauritius last month threatening a marine ecological disaster around the Indian Ocean island has broken apart, authorities said on Saturday. The condition of the MV Wakashio was worsening early on Saturday and it split by the afternoon, the Mauritius National Crisis Committee said. At around 4.30pm, a major detachment of the vessels forward section was observed, it said in a statement. On the basis of the experts advice, the towing plan is being implemented. The vessel struck a coral reef on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and endangering corals, fish and other marine life in what some scientists have called the countrys worst ecological disaster. On Friday, some residual oil from the ship leaked into the ocean, Mauritius Marine Conservation Society President Jacqueline Sauzier told Reuters on Saturday morning. Authorities deployed booms on Saturday to help with oil absorption around the vessel. The Crisis Committee said special attention was being given to sensitive sites such as the Blue Bay Marine Park, Ile aux Aigrettes and the Pointe DEsny National Ramsar Site. The weather is expected to deteriorate over the next few days with waves of up to 4.5 meters (15 feet), authorities said. Most of the oil from the vessels have been pumped out, the Mauritian government said on Thursday, but there was still 166 tonnes of fuel oil inside and authorities were working to remove it. Japanese Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Saturday Tokyo planned to send a team of officials from the ministry and other specialists to assess the damage. The MV Wakashio is owned by Japans Nagashiki Shipping and chartered by Mitsui OSK Lines. Scientists say the full impact of the spill is still unfolding, but the damage could affect Mauritius and its tourism-dependent economy for decades. Removing the ship is likely to take months. Former colonial power France has said it will assist with the cleanup. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka in Tokyo and Omar Mohammed; editing by Shri Navaratnam, William Mallard and Frances Kerry) Photograph: People scoop leaked oil near Blue bay Marine Park in southeast Mauritius on Aug. 9, 2020 after a Japanese bulk carrier struck a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil. Photo credit: Daren Mauree/AFP via Getty Images Related: Topics Carriers Energy Oil Gas What were you wearing? Why were you drinking? Did you fight back hard enough? This is the nightmare that survivors will be subjected to both in K-12 schools and on college campuses in Trumps America, starting last week, because of the administrations rule on Title IX, the landmark civil rights law protecting students against sex discrimination in education. The administrations Title IX rule mandates that colleges force survivors of sexual assault to endure live cross-examination by their perpetrators adviser of choice anyone from an angry parent to an aggressive frat brother or a criminal defense attorney. These changes, issued amid a global pandemic, are as cruel as they are calculated to take us back to the days when sexual assault and harassment were swept under the rug. When serial sexual predators like Larry Nassar could violate women and girls at Michigan State with impunity and no remorse. Its no mystery why. In 2017, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos met with so-called mens rights activists about rolling back protections for survivors. From there, the administration charted a course ever so carefully for how to get away with assault. Consider this: Under the new changes, if youre raped by a teacher or fellow student while studying abroad or at an off-campus party thats not part of a school program or activity, Title IX is closed off to you, regardless of the impact on your education. Schools can drop investigations if a perpetrator simply transfers or retires early after allegations of years of sexual abuse finally surface. If a survivor drops out of school as 1 in 3 does before filing a complaint, the school cant investigate, regardless of whether their harasser is still enrolled or teaching at the school. And the live cross-examination requirement will mean abusers face few consequences and survivors will have to relive their trauma. Even if a student or staff member admits in writing to committing sexual abuse, they can still ensure that evidence is inadmissible by simply refusing to be cross-examined at a live hearing. To add insult to injury, these 2,000-page changes were handed down to K-12 schools and colleges amid a public health and economic crisis the likes of which we have not seen in over a century. Schools are grappling with the extraordinary challenges of distance learning, budget cuts, and the public safety threat of premature re-openings. Even the Trump administration admits these changes will yield fewer Title IX investigations, boasting of cost savings for schools. What it willfully ignores is the incalculable human toll exacted by sexual violence. Survivors are three times more likely to suffer from depression, four times more likely to contemplate suicide, and six times more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder. A single rape can cost a survivor more than $240,000, and the economic burden is nearly $3.1 trillion over survivors lifetimes. What these statistics dont capture is the ways we all suffer and lose when survivors are robbed of their dignity and cant pursue an education with equal opportunity. And when more than 1 in 4 college women is sexually assaulted, and just 2 percent of teenage girls report sexual assault, we ask Secretary DeVos: Where is the humanity in making it harder for survivors to come forward and achieve justice? Can you look survivors in the eyes and explain how these changes will keep them safe? Most survivors are speaking their real and raw truth 90% to 98% of allegations are truthful and all deserve a fair and equitable process. We urge this administration to protect students civil rights and suspend these misguided policies immediately. But we arent waiting for this administration to see the light. The National Womens Law Center has challenged these changes in court, and the Democratic House of Representatives has passed legislation that would block these changes from taking effect. Well keep fighting as we march to the ballot box to show the administration that #MeToo and Times Up are not empty words they are a mandate. Jackie Speier represents Californias 14th District in the House of Representatives; Fatima Goss Graves is president and CEO of the National Womens Law Center. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 02:00:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People wearing face masks are seen in Rabat, Morocco, on Aug. 16, 2020. Morocco on Sunday reported 1,472 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 42,489. (Photo by Chadi/Xinhua) RABAT, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Morocco on Sunday reported 1,472 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 42,489. The number of recoveries from the coronavirus in Morocco increased to 29,344 after 778 more were added, while the death toll rose by 26 to 658, said Mouad Mrabet, coordinator of the Moroccan Center for Public Health Operations at the Ministry of Health. Meanwhile, more than 170 patients are in intensive care units. China has helped Morocco in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. A batch of medical supplies donated by the government of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region was transported on June 8 to Casablanca-Settat in Morocco. On May 14, China Development Bank sent a batch of donation, including respirators and medical protective masks, to help Morocco fight the COVID-19 pandemic. China's Guizhou Province also donated 15,000 surgical gloves, 20,000 medical masks and 2,000 protective suits to help protect Moroccan medical workers fighting the pandemic. Enditem A 10-member specialist team from the Indian Coast Guard has been sent to Mauritius in an effort to assist with the oil spill containment operation. According to reports, Japanese ship MV Wakashio struck a coral reef on July 25 near the coast of Mauritius and after days of pounding by rough waves, the tanker began leaking fuel into the water. By August 6, roughly 1,000 tonnes of fuel began to leak. Read: Mauritius Residents Cutting Off Hair To Make Nets And Tubes To Soak Catastrophic Oil Spill Specialised team deployed to provide assistance As per an official release, "Consequent to a high-level decision by Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence, the Indian Coast Guard has deputed a 10-member specialist pollution response team along with pollution response equipment to Mauritius for supplementing ongoing efforts to contain an oil spill from bulk carrier MV Wakashio on its South-Eastern coastline." In addition to a ten-member team, India has also sent 30 tonnes of specialised equipment in an effort to help authorities and volunteers in Mauritius with the salvage, clean-up and containment of the oil spill. As per reports the equipment and the team have already landed on the island nation via an Indian Air Force aircraft. Read: Mauritius Oil Spill: PM Jugnauth Says Almost All Leaked Fuel Has Been Pumped Out The release also added that the India Coast Guard team sent to Mauritius is qualified in handling pollution response operations at sea, and thus will be of great assistance in the subsequent clean-up operations. The release also read: "The various pollution response equipment such as ocean and river Booms, skimmers, salvage barge were dispatched to combat the oil spill,". The India Coast Guard team will work side by side with teams and experts from various other nations and specialised international organisations like IMO and ITOPF in an effort to protect Mauritius' pristine waters and ecosystem. The assistance being provided to Mauritius during this disaster is in line with the Prime Minister of India's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth of All the Region). (Input/Image Credit ANI) Read: Mauritius Oil Spill: Grounded Ship Splits Apart Leaking Tons Of Residual Oil Into Water Read: India Sends Over 30 Tonnes Of Technical Equipment To Mauritius To Help Contain Oil Spill A young off-duty policeman has been charged with drink driving after his flashy BMW convertible collided with a family SUV and caused a six-car pileup. The 21-year-old constable had been driving the 1-series BMW along the Princes Highway at Blakehurst, in Sydney's south, on Sunday night. Police said this two-door sports car and a Mitsubishi Outlander SUV, both travelling south, collided before hitting four other cars in the northbound lanes. Daily Mail Australia understands the young police officer was driving an old BMW 1 Series convertible. The model, which was sold new from 2004 to 2013, retailed for as much as $83,700. Carnage: An off-duty cop, 21, has been charged with drink driving after allegedly causing a six car pile-up, His battered BMW 1-series convertible is pictured above The 21-year-old constable had been driving a BMW sedan along the Princes Highway at Blakehurst, in Sydney's south, on Sunday night. Police say he caused a massive collision Daily Mail Australia understands the young police officer was driving an old BMW 1 Series convertible A 38-year-old man driving the Mitsubishi SUV and his passengers, a 32-year-old woman and an 18-month-old girl, were taken to St George Hospital with minor injuries. A 32-year-old female passenger in another car was also taken to hospital with an injured elbow. The off-duty constable underwent a breath test at the scene which allegedly returned a positive result. He was arrested and taken to Sutherland Police Station where a subsequent breath analysis returned a reading of 0.126, police said. That is more than two-and-a-half times the legal, blood alcohol limit of 0.05 per cent. He was issued a Court Attendance Notice for drive with middle-range blood alcohol reading and will appear in Sutherland Local Court on October 1. His licence has been suspended and his duty status is being reviewed. Police allege the policeman was drunk when he collided a Mitsubishi Outlander. Another SUV, this Skoda Kodiaq, was also involved in the six-car crash Six damaged cars were strewn over the highway as police assessed the damage done, including this Suzuki SX4 It is an Exchequer funded scheme of 50m to provide income support for up to 42,000 farmers with beef finishing enterprises, who have been impacted by the economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Announcing the fund, Minister for Agriculture, Dara Calleary stated: I am fully aware of the difficulties caused by Covid-19 in the Irish beef sector and the consequences for those in beef farming and for the rural economy as a whole. Farmers with finished animals suffered from both reduced prices and other restrictions in getting animals to market. The closure of the food service market in Ireland, the UK and beyond has had a dramatic impact on the industry and in particular those who supply it to make their living. Beef farming is an important economic activity, with a significant multiplier effect in local rural communities, and thus is more important than ever in sustaining these communities as we work towards economic recovery. The scheme will be funded by the Irish exchequer and details of the scheme have been notified to the European Commission in accordance with the Covid-19 Temporary State Aid Framework. An estimated 42,000 farmers will be eligible to apply for the scheme, which will be based on the number of cattle sent for slaughter in the period from 1 February to 12 June 2020, subject to a limit of 100 animals per herd. Based on estimates of eligible animals, a rate in the region of 100 per animal will be payable. In the event of an over subscription, the rate of payment per animal will be subject to a linear cut in order to comply with the available budget of 50m. The opening date for applications will be August 19, 2020 and the closing date will be September 9, 2020. Details of the measure including terms and conditions and how to apply will be made available in due course at www.agriculture.gov.ie/farmers chemesandpayments/BFP and applications will be made online through the agfood.ie portal. IFA president, Tim Cullinan, welcomed the announcement but said its crucial that the money gets out to farmers as soon as possible and that the full 50m is spent. There should be a provision to increase the payment per animal if there is any underspend, he said. ICSA beef chairman Edmund Graham gave a guarded welcome to the announcement noting: We are pleased that the scheme has delivered key asks from ICSA. A provision is included which should have the effect of delivering money to farmers who sold animals in the mart and which were subsequently slaughtered within 30 days, he said. We also are pleased that there is no de-stocking clause. However, farmers have to be either a member of the Quality Assurance Scheme or else committed to joining before 30 September. Factory owned animals are not eligible, again a key demand from ICSA. However he said ICSA is not happy that live exported cattle do not seem to be mentioned adding we will be seeking urgent clarification on this. Overall, the inclusion of finished animals over eight months of age which includes suckler cows is in line with what we lobbied for and we welcome the announcement, he said. It is clear that winter finishers have needed a break after several disastrous years and this will help the suckler farmer indirectly when it comes to having more buyers around the ring for autumn sales. LOWER MERION A group of seminary students from Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood recently spent time biking through the Philadelphia region. The idea behind the five-day event was to raise awareness for vocations into the priesthood and generate support for those currently studying. The Biking for Vocations event began in 2019 as an initiative by seminary student Martin Tucker Brown, a native of Pittsburgh. He wanted to get to know the region where he now lives. The event morphed into an opportunity for the students to discuss entering the priesthood. During the ride, they offered holy hours, prayer services, and discuss their vocation pathways at Archdiocesan parishes. This year, the riders went on two separate routes: the Perimeter Route with bikers riding along the Archdioceses outer edges. The City/Suburban Route riders went through the city of Philadelphia and into the northeastern suburbs of the Archdiocese. The ride kicked off at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary with Bishop Timothy Senior, rector and auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia. Did you know you can save your preferences across all your digital devices and platforms simply by creating a profile? Would you like to get started? Yes, I'd like to register/log in Not right now No, never ask again President Donald Trump View Photo President Trump declared August 16th through the 22nd, as National Employer Support Of The Guard And Reserve Week. Trump was Mondays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are his words: In the early days of our Nations quest for independence, volunteer forces and militias formed the backbone of our armed resistance. These first patriots fought valiantly when called upon to defend liberty, and then returned to their everyday jobs as farmers, blacksmiths, cobblers, merchants, and a host of other occupations when the fighting was over. Today, the citizen warriors of the National Guard and Reserve carry forward this proud legacy and are essential to our prosperity, resilience, and national defense. During National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, we honor the employers who hire and support these brave men and women and who stand beside them in their mission to ensure the security of our Nation. Our National Guard and Reserve service members are critical to businesses and organizations in every sector of our economy, from education and healthcare to construction and agriculture. Just as they deliver meaningful contributions in civilian life, these men and women also provide strategic depth and operational capability to the Joint Force in uniform, deploying in support of critical missions throughout the world and responding to natural disasters and numerous other challenges on the home front. This year in particular, we have clearly seen their courage and unwavering resolve as they have selflessly served on the front lines of our Nations response to the coronavirus pandemic. Despite the risk to their own health, they have supported medical staff at hospitals and nursing homes, distributed food to hard-hit communities, built, staffed, and equipped alternate care facilities, and delivered life-saving medical equipment and supplies. Because of the vital importance of our National Guard and Reserve forces to our national security, those who employ them are key partners in the defense of our Nation. Their support in providing stability and flexibility to these men and women is critical to the countrys ability to mobilize quickly in times of crisis. These employers often make great financial sacrifices themselves to ensure that their National Guard and Reserve employees are able to carry out their missions and responsibilities quickly and effectively. As one Nation, we extend our gratitude and respect to the men and women who employ our National Guard and Reserve forces for their role in ensuring the readiness and retention of our fighting force. Our military is the finest in the world thanks in no small part to our brave service members and their patriotic employers. During this week of recognition, I salute and honor all employers who cooperate and partner with our National Guard and Reserve service members for their unwavering support and selfless commitment to protecting our Nation and preserving our American way of life. NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 16 through August 22, 2020, as National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week. I call upon all Americans to join me in expressing our heartfelt thanks to the civilian employers who provide critical support to the men and women of the National Guard and Reserve. I also call on State and local officials, private organizations, and all military commanders to observe this week with appropriate ceremonies and activities. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML. Equity indices pared gains and traded near the flat line in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hovered around its crucial 11,200 mark. At 11:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 14.82 points or 0.04% at 37,892.16. The Nifty 50 index rose 19.4 points or 0.17% at 11,197.9. The Nifty was above its 20-day simple moving average placed at 11,179.84, which could act as a crucial support in near term. The broader market traded with decent gains. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.23% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.65%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1432 shares rose and 1018 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 46.39 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 797.08 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 August, provisional data showed. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Metal index gained 1.03% to 2,430.65. The index has gained 3.2% in three trading days. Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.95%), NMDC (up 1.88%), Vedanta (up 1.59%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.43%) and Tata Steel (up 1.04%) Hindustan Zinc (up 0.71%) and Coal India (up 0.61%) were top gainers in metal segment. Stocks in Spotlight: ICICI Bank fell 0.4%. The bank on Saturday (15 August 2020) announced that it raised approximately Rs 15,000 crore through qualified institutions placement (QIP) of 41.89 crore equity shares at Rs 358 each. The issue opened on 10 August 2020 and closed on 14 August 2020. "The proceeds of the issue will be used towards strengthening the capital adequacy ratio of the Bank, improving the Bank's competitive positioning and/ or general corporate requirements or any other purposes as may be permissible under the applicable law and approved by the Board of Directors of the Bank or its duly constituted committee, the private lender said in a statement. PNB Housing Finance was up 1.47%. The board of directors of PNB Housing Finance is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 19 August 2020 to consider fund raising by the company, by issue of equity shares and/or other securities through any permissible modes, subject to such approvals as may be required. Lupin fell 1.51%. The drug major's U.S. based wholly owned subsidiary announced results from its Phase 3 clinical trial to assess efficacy and safety of single-dose Solosec in female patients with trichomoniasis. The trial results showed a clinically and statistically significant response rate, or microbiological cure, in patients treated with Solosec as compared to placebo. The efficacy results of the Phase 3 study are quite encouraging and could support the utility of Solosec in clinical practice as a treatment option for trichomoniasis once the new indication is approved, said Christina Muzny, M.D., MSPH, University of Alabama at Birmingham. Global Markets: Asian markets were trading mildly higher on Monday. Tensions between the US and China continue to weigh on investor sentiment. The market in South Korea is closed for a holiday. China's central bank on Monday rolled over maturing medium-term loans while keeping borrowing costs unchanged for the fourth straight month. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement it was keeping the rate on 700 billion yuan ($100.74 billion) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to financial institutions steady at 2.95% from previous operations. Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed business and consumer spending. Gross domestic product (GDP) shrank an annualised 27.8% in April-June, government data showed on Monday. In US, stocks ended on a mixed note on Friday as data on the U.S. economy added to uncertainty over the recovery. Meanwhile, a planned U.S.-China trade deal review initially set for Saturday was reportedly delayed with no new date agreed upon. The delay was due to scheduling conflicts as well as to give time for more Chinese purchases of U.S. exports. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) 3 debates rage on over wearing masks, immunity to COVID-19, and actual infection rates Although political leaders have closed borders in response to COVID-19, scientists are collaborating like never before. But the coronavirus (SARS-COV-2) is noveland we dont yet have all the facts about it. As a result, we may have to change our approach as new scientific data comes in. That doesnt mean the science isnt trustworthywe will get the full picture over time. And there is already great research that can help inform political decisions. Here are three topics that scientists disagree on. Face Masks COVID-19 spreads by droplets from coughs, sneezes, and speaking. To halt the spread of the virus, face masks have become compulsory in many countries. But there has been much debate among scientists over the effectiveness of face masks on reducing the spread of COVID-19. A report from a multidisciplinary group convened by the Royal Society has come out in favor of the public wearing face masks. These documents, which havent been peer reviewed, argue that face coverings can contribute to reducing the transmission of COVID-19 if widely used in situations where physical distancing isnt possible. One relatively small clinical study also showed that infected children who wore masks didnt pass on the virus to family contacts. But the science is complex. Face masks wont stop the wearer from inhaling small airborne particles of COVID-19, which can cause infection. A recent study reported that wearing a mask may also give a false sense of security, meaning wearers may ignore other important infection control measures. Research has also shown that when people wear masks, the exhaled air goes into the eyes. This generates an impulse to touch the eyes. And if your hands are contaminated, you may infect yourself. Indeed, WHO warns that masks can be counterproductive unless wearers avoid touching their face and adopt other management measures. We also know that face masks can make us breathe more often and more deeplypotentiality spreading more contaminated air. Many scientists, therefore, disagree with the Royal Society report, requesting more evidence on the efficacy of masks. Ideally, we need randomized controlled trials involving many people from an entire population to trace how masks affect infection numbers. That said, other scientists argue that we should use face masks even though perfectly reliable evidence is lackingto be on the safe side. Ultimately though, the strongest weapons we have are basic preventive measures such as regular hand washing and social distancing. Immunity Immunologists are working hard to determine what immunity to COVID-19 looks like. Many of the studies have focused on neutralizing antibodies, produced by so-called B-cells, which bind to viral proteins and directly prevent infection. Studies have found that levels of neutralizing antibodies remain high for a few weeks after infection, but then typically begin to wane. A peer-reviewed study from China showed that infected people had steep declines in levels of antibodies within 2 to 3 months of infection. This has created doubt over whether people get long-term protection against subsequent exposure to the virus. If this study turns out to be accuratewith the results backed up by other studiesit could have implications for whether it is possible to produce vaccines with long-lasting immunity. While many scientists believe antibodies are the key to immunity, others argue that other immune cells called T-cellsproduced when the body encounters the molecules known as antigens that trigger an immune responseare involved, too. These can become programmed to fight the same or similar viruses in the future. And studies suggest that T-cells are at work in many patients fighting COVID-19. People never infected may also harbor protective T-cells because theyve been exposed to similar coronaviruses. A recent study from Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which hasnt yet been peer reviewed, found that many people who suffered mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 have T-cell-mediated immunityeven when antibodies cant be detected. The authors believe this can prevent or limit reinfection, estimating that one-third of people with symptomless COVID-19 could have this kind of immunity. But it isnt clear yet how it works and how long it lasts. If this is the case, it is very good news because it means public immunity to COVID-19 is probably significantly higher than antibody tests have suggested. Some have argued it could create herd immunitywhereby enough people have been infected to become immune to the viruswith an infection rate as low as 20 percent, rather than the widely accepted 6070 percent. This claim, however, is still controversial. Immune response to COVID-19 is complex, with the full picture likely to extend beyond antibodies. Larger studies over longer periods of time must now be done on both T-cells and antibodies to understand how long-lasting the immunity is and how these different components of COVID-19 immunity are related. Number of Cases The reporting of COVID-19 cases varies drastically around the world. Some regions are reporting that less than 1 percent of people have been infected, and others that more than half the population has had COVID-19. One study, which has been peer reviewed, estimated that only 35 percent of symptomatic cases have been reported in the United States and that the figure is even lower for some other countries. When it comes to estimating true prevalence, scientists use just one of two main approaches. They either test a sample of people in a population for antibodies and directly report those numbers, or predict how the virus has affected a population using mathematical models. Such models have given very different estimates. Research led by the University of Toronto in Canada, which hasnt been peer reviewed yet, assessed blood test data from people across the world and discovered that the proportion who have had the virus varies widely across countries. We dont know why. There could be real differences due to the age, health, or spread of each populationor in policies to control virus transmission. But very likely its down to differences in the methodology, such as antibody tests (serological testing). Different tests have different sensitivity. Antibody studies suggest that only 14 percent of people in the United Kingdom have had COVID-19, compared with 19 percent in Sweden and 3 percent in Yemen. But that excludes T-cells. If they provide a reliable guide to infection, the number may be much higherpotentially close to herd immunity in some regionsbut this is hugely debated. Manal Mohammed is a lecturer in medical microbiology at the University of Westminster in the UK. This article was originally published on The Conversation. CAMBRIDGE Waterloo Regional Police are investigating a collision that landed a 52-year-old woman in hospital. At 9:50 Monday morning police responded to a call at the intersection of Maple Grove Road and Fountain St North. Police say a car heading north was struck by a pickup truck travelling east. The driver of the car, a woman from Cambridge, was transported to hospital with serious injuries. The truck driver was not injured, police say. Anyone who witnessed the collision is asked to call the Traffic Services unit at 519-570-9777 extension x8856. U.S. President Donald Trump has again pushed for schools to reopen despite the severe COVID-19 pandemic across the country, according to The Guardian newspaper. "We got to open up our schools and open our businesses," Trump said on Wednesday. "Children often have only mild symptoms, and medical complications are incredibly rare," the newspaper quoted the president as saying. The United States on Wednesday reported 1,499 COVID-19 death, the highest number in a single day for three months. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 cases in the country has topped 5.3 million, which accounts for a quarter of global cases. The parlous situation, however, has not stopped Trump from pushing for the reopening of schools and businesses, with the president warning that children would suffer if they do not resume in-person classes, according to The Guardian. Trump and his administration has been pressuring schools to reopen in fall, threatening to withhold federal funding from schools that do not comply. Reopening schools is seen a crucial step to restarting the country's economy for his reelection campaign. However, few Americans want to see their local schools re-open for in-person instruction as usual or even with minor adjustments considering the severe COVID-19 situation, said a new poll released on July 22. Hasty school resumption has already caused COVID-19 outbreaks in the country. Louisiana has been tracking seven COVID-19 outbreaks tied to schools and colleges, with data showing that 151 cases are connected to those college outbreaks, and 17 cases are being attributed to outbreaks at primary and secondary schools, local TV station WBRZ2 reported on Wednesday. Lauren Goodger has boasted that she is Kate Middleton's favourite TOWIE star and hit out at 'haters' that branded her an attention seeker. The former TOWIE favourite, 33, claimed that the duchess had previously said that she was her preferred cast member on the ITVBe reality show. She also slammed fans that criticised her for posting nude selfies - despite Kim Kardashian being 'praised as a feminist' for similarly racy snaps in a very candid interview. Not holding back: Lauren Goodger has boasted that she is Kate Middleton's favourite TOWIE star and hit out at 'haters' that branded her an attention seeker The TV personality told The Sun: 'Kim posts a topless selfie and she's a feminist. I post a bikini picture and get called an attention seeker. It's double standards. There is no need for it. 'And calling me a bad role model? I just laugh. I'm Kate Middleton's favourite TOWIE star, so I must be doing something right.' She added: 'I'm like a rock star, so I've got haters. These people aren't happy. I look at them and think, you must be so deeply unhappy in your life to be making so much of an effort to comment on mine.' Secret admirers? The former TOWIE favourite, 33, claimed that the duchess had previously said that she was her preferred cast member on the ITVBe reality show Candid: She also slammed fans that criticised her for posting nude selfies and called her an attention seeker 'Deep down, I know it's jealousy. I don't care what I say or do, I am who I am and that's it.' She also said that Instagram was not real life and added that people should remember that everyone edits their pictures. It comes after Lauren, who famously dated co-star Mark Wright, also 33, came under fire last week after she was accused of enhancing her social media images with photo editing tools. 'Kim posts a topless selfie and she's a feminist': Lauren did not hold back as she said she was fed up of the double standards The former star vowed to be even more 'successful, sexy and confident' than ever after her followers criticised her for enhancing her appearance in a white bikini. She wrote: 'Please look at every other celebs page comments who are posting pics of them with @boombod and please look at mine! 'Same brand and same pics! This is why I never take ANYTHING seriously what my 'hating' followers say. They just want any excuse to hate and make vile, nasty, evil comments.' Lauren has defended other celebrities such as Kylie Jenner- who was called out for a Photoshop blunder- and she has accused fans of fuelling hate out of jealousy. Hot water: Lauren came under fire recently after fans called her out for Photoshopping her images on social media, specifically one of her posing in a white bikini (pictured above) She added: 'Some people that follow me are just pure jealousy. It's actually disgusting. Someone said I should never be allowed children and I'm mentally deranged. 'I have PTs 'professionals' (my a**e)! using their own profile by slagging me off and putting clown emojis over my face. 'It's any excuse to try and bring me down! But it's so wrong. How dare you. But one thing about me is I will never let you win! You will never bully me to try and make your ugly selves feel better...' Its amazing to me that this would not have been done in a facility, which, because of the large inmate population, should have been on clear notice that youve got to have people distanced in order to prevent spread of the virus, said Brinkema, who last week ordered ICE to stop transferring detainees into the facility. The fact that not all employees are wearing masks, or PPE, correctly is very problematic. By AFP COLOMBO: The entire nation of Sri Lanka was left without power Monday in an hours-long outage following an "unspecified failure" at a major power plant, the state-run electricity board said. Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma said a "technical issue" at the Kerawalapitiya power station just outside the capital Colombo was the cause of the blackout. The outage hit the entire nation of 21 million people at around midday, and although power returned to some parts of the country after six hours, Colombo was in darkness as night fell. It is the worst disruption since March 2016, when the entire nation was without electricity for more than eight hours following a massive system breakdown. "Steps being taken to restore the supply," Alahapperuma said in a statement, without saying when power would be restored. ALSO READ | Thousands party in water park sans masks, social distancing in former COVID-19 epicentre Wuhan The power cut caused chaos on already congested roads in Colombo, with traffic lights not operating and police struggling to man key intersections. Hospitals and other critical infrastructure in the country have power generators. The main airport has remained mostly shut because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sri Lanka generates just over half of its electricity through thermal power. The remainder comes from hydro and wind power. Kerawalapitiya is an oil-fired thermal power station with a 300-megawatt capacity, about 12 percent of the country's electricity demand. Localised power failures are not uncommon but nationwide outages are rare. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A flurry of new studies have uncovered signs of strong and lasting immunity in people who have even had mild cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the New York Times reported. The studies, which are currently not peer reviewed but have been examined by experts for the Times, have shown that antibodies, as well as immune cells capable of fighting the virus are present and able to ward off re-infection, the report said. Scientists have been working to uncover how persistent immunity to the coronavirus is after infection following earlier incidents, such as possible re-infection, that shed doubt on the bodys ability to retain strong enough antibodies to ward off the virus. However, while researchers have been unable to forecast how long immunity will last due to the novel nature of the virus the recent studies show promise that the body has a good chance of being able to stave off a second exposure to the coronavirus. This is exactly what you would hope for, said Marion Pepper, an immunologist at the University of Washington who was quoted in the Times. All the pieces are there to have a totally protective immune response. For decades, the public releases of baby Kemps ridley turtles at the Padre Island National Seashore have been one of the most popular summer rituals of the Texas Gulf Coast. The feel-good sendoffs on Malaquite Beach near Corpus Christi usually occur early in the day and on short notice. They can draw 1,000 or more visitors. Packed behind rope barriers, wide-eyed children and their parents track the tiny, gnarly reptiles as they stagger across the sand to the beckoning surf. James Nielsen /Houston Chronicle When they reach the waves, the hatchlings are transformed: They dip and glide, then bob a time or two, a dark head in the foam, and finally disappear. In a lot of ways, its like being a mother. You do everything you can up to a point. You find the nest, you protect the eggs and the hatchlings at release, biologist Donna Shaver, the longtime chief of the National Park Service sea turtle recovery program, said after a release in 2017. This summer, more than 14,000 hatchlings were quietly sent out to sea, but public releases were canceled because of the pandemic. And the programs future could be in doubt because of budget cuts proposed by the National Park Service. Biologists and others involved in the decades-long effort to bring the Kemps ridley back from the brink of extinction fear that changes recommended in a critical review could harm the recovery program. James Nielsen /Houston Chronicle The review has set off a lot of red flags and alarms around the sea turtle world. I am not sure where this is exactly going to land, said Jeff George, who runs Sea Turtle Inc., a nonprofit on South Padre Island that protects Kemps ridley eggs there. Among the proposed changes are cutting funding for the turtle program; cutting back on beach patrols that allow spotters to quickly find nests that contain newly laid eggs; and reducing the number of eggs taken to the incubation facility for hatching, instead leaving some to hatch in beach corrals and in beach nests. Other recommendations: shrinking the breadth of turtle research done by Shaver and other park scientists; discontinuing the collection and incubation of eggs from green and loggerhead turtle nests; and limiting the rescue of stranded sea turtles to those found within the park boundaries. Billy Calzada /Staff photographer Most significantly, the review questioned the financial sustainability of the project. The program has grown tremendously and now has an annual operating budget of $2M which funds nest monitoring and management, research and stranding response. In 3-5 years the program is projecting a budget shortfall, the report says. Christopher Marshall, a Texas A&M biology professor and director of the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research in Galveston, said his initial reaction was shock and surprise. What astounds me is that this is the most endangered sea turtle in the world, so sure, our measures are extreme, but here, every egg matters, he said. Some see a disguised money grab driven by professional jealousy of Shaver, one of the worlds foremost authorities on the Kemps ridley. Contacted at her park office, Shaver, who has always spoken freely to the press, declined to comment, saying she has been gagged by the National Park Service. A request to speak to park superintendent Eric Brunnemann was denied by a public information officer. The National Park Service said in a statement that it is strengthening the turtle programs mission, which it says consumes a quarter of the parks base budget. Tom Shearer, a retired biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who led its Kemps ridley turtle programs for two decades, said the need remains to establish a self-sustaining population in Texas. If it wasnt for Donna, we wouldnt have the Kemps ridley turtle in Texas and maybe some people would think thats a good thing, since they have 20,000 in Mexico, he said. But thats very shortsighted because of the volatility in Mexico. If the economy goes bad and people get hungry, thats fresh meat. Thats what they did before. It was the killing of the nesters and the collection of the eggs that led to the precipitous drop in the population, he added. Marshall, who oversees the Upper Texas Coast Turtle Patrol that collects Kemps ridley eggs along a 72-mile stretch of the upper coast, said the recovery program on Padre Island should be seen as the insurance policy for the species. It was set up in case something catastrophic happens down in Mexico. You literally dont want all your eggs in one basket on one beach, he said. Over the last 10 years, an average of 208 turtle nests have been found on Texas beaches, with the high coming in 2017 when 353 nests were found. Most turtle scientists think this is far fewer than would be necessary to save the species if the Mexican population was wiped out. Heres the science. The Kemps ridley almost disappeared from the planet Earth about 1983. In all of (Texas) and the protected areas of Mexico, they found only 702 nests back then. This year they found over 20,000 nests. So the population is starting to recover, but to say weve achieved that goal with 350 nests (in Texas) is a little premature, George, of Sea Turtle Inc., said. Shavers operation, he said, is also important because of its critical scientific research. Thats where Donnas program has really contributed to the recovery of the species, he said. The reviews recommendation to shift from incubating eggs to leaving them in their beach nests or putting them in fenced corrals on the beach, as is done in Florida, was met with skepticism. By taking the eggs out of the nest you can create a hatching rate of up to 95 percent. If you leave the eggs in the nest on the beaches here, you would probably lose 95 percent, Marshall said. Official state sea turtle The smallest and rarest of sea turtles, the Kemps ridley has been federally protected as an endangered species since 1970. In recent decades it has become well known in Texas, and in 2013 became the official state sea turtle by congressional proclamation. Historically, most turtles reproduced in Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, which at one time had hundreds of thousands of nests. That population was nearly wiped out in the 1940s and 1950s by egg collection and the slaughter of adult turtles. For the past 60 years, Mexico and the United States have cooperated in an effort to save the species, in part by establishing a viable secondary breeding population in Texas. Starting in 1978, eggs from Mexico were brought to the U.S. to be incubated, hatched and released. Some hatchlings were raised in a head-start program in Galveston and released at 11 months of age, but most were released on Padre Island as hatchlings. Eventually, turtle patrols began to find nests on Texas beaches and protect them from gulls, coyotes and other predators, but progress was slow. From 1978 to 1994, only about one Kemps ridley nest was recorded in Texas every three years. From 2006 to 2009, between 102 and 209 Kemps ridley nests were recorded annually, according to a National Park Service report. The anchor program in Texas long has been the one led by Shaver at the national seashore on North Padre Island. She started working there in 1980 as a student volunteer. Since 2003, she has been in charge of the Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Program. Shaver also is the Texas coordinator for the Sea Turtle Standing and Salvage Network, which rescues injured and stranded turtles. The turtle nesting season begins in April when the first females arrive and ends sometime in August when the last hatchlings emerge. Since 1994, about 235,000 baby turtles have been hatched and released along the Texas coast. Because the nests and baby turtles face a wide range of threats, including coyotes, fire ants, high tides and vehicles driven on the beach, 100 or more volunteers, seasonal workers, staff and others are mobilized during nesting season. They patrol daily along an 80-mile stretch of beach from Mansfield Channel north to Packery Channel, looking for arriving female turtles and new nests, and when found, removing the eggs for incubation. Maureen Hurlow, 72, a retired school teacher, has worked as a volunteer and bio-technician for the past 15 years. After long years of toiling with Shaver in the incubation room, she finds the current crisis baffling and appalling. She has done this for 42 years against all odds. When they told her the Kemps ridley would not come back, she stuck it out, she said. She is also the voice of Kemps ridley in research. Why would you want to pull the plug on that? Last year, according to Shavers annual report, more than 25,000 hours were spent patrolling beaches on the Texas Coast. The patrols on North Padre Island representing about two-thirds of the effort. Along the entire coast, the report notes, 190 Kemps ridley nests were found, 110 of them on North Padre. All told, 15,469 hatchlings were released last year. NPS complaint filed In July, a nonprofit watchdog organization filed an administrative complaint on behalf of Shaver with the National Park Service. The 28-page complaint by the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, based in Washington D.C., says the National Park Service report suffers from a lack of integrity, accuracy, completeness and reliability, and asks that it be withdrawn. It says that some of the reviews recommended changes conflict with federal protections afforded the Kemps ridley as an endangered species. It also asserts that the NPS circumvented its legal obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act, by failing to seek public input or conduct an environmental assessment. And it claims that in complaining about the cost of the sea turtle recovery program, the review was disingenuous by failing to note that the programs annual funding has been raised entirely by the efforts of its staff, unlike any other division at the park. Jeff Ruch, the PEER lawyer who filed the complaint, said, Padre Island is cannibalizing one of its best and most important programs for bureaucratic reasons having nothing to do with the sea turtle populations. He said the Padre Island program already has been forced to return $300,000 in grants and that Shaver is now prohibited from applying for additional grants. Noting longstanding friction between key personnel in federal sea turtle programs in Florida and Texas, he said the review appears to be driven more by political and personal agendas than by good turtle science. We think this review is the function of some infighting and that the real motive is to divert sea turtle grant money from Texas to Florida. Thats certainly the effect, he said. Ruch said he finds the whole unseemly affair to be sort of a head-scratcher. This program has been featured as one of the things the Park Service is most proud of, he said. John MacCormack is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from John, become a subscriber. JMacCormack@express-news.net | Twitter: @JohnMacCormack Melbourne Theatre Company has cancelled the rest of its 2020 season, meaning 11 of its 12 productions planned for the year either closed early or never took to the stage. With the pandemic lockdown still at its height, and social gathering restrictions likely to continue for months, there was no longer any prospect that commercially viable, and safe, productions could be performed this year. The ghost light at Sumner Theatre at Southbank, Credit:MTC Artistic director and chief executive Brett Sheehy called it a "dreaded conclusion to an incomprehensible year", and executive director and co-CEO Virginia Lovett said it was a "seismic crisis" for the company, which has lost the vast majority of its budgeted income for the year. The final two shows in the season, Girls & Boys and Sunshine Super Girl were due to open in October and November, and the company was to rehearse and live-stream SLAP. BANG. KISS. in September for schools. All have been cancelled. President Obama sure did take a long time to finally endorse Joe Biden for his 2020 run. The world couldn't help but notice that Biden's former partner in crime didn't exactly hop at the chance to endorse Biden after it was clear that Biden would be the Democratic candidate for 2020. Now, we might know why... President Obama has "privately expressed grave concerns" about Biden's run for the White House, according to a stunning new report from Politico. Obama reportedly said of Biden: Dont underestimate Joes ability to fk things up. Despite the endorsement and the former Obama administration painting a rosy picture of the relationship between the two, the Post describes their relationship as being "fraught with tension". Former White House communications director Jen Psaki commented of their relationship: You could certainly see technocratic eye-rolling at times. The attitude reportedly is what led Obama to endorse Hillary Clinton, instead of Joe Biden, in the 2016 Presidential race. The president was not encouraging, Biden said of Obama's support in 2016. And while Obama was keeping his distance from Biden after his 2020 announcement he was "talking him down" behind the scenes. Obama finally caved and endorsed Biden in April of this year, stating: I believe Joe has all the qualities we need in a president right now. Hes someone whose own life has taught him how to persevere, But speaking about Biden's presence in Iowa during the caucuses Obama said: You know who really doesnt have it? Joe Biden. Why leak this story now? Right before the DNC convention? And sourced by Politico of all places. With friends like that, who needs enemies? Interestingly, Jim Rickards recently suggested , admittedly a prognostication at best, that Biden won't even make it to The White house and will soon be replaced as the nominee soon. Democratic insiders will probably force him out of the race in the next week or so. They dont want to risk exposing him to the American people before the election. For Democrats, the stakes are simply too high. One public incident or serious slip-up is all it could take to kill his chances in the election. The American people simply arent going to elect someone who they feel is mentally unfit for office. Many voters obviously dislike Trump. But, no one could credibly argue that hes suffering from cognitive decline. So whats going to happen? The Democrat power brokers (Tom Perez, Donna Brazile, Valerie Jarrett, Philippe Reins, AOC, John Podesta and a few others) will get in a room and pick a new nominee. Biden will release his delegates, and party leadership will direct the super-delegates to support that choice. This will start a stampede among the former Biden delegates. The Bernie Sanders delegates will already be onboard because theyll be part of the consultation. Then the new nominee will pick a VP and the convention will tidy things up. The race will continue from there. Alternatively, the power brokers could allow Biden to get the nomination and then remove him as nominee before the debates. Thats even easier because there are no delegates involved. Its just an executive committee decision the candidate cannot refuse. Still, the process will be a shock to millions of Americans whove been expecting a Biden candidacy. How much of a surprise would that really be? By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijans coronavirus task force has taken another step to mitigate the coronavirus quarantine regime that will be in force in the country until August 31. Taking into account the positive dynamics of the coronavirus infection and the need to strengthen economic activities, the Operational Headquarters under the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to allow the operation of restaurants and cafes, on the basis of open-air catering facilities, starting from August 18. Thus, activities of restaurants, cafes, tea houses and other similar public catering establishments are allowed from 09:00 to 22:00 in Baku, Jalilabad, Ganja, Masalli, Mingachevir, Sumgayit, Yevlakh, Absheron, Barda, Goranboy, Goygol, Khachmaz and Salyan regions where the special quarantine regime has been imposed. However, there is a ban on hookah smoking and sitting of more than six people at one table. Owners of catering services are obliged to control the use of masks by customers, and provide masks if the customers do not have them. In addition, employees are obliged to use masks as well. For violation of the requirements specified in the rules, administrative penalties will be applied. Modifications related to catering facilities do not include outdoor weddings, as during such events, it is still difficult to use masks and maintain social distance. The opening of outdoor cafes and restaurants is continuation of the lockdown relaxation that was announced on August 5 On August 5, the government abolished the SMS permit system, thereby allowing citizens leave their place of residence freely. Moreover, citizens are allowed to visit beaches without obtaining permission as of August 5. Citizens are able to check the availability of free places in beaches via cimerlik.az portal. The level of occupancy on the beaches is depicted in green, yellow, red colors. If the beach is full, the citizens will know about it in advance. Thus, if the capacity of one beach is 500 people, then 501 person will not be allowed to enter, and will be offered to go to another beach. 100 beaches have been entered on portal. The beaches will work from 09.00 am to 8.00 pm. Additionally, from August 10, activities of some areas of production, trade and services, such as activity of trade objects on sale of non-food products and consumer services, were resumed. It should be noted that no decision has been made so far about the resumption of work of educational institutions and shopping centers. Additionally, travel to regions of Azerbaijan remains prohibited for the time being. As, the permission to travel to the regions on business trips led to changes in the epidemiological situations and new infections, it is too early to allow travel from Baku to the regions. The decision to ban public transport on weekends remains in force for the time being as well. The Operational Headquarters has warned citizens that in order to synchronize economic activities with measures to prevent the spread of infection, it is necessary to strictly observe sanitary and epidemiological requirements. Observance of sanitary-epidemiological requirements is the only way to continue and further expand economic activity. Azerbaijan first introduced special quarantine regime on March 24. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Chef Aaron Bludorn has had his share of sleepless nights lately. One particular nightmare found him alone in an empty kitchen with no workers. The fears are real for Bludorn, 36, and his wife, Victoria, 31, who have spent more than a year readying their first restaurant, Bludorn, in the space on Taft that was formerly Pass & Provisions. Opening day is Friday. We have doubts every day, he said. Are we ready? You can never be ready. Bludorn is one of the most significant restaurant openings Houston has seen in years, arriving with Michelin credentials and great expectations. And its namesake is one of the countrys top young chefs, who has worked for two Michelin-star restaurants; he spent nine years at Cafe Boulud in New York. Victoria Bludorn the daughter of Chris Pappas, CEO of Pappas Restaurants has earned business and culinary degrees and worked in operations for superchef Daniel Bouluds restaurant empire. Under normal circumstances, their talents might virtually guarantee restaurant success. But this venture arrives in the middle of a pandemic that has crippled the restaurant industry. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Lately Houston has seen significant establishments close including the Tasting Room in Uptown Park, Ragin Cajun Westchase, Barrys Pizza, Poitin, Penny Quarter, Patrenellas, Americas, Blackbird Izakaya, Bernies Burger Bus locations and even Pappas Restaurants Yia Yia Marys and Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen on Richmond. The Bludorns were well into their project when Gov. Greg Abbott shut down dining in at Texas restaurants in March. But they felt they had no option but to go forward. Its been such a hard year, Victoria said. We got to the point where it wasnt so much if we would open, but how. Destination: Houston Aaron Bludorn, who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, was already a hotshot when he arrived in New York in 2009. He spent three years working for Michelin-star chef Douglas Keane at Cyrus Restaurant in Californias Napa Valley. At Keanes suggestion, he applied to work for Boulud and was hired for the kitchen at his celebrated restaurant on New Yorks Upper East Side. Bludorn worked his way up at Cafe Boulud, becoming executive chef in 2014. That was the same year Victoria Pappas arrived to work in the Manhattan business offices of the Dinex Group, Bouluds hospitality business. The two met, and by 2016 they were dating. They married in Houston in 2018. The couple nurtured the idea of opening their own restaurant, a place where Aaron could be his own kitchen boss and where Victoria could oversee front-of-house and business operations. Ever since culinary school, I wanted to own a restaurant, Aaron said. The way Ive always approached my career was, What way do I get there? Julie Soefer / Julie Soefer As their plans began taking shape in 2018, Houston made sense for many reasons. They wanted to start a family, and the Pappas clan (Victoria is one of five siblings) provided a network of support. Aaron saw the merits of an economically prosperous and culturally diverse city where restaurants rule the social whirl. In 2019, they moved to Houston to tackle the restaurant project that would eventually become Bludorn. Whats light turns dark The couple made friends in Houston and found the restaurant community welcoming. Drake Leonards, chef and owner of Eunice, was happy to see the Bludorns put down roots in Houston. Leonards also worked for several years at Cafe Boulud. Little did we know 10 years ago wed both end up here, Leonards said. Aaron has a natural sense of hospitality. Hes a humble man, an excellent cook. Hes going to stand alone on his merits. And he had mentor Daniel Bouluds support. Aaron put his mark at Cafe Boulud, the chef said. He showed passion, leadership, responsibility and creativity. In New York, he was highly respected for being a young person who took his job very responsibly. He supported charities, trained young staff and cared for people under his wing. That was always one of Aarons strengths. He has a passion for hospitality. Victorias brother, James Pappas, who owns JCP Investment Management, was an early investor. He brought a skill set to Houston, Pappas said of Aaron. He showed all the aspects of a great entrepreneur and restaurateur. Aaron secured about 20 investors for the restaurant and the space at 807 Taft. By January, the dream was taking shape. Construction began, turning Pass & Provisions two distinct enclaves into one sweeping space with a generous open kitchen, a new bar and a dining room filled with natural light. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer The Bludorns began putting together their core team of veterans and emerging talent. Cherif Mbodji, a Cafe Boulud alumnus, will be general manager. Chase Voelz, the chef de cuisine, comes from Roister in Chicago; and Alejandra Salas left her post at Thomas Kellers the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., to become Bludorns pastry chef. By March, Bludorn was solidly in place for a summer opening. The novel coronavirus had yet to invade Texas. As the first reports of positive COVID-19 cases here emerged, the Bludorns had traveled to Paris for James Pappas wedding. They returned on March 10, and the next day Mayor Sylvester Turner shut down the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo due to coronavirus concerns. Two days later, the governor declared a statewide public health disaster. That week, Victoria learned she and Aaron were expecting their first child. Pulling it together Bludorn has been a hive of activity over the last two weeks. Furniture deliveries. Stocking shelves. Hanging art. Finishing patio construction. Inventory. There are hundreds of little details to occupy Victoria, who is due in November. About 40 new hires for front and back of house, all wearing masks, go through daily training in a dizzying, intense indoctrination to Bludorn. Scrutinizing safety protocols; memorizing components of every dish on the menu; learning the wine inventory; getting to know how the managers tick; understanding how to maneuver in the grand space; and anticipating what to expect when guests start flowing in. The crew is a diverse group that mirrors Houston locals, newcomers, industry vets and newbies. There are smiles behind the masks, sweat on the brows. In the kitchen, with its majestic pass, wood-burning oven and shiny new pots and pans, Aaron leads his culinary team through the dishes that will define Bludorns new American menu, which features seasonal vegetables, Gulf fish and plenty of nods to the Houston palate. The dishes show remarkable finesse and indulgent temptation: raw oysters and tuna crudo, king crab legs with pickled chile; squash blossoms stuffed with ricotta and dabs of pepper jam; seared foie gras with Texas peaches; short rib ravioli with fig and blue cheese; dry-aged steak with bone marrow and chimichurri; lobster pot pie; and ancho chile short ribs with cornbread an uptown take on tamale pie. For dessert, flaming baked Alaska. Entree prices, between $35 and $55, reflect Bludorns caliber. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Aarons personal aesthetic is writ large on the menu. He serves food thats fresh, vibrant, beautiful, unpretentious. At the end of the day, the food has to taste good, he said. Yes, it will look nice and will be on brand, but it has to taste delicious. Thats at the top of my mind: Is it delicious? The great hope A lot is riding on Bludorn. The restaurant is a major financial and career gamble for the couple. It also represents a new start for restaurant workers whose lives have been upended by the pandemic. It was a godsend, said Ryan Cortez, who has been unemployed since the start of the pandemic and landed a job as a food runner. Having worked at Upper Kirby Bistro and Indianola, Cortez sees Bludorn as a new lease on a career that he hopes will find him in the kitchen working alongside a chef of Aarons stature. The risks theyre taking and the commitment theyve made show their dedication to excellence, he said. If you want to take your career to the next level, this is the place that is going to take you there. Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer While restaurants have continued to open in Houston during the pandemic, few are on the scale of 212-seat Bludorn. Its opening represents something of a symbol of hope for the battered restaurant landscape, still operating at 50 percent capacity; Bludorn will operate at reduced capacity with safeguards in place. When you see an undertaking of this level, its a reminder that this isnt forever. Well make it to the other side, said Melissa Stewart, executive director of the Greater Houston Restaurant Association. Even in a normal year we lose good restaurants. But with all of the loss, its nice we are seeing some fresh growth. For the Bludorns, the restaurant is a personal journey. Bludorn is a story of Victoria and me our love for eating out and our love for each other. I hope that doesnt sound too corny, Aaron said. Whatever you do, you have to be present. And I wanted somewhere that felt like home. Ill always be present here, and this is where Ill call home. greg.morago@chron.com By Aishwarya Venugopal and Melissa Fares (Reuters) - Walmart Inc's margins and online sales are expected to benefit in the second quarter as the largest U.S. retailer cashed in on shoppers using government stimulus checks to buy higher-priced products like sneakers and toys along with daily essentials. The majority of stimulus money went to housing, savings and grocery bills, according to an IRI consumer survey. Retailers including Walmart also experienced a surge in sales of items like electronics and clothes in the second quarter. Those bigger-ticket items are expected to help Walmart's margins. "Unlike other retailers, we believe Walmart took most of the pain in Q1, limiting the Q2 impact," Credit Suisse analyst Seth Sigman said in a note last week. One question is how well it will perform compared to big-box competitors like Costco Wholesale Corp and Target that have gained momentum since the start of the pandemic. Visits to Costco the weeks of July 6th, July 20th, and July 27th all show year-over-year growth, according to Placer.ai, a firm that tracks foot traffic. Dollar General also saw foot traffic increase the same week unemployment benefits largely expired, on July 31, according to Placer.ai. Even so, investors give Walmart the edge. "The way we see consumers right now is they're spending on what they need to spend on - a lot less dining, a lot more eating at home. All of those trends favor Walmart," said Randy Hare, portfolio manager at Huntington Private Bank. Hare highlighted Walmart's investments in areas such as grocery pickup and same-day delivery that helped meet surging demand seen during the lockdowns. "Walmart has done a lot right in recent years. It's improved execution & successfully changed the narrative of its story from that of a mature brick & mortar retailer to being a viable No. 2 in e-commerce," UBS equities analyst Michael Lasser said. Story continues For an interactive graphic: (https://graphics.reuters.com/WALMART-RESULTS/PREVIEW/gjnvwxndwpw/index.html) The company is due to report earnings on Tuesday. Analysts expect same-store sales growth of 5.02%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Graphic: Walmart set for another quarter of strong sales on lockdown boost Walmart set for another quarter of strong sales on lockdown boost https://graphics.reuters.com/WALMART-RESULTS/PREVIEW/jznpnkraevl/chart.png (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru and Melissa Fares in New York; editing by Anna Driver and Nick Zieminski) When the 2020 Democratic National Convention gets underway Monday, no delegates will be traveling to Milwaukee Wisconsin for it, with the coronavirus pandemic still coursing through the country. Neither will any of the speakers. Not even Joe Biden will accept the partys nomination in the key swing states largest city. Instead, virtually all of the convention will be held remotely four nights of solely -for-TV festivities, capped by Bidens speech on Thursday night. When COVID-19 forced Dalhousie to cancel in-person classes this spring, staff at Dalhousies Centre for Learning and Teaching (CLT) were faced with the challenge of supporting the shift to emergency online teaching in the busiest stretch of the year. All the while, staff at the CLT knew the effects of COVID-19 could be felt for the foreseeable future. Looking ahead to summer and fall, the unit began preparing for a larger organizational shift to teaching online. It was in this climate that a new course, Foundations in Online Course Design, was conceived. The goal of the course: to establish a platform for learning that would reach as many faculty members as possible, empowering them with the tools to build effective and engaging online courses that could match the quality of traditional, in-person sessions. [Note: While Foundations in Online Course Design ran earlier this summer, the site and its resources remain available to all faculty on Brightspace. Simply log in, navigate to the Academic Support menu and select Self Registration. The course listing is CLT.FOCD CLT - Foundations in Online Course Design.] Pedagodgy fit for a pandemic Educational developers Bianca Goree and Les Tyler Johnson were tasked with creating the course during the period of chaos and upheaval in mid-March as the province largely shut down. There were a lot of long days and late nights, says Dr. Johnson. Emailing with faculty, collaborating with other units, like the Libraries and specifically Academic Technology Services, updating various websites with new information about where to get support or best practices for teaching remotely, and reassuring faculty that CLT staff were available to support them in their pivot to remote teaching. Haifax-born Goree was living in Toronto when the pandemic hit. Having worked in education and technology for more than 10 years, I felt that I had a skill set that could be useful to organizations struggling to respond to the pandemic. As such, I identified educational organizations that I might be suited to support and reached out via email. Dalhousie brought her on board and the CLT tasked the pair to create a new course that would foster proven pedagogical practices in the transformative landscape of 2020. The Centre already offers a Learning Focused Course Design course, along with other components, as part of the Faculty Certificate in Teaching and Learning. Since the pandemic hit, that face-to-face course could not be offered in the same way, Goree says. The centre was looking to provide an alternate, online version. At the same time, there was a need to create a resource to support all faculty in the process to move courses online for spring classes. The hope was to provide support on a large scale and maximize our reach. Last but not least, Les had envisioned a course that focused on teaching Universal Design for Learning theory. Universal Design for Learning (or UDL) is a teaching framework based on cognitive neuroscience research and is designed to optimize learning for all people. Its comprised of three principles, says Dr. Johnson. Giving students multiple means of engagement, multiple means of representation, and multiple means of action and expression. Within each of those principles is a set of guidelines and detailed checkpoints. We did our best to both adhere to these principles in the design and delivery of our course, but also taught about them explicitly through the weekly video series With UDL in Mind, which gave faculty specific examples of how they might apply the information in their own online course design and delivery." The course was designed to mirror the model that Dalhousie faculty are being asked to use when designing their own courses. It consisted mostly of prepared presentations, materials, links, and activities all held on Brightspace but also included live sessions designed for peer-to-peer conversation and engagement with the course instructors. Overcoming obstacles In addition to ensuring the course was built on sound pedagogical principles and would support instructors to move from emergency remote teaching to online teaching, the course developers faced the same challenge that many faculty faced over the summer building a course in a short period of time in their case, over three weeks. The course needed to be available by a certain date and there was a lack of development time, says Goree. As well, there were gaps in resources and content available for the course, since there is no textbook and this course had not existed in this format previously. Due to the tight turnaround time, they found themselves developing and making changes as the course was in session. As part of the course, students were invited to participate in online discussions within the course site (in Brightspace), says Goree. These discussion boards were very active. The challenge was staying up-to-date and reading the ongoing discussion posts in the weekly threads with over 100 participants posting at different times throughout the course. Goree points out that despite the challenge, there was an advantage to building in real time. The benefit was the ability for Les and I to adapt and respond to the needs and feedback of students in the course. Goree says that while she and Johnson designed the course, other members of the CLT team, specifically the educational development team, provided helpful resources and feedback. Their contributions were appreciated. Flexibility for the future The result was a course that not only helped faculty get through the early turbulence of the pandemic, but that also paved the way to a smooth fall term and a future in which online classes may be more prevalent. We are still very early in collecting final feedback from participants in the course, but so far, almost 90 per cent of the respondents to our course evaluation indicate that they feel more prepared to teach online than they did before they took the course, says Dr. Johnson. Rohan Maitzen (shown left) from the Department of English, has been teaching in the traditional, face-to-face format for 25 years. She says she now feels much more prepared to teach online, thanks to Foundations in Online Course Design. When youve only ever taught face-to-face, even if you change things up on a regular basis as I have always tried to do, a lot of the basic elements are so integral to your routine and your concept of how to teach that it is hard to imagine different patterns and how to adjust your methods to them. Dr. Maitzen says participating in the class has changed her perception of how classes can be delivered, especially in terms of participation and evaluation. The process of rethinking the various elements of my classes will almost certainly affect my pedagogy when we are able to return to full face-to-face teaching. I am unlikely to go back to timed, in-person exams, for instance, now that Ive spent more time asking what purpose they really serve and how else I might meet that objective in more flexible ways. Goree agrees that online teaching involves a fundamental shift in perspective. In the online teaching context, it is important for instructors to understand that the student must take ownership of their learning and actively manage their own progress through the course, she says. Students become stewards of their own learning process and need to navigate online independently in order to be successful. Since the classroom experience is mostly asynchronous in the online forum, the instructor becomes a facilitator of learning rather than the source of learning. Embracing a different educational experiences According to Dr. Maitzen, the experiential component of online classes is essential, just as it is in the traditional classroom format. Although I learned a lot from the class modules, probably the most valuable aspect of taking the class was actually being in an online class myself and learning from that experience about things like the importance of regular engagement with my classmates and input and feedback from the instructors, she says. It has helped me appreciate that while a lot of us enjoy the immediacy of face-to-face teaching, there are ways in which it actually does not serve all of our students equally well, so we should not idealize it. In fact, online teaching may be better for some students and some of our teaching goals. For instance, online discussions can be much more comfortable and productive than face-to-face for students who need to take a little more time before contributing, who arent as at ease just jumping in before theyve had time to gather their thoughts or double-check their examples. While Dr. Maitzen feels much better about offering online classes this fall, she acknowledges that there is still some trepidation, simply because the experience is so new. I am feeling some apprehension, of course, she says. The online experience is going to be so new for me and for most of my students and you can never really know how good your plans are until you put them into practice. I also still have a lot of work to do to get ready! But I am also really looking forward to it because, after all, I'm still going to be teaching courses and material I am excited about and hope my students will be excited about too. Johnson and Goree feel that Dalhousie is more ready for the fall term than it was in March or April. The course not only explored whats available and whats possible in the online space, but also gave the course participants some feel for what their students will be experiencing in the fall term and allowed them to come together to discuss and share discipline-specific resources, ideas, struggles, and strategies, says Dr. Johnson. Dr. Maitzen mirrors these sentiments. I really dont think success is going to depend on technological savvy, something I know a lot of people are worried about, she says. Its going to depend on us bringing the same engagement and presence to our virtual teaching spaces as we do to our classrooms, and I think we are all up to that challenge. The hits will keep on coming for areas of the northeastern United States that have been hammered by round after round of rain and gusty thunderstorms. Forecasters expect locally heavy and gusty thunderstorms to erupt across hard-hit areas into Monday evening as the first of two weak pushes of cooler and less humid air settle in from the Midwest. The setup is marginal for severe weather in the Northeast, but some of the storms can become briefly severe at the local level. This image, captured on Monday morning, August 17, 2020, shows building clouds over the Appalachians ahead of a push of cooler air from the Midwest. (NOAA / GOES-East) "The main threat from the storms will be wind gusts that can approach 60 mph in a few communities," according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Isaac Longley. CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP Any thunderstorm can also bring brief downpours, and since the ground has been so wet, runoff can be greater in grassy and wooded areas than usual for the middle of August. "The threat of flooding is not especially high with this particular setup, and if it were not for the prior rainfall in much of the area where the storms will be, it might not be a concern other than in urban areas due to the extent of paved and concrete surfaces," Longley said. Cities such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., have received three to five times their normal rainfall during the first half of August. Philadelphia typically picks up 1.88 inches of rain through Aug. 16, and Washington, D.C., received an average of 1.59 inches through the same date. But, so far, Philadelphia has picked up 7.75 inches, and 6.08 inches has fallen on Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, Richmond, Virginia, has picked up a whopping 14.84 inches of rain during the first half of August, compared to its normal 2.45 inches. And while rain keeps pelting the I-95 corridor and coastal areas of the mid-Atlantic, interior areas from the central Appalachians up through New England are in the grips of abnormally dry or drought conditions, according to the United States Drought Monitor. Locations in the region that are in need of rain, include State College, Pennsylvania, and Boston -- both of which have picked up about only one-third of their average rainfall since early July. Story continues Still, the conditions pale in comparison to the severity of the drought in the West, which is contributing to dozens of large active wildfires. Forecasters urge those who lie in the path of storms to remain vigilant of rapidly changing conditions and to be sure to move indoors at the first rumble of thunder as lightning can reach out miles away from a thunderstorm without notice. Motorists are reminded never to attempt to drive through flooded areas. Water could be deeper than it appears and can cause vehicles to stall. In some cases, roadways can be washed away beneath the water. Additional showers and thunderstorms are likely in the mid-Atlantic and portions of New England on Tuesday and the mid-Atlantic on Wednesday. While downpours can be spotty in nature on Tuesday, rainfall may ramp up in parts of the mid-Atlantic during the middle of the week as the northward extension of the wet pattern in the Southeast develops. Even though most of the cool air will be pent up in the Midwest, some of that air is forecast to reach the Appalachians and filter into coastal areas of the Northeast as well. Temperatures most days of this week are likely to be no higher than average, and some days can be a few degrees below average. Normal highs range from the middle 70s F in northern Maine to the upper 80s in southeastern Virginia. Nighttime lows range from the middle 50s in northern New England to near 70 around the Chesapeake Bay. Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios. The Presidency has denied reports that the invitation of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Naabba, by the State Security Service (SSS) was because of his recent comments on President Muhammadu Buhari. In a statement on Sunday evening, a presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, described the former speaker as an attention seeker who does not deserve a response from the presidency. PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the SSS had summoned Mr Naabba over his call on Nigerians to join NCFront, a pressure group, in rescuing and saving Nigeria from anarchy and fear of impending doom. He further appealed to citizens to join forces in creating a new Nigeria that works for all. Mr Naaba spoke during his address at a global press conference, organised by conveners of NCFront in Nigeria, on Monday. He said the way and manner governance is conducted suggests a high degree of irresponsibility at all levels. But the Presidency, in its reaction, called on the general public to ignore as a publicity stunt, the widely circulated reports. Our findings have revealed that his invitation has nothing to do with the alleged irresponsible utterances by Umar Ghali NaAbbah, which in any case did not catch the attention of the Presidency, or of any serious politician for that matter. There are serious politicians who talk, and the Presidency responds because such politicians throw jibes which must get attention. Flash in the pan politicians and those who fabricate political relevance dont bother anyone, Mr Shehu said. The Presidency advised the former speaker to distance Mr Buhari from the situation he has found himself and sort himself out. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) President Rodrigo Duterte is in perpetual isolation and has been undergoing regular real-time polymerase chain reaction tests for COVID-19, Malacanang said Monday amid concerns on his possible contact with virus-positive patients. In his virtual media briefing from home, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assured the Presidential Security Group has done a good job in ensuring Dutertes safety, after it was revealed that a Cabinet official has contracted the coronavirus anew. There is a velvet rope that keeps him at least six feet away from everyone else. Hes in perpetual isolation, in the sense that the PSG has done a very good job in making sure that no one really comes close to the President, Roque said. Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano on Sunday announced that he has again tested positive for COVID-19 more than four months after he first contracted the virus in late March. This prompted Roque to observe self-isolation himself, as he revealed that he had close contact with Ano during a plane ride earlier this month. He said he will isolate for five days, after which he will have himself tested via the RT-PCR method. Roque stressed that the President is not considered a close contact even with the Interior chief present during the latest COVID-19 Inter-Agency meeting as officials have observed proper physical distancing and health protocols in the premises. Ang Presidente naman po, technically wala siyang close contact Malayo po kaming lahat kay Presidente, at naka-face shield at naka-face mask. Pero I believe the others po are also in self-isolation now, the spokesperson said. Roque, however, did not mention names of other officials under isolation. [Translation: The President technically did not have close contact. Were all far from the President, and we all wore face shields and face masks. But I believe the others are also in self-isolation now.] Ano revealed that he began experiencing flu-like symptoms on August 13. He had himself tested for the virus the following day, and said he received the result that he was once again COVID-positive on August 15. The IATFs last meeting was held on August 10. Roque meanwhile said Mondays IATF meeting where recommendations for the new quarantine measures for Metro Manila and neighboring provinces are set to be finalized will push through virtually. Ukraine "has taken note" of Belarus' move. Lukashenko "has made a choice in favor of Russia" by handing over to President Vladimir Putin the group of Russian mercenaries with the Wagner Private Military Company detained outside Minsk late July on charges of plotting to destabilize the country amid the election campaign. That's according to Eugene Yenin, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who spoke with Ukraine 24 TV channel. He has noted that the Ukrainian side had been working toward having mercenaries handed over to Kyiv. "Belarus is a party to the Minsk Convention on legal assistance in criminal cases As far as I know, the Ukrainian side has submitted relevant documents for consideration by the Belarus side and based on those documents, the so-called extradition vetting had to be launched, which is about checking whether there are grounds for extradition or not," Yenin said. Read alsoUkraine's chief prosecutor not officially invited to Belarus on PMC Wagner members' extraditionRussia does not hand out own citizens, Yenin recalled, speaking with Ukraine 24 TV channel, noting that initially, "we did not rule out the possibility that Lukashenko would play the issue and use it as a bargaining chip, first of all with Russia and now we have seen that he's made a choice in favor of Russia." Also, Yenin took to Facebook to say Ukraine has "taken note" of Belarus government's decision to extradite mercenaries back to Russia rather than hand them over to Ukraine to be probed for crimes they committed in the Donbas warzone. So far, these individuals have managed to escape responsibility, but this is not the end of the story (after all, there is still Interpol) "The Ukrainian side (first of all, the central competent body of Ukraine for extradition) has made appropriate efforts to prosecute offenders suspected of committing grave crimes in Donbas. So far, these individuals have managed to escape responsibility, but this is not the end of the story (after all, there is still Interpol)," Yenin wrote on Facebook. "Also, I'd like to recall the reciprocity principle it often plays an important role in decision-making on international legal assistance and extradition," Yenin noted, adding that Belarus, as a state bordering Ukraine, "ranks 2nd in the number of legal assistance and extradition requests among all of Ukraine's international partners". I'd like to recall the reciprocity principle it often plays an important role in decision-making on international legal assistance and extradition Wagner PMC mercenaries in Belarus On July 29, fighters with PMC Wagner were detained in Belarus. Thirty-two were apprehended outside Minsk, and one more was detained in the south of the country. Among detainees were those who had fought against Ukraine in Donbas, Ukrainian authorities said. Belarus' law enforcement agencies reported that they had been tipped about the deployment of more than 200 foreign fighters to destabilize the country during the presidential election campaign. Belarus asked the Ukrainian authorities to verify the detainees' involvement in crimes committed in Ukraine. SPRINGFIELD - Springfield detectives have obtained an arrest warrant for a suspect in the Friday night shooting on Central Street that left a 19-year-old man dead and a 27-year-old man injured, police said. Meanwhile, the injured man, identified as Andre Blanton, 27, of Euclid Ave., was charged at the hospital by police with several assault and firearms offenses related to the shooting, said police spokesman Ryan Walsh. He said Blanton was one of the participants in the altercation that preceded the exchange of gunfire. Walsh said detectives under the command of Captain Trent Duda have identified a suspect and are looking for him. Police are not yet disclosing the suspects identity. He will be charged with murder. The name of the deceased, a 19-year-old man, has also not been disclosed to the press. The shooting occurred just before 9 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of One Stop Discount Liquors, 477 Central St. Police found two gunshot victims at the scene, and one would later die at the hospital. Walsh said the shooting was preceded by first an argument and then a physical altercation. The suspect and the 19-year old each exchanged gunfire. During this, the 19-year-old and Blanton were each hit by gunfire. The suspect got into his car and attempted to drive off, but he backed over the 19-year old and dragged him for several feet. While this was happening, the injured Blanton retrieved a gun from the pavement and opened fire on the fleeing car. A police K-9 team would later find one of the guns used in the shoot out a few blocks away on HIckory Street, Walsh said. Blanton is charged with armed assault with intent to murder, discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, possession of a firearm without a license, possession of a large-capacity firearm, possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number during a felony, and carrying a loaded firearm without a license. The death is the 12 in the city this year in Springfield. There were 20 homicides in 2019. The shooting scene is located in Six Corners at the end of Central Street where it meets Rifle Street, one block away from Allen Street. A 16-year-old girl was allegedly abducted from Mandla district of Madhya Pradesh in March was rescued four months later from a village 310 km away in Sagar district of Bundelkhand region, police said Monday. Her mother had earlier alleged that the police did not act on her original complaint and that it was only because of the efforts of two social activists that her daughter could be traced. The police of Sagar and Mandla in a joint operation Sunday evening rescued her from one Bahadur Yadavs house in Dhwara village of Sagar district, said Deepak Shukla, superintendent of police, Mandla. Police also denied the charges of inaction on its part. An FIR was registered against one Anita Yadav, a resident of Dhwara village at Bichhia police station in Mandla under section 363 (kidnapping) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) after the girl was rescued. The decision to add the names of Bahadur Yadav and other members of his family in the FIR as accused and additional IPC sections would be taken after recording the girls statement, said the SP. The girls mother said, I lodged a complaint with Bichhia police four months back and told the police that Anita Yadav abducted my daughter but police didnt act. I waited for 20 days but nothing happened. Police personnel used to tell me to wait till this lockdown got over. Somebody shared my ordeal with Vivek Pawar and Prashant Dubey, two social activists and they started the search. I am grateful to them. I am fortunate to have my daughter back and alive. Otherwise a few girls who went missing from our village and nearby villages were never traced, she added. Prashant Dubey said they did not have any clue except the name of Anita. They eventually found out that she was from Dhwara village in Sagar district. In the last week of April, Dubey and Pawar asked some local youth to conduct a survey related to Covid-19 in the village and find out secretly if any new girl came to anybodys house. But that exercise drew a blank until recently. We had lost all hopes when one of the youths who had conducted the survey came to know from a villager that in April one Bahadur Yadav had solemnized the marriage of his son Halle with a girl and didnt inform anybody about it. A local youth helped us keep an eye on the house and found out the girl was present in that house and that she was in very poor condition and moved outside under the strict vigil of the family, Dubey said. Dubey alleged that the girl was sold for 25,000 by Anita Yadav, a resident of Sagar, to Bahadur Yadav whose 19-year-old son Halle Yadav married her. He said after the girls identity was established, they informed inspector general of police (crime against women) Deepika Suri and Mandla SP Deepak Shukla. SP Deepak Shukla said, After the social activists informed us a special team was formed and sent to Sagar to rescue the girl. The girl was rescued safely but members of the family escaped from the house. The woman Anita Yadav is also absconding. We are trying to nab the accused. FLORENCE, S.C. Grace Outdoor advertising celebrated joining the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce with a ribbon cutting Monday at the chamber. Chamber ambassadors joined in the celebration. Josh Madsen from Grace Outdoor was on hand to cut the ribbon. Grace Outdoor is a locally owned, family business based in Columbia. It is an outdoor advertising company. While based in Columbia, Madsen said the company got its start in the Florence area selling billboards along I-95. They now operate in Columbia, Florence, Charleston, Greenville and Walterboro in South Carolina, Charlotte and Atlanta and along major interstates in South Carolina. We operate both traditional and digital billboards, Madsen said. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Madsen said Grace Outdoor is a small company focusing on South Carolina with a staff of about 12 people. CEO/President Diana Stevenson opened the company with her husband, Hal Stevenson. Madsen said because they offer digital billboards, Grace Outdoor is able to reach the small, family-owned businesses in the areas they serve. He said the digital billboards have more than one ad, costing less to advertise than on the traditional billboard. He said they are able to help nonprofits out also. At Pa. casinos, the house usually wins but perhaps not against COVID-19. With the pandemic still hampering business at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Wilkes-Barre, casino management has informed 240 of its furloughed employees they could possibly face layoffs next month, as FOX56 WOLF-TV reports. The casino has told the furloughed staff the decision on permanent layoffs would be made by Sept. 30. This, as casino president and general manager Anthony Carlucci indicated the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic continue to hamper its operations. MORE PA NEWS: Pa. DA says shes investigating multiple reports of adults on video seeking sex with kids 2 Pa. wrestling coaches pressured teammates to share naked photos of high school girls for team bonding: AG "We really wanted to avoid this situation. Our Mohegan Sun Pocono family is and has always been a close-knit unit and certainly the most vital aspect of our success," Carlucci was quoted by FOX56 as saying. The casino in Luzerne County reopened on June 22nd after temporarily closing its doors on March 16th. But up to 240 staff were never called back to work. Its these workers who are now endanger of being permanently laid off if business remains down heading into the fall, FOX56 reports. READ MORE: Pa. mayors home picketed, calls for him to resign over protesters kidnapping by plainclothes cops in unmarked van Fisherman finds decomposing body in Pa. river; foul play not ruled out Pa. protester, 28, loses eye after being shot with beanbag by police: a baseball bat to the face Pa. teen who admits role in killing her grandfather for $30K learns her fate Family of Black man shot and killed by Pa. cop wants police department disbanded and officer charged Pa. town to Black Lives Matter: No painting anti-racism slogan on street Ex-Marine battles Pa. town to keep her emotional support chickens Walmart lingerie theft suspect charged by Pa. cops after public IDs him Registered sex offender accused of stalking Pa. community, videotaping women and children in stores The Offices Dwight Schrute back in Scranton, Pa. -- sort of Road rage at red light results in fist fight at intersection: Pa. police Pa. police hunt hit-and-run motorcyclist who injured girl on skateboard Pregnant Pa. woman says she was punched in the face due to her race: Why did you do that? Rep. Annette Glenn, R-Midland, Monday welcomed the state House of Representatives approval of a bipartisan plan to get K-12 students safely back to school this fall, whether in person or online. The plan, which Glenn helped spearhead, will allow school districts to determine the best course of action for their students online, in person, or a hybrid of the two based on consultations with local health departments. Glenns House Bill 5913, a key element of the plan, specifically redefines the word attendance for purposes of allocating state per-pupil funding to local schools to mean engaged in instruction rather than physically present in the classroom, allowing schools to innovate and offer students a wide array of options for learning both in the classroom and online. The safety, health, and wellbeing of both students and teachers is our highest priority, which is why I worked with both sides of the aisle to come up with a plan that ensures our students receive the safe, quality education they deserve, allowing school administrators in Auburn, Midland, Pinconning, and Sanford the flexibility to decide what system works best for their individual communities, Glenn stated in a news release. With school right around the corner, Im extremely pleased we have a plan that legislators and the governor agree will get students safely back to school and keep them on track with their learning. Glenn noted that since this school year will impose significant additional costs to local school districts as they work to implement new safety standards and innovative teaching methods, the Legislature has dedicated a total of $583 million in federal Coronavirus Relief Funds to Michigan schools, including: $350 per student across the board, ensuring schools have the resources they need to educate children. More than $50 million in hazard pay for educators who have to be flexible and innovative in the face of unprecedented changes. $18 million for safety measures and local benchmark assessments to ensure students stay on track with learning. The House schools plan, already approved by the state Senate on Saturday with bipartisan support, now advances to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has already indicated she will sign Glenns bill and the rest of the legislative package into law. Shannon Silver had planned to take her family on a trip from her home in Connecticut to visit relatives in Ohio just before the start of the school year for her two children. But she and her husband reversed course when people travelling from Ohio were added to a list of those who must quarantine for 14 days upon entering Connecticut. That requirement might have meant her 10-year-old son would miss the first day of sixth grade at St. Matthew School in Bristol. We werent going to do that, especially at the beginning of the school year, Silver said. Plus, he really didnt want to miss the last two weeks of summer by having to quarantine. The family instead went to see other relatives in Colorado, which wasnt on the list. As states around the country require visitors from areas with high rates of coronavirus infections to quarantine upon arrival, children taking end-of-summer vacations to hot spots are facing the possibility of being forced to skip the start of in-person learning at their schools. More than a dozen states have such travel advisories, including many in the Northeast along with Alaska, Kentucky and Ohio. More than 30 states are on the list issued by Connecticut, New York and New Jersey in an attempt to prevent another surge of COVID-19 in the region, which was among the hardest hit early in the pandemic. As schools in the Northeast prepare to open early next month, officials are urging parents to be mindful of that guidance while planning any Labor Day getaways. In Connecticut, where infection numbers are among the lowest in the country, more than half of schools are planning to open for in-person learning. Gov. Ned Lamont made it clear this month that neither students nor teachers would be exempt from quarantine if they visit a hot spot. Dont go to South Florida; dont go to Phoenix, Arizona, and skip El Paso, Texas, and I would stay away from Southern California for a while too, said Lamont, a Democrat. I would stay close to home. I think there are some amazing places you can visit here and do it a lot safer. Bill Smith, a high school teacher at Southern Regional High School in Ocean County, New Jersey, said he cancelled a research trip that was planned as part of his graduate degree from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. This is the first summer in years that I have not travelled outside of the state, Smith said. I have been more than happy to follow any and all guidelines that help protect the health and safety of those around me. Pat Toben-Cropper, of Herndon, Virginia, is planning to drive her daughter, Kylie Cropper, back to college this month at the Institute of Art and Design at New England College in Manchester, New Hampshire. She said because of the travel advisories in the Northeast, she was unable to get a hotel reservation north of Pennsylvania. It became this logistical nightmare, she said. But enforcing the rules can be challenging. In New Jersey, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy said recently he cant bar people from travelling and hoped they would heed the quarantine advice. New York has been stopping some out-of-state travellers at checkpoints to ensure they are abiding by the quarantine a move that has come under criticism. Both New York and New Jersey also are holding out hope for many school districts to offer in-person learning this fall, although Murphy recently authorized the states more than 600 school districts to implement virtual options. New Jerseys school reopening plan doesnt directly address students who are in quarantine when the year begins. Some school districts, like Willingboro, have reminded families to quarantine if theyre returning from states listed on the advisory. Others, like the states largest in Newark, dont directly mention the advisory in their return-to-school plans. Nancy Deering, the ombudsman for Newarks public schools, said the plan is fluid and guidance could be added at some point. She pointed to the fact that teachers and staff must produce a negative test and undergo a symptom screening to return to school in person. But schools will simply have to trust that students who have travelled to hot spots are coming clean and following the rules. Walter Willett, the superintendent of schools in Tolland, Connecticut, said he fears that students might lie, so they can attend in-person classes. His schools are making sure that every class has an online learning option and will try to ensure kids dont miss a beat if they need to quarantine. We have to be vigilant in protecting each other and, please, if you are in one of these situations, know that you will be supported. Its important for the families to know that we have remote learning, online learning for them and that its not a permanent thing, Willett said. Many of the travel restrictions in place are moving targets, complicating planning for families. Last week, for instance, a handful of states were removed including nearby Rhode Island and the Silvers destination of Ohio and a few more added to the tristate areas list. Erin McCall, of Avon, Connecticut, said she also was going to postpone a trip to Ohio, before it was removed from the list. She said she now plans to keep her son home this fall anyway because the safety line always seems to be moving. Everything is put on hold, vacation, going back to school, because everything is changing so rapidly, she said. If I had more confidence in the school system and its ability to sterilize everything and make everything safe, then maybe Id change my plans. But I dont. ___ This story has been corrected to show that the name of one of the writers is Mike Catalini, not Mike Catlaini. The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. Close The UN blacklist of Israeli commercial enterprises: Should It be taken seriously? By Amb. Alan Baker With the February 2020 publication by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights of a blacklist of Israeli and other commercial enterprises functioning in the territories, several questions have arisen as to whether such a blacklist has any legal basis, and if it is not incompatible with accepted norms and principles of international law. What is familiarly termed the UN blacklist of Israeli companies is more fully defined in formal UN terminology as a database of all business enterprises involved in certain specified activities related to the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, to be updated annually. Background UN Human Rights Council The database originated in a series of documents generated by the UN Human Rights Council, an intergovernmental body made up of 47 member states, including such paragons of international humanitarian virtue as Libya, Mauritania, Sudan, Indonesia, Qatar, Somalia, Togo, Angola, Senegal, Bahrain, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Venezuela, and Cameroon. The few democratic countries in the Council a small minority are Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Australia, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. The Council was established in 2006 following the failure and dissolution of its predecessor, the UN Human Rights Commission, which became discredited due to its ineffectiveness, its politicization, and the inclusion of human rights violators among its membership. Regrettably, the present Human Rights Council appears to be following in the same politicized footsteps of its predecessor, after having resolved, upon its establishment in 2006, to devote a specific agenda item to only Israel as a permanent feature of every Council session, entitled Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories. One might have expected that such a potentially vital and central UN organ would function according to the aims set out in its constitutive General Assembly resolution 60/251 of April 3, 2006: be responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner (paragraph 2); and address situations of violations of human rights, including gross and systematic violations, and make recommendations thereon. It should also promote the effective coordination and the mainstreaming of human rights within the United Nations system (paragraph 3). One might also have expected that the precise instructions set out in paragraph 4 of this constitutive resolution as to how the Council should function, would have served as a beacon for its performance: the work of the Council shall be guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, constructive international dialogue and cooperation, with a view to enhancing the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development; Regrettably, and based on the motley collection of non-democratic states comprising the main bulk of its membership, this UN organ, despite its declared and noble aim, as proclaimed on its internet home page of being responsible for the promotion and protection of all human rights around the globe, has become utterly compromised politically. This places in question its very credibility and integrity as the leading human rights agency in the UN system of organizations. In fact, such politicization prejudices its capability of genuinely protecting human rights anywhere. The HRCs evident political fixations with singling out Israel and minimizing and even ignoring real human rights issues throughout the world are major factors in rendering the Council as a defective and ineffective body, lacking any credibility or professional integrity. Development of the Database/Blacklist The 2012 UN Fact-Finding Mission to Investigate Implications of Settlements By its resolution 19/17 dated March 19, 2012, the Human Rights Council decided to dispatch an Independent International Fact-Finding Mission to Investigate the Implications of the Israeli Settlements on the Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The resolution was sponsored by a curious and motley group of democratic and humanitarian-conscious states including the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Cuba, Palestine, Mauritania (on behalf of the Arab Group), Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation) and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Thirty-six states supported the resolution, including Austria, Belgium, Chile, China, India, Jordan, Mexico, Norway, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Switzerland, and Thailand. Ten states abstained, including Hungary, Italy, Poland, Czech Republic, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Moldova, Romania, and Spain. Only the United States voted against it. The fact-finding commissions report was subsequently published on February 7, 2013, and sets out in its paragraph 96 a list of activities carried out by business enterprises in the territories that it considers have, directly and indirectly, enabled, facilitated and profited from the construction and growth of the settlements, and that raise particular human rights concerns. This list refers to enterprises dealing in the following fields: The supply of equipment and materials facilitating the construction and the expansion of settlements and the wall, and associated infrastructure; The supply of surveillance and identification equipment for settlements, the wall and checkpoints directly linked with settlements; The supply of equipment for the demolition of housing and property, the destruction of agricultural farms, greenhouses, olive groves, and crops; The supply of security services, equipment, and materials to enterprises operating in settlements; The provision of services and utilities supporting the maintenance and existence of settlements, including transport; Banking and financial operations helping to develop, expand or maintain settlements and their activities, including loans for housing and the development of businesses; The use of natural resources, in particular water and land, for business purposes; Pollution, and the dumping of waste in or its transfer to Palestinian villages; Captivity of the Palestinian financial and economic markets, as well as practices that disadvantage Palestinian enterprises, including through restrictions on movement, administrative and legal constraints; The use of benefits and reinvestments of enterprises owned totally or partially by settlers for developing, expanding, and maintaining the settlements. The concept of publishing a database emanates from a recommendation in paragraph 117 of the report: Private companies must assess the human rights impact of their activities and take all necessary steps including by terminating their business interests in the settlements to ensure that they do not have an adverse impact on the human rights of the Palestinian people, in conformity with international law as well as the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The mission calls upon all Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or under their jurisdiction, including those owned or controlled by them, that conduct activities in or related to the settlements respect human rights throughout their operations. 2011 Report of Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights The ideological basis for the database emanates from a 2011 UN report urging commercial enterprises to adhere to human rights norms as set out in a non-obligatory Guiding Principles document presented to the Human Rights Council by Prof. John Ruggie. Ruggie is a Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs at Harvards Kennedy School of Government and serves as Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. These Guiding Principles are based on an expectation, set out in the introduction that states should respect, protect and fulfill human rights and fundamental freedoms; that business enterprises as specialized organs of society performing specialized functions, should comply with applicable laws and respect human rights; that rights and obligations are to be matched to appropriate and effective remedies when breached; and that these Guiding Principles apply to all States and to all business enterprises, both transnational and others, regardless of their size, sector, location, ownership, and structure. However, as to the legal nature of the Guiding Principles, the introductory paragraphs state: Nothing in these Guiding Principles should be read as creating new international law obligations, or as limiting or undermining any legal obligations a State may have undertaken or be subject to under international law with regard to human rights. These Guiding Principles should be implemented in a non-discriminatory manner, with particular attention to the rights and needs of, as well as the challenges faced by, individuals from groups or populations that may be at heightened risk of becoming vulnerable or marginalized, and with due regard to the different risks that may be faced by women and men. Interestingly, during the initial attempts to draft norms for transnational corporations and other business enterprises, there was considerable debate and controversy as to whether it was legally possible, or advisable, to impose on commercial companies, directly under international law, the same range of human rights duties that states have accepted for themselves under treaties they have ratified to promote, secure the fulfillment of, respect, ensure respect of and protect human rights. Ultimately the Human Rights Council preferred to draft the above non-binding guiding principles. The Database Itself Based on the recommendations of the fact-finding mission and the abovementioned Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 31/36 of March 24, 2016, entitled Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, requested the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to produce the database. In the resolutions operative paragraph, the Council requested: the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in close consultation with the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, in follow-up to the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and as a necessary step for the implementation of the recommendation contained in paragraph 117 thereof, to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the afore-mentioned report, to be updated annually, and to transmit the data therein in the form of a report to the Council at its thirty-fourth session. The listed co-sponsors on the resolution creating the blacklist were virtually all tyrannies or other non-democracies with egregious records on human rights, who oppose any positive human rights mechanisms at the UN. These countries include Kuwait on behalf of the 22-member Arab Group, Pakistan on behalf of the 56-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Sudan, Venezuela, Algeria, Bahrain, Bolivia, Chad, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, and Libya. Fifteen UNHRC members refused to support the blacklist, including Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, and United Kingdom. The European Union opposed the blacklist provision and attempted unsuccessfully to persuade the Palestinians to remove that paragraph in return for EU support of the rest of the resolution. Likewise, most of the 32 countries who voted for the resolution were also non-democracies, including Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burundi, China, Congo, Cote dIvoire, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Morocco, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, and Viet Nam. After considerable delays in devising the list, the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jordanian Prince Zeid Raad Al Hussein, an avowed opponent of Israel, completed the actual database, which was submitted by his successor, Dr. Michelle Bachelet Jeria, former president of Chile, to the UN Human Rights Council on February 12, 2020. In its press release announcing the publication of the database, the UN human rights office stated very clearly: The report makes clear that the reference to these business entities is not, and does not purport to be, a judicial or quasi-judicial process. While the settlements as such are regarded as illegal under international law, this report does not provide a legal characterization of the activities in question, or of business enterprises involvement in them. Any further steps with respect to the continuation of this mandate will be a matter for the Member States of the Human Rights Council. The database identifies 112 business enterprises, including such companies as Airbnb; Angel Bakeries; banking institutions including Hapoalim, Leumi, Mizrachi-Tfachot and Israel Discount Bank; Bezeq telecommunications corporation; the Cafe-Cafe restaurant chain; Delek fuel group; the Egged bus company; Hot and Yes telecommunications; Israel Railways; Mekorot water company; Motorola; Paz oil company; Rami Levy supermarkets; and others. Legal Aspects of the Database As stated above, the database is not an obligatory mechanism. It is nothing more than a series of recommendations to states as to how to advise or direct commercial enterprises registered in their countries, in respect to activities in the territories that might be perceived as contributing to Israels settlement policies, and as such, to allegedly violating Palestinian human rights. The Human Rights Council has no jurisdiction or standing vis-a-vis private entities/business enterprises, and its recommendations regarding commercial activities in the territories are nothing more than suggestive guidance. The Council cannot oblige the states to boycott Israeli companies. It is acknowledged by Western diplomats that such a selective and discriminatory database could set a harmful precedent by blurring the lines between business and human rights on issues that are better left to trade policy than the Human Rights Council. Under the UN Charter Article 41, the sole international authority authorized to impose sanctions on a UN member state, including complete or partial interruption of economic relations and of rail, sea, air, postal, telegraphic, radio, and other means of communication, and the severance of diplomatic relations is the UN Security Council. Such authorization can only be exercised in the event of a Security Council resolution pursuant to Chapter VII of the UN Charter dealing with threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression. This chapter has never been invoked regarding Israel. As such, the creation of the blacklist calling for economic sanctions against commercial enterprises functioning in the territories, specifically designed to pressure Israel economically, is beyond the authority and jurisdiction of the Human Rights Council, being a UN body. The blacklist is discriminatory inasmuch as it exclusively targets Israel. The creation of a database of companies doing business in Israeli settlements, while ignoring all companies doing business in other territories considered to be occupied, such as Turkeys occupation of North Cyprus, Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara, and Russian occupation of parts of Ukraine. Such a measure is a form of selective discrimination, contrary to the Human Rights Councils own foundational principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity, and non-selectivity, as set out in its founding General Assembly Resolution 60/251. In a 2002 legal opinion, the UN legal adviser Hans Corell concluded that foreign companies taking Moroccan contracts to do business in Western Sahara do not violate international law, even when such plans are opposed by the protected persons, so long as the business in question does not disregard the interest of those protected persons. The EU has relied on this opinion in allowing its businesses to operate in Western Sahara. Prof. Eugene Kontorovich, in a 2015 article on Economic Dealings with Occupied Territories, observed: The international law of belligerent occupation regulates the exercise of sovereign power by an occupying power. It does not regulate activities of private entities conducting business or academic programs in occupied territories. This is amply demonstrated in both formal sources of international law (legal texts and opinions) and extensive state practice, including the EUs own official activities funding Turkish and Moroccan occupiers of Northern Cyprus and Western Sahara. In a 2007-2013 case before the Court of Appeals of Versailles in France, two French transport companies, Veolia and Alstom that were contracted to construct a light railway connecting points throughout Jerusalem and serving Arab and Israeli residents, were sued by the PLO and a French pro-Palestinian advocacy group Association France-Palestine Solidarite. In 2013, the Court of Appeals at Versailles ruled in favor of the French companies and ordered the Palestinian groups to pay $117,000 in legal costs to the French companies. In its 32-page verdict, the court held that a company doing business or establishing infrastructure (a light railway) in east Jerusalem in no way violates international law. The court affirmed that while an occupying power is bound by certain restrictions, private entities are not, even when they are in contractual arrangements with occupation authorities. The court found that the international agreements in question create obligations between states, and could not be used to hold two private companies liable. A recent study by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, entitled Occupied Elsewhere: Selective policies on Occupations, Protracted Conflicts and Territorial Disputes by Svante Cornell and Brenda Shaffer, examined business policies of states and companies in occupation situations in Crimea, Donbas, Northern Cyprus, Kashmir, Armenia Azerbaijan, the West Bank, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria, and Western Sahara. The study asserts that policies are selective and often reveal biases that underscore deeper problems in the international system. Such standards not only create confusion and reveal biases, but also constitute a business and legal risk. Private companies may find themselves in especially difficult positions, since they are often ill-equipped to navigate such complex geopolitical disputes. Yet they are often forced to take a stand when deciding whether to do business in conflict zones. NGOs or even the United Nations may pressure a company to join a boycott, yet doing so can create legal liabilities. Increasingly, the parties to another conflict are inclined to take legal action to counter disparate treatment. There is a growing need for a new professional field that can help businesses make informed decisions and understand the far-reaching consequences of their policies. Finally, the UN Human Rights Councils blacklist undermines the very basis of the peace negotiation process between the PLO and Israel, and specifically the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords. The 1993 Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (Oslo 1), in its third annex the Protocol on Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation in Economic and Development Programs calls for cooperation in fields of finance, transport, trade, industrial development, and regional development programs. These fields of cooperation were encapsulated into reciprocal commitments in the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (Oslo 2), and specifically in its sixth annex the Protocol concerning Israeli-Palestinian Cooperation Programs. The Annex includes principles for economic cooperation in fields of environment, science and technology, tourism, energy, transport, and industry. This agreement also includes an article, inspired by the Norwegian government, devoted to People-to-People Programs aimed at enhancing dialogue, interchange, and interaction between the two peoples. Clearly, the UN blacklist advocating boycott and economic sanctions is the very antithesis of the signed agreements and peace negotiation process between the Palestinians and Israel. It serves to undermine that process and, in effect, renders the United Nations as a destructive and damaging factor in the process, rather than as the uniting and constructive framework that it was intended to be. Above all, it runs contrary to the fact that the UN, the EU, and other states and leaders all signed the Oslo Accords as witnesses and also supported UN resolutions endorsing the peace negotiation process. Conclusion While, as stated above, the UN blacklist has no legal teeth, nevertheless, by publicizing a listing of companies maintaining commercial relations in the territories and in calling to boycott such companies, it is blatantly attempting to harm such companies, and in so doing, to harm Israel. Each company listed is urged to examine its business relationships with companies in the EU and other countries, especially those member-states of the UN Human Rights Council that supported the blacklist, with a view to checking if the blacklist is being activated against them. Since, in many instances, acts of commercial boycott are prohibited by national law in the respective countries, those companies listed should check local legislation to see if the blacklist violates local anti-boycott legislation. (In the United States, there exists such legislation.) The companies might wish to seek appropriate local legal advice as to possible legal remedies and actions that may be taken against any state or company that implements the blacklist and cancels transactions or other financial relationships. On the national level, the government of Israel should directly appeal to state members of the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies with a view to prevent activation of the blacklist by companies registered in their territory. Such an appeal should reflect and stress the politicized nature and ulterior political motivation behind the blacklist, as well as the damage that an organized boycott against Israel could do, both to the peace process as well as to individual bilateral relations between Israel and the states concerned. Amb. Alan Baker is Director of the Institute for Contemporary Affairs at the Jerusalem Center and the head of the Global Law Forum. He participated in the negotiation and drafting of the Oslo Accords with the Palestinians, as well as agreements and peace treaties with Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. He served as legal adviser and deputy director-general of Israels Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as Israels ambassador to Canada. Home The US Embassy statement said Hale 'reaffirmed American support for the right of the Republic of Cyprus to exploit its natural resources, including the hydrocarbons found in its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone' The U.S. wants tighter cooperation on developing gas finds in the ``strategically significant'' eastern Mediterranean and supports Cyprus' right to exploit hydrocarbon deposits discovered in its waters, a senior U.S. State Department official said Sunday. U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale said hydrocarbon development would aim to ``provide durable energy security and economic prosperity throughout the Mediterranean,'' according to the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus. The statement was issued after Hale met with Cypriot Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides to discuss the eastern Mediterranean's ``growing strategic significance'' as well as recent developments in the region, including the devastating Aug. 4 blast in Lebanon's capital of Beirut. Hale's brief visit to the island nation came amid growing military tensions over Turkey's gas prospecting in waters where European Union members Greece and Cyprus say they have exclusive economic rights. On Friday, EU foreign ministers expressed ``full solidarity'' with Greece and Cyprus and urged an ``immediate de-escalation'' by Turkey as Greek and Turkish navy ships shadowed each other. Turkey had earlier dispatched a pair of warship-escorted research vessels to explore the southeastern sides of both Crete and Cyprus. But on Sunday, Turkey appeared to be upping the ante by announcing that another drill ship, the Yavuz, would be conducting a month-long hydrocarbons search off Cyprus' southwestern coast. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the move which he said further fueled tensions and undermined efforts to resume talks. He called on Turkey to ``end these activities immediately and to engage fully in in good faith`` in talks with the EU. Turkey, which doesn't recognize ethnically divided Cyprus as a state, claims 44% of the island's economic zone as its own and insists it has every right to carry out such explorations in defense of its interests and those of breakaway Turkish Cypriots. The U.S. Embassy statement said Hale ``reaffirmed American support for the right of the Republic of Cyprus to exploit its natural resources, including the hydrocarbons found in its territorial sea and exclusive economic zone.'' The U.S. official added these resources should be ``equitably shared between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.'' The Cyprus government has bemoaned what it called the EU's ``appeasement'' of Turkey, which has so far failed to rein in the country. It also says an apparent U.S. ``disengagement'' from the eastern Mediterranean has emboldened the Turkish government to exert further control over the region. Cyprus Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides said Hale assured him that the U.S. remains committed to the eastern Mediterranean region. Cyprus has licensed ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum, as well as Texas-based Noble Energy - bought out last month by Chevron - to drill for gas in its exclusive economic zone. Hale also lauded expanding U.S.-Cyprus security cooperation and reiterated American support for a resumption of stalled reunification talks. Search Keywords: Short link: The lobby of a hotel on Hang Be Street in the heart of Hanoi that used to be full of tourists is now filled with furniture. A hotel in Hanoi Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa reopened the hotel in late May after social distancing orders ended, but now, with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hitting hard, she has decided to cut her losses and sell the hotel. Before the pandemic, Hoa hotels revenue was about 250 million VND (10,800 USD) per month but in the last five months of this year, she could barely afford to pay her operating bills and employees. The hotel she paid more than 100 billion VND for three years ago is now on sale for 67 billion VND. The more I stay, the more I lose. I see no future in this place in such a situation," she told Vietnam News. After 99 days without community transmission, the pandemic returned in late July and hurt domestic tourism, making a bad situation worse for Hoa and other hotel owners. Foreigners account for 90 percent of guests for many hotels in the Old Quarter. Several popular hotels in the Old Quarter have closed again after reopening and don't know when they'll be back, while other establishments that closed during the first wave will never return. Realty research firm Savills reported the pandemic has had a strong impact on the hotel market's performance in the capital, noting the occupation capacity of 3-5 star hotels only reached 21 percent in the second quarter. Do Thu Hang, director of research and consultancy department at Savills, said the capacity of the hotel market supply in Hanoi was nearly 10,000 rooms with 16 five-star hotels, 19 four-star hotels and 31 three-star hotels. However, two four-star hotels and eight three-star hotels in Hoan Kiem District were still closed. Hang said some new hotel projects had completed construction but developers have not yet decided to open. The People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District said before the pandemic, the district had 672 accommodation establishments including hotels, guest houses, motels and homestays but by the end of June 2020, there were only 405 establishments still operating. Despite a lack of official figures, most stakeholders reckon the second wave of the pandemic would have a greater impact on hotels than the first. Instead of closing, the Stelward Prima Hotel on Chan Cam Street has used its facilities to offer monthly rentals and film cafe services. According to the owner of the hotel Hostesk Nguyen, normally the price for one night was from 700,000 VND to more than 1 million VND, now they must offer rooms in the three-star hotel at 6 million VND per month with full service. To retain employees, he has also turned some rooms in the hotel into a film cafe for local couples, asking 200,000 VND to 300,000 VND for the first two hours with two drinks and two snacks. Our rooms have big TVs with Netflix, now we have installed a good sound system with 5.1 surround sound and made them a cinema box. It's all to help my employees have things to do," he told Vietnam News. Nguyen Thu Bich was selling iced tea in the lobby of Hotel Trendy on Lo Su Street and said she used to be the hotel's accountant, but now as the hotel is closed, the owner let her sell the tea. Still open for guests, Nguyen Van Hai, the receptionist of the nearby Hanoi Malo Hotel is also selling ice tea and sugarcane juice. There should be something to do to overcome this situation. It is still good to sell the juice here as it is in the Old Quarter with a lot of local tourists," he said. Some small hotels in the area have reduced room rates by up to 70 percent, with many rooms on offer for between 200,000 VND and 400,000 VND per night to attract local customers instead of foreigners./.VNA Analysts: High-end hotels hold appeal among investors Analysts from real estate consultant Jones Lang LaSalle have said domestic and foreign investors alike are actively seeking to purchase high-end hotels in downtown areas, mostly due to limited land supply. Video produced by Steve Nathans-Kelly At Data Summit Connect 2020, Elliott Ning, cloud advisor, Google, discussed pre-requisites for AI deployments and best practices for implementing them. Full videos of Data Summit Connect 2020 presentations are available at www.dbta.com/DBTA-Downloads/WhitePapers. "Nowadays companies do not just talk. They are doing AI. So this new strategy is transforming the business and impacting the industry," Ning said. "In a few months, by 2021, the majority of the enterprise applications may already have, or are going to have AI features to help users better understand their data. The industry progressing from traditional tools into intelligent systems in terms of autonomous capabilities in search and control environments, in warehouse support, and of course, in public roles." Citing research, Ning said only one 10th of developers today can create custom ML models. This is the biggest sector that's slowing the overall AI implementation in most organizations. The ability of people to utilize innovative AI tools, if done properly, can ensure that more people can benefit from this revolution. So AI is rapidly transforming from hype into reality and it's entering the mainstream, he said. "We all understand that AI is critical. Let's start using it. But it's not as easy as it sounds," Ning said. "As you look to bring AI into your organization, it's important to prepare for the challenges you have." Although most enterprises have identified themselves as entities evaluating or using AI, research shows less than 14%, of AI projects are actually deployed into large-scale production. "So what things do you need for considering AI? First, you're going to need a very good problem to solve in order to bring value to your business. Second, you will need a team that really understands how to create meaningful insight from your data. Three, you better have a large amount of data, ideally in organized format, because no data, no AI. Clean your data, then AI," Ning said. In order to simplify the AI process, comapnies need to consider key factors such as use cases that produce large amounts of data for training. We need good use cases. "I personally believe you can find great value from the tools available on the market, particularly in the cloud. You may wonder, why in the cloud? Because you would get the latest innovative AI toolings while having the benefits of cloud computing, which include high scalability, flexibility, pay-as-you-go, dev ops, and more," Ning said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday turned his attention towards Uttar Pradesh as he criticised the killing of a village head in the states Azamgarh district last week. Satyamev Jayate aka Pappu Ram, was shot dead by three motorcycle-borne men last Friday in Bansgaon. Police in the state have invoked the National Security Act against four people in connection with the village heads killing, which had also triggered a mob violence. Jungle raj of caste-based violence and rape is at its peak in UP. Now another terrible incident - sarpanch Satyamev, being a Dalit, said no and he was killed because of that. Condolences to Satyamev Jis family members, Gandhi tweeted in Hindi The former Congress president also cited a media report on the murder of the village head. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Gandhis sister and Congress general secretary, also hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government over the issue of security of women. Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and now Gorakhpur. Such repeated incidents have proven that the Uttar Pradesh government has completely failed in providing security to women,she said in a Facebook post in Hindi, referring to reports of crimes against women in these areas. She said there is no fear of law in the minds of criminals in Uttar Pradesh and as a result, gruesome incidents of crime are taking place against women. She alleged that the police and administration are neither able to provide security nor take appropriate action. The Uttar Pradesh government should review the law-and-order system and take every step to ensure the safety of women, she said. The Congress has been alleging that the law-and-order situation is deteriorating in Uttar Pradesh under the BJP rule, a charge denied by the state dispensation. (With agency inputs) The Esplanade Hotel in Bray is currently being used as emergency accommodation for asylum seekers The Department of Justice has been alerted after leaflets spreading conspiracy theories about Covid-19 were handed out at a temporary direct provision centre in Wicklow. The Esplanade Hotel in Bray is currently being used as emergency accommodation for asylum seekers. Local politicians were alerted that asylum seekers there had been given leaflets from Anti-Corruption Ireland, the right-wing conspiracy theory group. The leaflets, seen by the Irish Independent, incorrectly claim that Covid-19 is a "staged event" and that wearing masks is dangerous. The leaflets also promote anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and ask people to boycott "foreign" supermarkets such as Lidl and Tesco. John Brady, the Sinn Fein TD for Wicklow, said the department must "ensure accurate public-health information is given to all residents". Alarming "Newly arrived people in the country, many of whom may have little or no English, may struggle to work out what is genuine public health information and what isn't," Mr Brady said. "It's quite alarming. I have been in touch with the Minister for Justice to make her aware of it. It is very concerning, given the many people who have contracted the virus in direct provision centres across the state. "For this misinformation to go in to one of the premises being used to accommodate asylum seekers is very, very concerning." Direct provision centres have been one of the main locations for recent outbreaks of Covid-19. Mr Brady said he and other local representatives had been told that the leaflets may have been distributed by someone working in the hotel. Fergus O'Grady, the managing director at the hotel, said it was not true that the leaflets had come from hotel management. "We are not aware of where this information came from, but I can assure you we have at no time disseminated any information of this sort to residents at the hotel," Mr O'Grady said. A spokesman for the Department of Justice said it had been alerted to the issue. They said officials were following up with hotel management. "This action was not appropriate or acceptable," a spokesman for the department said. BEIRUT - The head of Lebanons customs authority was formally arrested on Monday after being questioned over the massive explosion in Beirut earlier this month, the state-run National News Agency reported. The investigation is focused on why nearly 3,000 tons of explosive ammonium nitrate was being stored at the citys port. The ignition of the stockpile caused an explosion that tore through the capital, killing at least 180 people and wounding 6,000. Thirty people are still missing after the Aug. 4 blast, which caused an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion in damage. More than 70,000 workers are believed to be unemployed due to the explosions, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday, on top of 220,000 people estimated to have lost their jobs as a result of the ?nancial crisis that began last October last year and those left jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic. Dujarric said some 40,000 buildings were damaged, with 3,000 residential structures severely damaged, and at least 2,000 doctors were either injured or had their clinics destroyed. Documents that surfaced after the blast, the single most destructive in Lebanons history, showed that officials have known for years that 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate were stored in a warehouse at the port and knew about the dangers. Judge Fadi Sawwan questioned customs chief Badri Daher, who was detained days after the blast, for 4 1/2 hours in the presence of his two lawyers before issuing the arrest warrant, the agency said. Daher will remain in custody as the investigation continues. NNA said that after questioning Daher, Sawwan headed to the scene of the blast to survey the damage and will later return to question Hassan Koraytem, who was the top port official until the day of the blast. Lebanese President Michel Aoun said the probe into the devastating blast is very complex and would not be finished quickly. Aoun said the probe is divided into three parts. The first aims to determine the circumstances surrounding the cargo, the second where it came from and who shipped it, and the third to find who was responsible for handling and securing it. Aoun said the FBI and French investigators were helping because they, more than us, have the capability and ability to find out the details of what got the ship here, what is the source and who owns it. A nine-member team of FBI investigators landed in Beirut on Sunday, according to a Lebanese aviation official, and were believed to have joined the investigation. French investigators have been active for days at the port. Popular anger has swelled over the ruling elites corruption and mismanagement. Lebanons government, which is supported by the militant Hezbollah group and its allies, resigned on Aug. 10 and continues to serve in a caretaker capacity. There are no formal consultations underway on who will replace Hassan Diab as prime minister and no likely candidate has emerged. Colorado Politics is published both in print and online. Our website features subscriber-only news stories daily, designed for public policy arena professionals. Member subscribers also receive the weekly print edition of our award-winning newspaper, containing outstanding features and news stories, in their mailboxes every Saturday. Was it intrusive? Oh yeah. A number of people were involved and we all signed confidentiality agreements, just so that we could move quickly and respond and make sure we had all information that was requested, everything from 20 years of tax returns, the personal, political, all sorts of questions that span a variety of issues over a lifetime. And how was the meeting with him in Delaware? Did you get a sense then that you were still in the upper tier of candidates? Yeah. We had a lovely meeting, Dr. Jill Biden and the former vice president and me, and it was just an opportunity to talk about the vision for the country and the potential for what a relationship might look like. I reiterated every step of the way that, you know, I am enthusiastic and supportive of him, and whoever is a part of his administration. If Biden wins and offers you a cabinet position, would you accept? I truly want to stay here in Michigan. Anyone who knows me, knows Ive never been drawn to run for a federal office because I want to be right here in my home state. Ive got three generations of family here. And so I would have a hard time imagining that there would be something that would lure me to Washington D.C. Thats just who I am. Not even a run for president? Like I said, Ive never been drawn to Washington D.C. But I care so much about this country. I care about where were headed. And Ive learned to never say never. But to be honest, its not something I could imagine. Its going to be very difficult to campaign this year. How important is it for Michiganders to see Kamala Harris or Joe Biden here in Michigan this year? I know they understand how important the state of Michigan is, not just for the election, but to our national economy. Whats going on in Michigan is a reflection of whats going on across the country. And so Ive got a high level of confidence that the Biden-Harris ticket will be spending a lot of energy and focus on the state of Michigan, not just in an election, but after an election if theyre successful. By Express News Service CHENNAI: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and other leaders condoled the death of Dr Thiruvenkadam, fondly known as Five-rupee doctor of Chennai, on Sunday. The doctor, who passed away on Saturday, served the poor in Vyasarpadi and Erukkencheri areas in North Chennai for the last four decades and charged just Rs 5. Earlier, he used to charge the patients Rs 2. Chief Minister Palaniswami said he is saddened to know of the demise of Dr Thiruvenkadam, who had provided medical services at low costs. The Chief Minister also offered his condolence to the family members and people of Vyasarpadi and Erukkencheri. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam tweeted, The news of the passing of North Chennai doctor Thiruvenkadam, who started his service in 1973 and offered high-quality treatment for Rs 5 is deeply saddening. My heartfelt tribute to the doctor who will live forever in the minds of the people even after departing from this soil. DMK president MK Stalin tweeted, Peoples Doctor Thiruvenkadam started offering medical treatment in North Chennai for just Rs 2 and received a maximum of `5 in his lifetime (for medical consultation). Advertisement By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 17, 2020 | PADUCAH By West Kentucky Star Staff Aug. 17, 2020 | 12:36 PM | PADUCAH In July, the U.S. Department of Energys Paducah Site teamed up with site contractors to raise 27,810 pounds of food for regional charities. DOE, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, LLC, Swift & Staley Inc., Enterprise Technical Assistance Services, Inc., and Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC, participated in a digital campaign to support the federal governments Feds Feed Families program. Feds Feed Families helps local food pantries and food banks keep their shelves stocked during the summer months when they traditionally see a decrease in donations and an increase in needs from their communities. Summer has always been a difficult season for many of our local nonprofit food pantries and kitchens, said Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard of DOEs Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office. This year, those challenges have been increased further by COVID-19. These donations will help local nonprofits continue to provide much-needed services for our communities. This years campaign benefitted Marcellas Kitchen in Marshall County; Paducah Cooperative Ministries, Marthas Vineyard, Salvation Army, and River City Mission in McCracken County; St. Marys Food Pantry and Lighthouse Community Food Bank in Ballard County; and COPE Food Pantry in Massac County, Illinois. Lighthouse Community Food Bank has been blessed by the Feds Feed Families program over the past several years, said Lighthouse Community Food Bank Co-chair Frank Cage. Since our organization operates by donations only, the program has been a big contributor, helping us serve people in need in Ballard County. We appreciate the support we receive from the Paducah Site. Since Feds Feed Families launched in 2009, this national campaign has collected more than nine million pounds of food for donation. Over 20,000 Gather in Bangkok for Anti-Government Rally Free Youth Movement Sputnik News 21:20 GMT 16.08.2020 BANGKOK (Sputnik) - More than 20,000 of mostly young people protested in Bangkok on Sunday against the government of Thailand's former junta leader, the largest such demonstration in years. "We estimate that more than 20,000 people attended today," a member of the Free Youth movement, a student-led organization behind the protest, told Sputnik. The organizers gathered over 19,000 signatures under a petition calling to rewrite the constitution, which was created while the military was in power from 2014-2019. The police said that some 12,000 people had turned up, but the counting was made within a confined perimeter of the square where the main rally was held and did not include thousands thronging nearby streets. The demonstrators called for the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and the parliament's dissolution to pave the way for a new government that would be free from the military clutch. "We, the youth, should rethink the ways our forefathers lived by. We realize we can no longer live under a dictatorship whose powers are enshrined in the existing constitution," a speaker said from the tribune. In what was unthinkable only a few years ago, the protesters demanded that the monarch's powers be limited. A rival rally of Thai king's loyalists was held nearby but their numbers were underwhelming. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Hassan Rouhani's Media Adviser Hesamoddin Ashena has claimed that security authorities have yet not presented a "clear and defendable report" on the death toll of the protests in November 2019, In an interview published in the Andishe-ye Pouya bi-monthly journal on Saturday, Ashena said President Rouhani "is not a person who says kill people, adding that "he has not been given a [definitive] report on this [incident]. The Rouhani advisor also claimed that the Law Enforcement Force, Interior Ministry and Health Ministry have all given different accounts of the death toll to the president but has not stated which body is responsible for the final report. The protests in November 2019 began after the government increased the price of gasoline by 200 percent without prior notice. When nationwide protests broke out, the government attempted to conceal the violent crackdown on protesters by imposing a news blackout and shutting down the Internet for several days. Despite the Iranian publics demands, Iranian officials have not released any official figures on the death toll of the protests or the number of people who were arrested during the unrest. On May 31, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli put the death toll of November protests at between 200 to 225, while lawmaker Mojtaba Zolnour was quoted two days later by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) as saying 230 people had been killed during the protests. Both figures are far less than reports and estimates by international news agencies, human rights organizations and the United States. In a report in December 2019, Reuters quoted sources close to Khamenei's inner circle who claimed that 1,500 Iranians had been killed in the protests, based on information gathered from security forces, morgues, hospitals and coroners offices. At the time, Khamenei allegedly told the security forces in a public meeting to "do whatever is necessary to stop" the protests, the sources said. That figure was much higher than Amnesty Internationals estimate number of deaths, which stood at 304. Iranian authorities have vehemently denied these figures. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, who are the most admired people in America? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices A federal safety inspector tipped off a coronavirus-tainted Pennsylvania meatpacking plant before visiting the next day then failed to issue a citation, according to testimony in a lawsuit accusing the agency of failing to do its job. The inspector said notifying a plant before an inspection wasnt typical practice for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, but that she was told to do it by her supervisors for her own safety, according to a court transcript. OSHA has a right to protect their employees also, she said when pressed by a federal judge at a hearing. Three anonymous workers at the Maid-Rite plant in Dumore claim the regulator failed to respond to complaints that they were forced to work shoulder-to-shoulder and werent provided with masks or breaks to wash or sanitize their hands. That was after another worker told OSHA about half the plant is out sick. The coronavirus rampaged through U.S. meatpacking plants this spring, sickening thousands of employees in more than 200 facilities. A plant manager at Maid-Rite said by phone late Friday that no one was available to comment. In response to the Labor Departments request for dismissal of the suit, lawyers for the workers said in a filing Friday that the pre-planned visit defeated the purpose of surprise inspections. The advance notice mattered. Workers report that in anticipation of the inspection, Maid-Rite made changes to hide the extent of its unsafe working conditions, spacing workers further along production lines, according to the filing. After the inspection, workers were once again forced to work immediately next to each other, sometimes touching. They want the court to order OSHA to take steps to declare the plant an imminent danger or conduct a prompt, unannounced on-site inspection of the facility. The Labor Department argued last month that workers failed to prove an imminent hazard existed and warned that if the court gives the workers what they seek, an avalanche of worker suits could follow. The AFL-CIO sued OSHA earlier in the pandemic to put emergency safety standards in place. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington rejected the unions request. The agency has received more than 7,000 complaints since the start of the pandemic, but has only issued four citations, officials said at the July 31 hearing. OSHA didnt respond immediately to a request for comment Friday. The case is Jane Does I, II, III v. Scalia, 3:20-cv-01260, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania (Scranton). Top Photo: Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Workers' Compensation USA Pennsylvania "Dr. Jason Leong: Hashtag Blessed" will be released on Netflix this September. 17 Aug Looks like this particular doctor takes the old adage 'laughter is the best medicine' very seriously. It's none other than Malaysia's very own Dr. Jason Leong, who will be prescribing a big dose of laughter on his Netflix special, "Dr. Jason Leong: Hashtag Blessed". The upcoming show marks the third comedy stand-up special on Netflix to hail from Malaysia and, as the title entails, will feature the eponymous doctor who is also the first ever Malaysian to win the 7th Annual International Hong Kong Comedy Festival. "I'm excited to be on Netflix. Now the world can see how good I am at stand-up comedy. And also my humility. When it comes to being humble, I am the best. And also comedy. Yes." said the undeniably humble Dr. Jason Leong regarding his show. The doctor is said to have quit his job in medicine to "tackle business class show-offs, traditional healers and other insufferable creatures". Through the Netflix special, he will be giving international viewers a taste of the comedic scene in Malaysia. Get ready to laugh out loud when "Dr. Jason Leong: Hashtag Blessed" is released on Netflix in 190 countries next month. I have always disliked the I told you so crowd but after I wrote a story on Chattanoogan.com for Sunday, labeling the City of Portland, Oregon, as a National Embarrassment, it was a foregone conclusion what would happen once the West Coast darkness fell over a city within our United States on Saturday night this long hours after my story was written. Last Thursday the Portland district attorney, Mike Schmidt, announced his office recognizes the outrage and frustration over a history of racial injustice that has led to the citys often violent protests and the practical realities of the court system. Further, he said, Multnomah County is running more than two months behind in processing cases because of COVID-19. According to an Associated Press dispatch, As a result, at least several hundred people arrested since late May will not face criminal prosecution, according to statistics provided by Schmidts office. The same no-prosecution policy applies to those arrested on similar charges in future demonstrations, he said. The protesters are angry and deeply frustrated with what they perceive to be structural inequities in our basic social fabric. And this frustration can escalate to levels that violate the law, Schmidt said. The day after Schmidts blatant disregard for the United States Constitution and his obviously ignoring his personal oath to uphold the law, Oregons State Police (state troopers) also had an announcement. As I reported in yesterdays story, Timothy Fox, a spokesman for the Oregon State Police as well as a captain in its ranks, was tight-lipped when he told reporters on Friday, We are in a county (Multnomah) that is not going to prosecute this criminal behavior. Capt. Fox explained the State Police is constantly reassessing our resources and the needs of our partner agencies and at this time we are inclined to move those resources back to counties where prosecution of criminal activities is still a priority. With the State Police gone and the Portland Police Bureau (Department) unable to issue valid citations, what do you think would occur in Portland Saturday night? On the 80th straight day of rioting, this is the official report from the Portland Police Bureau website: * * * PEOPLE ASSAULT POLICE WITH PROJECTILES CAUSING INJURIES ARRESTS. (An official statement from the Portland Police Bureau) On August 15, 2020, a crowd of people gathered at Laurelhurst Park. At about 9:10 p.m., the crowd of hundreds walked, blocking traffic on city streets, to the Penumbra Kelly Building in the 4700 block of East Burnside Street. As the crowd gathered it blocked all lanes of East Burnside Street from Northeast 47th Avenue to Northeast 50th Avenue. At about 9:30 p.m., Portland Police gave public address announcements reminding the crowd not to engage in violence, criminal activity, or trespass on the Penumbra Kelly Building property. The announcements included warnings that people who commit crimes may be subject to arrest or force, including crowd control munitions, pepper spray and tear gas. The crowd continued blocking the street, chanting, and socializing for almost two hours. Some of the crowd chants included, "Kill a cop, save a life", "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! If we don't get it, burn it down!" At about 11:17 p.m., officers reported members of the crowd were launching mortars at the police and cars well back in the Penumbra Kelly Building parking lot, followed by thrown objects. People began to trespass on the property. Portland Police gave public address announcements directing people to stay off the property, which was closed to the public. At about 11:35 p.m., people approached the front doors of the Penumbra Kelly Building, trespassing on the property. People in the crowd continually threw large river rocks at officers. Portland Police gave more announcements and force warnings. For the next 20 minutes people in the crowd increased their violent actions toward police officers who were standing behind cars 50 feet or more away from the crowd. Officers reported having rocks, frozen eggs, glass bottles, and frozen water bottles thrown at them. Officers reported people were shining green lasers at them, which is against the law in Oregon. Somebody spray painted over a security camera on the Penumbra Kelly Building. During this time period a group of about 50 people walked east on East Burnside Street, arguing with each other. As they did vehicle and pedestrian traffic had to turn to avoid them. They stopped near a shopping center near Southeast 55th Avenue and argued loudly for a short period of time, eventually breaking up. Portland Police gave more public address announcements warning the crowd that due to the large number of people acting out violently, trespassing, and damaging property, individuals may be subject to arrest, or the use of force. The criminal behavior continued. At about 11:57 p.m., the crowd had engaged in violent, tumultuous conduct creating grave risk of causing public alarm for a sustained period of time; the crowd was rioting. Portland Police announced to the crowd that its conduct constituted a riot and ordered people to leave to the west. People in the crowd persisted in throwing rocks and other objects. At about 12:01 a.m., Portland Police moved the crowd to the west, made some arrests, and moved many people all the way back to Laurelhurst Park. People threw objects at police. At about 12:20 a.m., many people entered the park, which is closed after midnight. Police disengaged, then returned to the Penumbra Kelly Building, allowing people to make the decision to act lawfully. Instead, a large group of people formed up and walked east, blocking city streets, back toward the Penumbra Kelly Building. By about 12:30 a.m., around two hundred people arrived at the Penumbra Kelly Building. Portland Police gave announcements as before. People began throwing rocks, glass bottles and other objects at police who were standing back in the parking lot. At about 12:36 a.m., Portland Police began moving the crowd to the west as before. This went on for about 20 minutes. Police made more arrests. During this time people in the crowd mingled with those with "press" written on their outer garments as cover and threw rocks and bottles at police. People with "press" written on their outer garments also threw objects at police. Somebody threw a rock, which broke a window in the vehicle giving public address announcements. Others pelted the same vehicle with rocks causing dents. Other vehicles were dented by thrown objects. At least one car parked along a street had windows broken out when a rock or rocks thrown at police, missed them and struck the car windows. At about 12:56 a.m., Portland Police decided to disengage again from the crowd again to see if individuals would decide on their own to act peacefully and lawfully. Slowly, some of the crowd dissipated, but small clusters remained in the area and periodically threw rocks at police and their vehicles either in the parking lot of the Penumbra Kelly Building or in the street. By 1:45 a.m., there were still about 75-100 people still standing in the middle of East Burnside Street facing the Penumbra Kelly Building and occasionally throwing things. Over the next hour, most people wandered off. A group of about 20 remained late into the morning blocking East Burnside Street at Northeast 50th Avenue, standing around a dumpster in which they ignited a fire. Portland Fire & Rescue treated two Portland Police members injured by rocks thrown by individuals in the crowd. Both of them went to the hospital for further treatment. One of the rocks weighed 9.5 pounds and was thrown by a person in group of people wearing "press" as the officer prepared to ride away on a truck. Portland Police did not deploy CS gas but did deploy smoke. At the time of this release over 60 calls for police service were holding around the city. Some had been holding for the length of the events described here. Call types ranged from theft, vandalism, suspicious activity, hazards, hit and run, burglary, violation of restraining order, alarms, stolen cars, harassment, and many others. * * * WHILE THIS WAS GOING ON IN PORTLAND * -- FROM THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER: Cincinnati joins cities such as Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis in having more than one mass shooting on a single day in 2020, following an outbreak of shootings in the dark hours of Sunday morning. Four people were dead and 17 wounded in four separate shootings Sunday, according to city police and the Hamilton County coroner. Police identified four of the victims as part of three separate shootings. No one had been arrested by 4 p.m. Sunday. Police Chief Eliot K. Isaac said in a statement released Sunday afternoon, "Enough is enough! We must not sit by silently and say we can't do anything to end gun violence. We all have a moral obligation to stop the violence and stop the killing in our communities. * -- FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Peaceful demonstrations in downtown Chicago ended in a violent clash between police and protesters Saturday, leaving 17 officers injured and two dozen people arrested. Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said that the days five-mile march began peacefully, but that a separate rally later in the afternoon provoked police to deploy pepper spray and led to 24 arrests, including four felonies for aggravated battery of an officer. * -- FROM THE ATLANTA JOURNAL & CONSTITUTION: Protesters from the left and right ends of Americas political divide squared off for hours Saturday in the city of Stone Mountain arguing, and at times fighting, over race, politics and the massive granite carving of Confederate leaders in the adjacent state park. The protest drew dozens of heavily armed private militias from around the state, neighboring states, and as far away as Arkansas. They were motivated by the taunting of the leader of an all-black militia who marched on Stone Mountain Park July 4, but they also expressed their rage over the removal of Confederate monuments, shared conspiracy theories, and voiced their support of President Donald Trump. * -- FROM ONE AMERICAN NEWS NETWORK: Cities across the nation have been spending millions of dollars to repair the damages incurred during ongoing riots and demonstrations. Already debt-ridden from the economic impact of the coronavirus, cities are now feeling the massive financial burden of these protests, which were sparked by the death of George Floyd. In Minneapolis, where the riots first began in May, total damages could cost the city as much as $500 million. In Chicago, property damages alone were estimated to be worth approximately $20 million. Portland, Oregon has seen similar issues. Dozens of nights of protests and riots have cost the city around $23 million in total damages. The total cost of these riots nationwide is reportedly expected to exceed that of any demonstration in American history, including the $1.4 billion recovery from the 1992 Los Angeles riots. * -- FROM THEHILL.COM: In Kalamazoo, Mich., the alt-right organization Proud Boys held a rally in support of police and faced off with the anti-fascist Michigan Peoples Defense League and others. As the clashes mounted, police worked to disperse the crowd, and Kalamazoo Public Safety said in a statement obtained by Reuters that officers made several arrests. CNN affiliate station WOOD reported that the demonstrators were "punching, kicking and even pepper-spraying one another. Once the event turned violent, the officers responded quickly and restored order," Kalamazoo Public Safety said in a statement obtained by CNN. The statement said police declared "a police zone and dispersed the crowds." (The Southern Poverty Law Center identifies Proud Boys as a hate group, and Facebook has banned the organization.) * -- FROM THE NEW YORK POST Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Saturday refused to condemn Black Lives Matter protesters who demanded White folks give up their homes, instead saying there is a need to establish just policies and address the core issues of brutality in order for us to come together. The Democratic socialist made her remarks Saturday during a stop at the Woodside Houses, a NYCHA housing complex in Queens, where she greeted residents and spoke to locals and reporters. Since this is happening in Seattle, I dont have as close of a view on whats happening. Of course I represent New Yorks 14th Congressional District, so I dont know the details of the protests that are going on, but I think whats really important is that we make sure people are safe and its important for us to enact legislation and policy that actually addresses the core reasons behind why all of this kind of disruption is happening, AOC said, adding, until we do that, this is going to keep occurring, whether we want it to or not. She said her message is that its extremely important that we establish just policies and address the core issues of brutality in order for us to come together. The firebrand progressive also fought off talk of a potential run for president. Everyone leave me alone, AOC scolded. I am focused on making sure that we preserve our democracy so that we can make sure there is a fair and just 2024 election at all, so I never want to hear anything about an election after November right now. * * * * -- If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn't sit for a month. -- Theodore Roosevelt * -- If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in the struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos. -- Martin Luther King, Jr. * -- Violence sends deep roots into the heart, it has no seasons, it is always ripe, evergreen. -- Pat Conroy * -- Great anger and violence can never build a nation. -- Nelson Mandela * -- the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 26, 26:52): "Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword." The Gospel of Matthew, 26:52 royexum@aol.com New media reporter Millie Weaver is scheduled to have her first court hearing this morning after a weekend in jail following her arrest last Friday. Weaver's arrest came on the eve of the release of her 82-minute documentary, Shadow Gate, that is an expose of the Deep State with the assistance of two individuals identified as whistleblowers. Her arrest and incarceration in the Portage County Jail in Ravenna, Ohio immediately raised suspicions that she was being subjected to a scary new level of intimidation and censorship. Millennial Millie, as Weaver is known, is a conservative rising star on the new and alternative media landscape, having worked as a reporter and contributor for Infowars since 2012 and lately on her own as well. She has developed a loyal following, and there is widespread interest in the outcome of the legal case against her. Millie Weaver in Shadow Gate. Heavy dot com succinctly summarized the case. Millie Weaver is a conservative filmmaker who was arrested at her home in northeastern Ohio hours before she was scheduled to debut her new documentary called Shadow Gate on YouTube. Weaver claimed she had uncovered a plot, orchestrated by both major political parties, against President Donald Trump and that the documentary would explain how it all worked. The timing of her arrest flamed conspiracy theories online, with critics wondering whether the arrest was related to the Shadow Gate documentary. Since my first article about this matter was published at American Thinker on Saturday, substantive new information about the case has emerged. It has now been reported that not only Weaver, but Gavin Wince, 45, variously described as Weaver's husband, boyfriend, and significant other, was also taken into custody on a warrant charging both of them with "robbery, tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, and domestic violence." The nature of the allegations, most or all of them serious felonies, will presumably be spelled out in an arraignment hearing this morning at 11 A.M. E.T., "where a Common Pleas Court judge will set bond." Weaver's two small children residing in the home with her and Wince were reportedly turned over to child protective services. A hearing on the children's fate is scheduled at 10 A.M. Millie Weaver's mother weighs in Some light was shed on the matter in a comment posted on Friday to a YouTube video report by licensed investigator and talk show host Doug Hagmann of The Hagmann Report that was uploaded several hours after Weaver's arrest. The author of the comment identified herself as Felicia McCarron. Public databases identify Weaver's mother as Felicia McCarron, 51, who resides in California. The comment at YouTube links back to what appears to be the real Felicia McCarron's YouTube channel. In response to Hagmann's video about her daughter's arrest, McCarron wrote: This is Millie's mother... It's my cell phone worth about $50, that she took during a family dispute that happened months ago when I was in Ohio visiting my family. She took it because I had my phone on record during an argument we were having. We resolved the issue immediately and I dropped all charges right after it happened before I left Ohio ... because it was a gross misunderstanding and no harm was done. All families have their disagreements...especially during a quarantine. I am shocked my family was arrested after I told the police to drop all charges months ago. I had a general affidavit of non prosecution notarized today and I spoke with the police chief, who told me I could not do anything until Monday morning [August 17] and my daughter, son and her boyfriend have to stay in jail over the weekend. I am extremely upset... this is not what I wanted to happen. I think they have a lot bigger fish to fry makes me think this might have been done to prevent her from coming out with some political information she is covering. There was no reason for this. A theory of the case by a licensed professional investigator In an email to me, Doug Hagmann proposed a hypothesis to explain Weaver's arrest, assuming for the moment that the post attributed to Felicia McCarron is real and accurate. Hagmann: I first want to stress that this is my investigative opinion only, and I have the highest regard for Millie and her family. If the author [of the comments] is legitimate and the scenario is correct, I suspect that the situation involving Ms. Weaver originated from a personal event that was magnified by her high-profile status. Perhaps the police were called at the time of the event and a report was taken (hence the charge of domestic abuse). The police likely saw the video and/or audio and secured it as evidence. As cooler heads prevailed, no charges were pressed by any party, and the incident should have been closed absent of a complainant. In some instances, however, and with varying motives, I've personally seen some prosecutors advance a criminal prosecution without the consent or even knowledge of the involved parties. I've seen this happen to high-profile individuals by agenda-driven prosecutors. Hagmann further suggested the following possible scenario, stressing that it is only his professional opinion: Perhaps Millie, with or perhaps without Ms. McCarron's permission, accessed the cell phone and/or the data it contained (hence, the burglary charge), and maybe erased the data (hence, the evidence tampering charge). Again, I suspect the police already had "the evidence." In my opinion and experience, a typical non-agenda driven district attorney would simply drop it. Alternatively, a DA may decide to put the evidence before a grand jury and let them make easy indictments if he thought he could receive favor from someone for political or other purposes. Now, toss in a very explosive documentary and knowing that the hammer can be dropped at an opportune time an indictment. The timing of effecting the high-profile arrest coinciding with the release of the video might have been at the direction of someone at a much higher pay grade. Is Millie Weaver's arrest related to the video? Most likely yes, but as I have described it, not necessarily in the way or manner people might think. Plus, exploiting a personal situation for political gain is simply not right and can be quite damaging. Ms. Weaver's potential political enemies know this. I call this tactic "lawfare," and suspect that it was an attempt to marginalize the credibility of Ms. Weaver and the video. That is what I think happened. I cannot prove it. It is my personal opinion based on open sources and other reports so far, and on my more than three decades of professional experience. One of the two whistleblowers who appears in the film, who uses only her first name (Tore), was deeply involved in its post-production. During an appearance on Infowars yesterday, she told host Alex Jones that she was on the phone with Weaver last Friday when the police showed up. Tore essentially confirmed the accuracy of the comments posted Friday on YouTube by McCarron, Weaver's mother, about the incident involving McCarron and her daughter that resulted in the 911 call. Tore said that the family squabble took place about three months ago. To the extent that the mainstream media has reported on Weaver's arrest, she and her documentary have predictably been described in less than flattering terms. The article Saturday at cleveland dot com, for example, said Weaver: ... released a trailer last week of a new video that she claims "may be the biggest whistleblowing event to date." The video appears to include interviews between Weaver and two people who claim to have first-hand knowledge of a clandestine attempt by government officials to use psychological warfare and mind-control tactics to carry out a "coup" against President Donald Trump, an iteration of the often debunked conspiracy theories about a so-called deep state. In fact, a number of conservative outlets, including citizen journalists opining on Web sites and in video podcasts, have speculated that Weaver's arrest was a direct result of an effort to suppress her documentary on the part of the individuals and entities named in her film. That possibility cannot be ruled out. But what the arrest has achieved is to raise Weaver's public profile to new heights. The documentary itself, meanwhile, that was uploaded to YouTube on Friday by Tore has become an instant hit. In addition to the 1.35 million views at the Tore Says YouTube channel, the documentary has been copied and posted at other online video hosts, including ones that are not susceptible to YouTube's censorship whims. Social media has also embraced Weaver and her documentary. Whistleblower Zach Vorheis (Twitter @Perpetualmaniac), who describes himself as "a Senior Software Engineer at YouTube/Google until I discovered their AI censorship weapons," tweeted the film at pscp.tv on Friday: So @Millie__Weaver might have been arrested because she was about to release the documentary "ShadowGate". So @tore_says (now suspended) released the film anyway: https://pscp.tv/Tore_says/1RDGlrYynRgxL 12k LIVE viewers... sorry deepstate. You cant stop whats coming. Since Vorheis's tweet three days ago, Twitter has now suspended Weaver's account. On Sunday, YouTube finally deleted the first upload of the complete Shadow Gate film at the Tore Says channel after it had gotten over 1.35 million views. The stated reason was that "This video has been removed for violating YouTube's policy on hate speech." The fate of Shadow Gate at YouTube. A clarification courtesy of heavy dot com: Preliminary reports that the charges against Weaver and Wince were "secret" are a result of the fact that "in Ohio, a 'secret indictment' simply means the indictment is sealed until after the accused has been arrested." The Portage County Jail where Weaver and Wince are being held has been the subject of investigations by both media and official bodies for a range of alleged complaints and problems. The Portage County Record-Courier, in an article published Jan. 25, 2020, "FBI 'looking into' Ohio county jail," mentioned a long list of violent abuses reported at the facility. After reading some of the articles about the jail that have been published recently, it is disconcerting to imagine what Weaver and Wince may be experiencing during their stay there. Millie Weaver in a video call from jail, Sunday, August 16, 2020. Photo by Tore via Infowars. Later today, the picture of what's going on with Weaver and Wince will hopefully be clearer, assuming they get their day in court. The hearing is scheduled for 11 A.M. EDT. Meanwhile, the fate of journalistic critiques of the Deep State and the ability of Americans to watch and read these critiques remain in serious doubt. A Georgia school district said Sunday that it will close a third high school through the end of the month amid a COVID-19 outbreak. The Cherokee County School District decided to close Creekview High School after 25 students tested positive for the coronavirus and 500 of its 1,800 in-person students were placed "precautionary quarantine," it said in a statement. Additional pending tests could "significantly increase the quarantine total," and the decision was made with the school board and health officials. IMAGE: Creekview High School in Canton, Ga. (Google Maps) Creekview is the third high school to close in the Georgia district outside Atlanta, in addition to Etowah and Woodstock high schools. All three schools are tentatively schedule to reopen Aug. 31. The county district began the year with around 31,000 of its 42,000 students attending in-person instruction. The school district recommended that students wear masks but did not require it. "As we have said since we announced our reopening, we will not hesitate to quarantine students and close classrooms in an effort to continue operating school in-person for as long as possible," the district said. Superintendent Brian Hightower encouraged students to wear masks in a statement last week. "As your Superintendent, I wear a mask whenever I cannot social distance," Hightower said. "We know all parents do not believe the scientific research that indicates masks are beneficial, but I believe it and see masks as an important measure to help us keep schools open." A 15-year-old boy died from the coronavirus Saturday in a different suburban Atlanta district, making him the second-youngest person to have died from the virus in the state after a 7-year-old boy died last week. The state said the teenager had no known pre-existing conditions, according to NBC affiliate WXIA of Atlanta. Georgia has recorded more than 230,000 cases of the coronavirus, with more than 4,600 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic. Emine Erdogan with Aamir Khan Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is in Turkey at the moment for the shooting of Laal Singh Chaddha, which is an official remake of Tom Hanks movie Forrest Gump. It was recently learnt that the actor on August 15 had met Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan, whom Twitter users dubbed enemy of India. Pictures of Aamir Khan and Emine Erdogan at the presidential residence in Istanbul went viral on Twitter after the Turkish President's wife shared those on social media. I had the great pleasure of meeting @aamir_khan, the world-renowned Indian actor, filmmaker, and director, in Istanbul. I was happy to learn that Aamir decided to wrap up the shooting of his latest movie Laal Singh Chaddha in different parts of Turkey. I look forward to it! pic.twitter.com/3rSCMmAOMW Emine Erdogan (@EmineErdogan) August 15, 2020 In a warm Twitter post, she described the Bollywood actor as the world-renowned Indian actor, and wrote that she is looking forward to watching his film. But why did he meet her and why is Twitter trolling the actor over the tete-a-tete? Turns out, the actor had requested a meeting with Emine Erdogan, according to local Turkish media. The two of them reportedly discussed projects initiated by Aamir and his wife Kiran Rao, such as the Paani Foundation, and the actor also delighted Turkeys First Lady with anecdotes from the time his wife stayed in Turkey. However, their discussions have nothing to do with why the actor is being trolled by Twitter users in India. That hatred was a result of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans stance on the Kashmir issue. Turkey had recently extended its support to Pakistan, hinting that the Kashmir issue can only be resolved if India is just and fair. The incident took place during his visit to Islamabad. He had drawn the ire of Indians by comparing the Kashmir situation with the World War II Gallipoli campaign. Aamirs Laal Singh Chaddha starring Kareena Kapoor is set to release around Christmas 2021. It is the second film to resume shooting in a foreign location since the coronavirus-related lockdowns. Akshay Kumars Bell Bottom was the first. Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has been the talk of the town these past few months after his SpaceX company successfully sent two astronauts into space. It came after NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken made history by traveling to the International Space Station through a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule -- a privately funded spacecraft by SpaceX last March 30. It was reported that the initial plan of the launch was on May 27, but it was postponed due to bad weather. Despite his busy schedule, it appears that Elon Musk has some time to look at his Wikipedia page and check for some inaccuracies. The 49-year-old Tesla founder took to Twitter to ask his nearly 38 million followers to "trash" his Wikipedia profile. "Please trash me on Wikipedia, I'm begging you," he wrote. Although his reasons were unclear, his millions of followers were happy to assist Musk with his demands. "An Alien from the future has come back in time to possess the human body we recognize as Elon. Knowing humans will destroy themselves, he's set it upon himself to build rockets and establish an off-world colony to help preserve the human race," one wrote, mocking that Elon Musk is an alien trapped in a human body. Another fan edited his Wikipedia page describing him as a "piece of sh*t" and a "terrible CEO," to which the tech mogul replied with two laughing emoji. Another user mocked how Musk is "desperate" to go to Mars in reference to his recent SpaceX project. "I'm gonna put: Elon Musk is so desperate to get to planet Mars, be organized a coup to topple Bolivian populist dictator Evo Morales in order to get his hands on 50% of the world's reserves of Lithium. Anything else to add?" Moreover, fans created hilarious Elon memes, one of which poked fun at the Tesla billionaire's profile photo while another made him a rapper. This is not the first time that Elon asked his fans to edit his Wikipedia page, though. Elon Musk Requested Fans to Remove "Investor" in His Wikipedia Description After his fans flocked to his Wikipedia page to virtually ruin his profile, the said page quickly became locked and uneditable. For what it's worth, in 2019, Musk posted a tweet saying that he hasn't visited the page for quite some time and requested the community to fix it for him. "Just looked at my wiki for 1st time in years. It's insane!" he wrote. The Tesla chief also requested for fans to delete his description as "investor" and cited that he did "zero investing." At the time, the South African billionaire was described by Wikipedia as "technology engineer, entrepreneur, and investor." However, he claimed that he did not venture in any companies other than those he founded such as the innovative electric vehicle and clean energy company Tesla and aerospace manufacturer and space transportation services company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (famously known as SpaceX). READ MORE: Surgery Scare! Chrissy Teigen Reveals Horrifying Story About Her Pregnancy Israel Air Force fighter jets will take part this week in its first-ever joint exercises on German soil with the German Air Force and the sir forces of other countries. The event will also be marked by memorial ceremonies and a special fly-past over historical sites, Trend reports with reference to Globes. The German Air Force announced in a press release that its commander had invited the Israel Air Force to participate in the exercise during his previous visit to Israel and the exercises will now be carried out in the west of the country. The Israeli and German air forces have been involved in cooperation over many years including the leasing of Heron 1 and Heron TP unmanned aerial vehicles manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI). German air force personnel have been trained in their use at Tel Nof air base in Israel. The German government pays the Israeli government and IAI not only for the leasing but also training and maintenance of the drones, which are deployed in sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan. In the past German fighter aircraft have taken part in joint exercises in Israel in the Negev. This week's exercises, which will take place between Tuesday and Thursday, will culminate in a media event called Blue Wings 2020, in which both sides will take about the cooperation. The German Air Force announced that Israeli jets will take off from the Furstenfeldbruck in Bavaria and fly over Munich to commemorate those slain during the 172 Olympic Games and return via the former Dachau concentration camp, where Israel Air Force representatives will lay wreaths in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. The $60 million commitment, which includes more than $10 million already given to House Majority PAC, comes on top of other spending he has made to help Democrats this year. After funding state parties around the country during his suspended presidential campaign, Bloomberg transferred $18 million in cash to the Democratic National Committee in March. He also made a $35 million commitment to fund a data consulting firm, Hawkfish, which has been working with the DNC and outside groups that support Democrats. Features Westerner Behind the Wheel The Bayint Naung flyover in the northwest suburbs of Yangon / Oliver Hargreave Part 1: Driving in Myanmar Driving in Yangon? You gotta be kidding A flooded landscape rushed by as the plane approached Yangon International Airport. The beginning of the rainy season was not the best time to be setting off on a self-driving research assignment in Myanmar. My job was to gather and compile route data into a PDF free to download at no obligation from a car-rental company website. I had done this for a company in Amazing Thailand in the late 1990s, where renting cars became popular with tourists. Why, then, wouldnt visitors also want to drive themselves into the magic and mystery of Myanmar? It was the same in Thailand 20 years ago, the boss said when we met in the company office in a suburb of Yangon at the start of the project in May 2017. He assigned a young fleet manager to go along with me for the first two days. My sole previous trip to Myanmar had been in 1996, when I had come with a friend to photograph Kachin folk for a book. A young Kachin had driven us around Myitkina for 12 days in a vintage jeep in the heat of April. Burned into memory was the magic of the first cold drink when ice became available at the end of the day. The mystery was why a state capital only had electricity for a few hours from mid-afternoon. The misfortunes that had befallen Myanmar had long been widely reported in Thailand. Good reads like Thant Myint-Us River of Lost Footsteps and Pascal Khoo Thwes Land of Green Ghosts provided background. But the fact that restrictions preventing foreigners from driving had been quietly lifted without fanfare by 2016 was proof that Myanmar was changing. A company driver took me to a comfortable, business-style hotel off Thamine Station Road and left me there with a new 4WD Ford Ranger. The hotel was quiet, but the neighborhood was drab. After dark, small stores sent shafts of light onto unlit sidewalks. Buildings were mostly shuttered. Staying in a hotel room seemed a waste of a first night in a new city, but I was not ready to drive. I took a taxi downtown to the Bagan Book House for 6,000 kyats (US$4.20). He took a complicated route on side streets to avoid traffic jammed up on main roads. Parking downtown appeared horrendous. Driving in Yangon looked no fun. I bought a copy of Maw-Naing and Hans A Burmese Heart and then walked around before having stir-fried noodles in a local diner. Later, I sat at a curbside tea stall and chatted with a student sitting in a low chair near mine. Five taxi drivers turned down my fare before one agreed to take me back to the hotel. He looked at Google Maps on my phone before calling the hotel to get directions. The ride back cost 4,000 kyats. Letting someone else drive in Yangon feels good, even when you pay over the rate for a taxi or suffer Yangons clammy heat should its driver keep the windows down, provided you keep moving. In Yangon, the latter is nigh impossible. A shaky start Sitting behind the wheel of the Ranger the next morning, I felt nervous. The executive assigned to go with me had been introduced to me as Tom. He told me where to go, allowing me to take the wheel and concentrate on driving. The steering wheel was where it should be in Myanmar; on the left side of the vehicle. All vehicles in Thailand, where driving is on the left, have steering wheels on the right. The strange thing is, so do more than 80 percent of vehicles in Myanmar despite the changeover to driving on the right side of the road in 1972. Compared to Thai drivers, Yangons drivers appeared to follow lane discipline and stop when traffic lights turn green to amber braking on amber in Thailand might get you rear-ended. I approached intersections with caution. Other drivers also seemed cautious and let us through. After Thailand, this was refreshingly different; or were local drivers just being courteous to a foreigner? Was such caution due to steering wheels being on the wrong side, perversely resulting in less accidents? Was this change from driving on the left side of the road to the right in 1972 truly made on the advice of General Ne Wins soothsayer as a rumor suggested? The complications that had ensued from this perplexing decision were plain to see. After 45 or so minutes of driving through Yangons northern outskirts, I didnt need any more driving practice. Tom took over the wheel, letting me go back to Google Maps and street views. I had a job to do but wasnt sure how it was going to work out. I spoke no Burmese and depended on an app I had barely used. For the first day, rather than the easy Yangon-Mandalay Highway to Bago, I planned to follow a rural side road to get off the beaten track. Id come back the easy way on the return. Tom wanted to be in Myawaddy, Karen State to do some business there on the second day, so with a journey of around 450 kilometers to do, we should have made it fairly easily. Driving in Myanmarthe essentials You must have an International Drivers Permit or an ASEAN drivers license to drive in Myanmar. Pre-book your car. Buy a Myanmar SIM card on arrivalyour phone will be essential for navigation and finding places. Bring a device holder for the windscreen. Oliver Hargreave created WorldClass Drives in Myanmar for Yomacarshare.com. Opinions expressed in this article are not those of Yomacarshare. Short traders are throwing cold water on hopes of a bump-free return to normalcy. Vacation, travel and consumer stocks are among the most shorted on Wall Street. Those names include American Airlines, Whirlpool, Royal Caribbean and United Airlines. Short traders, who make money when those shares drop, view these names as the most vulnerable to a prolonged recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Clothing company Hanesbrands is one stock that could burn short traders should the economic rebound continue, according to Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global. "Hanesbrands at some point is going to stage a comeback. I mean, this commando situation can't go on forever," Sanchez told CNBC's "Trading Nation" on Friday. Hanesbrands has short interest at 10% of its float. The stock has rebounded hard off its lows, rallying nearly 130% since its early April bottom. "They've been able to pivot into making face masks and gowns for the federal government, but they're going to come back, and quite frankly I think they'll come back just as strong as they were before," Sanchez said. "And it's a longer-term play, but I think that play is there and I think that this is probably an unloved name that that needs more attention." Delano Saporu, founder of New Street Advisors, is watching a different consumer stock with high short interest. "If you look at the long-term case for Under Armour, what you really want to see is execution. So, can they improve?" he said during the same "Trading Nation" segment. "They have a lot of big sponsors and they get those names, but can they improve with the execution of the products and the rollout of those products? Also, they've put a lot of money into investment in fitness and wearables, which didn't really pan out, so I want to see better execution with those acquisitions." Under Armour's Class C shares have short interest at 12%; its A shares are at 10%. The stock has fallen roughly 50% this year. On the travel stocks with high short interest, Saporu says these are ones to avoid until there's clarity on the pandemic front. "When we're talking about the travel names, that's really going to be dependent on what we're seeing with vaccines, the pandemic, people's comfortability in going out. So there's going to be a lot of pain in the short term for these names, so kind of sit on the sidelines," he said. American Airlines is one of the most shorted stocks on Wall Street. Nearly one-third of its float has been shorted. Disclaimer In this week's TravelSkills on SFGATE newsletter... This week airline bookings are still creeping back slowing, with Sunday exceeding 800,000 for the second week in a row according to the TSA's daily tally of the number of travelers passing through airline security at U.S. airports. But still, things are looking pretty grave for the airlines. Surveys indicate that instead of growing comfortable with air travel, more people are becoming skeptical about it, according to this AP story. Globally, air travel is down more than 85% from a year ago, according to industry figures. In airline news: American wont be coming back to Oakland or to a number of other airports as a federal requirement ends; Mineta San Jose tries to lure back international airlines with fee waivers; another European carrier will return to SFO; Hawaiis planned Sept. 1 reopening for tourists now appears unlikely; AA extends its change fee waiver; Southwest gives Rapid Rewards members a new option for their unused travel credits, plus more in our weekly airline news roundup. Read: Routes: TAP is back, Oakland loss, Hawaii woes, Southwest promo + more The coronavirus pandemic has created new fissures in society along generational and political lines, and a new poll indicates those cracks are showing up among airline passengers, too. A new consumer survey of 10,000 travelers who flew at least once in the year before the pandemic found that their comfort level with returning to the skies varies considerably by age, political affiliation and length of flight. Read: Will most air travelers be young Republicans in the future? It hurts to report on all the grim news about San Francisco's grandest hotels, most of which are still closed. But, there's hope for recovery ... eventually. Many speakers at a recent forum we attended felt that the release of pent up demand for travel, once a vaccine is developed, could hasten a return to "normal." Some felt that a nascent recovery was already underway after a very dark spring season, and that the second half of 2021 could see the return of some big events and more international flying. But until then, it's going to be a difficult slog for the city's hospitality industry, and the city overall. Read: San Francisco's hospitality industry: Devastated In another story of a misguided tourist learning why it's important to leave wild animals alone, AP reports that a motorcyclist has survived a violent attack by a bison in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This ugly video gets real at about 2:10. Read: Tourist survives violent bison attack in South Dakota [VIDEO] Thinking about flying but still skittish? This might help: A new study that finds the odds of catching COVID-19 on a flight are actually pretty low. The study shows that passengers have a 1 in 4,300 chance of catching the coronavirus on a full, two-hour flight. If the airline leaves the middle seat open, your chances of contracting the bug are nearly cut in half, to 1 in 7,700. And the chances of dying from COVID-19 contracted on a flight are between 1 in 400,000 and 1 in 600,000 depending on your age and other risk factors. Read: The odds of catching COVID-19 on a plane might not be what you think Guess what? With travel barriers coming down in Europe (for European travelers), the COVID bug is making a comeback, putting a crimp on summer vacations. A Bloomberg story says, "If this summer was supposed to offer hope that coronavirus was under control in Europe, spikes in cases across the continent and ensuing travel chaos have given governments a worrying reality check." Read: Europes summer unravels with COVID spikes and travel chaos Tell your friends about TravelSkills on SFGATE and have them sign up for our FREE weekly email alerts or forward this email to them! What is Elon Musks Boring Company building in the desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas? It might be a tunnel for ultra-high-speed travel between the two cities. A Tesla-focused blog revealed photos of the Boring Company's San Bernardino County facility in the desert near Adelanto, Calif., including a tunneling machine and large storage tents. What's going on? We also have an update on Richard Branson's hyperloop trains at various locations in the U.S. and around the world. Read: Elon Musks mysterious desert tunnel: A superfast LA-Vegas link? Chris McGinnis is SFGATE's senior travel correspondent. Email: chris@travelskills.com | Twitter: @cjmcginnis | Facebook: @TravelSkills Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) The Philippine National Police will let the courts decide if Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari should be held liable for keeping Abu Sayyaf leader Anduljihad "Edang" Susukan before negotiating his arrest last week. PNP Chief Archie Gamboa said Monday that authorities are in the process of compiling facts and details of the August 13 arrest of the terrorist group commander. The report will be sent to a court in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, which earlier issued one of multiple arrest warrants against Susukan, he added. RELATED: AFP intensifies operations vs. Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao after subleader's arrest Another point to settle is if Misuari could be charged for reportedly harboring a criminal. There are reports that Misuari kept Susukan as early as April. "On the part of the PNP, we just caused the arrest. As to the possible accountability of Misuari, it will be up to the courts to appreciate whether there is such a thing or not," Gamboa said in a press briefing. Gamboa refused to provide further details to reconcile conflicting reports that Susukan was either captured through police intelligence or surrendered voluntarily. The Davao City police took into custody the rebel leader, who is notorious for kidnap-for-ransom activities, after he was handed over by Misuari. He said appropriate coordination was done so that "no actual confrontation would happen." "In terms of criminal liability, medyo highly unlikely po kasi he really arranged for Susukan to surrender, hindi po nahuli si Susukan dahil tinatago ni Nur Misuari [Susukan was not caught hiding in Nur Misuari's house]. He really arranged that authorities will apprehend Susukan in his residence on that given day," Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said separately. Gamboa refused to comment on the possibility of an amnesty for the Abu Sayyaf leader, saying it's not something the PNP can grant. "As far as the PNP knows in the few coordinations we did, we haven't found any entity giving reward for the arrest of Susukan," the PNP chief added, referring to a bounty. Susukan, 34, is charged with 23 counts of murder, five counts of kidnapping and serious illegal detention, and six counts of frustrated murder before various courts. He was transferred to Camp Crame in Quezon City and has been subjected to a swab test for COVID-19. Gamboa said the results are not yet out. He added that the PNP will seek to transfer his custody to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Police said Susukan was in Davao City to seek medical attention. He lost his left arm in a bloody encounter in Patikul, Sulu, a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf group in February 2019. There are also questions on why Misuari, who also faces rebellion charges for the 2013 Zamboanga siege, was not arrested. Gamboa said authorities will look into it. President Rodrigo Duterte has reopened negotiations with the MNLF and even appointed Misuari as his Special Economic Envoy on Islamic Affairs to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in December. CNN Philippines' Eimor Santos contributed to this report. In Nishikant Kamats Dombivali Fast, middle-class bank employee Madhav Apte slowly erupts from a complacent existence filled with peripheral examples of injustice in nearly every corner of society. Editor's note: This article was originally uploaded on 20 June 2020 and is being republished in light of director Nishikant Kamat's death, at the age of 50, in Hyderabad. Dombivali Fast is among Kamat's most critically acclaimed works, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi in 2006. *** As hard as it has been contending with a never-ending stream of the most grotesque acts of violence, and the infuriating lack action from politicians, it has also become clearer than ever that the institutions meant to uphold democracy have completely failed us. Its only natural for a population to become angry, un-cooperative and equally inspired for change when this realisation hits. For the most part, the majority of people living under capitalism have had existences curated to maintain a complacent and easily distracted lifestyle. Once this is interrupted, we start to see a will for change, but of course, we also start to see a system designed to keep things in place begin to desperately fight back. In Nishikant Kamats Dombivali Fast, middle-class bank employee Madhav Apte slowly erupts from a complacent existence filled with peripheral examples of injustice in nearly every corner of society. Adapted from Joel Schumachers controversial film Falling Down, Kamats remake substitutes the white privilege and oligarchical law-and-order messaging of the Hollywood film with a more generalised statement on the moral and ethical failure of rotten institutions within a developing nation under capitalism. The movie wastes no time in establishing the monotonous and complacent existence of Indian middle-class life, opening with a cyclical montage running through Aptes life from morning to night until all of his days meld into an indecipherable blur. It is with this technique that we are introduced to a man who, despite living in a stable loving household with a caring wife and kids, exists as a robot, performing mechanical duties and rote motions that are embedded so deeply into the system that they have lost all tangible or spiritual purpose. Dombivali Fast, much like Falling Down, zeroes in on an individualist male vigilante narrative of seeking justice. In this sense, the movies premise itself is problematic, but what Kamat cleverly does that Schumacher completely misses is to put the focus on the system as the cultivator of corruption, violence and destruction rather than the people themselves. As is the case in many Indian films, there are sequences that reduce the storys innovative metaphors into bite-size sermonising to make sure the audience gets it, particularly in a scene at the hospital where an elderly couple chastises Apte for his violent behaviour. However, this is beside the point, because as wrong as Apte is for his singular crusade of vengeance, the fact that he is alone in his anger represents exactly the sort of lack of collective community organising that has rendered social justice inert in India and other capitalist democracies for so long. The infrastructural problems in India are unmistakably present in the film and are often shrugged off with a chalta hai attitude that is established as the countrys middle-class modus operandi. India is not too different from the United States in this base functionality as a nation completely beholden to norms that incentivise individualist comfort over social public improvements. When the police go to question Aptes wife, she is completely dumbfounded as to why he could be so angry. The police as well, ask innocuous nonsensical questions like whether their marriage is doing okay. The idea of someone being sprung into action by an impulse for societal change is hardly a thought. The beginning to middle of the 2000s marked a significant change in Indian cinemas approach to social issues, bringing back the sort of fury that existed in the early 80s art films like Aakrosh, Ardh Satya, and Chakra. Much like them, Dombivali Fast doesnt exist in creating divisions of good or bad, but toils with the muddled morality of reality as it is. Apte is not right or justified in anything that he is doing. In addition to targeting corrupt sources of power like the police and politicians, many of his actions are ironically cop-like smashing a motorcycle that was parked in the wrong lane, or destroying a vendor cart that he felt was charging too much for drinks. But when Inspector Subhash Anaspure, a respected officer set for retirement, questions the motives and actions of Apte, and continually asks who is the culprit?, he is asking the right question. Anaspure is the cop that we are supposed to root for, like Anant Valenkar in Ardh Satya or an even more apt parallel in this case, Ed Tom Bell in No Country for Old Men. Like Ed, Anaspure is mainly a philosophical pontificator for the ideas that Kamat tries to parse about morality in the film. Because of his retirement, he begins to confront his job as a cop from an ethics standpoint, and uses Aptes crimes as a way to parse the parasitic relationship between authority and justice. The parallels drawn between Apte and Anaspure are as helpless cogs in a system, wherein the former decides to rail against it, the other is assigned by duty to uphold it. Despite the self-awareness of Anaspures conversations, he maintains his position as a perpetrator of injustice and an enabler of the corruption he sees every day in his job. The films final statement on him maintains that the cycle continues specifically because of cops like him. Kamats attacks on systemic failures in Indian society stem from ingrained behaviours that maintain a status quo. The collective will for change in Dombivali has been kneaded out, and in several monologues that Apte has at night, where he confronts himself and God directly, he questions his place as a lone rebel and whether it is worth it or even right for him to continue. Dombivali Fast presents anger and empathy in equal measure, understanding that rising against a rigged system is filled with difficult choices and designed to make one question themselves the entire way. It is a battle that fails most of the time. Fifteen years after I first watched Dombivali Fast, I am seeing on the streets of India, US, Europe, Australia, and Hong Kong, millions rise to confront their failed institutions. We too will be made to question ourselves, have doubts, coerced to give up and be complacent again. Robert V. Angel-Little, a native Romanian who immigrated to the United States in 1990, has published his new book Innocence Lost: a stirring glimpse of life as a schoolboy in Nikolai Ceaucescus Communist society in the years before the Romanian Revolution. Innocence Lost sweeps the reader up into the adventures of a boy who, from an unknown entity, manages to become his junior highs supreme leader, followed by a small transitional period of limited conflicts with the regimes Secret Service and culminates with the struggles of freedom out into the streets of Bucharest Romania in late December 1989. The book describes in detail every single thing that the author has experienced during the last six years of socialism of one of the most brutal dictatorships in Eastern Europe. Every aspect of schooling, education, military training, battlegrounds, and personal private life of the author has been described in order to let the readers know what could happen or could have happened if they were to live in socialism. The book also describes Romanias history, economics, cultural, and social life along with some of the authors favorite vacation spots. Robert V. Angel-Little gets elected to lead the masses of pioneers (students) and works tirelessly to consolidate his position not only as a feared leader, but also as a trustworthy person within his community. After he resigns his duties as junior high leader, he enrolls into the countrys National Guard program and takes his admission tests at the high school of his choice. At both institutions, he comes into an open conflict with the elite forces of the Secret Service, who plays its part similarly to Nazi Germanys state police, the Gestapo. As both good and unfortunate events take their courses, the author and his friends manage to survive both institutions at great costs: the disappearances of some friends and also expulsions from both institutions. The latter, along with all the other mishaps that took place in the past, has been the trigger point of revenge of both the author and his friends which culminates with their actions during the late December 1989 Romanian Revolution. Innocence Lost is a boys testament to the world and is dedicated to all those who have lived and died fighting for freedoms from the clutches of socialist and communist oppression. Readers who wish to experience this engaging work can purchaseInnocence Lost at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. A new 'cyborg-like' technology has been developed to safely merge electronic devices with human tissue to better monitor health and track tumours. Scientists from the University of Delaware found a way to attach devices inside a human body by connecting it to tissue using a coating that is more energy efficient. Connecting electronics to tissue is a 'huge challenge', researchers say as materials used in technology like gold and silicon cause scarring that can interrupt data flow. For applications inserted into muscle or brain tissue, electrical signals need to flow for them to operate properly, but scars interrupt this activity, the team explained. The US researchers have developed new coatings for 'human-machine' devices that counteract issues from scarring caused by materials used in microelectronics. Scientists from the University of Delaware found a way to attach devices inside a human body by connecting it to tissue using a coating that is more energy efficient. Stock image Professor David Martin, from the University of Delaware who led the study, said they got the idea to use a coating while trying to connect a device to the brain. 'We were trying to interface rigid, inorganic microelectrodes with the brain, but brains are made out of organic, salty, live materials,' Martin explained. The methods they were using weren't working, so they set out to look at alternatives, including organic electronic materials like conjugated polymers. We found a chemically stable example that was sold commercially as an anti-static coating for electronic displays,' Martin said. After testing, the team found that the polymer - a material consisting of very large molecules - had the properties necessary for interfacing hardware and human tissue. Professor David Martin, from the University of Delaware who led the study, said they got the idea to use a coating while trying to connect a device to the brain 'These conjugated polymers are electrically active, but they are also ionically active [charged],' said Martin. 'Counter ions give them the charge they need so when they are in operation, both electrons and ions are moving around.' The polymer, known as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) or PEDOT, dramatically improved the performance of medical implants. It does this by lowering their impedance two to three orders of magnitude, thus increasing signal quality and battery lifetime in patients, the researchers said. PEDOT polymers have been used in a number of recent developments, including as a coating for 'smart bricks' that can store energy like a battery. Martin has since determined how to specialise the polymer, putting different functional groups on PEDOT to make it more efficient. Adding a carboxylic acid, aldehyde - a compound used in perfume - or maleimide substitute to the ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) monomer gave the researchers the versatility to create polymers with a variety of functions. A monomer is a molecule that forms the basic unit for polymers, which are the building blocks of proteins. Mixing unsubstituted monomers with another version results in a material with many locations where the researchers could attach peptides, antibodies or DNA. 'The maleimide is particularly powerful because we can do click chemistry substitutions to make functional polymers and biopolymers,' said Martin. 'Name your favourite biomolecule, and you can in principle make a PEDOT film that has whatever biofunctional group you might be interested in.' It isn't just humans that could be getting 'cyber implants', an unrelated study saw implants put into locusts in a bid to create cyber locusts to sniff out explosives. The US researchers have developed new coatings for 'human-machine' devices that counteract issues from scarring caused by materials used in microelectronics. Stock image Most recently, Martin's group created a PEDOT film with an antibody for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) attached - designed to stimulate blood vessel growth after an injury. The polymer that the team developed could act as a sensor to detect over-expression of VEGF and thus early stages of disease and tumours. Other polymers have neurotransmitters on them and these films could help sense or treat brain or nervous system disorders. So far, the team has made a polymer with dopamine, which plays a role in addictive behaviours. Martin says these biological-synthetic hybrid materials might someday be useful in merging artificial intelligence with the human brain. Ultimately, Martin said his dream is to be able to tailor how these materials deposit on a surface and then to put them in tissue in a living organism. 'The ability to do the polymerisation in a controlled way inside a living organism would be fascinating,' he added. The findings were presented at the American Chemical Society Fall 2020 Virtual Meeting. ABUJA Nigeria will reopen its airports for international flights from Aug. 29, its aviation minister said on Monday. The airports have been closed since March 23 to all but essential international flights as part of the countrys efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said four flights would begin landing daily in Lagos, and four in Abuja, with strict protocols. It is safe to fly, if we observe all those protocols in place," Sirika said at a briefing in Abuja. Africas most populous nation, which recorded its first confirmed coronavirus case in late February, now has 49,068 confirmed cases and 975 deaths. It resumed domestic flights on July 8, and Sirika said there had been no confirmed virus transmissions on flights. 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 Security forces fire tear gas as protesters return to the streets of Khartoum to demand quicker political reforms. Protesters in Sudan have returned to the streets over the slow pace of change a year after a power-sharing agreement was signed between the countrys generals and a pro-democracy movement. Draped in Sudanese flags and chanting slogans calling for more reforms, the demonstrators on Monday gathered outside the cabinets headquarters in the capital, Khartoum, to hand over a list of demands that include the election of a legislative body. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an umbrella organisation of pro-democracy groups that spearheaded relentless protests that led to the overthrow of longtime President Omar al-Bashir last year, said on Twitter that security forces violently dispersed protesters after they demanded to meet Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok and refused to negotiate with an envoy sent in his place. Large amounts of tear gas were also fired at protesters. A protester holding a placard that reads the people are still suffering [Ashraf Shazly/AFP] Demands not met Months of unprecedented street protests beginning in December 2018 forced army generals to step in and topple al-Bashir in April 2019. Demonstrations, however, continued well after al-Bashirs downfall, with protesters demanding that power be handed over to a civilian administration. Months of on-and-off negotiations culminated in the signing of a power-sharing agreement between the military and the pro-democracy movement. When we started the revolution, it was because of the economy, said Mohammed Abdu, an engineer and member of the SPA, which helped strike the deal with the military. And when the first martyr fell, the goal became justice for those who lost their lives during this revolution, Abdu told Al Jazeera. We promised to hold those who killed civilians to account. That main demand has not yet been met. Mohammed Ogeil, a political activist, regretted that establishment parties involved in the negotiations did not have a long-term vision to get the country out of its political and economic woes. They were in a rush to reach a deal, he said. They lacked a national spirit and went into negotiations based on the interests of their own respective parties. The deal, known as the constitutional agreement and signed on August 17, 2019, provides for a joint civilian-military ruling body tasked with leading the country to elections after a transitional period of 39 months. The 11-member governing body, called the sovereign council, is made up of five civilians, five military leaders and a consensus civilian agreed to by both sides. It is headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. Meanwhile, a cabinet led by Hamdok is tasked with the day-to-day running of the country, Protesters on Monday lamented the course that the transition had taken, saying that the military exerted too much influence on the civilian leadership. The course of the revolution should be corrected, activist Awatef Ossman was quoted as saying by the Associated Press, calling the militarys presence in the government a clear and specific obstacle. The prospect of a deteriorating economy, already battered by decades of US sanctions, also weighed heavily on peoples minds, with demonstrators at the rally demanding the organisation of a conference to steer the country out of the current crisis. The constitutional declaration was a settlement to reach a political solution for this country, said political analyst Tahir Mutassim. It has been a year since it was signed and the people who were protesting are still guarding their revolution, said Mutassim. The international community is one of the important factors that can make sure no one hindrances this transition. Meanwhile, Hamdok called for political and popular support for reform. The state apparatus needs to be rebuilt, the legacy of [the old regime] needs to be dismantled and the civil service needs to be modernized and developed to become unbiased between citizens, as well as effective, he said in a statement on Monday. Portland is a dead city, a nightmarish dystopia ruled by criminals associated with Antifa and Black Lives Matter. (Is there still a distinction between those groups? They seem effectively to have merged.) We are all indebted to Andy Ngo for documenting the depths to which Portland has descended. Here, Antifa/BLM criminals viciously assault a man who was driving a truck, finally kicking him in the head, knocking him unconscious and leaving him for dead: This is the moment immediately before. The mob assaults him and makes him sit in the ground while they search his belongings. When he stands up, they brutally beat him. #PortlandRiots #antifa #BlackLivesMatter Video by @livesmattershow pic.twitter.com/tEzpIz6V9U Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) August 17, 2020 Here, the Antifa/Black Lives Matter fascists attack a woman who might be that mans wifethis is unclearand knock her to the pavement: He didnt do nothing bro Video by @livesmattershow shows the altercations that happened in downtown Portland before the car crash. The BLM mob is beating a blonde woman and they tackle her to the ground. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/c0xbTr2Eon Andy Ngo (@MrAndyNgo) August 17, 2020 The Antifa/Black Lives Matter criminals assault and rob another guy: There is much more at Andy Ngos Twitter feed. I dont see how Portland can come back from the current disaster. Who would want to live in such a hellhole? No one. Seattle may be in the same doomed position, with other cities, like Chicago, Minneapolis and New York, teetering on the brink. Pretty much everyone who can get out of these cities, is getting out. The most remarkable thing, to me, is that I am not aware of a single Democratic Party politician who has condemned the violence and grotesque criminality of Antifa and Black Lives Matter. As far as I can tell, the Democratic Party is on the side of the vicious criminals whom we see in the above videos. So the lines in Novembers election are more clearly drawn than ever: Goodor at least normality!vs. evil. Police in southern Vietnam on Sunday said they had arrested six men for allegedly killing a man at a local eatery on Saturday. According to preliminary information, Chau Thuol, a 28-year-old man residing in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, and six other men went to an eatery located in Thanh Phu Ward, Vinh Cuu District, Dong Nai Province to grab a few drinks. Dinh Van Toi, a 22-year-old man from An Giang, was seated with his friends at a nearby table. During the night, Thuol reportedly spat at one of Toi's friends unprovoked. When another member of Tois group came over to Thuols table to ask for the reason, Thuols group left without giving any response. Around 30 minutes later, Thuol and a few other young men, armed with machetes and knives, returned to the venue in search of Tois group for a fight. Toi and his friends tried to flee upon seeing the aggressive group, but Thuol vigorously pursued Toi and stabbed him twice with a kitchen knife. Toi succumbed to his injuries while Thuols gang quickly fled the scene. Thuol and five other men allegedly involved in the killing of Toi were brought into police custody on Saturday night, the criminal investigation division under Dong Nais Department of Police said Sunday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A fire broke out at Mumbais iconic Crawford Market on Monday. As many as eight fire tenders have been rushed to the spot to douse the fire, news agency ANI reported. Fire-fighting operations are underway at present. More details on the accident and the cause of the fire are awaited. Mumbai: Fire breaks out at Crawford Market. 8 fire tenders present at the spot. Fire-fighting operation underway. More details awaited ANI (@ANI) August 17, 2020 This comes months after a level two fire broke out at Mumbais British-era market in June. The market is among the citys busiest spots and houses several shops. The iconic market is at a walking distance from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station. Acting Minister of Health of Belarus Vladimir Karanik, who had come out of the building of the Ministry of Health to talk to the doctors gathered in front of the building, declared that two people were killed during the protests in Belarus, one of whom was killed in Minsk. According to him, there are 158 people in hospitals, and 3 of them are in critical condition. All the other citizens are in stable condition, but not critical. There are six citizens arrested on Okrestin Street and are being checked by doctors. The minister added that doctors are allowed to visit the offenders. Karanik also declared that he doesnt have any information about 83 people were missing during the protests. Are you a current print subscriber? You qualify for online access to the Omak Chronicle. To receive your access, create a website account and then verify your print subscription or e-edition subscription with your subscriber number, which may be found on your bill or mailing label. That's why Nordstrom is proud to continue its partnership with customers and the nonprofit Shoes That Fit for the tenth year in a row to provide brand-new and well-fitting sneakers to kids in need in local communities. Starting today and through October 4, customers can purchase $10 giving cards in all Nordstrom stores or donate online. "At Nordstrom, we are committed to making a difference in our communities," said Scott Meden, chief marketing officer at Nordstrom. "Each pair of shoes donated represents a child with more confidence, hope, self-esteem and joy. We are thankful to our customers and employees who have helped us give more than 200,000 pairs of shoes to kids in need over the last 10 years." Small Steps for Big Impact Shoes are often the most visible sign of their situation. Since 2010, together with its customers, Nordstrom has raised nearly $4 million to give 200,000 kids in need a brand-new pair of shoes. These shoes have been delivered at schools across the United States, all of which have a high percentage of students on free or reduced lunch programs. When children receive their new shoes through the Shoes That Fit program, schools shared that 40% of those students increased attendance and 87% reported increased self-esteem. "For children to reach their full potential, they need to feel good about themselves. Creating this confidence in children at a young age is empowering and critical to their future success," said Amy Fass, CEO of Shoes That Fit. "We are proud to partner with Nordstrom to give back to these children and invest in their future." This year, Nordstrom has also enlisted the help of Olympic gold-medalist Gabby Douglas to encourage people to help the retailer donate over 35,000 shoes to kids in need. How You Can Give Back From August 17 October 4, visit any U.S. Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack, Nordstrom Local or Last Chance location to purchase a $10 Shoes That Fit giving card. One hundred percent of proceeds from every giving card purchased goes toward the gift of one pair of new sneakers for a child in need. Individuals can also make an online, tax-deductible donation at www.shoesthatfit.org/Nordstrom. Beyond the partnership with Shoes That Fit, Nordstrom supports the local communities where it does business. In 2019, the company donated nearly $11 million to 392 organizations in every community where Nordstrom does business. Many of these organizations provide basic necessities to kids and families so they can thrive and reach their full potential. Beyond the partnership with Shoes That Fit, Nordstrom supports the local communities where it does business. In 2019, the company donated nearly $11 million to 392 organizations in every community where Nordstrom does business. Many of these organizations provide basic necessities to kids and families so they can thrive and reach their full potential. MEDIA CONTACT: Caroline Mattingly Nordstrom, Inc. [email protected] 1-877-746-6228 SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc. Related Links www.nordstrom.com Press Release August 17, 2020 Villanueva: PhilHealth must foot entire bill of workers' COVID-19 testing; urges state health insurer to craft 'fair' reimbursement program to assuage concerns of employers The cost of testing workers for COVID-19 should be charged to PhilHealth since both employer and employee shared in the mandatory monthly contributions to the state health insurer's fund, according to Senator Joel Villanueva. Villanueva, chair of the Senate labor committee, sought to ensure the effectiveness of infection control by assisting employers to comply with the directive of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that "highly encouraged to regularly send their employees for testing once every quarter, at no cost to the employees." "Hindi po tayo dapat mag-alinlangan na isailalim sa test ang ating mga empleyado. I-charge po natin ang gastos sa PhilHealth dahil obligasyon nila sa kanilang mga miyembro na tugunan ang pangangailangan, lalo na ngayong panahon ng pandemya," Villanueva said in a statement. "Tuluyan pong malulumpo ang ating ekonomiya kahit na bahagya itong nakabukas kung magkakasakit ang ating mga manggagawa. Sa ngayon, tanging testing at contact tracing pa lang po ang epektibong paraan para bawasan ang risk ng pagkakahawa sa sakit." "Malinaw po sa datos na kailangan po ng mabilis, pulido at komprehensibong pagtugon sa pandemya, at isang bahagi nito ang regular at random testing ng mga manggagawa," he added. Villanueva called on the PhilHealth to come up with a program that will expedite the process of testing or reimbursements to companies who will send their employees to COVID-19 testing. Both employers and employees make equal contributions to the PhilHealth as mandated by law. The lawmaker said he understood the predicament of some employers as the cost of testing could further weaken businesses already impaled by the two-month enhanced community quarantine in the second quarter of the year. "The hesitation of employers to test their workers stems from the fact that there is a lot of uncertainty in PhilHealth's ability to reimburse testing expenses," the lawmaker added. "Given the things we've learned in PhilHealth's IRM program, PhilHealth should put sufficient safeguards to ensure equity in the proposed reimbursement program for employers." The full impact of the quarantine drove the country's economy to contract by 16.5% in the April-June period, as unemployment soared to an estimated 17.7% or about 7.3 million displaced workers. As of Aug. 10, DOLE said it received notices of permanent closure from 766 businesses, while 6,993 establishments implemented retrenchments which directly affected 143,200 workers On Aug. 15, DOLE and DTI issued a set of supplemental guidelines on workplace prevention and control of COVID-19, which included a provision that stated the conduct of regular testing of employees. (Image: Reuters) Ankhi Das, Facebooks Director Public Policy in India, South & Central Asia, has filed a complaint with the Cyber Cell Unit in Delhi against numerous people for issuing violent life threats through online posting or publishing of content, ANI reported. Das move comes days after a controversial Wall Street Journal (WSJ) feature on the social networking sites struggle to monitor hate speech on the platform in the country, when rules were allegedly flouted by those holding positions in the ruling political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She has been accused of favouring the BJP and its political affiliates against hate speech rules. Das, the WSJ story said quoting former and current employees, had opposed application of hate-speech rules to at least four Hindu nationalist individuals and groups, who were internally flagged for promoting or participating in violence. According to employees charged with policing the platform, among the violators politician T Raja Singh who said Rohingya Muslim immigrants should be shot, called Muslims traitors and threatened to raze mosques, should have had his account taken down for the statements given Indias communally charged history. His accounts on Facebook and Instagram (sister social network) remain active, WSJ said. The report alleges that Das, whose job includes lobbying the Indian government on Facebooks behalf, cautioned employees from aggravating politicians belonging to Prime Minister Narendra Modis party. India is also Facebooks (and WhatsApps) biggest market in terms of user base. Facebook spokesperson Andy Stone told WSJ that Singhs retention on the platform had not been solely politically driven and the company was still considering whether a ban is warranted. He added that hate speech was prohibited globally without regard to political or party affiliation. The paper, however, pointed out that the company had bent policies on earlier instances to suit political realities for example, hate speech rules in Germany are stricter than in the United States. Das, Singh, the prime ministers office or the BJP did not respond to WSJs queries. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Herve Bar (Agence France-Presse) Ostia, Italy Mon, August 17, 2020 11:07 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e82c16 2 Lifestyle Italy,party Free "Put your masks on!" repeats the DJ, shouting vainly into his microphone, but the dancers below, dripping in sweat, don't seem to care. On a recent night at the Kiki nightclub in Ostia, a popular seaside resort on the outskirts of Rome, the coronavirus threat seems both distant and yet very present. During a night for over-50s at this open-air disco on Ostia's beachfront, the rules are well known: a mask is mandatory, and dancing must be done at least one metre from a partner. "Who cares about all that," laughed one partygoer, Claudio, his belly jutting forward and shirt wide open. With his mask in his pocket, he boogies alone, not to respect social distancing but because his friends are chatting elsewhere. Around him, the approximately 200 to 300 party-goers dance to the blaring electro music, many without masks as they flirt, laugh and drink gin and tonics in the heat. It takes the weary insistence of the staff, the calls of the DJ and a rumor of a possible police raid to get the crowd to comply begrudgingly and cover their faces. Read also: Italy orders virus tests on Croatia, Greece, Malta, Spain arrivals Party pooper While the threat of a second wave of coronavirus looms nearer in several European countries, such as Spain, Italy is trying to stem new infections in the middle of "Ferragosto", the sacrosanct holiday weekend of August 15. On Sunday, after a period of arm wrestling between the government and regions over the thorny issue of discos, Health Minister Roberto Speranza signed a decree suspending their operation. The new rules go into effect on Monday, giving partygoers one last weekend night to celebrate. Closed establishments had already been prohibited from operating but regions had the discretion to decide whether or not to allow open-air clubs. Calabria, for one, had ordered the closure of all dance venues while Sardinia had kept them open. Some, like Veneto to the north, mandated reduced occupancy. Already, traditional rites of summer have been altered. Bonfires on the beach and a traditional midnight jump into the sea at Ferragosto were banned this year. The topic was politically sensitive, as authorities don't want to appear to be punishing Italians during well-deserved summer holidays after a grueling lockdown that was largely respected. The sector employs nearly 50,000 people in 3,000 nightclubs around the country, according to the nightclub operators' union (SILB). Wild and free? Images of crowds of young holiday-goers dancing and drinking at night have been plastered on the front pages of Italian newspapers. "The contagion is on the rise but we're dancing," proclaimed the Corriere Della Sera, which slammed Sardinia's clubs as being "joyful contagion machines". At the establishment Manila Beach in Fregene, on the coast outside Rome, party organizer Gianluca Skiki said his venue, which normally welcomes up to 2,000 customers on its beach, had to make do with 250. Despite some semblances of a nightclub -- a DJ, sequined miniskirts and high heels worn by some -- the experience appeared odd. Couples were sitting at tables with distance between them to eat, and were instructed to dance only in front of their tables. "If the police come, everyone has to be at their table," Skiki explained. "There's no real nightclub here any more, it's about the only thing we're allowed to organize." He acknowledged the experience fell short of the carefree, wild parties of the past Topics : Italy party By PTI MUMBAI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday opposed the bail plea of activist Sudha Bharadwaj, arrested in the Elgar Parishad-Koregaon Bhima case, in the Bombay High Court saying her ailments were not of serious nature. The NIA also said authorities at the Byculla prison were capable of attending to Bharadwaj's medical needs. After hearing arguments from the NIA and Bharadwaj's counsel, the HC directed the Maharashtra government to submit the latest health report of the activist. Appearing for the NIA, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh told a bench led by Justice Amjad Sayed that Bharadwaj had been denied bail on merits on previous occasions. He said the plea of Bharadwaj, 58, seeking bail on the ground that she might contract coronavirus infection in the prison, should not be allowed by the court. Bharadwaj's counsel Ragini Ahuja had earlier told the HC that the activist had been in jail for over two years. Ahuja said Bharadwaj had comorbidities that put her at a higher risk of contracting the virus. Earlier this month, the Byculla prison authorities had submitted a report in the HC stating that Bharadwaj was diabetic and suffered from ischemia, a heart condition, but that her vital parameters were normal. The HC, however, pointed out that a bench led by Chief Justice Dipankar Datta had presided over a PIL filed by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and had sent detailed guidelines for prison authorities across the state to ensure the safety of inmates in light of COVID-19. "The prison authorities are bound to follow the guide so what remains in your petition?" the bench asked. The NIA too argued that the PUCL order had taken care of all the grievances raised by Bharadwaj in her plea. "These are not serious ailments. As and when she complains, she is attended to, by medical authorities. And the prison authorities are following all ICMR guidelines on maintaining social distancing and also other safety measures," ASG Singh said. Ahuja, however, argued the Byculla prison was severely over-crowded, and it was impossible to follow the guidelines there. "The court's directions do not mitigate the petitioner's comorbidities and the fact that Byculla prison remains severely over-crowded. The court's directions can't possibly be implemented," Ahuja said. At this, the bench directed the Maharashtra government to submit Bharadwaj's latest health report and an affidavit within a week clarifying how it proposed to implement safety guidelines and the court's PUCL judgement in the Byculla prison to protect inmates. Bharadwaj had approached the HC after a special court in the city rejected her plea seeking bail on medical grounds on May 29 this year. The case pertains to caste violence that took place near the Koregaon Bhima war memorial in Pune district on January 1, 2018, following alleged provocative speeches at Elgar Parishad conclave at Pune a day earlier. The ED said that Swapna Suresh had travelled to the UAE with Sivasankar. (Photo- ANI) Kochi: Three key accused in the high-profile Kerala gold smuggling case, Sarith PS, Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, were sent to judicial custody till August 26 by a Kochi court on Monday. Principal Sessions Court in Ernakulam remanded the three accused to judicial custody till August 26 after hearing the submission from all sides. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), during the hearing today, revealed more details about the relation between M Sivasankar, who was the former principal secretary of Kerala CMO, with Swapna Suresh. "During April 2017, Swapna Suresh had travelled to the UAE with Sivasankar. Further, during April 2018, Swapna had travelled to Oman and met Sivasankar who was on a trip to Oman in the same period and they returned together to India from Oman," the ED said. The economic offences watchdog submitted that during October 2018, Swapna and Sivasankar travelled together to the UAE. "They also returned together. This particular trip was coupled with the visit of the Chief Minister of Kerala to the UAE for seeking assistance of Indians there for flood relief in Kerala. Further proceeds of crime were kept by Swapna in the bank locker jointly opened with a third person as per the instruction of Sivasankar. An in-depth investigation in this regard is to be conducted," it said. The three accused were sent to judicial custody today after the completion of their ED custody for interrogation in the matter. Notably, the ED had also recently questioned M Sivasankar. The matter, which pertains to the smuggling of gold in the state through diplomatic channels, had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crores, smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage, was busted by customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:11:14|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHANGHAI, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Coca-Cola China and its bottling partners will continue to expand investment in local supply chains to improve efficiency, ensure supply, and serve domestic consumers' demand. The beverage giant achieved good second-quarter results in the Chinese market, despite the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, and continues to set up new factories and production lines in China to meet evolving consumer needs. In the second half of 2020, Swire Coca-Cola, a bottler of Coca-Cola, plans to put six new production lines into operation, with a total investment of 250 million yuan (about 36 million U.S. dollars) and an additional annual output value exceeding 1.7 billion yuan. Swire Coca-Cola also plans to add a plastic bottle production line to its plant in central China's Hubei Province, which is expected to go operational in May 2021. In addition, COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages Ltd., another bottling partner of Coca-Cola, has started building its first factory in China's southwestern province of Guizhou. With an estimated investment of 270 million yuan, the new facility, scheduled for operation by the end of 2021, will start with two advanced PET soda production lines with an annual capacity of 170,000 tonnes. "We believe the second quarter will prove to be the most challenging of the year; however, we still have work to do," said James Quincey, chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, adding that the company will continue to adjust and accelerate its strategies in the fast-changing landscape. Besides launching new production lines, the company has also accelerated digital transformation in China in the face of the surging demand for online shopping since the outbreak of the epidemic. Coca-Cola China has been working closely with online shopping and services platforms such as Meituan Dianping and JD.com this year to tap the potential of online consumption. Enditem In a form of naming-rights negotiation that also has been used on high-profile properties such as the former John Hancock Center, New Jersey-based Prudential had the option of paying the amount proposed by Sterling Bay to retain the name, or refusing the offer and receiving the same fee in return for giving up its naming rights. MADRID Former Spanish king Juan Carlos, who left Spain under a cloud of scandal, has been in the United Arab Emirates since Aug. 3, a royal household spokesman said on Monday, putting an end to an international guessing game over the 82-year-olds whereabouts. Juan Carlos had said on Aug. 3 he would leave Spain after controversial aspects of his past private life came to light, but did not say where he was going. King Juan Carlos has told the royal household that he went to the Emirates on Aug. 3, and he remains there now," the spokesman said. The once-popular king abdicated in favour of his son Felipe in 2014 after a tax fraud case involving members of the royal family, and an ill-judged elephant hunting trip at a time when Spaniards were struggling with a deep recession. After leaving the throne, he took a step back from public life. But the controversy continued, culminating with a move by Spains Supreme Court in June to open a preliminary investigation into his involvement in a high-speed rail contract built by Spanish firms in Saudi Arabia. Switzerlands La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported Juan Carlos had received $100 million from the late Saudi king. Switzerland has also opened an investigation. The former monarch is not formally under investigation and has repeatedly declined to comment on the subject. After he announced his decision to leave, Juan Carloss lawyer said his client remained at the Spanish prosecutors disposal. Spanish daily ABC reported 10 days ago that Juan Carlos had travelled on a private plane to Abu Dhabi from the northwestern Spanish city of Vigo and was staying at the government-owned Hotel Emirates Palace, while some media had speculated Juan Carlos was in the Dominican Republic or Portugal. 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 last surviving golden eagle in Wales has been found dead by a walker as BBC Springwatch presenter lolo Williams says 'we are a poorer country without her'. The naturalist TV presenter spent weeks tracking the golden eagle over remote valleys and hills. The bird was already something of a local celebrity - with a dedicated Facebook fan page detailing sightings but often going unseen for months at a time. But the eagle has been found dead by a walker in the Abergwesyn Valley, Powys. It is not yet known how the bird died. The last surviving golden eagle in Wales was found dead by a walker in the Abergwesyn Valley, Powys The bird was already something of a local celebrity - with a dedicated Facebook fan page detailing sightings but often going unseen for months at a time Springwatch presenter lolo Williams spent weeks tracking the golden eagle over remote valleys and hills Williams described the death of Wales' last golden eagle as 'more than the death of just an eagle'. He tracked the movements of the originally captive bird in the remote valleys of the Cambrian Mountains for his latest series Iolo: The Last Wilderness of Wales. 'Wales has lost one of its greatest characters,' he said. The golden eagle - with a wingspan of up to 2.2 metres - has been largely extinct from England and Wales since 1850 with the only UK stronghold remaining in Scotland. The last one in Wales was originally captive but was freed to live over the mountains around Tregaron, Powys. Williams described the death of Wales' last golden eagle as 'more than the death of just an eagle' For his latest series Iolo: The Last Wilderness of Wales, the TV presenter tracked the bird through the remote valleys of the Cambrian Mountains The golden eagle - with a wingspan of up to 2.2 metres - has been largely extinct from England and Wales since 1850 Iolo said: 'The demise of this magnificent bird is more than just the death of an eagle. 'The Tregaron area has lost one of its great characters and Wales has lost a palpable link to its distant past. We are a poorer country without her.' The eagle was collected by a fellow member of Iolos television crew who has ensured its registration in the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme run by the Welsh Government. The cause of the birds death remains unknown and naturalists hope that the species can be reintroduced into the wild. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have spoken about employment generation and measures to revive the economy in his address to the nation on the Independence Day, said Shiv Sena on Monday. The Sena mouthpiece, Saamna, said that in his nearly 90 minutes speech the Prime Minister spoke about the Corona vaccine trials in India, the countrys defence ability, National Digital Health Mission, among other things, but questioned whether the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme which is being hyped would be able to tide over the economic crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic? Also read | No one can challenge Indias sovereignty, says PM Modi on I-Day Till now around 14 crore people in the country have lost their jobs. In future, this number is going to increase. People have to get out of their homes, but what will they do once they are getting out? Jobs, businesses and employment has been destroyed. It would have been better if the Prime Minister would have spoken about these, the editorial in Saamna read. Also read | From the ramparts of Red Fort, PM Modi says India will realise its dream: Highlights of PM Modis Independence Day speech Sena further said that although our countrys Army and Air Force are there to safeguard countrys borders and keep enemies at bay, but how will we fight the devil of hunger and joblessness which is running amok in the country? It also put out a jibe at Defence Minister Rajnath Singhs speech on Independence Day. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had stated during the flag hoisting on Independence Day that India has the ability to speed up the global economy. Leave alone the world Sir, speed up the countrys economy. Independence Day comes and goes, the Red Fort is the same, the problems and woes are still the same, it read. The Dominican Republic on Sunday sworn in Luis Abinader as the new president ending 16 years of rule by the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD). The candidate of the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) convincingly defeated the PLD candidate, former public works and communications minister Gonzalo Castillo, in the July poll. The 52-year-old entrepreneur had previously lost a 2016 bid for the presidency and has no previous experience in public office. He campaigned on promises of modernisation, fighting corruption and crime as well as creating jobs. We are living one of the most difficult moments of our history, Abinader said in his inaugural speech in Santo Domingo, which was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as he said he would lead a government of unlimited dialogue. The elections were described as the first in Latin America since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, which overshadowed campaigning and the vote itself. Abinader, who at one point tested positive for the coronavirus, had focused on promises to revive the economy during the campaign. He replaces Danilo Medina, whom the constitution barred from seeking a third term and who presided over high economic growth rates an average of more than 6 percent annually between 2014 and 2018 before the pandemic hit. However, the governments popularity was dented by corruption allegations, internal divisions within the PLD, and Medinas previous attempts to seek an unconstitutional third term in office. The country of 11 million people, which shares Hispaniola island with Haiti, has confirmed more than 86,000 novel coronavirus cases and more than 1,450 deaths. Follow Us on Facebook @LadunLiadi; Instagram @LadunLiadi; Twitter @LadunLiadi; Youtube @LadunLiadiTV for updates Union officials representing U.S. Postal Service workers in New Jersey said they are seeing mail delivery delays and unprecedented changes to operations that they believe are intended to hobble the agency. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is coming under fire for making changes that critics argue are part of an attempt by President Donald Trump to prevent the USPS from handling an expected flood of mail-in ballots in the presidential election. With many fearful of lining up at the polls on Election Day amid the coronavirus pandemic, the timing for DeJoys moves are considered suspicious by many. An 11-year-old Judson youth sports cheerleader was remembered Sunday as a very loving and caring child who could light up a room, a day after she was fatally shot and a 35-year-old woman was critically injured. The death of Donita Elizabeth Henry-Phillips was described as a senseless crime by Police Chief William McManus. Police are searching for suspects in what appears to have been a random shooting Saturday night on the Northeast Side. Authorities were called to the 5500 block of Walzem around 6 p.m. about a shooting in progress near a Long John Silvers Seafood Restaurant. Once there, authorities discovered that people in two vehicles that were traveling in the same direction had been hit by gunfire. Donita was riding in one vehicle with six other children and one adult when the shots rang out. Emergency medical technicians took her to a local hospital. She died Sunday morning, police said. Top hits: Get San Antonio Express-News stories sent directly to your inbox This was a senseless crime that ended the life of an innocent child, McManus said Sunday. Detectives and officers have been working around the clock to gather leads and identify suspects. The criminals responsible will be brought to justice. A 35-year-old woman riding in a separate vehicle with two other people was wounded by gunfire. Police said she was in critical but stable condition Sunday afternoon in a local hospital. Police released few details, but they are investigating a nearby crash. A man who left the restaurant wrecked a vehicle about the same time as the shootings. Reports indicate that he left on foot. Tributes to Donita poured in on social media Sunday when the childs identity was released. She was a cheerleader with the Judson Youth Football Associations Venom organization. According to information on its site, the JYFA is dedicated to youth sports, including football, cheerleading, baseball and softball, and its members practice in Converse. The Judson group is affiliated with the Texas Youth Football and Cheer Association, which posted condolences for Donita on its Facebook page as well. It is never easy losing a child, and for her to be taken from this earth this way is truly heartbreaking, the statement read. The entire TYFA family mourns your loss, and we want to send our thoughts and prayers to Donitas family and the Venom organization. Rest in Heaven young lady! A related youth sports group called Da Breakdown also took to Facebook to honor Donita. Yesterday, August 15th, 11-year-old Donita Elizabeth Henry-Phillips was taken from us too soon. Donita was a cheerleader with the Venom organization, she was very loving, caring, and had a smile that could light up a room, the statement read. We want to send our thoughts and prayers to the family, and the Venom organization. Rest In Peace Princess. A GoFundMe page for Donita indicated that she was going to a grocery store with her family when someone was shooting in a local parking lot. The family requested financial help to pay for her funeral and the family car, which was totaled in the shooting, the posting said. Homicide detectives ask anyone with information about the shooting to call 210-207-7365. Elizabeth Zavala covers county and state courts in San Antonio. To read more from Elizabeth, become a subscriber. ezavala@express-news.net | Twitter: @elizabeth2863 WASHINGTON - Top Senate Democrats have set their sights on the little-known board that oversees the U.S. Postal Service, urging it to undo the new postmaster general's controversial policies out of concern they have "endangered" Americans. The call for action came Monday from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) and five other Democratic senators. They urged the Postal Service's board of governors to rein in Postmaster General Louis DeJoy by canceling his recent policies - including a crackdown on overtime - that postal workers say have caused mail delivery and processing slowdowns. They raised the prospect that the watchdog body could remove DeJoy from his post outright if he chooses not to cooperate. "It is critical that you act immediately to address efforts by President Trump and Mr. DeJoy to sabotage the Postal Service," the Democrats wrote, adding the board needed to act swiftly to ensure Americans receive their prescriptions, ballots and other critical mail on time. The Board of Governors includes nine members appointed by the president, and confirmed by the Senate, who have the task of selecting the nation's postmaster general and overseeing the USPS. President Donald Trump has filled six of the nine slots, and all but one of them is a Republican. Warren and other Democrats contend in their letter that DeJoy had "undermine[d] the mission of the Postal Service," and in response, they said its board of governors has the "authority and responsibility to act." "It is time to use your full power and authority on behalf of the Postal Service, the American people, and the 'public interest' you are required to represent," added the collection of lawmakers, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. A spokesman for USPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Congressional Democrats' latest salvo comes amid mounting pressure on the U.S. Postal Service and DeJoy, a former logistics executive and Republican fundraiser. House Democrats have demanded that he testify at an emergency hearing next Monday along with Robert Duncan, the chairman of the board of governors, amid accusations they are pushing "dangerous new policies that threaten to silence the voices of millions," they said this weekend. In recent days, DeJoy's agency changes have reduced mail deliveries and overtime hours, resulting in massive mail backlogs that have delayed critical communications and packages, including prescription drugs. The Postal Service also sought to eliminate hundreds of high-speed mail sorting machines this month while removing public-collection boxes in states including California, New York and Pennsylvania, sparking a broad outcry. The USPS has described the mailbox removals as routine, though it pledged to cease the practice until after the election after a public backlash. DeJoy's efforts have sparked intense scrutiny in part because of Trump, who last week said he opposed offering election aid to states - and emergency money for the U.S. Postal Service - to restrict Americans from voting by mail. Trump has repeatedly claimed without evidence that mailed ballots invite voter fraud, infuriating a wide array of critics who see the comments as an attack on the election itself at a time when the coronavirus has many Americans scared from physically going to the polls. Trump and his top aides recently have walked back some of the comments, expressing an openness for new aid targeted at the beleaguered Postal Service. "The president of the United States is not going to interfere with anybody casting their votes in a legitimate way whether it's the post office or anything else," said Mark Meadows, the president's chief of staff, during an interview on CNN this weekend. Trump weighed in Monday afternoon. "The U.S. Post Office (System) has been failing for many decades. We simply want to MAKE THE POST OFFICE GREAT AGAIN, while at the same time saving billions of dollars a year for American Taxpayers. Dems don't have a clue! @USPostOffice911," he said in a tweet. - - - The Washington Post's Jacob Bogage, Amy Gardner, Josh Dawsey and Paul Kane contributed to this report. By PTI COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's former president Maithripala Sirisena has been summoned by a presidential probe panel on August 26 to record his statement on the deadly Easter Sunday attacks, officials said on Monday. Nine suicide bombers belonging to local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaat (NTJ) linked to ISIS carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and as many luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday last year, killing 258 people, including 11 Indians. The previous government headed by President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was blamed for its inability to prevent the attacks despite the prior intelligence made available on the impending attack. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who pledged an independent probe in the incident during his election campaign in November last year, continued with the same panel appointed by then president Sirisena after assuming office. The police unit of the panel appointed by then president Sirisena has asked him to appear before them on August 26, officials said. The panel last week summoned former prime minister Wickremesinghe to appear before it on August 18. The development comes days after Wickremesinghe suffered a crushing defeat in the August 5 parliamentary election where he failed to enter parliament for the first time since 1977. He and two of his seniors - Sagala Ratnayake and Ruwan Wijewardena - both former ministers who had police and defense responsibility in the government between 2015 and November 2019 - have also been summoned. The Easter attack was one of the main reasons for the defeat of Wickremesinghe's government. Several panels were appointed as the public outrage mounted against the government. The then police chief and the top defense ministry bureaucrat were remanded for their criminal negligence. The government was blamed for failure to prevent the attacks despite prior warnings from India. Wickremesinghe said that due to political differences Sirisena while holding the defense ministry control had excluded him from the national security council deliberations. The probe panel on Saturday visited one of the Churches devastated by the bombings in the western coastal town of Negombo. Press Release 17 August 2020 At the Swiss Education Group, we pride ourselves on our innovative approach to learning and our ability to be agile and flexible when it comes to meeting our students' and industry partners' needs. The launch of our online learning platform is a significant milestone in building a continuous lifelong learning hub. Regardless of where you are located, you can now access our certificate programmes at affordable prices. Our online certificate programmes are designed by our expert faculty in collaboration with industry experts. They focus on specific subjects of high relevance for the current hospitality demands. Upon completion, you will receive a certificate from one of our schools, SHMS Swiss Hotel Management School, Hotel Institute Montreux, and Cesar Ritz Colleges Switzerland. Our programmes vary in duration - either two, three, or four weeks in length - and require around five hours of focused work per week. We offer both self-guided and guided learning certificate programmes comprised of short but inspiring lectures and practical learning guidance, followed with thorough tutorial feedback and support. You can expect top quality content, i.e. videos, presentations, industry leader interviews, and webinars - and because classes are limited to a maximum of 25 students, we are able to maintain that personalised connection. 'Online Certificate Programmes by Swiss Education Group will provide professionals within the industry with the opportunity to drive their success by investing in their careers' Sonia Santana Cerpa, Co-Managing Director of Swiss Education Group Professional. Courses can be enrolled for individually, or you can take advantage of our bundle offers comprising multiple courses. Our programmes are run by the acclaimed Swiss Hotel Management School, Hotel Institute Montreux, and Cesar Ritz Colleges Switzerland, and cover a broad spectrum of focus areas, from operations to strategic business management, following these categories: Hospitality Management; Rooms Division; Food & Beverage; Culinary and Wines, Quality Operations Management; Customer Experience Excellence, Digital Marketing; Business Specializations; Luxury; Data Science; People and Culture; and Executive Leadership. These programmes can help learners broaden knowledge, hone specific skills, and develop the confidence to implement the learnings within your workplace and offering your company a competitive edge. Examples of some of our courses include: Leading Organisation Transformation; Business Etiquette; Artificial Intelligence + Hospitality Challenges and Business Opportunities; Food & Beverage Revenue & Value Creation; Developing a Values-Driven Workplace; Digital Marketing for Hoteliers; Luxury Online Business, and How to Become a Restaurateur. Along with the academic aspects of the curriculum, enrolling with us will connect you with a global community of like-minded professionals who you will be able to engage with through our forums, group activities and guided learning experiences. 'These online certificate programmes are part of our diverse value propositions for students and industry professionals. Online learners can become part of our global learning community, enjoying great virtual networking, learning events and other benefits' Mr Yong Shen, Chief Executive Officer of Swiss Education Group. Swiss Education Group's technical team has worked to ensure that our learning platform is user-friendly and intuitive, with a variety of message boards and forums in place to encourage the exchange of ideas and guarantee that you are always kept informed of requirements and resources available to you. There has never been a more opportune moment to invest in yourself and your career, and to set aside time to ensure you are on the Swiss right path to achieve your career goals. Online Certificate Programmes by Education Group strive to help you future-proof your skills and expertise to ensure you can adapt to the challenges and changes we can expect as the world emerges from this pandemic. Ghana is getting closer to full normal life, as President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced the easing of more coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions. In the latest streak of easing, the President lifted the cap on the number of people who can attend conferences, workshops and award events, subject to the maintenance of social distancing among participants, ventilation of the premises and a two-hour limit for each session. He also indicated that the opening of the borders by air could start from September 1, this year. In his 15th address to the nation last night on the status of Ghanas coordinated effort to defeat the COVID-19, the President said: We have gradually moved to restoring normalcy in some aspects of our lives. Our phased approach towards returning our lives to normal, through the strategic, controlled, progressive and safe easing of restrictions, will, thus, continue. Tertiary students The President said continuing students in some tertiary institutions would return to school on August 24, this year to finish their academic year. They include students of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), Ho, the technical universities and some other colleges that had not completed their studies for the academic year. That was because, he explained, through online learning portals, almost all continuing students in the universities, except those of the UCC, the UHAS, Ho, the technical universities and some other colleges, had completed their studies for the academic year. Safety President Akufo-Addo said the government, through the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES), would ensure that all the tertiary institutions that would welcome students were disinfected. Universities will be equipped with the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE), and those with their own hospitals and clinics will have isolation centres to deal with any positive cases. All other institutions without their own clinics and hospitals will be mapped to health facilities, he said. He also banned mass gatherings and sporting activities on the university campuses, stressing that social distancing and the wearing of nose masks must become the norm on the campuses. However, he said, religious activities would be permitted under the new protocols. Pre-tertiary schools The President said he had directed the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection to begin preparations to provide one hot meal a day to all 584,000 final-year junior high school (JHS) students, and the 146,000 staff, in both public and private schools, from August 24 up to September 18. That was to help them to fully observe the COVID-19 safety protocols, as reports indicated that the compliance had led to some final-year JHS students going hungry. The President also said the Ministry of Education was still engaging the GES and all relevant stakeholders to conclude modalities for the reopening of pre-tertiary schools. He gave an assurance that he would always take into consideration the safety and well-being of the children, teachers and non-teaching staff in the decisions that would be taken. Borders Although the borders remain closed to human traffic, he gave the indication that reopening the border by air could start on September 1, this year. I want to ensure that we are in a position to test every single passenger who arrives in the country to avoid the spread of the virus. The outcome of that exercise will show us the way and determine when we can reopen our border by air. I am hoping that, by Gods grace, we will be ready to do so by 1st September, President Akufo-Addo stated. He said the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Company Limited had been working with the Ministry of Health and its agencies to ascertain the countrys readiness to reopen the Kotoka International Airport. Until further notice, our borders, by air, land and sea, remain closed to human traffic. For Ghana residents stranded abroad, special dispensation will continue to be given for their evacuation back to Ghana, where they will be subjected to the mandatory quarantine and safety protocols, he said. He stressed that the beaches, pubs, cinemas and nightclubs were to remain closed until further notice. Voters registration successful The President lauded the Electoral Commission (EC) for doing a brilliant job in the midst of the pandemic. He said the EC rose to the occasion to ensure that all eligible voters were given the unfettered opportunity to register. Recoveries impressive Making reference to his 14th update on July 26, this year, he indicated that the data, especially with active cases at the time, showed clearly that the country was on the path towards limiting, containing and, ultimately, defeating the virus. As of that period, he said, the number of active cases was 3,307, but as of Saturday, August 15, this year, three weeks later, the number of active cases stood at 1,847, a development he described as a clear indication that the governments policies were working. Currently, there are no recorded COVID-19 cases in the North East, Savannah, Upper East and Upper West regions, and I charge their residents to do everything possible to maintain that situation. The Greater Accra, Ashanti, Central, Eastern and Western regions continue to be the regions with the highest number of active cases, he said. To date, President Akufo-Addo said, 40,567 people had recovered from the disease, which indicated an improvement in the recovery rate from 89.5 per cent to 95.1 per cent in three weeks. Our death rate continues, mercifully, to be low at 0.5 per cent, he said, and added: Happily, there are no backlogs of tests at any of our testing centres, meaning that situational reports are up to date. So far, he said, 427,121 tests had been conducted and noted that test results that used to take weeks were now available in 48 hours. These statistics undermine, as unfounded, the claim that Ghana has lost the battle to defeat COVID-19. There can only be one simple reason for this baseless assertion, and that is political expediency, he said. He once again paid tribute to health workers for their dedication to duty. We can help them even further by continuing to adhere to the social distancing and hygiene protocols we have instituted to stem the tide of infections, he said. Nose mask use President Akufo-Addo said a survey conducted by the Ghana Health Service into the use of nose masks at selected places in Accra this month revealed that over 82 per cent of the people surveyed used masks. I believe we can do even more and better and reach one 100 per cent, he added. Be responsible He reminded Ghanaians that the opening up of the country in phases continued to put an obligation and responsibility on everybody to remain vigilant and respect the enhanced hygiene, mask-wearing and social distancing protocols that had become part and parcel of the daily routine. They are proving to be effective, so let us employ them wholeheartedly. That is the way we can restore, as quickly as possible, the blessings of normalcy for which we all yearn, President Akufo-Addo said, adding: There is no room for complacency. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The reports of the demise of the neck gaiter have been greatly exaggerated. A gaiter is a tube of fabric worn around the neck, often to keep skiers or runners warm in cold weather. But during the coronavirus pandemic, lightweight neck gaiters have been popular with runners, cyclists and people with beards because they can be pulled up to cover the nose and the mouth and used as a mask. But in recent days, there has been a backlash against the gaiter. It started after a small study from Duke University demonstrated a new, inexpensive testing method for masks that uses lasers and phone cameras. But in one part of the study, a neck gaiter performed poorly when a person wearing a gaiter said the words Stay healthy, people five times. During that test, the scientists observed a slight increase in the number of expelled saliva particles when the person wore the gaiter than when the wearer wore nothing at all. However, the technique they used was not a reliable way to measure particles, and it was not a statistically meaningful finding. Still, the studys authors hypothesized that wearing a neck gaiter might cause more small droplets to spew through the fabric, not fewer. A wave of alarmist reports on news sites and social media quickly followed. Wearing a neck gaiter could be worse than wearing no mask at all, read the headline in The Washington Post. The Nigerian government has announced that international flights will resume on August 29. It also announced the procedures that would be followed for the resumption. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, announced the new dates for resumption of flights at the bi-weekly Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 briefing on Monday. He said the flight operations would commence in and out of two airports; Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja. I am pleased to announce that international flights will resume from the 29th of August, 2020. It will start with Lagos and Abuja. The protocols and procedures will be announced in due course, he said. President Muhammad Buhari had in March ordered the suspension of international flights to curb the influx of imported cases of the COVID-19 virus in the country. While local flights were also suspended, they resumed about a month ago as the country joined the rest of the world to battle the pandemic. Globally, over 21 million people have been infected with the virus and 775,228 deaths recorded. As of Sunday evening, over 49,000 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Nigeria and 975 deaths, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). Precautions Mr Sirika said all passengers would have to undergo a COVID-19 test before boarding a flight into the country. This, he said, will be followed by another test eight days after arrival in the country. Very close to your departure dates, you will take a COVID-19 test where you are coming from and then, of course, you would go online to fill the health questionnaire. There will also be a portal that we will open. Prior to your departure, you will pay through that platform for the test to be done here in Nigeria after your arrival. Meaning that, just before you depart, you take a test and when you are negative and not showing any signs of COVID-19, we will board you on the flight. When you arrive in Nigeria, you will go through the protocols and exit the airport, and then eight days after your arrival, which we consider the incubation period, you will take a test, he said. He did not explain how the authorities would ensure those who arrived would be tracked to ensure compliance The minister also noted that no one has contracted the virus while on board an aircraft. This he said is an indication that aircraft are safe for boarding. The Mena region's hotels are expected to see recovery starting in Q4 2020 and this will continue in 2021, forecasts Colliers Mena Hotel Market Survey. The forecast assumes faster recovery for the UAE and Saudi Arabia markets. The UAE will benefit from the build up to the Expo Dubai with the actual event expected to start in Q4 2021. In Saudi Arabia, once the expected recovery begins in Q4 2020, the markets are expected to continue benefiting from the on-going tourism initiatives, upcoming mega projects as well as domestic tourism, the report says. The full year forecast for Mena hotels says Dubai hotels will experience an occupancy of 40% to 45% during 2020, an year-on-year decline of 45% to 50%. Abu Dhabi hotels will see 45% occupancy, a 33 per cent decline; Ras Al Khaimah City hotels 55% occupancy (-29%). In Saudi Arabia, Riyadh is expected to see an occupancy of 47% (-23%); Jeddah 36% (-37%); Makkah 33% (-47%). Manama in Bahrain will see 31% occupancy (-44%); Kuwait city 31% (-39%); Beirut in Lebanon 26% (-51%); Cairo in Egypt 41% (-47%). In 2021, Dubai hotels are expected to see 67% to 69% occupancy; Abu Dhabi Beach 58%; Riyadh 56%; Jeddah 51%; Makkah 56%; Cairo 65%; Muscat 48% and Manama 46%, the report says. The data is extracted from Colliers International Hotels database, complemented by data from STR Global and local statistics centres. 2019 has been used as the forecasting base, the survey says. - TradeArabia News Service Mr. Trump, whose obsequiousness toward Mr. Putin remains a riddle, should make clear to him that this is not a moment to repeat Russias disastrous military intervention in Ukraine. Mr. Putin may not need much convincing. Surely, he would like Belarus to remain under Russias wing, and he has a strong allergy to any display of popular will. But Mr. Putins own political standing inside Russia is weak witness the mass protests in recent weeks in Khabarovsk and he hardly needs more discontent at home. Any military intervention would require a large commitment of forces and face popular resistance. Mr. Putin seems to have little personal affinity for Mr. Lukashenko, who has always tried to play Russia against the West. Still, the situation in Belarus has no easy answers for Mr. Putin: He does not want to embrace a flailing and failing dictator, but nor can he welcome an example of democratic success on Russias border. Figure 01 Location map showing Northern Stars Pogo gold mine and their Goodpaster gold deposit in relation to Millrocks claim block (blue shading), and target areas and drill holes on Millrocks claims. Location map showing Northern Stars Pogo gold mine and their Goodpaster gold deposit in relation to Millrocks claim block (blue shading), and target areas and drill holes on Millrocks claims. VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Millrock Resources Inc. (TSX-V: MRO, OTCQB: MLRKF) ("Millrock" or the Company) reports that drilling at the Echo Target on the West Pogo block of the 64North gold project in Alaska has now begun. A heliportable drill rig is being used to test a strong CSAMT geophysical survey conductor in the down-dip direction from the nearby Goodpaster gold deposit located on the neighbouring claims held by Northern Star Resources Limited (Northern Star). In their August 13, 2020 press release Northern Star has indicated their intention to do definition drilling necessary to calculate an initial resource estimate for their Goodpaster deposit with A$21 million being allocated for the work. At the Echo Target, the planned depth of hole 20EC005 is 300 meters. Next to be drilled is the Reflection Target. A hole at this location is designed to pierce a CSAMT conductive zone located just above the interpreted location of the same magnetic intrusive rock that hosts the Goodpaster deposit, along a west-northwest trending fault which passes very close to both the Goodpaster deposit and the Pogo Mine. The locations of the completed, progressing and planned holes are shown in Figure 1. Work on the project is being funded by Resolution Minerals Limited (ASX: RML). A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/64509eaf-9253-4b4f-a7c5-284fe4c79754 Millrock also reports that Keith Granberry, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has indicated his intention to resign from Millrock to pursue another opportunity in Alaska. A search for a replacement CFO is underway. Mr. Granberry has expressed his commitment to a smooth transition over the coming weeks. Millrock wishes Mr. Granberry well. Starting as Controller, but then moving to the CFO position rapidly, he has been employed by Millrock for close to a decade. Story continues Millrock President and CEO Gregory Beischer commented: Keith has been an integral part of the Millrock team and has helped the company grow through the years. We will miss his support and wish him great success in his new career. Qualified Person The scientific and technical information disclosed within this document has been prepared, reviewed and approved by Gregory A. Beischer, President, CEO and a director of Millrock Resources. Mr. Beischer is a qualified person as defined in NI 43-101. About Millrock Resources Inc. Millrock Resources Inc. is a premier project generator to the mining industry. Millrock identifies, packages, and operates large-scale projects for joint venture, thereby exposing its shareholders to the benefits of mineral discovery without the usual financial risk taken on by most exploration companies. The company is recognized as the premier generative explorer in Alaska, holds royalty interests in British Columbia, Canada and Sonora State, Mexico and is a significant shareholder of junior explorer ArcWest Exploration Inc. and has a shareholding in Resolution Minerals Limited. Funding for drilling at Millrocks exploration projects is primarily provided by its joint venture partners. Business partners of Millrock have included some of the leading names in the mining industry: EMX Royalty, Centerra Gold, First Quantum, Teck, Kinross, Vale, Inmet and Altius as well as junior explorers Resolution, Riverside and PolarX. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Gregory Beischer Gregory Beischer, President & CEO FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Melanee Henderson, Investor Relations (604) 638-3164 (877) 217-8978 (toll-free) Some statements in this news release contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation) including, without limitation, managements plan to drill at the Echo Target and other planned drill holes, and a smooth transition of a replacement CFO. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, Millrocks ability to execute the planned surface exploration work and other customary risks of the resource industry, as well as Millrocks ability to attract an exploration partner on commercial terms considered acceptable to Millrocks management. The Office of the President of Ukraine has denied the statement made by the Belarusian administration stating that Ukraine allegedly insists on a new presidential election in Belarus. The Office of the President of Ukraine said it respects the political boundaries of every nation and does not interfere in issues relating to elections in other countries. "It was stated practically officially in Minsk today that the Ukrainian administration allegedly 'orders' a new election in Belarus. It's not just an absolute lie. It's deliberate fuelling of tensions. What for? What does it have to do with Ukraine if the events concern only Belarus and internal mistrust?" the Office of the President of Ukraine said in a statement posted on its website on Sunday. Interstate relations "above all, correct and balanced public statements as there will always be a tomorrow and the day after tomorrow in the relations with your neighbors, regardless of what emotional state you are in today," the Office said. The Office of the President of Ukraine called on Minsk to respect the right of its fellow citizens to life, health and freedom, emphasizing that the future of the state and politicians depends on that. "The only thing we would really like to tell the Belarusian state is respect the right if your fellow citizens to life, health and freedom. And to political maturity ... The future of Belarus and the future of many other people, including any politicians, will depend on that," the Office said. "Ukraine definitely respects the geographical and political boundaries of every nation and does not interfere in election issues or someone's victory in them," the statement said. "No doubt, one cannot silence the voice of protests, which have thousands of participants, fellow citizens, with references to a neighboring state. If there is no trust, and the world sees that there is not even anything close to trust, this shortage cannot be covered by unfair accusations made against the administration of a different country. That can only lead to more mistrust," the Office of the President of Ukraine said. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier on Sunday at a rally organized by his supporters in the Minsk Independence Square that the Baltic states and Ukraine "are ordering" that a new presidential election be held in Ukraine. He categorically denies such a possibility. "Tanks and planes are within 15 minutes of our borders. The NATO troops are crawling near our gates. Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and, unfortunately, our brotherly Ukraine and its administration are ordering us to hold a new election. If we only follow their orders, the situation will get out of control," Lukashenko said on Sunday in a speech at a rally held by his supporters in the Minsk Independent Square, in front of the Government House. A petition calling for Brisbane City Council to scrap the Christian prayer at the start of each chamber meeting has been met with two counter-petitions calling for it to be retained. The first petition lodged on the council website argued the use of a Christian prayer did "not show respect for Traditional Custodians of the land", did not foster inclusion of the community and was not appropriate for the city's "rich and diverse" population. The council has a prayer and an acknowledgement of country at the start of each meeting. Credit:Tammy Law More than 800 people had signed on to the call to remove the prayer and retain the existing acknowledgement of the traditional owners of the land. "Any additional custom should be welcoming and inclusive, and reflective of the diversity of constituents," the petition says. Southern African Leaders are meeting on Monday to decide what to do about the unrest in Mozambique. Leaders from Southern Africa are holding a virtual summit on Monday to discuss regional issues. A recent uptick in violence in Mozambique is expected to be high on the agenda. There are concerns attacks by armed groups could spill over into neighbouring countries. Al Jazeeras Haru Mutasa reports from neighbouring Zimbabwe. Traci Wells was at a school board meeting when she found out the springtime balancing act between her job and helping her children with online schooling would stretch into the fall. "I was like, I cannot do six more months of this,'' said Wells, a mother of four who is director of education for the global health program at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. With her husband working as well, "I don't know how we're going to be on all the calls and get the work done when we have these responsibilities. It's just really, really hard.'' When the coronavirus outbreak led schools to shut down in the spring, parents had to quickly rally, juggling their jobs with the added roles of teacher, tutor and occasional IT technician. It was a stressful time, but one that many families presumed would be temporary, coming at the end of the school year. But as the virus surges throughout the U.S. and many school districts again shift much or all learning online, those remote routines are resuming with no clear end in sight. Now, employers and employees are grappling with how to adapt to a new reality that may require them to extend short-term fixes and create more long-term solutions, whether that's staggering schedules, splitting jobs between two workers or offering leaves of absence. "I think employers had to very quickly allow a lot of things in the spring that they cant sustain on an ongoing basis without a little more thought and a little more structure around it,'' said Patty Pryor, a principal and litigation manager for the law firm Jackson Lewis who focuses on disability and leave management issues. "There has to be flexibility for all this to work out.' The stakes are high. Without support, some overwhelmed parents, particularly mothers, who typically take on more of the caregiving burden, say they will likely drop out of the workforce and many already have. Story continues Mothers stop working An analysis of federal census data by the Center for American Progress found that from April through July, roughly a third of unemployed millennial mothers were not working because of the closure of a school or child care facility about three times the number of young fathers who were out of work for the same reasons. But businesses still need their employees to perform to maintain the bottom line. Among companies, 66% say they are not planning or considering altering performance expectations or career development and promotion processes for workers dealing with child care issues, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson. And morale may plummet as employees without children feel pushed to pick up the slack for their colleagues who are parents. Theres a lot to balance and think through,'' Pryor said. "Employers are really struggling because of that. Its not just dollars and cents.'' Still, some are trying to step up to the challenge. In the spring, we hoped this would be a sprint, but it is becoming clearer this is looking like a triathlon,'' said Joanna Daly, a human resources vice president for IBM, which has more than 350,000 employees globally, 90% of whom are now working from home. "We really don't want our employees to be burnt out, so part of this is to listen to what employees are needing and being prepared to respond in real-time. IBM is now offering four additional weeks of flexible, paid emergency leave that can be used in increments or in a single, monthlong stretch. "They can use (it) a couple hours at a time,'' Daly said. The company will also start offering an emergency backup care benefit in early September, enabling employees to use a center or to get in-home assistance when normal child or elder care arrangements fall through. And IBM employees who want to work from home can do so until the end of this year, even if their offices have reopened. Company management will weigh whether to continue allowing that option in 2021. IBM is not alone in offering more malleable choices for employees. RBC Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of the Royal Bank of Canada, is recording meetings so that staffers can tune in when the time is most convenient. "It could be at 10 o'clock at night, or 6 in the morning,'' said Liz Lieberman, the company's head of human resources in the U.S. Remote work, and job sharing, where a pair of employees trade off days performing the same role, were options before the pandemic, Lieberman said. But such arrangements may become more commonplace because of the ongoing challenges caused by the health crisis. The company is also taking into account how some workers are juggling jobs with family responsibilities when evaluating their performance. "Theres a lot of understanding around what people are able to do,'' Lieberman said. "We have to prioritize...Its quite a daunting experience to be doing two full-time jobs at the same time.'' Productivity will dip with remote learning More than half of working parents say they will be distracted to a moderate or significant degree as they carry out job tasks while helping their children with remote learning, according to Perceptyx, an employee survey platform. Meanwhile, the survey found 42% of working parents are also somewhat or greatly worried about their job security because they are having to grapple with their kids being at home. Even sympathetic employers may face a dilemma since they need a steady workflow to stay financially afloat. A PwC survey in June found that 44% of employers felt employees were more productive working at home during the pandemic, vs. 31% who believed they were less productive and 25% who felt work output was roughly the same. "As much as employers really want to be helpful and recognize the issue parents are having," Pryor said, "there is also the economic reality that they cant afford to pay people who arent actually being productive and pulling their weight. But being too inflexible can cost businesses current workers as well as future recruits. "For organizations who are not providing the flexibility and support to work from home with children present, more than one-third of parents plan to quit within the next year,'' said Brett Wells, director of people analytics at Perceptyx. The Perceptyx survey also found that women in senior leadership roles were 1.5 times more likely to say they plan to quit within the next 12 months. 'No more boundaries' But for Traci Wells, quitting is not an option, financially or emotionally. Ive loved being a working mom ,'' she said. At the office, "Im fully engaged and present, and when I come home ... I'm the person who didnt check emails in the evenings or weekends unless it was absolutely necessary.'' Traci Wells and her four children have been working and learning at home, a balancing act that will continue in the new school year. But since the spring, the office, the classroom and her family's home have all merged "like there were no more boundaries,'' Wells said. "We're all at home in a small space trying to make things work.'' When it became too much, Wells said her manager went to bat for her, encouraging Wells to take the leave allowed under the federal medical leave act when she was unable to take off under a similar university program because she was deemed an essential worker. I didnt realize how bad it was until I took the break,'' Wells said of the pressure she'd felt juggling work with her added responsibilities at home. Before her leave, Wells tried to create an office out of her bedroom, but "sometimes there was literally no place to go,'' she said. "The baby would be napping in one room and the older kids are on calls, and my husband would be on an interview and I'd have a meeting (all) at the same time.'' While her husband has been helpful with household chores, he would sometimes forget to put their daughters on their scheduled calls. Wells was the one the girls came to with questions about their Spanish homework. And then there was her young son, whose preschool was also closed at the time. "Part of what made it so incredibly difficult was having a three-and-a-half-year-old who didnt understand that Mommy was on a call and would literally be crying behind a locked door saying 'Let me in. I want a hug,' '' she said. "He doesnt understand you're here ... but you're not really available." Remembering those struggles as she looks toward the fall is making her "anxious that it's going to get to that again.'' After finding out that her children's learning will take place online at least initially when school starts Aug. 20, Wells went on family leave in early July to ease some of her stress. Wells is due back to work Aug. 24, though the leave could be extended until the end of September. Her employer continues to be supportive, but Wells said it's been harder to ease the pressure on herself. The stress and anxiety I have is coming from myself and who I am and how I like to perform,' said Wells, who was the first person in her family to go to college and went on to earn her PhD. "The other thing that weighs on the back of my mind is, when they do have to have furloughs and make cuts, how are those decisions going to be made? And how are those going to impact working parents and working mothers in particular?" 'I don't get that break' Harriet Thomas, a mother of five, said her children began school remotely Aug. 3. Harriet Thomas and her five children are working and learning at home for the start of another school year. A supervising child support specialist for Los Angeles County, her employer has been flexible, letting employees work remotely and shifting start times to when it's more convenient for them. Thomas's days start with her logging on to her computer at 7 a.m. The four older children, who range in age from 4 to 8, get up an hour later. Then, with Zoom classes, lunch breaks, and supplemental lessons in subjects like cursive during the afternoon, the day doesn't slow down until everyone goes to bed at 8 p.m. Thomas also has a 1-year-old daughter that her husband tends to. She appreciates not having to commute nearly two hours each day, and enjoys being able to supervise her children's education. But Thomas said there's a constant push and pull. "I ... have to decide which issue is more urgent, what Im doing online with work or their immediate issue,'' she said of her children. "I may have to stop what Im doing to find whatever school supply theyre looking for ... It's rough sometimes, but I have to do it. She'll also likely have to put her pursuit of a doctorate on hold since she no longer has the office lunch breaks or small window of time between leaving work and picking up the kids to study. "I never have time for myself,'' she said. "With them being at home, and me being at home, I don't get that break.'' 'I don't want to be the bottleneck' Mary Richards, a mother of three in Monona, Wisconsin, said her children's school year will also start out with virtual learning. That means she will be juggling her work as an accountant for the city of Madison with trying to keep her 5-year old daughter engaged with online lessons, while trying to get her 1-year-old to sleep twice a day. Mary Richards, with husband, Jason, 9 year-old daughter Samantha (standing), 5 year-old Eleanor, and 1-year-old Harriet. The family will start the fall juggling work with remote learning for their daughters. When she puts the baby down for her naps, Richards often sits beside her, pecking quietly on her laptop. "I might be working, but I also have one eye on her the whole time too,'' she said. "So I'm definitely not as productive.'' Her employer has been understanding. Still, she doesn't want to spark resentment among colleagues. "I know how it feels to wait for somebody else to do their part,'' Richards said. "I dont want to be the bottleneck.'' Friction between employees who are parents and their peers who are not is a real concern. Among workers without children, 39% believe their colleagues who are parents are more distracted, according to Perceptyx. A quarter say their workload has increased and become harder to tackle because of their peers who have children, and 29% say their colleagues who are parents are less productive. Retention, recruitment on the line But many employers believe workers need flexibility during a challenging time. Among companies, 59% have offered flexible hours to support the caregiving responsibilities of their employees and another 29% are planning or considering that option, according to Willis Towers Watson. And 51% of businesses will enhance their flexible hours offering this year or in 2021, while 28% will boost their back up child care benefit. With so many employees facing similar challenges, employers "have to think about retention issues, and they have to think about how theyre viewed in social media and otherwise for future recruitment efforts,'' Pryor said. Perceptyx found that 92% of employees who strongly believe their employers are providing the leeway and support needed to work from home while caring for children plan to stay at the company for at least the next 12 months. Some employees may also want to consider switching to a part-time schedule, even if it means a pay cut, Pryor said. And working parents could hire high school or college students who are also learning remotely to supervise younger children who are at home. "There are options in how to make it work,'' Pryor said. Follow Charisse Jones on Twitter@charissejones This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Back to school 2020: Parents brace to juggle remote work, schooling Rumble Flossey is living a wonderful life on a beautiful farm in Millbrook, Ontario. It's what is knows an "ethical farm" where cows have space to roam and graze instead of being kept indoors for most of their lives. Flossey's farm has vast expanses of lush, green grass, rolling hills, ponds full of fresh water, and forested areas for shade. This is life as it should be for these gentle creatures. Dave is a farm hand who often helps out with some of the chores and animal care. He decided to take a break on this warm, summer day and he took a seat on the hill overlooking the pasture. NORTHERN Ireland will be the only part of the UK where you can make wine with EU-grown grapes after Brexit. When the so-called transition period ends on December 31 this year, wineries in Great Britain will no longer be allowed to make wine with grapes imported from the remaining 27 member states. However, due to Northern Ireland's unique position post-Brexit wine producers, if they are based here, will still be allowed to buy grapes from the continent. The new regulations were revealed in a parliamentary question to George Eustice, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) by Labour MP Neil Coyle. Expand Close Labour MP Neil Coyle. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Labour MP Neil Coyle. In an answer provided by Defra junior minister Victoria Prentis, she said: "UK-produced wine has a growing international reputation and the government is committed to supporting a thriving UK wine industry. "After the transition period, the effect of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act means it will not be possible to use grapes from third countries (including those from the EU) for the purpose of producing wine in Great Britain. "It will continue to be possible to use grapes from EU countries for the purpose of producing wine in Northern Ireland. "During the transition period, production of wine in the UK from grapes imported from the EU is permitted. This period allows GB operators time to adapt their practices in readiness for our departure from the single market and customs union. "The government will keep the rules on the production and marketing of wine under review." Speaking to Sunday Life Mr Coyle, who opposed Brexit, said the different rules on wine production in Northern Ireland and Great Britain is "problematic on many levels". "The leave campaign said they would be protecting the integrity of the United Kingdom, when actually Defra's policy looks set to inhibit Great Britain while Northern Ireland remains separate," he said. "It is small but it is a growing and significant sector, the majority of the producers are in the south east of England and Kent in particular. The Wine and Spirit Trade Association is in my constituency and it is instituting an inquiry into policy post-Brexit, in particularly affecting the wine industry. "Instead of just making it harder to import wine from Australia or the Americas, it will become harder to import wine from anywhere and there are lots of other issues in there including grapes. "There is an increasingly well established and respected wine growing sector in the UK but it has faced very difficult problems in cold winters and there has been the need to use grapes from elsewhere, it wouldn't take too much of a cold winter for the need to import more. Having laws that prevent that happening could, with two cold winters, we would no longer have an industry. "I hope Defra sees sense and realise this is more damaging than it acknowledges so far and there is still a window in which to correct this." Deficit of Ukraine's foreign trade in goods 66.7% down in H1 14:25, 17.08.20 997 China became Ukraine's major trading partner for the six months. Public policy director of Facebook India, South and Central Asia, Ankhi Das, has filed a complaint with the Delhi Police against a number of people who allegedly issued "violent threats" to her online. Quoting from Das' complaint to the Cyber Cell of Delhi Police, a report in the Indian Express said that she stated she received "violent threats against my life and body through online posting/publishing of content." A case has been registered under relevant sections of law on August 17 and investigation has been taken up by CyPAD Unit of Delhi Police. Das alleged that she was intentionally vilified by the accused due to their "political affiliations" and are now engaging in online and offline abuse, subjecting her to "criminal intimidation and making sexually coloured remarks". An August 14 article published in The Wall Street Journal claims that Das was opposed to applying Facebook's hate speech rules to four individuals and groups with links to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The article stated that despite being internally flagged for promoting violence, she was against applying the rules due to business imperatives. The article stated that Das had told staff members that punishing BJP politicians for these violations would be detrimental to the "companys business prospects in the country, Facebooks biggest global market by number of users. In her complaint, Das mentioned Facebook and Twitter accounts that had allegedly threatened her - some even using her photos - and said that they were a result of the WSJ article. The article "was further published in a mischaracterized and distorted manner in India by various publications and further widely circulated on social media," IE quoted from her complaint. Meanwhile, a Facebook spokesperson told ANI, We prohibit hate speech and content that incites violence and we enforce these policies globally without regard to anyones political position or party affiliation. While we know there is more to do, were making progress on enforcement and conduct regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy." The comments came as the ruling BJP and opposition Congress traded barbs over Facebook's alleged bias towards the ruling dipensation. While BJP accused the social media giant of censoring nationalist voices, opposition Congress seized on the Wall Street Journal report that alleged that Facebook's content policies favour the ruling party. (With PTI inputs) Lottie Tomlinson has shared a series of heartbreaking throwback images of her and her younger sister Felicite, on what would have been her 20th birthday. Felicite died in March 2019 of a heart attack at just 18-years-old, from an overdose of cocaine, anxiety drug Xanax and painkillers. Lottie, 21 - who is the sister of One Direction star Louis - took to Instagram to honour her sibling, sharing images of them together as babies and through their childhood. Loss: Lottie Tomlinson has shared a series of heartbreaking throwback images of her and her younger sister Felicite, on what would have been her 20th birthday Lottie captioned a collage of photos: 'Happy 20th birthday to my little sister. The prettiest, kindest, cleverest, most beautiful angel in the sky. 'I'll love you in this life and the next and will never stop missing you. We celebrate you today. I love you sister.' She also captioned a snap of them as babies with, 'best friends always,' and shared a video of them shortly before Felicite died. She captioned it: 'I miss your kisses.' Memories: Lottie, 21 - who is the sister of One Direction star Louis - took to Instagram to honour her sibling, sharing images of them together as babies and through their childhood Sweet: She captioned a snap of them as babies with, 'best friends always' Missing her: Lottie shared a video of them shortly before Felicite died. She captioned it, 'I miss your kisses' Last month, Lottie discussed the tragic deaths of her mother and sister and how she has 'got to a good point' with her grief after undergoing counselling. As well as losing her sister, Lottie's mother Johannah Deakin died in December 2016 aged 43, following a battle with leukaemia. Appearing on Lorraine, the social media sensation, who is a new ambassador for bereavement support charity Sue Ryder, revealed therapy after Felicite's death helped her with the grieving process. Brave: Lottie discussed the tragic deaths of her mother and sister and how she has 'got to a good place' with her grief after undergoing counselling Much missed: Lottie and her family lost their mother Johannah Deakin in December 2016 aged 43, following a battle with leukaemia (pictured 2015) Discussing her mother's death in 2016, she said: 'It was really fast. That made it harder. We didn't have time to get our head around things and process it. She was the best. 'She made her whole life about us and did everything for us. She was the sweetest, kindest woman. Lorraine asked: 'And then three years later, your poor sister. Has you learned anything that helped you?' Lottie said: 'I feel like I was able to deal with it a lot better with my sister. I had picked up a few coping mechanisms. Tragic loss: Louis is pictured with sister Felicite 'I got extra help when my sister died than when my mum died. I want people to know that you can get help. It does really help with the grieving process when you go and speak to someone. 'A lot of people try and deal with it themselves but I think it's important that you don't go through it alone. Lottie said the support from Louis' fans as well as Sue Ryder had enabled her to manage her grief. She said: 'They [fans] have always been so kind to us. It's like an extended family and having them supporting us really helped. 'It's amazing what Sue Ryder does, you can get six online sessions with a professional counsellor and peer to peer support. It's amazing what they can do. Discussing her mother's death in 2016, she said: 'It was really fast. That made it harder. We didn't have time to get our head around things and process it. She was the best' 'They've got such a different perspective on things. You can divulge about yourself. 'Having not had therapy when my mum died compared to when my sister died, it was such a different kind of grief. I look back and think, I should have just done it the first time. It was a longer and more painful process than it was when my sister died. 'I feel really good. I feel I've got to a good point with my grief and just to be able to pass that onto people really helps me with my grief.' Lottie also praised big brother Louis for being 'supportive.' She added: 'Grieving in lockdown is so hard and a lot of people are losing people at the moment. Being able to let people know about Sue Ryder's services, it's a really important time right now. As her ambassadorial role was announced, she said: 'I want to try and help people because grief can be such a scary thing. 'You need to keep talking about it otherwise you get lost in your feelings and that can send you into a really dark place. 'I can't imagine how hard it's been for people grieving during lockdown and that's why I really want to spread the word about Sue Ryder's free video counselling. It is so important to keep people talking about their grief so they don't spiral. 'I also want to help to guide people when it comes to supporting someone that is grieving because I think so many people don't know what to say or how to act. One of the hardest things for me was people not bringing it up, it makes it even harder because you've lost that person and it feels like they're fading away.' As well as Louis, 28, and Lottie, Johannah was also mother to twins Daisy and Phoebe, and twins Ernest and Doris, aged just two when she passed away. She was also grandmother to Louis' son Freddie, now four. Family: 'Having not had therapy when my mum died compared to when my sister died, it was such a different kind of grief. I look back and think, I should have just done it the first time' (above Johannah - front left and Felicite - middle back row) Day after her death, Louis performed at the X Factor final as a tribute to his late mother. He performed his debut single Just Hold On a dance floor track with DJ Steve Aoki. The statement released to MailOnline following Johannah's death read: 'It is with immeasurable sadness that Johannah Deakin's family said goodbye to Johannah in the early hours of Wednesday 7th December 2016. 'Earlier this year Johannah was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukaemia that required immediate and continuous treatment. We respectfully request that the family are given time and space to grieve in private.' Two years later Felicite was found collapsed and lifeless at her fourth-floor studio apartment in Earls Court, west London. Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe said at an inquest afterwards: 'It was a perfect storm, the OxyCodone, the alpraxolam [Xanax] and cocaine. I find no evidence this was a deliberate act to end her life.' After hearing she had turned to drugs following the tragic death of her mother, the coroner recorded a misadventure verdict. Devastated: Felicite was found collapsed and lifeless at her fourth-floor studio apartment in Earls Court, west London in March 2019 A tribute by her and Louis' father Mark Tomlinson was read out at Westminster Coroner's Court. He said she 'was a much loved daughter and sister' and had from an early age 'established herself as mischievous and wonderful with children.' He added: 'She had huge hopes and aspirations for her future, a lot of which were beginning to come to fruition at her untimely passing. She is missed by all who knew and loved her.' At the time of Felicite's death, friends of Louis said he was left 'devastated and distraught'. New role: Lottie is a new ambassador for charity Sue Ryder (pictured above with the charity's 'don't grieve alone' mural) A family source said at the time: 'Felicite was an absolutely adored young woman who was loved by Louis and her whole family. She was a loveable, caring, bright, passionate, popular and beautiful young lady.' Shortly after her death, her sister Phoebe posted online: 'Words don't even begin to describe how shocked and broken hearted we all are. You were my best friend, sister, motivator and person that could make me laugh until I cried.' Another sister, Daisy, added: 'It was only a few weeks ago that we were sat on the sofa bed at 3am drinking tea, eating French fries and chatting about the future. You told me about all your plans. We were excited. 'I pushed you away when you tried cuddling me, I thought I would have so many more chances to do that. I would cuddle you a million times over if you were still here, with me. Protecting me from this cruel world.' For confidential support in the UK 24 hours a day 365 days a year, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org For bereavement resources including practical and emotional advice to encourage conversations about grief, visit sueryder.org/copingwithgrief. Just one in seven civil servants at the ministry reporting directly to Boris Johnson have returned to the office, the Mail can reveal. The number of employees back at the Cabinet Office could even be as few as one in ten, a Freedom of Information request has disclosed. On August 4, around 10 to 15 per cent of staff at the department travelled into work. This woeful total comes despite pleas from the Prime Minister for people to stop working from home in a bid to boost the economy. It follows fears that city centre shops and restaurants which rely on footfall from office workers face ruin if more employees do not return. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: Getting back to the office is vital for the economy but if civil servants dont, then other people cant be expected to. The number of employees back at the Cabinet Office, located at 70 Whitehall, could even be as few as one in ten Last month the Mail revealed that just one in five of the 430,000 civil servants had returned to work by the end of July. Critics say that unless Whitehall officials start to return, it will be hard to persuade the general public to go back. Now we can reveal that the situation is even worse at the Cabinet Office which contains more than 8,000 civil servants responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The department includes employees working for Mr Johnson in No 10 but the Government said the number of staff at work in Downing Street was much higher than the Cabinet Office average. Senior adviser Dominic Cummings told aides last month that it would not seem right if Boris Johnson was calling on voters to return to work while his own officials were staying at home In its response to the FOI request, the department said as of August 4 between 864 and 1,297 Cabinet Office staff are currently working in the office which equates to between 10 and 15 per cent. The Mail also asked when all staff will be back in, to which the department replied: We are consulting closely with employees and we are ensuring our workplaces are Covid-secure. We cannot confirm dates at this time. Dominic Cummings told aides last month that it would not seem right if Mr Johnson was calling on voters to return to work while his own officials were staying at home. Despite this, on A-level results day a Mail audit found just 3 per cent of civil servants were seen turning up at the Department for Education. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: The civil service has got to lead the way. Getting back to the office is vital for the economy but if civil servants dont, then other people cant be expected to. Head of data watchdog is logging on from Canada! Data watchdog Elizabeth Denham is working from home - 4,500 miles away from her office One of Britains most senior public servants has taken working from home to new lengths by relocating to her native Canada during lockdown. Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has been based more than 4,500 miles away from her office for the past two months, in a time zone eight hours behind her staff. She is not due back until next month and is likely to have to isolate for 14 days when she returns. Her office insists Miss Denham, who is paid 180,000 a year, is working as normal. But industry experts are calling on the data watchdog to resign. Consultant Tim Turner, who revealed her whereabouts in a blog post, pointed out that her absence has coincided with a number of data protection issues such as the A-level grade algorithm and the test and trace app. He said: This is a time for the commissioner to be completely on top of data protection regulation in the UK. At a time of crisis and uncertainty, Elizabeth Denham has abandoned her staff with no formal plans to return. Her office said last night that Miss Denham, pictured, will work from her home in the UK from 7 September. (Natural News) The Marxist Lefts war on America is continuing unabated and is now being waged against the thin blue line our countrys law enforcement personnel. As reported by Breitbart News, anti-police anarchists around the country have been demanding that police and other law enforcement officers and agents be doxed so that they can then be visited by angry, violent mobs who will target not just police officers but their families as well. It looks like hackers are answering the call: Malicious hackers have targeted more than twenty police departments and law enforcement organizations across the country in the past two months, releasing identifying information that could jeopardize the safety of tens of thousands of officers, Breitbart News has learned. Anonymous hackers have published information on employees of numerous Southern California police departments, including the Los Angeles Police Department and L.A. County Sheriffs Office. The outlet reported further that hackers also published internal passwords for staffers at the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the agency that oversees the states prison system. In a separate instance, hackers made an offer to find and publish the personal and work emails of staffers at the Minneapolis Police Department to include the chief spokesperson for the department, but its not clear yet if anyone has responded. In the files and message board posts reviewed by Breitbart News, the hackers didnt ask for money, suggesting that their motive isnt financial. Instead, some appear to have political or ideological reasons, the outlet notes. The name of the most active hacking group is Kelvin Security, and its members have already doxed some in the Trump family, to include putting the email addresses and phone numbers of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump online. Its not just police in besieged cities like Portland, Seattle, and Louisville, Ky. being exposed. Last month, federal officials revealed that about 38 federal officers defending a courthouse in Portland were doxed. To target or share private information about a police officer simply because of their profession is especially disturbing, said New York State Senator Patrick M. Gallivan (R) in a statement to Breitbart News. He recently introduced legislation that would criminalize the doxing of police officers in New York, but its unclear whether the Democrat super-majority will go along because, after all, theyre supportive of anti-police and anti-law enforcement efforts. (Related: Is treasonous FBI running BLM riots? Photos, videos appear to capture FBI agents playing roles of armed rioters.) As a former New York State Trooper and twice elected county sheriff, I am dismayed by what we have seen over the past several months, Gallivan added, Breitbart reported. The unwarranted attacks on law enforcement officers across the country should be a concern of all law-abiding citizens. We have to do more to protect our police officers at every level if we expect them to protect our communities and our citizens. It only makes sense that deranged Left-wing anarchists are becoming increasingly brazen in their attacks against law enforcement. When you have leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California outrageously calling federal officers protecting government property (and lives) storm troopers a blatant reference to the Nazi brown shirts and their violent tactics in the 1930s its no wonder attacks against cops are increasing. Unidentified stormtroopers. Unmarked cars. Kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti. These are not the actions of a democratic republic.@DHSgovs actions in Portland undermine its mission. Trump & his stormtroopers must be stopped. Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) July 18, 2020 Federal Protective Service (FPS) Deputy Director of Operations Richard Cline told reporters in July regarding federal agents in Portland, We are going to convert their name [tags] to their badge number as about 38 of our officers that are out there have been doxed and their personal information has been put online. Acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan was furious. Thats another thing thats absolutely disgusting, he said. So theyre not only jeopardizing the lives of the agents, theyre also jeopardizing the lives of their families as they [are] putting out their home information and theyre suggesting that individuals go to their homes. Sources include: FoxNews.com Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com Happy birthday to the Queen, of Pop. To mark her 62nd birthday on Sunday, Madonna posted a flurry of activity to her social media, showing still images as well as video of the star celebrating while wearing a lovely frilly white dress decorated a colorful floral motif. The Frozen hitmaker also had a multitude of bracelets and necklaces on, including a very bright multicolored beaded strap for her phone which hung from her neck. To mark her 62nd birthday on Sunday: Madonna posted a flurry of activity to her social media, showing still images as well as video Her Madgesty's dyed blond hair featured braids along the sides of her head, adding to the faint Dutch maiden vibe she was rocking along with her selection of dress. Her dark roots were showing, adding a welcome bit of edginess to her look. Madonna also sported a very colorful manicure in shades of red and yellow, and she handled a fabulous black hand fan with a white geometric pattern on it. In one post, captioned 'Resting Birthday Bitch Face', the Material Girl looks virtually unrecognizable as she looks at the camera. Birthday style: The star celebrated while wearing a lovely frilly white dress decorated a colorful floral motif Birthday scowl: In one post, captioned 'Resting Birthday Bitch Face', the Material Girl looks virtually unrecognizable as she looks at the camera She added the hashtags #happybirthday #leo and #fire, underscoring the fiery characteristics of those sharing her birth sign. Another birthday post on Madonna's Instagram saw the music superstar and mother-of-six dancing next to her bed to Dua Lipa's remix of the song Levitating, upon which the Take A Bow hitmaker delivers a guest vocal. The clip begins with a playful Madonna at her bathroom's vanity area, where she makes as if she's about to cut her long hair. Edgy look: Her Madgesty's dyed blond hair featured braids along the sides of her head, adding to the faint Dutch maiden vibe she was rocking along with her selection of dress Busting a move: The Frozen hitmaker had a multitude of bracelets and necklaces on, including a very bright multicolored strap for her phone which hung from her neck Another birthday post saw the music superstar singing to Dua Lipa's remix of the song Levitating, upon which she delivers a guest vocal: The clip begins with a playful Madonna at her bathroom's vanity area, where she makes as if she's about to cut her long hair Soon, she breaks into the musical refrain from Levitating, proving that she still has the vocal chops and prowess even in the comfort of her own home. Next, Madame X is seen on the floor, taping her foot. Madonna has been publicly suffering from several injuries from her hips to knees on down, ever since embarking on her international concert tour last fall. Soon: She breaks into the musical refrain from Levitating, proving that she still has the vocal chops and prowess even in the comfort of her own home Next: Madame X is seen on the floor, taping her foot She continues to sing to the tune of Levitating, changing the lyrics to fit the situation: 'I've got tape, on me... Have a broken bone.' Finally, the seven-time Grammy winner is seen next to a four-post canopy bed, getting groomed before she dances and fans herself as the song she recently guested on along with friend and previous collaborator Missy Elliott plays. She ends the impromptu performance with a regal little bow. And later, Madge posted a lovely image of a festive fruit spread to her IG Story, along with the hashtag #birthday. Finally: The seven-time Grammy winner is seen next to a four-post canopy bed, getting groomed before she dances and fans herself as the song plays In spite of her recent injuries: Madonna still knows how to bust a move Performer, always: She ends the impromptu performance with a regal little bow Then, she uploaded an amazing shot of her ethereally gorgeous eldest daughter Lourdes Leon, 23, in what looked to be a bus. If that wasn't all, a subsequent post saw Madonna and at least some of her family celebrating her birthday on the island of Jamaica. In an over 3-minute video post, the Evita star documented the festivities, which included her romantically slow-dancing with her boyfriend, Ahlamalik Williams. She is seen hugging him tightly, as she mouths the lyrics to the song they're dancing to: 'Never had a love like this before.' If that wasn't all: A subsequent video post saw Madonna and at least some of her family celebrating her birthday on the island of Jamaica In the over 3-minute video post: The Evita star documented the festivities, which included her romantically slow-dancing with her boyfriend, Ahlamalik Williams In one amusing interlude, Williams, who is over 35 years Madonna's junior, offers her what looks to be a joint as marijuana is practically a national plant in Jamaica. The Material Girl declines, however, telling her dancer beau that she's 'preserving my vocal chords.' She momentarily glares at him, and is heard saying, 'that's bad.' Further clips see Madonna's daughters Mercy, 14, along with twins Estere and Stelle, seven, all dancing with others as the celebrations continue. In one amusing interlude: Williams, who is over 35 years Madonna's junior, offers her what looks to be a joint The Material Girl declines: She tells her dancer beau that she's 'preserving my vocal chords' and momentarily glares at him, saying, 'that's bad' Fun times: Further clips see Madonna's daughters Mercy, 14, along with twins Estere and Stelle, seven, all dancing with others as the celebrations continue Madonna's Instagram activity, of course, was met with vociferous approval from fans both famous and not. Celebrity friends such as Rosie O'Donnell (her A League Of Their Own costar), Amy Schumer, longtime bestie Debi Mazar, producing partner Guy Oseary and Lisa Rinna all commented with their birthday wishes, to name just a few. Lisa even posted to her own Instagram account in Madonna's honor, dancing in a fabulous orange and paisley track suit to the latter's song Beat Goes On from her 2008 album Hard Candy. And later: Madge posted a lovely image of a fruit spread to her IG Story, along with the hashtag #birthday Spitting image: Madge uploaded an amazing shot of her ethereally gorgeous eldest daughter Lourdes Leon, 23, in what looked to be a bus New Delhi, Aug 17 : Almost disconnected from other areas for 21 days, the lives of 15,000 people residing in 20 villages in the Jauljibi sector of Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district have now come on track with the reconstruction of a bailey bridge. The bridge was ravaged in a cloudburst last month. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) constructed a 180-feet bailey bridge in Jauljibi sector of the hilly state in less than three weeks despite frequent landslides and heavy rains. The BRO began its work soon after the 50-metre span concrete bridge was completely washed out on July 27 when a cloudburst hit the area and the nallas and rivers were flooded. There were many casualties due to the landslides which caused a mud flow of tremendous force, and the road communication was broken in the area. "The BRO mobilised its bridging resources and set up to construct the bridge. The biggest challenge was to transport parts to the site from Pithoragarh amidst frequent landslides and heavy rains. The bridge was successfully completed on August 16, 2020." This has led to accessing flood affected villages and has connected Jauljibi to Munsiyari, the Ministry of Defence said. "The connectivity will bring relief to about 15,000 people in 20 villages." The constructed bridge has resumed road communication of 66 km road starting from Jauljibi to Munsiyari, it said. Local MP Ajay Tamta had expressed his concern about the worst affected isolated villages of Lumti and Mori at 25 km from Jauljibi where maximum deaths had taken place. "This bridge will provide essential support in rehabilitating the villages," the Ministry added. The BRO develops and maintains road networks in India's border areas and friendly neighboring countries. It maintains operations in 21 states, one Union Territory, and neighbouring countries such as Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Challenges ahead In the backseat, Addison Chaffin, a 13-year-old student at Davie Early College High School smiled shyly and lowered her mask so she could be heard. Foggy glasses and an uncomfortable face mask are a small price to pay in exchange for the big opportunities afforded by real, in-person schooling. Even if its every other day and at enforced social distance. Im just glad to be away from my siblings, she said. Back behind the wheel, Chaffin readily acknowledged his good fortune in having options. We can drive them to school if we have to, he said. But what about other kids from other neighborhoods whose parents both have to work and dont have that same luxury? Theres just a lot of challenges to work out. Some of those, as we saw Monday in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County, will involve working the kinks out of available technology. Some of that will be as basic as seeing that every kid has access to a computer and decent Internet service; no kid should have to try and learn on moms cell phone. Most of the challenges will come in striking a correct and healthy balance between in-school instruction, remote learning and halting the spread of COVID-19. Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi... The recent Covid-19 lockdown forced people to maintain distance, and put their normal life on hold. The Nepali art sector has also not remained untouched and has sustained major setbacks in the face of this pandemic. Keeping the art and artists active has remained a challenge. However, there have been a few attempts to keep the sector alive. Bikalpa Art Centre (BAC) claims its new product A Portal to Nepali Contemporary Art after Covid-19 is also one of those efforts. According to co-founder and director, Saroj Mahato, the portal has been launched to promote the Nepali art sector despite the challenges of restricted physical contact. Mahato, who believes that the Nepali art has not received as much limelight as it should have received over the years, claims his new project will be significant in the development of the sector. Recently, Onlinekhabar has talked to Mahato about his new project, his vision, and the future of the Nepali art, overall. Excerpts: What is your new project? What is the idea behind it? The website, now already online, aims to act as an e-commerce website and as an archive. We aim to create and promote an art market within the Nepali art sector, and simultaneously, keep proper records and details of the art pieces. We even create and maintain portfolios of the artists. Through the project, we have brought over 40 artists, with their own unique style. So anyone interested to buy an artwork can view it, get the necessary information about it, and proceed to purchase it. The idea actually first started in 2013, but back then, it was not feasible; we felt the market was not ready. Now, it felt more comfortable to start the idea, both technically and ideationally. As we are struggling with the Covid-19 crisis, it has created a situation where there is less mobility, and more need for going online, even art. The government has also provided some flexibility and brought some changes that promote the idea. I believe we have that opportunity, where we can or should think about how we can deliver art to the doorsteps of people. So, we reviewed the idea now as we felt there are not many platforms where people can buy art. It is basically to uplift the Nepali art space as a whole. Through our project, we will connect artists to people, for which, we will have two artists of a month with three activities to increase interactivity and networking with the artist. So, it seems this is just an individual business. But, can an individual effort uplift the Nepali art sector? Where there is nothing, one step or one person can leave an imprint, and that they can become a milestone. However, it does not mean that it will be a sole catalyst for the overall upliftment of the art sector. There will be many limitations, be it ones energy, the resources, or the motivation they had at the start. So, individually, it might not be possible. But, the sector can thrive if many individuals work together. For that to work out, we need the right schooling first; there needs to be a good foundation. Right now, we lack the proper schooling about what art is. We require the right kind of dialogue, but there is a weak connection between artists and society now. The art sector also lacks media attention as well as the governments prioritisation. So, if we create an environment for a high level of engagement from the audience and develop the culture of going to art galleries, museums, among them, we can connect the artists, audience, art lovers, art enthusiasts to art. If only we had well-read, well-informed, knowledgeable people in the government who are aware of the importance of art and ready to promote and increase the exposure. Maybe, then we can uplift the art sector. I say this because, if the art is institutionalised, the work we have done, and our achievements can be continued and cherished even if the person is no longer present. If not, the project will be limited as a hobby. As you mentioned, the project is about creating and promoting the Nepali art market. So, what is your assessment of the Nepali art market now? We are stuck somewhere; the progress graph has been very static. In my 20 years of observation and involvement in the sector, the Nepali art market scenario, then and now, has been very similar. That does not mean that the art sector has not made any progress; they are two different things. Today, we have more institutions teaching art; back then, there was only one. We have enough art students, practising their skillsets; there are mentors, and we have great exposure and access to information and knowledge of the art sector, worldwide. However, for the art market to thrive, there have not been sufficient right factors that push it forward, promote it, and increase the art value proposition. The value of Nepali artists, or more appropriately their piece of work, is more or less the same as it was 20 years ago. Art is incomplete without dialogues about it, where individuals, media personnel, art experts, and artists actively engage in the conversation. We lack art writers or critics who set the right narratives that affect the view of the public. We could have produced and promoted art scholars and writers with the number of art institutions we have today. But, the ones we have are the same people who were writing about art 10 or 20 years back. So, there is no contribution of new ideas. And, more importantly, we lack the necessary curatorial practices that put the art and artists in the front line. I see a huge gap there. You say that the art value proposition has not changed. But why is the progression necessary, and where do we need to work? If you see in an international scenario, purchasing an art piece from a particular artist is a huge deal. Not just the price is high, but they are highly valued too. But, Nepali artists, even if they are on par when it comes to quality, do not get that regard here. It is because we fail to determine the art value proposition. To define the art value proposition, we have to monitor the art market closely. We have to curate the relationship with the international art market, subsequently, promote Nepali art, Nepali artists, and events. And, we have to set the narrative about every artwork, their stories. Along with that, we have to encourage people to engage and invest in the artworks. And again, it starts from the foundation, and the market has to be ready. For that, we have to raise awareness in and among the art community as well as the audience. We have to keep and maintain the archive, the database of all the artists and their artworks. It is also crucial that we promote the art gallery and museum-going culture, that we encourage art and events actively and create a buzz around it. The most crucial aspect is how we educate and encourage the investors, the art buyers, the art lovers, and the corporate houses, to invest in art. The Nepali art market needs people ready to invest and buy art pieces, willingly, consciously as well as regularly. Purchasing art one time in life, as a hobby, will not change our current scenario. Now is the time that we should think and focus on profit-making prospects that will interest the investors and the buyers. For the promotion of the Nepali art market, what are the roles of the private and public sectors? Individuals or private companies have so far made some of the significant contributions and investments in Nepali art. The likes of Kathmandu Triennale and Photo Kathmandu were private affairs. On the other hand, I think people get less exposure and access to the museums and art institutions owned by the government even though they invite international artists. But, we will have to think bigger now, both sides should work together. Starting from the roots, we have to establish more art museums and include elements that represent the art and culture of Nepal. We have to increase awareness about art and encourage museum-going and art-purchasing culture among people since early. Our government needs to make changes in policies that prioritise art and culture, also actively participate in promoting them across the country and worldwide. After all, one can determine how progressive a country is by the investment the people and the government make in the art. How long will we keep introducing our country as the land of Buddha and Mount Everest? We have to start thinking of how we can redefine that identity through arts. Do youth think the Nepali art sector has a competitive advantage in it? Our existence itself is the competitive advantage we need to excel in the art scenario. We have all the right elements: rich history, diverse culture, unique lifestyle, identity, festivals, and many more. If we can modernise that, and we represent and package that well, suitable also for the international market, we will see progress there. Also, art is not just about paintings or sculptures; it can be any form of expression. And, I believe Nepal is on par with when it comes to keeping up with international trends, and when it comes to experimentation and integration of the new media forms in art. People are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and they have that access and exposure today. So, I believe, we have that edge. New Delhi, Aug 17 : As part of the Centre's performance evaluation, as many as 17 Union ministries and government departments are literally in the red for scoring less than 50 in the government's 'Overall DBT Performance' ranking. The worst performer was the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research that scored just 8.55 per cent out of 100. This ranking, which exposed the poor scorecard of key ministries like IT or Minority Affairs, was meant to ascertain how different ministries and departments of the Centre are faring in ensuring Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT) to beneficiaries, given the Modi government's renewed thrust on it ever since the lockdown began in March. The ranking, which was done by a body that came under direct supervision of the Cabinet Secretariat, slotted anyone who scored above 80 per cent in the deep green zone suggesting excellence, while anywhere between 70 to 80 per cent as light green signifying good. Those who scored anywhere between the range of 50 to 70 per cent are in orange suggesting that they need to improve and those scoring below 50 per cent are in red signifying poor performance. As much as 17 central ministries and departments find themselves scoring below 50 per cent. Some of the key ministries and departments that found themselves in the red are the Ministry of Minority Affairs, Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of AYUSH, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) among others. However, the top performer has been Hardeep Singh Puri-led Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and followed by Dharmendra Pradhan-led Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Among the various metrics that the government considered to evaluate the final score are performance of end-to-end digitisation, performance in use of Aadhaar and mobile, their performance in portal and reporting compliance to assess the progress in development of schemes and also through estimated savings compliance. However, the base on which the score was decided was the ministry and government department's end-to-end digitisation, said a government source. With the bulk of the weightage on this segment, as much as three ministries score a duck in the segment suggesting they could not or did not provide end-to-end digitisation, at all. They are the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Department of Heavy Industry. In fact, as many as 22 Union ministries and government departments scored below 50 in this all important segment, according to the ranking of the government itself, even as the government is keen on making 'Digital India' a grand success. In comparison, different ministries and departments fared relatively better when it came to their performance in portal and reporting compliance to assess the progress in development of schemes. Only 6 Union ministries and government departments came under 50 per cent score with the worst being the Ministry of Earth Sciences with a score of 23 per cent. However that wouldn't help much in the overall score given that this segment had less than half the weightage that digitisation had. There were as many as 17 Union ministries and departments that scored less than 50 per cent in the category of use of Aadhaar and mobile with the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research faring worse at below 7 per cent. Though a very small amount of weightage was given to reporting on estimated savings, believe it or not, 36 ministries and departments didn't bother to take it seriously resulting in a zero. They included the Ministry of Tourism, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises among others. This unique ranking on the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme which ensures funds are deposited straight into the accounts of the beneficiaries, comes after the Centre earlier released state and Union territory-specific performance that showed BJP-ruled Haryana faring best and TMC-ruled West Bengal as worst, triggering a political row. However, with these rankings, the Modi government has taken the transparency game a notch up and tried to answer its critics that it evaluates itself too. However, with an impending and speculated Cabinet reshuffle in the offing, this performance may well affect the rejig, given the Prime Minister's thrust on performance. (Anindya Banerjee can be contacted at anindya.b@ians.in) Lucknow, Aug 17 : All Uttar Pradesh legislators will have to undergo antigen tests for the confirmation of Covid-19 before they participate in the upcoming monsoon session of the state legislature that begins on August 20. The state is already witnessing a spurt in COVID cases and two UP ministers - Chetan Chauhan and Kamal Rani Varun - have succumbed to the deadly virus this month. According to sources, the speaker of the state assembly Hriday Narain Dixit has already discussed the issue with chief minister Yogi Adityanath and both have agreed to this in principle. A senior official of the Vidhan Sabha secretariat said that the health department had been directed to make arrangements for conducting the test for all MLAs. Preparations have already been made for testing of all 125 secretariat staff as well as security staff. Meanwhile, seating arrangements for the session have been made keeping in mind the COVID protocol and maintaining social distancing norms. It has also been decided that first time MLAs would be asked to take seats on the first floor, while the ground floor would be reserved for seniors. A handcuffed man died while being arrested in Guerneville on Saturday after a confrontation with sheriffs deputies, authorities said. The incident occurred when deputies responded to a report of a domestic problem at 8:12 a.m. possibly involving a fight inside a gray 3500 Dodge truck in the Hacienda Bridge area of the unincorporated community, authorities said. The truck was last seen headed west on River Road, they said. One of the deputies responding to that area was flagged down by a resident on the 15600 block of River Road and told of a woman screaming, Someone help me, from inside a home, sheriffs officials said. The deputy then knocked on the door, and a woman and man walked out. Sheriffs officials said she immediately asked for help. Sheriffs officials said the deputy tried separating the man from the woman whom authorities said he was holding onto and a physical altercation ensued. Another deputy arrived and deployed a Taser toward the man, but sheriffs officials said the man continued to resist arrest. Sheriffs officials did not clarify whether the man was actually tased and, if so, how many times. After the deputies placed the man in handcuffs, he had a medical emergency, sheriffs officials said in a statement. It is not clear what type of medical emergency the man experienced. Authorities said deputies began lifesaving measures until medical personnel responded, but paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. His identity was not disclosed, pending notification of family. Neither the woman nor the deputies involved suffered life-threatening injuries or required hospitalization. The Santa Rosa Police Department is investigating the incident, and the Marin County Coroners Office is conducting a death investigation. Santa Rosa Police Lt. Dan Marincik said officials are still in the early stages of the investigation, and they hope to release more details in the coming days. We are still in the process of going over video, obtaining witness and involved statements, and collecting other relevant evidence, he said. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. In a statement, the Sheriffs Office said it will conduct an administrative review to determine whether the deputies followed policies. Any time force is used, the Sheriffs Office takes it seriously, the statement said. Our thoughts are with all those involved in this incident during this difficult time. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Megan Cassidy contributed to this report. Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ByLHernandez Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt called it quits four years ago, but their divorce still isnt final. The former couple has been going back and forth over the custody of their six children. They also have millions of dollars of assets to divide. In Jolies latest court filing, she has accused her ex of hiding a little secret. This could cause the case to drag out even longer. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie | Anthony Harvey/Getty Images Angelina Jolie finally reveals why she ended her marriage Neither Jolie or Pitt have discussed their divorce in any kind of detail with the media. This has led to years of speculation over the reason for the split. What is known for sure is that there was an incident in September 2016. While the family was flying back to California, something happened between Pitt and the couples oldest son, Maddox. This led to Jolie filing for divorce and accusing Pitt of child abuse. However, two investigations into the matter cleared the Oceans 11 star of any wrongdoing. In a recent interview with Vogue, The Eternals star finally shared some insight into why she ended her marriage. I separated for the well-being of my family. It was the right decision. I continue to focus on their healing, said Jolie. Some have taken advantage of my silence, and the children see lies about themselves in the media. But I remind them that they know their own truth and their own minds. In fact, they are six very brave, very strong young people. Angelina Jolie wants a new judge in her divorce case Even though Jolie and Pitt are still trying to settle the issues of child custody and asset division, they are legally divorced. The private judge in their case Judge John W. Ouderkirk granted a bifurcation in 2019. This means that they are both legally single while they continue to negotiate the details of their settlement. Its no secret that this split has been one of the nastiest Hollywood has seen in some time. And, it doesnt look like there is an end in sight. According to Page Six, Jolies legal team recently filed a motion in Los Angeles Superior Court asking for Ouderkirk to be disqualified from the case. RELATED: How Brad Pitt Came Out On Top After His Nasty Split From Angelina Jolie An insider says that this is most likely a delay tactic on Jolies part. Jolie is basically trying to fire the private judge overseeing their divorce case. She has every right to do this, but if she thought she was in a good place in this legal proceeding, she wouldnt need to do it, explained the insider. Was Brad Pitts legal team hiding a little secret? The insider claims that Jolies request for a new judge is a classic case of someone expecting a bad decision trying to delay the process by asking for a new referee. However, Jolies legal team says that the Oscar-winning actress was concerned that something untoward was happening. They claim that in the court docs that Ouderkirk has an ongoing professional and financial relationship with Pitts attorneys, Anne C. Kiley and Lance Spiegel. This claim was allegedly Pitts legal teams little secret. The court docs claim that Jolies lawyer discovered the alleged relationship between the judge and Pitts legal team on her own initiative. She also states that this truth should have been disclosed a long time ago. Another insider told Page Six that Jolie isnt trying to delay the divorce process. They pointed out that the court papers state that she wants to get this issue with the judge resolved so there are no further delays. Jolies lawyers filed the motion on August 7 demanding the judges disqualification. Judge Ouderkirk has 10 days to respond. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to drop their senior royal positions earlier this year. The two clarified that although they relocated to Los Angeles to be financially independent, they would still keep in touch with the royal family. However, it seems like the Duchess' recent actions show that she no longer gives a pinch of care to the monarchy. Princess Diana's former private secretary, Patrick Jephson, said that the royal family "has no purpose or even existence" to Meghan anymore. In an article he penned for the Mail on Sunday, Jephson pointed out how the Duchess of Sussex's latest moves mean she has "deserted" the institution of monarchy. "By shelling out 11 million on a cosy little estate in Santa Barbara, by embracing US electoral politics and by implicitly sanctioning a book that shames her in-laws, Meghan has irreversibly deserted an institution that to her has no purpose or even existence beyond service to Queen and country," he explained. Earlier this month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made headlines after they moved into their own US home in Montecito, Santa Barbara. The $14.7 million-worth property includes nine bedrooms and 16 bathrooms. Although Jephson's observation is somehow not surprising, he clarified that neither Prince Harry nor Meghan holds the blame for their cracked relationship with the members of the royal family. "We probably shouldn't blame her, or at least not her alone," Jephson said, referring to Meghan. "Theoretically, and against the odds, the Sussexes' novel plan for the future might just have worked, just." He also noted how the "deep-rooted complacency, conceit and confusion" within the monarchy contributed to the royal couple's exit. Royal Author Shares Conflicting Opinion With several royal experts and authors out there sharing their opinions about Megxit, it is normal that there are different sentiments about it. For instance, royal author Lady Colin Campbell previously claimed that Meghan should be blamed for the couple's departure. In an interview with FUBAR Radio's "Access All Areas," she claimed that the duchess used and exploited the royal prince. She also asserted that Meghan was the reason why they stepped down as senior royals and that the relocation to Los Angeles was for her own good. Before Campbell unrolled her claims, Prince Harry already said that it was his own desire to quit his senior role. He told the public that he had no choice but to resign and make the decision for his family of three. In addition, Campbell continuously castigated the royal couple by calling them names. "If you believe for one second that Harry had anything like this up his sleeve you believe in the tooth fairy and the pig airline," Campbell told hosts Joanna Chimonides and Stephen Leng. She then lashed out at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and referenced Adolf Hitler over their work on activism. The 70-year-old author explained that Hitler and Mao Zedong from China believed that they were doing the right thing for the people, but in the end, they only caused the deaths of millions. Despite contradicting claims of the royal expert and the former royal staff, it is worth noting that Prince Harry and Meghan are still in touch with the royal family, especially during the pandemic -- at least that is what their representatives always say. READ MORE: Meghan Markle Ex-Boyfriends: 4 Men The Duchess Dated Before Marrying Prince Harry Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Some sleet may mix in. Low -10C. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70%.. Tonight Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Some sleet may mix in. Low -16C. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Rapper Cardi B has told Joe Biden she just wants Trump out in a frank discussion about the upcoming presidential election. I have a whole list of things that I want our next president to do for us, Cardi B told the Democratic candidate. But first, I just want Trump out. His mouth gets us in trouble so much." In a wide-ranging video chat for Elle magazine, the pair also discussed race relations in the US, healthcare and the coronavirus pandemic. I want Black people to stop getting killed and no justice for it, said Cardi B, referencing the killing of George Floyd, who died while in police custody in May. Im sick of it. I just want laws that are fair to Black citizens and fair to cops, too." The Grammy winner also pointed to the country's high numbers of Covid-19 infections and deaths as part of the reason that she backs free Medicare for all, adding that she had been confused by the presidents handling of the pandemic, singling out his U-turn on face masks. The interview was published ahead of the four-day Democratic National Convention which begins on Monday night and focuses on the theme of unity. Former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama are set to bring the opening night to a close with their keynote speeches. During the interview, Mr Biden congratulated Cardi B for featuring on the front cover of the next edition of Elle. He also urged young people to use their votes if they wanted to see the president removed from the White House. Mr Biden, who is currently nine points ahead in the polls, told Cardi B that young Americans have the power to decide the result of Novembers election. The vote matters, said Biden. Your generation can own what happens in the next election. They can change things dramatically if they show up and vote. Biden also lamented Trumps 2016 victory, saying it did not have to happen, adding that had more 18- to 24-year-olds gone out and cast their ballots, then the result could have been different. Thats why you keep talking to people about the need to vote, he added. Fans of ABCs hit reality show Shark Tank are thrilled to hear that season 12 is in production. Returning to the set amid the coronavirus crisis, the panel is undergoing some modifications in order to follow current guidelines. Billionaire shark Mark Cuban took to Instagram to show viewers what to expect, and his fellow sharks are commenting on contestants that are remarkably different this season. Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, and Kevin OLeary of Shark Tank | Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images ABC reality show remains a hit Now in its 12th season, Shark Tank is still going strong. With the chemistry of the main panelists Barbara Corcoran, Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin Mr. Wonderful OLeary the reality show has made a positive impact on the American workforce. In the beginning, I dont think Sony, ABC, or MGM could have ever anticipated what this platform has become, OLeary said, according to Deadline. Its an entertaining show, but it creates jobs in America. Mr. Wonderful also noted the vast difference between getting an investment from a shark rather than a typical finance outlet. RELATED: Shark Tanks Kevin OLeary Says This Money Habit Will Lead To Divorce We grow franchises based on this platform, the Shark Tank star explained. We put money into the hands of young entrepreneurs that use the platform that no venture capital company can ever do. Shark Tank panelist notes a new level of necessity With the monumental blow COVID-19 has brought to todays economy and small business owners, Corcoran recognizes the effects in this seasons contestants. The people were seeing now are remarkably different. They have more at stake, the real estate mogul remarked. Theyre mostly the people who have the least amount of hope and feel their situation is never going to change and thats whats so very sad about it. Corcoran easily relates to aspiring entrepreneurs. Starting her real estate empire with $1,000 loan then selling it for $66 million in 2001, the Shark Tank panelist earned her way to the top through unrelenting hard work. RELATED: What Shark Tanks Barbara Corcoran Says About Getting A College Degree Every day I sit on that Shark Tank set, I sit there not as who I am now with a great life I lived, but sit there [as a 23 year old] as a waitress with nobody giving me a break, Corcoran shared. I was going to be a good waitress the best waitress until somebody came in and loaned me $1000. I never sit in that seat where I dont see that person, look at them and say theyre me. Mark Cuban posts from the Shark Tank set With many businesses shutting down due to COVID-19, John noted how many of the younger contestants are turning their parents hardships into motivation to launch something of their own. A lot of these kids who are now 15 or 20, they saw their parents lose their homes to bad banking and they said Im no longer gonna do that, the FUBU founder said. Im gonna empower myself, and Im gonna empower my parents. They wanna be in charge in their own destiny. Im learning from them and I love taking that ride with them. With Shark Tank back in production, Cuban decided to give fans a preview of season 12 with an Instagram video. RELATED: Shark Tank: Daymond John Says Mark Cuban is Willing To Gamble on Deals Were back for Shark Tank! A little social distancing a little different, but its gonna be good, Cuban emphasized as he panned to his fellow sharks John, OLeary, and Greiner at the required six feet apart. Deals have been crazy. Crazy times, but we gotta set an example. Were back! The season 12 premiere date of Shark Tank has not yet been released. An employee of a takeaway in Carrick-on-Shannon told the local court a man came in to the premises at about 12.30am on Sunday night / Monday morning, July 28-29 last. He didn't order any food but sat down next to a man who was asleep and started to eat his food. A 23-year-old Leitrim man pleaded guilty to a public order offence which occurred at Flynn's Takeaway, Main St, Carrick-on-Shannon. The employee told the defendant to stop what he was doing and the defendant told him to f*** off. The employee came out from behind the counter to remove the food from the table and the foul language continued from the defendant. He rang the Gardai who then investigated the matter. The court heard the defendant is a 23-year-old and a business student in GMIT. He has apologised for his behaviour and fully accepts he was wrong. He was celebrating his birthday and there was too much drink involved. He has no previous convictions. Judge Kevin Kilrane said he should have had more sense and his behaviour was bizarre in the extreme and he could only imagine he was intoxicated by alcohol or some other substance, or a combination of both. Judge Kilrane noted the defendant's mother was with him in court which he said was always good to see, that a young person was being positively supported and kept in the family fold. Compensation to the victim was in court and was accepted. Judge Kilrane said a conviction of any kind would have a major effect on him and he applied the Probation Act, Section 1.1 During this pandemic and these trying times, a real president would make it a point to protect the people of the United States by issuing a mandatory mask-wearing mandate. A real president would make sure everyone eligible has the opportunity to vote without fear of being infected with COVID-19. Our current president I view him as an imposter has no intention of protecting anyone but himself, and will do anything that benefits him. The postal service, which Donald Trump is trying to destroy, is not only mentioned in the Constitution, it is a very important part of our daily lives. My neighbor, who is housebound, depends on timely mail delivery of her lifesaving medication, as thousands of Americans do. Trump does not care. A real president would sit down with congressional leaders to work out a compromise to add government funds for the postal service, get federal COVID-19 relief money to states and school districts, extend federal supplements to unemployment benefits, and help save small businesses. He or she would make sure that essential workers have the needed protective equipment to perform their duties and, if running for reelection, would put forth an effort to show why they are worthy of a second term. An impostor president will do anything and everything potentially illegal to stay in office. The ship is sinking, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sent senators home until September. This shows that he does not care, either, and is willing to go down with the ship. If you are a caring American, please vote. We can do better. Richard Nash, Williamstown Extra-dry observation on mail-in voting The photograph on the front page of the Aug. 14 South Jersey Times print edition brought back fond memories of my youth. The photo, accompanying an article about New Jerseys mostly mail-in general election, showed a woman depositing a July primary ballot in a Somerset County drop box. Years ago, a popular beer in my New York neighborhood was Rheingold. Every year, the brewing company would conduct a Miss Rheingold contest essentially a beauty pageant to publicize their product. As a young boy, Id generally find a favorite among the photographs of the attractive young women who were vying for the title. I would then go to the nearest ballot box, usually in a grocery store, which, in New York, sold beer. There I would proceed to tear off all the attached ballots, check off the woman of my choice and stuff the ballot box. If a 12-year-old could hatch such a plot, what can we expect from our progressive, enlightened, entitled and ruthless young wokes and their revolutionary agenda? Or, from our immoral, corrupt and despicable political leaders and their flunkies? How about our right-wing lunatics and all the sunshine patriots so energized by cliched rhetoric? Should be quite an election. And, quite possibly one of our last. Lou Manfredo, Deptford Township Outdoor gyms the way to go to stay safe Here are my comments in response to Jan Halls recent letter (Murphy should have let gyms, not beaches or bars, reopen) and the fact that the governor has kept indoor gyms and fitness centers closed: I would be interested in hearing about Halls training in the science of disease transmission. Also, the writer might want to check out some pictures of people inside their gyms working out with no COVID-19 protection, right next to each other, with more than the suggested limit of people inside. The owner of the Planet Fitness location in Haddon Township (Westmont) just set up a great outdoor training facility, permitted under Gov. Phil Murphys executive orders, that follows the guidelines suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They stayed away from politics and tried to work out a reasonable solution. Dennis Disbrow, National Park Murphys lockdown gets a pass, til now Ive just read that the New Jersey Business Coalition sent a letter to Gov. Phil Murphy urging him to resume reopening those businesses that are still closed, since the number of new COVID-19 cases in the state has been dropping. Some have even suggested that Murphy should have authorized more reopening after April, when the number of coronavirus cases here actually peaked. However, I say, lets not pick on Murphy. The way I see it, he is simply heeding the advice of Rahm Emmanuel, the former Obama administration chief of staff, who suggested that we never let a good crisis go to waste. Yet, I now tend to wonder if Murphys new push for November mail-in voting might have something to do with the outcome of the upcoming election. George P. Heebner Jr., Stratford Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. The CEO, Zubair Mustapha 16.08.2020 LISTEN The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has driven many businesses to the brim. However, other businesses have managed to salvage the situation and continue their operations as usual. With the rapid change in the Ghanaian economy these past few months due to the Covid-19 crisis, many companies have laid-off workers and reduced their services, while others have shut down completely. Some companies, nonetheless, have inventively adapted to the effects of the pandemic. One of such companies is Itrade Commercial Limited. Itrade Commercial Limited is a leading provider of vehicle hire-purchase services and car rentals in Ghana. The CEO, Zubair Mustapha, has assured that despite the economic effects of Covid-19, Itrade Commercial Limited remains committed to its original mission: Serving the ordinary people. He also revealed that the company has relaxed its payment packages to allow clients to acquire the luxuries they desire, especially in a time like this. Mr. Zubair, however, admonished clients and all Ghanaians to adhere to all the necessary hygiene and social distancing protocols laid out by the government whenever they visit their office. Sharing a word of advice to entrepreneurs, he noted that although the emergence of the pandemic is a challenge, a business-minded person will only be apt to find innovative ways to keep up with the work. Itrade Commercial Limited, previously known as Itrade Commercial Enterprise, provides various kinds of services such as hire purchase, car rentals, real estate, and other transport services. The rebranding included a new logo, website, positioning, and expanded services which better reflected the quality of services the company provided its clients. The company was awarded the Emerging Brand of the Year at the NiBS Ghana Innovation Awards in 2019. GORHAM, Maine, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Knowles Industrial Services Corporation was honored with a national award for a major engineering and construction feat in repairing a large hydroelectric penstock under budget and on time. The American Shotcrete Association presented the award to Knowles at a ceremony earlier this year in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alongside Knowles to receive the award were instrumental players John Kosar of Quikrete and Ray Schallom of RCS Consulting. (Left to Right:) Aaron Poole (ASA President), Lisa Maloney, Dan Maloney, Billy Roy, Aaron Elkins, Charles Hanskat (ASA Executive Director) Last year, Knowles Industrial was deployed to the Falls Village Hydro Electric Plant in Canaan, Connecticut to perform a structural shotcrete liner repair within a steel-riveted penstock. First Light Power Resources, Inc. needed major repairs to its Falls Village hydroelectric penstock. "A penstock is a sluice or floodgate for regulating the flow of a body of water, and this particular penstock consisted of a 9 ft diameter, 360 ft long structure buried in its entire length on a steep bank and crossing underneath a live highway," explains Billy Roy, Knowles engineer and project manager. Because much of the existing penstock was encased in reinforced concrete beneath a roadway, engineers could not feasibly perform the replacement by excavation without requiring significant demolition and interruption to traffic in this area. "We knew that we needed to develop a plan to replace the penstock liner without disruption to the hydro operation and highway traffic," said Roy. After studying various solutions, it was determined that shotcrete (pneumatically-applied concrete), would be the best approach to keep job costs down and to provide the demanding structural integrity required. "We are highly knowledgeable in shotcrete application," said senior vice president, Andrew Lawson. "We have many years of experience in many situations, and we were confident that we could do the job well." The project was completed on time in the original 13-week schedule. Knowles crews worked 50+ hour weeks, including several weekends on and around holidays. The project recorded zero injuries with over 5,000 man hours worked and was completed under budget. Strict quality control standards and testing were followed in order to provide a high-quality, long-lasting product. "We are extremely proud of our employee-owners in their dedication and workmanship on this project," said Lawson. Knowles Industrial Services have been experts in specialty commercial and industrial repair and restoration since 1924. Due to the company's expertise, knowledge, unique approach, and safe, efficient, and innovative work methods Knowles is often sought out by clients for their knowledge on how to repair and restore their structures. Contact: Billy Roy [email protected] 1 800 834 1901 https://www.knowlesindustrial.com/ SOURCE Knowles Industrial Related Links https://www.knowlesindustrial.com/ 17.08.2020 LISTEN Popular music producer, Zapp Mallet has called on the government to bring back the study of music in the basic school curriculum. The producer who is also a judge on Citi TVs Keyboard Idol talent show said this will help students learn and understand the rudiments of music. When I say back to the schools, I'm talking about the basic schools, especially primary and Junior High Schools because we all know the importance or contribution music makes in the development of a human being or a child. Clinical and psychological tests have proven that music plays an important part in the development of a child to the extent that when you put music to learning, especially for children they grab it faster, he said. The veteran Ghanaian record producer further added that music plays an important role in society; it makes you cry; it gives you encouragement; to the extent that music can even cause people to commit suicide. Music is very powerful; music is a powerful tool that we can use in the development of our socio economic or socio political environment so we shouldn't lose guard at all. He further noted that countries like America are using it to their advantage. Zapp Mallet has worked with highly respected Ghanaian and international music artistes of various genres. Notable among them are Kojo Antwi, Ofori Amponsah, Becca, Daasebre Dwamena, Irene Logan, Reggie Rockstone, Lord Kenya, Obuor, Akyeame, Tagoe Sisters, Helena Rhabbles, among others. Keyboard Idol airs every Saturday at 7:00 pm prompt on Citi TV. Keyboard Idol is proudly sponsored by Asanka powered by TechAide Ghana and Santol Energy. The talent hunt show is also powered by Citi TV. ---citinewsroom Opioid use, particularly in high doses, can cause deafness, according to Rutgers researchers. The study, published in The Journal of Medical Toxicology, reviewed records from the New Jersey Poison Control Center, based at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, from 1999 to 2018 to determine the association between opioid use and degrees of hearing loss. Researchers identified 41 people with opioid exposure who experienced full or partial hearing loss or tinnitus, likely caused by toxicity to the ear. More than half had used heroin, followed by oxycodone, methadone and tramadol; 88 percent had only one known exposure. Most people reported the condition affecting both ears, with 12 people experiencing deafness, 15 partial or total loss of hearing acuity, 10 tinnitus and four a mix of symptoms. While some people may regain their hearing, the loss could be permanent with others -- 21 percent of those reporting the condition had no improvement in hearing when they were discharged from the hospital. "The delicate structures of the inner ear are very susceptible to injury if oxygen supply is insufficient, as well as to the direct effect of toxins like opioids," said co-author Lewis Nelson, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine. "Although the study found a link with heroin, toxicity to the ear can occur with every opioid," said Diane Calello, executive and medical director of the New Jersey Poison Control Center. "This study supports what has been found in animal studies, which is that any opioid can cause hearing loss," she said. "This might be because we already have built-in opioid receptors, or binding sites, in the inner ear. Activating them may trigger this injury in some patients." The researchers said health care providers should be aware of the association with opioid use when evaluating a patient with hearing loss. ### The Blue Angels have canceled its upcoming homecoming show. The decision to cancel the Pensacola, Florida show was made after considering all possible options but was fundamentally a decision to ensure the health and safety of our personnel and the greater community, the Angels said in an announcement. We know how important the Air Show is to the community and the Navy, but after considering every possibility, we felt that in this challenging COVID-19 environment that this was the most responsible course of action to protect the health and safety of the community and our NAS Pensacola personnel, said Capt. Tim Kinsella, commanding officer, NAS Pensacola. This was an extremely difficult decision in challenging times, but in the end, we must remember that our top priority is to ensure the safety of our community. The show, scheduled for Oct. 16 and 17, typically attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to Naval Air Station Pensacola. Last years crowd topped 180,000. The show has been rescheduled for Nov. 5-6, 2021 and will mark the 75th anniversary of the Blue Angels. Hidden evidence of an English family's hidden Catholic worship that could have condemned them to death has been discovered in a National Trust property. More than two thousand artefacts owned by the historic Bedingfeld family have been uncovered under the attic floorboards at Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk. Books, manuscripts and musical scores that appear to have been hidden to practice Catholicism illegally during the late 16th century were discovered in the attic, the Times reported. More than two thousand artefacts were found under the floorboards at Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk, appearing to show the historic Bedingfeld family's hidden Catholicism Books and manuscripts were found while re-roofing the National Trust building. Pictured, curator Anna Forest examines a fragment of an 18th century handwritten document The findings were made by archaeologist Matt Champion, while builders were re-roofing the National Trust manor house (above) The Bedingfeld family lived at Oxburgh Hall (above) in Norfolk for around 500 years, after Sir Edmund Bedingfeld built the property on his family's estate in 1482 The findings were made by archaeologist Matt Champion, while builders were re-roofing the National Trust manor house and removing floorboards in the attic rooms. A copy of the 1568 edition of The Kynges Psalmes, written by Saint John Fisher, was found hidden in a void at Oxburgh Hall. A 15th century illuminated manuscript was uncovered, with the gold leaf and writing remaining distinct. The text is thought to identify the document as part of Psalm 39 from the Latin Vulgate Bible. National Trust curator Anna Forrest, who was overseeing the work, said the manuscript was probably part of a prayer book owned by Sir Edmund Bedingfeld, who built Oxburgh Hall on his family's estate in 1482. Fragments of an 18th century handwritten document and fabrics, including slashed brown silk, were also discovered during the re-roofing project. Curator Anna Forest holds a large piece of slashed brown silk, shot through with gold, found under the attic floorboards A copy of the 1568 edition of The Kynges Psalmes, written by Saint John Fisher, was also found hidden in a void at Oxburgh Hall Catholicism was made illegal after the Act of Uniformity in 1559, during the reign of Elizabeth I, but the Bedingfelds refused to change their faith. Above, Oxburgh Hall covered in scaffolding during re-roofing Sir Henry Bedingfeld (above) was a leading figure under Catholic Mary I and remained a staunch Catholic during the reign Elizabeth I, leading him to be accused of giving refuge to papists Other findings were also estimated to be much more recent, with a chocolate box (above) dating to the 1940s having also been uncovered at Oxburgh Hall The manuscript and other objects owned by the Bedingfeld family seemed to have escaped from the grasps of Elizabeth I's spies and priesthunters during the late 16th century. How refusal of historic family to change their faith cost them dear The Bedingfeld family were strong supporters of Catholic Mary I and the family's fortunes flourished after Sir Edmund Bedingfeld entered the royal court. Sir Edmund, who died in 1553, was knighted and even hosted a visit from the King and Queen, after building Oxburgh Hall in 1482. His grandson Sir Henry Bedingfeld was a leading figure under Mary I. But the family's fortunes changed during Elizabeth I's reign, as the Act of Uniformity outlawed Catholic mass. The 1559 ruling made it illegal not to attend parish church for Anglican rite. The late 16th century became dangerous for the Bedingfelds, who were staunch catholics. Sir Henry was accused of giving refuge to papists. Catholic priests were routinely tried and executed and Catholic gentry who sheltered priests were imprisoned. Catholic families were forced to hide their worship, with many building secret chapels and 'priest holes'. After the reign of Elizabeth I, Charles I relaxed religious laws but the Civil War quickly sparked more turmoil. Sir Henry Bedingfeld was imprisoned in the Tower of London, one of his sons was shot and the Hall was ransacked. Oxburgh Hall was confiscated by Parliament before being sold back to the family at an extortionate price. The family were also fined 20,000. For 300 years, the Bedingfeld family were subjected to heavy taxation, exclusion from public office and education. Advertisement The Bedingfelds, who lived at Oxburgh Hall for around 500 years, refused to change their faith following the Act of Uniformity in 1559, after the succession of Elizabeth I to the throne. The ruling outlawed Catholic Mass and also made it illegal not to attend the parish church for the Anglican rite on Sundays. Sir Edmund Bedingfeld, who died in 1553, had previously been knighted and even hosted a visit from the King and Queen. His grandson Sir Henry Bedingfeld was a leading figure under the Catholic Mary I. Sir Henry remained a staunch Catholic and lost his influence after Elizabeth I succeeded to the throne, and was later accused of giving refuge to papists. The late 16th century became dangerous for the Bedingfelds, and other families who did not conform to the strict religious rulings imposed during Elizabeth I's reign. Catholic families were forced to conceal their worship and build secret chapels to illegally practice Catholicism. Catholic priests were routinely tried and executed and the Catholic gentry who sheltered priests were imprisoned. Following the reign of Elizabeth I, Charles I briefly relaxed religious laws but the outbreak of the Civil War quickly sparked more turmoil. During the Civil War, Sir Henry Bedingfeld was imprisoned in the Tower of London, one of his sons was shot and the Hall was ransacked. Oxburgh Hall was confiscated by Parliament before later being sold back to the family at an extortionately higher price. The Bedingfeld family were also fined a further 20,000 - staggeringly high losses for any Catholic families at the time. For 300 years, the Bedingfeld family were subjected to heavy taxation, exclusion from public office and education, costing them both politically and financially. The National Trust believes the new discoveries may have been concealed from Elizabeth I's agents, such as spymaster Sir Francis Walsingham. Other findings were also estimated to have been dated later, with a chocolate box dating to the 1940s having also been uncovered amongst the thousands of objects at the National Trust property. Some of the findings will shortly go on display at Oxburgh Hall. Three African women have been racially targeted on a bus by a white man who called them 'dogs' and insulted their families before turning on his own friend. The group were all travelling toward Port Adelaide late on Monday night when the unnamed man began shouting at them. He called them 'African dogs' and said 'your mum's an African sl*t' to one of the girls as other commuters rushed to get off the bus and avoid an altercation. A woman in the man's company, described as his girlfriend by 7News, frantically tried to restrain the man as a brawl broke out between him and the other group. He then appeared to turn on her as well. The man called the group 'African dogs' and said 'your mum's an African sl*t' to one of the girls as other commuters rushed to get off the bus and avoid an altercation Another passenger got off the bus and filmed the rest of the altercation through the window, capturing the moment when one of the victims stood up for herself and lunged at the aggressor. He knocked her backwards during the melee. Witnesses claim after about 20 minutes the bus finally continued without the duo on board, but the bus driver never intervened or broke up the fight. A spokesman from the Transport Workers Union said drivers shouldn't be made to put their lives in danger, particularly after a raft of previous assaults in similar circumstances. The man in question had reportedly been kicked off a train earlier in the night for similar anti-social behaviour. Another passenger on board got off the bus and filmed the rest of the altercation through the window, capturing the moment when one of the victims stood up for herself and lunged at the aggressor (pictured) Witnesses claim after about 20 minutes the bus finally continued without the duo on board, but the bus driver never intervened or broke up the fight Janine Bahati, a friend of the victims, told 9News incidents like that were 'really common'. 'I just to want feel comfortable going on the bus without getting attacked,' she said. Another witness, Henry Trewren, claimed he watched on as the man continued to abuse his partner long after the bus was gone. 'She was yelling out, "no, stop it", and sadly she stayed with him, and it's part of her feeling like maybe she had nowhere else to go,' he said. Police have not yet spoken to any persons involved and are seeking more information. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. The Supreme Court on Monday indicated that it was in favour of closing a 2009 contempt case against lawyer Prashant Bhushan, but added that it would first examine whether alleging corruption against judges in the public is permissible and to put in place a procedure by which such statements can be dealt with even if they involved a retired judge. Bhushan gave an interview to Tehelka magazine published on September 5, 2009 alleging that half the past 16 chief justices of India (CJIs) had been corrupt. The matter will now be heard next Monday. The Court had on August 10 agreed to proceed with the contempt case against Bhushan. Along with Bhushan, former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal is also charged with contempt. The apex court convicted Bhushan of contempt last week for two tweets directed against the present CJI SA Bobde and the judiciary. On Monday, a three-judge bench headed by Justice Arun Mishra expanded the scope of its earlier order and said, We like to be addressed on the issue that in what circumstances can such a statement on corruption be made and the procedure to be adopted in this regard, with regard to sitting and retired judges. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who had offered apology on behalf of Tejpal on the earlier occasion, told the bench: This matter can be given a quietus. The bench replied: We want to give a quietus to the case but it involves a question as to the circumstances in which you can allege corruption by speaking to the press. Bhushan, who is represented by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, demanded the matter to be sent to a Constitution bench of five judges. He formulated five issues, the important among them being, Whether the expression of a bona fide opinion about the extent of corruption in any section of the judiciary would amount to contempt of court. And If yes, Whether the person who expresses such opinionis obliged to prove that his opinion is correct or whether it is enough to show that he bona fide held that opinion. The bench, also comprising Justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari, posted the matter for hearing next Monday and said: Even on referring the case to Constitution bench we will hear all parties.if we shirk our responsibility, it may not be proper for the future of the (judicial) system. Since these questions are bound to arise in the other contempt case decided against Bhushan, Dhavan said that the judgment passed by the apex court convicting Bhushan of contempt on August 14 has to be challenged as it suffered from grave imbalances. He intends to file a review plea against the judgment, Dhavan said. He referred to decisions by the Supreme Court wherein disparaging comments against retired judges was not held to be contempt. In a related development, the same bench on Monday heard a public interest litigation filed by a petitioner, Subhash Vijayran, who demanded that no aspersions be cast against judges in public. The petitioner said: Judges are not politicians. Any imputation or motive attributed to judges cannot be defended by them in the media. The bench led by Justice Arun Mishra asked the petitioner if he could cite any law or judgment in support of his case. The Court gave two weeks to the petitioner to prepare the case. The Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) might have recruited the younger brother of former Soviet Union Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze and an alleged girlfriend of Vladimir Putin, according to RAW: A History of Indias Covert Operations by journalist Yatish Yadav. The book, released by Westland Publications, reveals Indian spies carried out a spectacular operation in Moscow to glean the vital secrets on Pakistan and China. We present an excerpt from the chapter titled Patience and Pillow Talk. *** RAW: A History of Indias Covert Operations. Hardcover. Rs 730. Excerpt courtesy: Yatish Yadav and Westland Publications *** The Indian spies were the first to spot the tall, silver-haired political figure when Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev landed at Palam Airport in Delhi in November 1988 with an entourage of diplomats and intelligence operatives. His visit was seen as a reaffirmation of the rock-solid relationship between India and the USSR as well as Gorbachevs determination to bring new thinking to Soviet foreign policy. In fact this new thinking, which eventually put an end to the decades-long cold war, was engineered by a man in President Gorbachevs core team. Gorbachev and the awe-inspiring political figure codenamed Nicholas Darchidze had decided to move away from confrontation and create a peaceful atmosphere across the world. Known for his anti-corruption campaign in the communist nation, Nicholas knew when to switch sides in political battles and had swiftly moved from Leonid Brezhnevs team to Konstantin Chernenkos camp before being picked by Gorbachev in 1985 for his cabinet. At the banquet that evening, an intelligence officer codenamed Ashok Khurana met the man. Soon after, Nicholass younger brother Aleksandre Darchidze interrupted the polite conversation between the two. Khurana was introduced to Aleksandre and the handshake that followed made the Russian a welcome guest on the list of the R&AWs prized possessions. Aleksandre was in love with India. Khurana, considered to be the agencys best spy recruiter, took him the next day on a daylong trip to the Taj Mahal in Agra. In the shadow of the monument of love, Khurana cajoled and wooed the powerful Georgian who later became the most important asset the R&AW spies had ever recruited. The espionage recruitment process has an immense coolness about it. When they were driving back to Delhi, Khurana told Aleksandre that no one knows the ultimate value of freedom better than spies because they risk everything. I may not have a doctrine for life but you will find me always there for you through the chaotic moments the world will witness soon, Khurana said. Aleksandre, well aware of the working style of intelligence organisations, smiled at Khurana. A spy remains a mystery till his last breath. But Aleksandre and Khurana had a sentiment in common against Hamid Gul, chief of Pakistans Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), for breeding terrorism in the subcontinent. Aleksandre was part of the Soviet group that had supervised the KGBs training of the Afghan intelligence services to fight Guls spies. Just remember, I dont want to be crucified like Jesus and never try to be a shepherd, was Aleksandres parting advice. Khurana told me that he had devised a unique mechanism to interact with Aleksandre. They always met in foreign locations and exchanged books and periodicals containing loose sheets that were gibberish to others but a goldmine for Khurana. They never discussed politics in public places. The intense battles between spies and traitors due to the cold war had created new power blocs and India was quite interested in gleaning the secrets of both sides. In July 1989, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was in Moscow to hold talks with Gorbachev. While the two leaders discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation aside from developments in Afghanistan and Europe, Aleksandre introduced Khurana to Anastasia Korkia, a twenty-seven-year-old public relations executive. Born in Rustavi in southeastern Georgia, Anastasia had moved to Moscow about two months after the Chernobyl disaster and begun working for a lobbying firm that was liaising with the government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). A tall, green-eyed beauty, she was fluent in English and a walking encyclopedia on global political affairs. Aleksandre told Khurana that he had been knocked off his feet when the two first met sometime in November 1986. Anastasia moved in with him and, bitten by the love bug, Aleksandre provided her with easy access to the top echelons of the Soviet government. During their brief interaction, Khurana was introduced as a special friend. Khurana remained in Moscow even after the prime minister returned to India and spent several evenings at the Aragvi cafe, a favourite joint of the Soviet elite and spies. The relationship between a spy and a potential recruit is exhausting because it requires patience. You have to see if there is a lock on the face, Khurana explained. If there is none, the door of opportunity is open. No wait lasts forever, but we must leave the process in the shadows. Khurana waited patiently for Aleksandres and Anastasias reluctance to work for the R&AW to dissipate. Recruiting an agent can be a nerve-wracking task. The agent must use everything in her or his power to be persuasive, build the bond of friendship and prevail over the potential recruits fear of betrayal. A recruiter cannot rush to buy a mole. So he waited for his moment. Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the two agreed to be R&AW assets. And from November 1989, Khurana started receiving reams of intelligence on Soviet policies towards the USA, Europe and Asia. This was called Operation Azalea. No intelligence is a waste. It helps the country calibrate its approach to the world and be ready for future incidents. Khuranas early harvests were Soviet communications linked to Europe and the USA and soon, he also started receiving inputs on the Soviet policy on Pakistan. Months before the demolition of the Berlin Wall began in June 1990, Khurana was provided with roadmaps prepared by the Soviets and the USA for a united Germany. Although the Indian government had no major stake in either West or East Germany besides enhanced economic and trade ties since 1982, the intelligence dossier helped the government redraft its current policies and prepare for upcoming events, such as the way the reunified country would deal with issues like their political apparatus, commercial infrastructure, monetary and other social issues. When Aleksandres brother Nicholas planned to visit Washington to hold talks with the Americans, the Indian intelligence was well informed in advance about the agenda on nuclear testing, counterterrorism and reconstruction of trade ties between the two superpowers. The two best-placed assets inside the Soviet regime then informed Khurana that the two sides discussed the withdrawal of their troops from Europe to bring stability in the region. The Indian spy continued to run the two significant assets even after the disintegration of the USSR. Khurana was a professional. He wasnt interested in the personal lives of Aleksandre and Anastasia but he was aware that differences had begun to appear between them after the formers brother was made premier of the newly carved independent state of Georgia. Sexual entrapment is not new in the world of espionage and Aleksandre, Khurana learnt, had used Anastasia as a potent weapon to extract vital intelligence, knowing fully well the risks involved. Khurana said nothing. He continued to receive his harvest. Anastasia had found a lover in a keeper of Russian secrets at KGB headquarters in Dzerzhinskaya Square. The man had played a crucial role during the cold war and according to Aleksandre, was going to shape the new power structure in the next few years. Several intelligence reports about Pakistans nuclear programme that Khurana dispatched to R&AW headquarters were the product of pillow talk. When the first BJP-led government came to power for a brief period of time, Khurana was moved to another operation, but he maintained ties with his assets. Khurana said that the intelligence picked up by Anastasia was so good that he had requested a transfer back to the Russian theatre within a year. In 1999, Anastasias lover, codenamed Alexei, was at the helm of affairs in Russia. Now Khurana knew virtually everything happening and being planned at the Kremlin. Alexei was a close ally of India though Indian interest in him was limited to needing prior knowledge of his moves towards Pakistan and China. Sometime in late 2000, Alexei was promoted. Khurana met Aleksandre in Tbilisi. His brother Nicholas was facing political turmoil, yet the two discussed and planned the future of Operation Azalea. Nicholas had returned to power in the April 2000 election, but there was brewing discontent among his cabinet colleagues that was fanned by the opposition. He was worried that disgruntled elements inside Georgia were supported by social sector organisations operating from the USA. Aleksandre, however, quietly dropped a bombshell. Anastasia could provide intelligence on other countries that Alexeis regime was gleaning from a variety of sources including double agents, but this would come at a heavy price. Khurana knew the agent was pushing the boundaries but he remained non-committal. In such a scenario, he said, the decision has to be taken by the top bosses. Khurana recalled that the offer was deliberated for some time at the highest levels of the R&AW. Questions were raised as to whether Anastasias move was politically motivated to spread disinformation. And above all, what was the utility of buying such intelligence at a high price? Any slack end may inflict enormous damage to a cordial relationship, Khurana was warned. Fearing a backlash, the government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was not interested in continuing the operation. Since spies cannot operate in a political vacuum, Khurana had to accept the governments priorities. When he conveyed the decision to Aleksandre in April 2001, the Georgian said nothing. He just smiled before leaving the Moscow cafe where they had met. I ran into Aleksandre in Berlin sometime in 2004. I was sitting in a cafe and having a chat with an old friend when he came over and patted my back. I was happy as well as embarrassed to see him, Khurana told me. He whispered in my ear, We could have prevented December 2001 and left. He meant that if I had continued running them, we could have prevented the December 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament. Tragedy can often be traced to mistakes we have made in the past. His words haunt me every time we pay homage to our brave security personnel on 13 December. No matter how good the deal was, for me personally, Operation Azalea ended in both massive triumph and failure, Khurana said. Also read: How RAW, India's intelligence agency, fared under 21 spymasters in 48 years Donald Trump hugs his brother Robert after winning the presidency in 2016. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images President Donald Trump's younger brother, Robert Trump, died Saturday evening, the White House announced. Robert Trump was 71, and had been hospitalized and was reportedly "very ill," though the details of his condition remained unclear. The president said in a statement Saturday evening that Robert Trump "was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. President Donald Trump announced that his younger brother, Robert Trump, died Saturday evening. "It is with a heavy heart that I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight," Trump said in a statement. "He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace." The president visited his brother in New York on Friday. ABC News cited sources that described Robert Trump as "very ill" and was hospitalized, but the details of his condition remained unclear. A source close to the Trump family told The New York Times that Robert Trump had recently endured brain bleeds as a result of a fall. Robert Trump was 71 years old at the time of his death, and had been retired and living in Millbrook, New York, after spending much of his career working for the Trump Organization. US President Donald Trump arrives at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, NY, on August 14, 2020 to visit his sick brother Robert Trump. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Robert Trump was born in 1948 and was the youngest of the president's four siblings. Trump family biographer Gwenda Blair told the Associated Press that Robert Trump "was known as the nice Trump." "Robert was the one people would try to get to intervene if there was a problem," she said. One ex-Trump Organization executive described Robert Trump to The Times as someone with "zero sense of entitlement. "He was dignified, he was quiet, he listened, he was good to work with," Jack O'Donnell told the newspaper. "Robert was very comfortable being Donald Trump's brother and not being like him." Story continues Robert Trump was also supportive of his older brother's presidential bid, though the brothers were estranged for years beforehand, according to The Times. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. Read the original article on Business Insider The former refinery site is one Eggert knows well, having served as Vice President - Business Planning for PES, Inc. prior to HRP's acquisition of the South Philadelphia site, where she was responsible for productivity and cost efficiency. "We continue to build our HRP Philadelphia team, drawing from the local area's rich talent pool," said Roberto Perez, CEO - Hilco Redevelopment Partners. "Stephanie's seven years of experience at the former PES Refinery site provides us with a unique depth of expertise that will help the organization effectively manage business operations, synthesize workflows, and coordinate planning initiatives as we work to create an environmentally friendly employment hub here in Philadelphia." Prior to PES, Inc., Eggert held various positions of increasing responsibility with Sunoco Inc. Her appointment comes on the heels of HRP's hiring of Philadelphia-native Jasmine Sessoms as Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs. "I am excited to contribute to the site's future as it is transformed into an economic and employment catalyst that will have a positive impact both locally and regionally," said Eggert. "The PES site was and will continue to be a strategic location for commerce in the Northeast, and in the coming years will be redeveloped to meet the demands of the new American economy." Eggert, who holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Lehigh University, also serves as the Vice President of the Women's Leadership Forum of Greater Philadelphia and is the former lead recruiter for the Engineering College Recruiting Program. About Hilco Redevelopment Partners (HRP ): HRP ( www.hilcoredev.com ) provides a single integrated solution to maximize the value of industrial sites by leveraging the unique capabilities of Hilco Global to efficiently redevelop complex assets by considering and addressing the needs of all stakeholders. As an industry leader in redeveloping large industrial projects, HRP is a trusted partner and principal investor that creates exceptional value by developing and managing state-of-the-art warehouses, fulfillment centers and industrial facilities located near major transportation hubs, ports, and strategic infrastructure assets to create supply chain efficiencies for end users. HRP's facilities are developed to meet our customer's needs by locating in markets with strong labor pools near major population centers. About Hilco Global : Hilco Global ( www.hilcoglobal.com ) is a privately held diversified financial services company and the world's preeminent authority on maximizing the value of assets for both healthy and distressed companies. Hilco Global operates as a holding company comprised of over 20 specialized business units that work to help companies understand the value of their assets and then monetize that value. Hilco Global has a 30-year track record of acting as an advisor, agent and/or investor in any transaction. Hilco Global works to deliver the best possible result by aligning interests with clients and providing them strategic insight, advice, and, in many instances, the capital required to complete the deal. Hilco Global is based in Northbrook, Illinois and has 625 professionals operating on five continents. SOURCE Hilco Redevelopment Partners Related Links https://www.hilcoredev.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:40:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BRUSSELS, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of French-speaking Socialist Party (PS) and the Flemish party of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) on Monday offered their resignations to King Philippe of Belgium from their mission to form a federal government, the Royal Palace announced in a statement. The king received the two party leaders, Paul Magnette of PS and Bart De Wever of N-VA, at the Royal Palace in Brussels on Monday, after 29 days of the mission, which failed to garner a parliamentary majority to form a federal government. King Philippe accepted their resignations and discharged them from their mission. According to a communique from the royal palace, the king will begin new consultations with the leaders of the political parties this afternoon. Belgium has not had a full-fledged government since December 2018, and negotiations to form a new coalition have been at an impasse since the parliamentary elections on May 26. Belgium is made up of the Flemish Region, Walloon Region, and Brussels-Capital Region. The formation of a federal government is generally a long process of negotiations. From 2010 to 2011, Belgium had set a record of 541 days without a federal government. Enditem The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has summoned Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Ihor Kyzym for consultations in Kyiv to assess the prospects for Ukrainian and Belarusian relations, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. "Taking this into account, I decided to summon Ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus Ihor Kyzym for consultations in Kyiv to assess the prospects of Ukrainian and Belarusian relations in the new reality that has developed, to make appropriate decisions, taking into account the entire range of factors. This is the first time in history that we have resorted to such a step in relations with Belarus, and we do it exclusively because of the unacceptable actions of Minsk," Kuleba said in a statement released on the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Monday. The minister said that last Friday, August 14, the officials of Minsk handed over the detained Wagner members to Russia, despite the presence of all legal and moral grounds to hand them over to Ukraine. "This step undermined trust between our countries and dealt a heavy blow to our bilateral relations. After that, Alexander Lukashenko repeatedly and completely groundlessly accused Ukraine of unfriendly steps against Belarus. Qualitatively new threats to both the personal safety of citizens and regional security in general stem from official reports on the possible active involvement of Russia and the CSTO [the Collective Security Treaty Organization] in resolving the situation in Belarus. The combination of these facts and actions, as well as the development of events in Belarus, whose society has expressed a vote of no confidence in the official results of the presidential elections in Belarus, radically changes the situation in the Belarusian and Ukrainian relations," Kuleba said. He said that Ukraine will toughly defend its national interests. At the same time, the ambassador's summons for consultations will in no way affect the ability to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of Ukrainian citizens in Belarus. "Taking this opportunity, I would like to remind that due to the aggravation of the security situation in Belarus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has already recommended refraining from traveling to this country. Those who are already in Belarus are advised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to avoid mass events and places of gathering of citizens," the head of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine said. The ministry said that calling the ambassador for consultations in Ukraine's capital is one of the forms of diplomatic response, which is used to show dissatisfaction with the policies or unfriendly actions of the foreign state in which this ambassador is accredited. An American mother-of-two was found dead with all of her teeth missing in Mexico just a day after she was reported missing by her mother. Maria Rubio said she last spoke to her daughter Lizbeth Flores on August 9 when she traveled to the Mexican border city of Matamoros and said she would return later that night to her Brownsville, Texas, home. The concerned mother contacted the Brownsville [Texas] Police Department on August 10 to file a missing person's report after losing contact with her 23-year-old daughter. Flores' body was discovered on August 11. Local media outlets reported Flores was in Mexico to visit her boyfriend. Lizbeth Flores, from Brownsville, Texas, was found murdered in Matamoros, Mexico, on August 11. The 23-year-old American woman, a mother of two boys, reportedly went to Mexico to visit her boyfriend August 9. Her mother told Telemundo that she was supposed to return home that night but never did, which prompted her to file a missing person's report with the police Authorities is Matamoros, Mexico, remove the body of Lizbeth Flores, a 23-year-old American woman killed last week Flores, whose body was found on August 11, died from head injuries suffered after she was beaten with a rock that was found at the scene of the tragic incident, Matamoros police said. Law enforcement investigators reported that a part of Flores' scalp had been removed and that her teeth were taken out by force. 'Losing a child is like having your heart ripped out,' Rubio said Friday during an interview with Telemundo. 'I feel very sad for what they did to my daughter. How they left her is what pains me. The pain that my daughter went through there at that time is what pains me.' Rubio is seeking help from United States and Mexico officials to repatriate her daughter's remains to Texas. No arrests had been announced as of Monday by authorities in Matamoros. According to KRGV-TV, the FBI is involved in the investigation because Flores is a U.S. citizen. Authorities in Mexico said Flores' teeth and a part of her scalp were forcefully removed Diljit Dosanjhs fan following worldwide is unbeatable. The actor rocks both the Punjabi and the Hindi film industry with his performances and singing talent. His single videos too drive people crazy. His latest one G.O.A.T. was even featured on one of the billboards in Times Square, New York. Diljit Dosanjh also has another Hindi film titled Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari Hai, waiting for release. The actor had completed shooting of the film before the lockdown. Diljit will be seen playing a groom who has a detective following him to investigate his past history. Manoj Bajpayee plays the detective. Fatima Sana Sheikh too stars in the film. Read More - Diljit Dosanjh also has another Hindi film titled Suraj Pe Mangal Bhaari Hai, waiting for release. The actor had completed shooting of the film before the lockdown. Diljit will be seen playing a groom who has a detective following him to investigate his past history. Manoj Bajpayee plays the detective. Fatima Sana Sheikh too stars in the film.Read More - Diljit Dosanjh Shares his Excitement about Being on the Times Square Billboard The actor is now excited to resume work. According to reports, the first project he will work on once the lockdown is completely lifted is. Incidentally, he has done a Punjabi film on a similar topic titled, 1984. Speaking about this collaboration he said, Yes, I am really looking forward to this film. Once lockdown restrictions are removed, we will decide on the dates. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $10 million housing loan program that could benefit hundreds of home buyers in the Florida Panhandle, which was devastated two years ago by Hurricane Michael. DeSantis traveled to Panama City Monday to make the announcement. The governors office called the new funding a relaunch of the Hurricane Michael Recovery Loan Program, which last year provided $5 million in down payment assistance to 335 home buyers across the most hard-hit counties of the region. A powerful Category 5 storm, Hurricane Michael destroyed hundreds of homes when it plowed through Floridas Gulf Coast in the fall of 2018. These storms come and then they go, the governor said, but the damage that they leave behind takes time to rebuild. The program will resume in Sept. 1 and will provide 30-year fixed rate mortgages to more than 600 qualified home buyers. It will include $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance. The no-interest down payment loans will be forgivable over five years. The new allocation of money was part of the state budget the governor signed in June. Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijani Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov during the videoconference and Iranian Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian have discussed potential in the energy cooperation between the two countries in a video conference. Addressing the meeting, Shahbazov said that extension of the Agreement on the purchase of electricity signed between Azerbaijani Azerenergy and Iranian Tavanir is a step to support energy cooperation between two countries. Bilateral and trilateral cooperation in the energy sector were high on the agenda of the meeting. Moreover, the ministers discussed the implementation of hydroelectric installations and power plants of Khudaferin and Maiden Tower, as well as the Ordubad hydroelectric power plant. The acceleration of the work on these projects was highlighted, and it was decided to hold meetings of the corresponding technical commissions in the nearest future. Furthermore, the project to build a power plant on the border with Iran was discussed. Additionally, the importance of creating a Russia-Azerbaijan-Iran energy corridor was emphasized. It was noted that relevant agreements were reached between the three countries on preparation of feasibility study of connection of power networks in Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia by the Consulting and Engineering Company. Prospects for cooperation in the field of electricity between Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey were also discussed at the meeting. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The biggest advertising agencies of record and luxury brands have taken notice of our business model and are shape shifting their services and experience design talent to identify and mimic what firms like ours have been crafting for several years. A Non-Agency, a consumer experience marketing consultancy based in New York City, has announced that it has been named to the Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of the nations fastest-growing private companies, and has been ranked #413 for 2020. Companies that made the list, on average, grew six-fold since 2016 during a stretch when the economy grew just 15 percent. A Non-Agencys revenue grew by 1,111% from 2016 through 2019. A Non-Agency Founder and President Michelle Collins said, We could not be more honored to have been named to the Inc. 5000. But this year, as a woman- and minority-owned business, this recognition takes on special meaning for us in the current environment. A Tokyo native and New Yorker for the last 18 years, Collins is a recognized expert in digital content, consumer marketing, digital platforms, and experiential activations. Collins says that A Non-Agency is at the forefront of what brands and big agencies define as the new creative for what consumer experience marketing looks like. Collins has sometimes been responsible for launching and delivering the first project in consumer experience marketing for big agencies. The biggest advertising agencies of record and luxury brands have taken notice of our business model and are shape shifting their services and experience design talent to identify and mimic what firms like ours have been crafting for several years, she added. When establishing her creative consultancy, Collins took her cue from the forward-thinking financial services and technology consulting industries where transparency, accountability, and a level of expectation have shaped how teams are managed and resources, tapped. "Our value paradigm is different. We believe in sharing. Talent are treated as experts with a contributing role from the very start versus after the fact. We remove the politics and care deeply about creating work we are proud of. Most importantly, I believe that you have to earn the trust of clients and likewise work hard to deliver value for the budgets they entrust to us. I look for exceptional people who are quality human beings with whom our team and the clients will feel confidence and supported by, Collins explained. 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. 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 A Non-Agency A Non-Agency maintains a small, highly-specialized and meticulously-selected team of Directors of Creative, Strategy, Experience Design, Fabrication and Technology, to develop the strategy, ideation and ultimately produce the next evolution of installations that are changing the way consumers experience and buy brands. Such agencies of record as Wasserman, Publicis, M&C Saatchi and Digitas, as well as luxury and other global brands including Richemont N. America, Delta Airlines, Lancome, Van Cleef & Arpels, Google Play, and Kate Spade, to name a few, have tapped Michelle Collins and A Non-Agency, to develop and deploy their first experiential marketing strategies and installations. Based in New York City, A Non-Agency was founded in 2016. Visit http://www.anonagency.com. Detectives from the PSNIs Serious Crime Branch are investigating the incident at a house in the Windermere Road area on Sunday evening. The arrested man is in his 60s. The PSNI has released no further details about the incident. Venezuelans brave open sea on tubes, fishing for survival amid Covid-19 pandemic August 17,2020 | Source: AP The biggest fear is a fishhook puncturing the inner tube that keeps them afloat far from shore. Then come sharks grabbing their catch and maybe biting their legs. And the current that threatens to pull them out to sea. A small but growing number of people in the coastal town of La Guaira, just a few minutes from the capital of Caracas, have turned to the sea for substance since the Covid-19 pandemic has shut down the Caribbean nation's already miserable economy." "If we had steady work, we wouldn't risk our lives out there," said Juan Carlos Almeida, who is accompanied by his fishing partner Eric Mendez. We're bricklayers, but there's no construction. Others who paddle out in small groups up to 5 miles (8 kilometers) from shore lost jobs in restaurants or shops catering to beachgoers. All the beaches are closed, but the workers still have hungry children at home in their hillside barrios. If we don't help ourselves and don't go to work, who's going to feed us? said the 35-year-old Almeida. Nobody. The new coronavirus hit Venezuela in mid-March and the government ordered most businesses closed. The virus has steadily spread in the five months since. Officials say it's killed fewer than 300 and sickened roughly 31,000. The nation remains largely paralyzed and commercial flights have been grounded at the the nation's main airport in La Guaira. People have little hope life will return to normal anytime soon. Newcomers to subsistence fishing stick close to the safety of La Guaira's pier, fearing the open seas. Theme(s): Others. The new Council of Ministers will be appointed soon, the national media agency says. The Belarusian Government has submitted a resignation letter to the president-elect, the national information agency reported on Monday, August 17. That's according to Resolution No 480 of August 15, 2020, published today on the National portal of legal information, BelTA reports. The portal of legal information also says the Decree on the government's scope of authority has already been signed. Prime minister, his deputies, and state committees' chairs have been tasked with performing their functions until the president forms the new government. Read alsoKremlin deploying Russian Guard troops to Belarus border media (Photo, video)As reported earlier, Alexander Lukashenko instructed that the documents on the government's further work be drafted as soon as possible, adding that the new government has generally been formed, while "certain nuances" were possible. Belarus elections and protests that followed On August 9, after presidential elections were held in Belarus, official exit polls claimed incumbent Alexander Lukashenko sealed a staggering 80.23% of the vote, while his closest rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya gained just 9.9%. On the same night, thousands of Belarusians took to the streets to contest what many believe is a rigged vote count. In a crackdown on protests, riot police fired rubber bullets, used tear gas, and detained thousands, of whom many were badly beaten and injured while in custody. Presidential candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, the runner-up in the presidential elections in Belarus, fled the country to Lithuania. Read alsoUkraine initiates Belarusian Declaration at PACEThe European Union has not recognized election results, while international organizations and foreign governments have condemned violence applied against peaceful protesters. Ukraine said it "generally shares" the position voiced by the EU, stopping short of direct non-recognition or recognition of election results. Svetlana Tikhanovskaya on Monday, August 17, announced readiness to become a "national leader" so that the country "calms down and gets back to a normal rhythm." The statement is in stark contrast to her earlier public address released on August 11 where she admitted still being a "weak woman I was initially". Lebanon is facing a surge in coronavirus cases after the devastating blast in Beirut which killed 180 people and wounded thousands more earlier this month. Medical officials are now urging for a two-week lockdown to try to contain the pandemic. Virus numbers were expected to rise following the explosion of nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the Beirut port on August 4. The blast overwhelmed the city's hospitals and also badly damaged two that had a key role in handling Covid-19 cases. The explosion in Beirut on 4 August (pictured) overwhelmed the city's hospitals and badly damaged two that were dealing with coronavirus cases Nurses from the Saint George hospital clean one of the damaged rooms, in Beirut's neighbourhood of Ashrafieh on August 13, 2020, more than a week after a massive blast in the nearby port ravaged parts of the Lebanese capital Ahead of the surge, medical officials had warned of the dangers of crowding at hospitals in the aftermath of the explosion, at funerals or as people searched through the rubble. Protests and demonstrations also broke out after the blast as people vented their anger at the ruling class. On Sunday, Lebanon registered 439 new virus cases and six deaths. The new infections bring the total number of cases in the country of just over 5 million people to 8,881, with 103 deaths. Initially, strict measures had kept the numbers of cases under control in Lebanon but they surged after a lockdown and night-time curfew were lifted, and the country's only international airport reopened in early July. Health Minister Hamad Hassan warned the true number could be far higher. Following a meeting on Monday with medical officials who demanded another two-week lockdown, he urged everyone wear a mask, saying the virus has now spread in every city and almost every village in Lebanon. A room in the Saint George hospital in Beirut's neighbourhood of Ashrafieh remains empty of patients on August 13, 2020, more than a week after a massive blast in the nearby port heavily damaged the building 'It is a matter of life and death,' Mr Hassan said, adding that soon private and public hospitals might not be able to take more patients. Lebanon's health sector has been challenged by the pandemic that hit amid an unprecedented economic and financial crisis. The explosion in Beirut's port only increased the pressure on the Lebanese capital's hospitals, knocking out at least three of them. Dr Firas Abiad, director general of Rafik Hariri University Hospital which is leading the fight against coronavirus, described the situation as 'extremely worrisome', warning that without a lockdown, the numbers will continue to rise 'overwhelming the hospital capacity.' Mr Hassan urged every expatriate or foreigner returning to Lebanon not to leave their hotels until they are tested and cleared. People travelling to Lebanon will be required to be tested both before and upon arrival. He also called for field hospitals and said some public hospitals will exclusively handle coronavirus patients. Petra Khoury, medical adviser to outgoing prime minister Hassan Diab tweeted that the Covid-19 positive rate has increased from 2.1 per cent to 5.6 per cent in just four weeks. 'The virus doesn't differentiate between us. A rate 5 per cent is real threat to all our nation,' she warned. Tens of thousands of Belarusian opposition supporters join a "March for Freedom" in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images) UK Rejects Belarusian Presidential Election Results, Promises Sanctions British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday said the UK does not accept the results of the Belarusian presidential election. Raabs statement came as 200,000 Belarusians took to the streets of the countrys capital Minsk, demanding that Alexander Lukashenko, in power for 26 years, steps down as president. Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the nation in an unknown location in Lithuania, in an image taken from video released on Aug. 17, 2020. (Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Headquarters/Handout via Reuters) Opposition candidate Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya claimed she had won the election with 60 to 70 percent of the vote. Lukashenko denied losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80 percent of the vote. Tsikhanouskaya has since fled to Lithuania. Thousands protesting against the election results were arrested. Many released protesters told of being struck repeatedly with truncheons, being threatened with gang rape, and held amid harsh conditions and overcrowded cells. Britains Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab arrives in Downing Street, London, on April 8, 2020. (Hannah McKay/Reuters) Raab called the presidential election fraudulent and said the world was horrified by the police violence against peaceful protesters. The foreign secretary urged the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to conduct an independent investigation into the election and the grisly repression that followed. Raab also said the UK will sanction those responsible, and hold the Belarusian authorities to account. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko gestures as he delivers a speech during a rally of his supporters near the Government House in Independence Square in Minsk, Belarus, on Aug. 16, 2020. (Stringer/Reuters) The European Union on Saturday also rejected the election results and said it will sanction those responsible for violence, repression, and the falsification of election results. Both the EU and Poland offered help to Belarusian civil society and independent media including financial support. Russia, however, said on Sunday that it had offered Lukashenko military assistance. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya on Monday released a video from Lithuania saying she was ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader. Lukashenko responded by saying he was ready to share power, although denied the gesture was a result of pressure from the streets. Ivan Pentchoukov, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report Tamara Ecclestone stroked her tummy while out during a walk with her daughter Sophia in Gstaad, Switzerland, on Saturday. The heiress, 36, had a big smile on her face as she headed out with her husband Jay Rutland, 39, and her sister Petra, 31, who had her four-month-old baby in tow. Tamara wore a low-key loose-fitting white T-shirt with a pair of black shorts and trainers, wearing her brunette locks in a ponytail. Smiling: Tamara Ecclestone stroked her tummy as she stepped out in a baggy T-shirt and shorts with her family in Gstaad, Switzerland, on Saturday While away on her holiday, Tamara was pictured the day after, this time wearing a camouflage printed top with shorts and trainers. Her little girl Sophia, six, also affectionately known as Fifi, held her hand as they took in the sights together, along with Jay. There has been a lot going on with the Ecclestone family of late. Petra welcomed her fourth child, her first with fiance Sam Palmer back in April. Family is everything: Tamara was out with her sister Petra, 31, on the day, who welcomed a child back in April Stretching: The socialite wore a low-key loose-fitting white T-shirt with a pair of black shorts and trainers, wearing her brunette locks in a ponytail Tamara's father Bernie also welcomed his fourth child, a son named Ace, aged 89. In July, television personality Tamara, was pictured visiting her baby brother for the first time in Switzerland. Of his birth, she exclusively told MailOnline: 'We couldn't be happier and it's such a special time. Close bond: Her little girl Sophia, six, also known as Fifi, held her hand as they took in the sights together Ouch! Tamara looked a little uncomfortable as she rubbed her back while walking down the street Special: Back in 2017, Tamara spoke about how she was open to expanding her family after previously thinking she simply 'couldn't love another child as much as Fifi' Busy time: Tamara's father Bernie welcomed his fourth child, a son named Ace, aged 89 in July 'It's also so lovely to have a little brother after always being a family of girls!' Back in 2017, Tamara spoke about how she was open to expanding her family after previously thinking she simply 'couldn't love another child as much as Fifi'. The heiress said she was considering having another baby because Sophia was about to start to school. She has previously been mum-shamed for her sometimes unconventional parenting methods. Making plans: The heiress said she was considering having another baby herself because Sophia was about to start to school Making memories: The family all appeared to be getting along nicely as they hung out in the sunshine Siblings: Tamara and her sister are very close but miss each other a lot now that Petra has moved to LA Gossip girls: No doubt the pair have had much to catch up on during their trip More to see: The day after, the family took in the sights in the local area The Formula 1 heiress, whose father Bernie has an estimated $3.3billion fortune, found herself at the centre of an unexpected social media storm after posting images of her breastfeeding Sophia, who was aged three at the time. Some users slammed her for oversharing, telling her the images were 'gross' and that there was 'no need' for her to post pictures of her 't*** hanging out' but Tamara said she was keen to block out the noise and focus on her daughter. She said: 'It's annoying that parenting is one of those things that people are just so opinionated on,' she said in response to the haters. Thinking: Jay appeared deep in thought as he parked up by the ladies on his bike Mum's the word! Petra doted on her baby as the trio paused in the sun Casual: Tamara was wearing a sporty ensemble on the holiday Looking well: The family were all sporting golden tans for the outing 'Everyone's journey is so different and it's something you shouldn't intrude in. 'Everyone has opinions and everyone is so quick to tell you theirs but I feel you should just take a step back and take direction from your baby and listen to your gut; it's an instinct that you have.' The doting mum stopped breastfeeding when Sophia was aged four and donated her unused milk to mothers who needed it. Defensive: The Formula 1 heiress, whose father Bernie has an estimated $3.3billion fortune, found herself at the centre of a social media storm after posting images of her breastfeeding Sophia Tamara said at the time: 'It's annoying that parenting is one of those things that people are just so opinionated on,' she said in response to the haters' She continued: 'Everyone's journey is so different and it's something you shouldn't intrude in. Everyone has opinions and everyone is so quick to tell you theirs Finally, we crossed a rickety bridge at the mouth of the creek that led us to the smooth, sandy beach. Arranging our trip during the week gave us a big advantage it meant few crowds, even on a hot, sunny day at an idyllic lakeside spot. We found a swath of beach to ourselves to lay our towels, enjoy a snack and dip our toes into the lake. The Chapel-Mosquito Area also has a campsite, and nearby Twelvemile Beach Campground is said to be one of the most picturesque camping spots in the state. It was booked solid the week of our trip, but I can only imagine what it would be like to sleep in this fairyland. MANZINI Commuters should brace themselves today for fully loaded public service vehicles. This follows a resolution that was taken by the Swaziland Local Transport Association (SLTA) yesterday. The National Chairperson of SLTA, Mandla Dlamini, said kombi owners had called for a meeting wherein they were seeking to express their dissatisfaction with the status quo. Currently, the coronavirus guidelines stipulate that public transport vehicles should be filled to 80 per cent of their capacity. This was brought about as means to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. However, this guideline seems to be rubbing the transport operators the wrong way as they agreed that they would no longer comply with it. Instead, Dlamini said they had resolved that they would revert to the capacity stipulated in their certificates of fitness. Capacity The kombi owners said COVID-19 was a flu that we were living with but adhering to the 80 per cent capacity was no longer possible, he said. The transport operator said the biggest challenge they faced was that they had outstanding balances with their financiers and were due at the end of next month. He said with the current arrangement, many of the operators feared that they would lose their lifetime investments as they would be repossessed due to failure to comply with their obligations of servicing outstanding loans. Dlamini said: They also felt that in all the statistics that were issued by government on a daily basis, there had never been an instance when there was a case related to public transport. As a result, he said they had resolved to maintain the regulations in part. This would be through sanitising their vehicles and also making sure that every passenger in their vehicles had their hands sanitised before boarding. To this, the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe, said: According to what I know, the regulations on the pandemic still stand. We appreciate the frustration transport operators together with other businesses are going through, but operations have to be in line with relevant guidelines in the respective operations. Guidelines Also, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said the police would continue to expect the guidelines to be followed as pronounced by government. She said: If there are any changes, the right channels of communication would be used and well heed to them. Meanwhile, leading to the decision announced by public transport operators, government, when the partial lockdown was announced, ordered that public transport vehicles be filled up to 70 per cent capacity. They were also directed to operate between 5am and 9am and resumed operations at 3pm until 7pm. They claimed to have taken a heavy blow from the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as they were losing 90 per cent of income each day. The kombi owners said the negotiations for compensation from government would be of help, if the State were to extend a lifeline worth half of what they were losing each day. Requirement This is because the terms of the partial lockdown were to the effect that all kombis should not carry above 11 passengers, which is part of the social distancing measure that requires people to be a metre away from each other. In a previous article by our sister publication, Eswatini News, it was reported that Musa Dube, an owner of kombis operating between Manzini and Ntabamhloshana, said on a daily basis, after refuelling, each of his kombis were making between E800 and E1 000 on a busy day. Rough calculations show that each kombi rakes in about E20 000 per month. During the days of the lockdown, he said this had been greatly reduced to about E150 per day at most. He said if government were to compensate local kombi owners, he would appreciate compensation of at least E10 000 for each kombi per month. Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un Sends Medical Supplies to Flood-hit Area Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Pyongyang, August 16 (KCNA) -- Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un sent medical supplies to the people in Taechong-ri, Unpha County, North Hwanghae Province. A meeting took place in the county seat on Aug. 15, with the attendance of county officials, employees of the county people's hospital and inhabitants of Taechong-ri. Kung Hye Yong, chairperson of the Unpha County Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), made a conveying address. Referring to the fact that the Supreme Leader took the consecutive steps of love for the residents in the flood-stricken area and sent lots of medicines again, the chairperson ardently called for turning out as one in the recovery work and sprucing up the county wonderfully, and thus greeting the 75th birthday of the WPK with proud achievements. Then followed speeches. The speakers were determined to trust and follow only the Supreme Leader under any circumstances and become the patriotic peasants in the era of the Workers' Party who defend the revolution and socialism with increased production of rice. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Before Sunday, someone in the United Arab Emirates who tried to place a phone call to a number beginning with +972 -- Israel's country code -- would hear a recorded message, in both Arabic and English, stating that calls to such numbers could not be connected. On Sunday, the foreign ministers of Israel and the UAE spoke, by phone, pledging to meet soon, and other calls between the two nations went through without a hitch. This is the way the world changes. With the announcement last week that the UAE and Israel have normalized relations, the biggest question over the near term is what Persian Gulf nation will be next to follow suit. Straight out of the gate, Bahrain and Oman praised the UAE-Israel pact, leading observers to wonder if they, too, could soon be normalizing relations with the Jewish state. Heres hoping. Though it had for so long seemed that nothing in the Middle East would change, ever, suddenly, change is in the air. And on the phone. The UAE-Israel agreement had been long in the works, with much taking place behind the scenes. Nonetheless, there'll be those who'll look to take credit for the breakthrough. Surely, President Donald Trump was quick to seek plaudits. Fine. Let him take a bow, whether or not he personally had a whole lot to do with seeing the two sides come together. The fact is, Trump is in the White House right now, when a breakthrough was announced, and there are real, notable differences on the ground. Not surprisingly, not everyone was celebrating the news of the accord. The Palestine Liberation Organization decried the news shortly before recalling its ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in protest. "This is a black day in the history of Palestine," said Ahmad Majdalani, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee. "This agreement is a total departure from the Arab consensus. The Palestinian people have not authorized anyone to make concessions to Israel in exchange for anything." Well, thats how he sees it, but Israel agreed to suspend annexation of occupied West Bank territory, and the UAE, in response, agreed to normalize relations. If this leaves the PLO out in the cold, perhaps thats because the group never learned to say yes, no matter how many times its leaders were given an opportunity for a genuine shot at peace. Coughing or sneezing without a face covering exposes bystanders to at least 10,000 times more droplets, scientists claim. Droplets large particles that fall to the ground and land on surfaces are thought to be the main driver of Covid-19 transmission. Academics ran a number of experiments with real people and life-sized mannequins connected to a machine that simulates coughs and speech. They compared the number of droplets that landed on a surface in front of a person coughing and speaking with and without a mask or basic covering. The findings suggest a person standing two metres from someone coughing without a mask is exposed to 10,000 times more droplets than from someone standing half a metre away wearing a basic single layer mask. 'Not a single droplet' was emitted by volunteers wearing a surgical mask, according to the researchers. They said even a simple cotton mask is 'tremendously effective'. The science supporting wearing masks to protect against Covid-19 has been weak so far. But several studies have recently emerged to support their use. Coughing or sneezing without a mask exposes bystanders to 10,000 times more droplets, a study has found, supporting their use during the Covid-19 pandemic. Pictured: A shopper wearing a mask in Sheffield, south Yorkshire, on July 24 In human studies, 'not a single droplet' was omitted by the participants wearing a surgical face mask, the study claimed. The two graphs show how many droplets were emitted by participants when talking (left) and coughing (right) when wearing a mask In the first experiment using mannequins, air containing a fluorescent liquid to represent the droplets was ejected from the mouth. Pictured: Examples of images captured directly in front of the mouth for speaking (upper row) and coughing (lower row), without a mask (1st column), with the handmade mask (2nd column) and with the surgical mask (3rd column) 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 Lead researcher Dr Ignazio Maria Viola, of the University of Edinburgh, said: 'We knew face masks of various materials are effective to a different extent in filtering small droplets. 'However, when we looked specifically at those larger droplets that are thought to be the most dangerous we discovered that even the simplest handmade single-layer cotton mask is tremendously effective. 'Therefore, wearing a face mask can really make a difference.' Scientists at the university compared the number of droplets that landed on a surface in front of a person coughing and speaking. In the first experiment using mannequins, air containing a fluorescent liquid to represent the droplets was ejected from the mouth. The team quantified the number of droplets travelling through air using laser illumination and UV-light. They also assessed how many droplets landed at table height up to two metres away. Although they tried to make it as similar to real life as possible, studies on objects are not as useful as using real people, the team admitted. In the second experiment, six volunteers were tasked with coughing and talking for several minutes with and without a surgical mask. Their droplets were caught on a slide placed five centimeters from the mouth and analysed under the microscope. In both the mannequin and human studies, masks decreased the number of projected droplets by more than 1,000-fold. A cough can travel as fast as 50 mph and expel almost 3,000 droplets in just one go on average, experts say. But sneezes can give off up to 100,000 particles. The researchers estimated that a person standing two metres from someone coughing without a mask is exposed to over 10,000 times more respiratory droplets than from someone standing half a metre away wearing a basic single layer mask. When the mannequin wore any of the two face masks, less than one in 1,000 particles escaped into the environment. In contrast to the mannequin tests, there was a large variability in the number of droplets expelled by the people without a mask. 'However, for all subjects, we did not find a single droplet when a mask was worn,' the paper said. 'Between 10s and 1000s' of particles were measured for speaking and coughing without a mask, but "zero particles" were seen when using a surgical mask, the scientists claimed. Professor Paul Digard, of the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute, said: 'The simple message from our research is that face masks work. 'Wearing a face covering will reduce the probability that someone unknowingly infected with the virus will pass it on.' According to the scientists, their results contrast with previous research that suggested masks are less effective. However, those studies also measured smaller droplets known as aerosols which can remain airborne for hours and don't immediately fall. It is still unclear if aerosol transmission of Covid-19 is a main transmission route, and therefore a study for large droplets is useful. The team cautioned that if aerosol transmission is found to be significant, then it changes the results of their findings. Their results may overestimate the effectiveness of masks and coverings, which will not necessarily protect against aerosol transmission. Nevertheless, for bigger droplets, masks are extremely effective in reducing spread to the immediate surroundings, researchers said. The researchers added their findings, which are presented in a preprint paper and not in a medical journal, could have implications for social distancing measures. No new deaths have been recorded, leaving the toll at 1,774 Covid-19 related deaths in the State. Of the new cases, 35 are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case while 12 cases have been identified as community transmission. 26 are located in Kildare, 13 in Dublin and the rest of the 17 cases are in Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Laois, Longford, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Westmeath and Wicklow. 79 per cent of the new cases are under 45 years of age, while 29 are men and 27 are women. Meanwhile, there were 39 new cases of Covid-19 confirmed in Northern Ireland today, bringing the total number of cases there to 6,430. There were no new deaths recorded in the North in the past 24 hours, with the death toll remaining at 558. Weekend spike The National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is meeting this evening to consider further recommendations for Government as tonight's figures follow a spike in cases in the Republic over the weekend, with 266 confirmed over the 48 hours of Saturday and Sunday. Advertisement Irelands 14-day incident rate of Covid-19 has risen to its highest level since May, with a rate of 22.3 cases per 100,000 for the two week period ending August 17th, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The rate surpassed the UK's rate for the first time on August 9th and reported very similar rates throughout last week. Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said public health officials are concerned about how Covid-19 is moving around the country, with every county having recorded a new case over the past two weeks. There have been cases in a lot of different work places. Yes, theres been a lot of focus on meat plants, but theres been a mushroom farm, theres been hairdressers, theres been a GAA club, theres been restaurants. Its moving around the country in a way that is worrying them. Minister Donnelly says cases are popping up all around the country in a way that is worrying NPHET: In the last two weeks for example, there have been new cases in every single county. There have been cases in a lot of different work places. Yes, theres been a lot of focus on meat plants, but theres been a mushroom farm, theres been hairdressers, theres been a GAA club, theres been restaurants. Its moving around the country in a way that is worrying them. NPHET advises from a public health perspective, Government takes that advice and then has to make decisions with the entirety of the country in mind. The Minister has said that Government will make a decision on restrictions with the entire country in mind, once NPHET issues advice later today. Second waves of restrictions could have really devastating impacts across the country, he said. NPHET advises from a public health perspective, Government takes that advice and then has to make decisions with the entirety of the country in mind. ThoughtWire, developers of the award-winning Digital Twin Technology platform, today announced the closing of a combined $11.5 million investment with a follow-on potential of a further $9.7 million. ThoughtWire will use the financing to further the Company's development efforts and international growth initiatives using their solutions to make hospitals, buildings and cities safer, secure and sustainable by orchestrating people, workflows, data and things in real-time. The investment round includes a respected syndicate of current and new investors including lead investor Yaletown Partners, BDC Capital, Canadian Business Growth Fund, Greensoil PropTech Ventures and EDC. "We are proud to have new partners who are invested in our vision and mission to orchestrate a safer, secure and sustainable world, and the enormous opportunity that lies ahead for ThoughtWire," says Michael Monteith, CEO of ThoughtWire. "We're excited to have this opportunity work with our highly respected investors to grow our team and enhance our technology offerings throughout all buildings and cities." At ThoughtWire, were on a mission to create Smarter Built Environments by using powerful Digital Twin Technology. Over the past 2 years, ThoughtWire has been receiving worldwide recognition for our Digital Twin platform by analysts from Gartner, Verdantix and many more. Our technology is now being applied across diverse industries to deliver intelligent automation and provide real-time guidance to machines and staff to predict and resolve issues, ensure safety, improve productivity, and achieve energy greater efficiency. Digital Twin Technology is a key component to the rapid changes brought by the digitization of traditional industry, transformations driven by IIoT and AI, and supporting companies to build for climate resilient growth. ThoughtWire has been changing how we think about intelligent automation and process optimization to interconnect and orchestrate people, data and things in real time. We are proud to call them our partners and excited about the companys very bright future. - Salil Munjal, Managing Partner at Yaletown Partners. We are proud to support Mike and the ThoughtWire team as they scale their platform internationally and work to create a great Canadian success story. George Rossolatos, CEO of the Canadian Business Growth Fund. "We see great potential in ThoughtWires Digital Twin. Their platform technology provides real-time, actionable insights that equips businesses to enhance productivity, improve energy efficiency and optimize operations," commented Tony Van Bommel, Senior Managing Partner, Industrial, Clean and Energy (ICE) Technology Venture Fund at BDC Capital. "ThoughtWire's proven ability to optimize interactions between people and assets within the built environment saves lives, money and resources, said David Harris Kolada, Managing Partner at Greensoil PropTech Ventures. Our investment in ThoughtWires latest financing round is an excellent example of our strategy to finance best in class teams with technologies that enable the real estate sector to go digital." ThoughtWire is a great example of the innovative Canadian cleantech companies EDC is supporting through our investment matching program, said Carl Burlock, Executive Vice-President and Chief Business Officer at EDC. We are looking forward to seeing the company execute on their international growth plans. About ThoughtWire ThoughtWire is on a mission to bring the built environment to life. By orchestrating data from people, process, and the physical built environment ThoughtWire delivers smarter, safer and more efficient hospitals, commercial buildings, and cities. Our software applications put people first, whether for clinicians, patients, office workers, or first responders, ThoughtWire puts people in control. Powered by our Digital Twin technology, ThoughtWires applications for smart hospitals, smart buildings, and smart cities unlock the value of data generated from built environments by combining it with context from people, processes and IoT devices. Since 2009, ThoughtWire has been changing how we think about interconnectivity of smart spaces, beginning with its Ambiant platform, developed to interconnect and orchestrate people, data, and things in real-time. Connect and follow us to learn more. http://www.thoughtwire.com About Canadian Business Growth Fund The Canadian Business Growth Fund (CBGF) provides long-term, patient, minority capital to ambitious entrepreneurs to fund growth and expansion of mid-market businesses with investments between $3 to $20 million. An evergreen investment fund with capital commitments of $545 million, CBGF is committed to long-term partnerships with the companies it invests in. As part of its mission to drive growth, CBGF connects business leaders and sector experts to help its partner business achieve their full potential. For companies seeking investment opportunities, please email us at contact@cbgf.com. To learn more, please visit us at http://www.cbgf.com. About BDC Capital BDC Capital is the investment arm of BDC- Canadas only bank devoted exclusively to entrepreneurs. With over $3 billion under management, BDC Capital serves as a strategic partner to the countrys most innovative firms. It offers a full spectrum of risk capital, from seed investments to transition capital, supporting Canadian entrepreneurs who wish to scale their businesses into global champions. Visit bdc.ca/capital. About Yaletown Partners Yaletown is a leading Canadian IoT and Cleantech investor focusing on Intelligent Industry companies. Its investments enable the application of data and technologies to digitally transform traditional industries, drive innovation, create operational efficiencies and reduce the impact of climate change. In 2017, Yaletown received the CVCAs Venture Capital Deal of the Year award for its investment in BitStew, Canadas largest venture financed exit of 2016. Backed by leading institutional investors, including pension funds, and a network of successful technology entrepreneurs, Yaletown has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal. For more information, please visit http://www.yaletown.com About Greensoil PropTech Ventures Greensoil PropTech Ventures invests in high-performing PropTech companies that provide products, services, and technologies to make real estate more productive, efficient, and sustainable. Backed by real estate and institutional Limited Partners, GSPV is helping finance the digitization of the built environment, the biggest asset class on the planet. For more information, visit gspv.vc. About EDC Export Development Canada (EDC) is a financial Crown corporation dedicated to helping Canadian companies of all sizes succeed on the world stage. As international risk experts, we equip Canadian companies with the tools they need the trade knowledge, financing solutions, equity, insurance, and connections to grow their business with confidence. Underlying all our support is a commitment to sustainable and responsible business. To help Canadian businesses facing extreme financial challenges brought on by the global response to COVID-19, the Government of Canada has expanded EDCs domestic capabilities until December 31, 2021. This broader mandate will enable EDC to expand its support to companies focused domestically. TCN News On the occasion of the 74th Independence Day of India, Insaaf Zindabad Feminists For Freedom, Peace And Justice (IZ-FFPJ) has issued a statement to mark 100+ days of a strong, peaceful, feminist mass protests in India that had started in late 2019. Support TwoCircles IZ-FFPJ is an autonomous initiative of feminists from organizations, alliances and groups across religion, class, caste, ethnicity and sexuality sharing feminist values that identify itself as purely committed towards equal citizenship and rights for everyone. The network has eminent names such as Annie Raja, Ayeesha Rai, Poonam Kaushik, Vani Subramanian and several others from across the country endorsing equity, justice and freedom from all forms of oppression. On its Independence Day note, IZ-FFPJ iterated its commitment particularly to women, trans and queer people facing State repression for their participation in the mass movement against CAA-NRC-NPR. It discussed significant instances pointing to the States attacks on rights workers. It said that these attacks are further backed by vicious misinformation campaigns and false narratives and that the State is bent on silencing dissent to cause a chilling effect on entire communities who have dared to speak up for democratic rights, constitutional values, equality, diversity, pluralism, justice and peace. On its 74th year of Independence, in a scenario where facts are being twisted into false narratives and peacemakers are being blamed for the violence, while the instigators and perpetrators of violence continue to roam free and operate with impunity, it asked whether the country is really independent. As a feminists coalition committed to democratic values, it has asked: where is the real independence, the real freedom for citizens to think, speak, write, educate, agitate, organize, resist, dissent or question? Addressing the recent northeast Delhi violence, IZ-FFPJ has questioned the States brutal crackdown on activists, students, university professors, lawyers and media personnel. Continuing, IZ-FFPJ stated that Delhi has become the epicentre of a systematic onslaught of interrogations, arrests and harassment, where the worst riots in 40 years was targeted primarily against Muslim populations. The statement described how all of these are actually to silence voices of dissent of entire communities who have dared to speak up for democratic rights, constitutional values, equality, diversity, pluralism, justice and peace. The group has noted that protestors who are now stuck in domestic lockdown due to Covid-19 and state lockups due to slew of fake cases and draconian laws only give it more reason to organize and speak out for what is right and just. It has, therefore, asserted its democratic right to freedom of speech and expression by expressing their dissent against the injustices of the legislature, the judiciary and the executive, simultaneously resisting the enforcement of this undeclared Emergency on the people. IZ-FFPJ also expressed serious concerns among the growing crackdown of women voicing out State attacks. It gave examples of instances among countless others where women have been beaten or assaulted merely for reporting or informing the police. Most recently three women residents, the youngest aged 17 years, were beaten up and sexually assaulted by the police at Bhajanpura Police Station on August 8 when they had filed a complaint regarding communal slurs and slogans by neighbours on the occasion of bhoomi pujan ceremony at Ayodhyas Ram temple. Again on August 11, a journalists team was heckled and beaten up by a Hindu mob amid police presence in northeast Delhi compelling them to delete the footage they had shot for a story on communal tensions. It highlighted that the female staffer in the team was both sexually and physically assaulted by the group. Concerning the above, IZ-FPPJ has strongly condemned the politics of intimidation and lawlessness, enabled by the actions and inactions of the State and its agencies, demanding a just enquiry into all instances of hate crimes and violence during northeast Delhi riots and thereafter. In the endnote, it resonated that the coalition of feminists who at Insaaf Zindabad reject the toxic state and patriarchal narratives that seek to deny womens right to political opinion and action. Insaaf Zindabad extended their gratitude to Muslim women stating that they remain inspired by the masses of people, led by a woman from the Muslim communities, who HAVE struggled to reclaim constitutional rights and values from the jaws of the right-wing. It said that it is ready to fight the oppressive State along with women on the forefront as they try to convert a diverse, pluralistic India into a Hindu Rashtra, and stand in solidarity with all political prisoners who are being persecuted for exercising their democratic right to dissent draconian laws and decisions of the current regime. - American twins Brittany and Briana Deane were both married to identical brothers, Josh and Jeremy Salyers, in a double wedding back in August 2018 - The two sets of twins shared the news on Instagram with a picture of a beach-themed photoshoot - The pair both expressed how they could not wait to welcome the little ones who would not only be cousins but also genetically, they'll be siblings Identical twin sisters, who have shared major milestones in life, have announced they are both expecting their first babies together. American twins Brittany and Briana Deane were both married to identical brothers, Josh and Jeremy Salyers, in a double wedding back in August 2018. READ ALSO: Dj Mo complains wife Size 8 is petty, compares him to other husbands Brittany and Briana Deane are married to twin brothers, something they had always dreamt of Photo: Salyerstwins Source: Instagram READ ALSO: Couple ties the knot after 17 years of dating The couples have announced that they are both expecting and cannot wait to raise their children together. The two sets of twins shared the news on Instagram with a picture of a beach-themed photoshoot and expressed how they could not wait to welcome the little ones. "We are thrilled and grateful to experience overlapping pregnancies and to share this news with you all! Our children will not only be cousins but full genetic siblings and quaternary multiples! Can't wait to meet them and for them to meet each other," the caption read. READ ALSO: Papa Shirandula's Wilbroda confesses she didn't like Awinja when they first met READ ALSO: Larry Madowo cheekily responds to trolls over his newly acquired American accent The 35-year-old male twins are said to have even proposed marriage in matching rings and outfits which was no different from the female twins, according to Daily Mail. Jeremy and Josh had made a vow to marry identical twins until they met their 33-year-old lovers who shared the same dream and to date still match outfits. If that's not enough, the two couples also live together and have been spotted wearing identical masks amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. READ ALSO: Baba Lao: Zari Hassan's brother names newly acquired swanky G-wagon ride after Diamond Platnumz TUKO.co.ke recently reported about an awe-inspiring photo that emerged of male twins who got married to two female twins and also delivered sets of twins respectively. The two, identified as Saad and Saeed Yusuf, were pictured in a frame with their babies. In a chat with the Cable Lifestyle, one of the fathers said it happened in 2015. READ ALSO: Kylian Mbappe subtly mocks Manchester City after Lyon heroics in Champions League READ ALSO: Raila hafai kugombea urais 2022, kura ya maoni yaonyesha While Saads wife gave birth to twin girls on June 15, that of Saeed delivered the boys on June 17. Netizens who were amazed by the twins suggested they be recognised by the Guinness World Record. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. I lost my husband and my daughter the same day - Nelly Obiero | Tuko Talks| Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke 'There are deeper, underlying, forces at work and we need institutional arrangements to guard against them.' IMAGE: Dr Viral Acharya, former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor. Photograph: PTI Photo A year after he left the Reserve Bank of India, months before his three-year tenure finished, Viral Acharya, former deputy governor, in his latest book has described how fiscal dominance is the biggest bane of the banking system in India. "Pressure is pervasive. It is not that just one aspect of central banking policy is under pressure," Dr Acharya tells Tamal Bandyopadhyay in the first of a two-part interview: You have said the RBI had lost its governor (Urjit Patel) on the altar of financial stability. What about you? You too left six months ahead of the end of your term. Along with Patel, you had put a big fight with the government for the RBI's autonomy. Aren't you too a victim? You have delivered the first ball of the Test match with a bouncer. Let me duck it even though I am wearing a helmet. What I wanted to stress throughout the book and the message I am trying to send is that it is not so much about personalities. There are deeper, underlying, forces at work and we need institutional arrangements to guard against them. I do think the central bank was under pressure, especially when the horizons of the government got short. Resistance was put up when some of us were keen to avoid the excesses and we were trying to prevent those from occurring again... It came at a cost to many of us. We ought to focus on why, even after acknowledging that the problem is there, having put in place the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the system, instead of moving forward, has regressed in terms of making policy and cleaning up. So you are admitting that you too were a victim. You said 'some of us' and not the governor alone ... No, I don't think I said that. I had in mind certain things I wanted to accomplish as a central banker. I had my diagnosis of what was ailing the Indian financial sector. It has always been that it is not just the state of the banking sector but also fiscal arithmetic that is playing a critical role. I had to take a call on what the best way was to raise these messages on the right platform for an open debate. If we had to move ahead with financial stability, given the resistance that we had put up -- and clearly if you need institutional reform on the fiscal side -- it requires a significant public debate, which is not going to happen overnight. So, I had to ask myself what the best role I could play and where. And, of course, I had to factor in my personal circumstances. It started with D Subbarao, and then Raghuram Rajan, Y V Reddy, and finally Patel and you. Indian central bankers have started writing books after laying down office. Of course, each book is different. While Reddy's is an autobiography, Subbarao and Patel have focused on their tenures, and Rajan and you have compiled the speeches given during your stints, with a preface. Why do all of you decide to do this? To vent your frustrations, which you couldn't while in office? I would not say it is a way to vent our frustrations. Most of us are reasonable people in the sense that we expected there would be resistance to what we were trying to accomplish. It is not easy anywhere in the world to be a gatekeeper of financial stability. What has changed over the last two-three decades is that initially you know India was essentially a nationalised country. For all practical purposes, even though government deficits were large, they were being funded through the financial repression of our banks by means of an extraordinary high statutory liquidity ratio. It was easy for the RBI to guarantee financial stability because you could just engage in financial repression and the private sector didn't own much asset, either. Securing financial and macroeconomic stability required we move away from these things. Looking at the friction over time, what is coming home to me is that the central bank is ahead of the curve -- ahead of the rest of the system in terms of securing the foundations of financial stability we need for long-term growth. The government and the bureaucracy continue with what is suitable for a more nationalised economy of the past. They are not yet embracing the migration to a market-based economy as substantially and as fully as we might have liked. You came as deputy governor in charge of monetary policy but your sole focus was cleaning up the banks's books. How did that happen? It was a mandate from the governor or your own choice? A good question. This is, in some sense, my expertise. This is what my research is all about: What conditions does a financial sector need to provide healthy intermediation to the economy? I had studied this in the context of public sector banks in India and how Europe has responded. Patel perhaps had these issues in his term as deputy governor. Deputy Governor (N S) Viswanathan played a very central role; he was the pillar of the foundations we were trying to put in for financial stability. The central theme of your book is fiscal dominance and how it is affecting the banking system. Is it something unique? Isn't that the story the world over? You are spot on. What that observation reveals is that when growth is slow, governments -- and governments all over the world have myopic horizons -- think short-term. They try to do the quick thing, which is to get credit flowing, and create a credit-based consumption stimulus. And, for that, they start leaning on the central bank to relax the rules. The reason why these issues are more important in India is we are yet to clean up the banking sector. Let's get into some of the micro issue that you have raised in the book. You have said even the monetary policy committee is under pressure from the government for easing the policy. And, protecting the balance sheets of public sector banks is RBI's responsibility. Tell us a little more. The details are not important. Tomorrow it may happen in some other form. Pressure is pervasive. It is not that just one aspect of central banking policy is under pressure. I would highlight when pressure is on the monetary policy front, it is a lot easier for those applying the pressure to get away with it because now there is an institutional framework under which the MPC has to function. Some other areas don't have this institutional fabric. If you ask me to explain why we took a particular decision or why we relaxed accounting rules in the middle of the year, I would say it is because of the public sector banks... The government is trying to keep the recapitalisation bill down; they have a tendency to come up with intrusive issues such as how to account for mark-to-market gains or when to recognise losses. These quarter-end things I mentioned in my book are some of the most glaring interventions ... Why should accounting for bank balance sheets change mid-year? This is because you want to show a particular kind of numbers. 'Just lift your legs up and turn upside down," said Mariana Rampazzo, one of the teachers and co-owners of Flying Monkeys Trapeze. "It's easier when you're up in the air." Mariana obviously wasn't aware that the only lifting my legs have done in the last five months have been putting them in and out of my leggings as I pitch up at the kitchen table to work from home. The "air" she was referring to is Ireland's first outdoor flying trapeze school that Mariana has opened with her friend Salla Vartia, on the grounds of St Benildus College in Stillorgan, Dublin. For now, I was practising on a bar on the ground. Best friends, Mariana and Salla are exactly what you expect two aerial acrobats to look like: elegant, extremely light on their feet and fully toned to the point you could probably ride a skateboard over their arm guns were they not so svelte. I, on the other hand, arrived for my flying lesson in several layers of clothing for fear that one of my tops would rise as I was in the air and everyone would get a glimpse of the extra lockdown pounds I've acquired since March. The clouds seemed to miraculously disappear so the sun could shine a piercing 21 degrees down on my all-black Lycra outfit. Salla warmed me up with a series of stretches of hip circles and arm circles. She told me she does a bit of running when she's not trapezing, but swinging from a bar and doing tricks in the air is her main form of workout. "It mainly tones the arms and works on your core, but after practising even for just a few weeks you can start to notice a difference in your back too," said Mariana, who also runs an aerial acrobats school in Dublin. "When I visited my hometown in Brazil after I did aerial acrobats for a few months, my family barely recognised me," she said. Nice one, I thought. Just a few months to look like Mariana and Salla. "But it's not about the physical transformation, really," said Mariana. "It's about the mental aspect. "Once you're in the air, you think of nothing else other than flying. It really clears your mind. "You have to have patience and complete trust in your instructor who is there to make sure you are safe at all times. "And it's a huge confidence builder. We have students aged from 10 years old to 65 years old, people who have never done anything like this before but find it so freeing as soon as they step onto the platform." The first hurdle to climb in trapezing is a ladder. In your bare feet. Now, I'm no wimp, but obviously my pampered feet are used to the soft cushioned soles of my Air Max. When I say I was in no way prepared for the intense searing pain that shoots deep into your foot when you climb a metal ladder, I'm not joking. Mariana introduced me to Didier, who was to hold my safety harness in place while I reached for the bar from the platform, seven metres from the ground. "You remember your lesson?," Didier asked me. I barely remembered my name! Standing on the platform in the sky, an extreme wave of fear suddenly came over me. Fear of what, I don't know. I don't have an issue with heights. I usually enjoy adrenaline-filled activities such as rollercoasters. I couldn't explain why my legs and feet - the very things I needed to propel me off this platform to complete the trapeze - were trembling. Maybe it was the ladder. "You have to trust me," said a pony-tailed Didier. Easier said than done when I've just met you mate, and my feet feel like they're about to fall off. The key to trapezing is to put all of your weight onto your core and lean forward over a wooden platform while Didier holds you in place. You are hooked into a safety harness and there is another instructor on the ground holding a giant rope. This rope is to make sure that even if you let go of the bar mid-air, he can still control how quickly you come down and land on the safety net underneath. I won't embarrass myself by saying how many times Didier asked "Ready? Hop!" before I finally got the courage to jump off. My trick was a knee hang. I had to bend my knees over the bar that my hands were on, and wrap my knees over the bar so I could let go with my hands and hang upside down. The instructor on the ground yells "legs up" when it is time for legs up. And although I could clearly hear him and understood what I had to do, my legs didn't seem to move from the static straight position they were in. Flying Monkeys also teaches 'catching', where one student swings from one bar to another flying monkey who catches them with their hands. A couple of attempts later, and I still hadn't succeeded in the knee-hang trick I had managed on the ground. Catching was out of the question. Mariana's "it's easier in the air" comment was racing through my brain. As I flipped myself off the safety net one more time - you have to flip yourself onto a mat on the ground to leave the trapeze, there are no steps in trapezing - a group of excited children were lining up awaiting their turn. I could feel judgement in their eyes that I couldn't perform my trick. So I sloped off to pick up my shoes and watched from the back as Didier clipped in his next student. A little girl who looked no more than eight years old raced up the ladder - no sore feet for her - and jumped at Didier's first instruction. She managed to wrap her knees successfully around the bar and hang upside down, much to the delight of all her friends. "That was my trick" I muttered to myself as I could feel my face turning redder and redder, unsure if it was the mortification or from the searing heat. "Not everyone gets it the first time," Mariana said, in an attempt to reassure me. "Come back and try again another day. "And you'll feel it in the morning," she said. She wasn't wrong. I woke up with a grazed hand, two sore feet from that cursed ladder and aches in my arms and shoulders that I didn't think were possible. But, it was my ego that was bruised most of all. I'll be back, Mariana. As soon as I figure out how to climb a ladder For more information, see flyingmonkeystrapeze.com/. You can book a solo class or a group class with a maximum of 10 people for two hours with three instructors. Sean Hannitys Warning to America and the World In this interview for the American Thought Leaders series, Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek speaks with TV and radio show host Sean Hannity about why he wrote his first book in 10 years: Live Free Or Die: America (and the World) on the Brink. Jan Jekielek: Sean Hannity, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders. Sean Hannity: Jan, thank you. I read The Epoch Times daily. I still like hard papers. I delivered the Long Island Press, Newsday, and the New York Daily News when I was growing up, at different times. And I still like to grab that paper in my hand. I get more printed versions of stories than ever before, but you guys have done an amazing job. And really I think theres such a void in media, especially newspapers. They slant so solidly one way that theres very few papers that I can really feel that I can rely on, and The Epoch Times is one. Its amazing, isnt it that the media, in my view, has gotten so corrupt, so abusively biased, so one-sided? How do they claim that they care about obstruction of justice, but they didnt care about Hillarys subpoenaed emails and didnt care about BleachBit and didnt care about hammers? And anybody that watches this American Thought Leaders show or reads The Epoch Times would know that if it was a conservative, theyd be in big trouble. Try deleting subpoenaed emails. Thats not going to work out or end well for you. They care about Russia collusion, but they ignored Hillary Clintons bought and paid for Russian dossier, that was then used, unverified, to spy on a presidential candidate and his transition team and deep into the presidency. They pushed the Russian conspiracy theory that we now know the FBI kneweven before the first FISA application in August of 2016was unverified. They knew for sure that it was debunked in January of 2017, when the sub-source of Christopher Steele was saying, Oh, no, none of this is real. That was all bar talk. But they still drag the country through this. They care about quid pro quos with Ukraine, but they didnt care about Joe Biden on tape saying, youre not getting a billion U.S. taxpayer dollars unless you fire this particular prosecutor thats investigating my son who has zero experience. Yet, they made a big deal about a call with [Ukrainian President] Zelensky and President Trump. After all of that that they put the country through, there was only one fact witness. Every other witness [was a] hearsay or opinion witness. And what did the fact witness say? Well, I talked to the president. Did he say he wanted anything from Ukraine? He said, No, no quid pro quo. I just dont want them to be corrupt. None whatsoever. And when you just stand back and you take these examples in, it is breathtaking hypocrisy. And then the media that makes such a big deal and they say these things are important: Russia collusion is important, obstruction of justice is important, cant have Russian interference, cant have quid pro quos. [But] they just ignore their side. So theyre really propagandists, statists, no better than the former Soviet Unions Pravda. They lie. They smear. They slander. They libel. They besmirch. Theyre involved in daily character assassination. They have a cultish psychosis and hatred toward all things Donald Trump, and those are the times were living in. And now, weve got an election in 82 days, and we have the most radical ticket in the history of this country that is now openly advancing the very policies that are the antithesis of those policies that made this country great. And thats what I recognized a year ago. I said this is going to be a tipping-point election. Well lose the country. If their stated policies are implemented, the United States, literally everything gets turned on its head. The fourth chapter of the book [is] Socialism: A History of Failure. Its never worked. No matter what name its given, no matter what country its been tried in, it does not work. It will not work here. The promises that everything is going to be free will never be fulfilled. It will lead to poverty, it will lead to misery, and it will lead to a loss of freedoms. That is the end result every time. Were going to either live free and stand by the principles of limited government, greater freedom, that our rights come from God, not from government, and freedom and risk and reward and capitalism, or well go down the hellhole that is socialism, because thats whats at stake in just 82 days. Mr. Jekielek: You have this amazing stat in here in the book. You said 43 percent of Americans overall say socialism would be a good thing. But the thing that caught me was 51 percent say its a bad thing. So that means 49 percent wont say its a bad thing. Thats astounding. And how did we get here? Mr. Hannity: They have this appeal. Look, Jan, I almost can understand it. On paper, well put all of our stuff in a big pot, and well give to each according to their need, from each according to their ability, right? Varying forms of socialism, communism, redistributionism, statism even. This is what theyre promising. Theyre promising that you will get pre-K through college education. Theyre promising loan forgiveness for schools. They are promising a guaranteed government job at a guaranteed wage with a guaranteed government vacation, guaranteed government healthy food. Theyre guaranteeing government health care, Medicare for All, or expanding Obamacarewhich is a disaster. And then youre going to have guaranteed retirement. OK, thats a lot of guarantees. And theyre predicating it on this belief that were going to do it, and in 10 years, were going to abolish the lifeblood of the worlds economy: oil, gas, and coal. Now, thats the dumbest decision Ive ever heard. The government promises all this. I ask everybody, Hows governments track record been so far? Because I look at New York City, and I look at Chicago, and I look at Seattle and Portland, LA, and San Francisco, how are they doing on the most fundamental role that government should have in terms of law and order, security and safety? If I was a teacher, Id give them an F. They are failing at a spectacular level. The next most important thing, how are they doing with the education of our kids? Well, the United States of America spends more per capita than any other country in the industrialized world. And we come in like 37th to 40th, depending on if its proficiency in reading or math. There are actually 13 public high schools in the city of Baltimore. Baltimore happens to be the third-highest per capita spending in the world per student. Thirteen. Its not a quiz. Its not a test question. I ask all of your viewers what percentage of those kids in those 13 public high schools do you believe are proficient in math? Well give you a few Jeopardy seconds. Dah dah dah dah dah. Now, the answer is: Theres not one child. Not one. What do all these cities have in common? Theyve been run by liberal Democrats for decades. How did that Obamacare thing work out? Well, millions lost their doctors. Thats not what they promised. Millions lost their plans. And everybody on average across the country is paying about 200 percent more. Were not saving $2,500 per family per year for better care. And theres almost 40 percent of the country that has only one Biden Obamacare exchange option. So those are their promises. Ill add a couple more things. Last time that I checked, Social Security and Medicare were going bankrupt. Do you remember that? I dont know whens the last time you checked, but were headed on a trajectory that were not going to have enough money to pay for it. By the way, they were supposed to put that money in a lockbox, as they told us. That money has been squandered. Its been spent. They raided it, they spent it. Where I grew up, we would call that stealing, because they made a promise. So now, they failed in every major promise theyve made, but were going to believe this new set of promises? And now were going to bank on them having a 100 percent track record because whats going to happen when were now dependent on energy again? Were now energy independent because of Donald Trumps policies for the first time in 75 years. Were the worlds largest producer of energy in over 75 years. How are we going to pull this off? It is $94 trillion for the Green New Deal. Its $52 trillion for Medicare for All or expansion of Obamacare. We cannot afford it. Let me give you the simple math. We only take in $4 [trillion] to $4.5 trillion a year. Over 10 years, were close to $50 trillion. Wow. So that wouldnt even pay for Medicare for All. And thats with no defense spending. Zero. None of the other governmental programs are funded and you still come up, well, about two-thirds of the money short, based on the estimates. Its a fantasy, its a lie, its false security. And it will end badly as socialism always ends badly. It starts out with the great promises: Well take the money from those evil, rich people, and well redistribute it. Thats not what has made America great. Americas goodness and greatness is the belief that were endowed by our Creator. We have talents from that Creator. We dig deep and find those talents. We create goods and services that people want, need, and desire. And guess what? While were serving our fellow man, were also paying our mortgage and buying a car, as those people that create the cars and build the home are servicing us. Theres never been a system ever designed by man that is better. You show me one, Ill look at it. Ive not seen it. Mr. Jekielek: So Sean, I want to get into the World part in your title. When I saw the World on the Brink, I was thinking of China, but what were you thinking? Mr. Hannity: Well, Chinas a big part of it, especially now, what they did to the world. The most sinister part of all that they did here, to me, is they prevented people in Wuhan Province from flying out of Wuhan Province to any other part of China. They put their own travel ban in effect, and they prevented people from the rest of China to fly into Wuhan. But they let Wuhan Province residents travel the globe, and you could come from anywhere, you could land in Wuhan Province. That tells you everything you need to know about how selfish they were. The world would have united the worlds best scientists, researchers, medical professionals. We could have descended upon China to contain this thingthe invisible enemy, the president calls itimmediately, had they just sought help. Everybody would have been all hands on deck, and they allowed this to happen. In my view, I hold them accountable. And for the senators, [for] this most recent relief package to try to give them liability protection is insanity. They dont deserve it. And families should be compensated for what they allowed to have happen. They didnt create the virus, but they allowed the spread of the virus. They didnt tell the world the truth. Heres the broader picture, though. Lets just isolate the last century. Over 100 million human souls when you add it all up. Mao, the revolution, China, Russia, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, fascism, [Hideki] Tojo, Japan, the killing fields, Cambodia; over 100 million souls killed in these governmental systems. Its the United States of America, we beat back the forces of fascism. We beat back the forces of Nazism and Imperial Japan and communism and, more recently, we led the world in this fight against radical Islamism. And we paid blood, sweat, tears, financial burden. Thats all on us. We take it on, and we protect the world. So, so goes America, Jan, so goes the world. And we need a strong America. And we need a mighty military to deal with the real evil, the real danger that exists in the world. And to deny that reality or that fact is beyond naive. Its amazing because theres never been a president that has been a closer ally, friend to Israel. More recently, we saw the presidents actions, youre speaking of China, with Hong Kong. I think that what was inconceivable five years ago is now happening. You see this alliance that has emerged with Jordan and Egypt and Israel and the United States and the Saudis and the Emirates. This is all historic stuff. But the alignment really comes against Iranian hegemony in the region. China and Iran and Russia [are] the three real, clear, present dangers to the world, I believe, that weve got to keep our eye on the most. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. American Thought Leaders is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook, YouTube, and the Epoch Times website. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Jan Jekielek Senior Editor Follow Jan Jekielek is a senior editor with The Epoch Times and host of the show, "American Thought Leaders." Jans career has spanned academia, media, and international human rights work. In 2009 he joined The Epoch Times full time and has served in a variety of roles, including as website chief editor. He is the producer of the award-winning Holocaust documentary film "Finding Manny." It did this by using accounting gimmicks in its official regulatory cost-benefit analysis. In technical documents, the administration said it was no longer taking into account harms that climate change might have outside U.S. borders; and also that it was changing the discount rate that is, reducing how much weight it placed upon future costs. It was Trumps trademark isolationism and short-termism, made mathematically explicit. A 4.3-magnitude earthquake hit Moc Chau district in the northern mountainous province of Son La at 8:13am on August 17, according to the Institute of Geophysics under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology. Illustrative image Head of the institute Nguyen Xuan Anh said that this quake was an aftershock of a 5.3-magnitude earthquake that rocked Moc Chau at mid-noon on July 27. Dozens of aftershocks of this earthquake have occurred with magnitude ranging from 2.6 to 4.0. Son La is vulnerable to earthquakes as it is located on the Song Da Fault Zone with relatively strong geological activities. Local authorities are advised to consolidate weak infrastructure, provide people with response skills, and actively evacuate those in risky areas./.VNA WILSON, N.C. - More than $700,000 has been raised for the funeral service expenses of a slain 5-year-old boy in North Carolina whose death has captured national attention. The donations poured into a GoFundMe page organized by Gwen Hinnant, who identifies herself on the website as Cannon Hinnants grandmother. This family has faced unimaginable pain because of this senseless act of violence, the post read, We offer our sincerest appreciation in this extremely difficult time, #justice for Cannon. Cannons funeral service was held Thursday, days after the 5-year-old was fatally shot in the familys driveway as he rode his bike, news outlets reported. A neighbour, 25-year-old Darius Nathaniel Sessoms, has been charged with first-degree murder in his death. A day before the funeral, police in North Carolina warned about false information circulating on social media about the case, including posts that resembled news releases from investigators. These are fraudulent posts, the Wilson Police Department said in a statement while encouraging people to report the fake Facebook posts to the social media company. The department repeated the ask on its Facebook page Saturday and told people to avoid sharing the posts. Some have taken to social media to claim that race was a factor in Cannons death. Cannon was white and Sessoms is Black. Cannons father, Austin Hinnant, said he had been disturbed by these posts. This is no racial issue, Austin Hinnant told The Wilson Times. Amid public alarm over the inadequacy of coronavirus testing across the nation, Los Angeles schools on Monday will begin a sweeping programme to test hundreds of thousands of students and teachers as the nations second-largest school district goes back to school online. The programme, which will be rolled out over the next few months by the Los Angeles Unified School District, will administer tests to nearly 700,000 students and 75,000 employees as the district awaits permission from public health authorities to resume in-person instruction, said Austin Beutner, the districts superintendent. It appears to be the most ambitious testing initiative so far among major public school districts, most of which are also starting school remotely but have yet to announce detailed testing plans. New York City, where the virus has been under control, is the only major school district in the country planning to welcome students back into classrooms part time this fall. The city is asking all staff members to be tested before school starts on 10 September and has said it will provide expedited results. Staff members should be tested regularly throughout the school year, New York City has said. It is not yet clear how often students will be tested or whether the city will take random samples from the 1.1 million children at its 1,800 public schools. Mr Beutner said that Los Angeles programme, developed over the past four months, would begin this week, well before schools are expected to let students into classrooms, and that it would augment and probably far exceed existing testing efforts run by the city and county of Los Angeles. Overseeing the testing will be a task force of epidemiologists, analysts and other experts from the University of California, Los Angeles; Johns Hopkins University; Stanford University; Microsoft; and the insurers Anthem Blue Cross and Health Net. Mr Beutner said he would lead the initiative with Arne Duncan, who served as education secretary in the Obama administration and who will coordinate with other government agencies. Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures, said Mr Beutner, adding that the goal was to make the programme a national model. Surging infection rates have put Los Angeles County on a state public health watch list that has prevented schools from allowing students physically back into classrooms. The school district, which announced in July that it would begin the year with only online instruction, was among the first in the nation to abandon plans for even a partial in-person return. Since then, though reports of new infections appear to be slowly declining, public schools across the country have pulled back from more ambitious plans to reopen as case numbers have remained persistently high. Public health experts have said that expanded coronavirus testing, with rapid results, is the key to curbing the spread of the virus, particularly in schools, where teachers and students mingle regularly in close quarters. Six months into the pandemic, however, testing remains a persistent hurdle, with backlogs and other issues at state health departments, including Californias, and long wait times in some areas for test results. The Trump administration has also provided mixed messages on testing. The nations top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony S Fauci, has promised more testing, not less, but the administrations virus testing chief, admiral Brett P Giroir, has advised against mass testing. In a conference call last week, Mr Giroir told reporters that the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention explicitly does not recommend routine baseline testing of all students or all employees. Not only do we not recommend this strategy of testing everyone on a frequent basis, said Mr Giroir, but I think it could instil a false sense of security: Well, Im negative, therefore I can do whatever I want to do. Mr Beutner cited advice from the director-general of the World Health Organisation: Test, test, test. He noted that a recent survey of district employees found that 88 per cent wanted a robust system of testing and tracing. He compared the testing initiative to other broad community efforts that the district has undertaken during the pandemic, such as its provision of more than 50 million free meals. The testing programme, which is expected to cost the district about $150m (114.6m), or about $300 (229) per student, will start small with about a few thousand teachers and other district employees, who will be working from sanitised school facilities rather than from home, Mr Beutner said. Initial testing, to be done at 42 regional school facilities across the sprawling district, will also include about 2,000 children enrolled by employees at school-based day care programmes. After that first round of testing, which Mr Beutner said was expected to take a few weeks, the district will gradually broaden testing to all employees and students, with a goal in the early phases of establishing a baseline. Student testing will be done at neighbourhood schools. Family members who show virus symptoms will also be asked to come in for testing, but the logistics havent been determined yet, Mr Beutner said. The opportunity to use testing to get ahead of the virus was missed in January and again in May due to a lack of capacity, Mr Beutner said. Now, he added, with students stuck at home, Californians have another chance. We must be ready with a robust system of testing and contact tracing so the third time can be the charm, he said. New York Times Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, August 18 2020 Gone are the joyful cheers of children and adults that used to mark pole climbing competitions in many neighborhood communities across the country, and the grandiosity of the flag-raising ceremony at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. Like never before, Indonesians from Sabang to Merauke commemorated the anniversary of their independence in a simple way. The government has warned people against holding big and festive celebrations of the national day for fear they would exacerbate the spread of COVID-19, which has infected more than 139,500 people, killing over 6,150 of them. On Monday, the flag-hoisting ceremony to observe the momentous proclamation of Indonesias independence was conducted at the Presidential Palace in compliance with health protocols: only a small number of guests were invited, musical performances were pre-recorded and the national flag-hoisting squad was reduced to only eight all members of last years team. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login India and Nepal on Monday agreed to speed up work on bilateral projects, including infrastructure schemes and cross-border rail links, as senior officials of the two sides held a meeting for the first time since a border row strained ties. The meeting of the India-Nepal oversight mechanism was held in Kathmandu via video conference two days after a phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli, which people familiar with developments said had helped to clear the air between the two sides. This was the eighth meeting of the mechanism, set up in 2016 to monitor the progress of India-funded projects, and it carried out a comprehensive review of economic and development cooperation schemes since the last meeting in July 2019. Both sides deliberated on the issues and agreed to expedite their implementations, said a statement from the Indian embassy in Kathmandu. A statement from Nepals foreign ministry added: Both sides underlined the need for the expeditious implementation of the bilateral projects. In that connection, they agreed to undertake necessary measures to timely address problems and obstacles in the course of implementation. The meeting, co-chaired by Indian ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra and Nepals foreign secretary Shanker Das Bairagi, was attended by representatives of ministries and departments of the Nepal government and consultants and contractors engaged in implementing the projects. Kwatra and Bairagi noted the progress in development projects over the past year, including reconstruction of 46,301 earthquake-affected houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, operationalisation of the Motihari-Amlekhgunj cross-border petroleum products pipeline, opening of an integrated check post at Biratnagar and high impact community development projects. India has committed to rebuild 50,000 houses damaged by the devastating earthquake of April 2015. The statement from the Nepalese side said the meeting discussed the status of several key projects such as the terai roads, cross-border railways, Arun-III hydropower project, Pancheshwar multipurpose project, irrigation projects, power and transmission lines, construction of the Nepal Police Academy, Ramayana circuit, motorable bridges over Mahakali river, agriculture and cultural heritage. Nepal also appreciated the Covid-19-related assistance from India, including the supply of medicines and medical equipment. In May, Nepal objected to the opening of a new road by India to Lipulekh region on the border with Tibet. Nepal responded by issuing a new map that showed Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, all controlled by India, as part of Nepalese territory, exacerbating the border row. Some experts have highlighted the need for India to improve ties with Nepal at a time when it is engaged in a border standoff with China. But former ambassador Neelam Deo, director of Mumbai-based foreign policy think tank Gateway House, said the India-Nepal relationship is important regardless of other factors. It is as important as our relations with Bangladesh and Bhutan, even with all the difficulties. Its importance cant be overstated. Whether things will now improve is contingent on Prime Minister Olis political fortunes. Obviously, there are people within the Nepal government who want a more balanced situation and who dont want a break in ties with India, and they are pushing back, Deo said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Seventy-five years ago, in August 1945, America dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending World War Two. Ever since, there has been passionate debate about whether it was necessary to use nuclear weapons on Japan. Critics of the action say Japan was ready to surrender, even without the bombings, and the U.S. militarys estimate of the casualties both American and Japanese resulting from an invasion of Japan set for late 1945 was vastly overstated. The critics case does not persuade me. Heres why. Im a former naval nuclear weapons officer. Ive stood at Ground Zero in Hiroshima and felt heartsick as I looked at the mementos of nuclear destruction housed in the museum there. My military experience showed me the horror of nuclear weapons, up close and personal. Ive literally had my finger on the red button which could launch fiery kilotons of death to submarine crews men whom, if I met them today at a social function, Id probably like very much, despite differing political beliefs. I long for the day when global politics will safely allow the world to disarm and eradicate all nuclear weapons. Like Gen. Eisenhower, who said I hate war as only a general can, I hate nuclear weapons as only a nuclear weapons officer can. Yet as horrible as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was, the alternative of not dropping the bombs would have been far worse for American forces and for the Japanese as well, both military and civilian. The atomic bomb brought the war to a quicker end. It is well known that Germany was rushing to develop its own atomic bomb. What isnt widely known is that Japan was doing the same thing. In the last months of the war, two German submarines were captured en route to Japan. One had a cargo of lead, the other had a cargo of deuterium or heavy water. Both are radiation-shielding materials; both were intended to help the Japanese effort to build their own nuclear weapons. When Germany surrendered, Hitlers successor, Admiral Karl Doenitz, ordered all submarines to proceed to Allied ports. One of them, the U-234, ended up in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Its cargo included 560 kilos of uranium oxide intended for Japan. Atomic research by Japan continued until our B-29s knocked out their extraction and enrichment facilities. Yet even then they persisted. Robert Wilcox, author of Japans Secret War, said Japans problem was not a lack of nuclear know-how. They knew the physics needed for creating the bomb and the engineering needed to build it. It was lack of element resources like uranium that was the real problem for them. he said. If Germany and Japan had succeeded, history as we know it would be quite different. Most likely, you and I would be speaking German or Japanese. Just imagine a world map in which Germany ruled all of Europe and Japan ruled the Pacific. Do you think their quest for empire would have ended at our shores? I dont. The Soviet Union was also at work on an atomic bomb because the Manhattan Projects secret had been leaked by several Manhattan Project members who were secretly Communists. I therefore agree with Edward Teller, also a member of the Manhattan Project and the so-called father of the Hydrogen Bomb, who said in his 2002 memoir, We had no choice. In such an arms race, there is no slowing down, let alone turning back. I also agree with Gen. Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, who likewise said it was necessary. He had been a colonel in the Army Air Force then. When I had the privilege of meeting him at an Army Air Force reunion in the mid-90s, hed been promoted to general. I asked him about his feelings of conscience over the event. He replied, I had a duty to perform. Ive never lost a single nights sleep over it. I respect his warrior attitude and I recommend his memoir, The Return of the Enola Gay. Equally to the point, Gen. Tibbets told me that when he lectured publicly, he was sometimes thanked afterward by people who said the bomb saved their lives. Most of them were American soldiers and sailors whod been fighting in the Pacific, preparing for Operation Olympic, the massive invasion of Japan planned to begin in November 1945 and continue through March 1946, extending the war for probably another year. Based on experience from the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, military planners estimated American casualties at more than 1,000,000 dead and wounded. Japanese casualties were estimated above 2,000,000. Japan, although clearly losing the war, still had tremendous military resources both men and weapons in readiness to defend its homeland. In addition, the civilian populace was being armed and trained to kill invaders. Surprisingly, however, some of the people who thanked Gen. Tibbets were Japanese civilians who lived during the war or were descendants of wartime soldiers and civilians. The Emperor and the warlords had declared a policy of no surrender, no retreat for Japan if it was invaded. Everyone young and old alike was commanded to fight to the death for their homeland and, given the mindset of strict obedience that had been inculcated in the Japanese, the command of their divine imperial ruler could not have been disobeyed. It was simply unthinkable for them. Many of them did not want to fight to the death, Gen. Tibbets was told, but they felt they had no choice. The atomic bomb, therefore, actually saved the lives of millions of Japanese. It is to the enormous credit of America that, for all the nuclear saber-rattling the world has gone through since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, weve been able to avoid another such event because of Americas military strength. I am anti-war but not anti-military. America needs a strong military to protect us from those who wish us great harm, and the world is full of them. Nuclear weapons have helped to hold things together for America and the world. Its time for the critics to acknowledge that even as America continues working toward global nuclear disarmament. So on this occasion the 75th anniversary of dropping the atomic bomb on Japan think about this statement: If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran. (John White is a local author, veteran, and commander of VFW Post 10052.) Former Congress President Rahul Gandhi has once again hit out at the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government claiming that community-based violence and 'jungle raj' was at its peak in the state. Taking to Twitter, the Wayanad MP quoting a report on the killing of Sarpanch Satyamev in Azamgarh said, "Violence against community groups, rape is at a peak. Jungle Raj is at the peak." "Now another terrible incident - Sarpanch Satyamev turned out to be a Dalit and said 'No' due to which he was killed. Condolences to the family members of Satyamev Ji," tweeted Rahul Gandhi. Sarpanch Satyamev Jayate also known as 'Pappu Ram' was murdered on Friday by three bike-borne men in Bansgaon. The UP Police has invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against four people in connection with the village heads killing. Read: Kerala Nun Rape-accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal's Trial To Begin On Sept 16; Charges Framed Read: 17-year-old Girl Raped By Lab Technician Inside Hospital In Delhi Priyanka hits out at UP Govt over security of women Earlier, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had hit out at the UP government over the gang rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in Lakhimpur Kheri district saying that there was a complete 'lack of fear' in the minds of the perpetrators in the state. Bulandshahr, Hapur, Lakhimpur Kheri and Gorakhpur. Such repeated incidents have proven that the Uttar Pradesh government has completely failed in providing security to women, said the Congress leader. The Uttar Pradesh cops said they have invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against two men accused of the gang rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in Lakhimpur Kheri. The girl was allegedly raped and murdered in Isanagar in Lakhimpur Kheri on Friday. Her body was recovered from a sugarcane field in Isanagar. The incident took place on Friday, around 130 km from Lucknow, in a village close to the Nepal border. The accused have been booked under Section 302 (murder) and Section 376 (D) (gangrape) of the Indian Penal Code. Action against both will be taken under the National Security Act as well. Read: 'Unable To Contain Crime': BSP Slams UP Government Over Rape Of 13-year-old Read: Girl Suffers Burns As Rape Accused Tries To Kill Her Mother Irelands company start-up levels reached the lowest point in five years in the first half of 2020, according to the latest figures from credit risk analyst CRIF Vision-net. A total of 9,853 company start-ups were recorded in the first half of 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, the lowest number on record since the first half of 2015 (8,981). Between the months of February and May, there was an almost 30% decline in start-ups when compared to the same period in 2019. April 2020 was the worst month for start-ups (1,075) since December 2012 (991). Despite the overall decrease in activity among the start-up community, there are early signs of post-lockdown recovery. New company start-ups rose to 1,701 during the month of June, an increase of 7% compared to June 2019. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the start-up community is evident across the entire country. Of the 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland, 25 experienced a year-on-year decline in company start-up numbers in the first half of 2020. Westmeath recorded the largest percentage decrease: 99 start-ups were registered in the first half of 2020, a decline of 38% compared to the same period in 2019. Westmeath was followed by Louth (-36%, 218), Sligo (-35%, 57), Waterford (-33%, 140), and Cavan (-33%, 107). Tipperary was the only county in the Republic to record a year-on-year increase in start-up figures, with a total of 256 start-ups established between January and June 2020, an overall increase of 4%. Commenting on the figures, Managing Director of CRIF Vision-net, Christine Cullen said, "Our figures clearly show how the Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on company formation and the broader Irish economy. In January, Ireland looked to be in extremely good economic health: for the first time ever, company start-up registrations exceeded 2,200 in a single month, which suggested some positive trends for the year ahead." She added, "However, Covid-19 led to an early dip in this figure, with levels starting to drop off as early as February. The full brunt of the pandemic was particularly evident in the month of April when numbers dropped to the lowest in eight years." Source: www.businessworld.ie Google's plans to improve relationships with some local publishers including Crikey and The Saturday Paper have been put on the ice after the competition watchdog told US tech giants they would have to pay all publishers for using their content. The US$1.2 trillion (AU$1.67 trillion) search advertising giant is planning to argue that a new code proposed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in July is unworkable after it informed local publishers that plans for the launch of its licensing product - Publisher Curated News - were on hold until further notice. Google boss Melanie Silva previously said the launch of a licensing program ahead of the ACCC's new code was a coincidence. Credit:Louie Douvis Google Australia boss Melanie Silva first announced that the tech giant would start licensing content through a new application in June in what was considered a major strategic backflip for the tech giant which had previously said it did not receive a lot of value from the existence of news on its site. In other countries where legislation has been introduced - such as Spain and France - Google shut down services or changed the way articles appear in search. The launch of Publisher Curated News was a way for Google to lock in content deals with local publishers and pay them without a law requiring the tech giant to do so. The delay is an indicator the licensing program was an attempt to establish an alternative to legislation, which would force them to potentially pay much larger sums of money to publishers. The coronavirus recession will erode city budgets in many insidious ways. It will slash the casino revenues that Detroit relies on. It will squeeze the state aid that is a lifeblood to Rochester and Buffalo in upstate New York. It will cut the sales tax revenue in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where a healthy government depends on people buying things. The crisis has arrived faster than the damage from the Great Recession ever did. And it will cut deep in the fiscal year ahead, with many communities likely to lose 10% or more of the revenue they would have seen without the pandemic, according to a new analysis. Thats enough for residents to experience short-staffed libraries, strained parks departments and fewer road projects. The hardest-hit cities like Rochester and Buffalo could face 20% losses. The Great Recession was a story of long, drawn-out fiscal pain this is sharper, said Howard Chernick, a professor emeritus of economics at Hunter College and the Graduate Center at the City University of New York, who worked on the new analysis estimating revenue shortfalls for 150 major cities across the nation. These numbers give a sense of the possible economic pain for cities if Congress and the White House fail to agree on a new relief package that includes aid to state and local governments. It also rebuts some of the prevailing, largely Republican arguments that have stalled those negotiations: that federal help will bail out only blue cities and those that have mismanaged their finances. Many cities facing steep losses are in states represented by Republican senators, like Florida or Louisiana. And the analysis found little relationship between whether a place was fiscally healthy before the pandemic and the most dire projections of revenue shortfalls. What matters more in this pandemic moment is how a city generates money: Those highly dependent on tourism, on direct state aid or on volatile sales taxes will hurt the most. Cities like Boston, which rely heavily on property taxes that offer the most stable revenue, are in the strongest position for now. The estimates, to be published in the National Tax Journal by Chernick, David Copeland at Georgia State University and Andrew Reschovsky at the University of Wisconsin, are based on the mix of local revenue sources, the importance of state aid and the composition of jobs and wages in each city. The researchers predict average revenue shortfalls in the 2021 fiscal year of about 5.5% in a less severe scenario, or 9% in a more severe one. These projections cover not just municipal budgets but also every local government entity that spends money on services to residents in a given city, including counties and sewer or school districts (those budgets are adjusted for the share of residents who live within city borders). As the pandemic has worsened in many parts of the country this summer, the researchers now believe their severe forecasts are more likely. Some of the most vulnerable cities are those like Rochester that rely heavily on state aid, which is also likely to shrink, as it did in the Great Recession. Rochester already has deferred millions of dollars of nonessential expenses like new uniforms or firetrucks. It furloughed or reduced the hours of about 1 in 10 city workers, many of whom will return as the city reopens further. Officials delayed an incoming class of new police recruits and canceled the next class of firefighters. We cant produce money, we cant borrow our way out of this, we cant tax our way out of this, Mayor Lovely Warren said. But our residents expect that the trash will be picked up on trash day. They expect that the snow will be plowed when it snows. They expect that when they call 911 that a police officer will show up. For Washington to ignore that reality it hurts. Its wrong to punish the victim, she added. The city here is the victim. Other city officials around the country say they have tried to plan prudently for down times. But the pandemic has brought added costs, while state laws have limited their ability to raise revenue. This is really what the federal government was built to do: to handle these events that are bigger than the borders of a city and bigger than the borders of a state, said Dave Massaron, the chief financial officer for the city of Detroit. In Detroit, one-fifth of the municipal budget typically comes from casino revenue. And casinos have only just reopened, at reduced capacity. The city managed to save money when its recreation centers closed, and it hasnt spent as much as usual managing downtown traffic. This coming year, the city will also mow the grass less often on vacant properties it owns. With such moves, officials believe they will be able to get through fiscal year 2021 with a balanced budget. But after that the decisions will get harder, especially without federal help. The city needs only to look back into its past to understand what happens when you have a structural imbalance and you dont have a way of addressing it, Massaron said. Before Detroit exited bankruptcy in 2015, emergency response times averaged 18 minutes. All 65,000 streetlights needed replacing. Other cities heavily dependent on sales taxes felt the implosion of the economy more immediately than cities that count on income or property taxes. Revenue from income taxes will lag behind unemployment; property taxes are set a year or two in advance. Consumer spending, particularly by the biggest spenders, dropped sharply early in the pandemic. And it is expected to fall now for millions of workers whose added $600 federal unemployment benefits expired at the end of July. Broad shifts in how Americans eat during the pandemic have affected tax receipts as well: Restaurant meals are taxed, but in most states the groceries people cook at home are not. In Colorado Springs, which relies heavily on sales taxes, those revenues plummeted in late March and April. But they crept back in May and, to everyones surprise, the city saw slightly more in sales tax revenues in June than it did in June of last year. Mayor John Suthers attributes that to the resilience of the local military and defense sectors and to all the online shopping residents have been doing. Thanks to a 2018 court ruling, states can now collect sales taxes on purchases through Amazon or other online retailers, regardless of whether those retailers have a physical presence locally. Thats a silver lining. Without the Supreme Courts intervention, in the last three years this would have been a whole different ballgame for us, Suthers said. Orlando, Florida, is projected to suffer about as much as Colorado Springs in these estimates. But with the county responsible for many services, the Orlando municipal government will be spared the worst of the pain. Orlando City Halls revenues rely heavily on property taxes, which were already set to grow next year. And, like Colorado Springs, the Orlando area has long benefited from population growth and a construction boom the other side of broad demographic shifts toward the Sun Belt that have left Northeastern cities like Rochester more vulnerable. Maybe Orlando isnt in the same dire situation as other places, said Chris McCullion, the citys chief financial officer. But he, too, is calling for direct federal aid, as is Suthers, a Republican mayor. This is really, really important for the long-term health of cities and states, McCullion said. At risk is not just services for local residents in any given city, but the possibility that disparities will widen between cities that can weather this crisis and those that cant, if they are largely left on their own. One legacy of the Great Recession was exposing and increasing inequities between communities, said Amanda Kass, associate director of the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Now those disparities could grow even wider. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. UPPER MARLBORO, Md. The president of the Young Democrats of Maryland was found dead in Washington, D.C., more than a week after he went missing in Maryland. Joseph Kitchen (via Prince George's County Police Dept.) Prince Georges County police announced the death of Joseph Kitchen on Sunday night, a day after the department asked for the publics help in locating him. Kitchen, 34, had been missing since Aug. 8, when he was last seen at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, Maryland, about 37 miles east of Washington. We are saddened to learn of the tragic and untimely passing of Joseph Kitchen, the Young Democrats of America said in a Twitter post Sunday night. Joseph always pushed YDA to live up to its values and was someone who was not satisfied with accepting the status quo. His passion will be deeply missed. The Young Democrats group, which is open to registered Democrats who are less than 36 years old, had posted a missing person flyer that seeks information about Kitchen for his parents and brother. The Maryland Democratic Party also expressed condolences on Twitter, saying Kitchens was a kind heart that has impacted so many. The Metropolitan Police Department in Washington is leading the investigation into his death. Syracuse, N.Y. Centros board members have moved its most recent chairman into the six-figure, top job at the bus authority in Central New York without any external search or formal interview process. At the same time, the board is letting Brian Schultz continue to run his private, financial advising business while he oversees a multimillion-dollar state authority that provides about 10 million bus trips to riders in four counties each year. MoneySense campaign for 2020 to help Singaporeans build financial resilience MoneySense has updated its outreach messages to help Singaporeans better manage their finances and stay resilient amidst the challenges posed by COVID-19. With a tagline of #stayunitedstayresilient, its 2020 Campaign will focus on helping Singaporeans manage their finances prudently, cope with tighter cash flows, minimise debt, and avoid scams. The campaign will run for 12 weeks from 14 August 2020. MoneySense The MoneySense campaign will provide Singaporeans three resources to help strengthen their financial resilience: MyMoneySense Expense Manager is a new free online tool that helps users review their financial situation, and better plan their resources to tide over periods of financial challenges. Users are taken on a step-by-step journey to adjust their expenses to best suit their needs. MyMoneySense is a financial planning digital service jointly developed by the Ministry of Manpower and Government Technology Agency. Leveraging technology as the enabler, it aims to make financial planning easier for Singaporeans. The current version of MyMoneySense is its first step towards delivering a onestop service that provides trusted, personalized, and actionable guidance in personal finance. Key features for the beta service include: Expense manager a budgeting tool to help Singaporeans review their spending and set up a new budget to cope with financial challenges Active savings module a 3-step guide to help young working adults save better and achieve their emergency fund and goals. In the coming months, the service will be enhanced with more features to support an automatic consolidation of financial information from public and private sources as well as enhanced guidance in financial planning. It will also progressively expand the service over the next few years to cover financial needs of people across different life stages. Financial Resilience Guide is a new section on the MoneySense website that helps individuals facing financial challenges could take steps to improve their financial situation. The guide provides curated information pertinent for the current period, such as coping with reduced income and meeting recurring financial obligations such as mortgage loans or insurance premiums. The section also brings together relevant information on the governments COVID-19 relief schemes for individuals. Story continues Financial Resilience Seminars will be organised to allow individuals to hear from experienced financial trainers and discuss issues of concern. This series of online seminars will be held jointly with the Institute for Financial Literacy (IFL) and cover a range of financial topics, including on financial issues brought on by COVID-19. Places for each session are limited. The Institute for Financial Literacy (IFL) is a collaboration between MoneySense and Singapore Polytechnic Enterprise Pte Ltd. IFL provides free and unbiased financial education programmes to the public without promoting commercial financial products. IFL holds talks and workshops at workplaces and works with numerous social service agencies as part of their outreach. These financial education programmes cover basic money management, financial planning and investment know-how. The aim of these programmes is to develop Singaporeans core financial capabilities. Available programmes include: Understanding Money Understanding Yourself, Your Rights and Responsibilities Managing Everyday Money Planning Ahead Selecting Financial Products suitable for You The public can find out more or sign up for IFLs programmes on IFLs website. Handy tips and fun quizzes will also be posted on MoneySenses social media platforms over the next 12 weeks. Members of the public can find us on Facebook by searching moneysense and on Instagram @moneysense_sg. On the Government website, there are articles uploaded to help make money matters simple, and individuals can also find digital tools and resources such as mortgage calculators and a Financial Health Check to help them manage their finances well. MoneySense is Singapores national financial education programme, started in 2003. It seeks to help Singaporeans to manage their money well and make sound financial decisions on their own. MoneySense aims to make money matters simple and intuitive for all Singaporeans. Its programmes and resources are: Practical There is something to help everyone whether it is with everyday financial decisions or longer-term planning. Unbiased it gives objective information so that everyone can decide for themselves what works and what doesnt. Relevant it breaks things down on the latest developments relating to personal finance so that you can act promptly. The educational programme wants to help Singaporeans: Have the skills, knowledge and confidence to weigh their options in financial matters Know their rights and responsibilities in financial decisions Make informed decisions when it comes to personal finances Plan well for their future Beyond resources published on the MoneySense website and social media, and large-scale campaigns and seminars that MoneySense runs, our Institute for Financial Literacy also brings talks and workshops to workplaces and also for the public. These cover a wide range of financial planning topics to help participants understand their own financial needs, make better financial decisions and plan for their financial future. The programmes are always free and unbiased. It also works with industry and community partners as well as schools on bringing financial education programmes to different target segments. Partners The programmes volunteers and partners play a valuable role in making its products a success. It works with a variety of partners from: Schools and Institutes of Higher Learning Consumer and investor associations Financial industry associations Community organisations Governance and Stakeholders MoneySense programmes are overseen by the MoneySense Council. The Council is co-chaired by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Ministry of Manpower, and comprises representatives from MCI, CPFB, HDB, GovTech, MOE, MCCY, MND, MOF, MOH, MSF, PMO, and PSD. The post MoneySense campaign focused on building financial resilience appeared first on iCompareLoan Resources. What does it mean to be a writer in a time when reading is no longer fundamental but commenting is absolutely necessary? For an unknown writer, I receive quite a lot of correspondence from readers. I publish fairly infrequently and yet comments, often angry, frequently fill my inbox and overwhelm my Twitter and LinkedIn messages. I admit I read very few of them, and respond to almost none of it. This is not because of disinterest, but mathematics. With two jobs and a business, there is only so much I can accomplish in the two hours after my three children go to sleep. At best I occasionally skim what I receive. Sometimes something catches my eye, such as a message I received a few weeks ago. It relates to a question I have been turning over in my mind lately. Here is the first paragraph: I was going to read WHEN YOU WALK INTO THE VALLEY, but when I read the sentence: I have this vague sense that I have it better than women. I immediately stopped. You have a vague sense of the many benefits that men have over women in America. If you are that unaware I have no faith in your perception of life in America. While it may seem unrelated, this message lies at the heart of a difficult question I have been pondering: What does it mean to be a writer in the digital age? Before the mathematics became apparent, I attempted to read all of my correspondence. Being a bit of a numbers geek, I even compiled various statistics. Two are most interesting. Statistic #1: Of the men who write, 80 percent correct me. Men will point out some flaw or perceived logical error and any further communication will increasingly focus on that specific detail to the exclusion of the essays main thesis. Even when they agree with me, men will often point out an error. I am sure I do this too. It is rather embarrassing to see it so plainly. Statistic #2: Of all the people who write to me, 80 percent are women. In fact, most of the people who write to me are specifically white Christian women who are generally engaged in making positive change. They also consistently use a particular phrasing, illustrated by this actual quote: I have this vague sense that I have it better than you, but I was hoping you would help me know what to do about it. Writers write for an intended audience. The more focused that topic, the more focused the audience needs to be. It makes little sense to write about the joys of barbecuing pork if your intended audience includes those who eat halal. After compiling these statistics I shifted the intended audience of my essays on race to focus on white, Christian women. One day, while responding to one of these women, I decided that my carefully crafted message would benefit the rest of my intended audience. And so became an essay titled, When You Walk Into That Valley. The story of Krakatoa. The creation of reflective street paint. A woman playing cello to an empty room. Unconnected stories from childhood tied with one unifying thread: The phrase, Read to completion, then review. As a child, I read many such stories. I remember one about salmon and marvelled at the tiny fry who, years later, returned full-grown, fed by a world of which the river is only distantly aware. Writing does not really belong to the writer any more than salmon belong to the river. We set our writing free and it enters a vast ocean of thought, returning to us imbued with meaning by a world of which we, the writer, are only distantly aware. As a child, Read to completion, then review would elicit groans, the expectation of boring passages and pointless questions. I eventually understood that I bring enough to the reading of a story that the writers intent could wash over me like water over a stone. The real point of those lessons was to separate what I brought from what the author intended. To find those subtle points I missed on first pass. To fully comprehend what I had read. Is Reading Comprehension still taught in school? If so I do not envy the teachers. The practice of reading comprehension assumes the practice of writing as a craft, that the story is worth finishing, that the author had intent beyond a mouse click. If there is one thing social media has given us it is the listicle. We revel in The Rant. We have turned from thoughtful consideration to hastily typed condemnations of people who think differently from us, in which the conclusion is so disconnected from the sloppily constructed opening statement that the narrative arc resembles the thoughts of a slightly tipsy teenager flipping past channels on late-night television. One of those stories I read as a child was about a cellist. Practice builds muscle memory, she said. Sloppy practice leads to sloppy performance. For every piece of music she played to others, she spent hundreds of hours playing it to an empty room. Many people believe anyone out of grade school can write. That is true, in the sense that anyone out of grade school can also pick up a cello and make sounds. I believe that writing is a craft, however, and I practise it as such. I am no Yo-Yo Ma, admittedly, but I do practise with intent. Practice builds muscle memory, but I do not expect anyone to read my practising. Most of what I write is music played to an empty notebook. I may spend a week crafting a single sentence to ensure that the tone and the cultural reference of late-night television illustrate my age without being so disconnected from the realities of modern digital media that it draws the reader away from the narrative arc. I begin every piece with the assumption the reader will finish it, and so I write with the conclusion in sight. I am a tour guide, of sorts, leading the reader down choice passageways to view specific monuments on their way to a destination which, while it may be unexpected, must always be inevitable. Without the conclusion, the scenes become arbitrary moments of disconnected thought. Random two-word phrases imbued with foreign meaning. But to many, writing is not a craft. And all writing, it seems, is deemed equal. On social media, the listicles and rants are given the stature of the crafted and considered. I respect what blogs and sites like Medium attempt, I admire the opening of boundaries of voice. But we have devalued practice in favour of a perceived openness. Would music be as valuable to us if Yo-Yo Ma were placed as equal to someone who, having just picked up a cello, found they could make sounds? Would we be just as likely to walk out of one performance as the other, assuming they were as likely to be equally bad as equally good? When You Walk Into That Valley was an essay I wrote for white, Christian women. I tried to craft passages that would resonate with that audience and I remembered a response I wrote years ago to a white woman living in Rwanda: We live in a vast landscape of privilege, I am just as much called to task for my sexism as a white woman for her racism. When writing that essay, I wanted to place myself side by side with those women because we are together on a journey. We focus on different peaks, perhaps, but we stare at the same vista. And so I crafted a single paragraph of three messages I had received from women. Here is that paragraph. I have quoted each phrase and put the original wording in parentheses. For instance, I dont know what its like to be [a woman] (Black), and I have this vague sense that I have it better than [women] (you). If my actions contribute to that, what better way than to ask [women] (Black people) to teach me what to do, right? When this person wrote to denounce my language, they could not have known that vague sense was an intentional phrase, exact words from correspondence used to align myself with my white, female reader. Also, they could not have known I edited out a description of that paragraph because it drew the reader from the narrative arc. But neither did they perform the due diligence of finishing the piece and separating what they brought from what I intended. They, in other words, chose to not comprehend what they read. In fact, they assumed they neednt finish it at all. And herein lies the core of this question I have been struggling with. For an unknown writer, I receive quite a lot of correspondence from readers. I admit I read very little of what people write to me, and I respond to almost none of it. This is due to mathematics, true, but also due to the unfortunate nature of our digital age: The fact that so few people actually read. By far the most dominant media of our age is social media. Social media demands content, and the most ubiquitous form of content is the comment. Without comments, social media cannot exist as it would be, simply, media. The large companies who make money from our attention and our information need us to comment. More comments equate to more attention and thus more money. This has seeped into our everyday culture, mostly because social media dominates our everyday culture. Reading, it would seem, is no longer fundamental. Commenting, however, is absolutely necessary. Thus my question: What does it mean to be a writer in a time when people will not bother to finish your piece, but will still take the time to hunt down your email address and construct a long and angry response to you about the piece they did not actually read? What does it mean to be a writer when our entire culture values hasty comments over reading comprehension? Maybe I am just too old. Maybe narrative is dead. Maybe the essay is outdated and writing should be nothing more than a short prompt to elicit comments. This is the question I have been pondering lately. I am sure someone will write to tell me what the answer is. Of course, I probably wont have time to read that answer. Which I guess is fine, since they will probably write the answer without bothering to comprehend the question. The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance. Donald Trump said Monday that he is considering holding at the White House a small funeral service for his 'biggest fan' and late younger brother Robert on Friday afternoon. 'We're looking at Friday. And we may do just a small service right here in the White House for my brother. We're looking at doing that. That would be, I think, a great honor to him,' Trump told reporters on the South Lawn before boarding Marine One. 'I think he'd be greatly honored,' the president continued. 'He loves our country he loved our country so much. He was so proud of what we were doing and what we are doing for our country. So, I think it would be appropriate.' Trump on Monday is visiting Minnesota where he will make remarks on the economy and jobs and then do the same in Wisconsin on the same day Democrats kick off their four-day convention. The president's younger brother, Robert Trump, died at age 71 on Saturday just one day after Trump visited him in the hospital in New York. Trump told Fox & Friends Monday morning that Robert was his 'biggest fan.' 'When I became president, he was, I think, one of the most loyal people,' the president said of his brother, who was the youngest of the five Trump siblings. 'There was no jealously... There was not an ounce of jealousy.' 'He'd go around talking about how great this is for the country and 'it's so incredible' and he was my biggest fan,' Trump told the Fox News morning show panel. President Donald Trump told reporters Monday that he is considering holding a 'small' service for his late younger brother Robert Trump at the White House on Friday afternoon 'I think he'd be greatly honored,' the president said of his brother. 'He loved our country so much. He was so proud of what we were doing... So, I think it would be appropriate' The White House announced Saturday that Robert Trump, pictured with older brother Donald in 1999, had died. He was admitted to New York Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan in serious condition In a rare but brief interview in December, Robert said his brother had been doing 'fantastic', when asked how the president was holding up during his impeachment trial. He is seen above in December 2019 He added: 'People would tell me all the time, 'I spoke to your brother and your brother was so thrilled and so thrilled at what was happening'.' Although Trump did not say if he wanted to transport Roberts body to Washington, D.C. for the service, only one known service for a non-president has taken place in the White House. Willie Lincoln, Abraham Lincolns son, died in February 1862 of typhoid fever aged 11, and his family held a private service in the Green Room before his burial. Woodrow Wilsons first wife, Ellen Louise Axson Wilson died of Bright's disease in August 1914, although it is unclear if she had a funeral service in the executive mansion. Lincoln and fellow assassinated presidents John F. Kennedy and William McKinley all lay in state in the East Room. James Garfield, who was also assassinated, did not have a White House funeral but did lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda. Other presidents who died while in office, like Franklin Roosevelt, also lay in state at the White House. In a statement released Saturday night, Trump, 74, said: 'It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight. 'He was not just my brother, he was my best friend,' the president continued. 'He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.' Robert, who reportedly took blood thinners, had suffered recent brain bleeds that began after a recent fall, according to a close friend of the family, who spoke to The New York Times. Over the past few weeks, he had not been able to speak on the phone, according to the family friend. Rudy Giuliani, the president's lawyer, was among the first to pay tribute to Robert. 'Robert Trump has a big heart,' he tweeted. 'As a former Mayor I know how much he did to help New Yorkers in need. 'We have lost a really good man. My love, prayers and condolences to the #Trump family.' Trump told Fox & friends in a call-in interview Monday that Robert was his 'biggest fan' Trump arrived at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center on Friday afternoon waring a mask to visit his ailing younger brother Trump left Manhattan on Friday afternoon to fly to Bedminster, New Jersey, having said goodbye to his brother in hospital From left to right: Robert, Elizabeth, Freddy, Donald and Maryanne Trump. Robert was the youngest of the five siblings Donald Trump statement on Robert's death 'It is with heavy heart I share that my wonderful brother, Robert, peacefully passed away tonight. 'He was not just my brother, he was my best friend. He will be greatly missed, but we will meet again. His memory will live on in my heart forever. 'Robert, I love you. Rest in peace.' Advertisement Eric Trump then tweeted fond memories of his uncle, describing him as 'an incredible man' who was 'strong, kind and loyal to the core.' Ivanka Trump followed with a tribute on Twitter on Saturday night saying: 'Uncle Robert, we love you. You are in our hearts and prayers, always.' Donald Trump Jr tweeted Sunday morning: 'Uncle Rob, we love you and we will miss you. RIP.' Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden shared his condolences Sunday morning in a tweet addressed to Donald Trump saying 'Jill and I are sad to learn of your younger brother Robert's passing'. 'I know the tremendous pain of losing a loved one and I know how important family is in moments like these. I hope you know that our prayers are with you all,' Biden added. Robert Trump had no children, but he helped raise Christopher Hollister Trump-Retchin, the son of his first wife, Blaine Trump. Besides the president, he is survived by his second wife, Ann Marie Pallan, and his sisters, Maryanne Trump Barry and Elizabeth Trump Grau. His brother Fred Trump Jr. died in 1981. Robert's death came one day after the president visited him in hospital in New York City, where he was said to be suffering from a serious condition. Donald Trump Jr paid his respects to his uncle tweeting Sunday morning: Uncle Rob, we love you and we will miss you. RIP' Ivanka Trump tweeted Saturday night: 'Uncle Robert, we love you. You are in our hearts and prayers, always' Giuliani, the president's lawyer, was among the first to send his condolences to the family and said Robert 'had a big heart' The youngest of Donald Trump's adult children, Eric, then tweeted a tribute to his uncle, saying he was 'an incredible man' Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden shared his condolences Sunday morning in a tweet addressed to Donald Trump saying 'Jill and I are sad to learn of your younger brother Robert's passing' Trump had been scheduled to travel to his country club in nearby Bedminster, New Jersey for the weekend, but made a stop in Manhattan first to check in on his sibling. The president was seen leaving the heliport after flying in from New Jersey. Hospital security guards were seen blocking off access to a street outside the medical center ahead of the president's visit earlier this afternoon. Trump was wearing a protective face mask as he arrived at New York Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in Lennox Hill late Friday afternoon. Robert had been admitted to the hospital and was described as 'very ill', however details of his illness are still not officially confirmed. During a White House press briefing after his visit to his brother's bedside, the president said his brother was 'having a hard time' but did not elaborate on why he had been hospitalized. Robert has openly voiced his support for his brother over years. He is pictured hugging Donald on Election Day 2016 Robert, the youngest of the five Trump siblings, was previously hospitalized for ten days at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York in June. He was admitted to the neurosciences intensive care unit where he was treated for a 'serious condition', the Daily Beast reported. Around the same time, Robert had filed a lawsuit against his niece Mary Trump, seeking to block her from publishing a tell-all book on the president. Mary is the daughter of the brothers' eldest sibling, Fred Trump Jr, who struggled with alcoholism and died in 1981 at the age of 43. Robert filed for an injunction claiming the explosive book, 'Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man', violated the terms of a confidentiality agreement she signed nearly two decades ago. In a statement to The New York Times in June, he accused his niece of attempting to 'sensationalize and mischaracterize' their family relationship for her own financial gain. 'I and the rest of my entire family are so proud of my wonderful brother, the president, and feel that Mary's actions are truly a disgrace,' Robert said. The explosive memoir was eventually released last month after a judge agreed to lift a temporary restraining order preventing Mary from publicizing or distributing her work. The judge said the confidentiality clauses in the 2001 agreement, 'viewed in the context of the current Trump family circumstances in 2020, would offend public policy as a prior restraint on protected speech'. The younger Trump had openly voiced his support for his brother over the years. In an interview with Page Six ahead of the 2016 presidential election, Robert said he supported his brother's campaign '1,000 per cent'.' He was later seen celebrating Donald's victory at the New York Hilton where the then president-elect delivered his acceptance speech. Robert also spoke out in support of his brother during a brief, but rare interview at LAX airport last December, when Trump had been at the center of an impeachment trial. When asked how his older sibling was doing, he told the cameraman: 'I think he's doing fantastic,' before getting into the his car. Robert had also held a senior position in the family business, but unlike his brother, he has generally maintained a low public profile. He previously served as an executive for Trump Organization where he managed the real estate portfolio outside of Manhattan. In 2016 Robert told Page Six that he was 'gainfully retired'. Robert was married to socialite Blaine Trump (pictured) for 25 years until their 2007 divorce. Until his death, he lived in Long Island with wife Ann Marie Pallan Robert married his former secretary Ann Marie Pallan (center) in March. The two were rumored to be having an affair while he was married to first wife Blaine He was married to socialite Blaine Trump for 25 years until their 2007 divorce, and until his death served on the board of directors of ZeniMax Media. The couple's split was widely reported in the tabloids following reports that Robert had been living with his mistress - and now wife - for two years. Prior to his death, he was based in Long Island where he lived with wife Ann Marie Pallan, his former secretary, who he reportedly married in March. Despite their split, Robert was said to have remained on good terms with his ex-wife, who reportedly attended Trump's inauguration in 2017. Robert also has two older sisters. Elizabeth Trump Grau, 78, is a retired executive from Chase Manhattan Bank, and Maryanne Trump Barry, 83, is a retired federal judge. Left to right: Blaine Trump, Robert Trump, Donald Trump and Ivana Trump are seen at the Pierre Hotel New York in 1987 Robert Trump and wife Blaine at Halloween AIDS fundraiser, hosted by Magic Johnson in 1993 at Tavern on the Green As the youngest of the five Trump siblings, Robert was shielded from the pressures placed on the eldest, Fred Jr, and then Donald. He was never groomed to take over the family real estate company, and was considered by those who knew him to be the inverse of the brash, self-promotional brother who eventually did. After graduating from Boston University, he first went to work on Wall Street, instead of immediately joining the family business. But he eventually went to work for his brother as a senior executive at the Trump Organization. Robert Trump is pictured with his older brother Donald and then-girlfriend Melania Knauss. Just like his older brother, Robert formerly served as an executive for the Trump Organization, but managed to keep a relatively low-profile Trump put Robert in charge of the Atlantic City casino in 1989 - which sparked a huge row. The pair are pictured at a Casino Control Commission meeting in Atlantic City in March 1990 From left: Donald Trump; his father Fred Trump; Blaine Trump and her husband Robert Trump 'You could consider him the quietest of Trumps,' said Michael D'Antonio, a Trump biographer. 'He was glad to stay out of the spotlight.' Jack O'Donnell, a former Trump Organization executive who worked closely with the Trump family, told the New York Times that Robert was someone with a natural ease and good humor that his older brother lacked. 'He was dignified, he was quiet, he listened, he was good to work with,' O'Donnell said. 'He had zero sense of entitlement. Robert was very comfortable being Donald Trump's brother and not being like him.' The pair were not always close. In 1990, a year after Trump had put Robert in charge of the opening of the Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Trump furiously attacked Robert over problems with the slot machines. People who knew him said Robert was devastated by the fight with Trump, and the rift between them took years to heal, the New York Times said. He reconciled with his brother when Trump decided to run for president, according to a person close to the family. A three-year-old boy is thought to have shot dead his two-year-old brother in a Minnesota apartment last week. On August 13, authorities rushed to the Huntington Place Apartments in Brooklyn Park that morning at 7:11am after reports that a child was shot. Officers administered CPR at the scene before the toddler was transferred to a nearby hospital. He remained in critical condition until he died on Saturday. Five adults, including the child's mother, were present during the incident but gave conflicting stories to investigators at the time, Deputy Police Chief Mark Bruley told DailyMail.com. Authorities now believe that a three-year-old boy fatally shot his brother, 2, on Thursday while at the Huntington Place Apartments in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota The mother's boyfriend, Keyshawn Lemont Cosey-Gray, 20, was also inside the home at the time. The child's mother, 20-year-old Osheonia Nypre Hodges, and his grandmother, 57-year-old Sherrillyn Kay Mosley, were jailed on Friday for allegedly attempting to cover up the crime after the fact. But they were later released 'so they could say their final goodbyes to the child' before he was taken on life support at the hospital, Deputy Police Chief Mark Bruley told The Star Tribune. The mother was also allowed to complete paperwork to have the two-year-old's organs made available for donation. Mark Bruley (pictured): 'It is most likely that the [older] brother discharged the firearm. We dont see that the 2-year-old would have the capacity to do it' 'We dont consider them a danger to society,' said Bruley. 'They will get charged. I just felt like on the humanity side ... it seemed like the right thing to do.' Bruley told the publication that the oldest child, who turns four in less than two months, was 'right there' with his little brother when the incident occurred. 'It is most likely that the [older] brother discharged the firearm. We dont see that the 2-year-old would have the capacity to do it,' he said. It's unclear how the child first encountered the firearm and how the firearm was secured. Since the incident, Cosey-Gray surrendered to authorities on suspicion of child endangerment. He's been released from custody ahead of set charges. The five adults initially told authorities that someone with the initials 'BD' had fled the scene, but it was later determined that 'BD' did not exist. Bruley told DailyMail.com the family later admitted to making up 'BD' to take attention away from them. Charges against the family were submitted Monday, Bruley said. Although he did not disclose the entirety of the charges, he added that one would most likely involve felony child endangerment. The two-year-old's identity will be released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office. Professor Emmanuel Asante, Chairman, National Peace Council, has reminded stakeholders particularly, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to keep to the roadmap and Code of Conducts against political vigilantism. He said adherence to the roadmap and code of ethics as agreed upon, would deepen the nations democracy and preserve the peace of the country before and after the general elections. The two parties, the NDC and NPP have declared publicly that vigilantism is inimical in Ghanas democratic system and must be eradicated, he said. He said this at the Launch of 4th edition of Peace Ambassadors Ghanas nationwide peace campaign under the theme: Promoting National Peaceful Coexistence: the Role of the Youth in Accra. He said any person who took part in any vigilante activity, act as a member or subscribed to its membership had committed a crime according to the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act 2019, (Act 999) and liable to a term of imprisonment not less than ten years and not more than fifteen years. He said the culture of raining insults, hate speech on political figures and those who genuinely expressed their views concerning political issues should be discouraged to maintain the peace. All those fighting for peace should be encouraged that their labour shall not be in vain, he said. Sheikh Aremeyaw Shaibu, Spokesperson, Office of the National Chief Imam, said the youth should resist attempts by political parties to use them as tools of violence. He said political competition should not be reduced to violence, hostility and insults to intimidate but rather policy guided dialogues. He said the youth should value their lives and know that no politician would put his or her child or relative in the frontline during a conflict or war. Mr Affail Monney, President, Ghana Journalist Association, called on journalists to put the peace of the Nation first in their reportage and should never be selective. He said the Media should apply all ethical conducts relating to elections to manage the temperatures of the times to ensure a peaceful election come December. Our concern is not who wins but the peace of the nation and at the end of the elections we should find a peaceful nation, he said. Mr Abukari Inbrana Awudu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Peace Ambassadors, said the campaign was to empower women to sensitise and educate their communities and the nation to value the peace enjoyed and not trade it for violence. He said the Ambassadors would educate the youth through campus campaigns and the public through all the 16 regions. He said Peace Ambassadors Ghana, would also hold an Awards ceremony to honour persons who had contributed to preserve the peace in the Country and the global community. 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 Group of Concerned Australis Shareholders Grows to Include Terry Booth. The Concerned Shareholders propose reconstituting the board with qualified cannabis industry and capital markets professionals, including Mr. Booth, who will execute an effective business strategy for Australis. Shareholders are encouraged to contact Laurel Hill Advisory Group to register their support for a change in leadership. TORONTO, Aug. 17, 2020 /CNW/ - Roger Sykes, 1703469 Alberta Ltd., Duke Fu, Green Therapeutics LLC and Jason Dyck (the "Concerned Shareholders") of Australis Capital Inc. ("Australis" or the "Company") (CSE: AUSA), are pleased to announce that Terry Booth has joined the Concerned Shareholders and will support their efforts to bring about change at Australis. Mr. Booth has also confirmed that he will serve as a board nominee of the Concerned Shareholders as set forth in greater detail below. The Concerned Shareholders now collectively own, direct or control 13,932,321 common shares or approximately 7.9% of Australis' outstanding common shares, including common shares indirectly held by Mr. Booth though his holding company, Lola Ventures Inc. The Concerned Shareholders have received expressions of support from a significant number of Australis shareholders and believe they are in a position to command a strong plurality of shareholder support at the upcoming meeting of the shareholders of Australis. Furthermore, the Concerned Shareholders announce that they have taken steps to move Australis forward by proposing a new board of directors and are extremely disappointed by the actions taken by the current board of Australis (the "Board") to entrench their position at the expense of shareholder value. More than a week after the Company announced the termination of the Passport Technologies Inc. acquisition (the "Passport Acquisition"), the Board has still not addressed the litany of concerns regarding the transaction raised by the Concerned Shareholders. Despite the Board having formed a Special Committee tasked with reviewing the merits of the Passport Acquisition and conducting due diligence, the deeply flawed transaction was still approved by the Special Committee. Had the Special Committee fulfilled its obligation to critically evaluate the unfavorable terms and related party issues surrounding the Passport Acquisition, Australis could have avoided yet another failed transaction. This failure to act in shareholders' interests demonstrates the poor judgment on the part of the Special Committee and accentuates the need for change. The Concerned Shareholders believe that removal and replacement of the Board is necessary to preserve shareholder value, which has been severely undermined by the incumbent Board. Shareholder value has been destroyed through the Board's pursuit of the failed, non-arm's length Passport Acquisition, failures to advance any existing cannabis projects, and an inability to seek out new growth opportunities in the cannabis space. Without immediate change, shareholders must expect further erosion in the value of their shares as the Board continues to recklessly deplete the Company's treasury. The Concerned Shareholders, in an attempt to avoid a proxy contest and preserve the Company's resources, had offered the Board a fair and gracious settlement agreement which would result in a refreshed board comprised of competent cannabis industry and capital markets professionals. Unfortunately, Australis elected not to respond to the proposed settlement offer. Instead of providing a path forward for Australis, the Company proceeded to postpone the annual meeting of shareholders. Australis' annual meeting of shareholders, previously scheduled for September 22, 2020 to elect directors, among other matters, could have easily proceeded, with nearly eight weeks between the termination of the Passport Acquisition and the date of the shareholder meeting. Clearly, this transparent delay tactic is only meant to serve the interests of the current Board and management, not the Company's shareholders. This lack of strategic thought combined with the sequence of failed transactions only re-affirms that the current Board is not equipped with the qualities needed to lead Australis forward. Given the history of poor oversight and in order to ensure proper governance procedures were adhered to, the Concerned Shareholders ask the Company to confirm that the meeting of shareholders was indeed postponed by a properly called meeting of the Board and approved by a majority of Board members present at that meeting. The Concerned Shareholders understand from individual Board members that no such Board meeting was held and that the postponement was not properly approved by the Company's Board. If this is indeed the case, this reflects the continuing failure of proper governance by the current Board. The Concerned Shareholders demand that the Company proceed with its previously established meeting date so shareholders can voice their concerns and exercise their rights. The Board, as currently constituted, should not be trusted to advance the interests of the Company and should let the shareholders vote. With a view towards putting Australis back on track, the Concerned Shareholders are proposing a reconstituted board of directors comprised of individuals qualified to execute on a sound business strategy. When the Board finally provides shareholders their right to vote the Concerned Shareholders will provide a comprehensive circular outlining a detailed plan for the future of Australis and our exhaustive concerns with the incumbent Board and leadership. Accordingly, the Concerned Shareholders have submitted their notice of director nominations to Australis (in accordance with the Company's advance notice by-law), in which the Concerned Shareholders have put forward a new slate of director nominees the ("Concerned Shareholder Nominees"). The Concerned Shareholders believe passionately that a bright future for Australis can be achieved under the qualified, independent and motivated leadership of the Concerned Shareholder Nominees who are better aligned with the interests of all Shareholders. The Concerned Shareholder Nominees consist of the following cannabis industry and capital markets professionals: Terry Booth Dr. Jason Dyck , PhD , PhD Dr. Duke Fu , Pharm D., MBA , Pharm D., MBA Avi Geller Hanoz Kapadia Paul Vandenbosch Biographies of each of the Concerned Shareholders' nominees are provided below. The Concerned Shareholders are grateful for the significant strength of support received from other Australis shareholders who share their concerns regarding the failed Passport Acquisition and the actions taken by the current Board and management. The Concerned Shareholders commit to keeping fellow Australis shareholders abreast of developments. The Concerned Shareholders encourage other Australis shareholders who wish to register their support for a reconstituted board to contact Laurel Hill Advisory Group by phone, toll-free at 1-877-452-7184 (North American shareholders) or +1 416-304-0211 (shareholders outside North America) or by e-mail at [email protected] to register their support for change. Concerned Shareholder Nominees Terry Booth Mr. Booth was one of the original founders of Aurora Cannabis Inc. ("Aurora"), (ACB: NYSE). In 2013 he personally provided over $3.0 million in start-up capital to the building of a new from-the-ground-up high quality purposeful built medical cannabis production facility in Mountain View County. This facility was the first in the world to be certified as 100% EU GMP compliant for the production of Medical Cannabis. Appointed CEO in December 2014, he skillfully led Aurora from its infancy into one of the world's largest and fastest growing cannabis companies, with a focus on providing high-quality medical and adult usage cannabis and inspiring better days for medical and recreational consumers around the world. A visionary and passionate leader, Mr. Booth has a deep knowledge of highly regulated environments. He was instrumental in Aurora receiving its initial licensing and approval from Health Canada to produce medical cannabis, as well as building Aurora's state of the art cultivation facility, Aurora Sky. The Aurora Sky and Polaris projects, both located at the Edmonton International Airport, encompass well over 1.2 million square feet, producing high quality cannabis and derivative cannabis products largely considered the best in the world. With this strong entrepreneurial vision running through the Aurora culture, Mr. Booth assembled a diverse and highly skilled team of experts from a broad range of disciplines to execute Aurora's business strategy around the world. He oversaw Aurora's organic growth as well as its expansion through the acquisitions of companies such as MedReleaf, CanniMed and Whistler MMC, all of which were successfully integrated into the parent company. Mr. Booth was also a leader in ensuring Aurora was approved for listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange. Uniquely skilled at seizing M&A opportunities, (over 30 transactions and acquisitions in the last five years) Mr. Booth also has more than 25 years of experience in creating, growing and leading companies in highly regulated industries. He has served as President/CEO of six other highly successful companies, including Superior Safety Codes Inc., which was recognized as one of Canada's top 50 fastest-growing companies. Mr. Booth currently sits on the board of Binovi Technologies and Psyched Wellness Ltd. and has sat on the board of other organizations, including Aurora Cannabis, Radient Technologies, Quinsam Capital and Alcanna (formerly Liquor Stores N.A.). Dr. Jason Dyck, PhD Dr. Dyck is a distinguished research scientist in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta and currently directs the University of Alberta Cardiovascular Research Centre and co-directs the pan-Alberta program known as Alberta HEART. Dr. Dyck is the former Research and Science team lead at Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX: ACB). Dr. Dyck is the Canada Research Chair in Molecular Medicine, having published over 230 peer-reviewed research papers in this area. Dr. Dyck has extensive experience in the field of drug discovery and commercialization, is co-founder of a successful University of Alberta spin-off company, currently holds more than 100 patents and has numerous collaborations with large pharmaceutical companies. Dr. Dyck serves on the board of Nutritional High International Inc. (CSE: EAT), a U.S. multi-state cannabis company engaged in the manufacturing, branding and distribution of cannabis consumer products. Dr. Dyck also serves on the board of CTT Pharmaceutical Holdings, Inc., and is the co-chairman of the National Research Council at Diabetes Canada. Dr. Dyck received a PhD in Medical Sciences from the University of Alberta in 1995 and trained at Dartmouth Medical School (Hanover, New Hampshire) and Baylor College of Medicine (Houston, Texas). Dr. Duke Fu, Pharm D., MBA Dr. Fu is the co-founder and current CEO of Green Therapeutics, a premier cannabis cultivation and manufacturing company operating in Nevada since 2015. Prior to that Dr. Fu was the President of MedMen from 2014-2015. Dr. Fu holds a Doctor of Pharmacy and MBA from the University of New Mexico and is a Board-Certified Nuclear Pharmacists in the state of Nevada. Dr. Fu is the former Manager and Equity Partner of Biotech Pharmacy. As a start-up, Biotech Pharmacy grew to become the largest independent nuclear pharmacy chain in the Southwest of the United States. In 2009, Biotech Pharmacy exited to healthcare giant Cardinal Health (ranked 19th on the Fortune 500 list). Dr. Fu is active in the Las Vegas community having been involved with several local charitable organizations, such as the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America from 2007 to present, and the Alzheimer's Association from 2004 to present. Avi Geller Mr. Geller has extensive experience in the small and microcap markets and has worked on a variety of debt, equity and hybrid deals across multiple industries. Since 2017 Mr. Geller has been the Chief Investment Officer of Leonite Capital LLC, a diversified family office investment vehicle with extensive holdings in real estate, venture capital, private equity, public equities (with a focus on small-cap and micro-cap public companies), alternative lending, and hedge funds. Since October 30, 2018, Mr. Geller has been the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Parkit Enterprise Inc. (TSXV: PKT), a company engaged in the acquisition, optimization and asset management of income producing parking facilities across North America. Mr. Geller is also a Non-Executive Director of Nova Minerals Ltd. (ASX: NVA), a mining company based in Australia focused on gold exploration and a member of the board of directors of DealFlow Financial Products Inc., an information services provider to investment banks, investment funds and financial services companies. Hanoz Kapadia Mr. Kapadia has been the managing Partner at Kapadia & Associates, a high net-worth accounting and advisory firm since 2003 and is a former accountant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers from 1998 to 2002. Mr. Kapadia is an experienced entrepreneur, with over 23 years of experience advising on regulatory, tax and finance matters in public, private, and non-profit enterprises. Mr. Kapadia serves as the Chair of Finance and Governance at Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation, Chair of the By-law review committee and has also previously served as interim Chairman of the Board of Directors at Ontario Cannabis Retail Corporation. Mr. Kapadia serves on the board at AI LP, a firm focused on early stage technology startups, is currently the Chair of the advisory board at Huex Labs, a leading artificial intelligence company and is a former member of the board at Optimal Research Corporation, a medical research company. Mr. Kapadia holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo and a Masters of Accounting from the University of Waterloo. Paul Vandenbosch Mr. Vandenbosch is currently the managing partner of Cram & Associates, a law firm located in London, Ontario and has been a lawyer with this firm since 1982. Mr. Vandenbosch's areas of expertise include corporate/commercial, real estate and wills & estates. Mr. Vandenbosch is a director of Middlesex Mutual Insurance Co and a former Director of Torque Energy Inc. (TSXV: TQE) (2001 to 2011), a publicly traded oil & gas company. Mr. Vandenbosch received his LL.B. in 1982 from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University. Additional Information The information contained in this news release does not and is not meant to constitute a solicitation of a proxy within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Company shareholders are not being asked at this time to execute a proxy in favour of the Concerned Shareholder Nominees. In connection with the Australis annual meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting"), the Concerned Shareholders intend to file a dissident information circular in due course in compliance with applicable corporate and securities laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Concerned Shareholders are voluntarily providing the disclosure required under section 9.2(4) of National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102) and have filed a document (the "Document") containing the disclosure required under section 9.2(6) of NI 51-102 in respect of the Concerned Shareholder Nominees in accordance with corporate and securities laws applicable to public broadcast solicitations. The Document is available under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. This news release and any solicitation made by the Concerned Shareholders in advance of the Meeting is, or will be, as applicable, made by the Concerned Shareholders, and not by or on behalf of the management of Australis. All costs incurred for any solicitation will be borne by the Concerned Shareholders, provided that, subject to applicable law, the Concerned Shareholders may seek reimbursement from Australis of the Concerned Shareholders' out-of-pocket expenses, including proxy solicitation expenses and legal fees. The Concerned Shareholders are not soliciting proxies in connection with the Meeting at this time, and shareholders are not being asked at this time to execute proxies in favour of the Concerned Shareholders (in respect of the Meeting). Proxies may be solicited by the Concerned Shareholders pursuant to an Information Circular sent to shareholders after which solicitations may be made by or on behalf of the Concerned Shareholders, by mail, telephone, fax, email or other electronic means as well as by newspaper or other media advertising, and in person by the Concerned Shareholders, who will not be specifically remunerated therefor. The Concerned Shareholders may also solicit proxies in reliance upon the public broadcast exemption to the solicitation requirements under applicable Canadian corporate and securities laws, conveyed by way of public broadcast, including through press releases, speeches or publications, and by any other manner permitted under applicable Canadian laws. The Concerned Shareholders may engage the services of one or more agents and authorize other persons to assist in soliciting proxies on behalf of the Concerned Shareholders. The Concerned Shareholders are not requesting that Australis shareholders submit a proxy at this time. If and when the Concerned Shareholders commence a formal solicitation of proxies in connection with the Meeting, proxies may be revoked by a registered holder of the Company's shares (i) by completing and signing a valid proxy bearing a later date and returning it in accordance with the instructions contained in the accompanying form of proxy; (ii) by depositing an instrument in writing executed by the shareholder or by their attorney authorized in writing, as the case may be: (a) at the registered office of the Company at any time up to and including the last business day preceding the day the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Meeting is to be held; or (b) with the Chairman of the Meeting prior to its commencement on the day of the Meeting or any adjournment or postponement of the Meeting; or (iii) in any other manner permitted by law. If and when the Concerned Shareholders have commenced a formal solicitation of proxies in connection with the Meeting, proxies may be revoked by a non-registered holder of the Company's shares at any time by written notice to the intermediary in accordance with the instructions given to the non-registered holder by its intermediary. None of the Concerned Shareholders or the Nominees or, to their knowledge, any of their associates or affiliates (i), has any material interest, direct or indirect, in any matter proposed to be acted on at the Meeting, other than the election of directors or (ii) has had any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction or proposed transaction since the commencement of the Company's last financial year that has materially affected or could materially affect the Company or any of its subsidiaries (if applicable) other than as set forth below in respect of Dr. Fu. Green Therapeutics, LLC, a company in which Dr. Fu owns, directs or controls 49.5% of the shares, completed a transaction with Australis in May 2019 to acquire Green Therapeutics, LLC's Tsunami, Provisions, and GT Flowers cannabis brands, certain operating assets, intellectual property and the right to assume, complete and expand the construction of a state-of-the-art 55,000 square foot cultivation and production facility in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Pursuant to the terms of the transaction Australis issued 7,831,855 common shares valued at $6.4 million upon the signing of the definitive agreement. An additional $800,000 are to be issued when a new cultivation and production facility in North Las Vegas is fully licensed and operational and an additional $800,000 in shares are to be issued if certain performance goals are reached utilizing the acquired assets within specified timeframes per the definitive agreement. In a separate transaction completed in May 2019, Australis acquired from Meridian Companies LLC, a company in which Dr. Fu owns, directs or controls 37.5% of the outstanding shares, an 8.9-acre parcel of land in North Las Vegas in exchange for $2.93 million USD of its common stock or 3,585,521 Australis common shares where the new cultivation and production facility will be located. Full details of these transactions can be found in the Australis public disclosure record. Based on public disclosure documents, it is our understanding that the head office of Australis is 376 E. Warm Springs Road, Suite 190, Las Vegas, Nevada 89119. The Concerned Shareholders have filed this press release, which contains the information required by section 9.2(4)(c), and the Document which contains the information required by section 9.2(6) of NI 51-102 and Form 51-102F5 Information Circular in respect of the Concerned Shareholders Nominees, under Australis' profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. SOURCE Concerned Shareholders of Australis Capital Inc. For further information: please contact the Concerned Shareholders' shareholder communications advisor: Laurel Hill Advisory Group, Toll Free: 1-877-452-7184, International: +1 416-304-0211 outside Canada and the U.S., By Email: [email protected] in Madhya Pradesh reported 245 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday taking the total number of cases in the district to 10,049, the state health department said. The total number of deaths in stood at 344 with two persons succumbing to the infection on Sunday. India registered 63,489 new cases and 944 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, while the cumulative death toll in the country is nearing 50,000-mark. The country's count touched 25,89,682 including 6,77,444 active cases, 18,62,258 discharged patients and 49,980 deaths. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 7,46,608 samples were tested on August 15 and nearly three crore samples have been tested so far. As many as 2,93,09,703 samples have been tested up to August 15. Taking to Twitter on Sunday, the Union Health Ministry informed that India has one of the lowest COVID-19 mortality globally as the case fatality rate (CFR) in the country is below 2 per cent. The Ministry said aggressive testing and early detection coupled with quick isolation and effective treatment protocol are the reasons behind low mortality rates are low in India. (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 Congress on Monday claimed that it has many times tried to raise the issue of content manipulation with social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp, but in vain. The Opposition party said it tried to raise the issue with them as early as 2018, much before it was revealed by the US-based newspaper. The matter has also been discussed several times during internal party meetings. The party raised the issue with the platforms several times and cited cases of clear bias and presented evidence also. 'The executive of the social media platforms feigned ignorance and promised to look, ... Belarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya addresses the nation in an unknown location in Lithuania, in this still image taken from handout video released on Aug. 17, 2020. (Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Headquarters/Handout via Reuters) Belarusian Opposition Politician Tsikhanouskaya Says She Is Ready to Lead Nation MINSKBelarusian opposition politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said on Monday she was ready to lead Belarus and called for the creation of a legal mechanism to ensure that a new fair presidential election could be held. Speaking in a video address from Lithuania, she also urged security and law enforcement officers to switch sides from President Alexander Lukashenkos government, saying their past behaviour would be forgiven if they did so now. Her video was released a day after Belarusians chanting Step down! filled the centre of the capital Minsk in the biggest protest so far against what they said was the fraudulent re-election a week ago of longtime president Lukashenko. I am ready to take responsibility and act as a national leader during this period, Tsikhanouskaya said, saying it was essential to make the most of the momentum generated by a week of protests. The former English teacher has become one of the leading opposition figures against Lukashenko, who is struggling to contain a wave of mass protests and strikes that pose the biggest challenge to his 26-year rule of the country. She fled abroad last week, saying she had done so for the safety of her children, but quickly began releasing new videos calling for anti-government protests to continue. The unrest has spread to sections of society normally seen as loyal to the president, as workers from large state factories staged walkouts and some police, journalists from state media, and a sitting ambassador came out in support of the protesters. Opponents of Lukashenko say he rigged the Aug. 9 presidential election to secure a sixth term in power. He denies losing, citing official results that gave him just over 80 percent of the vote. The Kremlin said on Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had told Lukashenko Moscow was ready to assist Belarus in accordance with a collective military pact if necessary and that external pressure was being applied to the country. It did not say where from. Russia is watching closely as Belarus hosts pipelines that carry Russian energy exports to the West and is viewed by Moscow as a buffer zone against NATO. By Andrei Makhovsky As the search for two missing boaters that capsized in their boat continues on the Detroit River south of Stony Island, police have released their names. Missing are Robert Timothy Chiles, 52, of Grosse Ile, and the Rev. Stephen Rooney, 66, of Trenton. Rooney is a priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church. According to a preliminary investigation, the two were boating with 14 other passengers, nine adults and five children, when it capsized at 7:36 p.m. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, the Downriver Dive Team and Wayne County Sheriff-Marine Division searched for the two until the darkness made efforts unsafe. Grosse Ile police and fire personnel responded to an area in the river south of Stoney Island on reports that a watercraft had capsized and several passengers were in the water. The Wayne County Marine Division and Canadian Coast Guard also responded to the scene. The preliminary investigation indicates that at least nine passengers were on-board, consisting of both adults and children. According to Lt. Kenneth Pelland of the Grosse Ile Police Department, a boater from Ontario witnessed the accident and was able to provide assistance to most of the passengers. However a search is underway for two adults that are still missing. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter and the Downriver Dive Team are assisting in the search efforts. The involved watercraft is described as a 2017 39-foot Nortec Center Console. This story will be updated when more information is available. Jackie Martin contributed to this report. Women and younger workers are most likely to be struck down by loneliness. Photo: Getty Women and younger workers are the two groups most likely to have been adversely affected by feelings of loneliness while working remotely, according to a new study. Half of women and nearly three-quarters (74%) of younger workers said they had felt lonely in lockdown according to research conducted by Totaljobs. Social distancing, working from home and endless screen time has meant it is inevitable that experiences of loneliness will spike, the recruitment website said. The poll of 2,000 UK workers found that almost half (46%) of UK workers have experienced loneliness and social isolation during lockdown. More than half of workers agreed that the majority of their social interactions happened in the workplace. Employees are facing what Totaljobs calls a social silence when it comes to interactions with colleagues. Totaljobs data show that the average number of people we interact with daily has halved (down 51%) since March. In a day at the office, wed usually interact with about 17 people. Working from home, were lucky if we speak with eight and only virtually. READ MORE: What is 'job crafting' and how can it help during 2020? Two-thirds (67%) of those polled say lockdown has reduced the variety of their daily social interactions. In fact, workers have noticed a steep decline in the actual number of colleague interactions, with these halving on average during lockdown. When asked about the impact that loneliness has had on their lives during lockdown, results have varied widely on how insidious the impact of social isolation can be. Two-fifths of workers (41%) said it had a detrimental impact on their sleeping habits while a quarter (24%) said it affected their living arrangements. Alongside this, 37% said it had an affect on their stress levels, and 33% said it had damaged their self-esteem. 30% said it had harmed their eating habits. It advised these four ways you can support a lonely colleague: 1. Encourage them to talk: Start by talking about general wellbeing, and let people know they can talk to you if they need to. Story continues 2. Encourage them to seek support from the workplace: If someone feels like their workload is spiralling out of control, encourage them to discuss it with their manager or supervisor. If their manager doesnt create the space for them to be able to talk about wellbeing, it can be difficult to start this dialogue. But if they get along with their manager and trust them, they could meet one to one. 3. Avoid making assumptions: Dont try to guess what symptoms a co-worker might have and how these might affect their life or their ability to do their job. Many people can manage their condition and perform their role to a high standard. 4. Respect confidentiality: Remember, information about mental health is confidential and sensitive. If someone opens up to you, you should feel privileged. Dont pass on information unnecessarily not least because this breach of trust could harm someones mental health. US sends truckloads of military, logistic reinforcements to Syria's oil-rich Hasaka: SANA Iran Press TV Sunday, 16 August 2020 5:58 PM The United States has dispatched a convoy of trucks carrying arms and logistics supplies to Syria's oil-rich Kurdish-populated province of Hasakah, a local media report says. Official news agency SANA, citing local sources, reported on Sunday that the US military brought truckloads of military and logistical equipment in the province through the al-Walid border crossing and were heading towards a US-occupied base in the city of Shaddadi, the oil-rich province. Al-Walid border crossing, known in Syria as al-Tanf, is one of three official border crossings between Syria and Iraq. Also on last Thursday, a US convoy of 40 trucks, loaded with military and logistic reinforcement, arrived at the same Syrian region. The military build-up is reportedly part of Washington's rivalry with some of its regional allies to maintain control over Syria's oil reserves and plunder its natural resources. Since late October 2019, the United States has been redeploying troops to the oil fields controlled by its Kurdish mercenaries in eastern Syria, in a reversal of President Donald Trump's earlier order to withdraw all troops there. On July 30, during his testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed for the first time that an American oil company would begin work in areas controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria. Syria says the deal is "an affront to national sovereignty" that amounts to "theft." The US has long been providing the SDF with arms and militant training, calling them a key partner in the purported fight against the Daesh terrorist group. Many observers, however, see the support in the context of Washington's scheme to carve out a foothold in Syria. Such support has also infuriated Washington's NATO ally, Turkey, which views militants from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) the backbone of the SDF as a terrorist organization tied to the homegrown Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that has been engaged in a destructive war inside Turkey for decades. The presence of US-supported YPG militants in northern and northeastern parts of Syria has prompted Turkey, for its part, to conduct a cross-border offensive into the Arab country to purportedly eliminate the Kurdish militants and occupy a long narrow border area in Syria's north. Washington and a number of its allies began conducting airstrikes in Syria in September 2014 without any authorization from Damascus or a UN mandate. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form The Romanian Hotels and Restaurants Employers' Organization (HORA) invites employees and partners of companies in the field to participate in protests on Wednesday against the government's handling of the pandemic in the field of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafes (HoReCa), according to a press release issued Monday by HORA. Employees and partners of HoReCa companies are invited by the employers in the field to stop working on Wednesday afternoon, between 17:00 and 18:00, to take to the front of the locations where they work and to display signs with messages drawing attention to the crisis situation which the 400,000 employees in hotels and restaurants are facing as a result of restrictions imposed by the authorities. One of the messages that the Romanian Hotels and Restaurants Employers' Organization proposes to employees to be shown in the protest is: "You ruin an industry for an illusion!". Another placard sent by HORA conveys the message "400,000 lives in danger without being infected". The Employers' Organization of Hotels and Restaurants in Romania asks employees and partners in HoReCa to protest peacefully and to comply with all the sanitary provisions in force at the event. HORA points out that before the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus in the field there were 40,000 commercial companies with 100 pct Romanian capital, with a turnover of 5 billion euros and about 400,000 employees, representing 10 pct of the total number of employees working in the private sector (190,000 employees directly involved and about 210,000 employees of suppliers of products, raw materials and services). "Furthermore, our industry contributed significantly to the evolution of companies developing businesses in related fields, such as agriculture, local suppliers of ingredients, manufacturers and distributors of raw materials in the kitchen, importers and distributors of food products, service providers dedicated to industry, as well as management systems, cleaning, transport, logistics, packaging. As a result of the crisis due to the pandemic and the restrictive measures introduced by the authorities, our industry is currently the most affected, recording a sharp decline that has today resulted in a decrease in turnover by about 70 pct compared to the first six months of last year and has led to the suspension of activity for more than 40 pct of the operators," the HORA release adds. HORA also accuses the government that it has adopted unreasonably firm measures in the field of HoReCa. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf speaks during a press conference on the actions taken by federal officers and agents in Portland during continued unrest from the US Customs and Border Patrol headquarters in Washington on July 21, 2020. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images) DHS Head: ACLU Peddling Inaccurate Information Amid Calls to Dismantle Department Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chad Wolf said the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was peddling misinformation amid its calls to dismantle the department responsible for public security. Wolf made the comments in an op-ed published on Newsweek on Monday in response to sharp criticism leveled at the DHS by the ACLU. The civil rights advocacy group published its claims about the department in a separate op-ed published on USA Today earlier this month. In their op-ed, ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero called for the end of the post-9/11 department while criticizing tactics used by the departments agents to quell violent rioting in Portland, Oregon, around a federal courthouse that lasted for more than two consecutive months. The ACLU sees violence on our streets and its first instinct is to criticize law enforcement and call for the dismantling of the very institution established to protect the homeland, the American people and our values, Wolf wrote in his op-ed. In 865 words calling to dismantle DHS, it is telling the ACLU found space to condemn our law enforcement officers, but absolutely none to condemn violent criminals. The Trump administrations decision to send federal agents to Portland during the violence drew intense scrutiny from Democrats amid allegations that some of the tactics used to arrest rioters were unconstitutional and had violated civil rights. Protesters at the time claimed that federal agents wearing camouflage and tactical gear without identifying insignia were detaining individuals and placing them into unmarked vehicles without stating the basis for an arrest, according to various accounts made to media outlets. Many local and state officials, as well as congressional lawmakers, claimed the deployment of the federal forces escalated the unrest in Oregons largest city, saying that the decision was tantamount to federal overreach or a dictatorship. The ACLU claimed in its op-ed that people across the political spectrum watched in disbelief as federal agents were deployed to American citiesdespite objections by mayors and governorsto escalate violence against protesters. The group also described DHSs operation as paramilitary. Wolf, who has repeatedly defended the actions of the federal agents, rejected the groups claims, saying that the actions of DHS agents who were sent to Portland were adhering to proper procedures. This tired myth has been debunked time and again, Wolf wrote. DHSs service in Portland was compelled by our congressional mandate to protect a federal courthouse. The executive branch fulfilling laws passed by Congress is no violation of civil libertiesit is exactly how our constitutional system is designed to function. The head of the DHS went on to respond to the ACLUs call to break DHS up into smaller federal agencies and reduce its funding, arguing that those comments are beyond reckless, dangerous, and merely an echo of Abolish ICE and Defund the Police.' In his op-ed, Romero described the DHS as a loaded weapon that sits on the proverbial coffee table in the Oval Office while claiming that its history has been filled with violence, the stoking of fear and a lack of oversight. He also claimed that the DHSs law enforcement activities target communities of color and immigrants under the veil of security. Wolf argued that the group was ignoring the fact that the department was founded with the purpose of safeguarding the country from terrorists who had exploited gaps in U.S. immigration enforcement and national security systems when the agencies related to homeland security were operating separately. Willfully ignoring DHSs duty, the ACLU permits its all-consuming political disdain for this administration to eclipse these facts, he wrote. Readers will note the ACLUs cry to dismantle was conspicuously absent during DHS actions under the Obama administration. While the ACLUs supposed principles may shift with the political winds, facts do not. The DHS was formed by former President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with the purpose of being a national strategy to safeguard the country against terrorism and respond to any future attacks. The department, which currently has more than 240,000 employees, aims to coordinate and unify national homeland security efforts. Ending DHS will also end the operation of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), USCG, CBP, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FEMA, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), United States Secret Service (USSS), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Management Directorate, Science and Technology Directorate, Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office, the Office of Intelligence and Analysis, and the Office of Operations Coordination. The Trump administrations DHS also faced wide criticism last year for its immigration enforcement at the southern border during an influx of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers last year. Congress members such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called for its elimination at the time. Gardai are investigating a bizarre incident where an elderly man approached a young child on a busy street and, without warning, bent down to lick the youngster's face. The child's mother was horrified and immediately became distraught and raised the alarm. Several members of the public ran to the assistance of the distressed woman after hearing her shouts. The alleged incident happened on the main street of Clonakilty in west Cork on Saturday afternoon. The area was busy with shoppers and holidaymakers. Gardai were at the scene within minutes. The woman was out shopping with her child when they were allegedly approached by the well-dressed, elderly man. It is understood the mother, who was standing directly beside the youngster, thought the man just wanted to compliment her child. Suddenly the man bent down and appeared to lick the youngster's face. The mother was horrified and initially could not believe what she had seen. She also became very distraught because of the potential implications of the incident at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and the flagrant breach of both strict social distancing and personal hygiene guidelines. No injuries were sustained by the child who was said to have been bemused by what had happened. Gardai spoke to a number of people at the scene before checking with the staff of several business premises along the street. A number of properties in the area are equipped with full CCTV security camera coverage. Bizarre Footage from the cameras involved was obtained by gardai and is now being studied by officers to determine if the alleged incident was caught on any of the street-facing cameras. Gardai said CCTV security camera footage was expected to play a central role in their ongoing investigation into the alleged incident. A file on the matter is set to be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. The elderly man involved is understood to be a resident in the west Cork area and was in Clonakilty undertaking some errands. One line of inquiry being examined is whether the man involved may have some kind of mental health issue and may not have been aware of the seriousness of the alleged action. One local said it was a bizarre incident. "The guards were going door to door in the area asking could they view any CCTV security camera footage because an old man was said to have licked a child's face. I couldn't believe it when I heard it." The elderly man was not known to the young mother. Description GIS 17 August 2020:With more than 3 300 of the 4 000 tonnes of oil from the ship's fuel reservoirs being pumped out, it can be said that the worse is behind us and from now on everything will be put in place to ensure that our lagoons are safe as well as secure and Government acknowledges that this process will take a long time. This statement was made on Friday 14 August by the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Steven Obeegadoo, during a press conference held at the New Treasury Building. He seized the opportunity to laud the solidarity of each and every Mauritian who has directly or indirectly helped in minimising the ecological catastrophe caused by the wrecking of the MV Wakashio on the reefs of Mauritius in the vicinity of Pointe dEsny. Government is committed to shed light on this unfortunate event which was totally unpredictable and answers will be given in all transparency, highlighted DPM Obeegadoo. The impact of the oil spill on the fauna and flora on our seas will be assessed and a strategy will be developed accordingly, he added. The Attorney General, Mr Maneesh Gobin, underscored that a preliminary inquiry is ongoing and its findings will determine the terms of references, which would be wide in scope, to be put forward to a Court of investigation with at its helm an Official of the judiciary. Government will do whatever it takes to assist all those who are affected by this ecological catastrophe, emphasised Finance Minister Padayachee. Besides financial help, Government will endeavour to restore, reconstruct and repair the damages caused by the wrecking of the MV Wakashio and an appropriate strategy is being elaborated to come up with adequate solutions, he underpinned. Mr Joe Lesjogard, Minister of Energy and Public Utilities, praised the sense of patriotism of volunteers who have helped to minimised the scale of the potential ecological disaster caused by this accident. He also responded to the various criticisms surrounding the wrecking of the MV Wakashio and unreservedly condemned all unpatriotic acts. Not bad for a guy who grew up in North Chicago and climbed the political ladder to become a once-respected state senator. Its hard for those who knew him then to have him now labeled a crook, like so many other elected Democratic swindlers and grifters of this state being brought to heel by aggressive federal prosecution. Being from Lake County and not Cook County, we expected better. Vaezi warns Trump of consecutive failures IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, Aug 16, IRNA -- Head of the Presidential Office Mahmoud Vaezi in a message said equations in politics are different from those of business, saying US President Donald Trump must wait for repeated failures. In the final months of his term, Trump must have learned that the equations in politics are quite different from those in the business world, and if he does not change his past policies, he must expect repeated defeats, Vaezi wrote on his Twitter account. During the UNSC voting, the international community once again opposed US' unilateral policies by supporting Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he said in a separate message. In continuation of its mistakes, US is after trigger mechanism, he said, adding that it will also fail with the same procedure through which the recent resolution failed and with stronger political and legal reasoning. Earlier, Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi in a message stated that the UNSC vote over extension of arms embargo on Iran indicated the US isolation. The US draft resolution aimed to extend Iran arms embargo which is expected to be lifted on October 18 under the terms of a 2015 Iran nuclear deal (known as JCPOA) endorsed and made into law by UNSCR 2231. When the resolution was put on vote, only two of the 15 Council members voted for the resolution one of them was the United States itself. Two members voted against the resolution and 11 others abstained. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi in a message said that during the 75-year-old history of the United Nations it was unprecedented for the US to become so isolated. Despite all travels and pressures, the United States could only bring a small country with it, he added. 9376**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The aftermath of an altercation during a protest at Broadway and Taylor St in Portland, Oregon: Kalen D'Almeida/Scribber News/Twitter @fromkalen A man driving near a demonstration in Portland, Oregon has been taken to hospital after being pulled from his car and physically attacked by several protesters one of whom deliberately kicked him in the head. The attack, which was filmed by various bystanders, occurred late on Sunday night at the intersection of Broadway and Southwest Taylor Street, a few blocks from the federal courthouse and other buildings that have been the focus of recent protests. Footage shared on Twitter by by local journalists seemingly shows the incident beginning with altercation outside a nearby 7-Eleven, where a group of protesters gather around the mans white car, shouting and banging on the doors. He then starts the car and drives several blocks before crashing. Subsequent clips show the man remonstrating with protesters outside his crashed car, and then pushed to the ground before being beaten and kicked. Another clip then shows the man still sitting in the street when a protester wearing a vest marked security runs up behind him and kicks him hard in the head. In footage from after the kick, he can be seen lying on the ground apparently unconscious and bleeding as people gather around him, with various voices shouting call 911. Other protesters rummage through the truck, seemingly to look for stolen goods or weapons. Protesters can be heard in several videos from the scene claiming that the still-unidentified man deliberately drove his car into the crowd. Some voices appear to accuse him of being a white supremacist. The corner where the man was attacked was soon cordoned off by the police, who issued a statement with a limited account of what happened. At 10:27pm, it read, Central Precinct officers responded to a report of an injury accident at Southwest Broadway and Southwest Taylor Street. The report said protesters were chasing the truck before it crashed, and they assaulted the driver after the crash. Officers encountered a hostile crowd and a squad from the Rapid Response Team responded to help secure the scene while the investigation was underway. The driver was transported to the hospital by ambulance with serious injuries. The incident is under investigation and no arrests have been made. Video of the attack and its aftermath is being shared widely by right-wing commentators and Twitter users, who are pointing to it as evidence that Black Lives Matter and other anti-racist and anti-police demonstrators are principally engaged in violence, not peaceful protest. Many of them are pointing to the fact that the man was both white and apparently unarmed. The attack follows a weekend of violence between protesters and police. The department declared a riot on Saturday night, arresting numerous people and deploying smoke bombs after rocks were thrown at officers and cars. Washington: US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called congress representatives to return to Washington to block changes to the Postal Service which Democrats fear could make it harder for millions of Americans to cast mail ballots in November. Members will be expected to return to Washington this week. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves her office on Friday. Credit:Bloomberg The move comes as Democrats warn that changes implemented by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a former Republican National Convention finance chairman, could wreak havoc during the election in which a record number of people are likely to vote by mail because of concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. DeJoy assumed the post on June 15. The House previously was scheduled to return in September. Mumbai: Bruce Allen, managing director of Albert Einstein Institute Hannover and one of the scientists who discovered the gravitational waves last year, attended the IIT-Bombays three-day annual TechFest, which kicked off on Friday. Allen described the breakthrough of detecting the gravitational waves as "the most important scientific discovery of last year". Scientists who are tracking the development of a gravitational wave detecting observatory in India said that it will be the most sensitive station. This observatory is the fifth such one in the world. Hingoli districts Aundh is among the preferred sites for this project. Albert Einstein had predicted the gravitational waves a century ago and they were detected in Germany last year. The gravitational waves along with electromagnetic waves responsible for wireless communication, and mechanical waves, which carry sound hold the cue to the universe. Allen said that the Laser Inferometer Gravitational-waves Observatory (LIGO) India, observatories in Germany, the United States and Italy, will help detect cosmic gravitational waves. This will further help in discovering the aspects of the space which remains a big mystery. "The need for an Indian LIGO is well justified. Each observatory is different and uses a different technology. We will put to rest the mistakes of US detectors while designing LIGO India. The country's unique location will help detect the sources of gravitational sources more accurately," said Rana Adhikari, a professor from California Institute of Technology, who is involved in the development of LIGO India. Earlier, Jeff Demain, CEO Hantheon, talk about the architecture being designed to colonise Mars. Compared to last year, first day of the IIT-Bombay TechFest witnessed a lower turnout compared to last year. Organisers said around 35,000 people visited the campus on Friday against the 45,000 on day one last year. For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Two more locally-transmitted coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Hai Duong and Quang Nam during the past 12 hours, bringing Vietnams tally of COVID-19 infections to 964. Collecting samples for COVID-19 testing Hai Duong province, a gateway to Hanoi, registered a case at a restaurant at No. 36 Ngo Quyen in its Hai Duong city, where a new outbreak occurred several days ago. The 30-year-old man had a dinner at the restaurant on August 3 and tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus two weeks later. In Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, a 49-year-old woman attended a wedding on July 11 in Da Nang, the epicenter of the countrys COVID-19 outbreak, and tested positive on August 16. As of 06.00hrs August 17, Vietnam has recorded a total of 964 coronavirus cases, including 24 deaths. Worthy of note is that all the fatalities have been registered since the virus recurred in Vietnam in late July. After the first case of community infection was reported in Da Nang, a famous tourist destination in central Vietnam, on July 25, the virus has spread to 15 cities and provinces across the country, with a total of 488 people infected. The number of newly-detected coronavirus cases in Vietnam by day. Da Nang was the hardest hit locality with 344 cases, followed by Quang Nam (91), Ho Chi Minh City (11), Hanoi, (9), Quang tri (7), Bac Giang (6), Quang Ngai, Hai Duong and Lang Son (5 each), Dak Lak (3), Dong Nai (2), Thai Binh, Ha Nam and Khanh Hoa (1 each). So far 24 fatalities have been reported. Currently, more than 107,000 people who had contact with COVID-19 patients and returned from epidemic hit countries, have been placed in quarantine for medical surveillance. The Ministry of Health said that the situation in Hai Duong is quite complicated because the F0 has not been determined. Up to six cases are related to the restaurant No. 36 Ngo Quyen Street, including patients 867, 906, 907, 908, 950 and 963. By the evening of August 16, Hai Duong province reported to identify 1,000 F1 cases, and testing was being speeded up. Thuy Hanh Origin of the virus causing Covid-19 outbreak in Hai Duong defined The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology has completed genetic analyst of the SARS-CoV-2 virus of Covid-19 cases in Hai Duong, where at least five infection cases have been reported without the F0 found. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Kyodo News) Bangkok Mon, August 17, 2020 10:19 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e7fd9f 2 SE Asia Bangkok,Thailand,protest Free The largest antigovernment protest in years was held in Thailand on Sunday, with mostly college students calling for reform of the country's monarchy which has long been shielded from criticism under the strict lese majeste law. Local media estimated between 20,000 and 30,000 people participated in the protest in the capital Bangkok, making it the largest such protest since 2014 when then army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha seized power in a coup. Rallies drawing mostly young people have recently been held almost daily in Thailand, with participants calling for the resignation of Prayut, who has ruled the country as prime minister since the coup, as well as constitutional changes. Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa -- who is leading calls for monarchical reform, until recently a taboo subject in the country -- took the stage during Sunday's protest. As he called for the monarchy to cease interfering in politics, loud cheers broke out among participants. Read also: Thailand to reopen bars and allow in some foreign travelers During a rally at a university in Bangkok's suburbs on Aug. 10, participants compiled a 10-point monarchical reform plan that included calls for the abolition of the lese majeste law, a reduction in spending on the monarchy and the repealing of the right of the monarchy to publicly express political opinions. Under the country's lese majeste law, defaming the monarchy is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. King Maha Vajiralongkorn, who ascended the throne in 2016, is said to be spending most of his time in Germany. Topics : Bangkok Thailand protest By ANI NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Monday co-chaired the 13th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation along with Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs in which the two sides reviewed the continuing growth of their cooperation. Jaishankar said after the virtual meeting that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries is growing by the day. He said the two sides reviewed the continuing growth of their broad-based cooperation. "Their content and expanse are a testimony to our new era of relations," he said in a tweet. "Encouraged by our close collaboration in dealing with health, trade and travel challenges due to COVID-19. Discussed major regional and international developments. Our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership grows by the day," he said in another tweet. In his remarks during the meeting, Jaishankar thanked UAE for the understanding shown by it in regards to developments in Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). "I thank you for understanding you've shown in regard to developments in OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) that sometimes impinges on our interest and it's important that it should not become a platform that is negative vis-a-vis India," he said. He also thanked the UAE for taking care of Indian national during the coronavirus pandemic. "I express my thanks on behalf of the government and the country for the enormous care that UAE (United Arab Emirates) has taken of Indian nationals during the COVID19 pandemic," Jaishankar said. "I am very happy that we continue to consult and talk to each other regularly on regional and global developments. I thank you for your call last Friday, sharing with me your thinking about full normalisation of your relations with Israel," he added. An External Affairs Ministry release said that on August 13, Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) was also held virtually between Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Secretary (Consular, Passport and Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs) and Abdul Nasser Al Shaali, Assistant Minister of Economic and Trade Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates. In preparation for the JCM and SOM, virtual meetings of the members of the five Sub-Committees from India and the UAE on Overview and High-level exchanges - economic, trade and investment cooperation, consular and community affairs cooperation, defence and security cooperation and education, culture and youth cooperation were held on August 10 and 11. The release said that wide-ranging discussions were held in "a friendly, frank and constructive atmosphere, reflecting the strong bilateral ties between the two strategic partners". Noting the close political relations between the two countries, both sides expressed satisfaction over the sustenance of momentum in the bilateral relations in various areas for mutual benefit under the aegis of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. "They agreed to strengthen cooperation in ongoing areas and also to explore cooperation in newer areas reflecting the changing times. In this context, both sides welcomed the close cooperation during the last few months in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed a joint strategy to offset the economic and social impact of the pandemic on both countries," it said. Both ministers noted with satisfaction the progress on institutional mechanisms which continue to guide and promote the multifaceted bilateral cooperation through an "extensive framework of agreements". Both sides also discussed the regional issues pertaining to their neighbourhood and cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral fora. The Indian side invited further investments from UAE in key sectors of the Indian economy such as infrastructure including logistics, food parks, highways, ports, airports, renewable energy and defence. "The UAE side conveyed appreciation for the significant contributions made by the Indian expatriate community and expressed its willingness to further strengthen links in energy and food security," the release said Both sides agreed to hold the next Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting in Abu Dhabi in 2021. The specific dates of the meeting will be finalised by both sides through diplomatic channels. Canada refuses to release emails with U.S. over Huawei exec's arrest FILE PHOTO: Huawei Technologies Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou leaves her home to attend a court hearing in Vancouver By Tessa Vikander VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canada has released as much information as it legally can about the arrest of Huawei Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou, the government's lawyers said on Monday, as she sought more confidential documents relating to her 2018 detention. Meng, 48, was arrested in December 2018 at Vancouver International Airport on a U.S. warrant charging her with bank fraud for allegedly misleading HSBC about Huawei's business dealings in Iran. She has said she is innocent, and is fighting extradition to the United States while under house arrest in Vancouver. On the first day of hearings expected to last up to three days, Meng's lawyer said a "flurry of emails" between Canadian and American officials around the time of Meng's arrest should not all be covered by privilege, as Canadian prosecutors have argued. Meng's lawyers have pushed for the release of more documents to support their assertion that Canadian and American authorities committed abuses of process while questioning Meng before her arrest, including the improper sharing of identifying details about her electronic devices. Crown lawyer John Gibb-Carsley said his team is committed to making the trial "as open as possible without divulging the privileges which need to be protected." However, Mengs lawyers argued that abuse of process is an exception to litigation privilege. "We see a flurry of emails around the subject matter," Scott Fenton, a lawyer for Meng, said. "We would be easily guilty of being wrong that all these emails are about that subject matter because we can't see them, so it's a matter for the closed hearing to determine what these are about." The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have denied any abuses relating to their conduct during Meng's arrest. Several of the privilege claims were litigated in a federal court in Ottawa in late July, because they were made on the basis of national security. Story continues The hearings will continue in a closed session on Tuesday, potentially stretching into Wednesday. Meng will not be present. A schedule proposed jointly by lawyers for the prosecution and defense said that a decision on the issue by Oct. 2 would allow the rest of the trial to proceed as planned, with hearings wrapping up in April 2021. (Reporting by Tessa Vikander in Vancouver and Moira Warburton in Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Stephen Coates) Darren Day has popped the question to Sophie Ladds. (Instagram/Darren Day) Darren Day has become engaged for the seventh time after popping the question to actor girlfriend Sophie Ladds. The father-of-three shared a photo of their hands in which her engagement ring could be seen. "My girl Sophie & I just got engaged. She rocks my world," he captioned the Instagram post. Read more: Darren Day reveals mental health struggles Ladds has had roles in multiple popular series including Call The Midwife, Doctors and Silent Witness. She shared her own photo to social media, putting a snap of her bare hand followed by one of her wearing her ring to Twitter. Spot the difference. @DarrenDOfficial you have made me the happiest girl in the world. Always...forever...and a Sophie Day pic.twitter.com/iZsbtWwQrX Sophie Ladds (@SophieLadds) August 16, 2020 "Spot the difference. @DarrenDOfficial you have made me the happiest girl in the world. Always...forever...and a Sophie Day," she wrote. Day has been involved in multiple high-profile romances that have seen him get down on one knee he's now been engaged seven times and married once. Actors Anna Friel and Darren Day at the opening performance of the musical Copacabana in April 1995. (Dave Benett/Getty Images) He was first engaged to Anna Friel after the pair dated in the mid-90s, before he moved on to a romance with Coronation Street actor Tracy Shaw. Day allegedly gave the same ring he had proposed with to Friel to the Maxine Peacock star. Darren Day and Tracy Shaw announced their engagement in 1998. (PA) After he and Shaw split, Day went on to court Isla Fisher and the pair also became engaged. The couple appeared in Summer Holiday in 1998 at the Opera House in Blackpool. It wasn't to be, however, and they parted ways in 2000, with Fisher later going on to marry Ali G star Sacha Baron Cohen. Darren Day was engaged to Isla Fisher, who went on to marry Sacha Baron Cohen. (Michael Crabtree PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images) His next flame was pantomime actor Adele Vellacot, with whom he had a short-lived engagement before moving on to with Suzanne Shaw. Story continues During his stint in Celebrity Big Brother in 2016, Day spoke of how his affair with Shaw was exposed. He said: "We were going behind our partners backs and my phone was being hacked at the time. Darren Day and his girlfriend Adele at the Elle Style Awards at the Natural History Museum, London. "They called me and told me they have three hours of audio from you and Suzanne, and if we dont both give them a free interview well put it on an 0898 number. I said I dont believe ya and he quoted lines, like graphic, horrible, private, personal lines. "We then went to see our partners to tell them we have met someone else and have feelings for each other. So she finished with her partner and I finished with mine." He asked Shaw to be Mrs Day but a marriage never took place, although they did welcome son Corey in 2004. Suzanne Shaw and Darren Day at the Celebrity Awards in 2004. (David Westing/Getty Images) Day left the relationship a few months later, according to reports. Read more: Sharon Stone asks for prayers for hospitalised sister He went on to wed Stephanie Dooley in 2007 and the pair share two children, daughter Madison and son Dalton. Darren Day with his then-wife Stephanie attend the In The Pink Magazine launch party in 2007. (Jon Furniss/WireImage) (Jon Furniss/WireImage) They announced their marriage had come to an end last year in a statement that read: "Stephanie and Darren separated back in October 2018. It is a personal matter that they have chosen to deal with privately. There was nobody else involved on either side." Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UKs Dating at a Distance Ten of the 11 publicly traded Saudi Arabian banks reported first-half aggregate profits of SR19.1 billion ($5 billion), down 10% from SR21.2 billion in first-half 2019, said Moodys Investor Service in a new report. The decline reflects higher loan impairments in anticipation of credit losses and weaker asset quality, a credit negative for the system. Aggregate loan-loss provisioning for the first half increased to 0.93% of gross loans from0.68% in 20192 and offset a 3% increase in net revenue. In line with our expectation that the non-oil sector will contract to around 4% in 2020 from growth of 3.3% in 2019, we expect lower oil prices, reduced government spending and coronavirus-induced disruptions to further erode banks' asset quality over the next 12-18 months, Moodys said in the report. The aggregate ratio of net income to assets was strong at 1.6%, but down from 2.1% in first half 2019 and 1.9% in 2019. All Saudi banks' ratio of net income to assets fell in the first half. Banque Saudi Fransi, Arab National Bank, Bank Al-Jazira and Alinma Bank were most affected: their first-half net income declined 28%-35% from first-half 2019 (see Exhibit 2). Bank Al-Jazira and Alinma Bank had the lowest ratios of net income to assets of 0.7%-0.8%, while Saudi Investment Bank's ratio was also low at 0.7% despite an increase in net income from last year. The 3% increase in first-half aggregate net revenue versus first-half 2019 reflects a 4% increase in net interest income that offset a 3% drop in noninterest income over the same period. Continued balance sheet growth, with 8% first-half loan growth and 14% investment portfolio growth, drove net interest income higher and offset lower lending and investment rates amid lower reference rates. Noninterest-bearing deposits from the central bank, which kept the banks cost of funding low, mainly funded the growth. Higher loan growth was supported by continued strong growth in mortgage loans and a temporary spike in consumption before a July 1 value-added tax increase to 15% from 5% previously. High loan growth was in spite of lower economic activity because of coronavirus related containment measures. Banks aggregate loan-to-deposit ratio was 87% as of 30 June, versus 84% in December 2019, as loan growth outpaced the 4% growth in deposits. The decline in profits and increased loan impairments were less severe than in other GCC countries. In the UAE, for example, aggregate profit for the four largest banks was down 36% and loan impairments to gross loans increased by 77 basis points to 1.60%. We expect additional provisions for Saudi banks in the coming quarters, although both profit effects and loan impairments will likely remain below GCC peers such as the UAE, reflecting the stronger historical performance and resilience of the Saudi banking system, the report said. The banks preserved their strong capital buffers, with an aggregate shareholder ratio of 14.1% as of June 2020, compared to 14.5% as of December 2019. We expect Saudi banks to maintain a high capital ratio, which are among the strongest in the GCC, it added. TradeArabia News Service Students at the opening ceremony of the 2019-2020 academic year at the Phan Chau Trinh High School in Da Nang city (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - Localities that practice social distancing must put the health and safety of students and teachers above all else, and depending on local circumstances can hold opening ceremonies for the new school year online, an education official has said. With only two and a half weeks to go before the new school year begins on September 5, the COVID-19 situation remains complex, said Nguyen Xuan Thanh, Director of the Secondary Education Department at the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), adding that the ministry has prepared for different COVID-19 scenarios.When health and safety cant be guaranteed, opening ceremonies should be held online but a message should be conveyed that studies definitely continue.The MoET will request schools boost the application of IT in teaching and learning to cope with developments, he noted, adding that distance learning via the internet and TV earlier this year had been carried out methodically and in line with the curriculum.Given developments, the ministry is now working to streamline curricula, Thanh said.According to MoET regulations, starting from the 2020-2021 academic year, students at pre-education and general education establishments will be back to school on September 1 at the earliest, with opening ceremonies to be organised on September 5.The first semester will finish before January 16 and the second before May 25. The school year is to wrap up before May 31. Guest Column How Should Myanmar Citizens Vote This November? A voter casts his ballot during a by-election in 2018. / Htet Wai / The Irrawaddy The election this November is an opportunity for many to cast their votes. Unfortunately it is a right many still do not have the ability to exercise. I have listened to the voices of those who have become disillusioned with the upcoming election and I understand these concerns. We are faced with the stiflingly undemocratic 2008 Constitution, and impunity for those committing human rights violations in the conflict zones and against student and labor activists. It is ones right to choose to vote or not; this is the democratic system, but I believe to my core that the most important avenue for change is to participate in the process. In an electoral system like ours the most powerful voices are those who organize and vote. We have seen time and time again, at home and abroad, that mass human rights violations can occur under democratic systems, in which elections are the main focus with few avenues by which power holders can be held to account. This is a critical juncture for Burma. We must voice our demands to politicians that in their incoming manifestos they unequivocally support free speech, expression and assembly. We should not have to risk imprisonment for expressing opinions or organizing meetings. Categorical support for human rights Nelson Mandelas perseverance and vision gave me great inspiration when I was imprisoned as a political prisoner. It is necessary to return to Mandelas ideals if we are to flourish as a free and prosperous democratic society. For to be free is not merely to cast off ones chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. We should vote for candidates who advocate for non-discrimination and have the political will to protect human rights at all times and for all. When casting ones ballot, one has to identify a candidate and a party that represents the interests and ideals one wishes to see in Myanmar. We should not be swayed by policies that instigate violence and human rights violations. Our country deserves so much better after experiencing decades of harsh authoritarian rule. Yet, human rights violations continue on a daily basis in ethnic states. The civil war directly affects our democratic transition and politicians need to understand this and commit not just in words but deeds to the pursuit of a just peace. Human rights violations in the conflict zones range from torture and kidnappings to rape and murder. Civilians are caught in the crossfire or deliberately targeted, displaced and more. In other places free from armed conflict, people still experience arrest, detentions, and abuse for exercising their right to free speech, expression and assembly. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners conducts human rights training across the country, and workshops with parliamentarians to spread awareness of these themes, but the most powerful voice for systemic change is you, the voter. While the 2008 Constitution is a serious challenge to the democratic transition and human rights, it does not prevent elected members of Parliament from passing legislation that can protect fundamental rights. There is an array of recently introduced laws that must be repealed by our elected officials. At present, 139 individuals are facing trial under Section 66(d) of the 2013 Telecommunications Law, and seven individuals are currently serving sentences. Under the 2011 Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law (PAPPL), 77 individuals are being persecuted, two are serving sentences, three are awaiting trial inside prison, and 72 are awaiting trial outside prison. Across the country, hundreds of farmers have been criminalized under the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Law, which was amended in 2018, and many have been jailed. We should vote for candidates who respect the human rights of societys most vulnerable communities. International norms For these and other reasons Myanmar has regressed to being the international pariah it was during the dictatorship. How our political system values human rights has a direct effect on international support, which in turn impacts our economy, and it is always the poorest communities who suffer. A step in the right direction would be to release all 507 political prisoners prior to the election, and an acknowledgment of the wrongs committed by processing political prisoners as criminals. We should vote for candidates who understand and adhere to international human rights norms, and not factionalism and exclusion. Myanmar must also sign and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the United Nations Convention against Torture (UNCAT) to bring the country into line with norms. The trauma of torture and violence by political prisoners and victims of the civil war is a legacy families, friends and whole communities have had to deal with. Reparations, or even acknowledgement of the crimes committed in the past affect how we process violations in the present. There are thousands of former political prisoners across the country who lack systemic support. AAPPs mental health program is assisting those experiencing trauma and mental illness and tackling the society-wide stigma. But we need the next elected government to define and delineate what political prisoners are, and to offer rehabilitation to help them live fulfilling lives. COVID-19 During the COVID-19 lockdown, AAPPs monitoring of cases related to the pandemic has found a reliance on arbitrary detentions. AAPP also learned of the high prevalence of suicides due to the economic and mental stress of the lockdown period. The stigma around mental health must be challenged in Myanmar, as should the causes of economic stress. Burma should develop a contemporary understanding of the human right to a healthy mental wellbeing and freedom from anxiety about financial destitution. COVID-19 is a unique challenge, and it is going to impact the worst off the hardest. Our economic policies should be systematic, and not casual; the focus should be equality, not charity. Myanmars developmental model should be focused on its benefits to you, the people, not the cronies and business elite. Rising inequality is not an inevitable consequence of development, but a result of choices made by politicians. To ensure that all people enjoy the benefits of economic growth, social safety nets should be on the agenda of all candidates. Ultimately, we should vote for candidates who respect the trust we have placed in them, and categorically support human rights for all. Political parties should bear this in mind when drafting their manifestos. Bo Kyi is a former political prisoner and currently works as joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Election Officials Scramble to Correct Error-Riddled Voter Lists Volunteers Help Myanmar Migrant Workers Register to Vote in Thailand International Nepal agrees to speed up India-aided projects Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra holds a virtual meeting with Nepal Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi in Kathmandu, Aug 17. KATHMANDU, AUG 17 | Publish Date: 8/17/2020 1:18:28 PM IST Senior diplomats of India and Nepal on Monday held a virtual meeting during which they comprehensively reviewed the progress made on various India-aided developmental projects in the Himalayan nation and decided to expedite their implementation. The meeting came days after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli telephoned his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to greet him on Indias 74th Independence Day, in the first high-level contact after bilateral ties came under severe strain following issuance of a new political map by Nepal in May. Nepalese Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Vinay Mohan Kwatra led the delegations representing their respective countries during the 8th meeting of Oversight Mechanism. The meeting, held virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak, carried out a comprehensive review of bilateral economic and development cooperation projects since its 7th meeting held on July 8, 2019. During the meeting, both sides deliberated on the issues and agreed to expedite their implementation, according to a press release issued by the Indian Embassy here. The two sides noted the progress made in the development projects in the last one year, including reconstruction of 46,301 earthquake damaged houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts the operationalization of Motihari-Amlekhgunj, cross border petroleum products pipeline, the Integrated Check Post at Biratnagar and the High Impact Community Development Projects. Nepal also noted with appreciation COVID19 related assistance, including the supply of medical equipment by India, the release said. The meeting mainly discussed the status of implementation of the on-going projects under Nepal-India bilateral cooperation covering Terai roads, cross-border railways, Arun-III hydropower project and petroleum products pipelines, according to the Nepalese Foreign Ministry. The meeting also discussed issues related with Pancheshwar multipurpose project, post-earthquake reconstruction, irrigation, power and transmission lines, construction of Nepal Police Academy, integrated check posts, Ramayana circuit, HICDPs, motorable bridges over Mahakali River, agriculture and cultural heritage, among others, it said. Both sides underlined the need for expediting implementation of the bilateral projects. In that connection, they agreed to undertake necessary measures to timely address problems and obstacles in the course of implementation, it said. The Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism was set up after Prime Minister Modis visit to Nepal in September 2016 to oversee the implementation of bilateral projects and take necessary steps for their completion in time. India and Nepal have agreed to hold the next meeting of the mechanism on a mutually convenient date to review the progress made in the implementation of the India assisted economic and development cooperation projects, it added. The ties between India and Nepal came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km-long strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. Nepal protested the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory. Days later, Nepal came out with the new map showing Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as its territories. In June, Nepals Parliament approved the new political map of the country featuring areas which India maintains belong to it. In its reaction, after Nepals lower house of parliament approved the bill, India termed as untenable the artificial enlargement of territorial claims by the neighbouring country. India said Nepals action violates an understanding reached between the two countries to resolve the boundary issues through talks. Prime Minister Oli has been asserting that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal and vowed to reclaim them from India. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 17, 2020 / Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (TSX:NDM)(NYSE American:NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the "Company") President & CEO Ron Thiessen spoke out today about comments made by Bass Pro Shops founder, majority owner and CEO Johnny Morris on Fox News Friday evening. "I've heard from Northern Dynasty shareholders, from supporters of the Pebble Project, other domestic producers of US minerals and metals, and from pro-development conservatives from every region of the country over the course of the weekend," Thiessen said. "A lot of them were concerned about Mr. Morris' message, but I see it differently. I want to assure all Americans who value the Bristol Bay region of Alaska for its wilderness and wildlife - particularly its thriving commercial, sport and subsistence fisheries - that we share your values, and are equally committed to the responsible use and sustainable development of America's natural resources." Thiessen said Morris' on-air recitation of a quote from former US President Theodore Roosevelt resonated with him. Calling Roosevelt the 'father of US conservation', Morris said: "There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country. We must conserve the soil so that our children shall have land that is more and not less fertile than our fathers worked in. We must conserve the forest not by disuse but by use, making them even more valuable at the same time that we use them. We must conserve the mines. "Moreover, we must ensure so far as possible the use of certain of our great natural resources for the benefit of the people as a whole." Thiessen said Northern Dynasty's 100%-owned, US-based subsidiary Pebble Limited Partnership (the "Pebble Partnership") has invested close to US$1 billion at Pebble to advance the proposed development project into and through federal permitting, much of it on environmental studies. He said the Pebble mine concept that initiated federal permitting in 2017, and last month received a favorable final Environmental Impact Statement ("EIS") from the US Army Corps of Engineers ("USACE"), is the most conservative, environmentally-driven engineering design ever for a major hard rock mine in the United States. "We're very proud of the work we've done to design an environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically vital project that will fully co-exist with clean water and healthy fish and wildlife populations in Bristol Bay," he said. "We're very confident that Pebble will achieve both President Roosevelt's and Mr. Morris' vision for 'use of our great natural resources for the benefit of people as a whole.'" While welcoming the Bass Pro Shop founder's views, Thiessen said certain statements made and impressions left by the Fox News segment require clarification, specifically: 1. that Pebble may harm the Bristol Bay fishery: Thiessen: "The Bristol Bay region is about the same size as Ohio, 40,000 sq. miles. The commercial fishery is more than 100 miles away as the crow flies, and more 200 river miles away. Even the 230 sq. mile area around Pebble produces less than 1/10th of 1% of Bristol Bay salmon. "So to suggest a single modern copper mine built to the highest standards in the world could materially affect this fishery is absurd to the extreme. Furthermore, after 2 years of scientific study, the USACE and the Pebble EIS have determined our project will have 'no measureable impact' on any fish population or fishery in the region." 2. that Pebble will displace existing fishing jobs and related economic activity: Thiessen: "Again, the Pebble EIS found just the opposite - that Pebble will fully co-exist with the existing fishing economy, while creating new opportunities for local people. I think that's precisely what President Roosevelt meant when he said we can make our land even more valuable through use than through disuse. "It's also important to recognize that the vast majority of jobs and economic activity generated by the Bristol Bay fishery lasts 6 - 8 weeks each year, and does not benefit local people. The Pebble Partnership has worked extremely hard to ensure that our project will benefit local people, local villages and the Alaska Native cultures of Bristol Bay to the greatest extent possible. Pebble jobs will be stable, year-round, well-paid jobs that prioritize local hire, and benefit generations of Alaskans." 3. that conservatives don't support Pebble: Thiessen: "To suggest that US business organizations, pro-development conservatives and Republicans want this administration to shut down a project like Pebble that is on the verge of receiving its key federal permit - a project that has the potential to deliver thousands of American jobs, billions of dollars in government revenue and economic activity, while producing minerals like copper, gold, molybdenum, palladium and rhenium that are critical to America's economic and military security for generations to come - is just absurd." See https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/site/assets/files/4845/august_7_2020_-_final.pdf "There may be a small proportion of the Republican base, elitist sportsmen and anglers, who want to preserve these lands as their own personal playgrounds. We don't think that group represents a significant proportion of US conservative voters, or even a significant proportion of American sportsmen, quite frankly." 4. that President Trump may intercede at Pebble: Thiessen: "From the very beginning of his administration, President Trump has stressed that permitting and regulatory review processes for major development projects in the U.S. must be objective, timely and science-based. He has taken great strides to eliminate the type of political interference with regulatory decision-making that we saw under the Obama administration - including at Pebble. "To suggest the President is now inclined to reverse course, to abandon the 'rule of law' and politically intercede with regulatory decision-making at Pebble is unfathomable. Not only would his supporters in business, in the State of Alaska, in conservative and Republican circles react with extreme displeasure, such a decision would be extremely damaging for the United States' reputation as a reliable jurisdiction for investment in job-creating projects and industries." About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development company based in Vancouver, Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset, owned through its wholly owned Alaska-based U.S. subsidiary, Pebble Limited Partnership ("PLP"), is a 100% interest in a contiguous block of 2,402 mineral claims in southwest Alaska, including the Pebble deposit. PLP is the proponent of the Pebble Project, an initiative to develop one of the world's most important mineral resources. For further details on Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project, please visit the Company's website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com or contact Investor services at (604) 684-6365 or within North America at 1-800-667-2114. Review Canadian public filings at www.sedar.com and US public filings at www.sec.gov. Ronald W. Thiessen President & CEO US Media Contact: Dan Gagnier Gagnier Communications (646) 569-5897 Forward Looking Information and other Cautionary Factors This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements should not be in any way construed as guarantees of the ultimate size, quality or commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project, that the Pebble Project will secure all required government permits, or of the Company's future performance. Assumptions used by NDM to develop forward-looking statements include the assumptions that (i) the Pebble Project will obtain all required environmental and other permits and all land use and other licenses without undue delay, (ii) studies for the development of the Pebble Project will be positive, (iii) NDM will be able to establish the commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project, and (iv) NDM will be able to secure the financing required to develop the Pebble Project. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal objectives, including (i) obtaining necessary mining and construction permits, licenses and approvals without undue delay, including without delay due to third party opposition or changes in government policies, (ii) the completion of feasibility studies demonstrating the Pebble Project mineral reserves that can be economically mined, (iii) completion of all necessary engineering for mining and processing facilities, and (iv) receipt by NDM of significant additional financing to fund these objectives as well as funding mine construction, which financing may not be available to NDM on acceptable terms or on any terms at all. The Company is also subject to the specific risks inherent in the mining business as well as general economic and business conditions, as well as risks relating to the uncertainties with respect to the effects of COVID-19. The National Environment Policy Act EIS process requires a comprehensive "alternatives assessment" be undertaken to consider a broad range of development alternatives, the final project design and operating parameters for the Pebble Project and associated infrastructure may vary significantly from that currently being advanced. As a result, the Company will continue to consider various development options and no final project design has been selected at this time. For more information on the Company, Investors should review the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction filings that are available at www.sedar.com SOURCE: Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/601961/Northern-Dynasty-President-CEO-Ron-Thiessen-welcomes-Bass-Pro-Shops-founder-Johnny-Morris-remarks The Ghana Health Service (GHS) says it will engage various stakeholders to come up with modalities to ensure all persons who arrive in the country are tested for COVID-19 ahead of the possible opening of air borders in September. President Akufo-Addo in a televised address on Sunday hinted that the country is preparing to reopen its airports to human traffic. According to the president, he has thus instructed the Ministry of Aviation, the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority and the Ghana Airports Co Limited to work with the Ministry of Health and its agencies, to ascertain the countrys readiness to reopen the airport. Speaking to Citi News, Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye said the service together with its allied agencies will make sure every traveler is tested before being allowed entry. Our work is to bring the capacity that allows us to test everybody on arrival. That is what we are working towards. We are looking at the systems and structures to enable us to do that, bearing in mind the number of passengers we expect. We are working with the airport authorities and other agencies like the FDA and Nugochi to ensure that capacity is built for us. But, it is doable. The current protocol is that anybody who comes in will have to come in with negative PCR not more than 72 hours from the time of arrival. When you get there, we will do another test just to validate. And if you are positive, for which the result will be ready in a very short time, the person will go through our normal routine of how we manage our positives, he explained. Ghanas air, sea and land borders were closed on Sunday, March 22, 2020, as part of efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The closure left thousands of Ghanaians who have consistently appealed for help over the last few months stranded abroad. The President reminded Ghanaians that special dispensation will continue to be given for their evacuation back to Ghana. But the governments pre-condition for evacuation was that the stranded citizens bear the full cost of their ticket 14-day mandatory quarantine when they arrive in the country because of the threat of the novel coronavirus. In some instances, the government has subsidized the cost of travel and quarantine. Wearing of face masks education A recent survey conducted by the GHS showed that, out of a number of persons observed in selected places in Accra, only 44.3% wear face masks properly. Even though the survey proved that 82% of these persons possessed a face mask, just a few actually wore them in the appropriate way. But Dr. Patrick Kumah Aboagye further added that the GHS will be embarking on an exercise to educate all Ghanaians on the need to wear nose masks properly as advised by the president. We are embarking on our risk communication on how people must wear the mask properly through education, stakeholder engagements, and other things to know whether we are doing better or we are going down to change the narrative of why people are not wearing it. If we dont intensify the preventive aspect, it will be difficult for us to maintain the current status that we have and even make it better. 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 Photo provided NEW CANTON A Barry woman was arrested on DUI and other charges after a single-vehicle crash, authorities said. Jennifer Erke, 37, of Barry was driving on East Mississippi Street at 4:35 a.m. Friday when her vehicle went off the road, struck a utility pole and rolled over, according to the Pike County Sheriffs Department. (CNN) Lebanese President Michel Aoun has said it would be "impossible" for him to resign following calls for him to leave office over the deadly explosion in Beirut. His comments came after the Lebanese government stepped down on Monday night in the wake of the blast that killed more than 170 people and injured more than 6,000 others. Speaking about the possibility of his resignation, Aoun said in a recorded interview with French network BFM Saturday: "This is impossible, because this would lead to a power vacuum. The government resigned. Let's imagine that I was to resign. Who would ensure the continuity of power? "If I were to resign, one would need to organize elections right away. But the current situation in the country does not allow the organizations of such elections," he added. When asked about the investigation into the explosion, Aoun cited its complexity, saying it "won't be able to be finished very quickly as we wished it to." The President added that he has asked the judicial council to supervise the probe and called for an "independent magistrate" to investigate. The massive blast that hit Lebanon's capital on August 4 damaged much of the city and sparked violent protests against the authorities. Less than a week after the explosion, Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab described it as a "disaster beyond measure" during an address in which he announced his resignation and that of his government. In his speech, Diab took aim at Lebanon's ruling political class for fostering what he called "an apparatus of corruption bigger than the state" and said his government had chosen "to stand with the people" by stepping down. While suggesting that members of his Cabinet had "fought valiantly and with dignity," he added: "Between us and change is big powerful barrier." Lebanon had already been struggling economically in the months before the blast, with its currency losing approximately 70% of its value since last October and the World Bank forecasting that half of its population would become poor in 2020. Last weekend, the international community pledged around $300 million in aid to Lebanon during a donors' conference hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and attended by US President Donald Trump and other heads of state. This story was first published on CNN.com, "Lebanese President says it's 'impossible' for him to resign following Beirut's deadly blast." BOSTON The state Senate has approved a bill to officially dissolve Hampshire Council of Governments, and transfer the agencys former employees and retirees to the state retirement system. This legislation was referred, by the Senate, to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee for action on June 4, the same date it was filed. It is currently pending. Hampshire County Retirement System has been the agency administering pensions to Council retirees, that number about 60. Unless this legislation is approved by both houses and signed into law by Gov. Charlie Baker, the HCRS will continue to pay pensions to the Council retirees even though the agency lacks employees paying into it. It is funded by the three dozen units cities, towns, housing authorities, fire districts and school districts whose pensions the organization administers. Because of myriad financial challenges, the Council last year said it was going out of business, but until it is abolished by the legislature, it remains a legal entity. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary and as further specified in this act, persons who are active members of the Hampshire County Retirement System as of the effective date of this act, persons who are inactive members of the Hampshire County Retirement System as of the effective date of this act who were last employed by the Hampshire council of governments and persons who are receiving a retirement or survivor benefit from the Hampshire County Retirement System as of the effective date of this act, who were last employed by and retired from the Hampshire council of governments and who are otherwise eligible for membership in the state employees retirement system, shall be transferred to the state employees retirement system as of the effective date of this section and shall be subject to the rules and regulations of the state employee retirement system, the 17-section proposed legislation says at section 14. All transfers to the state employee retirement system under section 14 shall be completed not later than January 1, 2021, the bill states. A year ago, Hampshire county retirement board at request of Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton spend $1,500 to calculate an estimate of the Councils pension liability of the Hamphire Council of Governments. That estimated amount came to $5.9 million. The legislation to dissolve the Council and transfer pension liabilities to the state includes a section authorizing payment of $46,515 to settle a workers compensation claim by a former employee. The Council, which has now been out of business more than a year, had made its home at the old Courthouse, 99 Main St. in Northampton. When formed two decades ago, the state deeded the courthouse and the former Hampshire County nursing home to the new agency. The Council sold the nursing facility in Leeds for $3.6 million in 2009. Repairing and updating the 22,203-square-foot courthouse that sits on a 0.78-acre plot downtown would cost an estimated $11.3 million, according to a state study, which said it would be cheaper to replace it that estimate is $10 million. Legislation, already approved, deeded the courthouse back to the state, and transferred the health insurance function and costs of Council of Government retirees from Hampshire County Group Insurance Trust to the states Group Insurance Commission To respond to the coronavirus, our state legislators have made millions of dollars available for relief efforts and issued sweeping mandates to support social distancing, demonstrating their will to take bold action to protect the health of Pennsylvanians. And yet it remains legal in Pennsylvania for health insurers to alter a patients coverage in the middle of the plan year, leaving those who are locked into their policies with nowhere to turn for help during one of the most challenging moments in our nations recent history. This dangerous and little-known practice is called non-medical switching, and Pennsylvania lawmakers have not yet acted to address it, despite the fact that it can have serious implications for patients. I know this firsthand, because when my insurer tried to non-medically switch me, I nearly lost access to the only medication that helps me manage my rheumatoid arthritis. READ MORE: I lost my health insurance when I got laid off during the pandemic. How can I get coverage? That is why I am calling on the state legislature to send House Bill 853, which will end non-medical switching in Pennsylvania and protect patients access to their prescriptions, to Governor Wolfs desk for his signature. More than ten years ago, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an inflammatory autoimmune disease that causes severe swelling and pain in my joints and also affects my eyes, heart, and lungs. Because of my condition, I had to retire early and give up hobbies I loved, including swimming, biking, and competing in triathlons. Living in constant pain took a toll on my mental and emotional health as well. I have experienced increased anxiety and depression because of whats happening to my body. It took years of work with my doctor to find a medicine that reduced my pain and allowed me to lead a normal life, and the prescription that my doctor chose is the only thing that limits the pain caused by my RA. My story is not unique. For many patients with a chronic condition, finding a treatment plan that stabilizes their health can require trial and error. RA is the most common form of autoimmune arthritis, affecting more than 1.3 million Americans, including thousands of our fellow Pennsylvanians. Last year, my insurance company non-medically switched me in a way that blocked access to my prescription. Thankfully, my physician quickly intervened, and I was able to stay on my treatment plan. But others in Pennsylvania with similar chronic health conditions may not be so fortunate. READ MORE: Q&A: What can I do to limit joint pain from arthritis? Non-medical switching can cause serious health and financial problems. When insurers change their formulary coverage, copay costs can skyrocket without warning, forcing patients to choose between staying on their prescriptions and living within their means. Epilepsy patients who lose access to their medication because of non-medical switching can experience a recurrence of seizures which can threaten their job security and their life. Other patients may have to visit the doctors office more frequently, or even the ER. For patients who depend on a medication to keep their health stable, it is frightening to receive a letter that says you have to change your treatment plan or pay more out-of-pocket for your current prescription. Its even scarier to receive the news that your plan has changed at the pharmacy counter. Like so many Pennsylvanians, I carefully evaluate health plans to pick the one that allows me to afford my treatments. But any insurance company I choose can change its obligation to me on a whim, while I cannot do the same. I live in fear to this day that my benefits could be pulled out from underneath me at any moment, and because of the coronavirus pandemic, I am more afraid than ever of losing coverage for my medication and of unpredictable changes to my budget. Its upsetting and unethical. House Bill 853 would end this insurance practice once and for all, and its time for lawmakers to take it up. This bill is a simple solution to ban non-medical switching that supports Pennsylvanians who rely on certain treatments to manage a chronic health condition those who are most at risk of the effects of coronavirus. No one should have to worry about their insurance coverage changing at any time especially people who depend on a prescription to live a normal life, and especially during a global pandemic. If I cant change my health plan to save money in the middle of the year, insurers shouldnt be able to either. Tien Sydnor-Campbell is a volunteer patient advocate and member of the Global Healthy Living Foundations 50-State Network. She has been a resident of Philadelphia for 19 years. 17 Aug 2020, 10:16 AM COVID-19 fallout: Japan's economy contracts at record pace, GDP declines 27.8% Japan was hit by its biggest economic contraction on record in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed consumption and exports, keeping policy makers under pressure for bolder action to prevent a deeper recession. The third straight quarter of declines knocked the size of real gross domestic product (GDP) to decade-low levels, wiping out the benefits brought by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "Abenomics" stimulus policies deployed in late 2012. Railways generates over 5.5 lakh man-days of work under Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyaan Indian Railways has generated more than 5.5 lakh man-days of work under the Garib Kalyan Rozgar Abhiyan in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Around 165 railway infrastructure projects are being executed in these states worth Rs 2,988 crore. German anti-trust watchdog launches investigation against Amazon Germany's anti-trust authority has launched an investigation into Amazon's relationship with third-party traders selling on its site. Germany is Amazon's second-biggest market after the United States. During the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many stores were closed and shoppers flocked online, there had been complaints that Amazon had blocked some traders because of allegedly overly high prices. Facebook introduces TikTok-like short video feature Ever since the short video format of TikTok became an international sensation, social media companies have tried to introduce a similar format on their platforms. After Instagram Reels, Facebook is now testing a new TikTok-like feature that shows short videos in the app's news feed section. Like TikTok, the videos will open in vertical format and users can swipe up to watch the next video. COVID-19 impact: Steel demand to nosedive significantly in FY21, says N Chandrasekaran Steel demand is expected to decline significantly in 2020-21 in line with a projected contraction in the global economy due to the impact of coronavirus pandemic, Tata Steel has said in its annual report. Most of the steel producing regions are expected to witness a decline in crude steel output due to production cuts amidst ongoing lockdowns, Tata Steel said. USFDA okays saliva-based test for quick COVID-19 detection The US health watchdog has authorised the emergency use of a new saliva-based laboratory diagnostic test for Covid-19 that could be a game changer in the diagnosis of the infection as it will enable rapid testing amongst more people easily. Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drugs Administration Commissioner, said the new saliva test would increase efficiency and avoid shortage of crucial test components like reagents. KALAMAZOO, MI At least eight of 10 individuals said to have been arrested during Saturdays Proud Boys rally and counter-protests in Kalamazoo have had charges dismissed by city or county officials. Charges were dropped Sunday afternoon for all five individuals arrested for allegedly violating city ordinances, City Attorney Clyde Robinson told MLive Monday, Aug. 18. All five, Robinson said, had been arrested Saturday for obstructing or impeding police by failing to clear a police zone. Of those arrested, the city attorney said three were white males and two were Black males. Three were from Kalamazoo, one was from Portage and one from Grand Rapids, he said. One of the Black males was MLive reporter Samuel Robinson, who was covering the event as a credentialed member of the media. City officials later apologized for Robinsons arrest. Related: Charge dropped against MLive reporter, chief apologizes for arrest at Kalamazoo protest The city attorney said based on the reports he reviewed from Saturdays incident he could not confirm for certain whether the other four who were arrested were affiliated with the Proud Boys group, but Robinson said he did not believe they were. Kalamazoo Public Safety Chief Karianne Thomas also said at a Sunday afternoon press conference that she did not believe any of the individuals arrested Saturday were affiliated with the Proud Boys. In addition to the five individuals arrested for allegedly violating city ordinances, Thomas said Sunday that five others were arrested and are potentially facing more serious criminal charges being reviewed by the county prosecutors office. Thomas said those charges included malicious destruction of property, resisting and obstructing arrest and felonious assault. Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting told MLive Monday that his office only received three cases to review and he was not aware of any others that were in the process of being submitted to his office. On Sunday, the prosecutors office reviewed charging requests for three people, two adults and one juvenile, related to the Saturday protest/counter-protest, Getting said. No charges were authorized at at that time against any of the three. Getting said all three of the individuals were residents of Kalamazoo County, two of them white males and one a Black male. He did not provide further information on the three individuals as no charges were authorized against them. I certainly believe that the police are continuing to investigate what happened on Saturday and that there could be additional charging requests that come out of the investigation, Getting said. As Chief Thomas described and Im sure everyone is aware, theres a substantial amount of video evidence that was recorded by the media as well as other citizens documenting what happened. Messages into Thomas for further comment were not immediately returned Monday. Kalamazoo resident Adam Danis, who had a charge against him dismissed by the Kalamazoo County Prosecutors Office, spoke with MLive Monday morning about his arrest Saturday. Danis, who said he was jailed for more than 20 hours prior to his release on Sunday, said he was told he was arrested for throwing a rock at a car, which he stated he did not do. He said he was told about two hours before his release that his charges would be dismissed. The SWAT team didnt show up until (the Proud Boys) were gone and there was only one kind of protester left to go after, Danis said. If they had done nothing for another five minutes, the crowd would have dispersed on its own. It was basically over. It felt like they gave one side a chance to get out of the way so they could just intimidate the other side. Thomas said Sunday she understood the criticisms and concerns from Kalamazoo residents and that police were doing what they could to get the Proud Boys out of town. Both she and Mayor David Anderson asked if anyone had video of assaults that occurred during the days events, or had been assaulted, to reach out to Kalamazoo Public Safety so those incidents could be investigated. People can contact Kalamazoo Public Safety at 269-488-8911 or Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 or www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com. Also on MLive: Police chief says Proud Boys completed their mission by causing chaos in downtown Kalamazoo Rally turns violent as Proud Boys met by counter-protesters in downtown Kalamazoo MLive reporter arrested while covering violent Proud Boys rally released from police custody Head of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) in Minsk and First Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk has said he is ready to acknowledge the Minsk process as unpromising if Russia refuses to accept Ukraine's concessions for Donbas. "I'm listening closely to all Russians: the president, the foreign minister, Kozak, and Gryzlov. I can feel that they want peace in Donbas. I can feel that. I cannot guarantee that I've understood every detail or, pardon me, that I've looked into the souls of every one of them. But I think Russia is also tired of this war, and Russian mothers whose sons die in Donbas cry as bitterly as Ukrainian mothers do. So, the war must not continue. It must end with peace," Kravchuk said in an interview with the Sehodnia (Today) newspaper, which was published on Monday. The head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG said he would have enough courage to declare negotiations unpromising in such a format. "If we feel at some point, and I allow for the possibility that they don't want any concessions to be made, if we demonstrate our readiness and they say 'no' [...] well, in that case, I will at least have enough courage, strength, and will to say: we have done all we could consistent with Ukrainian legislation, the Constitution, and international law, but we haven't been listened to, so I can see that the Minsk process has no future. We will start seeking other possibilities," Kravchuk said. Kravchuk added that he would resign as the head of the Ukrainian delegation to the TCG in that case. "Absolutely. I won't stay there and pretend as if I, or Ukraine, aren't doing anything. Pardon me, but I won't be the person who formally executes someone else's will. I won't bow to anyone. I'll tell the truth, and people will see it," he said. Russia's demand that a special status for the certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions be formalized in the Ukrainian Constitution does not correspond to any international documents and will not be supported by the Verkhovna Rada, Kravchuk said. "If Russia really thinks, and if it seriously wants us to make these changes to the Constitution, here's the question that I have to ask: how can a democratic country, and we are definitely on a path toward democracy, ask the parliament to vote for that? I know that three factions [European Solidarity, Holos, and Batkivschyna] won't vote. I also know for sure that even some deputies of Servant of the People, especially those elected by the majoritarian system, may refuse to vote. Not to mention that this doesn't correspond to any international documents in its content," Kravchuk said. The number of votes necessary to formalize the special status of the certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the Constitution "isn't even close" in parliament, he said. SEA BRIGHT, N.J., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Long Time Sea Bright resident, Cathy Bevilacqua, has launched her first Mystery Novel. Bevilacqua began writing Sincerely Yours, while anchored on the river in a quiet cove in NJ. Witness how a deranged serial killer, whose mindset is stuck in the 50s, wreaks havoc searching endlessly for his long-lost sister by reaping the lives of innocent souls. Cathy Bevilacqua's First Novel, Sincerely Yours, A Murder Mystery at the Jersey Shore www.sincerelyyoursnovel.com Digital Book Pre-Order Special Offer Until August 31, 2020 Digital Pre-Order Special Price of $.99, reg price $2.99 Paperback print version $12.99 Please visit our trusted retailer Amazon listing page by clicking the link below: Amazon.com He kept a souvenir from all of themSue, Mary, Jeana little token to bring back the memories of their screams, their terror. What would Melinda have to offer? Lester wondered. She was so innocent, so protected, living alone with her widowed mother in a deserted seaside town. After his estranged mother died, Lester inherited the Loon Lake Inn along with her dying wish that he restore The Inn to its original grandeur and fill it with glamorous guests. But she'd never intended for those guests to be the girls her delusional son abducted in his desperate search for his sister, Laura. Despite Lester's efforts, the Loon Lake Inn would never be completely occupiednot with the frequency of turnovers, a terrifying result of the inevitable failure of the abductees to live up to Lester's expectations...none of them had even remotely resembled Laura. Could Melinda be the one? Though her best friend had recently gone missing, Melinda had no idea that her own life was in danger and that even while she slept, someone was watchingand waiting. And he had already begun to gain her trust. About the Author Growing up at the Jersey Shore, Cathy Bevilacqua loves the beach and is an avid boater. After graduating from Rutgers as a member of the National Honor Society, she has now retired from the corporate world to pursue her next career, writing. Look for Bevilacqua's second book, Judge Me, that takes a hard look at the failures of the Criminal Justice System when a Serial Killer devolves and takes justice into his own hands. Bevilacqua now splits her time writing between the east coast of Florida and the Jersey Shore. Website: www.sincerelyyoursnovel.com Contact: John Dunn Phone: 888-442-8812 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Cathy Bevilacqua 'Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz ordered the closure of the fishing zone off the Gaza coast "until further notice" yesterday.' Photo: Getty Images Tensions have risen in the Gaza Strip after the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) carried out air attacks against Hamas positions. The attacks were made after rockets and makeshift firebombs were sent into Israeli territory on Saturday night, Israel's military said. The IDF said two more rockets were fired from the Strip yesterday morning, but both were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome defence system. Israeli defence minister Benny Gantz ordered the closure of the fishing zone off the Gaza coast "until further notice" yesterday. Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade against the territory since Hamas took power in 2007, and often close the fishing zone as a punitive response to unrest. Israeli forces have carried out a number of night-time air strikes over the past week against targets associated with Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. The IDF said combat helicopters and tanks had hit a number of Hamas targets, including observation sites and underground infrastructure. No casualties were reported in the latest escalation of violence. A landmark peace agreement signed between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has stoked tensions in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The Palestinian leadership called the deal a "betrayal", and Palestinians held protests against it in Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Abu Dhabi has portrayed the deal - which was supported by some other regional states, such as Egypt - as a boon to the Palestinian cause, given that it requires that Israel put on hold plans to annex large parts of the West Bank. However, the US ambassador to Israel said Israel had not abandoned its annexation plans. "It's not off the table, it's just something that will be deferred until we give peace every single chance," David Friedman said. ( Daily Telegraph) Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021] In this screenshot from the DNCC's livestream of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, actress and activist Eva Longoria (L) introduces Former First Lady Michelle Obama to address the virtual convention.; (DNCC via Getty Images) Is it actually a national political convention if nobody convenes? We are about to find out. The four-night Democratic National Convention gets underway today in cyberspace. Plans for tens of thousands of delegates, reporters and assorted other political junkies to assemble in Milwaukee for the event were scrapped amid concerns about spreading the coronavirus. Even presumptive nominees Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris of California won't venture to Wisconsin, opting instead to deliver their acceptance speeches from a locked-down convention hall near Bidens Delaware home. No crowds, no hordes of delegates waving signs and no massive drop of balloons at the finale. Does that mean no convention bounce? Party leaders hope not. They argue that this event will be more inclusive, not less. The live audience may be gone, but so too are the high-dollar fundraisers, swarms and gobs of corporate money bankrolling the proceedings. Finally, a convention for the people. And all they had to do was tell the people not to come. Heres what to look for. Will the networks stick with it? There hasnt been a contested convention in some time, and commercial network executives have griped about the lack of drama almost every four years. This year could be worse. For example, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks on the opening night Monday, but there's no chance of the sort of ruckus his disappointed delegates might have caused in a packed convention hall. Similarly, the scattered protests that erupted recently at the news that Republican John Kasich, the former Ohio governor, also would speak Monday won't be heard at a virtual convention. If viewers don't stick around for this year's entire broadcast, the networks could bail on big chunks of it. But the cable networks will likely stay tuned. Democrats plan a mix of programming. While scripted speeches delivered in quiet rooms may have limited appeal, Democrats also promise slick videos to grab viewers during the broadcasts (from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific each night). Story continues Generation gap: Biden's choice of Harris as his vice presidential running mate fused some much-needed vigor and diversity onto a Democratic ticket headed by a 77-year-old white man who has been in politics longer than half the voters have been alive. But the lineup of speakers does not exactly scream new guard at a time when the party is desperate to energize young voters. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco). Former presidential nominee, senator and secretary of state John F. Kerry. Bill and Hillary Clinton. Even Sanders, the marquee speaker representing progressives, is a 78-year-old who has suffered two heart attacks. A 45-year-old former rival to Biden for the Democratic nomination Julian Castro, the former housing secretary didnt even make the lineup. Can the megastar Obamas Michelle on Monday; the former president on Wednesday and 30-year-old Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx stir up enough enthusiasm among millennials and Generation Zers to make them feel this is their party, too? Ideological bookends: Unlike the Republican Party, which plays wholly to the political right wing, Democratic Party leaders will make the widest possible appeal, balancing speakers from the left end of the party to at least one Republican, Kasich. The grumbling about his high-profile speaking slot reflects his notoriety among many Democrats as an anti-abortion Republican who worked to undermine their agenda for much of his career. But Kasich, now a Never Trumper, built his coalition in Ohio around the moderate suburban swing-voters who are crucial to Democrats winning back key states in the Midwest. His presence is a signal that there is a place for those voters in the party. And the virtual format will allow him to telegraph that message without those watching hearing the boos from left-wing party activists at private watch parties. Breakout star? Conventions can be an opportunity to showcase an up-and-coming star of the party. Barack Obamas 2004 keynote speech electrified the convention hall and the nation, launching the young Illinois state legislator out of obscurity and onto the path of becoming leader of the free world, and one of the most popular politicians of the era. Would the speech have been so effective had it been delivered to a near-empty room? No Democratic convention speaker has replicated the magic of that address. This cycle, the speakers may not even try there will be no single keynote; 17 speeches from party up-and-comers will take its place. But at least they could have low expectations on their side. Hope and change? Or just hope for a return to normalcy? Its a convention, if only a virtual one, so the partys big themes will come up a lot. Some progressives will talk about a Green New Deal, and others will push Medicare for all, though Biden has stopped short of fully endorsing the initiatives. He has kept his campaign simple from the start, pushing a mantra of restoring the soul of America and presenting himself as the steady hand who can guide the nation through the pandemic, the resulting recession and the movement for racial justice. His muted demeanor has served him well over recent months; President Trump has made one unforced error after another, and the polls steadily moved in Bidens favor. Can he just cruise through the convention? Biden has been around for so long, maybe he doesnt need an introduction or reboot most voters already know what hes about. Yet many, especially younger voters, do not. The "convention" is meant to introduce him, as well as Harris, who's little known beyond California, to the country, and to power the campaign for the final sprint to Nov. 3. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-16 20:34:34|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANOI, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 infection on Sunday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 962 along with one more death from the disease, according to the country's Ministry of Health. Among the newly confirmed cases, three have recently returned to Vietnam from abroad and were quarantined upon arrival while the rest were recorded in Vietnam's Da Nang city and capital city Hanoi, said the ministry. The new cases included those reportedly in contact with people confirmed to be infected with COVID-19, a patient and a patient's caregiver at Da Nang Hospital in Da Nang city, where a number of COVID-19 cases have been reported, according to the ministry. The ministry also confirmed that one more COVID-19 patient had died, bringing the death toll in the country to 24 as of Sunday, noting that the 82-year-old woman had underlying medical conditions. As many as 456 patients have recovered from the disease while there are over 107,600 people being quarantined and monitored in the country as of Sunday, according to the health ministry. Enditem During the coronavirus pandemic, online job interviews have become commonplace. Martin-DM | E+ | Getty Images When IT support analyst Nick J Lancaster was made redundant in April due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, he felt hurt and shocked. "My manager said, in just a few words, that due to Covid-19, I was being let go and that was my last day. I was to return all equipment to the office," he told CNBC by email. "I felt I had earned more from my service than just a clinical dismissal phone call. It all happened so quickly," he said. Lancaster had been with his employer for 17 years. But, later that day, he set to work finding a new job. Back in 2003, the last time he was looking for work, the process was simpler. "I saw an ad in the newspaper, wrote to the company, went to an interview and usually got the job in that first meeting," he stated. Making applications during the pandemic turned out to be an arduous task, especially with more candidates competing for fewer roles. "Every day I would get up at 5am and read through the automated job listings I'd been sent. On average I received four or five listings. Each listing contained perhaps 15 positions and usually there were just one or two that I could apply to. For the next several hours I would apply for those jobs," Lancaster explained. He would submit his resume and fill out long application forms; he even created a spreadsheet to track each role he had applied for. Personal branding To boost his chances, Lancaster asked for feedback on his resume from peers and revamped his personal website to show his capabilities. "I learned about 'personal branding' and had a brand logo designed that I could use on all my correspondence and applications. I even had a freelance BBC presenter record a short promotional video for me that I put on my website and LinkedIn," he told CNBC. Four months and 200 job applications later, Lancaster landed a senior-level IT role at a heavy-equipment manufacturer in the U.S. Midwest. And while much of the application process was similar to how it was before the pandemic, Lancaster has this tip for video interviews: "Always look at and talk to the camera. Don't look at the screen. You want to make eye contact with your interviewer, just as in a physical interview." He added that dressing appropriately and checking what is behind you to make sure it doesn't distract the hirer are also important. Interviewing remotely means it can also be harder to get a sense of what a company's culture is like. But Mike Hudy, chief science officer at recruitment platform Modern Hire, says asking pertinent questions via video call can help. "Paying attention to how hiring managers answer your questions can give you a great deal of insight into the company's culture, how they operate, how success is defined, and which traits matter most," he told CNBC via email. He also advocates rehearsing responses before the interview and logging on to video calls early to avoid any technical glitches. Remote roles Starting a new role remotely can also be a strange experience. When Lisa Roscoe landed a senior-level job at London-based ad agency Isobel in February, she had no idea she would be joining the company in a pandemic and would be working from home for the foreseeable future. Weeks of lockdown turned into months employers were able to ask staff to return to workplaces from August 1 in England, but many firms still have staff working from home. Despite this, Roscoe said she feels part of the company. "Now, it feels as if I have been working with these people forever," she stated. Video calls with clients weren't a problem for Roscoe, who was used to these before the outbreak; the harder part was getting to know colleagues. She overcame this by talking to co-workers, asking whether they preferred to communicate via email or phone, for example. "There's no rulebook, or induction document or onboarding that can give you that information." Virtual drinks and games, a comedy evening via video and regular updates from the agency's founders have helped Roscoe settle in. Her advice for those starting a client-facing job remotely? "I would say, not to kind of worry too much about the business side of it in your first week. Try and set up calls and talk to everyone more on a personal level." Public relations executive Michael Phillips accepted a job at London agency Velvet in February, but when the pandemic hit the U.K. in March, he was concerned the offer might be rescinded. Fortunately, that wasn't the case and he started his new role in April, working entirely from home due to lockdown restrictions. Scientists remember 'Koni' Steffen, glaciologist who died after fall into crevasse in Greenland Posted on 17 August 2020 by Bud Ward This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections If, as they say, passing on aka dying is best when it comes doing the thing they most enjoyed and loved doing, then Konrad Steffen did it the right way, his way. One of the worlds leading Greenland ice scientists, the 68-year-old Koni (pronounced as in Connie) Steffen died in early August after falling into an ice crevasse near Illuissat in Greenland. For more than three decades, he had conducted ambitious research projects on enormous ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland. The Swiss-born and, as the Washington Posts Matt Schudel described him, charismatic Steffen had led students on annual research trips to Greenland, often doing so during his tenure with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Studies, or CIRES, at the University of Colorado in Boulder. At the time of his death he was a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. A respected climate change educator and communicator, he was also effective in speaking with policymakers and the general public on issues on which his expertise was unquestioned. He earned respect from other top climatologists and glaciologists. Konis passing is very unfortunate and a great loss to the global glaciological community, said Ohio State Universitys Lonnie Thompson. Koni was deeply passionate about glaciers and ice sheets, especially Greenland, and the critical roles they play in Earths climate system. If Koni had to choose where to depart this life, Greenland would have been at the top of his list. Huge loss. He was a towering figure in our field. Hard to tell even where to begin, said Richard Alley of Penn State. His leadership portfolio was spectacular. He was an outstanding advisor to students, with a remarkable group of advisees carrying on the work (Waleed Abdalati, Atsu Muto, Julienne Stroeve, Jason Box ). He served at multiple levels, internationally (IPCC, etc.), nationally, professionally, at the university level, and more. Steffen was a gifted communicator and provided extensive information to policymakers and the general public, Alley continued. His research was world-leading. He enabled an amazing range of important research by others. Steffen was especially dedicated to learning what is happening to ice, especially in Greenland, but also elsewhere including other parts of the Arctic, Canadian Arctic islands, China, and more. He wanted to get it right, providing truly accurate, reliable data and interpretations, Alley said. And, once he knew, for sure, what was happening, he made that information useful and actionable for policymakers, the general public, and other professionals. MINSK, Belarus (AP) Workers heckled and jeered President Alexander Lukashenko on Monday as he visited a factory and strikes grew across Belarus, raising the pressure on the authoritarian leader to step down after 26 years in power. On the ninth straight day of mass protests over the official results of the Aug. 9 presidential election that demonstrators say was rigged, Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in the capital of Minsk to rally support, but he was met by angry workers chanting, Go away! He told the workers: I will never cave in to pressure. Lukashenko said the country could have a new presidential election, but only after approving an amended version of its constitution in a nationwide referendum an apparent bid to buy some time amid the growing political crisis. The proposal didn't assuage thousands of protesters who again converged on the capital's main Independence Square in the evening to continue pushing for Lukashenko to step down. We don't want any new constitutions or referendums. We want Lukashenko's resignation, said 45-year-old factory worker Dmitry Averkin. The faster he steps down, the sooner the country comes back to normal life. Lukashenko told the factory workers that those who intend to strike could leave if they want, but he added that the protests are ruining the economy and said the country would collapse if he steps down. Some of you might have got the impression that the government no longer exists, that it has tumbled down. The government will never collapse, you know me well," the 65-year-old former state farm director shouted. As he spoke, over 5,000 striking workers from the Minsk Tractor Plant marched down the streets of the city, joining an increasing number of state-controlled factories across the nation of 9.5 million in walking off the job. Miners at the huge potash factory in Soligorsk also said they were joining the strike. The giant Belaruskali factory that accounts for a fifth of the world's potash fertilizer output is the nation's top cash earner. Story continues The strikes follow a brutal dispersal of peaceful, post-election demonstrations last week with rubber bullets, tear gas, clubs and stun grenades. At least 7,000 were detained by riot police, with many complaining they were beaten mercilessly. One protester was killed and hundreds were wounded. The workers want Lukashenko to give way to Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the leading opposition candidate in the election. Lukashenko is a former president. He needs to go, said Sergei Dylevsky, the leader of the protest at the Minsk Tractor Plant, adding that Tsikhanouskaya is "our president, legitimate and elected by the people. Dylevsky voiced concern that the iron-fisted leader's weekend telephone calls with Russian President Vladimir Putin could herald an attempt by the country's giant eastern neighbor to send in troops to prop up Lukashenko. We don't want that, and we won't let that happen, he said. Many protesters shared fears of a Russian invasion. If Lukashenko indeed cherishes our independence and sovereignty as he said, he needs to step down not to give Russia a pretext for invading the country, said 52-year-old protester Alexander Lobkovich. Im afraid that the Kremlin has such plans ready. Lukashenko spoke twice with Putin over the weekend and reported the Russian leader told him Moscow stands ready to provide support in the face of what he described as foreign aggression. He claimed that NATO nations are beefing up military forces on the border with Belarus a claim the alliance rejected. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg reaffirmed Monday that the alliance has no military buildup in the region. We remain vigilant, strictly defensive, and ready to deter any aggression against NATO allies, he said. Lithuanian officials pointed at a military exercise Belarus abruptly launched near the borders of Lithuania and Poland on Monday and warned about worrying signs that Russia might be planning to use the situation to take over Belarus. If they consider just incorporating the country in a simple way, the consequences would be unpredictable," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said. Alexander Klaskovsky, an independent Minsk-based political analyst, said the conversations with Putin may reflect the Kremlin mulling support for Lukashenko in exchange for his consent for a closer union between the two nations, which the Belarusian leader has resisted in the past. Russia understands Lukashenko's weakness and is preparing its own scenario, which could envisage a deep integration in exchange for military assistance, Klaskovsky said. Asked about the situation in Belarus as he left the White House, President Donald Trump called it terrible. "Well be following it very closely, he said. The official results of the election gave Lukashenko 80% of the votes and Tsikhanouskaya only 10%, but the opposition claimed the outcome was falsified. Tsikhanouskaya has cited reports from precincts around the country showed her winning 60%-70% of the vote. The 37-year-old former teacher left for neighboring Lithuania on Aug. 11 under what her associates described as pressure from law enforcement officials. Her husband, an opposition blogger, has been jailed since May, and she had replaced him on the ballot. In a video statement on Monday, Tsikhanouskaya said she was prepared to step in. Im ready to take on the responsibility and act as a national leader in order for the country to calm down, return to its normal rhythm, in order for us to free all the political prisoners and prepare legislation and conditions for organizing new presidential elections, she said. After the police crackdown and reports of abuse provoked widespread anger, the authorities backed off, allowing big weekend protests and releasing many of the detainees. The Interior Ministry said that just 122 detainees were still in custody as of Monday, and crowds rallied outside a prison in Minsk to press for their release. The Health Ministry said 158 people remain hospitalized with injuries after the crackdown. Huge crowds turned out Saturday to pay their respects to Alexander Taraikovsky, a protester who died Aug. 10. The authorities initially claimed he died when an explosive device he intended to throw at police blew up in his hands, but Associated Press video showed that he had no explosive when he fell on the ground, his shirt bloodied. His partner, Elena German, said his body had a perforation in his chest that she believes was a bullet wound. Interior Minister Yuri Karayev stepped back from the official version Sunday, acknowledging that Taraikovsky might have been killed by a rubber bullet. German told The Associated Press on Monday that she will push for an independent investigation into what she described as his killing at point-blank range. On Sunday, an estimated 200,000 people filled the central Independence Square and nearby avenues in the largest protest the country has ever seen. In Brussels, European Council President Charles Michel said an emergency summit of EU leaders would convene Wednesday to discuss the election and crackdown. The people of Belarus have the right to decide on their future and freely elect their leader," Michel tweeted. Violence against protesters is unacceptable and cannot be allowed. On Friday, the 27 EU foreign ministers underlined that the elections were neither free nor fair and decided to start drawing up a list of people who could face sanctions from the violence. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called on all Belarusians to address the post-election grievances through dialogue and to preserve peace in the country, and stressed that repression is not the answer, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Lukashenko to follow the path of talks, not to rely on violence but on dialogue. Polish President Andrzej Duda tweeted that he had a teleconference with his counterparts from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and that all four remain ready to support the political process that will implement the free will of the Belarusian people. - Associated Press writers Daria Litvinova and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow; Jill Colvin in Washington; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Liudas Dapkus in Vilnius, Lithuania; Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 01:17:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SKOPJE, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Health system in North Macedonia is preparing for worse COVID-19 scenarios, Health Minister Venko Filipce told local media on Sunday. According to him, a worse scenario means a large number of seasonal flu patients who will need hospitalization in the same health care units that are now used for COVID-19 patients. Filipce declared that the ministry has a plan for additional restrictions in regions with a big number of patients or with a potential risk that will be unveiled soon. One of the options, Filipce noted, is reinstatement of the curfew, closure of schools, bars and restaurants or a ban on gatherings. North Macedonia's authorities are preparing 16 COVID-19 centers and modular hospitals which should be operational in autumn. "No one can give an exact prediction, no country has had an autumn with the pandemic so far," he added. Filipce declared that health authorities have applied at the World Health Organization COVAX Facility, a global initiative that aims to enable all countries to access a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. "I believe the optimistic scenario would be a vaccine available at the onset of 2021," he said. On Sunday, the Health Ministry reported 87 new coronavirus cases and five COVID-19 related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total infections in the country to 12,739, with 9,174 recoveries and 544 fatalities. Enditem Eleven years on, the question on every lip is what is Boko Harams staying power? What does the insurgent group possesses that keeps it several steps ahead of soldiers of the Nigerian Army, their Cameroonian and Chadian partners and even American allies? Nigerians have lost count of how many times the Buhari administration claim, as the Goodluck Jonathan administration did, that Boko Haram has been defeated, a claim the insurgents often refute with deadly attack on vulnerable communities. As the grim statistics generated by the insurgency keeps growing 27,000 deaths, two million people displaced, 17 billion infrastructural damages according to some analysts so have the task to understand Boko Haram actors and enablers. As of 2019, more than 27 books have been published on the insurgency. In this crowded field of what one analyst calls Boko-Haramology, the trilogy edited by Abdul Raufu Mustapha Sects & Social Disorder, Creed & Grievance and Overcoming Boko Haram stand out for what another analyst describes as their magisterial authority. First published in 2014, Sects & Disorder studies the perceived Muslim-Christian divide in northern Nigeria as well as the polarization within the two faiths. Creed & Grievance followed in 2018, it presents an in-depth exploration of the overlap between ethnicity and religion interacted with the 1980s socio-political changes in northern Nigeria to produce the tension and conflict that have paralyzed the region and threatened national security. Scheduled for publication in 2020, Dr. Mustapha was hard at work on Overcoming Boko Haram when he passed in 2017. Dr. Kate Meagher completed the work timely and seamlessly, the book made it to shelves this past February. Premium Times Books has had the honour of publishing the Nigerian edition of all three books, the first two of which we launched in August 2018. In keeping with the demands of the COVID-19 era, we will host a webinar book presentation of Overcoming Boko Haram on August 19. Scheduled for 3:00 to 5:00pm (GMT+1), it will feature Dr. Kate Meagher, Professor Kyari Mohammed, Dr. Abdourahmane Idrissa and Dr. Fatima Akilu. Discussion will move from a broad overview of the book to analysis of the Boko Haram insurgency to examine the wider social and political processes that explain why Boko Haram emerged when and where it did, and what levers exist within society to contain it. Below is short bio of speakers at the event. Professor Kyari Mohammed Professor of History and vice-chancellor, Nigerian Army University, Biu. Dr Kate Meagher Associate Professor at the Department of International Development, London School of Economics. Her research focuses on the role of the informal economy in development, conflict resolution and institutional change, with particular focus on Africa. Dr Abdourahmane Idrissa Senior Researcher at the African Studies Centre of Leiden University. His research interests cover the politics of Islam in West Africa, history of the Sahel and political theory of governance as it pertains to West Africa. Dr Fatima Akilu Has extensive experience in forensic diagnosis of mentally retarded women, violent offenders and sex offenders. She is presently executive director of Neem Foundation and author of 17 childrens books. The discussion will be moderated by Ladi Olorunyomi, the director of Premium Times Books and head of Premium Times U.S. Bureau. Ashok Leyland is ready to increase its footprint in the global market, says its Chairman Dheeraj G. Hinduja. In his message to the shareholders, in the commercial vehicle major's Annual Report, he said that it is now the opportune time for Indian original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to showcase their manufacturing prowess and seek a global position. Hinduja said: "With AVTR and the upcoming LCV range, I would like to mention with reasonable confidence that your company is ready to expand its presence in India and multiple overseas markets. "I strongly believe that now is the opportune time for Indian OEMs like Ashok Leyland to move, without inhibition, and seek a global position by showcasing our manufacturing prowess and demonstrating the products of global standards of quality and reliability." Further, the Hinduja Group company would also continue to position mobility products and solutions in an accelerated manner, being one of the largest providers of logistic vehicles to the country's armed forces, he added. "We should be seeing the benefits of our plans and efforts before long," he said. On business operations amid the pandemic, Hinduja said that the management of Ashok Leyland has taken the opportunity of the last few months to re-examine the business and operating models without any presumptions. "Upon a clinical assessment of the short-term and long-term prospects, a series of initiatives have been set in motion to reconfigure the company aimed at sustainable growth while minimising the adverse impact of economic cycles," he said. Looking ahead, Hinduja said that the long-term outlook for the sector continues to remain positive, with the current phase seen "only as an aberration". Photo: The Canadian Press Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who is out on bail and remains under partial house arrest. Lawyers for the chief financial officer of Chinese tech giant Huawei want the B.C. Supreme Court to order the release of more confidential documents in an extradition case thats soured relations between Ottawa and Beijing. Lawyers for the Attorney General of Canada are trying to block access to the documents that relate to Meng Wanzhou's arrest at Vancouver's airport in 2018, claiming legal privilege to keep the information confidential. The defence has received 400 documents, many of them heavily redacted, and the lawyers told a B.C. Supreme Court hearing today that they need the information to prove Meng's rights were violated when she was detained by border officials before being arrested by the RCMP. They argued that the alleged misconduct means privilege would not apply and told the court the Attorney General was also inconsistent in releasing some documents but not others, claiming the release of those documents implies a waiver of privilege for others that remain confidential. The United States wants Meng extradited to face fraud charges, alleging she violated American sanctions against Iran. Both Huawei and Meng deny the allegations. She is living at her home in Vancouver on bail and attended Mondays hearing by phone. Tens of thousands of people flooded the heart of the Belarus capital of Minsk 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 that protesters denounced as rigged. Crowds grew to more than 20,000, filling central Independence Square.Belarusian opposition supporters rally in the center of Minsk, Belarus. Opposition supporters whose protests have convulsed the country for a week aim to hold a major march in the capital of Belarus. Protests began late on Aug. 9 at the closing of presidential elections. (Image: AP) The Democratic Party platform expected to be approved by party leaders this week includes plans to ensure military pay keeps pace with civilian wages, provide new tax credits for caregivers of injured veterans, and rebalance our investments in the Defense Department to limit wasteful spending. The document also includes vows to root out systemic racism from our military justice system and fight the scourge of rape and sexual assault in our military as top national security priorities for the party for the next four years. The Republican and Democratic party platforms approved every four years as part of the presidential convention process are designed to be guiding principles for political leaders as they outline their visions for governing the country. Military Times questionnaire: Former Vice President Joe Biden Often the broad policies outlined in the documents draw criticism not just from partisan opponents but also individuals within the party. Earlier this week, several prominent Democratic House members said they would not sign onto the draft platform being circulated ahead of a vote this week, because of concerns that the partys health care plans do not offer enough support for all Americans. But the provisions on national security and veterans within the 80-page Democratic statement offer a look at how policy leaders and the Democratic presidential ticket plan to honor our sacred covenant with our women and men in uniform, our veterans, and our military families who have carried the burdens of wars. As they did in 2016, Democratic platform writers this year included pledges to protect the rights of gay and transgender service members, and to block efforts to privatize key responsibilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Democrats mentioned veterans suicide as a key challenge in their 2016 document but devoted an entire section to the topic this year, promising significant new investments in mental health and suicide prevention services. Story continues The party promises that they will keep the U.S. military as the best-trained, best-equipped, and most effective fighting force in the world, but also to bring our forever wars to a responsible end and rationalize our defense budget. That includes ending U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan, ending financial support for Saudi Arabias military actions in Yemen, and promoting less costly diplomatic, intelligence, and law enforcement tools as an alternative to continued defense funding increases. Rather than continuing to rely on legacy platforms that are increasingly exposed and vulnerable, Democrats support funding a more cost-effective, agile, flexible, and resilient force with modern transportation and logistics capabilities that can operate in more contested environments, the document states. Party leaders also put a heavier emphasis in the platform on providing for military families than purchasing military equipment. The document promises that military pay will keep pace with the current economy and that leaders will increase time between deployments, improve education options for military children, and develop better post-military transition programs. Plans also call for expanded tax credits for caregivers of injured veterans, though no specifics of that proposal were unveiled. The platform language takes several direct and indirect shots at President Donald Trump, blasting him by name for crass, craven, corrupt leadership and pledging not to issue commands by tweet or pardon war criminals, the latter a reference to a series of controversial moves last fall by Trump to intervene in decisions by military justice officials. Veterans suicide prevention plans take a big step forward, but still face tough political hurdles Democrats will hold regular press briefings to explain the legal and policy justifications for military operations, because transparency and open debate with Congress and the American public are necessary for democratic accountability, the platform states. Democrats will never use active duty soldiers as political props, and we will never send military forces to suppress Americans exercising their constitutional rights. Republicans will finalize their party platform next week, when the party hosts its own convention in advance of re-nominating Trump as their presidential candidate for this year. BANGALORE, India, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WI-FI ENABLED DEVICES SHIPMENT FORECAST, 2020-2024 The Wi-Fi enabled devices shipment reached 3.05 billion units in 2019, with a growth of 2.6% year-on-year. Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall shipment of consumer electronics products dropped, including Wi-Fi enabled devices. While smartphones will continue to be the key Wi-Fi-enabled devices, in the long run, the future of smart home appliances, wearables, and other W-Fi-enabled devices will be promising. This report provides an overview of Wi-Fi enabled device shipment performance over the period 2020-2024 and examines key trends observed over the years. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/MICR-Comp-1X20/global-wifi-enabled-devices Buy Now : https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=MICR-Comp-1X20&lic=single-user DEVELOPMENT OF GLOBAL SERVER BRANDS IN 5G ERA (PRE-ORDER) The growing adoption of 5G is, in turn, increasing the construction of new 5G networks. The integration of networks like SDN (Software-Defined Networks), network virtualization, edge computing, and white-box hardware is one of the primary elements for efficient implementation of 5G networks. Furthermore. Private network servers commonly used in the past by telecom operators are expected to be slowly replaced with general-purpose servers. This study offers an insight into the development of servers in the 5G telecommunications industry; discusses the implementation strategies of multinational server leaders, including Dell, HPE, Huawei, and Inspur, in telecommunications and explores their 5G product creation strategies. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/MICR-Semi-3P13/development-of-global-server Buy Now: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=MICR-Semi-3P13&lic=single-user 5G DEVELOPMENT IN KOREA, UNITED STATES, CHINA, EUROPE, AND JAPAN (PRE-ORDER) Major countries were initially planning to accelerate their deployment of 5G networks in 2020. However, the COVID-19 outbreak spread has led to lockdowns in multiple cities and has forced countries to slow down their 5G development. The pandemic has influenced the speed and pace of global 5 G commercialization. Some countries also announced the extension of 5G spectrum bidding plans, which have limited customer desire to embrace 5G. This study summarizes recent significant developments in 5 major regions, including Korea, the United States, China, Europe, and Japan, and analyzes potential impacts. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/MICR-Semi-2I18/5g-development-in-korea Buy Now: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=MICR-Semi-2I18&lic=single-user DEPLOYMENT OF CHINESE MOBILE PHONE BRANDS AND THEIR SUPPLY CHAINS IN INDIA (PRE-ORDER) Chinese smartphone brands are now aggressively tapping into overseas markets for new business ventures, courtesy the increase in competition and market saturation. One such strongly sought-after country is India, the world's second-largest smartphone market. The country is currently going through a rapid transition from 3G to 4G. Additionally, the government is attempting to commercialize 5G networks. The government of India is also introducing Make in India initiative with policies to attract foreign investment and encourage foreign companies to set up factories in the country. With this knowledge and an already strong foothold to their credit, Chinese brands are likely to build a local supply chain ecosystem in India. Due to the recent changes in the global market, cost considerations, and the adverse impact of the coronavirus outbreak, India is ascertained to be one of the potential central hubs for smartphone companies. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/MICR-Comm-3C11/deployment-of-chinese-mobile Buy Now: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=MICR-Comm-3C11&lic=single-user DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF MAJOR 5G CPE SUPPLIERS: HUAWEI, ZTE, NETGEAR, INSEEGO, AND SAMSUNG (PRE-ORDER) The global commercial launch of 5G in 2019 triggered the development of the 5G CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) market. Many in the mobile communications sector have drawn themselves attracted to this market. In this research, we have focused on five such leading suppliers of 5G CPE from China, the United States, and South Korea. The research also evaluates the product lineups and market presence of these suppliers, while shedding light on their progress in offering 5G services and other related major development trends and growth-hindering challenges. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/MICR-Comm-2I14/development-trends-of-major Buy Now: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=MICR-Comm-2I14&lic=single-user ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains detail research methodology employed to generate the report, Please also reach to our sales team to get the complete list of our data sources CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll-Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports SOURCE Valuates Reports Every hedge fund sector tracked by the Barclay Hedge Fund Indices was in positive territory for July. The hedge fund industry turned in a fourth consecutive positive month in July as stock markets continued strong performance contributed to a 2.76% return, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index, compiled by BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop Solutions. By comparison, the S&P 500 Total Return Index was up 5.64% in July and closed at an all-time month-end high. Year-to-date, the hedge fund industry moved back into the black, up 0.07%. The S&P 500 Total Return Index was up 2.39% over the same period. Every hedge fund sector tracked by the Barclay Hedge Fund Indices was in positive territory for July. Despite grim reminders in July that much work remains to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic both from a health and an economic perspective, markets took heart in surprising June job figures and remained hopeful of another round of government stimulus, said Sol Waksman, president of BarclayHedge. Coupled with expectations that central banks will continue to do whats necessary to support economic recovery, many investors were optimistic that the recovery will come sooner than previously expected. The Emerging Markets Asian Equities Index set the pace among hedge fund sectors in July with a 5.74% return. Other gainers included the Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index, up 5.70%, the Pacific Rim Equities Index, returning 5.57% and the Emerging Markets MENA Index, up 5.53%. For the year-to-date, hedge fund sectors were split between gainers and losers. Sectors in positive territory included the Technology Index, up 13.60%, the Volatility Trading Index, returning 11.99%, the Emerging Markets Global Fixed Income Index, up 10.62%, the Fixed Income Arbitrage Index, gaining 7.21%, and the Emerging Markets Asia Index, returning 5.53%. Sectors in the red for the year included the Emerging Markets Latin American Equities Index, off 12.95%, the Emerging Markets Eastern European Equities Index, losing 7.97%, the Emerging Markets MENA Index, down 7.19%, the Emerging Markets Global Equities Index, down 6.93%, and the Pacific Rim Equities Index, off 4.40%. For a complete table of BarclayHedge Hedge Fund and Sub-Index results for July, as well as historical returns, click here. About Backstop Solutions Backstops mission is to help the institutional investment industry use time to its fullest potential. We develop technology to simplify and streamline otherwise time-consuming tasks and processes, enabling our clients to quickly and easily access, share and manage the knowledge thats critical to their day-to-day business success. Backstop provides its industry-leading cloud-based productivity suite to investment consultants, pensions, funds of funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, private equity, hedge funds and real estate investment firms. BarclayHedge, a division of Backstop, currently maintains data on more than 7,000 hedge funds, funds of funds and CTAs. The BarclayHedge Indices are utilized by institutional investors, brokerage firms and private banks worldwide as performance benchmarks for the hedge fund and managed futures industries. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. Former FBI Director James Comey knew Carter Page was a CIA asset when he signed multiple FISA warrants to spy on Carter Page and candidate and President Trump. He knew this because Carter Page told him. Republican Representative Devin Nunes was on FOX Business with attorney Gregg Jarrett. In the interview Nunes noted a couple of important items related to the Durham investigation of the Deep State gang behind Obamagate, but at the 3:15 mark below, Jarrett said the following: Comey already knew Carter Page was an asset of the CIA. You know how I know this? Carter Page before the first FISA warrant application, he sent Comey a direct letter that said I work for the CIA. Im not a Russian spy. How do I know that? Because he gave me a copy of the letter, its in both of my books. Its also part of his Congressional testimony youll recall. So isnt it true that James Comey concealed this information from the FISA Court and perpetrated a fraud when he signed the FISA warrants? This is some shocking information that you would only know if you read Jarretts book. Clearly Comey committed a crime when he signed the FISA warrants to spy on Carter Page and the Trump Administration. He is in some real trouble. INCEPTION was first screened at cinemas 10 years ago, yet the ending still continues to baffle viewers. Its star Leonardo DiCaprio, the Oscar-winning actor who plays the professional thief Dom Cobb in the film, has also admitted that he, too, has struggled to put his finger on it. He said that the actors on the set were constantly trying to solve the puzzle and separate dream from reality so its no wonder, to mark the anniversary, its getting another release. Cobb is the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. His rare ability has made him a coveted player in the world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved. Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplishes inception. He and his team of specialists have to not steal an idea but plant one but no amount of careful planning can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. Last week Sanjay Dutt being diagnosed with lung cancer. This sent shockwaves throughout the country. Earlier it was reported that the actor had third stage cancer. But when the final reports came in, it was found that he had fourth stage lung cancer. Now we hear that the actor has to start his treatment soon. Earlier the buzz was that he would fly to the US for treatment. But now it seems the actor will start the treatment in Mumbai itelf. Last week, Sanjay Dutt was clicked with sister Priya Dutt at a Andheri hospital. He stayed there for long. On Sunday too, the actor was clicked at the hospital with his sister by his side. Now according to a leading daily, the actor will start his chemotherapy sessions soon in Mumbai. Sanjay Dutts wife Manyatta Dutt and children Shahraan and Iqra are in Dubai. Manyatta had issued an official statement saying, 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. Urging fans to not fall for rumours, she had added, 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. Meanwhile Sanjay Dutt has announced a break from his work life for medical treatment. India's electricity generation in the first 15 days of August rose for the first time since early March, provisional government data showed, as the country opened up industries and lifted restrictions to control the spread of coronavirus. Power generation rose 2.6% in the first 15 days of August compared with the same period of last year, a Reuters analysis of daily load despatch data from federal grid operator POSOCO showed, compared with a 1.8% fall in July. In the second half of last month, electricity generation declined 3.1%. Power use has picked up from previous ... People wearing face masks to protect against the coronavirus walk past a propaganda banner reading "Actively participate in volunteer service" in Beijing. (AP) Taipei: Taiwan will step up scrutiny of mainland Chinese citizens who are residents of Hong Kong and seek to move to the island to ensure they do not engage in spying or other illegal acts, the government said on Monday. Taiwan has offered to welcome Hong Kong people who wish to leave the turmoil-hit Chinese-run city for the democratic island, especially after Beijing imposed a new national security law on the former British colony, though Taiwan officials have expressed concern some who come may be spies. The new measures are aimed at strengthening the management of people from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau who have residence in either of the two Chinese-ruled cities and seek to settle in Taiwan, the islands Mainland Affairs Council said. It aims to prevent them from carrying out infiltration, united front, disturbance or spying activities, the council said. United front refers to the Chinese Communist Partys United Front Work Department, which is in charge of co-opting overseas Chinese and non-communists. The order targets Hong Kong and Macau residents who are originally from mainland China, or who are current or previous party, government or military officials, the council added. Applications from such people will be subject to cross-department review to help protect national security, it said. Communist China claims capitalist Taiwan as its sacred territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijings control, though most people in Taiwan have shown no interest in being ruled by China. Taiwan and China have extensive business and people-to-people exchanges but remain deeply suspicious of each other. Taiwan in July opened an office to help Hong Kong people who wish to move to the island. Taiwan has long been wary of Chinese efforts to influence its democracy through illicit funding of politicians and the media and other methods like spying. Parliament last year passed an anti-infiltration law to improve how Taiwan combats perceived threats from China. Beijing denounced the move, saying Taiwan was trying to stir up enmity towards China. 'Sterilizing children' bill heads to Calif. Senate floor amid public outcry Email Print Img No-img Menu Whatsapp Google Reddit Digg Stumbleupon Linkedin Comment A committee in the California state Senate voted earlier this week to approve a bill creating a fund for experimental medicalized gender-transition procedures, including cross-sex hormones and body-altering surgeries for both minors and legal adults. The move came after the Health Committee chair said in late July that the measure would not be considered for the rest of the year. After pressure from transgender activists, the legislators revived the bill and the Senate Health Committee voted 7-1 to pass AB 2218, which is called the Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund. Opponents of the measure have been pointing out that one of the side effects of the combination of puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones is permanent infertility. In hearings this week, the bill's sponsors and proponents complained that they have been inundated with calls pleading with them not to support legislation that would fund the sterilization of children. The author of AB 2218, Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, dismissed such concerns as "fear-mongering." Let me be very clear and get the record straight, Santiago asserted, nothing, I will repeat, talks about sterilizing kids. Nothing, I will repeat, in this bill points to anything to do with children I think it is fear-mongering and good for sound bites. Other legislators on the committee echoed his words, insisting the bill contained nothing to that end. "I got hundreds and hundreds of calls asking me not to support something that sterilizes children," said Senator Susan Rubio, D-West Covina, told the committee. "So after those calls, I decided to read the bill very, very carefully and I didn't find anything about sterilizing children." The California Family Council, which has been actively lobbying against the bill, has been showing legislators that the transgender clinics themselves warn that the experimental measures have a permanent impact on fertility. "By approving AB 2218, members of the Health Committee got it wrong," Jonathan Keller, president of CFC, said in a statement sent to The Christian Post Thursday. "At best, these senators are ignorant of how California gender clinics are already sterilizing children and young adults. If not, they are flatly refusing to acknowledge how this bill will fund these dangerous procedures. "Gender clinics claim to treat gender dysphoria in pre-pubescent children with puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. You don't need to be a doctor to know that a child who doesn't go experience puberty will likely be sterile for life." Under a section with the heading "Preparing for gender-affirming hormone use in transgender youth" on the website of the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center, which like many major hospitals now has a transgender care unit, the long-term impact that chemical puberty suppression and "gender-affirming" hormones has on fertility is acknowledged. "While options are being explored to preserve future fertility for transgender youth, the current reality is that cryopreservation is very expensive, in many cases prohibitively so for those with ovaries," the UCSF advice to trans-identifying youth reads. The advice continues: "For youth whose pubertal process has been suspended in the earliest stages [by puberty-blocking drugs], followed by administration of gender-affirming hormones, development of mature sperm or eggs is unlikely at the present time, although it is noteworthy that there is active research developing gametes in vitro from the field of juvenile oncology. The issue of future infertility is often far more problematic for parents and family members than for youth, especially at the beginning stages of discussing moving forward with gender-affirming hormones." The CFC stressed that the only reason to consider freezing gametes beforehand is because of the sterilizing effect of the drugs on the body. Endocrinologists opposed to the practice have long pointed out that the majority of children who go on puberty blockers continue down the prescribed pathway with cross-sex hormones and then surgeries in order to appear more as the opposite sex. The text of AB 2218 reads: "The grants shall be available to a hospital, health care clinic, or other medical providers that currently provides gender-affirming health care services, such as hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery." Before it was scrapped and then revived, the bill initially asked for $15 million to start the fund, but that figure was later scrubbed from the text of the proposal. Activists with CFC and other groups distributed copies of journalist Abigail Shrier's recent book, Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters, which extensively documents the many harms transgender medicalization has on young girls. Surgeries such as double mastectomies on teenaged girls and genital amputations and reconstructive procedures for those 18 and older are covered by grants funded by AB 2218. The bill has now moved to the Senate Appropriations Committee and will likely go on to the floor of the Senate before the end of August. If approved, Gov. Gavin Newsom is likely to sign it into law. tech2 News Staff Fortnite creator Epic Games is suing Apple and Google after the tech giants dropped its popular video game app from their app stores for introducing a direct payment plan that bypasses their platforms. Apple and Google both take a 30 percent cut from in-app revenue purchases in games, which has long been a sore spot with developers. Fortnite is free, but users can pay for in-game accouterments like weapons and skins. Its developer, Epic Games, said in a blog post that it was introducing Epic Direct payments, a direct payment plan for Apples iOS and Google Play. Epic said the system is the same payment system it already uses to process payments on PC and Mac computers and Android phones. Apple and Google said the service violates their guidelines. Epic enabled a feature in its app which was not reviewed or approved by Apple, and they did so with the express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services, Apple said in statement. Google said Fortnite will remain available on Android, just not through its app store. Android users can download the app from other app stores, although thats generally not an option for iPhone users. This weekend, Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney also spoke about the company's decision to sue Apple and Google in a Twitter thread. The primary opposing argument is: "Smartphone markers can do whatever they want". This as an awful notion. We all have rights, and we need to fight to defend our rights against whoever would deny them. Even if that means fighting a beloved company like Apple. Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 14, 2020 Another argument against supporting #FreeFortnite is "this is just a billion dollar company fighting a trillion dollar company about money". But the fight isn't over Epic wanting a special deal, it's about the basic freedoms of all consumers and developers. Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 14, 2020 Finally, there's nothing wrong with fighting about money. You work hard to earn this stuff. When you spent it, the way it's divided determines whether your money funds the creation of games or is taken by middlemen who use their power to separate gamers from game creators. Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) August 14, 2020 Epic Games has also said that "Googles actions force app developers and consumers into Googles own monopolized 'app store'the Google Play Store. Google has thus installed itself as an unavoidable middleman for app developers who wish to reach Android users and vice versa. Google uses this monopoly power to impose a tax that siphons monopoly profits for itself every time an app." Meanwhile, Epics Fortnite Twitter released a social media campaign against Apple called Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite, a seeming parody of Apples iconic 1984 commercial that introduced the Macintosh computer. The hashtag "freefortnite" has also been trending on Twitter. Epic Games has filed a complaint against Apple in the US District Court in Northern California for dropping Fortnite. CLEVELAND, Ohio This weekend proved to be a very scary one for WWE superstar Sonya Deville. According to the Hillsborough County, Florida Sheriffs Office, a South Carolina man who had been stalking Deville (real name Daria Berenato) online for years was arrested Sunday for attempting to kidnap the WWE star. Phillip A. Thomas II allegedly spent several months attempting to abduct Deville. On Sunday, he cut a hole in the patio screen at Devilles home and waited several hours watching the house before trying to enter the home at 3 a.m. An alarm went off, alerting Deville who spotted Thomas and called 911. Thomas was arrested with a knife, zip ties, duct tape and mace on him. He confirmed to the police that he was planning to take Deville hostage. A Twitter account featuring Thomas name shows numerous posts about Deville and her activities in recent months, as well as concerns over his mental health. Thomas has been charged with aggravated stalking, armed burglary of a dwelling, and criminal mischief and attempted armed kidnapping, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Deville took to social media Sunday night to thank the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office and tell fans she is safe. NEW HAVEN You may never have met a member of the Aedes aegypti family. And you do not want to: Among the 3,500 mosquito species, Aedes aegypti is one of the most deadly, according to Yale researchers. The Aedes aegypti does not occur in Connecticut, but is a vector a number of viral diseases, such as dengue, chikungunya, Zika, and yellow fever, which sicken or kill tens of millions of people each year, according to Yale and other researchers. (According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention the mosquito kills more people than any other creature in the world.) Related: First West Nile human case detected in CT this season Now, Yale researchers have determined the mosquito species that is one of the worlds deadliest killers of humans arose more than 7 million years ago on islands in the Indian Ocean, some of which had no mammals of any kind, according to a genetic analysis by Yale researchers published August 17 in the journal Molecular Ecology and shared by Yale. Scientists had previously believed the species originated in continental Africa and spread to other areas of the globe approximately 500 years ago via the trade of enslaved people and European colonization of Africa, according to the Yale release. But Jeffrey Powell, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and postdoctoral fellow John Soghigian, now at North Carolina State University, led a team that did genetic analysis of the mosquito species in Africa and the southwestern Indian Ocean and they found that ancestral mosquitoes similar in appearance to Aedes aegypti emerged on Madagascar and islands in the Indian Ocean more than 7 million years ago. We estimate the species only arrived in Africa some 50,000 to 80,000 years ago, which was a big surprise, Powell said, in the release. Powell theorizes that the mosquito, which usually lays eggs in pools of water accumulating in rocks or trees, slowly spread from East to West Africa; there, it adapted to a drier climate and eventually learned to feed on the blood of the growing human populations in West African villages, where water was stored to get through prolonged dry periods. Transported by those trading in enslaved peoples, the mosquito eventually spread to tropical and subtropical areas around the world. Yales Andrea Gloria-Soria is a co-author of the paper, which included contributions from researchers at Montpellier University and the Institut Pasteur in France, the release noted. Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more Googles Nest line of smart home products will be combined with ADTs security services in a partnership announced Monday by the two companies. As part of the deal, Google will invest US$450 million into ADT to acquire a 6.6 percent interest in the security and smart home solutions provider. The companies also agreed to each spend $150 million for co-marketing, product development, technology and employee training. In a statement, the pair explained that the partnership will integrate Googles hardware and services and ADTs DIY and professionally installed smart home security solutions to innovate the residential and small business security industry. The future ADT and Google home security solution is expected to advance smart home offerings and attract new consumers seeking premium technology, end-to-end smart home service and trusted security, they added. Risky Bet Home security is one of the most popular reasons households purchase smart home devices, observed Jessica Ekholm, a research vice president with Gartner. She cited a 2018 survey by the firm that found 66 percent of U.S. responders said they were likely to use smart home devices for preventing access to the home while they were away, while 64 percent noted they were likely to use the devices for security when away from home for long stretches of time. Partnering with ADT will help Google reach potential new customers that are currently opting for managed security services, thus reaching beyond Googles Nest usual clientele, Ekholm told TechNewsWorld. Frank E. Gillett, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, though, sees the partnership as a risky move. This is a very big bet by Google on physical security being a big motivation for people adopting Google products, he told TechNewsWorld. I find that puzzling because I dont think consumers want another $50 a month bill, unless Google can flip ADTs value proposition and change it from an annoying monthly fee and occasional valuable service to a constantly valuable service for which you gladly pay for. Tapping Into Valuable Channel However, Gillett acknowledged the deal could give Google an advantage over its rivals in the market. It recruits a motivated partner to emphasize Google over Amazon or Apple as a smart home control system, he said. The deal also gives Google access to an important channel for its smart home products. Today, Nest products are, by and large, sold at retail, explained Ross Rubin,the principal analyst with Reticle Research. An important channel for home security and home automation is the professionally monitored service business where ADT is one of the most recognized brands, he continued. In making Nest products available through ADT, he told TechNewsWorld, Google can expose them to customers who are specifically interested in this kind of functionality and are actively seeking that out by contacting a monitoring service provider. Google will get better access to that customer base and for ADT, he said, they get access to products that are more sophisticated, have a broader ecosystem than products they have distributed in the past. Changing Dynamics Adam Wright, smart home senior research analyst at IDC, observed that the Google-ADT deal illustrates the changing dynamics of the smart home market. For some time, the market has been categorized as one with clearly defined segments do-it-yourself versus fully managed services, he told TechNewsWorld. In the past 12 months or so, DIY vendors are finding added success in areas that have traditionally been exclusive to managed service providers, he continued. Vendors like Nest, Ring, Samsung, and others have launched installation and professional monitoring services for their DIY home automation and security solutions, which essentially blurs the lines of differentiation between DIY vendors and managed service providers and may increase the appeal of adopting a DIY approach to smart home solutions, Wright explained. He argued that managed services providers need to respond to encroachments on their market by DIY outfits by pivoting their strategies to allow for a more agile, a la carte approach to their solutions and customer acquisition strategies. A D V E R T I S E M E N T That kind of strategy was behind ADTs launch in January of Blue by ADT. The DIY smart home security offering allows customers to customize a smart home security system on their own terms, with no long-term contracts required. By offering DIY products alongside the full suite of managed services solutions, managed service providers will be better equipped to reach a broader range of consumers that might be at first reluctant to invest in a whole-home package, Wright said. So, he added, for Google, this deal can provide a significant boost to its lineup of DIY smart home monitoring and security solutions by positioning it to compete more strongly against both other DIY competitors and also other fully managed service providers like Vivint, Brinks and others. Cash Welcomed Googles infusion of $450 million into ADT is more important to the home security company than to the search giant, maintained Mark N. Vena, a senior analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy. This cash infusion will allow ADT to operate as an ongoing entity without disrupting their current business, he told TechNewsWorld. It will also help ADT design more bleeding edge products that integrate Google Assistant functionality at a more robust and intuitive level, said Vena. For Google, he added, it helps them get into the residential and businesses services business. Google could probably do that without investing in ADT, but many customers might be wary of partnering with Google for security services due to Googles somewhat compromised privacy and data protection reputation. ADT is a trusted brand in this space and this would aid Google as they try to expand their brand and product line in the security services area, Vena explained. Slicker Hardware ADT, in turn, can benefit from Googles reputation. ADT, like most professional services security companies and cable companies, has ugly and badly designed equipment, observed Forresters Gillett. If ADT uses the slicker hardware and better applications of Google, it will drive sales for Google and customer engagement for ADT, he said. ADT wants to expand beyond the 20 percent of the market that pays for professionally monitored security because it and others in the industry have been under assault from cable TV and Internet service providers, he added. So for this partnership to be successful, ADT will need to grow its share of the market. Bible balloons stopped as peace talks stall South Korean police prevented a Christian ministry from its latest launch of balloons that would carry Bibles into North Korea, as ongoing discussions between the two countries grew tense and then stalled in June. Diplomatic experts have said North Koreas dictator might be trying to manufacture a crisis to improve his negotiating position. South Korean officials, worried about provocations, have placed new restrictions on the Voice of the Martyrs Korea project. For more than a decade, the ministry has sent as many as 40,000 Bible balloons per year into North Korea, saying the Scriptures that fall out of the sky support underground Christians. Curator: Art belongs in churches The director of one of Italys most prominent museums is arguing religious artwork should be returned to churches. The Uffizi Gallerys Eike Schmidt, a German who previously served as a curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, said museums secularize art. Works are presented as aesthetic rather than spiritual. Schmidt also said the Italian government has been storing some religious objects since World War II with no plans to display them. A leading Catholic official called the idea provocative but unrealistic for reasons that everyone will understand. Evangelicals appeal to United Nations Evangelicals are asking the Human Rights Committee at the United Nations to pressure the Iraqi government for recognition. Since the United States invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003, the General Society for Iraqi National Evangelical Churches has petitioned three successive governments without success. Without recognition, ... 1 You have reached the end of this Article Preview You have reached the end of this Article Preview To continue reading, subscribe now. Subscribers have full digital access. Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here. Description GIS 17 August 2020 : The Government of India is assisting Mauritius in dealing with the aftermath of the oil spill from MV Wakashio, by providing over 30 tonnes of specialised technical equipment. The material which arrived on board an Indian Air Force Aircraft yesterday, will supplement the countrys ongoing oil spill containment and salvage operations. The specialised equipment, includes Ocean and River Booms, Disc and Heli Skimmers, Power packs, Blowers, Salvage barge and Oil absorbent Graphene pads and other accessories, specifically designed to contain the oil slick, skim oil from water, and assist in clean up and salvage operations. A 10-member Technical Response Team, consisting of Indian Coast Guard personnel specifically trained in dealing with oil spill containment measures, also arrived on the same aircraft, to extend necessary technical and operational assistance at the site. Indias humanitarian and disaster relief assistance to its neighbours in the Indian Ocean region are guided by its vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) elaborated by Prime Minster Modi in 2015 during his visit to Mauritius. It reflects the longstanding close bonds of friendship between India and Mauritius. Cooperation of PJSC Turboatom and state-owned Electrotyazhmash with domestic generating companies will contribute to the construction of new energy infrastructure and the replacement of decommissioned capacities, which is a key task of the second stage of the implementation of the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035, the press service of the Energy Ministry said on August 14. "Partnership relations between energy companies and domestic industrial producers have the prospect and opportunities for intensification. Cooperation of industrial 'giants' with generating companies will contribute to the construction of new energy infrastructure in Ukraine," Acting Energy Minister Olha Buslavets said following a visit to Turboatom on August 13. According to the ministry's press service, Buslavets focused on the successful cooperation of state-owned companies with Turboatom and Electrotyazhmash in this area. According to her, Turboatom has completed a number of works on replacing equipment at Yuzhnoukrainsk and Zaporozhia nuclear power plants (NPPs) and plans to replace and modernize equipment at the Rivne and Khmelnytsky NPPs, as well as Zaporizhia NPP. "The total amount under the signed contracts exceeds UAH 1.9 billion," she said. In addition, the minister noted that the total amount of contracts with Turboatom and Electrotyazhmash, which are the main manufacturers of equipment for hydropower facilities of PJSC Ukrhydroenergo, within the framework of the Rehabilitation of Hydroelectric Power Plants project, amounted to UAH 5.5 billion. The message also indicates that the cost of the contract within the framework of the construction of the second stage of Dnistrovska hydropower plant as part of hydroelectric unit No. 4 with Turboatom is almost UAH 1 billion, with Electrotyazhmash over UAH 550 million. In addition, the ministry said PJSC Donbasenergo has entered into a number of contracts with domestic industrial manufacturers to implement a project to build a new highly maneuverable 660 MW power unit at the Sloviansk Thermal Power Plant. By Trend Israeli media is continuing to highlight the action in support of Azerbaijan and against the Armenian aggression, which was held in Tel Aviv-Yafo on August 9, 2020, with the participation of hundreds of Azerbaijani Jews living in Israel, the State Committee on Affairs with Diaspora told Trend. The telecast of the Israel News program on the ILTV channel and the article by The Jewish Press news agency headlined "Azerbaijani Jews demonstrate in Tel Aviv against Armenian aggression" say that about 600 Azerbaijani Jews marched through the ancient city of Jaffa to Tel Aviv-Yafo and then gathered near the Armenian cultural center and the Armenian church. The demonstrators expressed their anger with the fact that during the fierce military operations in the direction of Azerbaijans Tovuz district that lasted for several days and as a result of the artillery fire of the Armenian armed forces, 12 Azerbaijani servicemen and a 76-year-old civilian were killed. They sharply condemned the fact of the occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan by Armenia. Rabbi Shmuel Siman Tov, political scientist Arie Gut, Head of the House of Azerbaijan in Israel Shirin Nehemiah Michaeli spoke at the event. They emphasized that Israel once again expressed solidarity with Azerbaijan, where multiculturalism and tolerance dominate. They stressed that Armenia, which has installed a monument to the Nazi collaborator Garegin Nzhdeh, and which insulted the memory of the victims of the Holocaust, will not be able to damage the Israeli-Azerbaijani relations. Reminding that Azerbaijani of Jewish origin also died in the battles for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the speakers demanded the liberation of the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven adjacent regions of Azerbaijan and the return of over a million Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs to their historical lands. The 13.33-minute telecast of the Israel News program provided detailed information about the protest march held in Tel Aviv-Yofa, highlighted the history of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and featured information on the latest military provocation of the Armenian armed forces. The broadcast also aired comments by residents of Azerbaijans Tovuz district. -- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz NEW DELHI: China on Monday said it was ready to work with India to enhance mutual trust and properly manage differences adding that the right path" ahead for the two countries is to respect each other. The Chinese foreign ministry made these comments while reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modis Independence Day speech on Saturday in which he said the countrys territorial integrity was supreme. From LoC (Line of Control) to LAC (Line of Actual Control), anyone who casts an eye on the sovereignty of the country, the armed forces have responded in the language they understand," Modi had said. The prime minister had also referred to the border clash in eastern Ladakh but without naming China. Asked to comment on Modis speech, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said: We have noted Prime Minister Modis speech. We are close neighbours, we are all emerging countries with over one billion people." So the sound development of bilateral ties not only serves the interest of the two peoples but also stability, peace, prosperity of the region and the whole world. The right path for the two sides is to respect and support each other as this serves our long-term interests," Zhao said. So, China stands ready to work with India to enhance our political mutual trust, properly manage our differences, step-up practical cooperation and safeguard the long-term development of bilateral ties," he said. It is unclear whether these words could imply that China was willing to step back from the places it had intruded into, across the LAC in Ladakh. Tensions between the two sides have been running high since early May when the Chinese intrusions were first detected. Ties plunged to a low after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash with Chinese soldiers on 15 June at Galwan. Chinese soldiers were also killed but the numbers are yet to be made public. The clashes -- the first in 45 years to result in casualties -- shattered trust between the two countries. So far China has put the blame for the Galwan clash on India and also stated that there is no violation of the LAC a sign that its troops intend to stay put in areas they have intruded into. India on its part has been insisting that the Chinese troops go back to positions they occupied in April ie before the intrusions. Five rounds of talks at the military level and three at the diplomatic level between China and India have not yielded any results. Last week, the Indian foreign ministry said more talks were expected in the coming days to resolve the stalemate. Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!! Topics Subscriber content preview By MOHAMED IBRAHIM Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Friday announced plans to hold open 100 police officer positions next year as part of a hiring freeze to help manage a 2021 budget and as activists are clamoring to shift money away from traditional policing. Frey said the city projects about 100 officers, from a force of more than 800, will have left the department by the end of the year. He called it a chance to remake the department, which has come under intense pressure to change in the wake of George Floyd's death in May. . . . Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 16:10:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping on Monday stressed that youth in the country should be mobilized to make new and greater contributions to undertakings of the Party and the country. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to a session of the All-China Youth Federation and a congress of the All-China Students' Federation, which opened in Beijing Monday morning. Enditem With New High-Throughput Automated Testing Solution Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, has introduced a new highly automated, real-time PCR solution designed to analyze over 6,000 samples in a single day to meet increasing global demand for COVID-19 testing. The high-throughput system enables laboratories to double or even triple their testing capacity to support global efforts to return communities back to work and school. The Thermo Fisher Scientific Amplitude Solution is a molecular diagnostic testing system that leverages the company's Applied Biosystems QuantStudio 7 Flex Real-time PCR instruments along with liquid handling products from Tecan Group, a global leader in laboratory automation and liquid handling. The modular solution delivers test results in a four-step process requiring minimal hands-on time, laboratory space and staffing resources. Amit Chopra, Managing Director, India and the Middle East, Thermo Fisher Scientific said, Ramping up testing capacity is the most critical aspect of dealing with COVID-19 and perhaps the only solution to bring the world back to normal. While each state conducts testing on different capacities, a new approach for scaling the testing volume is essential to safeguard human life. Thermo Fishers high-yielding, automated solution will empower laboratories worldwide to drastically improve the testing volumes and bring the world back to normal. For school and workplaces to achieve normalcy, improving testing capacity is the only probable solution until a promising vaccine arrives., he added. The Amplitude Solution utilizes Thermo Fisher's Applied Biosystems TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit, a fast, highly sensitive multiplex diagnostic test that contains the assays and controls needed for the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The company will submit this new end-to-end solution to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) and plans to secure additional authorizations globally. The system also includes instruments from Tecan's Fluent Laboratory Workstation family, the highest-performance platform within its extensive portfolio of liquid-handling solutions for laboratory automation. The Fluent instruments will be supplied through Tecan's Partnering Business. As part of this offering, Amplitude Solution customers will enter into a supply agreement with Thermo Fisher to secure an up-front, confirmed and reliable supply of reagents and consumables. Backed by dedicated, 24/7 customer support from Thermo Fisher, the end-to-end solution, including the reagents, consumables and test kits, is available from a single source. The launch of the Amplitude Solution adds to the company's significant COVID-19 response. Since developing one of the first diagnostic tests to be granted EUA in the U.S., Thermo Fisher has expanded diagnostic testing to more than 50 countries globally and now has the capacity to produce more than 10 million COVID-19 test reactions per week to meet demand. The company has marshalled its leading scale and depth of capabilities in the fight against COVID-19, from collaborating with laboratory customers and governments to expand testing capacity, to quickly scaling production to meet demand for sample collection products, to supporting more than 200 vaccine and therapy development and manufacturing projects around the world. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putins call for a video summit between Iran, the U.S., and the remaining parties to the JCPOA. "We welcome the summit and appreciate Moscows attempts towards de-escalating tensions around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)," Lijian said on Sunday during a weekly briefing. He added that Beijing consistently supports the nuclear agreement and is dedicated to preserving peace and stability in the Middle East, Tasnim reported. Zhao also expressed Chinas willingness to keep close contact with related parties in order to advance the political settlement of Iran nuclear issues. Recently, Putin proposed the summit to avoid further "confrontation and escalation" at the United Nations between Washington and Tehran. In a step closer to skyscrapers that serve as power sources, a team led by University of Michigan researchers has set a new efficiency record for color-neutral, transparent solar cells. The team achieved 8.1% efficiency and 43.3% transparency with an organic, or carbon-based, design rather than conventional silicon. While the cells have a slight green tint, they are much more like the gray of sunglasses and automobile windows. "Windows, which are on the face of every building, are an ideal location for organic solar cells because they offer something silicon can't, which is a combination of very high efficiency and very high visible transparency," said Stephen Forrest, the Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Engineering and Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering, who led the research. Buildings with glass facades typically have a coating on them that reflects and absorbs some of the light, both in the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum, to reduce the brightness and heating inside the building. Rather than throwing that energy away, transparent solar panels could use it to take a bite out of the building's electricity needs. The transparency of some existing windows is similar to the transparency of the solar cells Forrest's group reports in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "The new material we developed, and the structure of the device we built, had to balance multiple trade-offs to provide good sunlight absorption, high voltage, high current, low resistance and color-neutral transparency all at the same time," said Yongxi Li, an assistant research scientist in electrical engineering and computer science. The new material is a combination of organic molecules engineered to be transparent in the visible and absorbing in the near infrared, an invisible part of the spectrum that accounts for much of the energy in sunlight. In addition, the researchers developed optical coatings to boost both power generated from infrared light and transparency in the visible range--two qualities that are usually in competition with one another. The color-neutral version of the device was made with an indium tin oxide electrode. A silver electrode improved the efficiency to 10.8%, with 45.8% transparency. However, that version's slightly greenish tint may not be acceptable in some window applications. Transparent solar cells are measured by their light utilization efficiency, which describes how much energy from the light hitting the window is available either as electricity or as transmitted light on the interior side. Previous transparent solar cells have light utilization efficiencies of roughly 2-3%, but the indium tin oxide cell is rated at 3.5% and the silver version has a light utilization efficiency of 5%. Both versions can be manufactured at large scale, using materials that are less toxic than other transparent solar cells. The transparent organic solar cells can also be customized for local latitudes, taking advantage of the fact that they are most efficient when the sun's rays are hitting them at a perpendicular angle. They can be placed in between the panes of double-glazed windows.. Forrest and his team are working on several improvements to the technology, with the next goal being to reach a light utilization efficiency of 7% and extending the cell lifetime to about 10 years. They are also investigating the economics of installing transparent solar cell windows into new and existing buildings. ### The research is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the article, "Color-Neutral, Semitransparent Organic Photovoltaics," by Forrest, Li and colleagues Xia Guo, Zhengxing Peng, Boning Qu, Hongping Yan, Harald Ade and Maojie Zhang. The team includes researchers at North Carolina State University, Soochow University in China, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office as well as the Office of Naval Research and Universal Display Corporation. Forrest is also a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, material science and engineering, and physics. Optoelectronic Components and Materials Group Catharine June, 734-936-2965, cmsj@umich.edu Theres a swinging-door quality to San Franciscos handling of the homeless. The city veers from sweeps and laws banning lying on sidewalks to service-laden centers that take in hundreds of street campers and offer hotel rooms. Thus, progress is always hard to measure especially during a pandemic and its resulting economic crash that has filled the city with thousands more homeless people turned away from crowded shelters or laid off from jobs. Adding to the dismal picture is a confounding city report: About $26.5 million of the $364 million homelessness budget sits unspent, and the agency in charge has a 26% job vacancy rate. Were spending more and getting less, noted Supervisor Matt Haney. This situation hasnt stopped a fresh initiative that could bring relief to one part of the problem. The city is taking up the plight of the mentally ill and addicted who are beyond the reach of conventional programs. Its a bid to go after the hardest of the hardcore. The city will field mental health teams specially trained to handle those with severe psychiatric and alcohol and drug problems. The plan will take the job out of the hands of the police, who are usually the first to respond to complaints or sidewalk trouble. The idea is also one of the first instances of police reform born out of public protests over law enforcement. The teams will have a lot to do. An emergency services official said some 50,000 calls were made last year to police about lost souls on sidewalks, possible suicides, or drug issues, all areas the mental health teams will be taking on. The usual police process of taking people to emergency rooms will change to a fuller assessment and better treatment under the plan. The public is impatient for results. In the past year, the city has set up an RV parking lot and outdoor homeless camps known as safe sleeping sites, the latest in a long string of ideas. But the numbers continue to march upward. From 2015 to 2019, the homeless count has increased from 6,686 to 8,011. Other cities might be tempted to give up, especially with a pandemic-crushing economy and slumping tax revenue. Mayor London Breed is going in another direction along with the city supervisors. While trimming the overall city budget, she wants to increase the homelessness budget to $500 million, spending big on her goal of moving 6,000 into permanent housing. The mental health teams will cost $17 million over two years, including new treatment beds, extra counseling and follow-up care. It comes with another feature: a political meeting of the minds between progressive supervisors and the more centrist mayor who had battled over health coverage. But the outcome hinges on more money. It will take a public vote in November to overhaul a business tax and free up about $300 million frozen by legal challenges. There are other worries as revenue drops and the coronavirus adds to health care costs. If those issues can be overcome, San Francisco could have a free hand in taking on the homelessness crisis more broadly with extra housing and mental health care. Then it will be time to expect results the city hasn't seen. For all the new programs and promises, there needs to be a genuine, visible change. 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. South Sudan's mediation team announced that the Sudanese government and the armed groups would sign, with initial letters, on a peace deal on Aug. 28, according to a statement by Sudan's Sovereign Council on Monday. "Signing with initial letters on the comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the armed movements will be on Aug. 28," Tut Gatluak, South Sudan's presidential adviser on security affairs and head of the mediation team, was quoted in the statement as saying. It is to be noted that a delegation of Sudan's Sovereign Council, led by the council's deputy chairman Mohamed Hamdan Daqlu, arrived in South Sudan's capital of Juba on Monday. "There only remains the security arrangements file on the Darfur track," said Gatluak, noting that the mediation has set a time-frame that does not exceed three days to complete the files in all tracks prior to the initial signing of the deal and then the final signing. The South Sudanese official further reiterated his country's keenness to achieve peace in Sudan. On Sunday the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), led by Malik Agar, reached an agreement stipulating integration of forces within the security arrangement file relating to South Kordofan and Blue Nile areas. Since October 2019, South Sudan has been mediating between the Sudanese government and the armed groups from Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions. Search Keywords: Short link: Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more Average computer users would be forgiven for not having any idea what PGP is. There is so much going on below the surface of the modern computing experience that even critically important security tools like PGP are tucked away. To be sure, there are specialized circles that make regular explicit use of PGP. Diligent Linux users would have at least a passing familiarity with PGP, since the fact that manufacturers didnt install our OS for us means we have to verify its integrity ourselves. Otherwise, if your work doesnt touch on information security, PGP would understandably be a mystery to you. But like I said, it is no less important for this reality. In fact, PGP played a significant part in why we have secure communications on the Internet. This actually isnt because its widely used, although it definitely is utilized in software installation utilities the world over. Rather, its significance stems from its defiant challenge to an overzealous government that sought to compromise encryption long before most Americans used the Internet regularly. My aim in treating PGP here is twofold. The first is to shed some light on it for the uninitiated. The second, and more importantly, is to teach the daring among you how to wield this powerful tool. Hopefully, you found your way here after reading my security guide. If not, check out the last installment, and you will see that PGP can be useful in certain high-stakes threat scenarios. Before we proceed, keep in mind that, as with any tool, the usefulness of PGP adheres to the network effect. Its practicability is extremely limited due to scant adoption software development circles. If you seek to apply PGP toward interpersonal communication, those you communicate with must do the same. Every Hero Has an Origin Story The Crypto Wars were a dark timeand still are, depending on your perspective. Like with most government attempts to fundamentally change technological implementations, the first crypto war came as moral panic swept over Washington. Elected officials were terrified that the Internet would be a lawless realm where fiends preyed on the innocent. To remedy this, they desperately sought a way to ensure that law enforcement could peer into the activity of abusive netizens. Encryption made this impossible. This inclination is understandable, because the Internet was so new and foreboding to their constituents. Nor should it be forgotten that people were indeed getting hurt from interactions which wholly or partly took place online. Their answer was to attempt to weaken encryption so that law enforcement could be assured of compliance when it served a warrant. Encryption, by definition, is only effective if the contents of a message are indecipherable to all but the intended sender and receiver. The proposal, well-meaning as it was, completely flouted this principle. Thats when Phil Zimmerman offered the world PGP. He wrote PGP, which stands for Pretty Good Privacy, before the Crypto Wars, back in 1991. But when hostilities broke out, unbreakable encryption advocates rallied under its banner. In Zimmermans eyes, if the government was bent on compromising all the ciphers it held sway over, he would make his own and refuse to play ball. The government quickly fired back, opening a criminal investigation into him in 1993 for violating a regulation that helped advance their encryption-weakening campaign: export restrictions. Under these restrictions, the U.S. government made it illegal to export encryption software to other countries that was as strong as U.S. encryption software without an arms-dealing license. Phil Zimmerman did not have one of those. Thats when Zimmerman got creative: he published his program as a book, which anyone, anywhere in the world, was free to purchase. If these book buyers chose, they could transcribe its contents into a code editor and save it as a file. In fact, that is exactly what some people did. When the government told Zimmerman to cut the funny business, he pointed to his First Amendment rights, and court rulings establishing that computer code is speech. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Between PGP and other pressures, the government eventually left everyones crypto alone. Fortunately, the government has mostly refrained attempting to legislate dilutions of encryption, at least until recently. Far from an early-Internet relic, PGP (theoretically) remains viable today. Despite advances in supercomputing and cryptanalysis, the fundamental cipher that PGP uses by default remains sound. Whenever a supercomputer is built which can break a key, users need only make longer keys. So How Does PGP Work? As with most encryption, the technical details are tough to wrap your head around, but the basics are pretty straightforward. PGP is an encryption program which uses either the RSA or DSA ciphers. Either way, PGP generates what are called asymmetric keys that is, a pair of keys. The main key is the private key. The private key (or, as some implementations call it, the secret key), as the name implies, stays private. After generating a keypair, a user should guard their private key like their deepest, darkest secret. The other key in the pair is the public key. Unlike the private key, by design, this one gets around. The user hands this key to anyone who wants to send them things securely. Theres no real security risk in letting others have it. Each key in a keypair can reverse the cryptographic operation performed using the other key. When a key is applied to plaintext (the normal, readable file contents), it becomes ciphertext (effectively gibberish). Applying the complement of the key that created the ciphertext will restore the plaintext. So in practice, if a user communicates with PGP, they will have one private key and many public keys: their own private key, their own public key, and one public key each for every person they communicate with. Because it isnt associated with any one messaging client, you can do a lot of cool things with PGP. To start with, you can encrypt any raw plaintext. Since your computer represents everything as bits, and all PGP does is scramble and unscramble them, PGP is capable of encrypting email or chat content, audio and video files, and even messages posted on the Web. Normally, you encrypt plaintext with a public key so the private key-holder can decrypt it, but theres a trick you can do if you invert the process. If you encrypt using your private key so that people with its public key counterpart decrypt it, you can create whats known as a cryptographic signature. These signatures allow you to prove that whatever you signed was unequivocally authored by you. This is actually how PGP is used to check software. The developers sign their software with their private key and then release their public key to anyone who wants to check the softwares authenticity. If anyone tampers with the key or the signature (but not both), the subterfuge will be detected. The attack could work if the signature and public key were altered in just the right way, but this is logistically tricky enough that its unlikely. Donning the Mask for Yourself At this point, youre probably ready to test drive this bad boy, so lets get to it. A D V E R T I S E M E N T For all the examples to follow, I will be using a tool called GPG (Gnu Privacy Guard), a free and open-source command line implementation of PGP. The rationale for this is that since security is the whole point of PGP, a simpler, open, and mature tool works best. This guide also assumes youre using some kind of Unix-flavored computer, meaning, Linux, BSD, or macOS. GPG is supposed to work the same way on Windows, but having not tested it, I wont swear that thats true. As a final caveat, all of these commands are based on my testing with GPG 2.2.19, as packaged Linux Mint 20. I will try to note where you may experience divergent behavior, but regardless, keep that in the back of your mind. You will start by making a keypair, which involves a simple one-line command: gpg gen-key In the GPG version I tested, this is the streamlined key generation option, as opposed to the customizable full-gen-key option. Definitely explore the latter if youre the adventurous type, but I wont go into it here. Before running the command, you will need to have a few details figured out for the screen prompts that arise when it executes. First, ensure that you have an email address to associate with your key. Second, pick the name you want to enter. Only enter your real name if youre sure you want your public key to identify you. Third, choose a password for your key. The importance of this step is not lost on you, Im sure. The next thing we must do is generate a revocation certificate. This is done with the following command: gpg gen-revoke armor key_name > privkey_rev.asc The gen-revoke is self-explanatory, but you might wonder what the armor option does. This outputs the key with bits represented as ASCII characters instead of the raw format that looks like your terminal is chanting an elder being summoning incantation. Revocation certificates let people know your private key has been compromised and not to trust it anymore. They only go into effect when you publish them, but its a good idea to have them made up before you need them. Once this is done, immediately back up your keypair and revocation certificate to an encrypted external storage medium. Theres nothing stopping you from having duplicate files of the same key or certificate for extra safety, but just make sure you can account for all copies of these files. To perform this backup, you will have to export your keys as files. By default, they are just bytes in a key database parsable only by GPG. Export your keys by running the following commands: gpg export armor key_name > pubkey.ascgpg export-secret-keys armor key_name > privkey.asc Copy your private key, public key, and revocation certificate onto your encrypted storage. Now all you need are public keys for the people you want to talk to and youre in business. There are essentially two ways of obtaining these The first is to import public keys from a file transferred directly to your machine locally. In most cases, this means your friend handing you a flash drive so you can copy the public key right onto your computer. This approach has substantive benefits. The biggest plus is the high level of security: because you arent sending a key over the Internet, theres a considerably reduced chance that the key was sabotaged. Your friend is also on hand to confirm with you that the key is legit, since they can look at your screen and say yup, thats the one. The steps for doing so are fairly straightforward: 1. Check the key owners government-issued ID. Seriously. This is a time-honored cypherpunk tradition, and it reinforces the idea that these bits validate ones identity as authoritatively as a real ID, so I encourage you to take part in this hallowed ritual. 2. Get the file from the storage medium onto your computer. Your device, OS, and storage medium will dictate how this goes. 3. On your terminal, import the public key into your GPG keyring by running the following command. gpg import pub_key.asc 4. Then, run this command to display the keys fingerprint, a string of text uniquely identifying a key but which does not compromise its security. gpg fingerprint pub_key_name 5. Have the person you IDd verify that their public keys fingerprint as shown on your system is the same as the one that their public key actually produces. The security pluses dont stop there. As long as you only transfer public keys via USB flash drive, there is no record on the network that keys were exchanged. This can be a huge operational advantage. The other nice thing about the local key exchange method is that you dont have to mess with keyservers. Keyservers are not that hard to use, in the grand scheme of GPG, but interfacing with them is still a little clunky. That is, however, the other major transfer method: downloading public keys from a keyserver on the Internet. Keyservers which, as the name suggests, maintain keys, have been around for computer eons. Maintained by organizations like MIT, these servers sync with one another to allow users to distribute their public keys widely. Keyservers have the distinct benefit of enabling you to obtain public keys from people you cant meet in person. After all, the Internet is useful precisely because it allows instantaneous remote communication. However, because the public key owner cant assure you of the keys integrity in person, theres a chance the key was compromised in transit. This is usually addressed by public key owners posting their keys fingerprint elsewhere on the public Web. Depending on your adversarys capabilities, though, you cant be certain the Web-posted fingerprint hasnt been altered to match the phony fingerprint you get from a compromised keyserver-based key. You probably shouldnt stay up at night worrying about this, but it is a risk. You can import a key from the keyserver using the following steps: 1. Enter this command to search the keyserver, where keyword is some portion of the name or email address of the key owner. gpg search-keys keyword 2. You will now be presented with the search results in pages of 10. Page through the results and select the desired key the corresponding number and hitting Enter. Your device will now download the key. 3. Run the following command to output the keys fingerprint. gpg fingerprint pub_key_name 4. Finally, find a published fingerprint for the public keys owner and check it against the fingerprint the previous command outputted. Now youre ready to encrypt all the things! Start by finding a file you want to encrypt (here, file is said file). Next, run GPGs encrypt command, which looks like this: gpg -e file The operation will ask which public key to use when encrypting the file, which you specify using the number-and-letter sequence on the second line of the keys entry to see this entry you should run gpg list-keys. When the encrypt command completes, it creates an encrypted file with a filename identical to the input file plus .gpg appended. Send it to the public keys creator and theyll know what to do. Decrypting files sent to you is just as easy. Find the file encrypted for you and run the following command: gpg -d file > outfile Enter your private keys password, and youve got a decrypted file. By default, the decryption flag just outputs the decrypted file contents to the console. Since youll probably want the decrypted plaintext saved for later, the > outfile part of the command is included to output the operation to a file. Two Private Keys Are Better Than One What could be more secure than one private key? How about two? Some clarification is needed. I dont mean creating two full-fledged private keys. Rather, this approach uses two parts of your private key: one can only decrypt messages encrypted with the public key, the other can sign files. So what does this get you? Splitting your key allows you to keep your master key exclusively on encrypted external storage until you need it. Because the subkey can decrypt messages sent to you, you can maintain your ordinary correspondence by keeping only the subkey on your device. If your computer ever gets infected (which you may never detect), your attackers wont be able to forge your signatures, making it easier for you to revoke the stolen key and start fresh. Without a doubt, separate private keys with separate security controls induces a much bigger headache. To start with, you have to be able to tell them apart, because if you allow your master key to be on your computer while it is connected to the network, from an operational security standpoint, your master key will be poisoned, exposed to an unverifiable degree of danger which qualifies its integrity. But even assuming you keep them in the right place, you have to have an operationally secure procedure for PGP signing at a minimum, that disabling your networking on an OS level (preferably the hardware level), plugging in your encrypted storage, importing a copy of the master key, executing the signing operation, deleting the copy of the master key on your device and its data in your GPG keyring, ejecting your encrypted storage, and reenabling your networking. My version of GPG actually splits the key into these two parts by default, but bundles them together, both in your keyring and in private key exports. However, if you want to split the keys, perform these steps instead: 1. Disable your networking. Otherwise, your main private key will be poisoned from the start. 2. Perform the same private key export as before. 3. Export your private subkey to its own respective file using this command. gpg export-secret-subkeys armor key_name > sub_key.asc 4. Move your private key and subkey files to secure external storage. 5. Run this command, following the prompts to delete the main secret key from your keyring, but not the subkey. gpg delete-secret-keys 6. Ensure that all file copies of your main private key are deleted from your device. Your computer now has no trace of your master private key on it, but has your subkey safely in the keyring for decryption. Here Comes the Kryptonite There are some serious limitations to keep in mind with PGP. After all, if it were perfect, everyone would be using it. One issue is that keyservers have a glaring flaw that seems beyond mitigation, in which attackers can render a certificate too massive to be functionally processed properly. Unless your public key becomes a hot ticket item, you probably wont get hit with this. However, it contributes to the general disdain for PGP. However, thats actually another issue: a cumbersome user interface that places a considerable manual verification burden on the user is nigh unto a death sentence for security software. If a tool is only secure for those who painstakingly follow an easily botched procedure, chances are high that someone, you or your recipient, will slip up. All of that is to say that I wouldnt rely on PGP unless you have had a lot of practice, and superior alternatives dont exist. I would say, though, that PGP is valuable enough for appreciating encryption and the key maintenance that undergirds it. So if you set your expectations realistically, you can get a worthwhile experience out of PGP. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar came under fire on Monday for shifting the statute of martyr Madan Lal Dhingra from a park in the city to the new bus stand. Khattar, who had come to unveil the statute at the bus stand, faced the wrath of protesters, who felt that the government had insulted the freedom fighter on his martyrdom day by uprooting the statue from one spot and installing it at another location. The chief minister and his government could have arranged a new statue instead of shifting the one that was installed about 12 years ago, said Kulwant Singh, a protester. If they could spend Rs 32 crore on the construction of a bus stand, they could have spent a little more on a new statue, he added. The CM tried to pacify the protestors but to no avail. Later, Khattar remarked that people should refrain from using the name of martyrs for furthering their own political interests. On the decision to shift the statue, the CM said, Earlier the statue was installed at a small place and not many noticed it. But now, the statue has been installed at a place where thousands of people come everyday and gain inspiration by seeing the statute. He also said that a martyrs memorial will be built at the Madan Lal Dhingra Park. Plasma bank inaugurated The CM also inaugurated a plasma bank at Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College, Karnal, and urged Covid-19 survivors to come forward and donate plasma. He further said that Haryana was doing well in the fight against Covid-19 and the recovery rate has improved. Says Haryana ready for joint meeting on SYL issue Replying a question about Union water resources minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat convening a joint meeting of the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab on August 18 to discuss the SYL issue, Khattar said, Haryanas stand is clear. The state will get its due share of water as per the Supreme Courts orders. SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., a former police officer, faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for 13 rape-related charges and 13 murder counts stemming from crimes in the 1970s and 1980s across six California counties. He pleaded guilty in June and is set to be sentenced on Friday after three days of testimony from his victims and survivors. The 74-year-old is the elusive Golden State Killer, also known as the East Area Rapist and Visalia Ransacker. The charges linked to rapes were filed as kidnappings to commit robberies because the statute of limitations for sexual assaults had expired. He also publicly admitted to numerous other rapes in Alameda, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Tulare and Yolo counties. Here are the charges that have been consolidated into one proceeding in Sacramento: Contra Costa County: Four counts of kidnapping to commit robbery using a gun and knife between Oct. 7, 1978, and June 11, 1979, with the victims identified as Jane Does numbers 10-13. Orange County: Four counts of murder in the Aug. 21, 1980, slaying of Keith Harrington, 24, and rape and slaying of Patrice Harrington, 27, of Dana Point; the Feb. 6, 1981, rape and slaying of Manuela Witthuhn, 28, of Irvine; and the May 5, 1986, rape and slaying of Janelle Cruz, 18, of Irvine. Sacramento County: Two counts of murder in the Feb. 2, 1978, shootings of Kate Maggoire, 20, and Brian Maggoire, 21, as they walked their dog in their Rancho Cordova neighbourhood. Nine counts of kidnapping to commit robbery using a gun and knife between Sept. 4, 1976, and Oct. 21, 1977, with the victims identified as Jane Does numbers 1-9. Santa Barbara County: Four counts of murder in the Dec. 30, 1979, rape and slaying of Debra Manning, 35, and slaying of Robert Offerman, 44, of Goleta, and in the July 27, 1981, slaying of Gregory Sanchez, 27, and Cheri Domingo, 35, of Goleta. Tulare County: One count of murder in the Sept. 11, 1975, slaying of Claude Snelling, 45, during an attempted kidnapping of the victims daughter from their home. Ventura County: Two counts of murder in the rape and slaying of Charlene Smith, 33, and slaying of Lyman Smith, 43, of Ventura between March 13 and March 16, 1980. ___ Source: Sacramento County District Attorneys Office. A penguin has been returned to its home in Nottinghamshire after police spotted the bird plodding up a village street. Officers from Nottinghamshire Police said the Humboldt penguin, which had escaped from a farm enclosure, was found in the early hours of last Sunday morning and posed for some pictures with the force. In a post on Broxtowe North Polices Facebook page, officers joked that they quickly moved to question the friendly bird on what it was doing walking in the middle of a road when it was found on a patrol in Strelley, near Nottingham. We see some very interesting things while out on patrol, but a penguin walking up the middle of the road has to be one of the more bizarre findings we have come across, PC Gareth Philp, from Nottinghamshire Police, said. We nicknamed him Po-Po. He posed for some pictures with us and he was very friendly with our officers while we made contact with his owner. Recommended Penguins waddle around museum on visit from nearby enclosure He was then safely returned home. Neighbourhood Inspector Gordon Fenwick, from Nottinghamshire Police, said officers had been trained to deal with a variety of incidents with complex demands and added that he was pleased to see the penguin reunited with their owner. In 2019, two stolen Humboldt penguins were also rescued by police officers in the area following a tip-off. Nottinghamshire Police found the pair of birds in Strelley village after they were taken from a zoo, which was not named, in November 2018. My first thought was this is one for the books, and one to tell the grandkids, because there's no way we thought we would go down there and actually find two penguins, Sgt Andrew Browning said of the find. Humboldt penguins are native to South America and are named after the cold water current they usually swim in - which takes its name from the Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt. Additional reporting by PA The UK Government has launched a 3 million Innovation Challenge Fund to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the most acute global challenges of our time - Covid-19 and the threat to our environment. The Fund invites tech innovators with connections to the AI-Data cluster in Karnataka and the Future Mobility cluster in Maharashtra to submit research and development proposals for tackling Covid-19 or which promote a greener planet. At least 12 grants up to 250,000 are expected to be awarded. Applicants are required to submit bids as an academia-industry consortium, ideally with an international member. The deadline for submitting two-page concept notes is 31 August and further details are available on the website. The initiative builds on the Indian and British Prime Ministers commitment to bring together the best minds from both countries under the UK-India Tech Partnership, to deliver high-skilled jobs and economic growth as well as to collaborate on some of the worlds biggest challenges. Sir Philip Barton, High Commissioner to India, said: The UK and India have a strong history of research and innovation. Both Covid-19 and climate change demonstrate that the most urgent challenges are global. Never has there been a greater need for academia, business and government to accelerate innovation, and for nations to collaborate to save lives and build a better future. Karen McLuskie, Head, UK-India Tech Partnership, British High Commission, said: This fund aims to get behind the innovation heroes, whether they are working to battle the virus or the even greater looming global threat: climate change. We are proud to work with India, as twin world leaders in the development and adoption of emerging tech for the benefit of all. NOTES TO EDITORS In April 2018, the Indian and British Prime Ministers announced the formal creation of the UK-India Tech Partnership. The programme aims to bring together the best minds working in tech to unlock its future potential and deliver high-skilled jobs and economic growth in both countries. The key aim is to catalyse innovation and technology, which will address global challenges. This is part of the UK Industrial strategy. These grants are part of a wider initiative under the Tech Partnership known as Tech Clusters. Tech Clusters will support the development of Indian Tech Clusters by breaking down barriers to growth, including building international links. The intent is to capitalise on regional and sectoral strengths in order to drive innovation-led inclusive growth. For more details on Innovation Challenge Fund click here: AI & Data, Future Mobility The UK is playing a major role in the international response to the pandemic as a force for good. It is a world leader in science and a major economy and donor, with expertise in disease outbreaks and vaccine development. Scientists at Oxford University and Imperial College London are leading global efforts to develop a working Covid-19 vaccine. As the world progresses towards a green recovery from Covid-19, the UK is committed to ensuring sustainable energy, disaster resilience and reducing environmental degradation to prevent the wider challenges of climate change and loss of biodiversity. The UK will host next years UN climate conference COP26. Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry, has said the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is estimated to increase intra African trade by US$35billion annually or 52 per cent by 2022. Additionally, it would address the challenges of small fragmented markets in Africa by creating a single market, which would lead to economies of scale. Mr Kyerematen, who said this when he addressed dignitaries at the official commissioning and handing over of the AfCFTA Secretariat Building in Accra on Monday, said the successful implementation of the AfCFTA would bring many benefits to the Continent. It would increase the level of intra African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade within Africa, he said. The Minister observed that the AfCFTA would add value to Africas abundant natural resources and promote economic diversification and industrialization. He noted that it would promote the development of regional value chains and facilitate cross border investments in Africa and open up market access opportunities for small and medium scale enterprises. With Africa's population of 1.2 billion, which is estimated to reach 2.5 billion by 2050, Mr Kyerematen said Africa would become a very attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) because of its market size, with the potential for joint ventures and enhanced local content. More also, it would deepen the integration of Africa into global markets through supply chain arrangements and other forms of subcontracting transactions. "Africa will improve its terms of trade with the rest of the world by earning higher values for its exports through value addition," he said. The Minister observed that the AfCFTA would enhance benefits to consumers on the African Continent through lower prices of goods imported from within Africa. The effective operationalisation of the AfCFTA would significantly increase employment opportunities in Africa, particularly for the youth and other vulnerable groups. Mr Kyerematen while acknowledging the benefits Member States would gain from the AfCFTA, said the benefits would not be accrued automatically and required each Member State to develop a National Programme of Action to harness the AfCFTA's benefits, adding that, such programmes must be mainstreamed into national development strategies. Additionally, he said, the effective implementation of the AfCFTA would require sustained political will and commitment from the highest level of executive authority in each country, in respect of providing adequate budgetary resources to support the growth and development of priority sectors, as well as creating the appropriate incentive and regulatory framework to attract investments from the private sector, both domestic and foreign. There was the need for development of national, regional and continental trade related modern infrastructure including multi modal transport infrastructure to improve connectivity, he said. "There will also be the need to diversify our economies and produce more value added products, he opined. The Minister said the challenges posed by non-tariff barriers and technical barriers to trade, including but not limited to standards, customs clearance processes and procedures and issues relating to rules of origin would all have to be addressed substantively. "I'm confident that together we can address these challenges. In doing so, a lot will depend on the efficiency and effectiveness of the work that will be undertaken in the Secretariat building that we are about to commission," he stated. Mr Kyerematen noted that the Continent's progress depended on the faith Member States have in themselves, saying; "Let us not be haunted by the fear of failure in embarking on this project, but rather be inspired by the prospect of success in realising our vision of a single united market for Africa". 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 lawsuit brought by a U.S. citizen who alleges he was tortured while held for 21 months as a political prisoner in Egypt should depend on whether the International Monetary Fund decides the lead defendant has diplomatic immunity, the plaintiff's lawyers and supporting members of Congress said. The State Department last month declared that IMF executive board member Hazem el-Beblawi should be immune from a lawsuit brought by Mohamed Soltan, 32, in Washington, D.C., where both now work. Soltan, a human rights advocate, has asked a U.S. court to hold Beblawi and other former Egyptian officials accountable for the bloody August 2013 crackdown on Islamist and liberal dissidents in which thousands were killed under the military government of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. While Egypt and the U.S. government agree on former interim prime minister Beblawi's diplomatic status, attorneys for Soltan this month asked U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly not to immediately dismiss the case. They said by treaty, Beblawi's immunity requires "tripartite agreement," which would include the IMF. "In the absence of proof of a tripartite agreement to his . . . status - and the evidence all suggests the IMF has not granted and, as a matter of institutional policy and practice, does not grant such status - Beblawi does not have diplomatic status immunity," Soltan's lawyers led by Eric Lewis wrote. That stance has won backing from several members of Congress, including the Senate's longest-serving active member, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. Leahy has asked the State Department to produce the notification from Egypt's government regarding Beblawi's designation as its "principal resident representative" to the Washington-based IMF, which monitors the global economy and financial system and provides loans to countries struggling to meet debt obligations. Beblawi, who lives in McLean, Va., was named to the IMF board in 2014. "The Vienna Convention [diplomatic immunity] serves an important function and should be respected, but neither our government nor the IMF should do anything that would prevent justice in this case that is not required under the treaty," Leahy said. "We have a strong interest in seeing people who commit such egregious crimes against American citizens brought to justice. That should be a priority, at the same time that we do so in accordance with the treaty," the senator said. IMF spokeswoman Randa Elnagar declined to say if the fund agreed with the designation, referring questions to Beblawi's legal adviser, and added, "as this litigation is ongoing, we are not in a position to comment on this case as such, consistent with our standard practice." Members of the IMF executive board are elected by the countries they represent, not by the institution. Beblawi's counsel and the Egyptian embassy did not respond to requests for comment Monday. In court filings, Beblawi's attorneys have moved to dismiss the case and argued against Soltan's request to pause it to probe his immunity claim. "This motion should be treated as what it is: a desperate attempt to delay dismissal of a politically motivated lawsuit against a fully accredited and immune diplomat," wrote Beblawi's defense, including attorneys Rachel Beck and Robert Bunzel. Calling the lawsuit's assertions "groundless" and "a smokescreen to hide a failed case," they claimed Soltan filed suit against "the only former Egyptian public official he could find in the United States." Beblawi's lawyers said Soltan's claims - including calling Beblawi his torturer - are unsupported propaganda. "Plaintiff's hyperbolic characterizations and baseless theory of conspiracy to fabricate official records have no place in the judicial process, and disrespect the rule of law, the defendant, his lawyers, the Egyptian Embassy, the State Department, and the Court," Beblawi's defense wrote. An Egyptian American raised mostly in the Midwest, Soltan is seeking damages for being shot, beaten and tortured during 643 days after his arrest in August 2013. A high-profile critic of the Egyptian military government and advocate for Egyptian prisoners, including several American citizens, Soltan alleged he was "targeted" for assassination and "barbaric" abuse because he exposed the regime's suppression. The suit asserts Beblawi directed and monitored the abuse of Soltan, who worked as a liaison to foreign journalists during protests after the military-led ouster of Egypt's elected president, Mohamed Morsi. Days after the lawsuit was filed, five of Soltan's relatives were forcibly taken by security forces from their homes in June, and his imprisoned father was interrogated in what human rights groups say is a bid to silence him. Several U.S. lawmakers and human rights groups have accused Egypt of blackmailing the Trump administration by threatening to weaken their strategic partnership in the Middle East unless Washington intervenes to dismiss Soltan's case. More than a dozen House members and senators have urged the government to release Soltan's relatives and affirmed Soltan's right to sue under U.S. law "Locking up innocent people as hostages to try to force an American citizen to dismiss a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court, where the Egyptians are perfectly capable of defending themselves, is appalling," Leahy said in a statement. "That is not what respectable governments do." Namibias cement sales affected by COVID-19 ICR Newsroom By 17 August 2020 The lack of economic activity due to the coronavirus pandemic has affected cement sales by Ohorongo Cement, said Frankleen Alberts, the companys customer relations and public affairs manager. Cement sales have been affected since the outbreak of the virus. We were able to continue supplying our Namibian market without major interruptions while adhering to the regulations under the state of emergency. However, due to the restrictions and quarantine rules by neighbouring countries, our export market suffered adversely, Ms Alberts said. Due to the restrictions on travel and flights, the supply chain is affected and this includes inbound and outbound logistics, in terms of export sales, she added. It further implemented monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, all in accordance with the regulations by the Namibian government, Ms Alberts said. The companys day-to-day operations had not been affected as the company introduced government regulations to ensure the safety of employees while continuing with operations. No of the staff were retrenched or dismissed, according to the Namibia Press Agency. However, the construction industry had already been at an all-time low at the end of 2019 and the lack of major projects is expected to prolong the downturn. Published under Dynamic. Energetic. Thriving. These are all words that come to mind when encountering Brooks formerly known as Brooks City-Base until 2017 one of the San Antonio areas most desirable places to live, said Connie Gonzalez, Brooks director of strategy and community relations. A mixed-use development founded on the former site of Brooks Air Force Base, it has experienced resounding success in economic development over the past few years. And, because Brooks Development Authority is a public-private entity, it allows Brooks to be more flexible in deal structures, and business prospects can have direct dealings with them, added Gonzalez. The Brooks area is one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods in San Antonio, Gonzalez said. Brooks aims to serve as an economic development engine for this region, (and) our mission is to support the employment, housing and transportation needs of our community. Many people are attracted to Brooks because of the development happening there and the wide availability of options, Gonzalez added. Major employers are bringing jobs to the area, and lately new restaurant and retail possibilities have been opening nearly every month with new market-rate housing options available. Visitors and residents can find amenities like Mission Trail Baptist Hospital which opened in 2011 as an environmentally friendly LEED Gold-certified facility dedicated to 24-hour, state-of-the-art care and demonstrating a profound commitment to the South San Antonio community it serves and Brooks Academy of Science and Engineering, a renowned STEM charter school first founded in 2006. Brooks residents are zoned to San Antonio Independent School District or East Center Independent School District. We have seen a significant increase in population in this area, specifically on the Brooks campus, over the past five years, Gonzalez said. According to information from the development, more than 3,200 people live on the 1,300 rolling acres of Brooks. We currently have four apartment communities on campus and a neighborhood with single-family and semi-detached rental homes, Gonzalez said. We are working on additional single-family for sale and rental options to meet community demand for quality housing options. Communities include the award-winning Aviator at Brooks, repurposed from Army barracks into urban-inspired studios, 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments; the modern, upscale Kennedy at Brooks, with its 1- and 2-bedroom apartments, resort-style pool, fitness center and outdoor lounge areas; multi-family development The Landings at Brooks, with 1- and 2-bedroom deluxe, industrial-chic apartments with open floor plans, streamlined appliances, resort-style pool, fitness facility, and proximity to the Greenline Park; prime apartment community the Anderson at Brooks, with 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments, 9-foot ceilings, custom cabinetry and faux wood-plank flooring; and 1950s/1960s 2-, 3- and 4-bedroom homes and duplexes at Heritage Oaks at Brooks with spacious layouts, playgrounds, picnic areas with grills and a remote access gate. Gonzalez noted that Brooks neighborhoods appeal to various demographics. There are a wide variety of people that live on campus, from millennials to young families to empty nesters, Gonzalez said. Some people grew up on the Southside and want to stay close. Others, like me, are getting the opportunity to fall in love with San Antonio all over again by experiencing this area for the first time. She added that Brooks has a lot to see and do. Brooks is in the center of it all on the growing Southside and you can do it all here live, work, learn, play and stay. We have market-rate apartment complexes, three schools on campus and a wide variety of employers, Gonzalez said. Residents have many retail and restaurant options nearby, and are less than a 10-minute drive from downtown San Antonio. We also have a 43-acre linear park, the Greenline, that runs through the center of campus providing opportunities to run, bike, fish and just enjoy the outdoors which has been especially valuable during (COVID-19), she said. Brooks also hosts free events on the Greenline, drawing the community close, and the Brooks Transit Center opened in late 2019, making it easier to get to and from Brooks from anywhere in the city. And Brooks is also close to historic missions, Gonzalez added, with plenty of public art on its campus and in the surrounding area, and many events that take place on site, ranging from outdoor movie nights to live music. In 2021, the trail at Greenline Park will connect directly to the Mission Reach, a move many locals are excited about. The Embassy Suites Hotel & Spa at Brooks is the only full-service hotel south of downtown San Antonio until you reach Corpus Christi or McAllen, Gonzalez said. In addition to an unbeatable happy hour, the hotel is home to the only salt cave in San Antonio, (which is) unlike anything youve ever seen so it is worth checking out for at least a 30-minute halotherapy session. Ultimately, Gonzalez said, Brooks is on the rise and really, this is only the beginning. Brooks is a place for believers and early adopters, she said. We know this area will only continue to grow and become more popular, so if you like being part of the action Brooks is definitely the place to be, she said. For more information about Brooks, visit livebrooks.com or follow Brooks on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Editor's Note: This content is made possible by a sponsored content contributor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of the San Antonio Express-News. Learn more about our advertising products at www.hearstmediasanantonio.com. The Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE has neutralized scores of terrorists and destroyed their hideouts and logistics structures at Tumbuma Baba and Boboshe in Borno, the Defence Headquarters says. The Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, John Enenche, a major general, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja. Mr Enenche said the air strikes were executed on August 16, the first day of missions of a new subsidiary Operation codenamed Hail Storm. He said the subsidiary operation was an air interdiction operation aimed at taking out identified terrorists targets in the Lake Chad and Sambisa Forest areas of Borno. According to him, the attack at Tumbuma Baba, one of the Island settlements on the fringes of the Lake Chad, was carried out after Human Intelligence (HUMINT) reports revealed that several ISWAP fighters and some of their leaders were harboured in some structures concealed under the thick vegetation of the area. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) fighter jets dispatched by the ATF to attack the location scored devastating hits on the settlement, killing several of the terrorists and destroying their structures. Several terrorists were similarly neutralised and some of their dwellings destroyed at Boboshe, a village along the river line on the Eastern part of the Sambisa Forest, as the NAF jets took turns in engaging the location. The Armed Forces of Nigeria, operating in concert with other security agencies and stakeholders, will sustain its efforts to rid the North East of all terrorists and other criminal elements, he said. (NAN) By Trend Azerbaijan, Croatia have increasing interest in starting charter flights, Croatian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Branko Zebic told Trend. Unfortunately, the applications for the issuance of Croatian visas for touristic purposes has been temporarily suspended due to still ongoing situation caused by COVID-19. Because of the unpredictability of the further impact of coronavirus globally and the uncertainty of finding a vaccine, for which we are hoping it will be in the very near future, it is difficult to predict how the exchange in tourism sector will develop, he said. Earlier in 2016, Croatia simplified the rules of entry to the country for Azerbaijan's citizens. According to those new rules, the Azerbaijani citizens with double or a multiple entry Schengen visa with a permission to enter any other EU country, got the right to enter Croatia without visiting the country of which the Schengen visa was obtained. Azerbaijani citizens, obtaining Schengen visa, for example, in the embassies of Lithuania, Latvia and France, got the right to directly visit Croatia without the need to enter the country that issued the visa, as it was earlier. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A top Facebook executive has filed a complaint with Delhi Police saying she is receiving death threats following a media report that said she and the US social network firm allegedly favoured Prime Minister Narendra Modis ruling party. Ankhi Das, Facebooks top public-policy executive in India, in her complaint to Delhi police said some individuals online had intentionally vilified her due to their political affiliations and were engaging in abuse, media reports said. Das has said the threats followed a WSJ report last week that said she opposed ... A federal judge in California disappointed a law firm suing Travelers Insurance over coronavirus lockdown related business interruption claims in refusing to remove its case to state court and denying its request for a dismissal or stay of a countersuit by Travelers. However, U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez in Los Angeles did not end the legal challenge for the insurer over business interruption claims. He combined the law firms suit and insurers countersuit into one case for future pleadings. Travelers is seeking a declaratory order that the business income losses claimed by law firm Geragos & Geragos related to the COVID-19 pandemic are not covered by its policies. Travelers, Insured Law Firm Spar Over Civil Authority Business Income Loss Claim G&G simply did not purchase insurance for the losses that it now claims, Travelers says. The law firm sued in April 10 over Travelers denial of its business interruption loss claims. The firm has argued that the order of a shutdown of nonessential businesses by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti constituted a prohibition of access to its premises that should trigger coverage under the policy and provide coverage for current and future similar civil authority closures of commercial buildings in California. Travelers says a pandemic or virus is not a covered loss under the policies. The insurer insists there is no coverage for G&Gs claimed losses because any suspension of G&Gs operations was not caused by direct physical loss of or damage to property at the law firms premises. In addition, the insurer says the presence of coronavirus on a surface would not cause physical damage to that surface. Further, Travelers argues, there is no coverage under the civil authority provision because the governmental orders were not due to direct physical loss of or damage to property at locations, other than described premises, that are within 100 miles of the described premises. Judge Gutierrez ruled that the litigation would remain in federal court as preferred by Travelers. G&G had argued that its suit should be in state court due to a lack of diversity. However, the judge said diversity exists given Travelers is an out-of-state insurer and G&G is based in California. The judge rejected the law firms adding Mayor Garcetti as a defendant in an apparent attempt to defeat diversity. The judge found that G&Gs complaint identifies no dispute with the mayor and seeks no relief from the mayor. On April 20, Travelers filed its countersuit on May 15, the disputes were moved to the federal court on grounds of diversity jurisdiction. A Travelers spokesperson said the insurer is pleased with the decision to continue in federal court. The judge found no reason to exercise the courts discretionary authority to dismiss the Travelers filing seeking a declaratory order. Topics California Legislation Profit Loss WASHINGTON Top U.S. Postal Service officials will testify before Congress next week amid increasing scrutiny of changes at the agency that Democrats worry may hinder the elections in November. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Robert Duncan agreed to testify before the House Oversight Committee on Aug. 24, Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., announced Monday. "The American people want their mail, medicines and mail-in ballots delivered in a timely way, and they certainly do not want drastic changes and delays in the midst of a global pandemic just months before the election," Maloney said. She said her committee expects the Postal Service to produce documents about the changes. Postal bill: Pelosi calls on House to return to vote on bill that would stop changes at Postal Service Democrats hammered President Donald Trump for cuts at the Postal Service, though Trump defended his administration's stewardship. Monday morning, in an interview with "Fox and Friends," Trump slammed the agency as "one of the disasters of the world." "I'm just making it good," he said. U.S. Postmaster General Louis Dejoy agreed to testify in August before House lawmakers. Lawmakers argued the cuts at the Postal Service cast doubt on its ability to handle a surge of mail-in ballots in November's election. The coronavirus pandemic prompted many states to increase voters' ability to vote by mail to reduce the crowds on Election Day and to provide an alternative to in-person voting for those at the greatest risk from the virus. Despite Trump's rhetoric against voting by mail, his campaign asked state Republican parties to encourage voters to request mail ballots. Trump campaign door knocking in GA urging voters to request absentee ballots https://t.co/fXja3H7i1d pic.twitter.com/ag1P7NYdHF Will Steakin (@wsteaks) August 15, 2020 Friday, the Postal Service warned election officials around the country that even if ballots are requested before state deadlines and mailed back quickly, some may not be delivered in time to be counted. Story continues Chairman of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors Robert Duncan is scheduled to testify about changes to the Postal Service. Rep. Tom OHalleran, D-Ariz., a leader in the moderate House Blue Dog Caucus, said Monday that DeJoy's actions "to sabotage the USPS are tampering with the health, safety and economic security of American citizens." Reps. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Ted Lieu, D-Calif., urged FBI Director Christopher Wray to investigate whether DeJoy's acts were illegal in light of the "overwhelming evidence" that he "hindered the passage of mail." The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is set to end its recess early and return Saturday to vote on legislation that would prevent further changes to the structure or operations of the Postal Service. If the bill passes the House, it faces an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate, which remains in recess until after Labor Day. Contributing: William Cummings, Joey Garrison This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USPS: Trump's Postmaster General DeJoy will testify before Congress Meena Harris, the niece of Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, on Sunday (local time) shared a photo of a poster that has come up in Tamil Nadu featuring the California senator calling her victorious. Taking to Twitter, Meena, a 35-year-old lawyer based in California, said that the photo of the poster was sent to her from Tamil Nadu. The poster has photos of Harris with a text in the Tamilian script--PV Gopalans granddaughter is victorious. The poster cropped up days after Kamala was picked by Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, as his running mate in the US election. Born to a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, California Senator Harris, if elected, would be the first woman vice president ever for the country. I was sent this from Tamil Nadu where our Indian family is from. It says "PV Gopalans granddaughter is victorious." I knew my great grandfather from our family trips to Chennai when I was younghe was a big figure for my grandma and I know theyre together somewhere smiling now. pic.twitter.com/WuZiKimmqj Meena Harris (@meenaharris) August 16, 2020 I was sent this from Tamil Nadu where our Indian family is from. It says PV Gopalans granddaughter is victorious. I knew my great grandfather from our family trips to Chennai when I was young--he was a big figure for my grandma and I know theyre together somewhere smiling now, Meena tweeted. Kamalas mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was born in Chennai before she moved to the US for further study. Shyamala became a leading cancer researcher and activist. Shyamala was the daughter of PV Gopalan, a high-ranking civil servant. Speaking during an event on Saturday, Kamala recalled her long walks with her grandfather during her childhood visits to India. The California senator remembered how she and her grandfather would go on long walks in what was then called Madaras where the latter would tell Harris about heroes who were involved in the freedom struggle in India. She said that the lessons from her grandfather P V Gopalan, are a big reason why I am where I am today. In Madras, I would go on long walks with my grandfather, who at that point was retired, and we take morning walks where I pulled his hand and he would tell me about the heroes who are responsible for the birth of the worlds biggest democracy, and he would explain that tts on us to pick up where they left off. Those lessons are a big reason why I am where I am today, she added. Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson's latest instalment of Reality News featured the usual foul-mouthed banter the pair have come to be known for, when it was posted to Instagram on Sunday. And, as always, Pete spent the majority of the episode ribbing his pal - mostly about his girlfriend Zara McDermott and Sam's wealthy father. Talking about Lisa Armstrong's electrician boyfriend not being interested in her 30m divorce settlement from Ant McPartlin, Pete remarked: 'It's terrible when people just go out with people for money isn't it Sam?' Comedy duo: Pete Wicks and Sam Thompson's latest instalment of Reality News featured the usual foul-mouthed banter the pair have come to be known for, when it was posted to Instagram on Sunday 'Yeah...' was Sam's reply, to which Pete went on: 'I bet you get that all the time... 'Previous relationships where people have seen you and thought he's a c**k, I can't stand him, he's quite annoying, he's not that good looking, he's average height, and his c**k's quite small! 'Lucky Zara genuinely loves you and isn't after all that money that daddy's going to leave you!' Sam then declared that he was 'sick of this' and phoned Zara, asking her to clarify that she's not with him for the cash. Joker: And, as always, Pete spent the majority of the episode ribbing his pal - mostly about his girlfriend Zara McDermott and Sam's wealthy father But of the jokes: Sam declared that he was 'sick of this' and phoned Zara, asking her to clarify that she's not with him for the cash After a lengthy pause, Zara said, robotically: 'I'm not with him because of any kind of trust fund.' 'Very believable babe!' quipped Pete. Later in the instalment, Sam told Pete that his father bought him a pair of swimming shorts. '30 years old, daddy's buying his swim shorts,' Pete goaded. 'Daddy bought his house. daddy pays for his lifestyle, daddy pays for his girlfriend effectively...' Proof: After a lengthy pause, Zara said, robotically, 'I'm not with him because of any kind of trust fund.' 'Very believable babe!' quipped Pete Short shorts: Later in the instalment, Sam told Pete that his father bought him a pair of swimming shorts Romance: Sam met Zara, who appeared on Love Island two years ago, and she now appears alongside him on Made In Chelsea The duo hail from East and West London structured reality shows, The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea. They met on Celebs Go Dating, with Sam finding love off the show when he met Zara, who appeared on Love Island two years ago. Zara now also appears alongside Sam on Made In Chelsea, while Pete recently appeared on another season of Celebs Go Dating. He also took part in the most recent series of Celebrity MasterChef. This accomplishment reminds us of the vital work we do to help entrepreneurs all over the country get started and pursue their goals. This achievement and continued growth couldnt have been possible without our amazing clients and our great team here at Swyft Filings. In its first year of eligibility, Swyft Filings joined a prominent list of high-flying companies by making the Inc. 5000 Inc. Magazines list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. Swyft Filings, an online document filing service based in Houston, Texas, ranked 2069 in its debut listing. The company ranked 252 in its industry, 178 in Texas, and 44 in Houston. Companies making this list in the past have grown six-fold on average. Swyft Filings is now among companies such as Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Patagonia, and other well-known names that gained their first national exposure as honorees on the Inc. 5000. Swyft Filings has helped over 100,000 small businesses and nonprofits in the U.S. start their journey by filing documents and handling corporate formations. Along with documentation, Swyft Filings helps businesses with their development process. The company recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. It is a huge honor for everyone here at Swyft Filings to be recognized on the Inc. 5000 list, said Swyft Filings President Travis Crabtree. This accomplishment reminds us of the vital work we do to help entrepreneurs all over the country get started and pursue their goals. This achievement and continued growth couldnt have been possible without our amazing clients and our great team here at Swyft Filings. About Swyft Filings: Swyft Filings is an online business incorporation and compliance provider based in Houston, Texas. Since its founding in 2015, Swyft Filings has helped more than 100,000 entrepreneurs start and grow their new businesses. Visit http://www.swyftfilings.com for more information. Julie Inman-Grant has worked to shape the internet for its entire existence as a public utility, some 30 years in the US and Australia. And she doesn't like the way it's going: "I have never seen such a dark side of the open web as I'm seeing now." Inman-Grant also happens to be Australia's internet safety regulator. "So much hostility, so much abuse at scale, and it hasn't let up," she tells me. The pandemic created an apparent surge in hateful and criminal conduct online when many countries restricted public movement and shut many businesses. But it wasn't a surge. It seems that it was a threshold opportunity for human malice. Inman-Grant's agency, the Office of the eSafety Commission, reports a 97 per cent increase in child sex abuse material since May in Australia. And an increase of more than 200 per cent in what it calls image-based abuse revenge porn and sextortion. Cyber abuse is up by half. "It hasn't plateaued it's continuing to rise." The office is more than doubling its staff of investigators in response. But the numbers are tiny. It's hiring 30 to expand its existing complement of 24. Kamala Harris put a revenge porn web designer away for 18 years when she was a prosecutor. Credit:AP The office, the first online safety regulator in the world and now five years old, is very successful within a very limited remit. Even though most harmful material is hosted on servers abroad, the Australian agency has been able to work with online firms to get revenge porn and sextortion images removed with a success rate of 90 per cent, for instance. There is an angry backlash from Government, the bar trade and the public to a video from the weekend that appears to show total disregard to public-health advice in a Dublin bar. Footage circulating on social media showed a barman standing on a bar and pouring alcohol into the mouths of dancing punters. The 'Baked Brunch' event, which took place in Berlin D2 bar and restaurant in Dublin's Dame Lane, kicked off at 1pm and ended at around 5pm. Footage showed groups of people seated at separate tables and enjoying meals at the beginning of the event. They were asked to stay in boxes which were marked by tape on the floor, however revellers were dancing together towards the end of the event. One eyewitness told the Irish Independent he and his wife attended the event but left after it got "crazy". "We went with my wife around 3pm. And at the beginning it was great and quiet. "Then the atmosphere started to be crazy and we decided to leave because we felt unsafe," he said. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Madness: Footage from the Baked Brunch event shows a barman standing on the bar while pouring alcohol into the mouths of dancing customers Madness: Footage from the Baked Brunch event shows a barman standing on the bar while pouring alcohol into the mouths of dancing customers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Madness: Footage from the Baked Brunch event shows a barman standing on the bar while pouring alcohol into the mouths of dancing customers Restaurateur Jay Bourke, who is involved with Berlin D2, said he was "absolutely mortified" at the scenes recorded at the bar. Speaking to RTE News, Mr Bourke said he did not think it was a full reflection of what happened in the venue. He called it "20 seconds of madness", and described Berlin as a "very compliant premises". But he added that he was reviewing CCTV footage of the incident. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said the footage showed "reckless actions". "The vast majority of Irish people have sacrificed a huge amount to help suppress this virus," he said. "They've shown huge solidarity. People are rightly sickened by these scenes. The reckless actions of a small few can have huge repercussions on everyone else." The Licensed Vintners Association also denounced the scenes. "This is outrageous and appalling. That business should be shut down immediately," it said. According to the group, the bar is not a pub and does not hold a pub licence. It is understood the establishment holds a restaurant and a theatre licence. CEO of the Restaurants Association of Ireland Adrian Cummins described the footage as "deplorable and despicable". "They are a slap on the face to every frontline worker in our country who put their lives on the line during this pandemic," he said. An Garda Siochana said social distancing and other public health guidelines were "not penal provisions". Berlin did not respond to a request for comment. An Uttarakhand woman has filed a police complaint against BJP MLA from Almora's Dwarahat constituency Mahesh Singh Negi, alleging that he raped her in different hotels in Nepal, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. She had previously been accused of blackmailing and attempting to extort Rs 5 crore from Negi. She lodged her complaint in Dehrahdun and marked it to the SHO of Nehru Colony, as well, where an extortion case had been filed against her by Negi's wife on August 14, states a report by Hindustan Times. However, the MLA's wife has also lodged a complaint at the Nehru colony police station accusing the woman of blackmailing her husband. "A case has been registered and a probe is underway, DG (law and order) Ashok Kumar said. According to her complaint accessed by HT, she said she first came in contact with Negi in 2016; both lived in the same neighbourhood. She said her mother used to remain ill at the time, and the doctor had advised giving steam, for which she was going to take her to the hospital. However, Negi came to know about the matter and asked her to not visit the hospital since he had a steam machine at home, she said. She said she believed him, and took her mother to the house to help provide her steam, alleging that one day, Negi called her outside the room on the pretext of taking a selfie and then forcibly grabbed her. According to the complaint, the woman also alleged that Negi raped her in a Mussoorie hotel just a few days before she got married. The woman said she kept silent fearing Negi's clout and got married on the scheduled date. However, Negi again called her and pressurised her to return to her maternal house in Almora, she alleged. The complainant said that due to the pressure and threats, she came back to her parent's house after a few weeks, adding that she was then asked to not return to her in-laws and was forced to lodge a false complaint of dowry harassment against her husband and in-laws. She said in her complaint that when her husband demanded the reason behind it, she narrated the entire story to him, after which he ended all relations with her. She also alleged further in the complaint that she was then raped by Negi on various occassions by taking her to hotels in Delhi, Nepal, Himachal Pradesh, Nainital, Almora and even to his friends farmhouse in Haldwani, the report states. She alleged that after that she got pregnant. Her complaint states that when she informed Negi of her pregnancy, he gave her an assurance that he would give his name to the child and take care of her. She added that the alleged accused also accompanied her for medical examinations in a Dehradun hospital before her delivery on May 18 this year. She said she also got a DNA test conducted after giving birth to a girl, which revealed that her husband was not the father. She alleged that once she informed Negi about it, he refused to accept the girl as his daughter. She accused Negi's wife Rita Negi of offering her Rs 25 lakh to "forget the incident" and said she wouldn't back off and wanted her daughter to have her rights, the report by HT states. The woman alleged that she was framed by Negi in a false extortion case. The complainant now wants a DNA test to be conducted to confirm if Negi is indeed her daughter's father. The woman wants to fight him legally, as well, and has requested for police protection for her and her family as Negi could "harm them". Shweta Chaubey, Superintendent of police, Dehradun (city) told HT that the complaint had been given to the DIG but was yet to received by them. Once they got it, appropriate action would be taken on it, she said. However, Negi told HT that the allegations were false and said it was a conspiracy by the Opposition to malign his image. Negi said the woman had submitted the false complaint after being booked in an extortion case, adding that Congress was using her to malign his image. He added that investigations in the extortion case would reveal "everything". The Congress has however denied having to do anything with the woman or her allegations, and said that she was taking action on her own. Congress party vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana told HT that such allegations made against a ruling MLA were a serious matter, nonetheless. Congress questioned that if Negi was innocent, why he was denying a DNA test. This is the Tennessee House chamber on August 18, 1920. The room is full of roses, yellow worn by those supporting womens suffrage and red by those against. Its tense. All eyes are on the clerk as he counts the votes. After decades of tireless campaigning and 144 years after Thomas Jefferson declared all white, property-owning men equal, the battle for womens suffrage came down to a single vote, cast by the youngest member of the legislature, carrying a note from his mother. This vote ratified the 19th Amendment and guaranteed women the right to vote. Its an incredible story and reminds us of how even constitutional amendments, so national in their scope, ultimately get decided on a very local, human level. It brings politics home. We have one of the worlds oldest and shortest Constitutions. And its authors recognized the need for it to evolve with time. The process is undoubtedly arduous. It took 203 years to pass the 27th Amendment, which revised congressional pay. But it allows we, the people, to determine the law. In 1923, three years after the 19th Amendment was ratified, suffragist Alice Paul proposed a new amendment, one that would declare men and women equal under the law, not just at the polls. It became known as the Equal Rights Amendment, the E.R.A. Today, nearly 100 years later, its passage still hangs in the balance. This year, as we approach the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendments ratification, the E.R.A. will be a subject of local debate as supporters will work to get the 38th and final state to ratify. Eyes will be on several of the state legislatures who have yet to ratify, including Virginia, North Carolina and Arizona. Its history is fascinating. After it was proposed in 1923, the E.R.A. was presented in every session of Congress for nearly 50 years. In 1940, the Republican Party was the first to include support for the amendment in its platform. When Congress eventually passed the E.R.A. in 1972, it went to the states for ratification. It was quickly approved by 33 states. But the opposition, led by a woman, ran a campaign so strong the amendment was still three states short by the deadline. By coming here today, you have shown that that is not what American women want. In recent years, galvanized by the #MeToo movement and the ratification of the 200-year-old 27th Amendment, supporters have pushed for ratification from three remaining states, hoping Congress will adjust the deadline. In 2017, Nevada voted to ratify, followed a year later by Illinois. History is being made. And its happening right in our backyards. And thats why I want to show you this moment, from 1920, in the Tennessee House chamber, when the 19th Amendment hung in the balance. The Suffragists needed one more vote. And as the fateful roll call began, they had no idea where it might come from. Harry Burn, from McMinn County, the youngest man in the legislature, was cautious. Most of his constituents were against votes for women. And he had come into the chamber that morning with a red rose in his buttonhole. But he also carried, folded in his pocket, a letter from his mother. Dear son, vote for suffrage and dont keep them in doubt. I noticed some of the speeches against. They were very bitter. I have been watching to see how you stood but have not seen anything yet. Dont forget to be a good boy. With lots of love, mama. When the roll call reached him, Harry Burn voted to ratify. His single vote ended 72 years of painful struggle. The 19th Amendment was now law. Womens suffrage had, at last, been written into the Constitution. And the goal that had first been proposed in Seneca Falls in 1848 had been reached. Asked to explain himself later, Harry Burn said simply, I know that a mothers advice is always safest for a boy to follow. I love that story on so many levels. Its one of the great single deciding votes in our history. And it was cast by a 24-year-old who changed his mind on the spot thanks to a letter from his mother. Its an interesting echo to the process were seeing unfold around the renewed efforts to pass the E.R.A. You know, the most recent vote to consider the E.R.A. was in Virginia in February 2019. Guess how many votes it fell short by? This honor is a testament to the hard work of our team, said Roger Barnette, CEO of MessageGears. Their dedication to the success of our customers is what leads so many world-class brands to trust our team and our software with mission-critical marketing needs. Inc. magazine revealed that MessageGears has been named to 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. This honor is a testament to the hard work of our team, said Roger Barnette, CEO of MessageGears. Their dedication to the success of our customers is what leads so many world-class brands to trust our team and our software with mission-critical marketing needs. That trust drives us every day, toward groundbreaking innovations and customer service thats unmatched in the industry. Im proud to see that work reflected with recognition like this. 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. Educating our young people is non-negotiable, Stitt said. We have to do that, whether its virtual or in-person. You have to manage the risk. I believe in-person is the right way to do schools. One person not at the meeting was Tulsa County Health Department Director Bruce Dart. Bynum said he asked for Dart to attend but was told the meeting was full. Stitt said the same and noted that only health officials at the state level were invited. Asked what he learned from the meeting, Stitt said: Even though were in a good spot and were seeing kind of a downward trend (in new cases), she reminded me this thing can happen really, really quickly. We can get some spikes very quickly. So we have to continue to monitor to that. Stitt said Birx complimented the states plan for testing and surge contingencies. Birx also told the group that Oklahoma is about four to six weeks behind a surge in the deep South thats being attributed to asymptomatic spread of the disease. Wellington, Aug 17 : Citizens of New Zealand whose jobs may be affected by the re-emergence of coronavirus in Auckland, the country's largest city, will be supported by a new wage subsidy scheme, the government announced on Monday. It set out the criteria for a new nationwide wage subsidy covering the period that Auckland is at Covid-19 Alert Level 3, reports Xinhua news agency. It has also removed the revenue-drop test for the COVID-19 Leave Support Scheme. Under Level 3, businesses are required to implement COVID-19 safety measures, and most people are encouraged to work from home and school children learn from home. "The government is again moving quickly to cushion the blow for businesses and workers," Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in a press conference. "The new wage subsidy will help support cash flow and confidence," Robertson said, adding along with the existing wage subsidy extension - which is open until September 1 for eligible businesses. The Treasury estimates that about 930,000 jobs will be covered by the two schemes. "We've seen the benefits to the economy by going hard and early to get on top of the virus," with activity in June and July running above levels seen last year as the economy reopened after the first lockdown between late-March and mid-May and business got going again, he said. The Covid-19 Leave Support Scheme means businesses with workers who have been told by health officials or their medical practitioner to self-isolate will receive the equivalent of the wage subsidy to help cover that person's wages for the time they cannot be at work, he added. "That means removing barriers to a person getting tested, including fears that a positive result would put their employment at risk or that they wouldn't receive income while they couldn't work because they had used up their sick leave," Robertson said. The mortgage deferral scheme is also being extended from its current end-date of September 27 to March 31, 2021. Further details will be made available by the Reserve Bank and the retail banks, the minister said. At the same time as putting these measures in place to cushion the blow, New Zealand is continuing to roll out a comprehensive recovery and rebuild plan by investing in training, creating jobs through infrastructure investment and supporting businesses through the tax system, Robertson added. On Monday, seven new cases were reported which were linked to the Auckland family cluster, while two others were under investigation. The total number of active cases in New Zealand is 78, of which 58 are from the recent community outbreak, and 20 are imported cases in managed isolation and quarantine facilities, according to the Health Ministry. The overall caseload currently stands at 1,631, with 22 deaths. Former Congressman Steve Stockman, whom leftwing Salon called a Tea Party darling, has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal from a 10-year criminal sentence on multiple counts involving raising money from just two GOP donors. You may have heard the term criminalization of politics. Steve Stockmans 2018 conviction is very literally an example. Stockmans asking the Supreme Court to overturn that politicized conviction should be watched by conservatives who know that a Biden/Harris administration would be a reboot of the lawless and lawbreaking Obama Deep State, but probably even more vindictive towards conservatives. Representative Steve Stockman 2014 Offical Congrssional Portrait Former prosecutor Rachel Alexander, writing at Townhall.com, said of Stockman: He was a Congressional whistleblower on Obama administration corruption, with such actions as calling for the House Select Committee to investigate the governments handling of the Benghazi exposing President Obamas payment to the Haqqani terrorist network in exchange for the release of Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, and revealing Secretary of State Hillary Clintons violation of the Iran sanctions to allow the sale to Iran of specialized steel used in nuclear weaponry. Stockman was visited by the FBI within a few days after calling for the arrest of the notorious anti-Tea Party IRS official, Lois Lerner, who was abusing nonprofit tax law to silence conservatives, and acting in contempt of Congress. Those very nonprofit tax issues abused by Lerner would later be corrupted as a way to prosecute Stockman. The judge in Stockmans trial even refused to let Stockmans defense mention the name Lois Lerner. The Department of Justice empaneled three grand juries to indict Steve, including one out of the Baltimore office run by Spygate figure Rod Rosenstein, but all three failed to indict. A fourth grand jury, after the government took ample batting practice, finally did indict. General Michael Flynns lawyer Sidney Powell was quoted in The New American: It is highly likely [the Justice Department Public Integrity Section] targeted former Congressman Stockman and have been extremely and unreasonably harsh toward him because he was so outspoken in trying to hold Lois Lerner, the Clintons, and Obama accountable. Steve was convicted under what even many specialty lawyers may consider complex campaign finance and nonprofit tax law, but a friend-of-the-court brief I filed in support of Steves petition to the Supreme Court hopefully makes those issues clearer. Thirty-seven co-amici, including conservatives associated with nonprofit organizations, campaign finance lawyers, and former Members of Congress, added their names to the brief. Steves case is literally the criminalization of politics. The court of appeals opinion upholding Stockmans conviction failed to even once mention the First Amendment in this case about political advocacy, despite ample precedent that he was engaging in protected rights. It made new law by twisting and distorting the meaning of one Supreme Court opinion to find that Stockman had unlawfully coordinated an expenditure under federal election law. The appeals court failed to correct the trial judge for issuing misleading jury instructions that omitted mention of the lawful and constitutionally protected politics in which nonprofit organizations may and do engage every day. It was almost as if Lois Lerner herself were directing the prosecution in Stockmans case. Like a political prisoner in a banana republic country, Steve has been mistreated in prison. Despite his age and multiple comorbidities, he was denied transfer to home confinement before and after a massive COVID-19 outbreak in the federal prison where he sits. The orders, he was told, came from someone very high up. Inevitably, Stockman was infected. After an emergency room doctor prescribed him hydroxychloroquine, the prison refused to fill the prescription. As Thomas Lifson wrote, Someone is trying to kill conservative crusader Steve Stockman. Steves tireless wife Patti has led the charge to raise the profile of his mistreatment, and the mistreatment of other prisoners who are being denied hydroxychloroquine and other medical treatment while they are sitting ducks in prison. Patti Stockman asks that we keep up the pressure on the Bureau of Prisons, and contact officials to alert them we ask for their help, particularly: Mr. David Brewer, Director Acting Senior Deputy Director of BOP Central Office 320 First Street, NW Washington, DC 20534 202-353-3638 Patti says, be sure to cite Stephen Stockman #23502479. Meanwhile, Steves petition asking the Supreme Court to hear his appeal is something conservatives should watch. Other amicus briefs supporting his request for appeal are due by September 2. If you wish to read about just some of the injustice that was done through his prosecution, I hope youll read this brief. If youre a conservative activist or candidate, you could be next under a Biden/Harris Deep Sate. The information technology (IT) parliamentary committee is split over summoning Facebook executives to explain reports of it displaying a bias towards the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) when it comes to censoring hate speech. IT panel chairperson Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said that the committee would like to hear an explanation from the social media company after a report in the Wall Street Journal said that its policy head Ankhi Das advised against taking acton against a BJP leader. Committee member and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey told Hindustan Times that Tharoor could not call Facebook to seek an explanation because the House rules dont allow it . Also read: Delhi committee likely to probe Facebook officials over charges As the chair, Tharoors powers are conferred upon him by the speaker, said Dubey. Rule 269 states that it is the secretary general who has the power to summon a witness. Dubey earlier tweeted out a similar message, sparking a controversy on the microblogging site with Trinamool Congress MP and committee member Mahua Moitra coming to Tharoors defence. Am IT committee member -- agenda item was already agreed & bulletinized with Speakers approval at the beginning of the year, Moitra tweeted. When to schedule each item and who to call is Chairmans prerogative. Amazing how BJP jumps up & down at anything to do with FBs interests. Tharoor too responded late on Monday evening, saying that Dubey has brought the committees work into disrepute. You are absolutely right, Mahua Moitra, & by imputing motives to my decision, @nishikant_dubey has brought the Committees work into disrepute, a matter I will take up. Extraordinary that an MP would suggest that a matter of such great public interest should NOT be taken up by us, he wrote on Twitter. According former Lok Sabha secretary general P.D.T Achary, the committee can take up a special subject under rule 276 of the procedure. A committee may, if it thinks fit, make a special report on any matter that arises or comes to light in the course of its work which it may consider necessary to bring to the notice of the Speaker or the House, notwithstanding that such matter is not directly connected with, or does not fall within or is not incidental to, its terms of reference, is what the rule says. Achary told Hindustan Times that the secretary general is the administrative head, but not all documents need to necessarily be signed by him. There is a secretariat attached to each committee, Achary said. The chairperson can request a third party to come and offer an explanation. It then goes to the secretariat for approval. Achary added that issue here would have been whether the subject can be taken up, but since there is provision for a special subject that does not hold in this case. Once a subject is taken up, which at the discretion of the chairperson unless there is wide opposition from the committee a request can be made to call a third party. The IT committee has 30 members, 15 of whom are from the BJP and its allies. Also read: Ravi Shankar Prasad says Rahul Gandhis attack on RSS, BJP relies on a myth, asks a counter question The Congress on Monday stepped up its attack, saying Facebooks inaction against hate content destabilises democracy in India, and reiterated its demand for a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) into the charges. Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, however, told Hindustan Times that a JPC was out of the question. The allegations are a manifestation of the frustration of the Congress and Rahul (Gandhi). They have been disrespecting institutions like CAG { Comptroller and Auditor General} , EC {Election Commission}, SC {Supreme Court} and also the electronic voting machine by raising doubts. Facebook is a new chapter from their frustration book. The Congress, however, isnt the only opposition party to have raised the issue. I spoke on this issue on the floor of #Parliamentin June 2019, tweeted TMC spokesperson Derek OBrien. In his speech, OBrien had alleged the existence of a connection between the BJP and the senior management of the social networking site which he referred to as de facto campaigners for the BJP, alluding to Das. Facebooks Delhi office is virtually an extended BJP IT cell. Facebook censored anti-BJP news and put other parties in jeopardy, he had said. In 2019, Sheldon Cooper, Leonard Hofstadter, Raj Koothrappali, Howard Wolowitz, and Penny signed off for the last time. The finale of The Big Bang Theory was watched by 23 million people, and neatly tied the shows 12 seasons into a neat package. Fans havent spent the last year discussing the finale because of what transpired during the episode. Instead, theyve speculated about the episodes name. The finale was titled The Stockholm Syndrome, and fans have a theory about why the finale was titled after a psychological phenomenon. What is Stockholm Syndrome? Stockholm Syndrome was first observed in the 1970s, when a robber took control of a bank for six days. According to the BBC, the hostages who were terrorized for six days refused to testify at trial, and even tried to raise money for the robbers legal fees. In short, the syndrome is described as misplaced affection for the person who has caused an individual psychological trauma. Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler | Richard Cartwright/CBS via Getty Images RELATED: Do You Know How Long It Would Take to Binge the Entirety of The Big Bang Theory? Over the years, Stockholm Syndrome has been mentioned in a variety of cases. Generally, though, Stockholm Syndrome is associated with captive situations. Leonard, Penny, Howard, Raj, Bernadette, and Amy werent exactly being held hostage by Sheldon. They were allowed to come and go as they pleased, of course. Still, the group seemed to put up with a litany of unreasonable requests, and while they each showed annoyance with Sheldon over the years, none were willing to just walk away. Fans theorize that The Big Bang Theorys finale was named after the psychological phenomenon The Big Bang Theory was well-known for its original episode titles. Many of the shows titles featured a play on words, and the series finale is no different. One Reddit fan, however, pointed out that The Stockholm Syndrome might have a deeper meaning. The user argued that one could argue that the group of friends were all suffering from Stockholm Syndrome after being held hostage by Sheldons quirks and eccentricities. Penny and Sheldon Cooper of The Big Bang Theory | Sonja Flemming/CBS via Getty Images Sheldon had no problem setting boundaries with his friends. Often times, his limitations were completely nonsensical and interrupted the normal lives of his pals. He didnt seem to care, and, in the end, almost everyone willingly acquiesced to Sheldons whims. Even Penny, who, initially, had been resistant to putting up with Sheldon eventually gave in. So, did the entire group create an unhealthy attachment to Sheldon as their captor, or is there a much simpler explanation for the finales title? There may be a much simpler explanation for the episode name, though While the fan theory that Sheldons friends were suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, is particularly interesting, there may be a much simpler explanation for the episode name. In the finale of The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon and Amy were awarded a Nobel Prize for their work in physics. It is the entire plotline of the episode, and all of their pals traveled to support them. The award ceremony and banquet is traditionally held in Stockholm, Sweden. The cast of The Big Bang Theory appears in The Stockholm Syndrome | Michael Yarish/CBS via Getty Images RELATED: Warner Bros. Was Once Sued Over the Use of Soft Kitty on The Big Bang Theory According to the official website of The Nobel Prize, awards for the hard sciences, like physics, are awarded at a ceremony held in Stockholm. The Nobel Peace Prize is presented in a separate service in Norway. The ceremony is held as per the directions laid out in Arthur Nobels will. It seems likely that the episodes title had absolutely nothing to do with Sheldons eccentricities causing psychological changes in his friends. Instead, the episode was likely named for the location of the famed ceremony. Twenty-one fatalities and 342 recoveries have been recorded. Ukraine reports 1,464 new active COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours as of 9:00 August 17. That's according to the Health Ministry's Telegram channel. This brings a total of recorded cases to 92820 since the pandemic outbreak. Read alsoKyiv tightening quarantine: new "yellow zone" bansThe overall death toll in Ukraine has reached 2,089 (+21 deaths in the past 24 hours), while recoveries have hit 48,164 (including 342 in the past day), the National Security and Defense Council's map shows. The health ministry says 1,300,289 PCR tests have been run. Coronavirus epidemic in Ukraine Ukraine saw a new record daily high of 1,847 coronavirus cases as of August 15. The country's Health Ministry reported about a sharp increase in the number of patients with a severe course of the coronavirus disease. In addition, the ministry called on the regions to get ready for the second wave of COVID-19 in Ukraine. Rome, 17 August 2020 Some 1.7 million small-scale farmers in Kenya, Nigeria and Pakistan will soon receive personalized agricultural advice through their mobile phones as a means to improve their incomes, food security and resilience to economic shocks caused by COVID-19, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) announced today. The innovative initiative, one of 11 proposals to receive initial funding under IFADs Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF), comes as a result of a new partnership between IFAD and Precision Agriculture for Development (PAD ), a global non-profit organisation co-founded by Nobel Prize winning economist Michael Kremer. Using mobile phone technology, farmers will receive low-cost, customized advice to improve on-farm practices, input utilization, pest and disease management, environmental sustainability, and access to markets. IFADs RPSF, which was launched recently by IFADs UN Goodwill Ambassadors, the actor and humanitarian Idris Elba and the model and activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba, aims to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods and food security of rural poor people. Funding for these first 11 initiatives, amounting to US$11.2 million from the RPSF plus $5.2 million in co-financing mainly from governments and implementing partners, will benefit an estimated 6.7 million small-scale farmers in developing countries who are adversely impacted by the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the proposals financed are two regionally focused initiatives in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa that will provide emergency livelihood support through local farmers organisations, and eight country-level initiatives in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine, and Rwanda. The majority of these initiatives, which are embedded in national COVID-19 response strategies, will be implemented through IFAD project teams and other strategic partners to ensure fast delivery. The activities that will be delivered include: providing seeds and fertiliser in time for the upcoming planting season; assisting with storage and market transport; supporting local banks to provide credit; and establishing digital platforms for information, training, banking, and marketing services. Working through existing project teams and IFAD country offices, the initiatives will draw on existing targeting data to identify and provide assistance to the most at-risk groups. The second round of funding, which includes 22 initiatives and amounts to $13.8 million, is expected by the end of August. Thanks to generous contributions from key partners, additional rounds of funding will follow later in the year. IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition, and strengthen resilience. Since 1978, we have providedUS$22.4 billion in grants and low-interest loans to projects that have reached an estimated 512 million people. IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations specialized agency based in Rome the United Nations food and agriculture hub. Press release No.: IFAD/39/2020 Jane Carson-Sandler, of South Carolina, who was raped by the Golden State Killer in 1976, holds a sign with a message to her attacker in Sacramento, California: (2018 The Associated Press) Dozens of Joseph DeAngelos surviving victims will share their stories in a California courtroom this week to highlight the impact that his brutal crimes had on their lives. DeAngelo, known as the Golden State Killer, pleaded guilty in June to 13 murders and more than 50 rapes between 1973 and 1986. Some survivors of DeAngelos crimes, along with family members of his victims, are scheduled to give statements over three days prior to his sentencing. As part of a plea deal to spare him the death penalty, DeAngelo, a former police officer, admitted to dozens of uncharged crimes while in custody. However the victims of these crimes, many of which are sexual assaults, will not see justice as the statute of limitations has expired, according to the Ventura County Star. Cheryl Temple, Ventura County chief assistant district attorney, said that the decision to let the victims tell their stories was made in order to highlight the long-lasting damage DeAngelos crimes have had. The statements from all victims are designed to enlighten all parties and the public to the swath of damage that violent predators leave in their wake, Ms Temple said. They can be cathartic for victims to write and deliver, and they truly shift the focus from the defendant to the societal impact of crime." One of the survivors, Jane Carson-Sandler, told the Associated Press that she has served an effective life sentence in the four decades since she was raped by DeAngelo. She said that for the victims, our wounds heal and our scars remain. Kris Pedretti, who was just 15 years old when she was attacked by DeAngelo, added that after she was sexually assaulted, this kid who liked to go shopping and do cartwheels on the lawn that girl was gone. Ms Pedretti said that she struggled for decades after the attack and did a lot of self-medicating, a lot of poor coping mechanisms, as she lost friends and got divorced twice. However, she said that after DeAngelo was arrested in 2018 she started to go to therapy and became a den mother to multiple other sexual assault survivors. Story continues He didnt win. Im not a lost girl. I want to make that clear, Ms Pedretti said. I just got so much love and support in the last two years that Im in a really good place and I want to pay it forward. Survivors Gay and Bob Hardwick told the AP that they would have liked DeAngelo to be given the death penalty, but always knew it was unrealistic as California has a moratorium on such punishment. Thats been with me for 42 years now, and in my view thats a long life sentence for someone to serve who didnt deserve to serve it, Ms Hardwick said. Not one of us, the survivors, deserved to have this kind of violence and hatred and desecration put upon them. She added: He certainly does deserve to die, in my view, so I am seeing that he is trading the death penalty for death in prison. The survivors are scheduled to speak on Tuesday and Wednesday. Family members of DeAngelos victims will deliver statements on Thursday. DeAngelo will be sentenced on Friday and the proceedings will be live-streamed on the Sacramento County Superior Courts YouTube channel. Read more Golden State killer Joseph James DeAngelo pleads guilty Genetic genealogy caught the Golden State Killer but is it ethical? The true story behind HBOs Ill Be Gone in the Dark Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday reached Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral relations, amidst the recent strain in the ties over Riyadh's reluctance to toe Islamabad's line on the Kashmir issue. IMAGE: Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2018. Photograph: Govt of Pakistan Despite repeated requests from Pakistan to hold a foreign ministers' meeting on Kashmir, the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has shown reluctance to convene such a conference, prompting an upset Islamabad to threaten that it may call a separate gathering on the issue. Diplomatic sources in Islamabad said that Gen Bajwa was accompanied by the Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed. The details of their engagements in Saudi Arabia have not been released, but the two are expected to hold high-level meetings to iron out misgivings. Pakistan has been pushing the 57-member organisation, which is the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, for the foreign ministers' meeting since India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year. However, there has not been any positive response from the OIC, the biggest bloc of Islamic countries in the world, to Pakistan's request so far. A major reason behind the OIC's inaction has been Saudi Arabia's reluctance to accept Pakistan's request for holding a meeting specifically on Kashmir. Riyadh's support is crucial for any move at the OIC, which is dominated by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution was its internal matter. It also advised Pakistan to accept reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, for the first time, criticised the Saudi government in a recent TV interview and threatened to call an OIC meeting by sidestepping the Gulf country. Saudis avoided directly responding to Qureshi's remarks, but reportedly stopped renewing a USD 3.2 billion oil credit facility to Pakistan despite requests from Islamabad. Pakistan has also paid back USD 1 billion loan to Riyadh which, according to some reports, the Saudis had demanded. In 2018, Saudi Arabia granted Pakistan a USD 3 billion loan and USD 3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis after Prime Minister Khan visited the country to seek financial support. By Trend The Azerbaijani Embassy in Bulgaria gave a well-grounded decisive answer to the false fabrications of the Armenian embassy in Sofia, a source in the embassy told Trend. The Armenian embassy tried to misinform the Bulgarian public, distorting historical and legal aspects of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said the source. The representative office of the Armenia published "historical" assumptions and false conjectures about the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region, alleged "requirements" of international law on this issue and groundless statements in connection with the provocation committed by the Armenian side on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, the source noted. In response to this insidious and slanderous initiative, ??the Azerbaijani embassy in Bulgaria immediately contacted the relevant Bulgarian media and demanded featuring the position of the Azerbaijani side. For this purpose, an official letter was sent to the media, which, in contrast to the representation of the occupying country, exposed their insidious intentions were in a reasoned and well-grounded manner with references to historical documents, the embassy added. The vision of the Azerbaijani embassy regarding the distortions of Armenian side was published by Actualno.com, Club.bg and Novini247.com news agencies. The embassy statement published in the Bulgarian media outlets said that on July 12, the Armenian armed forces attacked the positions of the Azerbaijani army in the direction of Azerbaijani Tovuz district with the use of large-caliber weapons and artillery. The statement reads that the deliberate attacks on civilians in Azerbaijani districts along the border with Armenia resulted in serious damage of civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, as well as a killing and injuries among civilians. The Azerbaijani side informed the international community about this incident, including the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). According to the statement, comments on the Metsamor nuclear power plant were made in response to reports spread in the media by the Armenian side that it considers the Mingachevir reservoir of Azerbaijan to be a military target. The embassy stressed that Azerbaijani army has never attacked the civilian population or infrastructure, and only responded to an armed attack by Armenia, using their right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, the statement also notes. It was pointed out that with its latest provocation, Armenia showed that, being an occupying country, it is not interested in the settlement of the conflict. The statement also highlights aggressive provocation efforts of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of Shahbuz and Julfa districts [of Azerbaijani Nakhchivan Autonomous Republics] . The statement of the embassy provides a military analysis of provocations in the direction of Tovuz district on the state border. The statement stresses that the Armenia's claim about an alleged attack by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Armenian positions using a UAZ vehicle is absurd, because Azerbaijan could use powerful and destructive weapons from its arsenal for an attack, not the UAZ vehicle, the source said. In response to fictions about "Great Armenia", it was noted that the State of Urartu, which existed in the 9th-6th centuries, was not a mono-ethnic state formed as a result of genocide and deportations against other peoples, like modern Armenia. According to the source, by drawing attention to the origin of the Karabakh toponym and the establishing of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region within the Azerbaijan SSR, the embassy proved, by solid arguments, that the region was located in a geographical area called Karabakh, and that the name of the countrys region is a combination of two Azerbaijani words. The statement stressed that historically, this integral part of Azerbaijan, which will remain so, was not given to Azerbaijan, contrary to the statements of the Armenians, but was retained in its composition. Creation of the autonomous region as part of the Azerbaijan SSR was not Stalin's personal decision, as the Armenians falsely assert. Such a decision was made by Caucasian Bureau of the Bolshevik Party, a collective body consisting of two Azerbaijanis, several Armenians and representatives of other nationalities, the statement reads. The embassy reminded that the status of Nagorno-Karabakh as an autonomous region within the Azerbaijan SSR was enshrined in the USSR Constitutions of 1936 and 1977, and the autonomy had fundamental rights that ensured the needs and aspirations of the region's inhabitants. Referring to the legal aspects of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the statement stressed that in accordance with Article 78 of the Constitution of the USSR, the borders between the Soviet republics, when the USSR was created, could be changed only by mutual agreement of the respective republics. This clauseabout possible change of the border was included in the constitutions of both the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR. In response to the appeal dated February 20, 1988, on the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan to Armenia,the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Supreme Soviet of the USSR considered it illegal and rejected on June 17 and 18, 1988, respectively. The statement underlined that similar approach is also manifested in the policy of European states in relation to the independent states that arose after the fall of the Soviet Union. In this regard, reference was made to the Declaration on the process of the Soviet Unions disintegration adopted by the Council of Europe on December 10, 1991. According to the declaration paragraphs stressing the importance of respecting the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act, the borders of all European states are inviolable and can only be changed peacefully and by mutual agreement. In response to Armenia's speculations over the right for self-determination, the statement brings attention to the fact that self-determination claims are invalid if they are accompanied by a violation of international law, in particular, peremptory norms (jus cogens) prohibiting the use of force or a threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. Since its impossible to obtain territory by unlawfully using force, states are obliged to avoid legal recognition of the jurisdiction of the authorities of the illegally occupied territory, the statement said. This position was openly declared by the UN International Court of Justice and is consistently observed in the practice of states. Its noteworthy that resolutions 822 (1993), 853 (1993), 874 (1993) and 884 (1993), unanimously adopted by the UN Security Council, not only did not mention the "right for self-determination;" on the contrary, they strongly condemned the use of force against Azerbaijan and the occupation its territories, the embassy added. 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. Kellyanne Conway's teenage daughter Claudia Conway tweeted on Monday that she'd like to intern for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez moments before she shared plans to go into her mother's phone and set controversial song WAP as her ringtone. Claudia, 15, shared AOC's tweet that reads: 'Team AOC is hiring! Field organizers, video producers, creative directors, and more to help us win a future for the many with Medicare for All, a federal jobs guarantee, dismantling systemic racism & a Green New Deal.' In her response, Claudia,who has been consistently trolling her mother for working in the Trump administration, wrote: 'Let me intern for you [sic].' Scroll down for video Kellyanne Conway's teenage daughter Claudia (left) tweeted on Monday that she'd like to intern for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (right) moments before she shared that she plans to go into her mother's phone and set WAP as her ringtone Kellyanne Conway's teenage daughter Claudia tweeted on Monday that she'd like to intern for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Shortly after that tweet, Claudia took aim at her mother for speaking alongside President Donald Trump She followed that tweet up with a third that reads: 'Gonna go on my mothers phone and set WAP as her ringtone for me.' Claudia was referring to the new and controversial single from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion Shortly after that tweet, Claudia took aim at her mother for speaking alongside President Donald Trump. 'You know life isnt fair when you wake up to your own mother speaking aside a homophobe and a rapist,' Claudia wrote as she retweeted a video sitting next to Vice President Pence and Trump while discussing the reopening of schools in the US. She followed that tweet up with a third that reads: 'Gonna go on my mothers phone and set WAP as her ringtone for me.' Claudia was referring to the new and controversial single from Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. The song - which reached No. 1 on the US iTunes chart Friday - caused quite the stir for its provocative lyrics that centers on sexual female empowerment with some very explicit innuendos for sex. Earlier this month, the teen AOC to 'adopt' her, adding: 'currently CRYING because @AOC follows me. the PEAK of my existence. hows your morning going? i am on the verge of fainting.' Kellyanne Conway's daughter Claudia has asked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to adopt her' after returning to Twitter Wednesday evening Around the same time, Claudia called the president an 'idiot after retweeting a post from him which read: 'Cases up because of BIG Testing! Much of our Country is doing very well. Open the Schools!' She added in the caption: 'You're a f**king idiot'. Trump has frequently blamed America's high number of coronavirus cases - upwards of 5.4 million - on a huge number of tests. Just hours after her first message she told Trump to 'please shut up' after he tweeted: 'OPEN THE SCHOOLS!!!' Claudia made headlines after she started going viral with anti-Trump TikToks and using her accounts to support the Black Lives Matter movement, despite her mom working in the White House Claudia's mother Kellyanne (left) is counselor to Trump, while her father George Conway (right) is a repeated critic of the president Earlier this month, Claudia called the president an 'idiot after retweeting a post from him which read: 'Cases up because of BIG Testing! Much of our Country is doing very well. Open the Schools!' Claudia made headlines after she started going viral with anti-Trump TikToks and using her accounts to support the Black Lives Matter movement, despite her mom working in the White House. While the White House counselor previously said she supports her daughter making her own mind up about her political views, Claudia recently claimed that her parents were attempting to shut off her phone to stop her causing more controversy for the family. Kellyanne Conway is the counselor to the president, while her father George Conway is one of the founders of the anti-Trump political action group The Lincoln Project. A senior Crown Resorts executive was told the casino giants China-based staff had grave fears the work they were doing was illegal and put their safety at risk before 19 were arrested and jailed in 2016. The NSW Independent Liquor and Gaming Authority's inquiry into the ASX-listed gambling group heard on Monday that its former president of international marketing, Michael Chen, wrote to Australian resorts chief executive Barry Felstead in March 2015 updating him about a Chinese government crackdown on foreign casino operators. Crown Resorts staff were "living in constant fear" before arrests, an inquiry has heard. Credit:Getty Images While he assured his boss that their 20 or so staff were not breaking Chinese law, he said it was a risky place for them to be, with one of their high-roller customers recently being detained by authorities for three months without charge. This is one thing that is important to understand when it comes to the China team: they are living in constant fear of getting tapped on the shoulder," Mr Chen wrote. "In a country where due process is inconsistently applied, its a risky place to be for all our team." Chair of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, MP Elyzaveta Yasko (Servant of the People party faction) initiated the adoption of a declaration on the events in Belarus. "I initiated the Belarus Declaration - a document where we assess the events in the neighboring country and offer a way out of the situation," Yasko posted on Facebook. She noted that the declaration was supported by the majority of members of the Ukrainian delegation to the PACE. In addition, the document was signed by Ukraine's foreign partners who support freedom and democracy in Belarus: chair of the Estonian delegation Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, chair of the Latvian delegation Inese Libina-Egnere, chair of the Lithuanian delegation Algirdas Butkevicius, and chair of the United Kingdom delegation Sir Roger Gale. In particular, the signatories state that the campaign for the election of the President of the Republic of Belarus, the vote on August 9, and the vote count "do not meet international election standards, were conducted with mass violations of citizens' rights and freedoms, and do not reflect the free will of the Belarusian people." The document also condemns the use of violence against participants in peaceful assemblies in Belarusian cities. The signatories call on the Belarusian authorities to immediately release all illegally detained participants in peaceful assemblies and insist on the beginning of a peaceful dialogue between the parties to the election process as soon as possible. The declaration underscores that the signatories "welcome the independent investigation into the misuse of force against participants in peaceful assemblies; they express their readiness to facilitate dialogue between participants in the election process and provide a platform for such negotiations." The document also warns the Russian Federation against interfering in the internal affairs of Belarus. Mass protests against the falsification of vote results broke out in Belarus after the August 9 presidential election. Security forces have been brutally dispersing the protesters, using rubber bullets, stun grenades, and water cannons. More than 6,000 people have been detained since the beginning of the protests, several people have been killed. On August 14, the Central Election Commission of Belarus declared incumbent president Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since 1994, the winner of the election. According to the CEC, he got 80.08% of the vote, while his main rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya got 10.09%. The European Union did not recognize the results of the presidential election in Belarus and embarked on the imposition of sanctions on the country's officials involved in fraud and violence against protesters. ol PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lannett Company, Inc. (NYSE: LCI) today announced the Notice of Proposed Settlement and Dismissal with Prejudice of Derivative Action (the "Notice"), a copy of which is attached hereto as an Exhibit. Lannett Company entered into a binding agreement for the settlement of a previously disclosed derivative action captioned In re Lannett Company, Inc. Derivative Litigation., Lead Case No.: 1:19-cv-0088-MN-JLH, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (the "Stipulation"), dated May 22, 2020, requires the Company to adopt certain corporate governance modifications, and pay, or its insurer to pay, a Fee and Expense Award to Plaintiffs' Counsel of $600,000, from which Fee and Expense Award a Service Award to each of the two Plaintiffs of $1,500 will be paid. On August 7, 2020, the Court entered an order preliminarily approving the Stipulation and the Settlement contemplated therein and providing for the notice of the Settlement to be made to Lannett stockholders. The settlement agreement is subject to final approval by the Court, and the Court has scheduled a hearing for October 7, 2020 at 1 p.m., Eastern Time, at the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, Courtroom 2B, located at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building, 844 N. King Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, to consider approval of the settlement agreement. Stockholders have the right to object to the settlement agreement. The deadline for the submission by stockholders of an objection to the settlement agreement is fourteen calendar days prior to the hearing. The Court has not decided in favor of Defendants or Plaintiffs in the Derivative Action. Instead, without an admission of liability on the part of any party, the parties have agreed to the Settlement to avoid the distraction, costs, and risks of further litigation, and because the Settlement, including the corporate governance reforms that the Company will adopt as part of the Settlement, provides a substantial benefit to, and is in the best interests of, Lannett and its stockholders. About Lannett Company, Inc.: Lannett Company, founded in 1942, develops, manufactures, packages, markets and distributes generic pharmaceutical products for a wide range of medical indications. For more information, visit the company's website at www.lannett.com. Exhibit NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE OF DERIVATIVE ACTION TO: ALL OWNERS OF LANNETT COMPANY, INC. ("LANNETT" OR THE "COMPANY") STOCK (TICKER SYMBOL: LCI). PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY. THIS NOTICE RELATES TO A PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE OF STOCKHOLDER DERIVATIVE LITIGATION AND CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR RIGHTS. IF THE COURT APPROVES THE SETTLEMENT OF THE DERIVATIVE ACTION, LANNETT STOCKHOLDERS WILL BE FOREVER BARRED FROM CONTESTING THE APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND DISMISSAL WITH PREJUDICE, AND FROM PURSUING RELEASED CLAIMS. THIS ACTION IS NOT A "CLASS ACTION." THUS, THERE IS NO COMMON FUND UPON WHICH YOU CAN MAKE A CLAIM FOR A MONETARY PAYMENT. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that this action is being settled on the terms set forth in a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, dated May 22, 2020 (the "Stipulation"). The purpose of this Notice is to inform you of: the existence of the derivative action captioned In re Lannett Company, Inc. Derivative Litigation , Lead Case No.: 1:19-cv-0088-MN-JLH (D. Del.) ("Derivative Action"), , Lead Case No.: 1:19-cv-0088-MN-JLH (D. Del.) ("Derivative Action"), the proposed settlement between Plaintiffs 1 and Defendants reached in the Derivative Action (the "Settlement"), and Defendants reached in the Derivative Action (the "Settlement"), the hearing to be held by the Court to consider the fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy of the Settlement and dismissal of the Derivative Action with prejudice, Plaintiffs' Counsel's application for fees and expenses, and Plaintiffs' Service Awards. This Notice describes what steps you may take in relation to the Settlement. This Notice is not an expression of any opinion by the Court about the truth or merits of Plaintiffs' claims or Defendants' defenses. This Notice is solely to advise you of the proposed Settlement of the Derivative Action and of your rights in connection with the proposed Settlement. Summary On May 22, 2020, Plaintiffs, Lannett, in its capacity as a nominal defendant, current and former officers and/or members of Lannett's Board of Directors, defendants Arthur P. Bedrosian, Timothy C. Crew, Martin P. Galvan, John Kozlowski, David Drabik, Jeffrey Farber, Patrick Lepore, James M. Maher, Albert Paonessa, III, and Paul Taveira entered into the Stipulation in the Derivative Action filed derivatively on behalf of Lannett, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware (the "Court") against the Individual Defendants. The Settlement, as documented in the Stipulation, subject to the approval of the Court, is intended by the Parties to fully, finally, and forever compromise, resolve, discharge, and settle the Released Claims (including Unknown Claims) and to result in the dismissal of the Derivative Action with prejudice, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Stipulation. As consideration, the Settlement requires the Company to adopt certain corporate governance modifications, as outlined in Exhibit A to the Stipulation. The Settlement provides that the Defendants shall pay, or cause their insurer to pay, a Fee and Expense Award to Plaintiffs' Counsel of six-hundred thousand ($600,000), from which Fee and Expense Award a Service Award to each of the two Plaintiffs of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) will be paid. This Notice is a summary only and does not describe all of the details of the Stipulation. For full details of the matters discussed in this summary, please see the full Stipulation posted on the Company's website (https://lannett.investorroom.com/derivative-litigation-settlement) Plaintiffs' Counsel at the addresses listed below, or inspect the full Stipulation filed with the Clerk of the Court. What is the Lawsuit About? The Derivative Action is brought derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant Lannett and alleges that the Individual Defendants violated the federal securities laws and breached their fiduciary duties by knowingly or recklessly causing the Company to participate in anti-competitive conduct, by personally making and/or causing the Company to make to the investing public a series of materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance, and by causing the Company to fail to maintain internal controls. Why is there a Settlement of the Derivative Action? The Court has not decided in favor of Defendants or Plaintiffs in the Derivative Action. Instead, the parties have agreed to the Settlement to avoid the distraction, costs, and risks of further litigation, and because the Settlement, including the corporate governance reforms that the Company will adopt as part of the Settlement, provides a substantial benefit to, and is in the best interests of, Lannett and its stockholders. Defendants deny each and every allegation of wrongdoing or liability arising out of or relating in any way to the events, conduct, statements, acts, or omissions alleged in the Derivative Action. Defendants further assert that, at all times, they acted in good faith, and in a manner they reasonably believed to be and that was in the best interests of Lannett and Lannett's stockholders. Defendants assert that they have meritorious defenses to the claims in the Derivative Action. Nonetheless, Defendants have entered into the Stipulation, without admitting or conceding any fault, liability, wrongdoing, or damage whatsoever, in order to avoid the risks inherent in any lawsuit and the burden and expense of further litigation. The Settlement Hearing and Your Right to Object to the Settlement On August 7, 2020, the Court entered an order preliminarily approving the Stipulation and the Settlement contemplated therein (the "Preliminary Approval Order") and providing for the notice of the Settlement to be made to Lannett stockholders. The Preliminary Approval Order further provides that the Court will hold a hearing (the "Settlement Hearing") on October 7, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. before the Honorable Jennifer L. Hall,2 U.S. District Court, District of Delaware, Courtroom 2B, located at the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building, 844 N. King Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, to among other things: (i) determine whether the proposed Settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders; (ii) consider any objections to the Settlement submitted in accordance with this Notice; (iii) determine whether a judgment should be entered dismissing all claims in the Derivative Action with prejudice, and releasing the Released Claims against the Released Persons; (iv) consider the agreed-to Fee and Expense Award to Plaintiffs' Counsel of attorneys' fees and the reimbursement of expenses; (v) consider the Service Award to Plaintiffs, which shall be funded from the Fee and Expense Award; and (vi) consider any other matters that may properly be brought before the Court in connection with the Settlement. The Court may, in its discretion, change the date and/or time of the Settlement Hearing without further notice to you. The Court also has reserved the right to hold the Settlement Hearing telephonically without further notice to you. If you intend to attend the Settlement Hearing, please consult the Court's calendar and/or the websites of Lannett (https://lannett.investorroom.com/derivative-litigation-settlement) or any change in date, time or format of the Settlement Hearing. Any Lannett stockholder who wishes to object to the fairness, reasonableness, or adequacy of the Settlement as set forth in the Stipulation, or to the proposed award of attorneys' fees and expenses, may file with the Court a written objection. An objector must at least fourteen (14) calendar days prior to the Settlement Hearing: (1) file with the Clerk of the Court and serve upon the below listed counsel a written objection to the Settlement setting forth (a) the nature of the objection, (b) proof of ownership of Lannett common stock as of the date of the Stipulation and through the date of the filing of any such objection, including the number of shares of Lannett common stock held and the date of purchase, (c) any and all documentation or evidence in support of such objection, and (d) the identities of any cases, by name, court, and docket number, in which the stockholder or his, her, or its attorney has objected to a settlement in the last three (3) years; and (2) if intending to appear, and requesting to be heard, at the Settlement Hearing, he, she, or it must, in addition to the requirements of (1) above, file with the Clerk of the Court and serve on the below listed counsel (a) a written notice of his, her, or its intention to appear at the Settlement Hearing, (b) a statement that indicates the basis for such appearance, (c) the identities of any witnesses he, she, or it intends to call at the Settlement Hearing and a statement as to the subjects of their testimony, and (d) any and all evidence that would be presented at the Settlement Hearing. Any objector who does not timely file and serve a notice of intention to appear in accordance with this paragraph shall be foreclosed from raising any objection to the Settlement and shall not be permitted to appear at the Settlement Hearing, except for good cause shown. IF YOU MAKE A WRITTEN OBJECTION, IT MUST BE ON FILE WITH THE CLERK OF THE COURT NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 23, 2020. The Clerk's address is: Clerk of the Court U.S. DISTRICT COURT, DISTRICT OF DELAWARE J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building 844 N. King Street, Unit 18 Wilmington, Delaware 19801 YOU ALSO MUST DELIVER COPIES OF THE MATERIALS TO PLAINTIFFS' COUNSEL AND DEFENDANTS' COUNSEL SO THEY ARE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN SEPTEMBER 23, 2020. Counsel's addresses are: Counsel for Plaintiffs: Geoffrey M. Johnson SCOTT+SCOTT ATTORNEYS AT LAW LLP 12434 Cedar Road, Suite 12 Cleveland Heights, OH 44106 Timothy Brown THE BROWN LAW FIRM, P.C. 240 Townsend Square Oyster Bay, NY 11771 Phillip Kim THE ROSEN LAW FIRM, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor New York, NY 10016 Counsel for Defendants: Jay P. Lefkowitz, P.C. Matthew Solum, P.C. Terence Y. Leong Daniel Cellucci KIRKLAND & ELLIS LLP 601 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022-4611 Ian Comisky Matthew Lee Nathan Huddell FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP 2000 Market Street, 20th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19103-3222 Kasey H. DeSantis FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP 919 N. Market Street, Suite 3000 Wilmington, Delaware 19899-2323 Anthony S. Barkow Olivia G. Hoffman JENNER & BLOCK LLP 919 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022 (212) 891-1600 Howard S. Suskin JENNER & BLOCK LLP 353 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL 60654 (312) 222-9350 David E. Ross Anne M. Steadman ROSS ARONSTAM & MORITZ LLP 100 S. West Street, Suite 400 Wilmington, Delaware 19801 An objector may file an objection on his, her or its own or through an attorney hired at his, her or its own expense. If an objector hires an attorney to represent him, her or it for the purposes of making such objection, the attorney must serve a notice of appearance on the counsel listed above and file such notice with the Court no later than fourteen (14) calendar days before the Settlement Hearing. Any Lannett stockholder who does not timely file and serve a written objection complying with the above terms shall be deemed to have waived, and shall be foreclosed from raising, any objection to the Settlement, and any untimely objection shall be barred. Any objector who files and serves a timely, written objection in accordance with the instructions above, may appear at the Settlement Hearing either in person or through counsel retained at the objector's expense. Objectors need not attend the Settlement Hearing, however, in order to have their objections considered by the Court. If you are a Lannett stockholder and do not take steps to appear in this action and object to the proposed Settlement, you will be bound by the Judgment of the Court and will forever be barred from raising an objection to the settlement in this Derivative Action, and from pursuing any of the Released Claims. Release and Related Matters If the Settlement is approved, claims will be released pursuant to, among other provisions, the following provisions: Upon the Effective Date, Lannett, Plaintiffs, and each of the Lannett stockholders shall be deemed to have, and by operation of the Judgment shall have, fully, finally, and forever released, relinquished, and discharged the Released Claims against the Released Persons. Lannett, Plaintiffs, and each of Lannett stockholders shall be deemed to have, and by operation of the Judgment shall have, covenanted not to sue any Released Person with respect to any Released Claims, and shall be permanently barred and enjoined from instituting, commencing or prosecuting the Released Claims against the Released Persons except to enforce the releases and other terms and conditions contained in this Stipulation and/or the Judgment entered pursuant thereto. "Released Claims" shall mean all Claims (including known and Unknown Claims), including but not limited to, any claims for damages, injunctive relief, equitable relief, interest, attorneys' fees, expert or consulting fees, and any and all other costs, fees, expenses, or liabilities whatsoever, against any of the Released Persons that (i) were asserted or could have been asserted derivatively in the Derivative Action; (ii) would have been barred by res judicata had the Derivative Action been fully litigated to final judgment; (iii) that have been, could have been, or could in the future be asserted derivatively in any forum or proceeding or otherwise against any of the Released Persons that concern, are based upon, involve, or arise out of, or relate to any of the subject matters, allegations, transactions, facts, events, occurrences, disclosures, representations, statements, acts, failures to act, alleged mismanagement, misconduct, concealment, omissions, alleged misrepresentations, alleged violations of foreign or domestic law (including all local, state, and/or federal laws), sale(s) of stock, or other matters involved, set forth, or referred to, or that could have been alleged in or encompassed by, the complaint in the Derivative Action; or (iv) arise out of, relate to, or concern the defense, settlement, or resolution of the Derivative Action or the Released Claims. For clarity, Released Claims shall not include (i) claims to enforce the terms of the Stipulation and/or the judgment entered pursuant thereto, or (ii) exclusively direct claims (i.e., as opposed to derivative claims) Lannett shareholders may have in an individual capacity against Defendants. "Related Persons" means each and all of a Person's past, present, or future family members, spouses, domestic partners, parents, associates, affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, stockholders, owners, members, representatives, employees, attorneys, financial or investment advisors, consultants, underwriters, investment banks or bankers, commercial bankers, insurers, reinsurers, excess insurers, co-insurers, advisors, principals, agents, heirs, executors, trustees, estates, beneficiaries, distributees, foundations, general or limited partners or partnerships, joint ventures, personal or legal representatives, administrators, or any other person or entity acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of any Person, and each of their respective predecessors, successors, and assigns. "Released Persons" means, collectively, each and all of the Defendants and their Related Persons, and Defendants' Counsel. "Unknown Claims" means any Claims that any Party or any Lannett stockholder (claiming in the right of, or on behalf of, the Company) does not know or suspect to exist at the time of the release of the Released Claims and Defendants' Released Claims that, if known by him, her, or it, might have affected his, her, or its settlement with and release of the Released Claims and Defendants' Released Claims, or might have affected his, her, or its decision not to object to this Settlement. Unknown Claims include those Claims in which some or all of the facts comprising the Claim may be unsuspected, or even undisclosed or hidden. With respect to any and all Released Claims and Defendants' Released Claims, including Unknown Claims, the Parties stipulate and agree that, upon the Effective Date, they shall expressly waive, and every Lannett stockholder shall be deemed to have, and by operation of the Judgment shall have, expressly waived the provisions, rights, and benefits of California Civil Code 1542, which provides: A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY. The Parties shall expressly waive, and every Lannett stockholder who is not a Plaintiff shall be deemed to have, and by operation of the Judgment shall have, expressly waived any and all provisions, rights, and benefits conferred by any law of any state or territory of the United States, or principle of common law or foreign law, which is similar, comparable or equivalent in effect to California Civil Code 1542. The Parties may hereafter discover facts in addition to or different from those which he, she, or it now knows or believes to be true with respect to the subject matter of the Released Claims or Defendants' Released Claims, but the Parties shall expressly have, and every Lannett stockholder shall be deemed to have, and by operation of the Judgment shall have, fully, finally, and forever settled and released any and all Released Claims and Defendants' Released Claims, known or unknown, suspected or unsuspected, contingent or non-contingent, whether or not concealed or hidden, which now exist, or heretofore have existed, upon any theory of law or equity now existing or coming into existence in the future, including, but not limited to, conduct which is negligent, reckless, intentional, with or without malice, or a breach of any duty, law or rule, without regard to the subsequent discovery or existence of such different or additional facts. The Parties acknowledge, and every Lannett stockholder who is not a Plaintiff shall be deemed by operation of the Judgment to have acknowledged, that the foregoing waivers were separately bargained for and a key element of the Settlement of which this release is a material and essential part. Interim Stay and Injunction Pending the Court's determination as to final approval of the Settlement, Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' Counsel, and any Lannett stockholders, derivatively on behalf of Lannett, are barred and enjoined from commencing, prosecuting, instigating, or in any way participating in the commencement or prosecution of any action asserting any Released Claims against any of the Released Persons in any court or tribunal. Scope of the Notice This Notice is a summary description of the Derivative Action, the complaints, the terms of the Settlement, and the Settlement Hearing. For a more detailed statement of the matters involved in the Derivative Action, reference is made to the Stipulation, a copy of which may be reviewed and downloaded at (https://lannett.investorroom.com/derivative-litigation-settlement). * * * You may obtain further information by contacting counsel for Plaintiffs at: Geoffrey M. Johnson, Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, 12434 Cedar Road, Suite 12, Cleveland Heights, OH 44106, Telephone: (216) 229-6088, E-mail [email protected] or Timothy Brown, The Brown Law Firm, P.C., 240 Townsend Square, Oyster Bay, NY 11771, Telephone: (516) 922-5427, E-mail: [email protected] or Phillip Kim, The Rosen Law Firm, P.A., 275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, NY 10016, Telephone: (212) 686-1060, E-mail: [email protected]. Please Do Not Call the Court or Defendants with Questions About the Settlement. 1 All capitalized terms used in this notice, unless otherwise defined herein, are defined as set forth in the Stipulation. 2 Judge Hall will issue a Report and Recommendation regarding the Proposed Final Order and Judgment at or after the Settlement Hearing. Contact: Robert Jaffe Robert Jaffe Co., LLC (424) 288-4098 SOURCE Lannett Company, Inc. Related Links https://www.lannett.com Nearly two decades after they split up, Anne Heche knows her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres was groundbreaking. "Our time was a beautiful part of my life and one that I wear with honor," Heche told Mr. Warburton magazine for its September issue. I was a part of a revolution that created social change, and I could not have done that without falling in love with her. Watch TODAY All Day! Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long. Ellen DeGeneres And Anne Heche Split (Ron Wolfson / Getty Images) Heche and DeGeneres were a couple from 1997 until 2000, becoming one of Hollywoods most well-known items at a time when an open same-sex relationship between two women was not common. Im proud to have been part of a revolution that helped move equality forward, but there is still work to do, Heche said. Ive paved this way for myself, and my honesty had every single thing to do with it. I think every interaction we have should begin with whether or not we can look at and talk to other human beings with 100% respect. My answer will always be yes. We have to agree that its a possibility and that we all deserve it. ELLEN (Walt Disney Television via Getty Images) Heche married Coley Laffoon in 2001. In 2002, they had a son named Homer before divorcing in 2009. She went on to have another son, Atlas, in 2009 with "Men in Trees" co-star James Tupper, whom she broke up with in 2018. DeGeneres started dating Portia DeRossi in 2004. They married in 2008. Heche said the reception to her and DeGeneres had an impact on her own career, recalling how she was told not to bring DeGeneres to the premiere of her 1997 movie Volcano, or she risked losing her contract with Fox. Heche said they were led out of the theater before the film ended and not permitted to attend the after-party because studio officials did not want them photographed together. "The difference between what would happen today and what happened then is that I would not have been ushered out of my own premiere and fired from a multi-million-dollar picture deal with Fox for taking a girl as my date," Heche, who did bring DeGeneres with her, said. Story continues As for the accusations of a toxic work environment on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Heche, 51, says shes not necessarily the best person to ask. I havent spoken to Ellen in years. Id listen to the people who have, she said. If Im standing someplace and I dont like whats going on there and I stay there, its my fault, she added. So what are the actions that got me there and why cant I get out of it easily if thats not something that I want to be engaged in? Ellen is standing where she walks, and that is hers to continue that journey." A young democratic leader was found dead in Washington DC over the weekend, after family friends and a number of prominent Maryland politicians pleaded for information about his whereabouts. President of the Young Democrats of Maryland Joseph Kitchen was found dead by police inside his apartment on Sunday night having been missing for nearly a week, his brother Lawrence Ramirez has confirmed. The 34-year-old was last seen in person on August 8 at Sandy Point State Park in Annapolis, and last seen alive during a Zoom call with colleagues the following Tuesday, according to the Prince George County Police Department. Police have not yet released any information regarding his death, however Ramirez told the Washington Post that no foul play is suspected. President of the Young Democrats of Maryland Joseph Kitchen was found dead by police inside his apartment on Sunday night having been missing for nearly a week, his brother Lawrence Ramirez has confirmed The discovery of Kitchens body came just one day after law enforcement began searching for him. Kitchen, who also worked as the director of outreach and volunteerism at the Washington School for Girls in Southeast Washington, told the school on Tuesday that he was feeling sick. Family, friends and colleagues said they never heard from him again from that point onwards. In the days that followed, Ramirez said his siblings phone started going straight to voicemail and that he had not been active on social media, which he deemed unusual. In late July, just two weeks before he went missing, Kitchen spoke out on Medium about how hed been struggling recently. A few weeks ago I started missing every morning meeting I had, he wrote. Not on purpose but I would wake up [I am an early riser] and find myself so sick I could not get out of bed. Kitchen said he eventually realized the purported struggle was a sign that his body was telling him to stop. He also spoke candidly in the post about how he had been suffering from anxiety regarding his work with the school amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and had recently separated from his partner of six years. In late July, just two weeks before he went missing, Kitchen spoke out on Medium about how hed been struggling recently The search to locate him intensified over the weekend, with his family making arrangements to fly from California to Maryland to help look for him. Maryland Democrats including Attorney General Brian Frosh asked on social media for information about his whereabouts. The Young Democrats' group, which is open to registered Democrats who are less than 36 years old, also posted a missing person flyer seeking information for Kitchens family. The group shared the news of his death in a Sunday tweet, writing: We are saddened to learn of the tragic and untimely passing of Joseph Kitchen. Joseph always pushed YDA to live up to its values and was someone who was not satisfied with accepting the status quo. His passion will be deeply missed, the statement continued. The Maryland Democratic Party called him a kind heart that has impacted so many. The search to locate him intensified over the weekend, with his family making arrangements to fly from California to Maryland to help look for him News of his death has drawn an outporting of support from local and state officials. Im stunned, former gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous said. He was such a good public servant and so young. In everything Joseph did, he advocated for young people, Maryland Del. Jazz Lewis, who represents Prince George's County, said. He was fearless in calling out local, state, federal, and even party leadership if he felt young people weren't given a fair hand. I am terribly sad to learn of the loss of Joseph Kitchen, added Rep. Jamie Raskin said. This is a brutal time we inhabit and the loss of this wonderful young man will be another dreadful milestone in our age of bitter hardship. Ramirez said funeral arrangements will be announced by the family in the coming days. The Metropolitan Police Department has taken over the investigation into his death. After the appeal by Jean Asselborn to reconsider the Grand Duchy's status as an at-risk country, the minister-president of Rhineland-Palatinate has now followed suit. Malu Dreyer issued a statement that appeals for Luxembourg to be taken off the list of at-risk countries. She underlined the epidemiological statistics that prove a renewed decline of infection numbers, confirming the positive tendency of past weeks. The minister-president also alluded to a call she had with the German Minister of Health Jens Spahn regarding the issue. The statement further conveys that the Grand Duchy's status might be revised before the end of the week. Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn made a similar appeal last week, calling for a lifting of the status due to the recent improvements. Jean Asselborn appeals against Luxembourg risk classification Dreier did not fail to reiterate the federal state's full commitment to fighting the spread of the virus and prioritising the health of the population. She acknowledged the utility of labelling risk zones, but emphasised the symbiotic relationship the region entertains with Luxembourg. 40,000 cross-border workers make their way to the Grand Duchy and back on a daily basis. Since the current numbers no longer place Luxembourg in the risk category, the country should soon be relieved of the status. The driver of a suspected stolen car who left a policeman injured in an alleged attempt to get away is being held in isolation after testing positive to COVID-19. Jahdon Tamati, 30, who police allege was also in breach of Melbourne's stage four coronavirus restrictions, has been charged with 20 offences after an officer was flung into a stationary vehicle from the car Mr Tamati was driving in South Yarra. Mr Tamati, who did not apply for bail, appeared briefly via video link in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday from police cells in St Kilda. He has tested positive to coronavirus since being remanded in custody. Learn how the Career Impact Bond is redefining job training and catalyzing economic mobility. Boston, MA, Aug. 17, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Career Impact Bond is a new tool for upskilling and training workers that shows great promise in helping our country make an equitable economic recovery from the pandemic. Its a student-first income-share agreement that aims to build new pathways to jobs in high-growth fields such as information technology, health care, and green energy, and ultimately give more people a chance at achieving real economic mobility. In partnership with proven training providers and backed by catalytic capital, Social Finance is leveraging the Career Impact Bond to help students access in-demand training without paying tuition upfront. Students are upskilling in the current environment through remote training and theyre landing good jobs. The first-ever Career Impact Bond is a coding bootcamp run by General Assembly and supported by impact investors and philanthropies. Join Jim Shelton, chief investment and impact officer at Blue Meridian Partners, in conversation with Branden LaCour, a General Assembly Career Impact Bond graduate recently hired as a software engineer at HGS Digital, along with General Assembly CEO Jake Schwartz, and Tracy Palandjian, CEO at Social Finance, as they discuss this new tool for equitable access to education and training. Register Now > About Social Finance Social Finance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing capital to drive social progress. We bring uncommon partners together around a common purpose: to measurably improve lives. For more information, contact us at info@socialfinance.org. ### Attachment CONTACT: Carrie Benjamin Social Finance (617) 939-9900 x 55 cbenjamin@socialfinance.org Surviving and thriving for 300 years is an impressive record in anyone's book - a nautical reality they're celebrating later this month at the Royal Cork Yacht Club. Known locally by the acronym RCYC, the club commemorates its tercentenary as the oldest yacht club in the world - offering a lens to the social and political upheavals of Ireland itself over three centuries. Founded originally as the Water Club of the Harbour of Cork, its maritime majesty got top masthead billing by the Cork Hibernian Chronicle: "Yachts and boats, each vying with each other in gaiety of dress and cheerfulness of appearance, blazed upon the water. Flowing colours, snow-white sails and gilded poops, all conspired to imagine the famed Queen of Egypt sailing down the silver Cydnus." Not your 'rub-a-dub-dub' kind of stuff, obviously. If the origins of the RCYC were inevitably linked to a colonial and military past, it retained a distinct Irish ancestry running throughout a membership of landowners, merchants and military. People like the O'Briens and Inchiquins, descendants of Brian Boru and Irish through and through, but who changed religion according to the political needs of the time. As with any mixed body of humanity, the club has known its share of colourful characters, including one JN Beamish from the 1870s - an individual inspired to inflammatory passions over the slightest social infraction. "Sir, I request you be silent and not make such disturbing noise," snuffled a fellow sea dog. "Sir, do not attempt to address me as you know I have not spoken to you for 12 months and therefore it is most presumptuous of you to speak to me in such a tone or address me at all," came the thundering reply. In the world of 2020 where female emancipation on and off the water is a given, consider the outraged response from a group of Cobh ladies to an 1831 attempt to stage a rowing race for females during the annual regatta. "We appeal to your generosity as gentlemen not to see our sex degraded by this unnatural and disgusting exhibition. We entreat you as men of taste and refinement not to take pleasure in viewing the coarse and masculine attitudes of a boatman assumed by a woman." The ladies were clearly not for turning. While the RCYC was frequently a club faced with financial ruin through wars, rebellions and pandemics, it survived as a seafaring sanctuary through generations that see the works of the Lord in the wonders of the deep, as Psalm 107 has it. The longevity of the Royal Cork Yacht Club through three centuries of troubled times returns continually to one essential certainty - a love of sailing and the sea. Jacques Cousteau best understood this maritime magic: "The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." Remote concerns A maths teacher friend is not overjoyed about the imminent prospect of remote learning. "When I ask the question, 'Everybody understand that?' in the classroom, I'll know from the faces the ones who don't. On a video monitor, it's hard to read confusion or puzzlement, and some kids will undoubtedly get left behind." Trump distilled Actor Harry Shearer is a key component of The Simpsons, voicing Mr Burns, Waylon Smithers, Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner. He's also a musician who's bringing out an album next month, The Many Moods Of Donald Trump, a collection of satirical songs timed to coincide with the US presidential election. A warming antidote to autumnal chills. Rich Polk / Stringer, Getty Images Sharon Stone is pleading with her fellow Americans to wear a mask and change the tide of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with their vote come November. Sharons sister, Kelly Stone, is currently in the hospital battling COVID-19 and not doing well, as Sharon said in a recent Instagram post. My sister Kelly, who already has lupus, now has COVID-19. This is her hospital room. One of you Non-Mask wearers did this, Sharon wrote in an August 15th Instagram post. She does not have an immune system. The only place she went was the pharmacy." Lupus is an autoimmune disease, and Kelly was already immunocompromised and was taking the proper precautions, according to Sharon, when she contracted COVID-19. She continued, There is no testing in her county unless you are symptomatic, & then its 5 day wait for results. Can YOU FACE THIS ROOM ALONE? Wear a mask! For yourself and others. Please. Kelly also took to Instagram on August 15th to give people a first-hand look into what its like to be an immunocompromised person with coronavirus. I beg you to know that this is real, Kelly tearfully said in her video. Im gasping for every breath, with oxygen. Please do this for the people that you love. Stand behind more tests, more masks, demanding everyone wear a mask. You never ever want to feel like this. I promise you. She signed off, I only have love in my heart and its breaking for people that cant breathe. Story continues Earlier this week, Kelly posted a photo from March showing herself and her husband, Bruce, having just arrived to their paradise in Montana to wait out the pandemic, believing that COVID wouldnt and couldnt find them. No shopping, no parties, barely saw a human, she wrote. Now fighting for a breath. You dont want covid. In an August 16th followup post, Sharon told her followers that Bruce is also in a coronavirus-designated room in the same ward as Kelly. Sharon explained that Montana's testing regulations state that you must be symptomatic to get tested. Not only does this mean that COVID-ward nurses cannot get tested unless they are showing signs of the disease, but it also means that asymptomatic carriers could be spreading the virus unknowingly, especially if theyre one of the many who believe its their right to not wear a mask. My grandmother died of COVID and my godmother died of COVID, Sharon said on Instagram. My sister and her husband are fighting for their lives, and my sister is not doing well...When they say there are tests for everyone they are lying. She also added that local state officials are not answering her calls or are hanging up on her when she demands change. She then urged her followers to take matters into their own hands. The only thing thats going to change this is if you vote, and if you vote for [Joe] Biden and if you vote for Kamala Harris. Sharon said, With women in power, we will fight for our families. We will fight for people to live, and we will fight for people to get tested. Listen to Sharon: Wear your mask. Exercise your right to vote. Call your state officials and demand better testing. We have to all do what we can. As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, HelloGiggles is committed to providing accurate and helpful coverage to our readers. As such, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, we encourage you to use online resources from CDC, WHO, and local public health departments. A spray painted message is left for the residents of East Cedar Avenue in Haddon Township, N.J. May 6, 2020. Read more As the coronavirus restrictions were lifted this summer, many young people flocked to reopened restaurants and bars, or planned backyard barbecues with friends they hadnt seen in months. But not Christina Young. The 29-year-old is healthy, but her 20-month-old son, Jackson, has cystic fibrosis, a progressive lung disease that can turn a cold into a severe infection. If he got the coronavirus, he could suffer severe lung damage. So for Young, reopening meant only more anxiety. She, her partner, and Jackson remain isolated in their Cherry Hill home, going out only for Jacksons doctors appointments, during which she places a sign on his stroller to encourage people to keep their distance. Next to the cartoon image of a bear cub, it reads: I have cystic fibrosis so please be fair. Your germs are more than I can bear. We have to look at everyone as a potential threat to our son, she said. There is so much stress every day. This emotional turmoil is one shared by many people across the region and the country. For people who live with or care for vulnerable loved ones, this summer has not been an introduction to societys new normal. Instead, they have watched as friends press play on their lives, while theirs remain on an indefinite pause. As she approaches six months in isolation, Young feels the strain on her mental health. She said she desperately wants to take a day trip to the beach, to unplug and take her mind off everything. But for caregivers such as Young, such an outing is logistically and emotionally difficult. They are analyzing every decision to leave home, questioning whether to bring in outside help or allow visits from relatives, and repeatedly asking whether theyre doing all they can to protect their loved ones. All these choices are becoming much more pointed, because the stakes are so high, said Barry J. Jacobs, a psychologist and expert on family caregiving. People are thinking, Oh, my god, if my loved one gets the virus, I am at fault. Now, I have to protect them from everything. Caregivers already had a lot of worries, which are now compounded by virus fears, said Jacobs, a Swarthmore resident who wrote the book AARP Meditations for Caregivers: Practical, Emotional and Spiritual Support for You and Your Family. As society has reopened, caregivers worries have only intensified, he said. Lots of caregivers are afraid, not only about unknowingly spreading the virus to their loved one but also about getting sick and being unable to provide care, he said. That deters them from taking chances and seeing other people, and that just compounds the social isolation, and the social isolation is not good for them. This is just one of myriad factors that have contributed to an overall rise in anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental-health conditions since the pandemic began, said psychologist Kristin Shelesky. Now that stay-at-home orders are lifted and businesses have reopened, there are more opportunities for social interaction, which boosts mental health, she said, but there are also more opportunities for risk, especially for those who live with or provide care for someone who is vulnerable. READ MORE: How to say no to a wedding, birthday party, or other social event right now She said people in all age groups have voiced uneasiness about socializing amid the pandemic. Others especially people of color, people in poorer communities, and people who live in multigenerational households must return to work or send children back to day care, and cant avoid risk, she said. In Upper Darby, Jill Carey, 37, has been feeling the anxiety for months. She lives with her parents, Walt and Mary Lou, both in their 70s, and her two children, Gavin, 10, and Khloe, 6. Worried most about her parents, who are more vulnerable to the virus because of their age, Carey said she and her children hunkered down until Southeastern Pennsylvania entered the green phase in June. But green didnt mean an end to Careys stress, she said. They havent been back to a restaurant, and rarely see friends or go into stores. Last month, she said, Khloe and a friend played with Barbies together, outdoors and wearing masks. Careys greatest fear, she said, is her or her children sickening her parents. Any decision I make, Im making a decision for their health, Carey said. We live in a small rowhome. I cant say, Here, you go and stay in the in-law quarters. Before Upper Darby moved to start the school year all-virtual, Carey struggled to decide whether to send her children back to the classroom. READ MORE: A growing number of Philly-area school districts are planning virtual openings, relieving some parents and frustrating others I kept saying to everyone, This is a no-win situation, Carey said. Ive cried about it. Experts advice on how to cope These intense feelings of pandemic-induced guilt and anxiety are normal, psychologists said, and people should try as best they can to focus on what they can control and make peace with what they cant. Shelesky suggests avoiding mindlessly scrolling through social media in order to not see other people out socializing. At the same time, caregivers should incorporate social engagement in their lives, be it over Zoom or a phone call, Jacobs said. He also suggests meditation, journaling, and self-reflection. Most of all, he said, people should be kind to themselves. We cant hold ourselves to the same standard as nine months ago. It isnt nine months ago, he said, and society may never fully return to that time again. I think were all going to be more risk-averse in the future. Moon losing support base amid key policy failures By Jung Da-min Most previous presidents who have led the country since the direct presidential election system was introduced in 1987 have experienced political challenges in their fourth year with their tenure slipping into a lame duck period. With President Moon Jae-in, who took office in May 2017, entering his fourth year there are signs that he could follow in the footsteps of his predecessors. Some political watchers say signs of a political slump for Moon have already emerged, citing the continuous fall in his approval rating and hints of defiance among his supporters over key policies two important characteristics of a lame duck presidency. The support rate for Moon, which hovered over 70 percent in early May following the nation's good response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) landslide victory in the April 15 general election, has been on a steep decline, falling to 39 percent in a Gallup Korea poll, Friday. The drop has become clearer in recent weeks amid criticism of the government's latest real estate policy, which produced the opposite result of its intention of preventing speculative purchases and stabilizing the housing market. Public sentiment became even more negative as some senior Cheong Wa Dae officials owning multiple homes were reluctant to sell their properties despite the presidential chief of staff's recommendation to do so. Kim Hyung-joon, a professor at Myongji University, pointed to several signs indicating a political slump for Moon. "The core situation of the political slump in a president's fourth year is the loss of support from their base," Kim said. "In Moon's case, women, people in the capital area and those in their 30s or 40s were his core base, but they have broken away from him because of his policy failures. "The thing is when Moon is being criticized over the failure of his real estate policies in particular, there are no alternatives he can present, because it is hard for real estate policies to take effect within a short time." Kim said the lame duck situation has been common for previous presidents and Moon will be no exception, adding there are several common features of fourth-year slumps that emerged in the past. "One of the striking features of the political slumps in the previous administrations was a clash with the already-established powers-that-be and the future-oriented powers, which means that members of the ruling bloc who are seeking to run in the next presidential election want to differentiate themselves from the incumbent administration," Kim said. Frightened conservative nonprofit leaders urge SCOTUS to hear case of wrongly imprisoned former Rep. Steve Stockman By Rachel Alexander Conservative former Congressman Steve Stockman is languishing in prison with COVID-19. Some crooked bureaucrats at the Bureau of Prisons will not allow him to move to home confinement, despite the fact he is over 60 years old and has diabetes and other health problems. Every other inmate in his prison over 60 with diabetes has been moved to home confinement. He has heard they wont allow it because hes basically a conservative political prisoner. Meanwhile, murderers and rapists all around the country have been let out, with some committing new heinous crimes. Stockman is serving a 10-year sentence for raising money for conservative nonprofits where he didnt completely finish the work hed said the nonprofits would do. This prosecution has terrified conservative nonprofits all over the country. Richard Viguerie, L. Brent Bozell III, several former members of Congress and other prominent conservative nonprofit leaders filed an amicus curiae brief in his appeal in May 2019. Unfortunately, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals failed to reverse his convictions, so Stockman is now asking the Supreme Court to hear his case. Many of the same nonprofit leaders and a few others associated with them (including myself) just signed on to an amicus curiae brief from American Target Advertising, written by Richard Vigueries attorney Mark Fitzgibbons, supporting Stockmans petition. They lay out three clear areas of abuse in Stockmans case. First of all, the lower courts bizarrely applied a law regarding broadcast communications to Stockmans print mailers. That law, which was laid out in McConnell v. FEC, said broadcast communications namely TV ads are the same as "express advocacy" when run within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election. The lower courts said that Stockman did this by illegally coordinating with a nonprofit to excessively contribute to his senatorial campaign through a print publication. Not only is the broadcast communications law inapplicable to the nonprofits mailers, but Stockman did not engage in express advocacy in his mailers because there were no key words like vote for or defeat in it. The mailer merely pointed out some negative things about his opponent. So it was not a contribution to his campaign. Only by a tortured interpretation of the law was the government able to make Stockman look guilty. Secondly, the amicis were troubled that the government never proved Stockman had intent to defraud. The two donors he solicited were told exactly how the money was to be used, mainly to send out a mailer, create a monograph and set up a conservative youth training program. Stockman told one of the donors he would send out mailers to 830,000 people. He mailed less than 830,000. That is intent to defraud? There are all kinds of reasons why the full number of mailers were not sent out. The printers could have been overbooked, the names and addresses of the recipients may not have been available in time, the projected cost may have not been high enough, etc. Richard Viguerie pioneered political direct mail in the mid-to-late 1970s, so it is significant that he is behind this amicus curiae. The amicis warn, By concluding there was fraud here, the Fifth Circuits lack of exacting examination of intent at the time of solicitation would make everyday flexibility of how nonprofits spend their money on projects, everyday logistics of direct mail, or even common failures in nonprofit projects the equivalent of intentionally misleading statements designed to deceive the listener, articulated under the standards by clear Supreme Court precedent. Thirdly, the jury instructions were misleading. They never mentioned that 501c3s and 501c4s (nonprofits) may engage in politics, which many do all the time. 501c3s can participate in a limited number of political activities, including providing voter education guides just like one of Stockmans intended mailers. 501c4s can engage in even more activities, including partisanship and ironically a fair amount of express advocacy. If the jury had been told the types of political activities nonprofits can legally engage in, they likely would not have had a problem with the projects. Instead, they were led to believe nonprofits can only engage in education and charity. Perhaps most ridiculous of all, the Fifth Circuit opinion criticized Stockman for spending thousands on personal goods, including airline tickets, fast food, and gasoline that he repurposed from the nonprofits. Well he didnt repurpose the funds. He was paid a legitimate salary from the nonprofits, which was all prior to serving in Congress. What he spent his salary on is his own business. The amicis warn, If the Fifth Circuits shotgun criminalization of expenditures on airline tickets, fast food, and gasoline were to be left unchecked, paid fundraisers, nonprofit executives, and candidates for office best be wary of making such common expenditures. Stockman was targeted because he was an outspoken conservative Congressman. He called for the arrest of Lois Lerner, the impeachment of Eric Holder and blocked many of Barack Obamas bills. It took four grand juries until one would finally indict him, which says a lot since a good prosecutor can get a jury to indict a ham sandwich. The governments own witness, Ben Wetmore, said Stockman was innocent after the trial, "I was a key FBI witness and, as an attorney who reviewed the case and the allegations made against Stockman, I carry the burden of knowing that he's completely innocent." He says it was a show trial a real-life, Soviet-style prosecution. The Supreme Court needs to accept this case, correct this wrong that has been done to Stockman and reverse this terrifying new precedent. Rachel Alexander and her brother Andrew are co-Editors of Intellectual Conservative. She has been published in the American Spectator, Townhall.com, Fox News, NewsMax, Accuracy in Media, The Americano, ParcBench, Enter Stage Right and other publications.mericano, ParcBench, Enter Stage Right and other publications. Home This Acquisition Will Enhance BEs Capabilities in Vaccines & Generic Injectables Biological E. Limited (BE), a Hyderabad-based pharmaceuticals & Biologics company, has announced the acquisition of Akorn India Limited, a subsidiary of Akorn Inc., USA, for an undisclosed amount. By this strategic acquisition, BE, which manufactures specialty generic injectable medicines and also vaccines, will be able to enhance its manufacturing capabilities and capacities to produce & supply its vaccines and injectable medicines. BE is in the process of developing a COVID-19 vaccine and may be able to use the facilities at Akorn India Paonta Sahib Plant in Himachal Pradesh for commercial scale manufacture of the vaccine at the appropriate time. The Akorn India plant in Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh has a fully staffed sterile injectable manufacturing facility with a 39,000 sq. mtrs of built up area spread over a 14-acre campus with an annual capacity for about 135 Million Units with the potential for immediate expansion of a further 30 Million Units. Mahima Datla, Managing Director, Biological E. Limited, said: We are happy to have made a strategic investment in acquiring Akorn India. We would leverage BEs and Akorn Indias capabilities to enhance our supply capacities both in Vaccines and in Generic Injectables. The timing of this acquisition is fortuitous as it will immediately allow us to expand our capacity to manufacture our investigational COVID-19 vaccine. With these capacities, we would be in a position to offer over 1 billion doses per annum. Commenting on the acquisition, Narender Dev Mantena, Director, BioE Holdings Inc., who heads BEs novel vaccines initiative, said We are glad to have acquired Akorn India, which is known for its injectables and specialty sterile pharmaceuticals capabilities. This acquisition will allow us to expand our capacities to meet the increasing demands of our Specialty Generic Injectables for the US and EU customers. This acquisition will pave a new way for BE and add a significant value for our business operations and global supply of our products Los Angeles County must pay a full $8 million damage award to the family of a Black man whose death had similarities to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, the California Supreme Court ruled. While subduing Darren Burley in 2012, deputies used their knees to pin him to the ground with as much body weight as possible, according to the courts unanimous ruling. It said Deputy David Aviles put one knee on the center of Burleys back and the other onto the back of Burleys head, near the neck, while other deputies also were involved. Burley died 10 days later. A jury awarded his family $8 million in damages while finding that Burley was 40% responsible for his own death. An appeals court later reduced the payout by $3.2 million. The high court justices, however, ruled last week that the county owes the family the entire $8 million. Attorney Olu Orange, who represents Burleys family, said the ruling holds that in the state of California, victims of police misconduct are going to be able to avail themselves of every law in the legal toolkit to redress violations of their civil rights. Los Angeles County and the sheriffs department did not respond to requests for comment. The facts of this case bear similarities to well-publicized incidents in which African Americans have died during encounters with police. These incidents raise deeply troubling and difficult issues involving race and the use of police force, the court said in its ruling. The justices said their decision centered on a ballot initiative adopted by California voters in 1986 that assigned damages based on degrees of responsibility, not on Burleys race or that he was killed during an encounter with law enforcement. Aviles, who weighed 200 pounds, and another deputy were responding to a report of an ongoing assault in Compton when Burley approached them while foaming at the mouth and making grunting and growling noises, according to the courts account. It said Aviles knelt on Burley during a significant struggle while three other deputies Tasered him multiple times without apparent effect. A witness said one deputy also appeared to attempt a chokehold, a deputy hit Burley repeatedly in the head with a flashlight, and Burley appeared to be gasping for air. Orange said lawsuits alleging police battery, like the one he filed, are one of the most effective tools that folks in communities that are typically subject to police violence have in order to seek justice. Jurors are instructed to consider if a suspects actions justified the officers reaction, as well as to assign degrees of responsibility. The high court ruled that the county and its deputies cant share the blame with Burley when it comes to apportioning damages for pain and suffering because deputies acted intentionally, as defined by previous court rulings, rather than negligently. In a separate concurring opinion, Justice Goodwin Liu went even further in finding parallels with Floyds death in May, when a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee against Floyds neck for several minutes. In all likelihood, the only reason Darren Burley is not a household name is that his killing was not caught on videotape as Floyds was, Liu wrote. But even as the wrongful death judgment here affords a measure of monetary relief to Burleys family, it does not acknowledge the troubling racial dynamics that have resulted in state-sanctioned violence, including lethal violence, against Black people throughout our history to this very day, he added. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California Legislation Law Enforcement Electronics major Samsung might move part of its smartphone production to India from Vietnam and other countries. The South Korean company is planning to produce devices worth over $40 billion or Rs 3 lakh crore in the country. Samsung is finalising its plans. A person in the know said that the company is likely to diversify its production lines to make smartphones under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. This move would have an impact on existing operations in other countries including Vietnam, as mentioned in a report in The Economic Times. Vietnam is one of the largest exporters of smartphones, after China. As per the daily, Samsung has submitted an estimate to the government to make smartphones worth $40 billion in the next five years under the PLI scheme. Phones with factory price of $200 or below Rs 15,000 would account for over $25 billion. An official told the daily that most of the phones in this category would be exported. Samsung makes nearly 50 per cent of its phones in Vietnam. Since labour costs are high in South Korea, it is in the process of winding down manufacturing in the country. Samsung has bases in Brazil and Indonesia too. If Samsung's plans follow through, it will join smartphone major Apple in moving a key part of its productions to India. In a recent press conference, communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the PLI scheme has received overwhelming response from domestic and international electronic component manufacturers. "A total of 22 companies have filed their applications under the PLI Scheme. The benchmark for international mobile phone manufacturing companies was to manufacture mobile phones worth Rs 15,000 and above, whereas there wasn't any such benchmark for the domestic companies. We welcome Apple and Samsung to India. Domestic companies - Lava, Micromax, Padget Electronics, Sojo - are welcome to go ahead," said the minister. The global smartphone export market is estimated around $270 billion, out of which Apple has 38 per cent market share and Samsung 22 per cent by value. When it comes to volume, Samsung has 20 per cent and Apple 14 per cent. Also read: Ravi Shankar Prasad welcomes Apple, Samsung, other domestic players to manufacture in India Also read: Govt approves Rs 41,000 crore booster for mobile makers With the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) still holding forward positions on Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs area of Ladakh and showing no signs of a promised de-escalation, the Narendra Modi government is contemplating further action against China on economic front to drive home the message that India means business. According to senior government officials familiar with the matter, the apex China Study Group (CSG) met on Monday to discuss the PLA action on the ground in Ladakh and its military posture in occupied Aksai Chin region of Tibet. The CSG, which has Indias senior most ministers, military leaders and bureaucrat as members, is the body that recommends the countrys course on action with China. While China wants India to normalize diplomatic relations on an as-is-where-is basis, the Modi government firmly believes that anything short of status quo ante in Ladakh sector is unacceptable with a cost attached to it. Despite being the aggressor, the PLA believes that its troops are well within it own perception of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Thus, it is holding on to the positions at both Gogra-Hot Springs as well as the green top of finger four feature of Pangong Tso lake while making unacceptable demands on Indian Army posts. According to officials, the Indian Army has been asked to remain in forward positions along the 1597 km LAC in Ladakh. On July 5, the Indian Special Representative on boundary dialogue spoke to his Chinese counterpart for more than two hours . Also read: PLA still at LAC, India plans new ways to counter Chinas wolf-warrior diplomacy The two decided that both sides fully disengage and then de-escalate but a month later, the situation has reached a stalemate with the Chinese offering a diplomatic face-saver to India without any corresponding withdrawal on the ground. Now that the US has taken action against Huawei and its supporting entities for spying, it is quite evident that India will also keep the Chinese communication and power companies out of any future projects. Also read: Indian Rafales practise mountain night flying for Ladakh in Himachal Pradesh The Modi government is clear that the bilateral ties are directly linked with the border peace and will not allow them on a parallel track as in the past. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In what was meant to address the country on measures taken against the spread of coronavirus, president Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo could not help but take series of swipes at his critics. He seized the opportunity to attack his opponents concerning their criticisms at his performance and some government decisions made in recent times. From start to finish, the president did not relent in proving to his critics that indeed he (Akufo-Addo) was on top of his game. Lets take a look at his attacks at his critics below Akufo-Addos jab at the opposition over participating in the voters registration exercise The president attacked the opposition party (NDC) who from the scratch, opposed the voters registration exercise. After praising the Electoral Commission for a job well done, he threw a quick jab at them for finally partaking in the exercise despite their resistance. Those who expressed various degrees of negativity and hysteria during the exercise with some who swore heaven and earth to resist the compilation of the register at the peril of their lives, ended up registering. There were some who offered delicate personal sacrifices. Some even claimed that in the midst of the pandemic the exercise should not be conducted as our case count could shoot up. Some even warned of an explosion in our death toll, he stated. The president blasted his critics for saying his government has lost the coronavirus fight Announcing that the country has so far conducted 427,121 tests so far and that every backlog has been cleared, the president descended heavily on his critics who said that he (Akufo-Addo) had lost the fight to coronavirus. This was what he said; A total of 40,557 persons have recovered from the virus. This means our recovery rate has increased from 89.5% to 95.1% in three weeks. Our death rate continuous to be low at 0.5%. Happily, there are no backlogs of tests as we have so far conducted 427,121 tests. These statistics undermine the claim that Ghana has lost the battle to defeat COVID-19. There can only be one reason for this baseless assertion and that is political expediency. Do not begrudge those who make such comments they need to make them to continue to stay relevant. He labelled the opposition Professional Jeremiahs who always attempted to discredit his work President Nana Akufo-Addo described his opponents as Professional Jeremiahs considering their lamentations and false predictions about some government policies. The professional Jeremiahs and naysayers, who seek, cynically, to make a profitable industry out of spreading falsehoods, fear and panic, stoking divisive, ethnic sentiments, underestimate the resolve and the determination of Ghanaians to build a united, democratic, peaceful, prosperous, and happy Ghana. We will continue to work hard to prove them wrong, he said. Akufo-Addos subtle attack on Mahama over his freebies comment President Akufo-Addo lambasted the flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress, Mr John Dramani Mahama for stating that government is throwing a lot of free things at the populace. If you say everybody should stay at home and we will give you everything free, free; free this, free that, all the countries that have developed, they didnt develop like that, former President Mahama said. But president Akufo-Addo said contrary to the assertion, his government in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic is rather providing critical help to Ghanaians and not freebies. I know that the pandemic has adversely affected many lives and livelihoods. It is for this reason that the government has implemented several measures such as free water and electricity, and funding to support small businesses, and tax reliefs, amongst others, to cushion the effect of the pandemic. We are not providing freebies, we are providing critical help to households, families and businesses, in the midst of this pandemic, because we care, he noted. It is my conviction that in times of crises, it is the duty of a responsible and sensitive government to protect the population, and provide relief, the President stressed. 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. Featured Video By PTI ISLAMBAD: Pakistan Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday reached Saudi Arabia to discuss bilateral relations, amidst the recent strain in the ties over Riyadh's reluctance to toe Islamabad's line on the Kashmir issue. Despite repeated requests from Pakistan to hold a foreign ministers' meeting on Kashmir, the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation has shown reluctance to convene such a conference, prompting an upset Islamabad to threaten that it may call a separate gathering on the issue. Diplomatic sources here said that Gen Bajwa was accompanied by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed. The details of their engagements in Saudi Arabia have not been released, but the two are expected to hold high-level meetings to iron out misgivings. Pakistan has been pushing the 57-member organisation, which is the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, for the foreign ministers' meeting since India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year. However, there has not been any positive response from the OIC, the biggest bloc of Islamic countries in the world, to Pakistan's request so far. A major reason behind the OIC's inaction has been Saudi Arabia's reluctance to accept Pakistan's request for holding a meeting specifically on Kashmir. Riyadh's support is crucial for any move at the OIC, which is dominated by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. Pakistan has been unsuccessfully trying to drum up international support against India for withdrawing Jammu and Kashmir's special status. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 of the Constitution was its internal matter. It also advised Pakistan to accept reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, for the first time, criticised the Saudi government in a recent TV interview and threatened to call an OIC meeting by sidestepping the Gulf country. Saudis avoided directly responding to Qureshi's remarks, but reportedly stopped renewing a USD 3.2 billion oil credit facility to Pakistan despite requests from Islamabad. Pakistan has also paid back USD 1 billion loan to Riyadh which, according to some reports, the Saudis had demanded. In 2018, Saudi Arabia granted Pakistan a USD 3 billion loan and USD 3.2 billion oil credit facility to help its balance of payments crisis after Prime Minister Khan visited the country to seek financial support. Sushant Singh Rajput's sister Shweta Singh Kirti who lives in the US received the certificate on Rajput's behalf. The California State Assembly in the US has recognised late Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput for his efforts to promote India's rich culture and heritage and his immense contributions to Indian cinema. Rajput, 34, was found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment in suburban Bandra in Mumbai on 14 June. The Mumbai police has been probing the alleged suicide following an accidental death report complaint lodged by Bandra police. The California State Assembly in a certificate of recognition noted Rajput's "immense contributions to Bollywood cinema" and appreciated his "philanthropic community work as well as his efforts to promote India's rich culture and heritage". The actor's sister Shweta Singh Kirti who lives in the US received the certificate on Rajput's behalf. The actor had often expressed his desire to work in Hollywood. Indian community leader Ajay Bhutoria presented the recognition from the California State Assembly to Sushant's family. The recognition of the Bollywood star was led by California Assemblyman Kansen Chu. Its a great privilege for me to accept this honour from California State Assembly, on behalf of my brother, in remembrance and appreciation of his philanthropic work and contributions to Indian cinema," Shweta told Press Trust of India on Saturday. "I thank the Assembly members and the Indian-American community for their continuous support in these hours of crisis," she said. Her husband Vishal Kirti said the California State Assembly has recognised Rajput's contributions to Indian cinema and the community on the auspicious occasion of India's Independence Day. Millions of Indian Americans are watching the proceedings of the ongoing campaign for getting #JusticeForSushantSinghRajput, Rajput's brother-in-law Vishal said. "Indian-Americans are looking up to the Indian government to get Sushant Singh Rajput death case an unbiased investigation," he said. On 25 July, Rajput's 74-year-old father KK Singh, who lives in Bihar, filed a complaint with police in Patna against his son's rumoured girlfriend and actress Rhea Chakraborty and her family members accusing them of cheating and abetting his son's suicide. The CBI recently took over an investigation into the case and re-registered the Patna police FIR. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also questioning Chakraborty, her family members and others in connection with a money laundering case linked to the death of the actor. * 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 Winemaker The Hidden Sea launches ocean waste clean-up campaign An Australian sustainable wine brand is helping to clean up the world's oceans after joining forces with the ReSea Project. The Hidden Sea, whose wine range includes shiraz, chardonnay and rose, has launched a campaign with the Danish environmental project to remove one billion plastic bottles from the world's oceans by 2030. For every case of wine sold globally, one kilogram of plastic will be removed from the ocean and recycled - which is equivalent to 10 plastic bottles per bottle of The Hidden Sea purchased. The community-driven ReSea Project works mainly in South East Asia - a major recipient of plastic waste from countries around the world - where it removes plastic waste from the ocean and recycles it. Justin Moran, co-founder of The Hidden Sea, said: "The partnership with ReSea Project made perfect sense to us as it aligns with our brand heritage and allows us to fulfil our business purpose. By listing our wines, buyers and retailers will be supporting a global ocean waste plastic initiative, raising awareness among consumers of this crisis, and ultimately making a quantifiable difference." The Hidden Sea has recently appointed Kingsland Drinks as its exclusive UK distributor to support its charitable project. Pete Fairclough, brand manager at Kingsland, said: "This is a unique new partnership for the wine sector and we're thrilled to be a part of it. The initiative with ReSea Project will certainly resonate with younger drinkers and those who actively make sustainable choices, and enjoy uncomplicated wines with a modern appeal." Kenny Louring, marketing manager at ReSea Project, said: "It is important for businesses to consider the environment at every stage and the teams at The Hidden Sea and Kingsland Drinks are fully on board to make a difference and drive consumer awareness of ocean waste plastic." The Hidden Sea takes its name from the Great Southern Ocean, which used to cover the Limestone Coast where its vineyards are located and has enriched the soils there with flavour-influencing mineral deposits. 17 August 2020 - Bethany Whymark An Aboriginal hip hop artist has claimed the ABC 'censored' him by refusing let him to perform a song that contained the lyric 'I hate the Anzacs'. Sydney-based musician Ziggy Ramo said the national broadcaster declined his request to play 'April 25th' during Monday night's episode of Q&A. Ramo claimed the ABC had used him as a 'diversity checkbox' and only had him on the show because he is Indigenous. 'The song I initially was going to perform was called April 25th and this is a song that I was not allowed to perform,' the 25-year-old told the panel. 'I was basically censored in the fact that the ABC said that it was not appropriate. Ziggy Ramo (right) claimed the ABC had used him as a diversity checkbox and only had him on the show because he is Indigenous. 'Me sitting on this panel ticks off a box for the ABC that's cultural diversity, but if I'm not able to express my perspective, is it performative or is it actual culture diversity?' Host Hamish Macdonald explained to the panel that the song contained the lyrics 'I hate the Anzacs'. Former Nationals Leader Barnaby Joyce interjected and said he would 'never defend the ABC' but you 'have to be careful what you say because you can insult people'. Ramo explained the meaning behind the lyric at length. Hip hop artist Ramo explains meaning behind 'I hate the Anzacs' lyric The issue I had with the censorship is that in this song, I say I hate black culture. I hope black people die. I say I hope that we tear down Indigenous culture. I say that about 20 times, right? And the whole reason of comparing Indigenous Australia and April 25 is the fact that I have gone to Belgium when I was 17. I went to the Scott's College for my last three years on academic scholarship. The principal and the founder of the college and his son died in service in World War I. So I had the privilege to go there, right, and celebrate and understand the sacrifice that people have laid down for this country. So the whole point of a song about April 25 is saying that I've seen this country recognise the sacrifices that have been made so that we could all sit here today. So if I've seen us be able to do that, for our non-Indigenous people and our Indigenous people like you said who fought in these wars in 1945, that the ABC is commemorating 75 years since the end of World War II. Yet in 1945 Indigenous Australians weren't even classed as citizens. My father was born before 1967. So my father wasn't even classed as a citizen when he was born. The whole point of a song about April 25 and as soon as I say, after I say I hate the Anzacs, I say how wrong is that? How wrong is that, we pick and choose our history, we rearrange the facts? We fought for a country that didn't see us as humans. We weren't seen as humans in our own country. So the reason why I wanted to talk about this and in my art is that I want to celebrate the Anzacs and I do celebrate the Anzacs. I've gone to the other side of the world on Anzac Day to celebrate what our people have laid down for us. So if we've done that, we can't just pick parts of our history that we want to recognise and bury the others. If in World War II we fought against genocide, yet we don't recognise the genocide in our own country, that's a double standard. So the whole reason why the song says, "I hate the Anzacs," is to demonstrate that how outrageous is that? If we can recognise how outrageous that is, why can't we recognise that on January 26? Why can't we recognise that when we asked to raise the age from 10 because 600 kids last year were locked up and we're 2% of the population. We make up 65% of those kids incarcerated. That's 349. So if we can't recognise it then, do we not understand? Advertisement Sydney-based musician Ziggy Ramo claimed he was 'censored' from performing his song April 25th on QandA on Monday because it contained the lyric 'I hate the Anzacs' He released the album, Black Thoughts (pictured), on June 5 despite recording the entire thing five years ago Ramo said that he does not want people to think he doesn't celebrate the Anzacs, but has travelled the world to celebrate what they did for Australia. Viewers flooded to social media to praise the musician for his 'powerful' views on the show, with many agreeing there needs to be more cultural diversity in organisations. 'What an amazing young man. How articulate, accurate and passionate. Let Ziggy have the floor for the rest of the night,' one user wrote on Twitter. Ramo said that he does not want people to think he doesn't celebrate the Anzacs, but has travelled the world to celebrate what they did for Australia Ramo pictured left during a rally for Black Lives Matter in Sydney after the death of George Floyd 'Ziggy is absolutely not pulling punches tonight. Powerful bringing it up so openly,' another woman wrote. 'I dont know who Ziggy is, but geez that was powerful. Onya man,' one man Tweeted. 'Ziggy Ramo is letting some truth bombs off on QandA tonight. It might not want to be what you want to hear, but it's no less truthful because of that,' another said. He released the album, Black Thoughts, on June 5 despite recording the entire thing five years ago. Viewers flooded to social media to praise the musician for his 'powerful' views on the show, with many agreeing there needs to be more cultural diversity in organisations The album addresses colonial dispossession, systemic racism and intergenerational trauma but Ramo chose not to release it because he was worried it would not sit well with non-Indigenous Australians. But after George Floyd's death in Minneapolis on May 25 sparked a global Black Lives Matter protest against police brutality, Ramo released the album. He explained the circumstances surrounding the album in an Instagram post on its release: 'I wrote this album 5 years ago while I was hospitalized,' he wrote. 'I was in a dark space and on suicide watch. It was my obituary. I wanted to document my thoughts so that our stories could be heard after I was gone. 'I never put it out because I knew as a country we weren't ready to listen. I wish it was dated. I wish there was no need for it.' Live comedy is back at The Stress Factory. The Bridgeport club, which closed March 11 because of the pandemic, is offering new indoor shows in a format that incorporates social distancing and other safety measures. Only half the maximum capacity is allowed, but Vinnie Brand, who co-owns the venue with his wife, Vicki, is thrilled to be open again. Several comics are already on the schedule and when we asked if he could book Sarah Cooper, known for lip-synched impersonations of President Donald Trump, he said hed try. Most comics want to go to work and they want to work in places where they know people are taking it (health safety) seriously, he said, adding the Bridgeport club is doing just that. We normally seat about 320 and we are allowed to do 160, but we will seat between 140 and 146. The staff is fully trained and we are constantly improving what we do. Servers wear masks and gloves at The Stress Factory. Although you wont have to wear your mask while at a table there, youll need to keep it on at all other times. When you walk in you wear a mask; if you go to the bathroom you wear a mask, he said. It must be fully over the nose and mouth. Brand said he and his wife put nine years into building the club from the day they first scouted locations in Bridgeport to when they opened. Thats a long time, he said, but the feedback from customers made it all worthwhile. More Information The Stress Factory, 167 State St., Bridgeport. Carlos Mencia Thursday, Aug. 20, 7 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21 and 22, 7 and 9:45 p.m. $50 (table for 2), $100 (table for 4), $150 (table for 6). Vic DiBitetto Thursday, Aug. 27, 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, Aug. 28 and 29, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. $60 (table for 2), $120 (table for 4), $180 (table for 6). 203-576-4242, bridgeport.stressfactory.com See More Collapse I would literally get in my car at 2 in the morning to drive home and be telling my wife, I cant believe how appreciative the people are of what we are doing here. The reaction from Fairfield County was so strong and so good, he said. To lose that and have to close down was heartbreaking, but to open again is very encouraging. Brand said its an emotional roller coaster and we are hoping the virus stays under control, but I can tell you without sounding corny, I will be very moved to be on that stage again with those people. Those people include comedians Carlos Mencia (Aug. 20-22) and Vic DiBitetto (Aug. 27-29). DiBitetto, The Italian Hurricane, is especially known for his Yankees and Giants locker room press conference satires and his bread and milk videos (skewering panicked folks who buy out the store whenever snow is mentioned in a forecast). DiBitetto said the audience can expect screaming, yelling ... and exhaustion from nonstop laughing and that he will talk about what we are all going through with this pandemic, plus being a father, being a husband and pretty much whatever hits me at the moment. The New Jersey resident shared more in an email interview, including how he has survived. Wow, what a time this has been, he said. For months I had no live in-person gigs, so that was driving me nuts. Then not really leaving the house was driving me insane. I did some funny videos about Day Elevendy Nine in quarantine, but being able to make my videos every day and then having the chance to do some virtual live shows helped a lot. Now there are a lot of bookings for outdoor shows so I am finally playing in front of real crowds again. I have a live online show Aug. 21 and 22 so people can see me in their own home! Tickets are at nowherecomedyclub.com. DiBitetto, whose 2020 comedy album is called Working Class Zero, said hes happy to have the online opportunities but theres nothing like the energy you get from a real audience sitting there and laughing. I did start doing outdoor shows about a month ago and its been fun. I think everybody feels safer when theyre social distancing outdoors. He also said he loves Connecticut. I love any state where they have silent letters in their spelling. Seriously, I do love it. I play some really great venues around the state and I have a huge fan base there. DiBitetto said the quarantine period was educational. I learned my nose and ear hair grows at an unbelievable rate. I learned the way I blink bothers my wife after 87 days together without leaving the house. And if I can be serious, I learned that we better get our sh*t together as a country or were in trouble. So other than nose hair, blinking and the apocalypse, everything has been kind of quiet. lkoonz@newstimes.com; Twitter: @LindaTKoonz Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has rejected calls to quit following his contested re-election, warning that the former Soviet republic would "perish as a state" if it was forced to repeat the vote. Opposition protesters took to the streets for the eighth consecutive day of anti-government demonstrations on Sunday, demanding the departure of the country's embattled authoritarian leader. It comes as anger grows over reports of police violence and allegations of electoral fraud and poll-rigging in the August 9 presidential election. Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, claimed a landslide victory in the vote that gave him his sixth term in office and has denied allegations of fraud. "Until you kill me, there will be no other elections," Lukashenko told workers at a tractor plant on Monday, Reuters reported, citing local independent media outlet Tut.by. Official results indicate he received around 80% of the vote earlier this month, while main opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, 37, was said to have received around 10% of the vote. Tikhanovskaya, who challenged the 65-year-old president after her husband was barred from running and jailed by authorities, has condemned the result and called for the creation of a legal mechanism that can ensure a new, fair presidential election can be held. Speaking in a video address from Lithuania on Monday, the former English teacher said security and law enforcement officers loyal to the president would be forgiven for their past behavior so long as they immediately scrap their allegiance to the president. Thousands of people have been detained during recent protests, which the police have sought to stamp out by using clubs, rubber bullets and flash grenades. At least two demonstrators have been killed. The opposition has also called for a general strike from Monday. It comes after thousands of workers at state-controlled factories, a traditional support base for Lukashenko, went on strike late last week. (Photo : What is a Plea Bargain Agreement?) If you've been charged with a crime, whether you know you're innocent or guilty, you want to know about the possible consequences are that you're facing. In the American criminal justice system, you're innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn't mean that you have a winnable case. People are convicted of crimes every single day and if the evidence against you is strong, you may need to consider cutting a deal. That's where plea bargaining comes in. Why would you consider a plea bargain? If you've been arrested for a crime, you could be facing prison or jail, probation, fines, loss of licensure, and a criminal record. For certain types of crimes, like sex offenses, there could be adverse publicity, social stigma, and you could be placed on a sex offender registry. Your attorney should have a frank discussion with you about the maximum penalties you could be facing. Considering the fact that unpredictable things can happen in a criminal trial, you may consider the option of negotiating a plea. This would be where your criminal defense attorney enters into negotiations with the prosecutor to avoid a trial. If they reach an agreement, you would accept a penalty that's lower than the maximum penalty you could receive if you were to plead guilty. The stronger the prosecution's case is against you, the greater the incentive to work out a plead deal. But there is a catch. Prosecutors are less willing to give generous plea deals when they know that they have a solid case. When You Shouldn't Accept a Plea Deal Obviously, if the case against you is weak, you have a strong incentive to fight the charges, but even if this is the situation, your attorney will still want to discuss your options with the prosecution. There are also times when a hawkish prosecutor won't offer attractive concessions in exchange for your cooperation. You're entitled to a trial, so if the prosecution is being tough on negotiations, it may be in your best interests. Type of Plea Deals There are three types of plea bargaining strategies that criminal defense attorneys engage in: Charge bargaining - This is where you would plead guilty to a lesser charge. For instance, if you're accused of breaking into a car and stealing an umbrella, you may be charged with a burglary, which is a third-degree felony in the state of Florida. The prosecutor may offer to drop the burglary charge if you're willing to plead guilty to theft of the umbrella, which is only a misdemeanor. Count bargaining - This is when your charged with multiple counts of a crime, but the prosecutor reduces the number in exchange for a guilty plea. For instance, if you were accused of breaking into five cars, you could be facing five counts of burglary. But the prosecutor may agree to only charge you with one if you plead guilty to it. Sentence bargaining - This occurs when you plead guilty to a charge or charges in exchange for a lighter sentence. If you're facing jail time for a domestic battery, the prosecutor may offer only probation in exchange for a guilty plea. Visit strolenylaw.com for additional information. The Aug. 13 announcement that Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed an agreement on the normalization of relations did more than just legitimize existing economic ties between the two countries. Direct relations will also allow for new business possibilities to emerge at a rapid pace. The UAE is not only an oil state, but the economic capital of the entire Persian Gulf region and one of the most advanced business centers in the world. There is good reason it has earned the nickname, the Singapore of the Persian Gulf. Tally Zingher, an expert in economic development who worked for an independent foundation set up by the Dubai government, told Al-Monitor that the guiding vision of the Emirates is to become the leading nation in the region, economically, business-wise and politically, and that it can achieve this by investing heavily in new initiatives. The Emirates have adopted a more global worldview than just about anywhere else in the world. That certainly is the case among the Arab states, but it extends far beyond that. In practical terms, the UAE serves as a business and commercial center on a vast scale, connecting the Gulf states with the rest of the world. This is where its enormous potential lies, she explained. The UAE operates commercial and economic free zones with very little regulation. The Dubai International Business Center, for instance, is considered to be one of the friendliest places in the business, financial and commercial world. Zingher said that the option of establishing a new firm and opening a bank account there with an Israeli passport would be an enormous boon to Israeli companies. According to Zeev Lavi, director of the International Relations Division at the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, there are now some 300 Israeli companies operating in the UAE, most of them through international branches. Existing restrictions make it very difficult for smaller and mid-sized Israeli companies to do business there because of the expenses and other outlays necessary, when conducting business through a third party. Lavi added that with formalized relations, the gates to a country with enormous potential will be swung wide open to Israeli businesses and industries. The Gulf states constitute the fourth-largest bloc of importers in the world, with purchases amounting to trillions of dollars per year. Furthermore, Israel has practical solutions for most of the UAEs most basic, existential needs, including water, desert agriculture, solar energy, advanced food manufacturing, and, of course, several aspect of defense, from advanced weapons systems to cybersecurity. Zingher added that Israels entrepreneurial approach, its tendency to think outside the box and the fact that Israel is a start-up nation are all of special appeal to the UAE. And not just the UAE. The fact that the country is an international commercial center opens up endless opportunities for business, commerce and cooperation with new players, which have avoided such contacts until now. This has the potential to develop in multiple directions. The UAEs commercial and business centers can serve as a bridge to other countries, with the other Gulf states chief among them. Israel has had far-reaching security ties with the UAE for a very long time now. Israeli defense firms under the supervision of the Ministry of Defense have been selling advanced weaponry to the UAE, with Israel Aircraft Industries, Rafael and Elbit chief among them. While the actual products being sold are kept secret, it is known that they involve optics, missile detection systems and more. Direct ties will make it possible to expand these deals to include drone technology, active missile defense systems and other systems that Israel already exports to friendly nations. Another technology in which Israel excels is upgrading and enhancing existing weapons systems, most of them American, including tanks and F-16 fighter jets. One Israeli security source told Al-Monitor that this alone has already saved the UAE and other Gulf states enormous expenditures on the acquisition of new weapons systems. Israeli upgrades have made these purchases unnecessary. UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, the moving spirit behind this agreement, is a former chief of the UAE air force. Trained as a helicopter pilot at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he was the main proponent of UAE participation in the 1991 Iraq War on the side of the Americans. He has since built up his countrys army into one of the strongest, most advanced in the entire Arab world. As such, he admires the capabilities of the Israel Defense Forces and especially the Israeli air force. The crown prince is also an experienced buyer of military equipment and technologies and familiar with all that Israeli industries have to offer. An Israeli source involved in the field told Al-Monitor that dozens of Israeli cybertech companies have been active in the UAE for the past few years. It is no exaggeration to say that almost the entire digital network in the UAE contains at least one Israeli component. Many of these systems were sourced entirely in Israel, even if not explicitly under their Israeli names, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Attorney Yair Geva of Herzog, Fox, & Neeman is intimately familiar with Israels business ties with the Gulf states. He told Al-Monitor that current activity takes place mainly through shell companies in Cyprus or Singapore. Now that the country is opening up, Israeli companies can compete openly with major international companies in cybertechnology. Israel is considered a world leader in anti-fraud technologies for payments over digital platforms, and in the secure transfer of general and point-specific date for commerce, and so on. President of the Israeli Business Sector Dubi Amitai told Al-Monitor that plans are already underway to send a business delegation to the Gulf in the very near future. He noted that there is enormous interest in general, but points to certain fields with inordinate potential for business in the region. Among these is the export of diamonds, gemstones and pearls, since Israel and its diamond exchange have a reputation for excellence worldwide. The opening of a free trade zone for diamonds in Israel would help considerably, and in fact, the Finance Ministry is already looking into just such a proposal. Another potentially lucrative area is desert agriculture, including irrigation and water usage technologies. He added that representatives from the UAE expressed particular interest in this at a conference on the topic in Germany earlier this year. Economics is, therefore a major impetus for the agreement to normalize relations between Israel and the UAE, and in time, for the other Gulf states. In some ways, it is the fulfillment of the economic component of US President Donald Trumps deal of the century, which was first presented just over a year ago in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. It now looks like that country will be next in line to normalize relations with Israel. (Natural News) In 2011, the Tohoku-oki earthquake and tsunami destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. The event then released an alarming amount of radioactive waste into the ocean. Now, local officials report that radiation levels have fallen to safe levels, except in the waters closest to the shuttered power plant. However, in an article published in the journal Science, experts have expressed their concerns over some of the many radioactive elements in storage tanks in Fukushima, and how they can affect the ocean and marine life near the area. Is the danger truly over? Remnants of 2011 To date, research suggests that fish and other seafood caught in waters near Fukushima except a limited region were well within Japans strict limits for radioactive contamination. But scientists are worried about a new hazard, particularly the many tanks on land near the power plant used to store the contaminated Fukushima wastewater. Now is not the time to be complacent, as further study is necessary to fully understand the potential risks of releasing the wastewater from the power plants storage tanks into the ocean, the study warns. Ken Buesseler, author of the paper and a marine chemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), explained that in the last decade or so, he and his fellow WHOI researchers have kept an eye on radioactive cesium levels, saying that these have declined in seawater and in marine life in the Pacific. Yet despite their vigilance, experts are worried about the remaining radioactive contaminants in the tanks near Fukushima. After all, some of these contaminants havent been seen since the incident in 2011. Buesseler added that not all of these contaminants act the same in the ocean. From Fukushima to the Pacific Buesseler has been tracking the spread of radiation from Fukushima into and across the Pacific since 2011. Back in June of the same year, Buesseler led a team of researchers who conducted the first international research cruise to assess the early pathways that cesium-134 and -137, two radioactive isotopes of cesium produced in reactors, were taking as they spread via the Kuroshio Current off the coast of Japan. Additionally, Buesseler works with citizen scientists all over America and Canada who help him track the arrival and movement of radioactive material on the Pacific coast of North America. (Related: Japan announces new plan to drain radioactive Fukushima water DIRECTLY into the Pacific Ocean.) There are at least 1,000 tanks on the grounds of the power plant that are used to store groundwater and cooling water. Buesseler posits that these tanks have now been contaminated due to their close proximity to the reactors and their containment buildings. Modern cleaning processes have removed many radioactive isotopes from the power plant. There have also been efforts to divert groundwater flows around the reactors to significantly reduce the amount of contaminated water being collected to less than 200 metric tons per day. However, some experts suggest that these tanks will soon be filled, which could force some Japanese officials to suggest that treated water should be diverted into the ocean to free up space for more wastewater. Tritium and other radioactive isotopes Despite reports that radiation levels have fallen to safe levels near the power plant, tritium remains at the highest levels in the treated water. If push comes to shove, tritium is one of the radioactive isotopes that could be released into the ocean. However, tritium, an isotope of hydrogen, is almost impossible to remove, as the radioactive isotope becomes part of the water molecule itself. Tritium replaces one of the stable hydrogens in the water molecule H2O and produces tritiated water, a colorless and odorless substance. Tritium has a relatively short half-life of 12.3 years, which measures the rate of decay of an isotope. The radioactive isotope isnt absorbed as easily by marine life or seafloor sediments. Tritium also produces weak beta particles, which is not as damaging to living tissue compared to other forms of radiation. Researchers are concerned about isotopes that remain in the treated wastewater, such as: Carbon-14 , which has a half-life of 5,730 years. , which has a half-life of 5,730 years. Cobalt-60 , the longest-lived isotope of cobalt, which has a half-life of 5.27 years. , the longest-lived isotope of cobalt, which has a half-life of 5.27 years. Strontium-90, which has a half-life of about 29 years. This radioactive isotope emits a beta particle as it decays. These isotopes and others remain, but they had only been revealed to the public in 2018. The other isotopes all take much longer to decay. In addition, they have greater affinities for seafloor sediments and marine organisms like fish. Scientists are worried that the remaining radioactive isotopes could be a more significant threat to human health and the environment for much longer compared to tritium. Buesseler believes that putting the spotlight on tritium in the wastewater holding tanks diverts attention from a more important matter: the presence of other radioactive isotopes in the wastewater. While this matter is complicated, it doesnt mean its impossible to solve. Buesseler believes the first step to addressing the matter is cleaning up the additional radioactive contaminants that remain in the storage tanks. Next, experts must plan how to handle the remaining contaminants. Before leaders give the go signal on options that involves ocean releases for Fukushima wastewater, independent groups must monitor all of the potential contaminants in seawater, marine life and the seafloor. Doing this right and without withholding data from the public is key to ensuring the health of the ocean and the livelihoods of many people. Visit Fukushima.news for updates on the Fukushima power plant and how they are dealing with the contaminated wastewater. Sources include: ScienceDaily.com NRC.gov PopularMechanics.com Britannica.com 08/17/2020 By David Perry When COVID-19 ended many of UMass Lowells student activities last spring, UML Folk Dance Club President Sarah Bustin didnt take it sitting down. Life without folk dance would be difficult for Bustin, who says her body and soul are enriched by the human connection it brings. The Folk Dance Club would continue even if it had to do it via Zoom. Bustin, a rising junior who is majoring in physics, teamed with the Folk Arts Center of New England to set up weekly Tuesday evening Folk Dancing by the Virtual Fountain, July 7 through Aug. 25. The pandemic had also claimed the Folk Arts Center of New Englands weekly summer dances, so Bustins overture was welcomed. She secured the services of the UML clubs dance teacher, Andy Taylor-Blenis, rounded up additional support from the Lowell Cultural Council, and got the word out. Participants include UML students, as well as dance instructors and enthusiasts from around the country. From the earliest moments of the first online session, it was clear Bustin had created an entirely different folk dance experience. It was oddly intimate and personal. Peoples living rooms and dining rooms showed up in the squares of video that line the top of the screen. A recording of traditional music plays, and Taylor-Blenis begins dancing around her room, calling out steps as she does. One-two-three-four and five-six and seven-eight Dancers watched the instructor on their screens. She repeats the dance, faster this time. Quick-slow, quick-quick-slow. The dancers viewing step tentatively at first, then with more abandon. Cross-front, quick-slow. At one point, a dog strolls slowly through Taylor-Blenis room. As the evening progresses, the number of dancers grow 43, 49, 72 110. Aloha, from Hawaii, chirps one dancer. Aloha, indeed. Throughout the summer, the weekly online dance session has drawn an average of just under 100 faithful dancers and instructors from Chicago and Los Angeles and points in between. On Aug. 11, Joan Hantman taught via Zoom. She specializes in Israeli, Balkan and other international dances, then goes to work as a nurse at the UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica. The group routinely runs through traditional dances born in the likes of Serbia, Macedonia, Greece, Israel, Portugal, Japan and other countries. It is, when joined by computers and cameras, a new dance that emerges, notes veteran dance teacher Taylor-Blenis. International folk dance is loaded with community and contact, says Taylor-Blenis. When people hold hands with one another, they are getting information from one another. People learn to dance by watching, listening and getting assistance from those surrounding them. Finally, the teacher is speaking, demonstrating and watching the dancers to see what assistance they need. In this pandemic, what people wont get is the human contact as both stimulant and an assistant, says Taylor-Blenis. Bustin agrees. Online dancing is fun, but it's very different from the real thing, she says. Bustin, who is from North Reading, Mass., has been folk dancing for most of her life. Her grandparents on both sides taught folk dance, and she learned contra and international dance as a child. She shares a bond with Taylor-Blenis that she only uncovered a few years ago. Andy and my mother were roommates at Maine Folk Dance Camp when they were teenagers, she says. Bustin chose UMass Lowell for its UTeach and physics programs, not its dance offerings. She was dismayed to find neither a dance department nor international dance group on campus when she arrived. During her first semester, Bustin continued to attend a weekly folk dance in Lexington, Mass. In October 2018, she heard the MIT Folk Dance Club (FDC) was shut down because its percentage of student members dropped below 50 percent of total members, which included dancers from the faculty and the local community. This was incredibly disappointing for the international dance community, says Bustin, as the MIT FDC had been dancing since the 1960s and had gathered a large, vibrant, supportive community. She and Taylor-Blenis agreed to start a club at UML. In October of her freshman year, she made a club sign-up form. I asked everyone I met to sign up. I gave the form to classmates, people standing next to me in the lunch line, students Id never met in the hallway, she recalls. She created an email list, recruited officers and faculty advisors. By May 2019, they were an official club sport. The group held weekly two-hour practices at the Campus Recreation Center. That summer, the club volunteered to help at the Lowell Folk Festival and offered a dance night with live music open to the community. In February, the club collaborated on an event with the Cambodian Student Association. Then, COVID-19 sent everyone home. The ongoing Tuesday summer sessions have drawn new dancers, and donations to pay teachers (there is a suggested $5 minimum donation) have picked up, says Bustin. She has always brought passion to our dances and made a welcoming atmosphere for people to join in, says Sarah Souders, a rising senior biology major with a biotechnology concentration. She is one of Bustins recruits, now a club officer. What appealed to Souders? Folk dance is filled with history and meaning, but also something fun to do with friends and relax after a long day. Since the virtual sessions began, Souders loves seeing those from all over the country come together with a similar interest in cultural learning through dance. I joined because of my friend, but I stayed because of the dance. Despite student clubs not meeting in person in the fall due to the pandemic, the Folk Dance Club will continue online, says Bustin. A lot of folk dancers are scientists, mathematicians and engineers, as the patterns and formulae of the dance steps come easily to them, she says. Others dance because they love listening to beautiful music from other cultures or because it's a low-key way to meet new people and socialize without the pressure of small talk. For more information about the club, which will continue to host Zoom events Tuesday evenings in the fall, visit the Folk Arts Center of New England website or sign up for its email list. Stormzy attends The BRIT Awards 2020 at The O2 Arena on February 18, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Redferns) Stormzy has given 500,000 to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds pay for their education. The money is the first lump sum donated by the rapper since he pledged in June to give away 10million over the next decade to help fight racial inequality. The donation to the Black Heart Foundation, which was made through his Merky Foundation, will cover the cost of cash grants for 50 students in need financial support for any educational activity. Read more: BBC to match Stormzy's 10m pledge to tackle racial inequality in Britain The Black Heart Foundation founder Ric Lewis, said they have been invigorated by the generosity shown by Stormzy and his foundation. A spokesperson for the #Merky Foundation said: The Black Heart Foundation is an incredible charity and we are proud to make them the first beneficiary to receive funding from our 10 million pledge, announced earlier this year. Stormzy at the Black Lives Matter protest rally in Parliament Square, London. (Photo by Helen William/PA Images via Getty Images) Their Each Day. Every Day campaign is a brilliant initiative and we are elated that our 500,000 donation has played a key part in helping them achieve their target. We encourage others to donate whatever they can to help change a young persons life. Lewis said: We are grateful to #Merky Foundation and invigorated by their generosity. Their contribution is an amazing testament to their vision and commitment to higher and further education for ambitious, hard-working young people from the most under-resourced and under-represented communities in our society. Read more: Stormzy wore his sister's clothes as he grew up without much money With their support we will reach another 50 young people, taking the total number of scholars we can help to 250. I want to thank everyone that has donated money so far. The response we have had has been incredible. Stormzys pledge in June came after Black Lives Matter protests took place around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. The 27-year-old said at the time: The uncomfortable truth that our country continuously fails to recognise and admit is that Black people in the UK have been at a constant disadvantage in every aspect of life simply due to the colour of our skin. Voting will be a little different this Election Day. If you havent voted by mail already or cast a ballot at an early-voting center, Tuesday is your day. Voters in Miami-Dade and Broward will decide who will fill some important roles, including Miami-Dades mayor, Browards supervisor of elections and School Board seats in both counties. Both counties will vote on a state attorney. Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle is running against Melba Pearson, a former prosecutor who has worked with Rundle and is now with the American Civil Liberties Union. Broward County State Attorney Mike Satz is retiring after more than four decades in office, leading to eight candidates in that race. If you plan to vote in this primary, you will want to take note of keeping safe at the precinct amid the pandemic. Yes, there are rules. For one, it doesnt matter whom youre voting for or which precinct you go to, all voters must wear a mask covering their mouth and nose at all times. Gloves are optional. Remember, masks are the law in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. And if you break it, you can be fined. You also need to stand at least 6 feet apart from others while waiting in line. That might make the line seem longer than usual, though with the rise of voting by mail, its unlikely that the wait will be too bad. One possible plus side of voting during the pandemic? Campaign workers might actually keep their distance as you walk to the polls. What about inside the precinct? Heres what you need to know if youre voting on Election Day in Miami-Dade and Broward counties during the COVID-19 pandemic. Can I bring my own pen to the polls to reduce COVID-19 risk? Yes, you can, but it might not be necessary in Broward County. All Broward voting precincts will be giving each voter a free sealed pen that can be used to fill out the ballot and then be taken home as a souvenir, according to the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office. If you want to use your own pen: In Miami-Dade, the ink needs to be blue or black. In Broward, the ink needs to be black. Story continues Its likely that poll workers will have hand sanitizer or wipes on hand as many did in March during the presidential primary. Its not advisable to bring a bottle of Lysol and spray it around others, although some poll workers had their own cans earlier this year. Voters fill out their ballots during early voting for the primary election at Miami Lakes Community Center at 15151 Montrose Rd. in Hialeah on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020. Are th ere exceptions to Miami-Dade, Broward mask mandates? In Miami-Dade, where you have to wear a mask in public, both inside and outside, exceptions include children younger than 2, anyone who has a medical condition or disability that prevents them from wearing a face covering and anyone who is hearing-impaired or is communicating with someone who is hearing-impaired. Broward Countys mask mandate exceptions are similar to those of Miami-Dade. One noticeable difference: You dont have to wear a mask outside in Broward County unless social distancing (staying at least 6 feet away from others) is not possible. Lets be real, though: If youre near a precinct, there will be lots of campaign workers and other voters surrounding you. So youll likely have to wear the mask. Will I be socially distanced from others while in line and at the voting booth? Youre supposed to be. Both the Miami-Dade and Broward County Supervisor of Elections offices say that floor markings will be located around each precinct to help people stay at least 6 feet away from others. In Miami-Dade County, the privacy booth attendant will be directing voters to the appropriate booth in order to maintain social distancing guidelines, said Assistant Deputy Supervisor of Elections Robert Rodriguez. In Broward County, the booths will be six feet apart and voters are encouraged to stagger their entry to reduce the number of people inside the area at a time, said Broward County Elections Department spokesman Steve Vancore. For voters who really want to stay away from others, you can always try to keep at least one empty booth between you and others if the precinct isnt busy. Can I still turn in my vote-by-mail ballot and how can I do that? In Miami-Dade, sealed ballots can be dropped off up until 7 p.m. Tuesday at four locations: Miami-Dade Elections Department, 2700 NW 87th Ave. The Elections Departments Branch Office, located in the lobby of the Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 NW First St. North Dade Regional Library, 2455 NW 183rd St. in Miami Gardens South Dade Regional Library, 10750 SW 211th St. in Cutler Bay In Broward, mail-in ballots can be dropped off until 7 p.m. Tuesday at two locations: Voting Equipment Center at the Lauderhill Mall (rear entrance), 1501 NW 40th Ave. in Lauderhill Broward County Administration Building, 115 South Andrews Ave. (Brickell Avenue entrance) in Fort Lauderdale Where do I vote and what do I need to bring? Every registered voter is assigned a precinct. Make sure you check your voter registration card to see where your polling place is. Broward offers an easy way to look up someones precinct on its election page. Miami-Dade also allows a person to check their polling place and get other information for voting. In both counties, voters must bring photo identification. Voters can also bring a sample ballot. For more information in Miami-Dade, call 305-499-VOTE (8683). In Broward, call the main office from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 954-357-7050. What other safety measures are being implemented at the polls during COVID-19? Voters in Miami-Dade and Broward will both see signage placed in the precinct and outside encouraging social distancing. Workers will be wearing masks and face shields. Common areas will be wiped more frequently. Broward walks voters through the process in a video, showing how a voter simply has to hold their ID up to be scanned. Miami-Dade is encouraging voters to review your sample ballot in advance of coming to vote. You can even mark it and bring it with you, the department said in its safety tip sheet. Knowing your selections in advance of arriving will speed up the process and allow you to exit the facility faster. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Andi Hajramurni (The Jakarta Post) Makassar Mon, August 17, 2020 19:00 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e9818d 1 National #Indonesia75,Independence-Day,South-Sulawesi,Gowa,mountain-climbing Free More than 15,000 hikers swamped Mount Bawakaraeng in Gowa regency, South Sulawesi to celebrate Independence Day on Monday, the most visitors ever recorded on the mountain. With no restriction on visitor numbers, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of hikers who celebrated this years Independence Day on Mt. Bawakaraeng almost tripled from the previous year. "We expected fewer hikers this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the number of hikers increased almost threefold, instead," Mustari, the head of the Makassar Search and Rescue Office told The Jakarta Post on Monday. He said that usually up to 6,000 hikers visited the mountain on Aug. 17 to celebrate Independence Day. However, the office recorded 15,228 hikers passing the main Lembana trekking route. We did not even record hikers who used different routes," he added. Mustari explained that the agency had limited the number of hikers allowed to stay at the mountain top to 5,900 people, despite the peak only being able to accommodate fewer than 5,000 people. Read also: Hikers flock Mt Lawu ahead of Independence Day, raising COVID-19 concerns Another 6,200 hikers, he said, stayed in Lembanna pine forest located at the foot of the mountain and the remaining 3,000 stayed in Ramma Valley. The agency had deployed 200 personnel to the mountain, he said, adding that it was not sufficient to secure such a large number of hikers, especially since a lot of them were beginners. Amid the flock of visitors, a 16-year-old hiker named Wawan Kurniawan, a student from Bulukumba regency, died in the early hours of Monday due to hypothermia. Mustari expressed hope that the number of visitors to the mountain could be limited in the future. Gowa regent Adnan Purichta Ichsan Yasin Limpo admitted that he did not limit the number of visitors to Mt. Bawakaraeng because it had been a long-standing tradition for hikers in the area to conduct flag-hoisting ceremonies to celebrate Independence Day on the mountaintop. "Every year a lot of people hike Mt. Bawakaraeng to celebrate Independence Day. It's their tradition so we did not limit the number of hikers. However, they are required to follow health protocols such as wearing a mask and bringing hand sanitizer," Adnan said. (nal) The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G has just surfaced in a bunch of renders, which detail its design from all angles. These renders have surfaced in both image and video formats, by the way. These renders detail the design of the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G The device will be made out of metal and plastic, it seems. The phones frame will be made out of metal, but its backplate may be plastic, similar to the one on the Galaxy Note 20. That is at least what the source is claiming. The phones back side will be curved towards the edges, and youll notice several (three) camera sensors on the back. Those camera sensors are a part of the same camera module, and an LED flash is also placed there. Advertisement Samsungs branding is present on the back of the device, while the phone will include a flat display. Its bezels will be minimal, while a display camera hole will be included as well, and centered. The power / lock button will be placed on the right, below the volume up and down keys. A light blue color variant of the phone is shown in these renders, though the bezels are black-colored. The source mentions that the devices display measures between 6.4 and 6.5 inches. The phones dimensions are 161 x 73 x 8mm, claims the source. So, the device wont exactly be too large, but it wont be small either. Advertisement A Type-C USB port is placed on the bottom of this phone, along with a loudspeaker. A single microphone is also included down there. A SIM card tray can be seen at the top of the phone, while an audio jack is not present. A fingerprint scanner will also be included, under the display The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G design leak does not show a fingerprint scanner, because its located under the display. This smartphone will almost certainly offer an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, but well see. This smartphone will probably ship with the Snapdragon 865 SoC. Geekbench listing confirmed as much quite recently. It also confirmed that the device will include 6GB of RAM, and ship with Android 10 out of the box. Advertisement An 8GB RAM variant of this phone may also see the light of day. A 12-megapixel camera (Sonys iMX555 sensor) is expected to be included on the back of the phone. That is the same main camera the Galaxy S20 uses. A 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera is also tipped for this phone, and the same goes for an 8-megapixel telephoto camera. A 32-megapixel camera is said to be included on the front side of this phone. The device may also include a 120Hz display, and be IP68 certified for water and dust resistance. A 4,500mAh battery was also mentioned , and the device is expected to cost around $750. A heater too close to flammable materials started a fire in a Christchurch caravan used as a sleep out. A house in Manawatu suffered damage from fire that started in the chimney. Two instances where cooking was left unattended on the stove in Otago, one in a home and one in an accommodation lodge, resulted in a fire starting and a house fire in Whanganui also started after a pan was left on the stove and the oil caught fire. "It was lucky in these instances everyone managed to get to safety, especially the Christchurch caravan which did not have a working smoke alarm," says National Manager Community Readiness and Recovery Steve Turek. "A fire can be deadly within just three minutes which is why its so important to get that early warning of fire from your smoke alarms. Make sure you have them in all bedrooms, hallways and living areas - including caravans and sleep outs. Check they are working by pressing the button each month. "Fire is not just extremely fast but its also extremely disorienting. The smoke makes it difficult for you to see, hear and think. Thats why your household should also have an escape plan, and practice it, so you can get out quickly and safely. "If you havent already, you can make an escape plan at www.escapemyhouse.co.nz." He says people should check on elderly family and neighbours who may need it to make sure they have an escape plan and working smoke alarms too. "Taking the time now to do these simple things and make sure youre prepared could save you and your loved ones lives." Fire safety tips - Make sure you have working smoke alarms in all bedrooms, hallways and living areas - even for caravans and sleep outs - Make sure you have, and practice, an escape plan - Never leave cooking unattended. If you need to leave the stove, no matter how brief, make sure you switch it off until you come back - Keep anything that could catch fire at least one meter from your heater or heat source - Make sure your chimney is swept before you use it for the first time of the season SANTA FE A New Mexico undersheriff is accused of ordering his subordinates to draw guns on other officers who arrested his boss in May, officials said. Prosecutors say Rio Arriba County Undersheriff Martin Trujillo ordered his deputies to respond to the Rio Arriba County station, where other officers were gathered to execute a warrant on Sheriff James Lujan. Lujan faces a number of charges, including allegations that he arrived at a SWAT scene intoxicated and interfered with the operation, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported. Trujillo directed his officers to draw their weapons on the Taos County sheriffs deputies and Espanola police officers, prosecutors said. The decision created an extremely volatile and dangerous dynamic between law enforcement agencies, the affidavit says. It was kind of like a blue-on-blue situation, said 9th Judicial District Attorney Andrea Reeb, who is handling the case against Lujan. Trujillo, 53, surrendered to New Mexico State Police on Friday and was booked into the Los Alamos County jail. He was released the same day. He is charged on the accusation of criminal solicitation to commit assisting the assault upon a peace officer, which is a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to the affidavit. Hes absolutely innocent and it appears to us he is some sort of pawn in political machinations, said Trujillos attorney, Damian Horne. Lujan was not available for comment. Even if the father wasn't alive on September 9, 2005, when the amendment to the Hindu Succession Act was effectuated, daughter will still have property rights. Lawyers say this judgment can open a can of worms as women in many business families can now assert their right to an equal share in inheritance Here are few important cases: In June this year, the Punjab ... Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. 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Digital Editor LAWRENCE, KANSAS -- In a new study, Monarch Watch Director Chip Taylor and colleagues have shown that speculation regarding the declining monarch population, despite having received much attention, is unsupported. Published Aug. 7 in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, the researchers show that the decline in the monarchs' overwintering numbers is not due to an increase in the deaths of monarchs during the migration -- the "migration mortality hypothesis." The main determinant of yearly variation in overwintering population size, they found, is the size of the summer population. Taylor, a University of Kansas professor emeritus of ecology & evolutionary biology, said the monarch butterfly populations have been declining for most of the last two decades. The numbers of monarchs measured at the monarch overwintering sites in Mexico in the winter of 2013-2014 were an all-time low. The progressive decline in prior years, and these low numbers, led to the submission of a petition to the Department of the Interior to have the monarch declared a threatened species. These concerns also increased the search for an explanation for the decline. The prevailing view was that the decline was due to habitat loss that followed increased use of glyphosate herbicide on corn and soybean fields in the Upper Midwest -- the "milkweed limitation hypothesis." However, that view was challenged by a number of researchers who maintained that the decline was likely due to increasingly high levels of mortality during the butterflies' migration. This became known as the migration mortality hypothesis. Taylor said the migration mortality hypothesis, though unsupported by data, has received substantial coverage in Science and Scientific American. "Monarch Watch has been collecting recovery data for tagged monarchs since 1992, and we knew that those advocating the migration mortality hypothesis were on the wrong track from the outset and told them so," he said. In this recently published study, Taylor and co-authors summarized the results of tagging almost 1.4 million monarchs that resulted in nearly 14,000 recoveries of tagged butterflies in Mexico. "Showing the migration mortality hypothesis advocates their assumptions were wrong took awhile since that required a significant effort to vet our monarch tagging database for accuracy and to analyze the data," Taylor said. "Dealing with 1.4 million records is no simple task." In contrast to the predictions of the migration mortality advocates, the tagging recoveries -- a measure of migration success -- did not decrease over time, the researchers found. In addition, the number tagged each year was correlated with the size of the overwintering population in Mexico, consistent with the milkweed limitation hypothesis. The tagging also confirmed that the majority of monarchs reaching the overwintering sites originated from the Upper Midwest. These findings support the conclusion reached by a team of experts that sustaining the monarch migration will require the restoration of over a billion milkweed stems in the Upper Midwest in the coming years. ### The co-authors on the paper were John Pleasants of Iowa State University; Ralph Grundel and Samuel Pecoraro, both of the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center; and James Lovett and Ann Ryan of Monarch Watch and the Kansas Biological Survey. The Proud Boys, an alt-right group, faces off against Black Lives Matters protesters using mace and a paint ball gun on August 15, 2020 in downtown Portland, Oregon. Paula Bronstein/Getty Images Police in Kalamazoo, Michigan, apologized for arresting a journalist who was covering a far-right group's demonstration in the city on Saturday, the journalist's employer, MLive, reported. Samuel J. Robinson, a reporter with MLive, was arrested Saturday and charged with "impeding traffic" while he was live-streaming a demonstration that featured a violent clash between the far-right organization the "Proud Boys" and counterprotesters. Despite wearing credentials and identifying himself as a reporter, the video he recorded shows an officer bringing him to the ground and arresting him. The police chief on Sunday apologized to Robinson, who is Black, for "the trauma" the arrest caused and the city's mayor said the charges against the reporter had been dropped. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A journalist covering a far-right protest in Kalamazoo, Michigan, was arrested over the weekend for "impeding traffic," but police have since dropped the charges and apologized, admitting on Sunday the arrest never should have happened. "KD PS arrested an MLive reporter who they believed to be interfering or obstructing with their operations," Kalamazoo Police Department Chief Karianne Thomas said during a Sunday press conference. "This person was wearing visible credentials and should not have been arrested." "I apologize for the trauma that it caused to this young man. We all respect the sanctity of the press," she added. According to MLive, 23-year-old reporter Samuel J. Robinson, who is Black, was arrested while he was covering a demonstration by the "Proud Boys" in the city of Kalamazoo on Saturday, broadcasting for the news outlet on Facebook Live. The Proud Boys are a far-right organization classified as a hate group with ties to white nationalism and other extremists, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. Story continues Robinson had been charged with "impeding traffic" and was released on a $100 bond, according to MLive. The charges were dropped as of Sunday afternoon, the city's mayor said at a press conference, according to the report. According to MLive, Robinson 1:49 p.m. noted on Twitter he hadn't seen a police presence at the demonstration, which featured both the Proud Boys and counterprotesters who came out against the far-right group, known for violent clashes with their opponents. Not long after his tweet, dozens of police officers, some wearing riot gear, descended on the scene, according to MLive. Robinson recorded his own arrest, where he repeatedly said he was a member of the press In a video Robinson recorded of the incident for the news outlet, he kept the camera on the officers who interacted with, and appeared to arrest, demonstrators. Robinson made a brief on-camera appearance as officers approached him, noting that they had been absent for much of the day's demonstrations. Then, officers inched even closer before the video ends with his arrest. "I'm being arrested," Robinson said at the end of the two-minute video as he's brought to the ground by at least one police officer. "I'm being arrested now," he continued, also repeating he was a member of the press. Robinson did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on Monday. "He was just crouching down, video recording (the officers) the whole time nobody had a problem with it then the cops started pushing back," Jeremiah Rubert, who was at the counterprotest, told the Western Michigan University student newspaper the Western Herald. He continued: "He tried to stand his ground, still video recording, but after that, the cops started running and then after that I didn't see what happened to him I just know he was taking pictures and the next thing you know there are 40 cops rushing behind everybody throwing people to the ground." Other videos shared by Robinson prior to his arrest show violent clashes between members of the far-right organization, who used both US and "Trump 2020" flags as weapons against the counter-demonstrators. Members of the "Proud Boys" also used pepper spray against the counterprotesters, which Robinson tweeted Saturday he had been sprayed with. Rupert and others who came out to protest the Proud Boys' presence told the student newspaper it even appeared police officers had protected the Proud Boys while they targeted the counterdemonstrators. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety did not return Insider's request for comment on Monday. According to the Western Herald and MLive, while nine people were arrested on the Saturday protest, no members of The Proud Boys were arrested. "I don't have all that information right now. I just know he was at the county jail for an hour and five minutes," Thomas said Sunday when asked why Robinson had been arrested despite wearing credentials and declaring himself a journalist. Read more: 'I totally am preparing to get sick': Teachers in coronavirus hotspots don't know when they'll feel safe returning to school Video shows students at the University of North Georgia starting the semester with a huge party as the state battles a surge in coronavirus infections 'You guys won': Video shows a Seattle police officer telling a protester he's leaving the department because he's tired of the demonstrations Trump supporters rallied on the water in Florida to break the Guinness World Record for the largest boat parade Read the original article on Insider An influential doctor is calling on the State to pass emergency legislation to fight the spread of Covid-19 amid fears "reckless" behaviour may have influenced 1,100 cases in just 14 days. Dr Gabriel Scally, who authored the report into the CervicalCheck controversy, last night told the Irish Independent the State must now act legally against any businesses aiding the spread of the virus through neglect, after the concerning "trend" of spread in every county. An unwelcome growth in the number of cases has alerted the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), which is expected to trigger discussions on the reopening of schools. Nphet is meeting today to discuss its advice to Government as the number of Covid-19 cases spikes. Dr Scally said: "The Government needs to take extremely strong action when anyone is putting others at risk, as this is verging on criminal activity because lives are at stake. "The State can alter the law, pass emergency legislation to take away people's licences, close businesses who are not protecting public health, including pubs. Read More "It will be very difficult to open schools unless we know exactly where the cases are. "If there are substantial numbers in local communities, it's not wise to open the schools. Not because young children are at risk, but they do transmit the virus." He said there were concerns about schools acting as "transmission hubs", so the only way for schools to safely open, was for there to be good local knowledge about the level of infections. The phased reopening of the country has afforded people the opportunity to socialise with each other again. "However, some are doing this recklessly and undermining the efforts of the majority of people around the country who are following public-health advice. This cannot continue. This pandemic isn't over just because we are tired of living with it. "We must all learn to behave and interact in a new way over the coming months so that Covid-19 cannot take root again in our communities. Please avoid crowds, reduce your social contacts, keep your distance from others, wash your hands and wear face coverings." Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said Ireland's worsening incidence of Covid-19 is "deeply concerning" while the Labour Party has insisted school reopenings had to go ahead. The Government could hold an incorporeal Cabinet meeting tomorrow if new restrictions on socialising are to be proposed and approved. But the focus is currently on a new messaging and advertising drive to tell young people, in particular, of the dangers of congregated settings and the need not to associate with older people and the vulnerable, including parents and grandparents, if they attend parties or ignore advice. The Taoiseach, Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly met acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn to discuss the "evolving" situation yesterday. A Government statement said: "They expressed deep concern at yesterday's figures. There will be a further analysis of the situation ahead of the Cabinet Committee on Covid." A pitched battle over the U.S. Postal Service and its ability to reliably deliver presidential election ballots during a pandemic has broken out on the eve of the parties' high-profile conventions. Democrats accuse President Donald Trump of sabotaging the agency to cripple vote-by-mail efforts, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi suspended the House's summer recess to take up related legislation. Meanwhile, Trump, who's trailing challenger Joe Biden in polls, has claimed -- without evidence -- that widespread remote voting routinely leads to massive fraud, putting Republicans in a tough spot, given the popularity of the Postal Service. "Universal mail-in voting is going to be catastrophic, it's going to make our country a laughing stock all over the world," Trump said on Saturday. The Democrats' scrutiny is focused on Louis DeJoy, the new postmaster general appointed by Trump, who recently launched a series of service cutbacks. The agency has also sent warnings to 46 states, saying it may not be able to deliver their ballots on time for the November election. Pelosi called DeJoy "a complicit crony" of Trump's. "We see the devastating effects of the president's campaign to sabotage the election by manipulating the Postal Service to disenfranchise voters," Pelosi said Sunday in an emailed message to her Democratic colleagues. House Democrats have demanded that DeJoy testify at a hearing before the House Oversight Committee on Aug. 24. It's unclear if he will appear. Postal Service officials didn't respond to emailed requests for comment sent outside of normal business hours. The issue is certain to be a major theme for Democrats as they kick off their party convention on Monday -- nominally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but in reality will play out virtually in living rooms across the country. Prominent Democrats have raised concerns around voter suppression. Former President Barack Obama said that Trump was trying to "actively kneecap the Postal Service." Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who vied for the Democratic presidential nomination, said Trump thinks a lower turnout will help him win re-election. Under DeJoy, who's run the Postal Service since May, post office operating hours have been reduced and overtime work cut, which has delayed delivery of mail on certain routes. Recent media reports have pointed to the removal of mail sorting machines in various cities, as well as the removal of mailboxes from streets. DeJoy, a former businessman and prominent donor to Republicans, has made no secret that he planned to cut costs at the Post Service, which has lost money for years. The agency "remains on an unsustainable path and we will continue to focus on improving operational efficiency and pursuing other reforms in order to put the Postal Service on a trajectory for long-term financial stability," he said in a statement in July. Pelosi said she will set a vote this week on a bill by from Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney that would block the Postal Service from implementing changes from its operations procedures that were in effect on Jan. 1, 2020. The vote could be held on Saturday, according to a Democratic aide. It's possible that the risk of contracting the deadly coronavirus will keep millions of Americans at home through November's balloting. Seniors, the nation's most avid voters, are also those most likely to suffer serious complications, should they contract Covid-19. State officials, who actually run the polling, have made mail-in-ballots a cornerstone of their plans. "We need to fund the Postal Service," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said on Fox News Sunday. "We need to root for its success, rather than the opposite." For his part, Trump has sought to sow doubt in the accuracy of mass mail-in-voting, even as he says he supports -- and personally uses -- standard absentee balloting. "Universal mail-in voting is going to be catastrophic," Trump said on Saturday without offering evidence. Told on CNN on Sunday that there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the U.S., Mark Meadows, Trump's chief of staff, responded that "there's no evidence that there's not, either." But there are signs that some Republicans are uncomfortable with attacking mail-in voting. On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican facing a tough re-election fight, echoed Pelosi's call for Congress to act. "The Senate should return this week to consider a COVID-19 package that includes the Postal Service Emergency Assistance Act-a bill I introduced w/@SenFeinstein in July -- which would provide USPS w/ up to $25 billion to cover losses or operational expenses resulting from COVID-19," she tweeted. More than 200 lawsuits have been filed in 43 states and the District of Columbia over electoral practices during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to one tally. Mail-in-voting rules varies widely by state, with some like California, Utah automatically planning to send voters a ballot in the mail. Oregon has done all-mail-in elections for decades. Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo of California said in a statement on Sunday that DeJoy and Trump "are intentionally undermining the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to deliver mail-in ballots." She urged her state's attorney general to open up a criminal probe. Meadows tweeted on Sunday that it was "nonsense" to say Trump was undercutting USPS. A former congressman from North Carolina, Meadows accused Democrats of playing politics by rejecting $10 billion for the agency as part of an economic stimulus package. But that's significantly less than the $25 billion that Democrats want for the agency as part of a coronavirus aid package. They also want an additional $3.6 billion in stimulus funding to go to states for costs associated with expanded mail-in and early in-person voting. Even if the two sides reach an agreement on additional money, the Trump campaign is likely to still oppose widespread mail-in voting. Steve Cortes, a Trump campaign adviser, said on "Fox News Sunday" that "no amount of money" would be enough to get the agency ready for universal mail-in-voting. A $30million estate left by a businessman who died without a will has sparked a bitter feud between his Chinese mother and his Adelaide family that has reached South Australia's highest court. Under South Australian probate laws, if a person dies intestate and they leave more than $100,000 behind, their spouse and children get everything. When businessman Hongtao Liu died in November 2018, he left a $30million fortune, a wife and two children in Adelaide, and a 76-year-old mother in China who says he promised to support her for the rest of her life. Pictured: one of Hongtao Liu's luxury properties on Harrow Rd, St Peters, Adelaide A former director of Australian Group Investments, Mr Liu had a sprawling network of business interests including luxury properties in Adelaide, a real estate company, a catering business, a financial management firm and the Super Star Australia and Young Stars talent agencies. Mr Liu owned two luxury properties on either side of St Peter's Billabong, a wetlands nature reserve in the heart of Adelaide. One of them, a $3.5million home on Harrow Rd, St Peters, was designed by award-winning architect Max Pritchard and had its own bar-pool room and a 17m solar-heated pool. Mr Liu's mother Junying Yan is now suing her daughter-in-law, Xiangting Kong, and two grandchildren Daniel, 14 and Shirley, 12, for a share of the $30m assets. Pictured: The 17m pool at Hongtao Liu's luxury Adelaide house While the bulk of Mr Liu's assets were in Australia, a significant portion including a power supply firm that loaned money to related entities were in China. Mr Liu's wife Xiangting Kong, the mother of his two children Daniel, 14, and Shirley, 12, was granted control of her late husbands assets as administrator in February 2019, according to a Supreme Court of South Australia pre-trial judgement. Six months later, however, Mr Liu's mother Junying Yan sued for control. Ms Yan says she is an impoverished former factory worker with a limited education. Her son had supported her, paying her $30,000 a year on which she lived, which he later increased to $40,000 a year. Chinese courts have different intestacy laws to Australia, and under the Chinese system, Ms Yan says she is entitled to some of her son's assets. Junying Yan is now suing her own daughter-in-law, Xiangting Kong, and her grandchildren for control of his multinational portfolio worth millions. In Australia the case has reached the South Australian Supreme Court, however Ms Yan also has lodged four separate proceedings in the Chinese courts. The Supreme Court pre-trial judgement says there appears to be 'common ground' that Junying Yan is entitled to $1.25 million worth of her son's overseas assets in the form of 'immovable property'. Ms Yan said she may not contest her son's South Australian assets if the Chinese courts ruled in her favour, and that the outcome there would be known early next year. Xiangting Kong told the court that if they delayed the case to wait for her mother-in-law's court proceedings in China to be resolved, then it would freeze her late husband's assets (such as his luxury house in Adelaide, pictured) leaving the family unable to continue their lifestyle Ms Yan asked for a delay in the Australian proceedings until the outcome of the Chinese case was known. Ms Kong argued that if the proceedings were delayed, it would freeze her late husband's assets leaving her family emotionally and financially crippled. Justice Tim Stanley said there was no guarantee the Chinese court would resolve the case in a timely manner, and dismissed Ms Yan's request. Pictured: the Supreme Court of South Australia in Adelaide where the case will be heard after Ms Yan pays a $350,000 bond against potential court costs 'The position of the plaintiff is not that the outcome of the Chinese proceedings will resolve the issues in the action in this Courtc,' he said. 'If dissatisfied with the outcome of the Chinese proceedings the plaintiff wishes to maintain her right to litigate here. 'The plaintiffs position amounts to having her cake and eating it.' Mrs Kong asked for her mother-in-law to pay a security bond in Australia against any future court costs, which Ms Yan opposed as being prohibitively expensive. Justice Stanley granted Mrs Kong's application, adding that the costs should include enforcement not just in China but elsewhere. 'While high there is no evidentiary basis to doubt the reasonable costs of the action are $350,000,' he said in the pre-trial judgement. Ms Yan has been ordered to pay $350,000 to cover any future litigation costs. Vaishno Devi stampede: Nothing but mismanagement was the cause for this tragic accident: Survivors blame It was like a free for all: Survivor on Vaishno Devi stampede Devotees throng Vaishno Devi shrine India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Katra, Aug 17: Khushvinder Singh is part of a 12-member group from Jammu who reached Katra before dawn to pay obeisance at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine atop Trikuta hills in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The shrine along with other religious places across the Union Territory reopened for devotees on Sunday morning after remaining closed for almost five months due to the COVID-19 outbreak. "I used to come to the shrine at least once every month to offer my prayers. I feel blessed to be back on the first day of the reopening of the shrine," the 48-year-old Singh told PTI. Vaishno Devi Temple re-opens for 2,000 devotees Singh had reached Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Vaishno Devi shrine, around 4 am and was among the first batch to offer prayers at the sanctum sanctorum - the holy cave which is the ultimate destination of the pilgrims. The gates of the shrine reopened for the devotees around 6 am and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVDSB) Ramesh Kumar was seen taking last minute review of the measures to ensure safety of the pilgrims from the dreaded disease. "The Vaishno Devi pilgrimage was stopped on March 18 as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and now when the administration had decided to reopen the religious places, the board had taken all necessary measures keeping in mind the challenge posed by the dreaded disease," Kumar said. In the first week, there shall be a cap of 2,000 pilgrims each day, of which 1,900 would be from Jammu and Kashmir and the remaining 100 from outside. "The government has come out with a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and the pilgrims are requested to follow the guidelines for their own safety and the safety of others," Kumar said while inspecting the automatic thermal screening point which along with hand sanitizer was set up along the entry point dotted with circles to ensure social distancing. Only the pilgrims who have registered themselves online are being allowed to undertake the pilgrimage. The pilgrims are directed to use traditional routes -- from Katra to Bhawan via Banganga, Adhkuwari and Sanjichhat -- to reach the shrine and Himkoti route-Tarakote Marg for their return journey. "The pilgrims, coming from red zones, and outside Jammu and Kashmir would have to undergo COVID-19 test and only those pilgrims with negative reports will be allowed to move towards Bhawan," Kumar said. Children below 10 years, pregnant women, persons with comorbidities and those above 60 years have been advised to avoid religious places for the time being. A massive sanitisation campaign was launched by the shrine board right from Katra to Bhawan before the resumption of the pilgrimage. "We were waiting impatiently for the reopening of the shrine and I am feeling good to be here. We are thankful to the Lt Governor administration for the decision," Mohit Sharma, a resident of R S Pura area of Jammu, said as he set out for the Bhawan from the Bal Ganga entry point. He lauded the shrine board for its preventive measures and said "prayers are also needed to overcome this pandemic". "We have come to seek the blessings of the Mata to overcome our troubles," Pankaj Sharma said as he displayed hand sanitizers and face masks while moving towards the shrine. He said the devotees need to give full support to the shrine board which is doing its best to ensure the safety of the pilgrims. The Chief Censor says New Zealand has an opportunity to be leading the world in fighting against COVID-19 disinformation online. Nasty rumours, inaccurate advice and bullying has circulated through social media following the second wave of infections. Health Minister Chris Hipkins gave those responsible a serve at the 1pm briefing on Sunday, after a racist and misogynist rumour about a woman breaking into an isolation facility had done the rounds. He says it has reached a "new and concerning level", and "not only is it harmful and dangerous, it's totally and utterly wrong". But other than a good telling off, the government is limited in what action it can take to starve the online world of fake news. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are just some of the places where information is shared, but the big platforms seem to do little to moderate. Chief Censor David Shanks says Sweden has been teaching kids for nearly a decade on how to both spot and verify misinformation. He says New Zealand is world-leading with its response to the extremists using the internet as a weapon following the mosque shootings. "The Christchurch Call was one of the first moves led out which really brought an integrated, transnational, governmental and industry accord in thinking about how we could deal with the weaponisation of the internet in terms of the spread of violent extremist material." And similar leadership from New Zealand could also help stop the spread of COVID-19 misinformation, says Shanks. "In a way, some of the extreme disinformation and conspiracy theories could be seen as the next layer out from that and is, in a way, connected with violent extremism when you trace through to the origins of some of this material. "I think New Zealand can and should have a role in leading some thinking about how we can deal with this sort of issue." Social media commentator Anna Rawhiti-Connell says the second wave of the coronavirus has split the online community, increasing both the attacks and the severity of them. "Part of that is around just fatigue, people are weary and they are tired. "There's a lot of uncertainty and that will naturally create a splintering kind of effect." Patriotism is a very big part of the last conquering of COVID, she says. "I think we have splinted far more than we did around that initial lockdown. "We kind of got through a lot of that on the sort of spirit and smell of a patriotic oily rag, and this time around, I don't know if that's quite as strong, and so that does breed a much more fractious kind of environment." Rawhiti-Connell says throughout the second outbreak there has been lots of racial overtones and people looking for something to blame. Indigenous Rights advocate Tina Ngata says Maori are particularly vulnerable to the disinformation because of a deep-rooted distrust of the government and its failure to uphold treaty obligations. "Some of the concerns are very valid and they don't come from nowhere, they generally find fertile soil where there is disenfranchisement," she says. "That's why we see it over in the United States, the working class are really engaged in some of these conspiracy theories and that's because they do feel let down by the system. "And there are whole communities that feel let down by the system here and Aotearoa as well." Honouring the Treaty in a pandemic Ngata says the Maori pandemic response group Te Ropu Whakakaupapa Uruta wants to be more involved in the decision making and feels the decisions that are made are not as representative as they can be. "This is an opportunity for the government to reflect on why it's picked up so well here in Aotearoa and what has been the government's role in that disenfranchisement and the lack of trust because, you know, similar to any relationship, if the trust is in place, it doesn't really matter what other people say." She says the government needs to acknowledge the role of the Treaty within the pandemic. "There are some issues that feed into our trust relationships in the past and a lot of that, for Maori in particular, comes back to Treaty violations. "Making sure that Te Tiriti is centred and upheld and honoured and not looked at as a 'nice to have' but looked at as a constitutional underpinning for all of our decisions as a nation moving ahead," Ngata says. Tech commentator Paul Brislen is alarmed at how many people relied solely on social media for their news when these platforms are not policed in the same way the mainstream media is. Photo: Supplied/RNZ "Social media outlets, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, all the rest of them, they simply refuse to accept that they are publishers of the content that is shared as widely as it is. "They claim to be a platform totally neutral, they have no control over it. "Because the government buys into that that really gives them nowhere to go in terms of enforcement of decency or any of the things that aren't in law but are in common practice that we get with professional media." Brislen says without someone to hold them accountable, the government does not have a leg to stand on. Instagram, however, has taken some action. It has teams actively removing posts that breached the COVID-19 policy. "We remove content that could lead to imminent harm, and we've applied warning labels to millions of pieces of misinformation. "Conspiracies around the virus continue to be fact-checked by our partners around the world, and we block vaccine-related hashtags which contain known misinformation to reduce its visibility on Instagram." -RNZ/Charlotte Cook. A new strain of the novel coronavirus called 'D614G', deemed ten times more infectious, has been detected in Malaysia, said Director General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah in a Facebook post on Saturday. The mutation has been spotted in three cases from a cluster which started when a restaurant owner and permanent resident returned to the country from India. It has also been detected in another cluster case which started with returnees from the Philippines. Abdullah said that the strain could mean that existing studies on vaccines might be incomplete or ineffective against the mutation. "So far these two clusters are controlled due to the fast-paced public health control actions on the field. This test is an early test. There are several follow-up tests in progress for many other cases. These include index cases for both these clusters," Abdullah said. Abdullah said that this meant people needed to be more aware and careful in the country. The mutation infects other individuals 10 times more and spreads more easily by an individual 'super spreader', he said. He said that Malaysia's main action was to secure public health, and asked people to practice Covid-19 norms strictly, such as practicing good self-hygiene and protecting oneself in public places. This mutation has now become the predominant variant in Europe and US. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said that there there is no evidence that the strain leads to a more severe disease. According to a paper in Cell, the mutation may not have a major impact on the efficacy of vaccines which are presently being developed. The novel coronavirus pandemic began with a breakout in the Wuhan city of China in January. Possible origination theories say it could have spread through the Wuhan's wet market, or through the endangered and widely trafficked Pangolins, among other ways. The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January, and a pandemic on 11 March. According to the John Hopkin University tracker, 21,672,429 people have till now been infected, and 775,275 people have died around the world till now. Vaccine candidates are being developed in various countries, and trials are ongoing. Meanwhile, Russia has given approval to its home-grown vaccine, even as experts sound alarm on its efficacy. The country produced the Covid-19 vaccine's first batch on August 15, the Interfax news agency quoted the health ministry as saying, hours after the ministry reported the start of manufacturing. Some scientists said they fear that with this fast regulatory approval Moscow may be putting national prestige before safety amid the global race to develop a vaccine against the disease. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 22:49:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ANKARA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation on Monday and discussed the recent tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the crisis in Libya and Syria, Turkey's presidency said. "The two leaders agreed on the importance of the continued dialogue and cooperation during the conversation in which the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and Libya were raised," a written statement by the presidency said. The tension between Turkey and Greece, which have been at odds over energy explorations in the Mediterranean, has significantly increased after Ankara dispatched a research ship and two auxiliary navy vessels to the region. On the issue of the Libyan crisis, Ankara and Moscow make an effort to reach a ceasefire in the war-torn country although they support warring sides. The two leaders also stressed that the diplomatic and military channels would remain open on issues concerning Syria, said the statement. The steps to improve the relations between the two countries in many fields, especially in tourism, transportation, energy, and economy, were discussed, according to the statement. Enditem The UP Police, through the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment Board (UPPRB), has called for online applications from eligible and interested individuals filling 9,534 vacancies to the post of Sub-Inspector and equivalent through direct recruitment on a fulltime basis to be posted across Uttar Pradesh, India. The online registration-cum-application process towards the same starts from August 13, 2020 and closes on August 24, 2020. CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Sub-Inspector and equivalent Organisation Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment Board (UPPRB) Educational Qualification Bachelors Degree or equivalent Experience Freshers can apply Job Responsibilities null Skills Required Physical and Medical Fitness Job Location Uttar Pradesh Salary Scale As per the UP Police pay structure Industry UP Police Application Start Date August 13, 2020 Application End Date August 24, 2020 UP Police UPPRB Recruitment: Age And Fees Desirous candidates applying for Sub-Inspector and equivalent posts through UP Police UPPRB Recruitment 2020 must have attained 21 years of age and not have exceeded 28 years, with relaxation (upper age limit) for reserved categories as per the UP Police norms. Candidates must pay a prescribed amount of Rs. 400 as application fee for Sub-Inspector and equivalent posts through UP Police UPPRB Recruitment 2020 as specified in the official advertisement. 27 US Companies Including Google, Amazon Pledge To Hire 1 Lakh People From Marginalised Communities UP Police UPPRB Recruitment: Educational Eligibility Desirous candidates applying for Sub-Inspector and equivalent posts through UP Police UPPRB Recruitment 2020 must possess a Bachelor's Degree or equivalent from a recognised University/Institution and meet the physical and medical standards set by the Police norms. UP Police UPPRB Recruitment: Selection And Pay The selection of candidates for Sub-Inspector and equivalent posts through UP Police UPPRB Recruitment 2020 will be done through a Written Test, Physical Standard Test (PST) and Physical Efficiency Test (PET). Candidates selected for Sub-Inspector and equivalent posts through UP Police UPPRB Recruitment 2020 will be paid emolument as per the UP Police pay structure. Assam Police Recruitment For 40 Platoon Commanders Post, Apply Online Before August 26 UP Police UPPRB Recruitment: How To Apply Candidates applying for Sub-Inspector and equivalent posts through UP Police UPPRB Recruitment 2020 must register online on the official UPPRB website at http://uppbpb.gov.in/ and submit their applications on or before August 24, 2020. Download UP Police UPPRB Recruitment PDF for Sub-Inspectors post. WhatsApp's most useful features aren't always its most obvious. SOPA Images/Getty Images WhatsApp has many little-known features that make the popular messaging app a lot easier to use. Many of WhatsApp's best features are hiding in plain sight, from the ability to save mobile data and export chats to view messages without sending a read receipt and checking how much storage chat chains take up. Here are 20 of the best WhatsApp tips and tricks for getting the most out of the platform. Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories. WhatsApp is the little messaging app that could. Despite having competitors like Facebook Messenger and Apple iMessage, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in use today. This is true, no doubt because it is a cross-platform app that makes it easy to engage in voice calls, video calls, and text messages regardless of what phone you are using. Due to its broad functionality, there are many ways to get more of your WhatsApp experience. Here is a collection of the best tips and tricks for using the messaging tool. Check out the products mentioned in this article: Move your WhatsApp account to a different phone To move your WhatsApp account, just install WhatsApp on the new phone and follow the setup instructions. Your account can only be active on one phone at a time, but you can swap it among phones any number of times using the setup process. Your account will automatically be removed from your first phone when you log in on another. Dave Johnson/Business Insider Change your WhatsApp wallpaper Don't like the default background in your chat window? Go to Settings and then tap "Chats." Select "Chat Wallpaper" to choose any image, pattern, or color you like. Quote someone in your reply You can easily include someone's previous message as a quote in your reply. All you need to do is swipe the text to the right, and it'll be inserted in your response as a quotation. See a preview of your conversation Want to get a quick peek at your most recent conversation with someone? Tap and hold the visible message window until the preview pops up. To chat, tap again to open it, or tap anywhere else on your phone screen to close it. Story continues Tap and hold a chat to see a preview of the conversation. Dave Johnson/Business Insider Delete recent messages from the recipient's WhatsApp WhatsApp lets you delete messages you've sent in error. Plus, if you've sent it recently, you can even remove it from the other person's phone. Just tap and hold the message you wish to delete and choose "Delete." Then select the trash can icon and pick "Delete for everyone." Pin important conversations to easily find them No more searching for a recent chat. If you want fast access to a conversation, swipe it to the right on an iPhone before you tap the pin. However, Android users will need to tap and hold the chat, then select the pin. Star messages for quick reference If you need to find a snippet of a conversation quickly, you can star it rather than pinning the entire discussion. To do this, you must tap and hold the text you want to star before choosing the "Star" option that appears. You can find all your starred messages at the top of the WhatsApp Settings page. You can pin entire conversations or snippets of a chat to the top of the Settings screen. Dave Johnson/Business Insider Secretly read messages If you don't want the recipient to know you've read their message, here's a workaround. Before you open the message to read it, put your phone in Airplane mode. When you're done, it'll remain marked as unread even after you've turned off Airplane mode. Turn off all read receipts If you don't want to use the Airplane Mode trick to hide when you're looking at WhatsApp, you should consider disabling read receipts entirely. All you need to do is go to Settings. After that, tap" Accounts" before selecting "Privacy." You'll then turn off "Read Receipts" by swiping that button to the left. As a reminder, this is a two-way street. When you disable read receipts, you won't know if anyone else has read your messages. Add emphasis to your texts If you want to include bold or italic text, you can do that with a quick texting shortcut. Start and end a phrase with an asterisk to *make it bold*, or use ( _ ) underscores ( _ ) to make it italics. Share your location with another WhatsApp user Want to let someone know where you are right now? With a chat pulled up, tap the "+" icon to the left of the text field and choose "Location." Select the "Send Your Current Location" option, and the recipient will immediately get a map with a pin showing where you are. Send your live location for a certain period by tapping "Share Live Location" instead. You can easily share a location, including your live location, with someone in WhatsApp. Dave Johnson/Business Insider Edit a photo before you send it Some cool tricks are hidden in plain sight, like editing and annotating photos before you send them. Before you tap "Send" on a message, you can use any of the tools at the top of the picture to rotate, crop, draw on, and add text to an image. Create a custom tone for specific contacts Want to make it easier to identify when a message from a favorite person comes in? Swipe a chat to the left and then tap "More." In the pop-up menu that appears, choose "Contact info." Find "Custom Tone" and pick the sound you want to hear in the list of options. Mark a message as unread If you want to mark a message as unread, so you remember to reply to it later, start by tapping and holding it. Next, choose "Mark as Unread." The recipient will still show the message as being read, but you'll now have a blue dot on your message as a reminder to deal with it later. Tap and hold a message to mark it as unread. Dave Johnson/Business Insider Hide when you're using WhatsApp By default, everyone can see the last time you were on the app, but there's a quick and easy way to turn that off. Under Settings, click "Account," and then "Privacy." Here you can set "Last Seen" to just your contacts or no one at all. Let Siri or Google read your messages aloud You can use your phone's AI assistant to access your messages most hands-free. It's as easy as saying "Hey Siri" or "Hey Google," and then "read my WhatsApp messages." Your voice assistant will read new, unread messages aloud. See where all your storage space is going You can see which conversations use the most memory and other details like how many texts, photos, and GIFs you've shared. Go to Settings and tap "Data and Storage Usage." Then select "Storage Usage" to see all the people you chat with, along with how much total memory those conversations consume. Choose a contact to see specific details about how many messages and files you've shared. WhatsApp lets you see how much space each chat takes up on your phone. Dave Johnson/Business Insider Export a chat to your PC WhatsApp lets you share a complete record of a chat. If you want, it can be text only, or with all the media you've sent and received. Plus, you can send it to your PC, a text message, or an online storage service. Just open the chat and then tap the contact's name at the top of the screen. On the Contact info page, scroll down and select "Export chat." Then choose whether to include media or not and decide how you want to send it. Save mobile data Save precious mobile data by preventing WhatsApp from downloading large files like photos and videos whenever you use it. To do this, you'll need to go to Settings and then tap "Data and Storage Usage." For each of the media types photos, audio, videos, and documents you must choose what kind of network it'll download on. In general, you should set them all to "Wi-Fi." You can also turn on "Low Data Usage" to conserve data when making voice calls, which will reduce voice quality. Turn on two-step verification for added security It's a good idea to enable two-step verification for every app and service that offers it. This makes it much harder for someone to take over your account maliciously. Use two-factor authentication in WhatsApp, go to Settings and tap "Account," and then choose "Two-Step Verification." When prompted, add a PIN to your account. Related coverage from Tech Reference: Read the original article on Business Insider The question of how involved L Brands founder Leslie Wexner will be in the civil case between Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz is still up in the air. Counsel for all parties met virtually Monday to present in front of Southern district of New York Judge Loretta Preska, who suggested attorneys for Dershowitz wait until they receive additional documents from Wexner to determine if he can be deposed, or required to formally testify under oath. Before the retailer who put Victorias Secret on the map and is credited by many for essentially inventing modern-day specialty retail is compelled to testify, Preska suggested Dershowitzs attorneys meet with Wexners counsel to consider a compromise. Giuffre has previously claimed that, while still a teenager, she was a victim of sex abuse at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein, who she alleges sex trafficked her out to a number of high-profile men, including Dershowitz. Dershowitz responded by calling Giuffre a liar, to which Giuffre sued for defamation. The lawyer then countersued Giuffre, claiming that Giuffre defamed him in an attempt to extort money from wealthy men, such as Wexner, founder and chairman emeritus of L Brands. (Epstein controlled Wexners billion-dollar fortune for years.) In a July letter, which was recently made public, Wexners attorneys said they had offered a written deposition, confirming [Dershowitzs] lack of any relationship whatsoever with Ms. Giuffre, but said Dershowitz refused, asking for an oral testimony instead. Now Wexner is trying to stay out of the lawsuit altogether. But Christian Kiely, defense attorney for Dershowitz, objected. There can be no serious question that Wexner is a central figure in this litigation, Kiely said Monday. His name is referenced nine times in [Giuffres] amended complaint. They assert and this is a direct quote that Durshowitz central assertion is that plaintiff [Giuffre] has committed perjury and that in December 2014, plaintiff and her lawyers hatched a scheme to falsely accuse the defendant of sex trafficking as part of a criminal attempt to ensure settlement from another party who they elsewhere identified as Wexner. Story continues Professor Durshowitz is entitled to prove the truth of that extortion claim even by disposing Mr. Wexner so that the jury can hear from Mr. Wexner in a form that is admissible and that we can use at trial, Kiely concluded. Meanwhile, a state case is pending between the high profile attorney David Boies and Dershowitz. Boies had previously represented Giuffre, but because of a conflict of interest (some attorneys from Boies camp had reached out to Dershowitz about representing him, before it was known that Boies would represent Giuffre), Preska ruled that Boies was not allowed to be legal counsel in the case, but could instead act as a witness for Giuffre. Lawyers for Wexner, including Marion Little of the law firm Zeiger, Tigges and Little, told Preska on Monday that asking Wexner to testify in two cases was imposing an unreasonable burden on non-parties of the case, one that could potentially subject his client to inconsistent results and multiple subpoenas. Certainly, the plaintiff [Giuffre] in this case has been agreeable to consolidation, to ensure that there is only one set of rulings, so were not subject to multiple sets of motion practices, so that were not subject to potentially inconsistent orders, Little told Preska. Little instead asked the court to force Dershowitzs attorneys to consolidate all requests. Wed like to solve all of these issues at one particular point in time, he said. Kiely countered that his team simply cannot agree to that. To be frank, I think that theres close to zero percent chance that Mr. Wexner is going to voluntarily agree to be deposed, Kiely said. We have sought pretty narrow document discovery from Mr. Zeiger and Mr. Wexner and that the areas on which we need to dispose Mr. Wexner are not limited to issues that the documents necessarily speak to. So theres certainly some overlap, but theres an independence there, as well. But were having to defer until we see these documents. Giuffres attorney, Nicole Moss, meanwhile, argued that if Dershowitzs attorneys deposed Wexner, it could quickly spiral into a circus. If the courts were to say they could go ahead with that disposition, then in our minds that opens a whole other area of discovery thats going to need to be inquired into, Moss said. We understand that any individual who has been accused of being involved in what Mr. Epstein was involved in is going to deny that. And our understanding is that the only reason the defendant wants to depose Mr. Wexner is to get Mr. Wexner on the record as denying that he abused my client or that he met my client. And so if that were to be the purpose of that deposition, then were going to need to have the ability to inquire into, well, what is the other evidence that suggests that that is not true? And it can very quickly become multiple mini trials into other individuals that are not the core central issue in this case which is, did the defendant abuse the plaintiff through sexual contact? Moss went on to say that Wexners deposition was not at all necessary to address Dershowitzs claims. Nobody is alleging that any of the prior attorneys for the plaintiff [Giuffre] had communications with Mr. Wexner, Moss said. All of the communications were with Mr. Zeiger [another attorney for Wexner.] All of the parties agree that Mr. Zeiger should be deposed. And we believe that testimony is what has been represented to the court: that there absolutely was no extortion scheme. Preska ordered all attorneys to file new protective orders, to determine the extent of privacy in the case, by 5 p.m. EST Tuesday. Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. - Uganda has progressed in its fight against Covid-19 as it developed a smartphone, G507, that can read temperatures - With an in-built sensor, the phone is coming as a potential replacement to temperature guns that are presently in wide use - SIMI Mobel, the company behind the innovation, said that it is working on partnering with the Ugandan government as a way to make the phone's price cheap PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed! A smartphone developed in Uganda, G507, allows users to take their temperatures and detect a potential Covid-19 symptom, serving as a brilliant option to temperature guns. The phone was developed by a tech company in the country called SIMI Mobile. In a video documentary by Bloomberg QuickTake, it was revealed that the phone has an inbuilt infrared sensor to enable it carry out the function. David Beecham Okware, an official of the company, said that though many people in the country may not be able to afford the phone as it is roughly $100, he hopes a foreseeable partnership with the government through the ministry of health will greatly reduce the price. A collage of a health official reading a person's temperature with the device and the picture of Covid-19. Photo source: Bloomberg/New Scientist Source: UGC It should be noted that the phone was built in partnership with a Chinese firm and the production process took four months. In this built-in gun temperature in the phone, it does what they call self-calibration. As long as youve configured your phone and youre connected to the internet, the phone does self-calibration which may be quite different from other gun temperatures which require regular calibration to give you accurate information or an accurate result of the test, he said. PAY ATTENTION: Download our mobile app to enjoy the latest news update In reacting to the development, Emmanuel Ainebyoona from the ministry said that the device is a solution that the country needs at a critical time like this as he hopes it will go through required approvals to make it okay for public use. Watch the video below: Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian federal government has procured robots to screen passengers at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja ahead of the planned reopening of the Nigerian airspace. The robots were unveiled on Saturday, June 27, when the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria conducted simulation exercise at the Abuja airport to test all the protocols designed to contain the spread of Covid-19 ahead of flight resumption. Hadi Sirika, the minister of aviation, speaking after the simulation exercise noted that intending passengers on international flights may have to be at the airport five hours before their flights takeoff. Many Nigerians still don't believe Coronavirus exists - NOA DG | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng In a shocking development, a Nepalese journalist who reportedly wrote an article on Chinese encroachment in Rui village in Gorkha district has been found dead. The body of a 50-year-old journalist identified as Balaram Baniya was found at the banks of Bagmati River near the hydropower project area in Mandu, Himalayan Times quoted the spokesperson at District Police Office (DPO), Makwanpur, as saying on Friday. Journalist's body had filed a missing report A team deployed from Area Police Office in Bhimphedi fished out his body from the river and sent it to Hetauda Hospital. According to reports, Baniya was last seen walking along the banks of Balkhu river. His location, according to his mobile phone, showed the same, after which the phone was switched off. His family had filed a missing report with the police, following which a manhunt was launched to trace him, Kathmandu Post reported. "As per the application received for his search, which also contained his photo, it has been verified that the body that was found was that of journalist Baniya," according to the DPO. According to Kathmandu Post, Baniya was associated with Kantipur Daily, a Nepali newspaper, since the paper's initial days. He used to cover politics and parliament and later did extensive reporting on governance and bureaucracy. Nepal refutes encroachment reports He reportedly wrote an article highlighting the Chinese encroachment in Rui village located in Gorkha district. In June, several media reports said that China has occupied a village of Nepal and allegedly removed the boundary pillars to legitimise its annexation. Apart from Rui village, China has also occupied strategic lands at 11 places across Nepal. Around 36 hectares of land in four districts of Nepal, which border China, have been illegally occupied by China, reports added. READ | Congress appoints 3-member committee to probe Sachin Pilot's issues in Rajasthan Meanwhile, Nepal's foreign ministry (MoFA) last month said media reports regarding boundary issues and illegal encroachment of some territories by China were false and that the subject matter doesn't fall under its jurisdiction. "The news allegedly based on the 'report' of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development which that Ministry has already refuted and clarified stating that such "report" doesn't exist and that the subject matter doesn't fall under its jurisdiction," the MoFA said in a press release. READ | Suresh Raina shares statement on retirement; thanks fans, family, BCCI & the Men in Blue The journalist's death comes amid the strained bilateral relations between India and Nepal after the Himalayan nation included the Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura in its controversial new political map. READ | Union IT min slams Rahul Gandhi over FB-BJP remark; cites 'Cong-Cambridge Analytica' link READ | J&K admin resumes 4G internet in Ganderbal & Udhampur on trial basis till September 8 (With agency inputs) In his Sunday homily, the cardinal attacks a "political class" that only wants to save itself. An emergency executive is useless if it is not the reflection of a "true unity". Parliamentary groups and parties must take up "the challenge of change". The security forces have the task of "protecting" the young people who demonstrate. Beirut (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Early parliamentary elections and a government with the aim of saving the nation and its inhabitants, not the "ruling class" of a nation torn apart by the two explosions in Beirut on August 4, the economic crisis and the Coronavirus emergency. The birth of an executive of national unity, the cardinal added yesterday in his Sunday Mass homily, is counterproductive if it does not reflect "true unity". Let everyone know that there can be no national unity government without real unity nor a rescue government without rescuer figures, al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon. There can be no consensus government without consensus on reforms. Together with the people we want a government for the state and the people, not a government for parties, sects or foreign countries, the patriarch added. He cautioned that the Maronite patriarchate will reject and confront every settlement plan that comes at Lebanons expense. This is what the patriarchate has done every time Lebanon has been in danger, al-Rahi said. For Card Rai, parliamentary groups and political factions must take up the "challenge" of "change", of calling early elections "without waiting for a new electoral law" and of giving birth to an executive capable of satisfying the legitimate demands of the people. And that draws the foundation of its power and authority in the "preamble of the Constitution". The incident at the port of the capital in early August caused 177 deaths and over 6,500 injured, devastating entire neighborhoods and fueling the anger of a large part of the civilian population, according to which it is a direct consequence of a corrupt and incompetent political class. At least 300 thousand people have been left homeless and in dire need; for them AsiaNews has launched the campaign "In aid of devastated Beirut". The people want a government for the rescue of Lebanon, not a government for the rescue of the ruling authorities and the political class. The people want a government that would be harmonious with them, not with the external powers, a government whose components would meet over a reform project, al-Rahi added. He also said that reform should not only be limited to administrative reform but should also entail the reform of the national decision with its political, security and military aspects. In recent days, following the explosions, several parliamentarians have resigned in protest; however, the number of those who left is not sufficient for the dissolution of the Chamber and the calling of early elections. At the end of the homily, the Maronite patriarch turned to the security forces to "embrace and protect the young people" who protest. There is no security without freedom - he concluded - and there is no authority without a people. We will rise up against all projects that are to the detriment of Lebanon "and" we will not accept "that the country becomes" a card in the hands of the nations that want to reconnect their relations at the expense of the Lebanese people ". PIME Foundation: - International Bank Account Number (IBAN): IT78C0306909606100000169898 - Bank Identifier Code (BIC): BCITITMM - Reason for transfer: AN04 HELP DEVASTATED BEIRUT This is the sickening moment a truck driver was kicked unconscious after protesters chased his vehicle and he crashed into the sidewalk in Portland. Just blocks a way from a black rights demonstration in Oregon's capital, demonstrators hauled a man out of his truck after he crashed it into a tree last night. He appeared dazed and was bleeding profusely from the head when he was made to sit on the ground and told 'wait for police to arrive.' The man, who some rioters claimed had driven at them, was then knocked clean out by a vicious roundhouse kick delivered to the back of his head. As he lay unconscious on the ground, shouts of 'Black Lives Matter' were heard as other protesters attempted to provide first aid. A rioter wearing a shirt with the word 'Security' on it, delivered a sickening kick to the man's head as he sat facing the other way in Portland, Oregon last night The man, accused of driving at demonstrators, was commanded to sit on the ground and wait for police to arrive After the man was knocked out by the kick, other demonstrators came to glower over his motionless body and shout obscenities Just moments before the man was kicked in the head, facing the other direction, as his assailant rushes in Others began ransacking the man's truck and when questioned by others, explained that they were simply 'checking for weapons.' Sgt. Kevin Allen, a police spokesman, said that the rioters 'were chasing the truck before it crashed, and they assaulted the driver after the crash.' The man was rushed to hospital and there has not yet been an update on his condition. Sgt Allen said that officers 'encountered a hostile crowd and a squad from the Rapid Response Team responded to help secure the scene while the investigation was underway.' Video showed demonstrators abusing riot police who arrived, shouting at the officers for 'protecting white supremacists' Earlier footage shows the truck parked outside a 7-Eleven, with some rioters kicking it and attacking the man through the window, as others shout, 'He didn't do nothing.' The truck then begins speeding away down the street, before crashing into the tree a few blocks away. Andy Ngo, a video journalist, tweeted several videos and explained that the driver had been assisting a woman who was beaten and robbed. 'The man who tried to protect her was later beaten himself & kicked unconscious.' Ngo tweeted. Drew Hernandez, a journalist who was at the scene, tweeted: 'Here is what took place before the man crashed his car into a tree here in Downtown Portland BLM thugs began to harass and physically assault him and his female partner in the street for defending someone they robbed. He then began to drive away to evade them.' Before the man was knocked out he was made to sit on the floor by the aggressive mob Protesters eventually came to the man's aide and he was rushed away by an ambulance The man's truck collided with a tree and he appeared dazed as he was ordered out of his vehicle A group attended to the man while others stand at range, taking pictures with their phones Separately, a protest that began Sunday evening was led by Letha Winston, whose son Patrick Kimmons, 27, was fatally shot by Portland police in 2018. The group marched through downtown and ended up outside the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse where people left flowers and candles beside a photo of Kimmons. Demonstrations, often violent, have happened nightly in Portland for more than two months following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. First aiders attending the riots in Oregon's captial attending to the man after he was dragged from the middle of the street onto the sidewalk Participants have repeatedly broken into the offices of the Portland Police Association, vandalized them and set fires. Overnight Saturday a riot was declared and police used crowd control munitions, including smoke, to disperse a gathering outside a law enforcement building. Authorities said people had thrown 'softball size' rocks, glass bottles and other objects at officers. Two police officers were treated at the hospital after being hit by rocks. Eleven people were arrested. Newarks school district, the largest in New Jersey, will reopen the academic year with all-remote classes and no in-person instruction through at least the first marking period as the state continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, officials announced Monday. We are going to open remotely for the first marketing period and reassess in October, at that time, based on the information we have, schools spokeswoman Nancy Deering said by phone. The decision is an abrupt about-face for the 40,000 student district, which had been one of several across the state planning for five-days-a week of full-time in-person classes. District officials throughout the state are scrambling to reassess reopening plans after Gov. Phil Murphy announced last week that all-remote instruction would be approved if districts provide a reason to start without in-person classes and a plan to address that problem by a set date. It was not clear what Newark planned to cite as the reason, but they can include the inability to socially distance in classrooms or ventilation issues. District officials recently released preliminary plans that said families will have the option of all-remote learning, five days a week of in-person classes or a hybrid plan where students split their time between remote learning and going to school. But the plans did not specify if all options will be available at all schools. Three-sided desk partitions, staggered recess times and lunches delivered to classrooms on disposable trays were planned to help keep students separated. The first day of school had been scheduled for Sept. 8. It wasnt immediately clear if that will be altered. As of Saturday, Newark had 8,191 COVID-19 cases with 643 deaths reported, the most of any municipality in the state. Keep up with the latest in N.J. schools coverage. Sign up with your email here: 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. Mass protests and strikes in Belarus triggered by the August 9 presidential election continue to grow. On Sunday, around 200,000 people protested in Minsk against President Alexander Lukashenko, who was declared the winner of the election. The protest in the Belarusian capital, which has about two million inhabitants, was the largest in the country since the Stalinist regime dissolved the Soviet Union in 1991. Proteste in Minsk am Sonntag Demonstrators carried red-and-white flags, the national flag of Belarus from 1991 to 1995, and the symbol of the anti-Lukashenko opposition headed by Svetlana Tikhonovskaya. Protesters demanded Lukashenkos resignation, shouting Long live Belarus. Their demands included new elections, ending police violence and the release of political prisoners. They also carried banners saying: Tikhonovskaya is the president and commander-in-chief of the Republic of Belarus. Police refrained from repressing the protests, unlike last week, when they killed one protester and arrested over 7,000 in a violent crackdown. Over 80 are still missing, and arrested protesters have reportedly been tortured. Lukashenko also met the general staff Saturday evening, however, and announced paratroopers would deploy to Grodno, where some of the largest strikes occurred. Today Lukashenko was further humiliated when workers shouted him down and booed him at the Minsk Tractor Factory, demanding his resignation. According to the Polish press, workers at many key workplaces in Belarus have gone on strike: Minsk transit workers, autoworkers, electrical workers, and workers at truck and machinery plants. Workers at multiple hospitals have also joined protests. Calls are circulating for a general strike starting today. Strikers are reportedly making similar demands as protesters in Minsk, and some reports indicate that individual factory managers supported the walkouts. Anger over social inequality and the response to the coronavirus pandemic are further fueling the strikes. When the pandemic reached Europe, the Lukashenko regime did not impose even a temporary lockdown, letting the virus rip through the population. Almost 70,000 out of a population of less than 10 million are now infected. These numbers are almost certainly underestimates, as testing has been very limited. Like his counterparts in Brazil and America, Lukashenko ridiculed the virus as a flu and hoax. He himself fell ill with COVID-19 shortly before the election. A striker from the Grodno-Azot factory, where 5,000 of 7,000 workers have been on strike since August 13, told Polish online portal Onet.pl that most workers did not believe the election results. He said, The coronavirus was the straw that broke the camels back. Lukashenko long said that we dont have viruses. He only acknowledged that it existed when he himself got sick. People began to die, doctors were overwhelmed. This made people even more angry, but they were already angry anyway. And then you had the election. Economists estimate 21.5 percent of the population lived under the official poverty line in 2019. The scope of the protests and the involvement of growing layers of workers have panicked both the Lukashenko regime and the opposition. Lukashenko denounced protesters as unemployed people with criminal pasts, stated that the protests had been instigated by NATO and foreign powers. For her part, Tikhonovskaya has appealed to Lukashenko to begin dialogue with the opposition and called on mayors across Belarus to organize the protests. On Monday, Svetlana Tikhonovskaya published a video statement, proposing to take over the presidentship to ensure that the country returns to calm and normalcy and create the legal basis for new elections. She also appealed to the police and the armed forces for support. The key question for the working class is to mount a politically independent struggle against both the discredited strongman, Lukashenko, and the official opposition leader, Tikhonovskaya. Both speak for factions of the criminal oligarchy that emerged from the Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union, agreed in a December 1991 treaty signed in Minsk, and its ensuing looting of state assets amid the restoration of capitalism. Both factions work closely both with the NATO imperialist powers and the Kremlin regime. Lukashenko has tried to balance between NATO and Moscow for decades. Tensions with Moscow have run high since 2014, when he backed the pro-NATO coup in Kiev. Earlier this year, a prolonged dispute emerged between Russia and Belarus over Russian subsidies for oil deliveries. After denouncing Russia for weeks before the elections for allegedly trying to overthrow him, he has turned to the Kremlin. On Saturday, Lukashenko and Putin spoke over the phone. Putin reportedly made general statements of support but no clear promises of political, let alone military, assistance. However, Lukashenko said, We agreed that at the first request there will be comprehensive assistance provided to ensure the security of the Republic of Belarus. Before the phone call, the regime released 32 Russian military contractors it arrested just before the election, in a signal to the US and EU that it was seeking closer ties. The release infuriated the Zelensky government in Ukraine, which has been working with Lukashenko for years, and encouraged its growing ties to America and NATO. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo travelled to Minsk in February, telling Lukashenko that Washington could supply Belarus with all the oil it needed. All you have to do is call us, Pompeo said. Lukashenko also recently offered to hold joint NATO-Belarusian military exercises. In the US and EU, which have supported the opposition but have also sought closer military and political cooperation with Lukashenko to isolate Russia, the mass protests against the Belarusian government have provoked concern and debate over how to proceed. The EU denounced the election results and imposed sanctions on top Belarusian state officials on Friday. In Warsaw on Saturday, Pompeo declared his support for the EU sanctions. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has called for new elections and German finance minister Olaf Scholze stated that Lukashenko had to go. A Washington Post editorial bemoaned what it called a slow US-EU response, writing that Lukashenko has to go, and a New York Times editorial called for maximum pressure on the regime. The US and EU should declare, it wrote, that they do not accept the official results and will not recognize him as the winner unless he calls off his thugs and there is a new and credible election. To underscore the point, Washington should hold off sending a new ambassador to Minsk. In contrast, the German newspaper Die Zeit wrote this weekend that a weakened Lukashenko is what the Kremlin wants, worrying that regime change in Minsk might, in fact, serve Moscows interests. It pointed out that in a recent interview, Tikhonovskaya rejected the union agreement between Belarus and Russia but failed to clearly denounce Russias annexation of Crimea. It also noted that opposition leader Viktor Babariko had run Belgazprombank, a Belarusian bank owned by Russian state-controlled company Gazprom, until this May. Another leader of the opposition, Valery Tsepkalo, is a businessman who has worked for the Lukashenko regime for decades, including as ambassador to the US. In April, he fled to Russia with his family after being barred from running in the presidential elections. Whether or not Lukashenko and the opposition work out a deal, and whether or not the regime tilts towards NATO or towards Moscow, workers are heading towards a confrontation with the Belarusian capitalist ruling elite. Neither faction aims to grant democratic rights or treat the COVID-19 pandemic. They are all seeking to get the workers under control and back to work, as in the United States, Europe, and Russia, so that the extraction of profits and the growth of deaths can continue. The allies of workers and youth opposed to Lukashenkos response to the pandemic, social inequality, and police crackdowns are their class brothers and sisters in Europe and worldwide. There are growing strikes and protests against the bourgeoisies response to the pandemic and decades of social austerity. Obtaining the resources to deal with the social crisis and the pandemic, and stopping the growing imperialist drive to war in Russia and across the region requires a common, international struggle of the working class, and opposition to the regime that emerged from capitalist restoration in the Soviet Union. The political basis of such an international and socialist orientation the struggle of the Trotskyist movement against Stalinisms nationalist betrayal of the October 1917 revolution. (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he approved federal disaster aid for Iowa after a hurricane-force storm hit last week, causing widespread damage in towns and farms and leaving thousands without power. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said on Sunday she requested about $4 billion in emergency funds following the Aug. 10 storm. The destruction compounded troubles for a U.S. agricultural economy already battered by extreme weather, the U.S.-China trade war and disruptions to labor and food consumption from the COVID-19 pandemic. "I just approved an emergency declaration for Iowa," Trump told reporters at the White House before departing on a trip to the Midwest. "It really did a lot of damage," he said of the storm. Trump, who is scheduled to speak on Monday in Minnesota and Wisconsin, said he aimed to visit Iowa. "I'll be going very soon and maybe today," he said. Media reports said the storm caused at least three deaths in Iowa. Winds as high as 100 miles per hour (160 kph) hit eastern Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin and parts of Illinois. The storm impacted 37.7 million acres of farmland across the Midwest, including 14 million in Iowa, the Iowa Soybean Association said on Friday, citing estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "I've never seen the corn flattened as much as it has from this terrific windstorm," U.S. Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa told reporters on Monday. "The number of grain bins flattened is humongous." The storm affected 58,000 holders of crop-insurance policies with a liability of around $6 billion in Iowa, according to the Iowa Soybean Association. Grassley said crop insurance covers about 90% of Iowa farmland. It is too early to determine whether there will be enough storage space for the autumn harvest, he said. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Steve Holland; in Washington; and Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Nick Macfie and Dan Grebler) Celebrated painter Luchita Hurtado, whose body of work came to light late in her life, has died. She was 99. She died Thursday evening at her home in Santa Monica of natural causes, The Los Angeles Times reported . Her death was confirmed by a representative at her gallery, Hauser & Wirth. Hurtados death came six months after the opening of a major career survey at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in February, Luchita Hurtado: I Live I Die I Will Be Reborn. Jennifer King, an associate curator at the museum, said narratives about Hurtados globe-trotting, bohemian life, combined with the late rediscovery of her work, can often overwhelm her artistic accomplishments. She was a very original artist, King said. She was a formal innovator. She was an incredible colorist. The L.A. survey, which originated at Londons Serpentine Galleries last year, featured more than 120 works from different eras. Key among her works are a series of paintings from the late 1960s and 1970s rendering aspects of womens bodies as surreal landscapes and others featuring the nude female form as viewed from a womans perspective. Hurtados late fame came as the result of a small exhibition of her paintings in 2016 reviewed by Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight. Hurtados work was multicultural before multicultural was cool, Knight wrote. Hurtado was married to notable painters Wolfgang Paalen and Lee Mullican, and her friends included key 20th century art figures such as Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo, Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi and French surrealist Marcel Duchamp. Hurtado was born Luisa Amelia Garcia Rodriguez Hurtado on Nov. 28, 1920, in Maiquetia, Venezuela. When she was 8, the family immigrated to New York City. Hurtado focused on art while she was a student at Washington Irving High School, which was the extent of her formal training. I never told my mother that I was taking art she thought I was taking dress-making, Hurtado said. She had a short-lived marriage to Chilean journalist Daniel del Solar and later, through her various art world connections, she met Paalen, an Austrian theorist and painter. By the 1940s, she was living in Mexico with Paalen and her two children during a time she later described as very bohemian, socializing with artists including Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington and Oklahoma-born painter Mullican. The death of a son from polio resulted in a rift between Paalen and Hurtado. She returned to the U.S. and ultimately settled in California for the rest of her life. In California she reconnected with Mullican. They married, had two children and remained together for 40 years until his death in 1998. Speaking with curator and writer Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer about her desire to make art, Hurtado said, It was a need, like brushing your teeth. Image: @stonertim/Twitter Shin Yun-sun describes her life as a series of dead ends. The South Korean has spent many of her 75 years questioning government officials, looking through records and searching burial grounds on a distant Russian island. She is searching for evidence of a father she never met. Shin wants to bring back the remains of her father for her 92-year-old mother, Baek Bong-rye. Japans colonial government sent Shins father away to do forced labor in September 1943. At the time, Baek was pregnant with Shin. As the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II nears, the thousands of conscripted Korean men who disappeared on Russias Sakhalin Island are a largely forgotten part of Japans severe rule of the Korean Peninsula. Historians say Japan forcibly moved around 30,000 Koreans as workers during the late 1930s and 1940s. They were sent to what was then called Karafuto, or the Japanese-occupied southern half of Sakhalin, near the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Most of the Korean laborers in Sakhalin came from the South. When World War II ended, the Korean Peninsula was divided into a Soviet Union-backed north and U.S.-backed south. The 1950-53 Korean War came after, followed by the Cold War. Soviet officials offered the Korean workers Soviet or North Korean citizenship beginning in the 1950s. But many chose to remain stateless in hopes of someday returning to South Korea. Some of the Korean workers protested for a return to South Korea in 1976. Soviet officials answered by sending 40 of them and their families to North Korea. South Korea and Russia established diplomatic relations in 1990 and about 4,000 Koreans have returned from Sakhalin in the years since. But for people like Shin, who lost contact with family members long ago, there has been little progress. The Soviet Union detained him, prevented him from going home and exploited his labor, Shin said about her father. (The Russian government) should at least find and send back his remains. Last year, Shin and other family members sought help from a United Nations group to find 25 Sakhalin Koreans. The U.N. group in June asked Russias government to search for 10 of them first, said Ethan Hee-Seok Shin, a legal expert from the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group. He has helped with the U.N. involvement. Shin said that relatives only started feeling safe talking openly about their missing fathers in the last 20 years. This meant their effort got less attention than other cruel acts tied to Japans colonial rule of Korea, said Bang Il-kwon, a scholar at Seouls Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. In 2011, a South Korean government group investigating colonial forced movement began working with Russia to identify and return the remains of the Koreans in Sakhalin who died before the 1990s. South Korean researchers spent years examining the islands poorly kept burial areas, where stone or wooden markers were often missing, damaged or not clearly marked. In 2015, South Korean researchers reported that at least 5,000 graves belonged to Korean forced laborers. But the efforts soon lost strength. South Koreas conservative government at the time refused to extend the groups mandate after 2015. There has been little talk about restarting the activities under liberal President Moon Jae-in. His government has clashed with Japan over other wartime issues but also wants engagement with North Korea. South Korea has said it hopes to reach a new agreement with Russia that would expand efforts to find and return the remains. However, Lee Sang-won, an official from South Koreas Ministry of the Interior and Safety, admits nothing has been agreed to yet. Shin is critical of the slow progress. She said, Who knows how long it will be before my mother is gone, too? I'm Ashley Thompson. The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. _______________________________________________________________ Words in This Story dead end - adj. a situation, plan, or way of doing something that leads to nothing further conscript - v. to force (someone) to serve in the armed forces exploit - v. to use (someone or something) in a way that helps you unfairly scholar - n. a person who has studied a subject for a long time and knows a lot about it grave - n. a hole in the ground for burying a dead body mandate - n. an official order to do something engagement - n. the act or state of being involved with something A man who scaled the roof of a house and proceeded to take a nap has been arrested after a six-hour stand-off with police. Emergency services were called to the drama in Stockton-On-Tees, at 9.45am on Monday. The man, who was reportedly wanted by the police, scaled the roof of a house and fell asleep during a stand-off with the emergency services. Police rushed to the scene to find the man on the roof, who began throwing tiles on to the street below, TeesideLive reported. A man who scaled a house and fell asleep on the roof in a six-hour stand-off with police was arrested in Stockton-On-Tees at around 3.15pm on Monday Emergency services were called to the drama in Stockton-On-Tees, at 9.45am on Monday to find a man throwing tiles from the roof (above) Negotiators attempted to talk the man down from the roof as he became more volatile and fire services assisted at the scene (right), using a ladder and a crane to try and reach the man The homeowner was spotted looking out of his house (above) at the scene and reportedly did not know who the stranger on his roof was Negotiators attempted to talk the man down from the roof, who was said to become more volatile as the day continues. A cordon was put in place and was later extended further down the street, as some residents were advised to move their vehicles away from the scene to prevent them being damaged. Cleveland Fire Brigade and Ambulance services were assisting police on the scene. Fire services were seen using a ladder and crane to reach the man, who lay asleep on top of the building. Following a six-hour stand-off with police, the man was detained by officers on the ground at around 3.15pm. A cordon was put in place and was later extended further down the street, as the man became more aggressive and threw tiles and bricks at the emergency services Some residents of the street were advised to move their vehicles away from the scene to prevent them being damaged Cleveland Fire Brigade and Ambulance services were assisting police on the residential street in Hardwick, Stockton-on-Tees Following a six-hour stand-off with police, the man was detained by officers on the ground at around 3.15pm The homeowner was spotted looking out of his house at the scene and reportedly did not know who the stranger on his roof was. A spokesman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said earlier today: 'A call was made at 9.59am from Cleveland Police to attend and assist with a man on roof of property. 'One crew from Stockton Community Fire Station is currently in attendance, with Combined Aerial Rescue Pump (CARP) being requested and on route. 'We are continuing to liaise with Cleveland Police.' Kamala Harris, the Good Samaritan, and the Christian Socialism Oxymoron Commentary The Salt Lake Tribune reported last week that Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris frequently cited the New Testament parable of the good Samaritan on the campaign trail when she was vying for the presidential nomination. Good move! Who doesnt admire the good Samaritan? That parable (Luke 10:2537) is a favorite of Christians, and its so well known that many non-Christians admire the Samaritans generosity and charity. Sen. Harris (D-Calif.), according to the same report, also acknowledges liberation theology as having informed her world view. Theres a fundamental problem here: Liberation theology is incompatible with the moral precept taught in the good Samaritan parable. Progressive politicians and adherents of liberation theology overlook one absolutely crucial aspect of the good Samaritan story. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus clearly illustrated the two forms of Christian charity: direct and indirect. The Samaritan compassionately helped a total stranger, first directlyby personally tending to his injuries and comforting himand second, indirectlyby deputing an agent to act on his behalf, in this case by giving an innkeeper money to pay for the needs of the wounded man during his convalescence. Has Harris been that kind of a good Samaritan? We dont know if she has personally ministered to strangers in need. In todays world, its far more common for busy people such as Harris to engage in indirect charityto delegate charitable deeds by giving donations to private organizations (churches, community groups, etc.) that have the facilities and personnel to help those in need. In fact, the federal government allows us to deduct such charitable donations; so by looking at candidates tax returns, we can see whether they have been good Samaritans. How generous has Harris been in her indirect charities? According to Business Insider, during several years of her time as California attorney general, Harris reported no charitable donations. (Although, more recently, she and her husband, whom she married in 2014, gave 1.4 percent of their combined 2017 income of $1.9 million to charity in 2017.) Thus, when Harris avers that we are all each others brothers and sisters, she apparently feels that she doesnt need to donate to charities in ones capacity as a private citizen (like you and I do). Rather, she is speaking in a collective political sense. Shes talking about government redistributing wealth. Thats where the liberation theology comes in. Liberation theology, like Christian socialism, seeks to blend Marxist policies with Christianity. Now lets revisit the good Samaritan parable for a moment and conduct a thought experiment. Lets imagine that the Samaritan, having spotted the badly wounded man, sees several prosperous travelers walking by. Let us then suppose that the Samaritan is a big, strong man capable of intimidating others. Then he accosts the travelers and threatens them with his staff unless they give money to pay for the wounded mans care. The man in need would still receive the help that he so desperately needed, true, but would we hold the Samaritan in such high regard today? Not likely. And why? Because of his use of force. That is the crucial difference between socialism and Christianity. Socialist giving is compulsory. Christian giving is voluntary. The former relies on force imposed from without. The latter acts from grace within. Christian socialism is literally an oxymoron: There is no such thing as compulsory charity. When politicians use the powers of the state to give financial assistance to others, they are proposing to do so using other peoples money, not their own. Thats a false, counterfeit charity, quite the opposite of the good Samaritans genuine (i.e., voluntary) charity. Its, quite rightly, against our laws for an individual to use force to take money from others no matter how worthy the cause for which the funds are appropriated. Then how can we justify government using the threat of fines or imprisonment to take property from some to give it to others? In the words of Thomas Jefferson, It is strangely absurd [to suppose] that a million human beings, collected together, are not under the same moral laws which bind (or liberate) each of them separately. If Harris makes the good Samaritan a campaign theme, I hope some alert person will point out to her that the Samaritans actions were voluntary, and that he helped the stranger using his own time and money. (Another question for Harris: Dont you believe in the separation of church and state?) By all means, friends, be charitable. Just dont mix charity with compulsion. That is the Marxian way, not the Christian way. [For a more detailed discussion of Christian Charity and the Welfare State, see my Institute for Faith and Freedom commentary. For an explanation of how Orwellian social justice perverts traditional justice, see my previous column, Justice Is the Word of the Year, and Social Justice Is Its Orwellian Opposite. Finally, the great moral philosopher/classical economist Adam Smith gave a brilliant exposition of how to reconcile justice and beneficence (charity) in his Theory of Moral Sentiments, which I review in an Institute for Faith and Freedom commentary.] Mark Hendrickson, an economist, recently retired from the faculty of Grove City College, where he remains a fellow for economic and social policy at the Institute for Faith and Freedom. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Like many women in her peer group, Cara (not her real name) started out on her contraception path as a teen. She was prescribed birth control pills as an acne treatment, remained on them for pregnancy prevention long after the spots faded, then maintained an on-and-off relationship with the medication for more than a decade. Familiarity ultimately gave way to a weariness over the daily upkeep and side effects but, without a family doctor to guide her, the onus to find a better alternative fell on Cara. I was going to walk-in clinics, meeting with a different doctor every time, says the now-34-year-old freelancer. They dont always take the time to fully explain things to you. When I first asked about an IUD, they just handed me a bunch of pamphlets. After doing the research herself, she landed on the estrogen-free IUD Kyleena. She paid for a chunk of it out of pocket her husbands insurance covered some of the cost and endured an extremely painful, 45-minute-long failed insertion process (some research shows this happens around 20 per cent of the time) and a second appointment to actually get it done. Shes already considering the alternatives once her IUD expires in a couple of years. Caras struggles with birth control arent uncommon; theyre a symptom of Canadas sluggish approach to contraception access and advancement. Though many international bodies, including the United Nations Population Fund, consider contraception a fundamental human right, Canadian womens choice to prevent pregnancy is hampered by legislative, regional and socioeconomic hurdles that restrict the types of contraception available to us, when and where were able to access them and what we can afford. Heres an example: in May, Health Canada finally approved Nexplanon for sale, a long-acting, reversible form of contraception thats inserted into the upper arm a much less invasive procedure than an IUD and lasts for three years. Were really excited to see the implant come out in the fall, says Dr. Julie Thorne, an OB/GYN at Womens College Hospital and lecturer at the University of Toronto. But Nexplanon has been widely available in nearly 100 countries for the past 20 years. Similarly, the non-invasive, pregnancy-ending medication Mifegymiso wasnt made available in Canada until January 2017, nearly 20 years later than the U.S. Do these delays indicate a failure to prioritize womens sexual health options? Advocacy groups like Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights have certainly made that case. Thorne blames bureaucratic red tape and business rationale Canadas small population and costly clearance protocols can be a deterrent for drug companies. The much-anticipated Nexplanon approval has renewed reproductive activists criticism of Canadas contraceptive blind spots, and theyre asking the question: If were supposed to uphold birth control as a human right, how else can we more efficiently deliver the most effective, affordable and abundant options into the hands of all Canadians? Unlike the U.K. and Denmark, Canada remains one of the only countries with universal health care that doesnt also provide universal contraceptive access to its citizens. We know that (access to no-cost contraception) has a really big impact for the individual in terms of autonomy over their own body and their ability to make decisions about the future, says Natalya Mason, a social worker and the education and outreach co-ordinator at Saskatoon Sexual Health. Canadas patchwork contraception coverage poses a real public health issue. If you dont have extended health insurance, in Ontario the pill can cost as much as $470 per year out of pocket; IUDs entail a one-time fee of around $400 and last three to five years. The social ramifications of these costs are stark: unintended pregnancies disproportionately affect young adults, recent immigrants, rural residents and people of lower socioeconomic status. Beyond the individual experience, providing free contraception costs the system less than managing the consequences of unintended pregnancy, like surgical abortion or children that require social support. The small investment in the upfront costs for birth control would save so much money in the long run, Mason says. Another hurdle is confusion over where to look for reliable information. There seems to be a perfect storm of ignorance about contraceptive options, increasing concern about adverse effects and eroding trust in health providers as more women seek advice online, according to a 2017 article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Its contributed to a 23 per cent drop in oral contraceptive use in Canada between 2006 and 2016. Thorne, whos witnessed an uptick in concern around the idea of hormonal birth control being unnatural, says more should be done to reduce patients reliance on the internet and shared anecdotes. I dont think we give enough space to hear patients concerns, so we can try and validate their experiences, Thorne says. Family doctors are meant to act as stewards of health information, especially on complex subjects like contraception but, like Cara, nearly 20 per cent of Canadian women between 18 and 34 dont have a regular doctor. Its a particularly pressing issue outside urban centres, says Mason. Ill often be in a town surveying a high school class about their access to health care and theyll tell me that theres one provider that comes through every other week, she says. In socially conservative provinces like Saskatchewan, patients may face a misalignment of values with these in-and-out doctors. Its not a comfortable way to ask questions, build a rapport with the clinician or get (contraception), Mason says. We need more (contraception) centres where patients can get same-day care, easy follow-ups and the option to speak with someone on the phone or in person, says Thorne, citing Torontos Bay Centre for Birth Control as a model facility shes a consulting gynecologist there. A big focus should be on finding innovative ways to extend this service to hard-to-reach regions. As always, it all comes down to money, says Thorne, who along with her colleagues at U of T is working on a campaign for universal contraception coverage in Ontario. Mason emphasizes that meaningful change starts from the bottom up. Without the right pressure from our communities, we dont see change to access, she says. If we want real contraceptive choice the kind free from strings and stipulations we need to start demanding it. The backlog and wait time for new citizenship ceremonies are bound to grow due to a new complication brought on by COVID-19. The traditional in-person oath-taking mass ritual has already been cancelled since March as a result of public health concerns during the pandemic. As long as someone hasnt sworn their allegiance to the country, they are still just permanent residents and are unable to vote or run for political office. The immigration department has since slowly moved the citizenship ceremonies online. But in the meantime, some would-be citizens who have already passed their exam and are in the queue to go in front of a citizenship judge are being told they cant take their oath because their criminal clearances expired while theyve been waiting for their turn. As required by the Citizenship Act, all citizenship candidates must meet the requirements for citizenship, including being free of prohibitions prior to taking the oath of citizenship. As such, individuals must have valid clearances in order to be permitted to take the oath, said immigration department spokesperson Lauren Sankey. The criminality clearance is valid for 12 months and must be valid at the time citizenship is granted and the oath of citizenship is taken. According to a response to an access to information request, at least 76 virtual citizenship ceremonies were cancelled in Montreal, Greater Toronto and the Atlantic region up until the end of June as a result of expired criminal clearances. A would-be new citizen told the Star his original in-person citizenship ceremony for March 20 was cancelled and he was then rescheduled for a virtual ceremony for June 25. But less than 24 hours before the event, he was told by email that it was cancelled because he needed a new clearance certificate. Getting citizenship is like being adopted by Canada. Imagine youre in an orphanage waiting to be adopted. You met your adopted parents and they said theyd pick you up and take you home on a certain day. Before that day comes, they call the orphanage and say they cant come, said the American immigrant, who asked that his name not be used for fear of repercussions. You dont hear anything for several months. Then less than 24 hours before the next pickup day, they call and cancel again. Thats pretty deflating there. The man, who moved to Toronto 12 years ago after marrying a Canadian, said he was told by his MPs office that the citizenship application process is all paper-based. Hence, there are no automated systems warning immigration officials when a criminal clearance is about to expire. He said hes still waiting for instructions from the immigration department about what to do next. Sankey said immigration officials will request new criminal checks from other federal agencies in the event clearances have expired before a citizenship ceremony. It is not necessary for applicants to reapply, she said. Once valid clearances are returned, these clients will be prioritized and rescheduled at the earliest opportunity. Additional delays are expected because the department depends on its partners to complete the process. Generally, clearances should take about a week to complete, however in the current context, our partners are making assessment on a case-by-case basis, consequently IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) cannot provide specific processing time frames, Sankey said. According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York City will place additional restrictions on police use of facial recognition. The pledge comes after the NYPD employed the technology to identify a prominent Black Lives Matter activist. "We need to be very sparing in our use of facial recognition technology," said Mayor de Blasio in response to a question from a Gothamist reporter during his August 17th media availability (skip to 38:35 mark to hear the relevant comments). "... in a world where we've unfortunately dealt with violent acts of terror here in New York City, there is a place for facial recognition but with really clear checks and balances." "Those standards need to be reassessed," the mayor went on to say. "That's something I will do with my team and the NYPD." The question came after NYPD admitted it had used facial recognition to investigate activist Derrick Ingram. Ingram had allegedly used a bullhorn during a June protest to shout into an officer's ear. Police attempted to arrest Ingram during a failed raid. An image from the incident shows an officer holding a report from the NYPD's Facial Identification Section, with an Instagram photo of Ingram attached. New York's decision to reevaluate its use of facial recognition comes as cities across the US grapple with whether to limit the controversial technology. In June, Boston became the second city in the US to ban its local police force from using the tool. The decision came at around the same time that police wrongfully arrested a Black man in Detroit after using facial recognition software to carry out an identification. According to the ACLU, the incident was the first known wrongful arrest in the US due to misuse of the technology. Head of Psychology at the University of Ghana, Prof. Joseph Osafo has called on Ghanaians not to let their guard down in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Ghana has currently recorded 42,653 cases of coronavirus with the number of recoveries/discharge rising to 40,567. Active cases stand at 1,847 and unfortunately 239 have died of the virus, according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS). Prof. Joseph Osafo is impressed with the number of recoveries from the disease. He patted the government and Ghanaians on the back for the cooperation to curb the disease in the country. However, he warned Ghanaians against being complacent and relaxing on the safety protocols. ''We're still not completely out. I must admit we have made very good progress but going forward, we still have a lot to learn'', he advised on ''Kokrokoo'' on Peace FM. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A team of specialist doctors from Delhis All India Institute of Medical Sciences will fly down to Goa on Tuesday to monitor the health of Union minister of state for AYUSH (Independent Charge) Shripad Naik who is under treatment for Covid-19. The minister has been administered plasma therapy and has been hooked up to High Flow Nasal Oxygen (HFNO) for maintaining his oxygen saturation level, a statement issued by the Government of Goa on Monday, said. A team of specialists from AIIMS, Delhi is arriving in Goa tomorrow, which consists of HoD, Anaesthesiology and HoD, Pulmonary Medicine, the statement said. Naik who tested positive on August 12 along with his wife, said he was isolating himself at home. However, the next day he was admitted to a private hospital in the state but his condition is said to be stable. The first dose of convalescent plasma has also been administered to him today under the supervision of the Transfusion Medicine Specialist who recently joined Goa from AIIMS, New Delhi and he is responding well to the plasma therapy, the statement read Naik has been encouraging the use of alternative treatments and traditional immunity boosters to keep the coronavirus at bay and had even claimed that it was Ayurveda that had cured UKs Prince Charles of the virus. A 51-year-old Waste Collector who inserted his fingers into the private part of a six-year old girl has been sentenced to three years imprisonment in hard labour by an Accra Circuit Court. Daniel Martey Commodore Okine charged with indecent assault, pleaded guilty. He told the court presided over by Mrs. Christina Cann, to deal leniently with him and that it was the first time he had committed such an offence. According to Okine, his wife has passed on and he has no one to support him. The trial judge before passing sentence on Okine, said the court has considered his plea, the fact that he was advanced in age and has also shown remorse over his conduct. However, the court stated that in order to preserve the sanctity of girls, it would still go ahead and hand down a stiffer punishment to serve as deterrent to others. Prosecuting, Detective Sergeant Opoku Aniagyei said the complainant is a trader and mother of the victim and that the complainant lives at Chorkor while the accused also resides in the same vicinity. Sergeant Aniagyei said in the afternoon of August 10, Okine spotted the victim who was on her way to buy toffees in the area. Prosecution said Okine took advantage of the situation and lured the victim to a spot close to a bath house and inserted his finger into the victims vagina and afterwards gave the victim GH1.00. The prosecution said Okine told the victim not to inform anyone. He said however that, when the complainant was later bathing the victim, she exhibited signs of pain in her vagina and when the complainant ascertained what had gone wrong, the victim narrated her ordeal to her. Prosecution said the complainant reported the matter to the Police at Mamprobi, in Accra, where she was given a Police medical report form to seek medical examination for the victim. He said on the afternoon of August 11, this year, Prosecution said the victim spotted Okine in the area and pointed him out leading to his arrest and later escorted to the Mamprobi Police where he was detained. The prosecution said Accused admitted the offence in his cautioned statement. 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 bull chased a crew of firefighters down a road while they responded to the Lake Fire in Southern California on Friday. Twitter/@VCFD An angry bull chased several firefighters down a California road on Friday while they responded to the Lake Fire. The Ventura County Fire Department called the bull "Ferdinand," and said firefighters had been clearing the roads when the bull gave chase. No one was injured, and Ferdinand "went about his day," the fire department said. The 14,862-acre wildfire was burning near Lake Hughes, roughly 60 miles north of Los Angeles, and was just 12% contained as of Saturday night. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A group of first responders in Southern California fought off more than just the blaze from the Lake Fire on Friday. The Ventura County Fire Department posted a video on Friday showing several of its firefighters sprinting down a road as a galloping bull with massive horns gave chase. "Ferdinand the Bull wasn't clowning around when he chased FF's down the road," the fire department tweeted. "Crews were clearing the road so the engines could get to a clearing when they are chased out. Luckily no one was injured and #Ferdinand went about his day." Ventura County Fire (@VCFD) August 15, 2020 The crews had been in the area assisting the Los Angeles County Fire Department, and had seen the bull earlier that morning, Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Andy VanSciver told NBC News. "The bull was in the bushes and came out to challenge the firefighters," he told the network. "Like, 'This is my dirt.'" The 14,862-acre wildfire was burning near Lake Hughes, roughly 60 miles north of Los Angeles, and was just 12% contained as of Saturday night, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. "Over one hundred lightning strikes caused spotting, which quickly spread the fire generating several large-scale fires that comprised current and proposed containment lines," the fire department tweeted. Read the original article on Insider Online retailer Kogan has heralded a revolution in Australia's retail sector thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, with the e-commerce player reporting a huge jump in sales and earnings for the 2020 financial year. Kogan, which operates an online-only retail platform, increased its revenue by 13.5 per cent to $497.9 million compared to the prior year. Gross sales, which includes all sales made through the company's third-party platforms, rose nearly 40 per cent to $768.9 million. Kogan founder Ruslan Kogan has heralded a retail revolution. Credit:Louie Douvis Net profit after tax rose 55.9 per cent to $26.8 million as more customers flocked online during Australia's retail shutdowns. Customer migration to online platforms fuelled a 35.7 per cent jump in Kogan's total active customers to 2.18 million. The online retailer's strong results were not unexpected, as the company has been regularly updating investors on its monthly sales figures throughout the pandemic, which have surged thanks to a stimulus-driven work-from-home spending boom. The industry wants the task force to make the recommendation for passengers traveling from countries with high Covid-19 infection rates when it meets on Tuesday to review guidelines for international travel amid the pandemic. A test prior to departure could reduce the risk of importation by up to 90%, enabling air travel to be opened up between a large number of countries without a quarantine requirement, said the proposal from Airports Council International (ACI) and airline trade group International Air Transport Association (IATA). The push for testing comes as the ... One week after Texas issued new rules to allow in-person visits to resume at nursing homes, a state agency said only four of some 1,220 licensed facilities had been approved to start letting residents see family members again. The small number highlights how far there is to go before family members are back to routine visits in nursing homes, which have barred relatives and other visitors for five months as the coronavirus pandemic grew. Assisted-living facilities, which have been less hard-hit by the virus and have less-restrictive requirements for visits, meanwhile were approved in greater numbers, with 248 of some 2,020 total facilities cleared as of Friday. Families of those in long-term care had called for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to find some safe way to let them back in, arguing the outright ban was causing harm. Many consider in-person visits vital to keeping up their relatives spirits and physical health. But research also shows that it is more likely in COVID-19 hot spots for the virus to enter facilities, such as through asymptomatic staff. And nursing home residents are disproportionately dying nationwide from the virus, figures show. So for a nursing home to qualify to allow visits, the commission set markers: staff must be tested weekly (infrastructure for which was not widespread) and none of them can test positive for two weeks. There can also be no active COVID-19 cases among residents. Officials drafting these standards sought to balance protecting the vulnerable with allowing responsible visits, said Phil Wilson, acting executive commissioner for the state agency, during a webinar Aug. 7. Were trying to find the right balance between two good things, agreed John Hellerstedt, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. We understand that a person isn't just their physical health. Its not just whether they have a virus or not. Still, the rules are strict enough that only 11 nursing facilities applied for approval in that first week. (Another 353 assisted living facilities, which dont have to test staff weekly, applied.) This was of concern to the 2,000 Facebook users in a group called Texas Caregivers for Compromise Because Isolation Kills, Too. They told of a father who couldnt hear on the phone, a mother who dwindled to 70 pounds, parents who passed away. A petition linked to that group that called for resuming visits has been signed by more than 14,500 people. The petitions organizer, 57-year-old Mary Nichols, believes all residents should get a designated visitor; she felt the states solution fell short. It is so incredibly much more restrictive than we ever imagined, said Nichols, who used to see her 75-year-old mother in a Dallas-area nursing home every other day. When the new rules came out, Nichols said, she cried for hours. Her mom is bed-bound. She once read, sang and talked to her. Even if the facility is approved for visits, she doesnt believe shell be able to get inside to see her. Like Nichols, Patti Kessmann, 71, believes its important to check in person on her 68-year-old sister, whom she saw every weekend in a Texas City nursing facility. Their visits werent just for a hug; Kessman looked at her skin, brushed her hair and helped her eat. They now talk virtually, but Kessmann doesnt think that is enough. Nor does visiting outside in the heat and at a distance seem feasible, an option the new rules allow for. (Visitors can only go inside supervised to see someone with a documented health decline.) We need to have the capability to go in, Kessmann said, explaining she is willing to wear protective equipment, be tested and go through training. Even with visits largely barred, more than 1,000 nursing homes have reported at least one coronavirus case, according to state data. More than 20,000 residents have been infected and 2,901 have died. People such as Linda Stahl, 63, otherwise continue to see relatives through closed windows. On Sunday, Stahl dropped off face cream, homemade brownies and a Whataburger chocolate shake for her 86-year-old mom living in a Bellaire memory care facility. Stahl hoped to bring her mom some joy something she feels is rare now. Three months ago, her father died, and her mom continues on in isolation. While the sun beamed, Stahl looked through her window and painstakingly talked to her about taking each item out of the bag shed brought. She understood the need to stay out, but it was hard, she said. She felt her moms mental faculties were worsening. Shes so lonely; shes so isolated, Stahl said. Shes lost the love of her life. She knew what her mom really wanted was a hug. emily.foxhall@chron.com AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) (the "Company") today announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 11,000,000 of its Class A common shares of beneficial interest, $0.01 par value per share ("Class A common shares"). The Company also plans to grant to the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 1,650,000 Class A common shares. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to repay indebtedness under its revolving credit facility, to develop new single-family properties and communities, to acquire and renovate single-family properties and for general corporate purposes. The foregoing application may be effected through the Company's operating partnership by the Company contributing a portion of the net proceeds to its operating partnership in exchange for Class A partnership units. BofA Securities and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful before registration or qualification thereof under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and only by means of a prospectus and prospectus supplement. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement relating to the offering and the final prospectus supplement, when available, may be obtained by visiting EDGAR on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov or from BofA Securities, Attention: Prospectus Department, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, or by email at [email protected]; and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014, Attention: Prospectus Department. About American Homes 4 Rent American Homes 4 Rent (NYSE: AMH) is a leader in the single-family home rental industry and "American Homes 4 Rent" is a nationally recognized brand for rental homes, known for high-quality, good value and tenant satisfaction. We are an internally managed Maryland real estate investment trust, or REIT, focused on acquiring, developing, renovating, leasing, and operating attractive, single-family homes as rental properties. As of June 30, 2020, we held approximately 53,000 single-family properties, in selected submarkets in 22 states. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements relate to beliefs, expectations or intentions and similar statements concerning matters that are not of historical fact and are generally accompanied by words such as "estimate," "project," "predict," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "potential," "plan," "goal," "outlook," "guidance" or other words that convey the uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to complete the offering and the intended use of net proceeds. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations and assumptions about future events. While the Company's management considers these expectations to be reasonable, they are inherently subject to risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company's control and could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These and other important factors, including "Risk Factors" disclosed in, or incorporated by reference into, the prospectus from the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended June 30, 2020, and in the Company's subsequent filings with the SEC, may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from anticipated results expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Contact: American Homes 4 Rent Investor Relations Phone: (855) 794-2447 Email: [email protected] SOURCE American Homes 4 Rent Related Links https://www.americanhomes4rent.com LOS ANGELES Firefighters struggled to contain three wildfires near Los Angeles on Saturday as forecasters warned that the risk of new fires was high with temperatures expected to spike and humidity levels to drop across California. In Northern California, the National Weather Service warned responders to beware of a rare fire tornado. A huge forest fire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles flared up around noon, sending up a cloud of smoke as it headed toward thick, dry brush in the Angeles National Forest. Although it was burning into forest land, evacuation orders remained in effect for the western Antelope Valley because erratic winds in the forecast could push the fire toward homes, fire spokesman Jake Miller said. Fire crews managed to stop the fires movement down to the desert floor when it flared up Friday afternoon. In one dramatic moment, several firefighters ran to safety when a longhorn bull that was apparently escaping the blaze charged at them. The Lake Fire was just 12% contained as of Saturday morning, and after threatening more than 5,400 homes, it had charred more than 23 square miles (59.5 square kilometers) of brush and trees. Fire officials said 21 buildings had been destroyed, including at least five homes. Firefighters were struggling in steep, rugged terrain amid scorching temperatures. The National Weather Service warned temperatures could hit 111 degrees (44 Celsius) in the Antelope Valley Saturday, and winds gusting 15-20 mph (24-32 kph) was expected later in the afternoon. In addition to that, we have a very unstable air mass over the Lake Fire thats going to allow for a pyrocumulus (cloud) development later today so that will create extreme fire behavior, meteorologist Matt Mehle said. Many areas of the state saw record-breaking heat through the weekend, with triple-digit temperatures and unhealthy air predicted for many parts of the state. There also was a chance of isolated thunderstorms worsening the fire threat by creating dry lightning and strong downdrafts, fire officials said. North of Lake Tahoe, the Loyalton Fire has burned 31 square miles (80 square kilometers) east of Reno, Nevada. Weather service officials said the fire was showing extreme behavior such as gusty winds and blowing smoke similar to a deadly Northern California fire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed 8 people. That fire was just 5 percent contained Saturday night. There was also no containment of a blaze that blackened foothills above the Los Angeles suburb of Azusa. It churned through 2.3 square miles (5.96 square kilometers) of brush on Thursday and was moving away from homes. Evacuation orders issued to residents were lifted early Friday. Azusa police said they were looking for a homeless man suspected of starting the fire. He was identified as Osmin Palencia, 36, and was last known to be living in a riverbed encampment near the site where the fire started. Police said Palencia was believed to be violent and urged people to use caution if they see him. Another blaze came dangerously close to a neighborhood in the city of Corona, east of Los Angeles, before crews controlled it. And a Northern California fire in the community of Sloughhouse, near Sacramento, burned about 500 acres (202 hectares) before firefighters stopped its forward spread. About the photo: In this Aug. 13, 2020, file photo, a burned vehicle is seen in the Lake Hughes Fire in Angeles National Forest on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2020, north of Santa Clarita, Calif. A huge forest fire that prompted evacuations north of Los Angeles flared up around noon Saturday, Aug. 15, sending up a cloud of smoke as it headed toward thick, dry brush in the Angeles National Forest. Evacuation orders remain in effect for the western Antelope Valley because erratic winds in the forecast could push the fire toward homes. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu, File) Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. During his Monday press briefing, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that five California counties Amador, Mendocino, Inyo, Calaveras and Sierra have been added to the state watch list. Santa Cruz County was removed from the list. The list now stands at 42 counties, and Newsom announced that San Diego County may be removed from the watch list as soon as tomorrow. No other county was mentioned. The California Department of Public Health announced nearly two weeks ago it was not adding or removing counties to the watch list while officials worked to fix a glitch in the COVID-19 data-tracking system. The state did not receive full counts on the number of tests conducted for multiple days and in the past week the department has been going through records and updating numbers. Newsom said Monday the state has processed 14,861 positive cases that were backlogged due to the glitch. The 14-day average positivity rate -- the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of all of individuals who are tested -- now stands at 6.5%. The positivity rate is stabilizing and moving broadly in the right direction," Newsom said. The governor noted another "encouraging sign" with hospitalizations down 21% and ICU admissions dropping 16% over 14 days. The state set up the watch list to create a system for monitoring counties that experience significant increases in COVID-19 infection and hospitalization rates. These counties are working with the state to identify the causes for any worrisome trends and implement new measures to mitigate the virus spread. If a county is on a watch list for three days or longer, the state orders officials to roll back some reopenings. They also are not allowed to open school campuses until they have been off the watch list for at least 14 days. The watch list is constantly changing based on the latest data available from public health departments. This is a dynamic list," Newsom said. "People come on and people come off, the numbers shift in a single week. MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. 'Stay out of Tahoe': Angry residents plan on fighting back against tourists 'trashing' the region UCSF scientists create an anti-COVID-19 nasal spray Kaiser to launch Phase 3 testing of coronavirus vaccine in 1,400 California and Oregon adults The odds of catching COVID-19 on a plane might not be what you think (TNS) Just as public schools are starting a new academic year with a heavy reliance on remote learning, about 1 in 4 students lack the internet access needed to take the classes."We are in a much better position than we were four months ago, both devices and connectivity," said state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley. "But we have a long way to go."A new report released last week for the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shows that 86% of Louisiana school districts are starting the school year with a combination of virtual and in-person classes.However, the same review says an estimated 25% of students around 179,000 statewide lack the internet access crucial in gaining access to remote learning. A total of 403,000 households lack internet connections.In addition, 42% of households go without high-speed internet access, called broadband, that allows multiple users in a home to do virtual learning."We are leaving a huge part of the state in the dark literally until we can overcome the problem we have with connectivity," state Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, told a joint meeting of BESE and the state Board of Regents last week. Mizell is a member of the Senate Education Committee and a state leader of efforts to expand high-speed internet access.Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Lafayette, Kenner and Metairie are among the eight cities in Louisiana listed on the 100 worst-connected cities in the country, according to a 2018 report done for the Census Bureau.Households without high-speed internet include Baton Rouge, 16.57%; New Orleans, 22.04%; Lafayette, 11.80%; Kenner, 19.48% and Metairie, 17.83%.The state Department of Education says 99% of private school students have internet at home.The digital divide initially came to light in March, when the pandemic forced an end to in-person classes statewide and a sudden, heavy dose of virtual learning with mixed results.Problems with teachers suddenly expected to teach students online and complaints from parents unable to keep their children in front of computers doing schoolwork for hours were just a few of the challenges.Earlier this year Gov. John Bel Edwards opted to use $32 million of $50 million in discretionary federal dollars for computers and better internet access for public school students.Progress has been made in getting computers and tablets into the hands of students.The state Department of Education says 77% of students have school-issued devices for home use, and that all should have them be October and November.But erecting a high-speed internet system is sort of like bringing electricity to rural areas slow and expensive.Jim Garvey, a Metaire attorney and the longest serving member of BESE, was one of the panelists who asked for an update on how students are faring in gaining access to online classes.Garvey said the large number of students who lack internet access is worrisome."I think we have districts out there making plans to do the virtual learning and they haven't fully thought through how they are going to do it, particularly for students who do not have the access,'" he said.Garvey said delays in getting computers to all students is also bothersome."Some of that equipment is on back order and will not be delivered for several more months," he said. "What are the school systems going to do between now and then?"Both the East Baton Rouge and Orleans school districts are among those delaying in-person classes until after Labor Day, which is Sept. 7, because of concerns about the pandemic.The preferred form of virtual learning called synchronous allows students and their classmates to interact with teachers in real time through online learning platforms.The other method called asynchronous consists of students finishing work in an allotted time based on virtual tasks assigned by teachers.The lack of internet access for 25% of students is forcing educators to scramble for short-term solutions.Some are turning school buses into hot spots that can be stationed in different neighborhoods.Libraries and other community spots are getting internet upgrades.Local officials are negotiating with providers in hopes of gaining low-cost options and discount programs.The Lafayette and Jefferson parishes school districts are cited by state education leaders for leading the way in coming up with solutions.A Lafayette group called Link and Learn is partnering with another organization called Love Our Schools to provide home internet access for about 7,000 students.Ryan Domengeaux, CEO and general counsel for the William C. Schumacher Family Foundation, told BESE those students "do not have a way to access the rest of the world."Domengeaux said his group met with three internet providers asking for reduced prices.Wi-Fi is now available in the parking lots of 42 schools.Earlier this month the Lafayette Parish School Board allocated $1.5 million to provide short-term internet connectivity to students through its partnership with Link and Learn.Jefferson Parish schools are working with Cox Communications to ensure all students have access to the internet, said Vicki Bristol, director of communications for the district.Bristol said Cox has expanded its Connect2Compete, low-cost home internet program for qualified families, with charges of $9.95 per month and the first 60 days of free service.Said Brumley, "We are working toward some intermediate solutions right now."But there has to be a larger conversation statewide about broadband for every child." The Supreme Court has put in abeyance jail term of a man even as he served just two out of ten years behind bars in a rape case. A bench of Justices L Nageswara Rao and Ravindra Bhat held it to be a fit case for grant of suspension of sentence and ordered for release of the convict on bail. We are informed by the learned counsel for the petitioner that he has already undergone 2 years and 4 months sentence. Heard the learned counsel for the State and perused the material on record. We are of the opinion that this is a fit case for grant of suspension of sentence of the petitioner, said the bench in a recent order. The man had appealed against an order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, which had declined his plea for suspension of sentence not once but twice in 2019. The last order was passed in October 2019 when the High Court had noted that convict Gaurav was sentenced to ten years in jail under charges of repeatedly raping a girl when she was a minor. While Gauravs lawyer claimed that the relationship was consensual, the high court maintained that the man had threatened the girl with making some objectionable photographs of her viral on social media. Under the threat appellant repeatedly called the prosecutrix at his home and committed sexual intercourse upon her. As per Section 90 of the IPC, the prosecutrix cannot be considered as a consenting party even if she attains the age of majority, the high court had noted as it refused to stay the execution of Gauravs jail term. Gaurav then challenged this order in the Supreme Court and again emphasised on the alleged consent by her for the relationship and some medical evidence in support of his contentions. The top court found his to be a case suitable for suspension of sentence and ordered that Gauravs jail term will remain in abeyance till his appeal is decided by the high court. It is unusual for a court to let a convict walk out of prison in a child rape case after undergoing merely one-fifth of the total prison time. It was dusk and raining heavily in March 2019 in Madaka, a village in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger State, when familiar sounds of gunshots again seized the air. Dust and gun smoke rose over the village above the heavy downpour as everyone fled to the bush. Zulaiha Isah, 27, was pregnant but ran too, as hard as other villagers. Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Isah said she had lost two brothers and two in-laws in a previous raid by bandits on the village two weeks earlier. In that latest attack that March 2019 evening, Mrs Isah went into premature labour while wading through the bush between Madaka and Kagara, headquarters of the local government area which is the safest in the area. She was delivered of a baby girl, who she named Shukuriyyah (meaning Thankfulness), by other women fleeing with her. Since the birth of Mrs Isahs baby over a year ago, Madaka and adjoining villages have come under regular raids by bandits who steal, kidnap and kill without restraint. Until her village was caught in the mayhem, Mrs Isah was a trader in foodstuff and herbs. Her husband too had a shop, aside from being a barber. But now, they have stolen everything, she said in Hausa. They stole from me seven cattle, 10,000 and my phone. They have stolen everything, including my clothes, and burnt down all our stores. Mrs Isah and other members of her fleeing party trekked for three days until they arrived in Kagara, over 33 kilometres from Madaka, where she has since lived. Life is very tough now. It hasnt been easy. We dont have food, no shelter and nothing at all. We are paying rent and buying firewood here, she said. Killing for fun, kidnapping for ransom Mrs Isahs case exemplifies the ordeal many residents of Madaka go through in the hands of the armed persons. On June 6, 32-year-old Hussein Idris left for his farm while his aunt, Jamila Gambo, and foster son, Rakibu Saidu, were away at the market. They normally returned home before him, but by evening, long after he was back home, they had not returned. By nightfall when he still had not seen them, he knew they had either been kidnapped or killed. For two days, there was no confirmation of the fate of his family members until his elder brother, who would become the intermediary between the bandits and the community, was told by the criminals that they had abducted the two and four other villagers Jummai Dantani, Ibrahim Garba, Hassan Gizo and Maianguwa Kure. They asked for a 15 million ransom for the release of the six. One-year-old Shukuriyyah after a meal Where would we get that money? Even if we sold all our property, we couldnt get it, Mr Idris said. They said we must pay the money, else they would tell us where to pick their dead bodies. In the end, the two parties agreed on 600,000 and the kidnappers gave a deadline of 2 p.m. June 13 for the payment of the ransom. Those with 50 contributed; those with 30 also contributed; and those with more gave what they had, he recalled. The ransom was delivered in a polythene bag to the gun-wielding kidnappers. All communication was through one of the captives phone. After the payment, the captives were freed a week later. A similar scenario played out last December when Madaka district head, Zakariyau Hakimi, two of children, and three others were kidnapped for ransom. They were to pay 4 million as ransom, and it was not negotiable. They were there for four weeks before the 4 million was paid and they were released, Mr Hikimis secretary, Idris Zakari, told PREMIUM TIMES. These are some of the cases in the rising wave of kidnapping in Nigeria. A report published in May by SB Morgen (SBM) Intelligence said between 2011 and 2020, Nigerians paid at least $18.34 million (7 billion) as ransom to kidnappers. Loses upon losses for victims of armed attacks The sudden uptick in fatalities per attempt coincides with the increase in attacks by bandits on villages especially in Zamfara and Katsina states, a situation which has gradually extended to Kaduna and Niger states, the report wrote. These bandits have also been involved in kidnapping besides attacking villagers and travellers, or doing both at the same time. As these kidnaps are less targeted at specific persons, the bandits are less deliberate in avoiding the deaths of their victims compared to earlier kidnap attempts which appeared to have specific targets in mind. Worrying statistics Banditry has been a scourge for residents of Zamfara, Kaduna, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi and Katsina states. About 21 million people living in these states have been exposed to insecurity from the activities of bandits. What began as a spate of reprisal attacks triggered by the scramble for resources among farmers from the sub-humid middle belt Nigeria and herders from the semi-arid northern Nigeria has exacerbated into a lethal mix of kidnap for ransom, sexual violence, smuggling and killings. The bandits build their hideouts in Nigerias unmanned forests from where they operate almost at will. Kidnap syndicates who operate out of the north rely on big forests as their staging areas, the SB Morgen report noted. For example, Rigasa and Birnin Gwari are areas in Kaduna with large forests that have been used as hideouts. Advertisements As of March, more than 210,000 people have been internally displaced by the criminals. In 2019 alone, data generated by the National Early Warning System (NEWS) showed that over 1,058 people died from armed banditry. Between mid-2011 and June 2020, according to the Council on Foreign Relations Nigeria Security Tracker, 17,283 have been killed by armed militants in the country. Over 17,283 killed by armed militants in Nigeria in 9 years In Niger State, Nigerias largest state with a land stretch of 78,363 km, over 582 people were killed in the attacks within that period, a conservative estimate based on press reports. In November 2019, about 4,000 people were displaced in Shiroro LGA of the state. By December, over 34 people were killed in the state. Madaka palace authorities said within a year, over 1,000 cows had been stolen, more than 100 motorcycles had either been burnt or stolen, and because most of the residents are unbanked, cash worth of 10 million stolen. Some motorcycles burnt by bandits in Madaka community Dozen more have suffered serious injuries, some of whom died eventually in the General Hospital, Kagara, or IBB Specialist Hospital, Minna Some injured residents admitted to the hospitals Some injured residents admitted to the hospitals Women counting losses Mardiyya Aliyu is 30, but she has 14 children to care for. Only seven of the children are hers. The other seven, all females, became her responsibility when her elder brother was killed during an attack in their village, Kukoji, in 2019. She recalled how she too was ambushed by the bandits. She was lucky all they wanted was her money and her phone. But when her farm was burnt down early this year, she knew she fled to Kagara, many kilometres from Kukoji. We used to farm in the village, but now we are begging and our children are also begging for food, she said in Hausa. Whenever normalcy returns, we are going back to our village to resume farming. Life was good until the terrorists forced us to be on the run, she said wistfully. Nobody dares live in the village again because of the incessant killings. When Amina Abdullahi, mother of seven, went to pay a condolence visit to her neighbour whose son was murdered by bandits in Madaka, she had no inkling that she too would be grieving the death of her son the same day. Zulaiha Isah (yellow hijab), Amina Abdullahi (first from left), Mardiyya Aliyu (blue cap), others who fled Her slain son left behind 12 children, all of whom are now her responsibility. Earlier in 2019, bandits had killed her husband too. In early July, this year, another of her sons was violently robbed and died from the injuries three weeks later. Since his death, Im left all alone to take care of my children and grandchildren without any support, the sexagenarian said. Madaka, also called Kakuri ward, is one of the largest villages in Rafi LGA, Niger State, with about 17,000 people. But the once bubbling agrarian community is now deserted as residents no longer sleep in their homes. Schools have been closed since 2019, and COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the problems for farming. Early this year, bandits imposed a 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew on the community, the secretary of Northern Youth Ambassadors of Nigeria, Yushau Ibrahim, told PREMIUM TIMES. At other times, they rape women or force residents to cook for them, he said. Our people are dying every day, every hour, every minute, and nothing has been done. We have been in this situation for over a year, Mr Ibrahim said. They are burning our houses in every attack. They are robbing us day and night because the inlet and outlet of the town were blocked by them, killing us everyday and kidnapping (for ransom). Why the challenges persist Adamu Goggo, 61, a former chairman of Shiroro LGA (2008 to 2009), has stayed in the community almost all his life. But the attacks since 2019 have forced him to leave his ancestral home. For those still clinging to the community, whenever they hear or sense danger they run, he said. He said trouble began to brew in the communities about six years ago. He said the bandits moved to Niger State after they were flushed out of the Kaduna side of the vast Birnin Gwari forest, which connects Niger to Kaduna. The criminals have since established their base in the part of Niger that the forest covers. Of the 15 wards in Shiroro LGA (which borders Rafi LGA), for instance, seven are under the siege of bandits. The other eight, residents say, are less rattled because they are located across River Kaduna, making crossing difficult for the bandits. Largely communities of low-income earners with little governmental aid, Mr Goggo said the criminals have a ready-made population to recruit from, especially from children, whom he said are separated from their parents, and have to beg to eat. In Niger, seven in ten earn below 350 daily ($0.97 at 361 July exchange rate), according to the 2019 poverty and inequality report by Nigerias statistics bureau. Only Sokoto, Taraba, Jigawa, Ebonyi and Adamawa have a higher rate of poverty. Those that are educated are jobless, he said, adding that frustration is triggered when there are no jobs. If there is an enabling environment for everybody, there would be peace. The Nigerian military has reported a series of air and land onslaught on the militants, but Mr Goggo and four other residents said the bandits attacks have not abated. Some motorcycles burnt by bandits in Madaka community As a recourse, the communities form vigilante groups, armed with only crude ammunition and the knowledge of the terrain. At times, they suffer brutal casualties in reprisal attacks. Mr Goggo said requests to have military bases in the communities have been ignored. He said the militants always escape before the arrival of soldiers and security agents. In every election, security gets to the rural areas but after elections they do not, the former chairman told this newspaper. Niger East senator, Sani Musa, through his aide, Zanan Pandogari, said the displaced people were not neglected as he had sent relief packages to them thrice. He added that he had also moved five motions on the crisis in the zone at the Senate. This reporter made repeated calls to the defence headquarters spokesperson, Onyema Nwachukwu, for three days but got no response. Meanwhile, the spokesperson of the police in Niger State, Wasiu Abiodun, said the police have bases in both Rafi and Shiroro LGAs. There are deployments in Kagara, Allawa, Pandogari, Erena, but the challenges we face is the terrain of these areas. Most of the villages around these areas are not accessible, he said. Madaka road is the only link between Kagara, Madaka and six other villages (Magwa Magaba, Kompani, Rubo, Nafsira, Shikira, Wayam), but it is in a terrible condition. It has not been repaired since it was constructed in 1985, residents said. Mr Abiodun said the police use motorcycles to patrol some of these villages, which are far from each other and have poor communication networks. He said this is why security agencies carry out joint patrol operations to rid the areas of bandits. However, the director, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Idayat Hassan, said the impunity with which people get away with committing crimes will continue to fuel the unrest. The bandits know the government will negotiate with them as done previously or at most nobody will arrest them, she said. Way forward Nigerias security architecture needs reforms, especially in the areas of training, discipline, motivation, equipment and intelligence sharing, a conflict and security expert, Azeez Olaniyan, said. The youth must be engaged in productive activities, he added. As long as we have massive unemployment, militia movement will be an attraction to them. It will become a source of employment. All these boil down to good governance at all levels of the country. For Ms Hassan, it is important to focus on community policing by using vigilantes who will prioritise intelligence sharing. Told the communities have vigilantes, but they are poorly armed, she said, firepower is not it, more intelligence is. Meanwhile, in July, the chairman, House of Representatives committee on agriculture, Muktar Dan-Dutse, proposed a stiffer law that provides for the death penalty or life sentence for bandits and killer herdsmen. But Abdullateef Lawal, a youth development advocate from Madaka, said while a legislative move is welcomed, the communities need aid from the government and international bodies, because what is happening in Rafi LGA is terrible and less heard. In spite of her harsh experience, Mrs Isah still craves to return home to properly raise her child. She said she does not want to live the rest of her life away from home chasing shadows. But until security is restored in the troubled communities of the Niger, her longing will remain a mirage. Support for this report was provided by Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism with funding support from Free Press Unlimited. The Tamil Nadu state government has decided to reopen retail liquor shops in Chennai from Tuesday onwards after a gap of several months. Liquor retail is a state monopoly run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation or popularly known as Tasmac. According to the government, the liquor shops will function between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. and only 500 tokens will be issued daily. Customers will have to wear masks and maintain social distance. Liquor shops had reopened across the state, except Chennai, on May 7 after 45 days. The shops in Chennai remained closed as the city had the highest per day infection rate. But over a period of time, the per day infection rate has come down to about 1,000-1,200. There are over 5,300 Tasmac liquor outlets in the state contributing about Rs 30,000 crore of tax revenue to the state exchequer. Major opposition parties in the state have strongly criticised the government's decision to open the liquor outlets. During the May 7 exercise, however, social distance was not maintained and there were large crowd before the shops risking spread of The Madras High Court on May 8 ordered closure of the shops as its conditions for opening up of the shops were not followed but allowed online sales. On May 15, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court's order. Later in June, the apex court said it cannot lay down norms as to the liquor sale modalities to Tasmac like door delivery and online sale. The court allowed the state government to devise its own norms for liquor sales. --IANS vj/ksk/ (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Salman Khan's recent promotional move for his clothing brand Being Human didn't go down well with the netizens, and the superstar received a major backlash on the internet. It all happened when a few days ago, Salman tweeted about the launch of branded masks and wrote, "Being Human Clothing ne aaj mask launch kiya hai. Aur, hamara ek hi task, pehno aur pehnao. Jab aap ek mask kharidenge, apko hamari aur say ek mask free milega, jo aap khud zaroorat mando ko de sakte ho. Shop at Being Human Clothing Stores & http://beinghumanclothing.com @bebeinghuman." The actor also shared his picture donning Being Human's mask of olive green colour. Salman's tweet instantly received backlash for promoting his own brand amid the pandemic scare, and its unreasonable price too. A user wrote, "Being Criminal doing Charity 10rs. And promoting that charity work by 1000rs. Through Social media, news papers, media..after so many backlash now Criminal covering this all stuff..as he always did before also.. when he kill blackbuck, Chinkara, Pavement on people.." Salman Khan On Being Called Arrogant: If I'm So Bad Then Why People Aren't Scared Of Me [Flashback] "Are you sure that you're still Being Human, Salman ji? Mask hi to pehen rakhe the aap ne itne saalo se (You have been wearing a mask for so many years now)," wrote another user. Another infuriated user slammed Salman, and wrote, "Ab ye aadmi munh chupaye ghum raha hai.....iske chehre par itne maask/naqab lage hai ki iska khokhlapan duniya ko naa dikhe... Shameful Salman (Now this person is hiding his face. He has covered his face with a mask so that the world can't see his his shallowness)." A fan of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput urged people to boycott his brand and wrote, "Boycott the product. We want Justice for SSR. Thanks." We're sure Salman didn't see it coming. We wonder how would Salman react to the backlash. L arge parts of Britain are likely to face heavy storms and further torrential downpours this week as the aftermath of Storm Kyle hits the UK, forecasters say. Flash flooding has already caused disruption to parts of England after storms and driving rain followed a scorching week where the mercury topped 30C for five consecutive days. A yellow thunderstorm warning covering the whole of Wales, southern England and parts of the north is in place until 9pm Monday, with the same warning in place for a large area of Scotland on Tuesday afternoon. Up to 1.6in (40mm) is likely to fall within an hour in some areas. Other parts of the country are likely to see heavy storms on Tuesday as the dregs of Storm Kyle hit the country, followed by windy and showery conditions later in the week. Rainfall is expected to be more sustained, with the potential for 0.8in (20mm) falling over six hours, the Met Office has said. Heavy rain hit Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, leaving streets flooded last week and a weather warning is in place for Scotland on Tuesday / PA Forecaster John Griffiths told the Standard: At the moment we still have these torrential downpours over central and southern England, tomorrow these will probably continue. We have a weather warning out today across much of England and Wales and another weather warning out that just covers Scotland for tomorrow. There could be one or two heavy storms across southern England tomorrow, but there is no weather warning. Some of those showers heavy and with a risk of thunder. All you need to know about thunderstorms and lightning Mr Griffiths said that the weather will turn decidedly autumnal from Wednesday, and cautioned those on so-called staycation to watch out for strong winds on Friday. From Wednesday onwards the weather will be turning autumnal, and it will be windy and wet from the south, he said. More widely from Friday, there will be showers. There is a greater risk of widespread blustery showers, it will be fairly widespread at 35mph gusts There is a risk of gales across Western Coasts. Generally there will be strong winds so it will be one to watch, especially with people on staycation, as they say. Hot Weather: Tuesday 11 August 1 /24 Hot Weather: Tuesday 11 August People enjoy the hot weather on Southsea beach in Hampshire Andrew Matthews/PA Owen Chisholm, 13, falls into the River Thames from a pontoon at the Richmond Canoe Club, as he enjoys the hot weather in Richmond, south west London Kirsty O'Connor/PA People enjoy the hot weather in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Jacob King/PA Swimmer, Lala, 42, takes to the water at the Serpentine lido as temperatures are set to soar to 30 degrees Lucy Young People enjoy the hot weather in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Jacob King/PA Swimmers take to the water at the Serpentine lido Lucy Young Swimmers take to the water at the Serpentine lido Lucy Young People enjoy the hot weather in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Jacob King/PA A lady shields herself from the sun as people enjoy the hot weather in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Jacob King/PA People enjoy the hot weather in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire Jacob King/PA People enjoy the hot weather as they take a punt trip along the River Cam in Cambridge Joe Giddens/PA A person jumps into the sea as people enjoy the hot weather on Southsea beach in Hampshir Andrew Matthews/PA People walk along the sea front as they enjoy the hot weather on Southsea beach in Hampshire Andrew Matthews/PA People enjoy the hot weather as they take a punt trip along the River Cam in Cambridge Joe Giddens/PA People enjoy the hot weather on Southsea beach in Hampshire Andrew Matthews/PA People enjoy the hot weather in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire PA Jack, 10, plays with his kite as he enjoys the hot weather by Chesterton Windmill, Warwickshire PA People enjoy the hot weather as they take a punt trip along the River Cam in Cambridge PA He explained that Storm Kyle, reported to be the cause of this weeks stormy weather, has died a death in The Atlantic, and it is merely its aftermath that will be causing bad weather conditions from Wednesday. He said: It is essentially that on Wednesday we have a very humid tropical maritime air mass that gets pulled across the country It is essentially the dregs of Storm Kyle. Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, has said localised surface water flooding could continue into Tuesday. He said: River flooding may also occur in urban areas or from small watercourses reacting quickly to heavy rain." Over the weekend, Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said on Twitter that it had removed approximately 8,000 litres of flood water from the basement of Wellingborough Museum, while the M11 northbound was forced to close between Junction 7 and Junction 8 at Stansted due to severe flooding. The aggressive testing, home isolation, plasma therapy, increasing the capacity of beds in the hospitals and putting out information about every measure and real picture of the Delhi government are the key elements of its model. While the corona situation has improved significantly in Delhi, people across cities and states in India have hailed the Delhi model for the improvement. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has credited the success of the Delhi model to the unity and collective action of the people of Delhi. Reiterating this on the occasion of Independence Day recently, he has appealed to people across the country to donate oximeters to the Aam Aadmi Party for distribution in various villages across India. Testing, tracing and treating are the three key directives of the Delhi model of fighting COVID-19. While much has been said about their role in controlling the situation of COVID-19 in Delhi, there is a clear need to emulate the model in the remote villages of the country and places where healthcare is still considered a luxury rather than an amenity. This has been evident from several cases which have been reported in the last few months in the villages of states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, where on one hand, people did not find ambulances to take their family members to a hospital, and on the other hand, they were refused treatment because of the battering health infrastructure and non-availability of doctors in villages. In the months of March and April, while many labourers and workers migrated from cities to their villages, the idea of rural areas becoming the COVID hotspots became apparent. The remoteness and isolation of these villages turned into a curse within no time. The rural part of India that houses nearly 70 percent of the country's population became the worst affected region. Today, the worst affected rural districts and villages are in the states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, West Bengal and Gujarat. A multi-pronged approach by the state and the Central governments is needed to reverse the impact of corona in villages. As compared to other states, Delhi has been faring well in COVID management and the statistics are working in favour of the state government. The active cases have gone down to nearly 10,000 and stand at 7.1 percent, recoveries have climbed up to around 1,200-1,300 daily and stand at 90.15 percent, and 4,500 patients in the city require hospitalisation. The aggressive testing, home isolation, plasma therapy, increasing the capacity of beds in the hospitals and putting out information about every measure and real picture of the Delhi government are the key elements of its model. Easier said than done, drawing a parallel between a city like Delhi and various villages in India in terms of COVID-19 control can prove to be effective. The COVID-19 statistics have gone down in a city with a human population of two crore. Around 69,000 per million tests have been conducted and the results of the first sero-survey held in June show that around 24 percent or a quarter of Delhi's population has developed antibodies against corona. Villages, on the other hand, can have as low a population as 500-1,000 people. Increased testing and sero-survey like Delhi can decrease the risk of infections in rural areas. Enough testing infrastructure can be developed to conduct tests on maximum people to decrease the risk of spreading of Corona. With sero-surveys, the detection of herd immunity in villages will become much easier, which should be the main aim of the authorities during this pandemic. The villages in India act as autonomous entities that have long been known to preserve their stance on self-governance through panchayats. In Delhi, the state government had appointed Chief Minister Fellows in various hospitals to overlook the functioning of the hospitals and for better provision of facilities to the patients. Similarly, members of the panchayats should elect at least one representative from their villages to take measures such as providing oximeters to the people and setting up oxygen testing centres. The local healthcare system in villages has failed to handle the intensity of COVID-19 with villagers left to fend for themselves in the toughest of situations. Unfortunately, maximum casualties in villages are reported until the time they reach COVID-19 facilities or hospitals. The provision of oximeters in villages is a step towards minimising deaths. Correspondingly, the setting up of Oxygen Testing Centres in villages will immunize the people from deaths due to lowering oxygen levels. Lastly, considering the inability of the health infrastructure to handle a surge in Corona cases in the villages, practising home isolation should be considered a crucial step. This will further reduce the burden on the fewer good hospitals in the area or nearby urban areas. There is a need for advancements on the part of the governments to strengthen the convergence between healthcare and the people during corona. The implementation of the Delhi model might be a right approach towards the same. The author is a Delhi Assembly Research Fellow, attached to the Department of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of NCT of Delhi. 86 new COVID-19 infections on August 16, with 6 imported cases Ministry of Health (MOH) reported 86 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore as of 12pm on August 16, brining the national tally to 55,747. Majority of the cases are foreign workers living in dormitories. "The Inter-agency Taskforce has completed the testing of all workers in the dormitories," MOH said in its press statement. There are currently about 19,900 workers who are still serving out their quarantine period. They will be tested when their quarantine ends, case counts are expected to remain high in the coming days, before tapering down thereafter. Photo courtesy: Facebook/Singapore Ministry of Health There are two cases in the community, both of which are contacts of previously confirmed cases. They had been placed on quarantine earlier, and were tested during quarantine to determine their status. There are also six imported cases, including a Singaporean who returned to Singapore from Indonesia on August 4. Another three cases are Dependants Pass holders who arrived from India on 31 July and the Philippines on August 4. One other case, who is a Work Pass holder currently employed in Singapore, arrived from the Philippines on August 4. The remaining case is a Students Pass holder who arrived from Russia on August 4. All of them had been placed on 14-day Stay-Home Notice (SHN) upon arrival in Singapore, and were serving their SHN at dedicated facilities. They had been tested while serving their SHN. MENOKEN -- When Tom Ness got shot in the back in 1992 and was nearly killed, he told himself that if he survived the ordeal, he would quit his day job and train dogs full time. Now in 2020, he was inducted into the National Bird Dog Hall of Fame for a lifetime of achievement with training his beloved cocker spaniels for field trial competitions. Ness was part of the movement that brought cocker and springer spaniels back from near extinction in the U.S. Hes trained hundreds of dogs over the years, including many for investment bankers and other wealthy businessmen. He said he once sold a trained Labrador to Ernest Hemingways son, Patrick. Another time, a client flew him to a field trial in Maine in his private jet. I probably havent worked a day for 30 years, Ness said during a recent interview at Oahe Kennels in Menoken. My daughter is a veterinarian in Idaho, and she always says When are you going to retire, dad? And I just say, You know, I do what I like to do all day long, and when I get sick of this I go fishing, so what the hell would I retire to? Ness, 67, grew up a city kid in Grand Forks but always wanted to have a bunch of animals. He got his first dog while living in Grand Forks and would go out to train it at Kellys Slough just west of town. Ness got his geology degree from the University of North Dakota in December 1976. Then he moved west, first to Wyoming, then Colorado. He still calls the area home, as he and his wife winter in Denver. The 10 years he spent in the region as a young man is when he was first introduced to field trials, because there wasn't much bird hunting to be had there. While living near Aspen, he made his first foray into professional training after he met a few high rollers who wanted their dogs trained. Once he moved back to North Dakota, the buddies he made while out west would come to visit him twice a year to hunt birds in a region renowned for its pheasants. It was on one of these trips that the fateful shooting occurred. According to Bismarck Tribune stories that chronicled the event in 1992, 39-year-old Ness was leading two carloads of Colorado hunters through eastern Hettinger County on the morning of the pheasant hunting seasons opening day. He was sitting in the front passenger seat when he saw a pheasant rooster flit out of a bush about 50 yards ahead of the vehicle. He told the hunter sitting directly behind him to get ready, but the hunter loaded his shells before getting out of the vehicle, rather than getting out first like it's supposed to be done. The car hit a bump in the road and the over-under, double-barrel 12-gauge Beretta shotgun in his hands went off. One shell ripped through the floor of the car and one went through the seat into Nesss backside, inches away from his spine. He said he felt like someone had given him a swift kick to the rear end. I felt real distressed, obviously, but not really in any pain. I thought, How the hell do we get out of here as quick as possible? Ness told Tribune writer Peter Salter in 1992. A retired Las Vegas emergency room physician who was with the hunting party kept pressure on the wound and repeatedly asked Ness to wiggle his toes to check if he was paralyzed as the group sped to the nearest hospital in Elgin, 20 minutes away. He was airlifted from the Elgin hospital to CHI St. Alexius in Bismarck, where he had multiple emergency surgeries and spent 17 days in the intensive care unit. After leaving the ICU, he spent nearly a year recovering at his home east of Bismarck. The accident turned out to be a watershed moment for Nesss dog training career. He quit his day job as a project engineer for the Public Service Commission and received a large insurance payout for the accidental shooting. The insurance money enabled him to purchase 320 acres of land in Menoken, the home of Oahe Kennels, where he still trains dogs to this day. At the time, I thought, If I get out of this Im going to quit my job and go train dogs (full time). So here I am, Ness said, lightly rapping his knuckles on the dog trailer. Ness currently trains 12 dogs at a time for clients and a few more that he keeps for himself. He used to train more for clients, sometimes 16 or even greater, but hes getting older and cant keep up with them like he used to. Being a professional dog trainer is a full-time commitment that requires consistency to be successful, Ness said. He has a tried-and-tested daily routine that he takes his dogs through every morning. Every day, the first thing I do is take out the puppies, take them around a little bit and let them walk around, Ness said. If they are just in the kennel, thats no good for them. Theyve got to have stimulation and, you know, be socialized. His regiment focuses on basic obedience training because, in Nesss words, It just makes every dog that much easier to be around. The foundation of everything I do is basic obedience. Every dog ... is a pack animal, from a chihuahua to a rottweiler -- Ive trained every kind -- and they crave order. In a pack theres a leader and a bunch of followers, and the followers follow unerringly, and the leader leads and isnt necessarily gentle and mollycoddles them -- hes the boss. And so dogs crave that, Ness said. He gestures to the pooch on his leash. This guy now, if you look at his tail and his demeanor, hes happy. And he wasnt happy before, he was kind of miserable, because something inside him says You might have to be the boss so then hes kind of a pain. Ness only has two obedience commands: sit and heel. When it comes time to train the dogs for bird hunting, he has three straightforward commands: change direction, come back, and stop and sit. The training begins very simple and straightforward. Ness will leave something for the dog to retrieve in his large front yard. When they successfully retrieve the object, hell lavish them with rubs, pats and scratches, all while lovingly telling them what a good dog they are to reinforce the behavior. As training progresses, Ness makes it complicated by adding in various distractions, such as a clap of his hands or a shot of his starter pistol, to prepare the dogs for the hectic nature of a hunt or a field trial. Once I get em kind of really going, then I start trying to add in other stuff to get them distracted. Then I can make a correction, and they realize that if things get distracting, Id better watch him because this is another set up. Thats how they learn, Ness said. Distraction is kinda that key. Training the most advanced dogs involves live birds. The birds heads are spun around to disorient them before theyre hidden in a field for the dogs to sniff out. Oahe Kennels has coops with three types of birds -- pigeons, quail and chuckers. Pigeons are considered an invasive species, so Ness grabs three and heads out to place them in the field. Now it's Nuggets turn to shine. Nugget, short for Oahe Golden Nugget, is a 5-year-old, golden-haired, floppy-eared cocker spaniel. Shes a field trial champion and is currently one of Nesss top dogs. Shes the quintessential cocker spaniel and a good house pet, but when that dog whistle blows shes ready to go to work. With a call and a gesture from Ness, Nugget bounds into the grass in search of a bird. Cocker spaniels are considered a jack-of-all-trades breed that can do several things well, but they are a top choice for pheasant hunters. Theyre strong, fast and small, allowing them to swiftly cut through thick grasses and drive roosting pheasants into the air before the speedy birds can flee on foot. Another signal from Ness, and Nugget sets off in a new direction, using her short legs to taking quick strides through the field. Once she has the scent, her body language shifts, almost as if to say Ive got something. Nugget rushes into the bush where the pigeon was placed. The bird pops up in the air, Ness swiftly aims, fires, and the bird drops dead to the ground. Nugget didnt react to the gunshot and is now calmly sitting in the field, waiting for her next command. Ness simply has to say the dogs name -- Nugget -- and she retrieves the bird and brings it to his feet. Her instinct is just to catch it and kill it and eat it (the bird), Ness said. But she doesnt, because her relationship with Ness is so well established that she knows that the pack leader gets the first pick. Thats the finished product there, he said, gesturing to Nugget. Thats what I do in a day. I just kind of keep doing it over and over again. The entire training process can take several months, but the final product is a well-behaved house pet that can efficiently hunt upland game birds. Ness walks several miles each morning going through his daily training routine. Once his arthritic knees get too sore around 11 a.m., hell call it a day and go fishing. Ness said he first decided to train cocker spaniels because they were a less common breed that were harder to find trained. The generation before me, there were working cockers and then they sort of disappeared. Thats kind of what at first steered me to the cockers over springers (spaniels), Ness said. The guys that are a little older than I am had em as kids and theyre calling about Where can I find a working cocker? and theyre the guys with money. So at first it was more of the business thing. Then I kinda fell for that crazy personality that they have. Business is still good, however, with pedigree cocker spaniel puppies going upwards of a thousand dollars apiece. The sport of field trials and dog hunting are frequented by the wealthy, and they will pay a pretty penny for a premium pooch. Ness breeds cocker spaniels and will either sell the puppies right away or train them out and sell them later. Despite being associated with wealth, Ness said the sport of field trials is diverse and attracts people from all walks of life. He told a story of a New York business owner befriending a Minnesota lumber delivery driver because of the latters ability to train dogs. Its a great equalizer, Ness said. The guy with all the money is like 'I wish I could be like him. The interest in cocker spaniel field trials has blossomed over the years, according to Ness. Field trials are outdoor competitions that simulate a hunt in which dogs score points based on their hunting abilities and instincts. When Ness first got into the sport in the late 1970s and early 1980s, there were a handful of field trial competitions across the country. Now there are dozens a year, if not hundreds, including some that are held locally. It was his longstanding participation and promotion of cocker spaniel field trials that got him inducted into the National Bird Dog Hall of Fame at Grand Junction, Tenn., earlier this year. Hes trained 30 field trial champions and one national champion over the course of his career, and has no plans to stop anytime soon. It keeps me young, Ness said of his occupation and passion. My favorite things to do are sit in my driveway and drink beer and smoke cigars. If I retire thats probably where Ill end up, and I just dont think I would last that long. So I think Im going to stick with this as long as I can. Reach Bilal Suleiman at 701-250-8261 or Bilal.Suleiman@bismarcktribune.com Love 2 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Advertisement President Donald Trump let loose a stream of vitriolic insults and take-downs of leading Democratic politicians whom he accused of 'coddling' criminals Monday labeling his opponents both 'fascists' and 'radicals.' He also described the economic impact of the coronavirus as 'God testing me,' and joked that it might have been a punishment for him building 'the greatest economy' before it happened. 'Joe Biden is the puppet of left-wing extremists trying to erase our borders, eliminate our police vilify our heroes, take away our energy,' Trump told a crowd of a few hundred supporters in an airport hangar in Mankato, Minnesota. 'Fascists,' he called them. 'They are fascists.' Then Trump hedged slightly, saying 'some of them' were fascists. 'Not all of them.' The mini-rally was the second stop on a quickfire campaign swing through Minnesota and Wisconsin intended to counter-program the opening night of the Democratic National Convention, which had been scheduled to take place in Milwaukee before the pandemic. Each event was progressively larger and many of the supporters were not wearing masks. At the next event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin Monday, he told cheering supporters he would serve for 'four more years' and beyond. Trump made the remark, which drew chuckles applause from a few hundred supporters who gathered in an airport hangar, that he deserved a 'redo' due to what he called 'spying' on his campaign during the Obama administration. It's a once off-limit topic the president has joked about online, even as rival Joe Biden has raised his own fear that Trump will contest the election results and try not to leave the White House. Trump drew some spontaneous applause of 'Four More Years!' from crowd members when he talked about the economic agenda he would like to continue. 'Four more years!' said crowd-members, including a group of elderly supporters in Trump gear who threw their hands in the air. 'And then after that we'll go for another four years,' Trump continued. 'You know what, they spied on my campaign so we should get a redo,' Trump said. With Democrat Joe Biden leading him in a slew of polls as the former vice president kicks off his nominating convention, Trump said at all three stops that Democrats would 'destroy our Second Amendment' and 'attack our right to life,' saying at the first stop - at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport: 'I am the only thing standing in the way of your Second Amendment.' New attack: Donald Trump accused Democrats of being 'left-wing fascists,' then hedged, 'some of them' in a fiery speech in Minnesota Rally mode: Donald Trump delivered a sustained attack on Democrats and Joe Biden at a hangar at Mankato regional airport in Minnesota Crowd pleaser: Donald Trump brought a USA camp to the podium for the speech in front of Air Force One Brief journey: Donald Trump flew from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Mankato, where he was shadowed by the Beast - the presidential limousine - as he walked a short distance to the hangar to speak Crowd: Few masks were on show as Donald Trump's supporters gathered to watch his mini-rally speech on the second stop of his rapid campaign swing to Minnesota and Wisconsin Economic message: The president spoke about rebuilding the shattered economy as a challenge personally given to him by God, impersonating a conversation with God about it Themed masks: One section of the crowd featured more people in masks branded for the president Trump then teed off on what he sometimes calls Obamagate, which includes allegations of FBI misconduct and corruption against him. 'You can call it whatever you want. I use the word treason,' Trump said. The 22nd Amendment, passed by Congress after the death of F.D.R. and ratified in 1951, limits a president to being elected to two terms in office. Biden in June said his 'single greatest concern' is that Trump will 'try to steal this election.' Since then, Democrats have howled at Trump's attacks on mail-in ballots and the Postal Service. Trump, 74, spoke loosely about an even longer term in office during a take-down of the media. He predicted media networks would tank if Trump were to lose to Joe Biden. 'When I do leave, in let's say 16, 20 years when we leave, you're going out of business,' he said. At the second stop in Mankto, he called out what he termed 'left-wing fascists,' not long after delivering his 'law and order' message at Minneapolis-St.Paul Airport with business owners he said had their dreams 'burned to the ground' during rioting in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. 'We're going left wing all the way,' Trump warned. Trump said he was rebuilding the economy and promised a 'more than v-shaped' recover At one point, Trump brought up what he described as a conversation with God, suggesting that the impact of the pandemic on the economy was divinely ordained. 'We built the greatest economy in the history of the world and now I have to do it again. Now you know what that is? That's God testing me,' he said. 'He said, 'you know, you did it once' and I said: 'Did I do a great job God? I'm the only one that can do it.'' Trump then wagged his index finger in mock impersonation of God reproaching him, saying God told him: 'You shouldn't say that. Now we're going to have you do it again.'' The audience laughed then Trump said he told God: ''OK, I agree, you got me.' But I did it once and now I'm doing it again.' Trump once again accused Democrats of seeking to 'rig' the election through the use of mail-in ballots. He also called Joe Biden a 'jerk' in a riff apparently on an interview with Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who Republicans accused of manipulating Biden after she said 'we were able to significantly push Joe Biden to do things that he hadn't signed on to before, so he is movable, he is listening.' Trump said: 'And what about the Congresswoman that I watched at the weekend? '''I have total control over Biden, he'll do anything I say...I have total control'...what she's saying is, 'I have total control over this jerk,' he said. ''He'll do whatever the hell I want.'' He and didn't go much easier on Sen. Kamala Harris or Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 'Does she love our country?' he asked of the longtime California lawmaker,and called the vice-presidential candidate 'another beauty,' accusing her of being the most liberal senator. Supporters: Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff (second left) , is part of the campaign swing. Trump highlighted Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO (center) who is the Republican campaign chairman in Minnesota, during his speech Hangar rally: Trump spoke from a dais erected in front of a hangar at Mankato Here for the fans: Donald Trump walked down Air Force One - the smaller military version of a Boeing 757 used for shorter runways - with a USA cap in hand at Mankato Show of enthusiasm: Donald Trump was saluted by his supporters at the mini-rally in an aircraft hangar Campaign slogan: Donald Trump went back to Air Force One past a truck emblazoned with his campaign slogan Pro-Trump: One supporter was wearing a t-shirt from a pro-Trump apparel maker Another hangar rally: The biggest crowd of the day was in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where Trump stopped for his third event Largely unmasked: Many of the supporters who came for the mini-rallies did not cover their faces for the event - although others had found campaign-styled masks Attendees: This was the scene inside the hangar where Trump supporters could watch the 56-minute speech Masked message: One section of the crowd was largely masked for the event and stood in front of an alternative campaign slogan The crowd of supporters, some masked, some not at the outdoor venue, booed when Trump mentioned Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, the 'squad' member who recently won her primary. 'This woman is crazy. She's a horrible woman who hates our country,' Trump said. Earlier, Trump stopped in Minneapolis to hold an event with small business owners whose stores were damaged after violent protests and riots after George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died in May in police custody. 'Im here to help you. We will bring back law and order to your community. We will bring it back and we will bring it back immediately,' Trump told supporters on the airport tarmac. He did not venture to the scene of the protests or the memorial to Floyd in the city. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the White House had been interested in Trump visiting the makeshift memorial in Minneapolis on the site of Floyds fatal encounter with police on Memorial Day. 'I spent this weekend trying to tell the White House why it was a really bad idea to have President Trump go down and stand at the George Floyd memorial and use (it) as a backdrop for his campaign and ignite the pain and the anguish that were feeling in Minnesota,' the governor said Monday during a virtual breakfast for the states delegation to the Democratic National Convention. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows disputed Walz' statement. 'Gov. Walz never reached out to me, nor the president, nor the campaign so perhaps he misspoke,' Meadows told The Associated Press. Weve communicated before, so he has our contact information.' On the tarmac in Minneapolis, Trump addressed about 150 supporters - half of them wearing masks - who chanted 'Four More Years.' Trump told them that the Democrats will be taking away the constitutional amendment to bear arms. Democrats want to elevate their 'left-wing war on cops,' Trump asserted. 'Their sympathies lie with lawbreakers and with criminals.' Trump also was set to visit Wisconsin - the official host state of the entirely virtual Democratic National Convention - to launch a week of travel and political events aiming to blunt the customary polling 'bounce' that a candidate gets during their convention week. The president trails in both public and private surveys less than three months before Election Day. 'Were going to be working very hard,' Trump said before leaving the White House. 'We have to. Were getting down to final crunch. We want to be there.' Marking his heaviest week of political travel since the coronavirus put a stop to his campaign schedule and imperiled his reelection chances, Trump was expected to sharply criticize Biden's economic policies in the Upper Midwest battleground states. On Tuesday, Trump will take on Biden over his immigration policies during a visit to Yuma, Arizona. He is also set to travel to Pennsylvania, the state of Biden's birth, on Thursday, ahead of the Democrat's acceptance speech. Trump's aggressive push comes as his path to reelection has narrowed since the coronavirus hit, and he's been forced to play defense in the states that carried him to reelection four years ago. Minnesota, viewed as a GOP pickup opportunity a year ago, now appears to be slipping out of reach, Republicans say. Wisconsin, a state that had voted for Democratic presidents for decades until Trump's 2016 victory, has emerged as one of the toughest battlegrounds of 2020. Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday plans to visit the southern part of the state. Trump's campaign views the state's whiter, older demographics to be more favorable than Michigan, which Trump also won four years ago but is increasingly seen as a likely Democratic pick-up. Trump's campaign is seizing on Biden's decision not to travel to Milwaukee for the convention, citing the pandemic, as the Democrat `effectively abandoning' Wisconsin. The GOP is surging Republican surrogates to the state this week in a show of force, including Pence and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. Democrats insist they are still contesting the state, where they are devoting resources to television ads and field organizing, but that Biden is just being cautious and curtailing non-essential travel due to the coronavirus. Democratic candidate: Donald Trump described Joe Biden as the puppet of 'left-wing extremists' Killing: The death of George Floyd sparked protests and then riots in Minneapolis and around the country. The Minnesota governor accused the White House of planning a speech where he died Supposed venue: Minnesota governor Tim Walz said the White House had wanted to hold a Trump speech at the memorial to George Floyd where he was killed. The White House chief of staff disputed his account He and Sen. Kamala Harris, his newly announced running mate, are set to deliver their convention addresses from Biden's home state of Delaware this week, mitigating the need for air travel. The Republican Party and Trump campaign are also ramping up their efforts as Biden takes center stage. Trump Victory, the campaign's joint field program with the Republican National Committee, will be holding over 2,500 events across the country, the RNC said. They also plan to knock on more than 1 million doors and call millions more voters during the week of the Democratic convention. The events this week come as Trump's campaign is looking to redefine what the president's political events look like in the age of the coronavirus. Trump is set to address hundreds of supporters at airports in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and Mankato, Minnesota, two months after he was forced to abandon plans to resume holding rallies amid a resurgence in cases. 'We'd love to have those rallies, but I guess you just can't do that, you're not allowed to do that now,' Trump said in Mankato, saying he has embraced 'airport hops' as an alternative. In Minnesota, there is a statewide mask mandate for public indoor spaces, and capacity must be limited so safe social distancing can be maintained. Many Trump supporters at both events in the state were not wearing masks during Trump's remarks. In Wisconsin, supporters are required to be masked, but there is no statewide limit on how many people can gather. Toward the end of his remarks in Oshkosh, Trump urged his backers: Do those beautiful absentee ballots or just make sure your vote gets counted. The line came despite his earlier attacks on broader mail-in balloting. Trump himself votes absentee in Florida. The only way we lose this election is if this election is rigged, he told them. The only way theyre going to win is that way and we cant let that happen, Trump added. Trump's campaign, meanwhile is trying to set historically high expectations for the Biden campaign. 'You better believe that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are going to get somewhere between a 8 and 10 point bump after this convention they put on,' Gidley told Fox on Monday, 'solely because the media just fawns all over them.' Donald Trump slams Michelle Obama for TAPING her keynote speech on opening night of Democratic National Convention President Donald Trump criticized Michelle Obama Monday, accusing her of pre-taping her speech for Joe Biden kicks off his political convention. The former first lady will be the keynote speaker on the first night of the Democratic National Convention, taking place virtually instead of in person for the first time. Trump brought up the format as he greeted a few hundred supporters in Minneapolis, where he touted his own 'law and order' campaign and hosted small businesses owners who said their dreams got torched amid looting amid protests over the death of George Floyd. He spoke at Minneapolis-St. Paul airport on the first stop of a series of speeches beside Air Force One in Minnesota and Wisconsin intended to counter-program the Democrats' convention, which had been scheduled to take place in Milwaukee but which is now entirely virtual. Attack on first lady: Donald Trump used a campaign stop at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport to slam Michelle Obama for recording her tape at the Democratic National Convention Mini-rally: Donald Trump was greeted by a limited number of supporters at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport on a campaign swing intended to counter-program the Democratic National Convention Supporter: Trump addressed a small crowd at the airport on the first stop of his campaign swing through Minnesota and Wisconsin Greeting: Supporters salute Trump as he ends a mini-rally at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Brief stop: Donald Trump re-boards Air Force One after speaking to a small number of supporters at Minneapolis-St.Paul airport 'These are all taped speeches. Michelle Obama, her speech is taped,' he said. 'Why don't they tell me that. I'll tape my speech,' said Trump. He quipped he would do multiple takes to get it right. 'I'll make sure it's perfecto. I'll make every word perfect,' he said. 'You want to go to a snooze. When you hear a speech is taped it's like there's nothing very exciting about it right?' Trump said. Trump brought up his own campaign surrogate introducing White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany. Although she is a taxpayer employee, it is allowable for government officials to campaign on personal time in certain circumstances. 'It is such an honor to work for the law and order president,' McEnany said in brief remarks. First Lady Melania Trump had to fend off negative press coverage during her own convention speech after it was revealed passages were lifted from Michelle Obama's 2008 effort. Star of the night: Michelle Obama is delivering the keynote speech on the first night of the Democratic National Convention Trump then called up a series of business owners to talk about how they suffered when their businesses were torched, including a pharmacy owner whose business burned. 'At the Democrat convention we will not hear a word about these innocent victims or the left-wing violence that's taking place,' Trump said. Trump called out 'radical left anarchists' he held responsible. He also attacked Biden's new running mate Kamala Harris. 'She's the one who finished so badly,' Trump said. 'She was embarrassed she ran out of town,' he said of her time in the Democratic presidential primary. 'She went down like a rock in water,' Trump said. Donald Trump calls Ilhan Omar a 'horrible woman who hates our country' then accuses her of winning Democratic primary by fraud President Donald Trump went after 'squad' member, Rep. Ilhan Omar, in her home state of Minnesota, telling supporters she's a 'horrible woman who hates our country.' Trump asked his mostly mask-less crowd gathered Mankato how Omar defeated a Democratic primary opponent during voting last week - joking that she probably cheated. 'I mean I hear the boos. How the hell did she win the primary?' he asked the crowd. 'How the hell did she win? This woman is crazy. She's a horrible woman who hates our country.' President Donald Trump lashed out at Rep. Ilhan Omar in her home state of Minnesota Monday, calling her 'crazy' and a 'horrible woman who hates our country' and joking that she probably cheated to win her primary last week Rep. Ilhan Omar, one of the four so-called 'squad' members, speaks on primary election day in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Trump also suggested that refugees, like Omar, were a problem for Minnesotans and bragged about shutting down resettlement programs during the pandemic In the crowd someone shouted to the president, 'mail-in vote.' 'Yeah, mail-in vote. We'll have to check. Let's check the mail-in vote,' Trump said with a laugh. 'No seriously. How does a woman who hates our country, who says nothing but bad things about our country and Israel and other of our allies. How does this woman win? Where are the people that would vote for her?' Trump continued. The president ripped Omar for criticism she made of the Minneapolis Police Department - who were under global scrutiny after the Memorial Day death of George Floyd. 'The Minneapolis Police Department is rotten to the root, and so when we dismantle it, we get rid of that cancer, and we allow for something beautiful to rise, and that reimagining allows us to figure out what public safety looks like for us,' the first-term Democrat said in June. Trump lumped in presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden with Omar, because he didn't disavow her comments. 'This is what's going to be running the country,' Trump told supporters. The president made two campaign stops on Monday to coincide with the opening day of this year's virtual Democratic National Convention. He stopped in Minnesota - a state he lost in 2016 - before heading to Wisconsin, which was supposed to host the Democrats' convention. Omar wasn't the only female Democrat that Trump picked on during his stop in Minnesota. He first made what was likely a dig at Omar's 'squad'-mate, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as Trump ridiculed the 'Green New Deal,' saying it had been written by a 'foolish child.' He talked at length about stopping refugee resettlement in the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic, suggesting to his audience that he knew refugees - like Omar, who was born in Somalia - were a problem. 'I know all about your hot spots,' Trump said. And then he echoed something he had said about Omar, but applied it to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who he's been in a stand-off with for months. 'Does she love our country?' Trump asked. 'I don't think so.' New South Wales has recorded seven new COVID-19 cases overnight. One has been linked to an overseas traveller while six were locally acquired transmissions. Three were identified as close contacts who had visited the Chopstix Asian Cuisine restaurant at the Smithfield RSL, in western Sydney. State premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday authorities were still concerned about community transmission in Sydney's west. 'My anxiety remains the same, if not slightly higher, because every week we have had an of undetected or unsourced cases.' 'It means potentially the virus is continuing to spread in particular parts of south-western and Western Sydney.' New South Wales has recorded seven new COVID-19 cases overnight (pictured, a nurse carries out a COVID-19 test at a pop-up clinic) Of the new cases announced on Monday, one has been linked to an overseas traveller while six were locally acquired transmissions (pictured, a Sydney resident walks the streets wearing a face mask) People wearing face masks walk the streets of Sydney as authorities raise concern over the number of mystery COVID-19 cases in the community Ms Berejiklian said the trend was a chilling echo of how the second outbreak of COVID-19 spread in Melbourne. 'If you look back to Melbourne, Melbourne didn't get worse because of the number of cases they had, they had undetected community transmission which then unknowingly got to a stage where it did.' Ms Berejiklian went on to 'apologise unreservedly' to residents who had contracted COVID-19 following the Ruby Princess cruise saga. 'I want to say I can't imagine what it would be like having a loved one or being someone yourself who continues to suffer and experience trauma as a result.' The NSW government commissioned an inquiry into the Ruby Princess after its 2,700 passengers were allowed to disembark from the cruise ship in Sydney before results for COVID-19 were received. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement Bret Walker SC was tasked with examining the Ruby Princess' departure, arrival and disembarkation and conducted 21 days' of hearings from April to July. He handed his report to Ms Berejiklian on Friday and it was immediately made public. 'Can I now apologise unreservedly to anybody who suffered as a result of the mistakes that were outlined in the report undertaken by individuals within the Health Department or the Health Agency and I extend that apology unreservedly,' Ms Berejiklian said on Monday. 'In particular to the 62 people who got the virus in secondary or tertiary way. 'Those 62 people who weren't on the ship, but somehow contracted the virus as a consequence of that disembarkation.' The new COVID-19 figures come after NSW recorded five coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Saturday. Sydney Girls High School in Sydney's inner-city suburb of Surry Hills will close on Monday for cleaning and contact tracing after a student tested positive to COVID-19. A trial HSC exam scheduled for Monday has been postponed. 'While the school site is non-operational, learning materials are available through the (Education) Department's Learning from home website,' the school said on its website. It is not yet known when the school will reopen. Sydney Girls High School is a selective state school that has about 940 high school students drawn from 143 different postcodes around Sydney, escalating its potential to spread the coronavirus city-wide. Residents wearing face masks while out shopping in Sydney CBD on the weekend Ms Berejiklian said the trend of mystery cases was a chilling echo of how the second outbreak of COVID-19 spread in Melbourne (pictured, shoppers wearing face masks in front of a Woolworths at Town Hall Station) State premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday authorities were still concerned about community transmission (pictured, a near empty Wynyard Station on the weekend) Most students travel via public transport to the school, giving further opportunities to spread the infectious virus. The NSW Department of Education said all staff and students have been asked to isolate themselves. The NSW Health Department urged anyone with any symptoms to get tested for covid-19. Tangara School for Girls, a Catholic girls school in Sydney's northwestern suburb of Cherrybrook, has also been linked to 25 COVID-19 cases. The school said on its website that it has been professionally deep cleaned but will remain closed until August 24. Year 12 HSC trial exams were delayed at Tangara by one week. Sydney residents wear face masks as they attend a service to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Pacific on the weekend 'My anxiety remains the same, if not slightly higher, because every week we have had an of undetected or unsourced cases,' Ms Berejiklian said on Monday (pictured, residents wearing face masks in Sydney) The Berejiklian government commissioned an inquiry into the Ruby Princess after its 2,700 passengers were allowed to disembark from the cruise ship in Sydney before results for COVID-19 were received From Wednesday all public schools in the state will be required to implement changes to ensure communities remain safe inside and outside the school gate, NSW Education Department said. Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 is prohibited from returning to school until a negative test result has been reported. Formals, dances, graduation ceremonies, choirs and all social events have been banned and students must remain within their relevant class or year groups. Schools must not travel outside their local community or zone and interschool sport and zone carnivals are restricted to 100 people per venue and held locally. Spectators, including parents and carers, won't be allowed on school grounds or at sporting events held during school hours. Schools may hold a Year 12 assembly at school without parents to recognise the completion of school or consider delaying events until later in the year. Pictured: Ruby Princess docks in Port Kembla, south of Sydney, amid a police investigation However students and staff required to support HSC students are permitted to meet their HSC requirements with COVID-19 safety measures in place. The largest NSW cluster comes from the Thai Rock restaurant at Wetherill Park in Sydney's outer west, which has infected 116 people so far, according to NSW Health figures released on Sunday. The next biggest cluster is 73 people infected following a funeral in Bankstown, in Sydney's west. Australia now has 22,851 infections most of which are in Victoria. Worldwide coronavirus cases reached 21.6 million on Sunday evening with 769,207 deaths according to Worldometers statistics. The USA is still the worst affected country with 5.5 million cases and 172,606 deaths, followed by Brazil with 3.3 million cases and 107,297 deaths. Tangara School for Girls in Sydney's west has infected 25 people in its cluster Continue Reading Below Advertisement With Paine such a fan of revolutions, he was probably going to be a hero to the French as well, right? Sure, he was, for a while. Unfortunately, he also had some controversial views, like, " Let's not behead the king, or anyone really." When the revolutionaries divided into factions, he found himself on the wrong side. The side on top rounded up Paine's, threw them in prison, and planned to kill them all, which was their solution for everything. So, Paine wound up in Paris's Luxembourg Prison and had a date with the guillotine. Six months in, he got a severe fever, and his cellmates got permission one day to open the cell door so breeze could cool him. This wasn't some ruse so they could escape -- the prison overall was still guarded. But for a while, his door just happened to be open. Then the guards came by and chalked the doors of everyone scheduled for execution the next day, including Paine. Since that door was open, they marked the inner side rather than the outer one. So when the door was later closed and the executioner came, he didn't realize the cell door was marked. JLPC/Wiki Commons It was a weird prison. This was what it looked like. Continue Reading Below Advertisement Before the prison could realize their mistake and kill him after all, America replaced their ambassador to France. The new guy, James Monroe, cared enough about Paine to declare him a US citizen and under America's protection, so he got him out of there. And so Paine escaped death row, none the worse for his stay there. It even seems like he wrote much of The Age of Reason in prison, so if you've yet to write that book of yours, what's your excuse? (If your excuse is that you have shit to do, and you aren't forcefully motivated by an impending execution, those are pretty good excuses, actually.) A celebrity photographer has paid tribute to his beautiful 10-year-old son after the boy's mother appeared in court charged with murder. Dean Freeman was in Spain when the body of his son Dylan was discovered at his ex-wife's home in Acton, west London, on Sunday. Olga Freeman, 40, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Monday charged with murder. She was remanded in custody and will next appear at the Old Bailey on Wednesday. In a statement Mr Freeman said: Dylan was a beautiful, bright, inquisitive and artistic child who loved to travel, visit art galleries and swim. We travelled extensively over the years together spending such memorable time in places including Brazil, France and Spain. I cant begin to comprehend his loss. His representative described Mr Freeman as a loving and caring father and even though divorced for a number of years he cherished all the quality time spent with his son, and said he has been left beyond devastated. According to his official website, Mr Freemans work includes campaigns with Bollywood star Deepika Padukone and Hollywood actor Bradley Cooper. Olga Freeman appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates Court on Monday / Facebook His father Robert photographed the first five album covers for The Beatles. His website says: At just 16 years old Dean followed in his footsteps leaving school to pursue his passion for storytelling through whatever means possible. Mrs Freeman was arrested after walking into a police station in the early hours of Sunday to speak to officers. Dylan was later found dead at their home. No one else is being sought in connection with Dylans death. Reverend Nick Jones, 61, the rector of Acton, who lives in Cumberland Park, said on Sunday that news of the boys death was shattering. He said: Im still shaking a bit, its hugely upsetting. Another neighbour said he was in shock. Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj S. Bommai on Monday (August 17) said that the Karnataka government is contemplating banning Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and Popular Front of India (PFI) for their alleged role in the riots which erupted in Bengaluru on August 11. Bommai added that the state authorities are collecting all information related to the involvement of SDPI and PFI in violence and will present a report before Chief Minister BS Yediurappa after getting all the evidence. He noted that after that the Karnataka cabinet will recommend to the Central government that the organisation be banned. Three persons were killed after police opened fire to quell a mob that went on a rampage in DJ 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 violence is stated to have been incited by SDPI and its local leader has also been arrested for his involvement in the violence. PFI was also accused of funding the Delhi riots and in Bengaluru, violence has been triggered within six months of the riots in the national capital. Notably, over a thousand people gathered outside the police station, shouting religious slogans and vowing to give sacrifice. The imposition of Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in areas under DJ Halli and KG Halli police station limits has been extended till 6 am on 18th August. Section 144 does not allow the gathering of four or more people at a place. In a related development, Bengaluru Police said on Sunday (August 16) that 35 more accused were arrested in connection with Bengaluru violence that broke out on August 11. According to police, a total of 340 people have been arrested in connection with this case. Sean Hannity: China Will Only Respond to Strength Sean Hannity fears for the future of America and the world. And hes written his first book in ten years as a warning: Live Free Or Die: America (and the World) on the Brink. In this episode, we sit down together to discuss. This is American Thought Leaders , and Im Jan Jekielek. Jan Jekielek: Sean Hannity, such a pleasure to have you on American Thought Leaders. Sean Hannity: Jan, thank you and I was telling you off-air I read the Epoch Times daily. I still like hard papers. I delivered the Long Island Press News Day and the New York Daily News when I was growing up, at different times. And I still like to grab that paper in my hand, but I get more printed versions of stories than ever before. But, you guys have done an amazing job and really I think theres such a void in media, especially newspapers. They slant so solidly one way that theres very few papers that I can really feel that I can rely on, and the Epoch Times is one. Mr. Jekielek: Really appreciate those kind words and we appreciate you also citing the paper on the show and so forth. Mr. Hannity: Thank you. Well, you deserve it. And I know youre working hard. Its amazing, isnt it that the media, in my view, has gotten so corrupt, so abusively biased, so one-sided? Ill give you just a few quick examples, if you dont mind, but how do they claim that they care about obstruction of justice, but they didnt care about Hillarys subpoenaed emails and didnt care about BleachBit and didnt care about hammers? And anybody that watches this American Thought Leaders show or reads The Epoch Times would know that if it was a conservative, theyd be in big trouble. Try deleting subpoenaed emails. Thats not going to work out or end well for you. They care about Russia collusion, but they ignored Hillary Clintons bought and paid for Russian dossier, that was then used, unverified, to spy on a presidential candidate and his transition team and deep into the presidency. They pushed the Russian conspiracy theory that we now know the FBI kneweven before the first FISA application in August of 2016was unverified. They knew for sure that it was debunked in January of 2017, when the sub-source of Christopher Steele that he used was saying, Oh, no, none of this is real. That was all bar talk. But they still drag the country through this. They care about quid pro quos with Ukraine, but they didnt care about Joe Biden on tape saying, youre not getting a billion US taxpayer dollars unless you fire this particular prosecutor thats investigating my son who has zero experience. [Hunter Biden] went on Good Morning America, greatest interview of a 49-year-old man ever. Do you have any experience in oil? No. Gas? Nope. Energy? No. Ukraine? No, none. Any background that would entitle you to make millions of dollars to sit on a board? No, not really. Why do you think you got the job? I dont know. Maybe because your father, the Vice President, was in charge of Ukraine policy? Then he goes, Yeah, probably. Thats probably it. Yet they made a big deal about a call with [Ukrainian President] Zelensky and President Trump. After all of that that they put the country through, there was only one fact witness. Every other witness [was a] hearsay or opinion witness. And what did the fact witness say? Well, I talked to the President. Did he say he wanted anything from Ukraine? He said, No, no quid pro quo. I just dont want them to be corrupt.' None whatsoever. And when you just stand back and you take these examples in, it is breathtaking hypocrisy. And then the media that makes such a big deal and they say these things are importantRussia collusion is important, obstruction of justice is important, cant have Russian interference [is] important, cant have quid pro quosthey just ignore their side. So theyre really propagandists, statists, no better than the former Soviet Unions Pravda. They lie. They smear. They slander. They libel. They besmirch. Theyre involved in daily character assassination. They have a cultish psychosis and hatred towards all things Donald Trump, and those are the times were living in. And now we got an election in 82 days, and we have the most radical ticket in the history of this country that is now openly advancing the very policies that are the antithesis of those policies that made this country great. And thats what I recognized a year ago. I said, this is going to be a tipping point election. Well lose the country. If their stated policies are implemented, the United States, literally everything gets turned on its head. And as I have it, the fourth chapter of the book [is] Socialism: A History of Failure. Its never worked. No matter what name its given, no matter what country its been tried in, it does not work. It will not work here. The promises that everything is going to be free will never be fulfilled. It will lead to poverty, it will lead to misery, and it will lead to a loss of freedoms. That is the end result every time. Were going to either live free and stand by the principles of limited government, greater freedom, that our rights come from God, not from government, and freedom and risk and reward and capitalism, or well go down the hellhole that is socialism, because thats whats at stake in just 82 days. Mr. Jekielek: Its a remarkable book that you have, Live Free Or Die, and actually, you mentioned its not just America on the brink, in your view, but its also the world. And I want to ask you about that. But before I do that, you have this amazing stat in here in the book. You said 43% of Americans overall say socialism would be a good thing. But the thing that caught me was 51% say its a bad thing. So that means 49% wont say its a bad thing. Thats astounding. And how did we get here? Mr. Hannity: They have this appeal. Look Jan, I almost can understand it. Its on paper, well put all of our stuff in a big pot, and well give to each according to their need, from each according to their ability, right? Varying forms of socialism, communism, redistributionism, statism even. This is what theyre promising. Theyre promising that you will get pre-K through college education. Theyre promising loan forgiveness for schools. They are promising a guaranteed government job at a guaranteed wage with a guaranteed government vacation, guaranteed government healthy food. Theyre guaranteeing government health care, Medicare for All, or expanding Obamacarewhich is a disaster. And then youre going to have guaranteed retirement. Okay, thats a lot of guarantees. And theyre predicating it on this belief that were going to do it, and in 10 years, were going to abolish the lifeblood of the worlds economy: oil, gas, and coal. Okay. Now, thats the dumbest decision Ive ever heard. These are lofty ideas And I specifically put that chapter on socialism after the Democrats agenda and what theyre offering. I call it fantasy land. So they offer all these things. So maybe theres a psychological component. Ah, Ill never have to worry about anything ever again for the rest of my life. I will have government-ensured everything. No more stress, no more pressure. I actually think theres a healthy stress that makes you dig deep. The word education from the Latin means educare, to bring forth from within, where natural rights from God were endowed by not the thing, Jan, you know the thing, but God, the Creator of everything. [If] people dont get that reference, youre not following the news. To bring forth from within says a lot, means its already there. And that fits in with our model, rights dont come from government, they come from God. So every man, woman, and child I believe has God-given gifts. Now human beings have a propensity towards good and evil, separate argument. So if we believe that, and the government is going to guarantee all of these wonderful things. If you have no pressure, youre not going to dig deep and find what your gifts are. You wont have any need. Everythings taken care of anyway. Well basically make America a bunch of trust fund citizens. And Ive never met many trust fund kids that it worked out well for. I know people that have money that dont give their kids as much as they would like. And they say, Youve got to buy your house, youve got to buy your car, youve got to pay your rent. And then the kid is like, Well, why dont you do it? Because its your life and Im not going to take living away from you. So anyway, the government promises all this. I ask everybody, Hows governments track record been so far? Because I look at New York City, and I look at Chicago, and I look at Seattle and Portland, LA and San Francisco, how are they doing on the most fundamental role that government should have in terms of law and order, security and safety? Okay, if I was a teacher, Id give them an F. They are failing at a spectacular level. Next most important thing, how are they doing with the education of our kids? Well, the United States of America spends more per capita than any other country in the industrialized world. And we come in like 37th to 40th depending on if its proficiency in reading or math. There are actually, Jan, 13 public high schools in the city of Baltimore. Baltimore happens to be the third highest per capita spending in the world per student. 13. Its not a quiz. Its not a test question. I ask all of your viewers what percentage of those kids in those 13 public high schools do you believe are proficient in math? Well give you a few Jeopardy seconds. Dah dah dah dah dah. {Jeopardy sound effect} Okay. Now, the answer is: theres not one child. Not one. Not one child in 13 high schools. What do all these cities have in common? Theyve been run by liberal Democrats for decades, right? How did that Obamacare thing work out? Well, millions lost their doctors. Thats not what they promised. Millions lost their plans. And everybody on average across the country is paying about 200% more. Were not saving $2500 per family per year for better care. And theres almost 40% of the country that has only one Biden Obamacare exchange option. So those are their promises. Ill add a couple more things. Last time, Jan, that I checked Social Security and Medicare, they were going bankrupt. Do you remember that? I dont know whens the last time you checked, but were headed on a trajectory that were not going to have enough money to pay for it. By the way, they were supposed to put that money in a lockbox, as they told us. That money has been squandered. Its been spent. They raided it, they spent it. Where I grew up, we would call that stealing because they made a promise. So now they failed in every major promise theyve made, but were going to believe this new set of promises? And now were going to bank on them having a 100% track record because whats going to happen when were now dependent on energy again? Were now energy independent because of Donald Trumps policies for the first time in 75 years. Were the worlds largest producer of energy in over 75 years. How are we going to pull this off? It is 94 trillion for the Green New Deal. Its 52 trillion for Medicare for All or expansion of Obamacare. We cannot afford it. Let me give you the simple math. We only take in 4 to 4.5 trillion dollars a year. Over 10 years, were close to 50 million dollars. Wow. Okay, so that wouldnt even pay for Medicare for All. And thats with no defense spending. Zero. None of the other governmental programs are funded and you still come up, well, about two-thirds of the money short based on the estimates. Its a fantasy, its a lie, its false security, and it will end badly as socialism always ends badly. It starts out with the great promises. Well take the money from those evil, rich people, and well redistribute it. Thats not what has made America great. Americas goodness and greatness is the belief that were endowed by our Creator. We have talents from that Creator. We dig deep and find those talents. We create goods and services that people want, need, and desire. And guess what? While were serving our fellow man, were also paying our mortgage and buying a car, as those people that create the cars and build the home are servicing us. And so theres never been a system ever designed by man that is better. You show me one, Ill look at it. Ive not seen it. My friend Barry Farber, one of the great pioneers of talk radio would always say, Theres never been a country in the history of mankind, not perfect, but that has accumulated more power, abused it less than this one. And I add, Theres never been a country in the history of mankind, that has accumulated more power, abused it less, and used the power to advance the human condition than this country. I know its not popular now to talk about American goodness, American greatness, American exceptionalism. But its real, and that defines who we are as a people. We are a great, good people, and freedom and liberty and capitalism and risk and reward and innovation and invention has made us great. So, the Or Die part [of my title] is, were going to fall for the lie. [Kamala Harris] wont even give you your own private insurance option. I thought liberals were pro-choice. [Biden and Harris] both want to get rid of fracking. They both want to buy into this Green New Deal. Bidens pledging trillions. It is the biggest choice election, Jan, in our life. Its simple. Pretty much every issue, youre either going to believe in much, much higher taxes or lower taxes, more bureaucratic red tape or wiping it out like Donald Trump has been doing. Youre going to want activists on the court, theyll give you that. Or Donald Trump will give you constitutionalists, those that revere the Constitution. Its about open borders, amnesty, becoming the Sanctuary States of America versus. Secure borders doesnt mean were closing off from the world, but we get to vet people that come to this country, make sure that they dont have radical ties, make sure that theyre healthy before they enter our family. It comes down to energy independence. Thats key. I cant imagine going back to energy dependence. Thats a bad idea. Thats not good for national security either. So, better trade deals, better foreign policy. Its all on the line. That Or Die part is if somehow the media is able to convince to usand theyll be the largest donors to Biden and Kamalato reject what has been the greatest, most successful system of governance with the greatest wealth creation in the history of mankind. Thats us. Thats who we are. Are we going to stay the course or are we going to go backwards? Mr. Jekielek: So Sean, I want to get into the World part in your title because our viewers know that Im actually Canadian and most of them know Im also an American exceptionalist. Ive had my eye on China for about two decades. And when I saw the World on the Brink I was, of course, I was thinking of China, but what were you thinking? Mr. Hannity: Well, Chinas a big part of it, especially now what they did to the world. The most sinister part of all that they did here, to me, is they prevented people in Wuhan province from flying out of Wuhan province to any other part of China. They put their own travel ban in effect, and they prevented people from the rest of China to fly into Wuhan. But they let Wuhan province residents travel the globe, and you could come from anywhere, you could land in Wuhan province. That tells you everything you need to know about how selfish they were. The world would have united the worlds best scientists, researchers, medical professionals, we could have descended upon China to contain this thingthe invisible enemy the President calls itimmediately, had they just sought help. Everybody would have been all-hands-on-deck, and they allowed this to happen. In my view, I hold them accountable. And for the senators, [for] this most recent relief package to try and give them liability protection is insanity. They dont deserve it. And families should be compensated for what they allowed to have happen. They didnt create the virus, but they allowed the spread of the virus. They didnt tell the world the truth. Heres the broader picture, though. What I was thinking about [when I wrote] America and the world. My father fought in World War II. He grew up very poor. My mom grew up very poor. My four grandparents all came from Ireland, all of them very poor. My mom grew up in the South Bronx, was a prison guard, worked 16 hour shifts almost my whole life growing up. My dad worked as a waiter on the weekend, family court probation during the week. But when he was 18 or thereabouts, he signed up, he served four years in the Pacific in World War II, didnt particularly like it. But if you look at the last century alone. Lets just isolate the last century. Over 100 million human souls when you add it all up. Mao, the revolution, China, Russia, Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini, fascism, [Hideki] Tojo, Japan, the killing fields, Cambodia, over 100 million souls killed in these governmental systems. Its the United States of America, we beat back the forces of fascism. We beat back the forces of Nazism and Imperial Japan and communism and more recently, we lead the world in this fight against radical Islamism. And we paid blood, sweat, tears, financial burden. Thats all on us. We take it on, and we protect the world. So, so goes America, Jan, so goes the world. And we need a strong America. And we need a mighty military to deal with the real evil, the real danger that exists in the world. And to deny that reality or that fact is beyond naive. Its amazing because theres never been a president that has been a closer ally, friend to Israel. More recently, we saw the presidents actions, youre speaking of China, with Hong Kong. I think that what was inconceivable five years ago is now happening. You see this alliance that has emerged with Jordan and Egypt and Israel and the United States and the Saudis and the Emirates. This is all historic stuff. But the alignment really comes against Iranian hegemony in the region. China and Iran and Russia [are] the three real, clear, present dangers to the world, I believe, that weve got to keep our eye on the most. And for all these countries that would never get along to unite as they have in ways that I know that many other people dont know, its amazing progress for the good that I hope we build upon. If Iran ever gets a nuclear weapon, they will use it. Thats my prediction. That cant happen. Mr. Jekielek: Yeah. This normalization of the relations between Israel and the UAE, remarkable. And secondly, we also have the first biting sanctions against China, against these human rights abuses in Xinjiang and what Hong Kong is doing, essentially at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party. We havent seen anything like this before. Mr. Hannity: Its interesting because President Trump ran as somebody who doesnt want to get involved in foreign entanglements. First of all, energy independence from a geo-political, strategic vantage point, the Strait of Hormuz, as much as we dont like the Iranians, you got what? 40 miles, 44 miles that you got to sneak through those narrow straits and a third of the worlds oil supply passes through there. And you see what the Iranians from time to time, they do a little saber-rattling. We dont have to worry about the Strait of Hormuz anymore, because were energy independent. Now, doesnt mean were going to let them get away with it if they are stopping the free flow of oil at market prices, but the fact that we dont have to get involved gives us the ability and flexibility that we otherwise didnt have. As far as China goes, I think China will only respond to strength. I think they have contempt for American weakness. And to be honest, I dont think Joe Biden is Physically, I see him. He looks frail. He looks weak to me. He obviously doesnt seem, you know, one flub after another, he kind of seems out of it. I think this is a real question that the country better ask itself. Who is Kamala Harris? Ive been exposing [her], now that we know shes the VP. I just dont think that Joe has the strength, the stamina, the mental alertness and acuity to take on the hardest job in the world at a time where it matters, especially on the world stage. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. American Thought Leaders is an Epoch Times show available on YouTube Facebook , and The Epoch Times website . It airs on Verizon Fios TV and Frontier Fios on Channel 158. Infectious diseases expert Professor Paddy Mallon has called for swift and reactive measures for people breaking Covid-19 guidelines on social distancing. There also needs to be a re-focus on the goals that need to be achieved to suppress the virus, he said. Speaking on RTE radios Morning Ireland Prof. Mallon said it important to improve the level of engagement over a long period of time to maintain a clear focus. In Phase 1 the focus had been to crush the curve, so it was important that the next phase have clear goals and how to achieve them. That would help the public refocus, he said. A clear message needed to be at the core of any campaign. He also called for penalties which would have to be swift, reactive and responsive. Prof Mallon said that images from Berlin Bar in Dublin at the weekend had been very disappointing to the general public and to health care workers. The reaction had been summed up well by hospitality sector representatives who said that they had been let down. The sector was trying to start up, the majority were trying very hard to ensure safe environments for staff and customers, he said. What had happened in the Berlin Bar did not reflect the sector, which, by and large behaves responsibly, he said. In recent weeks the general response from Irish society to Covid measures had been better with more people wearing masks, added Prof. Mallon Such high compliance levels had been reassuring. Businesses and industries were doing their best to create safe environments for their staff, but the issue remained that a small number were not adherent and that was causing a problem, he said. "In general we just need an element of refocus, we need to maintain the level of engagement over a long period of time to make clear the focus." Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 17, 2020) - Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) ("Transition", "XTM") reports that it has initiated field work on the Wollaston Copper project in north central Saskatchewan. The project is located approximately 60 kilometres southwest along strike from the Janice Lake project, a sedimentary-hosted copper project being aggressively explored by Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTEC) and Forum Energy Metals (Forum). Forum optioned the Janice Lake property from Transition and has further optioned a portion of its potential interest to RTEC (see Transition news release dated May 9, 2019). RTEC is operating the Janice Lake project and currently is carrying out a program of extensive geological mapping, geophysics and drilling as well as the construction of a 50 person camp (see Forum news release dated June 23, 2020). The planned work by Transition on the Wollaston Copper Project will consist of a property scale geochemical sampling combined with detailed geological mapping and sampling of the outcropping areas considered prospective for sedimentary-hosted base metal mineralization. This work is focused on identifying similar mineralizing environments to that occurring along strike at Janice Lake. Transition CEO and President Scott McLean, P.Geo. stated, "With the aggressive work being carried out by RTEC and Forum, the area is an emerging new sedimentary-hosted copper district. Our team has identified that the mineralizing processes associated with the deposits at Janice Lake justified a comprehensive review of the surrounding region to identify additional mineralizing environments. Our review led us to take second look at a cluster of copper occurrences southwest of Janice Lake explored by Noranda back in the 1990's. We think that the copper occurrences in the Wollaston Copper project area may have a similar genesis to those at Janice Lake and are looking forward to testing this concept." Story continues About the Wollaston Copper Project Transition holds a 100% interest in approximately 150 square kilometres of mining claims covering about 50 kilometres of potential strike extent located along trend southwest of the Janice Lake Property (see Transition news release dated May 9, 2019 and refer to Figure 1). The claims were staked to cover historical sediment-hosted copper mineralization identified in the Fannon and Porcupine target areas, as well as lead-zinc mineralization identified at the Fable Lake. Drilling by Noranda in 1994 in the Fannon target area returned grades and thicknesses of copper mineralization similar to that being intersected by RTEC at Janice including 0.48% Cu over 8.6 metres. Government of Saskatchewan Mineral Deposit Index Details: Mineral Property 0949B. Qualified Person The technical elements of this press release have been reviewed and approved by Mr. Thomas Hart, P.Geo. (PGO), a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101. Historical drill results reported herein have not been verified by Transition as seasonal weather conditions prevented a qualified person from accessing any part of the property or obtaining beneficial information from it, and hence should not be relied upon. About Transition Metals Corp Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) is a Canadian-based, multi-commodity project generator that specializes in converting new exploration ideas into Canadian discoveries. The award-winning team of geoscientists has extensive exploration experience in established, emerging and historic mining camps and actively develops and tests new ideas for discovering mineralization in places that others have not looked, which often allows the company to acquire properties inexpensively. The team is rigorous in its fieldwork and combines traditional techniques with newer ones to help unearth compelling prospects and drill targets. Transition uses the project generator business model to acquire and advance multiple exploration projects simultaneously, thereby maximizing shareholder exposure to discovery and capital gain. Joint venture partners earn an interest in the projects by funding a portion of higher-risk drilling and exploration, allowing Transition to conserve capital and minimize shareholder's equity dilution. The Company has an expanding portfolio that currently includes more than 25 gold, copper, nickel and platinum projects across Canada. Fig 1: Location of Wollaston Copper and Janice Lake Projects To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2766/61924_2fed91fdc448b9b8_002full.jpg Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this news release constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "plans", "proposes", "estimates", "intends", "expects", "believes", "may", "will" and include without limitation, statements regarding estimated capital and operating costs, expected production timeline, benefits of updated development plans, foreign exchange assumptions and regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, competition, risks inherent in the mining industry, and regulatory risks. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Further information is available at www.transitionmetalscorp.com or by contacting: Scott McLean President and CEO Transition Metals Corp. Tel: (705) 669-1777 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/61924 Hertz does not have the biggest fleet of rental cars in America, but some would argue that if there can be such a thing as an iconic car rental company, Hertz might be it. The black and yellow colors have long been a familiar sight to countless travelers renting cars at airports. But now, the century-old company is in bankruptcy court seeking protection from creditors, devastated by drops in demand and fluctuations in the used-car market resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. When the crisis hit, travel industry demand dried up, particularly among the business travelers who are essential to Hertz's rental business. But the company was also slapped by drops in demand for used cars Hertz pulls in money from the sale of the rental vehicles it retires every few years. These funds are key to paying back the creditors who own the debt Hertz uses to finance its fleet. The double blow proved too much for Hertz, and it filed for bankruptcy protection on May 22, when it could not make a $400 million payment to lenders. Rivals Avis and Enterprise also suffered declining demand, but both had better financial cushions. Hertz had spent the years prior to the pandemic investing in upgrading its business. After the company filed for Chapter 11, shares of Hertz plummeted, reaching a low of 40 cents on May 26. But then an odd thing happened. The stock rallied to more than $6 on June 8, after retail investors poured in, expecting it to climb further. In a highly unusual move, Hertz attempted to capitalize on the spike and announced it planned to offer $500 million in stock shares Hertz itself admitted could end up worthless. When a company is in bankruptcy, bondholders are the first in line to get paid. Shareholders are last and have to pick from whatever might be left over. The deal was later canceled after the SEC criticized the offering. Hertz is in the process of selling off more than 180,000 of its roughly 500,000-car fleet to pay $650 million to creditors by the end of 2020. Investors say things look less dire for Hertz than they did in May, but challenges remain. There continue to be questions about when business travel will pick up again. If Hertz survives, it may look like a different company and will have to contend with longer-term threats, including ride-sharing and other new competition. One of the most challenging aspects of running a business is getting the word out about your product or service. You may be sitting on something that is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if people dont know about it, they cant buy it. Of course, thanks to the Internet and social media, there are more ways to market your business. However, if youre looking for something tried and true that guarantees exposure on the biggest news and media sites, you need to take a look at Linking News, the press release service that can get your info noticed by the media outlets that matter. 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A press release is still an official statement created by a business or organization and issued to news outlets for the purpose of informing the public about something noteworthy, whether thats an upcoming event, an innovative new product, or a new business undertaking. What has changed is how entrepreneurs and businesses make use of this tool. Before the rise of digital media, if your company didnt have any contacts or connections in journalism, your only option was to submit a press release to as many news outlets as possible and hope that one of them would agree to run it. Today, press release distribution services like Linking News do all the legwork for you and provide guaranteed access. All you have to do is make sure your product and pitch are on point. Today, the press release is especially useful for startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses that are just starting out and trying to build a brand. Its basically the modern equivalent of making cold calls or selling your product or service door to door, only instead of telling one person at a time, youre telling an audience of thousands and sometimes even millions of people. Linking News' white label press release service Image credit: Linking News When you publish a press release with Linking News, you get access to a network of more than 300,000 publications, 900,000 journalists, and 90-million social media influencers. Exactly which media outlets your press release gets published on depends on which package you subscribe to. However, all packages guarantee publication on over 100 sites, including many top tier outlets, within 24 to 48 hours. And all clients receive a full publication report with live links within one-to-three days. Best of all, unlike other press release distribution services, with Linking News all publications are strictly white label. That means your press release will not be published on linkingnews.com, and their brand will not be mentioned in your press release and report. All your press releases will appear under your brand, so your clients, customers, and competitors will never know you used a third-party distribution service. So if youre looking for an easy, cost-effective way to build your brand, take a look at Linking News White Label Press Release Distribution. It could be just what you need to take your business to the next level. Related: A Press Release Can Still be One of the Most Effective Marketing ToolsIf You Have the Right Contacts Free Webinar | August 19: How to Make Low Cost PR & Promotion Work for You Kylie Jenner's Removal from Forbes' Billionaires List Underscores the Basic Rules of PR Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved City staff will have discussions with businesses in the Centre Street area about plans for next year when it comes to closing a section of the street to accommodate outdoor patios. I know the operators on Centre Street have asked about next year, so after Labour Day weve indicated wed get together with them and start looking at potential plans to allow them to operate similar (to how theyre operating now), said Serge Felicetti, the citys director of business development. The roadway, between Victoria and Ellen avenues, was closed to vehicular traffic in late June to allow restaurants an opportunity to create outdoor patios as indoor dining had been prohibited since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While restaurants lauded the plan, the initiative concerned some business owners who said the all-day closure was hurting their bottom line. At a special Niagara Falls city council meeting July 20, council approved a recommendation from staff that the section be closed 4 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily. The initial plan was for the street closure to end when Niagara entered Stage 3 of the provinces reopening strategy, and restaurants were able to welcome diners inside. Niagara entered Stage 3 July 24. The amended motion allowed the temporary closure to continue until Sept. 27. At councils July 14 meeting, chief administrative officer Ken Todd said opening and closing that section of Centre Street to traffic each day could cost the municipality around $10,000 a week, citing a significant cost and time commitment, as well as logistical issues. Since that time, staff said patio operators have agreed to reduce the daily road closures to weekends (Thursday to Sunday) only after Sept. 8. Staff said they have also renegotiated the terms of an agreement with the traffic-control contractor, to reduce the daily fees and scope of the work. Staff said the renegotiated terms will limit the contractors involvement to only the daily installation of the traffic-control equipment and pedestrian-safety barricades. City staff are now responsible for the daily removal of the traffic control and reinstatement of Centre Street. By making this change, staff said the anticipated weekly savings is approximately $5,950, and $55,000 for the remainder of the summer season. During a meeting last week, Coun. Victor Pietrangelo said ideally in the future, he would love to see one lane of traffic going northbound on Clifton Hill, so that theres still vehicles that can flow freely through Centre Street, and then widen the sidewalks so that the businesses there can have patios. I think, ideally, that would be the best-case scenario for all the businesses in the area not just for one group or another group, he said. I guess Ill leave it with staff for now and hope that regular updates come back to us. Felicetti said included in future discussions with businesses in the area will be traffic, municipal-works and fire staff. Well look at those options and then, of course, report back to council, he said. Coun. Wayne Thomson said council should be careful what we do there. We, years ago, made Centre Street one way and we had so much negative reaction from the businesses that after three weeks we turned it back to two way, he said. I think we have to be completely involved in the discussion with the people there before we make any suggested actions. Atmanirbharta, or self-reliance, has been a holy grail for the Indian economy. In its present avatar, the idea hovers around increasing competitiveness and growth of the manufacturing sector, and rightly so. The manufacturing sector in India has been bypassed by the tentacles of economic growth over past three decades, with services sector heralded as engine of growth with a high share in output and employment. This might just be the right time for Indias manufacturing sector to exhibit a coming of age, with thrust on competitiveness. Competitiveness arises from productivity ... Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard. From left, Bruce Bechdel (played by Choi Jae-woong), Adult Alison (Bang Jin-ui) and Small Alison (Yoo Si-hyun) in a scene from the musical "Fun Home" / Courtesy of Dal Company By Kwon Mee-yoo "Fun Home," based on Alison Bechdel's namesake memoir, is the first Broadway musical featuring a lesbian as its main character. It arrived in Seoul last month, currently on stage at Dongguk University Lee Hae-rang Arts Theater. The original author Bechdel is known for the Bechdel test, which measures the representation of women in fiction such as films and books. "Fun Home" is the lesbian cartoonist's autobiographical graphic novel, retracing her life growing up in a funeral home run by her family, and discovering her sexual identity as well as that of her closeted gay father. The musical rendition is composed by Jeanine Tesori and written by Lisa Kron, who became the first all-female writing team to win the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2015. Korea's musical theater industry relies heavily on star power, especially that of male actors, and few expected this lesbian musical to arrive here despite its engaging score and profound story with multiple Tony Awards under its belt. Korean producer Park Yong-ho said he hopes "Fun Home" can promote diversity of musical theater in Korea. "This is based on a real story when sexual minorities such as gays and lesbians were socially excluded. The musical is set is the U.S., but it could also happen in Korea too," Park said. "Family is an unreasonable, irrational group of people and we cannot choose our family. This musical explores 'me' in this illogical group." Joanne (played by Lee Kyung-mi), left, and Medium Alison (Yoo Ju-hye) in a scene from the musical "Fun Home" / Courtesy of Dal Company One of the notable aspects of the show is that three actresses play Alison in different stages of her life. The show's non-linear vignettes are narrated by Adult Alison, who is 43 the same age as her father when he committed suicide. Alison, working on a memoir about her father, dives into her memories, from the moment when her father Bruce played airplane with the nine-year-old Alison to their last drive together. Medium Alison plays the crucial moment of her recognizing her identity by reading the book "Word Is Out" after entering college and getting to know of her father's secrets. Small Alison gives a glimpse of the young lesbian girl who mirrors her closeted gay father while clashing with him at the same time. In the Korean production, Bang Jin-ui and Choi Yu-ha play Adult Alison, while Yoo Ju-hye and Lee Ji-soo alternate the role of Medium Alison. Small Alison, who sings one of the show's most poignant song "Ring of Keys," is played by Yoo Si-hyun of "Annie" and Seol Ga-eun of "Matilda." Small Alison (played by Seol Ga-eun), left, and Bruce (Sung Doo-sup) in a scene from the musical "Fun Home" / Courtesy of Dal Company Bexar County Sheriff's Office A 40-year-old man is accused of raping a 12-year-old girl at knifepoint and is facing an aggravated sexual assault charge in connection with the incident, according to an arrest affidavit. Donald Hamilton was arrested Sunday after the girl told police that he had tricked her into getting into his SUV and sexually assaulted her, the affidavit said. According to information published by the Serbian MoD (Ministry of Defense) on August 13, 2020, the Milosh 4x4 MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) armored vehicle developed and manufactured by the state company Yugoimport is now in service with the Serbian army. Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link New Yugoimport Milosh 4x4 MRAP armored vehicle in live demonstration. (Picture source Serbian MoD) The Milosh 4x4 was unveiled for the first time to the public at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, in February 2017. Serbian armed forces have conducted a live demonstration that was attended by the Serbian Minister of Defense, Aleksandar Vulin using the new Milosh 4x4 armored vehicle. During military exercise, soldiers of the Serbian Armed Forces were trained with the new vehicle. In addition to learning about safety, the Serbian soldiers were required to operate and learn the performance of the vehicle which has successfully carried out all field trial tests. The Milosh is a 4x4 multi-purpose combat vehicle in the category of MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected) which can be configured as a personnel carrier, command post, reconnaissance vehicle, or ambulance. It can be used to perform different types of missions as counter-terrorism operations, protection of convoys, border control, or support for special operations units. The design of the Milosh 4x4 multi-purpose armored is based on a monocoque hull and a new type of 4x4 chassis, fully designed, developed, and manufactured in Serbia by Yugoimport. The vehicle is divided in three main parts, with the engine at the front, the crew in the middle including driver and commander, and the troop's compartment at the rear. There are 4 seats at the front and four at the rear. The hull of the Milosh MRAP provides ballistic protection against firing of small arms up to 7.6239mm API and mine protection of explosion of 6 kg TNT under the wheels. The roof of the vehicle is fitted with a remotely operated weapon station that can be armed with a 12.7mm machine gun, automatic grenade launchers, long-range anti-tank guided missile systems, air-defense rocket systems. This turret is also developed by the Serbian company Yugoimport. The Milosh 4x4 armored is powered by a CUMMINS ISB 300 diesel engine developing 300 hp at 2,500 rpm coupled to an Allison 3500SP automatic transmission with 6 forwards and 1 reverse gear. It can run at a maximum road speed of 110 km/h. The Milosh is a new generation of combat vehicle in the category of MRAP Mine Resistant Ambush Protected manufactured by the Serbian State Company Yugoimport. (Picture source Serbian Mod) Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register A new leading US-based COVID-19 vaccine is set to begin its 2nd phase of testing in South Africa. The NVXCoV2373, made by Novavax biotechnology company, has seen improving the immune system and stimulating antibodies inside the patient. One of the major benefactors of the drug is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Here's what it can do. New US-leading COVID-19 vaccine found! NVXCoV2373, made by Novavax, Inc., is the newest leading US COVID-19 vaccine in the country. The drug has successfully passed its first phase testing and is now set to begin its 2nd phase clinical trial, which will happen in South Africa. Dr. Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and the one leading the trial, said via its official press release that the "NVXCoV2373 a stable, prefusion protein made using Novavax' proprietary nanoparticle technology and includes Novavax' proprietary MatrixMTM adjuvant." These drugs said to present a potent and well-tolerated effect in the human body. By stimulating the entry of antigen-presenting cells into the injection site and enhancing antigen presentation in local lymph nodes, the chemical boosts the immune response needed to counter the virus's effect. Not only that, but the vaccine also helps to increase the number of antibodies that block the binding of spike protein to receptors targeted by the virus. So far, there's no comparison whether the drug is comparable with the first world vaccine of Russia called Sputnik V. However, it may have reached the same objective. Why South Africa? Phase 2 of the trial will happen in South Africa, as this country experiences higher cases of COVID-19 positive. Over 2,600 healthy adults in South Africa will be evaluated to know the effects of the drug. The company also mentioned that about 1,500 adults in America and Australia will soon be undergoing the trial. Bill Gates funded the Novavax drug Reuters reported that Bill Gates is one of the major benefactors of the NVXCoV2373 drug. Under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the clinical trial was provided with a $15 million grant. Not only that, but the US government also gave the agency a $1.6 billion to cover all the expenses in testing and manufacturing of the potential vaccine. It targets to create 100 million doses by January 2021. China also releases its own vaccine Not only America nor Russia were leading to introduce its COVID-19 vaccine, but China also has something to present. As Tech Times reported, China's vaccine specialist CanSino Biologics Inc. got the patent approval from Beijing for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate Ad5-nCOV. This is the very first COVID-19 vaccine granted by the government of China, according to the report. This article is owned by Tech Times Written by Jamie Pancho 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Source: Xinhua| 2020-08-17 20:06:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close YINCHUAN, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Qatar's NAAAS Group has signed an agreement with China's Ningxia University and a Chinese company to introduce into the Middle East country digital water-saving irrigation technology and equipment developed by the university. Ningxia University said on Friday that the project worth 1.26 billion U.S. dollars is an important part of the memorandum of cooperation previously signed by China-Arab States Technology Transfer Center and Qatar Free Zones Authority, which covers projects ranging from food production and water-saving agriculture to afforestation and ecological protection. Nasser Hassan Al Jaber, chairman of NAAAS Group, said that the digital water-saving irrigation system is expected to achieve maximum use of water resources and promote quality agriculture in Qatar. The system was developed by a team of experts from the College of Resources and Environmental Science of Ningxia University in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It includes technologies and equipment involving wind-solar-powered water extraction, underground seeping pipes and a control software system operated on smartphones. "The system can remedy the defect of blind irrigation from the whole pipe, and save water in the uncultivated area," said Sun Zhaojun, dean of the college. Use of surface drip-irrigation is common in Arab countries, but long-time exposure to the weather in dry areas always makes it easy for pipes to age, Sun said. According to the university, the digital water-saving irrigation system has been used in Oman and Egypt, where it was proved to save over 22 percent of water and 26.6 percent of energy while irrigating industrial crops. So far, the system has been applied over a total area of 575,733 hectares in northwest China and Arab countries, creating an increase in output value worth 1.84 billion yuan (264.9 million U.S. dollars) and a profit of 378 million yuan. The university has trained 2,360 technicians from 23 countries and regions on the technology. Enditem Bangladesh Foreign Minister A.K. Abdul Momen on Sunday sought assistance from diplomats of several countries, including India, to trace and bring back the fugitive killers of Bangladesh's founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on his 45th death anniversary. While speaking at a virtual discussion with foreign diplomats, Momen urged countries to help Dhaka identify the locations of the killers. He said, "We request all friendly countries to help us to get the culprits and fugitive killers back. We have already detected two out of five fugitive killers of 'Bangabandhu' (said to be living abroad), but we are yet to know whereabouts of the other three." Bangladesh Law Minister Anisul Huq and State Minister for Foreign Affairs M. Shahriar Alam also spoke at the discussion organised by the Foreign Ministry here, attended by 83 ambassadors and High Commissioners. The shooting figures dont include instances in which no people or property are hit by bullets. The number of shots fired calls is at its highest in the past six years both for the month of July and from January to July 2020. Shootings rose sharply from May to June, from five people injured by gunfire to 15. In response to the increase, Kanger added eight patrol officers to the gang unit in the beginning of July. Those officers, who have gone through gang liaison training, are added as needed a few times per year to help with investigations, executing search warrants and other police work. Police continued to target illegal guns or people who are not allowed to carry weapons. In the first week of August, officers recovered 14 guns, and in the past week, officers took an additional 10 guns off the street. At the weekly meeting of Omaha 360, a coalition of organizations and nonprofits to prevent violence and provide services to the community, gang unit Lt. Keith Williamson described a recent gun arrest near 30th Street and Ames Avenue. LONDON, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Leidos (NYSE: LDOS), a FORTUNE 500 science and technology leader, has appointed Al Potter as Managing Director of the National Security and Defence Business for Leidos UK. In this role, he will be responsible for engaging the defence, intelligence and national security markets. Potter has joined from Boeing Defence UK where he served as a Board Member alongside his day-to-day role as Managing Director of Government Service Business. Prior to this, Potter spent four years at Lockheed Martin Global as Business Development Director for UK and Europe, where he was responsible for identifying and capturing new business across the mission systems and training portfolio. Al is a recognised diversity champion - having built very diverse teams and championing leadership development. He has also acted as a mentor for many employees and often advises veterans leaving the services. In addition, Al is also a Trustee and Director of the Midlands Educational Trust, an Education Academy that runs four primary schools in the Malvern and Worcester area. Potter began his career with the Royal Air Force, eventually earning the rank of Squadron Leader after 23 years of service. During his time, he flew Search and Rescue helicopters, completing over 400 rescues and awarded an Air Force Cross for his service. A qualified helicopter pilot instructor, he later ran the UK Search and Rescue training academy on return from an overseas deployment with U.S. Forces on Operation Enduring Freedom. Chief Executive of Leidos UK & Europe, Simon Fovargue, said: "We see enormous opportunity to contribute towards the UK Government's security and defence agenda leveraging the wider company and growing organic skills and capability. Bringing someone of Al's calibre and expertise to lead on these efforts is a great coup for us and I am confident that he will make a meaningful impact on this priority market for us." Alan Potter said: "I am thrilled to be joining the Leidos team at such an exciting period of growth for the business, and particularly in the UK as we look to expand our services in national security and defence. I have known Simon for a number of years, he is a top-class leader and I look forward to working with him and the rest of the team at Leidos." About Leidos Leidos is a Fortune 500 information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 37,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com. Statements in this announcement, other than historical data and information, constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements include contract valuation assuming the exercise of all options. A number of factors could cause our actual results, performance, achievements, or industry results to be very different from the results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of these factors include, but are not limited to, the risk factors set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended January 3, 2020, and other such filings that Leidos makes with the SEC from time to time. Due to such uncertainties and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Media Contacts: US: Melissa Duenas Melissa.L.Duenas@leidos.com UK: Robert McNeill Robert.McNeill@leidos.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/4662/leidos_logo_4817_21071_.jpg Related Links http://www.leidos.com SOURCE Leidos Premier Doug Ford is failing our students, educators, and communities with his dangerous, incomplete, and underfunded plan for reopening schools in September. When our kids are not safe, no one is safe. Not teachers. Not families. No one. The Ford government needs to stop its austerity agenda or our children and families may pay the price. Our teachers, parents, and public health officials all recognize this. Why cant Ford? Every day, as president of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto (ETT), I am hearing the concerns and anxiety of our 11,000 teachers. Theyre scared. Theyre scared for the children in their care. Theyre scared for their families and for their own well-being. Fords plan does not provide adequate funding for the basic essentials to address COVID-19. Our schools need personal protective equipment (PPE) for all staff and students, hand washing facilities in every classroom, regular deep cleaning and, most importantly, more teachers for smaller class sizes to maintain physical distancing. Our teachers are right to be worried, as many have crowded classrooms of 25, 30, or more students where physical distancing is impossible, and where safety is further compromised by aging buildings with poor ventilation and windows that do not open. Distancing concerns are further magnified in our youngest grades where play-based learning is essential to the curriculum and where student-teacher interaction makes contact inevitable. Returning to the classroom with 26 kindergarten students is extremely concerning, said Amanda Ricketts, a teacher at Fraser Mustard Early Learning Academy. Three-and four-year-olds do not know how to physically distance. How do I comfort the child who is crying and screaming? How do I dress the child who does not know how to dress themselves? I want to be back in the classroom with my students, but it must be done safely. Parents everywhere share the same fears as educators about safety and crowded classrooms come September, which is why theyve been crying out to this government for better funding for our schools. Parents are worried. Theyve seen the Ford strategy cross your fingers and hope for the best playing out in Israel, Australia, and the United States, and theyve seen that it just doesnt work. This government is really sacrificing our youngest learners in order to prioritize an economic reopening rather than their health and well-being, said Jessica Lyons of the Ontario Parent Action Network, a coalition of parents calling on the Ford government to do more to ensure a safe September. Finally, as much as Ford claims his plan comes endorsed by public health officials, the support just isnt there. Last week, in response to official recommendations from Toronto Public Health (TPH), Toronto District School Board (TDSB) trustees voted to call on the provincial government to provide the necessary funding for smaller class sizes. In their report, TPH recommended to the TDSB that the number of students in the classroom should be smaller than usual class size to maintain physical distancing and to minimize the spread to others should anyone in the class contract COVID-19. Even Sick Kids, which Ford touts as the basis of his plan, says smaller class sizes should be a priority strategy, with their president adding that they cannot and will not support a plan where physical distancing is compromised by the number of children in the class. Is this really the best plan, bar none, across the country, as Ford boasts? Hardly. This is a cost cutting exercise at the absolute worst time for the government to be trying to save a buck and a double standard that gets a failing grade. In grocery stores, banks, and other businesses we must now wear masks, stay six feet apart, and adhere to occupancy limits. Why should our schools, where our children spend up to six hours a day in a crowded space, have fewer protections? As is often the case, the cost of inaction will be borne by marginalized minorities, including Black and Indigenous peoples who will have no choice but to send their children back into unprotected schools, while those with privilege will be able to afford to keep their kids home or pay for other means of schooling. These inequalities cannot be exacerbated. Our schools are at the heart of our communities. Doug Ford needs to provide proper funding to keep them safe. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Im Eun-byel (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network) Mon, August 17, 2020 07:01 520 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066e7a677 2 News travel,tourism Free The show must go on, and so must travel. While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyones life one way or another, one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest is the tourism industry. The tourism industry around the world has been crippled by the virus. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, 96 percent of the planets destinations have imposed travel restrictions, either completely or partially closing their borders. Though international travel is off the table for now, people driven by the so-called wanderlust gene soldier on, ready to get out of their comfort zones. The virus threat has changed the rules of traveling -- no more passports, transfers, stopovers or boarding passes. Instead, domestic tourism has been going strong over the past few months as we adjust to the new normal. In the 1970s and 80s, overseas travel was uncommon and Jeju Island was the dream destination for most newlyweds. Brides and grooms flocked to the island after the wedding, often boarding an airplane for the first time in their lives. Taxi drivers showed them around the subtropical island, taking photos of them. When overseas travel became easier in 1989, newlyweds took off to more exotic, faraway destinations such as the Maldives, Hawaii, and in recent years even places like the Seychelles and Mauritius. But the recent virus crisis is leading honeymooners to skip overseas trips for domestic ones. Flights to Spain were canceled, so I had no choice but to go on a honeymoon in Korea, Ji Yun-jeong, a 30-year-old office worker in Seoul, said. Having tied the knot in May, Ji was planning to honeymoon on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Jeju Island was the only place in Korea that appealed to me as a travel destination. The trip was one-tenth of what Mallorca would have cost us, so we were able to save a lot. But still, it did not feel much like a honeymoon for me. In March and April, honeymooners took short trips to Jeju Island while planning real honeymoons later in the year. As the virus situation continues, however, more couples are making their Jeju Island trips the real deal. Luxury hotel operators on Jeju Island -- such as The Shilla Jeju, Lotte Hotel Jeju and Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort -- are targeting honeymooners with upscale package deals designed for guests who are willing to spend more than average tourists. They come complete with suites, food, beverages, and pick-up and drop-off services. Individual accommodation options with a private pool area may also appeal to couples looking for a more private experience while on the island. Read also: Themed virtual tours to celebrate Indonesias 75th Independence Day Camping is the new black The virus crisis is pushing people to go out in nature. For those who are uncomfortable with the idea of sharing bedding and furnishings at a time like this, camping is becoming a popular option. After all, this outdoor activity tends to involve keeping ones distance from others. Campgrounds near the Seoul metropolitan area are fully booked nearly every weekend -- packed with families and friends looking for some quality time together. Kim Su-hyeon, 33, an office worker in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province, has fallen in love with camping: He has gone camping every week for the past three months. Kim originally had plans to go to Vietnam this year, but all his plans were ruined due to the virus. Instead, he used the trip fare to buy camping gear. Theres not much contact with other campers at campsites. But still, the common shower area is kind of worrisome for me, he said. Though camping has been in the spotlight as a coronavirus-free activity, six campers were confirmed to have the virus in late July after a three-day trip to Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. Some campsites check the body temperature of campers, but most do not. There should be policies about this. Campers should check their conditions and act responsibly, too, Kim said. Though Kim hopped on the camping wave after the virus outbreak, he plans to keep camping after the virus is contained. I began with auto camping, but would like to go backpacking to locations with low accessibility such as small islands. After that, perhaps I could go to Switzerland or Japan with my gear someday in the future, he said. A sanitized staycation Going to a hotel for an upscale staycation has been a hot trend in Korea in recent years, especially in the summer months. This summer, hindered by the virus and the unusually long monsoon season, more people are planning indoor vacations without the stress of long-distance travel. Hotels are fully disinfected, and guests can avoid contact with others after checking in, said Lee Yeon-seo, an office worker based in Seoul who enjoys a hotel staycation from time to time. Lee thinks even the food and beverage services are safer in hotels compared with other businesses. Hotel restaurants ensure some space between tables. Chefs and servers always wear masks. Buffets may be risky, but staff members always tell guests to wear masks and sanitary gloves are available, she said. Hotels are adjusting to the new normal -- for example, by changing their service manuals in pursuit of contactless service and switching from morning buffets to a-la-carte breakfasts. Disinfection is also an issue. Major hotels disinfect common areas such as gyms, lobbies and restaurants multiple times a day. Some also rely on artificial intelligence platforms to provide contactless services, so guests can check in and out using the latest technologies. Topics : travel tourism Topics : This article appeared on The Korea Herald newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post K im Kardashian has announced she is looking to free rapper C-Murder from his life sentence. The 49-year-old rapper, whose real name Corey Miller, was convicted of murdering teenager Steve Thomas in 2002. Miller, who is the brother of rapper Master P, has always maintained his innocence and now, new evidence has come to light suggesting he may have been a victim of a miscarriage of justice. Kardashian, 39, took to social media over the weekend to inform her 66.4 million followers of the case, providing some insight into potential new evidence. Kim Kardashian-West has raised awareness over C-Murder's trial and conviction / Twitter On January 18, 2002 a tragedy occurred when a young man was killed. The next day Corey Miller was arrested for the murder, she explained, with the accompanying hashtag Free Corey Miller. The jury convicted Corey 10-2 and he was sentenced him to life in prison. If his trial was today, the jury would have had to be unanimous for him to be convicted. Kardashian then explained since Millers original conviction witnesses have recanted, new evidence of his potential innocence has come to light, and there are claims of jurors being pressured into voting to convict. She continued: True justice for the young man requires that the person who actually killed him be held responsible and that Corey Miller he returned home to his kids. Kardashian also paid tribute to Steve Thomas, who died age just 16. My heart goes out to the family of Steve Thomas, she said. I can only imagine how hard this is and my intention is never to open up this painful wound but to help find the truth behind this tragedy. Kardashians tweet comes as C-Murders ex, Monica Denise, revealed she was working with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star. I spoke to Kim Kardashian and I explained why I knew Corey was innocent, she wrote on Instagram. I shared that there are lots of issues in Coreys case that speak to his innocence including witnesses recanting their testimony, DNA not matching and a 10-2 jury! Corey deserves to come home to his girls and be the father they need, be the artist & leader hes always been as well as spread hope to those who have also experienced this." The case would just be one of many Kardashian has brought to international attention after beginning her four-year apprenticeship with a San Francisco law firm in 2018. The star, who does around 18 hours of legal work each week, has met with President Donald Trump in order to discuss criminal reform.